Chapter 10: Clinton Maplethorn.
Majestic City Arc.
The three gaze at Clinton, with Justin and Ada spreading nothing but astonishment. The cop picks up the trainer, restraining his wrists as he grins at the elder. One of the cops hands the bag over to the hiding-behind-the-mailbox man, him thanking them in response. Ramon looks off to the side, squinting his eyes while tilting his ears. He then looks back at Clinton.
"So the yellow thing I saw near the TV. What was that?" the Zorua asks.
"My badge," Clinton answers. "It signified my service in the police force, originally." He glances at the cop gripping the trainer's hands, putting them behind him and caging them with handcuffs.
"Yeah. You sure was a crime stopper, Chief. Working us to the bone on getting to the crime scene, asap," the cop says.
"Isn't that the point of being an officer? Making sure people are safe?"
"I agree, sir. But wanting us to get to the bottom of the rampant crimes isn't our duty. It's the detectives." The cop shrugs.
"Where are the detectives then? Last I checked, they're always not at the crime scenes. Aren't you curious to why there's so much of it than usual?"
"Yes we are, Clinton. As mayor of this city, I too believe we should do something about the criminal activities," the round man says, adjusting his hat.
"Then why aren't you doing anything about it, Nickel!?" Clinton grips his fist.
Nickel holds his hands up. "Whoa! Relax, Clinton. We're doing something right now. Such as arresting this trainer and his Pokémon."
"Yeah, chill Chief. That's why everyone in the police force is glad that you retired," the cop says, chuckling. "You're too demanding and uptight about this."
Glad? The hell did he do to have the entire police department be glad about him retiring? Justin thinks, letting Ada rest her arm on his neck.
Clinton glares at the cop, shaking his head. "I truly believe that law enforcers should take these activities seriously." Also, was mentioning my retirement called for?
Nickel nods. "I understand why you feel that way, Clinton. Rest assured the enforcers got this under control." He then takes his attention towards Ramon, Justin, and Ada. "Who might they be, by the way?"
Clinton looks at the three. "These three are wanderers around this region. They have no place to live so I offer them one."
"I see." Nickel lifts his hat and bows. "The name is Nickel Willham, the mayor of Majestic City. I roam around here to make sure technologies exceed past its potentials and of course, keeping the city safe."
"I'm not so sure about the 'safe' part."
Nickel sighs. "Clinton, please. We're doing the best we can..." He looks off to the side. "I really wish I could come up with a solution for the poor. Truly..."
Clinton raises his brow at Nickel's response, folding his arms. Ramon gets in front of Justin and Ada. "I see. Hope you do find that solution, Mayor," he says in a soft tone.
Nickel looks at the Zorua and smiles. "Thank you, you kind Zorua."
"You're welcome. The name's Ramon, by the way. And behind me are Justin and Ada."
"Sup, Mayor," Justin says, waving. Ada waves her hand at a slow pace, smiling at the mayor before groaning.
Nickel looks at her, his face drowning with concerns. "You need medical attention at once," he says.
"Yeah. I...know..." Ada collapses on Justin, putting more pressure and weight on him. The boy holds her in place, wrapping his arm around her.
"Ada!" Justin shouts, the others staring in concern. As all of this happens, the cops surround Cindy and pin her down. The Gothitelle flails, the firm grip tightens from the cops coiling around her arms. One officer gets on her knees, positioning the handcuff towards Cindy's wrist. She locks the cuffs around them, sighing in relief.
"Looks like our job here is done," the cop states before releasing a gasp. "What the..."
"What's wron-" the other cop's sentence is cut off by a gasp as well, dark pink outline surrounding him and his fellow companions. Then the cops are blown away from the Gothitelle's Psychic, her eyes glowing blue as she lifts herself off the ground. Some of the cops crash against their own vehicles while the others roll next to the teens, the group looking at the scenario afterwards.
"What in the world?" Nickel says, looking rather bewildered. Cindy is surrounded by her Psychic move, floating higher and higher in the air. Her trainer eyes at her, quivering through his spine.
"Cindy, come back!" he shouts.
The Gothitelle stops for a moment, staring down at the human. "Goth-thi," she says before flying away.
