Deep beneath Corestone Group's experimental zone, inside a hidden chamber, Aotum plugged a data drive into the main terminal and began transferring every file related to the experiments.
On the screen, a progress bar crawled forward.
Data transfer in progress: 75%...
Aotum turned toward the surveillance monitor.
On the screen, Aaron's Pokémon were tearing through Corestone's forces without mercy. The guards' Pokémon, the same ones Corestone had spent years strengthening, were being wiped out one after another.
Aotum's face darkened as he stared at Aaron through the feed.
"You forced my hand..."
"If Tidefall gets buried with you, so be it."
"You should feel honored."
He reached toward the terminal and flipped open a red safety cover. Beneath it was a single switch.
Madness crept into Aotum's eyes.
Then he pressed it without hesitation.
RUMBLE—
A violent tremor shook the ground beneath the Corestone facility.
Far below the experimental zone, rows of pitch-black containment cells powered on one after another.
In the darkness, countless pairs of blood-red eyes snapped open.
CLANG! CLANG! CLANG!
The heavy cell doors unlocked and slowly ground open.
"RRAAAH!"
Animalistic roars echoed through the containment level as one powerful Pokémon after another stepped out of the darkness.
More followed.
Then more.
Within moments, the open space was packed with Pokémon.
This was the lowest level of the entire facility.
"ROOOAR!"
Every Pokémon that emerged had blood-red eyes and the mindless aggression of a beast. Even the weakest carried a Gym-level aura, and several had already reached Champion-class.
A force like this could destroy an entire town.
This was Aotum's final card.
Over the past five years, every powerful Pokémon created through the Corestone Stim Serum had been locked away here. Day after day, Aotum had fed them controlled doses of the serum, using it to push their strength higher.
He had prepared them for the day he might need a last resort.
He just had not expected that day to come so soon.
"Hahahaha!"
Aotum's arrogant laughter echoed through the hidden chamber.
Watching the army of enhanced Pokémon fill the surveillance feed, a crazed smile spread across his face.
Then he looked toward Aaron in the experimental zone and laughed wildly.
"Die, all of you."
"These Pokémon are nothing but monsters now. They'll kill anything that moves."
"Unless a Champion arrives, no one can stop them."
"Everyone in Tidefall will be slaughtered."
"Hahahaha!"
"Let the hunt begin."
Aotum shouted inside the hidden chamber like a madman.
...
Meanwhile, in the experimental zone, the floor had already been dyed red with blood.
Corpses lay everywhere, human and Pokémon alike, turning the entire place into a slaughterhouse. The stench of blood was almost suffocating.
The guards' Pokémon had all been dealt with by Greninja and the others.
Holding Corviknight's body in his arms, Aaron walked forward step by step, his expression cold.
Behind him followed seven Pokémon, each radiating powerful pressure.
RUMBLE—
At that moment, the ground suddenly shook.
Then came a wave of roars from below.
"ROOOAR!"
Aaron frowned.
That sound was coming from beneath them.
A moment later, he felt a powerful heat surge up from under the floor. His expression changed, and he immediately shouted,
"Move!"
"Everyone, onto Charizard and Gyarados!"
Golden aura surged around Aaron as he jumped onto Charizard's back first.
Snorlax, Sceptile, and Infernape leaped onto Gyarados's broad back, while Beedrill shot into the air on its own.
The floor of the experimental zone erupted in flames.
Then it blew apart.
BOOOOM!
Thick smoke rolled through the lab as alarms screamed nonstop.
One powerful Pokémon after another crawled up from the shattered floor, each with blood-red eyes and a berserk aura.
"RRAAAH!"
Aggron.
Onix.
Tauros.
Arbok.
Nidoking.
Nidoqueen.
And many more.
Even the weakest among them carried Gym-level pressure, while some had already reached Champion-class.
It was a terrifying force.
If these Pokémon were released into any town, they would destroy it.
Like mindless monsters, they opened their mouths and unleashed attacks in every direction, blasting the surrounding laboratory apart.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
From Charizard's back, Aaron looked down at the army pouring out of the lower levels.
"So Corestone still had something like this hidden away..."
"Damn it."
There was no need to guess.
This sudden Pokémon army had to be Aotum's doing.
I need to find him.
Aotum.
Aaron's eyes turned ice-cold.
"Fall back for now!"
"Get outside. This building is about to collapse!"
At Aaron's command, Charizard and Gyarados nodded.
They opened their jaws and blasted scorching flames into the wall, tearing open a massive hole.
Then they shot out through the opening and flew into the sky above the Corestone facility.