Chapter 5: The Massball Enigma

Section 5: The Massball Enigma

The path to Azuria stretched out before me, but my mind was elsewhere.

I had no answers.

And this feeling… it was unbearable.

The Massball.

The clandestine operation.

The suspicious "suicides."

The unknown scientist.

Nothing made sense.

I hated this feeling of being a spectator, of holding puzzle pieces without being able to assemble the full picture. Something was lurking behind these events, something far greater than a simple Pokémon trafficking scheme.

My steps slowed.

No.

I couldn't leave like this.

I slowly turned around and headed back.

My breathing steadied, my movements became more precise. Every action had to be calculated. Adrenaline pushed me to rush, but I had to control it. No haste. Not yet.

I moved forward silently, senses on high alert.

The cave echoed with scattered noises—the dripping of water against stone, the rhythmic flapping of a Zubat's wings somewhere above. A false silence. A silence filled with natural whispers that could conceal far more threatening sounds.

I finally reached the place where they were.

Pressing myself against the rocky wall, I held my breath.

Their conversation continued.

They were still talking about the Massball.

But then, a single word triggered an immediate alarm in my mind.

— "Boss."

I narrowed my eyes slightly.

Who was this boss?

I had to see. I had to understand.

My gaze probed the darkness.

Two figures emerged from the shadows.

The first man was familiar.

The pilot.

The one I had trapped in Viridian Forest. The one who was supposedly "dead" after the police intervention. And yet, he stood there, alive and well.

His suicide had been an illusion.

The official version of events was false.

The police had been deceived.

And so had I.

The second man…

I immediately sensed that he was the one I should fear.

He was taller. His posture straight, his bearing, his gaze… He wasn't wearing a Team Rocket uniform.

A white lab coat.

A scientist.

And yet, he exuded an overwhelming aura.

It was hard to explain. Some people don't need to shout to impose their presence. They become the center of gravity in any room they enter. Their mere gaze can stifle the air.

This man was one of them.

The person I had manipulated in Viridian Forest approached him and, with an attitude I never would have imagined, handed him the Massball.

— "Here, I believe this belongs to you."

I immediately analyzed his tone.

Respect.

Submission.

Reverence.

This scientist wasn't just a regular member. He was far above them.

A superior?

A mastermind?

Or worse… the true architect behind this entire operation?

He took the Massball with an almost ceremonial slowness, rolling it between his fingers as if measuring its weight.

Something was off.

I had seen people recover lost objects.

I had seen people retrieve something vital.

But what I was seeing now… was different.

The way his fingers caressed the Poké Ball… There was possessiveness in his gaze, an obsession.

As if this Massball was far more than just an object.

As if it contained something invaluable.

Suddenly, his voice echoed through the cave.

— "Silence."

A cold shiver ran down my spine.

The silence was immediate.

They obeyed without question.

— "I have the feeling we're being watched."

My heart skipped a beat.

How…?

How could he sense my presence?

His instincts were abnormally sharp.

I had to leave.

The man I had followed abruptly turned toward the exit and began scanning the area.

Not a second to lose.

I moved.

Not too fast.

Not too slow.

Just enough to avoid disturbing the air in a suspicious way.

Every muscle in my body was tense.

Every breath, calculated.

Every movement, measured.

But it was too late.

He had heard.

The scientist didn't move, but in his gaze, I knew—he knew.

There was nothing I could do now.

If I turned around, I would expose my position.

If I sped up, they would know I was fleeing.

So I gambled everything on my surroundings.

The sounds of the cave.

The Zubats.

The dripping water.

Their suspicion could be tricked by the natural noise.

I kept running, controlling my breathing.

When I was finally far enough, my thoughts exploded.

What was inside the Massball?

A rare Pokémon?

An unknown technology?

A creation of this scientist?

Why was he so different from the other Team Rocket members?

Why did they obey him like an absolute leader?

The more I pieced the puzzle together, the clearer the picture became.

And one thing was certain.

This time, they wouldn't escape.

The trap was closing in.

And their checkmate was already written.