Disclaimer: These characters are owned by Nintendo, not by me. Cover by topcat-sama and used with permission. View my profile for a link to the picture.

I exit the bar, a bit buzzed but not too hammered. Ruby's still going at it, but I've had enough. It's late, much later than I meant to stay up tonight. I think my conversation with Jasmine justifies a bit of drinking, though.

As I make my way toward my cabin, I see Brock on the lido deck, just looking out toward the moon over the ocean. I pull up a beach chair and join him.

After a while, I decide to break the silence. "Hey Brock."

He seems to notice me for the first time. "Hey Gold. What're you up to?" He cracks a smile.

"Oh, just enjoying the view." It truly is refreshing, despite me being a bit buzzed and sleepy. "You?"

He sighs, looking out over the ocean again. "Just thinking some things through."

I nod. "Yeah, it's been a pretty crazy couple of weeks. How are you holding up?"

"Fine, I guess." He shrugs. "I just hope that people don't forget them. That people care."

He's right, as usual. An entire breed of trainer is being wiped out, a group that has saved and shaped the world. He might be asking too much from the general populace though. Anything that asks someone to remember or change rarely sticks.

"What about Red?" I ask. "Now that's pretty hard to wrap your mind around."

"I just can't believe it," Brock says, shaking his head. "I think he was set up. Red wouldn't do anything like that."

Maybe he's right. But as an investigator, I don't have the luxury to be so naïve. "I really like what you said," I say, blinking spots out of my eyes. "At the funeral, I mean."

He smiles modestly. "Thank you. I meant it."

We sit in silence for awhile longer before I decide it could affect my health if I stood up any later. As I open my mouth for a goodbye, Brock speaks. "Friends are an endangered species. You take care of yourself, okay?" He gives me one of his trademark smiles.

I grasp his hand firmly. "Of course, Brock. You too." Yawning, I head towards bed once again.

When I wake up the next morning, I don't feel too terrible. I feel pretty bad, though. After a drowsily showering and getting dressed, I leave my room at an uncomfortable 7 a.m. I have an appointment at 9, so if I'm going to get some training in, I'm going to have to grit my teeth and stay awake.

As I release Ampharos and Arcanine on the battlefield on the empty lido deck, I hear soft footsteps behind me. I turn to see none other than Dawn waving at me.

"I woke up early and couldn't get back to sleep, so when I heard you leave your room, I went ahead and followed you," Dawn says, her blue hair blowing in the ocean breeze. My mind flashes back to Jasmine, but I shake it off. Thinking about her right now could get dangerous. "Hope you don't mind."

Naturally, Dawn and I are rooming next to each other. It is a bit odd that she followed me, but, since it's her, I can let it slide. Maybe she was lonely. Hell, maybe I was lonely too.

"Don't worry about it," I say, smiling. "How was your evening?"

Dawn frowns slightly, stroking Arcanine's flowing mane. "Not the greatest. Daisy's taken Blue and Leaf's deaths pretty hard."

I produce a treat and feed it to Ampharos. Wouldn't want her getting jealous. "That's understandable. Think she'll be able to give us any answers today?" I'm hoping Daisy can give us some information about Blue and Leaf that could help us with the case.

"I don't know." She sighs. Arcanine's really enjoying the attention. "How was yours? Did Ruby behave himself?"

I laugh. "About as much as usual, I guess."

She stops scratching Arcanine and leans up against Arcanine's fuzzy body. "Why do you hang around that creep? You're much nicer than he is."

I pat Amparos on the head and she baas in protest. She values her space more than Arcanine. "Everybody else grew up and got old and boring, but Ruby's stayed pretty much the same. A little wild and bitter, but he's all right."

Dawn's not impressed. "There's plenty of young trainers out there that aren't alcoholics or assholes," she says, frowning. "Why don't you just hang out with them?"

That's a bit of a harder question. I absentmindedly continue patting Amparos's head until she gives me a warning shock. Time to put my hands in my pockets.

"I've never really had too many friends," I say. "For a while, Kris was all I needed. Then she started getting more busy with research and boys and setting me up with someone. Plus I was farther away from home than I had ever been. Then Ruby and I kind of ran into each other. Even back then, he was pretty wild, so nobody really wanted to have anything to do with him. I guess we kind of filled gaps, you know."

