Disclaimer: All HP characters are the property of JKR, the WB, and respective publishing companies. All portions of the Pokémon universe/worlds/characters are the property of The Pokémon Company, Nintendo, Creatures Inc., and GAME FREAK Inc. This story is nothing more than a simple FanFiction that I have written for my own enjoyment. I have made no money from this or any of the other stories I have posted on this or other sites.
Warnings: Mild to moderate violence, character death, character bashing (all Weasleys & Hermione), alternate universe (i.e. kiss canon goodbye), OCC behaviors and personalities, and who knows what else.
AN1: The credit for the Story Prompt/Challenge used to create this one-shot goes to the Guru of Challenges; Challenge King since he was the one that inspired this plot bunny and helped revive my Pokémon-hybrid muse. See the first author's note at the top of the first chapter (prologue) for details.
AN2: This story is self-beta'd; so there may be occasional grammatical or spelling errors that crop up every now and then and for those I apologize in advance.
Chapter Ten: Viridian City
April 02, 2031
Viridian City
Kanto Region
The Quartet would reach Viridian City early on the morning of the second (roughly two days after their encounter with the Spearow Flock. All four of them were tired and eager to wash off the accumulated dirt and spend the night in a real bed for the first time two nights. It wasn't that they hadn't enjoyed camping out (they had), it was more that they weren't used to sleeping in the wilderness on the ground beneath the stars. It was also a bit weird for there to be no adult within arm's reach; that was especially true for Daisy, who had never spent the night away from Pallet Town previously.
After taking a moment to simply bask in the knowledge that they'd survived their first unsupervised journey through the wilds, the four pre-teens returned their Pokémon to their PokéBalls and headed for the Pokémon Center so they could book a pair of rooms for the duration of their stay in the city. Harry was rather curious about the Pokémon Centers as that was one of the few buildings that none of the three travelers had ever set foot in when they had been in town with Ms. Ketchum or Professor Oak. Not that there'd been any need for them to use the Centers on their handful of visits to Viridian City or Celadon City over the past five months.
As they approached the Pokémon Center a half an hour later, Harry took in the boxy looking building. The building was shaped like a rectangle that had had all four corners shaved off, was three stories tall with a reddish-orange roof, several large plate glass windows evenly placed about the building, and surrounded on three sides by a grass lawn boxed in with juniper bushes in various stages of growth. Centered on the third floor on front of the building over the electronic doors was a large sign with a stylized PokéBall painted in red.
All in all it was a distinctive looking building and one that could be recognized at a glimpse from a distance.
After taking one last look at the building's exterior, Harry followed the others inside. Once in the building, Harry moved a few steps to the side of the door before he stopped to assess the place. The lobby he'd stepped into took up roughly a sixth of the entire ground floor. To the right of the entrance, there was a small cafeteria that catered to humans and Pokémon that took up another sixth of the ground floor with a glass wall separating the cafeteria from the lobby.
In the wall directly behind cafeteria, there was hall leading to the restrooms according to the sign on the wall above the hallway entrance. Just beyond the hallway, there was a line of five computer terminals with pay phones that ran along the wall. The last computer and phone terminal sat directly beside a pair of swinging doors that led deeper into the building; the sign above the door indicating that those doors led into the Pokémon Clinic where seriously injured or ill Pokémon were treated.
Centered along the back wall of the lobby there was a large chunk of the lobby cordoned off with a counter on all three sides to form a reception station. Inside of that area there was a computer terminal, a bulky machine with six indents the size and shape of an expanded PokéBall, and an open doorway leading into the back. Currently seated at the computer terminal in the reception station, there was a woman with bubblegum pink hair that had been tied up in an elaborate pair of ponytails that formed a bow on the back of her head.
If not for his inability to feel grief, Harry would have wept over the memories of Tonks's death and the godson he'd not been allowed to see due to the woman's hair color sharply reminding him of the bubbly metamorphmagus. As it was, Harry merely closed his eyes for a brief moment to center himself before he gently tucked those memories into the back of his mind where they would be out of the way but never forgotten. He then resumed his inspection of the lobby as his eyes took in the small waiting section (complete with out-dated magazines, secondhand guidebooks, and health pamphlets) situated to the left of the counter.
