Chapter 67; Brewing catastrophe
Detective Jake Morrison switched off the engine of his car and exited the vehicle locking it.
Looker's call was concerning. Though it was indeed time to get back into the case after an extended leave due to the event with the beasts west of Ecutreak, he knew Looker wouldn't call him in such a rush. It must have been something truly horrific.
Making his way through the crowd of onlookers who were barraging him with questions about the police's progress in tracking down team rocket and if they were working with team Sonic to apprehend the criminals, he entered the abandoned building.
He found Looker in the main room of the building, along with several officers who were taking photos and collecting evidence.
"About time" Looker said without a hint of liveliness.
Before Morrison could respond, he finally noticed the reason he had been called there so urgently; the dead and bloodied body of Dr Jefferson Leeds. His skull had been smashed from the back and dried trails of blood were running down his back.
"Oh my god… what happened here?"
Looker then pointed to another critical piece of evidence; a big drawn red R in plain sight for everyone to see.
"Team rocket?!"
"Not sure. Maybe it is the case or someone could be trying to frame them".
"Could it be both? You know, they do it in secret then someone comes along and makes sure we know it was them".
"Possibly. Let's go to the station I'll fill you in on the details there".
As the two detectives exited the building a reporter again started badgering them.
"Detective a word please? Is it true team rocket was behind the murder of Dr Leeds?"
"We do not know for certain" Looker answered tersely.
"Detective team rocket is running rampant. What is your plan to protect Johto from them" another reporter tried to talk to him.
"No more comments" Looker dodged the question.
"Detective. Is team Sonic helping you with your investigation? "
Looker looked ready to explode and would have done so had Morrison not intervened in time.
"No more comments" Morrison said in a strict tone.
Before Looker could get into an argument with the reporters, the two were in Morrison's car, heading for the police station.
Along the way Morrison tried to get some info on the case but Looker insisted despite his anger they wait until they were at the station.
Once inside, they were faced with a gruesome task; breaking the news to Dr Leeds' family.
"Mrs Leeds?"
The widow looked up to meet their eyes. Her own eyes were red from all the tears.
In a nearby room, the two kids of Dr Leeds and his wife were being kept company by an officer Jenny who kept them busy while trying to break the news in a way that would not traumatize them for life.
"D-detective?" Mrs Leeds stuttered "d-did you find any c-clues?"
"All evidence currently points to team rocket ma'am" Morrison answered for Looker.
Mrs Leeds was fighting to not break down again.
"B-but… but why? What did they want? What did we have so valuable that was worth… taking him from us?"
"That's what we want to talk to you about ma'am" Looker stepped in "did your husband display any unusual behavior in the last few days?"
"N-no. Not at all. The only thing that broke our routine was the story he told our children about meeting team Sonic".
Team Sonic. Looker struggled to maintain his composure.
Ever since the incident with the legendary Raikou which had resulted in the gruesome death of at least 10 rocket grunts, the hedgehog and his allies had become known as team Sonic throughout Johto. And so had their mission.
The catalyst for it was gym leader Jasmine. She had started spreading these facts, as she called them, about team Sonic. Now the three vigilantes were being seen as heroes. And Looker couldn't stand it.
The three maniacs had apparently killed 10 rocket grunts and no one batted an eye to it?
"What were the conditions of their meeting?" Morrison asked to give Looker a second to cool down.
"One of their members was injured. My husband… treated them. He said to our children that they were heroes who had returned from battle and needed his help to get better and continue their fight against the bad guys".
Looker was fuming. He started pacing up and down the room.
"Did he tell you anything about this?"
"Yes… he told me the one he treated… the one named Tails… displayed unique abilities during treatment".
Looker calmed down enough to process this new info.
That was the case in the end.
Team rocket captured, interrogated and tortured Dr Leeds to death for information.
For information on team Sonic.
"I see" Morrison nodded "thank you ma'am. Your help has been invaluable".
"Are they helping you?" she asked before they left.
"Pardon?"
"Is team Sonic helping you track down the… criminals".
Morrison hesitated.
"No ma'am. We are not cooperating".
"I… I just thought… they could be of help to finding my husband's…"
"Team Sonic is the reason your husband's dead!" Looker exploded.
"W-what?"
"Looker calm down. Let's leave her be".
