Pokemon (Detective Pikachu)

A Legendary Search

2. A Slight Trace

Tim checked down an alley as they passed it and shook his head.

"Empty and a dead end. Not even anyone to ask."

"Too bad, but I bet it won't be much longer. It never takes too long to find that troublemaker."

"That's true."

Tim had been assigned a case from the Baker Detective Agency- a case he was getting used to. A case, it seemed, that the agency regularly had to look into.

One of Rhyme City's wealthy inhabitants, an elderly woman by the name of Heather Pouvelle, lived with a Meowth that belonged to her late husband- a Meowth that had a habit of disappearing regularly. This was the third time in the month that Tim had started officially working part-time at the agency that he had been sent out to locate the Meowth and bring the Pokemon home. After Pikachu had spoken to her the first time, Tim and Pikachu both knew the reason she kept running off was just to get away for a while. Mrs. Pouvelle lavished attention on her so much that the Pokemon got sick of it and left to find some fun she could have without having the elderly woman hovering over her, terrified that she would hurt herself.

But of course, when Meowth vanished, the elderly woman would panic over the precious Pokemon's absence and each time would hire the agency to find her, paying an amount that was rather shocking for just tracking down an errant Meowth.

Tim couldn't really complain in his position, though. This particular job was now his whenever it came up, and it was the main job that was helping him pay the bills. He also didn't think the old woman would listen if he tried to tell her that her late husband's partner wanted her to treat her less like highly breakable glass- the Meowth's words, not his. So he felt badly for the Meowth, but consented to keep tracking her down- after explaining his position to the Meowth through Pikachu. The Meowth would typically agree to return home- after playing some sort of game or some other activity she wouldn't get to at home. Tim was happy to oblige; the job didn't really feel like work when he ended up playing with the Pokemon, but since both the Meowth and the elderly woman ended up happier in the end, Tim was fine with things going on just as they were.

"Oh, over there! Let's ask that Spearow!"

Tim looked where Pikachu indicated, and saw a Spearow perched on top of a street sign.

"Ah, yeah! It might have seen something when it was flying around!"

The Spearow preened its feathers as they approached.

"Tim, lift me up higher to speak to it!"

"You mean, up on my shoulders? Alright."

Tim bent down to allow Pikachu to climb up, looking around as he did so. In the middle of the day, in this area surrounded by apartments, it was very quiet aside from the calls of unseen Pokemon. Most people were at work, and right now, there weren't many humans to ask about a Meowth, so if Spearow didn't know anything, he and Pikachu would have to look for other Pokemon to gather testimony from.

Pikachu standing on his shoulders, Tim straightened to bring him closer to the Spearow that gazed at them from atop the stop sign.

"Hi there. Do you have a moment? We're looking for someone, and we'd like to ask if you know anything."

"Spear?"

"Great, thanks. We're looking for a Meowth. Have you seen one, or have you maybe seen any sort of excitement going on somewhere not too far away? The Meowth we're looking for gets bored easily, so she might have gone looking for something interesting."

"Spear. Spear, spearow, row spear. Spear."

"I see, thank you. Is there anything else that you can think of?"

The Spearow chirped its answer this time, rather than using its name- cry; Pokemon could almost all make other sounds besides their name- cry, depending on their species, but whichever calls they used, they all seemed able to understand each other.

"Alright. Well, thank you very much."

"Spear."

"What did it say?" Tim asked, crouching back down so Pikachu could climb off.

"Said it didn't see any Meowth anywhere, and it didn't know about anything in particular but the park to the northwest sometimes has something going on. Big groups of kids like to play there. Pokemon, too."

"Alright, let's check it out, then. Even if it's not there now, someone may have seen it."

"You got it."

The park, unfortunately, was empty of any Meowth. But it was not a complete waste of time; a Petilil playing with a small girl was able to tell them the Meowth had come up to them briefly, then deemed the park not interesting enough and left through the opposite side Tim and Pikachu had entered, looking for other Pokemon to play a game with it in the streets between the houses.

When Tim began the search near the houses, he came up empty for the first fifteen minutes, before a passing Elekid was able to tell them that it had just chatted with the Meowth they were searching for. It had been on its way to the alley behind the diner on the very street they were on to see if anyone had dropped any food there, curious to see if it might find something it wouldn't get at home.

