Night had fallen, and the world drifted into a peaceful state of obliviousness, unaware of the grand plan that would shortly be enacted by the most unlikely of perpetrators.

The sky was blanketed with a clouded sheet of blackness, broken only by the twinkling stars. The city sidewalks were devoid of pedestrians, and the streets rumbled with the occasional car as late-night men and women returned to their homes or jobs. Streetlights lined the curbs, casting their beacon of light over the concrete.

The Rattata slowly emerged from the bushes, and dark eyes flicked up and down the sidewalk. Step by step, the rat Pokémon crept along the curb. When passing by the ring of light formed by an overhanging light, it was clear that it bore no particular qualities. The fur was glossy purple, like all members of the species. The fangs were well-developed, but seemingly no more than any other. The eyes shone with determination, but the species as a whole were scrappy.

What set this rodent apart from its brethren, however, was not something that could be seen. Visibly, she was as ordinary as they come, but her strength came from a simmering determination, and common skills utilized in the most unorthodox ways. Her mind was set on a destination ahead, specifically a rather unattractive museum building half a block down the road.

She ducked along an alleyway, slinking around a corner and gnawing through a chain link fence, forming a hole through which she could slip and invade the museum grounds. Signs warned against trespassing, but such deterrents meant nothing to her. Sneaking over the grass, she soon located the ventilation duct that would serve as her entry point.

Accessing the vent was a simple matter of loosening the screws attaching the front grate, and with her small paws, it was only a minute before she was inside, scampering through the duct, not even bothering to silence the pattering of her paws on the vent grating. Any humans that overheard were sure to dismiss the sound, or at worst call an exterminator at a later date. By that time, the Rattata would already be gone, as would something else considered to be of great value to them.

At the end of the duct was another grate. By peering through the slots of the vent, the Rattata could see the empty room within. Narrowing her eyes, she examined as much of the room as she could, paying special attention to the ceilings for signs of security cameras or other devices intended to hinder a thief. Finding nothing of great concern, she pressed her paws against the ventilation grate and pushed it open. It took a few good shoves to break it loose, but once managed it clicked open easily.

The Rattata then darted along the wall, leaving the vent open for her return. Ducking around a corner, she soon came into sight of the target room, indicated by a large glass case seated upon a small pedestal. Her eyes flitted around until they rested upon a small black camera positioned behind the case, too high for her to reach by ordinary means, and the device aimed at the case, but away from her position.

She snorted to herself. Silly humans, not even positioning their cameras right so as to spot someone entering. She slowly crept along the wall, staying out of range of the camera lens, and stopping only once she was directly beneath it. She judged the distance from her location to the case, and then up at the camera. A smirk tugged at her mouth, but she soon forced it away. This was going to be just too easy.

A moment's concentration was all it took to call upon the store of energy within her, and electricity began to build inside her, sparks popping off her purple fur, the static tugging at her fur. Then she released it, directing the flow directly upwards. Before the electricity had fully passed, she lunged forward and kicked off the ground with her strong legs, crawling up onto the pedestal, not even sparing the second to ensure her electricity had short-circuited the camera. Without a moment to spare, she clamped her powerful teeth around the corner of the glass case, and felt the case succumb to her fearsome bite. In moments, she pierced the defense, shattering the glass as easily as a pane of sugar.

Once the glass was broken, a blaring alarm went off, alerting everyone in the building that the defense had been breached. Thrusting a paw into the broken case, the Rattata snatched her prize and dove off the pedestal, already racing towards her exit as the thudding of human footsteps approached. She had barely enough time to dart around the corner and rocket into the ventilation duct, stopping only to shut the grate behind her, and then racing through the duct. She was counting on the alarms to muffle the sounds of her escape, and soon the blaring volume died down, becoming fainter in the background. She stopped at the end of the duct to catch her breath, dropping the pilfered item she had been clutching in her jaws.

It was a strange yellow-gold item, made from some sort of exotic metal, and shaped like a thunderbolt. To her eyes, it was nothing special, but there was a feeling she picked up from the stone, something she couldn't place and could not recall experiencing before.

She decided it didn't matter, and hastily reclaimed it with her jaws, racing out of the grate and running back towards her entry point. Unlike her arrival, she took a left upon leaving the grounds, and came to the end of the street. Potential alleyways, smelling delightful, marked the end of each block, but the rat Pokémon had a different destination in mind. Keeping her eyes on the street names, she soon stopped at one alley and slowly stepped within it.

Puddles of water glistened in the moonlight as she crept further down the alley, at last coming to what seemed to be a dead-end. She cast her dark eyes skywards, and saw the silhouette of a bird Pokémon, whose unblinking eyes were upon her. With a smirk, the Rattata dropped the stolen medallion. The bird blinked once and then let out a piercing call and took to the air.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and as she turned, the shadows seemed to take form until a bipedal silhouette stood before her, a cape of some sort fluttering behind it. Another step and the figure's features became apparent. Dark fur covered its body, and a blood-red feather, the same color as the figure's eyes, adorned its weasel head. Sharp claws glinted at the end of each paw, and the Sneasel wore a triumphant smile.

"RR, was it?" the Sneasel whispered, and the Rattata frowned.

"It's not pronounced 'Ar-Ar'," she muttered, but didn't elaborate. It was a common mistake, too common for her tastes. "I have what you sent me for. Now pay up," she insisted, kicking the thunderbolt medallion at the Sneasel's feet. The dark weasel stepped on the medallion to cease its motion, and his red eyes glinted.

"Well done," he breathed, reaching towards his waist where a small bag lay. With a casual flick of his claws, he severed the string and let the bag strike the ground with a melodious jingle, assuring the Rattata of many coins inside. "I may call upon your services in the future, RR," he said, using his foot to kick the medallion into the air and seizing it dramatically with his paw. In a similar motion, the bag of coins was kicked to the Rattata's feet. "Have a safe night," he said, turning.

As she looked down to seize her prize, the time that passed was enough for the Sneasel to vanish from the alley completely. This didn't bother her in the slightest, as she clutched the bag in her jaws and darted down the alley into the night.