Somehow he heard it, even from within his pokeball.  The bell was ringing softly upon his neck, and only he could hear it as he woke up.  A voice murmured to him from far away as he slowly closed his eyes.  The next time he opened them, he was out of his pokeball in his trainer's room.  James was still asleep, his tail barely hanging out of the sheets.  Kirie had not noticed him, her stasis of rest too focused on other things to do so.  The bell began to ring once more, as he turned towards the window before he closed his eyes once again.
The wind whistled through his skull, walking along the smooth path towards the Pal Park.  He couldn't even remember walking this far, but somehow he knew where he wanted to go.  The locked entrance was no obstacle again, as the bell ringed once more, with Isaac closing his eyes.  Green forests exploded before him, suddenly finding himself upon lush green grass with trees all around him.  The wind slowly picked itself up, pushing him towards the forest area.
Most of the park creatures were asleep, other than the occasional insect or curious spirit floating through the trees, will o' wisps that glinted a soft sweetening blue.  Isaac stared up at them, barely conscious of what was around him as his footsteps trudged heavily onto soft soil.  Occasionally a spirit would try to approach him, either another haunter or the lesser-evolved ghastly, a gaseous ball with mocking eyes staring down unto Isaac.  But the moment any spirits would approach, the bell would tinkle softly.
Fear would burn into their eyes, as the sound of the little bell chased them away with horrified looks before disappearing into the woods.  Isaac giggled sweetly, dragging his bone club behind him in the dirt as he kept searching for something.  The bell occasionally rang within the breeze whenever he looked in one direction, guiding him cautiously.  Soon, he found himself within the centre of the woods, a small clearing allowing him to see better within the pale moonlight.  A full moon hung above him, making him gasp with awe at such beauty.

Isaac walked towards the centre, shoving his club into the dirt as he dragged it hard behind him, giggling happily as he walked in a haphazard circle.  One straight line, before making a curving straight, and finally a diagonal slant.  By the time he was finished with his little drawing in the dirt, a creature came from behind him.  A large green creature, the shine of its blades in the moonlight glinting at the corner of the cubone's eye, as the child turned and swung out with his club bravely to face the scyther.
Were Kirie here, she would have translated the words between these two as thus, the scyther speaking first with an old grizzled voice towards Isaac.
	"Child...what are you doing here far away from your master?"
	"I...that's none of your business!"
	"Hmph...this is my territory.  ALWAYS it has been my territory.  Any business of yours here is also mine."
	"I-i was looking for my mommy!  She's helping me find her!"
	"Your mother?"
	"She's somewhere far away, and I'm trying to get back to her.  So she gave me this bell, that'll help me find her if it ever rings somewhere!"
	"And this...bell...has guided you to my territory?"
	"Yup, it did!  Have YOU seen my mommy anywhere?!"
	"No."
Isaac looked slightly crestfallen at hearing this, looking around before the scyther said:
	"Why did you make those markings on the ground behind you?"
	"Huh?  ...I...dunno, I don't...remember doing that.  Did I do something bad?"
	"No.  It is nothing to worry about.  You should leave however, return to your master before the night turns darker."
	"Nah-uh!  I'm not leaving until I find my mommy!"
	"I have already told you that I have not seen her."
	"She's gotta be here!  Her bell told me, sh-she told me something was around here!  Something I gotta find!"
	"Do not test my patience child, I will not ask again before I force you."
	"Then I'll fight you!  I'm not leaving until I find what I need to find!"
	"You do not even know what it is you want here."
	"I'll know when I see it!  If yer gonna make me leave, then I'll make you leave me alone because I'm not gonna stop looking for my mommy!"
	"...fine."
The scyther raised his bladed arms towards Isaac, who stood boldly with a small bone club as he waited for the first attack.
	"You are a determined child, but is it enough to withstand me?"
He struck first as Isaac guarded, scythe clashing upon bone as the cubone fell back from such strength before getting back up.  He charged forwards with his club, smacking the scyther hard in the leg before being smacked across the shoulder lightly.  Knocking Isaac away slightly, the insect swung down with the blunt edge of his scythe-arms unto Isaac's head, the little one dodging clumsily into a sideroll before leaping up to strike his opponent's waist.
