Kiloude Jail
The outskirts of Kiloude City
"Get in there, you scum."
The unkempt-haired, poorly-dressed, smelly man nearly stumbled and fell as he was shoved into the cramped jail cell. It smelled just as badly as him, and the only source of light was coming from the lamp that hung from its ceiling.
At that moment, the man spotted who he assumed to be his cellmate. It was an intimidating-looking man man with a startlingly muscular build; sharp, beady eyes; and blond hair cut in a buzz-cut style. He was also wearing military-style clothing consisting of a tight-fitting, white tank-top; a light, jungle-camouflage jacket; jungle-camouflage pants with a thick brown belt; and dark-brown combat boots.
"Uhhhhh..." the first man said slowly, "who's this...?"
"Your newest friend," the guard spat as he slid the iron-barred door shut and locked it. "You two get along now, or you'll be thrown into solitary."
The man warily scanned his cellmate from head to toe. All the while, he couldn't help but feel tense and uneasy. Sure, he had been in the company of stronger men in the past. But there was something about this particular man that told him he was bad news. Whoever he was, he was beyond his league, and there was no telling what would happen if he was crossed in any way.
"Ummmmm," the criminal said, "can I have a different cell?"
"No can do," the guard replied as he spun his keys around on his index finger. "We're at maximum occupancy now."
The criminal frowned flatly. "I saw a bunch of empty cells on the way here..."
...
"Like I said. We're at maximum occupancy. Enjoy your stay, and next time, think about all the poor Pokémon that would suffer without Max Potions and Full Heals."
The guard started walking away, whistling a catchy tune as he strolled along. In outrage, the criminal grabbed the iron bars and called out angrily, "Hey! You get back here! HEY! This is cruel and unusual punishment, I tell you!"
But he no longer got a reply. Once the guard's whistling faded away into the distance, and the only noises in the small block of cells were other inmates lounging around, the criminal turned around and faced his newest companion.
"Y-Yo..." he greeted.
The man narrowed his eyes at him, and the criminal feared he had already irked his cellmate in some way. An awkward and almost deathly silence fell upon the cell for a few seconds. The criminal tried to check, from the corner of his eyes, for anything in the cell that he could use to defend himself. If only he had his Mightyena with him...
"Hello there," the other man finally replied.
The criminal felt immense relief filling up his chest like water being poured into a well, though he refused to show it to his cellmate. He calmly asked, "So, uh...what're you in here for?"
Again, a deathly silence for a few seconds. Then...
"I tried to capture a Celebi and utterly annihilate the children that are the bane of my existence. But I failed." However, the muscular man grinned deviously. "Fortunately, however, this cell will not hold me for long. No cell can hold me. When I get out, I will get my revenge on those accursed children. I will make them cry and writhe. I shall see to it that they regret all the times they meddled in my affairs. And then, I'll get that Celebi and make it suffer for the ridiculous debacle that it forced me to endure. I'll break it. And then, I'll force it to take me back to my original timeline, find my client, and get paid a considerable sum of money. And this time, no one will stop me. No one."
...
...
...
"...Oh," the first man replied. "...Okay. ...Cool. ...Sounds awesome. I mean, I thought you were in here for stealing from some Poké Marts, but that's cool too. ...I guess."
In his mind, the criminal was thinking, "Well, that's just great. This guy's absolutely bonkers! ...I'm doomed."
Outside the jail, three vans pulled up in front of the building, catching the attention of the two patrolling guards. One of them approached the van in the lead and tapped at its window, prompting the driver to lower both front windows.
"Can I help you, sir?" he asked.
Nick Nigaud smiled innocently as he replied, "Yeah, we received a report that the air ventilation system in your building has been faulty for some time recently. We're here to fix it."
The other guard blinked with confusion and said, "I didn't really notice anything different inside."
"Oh, you can trust us, sir. We're professionals! We know when there's something amiss, even if guys like you can't."
"I don't know about this..." the first guard replied hesitantly. He began to reach for his walkie-talkie. "Let me check with Officer Jenny-"
"Oh, she's probably out there, doing very important policewoman work right now!"
"There's an Exhibition Showcase going on, after all," Sid Malin added from the passenger seat.
"Yeah, yeah, that's right! She's probably over there, making sure no one's getting all rowdy and too hyped up for all the Performers!" Nick patted the first guard's shoulder and gave him the cheekiest smile ever. "I don't think you should be bothering her with minor stuff such as this!"
