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Heading back towards Cerulean City, James now had all he needed to handle the gym leader within the water-aligned gym. He explained his purpose and origins to Sarah the Lapras, revealing his true form to which she barely flinched at the sight of. She took everything in with a patient nod, learning quickly as she integrated into the team with little trouble, which surprised James and Kirie. Sarah also got along well with both Spike and Red, her older mindset and calmer tone counteracting neatly with the younger pokemon. Being as she was a water and ice-type pokemon herself, Sarah had a greater advantage and stronger defence against the Cerulean Gym's opponents then Red or Spike, as Kirie explained. The raptor trained with the lapras to witness what moves she had, all of which were incredibly powerful and unique. Her Water Gun attack was a strong deterrent in knocking back anyone, her ability to Sing a haunting melody could put any pokemon to sleep half the time, her ability to Body Slam was brutally strong with her weight, and lastly, she could cast a bewitching light known as Confuse Ray. The more he found out about her abilities, the more unnerved James was by the age and wisdom of the lapras, her body showing old minute scars within her blue rubbery flesh. In the few days they trained together however, she warmed up more towards the raptor, as well as having a particularly fond liking towards Red who she spoke regularly to. Within two days, James felt he was ready at last to obtain the second and hopefully final badge he needed before Kirie could reveal her mission. Stepping into the Cerulean Gym with three pokeballs and a haunter floating above him with disguise, the place was comfortably humid with warm water and several swimmers. The gym always seemed to be open to actual swimmers, but the main pool area had a rather unique-looking walkway that weaved its way across the very pool itself towards the gym leader herself. Short fair hair and wild turquoise eyes, she called out from the top of the lifeguard's chair at the other end of the gym, waving while wearing a white robe with blue lining. "HEY THERE! YOU HERE TO SWIM OR FIGHT?!" "I'M HERE TO GET A BADGE," cried out FG, "KNOW WHERE I CAN FIND ANY!?" "SURE DO! I GOT ONE RIGHT HERE, BUT YOU GOTTA GET THROUGH MY BUDDIES HERE BEFORE YOU CAN EVEN LOOK AT IT! THINK YOU GOT WHAT IT TAKES?!" "YOU KNOW IT GIRL, SEE YA IN FIVE MINUTES!" How confident of you. "Hey, with our new girl on our side," murmured James to Kirie, "this'll be a snap. Cold snap that is." Ho ho ho ho.

There were only two trainers actually in the way, a guy in the water and a girl out of it ready to face him down. James started with the swimmer, his goggles glaring up at him as he battled his way forwards. The swimmer had two pokemon, a cute blue seahorse typically named Horsea, and a large purple clam known as Shellder with its tongue sticking out, neither of which were particularly threatening to James' Lapras in physical terms. But they were rather annoying to deal with, the clam being able to shoot out Supersonic waves that dared to confuse Sarah, as well as a deadly Icicle Spear. To a normal water-type pokemon, this would be incredibly damaging. But the lapras was also an ice-type, and as such resisted the attack more strongly as she weaved her head clear through supersonic confusion to body slam the shellder. The horsea in turn was able to use Smokescreen, but was even less of a threat due to only being able to attack with weak Bubble shots. The girl who waited on dry land had only one pokemon, a Goldeen which resembled a beautiful red-and-white goldfish with a horn on its head. This fish was deceptively dangerous, since it also had the ability to emit supersonic waves to confuse Sarah, as well as drive forwards with a dangerous Horn Attack. But the lapras was quite a higher level, and as such had plenty more health and sturdy defence on her side to resist before pounding her body forth straight into the smaller fish, crushing it completely. After healing up his lapras with a potion or two, James now stood before the gym leader herself, who climbed down from the lifeguard chair with a smile on her face and a hand to shake. "I'm Misty, leader of the Cerulean City Gym." "James Campbell, pleased to fight you." "Haha, wow you're all fired up huh? But uh, that's not gonna do ya much good in a place full of water." "Iiiii think I can manage to not run out of steam." "Well, you sure managed to rock through here with just a lapras, but I hope she can handle my own two fighters!" Misty sweeped off her robe to reveal she was wearing only a bikini underneath, grinning confidently with bare feet firmly planted upon the poolside. James grinned as he stepped back onto the walkway, readying his pokeball as she readied hers. "Alright, let's do this! Staryu, GO!" "SARAH, LET'S GO!" As both pokeballs splashed into the water, the pool began to rock as the lapras stared down at her next opponent. A brown-coloured starfish, hard as rock with only a single gorgeously circular ruby set within a gold centre. "The hell?!" Ahhhh a Staryu, interesting. "Wh-what IS that?" Just your everyday starfish with a gem inside it. You might want to eliminate it in two moves or less before it can recover any missing parts. "It can HEAL too?! Whatever, Sarah, BODY SLAM!" "Staryu, Tackle!"

