Pokemon (Detective Pikachu)

A Legendary Search

4. Poached

The area where Mightyena had been the last time Tim had been at Tahnti Park over a month ago was eerily silent. Tim supposed that the other people and Pokemon would have fled when she went wild, but it still seemed unnatural.

Tim knelt down in the area she and the Poochyena were normally in. It was about this time last time he was here that he'd had to find the missing pup and send it back so Mightyena could put them both to sleep; if they still slept this time each day, this was where they would have been.

And it looked like they all had been here, at one point. Tim could see three impressions in the grass, two small and one more than twice their size, where it looked like all of them had been curled up.

Now that he was kneeling, Tim could see that there was some sort of powder dusting the grass there. Looking around, he realized it was only in this area.

Tim had a bad feeling about it. Running his fingers along a couple blades of grass, he collected some of the powder, brought it up to his nose, and sniffed.

Dizziness immediately swept through him; Tim dropped the hand he'd brought up to his face to brace himself on the ground. His head throbbed a little; after a moment, he brought his other hand up to press against his forehead, as if that would help.

Tim coughed slightly and tried taking slow breaths through his mouth. He wasn't sure exactly how long he was there, but eventually, the dizziness slowly faded.

His mind clear again, Tim looked at the area and felt a sinking feeling. This couldn't mean anything good.

It occurred to him then that he'd been in such a hurry, he hadn't made any notes. Tim quickly pulled out his notebook and wrote everything down, wondering almost idly how so much had managed to happen in such a short time.

"Hey, Tim! I've got some things to tell you- did you find anything?"

Tim looked up to see Pikachu heading toward him. Standing, Tim made his way out of the area with the powder to join Pikachu before Pikachu got to him.

"You could say that. Careful, Pikachu. Don't get too close to the area."

"Why? What's wrong."

"If I had to guess… someone drugged Mightyena and the Poochyena. There's powder all over the grass there. A small amount of it made me dizzy; I'm guessing it's from a Pokemon. Sleep Powder or Spore, maybe."

Pikachu walked up to the edge of the area, carefully. It looked to Tim like he was holding his breath as he bent over it, examining it, then backed away. "I'd say you're right. Looks like Sleep Powder more than Spore to me. Which means a trainer was here."

Tim was pretty sure of the same; he was pretty sure none of the Pokemon that lived in the park knew that move. "So what did you find out from Mightyena?"

"Well, she said she had put both the pups to bed for their nap, when she started getting tired and dizzy herself. The powder here definitely corroborates that. She said before she fell asleep, she saw those two men that had the truck. She was sure it was them later because she caught their scent, along with an odd scent. She said she woke up not too long after she was knocked out, though, because there was an Aipom making an uproar. It was long enough that she couldn't see her babies, so she went following the scent trail and it led right to that truck. That's when she started attacking. It sounds to me like those two men knocked out Mightyena so they could poach her babies; Tahnti Park, like all of Rhyme City, has laws in place that prevent Trainers from battling and catching the wild Pokemon around like they commonly do in other regions, which makes what they're doing illegal."

Tim's eyes widened. "Pikachu- Inspector Holiday told us that when the police got there, those two men had their Butterfree paralyze Mightyena so they could get her into a cage! The Butterfree must have used Stun Spore for that- and it would be more than capable of using Sleep Powder as well!"

"That's what I was thinking. But we can't just go rushing back to Holiday now to announce what happened." Pikachu warned.

"What? Why not? They must still have the Poochyena, isn't that going to be proof enough?"

"Maybe not. Remember, those men themselves were the ones who called the police for help. Normally, poachers like that would just try to outrun the angry Pokemon. Calling the police is risky in their business. Which means they have some kind of trick up their sleeve that makes them confident that they won't get caught. If we don't figure out what that is, first, then we could get ourselves into a lot of trouble."

Tim stopped, thinking about what Pikachu had said. He was right, Tim realized. No one breaking the law would actually call the police, it would mean they would risk getting caught. Unless, of course, they thought their plan was foolproof, which meant they would have something in place for them. An alibi, or some sort of trick to hide evidence. In this case, it would be the latter. If they went charging in with their findings without being prepared for their trick, they would be in trouble.

"Alright, then, what now? We don't have much time. Those men could leave at any minute."

