If you would rather not read this introduction, which will
definitely be the longest chapter in this game, then scroll to the bottom to see who has been murdered and who has been accused. Guesses for who the murderer is can happen after chapter 3, and after this chapter, I plan on shortening it down by about half so it's easier to read. Feel free to CTRL+F your character if you don't want to read it all, but most of it is pure dialogue.
Don't give away who you expect is the murderer, but feel free to use evidence to keep your character alive and throw the suspicion on others! You can influence another member's PM!
Chapter One
The shades are slightly closed. The sunlight is dim. Dust particles fly in the air. You spin around in your chair and slam your black palms on the table. Your light brown hat is faded and worn, perfect for the scene you portray ever so accurately. On the other side of your wooden table is a client, fragile and worried. You shine the nearby lamp, one that looks like the mascot from Pixar, right into the shy Pokemon’s face. You look around with your dull eyes and see the perfect example of a black-and-white detective movie.
“What is it this time, Ms. Cinccino?” you ask bluntly.
“I just wanted to remind you that Mayor Victini is hosting a party, and you and your partner are both invited. You agreed to be in attendance before, so I am just confirming your arrival?”
“When did I--
my partner?” you growl as the evolved creature can be seen in the doorway.
The figure flicks on the switch of the office room and turns the bright light on, effectively eliminating the scenery and nostalgic atmosphere. He laughs, his red poison sac throbbing. Cinccino quickly steps out of the tense room as you, a pre-evolution of your partner, step up to your biggest enemy.
“Toxicroak, I told you to cancel that appointment.”
“I guess he just can’t take no for an answer,” Toxicroak shrugs, flipping some bills between its fingers as if to count out how much he has.
“Where did you get that cash?” you ask suspiciously.
The Pokemon stares at you for a moment with its ugly expression and then claims that it is none of your business. You hesitantly join the creature in a stride down the hallway of the building and outside. You, being too short, have to go around Toxicroak’s car and sit in the passenger seat.
. . .
“Oh, yes, I would enjoy a glass of water!” giggles Gardevoir, leading Smeargle to leave the kitchen for a brief period of time.
You move past her and slams into a shady figure, Sneasel. Rumor has it she used to be a Gligar but turned dark, but rumors are rumors. She is one nasty woman, hateful and jealous and definitely not the woman you would expect the mayor to marry.
“And I said to him--Sir, I’m going to have to Axew to Bayleef the property!” cries a cackling, choking voice masked in a snobbish accent.
The crowd around the voice roars with laughter at the subpar joke, and you roll your eyes in response. Mayor Victini always had been a showoff. You push your way through to see the mayor, the front of his ears more orange than ever, standing by Blissey, the lawyer, Toxicroak, Natu, the news reporter, and Slowpoke, the so-called “professor” here in Bafu Town. You turn to Victini and watch small droplets of saliva fly out of his mouth as he yaps.
“I won the lottery
again yesterday, and I said to the man, I said ‘Thank you, kind sir! I now have more money than a Meowth using Pay Day in a bank!’” he laughs.
Again, his joke was met with shallow chuckles. You notice the large, pink Pokemon whispering something in the mayor’s ear, and she then drags him out of the group and into a private area. You slowly pass through the remaining guests and attempt to eavesdrop on different conversations.
“You only get to keep the cash if you do the deed,” whispers Sneasel to your partner, Toxicroak. “If that
thing is still alive by tomorrow, it’ll be your head that I mount in the front office. You know, right beside the picture of the mayor? It’ll look mighty fine side-by-side.”
You then shift your focus to a few other individuals around the room.
“SMEARGLE! Where in the name of
Arceus itself is my brunch and hot tea? I have been waiting forever!” the mayor snaps from the corner of the room.
“Victini--” Blissey begins.
“That’s Mayor Victini, to you,” he smiles.
“Victini,” Blissey continues, “I want to know if you have any new information on what may have happened to my future husband? You know, the one that was killed while doing one of
your missions?”
“I have had no affiliation with Lickilicky and I do not appreciate your harassing. I will gladly have you removed if you speak to me in such a manner again. Remember that I have always been more of a politician than you will be, so don’t try to play any tricks.”
“You can throw me out if you want to, but if you do, I will go public with my accusation and will ruin your reputation no matter what happens. People will see
you, Mayor Victini, as the accused, the shameful, the loser. Not me, you!”
With that, Blissey storms off to another part of the house and you begin walking across the living room again once Victini rejoins the crowd. You walk through a pair of saloon-swinging doors and enter the bright kitchen. You exchange greetings with Smeargle, the chef, and begin to ask him questions as he cooks.
“Hello, Smeargle, it’s nice to see you again. What seems to be the problem?” you ask casually.
“Victini’s the only problem here, Croagunk. Remember how I came to you last month hoping you could find some dirt on him? I’d love to give that chuckling weasel a real run for his money,” the Pokemon mutters, squeezing a soaked tail out in the sink.
“Why is that?”
“He overworks and underpays. He throws more parties, makes fun of everyone--whatever it takes to make himself look good. Just look out over there,” he whispers, and the two of them stare out a side window through to Victini’s possi.
