The Case Against Violet

by Anticipate

Looker wasn't above investigating petty theft crimes, but he felt like his time could be used more effectively. Larry wasn't above doing anything according to his boss, but assigning him to help a detective felt like it was stretching his job description. What neither realize is that the fate of Paldea hangs on their investigation into a runaway champion. Updated biweekly.

5. Chapter 5: Blue

A/N: Apologies for being a day late, but chapter 5 is here! The next upload should still be on time, but if it's not I'll put an update on my profile as usual. In the meantime, please enjoy this chapter and let me know what you think!

---

15 hours until Juliana's disappearance

People always remembered where they were at the time of a major disaster. As time diluted their impact, these rare events would eventually be represented entirely by how showers had been cut off or how gardens had their tending interrupted by the mild inconvenience of a region-ending crisis. But that sort of luxury was only granted to people who could afford to distance themselves from crises. Even from the flying taxi the rumblings of the Great Crater's mountain splitting apart like an eggshell could be felt. The pokémon holding up their carriage shifted, their professionalism being tested by the intense unnatural phenomenon going on beneath them. Looker and Larry hadn't been aware of the source of this tremor until a call to Larry informed them that Juliana's phone had pinged right at the point of the incident. At this news, Larry rose from his seat, making to open the door. "The plan has changed. We're wasting time here."

"No, wait! Think this through rationally! We're already here!"

Larry refused to listen to Looker's plea, already preparing to jump out of their flying taxi. "You heard the same news I did. We've got a ping from her phone. Why wouldn't we pursue this?"

"Because it's too damn convenient!" Looker protested, rising from his seat and jostling the entire taxi in the process. The intimidating plea he was going for was made less threatening by the taxi forcing him to hunch over. "She knows very well what we're trying to do. We learned that by observing Penny and Arven's actions. I understand the need to arrive to ensure the area is secure and to avoid casualties, but she's very clearly goading us away from here. Now's the best time to pursue this lead in Arven. Think about it. Who did she call?"

"We don't know," Larry responded testily, still edging toward the exit. "It hardly matters."

"It's the only thing that matters!" the detective insisted, taking an aggressive step forward. "You're not the only person out there working for the league, right? Let the top champion handle things at the crater. We should focus on our current objective! Did you hear anything in that report ordering you to change course?"

Larry remained silent for a moment, giving Looker the impression that this question was more difficult for Larry to answer than Looker had expected it to be. The decision Larry reached wasn't reflected at all on his face, catching Looker off guard when the man spoke again. "You're right. Let's get this out of the way first then. We have an appointment with Arven. I'll go on ahead." With that, Larry jumped out of the taxi, his starraptor catching him and ferrying him ahead of the taxi, toward the far entrance of Alfornada.

Looker sighed in relief, sinking back down into his seat. If his gambit was to be successful, he needed Larry to stay where he could be reached. The thought that the man might be betraying his trust to go to the crater anyways crossed his mind, but he ruled it out. Just as much as Looker wanted to keep Larry in close range, the reverse was true. Arven's decision was his next major hurdle. Nemona had dutifully called Looker to inform him that Arven had no intention of going anywhere according to their conversation. She had then asked to follow the detective to Alfornada and was instructed to stay put, another part of the plan that was a few magnitudes riskier than Looker normally preferred. Looker would have to use this information to find Arven before Larry and then try and get some answers out of the man before they could be interrupted. Bonus points would be awarded if he could bring the chef in on something, but there wasn't any hard evidence for that. Not to mention I don't know if I should even be arresting them yet. Shaking the dour thought out of his head, Looker changed the course of the flying taxi.

Arven's location wasn't Alfornada, as Looker had told his partner. Instead, it was coming from what Looker now had identified as one of the cave systems running to and from the isolated city. Time wasn't on his side, as indicated by the sun that had finished its climb for the day and was now starting to descend again at just the perfect angle to get into Looker's eyes. This was another disadvantage of his detour, but spending this time to get more information about his potential allies and enemies was an acceptable risk. If Arven wasn't moving, he either hadn't figured out that he was being tracked or didn't care. Looker shook his head to himself as the memory of the mountain tremor intruded into his head. Juliana's ping on her phone couldn't have been coincidental. There was every chance that Larry was right and she was at the scene of the cataclysm that had exposed part of the mountain surrounding the Great Crater. If he knew how his partner and the League would react when he tracked Juliana down, he'd have readily agreed to change course. But he wasn't investigating on behalf of the League. This was an investigation on behalf of the International Police, who weren't allowed to play favorites with anyone, allies included (not that he'd have told his client that). These thoughts stewed in his head as he landed outside the nearest cave system entrance.

This was another part of Looker's plan that was, for lack of a better term, ill thought out. He didn't have any personal experience with this cave system, and Arven choosing to come here likely meant the opposite. He'd landed on a land bridge that connected the cave entrance to the rest of the region over a large chasm. Unbeknownst to Looker, it was hauntingly similar to the landscape that his quarry had just created in the center of Paldea. The scent of the ocean faintly wafted up to Looker's nostrils, as if it was trying to drag him right off of the side of the land bridge. Trainers and pokémon alike remained out of sight, cowed by the display of force nature had deigned to show the region so recently. Steeling himself, Looker faced the cave mouth without looking down. This was no different than infiltrating an enemy base. Arven probably wouldn't recognize him on sight after seeing him only once, so he'd hopefully be able to catch him off guard. Alternatives were not currently being entertained. Entering the cave, Looker withdrew a flashlight and turned it on. The mid-afternoon sun faded away behind him as he descended deeper into the cave. He hadn't expected the system to slope downward, or even slope at all. For all of his accomplishments, Looker would be the first to admit that closed spaces didn't get along well with him. Forging onward, Looker took note of some of the local fauna. Lycanroc and diglett which could be found in any cave were common, but there were a few pokémon wandering about that he didn't recognize. None of them appeared to be hostile, which was odd. In most caves it was difficult to wander more than a few meters without being ambushed by one wild pokémon or another just itching for a fight. It was nice in that it made travelling easier, but Looker couldn't help but feel a small pang of longing that he couldn't trace the source for. Kids these days had it too easy. If anyone could be wandering around here, the rate at which people got lost in this region had to be significantly higher than other regions he'd been in.

