"Damn, boy. I guess you got me good." The worker sighed, his Steelix falling to the ground with a resounding thud after the tenth Vacuum Wave in a row. Cyrus nodded, retreating Riolu and stepping forward to shake hands with the man- a thirty-something burly iron worker, whose hand was so large he could close his fist around Cyrus' entire hand.
"It was a well-fought match." Cyrus offered. "However, your Pokémon relies too much on its physical superiority, and doesn't handle being outside of melee well."
"Yeah, yeah…" the man sighed. "Oni's not really a fighter, to be honest. Caught him when I was a kid, and then slapped on him a metal coat offered by this job. To be honest, I'm not really cut out for this, I mostly came in so I could evolve him. Owed it to my buddy."
"If you want to make the most of him in a battle, I suggest learning ways to either force the opponent in melee, like Dig, or learning some projectile moves." He informed, before scanning his Pokédex against the man's phone to receive his victory payout. It was mostly a formality, but any money he could get would act as a lubricant to his trainer career.
"Cy!" He turned around, hearing Palmer's annoying voice shout out suddenly, and saw his friend hurrying towards him.
"Palmer. Have your fights gone well? Or are you asking me to heal your Pokémon again?"
"What, no way! That was like… just the once," he muttered, as Cyrus rolled his eyes at him. Right after their battle, Palmer had challenged a dangerously strong Floatzel that had taken offense to them setting up camp and fighting near the river that was its home. That wasn't the issue in and of itself. Palmer was an adequate trainer in terms of guiding his Pokémon in battle, and against a tactics-less wild Pokémon, his Milotic could likely come out on top.
What had annoyed Cyrus to no end was the fact that Palmer went into that fight with Rhyhorn. Two Aqua Pulses later, the predictable outcome of such a matchup was enforced, as was the Floatzel's decision to chase them away from their camp.
At the very least, they'd eaten before it happened. But still, that forced Cyrus to waste precious resources- since apparently, Palmer thought that food, Pokéballs, and a bedroll were all one needed in order to go out on a training trip. Cyrus felt that he had to amend his thoughts from earlier; clearly, Palmer was an adequate battler, but a terrible planner, and that alone made him a mediocre trainer. With their resources exhausted, they had no more healing availability for their Pokémon.
"What is it, then?" Cyrus sighed, somewhat thankful that Palmer was not being a drain on his resources, at the very least.
"Well, I've been looking for a bit for others to battle, but it doesn't seem like anyone out there is willing to battle anymore or has the Pokémon to do so…" Palmer shrugged. "Honestly, even if the Steel types were tough to punch through, they were also not very challenging."
"Hmmm. Well, we might as well get on with what I was planning to do after, then." Cyrus smirked, placing his hands in his pockets. Feeling the shift of energy, Palmer glanced with a raised eyebrow.
"I thought we were just supposed to be doing some battling here?" he asked.
"Oh, we certainly were. However, I'll have you know that having done some research on this place ahead, Flint'n Steelworks is one of the major pollutant factories in all of Sinnoh… as well as the major buyer of Star Pieces. And considering that one of the main reasons Galactic Energy was founded is to reduce the pollution that threatened to overtake this region. While my father achieved this through deals with Devon in order to bring Infinity Energy to Sinnoh, there are still some key sources of pollutants. As Lab Trainers, we are allowed to perform inspections on places such as this… and as such, having battled all the workers here allows us to conduct it in peace. They don't have the Pokémon to stop us from doing what we have to, and legally, we're perfectly in the right."
"Dude… that's kinda messed up." Palmer frowned. "So we've been using all these battles just to make messing with them easier?"
"Being efficient is about making the most out of what you have. We've trained, and now, we're getting business done." Cyrus shrugged. "If it soothes your conscience, these people are hurting a ton of innocent Pokémon through their factory. Just because they were friendly doesn't mean that they're good people."
Palmer frowned but didn't say anything more. With that, Cyrus approached the workers, who had bunched up together around the entrance to the old, rickety factory- eating, chatting, and laughing. As Cyrus approached, the guy he just defeated looked up.
