Welcome to Gaia! ::

(Just be warned, I've never read a crime novel or seen any real old style crime shows. Just the parodies.
The following story contains bad swears. Babies beware.)

Chapter 1

I watch the officers nearby look me over as I stood in line. There were four others aside from me lined up. The Chief was pacing back and forth, watching us to see if we would move. We were standing there for twenty minute already in the silence. I was getting sick of staring at the blank white wall with nothing on it but a clock. Not even a nice clock, it was one of those office supply four number clocks, like a compass. Still had a second hand on it though. After standing there for so long I'll never forget that. One of the other guys coughs and the Chief instantly glares at him. The guy farthest from him wiggles a bit, happy to be able to move without drawing attention.
I was sick of standing around. I reached into my pocket and pulled out a cigarette. Everyone watches as I light it and blow a relaxing cloud of smoke into the air. Back then I was just a punk, no respect for anyone. Half an hour was too long for this bullshit, I thought. I had known the Chief for a few years already and knew how to press his buttons. And after a half hour of standing there I wanted to play him like an arcade machine.
"Birdland!" He growls that oh so familiar snarl. "What do you think you're doing?!"
I looked at him. He had short brown hair that was gray on the sides and a thin scar leading up to his left ear. There was a decent chunk of his left earlobe missing. Darken was never good with a knife. He had a buttoned up blue sky blue shirt on, sleeves rolled up to the elbows. He was wearing beige slacks with suspenders. He loved looking the part.
"I'm sick of this waiting s**t." I responded to him. I was such a punk back then. Probably still am now, but more so back then. "I know these streets better than anyone. Just put me out there and I'll do whatever you need done." I was eager to get out there and start scoping the area. Five years had passed since that fateful night and all I could do was pray there were still some clues left somewhere.
The Chief walks over and snatches the smoke from my mouth. He puts it in his mouth, takes a deep breath and blows a large puff of smoke into my face. "You do what I say, Bird. You go out there when I say you go out there. You eat when I say you eat. You sleep when I say you sleep. You s**t when I say you s**t, got that?" He drops the cigarette onto my foot and heel-twists it out. "Now clean that up and meet me in my office in ten." He then stomped off, leaving us rookies with the other officers.
"Looks like you really pissed him off." The female newbie standing to my right says. I bend down and pick the squat smoke off the floor and brush the mess off my shoe.
"It's not like that's hard to do. Besides, now we're not stuck standing here." I respond and glance at the experienced officers. They have been giving me nasty looks since I arrived. No surprise, I'm pretty sure I dumped one of their brothers in a dumpster sometime. p***k spilled a drink on my shoe and laughed. The Deputy Chief, Darren, walks over after grabbing a cup of water from a nearby cooler. He burns a hole through my head with his eyes the entire walk. I turn to the woman, noticing she had rather nice long, dark hair. Her almost neon blue eyes stood out in contrast to her dark tanned skin. I think her name was Jenna, I don't really remember. "That's the guy you really have to watch out for." I whispered.
"Not them, just you." Darren snips. I should've spoke quieter. "I don't know why you're here, but I don't buy this new leaf bullshit." We were both the same height so his glare met my eyes rather easily. He has silvery-red hair, or did, he's probably gone gray now thanks to stress. He looked to be about 30. He had dark brown almost black eyes.
"I don't care what you think." I say, lighting up another smoke. "I'm not here to impress you."
Darren swipes the smoke from my mouth and dunks it in his water. He then places it back into my mouth. "Well you better start trying. I'm not pulling you out of some gutter. I'm your ******** boss now, and you better believe I'm going to work you. I'm going to work you so hard you quit or die and I hope for the latter." He's actually a nice guy when you get to know him or so they say.
"Whatever. I've got to meet Chief Stone in his office, I don't have time for this." I say, brushing past Darren. I drop my wet sopping cancer stick in a nearby trashcan and make my way to the Chief's office. I almost bump into three or four people on the way. The hallways were bustling and crowded as I passed offices. Goldenrod was not a nice city back then. Not sure if it is now, I haven't been back since... Well you'll see. They all gave me strange looks, probably wondering how someone so young managed to make it on the force so quickly. Even to this day I'm not sure how. I was 18 at the time, 15 when I joined the academy. I worked my a** off to get in, I had to and the sooner the better.

