The atmosphere around the storage room was more tense than ever, as Stone was the one who first started the battle, "Hector, use Curse on Swampert!"
Kyla soon followed, "Spectre, Double Team!"
An ominous, black wave of energy came out from the Dusclops as it eventually surrounded the Hoenn starter. Hector looked slightly weakened, but neither of the Pokémon nor the Trainer seemed to be bothered by it. On the other hand, the Mismagius created multiple illusionary copies of herself, making it confusing for us to attack.
Nevertheless, we had to find a way. Harry first commanded, "Use Muddy Water towards Spectre's side!"
"Shadow, use Night Slash on Hector!"
The male Swampert opened his mouth, releasing a wave of muddy water from his mouth towards the illusionary copies the Mismagius just created. Thanks to the area covered by the attack, most silhouettes were removed at an instant upon impact, and we could roughly locate where the real one was in the storage room. However, in a moment's notice, Harry's starter started slightly panting, like his energy was taken out by some unknown force.
"Curse's effects…" Harry muttered.
Meanwhile, my Dark type leaped right at the slower Dusclops before using her claws to slash the Dusclops on its body, dealing a great amount of damage. However, Hector remained standing, and Stone immediately reacted, "Hector, use Disable on the Absol!"
The Ghost type's eye glowed as my Absol suddenly had a weird feeling, to the point she had to actually verbally report to me about her current condition, "I feel like I forgot how to use Night Slash."
"Disable… a move that makes a Pokémon unable to use its last move for a while." Harry explained, addressing our concerns. Since that was Shadow's most advantageous move, that was bound to sting a bit for the remainder of the battle.
"Spectre, use Shadow Ball at Shadow!" Kyla commanded.
"Shadow, counter with Payback!"
My Absol let herself get hit by the shadowy blob released by the Mismagius, as purple waves of energy started surrounding her. With the new burst of energy, Shadow took no time to approach the real Mismagius to slam it with incredible force using her horn, which made Spectre cry in pain.
"...That must've hurt." Kyla said, "Spectre, use Pain Split on Shadow!"
Shadow tried retreating immediately after the Night Slash, but due to the smaller space of the storage room, she lightly collided against a storage rack, which stopped her momentum. That gave the Mismagius the opportunity as it slammed its body into Shadow, which caused a beam of energy to come out of my Absol, weakening her as the Mismagius, on the contrary, looked healthier than before.
After a brief moment of silence, Harry made up his plan and commanded, "...Use Foresight."
Harry's Swampert's eyes instantly glowed light blue, as he released a light blue wave of energy around him, which eventually hit the two Ghost type Pokémon and made them looked more visible to us, as the remaining illusionary copies around the Mismagius also completely disappeared.
"Hector, use Shadow Punch on Swampert!" Stone remained unfazed.
"Counter with Iron Tail!" Harry said.
As the Dusclops approached the Water and Ground type to launch a barrage of punches at him, Swampert's black fan-like tail turned into iron for a brief moment, as he rotated his body for his tail to directly hit the Dusclops in the face. The Dusclops tried enduring the impact, landing a few punches on Swampert's body before finally forced back to Stone's side looking exhausted. However, as Swampert's tail returned to normal, the black wave of energy from the Curse attack seemed to be in effect again as the Swampert panted in his weakened state.
"Spectre, finish Swampert off with Magical Leaf!" Kyla wanted to seize the opportunity to turn the battle around as the Mismagius swung one of the extensions from its body before releasing a flurry of curious leaves chasing the Swampert. I wanted to ask Absol to try protecting the Water and Ground type, but Harry shot me a look that said, "trust me".
Thus, I did nothing as I worriedly witnessed Harry's Swampert take the Grass type attack head on. After the move was over, the Swampert panted even harder than before, but remained strong to keep going.
And that was the faith Harry put on his Pokémon to carry out his plan, "Use Endeavor on Spectre!"
It was then he shot me another look, which I instantly knew what he wanted me to do.
"Shadow, follow up with Psycho Cut onto Spectre!"
The Swampert took no time and lunged himself right towards the evolved Ghost type, before using all his strength to push the Mismagius backwards. After the succession of the move thanks to the effect of Foresight, the Water type starter quickly made way for the purple, crescent-like blade of energy created from Shadow's horn, which hit the Mismagius with perfect accuracy. The impeccable combination of the two attacks was too much for Spectre to handle as it collapsed onto the ground.
