Lovrina
"Uncle, are you sure you're okay?" Michael asked as he saw Dr. Krane limping slightly. "You're not walking normally."
"Yeah, I'll be fine. They just got a bit violent with their interrogations," Richard said with a smile, though both Michael and Liz could tell it wasn't true. Dr. Krane was hurting severely, but he wanted to put on a brave face so they wouldn't worry. They continued to the elevator going up quickly to the upper basement, going through the locker room, getting to the room before the elevator out of the lab. Unlike all the other elevators they'd come to before this one, however, the platform was not on this level. Despite this, they could hear it descending. When the door opened, Dr. Krane gasped slightly, and when the girl with strawberry-blonde, almost pink, hair in pigtails that almost touched the ground. She stood around 5'5" and the look on her face was that of a psychotic maniac. Behind her was the researcher that Michael and Liz had seen run out of the lab from the locker room.
"Dr. Krane, you oh, so, should not be out of your cell. It makes me oh so angry," the girl said. "We so need you to complete our research for XD001. It is oh so important." Her tone left no room for debate, but Dr. Krane was done with Cipher.
"You must be joking!" he said. "I made it clear to you that I will never help with your horrific plans. That hasn't changed in the twenty minutes since you've been outside the lab."
Lovrina huffed angrily. "You are so getting punished for that!" she said, turning to Michael and Liz. "You two, you so must get what I'm saying. Won't you tell Dr. Krane about my oh so marvelous plan?"
Michael just rolled his eyes. "Yeah, just let me, the guy who's trying to snag and purify every shadow Pokémon, tell my uncle why he should support you," he said. "I will get right on that."
Dr. Krane and Liz both smiled lightly, seeing that Michael was going to be an ass to this woman, who the two teens realized was Lovrina. She glared and stomped her foot like when Jovi would throw temper tantrums when she was four. "Uuuugh, you're so useless. I so knew you would be an annoying little brat!" she almost shrieked. "Fine. I will so just have to beat you now!"
"Liz, mind if I take this battle?" Michael asked. "I've got a bone to pick with this girl."
"Do it, and humiliate her," Liz said.
"Exactly my plan," he said, getting a notification that both Spheal and Houndour were now ready to be purified. He smiled. You'll be back to normal soon.
Lovrina pulled out her two Pokéballs, her demeanor changing quickly from that of a slightly bubbly, quirky girl to that of a psychopath about to start a mass murder. She sent out her two Pokémon. "Come out, Clamperl and Beautifly!"
Michael got chills down his spine from her expression just from how easily her façade fell. Naps said she's being driven crazy…but that's not the face of a person losing it. She's in her natural element, and she's just faking it until she can let loose. He picked his two Pokémon carefully. "Let's win this, Houndour, and Seedot!" he called. He then saw the levels of both of Lovrina's Pokémon. Clamperl was level 20, and Beautifly was level 21. My whole team is lower leveled, except for Nick. I'll need to play this smart.
"Houndour, Ember on Beautifly. Seedot, Bullet Seed on Clamperl," Michael said. Houndour howled briefly, before spitting out multiple tongues of fire at the multi-colored insect. At the same time, Seedot began spitting out seeds rapidly.
"Gust and Iron Defense," Lovrina said with a terrifyingly fake sweetness to her voice. Beautifly beat her wings, sending the air into a swirling tornado, snuffing out Houndour's Ember before flying toward Seedot. Simultaneously, the little blue clam shell Pokémon closed her shell, which began to glow with a metallic light. While Michael saw the health bar of the little water type drop, it was much slower than it should've gone with the onslaught. That only got worse as Seedot was hit with the swirling Gust.
The latter attack sent Seedot reeling backwards, and he lost almost half of his health from that attack. Seedot jumped back into the fray, firing a Shadow Wave at both of the opponents. This time, the attack hit and did some damage.
Lovrina, however, just smirked. "And it seems that you're so the same as Cipher, using Shadow Pokémon to win your battles."
"Oh, you can go straight to Hell!" Michael said. "I'm helping restore them to their natural states. You turned them into machines."
Lovrina smirked. "Keep telling yourself that. It's oh so amusing."
