Welcome to chapter 25 of Pocket Monsters: Shattered Souls! Thank you for reading the story up to this point and I hope you enjoy the chapter! Please view the message at the end of the chapter! Thank you!

CHAPTER 25

News of the attack on the Silph building had spread throughout the city, with every news channel covering the incident. Reporters surrounded the scene hoping to get as close as possible.

A reporter inched her way toward the building. She had short brown hair and brown eyes, wore a light-green shirt under a dark-green vest and white capri pants. She had to get closer. She had to cover this event. This was it. She could feel it. The scoop of a lifetime.

Her cameraman, gripping the camera, nervously followed her. He had shoulder-length black hair underneath a baseball cap turned backward, baggy jeans, and a t-shirt with a Rotom on the front.

She turned to her cameraman. "So, Dai, you ready to do this?"

Dai looked at her with an upturned eyebrow. "I don't know, Mari, this could be taking things too far. I know this could lead to big things, but isn't this a little crazy?"

She turned to him and smiled. "If you're not a little crazy, you'll never get the big scoop."

Dai chuckled. He knew there was no stopping her when she got like that. He fired up the camera and they ran out into the middle of the street.

When they were in position, Dai held up his hand. "Okay, we're going live in three… two… one."

Mari cleared her throat. "Good afternoon, Saffron City, this is Mari of Kanto National News reporting live at the Silph Company building. As you can see behind me, the Silph building has come under attack by members of the evil organization Team Chaos.

"If you look closely at the entrance of the building, you'll see several police officers and members of Team Chaos are unconscious. Witnesses say they saw a group of kids running toward the building and that they may have something to do with it. We'll keep you updated as more of the story develops."

In the living room of the dojo, Tsuyoshi sat watching the television. As soon as her report ended, he heaved a sigh. All he could think about was the safety of Nami and her friends. He only hoped they were all right.

Throughout the eleven stories of the Silph building, the grunts of Team Chaos and the psychics of Sabrina's gym, kept a close watch over the employees they had captured. The guards positioned on each floor were quickly defeated and left either unconscious, hypnotized, or tied up. With their stun batons in hand, the grunts continued to monitor their hostages.

The employees of Silph trembled as they were forced into secluded parts of each floor with their hands bound.

A grunt went up to them, gleefully twirling his baton. "I don't wanna hear any of you making any kind of noise, you got me? All of you are to remain quiet until we get what we came for."

As he turned away, the sound of a ringtone caught his attention.

A woman in the front of the group froze as her cell phone rang in her pocket.

The grunt walked up to her and yanked her up by the collar of her shirt. "Didn't I tell you not to make any noise? What the hell's this? You trying to stir up something? You trying to be the hero?"

The woman shook her head as tears fell down her face. "P-P-Please, it's probably just my family! Calling to check up on me! Please, I'm not trying to cause trouble!"

The grunt reached into her pocket and pulled the cell phone out. "Looks like it's from someone named Hiroshi."

The woman's eyes widened.

The grunt laughed. "I guess it's someone important, huh? Let's answer it. Here you go."

He held the phone up to her. "Hello? Hiroshi?"

"Sakura? Oh, thank God! What's going on over there? Where are you right now? Are you safe?"

Sakura kept her composure as best she could. "Don't worry, honey, I'm fine. I'm just… um… in a safe location in the-,"

She screamed as the grunt applied the stun baton to the side of her stomach. He laughed as she fell to the floor.

"Sakura? Sakura! What happened? What's going on? Sakura!"

The grunt chuckled as the answered. "Yeah, your wife's a little out right now. Don't worry. She'll be fine." He hung up, dropped the phone, and crushed it with his boot. He turned to the shocked group of hostages. "Hey, that was pretty fun. Who else has a phone I can borrow?"

As he approached the hostages, he stopped when Mashira's voice came through on his earpiece.

His voice reached every grunt in attendance. "All units. Somewhere in this building, the Carrier and his friends are lurking, looking to ruin our operations. I want you all to keep an eye out for them. Take care of the Carrier's friends, but leave the Carrier to me and Captain Sabrina. If you happen to run into him, stall him as much as you can. He must not get to the top floor."

The grunt grinned. "All right. Looks like things are finally going to get interesting around here."

Mashira finished talking and looked over at Sabrina. "Before we go to the Carrier, let's pay another quick visit to our friend Mr. Shirufu."

Sabrina nodded and followed him out of the room. She couldn't understand it. Why was she seeing these images? What did they all mean? What connection did she have with the Carrier? And why did she feel a sense of calm and warmth when she had that vision? She only knew one thing for certain, the things Mashira was saying didn't add up. She had to be absolutely certain about it. The only way to do that was to talk to the Carrier herself.

She and Mashira entered the room across the hallway, and found Amanda holding Shirufu in midair with her powers.

Shirufu struggled and screamed as her grip tightened. "Please! I don't… understand… what… you're after! Just please… let my… employees go!"

Mashira motioned for Amanda to let him go, and he walked up to Shirufu as he hit the floor. "President Shirufu, this isn't complicated. All we want is to know the location of the Red Chain fragment you have."

Shirufu turned to him. "And I already told you… I don't know what you're talking about! What is this Red Chain fragment? What do you want with it?"

