They didn't keep Morgan confined behind bars for long before the guard came to get him. They marched him in handcuffs to an interrogation room. It was relatively small, surrounded by walls on all sides except a small window right by the door. Steel table bolted to the floor, accompanied by three uncomfortable-looking chairs.

A man occupied one of them. He was a tall lanky man, his glasses somehow just looked natural perched above those high cheekbones. He wore a brown vest over a black long-sleeved shirt. A pair of PokeBalls on his belt. He also had a leather briefcase with him.

The guard sat Morgan down on the lone chair opposite the man. They stared at each other in silence before the man placed a device on the table.

"This is Ace Trainer Lewis Nice, interviewing a possible suspect for the recent string of disappearances and murders at Sable City. Please state your name for the record."

"Morgan," he said. "No last name. Am I going to prison?"

"It depends, did you do it?"

"No," he vehemently replied. "I didn't kill anyone. I don't even have any reason to. You need motive to decide if someone is a suspect or not, isn't it?"

"First of all, that is factually wrong," Officer Nice said. "And second of all, you don't always need a motive to end someone. After all, life is just one funny coincidence away from murder. Trust me, I have seen the weirdest things that my line of work could offer."

"Well, it's just not possible with me. I've only been here since yesterday. I couldn't possibly do it, kidnapping people and going on a murder spree in a city that I've never set foot in."

"That's a likely argument."

Morgan frowned in anger, "What do you want from me, man? I said I didn't have anything to do with it."

Nice put his hands on the table in order to lean in, "What I want from you, Morgan with no last name, is to tell me what are you doing at the crime scene?"

"I was lost," he said, voice wavered a little.

"Lost?"

"I am visiting a new city, and not yet familiar with the street. I simply took some wrong turns by mistake, and got lost as a result."

"Is that when you encounter the body?"

"Yes."

"And then what happened?"

"Your guys found me then."

The man raised his eyebrows, "My guys?"

"I mean the cops."

"I see."

The Ace Trainer leaned back and shifted his tactics. "I did make some calls before meeting you, and I discovered a few things about you."

"Like what?"

Nice opened his briefcase and brought out a piece of paper. It was the form that Morgan filled out when he registered for his license. Damn, he didn't expect that one coming.

"You recently acquired your trainer license after you caught a Cubone. Where is it now? We didn't find it among your confiscated possessions."

"He fainted after a tough battle. So I left him in the Pokemon Center to get treatment."

"Interesting. You fought a battle in the city?"

"No, it was before I arrived here."

"When did you say that you arrived here again?"

"Yesterday."

"Provide the precise time, please."

"Yesterday," he said slowly. "At four in the afternoon."

"Where are you staying for the night?"

"At a Pokemon Center."

Nice changed the topic again, "Describe to me your itinerary for today."

Morgan scoffed, "What does that even mean?"

"Describe to me what you did today."

Morgan would be surprised if Nice saw this one coming. "Well, I woke up and took a huge dump in the morning–"

"Anything noteworthy?"

"I paid a visit to the local Oddish farm. Does that count?"

"Maybe. Are you aware that it was owned by the mayor?"

"Yes, it was in the brochure."

"Is that why you're coming there?"

"No, I was just bored and looking for something to occupy myself. Why are you asking that?"

Nice didn't answer and pressed forward regardless. "While in there, did you talk to anyone?"

"Sure, there was a tour guide guy. His name is Blake."

"What did you two talk about?"

"Nothing much, honestly. He was just telling me facts about Oddish farming. You know, like what a tour guide is supposed to do?"

"Anything else?"

"No."

"If I asked him, would he corroborate it? Would he say the same thing?"

"Well, I guess he is also explaining to me about the protesters in front of the farm. But that's all of it."

"And then?"

"And then I left."

"That is when you took a shortcut," Nice stated. "And found the body."

"Yes."

"When you are at the crime scene, did you notice anyone else there?"

"No. There was no one else there except me."

"I see," said Nice. He was now making notes on a small book that he had taken from his pocket.

"Is that it, then?" Morgan asked. "I'm free?"

Nice opened his briefcase again and brought out a wallet this time. A wallet that he recognized. "Well, there is also the matter of you trying to steal the victim's belongings."

Yep, there it was. Morgan didn't have any defense available for this one.

"The city might want to hold you in jail just for that reason."

Someone from outside forced open the door and slammed it into the wall. Then entered a man who had that strongman built to him, leaving two very nervous-looking officers outside the room. He rolled up his sleeve, showing his hairy arms. He also wore a cowboy hat indoors.

"Where is she?" the new man shouted, coming closer to Morgan. "Where is my wife?"

The table might have been bolted, but the chair that Morgan was sitting on was not. So when the man punched him in the face, it also went down to the floor with him.

Officer Nice stood up and toggled off the recording device. He tried to separate the two, he said, "Halt. Sir, let's talk this out!"

