You want longer chapters? You got it. Well... this chapter isn't that long but it's longer than the first two. Just wait until you get to the end. The chapters get really long.

Chapter 3
The Underground


Vyle descended into the darkness of the sewer system. He landed on his feet in a puddle of water. The splash echoed throughout the cavernous sewer. He noticed a dank, slightly foul smell in the air. The sewers were an unfamiliar territory to Vyle, but at least he was safe from his mysterious pursuers.

Vyle thought to himself, “Was that…? That voice, could it have been…”

Suddenly, Vyle heard that voice again, shouting festively, “Heya Vyle!” It was the little girl from the night before. She was wearing a pink sweater and what looked like a dark-colored skirt, but Vyle could not tell since it was pretty dark around there. The girl ran up to Vyle and hugged him, her head barely reaching up to Vyle’s waist.

Vyle was stunned. It had been many years since Vyle had been spoken to cheerfully, much less hugged. However, he suddenly became afraid as his childhood memories came flooding back to him. Vyle tensed up and a hateful feeling welled up inside of him. He hissed at the girl, “GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!” He brushed the girl off and darted away into the unknown darkness of the sewers, his footsteps echoing behind him.

But Vyle could not get too far. His vision was blurring, and everything appeared to spin around him. His stamina had already been pushed to its limit. Yet out of fear he continued down the path. Beams of light from streetlamps shone through the manhole covers above. Pipes lined the ceiling, and puddles glistened in the light from above. All of this was spinning around, twirling, until Vyle was not sure which way was forward. Vyle’s eyes slowly closed, until finally his consciousness slipped away. He could run no longer.

Vyle awoke in a bed some time later. He looked around the room he was in. Fluorescent lights shone onto his face from above. He noticed a dresser directly in front of him. A bookshelf filled with various books was to the right of him. More beds were also in different parts of the room. To the left of him was a large umbrella shaped plant. A table was also right next to him. To each side of the room were more potted plants. He noticed that pipes ran across the ceiling, and the walls were made of a dull grey concrete. Pokémon posters were put up to give the room a more homely look. Vyle then noticed that his clothes were different. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt and some much newer black jeans. His only possessions, his knife and his water bottle, were not with him either.

Vyle then heard the door creak open. That same girl from before walked in, this time carrying a tray of sandwiches and a glass filled with a blue liquid. Upon sight of the girl, Vyle tried to get up and run but he was paralyzed with exhaustion. His muscles ached too much as well. So Vyle could only stay and watch as the girl approached with the tray. “Here ya go! Nothing like some nice sandwiches and Oran Berry juice to help ya get better!” She announced cheerfully. She placed the tray on the small wooden table next to his bed.

Vyle did not know what to make of this situation. Ever since he began his life on the streets, he had never been handed free food. He thought to himself, “Oh well, free food’s free food.” He quickly began devouring the sandwiches as soon as the girl walked off. When he finished the sandwiches and juice he went to sleep.

A few hours had passed, and Vyle sprang up instinctively, as he had always done on the streets. He could not see what time of day it was; yet he jumped up. Judging by has reaction he figured that it was sunset. He thought to himself, “Well, thanks for the food, but I’m outta here!” He made his way out of the room slowly.

Outside there was a hallway with a concrete wall at the end nearest the door, and at the other end, a stairway with only darkness at the top. There were several doors in the hallway. Vyle ran silently towards the stairs. His muscles still ached and he could not run at full speed.

Once Vyle painfully climbed the flight of stairs, he saw nothing but pitch-black darkness. There usually was some form of light nearby when Vyle roamed the streets. Vyle was not used to the darkness of the underground. He crept along slowly with his hands in front of him. Occasionally he stepped in a puddle of water, the sound echoing throughout the sewers.

Vyle kept treading forward cautiously through the complete darkness of the underground. But then came a point when he felt a concrete wall in front of him. He felt around him, and discovered more walls. He determined that he was at a dead end, and that he could only go backwards, but that meant he would have to go back with that girl.