The rest of the left-hand wall was filled with a series of doorways, staircases, and lifts that led into the trainer dorms, the staffs' quarters, the Pokémon Kennels (for those Pokémon that were uninjured but still under observation by the Clinic's staff), several storage rooms, and the basement where the Center's backup generator was housed. Those doorways leading into areas that were restricted to authorized personnel only, were barred with locked doors to prevent anyone from accessing the rooms beyond them.
Inspection complete, Harry finally moved forward to join his companions at the receptionist's desk. He caught up to them just as the pink-haired woman reflexively intoned, "Hello and welcome to the Viridian City Pokémon Center," without looking up.
"Good morning, Nurse Joy," Daisy greeted in return as she leaned on the counter.
"Daisy, it is good to see you," Nurse Joy warmly replied as she finally looked up from her computer and smiled at the auburn haired pre-teen before she glanced about the lobby as if looking for someone else. "It is rather unusual to see you here without an escort. Where is your grandfather hiding?"
"Gramps is back in Pallet Town; I've officially started my Pokémon Journey this year."
"Really? Good for you, young lady; are you going to take the Pokémon League Challenge or are you running research errands for Professor Oak?"
"All four of us plan to register for the Kanto League," Daisy replied as she stepped to the side and gestured to the three world travelers.
"All four of you, huh? Did you stumble on your friends on your Journey here? I don't recall seeing them around Viridian City in the past."
"Actually, it was Professor Oak that had stumbled on us last year and he took us in after he learned we were new to the area," Harry supplied as he moved up beside Daisy.
"Oh, does that mean that the three of you are the young orphans that he took in last fall?"
"Yes."
"Well, it is certainly good to see that you are all in good health. Professor Oak was most concerned about all three of you due to the condition in which he found you. I remember his frantic request to borrow my Chansey when one of you boys grew too sick to move."
Harry's cheeks grew warm with mild embarrassment over the reminder of how sick he'd made himself by wandering around in the chilly air all those months ago and he awkwardly cleared his throat before he offered a quiet, "Thank you, for allowing your Pokémon partner to help me, ma'am."
"You're very welcome, young man."
"Do you think it would be possible for me to see your Chansey before we leave Viridian City? I'd like to personally thank her for what she did for me."
"Yes, I think that can be arranged in between Chansey's shifts with our current patients," Nurse Joy agreed as her smile grew even warmer in response to his request. "How long do the four of you intend to stay?"
"We'll be here until the morning of the fifth," Luna stated in her usual dreamy tone.
"Do you already have a place to stay or did you wish to reserve a room for your stay?"
"We'd like to book a pair of rooms," Daisy answered almost before Nurse Joy finished asking her question. "We'd also like to schedule a check-up for all of our Pokémon."
"If you pass me your PokéBalls, I can start scanning them now while the four of you fill out your applications for the Pokémon League," Nurse Joy offered as she climbed to her feet and set a quartet of six-by-four application cards down on the counter before she fished out four silver trays with inch tall walls.
Daisy was the first one to place her only Pokémon in one of the tray before snagging one of the applications and a pen with which to fill it out. Luna and Harry both followed her example without hesitation while Dudley dithered until Luna nudged him with her elbow. Harry suspected that Dudley was concerned about how Nurse Joy would react when the scanner (the bulky machine situated behind her counter) revealed the nature of the six Pokémon that had been born from the magical objects they'd carried into the Veil of Death. Harry briefly wondered if he should be wary too before he discarded the thought and turned his attention to the small application he needed to fill out.
An hour later, their Pokémon were returned to them with a clean bill of health alongside of a quartet of Pokémon League Badge Cases (two in medium blue and two in dark pink). Their PokéDexes were then updated with their Official League Registration information that would allow them to participate in the Kanto Pokémon League Challenge. They were also provided with four official rule books, a list of which Pokémon Gyms were participating in this year's Tournament and which Gyms were closed for the season, and the keys to their assigned rooms for the duration of their stay.
The four pre-teens then converged on the public phones so that they could call Pallet Town and let everyone know that they'd made it safely to Viridian City. There was a brief debate over who to call first and who would do the initial calling (settled by two rounds of Rock-Paper-Scissors) before Harry initiated the call to Professor Oak while Luna handled the call to Delia.
