John's Team
Tyrant - Slaking
Vordt - Ursaluna
Smough - Snorlax
Klee - Blissey
Port - Mantine
Zephyr - Pidgeot
Klaus - Wyrdeer
Luna - Clefable
Pixel - Porygon-Z
Euphie - Sylveon
Ornstein - Obstagoon
Wraith - H-Zoroark
Winston - Lickilicky (Shiny)
The New Normal – 13-11 – The Raid
Roark's discovery of the Iron Plate came as a pleasant surprise for me. Even for Cynthia, despite being nominal rivals with Roark in her capacity as the de-facto head of the Celestic Town Research Centre, was more pleased than jealous about their big find.
I was a little surprised to hear that Steven and Devon Corp had also been part of the expedition – I didn't even know the man was in Sinnoh, nor how he managed to talk Roark into allowing him on the expedition. Though in hindsight, had I checked the Pokénet, I would have found out. His arrival at Sinnoh wasn't exactly subtle.
Of course, now that the Iron Plate had been found on the Iron Islands, it was now relocated and proudly displayed at the Oreburgh Museum. I heard from Cynthia that there was a bit of an argument between Byron and Roark to determine where the Iron Plate would be displayed, but Roark won out because it was apparently his idea to search the Iron Islands for the Plate.
However, Cynthia and her own group of explorers had not been idle all this while. Using the resources available to them, they spread a wide net all across Sinnoh as they dug through many of the known ruins and caves to see if they could find anything anomalous that could hint towards the existence of a Plate.
When she asked for my opinion, I casually suggested that the area around Stark Mountain would be my go-to area to search for a Plate. Of course, that was based on my metaknowledge of knowing where Regirock was located around Route 228. I justified it by saying that it was the location that hadn't been thoroughly searched yet. Thus, not seeing any reason to not search the area, Cynthia sent over a team of explorers over to Stark Mountain.
Time would tell if my 'suggestion' bears fruit.
Besides the discovery of the Iron Plate, the other big discovery was Hisuian Sliggoo and Goodra, which was now in the sole custody of a very happy Steven Stone. Initially, Steven and his team from Devon Corp had little idea about the origins of Goodra. However, the Celestic Town Research Centre, who were more informed about the types of Pokémon that were active during the Hisuian era, had found out and informed them about their links to Hisui.
There had been recorded descriptions of a monstrously powerful Pokémon that lumbered around with a huge, nearly unbreakable shell on its back – that, when provoked, would unleash a whirlwind of destruction in its resulting rampage. That was a perfect match for the new pair of Hisuian Pokémon, which were now just called 'Sliggoo' and 'Goodra' respectively.
A pair of new discoveries would have been exciting enough for the public, but the fact that the two Pokémon were also part Dragon Type only added more fuel on the fire. Furthermore, Dragon specialists were now salivating over their Steel/Dragon typing, since it meant that these Pokémon were currently the only Dragon Types that was not weak to the new Fairy type; which had been a huge thorn for Dragon specialists around the world. If that wasn't enough, it ALSO was not weak to other Dragon types, which every other Dragon thus far was also weak to.
That type combination was absolutely absurd; and it didn't even factor in the incredible bulk that Hisuian Goodra possessed. It was both specially and physically defensive, while still having formidable firepower in both respects as well. All in all, it was an absolutely incredible Pokémon to have, and I was absolutely certain that only Steven's Metagross would rival it in strength once it grew to its full power.
I knew Lance was practically salivating over it; that was one Dragon he certainly would love to add to his team. He was certainly envious enough to send Steven a personal message requesting for a price for the extra Sliggoo that they had caught, but he had yet to receive a response. Unfortunately, with the expedition team only managing to catch a few Sliggoo, it'd meant that it would take a long while to breed enough for the Sliggoo to be distributed to everyone who wanted one.
And even then, they'd probably be sold for an extraordinarily high price.
Overall, all those discussions about the new discoveries had taken up the news' attention for most of the past few days, which brought some much needed levity and gave everyone a break from the doom and gloom in Sinnoh.
That was, until we received a report from Koga, who informed us via a conference call about the new method that the Sinnoh League had deployed to track down the kidnapped Lake Guardians. Basically, they were going to try to trace their lingering ambient energy signatures from the Lakes, and follow that lead to try to locate where the Lake Guardians had been taken. It was as good of a plan as any, and it certainly beat trying to track down Cyrus' whereabouts without it.
I wished them every success, especially since today was the day that I would be heading over to Sinnoh to join him. I had spent the entirety of the past week preparing everything I could in preparation for my trip to Sinnoh, and I held onto the mindset that I would be going there for war.
