Draco: You can't have an ellipsis in a chapter title on FFN? You're kidding me.
Because I had some difficulties with getting a functioning copy of Hoenn in Generation III, I've gotta go through it in Generation VI instead. I haven't gotten to that yet, because I just finished Kalos and I want to write this Diancie fic first. Elements in this chapter will make it clear that I needed the receive-Diancite event, so I fired up my copy of Alpha Sapphire and moved Diancie to a completely empty PC.
And I realized I had a Shiny event Rayquaza in my party. Who would have been lost if I hadn't written this story.
Pokémon and all related properties © Nintendo.
Part 2: The Precious Jewel's Thief
Mimi's cry as Serena stepped into the Looker Bureau drew the attention of no less than four individuals standing within - the most people that Serena had ever seen in the Bureau at once. A man in a Black Belt's gi and a sharp-dressed Gentleman were flanking a Ninja Boy who looked surprisingly... composed. Emma was sitting behind the desk; as Serena stepped in, she quickly got to her feet. "Oh, Serena! Glad you could make it!"
"Hey, Emma," Serena returned. Glancing at the clients; "What's the situation?"
"Your timing is great," Emma admitted. "I kind of lost track of things myself." Serena stepped around the desk to join her as Emma turned back to the clients. "Could you please take that from the top again?"
"Very well," the Gentleman sighed. "Young master?"
The Ninja Boy cleared his throat. "About a year ago," he explained, "I asked these two to find for me a Pokémon named Diancie."
Emma tapped at her notebook. "Diancie," she repeated, answering Serena's unspoken question. "A Mythical Pokémon said to arise from a mutation of... Carbink. She's said to be much stronger than her common counterparts, while sacrificing none of the defensive capabilities."
"More importantly than that," the Black Belt insisted, "Diancie is said to be the epitome of beauty among Pokémon. She absorbs light and emits a radiance unlike anything else! And if she should undergo Mega Evolution, then even that beauty-"
"Stop!" Emma interrupted. "This is where we got sidetracked last time. It's a cute Pokémon. I get it." She turned to the Ninja Boy. "You asked them to find Diancie for you. And then?"
"Well, that was a year ago," the Ninja Boy repeated. "Finding a Mythical Pokémon isn't easy, and they didn't make a lot of progress. They found what looked like the right Mega Stone, but they only found Diancie recently. And by the time they reported it to me, I'd... kind of lost interest."
The Gentleman nodded. "Yes. The young master has expressed that he no longer desires a beautiful Pokémon. We intended to rendezvous here in Lumiose City and decide what to do with Diancie, being as we already had caught her." His gaze fell. "But..."
"But what?" Serena asked.
"Diancie has disappeared," the Black Belt explained. "While we were discussing the rendezvous, her Poké Ball went missing, along with a Thunder Stone I had purchased from the Stone Emporium for my own use, a bag of Stardust we had collected from the place we found Diancie, and a Big Nugget I intended to use to pay for our tickets to Kiloude."
"If it was just the Poké Ball, or a few random items, that could be just poor judgement on your part," Serena observed, "but so much valuable stuff? You were stolen from."
"Yes," the Gentleman confirmed. "We came to the same conclusion."
"Even though I don't want Diancie," the Ninja Boy admitted, "that doesn't mean I just want to throw her away. We were gonna look for a good Trainer to give her to. And a Pokémon thief isn't a good Trainer."
"No, it's not," Emma agreed. "And that means something awful might happen to Diancie if we don't find her fast."
"We'll do everything we can to find the thief," Serena proclaimed. "Where were you when the theft happened?"
"I know I had Diancie's Poké Ball with me when we left the Stone Emporium on Vernal Avenue," the Black Belt proclaimed. "We met up with the young master at Café Gallant on Estival Avenue, and it was gone."
"Which means it had to happen somewhere between Vernal and Estival," Emma observed, writing in her notebook. "Alright, we'll start there. Where can we find you?"
"We're currently staying at Hotel Richissime," the Gentleman replied, "in one of the suites on the top floor."
Serena nodded. "We'll contact you as soon as we get Diancie and your things back," she avowed.
The Ninja Boy bowed politely. "Thank you for your help."
He and his entourage made their way out of the Bureau; once they had left, Serena sighed. "Well, I wasn't expecting this."
"Neither was I," Emma admitted. "Who could it have even been? The Gang doesn't take Pokémon anymore."
