Pokémon: No Way! The Golden Finger Only Comes When I'm About To Die!?

After finding Solrock and Lunatone, the next step was to rescue the other Pokémon.

Angie thought for a moment and said, "Solrock, Lunatone, we're going to rescue the other Pokémon. Can I ask you to enter the Poké Balls for now?"

Astrid also said to Mawile, "If we end up fighting the enemy, we might not be able to take care of you, and it would be bad if anything happened."

The three Pokémon exchanged glances and then nodded their heads slightly.

Angie took out two Poké Balls and said to Solrock and Lunatone, "Come inside now."

In truth, he had thoughts of capturing Solrock.

Solrock and Lunatone were meteorite Pokémon, said to have arrived in the Pokémon world with falling meteors.

Solrock, in particular, was rumored to be an incarnation of the sun.

Of course, this legend was up for debate, but one thing was certain: Solrock could harness solar energy.

Everything about Nebel Plateau was great—mild climate, ample water supply, and while the soil wasn't very fertile, fertilizers could make up for that.

The only issue was the lack of sufficient sunlight.

Without enough light, some crops that required strong sunlight couldn't grow well.

Certain fruit trees were among them.

If they had Solrock, it could gather solar energy and provide adequate sunlight for the plants on the plateau.

It could direct sunlight wherever needed without affecting shade-loving crops.

One of Solrock's abilities was to convert the solar energy it stored into sunlight.

Once everything was settled, he would ask Solrock if it was willing to return to Nebel Plateau with him!

Strictly speaking, Volcarona would be more suitable for his expectations, but Volcarona was too rare and not easy to capture.

Solrock and Lunatone gently tapped the buttons on the Poké Balls and were soon absorbed into them in a flash of red light.

At the same time, Astrid also returned Mawile to its Poké Ball.

"Let's go," Angie said to Astrid.

"Right," Astrid nodded.

The two then proceeded deeper into the cave.

Using his Aura abilities, Angie sensed the presence of Team Flare members and avoided them as much as possible. When avoidance wasn't an option, they walked past boldly.

Thanks to their disguises, no one noticed anything suspicious for the time being.

Deeper inside Glittering Cave, they found that Team Flare had transformed the area into a secret base, with numerous rooms and checkpoint-like metal doors built between the passages.

Some doors even required special access to open.

Through his Aura sensing, Angie quickly located a large cluster of Pokémon auras.

Clearly, that was where the captured Pokémon were being held.

"This way," Angie pointed down a corridor and said to Astrid.

Astrid nodded.

As they moved down the corridor, a middle-aged man approached from the opposite direction, accompanied by a Barbaracle.

With no way to avoid him, Angie and Astrid walked forward confidently as if they belonged there.

Just as they were about to pass the man, he suddenly stopped.

"You two, wait a moment!" he said.

"Are you talking to us, sir?" Angie turned around and asked.

From the way the man was dressed, it was clear he was different from the regular grunts, so Angie used a respectful tone.

The middle-aged man scrutinized Angie and Astrid from head to toe. "You two... look unfamiliar!"

Angie replied, "We just joined the organization not long ago, sir. It's normal that you haven't seen us before."

However, the middle-aged man was not as easy to fool as the previous grunts.

"How come I didn't know that new recruits were allowed to participate in this mission?"

Angie quickly explained, "Because we're the best among the new recruits, we were given special permission to join this operation."

Yet, the man's suspicion remained.

"Is that so?" He pondered for a moment and then suddenly said, "Take off your sunglasses and hats!"

Angie and Astrid's hearts skipped a beat at his words.

Seeing their hesitation, the man grew impatient. "Hurry up! Don't dawdle."

Exchanging a glance, Angie and Astrid took a bold step forward and pretended to remove their hats.

The moment Angie got close, he launched a surprise attack on the man.

At the same time, Astrid commanded Absol to ambush the Barbaracle.

However, the middle-aged man was prepared. As Angie attacked, he sidestepped nimbly.

Likewise, Absol's surprise attack on Barbaracle failed.

Not only that, but Absol was sent flying by Barbaracle's powerful Liquidation attack.

Clearly, Barbaracle was quite formidable.

The middle-aged man sneered. "I knew something was off about you two..."

However, he underestimated Angie's strength.

Before he could finish his sentence, Angie closed in again. This time, though his attack missed, a force wave emerged from his palm.

BAM!!!

With a loud crash, the middle-aged man was sent flying, slamming into the wall behind him. He clutched his stomach in pain, curling up like a shrimp.

Barbaracle tried to rush to his aid, but a red flash from Angie's waist revealed Munchlax, who swung a fist crackling with electricity.

"Absol, Psycho Cut!" Astrid commanded.

Absol launched another assault on Barbaracle.

Barbaracle countered with Liquidation, clashing with Munchlax, but was sent flying by a single punch. Absol's Psycho Cut landed immediately after.

With a wail, Barbaracle collapsed to the ground, unable to fight.

