Stealth Not Needed
Upon entering using the card dropped by one of the rainbow Peons, Michael was relieved to see that there was a healing machine, and a terminal to transfer Pokémon to and from the storage location. It also looked like it could transfer control of Pokémon between trainers. Cipher most likely used it a lot. "Hey, Michael, I have a request…" Liz said. "Would you mind if I took Mareep for my team?"
"You sure you want me to give you a Shadow Pokémon?" Michael asked.
"Yes…I'd like to be more than just the cheerleader on the sidelines," she said. "Plus, you said it yourself outside. Facing Cipher alone is too much for just one person to handle on their own."
"Alright…I really appreciate the help," Michael said. He also realized that, since he already had Jolteon, he didn't need another electric type, nor would it be wise to have too many of one Pokémon type on his team. So, by scanning the card they picked up on the ID checker, they activated the machine. They then typed in their own trainer ID numbers, and Michael put Mareep's Pokéball into the slot. They pressed the activation button, and the machine began to pulse as electricity surrounded the Pokéball. Then, a moment later, the process was finished, with a green light flashing.
"Thanks, Mike," Liz said, playfully using the shortened version of Michael's name, knowing he'd never really liked the name. She winked at him cutely, making him blush a little. He wouldn't admit it, but Liz was the only person he didn't mind calling him Mike.
"Now, I guess I'll get Seedot to balance out the team," Michael said as he opened his own access to his storage system, then had the newly snagged Seedot's Pokéball teleported to the terminal. He then put the ball on his belt, and smiled to Liz. "So, what do you say we split the battles. If there's a shadow Pokémon, I'll give the Snag Machine to you."
"Thanks…but I'm right-handed," Liz said, sounding almost disappointed about her restrictions keeping her from using the Snag Machine. Either way, with any luck, Dad will have my Snag Machine done when we get back.
"Well, it's not like you need to aim the throw," Michael said. "Or, would you rather have me handle the battles against the Shadow Pokémon?"
"I think we should go for the first plan. We aren't sure how many Shadow Pokémon we'll find, or who will have them. Let's just alternate with who battles."
"Agreed," Michael said as they made their way into the next room, which was a dark grey, with a row of two benches along with what looked like test tubes along the back wall. As if on cue, the heard a whooshing sound as a woman clad in a form-fitting Cipher uniform dropped from the ceiling in front of them. Liz smirked.
"Seems those idiots weren't up to the task. Oh well, they were weak. Time to take you both down," she said, taking out her Pokéballs. "Come out, Skitty and Duskull!" What came out were two very different Pokémon. The Skitty was a cutely fluffy kitten, while Duskull had a black body with skull-shaped mask over a single glowing red orb that seemed to serve as an eye. Liz stepped forward, sending out Titania and Artemis to start the battle. She smiled like Michael did when she saw that her opponent's Pokémon were both at level 14, compared to her own team's level 17. It wasn't a huge difference, but she had an advantage.
"Artemis, use your new attack on Duskull, Feint Attack! Titania, Fairy Wind on Skitty," she said.
"Skitty, Tackle. Duskull, Night Shade. Both of you, aim for that Sylveon!"
Artemis scowled. She already considered Titania to be one of her close friends. She didn't want her friend getting hurt, so she moved quickly. With a pulse of dark-type energy, she seemed to momentarily vanish before appearing in front of Duskull, delivering a powerful uppercut to the ghost-type.
Sylveon smiled at her friend's protectiveness, then focused her energy into the bow on her neck. That energy began to swirl out along her ribbons. She then put the two ribbons together in front of her body, forming a small, glittering tornado. She then focused to aim the wind directly at the Skitty, who was already bounding at her. It was honestly adorable to see the happy, oblivious feline Pokémon running like the battle was nothing more than a game, but Sylveon needed to end this battle soon for Liz. So, she put all she could into the attack without exhausting herself, just so Skitty wouldn't be hurt any more than necessary. Thankfully, it worked. The attack took Skitty out of the fight, knocking her out. Just as Fairy Wind hit, Teddiursa acted autonomously and used Lick against the Duskull. That seemed to be too much for the ghost-type. Liz smiled as her Pokémon secured an almost easy victory.