"Actually, no, they can't. They're witnesses for the police. As long as the police are investigating here, they can't leave. So we have until the police finish searching the park. But you are right, time is something we're running out of. Hmmm…"

Pikachu trailed off, thinking. Tim sighed impatiently. Then, he heard rustling.

Pikachu looked up. "Did you hear that, too?"

Tim nodded, looking over at a tree. The same tree that a Poochyena had trapped an Aipom in over a month ago.

"Maybe…"

The tree rustled again, and a purple head poked out of the branches.

"Aipom!" Tim cried.

"Maybe it saw something!" Pikachu headed over, moving as quickly as his short legs could take him. Tim passed him and got there first.

Once Pikachu finally got there, he looked at Tim.

"Tim, could you…"

"Yeah."

Tim bent over and let Pikachu get on his shoulders, then straightened, raising Pikachu higher.

"Hey, Aipom. How long have you been up in here?"

"Aipom, Ay. Aipom."

"Oh- you've been up here all morning? Good, can I ask you what happened to Mightyena and the Poochyena over there?"

"Aipo, Ay, Aipom. Aipom, Ay. Pom."

"Oh, did you? Good for you!"

"What's it saying?" Tim wanted to know.

"It says our deductions so far have been right on the mark. Mightyena put the two Poochyena down for their nap, then the two men came along and had their Butterfree use Sleep Powder to make Mightyena fall asleep. Aipom thought that was funny at first, but then the two men brought over a cage and shoved the Poochyena inside and started running off with them. Aipom's not a fan of the Poochyena, but it didn't think it was fair for them to be taken like that, so it used the move Uproar to wake Mightyena."

"So that is what happened… we need to prove it then, fast."

"Yeah… hey, Aipom, is there anything else you can remember? Even the tiniest detail."

"Ay…. Pom! Aipom, Ay!"

"Oh, Mightyena seemed confused when she was trying to pick up a scent trail? Like she could smell something odd?"

"Aipom!"

"You know, that's right. Mightyena did tell me she smelled something strange. Thanks, Aipom."

"Aipom." The Aipom ducked back into the branches of the tree.

"I'm starting to wonder if this strange smell had anything to do with it." Tim said as he let Pikachu down. "Should we go back and ask Mightyena about it?"

"Yeah, I'm starting to want to know more about this strange smell myself. Once we get there, you see if Inspector Holiday, Meiko, or Emilia have learned anything we haven't, and I'll ask Mightyena about this smell."

"Got it. Come on, Pikachu, hurry."

"Hey, you have the longer legs! I go as fast as I can!"

"Well, Pikachu, I know you prefer to run on your hind legs, but sometimes you might have to just deal with it and run on all fours! You'd be faster that way!"

"No, thank you." Pikachu sounded angry at the suggestion, and Tim sighed.

"Well, come on, then! Hurry!" Tim started moving, worried they weren't going to make it. "Mightyena's time is running out!"

Back in the area of the park where Mightyena was being held, Inspector Holiday had nothing new to tell Tim.

"We haven't found anything yet, but the search team is still combing through the park. Have you found something?" Holiday asked, giving Tim a once-over.

"Maybe. I'm not completely certain yet."

"But you might have found something?"

The new voice surprised him- Meiko and Emilia had seen him return and come up behind him. Tim whirled around.

"Oh! Uh, y-yes, maybe. But it's too early to be certain. I still need to check something."

"Well, Tim, if anyone can get to the bottom of things, it's you." Emilia told him, her voice soft and gaze unwavering. Tim felt his cheeks get hot and tried very hard to keep from blushing.

"Thanks." He mumbled, then a little louder asked, "Have you heard anything from anyone around here?"

"No, it doesn't seem like anyone saw much- no one saw her pups or any reason she would get mad. All they could really say was that she seemed really focused on the truck over there." Meiko gestured to the two men leaning on their truck, in a discussion with each other. Tim started at the two men and their truck, something in his memory nagging at him.

But what?

"We spoke to them, too. They didn't see anything either. They said that she charged at them out of nowhere. They said they got their Butterfree to help them, but that the poor Pokemon was terrified. It's hiding inside their truck now." Emilia told him, then gave the two men a glance herself, seeing that Tim was looking at them.

