The bus screeched to a halt along the side of the busy street. Moxy walked out of the bus with her hands in the pockets of her black jean jacket, and a breeze of wind brushed against her black mini-dress. Bright sunlight reflected against Moxy's pitch-black sunglasses, and her black boots clunked on the decorated cobblestone tiles. Moxy brushed aside some long, brown strands of fake hair in front of her eyes. She kept her head down passing a few bystanders wearing summer clothes.
Sylveon trotted down the bus steps wearing a cute, red hoodie, her ears poking out of holes cut into the hood. Neither Moxy nor Sylveon wore a single emblem that signified their affiliation with Team Magma. Moxy held out her hand for Sylveon, but the pokemon huffed before walking ahead of her.
"Woohoo! The sun is so nice today!" A voice said behind her. Moxy grimaced when Zee ran up to her side. Unlike Moxy's incognito attire, she was sporting a bright red tank top and white shorts, and her bobbed black hair was exposed for all to see. A purse that looked like it belonged to a rich girl hung around Zee's pale arm.
Moxy looked down at her wristwatch, the time showing eleven in the morning. She scratched the top of her head, just itching to take her wig off in this odd, hot weather.
"Why's it gotta be so hot today? Aren't we in November?"
"Sure beats a day in the cold," Zee yawned, stretching her arms.
"Ugh." Moxy narrowed her eyes at Zee like a mother dissatisfied with her child. "And why aren't you disguised?"
"I'm not the one who's wanted in 20 different cities!" Zee giggled.
"You're telling me that you're with," Moxy became aware of her surroundings and whispered, "Team Magma, and you've never done something bad before? You've got to be wanted in at least one or two cities."
"Only if I was caught." Zee winked at her. Moxy grumbled and began walking faster.
"Wait up!" Zee called out with a grin.
Contemporary beach houses lined the sunny, well-maintained sidewalks, and palm trees stood in the median strip of the flat street. Moxy's feet began to hurt from the trip, and a shiver ran down her spine when she recalled how she arrived.
By submarine. Moxy had been squirming to get out of the water as soon as they reached the shore, and she was already dreading the trip back.
The two stopped at a pedestrian signal. A red sports car in front of them made a screeching sound as it zoomed down the street, the exhaust popping like fireworks. Moxy was already used to the loud sounds from training Sylveon, but Zee grabbed her ears as if they'd just exploded.
"Man, what a jerk. There's a speed limit for a reason, you know!" Zee shouted as if the car wasn't already a hundred meters away.
The pedestrian signal switched to go, and Moxy continued forward. A tall building shaded them as they turned the next corner.
"So, do you know where you're going?" Zee asked.
"Seriously?" Moxy deadpanned. "That was the only reason I brought you along."
"Aw, I was under the impression it was for the company." Zee made a sad face as fake as a Sudowoodo.
"Stop messing around. Here." Moxy handed her Chloe's business card. "Now, where is Galvan street?"
"Heh, you're talking to a local, babe." Zee smirked. "We're in southern Lilycove right now. Galvan street isn't too far away, come on."
As they walked, Moxy took another glance at Sylveon. The pokemon was just staring at the ground.
She's usually happy when others are around. Moxy frowned.
"So, this is your first time in Lilycove? How do you like it?" Zee asked before gesturing Moxy into an alley. Moxy was quickly overwhelmed by the scent of an open dumpster.
"Pleasant." Moxy pinched her nose.
A long fence impeded Moxy and Zee's path. In one swift motion, Zee climbed up the fence and vaulted over it.
Moxy, groaning, tried the same. Because of her shoulder injury and sleepiness, she was much slower.
"C'mon Mox!" Zee called out from below. "You're as slow as my gramps!"
"I said… not… to call me that," Moxy whispered angrily as she used all her strength to climb over the fence. She landed ungracefully and palmed her aching shoulder.
"My bad." Zee shrugged.
"We couldn't walk down a street that didn't involve any climbing, huh?" Moxy shoved her hands into her pockets. She turned to see Sylveon summon a gentle Fairy Wind that helped her glide over the fence.
"This way's much faster, promise!" Zee gave Moxy a cute smile.
The two continued out of the alley and into another crowded sidewalk.
"Arceus, more people…" Moxy lowered her head and continued to follow a humming Zee.
"You say Arceus a lot." Zee pointed out.
"It's something my mothe-" Moxy stopped herself mid-sentence. "My stepmother used to say. She would bring me along to the church of Arceus every Sunday when I was younger."
"Well, you know what they say. Shouldn't use the lord's name in vain so often."
"Yeah? Well, you shouldn't speak so carefree. You'll never know if it might stab you in the back one day." Moxy growled.
"Woah, that sounds like a threat!" Zee's tone of voice sounded alarmed, but her body language was still as aloof as ever.
