I panted as I came to a stop. Frogadier, back to full energy thanks to the revives Robert gave me, hopped onto a rock and gazed around.
"I really wish we had a map," I rested one hand on the rock. "I thought the Power Plant would be easier to find."
"Dang," I bashed my fist against the rock, wincing at the sudden pain. "That battle with Clara took too long. Alex and Robert are probably already battling."
I looked up to see something speeding towards me. Arcanine came to a halt, kicking up red dust.
I coughed. "Find anything, buddy?"
He growled and nodded his head in the direction he had come. He looked exhausted, so I returned him to his pokeball. "You'll need your energy for later. C'mon, Frogadier."
We took off at a run, Frogadier running ahead of me. Not long later, I could see a huge building in the distance. The ground dipped ahead of me into a valley surrounded by plateaus. I came to a halt near the edge alongside Frogadier, gazing at the gleaming structure. Solar panels were installed on the outside, metal spikes surround the main building. I could see several generators around the building as well, but no signs of suspicious activity. The gate surrounding the perimeter of the Power Plant looked untouched, gate in a similar state.
"Nothing," I breathed. "But looks can be deceiving."
I glanced around and studied my surroundings. To my right I spotted a path downwards. However, close to it was a tiny metal structure, a door on the side. Running over to it, I noted the electronic keypad on it.
"Another entrance perhaps?" I wondered, stepping back. "Frogadier, Water Pulse."
Frogadier flung a sphere of water at the electronic lock, short-circuiting it. With a hiss, the door slid open from the middle. Taking a cautious step inside the small room, I noticed a panel on the wall, a single button adorning it.
"An elevator then," I said as Frogadier joined me inside. "Let's see where it leads."
I was pretty sure this wasn't where my friends went, but it could possibly lead to them. Even if it didn't, I was certain my friends could handle themselves against Team Flare. So I pressed the button. The elevator doors closed and we began descending.
"Be on the ready," I advised. "Who knows what's waiting for us below."
Without a sound, we came to a stop and the doors slid open. A metal hallway lay before us, lit by blue lighting. At the end was a door, slightly ajar.
Nodding to Frogadier, we crept silently towards the door, stopping when we could hear voices on the other side. Peeking through the door, I saw a large room, lined with computer monitors on rows of tables and people held hostage. Scientists, Engineers, and workers. They were all on the ground in a corner, Houndooms and Mightyenas stalking around them, Team Flare grunts scattered around the room. Several were busy typing on the computers with rapid movement. Two women walked into view, both reminding me of that scientist I had met before with the green hair. These two had different color hair, one purple, one blue. They wore the same red suits, Purple wearing shorts and a purple tie, while Blue wore a skirt and a blue tie. Both wore visors, one purple and one blue.
Gripping my fist, I found that these colors annoyed me greatly for a reason I could not identify. Unhooking Corvisquire's pokeball, I crouched, other hand on the door, ready to spring. "Get ready, Frogadier. We're going in on 3, 2, 1-!"
Swinging the door wide open, I ran into the room, launching the pokeball across the room. Frogadier jetted ahead of me, taking the opportunity of surprise to slam a glowing fist into the nearest Houndoom, knocking him away.
"Wha-!" Purple cried out in surprise.
Hitting a monitor, my pokeball opened, releasing Corvisquire, who flew over the heads of the grunts.
"Air Slash!" I yelled, slamming a grunt onto the floor with my body weight.
The rest of Team Flare were getting over their confusion by now, but already Frogadier and Corvisquire had managed to take out a Houndoom and a Scraggy by the looks of it. They were taking up a defensive formation, aiming to surround me and blocking the doorway. With the hostages present in a confined room, no matter how large, it would be a hazard to have Arcanine battling.
"A trainer got in," Purple said almost robotically. "84.556% chance this is one of the trainers Bryony mentioned."
"Indeed," Blue adjusted her visor, bending slightly as if she were trying to get a better view of me, despite only standing ten feet away. "This has to be the one called "Zeno"."
Frogadier stood back-to-back with me, facing the grunts behind me while Corvisquire perched on my outstretched right arm. I grinned. "Yeah, I'm Zeno. Allow me to be the one who stops your plans, Team Flare."
"Calculating," Purple tapped her visor. "You have approximately 15.346% chance of succeeding in beating all of us."
"Hey," I shrugged my left shoulder. "I've had worse odds."
