High-level Pokémon battles like this were usually reserved for official tournaments and rarely took place in street fights.
"Hah~" Magmar took slow, deliberate steps toward Dragalge, leaving molten footprints in the ground.
Acid Spray, Water Pulse, Dragon Pulse...
Dragalge unleashed a series of attacks, but each move merely dissipated upon contact with Magmar's flame-cloaked body, causing no real damage.
It couldn't break through its defense.
As Magmar steadily closed the distance, Dragalge's body trembled slightly. However, in contrast, Vivi Krantz had an excited gleam in her eyes.
"Dragalge, use Hyper Beam!" the beautiful trainer shouted.
Perhaps her voice gave it strength, as a vicious glint flashed through Dragalge's eyes. It gathered all its remaining power for one final strike.
A golden-red beam shot forth, hitting Magmar dead-on from just three meters away, triggering a violent explosion.
"It landed!" Vivi's eyes lit up with joy as she watched the battlefield.
As the smoke cleared, the flames surrounding Magmar's body had extinguished, and a scorched mark was visible on its chest where the Hyper Beam had struck.
"Heh, not bad," Lucius commented with a smile.
Though Dragalge had given its all, the fact that it managed to breach the defense gap between an Elite-class and a Leader-class Pokémon was impressive, proving the talent of both the trainer and her Pokémon.
Given time, they could achieve great things.
"Let's finish this," Lucius declared.
"Hrrr~" Magmar's right fist erupted in flames and slammed into the ground like a miniature sun.
Sparks scattered as Dragalge was sent flying across the battlefield.
Despite its type advantage against Fire, the sheer difference in strength had rendered it meaningless.
And Magmar had already held back most of its power—otherwise, the battlefield would have been utterly destroyed.
"The match is over! Z and Magmar are victorious!"
"Dragalge, are you okay?" Vivi rushed to her fallen Pokémon, paying no mind to the referee's announcement.
"It'll be fine," Lucius approached, his tone calm. "This battle might even help it unlock more of its hidden potential."
Just like humans, Pokémon needed to be tempered through adversity. The stronger the opponent, the greater the growth.
Vivi nodded. "You're really strong. I hope I get the chance to battle you again someday."
"Mm."
...That is, if this body lasts that long.
As Vivi hurried off toward the Pokémon Center, Lucius sensed Rocket Grunts spreading out across Sunburst Island.
The time had come.
The virus... was ready.
...
"Matsu, any luck on your end?" Jeff adjusted his earpiece while searching through the dense jungle, disguised as a local islander.
"I've searched the entire eastern side of the island. Not a single Crystal Onix, or even a regular Onix for that matter. What about you?"
"Same here. I grabbed a couple of guys who claimed they'd seen the Crystal Onix, but after interrogating them, turns out they were just making it up." Jeff cursed internally, feeling his chance at promotion slipping away.
"Keep searching. The other teams are—ugh… uh…"
"Matsu?" Jeff's eyes narrowed as he heard a strange gurgling sound through the radio.
What the hell was going on?
"Matsu?!" he shouted again, but all he got in response was static and the unsettling noise of something rustling.
"Shit." Jeff cursed, quickly switching channels. "Calling Team Two, calling Team Two."
"...zzzt...zzzt..." The radio was filled with static and electrical interference. There was no response from Team Two.
What the hell was happening? Did something go wrong?
As a seasoned member of an underground organization, Jeff had sharp survival instincts.
Reacting instantly, he sprinted toward his motorboat.
But before he could get even 50 meters, a sudden sharp pain lanced through his skull.
"Agh!" His vision blurred, and he collapsed face-first into the gravel, his chin scraping against the rough ground, blood seeping from the wound.
"Urgh... Uh..." He twitched violently, convulsing as his eyes turned bloodshot. Thick, white foam frothed from his mouth.
All across Sunburst Island, people were collapsing one after another. Their bodies convulsed as their skin turned a sickly bluish-gray at an alarming speed, triggering screams of panic throughout the island.
...
"Lord Archer, it's been a while since we've seen you fight personally. With such strength, it seems like reaching the Elite Four level is just a matter of time." Nanli flattered Lucius, noticing his good mood.
"Let's head back," Lucius said, ignoring the compliment and turning toward the port.
"Huh?" Nanli blinked in surprise but quickly followed. "Didn't you say you wanted to have some fun later? What changed?"
The three men soon reached the shore. Lucius stood at the harbor, gazing out toward Sunburst Island.
He could feel it.
Not far from where he stood, dozens of infected were undergoing their mutations. As the process accelerated, their pheromonal responses became more pronounced, feeding back to him with increasing clarity.
It was as if they were extensions of his own body—not physically connected, yet completely under his command.
The sensation was... exhilarating.
The biohazard... had begun.
Earlier that afternoon, when Lucius had gathered all the Rocket Grunts under the pretense of searching for the Crystal Onix, he had already discreetly released the virus, infecting everyone present.
All he had to do was wait until they spread out across the island. Once the timing was right, he removed the virus' suppression.
Now, Sunburst Island was the stage for a grand "bio-experiment."
Lucius had deliberately chosen to conduct this experiment outside of Rocket HQ for two key reasons.
First, every Rocket base was under constant surveillance, with direct feeds to headquarters. Any large-scale incident would immediately raise alarms, making an internal experiment far too risky.
Second, based on his previous tests using the Biker Gang from the auto shop, the probability of a successful mutation was roughly 1 in 30 or 40. With only a few dozen people in the base, the sample size was too small to be of any real use.
But an entire island?
An entire island full of unsuspecting civilians and Pokémon?
With a test pool this large, there was no way he wouldn't get enough viable results.
Sitting aboard the speedboat, Lucius inhaled the salty night air. For a fleeting moment, he wondered if he had gone too far. These islanders, whose only crime was glass-making, were now victims of an unspeakable horror.
But then he thought back to the Virus Evolution System's directives and the potential it promised.
This was inevitable.
If that was the case, then why hesitate?
Instead of dwelling on it, it would be better to embrace the inevitable—plan ahead, take action early, and gain the upper hand…
In a world like this, sometimes you have no choice but to go with the flow…
"Lord Archer," Sham suddenly spoke, interrupting Lucius's train of thought.
"Hmm?"
"I want to go to Sunburst Island and participate in the mission to capture the Crystal Onix."
Lucius looked at her in silence, hesitation flashing briefly across his eyes before he responded in a calm tone, "Go ahead."
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