Autumn: *lying down on Tyler's lap* Erm…Tyler, don't you think letting her drive is a bit…reckless?
Tyler: *strokes Autumn* Naww, she'll be alright. I'm sure of it. She's been going at it for a few weeks, there's no question she's already got the hang of it now!
*car zooms by*
Tyler: See? Perfectly fine. Welcome back to Roadtrip! Long story short, I flunked my exams which has gotten me pretty down since I have a target to reach. So now, it's a bit further than previous, which was already pretty far away. I feel like I'm not trying my best and I hate that. So, however odd this may seem, I'm sorry mom and dad. I'll try harder.
Tyler: With that out of the way, I would also like to ask for reviews cause I really enjoy reading them, whether it be praise or criticism! Don't hesitate! Anyways, let's get to the meat and potatoes; the chapter itself!
Autumn: Jewel? W-wait, where's the car?
Jewel: Uhh…
Disclaimer: Still not the CEO of a multinational games and entertainment company.
"Damn." Lucas muttered with Vince and Amanda beside him, along with Sol, Julius, Spring, Daisy, Oli and Tesla. The group continued to stare down their ambushers, especially the Electrivires.
Lucas scowled slightly and fit his cap a bit more snuggly onto his head, Vince scrunched his eyebrows and fixed his collar and Amanda looked around rapidly. Sol entered a fighting stance which he had done plenty of times before, Julius raised his paws with his aura sensors twitching slightly, Spring puffed her cotton, Daisy hissed and expanded her belly pattern, Oli prepared to fly and Tesla began sparking. They knew a battle would occur, it was now a matter of who'll start it.
"Safe to say we found the root cause, huh?" Amanda said with both Lucas and Vince nodded. She then looked at Julius straight in the eye with him nodding afterwards. Lucas whispered something to Oli who smiled and nodded as well. Vince made a circling motion with his hand which Daisy understood.
All of a sudden, one of the Electrivires roared which caused the group of Magnemites and Magneton to assault their group. Thankfully, their attack was divided into three manageable divisions, one for each Trainer.
Sol launched engulfed himself in a fire before crashing straight into the group in front of him, their attempts to dodge partly futile as he took out a couple of Magnemites instantly. As electricity began to arc and zap, the Infernape dodged them nimbly which was no easy feat as electric attacks are known to be hard to dodge. Unfortunately, he was roughly struck with a Thunder Punch from the Electrivire, knocking him back and opening him up to a barrage of Thunderbolts, of them a few hit home. Lucas frowned as he thought of a plan.
Julius ran head first into the fray, dodging the flurry of Thunderbolts, Sparks and Charge Beams launched at him. Then he threw a hard Power Up Punch straight into a Magneton, splitting it down into Magnemites as it impacted the wall a few feet away. Spring unleashed a veil of spores that attached themselves onto the attacking, slowing a few of them down. However, that didn't last long as they were resistant to Grass type attacks. Fortunately for her, most of the attacks produced enough turbulence to push her away, effectively dodging them. Unfortunately for both her and Julius, the Magnemites had other ideas and discharged a wave of electricity, paralyzing both of them. Amanda's eyes widened.
Daisy hissed loudly as her eyes flashed, baring her fangs and expanding her pattern. This petrified a few Magnemites and Magneton, making them easy targets for her tail. It struck them head on, knocking them out with a clang and clatter. Oli on the other hand wasn't fairing all that well, as the onslaught of Thunderbolts hampered his movements and caused plenty of damage when they struck. Though, he was able to land a few hits with Acrobatics, which didn't do much on the stronger Magnetons but dealt sufficient damage. Cleverly, Vince ordered Tesla to stay close to Oli. This was because Tesla's attacks were ineffective against the Electric types but his ability made him impervious to them as well. Thus, he became some sort of shield for Oli which Tesla himself didn't mind as he enjoyed the jolts of electricity, being an Electric type and all.
"FS Now!" Lucas commanded with strong conviction in his voice, that of which only a Champion had. Sol simply nodded and spun himself around whilst simultaneously engulfing himself in flame, trapping a few Magnemite and Magneton in the fiery inferno, dealing plenty of damage.
Unfortunately, his streak would end soon as one of the the Electrivires flanked Daisy and threw a Thunder Punch, striking the purple snake hard and subsequently knocking her into Sol, both of them hitting the concrete floor hard. A stray Thunderbolt shot straight through the crowd, barely striking Vince as he ducked under it.
