Illusion of Resolution

“And so, that’s why what I did was perfectly reasonable,” Andrew said, as he and Thomas strolled down a quiet street. Their feet clopped against the dull grays of the cobblestone road. Pokemon dotted the street corners, chatting while sitting on doorsteps and large benches which lined the buildings. 

 “I don’t know, Andrew. That seemed like a bit much, and Mister Spinda wasn’t too happy.” Thomas unraveled a crumpled piece of paper with his vines. It was a dull yellow and had faded blue lines, which were filled by a scribbled cursive. “We only have a few more blocks to go before we reach the suspect’s house.”

“If somebody attacks you it only makes sense to fight back.” Andrew asserted, taking a big slurp of water from a brown cup he held. “That Zorua, Ryder, I think. He’s been out to get me since I showed up here. Those two probably planned out that entire interaction.”

Thomas tilted his head, narrowing his eyes. “How is that even possible? Calm down Andrew, it’s in the past, it doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah, whatever.” He took another gulp, draining the cup of its liquid. “I’ve been wondering. Should we be going into a potential murderer’s house unarmed, just the two of us? He’s totally gonna try to kill us.”

Thomas stopped, suddenly. He wrapped a vine around Andrew’s shoulders. “I’ll have you know, Marshtomp, I can be quite charming. You have nothing to worry about.” 

“Yeah, I noticed,” Andrew sneered. Grabbing Thomas’ vine and throwing it off of him.

Despite this, the Servine brandished a large smile. “Really? You have?”

Andrew groaned, putting his flipper on his forehead. “That was sarcasm.”  

“Oh.” Thomas’ head drooped to the ground. 

Andrew’s heart began to pound against his chest. Why is he so upset? I’ve known him for like… Two hours? Andrew waited for Thomas to face him, but his head stayed pointed toward the ground. 

He cleared his throat. “Hey Thomas, I didn’t mean it like that. You’re a really nice Pokemon. Probably the only one who isn’t using me or plotting against me. I didn’t mean to upset you.” He put his flipper on Thomas’ shoulder. 

Thomas raised his head back up and let out a strange sound that seemed to be a cross between a laugh and a sigh. “Apology accepted, Andrew. I promise not to plot against you.”

“Hey! Don’t make fun of me! This is serious. Ryder could sneak up and smash a bottle over my head at any moment!”

Thomas playfully nudged him. “Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to use my amazing charm to make him smash it over his own.”

---

Thomas knocked on the door three times. A pleasant clunking sound came from the sturdy wood. Andrew couldn’t help but wonder, is this really the home of a murderer? Bricks lined the tall walls of the house. Only being broken by a few glossy windows. The structure itself was surrounded by a well-cut lawn, and young Pokemon played and squealed in the yards of neighboring identical houses. What if we are about to arrest some kid’s parents? His eyes darted from side to side, catching glimpses of the children playing in their yards. No, I can do this. 

The door began to slowly creak open. Andrew’s heart skipped a beat as he saw a black-furred creature looming over him. The Bewear looked down on them, before clasping its paws together. 

“Hi!” She said in a cheery feminine voice. “What could I do for you two?”

Thomas stuttered, rubbing his foot against the stone steps beneath him. “I’m Thomas, and this is Andrew. We’re with the police, and we have reason to suspect a resident of this home may have been involved in a crime.”

The Bewear tightly grabbed the door handle and nearly bent it with her grasp. “You boys should come inside, I’m sure we can talk this out.” She said in the same, now ominous cheery voice.

Andrew carefully stepped inside onto a bright wooden floor. Natural light seemed to shine into every corner, it was almost brighter than the outside. They were led to a large wooden table in the corner of what appeared to be a kitchen. Large marble counters and wooden cabinets wound around them. Andrew took a seat in an oversized chair.

“Don’t make yourselves too comfortable, I want you out before my son comes back home.” She said, narrowing her eyes.

Andrew rested his flippers on the table. “We only have to do a quick investigation, and then we’ll be on our way. We’ll take as much time as we see fit.” He smirked. “After all, who’s gonna stop us? The police?”

“Get your filthy flippers off my kitchen table.” She shouted at Andrew.

