Enzo didn't wait for the sun.
By the time the first light hit the plateau, the markers were already set.
"Again," he said, voice flat.
Corvisquire launched from the edge, diving through the air like a metallic missile. It banked hard around the first stone pillar, snapped its wings open to kill momentum, fired a precise Air Slash that clipped the target rock, and accelerated out before the dust even settled.
Clean. Brutal.
"Good," Enzo muttered.
Beside him, Proton was running drills with Golbat.
"Blind pass," Proton ordered. "Echolocation only."
Golbat's eyes shut. It screeched—a high, piercing sound that bounced off the ravine walls—and wove through a maze of floating debris Proton was throwing into the air. It dodged a rock, clipped a second one, and then snatched the third out of the air with its teeth.
Proton frowned. "Too slow on the second turn. Again."
Sandile was doing footwork drills on the loose gravel—shifting weight, biting at invisible ankles, learning to move not like a wild animal, but like a soldier clearing a room.
And inside the tent, Porygon2 was silent, running background diagnostics on the local grid, pinging micro-alerts to Enzo's TR Device every few minutes.
Area secure.Signal clear.No hostile movement.
It was a rhythm of war. A terrifying normalcy.
Enzo stood there, arms crossed, watching his army grow by the inch. This was how he controlled the world. Not with feelings. With repetitions.
Midday brought a brief pause for the Pokémon, but not for Enzo.
He left Gastly floating above the camp, mocking Proton's Koffing as it tried to chase Enzo's Koffing (who was vibrating with love and incompetence).
Enzo walked into the tent.
Elise was sitting in the corner where he'd left her.
She wasn't crying anymore. She wasn't screaming. She looked… empty. Like someone had reached inside and flipped a switch to "OFF." Her eyes were glazed, fixed on a point in the fabric wall that didn't exist.
Enzo stepped in. The air felt heavy, stagnant.
He walked over and gripped her chin, forcing her head up. Not gently. Not angrily. Just mechanics.
Her eyes drifted to his face, but there was no recognition. Just a reflex.
"Pick up where we left off," Enzo said. Cold. Routine.
Elise's mouth moved. A whisper, dry as dust.
"Four hundred twelve… four hundred five… three hundred ninety-eight…"
She was counting backward from a thousand by sevens. A conditioning loop he'd forced into her mind hours ago to break her focus, to stop her from thinking about escape, about hope, about anything but the numbers.
Enzo watched her pupils. They didn't dilate.
"Good," he said, releasing her chin. "Again."
"Three hundred ninety-one… three hundred eighty-four…"
He let her continue. He didn't enjoy it. He didn't hate it. It was just maintenance. A tool being recalibrated before being sold.
The next morning, the vibration came early.
Enzo was already awake, cleaning his boots. His TR Device buzzed on the crate beside him.
He glanced at the screen.
[ TR DEVICE ALERT — PORYGON2 ]
7 markers approaching camp.
Distance: ClosingSignal
type: TR Device presence (Registered)
Enzo didn't flinch. He didn't panic.
He picked up the device, slid it into his pocket, and stood up.
"Proton," he called out. Not loud. Just projected.
Proton appeared from the side entrance of the tent instantly, zipping up his tactical vest. No questions. No "what is it?"
He just looked at Enzo, saw the bag in his hand, and nodded.
"Ready?" Enzo asked.
"Ready."
They walked to the edge of the plateau and waited.
The wind pushed dust across the stone floor. The silence stretched, thin and sharp as a wire.
Then, from the corridor of rock below, shadows detached themselves from the walls.
One. Two. Five.
Seven figures.
They walked with the confidence of people who owned the island. Black uniforms. Heavy boots.
Enzo narrowed his eyes as the leader stepped into the light.
It wasn't a grunt. It wasn't a squad leader.
It was Viper.
Enzo straightened his posture immediately. Not out of respect—he didn't respect the man's morals—but out of hierarchy. Viper was power. Viper was the gatekeeper.