"Tim, I asked Mightyena about the smell." Pikachu announced, walking up to him.

"Tim, is there something about those two men?" Emilia asked at almost the same moment. Tim glanced rapidly at Pikachu, then back at Emilia. "You… you were glaring over there like you don't like them."

"I… I'm not sure. Maybe. But I still need to check something. I might be wrong."

"Hmm. If you think something's off about those two, Tim, then I'd bet anything they're up to something shady. You don't get things wrong. How can we help?" Meiko half-turned in order to give the two men a dark glare of her own.

Tim couldn't tell her how much that vote of confidence meant to him. For one, he didn't have the words for it, and for two, it was a little embarrassing.

"I… there's nothing that can be done, for now. I'm just not sure of them, that's all." For a moment Tim paused, not sure he should say any more, then dismissed it. After everything they had gone through together, he had no reason not to trust Emilia, and Meiko had never given him one either. "I just hope I've got time to find evidence against them."

"If it seems like those two men or the police are getting ready to leave, we'll try to delay them, if we can." Emilia promised.

Tim looked at her. "Thank you. That might help most of all, I just hope it doesn't come to that." Glancing down, Tim added, "Come on, Pikachu."

As they walked away, Pikachu looked up at him. "Oh, and now who's wasting time being slow? Took your time ending that conversation."

"Well, I can't just be rude." Tim said once he was sure they were far enough away. "What did she tell you, Pikachu?"

"She said she caught traces of an odd scent that confused her at first, before she placed it. It was kind of familiar, she said, but it took her a moment because it was faint. She said that sometimes the benches in the park smell that way. When they do, a sign is put up next to them, and normally no one sits on them. She said she saw someone do that once, and when they got up, the colour of the bench was on their clothes!"

"Then… it was paint." Tim realized. "She could smell paint. But…" Tim looked around, then back at Pikachu. "Nothing in this park has been painted recently. So, the culprits- those two men, must have had something with paint."

"And painted recently." Pikachu said. "Mightyena said the scent was faint because the source wasn't nearby, but the scent of the paint itself was fresh- she would say from maybe a day ago."

Tim pulled out his notebook and began writing. Once he was sure he had everything, he flipped through the pages, reading each note.

"Paint." He muttered. "Wait a minute. There was something nagging at me earlier… Paint, two men, and a truck…"

Pikachu thought hard, his brow creasing. "Oh, yeah. Didn't we come across that somewhere? Something to do with two men and a truck and paint? When was that? Was that yesterday?"

When Pikachu mentioned yesterday, the realization hit Tim hard.

"Oh, man…"

"What? Tim, you got something?"

Tim sighed. "Yeah… I can't believe I'm saying it, Pikachu… but you were right yesterday. Looks like a good detective really does need to get into everyone's business to learn everything. I think I know what trick the men have, and I think I know exactly how we can prove it. But to do that, we're going to need to find Mike, and fast!"

Pikachu's eyes widened. "Oh, I see! You're right, Tim- that must be it! Mike will be able to prove it! And of course I was right, Tim. I'm always right."

Tim rolled his eyes, but knew getting into that conversation would just be a waste of time. Time they had too little of, if they had to find Mike.

"Right, right… but there's a problem, Pikachu. How are we going to find him? He's not going to be outside Sunny's today. He said yesterday that he has a different location for each day of the week. Where do we even start looking?"

Pikachu's eyes narrowed and his brows knit together as he thought.

"You're right, that is a problem. Finding him fast is difficult when we don't know where to look. But our best bet is to start at Sunny's anyway, even if he's not going to be there. One of the staff might know where he is now, if he keeps to the same schedule. That's our best bet."

"Alright. Let's get going, then."

"Yeah, no time to waste!"

Tim and Pikachu raced towards the car. Tim hoped someone at Sunny's did know his schedule, or at least where he went the day after he was outside their diner. If they didn't, there would not be enough time to search the entire city. Going through the park would take, at most, another hour for the police search team. Maybe less. Emelia and Meiko had promised to stall, but there was no guarantee that they could for long, or even at all.

Tim took the shortest route to the Sunny's diner from yesterday, possibly breaking a few speed limits when no one was around. In the diner, he spoke to two waitresses and a waiter. Neither of them knew where he might be today, but the second waitress he spoke to knew where the painter was on Mondays- he set up in Tahnti station. Tim thanked them and left with Pikachu, feeling frantic.