It barely hurt the scyther, but that did not stop the cubone from trying again before the scyther swung the flat edge of his scythe against the cubone's head.  Smacking him down with a Faint Attack, he watched the little one shake his head clear of the dull attack before Isaac rushed him once again, striking with the bone club repeatedly against the scythe-bladed arms.  Clashing with a furious swing from the cubone, Shin tried to kick him away densely, but Isaac jumped to avoid the leg sweep before trying to strike Shin on his scarred head.

The cubone's speed was barely enough to keep up with the much faster experienced scyther, who while did not aim to harm Isaac, did enough to bruise him as a deterrent.  But Isaac did not stop, not even after a rather strong smack across the skull-covered face that made him roll hard to one side.  The stinging blow made him whimper, eyes welling up as he struggled not to cry.  He sniffed hard before standing up once more, charging for the legs and dodging between them before smacking Shin hard in the back of his knee.
The scyther buckled slightly, but in response he turned and spun with his wings, scratching hard across Isaac's face and slamming him down by the sheer force.  He was turning weak, struggling to stand up as he leaned on his club, the little nostrils starting to drip small droplets of blood.  He rubbed them clear with one arm as he challenged:
	"I'm not going anywhere, you can't stop me!"
	"Your tenacity is foolish," said the scyther, "your ignorance should not be confused with innocence.  Now leave, before I am forced to make you submit."
	"No!  My mommy's here, she told me she was here, her bell's ringing look!"
	"It is a windy night child, do not let your superstitions guide you blindly.  Leave.  Now."
	"NO!"
With no other choice, the scyther flew towards Isaac with a bullrush attack, ready to knock him out in one non-lethal blow before something clashed against him.  Isaac had his eyes closed, ready to brace for impact as he winced in preparation.  Yet nothing clashed against him, despite hearing the sound of scraping blades.  He looked up.  A raptor now stood with his back to him, snarling towards Shin.
	"Get.  Away from him."
	"Scy?!"
	"You even think of hurting him and I will break your fucking face."
Swinging hard with one furious shove, the raptor drew his scissors out to one side as the scyther leapt back, avoiding the attack as James readily wielded his blades before him.  Kirie floated beside him, observing the battle in her mistral presence.  Isaac smiled up at them, rather thankful yet also knowing he had to feel shameful for a lecture in future.
	"You alright Isaac?" asked FG.
	"C-cuuuu."
	"Heh...don't worry, everything's alright now.  I'm here."
	He is a little wounded, but nothing troubling.  It appears the scyther was trying to make him leave.
	"...heh...least you got the decency not to slash a little kid in the face."
	"Scy-ther.  Scy, scy, ther."
	"Huh?"
	He says that your cubone wandered here of his own free will.  He had no intention of hurting him.
	"Hmm...alright, fair enough...what else is he saying now?"
	Apparently Isaac was looking for his mother, that apparently his bell was ringing and guiding him.  He is offering us a chance to leave, for he has no quarrel with us.
	"Heh, really?  ...hold up then, let's offer a truce.  He doesn't wanna fight us that badly and I'm not gonna give him a reason, would you tell him that?"

Kirie nodded and offered the truce, to which Shin nodded before asking what James was, and why his cubone was acting so strangely.  James in turn sheathed his blades and explained who he was as well as that they were indeed looking for Isaac's mother, and that her bell was said to guide him to her.  Kirie in turn explained more discreetly that they were looking for any potentially-related incidents with a criminal human gang, while out of earshot from Isaac.
Shin rubbed his chin curiously, the flat edge of the blade scraping harmlessly before explaining his own mission, which Kirie explained.
	Shin says that he came here as part of a promise to a Kangaskhan from the Johto Safari Zone, allowing himself to be "captured" as part of an exchange program with the Pal Park.  Apparently there have been abductions over the past few months of several pokemon from the Johto Safari Zone, and that a group of humans are responsible for them.
	"Kidnappings?  What did these humans look like?"
	Shin knows that they are humans who wear entirely black clothing, as well as an odd symbol upon their chests.  That symbol, the one Isaac carved out with his bone.
James looked towards the disturbed grass, seeing it form a rather large letter R.  Something tried to click in his memory, but nothing came to him.  The scyther further explained through Kirie that:
	He now has an interest as to our mission, perhaps believing that they are connected somehow.  Especially since Isaac has made such an interesting symbol.
	"Well," said FG, "I DO remember some guys before who were all black but...I don't remember any of them having a letter R on them...one thing's bothering me though.  Why did a DIFFERENT pokemon ask you for help, Shin?"
