Chapter Text
Chapter 1 - Ghosts
It was a bright and sunny day in the coastal city of Cyllage. One of these days, on which no one would ever suspect ghoulish occurrences. Ranger Jongdae was on his way to the daily routine check of the cave that connected Cyllage City with Route 7. The many Zubat that lived there got into a habit of attacking travelers more aggressively lately. Jongdae still hadn’t figured out the reason why, so he visited the cave daily to gather information.
The Ranger let his Luxray softly illuminate the cave as they entered. Proceeding with caution to not startle the wild Zubat, Jongdae and his companion made their way through the cave. A Pokémon Ranger had to be very observant. That’s why Jongdae immediately stopped when he saw a silhouette forming in the dark in front of him. The shape looked human. “Hello?” He tried to keep his voice down. “I am a ranger. Are you lost? Do you need help?” The shape started moving towards Jongdae. Or was it moving away from him? In the dim light Luxray provided, it was hard to tell which, but before the Ranger could come to any conclusion, the figure was gone.
———
Minseok carefully poured milk foam into a cup, forming an intricate, heart-shaped pattern. He inspected his work before sliding the cup over the counter to Jongdae, sitting in his usual spot. The café was not busy today. Aside from Jongdae, there were three other guests. An elderly couple was enjoying their afternoon tea with some sandwiches, and a young man had his face buried in a book about fossils.
“Sounds creepy.” Minseok said as he rinsed out the milk can. “And it reminds me of those stories I heard...I told you about the ghost boy, remember?”
Jongdae picked up his cup, not paying attention to the latte art. “Yeah, I remember… I don’t think it’s a ghost, though.” he took a sip of his cappuccino and licked the foam off his upper lip. “I bet it’s a Pokémon that likes to mess with people.”
Minseok put away the milk can and dried his hands on a kitchen cloth. He then leaned over the counter and grinned.
“Isn’t it your job to hunt down that Pokémon then, big shot?”
Jongdae took another sip of his coffee.
“If I'm out there hunting Pokémon, who will keep you safe from those vicious Pidgey that roam the park?” He answered nonchalantly, before taking another sip.
Minseok's smug grin turned into a bitter expression. “If you bring this up ONE MORE TIME I swear I-”
“One americano, please.” A second person sat down at the counter.
“Yeah, sure.” Minseok replied a little bit too snarkily and glared at Jongdae one last time before getting to work.
The guest put down his book and smiled cheerfully. Jongdae raised an eyebrow. “So, you are into fossils now, Baekhyun?”
The person nodded. “Of course! You have to know the past to understand the present.” He replied with a smug grin.
Jongdae laughed. “Where did you get that from?”
Baekhyun held up his book. The quote was placed on the back cover, along with a short book description and a picture of the author.
“Isn’t that the guy from TV?” Jongdae asked, squinting to get a better look at the small image.
“If you mean Huang Zitao, the youngest fossil expert in history, yes, that’s him. But enough about that.” Baekhyun placed the book aside and scooted a little closer to Jongdae. “I couldn’t help but overhear that you were talking about that ghost boy people have been seeing around town.”
“Oh, so you were eavesdropping again?” Minseok said and put down a cup of hot americano in front of Baekhyun. “I told you to stop bothering my guests with your stupid questions.”
Baekhyun grinned and pulled a notepad out of his jacket pocket. “Investigative journalism requires confrontation.”
Minseok rolled his eyes and decided to restock the supplies instead of arguing with Baekyhun. He did not have the patience today.
“So, about that ghost thing..” Baekhyun continued. “When did you see it?”
“I don’t think it’s a ghost.” Jongdae replied quickly, but knowing that Baekhyun wouldn’t let go of this issue that easily, he added: “l saw it this morning. Must have been around eight or so.”
“I see…” Baekhyun started to write everything down. “It was at the cave, right? How did the creature behave exactly? What did it look like?” He stared at Jongdae and scooped just a little closer to not miss any information.
“It did nothing really… I saw a vague shape, and when I called out, it disappeared.”
Baekhyun wrote everything down eagerly.
Jongdae shook his head and picked up his cup again. “Listen, Baekhyun. I don’t think there is anything you can do here. Just leave it to the officer.”
Baekhyun looked up from his notepad and grinned. “This is going to be my big story, I can feel it in my bones this time. So thanks for your advice, but I will investigate.” He stuffed the notepad back into his jacket, put some coins on the counter, and grabbed his book.
“See you around guys!” He hurried out of the café.
Minseok sighed, picking up the coins. “He never even touches his coffee. Why does he even order it?”
Jongdae shrugged. “Americano is your favourite, right?”
“Yes…” Minseok answered, taking a sip from the cup.
-
“Yes ma'am, of course. We will try to find your missing Bunnelby… I understand that your little daughter must be upset about this, but we can’t put all our officers on this case, I’m sorry. Yes, of course. Please send a picture of your missing Pokémon as soon as you can. Thank you, and don’t worry. We will try our best to find Bunnelby. Goodbye.”
Chanyeol ended the video call and let out a long sigh. Then he opened up a new Missing Pokémon Report file on his computer. Desk work wasn’t his favorite part of the job. As an officer, he liked to be out there. To actively help people. But like all jobs, this one came with some unpleasant tasks too.
Chanyeol looked over to his Growlithe, which was sleeping on a fireproof blanket. It let out a soft bark in his sleep, followed by a tiny flame. He smiled and began to fill out the report. Chanyeol was almost done when he received another video call.
“Cyllage City, Officer Park. How can I help you?”
“Officer, I want to report a crime!” the old man on the other end of the line looked very upset. “Some kid stole my Rockruff!” he was almost yelling.
