Heart's Desire

As he continued deeper inside, the surroundings seemed to have been tidied up somewhat, and traces of daily life gradually increased. Zoroark and Haunter stood to either side, vigilantly watching their surroundings.

With Two Pokemon at his side, Sato did not focus all his attention ahead. Instead, he occasionally picked up documents nearby that had not been completely discarded and examined them carefully.

"They evacuated in a real hurry."

Holding a document on Scyther evolution research, Sato sighed softly. The material was nearly complete. Other than failing to determine the electromagnetic wave frequency needed to trigger the final evolution, every other aspect had been thoroughly researched.

It included changes in attributes after evolution, changes in Physical Quality, potential growth thresholds, and more. Everything was extremely detailed.

Yet such precious information had simply been tossed onto a desk and not taken along during the evacuation.

"If it were the Pokemon League, they would Definitely Will Catch Them All, take over the data, and pack up every last document."

Unable to arrive at anything through Deep Thought, Sato Could Only continue searching through the documents, hoping to find some clues.

"Jiejie!"

Haunter pointed toward a corner ahead, Indicating that it had encountered Pokemon there earlier. Then it obediently Floated Onto the space behind Zoroark, Very Much Like a Little Brother reporting to his boss and asking him to stand up for him.

"Be careful, Zoroark."

"Ku!"

Zoroark gave him a reassuring look, then waved for Haunter to lead the way while it followed behind to cover it.

Sato walked at the rear, moving forward at an unhurried pace. Zoroark's evolution had given him an immense sense of security. If even Zoroark could not handle it, then Dark Power would be of no use either.

"Ku~"

"Jiejie~"

Haunter and Zoroark had already gone inside, but rather than immediately Taking Action and clashing, they seemed to be arguing over something.

After thinking for a moment, Sato directly rounded the corner. Haunter and Zoroark both turned around and returned to his side. Ahead of them, several young Abra and Drowzee were crawling all over a huge mattress without even opening their eyes, anxiously searching for something.

"Ku..."

A complicated look flashed through Zoroark's eyes. It secretly Glanced At the silent Sato, Don't Know What Is on its mind.

Haunter carelessly used Shadow Claw to grab a young Drowzee by the tail and held it upside down. The little Drowzee struggled in panic, its four Short Legs flailing wildly in the air. It looked utterly pitiful.

"Haunter, stop playing. Put it down properly."

"Jie~" Haunter looked reluctant to let go, making Sato's eyelid twitch.

"This Should Be it. Although Alakazam and Hypno both have the habit of living in groups, Psychic-type Pokemon are rare to begin with. Even when they live in groups, they only form small communities."

"Furthermore, Alakazam surpass Hypno in every respect. Theoretically, they normally would not even look twice at Hypno."

However, if it truly could not find a suitable mate, an Alakazam might very well choose a relatively decent Hypno. Thinking of This, Sato suddenly hesitated.

Alakazam that could use Teleport and Hypno proficient in Hypnosis were both extremely valuable. With the help of the wealthy West, this was Sato's Fastest way to make money.

These young Alakazam and Drowzee were worth even more, because they were easy to capture, easy to bond with, and easy to control.

But as he watched the young Drowzee that Haunter had just toyed with, seemingly catching the scent of Alakazam and Hypno on him, it staggered and crawled toward him with all its strength.

Sato's heart clenched. He took out Alakazam and Hypno's Poké Balls, switched them to Release Mode, and threw them out. Blue light flashed, and the disheartened Alakazam and Hypno sat blankly on the ground—then they heard their children's voices!

"Hu!"

Alakazam Stood Up abruptly and scooped up the young Drowzee that was about to fall from the mattress. Hypno reacted as well, forcing itself up despite its unrecovered injuries and Stood On the ground in front of Sato, as though shielding its family from him.

"Tap, tap, tap..."

Sato casually tossed four or five Sitrus Berries onto the ground. After looking at the completely sealed, solid wall behind the mattress, he turned and left.

Zoroark immediately followed. Its eyes shone brilliantly, as though starlight flowed within them, and its gaze at Sato was gentle yet resolute.

"Jiejie~"

Haunter looked at the released Alakazam and the others, then at Sato striding away. It Scratched the back of Its Own head, unable to understand, but it still obediently followed after him.

The Research Institute was not small. The area occupied by Alakazam's family was merely one research room among many.

As they moved farther in, things that were absolutely forbidden began to appear.

Metapod stripped of their shells. Blood Red lumps of flesh soaking silently in culture dishes, long since devoid of life.

An entire mushroom had been removed from a Parasect's back and placed in separate organic soil. All around it, various tiny mushrooms had already grown in abundance. At a glance, they looked exactly like the little mushrooms on Paras's back! A Beedrill had had its twin stingers replaced with steel. Countless tubes had been inserted into its body, some of which had already fallen out. It was clear that it had struggled madly before dying.

One horrifying modification experiment after another unsettled even Sato, who was used to seeing death. Zoroark walked on in silence, the coldness around it completely different from the gentleness it had shown Sato just moments ago.

People said ghosts were heartless but still had feelings. Sato felt that was quite true. Haunter showed no reaction to these cruel experiments and even curiously moved closer to inspect them.

Yet it respected and trusted Sato, feared Zoroark, and liked teasing the serious and proper Larvitar. That meant it had emotions.

That was good enough.

Because most of the specimens were completely isolated in culture dishes, the scene was horrifying, but there were no filthy areas or strange odors. This made Sato even more puzzled. What exactly had Team Rocket encountered that they had not even had time to destroy the scene before fleeing in such haste? The more he saw, the more questions arose in his heart. The Dark Forces that could dominate both Kanto and Johto would never leave such obvious evidence behind without dealing with it.

In a daze, an image suddenly flashed through Sato's mind, only to vanish in an instant.

"What Is it?"

"Pokemon evolution, National Park, Team Rocket, Underground Research Institute, Pokemon League..." Sato Muttered to Himself, linking all the events together. Vaguely, something seemed to need only the Last Step! Sato felt that the truth was drawing closer and closer, yet he always felt that something was missing. His gaze swept aimlessly across the laboratory, and suddenly, a fragment in his mind overlapped with the computer before him.

Sato remembered. His heart skipped a beat, and his steps stalled for an instant before quickly recovering. His expression remained calm, even showing a hint of anger, as he stopped and started, slowly approaching the computer on the desk.

"There's a computer brand logo!"

It was the school anniversary today, so I went out and had fun all day. Only one update today, Forgive Me! Also, thank you to reader Shenqi Mengmengda for the 100 Book Coin reward, and Thank You everyone for your Recommendation Tickets!! Thanks!!

Note: I've applied to have the missing chapters restored, but it doesn't seem to be working. I put those chapters in the reader group instead. Interested readers can join the group and look for them; the group information is in the description.