Chapter 2: Those Who are in the Right, Those Who Think They are Right, and Those Who Do What is Right

The Mahogany Town Police Headquarters was a large building tucked away near the north side of town. For what it was, the exterior did have a friendly, inviting appearance. They always did their best to ensure it was well-maintained. There were almost no weeds to be found on the well-cut grass. Despite how the many trees were shedding their leaves as the season progressed, they were being cleaned up as quickly as they fell. And like many of the important buildings, the color of the roof matched the name of the town. Nori mused this as he walked through the courtyard of stone bricks leading towards the building. What was with regions like this one doing that, anyway?

The interior was more subdued than the exterior. Plain hallways and beige patterned flooring throughout. The opening lobby had several metal chairs around-not exactly the most comfortable thing for guests to sit on. The only decorations were a gaudy display cabinet that held all sorts of trophies and awards, alongside a painting or two on the walls.

Intending to quickly get to business, Nori approached the receptionist. She wore a bright-blue uniform and round glasses, her auburn hair tied into a neat ponytail. "Hello! How can I help you?" she greeted.

"Hi, I'm a Pokemon rehabiliator," Nori introduced, flashing his official's identification card. "Nori Carino. I'm here about the Lake of Rage incident. Do you happen to know where the suspect's being held?"

"Sure do," the receptionist pointed to a hallway. "She's being held three doors away on your left. You'll know it when you see it!"

"Thanks." He waved, rigidly but swiftly marching down the hall. He quickly arrived at his destination. It was clearly labeled with a huge blue sign with white text reading 'questioning' in big bold letters, making it easy to find even without clear directions.

He pushed his way in to find a well-lit stretching room. There were four different doors along one side of it, labeled with the first four letters of the alphabet, with a fifth door was on the opposite side of this long room. There were several desks lined up along the side opposite the doors to the interrogation rooms, as well as a sixth door near the middle. There were about six officers on duty here, all but one standing around chatting.

Said individual was sitting at a desk, standing immediately as Nori entered. A tall balding man whose remaining hair was scraggly and a graying black. "Who are you?" he asked, narrowed slate toned eyes saying he would not accept nonsense. He was wearing a uniform notably darker other officer Nori had seen - it was mostly black with some gray sections, with two narrow stripes on the outsides of the legs and at the front of the shirt section. A black overcoat was hanging on the back of his chair. Besides a polished gold badge, he also wore a necklace: a jagged gold crescent with a wide V going through it.

"I'm Nori Carino," he introduced himself, again pulling out his ID card in sync with his words. "I'm a Pokemon rehabilitator. I'm here because of the Lake of Rage incident."

"Oh, you're that kid who got hired as a special operative. You're here on your vacation, I take it?" Nori almost dropped his card, too stunned by that to reply. This man actually knew about him?! "Let me welcome you to our station, Mr. Carino. Frederick Holle, juvenile investigative services." He extended his hand to Nori. "I'm in charge of this case."

"Uhh...good to meet you!" Nori exclaimed, hastily stuffing his ID card back in his wallet before accepting. "How's the case going? I heard you caught the one who did it?"

"That's correct. She's in Room B here at the moment." He pointed to the room in question before crossing his arms and shaking his head. "We've been trying to get information out of her, but she's being uncooperative." Something he was used to, but was never any less annoying when it happened. "My subordinates have not been having any luck in speaking with her."

"May I go in?" Nori asked, not concealing his contempt or intentions. "I want to see this person for myself, and help out if I can."

The detective thought about this. "It is a bit unusual, but I suppose it is technically within your jurisdiction," he said. After some further consideration, he concluded that any help would be welcome. "Very well. You have my approval."

With silent acknowledgement, Nori marched towards and flung the door to the interrogation room open, stopping just short of slamming it against the wall. It was small and confined, barely eight by eight meters if that, with only a single fluorescent light illuminating it. There was a table and two folding chairs on either side. A lanky male officer with a bushy black mustache was standing beside, and a female officer with frizzy red hair was sitting across from who he identified as the perpetrator. A girl who couldn't have been more than twelve years old, if that. Her dark brown hair was a disheveled mess. A river of tears was flowing from her emerald-tinted irises as they and the officers turned to look at him.

"Okay, what's going on?! What happened?"

The young girl's hands flew to her ears as he began shouting. "Hey!" the female officer scolded. "Keep your voice down, please. This girl is autistic, and-"

Nori did not miss a beat in his reply, "I don't care if she is, she still screwed up good!" Word of her condition registered to him, but he held absolutely no bias. It didn't change what happened or put things in a different perspective as far as he was concerned.

The male took a few steps towards Nori. "What do you think you're doing, kid? You're interrupting our questioning."

"I got permission from Detective Holle, so it's okay." He followed this up with a bold declaration and point that made the girl curl up, rocking back and forth on the chair she was on. "I have the position and authorization. So I'll give you a hand!"

The two officers stared as if he were some lunatic who had just waltzed into the room. It was at this point that the detective stepped in behind him. "Mr. Carino. We don't mind you taking part in the questioning," he warned. "However, you need to consider the situation. Your actions and tone are not helping. Nothing of what you're doing is proper protocol. If you're not going to conduct yourself in a professional manner, we're going to have to ask you to leave."

