mtsilver_conquor | PSL for deductiongeek

PSL for deductiongeek

The match had been announced a month ago; somehow the Orange Island League had managed it and it'd been a month of leading up to, as they put it 'the match of Champions'. Of schools, both normal and trainer, talking about it and the game-changing history Eva had made when she'd become the youngest ever Champion in the history of the League. Of preparations of the influx of tourists.

Now, it was here and the Beikoda Stadium was the place to be.

Even two hours before match start, the market outside the stadium was a riot of people (families, friends, tour-groups, school groups, police, security etc) and pokemon (both working and non), of smells from various fast food vendors (most of it Touristy Foods that barely passed as Actual Orange Islands Food), and most of all, an explosion of colour. From bags to pokeballs to crafters and even the odd game stall, it seemed never-ending.

It was the perfect place to blend in (probably? she doesn't move like a local and she's far to alert to be anything other than a professional trainer) and grab a bite to eat if you asked Eva, even if she'd pulled her ballcap down as far as it'd go.

Technically, she was taking a very big risk in that she could be recognised, even with the non-descript clothes she wore. Jeans, boots, long-sleeved shirt, face mask on as if she had a cold, hair tightly braided and tucked up under the hat. Even her pokebelt was plain with only three 'balls on it. About the only thing that'd mark her as maybe interesting (or suspicious) was the Escape Rope coiled around her waist.

Oh, she knew she should be hiding backstage in the private lounge, but really, she was more than a little bored and it wasn't like she didn't have an out if she was recognised. Plus, she thought as she weaved her way through the crowds until she found a break to escape and hunker down at one of the nearby benches so she could actually be polite about eating (eating while walking? perish the thought), it was good to listen to the chatter of the crowd.

"Gods, it's going to be intense later on." It's more a mutter, not meant to be overheard, as she digs into the fried rice. "Oh hey, this is good. I should get seconds to take with me..."

Or at least a bag full so she could share with her team after she wins the match. Not that she voices that thought; she's trying to keep a low profile after all, not attract attention.

To bad Fate has other ideas.

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He tilts his head slightly, as if listening. "If you want to avoid attention, Ms. Trainer, you should probably leave now."

The security guards may be coming, but a trio of excited kids (and Haibara) are likely to arrive first.

And as if right on cue, because fate is a fox and enjoys laughing at them, there is a "CONAN! We're supposed to go together!" From Ayumi. So much disappointed frowny child. So much.

"Thanks, kid," Eva mutters as brown eyes widen. Eva then takes that as her cue to swap places with one of the gathered people, somehow managing to beg off giving a name and 'just a trainer from a Johtan border town with a cold'.

And then she calmly exits stage left. Mostly, because she grabs her lunch and retreats to another bench not far away, this time hidden by the growing crowd. It's one thing to avoid attention and another to not make sure civilians are safe. It's the least she can do for a city hosting her show match, after all.

"Hey, was that a trainer just now?" Ayumi asks; she knows she saw someone get up and leave! "Did we miss a trainer making an arrest too?!"

Conan allows himself to be distracted by the kids as she leaves, but he makes a note to look for her. A trainer trying to avoid notice was noteworthy enough that it might come up later.

"Mmm, a trainer from Johto," he tells Ayumi. "She arrested the person I was chasing. Bit it was just a pickpocket, so no one missed much. Lets go find out if Genta's finished deciding on the food, okay?"

On one hand, she'd really like to go find the trainer, but on the other hand, Conan saw it happen. "Okay, but you gotta tell us everything. She was as cool as Kamen Yaiba, right?"

Said as she tugs him back towards the rest of the kids and the professor.

Now, if Eva knew he'd look for her later, she'd have changed up her disguise and put more 'balls on the belt, but she doesn't. As it is, she's going to thoroughly enjoy her lunch and try and put the possible telepath/empath out of mind, out of sight.

As it is, after she's done her lunch, Eva's more interested in the touristy stalls. Well, right up until she actually notices the police near the lobby entrance.

(it's a police presence that's been growing over the last half hour-ish and for those that know, what looks like a bomb squad or two trying to be discrete and not panic everyone and their monster-)

Even as she gets closer -curious bystander who might be a trainer (and not internally debating if she should reveal herself and possibly be of some use), she has an ominous feeling.

"Excuse me, what's going on here?" Her fake accent is still terrible, btw.

Later, Conan finally manages to ditch the kids again with an excuse about going to get food for them.

But as so often happened, he gets distracted by the sight of the police gathering at the entrance. Was something going on?

He immediately approaches them... and just as immediately recognizes the trainer. Now what was she doing here?

He slows down, hiding within the crowd, and waits to hear the officer's answer.

"Nothing to be too concerned about, miss," the offer starts only to pull up short when -ID? Or a badge case?- is briefly shown and the officer's eyes flicker to the hat and face mask before shrugging. It's not unheard of trainers with a complete badge set to end up famous somehow. "There's been a bomb threat made and the safety of the participants has been called into question. We're keeping it under wraps as to not panic the crowds."

Eva noticeably stiffens, badge case -the kind designed for multiple sets- clattering to the ground unnoticed. For all she has an Escape Rope, it's set to take her backstage, not get her out of harm's way. "I don't- I don't like bombs," she manages at the officer's concerned look. "I- Is there somewhere I can sit?"

"Of course, this way."

Usually when Conan ran into a bomb situation he was working with a little more. His usual police officers had gotten used to him, and knew that showing him any information they received would often bring results.

These weren't his police officers. He was going to have to work around them. But he needed to at least see the threat. In his experience, a lot of bombers weren't able to resist the cleverness of putting a clue to their location in the note.

