The Maltese Talonflame Chapter 1: The Cerise Letter

[Newt]

"Hey, why are you forgetting me?! I will come along with you to the forest."

Kayn says, and starts following Aster to the ground floor, waiting for the taxi.

 

[Yash]

~Underground district Investigation Team~

As Serra flags down a cab and enters, Horace and Elias run towards the front door, hopping into the cab just behind her. "I'll stick with you guys. You seem much more knowledgeable than the others and the faster I learn, the better it is for me." The taxi driver asks,"Anybody else and where do I drop you?" Elias, being the last to leave the room knew nobody else would join them and says, "Nobody else is coming. We can go to the Goldenrod Tunnels." The cab then starts as the group heads towards the underground tunnels. The entrance to the tunnels is 12 blocks away, and the trio reach within 15 minutes. After paying for the cab, they walk towards the nearby lanes which house Goldenrod's infamous underground district. On entering, they can see many small groups of people, talking with each other, vendors of various sorts, a few girls offering rather shady massage services and a few poorly maintained entrances to the buildings surrounding the alleys. Elias turns to the two, "So, what are we looking for? Do you have any idea what we are trying to find?"

 

 

~Ilex forest Investigation Team~

As Jayden calls for another taxi, after Serra and her group leaves, Kayn and Aster come behind him. They enter the taxi and set off towards Ilex forest. Due to slight traffic, the trip takes longer than expected as cabs don't leave the city. The taxi drops the trio at the edge of the city limits and they start walking to reach the forest after 1.5 hours. They make their way towards the gatehouse to enter the forest. A vendor is present in the gatehouse, with water, soda and some snacks. A sofa set for weary travelers, some magazines and plants adorn the otherwise bare room. A guard sits at the desk and looks up inquisitively at the three arrivals.

 

 

~Interrogation Team~

Steve looks at Adara first and then Jeanne. Emilia sends Katie back and holds up a glass of water. "Here, have this and calm yourself down." She puts her hand on his shoulder and gives it a squeeze, to try and reassure him. Steve turns to face her and he visibly relaxes. He takes the glass from her and drinks water. After finishing the glass, he keeps it on the table and with a deep breath says, "Ok. I'll try my best to give you as many details as I can. Thank you for being so nice, all of you." He turns to face Adara and Jeanne as well. "I was given the case by an executive of Silph Co. He seemed to be relatively well positioned since he had his own car and everything. He told me to drop it at the Radio tower where I would find professor Oak. He gave me the payment and I left early in the morning. I made my way through the forest with relative ease, since we don't hear many such cases happening in the forest. Sure there is the occasional mugging and theft, but nothing that has ever been this well planned. I had no idea what was in the case, so I had it in my bag and went about it like any other delivery. I have a Houndoom that the company gives us when on trips, but this time since it was supposed to be a relatively easy and short delivery I was given one of the newer Houndour. I was supposed to train it a little on the way, so that it would be used to deliveries. Probably midway through, we were ambushed by two people dressed in black clothes. A web hit and caught the Houndour and when I turned to see who attacked us, I saw large Ariados which used Scary Face on me and then a Girafarig which used confusion. That is why I was so terrified all this time. They took my bag, and left after that, so I cleaned the webs out of Shaggy, that's the Houndours name, and ran straight towards the city. Luckily I found a cyclist who gave me a ride towards the city so I could reach here soon. That is really all I can tell you." He stops talking and is looking a bit sad at being defeated so easily. Emilia sits next to him and puts her arm over his shoulder, "That is fine, Steve. You did all you could. You gave us enough to have a look and try to find the case. Girls, any questions for Steve?" She looks at the two recruits standing next to the boy.

[IntSys]

"We're looking for a small, light briefcase, as well as a smaller silver case, and in the worst case scenario, a purple Pokeball. For now, we're going to prioritize on the briefcase, while still keeping an eye on what could look like its contents," Serra told Elias. "We don't have many leads so far, so our best bet - until we hear words from the folks working on Steve - is examining the vendors here. Be sure to ask if they've seen black-clothed men passing by. It doesn't mean much with all the shady people around, but it's worth a try."

