Chapter 59:
Galactic Infiltration
I did not like putting on the Team Galactic uniform. The sleeves were made of this really tight lycra and the rest was metal, aside from the blue wig which was the only part of the costume I enjoyed wearing, though I knew what I wasn't going as next Halloween party. I did have to say though, walking through Veilstone City with everyone watching you in fear felt so awkward, especially when you are generally celebrated for your acts around the region and everyone knows who you are.
"How long will this take?" I asked Ethan quietly.
"As long as it does. We go into the Warehouse, grab the Galactic Key to the HQ, save the Lake Guardians and then make our leave. It's not as simple as it sounds, but the costumes will make it somewhat easier."
Lyra promised she would join later outside, but she needed to sort out Umbreon's Faint Attack first. We understood.
Inside the warehouse were large boxes and puddles, evident that it wasn't the most well looked after place in the world.
"Split up" Ethan said. "Even Cyrus won't be able to take on a Champion. Also, if Team Galactic tells us to do anything, do it. We don't want to draw attention to ourselves."
I decided I would only do that if it was minor jobs. If it included torture, then no. Ethan understood completely. I could just use the excuse of "I'm new."
I looked around the Warehouse. Where would they be hiding a Galactic Key? They couldn't but it in a place too subtle; they would lose it. Essentially, looking on one of the hundreds of dusty boxes wouldn't do the trick.
"Hey, you! What are you doing?!"
An M Grunt had noticed me. I just stood still, my life flashing before my eyes.
"I'm new!" I said, practically spluttering my words in fear.
"Oh" Grunt M said. "Were you told to come down here?"
"Yes!" I replied quickly.
"Let me just check with Commander Saturn then" he said. He got out a walkie talkie. Sweat ran down my face at breakneck speed as the Grunt pressed the button on his walkie talkie.
"Oh, it's not working. Batteries must be dead." Grunt M put the walkie talkie to his side as I gave a sigh of relief. "Well, don't worry I trust that he told you to do it. I'd be happy to give you a job." He got some boxes off from the metal shelf next to him and gave them to me; thankfully, they weren't heavy. ""Take these to the entrance. Don't be nervous, we're always happy to have someone on board." He's happy go lucky face went serious. "Don't expect a welcome party though. We don't do that here."
After the chore, I went back downstairs. That wasted valuable time, but it could have meant the worst if I was caught. The Grunt was waiting for me in the same place as before.
"Good job" he told me.
"Say, how do I get into the HQ?" I asked. "I heard you need a Key. After all, Saturn told me that after a move a box, I should go check the captured Lake Guardians."
"I have the Galactic Key right here." From the same small bag he kept his walkie talkie in, he took out a small grey card. "Few rules; one. This is important work so don't interrupt anyone, especially the Commanders and certainly not Master Cyrus. Secondly, there are two prisoners in the HQ, we advise you not to talk to them."
I took the card off of him and put it in my Bag. "Say, the other newbie here? He needs to do that to."
"Ah yes, he's currently lifting boxes. I'll get him for you."
I waited by the entrance for Ethan, who came carrying similar boxes. Thankfully the Grunt M didn't escort me out. I showed Ethan the Galactic Key. Ethan put his thumb up, but this made him drop the boxes with a loud clash. It was filled with multiple Balls, presumably stolen.
The Grunt ran up when hearing the commotion. I swiftly put the card away. "Nah, don't worry. I've got help again." A green and white Pokémon with two red horns on its head came round the corner and lifted everything off the floor and packed them back into the boxes neatly.
Kirlia
158
Psychic Type
Emotion Pokémon
Region of origin: Hoenn
2'07" (0.8 m)
44.5 lbs (20.2 kg)
If its Trainer becomes happy, it overflows with energy, dancing joyously while spinning about.
Ralts – Lv 20 - Kirlia
"I tell you what, this will be a wonderful new universe Kirlia." Kirlia just stood still, not celebrating.
The Veilstone air felt like bliss compared to the musty dirty air of the Warehouse.
"When can we take these off?" I asked Ethan.
"Once we're found out" he swiftly replied. Part of me was hoping we were now; they were REALLY starting to feel uncomfortable.
We saw Lyra in the distance. I gave her a wave, but she didn't notice. Understandable, the disguises were very convincing and best not to draw attention to her.