Nori winced. He slowed down and thought about this, lest he make the situation worse for himself. Maybe he was in the wrong? Certainly partially. He could've controlled himself better there. But he knew he had a point with all this. He wasn't sure what the reaction to defiance would be, but he forced himself to shake his head. "From what you told me, you haven't been making much progress with your protocol." There were a couple audible gasps at this ruthlessly blunt remark, including from the girl. Before anyone could respond, Nori took a deep breath, letting it out with a huff. "Look," he spoke, fully composing himself. "I want to help. I just want to know what in the world happened here. I know you do too. And I mean, you have two options. Wait until she's ready to talk, or try another approach." He stood tall, pointing at himself. "I'll be that other approach for you."

Silence. Nori wasn't sure if it was from still being stunned from his remark about their efficiency, or from them processing his speech. To be sure, and to make it known how he felt, he punctuated it with a sincere, "Please. Let me try."

The officers still remained silent for several moments after that. Detective Holle gestured to the two police officers, briefly whispering some words to them. The three turned and stood in a row, the detective speaking.

"While I don't really care for how you put it, you have raised a point. And it seems your intent is true." The three gave a nod of approval in unison. "So we'll give you this chance, Mr. Carino."

"Thank you." Nori was truly grateful for the opportunity. Here he had the chance to figure this out, and to do it on his own. There was just one thing that he needed to do. "One more thing, though. Could you let us be? I think it'll be better if it's just me and her in here."

"Very well," Detective Holle agreed. Nori blinked. He didn't think they would go along with that, let alone so easily. He was expecting to have to ask them to just sit back and watch as a compromise. His question as to why was quickly answered as the detective narrowed his eyes, giving the young man a stern warning, "Just know this room is being monitored."

"I know. Do you really think I'd do anything?" He felt insulted by the notion of them thinking he'd be stupid enough to do anything bad in their absence, but to his credit he kept his tone as impartial as he could, even if it didn't completely conceal his irritation.

The detective chuckled. This young man was a lot of things, but it seemed foolish was not one of them. "I suppose not. We'll leave it to you, then." With that, he left the room with the two officers, closing the door behind them. As they left, Nori briefly looked over to the seated person. The person he had came here to see, and the one who had released that Gyarados into the lake. The one who caused this all.

He started pacing as he figured out how to begin, the young girl watching him the whole time in fear quivered her eyes and lips. This guy was very upset and clearly felt very strongly about this, but oddly enough he wasn't directing his anger her way. Not just yet, as she worried. It was probably only a matter of time before he started yelling at her again.

It was because of this thought that it was very surprising to her that he instead made a casual remark, "So I gotta say, I wasn't expecting the one who caught and released that Gyarados to be a girl your age." Nori was trying to figure out the best way to open conversation. He was trying to be mindful of the fact that this was a scared and confused girl he was speaking to. He hadn't done this before, yet realized what he said probably wasn't ideal. Maybe. Well, he said it. So he continued along with, "Then again, you probably weren't expecting someone as young as me to be here, either."

A bit to his surprise, the girl actually responded. She had been wondering that ever since he came into the room. "You're my sister's age..." she meekly replied.

He didn't let her see his sigh of relief at that working. Well, as long as they were on the subject, he figured he may as well keep going with it. "You have a sister?" Nori asked, continuing the small talk. Any response is better than none at all. "You must be lucky to have one. I'm an only child."

Her sister. She had been put on the trainer's blacklist a few years ago for abusing her Pokemon. That meant she was unable to legally own Pokemon. It was earlier this year that her sister had stolen a Pokemon from Professor Elm's lab and ran away from home. She herself had initially gone on her journey to find her and bring her in, to make her own up to her crimes. To the thefts, to the assaults, to evading arrest, and to any others that she wondered if her sister had committed. But not once did she ever imagine she would be the one to find herself in this position.

Noticing the girl's uncomfortable silence, Nori chimed in. "Family problems? Well, it's fine. I won't ask." He could tell just from her range of expressions that was a subject better left untouched. What to ask this girl now, though? Wait, that's right. "But, I guess I should ask your name?" He ruffled his hair. "It'd be better if I knew, so you're not just 'that girl' or whatever..."

She could understand that. Her parents would sometimes even yell at her for calling someone things to that effect. "Julia. Julia Parisa." She looked at him expectantly.

"I'm Nori. You've already heard my last name."

The two were quiet for a bit after this. So far so good, Nori thought, but where to go from here? It was actually Julia who broke the silence, "So, are you a police officer?" Her curiosity overriding her worries.

"I'm not an officer. But I am an official." Nori explained. "I can technically conduct investigations if they pertain to me." After a pause, he sighed deeply. He couldn't keep putting this off, lest this chance be taken away from him. He had to get down to business sometime. "Well, I guess I have to ask this." He moved over to the desk, standing beside it. "I know a bit about what happened. I went to the lake and heard most of the details. About that Gyarados and Team Rocket. Even saw some of the details. But..." He paused. What would be the best way to say this? "But I want to hear your side of the story. Just what were you thinking releasing a mentally scarred Pokemon back out into the wild like that?" He spoke firmly but as compassionately as he could muster.

