Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!
Chapter 67: Inside Altru Tower: Part 8
"That's awful, it's a good thing you guys got backup! We appreciate the assistance Marcus, thanks for the help! Before we go, do you have any word on how the towns and cities are doing?" I asked as the grunts vanished in an instant.
"Well, Haruba Village, Chicole Village and Boyleland are unharmed. However, Pueltown and Vientown have taken some damage. Nothing too severe since we have Ranger trainees at those areas, but I did make note of any incident taking place. No citizens have been injured yet, but you can imagine the worry and stress associated with the attacks taking place!" Marcus said.
"I understand that, it's reassuring to know no one's hurt. I know it's very scary right now, but try to be as calm as you can, especially since any Rangers calling in are going to need the help of you, Linda and Rhythmi." I said.
"Thanks Kellyn, as you may have seen, the grunts were already warped away. We'll help you guys out as much as we can." Marcus said.
"I know, thank you Marcus, Luana and I are going to do our best. Before I finish up with you, how's everyone else doing?" I asked as we all went up the stairway.
"Everyone's okay thankfully, they're all preparing to fight the Pokémon heading this way. You guys take care, if there's anything else taking place, I'll let you and Luana know!" Marcus said.
"Sounds good Marcus, be careful." I said as I hanged up.
"Glad to know everyone's doing good, I was worried about them!" Luana said.
"I know, it's even worse than before with these tremors." I said.
"Yeah, they could even start happening a bit more frequently, though I hope that's not the case. As for the situation that's taking place right now, I'm glad that for the most part, the towns are safe, especially Chicole Village and Haruba Village. It's a good thing Terry is on a short vacation instead of travelling, I'd hate for him to get caught up in this mess." Luana said.
"That's right, I'm relieved that our families are okay, I just hope Vientown and Pueltown continue to hold up for as long as possible. People may not be injured yet, but it's only a matter of time before that could happen." I said as we reached the fifty sixth floor.
"Exactly, we'll be fine, everyone's more than capable of providing help in any areas. As for this floor…where should we go first?" Luana asked as we found ourselves in an area that was rather large and rectangular.
The floor itself had three doors, with one at the back and one on the left and right. Figuring that it'd be best to start with one of the doors closest to us, I deduced that we should head towards the left door, as it was only ten feet from us.
"How about we head to that door and see what's inside? I don't even know what to expect with this place anymore. It's like…a dangerous funhouse." I said as I smiled, both to reassure Luana and myself of the situation.
"Haha, this building's definitely like a funhouse for Blake Hall! Good idea, let's head through this door!" Luana said as she smiled back.
"Alright, I can face anything once you're with me!" I said.
"The same goes for me, I can do so much with you by my side." Luana said as I opened the door.
Inside of the room was a simple medical room, with various equipment, beds and chairs scattered around. The interior was very clean as we look around for any grunts, once we realized it was clear, or at least appeared that way, we entered the room. It felt rather odd considering how Luana and I came to the assumption that most of the rooms in this building would have grunts or admins loitering around, but this room was almost lifeless.
"This is weird…I would have thought this room would've had at least one person inside. Let's take a quick look around." I said.
"Yeah, let's go ahead and do that, who know what we'll find!" Luana said as we explored the room.
As expected, everything seemed normal, though Luana and I noticed a blue curtain at the back of the room which we hadn't seen before.
"Hmm, with how weird this entire building is, I would be very surprised if there was just a hospital bed behind this curtain." I said.
I slowly opened the curtain, revealing a pair of dark blue double doors. Luana and I pushed the doors open and entered into the next room, not knowing what to expect. Despite the previous room being a medical room for the sick and injured, this room that we just entered was by far one of the worst rooms we've been in. While the room was very dark and drab, it was obvious that from the floor to the ceiling were gigantic cages filled with Pokémon of all different species. We both looked around in shock as we could see Pokémon trembled in fear.
"How…how horrible, we need to rescue them so they can't continue suffering!" Luana said.