"No Morrison! Enough is enough! I won't let three vigilantes be seen as heroes! Ma'am" he approached her "team rocket went after your husband to learn about team Sonic. They are the reason your husband and was tortured and killed! Do you really think we would work with them?!"
Mrs Leeds managed to maintain her composure despite the massive stress.
"You think it didn't cross my mind just now detective? I figured as much myself… but I don't care. They weren't the ones to kill him. They are pursuing the ones who did it".
Looker wasn't ready to quit. Taking out a picture he had in his jacket he revealed the scene of the truck's explosion to her.
"You see that? This is the work of your heroes".
"Looker are you insane?! This is not for public eyes!" Morrison tried to stop him but was shoved aside.
"Your heroes brutally murdered more than 10 human beings! What do you think of them now?"
Mrs Leeds grabbed the photo with surprisingly steady hands.
Most would think that knowing what team Sonic was capable of, she would start doubting them.
But her face wasn't one of doubt. It was one of assurance.
"Those who took my husband were not human beings detective. They were monsters. And these… they got what they deserved".
"NOBODY DESERVES TO…" Looker began screaming before being knocked unconscious by Morrison.
"I'm terribly sorry Mrs Leeds. I cannot apologize enough for…"
"Is it true?" she asked him giving back the photo "I do believe they got what they deserved but did team Sonic really kill…"
"According to what is said, not directly ma'am".
"… shame"
Morrison thanked her again for her help and let her be. Taking the unconscious Looker to the room provided for the case, he splashed water into his face to wake him up.
"Are you out of you mind Looker?!"
Looker didn't respond.
"Tell me are you out of your mind?"
"… we're publishing the photo".
"What?!"
"You heard me. I won't accept these maniacs being treated like heroes. They killed… no they tore apart an entire team of team rocket members".
Morrison was at a loss for words.
"Looker… this has gone on long enough. Ever since we started on this case, you have never lost your cool" Morrison said taking a seat.
"Back when team Sonic broke into the police station – and for the record this is your claim – I asked you why you wanted to bring down both team Sonic and Giovanni. You told me that you want to tear down their legends" Morrison leaned forward.
"What do you care whether Sonic the hedgehog and Giovanni are legends? Our job is to find and bring Giovanni to justice for his crimes in Kanto".
Looker breathed heavily for a few moments before answering.
"I've already explained myself Morrison. I can't accept that no one cares about the destruction Sonic the hedgehog and his allies leave behind. Do you even know that silph co is on the edge of bankruptcy?"
"I'm well aware".
"You're well aware… are you well aware that hundreds of employees, hundreds of innocent people are on the verge of losing their jobs and therefore their ability to provide for their families, don't blame him at all?! No one, not even one damn person tries to hold him accountable for bringing an entire company to its knees!"
Morrison remained calm.
"Looker I took their statements before we came here. I know that already. But have you even tried to consider their own point of view?"
"What have I told you about bringing your emotions to work?"
"Funny. It's you who went berserk there".
Looker spat.
"Is the feeling of despair and uncertainty they are probably feeling not enough for you?"
Morrison waved his head in dissatisfaction.
"These very same people were the ones manufacturing pokeballs, that item called silph scope to locate ghost pokemon, and many other pokemon related gear. All for the purpose of hurting the pokemon because of team rocket having a secret hold on them. Can you imagine how they felt about that? How much, much stronger they were making team rocket? How much stronger team rocket would have become had the hedgehog not stopped them?"
"So you're excusing his actions based on a sentiment?"
Morrison closed his eyes as he thought about it.
"No. Nor is it my job to do so to begin with. The company had the choice to press charges against him. The president literally put this up to a vote amongst his employees. 93% of them voted that charges no be pressed".
Looker cursed and started pacing around the room again.
"So you see Looker, there is really no point in trying to get the hedgehog about anything anymore. Maybe if you had managed to get him in Ecutreak we could have something against him. Now that is no longer possible. The people see him and his comrades as heroes. And frankly…" Morrison smiled a bitter smile "I hate to admit it but they are doing a fine job against team Rocket".
"So that's it?" Looker asked his partner in anger "we just continue allowing them to ruthlessly murder them?"
