"My Ditto stands as the absolute strongest partner on my active roster. Its true output parameters are not something a mere prototype clone of yours can hope to resist," Feng Che countered, his tone dripping with cool provocation.
"Is that so? Then I shall gladly ensure your Ditto is permanently deleted in this very chamber," Colress spat, thoroughly irritated by the youth's dismissive composure.
"Raikou, use Thunderbolt!"
The modified Raikou let out a volatile roar, discharging a torrential blast of pitch-black electricity from its frame. The heavy Thunderbolt crashed dead-center into Ditto, instantly scorching its physical form into what appeared to be a heap of carbonized charcoal.
"To think this was your self-proclaimed strongest Pokémon... how thoroughly disappointing," Colress remarked, shaking his head at the anticlimactic results.
"Oh? Look closer. Did your advanced tracking sensors fail to read that this was merely a dynamic proxy clone generated by Ditto?" Feng Che smiled playfully.
The pink, gelatinous fluid of the real Ditto rapidly churned along the floor, and within a single millisecond, it shifted its molecular arrangement to manifest a gargantuan, sixteen-winged Crobat. Beating its multiple leather-like wings at a manic velocity, the massive bat launched itself into the upper reaches of the facility to claim the aerial lane.
"Raikou, use Night Slash!"
Raikou's silhouette instantly dissolved into a dark blur, a single streak of cold, black energy slashing through the air to intercept the bat.
Yet, right at the exact millisecond Raikou's claws were poised to cleave the target in two, a resounding metallic clang echoed through the facility. Ditto had fluidly generated a dense suit of reinforced hyper-alloy armor plating across its frame, effortlessly anchoring the blunt kinetic trauma of the Night Slash.
Failing to secure a clean penetration, Raikou immediately executed a high-speed rebound to re-establish spatial distance. It growled warily, its red eyes tracking Ditto's rapidly fluctuating anatomical structures with acute agitation.
"Staggering... This Ditto's cellular mutability parameters are completely off the charts! It must be handed over to my department for immediate dissection," Colress cried out, his eyes gleaming with a sudden, fanatical light. "A Ditto of this caliber is the absolute missing link required to permanently stabilize our cross-species genetic splicing matrices! It is an unparalleled, peerless treasure!"
"Raikou, capture that Ditto alive at all costs!" Colress bellowed.
Because this specific Raikou shared an exceptionally close, familiar bond with the chief scientist, Colress had chosen not to restrict its cognitive sanity with a cybernetic neural-link collar.
Raikou unhinged its jaws to discharge a maximum-output million-volt configuration. The catastrophic surge of electricity tore across the laboratory like an unleashed storm of apocalyptic lightning, enveloping Ditto's frame until the target was on the absolute brink of flash-charring.
"Calibrate your voltage parameters downward, Raikou! Do not dare compromise the cellular integrity of the core specimen!" Colress instructed frantically.
Raikou gave a low nod, intending to throttle back its electrical discharge, only to discover to its sudden horror that its internal bio-electrical currents were no longer responding to its cognitive command.
Ditto had smoothly transitioned its genetic sequencing to mirror Zeraora, its unique cellular channels acting as an irresistible vacuum that systematically siphoned and drained every single volt of residual current right out of Raikou's body.
"A truly flawless experimental asset! Raikou, disregard the energy drain and secure the target with Slash!"
Though Colress's definitive directive rang across the cleanroom, Raikou remained completely paralyzed, failing to advance a single millimeter. With a heavy, structural crash, the pseudo-legendary beast collapsed limply onto the wet tiles, its muscle groups contracting and seizing violently under acute nervous system exhaustion.
"How can this be... Raikou's vital thresholds were nowhere near their theoretical limit! Why has its system collapsed this rapidly?!" Colress muttered frantically, his intellect utterly unable to parse the data block.
Right at that exact millisecond, a sharp, white-hot spike of agony violently pierced Colress's skull. Clutching his head in pure torment as his cognitive stability fractured, the chief scientist collapsed forward into a dead faint against his console.
"Rest your intellect for a brief spell, Colress. I have safely embedded a high-tier psychic tracking mark into your subconscious lines," Feng Che murmured calmly, crouching down beside the unconscious researcher. "Over time, its passive influence will systematically rewrite your core values, ensuring you look upon me as the absolute, lifelong sovereign of your allegiance."
By the hour Feng Che finalized the lockdown of the laboratory and tracked the coordinates back to Team Plasma's central command hub, a high-intensity engagement was already playing out. Vio and Drayden were locked in a fierce, back-to-back struggle against the Young King, N.
Lining the periphery of the grand chamber were the unconscious, heavily broken partners of Victor and Iris, who had already been systematically dismantled by N's line.
"Is this the absolute limit of what Unova's legendary Dragon Clan can manifest?!"
On the opposite flank, Jax and Feng Lu were desperately coordinating a joint defensive press to contain Ghetsis, who was currently mocking them from his mechanical chair.