"I agree, but we need to be careful, there's most likely going to be someone nearby that's watching us." I said.
Luana and I didn't even take a step forward before something in the far left corner started to shift. Out from the corner emerged a female Team Dim Sun admin, who sauntered over to us as the Pokémon backed away from her in their cages.
"Hi there, you two like the cute and sweet Pokémon that I'll be using to help the boss?" The admin asked.
"You…you need to stop this right now, Pokémon shouldn't be treated this way!" Luana said.
"Heheh, I'm going to make these Pokémon get influenced by the Shadow Crystal slowly, then I'll have them attack all over Almia. I don't care what you Rangers say, Boss Hall will be so proud of me once he sees the chaos and pain I've done!" The admin said.
"If that's the case then we'll do whatever it takes to stop you!" I said.
"Oh? So you two kiddies want to battle me? Hm…alright, I'll play your games, but you two are in for an awful surprise once you see the Pokémon I have prepared for you." The admin said as she took out a normal sized Miniremo and began typing.
Dropping down from the ceiling was a small pink blob, which I immediately recognized as a Ditto. It became flat like a pancake upon impact and in a second, it went back to an undefined shape. The Ditto then looked up at us, with Luana and I seeing its expressionless face. We were both pretty scared, while most Rangers would scoff at seeing a one foot tall pink blob, Luana and I knew that such a Pokémon under mind control would be a serious threat and not something to take lightly at all.
"We're…we're facing that Ditto?" Luana asked as our Partner Pokémon hid behind us.
"Heh, that's right! Come now Ditto, show these Rangers what you can do!" The admin said.
Ditto immediately transformed into an Aggron, in fact, it looked identical to one in every single way. Luana and I got our Partner Pokémon and ran to the front of the room, just in the nick of time as the faux Aggron swung its tail, knocking aside some nearby tables. The Pokémon in the nearby cages were shaking to get free, but it certainly looked like Team Dim Sun made sure those cages weren't able to be broken at all. Once the Ditto saw we were out of its reach, it then transformed into a Dodrio as it charged at us with the three beaks firing up a Tri Attack.
Luana and I dodged the Tri Attack by getting on the floor quickly, with the separate compounds making impact with the wall behind us. As I turned around swiftly, I saw one part of the wall had melted away, while the double doors had a thin layer of ice over them. The attack itself took less than a minute for it to reach us, so Luana and I had to do something and fast. With there being nowhere to hide, it would only be a manner of time before the transformed Ditto would be ordered to attack us again.
"Okay Luana, the only idea I really have is for us to have Pachirisu stun the Ditto. I'm just worried about it transforming again." I whispered.
"I know, it's a really troubling situation. Let's try it out, it can't hurt." Luana said as the Dodrio charged at us once more, with its beaks going in quick succession.
"Pachirisu, paralyze that Dodrio!" I said as Pachirisu used an electric jolt to stun the transformed Dodrio.
Luana wasted no time in doing her usual work as she made loops around the Pokémon, with me charging up her Styler so it reached the second stage and made things easier. The admin was angrily typing on her Miniremo to no avail as the faux Dodrio tried to break free from paralysis.
"Gah! What are you two doing?! Grrr…I can't believe I was going easy on you two, but it's time I do something to help out with Ditto!" The admin said as Dodrio finally managed to shake off its paralysis.
Ditto, instead of attacking like it was initially forced to do, instead decided to go back towards the admin and morphed into a Golem, making Pachirisu's Thunder Waves far less effective. The newly transformed Pokémon then rolled up into a ball as it rushed right at us. While Pachirisu's Thunder Wave and any other Electric type moves wouldn't be very effective, we all knew that it was our only shot, as Buneary's Hi Jump Kick could possibly miss and she'd get hurt.
"Pachirisu, use Thunderbolt on that Golem!" Luana said as Pachirisu unleashed a surge of electricity, shocking the Golem and sending it across the floor, away from us.
