---
???, Sinnoh
"Ow..." Oliver woke up groggily, his sight seeming to be upside down. The Oshawott groaned in pain, feeling a sharp pain on the side of his head. He quickly realized that he was propped against a cold wall, his feet facing up towards the ceiling. He tried to move his arms and switch his position, but noticed that his paws were cuffed behind his back.
"Where am I?" He asked in his head, trying to squirm out of his uncomfortable position. "My head is pounding... Where's Jacob? What happened?"
Oliver thought for a moment, beginning to remember the events that unfolded before he woke up. That Snivy covered his mouth and told him to get out of the alley he and Jacob were moving through. She was cut off by a Drifloon complaining about how she found them before they did. Jacob tried to get the two out of there, but failed. He was knocked out by a Monferno soon afterwards.
"Why are we being held here?" He thought, "Did we do anything wrong?"
His eyes darted over to his slightly open backpack which was laid on the floor, it's contents slightly spilling out of it. He could clearly see the picture of his parents he brought along with him to look at whenever he was feeling homesick.
And he was really feeling homesick at this point in time.
He still couldn't wrap his head around what happened after they had left Wild Woods. Even before that, too. He wasn't going to lie to himself and say that all of their journey so far had been filled with disaster. They still had the opportunity to meet Pixen and Ritsu, who thankfully hadn't tried to kill them.
The Oshawott then noticed a green figure from the corner of his eye. When he focused his sight, he saw a familiar Snivy standing there from the other side of the bars. She seemed to wear an indifferent expression.
The Snivy opened the cell door before walking in. She walked closer to Oliver and kneeled down to him.
Oliver shut his eyes, expecting to be harmed in some way. He could only feel his body move and the feeling of lightheadedness. When he opened his eyes, he noticed that he was seeing normally.
"Oh... Thank you--"
"Don't thank me." She bluntly cut him off. "You just looked like you needed help." The Snivy stood up, beginning to walk away.
"I'm Oliver."
She suddenly stopped in her tracks, hearing him introduce himself. She had a short battle in her head, weighing the options of introducing herself to him.
"I'm Sophie."
---
Sophie walked through the halls of the upper levels, thinking about her brief interaction with Oliver.
"Oliver."
She wouldn't admit it to herself, but for a moment, she trusted the Oshawott. He seemed to be sincere when he thanked her for putting him in a more comfortable position. His eyes looked so innocent. It was strange to her.
Everyone that she had met before had eyes that told a story of a rough history. She could see it, the way their eyes rested, and even down to the way they blinked. Oliver's blinking rate was rapid at times, while his eyes rested in a wide-eye state. The sometimes rapid blinking rate could indicate high stress or even being on the verge of tears.
It couldn't be all an act, right? Oliver couldn't fake sincerity, despite being visibly stressed. But why would he have the need to fake anything?
The Snivy's thoughts were suddenly cut off by a familiar Monferno walking up. "Yo, Sophie."
"Hm?" She looked at him with a sideways glance. "Do you need anything, Trevor?"
"Well I wanted to tell you that one of the higher-ups wanted to see you." He explained, "I think it was something about 'guard duty' or something like that."
"Okay then." Sophie nodded, "Take me there."
"Let's go." He walked ahead of her, quickly leading the Snivy over to where she was called from.
The two walked into the main room, where Sophie immediately saw an Infernape sitting down on a couch in silence, his head looking down towards the floor. That Infernape was named Quincy, often regarded as the right hand man to the boss of their gang. When the Snivy laid her eyes on him, a cold sweat built up on her forehead.
Quincy was the one to take her in with the gang after she was in an orphanage at three years old. He was like an older brother figure to her, even though they didn't talk too often. Sophie walked over and tapped his shoulder.
"Finally..." The Infernape looked up at Sophie. "Took you long enough."
"Well I was in the basement." The Grass Snake Pokémon mentioned, giving him a cold stare. "I wasn't going to run here as soon as you called."
"Fair point." Quincy sighed as Sophie sat down next to him. "Anyway, I was going to ask you to do something."
"What is it?"
"Before I do... Trevor, leave." He noticed the Monferno hiding behind the couch, wanting to listen in to their conversation.
"Dammit!" He exclaimed in a hush shout. "Okay, fine..." Trevor sulked and trudged out of the room, dragging his feet along the way.
Once Quincy heard the Monferno's footsteps fade, he looked back to Sophie. "You seem pretty interested in that Oshawott you caught last night."
"I was just wondering why he and his friend were injured, is all." She replied, not missing a beat. "Also, he looks around my age, so I was interested to know how others around my age would act."
"Aren't Trevor and Lana around your age?"
"Yes, they are, but they're still members of this gang." The Snivy sharply answered, "So not exactly normal."
"Okay then, how about this?" Quincy began, "I'll have you look over that Oshawott to make sure he doesn't do anything suspicious. As for the Pikachu, I can't tell you where he's being kept. But he's being watched by Binks."
"Binks!?"
Binks was an Emboar, regarded as the leader of the gang for as long as Sophie stayed there. That Pikachu must not be having a good time down there.
Meanwhile...
