Go for it then run for it!

Despite having been a thief for over 15 years, this was Sinon's first time in a police station. Judging on the location alone, this was a pretty nice place to be. The lights were dimmed, just how he liked it. Too much light and his eyes would burn away in an instant. Stupid super-sensitive eyes ruining my life, Sinon thought to himself. Then again, the sensitivity for light did come paired with really good night vision, which couldn't have been more useful in his profession. Sinon looked further through the room. Not like there was much to see, anyway, just a table, a few chairs, and a large mirror. Probably one of those fake ones, that are actually a see-through glass from the other side. A single lamp was hanging on the ceiling, slowly swinging from left to right. He closed his eyes, leaned backwards on his chair, and held his crucifix necklace in one hand. "Seriously, I don't understand why I got caught. Why did my luck wear off this time?"

Suddenly, the door slammed open, and a police officer brought a second guy in. Sinon quickly analysed him with a quick look. Ripped jeans, half-beard and 'stache, that look on his face... Most likely a thief, just like him. The officer told the new guy to sit down next to Sinon, and took seat himself on the other side of the table. "Banks, you're no new face to us. We know you better than anyone else here, so we know what we're dealing with. Don't try to play any of your tricks on us, if you don't want to get in even more trouble." The officer turned his head to Sinon, "You, however... The infamous 'Black Devil', as we call you. The one who could never be caught, who always somehow found his way out of trouble. You could be very valuable to us..." With the word valuable, Sinon's interests were activated. This was going to be fun...

 

Sinon shook his head. Such an overactive guy, he thought to himself, it's unthinkable how he could be considered a great thief. Always jumping to conclusions before considering the other possibilities. "If you want me to put up with that guy, you'd better give me something good in return. He may be satisfied with a simple cleaning of his track record, but since I don't have one to begin with, that's not going to work for me." The officer nodded, knowing that negotiating with the Black Devil was no easy job. "Whatever you wish for, we will provide it. We'll do anything to get that diamond back." Sinon smiled upon hearing the desperation in the officer's voice. He was definitely nervous, perhaps even scared, to have this talk with him. What's there to be scared of though, he thought. I never intend to harm anyone unless strictly necessary, and he never got into a dangerous rage. Staying calm was the reason why Sinon Steel was mysteriously dubbed "The Black Devil". He always took time to organize things, plan ahead of time, analyse the situation before making a decision.

"I'll come to claim my reward after I retrieve that diamond of yours, that's how the deal should be made. But I'll need something for the mission, however, that you will have to provide me of." The officer only nodded. Sinon was clearly dominating the conversation, changing their roles completely. "You said the diamond is in Sinnoh, right? Well, that place is full of Pokémon trainers. I know that my partner in crime wouldn't have any problem with knocking them all out by fist, but I'm not like that." He paused for a moment. "I demand that you give us both a Pokémon to carry with us, one that's trained well, is powerful, and will surely obey us. Only under that condition will I help you." The officer hastily nodded and stood up. "Of course, mister Steel. I'll go find Pokémon for both of you right away!"

 

Sinon helped the officer back up again. It was something he had to get used to now too, but for the first time in his life, the police was on their side. They weren't the enemy, but rather their friend. A key element that James clearly forgot. "I'd like an Absol. I'm sure that won't be too big of a deal to you. Then I assume tomorrow will be the departure?" The officer, again, could only nod. "Hey, could someone please give me a ride back home? I didn't exactly expect to end up all the way over here, and I'd like to go back to my girlfriend for the night. I have a lot to explain to her..." The officer agreed, and soon afterwards, they arrived at Sinon's house. For someone who had to fall back on criminal activities to get his stuff, he had a pretty impressive house. The front yard was taken care of well, a sign that those who lived there cared about their appearance to the outside world. You wouldn't think one of the world's most skillful criminals would live there.

Sinon explained everything in detail to his girlfriend. Although she was worried at first, thinking that it might be a trap from the police just to catch him, he managed to convince her not to worry too much. They went to sleep soon afterwards, their last night together for what might be a very long time.

 

As he stuffed a quick sandwich in his mouth, Sinon ran out to catch the train. If there's one thing he hated, it has to be deadlines. He knew the train was about to leave, but he could still make it if he took all the shortcuts. Luckily, years of quick escapes and close getaways caused him to know the entire city by heart, including every little back alley. With his still unopened Pokéball in his pocket, he ran to the train station. He knew exactly which train to take, so he could immediately run the right way, passing other people left and right. Right as the train doors started to close, Sinon managed to get himself inside. He straightened his jacket, black as always, and looked for his partner.