I knocked and walked into the Chief's office. He motions for me to shut the door and I do.
"Sit, Jake." He says and glances at his chair before looking back at his computer. I looked around his cliched office. The light wooded trim around the peachy white walls. The dark green carpet and great view of the bustling city out the window. For only 4 floors the building seemed a bit high. I sat down on a chair in front of his fancy mahogany desk and looked over at the bowl of candy he had on the desk. "No, you can't have any."
I reach into my pocket to grab my smokes.
"No you can't smoke." He says bluntly.
"If I don't get a ******** smoke soon I'm gonna kill somebody." I responded quickly.
"Do it then, you'd save me a lot of problems." Stone sighed and grabs a put out cigar from a thick glass ashtray beside him. He reaches into his desk and pulls out a matchbook. He picks one, strikes it and puffs on the cigar to get it lit. I cringe a bit as I catch a whiff of smoke. Man did I really need one.
"I'll be honest, I didn't think I'd be seeing you again, kid. Not like this anyway." He blows a bit of smoke out of his nose while he stares at the screen. "A record setter I hear."
"I had to be. I want on that case." I say bluntly. I think there was a bit of anger in my eyes. I wasn't going to take no for an answer.
"I can't do that kid, you know that. Besides the case was closed a year ago. I had Darren and the few others on it. We turned this city upside down so much I thought it would evolve into a Malamar." I didn't get the joke at the time. I left Goldenrod once and that was to bunk at the academy so foreign Pokemon were unknown to me. Although to this day it still isn't funny.
"But Ch-" I was quickly interrupted.
"A cop and his entire family are killed by their daughter who then is killed in prison. Of course I did some digging myself." There is a pained look in Chief Stone's eyes. "I spent hundreds of hours crawling over the evidence, Bird. It was Martin Louinski who set it up, you have to accept it."
My fists clench and my teeth grind. I know it wasn't Martin. That stickly sneaky b*****d could con anyone but he could never convince Marie to kill her family, depression medication or not.
"Jake, Johnathan was my best officer and a good friend. If I wasn't certain Martin set Marie up I'd still be out there myself. We believe he used a psychic Pokemon influence. She was declared innocent... What more do you want?"
She was declared innocent 2 days after her murder. She was only sentenced for a month before that. It all just seemed to convenient.
"I know it all seems to add up to something larger but it doesn't." The Chief adds like he was reading my mind. Although I'm sure it was my expression he was reading. "The woman that killed Marie had no connections to the Canaglia family. I know you're determined to find a connection but it's just a coincidence."
By now I was getting sick of listening to excuses so I decided to take no for an answer. "Alright, just give me a chance to take everything in." I say grabbing a smoke and lighting up. Seems Stone was going to allow me the pleasure, guess he just wanted me to calm down. I wasn't going to give up though. As soon as I could hit the streets I'd keep my ears open and eyes peeled... Just wish I didn't have to wear the uniform.
Chief Stone watches me as I inhale. "I'm glad to see you wising up. You were a rough case and I always thought you were going to end up dead in some crack house."
"Come on, you know I don't do crack." I stayed away from hard drugs and psychedelics. The baddest ******** I ever met died 'cause the Canaglias found him on a trip. No way was I going down like that.
"I meant that you would've went to collect at the wrong time. If it weren't for you, Papa Fly would still be on the streets... I'll never get over that stupid name."
Papa Fly was the narcotics maker for my old gang the Golds. I know Golds was short for something but after awhile it wasn't used anymore. Papa Fly preferred to be called a Narcotic Designer. Said it was a much nicer title than drug dealer.
"A lot less drugs on the streets now." I respond. I remember hitting at least 10 dens a week to collect pay. We ran most of the city before the Canaglias moved in and I sold everybody out. "Anyway I assume you didn't call me in here to stroll down memory lane?"
"No. I just called you in to let you know how things are going to be." Chief Stone stamps out his cigar. "A lot of the guys around here think you're too young to be doing this. They're worried you'll hold them back. The others are angry because of your past." That's understandable. I'd have stabbed just about anyone here without a second thought before and have probably tried.
I blow out one final cloud of smoke before putting my cig out in the ashtray.
"I'll be giving you a lot of the tough s**t to do. Just keep going like you did during the academy... But remember, it's a different world on the street."
"Yeah I know." I respond and stand up.
"Go find Steve and he'll give you some paperwork to do. You'll be out on the streets next week so get ready.. And get yourself a Pokemon with a priority move or you'll get ******** out there."
I open the door and leave the office, ready to finally experience the fruits of my labour.

