(Sorry for having no chapter yesterday; I couldn't finish the chap in time before I had to go to bed. After writing my last story, I have learned to set a certain time limit for writing before going to bed. Otherwise, it will affect my health like it did in the past.)
Once the dust settled and our pokemon had been called back Roark let out a small round of applause before announcing.
"Congratulations, you have earned yourself the Coal Badge! I gotta say I am impressed."
He handed his pokeballs to his assistant before he began to approach me.
We both exchanged a short handshake before he added with a smile.
"You are now officially one of the few trainers to have gotten your first badge so fast after starting your journey. But a word of warning, don't rush too fast to the next gym. They will give you an even harder time than I did.
I'll tell you the same thing my father told me. The journey is the most essential part of the gym challenges. Make sure you don't miss it trying to reach the finish line."
I nodded my head as I accepted the badge.
"I agree. This battle was closer than I wanted it to be. I am not confident I can win my second gym challenge without training my team even more."
Roark nodded his head in approval as he heard my words.
"If you are heading over to Eterna City, I would recommend you take the bike path. Yesterday I heard there was something going on near Valley Windworks, so it is better to play it safe. I heard they were going to send someone to check it out, so it must be pretty serious. Usually, they don't allow people without bikes on the bike path, but I talked to the guard at the gate, and he should let you through."
His words made me curse in my mind. I thought I would have had more time, but they were already in Valley Windworks.
I knew that they were stealing energy that was generated there. It must have been important since there would be a commander from Team Galactic overseeing the project. From what I remembered, Team Galactic was trying to gather enough energy to power up one of their experiments. They were going to capture the legendary lake pokemon and then use all of their stored energy to create the Red Chain.
The Red Chain was an item that could control both Dialga and Palkia, maybe even other legendaries. Their whole plan centered on it. If I was able to stop them from gathering this energy, I might be able to delay their plans. Though since they were already in the area, that would mean I would not get to train my pokemon in preparation like I had hoped to.
I knew I would probably not be able to take on a commander with the current strength of my team, but luckily for me, I didn't have to. I just had to stall for long enough to allow the person they were sending to come to deal with this issue. Or at least to allow that person to become a distraction so that I could damage their plans before disappearing.
I had made a plan for this event, but judging by the current time frame, I would have to skip a couple of steps. It was risky, but it was worth the risk if I could buy us some more time.
"Thanks for the warning. I will keep it in mind. I can't wait till the day we can have a rematch where you can use your main pokemon." I answered to him
I originally wanted to spend more time in this city to form a better friendship with the gym leader, but now I had to get out of there.
Seeing as I was in a hurry, Roark didn't hold me back, though he did say he looked forward to the rematch.
Making my way back to Jubilife City as fast as I could before stopping at their pokemon center. My pokemon were quite hurt from the battle, so I had to make sure to treat them first. As I entered, Joy tilted her head slightly before asking.
"Is everything alright, Lucas?" She asked as she saw me.
Putting on my brightest smile, I answered.
"Yes, you know I was just excited to share the news! I was able to beat the first gym leader!"
Joy responded with her own bright smile.
"That's wonderful! I knew you could make it! You didn't have to come all the way back here to tell me, but I appreciate that you did it."
I nodded a couple of times.
"Yeah… you know I also have to heal up my pokemon, and I was wondering if you could help me out. I can't wait to get back to my journey."
Joy's smile became brighter as she answered.
"Of course, you know that we are here if you ever need us!"
Working together with Nurse Joy, we were able to get my pokemon back to full health in record time. Joy bought that I was just too excited to continue the gym challenges, so she simply gave a few chuckles as she helped me out.
Curing Machop and Dreepy took us a few hours, but they were now in tip-top condition. And once we left the center, I gave a look at my pokemon as if to ask if they were ready.
Kirlia and Dreepy knew what this meant, so they both gave me determined looks. As for my new pokemon, they were slightly confused, but they were ready for whatever came.
I ignored all of the trainers along the way to Floaroma Town. Using teleport over and over again, we managed to shorten the long trip drastically. Yet, due to the time spent on the pokemon center the sun was starting to hide over the mountains, indicating the arrival of the night just as we arrived.
Once I was about to enter the town, I took a deep breath before calming my nerves. I didn't want to stand out by rushing all over the place. So I made my way in as if I was just taking a leisurely stroll.
The strong smell of flowers entered my nose as I heard the cacophony of Combee flying all over the place, followed by the sounds of Bird-like pokemon flying all over the place. The whole town was covered in flowers, and were it not for what I knew was happening in the windmill, I would have loved to take a nap in the grass.