There we were, outside the Galactic Veilstone Building. The HQ for the big G's operations.
"Nervous?" Ethan asked me.
"Very" I replied. What if we failed here? Would Team Galactic be too hard to stop? What is they outsmarted us again? I tried not to think about it too much; it was time to save the Lake Guardians.
Walking into the HQ was a surreal experience. More Grunts than you could shake a stick at, all working very hard to do, something. Most likely harnessing the energy of the Guardians from big grey machines. There were also yellow warp pads that would warp us to other parts of the building.
"Now what?" I asked.
"Find the Lake Guardians and leave but do it secretly."
An F Grunt walked up to me. "What are you doing?" she asked quickly.
"We're new" the two of us very quickly replied. She seemed a lot more knowing than the last Grunt.
"Hmm, okay. Listen we have a job for you. Go to the prison cell and check up on the intruders. You know, before…" She slid her index finger across her neck. We wanted to react, but we didn't.
"Yes sir" I said, saluting. I completely forgot that Team Galactic don't do that, so I quickly withdrew my hand. "Sorry, I'm new."
"First things first though, we have a speech from Master Cyrus in 15 minutes. Be there quickly."
Sheesh, this is how they treat new workers?
We were taken to the meeting room through grey corridors and other science stuff. No questions were to be asked.
The Meeting Room was the biggest room yet. There was a top section of the room with a microphone for speaking into and behind that was a large plasma screen with the Galactic logo on it. Even in the massive room, the whole place was filled with Grunts. I'm sure the only ones that weren't present were the Commanders.
"We'll find out a thing or two from Cyrus" Ethan said, just as the blue haired bad man entered the scene. "Let's keep our mouths shut for now though."
"Fellow Team Galactic members" Cyrus said through the microphones. "We are approaching the final stages of our operation. The Lake Guardians have all been captured and their power is being siphoned to form the ultimate Red Chain. Once we've finished with that, most of us are going to Spear Pillar. We head out tomorrow. Any questions?"
I was slowly putting up my hand, but Ethan nudged me. "What are you doing?" he whispered through snarling. "Don't draw attention to us."
"Yes?" Cyrus asked me. Now all the Grunts were staring at us.
"Erm… how are we going to get up Mt. Coronet though? We need 7 Badges to be able to use Rock Climb."
"We have helicopters" Cyrus replied sternly. "Don't ask stupid questions like that brat Lucas."
"Hey!" shouted the Grunt from the Warehouse. "They're newbies! Go easy on them!"
Cyrus sighed; we could hear it through the microphone. Talk about a stroke of luck. "Everyone going up, make final preparations today. That's all the time you'll have. Good luck to you all."
The meeting disbanded as the F Grunt that greeted us offered to take us to the cells. "We have some vermin to rid before we create a brand new universe. I'll show you the way, follow me."
The Grunt shifted a wall at the back of the large room to reveal some secret stairs. These stairs clearly hadn't been used in years and quite frankly, the stairways was worse state than the Warehouse. Mould climbed up the walls and it reeked. Let's just say is a Skuntank and Weezing made the ultimate stink bomb, it would just about match the scent.
After a solid 20 seconds of walking down the steps, we reached underground jail cells. However, they weren't barred like normal prisons. Rather, they were metal doors that slid upwards with some glass viewing inside. They had a number pad next to each of the doors. At least they didn't smell bad.
"These are the prisoners" Grunt F said, opening the window slightly to let us hear two close allies tied up in what seemed like magnetic bands.
"Let us go!" Barry shouted. "I'm gonna fine you!"
"If I had a lawyer I'd do the same!" Dawn shouted. "Wait, you don't either Barry. Why do you make all through threats anyway? I mean I know your Dad is rich but…"
"Because that's called suing. Fining Is very different."
"Quiet Phoenix Wright!" Grunt F shouted as she closed the door again. "You two, guard the prisoners. We have some business to get down to before, you know, their demise. If they start fighting, break them up. Here's the cell code just in case." She gave us a pamphlet with a code on it. 27092070. "Don't let them escape."
Once the Grunt left, me and Ethan nodded as we put the code in. The door slid open which also allowed the bands to loosen. Dawn and Barry put up their hands.
"Don't hurt us!" Barry shouted. "We'll do anything that isn't related to your schemes!"
