**Their plan was set in motion immediately.** Borg teleported himself directly into the surveillance room, Sableye emerging from the shadows beside him. Without hesitation, it launched a Shadow Ball toward Aron and Smeargle, who were still monitoring the screens.
The shadowy orb hurtled toward them with impressive speed.
Smeargle noticed the attack just in time and leaped aside, conjuring a series of hexagonal protective barriers in front of itself. The shields held firm, successfully blocking the Shadow Ball.
"I knew it—it had to be like this," Aron said, rising from his chair with a calm demeanor. "Bold of you to come straight to my room."
Borg attempted to read Aron's thoughts but quickly realized something was wrong. *"I can't read his mind... this is going to be troublesome."*
"Sableye, Knock Off!"
Sableye lunged at Smeargle, swinging its arm upward before bringing it down hard toward the painter Pokémon. Smeargle stood its ground and took the hit directly. As Sableye made contact, Borg noticed something unsettling.
*"Sableye didn't steal any item... wait—this is a trap!"*
"Sableye, fall back!"
Sableye obeyed instantly, leaping backward—but Smeargle was already moving.
"Play Rough!" Aron commanded.
Smeargle launched a relentless assault on Sableye, striking with its claws in rapid succession. Sableye, taking heavy damage, quickly used Phantom Force to retreat.
*"This is bad. My other Pokémon are in the seizure room. My main Sableye and my Key Stone are also there. I can only stall for time here,"* Borg thought, his mind racing.
Meanwhile, Vane—still invisible—approached Aron's computer while the security chief was occupied with Borg. He quickly located Darian's current holding cell.
**"Cell 03-13. Got it,"** he thought, and relayed the information telepathically to Borg.
Borg, still focused on his battle, replied telepathically, **"Good. Now—where's the seizure room?"**
Vane quickly scanned the facility's map and found the location. **"Room 3-C. Alright, time to move."** He carefully restored the computer to its previous state.
Meanwhile, Sableye was struggling to hold off Smeargle's relentless attacks. It glanced at its trainer, and Borg gave it a subtle thumbs-up.
Sableye grinned and pulled them both back into the Shadow Realm using Phantom Force.
Aron tried to stop them. Smeargle fired a Thunder Wave, but Sableye dodged just in time. Aron seized the opportunity to use his ability.
**"Sheer Heart Attack,"** he said, snapping his fingers and pointing at Borg as he entered the Phantom Force.
Borg felt his heart stop—but fortunately, Sableye had already pulled them into the Shadow Realm.
Vane noticed Borg's heartbeat had ceased and paused briefly, his mind racing. *"He can stop a heart instantly... what kind of ability is that? Is he an Esper, or does he have biological manipulation?"* He reached out telepathically. **"Hey Borg, can you still stand?"**
**"Of course. Something like that doesn't affect me much. At least we got new information,"** Borg replied.
**"Are you sure you're okay? Your heart actually stopped,"** Vane pressed.
**"Espers are centered on the mind. To me, this body is just a vessel. It doesn't affect me much,"** Borg said.
**"That's not how it works..."** Vane muttered.
---
**Back in the surveillance room,** Aron knew exactly where they would head next.
"They'll go straight to Darian's location now. Moving him again would be pointless. Borg will head to the seizure room, and that kid will go to Darian. It's time to try something different."
He turned to Smeargle. "You handle the storage room. I'll take care of the other one."
Smeargle nodded and teleported to Darian's location. As expected, Vane appeared there moments later.
Vane spotted Aron already waiting and let out a tired sigh, rubbing his face. "Alright, if this is your game, let's settle it now—whoever you are."
In the center of the room, Darian lay unconscious, his mind trapped in Mind Prison.
"Go ahead, try me," Aron replied, pulling out a Great Ball and tossing it. From within emerged a Slowbro with a vacant expression.
Vane seized the opportunity. **"Reuniclus, Energy Ball!"** he commanded telepathically.
Reuniclus conjured a green energy sphere, infused with life energy, and launched it at Slowbro. The attack struck—but instead of dealing damage, it was absorbed, and a reddish aura began to glow around Slowbro.
"How is that possible?" Vane muttered, surprised.
"Slowbro, Hidden Power," Aron commanded.
Slowbro released a wave of pale green energy from its body, directing it at Reuniclus. Reuniclus was knocked back, sustaining visible injuries.
Vane quickly analyzed the situation. *"Grass-type attack absorbed... he must have modified Slowbro's ability to Sap Sipper. And from the damage, that Hidden Power was Bug-type—there's no way Grass-type Hidden Power could hurt Reuniclus through the Assault Vest I gave it."*
**"Shadow Ball!"** Vane commanded.
Reuniclus fired a Shadow Ball at Slowbro, which simply took the hit. As the attack connected, Vane noticed something off—the form began to shift, darkening until it revealed its true identity: Zoroark.
Vane's eyes widened. He tried to recall Reuniclus, but Zoroark was faster. It struck with Pursuit before Reuniclus could return, knocking the cellular Pokémon out.
"Damn it—a Zoroark. No wonder its attacks were so strong." He recalled Reuniclus to its Poké Ball.
Zoroark extended its claws, a red aura flickering around them, and lunged at Vane. The claws tore across his chest, and blood began to seep from his mouth and torso. He looked down at the deep gashes across his chest, blood now flowing freely.
"Your journey ends here," Aron declared, pointing at him.
"The Investigation Division... you really aren't just ordinary trainers," Vane managed before collapsing. *"Espers aren't supposed to be tied to their bodies... but this still hurts like hell."*
But just as Aron began to step toward the fallen Vane, he sensed something strange in the facility.
"Another intruder has entered. I'm certain it's one of the dangerous targets Devon warned me about... but who?" he wondered.
His Pokédex then alerted him that Smeargle had been defeated. Then, a young woman with long black hair, red eyes, and wearing an Alcetra Academy uniform appeared before him.
Vane, catching sight of her, smiled weakly through telepathy: **"I knew it. You'd come to help me, Roxanne."**
Roxanne turned to him, replying with a lazy tone: **"Who said I'm helping you? You should be helping *me* here. Honestly, I only came to help Borg, but Master Alvion ordered me to help you too."**
**"Then where's Borg?"** Vane asked.
**"He's already gone to help Master Alvion,"** Roxanne replied.
Vane sighed heavily, knowing that in his current condition, he had no chance of winning alone.