Of all the shops in the world...

Luke the poochyena trudged around the town, looking for something in particular. It was a dusty day, every once in awhile dirt would fly into his eyes, making him pause and go into a fit of blinking. He squinted and observed the surroundings. The usually bustling street was desolate, many shops closed because of the lack of customers. Luke nodded in approval. "Less people around, less problems for me.." He breathed to himself. He scoped the area again and locked onto a certain shop. He didnt know why but it seemed like the right one to steal from. He slowly made his way towards it. "Time to get to work."

Ace had his head on the shop counter, on top of his black paws, and was close to snoozing on the job. Seeing as there were no customers in the area, he got up and closed the shop, and locked properly before heading towards his house, which was right behind the storage. However, the Umbreon spotted a Poochyena moving in the direction of his shop. Ace silently and stealthily moved closer. He wondered if it was simply a customer, or a common thief hoping to steal his clients' valuables.

Luke stopped in front of the shop. He checked behind him just in case anyone was nearby. His eyes darted left and right. He couldn't see anyone so he continued silently searching. He examined the door, gently pushing it with his paw to check if it was locked. Luke put his ear up to it. "No one inside." He looked at the lock. "You know." He said to himself. "Locks are so much easier to figure out than pokemon." He frowned and sighed, taking a few steps back. "And if you cant figure them out." He tackled the door, making it fly open with a bang! "Theirs always the option of breaking them." He hummed nonchalantly to himself as he looked for valuables. Pausing every once in a while to check the entrance.

Apparently, it was the second guess. The Poochyena muttered to himself, and then tackled the door. It flew open with a bang, and it entered, searching for valuables. "I knew I shouldn't have bought such cheap locks." Ace sighed. "Anyhow, I have to stop him!" the Umbreon crept out of the shadows, and his red eyes glinted with determination. As the Poochyena scuffled around through the boxes and safes, Ace silently weaved around, until he was behind the puppy Pokemon. Then, his mouth glowed purple, and he shot out waves of dark energy towards the unsuspecting thief. "Don't you dare take anything!" he shouted over the Dark Pulse.

Luke stumbled back as pain radiated from his head, catching him by surprise and almost taking him off his feet. With a foggy head Luke swiveled around to face his attaker. He sighed. "Why can't jobs ever be easy...". He growled and bared his teeth. "The lone hero trying to save this store?". He sneered. Flicking images of the poochyena surrounded the umbreon. Luke circled the umbreon using Double Team as he continued talking. "Get out of my way.". He tackled Ace before bolting out the door, taking some valuables with him.

After he attacked the Poochyena, flickering images of it appeared, before it tackled him head on. Ace quickly recovered, and swiftly caught up with the thief, and used a powerful Iron Tail on its flank, which would either knock the valuables off it, or knock him down so Ace can recover them. He couldn't face his clients if they knew he had lost their precious items.

Luke found himself tumbling to the ground, his everstone necklace swaying from side to side on his neck. A few items flew from his grasps as he rolled to a stop. He shakily got up, battered and bruised. Luke growled again, his fur stood on end. He gave a bark before using double team to surround Ace again. "Give up already!" He snarled before using quick attack followed by another round of double team. "It'll be easier on the both of us..." He breathed, barely audible.

"No! Those items were obtained through hard work! I can't just let you take them!" Ace growled, dodging the multiple clones. However, the original tackled him over, making the Umbreon roll backwards. Getting up, he fired another round of Dark Pulse at the Poochyena. "You should have thought twice about stealing from MY storage!" Ace roared, his crimson eyes glinting with anger.

The illusions disappeared, leaving the original wobbling on his feet. He vision blurred, his eyes looked hazed over. He shook his head, trying to clear his mind. He gritted his teeth. "Future's not looking too bright..." Using the last of his strength he grabbed whatever he could and dashed off down the street and around the corner. Zigzagging through different streets. His feet pounded the ground as the wind whisked past him. This was all or nothing. He didn't know if he could take another hit like that.

"Hey!" Ace shouted angrily. The Poochyena had stolen a treasure chest, an authentic diamond necklace, and a Power Band. He ran, and chased the dog, zigzagging through streets, knocking over trash cans and other things in his haste. By the time he cornered his opponent, he was panting. Ace quickly glowed white, and he felt refreshed-to some extent. "Now, give back those items and I might just let you go." he growled sharply. Ace's tail glowed a metallic silver, showing he was about to use Iron Tail.

Luke was out of breath, barely able to stand. Cornered and beaten was the worst case scenario for a thief. He checked his surroundings to see if he could use anything to improvise. Nothing. Then he tried to remember what he had stolen. A lightbulb went off in his head. The powerband! Luke was now on his last legs. But he manage to stand a little straighter, facing his adversary. He was about to launch into a lengthy retort when he realized he was too out of breath to speak, which made him chuckle. So he shortened it to two words. "Make me." He slipped the powerband on his arm and charged at Ace, tackling him to the ground with all his might.

The Poochyena had put on the Power Band. Although it boosted a Pokemon's attack power, it doesn't change the fact that Ace was more powerful than the Poochyena to begin with. He hopped to the left, then smashed his tail into the Poochyena, full force. He knew that the scarf would be ruined a little, but he could always patch it up.

Luke felt the blow knock him a few feet back. He rolled to a stop landing right side up on his stomach. His chin rested on the ground. He felt his eyes starting to close. Luke's body ached, he was too battered to stand, he was too tired to talk. His eyes drifted to the ground where he spotted his everstone, lying in front of him. He gave a sigh. Not a tired one, but a solemn one. "I wish you were here..." He said in his mind. "I never would have lost myself, never would have started the life of a thief." He gave a weak smile. "Never would have ended up lying here in the dirt." He tilted his head to look around. "Wonder what's gonna happen now." Darkness swallowed his vision and he blacked out.

The Poochyena fell into the dirt, and quickly went unconscious. Ace padded towards him, and heard his mutterings. "Hm..." he murmured, feeling a little sorry for the thief. The Umbreon took the stolen valuables, and looked around. There was no one around, so he decided to let him go. He bit into the thief's scarf and threw dropped him into the nearby river. He wouldn't drown, and the current would take him to Pecha Forest.