	He made a promise to repay her, after she saved his life once from being attacked by said human criminals.  Scythers are bound by honour, they have a strong mentality for it within their lives.
	"Hah, he really is like some kind of bug samurai...hhheh...hehehehe."
	What?
	"...shame he ain't a cockroach.  A samurai cockroach."
	...that is not funny James.
	"Come on, I can see you smirking, right there."
Kirie could not help herself and creased her lips into a widening small smile.
	Alright, you win that time, hmhmhm!
	"So...do you think...Isaac's bell led us to him?"
	What do you mean?
	"I mean...pokemon kidnappings right?  You remember back in Cerulean City, those two guys in black tried to kidnap that little girl's pokemon?  I mean that sounds a pretty specific MO there."
	Indeed...perhaps we-...wait...what was that?
A sound began to rumble from the distance, almost like that of thunder from far away.  It wasn't until they saw the smoke rising from the mountain area that they realised it was something else entirely.

Around this time of night, another James was sitting in his office in Cerulean City, reading over various reports.  Most of them were inconsequential and not worth his attention, filing them away for other various misdemeanours.  The evening was rolling in, and he had nothing but a half-eaten sandwich beside him that he occasionally pecked at to silence his stomach.  He was thankful for an interruption in the form of a knock on the door.
	"Come in."
A woman garbed in blue entered, her long black hair and small features making James smile softly.
	"Any luck on foot Victoria?"
	"Not yet," she said, "just the occasional sighting or two but usually just suspicions.  There were some reports along Route 18 but those were just bikers."
	"Ah..."
	"Anything interesting outside of Kanto there James?"
	"Some drug-running scheme in Hoenn that's unrelated to this case, mostly in the form of illicit pokeblocks...a gang seen in the Orre region with possible connections to a group in Unova...and this."
He produced the one report he was interested in, coming from Canalave City in the island region of Sinnoh.  The report detailed the unusual financial occurrences of a trade delivery company, which was currently under investigation owing to allegations made against them in having uneven manifests of cargo and possible tampering.  Victoria's eyes widened somewhat.
	"This the same company that got raided in Vermillion?"
	"Yep, Swift Star Deliveries."
	"Tampering with cargo?  That's pretty odd."
	"Seems the allegations are about them being incorrect about how much they carry or deliver, and someone's been accusing them of stealing some of the cargo for themselves.  Weird thing is, these other reports here from farther back?  Similar allegations that were silenced quite shortly after they were made."
	"You think this company's playing dirty?"
	"Certainly not showing everything they have."
	"Guess not...oh, John was looking for you, he's got the camera footage all ready."
	"Ah good.  Stay on your toes, might have more work for you if this all goes well."
	"Heh, sure, make me exercise enough for ALL the department why dontcha?"
	"You have a pokewalker, I don't, works out for everyone right?"
With a small smirk to each other, he headed out towards a room across the office halls to where John was, passing through a wide area full of small desks where humans and pokemon sat together.  The occasional bickering or phone call filtered in and out of James' hearing before reaching his destination.  A room with several large computers, almost like a security desk specifically for analysing data, recordings and encryptions of all kinds.  Only John was in the room, busily working away at a dual-screen monitor until he heard the door open.
	"Hey James, come on in!"
	"Whatcha got for me John?"
	"Take a look at this, I think I have your intruder here."

Corck walked up to watch the camera footage, as John put up two similar-looking recordings with a knowing smile on two separate screens.  At first nothing seemed any different as the surveillance recordings played the exact same scene.  Two crates halfway in shot, as well as the ground and the wall to the left and far back.  But soon a body came into view, which even in the monochrome display was rather obvious as to who it was.  A man wearing jeans and a white T-shirt, with a haunter floating around his head.
	"Well," said Corck, "definitely know who our suspect is."
	"Sure do," said John.
	"Nice they have Silph cameras, expensive but easy for us."
	"But here's where it gets interesting.  "Now, the left screen is what the company gave me.  The right screen is what I took from their data banks.  Notice anything?"
At first both of them synced up perfectly, the person speaking to his haunter and investigating over the crates.  The left screen however seemed to just show him continuing to investigate, but the right screen showed him doing something more as Corck asked:
	"...what's he doing on the right?"
	"Looks like he's throwing something inside the crate."
	"Can you zoom in on that?"
	"Lessee..."
John paused both screens before typing in various commands to the data program, enlargening the resolution and focusing on one section of the data bank recording.  A pokeball was clearly seen being thrown out of the intruder's hand, making John look quizzically at the footage.