The two creatures of the sea clashed, starfish versus plesiosaur as the greater weight of Sarah plowed into the staryu despite his forceful tackle. His pointed parts helped in hurting the lapras somewhat as she grunted but with little damage done to her truly. Her power was certainly immense, and she used it without fail in repeatedly pulverising into the starfish. Unfortunately, as Kirie had warned James, the staryu had a way of prolonging the battle as Misty ordered: "Staryu, Recover!" The starfish did as was ordered and simply floated happily in the water to allow itself to heal up. Wounds and bruises started to disappear, limbs that had been bent by the weight of Sarah were now being refitted back to perfection. James was annoyed, but he wasn't going to let it perturb him as he said: "Sarah, Water Gun! Let's soften him up a li'l!" The lapras nodded and shot out a blast of water from her throat straight into the staryu, knocking it back into the water as Misty stepped up the game. "Not so fast there, Staryu, Water Pulse!" The starfish sunk into the water without fail and suddenly began to shriek out a powerful echo that while James could just barely hear, caused a huge surge of water to slam towards Sarah. The lapras cried out from the sudden force of a supersonic water blast, screwing with her mind as she shook furiously to shake off the confusion. Being a water attack, she was able to handle some of it better than most as James said: "Screw this, how about a song, SING FOR ME SARAH!" The lapras nodded and began to emit a haunting melody, crying out across the gym which further echoed the song with its acoustic design. The staryu, now resurfaced, began to turn drowsy as the melody played on, while Kirie conjured up some corks to stuff into her apparently-existing ears behind James. Finally, the starfish flopped forwards in the water, the song actually working on it. "HAH, now it's our turn!" "OH NO YA DON'T!" cried out Misty. "Staryu, return!" "H-huh?!" "Just need a little rest that's all, but don't worry! I got his friend for you to play with too! STARMIE, GO!" Appearing forth from her other pokeball was yet another starfish. This one however was far more intimidating, a deep purple colour with eight limbs and a beautifully-carved rectangular ruby in the centre. James had to wonder how such a creature could even exist naturally, but the alien design of it threw him off somewhat as he said: "Wh-whatever, Sarah, slam that body!" Not even waiting to attack, the lapras charged forwards with a surge of water before slamming hard into the purple starfish, who wordlessly flew back hard to crack against the poolside beneath Misty's feet. She gasped at such a brutal hit, already cracking some of its limbs before it floated back towards Sarah, awaiting orders sternly as Misty ordered: "You wanna play hardball huh!? Starmie, Water Pulse!"