"Hey, calm down. I know how you feel, but a detective has to stay calm, cool, and collected, no matter the situation. If you're chasing criminals, and you get frantic and desperate, they can use that against you. If it looks to them like nothing can unsettle you, they'll get unsettled themselves. People who rush overlook things, as well. Let's go to Tahnti station and see if anyone there knows him."

"Pikachu, the people in Tahnti station change every day, except maybe the people who use it to get to and from work. It's the middle of the morning- the morning commute is over; the evening commute won't be for hours. The only people coming in will be people on trips."

"Not necessarily. Calm down and think, Tim. I know there are baby Pokemon at stake here, but if you relax and think clearly, you'll do much better than if you're panicked. There will be certain people there every day, people who see everyone coming and going. People whose job it is to see everyone coming and going. Think. Who might they be?"

Tim resisted the urge to throttle Pikachu and tell him there was no time for this. Instead, he took a deep breath. Pikachu had been right at several other points today. He had a point now, too. Panicking wouldn't help. But what did he mean?

People who were there every day, whose job it was to watch who came and went…

Of course. Tim felt a little stupid. "The ticket salespeople, and any security."

"That's right! So that's who we go talk to. With the way everyone rushes by, I bet those people are happy to talk to someone at their workplace who's not just rushing by."

"Right. Let's go!"

Part of Tim wished they had known they would need to talk to people in Tahnti station before they had to go to Sunny's diner. The station was, after all, right next to the park they had just left.

Tim took the same route back, then he and Pikachu dashed down the stairs. When they spoke to the person behind the ticket booth- thank Arceus there was no line- he didn't know Mike. It seemed this was his second day on the job. However, he turned back to ask his supervisor, who's eyes brightened at the name.

"Oh, yes, I know Mike!" She said. "He's wonderful to talk to, you know, really makes a Monday bearable. He gave me a painting once, free of charge! But why are you asking?"

"We really need to ask him something." Tim told her. "We have to find where he is right now. Do you know where he goes to sell his paintings on Fridays?"

"Well, let's see… I know he used to sell paintings outside the museum on Fridays, but I'm pretty sure he was telling me that he got a new place. Seems like people going to the museums were interested more in what was inside the museum than outside, so he didn't do well there. I think he said he was talking to the owner of this fairly popular coffee shop… what was it now?"

The lady hummed for a moment before saying, "I think it was a café on the first floor below a detective agency or something…"

Tim's eyes widened. "Then… it wouldn't happen to be the Hi-Hat Café, would it?"

The lady refocused on Tim, her eyebrows moving up in realization after having been knit together. "That's it! That's the place."

"Perfect! Thank you so much. Come on, Pikachu!"

"Right! Now is the time to do some rushing!"

Tim had never been so glad to see the coffee shop in his life, namely because standing in front of it, painting on his easel in front of a window through which some of the people in the diner were watching, was Mike.

Tim pulled up in front of him and Mike looked up, startled, then broke into a grin.

"Well, hey! If it isn't the people from yesterday! How is it going?"

Tim briefly wished that he had seen Mike before they left the shop- though he was pretty sure the man hadn't been here then- and looked at him.

"We needed to ask you something really important. You were telling Pikachu and I about two men that you painted a picture for, the inside of the truck. Would you remember what they look like?"

Mike looked rather startled. "What the two men look like? Sure. One was a big man with a beard, the other was a small man who was, well, a little overweight."

"If you saw them again, do you think you could identify them for me?"

Mike's startled look began to turn into concern. "Yes, I could. What's this about?"

"I don't think they were using your picture to pull a prank on someone. Listen, would you come with me? This is really important. I think it might save some baby Pokemon."

"Save baby Pokemon? Sure, I could help, but I'm still not sure what this has to do with me."

"I'll explain on the way, we need to get to Tahnti Park and speed is important."

"Tim, ask him if he has a little jar or bag or something."

Tim glanced at Pikachu. "Huh?"

"To scoop up some of that Sleep Powder to show the inspector. It makes more of an impact if you're able to present some evidence instead of just telling him where it is."

"Uh… right." Tim turned back to Mike, who was looking at him a little strangely. "Sorry, I just thought of something. Do you have a little bag or container I could put something in? Just a small one."