"I don't know..." the second guard replied reluctantly. "I really did not feel a difference inside-"
"Oh, I don't know about that, man," the first guard interrupted. "I did get a little sweaty."
"That's because you've been out here, patrolling under the hot sun for over an hour!"
"Hey!" Nick interjected. "Your friend reports being sweaty on the job! In my book, this requires a little investigating!" He looked at Sid and the other passengers. "Let's start working, everyone!"
"Y-You really don't have to-" began the second guard.
But it was already too late. Having made up their minds to get to work, everyone in the first two vans got out, carrying heavy and grimy toolboxes, and many of them went inside, while the remaining couple went over to the back of the jail building. The two guards didn't have time to check what those people would be doing, or why the third van was there, as they followed Nick and his crew into their workplace.
"Do you know where you're even going?" the second guard asked as he watched Nick and his group sign in with the fat, bored secretary.
"Of course we do!" Floyd Minable exclaimed, smiling optimistically at him.
"Are you sure? I think you're gonna next to do some digging, and you'll need a permit for that-"
"Don't worry about that," Nick interrupted. "We've perfected a method that doesn't require any dirty work!"
The guard raised his eyebrow. "Really?"
"Of course! You can trust us, sir. We're professionals!"
"You all may enter..." droned the secretary, as the last of Nick's crew was finished signing in.
The crew started to quickly proceed into the cell block, uncomfortable clanking and jangling sounds emanating from their toolboxes. The two guards prepared to follow them inside when Floyd and Lloyd turned around and motioned for them to stop in their tracks.
"You might wanna stay out here for this, sir," Floyd said.
"Yeah, there's still gonna be a lot of dust being kicked up there," added Lloyd.
"And who knows what kind of dangerous and toxic materials are in those walls?"
"In a place like this, I'd be surprised if we don't find a Muk lurking around."
"Are-Are you sure about that?" the first guard asked.
"We might be of assistance-" began the second guard.
"There's no reason to worry, sirs," Nick interrupted, smiling his corny, bright smile as he ushered the last of his men into the block. "You can trust us. We're professionals!"
"That's the third time you said that!"
...
"Well, take my word for it and let us do our work undisturbed."
"O-Okay..." replied the first guard.
"Alright! Now, we'll call you over if we need anything. Au revoir!"
With that, Nick, Floyd, and Lloyd walked through the doorway, with Floyd closing the door behind him. This left the two guards all alone in the small, dusty lobby, with the unpleasant-looking secretary. There was a stunned silence in the air for a few seconds.
"Well..." the first guard said, "that was..."
"Unexpected," completed his partner.
"Do you think they'll be alright in there? There's a whole bunch of prisoners with them."
"Well, the guy did keep saying they were professionals."
"Yeah, that's true. Within three minutes, might I add!"
"Mm-hm. They know what they're doing."
"I guess so! This place is in desperate need of an improved AC system anyway." With that, the guard twirled his plastic baton. "Let's get back on patrol, shall we?!"
"Alright, let's!" his partner exclaimed.
The two proceeded to step out the front door, failing to check the blatantly unintelligible scrawls Nick's crew used to sign themselves in.
Parker calmly continued to sit on the cell's bunk-bed, ignoring the movements of his neurotic, idiotic cellmate. He closed his eyes and mused on recent events.
He had been in a prison cell many times before. So many times, in fact, that he had grown accustomed to all the sights, sounds, scents, and sensations associated with them. He could even distinguish the taste of a prison cell. It didn't matter what kind of cell they threw him. It didn't matter if it was low-quality or heavily secured or even in a different timeline. A prison cell was a prison cell, nothing more, nothing less.
And that suited Parker just fine. After all, every jail in the world was penetrable in some form or fashion. It didn't matter what kind of security system they touted, just to discourage any breaks from the inside or outside. He would always find a way out. He would have made billions as a professional security system-breaker. This jail was like a hotel room to him, and he would treat it as such until his loyal Pokémon came to break him out.
...
But what didn't suit Parker was the circumstances that led to his latest arrest: Nate Gray.
That boy and his friends, and all of their Pokémon, were ALWAYS a nuisance, a thorn in his side. Back in his timeline, for several months, they have always found ways of meddling in his affairs, and those of his respected colleagues. Even the rarest of Pokémon could rely on them for their safety. Many potential paychecks were lost because of them. And there was nothing he could do to solve the problem. He couldn't even avoid them by traveling back in time. Good Arceus, he even took Nate's life once, and the target revived him with some stupid mythical power! It was unbelievable!