Chapter 3

"You can't do this Jake!" Darken yells at the 15 year-old me, his red eyes glowing in the dark. They glow was bright enough to reflect a bit off of his shaggy pitch-black hair. His voice forcing volume to drown out the sirens in all directions. "You son of a b***h! You can't do this."
I stare twenty feet down the alley at the 17 year-old Darken. I hold a Pokeball in my hand and can see the faint orange glow of my own eyes in the reflection. "Get away while you can Darke! You don't need to get involved in this!"
"You're turning your back on the Golds for some stupid rich girl and her family!" He yells back to me as he reached into his pocket for a Pokéball. I still remember the shabby ripped up white muscle shirt he was wearing. It was speckled with blood as were his sagging blue jeans.
I yell as I throw the Pokéball. In a flash of light a furious Nidoking appears, practically foaming at the mouth. It looks around, agitated, and snarls. The Pokemon is covered in a lot of scarred gashes and cuts. "... I don't want this life anymore Darke. Marie's murder is too much."
"You ******** coward! You would take us all down with you?!" Darken tosses a ball and a Sandslash appears. This Pokemon is also covered in scars and is rather fidgety.
"I'll do anything to get the Canaglias, Darke... Why can't you just back-off?! The Golds are done Darke! There's nothing left for you here!" I yell at the top of my lungs. Why won't he just leave?!
"You're wrong! This... Goldenrod is the only thing we have! How could you turn on your family like this!?" Darken was really shaken up. His voice was quivering as if he were fighting with reality. "After everything that happened you're just going to throw it away?!"
"......" I stared Darke in the eyes. I didn't want to attack him, he's like- no he IS my brother. My hands were shaking more than his voice. It had been a long time since I felt this scared. But the memories flashed in my mind. The pictures of Marie's ravaged body, the corpse of a Pokemon that had jumped in to save me. Johnathan's silly triangle shades... I was too far to turn back now. As the sirens grew closer I decided it was best to act quickly. I begin walking towards Darke, planning to go past him. If I could avoid any serious conflict I could start my new life happy. But my luck wasn't about to change any time soon.
"Slasher Slash!" Darke cries. The Sandslash reacts quickly and lunges towards Bruiser. Bruiser is hit and stumbles back, almost landing on top of me. I jump back a few feet.
Darke is silent. He just glares with his glowing eyes. Now I know the chill our victims had experienced. "Again Slash! Kill Bruiser!" He yells.
Those two Pokemon had grown up around each other just as Darke and I. But they weren't right in the head. After all the torture and abuse they would probably kill their own children without a second thought.
"Ice Punch!" I shout in retaliation. I'm not losing here.
Bruiser takes a swing at Slasher but Slasher ducks under his arm. He extends his claws but misses Bruiser and ends up behind ******** Bruiser, kill Jake! Cut his ******** head off!" Darken roars, holding back tears.
I remember freezing in surprise. I didn't think Darke would ever order such a thing. The Pokemon approached quickly and I jump back at the last second. I feel a hard steel like edge hit just below my eye. It then glides along my face, tearing the skin as it goes. If I has jumped back any sooner I'd be dead or without a nose.
I scream in pain as I place a hand on my face. The pain was intense, enough to distract me from the attacking Pokemon. I look up from my blood soaked hand to see Slasher raise an arm and charge at me. I knew I couldn't react in time.
In my surprise, two large purple arms appear behind the Pokemon. The thick purple hands close in around Slasher's head and the claws grip. With a swift snap Slasher drops lifeless in front of me. I look up to see Bruiser growling. I don't think I will ever understand why Bruiser saved my life that day. After passing him around to other gang members like a weapon. After having him kill for me to make it seem like a random Pokemon attack. After all the terrible things I had done to him he still saved my life.
Bruiser turns to see Darken who was now pale. Before he could even say a word Bruiser was after him. The Pokemon takes a large swing at Darke, making a massive cut on his face and knocking him down. Before Bruiser can attack again I recalled him and ran past Darke, hoping he could make it away from the cops in time. Hoping he'd be the only Golds to make it away from the cops.


I splash water on my face and run my hands through my jet black hair. I look at my scar in the mirror and run my thumb down it. My hangover had basically past but I had bigger problems. It seemed that some Golds who escaped that night we reforming and gaining momentum, even enough to agitate the Rockets.
I hate the Rockets, the pawns of the Canaglias. But I hate the Canaglias more. It was they who had Johnathan's family killed. They who tore our family apart and it would be them who would pay for it; in blood. For Rodney, Papa Fly, Marie, Johnathan, Darke, Slasher, every Golds member, my own personal revenge... I don't even care. I just want them dead and buried.
I look up at the mirror to see my eyes glowing bright. I light up a smoke and take a deep breath, watching the light from my eyes fade. I needed to stay calm and professional. I needed to keep this job. It's much easier following a trail when you have access to all the clues.
"What happen, you fall in?" Morgan asks as I exit the bathroom. I take a long drag off my smoke.
"Some partner you are. Where was the backup?" I say with a chuckle, doing my best to take my mind off the coming endeavor. We decided to head to the training range out back for a bit. I needed to get used to Glock's style of battling as well as Morgan's. We were going to be partners for the upcoming job. They had tracked the members to an area between Celadon and Saffron city. Being connected by the Magnet Train allowed the Kanto and Johto police to often work together and since the Golds were from Johto we were to help out the Saffron police.