Mashira sighed and took a swig from his flask. "Maybe I should try changing the question. We know Silph is working on creating the world's most powerful pokéball, with the means to catch any pokémon without fail. Now, what method are you using to create this pokéball with and where is it located?"

Shirufu's eyes widened. They knew about their plans for the Master Ball? How? Then the fragment they were talking about was the crimson jewel they found.

Mashira gazed at Shirufu. "It would appear we're finally getting somewhere. Now, where is the fragment located?"

Shirufu shook his head. "I'll never tell! That jewel is the key to making exceptional items for all the trainers around the world! I'd never give it to people like you!"

Mashira took a deep breath. "Obviously, we're not getting anywhere like this. Sabrina, do it."

Sabrina nodded. "Yes, sir."

Shirufu watched as she walked over to him and placed her hand on his head. "Wait! What are you planning on doing to me? Sabrina! Why are you in cahoots with these low-lives?"

Sabrina closed her eyes and saw into Shirufu's mind. She scanned all the areas of his memories until she came to when he last visited the room holding the fragment.

She opened her eyes and turned to Mashira. "The fragment is the basement only accessible through a staircase on the ninth floor."

Mashira grinned. "Excellent work, Sabrina. Thanks, Mr. President. You've done all we wanted you to do. Now, just sit back and relax."

With that, Mashira karate chopped him in the back of the neck. He turned to his team and told them to move out.

As they moved down the hallway, Amanda turned to Mashira. "Sir, shall we take care of the fragment or the Carrier first?"

Mashira turned to her. "We'll split up. That'll be the easiest way to knock both out at the same time."

Sabrina turned to him. "Sir, in that case, I volunteer to take on the Carrier. It should be very easy with my psychic abilities. I'll meet you and the rest of the squad in the basement."

Amanda nodded and turned to some of the squad. "All right, I want you three to accompany her-,"

Sabrina placed a hand on her shoulder. "That won't be necessary. I'll fight him alone."

Mashira turned to her. "You sure you won't need any backup?"

Sabrina nodded. "Yes, I'm sure. I'll be more than enough to subdue the Carrier. This won't take long."

Mashira smiled. "That's the kind of attitude I like to see. All right, the Carrier's all yours. I want you to bring him to me as soon as you get done with him."

Sabrina nodded. "Understood, sir."

As Mashira, Amanda, and the rest of the squad made their way toward the fragment. Sabrina sighed. Now, all she had to do was locate the Carrier.

She closed her eyes and focused on his location. She scanned the entire layout of the building, but the only people she could see were her squad, and three intruders; none of which fit the description of the Carrier.

Her eyes widened in astonishment. This was unheard of. Why couldn't she sense him?

She fell to her knees and screamed as another jolt of pain struck her. She saw an image of her talking with the three intruders she just sensed. They stood outside of a tower, and each of the intruders looked scared out of their minds.

"That is the only thing that has puzzled me. I can easily sense each and every one of you, except him. When we were in the Pokémon Center, I believe I felt a power from him… a very strong power. That must be why I can't sense him like I can you three. It was as if I was being blocked from his mind."

The vision ended and Sabrina took deep breaths to calm down. She was more than certain that the visions were trying to tell her something. She needed to find the Carrier now. But before that, she had something else to take care of.

Jin glared at Jerry. He knew he would have to fight at some point, he just didn't think it'd be this soon. He smiled. "All right. So, in order for me to leave, I just have to beat you, right?"

Jerry laughed as he adjusted his glasses. "That's if you beat me. But I'm afraid you have no chance of defeating me."

Jin chuckled and adjusted his glasses. "Oh, yeah? Is that right? Well, then I'm obligated to tell you that you may be a scientist, but I'm a Pokémon Watcher! And I'm not about to let you Chaos jerks do as you please!"

Jerry smirks. "Confident, aren't we? We'll just see how long that confidence lasts. Go, Magnemite!"

He tossed a pokéball into the air and Magnemite emerged.

Jin grinned. A Magnemite, huh? Then, there was only one option for him to choose. He threw his pokéball into the air. "Go, Vulpix!"

Vulpix emerged and immediately took a fighting stance.

Jerry scoffed. "Of course, you'd choose a fire type. It's the obvious choice. Magnemite, use Thundershock!"

Jin furrowed his brow. "Vulpix, Ember attack!"

Magnemite charged up the attack and fired, while Vulpix reeled back and launched her attack. The attacks collided and resulted in an explosion that blew Vulpix backward into a wall.

Jin turned to her. "Vulpix! Are you okay?"

Vulpix shook off the impact, and stood back up.

Jin smiled, but his expression soon faded when he saw Magnemite emerge out of the smoke completely unharmed. He had to admit, he underestimated it. He figured it being a steel type Vulpix would have an easy victory.

Jerry adjusted his glasses again. "Well, now that you know what you're up against, let's continue, shall we? Magnemite, use Thunder Wave!"

Magnemite screeched as it twirled the horseshoe magnets on its body. The magnets spun faster until they created an electric current. When it was ready, Magnemite fired the attack.

Jin clenched his fists. "Vulpix, dodge with Agility!"

Vulpix crouched down and vanished before Thunder Wave connected. She zipped around the room in random directions before launching another Ember.

Magnemite screamed in pain as the flames engulfed its body.

Jin nodded. "Yes, perfect! All right, Vulpix, wrap this up with Quick Attack!"

Vulpix dashed toward Magnemite and knocked it into the air until it collided with Jerry, knocking them both out.

