"Boss, I know where Manager Proton is. Come with me!"
The short guy rubbed his hands together. After seeing Grey's imposing, heroic figure, he decided it was time to switch sides.
"You should've done that from the start. Taking a Rage Fist head-on for nothing was a total waste of time."
Grey sighed and let the short guy take the lead.
At the same time, he used his Aura to probe the situation inside the base.
"Heh heh, you know, I've always been on the League's side. I just got dazzled for a moment by those two just now. The moment I saw a man like you, sir, I immediately came to my senses again."
As he talked, the short guy didn't even blush. It was like he truly meant every word, not a trace of insincerity to be found.
"What's your name?"
Walking behind him, Grey casually asked while glancing around at the surroundings.
"My codename's Hien."
"You seem to know which way the wind's blowing."
"Oh, oh, got it, Boss! We're heading to the elevator now—Manager Proton's in the lounge on the very bottom floor."
Hien's pace unconsciously quickened, and in no time he'd led Grey to an elevator.
"Boss, this is it. Let's go in together!"
As he spoke, Hien reached out to press the elevator button.
But just before his finger could touch it, the metallic surface suddenly reflected dancing flames.
"Huh?!"
Hien's pupils shrank as he saw a Blaziken dropping down from above!
Boom!
Blaziken shot out from Grey's side, its right leg carving a blazing arc through the air. Flames erupted from beneath its foot, dyeing the entire corridor a fiery red as the heat wave blasted Hien's bangs straight back from his forehead!
"Cha-o!"
With a single vicious kick, Blaziken nailed Hien square in the back, booting him straight into the elevator car as alarms instantly shrieked throughout the entire underground base!
"Poli~." (Damn it, how can this guy be so nasty? He even remembered to leave a trap here.)
Poliwhirl, whose Damp Ability had been triggered, rubbed its own back as a faint mist seeped off its body and spread outward.
The moment it saw this involuntary haze, it knew some Pokémon was about to use Explosion.
"Man, do they really take me for an idiot?"
Grey covered his face, thinking these people sure took a lot for granted.
Did they really think he was some clueless fool who'd walk in unprepared?
"I actually wanted to give you a chance to redeem yourself, atone for your crimes with a bit of merit. But it looks like even when you get a chance, you really can't make anything of it."
Grey traced a lazy line with his index finger, and Annihilape instantly understood.
"Ki-haaa!"
It jammed both hands straight into the gap between the elevator doors; muscles bulging, it tore the thick metal doors apart like they were paper.
Inside the car, more than a dozen Electrode were huddled together pitifully.
The sparks flickering across their surfaces kept dimming and brightening, like firecrackers soaked in the rain, drooping and lifeless.
"Poli~." (I told you to take better care of your bodies. This whole 'wanting to use Explosion but not being able to' thing feels awful, doesn't it?)
Poliwhirl waddled lazily over to the doorway, the spiral on its belly gleaming faintly as another layer of mist rolled out.
The Electrode in the front row let out a feeble little sputter of electricity and rolled, miserably, into the corner.
It wanted to blow up, but just couldn't—truly a frustrating day…
"Cough… c-c'mon, Boss, I just lost my head for a second. I really never meant to make a move against you…"
Blood dribbled from Hien's mouth as he forced a wobbly smile, trying to get Grey to give him another chance.
"At a time like this, are you seriously saying that out loud? You're not even embarrassed?"
Grey didn't even look back as he headed for the stairwell. Blaziken's footsteps and Poliwhirl's little slap-slap steps echoed down the corridor.
Watching Grey's back as he walked away, Hien slumped into a corner of the elevator, relief at having survived just beginning to curl his lips…
"Ki-haaa!"
From behind, Annihilape, who had yet to catch up to the others, suddenly clamped a hand around his neck.
As weightlessness washed over him, Hien saw himself sail across the entire corridor before crashing hard into the middle of that droopy pile of Electrode!
The last thing he saw was Annihilape slowly sliding the elevator doors shut, and that pair of glowing eyes peering at him through the narrowing gap.
"W-wait… wait! At least let me out!"
Adrenaline surged through Hien as his fingernails scraped shrill screeches across the warped elevator doors.
"Open the door! Hurry the hell up and open the door!"
He pounded the control panel like crazy, pushing every button in a panic. The emergency call button sank in, but all that came from the speaker was static.
"Beep, beep-beep—"
An urgent beeping sound suddenly went off behind him.
Hien turned his head stiffly and saw the patterns on the Electrode's surfaces gradually lighting up.
Poliwhirl's Damp effect was starting to fade…
And the white light on the first Electrode was already flickering at a dizzying frequency…
Boom!
"Did you guys hear something blow up just now?"
Already walking in the stairwell, Grey dug a finger in his ear at the sudden tremor and asked the Pokémon around him.
"Cha-o." (No idea. Maybe it was that first batch of Electrode finally going off?)
Blaziken scratched its head; trotting along after Grey, that was the only explanation it could come up with.
As for the state of the elevator shaft, it automatically assumed Poliwhirl's Damp Ability would reach that far, so it didn't give the place a second thought.
"Mii-ou." (It's no big deal. Either way, it won't affect us over here.)
Arriving late, the little Riolu bounded up several steps at a time and only just managed to catch up.
"Hey, where'd you run off to just now? I didn't see you at all."
Only when he heard the little Riolu's voice did Grey snap out of it and finally realize what felt off.
The little Riolu had been missing!
"Mii-ou~?" (Me? I just went to do a teensy bit of cleanup work. No need to thank me too much~ this is all just what I should do~)
"Mii-ou~" (Of course, if you really insist on thanking me, a little chocolate caviar ice cream would be… hey, wait, I'm not finished! Don't walk away!)
Like rattling off a menu, the little Riolu listed every snack it wanted to eat.
In response, Grey and the rest simply quickened their pace, not even looking back as they completely left it behind.
It just wanted to eat something tasty, right?
Was there really any need to treat it like this?!
The little Riolu felt more than a bit wronged; its mouth puffed into a pout of anger.
"Riolu." (If you want some, you can have this.)
Grey's Riolu popped out of its Poké Ball then, pinching a piece of chocolate between its fingers as it held it out to the little Riolu.
"Mii-ou!" (Chocolate! Riolu, you're the best! I'll remember you for the rest of my life!)
Tears welled up in the little Riolu's eyes until its vision blurred.
Arigato, Riolu!
"Riolu." (No need to thank me. I just can't eat it.)
Honest, straightforward Riolu scratched its head and spoke the simple truth.
The little Riolu: "…"
So basically, they're treating it like a trash can now?
Anything they don't want, they just toss to it, huh?!
//Check out my P@tre0n for 20 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.