The next morning, he decided to get a little morning breakfast at a nearby cafe before deciding he should take on the Celadon City Gym.  Seeing that the city obviously had a very clear influence of grass and nature with its abundant colours and trees lining the areas, he was all the more inspired to take on the place.  If anything, he was looking for a piece of action after the soothing day of yesterday, as well as to rile the blood of his pokemon a little to prevent any laziness.
The entire early afternoon was spent in the Celadon Gym, a bustling garden full of trainers shaped like a ginormous greenhouse, with a flower-based covering of red voluptuous petals.  Greenery and beauty existed everywhere around them, insects both earthbound and flying fluttered and crawled all around them, as well as living plants shaped either like pitcher plants or huge rafflesias.  James was amazed at such a beautiful inner world within the city, clearly the prize jewel of Celadon City.  The only problem was that he didn't get to spend much time in it.
The gym was a complete and utter pushover for the raptor's team, especially concerning the trio of Spike, Red and Shin who was eager to show his power against real trained opponents.  Despite the best efforts of the seven trainers within the gym, not including the Gym Leader herself who was a charming kimono-clad woman called Erika, James tore through with absolutely no mercy.
The teams of grass and poison were no match for two bugs and a fire lizard, who slashed and burned throughout the entire garden, wrecking the place asunder within a controlled environment.  Even if James had been reassured upon entering that the plants were very durable, and that there were specially-protected areas within the greenhouse-based gym that allowed them to fight without harming them, he still felt rather bad about taking on the entire Celadon City league when his team were absolutely capable of annihilating them.
It barely took him more than an hour before he left Celadon Gym with badge number three, a beautiful flower-shaped badge coloured like the rainbow, with each individual petal its own colour.

	"Holy shit that was EASY!" said James boldly, "I can't believe how quick we won!"
	Indeed!  You are becoming a most impressive trainer with your strategy.
	"Pfft, strategy?  Oh what, like burning the shit out of everyone?  Yeah that's a pretty good strategy to use against GRASS."
	Hmhaha, of course.  It was good to see Red learn a new move too, it has been a while.
	"Yeah, and not just any move, but a goddamn Flamethrower too!  I mean fuck that was awesome to see, finally a real move with some REAL fire power."
	I agree...it was good to see Spike finally get his time to shine too, I worried about him being neglected.
	"Me too, I mean, Spike is cool and all, but there's not a lot of use for him other than poisoning the enemy and weakening them down a little.  But with all those grass girls, man, he owned half the place.  That Erika lady even gave me one of those machine things, what was it called again?"
	Giga Drain.
	"Right right...whassat do?"
	Oh it simply drains energy from your enemy.  I believe out of our entire party only Spike and I could ever learn it.
	"Really?  ...huh...well maybe another time, I'm not sure about these kinda moves."
	"Excuse me."
	"Huh?"
Coming up from the side of him was a woman of small features with a camera strapped around her neck, looking like a tourist.  She was followed by an Eevee, a tender little brown fox with fluffy fur and white tufts.
	"Are you James Campbell?"
	"Um...yeah?"
	"I have a message for you."
The woman handed him a small note folded neatly, the raptor in disguise turning suspicious.
	"Who's it from?"
	"Just someone who told me to give it to you," she said mysteriously, "have a good day sir!"
As she walked off with her Eevee tailing behind her, James gently opened the note to reveal a name that slightly put him on edge.

	Meet me at Celadon Department Store Roof
	Corck

James and Kirie looked at each other suspiciously before closing the note back up.  He looked around himself to see if anyone else was going to come up, asking:
	"What would he want with us?"
	I do not know...but I think we should go meet him.
	"Really?  But...wh-why would he wanna meet us there?"
	We won't know until we go find him James.  You have nothing to fear from Detective Corck, I can tell you that now.
	"You know that for certain Kirie?"
	I do.  I do not sense any malevolent nature within him.  In fact, I daresay I sense more of it within YOU than him.
	"Hah, funny...well I guess...hmmm...let's not rush this, enjoy our breakfast for now."
	Alright.
	"Thanks again for last night...even if I don't entirely know what happened."
	The less you question it, the better the experience shall be for you.
	"...I'm just glad there was only a dance and a kiss and not sex."
	One need only ask.
	"Stop it."
	Hehehee!
With his mood unsettled, James headed off towards the department store once again to meet his contact.  As much as he was uncertain about the detective James Corck, he knew he could trust in Kirie.  And whatever Kirie said, he knew that his own paranoia was always wrong against her logic.