"This is Oak's Pokémon Research Laboratory, Professor Oak speaking."
"Good morning, Professor, it's Harry."
"Harry! Is everything all right? Is Daisy okay? Did the four of you get into more trouble already?" Professor Oak demanded in rapid fire the moment Harry had identified himself.
"Yes, everything's fine. Daisy is perfectly fine. No, we're not in any trouble. Nor did we have any more trouble on the way here after we dealt with the Spearow Flock. We reached Viridian City this morning and we just finished registering for the Pokémon League Challenge and checked into a pair of rooms at the Pokémon Center for the next three nights. Did you get my e-mail and my report on Berry Meadow?"
"Yes, I got your e-mail and the attachments. The only reason why I didn't contact you immediately afterwards was because I had to make arrangements to thin out the flock as you suggested before the Pokémon woke up. Daisy had also sent me a message to reassure me that all of you had survived the encounter unscathed. I'll send you a copy of my report on the countermeasures we enacted to prevent the flock from outgrowing the Meadow a second time and the plans we have to bring the ecosystem along Route One back into proper balance."
"And while I am thrilled with the information you were able to collect from your little adventure in Berry Meadow from a researcher's standpoint, as a grandfather, I really would prefer it if you were more careful in the future. I nearly had a heart attack when I opened the photo you sent me of the sleeping Spearow. I don't think I've ever seen that many Pokémon, of any species, gathered in one place before."
"I'm sorry that I distressed you, sir," Harry contritely apologized as he winced in response to the rebuke. "We already made a group decision that Daisy will be in charge of any and all future off-road explorations to avoid another incident like that in the future."
"Good," Professor Oak replied. "And for the record, I'm not angry. You are hardly the first Researcher to get into a spot of trouble while doing field research and I'm certain you won't be the last."
Harry laughed a bit at that as he recalled some of the stories he'd heard from Professor Oak's aides, Daisy, and Ms. Ketchum about Professor Oak's many misadventures. He would then spend another five minutes on the line with the older man before he passed the phone to Daisy so that she could speak to her grandfather next. Less than two minutes later, he was on the phone again; this time with Ms. Ketchum after Dudley passed him the phone. After taking a few minutes to reassure the easily worried woman that he was fine (and that he'd been changing his underwear every morning), he spent a few minutes chatting with Gary and Ash before he handed the phone off to Daisy a second time.
Once all four of them had had a chance to talk to everyone, the quartet hung up and made their way to the stairs leading up to the second floor so that they could drop their packs off in their assigned rooms so they wouldn't have to haul their supplies with them as they explored the town. The four of them then hit the communal showers that were scattered up and down the halls through the dorms. As soon as they'd finished washing up and changing into clean clothes, they sat down to discuss their plans for the day.
"What are we going to do first?" Daisy asked as they gathered in the room that the two boys would be sharing.
"I want to stop in at the Police Station and file a missing person's report before I do any exploring," Harry stated as he pulled out the notes he'd taken during their planning stage last month. "Once I've filed the report, I can request a copy of the portrait that the Police Sketch Artist draws so I can create and print a bunch of fliers to carry, hand out, and post."
Luna hummed a little tune as she tipped her head to the side and closed her sightless eyes. The moment she stopped humming, Luna opened her eyes and announced, "We will drop you off at the Police Station on our way to the PokéMart to replace those supplies that we used on the way here and then pick you up at noon for lunch. You will also need to make certain that you do not embellish the background story that we pieced together from your memories."
In other words, Harry would be stuck at the Police Station all morning and he'd best be careful not to mention magic or traveling between worlds. Letting out a soft sigh, Harry scrubbed as his eyes from beneath his glasses as he replied, "I will be sure to stick to the facts." He then dug into his pack to snag the bag of Poké Coins he'd been carrying around since they had first arrived in this world and tossed the bag to Dudley. "Use what you need from there for my share of the supplies."
"Got it; is there anything in particular you need us to get for you?"
"I just need a couple more of the general healing sprays and replacement bandages and plasters to replace what I used after we were mobbed by the Spearow."
