ITT: We are all Pokémon Trainers

Excess Express

Alouette:<Hmm...>

-nodnod-

<Zen our first task is to find ze soup pot!>

Cass:...<You're getting into this...aincha Al...>

Excess Express

Pennington: <Well, at the risk of being immodest, I have a nose for these things.>

<And such a case is no challenge... to me.>

<After all, the most important clue in this case is that the culprit took the entire stew, pot and all.>

<With this, I have already determined that the culprit...>

-He points at a certain Lampent in the crowd-

<Is YOU, gluttonous woman!>

Excess Express

-The Lampent in question squeaks at suddenly being called out-

Vivian: <M-me? Nonono, I-I didn't touch it, I swear!>

Excess Express

Pennington: <Erm... yes. My apologies, my dear lady.>

<I feel I needed to practice my accusation skills, you see.>

Excess Express

Vivian: <...I think your social skills need more practice than your accusation skills...> >_>

Excess Express

-Cass snickers-

'Alouette:<Hm.>

Excess Express

Honchcrow: <Okay, so pretty much all we know is the stew used to be here and now it's not?>

Pennington: <More or less.>

Honchcrow: <Any other clues you might have noticed?>

Pennington: <Not a single one!>

Mossdeep

-Ever is watching Breeze and the Fennekin argue-

I should be getting to Sootopolis...

Excess Express

-If someone would look around the dining cart, they might notice small brown stains on the carpet-

Thanks to Moon for spagging this with me.

Mossdeep City

Shun is wandering through the city with Gregson at his side, keeping a keen eye out for unusual happenings as always. Passing by him is Sakura, being accompanied by Seth as they were just having a casual conversation.

"Hard to believe a kidnapping happened in our team without me hearing anything about it," says Sakura, walking with her hands behind her head and looking up with a rather thoughtful expression on her face.

"<Considering how many people are in that group I would be amazed if you keep track of everything that's going on.>" says Seth.

"Good point. Doesn't help that Teishi wrecked my phone..." she sighs.

Shun stops as he overhears the two, opens his mouth to say something about the kidnapping, then closes it again as he realises that something far stranger just happened in front of him.

"...Are you talking to your Scizor?" he asks incredulously.

"<And more to the point, did you understand his reply?>" adds Gregson.

The duo stop in their tracks and turn to face Shun and Gregson.

"Yes," says Sakura, nodding at Shun then looking at Gregson, "...and yes." She smiles playfully.

Shun and Gregson both blink in unison.

"May I ask how?" Shun says, seemingly struggling to maintain his nonchalant attitude.

"<I'd ask the same question, but I don't know if the answer would be good for his health,>" Gregson adds.

Sakura rubs the back of her head with one hand. "It's a pretty long explanation I'd have to give you, I'm afraid. But it pretty much boils down to magic."

"<It'll probably be better for you two if you don't ask for further details.>" says Seth.

Shun blinks again.

"Magic," he says disbelievingly.

"Yeah, I knew you wouldn't buy that one. If you want the more logical sounding answer then let's just say I was taught how to speak with Pokémon by a friend."

"I see." Shun folds his arms. "Well, I am a detective. I have time for a longer explanation, assuming you're willing to provide one."

Sakura looks at Seth, who just shrugs at her, before going back to Shun.

"I... I'd rather not. Besides, I don't think the others would be too happy with me spreading word like that."

Shun leans against a nearby tree and raises an eyebrow.

"Is the information really so dangerous that you're unwilling to trust me with it?"

"I wouldn't say it's dangerous, but it's something that's better kept hidden I'd say. Sorry, I don't think I should tell you, but don't worry, it's not anything illegal or whatever. I'm a Pokémon Ranger myself so you could say that I'm already pretty in touch with Pokémon," she giggles.

"<Man, detectives sure are nosy,>" says Seth.

"<Yeah, it's kinda his job. Though someone really ought to teach him the difference between a conversation and an interrogation,>" Gregson says.

Shun, meanwhile, looks at Sakura as if seeing her in a new light.

