Chapter 2
Hikari's Journal:
So I am officially traveling with the newly appointed International Police Detective Drew. He's a really nice guy, with a lot of intuition and innovative ideas. He was the one who found the evidence that allowed my father to be arrested for the murder of my mother. Luckily he let me travel with him throughout Sinnoh, because his father Looker sent him to solve cases across the region. Drew and I just traveled through Route 203. It had a cool, serene atmosphere despite being so close to the bustling Jubilife City. There was plenty of shade thanks to the tall trees along the route, and there were also plenty of Pokemon. Piplup helped me catch some Abra, Zubat, Kricketot, and Shinx. It's so cute how jealous he gets whenever I catch a new Pokemon. He shouldn't worry, I send them all to Professor Rowan through the PC for him to study. Anyways, Drew caught a Starly that he nicknamed Talon. Piplup helped Vulcan and Talon fight the rock type Pokemon in the Oreburgh Gatethat led to Oreburgh City, and here we are…
Drew grinned when he saw Oreburgh City. The mining town was so different compared to what he was used to, it was amazing. All of the buildings were connected through the dirt paths.
"There's a Pokemon Gym here," Hikari pointed it out to Drew.
Drew shrugged. "Eh, maybe later. We're not here to get a Gym Badge. We have to get to the Oreburgh Mining Museum and interview someone named Sebastian."
Hikari's eyes grew dark for a split second then she returned to her cheerful personality.
"Okay," she said with a smile, "we could check it out later."
Drew healed up Vulcan and Talon in the Pokemon Center. He decided to let Talon out of his Poke Ball. Drew figured Talon was used to flying through the air and probably didn't like being confined.
Talon squawked in delight when Drew held out his arm for Talon to land on. The Starly flew onto Drew's arms.
Drew and Hikari walked inside the large museum that showcased many different exhibits about several types of coal.
The two walked to the receptionist desk.
"Welcome to the Oreburgh Mining Museum," a man said. "My name is Sheldan. Unlike museums in other regions, there is no fee to seeing the exhibits."
"That's great," Drew said. He pulled out his police badge, "Detective Drew of the International Police. I'm looking for a man named Sebastian."
"I see, I'll get him right now."
Drew turned around from the counter and saw Hikari looking intently at the exhibits and writing in her journal. He wondered why she always seemed to be glued to it.
"Hello, my name is Sebastian," a young man with short black hair and circular glasses said. He wore a dirty white collared shirt, jeans, and muddy boots. "Please come with me."
Drew followed him behind the receptionist desk into a room that led to a hallway. The hallway brought them to a large room filled with many Pokemon fossils.
"Studying coal is great and all," Sebastian said, "but the Oreburgh Mining Museum is really an outlet for studying the excavation of Pokemon fossils."
Drew saw illustrations of Pokemon such as Cranidos and Shieldon, which he was familiar with thanks to TV. However, there were illustrations of Pokemon that he had never seen before, Omanyte, Kabuto, Anorith, Lileep, and Aerodactyl. Drew assumed that they must have been from different regions.
"These five Pokemon are from the Kanto and Hoenn regions," Sebastian explained. "However, we excavated several of their fossils in the Mine."
"But there is a missing fossil? A…Bastiodon?"
"Right, Bastiodon is the evolved form of Shieldon."
"And you know that… how exactly?"
Sebastian smiled. "We've created a machine that brings Pokemon fossils back to life. With funding from the Devon Corporation, our scientists made a machine that actually allows an extinct species to exist! The machine also was distributed to the Kanto and Hoenn regions."
"Hm…may I see a picture of Bastiodon?" Drew asked.
Sebastian handed him an illustration of a large gray and yellow Pokemon that's face was huge shield. Drew could understand why someone would want to take the fossil. But why would they take it if the machine for resurrecting Bastiodon was in the museum?
"So where was the Bastiodon fossil found? Oh, and I'll also need a list of everyone that was on the mining team."