Oliver tried to reach for his backpack, but was unable to due to the handcuffs shackles around his wrists, which were bolted tightly to the wall. He could only comfortably remain in a sitting position with his paws behind his back.
The Oshawott let out a sigh, looking down at the cold, concrete floor. "This isn't good... I can barely move out of this position." Oliver then looked back to the shackles bolted to the stone wall. "If I just knew Water Gun, I could have eroded the wall or rust the metal shackles to break them..."
He then noticed movement outside of his cell. He looked over to see Sophie, that somewhat nice Snivy from earlier. She brought along a wooden chair with her, confusing the Oshawott a bit. She also had a small, yellow bag slung around her shoulders.
"Um... Hi, Sophie." Oliver greeted her hesitantly, shaking a bit in fear.
"Hey." She returned the greeting, putting the chair down on the opposite side of the room from Oliver. She sat down in the seat gently.
"Why did you bring a chair?"
"I have orders to be your warden, so you won't pull anything stupid." She answered, not missing a beat.
"Orders? From who?" He asked, picking up on the first part of her statement.
Sophie noticed that the Oshawott is fairly observant when it comes to statements. He seemed to be a smart guy. The Snivy took a mental note to watch her words around him.
"That's none of your business." She sharply replied, putting her yellow backpack down, leaned up against the side of her chair. "Anyway, what were you doing out so late at night?"
"That's none of your business." Oliver looked away, shrugging his shoulders.
"Funny guy, are we now?" Sophie reached into her bag, pulling out an orange colored pistol.
"N-No!" He quickly shook his head in response. "I just thought it wouldn't be fair if I told you things about me when you refused to reveal anything about yourself.."
"Right."
The Snivy aimed the pistol at Oliver, coldheartedly shooting it at his chest. The Oshawott grunted for a moment before looking down. A cylindrical, metallic object could be seen on his chest. A red, furry substance was at the end.
"A tranq dart?" His eyes widened, looking back up at Sophie. "...Which type is it?"
"Sedative." She answered, putting the pistol back in her bag. "You know a lot, don't you?" When she looked back over to him, he was already asleep.
---
A noticeably long period of time passed before Oliver began to wake up again. He opened his eyes, noticing that he was facing down to the floor. He could also feel a small bit of drool on the corner of his mouth. His mind seemed strangely clear, feeling refreshed from his impromptu nap.
When the Oshawott lifted his head back up, he could see Sophie still sitting across the room, but looking at a mirror she was holding parallel to her chest. Oliver's eyes widened as he noticed that the Snivy's right eye was red, and had a strange, thin black pupil.
His breathing quickened. What exactly was she? Why is her eye red, and her other one is green? Was he supposed to say something? Pretend that he was still asleep? Oliver gulped nervously before opening his mouth to speak.
"S-Sophie?"
Her right eye suddenly locked onto the Oshawott before quickly using Dragon Claw. Oliver saw the attack before quickly leaning as far as he could to the left. The attack struck the wall, making it crack. He let out a shaky sigh, looking at the purple claw in the wall.
"Please don't kill me!" Oliver exclaimed, "I won't tell anyone about your eye, I swear!"
The Snivy sighed, her purple claw reverting back to it's normal green hand. "...Fine."
"Sorry for asking, but what happened to your eye?" The Oshawott asked, looking up at her.
"It isn't your business." She retorted calmly, beginning to walk away from him.
"You'll feel better if you talk about it." Oliver told her, "...I know it's a cheesy thing to say, but It's true."
The Snivy's glare softened as she turned around. Sophie realized that if Oliver was ever tricking her, she could kill him easily. She let out a sigh, briefly weighing her options.
"I... Don't know." She sat down in front of the Oshawott. "I never knew. Before I was three, I can't remember much."
"Have you ever tried to look for your origins?" Oliver inquired, "There has to be someone who knows about you."
"You think I haven't tried?" She spat. "I've looked everywhere around Casteel City. But how would I even look if I don't know what I'm looking for?"
"You have a good point." The Oshawott looked down.
The two remained in silence for a few seconds, both of them avoiding the other's gaze.
"Sophie?" Oliver asked, cutting through the silence. "Why were Jacob and I captured by you? Why are we here?"
"My gang's been on edge since some of us got arrested for theft." She answered without hesitation. "Any Pokémon that passed by would be captured by my group, and would be interrogated for answers as to if they're looking for us."
"Isn't that a little counter-productive?" The Oshawott asked, "If they weren't looking for your gang, and they got caught, then you just revealed your location."
"Our location? Do you even know where we are?"
"Umm..."
"That's what I thought."
"Where's Jacob anyway?" Oliver asked, "And how long do you plan to keep us here?"
"Jacob's in solitary confinement, but I don't know where." She told him. "We plan to keep you two until one of two things happen."
"What are they?" The Oshawott's eyes widened
"One; You both join us." She told him, "Or two; One of our members will come here and erase your memories."
"Jacob would never allow any of those two things to happen." Oliver told her, a soft glare developing on his face.
"But what about you?"
The Oshawott paused, those three words replaying in his mind briefly.
