Chapter 1

A Day as Per Usual

The sun rose in the sky as it always did; far too early. Cassius Proctor smacked his screaming alarm clock and sighed. The first sight of the painfully bright morning light nearly sent him back to bed. He groaned as he dragged himself up, still exhausted from a foot chase late last night.

Cassius, a police detective of Lumiose City, yawned as he pulled himself out of bed in his loft. He rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms up, his back protesting with sharp popping noises from the slow movement, while the sun gleamed off of his back. "I think I need some milk with this snap, crackle, and pop."

He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and stood up, proceeding to walk to his closet and pick out his clothes for work. He sifted through the clothing on hangers around, trying to find what it was that he would wear to work today. He spotted a pair of tailored grey slacks, pulled them off the hanger, and slipped into them. He grasped a sleeve of his freshly starched white button-down, considering whether to wear it or not. He decided to go for it and slipped it off the hanger. He peeled the shirt over his abs and fastened the buttons in the front. He reached for his red and black striped tie, tying it into a smart double Windsor. As he was straightening out his tie, he eyed his vests and picked out his navy blue vest. He slipped it over his button-down shirt.

As he went to grab his black shoes to wear for the day his young Riolu, Anubis, barreled through the door to his room and onto his bed. He was all hyped up for the day. Cassius looked at Anubis quizzically and asked, "Where's Patriot?" His question was answered with a "tap, tap, tap" at the glass door that led out to his apartment's terrace. Cassius turned to face the source of the noise. His large, proud Braviary, Patriot, stood on the terrace, waiting for the door to be opened.

Cassius moved to open the terrace door to let his Braviary in. It hopped inside and nuzzled into his side, cooing with contentment. He smiled down at his starter when he heard a crash from the kitchen. He closed his eyes and sighed. "Cerberus! Are you getting into the trash again?" No response. He stepped out of his bedroom and into the hall, Patriot and Anubis tailing closely behind.

He looked into the kitchen and, sure enough, saw Cerberus standing over the spilled contents of the trash can. Cerberus was sniffing the scraps, trying to see if there was anything edible amongst the waste. It looked back up at him with a dopey grin on its face. "What have I told you about this? You need to stop rummaging through the trash if you're hungry and wait for when I feed you." Cerberus responded with a frown on his face and looked down at the ground, ashamed of what he did.

Cassius patted its head and herded everyone out of the kitchen, through the hallway and into the living room. Flash, his proud Luxray, lay on the couch, lazily grooming itself. It barely took any notice to everyone's entrance and continued to straighten out his own fur.

Cassius made his way into the kitchen to prepare his Pokemon their breakfast. His kitchen wasn't fancy, but it had all the amenities: refrigerator, stove and oven, microwave, a coffee maker, and a Poffin Pot that he'd had for years. He did want to repaint it from off-white to a warmer color, but he's been so busy with work that he can't find the time to get around to it. He made his Pokemon bowls of premium Poke Chow with a few of each one's favorite homemade Poffins. He liked a simple breakfast for himself, so he poured out a bowl of Rice Crispies and a cup of black coffee. He had to always keep easy to make food in stock for himself. It was cheap, sure, but he spent more of his paycheck on his Pokemon than himself. He grew his own Berries on his terrace to make it easier for him to make his own Pokemon food.

He began to move all the food out to the living room, placing the proper bowl in front of each Pokemon, then took a seat on his couch and began to eat his cereal. Like his kitchen, his living room was simple: a couch for himself and a few seats for visitors, a television on the wall, and a coffee table with some lamps in the corners of the room. Again, another off-white room that he wanted to repaint but couldn't find the time to do it. Everyone was engrossed in their food. His Pokemon were his toughest critics when it came to their meals and he held no notions that they wouldn't raise their displeasure if it was bad. This morning, though, was all happy enjoyment from a good breakfast.

Once they all finished he picked up the dirty dishes (Anubis helped a little, too) and moved into the kitchen, washing off the dishes quickly. He went back to his room, grabbed his work bag and Pokeballs, then went back to the living room. "Alright guys, time to get going," Cassius pointed three of the Pokeballs at Flash, Cerberus, and Patriot, returning them to their respective Pokeballs and clipping them to his belt. He decided to walk to work with Anubis today.

Walking out from his apartment complex onto Autumnal Avenue, Cassius made his way to the station. Anubis followed along with Cassius, walking right beside him and sometimes running ahead of him. Cassius couldn't help but smile at the little Riolu. Anubis loved to run around and since it was better to just let the little one exercise he made sure to take advantage of every opportunity possible.

He passed by the Lumiose Tower onto Vernal Avenue and continued down until he hit the station. They arrived at the front of the station, anticipation building for what case he was going to handle today.

"Well, time to get started. Ready Anubis?"

"Ruff," Anubis replied, jumping up and down in excitement.

Cassius smiled down at Anubis, shaking his head in amazement at the sheer energy that Anubis possessed. "Where do you get all of your pep from? And could I get some?"

"Ruff," Anubis exclaimed with a smile.