"Oh, no…Lovrina's gonna kill me!" the Cipher Peon said, burying her face in her hands. "I need to get out of here, and change my name." She recalled her two Pokémon and ran past the two trainers, roughly shoving them out of the way.
"Seems Cipher doesn't even have trust between their members. They're bound by fear," Liz said. "It's sad, really. Even though it was twisted, at least groups like Team Skull tried to have some kind of familial bonds each other."
"Yeah, and it speaks volumes about how depraved Cipher is," Michael said as he and Liz made their way to an elevator, using the ID card to enter and descend. When they got to the floor below, Michael and Liz found themselves in a starkly white hallway with steel grey floors. They also had corridors on both the left and right, along with a door, which had a sign saying it did not open from their side, straight ahead.
"So…which way," Liz asked.
"Let's go left," Michael said.
"What do you base that choice on?" she asked.
"Well, you are supposed to go left in a maze," Michael said, leading the way through the enemy base. Unfortunately, they were met by the sound of another person dropping from some hideaway space in the ceiling above them.
"That logic is hard to break there. However, I think you chose wrong there," the woman said slyly.
"Hmm…maybe, but meeting an enemy so quickly means that the people in Cipher don't want us going this way," Liz said. "Michael, you're up for this battle."
"Of course," he said, getting ready to call out Nick and Houndour for this battle. It seemed that was a good choice, as his opponent sent out the twin-headed bird, Doduo, and the small black, white, and red bird, Taillow. Michael just smiled, then sent out Houndour and Nick.
The battle took a couple minutes to finish, and the woman sprinted away like Liz's opponent. Michael then took off the Snag Machine and helped put it onto Liz's left arm. He even handed her his Battle Monitor, since it had the Shadow Monitor program. They continued on until they got to another elevator. "Have you ever wondered why these secret bases have such stupidly confusing layouts?" she asked.
Michael looked around with an amused look. "I think it's so they can avoid having break-ins where the culprits can get out by taking one elevator or stairwell."
"Makes sense," Liz said as they entered the elevator up ahead. They descended to the next floor, and they stepped into the next area of the lab with dark, almost black floors, with walls that looked like gigantic coffins. In front of them was a man in a white lab coat, looking at a data read out.
"Seems that XD001's adjustments are going relatively smoothly. Maybe we didn't need that Krane guy after all." He adjusted his glasses and leaned back, noticing the two trainers standing nearby. "Wait, the intruders are here? Damn it, those women failed. I'm not even that much of a battler," he said. "But I will still beat you both!"
It took three minutes for Liz to win against the researcher's Anorith and Lileep. The two prehistoric Pokémon were finished easily by her Artemis and Mareep. The researcher just groaned and recalled his Pokémon. "Damn it. J-just leave my workspace. I'll pretend I never saw you," he said as he sat at his desk and covered his eyes. Michael and Liz quickly switched the Snag Machine and Shadow Monitor between each other, then began walking through the room. It took them five minutes before another woman dropped from the ceiling.
"Okay, here we go," Michael said with a slight groan.
"You little prick, don't you mouth off. Now, come out Swinub and Shuppet!" the woman said angrily.
"Fine. Let's go, Nick and Houndour," Michael said. "Let's win this."
"Swinub, use Powder Snow. Shuppet, use Night Shade," she said, almost sadistically.
"Houndour, Ember on Swinub. Nick, Thunder Shock on Shuppet," Michael said almost nonchalantly. Nick charged his electricity quickly, firing it at the cloaked ghost Pokémon. At the same time, Houndour spat out multiple tongues of flame at the brown, fuzzy ice type. The attacks were very effective against the two Pokémon across from them, knocking out both Pokémon. Unfortunately, this Cipher Peon had one more Pokémon, and her confident smirk told Michael she considered this next one to be much stronger.