Blaming his unease on the recent tremor, Looker continued on the downward sloping path. As he tracked down the general area his tracking device had indicated, a scent that was distinctly singular for a cave like this infiltrated his senses. "Someone's cooking something?"

It was too convenient. Could Arven truly be unaware of Looker's presence to the point that he'd set up camp? The scent wasn't necessarily coming from his target. There could be some aspect of this cave he was unaware of that produced the smell of food. All he knew was that according to Larry, this area had been more sensitive to earthquakes and other tremors due to its position at the edge of the region. The tera phenomenon was also harder on the land here than anywhere else. Nobody had a reason to explain it with, but the vegetation in the area had lost most of its coloration regardless of the time of year, and many pompous scholars had blamed the tera phenomenon without providing explanation as to why only the Alfornada area was uniquely affected. All of this was to say that Looker was entering uncharted territory even for the locals as he proceeded around in the near darkness. Unsatisfied with his flashlight alone, Looker released his growlithe to provide a bit more light with its breath. This served the dual purpose of helping Looker see while warding away any pokémon that got too curious. Nothing else caught Looker's attention as he proceeded deeper into the cave, so he decided to follow the mysterious scent. At the least, the smell of food probably would indicate signs of humanity that could be employed to help track down his target if his target wasn't bold enough to invite him in.

As he finally arrived at the source of the pleasant smells, it became apparent that the latter was the case. A man sat hunched over a stewpot, stirring it carefully while sprinkling in some sort of spice, completely absorbed in his work. He wore a ratty puffy jacket and jeans that vaguely resembled the Uva Academy uniform, but his button-down shirt was a deep green that better complemented his over-sized travel bag. The man glanced up as Looker approached, ceasing his work immediately and falling over in his seat. "Oh Arceus. You actually showed up. What are you doing here? I thought for sure when the tremor went off you'd- no, whatever." The man rose to his full height and brushed his clothes off in the most casual way one could in his position. "Hey, you, uh, hungry? I made plenty of stew. To be honest, I didn't think anyone would come, but I didn't want to be unprepared." The affable tone was offset by the clear discomfort on the man's features.

Hearing his voice confirmed that Looker had stumbled onto Arven, his target. Congratulating himself would have to wait, however. Growlithe began to growl softly, warning Looker that the trio wasn't alone. Noticing that Looker wasn't reacting immediately, Arven knelt down by his stew and ensured that he hadn't damaged it with his klutziness. Once he'd confirmed that, Arven began to dump copious amounts of a brown spice that he'd picked up at some point into the stew, instantly changing the aroma to something far more pungent and less appetizing. Glancing between his work and growlithe, Arven sighed. "Fire types are always hard to please. You're hearing my partner, bud. He won't bite as long as you don't. Sorry, precautions and stuff."

Something about the young man's tone told Looker to trust him, but he'd been fooled by less than his instinct before. Though he didn't believe Arven's claim, pushing him away so soon would defeat the purpose he had in coming here alone. "I presume you recognize me?" Looker asked, wondering if a disguise would have been more effective.

"You're the police guy, right?" Arven asked, looking up again to make sure. "I figured you'd come by eventually. Actually, no, you don't believe that, do you? I didn't think anyone would find me out here. Why not have a seat? You're making me nervous."

Nothing about Arven's posture or prose suggested he knew what he was doing. One didn't openly admit to nerves in a confrontation, and certainly not to the opponent. The contradictory anxious yet earnest look in his eyes implied that Arven actually wanted Looker to try his cooking. What's more, Looker had finally located Arven's pokémon, a mabosstif, hiding in the shadows of the cave just behind him. Though he'd detected it, he sensed no direct malice from the pokémon. Its discipline was comparable to his growlithe, and the idea of that impressed him. It was also in a terrible position for an ambush, further evidence that he was dealing with an amateur. "Alright. If I sit with you, will you speak with me about what you know about Juliana?" Looker asked.

Arven shrugged, pulling out two bowls and starting to fill them. "Sure. I doubt you'll hear anything you don't already know. Oh, and I need your word that you leave me alone after this."

There was no way Looker could do that, but he agreed regardless, ordering growlithe to stand down. Even if Arven decided to attack, Looker favored his odds to have Arven brought down and used as a hostage before the mabosstiff could strike. Arven smiled, his eyes lighting up as he offered Looker a bowl. Looker held up a hand, instead pointing to the other bowl Arven had set in front of himself. "I'll take that one, if you don't mind," Looker requested.

Arven thought for a moment before sighing and giving Looker his bowl. "Not very trusting, are you?" he asked as he took a spoonful of stew from the bowl he'd offered Looker.

"In my line of work I'd be dead if I was," Looker responded bluntly, keeping his guard up until Arven called off his hound.

Arven chuckled like this was something worth laughing about. "I guess so. Well, you don't need to worry about my cooking. I would never use it as a tool for anything but filling stomachs. Mabosstiff, come get in on this boy!" Arven waved his pokémon over, which got up and lumbered toward the trio.