The Golem quickly skidded to a stop and uncurled itself before going back into a Ditto once more. The Pokémon stood still as we wondered what it would do next, before long, it transformed into Charizard. The Charizard then leaned back before quickly releasing a Flamethrower near us, scorching the ground right in front of where we were standing.
"Luana…what do we do? No matter what moves we use, this Ditto is just going to Transform once again." I said.
"This is a real predicament, I think the only thing we can do is keep stunning it no matter what Pokémon it turns into. If we don't, we might get hurt or killed by the Ditto." Luana said.
"Can you two just give up? It's obvious I'm going to win!" The admin yelled as the Charizard continued to watch at us from across the room.
"We're not losing to the likes of you!" I said as I gently nudged Pachirisu, who stunned the Charizard as the admin's mouth hung agape.
"Grr…you two are really getting on my nerves!" The admin said.
Luana and I paid her no mind and I made loops around the Charizard, with the Ditto's Friendship Meter having risen to twenty percent. Around two dozen loops were made before the Charizard broke free from paralysis, and the Ditto changed form once more, this time, morphing into a Buneary as Pachirisu and Eevee hid behind us. In a few leaps, the transformed Ditto came over to us and we cautiously looked at it in the event that it tried attacking us. To our surprise, the fake Buneary instead went up to Luana's Buneary and quickly twirled around in a fast moving dance that our eyes couldn't track at all. The two Buneary were side by side with absolutely no differences between them as Luana and I carefully looked at both of them.
"Wow…this is terrifying…" I mumbled as we looked at both Pokémon.
"Yeah…you're telling me…got any ideas?" Luana asked.
"I…I can't think of anything…" I said as the admin laughed.
"What's wrong Rangers? Can't tell the difference between your Buneary and a transformed Ditto?" The admin mocked.
"Actually…I just got an idea Kellyn…" Luana whispered as both Buneary looked at her.
"What's your plan?" I asked as Luana leaned over to me.
"We'll see which one's attracted to Pachirisu. After all, our first two Partner Pokémon are together just like us, so we just have to determine which one is lovey-dovey like us." Luana said.
"Good idea, let's try it out. Pachirisu, can you please help us out here?" I asked as Pachirisu came out from behind my leg, while Eevee looked in absolute confusion.
The real Buneary, which was on the right, was immediately tackled by Pachirisu the second he saw her, confirming that she was the real one while the transformed Buneary stood there motionless.
"W-what…h-how did you…" The admin said as she gritted her teeth in frustration.
"Good work Pachirisu, go stun that imposter!" I said as Pachirisu paralyzed the fake Buneary.
Starting the process once more, I made loops around the transformed Pokémon as it's Friendship Meter began to increase to thirty five percent. The Ditto was struggling to break free from paralysis as I focused on making loops around it while also trying to keep an eye on the admin for fear that she would try harming one of us. Eventually though, the Ditto managed to move again as it went over to the admin, quickly transforming into a Torterra. The large Pokémon lumbered over to us and began to charge up a move, so Pachirisu got into position right away.
"Alright Pachirisu, let's use Thunder Wave on that Torterra!" Luana said as Pachirisu stunned the Torterra.
Since the Torterra was part Ground, I knew that we had to be quick, so Luana made loops around the Pokémon while I had Pachirisu standing by me in the event the Torterra broke free from paralysis. The Torterra continuously shook off the paralysis while Luana and I continued to make loops around the Pokémon for several minutes, managing to bring the Ditto's Friendship Meter up to sixty percent. Soon enough, Pachirisu got a bit tired and went off to the side to recoup his energy, while the Ditto began to transform into yet another Pokémon, this time, a Venusaur.
The Venusaur attacked quicker than I thought imaginable with a Seed Bomb, managing to make some of the flooring get damaged once the seed made impact. Venusaur then used Vine Whip on Luana's wrist in an attempt to drag her.
"Pachirisu, Eevee, hit that impostor with a Headbutt!" I said as both Pokémon sprinted forward and hit the Venusaur, making it double over in pain as it managed to regain its footing soon afterwards.
