Paul looked out the window. They were hovering right above a cave entrance somewhere in Mt. Coronet. A squad of Galactic Grunts saluted as the helicopter touched down. At the head of the group stood a short ginger girl with a Purugly by her side.
"I welcome you to Galactic headquarters", Saturn said.
"Humph."
The ginger immediately piped up. "Oooh! Is that the boy who's going to play – "
"Shut up Mars!" Saturn shouted. "You four, take him to Room D1."
Now Paul had no idea where "Room D1" was, but he had a feeling that it would look very much like a prison cell. He eyed Saturn's pocket. His Pokémon were just a few inches away and yet he couldn't get them, which was beyond frustrating. Paul was still planning on a way to retrieve his pokeballs when someone tied a piece of cloth around his head, covering his eyes.
"What are you doing?!" he snarled.
"You strike me as a smart boy Paul. We wouldn't want you memorizing your way through our headquarters", he heard Saturn's voice say.
Nevertheless, Paul tried to remember which way he was being taken. Twenty-two steps. Right turn. Fifty-seven steps. Left turn. Down three flights of stairs. Ten steps. Left turn…
"Here we are. Room D1", the man next to him said. They took off the blindfold as well as the rope (which had really started to itch around his wrists) and shoved Paul roughly into the cell. He heard the door slam and the lock turn.
"Of course", Paul thought, "the 'D' stood for 'dungeon'". The place had a stench that could rival the sewers. Cobwebs hung from the ceiling, and a rickety bed with moth-eaten sheets stood in the corner. A small chamber pot that looked like it had never been washed was situated across from the bed. The white walls were tiled, and seemed to be made of steel. There was no window.
Paul sighed. He'd barely had a moment to register what was happening during the recent events. Apparently, his parents had used the Azure Flute to summon Arceus and save Sinnoh. That was how Team Galactic was defeated the first time. Now, Saturn wanted the flute to create a new world and destroy theirs. It was all backwards. Reggie was probably worried sick right now. He would no doubt try to rescue Paul, whether it means retrieving the flute or not. But… if Paul could get himself out of this place, he might save his brother the trouble.
Paul was surprised that no one had bothered to search him. Saturn took only his pokeballs, but in his other pockets, Paul also carried a small pocket knife, couple of coins, and…a matchbox. Now that would come in handy. He broke some wooden pieces off the bed, which wasn't as hard as it seemed. The structure was so old that just a few kicks would snap the beams. He dragged them next to the door and set them on fire. Steel was weak against fire; that he had learned from fighting with Pokémon. After a while, a hole big enough for him to fit through had finally melted from the wall.
"Well, better not waste any time", Paul thought, as he stomped out the fire and cautiously climbed out of the hole. He winced as his knee knocked against the red-hot metal, burning a hole through his pants. He had a crazy thought about how people thought ripped jeans were the fashion trend lately. And then he wondered why he thought that in the first place. He hardly paid any attention to clothes.
Paul looked left and right. There were two guards, one at each end of the hallway. He believed he could take them down easily; they didn't look as strong as the ones who brought him here. Besides, they were bound to smell the burned hole soon enough.
Paul made a run for it. The two guards immediately closed in. One of them wrapped his arms around his waist, and Paul elbowed him on the side of his head. He immediately went limp. The other guard threw a punch. Paul jerked his head away so it hit his shoulder instead of his eye. Then, he kicked the man in his stomach. He doubled over, giving Paul the chance to aim a huge blow to his head.
With both guards knocked out, Paul made his escape. He retraced his steps, which he had still managed to remember. The entrance was soon in sight, but once he stepped outside, he knew something was wrong. Galactic Grunts were everywhere, surrounding the entrance.
"Going somewhere?" Mars snickered. "Saturn was right. You do have potential. We're going to need your willpower for the next stage of our project."
"You're not going to get the Azure Flute. Ever. Your evil schemes will only destroy you in the end. You could never control Arceus if you can't even keep me locked up..."
A horrible realization hit Paul. Of course! His escape was all planned out. They wanted to test his strength, and he had walked right into their trap. How could he be so blind?
"Figured it out?" Mars asked, still smirking. She raised her arm, and all the grunts threw a pokeball up in the air. The sky was soon filled with Golbats. "Use Supersonic!" she ordered.
Paul managed to dodge the first ten projectiles, but the rest hit him like a train. He shielded his face with his arms in an effort to block off the attacks. He would give anything to have his Torterra here right now. The world was spinning, and the ground was swimming. Through a piercing headache, he heard the grunts advancing on him. In the state he was in, Paul would never be able to fight or flee. Guess this battle was lost.