People were simply wandering about the town as usual, which made me narrow my eyes for a second before I put on my friendliest smile as I walked toward a young man who seemed to be slightly annoyed.
"Hey there! How is it going? I was just passing by the town. And, I have to say this place is beautiful."
The annoyance on the man's face was replaced with a smile as he answered.
"Ah, yeah. We are quite proud of the environment we were able to cultivate for our town. I would recommend you go to the flower field to take in the view, but there are some Galactic employees are blocking off the area. I am sure once they leave, you can go in. It is the most popular place for visitors. I actually wanted to get some flowers for my… friend, but I was told I had to wait."
I put on a curious expression before asking.
"Galactic employees? Do you know what they are doing in the area?"
"Ah, they are working on fixing an issue the windmills have. Apparently, there were some faulty gears or something on them, and they were going to break down if they didn't repair them quickly. It's nice of them to come by and fix it, even if they are being slightly annoying by blocking the path to the flower field."
The excuse made sense. For most of the public, Team Galactic was simply a company that was researching clean energy and was trying to advance the technology so that the world could have clean and renewable energy. Unless you were from Veilstone City or had been directly harmed by Galactic, you probably would think that they are quite the noble company. If you thought that Team Galactic was doing something sketchy behind the scenes, you would be looked as if you were a conspiracy theorist.
"Thanks for the info. I can't wait to see all of the flowers around. Hopefully, they can get the issue fixed soon. I think I am going to go lay down in the grass and enjoy the view of the stars." I said before leaving.
I was rushing a bit too much right now. I couldn't afford to make a mistake, so I would meditate to assess my situation. I could use my clairvoyance to assess the situation and reassess my plan in case there was something I hadn't planned for.
I made my way to one of the nearby grass fields before laying down as if I was going to take a nap.
Taking one last deep breath, I released my clairvoyance as far as I could.
I first focused on the two Team Galactic grunts that were blocking the path to the field. They would be my key to gaining access to the inside of the Windmill building, or well, one of them would be.
"Do you really think we'll be able to find the pokemon that the boss is looking for here? I know the myths say that they are found in a 'legendary flower field,' but if it was here, I am sure that the people who live here would have noticed the pokemon by now."
"It is worth a try, at least. If you look at the good side, we get to hang out here instead of having to deal with redirecting the energy. So I wouldn't really complain." answered the other Galactic member.
The only pokemon I knew that was related to a legendary flower field was Shaymin. I didn't expect Cyrus also to be looking for them, but I guess Galactic would be keeping their eyes open for any possible legendaries they could catch.
If my memory served well, then I didn't have to worry about them finding Shaymin in this location; the little pokemon would be hidden quite well. So I changed my focus to the Valley Windworks.
I could sense there was a good amount of people in there… And there were also two psychic pokemon next to one person. I focused in order not to let them feel me before drawing slightly closer to look inside.
I was being extremely careful as I began to analyze the insides of the facility, it meant I wouldn't be able to listen in, but I at least would be able to get a general picture as to what was going on.
Inside of the facility was a good amount of random team Galactic members running around messing with the wires and the batteries in the facility. An old man wearing a scientist lab coat was currently working on the main computer that controlled where the energy that was produced was sent to. Judging by his signature hair and glasses, I knew that this was one of Team Galactic's commanders, Charon. One of the main researchers for the organization.
Not so far from him was a red-haired woman standing next to a massive Purugly. She seemed slightly annoyed as she talked to Charon before she moved to find a place to sit. Next to her Purugly was an Espeon that seemed to be lazing about. As I looked at the Espeon, her head seemed to perk up as she began looking around. This was my cue to leave.
Opening my eyes, I was greeted with the night sky.
Judging by the brief amount, I was able to see they haven't finished their preparations to redirect the energy to their HQ. I believe their preparations should be ready by the time the morning comes.
"Mars has another psychic type pokemon in one of her pokeballs in addition to the Espeon. So me using my psychic powers to teleport inside and mess with things will not work…."
I turned to look in the direction of the flower field before muttering to myself.
"Time for plan B. 'Join' team Galactic."
~Author's Note~
Secret agent Manfred reporting for duty. I was recently able to inflitrate the targets household by pretending to be private security. Please continue to send your power stones so that I can keep my job for long enough to deliver justice to this criminal.
Looking at Kirlia, we both exchanged nods with each other before we teleported. Each of us appeared behind one of the team Galactic members in the flower field before focusing our psychic powers on them.
Using Hypnosis on the random grunts, we forced them to fall asleep before gently lowering them to the ground. Then, we teleported with them to a farther part of the field where we knew no one would be able to see us.
"Alright, Kirlia, we gotta be careful." I said as I placed one of my hands on the head of the grunt I had knocked out.
