After dealing with the Houndoom, Cole and his companions remained undetected by other Pokémon.
The villa's bodyguards were both numerous and extremely dedicated. Cole and Gastly shadowed them for quite some time, trailing several different teams, but the men maintained complete silence throughout.
This left the duo deeply disappointed, as they had hoped to gather valuable information from these bodyguards.
Finally, after following them for over half an hour, they encountered someone all the bodyguards addressed as "Captain".
Following this captain led Cole to the entrance of a hidden facility. The door was securely locked and could only be opened by specific individuals using particular methods.
The walls and doors were specially constructed — even Gastly's ability to pass through solid objects proved ineffective. Only after the captain performed a series of complex operations did the facility's door slowly open.
Inside, Cole and Gastly discovered numerous large pools throughout the interior. These pools contained various water-type Pokémon: Seel and Dewgong, Horsea and Seadra, Staryu and Starmie — all rare species, with a Lapras clan among them.
Each species was confined to separate pools, with electrified metal nets installed above. Any Pokémon that tried to damage these nets would receive severe electric shocks, leaving them wounded.
"Woo~"
"Woo~"
"Woo~"
The Lapras' mournful songs echoed plaintively throughout the facility, but the exceptional soundproofing prevented any noise from escaping.
"What's with all that noise! Quiet down!" The captain shouted at the Lapras group, immediately frightening them into silence.
He then inspected the entire facility, checked all equipment and security measures, and securely locked the door before departing with his men.
Seeing them leave, Gastly was about to materialize to rescue the Pokémon, but Cole quickly intervened, "Don't rush."
"How can I not rush!" Gastly replied furiously.
Cole pointed to various corners of the facility, "Look at those — surveillance cameras everywhere. The moment you appear, alarms will trigger immediately. Can you rescue so many Pokémon in an instant? If they electrify the pools, all these Pokémon will suffer."
Stunned by his warning, Gastly could only curse bitterly, "These treacherous, ruthless humans!"
"Let's first ask the Pokémon about the situation here before making any plans." Cole suggested.
Gastly reluctantly nodded in agreement.
They approached the pool where the Lapras clan was being held.
"Lapras!"
Cole's voice reached the Lapras' ears, startling them and causing them to look around anxiously.
"Don't be afraid." Cole quickly said, "You can't see me, but I'm right in front of you. I've concealed my presence using special means. Your escaped clan member asked us to come rescue you."
Hearing this, the Lapras immediately calmed down.
"Before I rescue you, I need to ask you some questions."
"Woo~"
One Lapras nodded.
After questioning them, Cole and Gastly discovered that Vince had captured these water-type Pokémon to build a marine exhibition hall.
They also received shocking news: Vince had connections with the Pokémon Lab on Cinnabar Island. Some Pokémon he obtained illegally were being transferred to the institute as experimental subjects.
The Pokémon Lab on Cinnabar was renowned throughout Kanto. Originally established by the Pokémon League to study the island's Pokémon ecology, the institute later lost League funding after failing to produce research results.
Silph Co., Kanto's largest corporation, then stepped in to financially support the struggling research institute, allowing it to continue operations.
Over time, League personnel gradually withdrew while Silph Co. representatives gained control of the institute.
Interestingly, after Silph took control, the Cinnabar Lab experienced a revival. It began producing noteworthy research findings, with its Pokémon genetic technology becoming particularly famous.
Within the Pokémon breeding community, a faction known as the "Hereditary School" existed. To ensure bred Pokémon inherited rare and powerful abilities, they practiced frequent crossbreeding, inbreeding, and other questionable methods.
This practice led to widespread Pokémon genetic diseases.
The Cinnabar Lab's genetic technology offered hope to Pokémon suffering from these genetic conditions.
But Cole never imagined this respected institute was secretly conducting illegal Pokémon experiments.
After hearing the news from the Lapras, Cole made a decision.
"Gastly, let's first search this villa for evidence of Vince's collusion with the Cinnabar Lab and their illegal experiments, then come back to rescue these Pokémon." Cole said.
Gastly, suspecting he wanted to bring down the lab — an idea it shared — readily agreed, "Good!"
Cole turned to the Lapras, "Please wait a little longer. We'll be back soon to rescue you."
"Woo~"
The Lapras nodded, their eyes filled with anticipation.
Gastly and Cole teleported out of the facility.
"What do we do next?" Gastly asked.
"First, we'll look for evidence of Vince's dealings with the institute in this villa. Then we can report to the police and have them arrest both Vince and the institute's people simultaneously."
Outside, their conversation became much more cautious.
They used psychic communication, connecting directly through mental energy. This way, even standing right in front of someone, others couldn't detect their conversation.
Gastly had taught Cole this technique, which he had learned quite easily.
"How do we search?" Gastly asked.
"We go straight to the source, of course!" Cole replied meaningfully.
After circling the villa with the bodyguards several times, they had mapped out its structure — identifying where alarms might trigger and where they wouldn't.
Soon, the human and Pokémon stood before a bedroom door. After exchanging a glance, they passed directly through it.
In the pitch-black room, they materialized silently, observing the person sleeping soundly on the bed.
This was none other than Vince — the villa's owner and the mastermind behind the Lapras clan's capture.
