Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon!
A/N: Coming down to the final grind, but I enjoy writing this story and I have a one shot in the works (also focused on Kellyn and Luana of course!)
Chapter 68: Inside Altru Tower: Part 9
"The Shadow Crystal's strength has increased to Level Three! The Shadow Crystal's Strength has increased to Level Three!" A robotic voice announced over the PA system that was in the stairwell.
"Level Three…we have to hurry!" Luana said as we continued up the staircase.
After a minute or so, we reached the fifty seventh floor and discovered that it was just like the floors with Ice and Leilani, the floor itself had a door on the right and the same upside down U formation that was always associated with the previous floors of the Sinis Trio. Luana and I walked up to the door on the right and opened it, not knowing what to expect.
The inside of the room was large and square, with the room itself being very cluttered and filled up with books and all sorts of electronic equipment. It was hard to navigate the area, as the entire room was essentially like the aisles of a supermarket, only more narrow. However, Luana and I moved around and looked for any grunts that could have been nearby, though we discovered absolutely no one. As we were preparing to continue our search, I spotted a toppled bookshelf from the corner of my eye. Sitting on top of it was a mind controlled Umbreon which was staring at me intently. Upon being spotted, the Umbreon hopped off of the bookshelf and walked over to me, reaching halfway as it arched backwards and fired off a Shadow Ball at me, which I managed to barely avoid.
"Okay Pachirisu, use Thunder Wave!" I said as Pachirisu managed to stun the Dark type Pokémon.
Luana and I then made loops around Umbreon, making sure to be as quick as we could before it broke free from paralysis. Thankfully, the Pokémon's Friendship Meter was increasing at a rapid pace as it was already at forty percent.
Despite our best efforts to keep going and attempt to capture the Umbreon, it still managed to shake off the paralysis as it released a fast moving Dark Pulse, which were like black boomerangs slicing through the air as we rushed to get out of the way, though without any of the rebounding taking place. Some of the bookcases behind us soon got shredded from the attack, which was a clear and terrifying indicator of what would've happened if Luana and I didn't move in time. Umbreon continued to attack with Dark Pulse, though these missed us and flew overhead, managing to destroy some parts of the wall.
"Luana, when the timing's just right, go ahead and have Pachirisu stun that Umbreon!" I whispered as Luana gave a thumbs up.
"You got it, this Umbreon's in worse pain than any of the Pokémon we've encountered in this tower." Luana said as Umbreon ceased its barrage of attacks.
Luana went ahead and ordered Pachirisu to paralyze the Umbreon once more, which he soon did as the Pokémon stopped moving. I then made loops around the Pokémon, making sure to be as quick as I could so it wouldn't end up breaking free from paralysis. Despite me assuming that the Umbreon would manage to become mobile again, it surprisingly didn't and after I made two dozen loops, the Pokémon was captured and the mind control ended. Luana and I high fived each other and petted Pachirisu as Umbreon walked over to us, free from the trance it was under.
"Awesome, now we have another Pokémon to assist us, c'mon Umbreon, let's go!" I said.
All of us exited the room and walked around to the very end of the floor where the upside U was finished. To our right was the staircase being blocked off by a large fence that was electrified with a dark yellow current, while to our left hand side was a yellow door with the Team Dim Sun logo emblazoned on it. Luana and I each took a deep breath…and headed inside to face off against Heath. Entering the room, we found that it was like the last two rooms with wires running alongside and connecting to a large translucent yellow orb, which was crackling with electricity from end to end. Without either Luana or myself taking a step into the room, we saw Heath emerge from behind the orb, wearing the yellow vest we had seen him with from since Hippowdon Ruins.
Heath looked at me with a curious expression and then looked at Luana and our Pokémon. Despite being a member of the Sinis Trio, he didn't appear to be nearly as intimidating as I thought he would have been, at least based off of what he was seeing. Getting a better look at Heath now compared to in the Ruins, I could see that he had a number of Pokémon tattoos on his skinny arms, which he was more than happy to show off. Heath's yellow hair was standing straight up and his demeanor certainly looked as if he was about to wage war on Luana and I. After what felt like an eternity of Heath staring at us, he took out a Miniremo with a malicious grin on his face.
"You know, you two must be good to come this far. Since you two are all the way up here, that means Leilani and Ice were captured, right?" Heath asked.
"Yes…yes, they were apprehended by us." I said as Heath closed his eyes for a few moments before reopening them.