 

Sinon smiled, and got down in his chair. "Of course you're reckless, you've been caught too many times to even keep track of. It's like you don't even care about what you're doing. You're unprepared, jumpy, impulsive, and most of all, you're reckless..." He paused for a moment, and looked out of the window. "but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a bad thing. Because I can do the thinking work, while you're assisting me where brute force is needed. We may be complete opposites, but if we can work together well, this should be a short and successful mission. Which I want to have that way, as I have a girlfriend at home waiting for me, you know?"

They stayed silent for a bit, until Sinon remembered something from earlier. "You said you used to see me as an inspiration, right? Then why don't you think the same way about it anymore, now that you've met me? What made you change your opinion about me?"

 

While James walked away, Sinon looked out of the window again. "Like it was my choice to end up in the criminal circuit.", he mumbled to himself, "I'm just doing this for her, you know..." He noticed a tall mountain, presumably Mt. Conoret, which meant Sinnoh had to be closeby. Sinon ate his breakfast, drank his coffee, and waited for James to return. It took him a really long time to get back, he noticed. Maybe he lost the way and ended up in the other side of the train. Or perhaps he got stuck in the toilets. Sinon snickered, and looked outside again. The sun was rising, which meant he'd have to be careful for the sun again. Usually he just stayed inside during the day, but this would have to be an exception.

 

"James, I don't have time for this nonsense. Look outside, it's clearly still daytime. I don't know what you're talking about, but you're probably just imagining things." When Sinon looked outside through the window, he saw the trees go by slower and slower. "The train must be close to arriving. We'd better get our stuff together, our adventure is about to begin." They both grabbed their belongings, and when the train had come to a stop, they got out. This new and unknown environment would only make their mission more difficult, Sinon noticed. They didn't even know where to go from here.

 

Sinon sighed. "Like I hadn't already noticed. But why do you suggest knocking him out? Are you perhaps... Scared, of that man?" Sinon grinned, much to James' disliking. "Look, we have no idea where Greenfield is, nor the diamond. We're in an unknown region with no clue on what way is right or wrong. This man right here is the only one who could bring us a step closer into the right direction, and you find knocking him out the best possible option? Then what are we going to do?" He got into the car and waited for his partner to join as well. He never said that James wasn't right. This man probably did intend to kill them. But many people wanted to kill Sinon, and nobody had ever succeeded. So why should this man?

 

"And there goes are only chance at staying incognito." Sinon was not too happy with James' sudden attack, but whatever. It happened, and that's that. Change of plan, new ideas. "Okay, James. Next time, please wait for a sign of me before you attack someone. Also..." He looked at James as he got out of the car, "Get it together dude, stop shaking on your legs like that." He didn't wait for his reaction, but instead headed into the cave. Everything was pitch black in here, allowing Sinon to take off his shaded glasses. In dark areas such as this, he was at the greatest possible advantage. Not even ten seconds into the cave and he heard James falling on the floor. A wide vocabulary of curse words emerged from his mouth, but Sinon immediately told him to stop. "Do you really want to ruin everything? Shut your trap, or we might as well place giant neon lights above us saying 'WE ARE HERE!'" Sinon kept climbing over rocks, stopping to help James, and continuing again. There had to be something here, otherwise that man wouldn't have lead us here, right?

 

Sinon grabbed his own Pokéball, and threw it on the ground in front of them. A smile appeared on his face as he watched how his very own Absol emerged from it. It's been way too long, he said to himself. Sinon quickly let the crufixic on his necklace slide through his hand, and then pointed at the Rypherior: "Absol, use Dark Pulse!" The Disaster Pokémon obeyed, and a black aura was released from him, hitting the Rypherior hard. The opponent flinched, immediately giving Sinon another chance to attack: "All right Absol, let's see if we can finish this up, use Zen Headbutt!" Absol's horn started to glow with a pink aura, as he rushed toward the Rypherior and attacked him. The Rypherior was launched backwards, nearly landing on top of the heavily tattooed man.

The man called back his Pokémon, forced to admit defeat. He tried turn around and get away, but Sinon had already blocked his path. He was confused by how he got all the way on his other side that quickly, but Sinon didn't let it bother him. "Listen big guy, I'm assuming you aren't just strolling around here for no reason. How about you tell me, let's see, everything you know. Does that sound like a decent plan to you? I sure hope it does." The man looked over his shoulder, but Absol was standing there, growling at him. There was no way he'd get away, so he had little choice but to tell them...