"What a hassle."
Colress sighs, flicking his hand to send his subordinates to deal with this guy.
Colress himself turns to head back into the lab to tidy up, since this base has already been discovered.
With that, he can't stay here any longer.
But just as he turns, two loud explosions echo, followed by terrified shouts from Team Plasma subordinates.
Colress looks back and finds his Golbat and Raticate have already been defeated by the other side.
"None of you struggle now; to me, this opponent is a bit weak, Dear Researcher, could you please obediently come with me?"
Drayton still speaks in his lazy tone, Archaludon and Dragonite standing before him in a majestic pose.
"Ah, I see; so you're not an ordinary trainer. May I ask your name, boy?"
Colress squints slightly, but a smile creeps up as he fumbles a Ultra Ball from the pocket of his coat.
"Drayton, currently an enrolled student at Blueberry Academy."
Drayton regards Colress with keen interest.
"Dear Researcher, are you planning to move on me? I don't approve of such meaningless actions; it's a waste of time."
"Honestly, you're just a student; seems Team Plasma's elites are quite ashamed, if they're being beaten by a student."
Colress's voice remains calm.
"Don't worry; you won't be disappointed. This guy just awoke not long ago, perfect to test his combat power with you."
Colress throws the Ultra Ball. A creepy-looking Pokémon lands before him.
"What is this?"
Drayton stares, puzzled, at the purple Pokémon.
It's a bipedal, colossal insect Pokémon, its body clad in purple armor, and most strikingly, a giant cannon mounted on its back.
"Genesect, that's its name."
Colress stands behind Genesect, wearing a calm, unperturbed smile as he begins to introduce.
"This is a Bug-type Pokémon that existed 300 million years ago; in ancient times, it was feared as the apex hunter, and I revived it."
"Revived, not just revived, you've also modified it, right?"
Drayton's expression tightens; he can feel the oppressive pressure radiating from Genesect.
This Genesect is formidable!
And yes, the technique to revive ancient Pokémon exists.
But a revived ancient Pokémon donning such high-tech armor is odd.
Especially the cannon on Genesect's back—this isn't something an ancient Pokémon would normally have.
"You've seen right through me; you're correct, I modified it to give it greater battle power, a perfect fit, right?"
Colress reveals a creepy smile; he takes great pride in his work.
"Sure enough, Team Plasma's researchers are the same sort of people as Team Plasma."
Drayton's expression cools slightly.
"Your words trouble me, boy."
"Science is wondrous, and Pokémon even more so. My research has always been about 'how to unleash Pokémon's greater potential,' and Genesect is no exception."
Colress says calmly; he doesn't think he's done anything wrong.
"I've upgraded Genesect; I've given it a second life and made it stronger than its ancient form; it should be grateful to me."
"You're good at self-deception; should I compliment you a few times?" Drayton retorts with a cold smile.
"Tampering with Pokémon is a serious crime!"
"That's true, which is why I've always been under warrants," Colress nods.
He's the kind of "dark scientist" who uses banned weapons in Pokémon and modifies them, hence he joined Team Plasma.
"Anyway, settle down; boy, your strength isn't bad; let's test the strength of this Genesect."
Colress stops chatting and prepares to gather battle data on Genesect.
Reviving Genesect had succeeded for a while, but actual battle experiments hadn't been conducted yet.
Because this base's Team Plasma members aren't exactly ideal test subjects.
"If we capture you, we could win a lot of merit," Drayton states with seriousness.
"I think so, but…" Colress's expression remains cool: "You'll have to prove it."
The area has turned into a battlefield.
As a mid-to-large base, there are many hidden Team Plasma members; Lacey and the others are thirty-some, but Plasma likely has fifty or more.
Fortunately, Lacey's side is stronger on average, led by Drayton and the Blueberry Academy Elite Four, plus the top ten students.
Thus the battle leans toward Lacey's side, and the battlefield expands outward.
The base isn't spacious; many secret techniques burst through walls and buildings.
"The battle is really intense."
Damian still sips his juice, watching the fight below.
One by one, Team Plasma members are captured, while some students' Pokémon—injured—watch reluctantly.
"Damn it! I should've brought more Potions."
"Yeah, my Merit… is crying."
"All these cheap guys with Golbat ambushing me—if not to protect me, my Pokémon would've lost the ability to fight."
A few students chat, excitedly exchanging battle experiences.
Clearly, this task is a brand-new, thrilling experience for them.
"Send people to transport these Team Plasma members away."
Damian takes out a radio and gives the order.
Then a few Team Rocket elites in casual clothes drive over in a pickup, loading all captured Team Plasma members into the truck.
Otherwise giving them to Officer Jenny wouldn't be fun, would it?
"Basically, it's under control; just left with…," Damian roughly counts the captured Team Plasma members.
He had researched beforehand that the base housed around sixty Team Plasma members; fifty-one had been moved, leaving about ten, and most importantly… Colress still inside!