"Do we need to replace any food supplies while we're here?" Daisy inquired as she jotted down the items that Harry needed on the short list she'd made of the things that she personally needed to purchase.
"No, we still have lots left. We don't need any Pokémon food or treats either."
"I was going to grab some more PokéBalls; did you want me to get you a few as well?" Dudley asked as he tucked Harry's bag of coins into the day pack he was wearing over his shoulders alongside of his own money bag.
"Nah, I've still got the five that Professor Oak gave us and I don't plan to capture another Pokémon until my Cyndaquil reaches at least level fifteen. Between Cyndaquil's training, spending time with my older Pokémon, and the research I'm doing for Professor Oak and Professor Elm, I'm not sure I'll have time to look after and tame another new Pokémon at the moment."
"And you have the most Pokémon out of our entire group," Dudley absently pointed out as he patted the two PokéBalls that were attached to his belt.
"Why is that?" Daisy asked curiously as she glanced between their belts.
"Dudley isn't all that fond of ghosts and I have close bond with Moony and Gryffin," Harry answered with a shrug of his shoulders and a slight smirk for his cousin.
"Prat," Dudley mockingly growled as he grabbed the pillow from the bed behind him and tossed it at Harry.
Harry just laughed as he caught the pillow and whacked his cousin over the head with it. His laughter cut off abruptly when Luna pulled the pillow out of his hands and promptly whapped him on the back of the head. The subsequent pillow war would last a good fifteen minutes; all four of them fighting over the two pillows provided with the room as they took turns thumping one another with the fluffy weapons. At the end of their little play-war (which had ended in favor of the two girls), the four of them were all red in the face and giggling over their own silliness.
It took them several minutes to calm down as each time they glanced at one another, they would start snickering once more due to how ruffled they each looked; Luna mostly laughing just because the others were laughing. Once the worst of their giggling fit had passed, the four of them straightened up their clothes and hair before they headed out. Harry would be the last one out of the room and just before he locked the door, Harry snagged hold of Trouble's PokéBall and released the mischievous ghost.
After glancing about to insure that the hallway was clear of both surveillance cameras and strangers, Harry gently snagged hold of his Misdreavus and quietly asked, "Trouble, would you please stay here and watch over our things in this room and the one right next door while we're out running a few errands?"
"Boring!" Trouble complained as she made herself solid enough that she could enjoy the hug she was being given without sinking into Harry's body.
"I know but you're the only one that can travel between both rooms without help and watch over everything," Harry cajoled as he held back a snort of amusement. "And you'll be able to scare anyone who sneaks into the rooms."
"How long?"
"Until lunch time, at least. After lunch, if you're too tired, I'll ask a couple of the others to take a turn. And, I'll let you roam about for a couple of hours after dark so you can scare any troublemakers you come across."
"Deal!" Trouble crowed eagerly as she slipped out of Harry's arms to perform several back flips in midair in response to the prospect of being allowed to scare humans.
"Then I'll see you at lunch time, Trouble."
Trouble flew forward to kiss Harry's cheek before she disappeared through the wall to explore the room that the girls had claimed. Harry chuckled to himself over her antics as he closed and locked the door. He then hurried to catch up with the others who were waiting for him down the hall by the stairs.
"What was that all about?" Dudley asked as the four of them entered the stairwell and headed back down to the ground floor.
"I asked Trouble to keep an eye on our stuff while we're gone."
"Why would you do that?" Daisy asked with a small frown.
"Habit," Harry replied after giving the question some thought. "A lot of people and Pokémon pass through the Pokémon Centers on a daily basis and not all of them are trustworthy. I'm also used to us setting a couple of our Pokémon to watch our camp each night since that is what we did on the way here. And security was something the three of us had discussed when we first started planning our journey; before you asked to join us."
"Trouble always follows Harry," Dudley sagely pointed and Harry stuck his tongue out at his cousin in response. "And I'm not just talking about his ghost Pokémon."
Harry merely sighed; his cousin was correct. At least the trouble that had found him over the past five or six months had been far tamer than the trouble that used to find him during his first childhood. Well, that was true so long as he didn't count the ordeal that had led to the three of them winding up in the Pokémon World. Shaking his head, Harry shoved those thoughts out of his mind as he checked his pocket for his notes on the information he would need once he reached the Police Station.