With Luana's wrist now free, we knew that it wouldn't be too difficult before the Ditto was captured safely.
"I can't believe that you two are so strategic! Here I was planning for your demise and yet you two aren't fazed at all…gah! It's absolutely ridiculous how this dumb Ditto isn't able to do anything for me!" The admin said.
"That Ditto's not dumb, you're the one controlling it to do your bidding!" I said as the admin watched us from across the room.
"I just…I just can't believe you two have come so far, I'll make sure to take you two down!" The admin said as the Venusaur prepared a Razor Leaf.
Venusaur launched the Razor Leaf at us which was incredibly fast moving and swift. I managed to push Luana out of the way as a couple of the leaves slashed my arm, making the admin smirk. I winced in pain as I got up, while Luana also got up quickly afterwards.
"I-I'm alright, it's nothing too bad, I'll live." I said as Luana took her Ranger jacket off before wrapping it around my arm wound without hesitation.
"You're hurt Kellyn, we'll handle this woman and the Ditto together." Luana said as the admin scoffed.
"Say what you want, it's time to end this!" The admin said as Ditto transformed into an Ariados.
Before the Ditto could attack, Luana had Pachirisu stun the Pokémon as she made loops around it quickly. The Ariados remained stunned for quite a while as blood seeped down my arm, though I made sure to be of assistance to Luana as I charged up her Styler up to its second stage. I was happy to see that the Ditto's Friendship Meter was already a staggering eighty percent, though the admin, who was mad the entire time, instead looked very worried and scared.
Eventually, the Ariados broke free from paralysis and tried firing a String Shot at Luana to make her unable to move…however, Luana and I were able to dodge it just in time as the Ariados hopped on the ceiling. Ariados then shot out a Poison Sting which we evaded, though not without pain searing through my arm from the deep cuts the Razor Leaf left. Luana shot me a worried look, though her expression soon changed to being very determined as we continued with making loops around Ditto, soon reaching ninety five percent. Just as the Ariados was about to attack yet again, Luana managed to capture it as the Pokémon registered in our Browser, with the admin's Miniremo soon fizzling and crackling before going silent.
"We…we did it, great work Luana!" I weakly said as the admin screamed with rage.
"Do you two realize what you've done?! Now that you've defeated me, these cages are going to be opened now!" The admin said as the Ariados transformed back into Ditto.
Right on cue, the cages did in fact open and the various Pokémon came out of the cages. All of them gained newfound courage as the admin ran past us, with the Pokémon running after her. Soon enough, the room was almost completely empty, aside from us, our Partner Pokémon and the Ditto.
"Kellyn…your arm…" Luana said as the Ditto came up to us, a sad expression on its small face.
Ditto then transformed into a Blissey and used Heal Pulse on me, making it seem as if my wound was never there. The both of us were touched at the Ditto's kind gesture and we happily pet it, with the Ditto having a texture similar to pudding. Ditto smiled happily at us and left the room, leaving us by ourselves. Luana then unwrapped her jacket from my arm, to our astonishment, the blood that would have been on her jacket was gone as well, thanks to the Heal Pulse.
"Wow…I'm all better now! Looks like that admin didn't know what was coming to her. Are you ready to continue onwards?" I asked.
"Definitely, I'm ready for us to keep going! However…my main concern was your arm, I was really worried seeing you injured like that." Luana said as we exited and headed to the main part of the floor, with the right and back doors waiting for us.
"I know, I'm glad to be doing better now. Good work in there team, now let's head to this door over here!" I said as our Partner Pokémon happily followed us to the door on the right side of the hallway.
I went ahead and opened the door, noticing that this room was void of any people at all. The inside of the room had multiple tables and seats, as well as a number of vending machines against the wall.
"Hm, looks like another break room. Do you want to thoroughly explore this room before heading to the one at the far back?" Luana asked.
"Definitely, it'll be crucial to do so, after all, I don't want us to miss any grunts and then we end up encountering a swarm of them later on." I said as Luana and I looked throughout the room.