	"Well...that's a weird way to steal cargo."
	"Not if the cargo's pokemon," answered Corck.
	"Well it was magikarp right?"
	"Why would you use one pokeball per crate to steal what was apparently several hundred pounds of magikarp and other such fish?  No, something else is up with this."
The screens kept on playing, and while the left screen simply showed the intruder suddenly smokescreening the place for a getaway using a charmander, the right screen produced even more.  A woman suddenly came into view and tasered the intruder from behind with a long electric prod, after he had checked all four crates.
	"So she attacked him first," said Corck.  "Interesting how she didn't mention that when we spoke to her."
	"You'd think you'd remember attacking a thief with an electric prod, right?"
	"Right...weird his haunter doesn't attack back though-wait...what's that?"
	"...was that a fireball?!"
Soon the man had hurled something from his hand, a tiny spark coming out as the woman fell back.  She slipped on a puddle that had appeared all of a sudden, and the battle raged on off-camera.  But they could also see the shine of a pokeball opening, and a much larger creature's shadow coming out of it.  Eventually, the man rushed back, clearly wounded before the smokescreen came out with charmander included.

Both John and James looked at each other oddly, not entirely sure what to make of the scene.  John could only ask:
	"What do we...do now?"
	"...we follow up on the company," said Corck, "check on their past deliveries in the last two months."
	"W-wait wait, James, don't tell me you didn't SEE that!"
	"See what?"
	"Wha-buh-that guy shot FIRE from his hand!"
	"Or his haunter used trickery to make it look such.  People can't shoot fire from their hands, this isn't a videogame John."
	"Right...so what about this guy then?"
	"Get a still of him pulled from the recording as clear as you can.  Regardless of his intentions, he's still an intruder onto private property.  He's also the only one we know who can clear up this mess a li'l better for us."
	"You gonna put him out on the wanteds?"
	"No, let's not spook him.  Right now I'm not pursuing him as a criminal but as a witness, I just need a good image of him to show people and have Victoria ask around for him.  I don't think he had malicious intentions at hand.  You don't go from being a have-a-go hero to a warehouse thief in a day."
	"You think maybe the two incidents are related?"
	"No, not yet.  I dunno who this company is, let's treat this as its own incident for now."
	"Alright then...any news on that Marowak case?"
	"Nothing so far...nothing definite at least."
	"Hey."
John gently patted Corck's shoulder reassuringly.
	"Don't worry, we're gonna solve this.  We're gonna finally put her to rest."
	"I know we will, the case has been dead for five years, a few more days of caution won't hurt now that I've traced things back to Kanto."
	"Heh, guess criminals never stray far enough from their crimes."
	"Unless they're in exile," added Corck, "and that's only when they KNOW they've been found.  Not this bastard though.  He's hiding somewhere.  He's slipped up a few times, I just need another mistake of his to get his exact location."
	"Mmhmm...they ever figure out the weapon yet after the Route 39 incident?"
	"Not yet no...not like anything that's ever been made before, but the wounds are consistent and similar to the Marowak's, right down to the grooves.  But something's off."
	"It always is," said John, "how many so far?"
	"Twelve.  If we take the Marowak case into account that makes seventeen.  Two Nidoqueens, two Pidgeots, three Swamperts, a Golem, a Meganium, a Leafeon, a Flareon-"
	"Mother-daughter case right?" added Hoffman.
	"Right, a Rapidash, a Ninetales, a Chansey, a Seel, a Dewgong, and the Miltank we had recently.  The weapon managed to affect different types of pokemon all with the same lethality, the wounds almost as if exposing the exact weakness of that pokemon and fatally wounding from the inside.  I'd expect at least the Golem to handle a blow like that, but not even they can handle this weapon."
	"It wasn't even the first hit that did them in, just has to be near enough any of their vital organs, which almost all of them were too many times for it to be coincidental.  So our killer's someone who knows pokemon anatomy.  I don't even wanna think the weapon could be-"
	"If it is," said Corck, "then this is one very dangerous individual."
	"Right.  Any news following up from Celadon City?"
	"They checked all the houses and nothing's come up.  Not in Saffron City either, but we know the Miltank was killed underground before somehow ending up all the way back to Johto...someplace that we're missing."
	"I uh, guess Team Rocket still don't have that old hideout of theirs right?  Either the one here or out on Sevii Islands?"