Suddenly, he heard a squeak echoing throughout the cavernous sewer. The tunnels seemed to magnify the squeak to an ear-splitting volume. Vyle recognized the screech as belonging to a Virat. He could picture its dark grey rodent-like body with green paws and a green face, about ankle high, with pointed ears and a pointed snout, eyes like small black beads, and hairless pink tail shaped like a worm. He could imagine it nearby somewhere. He tried to kick at it, since he knew that noise might have alerted someone else as his instinct told him. But his efforts were futile and he could only kick at air.

Light shone in Vyle’s face. At the other end of the light was that strange little girl who fed him. “Hey, come back Vyle!” she cried out in a cheerful voice. “Come back and meet everyone!” she exclaimed, her voice echoing in the dark tunnel. “We don’t bite!”
Vyle felt trapped and could see no way out of this. The girl grabbed his arm and tugged at him. Vyle reluctantly followed along. Eventually they reached the stairs and then the hallway. The girl led Vyle to a room across the hall from the room he slept in. she opened the door with her free hand.

The inside of the room looked to be a meeting room of some sort. There was a table in the center, which was made of wood and looked worn. The chairs around it were also worn. Papers were scattered all over the table. The room otherwise looked pretty drab, save a few Pokémon posters on the walls, and tropical plants in the corners.

Three people were seated at the chairs in the room. The first person was a male, large and with a muscular physique. He wore a black t-shirt that stretched tightly over his figure. His hair was short and spiked, and combed slightly backward. The second person was female; she had fiery red hair, slightly curled and about neck-length. She had on a crimson vest, not unlike the type Pokémon trainers wore. Under that vest was also a black t-shirt stretched fairly tight. She also wore a crimson colored short skirt. The third was also female, with long, straight black hair. She had on a purple headband, and for some reason wore black lipstick. She wore a black trench coat, which descended past her knees, and tights underneath the coat. All three seemed to be young adults like Vyle.

As soon as Vyle and the little girl entered the room, the three people turned to face them. The male spoke:

“I see you brought your friend in to meet us, Kyra. Why don’t you introduce him to us?”

“Okay! This is Vyle, the guy who saved me!” Kyra spoke excitedly.

“Call me Spike,” the male announced.

“I’m Blaze,” the female with red hair spoke in a friendly manner.

“Shade,” The other one spoke, although not as friendly seeming as Blaze.

Vyle did not respond for a few seconds, which seemed like forever. He then timidly replied, “Hi.”

“So you’re the one that saved Kyra?” Spike replied. He seemed to be the leader of their little group. Vyle did not respond.

Spike went on to explain, “Ya see, we’re a gang of outlaws. We call ourselves The Underground. We live off the streets, stealing just enough to get what we need, though we usually attack the kind that look like they deserve it. We made this place using the Secret Power attack from our Pokémon.”

“And jacked our decorations and stuff,” Blaze added.

Spike paused for a second, and then continued explaining, “Kyra is our newest member. We found her on the streets before you saved her. We were on a mission that night, and ya see, she kinda got lost. That’s when those strange men found her.”

Blaze added, “They seem to be a lot like that group of petty thugs, Team Magnet, but they must be after something bigger. That, and they seem to like using the Miracle type.”

Vyle had some important questions for them. “Who are they, how did they find this place? Who is Team Magnet? Do they know any more about that odd Team Judgment? Who is more deserving of being robbed?” He thought to himself. He refrained from asking them, as was his instinct from the streets not to get too curious. He decided to figure out his answers on his own. After all, as the saying went, “Curiosity killed the Meowth.” His contemplation was interrupted by a familiar squeak.

“Squee! Squeeeeeeeek!” a Virat cried as it streaked across the room, seemingly from nowhere. Vyle noticed a small hole at the bottom of the room near his feet. The Virat excitedly circled Vyle’s feet.

“Oh, that’s our little friend. We named it Squeak,” Blaze explained.

“It… seems to like you,” Spike said.

“Ya know, you don’t seem to have any Pokémon. They would be good to have for protection. Why don’t you see if you can’t take Squeak with you?” Blaze suggested. Shade nodded and passed an empty Poké Ball across the table to Vyle. He caught the red and white sphere as it rolled toward him and said nothing.

