A/N: Longer than my last Interlude, but still shorter than I'd want the average chapter to be. This one's important for the future. Thanks again to my dad for beta-ing.
Agent Looker of the International Police does not want to be here. If any family has earned the right to a peaceful existence, it is the kin of the former Viridian Gym Leader. He is well aware of the scrutiny they endured both during and after the early days of his investigation into Team Rocket's disappeared leader, despite Andrea Ray's cooperation in the search for her brother. Looker would greatly prefer to leave her and hers out of this, but she has a right to know and, as he was the one assigned to look into the Rocket Syndicate's possible resurgence in Alola, it falls to him to inform the poor woman.
And so, with a heavy heart, he knocks on the door of the Ray family's current residence. It takes a few moments, but the door does open to reveal a smiling Andrea Ray. She doesn't look a day older than when they last spoke, almost a decade ago now, and she looked surprisingly youthful even then. "Yes, how can I help you?" she says, before taking him in and her eyes narrow with recognition. "Agent Looker," she says cautiously, "I can't say I expected to see you this evening. Why are you here?"
He cannot blame her for being displeased to see him. He certainly would if he were in her shoes. "May I come in?" he inquires politely. "I am in Alola on business, and you have a right to know what is going on."
"Meeeowwwtttthhh…" hisses the Scratch Cat Pokémon that darts between them, arms spread wide in defense of her trainer.
"Easy, Meowy," Andrea cautions, though she doesn't look down at her partner, still keeping a steady gaze on Looker. "If it's concerning him," she says, "then yes we should discuss this inside."
She turns back and walks into her home, and taking the implicit invitation Looker follows after her, shutting the door behind him.
"So," she begins without preamble, "what's Giovanni done now?" Her expression is troubled, and understandably so, but it contains little surprise. She seems resigned, almost, like she always knew she would be confronted with her brother's dealings again.
"At the moment?" Looker asks. "Nothing concrete, nothing we have been able to pin down. But there have been credible reports of his agents appearing in this region. That is why I was dispatched to investigate."
This, finally, causes her to visibly react. "Oh, Arceus, no," she moans. "We were supposed to be leaving all of his nonsense behind in Kanto! That was half the reason we were moving here to begin with." She glances down at her phone, clearly considering making a call, before turning back to Looker. "I suppose you want to know if I've heard anything from my brother?" she asks, voice dripping with disdain though most, if not all, of it is aimed towards the leader of Team Rocket.
"If you had heard anything I would very much like to be informed, of course," Looker replies. "But I am not foolish, madame. I am well aware you were not connected to that side of the former Viridian Gym Leader's life. If you had any information, doubtless I would already have it."
"Then, forgive me for asking, but why are you here?" Andrea Ray asks curiously. "If you don't expect me to have information, why even stop by? Surely there are informants within the region you know to seek? Or even my nephew, Silver? I know he had no interest in my brother's lifestyle, but the offer was made. More than once."
Looker sighs. "While Silver was informed of the initial reports, no one truly expected we would get any viable information from him. Sadly, this turned out to be accurate. Your nephew has had no contact with Giovanni since the Rocket Syndicate's failed attempt at rising to dominance in Johto. As for why I'm here… Well, we're both well aware what your son went through after his uncle's crimes were unveiled ten years ago," he replies, regret in his voice. "Your celebrity status may have shielded you from the worst of it, but he was not so lucky."
"If you're insinuating my son may have gotten involved with the Rocket Syndicate, get out of my house this instant," the Ray Matriarch growls, having jumped to conclusions, and her Meowth hisses in agreement.
"Heavens no!" the Interpol agent hastens to assure them. "All I am saying is the poor boy got stuck dealing with scrutiny and negative attention he did not deserve. I do not know how all of this will pan out, quite frankly I do not know for certain that the Rocket Syndicate is operating in Alola, but I am hoping your son will not to be pulled into the middle of it again, if at all possible. And if that does prove impossible, he at least deserves a warning this time. You both do." He doesn't blame her for assuming he suspected her son. Dealing with unfounded suspicions is nothing new for this family, but that's why he is here. To warn them that those troubles may be returning.
The anger slowly recedes from her face, leaving only immense sadness in its wake, and it leaves her looking much closer to her forty-five years. "I'd hoped we'd left our family history behind us in Kanto," she admits, and Looker doesn't have the heart to point out she'd already told him this. "My son has enough on his plate without being burdened with my brother's sins."
"I hope he will not have to be," Looker tells her sincerely. "For what little it is worth, the people of Alola are, generally, kinder than those of Kanto. You will have less to fear here should it come to the worst."
Andrea Ray smiles slightly in response. "That's certainly been true so far," she acknowledges. "I know Sun has been happier here."
"Meowww…" mewed Meowy, nuzzling against her trainer affectionately. Their boy wasn't the only one who'd been happier lately.
"I am glad to hear that," Looker says with a smile. "I must depart now, however. There are others I must speak to before leaving this island to continue my investigation." The man in the trench coat made for the door, hand raised in farewell.
"I'd wish you luck with your search," Andrea says, "but you'll forgive me if I'd prefer that you find it was unnecessary to come to Alola in the first place."
Without turning around, Looker replies, "Madame, I would greatly prefer that outcome myself."
Looker does indeed have other business on Melemele. Alola is a popular region for retirees, and that does not merely include those who worked on the right side of the law. A particularly infamous trio of former Rocket Agents have set up a popular business here. While reports say they haven't actively participated in illicit activity for the past couple years, that doesn't remove the possibility of having heard something or even having been informed by previous associates.
