Chapter 31: A Cool interrogation

"Alright crew, it's go time. I'm seeing lots of little bald heads peaking over the horizon, so we need to move fast. Group A sets up a defensive line back behind me. Group B take the vulnerable further North and away from the action. Use the rapids to your advantage."

Taking their orders, all at attendance begin setting out. As the shape of his daughter's shell is lost amongst the twists and turns of the river bend, Jessie once more faces the ocean. A determined look on his face, he prepares for battle...?

"Pichu? What are you doing h-OLY FUCK!" An electric current passes through the water, forcing Jessie to leap out of the surf to avoid getting electrocuted.

"What the hell are you doing? Have you gone crazy?!"

-"Pi..."

"What do you mean, now? ...Oh. Oh honey, the human can't understand you when you whisper, you need to be more obvious with your signals."

-"PICHU!"

-"On it!" A capture line shoots out of the treeline, quickly encircling the beached Tentacool. But of course, having gotten that little moment of pause, he wasn't all that surprised, easily swiping a tentacle through the line before it's second rotation.

"I know you two are partners and all, but you need to get your timing right. Maybe work on some non-verbal signals?"

-"Pichu pi! Chu?"

"Oh, it's called a witty exchange. It's main purpose is to make terrible actors seem more competent than they are. The secondary purpose is to make a distraction."

-"P-" A glob of acid strikes the mouse from behind, sending them reeling and rolling on the ground trying to get it off.

-"Pichu, look out! They weren't alone after all!"

A second Tentacool peeks it's head out from behind a rock near where the river meets ocean.

"So I was hoping to use that trick against The Warband. Hide a few pokemon that blend in with the water at key positions, you know. Strategy! Something I hoped you two would know a thing or two about seeing as you're so experienced and-"

*caw*

"OH LORDY THAT'S A BIG BIRDIE!"

-"Honchkrow, focus on the hidden pokemon! Leave this one to us two!" With a sharp caw, the bird strikes home with a Night Slash. The two pokemon wrestle in a ball of claws and tentacles as Jessie returns his attention to the ranger.

-"I came prepared to, sorry."

"Why are you even fighting me? I thought you were going to let me do my own thing as long as I didn't interfere too much?"

-"You broke our deal, Jessie! You were supposed to lie low, but here you are interfering with a wild pokemon's yearly migration! I need to bring you in."

"That's ridiculous! Look, we've had attacks not just from migrating Squirtle, but Tirtouga, Chewtle and even Turtwig! Those are non-native to the region! You cannot be so blind as to ignore the obvious problems The Warband is causing!"

-"I-... I didn't actually catch that part. But it doesn't matter, we'll interrogate you when we get back to HQ. Pichu, shock them again! ...Pichu?" But the mouse had heard what Jessie said and, having just removed the last of the acid, marched up to the beached pokemon.

-"Pichu?"

"Of course it's true. Look here." Handing over a strange twig, Jessie allows themselves to flop back into the water.

-"Pichu, what's going on? What is that?"

-"Pi... Pichu pi? Chu chu?"

*surfacing* "Yes. I'm sure of it. One of our recent battles with them confirmed it. They've gathered pokemon from all over. Not just from this region and Kanto. This is no natural migration."

Holding the twig tightly, Pichu carefully considers everything she was told.

-"Pichu come on! We can't quit now! Here, just hold him steady. I'll take care of him!"

Once more the capture stylus forms a tight ring around him, spinning faster and less predictably as not to be broken once more. Pichu fixes Jessie with a gaze, one returned unflinchingly by the Tentacool as the loop finishes it's job and encircles him.

-"Yes! Capture complete! Now we... now, why? Why aren't you captured?" Staring at his styler, a bright error message [ L] displays on screen.

"Wanna know why it failed? Because I do get it. You conveyed your feelings to me perfectly. I fully understand why you want me to stop and I accept your reasoning."

-"Then why?"

"Because I need YOU to understand MY feelings! I'm NOT going to abandon these pokemon, my friends, my FAMILY to fight these battles on their own! I may have been born a human, but I'm a pokemon now, damnit! So I'm going to fight as a pokemon and defend the people I care about, no matter what you or any ranger has to say about it!"

"And do you know WHY it is we're fighting so hard? Because we are being MURDERED by swarms of pokemon that don't even appear in this region naturally! The Warband has brought in invasive species, not just to here, but to every place they've visited so far, for the sole purpose of killing local pokemon and stealing their resources! The proof is right there, in your partner's paws!"

-"What? Am I understanding him correctly, Pichu?" But the little mouse only holds aloft the twig. The ranger's device recognizes something, scanning the bit of branch and registering a new pokemon, Turtwig.

Almost immediately, an automatic notification sounds from the styler.

[WARNING! THIS POKEMON IS NOT NATIVE TO THIS HABITAT. THIS NON-NATIVE POKEMON HAS NO TRAINER ID ATTACHED. CAPTURE AND CONTAINMENT IS TOP PRIORITY. POKEMON HQ: JOHTO, HAS BEEN NOTIFIED.]

-"How did we miss something like this? Jessie! Why didn't you tell me about this earlier?"

"Hey, I tried! As soon as I got the proof you wanted that this wasn't a natural phenomenon, I sent Dexter out to find you! Did they not show up?"

-"The Pidgey? No, I never got approached by a Pidgey... Hey, I'm sorry. I messed up here. Even before the evidence, I should have trusted you about this. You've always been straight with me and I should have shown a little bit more faith."

"Yeah, no kidding. Electricity really hurts, you know?"

-"Pi... chu."

-"Yeah, our fault. Sorry. But hey, do you mind telling me where you got his? I'd like to have an accurate report for HQ."

-"Jessie?"

"Don't get mad."

-"Jessie!"

"I maaaay have been a little bit more lax with your 'lie low' suggestion than I should have been."

-"Oh. My god!"

"In my defense. IN MY DEFENSE! It was bullying my kid."

-"Pi. Pichu chu."

-"Wh- No it's not 'all good'! Who's side are you on here?"

"...That's odd. I could have sworn those Squirtle would be here by now. They were spotted almost ten minutes ago."

-"Strange, you're right. They may not be built for running, but their swim speed is something else...! Jessie, is there any chance that the Squirtle saw our battle and decided to go 'around' us, moving through the trees?"

"Well... shit."