Chapter 60: The Perilous Arrival of Two Evils
The second floor of the experimental base was just like the first; apart from the chaotic mess, no other discoveries were made.
"They should be on the third floor," Takuma said, wiping the sweat from his forehead and looking at the upward passage.
"(Human Language) Everyone, be careful. I have a bad feeling."
Officer Jenny grabbed Takuma, who was eager to rush up to the third floor, and warned everyone present with a solemn expression. As a police officer, the sense of danger she had developed over her long career was desperately warning her: there was something extremely dangerous ahead; they must not be careless.
Takuma translated Officer Jenny's warning to Machop and Poliwhirl.
"Wait, Poliwhirl, when did you follow us up here?"
Seeing the suddenly appeared Poliwhirl, Takuma was completely baffled.
Poliwhirl didn't answer him, its eyes slightly narrowed as it stared at the upper level of the experimental base.
Just in case, Officer Jenny and her police officers all called out their Pokémon.
"(Human Language) Come out, Arcanine!"
"(Human Language) Come out, Growlithe!"
"(Human Language) Come out, Growlithe!"
"…"
As the red-and-white Poké Balls emitted white light, an Arcanine and several Growlithe appeared beside the group.
Growlithe truly deserved to be one of the police force's favorite Pokémon. They were clever, loyal, brave, and reliable, faithfully obeying their trainer's commands and able to fearlessly confront opponents stronger and larger than themselves. At the same time, their sense of smell was keen; once they had smelled something, they would never forget it, no matter what happened. They were the most suitable Pokémon to be police K-9s.
And Growlithe's evolved form—Arcanine—possessed a larger body than Growlithe, fur like flames, and a majestic appearance. Its looks alone were enough to strike fear into the hearts of criminals. Moreover, Arcanine, as its name implied, was a Pokémon with wind-like speed, which often provided a great advantage in chasing down criminals.
After being summoned, Arcanine and the Growlithe, with great professionalism, lowered their bodies, not howling loudly but letting out low growls, assuming a ready stance.
Officer Jenny stroked the warm fur on her Arcanine's neck, feeling her heart settle. Only then did she signal for everyone and every Pokémon to prepare to break into the third floor.
A clatter of chaotic footsteps sounded.
At this point, the group of people and Pokémon no longer cared about being discovered.
Speed is paramount in military action. They very quickly made it up to the third floor.
The third floor of the experimental base was shaped like an inverted semicircular bowl, its space very open. The top was also shattered by some unknown force, revealing a large hole. In the center of the floor was a circular pedestal, surrounded by broken glass. Various cables of different thicknesses connected to this pedestal were snapped and broken, lying on the ground like a tangled mess of snakes.
"Dad! Mom!"
Seeing the familiar figures before him, Takuma shouted excitedly.
"(Pokémon Language) Professor!"
Machop was also extremely agitated.
However, Officer Jenny and the remaining people were not so excited, because the scene before them was this:
A blue-skinned Pokémon stood in front of them with its back turned. It had four horn-like spikes on its head, and a tail that swayed from time to time trailed behind it. The entire Pokémon levitated a meter above the ground, its slender hands currently stretched outwards. Visible circles of vibrating air pulsed on the outside of its arms.
In front of the Pokémon was a white-haired old man in a white lab coat, a refined-looking middle-aged man, a woman with long hair and a gentle disposition, and several other researchers wearing glasses.
However, they all had one thing in common at this moment: they were all bound by some unknown force, held in mid-air and unable to move.
The white-haired old man was naturally the Pokémon Professor whom Machop had been searching for for so long. However, his eyes were tightly closed now, and he didn't seem very conscious.
The refined-looking man, upon seeing Takuma, shouted in pleasant surprise, "(Human Language) Takuma?!! Are you okay?"
This was undoubtedly Takuma's father.
"(Human Language) Mr. Watanabe, Dr. Kamiya, we'll get you down right now!"
Officer Jenny said and was about to command her Arcanine to move forward to defeat that Pokémon and rescue the people suspended in mid-air.
"(Human Language) No, it's dangerous!"
Shū Watanabe—that is, Takuma's father—his face changed drastically as he shouted a loud warning.
"Swish!" A dragon tail shimmering with the color of steel whipped out from the shadows towards Takuma and the others. The force was so great that it pulverized all the miscellaneous items on the ground.
"[Brick Break]!"
In the end, it was the Fighting-type Pokémon with the quickest reflexes. The moment Machop heard the sound of the iron tail whipping through the air from the side, he immediately turned to face it, raising his hand like a blade and meeting the heavy, powerful tail swing with the force of splitting a mountain.
"Bang!"
The knife-hand met the iron tail, and a wave of air exploded outwards.
However, hastily meeting an opponent's long-charged attack, even though Machop managed to negate some of the force, he still took considerable damage.
"Ugh, Machop, are you okay?"
Takuma's face was anxious. He had been right beside Machop just now. If Machop hadn't stepped forward to take that sneak attack, with his small, fleshy body, he probably would have been severely injured on the spot.
Machop gritted his teeth. "(Pokémon Language) Takuma, move away a bit, be careful not to get caught in the crossfire."
He then turned to look at the ambusher—a massive, ferocious-looking dragon-type Pokémon, Gyarados.
Of course, there were also those familiar blood-red eyes, currently staring fiercely at Machop, Officer Jenny, and the others.
"(Human Language) Takuma, come here quickly." Officer Jenny was startled. She hurriedly pulled Takuma to her side to protect him and decisively issued a command to her Pokémon. "(Human Language) Arcanine, use [Extreme Speed]!"
"Awooo—"
Arcanine let out a low roar, its powerful hind legs pushed off the ground forcefully, and it charged towards Gyarados with the force of a thunderbolt.
Officer Jenny also knew that the opposing Gyarados was a Water and Flying type, and using Arcanine's most proficient Fire-type moves would not be very effective. Therefore, she chose to use Arcanine's other signature move—[Extreme Speed]. Using this move could fully display Arcanine's greatest speed advantage, and then win through speed, suppressing the opposing Pokémon.
However, the idea was good, but there was one thing Officer Jenny hadn't considered.
The opposing Pokémon, besides Gyarados, also included that Pokémon that had kept its back to them.
Dare one ask, what in this world is faster than thought?
Arcanine had already pushed its speed to the limit. The entire Pokémon rushed forward like a beam of light, but unexpectedly slammed hard into an invisible wall, seeing stars from the impact.
Only then did they see the blue figure that had kept its back to them slowly turn around, the red gem on its forehead shining brightly.
"(Pokémon Language) Leader..."
Poliwhirl said with a grave tone.
"This is the Golduck Leader?"
Takuma's eyes widened. The duck-shaped Pokémon before him, although only as tall as an ordinary adult and could even be considered relatively small and thin next to Gyarados, one could tell from the psychic waves continuously vibrating around its body just how powerful this Pokémon was.
The Golduck Leader looked at this group of humans who had suddenly intruded with indifference, not a single ripple in its eyes. It brought its hands together, and the Pokémon Professor, Mr. Watanabe, and the others who had been suspended in mid-air suddenly fell to the ground, though they still seemed to be bound by something and couldn't move freely.
"(Pokémon Language) Gyarados, finish them off."
The Golduck Leader commanded coldly.