"So they're smuggling GOODs, huh?" I ask, going over the file as the train moves along the track.
"Yeah. Apparently they've been applying pressure to the nearby Rockets and fights have broken out as well. It's believed their smuggling is bringing in enough money to fund their campaign." Morgan remarks as he polishes his Weavile's Pokeball.
"Well if it's from the same manufacturer of the GOODs they used to get then it's no surprise." I respond and shut the file. "That's dangerous stuff to be going around. Especially if there's enough for them to be getting confident enough to take on the Rockets."
Morgan puts the Pokeball away and pulls out another. "Big Tooth." He says to me as he lifts the ball up a bit.
"Still got 'em huh? Keep him trained?" I ask with a smirk. I then grab a magazine beside me and start reading. It was a small catalog of Pokemon hold items. I began looking over the evolution hold ones.
"Absolutely. He's saved my life dozens of times on the force alone." Morgan smiles down at the ball. He and his Feraligatr had been through a lot.
"Hmm when do you think I should evolve Glock?" I ask Morgan. My Scyther already knew Quick Attack but Bullet Punch would be a better priority. Scizor in general is a beast that would be a great asset on my team, especially with two Pokemon weak to psychic.
"Whenever you want. Whenever you or he is ready." Morgan begins polishing Big Tooth's ball. "That's what being a trainer is about, y'know. Just understanding Pokemon."
I didn't fully agree with that but since the train was coming to a stop I didn't really have time to argue. "Seems like we've arrived." I say and light up a smoke. Morgan nods and we stand up once un-boarding begins. We head to the Police Station immediately after getting off the train, even though I could really use a coffee. Thankfully they had a coffee machine there. To my dismay they had run out of coffee that morning.
"So around 1:00 am there will be a drop-off of GOODs somewhere outside Celadon." The Saffron Police Chief briefs the two. "We called you two in because you know the gang the best. You know what we're dealing with. These GOODs are relatively new to Kanto and we're not sure how to deal with them."
I nod to Morgan and he stands up to brief everyone on the GOODs, why they're worth so much and how much of a danger to Kanto they could be.
"Any idea if they're onto you?" I ask the Chief. "Do they know they're being watched?"
The Chief shakes his head. "They're not making any any changes to their movements or strategies. We believe they're too focused on the Rockets to deal with local authorities."
Morgan nods slowly and looks at me. "What do you think?"
"I think if something goes down with the Rockets today then we're being mislead." I say bluntly. "The GOODs profits are worth losing a couple guys for. So if or when they start s**t with the Rockets is when the GOODs will be transferred."
"Distracting both Rockets and local authorities." Morgan adds.
"It's something Golds used to do all the time. Although it was more of a game. Damage the enemy and make a profit. Win the gang war and get a bit of territory as well." I shrug. "So keeping a few eyes open for trouble would be a good idea."
"Although we can't stop it. If we interrupt the Rocket/Golds gang fight the deal will be off and we'll be up the creek for tracking the maker."
I go quiet as Morgan informs them of the operation. I had a good idea as to where the GOODs were coming from. and if I was right then I knew who was making them.
After about an hour of discussion it would seem I was being posted in Celadon and Morgan in Saffron. I'm not sure why I had a bad feeling about it but I was feeling wary.
I patrolled around a few blocks, noting just how prominent the Rockets were in the city. I couldn't go a few blocks without seeing a uniform. How could the cops just let the Rockets walk around like this?
I stop at a corner store to pick up some smokes when I see something in the corner of my eye. My stomach drops as I pay for my items, hoping what I saw was wrong. When I go to see if I was right the man I thought I saw had left. I leave the store and light up a smoke. I burn through it quickly as I patrol around. I chain-smoke as I wander around looking for what I saw. I'd have rather seen Darke or.. whatever. Just as I was about to give up I spot what I was searching for.
A man with slick platinum hair in a white rocket uniform. He had douchebag metaphorically written all over him. Slick-backed hair, popped collar, a*****e swagger; the works. It was what he was wearing that almost sent me into a blood-rage. On his face were a pair of black triangle shades. The tip of the right corner was cracked and a small piece was missing. He heads inside the Game Corner. I reach down for Bruiser's ball, ready to tear the entire place apart. I march furiously towards the Game Corner before my radio goes off.
"Bzzzzt - We have confirmation - Bzzzt - All personal to block off the tunnel entrances to Celadon and Lavender - Bzzzt - I repeat -"
I shout a curse as I ponder what to do. Do I go after the man wearing Johnathan's special sunglasses or do I follow orders? I grip Bruiser's ball tightly, grinding my teeth as I glare at the Game Corner. Every fiber of my being wanted to burst through the door and rip that guy's head off. But I knew I'd get another chance. If I screw up my job now I probably won't get anywhere. I light up another smoke, having bit clean through the last one. I put Bruiser's ball away and begin making my way towards the tunnel. Time to finally put the Golds behind me.

