Chapter no.99 Power Plant

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[ Commerce City. Midnight.]

The lights gleamed brightly in the central tower, as the entire plant functioned, its giant turbines running, roaring like some apocryphal creature, generating vast amounts of power, one that had always been the lifeline of Commerce City, and by extension, the main fuel for all sixteen cities in the vicinity, all the way to Cinnabar Island. Usually, the offices would be deserted by seven in the evening, with the last of the workers emptying the place by ten. Tonight, however, the lights in the office of the Manager glowed brightly, despite it being almost ten at the night, the sign outside his chamber displaying 'BUSY', as he served as an audience for one of the most intimidating people in Kanto.

"As you can understand, Mr. Levonsky, My partner, and I are in dire need of this solution, and we sincerely hope to go ahead with this… acquisition without unnecessary trouble."

The man, known to all as the business tycoon of Kanto sat back, his head casually inclined towards the other man in the room, seated beside him. Strangely he had a large hood covering most of his face, except for a heavily-chiseled greyish chin, devoid of any facial hair. The stranger had been sitting silently on the chair for the entire duration, giving Levonsky the impression of either being too frail or someone who didn't make a single movement without need. Levonsky didn't know which was more incongruous.

"Mr. Giovanni," The manager, a blonde-haired man of forty-six, answered, keeping a sideward glance at the other man's oddly silent associate," I understand that someone of your stature wouldn't just do things on a mere whim, but the Power Plant is the only source for the nearby regions. With all the power directed towards…" his eyes flickered towards the equipment placed a dozen feet away, "—the equipment would cause a lot of trouble, even if it is merely for a day?"

"I seem to remember that power might be cut off from time to time, to conduct… turbine maintenance, Mr. Levonsky. Believe me, I was once a Gym leader and thus, I can go through all the stipulations myself."

"Then surely as a former Gym leader, you understand that cutting off the power would cause a lot of distress amongst the Pokémon centers and hospitals. Should the League consider it, they might as well send someone for verification. I'd lose my job in an instant should that happen." The manager returned, feeling rather uncomfortable about agreeing to the meeting in the first place.

Giovanni let out a sigh. "I urge you to think of it as an acceptable risk in a…. business venture of sorts. My… equipment will go a long way in making my venture successful. I assure you, the benefits you'd gain from this would greatly outweigh the acceptable risk."

"What sort of venture requires you to… forgive me for being blunt, eat away enough power to fuel seventeen cities for a day?" He paused, looking at the equipment with distaste, "—and for the life of me, I cannot figure out how that tiny thing can keep its parts together after consuming that much power."

Giovanni chortled. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. There seems to be a misunderstanding. That thing wouldn't consume the power. It is built more along the lines of… acting like a conduit to transfer all that power."

A conduit to transfer that much electrical power? Into what? The manager couldn't help but think. "Even so, I honestly cannot agree with your request. Please forgive me."

Giovanni snorted again. "And here I was thinking that we would be able to come to a peaceful conclusion." He stood up, brushing off imaginary dust from his impeccable suit. "Very well, I'll have to approach things more directly, as my partner is fond of doing."

Directly? The manager felt uneasiness growing within him, as the stranger stood up from his seat, his face still covered by the hood.

" I assure you, this will be quick and painless." Levonsky paled, as he heard the ominous voice in his mind, as the stranger lifted his hood, as the lights in the office room flickered for a moment.

Not a single worker left the Power Plant that night.

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[ Vermillion city, Pokémon center.]

"How could this be happening? Commerce City always has twenty percent of its production directed to Vermillion. That's how it has been for decades." Nurse Joy admonished.

The police official, a certain Gasper Michaels, took a step back. The pink-haired nurse had always been a rather no-nonsense type, everyone in the city could vouch for that. However, it certainly didn't make facing her any less intimidating.

"Please Ma'am, try to understand. We are not authorized to enter the main power generation plant, and the Manager is certainly not being forthcoming. I have checked with the agreement between the power plant and the League, and according to that, there can be a shortage of power because of turbine maintenance, although the shortage could continue to a maximum of two days."

"Shortage of power, yes. No power, certainly not." The nurse retorted, "and Mew helps you if you want to convince me that all the three turbines, which are run by hundreds of Magnemite and Magneton, and are separated into three distinct divisions of the power plant, have all broken down at the same time."

"Uh… actually from our sources, the water is still flowing in, which means-"

"The turbines are functioning." The nurse deduced.

"Um… yes." Michaels agreed hesitantly. "However, there is no output generated despite that. The Manager has issued an official statement, making it to be some kind of…interior malfunctioning, which will be solved in another day or so."

"If the turbines are working, where is the power going?"

"We do not know, Ma'am. It's strange, and almost like something is soaking up all the power from the turbines." Gasper replied, his face hung low.

"The plant provides power to seventeen cities, Officer Michaels." Nurse Joy scoffed. "No machine cannot soak in that much power for itself. What is Officer Jenny doing? I need that arse of a manager under arrest and questioned."

"I understand Madam but-"

Nurse Joy wasn't done speaking yet. She stepped forward and held the officer by his tie. "Listen to me, Officer Michaels. This is Vermillion city, and I have had dozens of injured pokémon since last night, and none of them can receive proper treatment because of the power failure. I am very desperate right now, and you do not want me desperate."

Michaels swallowed.

"I need power back in less than an hour. Get it?" her eyes seemed to glow with anger, as she directed all her intimidation on the poor official, who looked like he was about to faint in a minute, should this continue. Suddenly pushing the man back, she let go of his tie, allowing the intimidated man to fall to the ground.

The moment Michaels saw his chance, he instantly sped off, not wanting to be the victim of the ruthless nurse of Vermillion city.

The pink-haired woman saw the sad excuse of an officer speeding away, letting out a frustrated sigh. True to her words, the center was devoid of power since midnight, and the injured pokémon weren't getting the treatment they deserved. Sure, she could manage to counter the more extreme cases with backup power, but she needed the main supply to be back and functioning.

She took a glance at the lobby, where trainers were sitting, their faces worried about their injured pokémon.

I will be getting a reprimand for this…

Despite that probability, she knew that she would have to act, and act soon. If the police weren't ready to bring that manager to his senses, she would have to ensure that someone did it for her. Switching on the telephone at her help desk, she dialed a number.