The basement of the warehouse had been transformed.
What was once a damp, empty concrete box was now humming with the sound of centrifuges, cooling fans, and bubbling beakers. The air smelled of antiseptic and ozone.
Enzo stood by a metal table, watching Professor Leni organize the rare chemical ingredients the Madam had delivered.
"So," Enzo said, his voice echoing slightly in the small space. "Tell me the truth, Leni. Why are you really here? A man with your credentials doesn't just fall into the criminal underworld unless he jumps."
Leni paused, holding a test tube. He snorted, a sound of pure disdain.
"The League... the public... they all think Professor Oak is a visionary," Leni muttered, adjusting his glasses, which were slightly crooked. "They think he supports innovation. Ha! He supports boredom!"
He waved a hand frantically.
"He wanted me to research Synthetic Everstones. Can you imagine? A budget of 2 million Pokédollars to stop Pokémon from evolving? It's an insult to science!"
Enzo crossed his arms, amused. "So you took the money and ran?"
"No! I took the money and innovated!" Leni declared proudly. "I used his funding for projects that actually mattered!"
"Like what?" Enzo asked.
Leni started counting on his fingers, his eyes wide with excitement.
"First, I tried to create Jet-Propulsion Doduos. If they can't fly with wings, maybe they could fly with compressed air sacs! I spent 400,000 Pokédollars on the prototypes."
Enzo raised an eyebrow. "And?"
"They ran very fast into a wall," Leni admitted quickly. "Then, I tried to make Photosynthetic Meowths. To solve world hunger! If cats can eat sunlight, they don't need food. Brilliant, right? Turns out, they just turned green and got really lethargic. Total failure."
Enzo chuckled. "You have a colorful portfolio, Leni."
"I was just getting started!" Leni continued, pacing the room. "Then I made an Evolution Elixir for Water-types. I fed it to some Squirtles. Boom! Blastoise in 48 hours! Incredible results!"
"That sounds useful," Enzo commented casually.
"Well, practically speaking, it was a disaster," Leni dismissed it with a wave of his hand. "They exploded three days later. Complete organ failure. Very messy to clean up. Oak was starting to ask questions about the smell."
Then he moved right on to his next grievance.
"And don't get me started on the Square Cheri Berries. I spent the last of the budget trying to make fruit stackable for easier shipping. They tasted like wet cardboard."
Leni sighed, looking like a misunderstood genius.
"Before Oak could find out why the lab roof had scorch marks and why the Doduos were wearing helmets, I erased everything. I packed my bags and found Team Rocket."
Enzo looked at the little scientist.
He was unhinged. He was reckless. He had killed Pokémon trying to make them fly like rockets and turn into plants.
But amidst the stupidity, there was a lack of moral boundaries that Enzo found... useful.
"You stole from the most respected man in Kanto to make square fruit and exploding turtles," Enzo said, a slow smirk forming. "You're in the right place, Leni."
"Since you are so eager to experiment," Enzo said, pushing off the wall. "I have a task for you."
He pointed to the DNA sequencer in the corner.
"I want you to take blood samples from my Deino... and from your Snubbull."
Leni blinked, confused. "My Snubbull? Why?"
"I want you to run a cross-reference analysis," Enzo ordered. "Look for specific reaction markers. Immunity markers. Energy negation."
Leni frowned, scratching his head. "Mr. Enzo, with all due respect, I am the geneticist here. Deino is a Dragon/Dark type. Snubbull is a Normal type. We already know how they interact. Dragon energy crushes Normal energy. It's basic biology."
Enzo walked to the stairs, stopping to look back.
"Just do it, Leni. Humor me."
Enzo's eyes glinted in the harsh lab light.
"Maybe your pink friend isn't a Normal type at all. Maybe he is something... new."
Leni rolled his eyes as Enzo walked away. New type. Right. And maybe I'm a Gyarados. But he grabbed the syringes anyway. The paycheck was good, even if the boss was delusional.
Enzo walked up the metal stairs to the ground floor of the warehouse.
The first thing he heard was the sound of someone suffering.
"Forty-eight... forty-nine... FIFTY!"
Enzo reached the top of the stairs and stopped.