"Trying to guess who is gonna get us nowhere," Serena pointed out. "Especially in a big city like Lumiose. Let's head to the Stone Emporium first. If we retrace their steps from there, maybe we'll find someone who happened to notice the theft in progress."
+x+x+x+
When they reached the Stone Emporium, they found it surprisingly empty; the regular customers that Serena had a tendency to run into were nowhere to be found, leaving just the sales clerk and a man who had once sold Serena a Mega Stone. As she and Emma stepped inside, the clerk groaned. "Who's this now?"
"Sorry to bother you," Emma insisted. "We're from the Looker Bureau. Mind if we ask you some questions?"
"Questions, huh?" the clerk muttered. "I imagine this has something to do with that disturbance from earlier?"
"Disturbance?" Serena echoed. The clients hadn't mentioned anything about this. "Well, if there was a disturbance here, let's start with that."
The clerk shook his head. "Some Black Belt came in here looking for a Thunder Stone," he proclaimed. "Travelling with some Monsieur. I sell him the stone, and he bumps into this Rich Boy on his way out. Entitled prick starts causing a ruckus, and the Black Belt runs off. Not ten seconds later, my other customers start accosting the rich kid. I had to kick everyone out before they started a battle in the shop and ruined my wares."
"Did any of the other customers happen to call the Rich Boy a thief, by any chance?" Emma asked.
"Among other things," the clerk admitted. "Why?"
"The Black Belt came to us reporting he had a Pokémon stolen from him," Serena replied. "We're here trying to find the culprit."
The clerk looked very upset with himself. "Oh, no," he realized. "That's why everyone was getting on his case. That Punk Guy who first accosted him must have seen him filch the Poké Ball."
"Do you have any idea where they went from here?" Emma asked.
"I'm pretty sure the Punk Guy was going to Friseur Furfrou," the clerk replied. "I think the Rich Boy headed in the direction of the PR Video Studio."
"Alright, thanks," Emma assured him. "Serena?"
"I'll hit the Studio," Serena announced. "I think I have an idea what he was doing there."
Emma nodded. "Sounds good. I'll check Fiseur Furfrou and see if I can find the guy who saw it happen."
+x+x+x+
When Serena got to the PR Video Studio, there was a Lady in the middle of a video shoot; Serena moved to inquire with the woman at the front desk. "Excuse me, miss?" she asked, keeping her voice quiet so as to not interrupt the shoot. "Did a Rich Boy happen to come in here recently?"
The woman turned to her. "You're not a friend of his, are you?" she demanded, sounding upset.
"Quite the opposite," Serena insisted. "I'm with the Looker Bureau, and he's currently the top suspect in a case."
"I knew he was trouble," the woman hissed. The shoot was wrapping up, and she spoke at a more audible volume, clearly not wanting to be misheard. "He came in here asking to shoot a PR Video with a Pokémon. Never saw him before in my life. We get his shots done, and he sends out the Pokémon for hers. It was a Pokémon I'd never even seen before, but I knew in an instant that she was not happy to see the Trainer who sent her out."
"Stolen." Serena proposed.
"Exactly!" the woman confirmed. "I knew in an instant, either he'd stolen the poor thing, or she'd been very poorly treated. Either way, I wasn't about to let a Trainer like that shoot a video."
Serena nodded. "Where did he go from here?"
"I think I saw him head towards North Boulevard," the woman replied.
"Alright. Thanks for your cooperation."
Serena stepped out of the Studio, drawing out her Holo Caster and holding it before her as she made to record. "Emma, it's Serena." Identifying yourself in a Holo Clip message usually wasn't necessary, but Looker had used an older-model Holo Caster that lacked the function to record or project the image file, and bought the same type for Emma. (Why had Lysandre called it a Holo Caster before it had a holographic projector?) "I've found a lead. Looks like the culprit is still in the city. I'm headed to North Boulevard."
She confirmed the clip and sent it to Emma before starting north - and halfway there, her Holo Caster clip pinged with an incoming clip.
"Serena, it's Emma! I found a lead on North Boulevard, too. Looks like the culprit's staying at Hotel Richissime!" Serena immediately realized that this situation was much worse than she though. "I need to suit up; do what you can to stop the culprit from doing anything else!"
Draco: I know the real reason why Looker and Emma don't have properly-animated Holo Clips is because it would be wasteful to make an battle-level model just for a couple of conversations (especially considering Emma only battles you in the Expansion Suit), but the fun thing about writing a fanfic based on a game is that you can take elements that only arise because it is a game, and justify them however you want. She and I have inventory justifications for just about every Zelda game outside of the Decline Timeline.