With a violent sweep of its tail, Gyarados sent several International Police agents flying.
"Gyarados, snap out of it!" Kai shouted desperately. "They're not the enemy!"
But his words fell on deaf ears.
Gyarados didn't respond not even a flicker of recognition. Instead, it lashed out again, its massive tail nearly slamming Kai to the floor.
Sabrina reacted just in time, yanking Kai out of harm's way with a burst of psychic energy.
"It's no use…" said a voice.
A flicker of blue light appeared, and Gengar materialized beside them. It had recovered since earlier, its usual sly tone now replaced with grim urgency. "I saw it all from inside the Poké Ball. That signal is still controlling Gyarados. It can't hear you."
Kai turned sharply toward the signal emitter.
"To hell with this. Sabrina destroy it!"
Without hesitation, Sabrina raised her hand. A blade of psychic force sliced through the machine like a hot knife through butter, splitting the emitter clean in half.
But even with the device destroyed, Gyarados showed no sign of calming down. Its rage still burned, mindless and unchecked.
Professor Sebastian stood laughing, wild with excitement.
"It's too late now!" he howled. "Your Gyarados is consumed by fury! Its mind has been completely overwritten! All it knows now is destruction and you're powerless to stop it!"
He pulled out Gyarados's Poké Ball and tried to recall it.
The red light shot out, hit Gyarados squarely—
But nothing happened.
The beam fizzled, ineffective.
Kai looked down at the ball. It was still linked to Gyarados. The bond wasn't broken. But the Pokémon's power had grown too unstable and too strong. If it refused to return, the Poké Ball couldn't override its will.
Not even that would work…
Gyarados opened its jaws. Energy surged in its throat.
Kai's eyes widened. Hyper Beam.
Not here. Not inside—
A torrent of raw power tore through the lab, blasting holes straight through concrete walls. As Gyarados swept its head, the beam cut a path of annihilation across the room, vaporizing desks, machinery everything in its wake.
Windows shattered. Walls collapsed. The entire research facility shook.
Everyone scrambled for cover, barely avoiding the onslaught.
And when the beam finally faded, all that remained was rubble twisted metal and scorched stone.
Even Looker, hardened as he was, looked stunned.
He had seen Gyarados use Hyper Beam before but this? This was something else entirely. The power had jumped to another level.
And the most terrifying part Gyarados didn't even seem tired.
It should've been reeling from recoil, but it wasn't.
It was still ready to fight.
Still ready to destroy.
Was this the true power of Project R?
The facility groaned. Cracks split along the ceiling. Chunks of debris began falling from above.
"It's coming down!" Looker shouted. "Everyone out—NOW!"
But instead of fleeing, he made a move toward Sebastian.
Just as he reached the steps, a steel beam crashed down in front of him, blocking his path.
Sebastian gave him a cold, satisfied smile.
He glanced one last time at Gyarados, his creation, and nodded with pride. Then he turned, opened a hidden passageway, and vanished into the shadows.
"Get back here!" Looker roared, but another beam collapsed behind the secret door.
Flames erupted, cutting off the chase.
Frustrated, Looker had no choice but to retreat, regrouping with Kai and Sabrina.
Kai gave Gyarados one last conflicted look. The Pokémon was still thrashing about in the wreckage, roaring and firing off bursts of energy like a living catastrophe.
He exhaled sharply and ran with the others.
Down the collapsing hallway, rubble fell from the ceiling with every step. Walls cracked. The ground shook.
But Sabrina shielded them with psychic barriers, clearing the path and buying them enough time to escape.
Bursting through the main entrance, they stumbled into the open just as a massive explosion rocked the ground behind them.
The facility caved in collapsing into a pile of wreckage and smoke.
And standing in the centre of it all, still roaring and spitting beams of fury, was Gyarados.
It was still rampaging, still out of control.
Looker quickly signalled the rest of the team. "Everyone fall back! Spread out and search for any remaining Rocket agents! There has to be a hidden tunnel nearby they can't have gotten far!"
Just then, heavy footfalls approached.
Karen and Will arrived with their team reinforcements from Goldenrod City.
They'd seen the explosions from a distance, but even from far away, the towering, berserk Gyarados had been impossible to miss.
"My God…" Karen said, eyes wide as she stared up at it. "That thing… is this Rocket's ultimate weapon?"
"No," Looker muttered, glancing at Kai. "It's… actually his Pokémon. But they took control of it. It's gone completely berserk."
"Your Gyarados?" Will asked, turning to Kai with a raised brow.
Then he sighed, shaking his head with mock sympathy. "Well, can't be helped. We need to put it down before someone gets hurt."
He tossed out his Poké Ball. "Exeggutor, let's go!"
He gave Kai a look and smirked. "Sorry in advance. Your Gyarados is about to take a hit."
Then came the command:
"Exeggutor—use Psychic!"
He clearly thought this would be a simple matter. Most rampaging Pokémon followed patterns that were predictable, clumsy, and easy to counter.
The moment Exeggutor launched its psychic attack, Gyarados snapped its head around.
And fired a Hydro Pump straight through it.
The blast slammed into Exeggutor and sent it crashing into the ground—KO'd in one shot.
"What?!" Will's eyes went wide. "Are you serious?! But Exeggutor's a Grass-type! It should've resisted that!"
Looker could only sigh.
"Now you understand," he said. "This is why we haven't made a move. We're completely outmatched."
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