Seeing Maen's speechless expression, Launce let out a sigh and continued:
"Given the situation, the Alliance couldn't just sit idly by. They had to send people to investigate. However, dispatching Elite Trainers for something like this would have been excessive, so instead, they sent us—official investigators."
As he spoke, Launce pulled out a small leather badge from his pocket and held it up. The words "Alliance Investigator" were engraved neatly on the emblem.
Maen took a closer look, nodding in understanding.
---
A Dangerous Mission
Now, Maen fully grasped why Launce had come to Cerulean City—his primary objective was to track down and eliminate the remaining criminals still lingering in the area.
Launce looked at Maen with a grin.
"So, Maen, what do you think? Interested in coming with me to the power plant? There's a good chance we'll run into some of these criminals."
Maen considered the offer for a moment.
He didn't have anything better to do, and to be honest, the idea of investigating Zapdos' potential traces intrigued him.
Besides, he felt like he had been a little too reckless over the past few days—on the first day, he beat up a kid, and on the second, he disturbed ancient tombs. Maybe helping Launce out today would reset his karma a bit.
"Alright, I'm in."
With their decision made, the two set off toward the Power Plant, located east of Cerulean City.
---
Approaching the Power Plant
Not long after leaving the city, Launce released his Charizard. The massive, dragon-like Pokémon let out a low growl, its wings flaring as it walked beside its Trainer.
Maen smirked.
"As expected from a Flying-type specialist... though at least Charizard's name has 'Dragon' in it."
He took a quick look at Charizard's power level and estimated that it was around Gym-level, just shy of reaching the Quasi-Elite tier.
With Charizard's intimidating presence, wild Pokémon in the area wisely chose to keep their distance, allowing Maen and Launce to travel without trouble.
However, as they got closer to the Power Plant, Maen noticed something strange.
The number of wild Pokémon started to drop.
By the time they reached the outskirts of the Power Plant, there were none left at all.
The building itself was a decayed, industrial structure, with gray, crumbling walls that had clearly suffered from years of neglect. The lack of maintenance made it look almost abandoned, yet as they walked around, they noticed fresh footprints in the dirt.
Maen and Launce exchanged glances, both immediately on high alert.
If someone had been here recently, there was a good chance they were still inside.
---
A Strange Electrical Disturbance
As soon as they stepped inside, Maen felt something was off. He turned to Launce.
"Launce, this is an unmanned Power Plant, right? Meaning it should've been abandoned for years?"
Launce nodded.
"That's right. But some of the old electrical systems still run on automatic settings."
Maen frowned.
"I get that, but those systems shouldn't be generating this much static."
To prove his point, he rolled up his sleeve—every hair on his arm was standing on end.
Launce's eyes widened slightly before his expression turned serious.
"That… shouldn't be possible. There are only two explanations. Either there are an overwhelming number of Electric-type Pokémon gathered here, or…"
Maen finished his sentence for him.
"Or there's a single, immensely powerful Electric-type Pokémon inside, generating all this excess energy."
Both fell silent for a moment, processing the implications.
If it was the first case, it wouldn't be too bad.
If it was the second case, however…
There weren't many Pokémon capable of producing this kind of electrical output.
At this point, though, they couldn't just turn back.
Taking a deep breath, the two pressed forward.
---
A Shocking Discovery
A few minutes later, Maen's Haunter materialized from the shadows, having scouted ahead.
The Pokémon whispered something in Maen's ear, and his face darkened slightly.
"Launce, there's something up ahead. We need to be careful."
Launce nodded. The two moved cautiously, lowering their footsteps as they approached a large, closed-off factory room inside the Power Plant.
Haunter had confirmed that whatever was happening was behind this door.
Maen gently pushed it open, just enough to peek inside.
What he saw made his stomach turn.
Dozens of Magnemite and Magneton were hovering inside, their metallic bodies crackling with stray electricity.
But that wasn't the worst part.
Scattered across the floor were several humanoid figures… completely blackened, burned beyond recognition.
Charred corpses.
Maen grimaced. He didn't need to guess—these were criminals who had entered before them. And the ones responsible for their deaths?
The very Pokémon floating above them.
Launce let out a low whistle.
"Well… that explains why the wild Pokémon outside were avoiding this place."
Maen swallowed hard.
"If they all decide to attack at once, we'll end up looking like those guys on the floor."
Neither of them wanted to take that risk. They carefully backed away from the door and found a quiet corner to reassess their approach.
---
Finding Another Way In
A direct confrontation was out of the question.
Even if they only saw a few dozen Magnemite through the gap, there were likely far more lurking elsewhere in the Power Plant.
Thankfully, they had prepared.
Before entering, they had studied a rough map of the facility, which showed an alternate entrance on the other side.
"Let's go around and take the side passage," Launce suggested.
Maen agreed.
Following the map, they navigated through a less dangerous route, occasionally running into small groups of Electric Pokémon. Fortunately, none of them were as aggressive as the ones in the factory room.
Before long, they reached a window overlooking the outside.
Maen stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowing.
"...Was the weather this bad when we came in?"
Launce turned to look.
When they had first arrived, the sky had been clear and bright. But now, it was completely covered in dark storm clouds, and the rain was pouring down hard.
Worse still—lightning was flashing across the sky.
As if on cue, a deafening thunderclap shook the entire facility.
"BOOM!"
The explosion came from inside the Power Plant.
Maen and Launce immediately tensed.
That sound had come from the very place they were heading toward.
The core area of the Power Plant.
---
Something Was Waiting for Them
They exchanged a quick glance, both realizing the same thing.
They weren't alone in this place.
And if their suspicions were correct…
Something powerful was waiting for them in the heart of the Power Plant.
---------------------------------------------
Visit our Patreon for more:
patreon.com/Johnwick007