Jennifer had found a taxi, was had very quickly gave the driver direction to the laboratory that Jennifer knew that Damian was using as a hideout.

                   

“Stop the car!” She told the drive.

As soon as the came to a stop, Jennifer pulled out a wad of bills. “Here, take this,” She handed the man extra money. “and if you would please be so kind. If I’m not out in an hour, call the Police at his number: tell Officer Jenny, that Barakat is in trouble.”

              

The woman cab driver didn’t know what to think or say in this situation.

“I umm… should I be concerned?! Should I call your parents or the police now?!” The woman asked Jennifer in concern.

“If nothing happens, then you won’t need too.” Jennifer told her.

Jennifer then opened the car door and got out, before shouting back inside.

“Thanks for the ride and your help!”

Then she closed the door, and headed towards the bushes near the building.

It looked like the lights were off, and that no one was home yet.

        

I’m actually surprised I beat him here. Jennifer thought to herself.

          

*PHWWEEEEEOOOOO*

     

“W-What?!”

Jennifer looked down, and saw that Ralts had come out of her PokéBall.

“R-Ralts?! How did you do that?” Jennifer asked in confusion.

“I didn’t want to wait in the ball while you watch the building alone mistress.” Ralts told her. “I wanted to wait with you, in case something goes wrong.”

Jennifer smiled down at her vigilant Pokémon with happiness at her concern.

“Thank you Ralts,” Jennifer said to her as she reached down to stroke her hair. “But it’s too dangerous, if you’re out of your ball, I might not be able to protect you.” Jennifer explained.

Ralts fiddled and worried her mitts at Jennifer’s words.

“Mistress, I’m not—“

“Shh! Ralts, I think he’s coming!” Jennifer told her.

        

And sure enough. Ralts watched as the headlights of the evil man’s vehicle came cruising down the road.

It then pulled into the drive of the building, that Ralts and her mistress, were currently watching from behind the bushes of the next house.

               

Jennifer watched intently, as Damien got out of his car, then walked up to the stairs of the building, and went inside of the second floor landing.

“Okay… he’s inside. I’m going to give him a minute and then I am going to go surprise him with a visit.”

“Mistress are you sure this is wise?” Ralts asked in concern.

Jennifer nodded her head.

“This is the only way to get him Ralts. I need evidence, and I need me to be the factor in this: this is the only way.”

Ralts wrung her mitts in worry, which Jennifer could feel her doing through their link.

Jennifer reached down and grabbed Ralts’s mitts in her own.

“Don’t worry Ralts.” Jennifer assured. “Everything will be fine; I’ll protect you.”

                    

Ralts wanted to speak up. But she also wanted to trust her mistress that she knew what she was doing.

“…Ralts…” She mumbled a reluctant agreement with what Jennifer said.

Jennifer smiled at her worried companion.

“Don’t worry Ralts,” She said as she picked up her Pokémon, placing Ralts on her shoulder. “When we’re done here. Damien won’t bother anyone again.”

With that, Jennifer hopped over the bushes, and headed for the front door.

                

*DING* *DONG*

                       

Jennifer could feel the trepidation and nervousness coming from within the house.

He’s afraid someone followed him here somehow and figured out what he’s been doing. Jennifer realized. …Well… that wouldn’t be wrong… She conceded.

Jennifer took her phone, and placed it in her breast pocket: it’s camera revealed, with the recording app running.

While She was doing this, Jennifer didn’t even hear him coming, as he crept to the front door. The only reason she wasn’t surprised when it opened, was because she could feel him psychically.

        

When he opened the door to see who it was.

His eyes went wide after seeing Jennifer at the door.

“Babe?” Damien questioned. “Wh—What are you doing here?”

Jennifer smiled disarmingly at him.

“Oh you know!~” Jennifer said in a drawn out tone. “I was in the neighborhood. Then I saw your car here and then I thought, what the hey!”

              

*SLAM*

                 

Jennifer pushed open the door the rest of the way with a push of her palm.

Which made Damien back up in shock at the strength Jennifer hid in her skinny frame.

“I’ll drop by and say hello~“ She said to him sweetly.

“No, I— I just… how did you get here so quickly? And even if you were to drop by here to say hello, I— *GULP* I haven’t invited you in yet. I might not exactly be alone here, you know; and it’s not good for a girl to barge in to a man’s apartment.” He stated.

Jennifer’s smiled changed to one of curiosity.

“Why? Is it really so bad that I came to visit?” Jennifer asked.

“Well, no but—“

“Is there anyone else here?”

“Actually no, but that isn’t—“

      

*SLAM*

     

“EEP!”

       

Damien was pressed against the wall, with Jennifer’s hands blocking his escape on either side of his head.

     

<K-Kabe-Don!>

                

Jennifer smiled at where his thoughts were heading: at how disappointed he was about to be.

“Are you?~” She whispered as she drew closer to Damien’s reddened face. “Stealing dark type Pokémon, and turning them into weapons and forcing them to attack in the wild?~”

       

*BA-THUMP*

         *BA-DUMP*

             

“H-Huh?” Damien couldn’t believe his ears. “What did you say?”

Jennifer smirked at him before whispering loudly in his face.

“I know what you’re doing here Damien; I know everything.” Jennifer informed him.

She pulled away and went deeper into the house.

“I know you’ve been catching dark Pokémon and turning them loose illegally in the wild.” Jennifer pointed out.

“I know that you’re doing this, in hopes to crush the local ecosystem, so that Hoenn has to ask for Galar for more financial support.”

“And I know that your dad put you up to it.”

Jennifer whirled around to look back at Damien.

Who was both stunned and scowling at Jennifer.

               

Damien sighed as expression softened to one of resignation before looking downward and letting out a disbelieving chuckle.

“Damn… My father always warned me about girls like you…” He then looked back up at Jennifer with a furious expression. “So? Who are you with? The Police? The Galarian Internal Revenue Department?”

Smirked at him showing his true colors.

          

“I am, who I told you I was.” Jennifer told him. “I’m just a hometown girl, doing her part to save her community.”

“Yeah!~ no… I don’t buy that crap.” Damien denied. “If you expect me to believe, that some random girl from Ejapul, who is half Hoenn, just stumbled upon my operation and decided she wanted to stop me. You’re are going to have to wake me pretty early in the morning to do that!”

Jennifer smirked at his incredulousness.

“But it’s true.” She told him with a smile. “I did just stumble into it.” Jennifer told him. “When I came back from Ejapul, I found Mightyena attacking my Ralts’s mother at the time.” Jennifer told him while pointing at Ralts, who was on her shoulder. “And I was heavily injured; so yeah, I guess you can say, that I just stumbled into it.”

          

Damien stared at her in disbelief.

“That was you?… you’re the trainer that got injured?!” He couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Believe it!” Jennifer shouted at him. “I’m here to stop you, and to prove you and your father guilty; with the added bonus of getting revenge for Ralts’s mother who died.” Jennifer added at the end.

Damien chuckled while shaking his head.

“Man! That Mightyena must have knocked a few screws loose in that brain of yours.” Damien commented.

Jennifer narrowed her eyes.

“Why’s that?”

               

Damien laughed while reaching behind himself.

“Because,” He said to her. “If you’re not with any sort of agency, than you’re just a civilian, who’s about to have a tragic accident.” He pulled out a standard red and white PokéBall.

      

“GO! OBSTAGOON!”

                   

And in a blinding flash of white colored energy, a very large Pokémon stood before Jennifer and Ralts.

      

“OOBBSTAAAA!”

     

“W-What is that?!”

Jennifer pulled out her PokéDex to look at the Pokémon’s data entry.

“#Obstagoon: The Blocking Pokémon.#”

“#This regional variant of the Zigzagoon line, is primarily found in the Galarian region. This evolves after experiencing numerous fights. While crossing its arms, it lets out a shout that would make any opponent flinch.#”

                 

“Hmm! Like him? This is my very own Pokémon that I brought with me for protection: meet Obstagoon.” Damien introduced snidely.