"So, can we take these off now?" I asked Ethan; this suit was starting to turn my ankles bluer than the wigs.
"Sure" Ethan replied. "I hate wearing these."
We pulled the suits up, but they wouldn't budge. We tried again. Didn't work. Looker made it look so easy. I sent out Empoleon, which made Barry and Dawn realize who I was. "Get us out of these bud." Empoleon swiped at out costumes; they were cut in two. (Thankfully the wig stayed intact).
"LUCAS!" Dawn shouted as she and Barry hugged me in tears. "We were so worried about you."
"We're busting you out" Ethan told them. Barry and Dawn's jaw dropped at the sight of him.
"You… got the Champion of the Indigo Plateau to help you?" Barry asked.
"Autographs will have to come later." Ethan sent out Golem. "There is a girl named Lyra waiting outside with an Umbreon, go and see her. Golem, Dynamic Punch!" Golem punched the wall of the cell, making a large hole that led outside. This set the security off as a red light starting whirling round and round.
"Team Galactic took our Pokémon" Barry explained.
"We'll get them back. Your main concern is getting out of here."
As Barry and Dawn ran out, OUR main concern was clear; taking on all these Grunts. We could already hear the metal footsteps running downstairs.
"Now what's the plan?"
Empoleon then started creating a mist all around us. "Empoleon, what are you doing?"
"It's Mist!" Ethan yelled. "Let's use this opportunity to get outta here and go through the entrance again!"
As I ran back to the HQ, Ethan told me the plan. "I'll find your friends Pokémon, you find the Lake Guardians. This is mainly your mission, you should do the main part. Those boxes should include the stolen ones. Don't worry about me, this is your time to shine."
I nodded at him. With all the Grunts distracted, going our own ways wouldn't be as risky.
After zipping about on those stupid warp tiles going from room to room, I found it.
The Laboratory was different to Professor Rowan's; it was dark, twisted and unwelcoming. In three capsules tied to whirring machines were Azelf, Uxie and Mesprit.
Uxie
146
Psychic Type
Knowledge Pokémon
Region of origin: Sinnoh
1'00" (0.3 m)
0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)
Known as "The Being of Knowledge." It is said that it can wipe out the memory of those who see its eyes.
Legendary Pokémon.
Mesprit
147
Psychic Type
Emotion Pokémon
Region of origin: Sinnoh
1'00" (0.3 m)
0.7 lbs (0.3 kg)
Known as "The Being of Emotion." It taught humans the nobility of sorrow, pain, and joy.
Legendary Pokémon.
Three people were present. Cyrus, Saturn and an older man. He had short pink hair, small red glasses and a white labcoat. He was short and hunched over compared to the other two.
"He he he" the old man said adjusting his specs. "I've heard all about you."
"I'd imagine so" I replied. "Free these Pokémon, let them go back to the Lakes."
Cyrus finally spoke. "You just can't quit can you."
"Why should I? The catastrophe you will cause, along with what you have already is too severe to ignore. I have allies helping me to, just stop the operations."
Saturn had his Pokéball in hand. "You've left me with no choice."
"No, I'm doing it!" shouted the old man.
"Stop, both of you" Cyrus said. "Yes, you will fight him, but only one of you. I'm in a good mood today because of our advancements, so we should allow our threat chose his foe. "
"Grr, why must you make things so difficult!" the man shouted.
"Charon calm down" Saturn said. "This isn't your decision."
I looked at both of them. I've taken on Saturn before, but that would mean that he would have learned. Also, who knew what was up Charon's sleeve. Well, I might as well surprise them.
"Both" I replied, surprising everyone except for Cyrus; he clearly knew about the type of person I was by now. "Let's make this a Double Battle, both of you using three Pokémon each."
"Sounds fair" Cyrus confirmed. He put his hand on Uxie's capsule, it's eyes closed. I would expect it to open them, but the machine was preventing it. They're freedom was on the line, or maybe that wasn't the case. Cyrus wouldn't let them go with a victory.
"Let's get this over with!" I shouted.
"Piloswine, Luxray! Go!"
"Go Golbat!" Saturn replied.
"I choose Porygon!" shouted Charon. Out came a chunky red and blue Pokémon that floated in the air. It looked like something from an N64 game.
