Chapter 40: Crisis in Castelia Pt. 1: The Enemy of My Enemy

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"I need eyes in the sky pronto!" Looker commanded as he strode through the makeshift base set up outside of Castelia on Route 4. The desert would be murder on the machines, but he couldn't bring himself to care right now. "We need that bomb removal squad here ASAP!" He barked into his phone. "And for Arceus' sake, how long until reinforcements arrive!?"

Looker cursed as he hung up a minute later, glaring up at the gleaming skyscrapers just behind the wall that separated the outside world from Castelia. Just his luck the one day he and his team had left the city to track down a lead was the day Clarity decided to make their move. He had to admit, the idea of a mole in the International Police became more likely by the second. He didn't know who to trust anymore.

He slammed a fist against a table. The Castelia Police were on their own in there and he hadn't been able to get word in or out with the Officer Jenny in charge. 

"Sir!" One of the techies came rushing over, holding a tablet in his arms, his Porygon floating after him. "You need to see this!"

"What is it now!?" Looker asked, agitated. He took the screen and cursed again. Frozen and dramatically zoomed in showed the underside of Skyarrow Bridge. More specifically, the individuals flying right beneath it, all but hidden from most cameras had Looker not ordered Pidoves to be sent out across the city with small cameras to get a readout of the situation.

"Sir, what should we do?"

Looker glared at the screen before shoving it back at the Techie. He flipped out his phone again, quickly speed dialing a number. "Looker here. Keep an eye out for a couple of trainers in the city." He lowered the phone, glancing once again at the skyscrapers, this time with uncertainty. "I really hope you know what you're doing, Zeno."

...

"This was a bad idea," Robert said from below where he dangled in Corviknight's talons.

"Oh shut it you big baby," Alex glanced down at him, hands around my waist. "We're not even going that fast."

"It's fast enough!"

"Both of you, quiet," I ordered. Corviknight flew close to the underside of Skyarrow Bridge, keeping to the shadows. This was our best way in. And if Looker was as good as I expected him to be, he'd be using this route sooner or later. What worried me is if Clarity already knew about this method of sneaking in.

Patting the side of Corviknight's head, I urged him to go faster. We were nearly to the end. Looking below, I could see a concrete platform where the bridge's support entered the water. And there was a hole in the side, presumably connected to the sewage system.

"Bring us down," I ordered and Corviknight slowed and gently descended. Robert was dropped once they were close enough to the ground and Alex and I slid off a moment later.

"Thanks, you did good," I praised my Pokemon before returning him and clipping the ball to my waist.

"Sewers," Robert complained as soon as he saw the hole. "Why is it we always seem to end up in sewers?"

"I have to agree with him on this one," Alex said regretfully.

"We can't exactly help it," I shook my head as I let out Lucario. "Alright, keep your senses alert. We don't want anyone getting the jump on us."

The pipe was large enough to fit us without having to crouch. And the smell was something else, our shirts riding up to cover our noses as our footsteps made small splashes in the foul liquid. We traveled at a brisk pace, only able to see from the dim lights of our X-transceivers. 

"Ugh, I'm gonna have to buy new shoes," Robert moaned quietly.

"To think trainers will come down into sewers like this willingly just to catch a few Poison types," Alex muttered, edging away from a Trubbish that huddled against the side of the pipe wall.

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