"Yes? You kids have already taken our lunch money- metaphorically." The man grumbled. "What do you want more? We can't battle you anymore."
"I was wondering if you could show me around the premises of the factory. I have here a set of reports that detail abnormal activity, an increase in pollutants released by this factory for over 1200% in the past several years, and an abnormal amount of Star Pieces purchased."
"...well, what about it, kid? We are a privately owned company. What we do inside is our own business."
"Actually, as a lab researcher sent by Professor Rowan, I have a permit to conduct a search of the premises as long as it is within reasonable suspicion that there are illegal activities taking place within." Cyrus' look turned sharper.
"Hey, what's going on out here?" Suddenly, a figure strode out of the building, its chimney ceasing its smoke-belching shortly after. He was a blonde man, dressed in a blue leather jacket with large gold studs and dark blue jeans. If Cyrus didn't know better, he'd be inclined to believe this man and Palmer were related; as it was, however, Cyrus was just confused.
"Mr. Volkner?" Palmer asked, confused. "This is not your property." This man was the head of the Pokétch company, someone his father often had business discussions due to sharing circles where people rubbed elbows, before joining the professor.
"Palmer? What'cha doing with the Akagi kid?" The man tilted his head. "Huh, you've grown a little since we've met. What's this I'm hearing about a pair of trainers harassing the workers here?"
Maybe they were related after all.
Cyrus blinked but regained his compure. "Well, as I was saying, I'm here to conduct an audit on the building as it is operating outside of the agreed-upon norms-"
"The factory's having a dysfunction. Rest assured that it will be repaired in due time." Another figure stepped out. This one had the tacky combination of a leather jacket, a white collar shirt, and a red afro. He also seemed pretty stressed about them being here.
"Still, I believe it best if we were to inspect the interior. Might be that the trouble is worse than it looks. Best to have an outside pair of eyes on it." Cyrus pressed.
All pretense of civility dropped, "Scram, kid, if you know what's good for you. This isn't a playground for children to pretend to be cops."
Cyrus' eyes narrowed. And despite how silly the concept was, he couldn't help but remember something as he and Palmer side by side stared at Volkner and Flint in the eyes. When two trainers' eyes meet, they must battle.
Cyrus' hand fell to his belt, as he glanced towards Palmer. The boy's own hand was going towards his 3rd and last Pokéball, and he nodded as he went for his partner. He'd been tempted to sacrifice the Riolu to test the waters, but the last thing he wanted to do was have infighting happen right now.
"I don't believe I will. How about we settle this with a two versus two Pokémon battle instead?" he asked. "Me and Palmer versus you and Volkner."
"Now, I don't think-" Volkner began, but Flint snorted.
"Bring it. Honestly, I've been looking for an excuse to let loose."
In short order, a field was decided and the battle was set up, with one of the factory workers refereeing the match.
"Uh… This is a three on three… on three on three matches." The worker said awkwardly. "Subs are not allowed; if you do, the Pokémon is declared out for the count." All of them nodded their understanding. "Go, then."
"Ready position, Murkrow," Cyrus called.
"Let's jolt this into action, Pikachu!" Volkner cheered.
"Gabite, let's show them what we're made of!" Palmer shouted.
"...go, Flareon," Flint grumbled out. Even compared to Cyrus' own professional style, this just seemed drab and uninspired. Volkner seemed to think so too, if the way he glanced back at his partner in askance was anything to go by.
"GO!"
"To the skies."
"Don't get distracted!" Palmer shouted. "Gabite, smack that Pikachu with-"
"Fake out, Pikachu!" Volkner called. "Before it can take off!"
Even without calling out who it was targeting directly, the lightning rodent zoomed across the battlefield, closing the distance in an instant as it clapped two lightning-filled paws together in front of Murkrow's face, causing it to flinch.
"Quick Attack, press the advantage!" Flint roared, seemingly getting a bit of life back into him as he saw his partner get up and personal to Murkrow. In the blink of an eye, both of their opponents had blitzed into their side of the field before their own Pokémon even had the chance to do anything.