"You're a Pokemon Ranger?" he asks, then bows his head. "Forgive me if I came across as somewhat patronising earlier. I was unaware that we worked in similar fields. My mother was a Pokemon Ranger before she joined the International Police, in fact."

"Is that so? Well, I'm not quite a ranger anymore. I quit, nothing against the job but it just didn't feel like it was the right thing for me, you know." She looks rather thoughtful. "So, were your parents your inspiration for your detective career?"

Shun's expression is hard to read, but he seems hestiant as he responds.

"...Yes," he says. "They were."

"... Were, huh." Sakura gives Shun a look of slight pity.

"<A lot of people we meet seem to have problems with dead parents,>" says Seth, rolling his eyes

"'You're so abusing the fact he can't hear you..." Sakura thought.

Gregson glares at Seth.

"<Hey asshole, just because you've seen it all before doesn't make it any easier for the people that have to deal with it.>"

Shun takes a deep breath and looks back up, doing his best to maintain his indifferent demeanour.

"It happened several years ago. They were heading to Jubilife City through Mt Coronet when they were caught in a landslide. I wasn't there, but my brother was with them. He told me everything he could remember whilst I was staying with him in the hospital. It couldn't have been an accident, no matter what the official investigation might've said. All the evidence I have suggests that someone wanted them dead. So I set out on my career with the intention of finding out who. That's why I became a detective - because that was the one case I wanted to solve, more than any other."

Sakura seems to be taken aback by Shun's story, staying in silence for some time before speaking up again.

"Well... If you want any help with that case, feel free to ask me. I might not be part of the International Police, but I'm not one to leave someone without help when I think I can do something." She smiled warmly.

"<Yeah, right... Sorry about that one,>" says Seth, sincerely.

Sakura then pats Seth on the head a bit "You poor insensitive thing," she thinks.

Gregson remains unmoved, whilst Shun gives Sakura a rather morose smile in return.

"Thank you, but I doubt there is much you - or indeed anyone - can do to help. The International Police made it very clear to me early in my career that they have no interest in reopening cases that were declared closed years ago. My own investigation has turned up no leads whatsoever. I have no intention of giving up whilst their murder remains unsolved, but I learnt some time ago that I can do more good bringing closure to others than trying in vain to find some for myself."

"Well, lucky for you I'm not one to give up either. Two heads think better than one even if I'm not a young prodigy like you. Even if the chances of me being of help are small, I still want to give it a shot." She chuckles a little. "Trust me, I've dealt with low odds before."

"<And some really messed up things as well.>" says Seth, with a chuckle.

"<Everything's a joke to you, isn't it?>" Gregson says, his tone making it unclear whether he's being sarcastic or aggressive.

"As have I," Shun says in reply to Sakura. "I've never been faced with a case I can't solve. I don't intend for this one to be my first."

"<It's not a joke, far from it. You have no idea what both of us went through.>" Seth sighs. "<It's in the past though, we both moved on and everything is fine now.>"

"How long have you been at this job anyway?" asks Sakura, raising an eyebrow.

"I've been developing my investigative skills for most of my life. My work with the International Police only began when I was thirteen, however," Shun replies.

Gregson looks skeptically at Seth, but says nothing.

"So you're at this for just about one year? I wonder how many cases you've taken part of in this window of time."

"Several. If you have any doubts about my experience, I can assure you that a year is sufficient time to familiarise oneself with the proceedings," Shun says. "Most of the cases I investigated as I was starting out were straightforward affairs, quickly resolved. I suspect my assignment to such cases was deliberate. No doubt my superiors didn't feel comfortable taking the kiddie gloves off until I demonstrated that I didn't need someone holding my hand."

"Well, you have to admit that it's hard not to be skeptical when you have someone that young trying to take part in something as big as the International Police. I don't doubt you, really, but it's easy to see why others would."

Shun snorts.

"Given what I've seen of my fellow inspectors, exclusively hiring preteens would probably raise the standards of the entire organisation."

Sakura blinks "... Well, aren't you confident."

Shun shrugs. "I have reason to be."

