Chapter 7

The door to our room clattered. Wes was up almost immediately. The storm couldn't have caused such a ruckus, someone was trying to break in. I lifted my head, drowsy. My partner put a finger to his lips, signaling for me to be quiet. Now I was fully awake, but to avoid making noise, I stayed under the covers.

The door pounded again, this time louder. Someone had to be pretty strong to make a noise like that. It was fairly scary.

"Open up you blabbering idiot," a man called from the other side. "The backup has arrived." Wes was hesitant, but he still opened up and allowed the man inside.

It was no wonder that this guy was able to nearly knock the door down. He was huge. He was a foot taller than Wes and had triple the muscles. His arms were so large that I doubted his could scratch his head without tilting it a weird angle. His shirt was large but it was barely able to contain his full upper body, as it looked strained and the sleeves had been ripped off. His brown hair was greased back down to the back of his neck and his mustache was just as greasy but only to keep it in place while he spoke. He dripped water on the floor; he must've come from outside, where the storm still had not let up.

He pointed a meaty finger at my partner. "You're Wes, correct?" My partner didn't say anything. "Don't be like that. The mayor called me and told me you needed some help. The storm won't go away anytime soon, so he thought it was better to hire a few people from in town to help. Luckily, I want to go after Team Cipher just as much as you do."

"Are these them?" a kid poked his head around the bodybuilder. He looked to be a little younger than me, maybe sixteen. His dirty blonde hair was short and spiked in the front. He wore a long-sleeved navy jacket with matching shorts, both of which were doused. On his head, a plusle was shaking herself off. "Hey, they look pretty cool."

"This is Silva," the man introduced, clapping the kid on the shoulder. "And I'm Duking. We're here to help." I got out of bed and walked up beside Wes.

"So the mayor hired you, then?" I asked.

"Of course. He said if you don't believe us to tell you 'Es Cade.'" Wes paused.

"Fine, I believe you."

"What does that mean?" I whispered.

"It's a password, the mayor's real name that he tells almost no one."

"Ohhh."

"So are we doing this thing or not?" Duking asked, taking the plusle from his head and holding it lovingly in his arms. I didn't expect such a big guy to love a tiny pokemon like that. Then again, I didn't quite expect Wes to read romance and carry around a pink PDA. "They're all asleep by now, so let's get this over with." The clock on the nightstand read midnight. Wow, this storm wasn't going anywhere. I was asleep for quite a while.

"What's the plan?" Silva asked Duking.

"Go in, get rid of anyone in our way. Miror B. is said to be in there, and I want him out. I trusted his men for but a moment and he betrayed me." Wait, what? Could we really trust this guy? He saw my expression of confusion. "They came up to me saying that they'd help fix a clanking noise we heard in the cog room. I didn't think much of them being part of 'Team Cipher' or whatever, but they were trying to take a cog rather than fix it." He nodded at me. "Thank you."

"O-oh, don't worry about it."

"So we're just barging into their base?" Silva asked. "It doesn't seem very smart to go like that…"

"Smart enough with me around; they'll go running back into the holes they crawled out of. Are you two ready?" Wes glanced at me. I nodded at him.

It was cold outside now. There was a good chance it would've been at least ten degrees warmer if it wasn't windy, and another ten if it wasn't still pouring. Our group wasn't heavily padded, but I seemed to be the only one affected by the cold. As we traveled across the street and a ways down towards the entrance, I noticed that the storm wasn't getting worse, but nor was it getting better either. Lightning struck and thunder boomed, so I tried to walk closer to Wes without looking like a coward.

He chuckled.

"Here," Duking said, stopping beside a pile of garbage that blocked an alley. How was that guy going to fit in there? It was barely enough to fit Wes and I side by side. Yet he managed to do so, stepping over the garbage carefully to make no sound. Silva followed and Wes came after him. I wasn't as tall as them, so it took somewhat of a hop for me to get inside.

The alley was dark, darker than outside. There was no source of light in here except the glowing etchings of Wes' Snag Sleeve. It wasn't much but it was all we had. So naturally, he took the front. I thought the rain had stopped, but it turned out the buildings we had snuck between were close enough that the overhang of their roofs crossed over each other, leaving no room for the rain to seep through. There was a trickle of water dripping in the corner, but otherwise the wind and rain had stopped. A silence was beginning to envelop us.

"Dead end," Wes reported. Sure enough, the ally had come to a stop. Right before the edge of the canyon that bordered the town was a fence. It was pointless to put it there. Anyone who climbed it couldn't even get over the lip of the canyon.