Behind the little restaurant they found the Meowth at last, sniffing curiously at a plastic container next to a dumpster.

"I wouldn't go eating that, if I were you. They only throw food out if it spoils. That could make you sick." Pikachu called. That wasn't completely true, seeing as how they would also throw out leftover food that had been ordered and not finished, but it was the safest thing to assume when looking at a dumpster. Tim wondered for a moment if he was going to have to buy the Meowth something from the diner before it agreed to go home.

The Meowth looked up when Pikachu had spoken. "Mrr? Meow… mrrreow, rowr, mrr! Meowth!"

"Well, yes, we are here to ask you to come back to your home with us. You got that one right. It's too bad this is how we always keep bumping into each other, huh?"

"Meow! Mrrr…"

"We need to do something for you, huh? Like before. Well, what would you like us to do? I feel bad for you, never getting to do anything fun, but we do need to get you back home, so how can we convince you to go back? I'm not sure the food from this diner is all that good, though- not compared to what you normally get, I mean. So I'm not sure it would be worth your while to ask us for some."

"Meow?"

"Well, no, I've never tried it. So I guess I don't know for sure. But it sounds like you get great stuff at home, and diners like this cater to people who want cheap food in a hurry, so I don't think it will be worth it to you."

Tim glanced at the restaurant and wondered if the people working here at this "Sunny's" would appreciate Pikachu's comments. Then he shook his head- it didn't matter, even if they were somehow listening to this conversation between two Pokemon, they wouldn't understand it- and turned back to the conversation.

"Meow. Meow, meow, Meowth. Mrr."

"Sure, we'll play a game like usual. What did you have in mind?"

"Meow! Mrrr, reow, Meowth! Meowth, row Meow!"

"Huh?" Pikachu's eyes went wide. "A, wha… a battle?"

"Meow reow mrrow Meowth! Meow Meow!"

"Claws sheathed and cause no damage to each other, but you'd still like a battle? Because you're not allowed at home but it looked fun in the park before they stopped and you left? Uh, I'm not really the best at Pokemon battles…"

"Meow, raow!"

"Well, a-alright, if you insist… we can give it a try."

Tim blinked at Pikachu. "Meowth wants a Pokemon battle?"

"Yeah…" Pikachu glanced at him and nodded. "Said a careful one to cause no damage, since her owner would be really upset, but she would love to try seeing what a battle was like."

"Well, at least if you're not causing damage to each other, it won't matter as much that you're not good at battles, Pikachu!"

"Hey! I do just fine! My Thunderbolt saved all of us a month ago, remember?"

Tim rolled his eyes. "Yeah, it did… and you haven't been able to do it again since. You're a detective, Pikachu… not a battler. But it should be fine if neither of you are trying to cause damage."

"I battle! I battle with my brain, that's all! Ugh, what do you know about it anyway? You're not a Pokemon. I could do better than any of them out there if I wanted!"

Tim sighed. "Of course you could. Alright then, give this one a try. Just make sure you're careful."

"Of course I will. I know what would happen if Meowth went back with so much as a bump. You don't give me enough credit! I'm the one who gets the work done, here. I'll show you battling!"

Tim sighed. Pikachu turned to face the Meowth.

"Ok, so we'll have a mock battle. This will be fun. I'll show my partner, here, that he knows nothing about the way a detective battles! Let's do this!"

"Meow!"

The Meowth crouched down, getting ready to spring. Pikachu spread his feet apart and crouched a little to brace himself, holding out his arms to get ready to defend.

"Alright! Three! Two! One! Go!"

At the final word, Meowth leapt at Pikachu and bowled him over, Pikachu giving a shocked yelp.

They rolled twice before stopping, Meowth on top. Meowth gave Pikachu what was basically a slap with a front paw and got off him, leaping away to turn and face him again in a ready crouch. She waited.

Pikachu stood and brushed himself off a little. "Good, good! That was a good first move! Of course, I let you have the first one. Now it's my turn!"