Ever since she had been brought to the station again, Julia had been in this enclosed room. She had found herself being asked all sorts of questions by adults. She was scared, she even cried. They hadn't actually been yelling much, and often used the most understanding tones. Yet she still felt as though she were like a bacteria under a microscope. Being under incredibly scrutiny and the whole situation was overwhelming her. What if she said something she shouldn't have? What if they responded to what she told them badly? All of that was making her more scared by moment.

Something about this person though put her at ease. She was still worried he could end up yelling at her again, like he almost did just there. Maybe it was something about how freely he spoke his mind. Maybe it was his age. She wanted to be absolutely sure of two things, first. "You're not going to use what I say against me, are you?"

"Er, no." Did she watch a lot of police shows or something, Nori wondered.

"And you're not going to think bad of me if I tell you?"

Nori's gaze went to the ceiling for a moment. "My opinion of you isn't that great with what I know," he freely admitted. Just on paper, releasing a Pokemon with mental health issues back into the wild was reckless at best. "Only way it could be worse is if you brag about what you did or anything." Julia wasn't doing that or acting rudely uncooperative, though. She was a terrified little girl. So there was certainly more to this story than that. "But you probably had a good reason for doing it, so..." He finally sat down across from her. "What happened? What led to this all?"

There it was again. He flat-out told her he thought bad of her, but also indirectly said that it didn't have to stay that way. She was sure at this point Nori wasn't the type to lie. And he didn't seem angry at all anymore. She felt it was all right if she told him. "Okay," she relented, wiping her face dry before going into her story.

"I was headed to Mahogany Town with my friends. We must have gotten lost, because we ended up at the Lake of Rage instead. We saw a shiny Gyarados, and Team Rocket showed up and went after it. My friends helped fight them off, but I couldn't do anything because of that evolution signal thing." She sighed, the feelings of helplessness at that moment returning to her. She'd wanted to help too, but all of her Pokemon hadn't fully evolved yet. They couldn't do a thing under its influence. "We at least got some help from Mr. Cipris. He pointed us to Mahogany Town and told us to go there. But Team Rocket attacked us on the way. I don't remember what happened, but we woke up in their base, I guess."

"We got out with help of our Pokemon and a wild Girafarig. Shortly after that the police found us and took us in. They brought me and my friends here." She paused, never imagining she'd be back here again as a prisoner. Just being forced to stay here the first time was bad enough. "I overheard some policemen talking about how Team Rocket captured the Red Gyarados. I couldn't just sit by and do nothing, so I ran off and broke into the base myself to help her." A girl her age breaking out of and into a criminal organization's base? Successfully? Nori grinned. "I only caught her because some Team Rocket guys were hurting her. I just wanted to help her. I was escaping the base with Geraldine-oh, that's what I nicknamed her. That's when the gym leader attacked us. I was in the hospital for a while because of him."

So she and possibly her friends were the civilian involvement he heard about? He should've figured as much. It was news that she was on the Gyarados when the gym leader attacked it. But he couldn't mind that at the moment. "All right, go on."

"After I got out of the hospital, I called my mom and asked her to send Geraldine to me. Because she got transferred to my place when I got in range of a Pokemon Center. But she wanted me to go back to the Lake of Rage and release her. We got into a big argument about it." Julia flashed back to then. Her mother was scolding her, calling her reckless, saying she shouldn't have sent Julia out on a journey until she turned eighteen. Her voice grew as she continued to give her account, "But mom said she wasn't going to keep Geraldine at our ranch. She said she saw a lot of problems with her." If it was just that, Julia might have found it in herself to defy her mother. But there was one more thing that convinced her to do as she was told. "She also said she wasn't going to transfer any more Pokemon for me until I released her."

Nori recoiled on hearing this. "Is that true?" He leaned in closer as he nervously asked for confirmation. "She really sort of threatened you into doing it? You're not just pointing the finger at her?"

"Ask my friends if you don't believe me! They heard me talking, too." That conversation was so loud, she wouldn't be surprised if half the Pokemon Center had heard.

"I believe you, I believe you," he assured. "But having other people who can confirm will help convince others." The young official sighed. If Julia's mother told her to do it, then maybe it could save her. But then her mother would be held accountable instead. Leaving aside how holding her daughter's Pokemon hostage until she did what she was told was just wrong, he was sure this wasn't a result that Julia would want, either. This was so screwed up.

Julia attempted to curl up on the seat. She just wanted to do what she felt was right. She did what her mother wanted her - no, made her do - and it ended up like this. She asked Nori a sincere question, "Does Arceus hate me?"

This question might have startled others, but Nori crossed his arms and looked up at the ceiling. "I personally doubt Arceus is responsible for making our lives, let alone shaping them," he quipped, shaking his head. He lowered it and looked Julia straight in his eye. "But if it is, it's certainly lost all my respect today."

Julia was bewildered at what she just heard. She never heard anyone be so openly dismissive towards Arceus, even if they weren't religious. Maybe he believed in something else? Yet if he didn't think Arceus did this, that could only mean one thing. "You're saying it's my fault, aren't you? It's okay if you think that. I'll take responsibility for what I did!"

