Capítulo 1149: Mama Eelektross Who Stole Electricity
Unable to retrieve Honoka's adoptive father's records from the Investigation Bureau, Yuga had a backup plan—the White Light Intelligence Agency. He didn't intend to dig into anything too deep, only to clarify the connections in Honoka's adoptive father's social circle.
Whether this man had any ties to Kanda was the key to clearing up the whole matter.
Yuga had been a regular customer of the White Light Intelligence Agency for a while, so they quickly accepted his request.
After setting everything in motion, Yuga suspected that Honoka hadn't completed her adoptive father's task with Luna, and there might be further developments soon.
As Yuga had anticipated, the next day Honoka privately approached him and once again expressed her uncle's desire to purchase the two Raticates.
Yuga politely declined. Until it was proven that Honoka's adoptive father had a connection with Kanda, Yuga didn't want to escalate the situation.
If it turned out there was no connection between the two, Yuga would have no grounds to criticize Honoka's uncle for such a request. After all, Yuga himself had privately bought adult Pokémon from others in the past.
After being refused, Honoka didn't seem upset. Before leaving, she asked Yuga not to mention the matter to Luna.
Yuga thought it over and agreed, but internally he was considering whether or not to warn Luna to keep her distance from this person. However, he couldn't easily jump to conclusions based on just a few interactions, given that he hadn't spent much time with Honoka.
In the end, Yuga decided not to interfere in his sister's friendships. As the saying goes, "Time reveals a person's true nature." If Honoka truly wasn't trustworthy, her true colors would show eventually.
After all, you learn from experience. Luna had simply been through too little. If Honoka wasn't someone worth befriending, letting Luna learn a lesson wouldn't be a bad thing. Especially since Luna would be working in the Investigation Bureau in the future, and being too naive wouldn't do her any favors.
After Honoka left, Yuga went to check on the new shop, as a batch of Pokéblocks was due for shipment, and he needed to follow up with Misaki and the others.
On his way out, he happened to bump into Anya, who had just returned from Mr. Harrison's place.
"Boss!" Anya greeted Yuga politely.
"You just came back from Mr. Harrison's?" Yuga asked casually.
"Yes..." Anya let out a deep sigh and nodded, "That's right."
Seeing her sigh so heavily, Yuga asked curiously, "What's wrong? Who upset you?"
Anya was startled for a moment before responding, "No one upset me. It's something that happened at my master's place." Since formally becoming Mr. Harrison's apprentice, Anya had started calling him "master."
"What could possibly go wrong at Mr. Harrison's?" Yuga asked, even more puzzled. Mayor Ishida practically doted on Mr. Harrison—who would dare cause trouble for him?
It turned out the problem wasn't with Mr. Harrison himself, but with the Sunflora Power Plant. Mr. Harrison had been troubled by the issue for the past couple of days.
Recently, the power plant had been experiencing unexplained massive power losses. The staff suspected that an Electric-type Pokémon had somehow infiltrated the plant.
However, after searching for quite some time, they hadn't been able to find the Electric-type Pokémon responsible or figure out its identity, driving everyone at the plant to the brink of despair.
A large amount of electricity was disappearing for no apparent reason, which meant that to maintain the power supply for Verdanturf Town, the workload of the Sunflora had increased significantly. Mr. Harrison was quite unhappy with the power plant's lack of security in this regard.
"There's such a thing happening?" As soon as Yuga heard "Electric-type Pokémon," his eyes lit up. "I'll go check it out later!" After all, he had a side quest to complete.
Waving at Anya, Yuga ran off.
Upon returning to the old store, Yuga first called down Windy from upstairs to help move the Pokéblocks to the new store. Then, after giving Suzuki Koen some instructions, he headed to the Sunflora ranch.
Before leaving, he took along his Mismagius, Gengar, and Mimikyu, as they were sensitive to life forces and would be more effective in locating Pokémon.
When Yuga arrived at the ranch, Salamence was playing with Shelgon. The moment Shelgon spotted Yuga, it ran toward him with a heavy, snorting sound.
Bending down to give Shelgon a hug, Yuga patted its back and said, "I have some business here. You can keep playing with your father."
Shelgon affectionately rubbed against Yuga before running back to Salamence's side.
