So, You Want to be a Cop
Pairing: Pokeshipping, Rocketshipping, partial Ikarishipping
Rating: T
Genre: Romance/Mystery
Sub-genre: Drama/Adventure
Summary: On his twenty-first birthday, Ash graduated from the police academy. Now a detective for the Kanto City police department, he faces his greatest challenges yet: a temperamental partner and a mysterious serial killer. AU
XOX
Today Ash Ketchum was turning twenty-one.
The birds were singing outside of his window, his golden retriever, pikachu, was laying placidly below his dresser, watching Ash with dopey, brown eyes. His hair was combed back, and his pristine, academy blues were traded for a pair of black slacks, and a white button up shirt, with light blue, vertical stripes. With an exuberant grin, he buttoned the cuffs, straightened his collar, and flicked his hand through his combed hair just a bit at the front, to keep a boyish spike.
After three years of desk work, playing coffee-gatherer and traffic cop, he was finally being transferred to the Kanto City Police Department, title: Ash Ketchum, KCPD Detective. Years at the police academy were finally paying off—all the hard work, sweat and tears finally came to a head when he received his promotion from Pallet Farms traffic cop, to detective.
To say he was excited would have been an understatement. He was ecstatic, hardly able to contain his voluptuous joy with shaking hands and chattering teeth. Ash wanted to jump, but his mother was still asleep at a quarter to seven, and he did not want to disturb her. After all, his mother probably had a huge day planned for him—a large party to celebrate his new position when he came back home at approximately five o'clock.
Blowing out a sigh, he chomped down on his bottom lip to contain a cry of joy. It didn't get any better than this! Arms thrown up in every direction as he stretched eagerly, imagining what his first day would look like. A traffic chase? Maybe a drug laundering scam—oh! Maybe a homicide!
Grabbing his tan, iron pressed jacket, he slipped it over his blouse, and under his white collar before rubbing Pikachu's head happily, and patting him several times.
"Wish me luck on my first day, buddy!" he said in a sing-song tone before thudding out of his room, jingling his car keys.
XOXs
Ash did not drive a fancy vehicle, after paying for the academy out of pocket and working a part time job while attending the rigorous twelve hour days of the academy, his mother's living wage barely put food on the table. Instead, Ash opted for a beater. A small rust bucket of bolts and home-made repairs. He drove into his place of work with a loud, environmentally unclean and ill-maintained twenty year old truck he paid three hundred dollars for his senior year of high school.
Occasionally the driver door would stick, the lights would stay on, the battery would die—but for the most part, it was as reliable as any new vehicle, and Ash never felt bad if something happened to it. That one time someone backed into it in a parking lot, leaving a large dent in the passenger door? With a truck like this, the dent might have been an improvement.
In a parking lot full of well-waxed and buffed sports cars and SUV's, Ash might have paused in awe at the social class difference, if he had not already been accustomed to being 'that poor kid on the block' since he was six. Even still, one car in particular, a gleaming, red, 2014 Corvette caught the corner of his eye. Someone with that vehicle had to have a lot of money—and, it seemed very familiar. Ash hesitated outside for a few minutes to gaze upon its glory with a tilt of his head. The weather was perfect for the twenty second of May, and as he approached the steps with a glowing grin, he brushed the image of the Corvette out of his mind. Who ever the vehicle belonged to could not rain on his parade today!
Determined not to be late on his first day, he put the thought out of his mind as he gait up the stairs to the front of the building, tugged open the large, metal doors, and took in the heavenly scent of paperwork and copy machines. The way the receptionist glared at him, the curve of the black and white tile floors, and the cold embrace of a working air conditoner.
For the next ten years, this would be his home.
Happily, Ash kicked off from the front entrance, being sure to wave to the front desk clerks, greet his former-fellow desk jockeys—compliment the guy running after the coffee. Having been the underdog himself, he knew what a small gesture could represent in the ways of changing n individual's day. His cheery, contagious attitude walked him through the front lobby, the public restroom, the staff lounge, until he finally approached the section of the department that would encase his entire life: The Criminal Investigation wing.
