Unknown Month, Unknown Year
Burr arrived just in time for the briefing, checking in with the Investigation Center chief's secretary before taking a seat in the lobby. Her boss had said to just check in and wait and to make herself comfortable. The other rangers would arrive shortly and then they would decide who got what case if priority had been tossed out the window.
A warm nose pressed into her hands, big glossy eyes staring expectantly at her with an air of impatience. Lilith huffed at the lack of attention and laid its big warm head across her lap, now taking up the entire couch. Was it just her or were her pockets a bit lighter than before? She shot the secretary an apologetic glance as Lilith's wagging tail accidentally knocked over a stack of magazines.
"Sorry. Lilith here forgets she's not all that small anymore like she used to be." She gave the fluffy Arcanine a loving scratch behind the ears, smirking as it shut its eyes and leaned into her hand. "You're no lapdog anymore, you big oaf."
Her companion huffed again and moved to rest its head and its torso across her lap. Burr laughed. "Good puppy."
Soon, the rest of her fellow rangers began coming in, each with tired but hopeful eyes as they took up the seats around her. Some had coffee. Others were carrying packs full of snacks and various trinkets. Burr supposed she had brought enough. She'd had the forethought to pack an extra tarp, a poncho, rope, a compass, and a stupid amount of potions for her team. After all, she'd be going in alone.
The order had come just two days ago: all available Pokémon Rangers in the Unova Region were to report to Nimbasa City for an ongoing missing person's report involving three missing trainers asap. Good thing she had been taking a break from challenging the gyms. Her group was soon moved into another, more private room where they all recalled their pokémon and sat around a long table, manilla folders set precisely before each chair.
Her eyes widened and her fingers shook as she glimpsed the title to her own given case: Subway Master Ingo.
She was recovering from a disaster at The League when she'd heard about the first occurrence of Ultra Wormholes radiating away from the Alola region. Thank the gods that Riako was on the other side of the world. Then came the news that people were going missing around places that Ultra Wormholes were popping up. The predecessor of the increasing cases just happened to be Subway Master Ingo, one of the most prominent battle frontier heads in Unova.
She'd been the only one who had taken a sniff at it recently. Seeing as how the case was now a year old and not a single trace of the former Subway Master had been filed, everybody thought it was a waste of time looking.
Those who'd gone investigating before her all stated that the trail dropped abruptly in the subway tunnels beneath Lacunosa Town. Both the Subway Master and the pokémon he'd been carrying had all seemingly vanished into thin air.
The current and only Subway Master, Emmet, had sent the investigation agency every documented footage tape that Gear Station had collected that entire week leading up to Ingo's disappearance. Frustratingly, the video captured Ingo riding the Super Singles Train along that route as though everything were normal.
It would go like this: just Subway Master Ingo sitting along the back of the twenty-first car, legs crossed, tapping away on his Xtransceiver. Then, the footage becomes so heavily distorted and warped that it becomes intelligible. For just three seconds, the video feed is static. No yelling, no odd pulses of noise or light, nothing. The video would cut back in and the train would be completely empty. No signs of a struggle or pokémon moves- nothing.
Burr hadn't been all that intrigued when the guy had gone missing before. Sure, she'd visited Gear Station while she was challenging the gyms, and maybe she had gone on a loop on the singles train for funsies after a long four days of grinding. Maybe she even got to the twenty-first car and engaged the aforementioned Subway Master in battle too (she lost spectacularly and made sure to erase the footage from her vs recorder).
But since she was a ranger and she was doing some research in Unova during her spare time, she figured she would assist and lone-wolf the mission; after all, nobody else even wanted to attempt it. Not when all these rumors about Subway Master Emmet were spreading.
The man had apparently become obsessed with his brother's disappearance. So much so that moderators on online threads discussing Ingo's disappearance were sure to be harassed by the remaining twin. It seemed like Subway Master Emmet both wanted to keep Ingo's disappearance a secret and wanted people to look for him.
A gym-leader-in-training and apparently a train-fanatic, Cilan, had volunteered to step in for the missing battle facility head, and by the photos that the paparazzi had stolen of him, the poor kid had bitten off more than he could chew. It had gotten to the point where Gear Station was becoming only that: just a station for traveling.
"Ranger Burr, are you paying attention?"
"Yes, Chief Byrne." Burr rose to her feet, hands folded behind her back as the boss of the conference strode over to her.
"Sure you were." His eyes were glazed with pity and doubt as he stared at the shiny label on her folder. Burr chose to ignore the sinking feeling in her stomach. "You wanted the case for the missing battle facility head, yes?"
"That's correct."
"This is the last report that was given by the last person who saw him. Any new data entries or recordings have been documented within the folder. Ask the secretary at the front desk in case you need to view them or listen to the audio submitted by the police or investigators."
"Wait. The last person who saw him? …You mean Subway Master Emmet?"
March 9th, First Year
Jaku stumbled out of the brush, pausing once more to check the sun's position in the sky. Egel kept his position behind her, his walking stick sinking into the snow as they trudged northward. She had passed out after her fight with that Luxray, her beloved partners keeping them safe until she awoke that morning surrounded by sleeping Bidoofs and Wurmples in the hollowed-out roots of a tree. She'd never seen Egel so scared.