"Figured as much, Leilani was too crazy and Ice tended to be very full of himself. However, I won't underestimate you two at all, as I've heard much about the Top Rangers from Mr. Kincaid and Mr. Hall. We'll see who emerges as the victor, now get ready!" Heath said as he typed on his Miniremo.
'This is it! We've got to take whatever Heath has to throw at us!' I thought to myself as we soon felt a slight rumble.
Within moments, a large and powerful Dragonite burst through the floor and landed down in front of us, rage clearly prevalent on its face. Heath smirked and looked at us while the Dragonite did the same.
"Go." Heath said as Dragonite began to fire a Hyper Beam from its mouth.
"Pachirisu, stop that Dragonite!" I said as Pachirisu, who was ready and full of energy to help us out, stunned the Dragonite with a bright burst of electricity, which was bright enough to make us close our eyes momentarily.
I immediately made loops around the Dragonite, with Luana charging up the Styler to its second stage. Heath didn't show any expression as I did so, but I paid him no mind as I focused on the Dragonite. The Friendship Meter increased at a very slow rate, reaching about ten percent after I did two dozen loops. I saw the Dragonite was now beginning to shake off the paralysis and I did my best to do some more loops before the paralysis completely wore off. Heath continued to observe us silently even as the Dragonite became mobile once more. The Dragonite's claw then turned a dark purple as it rushed for us and attempted to strike us into the ground.
"T-that's Shadow Claw…" Luana quietly said as we moved out of the way.
The move just barely missed the two of us and our Partner Pokémon as the Dragonite's fist went into the floor, causing a massive dent to occur from where Pachirisu was originally standing only moments ago. The Dragonite's fist was still embedded into the ground, so I quickly helped Luana to her feet while Pachirisu stunned the Pokémon.
"Sorry about almost killing you guys, that wasn't my fault." Heath said as Luana made loops around Dragonite while giving him a fierce glare.
'Geez, Heath may not talk much but he certainly is just as cynical as the other Sinis Trio.' I thought to myself as Luana worked as quick as she could with filling up the Dragonite's Friendship Meter, which was now at twenty two percent.
Soon enough, the Dragonite broke free from paralysis and then started a Whirlwind in an attempt to make us go flying towards the wall.
"W-what power…Luana, hold your ground as best as you can, I'm here with you!" I said as we braced ourselves.
Dragonite continued to flap its wings fiercely as Luana and I did our best to maintain our traction, while our Pokémon were trying to do the same. Seeing that we weren't being forced back by the Dragonite, Heath typed in a command on his Miniremo, making the Pokémon cease with its ferocity. Pachirisu soon got a hold of himself from the strong winds and fixed his footing, charging up electricity and successfully stunning the Dragonite. Strangely, this made Heath grin, something that perplexed me and had me wondering what he had planned. Luana made loops around the Dragonite while I charged up her Styler to the second stage. Heath silently looked at both of us, appearing as if he was taking note of our determination to defeat him and capture the Dragonite. Unlike earlier, Dragonite was attempting to shake the paralysis off much quicker than it was doing so before, so it would only be a matter of time before the Pokémon continued its attack on us.
Luana continued to make quick loops around Dragonite while I continuously had Pachirisu stun the large Pokémon, making sure that it wouldn't be able to move anytime soon. The Friendship Meter at this point was thirty five percent but Luana and I knew that the Dragonite wouldn't be stunned forever. After Luana made a dozen more loops, the Dragonite shook off paralysis as it roared with rage.
"Now you're in for it." Heath said as he typed in a command.
Dragonite then fired a Flamethrower from its mouth, which was aimed directly for me, though I managed to get on the floor in time as it passed overhead, melting the wall behind us. Pachirisu understandably looked exhausted, so he went over to Buneary, Eevee and Umbreon to rest for a bit while Luana and I continued to increase the Dragonite's Friendship Meter. Seeing that Luana's Styler wasn't at its second stage anymore because of me, I decided to have Buneary come assist us in order to speed things up while I also took over for Luana.
"Buneary, we need your help!" I said as Buneary hopped on over to us.
Buneary then used her Poké Assist to increase the strength of my Styler while the Dragonite was preparing another attack to use against us. I quickly made loops around the Pokémon as it used its wings to slice through the air, causing a strong wind to nearly blow us back in the process. It was beyond difficult to keep my footing steady as I felt myself getting pushed back, though I felt Luana grab me and hold me tight in order to prevent me from colliding with part of the newly melted wall. The Friendship Meter was already at sixty five percent when Dragonite once again ceased its attack. The Pokémon let out a huff of annoyance as its hands began to glow a light yellow, signifying that it was nowhere close to being finished with us.