"Holy- That was cl-" Vince spoke before being struck by a tossed Magnemite, courtesy of Julius. He groaned as he landed roughly on the ground, possibly incapacitated for the time being. Julius gritted his teeth at the sight while narrowly missing another Thunder Punch. The Electrivires have no intention of letting up.
"Arceus damn. Sol, FB config 1, now!" Lucas commanded as he dropped prone, covering his ears as a flurry of unholy screeches emanated from the Magnemites. Sol, who was still trying his best to dodge the onslaught, obliged. As an opening emerged, Sol launched himself sky high before engulfing himself in flame yet again, though this one burned hotter and brighter than before. He plunged himself downwards into the crowd, an onslaught of flame licked at the Magnemites and Magneton, effectively melting them and rendering them useless. As the heat died down, there were only a few silhouettes left standing. Six friendly, three hostile.
Julius helped Sol up as he was panting hard. Together, they regrouped along with Daisy, Oli, Tesla and Spring. Lucas looked at Sol with an apologetic frown before pulling a Hyper Potion from his satchel.
"Sorry, but we had to clear the room as fast as possible. Those three would be hard to beat otherwise." Lucas explained while spraying Sol with the Hyper Potion. Sol sighed and gave an understanding nod. After that, Sol took up his spot in front of Lucas.
"Any ideas, Amanda?" Julius asked with a cold glare still directed at the Electrivire. Amanda herself was busy treating Vince who was still unconscious. Daisy was on the fence about either helping her beloved trainer or continue to fight without his guidance. All in all, the situation improved and worsened at the same time. Lucas looked around as the Electrivire surrounded them.
"Aura Sphere on that one!" She yelled. A sphere of energy formed rapidly in Julius' right paw, crackling with blue aura. Right as it reached the maximum size of a basketball, Julius launched it straight for the Electrivire, striking true as it has a 100% hit chance. The Electrivire charged at them and pounded the ground in front of Julius, shattering it and shaking the building violently. Julius took the full brunt of the attack, dealing significant damage, although he was still standing.
"ON YOUR LEFT!" Amanda yelled with Julius barely dodging the charging Eletrivire, the air whooshing by. It was around this moment that Vince regained his consciousness.
"Ugh, where- oh crap!" He yelled as a piece of concrete almost struck him.
"Gotcha!" Lucas yelled. Sol swiftly shifted his position and rushed at the Electrive who hadn't stopped yet. Sol reeled back and threw a Mach Punch, dealing incredible damage to the Electrivire as it struck it's head directly, immediately knocking it out. The two remaining Electrivire roared loudly as electricity arced and sparked from their body. Lucas' eyes widened as he realized what they were doing. Boosted Wild Charge.
"SCATTER!" Lucas yelled which prompted everyone to break off from the main group. And not a moment too soon as both Electrivire charged at their last position. Without adequate room to stop, they crashed right into the back wall, narrowly missing a row of generators. This left them open for an attack and this time, it would end the battle for good.
"Spring, Cotton Spore!"
"Oli, Rock Slide!"
"FS!"
The first attack that landed was a flurry of white spore particles which dotted both Electrivires. Their eyes went wide as they found their movement hampered significantly. Then came a barrage of rocks from the sky, crashing into them with dull thuds and cracks. Coming at the tail end of the attack was twister of flame, scorching them. As the attacks subsided, all that was left were two unconscious but thankfully still alive Electrivire.
Lucas breathed a sigh of relief while fixing his hat. Amanda exhaled and sat down on the ground with Julius limping his way to her, bearing a proud smile. Spring floated to her side as well, having suffered little damage. Vince rubbed his head where he was struck and looked around, assessing the damage while Daisy slithered over to him, followed closely by Oli and Tesla who jumped off the Flying / Rock Type's back.
All the generators seemed to be intact, with only a couple suffering mild damage. Lucas walked over to the control panel before waving Vince over. With Vince's technical know-how, they managed to reboot the system and reestablish a steady stream of electricity.
"Well, I hope that fixes things." Vince said as he and Lucas walked over to where Amanda was. As they approached, Amanda stood up with a relieved look on her face.
"If that didn't, I dunno what will." She added truthfully. It was then that Lucas had a phone call. After a short chat, he hung up with a pleased look on his slightly aged face.
"Hearthome's power levels are green now. Now, I do wonder how the others are doing at the Observatory?" Lucas rhetorically asked as the three of them and their Pokemon exited the power station.
