-THE MOJAVE DESERT-
The shuffling noises that one would hear in the heat of the Mojave are not what you'd expect to hear at the moment. The crunching of straw, as if something was shuffling along, made entirely of dried straw.
One would also not expect to see the creature shuffling and shambling along in the desert. Both because of how unfitting it is for the environment, and because of what exactly it is in the first place.
WHALESTRAND POINT
Another day, another meeting for Beck Gold. His benefactor had a vision in mind for the Neo Neo Kobbers - knowing they couldn't match the size of the Kobbers, they aimed to form a tight group, one that had a variety of skills and experiences. Beck was the one with his ear to the ground, finding member after member who would help them achieve that goal.
GLASETERA
To the north of Whalestrand Point looms a castle. The word is a bit of an exaggeration, as the building is more of a half ruined keep than a true castle, though the gothic silhouette still cuts a dramatic figure for anyone who's ventured north of the city, looming over the terrain. There were many rumors among newcomers to Whalestrand as to the inhabitants of that castle, though the truth was, only two actually dwelled within.
Right now, one of them slams his hands on a table.
-LAS VEGAS, NEVADA-
The glitzy neon of Vegas had never dimmed since the Kobbers had left it full time. People came and went, the mark of the Kobbers still clear on the city and their actions memorialized, but Vegas had also moved on in some ways. It had been nearly a decade since the Kobbers had been the stars of the show, and new stars had risen. While the Kobbers had never been forgotten, and never would be, the specifics of their stories in Vegas were told less, now the stuff of dedicated Kobber museums capitalizing on their time in Vegas rather than the word on the street.
It's in the shadow of this that the man in yellow looks at his guests.
Atop a large building, the wind blows. Shirley takes a deep breath, her green hair rustling in the wind as she takes in the atmosphere. Here, on the twentieth floor... a nice vantage point. Taking out her binoculars, she begins to scan the area. She'd been here for a week now, watching through the binoculars. Learning people's routines. Studying where they went, who visited what businesses, what paths they liked to take.
Now, she was finally satisfied. Happy with her knowledge. And she zooms in on a man sitting outside a cafe.
Shirley hadn't bothered reading all the intel her client had given her, but this unassuming man was a serial killer - her client had lost a relative to him. She'd skimmed a few bits of a manifesto he left at the scene of a crime, but didn't really care to read the whole thing, as it was mostly rambling nonsense about testing how much people actually loved each other with deadly consequences. It wasn't what mattered.
What did matter was there was just enough info to piece together who he might be. Not enough to stand up in a court of law, but enough that her client had found out who he was, and Shirley had started scanning information about his past. In the right locations for the crimes of the same MO... fit the voice that was left on an audio recording to rant about how much people needed to be tested... it all clicked.
Now was just execution.
Assembling her sniper rifle, the huntress looks through her scope at her prey. Shirley wouldn't hurt a human without cause, but in her mind, someone she accepted a contract on was no longer a person in her mind, just a target. She watches the man as he continues to eat. She could take him out now, but that would cause a scene and a manhunt that she didn't want.
Besides, she had already set up her trap.
Shirley waits for another fifteen minutes, remaining prone and quiet on the rooftop as she watches - she knew nobody came up to this roof, having scoped it out earlier. The man stands up, leaving his money on the table to pay, and begins to walk away. Casually strolling, like any other person in the city.
He walks by an alleyway. There. Shirley carefully aims into the alleyway, and fires once, her bullet striking several stacked boxes and causing them to collapse. Natural human curiosity takes care of the next step, the man curiously walking into the alleyway to see what the noise was about. He looks around, confused, picking up one of the boxes.
Now. Already adjusted for wind and gravity. Shirley aims.
She fires.
Her bullet pierces straight through the back of the serial killer's head, the man dead before he hits the ground. With nobody walking by there, it would take a little while for anyone to find the body. Someone would, of course, but she had aimed such that both her bullets had hit the wall, severely damaging any ballistic markings they might have left. With any luck, this would be written off as some sort of alleyway altercation gone wrong.
Shirley takes her time packing her sniper rifle back into her briefcase, before closing it up and exiting the roof. Next was spending a couple days in Milwaukee before she took a rental car out of the city, already knowing her general plan of travel - especially since her client now had the other 70% of her fee to pay.
A hunter's work, after all, was never done.
-GLASETERA, NEAR THE MOUNTAINS-
“Helloooo, Iono Zone! Here we are!” Iono, the streamer extraordinaire, spins on her heel as she gestures towards a small hotel. Still somewhat removed from the actual mountains, but close enough to have them looming directly overhead, enough that you could use it as a waypoint if you wanted to go out there and just say you’d been there, this little cabin did quite a lot of tourist business. Iono had opened the floor to suggestions on where to visit for her next stream, and this had won.
So, now, she eagerly pushes the door open, looking around to see if on a winter’s night a traveler had shown up that would be interesting to talk to… or, depending on who they are, to mess with. She snickers to herself and to chat.
A quick glance reveals that the streamer… doesn't have many options, actually. There's not much activity in the dining area, only a couple of the cabin's small handful of guests up and active right now. Even in this cozy cabin, it seemed, the cold outside kept some people bundled up in the comfort of a bed.
-THE GLASETERA REGION-
"Ughhhh. It's too cold..."