Proton was sitting on a stack of crates near the stairwell, his Crobat hanging upside down from a rafter above him. Proton looked bored, watching the torture session.
But when Proton saw Enzo walk up the stairs, his eyes nearly popped out of his skull.
He looked at the Enzo on the stairs. Then he looked at the center of the room. Then back at the stairs.
Proton's mouth opened, but no sound came out. He was seeing double.
In the middle of the floor, Ronnie was sweating profusely, his arms shaking violently as he pushed himself up from the concrete. A puddle of sweat had formed beneath him.
Standing directly in front of him was "Enzo."
But this Enzo was acting strange. He wasn't speaking. He was just standing there, arms crossed, with a cartoonishly angry expression plastered on his face. Every time Ronnie tried to collapse, the silent figure would just aggressively point at the floor, demanding more reps with a scowl.
"I... I can't..." Ronnie wheezed, looking up at the silent tyrant.
The Fake Enzo didn't answer. He just furrowed his brow harder and jabbed his finger at the concrete. Down.
"Yes, Boss..." Ronnie whimpered, dropping down again.
The real Enzo, standing by the stairwell, leaned against the railing, watching the scene with amusement.
"You're enjoying this way too much, Zorua," Enzo called out.
Ronnie froze mid-pushup.
Proton let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.
Ronnie looked up at the silent, pointing figure in front of him. Then, slowly, terrified, he turned his head toward the stairs and saw the real Enzo holding a bottle of water.
The "Enzo" standing in front of him grinned—a sharp, toothy grin that was far too wide for a human face.
POOF.
With a cloud of black smoke, the illusion shattered. The strict Squad Leader vanished, replaced by a small, black-and-red fox rolling on the floor, yipping with laughter at Ronnie's misery.
Ronnie stared at the fox. He looked down at his trembling, noodle-like arms.
He realized the truth. He hadn't been training under his idol. He had just done 200 pushups because a baby Pokémon wanted to see if he was stupid enough to do it.
His face turned a violent shade of red. Veins popped out on his forehead.
"YOU..." Ronnie roared, scrambling to his feet, ignoring the lactic acid burning in his muscles. "YOU LITTLE RAT!"
Zorua sat on his haunches and stuck his tongue out. Bleh.
That was it. Logic left Ronnie's brain. He didn't see a teammate; he saw a pest that needed to be squashed immediately.
He grabbed the poke Ball from his belt.
"ONIX! CRUSH HIM!"
BOOOOM!
White light exploded in the warehouse.
The massive Rock Snake materialized. The space was high, but Onix was huge. His stone head scraped the rafters, knocking dust and rust down onto the floor. His tail swung out, smashing into a stack of empty crates and turning them into splinters.
"ROAAAAAR!" Onix bellowed, shaking the very foundations of the building.
Zorua's eyes went wide. He stopped laughing. His ears flattened against his skull. Oops.
"Get him!" Ronnie screamed, blindly grabbing two more Poké Balls from his belt. "Everyone! Get him!"
Flash. Flash.
Litten and an Alolan Rattata materialized, hissing and snapping, feeding off their trainer's fury.
But before they could strike, a blue blur shot across the room.
Froakie landed in front of Zorua. The Code of the Order had been violated. Protect the new guy.
Froakie leaped into the air, spinning like a shuriken.
Pft-Pft-Pft!
He fired sticky Frubbles with the precision of a sniper. One glob hit the Alolan Rattata, cementing its paws to the concrete floor mid-charge.
However, the Onix was too big for bubbles. Froakie knew he needed backup.
He croaked a sharp signal.
From under a table, Deino burst out, roaring with the ferocity of a dragon. He charged forward to defend his brother-in-arms!
"RAAAA!"
CRACK.
Because he was blind and excited, Deino missed the enemy entirely and ran headfirst into a concrete pillar. He bounced off the wall, shook his head, and started biting the air aggressively, thinking he was fighting the wall.
Froakie sighed. The cavalry is blind.
He looked at Litten. The Fire Cat was furious, clawing at his face, preparing to burn the frog to a crisp.
Froakie narrowed his eyes. Standard tactics weren't working. It was time for the nuclear option.
He looked up at the ceiling and signaled.
Weezing drifted down from the rafters.