Thomas shook his head. He spoke softly. “We’ll start with a few quick questions, I promise we won’t give you any trouble.”

She hesitated, glancing at him and then behind her. “Fine.”

“Great!” Thomas exclaimed, flipping to a new page in his notebook. “Let’s start with a simple one. Where were you on the fifth?” 

“This month?”

“Yes,” He stated.

The Bewear tilted her head. “I don’t remember doing anything particularly special that day. I was probably at work.”

Thomas began scribbling in his notebook. “And what might that be?”

“I own a stand.”

“Alright then,” Thomas squinted his eyes. “You mentioned having a son?”

The Bewear slammed her paw down on the table. “Don’t bring my son into this!”

“This is a police investigation. We’ll do whatever we want.” Andrew said with a smug grin.

“Andrew!” Thomas snapped, glaring at him. “What my partner is trying to say is that considering you have an alibi, we have reason to suspect your son. And if you want what’s best for him, you’ll answer the rest of my questions.” 

She slumped her head down, letting out a faint, “Fine.” 

He continued, “Do you know where your son is right now?”

“Probably at the guild, he’s a rescuer.”    

Andrew placed both of his flippers on the table and leaned forward. “The guild which is responsible for murdering the former police chief?”

“Andrew, enough,” Thomas stated. He slapped the table with one of his vines, causing it to wobble back and forth. I’d expect a table like this to be a bit more sturdy… 

The Bewear got up from her seat. “I don’t care if you’re a police officer. It’s time for you two to leave.”

“Oh, we’ll be on our way.” Andrew hopped off of his chair. “But we are going to have to ask some questions to your son, of course. What’s his name?”

Her paws curled into fists, The Bewear stomped toward Andrew. Shaking the house with each violent step. She bent down, aligning her eyes with Andrew. “You aren’t going to look for my son or talk to him. If you’ve got a problem, you talk to me. He isn’t involved in anything.”

“We tried that, and now you’re kicking us out. Bewear, you aren’t leaving us with any other options. Unless of course, you have some information which could be helpful?” He said while tugging at his bowtie.

The Bewear looked at Thomas, and then back at Andrew. She got up and sighed. “If I tell you this, do you promise not to go looking for my son?”

“Absolutely,” Thomas replied, climbing off his chair.

“Thirty-four Stormus Street, anything you want to know will be there.”

Thomas nodded to Andrew. They made their way to the large wooden front door. Andrew effortlessly pulled it open, despite barely reaching the handle. The outside heat quickly clung to his moist skin.

“And one last thing.” The Bewear called out. “Sorry, you had to get involved in this Servine. You seem like a good kid.” Andrew rolled his eyes and slammed the door behind him. A Charmander and Scorbunny in a yard several houses down turned to look at them.

He stepped onto the street. “So, what was it that she said?

“I know where Stormus Street is. Follow me!” Thomas replied happily, bouncing down each of the stairs. I will never understand why this guy is so happy. 

---

“This is the place?” He asked, trying to shield the view of the house behind Thomas’ head. 

“Looks like it.”

Andrew felt a sting in his eye as a cloud of dust blew up from the road. Though, he could hardly call it that. Beneath Andrew’s feat was a wide dusty dirt path. Unlike all the other streets he had been on in the city, there was no cobblestone or pavement of any kind. The buildings each had wide spaces between them. Most of which were occupied by strange plants he had never seen before.

The house they stood in front of looked like it had been abandoned for a long time. Roof shingles lined the ground beneath the entrance. There were no windows, only holes in the wall surrounded by bits of broken glass. The small white door seemed to be barely holding onto its hinges. 

“Thomas, do you think that Bewear sent us here to be murdered?”

He laughed nervously. “I’m sure it will be fine. We have a job to do, and we both swore an oath to do it.”

“What? I never swore an oath.”

Thomas sighed. “Let’s just go in. There probably isn’t anything in there anyways.”

He walked to the door and knocked on it once with his vine. It slowly creaked open. They carefully crept into what would have been the foyer. The house looked as good on the inside as it did on the outside. 

The ground was made up of the same dirt as the road outside. The only light was that which came through the door and poked through the few holes in the wall. Andrew panned his head around the one large empty room which encompassed the entire structure. 

