viRus

Chapter 1

The cool night air gently whipped the newspaper with the headline "Oak discovers dangerous virus!" in Laura's hand. Laura could hear the coos of the Hoot-Hoots in the trees as she sat on an old wooden bench by the tracks. "Johto-Ganoh (Route 141 aka Central Mountain Road)" was written on a partially tree covered sign attached to a forgotten lamppost, below a rusted sign that read "Lake of Rage Station".

Suddenly a mass gathering of Hoot-Hoot flocked out of their trees as the whale of the train's whistle resounded in the night. Laura stood up, swiped away a long black strand of hair out of her blue eyes, and picked up her thick, black briefcase.

The light of the train illuminated the Spinaraks hanging on the trees around, as the rush of wind caused Laura's black trench coat to billow and her red necklace to sway. The train screeched to a halt near the bench where she was standing. A double door swung open as an elderly man smiled at her.

"'ello Miss, are ya boardin'?" he said in a husky voice, his bushy mustache following every move of his lip.

"Indeed I am, Sir." Laura said, putting a sure foot in a black boot onto the train's stair.

"Got any ID.?" He said looking up from underneath his thick eyebrows.

Laura produced a card. "Agent Laura-International Police-Johto Branch-Pokemon Association Approved" the man said squinting at the print on the card. "Well, Miss Agent I think another agent is waitin' for ya at the back."

Laura nodded and walked through the empty train, with the occasional sleeping passenger slumped in their char, to the furthest back passenger car. She slid her ID in a machine placed on the door and walked in.

"Greetings." said a man with short black hair in a unbuttoned brown trench coat with a pink tinted tie under it. "I have much pleasure in seeing you Agent Laura."

"Happy to see you too Agent Looker." she said taking a seat across from the man. "Haven't seen ya since you left for that case in Sinnoh."

"It was and is has been handled completely at the moment." said Looker stroking his chin absentmindedly. "What wasn't and isn't has been handled completely at the moment is your case."

"Right, about that, Looker. Why did you call me to Ganoh?! This place isn't even a region and-"

"That statement is now falsified, actually. Ganoh has been recently appointed from unincorporated Kanto-Johto territory to region not too long ago by the Pokemon Association."

"Yeah, yeah." she said dismissively, folding her arms and looking away. "But why'd I get called here?"

"Well, have you had hearings upon the subject of the virus?" he said in a hushed voice leaning forward.

"Yeah the one that somehow makes Pokemon super-strong but lacking of happiness or personality or anything?"

"Not to mention the eventual comas." said Looker, waving his finger.

"What about it?" Laura said. "What does this have to do with me being sent to the middle of nowhere?"

"Look at this map." Looker pulled out a large map of the Johto-Kanto-Orre triregional area. Various places in the region were marked with red dots. "Are you seeing the representative dots? They are reported cases of the virus in our area."

Looker uncapped a red marker with his teeth and connected the dots to each other. The markers pungent aroma perfumed up after he was finished, and it seemed all the lines crossed over Ganoh.

"Ganoh is the epicenter of the virus." Looker said pointing to the red blob of marker on the map. "Which is why I needed you to investigate here."

Laura looked cross and said. "But why not use an agent from Ganoh? Someone who knows the area and-"

"Because Ganoh doesn't have an agent of any kind. Northern Johto is your primary jurisdiction and because you are the most close to the area you are the one to be used as an agent upon the option." Looker said.

Laura grumbled as Looked pulled out a blue PokeGear. Laura pulled out her black PokeGear from her pocket.

"Stay in contact." he said, as he pressed some buttons on his PokeGear making a new phone number with Sinnoh area code bleeped onto Laura's call list. "If you have any questions or intel. to be provided or to have provided upon you, contact me posthaste."

Laura nodded as a speaker above them crackled. The PA said "Ding-Dong! Time's up! Your train ride is over! We are approaching Ganoh and Gate Valley Station."

Laura stuffed the map into her briefcase, getting up.

"While in Gate Valley be sure to meet up with Prof. Oak." Looker said buttoning up his coat.

"Isn't he in Kanto?" Laura said walking towards the car's door.

"The professor is Oak's grandchild." Looker said doing a brief hand wave good-bye.

"Blue Oak: Pokemon Professor. Who would of thought?" she said to herself, walking briskly towards the exit of the train up front.

"Welcome to Ganoh, Miss." said the conductor with a grin.

Laura jumped off onto the platform, and into Ganoh.