"You know they weren't the ones who killed team rocket right? The truck pieces were covered in burn marks. Also molecules of gasoline drops found on the scene proved that the gas had been ignited by electricity. Electricity of magnitude a Raichu can't possibly reach".
Looker knew what this meant. One of the clear facts about that day was that team rocket had tried to capture the legendary Raikou.
"So you see… the one who took the lives of those team rocket members had to have been Raikou. And that paired with Suicune's accidental drowning of two of our men… yeah I don't think it's wise or even safe to try and get team Sonic. The beasts clearly have their back".
Looker slumped into a chair.
"I just… this isn't right… we're supposed to uphold the law. Allowing vigilantes to take the law into their own hands will lead to chaos".
Morrison thought about it before answering.
"Have you wondered why no one else tried to fight back against team rocket in Kanto?"
Looker didn't understand the question.
"What are you talking about? It was the police's job. Why else would anyone…"
"No Looker. When you're attacked and your pokemon is threatened to be taken…" Morrison stopped before continuing "you have the obligation to fight back. Not just surrender your pokemon and hope the police will find it. But team Rocket had such utter domination in the Kantonian underworld that fear crippled everyone they came across before the battle even began. I don't think the hedgehog is the only who did… but I doubt many had the courage to stand against such overwhelming odds and come out on top".
Looker waited to see what his partner was getting at.
"Sonic the hedgehog's greatest opponent was fear. Fear of team rocket. Of their horrible capabilities. Of their heartless boss. And he stood against it all, never faltered and destroyed them. Can you even begin to imagine what he seems to others like? A symbol of hope. A hero with no fear" Morrison explained passionately "someone on our side".
Looker could see through the passion though.
"This is personal isn't it?"
Morrison looked away for a moment.
"My son's Ivysaur was stolen by them. The destruction of their final base in Viridian city brought upon its reunion with my son. I owe the hedgehog my son's happiness… or at least a big part of it".
Looker sighed.
"Jake… I'm sorry. But you are out of the case".
"What?!"
"You're too close to be impartial. Your sympathy for the hedgehog is clouding your judgement".
"Are you serious now Looker? After literally losing your shit over someone asking if we are working together with team Sonic you're going to kick me out because of clouded judgement?!"
"I will not have a trio of vigilantes roaming free anymore. The moment they return to town, they will be arrested for the murder of the rocket grunts".
"Looker you're losing it".
Looker headed out of the room without replying.
"Someone escort detective Morrison out of the building please".
2 minutes later, Morrison was in his car, having forcibly been removed from the case.
"What now? If team Sonic is arrested, team Rocket wins…" Morrison thought before getting an idea.
Igniting the engine, he started driving. A premature plan was forming in his mind.
On the other side of the bay in Cianwood city, team Sonic was wrapping up the next leg of training. And said leg had brought big changes to their lineup.
Having Blastoise along for the training made a huge difference. The battle hardened turtle proved to be a match for all team members, save Raichu, of all 3 heroes.
After the sparring, the team began having Blastoise teach moves to any pokemon who could learn it. That included giving protect to several team members, including Knuckles' weepinbel with its moveset now consisting of razor leaf, poison powder, protect and sleep powder. With protect now added over vine whip, Knuckles wanted to remove sleep powder over a poison move like sludge bomb. But that would have to wait until they had a proper reunion with Sonic's Kanto team to pick up more moves.
Knuckles also decided it was time and placed the leaf stone in front of Weepinbel. The grass and poison type took the opportunity and evolved magnificently into Victreebel. Its journey had come full circle as it was picked up as a bellsprout in the sprout tower after the defeat of a Victreebel and now it was a Victreebel as well.
Another who benefited from learning protect was Sonic's Bayleef. Its moveset was now complete as well. Poison powder, leech seed, protect and razor leaf. Adding that to its rigorous defensive training, it was now a nearly immovable object. It would be their shield in the coming conflict.
Tails' new additions to his team, Steelix and Lapras also benefited greatly from Blastoise. Steelix picked up protect to shield itself from moves while squeezing its opponents to defeat. Though the fine tuning would require a little bit of work as it would be making contact with its opponent and therefore had to try and shield from a close range attack.
Steelix also picked up rock slide after being tutored by Sonic and Knuckle's Larvitars which seemed hilarious to the team. The little ones teaching the big one.