The "Ultimate Weapon" floated between Froakie and the enemies. His main face looked vacant, but the small head was screaming internally.
Weezing began to stretch.
His body expanded, his skin pulling tight like an overfilled balloon. A dull, ominous red glow began to pulse from his core. The distinct, terrifying sound of gas pressure building up filled the silent warehouse.
Hsssssssss...
Litten, who had been ready to murder Froakie a second ago, froze.
He looked at the expanding poison ball. He looked at Froakie, who was calmly plugging his ears.
The cat didn't care about honor anymore.
Nope.
Litten turned tail and scrambled away, his claws scratching on the concrete as he ran for his life, trying to get as far away from the blast zone as possible.
The warehouse was seconds away from being destroyed.
Leni poked his head up from the basement, saw a giant rock snake, and immediately ducked back down.
"ENOUGH!"
The command didn't come from Enzo.
It came from the ceiling.
SCREEEEEEEECH!
A black shadow dropped from the rafters like a falling anvil.
CLANG!
Corviknight landed directly between Onix and the small Pokémon. The impact shook the floor, cracking the concrete.
The steel bird stood up to his full 2.5-meter height. He spread his armored wings wide, creating a wall of metal. His red eyes glowed, staring directly into Onix's face.
Onix paused.
Onix was big. Onix was rock. Technically, Onix had the type advantage against a Flying type.
But Corviknight wasn't just a bird. He was the Ace. The pressure radiating off him was suffocating.
Onix slowly recoiled, lowering his head in submission.
The warehouse went silent.
Enzo walked calmly into the center of the chaos. He didn't look angry. He looked disappointed.
He looked at Zorua, who was hiding behind Froakie.
"He is your ally," Enzo said calmly. "Pranks are fine. Humiliation destroys morale. Learn the difference."
Zorua lowered his ears, whining softly.
Then Enzo turned to Ronnie.
"And you," Enzo said, his voice dropping an octave. "You summoned an 8-meter siege weapon inside our base because your feelings were hurt? If you destroy my equipment, I will have your Onix use Wrap on you."
Ronnie gulped, recalling Onix instantly. "Sorry, Boss. Won't happen again."
An hour later, cooler heads prevailed.
The team sat around in a circle on the floor, eating lunch—canned stew for the humans, premium meat blocks for the Pokémon.
Enzo sat on a crate, looking at his core team.
"We have three weeks until the Rookie Tournament," Enzo announced. "This isn't just about winning. It's about sending a message."
He looked at the desert crocodile.
"Krokorok," Enzo said. "You need to be at the limit. I want you hitting Level 39. But I don't want you to evolve here."
Krokorok tilted his head, confused behind his sunglasses.
"I want you to evolve during the tournament," Enzo said, a wicked glint in his eye. "On live broadcast. The crowd loves a transformation. It creates hype. It creates fear. We are going to put on a show."
Krokorok grinned, showing all his teeth. He liked the sound of that.
Enzo turned to the hellhound.
"Houndoom. You need to be Level 39 as well. You are going to carry the early rounds. Fast, brutal wins. No mercy."
Finally, he looked at Zorua, who was happily chewing on a bone.
"And you, little fox," Enzo said. "Playtime is over. You're going to learn how to fight for real. Illusions don't win championships if you don't have the fangs to back them up."
Enzo stood up.
"Eat up. We start in ten minutes."
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Announcement Post
Hello everyone! ❤️
Thank you so much for being here and for supporting my writing, it truly means a lot to me.
I'm excited to officially launch this Patreon! (https://www.patreon.com/cw/NormanLetus) From now on, this is where you can get early access to chapters ahead of the free release on Web Novel.
📚 What to expect
New chapters will continue on a fixed schedule (Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday) on Web Novel.
On Patreon, you'll be able to read ahead of the free release:
Tier 1 — 3 chapters ahead
Tier 2 — 5 chapters ahead
💬 About discussions
In there, you can also take part in discussion posts where we can talk about theories, ideas you'd like to see, and other fun things related to the story.
🙏 Why Patreon?
This is not a paywall! The story stays free for everyone. Patreon is simply a way for readers who want to support my work to get a little extra and help me keep a consistent writing pace.
Thank you again for reading, sharing, and being here. Let's make this story even more amazing together!