"...Oh boy." Kyla said, looking quite surprised.
Stone still kept a stoic look on his face as he quickly commanded, "Hector, take Swampert out with a quick Shadow Ball!"
The shadowy blob was launched almost immediately, with the hopes that the Swampert was weakened enough to be taken out by the Ghost type attack. However, I was not going to let Stone's plan work out and reacted, "Shadow, use Protect for both you two!"
Shadow got herself close to Swampert before forming a shield-like barrier right in front of both of them, as the shadowy blob made contact with the barrier, shattering it immediately. The Swampert shot Shadow a grateful look, before suddenly, my Absol closed her eyes and reopened them quickly, looking like she had just recovered from a long trance.
To test my theory, I quickly said, "Shadow, finish Hector off with Night Slash!"
"Hector, counter with Shadow Punch!"
Just as I thought, Shadow was able to use the formerly-disabled move again as she ran towards the Ghost type to slash it with her claws, hoping for the attack to be the finishing blow. Meanwhile, the vulnerable Dusclops tried to launch another barrage of punches at Shadow, but it was never going to be enough for Shadow to be taken out. As a result, the Dusclops finally collapsed after all the accumulating exhaustion throughout the entire battle. On the other side, I saw Harry's Swampert suddenly collapsing onto the ground, unable to move as well. It seemed like the Curse attack took away his remaining health.
Nevertheless, the victory was ours.
Harry looked at his exhausted Swampert, this time with a slightly grateful look on his face, "...Good work, Poseidon."
I was surprised by the unfamiliar new name of the Swampert, "Didn't know Swampert got a new name."
"To show that I'm changing, I guess." Harry shrugged.
Meanwhile, Stone and Kyla returned their respective Pokémon, with Stone saying, "Looks like we've gotten rusty, Kyla."
"Look, you defeated us and all… But you're still not going to get out of here with the kid that easily." Kyla said, "By this point, the commotion we made should have attracted enough attention for reinforcements to come. We have already given our warning, but you two didn't listen."
To their surprise, Harry only had a confident smile on his face as he replied, "It's okay. I think we definitely bought enough time by now."
"...What do you mean by that?" Stone asked. The answer was revealed almost immediately to the two Willpower Admins, as the storage room was suddenly surrounded by beams of red light, and the deafening alarm sounds, along with the frantic and irregular footsteps, could be heard from outside the storage room.
"Looks like they've finally arrived!" I cheered. Throughout the entire time we battled Kyla and Stone, my sister and May seemed to have completed their part of the task. With enough information, the remaining members of the authorities had just arrived at the scene, and with their skills, they were aiming not to let anyone get away to continue their villainous plans.
"...Honestly, good work." Stone put up his hands in a surrendering stance, before Kyla did the same. Instead of fear, they looked more relieved, like a heavy burden was finally going to escape from their chests.
Kyla lightly patted Stone's shoulder before letting out a sigh, "It's been a ride together, Stone. At least this is finally going to be all over."
"Likewise, Kyla." Stone slightly smiled in return.
Looking at the two, the conversation with May back at Dewford suddenly came across my mind.
"They had to join Willpower... due to personal reasons. I know deep down... they still have good hearts. They're just forced to do what they are doing right now."
May's voice rang in my head.
...How did they even get to this point in the first place?
Just as Kyla and Stone were going to walk towards the storage room door to head outside and turn themselves in, the door suddenly opened by a strong force, surprising all five of us in the room. A devilish-looking man appeared behind the opened door, who had his hair shaped like a frontal spike while wearing a gray cape behind a darker suit with the letter "W" in the middle, which looked more glamorous than the ones the Willpower Grunts wore.
"Kyla, Stone! The intruders from the PLA have finally caught on to our hideout." The man said in a somewhat high-pitched voice, "We're not letting this stop our show, though. As long as we can escape this place and proceed with our plan, they won't be able to stop us!"
I was stunned in place for a brief moment.
This voice… I know it all too well.
The second voice in my hypnotized slumber.
To confirm my suspicions, Kyla mentioned the man's name in his reply, "B-Boss Wilson, what about the other Willpower Admins and Grunts?"
"Can't locate them." Wilson nonchalantly said, like the safety of those under him were never his concern, "If they're useful enough, they'll be able to join us at the takeoff place anyway. Admin Peggy went missing from the hideout, so just you two will be competent enough for us to suffice."