This time, my trip to Sinnoh would be very different from the other times that I've been here.
Obviously, on the day of my departure, I had received some worried looks from my parents and my sister (who had visited just to say bye to me). With the situation being as it is, no parent wanted their kid to be in the line of fire, even if it was my responsibility to do so.
However, I reminded them of my duties, the strength of my team, and the oath that I took on the moment I stepped foot into the Elite Four. For all the privileges that I received for my position, now was going to be the time to pay it back. They reluctantly accepted my argument, and sent me off with a worried smile.
I promised them I would make it back.
Those new ships that they requisitioned for our trips to Sinnoh were really fast, to the point where I don't think I could tolerate going on those old slower boats. Even if the cost would significantly increase, I made a mental note to petition for these ships to be made available for all diplomatic trips in the future.
It'd make actually visiting the other regions far less of a hassle.
Having left in the early morning, I arrived in Sinnoh just as evening set in. Koga was there to welcome me, but his face told me that he was there to discuss something serious.
"You've arrived just on time." He told me as soon as I got off the ship, "Remember that new tracking method that the Sinnoh League had been employing to try to locate the Lake Guardians?" I nodded, "Well, they've significantly narrowed down the search area. I predict that they'll find out where Team Galactic has stashed them within the next day or so."
"Really?" My eyes widened, "That's good, but it's much quicker than I expected."
"Don't underestimate the abilities of a League once it wants something done as soon as possible." Koga replied, "Retrieving the Lake Guardians is currently the highest priority, so your girlfriend has made it clear that she wants everyone to put their all into locating them. The hope is that Cyrus won't be far from the Guardians either, so we hope to accomplish both objectives in one strike."
"I see…" I nodded, "Then let me know if we find anything. I'll join in the search efforts if you'll have me."
Koga told me that I would be expected to help, but for today I was to report in to the Sinnoh League and receive a quick briefing about everything that had been going on. That briefing was short, and basically summarised everything I already knew from Cynthia, though at least it gave me the opportunity to at least catch back up with the Sinnoh Elite Four. After all that was done, I returned to my room for the night.
This time, I wasn't residing at the Celestic Town Research Centre for once, as I was placed into one of the designated hotels for foreign dignitaries.
It was easier to reach me this way.
After checking in with Cynthia and messaging her that I had arrived, I decided to rest early that day just so that I was well-rested for the days to come. The following morning, my decision proved extremely prudent, as I was halfway through breakfast when an emergency message blared out of my phone.
The Sinnoh League had managed to locate a hidden facility on the far northern outskirts of Sinnoh, where the energy tracker had identified was likely where the Lake Guardians were being held. It was very remote, and to put it in perspective about how remote it was, the 'closest' landmark to the hidden base was Stark Mountain, which was already considered to be far away from the main cities of Sinnoh.
But with the facility located, the Sinnoh League wasted no time in organising a massive strike team that would be sent in to rescue and secure the Lake Guardians. I was obviously drafted onto that team, and was far from the only Elite Four to be participating.
In total, six Elite Four would be in attendance. Drake (who had arrived in the middle of the night), Phoebe, Flint, Lucian, Koga, and myself would all be heading there. Other than us, a large contingent of Jennys would also be accompanying us, just to make sure that we would always have the numbers advantage and to ensure that the facility was completely surrounded and locked down.
They wouldn't have an opportunity to escape with the Lake Guardians once more.
Everything was done quickly as to ensure that Team Galactic wouldn't have any opportunity to relocate the Lake Guardians before we struck. Thus, we swiftly gathered at the base of Stark Mountain before it even turned noon, already making our final preparations as we prepared to assault the base.
"You know our Champion wanted to come too?" Lucian told me as we waited for a few more members from the Sinnoh Police to arrive.
"She didn't tell me, though I'm not surprised." I replied, "She's never been one to shy away from a battle like this. Especially not with so much at stake."
Flint nodded, "Yeah, she was really insistent about fighting alongside us, but we managed to successfully reason with her to stay put." Flint said, "She can leave the fighting to us. She's needed elsewhere."
"And if anything goes wrong, it's best if our Champion wasn't caught in the crossfire too." Lucian said warningly, "I doubt there would be anything that could overcome our combined strength, but when we know that Team Galactic have been performing all kinds of insane experiments with Legendaries, then common sense goes out the window."
We all nodded, understanding the risks involved. Koga's words echoed through my head; my team and I might be very strong, but all it took was one mistake.
That was when I saw Drake walking up to us, pulling me into an enthusiastic handshake, "After all this waiting, we're finally going to be striking down this fucking bastard. I can't fucking wait to get my hands on him. He's not going to get away with all that he's done."
