Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I affiliated with Pokémon or any of its parent companies. I am merely a humble storyteller. Thank you, and I hope you enjoy this journey with me.

Note: I am English, so some of the wording, spellings, and expressions will be those commonly used in England.

Chapter Thirty: Unprecedented Encounters!

Red was always excited to become a Pokémon Trainer. Who wouldn't be? Interacting and befriending strange creatures whose bodies were fundamentally different to humans on a molecular level, who could burn and freeze and electrocute enemies and prey. It was such a fascinating experience! And, if Red was being honest with himself, it was not as difficult as he thought it might have been. Pokémon mature much faster than humans, thanks in part to the process of evolution, and Red was proud to have such mature Pokémon already who would only continue to develop further. An argument could be made against Cleffa, but one would have to look at Cleffa's role at Mt. Moon and the fact she put up one heck of a fight against Misty's Goldeen.

Yes, looking after Pokémon was not hard to do.

But what about looking after a human infant?

After the Gyarados incident, Red went about his quiet day. A quick visit to the PokéMart was first on his list, and soon he was stocked up and ready to go, even offloading the Pretty Feather for a tidy sum.

"Where should we go next, Pikachu?" Red asked the electric rodent as they strode down the Vermilion streets. "We could check out Diglett's Cave. I know today is meant to be a slow day, but it wouldn't hurt to see if we can capture one – it might be useful to bring one to the next Gym. Cleffa's Magical Leaf could make capturing a Diglett pretty easy."

Pikachu stopped, his tail erect.

"Er… Pikachu?" Red said. "What's wrong?"

Pikachu darted away.

"Hey, Pikachu!" Red cried. "Where are you going? Wait for me!"

Red tore after his Pokémon, barely able to keep him in sight.

Just what was Pikachu's problem? Why did he run off like that? Red was about to call out Beedrill and get her to follow Pikachu, so he would not wander off too far, when the electric rodent suddenly stopped.

Red reached him and paused for breath. "What was that about?" he said, when he had recovered. "Why did you run off like…"

He trailed off for his eyes fell upon what Pikachu sensed. It was a little girl, no more than two years old, with blonde hair and grey eyes. Pink paint dotted her face. In her hand was a Cleffa doll, decorated with yellow paint.

The girl smiled at him. "Cle-ffa," she said, sounding out the word.

Red smiled back. "That's right. It's a Cleffa. Do you like Cleffa?"

The girl nodded.

Pikachu sniffed her and the girl stroked his head, perhaps a little forcefully because since when did a toddler consider their own strength? Still, Pikachu did not mind, and nuzzled the girl.

"Looks like you do have a soft side, Pikachu," Red said cheekily.

Pikachu scowled at him.

Red chuckled, but the laughter died when a thought struck him: where was the girl's parents?

He looked around. There was no one about who shared a resemblance to the girl, no one who was searching for a child. But there had to be someone around, right? Or – and Red shuddered – was the girl abandoned? No, no, who would abandon such a cute thing? It would be an unforgivable act of epic proportions.

The girl toddled over to him, Cleffa doll in hand. She proffered it to Red.

"Oh, are you sharing your doll with me?" Red said, taking the pink and yellow toy.

The girl smiled and nodded. "Cle-ffa," she said. "Fai-wy."

Oh, how adorable! How did no one else in Vermilion find her. How did no one else even pay the least bit attention to her? Was it one of those things where human nature dissuades people from attempting to provide help in any situation because it does not concern them? Or was it purely coincidence and assumption and they believed other people in the vicinity were her parents? Either way, Red was here now, and he would act as her temporary guardian until she was back safe and sound to wherever she was meant to be.

"That's right," Red said. "Cleffa is a fairy. Well, it's a Fairy-type. Same thing, I suppose. Wait!" Red was suddenly struck by inspiration. The girl seemed happy enough, but to make her more at ease he could…

"Come on out, Cleffa," Red said, opening a Poké Ball.

Out came the pink star-shaped creature that gurgled and twirled. The Cleffa doll caught her eye and she hopped up and down, trying to reach it.

But her attempts to acquire the lifeless lookalike was disrupted by the girl squealing and toddling over. "Cle-ffa! Fai-wy!"

She wrapped her tiny arms around the Fairy-type and rubbed her face into Cleffa's. Cleffa warbled, caught off-guard by the sudden attack, but quickly calmed down when she realised it was a hug. She cosied up to the girl and the duo rocked back and forth, trying to outdo the other for the prize of best hug. If Red did not know any better, he would confidently say that Cleffa had just learned Charm. Maybe the girl knew it too. With how it wanted to make him burst with cuteness overload, he would not be surprised.