The impact knocked the remote to the door out of Jerry's hand, and it skidded across the floor to Jin's feet.

Jin picked it up and smiled. "All right! Way to go, Vulpix! You ready to get out of here?"

Vulpix nodded and they exited the room. The moment they did, they were met with two more grunts patrolling the hallways.

One was a short man with a goatee, while the other was tall and extremely thin. They both took notice of Jin and pointed at him.

The man with the goatee reached for a pokéball. "He's one of the intruders the captain was telling us about."

The tall one pulled out a pokéball as well. "Yeah, let's get him."

Jin heaved a sigh. "All I wanted was to watch Ayden battle Sabrina today. Come on out, Clefairy!"

Clefairy emerged and joined Vulpix in front of Jin.

Jin braced himself. "You two ready? We're in for a really long fight."

The grunt stared at Mendy and Nathan as he held up his pokéball. It was two against one, and regardless of how good he was, the odds were not in his favor. All he had to do was hold them off until reinforcements arrived. He tossed the pokéball into the air. "Go, Grimer!"

Grimer emerged from the pokéball with a loud splat on the floor. It rose up from its poisonous puddle and extended its arms, opened its eyes, and smiled.

Mendy and Nathan held their noses as Grimer's stench wafted throughout the room, giving their voices a nasal tone as they spoke.

Nathan shook his head. "Oh, damn! That stinks! But I can't let this slow me down! I have to get back to Nami as soon as possible!"

Mendy held up her arm to him. "Hold up, Nathan! Let me battle him. You've already used Lucario before. Let him take a little breather."

Nathan lowered his shoulders. "Are you sure?"

Mendy nodded and pulled out a pokéball. "Yeah, I've got this. Go, Showers!"

Showers emerged onto the floor, and scrunched up her face as Grimer's stench reached her nose. She looked back at Mendy with a disgruntled stare.

Mendy laughed nervously. "I'm sorry, Showers, but I really need your help in this one. Come on, let's end this quick!"

The grunt clenched his fists. "You think you'll be able to defeat me that easily, huh? Well, let's see how you like this! Grimer, Sludge Bomb, go!"

Grimer inhaled as much air as it could and regurgitated a large amount of thick, soft, mud at Showers.

Mendy furrowed her brow. "Showers, dodge and use Water Pulse!"

Showers jumped into the air as the sludge spilled on the floor. She formed a swirling ball of water and launched it at Grimer.

The grunt grinned. "Grimer, use Minimize!"

Grimer compressed its body to the point it shrank down in size; allowing it to safely dodge the Water Pulse.

Mendy clicked her tongue. She had to admit, this guy was better than she thought he'd be. They couldn't just keep dodging each other all day. She had to take him out before more Team Chaos grunts showed up.

The grunt's grin turned into a smile. "You seem to have figured it out that I'm not just some lowly grunt. I'm up for a promotion, and by bringing you two in, that's all but guaranteed. Grimer, let's not waste any more time, use Sludge Wave!"

A purple aura surrounded Grimer as it focused its energy. It soon emitted toxic waves from beneath its body, spreading them throughout the entire room.

Mendy, Showers, Lucario, and Nathan cringed as they saw the putrid, bubbling waves of sludge slowly advance toward them. They retreated to the farthest wall they could get to, but shuddered as the sludge still spread throughout the room.

Mendy furrowed her brow. "Showers, Water Pulse!"

Showers formed the spiral water ball and fired it at Grimer, connecting a direct hit to its head.

The blast disoriented Grimer, causing the Sludge Wave to stop. It wobbled around with dizzy eyes until it came to the nearest wall. Without hesitation, it banged its head against it.

The grunt held his head in frustration. "Grimer! What the hell are you doing? Get your head back in the game now!"

Mendy and Nathan cheered at Grimer's current state.

Mendy smiled. "Yes, all right! Let's end this, Showers! Use Aurora Beam!"

Showers jumped into the air and fired the rainbow-colored beam at Grimer.

It screamed as the attack launched it back to the other side of the room, knocking it out.

The grunt clicked his tongue and recalled Grimer.

Nathan gave Mendy a high-five. "Mendy, that was amazing! You were really terrific!"

Mendy smiled. "Thanks, but the real star of the fight, was Showers. You did a fantastic job, Showers. Thank you."

Showers smiled and brushed her paw through the fins on her head. Of course, she did a great job. Did they honestly think she'd lose to that blob of filth?

Nathan turned his attention to the grunt and popped his knuckles. "Okay, pal! You're gonna tell us what we want to know, or else."

The grunt furrowed his brow and took off down the hallway.

Nathan groaned. "Dammit! Again? Come on, Lucario!"

Mendy tried to call out to him, but he'd already left the room. She recalled Showers and followed.

They left the room and followed the grunt as he scurried through the hallways.

Mendy called out to Nathan for him to slow down, but he didn't listen. He was more preoccupied with getting information as fast as possible so he could find a way back to Nami. The quickest way he figured, was forcing the information out of the grunt.

They turned a corner into a large room, and were met with the stares of a few Chaos grunts; each holding a pokéball.

One of the grunts pushed a button on a remote, locking them all inside. "Now, you've nowhere to run. That door won't unlock unless you get this remote from us."

Mendy and Nathan heaved deep breaths as they realized they had fallen into a trap.