…
Sirens were blaring as a red tinted light flashed throughout the concrete corridors. A medley of footsteps could be heard pitter patter through the hall, followed by the heavier thumps of work boots. Tyler was running as fast as his two feet can take him, effectively trying to keep up with Jewel and Autumn who were in front. This was no easy feat considering he had to carry the creature as well since it hadn't regained consciousness. Thankfully, Noir helped lighten his burden by carrying it as well.
"How much further!?" Jewel yelled back at Tyler as they quickened their pace. Tyler, who by now was panting a bit, pointed at an intersection roughly fifty meters in front of them.
"There! C'mon, just a- woah!" Tyler said before being interrupted by Jewel who launched a volley of stars behind him, striking a Skuntank who was getting too close for comfort. A Shadow Ball flew by him and Noir, exploding a few meters in front of them. Thankfully, they kept their balance and continued running, eventually reaching the intersection and turning right.
As the Grunts turned the corner, they were met by nothing. Tyler and the rest seemingly disappeared which frustrated them greatly. All of a sudden, a tail emerged in the far distance behind them which got their attention and instigated the pursuit yet again.
When the footsteps became inaudible, Tyler breathed a sigh of relief. He was grateful of Noir's ability. Immediately, he tapped his translator.
"Samuel? Josh? You there? Whisper, don't talk."
"I'm here, hiding inside a crate. I didn't think they'd catch onto us that quickly, though."
"FUCK FUCK FUCK- I'M AT UHHH- HOLY SHIT."
In the distance, Tyler could hear the frantic sounds of footsteps being chased by a larger group of footsteps. Tyler scrunched his eyebrows as he thought of a plan. Jewel wrapped a ribbon around his arm, calming him down and allowing him to think more clearly. It wasn't long until he reached a possible plan.
"I've got it. Sam, where exactly are you?"
"Hold on, let me check… Sector 3T."
Tyler looked at a nearby pillar which had 'Sector 3L'. Another pillar roughly fifty meters away had 'Sector 3M' on it.
"Alright, here's the plan. We meet up at 3O and then we go after Sam. How about it?"
"That may work. Let's do it."
Tyler nodded as he ended his transmission. He looked back to the others.
"We better hurry. Sam might be a good runner, but he isn't Usain Bolt." He said as all of them began sprinting under Noir's illusion. At certain times as they ran, he could hear footsteps getting closer and further, even passing the occasional guard that ran past them to join the pursuit. They also ran past a large glass room at Sector 3N.
Finally, Tyler's group reached Sector 3O. Much to his relief, Sam and Ruby arrived not long after. They noticed an empty room beside them and slipped inside, closing the door behind them. Sam and Ruby gave Tyler a questioning look but decided to ask him later.
"Thank Arceus, how the hell did you manage to evade them all?" Tyler asked as he leaned against the wall to catch his breath. It was then he noticed all the scuffs and small patches of grime on Sam and Ruby.
"We managed to find a vent strong enough for both of us to crawl through." Sam explained with Ruby nodding and grimacing.
"They were really dirty…" She said with a frown with Tyler and the others chuckling in response. However, they returned to the situation on hand quickly.
"Who's that?" Josh asked while pointing to the creature Tyler and Noir were holding, Tyler placed him down on the floor as it was definitely more comfortable than a shoulder.
"We found him being tortured by those fuckers. I just had that feeling again and so here we are. He's been through a lot." Tyler said as he looked at the creature with pity. A silence came over the group, though it was broken by a more pressing matter. Sam was still in danger. Tyler pressed into his translator yet again.
"Sam, sam? You there?"
"OF FUCKING COURSE I AM. SHIT MAN, THEY'RE GETTING CLOSER. *flame crackling* *door creaking then slamming shut* Haahh… yeah. Phew, shit. Okay okay…. I think I lost them for the time being. Where are you guys?"
"Pretty close by I think."
Samuel and Helios turned around with a surprised look. Turns out they both decided to hide in the room Josh and Tyler were in. Sam exhaled and slumped to the floor, followed by Helios. Ruby walked over to Helios and bopped his nose, much to his displeasure and the other's amusement. Samuel noticed the unknown creature Tyler had brought in.
"Woah woah, who is that?" Samuel asked in a confused tone. And so, Tyler retold yet again his tale. At the end of it all, Samuel nodded with a mix of pity and anger in his eyes. Pity for the creature and anger for….
"You two are assholes." Samuel said as he sat, leaning his back against the wall. Josh raised his eyebrows and Tyler looked genuinely offended.
"I had been running for thirty minutes." Samuel complained in which Tyler and Josh simply replied with a simultaneous sigh as they knew he was right. It was kinda assholey of them to not find him before regrouping.