Chapter 5

"The Canaglias are bad news." Marie says to me as I take a bite of my burger. I convinced her to come on a date with me to a local burger joint. Well she kept saying it wasn't a date. "My Dad's been busting them for awhile. A lot of crooked cops work for them too."
"I see." I saw before I munch down on some fries. They were just fellow criminals so it was no big deal. As long as the wheels are greased everything will be fine. "Well I'm not worried. Nobody ******** with us."
"Not yet. There's always some Big d**k G out there who'll be willing to try." She sighs as she dips a fry into her milkshake.
I was a bit surprised by how she phrased that but she was right. Then again it's not like people haven't tried to ******** with us before.
"You're just being paranoid." I chuckle.
"What about the GOODs?" She asks bluntly. I look around quickly making sure she didn't draw any attention.
"What do you know about them?!" I whisper anxiously. Those GOODs were our big money ticket. It's what was drawing the Canaglias as business partners.
"I know Interpol has an interest in them." She continues dipping fries. She smiles each time she eats one. Her smile makes me feel giddy but her taste lacks something to be desired.
"So? they're just foreign police right?" I chuckled. The GOODs were being developed in Orre. Of course it was going to draw Interpol's attention. "Just more pigs to deal with."
I feel something hot and salty hit me in the eye. "AH What the ********?!" I yell.
"Don't call my Dad a pig, you a**." Marie sighs. "And you wonder why I won't call this a date."
I take the french fry out of my eye and eat it with a sigh. "How come you're never like this around other people. You're always so nice and sweet."
"I guess you just bring out the worst in me."
"Lucky me." I take another bite of my burger and looks up to see Darke come in. He spots me and gives me a look letting me know it was serious. I frown and put my burger down. I place a 20 on the table and look at Marie. "Sorry... I gotta go."
I get up and walk over to Darke. We leave the restaurant and talk on the way back to the apartment.
"Yeah our guys in Mahogany went silent." He says lighting a smoke for himself and me. I take the second smoke from him and take a drag.
"How long?"
"It's been two weeks."
I take a large drag off the cigarette. That's two days after we partnered with the Canaglias. "Coincidence?"
"Unlikely." Darke blows a cloud of smoke into the air.
"Marie was just warning me about them."
"You're still with her?" He asks disappointingly. "She's gonna get you killed man. Especially if something is going on. She's not worth it."
I frown and take another lungful of smoke. "Whatever. What are we gonna do about this?"
"I'm pumping Papa Fly for info but he's been a real p***k since he got back." Darke growls. "Apparently he doesn't like being outranked by guys half his ******** him." I respond before looking into the mirror on a car door as we go by. I can see a tall man in a trench coat behind us. He has light hair but other than that he is rather unspectacular.
"I'm starting to hear rumors about these Canaglias. Apparently they're some bad mother ******** like-"
I hear a car slow down behind us and instantly shove Darke into an alley and we duck behind a dumpster. As soon as we were down razor sharp rocks and searing bolts of flame fly overhead. They take chunks out of the brick wall and dumpster.
"Die you Gold ********!" We hear from the car. They rain hell at us for about 30 seconds before peeling off.
We emerge from behind the dumpster. I was slightly shook up but Darke was furious.
"Who the ******** was that?! What the ******** was that?!"
"We better get back to the apartment." I growl.
On the way there I noticed the man was still following us but I paid him no mind. We had bigger problems to deal with.

"I..I didn't know man! Lay off!" Papa Fly yells after Darke let in to him. He was livid, pacing back and forth while chain smoking.
"This is all your ******** fault! We should've left you for dead!" He yells and points at ********' enough!" I yell to get him to stop. "Look we have to n** this problem in the bud. Papa where do these Canaglias ******** hang out?"
"The new Game Corner downtown." He responds sheepishly.
"Then we burn the ********' thing to the ground." I crack my knuckles ready to go.
"No." Johnathan's voice comes from the entrance. "You can't go out there."
"The ******** you doin' here?" Darke snaps.
"The Canaglias are gunning for you. It's too dangerous. Fortify yourselves here until the smoke clears out." With that Johnathan leaves in a hurry. I hadn't seen him that nervous before.
"Well what do we do?" Papa asks.
"We burn the ********' place." Darke and I respond at the same time. No cop was going to tell us what to do.
We prepared ourselves and left. We could hear sirens in the distance and witnessed an occasional police car go by.


