Pokemon: The Spy and the Idol

Room 62F – Hiroshi's Private Suite.

He stepped into his temporary home, eyes scanning the room like muscle memory. The moment the door sealed behind him, his mask dropped.

"Clear," he muttered.

Akemi the Kirlia immediately shimmered out of her passive stance and twirled forward into the living room, skipping over the thick rug with a delighted hum. She was the only Pokémon allowed with him in public for now — the rest had stayed inside, out of sight, for obvious reasons.

And now, they were out.

Raichu was sprawled across the long sectional sofa, his tail lazily flicking through the TV remote. Charmeleon was digging through the mini-fridge again — Hiroshi noted the ketchup bottle was once again suspiciously missing. Milotic's serpentine body trailed from the bathroom, water soaking into the pristine hotel carpet, and Dragonair was floating beside her, both of them glittering with the remnants of bath oils and foam. Swablu was hanging from the ceiling light fixture, upside down like a feathered lampshade.

Hiroshi froze at the scene.

"…I've been gone fourteen hours."

Milotic cooed innocently, miloo~, blinking her long lashes. Dragonair chirped and snaked behind her like a guilty accomplice.

"The bath… why does it smell like lavender, berries, and citrus shampoo?"

A soft crash echoed from the bathroom. Bottles were strewn across the stone floor. The mirror fogged with leftover steam.

"I leave you unsupervised once and you turn my luxury bathroom into a private spa?"

Raichu popped up on the couch and crossed his arms. "Rai! Rai!" (Translation: I had nothing to do with this!)

"Sure you didn't," Hiroshi deadpanned, walking toward the fridge. He opened it. "Where's the ketchup?"

The fridge blinked. Empty. Not a single condiment survived.

Raichu gave him the biggest, most suspicious wide-eyed expression imaginable.

"You're the only one who dips Poffins in ketchup."

Raichu slowly, cautiously, stepped behind the curtain of the sofa.

Hiroshi sighed and let the fridge close.

He turned back and released Lairon.

The heavy metal beast materialized with a loud clang as his armored feet hit the polished wood flooring. "Lai-laii~~!"

"Yeah, yeah, I missed you too," Hiroshi muttered, scratching between Lairon's horns. "But you're staying off the hardwood. You left dents last time."

He pointed toward the rug area. Lairon grumbled and trundled obediently toward the soft zone, claws tapping with every step. The others — Ivysaur, Wartortle, and Charmeleon — poked their heads out from behind the sofa, forming a loose triangle around him.

"Don't start."

"Char!" "Saur." "Tortle!"

"You're all hungry again? I just stocked snacks this morning."

Raichu peeked out, shrugged.

"You ate all the Poképuffs already?"

Charmeleon rubbed his belly theatrically and collapsed onto a pillow.

"Unbelievable."

Hiroshi walked to the intercom. "Room service," he muttered. "Yes, Kobayashi. Deluxe plate. Triple order. No onions. Extra ketchup."

The reply was quick: "Yes, Kobayashi-sama. ETA twenty minutes."

He clicked it off and turned to the mayhem.

"This is supposed to be a safehouse, not a playground."

Swablu drifted down and landed on his head like a feathered hat.

"…Yeah. I'm aware I let this happen."

Alakazam appeared beside him without warning, spoon levitating, eyes glowing faintly.

"Did you find anything?"

Alakazam tilted his head, then sent a stream of thoughts — security logs from the agency had been copied. Phone data and conversation snippets scrubbed cleanly. One potential handler – name redacted but with a Shinomiya contractor badge – had pinged the floor Hiroshi's office sat on.

"Good. That confirms it. They're starting to sniff."

Alakazam hovered to the desk and began preparing the encryption key relay to back up the data in an off-grid capsule. Hiroshi moved past him and sat down on the plush bed, boots off, shirt untucked.

"I can't afford a mistake tomorrow," he muttered to himself. "They've started to notice."

Milotic slithered by the foot of the bed and curled around, humming softly. Dragonair tucked in behind her.