“This place is empty! Not even a table I’m not allowed to touch.” He called out. 

Walking away from Thomas, Andrew paced the perimeter of the decrepit house. Most of the wooden boards making up the walls were exposed. How is this house still standing? This place could collapse at any moment! He felt something cool and smooth up against his leg. 

“Hey Thomas, I found something!” Andrew bent down and picked up the object. Brushing it off revealed a yellow metallic texture. What even is this? He ran his flipper against its smooth surface until he felt a part that extruded upward. Is this some sort of button? Pushing down, a faint click sounded. Before a blade shot out of the end of the device facing him. Only missing his chest by a few millimeters. 

“What did you find?” Thomas asked from behind him. 

Andrew jolted forward, chills running down his spine, and clutching the weapon tight. “Stop doing that, especially in the creepy abandoned house. 

“Fine, don’t mind me.” As soon as those words left the Servine’s mouth, a loud crash came from the entrance. Andrew turned his gaze to see the door had been shut. Thomas broke into a sprint, and he followed close behind. 

Thomas reached a vine out, stretching it as quickly as he could. But as soon as it made contact with the doorknob, it disappeared. “What the…” he trailed off.

A tall shadowy figure appeared in the opposite corner. It began slowly walking toward them, brandishing a sharp bright red claw.

“I told you we were getting murdered.”

Thomas put his vines on Andrew’s shoulders and shook him back and forth. “What are we going to do? I’m not a very good fighter!“

Andrew dashed to the left, moving out of the creature’s path. “That’s a great thing to announce when a murderer is marching toward us. Luckily, I have a knife.”

Thomas ran over to him and dropped his notebook and pencil. “My tail is a knife.”

“Good thing for me to know, child.” The form whispered in a menacing voice. 

Andrew took his eyes off the Pokemon, trying to find any sort of exit. There’s no way I’m fitting through any of those windows. He turned his head back to the shadow, only to see them standing a few feet in front of him. 

A Zoroark, he inferred from Observing the Pokemon’s long red and black mane. It flashed him a toothy grin, before speaking in a feminine voice. “You kids have some bravery coming down here, poking your noses where you shouldn’t be. Do you even have noses?”

“I sort of do,” Thomas called out.

The Zoroark laughed. “Didn’t anyone tell you kids to beware of strangers’ houses?”

“Look, we’re very sorry for coming here uninvited. Now if you’ll excuse us, we’ll be on our way. Do you by any chance know how to get out of this place?” Andrew asked a quiver in his voice. He began to back away.

“Don’t go, you two are my guests. And I have something special to show you.”

His tail fins brushed against the wall as he took a few more steps back. “And, what might that be?” 

“My claw!” She yelled, propelling herself at Andrew.

He had no time to think. His body kicked into overdrive, legs carrying him just far enough to miss being struck. The Zoroark’s claw slid right into the wood, followed by an annoyed grunt. 

“I have a knife, and I’d prefer not to kill you,” Andrew yelled, running further from his attacker. 

The Zoroark began awkwardly twisting her body. She groaned as she pulled herself further and further from the wall. He could see the house shake with each thrust of the Zoroark’s claw. 

“How dare you attack my friend!” Thomas began running toward her, kicking up a cloud of dust behind him. What is he doing? Is he trying to get himself killed? Whatever happened to self-preservation? Gracefully, he leaped into the air. Knocking the stuck Zorark’s back with the edge of his tail. A faint slashing noise echoed throughout the empty chamber as a clump of fur on the Zoroark’s back fell to the floor, revealing a bright red gash underneath.

He continued his sprint over to Andrew and rested a vine on his shoulder. “Are you okay? Did she hurt you?”

“I’m fine,” Andrew stated. “Now, how do we get out of here?”

Before Thomas could respond, Andrew saw a black blur speeding at him. A sharp pain shot across the back of his body before he could even try to dodge. Why is she attacking me? I’m not the one that cut her. The Zoroark’s claws tightened around his flippers, digging into his soft skin. He looked down to see himself elevated several feet off the ground. 

“Let go of me you psycho!”

She brandished a smug grin. “I’m not the one holding the knife.”