The middle-aged man grimaced in pain as he reached for another Poké Ball, intending to summon a second Pokémon, but Angie swiftly kicked it out of his hand.

Crack!!

His wrist snapped from the force.

However, Angie didn't expect the man to be faking it. His true intention was to press a remote control for the alarm.

As the button was pressed, a piercing alarm echoed throughout Glittering Cave.

Without hesitation, Angie knocked the man out with another kick and said to Astrid, "We need to hurry!"

Astrid nodded and quickly followed him forward.

With the alarm triggered, it wasn't long before Team Flare grunts appeared in front and behind them.

"Get them!" someone shouted.

Angie, unwilling to waste time, pulled out Darkrai's Poké Ball and released it, commanding, "Darkrai, take care of them."

Seeing Darkrai, Astrid was astonished!

She recognized this legendary Pokémon. Over two years ago, during the Lily of the Valley Conference in the Sinnoh League, a Trainer named Tobias had used a Darkrai to reach the semifinals.

She had watched that match on TV.

Because of that battle, Tobias became famous overnight, but for some unknown reason, he disappeared soon after."

Tobias not only possesses Darkrai but also owns another Legendary Pokémon, Latios.

With these two Pokémon, he won the Lily of the Valley Conference championship.

Due to Tobias's overwhelming performance, Astrid has a deep impression of that year's tournament.

As Angie finished speaking, Astrid noticed that the surroundings suddenly darkened for a moment. Immediately after, everyone and every Pokémon surrounding them fell to the ground one by one.

Darkrai used its signature move, Dark Void, which drags opponents into a dark world, putting them to sleep.

"Astrid, hurry up!" Angie shouted.

"Oh~ Oh oh~~" Astrid quickly snapped out of her shock.

They hadn't run far before they were blocked by a door.

The problem was that the door required authorization to open.

Angie pressed the panel for a long time but couldn't open the door. Instead, more alarms started blaring.

Frustrated, he said to Munchlax, "Munchlax, blast this door open for me."

"Munchlax~"

Munchlax stepped forward, raised its fist, and punched the metal door hard, flames erupting from its fist.

With a loud bang, the metal door melted into a large hole, just big enough for them to pass through.

After passing through the door, Angie and Astrid entered a spacious chamber.

There were many iron cages inside, each containing a Pokémon: Machop, Onix, Cubone, Rhyhorn, Woobat, Ferroseed, and Dwebble, among others.

The cages were specially designed so that ordinary Pokémon couldn't break free, not even the powerful Onix.

Fortunately, the Pokémon hadn't been harmed. Team Flare had captured them only to prevent interference, not to hurt them.

Seeing Angie and Astrid enter, the Pokémon showed frightened expressions.

Angie immediately took out his Poké Balls and released Solrock and Lunatone.

"Solrock~ Solrock~"

"Lunatone~ Lunatone~"

After Solrock and Lunatone explained the situation, the Pokémon showed expressions of excitement.

However, when Angie tried to open the cages, he was stopped by Woobat.

"Woobat~ Woobat~"

Woobat cried anxiously.

"You're saying these cages will release black electrical currents?" Angie asked.

"Woobat~ Woobat~"

Woobat nodded.

Even the Ground-type Onix couldn't resist the black currents.

Angie said, "I'll look for a switch..."

There was usually a device to control such things.

Astrid said, "I'll help too."

Thus, Angie and Astrid, along with Munchlax and Absol, started searching the chamber.

At that moment, noises came from outside. Angie knew someone was approaching, so he instructed Darkrai, "Darkrai, go hold them off. Don't let them in."

"Darkrai~"

Darkrai replied and disappeared in a flash.

Soon after, the noise outside quieted down.

After searching for a while, Astrid suddenly shouted, "Angie, over here!"

Angie looked over and saw that a section of the wall in front of Astrid was slowly opening, revealing a control panel extending outward.

"This should be the switch," Astrid said while looking at the densely packed buttons.

Angie walked over and asked, "How do we turn it off?"

Astrid looked puzzled. "I don't know!"

Who on earth designed this thing? Angie was exasperated. The buttons were all colorful, making it impossible to tell their functions.

"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"

Master, I can smash it.

Having fought a few battles, Munchlax was fired up and wanted to punch anything it saw.

Angie quickly stopped him. "No, if we break it, we might not be able to open it at all, or we might harm the Pokémon inside the cages."

"What should we do then?" Astrid asked.

Angie stared at the control panel for a while and suddenly said, "If we can't open it, let's find someone who can."

He then turned to Astrid and asked, "Astrid, are you interested in causing some chaos with me?"

Astrid's eyes lit up. "That sounds exciting, I love it!"

"Then... let's stir things up!" Angie said with a mischievous smile.

"Munchlax~ Munchlax~"

Munchlax clenched its fists, eager to act.

Angie said to the Pokémon in the cages, "Everyone, wait a little while, we'll be back to rescue you."