Dawn nods. "Yeah, only someone as sweet as you could handle Ruby." I blush.

"But that doesn't mean I have to like him," she says, playfully folding her arms.

I laugh. "That's fair. So, are we going to battle or what? I didn't come here just to enjoy the ocean breeze."

"I was wondering what you were doing," she says, disentangling herself from Arcanine's fur. "Do you do this every morning?"

"Sure," I say with a smile. "But that doesn't answer my question."

With a gleam in her eye, she sends out Glaceon and Gardevior. "Of course."

Forgetting the case for the first time in weeks, I begin the battle.

"Anything you know will help, Daisy," Dawn says gently. Daisy's room is much nicer than mine, with lightly curtained windows and a sizable bed.

But there are more important things at stake right now. If anyone knows about potential clues in Blue and Leaf's personal life, it's Daisy.

Daisy, however, doesn't look ready for something like this. She's dressed as well as ever, but her face is pale and her eyes are a little distant.

"Blue… I… Leaf… They're…." Daisy sputters. She really is trying her best. I meant to let Dawn lead this one, but I don't think we're getting anywhere.

Time to try another angle. Blackburn used to call me in to receive all sorts of testimonies from more skittish witnesses. Maybe he thought I was empathetic or something. After a while, I discovered a trick to get even the most tense witness to relax: hypnosis.

"Here, Daisy," I say, producing a coin from my pocket. "This'll help you relax." Her eyes follow the coin as I twirl it gracefully around my fingers. After a moment, she slumps forward and closes her eyes.

"Where did you learn to do that, Ethan?" Dawn asks, mouth hanging open.

I shrug. "Used to practice on Kris for more skittish witnesses. Ruby would never let me try it on him, though."

Dawn smirks. "Why didn't you just use a Pokémon's Hypnosis?"

"We want her relaxed, not asleep." I motion toward Daisy. "Whenever you're ready, Dawn."

Dawn pushes her glasses up from the bridge of her nose and readies her pen. "Can you hear me, Daisy?"

"Yes…" Daisy says softly, eyes still closed.

"I need you to tell me anything about Blue and Leaf that would make someone want to kill them," Dawn says.

Daisy is silent for a moment. "There is one thing… About Red."

Now that's interesting. "Tell us about it, Daisy," I say.

"Red loved Leaf… Ever since they were kids," she says. Her voice is low and her words are slow. "But Red was too busy and distant… He was never around…"

Dawn scribbles furiously in her notebook. It makes sense if you ask me. "What else, Daisy?" Dawn asks.

Daisy continues. "Blue and Leaf fell in love… Then they got married while Red was away. Red never forgave them for it… Things got more complicated when Blue started cheating." Daisy scrunches her eyes like she's having a bad dream.

Dawn raises her eyebrows. Apparently she didn't know this. Honestly, I'm not surprised.

"But Blue loved Leaf… In his own way…" Daisy relaxes again. "When Red found out, he confronted Blue at the funeral… Then he left. I don't think he went back to Pallet after that."

Now that clears some things up. Except… "Do you think Red did it?" I ask.

A shadow crosses Daisy's face. "Yes," she says with finality.

I frown. Even his childhood friend doesn't have faith in him.

Still, it seems like we have what we need. "All right, Daisy. When I touch your forehead, you're going to go into a deep sleep and wake up relaxed and happy." I tap her forehead and she slumps over.

"What do you think, Ethan?" Dawn asks.

"You did well, Dawn," I say. "We have our answers."

She smiles briefly. "Thanks, but you did most of the work. I was talking about what Daisy said."

"Sounds believable to me," I say. "Doesn't really explain why he would want to kill the others, though."

Dawn nods, stowing her glasses in her purse. "Daisy sounded pretty convinced to me, and she knew them better than anyone."

"Remember, Dawn, the closest someone is to a case, the harder it is for them to see it."

She blinks. "Then why are we on this case?"

I smile grimly. "Because we're one of the few people in the world that still have their eyes open."