Mendy wiped her brow. "Okay, from now on, you are not allowed to go running off on your own. Crap like this keeps happening when you do."

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, point taken."

One of the grunts smiled and walked forward. "I honestly can't believe how easy that was. Now, are you two going to make things easy for yourselves and surrender, or will we have to do things the hard way?"

Nathan grinned as he wiped sweat off his face. "Well, since you put it that way, I've never been a fan of doing things the easy way. You ready, Lucario?"

Lucario nodded and stepped forward.

The grunts raised their pokéballs. "So, you plan on taking on all of us by yourself? That's both brave and very foolish of you."

Mendy stepped forward. "He won't be fighting alone! Go, Wartortle!"

Wartortle appeared and looked around to see if he could spot his electric angel, Piik, or his princess of the sea, Showers. When he didn't see either of them, he dropped his shoulders in disappointment.

Mendy turned to him. "Come on, Wartortle! We need to focus here! And I'm not gonna lie, this is gonna be a real rough one."

She gazed up at the room full of Chaos grunts waiting to get the battle started.

Amanda teleported Mashira and the rest of Sabrina's squad to the ninth floor. As soon as they arrived, Mashira ordered them all to spread out and search for the entrance to the basement.

They wasted no time in covering every inch of the floor. The grunts watching over the hostages were informed to interrogate them however they saw fit in order to get the information.

The floor was soon filled with the screams of the hostages as they fell victim to the grunts relentless use of their stun batons. Many of the hostages kept saying they didn't know the staircase they were asking about, leading to the grunts to lose what little patience they had remaining. Some of the grunts used their batons simply for the fun of watching their hostages suffer.

Mashira stood with his arms crossed as he watched his squad scour the floor. He couldn't help but grin as the thought of finding the fragment ran through this mind. Not only that, but the image of Sabrina coming back with the Carrier in her grasp would be an added bonus. It would definitely help put him in high standings with the higher-ups, and cement his promotion to an executive position.

He turned to Amanda. "Anything?"

Amanda shook her head. "Nothing yet, sir. So far, no one seems to know where the entrance is."

Mashira groaned. Why was it taking so long to find the entrance? They were on the ninth floor like Sabrina said.

He turned back to Amanda. "Tell them to keep searching and don't stop until they've found that entrance. They have my permission to do whatever it takes to get that information."

Amanda nodded. "Yes, sir."

As she conveyed the message to the rest of the squad, Mashira turned back to watching the squad search. He had to find that entrance and get that fragment.

Ayden investigated the warp tiles that Mendy and the others stepped on, while Nami paced back and forth with her arms crossed. From what he could see, the tiles weren't any different than the others.

Nami's pacing hastened with her temper reaching a boiling point. She had to get through the floors and get back to Mendy as quickly as possible. "Well? Anything? Can you tell which of the other tiles are warp ones?"

Ayden shook his head. "No, unfortunately."

Nami gripped the sides of her head and screamed in frustration. The one time she relied on his supposed brain power, he couldn't figure it out. What was all that talk about him being a genius for?

Ayden turned to her. "But I may have a way for us to get through without having to worry about them."

He reached for a pokéball and opened it. Heracross appeared and gazed around the hallway in fascination. He'd never been in a place like this before.

Ayden tapped him on the shoulder. "Heracross, I need you to use Brick Break and punch a hole into the flooring right here. Think you can do it?"

Heracross nodded with sheer determination. This was another test for him to prove he could be brave and change the way he was. Another step on the road to bettering himself.

He approached the spot Ayden pointed to and struck it with all the focus he could muster. The force of the attack flipped the tile out of the floor and caused a couple of the adjacent tiles to bend. Underneath the tile was an intricate network of cables and circuits.

Ayden nodded and patted Heracross on the head. "Excellent work, Heracross. This is perfect."

With that, he recalled him back to his ball, and then pulled a few of the cables out of the flooring. When he got what he needed, he turned to Piik. "So, you ready?"

Piik nodded, and jumped off his shoulder to get into position.

Nami stopped her groans of irritation and walked up to him, finally curious as to what he was planning. "Hey, what exactly are you about to do?"

Ayden placed the tips of the wires on Piik's cheeks. "You'll see. Piik, use Thunderbolt as best as you can."

Piik nodded, and launched her attack. The electricity traveled through the wires and throughout the building. Soon, they heard tiles bursting out of the floor.

The same happened throughout the entire building, leaving several to wonder what happened.

When he was certain that did enough damage, Ayden pulled the wires away from Piik and petted her. "Excellent work, Piik. That was just what we needed."

Piik reveled in his fingers running through her fur. She loved every second of it. When he finished, she climbed up his arm and onto his shoulder.

Nami blinked in confusion. "What was that? What did you just do?"

Ayden turned to her. "I was thinking, if we can't tell which tiles are the warp ones, maybe we can overload the electric circuits running throughout the building and short out the whole system."

Nami's eyes widened in fascination. "Then, we wouldn't have to worry about warping anymore."

Ayden nodded. "Exactly. Now, we can get to the other floors without anything slowing us down."

Nami smiled. "Well, I have to admit that was pretty clever of you. So, come on! What are we waiting for? We've gotta move!"

Ayden nodded, and they ran through the hallway to the staircase. When they made it to the third floor, they saw the tiles that had been blown out by Piik's attack. They also saw a few Chaos grunts examining the tiles.

