Pokémon: The Vision of His Future Chapter 4 Detective Work, a pokémon fanfic

Now

Misty stared hard at Jessie. Both women were back in their civvies but there was nothing relaxed about their mood. A easy-breezy blue blouse, matching jacket, and red shorts made up Misty's ensemble. It didn't do much to defuse the menace in her frame.

Jessie's daywear dress went all the way up to a high collar around her neck, but sported a little diamond cut exposing her cleavage. The jet black one-piece's hemline, perhaps in deference to her new motherhood and respectability, reached down to her knees. No more thigh-high boots or pantyhose, either; Jessie left her long legs on display in a pair of pumps. A short slate-grey jacket, much like her old one save the lack of a letter "R" logo, completed her look. Which, at the moment, was a decidedly dangerous look.

The redheads were furious; in fact their flushed cheeks were nearly the same color as their hair. The table in Jessie's gym groaned beneath the pressure as they leaned on it with their palms, facing each other from mere inches. Neither woman backed down.

Jessie snarled, "For the last time, I demand to know where he is!"

That was not a response that pleased Misty. "You're such an idiot! Why would I come here looking for him if I knew where Ash was!"

"I know you're lying," Jessie growled, her complexion darkening yet further, "You're just trying to protect that little coward of yours! He didn't have the guts to face me in the Dream Match I set up!" To Misty's surprise, Jessie's mouth suddenly turned up in a singularly nasty smile. "Care to take his place instead? Are you Gym Leader—no, are you woman enough?"

"Okay!" Misty snapped, leaning back and rolling up her jacket's sleeves, "That's it!"

"Bring it on!" Jessie returned, starting to shrug free of her own jacket angrily.

Meowth leapt up onto the table, waving his paws frantically. Misty could still see the little outline in his fur of where his tux had been the night before. "Whoa dere! I likes a good catfight, 'specially if I'm not in it, but c'mon! I just finished tidyin' up dis place after da party, here!" Meowth appealed. Behind him, Misty's Togetic and Delia's Mimey nodded hopeful support for a continued cease-fire.

James quickly rushed in to help with damage control. His trendy dark blue shirt, embroidered with a classic Chinese pattern, helped give him an air of authority when he insisted, "Meowth's right, Jessie! We can't go banging up our brand new gym, now can we?"

"Umm," Delia interjected, pointing past the argument, "Especially with all these cameras here."

As one, Misty and Jessie turned their heads to spy the reporters all focusing on them. They'd returned to cover the Dream Match, of course. And judging by the grins adorning male and female newscasters alike, they were getting some pretty good footage anyway. One clean-cut young man thrust his microphone forward, asking, "What else can you tell us about Master Ketchum's disappearance?"

"Butt out!" Misty growled.

Smoothly, Jessie stepped in front of Misty to intercept the gent. "What my fellow Gym Leader means is—No comment," she explained in a polite yet firm fashion, "Now, since the match is off for the moment, I suggest you all take your leave. Don't call us, we'll call you when it's on again."

The youth couldn't take a hint. "Just a couple of questions---?"

Jessie grabbed the reporter's wrist and twisted it firmly. A nasty gleam danced in her eye as she said, very cheerfully, "Thank you for respecting our privacy. Buh-bye now!" Then she thrust him away with both hands.

Along with a few of his coworkers, the reporter looked angry; but James and the others stepping up for a united front (fingering their Pokéballs) convinced him now was not the time to press the issue. With a minimum of mutual grumbling, the crowd of newchasers left.

More than a little sheepishly, Misty turned to Jessie. "Thanks," she said simply.

"Don't mention it," Jessie fluffed the spikes adorning the back of her hairdo, "I can't afford any bad publicity for my gym right off the bat, can I?"

Before Misty could get hot under the collar again, Delia pointed out, "There must be some way you can help us find him. Ash did get here, right? But none of you saw him leave?"

A sudden remembrance sent James to a window. "Oh, dear!" he groaned, "Forgive me for not thinking of it before, Mrs. Ketchum—but it seems his car is still here." The others crowded around him to confirm it with their own eyes. Misty had to let her momentary flash of anger at James over this detail pass. The parking lot was stuffed to the gills with people and vehicles alike. She hadn't seen Delia's car in that crowd, or even the reservation sign for Ash that still adorned the parking spot, when they'd gotten off the bus herself.

Meowth had to do a chin-up on the window's sill to check it out for himself. But even as he gazed at the car, Meowth's eyes grew even craftier than usual. The little Pokémon let go of the window to scamper out of the room unnoticed.