"Come out, Spinarak," she said with anger in her voice. The green spider Pokémon came out, and seemed to crouch in readiness. As he landed, the Shadow Monitor gave an alert and showed the black aura from Spinarak.
"Nick, paralyze him!" Michael said. Nick smiled and shot an orb of static electricity at the bug-type. "Houndour, use Shadow Blitz to weaken that Spinarak."
"Shadow Blitz on that Jolteon!" the Cipher woman said. Spinarak and Houndour both gathered their aura, sprinting forward. Spinarak ran through the lightning, enduring the paralysis as he slammed into Nick. The Jolteon staggered back, giving Houndour enough room to crash into the arachnid Pokémon. While Nick had taken more damage, Spinarak was now a prime target for snagging.
Michael moved fast, programming a snag. Once the Pokéball materialized into his palm, he threw it, and the energy hand grabbed the Spinarak and brought it into the Pokéball. The ball rolled briefly until it snapped shut and sparks flew up. Houndour and Jolteon both began to move toward the Pokéball, looking happy with their win. However, just as they got to it, the ball teleported to the HQ Lab. They both looked a little disappointed, although Houndour's expression was markedly more stoic than Jolteon's. Michael smiled and called both his Pokémon to his side, letting the Peon sprint by, presumably going to save her own skin from Lovrina, whoever she was. He then began to treat the injuries of both Pokémon, though Houndour's were less serious than Nick's.
"Great job," Liz said as she took the Snag Machine from Michael, putting it on herself.
"Thanks Liz," Michael said as he finished the healing and recalled the two Pokémon. "You ready to keep going?"
"I was waiting on you," she said with a wink. Michael smiled and walked with her, trying to not look at her attractive form.
What would I do without her? Michael thought to himself. I can't even see a future without her in my life.
They went up a small staircase, and, upon arriving in the hallway above, went down the only path forward. They entered a room that looked like a small battle field with a test tube on each corner of the mostly rectangular room. They stopped walking when they heard voices through a wall to the right. While it was muffled, they heard what sounded like a bubbly princess interrogating somebody. Michael's eyes went wide when he recognized the other voice. "Uncle Richard," he said in shock, smiling when he heard his uncle essentially telling his interrogator to fuck off. Michael smirked wider when he heard the woman growl in frustration before shouting loud enough to make out clearly.
"Naps, this is all your fault. Now, stand guard right here. If he gets away, I will be ever so angry with you. You would so do well to not anger me," she said.
Michael and Liz could already tell that, whoever this woman was, she would certainly be annoying. "So, listening to the boss interrogate that pathetic scientist, are we?" said a new voice. The male Cipher Peon behind them began to laugh maniacally.
"Oh, shut up," Liz said as she stood up, getting her Pokéballs out. "And let's battle."
"Fine," he said, taking out his own two Pokéballs. "Come out, Ralts and Voltorb!"
Michael perked up as soon as he heard the man call for a Ralts. When it appeared, along with the Pokéball with eyes, he looked closer. Is that Gwen's…
"A male Ralts," Liz said, making it look like she was simply making a note. In reality, she was making sure that Michael knew this wasn't the Ralts they were looking for. "Easy enough. Come out, Titania and Mareep!"
"Confusion, and Sonic Boom!" the Cipher Peon said. "I don't care who you target." The little Ralts began to gather the teal energy of a psychic attack, forming a little ball of power. He then threw the ball at Sylveon. Voltorb rolled back and seemed to quickly whipped forward, sending a cone of air that made a sound like an explosion at Mareep.
"Titania, dodge and use Bite on that Ralts. Mareep, use Shadow Blitz!" Titania smiled and rolled to the side as the Confusion flew by, hitting one of the test tubes, unfortunately not breaking anything. She then ran forward, baring her teeth as dark energy surrounded them. The Sylveon then crashed into the Ralts, biting his neck as the psychic Pokémon was about to roll under her. She then let go with her teeth and wrapped her ribbon around his leg. With a whipping swing, she slammed the Ralts to the ground and smirked when he passed out. Mareep, however, decided to charge straight forward with her aura flaring up as the little sheep plowed into the possessed Pokéball, knocking him out with little effort. This clearly annoyed the Cipher Peon, who recalled his Pokémon.