He lifted his flipper from the back of the wall, trying to force the knife into the Zoroark. He managed to push her back a few steps before she slammed him back on the wall with even more power.

“You wanna kill me Marshtomp?” She pushed him even harder, the house moaning and shaking. “You’re a police officer, aren’t you? A part of the king’s oppression? You people have no remorse.”

“No remorse? You’re the one trying to kill me!” Andrew yelled, squirming against her grasp.

The Zoroark began screaming. Andrew shut his eyes as the intense noise began to overwhelm him. His heart seemed closer than ever to escaping his chest. Breaths became heavier, becoming harder and harder to grasp. Eventually turning to a desperate wheezing.

His eyes squeezed themselves shut, so tight that he felt like they would fall out if he opened them. I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die, I don’twantodie, Idon’twannadie, as his thoughts became a congealed mess of emotion. The house groaned louder. The walls shook viciously. Something pierced his back as a loud crunching noise joined the symphony.  

Andrew’s body ached from head-fin to tail-fin. Staring at the blue sky overhead, all his worries seemed to melt away. He was able to regain his breath while lying in the lush and moist vegetation. Everything is probably okay, it was probably just a scratch. Sitting up, a Marshtomp-shaped hole cut through the side of the abandoned house caught his gaze. He stood and panned his head, a shiny yellow appearing in the corner of his eye. 

“Andrew, run!” Thomas shouted at the top of his lungs. 

He sprinted over to the switchblade and snatched it from under a shrub. 

The Zoroark howled. “You stupid kid! Get off me!” She ran out of the house, pulling Thomas along who had his vines wrapped around her torso. Andrew sprinted forward as fast as he could. But after a few steps a pain spurred in his left leg, leaving him barely able to manage a speed walk. 

“Watch out!” Thomas cried. Andrew turned around to see a massive black orb with pulsing purple lightning hurling toward him.

He felt like his legs were about to fall off as he sprinted with all his remaining energy to avoid the incoming Shadow Ball. Despite narrowly escaping the blast, the aftershock pushed him to the ground. He tumbled several feet before hitting something soft and fuzzy.

Shit. He looked up to see the Zoroark standing over him with a wide smile. 

“Pesky Marshtomp. I can’t say I’ll feel too bad about this.”

She stepped closer and bared her claws. Andrew stared up into her deep blue eyes. I’m gonna die. Suddenly, her grin disappeared. She instead let out a horrible shriek. Tears leaked from her eyes and Andrew felt a warm sensation drizzle down his right flipper. She collapsed to the ground, continuing to cry out in pain. He looked down to see the golden knife wedged into her leg. Reaching out to grab it, he was met with the tip of his flipper being colored a pure blood red. 

Did I just… stab her? His body shook, unable to look away from the screaming Zoroark. He squeezed his eyes shut and pulled out the knife from under her skin. Prompting another loud yelp to escape her mouth. He stood up and turned around to see Thomas observing him from a few feet away. 

“I’m sorry, I…” The Servine stuttered. “I froze up and…”

Andrew interjected. “It’s fine, I handled it. What do we do now? Is she gonna die?”

“I’ve seen Pokemon survive worse,” Thomas said. Walking up to the Zoroark. “We should probably go and get back up. I don’t think she’s going anywhere anytime soon.”

Andrew began walking in the opposite direction, trembling with the knife in hand. “Whatever. Let’s just get out of here.”

---

They trudged their way down the dirt road, eventually making their way off the neglected street. Finding themselves back in the lively neighborhood they had been in earlier. Andrew shot a glare at two young Pokemon who turned to stare at his bruised back. The sun began to dim, and clouds began to blanket the crystal blue sky.

Thomas looked to his side and tilted his head. “Isn’t that where the Bewear’s house was?”

“What do you mean, was?” Andrew turned his head. Instead of seeing a row of identical houses, the row was broken by a small run-down looking one.

He began walking toward it. “Are you sure this is the same house? Last I checked, they aren’t known to shrink.”

Thomas opened his notebook and pulled out a piece of paper. He inspected it and glanced back at the house. “Yeah, they both have the same address. And I’m pretty sure we’re in the same neighborhood.” 