A third and fourth smaller bowl were set down on the ground quickly, one for mabosstiff and one for growlithe. After making sure mabosstiff ate first, Looker nodded to his pokémon, taking a spoonful of stew for himself. While it wasn't anything special, it was exceptional by the standards of food made while on the road. When he informed Arven as such, the man actually blushed. "Oh, uh, thanks! I mean, yeah! I've been travelling around so much that I've gotten used to making do with what I can find in the area. Glad you like it."

There was a moment of calm as Looker ate. He hadn't indulged in food since his initial contact with Larry, and the opportunity to refuel himself was too rare when he was in the field to pass up this opportunity. Arven was content to let the silence hang between them, though he stole furtive glances at Looker when he thought the detective wasn't looking. "I'll be honest with you, Arven, as thanks for the food," Looker started, hoping to establish a rapport before Arven catastrophized himself into thinking Looker was going to arrest him. "The Paldea League hired me to look into Champion Juliana and locate her, to bring her in for absconding with something the League considers their property. Were you aware of this?"

There was no shift in Arven's expression as Looker spoke. He was either being fed information he already knew or was too absorbed in his stew to properly hear the information. "Not until you told me. Seconds?" He offered, already spooning out another bowl for his pokémon.

"Not right now, thanks. I'll take you at your word for now. That being said, I think you and I both know you've had some contact with her in the past two days, correct?"

Arven paused, staring into the cream-colored stew for a moment. The longer they sat there, the more Looker realized that Arven's pauses weren't deliberate means of buying time, rather that the man was thinking deeply about something. It was an odd quirk, but not one Looker hadn't seen before. "We met up a day and a half ago or so," Arven admitted, his tone implying that this wasn't information he'd originally intended to share. "She called me in advance, but I could barely understand what she was saying. Some sort of tera interference, I guess. Then an hour or so later, her big oaf lizard of a legendary pokémon shows up with my friend all cut up and bleeding from everywhere on her arms and legs. I didn't know the details and I didn't ask, I just fixed her up the best I could. She said she couldn't go to a hospital, and I took her at her word. I wanted to help, of course, but sometimes saying stuff like that just makes fragile people upset. It's better to just let my actions talk for me." Arven snorted in frustration as he recalled the memory.

Looker remained silent, letting the lack of a response encourage Arven to continue. In situations like these, it was better to let the suspects talk for as long as possible to encourage them to lock themselves into lies or reveal truths they hadn't meant to. "I'd never thought of her as fragile before now. She's the strongest trainer I know, but when she came to me, it was like a magikarp could knock her out. It really ticked me off. Julie's first to show up when you need help, but the second things are looking dicey for her, she shuts down in her own world, never letting any of us in. Sorry, sorry, I'm rambling."

"Us?" Looker prompted, following Arven's words carefully and ensuring the recorder hidden in his pocket was picking everything up.

"Me, Penny, and that annoying champion," Arven waved off, likely referring to Nemona. "I'm not gonna waste your time getting into it, but she saved our lives in Area Zero. I wouldn't have gotten to see my dad again if not for her."

This wasn't mentioned in Arven's file, or any of the others for that matter. He was aware of their expedition to Area Zero, but the findings of the journey were presumed to be nothing of importance. If what Arven was saying was true, then the League had withheld information from the police. This was an unexpected opportunity that Looker couldn't ignore. "The four of you journeyed into Area Zero together? That's rather dangerous, as I understand it. What did you find down there?"

Arven raised an eyebrow. "I thought the League hired you. You don't know?"

Sensing that he was starting to lose focus on the matter at hand, Looker cleared his throat, hoping that Arven would continue reciprocating if he appeared candid. "I sought you out because the Paldea League hasn't given me the information I need to understand why they're pursuing Juliana. It might be my job, but it's the job of the International Police to expose and remove corruption in all of its forms, no matter where that happens to be. Do you understand what I'm getting at?"

The stew began to bubble again, prompting Arven to take a ladle to it. Mabosstiff reached its fifth bowl as growlithe finished its third. Arven smiled softly, staring into the stew as he finished serving it. "Yeah, I hear you loud and clear. Well, like I said, I've got nothing for you. I'm supposed to be the diversion for that tremor you heard a while ago, I think. After she was patched up, Julie took off, telling me if anyone came asking about her to deny that I'd helped out. I wasn't going to do that, and I told her as such, that if she was gonna do something important, she could count on me. If you all want to persecute me for extending my helping hand to a fellow traveler, good luck."

Privately Looker thought about the times he'd heard that before. The justice system was generally uncaring for personal circumstances. Regardless of that, he decided to believe in what Arven was saying until he was given a reason not to. The part about him being a decoy was useful information. "I see. You've gone to an awful lot of trouble, having me track you down just to get some answers. Not to mention you said something about knowing about the tremor. Is that what you mentioned on the phone as what was coming. You- "

"I don't know anything about what she did or why she did it," Arven interrupted, folding his arms. "And it ticks me off, too. After all those years we spent together, when things get serious she still tries to get it all done herself. Worse, she's not relying on me to be anything but a medic."

"Some would call that an admirable role," Looker commented, trying to maintain an informal tone before digging deeper. "If you have nothing to say about the present, telling me about the past would- "

"Sure, sure. But we're talking about something that concerns the whole region, right? I mean, why else would the League be so angry with her? A chef's no good in this sort of situation, I get it. But I want to help!" The man scratched his head angrily. It looked even shorter in person compared to his photo than Looker had seen over the phone.

"If you really want to help, you can help me understand where she's coming from," Looker insisted, leaning forward. "Without hearing your side, I can only take Champion Geeta's words for the truth." The detective resisted adding more shade to his employer's name. Arven's face contorted just long enough to tell Looker everything he needed to know.

