“Jen, it’s not him.” Jennifer’s aunt gently and slowly closed the laptop with confliction written across her weary and tired face. “This is a dead end.”

Jennifer tried to control her rising ire and frustration at being stonewalled at every turn during these past few weeks. Her hands clenched, doing their utmost to keep her calm, but it wasn’t enough. Her aunt has been giving her the run-around for the last ten minutes after Larry brought her in, and she was sick of it.

She snapped.

With a loud, startling slam onto her table, she began her tirade. “Why isn’t it him, Aunt Sherry?! Why?! Orange tailed Smeargle, not his registered pokemon, records locked away? If Ethan Reed lives in the city, then he’s sure as shit suspect number one! You know this! I know this! Tell me why I’m being locked out!”

With her outburst, which caused those outside the office to slow their strolls around the office and subtly eavesdrop, her aunt’s own patience seemed to end. With a raised voice, not as loud as her own but harsher in nature, her aunt snapped back. “I’m trying to fucking protect you! You idiot! Do you think that maybe there’s a reason you’re not able to access his information? Think! Who can tell me what to share with my officers?! I am the Chief of Police!”

“That would be me.”

Jenny and her aunt spun their heads to find an older gentleman standing in the doorway to her office. Previously, Jenny had thought that her aunt looked tired, but this man made her look like a preppy teen ready for their journey. His long trench coat was soaked with water, and he looked like a beaten puppy.

The man entered inside her office, closed the door, then looked down at Larry who stood protectively in his way. Her Espurr’s eyes glowed a brilliant violet before dimming once again, causing Larry to begrudgingly move out of the way.

“Sherry and Jennifer Jenny, I presume?” The man asked, although he clearly already knew the answer.

Throwing a narrow-eyed glance toward her aunt, she was shocked to find that she looked defeated. Looking back to the man, she asked a question of her own. Although, she probably could have worded it better. “Who the fuck are you?”

“I am Agent Looker of the International Police.” Agent Looker shook his trenchcoat, causing splatters of water droplets to spray off around him. Larry immediately hobbled away and hid under her desk, avoiding the water. “Sorry, I had to teleport in from headquarters and it’s raining up a storm there.”

Next, Looker sat down in the chair opposite her desk. With a knowing look and a head jerk towards the door directed at her Aunt Sherry, her Aunt sighed, gave her shoulder a gentle squeeze, and murmured low. “Cooperate.”

Jennifer couldn’t help but feel like she was in trouble. Her instincts as a detective had alarm bells ringing, but she couldn’t fathom that she’d done anything to warrant a visit from Interpol. Before she could think about her current predicament any longer, the sound of her office door gently closing brought her back to the present.

“Do you know why I am here, Detective?” Agent Looker calmly asked, but still looked too weary. He obviously didn’t want to be here, at least, that’s what she gathered.

“No.” She replied, still a little testy from the events of the day. Her arms were crossed as she leaned back into her chair.

Looker gave her a searching look, apparently not finding what he expected, judging by his slight frown. “Ethan Reed, why did you look into him?”

That caused a little lightbulb to spring into her mind. “You were tracking his records?”

The Interpol agent nodded and drummed his fingers on the armrest of his chair, debating about what to say. “We are. Although, I am not at liberty to say why.” Agent Looker scanned her desk, finding her reports and papers about the Sird case strewn about. “Detective Jennifer Jenny; four years on the force, a quick riser through the ranks and not due to nepotism… A fine officer of the law. You had quite a list of bad habits, but recently changed your ways. No more smoking, drinking, and you’ve been in AA meetings and haven’t missed a meeting in over a year.”

Something on her face must have changed, as Looker held up his hands placatingly. “There’s no judgement from me. Smoking is a bad habit I still need to kick.” After lowering his hands, he interlocked his fingers and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees. He looked her directly in the eyes, then said. “Ethan Reed is off limits. Your aunt wasn’t lying about trying to keep you safe. It’s not him you need to worry about, it's us.”

Before she could even utter a response, Agent Looker said something that threw her for a loop. “Sird Saque. Send a picture of her to Lorelei Kanna of the Kanto Elite Four and explain your case. She’ll be able to help you with some hefty charges that will stick. Consider that a peace offering… The carrot to the stick.”

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Agent Looker stood from his seat and let loose a heavy sigh. “You’ve never seen, heard about, or otherwise remember the name Ethan Reed. Do you understand?”

Jennifer glared at him with her amber eyes and asked a final question as Agent Looker headed for the door. “Is he dangerous? A Criminal?”

Looker stopped at the door, turned his head to looker squarely in the eyes, and spoke plainly. “No. He isn’t a criminal nor is he dangerous. This was the warning to stop looking into things above your paygrade. You may have stopped many of your bad habits, but sticking your nose into places they shouldn’t be is still one of them.” He looked down, spotting Larry glaring at him from under the desk. “I hope we never meet again.”