"I assume you do. So... Have you figured anything about what happened to your parents that could be useful?"

"Not yet, no," Shun sighs, shaking his head. "There is plenty to suggest that their murder was orchestrated, yet nothing to indicate who. I tried looking into the last case they were investigating before they died. Everyone involved is either dead or impossible to contact. Their job made them a lot of enemies, but none with the means or motivation to have them killed."

"Hm... Well, that makes it a lot harder..." Sakura stops to think for a bit. "...Well, I guess we'll have time to work on this together. That is, if you're willing to allow me to help you." she smiled.

Shun gives a faint smile in return.

"I can see no reason not to. That said, the very nature of the case means that even a combined effort will struggle to solve it... but I appreciate your offer."

"All right. Will you be staying at the city for some more time?"

"Most probably, yes." Shun pulls out his notebook, scribbles his number down on one of the pages, then tears it out and hands it to Sakura. "If you ever urgently need to contact me, you can do so on this number."

"All right!" She cheerfully takes the paper. "I'll see you later then. I'll be hanging around the Pokémon Center most of the time if you need me. I'd give you my number but my phone is kinda busted right now." She giggles.

"Noted. I suspect that we will be seeing more of each other over the coming weeks. So until our next meeting, I shall bid you goodbye."

He turns and begins to walk away, Gregson giving Seth a parting glance before following behind. Sakura waves as he goes and so she and Seth start going on their merry way.

edited 2nd Aug '15 1:48:17 PM by Herbert40k

Mossdeep - two days ago

-Herb is hit for a fair amount of damage-

Herb: <Yeow!>

Jack: I think you know what to do. :P

Herb: <Right.>

-Herb rears up on his hind legs and brings his full weight down on the ground, causing shockwaves to move out in all directions-

edited 2nd Aug '15 2:07:43 PM by BaconManiac5000

Mossdeep, past

Crash:<Crapcrapcrapcrap!>

-Jump dodge! Still gets hit a little though.-

Jason:Fire Fang.

-Burny flinchy chomp!

edited 2nd Aug '15 3:25:38 PM by Skyzerk

Mossdeep - two days ago

-Herb winces in pain-

Jack: Come on, Herb, you got this!

Herb: <Easy for you to say.>

Mossdeep, past

-Fang!-

Jason:Keep it up, Crash!

Mossdeep - two days ago

-Herb is hit once again and retaliates with Earthquake-

Mossdeep, past

-Crash takes the hit, hangs on in the red, and Fire Fangs again-

Mossdeep

-Earthquake again-

Mossdeep, past

-And down goes Crash-

Crash:@_@

Jason:Well...ya did what you could. Aryn?

-He sends out the Pidgeotto-

Aryn:<Harken to me, fair winds of fortune!>

-Air Slash-

Mossdeep

-Herb is hit, going down to about half health-

-he responds by stamping his foot on the ground, sending stones shooting up at the bird-

Mossdeep, past

-Dodge!-

Ayrn:<Resilient, are you?!>

-He puffes out his chest plumage.-

<Let's see how long thou last!>

Mossdeep

Herb: <......whaa....>

-tosses leech seeds at the Pidgeotto-

<Take that, all three of you!>

Mossdeep

-Aryn is seeded!-

-But he uses Defog-

Mossdeep Hotel TS

Santiago: When I was 16 years of age... We - as in all 9 of my immediate family - moved from our little home in [Puerto Ángel], [Oaxaca] to Castelia City, Unova because papa managed to get a job working for a construction company there. It was a big change of scenery, and I would be lying if we didn't feel... out of place, per see. But we had each other, and our community, so we never were truly alone.

Then, when I was 18, my parents were out one night. It was raining... and their breaks were faulty...

He trails off for a while.

Santiago: Then it was just the seven of us. Abeulita, Abeulito my sister and my four younger brothers.

Mossdeep

Herb: <Ha, you think that will do anything?!>

-he trips and falls on his face-

<ow>

Mossdeep

edited 2nd Aug '15 5:16:44 PM by rmctagg09