Meanwhile, Misty's gaze widened with fright as a particularly nasty thought crossed her mind. "He couldn't have left the gym willingly then—Ash must've been kidnapped!"

Delia's hand flew to her mouth, "You mean that horrible Lawrence!"

Before the women could speculate further, Meowth reappeared. In a cute little deerstalker cap and jacket, the scratch cat proclaimed, "Dis is element'ry, my dear ladies; Don't assume nuttin'. Get yer facts straight foist." Meowth paused to blow a large bubble from the big, curved pipe hanging from his sharp-toothed maw.

"Ooo! Quite right, Meowth!" James cast a suddenly eager look at his wife, "Do you know where my period costume is, sweetheart?"

"Not now, James!" Jessie returned. Fists on hips, she challenged the diminutive detective, "In that case, Shedsalot Holmes, what do you suggest we do? Look for footprints leading away from the car with big magnifying glasses?"

Meowth shook his head, ignoring Jessie's tone if not her actual words. "Dat's too old school, my dear Jessie," he reached into his jacket, "We gots dese!" He proudly held up a videotape for all to see.

Jessie's jaw nearly hit the floor, "The security tapes?"

"Da game's afoot! I mean—apaw! Ha-ha!" Meowth chortled, "When would youse say da Master Twer---Trainer gots here, Jimmy?" Just in case, Meowth made a show of moving his pipe to the opposite side of his mouth. He lucked out; neither Ash's mother nor his betrothed seemed to catch the near-slip.

James put a finger to his cheek, reflecting, "Oh, I'd say about seven-fifteen. Maybe seven-twenty or so."

"And I know youse was at da main door, so dat's where we'll start! Alls we gotta do is follow 'em on the tapes n' we can track him down anywhere on da premises! To da Catcave—uh, da security room!" Meowth lead the running charge, puffing away on his pipe and leaving a trail of bubbles in the group's wake.

At the entrance to the security chamber, James held the door to allow the women to enter before him. Delia, huffing slightly in spite of her regular workouts, was the last to reach him. "Please, go ahead, Mrs. Ketchum," he waved her on gallantly.

"We're all adults here," she paused to catch her breath, "You can call me Delia."

To her surprised delight, James actually blushed. "A true gentleman should always address a lady properly---but if you insist."

"I do," she affirmed, "But thank you very much anyway." She swept in and James closed the door behind them both, hoping Jessie didn't see his remaining blush. Thankfully, she didn't. The lady Morgan was busy hitting paydirt on the monitors already, with Misty and Meowth watching anxiously. Jessie called up a zoom and enhancement over Ash's shoulder at the letter he was reading. "Bingo!" she cried.

"Blackthorn City!" Misty gasped, "Why would Clair send Ash such a thing?" She turned, her worried gaze automatically locking to Delia's. The elder female had already put two and two together from the wording of the letter as she recalled that certain conversation one month ago. The resulting answer had the blood draining from her face. And Misty felt a similar reaction starting on her own countenance once she'd caught up mentally.

Delia had already started for the door. "Thank you very much," she told the Morgans with genuine (albeit hurried) sincerity, "I truly appreciate your help. But we've got to go now." And with that she was gone.

Misty hesitated partway to the door, wondering if she alone could provide enough support for Ash and Delia alike in the coming confrontation. After all, Ash was always sticking up for James as a true-blue friend nowadays. "Aren't you coming?" she prompted to all three.

As she'd feared, James was indeed the first to refuse. "I'm terribly sorry," he apologized with a spread of his open hands, "But today's the first day of classes. We can't jump ship on our own gym's opening day, now can we?"

Jessie sighed heavily, "Not to mention our little newborns. We can't just fly off and leave them behind, you know."

These things were very true.

But it still didn't defuse the sudden return of Misty's anger. "That's okay," she snarled sarcastically, "We don't need any of you anyway." She slammed the door behind her; but she wasn't even halfway down the hall before she regretted her outburst. I've got to get my temper under control someday, she reminded herself for the half-billionth time.

In the security room, Jessie had jumped to her feet with fists clenched at her side. "How dare that little twerp! Just because she doesn't care about her own gym and runs gadabout whenever she feels like it doesn't mean everyone else should!"

James, foreseeing Jessie's intention of pursuit, stepped firmly in front of his wife to clasp her shoulders. Kneading her gently to calm her down, James added, "Don't worry about it, dear. Just the stress of the moment talking, I'm sure. Let's get back to work in our gym and make our first day something to remember, hmm?"