"Instructor Viper," Enzo said, voice carrying over the wind.
Viper stopped ten meters away. He didn't smile. He didn't wave. His eyes swept over the camp like a scanner—measuring the tent size, counting the Pokémon, estimating the value of everything in sight.
Then his gaze landed on Enzo.
"Rank One," Viper said. It wasn't a greeting. It was a label.
His eyes slid past Enzo, looking toward the tent flap.
"You have the merchandise?"
Enzo turned slightly.
"Elise," he said. "Come out."
The flap moved.
Elise stepped out into the harsh sunlight. She blinked, shielding her eyes, moving with that strange, stiff gait of someone sleepwalking.
"Three hundred… seventy… seven…" she mumbled.
Viper looked at her. He didn't look concerned. He looked at her like she was a package that had been slightly damaged in transit but was still deliverable.
Proton shifted his weight, looking away. Even for a Rocket, watching a human being reduced to that was… heavy.
Enzo didn't look away.
He lifted the heavy sack in his left hand—the one clinking with metal.
"Ten Green-tier Pokémon," Enzo said. "As promised."
Viper stepped forward. He took the sack. He weighed it in his hand, listening to the muffled clicks of the spheres inside. He nodded once.
"Acceptable."
Then Viper extended his hand.
"Your TR Device."
Enzo handed it over without hesitation.
Viper pulled a small data cable from his own device, plugged it into Enzo's, and tapped a few keys. A rapid transfer bar filled up on the screen.
Ping.
Viper handed it back.
Enzo looked at the screen.
[ CONTACT ADDED ]ID: NERO
Enzo's eyes flicked up. Nero. The Shadow Executive. So, he was watching.
"Give him a call," Viper said simply. "Don't disappoint him."
Viper gestured behind him.
Two grunts stepped forward, dragging someone between them.
The figure stumbled, caught his balance, and looked up.
Enzo felt his breath catch for a fraction of a second.
Green hair. Messy, vivid green that looked like algae. Bushy green eyebrows. And a face that only a mother could love—if the mother was blind. A thick, ugly scar ran from his temple down to his jawline, twisting his expression into a permanent, lopsided grimace.
Ronnie.
He looked thinner. His uniform was torn. He had a black eye.
But he was alive.
Enzo smiled. A small, tight thing that felt like a crack in a mask.
Ronnie blinked, looking around at the plateau, at the terrifying Corvisquire perched on a rock, and finally at Elise, who was still mumbling numbers.
Ronnie tilted his head.
"…This one's not right in the head, is she?"
His voice was scratchy, rough, but it had that same irreverent tone Enzo remembered.
Proton's jaw dropped. That was the first thing he said?
Enzo let out a short, real laugh.
"Not even close, Ronnie."
Enzo turned back to Viper. The business wasn't done.
"One more thing," Enzo said.
He signaled Proton.
Proton tapped his device and sent a file.
Viper's device beeped. He opened it.
It was a video file. High definition. Audio clear.
Elise's confession. The details about Ariana's faction. The names. The drop locations. The betrayal.
Viper watched ten seconds of it. His eyes narrowed. The boredom vanished, replaced by the sharp, predatory focus of a man who just realized he was holding a loaded gun.
He looked up at Enzo.
"Good," Viper said softly.
That single word carried more weight than the Pokémon. This was leverage. This was ammunition for the internal wars.
"I'll need supplies," Enzo said, capitalizing on the mood.
Viper nodded, tapping his screen. "I'm listening."
Enzo rattled off the list.
"Ingredients—berries, high-grade binders, mineral dust. Potions. Full Heals. Three sets of thermal gear. A magnetic belt for him," he pointed at Ronnie. "A larger tent—three partitions plus a stable. And empty Poké Balls. Great Balls if you have them."
Viper tapped it all in, calculating the exchange rate against the "bonus" Enzo just gave him.