"Fucking bitch…now, come on out Bagon and Numel!" the man said, sending out a blue bipedal dragon with what looked like a steel helmet, and a yellow and green Pokémon that made Michael think of Brendan Maple's Camerupt, and the videos of his battles with the fire type.
Liz smiled again as the Shadow Monitor beeped loudly. "Another Shadow Pokémon, huh?"
Michael watched on as Liz made almost comically quick work of the Bagon, then had Mareep intercept Numel's Shadow Blitz. That hit only served to paralyze the fire and ground type Pokémon through Mareep's Static ability. Almost immediately after that, Liz had successfully snagged the Numb Pokémon. The Cipher Peon sprinted off after the battle was over.
Liz recalled her two Pokémon, seeing that they really didn't need the healing. She gave the Snag Machine to Michael with a smile. Michael smiled back as he put the machine back on. Despite his smile, Liz knew Michael well enough to know there was something bothering him. They walked down the hall, passing a small panel that looked like it turned on an extremely annoying alarm before they came to an elevator. "Um, Michael, is something wrong?"
"I honestly don't know…" he said. "I just can't shake a bad feeling."
"What feeling is that?" she asked as they got into the elevator.
"It's just…this all seems way too easy. I mean, this is a top-secret lab that Cipher is using to research Shadow Pokémon creation. So…why are all the trainers here so easy to beat?"
"Yeah…now that you mention it…it is kind of strange. I was expecting to struggle through this place…assuming we didn't go the stealth route," she said as they got to the second basement. There they saw a second elevator to their left, with a sign labeled "Employee Lounge"
"Want to go up that way?" Michael asked.
"No way," Liz said. "You really want to go up there and risk walking into a room full of these Stormtrooper rip-offs?"
"Yeah, I figured you'd say that," Michael said with a smile as they continued along the way…for about three feet before a man dropped from the ceiling.
"Why are all of you guys dropping from the ceiling? Seriously, just hide behind a wall or something," Liz asked the Peon.
"Come now, you think we'd just hide like amateurs when we can divebomb your dumb asses and make you piss yourselves," he said with a cocky tone.
Four minutes later, Michael had thrashed the man, using Houndour and Spheal, causing him to leave like all the other Peons earlier, so they continued along. After they had heard Krane's voice on the floor above, Michael and Liz assumed that going north in the hall would bring them to an elevator to Krane's cell. Unfortunately, they quickly found out they were wrong, and had walked straight into the office of a researcher, who subsequently battled Liz, and lost to the brunette quickly just as quickly. Unlike the uniformed peons, the researcher simply returned to his work and ignored the two intruders.
Since they'd clearly gone the wrong way, they left the room, trying their best to keep an eye on the ceiling, trying to find any other ambushes ahead of time. They found one as they got to a fork in the road, making direct eye contact with the woman, who dropped to them, battled Michael, lost badly, and ran. "Left, or right?" Michael asked when they were alone again, switching the Snag Machine back to Liz.
"Right. I can see a doorway and an elevator."
"Want to check that room?" Michael asked.
"Why not?" Liz said with a smirk. "It looks like only two researchers are in there, so it should be an easy tag battle." With the confidence of Vegeta in Dragon Ball Z, they entered the lab and startled the two researchers out of their conversation. Less than ten minutes later, the battle was over, and the two researchers were cowering in the corners out of fear.
Without a word to the two lab coats, Liz and Michael took the nearby elevator, and Michael checked his current stock of Pokéballs. "Okay, we have four Pokéballs left. Let's hope that's enough to get all the Shadow Pokémon."
"Don't worry. If this pattern with them wanting to be snagged continues, then we should be fine," Liz said.