"Cindy, wait! Come save me! PLEASE!" The trainer grips his fist. "Dammit!"
Ramon lowers his ears. I hope you find somewhere that makes you feel better, Cindy...
The smug cop smirks. "Man, you're so much of a scum, not even the Gothitelle wants to save you," he says, chuckling. He then looks at the rest of the officers, who're beginning to recover from the attack. "You all alright?"
One cop groans and brushes herself off, rubbing the side of her arm after colliding against her vehicle. She nods at the smug officer. "Yeah. At least, I'm doing alright," she replies.
"Good. Let's take this trash to the dumpster." The cop looks at Nickel. "You coming with us, Mayor?"
The mayor nods. "Of course I will." He takes his attention towards Clinton. "I'll take my leave now...Take care and do try to focus on your retirement, would you?"
"I'll do what I goddamn please, Nickel," Clinton says, glancing at the mayor.
Nickel stares at the elder for a moment, gazing into the fury of his eyes. He looks down and sighs, proceeding into the vehicle with the trainer and smug cop.
As the cops vehicles begin to drive away, a pink clothing lady exits out of the Pokémon Center. "Huh? What are the policemen doing here? Or...was doing here," she says as the cops drive off. The hiding-behind-the-mailbox man exits from his spot, sighing softly. He walks over to the teens.
"Hey, thanks for helping me there," the man says to Ada. She lifts her thumb up at a slow pace, leading the nurse to look at her.
"Oh my gosh!" the nurse exclaims, horrified at the teen's appearance. "You two come with me, now."
"Finally," Justin says, holding his friend tightly. The nurse rushes inside of the Pokémon Center, Justin following right behind her.
"Hey! We need someone to take this patient in, right away!"
And just under seconds, more nurses arrive in front of the double doors. They all rush over to the two teens, guiding them inside. Ramon and Clinton follow along, both spreading concern for the girl as the retrieved-bag man stands there.
"Hope she's alright," he says before turning around and walking back to his home.
. . .
Ramon, Justin, and Clinton stick to the black seat for the entirety of their time. They gaze up at the counter, anxious for updates on Ada. The clock hanging on the beige walls ticks, turning its shorthand every second. There's a white door next to the counter, with another being behind it.
Justin spreads his legs, his fingers making contact with one another while he lets them tap each other. His arms hunch over on his knees, the teen taking his gaze to the ground. After a brief moment of silence, he breaks it. "So Clinton, how was your life as a cop?"
"Misery," the elder replies, the two to staring at him afterwards.
"Why do you believe that?" Ramon asks.
Clinton looks out of the window, glancing at a random building with several windows. "I once thought I could handle any case, solving them with no problems. It went well until I started living here." He grips his fist. "Living here reminds me of how much of a foolish, helpless, and incompetent cop I was. So many crimes continued to happen one after another. And the majority weren't solved: Unfinished, in other words."
"Yikes," Justin says, forming a concerned look on his face. "Why were so many of those cases left unfinished?"
Clinton lifts his shoulders. "How should I know? I was trying to figure that out while becoming chief. I wanted the cops to focus on enforcing the laws more, making sure a crime scene doesn't erupt. But apparently the police force disagreed with that, saying it's up to the detectives to do that job."
"Wait wait, so let me get this straight: The police force disagreed with you wanting them to get involved in criminal activities, yet, they enforce the law?"
"Yep."
Justin blinks. "That sounds dumb."
"I know, kid. It makes me regret not ignoring their orders and working hard to prevent these abnormal crime rates." Clinton puts his hand against his face, shaking it. "My retirement was wasted and Nickel knows it..."
Justin puts his hand on Clinton's back. "We're sorry to hear about that, man."
"Yeah...I can imagine it being a real burden to carry," Ramon says, lowering his large ears.
The elder grips his suspenders, releasing a sigh. "No worries." He looks at the two. "It's why I'm going to find out about these out of control crimes." He slams his fist on the seat handle. "I'm getting tired of watching people and Pokémon becoming poor because of them. That man out there would've had his life ruined if we didn't intervene."
"Mhm," Justin agrees.
