----
The silence after the supposed self-destruction was… suspicious.
It was as if the whole "explosion" had just been a ruse to drive everyone out.
Now, with the blasts faded, the massive base began sinking again, as if its lift-off had merely been a temporary distraction. Without propulsion, its weight overwhelmed the ocean's support.
Outside the glass, Erika watched the ocean reclaim the window view. The orange shimmer of sunset faded into the cool gloom of the seafloor.
"We're sinking again," she muttered.
Kai nodded. "Then let's find out what they were really trying to hide."
They advanced carefully.
The corridors were eerily empty. Not even the blaring alarm remained. Just the sound of their own footsteps echoed through the metal halls.
Click. Clack. Click.
Room by room, they scouted, finding only disarray. But eventually… they reached it. The research sector.
Protected by reinforced glass and a sealed blast door, this part of the base was clearly the core.
Inside, silhouettes moved.
Kai nodded toward Gardevoir, and with a sharp pulse of [Psychic], boom! The steel door flew off its hinges.
They stepped into the lab.
Amid glowing monitors and stacks of vials, a white-coated figure with a balding crown stood hunched at a console, his back to them.
A few researchers in hazmat suits froze at the intrusion, fear written across their faces. No resistance. Just panic.
Then the old man turned around.
His expression was unreadable. "You're quite persistent," he said. "Even all that misdirection couldn't fool you, huh?"
Kai narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?"
"I'm Dr. Zager," the man replied with an unsettling calm. "Director of this facility."
That name triggered a faint memory that he'd shown up in the anime briefly. A background villain. But now? He was the one pulling strings.
Kai scanned the lab. Advanced bio-tech. Containment chambers. Strange chemicals. This wasn't just engineering it was gene manipulation.
"What is this place really?" he asked.
Dr. Zager glanced around. "Since you've come this far… it won't matter if you know. We're developing a Pokémon virus."
Kai's eyes widened. "A virus!?"
Bits of memory surfaced yes, there was a storyline about this. Something where Team Rocket kidnapped Professor Oak...
Zager chuckled darkly.
"Viruses. Bacteria. Vaccines. They're all tools. With the right strain, we can rewrite Pokémon DNA to make them stronger, more obedient, more perfect. Yes, there are risks. But in the end, the benefits outweigh the costs."
Kai scowled. "You're experimenting on Pokémon using them like lab rats?"
"Of course," Zager sneered. "Sadly, most of the data hasn't been backed up yet. I thought we'd have more time. But here we are."
He gestured to the researchers, who, without hesitation, scrambled into a service elevator and descended into darkness.
Kai didn't stop them.
"They're just pawns," he muttered. "The real danger is you."
Zager returned to his console, calmly tapping keys. "You don't get it, boy. With the right viral architecture, we could create Pokémon that shatter limits. Don't you want stronger Pokémon?"
Kai was about to answer, but Erika beat him to it.
"Stronger?" she snapped. "You're violating nature! Tampering with life itself! You call that progress?"
Zager gave a condescending laugh. "You're just a child, too naive to understand evolution. We're all just organisms adapting to survive. I'm simply accelerating that process."
Done justifying himself, he turned back to Kai.
"I know who you are," he said. "What you've done. You're impressive, for someone so young. But I'm afraid your journey ends here."
He slammed a red button on the console.
BOOM!
The room shook. A fiery blast erupted from the side walls, sending smoke and debris flying.
"Erika!" Kai dove over her as shards flew past. Gardevoir instantly erected a barrier, blocking the worst of the explosion.
When the smoke cleared, the elevator was already descending and Zager was gone.
Before Kai could give chase, water began flooding in from the broken walls.
In seconds, it reached their feet.
"Damn it…" Kai clenched his fists.
Erika looked around, shaken but unharmed. "He planned all this… and now he's escaping again."
Kai didn't respond.
He was already thinking about what came next.
----
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