"Indeed, and in order to do that, we should discuss our formation." Koga interrupted, "Considering our respective strengths, I believe it would be best if we placed John, Drake, and Flint at the front if possible. Their Pokémon would be best served as the frontline. Then, Lucian should focus on our collective protection, while myself and Phoebe will assist on the flanks."
"Sounds good." Phoebe agreed, "Smaller engagements suit me better."
"Then that sounds like a plan to me." Flint said, "Of course, the fight might get a little too chaotic for us to stick to that – I learnt that the hard way in my last fight."
We bantered for a little while longer before we received the signal to move out. Instantly, our friendly demeanours all fell away and were replaced with cold, grim determination.
We had already located the facility to be just a short distance away, so we already had our Pokémon out as we moved forwards as silently as possible. Eventually, we arrived at a large shed that had been deliberately covered in foliage as to make it harder to detect. It also looked intentionally worn down by the elements, as if to make it seem like it had been long abandoned.
If we weren't following the scanner, we would have easily overlooked this.
Despite our best efforts at keeping quiet, we knew that there was little chance that Team Galactic wouldn't have had set up multiple hidden cameras surrounding the entrance, so they likely knew that we had arrived.
Thus, we went loud from the very beginning.
Tyrant violently smashed his fist through the shed, ripping open an entrance for us to follow through. Once inside, we spotted a disguised hatch that led very far down.
Expecting traps, Phoebe sent a few her Ghost types down first to spot and disarm any unwanted surprises. She ended up disabling an electrical array that would have probably fried someone to death if they had been caught in it. Once she was done with that, Drake had his Salamence rip out the hatch entirely before manually creating his own entranceway by tearing apart a new hole into the lab that hid below us.
A Reflect shield and Light Screen formed around our Pokémon as Flint, Drake, and I sent down our Pokémon. The sounds of battle could briefly be heard underneath all of the roars of our Pokémon, but after a while we got an all clear, signalling that it was safe for us to go down.
Koga headed down first to confirm that it was truly safe, then the rest of us followed after him. Once we finally entered into the lab, we paused for a moment to allow the Jennys to catch up as I took a moment to take a look around at just what Team Galactic had been hiding.
Despite the rundown façade of its exterior, the interior was anything but as the entire lab looked like something that had come straight from a sci-fi movie. Everywhere I looked there were a whole bunch of beeping machinery with many glowing lights attached to them, and the walls and floor were built out of some kind of reinforced steel that had now been torn to shreds after our Pokémon were done with them.
Besides that, there were a lot of scattered paperwork and chairs hastily thrown about. I supposed that the scientists that must have been working here had scrambled to escape once they were alerted to our arrival.
Once the Jennys had finally caught up, we moved quickly as we followed after the fleeing scientists, showing no regard for the expensive machinery around us as we tore through everything in our path with our Pokémon. Doorways were forcibly widened, and elevators and stairways were ignored as we created our own way up and down by continually tearing huge holes into the floor and walls.
During one of the times where we ripped out a hole in the wall, we found a scientist hiding in what looked like a supply closet. He scrambled to try to release his Pokémon, but Alakazam had him pinned against the wall way before that.
"Talk." Drake growled at him, "Which way to the Lake Guardians. We know they're here."
The man blubbered, but whatever he was going to say wasn't necessary as his eyes suddenly rolled to the back of his head as he fell limp. Alakazam stepped forwards, pressing both of its spoons against the man's temple.
The information was being ripped straight from his mind.
"It's down this way." Lucian pointed down one of the hallways, "Let's go."
One of the Jennys stayed behind to secure him while the rest of us pushed forwards. Eventually, we came across an airlocked door with a few scientists, who had probably been locked out, desperately trying to guard it. Fear was evident on their faces, yet they seem resolved to make this their final stand as they tried to stall for time.
Only for them to not even last a second as our Pokémon simply blew through them AND the door that they were guarding at the same time, revealing a massive room filled to the brim with all sorts of scientists and their Pokémon.
"You're too late!" One of them taunted us, "The project has already been—ARGH!"
Whatever he said was cut off as a Psychic smashed into his stomach, sending him crashing into the wall behind him. Flint then torched everything in front of us with a triple combination of Flamethrowers, sweeping the room with multiple torrents of searing flames that incinerated the many Steel types that were arrayed against us. The rest of the Elite Four weren't even needed, as Flint single-handedly decimated the opposition.
Evidently, these scientists were many things, but they were not good trainers. Their Steel types weren't even able to put up a fight in the face of the roaring inferno unleashed by Flint.
As soon as a majority of the scientists were taken out, Koga ordered his Pokémon forwards as they dashed towards a door on the far side of the large room. His Ariados pried it open, and he gestured for one of Phoebe's Ghost types to be sent in to scout ahead.