"True…I just wish Pokéballs were sold in Orre…" Michael said. "We could easily stock up if we needed to."
"You know that won't happen until wild Pokémon show up in this region. Until then, PokéMart really has no reason to sell them. They'd probably lose money," Liz said.
"I know," Michael said. "And with the travel ban in Orre, the only hope of us getting Pokéballs is if some region airlifts them to us and gets around the customs of the region."
"We can make it, I promise," Liz said. "Besides, I'm sure there are places that have stocked up on Pokéballs in the past, just hoping for them to sell again."
"Yeah, hopefully," Michael said with a smile as they got to the first basement once again. Almost immediately, they were met by another Cipher Peon dropping from the ceiling.
"Alright, time for you to get the fuck out before Lovrina kills you. Trust me, this is for your own good," the guy said, sounding almost sympathetic. However, he had a venomous undertone to his voice that told Michael this guy was anything but noble.
"Michael, give me the Snag Machine," Liz said as she took the device, glaring at the man in their path.
"Sure, take him out," Michael said. As he spoke, the Peon hit a button on the wall, opening a small pool of water.
"Guess you're not going to leave…then I'll put you in a grave myself, and spare you Lovrina's wrath," he said as he sent out his Pokémon. "Come, Carvanha and Magnemite!" The red and blue fish dove into the clear pool, while the metal eye with a magnet on each side of its body.
"Mareep, Spinarak, come out!" Liz said, getting a beeping alert from the Shadow Monitor, which highlighted the Carvanha in the pool. "Let's make this quick. I'm already bored with this place."
"Carvanha, use Shadow Blitz on Spinarak. Magnemite, use Super Sonic on Mareep!" the peon said angrily. Carvanha leapt from the water with his black aura trailing like a comet. At the same time, Magnemite shrieked at a high pitch, sending sound waves at Mareep.
"Spinarak, use Shadow Blitz on Carvanha. Mareep, dodge and use Shadow Blitz on Magnemite!" Liz said. The spider Pokémon leapt forward and slammed into the Savage Pokémon, his aura trailing the same way Carvanha's aura was doing. Sadly, for the red and blue fish, the collision didn't give him enough of a rebound to get into the water again. Mareep
Spinarak, still being an emotionless machine, continued using Shadow Blitz, knocking the Carvanha away from the water. Liz's eyes went wide as she quickly programmed a snag. She threw the Pokéball quickly and waited on baited breath as it rolled. It snapped shut, causing the man to just shrug and pull out his next Pokémon.
"Whatever, not a loss of substantial worth," he said as Mareep kicked the Pokéball back to Liz. "Psyduck, come!" The yellow duck Pokémon appeared, quacking a little. After the snag, the battle was quick, with Liz overpowering her opponent.
The peon sprinted out of the hallway, so Michael hit a switch on their side of the pool to close the floor over it. "This whole place just feels tedious," he said as he and Liz switched possession of the Snag Machine once again.
"Like we're just walking around and battling nonstop?" Liz added as they continued down the starkly white hallway, where they saw a door leading through what looked like an empty conference room, which then led through the one-way door into the entryway where the first elevator had dropped them. "Alright, guess we're back to where we started," Michael said before they got to the conference room. Inside, there were two researchers, but Michael heard them talking about something that seemed important. Michael motioned for Liz to stop by the door, and they waited to hear what was being said.
"I'm still surprised that Greevil didn't kill anybody here. I didn't even see him," one researcher said.
Another researcher spoke, sounding a little closer to the door. "I did…he has a menacing aura, it's like you get hit by a wave of cold air from a freezer when her walks past."
"I heard a rumor that just his threats made Lovrina piss herself out of fear," the first researcher said. "I actually feel bad for the girl if that's the truth."
"Yeah…she's only 23. The poor thing is barely out of college. Hell, I think she only joined to pay off her loans," the second man said.
"You think so? Lovrina may have financial reasons for joining Cipher, but she's a psychopath if I've ever seen one," the first said.