Jessie was still glaring at the door over his shoulder, despite James' efforts calming her down somewhat. "Yes," she hissed slowly, "and our Dream Match will be something to remember too. Just you wait, Little Miss Red, just you wait---"

Unknowing of Jessie's continued outrage, Misty found herself catching up to Delia in the lobby. "Hold on!" she called out to her future mother-in-law, "We'll need some help on this."

Misty spied a pay vidphone. For a split second, she considered calling Leeza in Johto for another Charizard ride. But even though the self-styled amazon had been a big help getting to Sternbreak Island recently, she'd also made no secret of how boy-crazy she was. Misty has no intention of giving her another shot at Ash.

Her sisters were even more fair-weather friends than the Morgan family, so that was a no-go too.

Which left one person she could always trust for help, no matter what the stakes, just as he could for hers.

Even as Misty plunked in her change and dialed up, Delia observed kindly, "I'll always be grateful to that nice young man for helping us. But Brock has a life of his own now too, Misty. I don't think---"

Delia was cut off as somebody answered at the Pewter City Gym. Misty was surprised; she'd dialed Brock's office direct. She shouldn't have gotten Harry the lobby receptionist; but oh well. Not as if she didn't forward her own phone when she was out.

But before she could open her mouth, Harry's face lit up like the boy had just spotted his last life preserver bobbing in a sea of despair. "Ms. Williams!" the youth gushed, "You finally returned my page! Thank you, thank you very much!"

Dread started welling up in Misty's belly. Despite the resurgence of happiness from the boy, she could see tracks of half-dried tears on Harry's face. "I'm sorry, Harry," she replied very softly, "I haven't checked my messages yet. I don't know what you're talking about. Can I speak to Leader Harrison please?" In her mind echoed a silent plea for Brock and Duplica's safety to anybody who might be listening.

Her reply very nearly sent the youth back into a crying jag. "I'm---I'm sorry, Ms. Williams," Harry snuffled, "but Mr. and Mrs. Harrison are indisposed." Suddenly, the kid looked relieved somehow to be saying it plainly to at least one of his callers. "Oh, Ms. Williams!" he gushed, "I'm afraid that Mrs. Harrison is having---difficulties!"

"No," Misty didn't shout. It was an expression of pure disbelief. "She's only in the fifth month, she can't be having the baby yet."

"She isn't in labor," Harry was quick to confirm, "but she's, well, I---" He paused to get a grip on himself, but then brightened just a teeny bit, "I'm---I'm sure Mr. Harrison would be greatly encouraged if I told him that you and Mr. Ketchum were on your way---?"

Oh no. Misty's stomach dropped down into her sneakers somewhere as her eyes squeezed shut. She couldn't make such a choice, Ash or Brock; she shouldn't have to. Either way it would shatter her heart into a million pieces.

She felt a strong grip on her shoulder, heard Delia say into the phone's pickup, "We'll collect Ash and be there as soon as possible. Tell Brock we're on our way." The elder female's voice was strong and sure. After getting a reply, Delia shut off the machine. Then she gently patted Misty's shoulder. "Let's hurry to the airport, dear. You don't want to make a liar out of me, do you?"

Her eyes still shut, Misty drew a shaky breath to say, "Thank you, Delia."

"Of course," her companion effused.

Then Misty's eyes snapped open. She turned to see Togetic watching her with great concern. "No time for the airport," Misty ordered firmly, "Togetic, you remember where Blackthorn Gym is?"

With considerable reluctance, Togetic nodded. The Pokémon did not need to be a Psychic-Type to read Misty's mind at the moment.

Neither did Delia. Her grip returned to Misty's shoulder, but this time it was a strong spasm of fear. "No!" Delia commanded in a tone much steadier than she felt, "Your condition---!"

And that was all she had time to get out before Misty interrupted, "Use Teleport."

Togetic, Mimey, and the women vanished in a burst of light.

--Then--

The first night at Oak's lab had been a nerve-wracking one for Giovanni. No matter how he scoured genealogical sites across the Internet, he hadn't found anything different from what Team Rocket's intelligence team had. Which is to say, no real-life branch of the Ketchum family tree had originated in or spent a lot of time at Pallet Town.

Which had made it easy for the Team Rocket researchers to make up Vance's background more or less whole-cloth. A few falsified records here and there, placed far enough back in time that teachers would be unsure if they truly recalled just another average kid from their classes, and presto!