One of the grunts noticed them. "Hey, guys, look! It's that kid! The one with the silver hair! He's the one the boss wants!"

They stood up and advanced toward them, causing Ayden and Nami to get their pokémon ready.

Piik jumped off Ayden's shoulders and fired up her cheeks. She was ready to give these people a thrashing. After all they'd put Ayden through, she was going to enjoy this.

Nami threw a pokéball into the air and Staryu emerged.

The grunts threw their pokéballs and a Zubat, a Grimer, and a Raticate emerged. They all grinned as they contemplated their number advantage.

Ayden and Nami turned to each other and nodded.

Nami turned back to Staryu. "Staryu, use Water Gun! Drench the whole hallway!"

Staryu jumped into the air and launched a stream of water, dousing the grunts and their pokémon.

One of the grunts clenched his fists. "You're gonna pay for that!"

Ayden lightly smiled and stuffed his hands in his jacket pockets. "No, I don't think we will. You're up, Piik. Thunderbolt!"

Piik jumped into the air and launched her attack on the drenched adversaries. Each one fell to the floor unconscious.

Nami smiled and recalled Staryu. "Well, that was easy."

Ayden nodded. "Yeah, but it's too soon to let our guard down. Come on."

They ran up the stairs and found another group of grunts waiting for them in the hallways.

Before the grunts could call out their pokémon, they were hit with the same combination as the other group.

With that group down, Ayden and Nami made their way toward the stairs, only to be stopped by a man wearing a lab coat. He was tall with short, slicked back, blonde hair and wore black gloves.

He grinned as they approached him. "Well, this is quite the surprise. Imagine my delight when I heard that we had some intruders running around here. But I never thought I'd be lucky enough to face you in person."

Nami furrowed her brow. "Who the hell are you?"

The man did a gentleman's bow. "Greetings, children. My name is Rodney. I'm a scientist for Team Chaos."

Ayden stepped forward. "Move aside. You're not going to win this. So, if you're smart, you'd give up now."

Rodney chuckled, and then laughed. "I'm sorry, but there's no way I can do that. You see, we have been given orders to stop you little trespassers and make certain you never interfere with our affairs again. Therefore, I'm afraid your little adventure ends here."

He pulled a pokéball out from his coat and tossed it. "Go, Electrode!"

A large sphere pokémon emerged and bounced on the floor. With each bounce, it charged itself up, ready to launch any attack.

Rodney grinned. "Electrode, use Thunder Wave to paralyze our guests."

Electrode spun around, generating electric current around its body, and then launched the electricity in waves toward Ayden and Nami.

Ayden clenched his fists. "Piik, counter it with Thunderbolt!"

Piik jumped from his shoulder and launched her attack, intercepting the Thunder Wave and canceling it out.

Rodney applauded. "Bravo. Bravo. I must say, I'm glad you're able to put up a fight. Otherwise, this would've been really boring. Now then, shall we continue? Electrode, use Screech."

Electrode opened its mouth and released an earsplitting shriek, forcing Ayden, Nami, and Piik to cover their ears.

Rodney chuckled. "Ah, such a lovely sound. Electrode, Rollout!"

Electrode rolled in place until it gathered up enough speed, then charged at Piik, knocking her across the room into the back wall.

The impact of her collision left a dent in the metal. She fell to the floor and slowly picked herself back up.

Ayden turned to her. "Piik! Are you okay?"

Piik looked up at him and gave the thumbs up.

Ayden looked back at Rodney and Electrode. They didn't have time for this. However, it looked like they weren't going to get through this battle unscathed. He needed a strategy and fast.

Rodney stared at him. "I see you're trying your best to come up with a strategy to best me, right? Well, let me share something with you. No matter how much you try to rack your brain, you'll never outsmart me. With three doctorates and an extensive knowledge of pokémon types and battle strategies, I'm your superior in every way imaginable. The odds of you winning this battle, are less than one percent."

Nami turned to him in frustration. This guy was getting on her nerves. He wasn't only blocking their way, but he loved to hear himself talk as well. Also, as much as she hated seeing Ayden rack up his win count, she knew she didn't have to worry. As smart as this guy thought he was, she knew Ayden would pull a winning strategy out of his ass and shut this guy up for good.

She turned her attention to Ayden as he stood still with his eyes closed. She clenched her fists. "You'd better be thinking of a strategy to win this, Ayden. If you don't, I won't forgive you. So, let's see if you can live up to that New Generation Genius rep of yours."

Ayden calmed his breathing and analyzed every aspect of the battle; from the room, to Electrode's distance between it and Piik, the speeds it could go up to, the attacks it could utilize, the best and most efficient ways to counter each one, reaction time, as well as the structure of the flooring.

Everything became formulas and equations in his head. He went through every possible scenario until he was content with the one with the best possible outcome. When he'd gone through everything, he opened his eyes.

Rodney stared at Ayden. "Oh, dear. Are you seriously trying to come up with a strategy? I told you, you're wasting your time. There's nothing you can do against me and my Electrode. You saw how powerful that Rollout was, right? And that was only the first one. It's power increases with each attack. If you don't believe me, let me show you. Electrode! Rollout!"

Electrode sped toward Piik at an even faster rate than the first.

This was it. Time to see which of their strategies was better prepared. "Piik, Iron Tail the floor!"