But that proved to be unnecessary, as Alakazam suddenly fell to its knees with a pained grunt.
"…Alakazam managed to sense the Lake Guardians, they're right inside." Lucian revealed, "But whatever Team Galactic are doing to the Lake Guardians, it can't be anything good. Alakazam was knocked over from the psychic feedback of their pained cries alone."
With that confirmation, we wasted no time following after our Pokémon as we rushed inside. However, once we made our way in, it was not Cyrus that we found.
But Saturn.
And he was standing right next to the three Lake Guardians, who were trapped within specialised machines.
I was just about to order my Pokémon to subdue him when suddenly I felt myself being flung across the room by a Psychic; with the rest of the Elite Four not far behind me as we were all suddenly pushed back.
"GET DOWN!" Koga's shout echoed throughout the chamber, and I was barely able to register what was going on before an enormous psychic explosion crashed into me.
I was pretty sure I blacked out, because the next thing I knew was that my ears were ringing loudly, my vision was all blurry, and my body wasn't responding to me. I tried to pull myself up, but a familiar looking pink blob slowly and carefully dragged me to a nearby wall and propped me up so that I could recover.
I faintly heard shouting from many people, but my eyes and ears were still too debilitated to make out what they were saying. It took a bit longer, but eventually the ringing in my ears finally began to fade away, and my eyesight slowly started to return to me – enough to at least see and hear what was going on around me.
And the first thing I saw was the frowning face of Lucian and Koga as they stood next to us.
"Bliss! Bliss!" Klee chimed out happily as she saw me snap out of my daze, and Lucian immediately turned towards me.
"John." He kneeled down with a concerned look on his face, "How are you feeling?"
"…Like I just had a truck crash into me." I coughed out painfully, "What in Arceus just happened? Is everyone okay?"
Blinking away the lingering blurriness in my vision, I finally manged to take in the sheer destruction that had just occurred around us. The corridors of the hidden lab that had been narrow a few seconds ago were now blown wide open, looking like a huge bomb had just been detonated within. All kinds of debris had been flung around everywhere, and the entire section of the lab looked like it was moments away from collapsing in on itself.
"Everyone's doing okay, luckily." Lucian explained, and I let out a sigh of relief at that, "Fortunately, we had sent our Pokémon in first. They managed to block most of the explosion and protect us from the worst of it. If we had charged in recklessly by ourselves…" He didn't need to finish the thought, because I immediately understood.
None of us would have survived that.
"Okay… so we managed to avert disaster." I said, "But what happened? What caused the explosion?"
Lucian's face twisted into a grimace, "That explosion was a parting 'gift' from one of Cyrus' subordinates, that the other scientists knew as Saturn." He stated, likely having found out Saturn's name from the minds of the other scientists, "Seeing us coming, he likely figured that he would have been overpowered and quickly captured, so he overloaded the capture machines for the Lake Guardians – causing them to explode with all of their suppressed Psychic energies. I'm guessing he thought he could take us out with him, but luckily for us, he failed."
His words were horrifying, but this was no time for that. I pulled myself off the ground and focused on what was important,"…Fine, but did we secure the Lake Guardians?"
He nodded, "Thankfully, yes. They were badly injured from the explosion and are unconscious, as you might imagine, but we've healed them up to the point where they're stabilised." He said, "They're being guarded in a different room right now."
"And that fucker Saturn is probably never going to wake up again." Drake's growly voice cut in from beside us, "He took the full brunt of the explosion. I don't expect him to even be able to dream."
"…Yes, that's true, but let's focus on other things for now." Lucian said diplomatically, "Either way, we might not have managed to capture Cyrus, but this mission can be considered a success. We've retrieved the Lake Guardians, and since we've captured many scientists from here, a thorough interrogation should reveal what Cyrus had needed the Lake Guardians for. One of them must know something."
"Other than that, we've secured the Lake Guardians again, and will be returning them to their rightful resting places shortly – with a full guard to make sure that this doesn't happen again." He continued, "But for now, I suggest that we all get checked up and rested. Who knows if there were any side effects from that Psychic explosion just now."
"Overall, we did good work today. So let's head back and get ready for the debriefing."
A.N. So the Lake Guardians were retrieved, but it almost ended up in disaster. I wanted to actually show off why Koga had spent so much time warning everyone about the dangers of a real battle, and how that advice had finally paid off. If John and the others had rushed in alone, without Pokémon to clear the way first, that was it for all of them. Team Galactic are really crazy enough to do something like that. But now the Lake Guardians have been retrieved. Hope you enjoyed!
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