The air burned.
The deeper they pushed, the more the very stone screamed around them—low, constant, vibrating with an unnatural hum. Skylar led the charge, his team flanking him on both sides.
Charmeleon darted forward, claws glowing with flame.
Gardevoir floated just behind, her eyes shining with psychic light.
And now, summoned to the front once more—Scyther.
He dropped onto the battlefield in a green blur, wings buzzing, blades drawn.
Skylar's eyes lit up.
—"We need speed. Precision. Let's dance."
Scyther answered with a shriek and leapt into the fray.
The enemy: more corrupted hybrids—twisted forms of Pokémon fused with the strange organic materials spreading through the hive. A Rhydon with a tail like an Arbok. A Graveler fused into a four-legged crawling beast. And another Scyther—one that twitched wrong, with extra limbs and glowing veins across its shell.
Skylar winced. "They're copying us now."
Kalei's voice was sharp. "The hive learns from battle. The more we show, the more it adapts."
—"Then let's hit it faster than it can learn."
—"Scyther, Agility, into X-Scissor! Target the corrupted one!"
Skylar's Scyther zipped forward in a blink and clashed mid-air with its twisted mirror. Their blades met with a screech of metal and aura—a violent flurry of speed and force.
The corrupted Scyther struck back with jagged extensions and erratic movements, but Skylar's stayed calm—precise—better.
—"Push through! Aim for the neck!"
With a final spin, Scyther's blades crossed and slashed downward. The corrupted Scyther shrieked and burst into a cloud of violet ash.
Misty grinned. "Yours is still better."
—"Always has been."
Suddenly, the ground trembled.
From behind, a massive tremor shook the chamber—stone cracking, dust falling.
Misty's voice rose. "Something's coming from the rear tunnel!"
And then—
A hydro cannon tore through the corridor like a tidal wave.
Washing away four corrupted Pokémon in a single blast.
Skylar turned, wide-eyed.
—"That's—!"
Gary Oak strode through the settling steam, Blastoise lumbering beside him, both guns smoking.
Gary gave a cocky salute.
—"You start the party without me?"
Skylar laughed. "You're late."
—"I show up when it counts."
Behind Gary, a second Ranger unit advanced, bringing reinforcements and medics.
But the moment of relief didn't last.
A pulse shook the chamber.
One of the corrupted Graveler that had been knocked aside began twitching, violently—its black veins glowing brighter.
And beside it—Starmie froze mid-spin, gem flashing erratically.
Misty's eyes widened.
—"Starmie?"
Starmie dropped from the air, landing hard—its body trembling.
—"It's… it's trying to pull her in," Misty gasped.
The hive's energy was latching onto nearby Pokémon—infecting them during battle.
Gary's eyes narrowed. "This is new. It's reaching out."
Skylar didn't hesitate.
He bolted to Starmie's side, pulling a crystal vial from his satchel—purified shard essence Gary's team had distilled from Skylar's original aura outburst.
He uncorked it, poured it onto Starmie's gem—and watched as the light shimmered, repelling the corruption like oil from water.
Starmie stabilized. Floated again. Ready.
Misty knelt beside Skylar, breath shaking. "That was too close."
Skylar looked down at the shard.
—"They're not just mutating the ones they catch. They're evolving a way to steal ours in real time."
Gary stood tall. "Then it's time we stop playing defense."
He looked at Skylar and Misty.
—"We clear the remaining path. You three—Skylar, Misty, Kalei—you go for the core."
Skylar nodded.
Kalei stepped forward, aura rising around her.
—"It's time to end this."
And with Scyther sharpening his blades, Charmeleon growling low, and Blastoise roaring in sync with his cannons, the group pressed onward—toward the heart of the corruption.