The relieved look originally on Stone's face for a brief moment was replaced by a hesitant one; He looked like he did not want to be part of Wilson's antics anymore. Finally, he clenched his fist and retaliated, unable to look at his leader in the eyes as he said, "...Boss Wilson, I don't think I can do this anymore. I-I'm not as competent as you think. I don't want to die yet, and I'm sick of being a slave under this delusional team!"
"Stone…" Kyla had a sad look as she stared at her friend and partner.
Upon hearing Stone's rejection, the Willpower Leader responded by going into an exaggerated laughter, before slowly taking out a handgun, causing a gasp to involuntarily come out of my mouth.
Wilson then pointed his handgun towards Sip, which made the tension in the room skyrocketed. His hideous smile remained as he said, "Heartfelt speech, Stone! Unfortunately, I don't think you and Kyla will have a choice. Stop hesitating and join me, or I'll shoot these Trainers one by one, starting with him. I'd like to see a tied up person trying to dodge a bullet!"
Stone, who looked unfazed throughout the entire battle with Harry and I, was no longer stoic as he was trembling in fear. Kyla yelled, "Boss Wilson, these kids have nothing to do with this!"
Wilson simply sneered and said, "I'm just doing them a favor before they grow up and suffer!"
Kyla worriedly looked at Stone, who looked mentally distraught as he struggled to make a clear decision in his head. That hesitation was enough to piss the Willpower Leader off as he raised his handgun, "...I gave you enough time."
I-I have to protect Sip!
I ran towards my friend from Lavaridge, hoping I could help him escape the upcoming bullet coming his way.
Fortunately, the bullet never came.
A Blaziken suddenly appeared out of nowhere and released a precise kick towards the handgun, the impact instantly sending it away from Wilson's hand. Afterwards, the Fire and Fighting type returned back to its Trainer's side, who was our other comrade, May.
"We owe you one, May." I smiled, to which she responded with a thumbs up. Her expression then turned serious as she looked at Kyla and Stone and said, "Kyla, Stone, there's nothing to be afraid about this man! It's not too late to turn back against his manipulation and end this altogether."
However, Wilson just evilly laughed as he slowly approached Stone, before suddenly grabbing his shirt and said, "...Nothing to be afraid of? Stone, surely you miss your grandfather, right? Kyla, you're willing to leave the team, even at the expense of your parents, yeah?"
All the pressure finally broke down Kyla as she went down on her knees and started crying, "I can't do this anymore…"
A tear also formed in Stone's left eye, and the truth behind the two joining Team Willpower had become as clear as day for everyone in the storage room.
May let out a light, resigned laugh, "...So that's how it is, huh. I knew the seniors I looked up to wouldn't suddenly stoop so low without any reason."
"We're sorry, May." Stone said, "All this time… we can't object to him… for the sake of our families. Losing contact with the people we loved for so many months… is making us reach our limit."
"But you two have been suffering all this time too, haven't you?" May said, "This is just a no win situation for you two. Wilson is just taking advantage of your kindness and love towards your families to keep using you two for his own good, and that sickens me! The authorities are on our side now, and soon enough, once Team Willpower is done for, you will finally be able to reunite with your families."
May took a deep breath before continuing her efforts to convince her two seniors, "You two still have a bright future ahead. Believe in us, and don't waste your future working any longer under this scumbag. Your families wouldn't want this either, would they?"
May recalled back the time when she was struggling in her classes in Trainer School years ago. She never dared to ask the teachers or her peers to clear her confusion, given the pressure of being the daughter of the world-renowned Prof. Birch and not wanting to show any weaknesses or letting down the expectations around her.
And so, after school was over for the day, while everyone else was packing up to return home, she remained in her seat to look through her notes, hoping that they would magically give her the answers to her questions.
She suddenly heard someone calling her name from behind, "Hey! You're May, right? Still working hard at this hour, aren't you?"
She looked behind her and saw her two seniors, Kyla and Stone, who had a younger appearance than the current time. Prior to this, they knew about the existence of one another, but May never really interacted with them.
May forced a smile and said, "Yeah! Just want to do some extra revision before I leave."
The male senior looked towards her notes, which had question marks written besides the few parts that were circled using a red pen. Stone pointed at one of the question marks and explained, "In some circumstances, Ghost type Pokémon are able to get hit by Normal type moves, such as the opponent having an ability like Mind Eye, or with the assistance of a move like Odor Sleuth."