"I'm serious, Zee. One of these days you're going to say something offensive, and you might get seriously hurt for it."
"Haha! Sounds like fun!" Zee giggled.
Moxy continued past more bystanders. She was just waiting for one of them to give her a strange look and call the cops. Fortunately, nothing happened. It looked like her disguise was working.
After about ten minutes of silent walking, excluding Zee's idle chit-chat, they reached a large gray building. A green corner sign read GALVAN STREET. Sylveon sniffed around, confusion written on her face when she stared at Moxy.
"You sure this is the place? It looks like an apartment complex." Moxy tilted her head.
"Well, this is 20th Avenue, Galvan Street." Zee pointed to the building. "And it's the only building big enough to be a pokemon lab."
Grumbling, Moxy walked up to the rusty, metal door. There was an intercom, as well as a list of doorbells on the side with tags underneath. One tag read LCPL, which Moxy assumed must be short for Lilycove Pokemon Lab. She pressed it.
After a few seconds, the intercom crackled.
"Who is this?" An annoyed voice asked.
Moxy and Zee looked at each other, neither one of them sure what to say.
"C-Chloe sent us?" Moxy tried.
"Hold the card up to the camera." The voice asked, much sterner. Moxy pulled out Chloe's business card and held it up to a camera near the top of the intercom. After a few seconds, a buzzer startled her, and the metal door unlocked on its own.
"Hey, they let us in!" Zee jubilated, holding the door open for Moxy.
"Fourth floor." The intercom went silent.
The three entered a narrow staircase, and Moxy took off her shades to see all the dirt and litter on the floor. Disgusted, Moxy proceeded upward until the fourth floor.
They were greeted with another metal door. Before Moxy could even knock, its lock clicked, and the door creaked open.
"Hello." a man said. He looked like a scientist, for he wore a white lab coat and his baggy eyes had the same dead-tired expression an overworked scientist would have.
"Keep your pokemon in a ball, please." The scientist held his palm out in front of Moxy when he saw Sylveon behind her.
A growl emanated from Sylveon's throat, and Moxy knelt to her level.
"Sorry baby, I gotta ball you up ag-" Sylveon's whine cut off Moxy.
You're really pissing me off, Moxy narrowed her eyes, not wasting a second to absorb Sylveon into the ball. All that was left was the hoodie she had been wearing, which Moxy picked up and slung behind her shoulder.
When they entered, Moxy was shocked. The inside of the lab was nothing like the rest of the building. It must have taken up two floors because the interior was huge and whiter than a Furfrou's pelt.
"I'd never imagined this place was this big from the outside." Zee marveled.
"Yes, this part of the building is much bigger than the bottom floors." The scientist crossed his arms. "Coffee, anyone?"
Moxy didn't hesitate to nod her head. The scientist lead them to a cubicle at the right corner of the room, and Moxy observed the rest of the lab.
The lab was shaped like a square donut, the middle part a large, glass vivarium. About a third of the vivarium was a large cave, and Moxy saw a few Zubat perching from the top. At the edge of the cave, she saw a weird-looking pokemon. To call it a pokemon was odd. Its pink and blue body was blocky and edged, and it looked similar to a duck. It was floating a foot above the ground, just staring straight ahead.
Moxy was left with a conundrum. She couldn't tell if the Porygon, as she recalled, was sad or being treated unwell. She shook her head, unsure why she kept looking for ways to incriminate Chloe.
Other than the vivarium, the rest of the lab was occupied with advanced machines she couldn't recognize.
They reached the cubicle, and the scientist poured coffee into a paper cup for Moxy.
"My name is Dr. Janson." He started, handing Moxy the cup. She took it quickly and swigged it. The coffee was hot on her tongue, but she didn't care. "I'm grateful you've come here to help us, as you might have noticed."
"What?" Moxy took a large breath and set her empty cup on the desk. "I'm only here to pick up some pokemon for Chloe."
Janson gave her a confused look. "That… isn't what Chloe told me."
Moxy crossed her arms. "Look, I don't know anything about that. I need an Aron and a Houndour."
Janson, however, was not intimidated. "Well, I'd love to give them to you, except I can't. We've been robbed."
Moxy tightened her fist. "And how exactly is that my problem?"
"W-what?" Janson rubbed his hands together. "Chloe told me a girl was coming here to investigate it. Are you not…"
Suddenly, something blunt jabbed her side. She turned to see Zee giving her a wide-eyed stare.
"It would be our pleasure to-" Zee told the doctor.
"Oh, you!" Moxy interrupted her with a smile, grabbing Zee by her shoulder. "She's a little drunk, sorry. Just excuse us for a moment."
"Isn't it a bit early for a dri-"
"She has a bit of a problem!" Moxy answered quickly. She pulled Zee outside the cubicle, and when they were out of hearing distance, her smile instantly turned into a glare.
"What is wrong with you?!"