"Maybe we shouldn't be discussing her like this…" the second said with a tone of fear. "This whole place is filled with recording devices for security. She's probably watching us."
"Actually, I think she went upstairs to vent about something just a little while ago," the first said.
Michael decided he'd had enough waiting. He motioned to Liz that he was going in, and she nodded in agreement. They moved into the conference room and the two researchers looked at them in shock.
"Who the fuck are you two, and how long have you been listening to us?" the one closer to them said.
"Are you seriously asking them that question? They're obviously the intruders," the one sitting a little farther from them said. "And you know I don't have Pokémon. You'll need to handle them yourself."
The first researcher scowled. "Fine. I'll take them out," he said as he took out his two Pokéballs. "Come out, Shroomish, and Snubbull!"
"Seems like I have two weak to Poison types." Michael said with a smirk. That confident expression faded when the shadow monitor responded to the male Shroomish. "Come out, Gulpin, and Nick!"
The researcher went first. "Shadow Blitz on Jolteon. Snubbull, use Bite on Gulpin," he said.
"Gulpin, hit Snubbull with Sludge," Michael countered. "Nick, you know what to do with a Shadow Pokémon!" Shroomish's aura flared up as she ran forward. Snubbull followed her teammate as her teeth began to glow with black energy.
Nick's speed, however, was too much for his opponents, as he fired a purple ball of static electricity, hitting Shroomish perfectly. Unfortunately, Shroomish continued her attack, slamming into the Jolteon with all her might. Michael saw Jolteon's healthbar drop by a third from that single hit. Even as Nick was about to hit the floor beside the conference table, the Jolteon refused to lose, letting loose with a Thunder Shock while the grass-type was in contact with him. He landed hard and rolled apart from Shroomish. Michael saw that Shroomish's health had dropped by a third as well, so he programmed a snag, silently watching Snubbull lunge at Gulpin just in time to get a mouth full of Gulpin's Sludge attack. Snubbull coughed and gagged to get the substance out of her mouth. Gulpin moved forward with a Shadow Blitz, slamming into the fairy-type hard, and knocking her out.
"Nice hit Gulpin," Michael said as he put his arm out. The Pokéball formed in his hand, and he threw the ball quickly. Shroomish was pulled inside by the energy hand, and the ball began to roll on the ground, snapping shut quickly. "Yes, another snag," Michael said. Nick moved quickly to pick up the Pokéball and bring it to Michael. Michael scratched Nick pleasantly behind the ears. "Thanks, buddy. You're doing great out there."
Nick barked happily as the researcher pulled out his last Pokéball. "Come out, Kecleon."
"A Kecleon?" Michael asked with an interested tone. The chameleon Pokémon was a tricky creature. If it had the Color Change ability, which changed its type to the type of the attack that had just dealt it damage, this battle would be easy. If it had Protean, on the other hand, then it would be a little more difficult. The battle was over a minute later, due to the Kecleon's ability being Color Change, and because Shadow Blitz had done more damage than Michael expected. Once the battle ended, Shroomish's Pokéball was sent to the HQ Lab.
"Ack, damn it!" the researcher said. "I'm leaving before Lovrina finds out." He began to sprint away, seemingly unaware that he'd left his ID card on the table.
"Must be our lucky day," Liz said as she picked up the new card. She then turned to the other researcher. "You, help us with something."
The other researcher sighed. "Go ahead. I have no intention of interfering with you."
Michael saw where Liz was going with her questioning, so he took out the other ID the Hexagon Brothers had dropped. Liz took the other card and placed them both on the table in front of the man.
"We have two ID cards. Is there a difference between them?" Liz asked.
The man sighed and picked up each of the cards. "Of course, the Hexagon Brothers fucked up…" he said. "But their IDs only had basic clearance. The researchers and stronger Peons have higher clearance through the lab."
"Such as?" Michael asked.
"This card," the man said, showing the researcher's ID card. "Will allow you to access the prisoner chambers."