"No," he raised his hands. "No, I didn't mean it like that." Well, on second thought, he felt he should be as honest as he could with her. "I mean...you could've done something besides releasing her. You could've made a case to your mother and kept her." He immediately added, "But I mean, the guy who tried to capture her was responsible too."

"I tried that! I tried to tell her I could do it! But she didn't listen. She said I wasn't ready to handle a Gyarados!" The young girl sighed. Her mother was usually fairly good about listening to her, but this time she had dug in her heels and refused to do so. "She said I wasn't experienced enough."

Nori smirked. "You gotta be a little crazy to handle a Gyarados even with experience," he declared with a grin, attempting to inject a bit of humor into the conversation. Julia remained silent. It didn't take. He awkwardly followed it up with, "But uh, handling it yourself wasn't the only option. I mean, you could've sent it to a facility or something."

Julia suddenly rose up. "No!" she yelled. "I wasn't going to do that to Geraldine! I wasn't going to send her to a facility! They could've euthanized her at one of those places!"

"What?" Nori scratched his head, very confused by this outburst. "That's not true. There'd be a scandal if they just put down any Pokemon that came in. Where'd you even get that idea?"

"My mom said they euthanize Pokemon at facilities! I wasn't going to send her to one!"

Another mention of that mother of hers. It's a good thing she wasn't here, Nori thought to himself, or he might not be able to stop himself from giving her a piece of his mind for putting all these thoughts in her daughter's mind. As to the remark though, he firmly shook his head. "There'd especially be a huge scandal if they just went and put down a Pokemon that suffered abuse at the hands of a criminal organization. And even if they couldn't do anything for Geraldine and wanted to put her down, there's people like me who wouldn't give up on her."

"Do you work in one of those facilities?" Julia asked. If it was coming straight from the source, she could've believed it.

"Huh? No, actually, I'm a Pokemon rehabilitator," he explained. "That's what I'm called, anyway. I take a more hands-on approach than the 'professionals' do." He had just a hint of sarcasm in his voice when he said the word professionals, but it wasn't clear where it was coming from.

"So, you're in a group that helps Pokemon?" She was really curious about this guy now. Someone as young as him could do something like that?

Nori remained silent for several seconds. "Actually, I'm the only one right now," he awkwardly admitted. "It's...a long story. But the short of it is, I didn't give up on a Pokemon that everyone else did. I managed to help her rein in her personality and proved I did it in a battle." He pulled out a Poke Ball, thoughtfully peering at it for several moments. "I got offered this position because of it."

Again, it became quiet in the room. Nori put the Poke Ball back in his pocket as he pondered this predicament. This was not at all what he was expecting to get into when he charged into this place. This was not the kind of person he was expecting to be behind the tragedy at the Lake of Rage. He'd not only learned that this girl had the best of intentions in mind, but that she may not have even wanted to do it in the first place. Regardless of what happened, he found it hard to hate her for what she did. No, impossible.

Julia too was thinking a lot. This Nori person must have run into a situation much the same as hers. He must have caught a Pokemon that had a lot of issues and problems as well. But the difference between them is that he didn't give up. There was a Pokemon that needed help, and he made sure it got the help it needed personally. She didn't even try with Geraldine, though. Just caved to her mother's request. "You probably think I'm a horrible trainer, and a bad person for releasing Geraldine when she needed help. Don't you?"

"What? No!" he snapped, standing to his feet. "Don't ever think that about yourself!" He looked off to the side. Those words just sort of came out. He didn't mean to shout them. "I mean, as horribly wrong as it turned out, it takes a lot of guts to release a Pokemon. You were only doing what you thought was best for her." Nori looked back at her again, expecting her to be covering her ears or shrinking away due to his initial tone. Instead she was staring in stunned surprise. He continued, "That speaks a lot about you. You have to be a good trainer and a good person to even think about doing that, let alone actually going through with it. Even if you were forced into it."

It must be confessed that Julia had wanted to cover her ears, but hearing that forceful 'no' was too shocking to not do anything but listen. She'd been yelled at many times for the slightest reasons, even if she was only trying to be nice or do the right thing. A lot of people had gone as far as to call her a troublemaker, bad, a brat, or any number of things. This Nori person was yelling at her, but for just the opposite - insisting she was none of those things. She found herself on the verge of crying, tears forming in her eyes. "I...I don't know what to say. Most people think I'm a bad kid if I so much as say or do something."

"Yeah, well you're not. And don't let anyone tell you otherwise."

That did it. She couldn't hold back anymore, sniveling as she replied, "Thank you..."

Nori was caught off-guard by that, and suddenly found himself feeling sheepish. He rubbed the back of his head. "Ummm, you're...welcome. I guess?" Thanks was the last thing he expected to get here today, let alone from the person he came to see. It felt good, truth be told, but the reality of the situation soon set in. This wasn't an ignorant or inconsiderate person he was dealing with. This was a kind and caring one.

He collapsed back in the chair. This was so screwed up. Hearing her intent completely changed things. This was a young girl who was just trying to do the right thing, and got burned for it. And yet the letter of the law meant she might get punished for the rest of her life because of it.

Julia soon wiped the tears from her face. "So...what's going to happen to me, Nori?" Her voice quivered as she talked. Maybe he didn't think she was a bad person, but she knew in her heart others wouldn't see it the same way.

