Chapter 74: Power plant
"Red, I think I'll scout the power plant," Brock said to Red just outside the shop.
"...?"
"Of course, to stop Team Rocket and also… to confirm my theory."
"...??"
"Red, I advise you to find the other two and stay here. You're all still young, it's not worth it."
'...said by a guy who's not even 18 yet.'
After saying that, Brock left.
Red stood there feeling a bit lost when Pikachu suddenly popped out and bumped into his chin.
Pika pika!! (I have a feeling about something!!)
"...?"
Pikachu... (It's hard to explain, just a feeling...)
"..."
Pika?! Pika!! (Really?! Let's head to the power plant!)
Sorry, Brock, my Pokémon is too cute to say no to.
So Red tried to sneak in.
***
Surge gathered a total of 10 people, including Misty and Leaf...
And there were also players.
"TODAY IS SHIROU'S DAY, BABY!!" Zero2hero shouted.
"Shirou's day is over," Billy muttered beside him.
"WHAT?! NOOOOOOO!!!"
As loud as ever...
"They're here?" Leaf was surprised the players had arrived.
As she remembered, they were always trailing behind her group, even following them.
But this time, her group had left early, and the players had mysteriously disappeared without a trace, making her think they had gone to sleep or something.
But here they were.
"Well, I just hope they don't cause trouble. I've heard enough complaints from the people in my city," Misty said, covering her face, exhausted by the players.
I mean, what kind of person would break into someone's house and pole dance for money? Insane!
"Hey, why is that orange-haired NPC looking at me?" Zero2hero turned to ask Billy.
"That tomboy girl? Maybe she's attracted to you for some reason."
"Could it be that she's drawn to my heroism?!"
Misty almost punched Zero2hero in the face if not for Leaf stopping her.
"Never mind, these two kids are only 10 years old, and they're flat too."
This time, both Misty and Leaf kicked Zero2hero in the face so hard it was unrecognizable.
"Such a nuisance," Misty tried to stay calm, looking at Lieutenant Surge who was examining the map inside the power plant.
"Everyone! Since the power plant is temporarily out of operation, it's quite dark inside, but the electrical current is still strong, so be as cautious as possible."
"Just to be sure, please wear this."
Lieutenant Surge pulled out rubber suits, and the outfits looked both ugly and ridiculous.
"...I don't want to wear that," Misty showed her displeasure looking at the suit, but Leaf felt differently.
"It's cute! I want to wear it and show Red!" She pointed at the frog-like rubber suit.
Cute where?!?
"Little Magikarp, I have a special suit just for you," Surge smirked, handing Misty a Magikarp suit, with its mouth being where she would poke her head out.
Her fist would have surely landed on Surge if Leaf hadn't stopped her, while Surge just laughed cheerfully.
"Alright! Is everyone ready?" Surge shouted, and the group responded with loud cheers.
"Good energy! Let's move out!!"
Five minutes later...
In front of them stood the power plant, and it was massive...
No wonder it was the only power plant in Kanto. To supply electricity to all the houses, this facility was nothing to underestimate.
The group exchanged looks before putting on their rubber suits.
Misty stared at her suit, swallowing nervously as she put it on, while Leaf had no problem and even happily wore hers.
"Anyone who has a Pokémon with the Lightning Rod ability, please call it out, it'll be very useful!" Surge announced loudly.
Hearing this, everyone glanced at each other.
"Ugh, good thing I left the army early, or I'd be yelling at you guys right now," Surge said, pulling out a Pokéball.
Raichu!
"...looks a bit chubby," Billy muttered quietly.
Unfortunately, Raichu's ears were sharp enough to hear, and it glared at Billy, making him shiver in fear.
"Raichu... that's the next evolution of Pikachu, right?" Leaf pulled out her Pokédex to check Raichu.
After the Pokédex relayed the information, she understood that Raichu evolves using a Thunder Stone.
"Haha! Don't stare at my Raichu too much! I'm shy!"
'How does staring at Raichu make you shy??'
"WOAAHH! IT LOOKS SO COOL, ITS ORANGE COLOR IS SO VIBRANT, AND IT LOOKS REALLY STRONG, YOU MUST HAVE TAKEN GREAT CARE OF IT!" Zero2hero ran up to Raichu, grabbing its chubby cheeks and stretching them out.
"Hmm! You've got a good eye, young man! I've been taking care of it since it was a tiny, adorable Pichu! Ahhh, the good old days."
"It's been with me through all the battlefields, blah blah blah blah, I love it, blah blah blah, I found a Thunder Stone, blah blah blah."
Surge began telling old war stories to Zero2hero, while the others had already headed inside.
Even with their rubber suits on, they could still feel the overwhelming electricity surging through the place.
"Team Rocket must be after something very unusual," someone said.
The group nodded in agreement and continued on, turning on their flashlights to illuminate their surroundings.
The power plant, which was normally bright and always lit, now looked pitch black, and the darkness felt eerily frightening for some reason.
"This looks like something out of an analog horror!" Zero2hero exclaimed.
"Shh! Quiet!"
"Okay."
Surge studied the map and pointed to the right.
As soon as they turned right, they came face-to-face with floating metal objects.
"G-Ghosts?!" Billy stammered in fear.
"Idiot! They're not ghosts!" Surge said, shining his light on the round, floating metal spheres.
"It's Magnemite!" everyone exclaimed in surprise.
But there were too many! Way too many!
"Maybe the strong electricity from this place attracted them, or..."
"They were accidentally created right here."
Hearing this, everyone became even more astonished.
To create an artificial Pokémon based on the environment, the place must be extremely ideal, yet here it seemed easy to spawn numerous Magnemite.
Something was definitely wrong!
"Hurry! We need to find the source! Team Rocket likely knows about this, and we can't let them get ahead of us!" Surge urged the group to move faster.
But before they could advance, the Magnemite blocked their way, glaring at them angrily.
"...forgot that Magnemite have claimed this place as their territory."
Many Magnemite immediately launched electric attacks at them, but luckily, they were all wearing rubber suits, making them immune.
"HAHAHA! OUR RUBBER SUITS ARE UNBEATABLE! WHAT DO WE HAVE TO FEAR FROM A BUNCH OF FLYING METAL BALLS?!" Zero2hero boasted arrogantly.
But the moment those words left his mouth, a powerful surge of electricity blasted straight at him, illuminating the entire room.
When the light faded, Zero2hero was unharmed, but his rubber suit had disintegrated into dust.
"..."
The group turned to see the Pokémon that had attacked, revealing a larger metal object with glowing red eyes.
"M-Magnezone?!" Misty exclaimed in fear.
Had the electrical current become so intense that it allowed Magneton to reach its final evolutionary stage already?!
But there weren't any Magneton in sight! Only Magnemite!
Don't tell me...
An bad bad idea suddenly flashed in everyone's mind, and as expected,
Numerous Magnezone appeared, staring them down.
...We're cooked.
*****
I've read a few Nurarihyon fanfics here, and… it's hard to say.
I wouldn't say they're bad...? But they're definitely not good. (In my opinion)
But I don't have the right to judge others' works, especially since I'm not even sure if my fanfic would be any better than theirs...
Also 300k views?! Woohooo!