"Fair enough, fair enough. Now, how the hell do we get out?" Tyler asked to no one in particular. The group fell silent in thought for a few moments.
It was then an idea struck Autumn.
"I think I remember seeing an…um… control room I think? We went past it as we ran over here. Maybe we can err… find a way out there?" Autumn suggested nervously. At this, Samuel snapped his fingers.
"I saw a big ass gate with FG on it as I passed by here. Who knows, maybe the controls in the control room can open that shit up?" Samuel added with Tyler finally realizing something.
"That big glass room! I think that must be the control room you're talking about, right?" Tyler concluded to which Autumn replied with a nod.
"Yeah! That's the one. Though, I didn't really noticed any easy ways of getting in there…sorry." Autumn apologized with Tyler rubbing her fur. Out of the blue, the creature they had rescued began to shift in its spot, regaining consciousness. Immediately, everyone turned their attention to it.
"Hurt. Painful." A metallic voice spoke, akin to that of a monotone intercom operator. The creature's eyes fluttered open and immediately it noticed that it was no longer shackled and bound to the test tube. His eyes widened.
"Freedom. Free." He muttered before looking around. His eyes widened substantially at the sight of the others inside the same room as he was.
"WHO!?" He yelled with a tremendous roar loud enough to force everyone to cover their ears. Tyler took a brave step closer and took his hands off of his ears.
"Calm down, alright? I'm Tyler and these are my friends. I was the one who rescued you from the test tube. Also, don't be too loud. They might hear us." Tyler said in a slightly hushed tone as he sat down in front of the creature. The creature took a step back.
"Why? How?" He asked with Tyler smiling lightly in response. The truth was, this smile was not just fueled by the relief that the creature didn't immediately freak out but it was also fueled by the possibility of revenge against Team Galactic.
"I saw what they did to you. Your creators didn't care about your wellbeing, am I right?" Tyler asked nicely. Due to the mask the creature was wearing, Tyler couldn't properly gauge his reaction. However, the calculating look in his eyes told more than enough.
"What. Care?" The creature asked in confusion, which tied Tyler's stomach in knots.
How…How can anyone be that cruel?
"Care is when someone doesn't want someone else getting hurt or being sad. Care is when they want to know about your problems and your downfalls. Care is when they are willing to help even though it might not reward them. I know your creators didn't care, did they?" Tyler asked as he got onto his knee. The creature slowly shook his head.
"No." He simply said.
"Do you want anyone to care?" Tyler asked as he looked straight into the creature's eyes. The creature slowly nodded.
"Yes." He spoke with a slight hint of emotion, though it was hard to detect. Tyler gave him a warm smile and stood up.
"Don't worry. We care about you. Now everyone, I think it's time for us to get out of this place. Whaddya say?" Tyler said as he crossed his arms and looked around, an air of authority descending upon him. Samuel laughed as he got off the wall.
"Didn't think you'd make a good motivational speaker, Ty. Shit, you even got the perfect amount of pretentiousness too." Sam joked, punching Tyler's shoulder lightly. Tyler chuckled as he rubbed his shoulder as he forgot he had hurt it roughly a week ago.
"Let's get moving now." Tyler suggested as he exited the room, everyone following his lead closely. As they walked, Tyler noticed the creature who was still apprehensive on following them.
"Hey hey, what's wrong?" Tyler asked as he turned around to face the creature. The creature tilted his head slightly.
"Cannot. Leave." The creature responded which confused Tyler.
"Why?" He asked.
"Ordered." The creature said with a somewhat downtrodden tone. Tyler though about it for a moment before digging into his backpack, proceeding to clasp his hands around an item. He then revealed it to be a Poke Ball.
"Do you know what this is?" Tyler asked with a small smile. The creature shook his head.
"It's a Poke Ball. It's one of the things that binds Pokemon to their Trainers." He explained while jutting a thumb to Jewel, Autumn and Noir who waved at the creature.
"However, it's not the only one. The other is trust. You need more help than ever now and I can see that. I'll offer you the help you need. However, it's all down to you. Do you trust me?" Tyler asked sincerely. The creature just stared into his eyes, not moving a muscle. For a moment, Tyler felt the seed of doubt grow in his mind.
Of course he doesn't, who am I kidding? Waking up in a room surrounded by strangers wouldn't be the b-
"Yes." The creature replied with a nod. Tyler was thrown off his train of thought, though he was far from being annoyed.
"Thank you. This might feel weird for a second." Tyler said with a smile before tapping the Poke Ball on the creature, sucking him in. The ball didn't shake much and no longer than a few seconds later, it let out a click. Tyler immediately released the creature, who was surprised by the odd sensation of being inside and outside the ball.
