TWENTY-EIGHT
Augustine thought that he and Garchomp were making pretty good time. An hour or so of flying had gotten them from Geosenge to the edge of the Lumiose Badlands, and he could see the valley where the Kalos Penitentiary stood. The building itself was barely in view; he could only see its roof, red-brown like the surrounding earth, and with several Flying-type Pokemon perched on top of the roof and surrounding cliffs.
As he and Garchomp drew only slightly nearer to the prison, the other Flying-type Pokemon spread their wings and took flight, soaring towards them as fast as they could go. Team Flare grunts rode on the back of Pidgeot alongside the other Pokemon so they could give orders. When commanded, one Swanna opened its mouth wide and shot an Ice Beam towards Garchomp. The Dragon-type banked hard to the side to avoid being hit, and Augustine clung onto his Pokemon for dear life. None of the Pokemon on the offensive came too close to Garchomp, preferring to send ranged attacks his way. After dodging what felt like the umpteenth Air Slash and Ice Beam and Hydro Pump, Augustine noticed that a Togekiss was now fast approaching.
"Go to the lab," he said to Garchomp, low enough not to be heard. There wasn't any way they would get past all of these Pokemon, he thought dejectedly.
Garchomp shot straight up and did a mid-air corkscrew, going upside down and twisting in the air so he could assume a southbound trajectory towards Lumiose City. He swerved to the side once more, to evade a bright Dazzling Gleam that the Togekiss had shot at him.
Augustine looked back; none of those Pokemon or grunts were following him. He realized that they must have known he was coming . . . and there could possibly be more on the way to the lab.
Garchomp picked up some speed and Augustine wondered if they would make it anywhere in good time. The last of the hazy orange twilight was lingering on the horizon to the west, and in the east the stars had come out to shine. To the south, Prism Tower stood where it usually did, its cannon pointed east towards Unova and giving off a much eerier aura than usual. It must have been the knowledge that the cannon was going to fire again in less than forty-five minutes, according to his watch.
The Abra he kept in the lab could Teleport him into the prison – hopefully. If he could remember the passphrase for it. Was it Arena Trap? Or Trapinch Nest? Dig Diglett Dig? Trio Trio Trio? It had to be one of those, and he would just have to keep trying until he wound up where he wanted to go.
The flight into Lumiose went off without a hitch. To his surprise, the city's sky patrollers just let him pass, and it made him fear what awaited him on the ground. He peered down onto the city streets as Garchomp gradually made his descent, gliding swiftly and gracefully over the Lumiose rooftops; the police and Team Flare presence was as it usually was, and he didn't see anyone waiting in alleyways in preparation for an ambush. For a moment he considered just flying up to Prism Tower and letting Garchomp hack away at the cannon, but there were still plenty of patrolling Pokemon circling it.
The two of them touched down in front of the lab, and Augustine slid off of his Pokemon's back. He frantically turned in a circle, making sure nobody was around to chase him, and then he saw a blur of red-orange, brown, and black zoom his way from the entrance to his lab and ram hard into Garchomp. Garchomp slid and stumbled backward, and the Talonflame that struck him with its Brave Bird attack flew around and back to its Trainer, who was now standing at the top of the stairs leading into the lab. The first thing Augustine noticed was her pink hair.
"I've been expecting you, Augustine," said Malva ominously as Talonflame returned to her side.
"Have you now?" Augustine shot back.
"Yes. The Governor told me you might be heading this way . . . it's a shame, though. I thought you looked good in red. Talonflame, use Brave Bird again."
Talonflame shot off, flying towards Garchomp as fast and hard as it could. When its attacker was within range, Garchomp swiped out an arm, attacking with a Dragon Claw that left a dark gash along Talonflame's wing and knocked it into the pavement.
When he saw that Talonflame was still conscious and struggling to stand up, Augustine said "Garchomp, finish it. Stone Edge." The sharp spires of rock that jutted out from the ground jabbed into Talonflame and fainted the Pokemon.