The Pokémon nodded, though their faces still showed concern.

Angie instructed Lunatone and Solrock, "Stay here and don't wander off, okay?"

"Solrock~"

"Lunatone~"

The two Pokémon nodded.

Seeing this, Astrid released Mawile and told it, "Mawile, wait here for us."

Mawile obediently nodded.

After leaving the Pokémon behind, Angie and Astrid walked to the chamber's entrance, where a pile of sleeping Team Flare members lay.

Angie said, "Let's go."

Astrid nodded and touched the Key Stone embedded in her earring, saying:

"Absol, Mega Evolve."

With a flash of light, Absol completed its Mega Evolution.

If they were going to cause a commotion, they had to go all out.

As they retraced their steps, they were soon blocked again by a group of Team Flare grunts.

Astrid: "Absol, Psycho Cut!"

Angie: "Darkrai, Dark Pulse! Munchlax, Fire Punch!"

Against a group of low-level grunts, Angie and Astrid easily overpowered them.

Meanwhile, deep inside the Glittering Cave, in a laboratory, a middle-aged bald man in a lab coat was tinkering with various instruments, his hands moving rapidly.

At the center of the lab was a giant glass chamber, containing a cell-shaped Pokémon.

This Pokémon is entirely green, with only a blue hexagonal pattern on its chest and back.

In the laboratory, besides the bald man, there was also a young man dressed in a red uniform. He was holding a tablet computer displaying a scene of Angie and Astrid overwhelming their opponents.

"Doctor, can you hurry up? Those intruders are about to break in," the young man couldn't help but urge.

"Can you shut up? Do you think I don't want to hurry? How could something like this be fast!" The bald man, referred to as the doctor, said irritably.

He then looked at the cellular Pokémon inside the glass chamber and said, "Z2, stop resisting and obey me."

However, the so-called Z2 in the bald man's words looked pained, as if resisting something.

In fact, Z2 was one of the cores of the legendary Pokémon Zygarde from the Kalos region.

Zygarde had a total of two cores, with the other one being referred to as Z1 by Team Flare.

However, Z1 had long escaped from their grasp and was currently missing.

The Order Pokémon Zygarde had five different forms in total.

The first form was the cells. They were numerous and scattered throughout the Kalos region. Without independent consciousness, they acted based on the commands of the cores, monitoring the region's ecosystem.

The second form was the cores. There were only two, Z1 and Z2, serving as the main consciousness of Zygarde. They could act independently and were equivalent to Zygarde's "brain."

The third form was the Zygarde 10% Forme. Each core could absorb scattered cells to form this state.

The fourth form was the Zygarde 50% Forme. Like the 10% Forme, it could be created by any core absorbing more cells.

The fifth and final form was the Zygarde Complete Forme. This form required both cores to merge and absorb all available cells to take shape.

It existed to protect the Pokémon ecosystem and possessed immense combat power.

At this moment, what the Team Flare doctor was trying to do was to use technology to control Z2's mind and make it obey Team Flare.

The glass chamber trapping Z2 had isolating properties, preventing it from absorbing cells to change its form. As a result, Z2 couldn't build its combat power and had no way to resist.

"Professor, the intruders are almost here," the young man stared intently at the tablet screen.

"Think of a way to stop them. I'm almost done here," the bald doctor replied.

"You want me to stop Darkrai? Are you serious?" The young man looked dumbfounded.

The bald man impatiently said, "Just do it! You're an executive of the organization. If you can't handle such a small task, what good are you?"

"Fine, fine!" The young man looked troubled. "I'll do my best!"

With that, he turned and walked out of the laboratory.

After defeating a group of Team Flare members, Angie and Astrid saw a wide-open white metal door.

Astrid said to Angie, "I found the ruins' location right here, but the entrance seems to be blocked by what they've built."

Angie replied, "Forget the ruins for now. Let's deal with the people inside first."

Astrid nodded.

Just as they were about to step inside, a short-haired young man walked out.

"Yo, hello there!" He smiled awkwardly, greeting Angie and Astrid.

"Darkrai!" Angie didn't waste words and immediately summoned Darkrai to battle.

"Darkrai~"

Darkrai responded and floated to the front.

The young man weakly said, "Can we make a deal and not fight?"

Angie asked, "Are you willing to surrender and let us pass?"

The young man shook his head. "I'm afraid that's not possible."

"Then we have no choice but to fight," Angie said.

Hearing this, the young man sighed. "Making me fight Darkrai, this is just too much."

Saying so, he pulled out a Poké Ball and released a Kangaskhan.

More importantly, the Kangaskhan had a collar around its neck embedded with a Mega Stone.

At the same time, the young man pulled a pendant from his chest, with a Key Stone attached to the end.

"Kangaskhan, we have to go all out. Mega Evolve!"

As his voice fell, the Mega Stone on Kangaskhan and the Key Stone on his pendant simultaneously emitted a dazzling light.