Enter Chapter 6

Now we're to the part where I left off 4 years ago. I give you the conclusion to Ash Ketchum: Private Investigator.

"Agatha?" I exclaimed. "But, you were dead! I saw--"

"Blood leading from my office," she finished. "Yes, I thought that'd throw you off."

"Whose blood was it, then?" I figured, if I could stall long enough, I could think of a way to get out.

A smile crossed her lips. "Remember your little spider friend?"

I nearly forgot the danger of the situation and gave a small cheer of delight. "Thanks a lot for that."

Her smile disappeared. "You have no idea how hard it was for me to destroy such a beautiful creature like that."

"And yet you have no compassion for slaughtering these people?"

Surge gave me a quick jab to the back. "Quiet, you're being too smart."

"Might I ask why you did all this? Killing many people, staging your own death, keep killing, the basics."

Surge looked up at her. "Yeah, why did we do this?"

Agatha stepped slowly towards me, her actions making her seem young and fit instead of old and decrepit. "Ghosts. It is no surprise to you that I have long lived past the normal span of life. This is because of the ghost Pokémon that I've loved and trained. But for such a favor, they want something in return."

"What is it they could possibly want from you?" I wasn't really fishing, I was really curious.

"Shut up! I'm telling the story. And when I'm finished, it'll be your turn to die." She regained her composure and continued talking. "The answer to your question is quite simple, boy. Power. I was already a member of the Elite Four, but they weren't satisfied with it. I asked Lance, ever so innocently how I could possibly gain esteem, rank, and such things. His joking answer was that everyone would have to die. I laughed then until I realized that I had my purpose. I had my mission.

"I was kind enough to dispose of Lance first. He would have been distraught and falling to pieces at the news of his Elites being killed off. I always liked him, too. That's why he was first.

"Bruno followed because I never liked him. His obsession with rock Pokémon completely opposed the power of ghosts. For him, the death would be special. I big man deserved a bigger gun, so the shotgun was the best choice. However, I didn't expect it to knock me back when I shot him. I panicked from this new twist and quickly threw the shell into the vents. I became more hurried when I heard a knock on the door. Imagine my delight when I found it was you standing there.

"It was then that I knew you would eventually come to me. So I volunteered at the Bug show. Public place, private office, excellent place to stage my own murder. I must admit, however, that I was surprised at your suddenness in arriving.

"I heard you when you spoke about going to see Lorelie next so I went there ahead of you. Easy thing to do, actually. The ghosts lent me their powers to teleport me there."

I murmured, "Knew I shouldn't have taken public transportation."

Agatha seemed not to notice my comment. She was wrapped up in her story. "I didn't want the police to catch you for that one, so I helped you escape. I scrawled out a note for you, knowing you couldn't get it analyzed with the police after you.

"I went over here, to Koga's gym next. I don't know how you knew I'd go here, but you were here. Well, you know the rest."

I was quite sad to hear the story had come to an end. I was actually quite enjoying it. I soon realized this is where she'd kill me. So I turned partially to Surge. "And you, where do you fit into all of this." Stalling again.

Agatha answered the question. "He's my grandson."

My eyes went bug-eyed and kept darting from hag to lug. "Really? I never would have guessed."

Surge nodded. "You betcha. But when I got energized by the power of electric Pokémon, she disowned me. She didn't like it that I didn't get into her ghosts. Said she'd kill me if I didn't see the darkness. Swore it." An odd silence fell as Surge realized what he was saying. Not the brightest of lads. "Hey, Ganny, why'd you say you needed me?"

Agatha raised her gun and fired. A very loud thud came from behind me, so I could correctly assume the grandson was done for good. "I always live up to my word," snarled Agatha.

I looked down at the ground where my gun lay. I wished I could have reached it, but I knew it was too far out of my reach. She saw me do this.

"Go ahead, go for it." I figured she knew it would be out of my reach. "If you can get it without moving your feet, I'll let you and we can have a draw or one of us will just try to shoot the other."

"And if I can't reach it?"

She raised one of her arms to show a wristwatch. "If you can't get it in a minute, or if you move your feet, I'll shoot you."

"How do I know you'll do this?"

"I just told you I always live up to my word. Now what do you say, boy?"

That's just what I was waiting to hear. "Fine by me."

Agatha smirked and looked at the watch. "Go."

I quickly bent down and reached. I sprawled out on the cold cobblestone keeping my feet planted where they were. Even then, I couldn't reach it.

"Thirty seconds," came the call.

What? No way had half of the time gone by already. I rolled over, ready to accept defeat when something jabbed into my back.

"Twenty. You're not giving up now, are you?"

I reached back to the jutting object and felt something cool and smooth. I was confused at first but quickly realized what it was.

I grabbed the cucumber and used it to slide the gun towards my hand. Then, the rest was easy. I pointed and squeezed.

Agatha stood stock still. She looked down at herself. "Ha! Foolish boy. You missed me."

Suddenly, a rather large Kakuna fell from the tree above her and knocked her to the ground and effectively pinning her to the walkway.

I got up and ran over as fast as I could and kicked her old hand to get her gun as far away from her as possible. I pulled out my phone and started to dial. Then I thought better of it and called the operator.

"Police, please." There was a small time of wait really bad music while I was reconnected. Finally, someone answered.

"Police, Kaz speaking."

"Kaz? Ketchum. I need some assistance outside Fuchsia gym. Koga's dead, but I have the killer." I hung up before any questions could come up. This would be too confusing to tell over the phone. I turned to Agatha, struggling to free herself to no avail whatsoever.

Satisfied with a case solved, I turned and breathed in the fresh night air. The silence was peaceful to an extreme that no poet could describe.

So was the shrill cry that cut through it. Before I could open my eyes, I felt arms clenching my waist in a vice-like grip. I looked to see my captor only to find Hanni.

"YOU DID IT!!!! You did it, you did it, you did it, you did it, you did it, you did it, you DID it!!!!" she exclaimed.

I smiled at her and pointed to the cucumber lying lost and alone on the stones. "I used your cucumber. We did it."

She gasped so hard that she nearly was lifted off the ground. "WE DID IT!!!! We did it, we did it, we did it, we did it, we did it, we did it, we DID it!!!!" she exclaimed. "Lemondrops for everyone!"

I couldn't help but smile. Here I was, standing over the captured killer, police on their way, with an adoring fan. The only thing missing was--

"Ash Ketchum!"

Ah, there she was. "Misty, how nice of you to join us."

"Ash Ketchum, you left me there! You flew off and left me with some sailor who had too much money and too much time for my liking!"

Hanni became enraged, possibly caused from too many lemondrops. "How dare you yell at him like that!" She then surprised everyone by slapping Misty right across the face.

The police arrived seconds later and rushed to cuff Agatha. The Kakuna was set aside in the process and tended to by a Pokémedic.

Criminal caught, Pokémon tended to, Misty in pain, and an adoring fan hugging me almost nonstop. The perfect way to end a case.

Sure, there were quite a few dead bodies and a few too many close calls, but the end is all that matters. Now I just have to talk to my mom about her job and, who knows, maybe some discounts.

And so, my friend, Robert, that is how I retired. You know the rest. Agatha was executed after a quick hearing. All of the families of the deceased joined together to start a clinic in their names. Hanni and Misty still fight over who gets to marry me. Pikachu now has 14 mates and 27 Pichus. And me? I'm retired sitting in front of my fireplace writing this to you.

Oh, right, Tracy and Kaz. I nearly forgot. Let's just say Kaz was able to actually love Tracy to death. Well, insanity.

And so, I end this letter, wishing you the best as you start your travels to become a Pokémon trainer for yourself.

THE END