Gardevoir lifted her gaze, stunned as she stared at Lucius. She hadn't expected him to willingly give up a King-tier combat asset.
And yet, through the pheromonal link that bound them, she could feel the truth in his words—he genuinely meant it. That made it even more shocking.
She had been with Lucius for a long time now and was deeply familiar with his cold, calculating methods.
To repel Anabel, he had detonated two King-tier Pokémon without hesitation. To mislead Giovanni, he sacrificed an entire base. To break through Giratina's defense, he blew up another top-tier Pokémon. And to ensure his own escape, he left behind over ten King-tier Pokémon as decoys.
To the rest of the world, King-tier Pokémon were awe-inspiring beings, standing at the pinnacle of power. But to Lucius, a creature infected by the virus, they were nothing more than tools.
And now… he was setting her free?
After a long pause, Gardevoir finally responded with a soft, "Thank you."
No matter what the future held—whether she lived, or whether the virus would keep its promise—this hope, in this moment, was enough.
Lucius understood her emotions well. After all, he had once been human. He still retained those feelings. And for the Pokémon who had helped him the most, he was willing to offer freedom—when the time was right.
"Well then, we've got a battle ahead of us," Lucius said as Gardevoir nodded. He immediately dialed Brandon.
"Mr. Brandon, I need a favor," Lucius said as soon as the call connected. "Three years ago, a meteorite crashed into the polar sea. I want you to retrieve it."
"Do you have a more specific location?" Brandon asked.
"I do. I'll send it over shortly."
After hanging up, Lucius transmitted the location via the wavelength signature he sensed.
Teleportation could only do so much. Getting from Hoenn to the polar region was still a daunting task—nearly halfway across the world. That's why he asked Brandon for help.
Brandon was a renowned archaeologist with the means and resources to arrange an expedition to recover the meteorite.
...
As the sun rose, its golden rays shimmered across the sea.
North of Sootopolis City, several submarines surfaced. Among them, one stood out—not because of its size, but due to its sleek, high-tech build.
"Hahaha, so this is Stern's Submarine Explorer 1? Looks damn impressive," laughed a large, dark-skinned man with a razor-sharp beard.
"Commander Archie, we've already marked a few locations. We'll begin scouting each one systematically," Shelly reported.
"Good. Search thoroughly—leave no trace unchecked," Archie said with satisfaction. He had been in unusually high spirits the past few days. A good omen, perhaps.
Archie boarded the submarine, and the Submarine Explorer 1 dove back beneath the waves.
The fleet of submarines began to disperse in different directions, each heading toward locations pre-mapped by Shelly and Matt. But only Submarine Explorer 1 was heading toward the precise coordinates Lucius had provided.
The rest were decoys, to make it seem as if they were conducting standard reconnaissance. In truth, once Submarine Explorer 1 located Kyogre's resting place, the others would quickly form a perimeter, ready to assist from all angles.
Two birds, one stone.
As Submarine Explorer 1 cruised through the depths, Shelly and Matt received new orders from Lucius.
Infect Archie.
The Emperor Strain had returned?
They were shocked.
Just a day ago, the strain had vanished. They had felt a mix of dread and relief.
Dread that their source had disappeared—what would happen to them, the infected?
Relief that their overwhelming controller was gone, and for the first time, they tasted freedom.
But now that Lucius had reappeared, no matter their feelings, an order was still an order.
Lucius gave the command, ended the Shared Vision, and teleported toward their direction.
Since his return, he had been suppressing the signals from the Emperor Strain. He knew Lugia and Ho-Oh were surely aware of his presence. His priority was to stay hidden, to avoid attracting the attention of Mythical Pokémon like Giratina.
That's why he used a phone to contact Brandon—no pheromones, no signature trails.
But reaching out to Shelly and Matt directly? That risked exposing himself.
Still, the chance to locate the slumbering Kyogre was worth the danger.
Teleport after teleport, Lucius soon arrived above the ocean surface, just outside Sootopolis. Beneath him lay the submarine Submarine Explorer 1.
Inside, Archie slowly rose to his feet. His vision was clearing. In front of him stood Shelly and Matt, faces tense.
"You… you betrayed me long ago," Archie growled, clenching his fists. His mind was still reeling from the data about Hive.
The information overwhelmed him. As the leader of a powerful organization himself, he immediately grasped the terrifying potential of Hive's model: its ability to infiltrate and spread silently—unstoppable, like the air itself.
Even these two—people whose loyalty he had trusted—had turned, even if it hadn't been their choice.
Suddenly, the air shimmered in front of him. A man appeared.
"Volkner…"
Archie recognized the face immediately.
But something was different—Volkner looked like he had lost an eye.
His once-bright blue eyes were mismatched now—one a dull grey, the other an unnatural green.
After being blinded by a self-destructing Solrock, Lucius had initially planned to abandon this body.
But in the end, he'd grown attached. He replaced the ruined left eye with a shard of the green meteorite.
His right eye remained lifeless, but once he secured the second meteorite, that would change.
"Commander Archie," Lucius said, "I trust you've had time to absorb the information on Hive."
Archie nodded slowly, still in disbelief. This pheromonal communication—such a precise, alien method. It allowed for flawless, instantaneous understanding—no room for misinterpretation.
"Now that you understand, I have a proposal. One you may want to consider," Lucius gave a faint smile as he took a seat across from Archie. "Merge Team Aqua into Hive. Let it become Hive's Hoenn division. In return, Hive will help you eliminate Team Magma. When it's done, you'll be the division leader of Hive in the Hoenn region."
"Of course, even after joining Hive," Lucius continued, "you'll remain Director of the First Production Bureau at Hoenn TV, leading your own team as usual." With that, he fell silent, patiently waiting for Archie's response.
The title of Director of the First Production Bureau at Hoenn TV was Archie's public identity—a façade for his true role as the leader of Team Aqua. It was through this position that he gained access to confidential intelligence, including, of course, the recent news that Hive had replaced Team Rocket in Kanto.
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