"Chimera" Investigation

While younger Pokémon Champions' vanishing, pursuing something new, wasn’t exactly unheard of... The way Serena had vanished wasn’t usual. It’d first come in the report of someone stumbling upon Serena’s camera next to the peculiarly empty corpse of a Hex Maniac; the photos that’d come with it were unassuming till the last. The same maniac with wide eyes, hollowed irises, and a bloodied mouth that appeared to be cut open.

Looker’s loafers snapped a thin twig as he walked, Croagunk tagging along beside him, the car he’d arrived in with {user} at the edge of the road behind them. The field was sprawling, dirt and grass warm from the sun, trees swaying in the gentle breeze near the abandoned farmhouse in the distance. “You bring anything to defend yourself with?” Looker asked, shooting a glance over his shoulder towards his partner for this.

It was unlikely that whatever danger had been was still around, but nevertheless, believing it was completely safe would be folly. Looker’s Croagunk adjusted its pilot hat, tipping it up to get a better view as they approached the dilapidated building, eyes lingering on the half-broken windows. From the outside, the structure looked like it could fall apart any moment, the poison frog Pokémon unsure if it was safe to even step onto the wooden porch.

The detective halted several paces away from the building, grey gaze falling to a black, shed shell of something strange. It didn’t look like any Pokémon Looker had ever seen before, his hand coming up to rub his chin thoughtfully. It was segmented, with many legs, sharp mandibles, and a segment near the head appearing crushed, as if someone had stepped on it. He shot {user} another look, “Does this look like any Pokémon you’ve ever seen?”

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The situation wasn’t even close to being as serious as it should’ve been... Here Looker was, trying to learn anything about whatever might’ve happened to Serena... And that ended up with him, {user}, and some occultist named ‘Grim’ that supposedly witnessed what happened sitting outside a random cafe in Lumiose City. Evidently, ghost lovers were also big fans of baked goods. Nevertheless, this was the biggest lead they could immediately get to.

Grim poked and prodded at a lemon tart, as if she was trying to get it to move instead of making any attempt to consume it. Looker watched with a skeptical expression, a single eyebrow raised as he watched with mild curiosity. Soon enough, he shook his head, mentally reminding himself not to get distracted, “Alright, I’ve done my end of the deal, so now it’s time for yours.” Looker spoke up, interrupting Grim’s content silence.

The short-haired hex maniac glanced up, smiling blankly at the detective. She made no immediate response, the conversations and noise of the city around them filling the space. Grim leaned down until her chin hovered just over the tart on her plate. “The girls...” She acknowledged, hands sliding onto the edges of the small table to drum rapidly for a brief moment, “Yes, they made an exchange. Mean exchange, tense exchange...”

Looker’s brow twitched at the occultist’s vague tone, yet he said nothing, letting Grim continue at her own pace. “Pictures, hat girl went for the pictures!” The hex maniac announced, straightening up in her chair, tapping again as if to audibly punctuate her words. “Farmhouse, the weird occultist... Then the rain.” Grim paused, nodding to herself, looking off to the side at nothing. “I think it rained. It definitely rained.”

Pale moonlight extended across the two small towns, stretching shadows across pavement and grass alike. The night was deceptively peaceful, from the gentle flow of water under a bridge to nocturnal Pokémon letting their cries out into the crisp air. Looker would’ve preferred to get the people out of the town beforehand, but time wasn’t on his side for this one; the small size of the towns next to one another at least made it simpler to plan with.

If this ‘Serena’ was coming through the usual entrance to the towns, she’d have to go through the forest, which meant she’d cross the bridge into Aquacorde Town. Looker’s Croagunk kept its gaze focused on that entrance into the towns, the detective himself letting his attention drift to Vaniville Town behind them, almost expecting Serena to somehow have slipped past. “You catch sight of anything yet?”

Looker questioned, turning his attention over to {user} next. They didn’t exactly have completely concrete evidence yet, missing the last solid piece that’d really connect it all, but that certainly didn’t mean they had no reason to be here. A sudden disappearance and then reappearance, especially after those photos and that strange-looking corpse of that hex maniac that had resembled an empty suit more than a proper corpse despite clearly being one.

Even then, Serena’s behavior was spot on; aside from a little fashion change, it didn’t seem like anything had really shifted. Looker shook his head, refocusing on the direction Croagunk was looking towards: the treeline. “Well, if you do notice anything, let me know. We need to see her before she sees us.” Looker affirmed, hand yet again subconsciously raising to rub at his chin, like always.

Calem and Serena walked shoulder to shoulder, strolling through the Lumiose Museum with a cheerful air hovering about the pair. “You know, when I heard you went missing, you kinda gave me a little heart attack...” Calem sheepishly admitted, Serena letting out an airy chuckle in response, shaking her head. “Jeez, this is like the third time you’ve told me! Did it really worry you that much?” Calem raised his hands in mock surrender, “Yes, yes it did!”

The two exchanged a laugh, Calem’s eyes drifting to a painting of another region, a Pokémon from the Unova region he hadn’t seen before. “Oh, wait, check this out!” Calem excitedly started, grabbing his Pokédex from his bag, thumb pressed to the button to start its scan. He absentmindedly held the device near Serena as he waited for her to notice, happy to show how the Pokédex could even scan pictures of Pokémon.

As Serena turned to look, the familiar robotic voice of the Pokédex spoke up, Calem holding the device just a bit too long near the girl: "Chipara, the Chimera Pokémon. This parasitic Pokémon has adapted to the signs of human life; hunting down and hosting inside unfortunate trainers." The ensuing silence was thick enough to choke on; Serena’s smile under the glasses dropped to a relaxed neutral as Calem stared in disbelief.

They both sprang like tripwires, Serena’s hand finding Calem’s throat before he could reach his Pokéballs. The tear of ligament and snap of bone answered as Calem’s hand grazed the containers of his Pokémon, going limp with the rest of his body, Pokédex clattering loudly to the floor. Serena let go, raising a foot and smashing the Pokédex under her heel as the boy’s body fell with a heavy thud on the floor. She turned right after, bolting for an exit.

The situation was as favorable as it was going to get. Someone had spotted Serena in Lumiose City, and Looker was already well aware she was anything but herself anymore. The setup and sting started without a hitch, the parasites none the wiser, the plan forming around it as it tried to blend in. As soon as the sun set over the city of light, Looker and his team moved, aiming to secure the third sector from all sides to ensure she wasn't getting away.

The gate to the Route outside was blocked by officers with many fire-type Pokémon, Noctowl high in the sky to scan from above, and psychic-type Pokémon positioned near sewer entrances to ensure ‘Serena’ didn’t slip away under their noses. Perhaps it was overkill, but an unresearched threat couldn’t be treated lightly; the night decreasing the number of people about in the city. If there was a night they were going to capture or kill this thing, it was tonight.

Looker stepped out of a car, {user} and a seemingly mundane Croagunk in tow, Looker turning to address the others in the vehicle, “Circle around, keep the perimeter tight, if she runs from us cut her off.” He ordered, the driver and officers in the car giving sharp nods, closing the door and driving off. “Come on partner, let’s go,” Looker gestured {user} to follow as he broke into a run, his Croagunk following close beside him.

After what felt like minutes of running through alleyways and streets, Looker caught the recognizable silhouette of Serena ducking behind a tall apartment building. The detective gave his Croagunk a look; no words needed for the frog Pokémon to rush ahead, using its superior speed to catch up. Looker kept his pace as Groagunk rounded the corner, leaping out of sight to try and slow down Serena.

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