	"Nope, that was all taken down a few years ago according to the port authorities.  Shame they're not that stupid to reuse that place, would make my job easier."
	"Heh, yeah..."

All Corck could do for now was watch the image still of his former witness, frozen in time moments before he made his getaway within the dark smoke.  He murmured to himself softly, trying to unwrap a new mystery he never knew he had.
	"...who are you really, James Campbell?"
	"Hmm?"
	"Nothing, just thinking...I'm gonna talk to Martin, see what he's dug up."
	"Alright, I'll get the still for ya."
	"Thanks."
The detective walked through the Cerulean City police station, passing between offices and cubicles left and right, the local force walking back and forth with miscreants and loyal pokemon in turn.  He hadn't expected to find himself in this city, rather expecting either the larger cities of Saffron or Celadon, or even the port city of Vermillion.  But Cerulean City was understaffed, and as such they needed all the help they could get on handling a further influx of crime in the area.  The grunts he had caught in first meeting James Campbell proved that.
He headed down into the server room of the police station, a cold dark place with rows of dark monoliths staring down the lines with glowing red eyes.  Corck was reminded of the Ruins of Alph that he had once visited back in Johto, only they were more tourist-friendly with stone walls and wide-open rooms.  Here it felt cramped, cold and distant from everything in the world.  The constant whirring of a dozen server fans all throughout the place made him slightly hike up his coat.
Far at the back of the server rooms was another room kept separate.  Traditionally it was the evidence room, the lack of humidity down below making it better to preserve any such items of importance.  But Martin Jimenez was here now, setting up an office in the area and always walking back and forth between both rooms lost in his own little world.  He knocked politely at the server room where he was, causing him to look up from a computer screen glimmering in darkness with a tiny smile.
	"Hmm?  Oh, hey James."
	"Hey there, howsit going with the warehouse break-in?"
	"Not bad, actually found some pretty interesting stuff."
	"Ohhhh I love when you say that, tell me."
	"Heh, right.  Well, firstly, your little test tube of water?"
	"Ah huh?"
	"Sea water obviously, BUT I traced the levels of salinity and they do not match with any of the main region coastlines."
	"Hmm...so not only did those crates not have any magikarp, but they're not even from any carp farms at all."
	"Right.  So I got out my samples and checked with every area possible.  The closest area to your tube?  Sevii Islands."
	"Really?  ...hmmm...bit of a large area though, you have any clue as to which island?"
	"Not really no," said Martin.  "But something DID come up on your crate that was rather interesting...Porygon?!"

From the back of the server rooms there came a strange noise of a phasing existence, shimmering like data through the air or what one would imagine radio waves to sound like unfiltered.  A blue-and-pink creature with wide eyes and incredibly blocky proportions, resembling a rocking horse without rocking part, shifted into existence besides Martin.
	"Could you get me that ultraviolet torch way at the back?"
The porygon smiled with its eyes and teleported away in a glimmer of diamond-shaped data, shifting between dimensions of space as his trainer continued on.
	"Turns out there's a bit of extra information on the crates.  Almost all of them had been wiped clean of anything else, but someone slipped up luckily."
	"Good," said Corck.  "Every mistake they make is a boon for us."
	"You might wanna know also about the skin fragments I found in one crate."
	"...wait, skin fragments?"
	"Yeah...huh, forgot to mention that did I?"
	"Mmhmm."
	"Well, turns out they also missed a few more details, some skin cells were in the cracks in the crates.  Took me a few days to identify after shaving through every sea-water pokemon but you'll be glad to know it isn't magikarp."
	"Hah, of course.  So what was in those crates?"
	"Lapras."
	"...really now."
	"Yep."
	"...well.  This just got interesting.  Falsifying papers AND selling endangered pokemon without a license."
	"It gets weirder.  ...ah, here we go."
Porygon returned with a flash of data and an ultraviolet light, chirruping a sound reminiscent to that of the smoothest dial-up connection conceiveable, before floating patiently and awaiting orders.  Martin beckoned it and Corck to follow him towards the evidence room.  The crates from the warehouse had been taken to here, in a separate larger room for more sizeable pieces of evidence as Martin slowly waved the purple light across the crate's side.
A series of numbers and letters slowly appeared fully across the surface, marked and stamped with special red ink to reveal the following.  C6C2B22C 509A58D3.
	"Wow," said Corck.  "Acetone-based?"
	"Mmhmm.  These numbers mean anything to you?"