"Let's go together. We'll start from the vendor there," Serra pointed at one of the vendors.

[DemICE]

 

Horace eyed the afformentioned vendors.

"As good a start as any i guess." ,he agreed.

 

He approached the vendor who was selling some random items and pretended to be interested in the merchandise before picking an arguably expensive item; a max revive. 

"Hello, how much for this?"

[Anime]

Adara listened carefully to Steve, who was calm thanks to the efforts of Katie and Emilia, as he told them what happened, starting from getting the briefcase from the Silph Co. Executive to the theft of said briefcase by black-clothed men. "Hm, I see.. This 'Excecutive', what can you tell us about him? have you known him for a while or did you only meet him when you got the briefcase?'' Said Adara as she looked him in the eyes "don't feel pressured, take your time to reply."

[Yours Truly]

On 3/9/2018 at 4:24 AM, DemICE said:

 

Horace eyed the afformentioned vendors.

"As good a start as any i guess." ,he agreed.

 

He approached the vendor who was selling some random items and pretended to be interested in the merchandise before picking an arguably expensive item; a max revive. 

"Hello, how much for this?"

The vendor was a large and rather jolly looking man with a small nametag on his shirt that rather garishly proclaimed his name, or at least his pseudonym to be 'Stacker Dave'. He leaned in and smiled rather warmly as he replied to Horace's question with a crisp English accent, "Ah I see that you are a serious trainer indeed sir to recognize the value inherent in this particular item, and I must say that Stacker Dave can proudly state that this item comes with an official letter of authenticity that comes straight from the manufacturer themselves, as I obtain all of my stock legally unlike those ever suspicious oriental shops that get their stock after it fell of a truck." He then pointed straight at the price tag that Horace had apparently ignored earlier that stated its price to be, "Only 6 thousand Dollars! Which is quite a steal for something as rare as this!."

[DemICE]

Horace did his best attempt of mock-disappointment, as he pretended to search his wallet and letting an exasperated sigh of "Dammit you can't be serious! Well, Mr. Dave, it seems i only have four thousand on me for some reason. I usually carry at least ten. Do not fret though, as i will simply come back for this after i fetch some cash."  He then scratched his head to give an air of indifference as he asked "Incidentally, have you seen anyone carrying a briefcase around here pretty recently?"

[Yours Truly]

On 3/9/2018 at 10:45 PM, Amine Chankey3ft7 said:

Adara listened carefully to Steve, who was calm thanks to the efforts of Katie and Emilia, as he told them what happened, starting from getting the briefcase from the Silph Co. Executive to the theft of said briefcase by black-clothed men. "Hm, I see.. This 'Excecutive', what can you tell us about him? have you known him for a while or did you only meet him when you got the briefcase?'' Said Adara as she looked him in the eyes "don't feel pressured, take your time to reply."

Steve seemed to be quite sorry to say that he had "I only met the executive once, and that was when he gave me the package; I uhh..didn't really stick around to try and get to know him better afterwards since uhh. I accidentally asked for her name and signature to prove that she had given the package to me..." He seemed to be a bit embarrassed as he went all quiet for a moment, which caused Emilia to give him an odd look before she opened her mouth to say something...and was abruptly cut off when Steve suddenly ejaculated, "THEY HAD REALLY LONG HAIR AND A FEMININE VOICE OKAY!".

A few awkward moments of silence passes before he said, "But anyway his name was Lukas something or other, and he seemed to be a bit...out of place in the office, since I am pretty sure that you don't usually see long haired men sitting in an executive's chair right?."

 

3 hours ago, DemICE said:

Horace did his best attempt of mock-disappointment, as he pretended to search his wallet and letting an exasperated sigh of "Dammit you can't be serious! Well, Mr. Dave, it seems i only have four thousand on me for some reason. I usually carry at least ten. Do not fret though, as i will simply come back for this after i fetch some cash."  He then scratched his head to give an air of indifference as he asked "Incidentally, have you seen anyone carrying a briefcase around here pretty recently?"

