----
BOOM!
With a thunderous crash, Gyarados smashed through the research facility's front gates. The sheer force of the impact sent the remaining Rocket grunts and their Pokémon flying marking the fall of Team Rocket's final line of defence outside the lab.
The International Police surged in behind it, swiftly apprehending any grunts who failed to escape in time.
Leaving a team to handle cleanup, Looker, Kai, and the remaining agents pressed on without hesitation, storming into the building.
Oddly enough, they met almost no resistance as they moved through the main hall, corridors, lounges, and even the cafeteria. It was as if Team Rocket had lost the will to fight.
With Gyarados clearing a path at the front, they reached the lab's inner sanctum, the core research chamber, within minutes.
The room was filled with scorched-out electronics and overturned desks. Papers were strewn everywhere, chairs lay scattered in chaos. Whoever had been here had fled in a hurry.
At the far end of the room, standing on an elevated platform at a control terminal, was a lone man. He stared down at them calmly, clearly having waited for their arrival.
And he wasn't hiding.
No grunts. No guards. Not even Tyson was in sight.
But beside him, Kai spotted something far more alarming: a small device humming with an electrical current, buzzing ominously like a signal emitter ready to blow.
Before anyone could speak, the man offered a polite bow and introduced himself.
"Welcome," he said with eerie calm. "I'm Professor Sebastian. I've been expecting you."
A key scientific figure within Team Rocket, Sebastian was known for being the polar opposite of someone like Dr. Namba. He didn't scream. He didn't rant. He kept his emotions in check, calculated and composed. He rarely took action himself, preferring to let others execute his designs.
"So you're the one in charge here?" Looker narrowed his eyes. "What is this so-called Project R? What are you people really up to?"
Ever since hearing about the project, Looker had been gnawed by unease. Now he wanted answers.
Sebastian gave a soft chuckle. "Explaining the details would be a waste you wouldn't understand. But in simple terms, Project R is about stimulating the dormant DNA of unevolved Pokémon, forcing them to evolve rapidly and unconditionally… and maximizing their destructive potential."
"I knew it…" Looker muttered, lips tightening. "So the Gyarados rampaging around Lake of Rage that was your doing. And the rumours of a red Gyarados showing up… that was you too, wasn't it?"
Kai remembered hearing locals mention the red Gyarados when he passed through Blackthorn City. It had appeared out of nowhere, its crimson form clearly visible even in deep water. Stronger, more aggressive, and completely unnatural.
And if he remembered right, that Gyarados had ultimately been captured by Lance himself.
"You're not wrong," Sebastian replied with a nod. "But that wasn't our intention. That particular Gyarados evolved prematurely due to exposure to the signal while it was still a Magikarp. It retained fragments of its old DNA, which caused the pigmentation mutation. A side effect. A failure, really. It escaped containment and led you here."
Looker's grip on his cuffs loosened. For a moment, he thought the scientist might surrender peacefully.
"So you're going to cooperate now? Hope for leniency by confessing?"
"Cooperate?" Sebastian chuckled. "Oh, no. You see, we chose Mahogany City for this facility specifically because of the local Magikarp population. We believed Project R could turn them into powerful weapons if forced to evolve under the right stimuli. But after countless tests… nothing met expectations."
His expression shifted eyes gleaming with a disturbing mix of insight and obsession.
"Until now."
He turned and stared directly at Kai's Gyarados.
"In that Gyarados of yours, I see it. True potential. Not in the Magikarp stage but in a fully evolved specimen. If we begin with power and push it beyond limits, we don't get a failure. We get a masterpiece."
Looker's gut twisted. He didn't fully grasp the science, but whatever this man was planning, it had to be stopped.
Without another word, he stepped forward, handcuffs ready. "You're done here."
But Sebastian barely glanced at him.
Instead, he turned to the console and input a rapid sequence of commands.
The emitter beside him shifted its antenna swivelling to aim directly at Gyarados.
Not Kai. Not anyone else.
Just the Gyarados.
"What are you doing?!" Looker shouted, lunging forward.
But it was too late.
Sebastian slammed a red button.
A wave of visible energy pulsed from the emitter, slamming into Gyarados before anyone could react.
The beam hit squarely. There was no time to dodge. Not even Sabrina sensed it coming.
Gyarados roared in pain.
Its body thrashed violently, its face contorted in agony. Kai stepped forward, alarmed, but stopped when he saw what was happening.
The creature's scales, already battered from battle, began to shed and regrow at an unnatural rate.
Its body swelled, growing larger by the second, and its entire form began to turn blood red.
"Hahaha!" Sebastian threw his head back, laughing maniacally. "It worked! It worked! I should've realized it sooner. Using Magikarp was a waste of time! But with a strong Gyarados as the base... this is the ultimate weapon!"
"You're insane!" Looker shouted. "What the hell did you do?!"
Before anyone could answer, a deafening roar erupted through the lab.
RRRRAAAAGH!
The newly transformed Gyarados reared up, eyes glowing crimson, and let out a bellow that shook the walls.
It wasn't just stronger.
It was monstrous.
Its voice was deeper, its presence overwhelming. And when it lowered its head to face them there was no recognition in its eyes.
No logic. No control.
Only rage.
Only madness.
Kai's Gyarados had been completely lost to the signal.
It had gone berserk.
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