The roof of the Celadon Department Store was a place that James was glad to come back to again.  The breeze openly rolling across the rooftops was incredibly soothing to him, calming his soul to a certain extent.  He almost forgot what brought him up here, hands clasped firmly upon the guard rail as he felt the wind caress his hidden features.  Kirie floated beside him like a balloon softly, watching the pure blue morning sky.  Eventually a voice called out from behind.
	"Hey there."
James turned to see Corck stand out from the stairwell, his brown coat ruffling coolly in the breeze whilst holding a multi-cup holder in one hand.  Two drinks and a small pack of donuts.
	"Thought you might be hungry since we're up here, also brought some coffee."
	"Oh...um, thanks!"
The two sat down at the picnic table, looking at each other across the table.  Corck offered one small plastic thermos of coffee to James as well as a few donuts, which made the hidden raptor smirk.
	"Heheh...donuts, really?"
	"What?  They're cheap, full of sugar and easy to digest, perfect snack when you're working."
	"That why cops love 'em so much?"
	"If you're told something enough times, you'll believe it.  Every officer hears that enough, eventually they start eating them."
	"I guess...mmmm...good coffee."
	"Aye."
	"This is uh...kinda tastes like Java."
	"Hoenn brand actually."
	"Oh...so, why did you wanna meet up here?"
	"It's a nice place to relax," said Corck.  "Far from the madding crowd down below, the breeze across our faces."
	"Heh, sounds like something from a romance book."
	"Wouldn't know, I'm into sci-fi myself.  Do you read at all?"
	"Not really...never have much time to sit down in one place enough and just read."
	"Ah...okay."
Corck put down his coffee to one side on the table before leaning forwards slightly, eyes softly checking out FG's before he could say anything.
	"I know that you are involved somehow with this case that I'm on.  Now don't be alarmed, I don't see you as a suspect.  In fact, I don't believe you have any connection at all to this Team Rocket splinter group that we keep fighting with.  But you are involved.  You've fought them at least three times over the past few weeks."
	"Uhhh...don't you mean two?"
	"Nope.  Recognise this?"

The detective pulled out an enlarged photograph from his longcoat, showing a still from a security camera of James investigating a crate.  He didn't need to look any closer to know where that had come from.
	"You're not exactly one to blend into a crowd James."
	"...okay, look, lemme explain, I-"
	"Ah-ah.  I already said you're not a suspect.  In fact, I've made it very clear to my coworkers that you are a witness to all this and will be regarded as such.  Even if you did trespass onto private property.  Twice.  Now..."
The detective leaned in closer with elbows on the table, hands propped up with fingers touching his nose.
	"I already know what went down at that warehouse...so if you tell me the truth about what happened, everything'll be alright.  But it HAS to be the truth."
	"Am I...gonna have to testify in court or something?"
	"Depends.  The case itself is rather meandering so if we find more evidence of wrongdoing piling up, no.  So tell me...what happened at that warehouse?  Don't spare a single detail."
	"...you promise that I'm not a suspect?"
	"Swear by my own pokemon."
	"...okay.  I was watching the ships come in, 'cause, I like the docks and the harbour, I was remembering stuff, reminiscing you know?"
	"Ah huh."
	"So I saw this one crate with something sticking out of it, like this big weird flipper.  And I thought that it looked really weird so I...I snuck into the warehouse when they were unloading, Kirie here helped me get in with an illusion.  Then I saw where they were processing them."
	"And what were they processing?" asked Corck.
	"Lapras."
	"...I see.  Did anyone find you?"
	"Yeah, one woman.  She attacked me from behind with a...fuckin' taser prod and I fought her back.  Then I managed to get out thanks to my charmander dropping a smokescreen."
	"I see.  Well then...that perfectly fits with what I saw on the security footage."
	"Yeah?"
	"Mmhmm.  But one thing's missing.  There were four crates, did all of them have lapras?"
	"Yes," said FG.
	"And what did you do with them?"
	"I...I released them.  I healed them at a pokemon center and freed them.  But one stayed with me...she had no one else left and...wanted to repay me."
	"I see.  Why didn't you report this to the police?"
	"Because I was afraid that the company would turn it around on me and call me a thief stealing exotic animals.  I didn't want anything to happen to them."
	"Ah...alright then.  Well, that's part one of my questions done.  Now part two."
	"H-huh?"
	"Trying to stop two thugs stealing a little girl's pokemon is fine.  Sneaking into a warehouse to uncover an illegal pokemon smuggling operation is unusual.  Being at the site of a terrorist act in a park...that's not a coincidence.  Not for this case I'm on."
	"Yeah...that does look pretty bad doesn't it?  Listen, I'm sorry if I interfered or something with this smuggling case, I-"
	"No.  You haven't.  And I don't mean the illegal smuggling case specifically.  I mean a different one, another case."
	"Wh-what case?"