Inhaling, Ash stepped through the open doors, barely containing his excitement. Really, there wasn't a wing that separated the detectives from the regular cops—but it certainly felt like it. Stepping into the area with the perfectly lined cubical and desks felt like walking into a library for the first time. Everyone was hard at work with something, and here Ash was, apart of it.
Soon, he would be the greatest detective that Kanto ever saw!
"Oh," A snide, jarring voice pulled Ash from his thoughts, and he turned ever slowly at the owner of said voice, and his joyous mood slowly deteriorated one footfall at a time.
"Well, it looks like Ashy-boy finally graduated from traffic cop after all. Congratulations." The young man hissed. The auburn haired police officer—no, detective looked as sarcastic as he sounded. Dressed in his slick, black suit with a pure white, ironed blouse that put Ash's patched suit and tacky 70's wear to shame.
"Gary, what in the world are you doing here?"
"Well, unlike you, I could actually afford to go to school to become a detective instead of playing cop for the last three years!" Gary mocked Ash, holding a cup of steaming coffee in his hand. One eyebrow was lowered in a temperamental gaze, and Ash could literally feel all the joy leave his body: replaced with instead, pure rage.
"What's wrong with going through the police academy! You're not better than me!" he shouted, jarring the attention from his co-workers. The peaceful tapping ending with concerned looked from across the room, and Ash immediately slapped his mouth closed.
Gary snorted, leaning in close to mutter: "Great first impression."
Ash's hands shook in front of him as Gary waved mockingly, sharing a derogatory wink, and carried on with his morning. Even after three years, Gary could still grind every last one of is nerves! He knew that stupid red sports car looked familiar! Of course it had to belong to Gary fucking Oak! His perfect first day was ruined now! What was so great about law school, anyways? Good cops didn't come from a school desk, they came from real life experience, police academy experience!
In a bit of a huff, Ash spun away from his co-workers concerned face, and stormed directly to the chief of police's office with his hands firmly against his sides. He didn't mean to dig his shoes into the hard wood floors, but if he did not stomp something, he might have thrown Gary's coffee into his face. Just because he had money didn't make him any better.
Stupid jerk Gary. Ash thought bitterly, looking down at the floor.
If possible, Ash would have pressed the reset button this entire day from that moment on.
The very moment his eyes touched the floor, an equally enraged, red-haired vixen blew opened the doors of the chief's office, where Ash happened to be walking.
Had Ash been paying attention, he would have known to stop, or move, or jump—do the Macarena and turn himself around; instead, he kept moving forward, until his forehead collided with the angry woman. The sudden jolt knocked the papers from her hand, caused whatever liquid she was carrying to splash back onto her white blouse which only erupted in a searing, scream from the woman while Ash fell into a complete panic.
"Oh my god, I'm so sorry!" Ash shouted in a blur, trying to pat away the liquid—it only took him a few minutes to realize it was hot coffee he split on her, and only a second longer to realize he had successfully gotten to second base in an attempt to prevent the substance from burning her.
Needless to say, he was never going to forget that right hook. For a girl, she could pack one hell of a punch.
XOXs
Lucky for Ash, he had one friend on the force already. Tracey Sketchit, the Kanto Police sketch artist. The older man pulled Ash out of the mess and into the infirmary before Ash was literally beaten into a pulp by said woman with a temper. Thought about throwing coffee at Gary—was provided with instant Karma.
Good job, Ash! He chanted to himself sarcastically while holding his face.
"Man, you really know how to start the day, don't you?" Tracey said in a gentle, mock tone while pressing the ice pack to Ash's eyebrow. Ash winced, reeling backwards to hold the pack against his eye and grunt.
"Good to know you haven't changed since high school." Tracey added again in a tone so mocking Ash could have throttled him.
"Well, at least I can say I was a detective for a good ten minutes before screwing it up. I guess it's back to Gym's Pizza..." Ash said with a sigh so long that even Tracey felt bad for him.
