The exit from Saffron wasn't going to be through the front gates. The League had already locked down the Magnet Train and the main thoroughfares. Zeth steered the Lunar Charizard toward the industrial sector, landing in a ventilation courtyard for the Silph Co. Tunnels—a subterranean network of maintenance pipes and high-speed transit tubes that ran beneath the city.
"Return," Zeth commanded, the red light pulling the ivory dragon back.
He moved into the concrete throat of the tunnel, the Ceruledge and Armarouge flanking him. The air down here was thick with the smell of coolant and static electricity.
"Someone's waiting," Zeth whispered. He felt a sharp, disciplined pressure ahead—not the chaotic buzz of a grunt, but the steady, heavy aura of a professional.
Standing near a massive cooling fan was a young man in a pristine, white-and-red training jacket. He had a set of high-end weighted gloves on his hands and a look of cold, academic focus. This wasn't an Enforcer; this was a Gym Candidate—one of the elite students being groomed to take over the Saffron gym.
"My name is Kiran," the trainer said, his voice echoing. "I watched your 'escape' from the spire on the internal sensors. Most of the staff are panicked, but I just saw an opportunity. You're the Anomaly. If I defeat you here, my candidacy for the Gym Leader position is guaranteed."
"You're blocking the path for a promotion?" Zeth asked, his eyes glowing emerald as he scanned Kiran's lead Pokémon.
Pokémon: Alakazam (Kiran's Ace) Level: 58 Potential: Purple Ability: Inner Focus Hidden Ability: Magic Guard Learned Moves: Psychic, Shadow Ball, Dazzling Gleam, Recover, Reflect, Future Sight, Calm Mind. TM Moves: Energy Ball, Focus Blast.
"I'm blocking the path to prove a point," Kiran replied. "A 3v3. If you win, the tunnel access codes are yours. If I win, your Pokémon stay for study."
The Croagunk (Lvl 41, Blue Potential) hopped onto the concrete. It looked tiny compared to the floating Alakazam, but its marbled skin was vibrating with Reactive Venom.
"A Poison-type against a Saffron Ace?" Kiran smirked. "Arrogant. Alakazam, Psychic!"
The Alakazam's spoons crossed. A wave of crushing purple energy slammed into the floor, intended to pin the Croagunk instantly.
"Sponge-Style: Vacuum Wave!"
Croagunk didn't run. It slammed its palms together, creating a localized pocket of low pressure that sucked the incoming psychic energy into its own center. It wasn't "blocking" the move; it was absorbing the kinetic force. Using its Purifying Touch, it converted the psychic pressure into a physical burst.
"Now! Sucker Punch!"
Before the Alakazam could recalibrate, Croagunk vanished, reappearing mid-air and driving a dark-energy fist into the Alakazam's jaw. The Alakazam flew back, its Magic Guard flaring to prevent the secondary impact damage, but the shock was visible.
"Impure tactics," Kiran hissed. "Alakazam, Future Sight! Set the clock!"
The Alakazam's eyes turned white. A rift in time opened briefly above the tunnel. In three minutes, a massive strike would land, regardless of where they stood.
"Ceruledge, swap in!" Zeth commanded.
Croagunk retreated, and the Ghost-Knight flickered into the center.
Pokémon: Ceruledge (Zeth's Knight) Level: 31 Potential: Solid Gold Ability: Weak Armor / Cursed Body Moves: Solar Blade, Bitter Blade, Shadow Sneak, Night Slash...
"A Ghost?" Kiran hesitated. "Where did you get that species? It's not in the Saffron database. Alakazam, Shadow Ball!"
The Alakazam fired a sphere of darkness. Ceruledge didn't move until the last second. It used Shadow Sneak, diving into its own shadow and reappearing behind the Alakazam.
"Bitter Blade!"
The violet-fire blades slashed across the Alakazam's back. The Cursed Body ability instantly hummed, the spectral energy sealing the Alakazam's Shadow Ball—it couldn't use the move again for the duration of the fight.
"Recover! Now!" Kiran shouted.
The Alakazam glowed with light, its wounds knitting back together, but it was breathing hard. The Solid Gold potential of the Ceruledge was making up for the Level gap. The sheer density of its ghost-fire was bypassing the Alakazam's standard psychic barriers.
"The Future Sight is about to land," Zeth noted, feeling the temporal shift in the air. "Armarouge, support!"
Zeth called out his third.
Pokémon: Armarouge (Zeth's Knight) Level: 31 Potential: Solid Gold Ability: Flash Fire / Weak Armor Moves: Armor Cannon, Expanding Force, Wide Guard...
"Wide Guard! Cover the team!"
The Future Sight struck—a pillar of pure, distorted energy fell from the ceiling. Armarouge stood beneath it, its brass-colored pauldrons locked together, creating a massive psychic umbrella. The blast hit the shield and dispersed into the tunnel walls, shaking the entire Silph Co. foundation but leaving Zeth's team untouched.
"Impossible," Kiran whispered. "That move should have leveled the sector."
"Your math is for trainers who follow the manual, Kiran," Zeth said, stepping forward. "My knights don't fit in your manual. Ceruledge, Phantom Force. Armarouge, Armor Cannon. Finish it."
The tunnel erupted in a dual-blast of violet and gold. The Alakazam was caught in the crossfire, the spectral blades and psychic slugs overwhelming its Reflect barrier. It collapsed, unconscious, before it even hit the floor.
Silence returned to the tunnel, save for the hum of the cooling fans. Kiran stood over his Alakazam, his face pale. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a digital keycard, sliding it across the floor.