The walk from the Pokémon Center to the Police Station took less than ten minutes; both buildings located in the center of the town where they were easily accessed from all three of the main routes leading into and out of the city. Harry stopped walking the moment they reached the building and simply stared up at the slate gray façade of the stone building as he tried to order his thoughts. The others left him standing in front of the doors just two minutes later; Luna (bless her heart) hustled the other two off when it when became apparent that they would linger so long as Harry made no move to enter the building.
As much as he liked everyone's company, this was something he had to do by himself.
Taking a deep breath, Harry drudged up every ounce of Gryffindor Courage he possessed and briefly ran the fingers of his right hand over Moony's PokéBall before he reached for the door. Stepping through the door, Harry immediately found himself in a small cozy lobby. Off to either side of the entrance, were a handful of coffee tables around which a mismatched assortment of chairs and couches had been arranged. Against either side wall, there were a series of low bookshelves crammed full of magazines, children's toys, and assorted books.
A single wooden desk sat at the back of the room next to a door leading deeper into the building. Seated behind the desk, was a young woman with dark teal hair that had been pulled back in a spiky ponytail wearing a blue uniform with a pale blue inverted triangle on the breast, gold fastenings, and red trim. She also wore a pair of white wrist-length gloves on her hands, a black purse-like pouch slung over one shoulder, and a blue and red hat with a black brim and a gold star centered on the front.
After taking a few seconds to inspect the police officer (she was obviously wearing an official uniform and he doubted they handed things like that out to secretaries and receptionists unless they were qualified officers), Harry crossed the lobby to stand in front of the desk.
"Welcome to the Viridian City Police Department, I'm Officer Rebecca Jenny; how may I help you today?" the woman greeted the moment she caught sight of Harry in her peripheral vision as he stepped up to the desk.
"I wish to file a missing person's report, ma'am," Harry politely stated as he calmly met the woman's reddish-brown eyes.
"Do you have a current photo of the individual you are looking for? What is this person's relationship to you? How long has the individual you are looking for been missing? Where was the last known location of the individual in question? When was the last time you had contact with him or her? Do you suspect foul play? Or did the individual disappear while out in the wild?" Officer Jenny asked in rapid fire as she rose from her seat.
Harry blinked at her and waited a moment to insure the string of questions was complete before he answered, "Er, no, I don't have any photos. The person I'm looking for is my godfather. He's been missing for five years. I don't remember where it was that I last saw him; all I remember was that it was in a dark basement I'd been tricked into sneaking into and he vanished shortly after he turned up to save me from the man who tricked me. That was the last time I saw him. And I don't really remember much of what happened that night."
"Why are you only just now reporting his disappearance? For that matter, where are your parents?"
"After what happened five years ago, I was told my godfather was dead but there had been no funeral at the time because his body was never found. I recently learned that a lot of what I had been told by my relatives growing up was a lie and I thought that maybe his death had been a lie too. This was also the earliest I could apply for a Pokémon Trainer's License so I could go out and search for him."
Officer Jenny pursed her lips and stared at Harry for a long moment before she ordered, "Come with me, young man."
Harry silently complied as the woman rose from her chair and made a beeline for the door leading further into the building. There was a brief moment where he almost tripped over his feet when he discovered that the woman officer was wearing a short blue mini-skirt and high heels. He couldn't help but wonder how in the world she could possibly chase after criminals dressed like that and wearing such impractical shoes. He shook the thought away a split second later as the woman led him into a large room crammed with desks, chairs, file cabinets, towering piles of paperwork, and at least two dozen officers; including at least three more women that looked almost exactly like Officer Jenny.
"Joe, I need you to man the front desk," Officer Jenny barked as she slapped her hand on the messy desk of an officer sleeping with his face pillowed on a three inch pile of folders; the sound of her hand smacking the wood startling the man awake. "Pete, grab your kit and come with me! Sarah, you'd best come with us as well. Alan, fetch me all of the pertinent forms to file a MISPER report."
"On it boss," Joe replied around a yawn as he rose to his feet and shuffled towards the lobby.
