Pokémon: International Police Operations

Mars nearly smiled at Raichu's cheer and then opened the file to hand out two documents - one each for Kira and Elodie - plus a pen. I wouldn't have thought they'd respond this casually, and relatively quickly, to get into the field, she thought. Looking at the documents, and then to each of the girls, Mars said, "These are agreement documents I need you to fill out and sign as per International Police protocol. Your information will be documented and archived within the IP for mission purposes, and when you're done I'll need to have your pictures taken - so that you'll be issued an IP ID card."

Mars stood up to walk to the door, briefly left the room, and returned with another IP agent who held a camera and plenty of production equipment. Whatever Mars had mentioned earlier, it appeared that the creation of an ID card would be happening in this room. When Elodie and Kira had finished filling out the form and signing them, Mars took the files and hid them in the folder. Subsequently, Mars took out the other folder holding the pictures and the mission file.
"Right, so let's begin briefing," she said. "First of all, I want to welcome you two to the International Police - the principal organization whose purpose is to enforce the law and preserve peace through policing activity and - moreover - covert operations. I myself am part of the IP's intelligence division the IPI, so if there's information you need, I'll be the first on your contact list. I'll let you know that what information I'm sharing with you today is confidential and known only to members of the IP."

She passed the mission file to the girls. "For months, the IP has been keeping track on a severely dangerous crime organization called Fiera. We have had dealings with them in the past and they are not known to make hollow threats. Messing with their activities is the last thing any police force would want to do as they simply can find ways around to repair their activities and then they'll come for revenge. For the record, International Police Intelligence says they're made up of 18,000 assassins at the last count. So even for us at the IP, investigating them has been dangerous work."
"So here's the deal," Mars continued. "One of our senior agents, codenamed Looker, had mysteriously disappeared while investigating an area where Fiera is allegedly operating. With all of our agents and resources being expended to locate Looker whilst avoiding Fiera whenever possible, we really don't have agents to operate elsewhere. That's where you come in."

Mars held up a photo showing a building that apparently was victim of a bombing attack, with smoke and rubble littering the area.
"I don't know about you or whether you keep up with current events, but Veilstone City - and specifically where the Galactic Energy Company operates - was subject to a bombing last night. While we suspect this may be a terrorist attack, it's better if we get more information. Once we're through with administration stuff, I'll have the two of you deployed to Veilstone City."
It was then the IP agent in the room, who had taken the photos, had the cards produced and handed them over to Mars. The agent then bowed and walked outside. Silently, Mars handed the respective cards to the agents-to-be.
"Any questions?" she finally asked.

[Kira and Elodie each receive an International Police ID card]

 

Mars could understand the instant looks of shock on each of their faces, but held up a hand asking for their silence. Judging from Kira's expression, it would appear that she was worried for her home already. Even Elodie, whose history revolved around the death of her parents via explosion, could understand the gravity of the situation. (Mars knew enough of each of their background history, with IPI information allowing her to understand so).

"I can assure you that first of all, Kira, your home should be fine. The explosion only occurred at the company's warehouse," Mars explained. "Local police have reportedly closed off the area to the public, and the Galactic Energy Company says at least two workers were critically injured during the blast, but fortunately there have been no fatalities."
Mars moved on to look at the mission file. "For now, while we at the IP are looking for agent Looker, I am hereby deploying you to Veilstone City to investigate the situation. This is no doubt suspicious, as far as I'm aware the company has no dealing with explosives, but I need you to gather information or whatever clues you can find to see if there's any clue we can salvage from here."

Mars also sweatdropped before slowly adding, "And, uh... have a word with my old boss, Cyrus. He should probably be able to tell you what you need as he is overseeing the site of the explosion. Presenting yourselves as IP agents should do the trick."
As well, Mars stood up and distributed IP badges to Elodie and Kira in addition to their ID. When that was done, she said, "But you're never going to go into the field without equipment. That I promise. That's why you'll need to look for our gadget master, Atelier, downstairs. He's got silver mop hair, so you can't possibly miss him." Afterwards, Mars opened the room door to let them out.

(In case if you didn't know, the Galactic Energy Company is the corporation formed after the demise of Team Galactic)

 

I wouldn't have thought the information about Cyrus still being in the Distortion World was disclosed, Mars thought. She herself had been to the Distortion World to look for Cyrus, at one point, but unfortunately Mars found herself nearly getting lost in that time. Despite that, after all that had happened, it had surfaced that Cyrus had made his way out and had returned to Veilstone City in secret - not to recreate Team Galactic, but to take control of the newly founded energy company. Of course, this didn't mean the IP had been monitoring the Veilstone building everyday and every hour. Still, Mars kept silent on that.

Kira and Elodie eventually walked out of the room to downstairs as instructed by Mars. Even from this far away, looking from above, they could see the silver-coloured hair that belonged to the gadget master. No doubt it was him, since he was the only person with that kind of hair colour! After walking down the steps, the gadget master - Atelier - walked up to meet with them.
"Hello there!" he said. "My name is Atelier, but I suppose my friend Mars has told you that, eh?"

 

Clearly, Atelier's voice and personality was more casual and to some extent more cheerful than that of the serious atmosphere in the IP office. Perhaps it might have been due to him being the only creative person in the entire organization!
Atelier shook Elodie's hand with a wide smile. "Why, thank you, Elodie! You must be impressed by these gadgets, aren't you? Well, come on, you're in for a treat."

Atelier led the two girls to a large room on the same floor where they were met with a something of a workshop. Plenty of counters and tables, each with at least something on it, with tools, lights, and machinery lined up against the walls. There was a seal fibreglass box with transparent walls that looked like it was used for equipment testing, a desk with a lamp, and - on the side of the room - a leather lounge sofa with a coffee table. While Atelier headed to his desk, he gestured the girls to the sofa, as if telling them to take a seat.
"I'll have your equipment ready in a few minutes. Shall I fix you something to drink, in the meantime?"