Piik turned her tail into metal, and struck the floor. The impact caused the floor to rise up into the shape of a ramp. Electrode rolled on it and flew into the air.

Rodney shook his head. "How naïve of you, kid. Did you honestly think I wasn't prepared for something like this? Electrode, bounce off the walls to increase your speed!"

Electrode ricocheted off the walls around the room to the point it became invisible. It got into position and charged at Piik from her blind spot.

Ayden closed his eyes and listened for Electrode as it bounced around the room. "Piik, it's coming in your blind spot from the left! Agility!"

Before Electrode connected, Piik vanished. They both traveled around the room at blinding speeds to the point Nami gave up trying to keep up with them.

Rodney smirked. "Clever, kid. Very clever. However, you've just been lucking out up to this point. Everything that's happened so far has been going according to my calculations. I've the perfect strategy. You cannot defeat it. No matter how fast you make your Pikachu, Electrode will always be faster. There's no getting around that. Electrode, keep bouncing off the walls and use Thunder Wave!"

Electrode continued to ricochet off the walls as it fired off waves of electricity. The waves traveled around the room in every direction.

Nami's eyes widened in fear as the waves came toward her. Before they could, the waves disappeared. She blinked in confusion as more waves disappeared from the room.

Soon, both pokémon stopped moving and landed in front of their trainers.

Rodney scowled as the last wave disappeared. "What the…? What's going on here? How'd they-?"

He looked to see Piik with her tail up in the air. The tip of her tail had a sparking ball of electricity on it. Rodney's eyes widened.

Ayden nodded. "I see you understand what's going on. Piik wasn't just dodging your attack, she was building up the energy for this."

Rodney stared at him and then laughed. "You almost had me, kid. Do you really think I didn't take into account your Pikachu knowing Electro Ball? Of course, I did. But here's where your plan falls apart. It's only good if you can hit your opponent. Electrode's too fast for you to see it, let alone hit it with an attack! Just give it up, you can't hit me and you'll never win!"

Nami looked over at Ayden while Rodney laughed, and was surprised to see him so calm. She wondered how he could be so composed at a time like this. No matter what attack he launched, Electrode was just going to dodge it. And Piik couldn't keep up with its stamina for much longer. So, why wasn't he concerned about it?

Ayden lightly smiled. "I wonder about that."

Rodney stopped laughing and gave Ayden his undivided attention.

Ayden gazed at him. "Let's put your theory to the test! Piik, Electro Ball!"

Piik jumped into the air and launched her attack.

The electric ball soared through the air toward Electrode, but Rodney didn't care. As fast as Electrode was, they didn't have anything to worry about. "Electrode, dodge it with Rollout!" He looked down at Electrode and saw it wasn't moving. "Hey, Electrode! What're you doing? Get moving!"

Electrode tried to move its body, but it was frozen in place. It could barely roll forward. Its eyes widened in horror as Piik's attack landed a direct attack, blowing it back to the far wall.

Nami gasped in shock as Electrode strained to stay in the fight.

Rodney's eyes widened. "What's going on? Why can't Electrode move? This doesn't make sense!"

Ayden placed his hands in his pockets. "It doesn't? But you analyzed every aspect of this match, right? You had the perfect strategy, right?"

Rodney turned to him. "You little punk! How'd you stop Electrode? There's no way you could've launched an attack while performing Agility!"

Ayden nodded. "You're correct. We didn't launch an attack, but we did activate an ability."

Rodney's eyes widened in horror. Ability? Of course. But he didn't forget about Pikachu's ability. He made certain to have Electrode keep its distance. Even at the high speeds they traveled, he couldn't risk his Pikachu getting hit by Electrode. So, how did he do it?"

Ayden stared at him. "I see you're still confused about what happened. Piik's Static ability kicked in while they were moving around the room. Thanks to the high speeds, Piik was able to not only dodge Electrode, but brush against it. All while upping her own speed with Agility. Now, thanks to Electrode being paralyzed, its speed has dropped dramatically, making the conditions perfect for Electro Ball to do the most damage. In other words, you lose."

Rodney stood in disbelief. This kid calculated farther than he did. "But I have doctorates, and have studied pokémon for decades! How? How could I lose to a kid?"

"Piik, Iron Tail! End this!"

Piik zipped across the room and swatted Electrode with her tail. It zoomed across the room and collided with Rodney in the head, leaving both unconscious. She ran up to Ayden and waited for her reward.

Ayden knelt down and petted her, much to her delight. "Way to go, Piik. That was amazing. I knew you could do it."

Nami stood stunned. She couldn't believe he came up with a strategy like that on the spot. Guess his rep still held up. For the first time, she was actually glad he was fighting on their side. It'd be a big problem if they ever became enemies and had to fight each other for real.

Ayden sighed. "All right. Come on, let's get going."

Nami nodded and they made their way up to the next floor.

"Clefairy, use Pound! Vulpix, use Ember!"

Both pokémon launched their attacks, knocking out the two remaining pokémon from the group of grunts.

The grunts recalled their pokémon and made a run for the exits.

Jin clenched his teeth and plugged up his ears. "You're not getting away! Vulpix, cover your ears! Clefairy, use Sing!"

Vulpix covered her ears while Clefairy took a deep breath and sang a mellifluous tune. Her vocals reached the grunts and quickly calmed them down to the point they didn't have the energy to run or fight back. They all fell to the floor and went to sleep.