"A move like Foresight works, too!" Kyla chirped in.
"Oh yeah… How could I forget such a thing!" May said, "Thanks, you guys."
"No shame in not knowing about it, it's hard to memorize." Kyla said, "We started classes in Trainer School around a year ago, so it's normal for us to know more about what we learned."
"I guess…" May sheepishly said, "Truth is, I'm struggling in classes so far, so I'm trying to do revision to hopefully catch up. I don't want to let anyone down."
"Just let us know if you have anything you want to ask, then!" Kyla enthusiastically said as she extended her hand towards May, "We usually stay around for a little while after school to chill and chat, and are always happy to help someone in need if we can."
"Is that okay for you two? I don't really want to take up too much of your time." May asked.
"You're not bothering us. We have a lot of free time after school, anyway." Stone shrugged.
"...Alright then! Thank you for looking after me, you two." May gratefully smiled as she reached out to Kyla's hand and did a gentle handshake.
Afterwards, she always approached the smarter senior duo regarding her questions in the week's lessons. At first, she felt slightly awkward asking too much, but once she realized they were not a single moment irritated by her questions, she eventually opened up more and became good friends with Kyla and Stone, even hanging out as a trio more and more often after school even when May was not revising.
In a way, Kyla and Stone's kind gestures made May into the person she is today; she wanted to be helpful to others and remained an enthusiastic attitude towards her dear friends.
And returning to this moment, when Kyla and Stone needed help this time, May became the one to extend her hand towards the duo with a bright smile.
"Kyla, Stone, this time, let me help you two escape from Team Willpower forever."
Her former seniors in Trainer School looked at the two, and their initial fear from their team leader was replaced by a warm feeling provided by their dear friend. Stone said, "May… you've really grown, huh."
"Maybe grown to become even stronger than us!" Kyla smiled, as happier tears rolled down her cheeks.
Then, at the same moment, Kyla and Stone looked towards Wilson, who looked disgusted by May's short speech, before saying in unison, "Sorry, Wilson. In some way, we'll get our families back, but we are no longer your puppets anymore!"
Wilson looked shocked for a brief moment, before he started laughing hysterically again, "Y'know what? I'm not entirely surprised. Even though I forced you two into the team, you two, from start to finish… were different from us. You just don't have the willpower of a true loser to see the light."
"Your nonsense won't guilt trip anyone, Wilson." Harry said.
"Not trying to, anyway!" Wilson angrily replied, "As always, the world is against me! But that just motivates me even more to take revenge against everyone."
Out of nowhere, a Smoke Ball suddenly appeared in his hand as he threw it towards the ground, and the storage room was surrounded by a huge layer of smoke blocking our sight.
I had to cover my nose and mouth while trying to locate the others with my limited vision. Fortunately, the smoke did not take long to dissipate, but Wilson was no longer in the storage room. When we ran out of the room and looked outside, we could barely see the Willpower Leader trying to make an escape in the distance.
"Wilson should be heading towards the secret area, where an abandoned ship from Slateport Harbor was stolen from Willpower and rebuilt to be used for the Kyogre search." Stone quickly said.
"If Wilson managed to get into the ship and leave… Hoenn could be in trouble." Kyla followed.
"Lows, we should give chase!" Harry said.
"Yeah, let's!" I nodded.
"I'm going to stay around to help the kidnapped Trainer and wait for the other PLA members to arrive. Stay safe during the chase, you two!" May said.
"We'll help you too, May." Kyla said, and Stone nodded alongside her.
"We have no time to waste, then!" Harry started breaking into a run towards where Wilson escaped, "Just ask the others to look through my live camera footage and join us later!"
"I'll leave Sip up to you guys!" I said before sprinting alongside Harry.
We were sticking around each other at the start of the chase, but the deeper we went inside the hideout, our surroundings became darker and darker, and before I knew it, I was separated from Harry.
"Ah, shoot…" I blamed myself for not having the best sense of direction, but I had to move on. As I continued looking around the area while my eyes tried getting used to the dimmer lighting, I felt like I heard a weak yell for help from my right. I looked to my right, which was only the thick, steel wall greeting me.
But the calls for help remained, and they were too realistic for me to write them off as imaginary voices. As such, I tried locating the source of the voice by keeping myself right along the wall as I continued walking. Eventually, my right hand felt a light bump in the once smooth wall, which when looked closely, revealed to be a hidden button.