"Seedot, use Shadow Wave again," Michael said, deciding to block out the annoying woman's words. "Houndour, try another Ember on Beautifly. I know you can do it!"
Both of his Pokémon began to gather their energy for their attacks. Houndour leapt forward and shot fire at the butterfly Pokémon in front of him. The flames hit their mark, almost burning holes through Beautifly's wings, making her fall out of the air. With her mobility lowered, neither Beautifly nor Clamperl could dodge Seedot's Shadow Wave. Michael silently cheered as both of Lovrina's Pokémon passed out.
"Fine," Lovrina said, calling back her first pair. "But you won't get by my next two. "Come out and kill, Roselia and Delcatty!"
The smaller Pokémon was looked like she was a green rose bush with one blue rose, and one red rose. The larger one was a cat-like Pokémon with cream-colored fur that tufted with purple around her ears, neck, and tail. What normally would've been bright eyes seemed like they were cold and lifeless. Michael barely needed the Shadow Monitor to know that Delcatty was the Shadow Pokémon. When his monitor beeped, Michael was more focused on its level. Oh, shit…it's level 25, and the Roselia is level 22? Michael asked mentally. I'm outclassed.
"I can, like, so see it on your face," Lovrina said, sounding more insane with each second. "You know you can't win against me."
"You may have a stronger Pokémon, but I have a better bond with my Pokémon. That will be the deciding factor," Michael said. "Seedot, Shadow Wave. Houndour, use Ember on Roselia!" The fire hound howled angrily, spitting a ball of fire much larger than before. The ball of fire was joined by Seedot's ball of shadow energy, but Roselia countered easily, firing a Poison Sting into the Shadow Wave, and simply dodging the fire as it fizzled out on the floor, charring the metal.
"Delcatty, you should, like, so use Shadow Rush. Take out those weak Pokémon," Lovrina said. "Roselia, Leech Seed on Houndour."
Roselia fired a cluster of seeds from her flower hands, aiming for Houndour. The fire-type responded by showing that his instincts were beginning to return, firing a ball of flame at the seeds, torching them before they could take root. That ball of flame was followed by Houndour sprinting forward, his shadow aura flaring up.
Delcatty intercepted his Shadow Blitz with a much faster, and much more powerful attack, clawing at the fire-type, hitting his back left leg. The impact sent Houndour tumbling across the floor, and the fire-type yelped in pain. Michael didn't need the monitor to see that Houndour was out of the battle. The sound of the Pokémon whining softly in pain got Michael to his side in a moment. "Houndour!" he called out, seeing Seedot's Shadow Wave hit Roselia hard, dropping the thorn Pokémon's health significantly. "Good job, Seedot, give it one more shot," Michael said, looking over Houndour briefly. He noticed a deep cut across his thigh where Delcatty had hit him. He immediately knew that Houndour needed to be recalled. "Houndour, thank you for fighting so hard. Please, get some rest. I promise we'll win this." The Dark Pokémon whined softly as he returned to his Pokéball.
Michael stood up, glaring at Lovrina now. "Oh, did I hurt the wittwe hewo's fwiend?" Lovrina taunted, her crazed look getting more horrifying.
"Yes, you did," Michael said, his voice dripping with anger. "I'd say I'm going to take your friend as payback…but it's clear that you don't have friends." He sent out Nick as he spoke.
Lovrina's expression turned from malice to shock, feeling Michael's words cut straight to her soul. "You'll regret that, prick!" she said, her anger causing her to drop the bubbly attitude and speech. Her eyes ablaze with a malicious fury. "Delcatty, use Shadow Rush on that insignificant Jolteon!" The Shadow Pokémon's aura flared up once again, ignoring Seedot as he fired another Shadow Wave, hitting both Roselia and Delcatty. The Thorn Pokémon passed out, earning a scoff from Lovrina. "And you'll regret losing when you go without any food or light for a week." She was whispering harshly, so neither Michael nor Liz heard her.
"Nick, time to paralyze that Delcatty," Michael said. Nick nodded and fired a ball of static at Delcatty. The Shadow Pokémon was already running at Nick, her aura trailing behind her like a comet. She ran straight through the electricity, charging forward slamming into Jolteon, hitting her mark hard.