"My, what a thoroughly spectacular performance to greet my arrival," Feng Che's cool voice echoed through the grand vault. He stepped into the clearing, casually dragging the limp, unconscious body of Colress along the floor before tossing him aside like a discarded piece of luggage.
"Ghetsis, do you truly harbor the delusion that our Dragon Clan lacks deeper military assets?"
"If Vio and Drayden hadn't been systematically overextended trying to neutralize N's defensive layout, your line would have been dismantled by Vio's hand hours ago," Feng Che added flatly.
"Colress?! How on earth did he fall into your custody?! What have your parameters done to my chief scientist?!" Ghetsis roared at the top of his lungs, his manic composure fracturing. Colress anchored the absolute cornerstone of Team Plasma's technological superiority; permitting his intellect to be harvested by the League was a catastrophic operational failure.
Right at that exact millisecond, N executed a flawless, high-velocity sweep that violently forced back the joint offensive of Vio and Drayden.
Turning his statuesque, exceptionally handsome face toward the entry threshold, a trace of cold, regal provocation bled into N's brilliant eyes. "I have waited a lifetime to chart your coordinates, Feng Che. Let us coordinate a definitive, final engagement."
"If your line breaks my vanguard, the absolute entirety of Team Plasma shall bow beneath your sovereign hand."
"If my parameters override your roster, you will immediately extract your military assets from this sector, bound by a lifetime covenant to never again violate the sovereignty of Team Plasma." N laid down his terms.
As the absolute sovereign of Team Plasma, N universally referred to Pokémon by their sacred classification as "creatures." He possessed an astronomical, peerless cognitive intellect, his advanced mastery over complex mathematics and theoretical physics earning him the underworld moniker of the "Wizard of Mathematics."
Therefore, even though he had been systematically manipulated by Ghetsis's calculated distortions during his youth to forge Team Plasma, he had never once permitted his moral alignment to co-mingle with Ghetsis's corrupt ambitions. This proposal of a definitive, streamlined duel aligned flawlessly with Feng Che's battlefield preferences.
"An exceptionally clean arrangement. We shall commence immediately," Feng Che agreed, nodding smoothly. "Where is the designated arena to anchor our metrics?"
"Follow my vector. I have prepared a colossally massive, reinforced arena deep within the subterranean vaults," N replied calmly. He launched himself onto Reshiram's back, the Vast White Pokémon beating its wings to soar down the grand central transit shaft.
So the final threshold of this campaign requires me to break Reshiram itself, Feng Che calculated internally, tracking their flight path. He maintained a seamless pace, following N into a gargantuan, cavernous arena that dominated the lowest tier of the ruins.
"We shall coordinate under a standard six-versus-six single elimination matrix. The absolute anchor of my line will be Reshiram," N announced, his brow lifting slightly as he locked his gaze onto the youth. "Therefore, I expect your final asset to be Zekrom. Let us determine the rightful master of Unova right here."
"Agreed. Let the match commence."
"To ensure full operational parity, we shall deploy our initial assets concurrently," Feng Che suggested smoothly.
"Done."
Feng Che smoothly hurled his Poké Ball to release Greninja, while N countered by deploying his Politoed.
The Politoed emerged, its entire amphibious frame a vibrant shade of frog-green, accented by subtle trim variations across its skin. A singular, elegant curl projected from its crown, its webbed palms and three tiny toes a brilliant yellow. Its lower jaw mirrored the yellow patterning seen on Ledyba, balanced by a golden underbelly marked by a swirling green helix design.
The precise millisecond the Frog Pokémon stabilized its footing on the field, the unique properties of its Drizzle ability violently warped the cavern environment, triggering a severe, torrential downpour that blanketed the arena. It bounded cheerfully through the heavy sheets of water, openly celebrating the onset of the storm.
Feng Che's Greninja remained entirely fluid under the downpour, standing motionless like a silent shadow as the water currents cascaded over its sleek blue hide.
"Your baseline resonance metrics look exceptional today, Politoed," N remarked in a light, rhythmic register, his deep bond with his partner unyielding.
Politoed clapped its webbed hands together with a sharp quack. A fraction of a second later, its form vanished via a high-velocity sprint, materializing directly beside Greninja's flank. A dark, kinetic distortion ringed its palms as it slammed forward to execute a high-speed Fake Out.
"Incredible velocity... The acceleration loop was so remarkably fast my eyes barely managed to track the vector!" Iris gasped from the spectator galleries, her own partners having yet to breach the Champion tier, leaving her unable to cleanly parse the micro-mechanics of high-level combat.
However, Politoed's Fake Out failed to yield a single shred of actionable trauma. Its palm struck cleanly through Greninja's silhouette, the illusionary afterimage instantly dissolving into thousands of stray water droplets that splashed harmlessly across Politoed's frame.