Iono whines as she tromps through the snow, grumbling as she walks further north of Whalestrand Point. Ahead of her, the mountains loom, Iono pulling her jacket tight. At least her destination wasn't beyond the mountains, where eternal snow and ice ruled... but just because she was on this side of the peaks didn't mean that when the depths of winter fell, the snow couldn't creep south. Sure, she traded out her usual, iconic jacket for a warm and tight one, but as her hairclips twist and get a great image of her face, her audience gets to look at Iono's grumpy expression.
Not even her chat was that active tonight. This was one of her Mystery Expedition streams, and the past few hadn't produced much in the way of results, mostly ending with Iono unable to find any sources or only discovering some urban legend blown out of proportion. For that reason, only a small group of Iono Hype Squad regulars are in chat, cheering her on. She smiles for the camera, before letting it drop as another gust of cold air hits her face.
"Tonight's Mystery Expedition is... the abandoned power substation a few miles north of Whalestrand Point!" Iono'd told the stream early that morning. "It was originally built as part of relaying electricity to the smaller villages along the peninsula, but when the systems were rebuild and extended later, this one was rendered redundant. Even so, there's been reports of plenty of electrical activity there. So yours truly is going to go investigate!"
Sneezing in the cold, thinking about the substation, Iono grumbles. Was this even worth the time and effort? As she trudges, pushing through some leafless trees, she perks up as she notices what's ahead. Grinning, Iono runs forward, her sleeves flopping, as she sees the electric substation, lights flashing from inside. She hurls one of her Premier Balls ahead of her, the ball bursting open to send out her other Pokemon besides Magneton.
Bellibolt runs with her, the huge electric frog stopping at the entrance to the substation, next to an overly large snow drift. Iono walks up behind it, looking as electricity arcs over the various aspects of the substation, one bolt after another jumping around.
"Hmmm. Well, chat, if I know my electricity, and I do-"
"AHA!"
Iono jumps a foot in the air, along with Bellibolt, as the snowdrift next to them simply explodes. Rising up out of it, and tossing aside a heavily insulated blanket, is a woman neither of them recognizes.
"I knew that if I waited around here, the perpetrators of the suspicious activity would return!"
"...Who are you?" Iono asks awkwardly, to which the woman reaches into her vest pocket and produces a badge. "Katelyn, authorized ranger of the Glasetera region. State-appointed, it's the job of us Rangers to stop activities against nature as far as Glasetera extends!" "I... uh. I see.
Chat is she for real?" Iono whispers, waiting for her chat to ping back. A few of them chime in, confirming that Glasetera does have a nature ranger division, so Iono nods and then puts on her best smile. "Welllll, nice to meet you, Ranger Katelyn! I'm Iono, maybe you've heard of me?"
"I haven't."
"...The Iono Zone? Famous internet stream?"
"I don't watch internet streams."
"Oh. Er. Well, I swear, I'm just here to find out what's causing all this! The same as you!" Iono flails her arms to try and communicate, Katelyn looking her over with a practiced eye. "...You don't look like the usual poachers we get. For one thing, you're underdressed for the weather-"
"...What about YOU?"
"And for another, you haven't tried to break for it yet. So, if you want to find out what's going on here, you can... but I'm coming with you."
"Well, sure! You hear that, Iono Zone? We're live on camera with Ranger Katelyn here! Hey, wanna say something for the camera?"
"What? I- um, well- h-hi mom?" Katelyn stammers, before seeing Iono running off into the substation, alongside Bellibolt. She yells and chases after her, only to bump into Bellibolt as Iono stares at the way that the main power relay continues to flash and flicker. There was something that it reminded her of, from reading about it...
Walking up, Iono just kicks the relay. It flashes again... and something emerges.
As the creature appears, Katelyn gives Iono a confused look. "What is that thing?"
"It's a Rotom!" Iono says, excitedly. "It's a Pokemon that likes to mess with electrical equipment. And I'm gonna catch it! Go, Bellibolt!"
Excited, the frog Pokemon leaps into the battle, darting towards Rotom. It only knew Electric, Ground, and Water moves, and Rotom was immune to the only one of those it'd be weak to... but that didn't stop Iono and her Pokemon from just whittling it down through electricity! As Katelyn watches, thoroughly out of her element now, Bellibolt sends a storm of electricity through the substation, Rotom taking several strikes. It gives as good as it gets, but Iono has healing items, and thanks to all that, Rotom's soon dangling limply.
Hurling an empty ball, Iono pumps her hands as she tosses a Premier Ball, grinning as it snaps shut around Rotom and stops wiggling. Iono walks over and grabs up the ball, tossing it between her sleeve-covered hands before snapping it back into place with the other two, having recalled Bellibolt. Katelyn looks around at the dark substation.
"So... that was causing the power disruptions?"
"You got it! Problem solved, mystery revealed! And this time, Iono Hype Squad, there was an actual cause behind it!"
The chat - or at least the small group in it - overflows in hype. Katelyn just scratches her head. "Well, I guess that means my mission here is done.
To the west, then. A ranger's work is never done."
Katelyn hurries away, while Iono fistpumps... and then looks up at the sky. Though it was only 3:30 PM, the season meant it was pitch dark. She shivers.
"...Chat, does anyone remember the way back to town?
...Dangit."