"Well what do we have here? Professor Sycamore, so mediocre in battle, has some confidence now that he's mastered Mega Evolution himself!" Malva bounded down the stairs as she spoke, recalling Talonflame once she reached the sidewalk. At that moment, several police cars and motorbikes arrived and pulled to a stop several yards away. Augustine watched the officers disembark from their vehicles but stop in their tracks as Malva called out to them. "Don't worry. I have this handled!" She then sent out Chandelure, commanding it to use Confuse Ray.
Confuse Ray hit Garchomp, leaving him to sway and stagger from side to side. After an initial jolt of panic, Augustine took a deep breath and asked himself: how would Serena handle this? What did she do when an opponent's Pokemon confused hers right out of the gate?
"Focus, Garchomp!" he cried impulsively. Malva cackled at him. Garchomp turned his neck, aware that someone had called out to him, but didn't do anything else.
"Shadow Ball," Malva said to her Pokemon. Chandelure created a dark, blobby sphere and sent it flying towards Garchomp, landing a hit in the stomach. Garchomp flinched slightly in response.
"Come on!" Augustine shouted. "Use Dragon Claw!"
Garchomp raised an arm and looked at it, temporarily mesmerized by the sharp curved claw on the end of it. He then thrust the pointed end of the claw into the ground so hard that it too several seconds of wiggling to free it – enough time for Chandelure to hit him with another Shadow Ball.
There was always Blastoise, Augustine told himself as he watched in horror. The crowd of people outside the Pokemon Center crept closer and closer to watch, only being halted in their progress by the police.
"I know you can do it, Garchomp! Try Dragon Claw again!"
That time, the attack hit Chandelure and drove it down into the ground, cracking pavement underneath the fallen Pokemon. With an irritated growl, Malva recalled Chandelure and sent out Torkoal next.
"Garchomp, use Earthquake!" Augustine cried out, hoping for the best. Garchomp snarled and roared at Torkoal, then pounded the tips of his claws into the ground to trigger another localized tremor. The bystanders screamed in shock from being shaken by the Earthquake. The force of the attack was enough to faint Torkoal in one shot, and that feeling Augustine felt in Geosenge - the adrenaline surge, the pure power running through his veins – returned. Her last Pokemon didn't stand a chance.
As soon as Garchomp figured out how to do so in his confusion, he attacked Pyroar using Stone Edge, and the Fire-type fainted in one hit. Malva recalled her fainted Pokemon and shot him a heated glower, hissing through gritted teeth.
"You're still not going anywhere!" she told him, and then she looked towards the police officers. "Do any of you have a spare Pokemon or some medicine? I want to see him burn! And somebody do something about that beast of his!"
Augustine watched one officer approach Malva, handing a Pokeball to her. He glanced over to Garchomp, who had just snapped out of his confusion and managed to stand tall and upright again with claws bared. Another officer sent out a Glaceon, which stared down Garchomp.
"What would Teleurac say if you killed me, Malva?" he asked, trying to sound confident so he could hide the fear building up inside of him. Was she really going to try and kill him?
"You've become a liability, Professor. And honestly, now that we have Serena, I don't think we need you anymore."
Malva raised an arm to throw the Pokeball, but she paused when she heard the cry of a Gardevoir coming from the entrance of the lab. Augustine looked that way, and watched as Diantha touched her Mega Charm to envelop her Pokemon in the pink light that accompanied Mega Evolution.
"I will personally make sure you're next, Malva!" Diantha shouted indignantly as she marched down the stairs, followed by Mega Gardevoir.
Malva cackled maliciously, and waved for the police officers to come closer and form a semicircle around herself, Diantha, and Augustine. "Champion or not, do you know how much trouble you would be in for murdering me?"
"I don't give a damn about that! Three years ago, when your group first caused problems, I should have never stood up for you. I should have never allowed you to keep your spot in the Elite Four. But I did, because I thought you were my friend. I see now that means nothing to you . . . and quite frankly, I wish Augustine here would have left at least one of your Pokemon able to battle, so I could have a go at you!"
Augustine had never seen Diantha so angry before. She looked like she could breathe fire, one hand was clenched into a fist while the other pointed sharply at Malva, and her eyes were narrowed in a blazing fury.
