The power plant is obsolete. The paint is worn-out, and the pillars seem tired, however, they stand firm, trying earnestly to avoid the vicinity from collapsing. We make our way inside, knocking the metallic door in front of us with the help of our Pokemon.
Inside, is a system of complex circuits running throughout. Through the ceilings, through the tables, under the desks, and even on the walls. Most of the wires and pipes look brittle and fragile, a single step could completely cut it into two. It must be because of how long this Power Plant has been standing which made the wires old and dusty, barely serving its purpose.
Cobwebs can be seen dangling through the corners and edges of walls. The desks are covered with flakes of dust, and the chairs have scratches and cracks. The only thing keeping this Power Plant alive is the sturdy support pillars. Most windows are shattered. I begin to query to myself silently, "Who in the world would choose this vicinity as their place of work?"
Despite all those downsides, this power plant is not abandoned but it seems like it will be closing anytime sooner. By the way I see it, due to the advancement of certain technologies, Power Plants are becoming more useless by the end of the day, therefore companies become bankrupt and are forced to shut down. This is one disadvantage of technology.
Back to the mission, we scour the facility. Searching every surface for any clues of the location of our target. We know for one thing that Zapdos is hidden from plain sight, either below or above our heads. We throw out different opinions and assumptions such as my proposal to wreak the floors of the facility.
I presume Zapdos in sleeping underneath us, trapped in a sphere just like Articuno. Charlotte suggests to search first rather than wreaking the place right away, while Virgo listens, just following whatever the two of us say to the point she becomes bored. As she listens to my conversation between Charlotte and me, pertaining to our plan, her attention is grabbed by an unusual spark.
She tilts her head to the spark glowing from underneath a table. She ponders on it, wondering what could be happening. She takes a closer glimpse of the spark, and that is when she noticed that the spark was coming from a frail Pokemon. Its body shivers, frightened of Virgo's presence.
It hides itself further to the corner. Virgo wraps her with solaces, trying to comfort the frightened Pokemon. The longer her eyes look unto the Pokemon, the more wounds and scars could be seen. She becomes worried, using her emergency kit to aid the Pokemon.
"It's alright." She coos to the Pokemon, comforting its fear of her. From her hand, she extends it to the Pokemon, offering an Oran Berry. The Pokemon gladly accepts the offer, taking nibbles on the berry. It becomes more comfortable around Virgo, therefore it learns to trust her more often.
Virgo does not mind, she just sits on the floor, playing with the wounded Flaaffy as she aids its scars and scratches. As seconds go by, our argument becomes feisty. We throw insults at each other, but not the very stupendous insults or any cursing words at all. Even if this is an argument, the two of us are aware that we're friends.
And so, from that moment a quake begins, catching all of our attention. Cracks form at the metallic floors as a platform emerges. On top of the platform is a woman with the looks of an old Kimono Girl with an age higher than eighty. She seems to be angry and infuriated towards us. The quake stops the moment the platform stops moving upwards from the ground.
"Your noise irks me. I assume you are not employees of the plant."
"We are here for Zapdos," I reply confidently.
"Tsk... Tsk... Now I remember. You are the ones who everyone is talking about. Team Rocket. I see, that you have come to acquire the sole purpose of why I live. I am Dos, the Elder, and Guardian of the mirage of lightning. Thou shall not claim or disrupt the harmony of lightning." Dos introduce. Since she has emerged from the ground, this gives us a hint that the Pokemon is somewhere underneath the large facility.
"Golbat, I choose you!"
"Misdreavus, deploy!"
We toss out our Pokemons, and on the other hand, Virgo remains calm, continuing to play with Flaaffy. Not even once did her mind comes up with an idea to help us. For her, Dos is nothing but an intervention of her time with the cute pink sheep Pokemon.
Elder Dos sends out an Electric Pokemon as expected. The Pokemon is a beast to our eyes and it goes by the name of Electivire. Electivire is a large humanoid creature covered in yellow fur with black stripes. It appears to lack a neck, and has red eyes, a black spot on its forehead, and a pair of antennae with bulbous tips. A pattern on Electivire's back resembles an electric outlet. The fur on its cheeks and shoulders is spiky and ruffled. It has two black tails with red rounded ends, resembling open electrical wires. Electivire has black feet with three, clawed toes, and five black fingers on each of its hands.