But this was all well and good for now, but he still needed to get this child back to her parents. Yes, taking her to the proper authorities was the most logical step, but this was a world where children could own monsters that could help them rule the world if they played their cards right. Logic could wait. He would personally guide the girl to her parents.

"I'm glad you and Cleffa are friends," Red said. "And don't worry, I'll take you back to your parents, okay? You can play with Cleffa in the meanwhile. Won't that be fun?"

The girl nodded vivaciously, her blonde locks flying everywhere.

"That's awesome," Red said. He turned to Cleffa. "And you're going to help look after her as well, aren't you?"

Cleffa spun around, trilling excitedly. She hopped over to Pikachu and beamed, as though saying, 'Hey, Pikachu. Did you hear that? I'm going to help'. Pikachu gave her an awkward pat and pushed her back towards the girl.

Good. Red had a plan on how to help the girl. Granted, it was a simple idea, and perhaps not the most ideal one, but it was too late to think of another one. Well, it wasn't, but Red was going to pretend it was.

And to makes thing easier for himself, he was struck by another brainwave.

Charmander and Beedrill materialised before him, ready and rearing to go with whatever orders he had for them.

"Beedrill," Red said. "I want you to go with Pikachu and help search for the girl's parents. Just get her scent. It'll be a lot better if we split into two teams to search, and flying's really going to be useful."

He turned to Charmander. "You're with me because I'm going to need another pair of hands and eyes." He leaned in closer to Charmander. "And I'm going to need a tough Pokémon in case Team Rocket or anyone else decides to start something."

Charmander puffed out his chest, blue eyes hardened with the trust Red was showing him.

"Okay, Pikachu. Beedrill," Red said, for some reason still clutching the Cleffa doll. "You've got her scent, right? Good. Okay, if you find them then just follow my scent and we'll find each other. Awesome. See you later, and good luck."

Pikachu hopped on Beedrill's back and the duo disappeared over the Vermilion skyline.

"That's done," Red said. "Now we'd better set off too. Are you ready Charmander and Cleffa?"

The former puffed out his chest again; the latter hopped from one foot to the other, gurgling eagerly.

"And what about you… er… wait, I don't know your name!" Red hung his head in shame. How could he, in his desire to help this little girl, forget to ask her for her name? She was two years not two months. She obviously knew it. "Er… what's your name?"

The girl stared up at him, holding hands with Cleffa. She smiled. "Mina."

"Mina," Red repeated. "Well, Mina, are you ready to go on an adventure?"

Her already glowing face lit up more. "Yeah! Go 'splore!"

"That's the spirit," Red said, the girl's contagious enthusiasm giving him the symptom of a massive grin rising unbidden upon his face. "Okay, let's go!"

And off the group of four went, keen for their little adventure. And above them, high in the sky, a Fearow began its descent back down to earth.

o~o~o~o~o

Leaf treaded carefully upon the wooden pier, pushing past the many people and Pokémon clogging the blasted thing, wary of being knocked into the drink. Eevee hopped onto her shoulder, sparing her the displeasure of almost getting stepped on.

It was just so crowded. But then Leaf's eye began to wander as she took in the myriad of Pokémon there were. Of course, there were Pokémon that were indigenous to Kanto, but there were so many more from other regions she did not recognise or had only seen in magazines and television. She spied: a black serpent with red fangs and a blade at the end of its tail; an orange, bipedal, mammalian creature with two tails and a yellow collar; a metal ant with red eyes; a canine with white fur that was designed to give it the appearance of wearing a top hat; a, what appeared to be, bluish-grey Meowth; a petite Pokémon that appeared to be made entirely out of cream, complete with two strawberries in its 'hair'. That was not all she saw as the pier was filled with unknown Pokémon from other regions. It was a pity her Pokédex could not record them. She had a feeling this would happen; she was never able to record her Baltoy.

Still, witnessing all these Pokémon in one place sure was amazing. Maybe it was worth it visiting the S.S. Anne. Speaking of which…

To say the ship was simply ginormous would be doing it much disrespect. To say it was simply beautiful would cause it to turn up its nose and head off to find a more interesting conversation with someone else. It was all that and more. It was a majestic behemoth that must have taken years and years from conception until now to be truly born. Its steel exterior shone in the sun, the waves delicately lapped at its feet, and it screamed with the voices of thousands of people and Pokémon alike. Leaf had never actually been on a ship before – she had been to the Sevii Islands, yes, but that involved taking a passenger plane to some of the islands instead – so boarding one such as this, even if only for a short time, would be a little fun.