	"No, but I'm sure it does to someone.  Must be a shipping code of some sort, contact the boys back in Olivine and relay the number to them."
	"Why not the guys at Vermillion?"
	"You never know how far Team Rocket's spread their influence...even if they are "officially" disbanded, there's always a splinter group somewhere out there.  And I'd rather hear from our boys who we all know well, rather than anyone else here in Kanto for now."
	"Right, makes sense, I-"
At that moment, the sound of rushing footsteps came hurling down the stairs from above, as John stormed in with the door pushed open.
	"James!  You-...oh, hey Martin."
	"...there's a phone you know," said Martin annoyed, "you could have just called."
	"S-sorry, wasn't thinking.  James, you're gonna wanna hear this."
	"What?" asked Corck.  "What's happened?!"
	"...there's been an explosion at the Pal Park."

	"EVERYONE GET BACK!"
	"WATER POKEMON OUT AND READY!"
	"DON'T LET ANY OF IT NEAR THE FOREST!"
	"CALL THE POLICE!"
	"LOOK OUT FOR ANY GRAVELERS ROLLING DOWNHILL, WE DON'T WANT A PILE-UP!"
Chaos reigned within the Pal Park, as James rushed through the forest to see the base of the mountain region become completely consumed by a roaring inferno.  Smoke blackened the night sky, the fire raging to a tremendous size covering 20 feet in area.  Various creatures ran in peril from the fire, especially those of grass-types suddenly uprooting and shrieking as they ran.
The rock-type pokemon were either fearful, outraged, or just plain aggressive enough to try and attack the fire itself, rolling downhill before being forced back by several park rangers, who had arrived onto the scene.  James only recognised one of them, the junior ranger standing beside his sizeable crocodilian friend, both of them panicking at the flames.
	"WH-WHAT DO WE DO!?"
	"CROOO!"
	"N-NO NO, it's okay!  It's just fire, you're water, you can do this!"
	"C-croco!  Cro-NAW!"
	"I KNOW IT'S BIG AND SCARY CLAUDE, I'M SCARED TOO BUT WE GOTTA PUT THIS OUT!  NOW WATER GUN IT, HELP THE OTHERS OUT!"
	"Cro-co!"
Reluctant and clearly fearful, Claude readily blasted a spurt of water towards the fire, assisting the other water pokemon that the other rangers had.  James saw amongst them a giant tortoise with twin water cannons from its back, as well as a large white seal, two sizeable fish and a starmie.  The scene was a bizarre thing to see, but he hoped they could control it as both James and Kirie stayed hidden in the bushes.  Isaac had returned to his pokeball, whilst Shin had run off to his own territory.
	"What you think?" asked James.  "Think it was an accident?"
	I am not sure, we heard an explosion surely.
	"Is there any pokemon that can make an explosion like that?"
	Not to my knowledge no.  Nothing that powerful.
	"Jesus...wait, who's that?"
From the corner of his eye, James saw someone rush past him into the forest, a human-sized figure looking rather flighty.  He decided to give chase, heading through the thickening forest area whilst trying to remain cautious.  Being as discreet as he possibly could amidst rushing leaves and thickened grass, a large clearing was eventually uncovered, where two human figures now stood trying to catch their breath.
	"Didya get it?"
	"Y-yeah...hhhh...shit, didya have to set it to four?"
	"Six woulda taken too long, our evac's almost here and nobody'll notice with all the chaos going on.  We gotta keep everything on a damn tight schedule, Mr. Pearl's orders."
	"Boss should be happy at least.  After we got these."

One of the men gently tossed a pokeball into the air casually, chuckling before putting it back on his belt.  James had no idea what they had done, but he knew at least one thing when he stepped out into the open.  Disguised as a human with Kirie beside him, he began with:
	"I think your boss is gonna be very upset when I'm done with you."
	"Wha-who the hell are you?!  You one of the rangers?!"
	"No.  I'm a visitor.  And you know what I hate about going to nice places like this?  When dipshits like you mess it up for everyone else."
	"Well too bad, cuz now I'm really gonna ruin your day."
	"Yeah," said the other man, "punks like you snoopin' around don't get to limp away after we're done."
	"Really?"
	"KOFFING!"
	"WHEEZING!"
Both men threw out a pokeball each, releasing two very sickening looking creatures he had somewhat encountered before.  One was a lone purple balloon, spewing vile gaseous fumes from tiny geysers upon its craterous hide.  The other was also a floating balloon of purple, except that it had a smaller conjoined twin head attached to it, with an even smaller one facing away to its back.  Before James even had a chance to react, both men shouted:
	"FLASH!"