Maybe it was genetic. After all, he knew that some of those kids were the children of Ash Ketchum and Clemont Lem, two of the most famous Pokémon philanthropists. The criminal underworld would have a severe headache at the thought of them and their network of friends.
Even then, the EHS, compared to their counterparts, was always one step ahead of Ash and his worthless friends. Nate and his crew, on the other hand, were a different story altogether. It was totally perplexing to Parker. How could they, a group of highly skilled Pokémon Poachers with the world in their hand, be constantly losing to a bunch of kids?!
It was unacceptable!
"When I get out of here," Parker thought, "I'm going to find those kids and make sure they never interfere with me and my affairs again. I will not allow them to thwart me any longer!" He then looked up at the lamp that was the only source of lighting in his cell. "What is taking them so long?"
"Hey, you!" a voice piped up.
Parker and his cellmate looked towards the door and saw a group of people standing on the other side of it. They were all wearing grimy orange jumpsuits and carrying heavy-looking toolboxes. The apparent leader was small and rotund, sporting small, tufted orange hair; this, plus his orange clothes and cheeky smile, gave him an overall resemblance to a Dedenne, much to Parker's amusement.
"Which one of you is the guy who trashed the city square last night with that flipping awesome robot?" the Dedenne-like man asked.
"...That'll be me..." Parker replied hesitantly, unsure why he was asking.
"Oh, so you're the guy?" The Dedenne-like man scanned the poacher from head to toe before smiling again. "Yeah, you look totally cool! You're definitely gonna be useful!"
Parker blinked, unsure of where this was going. "I'm sorry, are you giving out free tickets or something?"
"Oh, where are my manners?!" The man gestured to himself. "My name is Nick Nigaud, and I am the presentator-"
"Representative," corrected one of the other men, who had a large tuft of blue hair covering one side of his face.
"Representativor of Adam Glazing! I'm sure you've heard of him?"
"No," Parker replied bluntly.
"Yeah, I wouldn't have heard of him either. Anyway, he wants us to bust you outta here. He has a job offer that I'm sure you won't refuse."
"With all due respect, I refuse this job offer."
Nick blinked with a little surprise, then he confidently replied, "Well, it's a job offer that you won't refuse a second time-"
"I refuse."
...
...
...
"A third ti-"
"I refuse."
"Look, we're still busting you out, alright?!" Nick let out a sigh of irritation and clutched at his hair. "Aw man, I was trying to look so cool and all that stuff and you just had to ruin it for me! Just-Just stay back from the door and let us do our work!" He glared at his colleagues. "Come on, guys, let's go, let's go!"
"Wh-Wh-What about me?" stuttered Parker's cellmate, as he clutched at the bars of the cell door. He looked extremely enthusiastic at the prospect of getting out of his cell...or away from Parker. "A-Are you busting me out?"
"You?" Nick asked. He scanned the man briefly before replying, "I guess so. You're in with him, after all. So that must make you cool, right?"
"Oh, you betcha I'm cool, man! I'm as cool as an Articuno and a Kyurem combined!" The criminal immediately went into a comically exaggerated martial arts pose. "I've got some sweet karate moves! No one can see me coming! I can dodge anything that's thrown my way!"
A split-second later, the wall behind Parker and his cellmate exploded, startling Nick and his crew. A large chunk of it was sent flying at the criminal's direction, but he didn't even have time to process what just happened. The slab crushed the hapless man between the iron-barred door, knocking him out. Parker, who wasn't the least bit startled by the explosion, merely stood up, dusted his pants, and looked down at his cellmate condescendingly.
"Well, you sure dodged that," he said.
Then, he, Nick, and the others stared through the gaping hole in the wall, just as a Trevenant lumbered through it and bowed its head at Parker. However, the Pokémon Poacher frowned sternly and crossed his arms.
"Where in Arceus's name where you?!" he demanded harshly. "You and Chesnaught are three hours and 36 minutes off schedule! What were you two doing, goofing off in the forest?!"
Trevenant shook its head and handed Parker a silver, futuristic beacon that was blinking a green light. The burly man's eyes widened at the sight of it, and he grinned. As he did, Nick and his crew could hear the sounds of guards and their Pokémon shouting and roaring in the background.
"Uhhhhh..." Nick said slowly, "what's going on...?"
