"Poisoned? When?!" Surge's expression turned grim. To be honest, he had never taken the so-called intruders very seriously.
After all, a thousand meters beneath the sea, all they had to do was seal the entryways, it was like catching fish in a barrel. A sure thing.
…But now, it seemed he was the one trapped in the barrel.
"Sir! That Ariados on the ceiling might be the main culprit behind our heavy losses."
Hearing this, Surge quickly looked up and saw an Ariados snarling down at him from above.
"Magneton, take care of it!" Surge sent out another Pokémon, having already seen the devastating poison Ariados could unleash and taking no chances.
A flash of red light, Ariados was promptly withdrawn by Sato. It had already exhausted all its poison and silk during the earlier rampage.
Besides, it wouldn't stand a chance against a Steel-type like Magneton. Better to pull back now and let it recover.
With its target gone, Magneton didn't hesitate and rushed straight toward Umbreon, trying to help Jolteon regain control of the battle.
Sato hadn't seen Ralts return yet and was just about to send out Gengar when-
Rumble~ Rumble~ Rumble~
The entire base suddenly shook, catching everyone off guard and sending them tumbling to the ground.
"WHAT NOW?!" Surge yelled, steadying himself against a wall.
But the shaking only intensified. No one could stay on their feet, let alone answer the question.
Sato and the others stumbled toward one another and exchanged glances. They were all thinking the same thing: Zillion.
The other person who had entered with them.
Mark's opinion of Zillion improved considerably. At the very least, it seemed his goal was to destroy the base too.
"Raaalts~"
"You're back! Did you find anything?" Sato lit up with relief, Ralts had finally returned at a crucial moment. Now there was nothing holding them back.
"I found plenty… so much of your human cruelty…" Ralts said bitterly, making the three of them fall silent for a moment.
"It's definitely going down. Did you find Zillion?" Sato asked first, this wasn't the time for hesitation.
"I did. He wants to destroy the base too. But… never mind, I'll take you to him."
Flash!
A burst of white light, and Sato's group disappeared from Surge's sight.
---
"Zillion, is Trish okay?"
"She's doing great. Looks a lot like you. Always asking where her mom is."
"Huh?"
The moment Sato and the others arrived, they overheard a conversation between Zillion and another person.
And it was… loaded with information.
"Someone else is coming. You need to go. I've got nowhere to go if I leave now."
Sato and the others finally saw the woman in front of Zillion, dressed in a white lab coat, she was pushing against Zillion nervously. Her eyes, when she looked at them, were full of panic.
"Hahaha, they won't kill me yet. Just come with me. The League can't hide everything. I've arranged it all, we'll be able to live freely once we get out."
Zillion glanced at Sato and the others, then turned back and kept persuading.
"I…"
"Don't you want to see what your daughter looks like? She really looks like you, adorable!"
"Zillion, I really do want to see her…"
"Then let's go!" Zillion was anxious, grabbing the woman's hand and trying to turn around and leave.
Unfortunately, she violently shook his hand off, her expression growing colder.
"Zillion, I don't know how you managed to get in here, but I'm truly grateful you took care of my daughter. Thank you. But do you know something?"
As she spoke, her gaze became dazed… then gradually twisted into madness. "I wasn't forced to come here. I… volunteered!"
BANG!
The door burst open. Surge and a swarm of guards surrounded Sato and the others.
Sato glanced over and noticed a large "1" above the door. This was Research Room One.
"Professor Asch, are you alright?!"
A Magneton flanked by three Magnemite rushed to the woman's side. Powerful electrical currents surged, forcing Zillion backward.
"So there were four intruders…" Surge said coldly, raising his right hand in a signal.
Magneton and the Magnemite used Magnet Pull to firmly move Professor Asch to their side and shield her.
At this point, Asch showed no trace of the hesitation, nervousness, or panic she had earlier with Zillion. Her icy gaze made it seem as if she had never met him.
"You were… stalling me?" Zillion stared at Asch in disbelief, stunned.
"Surge, please eliminate the intruders immediately. They've severely disrupted my research. If I hadn't stalled them, they would have already destroyed the entire base."
Asch didn't even glance at Zillion and spoke coldly to Surge.
Surge narrowed his eyes. He didn't like being ordered around like this, but Professor Asch was the core of this base, and his mission was to protect her, or rather, her research.
"Electabuzz, Jolteon, Thunder! Magneton, Zap Cannon!"
Surge went all-in from the start. Clearly, he hadn't been fighting at full power earlier.
Meanwhile, the guards also sent out waves of Pokémon, swarming around Sato and his group.
Sato wasn't interested in wasting more time. Ralts had already told them that the base was built deep under the sea, there was no way out except through the Reverse World.
But if they broke open this location, the base wouldn't be able to withstand the ocean's pressure. It would collapse on its own.
Aside from using the Reverse World, no one would escape. And since there were no innocents in this base… it was better to destroy it all.
"Ralts."
"Understood!"
Gardevoir reappeared. Its Elite Four power instantly made Surge's face turn grim.
"Are you coming with us?" Sato looked at Zillion. Getting past Giratina would be easier if they brought him along.
"…Go?" Zillion seemed devastated by what Asch had done. He still looked dazed.
"We're going back, the same way we came." Sato explained patiently.
Meanwhile, Gardevoir had already subdued all nearby enemies. When faced with Dark-types that couldn't be controlled… she just knocked them out. Simple.
"Oh… then let's go. Trish's still waiting for me!" A bit of light returned to Zillion's eyes, and he quickly agreed.
"Gardevoir!"
"Gar~"
"…Let's destroy it!"
BOOM!