Dawn broke red over the cliffs of Mt. Moon, as if the sky itself knew what was about to unfold beneath the surface.
Skylar stood at the entrance of the cave, wearing a reinforced travel cloak woven with aura-conductive fibers. His left glove was new—infused with protective aura runes, designed by League scientists who still weren't entirely convinced they weren't losing their minds.
Charmeleon walked beside him, tail burning brighter than ever. The two shared a quiet nod. No words. No orders. Just understanding.
Misty adjusted the strap on her bag, Froakie perched confidently at her side, and Starmie hovering like a silent star behind her.
—"No regrets," she muttered.
Skylar smiled. "Only promises."
A few steps behind them, Kalei knelt beside the entrance, her palm resting flat on the stone. She murmured something in a language older than Kanto, and the rock responded with a dull hum.
—"The hive knows we're coming," she said calmly. "It feels us in the veins of the mountain."
Skylar took a deep breath.
—"Then let's make sure it feels afraid."
They descended.
Unlike their first journey, this time they moved with purpose.
They bypassed collapsed routes and unstable passages, following the mapped paths Gary's recon teams had cleared. The air grew colder with every meter. The bioluminescent moss was all but gone now—replaced by slick, pulsating membranes that lined the walls.
—"It's spreading again," Kalei noted. "Faster this time."
Skylar brushed a finger over one of the black veins in the wall. "It's adapting. Healing from what I did."
They passed the chamber where Skylar had first unleashed his aura shield. The stone there was scorched, the flesh-like growths still burnt away.
—"You left a scar," Misty whispered.
—"Let's leave another."
Further in, they came upon the ruins of the mutation hive. The sacs were gone. So were the watchers.
But the chamber wasn't empty.
Instead, at its center stood a new growth—a black spire, taller than before, its surface covered in cracks that leaked faint pulses of light.
It throbbed like a living organ.
Skylar stepped forward. "That's not a hive anymore."
Kalei narrowed her eyes. "It's becoming a heart."
Suddenly, Gardevoir flinched.
—"Something… is rising."
From the shadows, movement stirred.
Not corrupted Pokémon this time.
Not watchers.
Something new.
A shape stepped into the light—four legs, hunched shoulders, long, bladed arms, and a crystalline jaw that flickered with pale psychic energy.
It looked part-Scyther… part-something else.
Skylar's breath caught.
—"It's mutating captured Pokémon. Fusing them with the infection."
—"Experiments," Kalei said grimly. "Living weapons."
The creature roared—and four more emerged from the walls, their limbs unnatural, their eyes hollow.
Skylar stepped forward.
—"Let's show them we're not afraid."
—"Charmeleon, Flamethrower! Gardevoir, follow with Psyshock! Misty—now!"
Charmeleon unleashed a wave of flame across the incoming mutants, searing the closest into smoke. Gardevoir's psychic blast shattered the armor of the next.
—"Froakie—Water Pulse! Starmie, Light Screen!"
The battlefield exploded into motion.
Skylar raised his hand, aura flickering—but controlled. This time, he didn't burn wildly.
He channeled it.
A dome of blue energy flared outward, shielding them as a mutant Scyther's bladed arms slammed down—harmlessly against the barrier.
Kalei joined him, aura glowing white. Together, their fields merged—pushing the enemies back.
—"You're learning," she said with a proud smirk.
Skylar smiled.
But he didn't stop.
The battle had just begun.
And the mountain's heart was still beating.