"Haha… age really does catch up fast. After just one battle, I'm completely drained."
After Sabrina left, Blaine collapsed onto the back of his Charizard.
Among all the Gym Leaders in Kanto, Blaine was the oldest. He wasn't exactly frail, but he had already passed his prime. Before Logan arrived, Blaine and Sabrina had been locked in battle for quite a while. Compared to the young psychic prodigy who wasn't even twenty, Blaine's stamina simply couldn't keep up anymore.
Resting against Charizard's back, Blaine flexed his stiff hands and feet. "If you hadn't shown up, Logan, I wouldn't have lasted much longer against her."
There was guilt in Blaine's voice. Because of his past research, Logan had nearly lost his life. That mistake had haunted Blaine, making him abandon his darker pursuits and devote himself to making amends. And now, once again, Logan had saved him. The shame weighed heavily on his heart.
Yet when Blaine looked at the boy—no, the young man—who had once been a frail, undernourished child just ten months ago, he couldn't help but feel pride. In such a short span of time, Logan had grown into a remarkable Trainer. It was like watching one's own child flourish.
"Even without me, Blaine, you wouldn't have been in true danger," Logan said calmly.
As a veteran Gym Leader, Blaine was far from helpless. Even though his years spent on genetic research had dulled his battle edge, it was still no easy task to defeat—let alone kill—him.
Blaine shook his head. "I could've escaped, yes. But if I left, the research lab and Cinnabar Gym would've been destroyed. The data, the knowledge inside—it all would've become Team Rocket's prize. I've already made grave mistakes, Logan. I can't allow myself to make another."
That determination burned in his eyes. It was precisely because Blaine feared his research falling into Rocket's hands that he had chosen to hold Sabrina off for so long. Otherwise, he could have retreated the moment the battle began—even Moltres at her side would've been unable to stop him.
Blaine's gaze shifted to the unconscious girl in Logan's arms. Adjusting his sunglasses and tugging at his beard, he raised a brow. "And this young lady…?"
His tone carried a trace of amusement. Even unconscious, Green's beauty was striking—mischievous yet alluring. To Blaine, it looked suspiciously like Logan was carrying his girlfriend.
"She's Green," Logan explained evenly, unbothered by the misunderstanding. "I don't know if Professor Oak ever mentioned her to you. She's the one who stole his Squirtle."
Blaine's brows lifted. He let out a slow breath. "So this is the girl Oak told me about… the child kidnapped from Pallet Town all those years ago. To have survived on her own, and grown into such a resourceful young woman… remarkable."
But Logan waved the topic away, his eyes narrowing as he looked at the lava flows around them. The ground trembled faintly—Moltres's earlier attack must have disrupted the underground magma veins. "This isn't the place to talk. Blaine, where's your research facility?"
"Follow me. It's hidden in a place no one would think to look."
Blaine gripped Charizard's neck, guiding it toward a vast fissure in the earth. Logan recalled Dragonair and commanded Garchomp to follow.
Though Garchomp could fly—and in sheer straight-line speed it rivaled many flying Pokémon—it was never built for agile aerial combat. It was a predator of the land, the "Dragon of the Earth," and nothing alive could match its speed across solid ground.
The fissure Blaine led them into was thirty meters wide, stretching endlessly into darkness. As Logan rode Garchomp inside, the temperature dropped sharply. A cold wind whistled up from below. Compared to the rivers of molten lava outside, this hidden gorge felt almost welcoming. Finding such a place to build a lab was no small feat—it spoke to Blaine's brilliance and desperation.
At last, they reached a cliffside platform. In front of them loomed a colossal metal gate. Blaine pressed a code into a hidden panel, and the massive doors spiraled open.
Logan returned Garchomp to its Poké Ball, still cradling Green as Eevee perched on his shoulder. Together, he and Blaine stepped inside.
"This Eevee…" Blaine began hesitantly, watching the cheerful little creature's bright eyes.
"It was Team Rocket's," Logan replied without hesitation.
Blaine exhaled slowly. "I never imagined they actually succeeded. Back when I worked with them, I only caught fragments of their plan. I knew this Eevee was part of something… but I didn't know the whole truth. I even contributed to the theories behind it." His face twisted with regret. Both Mewtwo and this Eevee were tied to his research—his legacy, whether he liked it or not.
The lab itself was brightly lit, filled with advanced machinery. Though far smaller than Rocket's ocean base, it was sophisticated enough to support Blaine's work.
"This is why I asked you here, Logan." Blaine lifted a box and handed it over.
Logan accepted it without hesitation. Inside was a gleaming red crystal, no larger than a fingernail, etched with a fiery emblem.
"The Eternal Fire Stone!" Logan breathed.
He already possessed the Eternal Water Stone and Eternal Moon Stone. With one glance, he recognized the artifact's significance.
"I heard from Erika that you captured Eevee. I knew you would need this," Blaine said, his expression softening. "As a Fire-type Gym Leader, I had one in my collection. Consider this my way of helping you along your path."
Logan nodded gratefully. "Thank you, Blaine. I've been meaning to find the three Eternal Stones for Eevee, but there's been no time."
He placed the crimson gem around Eevee's neck, letting it hang beside the Eternal Water Stone. Now only the Eternal Thunder Stone remained.
But Blaine wasn't finished. His voice grew serious. "Don't thank me yet. That was only part of why I called you here. The true reason lies deeper inside."
He led Logan into another chamber, sealed behind biometric locks.
In the center stood a containment tank, identical to the one Mewtwo had once emerged from. This one, however, held no Pokémon—only bubbling, luminous fluid.
Logan's eyes narrowed sharply. "This is…?"
"My perfected genetic culture fluid," Blaine answered gravely.
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