Sebastian gave Drew a map of the Oreburgh Mine and drew a star where they had excavated the fossil, and a list with only five names on it. Jonathon, Darius, Colin, Mason, and Roark.
"Thanks Sebastian, I'll do my best to find the Bastiodon fossil."
Roark. That was the name of the city's Gym Leader. It looked like he and Hikari were going to pay a visit to the Gym after all.
"Where did you go?" Hikari asked Drew at the front of the museum as they walked out.
"I interviewed Sebastian in the Fossil Restoration room."
"Really, they have a machine to bring fossils back to life? That's amazing!"
"Yeah, I didn't get to see it in action though." Drew told her, "Come on, we have to interview suspects at the Gym."
"I could write down key facts that the suspects say," Hikari offered.
"Thanks that would be awesome for when I have to send a report back to Looker."
The two walked into the narrow building made of stone that housed Roark and his trainers.
"Welcome to the Oreburgh City Gym," the maroon headed, glasses wearing Gym Leader told them. "You'll have to battle Jonathon and Darius if you want to face me."
"Actually," Drew flashed his police badge, "we're here to ask you three a few questions."
Roark walked down the stairs and brought Jonathon and Darius with him to the entrance.
"Been to the minds recently?" Drew noted his dirty clothes and muddy boots.
Roark nodded. "I work there part time. Our miners work hard to provide the coal that powers this city."
"Alright, where were you on Friday evening at 10 o'clock?"
"I was in the mines, training with Jonathon and Darius. We were honing the skills of our rock types against the Machop that live in the mind."
"Alright, thanks," Drew said. "Do you know where we could find Colin and Mason?"
"They work in the mine," Roark told him.
"Let's go," Drew told Hikari who had finished jotting down notes in her journal.
The path leading into the mines was lined with bulldozers to clear the way. There was a mountain of coal that the miners had collected at the entrance. When Drew and Hikari walked inside the mine, they were pleasantly surprised by the fresh air. They expected the air to be filled with deadly gas, but there had been vents that were constructed to allow fresh air to enter the mine.
Talon fought against wild Machop in the mine that wanted to fight. He took them out easily with a Wing Attack.
"Great job!" Drew told Talon as he took down the tenth Machop in a row. Talon pumped out his chest proudly, and if bird Pokemon could smile, his beak looked like it had formed one.
There were many barrels and steel drums littered throughout the mine. However, the miners took great care while doing their job, as they did not want to mess with the Pokemon's habitat.
A large piece of slab was in the middle of the cavern where Sebastian's team had excavated the Bastiodon fossil. When Drew and Hikari reached the spot where Sebastian had marked, they saw a miner threatening his co-worker with his pick-axe.
"If you tell anyone, then you're dead!"
"IPD, what's going on here!" Drew called. He read the name tags of the miners, they were Colin and Mason.
Mason darted away and Drew ran after him in hot pursuit.
"Talon, Wing Attack!" Talon flew towards Mason and hit him with his wings. Mason lost his footing and tripped over a ledge.
Drew handcuffed Mason and brought him over to Hikari and Colin and forced him to sit down.
"I didn't do nothin'!" Mason exclaimed.
"Then why'd you run?" Drew asked.
"Sorry about him," Colin said.
"We know you took the Bastiodon fossil," Drew told Mason.
Mason looked up at Drew, with genuine shock. "I didn't take no fossil. Besides, if I did, wouldn't you think I'd sell it instead of working in the mines?"
"Why do you guys work in the mines?" Hikari asked Colin.
Colin shrugged. "It pays well, and we get to help our community. At least that's why I do it. I don't know why this guy does it."
"Well?" Drew sent out Vulcan. "Do you want an Ember to the face? Answer me!"
Mason looked to the ground, finally saying, "I do it to get closer to the person I like. Is that a crime?"
Colin stepped back in shock.
"Why did you run?" Drew repeated his question.
"I did bad stuff when I was a kid," Mason said. "I figured you would arrest me."
Drew told him, "Alright, you're free to go," and he uncuffed Mason.