Stacker Dave didn't seem to be that worried as he gestured towards a rack containing some revives and said "Well if you are really in need of a little pick me up, I implore you to buy a good and proper revive over here for the low low price of 2000 dollars, and to not resort to feeding your Pokemon one of Wang's dodgy 'energy herbs' that he keeps trying to get people to buy." He leaned in slightly and put on a show of suddenly whispering into Horace's ear in a rather conspiratorial manner, "A friend of mine once tried to give his Raticate some of them, and he swore that it leapt up and tried to bite his leg immediately afterwards! He had to force it to return to its pokeball until he could get to a proper Pokemon center, since it just would not stop attacking him."

 

Dave moved back behind his counter after Horace mentioned that he was looking for a briefcase, and he scratched his head a little before he said, "And you know where you are right? Almost everyone and their Houndour carries a suitcase 'round here."

[IntSys]

Serra would've followed, but she then realized that Horace was handling it -decently- well on his own. She muttered, "scratch that, then," she walked down the tunnel, passing right by Stacker Dave's, and hit up a vendor selling Pokeballs with bizarre designs and supposedly various effects.

Her eyes scanned the visible stocks, before she asked, "I want something with high catch rate... Do you happen to have anything better than a Quick Ball or a Dusk Ball?"

[Aurorix]

Aster crosses his arms as he tries to figure out why someone would set up a stand right out side a forest. It doesn't seem like a prime place to set-up shop either. Also, does a small stand like this really need a guard protecting it? Going up to the guardsman, Aster speaks in a snarky,  "Protecting a small stand like this right outside a forest must be a boring job. I doubt there would be much guard against except for the occasional wild pokemon, unless you couldn't get hired anywhere else."

[DemICE]

Horace started at the rack with the brazenly overpriced revives and had the mild urge to make a sarcastic comment.  Instead he said "Oh, i am already stocked on normal revives. Something more drastic would have been good for emergencies, y'know?. But yeah,  your argument makes sense.  I should have specified if any of them had a particularly black attire. And if not a briefcase, then maybe it could have been a small silver case, or a purple-colored pokeball."

[Yash]

~Underground~

The vendor Serra is talking with, a skinny man, mean looking and a little on the dirty side looks up at the her. He takes out a cloth and starts polishing his wares. He picks up a strange blue coloured pokeball with black lines forming polygons on top of it. He spits on the surface and starts shining it brightly. "It depends, what do you want to catch?" He puts a few different balls in front of him, a red one with yellow markings, a pink one with a heart on it, a blue one with black markings in the shape of a rectangle, an orange one with a black top and a green coloured one with red markings on top.

 

Stacker Dave walks around his stall, getting closer to Horace. "Well, I mean if you go further inside you'll come across the alleyways. There are bound to be some punks there. They keep wearing black clothes. I don't know about any suitcase though." As he says this, he points with his hand towards a divergence in the path about 50 meters or so away. "Why are you looking for them anyway?" He looks curiously at Horace, wondering what the strange man wanted with the punks.

 

~Ilex Forest~

Walking closer to the guard, Aster can see him better now, a man in his mid forties, a slight pot belly and dressed in a blue uniform. After hearing the snarky comments from Aster the guard stands up. He is a rather tall man and stands towering over Aster. Glaring down at the snarky boy he says, "What do you want, punk? Get lost before I hand your ass to you on a platter." As he says this, he pulls out a wooden baton and starts patting it in his other hand in an intimidating manner.

[IntSys]

"... Go over each of the balls for me. They're specialized, I'd assume?" Serra pressed on. "I'm not stocking up for any specific Pokemon in particular. I'm a traveler."

 

...

 

Quote

The vendor sighs, as if he expects a traveler to know the famous balls that are made in Johto. "These are," and he points out to every one as he lists them, "fast balls for fast pokemon, magnemite, grimer and tangela, love balls for if you are trying to catch a mate for your pokemon, net balls for water and bug types and finally level balls to catch younger and weaker wild pokemon."

"You're not doing a good job at impressing me. If that's all you got, then I'll just buy the balls elsewhere," Serra remarked at the vendor's disappointing lineup.