“Slowpoke, how long did it take you to finish your schooling as a professor? Most Pokemon only need a few years, but you’re unfortunately not that lucky, am I right?”
The pink Pokemon frowns at the comment and remarks Victini’s rudeness. “You better watch what you say because I’m smarter than you’ll ever be.”
“I highly, highly doubt that,” the politician smirks, the guests smirking and giggling. Natu, Gardevoir, Cinccino, and Toxicroak now surround the host.
“I have a degree in Chemistry, one of the most difficult sciences provided at the University. I am a certified professor, the only one here in Bafu Town, let alone in this southern part of the region!” Slowpoke asserts, his face reddening.
“Yes, well, paper is paper. I mean, all the paper I won not too long ago kind of shows my superiority, does it not? I was hoping you could provide some scientific advice for my administration, and I would obviously help you in exchange, but it looks like I was wrong. Too bad, huh?”
“...”
Slowpoke exits the room and heads into the kitchen, claiming he needs to grab a quick snack before returning. Slowpoke walks slowly past you and Smeargle, missing the food, and goes to cry in a corner alone. Smeargle throws his hands out as if to say “isn’t it obvious?” It is, of course, but you are a guest of the mayor’s...you cannot tell him how to run his job right now. Slowpoke rummages through some shelved items and Smeargle readies the tea, so you leave the room and go to the bathroom, only to see a small purple cat dart out suspiciously. You shrug and enter the bathroom, do your business, and then hear voices coming from the ventilation shaft above:
“I have to find the house’s deed! Victini is not keeping this property under my watch. I will pry it from his cold dead hands,” a petite voice rants.
You exit the bathroom and begin up the stairs of the mansion when, all of a sudden, you look down at the ground floor and see Smeargle bringing the tea out. In the middle is a large glass, presumably for the mayor, and you see Gardevoir casually knock into Smeargle, catch the tea tray, and quickly sprinkle some sort of substance into the cup. You narrow your eyes, take a mental note, and go up the stairs to investigate the theft above.
Upstairs, there are three rooms--two bedrooms and a large closet. You enter the master bedroom and find the source of the shy voice from before--a small Roselia is prying open a small safe from under Victini’s bed.
“Is there anything I can do to help you, miss?” you interrupt, causing her to shriek and drop the case on the floor.
“I wasn’t stealing from it.”
“But you were going to,” you raise an eyebrow.
“That’s beside the point. This house was mine before he built over it. It’s about time that I get what’s rightfully mine,” she explains.
You notice her lack of opposable thumbs and shrug. You exit the room and head into the closet, but slowly backtrack as you see two Pokemon, a Togekiss and a Nidoking, having a touching moment in the closet. Moving on to the final room upstairs, you see a nervous Cinccino pacing back and forth.
“Is there anything I can do to help you, miss?” you repeat to this young Pokemon, and she states that she overheard Pokemon talking about Victini hiring a hitman to take out his ex-girlfriend, the lawyer. She continues running around the room squealing and you leave her alone to do it.
You walk back downstairs and catch first Gardevoir leaving the room, and then Victini not too far behind her. What could they possibly be doing?
. . .
You hear a shriek, a scream, an “ah-ha!” and run to the bedroom where everyone had apparently gone while you sunk down the stairs over the drama.
You rush to the private room and see Sneasel, Toxicroak, and Natu, the news reporter, staring at the guilty Gardevoir and Victini, the latter two having kissed just seconds before, according to Sneasel.
“What’s going on?”
“I hired Toxicroak to stalk Victini to see what he’s been up to, and I found it! He’s with
another woman!” Sneasel screeches.
“It’s not what you think,” Gardevoir calms her down, but Toxicroak grabs her by an arm and leads her out of the room.
“Mayor Victini, what is your comment on cheating with your wife?” Natu asks, pointing a microphone at the politician.
“What are you talking about?”
“What just happened!”
“Huh? I recollect nothing. Stop writing tabloids, you insolent water fowl.”
Everyone leaves the room so Sneasel and Victini can share a moment together, however soon after they leave, Sneasel screams. You anticipate domestic violence and come to see Victini’s corpse lying face-first on the ground. Sneasel claims that he just fell over, that she did nothing, but Toxicroak grabs her, too, by the arm and begins pulling her away.
All the guests panic. You declare the house to be on lock-down and write down all names of guests as a list of possible suspects. You turn Victini’s body over and see poison bubbling out of his mouth--something in the tea must have poisoned the mayor!
“Smeargle, how dare you?” Sneasel shouts above the panic. “You come so low as to poison my was-going-to-be-ex-husband because you wanted
money? Money?” Sneasel stops and breaks out of character. “Actually, I’d figure he’d go for some other reason,” she continues, but then gets back on track. “Croagunk, Toxicroak, take him away!”
Dead: Mayor Victini (bbninjas)
Accused: Smeargle the Cook (Keeper of Night)
*I just wanted to point out that this chapter will be the longest one by far and not every character will experience as much dialogue in the future; this was more of an introduction of all the characters, so sorry for the long intro! Keeper of Night, you must PM me your alibi and who you cast your blame on by
November 20th!
This should be a good game, looking forward to seeing more of it!
