The interior of the base opened into a vast underground complex carved directly into the mountain's core. Fluorescent lights embedded into the steel-paneled ceiling bathed everything in a sterile white glow, revealing an organized layout that felt more like a military installation than a hidden outpost.
Office buildings lined the perimeter, their tinted glass walls giving them the appearance of any typical city structure.
In the center stood a large training facility, where uniformed soldiers sparred and practiced live-fire drills at a reinforced shooting range. Nearby, compact barracks were arranged in tight rows, functional and densely packed, enough to house over a thousand personnel. The base was humming with the disciplined energy of an active and well-funded force.
To one side, a large storage facility, its sliding steel doors guarded and sealed, hinted at an arsenal waiting inside.
At the far end, a Pokémon training yard sprawled across a reinforced courtyard. Heavy mechanical devices lined the area, rotating blades, shock grids, weighted gauntlets, and flame jets, all designed to push Pokémon to their physical and mental limits. From a distance, the harshness of the setup made the equipment resemble torture instruments more than training tools.
The air carried the scent of sweat, oil, and something acrid beneath it all, painting a grim picture of a place built for war, not care.
"This is definitely what Gravik's underwater base would have looked like," Alex said.
He walked inside calmly and confidently, moving like he belonged. Following the path with the most foot traffic, he made his way toward an office building set off to the side. People moved about casually, as if they were just doing an ordinary job like any other.
Inside, he spotted a map of the facility on a wall that included emergency exits and committed it to memory before heading toward the security office. If he wanted to maintain the charade, he would need to take down their security systems before moving on to the storage facility.
He approached the security office and knocked on the door. A uniformed guard opened it and immediately straightened upon seeing him.
"Ms. Marla, how can I help you?" he asked politely, recognizing one of the facility's senior staff.
"You can die," Alex replied in his natural deep voice
Before the guard could react, Alex raised his weapon and fired a Phantom Force bullet directly through his skull, dropping him instantly.
The sharp crack of the shot sent the other guards inside scrambling for cover, but Alex was already in motion. He drew his second firearm and opened fire, shooting down two more before they could react.
Gardevoir, Raticate, Dusknoir, and Ceruledge emerged from their Poké Balls in synchronized flashes, meeting the remaining guards and their Expert-ranked Pokémon head-on. The room descended into chaos as moves clashed and shots rang out. Moments later, the skirmish was over. The guards and their Pokémon lay dead, and silence returned to the security office.
Alex approached the monitoring station and quickly assessed the system. It was offline and isolated, which meant Nyx couldn't access it remotely. Ideally, he would have downloaded their files and used the intel, but without the time or technical expertise, he decided to wipe everything instead.
"Looks like the charade is over," Alex said. "I would've preferred to keep it going, but it wouldn't have lasted long if I wanted access to their storage facility. Still, it's annoying that I can't speak while the illusion is active."
"Raticate, take care of their security. Make sure everything is destroyed," he ordered.
Raticate gave a sharp nod, then unleashed a series of Thunder Waves into the system, tracing the electrical pathways back to the server rooms and overloading them. Sparks burst down the corridors, followed by the whine of failing circuits. One by one, the facility's security systems went dark as Raticate methodically destroyed every piece of connected hardware.
The resulting surge triggered alarms throughout the base, putting the entire facility on alert, which was exactly what Alex wanted. He had no intention of slaughtering office workers who might have had stories similar to Celise's. It was better to flush them out, letting them escape in the chaos while drawing the armed guards in for elimination.
Alex stepped out of the office building as the illusion covering him and Zoroark faded away. He released all of his Pokémon at once, quickly arranging themselves into a defensive formation around him as he advanced toward the training facility.
The scrambling soldiers spotted him and his team almost immediately. Following their training, they spread out across the yard, taking cover behind buildings, structures, and anything large enough to shield them, then opened fire without hesitation.
"Kill them all," Alex commanded.
Gardevoir smiled coldly and dispersed the attack team with a flick of her hand, sending them into evasive maneuvers. The defensive team remained close to Alex, cycling through buffing abilities and using Protect in rotation to shield against incoming fire.
