This Zeraora is actually pregnant. Even if I successfully rescue her, she'll need a long period of recuperation, Feng Che mused, keeping his expression perfectly neutral.
After expertly drawing the blood sample from Zeraora, he turned and walked out of the containment chamber without looking back. Colress failed to notice that as Feng Che turned, several grain-sized reconnaissance robots slid from his pant leg and settled onto the floor.
"This man's temperament is remarkably steady and calm, unlike those useless fools from before," Colress muttered, watching the surveillance feed. "He showed neither pity nor fear when facing a Mythical. He is worth cultivating."
Colress had sent Feng Che to draw the blood on purpose. His goal was to observe the man's attitude and performance under pressure. Clearly, Feng Che had passed the test.
Next, I just have to wait for Leader Ghetsis to send the feathers of Zekrom and Reshiram to my lab. Then, I can combine Zekrom's cells with Zeraora's to breed a Mythical unlike any other, Colress thought, a visionary's smile spreading across his face.
That night, Feng Che returned to his quarters to rest. He reviewed the data transmitted by the micro-bots, constructing a digital layout of the ship's structure on his laptop.
"The steel plating at the bottom of this hull is two meters thick. Torracat's flames should be able to melt through it. Colress mentioned that the feathers are arriving in a few days. He plans to extract the lightning genes from Zekrom's feather and fuse them into Zeraora's genetic sequence."
"His goal is to produce a cloned Zeraora egg that can wield Zekrom's signature Bolt Strike. Colress truly is a mad genius of genetics."
Feng Che organized his thoughts and closed his laptop.
The Following Day.
Colress retrieved a pitch-black feather from a high-security safe. It was housed in an exquisite jade box. He opened it carefully and presented it to Feng Che.
"This is a legendary resource: a feather from Zekrom. It contains the God-genes of the Dragon of Ideals. If we extract the segment responsible for the Lightning of Destruction and inject it into Zeraora... imagine the power of the resulting creature. I shall create a Mythical that stands closest to a God."
Colress's eyes burned with fervor. "Kiyoma, a new kind of Mythical will be born from our hands. I may not match Team Rocket's Dr. Fuji yet, but cloning and creating Gods is my life's ambition. Be cautious. If you ruin my dream, I will dispose of you without hesitation."
"I understand, Lord Colress. I will not fail you," Feng Che replied respectfully.
"We must now filter the useful gene fragments from Zekrom's DNA. This will be a lengthy process. During this time, you will stay in this lab as my primary assistant."
One and a Half Months Later.
Feng Che had become Colress's indispensable right hand. Colress was more than satisfied; in the past, no assistant had lasted more than two weeks before being kicked out by his volatile temper.
Their research had culminated in a success: six Zeraora eggs, injected with Zekrom's genetic sequences, now sat in incubators.
"These are the Zeraora eggs we've successfully cultivated," Colress said, looking at the shells marked with jagged lightning patterns. "I've spent so much effort on these gene fragments; I hope they succeed. You've worked hard, Kiyoma."
Colress truly appreciated Feng Che. The man was so intuitive that he often handed over the necessary tools before Colress even had to ask.
Feng Che looked at the six eggs with absolute confidence. Using the system's screening ability, he had pinpointed the exact gene sequence responsible for Zekrom's lightning control and ensured it was perfectly integrated into one specific egg.
It's time to move. Any later and I won't be able to leave, Feng Che thought.
He had secured all of Colress's data half a month ago but had stayed on the ship solely to oversee the completion of the eggs. He had also mapped the ship's entire defense network.
Escape via the deck was impossible; the upper levels were swarming with Liepard patrols, and the skies were thick with Swoobat. The Swoobat used their ultrasound and Psychic abilities to monitor for any unauthorized mental energy, making a Teleport-based escape suicide. Furthermore, the surrounding waters were guarded by Seismitoad and Sharpedo.
His best bet was to melt a hole through the bottom of the ship and escape via his submarine.
Elsewhere on the Ship.
"Dammit! Champion Alder isn't even on this ship! This was a trap!" Caitlin cursed inwardly.
She was currently pinned down on the vessel. The swarms of Swoobat were jamming her psychic frequency, making it impossible to Teleport away. She didn't know how Team Plasma had spotted her disguise, but the moment they did, they had moved to capture her.
If she hadn't unleashed a massive burst of psychic power, she would have been the first Unova Elite to be taken prisoner. However, that outburst had backfired; the Swoobat's collective Psychic interference had caused a mental backlash, leaving her temporarily unable to use her powers. She was currently hiding in a dark corner, her Solosis helping to mask her presence.
The Lab.
"What is all this noise?!" Colress shouted, hearing the commotion outside. He stormed out of the lab.
"Lord Colress, forgive the disturbance. We've cornered a League rat and are in the middle of a sweep," a guard reported.
Just then, another guard arrived. "Lord Colress, a high-priority video link from Lord Ghetsis."
"What does that old man want now?" Colress grumbled and headed toward the briefing room.
Feng Che, who had planted a listening device on Colress, knew Ghetsis would keep him occupied for at least thirty minutes.
"He's gone. This is it."
Feng Che injected a massive dose of sedatives into the incubators holding the other clones—Hydreigon and the rest. The dose was enough to keep them under for a month. He then deployed a signal jammer, looping the surveillance footage with a pre-recorded feed of him "working."
"Ditto, time is short. Move!"
Feng Che's face shifted as the pink blob slid to the floor. Ditto squeezed into the gaps of Colress's personal safe and popped it open from the inside.
Feng Che used his psychic scan to ensure the jade boxes inside didn't contain tracking devices before sweeping them into his storage. He then carefully placed the specific Zeraora egg—the one with the perfected Zekrom sequence—into a portable incubator.
He hurried out of the lab, intending to liberate the mother Zeraora before he left. However, as he approached her containment chamber, his heart sank. The corridor was blocked by a massive squad of Team Plasma grunts.