"I hope nothing," Nori said, even though he felt in the back of his mind he was likely spouting idealism. "If nothing does happen, what are you going to do?"

The way the conversation was going, Julia momentarily forgot she was technically in the interrogation room of a police station. She gave a determined response, "Assuming you guys decide not to keep me in jail forever, I was planning to get my seventh gym badge from Mr. Snow."

Nori smirked. "If it happens within three days-that's when my trip here ends, I'll try to be there." He hadn't forgotten the point about the gym leader targeting her and Geraldine with an attack. "I imagine you're itching for some payback for when he went after you."

"Yup. I don't know what he was thinking doing that! Nobody should do something like that, especially a gym leader!" Yes, this would definitely be worth a watch, Nori figured. "My friends already fought him and got their badges, and when I get out of here-I mean, if I get out of here..."

She was interrupted by the door flying open again, this time slamming against the wall as it did so. Both of them jumped at the sudden noise. "All right, that's enough of that."

Detective Holle and the two officers from before came marching into the room like stormtroopers. Julia shrunk back behind Nori, absolutely terrified of the detective's furrowed brow. He turned to Nori, acknowledging him with a nod. "Excellent job, Mr. Carino."

"What?!" Nori was aghast. The detective wasn't being anything but genuine and appreciative with him, yet realization of what he'd done was making it unnerving. "How did you...?"

"Didn't I tell you this room was being monitored?" he explained. Nori's eyes grew wide. He'd forgotten about that, and wouldn't have thought they could listen in any event. "I've heard everything you two have said to each other." He gave a nod of approval. "Thank you for your assistance." Nori shuddered involuntarily at this.

"I...I..." Julia was trying to find words, but couldn't. The black-uniformed man was towering over her, like a judge high on his bench. She remembered the many times in her life she had been in such a situation. She had done something wrong, and an adult had shown up to reprimand her. She remembered when her old teacher used to do this, instinctively putting up her arms in defense.

Detective Holle crossed his arms. "So you finally confessed to what you did. You are in a lot of trouble," he announced, professionally if harshly. Nori could only watch. This was exactly what he was afraid of. But the detective wasn't done there, continuing his scolding. "To speak nothing of how you trespassed on a police raid, your reckless actions led to five deaths and twenty-three injuries."

People actually died?! She knew that something bad had happened with Geraldine, but she didn't know people had lost their lives. Just like what happened several years back in Cherrygrove. Guilt enveloped her. She just couldn't take it anymore. "I'm sorry!" Julia cried, tears pouring from her eyelids as she frantically apologized. "I'm sorry for what Geraldine did! I'll take full responsibility for what happened and I'll completely understand if you wanna throw me in jail and keep me there forever and ever and ever and ever!"

Detective Holle smiled slightly, nodding. "It's good to see you understand your situation. You may indeed be incarcerated for this. Certainly, you'll be going on the blacklist forever." He felt it would be wrong to hide her fate, or give anything but full disclosure. Whether it was a brutal truth or not was irrelevant, she was going to have to face that truth, and face her punishment. "We'll talk more about the charges you'll be facing after your parents arrive." He sat down across from Julia, who was unable to even look at him due to being so distraught. "But for now, we have some further questions for you."

"You say all that and you want to try and get more out of her?" Especially after what she said about using what she said against her. Nori would not be surprised if she refused to speak to the detective, to say nothing of his attitude. Professional or not, this was just uncalled for. "Do you really think she's going to talk to you just because she talked to me?"

Holle didn't even spare Nori a glance as he explained, "Whether or not she's willing is irrelevant. I'll find out what I need to one way or another." He knew exactly how he was going to approach this investigation, no matter how it went.

With that the young official had heard enough. He'd already heard a lot, but that did it. He took a bold step forward. "I'll try to find a way to help you, Julia. Just don't give up!" This wasn't right. He already didn't want to see her severely punished, but after seeing this he felt he couldn't stand by and do nothing. If he had anything to say about this, she'd be fine. Julia gave him a hopeful pleading look. She really hoped Nori could help. She'd accept punishment if she had to, but she was praying to Arceus that Nori could help her.

Detective Holle had other ideas. "I appreciate that you're trying to make her feel better, Mr. Carino. However, it is wrong to make promises that can't be kept, particularly when they involve matters such as this." He lowered his gaze, giving nods to the two officers who stood right in front of Nori. "In any event, I'm going to ask that you leave the interrogation room now, Mr. Carino."

Nori fired a glare at the detective, causing the two officers to immediately act by grabbing an arm each. "Fine." He turned and left, practically dragging the officers restraining him along instead of the other way around.

Eyes turned to look at him as he emerged from questioning. Some of them expressing disappointment, and a few being accusing. Even though he'd been through worse, it still bothered Nori a bit. The two officers let go of him after they were out of the room. The male started to say something, but Nori was continuing to walk away. "Calm down. Don't even think about doing anything."

"Do you think I would?!" He was upset, yes. But he knew you'd have to be either really stupid or a really confident criminal to start something in a police station. He was neither of those.