Cassius moved up the steps and to the doors. Walking through the front doors of the station, they went from the quiet of the street into the chaos of a busy police station. Police officers were bringing in criminals to be booked. More were scurrying about with paperwork that needed to be documented, signed by superiors, or put into the storage files. Desks were cluttered with more piles of paperwork and crime boards were filling up even more of the open space (or lack thereof). Phones were ringing off the hook every ten seconds. This place was a den of craziness and that was what Cassius loved about it. It was a nonstop, always moving kind of place and Cassius liked to keep himself busy.

Cassius weaved his way through the room. His desk was relatively clear of paperwork, all of which were filed in his "cases closed" folder. Except one. The case file that sat on his desk was a cold case from four years ago. His father's last case, one that Cassius wouldn't have been able to touch, let alone see, unless he was a Police detective. Thankfully, he had passed the exam a year and a half ago, so he could access the file, but he couldn't investigate any further without a little persuasion.

Cassius began to think of all the time he lost with his father. He would never be able to see him unless he got put on this case. He sighed, a stinging of loss in his chest. Anubis tugged on his pant leg, a worried expression on his face. How can you read me so well, Anubis? It was obvious that his young partner worried about him.

"How's about we go ahead and help out some of these newbies, Anubis. I'm sure some of them are hitting a wall somewhere in their cases. "Anubis replied with a nod and pulled Cassius out of his chair, directing him to a case board that an officer was having a staring contest with. About two hours later, he was positing a scenario in which a thief could've used a Psychic Pokemon with Teleport to break into an armored truck when he heard someone calling his name.

"Proctor, Chief wants to see you in his office!"

Cassius turned around and responded with, "Roger, I'll be there in a sec!" A warm feeling of hope spread within his chest. Maybe I'll finally get to work on my father's case!

After he was done positing the scenario and providing some advice on how to proceed, he walked to his superior's office. He opened the door to receive a "Mornin', detective. Take a seat."

"What's going on, Chief? Got an assignment for me?"

The Chief got up out of his chair and walked over to his coffee pot, pouring himself a mug. Lumiose City Police Chief Richard Broderick was a tough old man; he was well into his fifties and had graying hair and a grizzly beard. He smoothed the front of his blue button-up and moved back towards his desk, his Pangoro sleeping in the corner. "Yes, in fact, I do. But it's not an investigation." He made a gesture to the chair in front of his desk, prompting Cassius to take a seat. "I need you to be a police escort for a prominent archaeologist and Pokepologist. His name is Darren Stone. I have a file put together providing some pertinent information for you." The Chief passed him a folder containing standard information on the ward, such as age and occupation to Pokemon that Dr. Stone uses. "You will be meeting him at Coumarine City Port in about three days. You will need to coordinate with the local police departments of any town you travel to while on this assignment. This was a request that was backed by Diantha herself, so all police departments are to comply."

Cassius frowned. This was not what he was hoping for. He didn't want to be walking some bespectacled Ruin Maniac throughout the Kalos Region. He wanted to find the bastards that kept his father from him for the past four years. But he was assigned this job. He bit his lip and said, "Yes, sir. I will make sure that this is a successful assignment."

As he stood up to leave, the Chief spoke up, a firm yet soothing tone in his voice. "I know that this isn't what you wanted. But I need someone experienced to handle this job. There have been some attempts to kidnap Dr. Stone on numerous occasions due to some of his research over the years and he requested that he have a police escort. He just wants to be able to do his work with a sense of security. You are one of my most experienced detectives and you're a veteran trainer that made it to the Elite Four. I hope you can just deal with it for now."

So my disappointment is apparent. Need to work on my poker face a little more. "I know, Chief. I just wish that you would give me my father's case. I want to find whoever made him disappear. My father wouldn't go down easy, he had Luka with him and he's no easy to beat Pokemon! I want answers or someone to answer for my father's…" He trailed off, not wanting to finish that thought. He knew what everyone else thought. Most people were pronounced dead after a year. But he still held out some inkling of hope that his father was alive.

Chief let out a sigh. "Look. I'll cut ya a deal. You finish this assignment successfully; I will clear you to run your father's case. But I don't want you to do it alone. I'll assign a second investigator to keep you grounded and focused on the facts. But you need to complete this job first. No 'ifs', 'ands' or 'buts', got it?"

"Got it."

Chief Broderick handed him a file. "Now get going. You need to get your ass up to Coumarine by Friday. Pack up and head out."

"No need to tell me twice, Chief."

Cassius walked out of the office and back to his desk. Anubis popped up right next to him, his head cocked to the side questioningly. "Ruff?"

"I have a new assignment. It's working as a police escort, all of us, and we get to do a bit of travelling. We will be leaving for Coumarine City tomorrow. You remember when we went there to take on Ramos? Maybe we'll get to meet with him and catch up on old times?"

"Ruff!" Anubis was very happy to be able to meet an old face, especially when it was a Gym Leader that he had beaten in the past.

"Alright, let's head out and pack up. It's going to be an all-day ride tomorrow and I want to get there at least a day in advance to scout out the area. I don't want to leave anything to chance after this Dr. Stone arrives." Cassius grabbed the file and dropped it in his work bag. He slung it over his shoulder and left the station.