Tim rolled his eyes and wondered idly, as Pikachu rushed towards Meowth and tried to plow into it with little effect, if his partner was trying to use Tackle. Given Pikachu's lack of speed on two feet, it was clear why it was ineffective. Meowth reared and began batting at Pikachu's face with both paws, a harmless Fury Swipe. Pikachu sputtered as Meowth's toes repeatedly raked across his mouth and shut his eyes. Tim tried hard not to laugh.

Pikachu reeled away from the onslaught, shaking his head. He looked around rapidly before seeming to spot something behind Meowth, a little over her head.

When Meowth leapt at him again, Pikachu ducked and rolled, essentially switching places with Meowth, then jumped up onto a box nearby.

"Having the high ground in a fight is always to your advantage!" He declared, holding out his arms in a defense-ready pose again. The Meowth hissed something at him, and raced over to leap up.

Pikachu, however, leaped again, up onto the dumpster the Meowth had originally been inspecting when they found her. It was full to the point of overflowing; Pikachu knocked another plastic container off the top. It burst open as it fell, and Tim realized with dismay that it had been half-full of poutine; fries, gravy, and cheese curds rained down on Meowth, who screeched.

"Hah! You see, Tim? Now that's how a detective fights- they use their head to figure out a good strategy! They fight smarter than just using a bunch of flashy moves!" Pikachu boasted.

Time sighed. "That's… great, Pikachu. But now we're going to have to clean Meowth off before we take her home."

"Huh?" Pikachu blinked at Tim for a moment before looking down at Meowth. Meowth didn't look unhappy about the mess- quite the contrary, she was chewing on a cheese-covered fry looking rather pleased with herself- but with cold gravy running down its back and stringy, half-solid cheese hanging around her ears, Mrs. Pouvelle would most certainly have a fit. "Oh… I see. You're right." He had the decency to look sheepish.

Meowth swallowed the fry she was eating and announced, "Mrr. Meow, owth. Meowth meowth, mrrrr. Meow."

"Oh, is that so? Alright, then… but before we do, you're going to have to endure some clean up."

Mewoth hissed.

"If we don't, your owner will…" Pikachu trailed off, but gave a wince.

"Meow!"

"All right then!" Pikachu turned to Tim. "She says she wants to finish these tasty food sticks- that's what she called the poutine- then we can take her home. She's willing to let us clean her up as long as we make sure her owner will be satisfied with the job so she won't do it herself."

"All right, that sounds good to me." Tim replied, relieved that the problem had turned out for the better.

They waited for the Meowth to finish off the poutine, then went back to the apartment Tim and Pikachu lived in. Meowth was rather peeved as they cleaned her off with wet cloths and then dried her with a towel, but sat there grumpily and let them do the task. After they finished, the Pokemon refused to budge until after she had groomed her fur herself, which took almost a half hour before Meowth was satisfied with the way her fur lay.

At last, they were able to take the Meowth back to Heather Pouvelle's mansion, much to the old woman's delight. As she usually did upon the return of her precious Pokemon, she offered tea and snacks to Tim and Pikachu, and as Tim usually did, he declined, ignoring Pikachu's usual protests at him doing so.

"Very kind of you, as always, Mrs. Pouvelle, but Pikachu and I need to get back. We have some people waiting for us when we've finished."

It was true- he was supposed to report to Mr. Baker when he finished a case- so Tim felt no guilt in saying it.

"Oh, alright, then. Wouldn't want to keep them waiting, then, I suppose, if you're sure. Thank you so very much, I just don't know what I'd do without you. You find my little darling in less than half the time it took anyone else that agency sent. So skilled at your age…"

Heather Pouvelle was a short, thin woman with grey hair, rather reminding Tim of Mrs. Rose. She dressed with plainer clothes then you might expect of someone rich, but made up for it with expensive-looking jewelry. She was, however, a very kindly old woman, even if she did talk quite a bit.

"Well, I'll make sure to send the payment to the agency, as usual. You make sure that they give you your fair share. That agency made a very good choice, hiring you. Your father, now, he was good too, he was the one who found my little darling a few times before that dreadful accident. But I think you do even better a job then he did. I make sure to request you when I call."

"That explains a lot." Pikachu commented.

