The farce had come to an end. Dr. Parlo, who had assumed that having research results would grant him control over the discourse, came to understand the ways of underground forces at the cost of two of his colleagues.
Researchers were not fools, anyone capable of such work was naturally intelligent. When a group of smart people gathered, their thoughts became even more intricate.
While Dr. Parlo was still hesitating about whether to obediently hand over the results, the more self-preserving researchers had already reported to Voya.
"Lady Voya, it was that old bastard Parlo who forbade us from speaking. In fact, we wanted to inform you the moment the research results came out."
An elderly researcher, well-regarded in the outside world, was now hunched over with his frail back, fawning yet nervous as he reported to Voya, whose face remained expressionless.
"And what are your research findings this time?" Voya crossed her legs, leaned back slightly, and asked in a casual tone.
"It's..." The old researcher faltered. Though he was aged, his abilities and character were mediocre at best, so he actually had no idea what the findings were.
"I..." Cold sweat started dripping down the old researcher's forehead. The woman before him, as beautiful as a painting, felt to him like a ferocious beast.
"Leave," Voya said, her expression unchanged from beginning to end. The old researcher, as if granted a reprieve, hurriedly and clumsily left.
"Deal with him. A useless old man."
Voya spoke into the empty room as if she were merely crushing a cockroach.
With deliberate dissemination, news of the old researcher's fate spread quickly throughout the underground base.
The already fearful researchers could no longer hold out, and in the end, they all turned against Dr. Parlo!
Hiding in the ventilation duct for barely a morning, Sato had watched the entire show unfold.
He couldn't help but marvel, how could a girl of just seventeen or eighteen have such a calculating mind?
That afternoon, Dr. Parlo, looking utterly dejected, was surrounded, or rather, threatened, by the others as he approached Voya and voluntarily handed over their research findings.
"Team Rocket invited all of you here because you are all capable researchers. We provide the manpower and resources, and you focus entirely on your research. Isn't that ideal, Dr. Parlo?"
"Y-yes, yes... I was being foolish La-lady V-Voya," Parlo muttered, looking at Voya, who was about the same age as his granddaughter, his heart gripped by genuine fear.
"Everyone, go and rest for now. Tomorrow, be ready, I will come to review your research results. Dr. Parlo, does that arrangement work for you?" For the first time, Voya smiled.
It was, undeniably, stunning.
"N-no problem!" Parlo hurriedly replied before he was escorted back to the research area by his colleagues.
With the metaphorical blade already at their throats and the deadline set for tomorrow, no researcher was foolish enough to actually go rest.
Sato instructed Gengar to find an abandoned warehouse without security surveillance. After hastily feeding the Pokémon, he crawled back through the ventilation ducts toward the research zone.
"Rolle, is the Potential Enhancement Serum still stable?"
"It's relatively stable, but we've been working on the Fire-type Potential Enhancement Serum, so its energy has remained rather volatile."
"Have you conducted live experiments?"
"A total of 138 live trials. Aside from the initial 16 cases, where improper serum concentration ratios caused the test subjects to explode, all other subjects showed varying degrees of potential enhancement," reported a researcher named Rolle.
"Ordinary talent successfully enhanced to Elite talent: 93 cases, failed: 27. Elite talent successfully enhanced to Pseudo-Elite Four: 18 cases, failed: 10..."
Dr. Parlo muttered to himself as he held a data report, then slammed it onto the table with force, shouting angrily, "Unacceptable! Conduct as many experiments as possible tonight, push the numbers up!"
"But... One night isn't nearly enough for the test subjects to show changes," Researcher Rolle hesitated.
"Then inject the serum faster! A little more pain won't matter, they're just test subjects," Dr. Parlo said coldly, his eyes menacing, making Rolle too afraid to argue.
From the ventilation duct, Sato watched the researchers moving around, his gaze icy.
One Fire-type Pokémon after another was brought onto the operating table, injected with the Potential Enhancement Serum, which looked like molten lava.
Among these so-called test subjects, Ponyta, Houndour, and Slugma were the most common, though there were occasional rarer Pokémon like Magmar, Vulpix, and Cyndaquil.
Once injected with the serum, the Pokémon's bodies occasionally showed magma-like flows across their surfaces, a terrifying sight.
At the same time, each injection was accompanied by agonized, ear-piercing wails.
When a Houndour, unable to endure the pain from the serum, let out a desperate howl, Sato's Houndour's Poké Ball began trembling violently in his hand.
"Don't worry, I'll stop this!"
Placing the now gradually calming Poké Ball back, Sato knew he wasn't a saint, but he was willing to act for the sake of his own Houndour.
"Gengar, put everyone in the monitoring room to sleep!"
The clever Gengar instantly vanished, floating toward the area he had already scouted earlier. Within minutes, Gengar returned, completely at ease.
"Next, the researchers."
Hovering above the bright incandescent lights, Gengar released pink hypnotic waves, amplified by the light, affecting all the awake researchers.
It was the middle of the night, and after everything that had happened during the day, there were no Team Rocket members guarding the research area.
Before long, Gengar had successfully put all the researchers to sleep. Sato dropped down from the ventilation duct and released Houndour and Zoroark.
Having once been a pack leader, Houndour quickly calmed the panicked Pokémon, while Zoroark's overwhelming presence ensured that no chaos broke out.
"Gengar, find the best escape route nearby, not just for us, but for all of them as well," Sato said, pointing to the caged Pokémon.
Gengar nodded seriously, at the moment, the only way out was to "hypnotize" a path through, making the task incredibly difficult.
"Spinarak, Larvitar, you come out too, help Houndour free the imprisoned Pokémon!"
After issuing his commands, Sato quickly ran to the computer console. Fortunately, he had some knowledge of computers, so he planned to copy the entire experiment's data.
Since he didn't need to restart the system, the process didn't take him much time.
Meanwhile, the Pokémon were being freed even faster than Sato's actions. Under Houndour's command, the Pokémon used Ember, Cut, and other moves, keeping their noise to a minimum.
Even those Pokémon still suffering in pain were instructed by Houndour to cry louder, helping to cover the sounds of the entire operation.