Nick tumbled like Houndour had earlier, luckily without the same type of injury the fire-type had sustained. He got up as Seedot fired another Shadow Wave, taking Delcatty's health down past the halfway mark. Michael knew this was the threshold where snags would succeed. He quickly programmed a snag, then held out his arm. As soon as the ball materialized, he threw it. Delcatty was pulled inside like the other Shadow Pokémon had been, and the ball began to roll.
Michael began to relax, as Shadow Pokémon usually stayed inside the ball when they were being snagged. He was about to take a step forward when Dr. Krane shouted. "Michael, don't go near it!" Michael stopped just as the ball began to crack, shattering as Delcatty reappeared.
"Wait, it failed?" he asked rhetorically.
Lovrina began to laugh maniacally. "Looks like your worthless attempt to save this pathetic tool of a Pokémon was just as pitiful," she said.
Michael didn't respond, seeing that he only had one Pokéball left. He needed to catch Delcatty with this next attempt. He hadn't failed to snag a Shadow Pokémon yet, and he didn't want to know what would happen if he failed to catch one. "Seedot, Shadow Wave. Nick, use Quick Attack!" The sentient acorn Pokémon fired off a single orb of his aura. Nick then sprinted forward, hitting Delcatty from the side. The normal-type then took another hit from Seedot's slower Shadow Wave. This time, Delcatty's health was down to just below a quarter of the maximum, and Michael could see that she was getting exhausted.
"Delcatty, you useless cat, kill that Jolteon now!" Lovrina shouted, her voice giving all the observers the impression that she was giving the Shadow Pokémon a silent threat. Michael programmed a snag, throwing his last Pokéball.
Come on, Michael silently prayed as Delcatty was pulled into a Pokéball once again. This has to work. I can't leave Delcatty with this psychopath. As if Delcatty's soul heard him, the ball snapped shut. He breathed a sigh of slight relief, worrying for the other Pokémon that Lovrina still had with her. The Pokéball teleported to the HQ Lab as he recalled Nick and Seedot, thanking them for fighting so hard.
"Fuck!" Lovrina shouted. "Listen, you fucking brat!" She pointed at Michael, rage, fear, and what might've been excitement swirling in her eyes. "You'd better watch your fucking back, because I am going to kill you for this! Don't think this will stop Cipher either. XD001 WILL be completed, and it'll fuck you up without even trying!"
Michael blinked in slight shock at the verbal onslaught, only to be surprised more when Lovrina ran to the elevator, pushing the researcher who had gone to get her early. The man stumbled and hit the wall, something small falling out of his pocket from the impact. Neither he, nor Lovrina noticed it as he ran after her into the elevator. Lovrina kept a venomous glare focused directly on Michael alone as she and the researcher went up to the next level, further cementing the seriousness of her threat. "Uncle," Michael said once the Cipher members vanished from sight.
"Yes, Michael?" he asked.
"We need to increase security at the lab," Michael said, while Liz walked over to pick up what the scientist had dropped.
"Yeah, I agree," Dr. Krane said. "Any ideas?"
"I think the Shadow Pokémon who don't want to go fight Cipher directly when they're purified would be better suited going to people at the HQ Lab," Michael said. "That way, they aren't sitting in storage, and we can protect our home."
Dr. Krane smiled. "I like the idea," he said. "Sounds like something that should've been implemented a while ago."
"But, it's strange," Michael said. "I like that we beat Cipher here, but it felt way too easy. I know there's going to be more to this. Question is…where should we go from here."
"Hey, guys," Liz said. "I think we might have a lead." She stood up and brought over what looked like an SD card. "Who knows, we might be able to get some information off this thing."
"Let me see that," Dr. Krane said as the elevator returned to their floor, likely due to Lovrina or the researcher bumping the button in a rush to get out of the lab. Liz gave the memory card to Krane, who looked it over carefully. "This is likely encrypted. I think Datan might be able to get us the answers we need."
Michael smiled slightly before looking at Houndour's Pokéball, almost hearing the dog still whining in pain from the gash. "We need to get Houndour help first. We should stop in Agate Village first…plus we can purify any Pokémon who are ready for the process," he said.