"Kellyn…get Pachirisu ready…" Luana worriedly said as Pachirisu hurried over to us, along with Umbreon and Eevee.
"Pachirisu, use Thunderbolt on that Dragonite!" I said as Pachirisu used a surge of electricity, hitting the Dragonite hard.
Dragonite was hurt badly by the attack and wasn't able to move as quickly as before, instead the Pokémon stayed where it was as Heath contemplated what to do next.
"Heath, give it up! Dragonite may not be able to take much more attacks from us! Don't make it suffer anymore!" Luana said.
"That's what you two think…Dragonite can handle it, so you two are the ones who need to watch yourselves." Heath said as he typed in a command on his Miniremo.
Dragonite, despite being in serious pain, trudged forward and was preparing to use Flamethrower.
"Luana! We have to get on the ground quick!" I said as we both hit the deck and avoided the Flamethrower, though I could feel its intense heat as if it was scorching my back.
Dragonite stopped its fierce Flamethrower after a few more seconds of doing so. Luana and I got back up and Pachirisu got into position, ready to help us out. Pachirisu still had some energy left and used Thunder Wave on Dragonite, keeping it in place as Heath grinned. Luana charged my Styler up to its second stage and I made loops around the Pokémon, with the Dragonite's Friendship Meter increasing rather quickly compared to before, with it reaching eighty percent.
The Dragonite didn't even seem to fight the paralysis off like it was doing before, instead, it attempted to do another Flamethrower from a stationary position, however, because of the paralysis, Dragonite couldn't even open its mouth to fire a Flamethrower at us. At this point, I had done at least three dozen loops around the Pokémon, with Heath looking between Luana and I, though not out of rage, but seemingly out of respect. After a few more minutes of making loops around the Dragonite, which was still trying to do a Flamethrower, it was successfully captured.
The Dragonite then snapped out of its rage and looked around the room in a daze and then flew a few inches off of the ground as it exited the room. Heath's Miniremo then fizzled out, with a ton of smoke exuding from it as he began to clap.
"Well done, I knew you two could do it. I heard a lot about Kellyn and Luana from Mr. Kincaid and Blake Hall, though I must say that you two are very courageous, even more so in person. I suppose you two will need to take me in now." Heath said as he raised his hands above his head.
"Well…thanks Heath, er…it certainly was a challenge to get all the way up here, but we have to save Almia as well as take you in." I said as all of us cautiously approached Heath.
"That I can understand…I'm not sick like Leilani or Ice are, I honestly only really did this for the money and I mainly helped out with strategic places to have grunts stationed. You can ask any of the grunts or admins, they'll vouch for me." Heath said as we searched him for any weapons and upon finding none, detained him.
"Understood, let's get in touch with the Ranger Union." Luana said as she quickly called Marcus, who picked up right away.
"Hi there Luana, hi Kellyn, what's going on guys?" Marcus asked.
"We're good Marcus, I was wondering if you could have Espeon warp the last member of the Sinis Trio to the Ranger Union for us." Luana said.
"Sure, I'll have Espeon do it right away! Be safe guys, you're nearly at the top of the tower! Keith, Wendy and Sven are on their way!" Marcus said.
"Thanks Marcus, we'll be up there in no time! I hope you stay safe too." Luana said as Marcus hanged up.
"Good luck you two, Kincaid and Blake Hall are two nasty pieces of work." Heath said.
"We know, good luck to you too Heath." I said as Heath was teleported away.
"Phew, at least we'll be having some backup on the top floor!" Luana said.
"I agree, it's a good thing too, I'm worried about that battle, but for now, we just need to destroy this Yellow Orb!" I said as I scanned the Yellow Orb, seeing that it can be destroyed by a Pokémon with a Crush power of three.
I checked the Umbreon's Poké Assist and I saw that it had a Crush Power of five, which was more than enough to help us out. I ordered Umbreon to destroy the orb and it did so by launching a Dark Pulse at it, which made it burst into shards that cascaded away from us. With the orb now destroyed and the blocked passage opened, Umbreon darted away from us as we also exited the room and headed to the main floor, where the darkened staircase ominously invited us upwards.
"Now it's time for the fifty eight floor…let's go onwards. Are you ready?" Luana asked.
"You bet I am, I wonder what the next floor has in store for us." I said as we headed up the staircase.
