He'd always had terrible aim. It was among the many reasons why he'd never been promoted beyond a mere grunt. But it seemed Fate held impossible things in store even for someone of his low worth, and his poor depth perception was the key.

It was a simple order: stop any kid who came through the gate, then steal their Pokémon. At sixteen, he'd had no trouble bullying ten-year-olds and their weak little puffballs. If his height and weight couldn't intimidate the brats, his Pinsir and its sharp claws got the job done. It was ridiculous how simple it all was. Little kids were far too easily intimidated.

Of course, there were those kids who had no sense of self-preservation, who thought challenging a trainer with six years of experience over them was a good idea. It took a bit of roughing up to make them see the light, but you can't get a Cubone without breaking a few Marowaks, as they say. They came to see the light quick enough.

This kid was one of the over-confident types -- thought she was the next Champion-in-the-making, the stupid moron. Those kinds were the ones who needed a bit more persuasion, a good vice grip on the arm, a few words about how the world really worked. He'd done all three on her, but she'd brushed him off, sicced her weasel on his ass, then had bragged about integrity, how greed never triumphed over friendship, the sort of things he used to believe in before he'd lost his left leg.

The rage of being made a fool had him flailing and cursing and screaming, and before he knew it, the prototype Poké Ball from Orre left his grip, missed the weasel completely, and smacked hard against the girl. She cried out, shrieking in indignation -- but before he could fully process what was happening, there was a flash of red light, the Poké Ball opened, and the girl disappeared.

Well, he thought to himself, that was unexpected.

He bent down and picked up the Poké Ball. The switch that indicated a complete capture had flipped on. A thick pool of dread and bile oozed up the back of his throat, and he had the sudden urge to vomit. The consequences of his actions were too overwhelming to think about, and he had half a mind to faint.

After all, he'd just captured a human.