Corck slowly pulled out a few other items of importance from his coat, the raptor in disguise finding himself intrigued at how deep his pockets must truly be.  Eventually he was shown a photograph of his own cubone alongside him, walking in Celadon City, followed by another photograph of a dead marowak.  Both of them wore a small silver bell.
	"You're trying to solve the Mother Marowak case...aren't you?"
James turned nervous, rubbing his neck softly as his shoulders stayed rigid to his body, desperately trying to figure out a good reason.
	"I...what makes you think that?  I mean there are lots of uh, bells out there right?"
	"Not like your cubone's.  There's a chip in the lower half that matches exactly the one on Mother Marowak.  Now I've gone over this case, many times.  I know that bell from inside-out and I'm quite sure that it was left buried with the marowak herself.  Now before I ask how you even got that little bell, I'm gonna give you a chance to make a better story.  I decided, call it a gut instinct, to look you up in the Kanto databases.  You know what I found?"
	"Um...what?"
	"Nothing.  Nothing at all.  You don't even exist."
James tried not to look away, using all of his nerve to keep staring straight at the detective's eyes as he further explained:
	"I mean, good on you giving me a real address with Three Hanger Lane, but there's never been a James Campbell in Lavender Town.  Ever.  So I thought maybe you erased your past or something so I try to widen the search, perhaps a census error even.  Not even that, too clean, not even any data there in the first place to imply any kind of erasing.  There's never been a James Campbell matching your description on all of Kanto...or Johto.  Now..."
Corck slowly interlocked his fingers, the longest reaching his nose with eyes of cautious curiosity.
	"Would I be wasting my time, if I tried to widen my search to Hoenn...or Sinnoh...or Unova?"
	"...yes.  Yes you would be wasting your time."
	"Alright.  Now...here's the million-pokedollar question I've been wanting to ask for the past week or so.  Who are you?"

James looked towards Kirie who nodded back to him.  He could only trust Corck through the trust his haunter had in him, saying:
	"My name is James Campbell.  That's the only thing I told you that was true.  I'm investigating the Mother Marowak case."
	"Alright.  Where are you from?  How did you get involved?"
	"...it's...kind of difficult to explain...more because it sounds ridiculous."
	"I have a friend whose pokemon is made entirely out of living programming code.  Try me."
	"Heh, alright, challenge accepted then.  I come from far away, VERY far away and that's all I can tell you for now.  Back where I was from, I found this abandoned mansion about four years ago, full of restless spirits wandering around.  One of them that was causing a REAL bad atmosphere, was the marowak."
	"Ahhh."
	"So I was trapped in there, I went into the mansion to like, study it or so, research and stuff on why ghosts were attracted to it.  That's where I met Kirie."
	"The lovely lady haunter there beside you?"
	"Heh, yeah.  She came to me personally, and told me that I had to help her.  Help her appease the Mother Marowak's spirit, try to end its pain at last.  I tried to do my best, even managed to get my hands on a special kind of tool for exorcism and stuff, and I managed to push her away.  But only away from the mansion, not...like, completely resolving her or anything.  I got out of the mansion, after the spirits let me out as thanks for dealing with her.  Kirie then shows up about a month ago or so, and tells me I was needed again."
	"Why you?  Why did she approach you specifically?"
	"I DUNNO!  She never tells me, she's all cryptic and shit, you know what ghost pokemon are like!"
A genuine glare of contempt and frustration came from James, staring straight towards Kirie who simply turned aloof from him at such distrust.  Corck however beckoned him with:
	"Has she ever given you any reason for why you had to deal with the marowak?"
	"Probably that, since I was the one who managed to drive her away, I...have...some kind of connection to her or something?  I'm not sure why, I just...I met her once, I tried my best to help her...and I couldn't do anything.  Now I'm all stuck in this big murder mystery and I feel so damn lost, half the time I don't even know where I'm going but just following all kinds of clues."
	"Clues?" asked Corck.
	"Yeah, like...well, firstly the Soothe Bell, that I gave to her son, Isaac I call him."
	"Hah, I see.  How did you get that?"
	"She gave it to me."
	"...what?"
	"She gave it to me.  The marowak herself gave it to me."
	"But...wait, hold on, I know for a fact she's buried somewhere secret, somewhere only Mr. Fuji knows."
	"She is.  But...she led me to her grave.  She let me take it and give it to her son so he could come with me.  Told me to look after him and...that he would help me find the one who killed her."
	"And...does he?"
	"That's the thing, he doesn't know she's dead, he thinks she's still out there somewhere and I'm just some mysterious stranger who was fated to come bring him to her!  Isaac just thinks that somehow his mother's making a whole big game of hide and seek with him!"
	"But what about Mr. Fuji?"
	"He let me!  Once he saw I had that bell, he didn't ask any questions, just shut up and let me take Isaac with me!  I know, I don't get it either man."

