The room was dark. Moxy crossed her arms and tapped her feet impatiently against the hard, blue floor. The police officers needed a quiet place to talk to Moxy, but it did her no good when they used the only vacant classroom with burnt-out lightbulbs. Why the school never fixed it, she'd never know.
She sat on the front desk of the middle row, her face peeved as she stared at the officers who sat on wooden chairs in front of her. Before any of the officers could get a word in, Moxy stood from her seat, interrupting them.
"I want a lawyer."
The officers looked at one another, smirks on their faces. The officer with the hat gestured to the girl to sit down. "Calm down, Moxy, we aren't charging you with anything. Yet," he assured the girl with a bold expression. His voice was young and modulated, but stern. He continued. "Can you tell us why you're here?"
Moxy responded by moving her fingers across her mouth as if she were zipping it shut.
The blond man sighed in exhaustion. "C'mon Moxy, work with us. The captain doesn't like you much as is, what with your history and all. Stop givin' him more excuses to dislike you. So, I'm gonna ask you again now, and don't give me any of that sass, hear? Do you know why you're here?" his voice was southern sounding and more carefree than his partners. They both stared at her, waiting for an answer.
Moxy pouted her lips. "If there is no evidence, then I didn't do anything."
"This was a mistake, Ryker. Let's go," the officer with the hat whispered to his partner as he started to get out of his seat.
"Cool it, I've got this." Officer Ryker motioned him to stay put while pulling out a yellow folder from inside his jacket.
"There was a robbery last night," Ryker began, tossing the folder Moxy's way. Moxy feared what she would find if she opened the folder. A robbery? As in the robbery of Rustboro Antiquities?
"Well, go on. Open her up," Ryker said, noticing her hesitation. She took the folder into her hands and opened it. Her heart was relieved when the first photograph showed the front of a building she recognized. The Rustboro Museum. Another photo showed a broken museum display case, and whatever was inside of it was now gone. Finally, there were forensic pictures like a shattered window, dirty footprints, and a destroyed control box. There was one more photograph at the bottom of the folder, but before Moxy could look at the picture Ryker snapped his fingers to grab her attention.
"The silent alarm was tripped when the display case broke, see. We hurried yonder, but the perp escaped before we could get there." Ryker slouched in his chair. "Nothin' on the security cameras 'cause they were disabled. They left a lot of evidence for the forensics team, meanin' they weren't professionals. I'm gonna ask you one last time now. There something you want to tell us?"
"I don't even know what was stolen. Is that why the city has been on high alert?"
Ryker and the other officer looked at each other, then back at Moxy. "Yeah. Was a ruby. Huge. Worth about my entire life savings," Ryker chuckled at his own joke. Neither Moxy nor the other officer laughed with him. He coughed before continuing, "Supposed to be some kind of kumbaya between Hoenn and Unova, but someone nabbed it before it could get shipped. League even put out a bounty for the perp."
Moxy shook her head. "I was at the orphanage all night yesterday. You can ask Ms. Pennington. She knows."
"I know. We talked to her already, see. She told us she heard a noise in your room last night. She even let us check inside, but fortunately for you, we didn't find anythin'," Ryker grumbled. Moxy eased herself, thankful the police didn't find the silver necklace she'd stolen the other day. Or they may have found it, but as it wasn't related to their case they ignored it.
"However," he added, "If you would take a gander at that there last picture, you can see why we're concerned."
Moxy looked at the last picture, which showed bits of purple, reflective dust on the floor inside the building.
"You're a smart cookie, right? Can you explain to me what that is?" Ryker asked, his eyebrow arched. Moxy knew exactly what it was, and she wasn't afraid to give the blond officer a plain look as she explained it.
"That's fragmental dust psychic types leave behind when they use the move Teleport. The reflective attribute comes from the air they distort around them when they return to their marked area. Like entering a mirror that shatters after use. I don't own a psychic type, I own a fairy type. Now, are we done here?" Moxy asked impatiently.
"N-Now hold up a second," Ryker hesitated. "Your friend… Charles owns a psychic type, and I know you got a silver tongue there. I bet you convinced him to lend you his pokemon."
"I also hope you know he is the son of your captain, officer." Moxy emphasized 'officer'. "Espeon can't even learn Teleport. Well, not naturally at least."
"Naturally?"
Moxy sighed. "The only way for an Espeon to learn Teleport is for it to be tutored by a master in psychic type moves. Even then, it can take years for it to grasp the technique, and Charles' Espeon only evolved last year. If you're still doubting me, find and talk to him."
"These kids get smarter every day…" Ryker mumbled, scratching his head.
Moxy wasn't done. She pulled out the picture with the footprints. "Look at the size of these prints. They're about size thirteen." She extended her small feet out for the officers. "That's about twice my size. How's that for smart?
The other officer grunted, "Tch. I told you this was a waste of our time."
"Now, now, Mike. Captain ordered us to check her out, and we did. So, we're done here."
Moxy narrowed her eyes at his statement. "You're saying that the reason you embarrassed me in front of my entire class was not only because you had hardly any evidence it was me, but because Walter told you it could be me? Well thanks for wasting my time, morons."
"Not me. Just him," Officer Mike deadpanned, turning to Ryker. Mozy followed his gaze with a glare.
"Talk about getting slammed for takin' orders." Ryker scratched his head again before putting a hand on Mike's shoulder. "Uhh, listen, why don't you wait outside. I want a quick word with her before I send her back to class."
Mike grunted in acknowledgment. Ryker waited until Mike closed the door behind him before pulling out an unidentifiable object from his coat pocket.
"Listen, Nicole said you'd be turning eighteen in a few days. I'm guessing you're makin' for a pokemon journey as soon as she lets you go from the orphanage, right?"