After a few minutes of walking, Luana and I reached the top of the stairs to the fifty eight floor, which, upon opening the door, revealed a massive and sprawling lab containing several glass containment units, shelves, draws and test tubes, with each of the tubes being filled with various liquids. The lab itself, being an open concept, meant that Luana and I had to be extremely cautious so that any scientists working here didn't spot us. There was only one scientist at the far corner of the room, making a mixture with a variety of liquids that were in the test tubes. At the very back of the room were two doorways, one of which clearly showed the staircase leading to the fifty ninth floor…as well as where I assumed Kincaid would be waiting for us. The doorway on the left led into a storage room based on the boxes I saw on the ground by the door. The scientist, looking tired and frustrated, sighed and put down the test tubes and he went to pick up one of the boxes and brought it in the room, with the door opening automatically. After a few seconds had passed, the scientist came back outside and continued his work, meaning Luana and I would need to be strategic about how we would sneak up on him.
'Man…what can we do…we can't just run over to him and knock him out, nor can we disguise ourselves safely. Neither option sounds like something Luana or I could feasibly do no matter how quick we are…but we have to think of something before he or someone else spots us.' I thought to myself as we saw the scientist writing down some notes.
"Kellyn, what if we had our Pokémon distract him? Then if he comes too close or is hostile, we rush him?" Luana whispered.
"That's a good idea…I think that could work! Okay guys, while neither of us like the idea, you can all distract the scientist and we'll wait for you on the staircase halfway so we're out of view." I said as our Partner Pokémon ran over to the scientist.
Eevee, Pachirisu and Buneary went over to the man, who certainly looked overworked and seriously stressed out. Upon seeing our Pokémon however, he smiled, as if for the first time in months or years.
"Woah, such adorable Pokémon! I needed to do something to ease my mind, do you guys belong to any of the grunts here?" The scientist asked as our Pokémon shook their heads.
"Wow, it seems to be working really well…hopefully he won't try doing experiments on any of our Partner Pokémon, if he does then we'll be here to intervene.' I thought to myself as the scientist gently picked up our shiny Eevee…and affectionally petted her.
"Hah, such fluffy fur! I've never seen such a cool looking Eevee before, I should take some photos for some memories!" The scientist said as our Partner Pokémon played with him before they ran into the same storage room.
"Oh no, you guys could get hurt! Come back here!" The scientist said as he took his cell phone out before promptly chasing after our Pokémon.
"Okay, let's go!" Luana said as we ran forward.
The storage room door was ajar and I took a glimpse inside the room, seeing that the scientist was still chasing our Partner Pokémon.
"Good, the scientist is still distracted, now let's go halfway up the staircase!" I said as we went halfway up the steps.
Within a minute or so, we heard a loud crash, which prompted Luana and I to look at one another. We were contemplating on checking to see if the scientist was okay, but the two of us knew he'd just call for help once that happened. Soon enough, our Partner Pokémon came running up the stairs to us and we headed up the dimly lit hallway. We nearly reached the top of the stairs where we saw a blue door, though it slammed open as we saw an older scientist stomp down the steps in a rage, completely ignoring us. Luana and I hanged back a bit and followed the man, who went into the same storage room that the first scientist was in. The two of us and our Pokémon could hear yelling and stayed out of sight so that we could hear what was going on without being spotted.
"What are you doing on the floor Anderson? You haven't even finished everything I asked you to do!" The scientist screamed.
"W-well sir…there were a bunch of nice Pokémon nearby that I thought were really awesome to see and so…" Anderson said.
"And you decided to goof off and not do your job, is that right?!" The scientist bellowed.
"Um…i-it's funny you mention that…heheh…" Anderson said as we heard a grunt of pain.
"Shut up! We need any Pokémon we can get so that Team Dim Sun puts them under mind control!" The scientist said as we heard some slight coughing
"But…but…Bob…doing something like that isn't right! I was only told to conduct research on Pokémon by studying their feelings and comparing it to humans!" Anderson said as Luana looked at me.
"Luana, are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I whispered as Luana nodded.
"You want to go help that scientist, right?" Luana asked.
"That's correct, let's go before he gets more hurt!" I said as we rushed out from our hiding spot and entered the storage room, which contained several beakers, tablets and laptops.
On the floor was the same scientist as before, who we now know is named Anderson, while the other scientist, Bob, was standing above him with a stern expression and a gray lab coat. Anderson had a few cuts and scratches on his face, but right now, both men were looking at us and Anderson gave Bob a quick glance before backing up and slowly moving away from him.
