"Hurry, hurry, hurry! Lab 9 is under attack! The enemies are strong, send reinforcements!"
The base's guards wore black uniforms, the exact opposite of the researchers/workers. Zillion pretended to be a panicked scientist and rushed past the guards boldly without drawing any suspicion.
'Hehehe, just hoping you'd make a move!' Zillion kept his head down and grinned, as if amused by something he had just thought of.
After a quick scan of his surroundings, he took off in a very specific direction, showing no hesitation.
At Lab 9, waves of base guards charged in to reinforce, but all that followed were a few screams… and then silence.
It looked like an ordinary entrance, but it was more like a devouring abyss. None who entered returned. The remaining guards hesitated at the door, no longer daring to charge in recklessly.
"Sir!"
A burly man nearly two meters tall stepped to the front of the squad. He looked at the trembling guards and asked with a frown, "What's the situation?"
"Preliminary assessment: three intruders, all wearing researcher uniforms from the base. Each possesses extremely strong combat capabilities.
We sent in 72 reinforcements, 38 have lost contact. The rest… are all that's left." One of the squad captains reported quickly, his voice tinged with fear.
'…3 versus 38? That kind of gap couldn't be covered with numbers alone.'
"What about surveillance?"
"It's been destroyed. The lab's power system has been shut down too..."
"Idiots! Why shut off the power?! Trying to make it so they're hidden while we're exposed?!" The burly man couldn't help but curse, frustrated with his subordinates' incompetence.
But then he reminded himself… these people were never meant to leave the base, nor had they ever been through the trials of real war. He didn't even have the energy to scold them anymore.
The base's guards were more symbolic than functional. After all, the facility was built a thousand meters below the seafloor. "Invasion" was supposed to be nearly impossible.
Yet today… someone really had invaded!
---
Clack~ Clack~ Clack~
Rows of incandescent lights flickered on. Sato squinted slightly, taking two seconds to adjust.
To be honest, when the power had been suddenly cut earlier, Sato almost burst out laughing. For a moment, he thought they had reinforcements on their side.
But now that the lights were back, the full horror at the entrance was exposed before the trio.
The ground was soaked in purple toxin.
Effects caused by Ariados's Toxic Spikes combined with Venom Drench.
During the previous battle, Ariados had also used Toxic and Venoshock repeatedly to strengthen the poison.
As a result, any guard or Pokémon stepping onto the floor to enter had been poisoned, no exceptions.
A couple Flying- and Poison-types had narrowly avoided Ariados's traps and webs, but even they were immediately targeted by Sato's other Pokémon.
The truth was clear: in group battles, when a highly poisonous Pokémon was given full freedom to act, the devastation was terrifying.
Ariados the "Absolute Annihilator"!
Mark looked pale, but thankfully this wasn't his first brush with death. In fact, he frequently danced on its edge, so while uncomfortable, his nerves were thick enough to hold.
Joseph didn't look great either, but he was faring better than Mark. It made Sato even more convinced… Joseph definitely had a story.
Now he was getting curious!
But this wasn't the time for questions because movement was coming again from the entrance.
A massive wave surged through the doorway, washing away the poison before heading straight for Sato and the others.
The three quickly leapt onto nearby operating tables, but the others weren't so lucky.
The already unconscious and gravely injured guards and researchers were all drenched in poison. Some might have survived with immediate treatment, but now… they were surely dead.
All this, just to deal with the three of them, and not a shred of concern for their own allies. It was chilling.
Even now, Sato still hadn't seen a single insignia belonging to any known force within the base.
But judging by Zillion's cryptic words, this place was most likely a secret research facility run by the Pokémon League.
Come to think of it, only the League cared that much about reputation. Other factions, to ensure loyalty, practically plastered their bases with symbols and grand slogans, brainwashing people around the clock.
But the Pokémon League had to keep this hidden. After all, they represented "justice and light". How could they possibly be caught doing such filthy things?
Sato was now about 60% to 70% convinced Zillion had been telling the truth. And when he saw who walked in just now… that belief rose to 80%.
Surge: former soldier of the Kanto League's Seventh Army Division, currently the Gym Leader of Vermilion City. An expert in Electric-type Pokémon and a publicly recognized Pseudo-Elite Four powerhouse.
"Be careful. The one coming is strong. I'll handle him." Sato stepped forward, positioning himself in front of Surge.
"You know who I am?" Surge raised an eyebrow, not seeming flustered in the least.
"Take a guess." Sato replied casually, and without hesitation made the first strike. "Zoroark, Night Daze!"
Zoroark slammed its hands into the ground, and a wave of Night Daze blasted forward. Surge didn't move. Instead, two Pokémon suddenly appeared beside him.
"Electabuzz, Discharge, Jolteon, go have some fun with your cousin!"
"Buzz!"
Electabuzz swung its fists wildly, unleashing indiscriminate electric blasts forward. The powerful Electric-type attack directly canceled out Zoroark's Night Daze.
From within the storm of electricity, a yellow bolt shot out. Jolteon used Electabuzz's current to charge itself and dashed toward Umbreon at lightning speed.
Clearly, this Jolteon had the Volt Absorb ability.
"Thunder Fang!"
"Payback."
Sato and Surge issued commands simultaneously. Jolteon's superior speed let it land a Thunder Fang first, sinking its teeth into Umbreon.
Umbreon took the hit head-on, secretly gathering strength. Then it retaliated with Payback: double the power!
Jolteon's biggest strength was its speed, followed by special attack. But in terms of physical attack power, Jolteon and Umbreon were about even.
In terms of defense, however, Umbreon outclassed Jolteon by a wide margin. With such disparity, the result of this initial clash was clear: Umbreon, total victory!
"Jolteon, fall back!"
"Use Pursuit."
"Umbre!"
With unexpected agility, Umbreon caught up to Jolteon and landed a follow-up strike.
Surge noticeably frowned. His Jolteon had been suppressed and the reason was entirely his own misjudgment.
Elsewhere, Zoroark and Electabuzz had begun clashing head-on, move for move. Thunder Punch met Night Slash, Thunderbolt collided with Dark Pulse, and Discharge neutralized Night Daze.
At first glance, the two seemed evenly matched. But at some point, a flash of purple appeared on Electabuzz's face.
It was poisoned.
Again!
.
.
.
200pw= extra chap