The biggest thing that stuck with me from Olympia's school was this one phrase. The mind is a fragile thing.
I was about to mess with that at this moment, and I had to take a few moments to relax my nerves before focusing on their mind. It would be very bad if they woke up randomly while I was trying to infiltrate the Valley Windworks, so I was going to sever the link their minds had to consciousness. I was effectively going to put them in a coma. One wrong move and their consciousness would go bye-bye forever.
Kirlia, on the other hand, would be focusing on manipulating the mind of the other team Galactic member to forget about the person he was with. It would be suspicious if the reports from these two suddenly stopped, so we had to leave at least one of them as a backup. Kirlia would stay behind to supervise this one as I went inside. Ready to knock him out if he did something strange or teleport to me if I was in danger.
I very carefully reached into his mind before finding the mental string that represented the connection between his mind and his body. Ever so gently, I sliced it before I stabilized his mind. I believed I had done it correctly, as I didn't feel any backslash coming from within him.
Letting out a small sigh, I looked at Kirlia, who was also finishing up making him forget about his fellow partner.
Looking at the comatose member, I felt a slight wave of discomfort before taking in a deep breath to settle my mind and saying.
"Step 1, gather the uniform. Complete."
I was going to dress up as a Team Galactic member in order to infiltrate the windmill. Then, I would activate my Fairy-type charm to the max before bullshitting my way inside. Oak had taught me a lot about electronics during my time at the camp, and since then, I had kept up with my studying about how they worked. I may not have the most practical experience, but I at least was able to understand the general gist of how this windmill and the redirection of energy worked.
After changing my clothes, I now resembled a team Galactic member. Judging by the insignia patch on my left arm this person probably worked under Saturn, but had been sent here to assist which gave me something to work from. However, after changing my clothes, my appearance remained the same. If I went in as I was right now, I would be recognized in the future while out of uniform. So it was time for step number two. I had to thank Aunt Lila for wanting to play dress-up with me and leaving some of her stuff behind.
All the time she had been trying to turn me into the perfect face for pokemon contests had given me an idea. My signature grey-blue hair was quite recognizable, as well as some of my facial features. But thankfully, Lila was the one-stop shop for items like wigs and make-up. The whole time she thought she was preparing me for my future as a Coordinator, she had actually been teaching me how to become an entirely different person.
Using my psychic powers to change my appearance would draw attention from other psychic trainers and pokemon, so for infiltration, I would have to go with a more practical route.
By the time I was done changing how I looked, I was an entirely different person. I had medium-length blonde hair that was accompanied by a primarily pale complexion. Even my blue eyes had been covered with a set of green contacts. Unlike in the game, where all of the grunts had the same blue hair bowl cut, people here actually had different features and hairstyles. The only real way to recognize a Team Galactic member was by their uniform. So as long as I didn't draw suspicion, I would be unrecognizable from one.
I didn't encounter anyone on my way to the windmill since it was the dead of night. Everyone was asleep at the moment, with the exception of the Team Galactic members currently working frantically inside the Valley Windworks station.
Approaching the entrance, I saw an older man wearing the uniform guarding the door. He gave me a look before stating.
"I didn't hear a word that they were sending someone else."
With the full moon shining directly on me I felt a surge of what I could only assume was fairy type energy run through my body before I opened my mouth.
"Ah? Didn't you get the word? I was sent here because apparently the authorities are getting suspicious and they were going to send someone to investigate. Boss wanted this to be done as soon as possible so that we could leave before they got here.
To be honest, one of Saturn's subordinates picked me out of nowhere because I used to work with electronics in the past. It was a bit last minute and he was freaking out because he didn't want to get in trouble with Saturn, so he might have forgotten to tell you. If I am honest, I would have liked to get a whole night's sleep… But orders are orders."
Almost as if fueled by a force out of this world, the words came out so naturally and sincerely that I had even surprised myself.
The man guarding the door let out a smile before answering.
"It was Manfred, wasn't it? That dude is always trying to suck up to Saturn. I couldn't tell you the amount of crappy jobs he decided to send me on at the last minute just because he was trying to leave a good impression on the boss. I can't wait to see that asshole get demoted and be put to work with the rest of us.
Come on in, there is some coffee inside, Mars should be able to get you started on redirecting the power."
I gave him a small bow of appreciation before walking in. I didn't know if it was the adrenaline or the sudden strange burst of fairy-type energy, but I felt as if I was full-on confidence. Almost as if I could charm my way through anything. A dangerous feeling I would have to try to reel back if I didn't want to put myself in danger.
Walking through the building, I saw many people running back and forth and changing the wiring on the station. Some people were working on computers quickly, working and changing things as efficiently as they could.