"Get them off of Murkrow, Gabite! Bulldoze!" Palmer finally got his wits about himself. With a primal roar, the dragon raised its foot and slammed it down onto the ground. Cyrus had to take a knee to not lose his footing with the proximity of the move, but thankfully due to its lightweight and typing, Murkrow was able to not only not take damage from it, but use it as a springboard to kick off the ground- though it lost a bit of altitude as its muscles suddenly seized up for a moment. Damn it. That Pikachu had gotten him with paralysis.
Thankfully, the other two Pokémon didn't come out of it unscathed either. With the terrain breaking up below them, Flareon and Pikachu seemed to be struggling, and the more lightweight of the two, Pikachu, was tossed into the air after a particularly harsh shockwave.
"Punish it, Murkrow, Wing Attack!"
"You too, Gabite! Dual Chop!"
"Defend yourself, Pikachu! Iron Tail!"
"Flamethrower on the Gabite, disrupt it!"
Once more, almost synchronized orders were called, the proof that the combatants were true trainers, and their effects resolved in a battle of strategies- as Murkrow divebombed the airborne Pikachu, slower than Cyrus would've liked, Gabite ignored the Flamethrower in favor of looking at the rodent. However, if the wince that caused was anything to go by, Gabite had been burned. As the three Pokémon met in the middle, the Pikachu was able to slam its tail and parry away the claws, but it was slammed into the ground by the Murkrow.
As the dust cleared, the Pikachu was clearly knocked out, eyes spinning. The Pokémon took their distance, looking wary.
"Pikachu is no longer able to battle!" The ref called.
As the red beam of the Pokéball retrieved his knocked-out companion, Volkner smiled. "Damn, you boys really aren't playing around anymore." he grinned. "Well-"
"Stop trying to make friends out of them, man." Flint punched his friend's shoulder. "They're trying to mess up my stuff."
"...right." Volkner coughed. "Let's just get to it."
"Hey, doesn't this look… weird, to you?" Palmer leaned in to whisper. Cyrus nodded. Of course this was weird. "I don't think Volkner's a bad guy."
"Could stand to show it a little better by not opposing a lawful search of the premises," Cyrus grumbled in return. Anything Palmer had to say in return however was interrupted.
"Go, Magneton!"
"Evasive maneuvers, Murkrow."
As the trainers got ready, Volkner grinned at Flint, who nodded seriously. "Helping Hand/Electro Ball." They said as one. Flareon sat down, waving its tail in a rhythmic pattern as its energy seemed to transfer to the Magneton's electricity.
"Bulldoze, again!" Palmer called out in a panic, but Cyrus closed his eyes. As his Murkrow's wings locked up, he already knew he was not getting out of that supercharged Electro Ball, and after a moment, his best Pokémon was shot out of the sky. By the time it began plummeting to the ground, Cyrus' hand had already snapped out to project the red beam before it could hit the ground.
"Murkrow can no longer battle! It's one to one!"
"Wash them away, Rotom," he commanded, snapping a glare up at the opposing trainers. "Keep the Magneton off of me."
Palmer nodded. "Dragon Rush the Magneton! Grab onto it!" he ordered, and even through the burns covering its body, Gabite roared to the skies before coating herself in dragon energy and rushing forward. Even as Magneton floated up to try and avoid it, Gabite only leaped up and kept moving in the air to catch it.
Oddly, the other three trainers seemed content to let this maneuver be done alone. As Gabite was about to hit the Magneton, however, all three snapped into action- this time, with Cyrus being quicker.
"When Flareon stands still, Hydro Pump!"
"Gyro Ball, don't let it catch you!" Volkner called.
"Helping Han- no, dodge!" Flint suddenly shouted, but it was no use. It managed to do neither, as at the same time that Gabite's teeth clamped down onto the Magneton, who tried to spin its way out of her grip to no avail, Flareon was suddenly hit with a massive jet of pressurized water. Between that and the earlier instances of Bulldoze, the Fire type's stamina finally ran out.