Lapras picked up ice beam from Blastoise to add to hydro pump, confuse ray and body slam. According to Tails, the reason it knew hydro pump so early was probably because it had been passed down to it from its parents. It was rare for powerful moves to be passed down at birth but not unheard of.
Knuckles' new addition, Ampharos also picked up protect, as it already knew thunderbolt and a useful move known as cotton spore which would prove useful in lower the opponent's mobility and speed.
Lastly Sonic's Quagsire learned hydro pump from Blastoise as well as ice beam to add to mud shot along with protect.
Their team was slowly but steadily reaching their final forms. And evidence of this was seen on a unique occasion.
On their final spar, Sonic and Knuckles were having a two vs two battle. Sonic was using his Bayleef and his shiny Larvitar, and Knuckles had gone with his own Larvitar and Quilava.
Their clash was epic and close to its finale, all 4 pokemon evolved at once. Tails managed to record the final leg of the evolution, as 3 new pokemon emerged.
Typhlosion, Meganium, a normal sea blue Pupitar and a shiny purple Pupitar.
Of course they had shown Jet in a video call who fell off his chair in shock. 4 pokemon evolving at the same time had to be a one in a lifetime instance, if not first time ever.
During the call, team Sonic got to interact with Wave as well, who was introduced to Knuckles. They all then discussed Wave's return to Green Hills as well as explaining what had transpired over their Johto journey along with what laid ahead.
The call ended with Wave wishing the team good luck and to be very careful. They assured her and Jet they had it and hang up.
Right upon hanging up however, they were called by a familiar face.
"Hello?" Sonic answered the phone.
"Sonic!"
"Jaz?"
"Sonic listen! Things have gone to hell here. The police is crawling all over the city! You need to stay away from here for now!"
"What?!" Sonic exclaimed in shock "what happened?!"
"Someone was murdered!"
Sonic couldn't respond. What he had heard was unreal.
"Jaz what are you saying?! And what has this got to do with us?"
"Detective Looker is planning to indirectly blame you for it!"
Sonic was shocked beyond belief.
"H-hold on. I'm putting you on speaker".
Tails and Knuckles joined in.
"Jaz everything ok?" Tails asked her.
"No! I told you someone was murdered!"
"Who?!" Knuckles almost grabbed the phone out of Sonic's hand.
"Dr… Dr Leeds".
"Who's that?" Sonic asked confused.
Tails however gasped as his pupils widened. He recalled seeing a name plate at the hospital after his treatment.
"Dr Jefferson Leeds?" he asked with a trembling voice.
"Yes!"
"You know him?" Sonic asked his friend.
"We… know him Sonic".
"We do?"
"Yeah… he is the doctor who healed me after the last battle".
Silence took over.
"Jaz is that true?" Sonic tried to keep his cool "was he…"
"Yes. By team rocket".
"What?!" all three members of team Sonic cried out at once.
Anger flared, Sonic responded.
"We're on our way Jaz!"
"No you need to stay away. I learned from a reliable source detective Looker wants to go public with everything… and have the police go after you!"
"Us?!" Knuckles yelled angry "we did nothing!"
"I know… but detective Looker is holding you accountable for the brutal demise of everyone in that truck… and is ready to paint the murder of Dr Leeds as payback towards you!"
Sonic, Tails and Knuckles looked at each other. Things had just gone from bad to catastrophic.
"There's got to be something we can do" Sonic thought.
"Wait a minute".
"What?"
"Someone named Ash is waiting at the lobby, wanting to challenge me for my badge".
"ASH!" team Sonic screamed at once.
That was their way out.
"Jaz let him in! We need to talk to him!"
Jasmine was perplexed by this but relented.
Heading to the main lobby she was immediately greeted by a battle eager Ash.
"Gym leader Jasmine I challenge you for your badge!" he immediately said oblivious to her clearly disturbed mentality.
"Someone wants to talk to you" she said handing him the phone.
"Ash can you hear me?!" Sonic's voice came out of the phone.
"Sonic?"
"Listen! The situation is dire. And we need your help NOW!"
Ash was deeply perplexed by the apparent severity but agreed.
"All right. What do you want me to do?!"
"Jaz when was the body found?"