"If you are willing to fight, then so am I. Unlike Uno, I am devoted and loyal to my duty as an Elder. Electivire uses Thunder Punch!" Dos says, starting the battle with her Pokemon.
Me and Charlotte fight back, calling out moves to our Pokemons in response to the given attack. Teamwork is present between the two of us, and our main strategy is diversion and distraction. The other attacks from the front while the other from behind, confusing the foul electric beast and its trainer. Shadow Ball, Air Slash, these are our main counters to Electivire's Thunder Punch and Electro Ball.
Getting tired and confused on who to attack, Electivire perspires, having little to no energy left. One more attack, and the mad titan will fall to its knees, knocked out severely.
Its trainer calls out a new move known as Shock Wave. With its muscular arms, Electivire clenches its fists and whacks them to the ground causing an upsurge of electricity to hit our Pokemons. The attack was immense, powerful, and destructive. Our Pokemons are left with fainted bodies after the settling of the move.
So near yet so far. Electivire was close to fainting. Even with teamwork, defeat slaps us right into the face. However, little does Electivire know that its move also has a downside. From behind, it was suddenly electrocuted gravely, causing the Pokemon to drop with an injured body.
"Good work Flaaffy." Virgo compliments, massaging Flaaffy's wool covering its head.
"H... how?!" Dos questions with shock, returning Electivire to its Pokeball.
"I was waiting for Electivire to use Shock Wave. During the attack, the move was also able to hit Flaaffy, turning on its ability to use the electric move as a boost. I read about its ability in the Pokedex and decided to list the information on my note pad for further evaluation while my friends fight, so I decided to wait until the perfect opportunity struck, which is Shock Wave." Virgo explains, twitching her glasses like a scientist who has found a cure o succeeded in something. Impressive, the only word to describe Virgo. I guess being a book worm has its perks as well.
"Alright. Elder Dos, we have won, show us the way to Zapdos." I demand.
"Never! The harmony of lightning will cause terrible, terrible damage upon this land." She rejects.
"That is unfair. We won fair and square!" Charlotte complains.
"I vowed to protect Zapdos, now leave or else I will call the police. The match was unfair, three against one? There is no justice in that too am I right?" Dos says, persisting to act like a child hiding a marble from us. I decide to take things into my own will, doing some things I've learned from the Rebirth Society.
The Elder is lifted up to the air with the power of my Gardevoir which I just sent out. With Psychic, Dos is prohibited to move while being stuck in the air. I say my words loud and clear, not wanting to lead this situation into further conflict, "Tell me where, and I will let you go safely."
"Do what you want, I will not reveal its location," Dos says, challenging me. I take her words seriously, and with the snap of a finger, Gardevoir drops Dos from the sky. Her back hits the ground too harsh, and that is when she met her own agony. This time, I spared no sympathy despite her being a woman of old.
"What the?! Now how are we going to find the location?" Charlotte scolds me.
"Relax. Gardevoir lead the way." I say confidently.
"Right! I remember a novel pertaining to this kind of scenario. Gardevoir has the power to read a person's mind therefore it did so on Dos. Through psychic manipulation, Gardevoir took the details of the location inside the Elder's head. To sum things up, Luna was using her brain and did not merely kill her without something to gain." Virgo explains, thoroughly. She has become an encyclopedia due to all those stacks of novels she was reading on her bed every morning.
"Still, kill-"
"She asked for it. You heard her words." I interrupt sarcastically while following my Gardevoir.
"And Flaaffy, return to your Pokeball," Virgo instructs. We were able to hear her words, making us very shocked. We query to her, and according to her answer, Flaaffy has made the decision to come with her after aiding its wounds and offering it some berries.
"... Hmm, perhaps my sympathy made the two of us trust each other therefore making her eager to join my team. Flaaffy is a female according to the Pokedex!" Virgo adds.
Back to the mission, Gardevoir points to the platform wherein a lever could be seen. We hop right into it and flicked the lever, causing the platform to descend downwards. My assumption was right, Zapdos was indeed underneath us the whole time. The only thing left for us to do is to capture it for good.