Natsuhiko touched the back of his waist, and an empty Pokeball appeared in his hand.
In the slightly surprised gaze of Lance, he threw it towards the Electabuzz.
This Electabuzz had considerable strength and a solid foundation, which could save a lot of training time. Moreover, the resistance of a purely Electric-type Pokémon was quite good.
Although Electabuzz might not have an ideal species value, it could compensate for Weedle's passivity when facing Flying-type Pokémon. Most importantly, it seemed that in the current Pokémon Realm, it was not known that Electabuzz could evolve again.
Because the requirements are quite stringent, but indeed, there is an evolved form.
After evolution, Electivire's various species values are relatively balanced, with physical attack and speed being particularly notable. With proper training, it could become an excellent Pokémon.
However,
When the Pokeball hit Electabuzz, it didn't open and bounced off directly.
"Hmm?" Natsuhiko was dumbfounded.
Lance's expression was somewhat strange, "It seems that this Electabuzz already has a Trainer."
This situation with Electabuzz could only have this explanation.
"Up ahead is the control room. Going in to take a look should give us some answers," Natsuhiko said, taking out an Antidote and, after a slight hesitation, used it on Electabuzz.
Since it has a Trainer, Electabuzz's excellent physical condition is understandable.
"This Electabuzz should also be at the Excellence Level, but unlike my Dratini and your Weedle, it is about to enter the Senior Level," Lance explained, seeing Natsuhiko give Electabuzz the antidote, his gaze softened a bit.
His insight on the matter was the most credible.
"Hmm."
Natsuhiko nodded calmly, stepped over Electabuzz, and headed towards the control room with Weedle.
Seeing him in a slightly proud manner, Lance grimaced and followed along.
The control room's door was closed but not locked, opening with a gentle push.
But once the door opened, their expressions darkened.
The thick stench of blood wafted over them, causing them to instinctively cover their noses.
Inside the control room lay the bodies of numerous power station staff and several Pokémon, with pools of blood congealed to the point that it stuck to their shoes when stepped on.
"It's brutal," Lance said, his expression frozen as he spoke.
Natsuhiko pressed his lips together, taking in the scene of the control room, and said in a deep voice, "I should say it's cruel. These people died without any resistance."
No wonder the Electabuzz outside went berserk after seeing them. Its trainer likely lay among the bodies here.
For outsiders like Natsuhiko and Lance, there was a strong hostility.
Lance crouched to inspect, his brow deeply furrowed, "No survivors. Just who could have done something this cruel?"
The control room was structured with half glass and half wall.
The wall hid the corridor they just walked through, while the glass side exposed the core power turbine of the station.
Looking down, they saw numerous Voltorbs (Thunderbolt Balls) and Electrodes (Naughty Bombs) neatly arranged around the turbine, streams of electricity constantly emitted from them into the turbine.
But they appeared sluggish, with a weary and dispirited look.
The electricity was decomposed into positive and negative poles by the turbine, then converted into alternating current for the entire Goldenrod City.
Additionally, there were several empty specialized rooms under the turbine with open doors.
These rooms were supposed to house a large number of Electric-type Pokémon.
It's thanks to these Electric-type Pokémon, supplemented by some conventional methods of generating electricity, that such a large city like Goldenrod City could be powered.
"The turbine hasn't stopped," Lance mentioned.
"But it's too slow..." Natsuhiko observed the slowly rotating turbine, continuing to supply power to Goldenrod City, but such a rate could not meet the massive power demands of the city.
Moreover, the speed was showing a trend slowing down even further.
"Perhaps the group of Magnemite we encountered outside were the Pokémon that should've been living in the empty rooms," Lance guessed.
"It's not impossible."
Now, the two were at a loss.
They had reached the power station, entered the control room, found the root of the problem, but didn't know what to do next.
They had already notified Goldenrod City, but the earliest responders would still take at least half an hour.
Within that half-hour, who knew the extent of the damage to Goldenrod City?
"Woo!"
Just then, from a corner, Weedle made a noise, drawing the attention of Lance and Natsuhiko.
It dragged out something like a device, clearly old and twice its size, from a corner mechanical gap in the control room.
"Weedle, how did you find this?"
Natsuhiko took hold of the heavy device, the complex machinery and intricate structure left him bewildered.
The integration of such complex and precise metal into a device the size of a basketball meant it was by no means an ordinary component.
The technology and craftsmanship used to make it were beyond the capability of ordinary people.
Without exaggeration, the precision of this device surpassed that of the most advanced computer, especially at such a compact size.
"Wu~~"
Weedle's tail pointed to a corpse lying in the corner, whose attire differed from others in the control room.
He might have been the original person in charge of the control room.
His hand was accurately pointing to the gap where Weedle had just crawled out.
"Well done." Natsuhiko took out an Energy Block and gave it to Weedle.
Weedle's observational skills were indeed excellent.
"Woo!" Weedle accepted the Energy Block and wagged its tail towards Dratini nearby.
I, Weedle, observe meticulously.
"Muh woo~~" Dratini, seeing Weedle's Energy Block, realized after so much battling it was also hungry, letting out a soft call.
Lance felt a bit awkward, "Ahem, leaving in such a hurry..."
Dratini immediately drooped its head.
"Woo—" Weedle went over, patted Dratini softly with its tail to comfort it, and then broke its Energy Block in half.
Although it was Energy Block suited for Insect-type and Poison-type Pokémon, the foundational nutrients inside were the same.
It handed half to Dratini.
Occasionally switching up flavor wouldn't hurt.
"Muh woo!!" Dratini's eyes lit up, excitably accepted Weedle's generosity.
It lightly nudged its cheek against Weedle, before happily eating together.
Pokémon were truly carefree.
Lance barely held back his smile without stopping them.
Looking over, he saw Natsuhiko holding the parts, his gaze through the glass settled on the turbine not too far away.
"Natsuhiko, discovered something?"
Natsuhiko raised the part, pointing to an odd gap in the middle of the turbine, "Don't you think, if this part were placed there, it would fit perfectly?"
Lance followed his gesture and compared it against the intricate part in Natsuhiko's hand.
"It really does."
"It seems, the one who invaded the power station didn't act without purpose. The likely target was the component originally in the station's turbine," Natsuhiko stated.
Though the part Weedle found was intricate, it clearly seemed outdated.
The original component from the turbine must've been taken by the invader.
Natsuhiko's speculation seemed reasonable to Lance, though he was still curious, "Why would they want that component?"
"No idea."
With only this much information, discerning their motives was impossible.
"Let's install this back first; leave it to me." Lance said, taking out a Pokeball.
"Alright."
Then he watched Lance carrying the device leap out through the glass window and summon his Charizard after landing.
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Another update tonight~~ I, the author-jun, a beast of three updates!