ppe 10: Enough beating around the bush

[xaq_the_aereon]

[TEAM STATUS]
Belfries, Lv 20
Artax, Lv 21
Astra, Lv 22
Nala, Lv 22
Tessa, Lv 22
Buster, Lv 23

With the side trips out of the way for now, it's time to take our newfound Cut ability and open the path to Team Galactic's building.

[HAVE FUN STORMING THE CASTLE!]
Inside we find...Galactigrunts standing around? Being lazy? Gasp. One of them threatens us for not wanting to "donate" our Pokemon with "bringing the pain" like they did to the Bike Shop owner, but wisely chooses not to fight us.

Not so wise is their friend at the stairs.

[VS. TG Grunt]
[Round 1: vs. Zubat]
Belfries leads the charge for a mirror match. Astonish hits Zubat kinda hard, while it returns the favor less effectively. Another Astonish puts it in the Yellow, while its Absorb does a whopping 1 damage. Another Astonish trade-off leaves it in the red and Belfries largely unharmed. I go for Absorb thinking it'd finish it, but it barely does any damage, while she gets Supersonic'd in return. Another Absorb goes through and drains its last HP.

[Round 2: vs. Glameow]
I tag in Tessa and Metal Claw most of its HP away while she shrugs off a Scratch, then finish it with another Metal Claw.

As we try to get past her, however, her partner on the other side of the stairs decides to fight us...cripes, we just dodged a double battle.

[GUESS HE FALLS ALONE, THEN]
[VS. TG Grunt]
[Round 2: vs. Wurmple]
Supersonic misses and Tackle crits for a smidgen, after which I tag out for Astra who shrugs off a Poison Sting. Her Wing Attack one-shots it.

[Round 2: vs. Cascoon]
I leave Astra out and Wing Attack it for another one-hit KO.

[SECOND FLOOR: COMPUTER LAB!]
I chat with the grunts to see if they blab anything. One declares a blind devotion to a cause he doesn't understand and attacks.

[VS. A Complete Idiot]
[Round 1: vs. Wurmple]
Time to tag in Astra again, who is largely unfazed by its Tackle before Wing Attack does its usual thing.

[Round 2: vs. Zubat]
Nala tags in for this one and, with a Quick Claw boost, Sparks it out of the fight.
[HOW SHOCKING]

Another grunt decides to see how good a Pokemon she stole from a "weak Trainer" is.

[RESCUE MISSION TIME!!]
[vs. Silcoon]
Astra tags in once more, brushes off another Tackle, and sweeps away the poor thing with a Wing Attack. Sadly, we are unable to secure it from her...sorry, little one, but we have to move on.

[THIRD FLOOR: POINTLESS HALLWAY]
Right off the bat, another grunt thanks us for donating our Pokemon.

[VS. The Recipient of a Donated Ass-Whupping]
[Round 1: vs. Wurmple]
[ASTRA, WING ATTACK, YADA YADA]
Yep. It does manage to poison her with a Poison Sting before being blown away, though.
[Round 2: vs. Silcoon]
I tag Artax in for this one since that first bit of poison damage did more than everyone else in this building put together so far. Flame Charge roasts it before it has a chance to even blink.
[Round 3: vs. Zubat]
My finger slips and I leave Artax out rather than tagging in Nala, but Flame Charge does the trick anyway.

"What do you think you're doing!?" the grunt cries.
[I BELIEVE I MENTIONED THE ASS-WHUPPING EARLIER?]
Indeed. Another grunt says we can't understand Team Galactic's grand designs...and confesses than he can't either. I see a scientist up ahead and go to offer an escort to safety out...oops, turns out he works for them.

[VS. TG Scientist Travon]
[vs. Kadabra]
Kadabra tries to Disable Belfries' last used move, but since she hadn't used one it whiffs...as does Supersonic. A second Supersonic confuses it before it fires off Reflect to bolster its defenses. Poison Fang hurts it decently, after which it hurts itself. It goes first next time and stumbles over its spoon before getting Poison Fang'd out of commission.

[PUTZ]
After healing Astra up with a Pecha and 2 Oran Berries, we move on to the next floor.

[FOURTH FLOOR: OFFICE SUITE]
And here we find another TG commander. Time for a real rescue mission!

[VS. Commander Jupiter]
[Round 1: vs. Zubat]
Belfries tags out for Nala, who shrugs off a Poison Fang before Sparking the Zubat for the KO.
[ASTRA: QUICK ATTACK -> WHIRLWIND]

[Round 2: vs. Skuntank]
Dark/Poison, if I recall, meaning only Ground is super-useful. Right then, raw power it is. I tag in Buster. Its Poison Gas poisons her, while her Low Sweep knocks about a third of its HP off and drops its speed. Buster also starts to doze off. Skuntank uses Flamethrower next, prompting the use of Buster's Oran Berry to heal...and priming Revenge for the knockout blow.

[GOTCHA, BITCH!]

The battle raises Belfries to Lv 22, prompting her evolution into Golbat. Jupiter spills the beans on Team Galactic's plan to take over the world using Mythical Pokemon
[GASP, HOW ORIGINAL]
and warns us to stay out of their business from now on.
[FAT CHANCE]

With TG cleared out of town, the Bike Shop Owner tells us to swing by and thanks us for returning his Clefairy by giving us a bike of our choice. So the only question now is...

[RED, BLUE, YELLOW, OR GREEN?]

I'm honestly partial to red myself. With that and a spiffy, matching set of riding gear, we can now head down Route 209...

[CYCLING ROAD!]

...But before we can go, a lady stops us and asks if we have an Explorer Kit. Umm..no? Guess we have to talk to the guy by the Pokecen first. We talk to Underground Man...
[NO, REALLY, THAT'S HIS NAME]
...and get the Explorer Kit, which allows us to check out the Grand Underground. He gives us a demo of how to use it...which drops us in a hole in the ground.

[AAAAAAAAAAAA!!! ....OH HI ROARK]
Looking at the map, all I can say is CRIPES THIS PLACE IS HUGE.
[HEY NOW, ALL-CAPS IS MY THING]
Sorry.
[POINT TAKEN, THOUGH]

Walking into a room to the south proves this place to a bit like the Wild Area in Galar. There's also a mining mini-game you can play in certain areas. Our first go reveals a Shiny Stone Box that contains a Skuntank Statue. Another one contains a Leafeon Statue...sweet!

[YOU MAY AS WELL CALL THIS ENTRY RIGHT HERE BECAUSE YOU'RE GONNA BE AT THIS FOR A WHILE]
Hehe, yep. XP

[TEAM STATUS]
Belfries (Zubat -> Golbat), Lv 22
Artax, Lv 22
Astra, Lv 23
Nala, Lv 23
Tessa, Lv 23
Buster, Lv 24

[HAVE FUN, EVERYONE!]
I know I will! :D