Detective Corck could only sigh and lower his head, fingers rubbing his forehead with a strange frustration welling up in him.  Two years of investigating a now-five-year-old case, and a complete stranger from far away somehow obtains a memento from the spirit herself, even having spoke to her and all.  Truthfully, a tiny part of him felt somewhat insulted, but he put his feelings aside easily as professionalism stood up to answer:
	"You said firstly before...did you have another clue?"
	"Yes.  She...god this sounds weird but...she gave me this."
He handed Corck the piece of paper with the numbers and letters on it.  At first they seemed to be completely random, but a few choice letters here and there Corck knew from somewhere else.  His eyes sparked with a sudden insight, as a desperation to investigate grew fiercely inside him.
	"What is this?" asked Corck.
	"I dunno, I just-"
	"Where did this come from?"
	"I-i dunno!  She gave me it, I-"
	"James...this just might be the most important clue I ever got in the past two years.  You swear that Mother Marowak gave you this herself?"
	"Yeah, totally!  I know it sounds weird but she put me in this...trance or something, kinda weaved me through her memory of what happened, and she said that the last thing she remembered about the ones who killed her, was that the killer dropped something out of his pocket.  Something with those numbers and letters on it."
	"Wait, what?!  Dropped something?!"
	"Yeah, like...some kind of...thin metal keycard or something, I dunno, I can't tell, she just remembers what was on it."
	"...Arceus, this is incredible.  Alright.  Alright, I...I understand now."
	"Huh?"
The detective stood up, taking his coffee with him as he put back his items into his coat, leaving James' written clue for last.
	"This is very relevant to the case, so I must thank you for your assistance."
	"Woah woah woah hold on," said James while standing up, "I need it too.  I need to solve this case too or else it's never gonna leave me."
	"And I'm an officer of the law who's sworn to put her killer behind bars.  Look...you're a good man, I can see that.  The way you are with pokemon, the way your eyes go when you talk about wanting to help her, I don't want to stop you.  But I can't let you interfere with any progress I make."
	"I don't want to, believe me, I got nothing against you Corck.  We're both working to the same end, I just can't do it your way."
	"And I can't let you walk away with a clue this vital.  So what do we do?"
	"...when two people can't decide on something, they gotta fight for it."
	"Hmm?"
	"...why don't we settle this the old-fashioned way?  You and me.  Pokemon battle.  Anytime, anywhere."
	"...what?"
	"Yeah.  That's how we resolve things here right?  Pokemon battle, you and me, nothing else.  Whoever wins deserves to run this show their own way.  If I win, I do whatever I want to get this case solved."
	"You realise you are challenging a member of police to a pokemon battle," said Corck, "over a clue related to an ongoing murder case?  You've got some balls on you Campbell...and perhaps a brain thicker than a Tauros' walt."
	"Yeah," said James, "but you ALSO follow the rules, right?  And I know one rule at least.  Always accept a challenge from a pokemon trainer."
	"...alright.  I won't disrespect that, fine.  We'll fight for this, like real pokemon trainers."
	"Awesome."
	"If you win, you can run off on your own with this clue and do whatever you want.  But if I win...you have to help me by sharing every single clue you find related to the case.  Including this."
	"Deal."
The two shook hands to seal their honour, as James Campbell suddenly smirked with a realisation.
	"...shit, I could have just asked you to write those numbers down instead, hahah."
	"Ohhhh no," said James Corck.  "You challenged me to a battle, you don't walk away from that boyo."
	"Welp.  Looks like someone's getting their ass kicked tonight."
	"I know a place where we can do this safely, follow me."