"Would you join us?" The Snivy tilted her head softly, her serious expression unchanging. "It's not too bad here."
"I'm sorry, but I wouldn't." He looked down, "There's still a lot of things I have to do in Sinnoh. Our adventure is barely beginning."
"I thought so." Sophie stood up, walking towards her backpack. When the Snivy reached in, Oliver's blood went cold.
Was she going to pull out that tranquilizer pistol again? Why wouldn't she? He just rejected her proposal to stay with her gang. That must've hurt her pride in some way. He closed his eyes tightly, expecting to be put to sleep again.
But all he could hear were a few thumps on the ground in front of him. He opened his eyes to be faced with five Oran berries in front of him.
"It's been two and a half days already. You must be starving."
Oliver's eyes began to water as he looked down at the berries.
"What? Are you allergic or something?"
"It's just that..." He whimpered, a shaky smile on his face. "...I really needed this. Thank you, Sophie."
"Yeah, yeah." She began to walk off, "Don't think this makes us 'friends' or whatever." While Sophie left the cell, she could hear faint chewing. Her expression lightened as she walked off.
---
The Snivy yawned as she walked upstairs, exhausted from her day. She was instantly greeted by Lana and Trevor, who seemed to be more irritating than usual to her.
"So... You were down there for quite a long time, Sophie." Trevor stated, "Care to explain where you were?"
"That's none of your business."
"Don't be such a buzzkill." Lana complained, "We know you were down there watching that Oshawott. He seems really nice. He even brought some kindness out of you."
The Snivy's eye twitched softly at the statement, "You were watching?"
"Every minute of it." The Drifloon nodded, "Even when you talked to him about your right eye."
"...I'm going to go talk to Quincy." Sophie quickly walked off, leaving the Monferno and Drifloon behind.
Sophie walked into the main room, where she saw a familiar Infernape laying down on a couch. He seemed to be eating something, his eyes closed. Although he appeared to be asleep, Sophie knew that he was trying to avoid a conversation,
"Quincy." She told him, to which he didn't respond. "I know you're awake."
"Damn it!" He sat up, facing the Snivy. "Why do you have to be so observant?" Quincy groaned for a moment before collecting himself. "What do you need?"
"I wanted to request you release the Oshawott and Pikachu."
"Are you insane?" Quincy asked loudly, his eyes widening. "Binks would kill me if I allowed something like that! What's gotten into you?"
"Compassion, emotion, feelings..." A voice from behind the couch answered, revealing to be Trevor. "I could go on."
"Shut up." Sophie glared at him, punching his head.
As the Monferno hit the ground in pain, Quincy looked back over to the Snivy. "Seriously, what's up with you?"
"Well the Oshawott shows no signs of any malicious intent." She replied, looking down. "He seems pretty innocent."
"I'm sorry, Sophie." He looked away. "There's nothing I can do. I can't just go against Binks' orders like that."
"I understand."
The Snivy stood up and walked off, her expression unchanging. No matter how much she tried to stop herself, she couldn't stop thinking about the new friend she had made.
"It's been two and a half days already. You must be starving."
Oliver's eyes began to water as he looked down at the berries.
"What? Are you allergic or something?"
"It's just that..." He whimpered, a shaky smile on his face. "...I really needed this. Thank you, Sophie."
"Yeah, yeah." She began to walk off, "Don't think this makes us 'friends' or whatever." As Sophie left the cell, she could hear faint chewing. Her expression lightened as she walked off.
He didn't deserve this. He didn't deserve to be here, on the verge of getting his memory erased. She wasn't even sure if Oliver would remember her name. That was the first friend she'd ever made on her own. This was the first Pokémon outside of her gang that she knew on a first-name basis. He even knew about her eye.
Her teeth gritted together. So what if he was? He was just like any other prisoner. Just an innocent soul trying to get out of that place. Then why did she feel so guilty? It's not like she has a say in any of it.
It's not like she can change it.
With Oliver...
The Oshawott was finally able to break away from the wall, his shackles breaking and hitting the floor. This finally allowed Oliver to move his arms for the first time in days.
"It must've been when Sophie attacked the wall..." He thought, looking at his paws. "When the attack hit, it weakened the wall."
The Oshawott slowly walked over to his backpack before sweeping the scattered objects that were previously on the floor into his bag. Oliver was lost in thought, looking between the bars of the cell door, and the picture of his parents still on the floor.
"I gotta get out of here."
He walked over to one of the corners in the confined room, picking up his scalchop. Oliver dusted the fur on his stomach off before putting his scalchop on it. It seemed to perfectly stick to his fur. He then walked over to the door, which was locked.
The Oshawott put a paw on his forehead, thinking about any option to get out.
"Razor Shell could work, but that would alert the gang members..." He thought, "I don't know any other moves, so I'd probably have to wait until I'm about to get my memory erased, and take a chance there. Yeah... I'll stick with that plan."
His face scrunched up.
"But of course, I don't know where Jacob is..." He began to pace around the cell room. "He's too durable to be killed, but considering his attitude, he must be nearing that territory while he pisses them off..."
He smiled briefly.
"But he's a tough nut to crack. He'll last for a while longer... I hope."