"The body?!" Ash exclaimed in disbelief, causing Pikachu to fall off his shoulder.
"About 3 hours ago".
"Did your source say when..."
"Yesterday" she tersely said so as to not disturb Ash.
"I see. Ash listen. I need you to tell me if you saw any weird activity today in Olivine city!"
Ash racked his brain.
"Jessie and James tried to steal Pikachu while we were at the port".
"Anything else?"
"Well… no".
"Are you certain?" Sonic asked him before turning to see how their quick preparedness was coming along.
"Yes… I mean Jessie did look at a boat leaving the port as if she recognized some of the passengers but she didn't pay them any mind".
Sonic considered it before taking a risk.
"Where was the boat headed?"
"… i'm not sure… but I think it was the islands in the middle of the bay".
"The whirl islands?!" Jasmine interjected "I heard a group negotiating with a boat captain to get there".
Tails heard this as Knuckles was gathering the last of their things.
"Do you know him?"
"Captain Stevens. Gives tours of the whirl islands from afar".
"Could you go and find him? Ask him to describe what that group looked like?" Tails asked her.
"Yes".
"Do so and quickly. Let us know what he said as soon as possible!" Sonic told them and hang up, helping Knuckles pack everything up as soon as possible.
Jasmine and Ash immediately headed out, running into Brock and Misty who were busy, more specifically Misty pulling Brock ear from 'harassing' another girl with his non-existent rizz.
Both could tell something was wrong.
"What's wrong?" Misty asked them, releasing Brock.
"A lot. Follow me. I'll explain as we go" Jasmine said in a hurry.
As the four trainers made their way to the port where captain Stevens' apartment was, Jasmine informed them of murder of Dr Leeds sparing the gruesome details and explaining Sonic's forthcoming troubles.
"He believes the people who were negotiating with captain Stevens were team rocket. So we need to know what he talked about with them".
"How do we know he is here?" Brock asked her as he saw no boat where it was meant to be docked, in front of a billboard advertising the tours of the whirl islands.
Jasmine however knew captain Stevens' schedule. He wasn't giving tours at the present time. The absence of the boat was unnerving.
Rushing to his apartment building's door she rang the bell but no one responded.
"Come on" she pleased but still no one answered.
"Step aside" Ash said "Pikachu thunderbolt!"
The electric type mouse struck the bell, disabling the lock as it was circuit was burned.
Rushing to his apartment door, they found it mysteriously unlocked.
Jasmine cautiously pushed the door open.
"Hello? Captain Stevens?"
No one answered.
The four trainers entered cautiously.
"Maybe he is out for a walk?" Ash guessed as looked around the living room.
As if guided by a hunch, Jasmine headed for the bedroom.
She pushed the door open.
What she saw scarred her for life.
"AAAAAAAAAHHH!" she screamed her lungs out.
On his own bed, or rather his deathbed, was captain Stevens, skull burst open from behind due to strike by a blunt object.
Jasmine stepped back out and shut the door in horror, kneeling in the floor and hugging her feet.
It was the exact same way her contact had said Dr Leeds was killed.
Ash and co came rushing.
"Jasmine what's wrong?!"
Getting up in an almost lifeless but scarred fashion, Jasmine simply said 5 words.
"Don't. Go… in there…"
Ash tried to regardless, but Brock held him back.
He could tell what Jasmine meant.
Leaving the scene before anyone noticed them snooping around, Jasmine took some fresh breaths by the sea before all 4 of them used her phone to contact team Sonic.
"What did you find?" he immediately asked.
Jasmine tried to speak but her voice cracked.
Brock took the phone.
"Jasmine… found him… gone…"
Pause from the other side.
"Damn… we pushed them too much into a corner… they're not leaving any loose ends".
"Sonic his boat is missing" Ash informed the hedgehog.
Pause again as Sonic thought it over.
"I see… that means they probably stole it… we need to find that boat".
"It will probably be at the whirl islands by now…" Jasmine managed to say, upsetting Sonic by the way she sounded.
Gathering his composure again, Sonic called his friends together and relayed the info to them.
"Tails any ideas on how to proceed?"
Tails took a moment to consider it.
"We need to find them… and to find them, we need to find the boat… that requires… someone finding the boat from above".
"So flying" Sonic surmised "but I don't have a flying type… none of us does".