Just as they approached, a Pokémon suddenly appeared in the darkness, wings flapping — a Crobat.
Vince was clearly cautious, arranging Pokémon protection even while he slept. The powerful Crobat would have spelled trouble for most intruders.
But facing it was a thousand-year-old Gastly with unfathomable power!
The Crobat had barely appeared when Gastly's Psychic Power froze it mid-air. The bat Pokémon couldn't move or make the slightest sound.
With a flash of purple light from Gastly's eyes, the Crobat fell to the ground with a thud, completely motionless.
Having neutralized the threat, Cole and Gastly approached the bed. There they found Vince sound asleep, his arms wrapped around two completely naked women, one on each side.
'Damn, what a beast!' Cole cursed silently.
As Vince stirred from his sleep, his terrible temper about to erupt in curses, he met a pair of deep, purple-glowing eyes. His consciousness instantly vanished.
"Vince~"
Cole's voice reached his ear.
"Yes.," Vince responded blankly.
"What is your relationship with the Cinnabar Lab?" Cole's voice carried both enchantment and suggestion.
"We are colleagues." Vince answered honestly.
'Colleagues?' Cole was stunned.
How could they be colleagues? Weren't they just business partners?
"Tell me more details." Cole pressed.
"We... are... all... Team Rocket members..." At the mention of Team Rocket, Vince's expression began to struggle.
This was clearly a deeply buried secret that, even subconsciously, he was unwilling to reveal.
The purple light in Cole's eyes flickered more intensely as he deepened his control over Vince. After a moment, Vince's resistance faded, and he began to tell everything without restraint.
After the questioning, Cole finally understood the whole story. Both Vince and the Cinnabar Lab were Team Rocket members.
The head of Sylph Co. was Ryan Hills, patriarch of one of Kanto's great families. Unfortunately, though nearly seventy, he had no children.
{T/N: Despite the Bulbapedia stating that Erika's father is the president of the company, I think it's very obscure and vague. Anyway, this is an original entry from the author.}
Because there was no legitimate heir, the inheritance rights to Sylph Co. had always been controversial, with Ryan's nephews and nieces fighting endlessly over it.
Currently, control of the Cinnabar Lab was in the hands of Ryan's nephew, John Hills, who held a high position in Sylph Co. with considerable influence. He was the one who had initially proposed funding the Cinnabar Lab and had been handling all related matters.
John had joined Team Rocket many years ago. Through his influence, those controlling the Cinnabar Lab appeared to belong to Sylph Co. on the surface, but were secretly Team Rocket members.
Despite being a privileged heir who wanted for nothing, John joined Team Rocket because he was an admirer of its founder, Madame Boss — Giovanni's mother.
After she passed away, he shifted his support to Giovanni instead.
Team Rocket's growth to its current power owed much to John's financial support. Now that Team Rocket controlled most of Kanto's underground forces, they had begun secretly helping him compete for the Sylph Co. inheritance.
Currently, John was the most competitive candidate among all of Ryan's nephews and nieces.
As for Vince, the man before Cole and Gastly, his full name was Vince Hills — illegitimate son. He had become Cinnabar Town's richest man through John and Team Rocket's secret support.
With his cover, the illegal research at the Cinnabar Lab had remained completely hidden from public view.
Under Cole's control, Vince led the human and Pokémon to his study, where in a secret room, Cole found substantial evidence of Vince's dealings with Cinnabar.
What surprised Cole even more was that Vince Hills wasn't the only one covering for the Cinnabar Lab. Many high-ranking League members on Cinnabar Island were involved, including the chief of the Police Department.
Vince had bribed all these officials. His primary role was maintaining relationships between the various Cinnabar officials involved with Team Rocket.
In essence, he was a "social butterfly."
Cole also discovered that the Cinnabar Lab was the birthplace of the Mewtwo research. From document fragments, he pieced together how the project began.
Nearly twenty years ago, when Madame Boss still led Team Rocket, she initiated a plan called "The Strongest Artificial Pokémon".
A woman named Miyamoto headed this project. Following what seemed like an insignificant clue from Madame Boss, she discovered a fossilized Mew eyelash.
This fossil was then sent to the Cinnabar Lab through John, where they successfully extracted Mew's genetic material.
The plan faced numerous setbacks. Many accidents occurred during research, and progress stalled for extended periods.
After the deaths of Madame Boss and Miyamoto, the project was temporarily suspended until Giovanni took control of Team Rocket and reactivated it.
Dr. Fuji was the scientist who eventually made the breakthrough that advanced the project significantly.
About two years ago, Team Rocket secretly relocated the experiment from the Cinnabar Lab. Even John and Vince Hills likely didn't know how far the experiment had progressed.
Now that Giovanni and Team Rocket had grown stronger, Giovanni no longer trusted John as much as he once did.
After reviewing the materials, Cole took a deep breath. He hadn't expected to uncover such a complex web of connections. Taking down John would definitely deal a major blow to Team Rocket.
"Alright, we've got what we came for. We should leave now." Cole said.
Gastly replied, "Good!"
Before leaving, Cole carefully restored Vince's study to its original state, then took him back to his bedroom and hypnotized him to forget everything that had happened tonight.
✲✲✲
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