Poketropolis Chapter 11

Zach and Dawn made it to Zangief's apartment, and Dawn rang the doorbell.

"Mr. Zangief?" She asked. "Dawn Lopps, PPD. We just wanna know what happened to Red Seaweasel." A Zangoose opened the door without revealing his face.

"You should be asking what happened to me." Zangief, the Zangoose, opened the door to reveal his face, and he had a scar on his left eye.

"Are you sure it wasn't a Sevipor?" Asked Zach.

"Yes, I'm sure." Said Zangief.

"Seaweasel did that to you?" Asked Dawn

"He was a monster! Down on all fours. He was a savage! There was no warning. He just kept yelling about the Night Howlers over and over."

"Do you know about the Night Howlers, too?" Asked Zach. "That's good, because the Night Howlers are exactly what we are here to talk about. Right?"

"Yup." Said Dawn. "So, you just open the door, and tell us what you know, and we'll tell you what we know. Okay?"

"Okay." Said Zangief, and he closed the door. Dawn then looked at Zach.

"Clever Zoroark." She said. Suddenly, clattering could be heard from inside. Dawn opened the door to reveal Zangief, but he has gone savage! Zach and Dawn started running for their lives. Dawn had to call the PPD to save them.

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Back at the PPD, Gabe was talking to a Beartic, who recently caught a Mightyena.

"Are you familiar with Utada?" He asked. "Greatest singer of our lifetime? Angel with horns? Look at this!" Gabe took out his Pokétch to reveal a clip of Utada dancing with an Incineroar, but with Gabe's head.

"Wow." Said Utada on the Pokétch. "You are one hot dancer, Gabriel Snorlock."

"It's me!" Said Gabe. "Did you think it was real? It looks so real! But it's not, it's just a new app." Gabe then heard beeping from the intercom, so he pressed the button to see who it was.

"Snorlock!" Dawn shouted through the intercom. "Snorlock, listen to me. We have a 10-91! Zangoose gone savage! Tangela and Cherry-Grove!"

"Okay, Lopps!" Said Gabe. "We're sending backup!"

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Back in Santalune Forest, Dawn was grabbed by Zach, and she dropped her walkie talkie. She then saw the gondolas nearby.

"Head for the sky trams!" She said. Dawn was about to grab a gondola, but she slipped and nearly fell. Meanwhile, Zach had a gondola ready, but Zangief spotted him and was about attack, but his foot was attached to a chain. Dawn made it back onto the ledge.

"Now, I can tell you're a little tense." Said Zach. "So I'm going to give you a little space!" Zangief scratched Zach's clothes, pushed him and Dawn off the ledge, and both of them got tangled in vines. The PPD soon arrived, and Chief Taki was not impressed.

"Well, this should be good." He said. The Lopunny and Zoroark got untangled, and Dawn told the police about the situation.

"I thought this was just a missing Pokémon case," She said, while walking back to where Zangief was. "But it's something even bigger. Mr. Seaweasel didn't just disappear. I believe he and this Zangoose went savage, sir.

"This isn't the Stone Age, Lopps." Said Taki. "Pokémon don't go savage."

"I thought so, too." Said Dawn, putting her paw behind a leaf. "Until I saw this. "She took down the leaf to reveal where Zangief was, but he wasn't there.

"What?" She said. "He was right here."

"The 'savage' Zangoose?" Asked Taki.

"Sir," Said Dawn. "I know what I saw. He almost killed us!"

"Or maybe any aggressive predator looks savage to you, rabbits." Said Taki. "Let's go!" Taki was about to leave along with his team, but Dawn ran in front of him.

"Wait, sir." She said. "I'm not the only one who saw him." Dawn then whispered to Zach, and he walked over.

"You expect me to believe a Dark-Type?" Asked Taki.

"He was a key witness!" Said Dawn.

"Two days to find the Floatzel," Said Taki. "Or you quit. That was the deal. Now, give me your badge." Dawn was about to give her badge back to Chief Taki, but Zach decided to step in.

"No." He said.

"What did you say, fox?" Asked Taki.

"Sorry." Said Zach. "What I said was 'no'. She will not be giving you that badge. Look, you gave her a clown vest and a three-wheeled joke-mobile and two days to solve the case that you haven't cracked in two weeks?" Taki gave Zach a scowl. "Yeah. No wonder she needed help from a Dark-Type. None of you guys were gonna help her, were you? Here's the thing, chief. You gave her the 48 hours, so technically, we still have like 10 left to find Mr. Seaweasel, and that is exactly what we're gonna do. So, if you'll excuse us, we have a very big lead to follow and a case to crack. Good day." Zach and Dawn then got on one of the gondolas. While on the sky tram, Dawn couldn't help but ask a question.

"Thank you." She said. "But why did you stand up for me?"

"Never let them see that they can get to you." He replied.

"So," Said Dawn. "Things do get to you?"

"Not anymore," Said Zach. "But when I was eight or nine, I was emotionally unbalanced like you. All I wanted to do was become a Poké Scout. So, my mom scrapped together enough money to buy me a brand new uniform, because by Arceus, I was gonna fit in. Even if I was the only Dark-Type in the troop. The only predator and the only Zorua. The rest of the troop included a Nidoran, a Ponyta, a Mudbray, a Bidoof, and a Blitzle. Anyway, I was going to be part of a pack. I was so proud. But before the initiation started, they ridiculed me for being a Zorua and put a muzzle on me. I learned two things that day. One, I was never gonna let anyone see that they got to me."

"And two?" Asked Dawn.

"If the world's only gonna see a Zoroark as shifty and untrustworthy," Zach concluded. "There's no point in trying to be anything else."

"Zach," Said Dawn, trying to cheer him up. "You are so much more than that."

"Boy." Said Zach, looking at the traffic from below. "Look at that traffic jam down there. How about we go out to Chuck in Traffic Central. Chuck, how are things looking on the Jam Cams?" A light bulb then went on in Zach's brain. "The Jam Cams. There are traffic cameras everywhere! All over the canopy! Whatever happened to that Zangoose..."

"The traffic cams would have caught it!" Said Dawn.

"Bingo!" Said Zach. "However, if you didn't have access to the system before, I doubt Chief Bouffalant Butt is gonna let you into it now."

"No." Said Dawn. "But I know a friend at City Hall who might!"
Author's Notes: Cherry-Grove is named after Cherrygrove City from Pokémon Gold and Silver, as well as the remakes HeartGold and SoulSilver.

I am aware that Zangoose is officially based on a mongoose, but Zangoose looks more like a cat to me. This is a Zangoose...

And this is a mongoose. Do they look the same to you?