This marks the first chapter in the Team Lustrous Arc! This one will have much more action than the first arc. As you can probably tell this arc will center on the mysterious syndicate known as Team Lustrous. Don't forget about the equally mysterious Black Organization. On another note I added character bios to the first post. The spoiler is at the top. Check them out if you want. Now onto the chapter. Enjoy!
Chapter 8: Team Lustrous Revived
“Are you absolutely sure they are in there? You’re completely positive that Lillian Sector is in there?”
“For the millionth time I’m sure. My intelligence told me they have a base in Sprout Tower.”
After shaking down Hope in Miltank’s Café, Jayden told her to show him exactly where Team Lustrous was, where his mother was. He and Kaylie rushed back to the Pokémon Center to pick up their Pokémon. Hope stood outside the building, looking at the tower in the distance behind the Pokémon Center.
“I’ll save you brother,” she whispered.
The sliding doors to the Pokémon Center opened, Jayden stepping out, a serious look on his face. “Let’s go.” Without any more words Jayden began to make his way to the tower.
Something snapped inside him, Kaylie thought, following him with a worried look. What is it about his mom that is making him act this way?
The sun had begun its descent, sinking down behind the mountains. An ominous wind blew over the three as they walked in and out of the crowds, the tower now looming over them. Outside were two men, both in white robes and off white dress shirts. Their pants had been a tan color and their shoes black. Jayden walked to the door, but the men placed their hands on his chest, stopping him.
“Whoa there kid,” one said. “We can’t let you in there.”
“And why is that?” demanded Jayden.
“Hey man, get out of the way!” Hope yelled as she threw a Poké Ball.
From the Poké Ball came a large owl. It was a light brown color, its wings being slightly darker. Atop its head was a large U shaped head crest. When the owl came forth it stared into the eyes of the men, the Pokémon’s eyes glowing blue. The men fell to the ground instantly, asleep.
“Great job Noctowl,” Hope complimented him as he flew by his trainer.
“Mom, are you here?” Jayden asked himself, rushing into the tower.
When the three trainers entered the tower, the wood beneath them squeaked loud. The inside was nearly empty, save for a staircase at the back, statues of a Pokémon that had a vine like body and a large pillar in the middle.
“We’ve got to get to the top,” Hope told them, leading them to the staircase.
“Why the top?” Kaylie asked.
“My intelligence told me that there weren’t too many people here, but they would all be at the top,” she answered.
Jayden stayed silent as they ascended the stairs. The staircase led to a narrow hallway about three feet in width. Light became scarce on the second floor, the only sources being a few torches on the wall. The hallway led to a large room, a giant statue of the same Pokémon in the middle. Two staircases had been in the same spot; at the top left of the room. The trainers ran across the room, the wood squeaking the entire way. Taking the stairs up, they came to another hallway, but light had been emanating from the room ahead. Hope slowed the pace down, carefully approaching the light. Peering into the room, Hope saw seven more people dressed exactly like the men outside. A woman had been talking, giving them what appeared to be steps on what to do now that they were at Sprout Tower.
“…then Gene will give you your Pokémon. They will be weak, but everyone starts somewhere right? Even my Pokémon isn’t fully evolved.”
“There’s a woman in here,” Hope whispered back to Jayden and Kaylie. “It appears that she is the leader. Let’s go in and question her.”
All three of them dashed into the room, making a small blockade between the Team Lustrous members and the exit. Startled, all the members turned and looked at the young trainers, not sure of what was going on.
“Who are you and what are you doing here?” the woman asked.
“We’ve come to ask you a few questions,” Hope said. Looking back at Jayden she could see the rage slowly building inside and decided she better ask her questions fast. “Where is Lillian Sector?”
“Lillian Sector…” The woman seemed to know her, probing her memory in an attempt to remember who she was exactly. “Do you mean Lillian Sector of Goldenrod City?”
“Yes,” Jayden answered bluntly, not saying anything else.
“Well I heard she had tried to leave Team Lustrous on more than one occasion,” the woman answered. “Thing is, if you’re high up in the syndicate like she was, there is no leaving. She apparently tried to tell the boss that she wanted to start a family. He thought she would give away valuable information so she was snuffed out.”
When the words left the woman’s mouth Jayden’s jaw dropped. Kaylie’s hand instinctively covered her mouth while Hope looked away, knowing what Jayden’s reaction was going to be. A tear built up in his eye, slowly sliding down his cheek before hitting the wood floor.
“You must be her kid,” the woman said with a sigh once she saw the tear. “Listen kid, I’m sorry about your mother, but Team Lustrous just isn’t the type of organization to leave. Not when you’re the second in command.”
Before another tear could roll down his face, Jayden wiped it away, facing the ground. Hope looked over at Jayden, a feeling of sorrow sprouting in her stomach. She turned back to the woman, her sadness now overcome by determination. “Now tell me where Sam is.”
“I’m sorry girly, but there is no one named Sam here,” the woman answered with a smirk.
“You’re lying,” Kaylie said, not thinking about what she said. She quickly clasped her hand to her mouth, wishing she could take it back.
“Maybe I am,” the woman said with a chuckle. “You have no way of proving it. You know, I was going to let you go, but that little crack your friend made has changed my mind. I should just get rid of you here.”
Jayden pulled out a Poké Ball, stepping in front of the girls, but Kaylie and Hope stepped forward too, Poké Balls of their own in hand. The woman from Team Lustrous threw a Poké Ball into the air, releasing a Pokémon that resembled all the statues, the differences being that it had no vine body and it was bell shaped. It was yellow in color while the two leaves it had on the side were green. Jayden sent out Pidgey while Kaylie called on Ledyba. Hope clutched her Poké Ball tightly, not letting go of it.