Moxy, still impatient and upset about the interrogation going nowhere, gave him a nod.
"Some advice? Use that big brain of yours instead of those their sticky fingers," he said, dangling a silver necklace in front of her. The same silver necklace that should've been hidden inside her dresser.
Her assumption was right then. Her instincts screamed at her to make a break for it. But she realized it would do her no good. The necklace swayed from side to side, enthralling the teen.
"It happens to you too, huh? Somethin' about it makes it hard to peel your eyeballs off it. I just can't figure it out for the life of me."
Moxy blinked the trance out of her eyes and raised her brows in surprise. "I don't recognize that."
"Really?" Ryker copied her expression. "So it just found itself a nice, cozy little spot in your dresser then, right? Unless my eyes are foolin' me, it ain't floatin' around holding a bunch of keys. Stop foolin' around with me and admit it already. I spoke with Rustboro's Antiquities this morning, see."
Moxy gave up and slumped in her chair, defeated. "Okay, you got me. Are you going to arrest me? It'll be better than spending the next three days in that shitty orphanage." The officer smirked in response.
"Relax, I'm not gonna arrest you," Ryker reassured her. He swung his arm around the back of his chair casually.
Moxy, while relieved at his word, was still suspicious. "I don't understand. If you know that I stole the necklace," she paused, lowering her voice, "then you know I was out that night. So why were you asking me about a crime you know I didn't commit?"
Ryker scratched his head. "Right, that was just a front to get me to see you. Better if people didn't ask questions, ya know?"
Moxy sighed while rubbing one of her temples.
"But I understand why you stole it," he started, his tone becoming serious. "I hate to bring it up, but you're broken because of what happened back six years ago. With Dahlia. You're a rebel. You steal 'cause you know Nicole hates it."
"It's weird when you say that bitches name like you guys are friends," Moxy huffed.
"Sorry... Ms. Pennington hates it," he corrected himself. "But it's more than that. You've got a knack for being a thief. And you love it. That adrenaline rush? You probably tell yourself you hate it when your heart races like so, but you're always puttin' yourself in those situations. You think your luck will never run out, but one day it'll happen so fast it'll make your head spin. And just like that, there's another six months of staring at iron bars."
"Stop acting as if you know me. We're not friends." Moxy glowered at Ryker, but the unsteadiness in her voice betrayed her words.
"But I do know you. Don't you remember you had to check in with me for a whole year after the incident?"
"Just because I gave you a slip of paper about my whereabouts every week doesn't mean you suddenly know what I'm feeling."
"And just what are you feelin'? Pretty invincible now that you're out of here in three days is what I'm thinkin'. But then what? You got any plans once you get your license?"
"I do. People may not know it yet, but I will become the best trainer." Moxy's fist tightened. "Charles and I are going to become Champions, and no one will stop us."
Ryker leaned forward from his chair, putting his hands on the desk. "Life ain't all about becoming the best trainer, red. You don't make a livin' that way. You think a guy like Steven Stone gets by on just winnings? What would happen when your pokemon gets hungry, and you're halfway around the world with no one to help you? You'll steal again just to get by for one more day? That's what your life is gearin' up towards. To become the common crook."
A vein popped in Moxy's head the moment he said that last word.
"I'm done here." Moxy stood up.
Ryker put his hands up. "Sorry. Guess it's still a touchy subject for you."
Moxy stayed silent. Ryker was starting to get on her nerves now. She knew what he was talking about, but she denied it. If her will was strong, she could be anything she wanted. She wasn't deluded. Because if she were, then her life was over before it had even begun.
"How about I make it up to you, huh?" he broke the silence, making a short glance at the door before lowering his voice. "Let's make a deal. Just hear me out, and I'll give you back this here beautiful necklace," Ryker proposed, jiggling the silver between his fingers.
"I think I've heard enough," she said crossly.
"C'mon," he stressed. "I'm riskin' my job here for just another minute of your time."
She was still hesitant. "I just hear you out, and you'll give it to me?"
"Yep. No strings attached."
Moxy raised an eyebrow at his unintended pun. Or was it intended but he pretended not to understand? Regardless, she nodded and sat back down, eager to get her necklace back and get the hell out.
"What if I told you could be set for life? You'd never have to worry about stealing to get what you want. You'd never go hungry, either. You'd live a happy life with your pokemon, aiming to become a Champion in a new world. And it'll all be yours by using your... sticky fingers. Have I whet your appetite yet?"
Moxy tilted her head. First, he talked about what her future would be like if she continued to steal, and now it sounded like he wanted her to steal?
"You're saying I should steal s-"
"Woah, voice down," Ryker interrupted her, pointing his thumb at the door.
"Steal something worth a lot?" she finished her question in a whisper.
"That's just a tiny piece of the pie. You need to think bigger. What I mean is workin' with a team of people like you. It's risky, but at least you can live a comfortable life, free of worry. It's an opportunity for success."
She just stared at Ryker like he was crazy.
Ryker glanced at the door again. "Okay, how about this? I want you to wait outside the Devon Corporation for someone tonight, at around nine. An associate of mine. Just talk to him. He's better at this whole explainin' thing."
"Tonight? I have to be back at the orphanage at seven, and Ms. Pennington isn't going to let me leave the house to see some random stranger."
"You've snuck out before. Just do it again. It'll be worth it."
She waved her hand in refusal. "No, no… Look, I'm sorry. This is too dangerous for me."
"Hold up." Ryker stopped her. He stood up, took her hand, and stuffed the silver necklace inside her palm.
"At least think about it?" he urged, waiting for an answer. After a sigh, she gave him a small nod. Ryker smiled as he walked to the door, holding it open for Moxy.
"Let's get a move on then."