Tim thanked her, embarrassed, and a few more words were exchanged before Tim was able to end the conversation and leave. He returned to the detective agency to let Mr. Baker know he had found the Meowth again, then went back to his father's apartment.

Tim had picked up a habit of going through all of the papers his father had kept. Most of them were his old cases, notes he'd made while working on them. From what Tim could tell, his father hated starting another case before he'd finished his current one, though once or twice he'd seemed to have no choice. He wasn't sure that going through the old cases would really help him with anything, but he missed his father, and looking through them felt like Tim could have a part of his father back. The handwriting was familiar, slightly slanted, a little messier than Tim's neat script but still more than legible. Tim went through each one, looking for anything that might be possible to be found. A mention of a place someone might hide, or someone he might have helped grateful and connected enough to hide him. Anything else that might have come across Harry after the accident, connected to the R case or not.

Tim could never find anything, but he wasn't sure what else to do. He wanted to find his father, but had no leads to go on. Without a place to start, neither Tim nor Pikachu was sure of what to do next. Tim frequently went over the series of events that had caused the car crash, the order they must have gone in, but always got stuck at the same spot. If only all of Pikachu's memories had returned, instead of just what seemed like very selective ones, they might have some real answers, but as it was, Tim could only get so far.

Carlos had gotten someone to tamper with Harry's car. That must have happened first, once Carlos realized that Harry had discovered that he was creating R. His father must then have somehow managed to get the tampered-with vehicle to Fine Park, where he gave the locket to Buneary. That was when Keith had caught up, most likely after being contacted by his supplier Carlos. They had fought; the Pokemon in Fine Park had fled the scene at the time. They got back in the car, where it seemed like the brakes failed and sent the car into the guardrail, where it stayed, teetering, until Keith had rammed his own car into it, sending it down the cliff. Tim was unsure what Keith did after that; he only knew that that must have been when Mewtwo appeared and Pikachu pleaded with him to save him. Tim had to surmise from that that either Keith had been trying to come after him still, or that his father had been hurt. At that point, Pikachu had made his deal with Mewtwo. Pikachu could only remember part of the deal, his end. Pikachu had told him, as well, that when he'd returned Mewtwo's cells to him, he had offered to restore his memories, but at a cost- Pikachu would not be able to speak with Tim from that point on.

Tim had been a little upset at Pikachu's decision, given that having his memories returned could lead them to his father. But after some time, his anger had faded, leaving him to realize that if he couldn't talk to Pikachu, he wouldn't be able to find out where his father was anyway. Even if Pikachu tried to write it down, it wouldn't go well; Pokemon, it seemed, could not write, even if the odd one, like Pikachu, could read. They had tried, with very poor, illegible results.

Tim had gone through all of his father's documents that he could find already. Still, it didn't stop him from leafing through some of the pages again.

"Hey, look, I know you'd like to find him already, but I don't think those are going to give you anything more than they already have." Pikachu told him.

"I know." Tim said, only half listening. He kept looking through them.

Pikachu sighed. "Listen, Tim. I'm trying to tell you here, that's not going to help you. It'll only drive you crazy to keep thinking about it."

Tim looked up to level a glare at him.

"I know you want a lead. And we'll get one! I can feel it. Sometime soon, we'll get a break in the case, I just know it! Call it a detective's intuition!"

Tim just glared at him a few more moments, then sighed.

"Hey, I know! Why don't we head to the Hi Hat Café?"

"We were there this morning, Pikachu."

"I know, but you can never really have enough of Pablo's amazing coffee! Plus, it'll be something better to do then sit in here and wishing for evidence to appear. When you're a detective, Tim, sometimes you do want to be impatient to get through the case, because sometimes evidence only gets found when you chase after it hard, but sometimes you have to be patient. Sometimes the evidence needs to come to you. Sometimes you need to wait for the best time to act, or for a coincidence to break your case wide open. This is one of those times, Tim. This is when you need to wait patiently."

Tim did not particularly agree with him on that count, but eventually conceded that Pikachu was right in that going through the notes yet again wasn't going to be useful. Eventually the two ended up deciding they would go out for a walk and take a longer route to the Hi Hat café, and spend some time trying to take their mind off of it. Until some new evidence emerged, fretting over the case was only going to make Tim more anxious.