Featured: The Case

kitty was here|Janp too

The two Pokémon sat together, perched on the cafe table, staring at a mess of newspapers. Pikachu, wearing his usual detective hat, mused to himself as he clutched the sixth steaming cup of coffee of the day between his tiny paws.

"What do you make of all this then?" he asked his partner. He had recruited her from the unnamed Trainer who had just steamrolled the Pokémon League. The new Champion was now on holiday - in some place called Galar - so the Eevee had time to kill.

"Vee?" she offered, as she tilted her head. She hadn't yet told this musing Pikachu that she couldn't read a sentence, let alone multiple newspaper reports in the span of a morning. Maybe a night too - she wasn't sure this Pikachu had even slept last night.

"Not sure who "V" is but I'll make a note of that," Pikachu muttered. "We need to find a breakthrough! Team Rocket have suddenly emerged from nowhere but why?"

The papers before them told of numerous small break-ins. It had seemed innocent enough - a convenience store here, a party supply shop there - small crimes that just hadn't been solved yet. But now the media had picked up on evidence that Team Rocket were behind it. It was hard to deny security footage, and now Pikachu had gotten his hands on a Team Rocket hat left behind at the scene of a crime.

Today's papers had shared numerous reports of a large group of Team Rocket moving to Lavender Town, but why was still not clear. As Pikachu kept muttering to himself between sips of coffee, Eevee yawned and pawed at one of the articles. She at least could appreciate the pictures. This one was of the Game Corner. She felt that she remembered being there with her trainer…and him being disappointed at the lack of games to play there. Of course, there also had been-

"Aha!" Pikachu's loud shout made Eevee jump away for a moment. She hadn't realised that he had been following her gaze. "All these robberies... they lead to the same place! Celadon! And there's where one of their hideouts have been!" He tapped his foot. "So there's two main groups then, with one going to Lavender and one to Celadon..."

Pikachu gulped down the rest of the coffee and slammed the cup down before dashing off. "Eevee, I'll leave it to you to track that set of Team Rocket people going to Lavender - you're the stronger one here, Champion Pokémon and all! I'll see what they're up to in Celadon - I'll find them in their old base, no doubt!"

Eevee stared and then sighed. Time to get moving, then. She wondered how Pikachu was going to get to Celadon City by himself though. She at least had balloons to carry her to wherever she wanted.

Progress

To progress the story, you will need to participate in events to earn points. As more points are earnt, more parts of the story will be revealed. Work together and join in as many events as you can to help out Pikachu and Eevee!



Pikachu side
250 Points: New clue
500 Points: New clue
750 Points: New clue

Eevee side
250 Points: New clue
500 Points: New clue
750 Points: New clue

Final clue
Total points: 1600
All previous clues required

Conclusion
Total points: 2000

Feel free to speculate or discuss the story in here or in the Discord! New additions to the story will be posted in this thread, so check back often.

Story co-written by bobandbill, Corviknight, and Dragon.

"Well, I made it," Pikachu muttered as he brushed dirt out of his fur and stumbled into the CBD of Celadon. That Corviknight taxi service was not worth it; he had been dropped far too many times. He gazed at the surroundings.

"These buildings are way too big," he decided. He wandered around for a while, until some bright neon lights caught his eye. "Ah, the Game Corner…" He briskly made his way there and ignored the receptionist yelling at him that wild Pokemon weren't allowed inside. Of course he would yell - he was working for Team Rocket. He wouldn't want just anybody to come waltzing in and expose their sneaky operation!

He made a beeline for a poster, remembering that Eevee had mentioned that. It was a good idea to recruit that spunky Normal-type. She had field experience in fighting Team Rocket! He swiped at it, only to expose a blank wall. Undeterred, he sprang to the next one, and the next, until all had been removed. No large button or hidden entrance revealed itself though.

The next thing Pikachu knew, he had been thrown out of the Game Corner for the unprompted mess he had made. He rubbed his butt, noting it may still not be the last time he had landed roughly on it today.