Zee jerked a thumb behind her. "Aren't we going to help these pokemon? And I don't remember drinking anything… that I can recall."
Moxy rubbed her temple again and whispered, "Look, I came here to pick one up, not go on a Swanna chase to look for one. I'm not a detective! What else do you want me to do?"
"But Chloe needs you!"
"No." Moxy stomped her foot. "Chloe lied to me. I'm not risking my neck for her."
"Didn't she save your life? Is this how you're going to repay her?"
I wish I could say she did… Moxy shook her head. She was trembling, unsure if it was anger or simple cowardice.
"C'mon, these pokemon need us." Zee insisted.
"I don't know why you even give a shit," Moxy hissed at her. "This is between me and Chloe. You shouldn't even be here right now."
"It's the right thing to do." Zee was stern. "Those pokemon could be getting hurt, or worse. We have to help them."
Moxy crossed her arms. She could tell this mission would be dangerous. Pokemon being kidnapped meant a few things, but what stood out the most was them being sold for high prices.
Chloe's exactly the same. Moxy thought, thinking back on what she heard Chloe say to that Operator.
She looked at the large vivarium. The Zubat seemed to sleep quietly, and the Porygon was still just floating there. It wasn't like the pokemon were being held in confined spaces, or that they were treated poorly. A feeling of guilt welled in Moxy's throat.
Zee was right. Something worse could happen to the stolen pokemon now. Moxy couldn't let that happen.
"Fine. Maybe Chloe will give us a good reward, or whatever…" Moxy muttered under her breath, and the side of Zee's lips parted into a grin.
"Oh, this is gonna be so much fun!"
Another groan later, and Moxy walked back into the cubicle. Dr. Janson was frowning at the floor, his hands hidden in his pockets.
"Alright, I'll get your pokemon back," Moxy announced.
"You will?" His eyes lit up. "Oh, thank you!"
Yeah, keep your shirt on, Moxy sighed. "So, can you explain what happened?"
"Right. Well, it happened two days ago. Someone had broken in through a window. All the pokemon were taken, barring the Porygon and Zubats. And one of our briefcases to store the pokemon is missing, too. These perpetrators may be storing them inside it."
"That's strange," Moxy began twisting a lock of her brown hair around her finger. "Porygons are extremely rare. Why didn't they take it too?"
"Well… I'm unsure. That's why I asked Chloe to send an investigator."
"Do you have a list of the taken pokemon?" Moxy asked. He nodded and quickly pulled out a slip of folded paper from his lab coat.
He was prepared for this, Moxy eyed him before snatching the paper. She unfolded it and perused the list.
"Aron… Arcanine… Beedrill… Dustox?" Moxy scratched her head.
"S-something wrong?" Janson asked.
"No… it's nothing." Moxy was neutral. She continued down the list to see that a total of thirteen pokemon had gone missing.
"And, do you have a lead?" Moxy continued her questioning.
"Well, we have a location, but… it's the last place their embedded chips pinged." Janson lowered his head in guilt.
At least there's a location. Moxy was somewhat relieved to hear that. However, she needed one last thing from Janson to test her hypothesis.
"I want to talk to the Porygon," she demanded.
Janson lowered his brow. "Why?"
"It's the only one besides those Zubat who wasn't taken. Do you want my help or not?"
Janson still seemed upset about the idea, but he finally acquiesced with a sigh, "Fine. But, you understand I'll have to be in there with you, correct?"
Moxy nodded, and the three went over to the vivarium. Janson pushed open a glass panel, leading them inside.
"Hey," Moxy said, waving her hand in the direction of the Porygon. Upon seeing her, it made some beeps, tilted slightly to the side, and then ignored her.
"What's wrong with it?" Moxy asked Janson, who was standing a meter away from them.
"Too put it shortly, it's… broken."
"Broken?"
"Well, Porygon are man-made. This one was… well, made poorly. It was primarily supposed to help us in the lab, but after we discovered it was defective, we simply let it live in the enclosure with the other pokemon."
Another pokemon cast aside. Moxy fumed in her mind. She couldn't tell if the adrenaline pumping in her veins was from her anger or the coffee finally kicking in.
Moxy walked up to the Porygon and poked it. Still nothing.
The answer was starting to form, and it was incredible how all it took was a pokemon doing absolutely nothing.
"Alright, I'm done here." Moxy walked away with a smirk. Janson had a look on his face that asked her to elaborate.
However, Moxy pushed past him. If she told him something, he might give the job to someone else.
Begrudgingly, Janson gave her the address to the last location the stolen pokemon's chips pinged. Afterward, she and Zee left the lab. A blast of fresh air hit her as she stepped out onto the street again.
"So, was that smile you made in there just to get under that guy's skin, or do you actually have an idea?" Zee asked, her red eyes ever the more curious. Moxy flipped her black hood on.
"I may know something."