As Nori was heading away from the interrogation room, he passed by a lounge-type area. He noticed two children who were hanging about, causing him to pause. He supposed this room, which had several couches and a pair of vending machines for food and drink respectively, was for visitors. There was a girl with orange hair in somewhat fancy clothes, and a boy with curly blond hair with far less fancy clothes. Both of them seemed agitated about something, and given their age and how they didn't look related, he had a suspicion as to who they were and why they were here.

He entered the lounge and carefully approached the two, who turned to stare at him. "So...are you Julia's friends?" he carefully inquired.

"We just told you, we're not telling you anything. So go away!" The orange-haired girl got up to yell and sat right back down, crossing her arms and refusing to look at him.

The boy shook his head, as if to apologize for his friend's outburst. But he too was just as unwilling to speak. "Sorry. Unless you're here to tell us we can see her, we'd rather not talk."

Nori lowered his head. That confirmed it, and he wasn't surprised they didn't think much of him. After all, they might associate him with the people who threw their friend in this place. But then he thought about it for a moment: were they being quiet to protect Julia? He could understand if they wanted to, and they had very good reasons. "Maybe it's better that you don't..." he admitted as he sulked off. After all, if they were listening in on him and Julia, they could be listening in here as well. Even if he could make it clear he only wanted to help, it might only make things worse.

Nori slumped his shoulders and slowly continued his walk out of the station. That was really unfortunate. He was positive Julia's friends wanted to do something just as much as he did, yet it seemed there would be no collaboration between them. But maybe that really was for the better? If there's a group saying the same thing, it may not mean much. But if there's multiple people independently saying the same thing, it woul mean more. His posture improved as he thought about it. Maybe there was a chance.

Nori made it back to the lobby, the receptionist from before giving him a salute as he passed her by. He looked towards the doors to leave, when a very unusual sight walking in gave him pause: a man with spiked carmine red hair, a red jean jacket over a black shirt, boots a mix of both colors, and a big black cape..

"Lance the Dragon Master?" Nori scratched his head. Even someone from a different region like Nori recognized this man. He'd heard many stories about him, a lot of them good. "What's the champion of Johto and Kanto doing here?"

"I'm here to visit the girl who caught the Red Gyarados," the champion stated. He had noticed the receptionist's gesture towards Nori as he was walking inside, so he figured that the young man before him might be a member of the force despite his youth and lack of uniform. "Do you happen to know where Julia Parisa is?"

"She's being held in questioning at the moment." Nori gestured to the hall he had just came from. "I just got finished speaking with her myself. I wasn't expecting her to be a really kind person..." He wasn't sure why he said that. Maybe he just wanted to talk to someone about it. He was sure the champion had his own reasons for being here, and so didn't have much time for someone like him. Still, he wondered, "I didn't expect you to get involved with this..."

"I happen to have personal involvement in this incident. I helped lead the raid on the base where the Red Gyarados was being held." Nori's eyes stretched wide. He knew that gym leaders often get involved in the protection of their region, especially against larger-scale threats. But a champion doing that? Was this happenstance or him personally standing up to stop criminal organizations? "I was there when she captured it, and there to see her release it as well." He had been scouting around the Lake of Rage on his Dragonite after the incident, chancing upon seeing Julia and her friends there. "It really seemed to like her. Though she returned it to its family, it appeared really hurt."

Nori could see that. He got the impression Julia was the type to shower her Pokemon with love. She undoubtedly did the same with Geraldine during their short time together. It could be seen as a betrayal. But Nori had to ask something. "So...why do you want to meet with her?" He dreaded the worst.

"I'm going to have a chat with her. I hope to understand the situation from her end. And help sort this out if I can."

Nori's eyes lit up. He may have personally knew Julia? And he was going to help? This was some of the best news he'd recently heard. As the Dragon Master was beginning to head down the hall, an alarm went off in his mind. "Just be careful of that juvenile services detective," he called out, causing Lance to stop. Nori felt he should warn Lance ahead of time, just to be sure. As the champion turned his attention back to him, he awkwardly grasped one of his bangs, twirling it about. "He's...well...you'll see." He couldn't think of any polite way to describe the person in question.

The spiky-haired man nodded. "I will keep that in mind, thank you."

As he left down the hallway, Nori couldn't help but grin wildly. There definitely would be a chance with him around.

Having met the champion of two regions and hearing he was going to try to do something to help, Nori decided to sit in the lobby and wait to see the results. The chairs were as uncomfortable as he thought they would be, but he felt waiting would be worth it. Maybe his opinion didn't matter to these people. After all, to some of them, he was just some punk kid. Julia's friends opinions' could be brushed off as being biased. But the opinion of the strongest trainer in the region surely would mean something.

He lost track of time as he was waiting. The only measure he had was seeing Julia's friends leave at some point after. He figured Lance might have spoken to them too, and from how relaxed they appeared, was much more warmly received as well. As Nori waited, he was unable to think of anything but what Lance might have to say to these people. He smirked to himself imagining the caped man telling off that jerk of a detective. What he would've given to see that scene.

After some time, Lance did reemerge, being followed by that very same detective. Nori's smile faded when he saw Lance was walking swiftly, his lip curled and eyes with the flame of a wyvern in them. The spiky-haired man barely seemed to notice he was being followed, or didn't care.

