A towering metal door stood in the way of the group, its surface gleaming with a cold, chilling light. With a sharp command from Blaine, Rapidash and Arcanine opened their jaws wide and unleashed a torrent of flames at the obstacle. To Logan, this door resembled the kind used in banks to guard money and treasures—a security vault, thick and unyielding. Yet even such a fortified door began glowing red under the combined blaze of the Fire-type Gym Leader's Pokémon, as though it could melt into molten iron at any moment.
This made Logan realize that the flames these Pokémon released were far from ordinary heat. There was a mysterious power infused within them.
"No good! We're out of time! Magmar could tear through this door, but the corridor's too narrow—if there's another door behind it, we're finished!"
Seeing that the metal door was more durable than expected, Blaine made a snap decision. He ordered Rapidash and Arcanine to turn back and dash toward a nearby corridor. Just as the three humans and two Pokémon moved away, a deafening roar erupted behind them, like a dam bursting and a sea crashing through. A raging tidal wave surged down the hallway, instantly tearing the already damaged iron door to shreds with its violent force.
As Blaine had predicted, there was another door behind the first. Had they hesitated even a moment longer, the narrow corridor would have left them with no room to evade, and Rapidash and Arcanine would have been rendered unable to battle by the sheer force of the water.
Logan looked back. Through the now-settling waters, dozens of Pokémon stood at the far end—an overwhelming number meant to compensate for lack of individual strength. Though no single one was a match for a Gym Leader like Blaine, the synchronized barrage of Hydro Pumps from so many Water-types was more than enough. In a wide-open space, Blaine might have outmaneuvered them with ease, but here in this cramped hallway, with Professor Oak and Logan to protect, even the mighty Cinnabar Gym Leader was struggling.
"How much funding has Team Rocket poured into this place? It's like they turned this entire lab into a fortress just for the Mewtwo Project!"
Blaine growled in frustration, though a part of him was grateful there were no high-ranking Team Rocket operatives present—yet. If one of them showed up on their home turf with this kind of manpower, a desperate last stand would be their only option.
"All exits are probably sealed by now. The whole place is crawling with surveillance—we'll be spotted no matter where we hide. If we stop moving, we'll be surrounded in no time. We're not getting out of here alone. We'll have to find a place to rest and try contacting the outside. With luck, reinforcements will arrive before Rocket's backup does... Oak, Logan—brace yourselves! There's a panic room ahead, built into the lab for emergencies. Once we're inside, we'll be safe—for now!"
Blaine shouted at the top of his lungs as Arcanine and Rapidash galloped forward. His coat was now filthy and scorched, his face smeared with ash from his own flames. Even the Pokémon were panting, their stamina clearly waning. They'd broken through several nearly-closed enemy encirclements, escaping by a hair each time, but danger still loomed at every step. Blaine had no other Pokémon suited for tight corridors—he could only rely on Rapidash and Arcanine to protect the others.
Logan said nothing. He clung tightly to Rapidash's body, his entire frame trembling. Though he'd been shielded well, the intense heat and relentless water barrages had soaked and scorched his clothes.
Fear clawed at his heart. Just days ago, he'd lived an ordinary, peaceful life. Now, he was charging through fire and flood like a disaster relief soldier, like a firefighter rushing into flames. To say he wasn't afraid would be a lie—especially when every enemy attack carried the unmistakable intent to kill. The line between life and death blurred with every passing moment, and the dread of it all shook his body like a leaf in the wind.
Yet fear was one of humanity's most primal emotions. Those who felt no fear weren't truly human. But somewhere deep within that fear, Logan was stunned to find... exhilaration. His blood was boiling. A primal instinct to fight surged within him, screaming to be let out. It made him want to laugh, madly, like a warrior possessed on an ancient battlefield.
Teetering on the edge of death brought with it a twisted euphoria—an intoxicating thrill that made him want to cry out in pleasure. A life-or-death battle... it was terrifying, yet glorious.
Logan had never imagined this side of himself existed—a dark, violent part of his soul.
Perhaps it was something buried inside all humans.
"There! Just ahead!"
Rapidash and Arcanine dashed through a narrow corridor barely wide enough for two people side by side and burst into a small room.
"Magmar, it's your turn!"
As soon as Blaine rode in on Arcanine, he flipped off its back and hurled a Poké Ball. From the burst of light emerged a beast cloaked in molten lava. It had a duck-like bill and a ferocious aura. Towering over two meters tall and rippling with power, it took up position at the narrow corridor's mouth like a lone general blocking an entire army.