After parting from Shelgon, Yuga went straight to the nearby power plant. When the plant's manager saw Yuga, he greeted him respectfully, "What brings Gym Leader Shimizu here? Is something the matter?"
This plant manager used to be a highly skilled technician at a large power plant in Mauville City (though Yuga didn't know the exact details of how he was skilled). After retiring, he had been re-hired by Mayor Ishida to manage this plant.
Yuga replied, "I heard you've been having some trouble at the plant recently, so I thought I'd come and take a look."
"Indeed, you wouldn't believe it…" The manager, filled with frustration, launched into a complaint. If this situation continued, all the stored power would be stolen, and he might lose his job as manager!
He and Mr. Harrison had quarreled several times over the matter in recent days, but there wasn't much he could do.
"I'll take a look and see if I can find the reason for the power drain," Yuga offered after hearing the manager's complaints.
The manager's face brightened immediately. "That would be wonderful! With Gym Leader Shimizu here, I'm sure we'll find the cause."
The manager wanted to find someone to guide Yuga around, but Yuga declined.
"No need to trouble anyone. I'll just wander around on my own. No need to interrupt anyone's work."
Since Yuga insisted, the manager didn't push the issue. "Alright then, Gym Leader Shimizu. If you need anything, just call me!"
After finishing the conversation with the manager, Yuga entered the power plant alone.
Compared to typical power plants, the Sunflora Power Plant's internal structure was much simpler since its main power generation was done by the pot-shaped equipment outside. Most of the internal facilities were used for storing electricity converted from solar energy.
That was the advantage of the Sunflora Power Plant!
However, Yuga was no expert. No matter how simple the equipment, he couldn't tell one thing from another.
"Gengar, Mismagius, Mimikyu, come out and take a look around. See if you can find anything."
As soon as Yuga finished speaking, Gengar, Mismagius, and Mimikyu appeared out of nowhere beside him and then vanished in the blink of an eye.
After the three Pokémon left, Yuga also started walking around the plant. Aside from Yuga, there were many other workers in the plant, all of whom recognized him. They greeted him respectfully when they saw him but refrained from asking why he was there.
No one at the plant restricted Yuga's movements. Wherever he wanted to go, they would let him pass without hesitation.
After making a full round, Yuga hadn't noticed anything unusual.
He checked the places where electricity was stored and where it had been disappearing, but still found nothing, so he was about to move on to another area.
At that moment, he suddenly noticed another shadow next to his own. This shadow was only the size of his thumb, swaying like a small fish. If he hadn't been paying close attention, he might not have noticed it at all.
Yuga quickly turned around, but saw nothing—not even the shadow that had just been there.
There was no way that had been his imagination, Yuga thought with a frown.
Suddenly, "Ka, ka…" Mimikyu appeared beside Yuga, holding a thumb-sized Pokémon in its Shadow Claw.
...
[ Tynamo ]
Type: Electric
Ability: Levitate
Gender: Female
Potential: Red
Level: 10
Moves: Tackle, Charge Beam, Magnet Rise.
...
Yuga finally understood. So this little guy was the culprit! No wonder the power plant workers couldn't find it!
Although Tynamo was mostly seen in the Unova region, Yuga wasn't surprised. In recent years, the cases of Pokemon being carried to different regions—like the mutated Raticate—had become more and more common.
The Tynamo struggled fiercely in Mimikyu's grasp, but given its strength, there was no way it could escape!
Wait a second! Could such a small Tynamo really have stolen that much power from the plant?
Yuga looked at the Tynamo again and felt that there was more to this.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before Mismagius and Gengar returned as well. Gengar had caught five more Tynamo, and Mismagius had caught three. These Tynamo had managed to evade the power plant workers but couldn't escape from Gengar and Mismagius, who were sensitive to life forces.
Looking at the group of Tynamo, Yuga thought, Now this makes more sense! But there must be even more. Just these few Tynamo wouldn't be enough to steal so much power.
Yuga thought for a moment and then said to Gengar and the others, "Let them go."
Gengar and Mismagius looked puzzled. Why let them go?
Yuga discreetly gave them a signal, and the three Pokémon understood immediately, releasing the Tynamo. The Tynamo shrieked and darted away in a panic.