But if Team Rocket aren't here anymore, where did they go?

Putting his detective hat on, literally and figuratively, Pikachu left the Game Corner. As he did, he saw some Team Rocket members were walking towards the party supplies store. There was something off about them though. Their eyes seemed to have a purple tinge to them and they moved strangely. Even after one of them walked into someone, they didn't react at all, just continued towards the store.

Speaking of stores, Pikachu needed to get to the Department Store! After sneaking in, he quickly made his way to the second floor, expecting to find it empty. After all, this is where a lot of the battling supplies were kept. However as he entered, it in fact seemed FULLER than normal. The only thing he couldn't see were the clerks themselves… uh-oh.

They must have heard him come in and somehow got behind him. One Quick Attack later and Pikachu had suddenly climbed up to the Rooftop Square, where the vending machines had been completely gutted. What was going on? It was evident that Team Rocket had come in here - the cameras showed it, but nothing of real value had been taken!

A bit more carefully this time, Pikachu crept back down to the fifth floor. Normally he wouldn't expect to see any differences here as most of the stuff was cheap tack. However, the flower and food stands were completely empty. At this point he let logic go and just decided to make a note of what was missing. He would try to work the conundrum out later.

He had a much larger problem to deal with right now. The blasted police had managed to catch wind of him being here and had made it up to the fifth floor.

"Don't you understand?! I'm trying to figure out what Team Rocket is up to!"

The officer's eyes widened as he saw the Pikachu grow agitated and shout at the officer.

"Of course they wouldn't understand, I'm a Pokémon...duh…"

And with that, it was time for Pikachu to make a swift exit and try to make sense of what he had seen in the Department Store.

"This is WAY too much to take in right now, it doesn't make sense! If only Eevee were here, I could sure use some of that uncanny intuition... I wonder how she's getting on at Lavender."

Frustrated, Pikachu took a look at the TV in the Celadon Hotel reception. Thankfully with so many people and Pokémon coming in and out here, he wasn't in fear of being chased out of the place. That was quite fortunate, as it allowed him to see the rather alarming newsflash:

"Weird sightings at Pokémon Tower: possessed individuals?!"

That didn't sound good. Lavender was too far away to do anything about it at this point.

"It's okay, she's a Champion. Literally. I'm sure she's looking after herself."

After all, Pikachu had his own issues at hand: where were Team Rocket in Celadon and what were they doing? He had been pondering over this for several hours now and he couldn't come to a conclusion. Why flowers, why food and drink?

"...come check out the sale at Celadon Party Supplies Store today!"

Pikachu's ears pricked up. A party store? Everything started clicking into place now. Team Rocket weren't at their Game Corner hideout, because they had been using this store instead. The items they stole are clearly a diversion to draw away from either what is happening at Lavender Town, or their larger goal here.

There was no time to waste; Pikachu had to get to the store, and get there now! He raced to the new store with renewed determination. As he snuck into the entrance, he recognised the clerk behind the counter - it's the same guy that was at the Game Corner! He was just like the others Pikachu had seen earlier, though - eyes seemingly dead to the world. Creepy.

As Pikachu got to the back of the shop, he noticed a door slightly ajar. This must be where Team Rocket was hiding! He stepped into the dark corridor. It was littered with cardboard boxes. Before getting much further, he could hear footsteps behind him. Pikachu dived behind some boxes and looked at the Team Rocket members before him. They moved robotically as they took some boxes away, in sync with each other, despite not exchanging a word with each other. Pikachu glanced down and noticed a delivery address on the boxes… Lavender Town.

Pikachu's thoughts were racing. They meant for this stuff to go there? Maybe then he should get there too, before it was too late! Before they discovered him, he climbed into one of the boxes and closed himself inside.

The next thing he felt was being lifted up and thrown into what he presumed was a truck. He winced as he rubbed his sore butt he had landed roughly on once again. The truck revved up, and not long after, Pikachu started his journey to Lavender Town.

