17: Chapter 16: Chimera!!
17: Chapter 16: Chimera!!
Chapter 16: Chimera!!
New Bark Town, Professor Elm’s Laboratory.
Through the combined efforts of the fire department and the sunglasses-wearing Squirtle from the ecological park, the towering inferno was finally extinguished.
The grand, imposing laboratory of yesterday was now nothing but a blackened pile of rubble.
Nightfall.
Sean lay on the familiar sofa inside the Professor’s house.
The lights were off, leaving only the dim glow of the television screen and the low murmur of a news broadcast…
(Professor Elm’s house, the laboratory, and the ecological park were all separate structures.) Staring blankly ahead, his mind completely numb, memories of his time spent with the Professor replayed uncontrollably in his head…
The view of the Professor’s back as he bustled around the kitchen…
The flushed, ecstatic expression on the Professor’s face when he handed him the Rotom Phone…
And the way the Professor would blow a fuse at his antics, completely exasperated yet utterly helpless…
Sean had long since regarded Professor Elm as family.
The mere thought of the Professor bound inside that helicopter, his eyes filled with anxiety and fury, made it impossible for him to calm down.
…
Time flew by rapidly.
In the blink of an eye, a week had passed.
The League’s investigation seemed to have hit a total dead end, yielding absolutely no news.
Gengar, whom Sean had placed all his hopes on to track the helicopter, hadn’t returned either…
He hadn’t properly slept in days.
His eyes were bloodshot, surrounded by heavy dark circles, and his entire appearance looked thoroughly exhausted.
Cyndaquil curled up quietly by Sean’s side, nuzzling its cheek against his face in an attempt to offer a shred of comfort, though it achieved very little.
Suddenly.
Inside the dimly lit room, the floor rippled like water…
A round, purple figure slowly floated up.
Sean jolted violently, springboarding off the sofa.
It was Gengar!
It was back!
He noticed that Gengar’s body was covered in dirt and dead leaves, and it even bore several strange, unidentifiable burn marks!
Its eyes were dim and lifeless, utterly drained of energy.
Cyndaquil hopped over to turn on the light, while a heartbroken Sean began wiping the grime off Gengar’s body and spraying Potion into its burns.
When the Potion was applied, Gengar grimaced and gnashed its teeth in agony, yet the healing effects were remarkably poor.
This left Sean deeply bewildered…
These were no ordinary burns!
He would absolutely have to take it to the Pokémon Center for treatment later.
Once they had settled down a bit, Sean asked Gengar tentatively: “Well?
Did you find the Professor?” “Ke-giah.
(Yeah.)” Sean felt a surge of joy.
Gengar then pressed its small purple hand against Sean’s forehead.
Telepathy activated.
Countless fragmented images and Gengar’s own raw sensations rushed headlong into Sean’s mind…
In the visions.
Gengar had followed the helicopter over forests, mountains, and rivers, before finally coming to a halt above a dense, primitive forest.
Right in the center of that primitive forest, Team Rocket had cleared out a massive clearing.
The clearing was equipped with a landing pad, and dozens of Team Rocket grunts were actively patrolling the area.
The helicopter landed on a circular metal platform marked with a giant “R”.
The platform connected to an elevator, lowering the helicopter straight into the deep underground.
Gengar gave chase immediately.
The indicator lights on the elevator flashed, eventually stopping at a base on the third sub-floor.
Judging by its instincts, Gengar estimated they were roughly 15 meters underground.
When the elevator doors slid open, the scene that unfolded caused Sean to draw in a sharp breath.
What an absolutely colossal underground world!!
The Team Rocket base in the vision was constructed almost entirely of white alloy, gleaming with lights of various colors, radiating a profound sense of high-tech militarization!
Heavy, reinforced doors were fitted with green warning lights, and surveillance cameras were everywhere.
Figures dressed in black combat uniforms and white lab coats bustled back and forth through the base.
The entire base spanned three floors.
Every single floor was massive, its complex layout resembling a literal labyrinth.
After transmitting the structural layout of the outer base, Gengar cut off the feed.
It kept its eyes shut, its round body trembling slightly, instinctively wanting to hide the subsequent images.
Sensing Gengar’s profound terror, Sean’s heart clenched tight: “What’s wrong, Gengar?
What else did you see?” Gengar looked at Sean hesitantly, then glanced at the anxious Cyndaquil beside them…
Finally, steeling its resolve, it reached out its hand once more, pressing it against Sean’s forehead.
In the vision.
Gengar phased through the perimeter of the base, heading deeper inside.
Inside a dimly lit room.
There stood a terrifying biological entity…
???!
“What on earth is that?!” Sean’s eyes widened in sheer horror, his body recoiling with a violent shudder.
That was no simple Pokémon.
It was a twisted, deformed creature that defied the laws of nature—a monstrosity forged through forced fusion!
Using an Arbok as the base, its originally sleek, purple serpentine body was now peppered with countless spider legs belonging to an Ariados, looking like a toy haphazardly cobbled together by a child!
Two pairs of massive, fleshy wings belonging to a Crobat sprouted from its back, the membranes riddled with holes as they hung limply.
What made his skin crawl even more was that there was barely any intact skin left on its body.
It was covered entirely in festering wounds and blood-red pustules.
Those pustules expanded and contracted alongside its breathing, looking as though they might burst open at any microsecond.
“Blegh—!!” A wave of intense physical revulsion forced Sean to actively gag.
This wasn’t a Pokémon at all.
This was the most malevolent curse upon life itself!
Yet, something even more horrifying occurred!
In the vision, the chimera began writhing across the metal floor like a centipede, producing a grating, scraping din…
Its milky, lifeless eyes suddenly snapped around, locking dead onto the invisible Gengar!
“Saa—!!!” It let out a vicious, piercing screech.
Treating Gengar like discovered prey, it bared its massive, bloody maw and lunged forward!
It was ecstatic, its speed incredibly fast.
Scared out of its wits, Gengar immediately phased into the adjacent metal wall to escape.
The chimera’s obsession and madness defied imagination.
It didn’t give up.
Instead, it sprayed a thick, foul-smelling stream of green Acid from its mouth.
The Acid struck the alloy wall like a high-pressure water cannon, melting through it with absolute ease!
It even blasted a tunnel straight through the rock wall inside, driving directly toward Gengar as it traveled through the stone!
Though Gengar reacted rapidly, executing a clutch dodge, a few stray droplets still splashed onto its body.
“Ke-giah!!” Gengar felt the wound burn, a piercing agony racking its body!
That was exactly where those bizarre burn marks had come from.
Enduring the agonizing pain, it pushed its speed to the absolute limit, fleeing for its life without looking back until it had completely distanced itself from the Team Rocket base.
After witnessing the images transmitted through Gengar’s telepathy, a physically and mentally drained Sean propped himself up against the wall, panting heavily as he tried to stabilize his emotions.
Utterly unhinged!
The chimera shattered Sean’s entire understanding of Team Rocket.
He had originally thought that Team Rocket captured and stole Pokémon purely to turn a profit.
Looking back now, that line of thinking was shallow to the extreme.
They were actually utilizing Pokémon to conduct such a horrifying line of research!
No wonder they went out of their way to capture even common Pokémon!
This was no longer a simple crime.
This was a desecration of life, a trampling of order!
It was pure, unadulterated madness!