Uncle Richard must be there, Michael thought. "I'm guessing that we just need to go left when we get to the intersection ahead?"
"Yeah, that's correct," the man said. "Is that all you needed?"
"That should be it," Liz said. "Thank you for your help." She tossed the ID from the Hexagon Brothers. "There's your payment."
"Funny," the researcher said stoically. "I only talked because you have Pokémon…I couldn't defend myself if I wanted to."
"Doesn't really matter. Try to get out of Cipher if you can, for your own good," Michael said as he and Liz went through the one-way door.
"Ready? We're going to save Dr. Krane," Liz said, playfully nudging Michael.
"More than you know," he said as they followed the hallway toward what looked like an employee locker room. They were immediately met with a man in a lab coat in the room.
"You intruders are here already?" he asked, sounding scared. "There's no way I can beat you…I need to get Lovrina to deal with you!" Before Michael or Liz could reply, the man pushed through them, and ran toward the lab's exit.
"Well, there's an obstacle out of the way," Michael said with a chuckle. Liz smiled as they got to the elevator beside them. "Let's go and put an end to this lab's operation."
"Sounds great," Liz said as they came into a dark, metal computer lab. It was small, with only one staircase, from which both Michael and Liz could hear the voice of Dr. Krane. It sounded like he was telling whoever was with him why making Shadow Pokémon was so horrible.
"And there he is," Michael said as they went up the stairs and entered the small room, which looked almost like an office space in the HQ lab.
"So, Naps, do you understand now?" Dr. Krane said. The Cipher member with yellow-streaked armor, from whom Michael had snagged Artemis, was seated across from Dr. Krane with his head in his hands.
"Look, I know that you're right, and I agree with you…" Naps said.
"Then why stay in Cipher? You could help us," Dr. Krane said, his hands bound behind him, with zip-ties keeping him in the chair. Michael also noticed a few bruises on his cheeks, and his uncle's black eye.
Naps shook his head. "No, I can't leave Cipher…not while my little sister is trapped in the organization," he said. "I can't leave Lovrina alone to suffer. She's already losing her mind with me here…I can't imagine how she'd be if I wasn't here for her."
That's when Dr. Krane noticed the two new people in the room. "Michael, Liz!" he said with a smile. "I knew you'd get here eventually."
"Uncle, are you okay?" Michael said, passing Naps without any obstructions, going behind the doctor's chair to break the ties.
Krane chuckled. "Yeah. Nothing that won't heal completely within a week," he said as his hands were unbound for the first time since the night before.
"Glad to hear it," Michael said as he hugged his uncle. "And glad to see you're okay."
"Me too," Liz said, hugging Dr. Krane after Michael let him go. "The lab hasn't been the same without you."
"Ahem," Naps said, standing up. "Look, my heart's all warm now that you three are having a reunion, but I still need to stop you from leaving."
Michael looked at him. "You can't be serious after what we just heard you saying."
Naps glared. "Look, I'm sorry, but if we fail the Grand Master here, there's a chance he'll kill Lovrina. I can't let my little sister go through that."
Michael started to feel sympathetic for Naps. "You know, I have a little sister too," he said. "I get that you're defending her, but at some point, you've got to realize if you're doing something wrong. You both need to leave Cipher for your own sake."
Naps shook his head. "We can't do that…not while Greevil is still holding the reins of Cipher. If she leaves and betrays him, he WILL kill her."
Michael nodded in understanding. "Do you have a Shadow Pokémon with you right now?" he asked.
"No," Naps said, shaking his head. "Teddiursa was the only one I was assigned."
"Then, Liz," Michael said with a smile to his friend. "Would you like to show him how much Artemis has changed?"
"Sounds like fun to me," she said with a smirk. While the room was relatively small, they could still have a double battle here. Michael and Dr. Krane just needed to step out of the way. "Are you ready, Naps?"
He took out two Pokéballs. "Show me what you've got. Beldum, Murkrow, it's time for a battle," he said as he sent out a Pokémon that looked like a blue metal arm with an eye, and a black bird Pokémon with feathers pluming like a mobster's hat.