"Oh, cheer up, something bad happens to all of us on our first day." He tried, but Ash deadpanned at him. Lips were a flat line when he spoke next, in a quiet frustrated, possibly mortified, tone.
"I took her shirt off—or at least tried to."
"You were trying to prevent her from being burned." Tracey offered, fighting the urge to chuckle. "You had her best interest at heart." Tracey hesitated, holding in a snicker while Ash narrowed his eyes.
Had Brock been here, the sentiment would have been followed with: or her best interest at chest, and since Tracey and Brock were the best of friends in high school, he had no doubt the same thought ran through Tracey's head.
Ash blinked through a swelling eye and then sighed. "I don't think she saw it that way—and I haven't even seen the Chief of Police yet."
"Oh, you haven't met Jenny yet?" Tracey asked with a bold smile. "She's great! I'm sure if you explain what happened she will forgive you... just... try not to screw up again." Tracey warned him.
With Tracey's subtle words ending, the acting nurse, who wasn't really a nurse but the assistant mortician placed a butterfly bandage over his eye to reduce the swelling, Ash went on his way with a short thank you, and a farewell to Tracey. Hopefully, the police chief would be a little more forgiving than that red head.
XOXs
When Ash approached the office, he did not have to knock before a reply came.
"Come in, Ash." Jenny's strong, booming voice answered.
Ash swallowed against the nervous lump in the back of his throat before stepping into the small office, and clicking the door shut. He might have been the victim of stares, but he was so trained on not being fired today, he did not care what anyone else thought at the moment. Upon entrance, she stared at him with cold, blue eyes for a long time before gesturing him to sit. Ash could not speak, somehow in the last ten seconds, he had forgotten how.
"Care to explain what happened?" The chief asked while resting her chin on her intertwined fingers. Ash gulped, and fidgeted back and forth in the chair he was in.
"I...was distracted when I was walking and bumped into that woman..." Ash held his forehead, knowing himself, how stupid he sounded. "I was trying to stop her from being burned by the coffee I accidentally caused her to splash." Ash explained, unable to make eye contact.
How humiliating.
A long pause surfaced before the sound of the chief's laughter broke the tension. Ash looked up slowly, a bit hopeful with a nervous smile on his own lips while she bellowed, holding her gut and leaning back in her chair with a loud creak.
She laughed for a time, though Ash never felt safe enough to join in. In the end, she sniffed, and wiped the corners of her eye.
"Oh man, that will be one for the books for sure." she croaked between chuckles, trying to catch her breath. Meanwhile, Ash tried to remain stoic.
Since he did not answer right away Jenny licked her lips and nodded very, very slowly. "We'll let it slide this time because no one was injured and it's your first day." She muttered, but then the humor left her eyes, replaced with that same, cold gaze.
"Do it again, however, and you'll be out of here before you can beg for mercy. I don't like foul play." Her tone was low, venomous. Ash nodded quickly and popped out of his seat.
"Otherwise," She rose with him, her mood more pleasant than it had been. "It's nice to meet you—I hope you enjoy your time here. Your case work has been placed on your desk which is located at the center of the detective unit. We will meet after lunch to discuss who your partner will be. Until then, try not to help anyone else, okay?" She said in a mock-sweet tone guided by a firm handshake.
Ash twitched as he nodded, shook her hand, and then left the room as quickly as humanly possible, though carefully. He didn't want to run into another person!
Whoever the red haired woman was from earlier, she was no-where to be seen in the detective unit, which allowed Ash a moment to breath a sigh of relief as he made his way to his desk. He didn't bring anything with him except for a picture of him and his mom, but after seeing the group of police officers glaring at him behind a snickering Gary, he almost thought otherwise to place the picture.
...No way! Ash wouldn't be bullied. He removed the picture from his jacket pocket, and placed it beside his monitor before pawing at the folders that had been placed in his box.
Quite a few cases were already there—and while he tried to ignore the whispers around him, he flipped through each case with minor interest. Most of them weren't active cases, they were paperwork, a few complaints, and anonymous leads that were usually dead ends.