And so, Agent Looker finds himself in front of a red food truck, decorated with images of Malasada and a pokémon native to Alola known as Bewear. There's a short line in front of it, but it's still longer than he would expect this time of night. Ah well, he's in no real rush. He wonders if the three he's here to interview will recognize him and tries to recall when last they met. Was it during the Galactic Incident? No, he thinks he'd dealt with them after that. Perhaps during the second Plasma Incident? That was the one that young man they'd always seemed to be chasing had gotten mixed up in, after all.
Eventually he gets to the front of the line. "How may we help you?" the red-haired woman, Jessie if he recalls correctly, asks before her eyes widen in shock. "Wait, I know you!"
"Yeah!" the Meowth that she and her cohort are always seen with agrees. "Weren't you on that Galarian TV show?"
"He's not the Doctor, Meowth," the third member of their group, Looker believes he goes by James, says, rolling his eyes. "He's that detective we met back in Sinnoh! What was his name again?"
"Beautiful?" the red-haired woman suggests, rubbing her chin. "It was something like that, right? Of course, if anyone should be named Beautiful, it's me!"
"Nah, it wasn't Beautiful," the blue-haired man replies. "It was something else… something like… Cooker, maybe?"
"Wobbuffet!" pipes up the blue pokémon of the same name, head popping up deeper inside the food truck.
"Ah think Wobbuffet's right, yous guys," the infamous talking Meowth said. "Wobbuffet is sayin' this guy is Looker."
"Of course, Agent Looker!" the blue-haired man says, tone light and airy. "What can we get for you, sir? It's been quite some time."
"Our Malasada are second to none, you know," his red-headed partner says.
Finding no one behind him in line, Looker elects for a straightforward approach. "Sadly, I am here on business, not pleasure," Looker explains. "I came here to see if you three can verify some reports."
The three former Rocket Agents glance between each other uneasily. "What do you want to know, exactly?" James asks, a slight edge to his voice. "We quit Team Rocket years ago, but we're not particularly interested in selling out old comrades, you see."
"I anticipated as much," Looker acknowledges, but pulls out his badge to remind them of just who they're dealing with anyway. "I am not interested in your past, regardless. I have more interest in the present. Have you heard the rumors that your old organization has been surfacing in Alola?"
Loyal to their old gang as these three might have been, their poker faces were no better now than they had been when they were teenagers. All three of them stared at him in utter shock, and it was easy to tell the shock wasn't manufactured. "Team Rocket has never been interested in Alola and the only active operatives that have ever been here on assignment were us. Back in the old days chasing after the twerps and that Pikachu," James tells him seriously. "If people using the Team Rocket name are showing up in this lovely region, they're probably just using it for the sake of recognition."
"It wouldn't be the first time that some upstart tried to use our bad name to gain clout," Jessie agrees, hands clenching into fists at the idea of others exploiting the reputation they helped cultivate. "And it won't be the last either."
Looker sighs, disappointment audible. He trusts his former superior far more than these three, but the trio in front of him simply cannot bluff. Let alone manage to fool someone as experienced in seeing through deception as himself. Whatever the Rocket Syndicate may be up to in Alola, these three know as little as Andrea Ray does. Which is to say, they know nothing at all.
"I appreciate your time," he tells them politely, and sets a very generous amount of money on the counter. "I hope this is worthwhile compensation." He is well aware that what he's giving them is far more than they're owed, but it will most likely leave them more amenable to sharing information going forward.
"Come back anytime!" all three chorus as he walks away, with their Wobbuffet giving him a salute.
As Detective Looker continues his investigation, a brown-haired boy shudders in his sleep causing his pokémon to let out cries of concern. The boy dreams of pokémon wrapped in hazy purple auras with eyes that glow red with fury. He sees visions of strangers in bizarre armor standing shoulder to shoulder with row after row of Rocket Grunts. Standing separate from the lowly Grunts and the armor-clad strangers were five men of varying ages and appearances. The boy finds some of them vaguely familiar, but he isn't entirely sure why. Standing atop a building and looking down on everyone else with a satisfied smirk was a man the boy knew quite well. The leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni. The building he stands upon, though, is strange. It flickers even as the boy stares at it, sometimes a pristine white mansion and others a red and black castle.
The boy's pokémon don't know what's wrong as they cuddle even more closely against him with concerned cries, but they will not leave their trainer alone to suffer from his nightmares.
The littlest among them may have some idea, but it has no idea how to explain the things it sees flickering through their trainer's mind. Strange, scary visions of struggles to come. Brief flashes of things which could be. The tiny psychic type feels them all through its connection to their trainer, but it doesn't quite understand what they mean or why they're so troubling to the boy in the bed.
Remembering that Papa had always seemed happier and calmer when Mama was hugging him, the little pokémon got an idea. However, just as its body began to glow with blue energy to Teleport Mama into bed with them, their trainer's first pokémon shook his head rumbling a gentle reproach and letting the little pokémon know that such a thing wasn't a good idea for the time being.
The little psychic type didn't really understand but was willing to take the first friend it had made on their trainer's team at his word, and as such cuddled closer to their trainer providing what little comfort it could to the shuddering boy.
When their trainer awoke in the morning, he wouldn't remember his visions, or the fear they'd inspired. And the little pokémon wouldn't understand exactly what they'd meant, not until later. Much, much later.
A/N: With this, I have broken 100k words. This is my first long fic that didn't die an early death, so thank you so much to everyone that's commented, followed, and favorited this story. It means more than you all can possibly know that you're enjoying this story.