Parker stuffed the beacon into his pocket and turned around to look at Nick and his crew.
"I appreciate your, uh...efforts to break me free," he replied, "but as you can see, I have everything already taken care of."
Another split-second later, the door that led into the cell block exploded open, with guards and Pokémon skidding across the floor. A Chesnaught then stomped into the block, a Great Ball clutched in one of its hand, and a wristwatch and a pair of sunglasses in the other hand. Nick and his crew were quick to deduce that Chesnaught and Trevenant were both Parker's Pokémon.
"Uh, is there anything we can do?" Nick asked, wanting to feel useful.
Parker kept his eyes focused on Chesnaught as it approached his cell door. Nick and his crew stepped out of the way to give the Spiny Armor Pokémon more room. They then watched as it punched a hole into the handle of the door, allowing it to be slid open with ease.
"Yes," Parker replied distantly, as he retrieved his Great Ball, wristwatch, and sunglasses from Chesnaught, "and that's to stay out of my way."
"O-O-Okay-" But then, Nick fully processed the poacher's words. "W-Wait a minute, what?! D-Don't you need a-any help with anything?!"
"You should be counting your blessings." Parker placed the sunglasses on top of his head. "It's a policy of mine to take out any witnesses."
Nick's skin paled, while the blue-haired man snapped with exasperation, "Aw, come on, man! After all that we've done for you?! D'you have any idea how long and how hard we planned for this event?!"
Parker shot his would-be assistants an intimidating glare that silenced any further outrage from them. "I do not presume to know the specifics behind your planning, but obviously, it all amounted to nothing." He then looked down at his wrist, taking the time to put on his weaponized wristwatch. "Am I right?"
Before Nick or anyone else could answer, another voice shouted, "KILOUDE POLICE! FREEZE!"
The local Officer Jenny ran into the cell block, flanked by her Manectric, which was menacingly sparking off small volts of electricity in preparation for the impending battle. Right behind her were about a half-dozen other cops and their own Pokémon: a Machamp, a Hitmonlee, a Hitmonchan, a trio of Houndoom, a Magnezone, and a pair of Venomoth. Upon spotting their arrival, Chesnaught and Trevenant went into defensive postures, while Parker slapped his sunglasses over his eyes and activated their high-tech lenses.
"STAY RIGHT WHERE YOU ARE!" Jenny shouted, pointing at Parker while Manectric barked viciously.
"I don't have time for this," the poacher replied. He raised his hand and snapped fingers.
Nick and his crew ducked when all of the windows in the block suddenly shattered. Then, swarms of Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff flooded into the building.
"It's an ambush!" warned Jenny, as Manectric started shooting off Thunderbolts at the descending Cottonweed Pokémon.
However, the Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff were all quick to act on their training procedures. Dodging the attacks of Manectric and the other police Pokémon, they all sprayed out multiple blankets of Sleep Powder, filling the block within seconds. Jenny, her colleagues, their Pokémon, and even the other inmates in the block began coughing and collapsing to the poorly-cleaned floor, rendered unconscious.
Nick and his crew instinctively covered their noses and mouths, while Chesnaught and Trevenant stepped through the hole in Parker's cell. As for Parker himself, he pressed a button on his sunglasses, causing them to transform into a gas mask. He surveyed the cell block for a few moments to make sure no one was still conscious, before following his two Pokémon out of his cell and into the forest outside. The Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff floated around the expansive room for a minute, also making sure everyone was unconscious, before departing the way they came in.
The group wandered deeper and deeper into the forest for a few minutes. Once the jail was no longer in sight, Parker, Chesnaught, and Trevenant stopped, with the former deactivating his gas mask feature and leaning against a tree.
"Well, that was easy," he remarked to himself.
"You could say that again!" Nick suddenly wheezed. He and the rest of their cohorts stumbled out of the bushes, nearly startling Chesnaught and Trevenant in the process. Many of them held their knees, panting and sweating profusely, while a couple of them collapsed to the ground in immense relief.
His eyes widening, Parker instinctively aimed his wristwatch at them. "You worthless imbeciles seem to love asking for trouble, don't you?!"
"Trouble's my middle name!" The rotund man then suddenly collapsed to his knees. "Hoo boy, that was quite a run!"
"You don't seem to be aware of what you got yourselves into-"
"Listen here, tough guy," Nick interrupted, "we know you're here trying to get something."