The starmie deep-dived into the pool and readied itself to make a powerful shrieking blast from beneath the waves. Despite Sarah expecting such an attack, she was unprepared for the fact that this starfish was far more powerful than its unevolved cousin, crying out a horrendous supersonic wave that tore into the lapras' mind. Even worse was the fact that it dazed her badly, and she was losing her focus. "D-DAMMIT! Sarah, focus, come on, hit him again!" She did her best but she was clearly not able to, swimming haphazardly around the pool and bumping hard against the walkways and poolside. With no coordination and control, she was hurting herself more and more, and even worse was the fact that the starmie was eagerly tearing into her with fierce Rapid Spin attacks, twirling its entire body like a giant shuriken towards her. The speed it flew was hard enough to wound her, but not as bad as its other attacks had been able to. By the time Sarah managed to shake off her confusion, she was wounded badly, which James tried to amend with a potion in mid-fight before she was tackled hard by the fierce Starmie. Another attack, one known simply as Swift, was a powerful volley of star-shaped projectiles being formed from the crystalline centre, with each star tearing across Sarah's flesh powerfully hard. Despite taking the plentiful damage, she was not giving up, and readied herself for orders as James cried out: "D-dammit, BODY SLAM THAT BITCH HARD!" With as powerful a slam as she could, Sarah had enough, and tore into the starmie hard enough to slam it straight against the underside of the pool. Dragged by the undercurrent even after being bodyslammed in its crystal eye, the crushing blow between wall and lapras was enough to crack the ruby to a point. Misty gasped with surprise and fear as her starmie gently bobbed up to the surface, completely wiped out in one critical blow. "S-starmie, return!" James smiled as Misty threw out Staryu once again, the pokemon having recovered from its sleep-induced state and fighting fit for battle. "Wait, wasn't he asleep?!" "Natural Cure, just its regular ability to heal statuses whenever it's switched out." "Ohhhhh hohohoho you are devious, alright, fine, you still good Sarah?!" The lapras moaned tersely, struggling to hold on but still eager to fight despite getting rather winded. "Alright if you say so, BODY SLAM!" Despite Sarah doing her best to charge her weight forwards, both her age and repeating the attack over and over was starting to get to her, as she shoved hard against the staryu. While not taking it as bad as its evolved cousin, the starfish was still put on the ropes quite strongly before it emitted another powerful Water Pulse. This was to be the lapras' end, and James knew it as he tried one last move. "S-sarah, CONFUSE RAY!" Crying out weakly as the Staryu readied another Water Pulse, she hummed a strange melody to herself in an almost meditative trance. Moaning quietly in her weakened self, a terrible light began to radiate out of her mind, spiralling towards the Staryu just as one last pulsating force of the waves would wound her too much. As her head fell onto the tumultuous waves, splashing Misty while almost knocking James over into the water, the star-shaped creature was mystified by the light, making it spin as its pointed limbs drooped dumbly. Her body floated heavily upon the pool surface as she glared at James, as if to say "forgive me", but he only smiled at seeing the still-fighting but now confused opponent. "Sarah, return!" With his strongest chance now out of the ring, he looked over his other two choices trying to decide on who was the second-best chance. "...you got one chance to do this. RED, GO!" Bursting forth onto the walkway, the charmander looked around with a start as he saw water everywhere around him, freaking out at James. "CHAR! CH-CHAR CHARMANDER?!" "Sarah's out, you're my strongest guy after her!" "Ch-char! Charrrrmanderrrr!" "Red, come on, this is your chance! You conquered earth, now let's see you conquer the sea! STEEL CLAW!" But James, water-types are strong against- "JUST RIP HIM APART, YOU GOT THIS LI'L GUY!" Knowing he needed a strong hitter to finish the fight off, Red waited for the perfect opportunity to attack the confused starfish, watching it come closer towards him to try and freak him out. Misty grinned at seeing a potentially easy win, despite her pokemon's unfocused state before calmly commanding: "Staryu, Tackle! Don' get 'im TOO wet now!" The starfish readily jumped onto dry land, slamming its glistening body into Red who tore back with Steel Claw, countering with a brutal strike across the red crystalline centre. But true to Kirie's interruption, the water-based creature was more resistant than expected, and simply dodged back into the water with its most devastating move. "Staryu, WATER PULSE!" Another blast of a powerful wave, both supersonic and aquatic ready to come down on the trembling charmander. Knowing there was no escape, Red suddenly had a moment of clarity. He stood waiting with honest fear before the wave came down on him, charged with a sonic pulse that the moment it hit, would potentially screw his mind into a screaming noise. As the water slammed past him, the walkway cleared once more. Red remained standing, but only just. The water had doused him to the point of steaming hot, his tail flickering dangerously as he struggled to stay up on his feet, his body wanting to lay down. His eyes steeled themselves as his claws tightened harder. "R-red! You alright?!" "Char...ch-charmander." "Alright, let's finish this, pull out that Steel Claw and RIP HIS FACE OFF!" "CHAR!" With a sudden desperation infused into him, Red leapt forwards across the distance of water between walkway and poolside, scraping his claws across the water as he leapt past. Hitting the poolside, he wallkicked suddenly to slash hard into the staryu's backside, violently screeching his fury as the claws, while not super effective, were still able to wound it deep enough. The staryu's gem flickered with a spurting of energy, desperate to stay up before it struggled to float back towards Misty's feet. She knew the battle there and then was over, hurriedly crying: "Staryu, RETURN!"

