Pokémon XD: Narrated Gale of Darkness

Chapter 4

Just as they wanted to walk towards the Battle Sim System room, they heard a loud scream.
"W-what's going on?! Who are you people?!" The professor yelled at someone.
Michael rushed out of Aidan's room. The receptionist lady, who had stood up from her chair, looked at him with terror in her eyes. "It's terrible, Michael! Some strange men came barging in and took off with the Director!"
"They what?!" Michael didn't hesitate a moment and ran to the doors that led to the front yard.
Outside, a scientist and his Pineco and one of Michael's battle buddies were knocked down, now laying on the ground.
A small distance away, Michael could witness three men in white, odd suits dragging Professor Krane wih them.
"Will you let go of me!? Where do you think you're taking me?!" The professor yelled at them.
The guy with yellow highlights took a step in his direction. "Fufufu... I'm taking you to your new lab, professor."
"What.... My new lab?"
"Move it; we don't have any time." The biggest guy said as he pushed Krane. "If you don't want to get hurt, hustle yourself into the car."
"You people... what are you?"
Michael took action and started running. "Hey!!"
"Hah? What is it, punk?" The yellow highlighted guy had turned around. "You're going to play hero and try to stop us? I don't show mercy to anyone, not even kids. Teddiursa, go!"
"Eevee, I choose you!"
Part of Michael's headset started to get activated, letting a small screen slide in front of his eye. The screen displayed some data and showed a dark cloud-like energy around his opponent's Pokémon.
"What is this?!" He brought out.
"Michael! The Aura Reader is responding! That's a Shadow Pokémon!" Krane informed him.
'Aura reader? That's a Shadow Pokémon?'
"Hurry, Michael! Hurry! Throw a Poké Ball at it!"
'What?! Uhh, okay, if you say so.'
Michael threw one of the Poké Balls he received earlier at the Teddiursa. The Poké Ball swayed from left to right three times and then came to a stand still before it could get picked up.
"What was that? My Shadow Pokémon! Was that... Was it a Snag?" The guy then noticed something. "Kid! What's that machine on your arm?!"
"Naps... Could it be..." The third guy started. "A Snag Machine?! What the heck is that thing doing here?"
"Snag Machine? That's big news! Come on, move! I need to report this to the headquarters, like now!"
The big guy had thrown professor Krane into the back of their car. The other two ran to them and stepped into their vehicle, one of them starting its engine.
Michael ran after them, but when he got to them, the motor had started and they drove off, impossible to keep up with by foot.
"Professor!!!"

---

The positive atmosphere had faded from the HQ Lab. Everyone was devastated because of the professor's abduction. Aidan had taken Michael back inside. Lily and Jovi were there, too. Lily was trying to comfort her upset, crying daughter.
"Waaah! They took the professor away!" Jovi wailed.
"Don't cry, Jovi. I'm sure Professor Krane will be okay."
"We've contacted the police and the proper authorities about professor Krane. They should let us know if they discover anything. Still... I can't believe that this is happening..." Aidan spoke.
"Professor Krane predicted that someone will again try making Shadow Pokémon. His prediction was on the mark." Lily confessed.
"He predicted this?" Michael spoke for the first time after a long while.
"Michael, the Teddiursa you snagged probably isn't the only Shadow Pokémon that was made..." Aidan faced him. "When the Purify Chamber is completed, we will be able to save many Shadow Pokémon at the same time, but..." Aidan turned away to avoid anyone's eye contact. "Professor Krane is crucial to this project. Without him, there's nothing we can do."
There was a moment of silence.
Then, Lily spoke up. "Lets complete it!" She said resolute. "We'll finish the Purify Chamber ourselves!"
"Lily? The director is not here! It's hopeless. There isn't any possible way to get it done."
"You're on the verge of finishing!" She retorted. "This isn't the time to feel sorry for yourself. The Purify Chamber project got this far not just because Krane was here. We got here because we all worked as a team. Having come this far, it would be wrong to stop now. Our pride as scientists is on the line. Let's finish the project as one!" She took a breath to calm down a little.
'Nicely said, mom.' Michael thought to himself.
"Things will get very busy around here! I'll go upstairs and check how the data processing is progressing."
As she had told them, Lily walked away and took the elevator to the second floor.
After that, the atmosphere changed again. The people got hopeful. Everykne carried on their duties to complete all projects.