Corck lead FG towards an old warehouse situated in the south area of the city, seemingly well abandoned for quite a few years.  The place had been stripped completely of all resources, not a single plank of wood or metal remained within the domed structure.  Stone floor and metal roof with the odd glass window above as FG said with an echo:
	"Man this place is huge."
	"Used to be part of the old Rocket Hideout," said Corck.  "Then once they shut down their major operations, they abandoned this place and took everything with 'em to rebuild up in Johto.  Nobody uses this place now."
	"Why not?"
	"Not much use for a warehouse in Celadon City, since they buy and import everything from everywhere else.  Truth be told, they actually plan to tear this place down until the Celadon Gym put a reservation on it, said they had plans to make a sort of biodome out of it, or perhaps another gym like with Saffron City."
	"Hah, nice.  Yeah this place looks pretty good for a battle to take place."
	"Exactly.  Alright, simple rules, whichever team is no longer capable of fighting is the loser.  Got it?"
	"Got it."
	"You sure you wanna fight me?" asked Detective Corck curiously.
	"We shook on it man.  No backing out of that."
	"Ha ha ha, fair enough.  Alright, is your team ready?"
	"All the way, I'm just worried about you, I mean you got what, three pokemon to my six?  And yanno...it's not like I JUST whooped the hell out of the Celadon Gym with a shiny new badge to my name.  Didn't even break a sweat and neither did my pokemon."
	"Well, I'm glad to see your skills are sharp.  But it's not the number of pokemon you have that counts.  It's how you use 'em.  Alright then, ready?"
	"Ready!"
	"Tazer, GO!"
	"SPIKE, LET'S DO THIS!"
Releasing their pokemon together, James' beedrill burst out with a buzzing furore as Corck released his own pokemon.  A strange-looking feline beast on two legs, black and yellow with a clear sign of electricity surging from its muscular forearms.
	"The hell is that?!"
	An Electabuzz, be careful, I sense his team is very strong.
	"He only has three, we can do this!  Spike, let's weaken him a bit, Twineedle!"
	"Tazer," said Corck, "Thundershock!"
The beedrill charged straight for the Electabuzz, who began to ready a solid starting attack with a good shot of lightning to jolt up his opponent.  It did not slow down the wasp, but it did throw him off slightly as he dove straight to his enemy, plunging with first one then the other spear-tipped limb.  Yet the brutal double-stab did not faze Tazer one bit.
The wasp surged with a newly-learnt Pin Missile attack, lifting himself up into the air with furious wings before coming straight down onto the electabuzz's head with its tail-end stinger.  That did little to stop Tazer despite several repeating stabs of the stinger, when a violently shocking fistful of lightning went straight into Spike's face.  A magnificent Thunder Punch that sent Spike straight into a wall, slamming him brutally into steel.
	"SPIKE!"

The beedrill could barely flicker, trying to flap back towards the battlefield with a weakened rage.  But the power of the electabuzz had weakened him already by a great amount, as he flew back towards Tazer.  He was barely able to get a few good hits in with his long sharp limbs before another Thundershock finished him off, sending Spike to the floor with a whimpering buzz.
	"D-DAMMIT, RETURN!  Isaac, show him what you're made of!"
The cubone was next, popping out with a bone club ready to attack.  Corck looked somewhat uncertain, seeing the bell ring around his neck as he contemplated his next move.
	"...a battle's a battle, hope you give me all you got lad.  Tazer, Thundershock!"
	"Isaac, Bone Club!"
As Corck's Electabuzz readied itself for a thundering shot, Isaac stood firmly in wait, raising his club to the sky and letting the storm come to him.  The piercing strike riveted through his very being, making him twitch hard from the pure strength but resisting well.  Charged by his resistance, he came roaring forwards with a brutal strike, slamming the bone against Tazer's leg and sending him down on one knee.  He followed it up with another strike of the club straight down onto Tazer's head, who dodged back and readied a Thunder Wave.
Isaac however braced himself for the potential paralysis that would come from this, as the surging wave of weakened lightning pulsated through his very being, riveting his muscles to their very core.  Whimpering as he felt his muscles spasm against his will, he heard James cry out in desperation to him.
	"ISAAC!  BONEMERANG!"
	"C-cuuuuu!"
	"DO IT FOR YOUR MOM ISAAC!  SHOW HER HOW STRONG YOU ARE NOW!"
	"C-Cu...cuuuuuuuUUUUUUUBONE!"
With a surge of strength borne of desperate need, he forced his arm hard against the paralysing thunder and swung his bone club out like a boomerang, roaring straight towards Tazer who felt the first solid whack across his face.  It was unexpected, and the cubone didn't even have to do anything in order for it to work when it started to swing back on the rebound.  Corck however ordered another Thundershock, which Isaac resisted somewhat well but he was not going to last forever.