"You do" Ash reminded him "your Moltres. It came to you in Greenfield right? Maybe you can call it again".
"Not a good idea. If the police are crawling all over Olivine, they will realize what the sudden appearance of the Moltres means" Sonic shut him down.
"What if Tails flew to find the boat?" Misty suggested.
"Or I could use Noctowl to look myself" Ash also suggested.
"No…" Sonic again disagreed "flying in general is not really the best option here. Any such action will attract attention. We need a way to scan the islands from a high enough point to find the boat without attracting unwanted attention".
"Is there even such a spot that looks at the bay?" Knuckles asked aloud.
Everyone went silent for a few moments.
"There is!" Jasmine yelled startling everyone "the lighthouse! It has those rooted binoculars where you pay to use to observe, just without the paying part".
"Yeah… yeah that will work. Would they be good enough to look at the whirl islands in great detail?"
"That's what they were made for" Jasmine explained "ships would wreck there a lot a few years ago".
"Perfect. Go to the lighthouse and relay what you see. Also um… give the police an anonymous call. Someone should find… the poor captain" Sonic concluded.
"Will do" Jasmine confirmed hanging up.
"You said you have a Noctowl correct?"
"I do".
"We'll fly to the lighthouse with it. Time is of the essence. Brock, Misty, call the police ANONYMOUSLY. Tell them… about captain Stevens".
"Got it" Brock nodded.
Calling out Noctowl, Ash and Jasmine soared towards the lighthouse. It was thankful Noctowl was big enough to carry them both there.
Reaching the lighthouse, Jasmine raced up the stairs while Ash followed in his own pace.
Reaching the top, after petting Sparkle the Ampharos for a moment to calm it down, she started observing the whirl islands through the binoculars.
As she looked through each of the small islands, she couldn't help but wonder why captain Stevens had to die.
Sonic had said team Rocket was tying up loose ends. But why was he a loose end?
The answer came to her as she finally located the boat on the center island.
The largest of them. And the hardest one to get to.
"That's it" she muttered as Ash arrived.
"What's what?"
"I know why they had to take out captain Stevens" she muttered as she sat down with the back against the lighthouse's wall "they must have known stealing the boat wouldn't be enough. They needed to navigate to the islands. He knew how to get to each one through the whirls. And once they got what they needed…"
Ash looked towards the islands in realization as well.
He called Sonic.
"Tell me you got something".
"We do. The boat is in the central island".
"Where there is a system of caves said to be inhabited by the legendary Lugia" Jasmine added as she remembered captain Stevens' apparent stories of his encounters with the Guardian of the Seas.
"Of course…" Sonic said with a rising anger in his voice "they don't give up. They are desperate to get a legendary pokemon to fight us and/or for their evil plans. When I get my hands on them I swear I'll…"
"Can you guys help us navigate there from where you are?" Tails stopped him.
Ash and Jasmine, unnerved by Sonic's sudden shift in tone, feeling his rage even from the lighthouse, confirmed they could. Ash however wasn't fond of the idea.
"Will you be able to help both of us at once?"
"What for?"
"I'm going there too".
"No Ash. This is between them and us" Sonic's cold and menacing voice echoed in the room "stay where you are. Things will get ugly there".
"If you think I will sit down and do nothing while Lugia needs our help you are wrong! I am on my way and that's final" Ash said hanging up and running down the stairs.
Jasmine barely had time to process this before her phone rang.
"Jaz you need to stop him! If he comes flying he will lead the police there himself! Do NOT let him escape!"
Before the phrase was even completed, Jasmine witnessed Ash and his shiny Noctowl fly away.
"Too late".
"What?! Shit! There's no time to waste then! Do not hang up. Lead us there".
"Got it!" she said, steadying the phone on her shoulder with her head and putting the binoculars on again.
"Tails! Knuckles! We're off!" Sonic declared.
With Sonic and Knuckles riding on Blastoise and Tails following while airborne, holding Sonic's phone to communicate with Jasmine, the heroes set sail for the whirl islands.
From afar they could see Ash who had just informed Brock and Misty via a call that they were heading to the whirl islands to save Lugia.
Brock and Misty understood and wished him luck as they had no safe way of following.
A new battle was at hand. And the stakes were a lot higher than before.