Appearing unaffected by Diantha's words, Malva looked from her to Gardevoir, then to Garchomp, then around to the police present. "What are you fools waiting for? Arrest them!" she yelled wildly, waving her arms at Diantha and Augustine.
Diantha and Gardevoir joined Augustine's side, and the two friends gave each other affirming glances. Those police officers were coming closer to them and sending out their Pokemon. Augustine felt a cold sweat break on his brow as he saw how outnumbered he and Diantha were, but he gritted his teeth in determination.
"Is this part of your grand master plan?" she asked him cheekily.
"Non, I'm making this up as I go along," he confessed, watching the police officer's Glaceon open its mouth in preparation to shoot an Ice Beam at Garchomp. "There's an Abra in my office that can Teleport me to the prison, and Garchomp's fairly good at smashing up – Garchomp, use Stone Edge!" he cried to his Pokemon, who obeyed and used the attack to faint Glaceon.
Malva released the Houndoom loaned to her, and it pounced towards Gardevoir.
"Moonblast!" commanded Diantha, and watched as the bright white beam of light struck and fainted the Houndoom. She turned back to Augustine. "I saw you battling Malva upstairs, and on my way down, I noticed that someone had been in your office. They had gone through your things, and that Abra was just Teleporting back in."
"Really?" an intrigued and baffled Augustine said. Some Team Flare grunts had just arrived on the scene, and they sent out their Pokemon at Malva's command. Three of their Pokemon - Scrafty, Toxicroak, and Golbat – quickly found themselves on the business end of Garchomp's Dragon Claw. Malva had taken a step back to nonchalantly watch the battle of two Mega Evolved Pokemon against Team Flare and the police, until one grunt handed her a Max Revive. She used the Max Revive to heal her Talonflame, and then sent it flying towards the lab. Talonflame flew through one of the windows on the second floor and came out a few seconds later, then up to the third floor, and finally the first floor, leaving the ominous glow of fires inside the building on all three levels.
"NO!" bellowed Augustine, too stunned by the sight of the flames growing inside his lab to consider sending Blastoise out to deal with it. Soon, those inside poured out: Cosette, Sophie, Sina, Dexio, and the others, accompanied by their Pokemon. The fire grew quickly, setting off some explosion on the second floor that blew out a couple of windows and allowed thick black smoke to escape. Malva looked on with a smug, self-satisfied smirk on her face.
"You have nowhere to run now, Professor. No way to go anywhere or rescue anyone," she said, her tone a mix of victorious and grave.
With the breath knocked out of him and his insides feeling tensed up, Augustine looked from Diantha to the staff of his lab. Sina and Dexio had set to work putting out as much of the fire as they could with their Azumarill and Gyarados. There would be time to mourn the loss of his lab and life's work later; right now, Malva had begun to call for backup (specifically Ice, Fairy, and Steel types) and he needed to quickly figure out something to do that didn't get anyone killed.
An Altaria soon flew into view, followed by an Aerodactyl. With the use of Ancientpower and Dragon Pulse, the two Pokemon sent the police vehicles flying into the air and rolling around, clearing a path for a scratched-up black SUV with dents in the front fender to come to a sudden halt in front of Garchomp. The passenger side window rolled down to reveal Trevor.
"Get in, you two!" he hollered to Augustine and Diantha. The two of them recalled their Pokemon and made a break for the SUV, each diving into the backseat after Calem opened the door for them. It was a tight fit, squeezing four people into the backseat, but as soon as the door was shut Shauna slammed her foot on the gas pedal and made the car zoom off again. Augustine looked out the window; they had left the lab staff behind, but the police and Team Flare seemed more interested in watching them drive away. Calem and Trevor both reached out of their respective windows to recall their Pokemon.
"What are you all doing?" Augustine asked his four former students, gripping onto the edge of his seat. The speed at which Shauna was driving felt dangerous to him.
"Trying to avoid people who want to arrest us," said Shauna, her brow furrowed in concentration. "All the gates out of the city are closed, and we don't have enough Flying-type Pokemon to try flying out, so we just did a lap around the city." She glanced up to the rearview mirror, noting the flashing lights of police cars in pursuit.