Even though a hidden button usually calls for trouble, at that point, I had nothing to lose. I pressed the button, which revealed an originally hidden door, and the calls for help became clearer than ever. With that, I took a deep breath before opening the door, and the sights afterwards were shocking, to say the least.
A small room behind the hidden door contained a man in a horrendous state, like he was locked up for months. He had hair so long that they were making contact with the ground even when he was standing. He was also wearing extremely ragged clothes that originally looked like a lab outfit, and he looked like he had not eaten in months, as his thin figure appeared completely disproportionate with his larger head size.
"...Finally, people!" The man said in a hoarse voice, probably a result of dehydration, "Please get me out of this place!"
"...Who are you again?" I asked, remaining wary of the individual.
"My name is Kenzaki Kagaku, and I am currently held hostage by Team Willpower for months!" He said.
The name Kenzaki Kagaku briefly rang in my head, as I was reminded of the mention of his name during the video call between Winona and Wallace.
[The only speculation made by the PLA so far was that the invasion by Team Willpower.. could be linked to the disappearance of Kenzaki Kagaku.]
"Kenzaki Kagaku… one of the lead developers of the Legendary Pokémon Tracker, who was currently rumored to be captured by Team Willpower."
[You've done your homework. Team Willpower seemed to be running in circles aimlessly for the past few weeks until today, where they finally made their first big move. The PLA speculated that they managed to dig out something from Prof. Kagaku, which is crucial for the Legendary Pokémon Tracker to function properly.]
Realizing the importance of this man in front of me, I immediately reassured him, "There are people from the PLA in this hideout right now, so I will call for their help after I find the Willpower Leader. I need to stop his plans."
"You're going to try and stop Wilson?" Prof. Kagaku said, "I think that's a death sentence. It's best if you just wait for reinforcements to come."
"We don't have time for that! We need to stop Wilson before he disturbs Kyogre and wreaks havoc in Hoenn." I said.
"I completely understand! I know the scary things he's up to, kiddo." Prof. Kagaku said, "But he has recently obtained a very scary item that most likely will make him win any battle against even the best Trainers."
"...Even the Gym Leaders?"
"Even the Gym Leaders." Prof. Kagaku nodded with a serious look on his face, "I was captured by Team Willpower, not only to give info about the Legendary Pokémon Tracker, but also about a recently discovered special evolved form using a Keystone that makes Pokémon temporarily stronger in battle."
"There's something like that?" I was surprised by this new knowledge.
"...I'm afraid so." Prof. Kagaku sighed, "When I was captured by them, my research lab was also robbed thoroughly, which made Wilson not only discover more secrets about the functions of the Legendary Pokémon Tracker, but also my research about Mega Evolutions. He even took the Keystone I had for conducting experiments and the Mega Stones alongside it."
"He learned how to use Mega Evolutions?" I asked.
"...I sincerely apologize." He looked down towards the ground in shame, "I had to tell Wilson the use of the stones before I get tortured even further. I was at my limit. And the result of that… he knows how to use those items to his advantage now."
The magnitude of this new information made me realize that we were in big trouble if we leave the Willpower Leader alone with his plans. I said nothing before leaving the room and continued my sprint deeper into the hideout.
I did not know whether I was on the right track, but I had to find some way to get there.
I had to keep trying.
I could only pray that I was on time…
To make a final stand against the man aspiring to ruin the Pokémon World.
Lows' Pokémon Team:
Surfer (Wartortle, Male), Jolly Nature
Ability: Torrent
Moves: Bite, Water Gun, Water Pulse, Sand Tomb
Ziggs (Linoone, Male), Naive Nature
Ability: Quick Feet
Moves: Dig, Headbutt, Swift, Facade
Grace (Kirlia, Female), Calm Nature
Ability: Synchronize
Moves: Teleport, Magical Leaf, Shadow Ball, Psybeam
Woody (Grovyle, Male), Lonely Nature
Ability: Overgrow
Moves: Pursuit, Leaf Blade, Bullet Seed, Rock Tomb
Power (Machoke, Male), Timid Nature
Ability: Guts
Moves: Fling, Scary Face, Submission, Seismic Toss
Shadow (Absol, Female), Quiet Nature
Ability: Super Luck
Moves: Payback, Night Slash, Psycho Cut, Protect