They moved so quickly that they vanished in an instant. No wonder the power plant workers hadn't been able to find them.
"Follow them," Yuga whispered to his three Pokémon.
They grinned, nodded, and disappeared from sight.
A few minutes later, Mimikyu returned to Yuga's side. It tugged at him, indicating that he should follow.
Led by Mimikyu, Yuga arrived at a location with a pool and drainage pipes, where Gengar and Mismagius were waiting for him.
"Gen, Gen, Gen!"
After Gengar's explanation, Yuga understood that the Tynamo had disappeared into the drainage pipes.
Yuga then sought out the power plant staff to inquire and learned that the water in the pool was used to cool the plant's machinery, and the drainage pipes connected to Green Jade River, the mother river of Verdanturf Town.
The Green Jade River served as the source of cooling water for the power plant and was also the discharge location. (The cooling water from the Sunflora Power Plant wasn't polluted in the first place, and it went through special purification before being discharged, so there was no environmental contamination.) The drainage pipes were usually locked with metal grates, which didn't obstruct the drainage but prevented anyone from entering.
The gaps in the metal grates were small, but with Tynamo being the size of a thumb, it could easily slip through.
After learning about the drainage pipes' function, Yuga sought out the plant manager again and asked him to unlock the metal grates.
Once the metal grates were opened, the plant manager, with a worried expression, asked, "Gym Leader Shimizu, are you sure you want to go down there alone? Shouldn't I get someone to guide you?"
Yuga waved his hand and said, "No need. We still don't know what's really going on down there, so it's better if I go alone."
The manager didn't insist after hearing this. If Yuga couldn't solve the problem, sending more people wouldn't help either.
However, before Yuga went in, the manager handed him a flashlight. The drainage pipes were dark, and since there were no lights installed, it would be very inconvenient without a flashlight.
After thanking the manager, Yuga, along with Gengar and the others, entered the drainage pipes. The space inside the pipes was quite spacious, mainly because the power plant had plenty of funding when it was built, with generous financial support from the League.
Yuga walked a long distance without encountering anything unusual, hearing only the sound of rushing water.
After nearly twenty minutes, Yuga suddenly heard a series of squeaking noises. He shone his flashlight in the direction of the sound, and white shadows quickly darted by.
It was the Tynamo from earlier.
There were far more Tynamo than the ones Gengar and the others had caught before. Yuga estimated at least twenty or more.
The Tynamo moved too fast for Yuga to capture their exact movements, so he continued walking forward.
After another four or five minutes, the squeaking sound returned. Yuga raised his flashlight again, and the beam revealed a dense swarm of Tynamo.
Yuga gasped. There were so many, easily several hundred! No wonder they were able to steal so much power from the plant.
Despite their small size, even hundreds of Tynamo gathered together didn't take up much space. However, for someone with trypophobia, this sight might be unsettling.
Oddly enough, this time, the Tynamo didn't flee in panic when Yuga's flashlight shone on them. Instead, they all lined up, blocking the way as if they were determined to prevent Yuga from passing. There was a sense of united defiance in the air.
Just as Yuga was about to command Gengar and the others to attack, a roar echoed from behind the Tynamo, followed by the sound of something breaking through the water in the darkness.
Yuga didn't have to wonder for long before a ferocious-looking Eelektross pushed past the Tynamo and appeared before him.
The Eelektross's body crackled with electricity, seemingly overcharged with power, as it glared at Yuga.
The Eelektross let out a menacing roar, baring its sharp teeth and claws, trying to intimidate Yuga and his Pokémon into retreating.
But Yuga noticed something off. Despite its fierce display, the Eelektross seemed to be bluffing. Even Yuga could smell the strong scent of blood in the air.
When the Eelektross was still in the water, the water had masked the scent, but now that it was out, the smell of blood was unmistakable.
Clearly, the Eelektross was injured, and the stolen electricity had been used to aid it.
However, it had been too severely wounded. Not only had it failed to absorb the stolen electricity properly, but the excess energy had worsened its injuries.
Eelektross was a dominant force in the water, and as an Electric-type Pokémon, it naturally had an advantage over Water-types. Yuga couldn't figure out what could have hurt it so badly that it had to flee to human territory for refuge.
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