As her pokemon was returned to its ball within a sweep of red light, James did the same with the charmander who sighed with a strange relief. But not before he smiled down at the lizard with a wink, saying: "See? Told you you were tough." "Ch-char...char." With a blushing rub of his neck, Red returned to his pokeball as James stepped forwards in victory, with Misty looking rather astonished once the battle spirit had left them. "Wow...I don't often see a fire pokemon do that sorta thing, especially not in my gym! Guess I gotta hand it to ya James, so I will! Here ya go, the Cascade Badge!" Receiving a badge shaped like a clear-blue teardrop, James accepted it gratefully and placed it in his satchel, smiling humbly as he tried not to whoop it up in front of her. "Thanks miss, I'm honoured." "Hahaha, why you so quiet?! Come on, whoop it up a little!" "I didn't wanna look like an ass was all!" "You beat me fair and square, that's what counts the most. With that Cascade Badge, pokemon up to level thirty, no matter where or who they're from, will obey you once in your party." "Wow really? ...huh...awesome, thanks miss!" "Good luck out there!" With an enthusiastic wink and a grinning V-sign of goodwill, she watched James leave as he made his way back to a Pokemon Center for healing up. With the two badges he needed now in his hand, Kirie could finally speak of her mission. But first, she wanted all of the team to hear this out in the open, so they healed up before finding a quiet spot outside of the city where no one would disturb them. Returning back to the river north of the Power Plant where James first arrived, James and his team spoke a little about their performance in the gym. "Sorry for not having you in on it Spike." "Bzzzt!" "I know I know, you wanna get all that rage on, but you'll get a chance to kick someone's ass, don't you worry. Red, you rocked today just as I knew you would. Sarah, you carried the whole damn match so we could win it. I mean, you pretty much destroyed everyone in that gym, or at least, ALMOST everyone so that's awesome." The lapras floated beneath a waterfall trying to relax, her loss stinging somewhat, but James' words of truth made her feel better about such. But then another event soon occurred that Kirie knew was coming up, which was why she delayed a little bit longer from telling of her plan. Red started to glow again with that wondrous strong light, which James groaned at: "Uuuugh Red, not again. You feel okay?" "...char." "Huh? Well...you want me to stop this, 'cause-" "Char!" "Huh?" "Charman...der." "What's he saying?" He says to not interfere. He wants to evolve this time. "Wait, seriously?!" After succeeding against a strong water-type, he feels he has truly earned his right to become stronger. It is with this victory in earning you the second badge, that he now feels confident enough to do so. "Hah, well...alright then Red, go for it!"