Alex fired Decorate rounds at Gardevoir, enhancing her power, while Alcremie did the same before Gardevoir set the field with Psychic Terrain.
Empowered by the terrain and the stacked boosts, Gardevoir launched a devastating Expanding Force. The wave of psychic energy ripped through the battlefield, hurling soldiers across the facility and smashing them into walls and buildings. Most were killed instantly, along with their Pokémon, whose Expert rank couldn't withstand the sheer force of Gardevoir's Elite-ranked assault that was maxed out on Special Attack.
Unfortunately, sustained fire from multiple Phantom Force and Feint rounds took down Forretress, Clawitzer, Frosmoth, and Hydreigon as they shielded Alex with their bodies. He immediately used Revives and Full Restores on them before returning them to their Poké Balls to recover.
"I may have to upgrade the defensive team if I keep running into armed forces like this," Alex said. "I can't have my Pokémon constantly fainting from Feint and Phantom Force rounds. Unfortunately, there's no reliable way to defend against them directly. My best option is probably relying on large, durable Pokémon to absorb the hits. Even then, they would eventually faint or worse, die if they took too much damage."
Meanwhile, the attack team swept through the facility, targeting anyone who opened fire while ignoring those who fled or remained unarmed.
Arcanine charged forward with Extreme Speed, crashing through walls and structures along with the soldiers hiding behind them. Raticate followed closely, finishing off any who managed to survive the initial assault.
Kommo-o unleashed Clanging Scales, tearing through both grouped enemies and nearby buildings. Togekiss stayed close behind, dropping Wish to keep Kommo-o in fighting shape.
Dusknoir and Ceruledge rampaged through the chaos, striking down soldiers one after another with Phantom Force and Shadow Sneak.
Altaria, Weezing and the three Maushold followed Tsareena, Zoroark, and Espeon as they hunted down any Pokémon still resisting, ensuring they couldn't regroup or form a defensive line.
The battle raged on until the hundreds of soldiers and their Pokémon were eventually all taken down, save for those smart enough to flee while they still had the chance.
The training facility lay in ruins, debris scattered across the center of the cavern. The office buildings remained mostly intact, aside from a few damaged walls and broken doors. The storage facility, however, was completely unscathed and clearly built to withstand even a cave in.
"Clean up," Alex said simply.
Gardevoir took command, coordinating the remaining Pokémon as they sifted through the debris. One by one, they recovered the corpses and brought them to Alex for storage. He preserved the bodies along with their Pokémon and personal gear. Weapons, ammunition, and armor were collected and organized, nothing left behind.
The team also uncovered storage boxes buried beneath the training facility, filled with additional ammunition, weapons, armor, and spare parts.
As for the storage facility itself, Alex had Raticate dig through it. The structure may have been reinforced, but it couldn't withstand the relentless assault of moves from an Elite-ranked Pokémon.
It took a little over an hour, but eventually Alex managed to fill his space bag, mostly with ammunition he knew Rhea would enjoy. No doubt she would appreciate the surplus of resources to help arm the farm.
As he was wrapping up, the main gate to the cavern slid open, revealing Lirien Faenel. Her eyes welled with tears as she stepped inside, taking in the sight of her ruined base.
"What happened here?" she screamed, her voice sharp with disbelief, immediately drawing Alex's attention.
He quickly concealed his body using Dark energy and recalled all of his Pokémon.
Now that she had appeared, it made sense to ambush her and collect the assassination fee tied to her name. Some extra income was always welcome. The cave was dimly lit, with emergency lights casting long shadows in place of the usual bright fluorescent lights, making it the perfect environment for an ambush.
As Alex crept closer, keeping to the shadows, another figure stepped into the cavern shortly after her. He was tall and solidly built, with tanned skin, short spiked hair, and narrow eyes that remained perpetually closed, giving him a calm yet unreadable expression.
"So it's true! You're part of the human supremacists who've been causing trouble in Kanto," he said, voice filled with disbelief. "You were behind the constant Pokémon floods!"
"Baby, I can explain!" she cried back.
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