"So Justice isn't revenge but it isn't law?" I scratch my head. I had asked Johnathan about it again. It was bugging me.
"It's a feeling inside of what's right. Not just what you feel is right but what all evidence points to as right. But if you're gut says it's not right then you're missing something." He says in his usual calm voice.
"I don't believe in justice. It's the law of the street for me." I say with confidence.
"Then that is your justice. Just is subjective. There is no true justice, just what you believe in and what you objectively deem right."
I sigh and scratch my head. "So like a force of righteousness in this world of injustice?"
"... I suppose. Perhaps you will understand when you're older. Personally I have a huge grudge against corrupt police and politicians."
I looked at him and wondered why.
"The ones who are supposed to uphold the law shouldn't be succumbing to terrible temptation. I don't mean minor things like small time-drug deals and petty thefts. Those who would bend the power over others to their advantage are the worst. After all, we're all in this together."
I remain silent, remembering something Marie had said the other day.
"The violent demon of Goldenrod! Super killer, master thief and all around bad ********! The ultimate upholder of good, righteousness and justice! Jake the Krow!" She yelled to a man holding a knife at her as she hid behind me. It was quite strange, but in a way sort of epic when I remember it. It did sort of pump me up to break that guys nose. That was fun.

I rub my eyes, wondering why that thought popped into my head. We were barely halfway there before a few cars pulled up. Inside we people dressed in strange black outfits. In the center of the outfits was a big red 'R'.
"Who the ******** are these chumps?" Darke asks with a snarl as he reaches down for a Pokeball.
They start sending out a bunch of Pokemon. Ekans, Arbok, Koffing, Weezing, Zubat, Golbat, Rattatas and Ratticates. We were surround.
"I've got a plan." I say to Darke and toss a Pokeball. Bruiser appears in a flash of light. A few of the enemy Pokemon back off a bit, intimidated. "Put Slasher on top of Bruiser!"
Darke sends out his Sandslash who hops onto Bruiser's shoulders.
"Bruiser Earthquake!" I scream. The giant purple Pokemon stomps the ground, creating an intense quake. The snake and rat Pokemon were promptly KO'd. Bruiser is a ********' tank.
"Slash that Koffing!" Darken orders. Slasher KO's a Koffing and we recall our Pokemon and escape through the gap in the crowd.
"What do we do know?" Papa Fly asks.
I spot the man in the trench-coat in the distance. He motions for us to take shelter in a building nearby. We follow him and remain silent as we hear the crowd of the freaks go by.
"Team Rocket." The man states. "The main gang run by the Canaglias."
"s**t." Darke growls. "And who the ******** are you?"
"Looker, operative of Interpol. You're all under arrest." He says as he begins sneaking by windows to look out.
I reach for a Pokeball but Papa Fly stops me.
"What now?" Fly asks Looker.
"You stay here. Things are getting ugly."
"No s**t." I respond and light up a smoke. "You can't expect us to stay here."
"I can and do." Looker responds bluntly. "It's rude for children to talk back to their elders."
"Hey I'm 15 now a*****e." I respond trying to be tough. Looker looks at me with a look of pity. Like everything I am isn't my fault. It pisses me off.
"You're still much younger than I am. Now be quiet." He holds a ball in his hand in case someone breaks in. He peaks out a window once more. "Now do as I suggest and stay put."
He then sneaks out the door, shutting it silently behind him.
"So what do we do?" Darke asks me. Neither one of us gave a s**t about Papa Fly right now.
"...I say we wait." I sigh and sit down on the floor. "At least wait a few hours for night."
I could tell Darke didn't like the idea. But he could tell I didn't like it either.
"Fine." He grumbles. There's a long pause before Darke sighs and looks at the two of us. "Either of you a*****e got any cards?"