"That can't be," Duking growled, stepping up to his side. "This is where all the Team Cipher vanish. It has to go somewhere." The two of them started feeling the fense for any sign of a hidden door, but there was none. So, desperate, they began to search the walls on either side. Silva and I helped, but as we moved our hands across the rusty, dirty walls, it was beginning to look like we had followed the wrong path.

Until I found what looked to be an empty socket.

"Wes," I called softly. He was already on his way over. I showed him where the hole was. The inside of it was rounded out smoothly in the liking of an orb. It looked like it could easily fit a pokeball. He must've thought the same thing, because when everyone began to gather around, he slipped Espeon's pokeball inside.

We waited and waited, but nothing seemed to happen. No secret door, no hidden handle, no nothing. Just the quiet patter of rain and a disappointed group of heroes.
"Maybe it's not a pokeball," Silva suggested. "Maybe it's something else, like a special ball that all the peons have." While he spoke, Wes took out his ball and observed it casually. "I mean, if I were in Team Cipher, I wouldn't want just any pokemon to unlock the door. I'd probably use-"

"Shadow Pokemon," Wes said, slipping in one of the Snag Balls. The wall clicked and right away, the wall spat out his pokemon. The socket shifted and out of it poked what looked to be an oddly shaped handle. He took it and turned it ever so slowly, giving Silva and I the room to peak inside without alarming anyone.

There was a room beyond the door. A crappy, rusted, smelly, and heavily dented room. It was like they were always battling inside because there were pokemon footprints all over the place leading to the crated in the wall, ceiling, and floor. One of the wannabe power rangers was inside, but he wasn't one we had seen before. His suit was black and he was slightly shorter than the others. He was also drenched in rain. As he sat down on a stool in front of the counter of a bar, his suit squelched.

There was a girl behind the counter. She had the same suit as the black Cipher peon, but hers was purple and designed for her curvy body. The purple suit was barely padded and her helmet was loose enough to where she could brush her hair and paint her nails without removing it. Behind her, a set of stairs lead upwards. The sound of people shifting about nearly drowned out the rain. How many people did we have to take on?

"We couldn't get any power from the colosseum," the black ranger whined. "That girl who can see the Haze nearly tore Dack apart with a skarmory feather. Do you know how rare those things are? And how sharp? He'll be lucky if he still has his arm afterwards."

"Quit complaining, Nore," the girl in the purple snapped. "I can't paint my nails with you babbling about some idiot who messed up." She pat a cotton ball on her middle finger, where she was painting a picture of a balloon. "As long as it's not us, there's nothing to be worried about."

"But what do we do about the girl?" Nore questioned. "We can't just let her go around helping Wes get any Shadow Pokemon he wants! We'll run out and that machine back there won't be able to spot them out fast enough!" Machine? A machine that makes Shadow Pokemon? Jackpot. While we're here, we can destroy it. If 'back there' meant in this building, however.

"We would've been spitting them out faster if we had the power from the colosseum, but Dack messed that up. Now we need to find a new source." When she finished speaking, she held up her hand to better inspect. I could almost see her face through her helmet; she was disappointed.

That's when duking got sick of waiting and pulled the door open. Nore and the girl froze when they saw four intruders and a plusle enter uninvited.

"What machine?" Wes said calmly. "Where is it?" Nore panicked and tried to speak, but all his words came out in a jumbled mess. Then he looked to the girl, hoping she could explain, but she had already bolted around and up the stairs. He looked back to us, his lips quivering. "The machine?"

"Y-y-you don't get to know!" Nore's voice was hoarse. How afraid of us was he? Pretty afraid, because he unloaded three pokemon at us, one of which was a Shadow Pokemon. I nudged Wes and nodded in the direction of the yanma. He immediately knew what I meant. Umbreon and Espeon jumped from their balls and took the field, following their trainers' command as he pointed to the machoke and starmie. Both pokemon let out a furiouse hiss before leaping forward and attacking the pokemon they were strongest again.

"Don't let them take you like that!" Nore shouted. "They're easy to beat!" But his words went unnoticed. Like his Shadow Pokemon, the bond between his other partners were weak. They didn't listen as he shouted commands that would've easily saved them from fainting. But the pokemon fell into a heap together, beaten without landing a single hit.

That's when Wes pulled out his Snag Ball and prepared it for catching. Just about when it was ready, the yanma sensed danger and bared a mouthful of teeth at either Silva or me. I pulled the feather from the sheath I had strung across my back. The pokemon took one look and then decided it was better to attack Silva. I slashed at it right when it dove for him, but I missed.

It turns out her wanted the plusle on his head.