“Obasta-GOOON!~”

       

“Why are you bringing him out?!” Jennifer questioned Damien.

“Huh? Isn’t obvious with what I just said?” Damien questioned Jennifer thought process. “I plan on killing you, and I plan on making it look like an accident.”

“K-Killing me?! Now hold on, you can just—“

“You’ve obviously gotten in over your head babe. What? Did you think you would come in here, threaten me, than tell me to turn myself in, like the bad, bad boy I was?~ Hahahahaha!”

“OBSTA STA STA STA!~”

Both trainer and Pokémon begin laughing at Jennifer’s naivety.

“I was really hoping you would.” Jennifer confessed. “This way, I wouldn’t have to fight you.”

“Fight me?” Damien chuckled. “With what?” He pointed towards Jennifer’s shoulder. “With that tiny Feeling Pokémon?! HA! You must really be bonkers then.” Damien concluded.

“No.” Jennifer denied. “I was going to kick your ass myself!”

“Oh man!~ hahahaha! This girl really has lost it! Hahaha!~”

“Ob Ob Ob Ob Ob sta sta!~”

Jennifer was getting extremely frustrated with Damien’s dismissals.

“Listen, I am not going to put my Pokémon in danger, just to capture the likes of you.” Jennifer told him. “I—“

            

“RALTS!”

            

Jennifer watched as Ralts jumped down to the floor in front of her.

“R-Ralts?! What are you doing?!”

      

“Oh?~” Damien smirked in amusement. “Looks to me, that the Pokémon you’re trying so hard to protect, wants to fight herself~”

       

Jennifer looked at Ralts in confusion at what she was doing.

“Ralts! Get back here! It’s not safe!” She told her.

“Ralts!” Ralts shouted at Jennifer.

“What?!” Jennifer exclaimed at Ralts’s refusal.

“HA! You can’t even control your own Pokémon! You really are a new trainer like you told me! And you came here to try and stop me?! Oh my Palkia! That’s hilarious!~ Hahahaha!~” Damien laughed.

          

“Ralts…” Jennifer called to her Pokémon.

“Mistress… I know you don’t like Pokémon fighting each other… But mistress, that’s just silly; because the truth of the matter is: that even if there were no humans, there would still be Pokémon battles.”

“Ralts…”

“I… I know you’re just trying to protect me mistress. I know you don’t want to see me hurt.” Ralts turned back to look at Jennifer. “But I won’t stand back while I watch, as you get hurt trying to protect me: not when I have the power to protect you myself.”

“Ralts, you don’t need to—“

“I want to.” Ralts told Jennifer with pleading eyes. “I want to protect you mistress, the same like you want to do me. You don’t always have to be the one to protect others; let me protect you too: let me help you fight!”

     

≈Ralts.≈ Jennifer’s heart melted at her Pokémon’s determination; which equally lit a fire Jennifer didn’t know she had, inside of her own heart.

        

*BA-DUMP*

        *BA-THUMP*

           

≈I can feel it.≈ Jennifer thought amazed.

      

*BA-THUMP*

      *BA-DUMP*

        

≈The fire burning in your heart Ralts.≈

         

*BA-DUMP*

        *BA-THUMP*

        

≈Your feeding it to me.≈

           

*BA-THUMP*

      

≈Giving me the courage to fight≈

       

*BA-DUMP*

      

Ralts!……… thank you……….

      

<Anything for you mistress: Anything.>

        

         

Jennifer looked up with the determination she felt surging from Ralts, to inside her very own soul.

          

“Oohh!~” Damien oohed in amusement. “Is the baby trainer actually ready to fight now? Is that fire I see burning in your eyes? Are you finally ready for the beating from Obstagoon here?”

      

Jennifer smirked at Damien, which in turn, made his smile falter

       

“Not quite Damien,” Jennifer told him. “We’ve had a change of plans and a change of heart.”

“What? What do you?—“

“I’m not going to be the one fighting here,” Jennifer pointed towards her Pokémon. “Ralts is.”