"But," I focused on the two Flare Scientists. "I have to finish this quickly. I'll bet you aren't the only members of Team Flare causing trouble. And as much as I trust my friends, I trust you all even less."
The Houndooms and Mightyenas crouched next to their trainers, growling. Several Croagunks and Scraggys were released, all preparing to attack.
"Alright then," I grabbed another pokeball. "We'll take you all on!"
I launched Corvisquire back into the air and he slammed into a Scraggy as I released Mawile. "Go wild girl!"
She launched herself into the fray, slamming her jaw into a grunt's back and punching a Mightyena.
"Protect the hostages," I ordered Frogadier, who nodded and leaped over several grunts, landing in front of where the hostages were gathered. He punched two Houndooms in quick succession, his attack power growing in the process.
"That just leaves us," I glanced at six grunts and the two scientists.
"You can't beat us," Blue said with a laugh. "The odds of you alone beating us next to zero."
"16.539% chance now," Purple said. "He shall fall easily."
"Here's the thing," I crouched. "For scientific calculations, you need all the facts, which you don't possess."
I shot forwards, two grunts getting in my way, their Pokemon busy battling my Pokemon. I dropped to the smooth floor and slid, holding out both arms, tripping the grunts as I slid past them. They fell to the floor as I slammed my left hand on the floor, using the impact to launch myself to my feet. Another grunt was there in front of me, throwing a punch. I spun around and grabbed his arm, using his momentum to slam him forwards onto a table, knocking aside some expensive looking computers which smashed when they hit the floor.
I felt something cold approaching and before I could react, a jab to my side sent my flying. I crashed onto a further table down, falling to the floor with the computers. Groaning, I lifted my head to see a Weavile standing atop the grunt on the other table, frost coming off of her fist. Then something huge and purple rose from behind it, lifting a computer above its head.
"Crap," I nearly tripped getting to my feet, leaping to the side as the Drapion launched the computer. It crashed in the spot I had just been in and the Drapion was now picking up another computer, Weavile ready to leap at me.
"Lucario," I yelled, tossing his pokeball and he was released. "Bone Rush!"
He howled and launched forwards, forming two separate bones in each hand. He threw one and it collided with Drapion, causing him to drop the computer, it smashing to the floor. He swung the other bone with one hand, slamming it into Weavile's middle as she jumped, slamming her into Drapion, knocking both Pokemon back a few feet.
I glanced at either side of me. I was in-between two tables, and down each end was a grunt.
I cocked a grin. "Come at me boys."
They both gritted their teeth and rushed me. I grabbed the table in front of me and pulled back hard to the left, the side of it slamming into the grunt, computers falling to the ground as the grunt's head slammed into the table as he fell. I ducked as the other grunt swung a fist and I kicked his legs out from beneath him. As he fell, I rose halfway and slammed my arm into his head, slamming it into the side of the table.
As I rose, I saw Lucario had finished Weavile and was now locked in a battle with Drapion, avoiding his extendable arms. Mawile and Corvisquire had joined Frogadier in keeping Team Flare and their Pokemon away from the hostages, but they were weakening. Purple and Blue hadn't fled yet, both just observing the chaos.
Leaping over a table and using the next as momentum, I slammed into a grunt. He fell, but was getting back up as his buddies turned towards me, their attention now off the hostages. I backed up, seven of them surrounding me, fists raised.
"It's been a while since I've had to focus like this," I narrowed my gaze. "Feel honored."
As they all went at me at the same time, I grabbed two Grunts' arms and twisted my body, pulling them along with me. I slammed them into their companions, knocking most of them to the ground. I punched one in the face and sent a blow into his stomach. He stumbled backwards as another rushed from behind. I moved my head and his fist went by me. I jabbed my elbow backwards into his stomach and grabbed his wrist with my left hand, twisting it and flipping him onto his back atop two other grunts, causing them to release groans of pain.
"How is this possible!?" Blue sounded shocked as Lucario finished up Drapion, looking a bit tired.
"There's a 96.491% chance of failure," Purple said. "We should retreat."
Returning their Pokemon, they ran for the elevator. I made to run after them, but Blue threw an object my way.