"So we got nowhere with the suspects," Drew sighed as he and Hikari walked into the Pokemon Center for dinner. "They all seem to check out."
"Come on, think of something out of the box like you did with Mr. Platinum," Hikari told him.
Then a thought occurred to Drew.
"How would the thief get the Bastiodon fossil from the museum?" Drew asked. "There are cameras everywhere…except in the Fossil Restoration Room!"
"What are you saying?" Hikari asked, confused.
"I think I know who smuggled the fossil out of the museum!"
Sebastian had just finished feeding the newly resurrected Cranidos and Shieldon. He walked over to his desk in the Fossil Restoration Room and opened his email. A new message had come from a blocked sender.
"Thanks for the fossil. You shall be rewarded handsomely. Payment is on its way," Sebastian read, smirking.
"Sebastian!" Drew rushed through the door, with Vulcan and Talon alongside him.
"How'd you get in here?"
"Sheldon let me in," Drew replied.
"Anyways, I figured out who took the fossil."
"And who might that be?"
"You!"
Sebastian removed his glasses and smirked. "I guess you caught me. But it looks like no one else is here, and I can just say it was senile Sheldon that remembered incorrectly when he saw."
Drew looked at him, not afraid, but unsure of what Sebastian's next move would be.
"Attack the Detective!" Sebastian ordered Cranidos and Shieldon.
The two fossil Pokemon jumped up and looked angrily towards Drew.
Cranidos was the first to attack, using Zen Headbutt. Its head glowed white and he was about to ram into Drew when Talon flew in front of it, taking the brunt of the attack.
"Talon…" Drew muttered sadly. The move was not very effective against flying types, but Talon was far weaker than the ancient Cranidos.
Vulcan used Ember, spitting the flames into Shieldon's face. The move was semi-effective, but Shieldon glowed silver, and it had used Iron Defense.
"You look like you could use some help," Hikari ran into the Fossil Restoration Room with her Piplup.
"Piplup, attack Cranidos and Shieldon with Bubble!" A flurry of bubbles sprouted from Piplup's beak, hitting both of the fossil Pokemon.
Sebastian cried out in fury and ran to the stairs that led to the roof.
"Thanks," Drew told Hikari as he, Vulcan, and Talon went past her in pursuit of Sebastian.
"Stop!" Drew cried out as Sebastian neared the edge of the rooftop.
Sebastian was talking to himself, saying, "Perhaps death is comforting after all."
"Stay where you are!" Drew ordered.
Sebastian broke out into maniacal laughter.
"Do you think I'm afraid of you? Do you think I care about the Police? No, I'm scared of what they will do to me if they find out that I've been found out!"
"Who are you talking about?!"
"Well, I suppose I might as well tell you, they're going to kill me anyways."
"Who!"
"I was contacted by a woman. She told me that her organization would reward me if I gave her the Bastiodon fossil. For what purpose, I have no idea. So I did, but I had no idea that Sheldon would call the IPD and report it as missing. I would have gotten away with it, and they would have made me rich!"
"Who!"
Sebastian finally said, "Thanatos."
Then he fell backwards off the rooftop. His head smashed open when it hit the ground. Sebastian was dead.
"What happened to Sebastian?" Hikari asked when Drew came down from the rooftop.
"He committed suicide," Drew told her. "He was so scared about some organization would kill him. They're called Thanatos."
"Thanatos?"
"Whoever they are, we need to find Thanatos."
A woman with green hair sticking out of the back of her black mask walked in front of a large screen where her superior was in the shadows.
"Master Pluto," she greeted him.
"I have the Bastiodon fossil. We shall be able to conduct tests on it soon."
"Very good. I am glad that I appointed you as the leader of the Furies."
"Master Pluto…there's something you must know. Sebastian is dead."
"He was merely a pawn in our plans, nothing more."
"I thought you would have been disappointed."
"It is of no matter. As long as Thanatos remains in the shadows, our plans will not come to light. And I have very big plans for the four regions of Sinnoh, Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn."