Fanfiction Investigative Journalism

AN: I wrote this one a few months ago. I've always liked Gabby and Ty, and I wanted to do something that kinda fleshed them out while also paying homage to both the games and episode 9 of Generations.

“You're a tough one, Brendan!” Gabby exclaimed as she recalled her Whismur. “I knew I had the right idea when we spotted you,” she continued before looking at her partner, the cameraman, and asking, “Right, Ty?”
Ty merely rolled his eyes as he returned his Magnemite to its Pokéball. “You always say that, Gabby.” Contemplating the Pokéball in his hand, he added, “but in this case I think you're right.” The battle had indeed been grueling for all three of them, and truth be told Ty was still miffed that he couldn't carry around more than one Pokémon while on the job, but Brendan had managed to defeat them with his Nincada and Treecko. 'I need to train some more... wish I'd listened more while at the academy,' he thought to himself.

“Could you tell us about your thoughts on the battle?” Gabby asked after picking up her portable microphone and Ty hoisted his camera onto his shoulder. “Keep it short and sweet, okay?”

Brendan, for his part, didn't care much about being on the news but given how often he was training in the field it was hard to remember to call his parents. “It was a great test,” he replied. “I can see how far I need to go in my training if I'm ever going to surpass my father.”

Gabby beamed at the response. “Awesome!” she exclaimed. “Keep on training, and keep an eye out for the interview, alright? Hopefully we'll meet again!” With salutations recited, the two packed up and began the trek back to Mawville City, eager to get their best scoop ready for their news slot.

“You're pretty giddy for someone who just got beat in a battle, Gabs,” Ty commented as they made their way around the large grass patches. “Thankfully we stocked up on Repels before leaving.”

Gabby turned her head toward him and smiled, saying, “It was a great battle, Ty. And I don't know what it is, but when I saw him I thought, 'Hey, this kid looks like he's going to be a great trainer.' And I was right! After all, he is Norman's son, and despite just moving here the Petalburg Gym Leader has already made a name for himself with how tough he is; I bet he'd give even Winona a run for her money.”

Ty nodded in agreement. “Well, we'd better hurry. Hopefully we've done enough segments that the boss will give us better assignments. I'm itching for some action!”

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“Gabs, we need to get out of here!” Ty shouted as he struggled to hold onto his camera. The weather was fluctuating so much between blistering heat and torrential downpours that the winds were being kicked up in all directions, causing weaker homes to collapse and even solid structures like the Pokémon Center and the Mossdeep Space Center to creak and groan under the pressure.

“No way, Ty! This is the scoop of a lifetime, and we've got front-row seats!” Gabby exclaimed, the absolute glee in her voice showing as she turned to the camera. “Citizens of Hoenn, we're live on-location where the seas have become a battleground for two legendary Pokémon! In our earlier reports we caught wind of the plans of Team Magma and Team Aqua, and in a stunning turn of events not seen since the War they seem to have actually succeeded!” She practically forced Ty to turn around and survey the damage being done to the large island town. “As you can see,” she shouted into the mic, hoping her voice could be heard over the howling winds, “this has resulted in the complete devastation of Mossdeep City. We're told that everyone who wasn't able to evacuate to Lilycove City has taken shelter in the Pokémon Center and the Space Center, but authorities have yet to give any sort of time-table on when this battle will end, as none of their attempts at settling the creatures has worked. The Elite Four has mobilized to combat the problem, but I for one am not holding out hope.” Stepping in front of the camera, she stared into the lens and said, “Citizens of Hoenn, if this does not stop there will be no hiding from it, nowhere to run from the disaster that will destroy our region and spread to others. Pray to Arceus that relief will come soon. This is Gabby at HNN, signing out.”

On cue, Ty finally lowered his camera and stared at his partner. “Gabs...” he worriedly half-shouted as the winds died down for a moment, though it was likely that they would increase any second. “Come on, let's get to the Space Center.” Taking advantage of the lull in the rain to put his camera away, he brought his arm around Gabby and attempted to lead her away from the beach, but they both froze as a loud shriek blasted across the skies, different from the cries of the two legendary Pokémon and unique to anything they had ever heard before.

Gabby whipped around, out of Ty's grasp, and scanned the roiling clouds with fervent eyes. “Ty, look!” she screamed as a giant green serpent fell out of the sky, the clouds rolling away and the sun dimming from its previous harshness. Ty quickly pulled the camera back out and began rolling the film. They watched, despite the distance, as the serpent collided with the red legendary Pokémon and then the blue one before raising back into the sky, as if it was their parent and chiding them for throwing temper-tantrums. The two legendaries looked at it for a few seconds before retreating back to where they had come from – Kyogre to the bottom of the sea, and Grodon encased himself in hardened lava before sinking as well, presumably to return to Mt. Chimney where it had come from. The serpent let loose a frightening roar before dipping into Sootopolis City for a moment, after which it flew off back into the sky and disappeared. Gabby's knees gave out and she sank to the ground in shock over what had just happened. “I...” she whispered, “It's over...” Something clicked in her mind and she gasped as she looked at Ty, who was still filming. She quickly stood up, tried to smooth the wrinkles in her outfit, and stepped in front of the camera. “Citizens of Hoenn, you've just witnessed the miracle of a lifetime. I don't know how, but you just witnessed a giant dragon appear and force the legendary Pokémon back to sleep! You can rest assured the HNN will not rest until we get to the absolute bottom of everything that just happened. For now, though, I suggest that everyone should go out, visit with family and friends, and celebrate life. This is Gabby at HNN, signing out.”

“Are you going to follow your own advice?” Ty asked as he put the camera back in its case and deactivated his PokeNav connection to HNN headquarters. “You know I don't have any family, but when we get back to town I'm gonna go to the pub and relax...”

“Come on!” Gabby shouted, surprising Ty and making him susceptible to her grip and she dragged him (and their equipment) toward the docks. “We can't let this scoop get away! Next stop: Sootopolis!”

Ty groaned lightly but began to walk on his own, less being dragged and more walking alongside his partner now.

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“This wasn't quite what I meant...” Ty muttered to himself as he peered out of the slight opening of the sliding door that he and his partner hid behind. 'I blame Brendan for this...' he thought as he considered everything that had happened over the past year. After that fateful battle, they had run into him several more times, and each time the stakes were rising even higher. They had been sent to interview trainers around Fallarbor Town, but after spotting Brendan they tailed him to Meteor Falls, catching a battle between him, an unknown they later found out was Professor Elm's daughter, May, and Team Magma. Despite losing the battle, Magma managed to get away with a Meteorite shard by holding Professor Cozmo hostage. This began their rise to become Hoenn's biggest name in investigative journalism, but Arceus, it seemed, had more in store for them. They caught the break-in at the Weather Institute and even saved both Norman and Brendan afterward; the theft of Captain Stern's submarine by Team Aqua was captured on tape, though Interpol had initially confiscated it due to their need of information for the investigation; finally, they had witnessed the final battle between the legendaries they later found to be named Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza. Ty shuddered involuntarily as, despite how far away Mossdeep was from Sootopolis, there was no missing two gigantic Pokémon rise up from a volcano and under the sea, respectively. “Gabby, how's it going?” he asked, turning his head away from the doorway.

“Shush!” Gabby hissed as she typed away. “I'm trying to focus...”

Ty sighed, muttering an apology as he turned back to the door. He heard a light beeping behind him after a few more seconds of waiting.

“I found it!” Gabby whispered excitedly as she plugged in a flash drive and began downloading a file.

“The secret footage?” Ty whispered back as he moved closer to the computer. “Can I watch?”

“Just hold on... I'll start it up while it downloads,” Gabby replied. She double-clicked on the file and a small video file began next to it.

Unknown to them, a small alarm was going off in at the head scientist's console in the main room of the Space Center. Noticing it, he sighed with exasperation as he stood up and began walking the halls of the Center with a couple of security guards.

Meanwhile, the video showed Rayquaza, the green serpent-dragon that had calmed Kyogre and Groudon, smash head-first into a meteorite heading right for Mossdeep City. The camera, which was situated on a satellite, captured a close-up of the Pokémon and showed that there was an object sitting atop it. “Is that... a Trainer?” Gabby whispered, a freeze-frame picture of Brendan immediately coming to mind. They watched as the Trained flipped off of Rayquaza and landed on one of the solar panels of the satellite, but before they could get a better look at him the camera shifted to the remnants of the meteorite. As it got closer, they could see a triangle piece floating almost randomly among the wreckage before expanding, its pieces bending and twisting almost like a virus until it formed a humanoid shape and sent a blast at Rayquaza. Thus the battle began between the green serpent and the alien, seeming to them as some sort of sci-fi show as the two exchanged blows. To be fair, though, it wasn't so much exchanging blows as Rayquaza shrugging off any attack while continuing to collide with the alien, battering it with physical impacts and blasting it with pure dragon energy. The alien shifted forme several times, but even as it went into a defensive posture it could not hold the dragon off. As the alien drifted, the Trainer threw a ball at it and captured the creature within and remounting Rayquaza in order to return to the surface.

“He captured it... so it was a Pokémon!?” Gabby gasped; such a thing had been unheard of, and would definitely change the nature of how the world saw Pokémon.

Ty cleared his throat. “Uh, Gabs... the download finished ages ago, y'know...” he muttered, pointing to the flash drive.

“Oh!” Gabby said, blinking as if awakening from a dream before pulling it out and slipping it into her pocket. “A trainer captured that Pokémon... we have to find out who and why.”

“You two!” someone shouted from outside the door. Knowing the jig was up, they stepped out to see the head scientist and a couple of security guards. “You're from HNN in Mawville... I was under the impression that the interview regarding the space rocket wasn't until later this afternoon.” Though Gabby and Ty said nothing, the scientist held out his hand and continued. “You saw nothing... That's in all of our best interests.”

Gabby frowned in exasperation, pulling out the flash drive and beginning to put it in the hand of the scientist before chucking it to the side. She then darted down the hallway, picking up the drive as she ran by it and the two were chased by security.

The scientist simply frowned. “It's far too soon... for the world to know that information...”

AN: This is a one-shot, so feel free to reply with any critiques you may have in this thread. That said, I hope you enjoyed it!