Porygon
192
Normal Type
Virtual Pokémon
Region of origin: Kanto
2'07" (0.8 m)
80.5 lbs (36.5 kg)
A man-made Pokémon created using advanced scientific means. It can move freely in cyberspace.
"Piloswine, Ice Shard!" Piloswine fired a chunk of ice at Golbat, doing significant damage and making it wobble about a bit in the air.
"Golbat, Poison Fang!" Golbat chomped down on Luxray with its poisonous teeth; Luxray was badly poisoned in the process.
"Luxray, Thunder Fang!" Luxray bit Golbat, sparks flying off it. Golbat was finished.
"Porygon, Conversion 2!" Porygon seemed to glitch about, then turned a light brown colour. "Good luck using Thunder Fang on my Ground Type Porygon. Conversion 2 changes its Type to one that is resistant against the last move the target used."
"Bronzor, go!" Saturn shouted, sending out the Steel Type.
"Piloswine, Ice Shard again!" The chunk of Ice did Super Effective damage on Porygon; might as well use the Type change to my advantage. "Luxray, Crunch on Bronzor!" Luxray chomped down on it, lowering Defense in the process.
"Porygon, Signal Beam!" Porygon shot a multicoloured beam at Luxray.
"Now Bronzor, Gyro Ball!" Bronzor started spinning fast. It then bashed into Piloswine, who had a lot of damage done to it. The slower the Pokémon, the stronger the Gyro Ball.
Whilst it didn't quite go down, I recalled Piloswine. "Go Empoleon!" I shouted. "Luxray, Crunch!" Luxray bit down on Bronzor, who was now hanging by a thread.
"Porygon, Signal Beam!" Another colourful beam was shot, finishing off Luxray.
"I choose Drifblim! Ominous Wind!" Drifblim spun around, creating spooky wind that damaged both Bronzor and Porygon, knocking out both.
"We're losing because of you!" Charon shouted at Saturn. "Urgh, fine. Porygon2!" Whilst Saturn sent out Toxicroak, Charon sent out a Pokémon that looked like Porygon but more circular.
Porygon2
193
Normal Type
Virtual Pokémon
Region of origin: Johto
2'00" (0.6 m)
71.7 lbs (32.5 kg)
It was upgraded to enable the exploration of other planets. However, it failed to measure up.
Porygon -Trade with Upgrade- Porygon2
"Drifblim, Silver Wind!" Drifblim created a gust of silvery wind that hit both Pokémon, but didn't do much on Toxicroak.
"Toxicroak, Brick Break!" Toxicroak slammed down its fist on Empoleon who was hit for a lot.
"Empoleon, Flash Cannon!" Empoleon shot a white beam at Porygon2. Critical Hit!
"Porygon2, Discharge!" Porygon2 unleashed a deluge of electricity. Everyone was hit including Toxicroak, with Drifblim and Empoleon almost going down.
"Empoleon, Aqua Jet!" Empoleon charged into Toxicroak covered in water, bringing it down.
"But how? I thought Toxicroak had Dry Skin!" Charon shouted.
"Yes, but Toxicroak was shuddering when it fought Staraptor at Lake Valor. It's Ability is Anticipation, which warns if the target has a One Hit KO move like Horn Drill or a Super Effective move."
"Porygon2, Signal Beam!" Porygon2 shot a beam at Drifblim, taking it down. However, Aftermath also did damage to Porygon2.
"Go Blissey!" I shouted. "Empoleon, Aqua Jet!" Porygon2 was down for the count.
"That's the last straw! Porygon-Z!" Finally, was Porygon2, but it's limbs were disconnected. It kept jerking about everywhere to, as if it were glitching.
Porygon-Z
194
Normal Type
Virtual Pokémon
Region of origin: Sinnoh
2'11" (0.9 m)
75 lbs (34 kg)
Its programming was modified to enable work in alien dimensions. It did not work as planned.
Porygon -Trade with Upgrade Porygon2 -Trade holding Dubious Disc- Porygon-Z
"Empoleon, Aqua Jet!" It didn't do that much, but I imagined it was the only move I could get in with Empoleon.
"Porygon-Z, Shadow Ball!" Porygon-Z shot a shadowy blob at Empoleon, knocking it out. This was one I needed to be careful with. Blissey used a Grass Knot, but it missed.
"Piloswine, go!" Out came my Ground Type who was still very weak from the Gyro Ball. "Ice Shard!" One shot of Ice came flying at Porygon-Z.