Still, the fact that Oak remembered his benefactor enough to hire another Ketchum without even meeting him--- It was a loose end. Giovanni wanted to tie it up nice and neat, fast.

The next morning, Giovanni was patiently working at a terminal in the main lab. Their backs to each other, Oak was plugging away on his own keyboard across the room. Oak's son and daughter-in-law were out for the day, having their house fumigated due to a nasty Beedrill infestation. Thus Delia was entertaining her young charge in the corner, instead of at Daisy's own house, with a game of "Who's That Pokémon?"

He'd been trying to catch Oak alone, but Giovanni couldn't stand it anymore. Besides, the professor had been making small talk all morning anyway. "So, Professor, I'm really curious," he turned to watch Oak's expression, "Which relative of mine befriended you, anyway?"

Oak thought about it for a moment. The professor liked to chat, but he liked to work at the same time; Giovanni didn't find it unusual that Oak didn't turn from the computer screen when he finally answered. "His name was Ash," Oak offered.

Giovanni just barely caught Delia mumbling, "Ash. That's a nice name," to herself.

Oak continued, "I ran into him during my Pokémon journey in Ilex Forest. Heh. It was a very long journey, to say the least! But you know, I never found out exactly where Ash was from. He certainly helped me out, however." Oak peered from his computer screen to the calendar on the wall beside it. His eyebrows twitched in a way that Giovanni already recognized as doing heavy math. "That was almost twenty-seven years ago; my word. Has it really been that long?"

The old man suddenly seemed to feel a lot older; he was staring now at several news printouts pinned up around the calendar. Always the cheerleader, Delia left little Daisy a coloring book and crossed to the professor's side for a moment. "And here I thought you and Dad were the only ones stirring up trouble in your misspent youth," she teased, "But it sounds like you had Vance's pop in on the fun too."

Giovanni seized the opening, "I'm afraid not. This Ash must've been from out-of-town. Nobody with that name in my family; must be a different line of Ketchum. Sorry to disappoint you, Professor." Too bad I can't claim this 'Ash' as my father, he thought, Too dangerous. It would've scored major points with Oak. But why complain? I've got the job already. Reminding himself not to look a gift Ponyta in the mouth, Giovanni teased the elder male, "I can keep the job anyway, I trust?"

The professor made a show of mock disappointment, but there was a little glimmer of truth to it in his eyes when he said, "Oh, I suppose. Otherwise, Spencer might throw me to the wild Pokémon if he had to do it all by himself again." Turning back to his computer, Oak muttered, "I certainly would like to catch up to Ash again someday. Oh, well! Guess I'll just have to keep my eyes open still."

Delia returned to Daisy and helped her select a proper crayon for Charizard's outer hide. Still making conversation, she glanced back at Giovanni to say, "But your folks really are from here, then? What school did you go to? Maybe we've met before and didn't even know it."

At least his records search the night before had solidified some pointers for him. Giovanni was on solid ground when he lied, "I went to Westside Elementary until I left for my Pokémon journey."

Delia nodded, "My parents were on this side of town; guess we never bumped into each other after all."

Warming up to his subject, Giovanni added, "My parents stayed awhile after I left, but they finally moved to the Orange Islands. I'm afraid they've passed on since."

Delia looked up to catch his gaze. Her eyes were warmly sympathetic. "Oh. I'm sorry; I didn't mean to remind you."

"Don't be," he assured her with warmth of his own, "I wouldn't have come back if it bothered me. To be honest, I never really knew my father at all. Mom raised me. Now, her I miss." It felt weird to refer to her as 'Mom' instead of 'Mother' again. Even stranger, he'd told Delia the truth about his relationship to his father.

She was gazing deeply into his eyes, crayon clutched in her hand forgotten, for so long that Giovanni realized he was drinking in her gaze right back.

The spell broke. Delia self-consciously turned to the drawing and started filling in Charizard. "Oh?" Delia chirped with a little too much enthusiasm, "You traveled as a trainer? Then you must've been up north to Viridian City."

Giovanni, firmly reminding himself to portray humility, said, "Yes, a couple of times. It took me almost four days to reach there from here on foot." Really, he had never been so down on his luck and had no idea how long such a journey would take. But it sounded like a pretty good guess if he did say so himself.

