Without warning, two figures and their Pokémon appeared in the surveillance room.
Before the stationed guards could even react, waves of psychic energy surged forth, paralyzing them where they stood. Moments later, their bodies went limp like discarded puppets and collapsed in a heap.
Ron showed no surprise at Metagross's efficient takedown. Instead, he calmly released Persian.
After a brief word of instruction, he and Steven Stone turned their attention to the surveillance footage.
"To achieve great things, one must first sharpen their tools."
Before they could begin hunting the Team Magma operatives, they needed intel—patrol routes, personnel clusters, rotation schedules. Without this knowledge, even disabling the surveillance would only buy them minutes before detection.
"Steven."
"Ron."
"We've got company."
The voices of Metagross and Gardevoir rang out in their Trainers' minds in unison, alerting them instantly.
By the door, Persian tensed, ready to pounce.
Metagross silently floated up to the ceiling, gathering its psychic energy.
Now clad in Team Magma uniforms, Steven and Ron casually sat before the monitors, as if they belonged there.
"Shift change."
The Magma agent who entered called out instinctively.
The very next second, a mental spike invaded his consciousness—instant death.
Persian darted forward in a blur of gray, claws retracted. Relying solely on the shock impact from its Finger Pistol technique, it struck their hearts with deadly precision, collapsing them like dominoes.
Metagross handled the cleanup, silencing any survivors and stacking the bodies neatly in the surveillance room using its psychic power.
Once the area was secure, both Pokémon resumed stealth mode.
"Begin the operation."
"Understood."
With a quick exchange, the disguised Steven and Ron exited the room, leaving Persian alone to guard their command post.
Since becoming a Novice Psychic, Ron's already formidable memory had grown sharper—near photographic.
Recalling the patrol routes from the surveillance feed, he targeted a three-man patrol squad.
With Gardevoir and Lucario scanning the area with synchronized detection, Ron found his targets in no time.
He didn't rush in. Instead, he trailed them silently, keeping a safe distance.
Only when the trio rounded a corner did Ron signal Gardevoir to strike.
Teleport. Gardevoir blinked forward. Before the men could react, Psychic energy surged—obliteration in an instant.
But Ron wasn't done. He released Machamp, and Gardevoir immediately teleported them both into a nearby room.
"Wh—"
The person inside barely uttered a syllable before being taken out by the combined assault of Gardevoir and Machamp.
A quick sweep of the room yielded valuable resources. Ron's face curled into a faint grin.
To him, eliminating the Team Magma's base wasn't the goal. The real prize lay in what he could extract from its members.
And now, in just a few minutes, he had already looted the assets of one quasi-Elite Four and three High Elite Trainers.
It wasn't much in quantity, but in value—remarkable. If this kept up, the spoils would pile high.
The only regret? He couldn't take their Pokémon. To remain undetected, he could only risk taking one or two weaker ones. Otherwise, the bounty would've been enormous.
After securing the room and locking the door behind him, Ron had Gardevoir teleport him away to continue the hunt.
While Ron made a strong start, Steven was not to be outdone.
Metagross locked onto a Magma patrol and instantly teleported, taking Steven with it.
The moment they materialized, Metagross released a field of crushing psychic pressure, erasing every life form in the room—except Steven.
Like Ron, Steven had chosen a tactically sound location, allowing quick body disposal into a nearby chamber, preventing detection by patrolling Magma squads.
Unlike Ron, however, Steven skipped the resource gathering altogether.
Time spent looting? Devon Corp earns ten times more in that span.
After such a strong start, everything began to fall into place for Steven and Ron.
Especially for Ron—he was no stranger to assassination work.
Once part of the patrol team had been neutralized, the base's internal defenses opened up, allowing them to strike without waiting for the Team Magma members to move into ideal positions.
"Gardevoir, Teleport."
"Machamp, get ready."
To stay covert, Ron issued mental commands to Gardevoir and Machamp using telepathy.
With a subtle psychic pulse, the group vanished on the spot.
Machamp moved behind the patrol guards, massive arms snapping two necks in one swift, brutal motion.
At the front, Gardevoir's psychic energy surged—her attack blanked the minds of the remaining patrolmen in a flash. They never saw the end coming.
They cleaned up quickly—bodies hidden in the shadows within minutes.
"Why do I feel so uneasy... is something big about to happen?"
That lingering sense of dread pulled Courtney fully out of her drowsiness. Instead of trying to sleep again, she grabbed her coat and stepped out into the hallway, heading for Professor Kansan's lab.
If there was something major going on, it would no doubt be connected to Professor Kansan and his research on Groudon—still the most critical focus within this entire base.
"You again?" Kansan muttered the moment Courtney stepped back into the lab.
Normally, Courtney only came to inspect the research once before bed.
Even if her specialty wasn't in this particular field, she was still a scientist—and she could easily follow the professor's progress.
But coming twice in one night? That was a first.
"Couldn't sleep. Just killing time," she replied casually, already sweeping her eyes across the lab, checking for signs of tampering or unauthorized entry.
Professor Kansan himself was never the issue—his loyalty was beyond question, and that alone saved Courtney a great deal of hassle.
Seeing that she wasn't going to explain herself, Kansan didn't press further. He turned back to his equipment, intending to finish his current set of calculations before calling it a night.
"Professor, be careful when you sleep tonight. If anything happens, contact me immediately."
Though she hadn't found anything concerning, Courtney gave a soft warning as she double-checked the lab's status.
"Something wrong? Do you suspect an intruder?"
"I'm not sure. But better safe than sorry."
"Understood."
After the brief exchange, Courtney didn't linger. She turned and headed straight for the surveillance room.
Instead of wasting time patrolling the base, she'd rather go directly to the monitors. If there was anything suspicious going on, that's where it would show up first.
By the time Courtney left the lab, Steven was still in motion.
With another burst of Teleport, Metagross and Steven eliminated three more patrol guards without a sound.
Meanwhile, Ron had locked onto a squad of five and was quietly waiting for the perfect moment to strike.
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