The chef sighed, rising from his seat and extinguishing the fire under the stewpot. "I hear what you're saying, but it's like I said. There's nothing you or I can do now. That tremor earlier? I can't be certain that Julie is responsible, but if she is, she probably did it to expose this region's problems to everyone. This whole region's going to be a wasteland if things keep going the way they are." He paused one more time. "I did ask her one question, refused to let her go until she answered. I asked her if she was the only one who could do what she felt needed to be done, if someone else could handle it for her. You know what she said? She said no, but she's the only person who's willing to do it who can. What am I supposed to say to that? The way she looked at me, like the blood seeping through her bandages was somehow my fault, how was I supposed to respond to someone telling me to my face I wasn't good enough after what we've been through? You're a detective, right? What do you tell someone that stubborn to make them realize they're in over their head?"

Looker rose to his feet to match Arven. Arven almost came up to eye level with Looker, the cut of his jeans implying that he wasn't quite done growing yet. This conversation had been pleasant, which was a problem. Arven cooperated with the air of someone who understood that he held all the cards, maintaining far too many gaps in his defenses for someone being confronted by the police. That meant Looker hadn't finished his job yet. "I would tell them that the people who spent their lives training to see through lies can tell that they're one bad step away from tumbling off a cliff without a parachute," Looker warned, looking Arven dead in the eyes. "I'd say that if they keep trying to convince themselves that this is something they have to do, I can't stop them from doing that, but they should understand that the consequences are uniquely their own."

"That's the problem! She doesn't care about the consequences for herself! It's all good of the region this, good of the region that. What happened to the good of Juliana? Am I the only one who cares? No, that can't be right. But… I'm worried that's how she felt. I'm worried that means I'm failing her, somehow. That's why I'm here, detective. The least I can do is not get in her way if she doesn't need any help."

Privately Looker noted that Arven had some serious abandonment issues. Losing parents could do that, but Arven's pain was on a level just a bit more visceral. It was time to move in for the kill. "I tracked your location using your phone," Looker explained carefully. "But when anyone makes a call, their location is pinged on the servers running the rotom phones. I think you might be interested to know that Juliana's phone pinged right at the same time as the incident."

"She called someone? Who?" Arven asked, his curiosity overcoming caution for the moment.

"I was of the hope that you could clarify that," Looker admitted. "I take it that it wasn't you."

If Arven had seemed remorseful before, he was now thoroughly depressed. "So, she really is just casting me aside. And I really thought this time that… no, never mind. She's in the right. Between the three of us, I don't cut it."

This was the slip Looker was waiting for. "Between yourself, champion Nemona, and Penny, I presume?"

Arven glanced up like he'd forgotten Looker was there. "Guess you're not completely uninformed. I thought I could at least have an edge over an introvert and a battle maniac as the sane one, but maybe that's not what she wants." The conversation was losing ground to Arven's self-loathing faster than Looker expected.

"Then the least you could do then is ensure that she has the support of people who can help her," Looker asserted again, stepping forward. "Let me help you, Arven."

Arven was shaking his head even before Looker finished speaking. "No, that's not happening. I don't know what you're saying she might have done, but Julie would never act out against anyone, not without a really good reason. Anything that might have happened is between them and should stay that way. Frankly, involving you in it would be petty, and I'm not stooping to that level. Are we done here, Looker? I don't want my stew to get cold."

They weren't done here, something Looker made obvious by the way he shook his head and subtly moved his body to block the way out. "I can't allow you to walk away yet, Arven. It's clear that you're involved in this at least tangentially. Until I find out where Juliana is, I'm afraid that we won't be going anywhere."

Arven sighed. "Hm. I suppose so. Should've known you'd go back on your word. We're out of time anyways." As he spoke, he withdrew what looked like a repel can and gave himself and his stew a quick spray.

Looker had been prepared to be suddenly attacked, but it looked as though Arven was really just putting on some sort of cologne to repel wild pokémon. "You don't seem like a bad guy, so I'll tell you this too," Arven explained. "As long as you run upwards, you'll get away from them handily."

"Them?" Looker echoed, looking around to see nothing in the cave.

Arven pointed to the floor of the cavern. For the first time Looker inspected it carefully, and doing so revealed multiple small claw marks that were clearly covering the ground. They didn't belong to a pokémon that he immediately recognized, but it was obvious that there were a lot of them. Now that he was focusing, he thought he could hear some sort of skittering noise coming from deeper inside the cave. Arven stretched his arms, recalling Mabosstiff. "This part of the cave didn't exist a year ago. It was dug out by salandit trying to find new food sources to please their masters. Not the brightest bunch, are they? Even a whiff of food is enough to send them into a frenzy, so much so that they ignore everything else."

Looker's gaze turned to the aroma emanating from the pot of stew between them. The thought of hundreds of claws and teeth digging into his flesh just to get a taste of Arven's cooking flashed through his mind. Only using his cooking to fill stomachs indeed. "They'll run over you too," Looker pointed out as the sound of skittering grew louder.

"Ordinarily, yes, but right now I smell as interesting as a rock to them," Arven explained, holding up the spray can he'd used. "You, on the other hand, are the only thing that still smells like-hey!" Arven cried out as growlithe lunged for the can in Arven's hand.

For someone who appeared to be rather scatter-brained, Arven's reaction to the threat was instant. He put distance between himself and the growlithe, avoiding kicking the stew pot over unintentionally in the process. "Think you're the first one to try to grab a bite before it's feeding time?" Arven taunted, putting the can back in his bag. "Get back to your master before you get run over."

Growlithe was preparing to lunge again before a whistle from Looker commanded it to stand down. The pokémon reluctantly obeyed, returning to its pokéball as the skittering noise was multiplied every second. "I'm going to find the truth of this matter, Arven," Looker warned. "And if you're more involved than you say you are, I'll know."