Thanks to her balloon travel, Eevee arrived and landed safely upon Lavender Town, a noble town covered in a fair, beautiful hue of purple. The town itself was small and quiet. Eevee remembered the people here paid respects to their fallen Pokémon in the old Pokémon Tower that sat northeast in town.

Eevee shook off the excess dirt that covered her fur upon landing, and proceeded to wander about the town. Her time was short. There was one building in particular she knew to check first: the Lavender Volunteer Pokémon House. It was a building that was a shelter for abandoned Pokémon, and it was also Mr. Fuji's house. If Team Rocket were up to no good, Mr. Fuji's safety was a big concern for Eevee.

Finally arriving at the house, she peeked through a crack at the door. Eevee was relieved to see that the home was clean. Towards the back, tending to various Pokémon, she also spied Mr. Fuji. He was safe. Eevee noticed however, he was not alone. Mr. Fuji was in discussion with another man.

"I mean, I just have a bad feeling about this," the man seemingly continued from their conversation. "Those people in the Tower, we normally don't have that many."

"That is true..." Mr. Fuji responded, concerned yet a little laid-back. "But be that as it may, it should not be a problem as long as they don't cause any trouble."

Eevee pulled herself back. Mr. Fuji was safe, but it appears the Pokémon Tower was now the site of interest. If there was a place where Team Rocket could have planned something, their target must be there. Eevee then ran off, her next destination: Lavender's Pokémon Tower.

The hairs of Eevee's fur stood up. The Pokémon Tower was a peaceful place where people pay their respects to the fallen Pokémon that have been laid to rest here, but there was still something about this place that spooked Eevee. She wasn't very fond dealing with spirits and… possible vengeful ghosts. Last she had been here, they had to fight possessed trainers and calm down one heck of an angry ghost. Even so, she went on to investigate.

After all, she was a Normal type - Ghosts struggled against her, and she knew Bite. Team Rocket however would be another matter.

Eevee explored around the gravesite, but to her surprise, the place was clean. She had expected something to be stolen, but there were no signs of a forced entry, or signs that the place has been ransacked at all. Team Rocket was supposed to be here… didn't they come here for theft?

Eevee was puzzled, until she saw a strange gathering of people. A few of them had outfits she was far too familiar with. Team Rocket were here, and carrying a pile of boxes with them. However, a bunch of other people with them had peculiar attire on -- they looked like the Channelers who were usually around here… but why were they with Team Rocket? And hadn't they been the possessed trainers she had fought with her Trainer?

The mystery only deepened as she listened in. They were all chanting something unfamiliar, yet ominous to Eevee, as they all marched upstairs together. Taking a deep gulp of air, Eevee then carefully proceeded to give chase. Whatever they were up to, Eevee had a bad feeling about it all...

Eevee had snuck upstairs, following Team Rocket and those Channelers. The way they've acted and moved about was very peculiar...

She looked around the area. The group was scattered around the room, and had become motionless. They weren't doing anything, and the boxes had been unceremoniously dumped on the ground for now.

Eevee crept closer, until she could see their eyes. They seemed empty, and did not appear to register her presence. Their expressions were all emotionless - as if they were virtually corpses. She then noticed they were in front of many different graves, that all had a large amount of flowers placed by the gravestones.

She walked up to one of the boxes and prodded it with her foot. Making a small hole proved easy enough. She peeked in, only to be greeted by the overwhelming smell of Pokemon food. Only now did she realise that she was hungry, and hadn't realised it since she had entered the Pokemon Tower. She wondered why they brought Pokemon food here though given their apparent lack of Pokemon. Did they even bring people food with them in other boxes?

Eevee was confused as ever. What on earth was going on? She marched towards the group. Hey! What are you doing? Eevee cried out to them, but it was only translated as her "Vee! Vee Eevee!" speak. There was no response. They've all stared deeply at the graves they stood in front of. What was going on with them? It was like… like they were being controlled. But why?