[DemICE]

Horace put on a rather annoyed look while answering "They stole it from a friend of mine. I happen to be able to possibly help him on this." The annoyed look soon turned into a dangerous one as he finished with  "When i find that crook he will be soon regretting it".  He quickly put on a diplomatic smile as he added "In any case,  I think i will go check those alleyways. One of those black-clothed ones might be 'my guy'.  Thanks for the heads up, Mr. Dave"

 

Horace figured he would wait for Serra to finish her conversation with the other vendor before discussing plans with her and Elias.

[Aurorix]

"Woah woah woah, easy there. All I'm wondering is what exactly you are protecting this stand from. If there's some strong pokemon in the forest I'd just like to know some of the highlights." Aster said waving his arms from side to side by his face.

[rustytengo]

"Well we might need to contact Sliph Co and get some information about this Lukas."Jeanne said considering what Steve said. "Hmm Steve can you remember anything about the people who robbed you. Like where they male, female or a mixed group, or anything like there hair or eye color skin ton." She asked Steve after a few moments of thought.

[Yours Truly]

Serra

 

The vendor smiles as he looks at her, "Something even more impressive? Sure, I have something for you." He looks around then quickly boxes up his stuff and says, "Come with me, towards the back side. I don't normally show this to many people, but I have a special ball here. It's very rare and extremely efficient." He walks away towards one of the lanes nearby.

 

Aster

"Are you a moron? Don't you know that at every major check point there are guards to help people in case they need it. The vendor is here because he is smart and gives water and snacks to travelers coming out of the forest at a hefty premium. Most fools underestimate the difficulty of the forest, and often are in desperate need of it when they come. Why, just this morning, one boy came through crying. He probably got lost or scared or something. He didn't even stop here. Just ran straight through. I tried calling out to him, but saw him get on a bicycle with some guy and they went off towards the city." He told Aster and then went back to his seat, realizing that Aster was probably just a dumb kid.

 

Jeanne & Adara

 

Steve looked back towards Jeanne and said, "Honestly, I don't remember much. After that Ariados attacked me, I was pretty scared, and I just didn't think about anything except escaping. I vaguely remember about 2 or 3 people, dressed in black. I think there weren't any girls there, but I cannot say with surety. I can't recall much else about them. They did have fair skin and brown or black hair, but I couldn't say clearly since it was a little darker inside the forest." He looks at Emilia and says, "Could I have some tea or coffee? I'm still shaking from the experience and I'd like something warm."

 

Horace

Stacker Dave amiably waved at Horace's direction as the man walked away, "Take care sir! And remember that you can always come to Stacker Dave's genuine healing item stall if you need any!."

[Yash]

Elias sees Horace and Serra walk about talking to people, and he follows suit. He walks up to a group of pretty girls, dressed in short skirts and blouses, standing a little ways inside the lane. "Hi, how are you today? I'm new to town, and I was wondering if maybe you could help me a little?" he asks them, reaching out with his hand for a handshake. The girls all stand around him and one of them says, "Yes baby, we can help you. What do you need? Tell us what you want and we will do whatever you want us to." Elias, a little shocked by this, suddenly realizes these were the girls offering a massage to people. He turns flushed with embarrassment and turns to one of them and says, "Um, do you think we could talk in private? Somewhere without so many people?" The girl laughs at his state and says, "Sure honey, come with me." and begins leading him towards one of the doors in an alleyway. As they move, the remaining girls start chatting up other men in the area. Taking a moment, Elias tries signalling to Horace to follow him and then starts walking after the girl.

[IntSys]

"Is that so... "

Serra pondered the risks. She could very well be putting herself in a quite vulnerable position here. She sent out Cleffy, and told the vendor "I hope you don't mind a second pair of eyes." She smiled, before following him.

Cleffy drifted around Serra, making a few noises with her dangling keys.

[Yash]

Serra can see him enter into a door momentarily, and then pops out with a mid sized white cloth bag. He opens it to show completely black coloured pokeballs, with no markings on them. He just gives her a peak and then shuts the bag, putting it back inside. "These are special pokeballs that are crafted using rare meteoroid metals. They are said to be some of the best. It's said there are no pokeballs better than these."