She flashed the S.S. Ticket to the man blocking the gangway. He stepped out the way and let her through. Leaf stowed the S.S. Ticket back in her pocket, where it would be forgotten about and broken to pieces in the wash in the near future.

Whoa. Leaf could have sworn she entered a ship. She did, didn't she? She was on a pier, marched up a gangway, and entered. But this could not be a ship. Did ships have velvety red, carpet covering the corridor floors? Did ships have dazzling lamps sticking out the walls, their sconces decorated so intricately? Did ships have dozens of doors either side of the corridor which no doubt housed the passengers? Oh wait, scratch that last one. But this whole thing, the S.S. Anne, was almost like some kind of five-star hotel. Wait, scratch that too. It was a five-star hotel. Maybe it would even go up to a six-star one if Leaf properly explored. Which she could do. Except…

"Let's go check out the party," she said to Eevee, reluctance not being enough of a word to describe how little she desired to do so. "Maybe we can explore the ship when it's over."

However, when they reached the end of the hallway, something caught Hester's eye. A dark blue something. A something with yellow eyes. Yellow eyes that peered at her from the gap in a door. A Pokémon.

Hester blinked at the eyes; the eyes blinked back at her and disappeared. The door was still ajar, as opposed to being a bottle.

Now, Leaf was a sensible girl. The dark blue thing with yellow eyes intrigued her, but it disappeared into a cabin, a cabin that doubtless belonged to a passenger. What was she meant to do? Barge in, inspect their bins, claim random items, perhaps challenge them to battle?

But the lights were off. Who would leave their Pokémon in their cabin with the lights off? What if it was being abandoned and the Trainer had run off into Vermilion? Or what if it was the Pokémon of a thief and was searching for trinkets and knick-knacks to pilfer while the cabin's owner was at the party?

A strong sense of justice (always a convenient excuse to do something one desperately wanted to) took hold of her. "Come on, Eevee," she whispered. "We have to check this out."

The twosome tiptoed to the door and eased it open. It did not even creak.

Should she turn on the light? That Pokémon obviously knew she had entered the room, so she and Eevee did not have the element of surprise. It made no difference.

The cabin was revealed to her in a split second. It was a nice cabin, maybe not the fanciest the S.S. Anne provided, but still a comfortable stay, perhaps one of the ship's cheaper options. But this was not time to be taken in by the nice S. S. Anne cabins! There was a suspicious Pokémon about!

Leaf scanned the room, and Eevee got her nose to the floor, trying to sniff out the yellow-eyed Pokémon. Oh, where was it?

Maybe it was under the desk? Leaf crept over to it, half-expecting the Pokémon to jump out at her like in a horror movie. A good one, that is, not the silly ones where they think strident music, loud noises, and overusing jump scares every two seconds makes a film scary.

Yet, before Leaf could look under the desk, she found herself intrigued by what was upon it. It was leather rectangle, like a folded wallet.

Her hand reached out, almost unbidden, and she flipped it open, revealing a gold badge that had the words 'International Police' written in black. Below the badge was more words: Agent Looker.

"Looker?" Leaf mumbled to herself. "Agent Looker?"

Agent? International Police? Leaf dropped the badge onto the floor, beside a suitcase, as though it seared her hand. Then that meant… then Leaf was… and that Pokémon… oh no.

"Eevee," Leaf said. "Eevee, I think it's time we got out of here."

Eevee stopped sniffing and growled.

"Who are you?"

Leaf swivelled around. There, standing before her, was an elderly man with a grey hair, hidden somewhat by the fedora he donned. Comically large spectacles covered his face along with the grey moustache upon his upper lip.

"Who are you?" the man asked again.

Leaf swallowed, the cogs and gears in her head whirling wildly as she considered how best to answer.

"Er…" she started, with is never a good word to start a sentence with. "Er…" What could she say? This man had to be Looker, the International Police agent. He would not take kindly to a nosey parker exploring his cabin. "Er…"

Should she be honest? Maybe that was the best bet. It was easier to tell the truth than to lie under duress, and there was no reason she could think of to fib to the elderly man.

"I'm sorry," Leaf said, staring down at her feet in shame. "I shouldn't have come in here. I just… I just…"

"You just what?" the man (presumably Looker) said, appearing quite polite despite the girl's intrusion.

"You see, I saw something past your door, and I thought it could've been someone(thing) trying to rob you or something. I'd thought I'd come and check it out."