The three of us stand outside, hidden a bit by the shadows. The streets were eerily silent now. We were sort of wandering around Golds territory, feeling it would be unwise to march on the Game Corner or head back to the abandoned apartment building. None of us talked for over an hour. We would occasionally pass the body of a Golds' member, gunned down by those pricks.
We even passed Martin that night. Although he crossed the street to avoid us. He was being followed by his Hypno, which I found a bit strange but paid little mind to.
We turned the corner to see firetrucks drive off. Apparently our building was torched. We wandered for another few hours before we met up with a large group of Golds. We ended up squatting in a small house by the tunnel. It was cramped but it felt safe. After two hours of sleep I got up. I was going to the Police Station. Johnathan was hunting this group and I needed info. I explained this to Darke and he agreed to come.
"No, stay here. these guys need a leader."
"But what if you get caught?!" He was doing his best to keep his composure but he was clearly rattled. We all were.
"Then I'm ******** and only one of us dies. Besides it's easier to travel as one." I say and take a black hoodie of a lower gang member. I ready both Pokeball and my switchblade and leave. I stay in the shadows and make it unseen to the police station. They were currently in a frenzy and no one would stop and answer me. After a few minutes of trying to get information a notice an officer bringing someone in. I'll never forget that moment.
Marie was handcuffed and covered in blood. She was crying uncontrollably to the point where the officer was basically dragging her. She wasn't fighting but she didn't want to go along.
"Marie what happened?!" I shout immediately and run over to her only to be blocked by an officer.
"That's confidential. Get out of here you punk." The officer shouts.
"M-m-m-y.." Marie stutters, basically unable to speak. "My... F-fa... My father was killed." She manages to say before exploding into more tears.
I stood there in stunned disbelief. The world around me was silent. In that moment it was me and Marie, and I knew I couldn't do anything for her. No, there was one thing I could do. I could catch the ******** who did it.
Once I left my daze I bolted out the door as fast as I could and began running down the street. Maybe it was because I lost my parents as well but I felt I could feel Marie's pain. The terrible memories flooded back to me and my eyes watered as I ran. Eventually I turned a corner to see a house at the end of the street blocked off with police tape. I ran to the scene and ducked the officers and tape. I burst into the living room to see the still corpse of the mountain and his surprisingly dainty wife. I had never met Marie's mother but they looked very similar. I was again dumbfounded. There was something tragic about seeing such a powerful man dead on the ground, covered in stab wounds. It seemed he had just gotten home from work and was still in his usual work uniform. Something was missing but I was quickly chased out before I could figure it out.
I lit up a smoke as I walked down the street. I'd seen Charles go. I'd seen a lot of friends and acquaintances die. Something about this just put me over the edge. I kick a nearby trashcan, denting it and sending it down the road. Why are the good people always ******** over? Why was life so cruel?
"Where is your justice now Johnathan!?" I screamed to the sky. I decided to head back to the station, hopefully to see Marie. That was when two cars pulled up.

Two Rocket goons jump out of the car. One with slicked back silver hair. On his face was what was missing. Johnathan's triangle shades. My fists closed to the point I was drawing blood.
They got out confident, ready to lay a beat-down on me. They were a bit surprised when I started walking towards them. I quickly send out Bruiser. I wanted him to drop that ******** car on their heads. It wasn't until that silver-haired p***k sent out a Metagross did I know I ******** up. This is why you're supposed to be a cold monster when you live on the streets. Your anger will get you killed.
The Metagross gets a Calm Mind in while I order an Earthquake. It fell short on the damage I needed and Bruiser is downed by a Zen Headbutt. The cocky b*****d laughs as Bruiser drops. To rub it in the Metagross tosses him into a dumpster with psychic power.
I slowly reached for Fist's ball. What was a Primeape supposed to do against a Metagross?
"Run!" I hear behind me. I turn to see Looker motioning to join him in an alley. I go to run over to him but feel a tug of psychic energy on me. The Metagross had me. I thought I was dead until a Toxicroak jumps passed me. It sweeps the Metagross' legs out with a Low Kick. The Pokemon rumbles loudly in pain and releases me. I bolt over to Looker and recall Bruiser quickly.
"Let's go!" He shouts. He then turns to see his Toxicroak. He hadn't noticed but it was blocked from him by the Metagross which was now pummeling it with psychic blasts. He looks at it's unconscious body on the ground and his face twists. "Go! Now!" He screams and pushes me. The two of us then begin running. The look on his face hurt me. Again, that pained expression, but this time for a Pokemon. Could a Pokemon really mean that much?
"My Pokemon are like my family. I'd do anything for them. i'd die for them." Marie's voice echoes in my head. Everyone was losing family tonight. I had already lost so many.
Looker and I hide out in a shed near the park. I couldn't bring myself to say anything as he wept silently at first, but eventually I broke.
"Why?" I asked, not noticing I was beginning to crack up. "Why would you do that for me?! I'm just some a*****e on the street! Why would you sacrifice your Pokemon for me?!"
Looker stares at me. "Don't say such rot!" He snarls at me. "All life is important. Everyone deserves to live! Croagunk knows that as well as I do!"
All life is important? Why would you say that? I don't understand. But his Pokemon believed it and it gave it's life for me. But it's just a dumb animal. Looker believes it though. Am I truly important?
"Everyone is important to someone." He says, now steeling himself. We weren't out of the fire yet. " and you are very important to me right now." He says and slaps some cuffs on me. I didn't have the will to resist anymore.