When the attack ended, Jin unplugged his ears and went up to Vulpix and Clefairy. Both pokémon gasped for air as the constant battles pushed them past the point of exhaustion.

Jin gathered them in his arms. "You both did great. I'm so proud of you guys. Here, you both deserve a good long rest."

He recalled them and made his way toward the stairs. As he rounded the corner, he was met by a couple of Chaos members, blocking the exit. Both were female and wore the typical uniform of the Chaos grunt of long black pants, and shirt with the silver 'C'. One girl had orange hair tied in pigtails, and the other had long blonde hair tied in a ponytail.

The girl with the orange hair raised her hand and activated her powers, catching Jin as he attempted to run. She slowly pulled him toward her, and both girls looked him over.

Jin grunted and struggled as best he could, but couldn't break free of her powers. He couldn't believe he got caught after all this.

The blonde-haired girl turned to her teammate. "Looks like we've captured one of the intruders. Captain Mashira will be quite pleased."

The orange-haired girl nodded. "Indeed. Sorry, kid, you're coming with us. And you're gonna regret ever coming here."

Mendy and Nathan battled their way through the crowd of grunts, each covering for the other's blind spots.

When the last opponent fainted, the grunts made a dash for the exits.

Nathan clenched his fists. "And where do you all think you're going?"

Before he could chase after them, Mendy placed her hand on his shoulder. "What did I tell you about running off on your own? Good grief. Look, we can't fight another battle just yet. Our pokémon are completely exhausted. Let's hang here for a moment and recover, okay?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah, that's a good idea. Great work, Lucario. Return."

Mendy smiled. "Wartortle, Showers, great work, you two. Return. You deserve a good long rest."

They both sat against a wall and took deep breaths. Neither could believe they just went through a melee of that caliber. Mendy thought it topped the battles she went through on the St. Anne.

Nathan concentrated on his breathing, hoping to recover as quickly as possible. He couldn't sit around all day doing nothing. He had to hurry up and get back to Nami.

He stood up and cracked his knuckles and neck. "Okay, let's move on up!"

Mendy stared at him in disbelief. "Are you insane? I just said our pokémon are tired! We won't be able to battle if we're seen!"

Nathan turned to her. "Don't worry, Mendy. Lucario and I have trained to focus our energies to increase our stamina. All we need is a couple minutes to breathe, and we're good to go. So, come on!"

Mendy stared back at him. There's no way he didn't notice all the damage Lucario took. As strong as they may be, they wouldn't be able to keep up the momentum for much longer.

She stood up and placed her hands on her hips. "Nathan, Lucario took a lot more damage than you think he did, and unfortunately, I don't have the medical kit with me. So, Lucario's going to need to rest a little bit longer."

Nathan furrowed his brow. "Don't worry, Lucario's fine. He can tough it out. More importantly, we need to get back to Nami."

Mendy clenched her teeth. "Isn't the safety of your pokémon more important? Why are you so determined to get back to Nami? Last I checked, she could take care of herself just fine. She's a master martial artist, remember? And like I said, she's not alone. Ayden and Jin are with her."

At the sound of Ayden's name, Nathan gritted his teeth and clenched his fists. Every time he thought about how Nami was together with him, his blood boiled and he felt he could lose it at any moment.

He turned to Mendy. "That's just it! That's the problem right there! She's alone with Ayden! Don't you see? It's dangerous for her to be with him! I can't let her be with him for another moment! I have to get back to her!"

Mendy blinked as she processed everything she'd been given, and it all came together. "Nathan, you like Nami, don't you?"

Nathan blushed. "What? Um… huh? What are you saying? Do I like her? I mean, sure, yeah, what's not to like, right? She's a great person. I mean… did she say anything?"

Mendy crossed her arms. "Nope, it's just written all over your face. So, have you told her how you feel about her yet?"

Nathan dropped his shoulders as he heaved a sigh. "Yeah, I told her. Well, she basically figured it out like you did. But it doesn't matter. She's in love with that Ayden guy."

The news hit Mendy in the gut, and she needed a few minutes to recover. "Uh… I'm sorry, what? Did you just say Nami is in love with Ayden?"

Nathan nodded. "Yeah. I mean, isn't it obvious?"

Mendy held her hand over her mouth as she giggled.

Nathan raised an eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

Mendy wiped away a tear and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't laugh, but I'm afraid your info is a little off. Those two are just friends. Nami doesn't have any feelings toward Ayden. Unless you count anger."

Nathan shook his head. "You didn't see what I saw! The way she looked at him and asked him to 'win it for her', I'm telling you, she has feelings for him!"

Mendy shook her head. "Uh, yeah, I did see that. I was in the room when it happened. And I'm telling you, you're misinterpreting what happened."

Their conversation was cut off as they found themselves frozen and floating in the air. They moved slowly through the air until they were face-to-face with a couple of psychics. Both were male and wore the Chaos grunt uniform. One was bald while his teammate had black hair in a bowl cut.

The bald one turned to his partner. "So, these are the intruders those guys were having so much trouble with? Give me a break. This was easier than I thought it'd be."

His friend laughed. "Exactly. Those guys really need to up their game. This is pathetic."

The bald one grinned at them. "Well, hope you had fun running through the building, because it's our turn. And Captain Mashira has a lot of things he likes to do to intruders."