"Flareon got knocked o-"
"We get it, man, you just gotta whistle for the interruption and resuming of the battle!" Flint snapped. The worker frowned, but nodded, bringing the whistle to his mouth.
"Grrrr… damn it! Vulpix, get out here!" Cyrus' eyes widened. A Vulpix? Those were a rarity in Kanto, let alone here. As the Pokémon appeared on the field, the sunlight turned particularly harsh in his eyes.
Fweeeeeet!
"Hex on the Gabite!"
"Hydro Pump!" With a ghastly giggle, Rotom fired another blast of pressurized water, but with narrowed eyes, the red-furred fox leapt over it before weaving around it. After a moment, its eyes turned red and it snapped up a glare at Gabite, who was gnawing on the distressed-sounding Magneton.
Gabite screeched, and after a moment, it seemed that it was game over for her too, as she fell to the ground from the unseen assault on her. Palmer nodded, retrieving her and muttering something into her Pokéball. As the battlefield briefly fell into a contemplative lull, however, Palmer suddenly snapped back up with a grin.
"Show them what for, Rhyhorn!" Palmer called, and Cyrus frowned, but agreed. He already had a water type out in the form of the peculiar Rotom, and they might as well keep Milotic for whatever other trick they might pull. The two seemed to favor status moves, and Milotic's Marvel Scale would be a huge boon there. Plus, it seemed to work well with Riolu, who would be his likely third choice.
The battlefield had just been reset, with everyone having lost one Pokémon and only Magneton being mildly damaged. A moment later, each trainer snapped out their own command again.
"Nasty Plot, Rotom!" "Bulldoze, slow down Vulpix's movements!" Both of them called at the same time. As Rotom floated, it was thankfully immune to the way the ground shook again, this time the shockwave thankfully being directed towards their opponents. Unfortunately, so was Magneton.
"Magneton, get low to the ground and Magnet Rise!" "Jump on Magneton and Spite, Vulpix!"
Right before any of the attacks managed to go off, Vulpix's eyes flashed red again. Nonetheless, a moment later, the both of them managed to avoid the attack altogether as Magneton defly floated around the sudden pillar of earth that shot out of the ground.
"Tch. You can't do another Hydro Pump, can you?" he asked Rotom, and the Pokémon's tube out of which it shot water sputtered uselessly as it made distressed noises. "Damn."
"You'll regret doing that! Smack them down, Rhyhorn!" Palmer grinned.
"Protect Vulpix, Magneton! Dodge!" As Rhyhorn began stomping rock after rock into their opponents as the Magneton desperately dodged, he saw Vulpix start to charge something in her mouth. These guys were good at double battles.
"Trick, and then Discharge!" he shouted, and got down low to the ground, pulling Palmer down with him. Rotom's ghostly giggle sounded menacing as it suddenly launched out of the washing machine it inhabited, shooting it like a projectile at the Vulpix before exploding in orange electrical light.
The combination attack of flung objects meant that their opponents had no time to react, and no room to dodge the superpowered Discharge. However, what he didn't expect was for Flint's Vulpix to just... disappear.
"Solar Beam the Rhyhorn, Vulpix!"
While Cyrus and Palmer were still getting the sparks out of their eyes, a bright bolt of light suddenly lanced into Rhyhorn, throwing him away with another explosion. As the dust cleared, it revealed a trembling Vulpix, a grinning Rotom, and Magneton and Rhyhorn both laying knocked out, the trainers having succeeded in another pair of KOs.
"Cyrus, dude, you flashbanged me." Palmer grit his teeth. "I know Rhyhorn is immune to lightning moves, but I'm not."
"Well? Gonna make your move, or do we gotta take this as your forfeit?" Flint taunted harshly.
"Let's just cut to the chase." Palmer sighed. "Well, I didn't want to do this, but go, Milotic!"
Flint grit his teeth. "Did you come to pick a fight with me, you bastard? All of your Pokémon are counters to fire types!"
At that, Volkner placed a hand on the shoulder of his friend. "Dude, chill. We've got this." Flint huffed, slapping away the hand.
"Just send your last Pokémon. Shock his sorry ass." Volkner gave him one last concerned glance, before nodding.
"Go, Luxio." As the feline took to the field, all of them snapped back into position, analyzing the possibilities. Cyrus planned to press the advantage by targeting the Vulpix, especially given-
"Memento, Vulpix."
Cyrus takes in a sharp breath as the Vulpix focuses all of its power into one last red-eyed stare before dropping down, completely out for the count. With a click of his tongue, Flint recalls the Pokémon.
"Dude!" Palmer called out. "What the fuck! Who sacrifices their Pokémon like that?!"
The CEO of Flint'n Steelworks glared back at him. "Vulpix was on her last legs. She wouldn't have been able to continue battling."
"You could've just recalled her then if she was out for the count!"
"It's a battle, not a playground. When everything is on the line, you've gotta be willing to make sacrifices. That goes for your Pokémon as well." he fired back.
Silence swept across the battlefield. It wasn't a good time to tell that he also agreed with such an assessment when even Volkner seemed to be put off by the callousness of his own partner; he now had to deal with the fact that his partner's Pokémon had just been effectively crippled by the Memento's curse. As the echoes of Vulpix's will clung to Milotic, it seemed to be struggling to move effectively.
Flint picked out his last Pokéball. "Go, Houndoom," he spoke calmly. Cyrus' eyes widened. That wasn't a good matchup for Rotom. The black hound snarled as it took to the field, glaring bloody murder at them and snorting flames out of its nose.
"Resume!"
"Rotom, float up in the air and Electro Ball on the Houndoom!" Cyrus called out. As Palmer was about to follow up with his own command, however, a voice that sounded more like a low growl snapped out from Flint.
"Sucker Punch."
As Rotom rose in the air and winked at his opponents, in the blink of an eye from all the way across the battlefield the Fire type dashed, claw raised and infused with Dark-type energy, smacking it down into the floor with an electric shock.
A moment later, the worker blew on his whistle as Rotom fizzled and spazzed on the ground, returning to his Pokéball.
"...gah, damnit!" Palmer shouted as Cyrus silently cursed inwardly. Flint smirked cruelly at the two of them, and Palmer turned to Cyrus. "Sorry, Cy. I'm being useless here, hesitating."
"There was nothing you could do against a move so swift." Cyrus huffed. "Let's just try to make the most of this 3v2. If nothing else, this is a way better fight than Byron will probably give us."
"...that's true." Palmer smiled a little. "Ah, but are you going to use it?"
"Fire and a Steel type. I'm not pulling out Sneasel into this matchup." Cyrus silently shook his head. He hated having to rely at the last moment on a wild card, but… "Get out here, Riolu."
The blue canine humanoid took to the field. He looked around for a moment in surprise, before looking at their opponents. Without the need for command, he could see the Fighting type slowly start to rouse his fighting spirit without being noticed, despite his aura beginning to flare. Work Up, he assumed, from the move list Cynthia gave them.
Flint's smirk slowly died down as he saw that his opponent was a fighting-type, his expression hardening. "Volkner, do that thing."
"What?! No, come on, we're winning this already!" Volkner complained.
"Just do it. It's… I don't want to take unnecessary risks." The two seemed to have a battle of wills of some sort, and eventually, the blonde caved.
"Fine." he took a deep breath and signaled for the battle to resume.
"Man, I thought we'd given up on these tactics when we stopped trying for the doubles tournaments. Magneton… Explosion." Spoken so calmly and dejectedly, that you wouldn't think he'd just ordered his Pokémon to blow up.
"Protect, Houndoom."
"Palmer!" Cyrus shouted, and the trainer grit his teeth and nodded.
"Coil, around Riolu!" Palmer shouted at his Pokémon, and it immediately got to work. As Houndoom put up its barrier Magneton floated to the center of the field, three eyes turning into a 3, a 2, and a 1 before all becoming X's.
Right after Milotic shielded Riolu with its entire body, a tremendous explosion rocked the field. Cyrus had to shield his eyes from the power of the blast. A slight crater was left all around the fainted Magneton.
It was an onslaught of one KO after the other, with Flint perfectly controlling the pace of the battle and forcing advantageous interruption after advantageous interruption.
Having endured the entirety of the blast, Milotic slowly uncurled from Riolu with a shuddering groan. She was still doing alright- and for a reason that became clear, as frozen scales suddenly shattered from the impact of the explosion.
"Ice Punch?" Palmer muttered at the same time as his realization. Cyrus' eyes widened. Riolu had used the move to trigger the Marvel Scale, after having witnessed it earlier. "It's doing that thing again with the black flames…"
Looking at the Riolu still half-covered by the coils of Milotic, he couldn't see what he was talking about. But he did note that Riolu's eyes were glowing red and that it was fidgeting- looking like it was itching for violence.
Volkner shook his head, recalling the Magneton and bringing the Pokéball close to his mouth to whisper something into it before switching to his third Pokémon. "Let's finish this, Luxio."
The last Pokémon, a feline to contrast Flint's own canine, began bouncing up and down, peering determinedly at them.
Palmer turned to Cyrus. "I'm not sure that it's a good idea to keep fighting. Both Riolu and Milotic are hurting."
"I think that we can do this if Milotic protects Riolu. Besides…" Cyrus bit his lip. "They've definitely got something illegal going on here. No one fights so hard to protect their factory from a routine inspection."
Warm, amber eyes peered into cold steel for a moment, before nodding. "Fine. Let's do this."
They gave the signal to resume, and the worker blew his whistle once more.
"Milotic, Coil once more! Stay close to Riolu!"
"Sorry guys, but apparently, you're really messing up Flint's day, so you've gotta go! Snarl, Luxio!"
"Houndoom, Protect again!" Flint shouted.
"Riolu, take cov-" Cyrus began, but the petite blue figure rushed forward, Riolu seeming to have completely different plans.
A moment later, as the dark energy doused the field. The Dark type move also didn't seem to have too strong of an effect on Milotic, though it started to flag, clearly fatigued after having tanked so many blows. "Hah! You use a Pokémon that doesn't-" Flint's clicking teeth could be heard as his Houndoom was suddenly violently struck in the face, the Protect working against him as it shielded the Riolu from the Snarl, but not him from Riolu.
Feint. Again, another move was used without being called. Cyrus felt himself growing frustrated.
"Howl!" Flint shouted.
"Thunder Fang, get it off of him!" Volkner shouted.
"Dragon Tail, keep Luxio away!"
As the Houndoom began howling in pain, empowering itself and its ally, Luxio darted forward, but Milotic managed to intercept it. However, it wasn't without sacrifice- Milotic screamed out as the electricity coursed through her, her tail striking Luxio in the mouth just as Luxio bit into her.
Riolu raised his hand wreathed in the aura of a Force Palm, ready to smack the Houndoom in the face again. However, it seemed fate had other plans.
"Extremespeed, Medicham."
A moment later, like photos being taken with his eyes, Cyrus could only see snapshots of the attack from the humanoid psychic/fighting type. A knee to Milotic's face, a snatching of Palmer's Pokéball belt, then Cyrus', and suddenly, it was again next to Riolu, picking it up while still mid-motion for the Force Palm and slamming it into the ground with enough force to make the earth tremble.
The whole sequence couldn't have taken much longer than the time it took one to blink.
"I hope I didn't get here too late, boys. It seems that things were starting to get pretty heated up." A smiling figure stepped into the field from behind Volkner and Flint without a care in the world.
The young woman walked barefoot, despite the fact that she was wearing a brown trench coat, with bandages wrapped around both her hands and her feet. She also had pink hair and a bandaid across her nose. Honestly, Cyrus would even say that the person looked ridiculous if it were not for the fact that she had just decimated them in the blink of an eye, and the fact that he knew who she was.
"...Maylene of the Elite Four." he breathed out.
She placed a hand on Flint's shoulder, who stiffened up slightly. "Well, good thing I got here in time! I mean, you were holding your own admirably, but one of the workers told me that some punks were trying to force their way inside, and after hearing the explosion… well, I'm sure we can solve this peacefully."