"So you want me to sell out my family so you can stop the GOODs shipments?" I ask. I was still in cuffs in the interrogation room in the police station. It was officer Darren, Lieutenant Stone and Looker.
"Yes. You know the GOODs are a danger to everyone if they're out there." Looker says.
"Why do we care about this?!" Darren yells. "I want to know what happened to Johnathan! You showed up at the scene I bet you know something!"
"I know it wasn't Marie!" I yell to his face. I had heard that they thought Marie was the one who killed them. They say she stopped taking her depression medication and went crazy. I say horse s**t. "That Rocket had Johnathan's glasses! I bet that a*****e took it as a trophy!"
"What Rocket?" Stone asks. "There are dozens of them all over the city? What would they want with the Johnathan?"
"The Canaglias! They wanted him out of the way!"
Darren slams a hand down on the table. "Don't ******** with me Jake! The Canaglias wouldn't do anything to an officer! They don't have a reason!"
I stared, furious. Neither Looker nor Stone spoke up so I knew I was going to be shot down. "I saw Martin walking around with a Hypno. Maybe it was him then?" I say in a mocking voice. Martin couldn't s**t without instruction. There's no way in hell he could kill Johnathan, psychic Pokemon or not.
Darren and Stone leave the room and I stare, dumbfounded. Are they seriously going to take that joke as an actual lead!!
"Looker, help me out?" I plead. Marie was going to go to prison and I couldn't do anything about it.
"I can't. This isn't my jurisdiction. I'm only here to stop the GOODs smuggling." He frowns. He could see the pain in my eyes but couldn't do anything about it. "This is what being a bad mother ******** gets you Jake. No respect from the law. The ones who hold the string for the guillotine."
At the time I had no idea what he meant but I knew he was telling me something. "Okay..." I take a deep breath. "Undo the cuffs and I'll talk. Promise."
He nods and takes the cuffs off. I grab a smoke from my pocket and light up. A little relief anyway.
"We get them shipped in from Orre. " I state bluntly. "From some a*****e named Briface, it's probably not his real name." I exhale a bunch of smoke.
"Yes, okay." Looker nods and sits down. The two of us are silent for a few minutes. Looker raises an eyebrow. "How would you like to become a law enforcer?"
"Become a pig?" I scoff immediately. ******** that noise.
"A true champion of justice. For once in your life you can stand up for the little guy instead of kicking them while they're down."
Justice? Yeah okay. And I helped someone get back on their feet before. But that was Darke and he's 3 years older than me so I guess he doesn't count.
"No deal... Look can you let me go now? I want to see Marie." It was unintentionally but my voice sounded very pleading. All the stress from the past few days were really getting to me.


"Yeah... I'm okay." Marie says sounding very monotone. She looked down as we conversed, not making eye contact. I looked at her through the glass with a frown.
"You should eat, you're losing weight." I say. She just moves a bit, maybe trying to shake her head no but she didn't have the energy.
"No.. I... No..." She quiver a bit. "Jake... Can you do me a favor?"
I smile. "Of course. Anything you ask."
"Can you kill my parent's killer? please?" Tears rolled down from her eyes but she remained motionless.
"I...." I then remembered Johnathan's speech on justice and how killing is wrong regardless. I take a deep breath. "..Your father wouldn't have wanted that."
"Well he's not hear now is he?!" She screams at me. She had looked up, tears pouring from furious eyes.
"I'll find him. I'll get you out of there I promise. Your Pokemon miss you y'know." I say, trying to smile. In truth if she were found guilty they would be released, probably never seen again.
"I...Okay..." She frowns and hangs up the phone. She goes back to her holding cell without a goodbye.

"No man, I haven't heard anything." Darke responds with a frown. We had the entire gang scrounging around for weeks looking for clues. Marie was declared guilty and sent to prison. I was going to see her but she refused to see me. I let her down.

I remember walking back to our new place that night. There was thick storm clouds and a lot of thunder but no rain yet. I had a case of beer in one hand and a smoke in the other. I found Looker and Stone outside the building. They were aware of how hard I was searching and came to deliver me some news. Stone had a folder in his hand and I could tell by the look on Looker's face the news wasn't good.

Looker broke the news. My whole body trembled. How could she be dead? I was supposed to save her? I did everything I could.. I.. promised her.
"Don't show him the pictures." Looker growls to Stone. But I take the file. No, I have to know. Inside was a file and a few pictures of Marie's body. She had multiple stab wounds all over her body and the words '******** you' scratched into her belly.
I handed the folder back to Stone and wandered off. I don't remember the next three days.

"I'll do it." I say to Looker. He was preparing to leave, since he had the information he needed now. He looks at me.
"Are you sure?"
"Yes... I..." I couldn't find the words. "Just tell me what to do. I'll bring the whole operation down."
I remembered Looker had told me when we were alone that taking out the GOODs makers would hurt the Canaglias. So I was down. I didn't care anyway, a lot of the Golds were either leaving or defecting to Rocket now.



After all this, I watched that Game Corner disappear as I headed towards that tunnel. One day soon I would find that ******** and break his neck. That would be my justice.