"Ice Beam!" Porygon-Z shot a beam of white at Piloswine, but it thankfully missed.
"Blissey, Grass Knot!" It didn't do that much on Porygon-Z because there wasn't much of a weight difference.
"Porygon-Z, Ice Beam on Blissey!" Blissey was hit, but also frozen.
"Okay Piloswine, use Rock Climb!" Piloswine summoned a large rock in front of it. It then climbed the rock and jumped at Porygon-Z. Porygon-Z was confused.
"Oh great, Porygon-Z, Ice Beam!" Porygon-Z shot it, but it came back and hurt itself.
Blissey was still frozen so it couldn't do anything. "Piloswine, Ancient Power!" Piloswine threw ancient rocks at Porygon-Z; it was down!
"Unbelievable" Saturn said. "This was your fault Charon."
"WHY ARE YOU BLAMING ME?!"
"Will you release them now?" I asked Cyrus. I expecting him to show me no mercy, but instead Cyrus moved to the side to show me a big red button.
"This will free them. I'll keep my promise. We don't really need them anymore, we have all the energy we need. The Red Chain is almost ready."
I went over and pushed the button. The machines shut off and the Lake Guardians were free. They came up to me, thanked me and then teleported away.
Cyrus was clearly angry at me, evident by one stare from the eye as if he was using Leer. "Saturn, go to Eterna City. You'll be in charge of operations there. Charon, remain charge here." Cyrus then talked into an earpiece. "Mars, Jupiter, we move first thing tomorrow. Meet me at the rendezvous point and place the Grunts accordingly to hinder Lucas's progress."
Following this, Saturn gave me a purple Pokéball with the letter M on it. "Just take this" he said. "This is a Master Ball, a Pokéball incapable of failure. If it will keep you out of our operations, you can have it."
I smacked it out his hands, making it fall to the floor with a metallic thud. "Never. I'm going to stop Cyrus." With the Master Ball on the floor though, I took it and ran off. "Sike!" I shouted running off.
"Let him go" I heard Cyrus say. "I'll finish with him soon..."
Waiting for me was Barry, Dawn, Ethan, Lyra, Looker and Maylene.
"All the Pokémon have been returned!" Lyra said. "Not just your friend's, but the rest of Veilstone's that were stolen! They are being returned at the Center as we speak!"
I told them all about Spear Pillar, pointing to Mt. Coronet's summit. "I'm going up. If anyone wants to join, speak now or forever hold your peace. But I need allies."
"I'll stay in Veilstone and help take down the meanies here!" Lyra replied. "You're going up aren't you Elio?"
"I'll give you a hand here" he replied.
I put my thumb up. "Sounds good. Anyone else?"
Suddenly, from the ocean came a giant wave. However, nobody ran. The wave parted to show Crasher Wake riding on Gyarados. "Sorry I'm late" he boomed. "Thought the Veilstone group could need a hand." He jumped off Gyradaros and landed on the ground next to us feed first.
Maylene explained the situation.
"Roark, Gardenia and Byron are raiding the Eterna Galactic Building tomorrow. Fantina's left the Gym unoccupied too long so it makes sense why she can't help. Candice is a bit too far up north without Fly and Volkner is still dealing with Sunyshore's Power Outage."
Everyone was now in place. It was time to take down Team Galactic once and for all But there was one more thing to happen. Piloswine came out it's Pokéball.
"Piloswine, what's wrong?" I asked. I knew it had done well, but clearly its efforts with me had payed off; it was starting to evolve!
After the glowing died down, Piloswine was bigger, its blue rimmed eyes were visible and it had two large tusks.
"A Mamoswine!" Lyra said.
Mamoswine
205
Ice/Ground Type
Twin Tusk Pokémon
Region of origin: Sinnoh
8'02" (2.5 m)
641.5 lbs (210 kg)
A frozen one was dug up from the soil dating back 10'000 years. It woke up to such amazement.
Swinub -Lv 33- Piloswine -Ancient Power- Mamoswine
"That's why I wanted you to teach Piloswine Ancient Power" Looker told me. "A thank you from me. Piloswine is great, but Mamoswine is even better against those tyrants."
It was a great idea. Now I had an even stronger team.
It was time to go to Hearthome City, the closest place to my ascent point...