Silently slipping closer, Conan deliberately makes himself look as childish and harmless as possible as he smiles brightly up at the officer.

"There was a threat? Can I see?"

"Yes, but it's nothing to worry about," the officer says soothingly while he gets Eva to the nearest bench. She sits and the ex-Champion all but buries her face in hands before she registers the voice. There's the briefest freeze before she blinks at the child.

"You're that kid from before," she says, not sure what to make of this outside 'probably a coincidence'. Hopefully. She really doesn't want to have to resort to bribery to keep her identity a secret. "But the officer's right. It's hopefully nothing, just someone looking for a minute of fame." A glance to the officer. "Even so, the kid's right. Could we see the threat?"

"Ah..." The officer looks between them.

"I'm Darkened," Eva lies, though the lie sounds real and true. "If the kid's a psychic, I can calm him down."

The officer buys it, especially given how many use contacts these days. "There's not much to see. It came by phone with only a number. Eight bombs in all, around the stadium and backstage areas."

If Eva looked pale behind the mask before, she's froslass-white now, even as she blindly reached for Conan in an attempt to keep up the 'I'm a Darkened' illusion. "The Mirage Spirits in mating danceflight..."

It's enough to burn anyone's ears, though not as bad as if she'd added in one of the lugia species many, many titles. She should probably watch her language around the kid.

Edited (mostly curses and then a small worldbuilding thing.) 2020-08-20 11:58 (UTC)

If Conan was at all alarmed, you wouldn't be able to tell it from his expression. If anything, a stranger would guess that he was simply annoyed at the situation.

"What was the number? And what time did it arrive? There may be a clue in the timing." He pauses as he notes the officer's rather alarmed reaction. "I'm the Sleeping Kogoro's assistant," he offers in a rather unconvincing explanation. "I've seen a lot of bomb cases before. There is usually some kind of hint in the notice to further clues."

Eva's exclamation gets a rather irritated reaction. "Language. Shouldn't you be trying to set an example?"

As unconvincing as it is, it's still enough of a namedrop to get a little more info. "Burner; we found it several blocks away," the officer says and Eva's heart sinks because that's not good at all. "It came in 11:08. 'I have put eight around; the stadium and backstage.'"

"So, roughly 40 mins ago," Eva muttered, did the mental maths and winced. They hadn't been able to teleport in directly either. Not without causing a panic. "And the Champions?"

She knows the answer, of course. Or at least part of it. "We haven't been able to locate Iden'no, but we have Okido under guard away from the stadium."

"I," Eva started, low enough for only the kid to hear. "Will give you and your friends a full backstage tour complete with meet-the-team if you do not out me. Please?"

Bribery with something offered to very few people. Yep. She's not above it.

Most of Conan's attention was on what he could overhear from the officers,but he still spares enough attention on Eva to hear her offer. He considers for a moment.

"Let me tag along on this investigation, and its a deal."

"-Fine." It's clear she doesn't like the idea; he's a child and he shouldn't be anywhere near this. But at the same time, she's pretty sure this kid would try and tag along anyway. Plus, this is a threat to her show match. to her boyfriend's life. to her life. She wants to be involved too.

But first they need to ditch the officer. She turns her attention to them. "Any idea when-"

"No, but given how high profile this is..." They shrug a bit. "Would it be too much to ask you to-"

"Not at all," Eva can read between the lines and she doesn't like it. But at least they were warned -can it be called that?-, not caught flat-footed in the middle of a match. "I'll take the kid and-and find his mum."

Conan puts on a bright childish face for the cops and plays along.

"Thank you! I think I saw her back in the stadium!"

"Let's good find her then. I bet she's gotten you good sets for the match, hmm?" Said with a grin to her voice, and bow to the officer- then a sheepish look as she retrieves her now noticed badge case- before she leads them in.

It's only once they're out of sight and earshot of the police that Eva lets out a sigh, pulls out her Rotomi and opens up the app linked to her Storage System Account. "Any types or mons you're scared of? I can use what I have on me, but if this is motivated..."

And that is very much a Pallet town Kanto accent now.

The moment they were out of sight of police, Conan lets the childish act drop. His body language and vocal tone adjusts into something far more mature.

"Call whatever is useful. There aren't any types that bother me."

Eva nearly misses a step at that. Even by rural standards, that's odd, never mind this is a city. Still, there's lots of reasons for it, from the kid being part of a Gym family to owning a dragon to someone in the family being a caretaker of a god-species.

"Excellent," Eva says instead of the many, many questions rolling around her skull. She's got Skeeta, Oddball, and Barclay with her, but who else... "Let's see..." Her eyes light up. "Ever flown fossil-back before?"

Asked as she taps the aerodactyl sprite; five seconds later, a premierball's in her hand and she's grinning. "I can give you a 'mon too if you need it."

A shake of his head as one hand rests on his pocket for a moment. He had the single ball that was there for everyone to see.... and hidden, he still had the others.

"I'm okay. And no, I've never ridden one of those before."

"Good." Eyes flick to the hand on the pocket, even as she nods, assuming it's a parental-owned or pre-trained monster.

Fingers fly across the screen as she taps the sprite for a blastoise -in a pokeball- and an oricorio -in a levelball-, the 'balls soon on her belt withe others.

"Right. You'd know things around the Islands better than me," Never mind she's talking to at best a 7-year-old. As far as Eva knows or cares, he's a psychic of some sort.. and I won't assume same set-up re: stadiums."

Between the Orange Islands and Kanto that is. "So, what's the best way to proceed? - and your name, or a name I can use?"

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PSL for deductiongeek

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Whoops, left this way too long

Pfft. Not that long /pats

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/small novel. Also you're free to NPC the officer as required

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