“But how is that possible? We were here with that Bewear just a little while ago.”

He smirked. “Well, there’s only one way to find out.”

“Didn’t we just come out of a creepy murder house? Thomas, please don’t make me go in there.” Andrew turned away and began walking down the street. Children began fleeing indoors as a flash and loud bang sounded.

The Servine reached a tight vine around Andrew’s flipper. “We have a job to do. That Bewear was related to the Zoroark somehow, this could be what we need to crack the case!”

“I’m pretty sure that Zoroark was the murderer.” 

Thomas gave him a warm smile. “Please?”

Andrew took another glance at the house. Its barren white exterior was unrecognizable to the surrounding brick mansions. Goddamnit, why am I doing this? 

“Ugh, fine. Let’s go in.”

He walked up and knocked on the simple white door. It was not grand or overbearing, and only a bit taller than the tip of his head-fin. Can this day get any weirder? I guess it’s still more normal than the time I woke up as I Marshtomp. My life has really gone off the rails. Do rails even exist in this world?

“Andrew, are you gonna knock on the door?”

He turned to Thomas sheepishly and scratched the back of his head. “Oh yeah, right.”

He knocked on the door, creating a loud banging noise. Rain began to pelt against their heads as they waited.

“Knock again.”

Andrew stretched his flippers. “Wouldn’t that be rude? Nobody is coming to answer.”

“See if it’s unlocked.”

He tried to twist the handle, but it wouldn’t budge.

Andrew stepped away from the door. “It’s locked, we should probably go.”

“I bet you aren’t strong enough to break the lock,” Thomas said, narrowing his eyes.

The Marshtomp began walking down the stairs. “That isn’t going to work on me. Let’s go.”

“I bet you can’t.”

“Let’s go.”

“You can’t open it, Andrew.”

He shot a glare at Thomas, only receiving a smug smile in response. His short legs stomped against the slippery wooden stairs as he marched back up to the door. That idiot wants me to pull off the handle? Then I’ll pull off the goddamn handle. He clasped his fingers around the metal door knob and pulled back as hard as he could. The handle slipped out of the door as it creaked open.

“Are you happy?”

Thomas began to laugh, nearly stumbling onto the floor as he walked into the house. The interior was dim. The only light trickled in through the small windows from the cloudy sky. Andrew took a step forward, hearing a faint crunching sound as his foot touched the ground. He looked down to see a pile of small crumbs. 

“This place is disgusting.” He sneered, taking a few steps back. 

Thomas walked over to a table sitting in the corner. It was small and wobbled as he got closer to it. “Yeah, this feels kind of weird, but I think I know what’s going on.”

“Me too. We just broke into some random person’s house, and I’m gonna be in a lot of trouble.”

Thomas brushed the wall with one of his vines, which caused flakes of gray paint to fall to the dirty floor. “I think the Zoroark you stabbed was the Bewear who lived here. She probably used her illusion abilities to make the house look nice. And to appear as a Bewear.”

Andrew stomped his foot against the creaky wood and created a crack in the floorboard below. “That’s ridiculous, we have zero evidence to suggest that’s the case. This is a different house than the one we were in. How can you suggest that as the most logical explanation?”

“It makes sense, Andrew.”

He curled his flipper into a fist. “Who cares? Shouldn’t we be getting back up? Every second we waste, the more likely that Zoroark will escape.” 

“Oh, you have to be fucking kidding me.” A familiar voice said from behind them. 

Andrew swung his head around to find the Zoroark standing behind him. Her bloodshot eyes stared down the two invaders. He glanced at her leg, seeing where blood trickled from her wound and onto the floor. Thomas hopped over to Andrew. Seeming to not have a care in the world as he leaped from each creaky floorboard.

“Told you so!”

“This doesn’t prove anything.” Andrew held out the switchblade and pushed down on its button. The knife shot out of its casing. 

“What are you doing here?” the Zoroark yelled, lurching forward.

He held out his flippers in concession. “We’re just visiting.”

“You stab me, then break into my home? You police really are all criminals.” The Zoroark stumbled over to a chair by the table and sat down. “So now what, are you going to kill me?”