And with that, Agent Looker left her office and strolled past the rest of the officers without a care in the world.

For the next few minutes she sat alone in her office, staring into the air as she ruminated about the conversation that had just unfolded. She was threatened. It wasn’t explicitly stated, but she was. Ethan Reed was off the table, and she still had no clue as to why. The smart play was to leave it alone, but investigations were her lifeblood, and she’d be damned if a little bit of rank got in the way.

“Lock the door.” She said aloud, causing Larry to jump into action. With a simple will of his mind, the deadbolt on her door clicked into place. Larry then hopped up into her lap, then settled down, waiting for her to do what she needed.

Jennifer opened up her laptop and started doing detective work the old fashioned way. If she couldn’t access his records, then she’d need to do it old school… and by oldschool, she searched up his trainer’s information. Instantly, she got a glimpse of the man who she was looking for, even if even his trainer’s record was bare.

Ethan Reed, a twenty-nine year old Sinnohian who has zero recorded battles to his name. Registered roughly two months ago here in Eterna City, most likely at the Pokemon Center going by the backdrop of his shoddy picture. Speaking of, the man looked like a mess. He wore a standard, nondescript white shirt with a pokeball on the front; Cheap, unassuming, and common. He looked freshly shaven in the picture, but had long, unkempt, and disheveled hair.

His list of registered pokemon was most certainly unique, much like her own; A Chatot, Pachirisu, Shuckle, and two Teddiursa. Not typical pokemon one would take on for battles.

His trainer profile was nearly entirely empty, except for one confirmed recorded non-league battle… against Cynthia Shirona, Champion of Sinnoh. It wasn’t an official battle, but a battle nonetheless. Attached to the profile were several video links, and after quickly clicking on one, she watched the battle unfold. The man got his ass handed to him, and Cynthia was taking it easy on him for sure. By all means, this wasn’t a direct dig towards him, as she would get her ass beat to Spear-Pillar and back if she had to go against Cynthia, but it was still a poor showing. The video was pretty bad in quality due to the Snowscape taking over the field, but it was still a good estimation on his battling skill.

He was alright. A nervous wreck for sure, most likely due to inexperience, but he wasn’t too bad. She’d be shitting a brick if she were facing Cynthia as well.

The location of the battle was unfamiliar. In the backdrop, a long row of berry trees stood out in sharp contrast to the simple dirt field and snowy weather. She noted down ‘berry field’ in a small notepad, then continued her search.

Even though his trainer profile was bare, it was both a blessing and a curse. While there wasn’t much to go on, what was there was easy to find and stood out like a sore thumb. He had an affiliated link, which led to the registry for Pokemon League approved breeding and listed his own website.

His website was sleek and modern, filled with pictures of the man himself and numerous pokemon on a picturesque ranch. In one of the pictures, Ethan stood next to a smiling Smeargle who held his orange-tipped tail next to a pond filled with several Magikarp, Feebas, and Maril, there was even an angry Krabby perched on a rock in the back, and a silly looking Lotad struggling to climb out of the water with a dopey smile.

A tap on her chest caused her to look down. Larry was looking up at her, wearing a slight smile on his face. She went to smile back, but found that she was already wearing one. With an awkward cough, she wiped the smile off her face and continued her investigation.

It appeared that Ethan Reed was a man of many talents. He was a Move Tutor, Breeder, and Daycare provider all in one. Currently, he was open for business and even had a contract to look over before any transactions would occur. After a read through, it looked fairly benign. There were some oddities, such as the Pokemon Egg stipulations and the carnivorous pokemon warnings, but it was all very much above board and fairly common.

His address was… Route 205, Offshoot 1B, Eterna Forest? He lived in the forest?!

“What the fuck?”

“Purr.”

Jen looked down once again, finding the disapproving glare of Larry judging her for her vocabulary. “Fuck you, Larry. I am a grown woman.”

“Esp-eps-eps.” With a shake of his head, combined with his disapproving tone, Larry continued his judgement.

Looking back at the website, a very bad idea came to mind. With a shit-eating grin, she asked her starter a question. “Hey Larry, do you think Champ would like to spend some time learning a new move?”

Larry looked so disappointed at her idea, but nodded anyway. Indeed, Champ would always like to learn new moves… It was a rhetorical question.

“Well then, how about we sign him up and meet Mr. Reed in person?” She asked.

Larry, at this point, was done. With a lazy tap to his pokeball on her belt, he returned himself to escape the conversation.

“Traitor.” She mumbled as she signed the contract and requested the services of her new interest—

With a jolt Jennifer raised from her seat, knocking her chair back and causing it to clang into the filing cabinets behind her She sprang towards the door, stuck her head out of her office, and pulled aside the first person that walked by. “Get in contact with Kanto and tell them I need to talk with Elite Four Lorelei. Thanks!”