"This panic room is built entirely with Silph Steel, from floor to ceiling. That's an ultra-rare alloy from the Silph Company—almost indestructible. The fact that Team Rocket used so much of it here shows just how extravagant they were. But it also means we're safe—for a little while, at least, once the lockdown activates."
As Blaine typed away at the room's control terminal, he warned, "Logan—stay away from Magmar. Its body temperature exceeds 1,200 degrees Celsius. It's not a gentle Pokémon—it'll only tolerate its Trainer."
He slammed the keyboard. "Damn it! What's going on?!"
"What happened, Blaine?" Professor Oak's voice was calm as ever, even in this crisis.
"The control system won't respond!"
Suddenly, a mocking voice echoed from the other end of the corridor.
"Ha ha ha ha! Blaine, you must be wondering why the panic room isn't working. Let me enlighten you. Team Rocket's motto: 'Success or failure—no escape.' We never planned to flee. That panic room was a ruse to fool researchers like you!"
"Now that you're boxed in, there's nowhere left to run. Sure, it's too cramped for a full assault—but how long can you last? All Pokémon, use your strongest Water-type attacks! Flood that room!"
Roaring waves thundered again. Rapidash and Arcanine leapt forward to stand beside Magmar, blasting fire to boil the incoming water into steam, forming a wall of heat to shield the room.
"If it's come to this... then so be it."
Blaine gritted his teeth and hurled another Poké Ball. From the swirling mist emerged a majestic, blue, dragon-like Pokémon with a saddle-shaped shell on its back—Lapras!
"Lapras, please—use Ice Beam! Freeze the entrance shut!"
Though Blaine wasn't Lapras' Trainer, the intelligent Pokémon nodded in understanding. It opened its mouth, gathering chilling energy. At Blaine's signal, the fire-types stepped aside, and the beam shot out. In a flash, the surging wave froze into a thick wall of ice.
"What now, Blaine?"
Logan had calmed down, though the fire inside him still raged. He wanted to join the fight, to push deeper into this edge-of-death war. This was nothing like the childhood image he had of Pokémon battles—it was kill or be killed, a brutal, dirty skirmish where retreat was often the only option.
"I've still got Kangaskhan and my ace—Charizard. Add that to Rapidash, Arcanine, and Magmar, that's all I've got. The enemy has over a hundred operatives. At two Pokémon each, that's nearly three hundred Pokémon—and more than half are Water-types. A six-versus-three-hundred in the open, I could handle. But in a place like this? It's suicide."
He let out a bitter laugh. "...Wait, why is it suddenly so hot in here? No—damn it!"
Blaine tackled Logan to the floor. The ice wall at the entrance glowed red—and then a fiery inferno burst into the panic room. The small space lit up blood-red. One breath of that superheated air felt like swallowing steel needles—burning lungs from the inside.
"Rapidash, Arcanine—Flash Fire! Now!"
Blaine roared, and the flames vanished, absorbed into the bodies of the two fire-types like water into a sponge.
All three humans staggered to their feet, coughing, scorched, and half-choked.
"They switched to Fire-types... This was a trap from the start. That kind of manipulation—it has to be the work of that Team Rocket mastermind. The one behind the curtain."
"But that's not all," Logan muttered, looking up. "They've shut down the air filters... Blaine, you're a master of fire. But now they're using fire too. In a space this small, we'll run out of oxygen soon and suffocate."
Blaine looked up, eyes widening in horror at the sealed vents.
Before they could react, another volley of flames poured in. Blaine's Pokémon answered in kind, but every exchange devoured more oxygen.
Flames were energy—but energy that consumed the very air they needed to live.
Blaine turned toward Logan with a sudden intensity. Professor Oak stepped in front of Logan protectively.
"No, Blaine! His genetic tuning isn't complete! If you go through with this, Logan could die!"
"Samuel... I've already accepted that possibility. And I've prepared. Will you trust me?"
Blaine removed his sunglasses and locked eyes with the professor. The room fell into a strange silence.
Logan knew exactly what they meant. His fists clenched. Excitement—and fear—warred in his chest. He was trembling. The idea of staking everything, risking it all in one final gambit, the very thought—
It thrilled him.
He grabbed Professor Oak's arm and said firmly, "I know what Blaine wants to do. And I'm willing. If I don't... we all die here, right?"
"But..."
Oak turned to him, hesitation in his gentle eyes. But seeing the fire in Logan's gaze, the barely restrained eagerness—he slowly nodded.
"Very well. Blaine, I hope you really did find a solution for the incomplete genetic modulation."
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