"Come forth, Arbok!"
Feng Che gave Ditto a subtle look. Still transformed into a Yanmega, Ditto did a quick roll on the ground, mimicking the flash of a Poké Ball, and rapidly shifted its form into a massive purple cobra.
With a powerful lash of its tail, the "Arbok" swatted away the golden electricity Zeraora had discharged.
[Zeraora: Humans... none of them can be forgiven.][Zeraora: My child... my poor child...]
Zeraora let out a harrowing cry of grief. In an instant, she transformed into a blur of golden lightning. Even with his supercharged psychic perception, Feng Che struggled to track her erratic, high-speed movements.
Ditto responded by slithering in a jagged, zigzag pattern, becoming a purple bolt that intercepted the Mythical. The two forces collided violently. Zeraora's claws glowed with the intense light of Thunder Punch, while Ditto bared its fangs, frost-blue energy swirling in its maw as it countered with Ice Fang.
When they broke apart, Zeraora's left arm was encased in a heavy block of ice. Ditto, however, had a visible dent in its side and was shuddering under the effects of paralysis.
As expected of a Mythical; her offensive power is staggering.
"Zeraora, we have no ill intent. I can save your child," Feng Che sent a telepathic message directly into her mind.
[Zeraora: Save it? I can feel its lifeforce fading... even if it is born, it will be crippled from birth.][Zeraora: Better it never sees this world than to live a life of scorn from other Mythicals.][Zeraora: This is the fault of your kind! I will not let you go!]
Driven by despair, her rage only intensified. She glared at Feng Che and unleashed Plasma Fists. A barrage of golden fist-shaped energy pulses rained down toward him. Ditto immediately threw itself in front of Feng Che, using its body as a shield to absorb the impact.
[Zeraora: Cursed Arbok! How dare you protect him!][Zeraora: Die! Every Pokémon that aids these monsters deserves to die!]
Her punches grew heavier with every strike. Seeing Ditto getting battered made Feng Che's heart ache with gratitude.
[Ditto: Don't worry, I'm clever! I'm grounding her electricity into the earth. Her physical punches barely hurt a slime like me!]
Hearing Ditto's reassurance, Feng Che understood the strategy.
"Mr. Feng Che, are you alright?" Caitlin called out, watching the frantic assault from the edge of the clearing.
"I'm fine, Caitlin! Please don't interfere—this is a battle I must finish with her," Feng Che shouted back. "Arbok, hold on just a bit longer! Let her vent all that pent-up fury!"
He watched the two clash, waiting for the storm to subside. As Zeraora's initial burst of adrenaline faded, her movements grew sluggish and weak.
[Zeraora: My baby... my unborn baby...]
"Zeraora, please stop. I truly have a way," Feng Che said, approaching slowly. He reached into his storage and pulled out a specialized vial. "This is a serum containing the ultimate genes of the legendary Zekrom. It can repair the congenital defects in your child."
He then produced a portable incubator containing the lightning-patterned egg he had personally refined in Colress's lab. "And look at this. This egg was created using your own genetic sequence. In essence, it is your child as well."
[Zeraora: Why should I trust a human?]
"Zeraora, the world has both light and shadow. The people who kept you in that tank were the shadow. Do not let their cruelty convince you that the entire world is dark. There are many who wish to build a world where humans and Pokémon thrive together. I risked everything to pull you from that laboratory. Look at the world around you, and give us one chance. I will heal you, and I will protect your children."
Zeraora looked at him, her fierce eyes finally showing a glimmer of hesitation and lost hope. [Zeraora: Is it... really possible? Can my child be saved?]
"I am certain. This Zekrom gene-modulator will provide the spark it needs to survive. Otherwise, saving you would have been a hollow victory."
Feng Che knelt beside her, drawing the serum into a syringe. Zeraora watched him with a wary but passive expression, signaling her silent consent. As the medicine entered her system, she felt a surge of immense Draconic-Electric power flowing toward her womb. She could feel the fading pulse of the embryo within her beginning to beat with a steady, renewed vigor.
"You are emaciated because they siphoned your blood and energy for so long," Feng Che explained softly. "I will help you recover. You need a strong body to nourish the life inside you. I won't force you to do anything you don't want to do."
As Zeraora listened to his steady voice, the sharp edges of her hatred began to soften. For the first time, she saw a human whose eyes reflected genuine sincerity, unlike the cold, calculating stares of Team Plasma.
[Zeraora: For the sake of my child... I will trust this human once.]
She looked at the egg in the incubator, feeling a deep resonance in her blood. Standing up, she leaped onto the branches of the Thunder Banana trees, bracing herself as a bolt of lightning from the storm clouds struck her body, rapidly replenishing her depleted energy.
"Mr. Feng Che, is she okay?" Caitlin asked, watching the Mythical absorb the lightning.
"She's recovering," Feng Che smiled confidently. "The Zekrom genes will mostly be absorbed by the embryo, but the residue will strengthen her own constitution as well. I'll keep her on a strict regimen until she's back to full strength."
Caitlin looked at him with admiration. "You're incredible. You actually won her over."
"Our next stop is Opelucid City," Feng Che said. "The Bounty Hunter Guild has a lead on a high-potential Deino born in the Dragon's Den. I'm going to see if I can secure it."
He looked at Caitlin. "If you need to return to your family, I can drop you off at the nearest port."
"No," Caitlin said, her voice filled with a sudden, rare courage. "I want to go with you. I've never experienced a life like this—please, let me come along. I want to know what it's like to be a bounty hunter, to explore and catch Pokémon freely."
She felt a weight lift from her shoulders. All her life, she had been the "perfect daughter" of a noble house, bound by rigid etiquette. She had always envied her brother Tianshen's freedom to live as he pleased. Now, she wanted a taste of it herself.
"Alright. Once the sub is charged, we head for the single-headed dragon," Feng Che agreed. "But be warned: it'll be dangerous. Word is Kaiser, one of the Seven Generals of the poaching syndicate, is personally leading the operation to capture that Deino."
"Does the Opelucid Gym not intervene?" Caitlin asked, raising an eyebrow.