Ayden and Nami ran up the stairs to the fifth floor. When they arrived, they noticed the entire floor was quiet. They proceeded with caution and Ayden peeked around a corner.

Nami whispered into his ear. "See anyone?"

He shook his head. "No, no one's here. I don't like it."

She nodded. "Yeah, me either. But we need to keep going. We need to find the others and rescue the hostages."

Ayden nodded and followed her toward the stairs when something caught his eye.

Nami turned around and saw Ayden walking in the other direction. "Hey! What're you doing? The stairs are over here!"

He ushered her over. "Look what I've found."

She begrudgingly ran up to him. "What? Is it important?"

He shrugged. "I'm not sure. Looks like some sort of card."

He picked it up and examined it. It was a white card with a black barcode on the side. The front of the card had the words 'Card Lock' and 'Silph Corporation' written on it, along with the company logo underneath the writing.

Nami stared at the card. "Card lock? What's that supposed to mean? Is it like a key to something? Hey! Maybe it's to these doors!"

Ayden looked around and walked up to one of the metal doors. He swiped the card on the scanner, and the door opened up.

Their eyes widened in shock as they found several Silph employees tied up. They both rushed in and helped them out of their restraints.

Nami removed the tape off the mouth of a female employee. "Hey, are you all okay?"

The woman looked up at her. She had short brown hair and wore a red business suit. "Thank you, you two. But what are you kids doing here? This is a very dangerous situation right now. This is no place for kids."

Ayden untied her wrists. "We saw the explosion and came to help. We've run into Team Chaos a few times already, so we can't let them get away with whatever it is they're planning. Any idea on what they're after? Did they say anything?"

The woman shook her head. "No. They stormed through, rounded us all up, and kept a close watch over us. Then they got a message that some intruders were running through. So, they tied us up and locked us in this room. I take it the intruders they were referring to were you two?"

Ayden nodded. "Yeah, we also have two more friends helping out."

One of her coworkers rubbed his wrists. "What about the police? Shouldn't they have arrived by now?"

Nami answered him while untying another person. "The police were defeated by them before we got here. But don't worry, we'll drive them out of here in no time."

After the last employee had been freed, the woman in the red business suit turned to Ayden and Nami. "Thank you again for helping us. Please, you have to help President Shirufu. We're all really worried about him."

Ayden nodded. "Where is he?"

The woman pointed to the elevators. "Take the elevators to the eleventh floor. His office is at the end of the hallway."

Nami turned to her. "We've tried the elevators before, and they're not working."

The woman pointed to the card in Ayden's hand. "You have the Card Key. You can only activate the elevators if you have a key like that. Please, save President Shirufu."

Nami smiled. "Don't worry! You can count on us! We'll have Team Chaos out of here in no time!"

Ayden nodded. "She's right. We'll rescue Mr. Shirufu and get you your company back. I promise you that."

The employees smiled and expressed their gratitude to them. With that, Ayden and Nami made their way toward the elevators.

Ayden swiped the card on the sensor, and the doors opened. When everything had been set, they rode up to the eleventh floor.

Ayden thought about their current situation as well as all their encounters with Team Chaos. They were dealing with a very dangerous group, who would stop at nothing to get what they wanted. Who knows what would happen if they kept fighting against them? They could end up losing one of their own. His heart sank. He couldn't bear the thought of losing someone again.

Nami got her pokéballs ready and grinned. She couldn't wait to get this over with.

"You ready for this?"

She looked up and saw Ayden staring at the elevator doors with his arms crossed. She chuckled. "Hell yeah, I'm ready! Can't wait to kick some ass!"

Ayden nodded. "Just… be careful. Anything could happen once these doors open."

Nami stared at him, and then crossed her arms. He had a point. There was no telling what would happen beyond this point. She had to keep her guard up. "Yeah."

The elevator stopped on the eleventh floor and the doors opened. They stepped out and ran down the hallway toward the large hole where the double doors to Shirufu's office used to be.

They ran into the office and found Shirufu face down on the floor.

Nami gasped as they inspected him. "Oh, God. How is he?"

Ayden sighed in relief. "He's alive. Just knocked out. Whoever did it, left a large mark on his neck."

Nami grabbed one of Shirufu's arms and pulled it over her shoulder. "Okay, I've got him. Let's get out of here."

"Stop right there!"

They both looked up, and their eyes widened when they saw Sabrina walk into the room. They couldn't believe their eyes. She was a member of Team Chaos.

Ayden lowered his shoulders. "Sabrina, why are you a member of Team Chaos?"

Nami clicked her tongue. "Guess Nathan was right about you all along. You've always been with Team Chaos, haven't you?"

Sabrina stared at them both before turning her focus to Ayden. Silver hair, and a Pikachu with blue cheeks. The one from her visions.

Nami furrowed her brow. "So, what do you want? You looking for a fight?"

Sabrina turned to her. "I've no interest in you. I'm only here for him, and he'll be coming with me."

***I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Thank you again for taking the time to read my story and I hope you've been enjoying it up to this point! As usual, let me know your thoughts and any constructive criticisms you may have. I'm trying to write my own original story and would like to hear your thoughts on my current writing style and what ways I can improve upon it.

***Chapter 26 will be posted around the same time at the end of May! So, look forward to the next chapter and I'll see you all next time!