"I don't care what Nickel says: I'm getting to the bottom of this whether he likes it or not."
"Now that's what I'm talking about, old man." Justin snaps his fingers and lifts his thumbs.
Clinton raises his brow. "Excuse me, what was that?"
Justin blinks before scratching the back of his head, chuckling in a shaky manner. "I-I mean, classic man. Haha."
Ramon hops on Justin's head. "We'll help you, too," he says, wagging his tail.
"Really?" Clinton says with curiosity.
Justin grabs the Zorua and puts him on his lap. "Yeah. You did give us a place to live, so we may as well return you a favor."
Clinton smiles. "How generous of you two. Thank you."
Then the door next to the counter opens, revealing a nurse with pink hair as she looks at the three. She has blue eyes and her clothes are pink, similar to all of the other nurses. But they are mixed with the color white on her skirt. Next to Nurse Joy is Ada, who's being guided by her as she rubs her arm. "Ada Cheng is feeling better now," Joy says, bowing at the three. They get out of their seat and walk towards the two, all being next to the counter.
"Thank you for healing Ada, Joy," Clinton says, digging in his pocket. He pulls out his wallet, sticking his hand inside to grab some bucks. "Here."
"You're welcome, sir." Nurse Joy takes the money as Justin and Ramon stare at the girl in anxious land.
"You feel better now, fam?" Justin asks, putting his hand on Ada's shoulder.
"Yeah. Way better than before, that's for sure." Ada turns towards Nurse Joy. "Also, mind not calling me by my full name? I feel like that's weird to say in front of your patient."
Joy bows. "My apologies."
"And just to make sure: No bones are completely shattered or anything, right?" Clinton asks.
Joy shakes her head. "Nope. She's feeling fine and dandy after we heal her with our expert magic."
"That's good." The elder looks at the three. "Let's go." Soon the four exit the building after Ada thanks Joy, all walking on the sidewalk. "Now then." Clinton turns towards Ada. "What in the world were you thinking!? Randomly jolting out there and almost getting yourself killed!?" he scolds.
Ada pounces back from the sudden outburst, raising her brow at the elder. "What was I thinking? I was thinking of helping that man out!" she scolds back.
"We don't need someone as young as yourself to go out there and get yourselves killed!" Clinton puts his hands in his pockets, looking down at the ground. "There's already enough young folks becoming poor. So what makes you think I want to see one being killed as well?"
Ada stops in her path as the four get close to Clinton's house. "Am I supposed to stand there and let that crime happen?"
"Yeah, she has a point there," Justin states.
Clinton puts his hand on the doorknob, a weighted sigh escaping his mouth. Ramon looks up, lowering his ears. "Look, I just want to keep you young folks safe, that's all."
"Classic man, if you wanted us to be safe then why did you agree on letting Ramon and I help you?" Justin folds his arms, tapping on them.
"I-" Clinton groans and shakes his head, proceeding to open the front door. "Just don't be reckless about helping others, is all I'm asking."
"Reckless!?" Ada rolls her eyes, lifting her leg up and slams them forward. She stomps and marches her way past Clinton. Everyone follows her, with Clinton closing the door behind him. "Stupid adults and their advices," Ada mumbles, slamming her feet onto the stairs.
"Hey relax, fam!" Justin exclaims, following the teen. Ramon looks at the two, quite uncertain by the whole ordeal.
Clinton puts his hand against his face. "By Arceus, this is why I don't have kids," he says before putting his hand down, heading into the living room. Ramon is left alone by the entrance, blinking into curiosity.
"...Oh! What in the world am I doing?" the fox says before looking at the stairs and running towards it.
. . .
When the neon lights are off for the night, the light of the full moon enriches the room Justin, Ramon, and Ada are in through their window. Besides it, the room is shrouded in darkness, corners and walls can hardly be seen if one were to explore it. However, two beds are present: One on the right side of the room while the other is on the left side, both parallel to each other. Ada snores on the right bed, her sound is as serene as a melody.
Meanwhile, Ramon moves to the side on the left bed. Justin stretches himself out before hopping on the bed. The Zorua bounces from it. "Whoa!" he yelps, falling back instantly.
