"Umm, I think it's necessary for me to explain the situation on our side," The manager of the power plant said.
"Please do," Tetsuya replied.
"Ok… There are currently more than a dozen Magneton and fifty to sixty Magnemite living inside the power plant! Such a massive group is definitely not something the two of you can handle alone!
Although we have a reward of 500,000 Pokédollars, I doubt the two of you have an appetite that big, so it's better to wait for some other Trainers to arrive," The manager said.
"May I ask what counts as a 'successful completion'?" Tetsuya asked. If the objective was merely to drive away the Magnemite, it would be far too simple. One only needed to bring several Electric-type Pokémon and generate electricity. The Magnemite would naturally be attracted to the electrical power and leave.
However, once that electricity disappeared, the Magnemite group would simply return. That would accomplish nothing at all, which was why Tetsuya wanted clarification.
"In fact, there is still some difficulty involved. Our requirement is that you defeat all the Magneton and Magnemite. We will send personnel to catch the defeated Pokémon with Poké Balls," The manager said.
A calculation immediately formed in Tetsuya's mind. Assuming there were sixty Magnemite, and each Magnemite was worth 3,000 Pokédollars, that came to 180,000 Pokédollars. Then there were twenty Magneton. The market value of a Magneton should be around 9,000 Pokédollars each, which amounted to another 180,000 Pokédollars.
In other words, in theory, the manager could earn 360,000 Pokédollars by selling these defeated Pokémon. In the end, he was effectively only spending 140,000 Pokédollars. It had to be said that the manager's designs were quite clever.
Tetsuya was also very willing to make this deal. At the very least, he would still profit. Even if he personally caught all the Magnemite and Magneton, he would only make 360,000 Pokédollars, and he would still have to spend time finding buyers.
A transaction of this scale would require major buyers, and such buyers usually demanded a real name and verified identity. That would be inconvenient for him. Furthermore, catching so many Pokémon would require a considerable investment in Poké Balls. Therefore, making a deal with the power plant manager was the most suitable option.
"The two of us are enough," Tetsuya said confidently.
The manager looked at Tetsuya suspiciously. "…Don't try to show off. If your Pokémon get fried by electricity, I won't take responsibility!"
"Don't worry, I won't ask you to. These minor difficulties aren't even enough to make me use all of my Pokémon," Tetsuya said deliberately.
In truth, he was also being cautious. If his Pokémon ended up exhausting themselves in a costly battle against the Magnemite group and the manager later refused to honor the agreement, he would be the one at a loss. By implying that he would not even need all of his Pokémon, he was also creating a sense of apprehension in the manager… maybe.
'I suppose the worst that could happen is wasting a little time…'
"Ok then… come with me."
---◓---
Led by the manager, they arrived at the power plant's substation. Sure enough, it was packed with Magnemite and Magneton.
"If I start fighting here, this building probably won't survive," Tetsuya said.
"Absolutely not! I can use Electric-type Pokémon to lure these fellows out. We'll fight them on the grassland instead. If something happens to the power plant, it won't be a joke," The manager said.
"Then we'll wait until you've finished preparing." After speaking, Tetsuya and Catherine went to the power plant's reception hall to wait.
While waiting in the hall, Tetsuya released Koffing and fed it Pokéfood, allowing it to continuously stimulate its stomach acid to digest it while storing the gas produced by Belch inside its body.
Next, the manager first issued a power outage notice to the area under the plant's jurisdiction, then shut off all the electrical switches. At that moment, the entire power plant was without power.
Immediately, all the Magnemite and Magneton in the substation became somewhat panicked. They suddenly seemed lost, wandering aimlessly around the substation as if they had instantly lost their source of nourishment.
"You can get ready now!" The power plant manager said to Tetsuya and Catherine in the reception hall.
With the entire power plant shut down, Tetsuya and Catherine stood up and walked out of the plant. They arrived on the vast grassland and simply waited for the power plant staff to lure the Magnemite and Magneton out.
Afterward, Catherine released all of her Pokémon, while Tetsuya only brought out Slowbro, Koffing, and Golurk.
After seeing this, Catherine felt uneasy. "Um, Tetsuya… you're only using three? Isn't that a bit too risky?"
"It's fine. I still have my psychic powers. These Pokémon can't hurt me."
Just as he finished speaking, they heard the power plant manager shout, "Get ready! The Magnemite are coming!"
Six Electabuzz were using Thunder Wave to lure the Magnemite toward the grassland. Behind them was a densely packed mass of Magnemite and Magneton. Anyone with trypophobia would probably have felt sick at the sight.
They were getting closer and closer to Tetsuya and Catherine.
◓---
When the manager saw that Tetsuya only had three Pokémon and Catherine only had five, his heart immediately sank. He must have been out of his mind to trust these two kids 'Damn it! "Just wasting a little time…" yeah, sure!' Even League Tournament-ranked Trainers had been unable to handle this situation, yet he had actually allowed two roadside Trainers to give it a try.
What a waste of hope!
---◓
"Should we attack now?" Catherine asked.
"I'll make the first move. I mainly want to see what kind of effect Koffing's Belch has on this Steel-types. If it doesn't work, it won't be too late to attack afterward." After Tetsuya spoke, Catherine nodded and prepared to launch an attack at any moment.
Tetsuya used telpathy to transmit a command to Slowbro. "Use Confusion to restrain these Magnemite and Magneton. Just don't let them move."
"Slow… Bro…"
Slowbro let out a cry(?) and blinked slightly. The entire Magnemite "horde", consisting of seventy to eighty Pokémon, suddenly felt as though a massive wall stood before them. They were completely immobilized. Not only that, they were unable to use any moves either.
The Magnemite and Magneton could only buzz helplessly, having no idea what had happened. The electricity released by the Electabuzz was right before their eyes, yet to them it seemed thousands of miles away.
"W-What… what's going on!?" The power plant manager was also astonished. The Magnemite had suddenly stopped moving. He had not seen Tetsuya or Catherine issue any commands. In fact, none of their Pokémon appeared to have moved at all, yet such a bizarre phenomenon had occurred. It was truly incomprehensible.
"Ma-Manager? Look at that Slowbro's eyes…"
Only after being reminded by one of his subordinates did the manager notice the inconspicuous Slowbro. Its eyes emitted a blue light. Looking into those eyes, one could almost see Slowbro's pure soul. It was undoubtedly the purest Pokémon in the world!
Even the manager could not help but marvel at Slowbro's powerful psychic abilities!