Lucius and his group returned to Sunburst Island, where they saw a massive shipment of construction materials arriving to support the development of the oceanic research base. Swarms of workers in protective suits, along with numerous Pokémon, were bustling about.
Naturally, Lucius had no intention of interacting with the League. Instead, he and a few mutants took a speedboat toward the Nanyl Island base.
On the way, he manipulated the Emperor Strain to enter the bodies of several mutants, activating the ability Protean Morph.
This ability was something he had acquired during his experiments on Sunburst Island, after analyzing a Kecleon's Protean ability. It allowed him to alter the shape and appearance of the host by controlling tissue displacement and hormone secretion.
There was a limitation, however: only hosts infected by the Emperor Strain could be altered. But since they were all on the same boat, it was easy for Lucius to switch between hosts and activate the ability sequentially.
Aside from Flora, the other three mutants had various visible mutations. With Protean Morph, they mostly returned to their original human forms.
After all, they needed to blend in to help build the organization. Looking too monstrous would only hinder their progress.
At first, they had thought they would never be able to return to their human appearances, so this development was a pleasant surprise.
Seeing the overflowing joy and excitement on Yumi and Maeva's faces, Lucius sighed. Right now, he could afford to adjust each individual. But once the organization expanded, keeping up this method would be exhausting...
In reality, an organization was just a collective. Not everyone had to be a mutant—only the core members needed to be under his control.
Soon, they arrived at the Rocket Team branch on Nanyl Island.
"Lord Archer, you've returned." A woman wearing a half-mask and Nanli stepped forward to greet him.
"Sham, you should rest more," Lucius said as he looked at her.
Sham had indeed been injured on Sunburst Island. While Rocket Team's medical technology ensured she wouldn't be permanently scarred, it wouldn't heal overnight. Using a mask to cover it was a clever choice.
"After such a huge incident on Sunburst Island, how could I possibly rest easy?" Sham chuckled. Her left side was adorned with exquisite makeup, while the right was concealed behind a silver-white mask, exuding an unusual charm.
Lucius suddenly had a realization—this image...
He recalled that Sham had appeared in the Pokémon Adventures manga, where she was also depicted as a Rocket Team executive wearing a half-silver mask.
In the manga, her signature Pokémon was a Slowking. He hadn't expected her to be assigned as Archer's assistant here.
"Who are these individuals?" Nanli asked, noticing the four people behind Lucius.
Lucius introduced Flora and the others, informing them that they were new recruits for Rocket Team.
Ordinarily, Rocket Team had a rigorous recruitment process. Given their appearances, these four were clearly unusual candidates. However, since Archer had personally brought them in, no one dared question it.
Lucius had Sham handle their onboarding. Of course, since Archer had recommended them himself, they bypassed the complex procedures—unlike Jessie in the anime, who had to start from Rocket Team's training camp.
Drawing from Archer's knowledge, Lucius established a new task force within Rocket Team, naming it Omega Squad and assigning it a C-rank clearance level.
Omega (Ω) was the last letter of the Greek alphabet, symbolizing the end.
Rocket Team's hierarchy capped at S-rank, a level held exclusively by Giovanni and his secretary. The highest clearance Archer could grant was A-rank, but setting up an A-rank squad required extensive authorization and executive approval. A C-rank squad, on the other hand, would attract far less scrutiny.
After all, completing Rocket Team's official missions wasn't his priority—developing Hive in the shadows was.
Since he was already in the body of one of Rocket Team's Four Executives, it would be foolish not to take advantage of its resources.
After setting things up, Lucius contacted Rocket Team headquarters and transmitted the Crystal Onix for research.
His mission to capture the Crystal Onix had nearly wiped out the entire base. While the loss was covered up as a "monster invasion," failing to deliver any results would tarnish Archer's long-standing reputation.
Furthermore, most of the Crystal Cave's secrets had already been deciphered. Once Hive grew strong enough, they could fully exploit it. The Crystal Onix, with its mediocre strength, was of no use to him, so sending it to headquarters didn't matter.
However, the Crystal Rampardos—a leader-tier Pokémon—was a different story. That, he would keep.
Lucius assessed his current roster. He now possessed a King-tier Gardevoir, along with Leader-tier Pokémon such as Crystal Rampardos, Steelix, and Tyrantrum, in addition to Archer's original six. His overall strength firmly placed him at Elite Four level.
Moreover, his Gardevoir, having undergone viral modification, no longer suffered from its usual physical frailties. Even without the amplification from giant crystals, it remained a formidable King-tier fighter.
Once Drake's Dragonite finished its infection process, Lucius would have at least two King-tier Pokémon under his command, putting his power above all Rocket Team members—except Giovanni himself.
Hmm... Considering all this, maybe continuing to impersonate Archer wasn't such a bad plan. In this world, he could truly carve out a place for himself.
Just then, Archer's communicator buzzed with an incoming message.
"Archer, well done." In the video feed, Giovanni stroked his Persian, nodding approvingly.
Aside from transmitting the Crystal Onix, Lucius had also sent back several Water-type Pokémon that had mutated into monstrous forms for further analysis.
He had conveniently captured them on his way back to Nanyl Island—after all, this was a direct order from Giovanni himself.
"Yes, everything for Rocket Team," Lucius responded in Archer's usual tone.
"Come to Saffron City by noon tomorrow. I have something important to discuss," Giovanni instructed before cutting the transmission.
Something so important that it required an in-person meeting in Saffron City?
Lucius knew that Giovanni's positions as both Viridian Gym Leader and Silph Co. President were of utmost importance to him. He rarely summoned high-ranking Rocket Team officers for face-to-face meetings—after all, Archer, Ariana, and the others were all high-profile fugitives. Frequent interactions increased the risk of exposure.
Thus, if Giovanni was calling a meeting, it had to be something major.
And given the urgency of the timing, it had to be an immediate concern.
Originally, Lucius had planned to return to Cerulean City to investigate the recent deaths of his infected hosts. But now, that would have to wait until after the Saffron meeting.
No matter—it would be a good opportunity to send his mutants ahead to Cerulean City for covert reconnaissance.
With this in mind, Lucius issued a covert infiltration mission to the four members of Omega Squad through Rocket Team's system. Their objective: to infiltrate Cerulean City and assist Houston Corporation in investigating Tyler Jorron's death.
Of course, their secret mission was to investigate the deaths of Tyler Jorron, Kuran, Soran, and several others who had previously perished.
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