"Raaaargh!"
"Rrroaaargh!"
Two furious roars broke the silence, erupting one after another. In the next moment, a Graveler and an Ursaring lunged at each other in a brutal brawl.
Though both Pokémon still seemed a little disoriented—unsure how they'd suddenly ended up in this strange place—one thing was certain: they felt an instinctive, visceral hatred for each other at first sight.
Especially when the other one dared to growl first. Unforgivable!
Both were of quasi-Elite Four caliber and shared similarly imposing physiques. Their clash quickly turned the surrounding area into a wreck of splintered rocks and cratered earth.
"Steven, your Metagross is seriously impressive. I can't believe it managed to hypnotize two quasi-Elite-level Pokémon so effortlessly."
"It's not just Metagross, Ron," Steven Stone replied with a grin. "Your Gardevoir's not half-bad either. Its talent for Hypnosis is something else. I'm impressed it was able to plant subliminal suggestions so cleanly. The moment those two saw each other, they went straight for the throat."
Hiding in the shadows, protected by the towering frame of Metagross, Ron and Steven exchanged mutual praise like seasoned conspirators.
Moments later, someone emerged from the secret base Steven had previously mentioned. As they moved to drive away the battling Pokémon, the real operation began.
To be honest, if Steven hadn't pointed it out, no one would have guessed there was a hidden underground passage concealed here.
Once the base personnel showed themselves, Metagross extended its psychic energy outward, scanning the area for surveillance zones and blind spots. Simultaneously, it relayed this data into the minds of Steven and Ron with near-instant efficiency.
As a species with four brains linked in a complex neural network, Metagross possessed mental processing capabilities far beyond even a supercomputer. In battle, it could calculate millions of possibilities in seconds.
But even in mundane scenarios like this, its analytical power proved invaluable—just like now.
Having found a suitable spot, Metagross used Teleport to instantly relocate Steven and Ron to a safer location.
Ordinarily, Metagross isn't supposed to learn Teleport in the games or anime. But in the fluid reality of this mission—where canon sometimes flexes—Metagross, at a Champion-level, had fully mastered the technique.
The same principle applied elsewhere. With enough tenacity, a Fire-type Pokémon could learn Water-type moves, and vice versa. Of course, their power would be... modest at best. A tiny flame here, a gentle splash there.
After infiltrating the base, Metagross didn't stop. It continued scouting for isolated personnel, intending to extract information using Hypnosis.
With a Champion-tier psychic like Metagross on their side, there was little worry about surveillance or ambushes.
Still, for added caution, Ron had his Lucario release a steady pulse of Aura, scanning every inch of their surroundings.
Steven placed deep trust in his Metagross, entrusting it with full responsibility for the infiltration.
After several quick teleports, the team arrived in a quiet room. On the bed lay a heavyset man, sound asleep and snoring.
Steven glanced at Metagross, and when the Pokémon gave a small nod, he relaxed.
"No surveillance here. It's your Gardevoir's turn now."
"Leave it to me. Gardevoir, use Hypnosis!"
Ron's voice was low but resolute. His Gardevoir swiftly approached the sleeping man and cast its hypnotic spell.
Steven had witnessed Gardevoir's skills firsthand earlier when it manipulated Graveler and Ursaring into attacking each other. The psychic grace and hypnotic finesse it demonstrated were unmatched—even beyond what Metagross could achieve in this specific domain.
Plus, Gardevoir's innate ability to read human emotions gave it an edge that even Metagross lacked.
Within seconds, the man sank into a deep trance, his eyes glassy, body limp, like a puppet awaiting commands.
"From here on, I ask, and you answer. Understood?"
"Yes..." came the slow, hollow reply.
"What's your name?"
"My name... is Oda."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty-seven."
"What level of Trainer are you?"
"Quasi-Elite Four..."
"Who do you work for?"
"Team Magma."
From simple questions to more complex ones, Ron quickly extracted the information they needed.
After exchanging a glance with Steven Stone, Ron continued his line of questioning, focusing on the purpose behind building this base.
After all, Oda was known to possess power equivalent to that of a quasi-Elite Four. Naturally, he would know far more than the average member of Team Magma.
That much was clear from the fact that Oda had a private room—one that lacked surveillance entirely.
Once they'd obtained the intel they were after, Gardevoir glanced at Ron.
Seeing him give a silent nod, Gardevoir used Psychic to ensure that Oda would never awaken again.
Steven wasn't the type to be needlessly sentimental. He didn't object—instead, he turned to Ron to discuss their next move.
"Based on the intel so far, the person in charge of this facility should be one of Team Magma's top three executives—Courtney.
"I might have a way to handle her. The real issue is the size of the base. I'm afraid just the two of us won't be enough to apprehend or eliminate everyone without someone escaping with critical information."
"That's why I have a suggestion," Ron responded. "We act based on the map Oda provided. First, we take out the team in the surveillance room. Blind them. Once that's done, we can move through the base methodically, taking down the others."
"Once the majority are dealt with, we bring in Uncle Rin and the rest to finish clearing out the facility."
Steven paused, then looked at Ron, clearly wanting to hear his full plan.
"Spray this on. It'll mask our scent.
"And remember—no bloodshed unless absolutely necessary. The smell might attract unwanted trouble."
"I'll leave Gardevoir and Persian in the surveillance room.
"I'll also stay within the range of Gardevoir's telepathic detection, just in case I need to support you on short notice."
"Now then—let's begin."
After listening to Ron's plan, Steven couldn't help but sigh internally. His instincts had been correct—Ron really did have a killer's instinct.
While Steven had still been discussing strategies, Ron was already planning how to silence enemies and cover their tracks.
Still, considering this base belonged to Team Magma, it wasn't like they'd be killing innocents.
Steven couldn't find any real fault in Ron's logic—especially the part about assigning Persian, a Pokémon specialized in silent takedowns, to oversee the surveillance room.
After all, Steven's own Pokémon weren't exactly quiet fighters. Even his Metagross needed assistance coordinating clean takedowns. Giving that role to Ron's Persian was a smart move.
"Alright, let's get started.
"But promise me—if things get dangerous, call for help immediately. No intel is more important than your life."
"Don't worry. I'm rather fond of staying alive. If I run into something I can't handle, I'll sell you out first without hesitation," Ron grinned. "After all, a Champion of the Hoenn League like you would attract way more heat than I ever could."
Steven smirked at the response, but a flicker of warmth passed through him.
Knowing Ron had everything under control, Steven didn't press further. Instead, he gave the signal to Metagross to move out with them toward the surveillance room.
A massacre was about to begin.
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