Growlithe looked up, startled by the sudden noise. Chanyeol turned down the volume on his computer.
“Sir please stay calm. Did you see the person who stole your Pokémon?” The man shook his head. “If I’d seen that kid, I wouldn’t have let them get away, that’s for sure!”
“How do you know your Pokémon was stolen by a kid then?” Chanyeol asked, taking notes on the case.
“Heard him talking outside. When I went to check who was there, my Rockruff was gone.”
“Did you call immediately after you found out your Pokémon was gone?” Chanyeol asked, writing down the man’s address.
“Yes, Officer.”
“Alright. I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes. Please stay away from the crime scene and don’t touch anything.” Chanyeol ended the call and got up from his desk. He stretched out his long arms. “Let‘s go, buddy. I need your help.”
Growlithe stretched, then got up from his blanket and barked cheerfully.
When the officer arrived, the old man was already standing outside his house. Chanyeol parked his motorcycle and took off his helmet.
“Good day, sir.” He reached out to shake the man‘s hand.
“Hello, Officer! I haven’t touched anything, please take a look around.” The man seemed to have calmed down by now.
“Of course. Thank you for your cooperation.” Chanyeol nodded at Growlithe, still sitting in the motorcycle’s sidecar. “Come on buddy, let's see what we can find.”
The Pokémon wagged its tail in excitement, jumped out of the seat, and ran over to Chanyeol. They approached the spot where Rockruff went missing. It was a tiny, wooden shack in the backyard of the old man’s house.
The makeshift structure could have barely fit Growlithe inside. A short, wooden pole, that had a chain with a collar attached to it, reached out of the ground in front of the shack. Chanyeol crouched down to take a closer look while his furry companion started to sniff around.
“You kept your Pokémon here? Chained up to this pole?” he asked the man, who was standing just a few feet away, watching the officer's every move.
“Yes, this is where I kept it.”
Chanyeol slightly shook his head in disapproval. This was no way to treat a Pokémon, he thought. He was against keeping them in chains, but in this case, the owner didn’t break the law. It wasn’t Chanyeol's place to lecture him.
“This is weird…” The officer mumbled. “Chain and collar seem perfectly intact. No signs of cuts... or other damage…the lock on the collar is still shut tight…”
He took a moment to try and add everything together. How could Rockruff be removed from its collar without the lock being opened? Usually, Pokémon thieves would bring all kinds of equipment to make sure they got what they came for. But this time, no tools or Pokémon attacks were used.
This case seemed to be more complicated than he thought. Chanyeol looked over to Growlithe.
“Have you picked up Rockruff's scent?” he asked, smiling as his companion let out an approving bark. “Let’s see which way they went.”
Growlithe started to follow the trail, but it led nowhere outside of the man’s property. Chanyeol scratched his head in confusion.
“Growlithe is usually very good at following trails. Even if the kidnapper carried Rockruff away in a box, Growlithe would have been able to pick up the scent. Also, there are no suspicious foot- or tireprints that lead outside of the property...”
As Chanyeol tried to sum up his findings to the man, Growlithe suddenly started barking. The officer turned around quickly.
“What is it, buddy?”
The Pokémon fixated on a spot in one of the bushes that surrounded the property. Chanyeol could make out a slight movement between the leaves. He gestured at the man to stand back, then slowly approached the shrubs.
“This is Officer Park. You are entering private property without authoriza-”
“Alright, calm down, it’s just me.”
Two hands appeared out of the bushes, followed by the body they were attached to.
“Baekhyun?”
Chanyeol looked at the other man in disbelief. Baekhyun tried to climb out of the greenery, getting his clothes stuck between the branches several times and nearly falling over in the process.
“Officer, what is going on?” The old man asked, and Chanyeol quickly started to apologize.
“Sir, I am sorry, I am going to take care of this. Please come to the station later, I still need a full statement.” Then Chanyeol turned to Baekhyun, who by now had managed to free himself.
“You know I have to take you to the police station… and I don’t want to hear a word!” Baekhyun, who had already opened his mouth to explain the situation, simply nodded and followed the officer quietly.
Back at the station, they sat down in the interrogation room. This wasn’t Baekhyun’s first time here… but it always made him uneasy to sit in this square, windowless box with blank walls.
He took a deep breath.
“Listen, I-”
Chanyeol raised his hand. “I don’t want to hear your excuses… I can’t let you off the hook every time you pull something like this. Just because we are friends doesn't mean laws don’t apply to you...” Chanyeol sounded more concerned than annoyed.
“I understand that you want to do your job… but so do I. You can’t follow me around like that whenever I get called. And you have to understand that this is for your own safety.”
Baekhyun pulled out his notepad. “But listen. I’m really onto something this time! It’s like Rockruff just disappeared into thin air, don’t you think? This has to be connected to the ghost sightings!”
The officer sighed.
“We’ve been over this a hundred times. I can’t just discuss police work with you. Please… go home and get some rest. This is the last time I can let you off with a warning.”
Chanyeol stood up and opened the door. Baekhyun grabbed his notepad tightly. Then he jumped up from his seat, a bright smile on his face like nothing had happened.
“Thank you, sir! Keep up the good work, sir!” He bowed slightly, then proceeded to leave the room.
Chanyeol stretched out an arm, blocking the doorway.
“Baekhyun… you know this is nothing personal, right?” He leaned down a bit to catch a glimpse of the smaller man’s face.
Baekhyun looked up, cheerful as ever. “Of course! See you on Friday?”
Chanyeol smiled fondly. “Sure! Friday sounds great.”