"Shh!"
Armin raised a finger to his lips, signaling Amber to stay quiet.
She nodded obediently and hugged the travel backpack tightly, retreating behind a stack of cardboard boxes in the corner.
Armin quickly checked Mimikyu's status panel.
After the battle against the gravekeeper's Tyranitar, Mimikyu had jumped straight to Lv. 34.
It had also learned three new moves:
Shadow Sneak.
Copycat.
Sucker Punch.
Perfect.
"I'll lure them over," Armin whispered. "When they turn their backs, use Sucker Punch or Shadow Sneak and knock them out. Got it?"
Mimikyu's tiny eyes turned serious.
It nodded.
Armin turned, pulled two shrunken Poké Balls from the backpack, and stepped silently out the door.
He slipped into the cross-shaped corridor, carefully staying within a blind spot of the approaching Rocket grunt.
The grunt clearly hadn't expected anyone else to be in the estate at this hour. He hadn't even released a Pokémon.
He was methodically checking rooms from left to right.
Just as his hand reached for the handle of the storage room where Amber was hiding—
A Poké Ball rolled out from around the corner.
Click-clack. Roll. Roll.
The grunt froze.
"Who's there?!"
Silence.
The corridor was so quiet he could hear his own breathing.
Then—
Rustle.
A faint sound behind him.
He spun—
A shadow darted forward like a black lightning bolt.
THUD!
Shadow Sneak.
Mimikyu slammed into his temple.
The grunt's vision went white. Stars burst in his eyes.
He collapsed with a dull thud.
First one down.
Armin hurried forward to drag the unconscious man aside—
When hurried footsteps thundered down the wooden staircase.
Damn it.
They'd noticed.
No time to think.
Armin scooped Mimikyu up and ducked into the nearest room, shutting the door quietly.
Outside—
Another Rocket member rounded the corner and immediately spotted his fallen comrade.
His eyes sharpened.
He pulled out a Poké Ball.
"Go! Golbat!"
In a flash of light, a deep-blue Golbat emerged.
Golbat typically lived in dark caves. Its eyesight had deteriorated over generations—
But in exchange—
Its ultrasonic sensing had evolved to terrifying precision.
When trained properly, it became the perfect tracker.
"Find them!" the grunt ordered.
Golbat screeched and released waves of ultrasonic pulses down the corridor.
It circled once.
Paused in front of one door.
Then suddenly flapped to another.
Two signals.
Two people.
The grunt's pupils shrank.
He grabbed his communicator.
"Zzzk—"
Static crackled.
He stared intently at one of the doors, waiting for backup.
He didn't notice—
The first door Golbat had stopped at slowly creaked open.
Armin stepped out, lifting a wooden chair.
Without hesitation—
He smashed it down on the grunt's head.
CRACK.
Mimikyu followed up instantly—
Slamming into the man's knee.
The combination was flawless.
The grunt dropped to his knees, mouth opening—
But no words came.
He fell face-first onto the floor.
Second one down.
Golbat shrieked in fury.
Its wings whipped up violently—
Two sharp Air Slash blades formed midair, crossing toward Armin.
Mimikyu leapt up, shielding its Trainer.
The blades struck.
Its Disguise ability shattered—
But the real body remained unharmed.
"Nice!" Armin commanded sharply. "Copycat!"
Mimikyu's eyes glowed strangely.
Wind gathered before it—
Forming a cross-shaped Air Slash of its own.
The blade shot forward.
Without its Trainer's command, Golbat reacted half a second too slow—
The attack struck cleanly.
Golbat tumbled to the ground.
"Finish it! Sucker Punch!"
Mimikyu launched forward with a burst of dark energy—
SLAM.
Golbat's eyes nearly popped out.
It fainted instantly.
But—
It wasn't over.
The unconscious grunt's communicator had connected at some point.
The faint crackling static echoed eerily in the hallway.
Armin realized too late.
More footsteps.
Three Rocket members emerged from both ends of the corridor—
With Dr. Fuji behind them.
His gaze swept over the two unconscious men—
Then locked onto Armin.
Storm clouds gathered in his expression.
"Where is Amber?"
His voice trembled with suppressed rage.
Armin stayed silent.
Fuji suddenly pulled out a Poké Ball.
White light burst forth—
And a massive, muscular Nidoking materialized beside him.
Its armored body gleamed purple.
It threw back its head and roared—
The floor trembled beneath its weight.
So this was it.
The real difficulty of the Hidden Quest.
Then—
The storage room door creaked open.
Amber ran out, backpack awkwardly strapped to her tiny frame.
She stood in front of Armin, arms spread.
"You're not allowed to hurt Brother!"
Fuji inhaled sharply.
His face twitched uncontrollably.
"Amber… come here."
His voice trembled.
She shook her head stubbornly.
Something snapped.
The fragile thread holding his sanity together tore apart.
A grotesque smile twisted across his face.
"So disobedient… Looks like Daddy needs to teach you a lesson."
His eyes turned bloodshot.
"Nidoking! Use Hyper Beam!"
Amber's face drained of color.
Armin reacted instantly.
He grabbed Amber and Mimikyu into his arms—
Kicked a Rocket grunt aside—
And ran.
Behind him—
A terrified scream.
"D-Doctor! What are you doing?! We're on the same side—AAAH!"
Armin didn't look back.
A blinding pillar of energy blasted past his arm—
The air burned.
The pressure alone made his ears ring.
And then—
Silence.
Where the Rockets had stood—
Nothing remained.
The madman had fired without hesitation.
Not caring who stood in his way.
And Armin realized—
They weren't just escaping Team Rocket anymore.
They were fleeing a father who had completely lost his mind.