"Agreed," Liz and Dr. Krane said together.
"Although, Michael, I'm guessing you used your scooter to get here," Dr. Krane said.
"Yeah…and there's barely enough room for Liz and Jovi behind me," Michael started to realize what this meant.
"Let's go up and see if there are any vehicles we can use. If that van is still there, maybe we can take that," Liz said.
"I don't know how to hotwire anything," Michael said.
"I do," Dr. Krane said, laughing when Michael and Liz gave him shocked looks. "It's something I figured out when I was getting my doctorate in engineering. If you know which wires to use, you can hotwire any vehicle."
"Awesome," Michael said, realizing that his uncle was cooler than he'd known. The elevator took them to the main entrance, but Michael stopped to try the healing machine he'd used after beating the Hexagon Brothers. "Of course, of fucking course that bitch broke the machine on her way out," he said when he saw that the power cord had been pulled out of the socket and cut just before the plug.
"Michael, don't worry, we'll get Houndour healed in Agate Village," Liz said. "He won't bleed out from that cut. Plus, I'm pretty sure Pokéballs have a function that puts seriously wounded Pokémon into a stasis."
"I don't want to risk it," Michael said, with a sigh. "But we have no choice." He pulled out his P-DA, feeling some relief that it would only be an hour of driving.
"Come on, we can't waste any time," Liz said gently. They walked to the door, seeing that the red van used in Dr. Krane's abduction was still there.
"I'm going to get my scooter, and we'll put it in the back," Michael said, running to where he'd hidden the scooter from view. Luckily, it was still untouched. He started the motor and drove it over to the red van, only to see a bleak look on Dr. Krane's face. "Don't tell me…"
"Lovrina must've cut the brake line. There's a puddle of fluid under the van. There's no way we can take this thing anywhere."
"Well, looks like we'll have to all fit on the scooter," Michael said, giving goggles to Liz and his Uncle.
"Are you sure it can fit us all?" Dr. Krane asked.
"We have to at try," Michael said, his voice showing his concern. Reluctantly, Dr. Krane and Liz both got onto the scooter, giving Michael just a few inches for him to sit on. He revved the engine, and the machine began to move, albeit slowly at first. Once the engine started to work, the scooter picked up speed as they went over the slightly shallow sand.
"You imbecile!" Lovrina shouted, all her bubbly pretenses gone as she and the researcher she'd left with drove off, having taken Lovrina's armored pink sportscar from her personal garage in the lab. "How could you lose that SD Card?"
"It's not my fault!" he said. "It must've fallen out when y-." Before he could even finish speaking, Lovrina sent one the Pokémon on her real team, a male Gardevoir nearly at level 80, into the backseat of the car. A second later, the researcher had teleported out of the car. He reappeared a moment later…directly in front of the car, which was pushing ninety miles an hour, looking directly at Lovrina. He didn't even have time to register his situation before the car hit, making every major bone in the man's body practically shatter from the initial impact. He then went cartwheeling over the car, landing headfirst on the hard ground. His body was completely destroyed, with blood pooling into the sand beneath him, not that it mattered. The researcher had died on the impact.
Lovrina, however, didn't show any reactions other than to turn on her windshield cleaner. Any other blood on her car would blend in with the paintjob for now. "Nice job, Gardevoir," she said, recalling the Pokémon before starting a phone call on her car phone.
"What is it, Lovrina?" Ardos said as he answered.
"Sir, we have a problem. One of the incompetent researchers dropped a SD Card, and I'm pretty sure the Orison boy and his little whore picked it up," she said.
"I see…and the researcher?" Ardos asked coldly.
"I just dealt with him. We're in the middle of the desert right now, so nobody will find him," she said just as coldly as her superior. "Should I pursue Orison?"
"Good work with your subordinate. We cannot tolerate failure in our ranks. Don't worry about the SD card, though," Ardos said. "All of our memory cards are heavily encrypted, and they have a transmitter inside which activates whenever they're being used. We will recover it without trouble."
"Understood, sir. Shall I return to base?" she asked.
"Go to the Factory. XD001 is there at the moment. Finish your adjustments with it, then go north of Gateon. We'll bring you to base once you're there," Ardos said.