The team sat back and watched Red evolve, slowly becoming white with pure strength, a powerful radiance shining through from his body. James could see small changes already developing, such as the lengthening of claws and widening of feet, the head growing taller by a few inches or so. The tail snaked out a little more powerfully, the fire burning a little more brightly. As the transformation was complete, the light dissipated back into his being, revealing a whole new Red. The skin was now as red as a demon's, the young lizard standing taller at perhaps 4 feet tall, with a small prodding length streaking back from the top of his skull which had shifted to a more reptilian look. With longer arms, leaner body and sharper claws, Red certainly looked less adorable and more fierce than before. "...Red? That still you?" "Char." "Hah...wow. You look...badass." "Charmeleon." "Huh? ...you don't say charmander anymore." James pulled out his pokedex out of curiosity to scan Red's new form. "Charmeleon, a flame pokemon, number five. Possesses the ability "Blaze". Tough fights could excite this Pokémon. When excited, it may blow out bluish-white flames." "Awwwwwww yeaaaaaaaah, that's what I like to hear! Brofist!" Without even hesitating, both raptor and charmeleon bumped scaled fists together, chuckling as Red looked over himself with fascination for his new body. He certainly felt more powerful, and his eyes gleamed with a greater confidence around himself. Once he had gotten used to his new body, he sat down as Kirie gathered them together, speaking both in James' mind and to the pokemon by tongue and telepathy. It has been a week since James Campbell has arrived in this world. And as such, you who have been with him now know him to be a good master, so far that is. "Wow, thanks for the confidence vote." But I am sure that all of you are desperate to know what his mission here is truly. Now that we possess two badges in order to gain greater respect from those of this land, I can explain it to you clearly. Read this. Kirie handed James a newspaper, which he began to read aimlessly before she pointed more specifically towards an article, continuing onto the next page.

_Marowak Murder Case Brought Back From The Dead (cont. page 3)

The Marowak Murder Case of Lavender Town has been re-opened under further investigation that has brought new evidence to the police authorities. The case was the hotspot of Kanto into increasing awareness of the notorious Team Rocket, who traditionally only stole pokemon from their owners. Five years ago, a Marowak, as well as several Cubones, were murdered by Team Rocket in Lavender Tower, who violated the sacred cemetery in order to obtain the skulls of Cubones for personal profit. The Marowak, a female, died whilst protecting her young, while the criminals were forced out of the tower by both Mr. Fuji, a local carer, and an unknown young trainer. The case has been revived following new information, lead by Detective James Corck of Olivine City. "Team Rocket may have disbanded," said Corck in a public interview, "but that doesn't mean they are free of their crimes. We are following up several new leads, and we will find which of them exactly was responsible for this atrocity. There still exist several splinter cell groups, so I urge the public to stay vigilant, and to report any activities that may be suspicious to their proper authorities." If you have witnessed anything that may be connected to Team Rocket, please phone this number._

James' eyes slowly widened as it all started to fit together. He only truly comprehended it when he checked up on his Pokedex on what exactly a Marowak was. While he did not have the actual species' listed, the shadow of the uncollected creature was exactly as he remembered it. "...no." Yes. "She came from HERE?" That is correct. Five years ago, the mother that you faced in the Himuro Mansion was killed. But a young trainer, a true example of a pokemon trainer, had managed to spirit her away to the otherworld. Unfortunately, while her rage had been subdued, it only began to build again once she started to roam, before making her way towards the mansion like any lost soul would. Now, with this case reopened, she has returned, anxious to see her killer brought to justice. "So...that's why I'm here? That's the reason I was brought here?" Yes. "...wait...do you know someone called Twinsen?" No. She seemed honest, and he could detect no suspicion from her as he rubbed his head and sighed. He started to feel even more like a cosmic plaything of whoever was guiding his life, leaving him strange words within other people's mouths as nothing more than guiding points for his new journey away. From one home, and hopefully back to another. "So all this was leading up to me helping this poor mother." Not all of it, but since our meeting within the mansion, I knew this day would come. That is why I have been preparing you as such for the day when you will face her again. You