"I already said what I know, detective," Arven waved off with a shake of his head. "This is just to make sure that you understand that. No hard feelings." With that, the first salandit burst out of the darkness, screeching its name as its beady eyes locked on to Looker.

Cursing under his breath, Looker backed away slowly, and when it became apparent that the pokémon indeed only had eyes for him rather than the stew pot or Arven, he turned around and took off the way he'd come. With just a bit more time, he could have found more answers, perhaps even devised a way to keep the salandit away himself. This case and its suspects were making him complacent. Arven was more than willing to lie about what effects his food could have so long as it still tasted decent. One pokémon was hardly an issue, but the swarm of beady eyes he'd seen following the leader had inspired him to make a retreat. Arven watched as the detective sprinted away, marveling at how fast he could run. If Arven could move like that, perhaps he wouldn't be getting left behind all the time. Perhaps Juliana wouldn't have left him on decoy duty. Perhaps he'd be important. The man stewed on these thoughts as he waited for the salandit to clear out. It wouldn't do for him to waste a perfectly good stew pot.

Further into the cave, Looker was sprinting through a tunnel he didn't know well toward what he hoped was the nearest exit. Behind him, the hissing and scratching steadily grew louder. He didn't dare look back for fear of losing speed. Actually getting caught probably wouldn't be too terrible once the pokémon realized he didn't have any food on him, but he wasn't about to take that risk. Even the best-case scenario would cost him time he didn't have. As the cavern twisted and turned, Arven's advice echoed in Looker's head. He should apparently be heading upward if he wanted to escape. Listening to the scatterbrained man was a terrible idea on paper, but his intentions had felt genuine to Looker, and there weren't any better ideas coming to him that he was prepared to try. Turning in a different direction than the way he came in as he reached a fork in the path, Looker forced himself to keep sprinting. His vacation in Alola had reduced his top running speed, but the scraping of claws on stone slowly started to fade away as the cavern continued to slope upward. Eventually Looker burst out into the open air, still panting as he noticed the sounds of pursuit faded behind him. The salandit weren't as interested in food as they were in not leaving their cave. Looker continued to run for a moment longer until he was sure that he wasn't being pursued. Now feeling relatively safe, Looker took a moment to take in his surroundings.

The detective had come out on the other side of the cave he'd entered, Alfornada barely visible in the distance. This had to be the recent addition to the tunnel that Arven had mentioned, making Looker question just how safe the route Arven suggested actually was. It seemed more like Arven was just trying to direct Looker's flight in a direction that would drop him off nowhere near where Arven was presumably going or wherever Juliana might be. It was a good, completely expected move that painted Arven's sense of rectitude as ignorantly as possible. The man almost cracked a smile for how well things were going. Instead, he turned his gaze to the azure sky, searching for the next phase of his plan's arrival. Like clockwork, a starraptor appeared in his view, circling around him once before landing and allowing Larry to hop off. The high-speed travel hadn't affected the gym leader's hair in the slightest, making Looker uselessly wonder for a moment if it was even real. "He's not in town, and you look tired. Did you find him?"

Looker checked his phone. There was no warning that Larry had been trying to track it, meaning that he'd been keeping tabs on Looker's location manually. This wasn't what Looker had expected, but there wasn't much harm if the final outcome was identical. He was likely just thinking too much in terms of what he would do in Larry's position. "I was waiting for you to exit one of the cave mouths," Larry redundantly explained, offering a fresh water to his rival that was accepted.

When he'd caught his breath and had his fill, Looker rose to his full height, ready to put the next part of his plan into action. Doubts could come later. There had been some speed bumps along the way, but now all he should have to do is stall for time. "I ran into Arven in the caves," Looker admitted. "But he got away. Summoned a bunch of pokémon to swarm me with his cooking. I was lucky I got out unscathed."

"Did you at least get any information out of him?" Larry asked, completely unperturbed by the idea that Arven had an army of wild pokémon at his disposal or that Looker could have been injured.

Looker considered what to say. In this moment, he allowed Larry to press him a bit harder. "I'm surprised he made it into the cave. I thought your phone locator thing was more precise than that."

Having expected this argument, Looker pivoted the conversation immediately. "It wasn't a constant signal. We lost some time getting here, which is why we had to cover both ends of the city. I didn't want to lose our chance to get to him at all."

"Yet here we are," Larry finished, letting the implication of blame linger in his curt tone.

What little trust Larry had in Looker was eroding fast. The detective needed to cede some ground. "Arven said that he encountered Juliana, but he didn't help her any more than treating her wounds. He also said that he didn't know anything about what she was planning or that she'd committed a crime. Oh, and he was also surprised that we came for him instead of following the tremor."

Larry placed a hand on his chin in a manner that eerily resembled Looker. "I agree with him on that, but this sounds too convenient. Do you think he's lying?"

"Not for the most part. He's an honest guy to a fault. But I don't think he knows nothing about what Juliana is really after. He wasn't as surprised as he should have been about the tremor and what happened with the mountains surrounding the Great Crater. In fact, I think he wanted us to come here as a sort of decoy, despite his initial surprise. Whatever event he thought was coming, that tremor was supposed to be it. I think when we showed up, he realized that wasn't the case."

"Then I was right," Larry cut in with as much vigor as someone like him could manage. "We should have gone to the mountain this whole time. By now it's too late."

"There will be time for that," Looker lied, hoping Arven would keep moving. "For now, we should summarize what we know and try to predict where Juliana is going to be rather than where she was an hour ago."