"Orders received," Lovrina said. "I had a feeling you'd say that, so I'm on my way there now. Out of curiosity, have we decided on who will take that famous Ralts yet?"
"You'll need to ask Gorigan when you get to the factory. I will say that she isn't going to any executives. A Ralts only at level 20 is of no use to us," Ardos said.
"Agreed," she said with a smirk. "I'll be in contact if anything urgent comes up."
"And Lovrina," Ardos said, getting the chief researcher's attention. "The Grand Master would like to congratulate you on pulling off such a convincing performance. You almost had him thinking you'd actually started talking as you were told to act. To be honest, I'm pretty sure you've convinced your own brother that your front is the true you."
Lovrina smiled. "Please, thank him for me," she said. "Besides, like I said when you recruited me: I'm a natural at deception."
"Don't push your luck," Ardos said coldly before hanging up. Lovrina, however, felt like she was positively glowing. The Grand Master praised her for her work. This was a great day for her. She'd killed a man, severely wounded a traitorous Pokémon, she was getting praise from her boss, and she'd inadvertently given Cipher a way to find their enemies.
"The only way this gets any better is if I can torture a Pokémon with Gorigan," she said to herself.
Michael was shocked at how uneventful the drive to Agate Village was as they drove up the wooden bridge. It seemed almost as if Cipher was letting them go. He'd been expecting them to pursue them in some form, but nothing had happened other than the occasional interesting rock formation. He didn't question it too much. This was gift Ponyta, and he wasn't about to look it in the mouth.
He just parked the scooter outside the Pokémon Center, and walked briskly toward the door. Dr. Krane and Liz followed closely, knowing that Michael was nervous about Houndour. Despite their effort, neither could keep pace with Michael, getting through the door as he got to the counter.
"Nurse, my Houndour needs urgent treatment," Michael said, the nurse looking a bit taken aback at how nervous he sounded. However, her years in this job had helped her in dealing with frantic visitors.
"What's the problem?" she asked, recognizing this boy as the one Eagun had spread word about, saying that he was combating Cipher and purifying Shadow Pokémon. Since Michael hadn't visited until after purifying Artemis, Ella, and Francis, the nurse hadn't seen anything to really convince her that Cipher and Shadow Pokémon were really back.
"He got a huge cut on his back leg, and it's really deep," he said.
"Alright, please come with me," the nurse said, leading him to an operating room with multiple pieces of medical equipment. She closed the door, leaving Dr. Krane and Liz outside. "Please let him out onto the table." She gestured for a titanium table that looked very sterile.
"Umm…just a warning, Houndour isn't exactly…normal," Michael said as he sent out the Pokémon. Luckily, the wound hadn't gotten worse during their drive from the Cipher lab. Houndour looked exhausted right now, but the cold aura around him almost filled the room.
"Is he…a shadow Pokémon?" she asked, remembering this type of sensation from her time as an intern when Wes saved Orre.
"Yes, I'm taking him to be purified once he's healed," Michael said, petting Houndour on his neck and behind his ear. He was surprised when Houndour looked at him with a glint of thankfulness in his eyes, then licked the palm of his hand gently.
"I see," the nurse said. "In that case, I will get to work. Normally, with a Houndour, it will help if their trainer is in the room while I'm performing the operation."
"I'll stay here for him," Michael said as a Blissey enters the operating room with the medicine and needed surgical supplies. The nurse smiled at the kindness Michael was showing as she administered localized anesthesia into the Pokémon's leg.
"We'll be done in no time," the nurse said as she picked up a healing potion that looked more potent than what was sold in PokéMarts. It was also labeled "Houndour/Houndoom" on the side.
Must be prescription strength medicine, Michael thought as the nurse lightly spritzed the fluids on the wound, wiping away excess. It took very little time to heal Houndour's wound, making the puppy perk up slightly. When the bottle had been emptied of medicine, Michael looked at Houndour's leg, relieved to see that it looked like it had never been injured in the first place. "Wow, that looks perfect," he said.
"Yeah, he'll be just fine," the nurse said, picking up a small bottle of pain pills. "Just give him one of these in the morning until they're out. He should be able to walk easily by then."