"I have nothing but respect for you, Mr. Cipris," Detective Holle spoke as he tailed in behind. "I appreciate your concern and understand where you are coming from. However, you know as well as I do that the department is in the right here." He held a neutral expression, stating this as a fact while not being arrogant about it. Lance for his part just slowed his pace and peered at the ceiling. "As the law states, 'any trainer who releases a Pokemon shall be held accountable for its actions for six months after it has been released'. And by Arceus, did that Gyarados ever do some actions. It wasn't even a day since she released it."

The champion whirled around, halting a ways before where Nori was sitting. "Detective Holle, I do understand that what Julia did was wrong," he stated. "I'm only asking you to consider the circumstances of the matter."

"The circumstances are this, Mr. Cipris. That girl became involved in a police raid she shouldn't have. Over the course of that raid, she captured an enslaved Pokemon, an issue that should have been handled by we professionals. When she decided she couldn't handle it anymore, she released it. And you know what happened from there." Lance sighed in exasperation. Nori didn't blame him. This seemed like arguing with a broken record player. Detective Holle crossed his arms. "She made a huge mistake. So now she will have to live with the consequences for the rest of her life."

Nori couldn't take it anymore. He shoved to his feet and marched right up to the two. "You're still going on about this?" He may have come here wanting to know what was going through the mind of the person who released that Gyarados. What he heard had changed his views. While he now wanted to know what was going through this jerk's mind, he felt no manner of excuses could change his.

"Ah, you're still here, Mr. Carino?" Detective Holle greeted, as if his outburst from before hadn't happened. "It's my job to investigate as thoroughly as I can. Again, I appreciate your help in getting a confession out of her. I'll be sure to put in a word to your superiors about it." He put a hand on the Pokemon rehabilitator's shoulder, but Nori jerked away.

"I don't care about that!" he fired back. The detective's eyes went wide, then narrowed. "Were you even listening to me earlier? I said-"

"And were you listening to me?" the detective harshly countered. Nori clenched his fists. "This is cut-and-dried. That girl released a Pokemon that went on to claim lives and injure others. A Pokemon she should never have captured in the first place. There is nothing you can do or say to change these facts. If I have anything to say about this matter, she'll be punished to the fullest extent of the law for her actions."

With every word that came out of this man's mouth, Nori only grew more furious. "Julia isn't a bad person. I'm not going to let you-"

"I am warning you, Mr. Carino," Detective Holle raised a hand and practically shoved it in Nori's face to silence him, that gesture being for good measure coming only after cutting him off. He gave him a threatening, no-nonsense glare. "If you do anything to disrupt our investigation, you'll be charged with obstruction of justice. Are we clear?"

Nori grumbled, gritting his teeth. Lance held a sad look in his eye, shaking his head at the quaking boy. The young official held back, unable to find any words to say. This detective may have been in the right, but this wasn't right at all.

Holle got in his face, demanding a reply. "I said are we clear?"

Nori replied by walking away in disgust.

The young official forcibly dragged himself out of the police station. "That jerk..." he muttered as he plopped down on a nearby bench. As much as he wanted to tell off that detective, he knew that there wasn't anything he could do there. Worst case, he could've found himself imprisoned as well. "It's like he thinks she's no better than those Rocket thugs. And threatening me too..." He mused aloud. He found doing that helped him with his thoughts, among other things. "But I'm not giving up. I'm going to do something."

It was all well and good to say that of course, but doing it is another. His head drooped, "Where do I even begin with this, though?" Saving a Pokemon from being put down was one thing; saving a person from the cruelties of the law was a different beast altogether. Perhaps the only similarity is that the ones under the gunbarrel are both being viewed as a danger to society, at least in that detective's eyes. The same approach that worked back then would certainly not work now. "There has to be something I can do. This is so screwed up..."

"I've...finally...caught up with you...sir!"

He peered up to see a rather large man running towards him, gasping and wheezing. The man's face was beat red, and there were several dark spots on his uniform. He fell doubling over for air as he closed in. "Ahh...wow...shouldn't have...sprinted..."

It took Nori a moment to recognize the person in front of him. After what he had just been through, he had nearly forgotten about the events at the lake. "Officer Bunston?"

"That's me!" He weakly raised an arm and pointed at himself. "Officer...Lars Bunston!"

Nori stared. "What are you even doing here?"

"Ahh...I was asked by Officer Jenny to come help you if you needed it! But ah, it's probably a bit late for that, ah?" Nori confirmed. "So you talked to that scum responsible for this, then?"

Nori looked away. "You could say that..." he cryptically spoke.

"Good!" Bunston pulled himself up and sat beside Nori, who could feel the bench shift under his weight. "Guess I didn't need to...run over here after all." He chuckled and wheezed at the same time. "I can't believe some...dumb moron would release a monster like that into the Lake of Rage."

This stout officer had done it once and Nori had let it go. But this time he wasn't going to. "Don't call her a monster!" he got up and snapped.

"Huh?"

"Geraldine-that Gyarados is just as much a victim in this as anyone else! She didn't deserve what she went through from Team Rocket." With a sigh, Nori sat down, shaking his head. "She didn't deserve any of this."

"I-I'm sorry, sir!" Bunston bowed, begging forgiveness. Nori arched an eyebrow. What was with this guy? "I had no idea Team Rocket was involved. I thought this was just an angry Gyarados that went on a rampage. But you're right. Gerady didn't deserve to be released by that bad uncaring trainer who caught her, either!"

