Disclaimer: Welcome to the wonderful world that is Pokémon. Of course everything related to Pokémon is owned and licensed by Nintendo, and I'm sure the author of this story will do his best to treat Nintendo and Pokémon with as much respect as possible. Now, the characters in this story are all original except for professor Oak, Ash, Gary, Misty, Brock, several Jenny's and Joy's and some other weirdo's that wander around in the game and/or series and of course, the Pokémon.

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Chapter 4 – Larry

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Silently I crawled through the dark corridor to boldly go where no man has ever gone… the ladies restroom. You know that whole myth that it's completely different than the male restroom, making it a near mystical place? It's more than a myth, it's a load of crap. There's nothing different. It just has more toilets and less urinals. Even no urinals, come to think of it.

"I think that's a bit more than nothing different." Misty grinned.

"When I get sarcastic, you don't get it. When I go for stupid comic relief, you don't get it. What do you want? Jokes where I carefully explain the punch line?"

"Sorry." Misty silently said.

"I knew it was a joke." Ash grinned.

"Fuck off, kid."

It was a bit before midnight and no one was there yet. Which was a good thing, since I had no business in a ladies lavatory. I decided to do the smart thing and went inside a booth. That way, if somebody came in, I could stay hidden. And indeed, somebody came in.

"So, what's the deal with that Gyarados guy anyway?" I heard a voice say.

"That Tony?"

That was nurse Joy's voice I heard. So he had come, but not alone. Best to wait a bit longer, until that other person was gone.

"I don't know. He's looking for Gyarados, but not for stunts, or so he told me."

"Could be lying," the other voice said, "I mean, he did fly over a whole bunch."

"I don't think he's another thrill seeker."

"Think it's got something to do with Larry? I mean, it's been a long time since we've seen him, not that's he was around a lot before but…"

"I don't know," nurse Joy responded, after some hesitation, "but I don't think so."

"You sure? I mean, it's pretty strange, a guy coming to look for Gyarados, flying over a bunch, even beating the snot out of one, and not capturing one. Either he's a thrill seeker, or he's here for Larry."

"Isn't it time for your round?" Joy asked, "I mean, it's almost midnight."

"You're right. You coming along?"

"No, I'm gonna use the restroom first."

She inhaled sharply when she opened the door and saw me sitting there, giving her a wave.

"You hadn't locked the door?" Misty's eyes grew wide.

"Would you talk about personal stuff in a restroom when one of the toilets is occupied?" Tony asked, "the best way to make people think you're not there, is to make it seem nobody is there."

Joy glanced over to her friend and stepped into the booth. When she heard the other nurse leave, she exhaled loudly and shot me a mad glance. I just looked curiously at her.

"What exactly are you doing here?" she hissed.

"You asked me to come here," I shrugged, "who's Larry?"

"What do you mean?" she tried to play ignorant.

"I was here the whole time. I heard everything. Who's Larry?

"Fine," she sighed, "I'll tell you. It all started about a year ago…"

"Now how do I do this?" Tony seemed to muse, "either I tell you what she told me, or I could try a flash-back in a flash-back, but you won't get that."

"Oh please," Ash put his chest up, "we're smarter than you think."

"Well," Tony seemed to reach a conclusion, "since I think you're pretty stupid, you might be right."

Franklin Masterson worked at the power plant in Kanto as chief engineer…

"Who's Franklin Masterson?" Ash asked.

"A chief engineer from the power plant at Kanto." Tony sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"What's he got to do with the story?"

"Look, I'm telling you exactly what nurse Joy told me, just like you asked me to. So if you please won't interrupt me anymore, I would really appreciate it, and so would you, 'cause that would mean I don't have to hurt you. Got that, kid?"

Ash's face paled a bit and stepped back.

Anyway, she told me about this guy, Franklin Masterson, who was born in Mahogany, which lays next to Lake Rage. He worked in Kanto at the power plant as chief engineer, but came to Lake Rage on holiday every year to relax, but apparently, the last time he came, he was more nervous than they've ever seen him. Everything seemed to spook him. And with reason, so it seemed, since he was found dead a couple of days later, drowned in the lake. The authorities found him thanks to Larry. When Franklin was a kid he fell into Lake Rage once, and would have been eaten by Gyarados, but this red Gyarados came by and saved him. Franklin caught him and called him Larry. Ever since, the two have been inseparable, Larry even went along to Kanto. But now, Larry had escaped his pokéball to found his master dead. He remained at Lake Rage until some men came to capture him, after all, a red Gyarados was quite valuable, but Larry disappeared, although he could still be seen sometimes.

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I sat silent for a moment, when she was done, taking it all in and thinking about it.

"Did…" I started, hoping this would explain something, "did Franklin say that something had happened in the power plant? Like a group of terrorists taking over?"

"No, he didn't," she shook her head, "but shortly after he had arrived we heard on the radio that indeed a group of terrorist had seized control of the power plant."

"So he was already here?"

"He was, but it did seemed to make him even more nervous."

I started thinking again. Guy works at the power plant. Guy goes on holiday but not to relax since he's extremely nervous. The power plant gets hijacked and makes guy even more nervous. Guy ends up dead, no doubt murdered. Result: guy had something important, important enough to attack a power plant? Maybe, but how does that fit the Gyarados in? What's so special about that Gyarados?

"Did any other pokémon of Franklin run loose?"

"No," Joy shook her head, "Larry was his only pokémon. He wasn't really interested in them."

His only pokémon. Important clue. But to know what exactly was going on, I had to find that Gyarados.

"I think Franklin was murdered," I said, looking at nurse Joy for her reaction.

"I thought so to," she nodded, "but the police never found any trace of a suspect or a motive."

"Since Larry's so popular, let's say he's the motive. Somebody killed Franklin for that Gyarados."

"It's just a pokémon," nurse joy shook her head, "I know some pokémon are valuable, but to kill somebody for it?"

"You'd be surprised," I muttered under my breath.

I got up and held her shoulder.

"But to get any closer to who killed him and why, we need to find Larry. He's the key. Where can I find him?"

"Are you going to capture it?" she asked me.

"No," I told her, "he'll roam free in the lake when all this is finished, I promise."

"The northern part of the lake," she sighed, "but only at night. And that's not even guaranteed."

"Fine, I'll leave right away."

"With your arm in a cast?" she frowned, "I don't think so."

"Wanna bet?"

"I don't care what you do, but now you're going back to bed so your ribs can heal."

"I have to…"

"You have to stay in bed until you're properly healed."

I sighed, an returned to my room. She was right. I couldn't just prance around with a broken arm and bruised ribs. There was no way I could go hiking right now with my burned leg. If I wanted to catch that Gyarados, I needed a miracle.

"So, did you get a miracle?" Misty asked.

"Something much better," Tony grinned and then sighed, "my past came back to fuck with me."