"Rangers…what are they doing here? Aha, I know why, Anderson…you fool, those Pokémon you saw belong to these Rangers, not to anyone else! Come on, let's take these two down!" Bob said as he took out a Miniremo from his coat pocket.
"Ah…Bob, this isn't what I signed up for…" Anderson said as he slowly began to get back up. Bob kicked Anderson in the chest, sending him back on the ground in pain, shocking the both of us.
"Anderson, get out of my way!" Bob said as he typed in a command on his Miniremo.
In a fraction of a second, all of us heard a slight rumble that shook the room. None of us knew what to expect as usual, but we were prepared for it, as Bob laughed manically while Anderson cowered by a cluster of beakers.
'Oh no…what are we facing this time?' I thought as the rumbling increased.
Bursting through the floor was a Golem, its eyes filled with pain and anger as it roared with an intense ferocity. Luana and I were prepared to start making loops around the Pokémon, only for me to sense something was terribly wrong.
'W-what's with this overwhelming sense of dread…?' I thought to myself as I clenched my heart with my right hand.
Seeing that I wasn't making any loops around the Golem, Luana turned to me and checked on my condition. For the first time…my heart began to race not due to Luana's soft and warm touch, but rather because of fear.
"Luana…something's very wrong here…I don't know what it is but…I don't like it at all…" I said as Luana held my left hand while I continued to hold my heart.
Luana's eyes briefly moved up and she gasped as her eyes widened. Following where Luana's eyes went to, I also gasped, seeing that a Muk, which was originally flat like a pancake on the ceiling, was now watching us from a few feet away.
"Kellyn…let's walk back slowly, we don't want to startle this Muk and have it attack us before we get a chance to move." Luana whispered.
"That's right…I'll follow your lead." I said as we both slowly stepped backwards, which made Bob chuckle.
"You two can do whatever you feel is necessary. Just know that the both of you are in for a tough fight." Bob said as the Muk plopped down on the ground and joined the Golem.
"W-wait Bob…you can leave them alone, especially since they're Rangers!" Anderson said.
"What? Are you a traitor to Team Dim Sun? Maybe I should have Muk attack you first…" Bob said as Muk turned away from us and moved closer to Anderson.
"Hey Muk, it's me you're after! Hurry up and come get me!" I said as Muk turned back around and looked at me before moving forward.
"Kellyn, I know what you're doing, be careful…" Luana said.
"Don't you worry, I will." I said as the Golem remained stationary while I made distance between myself and everyone.
Muk began to move closer and Luana made loops around the Golem while I did the same with Muk. Luana had Buneary use Hi Jump Kick on the Golem, hitting it hard as it went back a few feet. I had Pachirisu focus on paralyzing both Pokémon so that Luana can get assistance and so neither of us would have to worry about either Golem or Muk attacking us. Luckily, both Pokémon stayed stunned long enough for us to continue making loops around them, while we had Pachirisu and Buneary by our sides in case they managed to break free from paralysis. After some time, both of our Pokémon needed a rest, and they went over with Eevee, who was watching Golem and Muk intently.
In the corner, Anderson was slowly getting to his feet and walking towards us, moving cautiously but quickly while Bob began to get irate. Luana and I paid Bob not much attention as we focused on the mind controlled Pokémon, gradually filling up their Friendship Meters.
"So that's how it's going to be, huh? Okay then, Muk, go after Anderson!" Bob said.
Muk quickly turned towards Anderson, who at this point was halfway across the room and was trembling slightly as he stood frozen in fear. Muk started to gurgle up something from its mouth and I grabbed Anderson to bring him closer to me, right before a large puddle of purple poison sloshed down on the ground, destroying a metal table and melting the floor.
"T-thank you…" Anderson said as he gathered the courage to run over to the doorway.
"Not a problem, I couldn't let that Muk harm you." I said as I made loops around the Muk.
Looking at the Golem and Muk's Friendship Meter, I was glad to see how much their Meters had filled up, with Muk's nearly being complete while Golem's was halfway. Anderson was sitting down by our Partner Pokémon and holding the three of them carefully, as Pachirisu and Buneary were gathering their strength back up. Seeing that our primary Partner Pokémon were still out of action, Eevee quickly jumped in to help and she definitely looked eager to do so.
"Great job Rangers, go go go!" Anderson cheered as we grinned at the thought of having someone motivate us even more.
"Gah, you've always been such a pain, keep your mouth shut!" Anderson shouted as Golem withdrew its head and limbs into a ball as it began to roll towards us.