"...yeah." Flint breathed. "Man, you scared me." he gave a faint, odd laugh.
Giving him a punch in the shoulder that, despite appearing light, sounded like it hurt, she walked forward. "So, boys- why are you two attacking this factory?" As she kept walking, she almost tripped on the prone form of Riolu. She gasped. "Oh! Is this a Riolu?!" she asked, picking it up and squeezing it to herself like a doll. Considering that the poor little guy had gone limp, it might as well have been. "He's so cute! Is he yours?"
Apparently, that was what was needed in order to kick everyone's brains back into gear. Palmer suddenly shouted as he looked between Maylene and his Milotic. "WHAT THE HELL?!"
"Uh… the challengers' Pokémon are all knocked out, so the victory goes… to Mr. Flint and Volkner?" The referee worker hesitantly called.
"SHE INTERFERED, CLEARLY!"
"Drop it." Cyrus hissed. "Right now, her authority eclipses ours, never mind the fact that we're out of Pokémon." he was not going to test his luck by sending his Sneasel out against an Elite-level fighting type. "I've been caring for him, for the time being." Cyrus forced out at a louder volume.
"Riolu are precious creatures." Maylene gushed. "Incredibly smart, even if they can be a bit stubborn, and they are very attuned to the emotions of the people around them." she kept hugging Riolu to herself, swinging it around like a doll as she talked.
"Ma'am-"
"Aren't you just the cutest? Yes you are, yes you are!" she fawned, and Cyrus sweatdropped as he cleared his throat loudly. This time, she finally turned around to address him. "Yes?"
"I know that it may look bad, but we only wished to conduct an investigation on the factory on the authority granted to us by the Pokémon League. Could we carry on?" he asked tentatively.
"Ah, don't worry about that! These guys are legit, I've personally checked them out today! Just working on a thing, but they'll be done soon. Checked that they have the permits to handle the materials and everything." she flashed them a thumbs up.
"I see..."
"Whew." Palmer sighed, going boneless. "Still, man… she destroyed us…"
Volkner was giving the whole scene an odd look, but before he could say anything, Flint sighed. "Well, now that we're done wasting everyone's time, can we get back to work? We've already been dallying a lot with this spectacle.
A chorus of groans from the factory workers came out as they trudged back into the factory, and after a moment to look back at the duo of Palmer and Cyrus, Flint and Volkner also walked back inside.
"Still, this little guy fights like a Perrserker. It's a bit rare since the Lucario line usually tends to favor ranged combat." Maylene hummed. "Lemme see…" she stuck out her tongue as she began fishing something out of her pocket. A shiny, brown disk came out. "Aha! Knew I still had one of these lying around."
With that, she reached over and handed it to Cyrus. Looking it over, he could clearly see that it was a TM. "What's this?" he asked, trying to mentally catch up with everything that happened.
"Drain Punch. It's pretty nifty for keeping your Pokémon healthy while still remaining on the offensive." the pinkette explained. "Considering how he didn't listen to you to go attack, perhaps this could serve as a compromise?"
"...I see. Thank you very much." he said, as he retrieved the Heal Ball, disappearing Riolu within, despite Maylene's "awww" of disappointment. "I think we must be off now."
"Yeah… our Pokémon are pretty beat up."
"Oh, yeah." Maylene rubbed her head sheepishly. "Well, I guess you'd best be off. I'll remember you, though! I definitely want to see more of that cute little Riolu."
"Ah, for that you should search for a trainer named Cynthia!" Palmer said, and Cyrus resisted the urge to facepalm. "It's hers, we're just holding onto him for the training trip!"
"I see! Good luck, and sorry about your Pokémon!" Maylene shouted.
And that was how their training trip at Flint'n Steelworks ended. Neatly and with no further routes to pursue. Not that they could do much, with their entire teams wiped. A whiteout, as they call it.
And so, Palmer and Cyrus scurried back to the Pokémon Center, protecting their exhausted and fainted Pokémon from further harm...
hey that's not fair Maylene that medicham's overleveled
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