      

“HA!” Damien barked out a laugh. “My Pokémon is literally five times bigger, and five times stronger than yours; this match was decided, before it even began!” Damien taunted before he threw his hand out in front of himself. “Now! Obstagoon! Use Night Slash!”

“OOOOB!~” Obstagoon drawled out as he rushed to attack Ralts. “STAGOON!~”

            

“Yes… it was,” Jennifer agreed. “Do it Ralts.”

              

“Ralts!” Ralts acknowledged Jennifer’s orders.

When Obstagoon pulled away from slashing at Ralts and looked at the damaged floor from where Ralts was, it appeared that she had vanished.

“O-OB?!~ STA?!~

“What are you doing Obstagoon?! Its right there! Hit it!” Damien ordered.

“Ob?~ Sta?~” Obstagoon saw that Ralts had in fact, barely moved to the side to dodge Obstagoon’s attack. “Rrrrr! OB! STAGOON!” It shouted as it attacked again.

     

“Do it Ralts, use Double Team again.”

“Ralts!”

      

*BOOM*

         

“Obsta?!—“

“WHAT?!—“

Damien and Obstagoon watched in confusion as the Ralts seemingly moved throughout the room, disappearing and reappearing, along with there being ten other Raltses in the room at once.

     

“Ob?! Ob?! Ob-Obsta?!?!”

“D-Don’t get confused! Just keep on attacking it! Night Slash!”

“OBSTAGOON!~”

*BOOM*

     

“Ralts!”

“Ralts!”

“Ralts!”

            

Ralts kept up her assault on Obstagoon’s senses as she kept up her maneuvering to avoid Obstagoon’s attacks.

      

“Grrrr! H-HEY!” Damien shouted over towards a smirking Jennifer.

“Hmm?~” She made a satisfied noise as he watched Ralts zoom around, and avoid every one of Obstagoon’s attacks. “Is there a problem Damien?”

“H-How are you doing this?! Aren’t you a new trainer?! How the hell do you have such control over your Ralts?!” He demanded to know.

“You’re right.” Jennifer acknowledged. “I am a new trainer.” She admitted. “But, that doesn’t mean I’m new to Pokémon battles.” She stared directly into Damien’s eyes as she told him. “I’ve been around Pokémon battles my entire life! Watching the greatest gym leader in all of Ejapul: My mother!”

“W-What?! Your a gym leader’s brat?! Bu-But that isn’t fair?! I didn’t know that!”

Jennifer shrugged, and let her arms drop in disbelief.

“Who said I had to tell you that? Who said life was fair?!” She shouted at Damien. “Was it fair for all those Pokémon you captured, to be euthanized by the police?! NO! Was it fair for the Pokémon who died by your Pokémon that you released?! NO!” She glared at Damien.

“Life isn’t fair! But that doesn’t mean you have to sit there, and take life’s crap either!” She looked back down at Ralts.

“Ralts! Use Draining Kiss!”

                    

“RALTS!”

A pink pair of lips made of energy, launched themselves from one of the many afterimages of Ralts that was circling Obstagoon.

“OOOBBBSSSTTAAA!!!” He cried out in pain before falling to one knee.

“O-Obstagoon!” Damien cried out to his Pokémon, who was in distress.

“That’s it Ralts! Keep up the assault! Draining Kiss! Go!”

      

“STAGOON!”

“Grrrr! Obstagoon! Use Pin Missile!”

         

“Ralts! Double Team again! Keep on dodging!”

          

“Ralts alts!”

           

Damien was quickly panicking, as he was realizing he had been had.

S-She’s no ordinary trainer! It’s like that Pokémon knows what her trainer wants before she even says anything!

       

This back and forth volley of attacks kept going, with Ralts avoiding every hit from Obstagoon. Damien realized that this was going to only have one inevitable conclusion, when suddenly.

                   

“Ob! Stagoon……”

Obstagoon hit the floor, after fainting from Ralts’s final attack.

     

“N-No! Obstagoon!”

            

Jennifer stepped up next to Ralts with Obstagoon lying on the floor.