"Wait – what did you do?" inquired Diantha.
"Eh, nothing major," said Tierno casually. "We just broke Serena out of prison, that's all."
"Well where is she now?!" Augustine blurted out. Calem shot him an icy look.
"She's in their super secret HQ under the city, looking for her Pokemon and preparing to break that cannon before it fires," said Calem.
"Why didn't you all go with her?" Augustine pressed. He could only imagine what was happening underground at that moment, which included visions of her Charizard setting things on fire followed by Greninja lobbing Water Shurikens at everything in sight, and Ampharos shooting wicked Thunderbolts.
"She wanted us to get out of here, probably thinking that we'd be safer if we left the city," said Trevor.
"I hate to be blunt, Professor, but I don't think you're really one to talk when it comes to ensuring Serena's well-being." Calem snapped. Shauna turned left suddenly, causing everyone to lean and slide to the right. They were all now heading through an alley, and luckily nobody followed them that way.
Feeling all eyes on him, even Shauna's through the rearview mirror, Augustine hung his head in shame. "It's complicated, the circumstances. But . . . you don't want or need to hear that. It doesn't justify anything I've done. I'm sorry for what I did, and I want to do the right thing now, for both Serena and Kalos. Shauna, if you can let me out at the earliest opportunity, I need to find a way to get down there."
There was an uneasy silence as everyone looked at Augustine, silently judging him and trying to figure out whether or not they should accept his apology. He honestly didn't expect them to forgive him.
"Sure, you can go find another way into their headquarters. But I'm not letting you leave my sight, Professor," said Calem bluntly.
"That's fair, I suppose," replied Augustine.
The alleyway reached a fork, one way going left and the other right. "Which way?" Shauna asked, looking in the rearview mirror and seeing the distant flashes of lights on police bikes.
"Let's split up," suggested Trevor. "We'll meet at the café later tonight as planned."
Shauna put the car in park and looked back to Calem. "Which way do you want to go?" she asked him.
"Left," said Calem, "and we'll take Professor Sycamore with us. We should all try to find a way underground to their HQ, even if we don't all get there together." He opened his door and hopped out, then waited for Augustine to climb over Diantha and Tierno to join him. Shauna then disembarked the car, and the three of them watched as Trevor, Tierno, and Diantha got out of the car to take the right-leading fork.
As he ran down the increasingly narrowing alley with Shauna and Calem, Augustine checked his watch. It was seven fifty-five, five minutes before the cannon fired . . . unless the unlikely happened and Oria had surrendered. Calem stayed several steps behind Augustine, keeping his eyes trained on the Professor and a Pokeball clenched in his hand.
"Which way should we go?" Calem asked Augustine. The Professor thought for a moment: he had no means of accessing an Abra for teleportation, and all of the above-ground entrances had been filled in . . . except for one, which was concealed by a cinderblock wall that Garchomp could easily smash through.
"Magenta Plaza," he said. "There used to be a way in through Lysandre Labs. Garchomp can break the wall down and we're in."
The three of them continued moving for a couple of minutes, heading north through winding side roads and alleys. Shauna stopped suddenly and looked to the sides until she decided to turn left. "It's right there!" she declared, pointing down another stretch of alleyway. She led the other two that way, into the open space of Magenta Plaza. A light streamed through an open window from a nearby house, allowing some illumination so that the purple obelisk in the middle of the plaza could be seen. Two Flare Grunts were standing around the Plaza, checking their Holo Casters for a message or the time. Shauna, Calem, and Augustine dashed by them, running to the café with the red storefront and boarded up doorway. Calem sent out his Chesnaught, who tore off the boards over the door so he and the others could enter.
Before he went into the former Café Lysandre, Augustine looked up at Prism Tower. He noticed that the cannon was no longer pointed east, but rather straight up into the sky. It was curious to him that this had happened, and he tried to search for a reason why Teleurac would change the weapon's trajectory all of the sudden.
"Come on, Professor!" Just as Calem and Shauna pulled him into the café, the powerful red beam erupted from the cannon, shooting vertically into the air.