Pokemon Ranger: Duty and Conflict
Disclaimer: Pokemon and all things related are property of Satoshi Tajiri, Nintendo, et al. I, the humble author, do not claim any ownership, and am merely borrowing the characters, etc.
The following story contains the following: violence, coarse language, and mature and sexual themes. Cannot handle such themes, please use that back button on the browser (that is what it is there for). This is also an Aerialshipping fic, that is Ash/Satoshi and Kellyn/Hajime. Yes, that means two young men in a relationship: yaoi/slash/whatever you want to call it. You do not like, then please also, make use of that back button on the browser. There will also contain spoilers for episodes of Pokemon that, as of January 2009, have not been seen outside of Japan. Constructive criticism appreciated, but flames will just simply be ignored.
Background Information:
Takes place approximately six months after the events of the two-parter Pokemon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu. Ash has defeated Byron to obtain his sixth badge and is currently on his way to Snowpoint City.
OK, now that all of that has been taken care of, enjoy!
Prologue
Hunter J POV
Hunter J could not help but smile as she went over the details of her latest hire. Typically, she usually showed little to no emotion whatsoever about her assignments. Such sentiments interfered with her line of work. Her line of work required utmost concentration, clarity of mind, and keen professionalism. One slip-up could easily cost her hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars. But she was good at her work, and her and her crew's bank accounts (numbered ones, of course) proved it.
Still, she was going to enjoy this next capture. Revenge is often sweet, or a dish best served cold. Either way, she was going to have revenge.
Apparently some big-wig wanted to get his hands (and as far as she knew, he was a man) on the Pikachu that belonged to that brat Ash that often interfered with her captures. He droned on and on about how he had seen it during various Pokemon League championships and how he became obsessed with its power and might and so forth. Frankly, J didn't give a damn why this man wants the Pikachu, only that he is willing to pay at least $50 million for it, plus and additional $25 million if she could get it to him within one week.
$75 million is a fair chunk of change, even in her line of work. That would be enough to take a nice, long sabbatical from her job for the rest of the year, at it was only January.
However, this was not going to be a walk in the park, mind you. From their previous encounters, Ash had demonstrated a strong will and determination that equaled his moral indignation at her line of work. He wasn't going to give up without a fight, to say the least. He'd not only try to stop her himself, but he'd probably enlist the help of the police and possibly the Ranger Union. The police were easy to deal with. They're often slower than molasses at catching her, plus many members can be easily bribed. She remembered one time when she was able to get that one officer in Johto to bungle an investigation into her for only $2,500 (he apparently had a gripe with the detective in charge for ratting fellow officers in a previous case; the money was just icing on the cake for him).
The Ranger Union was a different cup of tea. They're virtually incorruptible since most join to protect the "innocent" pokemon from harm and all of that sentimental jazz that J couldn't understand. Only a couple of occasions have anyone has managed to "get into" the Ranger Union in Fiore and Almia; both occasions were ultimately unsuccessful. But they still presented a problem, particularly Kellyn, the Top Ranger that more often than not keeps getting entangled in some shape or form with her. She narrowly got arrested by him during the debacle with that Riolu six months ago; it was only because of receiving her payment and his primary interest in the Riolu (along with Ash, now that she thought of it) that she escaped. She relayed her concerns about the Rangers to her client during their initial conversation.
Not to worry, he said. I've got my sources inside the Union. I can keep them occupied long enough for you to get that Pikachu.
Fair enough. But there still leaves the possibility of Ranger encounters. Better to be prepared beforehand than get caught unawares. It was another reason why J was good at her work.
And she wasn't going to fail this time.