"Done," Viper said. He signaled the grunts to unload the crates from their transport packs.
Within minutes, the exchange was complete.
Viper turned to leave, Elise trailing behind his grunts like a ghost.
He paused and looked back at Enzo.
"Try not to die before Day 100, Rank One," Viper said. "It would be a waste of good data."
Then they were gone.
The plateau was quiet again.
Just Enzo, Proton, and Ronnie.
Ronnie was looking at his new magnetic belt like it was a crown. He touched the fabric of the thermal suit Enzo had tossed him.
Enzo broke the silence.
"Field hierarchy is simple," he said. "Me. Proton. You."
Ronnie saluted—a sloppy, grinning gesture. "Yes, boss! Anything beats being a material grunt. I thought I was dead meat."
Enzo looked at Proton. "Proton, handle the morning routine. Get everything stowed."
Proton nodded. "On it."
"Ronnie," Enzo said. "Walk with me."
They walked to the edge of the cliff, looking out over the red wasteland.
Ronnie's grin faded a little. He looked at Enzo—really looked at him.
"Why'd you pull me out?" Ronnie asked. His voice was serious now. "No one does that. Grunts like me… we get recycled. What do you want from me?"
Enzo didn't look at him. He looked at the horizon.
"You're ugly," Enzo said. "You're loud. You're a problem magnet. By Team Rocket standards, you're a statistical error."
Ronnie flinched, but didn't argue.
"But," Enzo continued, turning to face him. "You have something rare. Something most of these 'elites' don't have."
"What?" Ronnie asked.
"Unconditional loyalty," Enzo said. "That's what I'm buying."
Ronnie stared at him.
"I give you power," Enzo said. "I give you status. I give you a life where people don't look down on you."
Enzo leaned in.
"In exchange… You serve me. Forever."
Ronnie swallowed. He looked at his scarred hands. Then he looked at Enzo.
"Deal," he whispered.
Enzo smiled.
He reached into his belt and pulled out a single Poké Ball.
He tossed it to the ground.
BOOM.
Dust exploded outward as something massive hit the stone.
Onix.
It uncoiled, rising up like a tower of grey boulders, its roar shaking the ground beneath their feet. It was huge. Heavy. Terrifying.
Ronnie fell back on his ass, eyes popping out of his head.
" Holy Rayquaza ass..."
Enzo ignored him. He focused his mind, projecting a telepathic spear straight into the Onix's brain.
"This is your trainer," Enzo commanded silently. "Follow his rules. Protect him."
The Onix rumbled, looking down at the terrified green-haired boy.
"If I hear problems…" Enzo added, his mental voice turning into ice, "…I will drop you into the deepest part of the ocean."
The Onix shuddered. It dipped its massive head in submission.
Enzo's System chimed.
[ SYSTEM NOTIFICATION ]
Bond Transfer option detected.
Transfer Bond imprint to ally?
YES / NO
Enzo selected YES.
He felt the connection snap—the loyalty shifting from him to Ronnie like a heavy chain being handed over.
Ronnie stared up at the rock monster. It nudged him gently with its snout—a rock the size of a car.
Ronnie started to cry. Ugly, snotty tears.
"Thanks, boss…" he choked out. "I'll serve you forever. I swear."
Enzo watched him.
[ POKÉMON PROFILE — UPDATED ]
Specimen: Onix (VIRUS ACTIVE)
Level: 16
Potential: GREEN
Ability: Rock Head
Moves:
— Tackle (Normal)
— Bind (Normal)
— Rock Throw (Rock)
— Screech (Normal)
Bond Indicator: "Ally imprint established. Primary loyalty redirected."
Enzo's TR Device pinged one last time. A routine status update from Porygon2.
Enzo looked at his team. The Psychic. The Executive. The Grunt.
He looked at the North.
"Welcome to the team, Ronnie," Enzo said quietly. "Now get up. We have 36 days left and a lot of work to do."