Boom!
A violent explosion; Archaludon roars as it blasts backward like a ricochet shell, crashing to the ground.
"Is that Drayton's Archaludon?"
Lacey, who had just knocked down a Plasma member, freezes; that Archaludon is Drayton's!
A Dragonite dashes out, couriered by Drayton.
"Drayton, what's the situation?"
Lacey hurries to Drayton, noticing his grim expression.
"A Team Plasma researcher—his strength is formidable."
Drayton looks at the severely injured Archaludon, answering in a low voice.
"Aren't you not even an opponent?"
Lacey frowns at the taunt.
Tap, tap, tapping—
The sound of footsteps approaches; the blond, strikingly handsome scientist with a dark coat steps out of the wrecked warehouse.
A three-hundred-million-year-old strongest hunter transformed into a disk, floating at his side.
"Ah, so they're all enemies? What a group of useless subordinates."
The scientist scans the scene, hands in pockets, his white coat immaculate, his handsome face calm.
Judging by appearance, this man could pass as a certain high-profile warrant in the Unova League.
"Colress!"
Damian grins; this is the main reason for his presence at this base—the scientist Colress.
The Team Plasma boss in Black/White games, a researcher who also created technologies to control Kyurem.
Even though his secondary role is a scientist, his Trainer strength remains Champion-tier; Colress is among the top talents in the Pokémon world.
Sirens wail in the distance.
Several patrol cars rush in; Officer Jenny and Elesa exit the cars.
"Oh, Officer Jenny is here."
Crispin blinks.
"Mr. Damian instructed us to pull back,"
Lacey checks her phone; they coordinate to retreat.
"Pull back is wise; you're not Colress's match," Drayton frowns.
He's experienced Colress's strength; he has a sense of things.
"Don't worry; Mr. Damian will handle it, and if any of us want to stay behind, we can."
Lacey nods; others begin withdrawing.
Colress glances at the time, irritated at Ghetsis for not sending people yet.
His lab data remain unpacked.
"And that person is… Scientist Colress!"
Officer Jenny arrives, recognizing Colress immediately.
Elesa frowns slightly.
"And who are you all?" Officer Jenny asks.
"We're Blueberry Academy students; today we happened to discover this Team Plasma base," Lacey explains.
"You were too impulsive! If you run into danger—"
"Sorry, sorry." Lacey bows, adorable as ever.
Drayton and the others are exasperated; Lacey, the fair-y fairy queen, can be so charming.
"Officer Jenny, these kids mean well; your priority is to take down the dangerous evil organization."
Elesa chimes in.
"I'm just worried they'll bite off more than they can chew."
"Officer Jenny, be careful; this guy's strength is very strong; possibly best to request Elite Four reinforcement if nearby," Drayton reminds, presuming Elite Four nearby.
"Don't worry—evil will be brought to justice; and with Elesa here, no need to fear."
Officer Jenny takes the matter seriously; she hasn't had Colress's strength data before.
"Colress, stand down," she orders.
"Can we negotiate a bit? Officer Jenny, I don't really want to fight; someone will pick me up soon; how about you take on them after you've paired up with the reinforcements?"
Colress suggests.
"Talk in your cell first."
Officer Jenny's team releases their Pokémon, Elesa sends her ace, a Zebstrika.
Colress gestures for Genesect to answer.
Genesect morphs into its armored beetle form and lands before Colress.
Drayton and the others join in to assist Officer Jenny.
Falling ten against one isn't easy, right?
"And I've told you, I don't want to fight you."
Colress sighs helplessly, looking at the defeated Pokémon, while Genesect's armor shows a bit of dirt.
"How is this possible? This thing is so strong!"
Crispin is stunned; what the heck is this Genesect?
"Champion-tier… this Pokémon must be Champion-tier."
Elesa's face tightens; she hadn't expected this.
Besides Drayton's main roster, the others' Pokémon can't do much against Genesect.
Yet Genesect's Techno Blast sweeps through.
"Lacey, pull back, go further away; I'll handle this big guy."
At that moment, Lacey's phone buzzes again.
"Drayton, Mr. Damian asked us to pull back; he'll take over."
"Mr. Damian, are you sure?"
"Mr. Damian is incredibly strong; no worry, let's go," Lacey says confidently.
The team retreats quietly; Officer Jenny and the others notice but let them go.
They themselves are unsure if they should pursue; Colress isn't their opponent anyway.
Unbeknownst to them, dark clouds already obscure the clear sky; blue lightning flickers in the clouds.
"So it's him—Ghetsis," Colress looks up and chuckles softly.
He knows this thundercloud is none other than the one following Ghetsis.
Zekrom!
Ghetsis has always valued that power.
Colress smiles faintly, but his eyes notice a black-clad boy approaching with two girls in tow.
Who could this be?
~~~
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