Judging by what I saw, I could probably deduce that they were trying to create a way to siphon energy from the windmill permanently without traces of their involvement. They were going to be redirecting a good amount of the power generated to power up their electronics. The excuse that there was an issue with the windmill itself would serve to bring attention away from the fact that the windmill itself appeared to be producing less energy.
Most of the people seemed to be extremely focused on their task, so they just ignored me as they ran from one place to another.
I made my way until I eventually landed in front of a red-haired woman with a serious expression. She had a short, spiky bob hairstyle. She was wearing a modified Team Galactic uniform that had a skirt with the emblematic "G" on the middle of her chest. Her eyes were filled with determination and focus as she watched the people working.
Giving her a small salute, I said.
"I was sent here to assist in speeding up the process, boss. Is there any specific place where I would be needed? I am ready to work wherever I am needed."
She narrowed her eyes at me as she heard me speak. The Espeon right next to her raised her head in curiosity as she heard me before making her way up to me and smelling me.
Mars quietly observed her pokemon with narrowed eyes that had traces of suspicion. Yet the next moment, Espeon rubbed her head against my leg as if she was a cat before she put her paws on my legs as if asking to be picked up.
Mars was simply staring at me waiting to see what I would do, so I just simply went with my gut and picked the Espeon up into my arms before petting her head.
A small trace of a smile appeared on Mars' face before being replaced with her serious and determined expression, all traces of suspicion going away.
"What's your name? I haven't seen you anywhere before." She asked with a serious expression.
"My name is Diamond Aspen, boss." I lied as naturally as breathing.
She gave a glance at her Espeon before letting out a small whistle. The cat-like pokemon hopped off my arms as she heard it before leisurely walking back to her napping spot and lying back down.
"The rewiring process is taking longer than expected. Go assist them with it." Her words were direct and to the point.
Nodding my head, I gave her one last salute before making my way in the direction she had pointed me in. This was precisely where I wanted to be so that I could subtly mess with the wiring. As I walked away, I heard her say.
"Make sure when you get back to base. You get a new uniform. I want you to transfer from Saturn's division to mine. If anyone gives you trouble, tell them that it is a direct order from me."
I turned around, slightly shocked, only to see her petting the head of the resting Espeon. Her gaze shifted from her pokemon before looking back at me and adding.
"Get to work. We are running out of time before trouble gets here."
Ah. I wasn't sure if this was something good or something troublesome. On the one hand, by gaining the trust of her pokemon with my "totally radical and cool" vibes I had partially earned Mars' trust. But on the other, I had the feeling that this would become something troublesome in the future.
Putting those thoughts in the back of my head I made my way to were all of the members who were working in the wiring were before letting the strange energy that was surging trough my body go wild once again and giving my most charismatic smile.
"Hello! Mars has just assigned me to assist all of you. You can simply consider me as your assistant in case you need someone to help you rewire stuff."
I didn't have my Mesmerize activated at the moment, but I could almost feel the same "sparkling" feeling coming from them. I had to add mental notes that in order to train my Fairy typing I would have to put myself into situations where I would have to charm my way in. Something like pokemon contests, or the little infiltration mission I was in.
I had a couple of hypothesis as to why I was experiencing such a massive wave of "charisma" right now. But the main one was that my body was doing it as a defense mechanism since I had tried to keep my psychic powers to the minimum to avoid suspicion. I knew I was deep in the lion's mouth, so my body was forcibly loading me up with adrenaline and the Fairy-type energy. Plus the fact that it was a full moon today seemed to help.
The team Galactic members looked exhausted as they worked, so when they saw me come in, they welcomed the help immediately. I got to work immediately with them, and thanks to my offer of becoming their helper, I was running from place to place doing small things. Since I had somehow managed to catch the interest of Mars and had practically gotten a way into the Hq, I couldn't go with my original plan of causing a huge mess, but I had something better. I was going to throw my entire team of fellow electricians under the bus.
I was going to do small things here, and there that would build on each other that would result in the entire thing failing, and I was going to put the blame on them. I could see it in their faces that they had been working non-stop for hours, and they were beginning to show signs of sleep deprivation. I wasn't sure how long they had been working, but I was going to dismantle their plans with a big friendly smile on my face.
~Author's Note~
Diamond because that is his original name in the manga. As for Aspen, that is the name of a tree, so since he is planning on becoming a professor, gotta give him a tree name lol.
— — —
Guys, I have a bad feeling. Private security is doing great at their jobs, but something is amiss. I have the feeling we are being observed. I think we have an impostor in our midst. Send me your power stones so that I can secretly prepare for the hunt.
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