The man didn't listen, of course. He went to pull Morgan's collar. "What is there to talk about? I might finally know where they hide my wife."

"Mayor Dan, this is very unbecoming of you. Let him go. I have interrogated the boy, and he didn't know anything."

"What he said," croaked Morgan. He couldn't open his right eye. And the back of his head was throbbing after that nasty hit.

The mayor denied the request, he said, "Talk, you bastard!"

So which one was it, Morgan deliriously thought, talk or not talk?

Nice decided to summon one of his Pokemon. Out of the PokeBall came out a black cat, with yellow band patterns on its body. The red eyes became more pronounced against its dark coloring. He said, "That's quite enough. Mayor, let go of the kid, now."

The threat of violence successfully prevented the continuation of the present altercation. The mayor retreated upon the Snarl that Umbreon let out, and chose to sit down on the last empty chair. But he still looked angry, though. He addressed Ace Trainer Nice, "And you, why I'm I not informed that we have a suspect in our custody?"

Nice helped Morgan to get up and righted his chair, "This is precisely why. You need to calm down first."

"I don't think I will. You have been here for two weeks, with no concrete result to show for it. I've almost spent all my patience."

"Don't worry, sir. I don't intend to smear my spotless work record. The perpetrator or their group might have successfully hidden their scent for now, but we are close. I can feel it."

The Umbreon purred on its haunches as if in agreement.

"So am I still in jail?" Morgan asked in the middle of the silence.

Nice and the mayor traded looks that Morgan couldn't read. Until eventually, Nice answered. "Unfortunately, yes. Like I said, there's still the matter of your attempted theft. But I'll get someone to look over your… recent injury."

The interrogation pretty much closed after that. Morgan was once again staying behind bars. At least Nice was being honest, and he did send a doctor to bandage Morgan's right side eye and gave him a pill for the small concussion. While being accompanied by a guard, of course.

If there was a clock nearby, then Morgan would've realized that he had been cooped up inside that room for two hours before the mayor came to visit him. But since there wasn't, he only asked, "What do you want now?"

The mayor stood before the bars by a small distance. "Nothing. I'm just here to offer my sincere apology. That man Nice, he was right, it was very undignified of me to do that to you."

Morgan gave him the stink eye, "Really, punching me in the face was undignified?"

"But you have to understand, I am facing a lot of pressure. This… case has put a weight over the citizens' minds. And me too, personally."

"I don't really care, man. I'm still in jail and my face hurts."

"Well," the mayor said, frowning a bit. "Why don't you let me make it up to you."

"How?"

"With an offer of mutual benefits."

"Alright," Morgan said. "Let me hear it."

"Ace Trainer Nice was kind enough to share his discovery with me of a pattern that he had noticed a while ago. The disappearance usually occurs between ten pm to two am. But he refused to do anything with it."

"Where is this going?"

"I need a man on the scene, to find out exactly what happened with firsthand experience."

"You want me to get kidnapped?" Morgan asked incredulously.

"No, no," the man denied. "I just need you to go out at night and then report to me what you saw. And someone else will follow you to make sure nothing dangerous happens."

That just made Morgan to grow more suspicious. But he was willing to go further to get benefits for himself. That was who he was at his core.

"For how long? I also have to think about my gym challenges. Badges and trainers, you know."

"Two weeks, at maximum."

That might be doable, but, "What's in it for me?"

"I'll make sure the city didn't charge you for the petty theft."

Morgan made a show out of it, "I don't know. It's just a petty crime, like you said."

"Any aspiring trainers like yourself need a spotless reputation to attract potential sponsors, I'm sure you realize. In addition, I am prepared to throw some amount of money that'll be worth the effort."

"I'm in," Morgan said. "When do I start?"

"Very good. I'll give you the info for tonight's patrol so you could evade the curfew."

"Huh?"

And just like that, Morgan was suddenly a free man. As soon as the paperwork was done, he was out of the police station and headed toward the Pokemon Center. He made sure not to get lost this time.

When he arrived, he asked a Nurse Joy if Moon was finished with his treatment. He was fine now. He just needed a fix for the bruises and abrasion that he sustained from the previous battles, and rest after spending so much energy.

When Morgan found him, he was sitting in a hospital bed while hugging his bone. It was kind of cute, actually. He said, "Hey, Moon. I'm sorry if I kept you waiting for too long."

Moon aborted his greeting after he saw the bandage. He exclaimed, "Cubone!"

"Oh this," Morgan said, pointing to his eye. "I'm fine. You should have seen what I did to the other guy."

Moon toddled closer to inspect him. Morgan said, "Anyway, why don't we go back to our room, and I'll tell you all about it. I got us a neat mission, which will add some more

money to our wallet."

Moon exhaled, "Bone."

"That's right," Morgan said simply. "Let's go."

So they retreated to their rent-free room and stayed there for the rest of the afternoon, waiting for the night to come calling.