EPISODE 45: Talking!*

It was a cold and dark night in the city of Veilstone. It was the kind of night associated with the gloomy emotions of the gray clouds. They blend with the twilight; they block the beauty of the moon from anyone's sight. Not even the stars can take a glimpse of what was below them. In a particular skyscraper, Saturn returned, walking towards Cyrus's office room,

His nerves were frayed to the quick. In his mind, anxiety constructed elaborate rationalizations for why everything should be fine, but still, the nagging voice in the back of his mind spoke of nothing but doom ahead. His nerves jumped together and in different locations.

"Master Cyrus..." he whispered in front of Cyrus who was hiding his face in the shadows like every night.

"So? The details?" Cyrus led the conversation to a report.

"About that, I have the details but um... I came with bad news as well."

"How flattering." said, Cyrus, sarcastic about his words.

"Commander Charon is-"

"Dead?"

"..."

"No need to hide it from me, I've heard about it from the grunts I've previously fired. Looks like the ones I hired are not good enough to take down a simple woman."

"Commander Charon was killed with-"

"Luna Evergreen's Pokemon. That woman, I despise her. She leads me far from my goals. My dream, it's so near yet so far because of her. I don't need Charon anymore, proceed with the bombings on all three lakes but start with Lake Valor, it was supposed to be you to lead the operation but never mind, I'll assign you on other important matters. For now, let Commander Jupiter lead the way." he intervened his words for the second time.

"I- I see, our hydraulic bombs will be put to the test. Team Galactic will be successful, no doubt."

"I know, I've fired more than five hundred men who don't appeal to my standards. Now let's see if Luna can handle a round of our greatest grunts, hehe." softly, Cyrus was chuckling.

"Of course." Commander Saturn nodded.

A particular alleyway in Snowpoint City was closed completely. Yellow tapes run across, sirens from police vehicles sounded throughout. In that alley was Emma and Detective Looker, observing the body of Commander Charon.

His bodies lied like ghoulish mannequins, the esophagus and arteries sticking out like so much corrugated and rubber tubing. It looked as if a special effects team had worked overtime for some Friday the thirteenth movie set, but that smell... That smell could only come from rotting corpses. Detective Looker and Emma, both were wearing masks to avoid the foul smell from corrupting their lungs.

Meanwhile, the police officers outside the crime scene were trying to calm to people trying to see what was going on. Even Candice was there, though, despite her title, she was shut from the crime scene for neither the officers nor the detective allowed her to enter.

"Detective, who could've done this. What Pokemon? This is my first time to see a dead body, please forgive my trauma." breathing heavily, shivering body, Emma was uncomfortable at gazing on Charon's body.

"A Pokemon, you are correct. This is the work of the Pokemon, commanded by someone else. No cameras to show who is the true culprit, I can only assume... foul play took place." Detective Looker scrutinized the body by looking at the corpse and circling around it.

"I- I can't handle this... I've seen too much, may I please wait in the car instead?"

"No, Emma. If you are to become a detective like me one day, you must get used to seeing blood and corpses. Besides, you are a gang leader before right?"

"Y-yes, but my gang does not kill people. We only steal stuff and Pokemon."

"Don't worry Emma, you'll get used to it soon. I've alerted Cynthia about this, and I'm currently waiting for her response. Team Galactic is onto something evil, I know it. One of their commander is dead, a wasted opportunity for someone to interview."

"Th-then, what are you planning to submit?"

"I'll just say, the reason for death was murder. That's it, the culprit is still unknown; thus, I and you have to research more about this. Who? Who could be responsible for the death of a commander?"

"What about the woman? The one that you battled with? She could be the one." Emma gave a hunch.

"Luna Evergreen? Hmm, you- you have a point. She's our main suspect for now."

There, the night got darker as the streets of Snowpoint were disturbed by this sudden happening. No one knew "whodunit", but something tells me, Detective Looker would soon know who was responsible for all of this.

From the skies, a woman dropped down and sent back her Pokemon she used for air transportation. Zinnia arrived in the crime scene, a latecomer. Her late appearance shocked Emma, further adding stress to her traumatic body.

"Zinnia?"

"Sorry detective, had to deal with some officers in the nearby police station." Zinnia excused. From a Magma Grunt to an officer? What is she up to?

"I see. Anyway, have you found Team Rocket's headquarters? It was the reason why I hired you in the first place."

"Sorry detective, didn't see any grunt nor came across one. Anyway, what do we have here? A dead body of a grunt?" Zinnia switched topics on her second sentence.

"Yes. This is the body of a commander actually. His name is Charon, one of the four commanders of Team Galactic. Now that makes three left." Emma replied...