Meanwhile, inside a spacious underground laboratory beneath Corestone Group.
Bright lights filled the room, illuminating rows of experimental equipment.
Transparent glass chambers lined the walls, each holding a Pokémon.
Charmander, Caterpie, Weedle, Nidoran♀, Nidoran♂, and more...
They all had one thing in common.
Every one of them was still in its base form.
None had evolved.
At that moment, several men in white lab coats were operating the equipment and running an experiment.
"Test Subject No. 1, Nidoran♀. Preparing to begin."
"Corestone Stim Serum ready."
"Beginning serum dispersal."
HISSSSS—
The moment the researchers finished speaking, thick red mist sprayed into the glass chamber labeled No. 1.
"Nido...!"
Inside the chamber, Nidoran♀ breathed in the red mist and immediately cried out in pain.
It panicked and began slamming itself against the glass door.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
But no matter how hard Nidoran♀ struck it, the reinforced glass did not crack.
As the red mist grew thicker, Nidoran♀'s eyes turned crimson.
"RRAAAH!"
A beast-like roar burst from its throat.
Then something impossible happened.
Blinding light erupted from Nidoran♀'s body.
The light of Evolution.
"RRAAAH!"
With a roar, Nidoran♀ evolved directly into Nidorina.
It was shocking.
It completely defied the natural process of Evolution.
...
Inside an office beside the laboratory, a young man in white stood by the glass window.
He was the man Aaron had encountered earlier that day.
His public name was Kael.
His original Ransei name was Aotum.
He was from Ransei and served as the head of Corestone Group's local branch.
Aotum watched Nidoran♀ evolve into Nidorina below without the slightest change in expression.
Then he calmly said,
"Increase the dosage."
One of the suited men behind him nodded and immediately ordered the researchers below to proceed.
Down in the lab, the red mist continued pouring into the glass chamber.
Nidorina became more and more frenzied.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
It slammed into the glass door with increasing force, each impact producing a heavy thud.
Yet the glass remained completely intact.
"RRAAAH!"
Nidorina let out a pained roar.
Immediately afterward, something even more shocking happened.
Evolution light shone from its body again.
"RRAAAH!"
Under everyone's intense gaze, Nidorina's body rapidly grew larger.
It evolved into a massive Nidoqueen.
The newly evolved Nidoqueen let out a terrifying roar, radiating a violent, menacing pressure.
By the window, Aotum's eyes sharpened.
This was the result of their secret research.
They had discovered that the Corestone Ore produced in this area could force Pokémon to rapidly increase their power and evolve within a very short time.
The discovery immediately caught the attention of Corestone headquarters, which sent Aotum to Hualis.
He established this branch for one purpose:
to collect Corestone Ore and secretly research its effects on Pokémon.
After several years, the experiment had finally reached its most critical stage.
Previously, Pokémon exposed to the Corestone Stim Serum could not withstand its violent energy.
Batch after batch had died.
The success rate had been only one percent.
In other words, out of every hundred Pokémon, only one survived.
The cost had been far too high.
But now, things were different.
The success rate had reached an astonishing ten percent.
Aotum was very satisfied with that number.
If they continued refining the process, perhaps they could push it even higher.
But he also knew they could not stay in Hualis much longer.
The local Pokémon Police were already watching them.
"Those damn Hualis police..."
Thinking of that, Aotum gave a cold snort.
He took out a Poké Ball, tossed it to the suited man, and said coldly,
"Use this one as test material too."
The suited man looked at the Poké Ball, paused, and could not help asking,
"Mr. Kael... isn't this your favorite Pokémon?"
Aotum remained expressionless.
"What I hate most are pets that don't know how to behave..."
"And anything someone else has had their hands on."
Cold sweat trickled down the suited man's forehead.
He respectfully nodded, then left with the Poké Ball.
...
Meanwhile, elsewhere.
Aaron and Greninja stood atop a large tree, staring at the towering building in the distance.
Anxiety flickered in Aaron's eyes.
He was deeply worried about Rookidee's safety.
When Jian said Corestone Group was secretly conducting Pokémon experiments, Aaron immediately had a bad feeling.
He looked at the patrolling security guards and the surveillance cameras surrounding the building.
His brow furrowed.
If this were just an ordinary tech company, would security really be this tight?
There was definitely something wrong with this place.
Aaron began thinking about how to get inside.