Pokemon: Reborn as a Pokemon 127. Convergence

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"[Shadow Punch]!"

Kael's fist glead with a dark-violet aura, like a gauntlet of night itself.

The blow slamd into Sandslash midair, warping its body into a bent arc.

Ghost-type energy crawled from his knuckles, eating into its hide.

Szzzz—

The sound of corrosion filled the corridor as gray decay spread outward, consuming the creature's natural vitality.

BOOM!

Dust and stone erupted as Sandslash was smashed into the floor, its body carving a pit into the cracked tile.

"Arghhh!"

It had been only three seconds since Kael shattered the steel door. Dr. Darr's shrill scream still echoed when Kael, bored, picked up a stone from the ruined ground.

He didn't even look back. With a casual flick—

Whip-crack!

The rock split the air and struck true. The sharp pop of bone and flesh silenced the office behind him.

Blood spattered wider. The underground reek thickened.

Kael exhaled. This had been his first true battle since inhabiting a Machop's body and he loved it.

Different from the elegant arcs of Ampharos' lightning in his past life, this was primal. Every strike was muscle, blood, and bone.

The swell of tendon, the spray of hot blood, the crunch of air cracking under knuckles—

It was intoxicating.

He felt hungry for more....

A smile curved his lips. But his eyes snapped open again. The thrill had almost made him forget: he was still deep inside enemy territory.

Kael lted back into the shadows of the corridor, body vanishing like smoke. The feast of slaughter had only just begun.

---

Bert had once been nobody—a warehouse worker pulled into the Duskbane Syndicate five years ago by sheer chance.

Two years of brutal training had honed him just enough to be given a partner: an Arbok. That alone elevated him above most recruits, making him captain of a security squad assigned to this underground base.

Three more years passed. Monotony eroded his fire. Run errands, watch shipnts, clock in, clock out. His gut expanded as his ambition withered.

Now, slouched in the monitoring room, he scratched his stomach and answered the radio lazily:

"Roger. Package delivered."

He stroked the coils of the Arbok beside him. The serpent hissed, cold scales slick under his palm. Bert's eyes drifted to the clock.

"Three hours 'til shift change," he muttered.

That was when the scream ca. A human scream, raw and jagged, followed by a crash like thunder.

Bert jolted upright, almost falling out of his chair. His gaze darted across the screens static, blackness, empty corridors. Nothing. But the sound... the sound had been real.

Cold sweat rolled down his temple. Years of muscle mory snapped him into action.

"Alarm!" His voice steadied through the comm. "Possible breach at Lab 2! Lock down A3, A4, and C2 bulkheads. Security Squads 5 and 6, rally in the common hall. Move!"

The weight of command steadied his pulse. He grabbed his radio in one hand and gestured sharply with the other. His Arbok reared, tongue tasting the air, ready.

They moved.

---

Two squads converged in the pitch-dark corridor, flashlights stabbing beams through clouds of dust. The line of n advanced like a segnted worm, slow and wary.

At the head padded a Houndoom, its bony ridges stark under the light, smoke curling from its jaws as sparks hissed between its teeth. It sniffed, ears twitching, muscles taut.

Behind, Bert's Arbok coiled and uncoiled, its length sliding silently along the walls, tongue flicking. It covered the rear like a watchful shadow.

In this ruined world, true, sane Pokémon were rare. Even the Syndicate could only field one per squad.

Suddenly, Houndoom froze. Its hackles rose, a low growl rumbling deep in its chest. Flas licked its fangs.

The handlers tensed. Without hesitation, they followed its signal, quickening their pace.

Bert's pulse hamred. He jogged in line, Arbok gliding beside him.

Ahead, the corridor opened. Bright laboratory lights spilled into the hall.

But to Bert's eyes, that sterile white glow... shimred faintly crimson.

And he knew sothing waited in that blood-colored light.

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