Meanwhile, Mars - still in the meeting room - wrote down in the mission file a reminder of the objectives. When Atelier was done, Mars ought to deploy Kira and Elodie immediately. Sighing, Mars stood up and left the room.

 

"Oh, of course," Atelier said with a grin. "We are in Sunyshore City, after all. Why not?" From a machine, Atelier brought a plastic cup to it and filled it to the brim with water before bringing it to Elodie. The smile on her face certainly was a kind that wasn't easily forgotten when she came into the room.

"Trust me. You don't want to know how much these resources cost," Atelier joked. "In all seriousness, and not-so-seriousness, you might be impressed by what I have to offer! I remember this saying that agent Looker had created his own gadgets back then, and he made them so badly that the HQ office basically hired me to take over the gadget projects."
However, Atelier could tell that Elodie was quite excited to check out the gadgets, in light of her background with science equipment which also led Atelier to deduce a few things about her.
"So, Elodie, you seem to be the type to enjoy solving mysteries, judging from your science background and your fascination with all the equipment here," Atelier remarked, his smile still there. "You know, I might have just the things for you." With that, Atelier walked back to where he had retrieved Elodie's drink and looked around for whatever it was that he needed to find. That is, Elodie's gadgets which he recommended based on her profile and her personality no less.

He came back afterwards, with what looked like a scanner complete with a screen. "This is a Heartbeat Detector, with which you can use to detect three living beings within range of the device. Now, three might not seem like a lot, but that's only because the gadget is in its development stage. While you're in the field, I'll see that the detector will continue development and possibly be more effective. This will take time, though."
In the other hand, Atelier held a box and opened it to reveal three smaller packs each containing a variety of medications. "These are standard medical packs that each contain the items to treat all kinds of injuries in the field, but I haven't worked out how to treat serious injuries in the field yet. For the most part, it's better if you hold onto the box, so that if you ever run out of packs, all you need to do is contact me or the nearest office and I'll have a fresh supply ready for you."

Lastly, Atelier went back to pick up some smaller items and distributed them to Elodie and Kira. "You'll be needing to keep in contact with all of us at the IP, including Mars. If you need to reach anyone, just give a shout and HQ will connect you instantly. That goes without saying you'll need to keep in contact with each other. It should fit easily onto your ear, so it's very simple."

Atelier grimaced when he picked up a syringe complete with a sealed cap and metal needle. "But if it comes to the worst, there are times when you are almost going to die. In case if anything happens, when you think you're living your final moments, inject yourself with this syringe. It contains a suppression serum that should sustain your body and consciousness for the time being, but you have to get serious medical life support somewhere, so make it a priority to retreat. I haven't worked out how to deal with this with the medical pack yet, so this will have to do."

[Elodie receives 3 Medical Packs, a Heartbeat Detector, a suppression serum, and a communications earpiece.]
[Kira receives a suppression serum and a communications earpiece.]

 

Atelier had to duck before the lightning bolt soared above his head and hit the ceiling, causing a scorched dent on top. On the other hand, he rushed over to Raichu to catch the chemical in the nick of time. "Now, now, Raichu! There will be plenty of time to play, but this is not the place," he said, wiping some sweat off his head. "That's a formula I'm working on to develop the medical packs, so please don't touch too many things here. If there's something you want to touch, just ask me."
Seeing that Kira had helped herself to a drink, Atelier went over to the side to pick up three more items from his arsenal. There was another box of three medical packs, and two laser pointers.
"Here, Kira, is another set of three standard medical packs, as determined by your profile," Atelier explained, handing the box to her. "Plus, for you and Elodie also, here is a target laser which you can use to designate enemies with lasers and expose their weaknesses for you and your allies. However, like everything else, it's in development stage and it's only good for three uses until recharge. Wish I could help more, though, so yeah."

After handing the items to Elodie and Kira, Atelier heaved a sigh of relief. "Well, I hope these will be sufficient to help you in your investigations, but it makes me even happier that I can try out some fresh gadgets on you. Just do me a favour: bring the equipment back in one piece, and stay alive! I'd love for you to try out some new gadgets."
A few moments later, Mars and another IP agent burst into the room.
"Are you okay, Atelier?!" Mars asked. "We heard the lightning bolt and we thought something might have happened -"
"It's fine, Mars," Atelier assured, as if he was enjoying himself. "That Raichu over there might have overreacted just a bit..."
Mars looked unconvinced.

[Kira receives 3 Medical Packs, and 3 charges of Designation.]
[Elodie receives 3 charges of Designation.]
(You can now use whatever abilities you've allocated at this point.)

 

The way Kira talked, in light of her harsh tone, kind of reminded Mars a little of her past self as a Team Galactic commander. That same tone of how she treated her Pokémon and the slightly cold undertone in Kira's voice was simply too familiar to Mars, since she had done the exact same thing. No matter, Mars had put most of those traits behind her now - even though admittedly some of those traits would come back to haunt her - and now could focus on carrying out police work. At this point, Mars had straightened her tie and investigator's coat before going on to say, "Okay, so I bet you've got everything together. While our third agent has yet to arrive, I am deploying you to Veilstone City. When you're ready, you will find me at the elevator."

"I've also wired your earpieces to the same frequency as Mars'," Atelier added. "It's a secure channel that only I can control, so it shouldn't be easily intercepted." At the same time, he went over to clean up the mess Raichu had made. Mars, on the other hand, sent out her Purugly to keep her company.

(If you want to practise using your abilities, talk to Atelier. When you're ready to head to Veilstone City, talk to Mars.)