The receptionist had just made it back to the front of the lab as the man came through the door. He continued walking towards her, even as she stopped. "Sir? can I help you?" She asked, as he stopped in front of her, his face being nothing more than distress. "Yes, ma'am. My Pokemon are feeling rather down, as of late. I was hoping you could take a look at them?" He pulled two Pokeballs off of his belt, holding one in each hand. "My babies... I can't stand seeing them in any sort of pain! Please, help me!" He begged, as the woman seemed to become more alert, nodding. "I promise to do what I can, sir. Can you release them, please?" "Absolutely! Thank you, ma'am!" He said, perking up as he tossed the two Pokeballs into the air. "Come out, and show our dear friend here what is the matter!" The Pokeballs opened, shooting out bright white lights that formed into two Pokemon. One was a Smoochum, while the other was a Froslass. They stood strait, at attention, seeming tense and serious. The woman began looking them over, glancing up at the man curiously. "I don't see anything wrong at a glance... They don't seem to be showing weakness of any kind. In fact, they are quite sturdy and strong-looking." "Correct." The man said, grinning. The woman's eyes widened, as he put his arms behind his back. "And if you want them to stay sturdy and not become mobile and freezing you into a statue, I insist you take a seat. Now." The threat was followed up by the two Ice-Types stepping forward and glaring darkly at the receptionist. She began shaking, fear taking over her as she walked over to the nearest chair and sat down, not being able to make eye contact. "Sweetheart, please don't be scared. As long as you stay there, you'll be okay. Maybe everyone else won't, but you? You'll be spared." The man said happily, gesturing at his Froslass, which shot out a chilling Blizzard at the woman's feet, freezing them to the ground. She began to scream, but the man put his hand over her mouth, while raising a finger up to his own lips. "Shh. Make more noise, and you'll be thawing for weeks." His threat sunk in quickly, as the woman became dead silent. He removed his hand from her mouth, pulling out a hanky. He wiped his hands, before putting it back in his pocket. "Good. You're a natural." He commented, beginning to walk down the hall. His two Pokemon followed behind him, keeping an eye out for anything that could be considered troublesome. --- Meanwhile, on the west and east sides of the building, the grunts had began their breaching plan. One on each side of the building released an Electrode, which then positioned itself onto a lab wall. The grunts cackled over their earpieces about the plan, as they released the Pokemon they had to actually battle with. They were certainly nothing impressive, but each grunt held two Pokemon to their name, not counting the Electrodes. "Team One is ready, how do you fair, Team Two?" "It's not fair!" A grunt cried over the earpiece, as another sighed. "Ignore him. He wanted to be in Team One." "Wait, since we're all technically here together, just having a building between us, shouldn't we still count as one big team?" Another asked, as an excited answer came forth from one of the others. "That's a good point!" "Enough!" One yelled, almost growling with viciousness. "Just do the countdown!" "Aah, alright, alright. Don't get your helmet on sideways... Three! Two! One!" --- [I]'It's quite obvious these children care for their Pokemon greatly. This generation certainly isn't a disappointment, brings a warmth to my heart.'[/I] The Professor watched on, enjoying the sight of the trainers and their Pokemon. Though the sound of his P.D.A going off inside his lab coat pocket caught his attention, as he pulled it out and opened it. He hadn't even noticed that Mime Jr had gone into the Pokeball, though as the person that contacted him began to speak, the ball shook. Once. Twice. Three times. "Yes?" The Professor answered, glancing at the very hesitant bus driver through his P.D.A. He seemed extremely worried, especially in his tone. "Some goons just drove up to the lab and began goin' around the sides! One of 'em came in through the front, and I don't know what they're up to, but the suits they were wearing looked familiar!" Michael narrowed his eyes, glancing back at the exit to the daycare. "Familiar how, exactly?" "Familiar as in those uniforms were worn by Ci-" The driver's words were cut off, as the wall of the daycare blew open abruptly, sending the entire room into a frenzy. Michael dropped his P.D.A, and it smashed against the floor, disconnecting the call instantly. He coughed as the room filled with smoke from the explosion, though noticed three figures enter, along with a number of Pokemon. "A-An attack?!" He yelled, confused as to what was happening. Desmond was sent into alert as the smoke engulfed his vision. He coughed and tried to look through it, but his eyes watered, barely allowing him to keep them open. He felt something grab his arms, and hold them behind his back. He let out a gasp in surprise, and another soon in pain,as a knee connected with his gut. "Good one! Let's nab his Pokemon!" One called out, releasing Desmond and letting him drop to the ground. The smoke began clearing as they snatched the Pokeballs off of his belt, before shoving them into their own pockets. "What about this thing?" One questioned, gesturing to the Slakoth. "Forget it! Let's nab something more valuable!" The other yelled, before reuniting with their own Pokemon, planning to knock out any opponent that got in their way. The baby Pokemon rushed out the hole in the wall, crying and attempting to escape. It was up to any trainers in the room to try and assure this attack was ended with their own Pokemon not being snatched. Or injured too severely. Michael backed up to the door, finally able to stop coughing as he exited into the hall. As his eyes managed to see clearly, he saw an individual walking down the hall, with two Pokemon beside him. "A-Are you behind this?!" Michael asked loudly, angered by the chaos happening around him. He gritted his teeth as the man simply laughed as he stopped his approach, crossing his arms. "Why yes, I am. You must be the beloved Professor of this facility. I heard you had quite a lot of Pokemon here... They'll be perfect for the plans I have." "What plans?!" Michael yelled, demanding an answer. The man simply shook his head, sighing. "So rude... I don't think I want to answer you. Though..." He waved a hand, and his two Pokemon stepped forward. "Maybe if you managed to somehow win against me in a battle, I'd be a little more... Open. What do you say, Professor?" "A battle...?" Michael felt himself tense up. He glanced down as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a single Pokeball. The man scoffed. "Do you think one Pokemon is all you need? You've got guts." "You talk too much." Michael replied spitefully, before putting two fingers up to his mouth. He blew air out of his mouth, making a rather loud call. Few knew what it meant, but those who did, knew this challenger was in trouble. A lot of it. "Am I supposed to be impressed by a stupid bird-call?" The man asked, and Michael returned the man's smirk with his own. "No." He answered calmly, glancing down the hall. [Center]"You should be scared."[/Center]