"Alex! Where are you!" I shouted, further into Route 7 than I wished I was. My crew, plus Swinub, were following behind, spread out to cover more ground.
We'd found a mess of footsteps near the bathroom, and Nova had sniffed his scent out towards Route 7. The clues didn't go far, and we were now manually looking for more. I whistled, calling for everyone to gather. Nova, who'd been closest, popped out from behind a tree, gnawing on a charred Berry. Nautilus hovered over, not looking bothered. I heard Tetsu and Swinub before seeing them, the two opting to play a game of tag as they 'searched.'
They didn't seem to care about Alex disappearing, which… was fair. I didn't care for him either. But Professor Sycamore asked me to complete this job himself, so I didn't want to disappoint with my first official Lab quest.
I opened the Map again, zooming in to see if there were any spots a researcher scared of Pokémon would go to. The only places nearby were the Berry farms and the Day Care.
"Fuck me," I huffed. That seemed to get everyone's attention. "I think we have to go to the Day Care."
They stared blankly. 'Oh, right. They didn't hear the news.'
"Something is going on there. It's been closed for a few days, and no one knows why."
Nautilus sighed, Nova perked up, and Tetsu and Swinub continued to imitate statues. "Come on, we might as well see what bullshit is happening there. Swinub, I know you don't like him. I promise I will find a way to fix things for you. But I can't do that if I don't get him to his lab. Can you help me for now?"
Swinub looked at me for a few moments before nodding hesitantly. I gave him a smile. "Thank you, buddy. Let's work together."
0-0-0
"Shit," I muttered. We'd neared the Day Care building, so I had Nautilus silently creep closer to check what was happening. He reported seeing a few Team Flux grunts walking into the building. When I asked how many, he said only three, but that was only the number that walked in. Who knew how many were already inside the building.
As the three-story building came into view, the ambient noise from the route faded out. It wasn't until I registered the complete silence that I noticed it was growing dark. Lights turned on throughout the building, and I saw people walking freely past the many windows. I couldn't get the most accurate answer, but I counted roughly twelve different people inside. It would be tough to handle by myself. I grabbed Nova's ball and froze, my finger just barely feeling the metal. Lyla flashed across my mind, then the League Agent. My fingers tightened, threatening to snap the Heal Ball in half.
"No, just us," I said to myself. I looked over at the other three, the seeds of a plan sprouting. "Nautilus, Nova. I need you to go in and distract everyone. Go crazy and take out as many as you can. You two are the strongest and have my full faith in handling yourselves. Tetsu, Swinub—we gotta get you a nickname, buddy. Swinub is going to get uncomfortable fast. But you two are coming with me."
I sent them on their way with instructions to wait thirty seconds after we left their line of sight. We heard shouts and mayhem the moment we reached a side entrance. That was our cue, and I opened the door as quietly as I could. Tetsu went in first, energy for a Protect readied. I went in next, and Swinub followed.
A quick check of his status revealed Mud-Slap, Dig, Ice Shard, and Take Down as his only battle-ready moves, which were more than enough for now.
We snuck through easily with Nautilus and Nova taking most of the heat. The few we did encounter were quickly knocked out with a combination of Metal Claw and Ice Shard. I made sure to recall the Pokémon and lock their balls before tying up their Trainers. The building had many small supply rooms, and each one added time spent searching for Alex and the Day Care staff. We rushed through the second floor, searching every room for trapped people and Pokémon. Once we finished searching, we made our way to the third floor. The floor's central hallway was empty and quiet, the sounds of the downstairs battle disappearing.
"Ancient Power!"
I dove to the floor the moment I heard a voice, dodging the rocks that flew overhead. Tetsu used Protect to block a follow-up attack from an Exeggcute, giving Swinub an opening to attack freely. Ice Shards cut through the eggs' defenses, cracking one of them. The cracked egg shrieked in pain as the grunt grabbed a PokéBall. "Gravity!" I commanded.
Tetsu acted immediately, slamming both of our opponents onto the floor. I walked over and grabbed the Exeggcute Ball, locking them and the two other Pokémon in their balls. As I tied up the grunt, I heard voices from a room at the end of the hallway I was in. The door was covered in ice, and mist wafted out in waves.