The Kanto City Police Department covered all ten areas of the city which were broken up by area. Pallet farms, Pewter hills, Viridian forest, Cerulean square, Celadon park, Saffron towers, Lavender peak, Vermillion bay, Fuschia lanes, and the Cinibar rivers. Opposed to the small time police work filed at Pallet farms Police sector where Ash was transferred from, he was now working for the big leagues; and with it, came the ability to maintain order in all areas of the city; not just the traffic in Pallet. Technically, they were all employed by the Kanto City Police Department, but sub-categories of the division were devised to keep better records of each city area; also known as sectors. Ash was fortunate enough to stay close to home before—but the main branch of the department was placed in the Saffron towers, which meant Ash spent an easy forty-five minute commute to work to the busiest part of the city.
His eyebrows scrunched up, hearing a girls giggle from where Gary watched him with a group of ill-fitted supports, a few police women, and some office works and book keepers, their constant giggling forced Ash to finally look up.
"Do you mind?" Ash snapped, glowering at them. Gary snorted and wagged his hand. The old-rival approached with a swagger in his hips.
"That was an impressive display of detective skills earlier, Ash. Way to really pay attention on your first day." Gary mocked, though before Ash could get a word in edge wise a strong hand was placed on Gary's shoulder.
"That's some tough words coming from a new detective himself, Oak." The older man with onyx eyes and lavender hair groaned. His mouth was turned into an almost permanent frown when he forced Gary to back away from Ash's desk.
"Just because you were able to skip the academy with some prestigious Criminal Justice bullshit, doesn't mean you're exempt from the same rules as the rest of us." The man pointed to Gary's desk, which Ash realized was just as empty as his own. "Now get started on your cases and set an example—Don't act like a girl."
The crowd that had gathered around Gary quickly dispersed, and the auburn haired detective nodded. His ego was sorely deflated when he walked around the purple-haired man, and zig-zaged directly to his desk to sulk.
Still, Gary pointed at Ash to say "I'm watching you" and then started to shuffle through his papers before Ash looked up at the angry officer.
"Hey, thanks." Ash grinned, but then the angry eyes turned on him.
"Don't thank me! That was a horrible display of Police etiquette this morning, Ketchum! Don't let me catch you out of line again." He warned and in the short encounter before he stormed off to his own cubical, Ash could see the title of his name-tag. "Paul Shinji."
Another detective. Who sat closer to Gary than Ash. For once, Ash was praising the gods—he would hate to get on that man's bad side. Not even an hour on the force, and he already met a crazy woman with a mean punch, and a hard ass. It was just like he always thought it would be!
XOXs
With the excitement of the morning over, Ash had already opened the case files, started his reports, and prepared lists of areas to 'check into' to turn into the chief. With a city spanning several hundred miles, and a population verging on a million, the crime rate per capital was as messy as it should have been. Each sector had different violations, personally, Ash thought that Fuchsia lanes was home to some of the sketchiest business, Celadon Park was known for its high theft rate thanks to the large amount of rich people living there, and Pallet farms was known for its back water, hillbilly country folk. The normal guys, if anyone asked Ash.
Thanks to his time in traffic, he was used to a certain amount of desk work—but nothing excused the fact that he was already bored to tears. He hoped that being a detective would be a little more exciting than this. He honestly thought the cases would be chosen for him, he would find the bad guy, report him to justice, then rinse and repeat.
Sitting back in his chair, he crossed his arms behind his head, and looked up at the ceiling with pursed lips.
Dad always made this sound so much more exciting. Ash thought in a bitter tone, before the clicks of heels funneled into the division. Snapped from his stupor, his eyes fell onto the doors he cheerfully walked through that morning, to be met with Jenny's blue hair, and the sparky-red hair of death right beside her. She wore a black t-shirt, and black slacks; as opposed to what she probably looked like this morning, she did not look the slightest bit professional in her tee-shirt.
She did, however, look extremely pissed off, and Ash could not beg the question why.
Please don't be a detective. Plllllease don't be a detective. He chanted while Jenny called for all working detectives to meet her in her office right away. Ash, Gary, and Paul, apparently the only working detectives in the unit, followed her stubbornly, though Ash kept to the back in fear of being close to the fiery redhead.