The Bonemerang came hurling back and knocked straight into the back of Tazer's head, making both James and Isaac whoop for joy as the cubone struggled to move a little more.  The paralysis was slowly wearing off a little, but not by much, and despite being able to catch his bone club back in his hand, Isaac was trying his best to move.  Yet another Thundershock came, and James was wondering why Corck didn't decide to finish Isaac off.  Regardless, the cubone eventually swung out his Bonemerang once more, and while the first time missed, the second came straight back to crack hard against Tazer's head.  Eventually the detective decided to give his opponent the chance to take a hard blow.
	"Tazer, Thunder Punch!"
Finally the Electabuzz readied his most powerful attack, charging forwards with a violent fist that crackled with lightning as it pounded straight into Isaac's skull.  Even in his paralysed form, his screech as he fell backwards was heart-rending to James.  He watched the cubone tumble backwards, whimpering as he got back up, or tried to in his state of weakness.
	"NO!" cried out James.  "You've done enough, Isaac, return!"
Bringing back the weak and paralysed pokemon, the raptor struggled to think who else in his party was able to handle a good fight before roaring:
	"RED, TEAR HIM APART!"
Unveiling from his pokeball was the charmeleon, strengthened more than before with a burning breath upon his lips as he stared down the electabuzz.  Corck began to set up a defence as he called out:
	"Tazer, Light Screen!"
	"Red, Flamethrower!"
The lizard snarled and heaved back a powerful breath, before blasting out a tremendous tunnel of flame straight towards Tazer.  It burnt powerfully so, as the electabuzz began to focus a strange energy within his hands which soon radiated throughout his entire body.  Planting his palms out in front of him as if shooting a beam of light, a solid-looking wall of pure light radiated before him.  James' memory flickered with something at such a familiar-looking move, grunting as he watched Red's flames struggle to pierce through the shield.
	"DAMMIT!"
	Light Screen, halves the damage of special attacks, that is attacks that do not require a pokemon to physically touch them with their bodies.  It will also protect his entire team of pokemon rather than just the one for a few turns.
	"Well fuck that, Red, Steel Claw!"

The charmeleon came roaring forth with a violent slash, steel-tipped claws striking across the electabuzz's chest in one furious swipe.  Yet it did not hurt the electrical creature as much as he expected to, as Tazer still stood despite being rather beaten and bruised already by this point.
	"Wh-what the hell!?"
	"Steel-type move," said Corck, "doesn't work against electric-type.  Don't matter now though, Tazer, return!"
The detective pulled back his paralysing pokemon before bringing out the one James had seen most regularly, and one he totally expected to see again.
	"Dante, go!"
As the hound of hell came bursting forth from his confinement, Red snarled with an eager grin upon his face at the chance to meet a true rival.  Both hound and reptile nodded at each other with a mutual respect, the charmeleon starting to trash talk Dante in his own words.
	"The hell is he saying?" asked FG.
	He says "so you and I are finally gonna face off.  Now lessee how good you REALLY are for a cop dog."
	"Hhhhohohohooooo Red you got balls, this is why I love ya.  Okay, show him you mean business, Smokescreen!"
	"Dante," ordered Corck, "Smokescreen in return!  Give the lad a taste of his own medicine."
Both hound and lizard spewed forth a thickening cloud of smoke that poured across the battlefield, sweeping like volcanic ash down a mountainside and blackening the battlefield to the point that even the trainers could not see what was going on.  Red charged forth with a Scratch attack, knowing that the stronger and more resistant Houndoom was going to take his other attacks a little better than his regular claws.  But of course, both of them were at a disadvantage to each other, blinded by the other's smoke.
Dante, while certainly faster and stronger, was not perfect and tried to hunt out his opponent in the fog with fierce fangs ready to Crunch down on anything that moved.  But he always knew the right location of his opponent by the very smell, even when Red pounced on him from the side and scratched hard across the belly.  In return, a vicious set of teeth came down hard on Red's shoulder, tearing into him as the charmeleon roared from the pain.  Pinned down by the canine, Red desperately blasted him with a flamethrower in a furious shot.
Somehow, it managed to pierce enough through the ever-present shield of the Light Screen, enough to critically blaze through Dante, but not enough to actually hurt him in any grievous way.  But it was enough to make him back off as Red pulled back, readying himself for a vicious Scratch across Dante's snout.  In return, Dante roared with a powerful Flamethrower that was just powerful enough to burn the charmeleon badly.  Even a fire lizard wasn't able to withstand the furious flame breath of the hound of hell.
	"RED!"
	"CHAAAR!"
	"Red, come back!"

