The suited man at the front glanced at the headless corpse at Aaron's feet, his pupils shrinking slightly.
Then he looked at Aaron.
For a moment, Aaron seemed strangely familiar, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
A cold look crossed the man's face.
"Who are you?"
"You've got a lot of nerve, coming into Corestone Group and killing our people."
"Kill him."
The moment he gave the order, the security guards released their Pokémon one after another.
Light flashed across the lab as powerful Pokémon appeared throughout the room.
Every one of them had already reached elite-level.
These security guards were all top Trainers?
A trace of surprise passed through Aaron's icy eyes.
Corestone Group had this much power?
Even the Pokémon used by its security guards were elite-level?
Elite Trainers were considered part of society's upper ranks. Why would people like that work security here?
Then Aaron noticed something.
The Pokémon's auras were unstable and hollow, as if their strength had been built on a weak foundation.
I see.
They were forcibly enhanced too.
Aaron's gaze turned colder.
"Attack!"
"Kill him!"
The suited man shouted.
"ROOOAR!"
"SKREEE!"
The Pokémon let out furious cries as different types of energy surged from their bodies. Then they charged at Aaron from every direction.
BOOM!
A powerful burst of energy erupted from Aaron and gathered in his fist.
Facing the incoming Pokémon, he punched again and again, his fists moving like cannon fire.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Explosions rang out one after another.
Those hollow, forcibly enhanced Pokémon were crushed by Aaron one punch at a time.
"RAAAH!"
"SKREEE!"
They cried out in pain as Aaron sent them flying.
He stood his ground and overwhelmed them with brute force, using nothing but a human body to beat down Pokémon.
"This... how is this possible!?"
Everyone nearby was stunned.
Was he even human?
Who had ever seen a human beat Pokémon like this?
And elite-level Pokémon, no less.
It completely shattered their understanding of what a human could do.
"You... who the hell are you!?"
The suited man stared at Aaron in shock.
BOOM!
Aaron casually threw a Pokémon aside, then looked at the suited man coldly.
"What?"
"You don't recognize me anymore?"
The moment the man heard Aaron's voice, his eyes narrowed.
A memory flashed through his mind.
Disbelief filled his face.
"You're..."
"The teenager who brought back Rookidee!?"
He could hardly believe what he was seeing. He had written Aaron off as an arrogant brat who didn't know his place, only to watch him tear through elite-level Pokémon with his bare hands. The gap was almost impossible to process.
"Quick!"
"Activate Level One Alert!"
"We have a high-level intruder!"
The suited man forced down the shock and fear in his heart and shouted to his subordinates.
WEE-OOO! WEE-OOO!
A deafening alarm instantly blared throughout the entire building.
Everyone inside stopped what they were doing, shock spreading across their faces.
Level One Alert.
Corestone Group's highest emergency warning.
It meant a major incident had occurred inside the facility, one that could turn catastrophic at any moment.
"Attention, all personnel."
"Attention, all personnel."
"Hostile intruder detected."
"All research staff, evacuate the Corestone facility immediately."
"All combat personnel, proceed to the underground laboratory and eliminate the intruder."
"Repeat. Hostile intruder detected."
The warning echoed through the entire building.
"Hurry! Move!"
"Get out!"
The researchers panicked and rushed toward the exits.
"Everyone, keep up!"
"Target: underground laboratory!"
Security personnel poured in from every direction, rushing toward the lab.
In an instant, the entire Corestone facility fell into chaos.
...
One level deeper beneath the underground laboratory was a hidden room.
Aotum stood there, speaking with a man through a video call.
"Aotum... what is going on over there?"
"Why am I hearing an alarm?"
On the screen, a middle-aged man in formal Ransei robes stared at Aotum, his gaze sharp.
Aotum glanced at one of the surveillance feeds.
It showed Aaron defeating a Pokémon with a single punch.
A strange look appeared in Aotum's eyes.
Then he respectfully said to the man on the screen,
"Father, someone has invaded the experimental zone."
"Our research has probably been exposed."
"And I just received word that the Pokémon Police are already on their way."
"What!?"
"Damn it..."
The middle-aged man's expression changed.
"Aotum, no matter what happens, you must survive and bring the research data back."
Aotum nodded.
"Rest assured, Father."
"I knew this day would come."
A cold look appeared in Aotum's eyes.
...