"I keep some small jars in case I make a nice paint colour by mixing ones I have… you can have one, if you'd like. And sure, if you need my help, I'll come with you, but you're going to need to tell me what you need me for on the way."

"Absolutely. Thank you so much, you have no idea what this will mean." Tim's relief rang in every word.

Tim rapidly scooped some of the Sleep Powder into the jar Mike had given him, holding his breath just to be safe. Once he had enough in the jar to be visible, he capped it and stood up. Shoving the jar in his pocket, he left the spot dusted with the powder and re-joined Pikachu and Mike.

"So if those guys are the ones, I need you to let me know right away. And I'm going to have to get you to tell the Inspector as well, when it's time."

"I sure will! I can't believe those guys used me like that! To think they were going to do this… I can't believe it! I'm not going to let them get away with it. You can be sure I'll help." Mike said. Ever since Tim told him what was going on during the drive here, he had been fuming.

"And Pikachu, once the back of that truck opens…"

"I know. Don't worry, you can count on me." Pikachu nodded.

"Alright."

The three of them made their way across the park. Before they were even halfway across, Mike growled,

"Yeah, that's them alright. I can recognize the big man from here. And that's the truck for sure. The Q Haul truck with the Tentacool on the side of it. It's definitely them."

"Then we have them. All that's left to do is…" Tim trailed off. They were still some distance away, but even from where he was, he could see what they were doing at that end of the park. Though Meiko was clearly trying to talk to them, the two men were heading for the front of their truck, and though Emilia seemed to be trying to ask Inspector Holiday to wait, he was shaking his head and pointing to a couple of policemen, then to the cage Mightyena was in.

"Oh, no… no! We're out of time!"

Tim took off, running for all he was worth as a couple policemen picked up the cage containing Mightyena via a couple of steel bars that came out of the sides of it- clearly a design to let people pick up a Pokemon without getting their hands too close.

"Stop! WAIT, STOP!"

Tim was loud enough that everyone turned to watch him race the rest of the way across the park. Panting a little, he stopped in front of Inspector Holiday.

"You can't take Mightyena away, or let those men go. Not yet. I know what happened!"

Brad, also nearby with his Manectric, rolled his eyes. "Please. Whatever you're thinking, you're off the mark. We didn't find any Poochyena in the park."

Tim looked at him. "Of course you didn't. They were stolen!"

"Stolen? That's terrible!" Emilia cried. Meiko's eyes narrowed.

"Stolen?" Holiday asked. He gestured to the officers carrying the cage, and they set it down and stepped away, leaving it in full view of the back of the truck.

The two men turned to face Tim, the big man crossing his arms. "Stolen? If that's true, then it's no wonder that Mightyena was angry." He commented, his voice even and face smooth. Tim glared at him.

"You're right. And you would know, since you're the one who kidnapped them."

Both men started, fury crossing their faces.

"How dare you!"

"You have some nerve to accuse us of that!"

Both men shouted at the same time, and kept shouting; to Tim's shock, Brad gestured to Manectric who dashed near the two while scattering sparks. Both fell silent in surprise.

"Now, I'm going to say right now that you'd better have some proof of that to make such an accusation. I for one think you should really stop playing detective. But one thing that I have learned about you is that we aren't going to hear the end of it until you've had your say, so just get on with it." Brad told Tim with an irritated stare.

Tim's shock turned to anger at his words; even though he was telling Tim to go on, it still somehow felt like a dismissal. Taking a deep breath, he pushed his anger away. Brad would learn Tim wasn't playing a game. And he had to admit that Pikachu was right. He would never admit it to the yellow mouse, but staying calm and collected was better. It would be one of several lessons Tim would take away from today.

"I do have proof. I can tell you what happened, and what they did, and I can prove it."

"You tell them, Tim!" Pikachu puffed as he finally caught up. "Those poachers are done- over easy!"

A/N: ha ha... Poachers? Over- easy? get it?

Yeah, I hate bad jokes like that... but it definitely felt like one Pikachu would like.

On a different note, I hope fanfiction fixes their traffic stats and email alerts soon. It's kind of nerve- wracking.

Anyway, hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Next one has the conclusion to the Mightyena case. :)