It must've been because neither of his listeners questioned it. Instead, Delia's gaze grew dreamy as she pondered, "Viridian City. I've always wanted to see it. The skyscrapers, the shows, the nightlife--sigh"

Oak observed, "The big city's not all it's cracked up to be, Delia. Once I had the money to move my research to someplace quiet, I was quick to do it, let me tell you."

The woman had moved on to coloring the grass within the picturesque scene. "Well, I don't mean I'd want to live there. Too crowded for a homebody like me. But I'd love to visit."

Playing into his persona, Giovanni was quick to second her, "It's a bit too busy for me, too. Crowds just aren't my thing."

"Sorry to hear that," Oak responded, "I've got a little shindig coming up in a few days. Actually, Delia, I'm sure the boys could really use your help planning it."

Warmly, Delia assured him, "I'd be glad to, Professor. What's the occasion?"

Oak waved his hands dismissively, "Oh, it's just another song-and-dance number for some potential backers. There's new equipment I need, the Pokémon ranch has to be expanded, all that sort of thing. Say!" Affecting a conspiratorial air, Oak leaned out of his chair to catch both his young listeners' gazes. "If we can impress them enough to fork over some really big dough, there just might be raises all around!"

Delia squealed, drawing young Daisy's attention from her coloring. "Are you okay, Miss Delia?" the child wondered. "Yes, yes," the older female assured her as Delia resumed coloring, "Of course. I'm just excited. Now, let's see, where were we? Ah, yes, what color is Eevee? Can you tell me, sweetheart?" She threw Giovanni a quick look, adding, "Don't worry, Vance, we'll get started tonight!"

The actual planning session was pretty short. Delia's tasteful eye made the most of Oak's budget quickly. So quickly, in fact, that she and Spencer had time for some cuddling. Giovanni quickly excused himself; he wished they weren't so public about it. It made him feel voyeuristic.

Picking his way to his room, Giovanni found himself wondering why Spencer hadn't proposed marriage to Delia yet. They were more than old enough. Certainly they snuggled and smooched in such cutesy-wutesy ways all the time, so they seemed inseparable. Really, the rings would be a formality at this point.

So why was this deep, dark corner of his heart pleased about that? What, was he suddenly looking for 'attachment' or something? Giovanni shuddered. He'd been among the lower classes too long already. They were rubbing off on him. Now he was really looking forward to the party and getting back among his own level of sophistication. For a couple of hours, at least.

Giovanni peeked in on the main lab. For once, the professor had made it to his own bed, for the lab was empty.

A lightbulb went on in his mind as he saw his chance. Surely Oak was no dummy and had security cameras in the main lab; so Giovanni feigned crossing casually to the little fridge for a midnight snack. Good thing Oak was a muncher on the job, leaving him the excuse.

He just had to be careful to get an actual snack and not any of the research materials. Those wouldn't taste very good, particularly the urine samples. Going with fruit instead, Giovanni left the door open so he could study those news printouts by the fridge's light. Perhaps Oak's long-ago adventures with this mysterious Ketchum had made the papers somehow.

Giovanni blinked at the dates a few times. Why, neither article was more than a week old, much less twenty-seven years. Giovanni recognized the young couple in one shot as the Gym Leaders of distant Cerulean City. Arranged around the smiling pair were their four young daughters. The eldest was perhaps six, and the next two were right behind her in age. But there seemed to be a sizable gap until the latest arrival in her mother's arms; she couldn't be more than a year old.

There was another pair of adults his age in a similar pic, but Giovanni didn't recognize them. The tagline said they were now in charge of Pewter City Gym, past Viridian. He'd probably recognize the husband if he saw them again, he knew. The man had really bushy eyebrows atop inscrutable narrow slits for eyes. Looked like a family trait; all four of his young children (the oldest being a boy of perhaps four) had his eyes too. Giovanni wondered if the next child, due any minute if mom's huge belly was an indication, would share the look too.

Munching on his banana, Giovanni finally puzzled it out. The Williams and Harrison families had to contain Oak's old pals; like Delia's parents. Of course articles about their children, Giovanni's contemporaries, becoming Gym Leaders would catch the old man's eye.

For a moment Giovanni's suspicious mind made his eyes narrow. But only for a moment as he rejected the notion out of hand. Surely Oak wasn't interested in the young couples' children. Oak was a professor, after all, not a priest or pop rock star.

Nothing to do with the Ketchums at all, either. At least one knot in Giovanni's stomach finally undid itself for good. Enjoying his snack with renewed gusto, Giovanni closed the fridge before toddling off to bed.

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