The man adjusted his glasses that were sliding down his nose. "I see. You're quite the curious child, aren't you?" He grinned. "It wouldn't happen to be this that you saw, would it?"

He snapped his fingers. From the suitcase Leaf had dropped the badge near popped out a Pokémon she had never seen before. It was a dark blue bipedal Pokémon, resembling a frog. Its herbivorous teeth were constantly revealed, there were orange pouches on its cheeks, and two white markings encompassed its body, giving them the appearance of bandages. A black one ran around the top of the white ones and across its arms. Its feet and hands had three digits each, all black minus the two middles digits of its hands. Oh, and its eyes were yellow.

Yellow?

"That's what I saw before," Leaf said. "It was staring at me through the gap in the door."

"Was he now?" Presumably Looker said, frowning at the Pokémon. The Pokémon's orange cheeks pouches expanded and then deflated, giving off an air of nonchalance.

Leaf took out her Pokédex:

Croagunk. No other information is available regarding this species of Pokémon.

Leaf sighed; just like with Baltoy again. As irksome as it was, it did make sense; she was only exploring Kanto for now, so information about Pokémon not indigenous to the region would be unnecessary. Capturing Baltoy was an anomaly. On the bright side, the Pokédex recorded the Pokémon's name, so that was something. All she could do was record the data of Kanto-centric Pokémon and their pre- and post-evolved forms. That was still plenty of fulfilling work, wasn't it? Maybe in the future it would be updated. That was the norm for technology after all.

"That's a curious device," Presumably Looker said. "What is it?"

"It's called a Pokédex," Leaf explained. "My friends and I have been sent by Professor Oak to record Pokémon data."

Presumably Looker frowned. "You're working for Professor Oak?"

"Yeah."

"THE Professor Oak?"

"Yeah?"

He nodded approvingly. "It's good to see that such an authority on Pokémon is showing trust in the younger generation. You and your friends must've shown great promise for him to choose you."

Leaf smiled and her cheeks reddened. "I guess so, but maybe you're giving us too much credit. It's probably because we were the only ones from Pallet Town at that time who decided to travel. Just a coincidence."

"Don't sell yourself short," Presumably Looker said. "He could easily have not given you and your friends these devices and simply hired experienced Trainers to go about the business. You no doubt have promise, and I'm sure you'll get up to plenty of adventures."

Leaf rubbed her arm, a little awkward in the man's praise. "I guess. Honestly, I just hope the rest of my adventures involve a lot less Team Rocket."

Presumably Looker did a double-take. "What? Team Rocket?"

"Yeah," Leaf said. "I've dealt with Team Rocket three times already. That's four times too many for my liking."

"Three times?" Presumably Looker said. "How did you manage to get away from them three times?"

"Um… the first time the police came by after I stepped in to save a kid's shiny Rattata from being stolen. The second was at Mt. Moon where they were mining Fossils. My friend Red and I managed to scare them away with help from the wild Pokémon there. Oh, and the third time is when I beat a guy in battle who tried to recruit me to Team Rocket."

Presumably Looker's spectacles slid off his face and hit the floor soundlessly on the soft carpet.

"I don't believe it," he muttered. "Children are overcoming the evil of the world. You must be an exceptional battler."

"I know a bit about battling, but I don't like it very much," Leaf said. "My grandpa tried to teach me the ins and outs of it when I was growing up, so maybe some of it stayed in my head. I still wouldn't say I'm exceptional though."

"But you obviously have the skills," Presumably Looker said. He paused and brought his hand to his mouth, running a finger through his moustache. "I do wonder…" He cleared his throat. "I'm sorry, I didn't ask you your name."

"Oh, I'm Leaf." She inclined her head at him. "And you're Looker, aren't you?"

Presumably Looker froze. His Croagunk stared up at him and tilted his head. Humour lit up his eyes.

"Looker?" the man said. "Where are you getting the name Looker from?"

Leaf bent over and picked up the badge she dropped. "From this." She handed it to Presumably Looker. Presumably Looker groaned and stowed it away in his coat pocket.

"This," he said, his eyes sullen, "is rather embarrassing. Quite careless of me." He swivelled around to Croagunk. "You couldn't have hidden my badge? What if one of my many foes walked in? Could you imagine if 000 hears about this?"

Croagunk shrugged, as though saying 'Hey, you should've locked the door when you went to check out the party. Besides, aren't you meant to keep your badge on you at all times?'.

"So you are Looker," Leaf said.

"Indeed I am, young Leaf," Looker said. To Leaf's surprise, he pulled off his fedora, grey hair, and plenty of his face, revealing a man in his early thirties underneath them "Member of the International Police, that's what I am."

