Ding-dong...
The suffocating tension in the room was shattered by the simple chime of the doorbell.
"Professor Aoki"—or rather, Dr. Chen—frowned. No one should be here. He had a Pokémon standing guard outside; no ordinary trainer, not even a professional, should have been able to reach the door undetected.
Before he could even check the security feed, the door swung open.
A young woman with tea-colored short hair and a scholarly aura walked in. Her gaze swept over the struggling Owen and Eevee on the sofa, her brow furrowing before landing on the man and his Zoroark.
Beside her stood a Gardevoir, its white, flowing gown giving it the appearance of an elegant noblewoman.
Dr. Chen's expression soured. "So, you actually came to Aurelia."
"Are you still refusing to give up, Senior Brother Chen?" Cynthia asked calmly.
"How did you find me?"
Chen, a graduate of Magic City University. Cynthia was his fellow disciple, though they had rarely met.
"My Rotom Phone decrypted your research plan from the fragments left in your old lab," Cynthia explained. "I asked our teacher about your personality; he said you were far too stubborn to quit. Rotom calculated a 71% probability that you would head to Aurelia, so I followed."
She glanced at Owen. "Then, I ran into him—Owen, the discoverer of the Anticipation ability. By tracking his movements, I locked onto the Aoki Institute as your most likely hideout.
I didn't expect you to be so depraved as to murder the real Professor and lay hands on an innocent student."
Chen burst into laughter. A mass of flesh began to writhe and crawl across his face until a Ditto plopped onto the floor, revealing his true, gaunt features.
"You've always been a genius, Cynthia. But surely you didn't come here thinking you could actually arrest me?"
"I'm here to stop you from further tarnishing our teacher's name."
Cynthia's voice was flat. She took off her glasses and tossed them aside. In an instant, her scholarly air vanished, replaced by the sharp, cold pressure of a battle-hardened trainer.
The Escape and the Madness
Swoosh!!
Cynthia's Gardevoir lashed out. Pink mist, fueled by immense Psychic power, severed the Zoroark's Extrasensory grip on Owen.
"Get out of here!" Cynthia commanded.
Owen didn't hesitate. He scooped up the trembling Eevee and bolted for the exit. Chen's Ditto instantly transformed into a second Zoroark, lunging for Eevee, but a new Pokémon intercepted it with a playful yet violent Play Rough attack.
It was a Mimikyu.
"Why resist?" Dr. Chen shouted as Owen fled. "Humans are too afraid to touch the genetic level. If we don't experiment, how will humans or Pokémon ever progress?"
He checked his watch. The red and green components of R had fully merged.
In Owen's arms, Eevee's eyes were turning a terrifying, glowing crimson. She was losing her mind. With a burst of frantic strength, she scratched through Owen's shirt and leaped to the ground, her posture predatory and wild.
Owen fumbled for his Pokéball, trying to withdraw her, but the red recall beam simply bounced off her fur. R had altered her biological signature so drastically the system didn't recognize her.
Seeing the red beam, Eevee snarled and began to condense a Shadow Ball in front of her snout.
Owen froze. He remembered Dr. Chen's words: Aggressive... refuse to listen... unable to be cured... death by exhaustion.
Is Eevee going to die?
Owen's mind went blank. He didn't even try to dodge. But the Shadow Ball didn't fly toward him.
The Soothe Bell around Eevee's neck began to ring—a clear, resonant sound. This chime triggered a surge of "Heart" energy within her: the power of the Return move. This emotional energy wrapped around the destructive "R-genes," acting as a dampener on her violent impulses.
Eevee's bond with Owen was acting as a biological anchor. She screamed, flinging the Shadow Ball harmlessly into the sky instead of at her trainer.
This was why she was the "Perfect Subject." Her unstable genes allowed the drug to take hold, but her immense emotional capacity allowed her to survive the initial mental collapse.
However, the battle wasn't over. The destructive urge surged again, flooding her brain—the most vulnerable organ left.
Shadows in the City
Inside the lab, Dr. Chen watched with hungry eyes. "Perfect... she really is the one..."
He tried to move toward Eevee, but Cynthia's team blocked every path. Altaria, Gardevoir, Alolan Ninetales, Mimikyu, Togekiss...
Chen was stunned. He knew his sister was a brilliant researcher, but he hadn't realized her combat strength was on par with high-level Professional Trainers.
BOOM!!!
The shockwaves from their battle shook the institute, immediately alerting the Aurelia Trainer Association. Energy sensors across the city began to ping.
In a secluded alleyway, an old man napping on a bag of Move Manuals snapped awake. A flash of blue psychic light crossed his eyes as he looked toward the institute.
"What a pain," he grunted, standing up. "Looks like things have gone sideways..."
With a shimmer of movement, the old man vanished from the alley.
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