Larry rolled his eyes, recalling his starraptor. Had Geeta not ordered them to stay close together, Larry figured he probably could have wrapped the entire case up by himself by now. "In that case, let's get a place to sit in town. I'll need to report this. The boss won't be happy."

Looker didn't protest, trailing behind Larry as the gym leader led the way for once toward Alfornada. As they marched in silence, it also startled Looker when his companion decided to break the ice first. "It doesn't make sense, what Juliana did," Larry thought aloud.

"I'm surprised to hear you say that. Weren't you the one advocating for how we should be focused on taking care of the job in front of us?"

Larry nodded, slowing his pace to match Looker's. "Of course. But if understanding her motivation helps find her, so be it. It always seemed to me like she could handle herself perfectly fine on her own. When she did what she did, it had to be one of her first major failings. Why didn't she rely on Arven more if Arven was telling the truth? It doesn't make logical sense."

Privately, Looker smiled to himself. He'd confirmed that there was a living human within Larry after all, he just didn't have the time or opportunity to demonstrate it. No matter how dead a man's soul was, a little curiosity was usually all it took to turn the lights on in someone's brain again. One small push and some motivation from Arven was all that was needed now. "Hopefully it will make sense if we're able to corner her. Have some faith, my friend."

At the least, Larry seemed to be placated for the moment, turning and continuing to walk slightly ahead of Looker with a nod. It was just as the duo was entering Alfornada that Looker finally got the call he was waiting for from Nemona. When his phone rang, Larry glanced back, waiting for Looker to respond. Putting the phone on speaker, Looker couldn't even ask for an update before Nemona blared through the phone. "Guys, I ignored what you said and followed you but I found him! He was trying to get out of the caves! He's running, but I'll catch him! Front of caves outside of town! Come cut him off if you can! Don't be slow!" Nemona hung up before Looker could even say anything.

A look was exchanged between the two men. They both registered that Nemona had decided to ignore her orders and that she'd used this autonomy to follow them. "I can get there first," Larry asserted, already releasing his starraptor.

"Then go. I'll catch up," Looker ordered, already pulling out his phone to make a call.

As soon as Larry had taken off and Looker was sure he was out of view, the detective put his phone away. He was still a bit out of breath from having to flee the cave, and he didn't have the energy to keep up the act of urgency any longer. "Maybe I should have just showed that boy my hand… No, then he wouldn't have felt safe. Stay focused, Looker." Too much effort had been put into baiting this trap for him to regret it already.

The time that Looker had granted himself by sending all three of his persons of interest on a wild ducklett chase was used by him to consider what he knew about the current case. Closing his eyes, Looker mentally pulled the file out of his mind that contained what he knew. Juliana was working for the Paldea League to help investigate something in Area Zero. As a result of that, she came into contact with an AI that the late Professor Turo had developed and had left dormant in the crater. In removing this AI from the crater, she'd sparked the ire of Top Champion Geeta by refusing to give it to her, to the point that he and the police had been involved. "But that response is too soft. Her reach can extend farther than me. So why outsource?" Every note in his file on Top Champion Geeta evinced the conclusion that she was a coward.

That was the only explanation that made sense for the moment. She had the ability to catch Juliana, but she wasn't doing it herself, instead outsourcing the job to a group that would definitely get it done for her. This meant that Juliana had something on Geeta. If it got out and Geeta hadn't involved Looker and the International Police, there'd be an incident. Since Looker was called in, anything that Juliana did, like tear a mountain apart, could be blamed on him at least partially. "So she knew that something like this was going to happen." Glancing up, Looker took in the scattered storm clouds mixing with the bright blue Paldean sky. "Geeta is aware of the region's problems and chooses to do nothing. Arven, Juliana and some others are aware of this. Most importantly, everyone's actions point to some sort of solution existing. Juliana is young, overconfident, and not full of inhibitions regarding her means of action. Only the puzzle of what she must do remains."

If Juliana was caught, then what would follow would be a lengthy legal process where everyone who had nothing to do with the situation would try to determine how culpable all involved parties were, whether or not Juliana had actually stolen anything, and many other nuances that were of little interest to Looker. In the meantime, whatever problem Juliana had been trying to address would go unanswered. Larry and Geeta were surely aware of that, yet they still made the decision to oppose her, or at least Juliana had forced their hand on the matter. Perhaps that was why he'd been called in 2 days late. The thought irritated Looker. When a criminal organization came out of the woodwork to cause trouble, the local law enforcement was generally extremely proactive in their reaction to the threat. The idea of getting a bunch of people together with decently trained pokémon to try and take over a region was well-known across the world and had the appropriate counter-measures in place in most regions. Juliana wasn't like that, but in reviewing what he'd learned about Juliana's companions, the groundwork was there. Surely Geeta and her subordinates could see that, so what were they waiting for? That was the question Looker was hoping his little trap would be able to answer to allow him to come to the right conclusion about this case. Then the lackeys could move in and arrest whoever he pointed at.

Nemona had been easy to bait. Telling someone like her to stay put somewhere was akin to telling pokémon trainers not to battle when their eyes meet. As soon as he gave her an assignment she didn't like he'd called her and tracked her phone to have a bead on Nemona's location at all times. Sure enough, she'd started making her way to Alfornada shortly after he did. Larry had been a bit trickier. Leaving him to his own devices for too long wasn't an option, so an event needed to happen to make him feel like he could get ahead of Looker. That could be accomplished by Looker meeting Arven first and making Larry feel like he was missing something when they regrouped. The man would then jump on the first chance to get that advantage back. Juliana's mountain adventure had put a minor wrench in Looker's plans when it made Larry want to turn around, though he'd helped everyone stay the course. But the plan wouldn't have worked without the bait for his trap, Arven himself. Based on his general location Looker had presumed that he was in a cave, but he hadn't been certain. If Arven had been out in the open, it would have been nearly impossible for Nemona and Larry to corner him. As it stood, Nemona would be able to chase him all the way to the entrance, where Larry would hopefully be waiting. All that would be left to do was wait for his moment. Withdrawing a pokéball from his pocket, Looker released his kadabra and nodded once to it. "Take us back to the entrance of that cave, somewhere where we can overlook it," he ordered.

