"Boss, it's been so long and we still haven't found that kid." "Is he hiding from us?" the scrawny lackey said irritably.
"Unlikely. We just haven't crossed paths yet. Would the first person to tame a Pokémon in this batch really be afraid of us?" Seita explained to his somewhat dim-witted subordinate. "You didn't see the terror of his Arbok."
In truth, Seita didn't know what his odds were if he actually fought Feng Che. He just knew he had to try. "No matter what, we find him and end him!" He clenched his fist, his face contorting with malice.
From his hiding spot, Feng Che marveled at the coincidence. Speak of the devil.
"Ditto, transform into Arbok."
The pink blob shifted into a three-meter-long, venomous purple serpent, coiling silently in the canopy.
"Linoone, help us out. Block one or two of them if they try to run."
Feng Che then pulled a small glass vial filled with Gracidea flower powder from his bracelet. "Rookidee, I'm counting on you. Sprinkle this powder on those clone Pokémon."
Rookidee caught the vial with her talons, tucking it expertly beneath her feathers. Feng Che waited, his eyes locked on the target.
Seita was currently in a foul mood. Two days ago, a mysterious figure named Starhunt had tracked them down. Starhunt had effortlessly killed the Pokémon they had just tamed and forced them out of their safe house at gunpoint.
"It's strange," the scrawny lackey pondered. "Why did that Starhunt guy suddenly appear and order us to kill the top recruit? And why give us those extra Pokémon?"
"Just use them and stop talking," Seita snapped. "Starhunt possesses power beyond our understanding. He's a powerful Psychic. We do what he says, or we end up like the wild Pokémon he crushed."
Feng Che observed the four Pokémon accompanying the group: a Golbat, Pidgeot, Beedrill, and Electrode. Their eyes were dull and glazed—classic laboratory clones. They were around Level 30, elite-tier in strength, but they moved like puppets.
Clone Pokémon are nothing to fear. They have power but no soul, Feng Che analyzed. They only obey the holder of their ball. Look at them... the Pidgeot's feathers are molting, the Electrode's surface is pitted, the Beedrill's stingers are cracked. They're genetically collapsing from overuse.
Even without me, they wouldn't last long. The Gracidea powder will act as a catalyst, accelerating their cellular division until they burn out.
Feng Che knew that early clone technology—before the Mewtwo project reached its peak under Dr. Fuji—was notoriously unstable.
But Starhunt also gave them extra balls, Feng Che noted, spotting the black Rocket Balls on their belts. Those aren't locked. Who is this Starhunt? He seems to be the puppet master of this entire evaluation.
"Rookidee, go. Act like a wild bird and drop the powder. Arbok, Linoone, wait for my signal."
"Linoone, the moment I give the word, use Quick Attack to get in front of them and use Covet to steal those black Poké Balls."
Rookidee took flight. She landed on a low branch near the group, casually preening her feathers.
"Look, Boss! A rare bird!" the scrawny lackey shouted.
"A Rookidee? Those are native to Galar. Extremely rare," Seita's eyes filled with greed. "If it's that rare, it's worth a fortune. Electrode, use Thunder Shock! Capture it!"
The Electrode-clone began to crackle with electricity, but smoke also started rising from its body. It looked pained; its genetic collapse was already affecting its basic functions.
"Stop, you idiot!" Seita barked. "Rookidee are fragile. You'll blast it into a roasted chicken! Just throw a ball!"
As Seita threw a Poké Ball, Rookidee performed a mid-air flip, dodging easily. In the same motion, she beat her wings, creating a gust that blew the Gracidea powder over the four clones.
The clones reacted as if struck by lightning. They began to writhe on the ground, their bodies swelling to twice their original size as the powder sent their cellular division into overdrive.
"Run! They're exploding!" Seita screamed.
The clones burst in a spray of black, foul-smelling fluid, leaving behind nothing but a putrid stench.
"What happened, Boss? Was their time up?"
"That shouldn't happen for another five days!" Seita's pupils contracted. A sense of impending doom washed over him. He scanned the forest, but saw nothing.
"Linoone! Arbok! NOW!"
Linoone blurred into motion, a white streak that snatched the black Poké Balls from the belts of the two larger lackeys before they could blink. Simultaneously, the Arbok-Ditto lunged at Seita, its hood flared and its eyes glowing with Glare.
Seita froze, his body paralyzed. He could only watch as the purple serpent coiled around him, his bones cracking under the pressure. His face turned beet-red, his eyes bulging as Arbok's fangs sank deep into his arm. Within seconds, Seita was a heap of paralyzed, poisoned meat.
The two large lackeys panicked and fled into the jungle, leaving only the scrawny one standing still.
Arbok-Ditto let go of the unconscious Seita, who slumped like a sack of flour. The snake took the Poké Balls from Seita's belt, locking them shut with its tongue. Then, both Pokémon turned their cold gazes toward the scrawny lackey.
"Hahaha... I see. You really do have some skill, Kongjian."
The scrawny lackey's voice had changed. It was now a dry, rasping hiss.
He looked up, revealing yellow, snake-like pupils with a faint blue psychic glow behind them. He stared at Arbok and Linoone like a predator eyeing its next meal.
Feng Che stayed hidden, his heart racing. This isn't the same person. Has he been... possessed?
"You can stop hiding, Kongjian. I see you," the "lackey" said, casually tossing a Poké Ball and releasing a Starmie.
"This body is weak and can't support my full power, but for the likes of you, it will suffice."
"You made the mistake of looking only at appearances, Kongjian. The most insignificant person is often the one who survives to the end."
Feng Che felt a chill down his spine. Starhunt? Is he using psychic projection to control this boy?
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