"Y-y-y-you-"
"Sh-sh-shut up, you pussy," a nasally voice interrupted Alex. "I hate weak men like you. If it were up to me, you'd already be dead. But we need to wait for him."
"He, he doesn't know I'm here," Alex whimpered. "He won't come."
"Oh, don't worry about that," the woman said. "Those hero types always show up. Always."
I paused at the door, thinking about the best thing to do. Alex was in there, but I didn't know who else was in there or how prepared they were. They were expecting me, apparently, but I still had the element of surprise. I looked at Tetsu and Swinub, bringing a finger up to my lips.
Go… fast… We… help… soon.
Nautilus' familiar energy washed through my head, settling the building anxiety. I looked at the two, their determined expressions exuding confidence.
'Let's do this.'
I clicked Tetsu's PokéBall button five times before kicking the door open, wood and ice splintering and landing on Alex and an older woman with jet-black hair. Tetsu's shimmering Protect shielded us from an attack as Swinub's Mud-Slap shot into a Glaceon's eyes. The Ice Type yelped in annoyance and then pain as twin Metal Claws bashed their head. The attack didn't do more than daze the eeveelution for two seconds, but that gave Tetsu more time to hit the same spots. I rushed the black-haired lady, Swinub sending an Ice Shard that prevented her from reaching for another PokéBall. Once in her space, I grabbed the arm closest to me and twisted it, causing her to grunt in pain. She reached up with her other hand and grabbed onto my hair, yanking it in an attempt to get me off her.
I kicked the back of her knee but gripped her arms, holding her in the air for a moment before slamming her into the wall repeatedly until she went limp. One of her PokéBalls popped open, and a Masquerain appeared, pissed to oblivion. Before the Bug Type could do anything, I saw Nova and Nautilus both release their status moves, a Yawn and Hypnosis proving to be enough to put the Pokémon to sleep. The Glaceon whipped a Steel-Energy covered flap into Tetsu, instantly knocking her out after breaking her Protect. Before anything could happen, I recalled both Pokémon and locked all six PokéBalls the woman had on her.
"Thank Arceus! You saved me!" Alex rushed over and hugged me, holding on for a few seconds before letting go. "They took-"
"Not yet," I cut him off. "I don't how many are left, and anyone that arrives may not be here to help us."
I didn't want us getting caught off-guard if we got another rogue agent. I tied the woman up as Alex went through the other rooms, releasing the Day Care staff and their Pokémon. When an agent showed up, Nautilus and Nova in front of me, ready to protect me in case of an attack. If the agent noticed, he didn't show it. Instead, he and his Gardevoir went through the building, collecting grunts and their Pokémon before coming back to deal with the woman.
"Good job dealing with a Flux admin," he commented. I looked at the woman, finally noticing the Key Stone on her belt. That was… terrifying to notice after dealing with her.
"Yeah, we got lucky," I said. "We were barely doing any damage to her Glaceon."
"You made the right call when you went after her directly," he responded. "We don't recommend anyone do that, even our agents, but sometimes the only way to prevent large-scale damage or even death is by attacking the Trainer. It's illegal most of the time, but all bets are off when your life is in danger."
"Yeah, well, I'm trying to avoid situations like that."
"Good luck," he said before teleporting away and returning with an Officer Jenny and a Ranger. Alex walked towards me, looking like he wanted to say something. A lanky man with spiky blue hair talked to me first, his punk outfit starkly contrasting his pleasant and warm tone.
"Yo, thank you for saving us!" he exclaimed, animatedly shaking my hand. "I wasn't expecting Team Flux to hijack the Day Care during my routine boxes check, but now it's over! You were pretty awesome, even if I didn't see you in action."
"Uhh, thank you?"
"I don't think these compliments are enough. Here! Let me give you a new model of the Pokétch. I've added an app that lets you access your PC Boxes. That way you can switch out your team as needed!"
The man handed me a watch and walked off, humming as he left. Alex and I stood there, saying nothing for at least a few minutes.
"Was that Cassius who gave you the newest Pokétch months before it releases?"