Kadabra's eyes glowed as the psychic type pokémon concentrated. Looker did the same. He was never fond of the way teleportation made his stomach turn. It was another reason he didn't like being around the headquarters of the International Police for too long. When Looker opened his eyes again, he was overlooking the ridge he'd just come from. Smiling, Looker thanked his pokémon. "Well done. Is the target nearby?"

The psychic type concentrated again before nodding. Nodding in satisfaction, Looker knelt down at the ridge just in time for Arven to come bursting out of the cave's mouth. "Leave me alone already, you crazy woman!" He yelled, sprinting rather fast for someone carrying a bag almost as big as he was.

The mysterious, off-putting aura that Arven had commanded was gone, replaced by that of someone in fear for their life. Nemona followed out close behind, curiously deciding not to employ any of her pokémon to help give her an advantage. "I just wanna talk, Arven! Listen to me, would you?!"

"Like hell you do! You want-" Arven's yell was cut off by the swooshing of wings.

In a shockingly clean descent, Larry jumped down from his starraptor, putting Arven between him and Nemona. "We need answers," Larry tried to demand, though his voice was drowned out by the cry of his pokémon.

Looker prepared himself. If things got ugly, he'd have to step in and assert control of the situation. Otherwise, he intended to let this scenario play out. Now then, how will you three behave when you think nobody is paying attention? Looker's answer to this question came in the form of starraptor dive bombing directly at Arven.

The chef should have been startled by this display of brutality, but instead he rolled to one side, apparently having expected the greeting. "Larry, why?!" Nemona cried out, just as startled as Looker. "You could have really hurt him!"

"We have a job to do," Larry answered emotionlessly. "Are you helping or not?"

Looker stumbled back, stunned out of acting for a moment. He hadn't expected this sort of an approach from Larry. The gym leader's curiosity wasn't nearly as important as staying in Geeta's good graces. Before he could stand up to do anything, however, a hand was placed on his shoulder. Whirling around, Looker found himself face to face with Top Champion Geeta. "Allow me to handle this little problem, alright?" she requested with a soft smile.

Before Looker could respond, Geeta vanished, reappearing in the middle of the trio right next to Arven. Instantly Larry's starraptor stood down, returning to Larry's side and waiting for more orders. "She's quite good at showing off with other people's tricks, don't you think?" Another woman appeared next to Looker, this one only recognizable to him from a photo.

Even if he'd never seen her before, Looker would have been able to guess based on the gardevoir and otherworldly aura about the woman standing behind him who he was talking to. "Tulip, the Alfornada city gym leader, I presume?" Looker guessed.

"You're well informed, dear. Need a ride down? My escort here can carry two."

Looker rose to his feet, eyeing the standoff that was still occurring below them. "I'll manage, thank you. Kadabra."

Tulip shrugged as kadabra began to teleport Looker into the fray. "Men. Always putting a face on. Suit yourself, they're your problem now. Tell Geeta to call me when she's done having her fun!"

As Looker appeared at the bottom of the ridge between Nemona and Geeta, he was just in time to catch Nemona gaping in disbelief.

"La Primera? Looker? When did you get here?"

Geeta gave Nemona a warm smile that didn't suit the situation. Arven was glancing around for a way out that wasn't manifesting, while Looker was still watching Geeta carefully in case she tried something suspicious. "The situation has changed everyone, so I came here personally to inform Looker and Larry of that. Tulip told me that there might be trouble in her neck of the woods, so I decided to make a brief detour in my schedule. I see the investigation is going well, detective."

Now adapted to the situation, Looker met Geeta's gaze evenly. "Yes, though I fear I've yet to learn anything you're not already aware of."

Geeta chuckled. "Perhaps, perhaps. Had we the luxury, I would have loved to see how your stratagem developed. But time is short. Now, Arven, was it? You wouldn't happen to know anything about what happened to the Great Crater of Paldea today, would you?"

Though Geeta's tone was innocent enough, the aura she exuded implied that dodging the question was out of the question. Arven shook his head instantly. "L-look, I don't know anything about that. Everything I know I heard from him," Arven pointed at Looker as if the accusation could be passed on to him.

"Is that true?" Geeta asked, directing the question at Looker.

Looker gave Arven another once-over. He hadn't finished making his final evaluation, but there was no more time to check whether he was right or not. "Yes, it is," Looker answered confidently. "I do not think he was involved in the mountain fissure. I believe our efforts would be best spent investigating that next."

The Top Champion nodded. "I agree. It's a miracle nobody was harmed. I have some people performing emergency operations there and I need to give a press conference about it myself. Arven, do as you will, but if Juliana reaches out again, you will direct any information she gives you to us if you want to stay out of trouble. Larry, Looker. I came here to let you know the situation has changed. Juliana needs to be brought in before she can do any more damage. To that end, I've made the call for more reinforcements from the International Police. They should arrive by tomorrow morning."

Looker raised an eyebrow. "I wasn't informed about this. As the head of the investigation, I-"

"I also wanted to let you know that, once they arrive, I'll be heading up the investigation personally," Geeta added. "You may do as you wish until then, my friend. Thank you for your assistance. I'll set up a briefing meeting for when they arrive."