must earn her trust, and allow her to give you what she knows about her killer. "But why me?! The police are on this case already, they reopened it and everything!" True. But they do not have your advantage. Your mission is now this. You must go to Lavender Town and meet with the Mother, earning her respect by both the power of your team, as well as your badges of merit. Once you obtain her trust by whatever means necessary, you will follow her instructions and track down her killer. Do NOT kill him yourself. This case must be exposed and ended within the public eye, so that all of this world knows who committed the crime. "So...wait, I have to help the police?" If you can yes, but be cautious. Too much information can make you a suspect too. "Heh, tell me about it. So anything I know reasonably, like say if I was an eyewitness or something, I can help." Exactly. You have nothing to fear from Detective Corck. He is a devoted and trustworthy member of authority. "Uhhhhh why you say that?" Let's be honest, you are most distrustful of any authority of any world, aren't you James? "I-...ehhhh yeah fine, okay-wait how do you even know what I'm like?" A spirit such as me can sense many things, my dear...hmhmhmhmhm... "Okay when you do that giggle, you are totally up to something." Perhaps...but for now, go see the Mother. I will accompany you of course, as will your team. Won't you? "Bzzt!" "Char!" Even the lapras joined in, humbly accepting this task now put before them with a tender moan. They were rather excited by the idea of tracking down a cold case, unravelling a murder mystery for the good of the world to reveal. James however did not share their enthusiasm. He had hoped he would not have to face her again, as he sighed rather heavily at such a meeting to come again. Kirie noted this, speaking discreetly into his mind. I know you are hesitant to face her once more. "I...I don't know how I can even begin to do this, Kirie." Think of it as this. You will finally be able to put her to rest. I felt back in that mansion your regrets of not being able to help her reunite with her children. This is your chance at last James. Wouldn't you want this? "...I...guess so. Alright. Let's do this, off we go to Lavender Town!"

"Was anything else stolen?" asked Corck. "No," said his witness, "just the contents of these crates." "I see. Do you have an invoice for this so we know what exactly was stolen?" "Yes I have the invoice here." Mrs. Pearl handed over a sheet of paper to the detective. The warehouse has been cordonned off over the entire morning after the incident, police tape wrapped around the crates as well as having diversions in the warehouse district outside, to redirect people away from the scene. Corck had gotten most of the particular details of the company from the delivery supervisor, the invoice detailing various fish that had been in the crates. The most noted of cargo however was that of magikarp bred specifically in carp farms for eating. Corck pocketed the invoice before asking for the final details he needed, looking over Mrs. Pearl's expression. Clearly she was angry, indignant at such a crime happening to her company as he asked: "Can you describe the intruder?" "Definitely," she said. "He had a white T-shirt and blue jeans, shocking red hair and fierce green eyes, vicious and cold...like a reptile." "Hmm, really? Anything else?" "He had a haunter with him, always floating around. Weirdly it didn't do anything or even attack me while he was stealing my stuff." "A haunter? ...interesting. Tell you what, you have the security videos here?" "Yep." "Good, we'll check 'em out an' get a good look on the perp's face, hopefully we'll get a facelift off it and track him down." "I hope you do sir. Punks like him need to be taught a lesson." "Agreed." Bidding her good day, he closed his notebook and pocketed it in turn, the crates being handled by several police officers to be placed separately for safe storage as evidence. Corck however checked around one of the crates in particular, noticing some wetter residue around the inside and pulling out a small dropper with a vial. Sneaking it into his pocket, one sniff of it in passing already made him suspicious as a familiar face headed up to him. John, the short-haired man from Corck's office, was escorted by a sizeable bird of four feet tall, with short beak and hair-like feathers of red and yellow draped down its back. "Pidgeot's checked the perimeter," he said, "no sign of forced entry anywhere." "You sure?" "Top to bottom. No broken glass, no forced doors, no swiped keys even." "Hmmm...then that means the intruder sneaked in while they were unloading, the tapes'll reveal that easily." "...you know something, don't you James?" "Hmm?" "I know that tone of yours, that's your "two steps ahead" tone." "Let's not be too hasty John, I didn't know there wasn't any forced entry until you told me." "Always glad to help." "I just know already the lad that was here."