In the fainting moments of the young charmeleon, who was feeling his flesh start to char up from such a brutal burning attack, he receded back into his pokeball just before he hit the ground.  James however saw the foggy battlefield had given him an opportunity as he cried:
	"Kirie, GO!"
With the smokescreen once again keeping him disguised, the raptor's form revealed itself behind it as the spirit charged into the battlefield.  Corck however was ready, smiling behind his own smokescreen as he commanded:
	"Dante, find her and Crunch!"
	"Kirie, Night Shade now!"
James had learnt at least one thing about Kirie.  If there was any move that could hurt anyone in this world, it was the dreaded Night Shade.  Her power alone made it incredibly dangerous, and whether that pokemon was resistant or not, it would be of no matter.  Dante hastily searched, but was too late before Kirie came upon him first, cackling wickedly as she fired down a violent rain of visions, a phantasmagoria of pain unto the Houndoom.
To the dog, it was as if a horrifying abyss had filled itself with ropes spewing forth from Kirie's mouth, pulling around his arms and binding him in close to her.  The hound was not afraid but that did not matter for how his mind would soon be affected.  Yet he was rather glad to be pulled in closer to his foe, as the vicious assault unto his soul began.  As the spirit began to dive her ropes spiritually into his body, wispy tendrils tearing into his very being.  But the hound boldly crunched down hard on Kirie's face, making her shriek and pull back from the force.
It was as if her skull, if she had one, was being cracked open like a walnut, making her pulsate violently with pain as she tried once more to assault him.  The binding ropes of illusion still dared to tear apart Dante's soul, but he resisted due to his strength and mental training enough to blast a vile Flamethrower attack straight into the haunter's face.  Forcing her back as it thankfully missed, the houndroom was ready to attack again until James felt the smokescreen start to dissipate.
	"KIRIE, RETURN!"
Sweeping back to his side while in a weaker state, she tried to put up his illusion before the smoke cleared out, revealing only a rather frayed-looking red-haired human staring straight at Corck.  He only had two fighters left, and Corck decided it was time to play hardball.  James in turn saw he was about to bring back his Houndoom, and roared:
	"SHIN, ATTACK!  PURSUIT!"
The scyther shot out of the pokeball with wings of fury and snarled with sharpened fury as it striked hard across the houndoom's flank.  Dante yelped bestially, the one cheap shot now weakening him somewhat.
	"Dante, return!  VICTOR, GO!"

Bursting forth from the pokeball of the detective was the mighty Lugia.  Towering at 17 feet tall, its cry of battle resonated throughout the very warehouse with a tremendous power as it waited for its opponent's move.  James knew it would arrive onto the battlefield sooner or later, and with no estimate on how to fight it, he went onto an all-out offensive with:
	"SHIN, SLASH THAT FUCKER TO SHREDS!"
	"SCYYYYY!"
The scyther was fast, certainly at the speed of a ninja the way it rushed forwards with wings aflutter like a steel hummingbird.  But the lugia was larger, stronger and most certainly agile enough to keep up as Corck commanded:
	"Ice Beam!"
Victor heaved in a tremendous breath, a cold mist covering his crystal-white jaws before a vicious blast of ice propelled from his throat.  It was as if a dragon had roared across the landscape, and with it came a fierce wave of bone-chilling cold that even James felt bite at his very core.  But despite Shin's own furious slashing strike across the lugia's midriff, he was trapped in his tracks by the ice beam.  While he was lucky enough to not be frozen, he snarled as he resisted the cold, his wings crippled by the ice crackling into the sensitive folds.
	"D-DAMMIT," cried FG.  "SLASH AGAIN!"
	"Not yet," said Corck.  "Victor, Fly!"
The lugia did as ordered and flew high into the sky, or at least to the very height of the building itself.  Shin was too ground-bound by the ice to even reach that high, growling as he tried to make his wings shimmer free from the cold frost that seeped into his verdant carapace.  But with not enough time or energy to attack, the scyther soon saw the mighty white wings of Victor come screaming down onto his head, the legendary pokemon's entire body weight slamming straight into his smaller form.
Shin went flying into the wall, shrieking as his energy was spent.  Sapped from the cold and crushed against metal wall, he struggled to stand, and even though FG knew that he had a warrior's spirit, he was not going to risk any greater damage.
	"Shin, return!"
	"S-SCY!"
	"NO, this guy's too much for you, return!"
	"SCYYYTHER!"
	Remember your mission Shin!  What good will you be to those you promised if you fall here and now?
Hearing Kirie's words echo in his mind made him stop and think, breathing hard as he slowly accepted defeat.  But only on the condition that he had more important matters than this confrontation of challenge.  He slowly retreated back into his pokeball, as James kissed his last one for luck.
	"Alright let's do this girl, you're my biggest baddest one yet.  SARAH, GO!"
The lapras soon joined the battle, as Sarah faced up towards the great lugia who flapped above her grimly.  Remembering how Shin had lost, James decided to turn the tide of battle to his advantage.
	"ICE BEAM!"
	"VICTOR, FLY!"