“Well? Feel like surrendering now Damien?” Jennifer asked him.

“I-… I!—“

Jennifer rolled her eyes.

“Just give it up! I know that Obstagoon was your only Pokémon.”

<How could she possibly know that?!> Damien thought to himself. <But she’s right! I don’t—>

Then something occurred to Damien.

He smirked at Jennifer.

“I do have one more,” He reached behind himself and pulled out the black PokéBall he had used earlier that day.

      

Jennifer narrowed her eyes at him.

“So? You’re just going to use that Umbreon you stole from me, and try to beat me that way?” Jennifer questioned.

“Yeah, that’s right! I still have one more chance!” He said as he pointed towards Ralts. “And she’s exhausted! She won’t win another match!”

Jennifer looked down at Ralts, and knew she couldn’t deny that.

But Jennifer just decided to shrug her shoulders.

“I’m telling you Damien… You’ll regret underestimate Ralts and I. Don’t bring that Pokémon out, unless you want to experience a world of hurt.

“Ha! Your threats mean nothing!” He said while lifting up the PokéBall. “Go my Umbreon! Attack!” Damien shouted as he threw the black PokéBall.

            

*PHWWWEEEEEOOOOO*

           

“Umbre! On!”

          

“Mwa-ha-hahahaha!” Damien laughed. “Now you’re doomed! Umbreon! Use Swift!”

            

            

         

“………………………………”

           

             

               

“U… Umbreon?…” Damien called out to the Pokémon.

He watched as the Umbreon turned around, to smirk at him with a backwards glance in his direction.

“W-What is going on?! What’s happening?! Why won’t you listen?!” Damien demanded.

       

“Seems to me, that you are the one not listening here Damien.”

He looked up and glared at Jennifer.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?!”

“It means,” Jennifer pointed towards Umbreon. “I told you, that you stole that Pokémon from me… did you think that I mean that in a philosophical sort of way?”

      

It took a minute for Damien to realize that he had been tricked.

“Y-You! This is your Pokémon!”

Jennifer nodded her head.

“That’s right,” Jennifer acknowledged, then looked down at Umbreon with a smile. “This is my first Pokémon.”

     

Umbreon whipped his head around to look at Jennifer in disbelief.

          

He couldn’t believe his ears and what he just heard Jennifer say about him; he felt his eyes stinging as tears came to his eyes.

      

“Damn you!” Damien complained. “You stupid bi—“

“Umbreon!” Jennifer called out to her Pokémon. “Use Quick Attack!”

          

“UMBRE! ON!”

      

“EEEE! D-Don’t hurt me! Y-You can’t hit me! I’m an ambassador’s son!— AAAACCCCKKKKK!”

                

Damien smashed against the wall after Umbreon struck him.

“GAAH!—“

Before sliding down the wall, into an unconscious heap.

                

Jennifer smiled down at Umbreon.

“Great job big brother.”

“…………………..”

“Umbreon?”

     

She got down onto her knees and crawled over to check on Umbreon.

“Umbreon?— Umbreon!”

Umbreon was standing there, with tears flowing out of his eyes.

      

“Umbreon? What’s wrong?” Jennifer 

                        

“Y-You!— *SNIFF* —Do you?— *HIC* — Do you really?— *SNIFF* —mean that? Am I— *HIC* —Your first Pokémon?!” Umbreon asked Jennifer in a plaintive voice.

Jennifer smiled at Umbreon, then pulled him up onto her lap.

“Of course you are,” Jennifer told the sobbing Moonlight Pokémon. “You are, and always one be: my first Pokémon.”

As Jennifer held Umbreon close, he buried his head into her clothing and cried.

He cried and cried, and cried some more.

     

Finally.

      

Finally he had got his wish.

      

He had been able to be Jennifer’s Pokémon.

Even if it was just once, just for a moment: he was Jennifer’s Pokémon.       

                      

As Jennifer and Umbreon were embracing, Ralts walked up and spread out her arms, holding the both of them.

Jennifer smiled at her Pokémon, as she embraced the one who used to be an enemy.