Michael saw that there were only five pills. "Got it," he said, petting the little puppy softly. "Is he well enough to go through purification?"
"Of course. To be honest, the process might even help him heal faster," the nurse said. Michael smiled, picking up Houndour gently.
"Thank you so much," Michael said, Houndour looking tired as he was carried out of the operating room. Liz and Dr. Krane perked up when the door opened, both looking relieved when they saw the healthy Pokémon.
"He's okay!" Liz said with a smile, wanting to hold the puppy too, but he looked too comfortable draped over Michael's arms.
"Yeah, and he should be fine to go through purification too," Michael said happily. "Uncle, do you want to come with us to the Relic Stone?"
"That sounds wonderful," Dr. Krane said with a smile. "Besides, it will take a while for Lily to get here."
"Wait, Mom is coming here?" Michael asked as they walked out of the Pokémon Center.
"She is. I called the HQ Lab while you were with Houndour. Lily is driving to Agate as fast as she can, but it will take her about an hour to arrive," he said. "She did say that she was bringing her two-seat car, so the 'two-lovebirds' could ride home together."
Liz and Michael blushed together as they entered the cave leading to the Relic Stone. "L-lovebirds?" Liz asked with an embarrassed tone.
"Oh, don't be so embarrassed. Everybody at the lab knows you two like each other. You might as well just make it official," Dr. Krane said teasingly.
Michael cleared his throat. "Maybe we should discuss these things another time," he said as they got to the shrine's clearing. The warm and welcoming energy around them seemed to make Houndour wake up. Michael checked his other Shadow Pokémon as well, seeing that only Spheal was ready to be purified. Others were close, but they weren't there yet.
"Alright, Spheal and Houndour, we'll stop by the Name Rater before Mom gets here," he said with a smile as he set Houndour on the ground. By the Relic Stone. Dr. Krane and Liz waited behind the two of them, with Krane looking rather excited to see a real purification.
"Alright, buddy, let's get you back to your normal self," he said as he and the dark Pokémon touched the stone together.
As with the other purifications, green energy surrounded and entered Houndour's body, purging all remaining Shadow from his heart. When the process ended, and Houndour came out of his daze, the puppy began to wag his tail, jumping excitedly and playfully to get Michael's attention. He didn't need to wait long, as Michael picked him up. Houndour didn't stop there, as he licked the trainer's face happily. "Thank you, buddy!" Michael said through laughed as he held the newly purified fire-type. "Ready to get your friend purified too?" Houndour's happy bark got Michael smiling as he let out the little Spheal. Houndour, however, seemed recognize the water type immediately, as his excitement grew. Michael and Spheal went through the purification, and, when Spheal came to, the recognition was clear for him too. Michael set Houndour on the ground only for Spheal to gently throw a ball of ice into the air for Houndour.
The little puppy jumped up, catching the ball out of the air, mirth from the game he was now playing with the water-type. Michael was engrossed with watching the two Pokémon, also seeing that both of them had progressed to level 20 upon being purified. He didn't notice Liz approaching behind him, hugging his arm softly. "You're making a huge difference for these Pokémon," she said, kissing him on the cheek, not caring that they were being watched by Dr. Krane.
"I know…and you are too," Michael said. "You know, I think Mareep might be ready to be purified soon as well."
"Mind checking?" Liz asked, holding up Mareep's Pokéball. Michael used the monitor to scan the ball, and saw that Mareep was likely less than another hour away from being purified.
"If the chamber is done when we get home, I think you'll be the first one to purify a Shadow Pokémon with it," he said confidently.
Liz's smile widened as he said that. "Good. I can't wait to see how she turns out when she's normal."
Dr. Krane just smiled in the background, remembering how Lily had been with Sam when they were dating. Sam, I swear, Michael is your carbon copy…you must be as proud as Lily. After all, I'm proud to simply be his uncle.
And that's the chapter. The two Shadows will have their (already revealed) names returned to them next chapter. Plus, Michael and Liz will make their way to Pyrite Town.
Hope you all enjoyed it. As usual, please leave a review letting me know what you thought, and where I can improve. Thank you all for reading.
Until next time ~ jmoul18