John looked at him with a rather surprised expression. He expected him to be ahead a little bit of everyone but not by that much. "...really? Wow someone's quick this week." "Aye. But there's more to this story than we think. Some guy with a haunter around stealing crates from a warehouse can't be the same guy who stopped some Ex-Rocket thugs from stealing a little girl's vulpix." "Wait, wasn't that the guy you were speaking to a few days ago?" "Yep. Too much a coincidence, and he DID say he was going to Vermillion City." "Why?" "Said he was looking for a pokemon to help fight against Cerulean Gym...my guess is he found one, even if he didn't plan to." "...what do you think WAS in those crates?" "Something that was most definitely not magikarp. Magikarp are a fresh-water pokemon. This is salt-water, clearly. From inside the crate." He waved the vial softly at John, who looked at it curiously before replying: "This cargo came from Sinnoh right?" "Yes," said Corck. "I'll phone up the company branch they gave who handled the cargo, ask them how they handle it specifically for health and safety purposes." "Alright, where are they based?" "Canalave City." "Hmm...you think Martin can handle a little salty disposition?" "Well he's used to that isn't he?" "Haha, right." "I'll get the security feed before anything else then." "Right, and John? Get the full data from the original banks, not whatever they just give you. Just in case." "Don't have to tell me that James, don't worry...you doing okay by the way?" "Huh?" "Just, don't run yourself TOO ragged alright? We all wanna get this cleared up but there's no need to rush yourself." "I'll be fine, John. The fact this incident isn't even part of the case I'm working on-" "I know, I know, you're just trying to help. Come on, after we check this place out, there's a coffee shop I wanna try a few blocks away. My treat." "Alright, see ya in a bit." With a smile John left, taking his pidgeot with him towards the security office as Corck gently examined the floor around where the crates originally were. Some occasional marks here and there were suspicious, causing him to bring out his trusted canine. "Dante, come out!" Surging forth from the pokeball was the hound of hell, a Houndoom to be exact. The black-bodied doberman-like beast waited sternly for orders. "Sniff out this area specifically, from that tape there to the wall over there." Dante nodded with understanding before sniffing out across the floor, taking his time with nose low to the ground as his red eyes pierced for every crucial detail. Eventually, after only a minute or two of super-scentwork, the hound growled at something rather suspect as Corck walked over. "What is it?"

The dog did not bark, simply growling at something in particular in order to not draw attention to them. He noted one particularly minute patch of black ash, which Dante demonstrated by walking a small distance away and breathing out a small dose of his Smokescreen to indicate what it was. "...huh. So someone used that attack hmm? Easy enough for a getaway...hold on now...that lad with the haunter had a charmander didn't he? ...hmmm...need to see the security footage first before anything solid." He had his Houndoom return to his pokeball before discreetly picking up a tiny portion of the black ash he had found. Farther away from the scene of the crime, the city itself even, the police were being watched by said lad with haunter and charmander. A red-haired man with green eyes peering desperately from afar, with binoculars he had borrowed from a store. "God dammit," murmured James, "how the hell we gonna get through to Lavender Town now?" Why did you not give the Lapras over to the police? "Because it's my word against a seemingly-legit delivery company, who could easily turn me into a thief of oh I dunno, exotic animals or some shit?" You do not know that. "Well I've been in plenty situations where that exact kind of thing happened, so I'd rather be stealthy and avoid delaying your mission any longer. What other routes are there?" There is the Rock Tunnel east of Cerulean City- "Alright, perfect!" Which is extremely petrifyingly dark and is impossible to navigate without the Flash ability. "Pfft, so what, I can light the place up with fire." No, you won't. It is VERY dark in there. You need a far more powerful light than anything you can ever possibly create. "Ugh, fine. What else?" Saffron City has a route leading east of it that shall lead us to Lavender Town. "Perfect, alright time to get out of here." Swiftly sneaking away, James made his way north with his group and readied himself to enter Saffron City. Personally, his only solace was that he had no more reason to toughen up his pokemon for anymore arduous gym leader battles, allowing him to focus on an even bigger problem ahead. Kirie silently shared these thoughts, now all the more worried for how her new ally would handle this.