"I think that is quite enough probing for now. Landon needs food to recover his energy," Jolene announced, her cheerful voice cutting cleanly through the lingering tension in the containment unit.

  She stepped forward, holding a steaming pte of food off to one side with effortless grace. Without missing a beat, she wrapped her free arm around my neck and pulled me into a warm, lingering kiss. I could see Anabel rolling her eyes off to the periphery of my vision, her rigid Interpol professionalism cshing hard with the casual nature of my companions, but I completely ignored her.

  I took the heavy ceramic pte from Jolene's hand as our lips parted. She smiled, her eyes crinkling at the corners. "I hope the food is good."

  I looked down at the perfectly roasted meat and seasoned vegetables, then back up at her smiling face. "Why?"

  "Because I made it."

  "Then of course it will be good. This isn't the first time I have had your cooking," I said, picking up the fork. The smell alone was enough to make my stomach rumble, reminding my body of the massive caloric deficit the Tyrantrum transformation had caused. I took a bite, letting out a satisfied hum before pausing. Jolene was already stepping back, the edges of her form beginning to shimmer with the familiar light of the System recall.

  "Wait," I said, chewing quickly. "Can you tell the other battle junkies to come out? I really think this timeline will be good training for everyone. I can even give Tallia a Super Rare Candy if she wants to join us?"

  Jolene shook her head, her hair swaying with the motion. "She is spending time with Popsicle and your other Pokémon right now. I think she mentioned something about a hiking trip near the northern ridge? Honestly, I am not even sure if she remembers that her birthday is in less than two days."

  I sighed, a fond smile breaking through my exhaustion. "I still have to figure out what to get her."

  Jolene nodded in agreement. "Nemona is going to be with her, and she knows her better than anyone else in the sanctuary. You could also try asking that Carmine girl. Tallia is always messaging with her through the network."

  With a final, affectionate wave, Jolene closed her eyes. Her physical body dissolved into a stream of warm, radiant light that arced through the air and absorbed directly into my chest.

  The room fell quiet again, save for the hum of the portal.

  "I am never going to get used to seeing that," Anabel said from behind me.

  I turned around, finding the purple-haired agent staring at the spot where Jolene had just been standing. She looked deeply unsettled.

  "Seeing people just materialize and dematerialize into your body," Anabel crified, rubbing her arms as if warding off a chill. "There is something fundamentally unnatural about it."

  "I know it takes some getting used to," I replied with a shrug, offering her a confident smile. "But hey, we are about to go catch some extremely dangerous fugitives and make the world see me in a better light, right? That has to count for something."

  I looked down at my hand, intending to take another bite of the roast, only to find empty air. The ceramic pte, the fork, and the remainder of my hot meal had vanished right along with Jolene, tethered to her inventory space. My stomach gave a hollow, disappointed growl.

  "Here," Nemona called out.

  I looked up just in time to catch a silver-wrapped brick of a protein bar she had lobbed at my head.

  "Thanks," I said, tearing the wrapper open. I took a massive bite of the dense, chewy bar and swallowed it down. Instantly, a bizarre sensation washed over me. The hollow ache in my gut vanished, repced by a sudden, overwhelming fullness. It felt exactly like I had just eaten two entire Thanksgiving dinners back-to-back. I coughed, suddenly feeling incredibly sluggish.

  "Oops!" Nemona ughed uneasily, rubbing the back of her head as she realized what she had handed me. "Sorry! I probably should have warned you that those are special Ultra Carb Bars. I just pulled them from the newly upgraded fridge in my sector. You only need to take a tiny nibble, and you are completely full."

  She offered an apologetic grimace. "I was pnning on taking a few of these into the portal for emergencies. If you don't want to feel completely stuffed, I would suggest eating the rest of that very slowly."

  I gave her a ft, sideways gnce, tossing the remainder of the silver-wrapped bar into my pocket. Since it was an item generated from Prisma, it would stay fresh.

  "Well, are we going or not?" Lusamine asked, stepping forward to examine the swirling vortex of the wormhole. She stopped, turning her gaze back to me. "Is something wrong? You look pale."

  "Yes, I am feeling a bit drained," I admitted, stretching my arms above my head to work out the lingering stiffness. "But I think that was a direct side effect from absorbing the Tyrantrum. It felt like the creature was actively trying to warn me about the environment on the other side."

  Lusamine tilted her head, her blonde hair falling over her shoulder. "Do you think that same leviathan Pokémon is going to be waiting for us there?"

  I shrugged. "There is a very good chance it will be. But that isn't the only threat we have to worry about."

  As I spoke, my chest fred with light once more. Two separate orbs of energy drifted out, rapidly expanding and solidifying on the concrete floor. When the light faded, Grusha and Iono stood ready, both looking around the containment unit with sharp, assessing eyes.

  I nodded to them in greeting, then stood up straight and turned my full attention to Anabel.

  "Alright, we are fully assembled. Now it is your turn," I said, holding out my hand. "Tell us exactly what we are walking into. How many convicts escaped, and what specific kind of psychic abilities do they possess?"

  Anabel gave a curt, professional nod. She reached inside her suit jacket and pulled out a sleek, government-issue datapad. "From what the guard monitoring this sector reported before the breach, seven priority targets are missing. These seven consist of five males and two females. All of them are cssified as high-tier psychics, and all of them have already passed through the anomaly. Give me your phone, and I will transfer the decrypted files directly to your interface."