As he snatched it up with his tiny arms, Wes made an attempt to snag it, but the Shadow Pokemon dodged it just in the nick of time. He hissed at his foe, drool dripping down the sides of his mouth, and darted out of reach. He gave one menacing look back before darting up the stairs, Plusle screaming violently in his arms.

"Plusle!" Silva shouted, shoving Nore to the floor and pursuing her. Duking let out a shout to call his comrade back, but he was already out of earshot. Suddenly, the footsteps upstairs started shuffling. If they didn't know we were here already, they did now.

"You-you'll never take me alive!" Nore shouted. He attempted to jump over the counter, but his foot caught and he fell on the floor opposite of it, nearly chipping all his teeth. Dazed but determined, he got to his feet and fast-limped his way upstairs.

"What are you waiting for?" Duking nearly yelled, pushing past Wes and I. "Let's get going!" He started off over the counter and Wes and I followed. As we went up the stairs, I was surprised how loud it was to step on them. How had no one noticed that there was a hidden building in this ally? Surely with as many people as there were in here, someone must've noticed something.

We got up to the next level and, what do you know, it was another bar. No one sat at it though, they were all blocking the stairs to the next level, flipping their pokeballs over in their hands. To my surprise, none of them were Shadow. Talk about convient. Now all we had to do was battle them and leave.

But Duking had other ideas. Espeon and Umbreon were ready to battle, but he charged first, taking the man in front of the crowd around the waist and throwing him into the bar. The man hit the wooden counter, knocking into several unfinished drink before falling behind it. Team Cipher was so surprised that they didn't have time to prepare when he grabbed onto three more and did the same, clearing the counter and starting a pile behind it. I know they were hurt, but they wouldn't die from a bump to the head or a bruise on their back. So it was entertaining. Just a little bit.

The next couple of trainers tried to release their pokemon on him, but each and every one that so much as lifted a ball were knocked to the side or behind the counter. One that threw his had it knocked to the side and the trainer slammed into the ground. I guess the plusle-loving kid-friendly body builder was just as tough as he was soft.

Before we knew it, the room was cleared and Duking was starting upstairs. Wes and I exchanged looks before following. This guy was serious about getting his team back. That was alright. We needed a fast way to get past all these goons without wearing down our pokemon.

The next floor was actually the roof. That was a pleasant surprise because it was still raining and the wind was even stronger up here. I would've nearly fallen over if it weren't for Wes, who pressed his side against me protectively. It would've been a cute moment, but just then we saw Silva being dragged by pinioned arms into a room that had been ill-designed on top of the building. As he kicked and thrashed to be freed, two girls kept him in check by holding him firmly in place. Just when they had him in the building, a voice called us from behind.

"You're not going anywhere!" I wasn't able to turn around without Wes moving, so I glanced over my shoulder. Great, another Team Cipher Peon. He was holding out a pokeball, ready to battle. "If you want to go in there, you'll have to get past me!" Duking grunted loudly even though it sounded like a chuckle over the roaring winds.

"Go!" he shouted to us. "If you don't save Silva and Plusle, I won't be as nice as I was down there!" I swallowed. That was him being nice?

"We'll see!" Wes shouted back. He pressed closer to me and the two of us started towards the building. The doors had been left open, so we quickly scrambled inside. Silva was lying on the ground, arms behind his back, as two girls looked down on him with scolding eyes.

The girl on his right had maroon hair and a body much like the purple power ranger we had seen on the first floor. Her nails weren't painted, but she had a tattoo across her collar bones that read 'NEVER ALONE.' She had tied a scarf around her waist to cover the sections of her torso that her shirt was too short to mask. Her smile was smug and her eyes were scathing. As I watched, she spoke to Silva like she was an evil godmother.

"What made you think you could simply waltz in here?" she snickered. "Such a silly boy!"

"Where's Miror B?!" Silva shouted. "I'm taking him down!" It was a struggle to get to a sitting position, and when he did, the other girl just knocked him back down.

"Take him down?" the other girl laughed. Her purple hair was frizzy and stuck up at odd angles in every direction. She had a jumpsuit on as well, but hers showed almost her whole thigh. She smiled, revealing a golden tooth on the right side. She crossed her arms, bulky gloves nearly soaked to the core with rainwater. "After that beating you just took? That's too funny!" She leaned her head back and laughed.

She noticed us enter. "It looks like we're getting a lot of unexpected company today." The other girl snickered.

"I see. Are you here for this runt, or the plusle that Yanma took off with?" Her words were sharp.

"Both!" I said, holding the feather in my hand. "We'll start by taking you two apart!"