Andrew walked over to the Zoroark, and looked her in the eye. He maintained a fierce glare despite their height difference. “Hey! You were the one who tried to kill me. And you murdered the former police chief. I’m not the criminal here.”

“I didn’t murder the police chief. Plus, I wasn’t really gonna kill you when I lured you to the Ground District.”

Thomas scribbled something in his notebook. “You lured us there? Meaning you were also the Bewear?”

“Wasn’t that obvious? You’d have to be a total idiot to not figure that out.” She laughed and tapped her claws against the table.

Andrew scowled and shot a glare at Thomas. The Servine brought a vine to his mouth, barely stifling a laugh. “Don’t worry Andrew, we all make mistakes,” he said, chuckling a little.

“Wait? Did he not realize I was the Bewear?” Her tapping turned to banging. The table began to shake back and forth. Creating more ominous creaking noises.

“Hey! I’m new to this whole thing. Just give me a break.” He stomped his foot against the ground one final time. The table swung up against the wall. Before crashing against it and collapsing to the ground. A loud bang echoed through the dirty house. Two tables destroyed in two weeks. I’m really on a roll. 

The Zoroark pointed a claw at him. “What’s wrong with you? Didn’t I tell you not to touch my table? You police officers are all the same. Reckless and very, very stupid.”

“You don’t get to insult Andrew!” Thomas yelled back.

“What are you gonna do Servine?”

Andrew walked over to Thomas and handed him the knife. He brought it to his short arms and ran its metal across them. Andrew then went over to the wreckage of the table and pulled out a wooden leg. Several splinters flew out, one nearly poking his eye. 

“What are you gonna do? All I see is a Zoroark with an injured leg.” He raised his voice. “Who keeps constantly complaining about how I’m a police officer and how terrible I supposedly am? Well, guess what? I don’t even want to be a police officer. But do you see me complaining? So do us all a favor and shut up.”

She shot up from her seat and pointed at Andrew. However, upon doing so, she immediately let out a shrill yell before falling back into her chair. “If you hadn’t put a hole through my leg I’d put one through your stupid face.”

“Stupid face? That’s the best you can come up with?”

“I wasn’t finished!” She shouted. “Just shut up. You wanna know why I don’t like the cops? Where do I even start? Do you know why this house looks like this? Because I have zero time to clean it because your colleagues keep stealing from my food stand. My son came home a month ago covered in bruises and cuts because a bunch of police beat him up.”

Andrew smirked. “Have you considered he might have deserved it?”

Anger consumed the Zoroark’s eyes. Narrowing and shooting a piercing gaze through him. “How dare you! How dare you! How dare you! How dare you insult my family!” She screamed. 

The Zoroark stood up from her chair. She grabbed its top and dug into it with her claw, picking it up with one arm. A flash of brown sped across the room. The chair hit the wall with a loud crash, shooting wooden bits across the room. 

“Ouch… That hurt!” Thomas whined. Andrew swung his head around to see a chunk of wood bounce off of Thomas’ head and onto the ground. 

A high pitch creek sounded behind him. He slowly turned back around to see the Zoroark looming over him. Blood was no longer leaking from her wound.

“Look, kid. Look what you made me do! This is why I hate the cops, you’re always hurting innocent people. I’m gonna do what the police aren’t capable of. Bring you to justice.”

He took a step back, clutching the wooden table leg. “No,” he murmured. “No, no, no, no no, no. No, you’re nuts. No, no, no.”

“Uh, are you good?” She asked, tilting her head. “Now’s the part where we have an epic battle.”

Andrew began to shake his head. Getting progressively louder as kept murmuring. “No, no, no, no, no! Until he was screaming at the top of his lungs.

“Quiet down! There are kids next door.” The Zoroark took a step forward.

He reeled back his flipper. “I’ll make you shut up!” Andrew swung the table leg into her wound, and it made contact with a dull thud. A loud cracking noise followed as the Zoroark looked down. Blood poured out of her leg, staining it a solid red.

She didn’t even scream. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. The Zoroark fell to the floor as tears trickled down from her eyes. 

“Look at that Zoroark! Look what you made me do!” He yelled, kicking her. Andrew brought down the table leg again, striking her head. 

Lightning flashed.

The room became silent.

Absolutely silent.