  "Thank you," I said, passing her my device. She tapped a sequence of commands, the screens fshing as the data bridged over. She handed it back a second ter.

  I looked down at the glowing screen, swiping past the Interpol crest to read over the contents of the dossier. The files were brief, but the information was staggering.

  Codename: Brawn Profile: A highly violent offender known for a votile temper and a foul mouth. He uses his psychic affinity to augment his physical capabilities. Ability: Advanced Telekinesis. He does not use his mind to bend spoons; he uses it to move massive objects, simute super-strength, and crush opposition without ying a finger on them. Codename: Rocket Profile: A notorious career criminal with a deeply sadistic disposition. He was originally tracked down and captured by Agent Anabel several years ago. Ability: Mind Manipution. He possesses the terrifying capability to forcibly hijack the motor functions and verbal centers of people around him, forcing them to obey his commands within a limited radius. Codename: Sage Profile: The disgraced former leader of the Psychic Temple. A charismatic and dangerous cult leader. Ability: Hypnosis. He projects an area-of-effect frequency that can put both humans and powerful Pokémon into an unbreakable, deep sleep, rendering them entirely helpless before maniputing their dreams. Codename: Viotor Profile: A vengeful sociopath who specializes in psychological torture. Ability: Memory Manipution. He can seamlessly rewrite short-term memories, alter visual perceptions, and gaslight victims into turning against their own allies during combat. Codename: Temptress Profile: A renowned international thief, con artist, and corporate spy. Ability: Charm. She projects a targeted psychic frequency that actively pacifies aggression. When engaged in combat, her aura severely lowers the physical defense and special defense of any opponent looking at her. Codename: Shadow Profile: A former enforcer for a violent syndicate that specialized in hijacking cargo and assaulting travelers. Ability: Dark Aura. He generates a localized field of corrosive dark energy around his body. The aura acts as an offensive shield, actively damaging the cellur structure of both humans and Pokémon that step too close. Codename: Gigolo Profile: A master of psychological seduction. He uses his abilities to build localized empires by subjugating the wills of those around him. Ability: Hypnotic Aura. He constantly emits a pheromonal and psychic aura designed to permanently hypnotize and control the hearts and minds of women, turning them into fiercely loyal thralls.I stopped scrolling. The screen of the phone felt suddenly hot in my grip.

  "Are these people serious!?" I demanded, my voice echoing loudly off the metal walls. I spun around to face Anabel, who was currently staring intently at the ground. "These abilities do not make any logical sense! They are completely overpowered! Where in Arceus's name did Interpol even find such absolute freaks?"

  Anabel slowly raised her head. She didn't say a single word. She just looked at me.

  The look on her face was a masterpiece of deadpan judgment. Her raised eyebrow and ft expression clearly screamed, You are one to talk.

  I felt my cheeks heat up slightly. I rolled my eyes, ignoring her silent accusation. "Seriously, these people have insanely dangerous abilities. Especially this st guy! He can just casually overwrite a person's free will? I am having very serious second thoughts about even letting the girls come with us now!"

  I compined loudly, gesturing at the portal. Before I could continue my rant, a hand shot out and grabbed me firmly by the colr of my shirt.

  I looked down to see Nemona gring up at me.

  "Are you really trying to say that we can't deal with some normal humans?" she asked, her voice dropping into a dangerously calm register. "Even if they have these little parlor tricks? Are you serious?"

  Before my eyes, the air around Nemona began to warp and distort. Her skin and clothing suddenly ignited, burning away into a spectacur, mesmerizing canvas of deep space. A gactic coating wrapped around her entire body, shimmering with the light of distant nebus and swirling gaxies. Cosmic fire burned brilliantly in her eyes, repcing her pupils with the light of dying suns. Above her head, twelve distinct, radiant stars materialized, shrinking down to orbit her crown like a divine halo.

  The sheer pressure rolling off her cosmic form made the air in the room feel thin.

  "Can you at least promise me that you won't kill them?" I asked, looking away from Nemona’s blinding light to cross my arms defensively. "I mean, except for that st guy. We could absolutely just feed Gigolo to a wild Pokémon, and the world would objectively be a much better pce."

  Someone with the power to subjugate women was a direct, existential threat to my companions. But looking back at the list, the rest of these criminals were hardly any better.

  "Landon, take a breath and calm down," Lusamine interjected smoothly. She stepped past Nemona's glowing form and pced a gentle, grounding hand on my shoulder. "These are not legendary Pokémon. They are just humans. We all just have to stay together, watch each other's backs, and deal with things as a cohesive group. All you need to do is be ready to catch them when the time comes. Let the rest of us handle the fighting."

  She leaned forward, pressing a soft, reassuring kiss to my cheek. The simple gesture broke through my frustration, centering my focus.

  "We cannot forget the other woman on that list either," Anabel reminded me, tapping her datapad. "The one called Temptress. Her abilities are designed to catch you off guard."

  "I will watch out for her," I promised, my confidence returning as I looked at the powerful team gathered around me. "Besides, I have a natural resistance to psychic attacks anyway. And let's be honest, my abilities are far more terrifying than any of the parlor tricks described in this file."

  I stepped past Anabel, motioning toward the swirling vortex of the portal. "Let's go hunt."