"Hm," the first girl said. "A weapon and no pokeballs? It appears we've got a special someone. You wouldn't be the girl who can see Shadow Pokemon, are you?"

"I think she is," the second woman said before I could reply. "So fiesty. What are you going to do with that? Wounding Dack was just an accident wasn't it?" She started to laugh, but that came to an abrupt end when I jumped forward and slashed my blade downwards. She narrowly escaped the attack. A single lock of her hair fell to my feet.

Now I had their full attention.

"It looks like we've hit a nerve, Reath," the purple-haired criminal spoke. "What, did you not like harming Dack?"

"You're friend had what was coming." I repositioned my stance. "You two are nothing different! Stealing pokemon is a crime, and I won't have you two go around laughing about it!" Wes watched from behind, waiting for his chance.

"Ohh, it's stealing pokemon that makes you angry." Reath flipped her hair over her shoulder. "Well, you can't blame us for that. Nore's lame excuse for a pokemon took off with Plusle. I'm not even sure where the damned thing went."

"You're lying!"

"I am not! Tell her, Ferma!" Ferma glared.

"It's true, kid. Nore's yanma is an idiot and a half. It can't take orders from anyone. Even if we did see it, the thing wouldn't listen to us. That's your problem, not ours!" I didn't believe it. Or, I didn't want to believe it. Duking loved his Plusle, we can't have lost it as easily as that. They have to know where it is. I lifted my blade again.

"They're telling the truth, Rui!" Silva shouted. Wes had just untie him and helped him to his feet. "They don't have Plusle. We have to get her on our own."

"Such a smart boy." Reath mocked. "Now why don't you go ahead and leave before we cream the both of you?" They took out two pokeballs in unison.

"I know you both have Shadow Pokemon," I hissed. "Tell me where the machine that makes them is!" They paused. For the first time, they looked dumbfounded.

"Machine…?" Ferma rubbed the back of her neck. "Shadow Pokemon come from a machine? That's not near as cool as I thought. Who told you we had a machine here?"

"She probably heard it from one of the higher ranks," Reath guessed. "We're not allowed to know about where they come from or how they're made, kiddies. We don't have any clue what you're talking about." They held up their pokeballs. "But we will know what to say when we beat the both of you!"

Like I had seen before, both of their pokemon were Shadow. I had already exposed them, so when both remoraid and mantine hit the battlefield, Wes had thrown the Snag Balls and captured both of them. The look on the goons' faces: priceless.

"Should've thought about carrying things other than Shadows," Ferma muttered. "This would've happened to us eventually."

"Make a run for it!" Reath shouted, grabbing her partner by the wrist and bolting. "We messed up! We messed up bad!" They vanished out into the storm, hidden almost immediately by the darkness and rain.

"Silva? Plusle?" Duking emerged just as they had left. He didn't appear to be harmed or wounded, just a bit exhausted.

"I'm fine," Silva said. "But Plusle is still gone." The bodybuilder took the young boy into his arms and squeezed. Silva seemed to be used to it, judging by how instead of showing he was in pain, he instead tried to hug him back. Good, I thought. As least we got one back.

"Hellooo! We meet again kiddies!" On the back wall behind Silva and I, an LED screen lit up. Appearing in flawless quality was Miror B, who had taken the time to prepare himself in a striking pose for us to gawk at. "I'll admit, I'm not too glad to see you've gotten your way into my base!"

"Where?!" Duking roared. "We've already cleared out this dump and you're nowhere to be seen! Where's my plusle?!" Silva looked ready to explain, but Miror B. took on another pose. This time, a Shadow yanma landed on his shoulder dropping a familiar plusle into his hands. She was limp and tired, almost like she was half asleep already.

"Yanma doesn't take kindly to people who he hasn't quite gotten along with," Miror B. explained, scratching the underside of his chin. The pokemon still dribbled drool out of the corner of his mouth, but now it looked a lot less threatening. "I happen to get along with any Shadow Pokemon no matter how mean! Plusle will come to love me in due time, I'm sure."

"Give her back!" Duking shouted. Ow, now he was beginning to hurt my ears. Wes and Silva looked to be thinking the same. "If you make her into a Shadow Pokemon I'll rip you apart limb by limb!"

"Oh, no need to be so mean! I'm not even going to run or hide from you this time!" He struck another pose. "If you want me, I'm in the cave nearby. I'll be waiting for you, my pretties!" The TV clicked and the picture of Miror B. died out.

Plusle Has Been Captured!

Duking Used Outrage!

It's Super Effective!

Silva Was Freed!

Saving Game…

Game Saved!