They had originally planned to go south down the river to follow it to Sandgem but they paused at the familiar divot in the river. Egel was the one who had remembered it; this was Lesser Lord Snorlax's territory, and that glutton was ruthless. Egel had sighted the beast lounging by the river, its stomach and mouth stained with blood. A tattered carcass lay caught up against a rock, most likely the same John Doe that they had walked right into the night before.
A school of Buizel were now breaking it down as the body bobbed against the rocks, the pack taking breaks to float lazily down the river before swimming back for seconds. Lesser Lord Snorlax made no move to interfere. Egel had sent her a look and the two turned back the way they came. So it hadn't been the Luxray, then.
She hoped that neither of her charges had run into this thing and that Soto had managed to corral them to Sandgem. Their only objective was to make it to the encampment atop Aspiration Hill and get somebody out there to find them and prematurely halt their expedition. She would worry about her own injuries later when she was warm and safe.
Eventually, as the sun began to slip down the horizon for the second time, the two Diamond Clan members struggled up Aspiration Hill. Jaku grimaced and noted with a grim smile that every time she was on this hill, she was either injured, cold, or soaking wet. It was the former this time.
"Hello?" she groaned, leaning harder on her blunted saber. "Anybody there? We need help."
There was a quick pause. Footsteps echoed in the bushes. "Who's there?" called the familiar voice of Hideyoshi.
"It's us, the Diamond Clan members," Egel replied back. "Egel and Jaku. We need medical help. We've both been attacked by a wild Luxray."
Hideyoshi ducked out from the cover of an overlapping tree, his saber brandished. One look at the two of them and her pokémon and he quietly resheathed it. He carefully escorted them into the encampment toward the medical tent where the medic on duty was waiting.
As the medic began treating their wounds, Egel gave descriptions of the night's happenings to Hideyoshi and a second guard. He seemed much worse for wear than she'd originally thought with his pale complexion and glassy eyes. The medic hadn't allowed her to look at what lay beneath his bandages.
Hideyoshi grimaced. "We received a message via Starly from Scout Yuki and the Sandgem Encampment. They all made it to the Sandgem Encampment. Thankfully, no injuries. The Diamond Clan took them in for the time being."
Egel breathed a sigh of relief. "Did they mention anything about Lesser Lord Snorlax?"
"No." Hideyoshi twitched. "I didn't know lesser lords existed. Did you know?" He shook his head, and then stood, moving toward the opening in the tent. "I will send word back to Sandgem that you two have been accounted for and that this expedition was a failure. Rest."
Most of the encampment had been buzzing about the Luxray attack when they had arrived but by the time the medic finished with them (Egel had to stay behind), the long tents were quiet and a new guard had replaced Hideyoshi.
On the strict recommendation from the gate guard, Jaku was given a spare bedroll in one of the long tents and slowly slipped inside, careful to avoid disturbing her bandages. She would have to remind herself to eat the cheri berries in her bag.
Dusk nosed its way between her arms and dozed off, Peanut making itself comfortable behind her head with a purring noise. She felt something fuzzy at the bottom near her feet, a gentle nibbling on her pant legs. Dusk popped his head up and turned his flames on, bringing light to a small pink body at the bottom of the roll; just a Wurmple.
She didn't dare sleep, only making herself comfortable so that she could watch over her pokémon as they got their well-earned nap. Eventually, Jaku rose to refill her waterskin with both of her pokémon tagging along sleepily. Might as well do something productive before she'd have to start the long retreat back to Jubilife the day after tomorrow.
As she headed toward the back of the camp, she caught a glimpse of something red and yellow just beyond the tree line. She dropped her waterskin. A pair of glowing scarlet eyes stared at her. Jaku took a step back. The Luxray had followed her home.
She'd been expecting it to try attacking her again while her and Egel were coming back but it didn't. Now it approached, its head cocked as it slowly made its way down from the tree line. Its ragged fur still mottled with burns, bites, and lacerations that looked even more egregious with its emaciated body.
Dusk and Peanut moved to bar the way again. The Luxray didn't so much as glance at them. It padded closer until Jaku could see the individual flecks of blood on its coat. It didn't hiss or snarl or even unsheathe its claws. It simply approached and then sat, its thin tail waving back and forth.
And then the creature dropped something into the grass: a pokéball. It was small and dinged-up, covered with dirt and the Luxray's saliva. The Luxray nosed the ball over toward her, staring at her as though it expected her to do something. Jaku picked up the offering and recoiled as a cold chill spread up her arm. A sudden weariness settled into her bones and her vision blurred.
This wasn't the same kind of pokéball that Rei had taught her how to make. No, it was metallic, shiny, and unnaturally smooth like a river-washed stone. It felt… natural in her hands. But the seal in the middle was dented and the button release mechanism was utterly destroyed. Something within the ball twitched and it rocked once in her hand, a dull heat spreading into her chilled fingers. There was a pokémon inside!
Against her better judgement, she set down the ball and brought it toward a sturdy-looking rock, using one hand to hold it down and the other to try and pry a branch into the dented opening.
She pried as hard as she could and with a loud snap, the cap to the pokéball flew off into the grass. A flash of violet light washed over the clearing and Jaku felt it even more strongly now: that strange chill in the air and the newfound tiredness that found her vision blurring even more. Then came the ghostly heat.