She looked at the trainers again. Something seemed off. Why were their shadows moving like that if they were still…?

Eevee suddenly stopped herself, noticing something odd with the shadows of the people in front of her. They were growing, merging together… and then suddenly they grew out of the ground. She took a few uncertain steps backward as they formed into a short, black imp. It glared at her with red eyes, and summoned a ball of dark, pulsing energy, before flinging it at her.

Eevee braced herself as the attack grew, before realising her foe's error. She jumped straight at the attack and flew through it, before landing a quick Bite on the opponent. She darted back when it squealed in a mixture of pain and surprise and surveyed its next move.

As she suspected, it was a Ghost type - not just any Pokemon would appear in the Pokemon Tower, nor open with a Shadow Ball attack. But what was it? It wasn't part of the Kanto Dex, that much was clear. She may be the Champion's partner Pokemon, but she never saw something like this before.

Its face changed to a deep green colour, as its eyes lit up. The intruder swiped at her, with Eevee narrowly managing to jump backwards to avoid the attack. It kept up the assault, striking out with its small arms and legs. Now this was bad - it seemed to know an array of Fighting-type moves too. She was slowly being moved against one of the graves. Maybe it was time to use one of her special moves…

Just then, a jolt of electricity danced between the two of them. They both turned to regard the newcomer. It was Detective Pikachu! How did he get here?

"Looks like I got here just in time," he puffed. "We'll have to settle it this way…"

"Vee!" Eevee shouted, inspired by the arrival of help.

"...And that is, of course," Pikachu continued, "with a party!" And with that he stepped forward and put a party hat on the creature's head.

"...Vee?" Eevee managed. What kind of attack was that?

"No no, it's fine!" Pikachu said quickly. "This Pokemon - I think it is called a Marshadow, incidentally - has… its reasons for controlling Team Rocket. Let me explain." PIkachu pulled out a pipe from under his hat, took a puff, and then suddenly started coughing sharply. "Nope, bad idea. I always thought it looked cool but that is nasty!"

The Eevee sighed and eyed the Marshadow. It hadn't continued the attack though - it seemed entirely distracted by the party hat it had received. Maybe it was okay?

"Team Rocket robbed stores, yes - but what they took really has been limited to more trivial things, like food and party supplies, and flowers," he added, gesturing to the plants decorating the gravestones. "Marshadow wanted those items not for some nefarious means, but rather to obtain supplies for other Ghost-types here - something for the departed. And a party seems to be that." Pikachu recalled when he arrived at that conclusion himself, following his investigation of the Celedon Department Store. Instead of the healing items or Poke Balls that would have been of use to Team Rocket, all the items taken were of rather minor consequence, and there was no reason for them to go after flower or party supply stores either.

Pikachu then grabbed at one of the boxes and tore out a bag of food. "The food here is primarily unhealthy in nature, after all… and more for us Pokemon, not people. I suspect Marshadow here used its powers of hiding in people's shadows on Team Rocket and locals here, the former because they wear black like it, and the latter because well, they're here and have Ghost-type Pokemon too."

Eevee tilted her head. She supposed that made some sort of sense. She looked at the Marshadow again. Gone were the dark green colours that had enveloped its body, which had appeared when it had begun its aggressive attack at her. It was humming softly, similar to how the Team Rocket people had chanted earlier. It must have been a song for the Ghost types here.

That didn't make having Team Rocket rob people's stores right though! And even though Team Rocket were the worst, it wasn't fair on them to get controlled like that either, she supposed. She conveyed that to Pikachu, who nodded.

"Yes, that's true. But maybe we'll do our best to have Marshadow clean up after itself after the party, eh? It's a good natured sentiment, and it seems Team Rocket are still under its control, so they can help out for a change. What say you, Marshadow?" The imp pondered and then nodded with glee.

"Then it's settled! Let's have a great party - a Get Together, I suppose - and bring some joy to these Ghost types!"