A violent double-flash of light blinded James who soon stumbled backwards, the world around him nothing but god-fearing white that pierced deep into his brain.
	"AW FUCK!  JESUS MY EYES!  KIRIE!"
	I'm here!
	"I CAN'T FUCKING SEE HELP ME!"
	Calm down and stand still!  I can help you fight them, just-...wh-what the?!
From James' perspective, a deep whirring sound soon came to his ears slowly rising through the sky.  He struggled to make out the bare silhouettes of trees, his eyes closed in a desperate attempt to keep them from being anymore damaged.  Thick sounds of something constantly slicing the air in circular motions, which the raptor knew very easily what it was.  Rising from the trees behind the two thugs, was a small black helicopter, one that was built more for agility than payload capacity.
	"IS THAT A CHOPPER?!"
	Wh-what IS that?!
	"IT'S A FUCKING HELICOPTER, HELP ME STOP THEM!"
	"NOT A CHANCE PAL," cried out one thug before both roared:
	"DOUBLE SMOG!"

Both Koffing and Wheezing groaned with a thick spewing of poisonous purple smog, littering the entire clearing to the point of even causing the grass to wilt.  James coughed violently, feeling as if he was trapped in a mineshaft with no way out as the thick polluted gas burned at his eyes and throat.  Kirie in turn tried to help, but she was worried more for her friend now that the land was even more treacherous, keeping herself above it.
	"KIRIE!  HHHH-UGH-HAAK, KIRIE!  THE FUCK'S GOING ON!?"
	They just made a field of Smog with their pokemon, I'll try and move some of it away from you but we can't fight them quick enough before they get away!
	"D-DAMMIT, H-HAAAAK!"
	"TOUGH LUCK KID," mocked one thug, "TEAM ROCKET WINS THIS TIME, IT'S CALLED STRATEGY, LEARN IT SOMETIME!  ...WAI-WHAT THE FUCK'S THAT?!"
From the skies above, a sudden sweeping shadow roared past the area, a flourish of white and blue against the dark sky.  The power of the shadow's flight was a like low-flying jet aircraft, the force sweeping the entire area clear of smog with a violent blast of wind before circling back swiftly.  Suddenly, a man dropped straight down besides James from the air, kneeling as a small cloud of dirt lifted around his longcoat.  Standing up straight, he quickly held the blinded FG with an outstretched arm before ordering:
	"Get down!"
	"Wha?!"
	"Do it!"
	"BUT THEY'RE GETTING AWAY!" roared FG.
	"No they're not, now get.  Down."
James did so at such a stern command, before the detective whistled with piercing volume towards the sky as FG's vision started returning to him at last.  At first nothing seemed to happen, the chopper slowly taking off from the ground as poisoned grass was pushed back against the rotors' aerial force.  Then came a violent white beam, shafting through from the skies above almost as if a satellite beam had come down hard, straight onto the chopper's blades.
James went down on the ground hard, as the rotorblades began to slow down while the chopper lifted itself to about 15 feet up from the ground.  Crackling ice exploded in a cloud of impact, slowly consuming the blades entirely as the machinery grinded hard against it.  The engine struggled to push back, but the ice had already sunk its teeth straight into the gears themselves.  With the dying scream of an engine, the chopper had been grounded, falling back to earth hard as the men inside tumbled out hard onto the grass.
It wasn't the only thing that had come down from the skies either.  Following shortly after the powerful ice beam, was a horrendous slam of something huge landing beside Corck.  A huge white dragon-like creature, with the wings of an albatross and at a height of 17 feet tall with blue plates down its back and tail.  Its eyes stared grimly beneath blue crested fins on that rose sharply above its head.  James was mesmerised by such a creature, whispering to Kirie while on the ground:
	"...what the fuck is that?"
	A Lugia.
	"Wh-what?"
	A legendary pokemon, a very rare species that lives far away upon the outlying islands of Johto.  Those able to tame such legends are considered to be true masters of Pokemon.
	"...you're...saying that...THIS guy captured it?"
	Presumably.
	"...holy fuck."
Corck walked out of earshot, stepping straight in front of the Lugia's blue belly until he was only five feet from the criminals, which now added up to three including the pilot.  None of them even tried to run.
	"You're all under arrest."