"Yes. I mean no! I mean..." Nori exhaled in frustration. He couldn't think right at all at the moment, and this guy wasn't helping. Trying to get his mind in order, he began explaining, "The trainer who caught her isn't a bad trainer. She isn't even a bad person. I talked to her. She told me everything. She never thought this would happen, she just did it because her mother asked, and she didn't think she could handle a Gyarados."

Nori had the urge to stand up and pace to work off some the stress. It hardly helped. "But...this is just wrong!" he cried out with rage, stomping the ground forcefully. "I thought this was going to be some ignorant doofus, maybe someone who trained it and decided to set it free for whatever reason. Not some preteen girl whose heart was in the right place!" He fell against one of the large trees surrounding the station, to use as support and to bury his head in. "It wasn't her fault. This wasn't negligence, it was an accident. And because of one stupid part of the law, she could be blacklisted or thrown in jail?!" He punched the tree in frustration. "What even happened here?!"

Officer Bunston was stunned to hear this all. Not just what Nori had said, but the way he said it as well. When he had skated off earlier today, he thought the young official was headed over to the station to deliver verbal justice. "I had no idea you felt this strongly about this, sir," he quietly spoke. "I thought for sure you too would want to see the one responsible for this punished severely."

He looked over his shoulder. "Yeah, well...I may have jumped to conclusions before assessing things." If Nori felt he was wrong, he wasn't afraid to admit it. He turned his body so he was facing Officer Bunston. "Worst of all, that juvenile investigative services detective seems like he wants to lock her away forever. I want to help her, but I don't know how!"

Bunston nodded. For his view to shift so dramatically, he must really be serious about this. And he given that there must be something to it all. "If that's what you think, then I'll help you."

"Wha-?" Now it was Nori's turn to be confused. "You'll help? Why?"

"Well, Officer Jenny said to help you for one. But I also respect what you do, sir!" Bunston declared. When he first met this kid, he thought he was just some skateboard punk looking to trespass on a crime scene. But it turns out he was a young official, and one who worked with Pokemon at that. "I dunno know if the trainer really is a bad person or not. But if an expert on Pokemon behavior says she isn't responsible, then there has to be something to it!"

Nori blinked. "Y-yes, that's right." He was by no means an expert on Pokemon behavior, but he'd go along with it if it meant getting someone on his side. If only convincing other people was this easy.

Suddenly, Bunston pulled out a Great Ball and cast it on the ground. "Meet my partner, Rough!" he declared as a black canine Pokemon with an orange snout and belly clad in bones formed in front of him. "Ah, as in not smooth, not the sound. We'll help you with whatever you need in your investigation, sir!"

Nori ruffled his hair. "I appreciate the sentiment, but I don't think Rough is going to be of much help." The stout officer deflated, sighing as he recalled his Houndour. "But you can be. You can..." Wait, what could he do? Well, there was one thing that came to mind. "...maybe you could talk to some people on the force? Get their thoughts? Maybe tell them what happened?" The opinion of one of their own would certainly mean more to them than his ever could.

Bunston saluted. "Can do, Mr. Carino, sir! I'll try to speak with as many people as I can!"

"Just don't be too pushy about it, and watch out for Detective Holle." The last thing he wanted was this man's enthusiasm changing people's minds for the worse, or that detective stopping him. And being called those things was starting to get grating. "You can call me Nori, by the way."

A shake of the head. "I couldn't do that, sir. It'd be disrespectful!" Just as he thought. Oh well, if he never asked he never would've been sure. "What are you going to do, sir?"

"I'm going to find a hotel room, get some rest, and do some thinking. I'll be back tomorrow, so update me then." With this, Nori got up and started to leave. He still wasn't sure what he could do himself. He knew it was going to take a lot more than this to get Julia out of this predicament. For now, he could only place his trust in Officer Bunston to change some minds within the force. Maybe it would make just a small difference, but every little bit would help in this fight.

The conversation between Julia and Nori in this chapter was intended to be a partial parallel of the conversation between Julia and Lance in Chapter 35. It was also intended to catch up nonreaders of MarJour on the events that led up to it, and let actual readers of it know what changed in this version of events. This chapter actually has a ton of little things going on in it in general, but that's a big one.

When this alternate world fic was originally conceived, there was no such character as Detective Holle in this. I felt I should have someone to up the pressure though and serve to push and present the threat of what could happen to Julia, so I came up with the idea of an uncaring and unsympathetic detective. But not a corrupt one. Speaking of which, Bunston was originally intended to be a one-off character. However as the scope of this grew and I started to think about where the plot would go, I felt I needed a member of the force on Nori's side. So I turned him into Nori's "sidekick" so to speak.

Nori's party:

Nidorina (Female, Sassy Nature)
Ability: Hustle
Take Down, Double Kick, Crunch, Poison Jab

Pawniard (Male, Naughty Nature)
Ability: Defiant
Fury Cutter, Metal Claw, Slash, Psycho Cut

Bunston's party:

Rough (Houndour, Male, Serious Nature)
Ability: Flash Fire
Attacks: Flamethrower, Bite, Roar, Solar Beam