[DemICE]

As Horace was watching how Serra was faring, he caught with the side of his eye Elias gesturing at him in a typical "follow me" way, as he was being guided by a woman somewhere.  He figured he'd better help the guy if he needed it, so he discreetly passed by the talking girls and reached the duo.  "What's going on Elias? Oh, hey, lady."

 

 

[Anime]

"This.. executive seems shady.I agree with what Jeanne said," Said Adara before she turned to face Emilia " Would you mind contacting Silph Co, and asking for information about Lukas? i'm fairly sure we'll find out something interesting." I'm starting to think that this Lukas guy is deeply involved in the attack on Steve and sealing the suitcase. However, I do not completely trust this..Steve, he's probably hiding some vital information, i'll need to keep an eye on him, or why not a couple hidden eyes." I have to go to the restroom, i won't take long" She said, as she walked out and headed straight to the ladies restrooms. She locked the door and made sure than she was alone. "come on out Barth." She said as she threw the ball forward which opened and Gastly emergd from a flash of blue light. "I need your help my friend! Stay invisible and keep your eyes on Steve. Be careful!" Barth nodded, as if to show his agreement, then it disappeared and headed towards the cafeteria.

A few minutes later, Adara was back in the cafeteria, and said" Sorry for the wait." Then she waited for Emilia to give a reply about contacting Silph Co

[Yash]

Elias & Horace

Elias looks at Horace and says, "This nice lady agreed to help us newcomers. She said she will answer our questions." Saying that, he moves between her and the exit of the alley. "So miss, I wanted to know if you heard of any gangs robbing people in or around the city?" The girl, now a little worried, steps a little back and says, "Look I have no idea what your deal is, but you better let me go before you get into trouble. I'm just trying to work here. Why are you bothering me?" Realising she is uncomfortable, he says,"Oh I'm sorry. I don't mean to bother you too much. We will just take 10 minutes of your time. We will even compensate you for it. How's that sound?" He smiles at her, trying to be more pleasant. A little hesitant, she looks at them suspiciously, and then says, "Fine. You have 5 minutes. I have heard of a few people who are robbed in the city, but those are minor muggings, not by any gang. There are rumours however, that there is a gang active outside the city somewhere. I'm not sure who they are nor where they are active." Elias turns to Horace and asks, "Do you want to add anything?"

 

Adara, Jeanne & Emilia

Emilia looks at both the girls strangely, wondering what they were thinking. "Sure, I can find out more about Lukas, but what reasoning do you have to suspect him? I mean besides the obvious one that he wanted to steal the item." She then turns to Steve and says, "Yes dear, hold on, I'll get you a tea." and walks towards the cafe, while Adara excuses herself and moves towards the restroom. On the way, she pulls up her xtransceiver and sends a text to the IT team to get them details about the Silph Co. executive, Lukas. She has a file about him based on his social media accounts, and any other public records about him. She shares the file with Adara and Jeanne on their xtransceiver. While reading the file, she carries the tea back to Steve and hands it to him. "Here you go, Steve. Adara, Jeanne, I've shared Lukas' file with both of you. Take a look at your xtransceiver." She continues reading.

 

The file contains basic details about Lukas. Born and brought up in Kanto, the young man is the son of one of the directors at Silph Co. and has been trained from birth to work there. He was exceptionally brilliant at school and has been listed in Silph's Top 30 under 30 category. The man had a brilliant start to his career, and is expected to replace his father as director of the Product Innovation department, once Mr. Jacobs retires.

[rustytengo]

Jeanne looked over the data she was given on Lukas, She didn't see anything in it that would make him a likely suspect. "So Steve just to make sure this is the man that named Lukas that you meet with right?" She asked well holding up a picture of Lukas she was found in the data. After giving him a bit she continues. "I have an idea that might help you remember more. Its not guaranteed to work, but would you be okay going along with it?" She asked giving him a cute smile.

[IntSys]

"... No Pokeballs better than these, you say?"

Then why didn't they mug you instead?

 

"How do I know that you're telling the truth?" Serra pressed on, her eyes slowly revealing a hint of skepticism. Of course, she just confirmed that the balls didn't fit the description, but would it hurt to test the limits of the vendor?