This was a small village located between Eterna City and Floaroma Town.
At dusk, the doors of the Pokémon Center were suddenly flung open as a disheveled youth stumbled inside.
"Nurse Joy, please—save this Rufflet!"
Yes—this was Peter, who had sprinted all the way here from the seaside cliffs.
The Rufflet cradled in his arms was still unconscious. Though Peter had performed some basic first aid, the severe puncture wound through its wing was far beyond what ordinary medicine could heal.
"Alright, please set it down first!" Nurse Joy reacted instantly, raising her voice.
"Chansey! Marnie! Paige! I need help—now!"
"Coming, Mom!"
"Lucky~!"
From the back room rushed out two girls—one older, one younger—both with pink hair and blue eyes, dressed in the standard Joy family uniform. Behind them waddled the iconic Chansey, already preparing medical tools.
"Please…"
Only after watching the Rufflet being rushed into the emergency room did Peter finally let out the breath he'd been holding.
Thankfully, with Indeedee's Healing Wish and Lopunny's Wish, the Rufflet's last thread of life had been barely sustained—just enough for Peter to activate Sprint and push his body to the limit to reach the Pokémon Center.
Otherwise, with how badly the chick had struggled earlier, it would've likely bled out long before arriving.
Just as Peter was still catching his breath—
Click.
The lights went out.
The Pokémon Center plunged into darkness.
The entire village fell into an eerie silence.
"…Huh? A blackout?!" Peter frowned.
Nurse Joy hurried back out, anxiety written all over her face.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Peter. There seems to be a power failure nearby. The surgery is only halfway done—the Rufflet is not yet out of danger.
Could I trouble you to go check the power plant up ahead?"
"…What? Can't we call it in?"
"My father works at the plant," the older daughter, Marnie, said as she stepped forward.
"I already tried calling. There's no signal."
Nurse Joy nodded grimly.
"This area is a valley where gales frequently gather. The blackout is most likely storm-related…
So I can only ask for your help."
She paused, then handed Peter a boxed meal.
"If it's convenient, please give this bento to my husband. We'll do everything we can here for the Rufflet."
"…Alright. I'll go—right now."
Peter didn't hesitate. He turned and strode straight out of the Pokémon Center.
The Rufflet's condition was critical.
He had to restore the power—as fast as possible.
"Big brother! Why don't you ride our Drifloon instead?" the younger girl, Paige, chased after him and shouted.
"No, Paige!" Marnie immediately stopped her.
"With winds this strong, Drifloon would be blown away! Don't cause trouble—get back inside!"
The little girl was quickly pulled back by her sister and mother.
Peter paused, momentarily stunned.
He suddenly remembered—
This Joy family had appeared in the anime.
And the two sisters had once become friends with Suicune, the embodiment of the north wind.
"…Suicune, huh?" Peter raised an eyebrow.
That thing was practically the Legendary Pokémon Hall of Shame.
In the anime, not only was it captured by Goh with a single Poké Ball, it was later pinned to the ground by Pokémon Hunters using bug nets—its dignity shattered beyond repair.
Shaking his head, Peter pushed the thought aside.
He mounted his bicycle and headed straight for the power plant.
-----
Valley Windworks Power Plant
Located northwest of Eterna City, nestled in a depression at the foothills of Mt. Coronet.
Due to its unique terrain, this place was constantly battered by violent winds.
Humans had constructed large-scale wind turbines here to harness that force, generating power for nearby towns.
Thus, it earned the nickname—
"The Power Plant That Walks with the Wind."
…
Half an hour later, Peter fought through the storm and arrived at the plant's entrance.
From afar, he spotted two Team Galactic grunts in silver uniforms standing guard.
Peter's eyes narrowed.
"So the blackout really does have something to do with Team Galactic…"
He quietly circled around to the side of the fence.
The guards' conversation drifted over with the wind.
"Lady Mars really is brilliant. Stealing electricity during a storm like this—
even if the whole area blacks out, people will just think it's natural!"
"Yeah, and thank goodness we weren't assigned to old man Charon.
I heard he got completely wiped out by some kid in Floaroma Town—my partner even got arrested!"
"Huh? I thought the ones with Charon were five guys?"
"Eh… guys can be cute too, you know. Wanna try with me? You'll like it—feels great~"
"WHAT THE—GET LOST, YOU FREAK!"
Just as one of them reached out with a wandering hand—
A black shadow flashed behind them.
A long leg descended from the air in a brutal axe kick.
Both grunts collapsed instantly.
Peter stepped out from behind the wall, casually arranging the two unconscious men into an intimate pose.
"Enjoy your private time~"
With that, he entered the power plant—Lopunny at his side.
…
At that moment, a system notification appeared.
[(Timed) Stormbound Power Plant]
Description:Mars, one of Team Galactic's Four Commanders, is leading a team to steal electricity from the Valley Windworks Power Plant.
Stop them immediately and rescue Nurse Joy's husband, Karsten.
Time Limit: 30 minutes
Rewards:Critical Draw Chance ×1, Gratitude of the Joy Family
Peter would've dealt with the power plant anyway—for the Rufflet's sake.
Rescuing someone was just a bonus.
But Mars wasn't like Charon, the research-focused commander.
Her combat strength ranked among the very top of Team Galactic—second only to Cyrus himself.
If Peter was going to act—
He'd need to strike clean and decisively.
…
Under the cover of the raging storm, he advanced toward the main facility while refining his strategy.
The power plant's structure was simple.
Windmills and turbine blades around the perimeter captured wind energy, channeling it to a central generator, which distributed electricity to surrounding towns and stored the excess on-site.
After a moment's thought, Peter released all of his Pokémon.
Beating Mars outright was unrealistic.
But disrupting her operation?
That, he could do.
"Lopunny—stack Cosmic Power, Work Up, and Agility, then Baton Pass to the others!"
"Indeedee—set up Psychic Terrain and Trick Room to cover this entire zone!"
"Arboliva—use Grass Knot at the entrance, then protect everyone with Reflect. Be ready to use Protect at any moment!"
"Vigoroth, hold the front line with Arboliva.
Zorua, switch to Ghost form—sneak inside and scout enemy positions!
Indeedee, use Psychic power to conceal Zorua's energy signature!"
After finishing the deployment, Peter signaled Lopunny.
The first Baton Pass went to Zorua.
With the speed boost, even if it was discovered, retreating would be easy.
"Zoa~"
The little fox chirped softly, turning half-transparent as it phased straight through the wall.
Peter, meanwhile, pulled out his Pokegear Mate 60 and contacted Officer Jenny in Floaroma Town.
As a firm believer in preparation—
He would never gamble without absolute certainty.
As for the storm interfering with the signal?
Don't ask.
The answer was simple.
Way. Ahead. Of. Its. Time.
A short while later, Peter ended the call.
Officer Jenny would arrive in twenty minutes.
All he had to do now was stall Team Galactic and, if possible, wipe them out in one net.
Right on cue, Zorua returned and relayed the situation.
"…Let's see what you're really up to."
Peter took out a skill stone and focused his mind in the direction Zorua indicated.
[Ding! 'Summoner Skill Stone – Insight' activated.
Host has gained internal vision of the power plant!]
The storm howled outside.
Inside the power plant—
The hunt had officially begun.
--------------
T/N:
Support the Story and Read 40+ Chapters early on P@treon:👉[email protected]/MPHFics