When the Leviathan sank its teeth into Zekrom just now, countless razor-sharp fangs pierced the black dragon's body, fangs that were themselves composed of virus matter.
At the moment Zekrom destroyed that clone of Leviathan, the virus had already begun its infiltration.
But this current Leviathan was no longer the Mindworm that Mewtwo could casually sever. This time, Zekrom wasn't getting away so easily.
Zekrom conjured a spherical bolt of lightning.
It hovered over the sea like a miniature sun, arcs of electricity crackling along its surface.
The energy condensed within it was so dense it warped the surrounding air, space itself seeming to ripple as if heatwaves danced around it.
Lucius watched for a long moment, then turned away. Whatever it was, it would likely dissipate on its own.
What truly concerned him now was something far more pressing: the infected were multiplying at an alarming rate, faster than ever before.
The cause lay in the severed half of the Leviathan, which had fallen into the sea and released its viral payload into the waters, infecting many aquatic Pokémon.
During the chaos of the earlier battle, these infected Pokémon were either annihilated in the aftermath or swam into the deep sea or distant waters, spreading the virus uncontrollably across the marine ecosystem.
And in the ocean, where Pokémon and all manner of life vastly outnumbered humanity, the infection rate was explosive. In just a short span of time, the number of infected soared into the hundreds of thousands.
The deep sea was especially concerning, harboring powerful and previously undiscovered Pokémon, ones humanity had never even seen before.
Lucius instantly teleported back to the Whirl Islands. The virus had evolved too rapidly, he needed to devour powerful Pokémon immediately to ease the hunger brought on by its accelerated mutation.
The air shimmered, and Lucius's figure reappeared on Sunburst Island.
The island remained locked in ice. Nearby, the marine viral research facility was still bustling with personnel, but their focus had shifted. They were no longer seeking a cure.
Now, their efforts were dedicated to discovering how far the virus could push a Pokémon's strength.
The problem was that the virus could enhance Pokémon far beyond their natural limits, until their bodies simply collapsed.
But without reaching those limits, a Pokémon's true potential could never be fully awakened. Hence, extensive testing was necessary to map that breaking point.
Lucius could have accelerated their research dramatically, if he had the time. But he didn't.
He vanished again, reappearing deep within the Crystal Caverns.
Under Brandon's direction, advance teams had already begun extracting crystal ore. Farther in, deep within a winding, hidden chamber, a group of lab-coated scientists moved busily among rows of massive incubation tanks.
With Hive's rapid expansion, the original X-Lab was no longer sufficient.
Lucius had established several new cloning research facilities across various regions.
The most critical and secret of these was nestled inside this cavern, known to only a select few, guarded by the cave's former queen: a Gardevoir.
This top-level cloning lab specialized in producing semi-complete clones of Mythical Pokémon.
Inside the tanks floated imperfect copies of Mewtwo, Rayquaza, Kyogre, Regigigas, and more.
But Mythical Pokémon were far beyond the scope of modern biology. Their cells defied analysis. Cloning them remained crude at best.
Only Mewtwo, with its well-documented cloning history, had seen any real success. The others progressed at a snail's pace.
But Lucius wasn't here to consume them, he had another goal.
In a neighboring crystal chamber stood more tanks, these containing cloned Legendary Pokémon like Zapdos, Articuno, Latias, and Celebi, as well as several Ultra Beasts, rarely seen in this world.
These Ultra Beasts had been cloned using genetic samples purchased from the Aether Foundation, under Hive's direction.
Several had already been successfully replicated: Xurkitree, Guzzlord, Buzzwole, and Blacephalon, among others.
Compared to Mythical Pokémon, cloning Ultra Beasts and Legendaries was far easier.
To satisfy the virus's ravenous hunger, Lucius devoured all the successfully cloned Legendaries and Ultra Beasts, despite the researchers' dismay.
The Ultra Beasts' alien genetic sequences, so different from this world's Pokémon, greatly accelerated the virus's evolutionary rate when absorbed.
With the hunger finally sated, Lucius re-suppressed the virus's liquid transmissibility.
Its spread on land had been manageable. But once it entered the ocean during his battle with Zekrom, the virus evolved at a terrifying pace, now reaching Level 69.
While rapid evolution brought power, it came at a cost: the faster the virus mutated, the more new genetic material Lucius had to devour.
But at this point, he already possessed most Legendary genes. Further consumption of clones offered diminishing returns. He had to slow the pace.
This was why evolving toward the Veronica direction, toward the Emperor Strain, was ideal.
As a peak evolutionary form, the Emperor Strain allowed centralized control of all infected Pokémon. Unlike the Tyrant Virus direction, where each infected mutated independently, this offered a unified hive mind.
Having addressed his immediate needs, Lucius returned once more to the Indigo Plateau.
The pieces were nearly in place. Now, it was just a matter of timing.
...
Two months passed.
In that time, Hive scoured the Kalos region in search of Carbink colonies. After expending tremendous manpower and resources, they finally uncovered a massive subterranean Carbink hive.
Hidden within was a dazzling underground Diamond Domain, crafted by the Carbink themselves, so magnificent it seemed unreal.
And reigning over this hidden kingdom was none other than a Diancie.
Once the target was identified, Lucius infiltrated the Diamond Domain undetected, infecting the Diancie without alarming the wild Carbink.
He then ordered it to use its abilities to help Hive locate Xerneas, assigning two Pokémon to escort and protect it.
Yet, unexpectedly, two months had gone by, and Zekrom still hadn't succumbed to infection.
Lucius tried to sense the virus within Zekrom, but it seemed restrained by some kind of force. Though the virus still lingered inside the dragon, it had been sealed, unable to spread or replicate.
Lucius recognized Arceus's interference.
Still, if all Arceus could do was seal the virus rather than destroy it, Lucius had little to fear.
His attention now turned to Johto.
The region was alive with excitement. Countless Trainers and tourists had gathered at the base of Mt. Silver, in Silver Town.
The annual Silver Conference was about to begin.
Like the Indigo League and Lily of the Valley Conference, the Silver Conference was one of the official regional tournaments hosted by the Pokémon League and open to the public.
To qualify, a Trainer had to meet strict criteria:
First, collect at least eight Gym Badges from the region.
Second, pass the Pokémon University certification exam.
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