"Last que-" Tyler spoke before being interrupted by the sounds of rapidly approaching footsteps.
"Shit, go go!" Tyler ordered as everyone ran down the hallways, their escape attempt masked by Noir's Illusions. Thought this time it was more difficult as there were more people and Pokemon to conceal. Nevertheless, she handled her part well.
The group made their way down the long hallways, corridors and sectors rapidly, trying not to make too much unnecessary sound or movements for the sake of concealment, as Noir's ability worked less effectively on large groups.
Not long after, the finally reached Sector 3N. The large glass room was in sight. As silent as can be, they slipped into the glass room. Laid out in front of them was a whole array of switches, knobs, dials and levers.
"Alright, let's see here….Aha!" Tyler exclaimed as he tugged on a lever labeled 'Front Gate'. Tyler himself took a shot in the dark and just assumed FG was short for 'Front Gate'.
Fortunately, the screen indicated that the Front Gate had been opened successfully. Unfortunately, they had no idea where it was. Even worse still, a group of Grunt diverged on their position, possibly because they knew that the Front Gate can only be operated from the control room.
Sure enough, the alarms blared yet again, this time on the inside of the control room as well. The sudden loud sound caused Noir to lose focus for a while. During the time that her illusion was down, a grunt spotted them trying to exit the room.
"There they are! After them! Don't let them get to the gate!" A grunt yelled with the rest running after them. Tyler looked over to Josh and Samuel who nodded.
"Jewel, Swift! Autumn, Flamethrower behind us! Noir, Shadow Ball behind as well!" Tyler commanded. Jewel flashed a grin as she secretly wanted to fight the entire time. Autumn was her usual slightly awkward self but upon hearing Tyler's command, she couldn't help but smile excitedly as well.
A surge of pink stars combined with an intense river of flame shot at the Grunts and their Pokemon, not necessarily to damage them but to slow them down as they ran. Noirs' barrage of Shadow Balls served a similar purpose, buying them adequate time for a proper getaway.
The group ran as fast as they could. In the far distance, they could see sunlight pouring through the opened gate. Escape was in sight. However, to reach said escape meant barging through a line of Grunts and their Pokemon. Tyler had a plan, however.
From the Grunt's perspective, there was nothing to be seen or heard in the main corridor in front of them. The commotion had directed itself to a corridor that lead them away from their position, giving them a chance to relax a bit.
"Man, what type of bozo just ups and tries to break into here?" One grunt asked.
"Dunno man, must be some actual retards." Another replied.
Out of the blue, a barrage of Shadow Balls impacted the ground in front of them, covering the corridor in thick black smoke. With their sight concealed by the smoke, they didn't have a clear visual of Tyler and the others, which Tyler took advantage of by punching the grunt in the face.
"That's for calling us retards." He spat before the others could make sense of what was happening. As they ran outside, they happen to notice where they were. They were now right by a flight of stairs that lead to the main road towards the Observatory.
Still under the cover of Noir's illusion, the group hastily made their way to their cars. After recalling the creature and fumbling inside, the blue Subaru, white BMW and gray Porsche sped off into the distance.
"Arceus, that was NOT what I was expecting." Tyler said with a deep exhaled as he drove through the roads of midtown Veilstone, getting as far away from the Observatory as possible while simultaneously heading for the Pokecenter. Jewel, Autumn and Noir showed their various signs of agreement.
"You said it! It was sooo much fun, though!" Jewel chirped happily with a surprising amount of energy. Tyler chuckled as he lowered his speed after noticing that they were far enough away from there.
"Oh, I hope that doesn't happen again…" Autumn mumbled shyly and truthfully. Tyler can't help but agree.
"Today was probably the most physically taxing day of my entire life….. Do you have any idea how exhausting it is trying to maintain an illusion for that long?" Noir mumbled tiredly as exhaustion began to overcome her.
"Well, no. I'm not the Zoroark, here." Tyler joked with Noir giving an unimpressed 'hmph' in reply. The occupants of the car began laughing lightly as the Pokecenter came into view.
Phew, finally finished! Man, this chapter took a long time to write. I had a few blocks here and there, so sorry if it seems like a big mess. Well, that's all for this chapter. I'll see you all in the next one! Bruhmeister out!
Jewel: I…uh… crashed it into a ditch.
Tyler: Oh well.
Autumn: You're… not mad about your car being crashed?
Tyler: Who said it was mine?
Sam: HOLY FUCK