“If you’re not going to battle then get out of here!” Jayden yelled at Hope.
Hearing him loud and clear, Hope ran down the stairs. The woman motioned for two men to follow her. The men saluted before chasing Hope down the stairs.
“Watch and learn,” the woman told the rest of the Team Lustrous members in the room. “Weepinbell use Acid!”
From Weepinbell’s mouth came a stream of violet liquid, shooting out with great speed. Pidgey and Ledyba both flew around the acid and towards Weepinbell.
“Use Tackle!” Kaylie and Jayden ordered in unison.
Both Pokémon flew to Weepinbell’s sides, planning to squish him between the two. The woman laughed as she made a flicking motion. Weepinbell jumped forward, the two allies colliding into each other. Brushing it off, they chased after Weepinbell again.
“Hit them with Razor Leaf,” the woman said chuckling.
Waving his leaves in the direction of Pidgey and Ledyba, Weepinbell shot off dozens of leaves that were as sharp as knives. Pidgey easily dodged them all while Ledyba was hit in the chest. Falling to the ground, Ledyba pushed herself to her feet.
“Go with Comet Punch!” shouted Kaylie.
Ledyba’s fist began to glow as she flew towards Weepinbell. Throwing a punch, Ledyba barely missed as Weepinbell barely dodged it.
“Now Pidgey!” Jayden yelled. “Use Quick Attack!”
Before Weepinbell could turn around, Pidgey dove straight towards him, tackling him from behind. Weepinbell was pushed over, surprised by the attack. Pidgey came back around, tackling Weepinbell again.
“Weepinbell, get up and use Vine Whip!” the woman yelled, getting frustrated.
The Grass type turned back over and two vines shot out of his sides. Pidgey whacked one away with his wing while Ledyba punched the other. The vines hit the ground and bounced back, faster than before. They wrapped themselves around Ledyba and Pidgey, constricting them. Weepinbell then began to slam them into the ground, letting them go on the third slam.
“Pidgey try a Gust!” Jayden commanded.
Pidgey jumped back into the air, flapping his wings vigorously. The tornado that he created rivaled the one Falkner’s Pidgeotto made. As it traveled towards Weepinbell, the tornado tore the wood on the floor and the ceiling, nearly taking it off completely. Helpless to the attack, Weepinbell was sucked into the middle of the tornado, bouncing around like a pinball.
“Now Tackle!” Kaylie and Jayden shouted in unison.
Both Ledyba and Pidgey flew through the tornado, colliding with Weepinbell, pushing him out and onto the ground. Weepinbell attempted to get back up, but fell shortly after. The woman cursed under her breath as she recalled Weepinbell. Jayden pulled out another Poké Ball, tossing it in the air. From the ball came Kakuna.
“Kakuna, can you still use String Shot?” Jayden asked him. When Kakuna nodded (sort of) his trainer pointed at the members of Team Lustrous. “Tie them up with String Shot and make sure they can’t move a thing.”
Turning to the people in white, Kakuna released the familiar string. It slowly began to build up, bind the Team Lustrous members to each other. The woman tried to break free, but was unable to rip the string. Jayden and Kaylie recalled their Pokémon and ran down the stairs. Once they exited the tower they found the two men who had chased Hope asleep with the two that had been standing guard outside the tower. Hope was sitting on the sidewalk not too far from there tapping her foot.
“Hey,” called Jayden. “You need to contact the police. We have them tied up in there.”
“Wouldn’t that be your job?” Hope asked, standing as they reached her.
“I don’t know where the police station is,” Jayden admitted, crossing his arms.
“I’m really sorry about your mom Jay,” Kaylie said, placing her hand on Jayden’s shoulder.
“Yeah, it must be rough finding that out,” Hope added.
“I’m fine,” Jayden told them, showing a smile. “I was upset at first, but during our battle with that lady I realized that even though my mom isn’t in the physical world she still lives on in me.”
Kaylie smiled at Jayden, happy about his positive view. Hope had a blank stare on her face, shaking her head. “That’s corny dude. Anyway, it’s been real, but I need to go on my way. I’ve got important things to do.”
“Wait.” Jayden grabbed Hope’s arm as she turned to leave. “You’re still going to try and find Sam right?” Hope flinched, a shiver shooting up her spine. “That must mean you’ll be going after Team Lustrous. Let me go with you. I might find something out about my mom.”
Hope turned, sighing at Jayden’s suggestion. “Well I guess it wouldn’t hurt having back up.”
Jayden nodded, his smile returning to his face. He let go of Hope’s arm and turned to Kaylie, placing his hand on his hip. “I guess this is goodbye.”
“What are you talking about?” Kaylie asked, somewhat confused.
“I agreed I would travel with you to Violet City. That was as far as we would go together.”
“Now that I know you’re going after a syndicate like Team Lustrous I can’t leave! Someone has to-”
“Protect me? Thanks but I can take care of myself.”
Kaylie laughed, slapping Jayden in his arm. “I was going to say keep you from driving Hope nuts. I’m going to be with you the entire way.”
“Are you lovers done yet?” Hope groaned from about ten feet away. “Let’s get this show on the road!”
Jayden and Kaylie ran after Hope, following her down the road towards Violet City’s limits.
Jayden looked down, his eyebrows arcing. Team Lustrous…
Hope ran her hand through her hair, stopping at the side of her head. Sam…
Kaylie looked down at the ground, kicking rocks as they went. Brother…
I’m coming for you!