"Lucario!" I shouted, throwing myself backwards, away from the smooth object. Lucario appeared next to the object, grabbing it and tossing it to the furthest part of the room. A blinding light filled the room as I fell to the ground. Gripping my head, I tried to fight the light by shutting my eyes tightly. My head pounded as I opened them seemingly an eternity later, my Pokemon and the hostages suffering the same fate. Looking around, I saw the grunts were gone. I stumbled towards the hallway, seeing the last couple grunts riding the elevator up.
"Dang it!" I slammed my fist into the side of the wall.
I breathed, trying to focus my mind. I returned my Pokemon, allowing them a chance to rest. I turned to the hostages. "You all okay."
I got murmurs and nods in response.
"Good," I breathed, turning to the computers. Or, what was left of them. Most had been smashed, except for a few. The room was in total disarray, tables moved around and broken computers lying broken on the floor. I found one that was still operational and began typing furiously. I was able to bring up live footage from security cameras. Some had views of the outside while others in metal hallways, rooms, and one with a huge creature. I enlarged that picture, tubes and wires connecting the huge red and blue creature to the room.
I gritted my teeth. It was definitely some sort of Pokemon, but the feed wasn't as clear as the rest, giving me a grainy picture. As far as I could tell, energy was being sucked out of it. As I watched, several people in Flare suits came into view, studying the creature. An alert appeared in the top right of the screen and I clicked on it. It connected several feeds at once, probably mapping out an area. On the farthest screen I saw Alex, Robert, and their Pokemon taking down several grunts. Alarms sounded off inside the room I was in and in the rooms on the screen as well. Then the computer shut off and no matter what I did it wouldn't turn on again.
"What is happening!?" I shouted over the noise.
A man in a lab coat stumbled forwards, clutching the table for support. "Intruders are detected in the E.E.R. The Experimental Energy Room. It's gone on lockdown. No one can get in or out now."
"My friends are in there," I glared at him. "I don't care about the poor ethical reasoning behind you all having a Pokemon hooked up to your machines for now. I need to know how to get there!"
A woman raised her hand. "You'll need to get into Power Plant itself. Find the Energy Control room and you could probably redirect the power there."
"Where's the E.E.R.?" I asked.
"Beneath the Power Plant itself," the scientist next to me replied.
The alarms petered off.
"Does that have any significance?" I asked.
He shook his head. "We already know there's intruders. Why keep sounding the alarm?"
Sighing, I ran to the elevator. "If I were you guys, I would call the Police."
I turned around once in the elevator. "But I'm pretty sure you want all of your secrets to stay a secret, huh."
I pressed the button and the elevator closed. Once back on the surface, I glanced around. No Team Flare members were in sight, but I knew there was still more in the main Power Plant.
I let out Arcanine and climbed onto his back. "Quick, to the Power Plant!"
He rocketed down the path towards the building and once we hit flat ground, he ran full tilt for the gate. He blew a stream of fire ahead of us, melting the metal. I flattened myself on his back as we ran through, the heat almost suffocating. Then we were in front of the building and I quickly got off his back.
"Let's get inside," I said and Arcanine rammed down the main doors. I stepped inside with him to find a group of Flare grunts, all slowly getting back up, groaning in pain.
The room was a recent battleground by the looks of it. Dent marks and fainted Pokemon.
"You guys should've stayed down from the first beating," I said, drawing one foot back. ""Cause you're all about to go back down."
Arcanine growled beside me and I glanced back outside, seeing more people arriving, but they weren't part of Team Flare.
"Hello, Zeno," Kamake said in her skintight black suit, the short-black haired Enzo beside her. His sharp features made him always seem like he was glaring, around a dozen Radiance grunts decked out in black jumpsuits behind them.
Kamake's cold calculating eyes narrowed. "Step aside Zeno. Let us handle this."
I stayed where I was. "No. You can't just be here to take care of Team Flare. You have your own agenda."
Enzo stepped forwards. "Move aside now or we'll have to take you down as well."
Glancing back at Team Flare, who were reviving their Pokemon, I looked back at Team Radiance.
"This is gonna be a pain," I rolled my neck, Arcanine ready at my side.
I focused on Team Flare. "Just this once, Kamake, we work together."
She came to stand next to me. "Good."
"Just know," I said, not looking away from the Flare grunts. "After we take care of Team Flare, you're next."
To be continued...
Alright, yeah. The second chapter I uploaded today. Been a while since I had a double update, huh. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I might do another one tomorrow, the second part to this one, but I'm not sure. Till then. Toodles