Please. Don't. be. a. Detective. Ash thought one last time before entering the office for the second time that day. He took a place beside Gary, who was beside Paul—who stood beside her. Nervously, he wanted to hide his face in shame—flee, perhaps, but he was rooted the moment Jenny started speaking.
"So, we have two new, junior detectives joining our precinct today, their names are Gary Oak, and Ash Ketchum. The two of you should already know Mr. Oak; his father has been the lead forensic analysis for the last thirty years and has helped solved thousands of cases. On the other hand, it seems you two," She gestured to Ash, and then the red head. "became quite acquainted this morning." her tone was almost humorous to the point that Ash could feel the rage boiling two persons down.
Oh God, she is a detective. Was the only thought Ash could manage. But of course she was a detective, why else would she be in here?!
Her face was turned down into a hostile frown; and the only other thought Ash could think was: Please let Shinji be my partner, please let Shinji be my partner. He would take crazy, uptight man any day over the girl he technically, almost man handled that morning. She was already probably deciding on ways to kill him. Writing up a list and checking it twice. Besides, Ash never had luck with girls, they ended up obsessed or making fun of him—he did not want hostile added to that short list.
"Ketchum, Oak, these are the two leading detectives of this department; Paul Shinji, and Misty Waterflower." The chief's voice seemed to soften slightly. "I've already assigned you both to your new partners—so regardless of what's happened today. Play nicely." her eyes were fixated on Misty, and Ash could feel the hole in his chest deepening.
"Detective Waterflower, you will be in charge of Junior Detective Ash Ketchum, and Detective Shinji, you will be in charge of Junior Detective Gary Oak."
Gary and Ash groaned in unison, but it was Misty who flipped the chair in front of her and then stormed out of the office, slamming the wooden door behind her.
"Don't mind her." The chief expressed... "She can have a bit of a temper." Jenny added with a cluck of her tongue, "She's a great superior to learn from regardless."
That's it, I'm dead. Ash thought cynically while trying to keep a straight face. Did no one else see the way she tossed that chair without any effort? Unless it was made of paper, Ash was pretty sure she could snap him in half with a glance, forget working with her!
"Well, since they clearly seem to have issues—couldn't we say, change partners?" Gary inquired in an unprofessional tone, and for once, Ash did not disagree with him while sweating bullets.
However, Jenny slammed her hand on the desk. "The decision has already been made! You all will learn to get a long." Jenny bellowed dangerously, and the two 'newbies' shrunk back with a "yes ma'am!" While Paul could only scoff, slightly amused.
"Is that all?"
"Hmm." Jenny sighed. "Take the day to familiarize your partner with the station, tomorrow you can start on introducing them to field work and assign them a weapon."
Ash could feel the chill run down his spine.
Great. If he was lucky, this Misty Waterflower would shoot him in the back while he was not looking.
XOXs
While Gary and Paul stalked off to visit the several different sectors of the police department the moment they exited the chief's office, Ash was tasked with the unnerving task of speaking with the righteous fury of his new partner. Man, he hoped for a change, and soon. There had to have been other police detectives somewhere.
Misty Waterflower sat at her desk, which was cluttered with papers; notes, reports, and sticky notes. To the far side of her desk was a picture that was covered in dust of the detective and three older women with odd colors of hair. Organized chaos immediately came to mind while he approached her.
"Is this your family?" Ash asked, grabbing the picture which was immediately swat from his hands. Her speed was untimely and accurate, and Ash shrunk backwards.
"Why?" She snapped hoarsely. "Do you want to fondle them, too?" She growled, slamming her folder closed. Clearly, she was not going to get any work done.
"Hey!" He snapped in his defense, enraged. "Don't throw that word around! I was trying to stop you from burning yourself."
"Well if you had opened your eyes in the first place, we wouldn't have been in that predicament in the first place!" She argued, standing up to face him. He could see the weapon holstered at her hip and he returned his gaze to her eyes—which were a brilliant display of sea-green; uncommon in the region.