“Okay you two,” Jennifer telekinetically pulled the ArrestBall to her. “We need to get going,”

     

*C-CRACK* *SNAP*

     

*SHATTER*

           

“…And call Officer Jenny.” Jennifer said to them as she smashed the ball that held Umbreon in it.

          

            

————————————————-

                

                        

*B-RIING*

        *B-RIIING*

            

*B-RIING*

        *B-RIIING*

             

*B-RIING*

      *B-RIIING*

         

      

“Umm,” *BEEP* “Hello?”

         

      

“Huh?” “Who is this?”

     

Jenny pulled the phone away and looked at the screen, then switched it to video chat.

       

Her eyes went wide, as she looked at the teenager with her namesake, staring back at her, along with two Pokémon in her lap, as they stared up at the screen on their end.

“Good evening Sergeant Jenny,” Jennifer Barakat greeted.

“Jennifer? Wh-? Why are you calling me this late at night?”

“It’s not that late!” Then teenager argued. “It’s only nine-fifty!”

“Ugh… that is late for adults kid,” Jenny complained.

         

“UGH! You adults and your early bedtimes!” Jennifer groused.

Jenny groaned as she sat up while looking down at Jennifer through her phone.

“Just hurry up and tell me what it is that you want?” Jenny asked the girl.

“Well?~” Jennifer drawled, then the screened panned over towards another area of the room she was in.

       

Jenny’s eyes shot open wide yet again; while she had been groggy and tired before. She was not wide awake.

“I-Is that!” Jenny exclaimed in shock.

There, sitting unconscious on the floor, tied up with some sort of cord: was Damien Kane and an Obstagoon.

        

“Yeah, it is.” Jennifer confirmed. Then she scratched the back of her head embarrassed. “Do you mind sending some policemen to my location, along with some people to look through this guy’s stuff for evidence or something or rather. I don’t know what you’d need to bust him, but…”

After saying that, a notice popped up showing a recorded video.

Jennifer waited patiently, as Officer Jenny watched the videos she sent.

      

After she was finished, Jenny looked up at Jennifer with an astonished expression.

      

“……….Are you sure? That you won’t consider a career in law enforcement?” Jenny asked the young woman.

      

Jennifer and her Pokémon laughed at Jenny’s suggestion.

“Well!…” Jennifer looked around the room while trailing off, before she looked back at Jenny with a smile. “…As of right now? My future is pretty open to change, at the moment.”

           

                

————————————————-

                           

                          

“She’s still not back yet…” Melissa Harding was sitting in her car. Chewing on her nails, while her leg thumped up and down in nervousness, while she waited for her client to come back. “…She said to call this number in an hour if she didn’t come back, …Well?~ it’s been an hour… but there hasn’t been a problem from the house, since I saw the girl go inside… What do I do?”

Melissa didn’t know what to do, she had never been part of a stake out before with the police. She wasn’t even sure if the girl was even part of the police.

Was she part of the police?! She wondered. She looked way to young! Almost the same age as my—

     

Then all of a sudden, a bunch of sirens came blaring down the street towards here.

      

“KYYYYAAAAAAA!” Melissa ducked down and hid beneath the windows, on the seats of her car.

     

“Please officers! Don’t arrest me! I’m just an Uber driver! Please let me go! WAAAA!~”

      

*KNOCK*

          *KNOCK*

                    *KNOCK*

      

“K-KKYYYYYYAAAAAAAAA!”

Melissa sat up quickly, to see a police officer standing there next to her window.

That’s it! I’m about to become an accessory to that young girl’s murder or something!

     

She nervously and clumsy rolled down her window, one inch at a time, until it was just about halfway.

She stuck her hands out towards the officer, while closing her eyes and not looking.

“Please officer! Have mercy! I don’t know why I was told to wait here!”

     

“What are you talking about?”

“Huh?!”

Melissa opened her eyes, to look at the police officer. Who was looking down at her with a confused expression on his face.

“I… I just need you to move your car ma’am, we have more vehicles coming, and we need this street cleared.” He informed her.

      

“H-Huh?!”