"Today was something else, huh fam?" Justin says, pulling the covers over him.
"Yeah. With Ada getting injured by the Gothitelle, and then arguing with Clinton afterwards."
"To be honest, Clinton is the main one wanting to solve the rampant crime scenes when he's not supposed to. Yet, he doesn't want Ada to get involved with helping people." Justin turns to Ramon. "Doesn't that sound a little hypocritical to you?"
The Zorua shifts in place. "Somewhat, yeah. Although, I can see where he's coming from."
"How so?"
"Well...he did mention about taking us in because he's sick of seeing people, I guess you can say, being poor. And wouldn't want to see any young person becoming poor, let alone killed."
"Hmm..." Justin sighs and puts his hands behind his pillow. "Still though, I can't help but feel like his messages are a little backwards. Must be his age or something."
"Hey now. I don't think insulting one's age is necessary," Ramon says, his mouth shifting to the side of discomfort as he lowers his ears.
"No no. I mean like, his thinking is...um." Justin blinks for a moment. "Haha, yeah...you're right: It does seem like I'm insulting his age." Justin laughs awkwardly, scratching the back of his head. "My bad."
Afterwards, the two look up at the ceiling, both gazing at the bit of light the moon provides. After a few moments of silence, Ramon turns his head towards the teen. "So Justin, about what happened to Ada earlier-" the Zorua then turns his whole body. "How come Ada couldn't heal herself?"
"That's simple to answer: She took too much damage from the Gothitelle's Psychic, leading her to not be able to heal. This can happen to all Sorcerous, regardless of how powerful we can be."
"I see."
"So because of those damages, she'd need another individual to heal her instead."
"But I saw you trying to heal her earlier and couldn't. Why's that the case?" Ramon tilts his head, flickering his ears.
"Well, that happens because of Ada being severely injured." Justin takes his attention towards Ada. "She'd need more than one Sorcerous to heal her. Most preferably the nurses at the Pokémon Center."
"Hmm...Interesting." Ramon pauses for a moment before continuing to speak. "And what about the Gothitelle? How come I can understand her while you and Ada couldn't?"
Justin turns to the Zorua. "Oh that's one of many differences between Sorcerous and Intellicates: You guys can understand a Defect. We can't, including those who are Faults."
"Defect...Oh yeah, what are those anyways? And Faults, too? And you mentioned that Fault being a Pokémon Trainer as well!"
Justin chuckles and scratches the back of his head. "So many questions, huh?"
"...I'm confused and in need of answers, yes."
"Well to explain all of that as shortly as possible: Defect. They're the kind of Pokémon that existed long before Intellicates. They usually live in the wild and not really think on the same level as humans do. As for Fault, they're humans who don't have the Magic typing. It's possible for either one of these groups to be born that way."
"...Go on."
"As for Pokémon Trainers, they're individuals who capture and train Pokémon. Though, due to Sorcerous and Intellicate existence, their trainer status began to die down."
"...Huh?"
Justin lifts his mouth and yawns. "Alright, fam. That's as far as I'll go on the information. Goodnight."
"Wait!" Ramon pounces up. "I still have questions to ask! Like why are Pokémon Trainers a declining group? Why are some humans born as Sorcerous and some as Fault? Why are some Pokémon born as Intellicate and some as Defect? Why do Pokémon Trainers exist in a time where a Pokémon can live independently?"
"...Zzz..."
"Justin?" The Zorua hears snoring coming from the Sorcerous, squinting his eyes. "Great. He fell asleep." He then sighs and lays down on his side, looking at the wall. I guess I'll know the answer at some point...
Soon, the Zorua closes his eyes and everything is swallowed by darkness. After a while of nothingness, Ramon enters himself into a place filled with liquids surrounding the ground. He lifts his paw up, liquids slipping off from it in an instant. He gazes into the void of pitch black, tilting his head out of uncertainty.
"...Hey," a voice says, leading Ramon to look around.
"Huh? Who's there?" The Zorua turns around, another Zorua appearing in front of him. Although this Zorua has a blue coloring on its hair tuft and eyelids. Wait...isn't that the same Zorua I saw before? he thinks to himself, staring at the Shiny Pokémon.