Parker's eyes narrowed with suspicion. He didn't know if they were aware of his time-traveling situation, or the fact that there was a Celebi in Kiloude City. It didn't look like it, given how incompetent this unlikely group seemed. Either way, he did NOT want them to get their hands on Celebi. Not when he was already hired by someone else to snatch it for her.
He slowly began readying his wristwatch for maximum efficiency, all the while snarling slowly, "Keep talking..."
"But obviously you can't get the job done!" Nick held out his arms questioningly. "Why do you think that is?!"
"I don't know." Parker continued surreptitiously readying the watch. "Enlighten me."
"Because you don't have any help!"
The poacher stopped mid-movement. "Come again?"
"We saw how you were ganged up on by those kids!"
"...Did you now?"
"Uh-huh! It's all over the news! And even with those fancy gadgets and strong Pokémon of yours, you still couldn't win over them! The only way you can even the odds against them or anyone else is to have people like us by your side. Like they say, strength in numbers! Or, in this case, strength in more numbers."
Parker blinked slowly with suspicion. "I'm a bit...hesitant including people like you in my company-"
"You can trust us, man! We're professionals!"
"That's exactly what I'm worried about."
But Parker realized that this Nick Nigaud character had a point. He couldn't hold his own against the likes of Nate Gray and his friends, and even a young Ash Ketchum! For some reason, their willpower was stronger than his. It always was. If he was going to return to his original timeline with Celebi in hand, then he needed to pursue a new strategy. One that would be enough to overwhelm those meddlesome children, beat them down, leave them exhausted long enough for the Time Travel Pokémon to be up for grabs...
Nick and his cohorts may not be the EHS, but if they were so eager to help him out, then perhaps they could be of use...
All of a sudden, the poacher remembered the beacon that Trevenant gave him. He pulled it out of his pocket and stared deeply into its blinking green light. He narrowed his eyes at it as he started to think of a new plan.
"If I may ask," one of Nick's associates piped up, "what is that supposed to be?"
Parker looked up and replied, "A beacon."
"Oh cool, a beacon," Nick said. "Uhhhhh...what's a beacon...?"
"It's something that'll guide me to my leader. She's somewhere in this area..."
"You mean out here?" The Dedenne-like man looked around, examining the surrounding trees and vegetation. "Dude, I don't know about you, but this forest goes out for, like, miles and miles! How are we supposed to find your leader in this maze?"
"Like you said, I have fancy gadgets." Parker made his choice and deactivated his wristwatch. "It looks like we got off on the wrong foot." He gave them a friendly smile. "You may call me Parker."
"Ooh, awesome!" Nick shot up on his feet, while his accomplices looked relieved at finally having their way. "Does that mean we're joining forces?!"
Parker's smile widened a little. "Yes. We're joining forces."
"Until we recover Kay and Celebi, that is. After that, I'll be sure to destroy you all."
"Cool!" Nick proceeded to gave a few of his cohorts high-fives. He then tried to give Parker a high-five, but the poacher did not reciprocate the gesture. "O-Okay! So, let's call it a day, guys!"
"Yeah, I'm wiped," one man replied.
"I'm in desperate need of some orange slices," remarked another.
"Wait a minute, what in the world do you mean 'call it a day'?" Parker suddenly asked, his sharp eyes narrowed again. "My leader is out there, and she might be injured! If you're going to help me, then I suggest you all get to work!"
"Yeah, uhhhhh..." Nick replied hesitantly, "I'm concerned for your leader too, Parker, I really am. But let's not forget that we just broke you out of jail-"
"I escaped on my own."
"Potato, patato." Nick stuck up his index finger, looking like an insufferable know-it-all in that moment. "Look, my point is, they're gonna start scouring through the forest right away, because that's the first place we're gonna run to! And we are too tired to fight back."
"I'm not."
"But there'll be too much heat, man! If they find us, they're gonna put everything they've got into catching us! And I, for one, do NOT wanna go to jail. I'm too pretty for that!" He dramatically paused for a moment to lovingly caress his own face. "What we gotta do now is wait till things settle down. Then we'll go looking for your leader."
Parker grumbled incomprehensibly to himself, realizing that Nick had a point once again, despite him clearly being slow. Being twenty years in the past clearly wasn't doing wonders to his luck.
"I guess you're correct..." he mumbled angrily.
"Well, of course I am!" Nick replied dramatically. "I didn't start up my own construction company for nothing, you know! Anyway, I have a place where we can crash in the meantime. Adam will be meeting us in an hour. We'll fill him in, he'll fill you in on his job offer, we will do each other's dirty work, and then we can end the day as happy campers!"