“I think we should leave the room alone with his new friend,” Blaze suggested.

“I agree. If Squeak likes you, and would like to travel with you, it’ll simply go inside that ball,” Spike said. Shade simply nodded. Everyone else then got up and proceeded to leave the room.

From the floor, Squeak looked at Vyle. Vyle gazed back at Squeak. Squeak seemed to be looking into Vyle’s soul. Vyle did not know what to think. He had never considered carrying a Pokémon with him before. That and, he did not know how Pokémon were caught. He had seen them being released from Poké Balls before, however. Vyle looked at Squeak with its beady eyes, as if he were accepting Squeak. Squeak seemed to accept Vyle as well, and they gazed at each other with what seemed to be a mutual understanding. The Virat hopped up onto the table, and nudged the ball. The ball popped open and absorbed the Virat, then closed. A light blinked on and off on the button of the ball as if to signify that something was caught.

Vyle took the ball on the table. He decided that he could keep the Virat, but he still did not trust those people. He had always lived and hunted alone, and wasn’t about to change that, save the Virat of course. Vyle decided to try and sneak away once again. But he could not leave without his cloak, which he needed to conceal himself. Vyle slowly pushed open the door and peered outside. The hallway was empty.

Vyle slipped out the door and pressed his back against the wall. He walked against the wall carefully. His muscles still slightly ached. He decided to himself to check every room. As he crawled along the walls, he put his ear to one of the doors. He could hear voices coming from that room, so he did not dare open it. He went along to the next door, and put his ear to that one. He heard nothing, so he decided it was safe and cracked it open.

The room appeared to be a closet. Several cloaks and trench coats hung from the wall. He recognized his own, although it seemed to be much cleaner. He took his cloak, and on the floor, he saw a bag filled with more Poké Balls. He thought to himself, “Hey, why not take something for the road anyways?” Carefully, he slipped on his cloak, then took the bag of Poké Balls and stuck them in one of his pockets. He stuck the Virat inside another pocket. Silently yet quickly, he then proceeded out of the closet and into the hallway, checking to make sure the coast was clear first. No one in sight.

He dashed down the hallway and up the stairs silently. As he climbed the stairs, he was greeted with the same darkness as before. This time, however, he decided to creep against the walls until he found another passage. He reasoned that there had to be one somewhere, since the path in front was a dead end. He continued along the wall for some time, until he found a gap in the wall. He felt around it, and determined that it was a corner, and that there was a passage ahead. He peered past the corner. Light seemed to pour in from the ceiling, and Vyle could see ahead for a long way. He then broke into a sprint down that path.

But Vyle could not get far. He bumped right into what seemed like a wall. He fell to the floor, the Poké Balls in his pockets spilling out onto the floor. Vyle looked up, and saw the muscular figure of Spike. Blaze and Shade appeared behind Vyle.

“You thought you could get away, huh?” Spike said in an intimidating manner.

“Don’t forget, we’re thieves too!” Said Blaze.
“It was a nice try,” Shade said rather calmly.

All three of them broke into a laugh, which surprised Vyle. “Yep, looks like you got what it takes to be a part of the Underground.” Vyle accepted the compliment to himself, although he still had no intention of sticking with them. But it looked like he was there to stay with them, at least until he could find his way back to the streets.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Several white-cloaked figures were approaching what seemed to be an altar, with a throne at the top. The altar was covered in an intense light, too bright to be able to make out the features of the person at the top of the throne.

The figure in front of the group spoke. His white cloak seemed more elaborate than the cloaks of the others, as if he was one of their leaders.

“The criminals escaped into the sewers. We could not give chase, my Lord.”

A booming voice echoed back from the throne, “Take 50 additional members with you, and flush those rats out. The dark labyrinth is indeed dangerous, so bring plenty of light. One way or another, Murdock shall be purged and recivilized. And remember, the light of Team Judgment shines even in the darkest depths, revealing the sins of all who live."

The booming voice paused for a moment, then spoke again. "May the light of Team Judgment shine upon you, aiding you in your holy quest.”

“Thank you, my Lord,” The head figure spoke. The figures all bowed to the floor, and then left the room.