Taken aback, he blinked a few times. "S-sorry."
Jarred, she reeled away from him. "Whatever."
Outside of the anger; she might have been pretty. If she stopped scowling all the time. "Hey, wait a minute! You're supposed to show me around the police station!" Ash shouted after her, taking off into a jog to keep beside the heel-toting woman.
"Then you better keep up." She sneered unpleasantly in return.
XOXs
When Ash returned home, he was beat. More tired in an eight hour shift than the twelve hour days he spent in the academy. Whoever this Misty Waterflower was, she was exhausting. Mixed with an easy going Chief of Police, a scary supervisor and Gary, Ash was sure the next ten years would go off without a hitch!
"Ugh." He groaned, pushing open the front door to his house, which was met with streamers, and applause from within. Confetti mixed with the beaming faces of his long-time friends, May, Brock, and his mother, Delia. At his feet, Pikachu barked gleefully, then chased his tail support.
"Congratulations, Ash!" They shouted eagerly, raising Ash's spirits instantly.
"You guys!" He bellowed, extending his hands to his side. "You did remember! Thank you!" his voice was a bit more strained than he had wanted it to be, and he sounded a bit more sad than expected, so they all looked on at him in worry, despite his best attempts to sound happy.
"How was your first day?" His mom asked, grabbing him into a hug and leading him onto the back porch where they sat around a small fire she had prepared. "Did you catch any bad guys? Your father caught two on his first day." She sang happily while passing around a controlled amount of alcohol.
Ash did not say thank you when he popped open the glass bottle and sighed.
"I have the most infuriating partner." Ash did not hesitate to complain, he was always very open about his emotions, and so his friends leaned in to eagerly.
"Do tell." Brock grinned, thanking Delia for a beer while Ash grimaced.
"She basically gave me all of the worst jobs, yelled at me the whole day, and put me in terrible situations since I accidentally spilled coffee on her this morning."
"That seems a little childish." May offered her condolences while swiping her long brunette hair behind her ear.
"You're telling me!" Ash gasped, throwing his arms up. "To make it worse, Gary works there, too. He's the other Junior Detective I told you guys about. He was supposed to be transferring out of town!" in fact, Ash almost wanted to bet he did not really finish school, but Samuel Oak, Gary's grandfather and the lead forensic analyst got Gary the job in the first place!
"Well, don't worry Ash, things have to get better—it's only your first day." Brock managed with a soft smile. Ash could only feel his eyebrow twitch in return, recalling his mother's words about his father's time on the police force.
"Mom, did dad have a horrible partner?"
"Don't you think it's too early to be saying that she's horrible?" She scolded flatly, then her normal cheer returned. "But, no, your father enjoyed all of his partners. Some of them were quite different, but they were all good!"
The revelation only forced Ash to sigh while placing the cold bottle against his forehead. He never was as lucky as his father.
Author's Note:
Alright guys, as the most well-reviewed (and most requested) chapter from Mad Season; here we go: That Cop AU, with some friendly and much-needed edits.
As far as stories go, this one will be my next 'side story' project, therefore, I'm posting the first chapter the day before Until The Day wraps up (because this one will be taking UtD's place in my traditional update schedule).
Several disclaimers now: I know there are like 12 different criminal investigation divisions, but because I'm a piece of crap, I'm going to be breaking some rules to fit what I believe will be better story telling. Sometimes things may be meshed into one 'detective' class. I'm still doing research for this story, so my updates will vary on how detailed that is. I have the first 15 chapters paraphrased, and the outline detailed up until the climax of the story. I'm posting this with a little less preparation than most of my other stories, but I'm also the most excited for this story so I'm hoping that by posting it, I invigorate myself to actually work a little harder on it!
I do want to include the whole cast with at the very least, minor appearances, but I don't want everyone to be a flippin cop, either. Lol. SERIOUSLY. I would like some input on where some of the characters would be working in a scenario like this; some of them are already decided on, but please give me your feedback (and the reason you think so!)