The second day of travel toward Vermillion brought unexpected discovery. Route 6 continued its scenic path along the coast, but a weathered sign at a fork in the road caught Kiyomi's attention.
"Route 10 - Restricted Access - Authorized Personnel Only"
"Stop," she called from her position in the living area. "Pull over."
Sasuke complied, guiding the RV to a safe shoulder position. "What is it?"
"Route 10." Kiyomi was already pulling up maps on her tablet. "According to historical records, this connects to the old Kanto Power Plant. Decommissioned fifty years ago after some kind of incident. The facility became a preserved industrial ruin, culturally significant but closed to public access."
"Sounds dangerous," Miyuki observed.
"Sounds fascinating," Kiyomi countered. "Industrial archaeology is crucial for understanding technological development. And if it's been closed for fifty years, there could be valuable historical data that nobody's examined."
Sasuke studied the restricted access sign. "We'd be trespassing."
"Technically yes. But abandoned facilities fall into legal gray areas if they're not actively patrolled. And I have researcher credentials that might justify investigation." Kiyomi's enthusiasm was evident. "This could be important for my thesis on pre-modern Pokemon-human technological integration."
"Or it could be dangerous ruins with unstable infrastructure," Miyuki said practically.
"Which is why we'll be careful. Come on, when will we get another opportunity like this?" Kiyomi looked directly at Sasuke. "You're curious too. I can tell."
She was right. Sasuke had been reading about Kanto's industrial history during downtime, fascinated by how society had evolved alongside Pokemon technology. An abandoned power plant represented a snapshot of fifty-year-old engineering, potentially valuable for understanding how far things had progressed.
"We check it out briefly," he decided. "But at first sign of danger, we leave immediately. No unnecessary risks."
"Agreed."
They secured the RV and approached on foot, following a cracked and overgrown access road toward the facility. The path was clearly unused, vegetation had reclaimed most of the pavement, and rust-eaten barriers lay collapsed beside empty guard stations.
"This place has been abandoned for a while," Kasumi observed, her Gardevoir manifesting beside her without being summoned. The Psychic-type sensed something about the location that made her protective instincts activate.
The power plant emerged gradually through coastal vegetation. The structure was massive, several stories tall, built with the industrial brutalism common to its era. Concrete walls were stained with decades of weather exposure. Windows were either broken or covered with metal shutters. Warning signs about high voltage and electrical hazards were posted everywhere, their paint faded but messages still legible.
"Impressive scale," Miyuki said, stopping to take in the full structure. "They built things to last back then."
"Had to," Kiyomi replied, photographing everything with her tablet. "This facility powered half of Vermillion City and the surrounding region. When it shut down, they had to construct three smaller plants to replace its output."
They approached the main entrance cautiously. The doors were chained but the chains were old, rusted through in places. Sasuke tested them carefully, one gentle pull and the weakened links separated.
"That's convenient," Kasumi said suspiciously. "Maybe too convenient? Like someone's been here recently?"
"Possible. Or maybe fifty years of weather exposure weakened the metal enough that any force would break it." Kiyomi pushed the door open slowly. It groaned on corroded hinges but swung inward.
The entrance lobby was frozen in time. A reception desk sat empty, papers scattered across its surface. Chairs remained positioned as if employees had just stepped away. A faded safety poster on the wall warned about electrical hazards in multiple languages.
But the most striking feature was the technology. Everything was analog, physical switches, mechanical dials, indicator lights that would have required bulbs rather than LEDs. This was pre-digital computing, pre-modern automation. An era when Pokemon and humans managed infrastructure together rather than relying on smart systems.
"It's like a museum," Miyuki breathed, examining a dust-covered control panel. "Everything's manual. They must have needed huge teams to operate this place."
"Probably why it shut down," Kiyomi suggested, documenting everything methodically. "Operating costs became unsustainable as technology advanced. Modern plants need fraction of the staff for same output."
Movement in the shadows made everyone freeze. Sasuke's hand went to his Pokeballs instinctively. Then a Magnemite floated into view, its single eye examining the intruders with apparent curiosity rather than hostility.
"Wild Pokemon," Kasumi observed as more appeared. Several Magnemite, a trio of Voltorb, even an Electabuzz that watched from a distance. "They've made this place their habitat."
"Makes sense," Kiyomi said, relaxing slightly. "Abandoned power plants have residual electrical energy in the infrastructure. Electric-types would be drawn to that. And without humans disturbing them, they've established a stable population here."
The wild Pokemon seemed generally peaceful. The Magnemite circled the group with magnetic humming but made no aggressive moves. The Voltorb remained stationary, monitoring but not threatening. Even the Electabuzz, despite being a more aggressive species by nature, just observed from its perch on a piece of derelict machinery.
"They're territorial but not hostile," Sasuke assessed. "As long as we respect their space and don't cause problems, they'll leave us alone."
They ventured deeper into the facility. Corridors extended in multiple directions, each one leading to different sections of the plant. Emergency lighting still functioned in places, dim bulbs powered by backup generators that apparently still had fuel after half a century.
"The main control room should be this way," Kiyomi said, consulting architectural schematics she'd pulled up on her tablet. "That's where operational logs would be stored."
The control room was impressive despite its abandoned state. Massive wall panels displayed gauges, switches, and indicator lights. A central console featured what looked like an early computer, massive by modern standards, using punch cards and magnetic tape for data storage.
"This is incredible," Kiyomi murmured, approaching the computer carefully. "If there's any power left in the system, we might be able to access historical records."
She examined the console, wiping away dust to reveal labels and instructions. After a few minutes of study, she located what appeared to be a manual power switch.
"Should you be turning things on?" Miyuki asked nervously.
"Just the computer system, not the main generators. The backup power should be isolated from the primary grid." Kiyomi flipped the switch.
Nothing happened for several seconds. Then the console began humming, lights flickering to life across its surface. The ancient computer booted up with mechanical clicking sounds, reading punch cards, loading tape drives, executing whatever startup sequence had been programmed decades ago.
A screen activated, displaying text in monochrome green.
KANTO POWER PLANT - CONTROL SYSTEM ONLINE
LAST SHUTDOWN: 50 YEARS, 3 MONTHS, 12 DAYS AGO
REASON: CRITICAL INCIDENT - ELECTROMAGNETIC SURGE EVENT