"The codes for the Southern Outfall," Kiran said, his voice trembling. "You... you aren't just an Anomaly. You're a rewrite of the entire system. Go. If the League finds out I let you pass, I'm finished anyway."
Zeth picked up the card. "Then don't tell them. Tell them you fought a ghost and lost."
He recalled his knights and vanished into the dark of the southern pipes. Saffron was behind him. The "Cain" identity was now stained with the blood of the Heritage Foundation's research, and the path to the Orange Archipelago was open.
The southern outfall of Saffron spat Zeth out into a desolate stretch of marshland. The air was thick with the smell of salt and rotting kelp. Miles offshore, the lights of the Orange Archipelago flickered, but the water between here and there was heavily patrolled by League sea-cutters and sonar-buoys.
"We can't fly," Zeth said, looking at the Lunar Charizard. "Their long-range radar will pick up your heat signature the second we clear the treeline. We need a way under the surface."
According to the files Zeth had extracted, a Team Rocket Logistics Hub was hidden beneath a derelict cannery three miles down the coast. It was a fueling station for "Mantis-Class" stealth submersibles—automated vessels used for moving high-value contraband.
"Ceruledge, scout the perimeter. Armarouge, stay on my right."
The cannery was a skeleton of rusted iron. As Zeth approached, a sharp, cold hum filled the air. A signal jammer.
Standing by the rusted loading dock was a man in a black tactical vest, leaning against a crate. He wasn't a grunt; he was a Site-Warden, his posture relaxed but his hand never straying more than an inch from his belt. Beside him, a massive Muk oozed across the concrete, its purple body steaming in the damp air.
Pokémon: Muk (Warden's Enforcer) Level: 54 Potential: Orange Ability: Sticky Hold Hidden Ability: Poison Touch Learned Moves: Gunk Shot, Sludge Wave, Acid Armor, Mud-Slap, Minimize. TM Moves: Ice Punch, Fire Punch.
"This is a dead-end, kid," the warden said, flicking a cigarette into the marsh. "Private property. The Muk hasn't eaten since the Saffron lockdown. Turn around."
"I'm not here for property," Zeth said, his voice cold and steady. "I'm here for the Mantis-Class sub in Dock 4. Move, or I'll move you."
The warden laughed, a dry, jagged sound. "You've got balls, coming here without a squad. You think those two toys are going to stop a Senior-rank Muk?"
"I'm not with the League, and I'm not with the Rockets," Zeth said, his Aura beginning to hum, the emerald spark catching in his eyes. "I'm the person taking that boat."
The warden's smile vanished. He realized this wasn't a lost trainer. This was a predator.
"Muk, Gunk Shot! Melt him!"
The Muk reared back, its body swelling before it spat a massive glob of toxic filth at Zeth.
"Armarouge, Wide Guard!"
The Golden Knight stepped in front of Zeth, its brass-colored pauldrons locking into a shimmering golden barrier. The toxic sludge hit the shield and hissed, sliding off the psychic energy without touching Zeth's boots.
"Ceruledge, Night Slash!"
Ceruledge flickered into a streak of indigo smoke, reappearing instantly behind the Muk. Its violet-flame blades cut two deep, spectral gashes through the sludge-body. The Muk shrieked, its Poison Touch failing to trigger against the Ghost-Knight's armor.
The warden scrambled back toward the control booth. "You're insane! The dock is locked by a Porygon2 defense program! It's hard-coded to kill anything without a biometric match! You'll never get it open!"
"Then watch me," Zeth said.
He followed the warden into the reinforced server room. On the main monitor, a blocky, pink-and-blue shape materialized, floating in the center of the air.
Pokémon: Porygon2 (Terminal Guardian) Level: 56 Potential: Blue Ability: Download Hidden Ability: Analytic Learned Moves: Tri-Attack, Recover, Discharge, Ice Beam, Psybeam, Lock-On. TM Moves: Thunderbolt.
The Porygon2 scanned the room, its eyes flashing as it calculated the defensive stats of Zeth's knights to optimize its attack power.
"Armarouge, Aura Sphere! Ceruledge, Shadow Sneak!"
The Porygon2 fired a Discharge, the electricity arcing through the metal floor. Armarouge took the hit, its golden armor absorbing the static as it fired a concentrated blue sphere of aura. The hit was direct, the fighting-type energy rattling the Porygon2's digital core.
The Porygon2 aimed an Ice Beam at Ceruledge, but the knight dived into its own shadow, reappearing underneath the floating machine.
"Bitter Blade!"
Ceruledge's blades sang as they cut through the Porygon2's pixels. The spectral fire drained the machine's energy, bypassing its Recover subroutine. The Porygon2 flickered once, turned red, and dissolved back into the terminal.
A loud, heavy clack echoed through the cannery. The blast doors to Dock 4 swung open, revealing a sleek, needle-shaped submarine painted in matte-black.
Zeth looked at the warden, who was pinned against the wall by the Armarouge's psychic pressure.
"Tell your people whatever you want," Zeth said, stepping toward the sub. "Tell them a ghost stole your boat. Tell them you were outmanned. I don't care. But if you follow me, I won't use the 'Wide Guard' next time."
Zeth boarded the Mantis, the two knights following him into the cabin. He engaged the silent-drive, and the sub slid into the dark waters of the coast, vanishing beneath the waves.
"Valencia Island is six hours out," Zeth said, checking the charts. "We're done playing in the mud. It's time for the first Gate."
[Objective: Stealth Vessel Acquired.] [Exp Gained: Ceruledge 34 -> 35. Armarouge 34 -> 35.]