Chapter Seven – The Interview
The next half hour or so was a blur; officers and paramedics arriving and buzzing about like agitated Combee, I have to explain what I found several times, I even got accused of being the person responsible for his death once or twice. I had hoped to put all this behind me after I stopped being a Ranger, but it looks like life always has other plans. It didn't take too much longer before I was put on the spot to give my official statement.
"Alright, Mr. Samiel, tell us what happened from the top one more time for the official record."
I sigh, pinching the bridge of my nose, before reluctantly acquiescing.
"Okay. At approximately 1:30 pm, I left Mauville City to make my way to Slateport, I had plans to make it there tomorrow morning and set up a gym challenge. I had a couple of battles on my way here, there's a fisherman and a hiker who can corroborate that. I had my Sandile walking around on his own, he was my Ranger partner and he's more comfortable outside of a pokéball, and at approximately 3:00, I heard him get upset and begin growling at something. I followed my way over to him, and that's when I found the body. I immediately set up a makeshift perimeter to prevent anyone from stumbling upon the scene after I already had. I looked around the site of the incident for a few minutes, hoping to find his identification or anything of note that may have been left behind, and the only thing I found was his badge case that I took out of his inner vest pocket. I found his trainer card, realized he was a League registrant, and that's when I made the call to your department at 3:11 pm. I have since given the badge case to the lead investigator. I've been here the whole time, waiting on your team and warding off any potential passersby that may have walked by. There were none. That's it."
After a moment, he finished taking his notes and nodded back to me.
"Thank you for your help, Ranger. Off the record now though, there will most likely be a local news crew driving up here shortly to interview you, and between you and me, they're well-known for being selective with what parts of the interview they intend to air."
By which he means they're going to twist whatever I say to fit their own agenda. Magnificent. I better watch what I say, or I'll be a TV sensation by the time I even make it to Slateport.
I thanked the officer and let him get back to his job, before I took my position a safe distance away from the scene of the incident and waited for the media to arrive, and within minutes I heard their news van making its way up the path. I waved at them as they drove right past me, watching patiently as they hop out and run over to an officer asking for whoever was the first on the scene, and made eye contact with the interviewer. She hesitated for a couple of minutes, making sure they had plenty of B-roll footage of the crime scene and the investigation itself, before she turned and started making her way over to me with her cameraman.
"Alright, Toothpick. It's showtime. Be good and we'll be back on the road in no time."
The pair catch up to me in no time, and with probably a little too much excitement given the circumstances, they jump straight into filming with no small talk or niceties. It's okay, I've been on TV a couple of times, I know how this charade goes. She begins speaking directly to her camera, with me posted a little bit behind her to the left. Maybe she's got a height complex if she wants to seem just a couple of inches taller on television.
"This is Gabby with the Hoenn Herald, here on Route 110 at the location of a grisly incident! A League-registered trainer with seven badges to his name lost his life today, and this man here is the Pokémon Ranger who was the first on the scene. Tell us, what exactly happened here?"
What, you don't want my name or anything? That's a little rude. But that's showbiz. Time to do my part.
"I came upon the scene right around three in the afternoon, and my partner here was actually the one to discover the body. I needed to make sure no bystanders had to see this, so I set up a perimeter to keep people at a safe distance until the police arrived."
"That's very noble of you! What actually happened to him though? The officials have the area roped off, saying it's an active crime scene."
She's trying to lead me into a specific answer, trying to get details the police won't give the press. Investigative journalism my ass, they just want something sensational to run in the news.
"The investigation is still underway, so there's no details I can give at the moment. All I can say for certain is that it's a great tragedy what happened to this young man."
"It really is. My heart goes out to him and his family." She says feigning sympathy. "But is it true that his party of Pokémon is nowhere to be found? He was a trainer with aspirations of challenging the Elite Four, his team should be with him everywhere, wouldn't you think?"
How does she know that…? She just got here, she's had no time to dig for clues or harass the officers. I can't exactly lie about it, or they'll paint me as suspicious. I have to keep it vague.
"That much is true. I don't know where his team is. They weren't with him when I found him. I've been on the scene for less than an hour myself, I left the forensic investigation to the professionals."
She nods in understanding, making sure the cameraman knows to catch footage of the scene from a distance. She continues with her interrogation.
"If his party isn't around, would you suspect foul play is involved? Perhaps there were poachers that saw his team of rare Pokémon and decided to take matters into their own hands to make some quick money. Or worse yet, maybe another group of terrorists like Team Rocket took them, taking his party for their own gain and profits. A Ranger like you has to have seen some truly evil things in your time, what's your professional opinion?"
I don't like her. Not one bit. She's a good actor and she's using it to push a media agenda. Worse yet, I think she has an inkling of my past. I haven't been an active Ranger in years, and I made some poor decisions with the people I spent my time in the interim with. It isn't as if that's not easily discovered with a quick internet search of my identity. I have to play it cool and keep a level head.
"I genuinely don't know what exactly happened here, but I personally don't believe foul play was involved. You'll have to get the details from the official report, but my guess is that this was an attack from a wild Pokémon. I can't give any more insight than that until the investigation is complete."
A small smirk flashed onto her face for a moment, then vanished just as quickly. Oh no. What did I say wrong?
"Thank you very much for your insight, Ranger Samiel. Like you said, this truly was a tragedy, and let's pray this doesn't happen to anyone else. Please stay safe out there, Trainers. This is Gabby with the Hoenn Herald, signing off."
What the fuck…? She didn't ask for my name. She DID know who I was before interviewing me. This is going to be a disaster. She shakes my hand quickly before her and her cameraman take off back towards their news van, speeding off without another word to the officers or myself. I have the worst feeling about this. I make sure to update that officer I spoke with before, and he looks at me with genuine sympathy, nothing like the false look Gabby had plastered on earlier.
"I'm sorry, son. They do this a lot. These might be a busy next few weeks for you. I say go on and get to town, I'll get in touch with the Leader Aleister and let him know to expect you and prioritize your challenge. It's the least I can do. You were an honest help to us here, that Hoenn Herald is just a trashy program. I doubt they will, but our department will side with the truth if they take the time to interview any of our officers. Take care of yourself out here."
I thank him, being sure to give him my contact information if there's any more questions, and within minutes I'm back on my trek. Little did I know, this little interview would point my journey in a direction I'd never expected.