"Then I'll pick Mareep, and Artemis." Liz said. The electric sheep appeared alongside the small bear Pokémon, and Naps seemed to be stunned on the spot.
"She's been purified?" he asked.
"She has," Liz said with confidence. "And this adorable little baby just loves honey and hugs." Her tone and Artemis nodding enthusiastically told Naps exactly how much Cipher had changed the Shadow Pokémon. Turning them from energetic and playful creatures into weapons.
"Okay…I get it…and I see that your Shadow Mareep is getting closer to being purified too," he said. "Seems you two have unusually strong bonds with Pokémon. Regardless, Beldum, use Take Down on Mareep. Murkrow, use Peck on Artemis!" Murkrow began to fly as he raced towards Teddiursa. The little bear would have none of it, grabbing Murkrow out of the air by his beak before powering up a Metal Claw and raking her claws across the bird's body, knocking it out fast.
Mareep responded to Beldum's similar charge by firing a Thunder Shock at the Steel-Type. Unfortunately, the little sheep's attack didn't fully halt Beldum's attack. The Steel-Type slammed into Mareep, taking some damage of its own from the impact.
Naps recalled Murkrow. "I see…she's much stronger now than she was as a Shadow Pokémon," he said, sending out a Slakoth. Michael had to resist turning into a fanboy over the sloth Pokémon, as it had been one of Brendan Maple's Pokémon, growing into an incredibly powerful Slaking.
"Mareep, use another Thunder Shock to finish Beldum!" Liz said. "Artemis, use Return on Slakoth!"
Artemis seemed to already be moving and gathering energy for the attack when Liz called for it. The Teddiursa barreled at Slakoth with a great deal of power, with four hearts forming after the impact. At the same time Mareep gathered electricity quickly, firing it at the levitating steel-type. Both of Naps's Pokémon fainted from the hits. "Nice job you two!" Liz said excitedly.
"Don't celebrate yet," Naps said. "Come out, Rhyhorn!" With a massive thud, the armored rhino appeared, glaring competitively at his opponent.
"Oh no…" Liz said quietly. While Mareep had Shadow Blitz as a substitute, Liz knew that the ground type could be trouble with his powerful defense. Artemis, however, looked at her trainer confidently, her claws glittering like polished metal as she ran at Rhyhorn. She then jumped onto his back, like a she was in a rodeo as she clawed at his back. Rhyhorn, however, stayed strong as he shot a blob of mud at Mareep, hoping to deal some damage before Teddiursa finished him off.
Mareep, however, simply jumped to the side of the mud, gathering her aura as she ran at the Spikes Pokémon, slamming into the creature to deal the finishing blow. Artemis hopped off her opponent's back as he passed out and fell to the ground. "And that's the battle!" Liz said excitedly.
"Yeah, great job," Michael said happily, wanting to hug her, but deciding against it given their company. She just smiled at him, knowing that Michael was holding off on his true intentions for celebration.
Naps sighed and recalled Rhyhorn. "You two can celebrate if you want…but Lovrina is a lot stronger than me as a trainer," he said as he left. "Fight well…or she will take all three of you hostage and have your Pokémon turned into Shadows."
Despite never having met Lovrina, Michael could already tell, just based on everything he'd heard about the woman today, Naps was being honest. Michael knew he'd need to fight at his best if they were to escape from just one of Cipher's Admins.
And that's the chapter. Glad to be back into the swing of things. Adjusting to my new job took some time, but it's been worth it. Now I have a relatively open schedule, and I can write a lot faster.
I should tell you all that, for my own sanity, I am going to glance over battles without Shadow Pokémon (I'm taking a page from Chuggaaconroy's LP of XD, given the sheer number of battles with trainers in the game).
As always, please leave a review. I would really appreciate the feedback so I can improve my writing.
Next chapter is the battle with Lovrina. Until then ~ jmoul18