"Wait, this isn't fair!" Nemona spoke up, finally joining the conversation. "Whatever Juliana did, I'm sure that-"

"Enough, Nemona," Geeta commanded, cowing Nemona into silence. "Don't presume to understand matters you know nothing about. You should be back at the Academy. It's a school day, is it not?"

There was a passionate fire burning in Nemona's eyes that her mind couldn't find the right words to support. Without any reasonable argument to fall back on, Nemona was left looking at the ground. "I- yes, La Primera."

Satisfied, Geeta turned to Larry. "I want hourly reports. This lack of progress falls on you as well. If anything happens, you are to inform me first before acting. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Larry answered quietly.

The way events had been unfolding had been nothing short of disastrous for Looker. His plan to get information on the quality of his allies was being turned into an excuse to muscle him out of the investigation entirely. Geeta had no intention of letting him come near the truth at all; he was just a stopgap so she would have an excuse to exert more influence when the real pursuit began. Every move he'd made had been well within Geeta's expectations. But there was still a card he had left to play. "I see. Thank you for taking the opportunity to meet with us personally, Geeta. If that will be all, I will be taking my leave. Until tomorrow, this is still my investigation. Nemona, Larry, Arven. Will you three join me for debriefing?"

"Uh, no?" Arven rejected, tilting his head. "I'd rather do just about anything else."

"The alternative is chatting with Geeta," Larry pointed out helpfully as Geeta smiled warmly at Arven.

Getting the message immediately, Arven fell in line behind Nemona, who was standing by Looker more as an excuse to avoid going back to school rather than because she wanted to. Bringing Larry along wasn't what Looker wanted, but Geeta had just made it very clear that he wouldn't be shaking the man any time soon. "I see. Good hunting, detective!" Geeta waved the quartet off as Tulip appeared next to Geeta, startling only Arven before the Top Champion was teleported away.

Looker considered moving his party with a teleport of his own before discarding the notion. He wouldn't have preferred a cave entrance, but there wasn't enough time for everyone to get cozy. He should be feeling uncomfortable right now anyways. He'd allowed his empathy for Juliana's plight and the uncertainty of the situation to cloud his judgement. Too much time off of the front lines had dulled his senses and made him unwilling to take decisive action, leaving him taking unnecessary risks to obtain information he didn't need. Now it was all he would be able to rely on if he wanted to solve this case before Geeta took it out of his hands. I'm not letting that happen again. I've been lackadaisical with both of them. If they're willing to do whatever it takes to achieve their goals, I have to match their intensity in order to stop them before people get hurt. Internalizing this, Looker turned back to the three trainers observing him with mixtures of curiosity and irritation. "Let me be clear. I organized the meeting between the three of you here," Looker explained. "I didn't account for Geeta's appearance, or Juliana's actions, but I do not regret bringing you three together, because you the are uniquely stationed in this matter to assist me."

"To assist you?" Arven scoffed. "All you've done is give us the run-around without accomplishing anything."

"And isn't that frustrating, Arven? Don't you want to be able to help Juliana? Do you think that Geeta and her personal strike force is going to give Juliana a fair chance to explain herself? You saw what Larry did just now." Looker gestured toward Larry, who failed to react to the accusation.

Both Nemona and Arven gave Larry a dirty look that wasn't reciprocated. Instead, Larry straightened his tie. "It's not personal, and I wouldn't have hurt you too badly. It's just my job."

"Your job that's about to be outsourced," Looker cut in. "Larry, I disagree with your methods, but I don't think you're of a weak moral character. I'm sure you can see the value-add of helping us to stop Juliana's plan before it goes into motion, before Geeta can do it for you? Don't you want to be able to return with your head held high to her?"

Larry allowed an uncomfortable silence to hang over them before shaking his head. "This is just my job, like I said. But you're not wrong. People could get hurt and doing something about that still falls under my responsibilities as a gym leader. Until the boss says otherwise, I'm still your assistant." The pithy response was the most convicted Looker had ever heard Larry speak, and it brought him some relief.

This brought Looker's attention to Nemona. Of the three people here, she was the most volatile. The way she was still glaring at everyone implied that she wasn't feeling very cooperative either. "If you want the answers you're looking for, help us and ask Juliana yourself," Looker challenged in the most reassuring tone he could muster.

"I know I care about battles more than food and most other things, but I'm a person too," Nemona responded with quiet indignation. "And you all have been leaving me out of the loop this whole time, expecting me to just go along with your little plans. Juliana, Geeta, even you Looker. Well not anymore. I'm going with you, but only because I want Juliana to explain herself for not letting me in to help her in the first place."

"I second that notion," Arven added. "And you need someone to keep her in line anyways."

"You think you're in the same boat as me, scruffy? At least she bothered to get in touch with you!"

"At least I care enough to listen to her instead of filling her hours with pointless battles!"

"Well you're just a-"

"Enough!" Looker interrupted, already starting to regret the team he'd been left with. "This isn't productive, and time is short. We should be focusing on determining where Juliana will show up next."

"I don't suppose you have another lead on that, detective? Because your last one didn't know anything," Nemona's criticism threatened to start another argument, but Looker held up his hand for calm and was fortunately heeded.

This wasn't exactly the crack team he was used to working with, but with a bit of luck, he might still have a chance. "Worry not. I have a few strings we can pull on, so let's pool information and see where the evidence points. One way or another, I'm sure we'll find Juliana before morning." As the words came out, Looker was startled by how much he meant them.

The detective chided himself as the party moved toward somewhere where their next move could be discussed. This indulgence in the thrill of the hunt was how he'd gotten off track in the first place. It was time he started taking this investigation seriously, for Juliana's sake and the Paldea region as a whole. Whatever it took, he had to end this game of chase by tomorrow morning.