Sarah breathed in a deep frosty breath, before shooting out a tremendous blasting spear of ice straight into the lugia's body just before it had the chance to fly up into the air.  Despite taking the hit rather sorely, as his wings froze over somewhat in order to make a greater effort for him to fly upwards, the lugia was still in play, as he readily came down roaring in his charge.  The lapras however took the brunt of the force with her sheer weight, groaning an echo across the warehouse as she felt Victor slam into her chest.
The lugia streaked past her as Sarah readied another Ice Beam, knowing now that it was the best chance against this dreaded monster.  But Corck wasn't out yet, and even though he had a disadvantage type-wise, he had more than enough power to say:
	"Victor!  AEROBLAST!"
The white-winged beast charged up with a strange yellow-orange energy forming in front of his mouth.  A large orb of incandescent light slowly searing forth within his jaws, as his body began to glow blue.  James was turning scared, and Sarah blasted forth her ice beam as her only chance of hitting.  Just when her spear of ice shot forth from her own mouth, Victor's own attack was complete, as the ball formed into a dozen rays of amber light, swirling together like a gigantic double helix into one single destructive beam of wind.
The shimmering gale turned into a violent tornado, focused purely upon the lapras who shrieked and screamed her own beam of ice back at the lugia.  But the beam could barely hold, the ice soon shattering in the process before it even touched Victor, who roared even louder with a force that only the sea itself could ever possibly match.  With piercing eyes the gale strengthened, and Sarah's entire body was hurled across the very arena before slamming straight into the wall of the old warehouse.  A violent clang resonated throughout the place.
The lapras' body slalomed into steel, denting the wall badly before she slumped softly onto the floor.  The wind soon began to calm, a blackening howl now receding to whence it came.
	"...s-...S-SARAH!  SARAH!"
James ran across the battlefield to where she laid, with Kirie following him to make sure that she was okay.  He carefully checked her over, seeing that while she was not mortally wounded despite her age, she was clearly down for the count, a moan of resignation and apology coming from her.
	"No no it's okay, it's okay...you did your best...there...there was no way we could beat that.  Holy fuck."

The lugia, realising that the battle was over, simply flapped down onto the ground beside Corck, standing to attention with respect for his fallen opponent.  James should have been angry, having been beaten in one solid sweep with such a small team against him.  Yet all he worried about now was healing up his pokemon, and living to fight for another day.  He slowly brought Sarah back into her pokeball, and stood up with a forced chuckle.
	"...heh...hhheheheh...f-fine.  You win, Corck."
The raptor turned within his human illusion alongside Kirie, sighing at his defeat.
	"I'll give you what I have and anything else I find is yours too."
	"Good," said Corck.  "Victor, we're done here, return."
With a hand thrust towards his lugia, the winged beast returned calmly to his pokeball without even a single sound, dutiful to the end as Corck said:
	"You put up a good fight James.  But rules are rules."
	"Heh...dammit.  I have to give you half my money too?"
	"Mmmmm...no.  The stuff you'll be giving me is far more important than money, let's just say that."
	"Haha, alright...hoy...how the hell is your team so strong?"
	"Well it helps they're all ranging between level fifty to sixty-five, but it's all about training.  It takes a while but the longer you take, the stronger you become.  Patience gives the greatest reward."
	"Right right, of course.  Here."
He casually produced the written note and offered it to Corck.  In return Corck brought out his notebook and began copying both numbers and letters perfectly, handing FG what he wrote from his notebook before saying:
	"Be honest, if I had offered you the chance to just take the note before we fought, would you have decided not to fight?"
	"Heh, nah.  I always wanted to see how good you really were."
	"And?"
	".......yyyyyeah I think you got this man."
	"Hahaha, glad to hear.  We now both have our clues, and also."
He wrote out another series of numbers in a notebook page before handing it to FG, saying:
	"You find anything related to the case, phone this number.  That goes directly to my office so you can avoid any hassle."
	"Oh, sweet, alright then.  Thanks."
	"No no...thank you.  Well then, let's both head down onto the Pokemon Center and rest up our pals here.  I'm sure they all earned a well-deserved rest."
	"Totally...god, you couldn't even hold back a LITTLE?"
	"I did!  I gave your cubone a chance to fight back and he did alright for himself!  Least you put up a better fight than any of the suspects I bring in."
	"Hah, be glad I'm not a criminal then."
	"I'm very glad, believe me."
The two headed back to the main city itself as they healed up their pokemon.  James started to feel less sore about his loss as Corck talked along the way to him, answering any questions that he was allowed to answer in order to bring FG up to speed on the current case.  But an even greater clue would come to him within a dream a few nights later, while staying in Celadon City.