Just then, the group heard a screeching sound in the distance, growing closer by the second. Parker then watched with surprise as a van with faded, unintelligible decals burst through the bushes and violently skidded to a stop. Its side-door slid open, revealing even more of Nick's associates.
"Come on, guys!" one man shouted. "Let's get going!"
"They're already sending out their best fuzz!" another added.
Indeed, everyone could hear police sirens in the distance. Nick and his cohorts were quick to jump into the van and then looked at Parker, whose expression was one of blatant ambivalence, not to mention concern for his own well-being. The typically no-nonsense poacher couldn't believe he was feeling those feelings, but then again, who wouldn't after seeing those driving skills?!
"Come on, man!" Nick called. "We're not gonna get anywhere if you just stand there like a tree!"
Parker sighed angrily and spat out, "Fine." Then, he raised an index finger. "But I will emphasize that we're not a team. This alliance is only temporary. Agreed?"
"Yes, yes, of course. Now, get in, man!"
Parker sighed again, knowing that he was going to regret his decision with every passing second. Nevertheless, the man surrendered to the circumstances of the situation, returning Chesnaught and Trevenant before hopping into the van. One of Nick's associates closed the door behind him, and then the driver sped off, leaving a trail of upturned grass and earth in his wake.
As the van continued blazing through the forest, back towards Kiloude City, Parker smiled, making sure it went unnoticed by his self-proclaimed helpers. Even if this turn of events was a mixed bag for him, he knew that the final reward will be all worth it.
Summer gritted her teeth and slammed her foot down on the brakes, causing her jeep to skid to a stop. Her passenger, a male Ranger with slicked blue hair and a beard, nearly fell out of the jeep in the process, but he held on tight to the side-door and his own seat, keeping himself secured. Once the jeep fully stopped, Summer quickly got out and ran up to Officer Jenny, followed by her associate.
The first thing she saw was all of the guards and Pokémon being treated by Nurse Joy and her Wigglytuff. Jenny looked on, and her lips were pursed in a bid to contain her outrage.
"What in the world happened here?!" Summer called, catching the blue-haired policewoman's attention. "You said there was a situation at the jail!"
"There was..." Jenny replied, her expression turning glum.
Summer felt her heart drop to her stomach. "Don't tell me..."
"Only one prisoner escaped." Jenny's amber-colored eyes narrowed. "The one who was involved in last night's incident."
"Good Arceus, no..." Summer's associate breathed out.
"How is that possible?!" exclaimed Summer. "You told me he was not going anywhere!"
"Unfortunately, he had Pokémon out there, waiting for the right moment to strike."
"Lemme guess...a Chesnaught and a Trevenant?"
Jenny nodded. "Yes. That was them. They took out a number of my men." She glanced at her bruised and beaten fellow officers. "I was told that they were very powerful. And he also had many Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff with him."
"Hoppip, Skiploom, and Jumpluff?" Summer stifled a laugh, unable to imagine a tough-looking guy like Parker being in possession of innocent and upbeat Pokémon like them. "Are-Are you sure about that?"
"Yes, I'm sure. They took out the rest of my men with Sleep Powder. It was all coordinated. ...And that's not all." Jenny looked back at Summer, her face hardened with seriousness. "Ranger Summer, Ranger Rand, it seems that this Parker fellow has human associates."
Summer's eyes widened with surprise. She remembered Selene telling her that Parker had a cohort who was likely also in the same timeline. But, judging by what Jenny told her, it appeared that there were multiple Trainers involved in the jailbreak. Something wasn't adding up.
"What do you mean he has human associates?" she asked.
"Before the attack occurred," Jenny replied, "a construction crew stopped by at the jail, claiming there was a faulty air-conditioning system and they were summoned to fix it."
"But the AC system was just fine."
"Yes." Jenny gritted her teeth. "Unfortunately, two idiots under my employment fell for it and let them in."
Suddenly, Summer's colleague, Rand, spoke up. "Wait a minute, did they sign in?" he asked.
Summer suddenly felt a surge of hope filling inside her. "Yes, did they?!" she added. "It could provide us with a lead!"
The policewoman raised the sign-in sheet, and the Pokémon Ranger's heart fell again.
"Tell me if you can make out this grade school-level writing."
.
.
.
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A/N: Unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, this marks the end of this chapter, thus making it one of the shorter ones.