"That's… so cool," Leaf said, trying to take in this new face. "I can't believe you're a real member of the International Police. Er… what are you doing on the S. S. Anne? You wouldn't need a disguise to go on holiday… would you?"

"Quite intuitive, young Leaf," Looker said ("It's more common sense," Leaf said in an undertone to Eevee), nodding his head at her like a proud teacher whose student finally discovered that two plus two equals four. "Yes, me being here upon this ship is not mere gallivanting. You see, I was in Kanto on the trail of Team Rocket, more specifically investigating that Mt. Moon escapade you mentioned. However, seeing as their 'work' there has ended, my superior has informed me that I am to head to Hoenn for a new mission instead."

Leaf recalled poor Officer Jones mentioning that two syndicates were causing problems there. That would obviously take priority over Team Rocket, especially when the primary reason Looker was in Kanto was to investigate their doings at Mt. Moon. Or did it mean Team Rocket were no longer considered a real threat and Kanto was safe? Or was that simply wishful thinking?

Looker eyed her curiously as Leaf shook herself out of her thoughts. "You say you've dealt with Team Rocket three times, have you not? Hmm, have you ever considered becoming a member of law enforcement?"

Leaf's eyebrows almost flew off her face. "What? Law enforcement? Me? I mean, I found it cool when the officers helped me the first time, and don't like bad guys hurting people, but it's not something I've ever thought about. Honestly, I'm more interested in searching for Pokémon, including the super rare ones and the Legendaries."

"Well, you still have plenty of years ahead of you to make any decision regarding your future," Looker said. "But my instincts tell me you'd be an amazing addition to any force. Maybe if you play your cards right then you could have a badge like mine one day. You and your Pokémon could become a remarkable team, rivalling Croagunk and me. Maybe."

Leaf… a member of the International Police? Could that happen? It probably sounded sweeter than it was because an actual member was saying it. But could it be something for her? Again, she had already ruminated about it, about her future, and had decided she was still young, as Looker said. But… would this be an option for her after? Teaching, archaeology, becoming a professor were all options that had gone through her mind at one point or the other. But the International Police? It was intriguing. For now, it was simply another curious option.

Leaf and Looker talked a bit longer, the latter regaling the former with tales of his missions and how he had risen through the ranks to become one of the best agents the International Police had. He spoke of regions he had visited, of the alliances formed with two groups called the Pokémon Rangers and SOL, and of the enemies he had made. Oh, how exciting it sounded to Leaf! Goosebumps rose upon her flesh as she found herself in his stories, witnessing everything herself thanks to Looker's vivid storytelling.

The time to go arrived, and the duo said their goodbyes. Their Pokémon did the same, Croagunk giving Eevee a soft bump to the noggin.

But before Leaf left Looker alone in his cabin, he reached into the desk and pulled out some items: several sweets in blue wrappers and a container filled with round, crusty cakelike food.

"Rare Candies?" Leaf said. She eyed the cakelike food. "Er… what are those?"

"These are a delicacy in Kalos known as Lumiose Galettes. People and Pokémon love them, and they have a bonus of healing a Pokémon from status effects like burn and paralysis." Looker pushed them into Leaf's hands. "Here, take them. Consider them a token of our new friendship."

"You're honestly giving them to me?" Leaf asked.

"Croagunk and I have eaten our fair share of Lumiose Galettes over the years," Looker said, his Croagunk patting his belly for good measure. "And Croagunk's not a battler, so there's no point in him eating Rare Candies to get stronger. Just take them."

And so, Leaf was rewarded for creeping into someone's cabin. She left Looker, not knowing if and when she would ever see the man again.

o~o~o~o~o

The hall was gorgeous and grandiose, and that was most likely thanks to the extravagant chandelier hanging from the ceiling, each crystal shimmering like the stars in the night sky. Yes, Leaf could appreciate the aesthetics of everything, of how much hard work was needed to ensure it all appeared magnificent.

The food was exquisite, delicacies from around the world. Maybe being a member of the International Police would be worth it for all the exotic food?

There were tonnes of people and Pokémon about, and Leaf carefully avoided bumping into them, Eevee riding her shoulder like a gymnast, only pausing to take a gander at many more strange Pokémon she had never seen before.

Soon, however, her guts told her she had been there long enough and it was time to fly to Cinnabar.

She said a silent goodbye to everyone, ready to continue her journey and bring two Fossil Pokémon into the modern wor –

Yikes! Who was that who laid a hand on her shoulder?

Leaf spun around on her heels.

Oh. What a surprise.