Despite us looking everywhere imaginable, neither one of us could locate any grunts. I even had the idea of looking up towards the ceiling to see if they were perhaps trying to be sneaky and were hiding up there, but not a single grunt was anywhere in the room. After looking around for several minutes and as we were about to leave, my Styler began to ring, which I quickly answered seeing it was Wendy.
"Hello Wendy, what's going on at the Ranger Union?" I asked.
"Hi Kellyn, the Ranger Union attack's calmed down compared to earlier. In fact, I'd say it's very safe when considering how chaotic we were earlier. Some Rangers have already gone to assist Pueltown residents with anything they may need. What about you guys?" Wendy asked.
"We're safe, Luana and I just captured an admin's Ditto. She was absolutely insane with the way she was treating it…and the plan she had for the Pokémon that were in cages…it was horrific." I said.
"Wow, it's a good thing you two came along when you did, saving those Pokémon must have felt amazing! Uh…I feel the ground shaking right now…wait a second…is that what I think it is?" Wendy asked.
"What is it Wendy? Are you okay?" I asked.
"I'm fine but…there's an admin running right for us along with a whole bunch of Pokémon…they don't look like they're under mind control at all…" Wendy said.
"That's the same admin we were talking about, she must be running really fast to get away from all those Pokémon!" I said.
"She definitely is! She's actually going to be reaching here in a little bit so we'll be taking her in once she does." Wendy said.
"Be very careful with her, she's a bit…twisted." I said.
"Understood, since things are essentially wrapping up at the Ranger Union, Sven, Keith and I will be going to the Altru Tower soon. We'll be using the two gems we have to circle around the tower as previously mentioned." Wendy said.
"Sounds like a good plan, thanks Wendy!" I said as Wendy hanged up.
"Awesome, now we'll be getting some help with the Shadow Crystal! Let's keep going, what floor are we on?" Luana asked.
"We're on the fifty sixth floor now, we don't have much more floors to go!" I said as we walked towards the door.
Suddenly, the door burst open as we saw a nurse with a Team Dim Sun logo embroidered on the upper left hand side of her uniform. Upon spotting us, she wordlessly took out a Miniremo, which surprised me as I thought she was simply medical personnel. The nurse typed away on her Miniremo, which soon made a pair of Haunter appear a few feet in front of us.
"We can handle them, let's go!" Luana said as we both made loops around the ghastly Pokémon.
As usual, the Haunter vanished before us and reappeared off to our sides as they opened their mouths to release a purple flame. Luana and I ceased making loops as the flames chased us down, hopping after us rather fast. We managed to avoid the flames with no trouble as they soon dissipated, with both of us once again making loops around the Haunter. After that, the two Pokémon vanished into thin air and I soon felt a cold shiver run down my spine. The Haunter once again appeared, though this time, close to the ceiling as they watched us intently. The Haunter then launched a Shadow Ball at us, which made Eevee use her own Shadow Ball in retaliation, cancelling out the Pokémon's move, angering the both of them.
Luana and I then made loops around both Pokémon, taking our time to ensure that they didn't disappear again. Soon enough, we captured both Pokémon without any effort as the nurses' Miniremos fizzled out and ceased working, which made the two Haunter disappear.
"I'll…I'll tell Leilani about this, she'll punish you two!" The nurse said.
"Leilani's already defeated, she won't be able to hurt anyone else." Luana said as the nurse gasped.
"You two beat her? I see…I'll be making a hasty retreat then…" The nurse said as she bolted out of the room.
"Good work team, let's head to the room at the back!" I said as Luana and I exited the room.
"We're doing pretty good, but let's be careful, we haven't seen Kincaid or Heath yet, but I'm worried for when we do see them." Luana said as we headed to the door at the very back of the room.
"That's a good point, maybe we'll encounter them soon enough. Either way, we'll be as safe and as cautious as we can." I said as I opened the door, which revealed a staircase.
Luana and I went up the staircase quickly and we were halfway up before the building began to shake once more, though it quickly subsided.