Officer Jenny's orders and Joe's rapid exit from the room drew the attention of every single person in the room. Harry automatically flinched in response to the weight of close to two dozen calculating and curious gazes zeroing in on him; an annoying habit that he'd developed not long after he'd entered the wizarding world at age eleven. He had always loathed being the center of attention and despite his inability to feel the usual negative emotions that excess attention used to induce, he still didn't feel all that comfortable being watched by twenty-three unknown adults.
"Everyone else; back to work!" Officer Jenny snapped a heartbeat later as one of her near-identical twins and a man with brown hair carrying a large briefcase fell into step behind Harry; her order making everyone yank their eyes off of Harry and return to their previous tasks.
The four of them passed out of the bullpen and into what Harry would call a typical interrogation room (bare light on the ceiling, a plain table, several uncomfortable looking chairs, and a large mirror on one wall) a split second later. Harry wondered if he should be worried about being led into such a room but dismissed the thought a moment later as he knew that Luna would not have allowed him to walk into the Station alone if there was even a slim chance of him running into trouble.
"Have a seat, young man," Officer Jenny instructed the moment the door clicked shut behind the two officers that had followed them into the room.
Harry silently complied with the stern request and after spending a good three minutes trying to mentally pick out the little differences between Officer Jenny and the woman she'd named as Sarah, he turned his attention to the man that had followed them into the interrogation room. The man he suspected was named Pete had placed the briefcase he'd been carrying on the table and withdrawn a sketch pad, a bundle of colored pencils, several charcoal pencils, a gum eraser, a pencil sharpener, and a large stack of laminated sheets of card stock.
He was about to ask the man if he was a sketch artist when a sharp knock on the door distracted him. Glancing away from the man he'd just been watching, Harry redirected his gaze back to the only exit as the door opened. A younger officer wearing thick glasses pushed into the room and silently passed Officer Jenny a thick folder before he retreated from the room. The file folder was placed on the table a moment later as Officer Jenny took a seat in the chair directly opposite of Harry while Sarah withdrew a notepad and pen and stationed herself behind her twin.
"Allow me to introduce you to my companions," Officer Jenny stated as she gestured first to the man seated off to the side and then to the woman standing behind her. "Seated on your left is Officer Peter Reed and standing behind me is Officer Sarah Jenny. I have asked the two of them to join us as witnesses to your report and so that Officer Reed can create a composite sketch of your godfather based on his physical description since you informed me that you do not have a photograph of the man."
"Are the two of you sisters? And are the other two officers that look like you your sisters too?" Harry asked curiously as he once again bounced his gaze between the two women.
"No, we're all cousins; the Jenny family is very large and has a long history of working in Law Enforcement," Officer Jenny (the original one he'd met; at least, he thought she was – it was kind of hard to tell) stated with a short laugh that Harry suspected meant the cousins fielded similar questions all the time. "Did you have any other questions before we get started?"
"No, ma'am."
"Then why don't you start by telling us your full name, young man," Officer Jenny suggested as she pulled out a cheap ballpoint pen and opened the folder in front of her.
"My name is Harry. Harry Potter."
Police Terminology:
MISPER – Missing person
Bullpen – an Open Plan Office that contains multiple desks/workstations in one large room w/out partitions to give a semblance of privacy
AN: Um... not sure what I wanted to say here. I know there was some point I wanted to make but it was drummed out of my mind. Anywho, here's the first chapter of the Viridian City Arc. I hope you enjoyed the introduction of two very familiar characters from the Pokemon Anime/Manga; Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny. I don't think I actually used either of them in my first Pokemon/HP crossover. And, in case it wasn't obvious, I am portraying both 'Joy' and 'Jenny' as a last name rather than as first names since it makes more sense to me that way rather than there being dozens of people from the same family bearing the same first name.
Anyhow, the next chapter will pick up right from where this one left off and will give the background story that our trio of world travelers came up with to explain their pasts and their presence in the Pokemon world. I'll have that one up sometime tomorrow after I finish prepping it for posting. I should also be able to give you a number for how many more chapters there are left in this arc at that time too; cause maybe by then my head will stop pounding. ~ Jenn
PS: A word of advice - never eat raw carrots or anything else crunchy when you have a migraine no matter how tasty you think they are; it will only make your head hurt more even if you think you've got your headache tamed with meds.
