Infiltrating The Research Institute

When Yuga returned to the alley, the man in the trench coat and the long-haired female trainer were still there. The man in the trench coat noticed Yuga, thanks to a nudge from his Espurr.

The trench coat man was quite surprised to see Yuga because he recognized him.

The long-haired female trainer, upon seeing Yuga return, immediately asked excitedly, "Did you catch that person? What happened to my Pokémon?"

Yuga apologized, "I'm sorry, that masked person's speed was too fast. I couldn't catch up and they got away."

Upon hearing this, the long-haired trainer began to cry, "What will happen to my Pokémon? Will I never see them again? Waaaah..."

However, the man in the trench coat was surprised by Yuga's response. "Even Gym Leader Shimizu couldn't catch Essentia?"

Seeing that the man recognized him, Yuga asked curiously, "And you are?"

The man in the trench coat thought for a moment before saying, "It's not convenient to talk here. Let's move to a different place."

Sensing that the man had something important to discuss, Yuga agreed.

As for the long-haired trainer, due to his special identity, the man in the trench coat instructed her to go straight to the police station to file a report, but he didn't let her follow them.

However, the man knew that even reporting to the police wouldn't help. This wasn't Essentia's first offense, and the Lumiose City police had been investigating her for some time. So far, they hadn't made any progress.

Following the man's lead, Yuga arrived at a small, secluded workshop.

After inviting Yuga to sit down, the man in the trench coat awkwardly said, "Sorry for the humble surroundings. I hope you don't mind."

Yuga shook his head. "It's fine. Earlier, you mentioned Essentia. Who is that?"

Hearing Yuga's question, the trench coat man introduced himself, "I'm actually a police officer, code name Looker."

Looker explained his identity but didn't reveal his real name. Unlike regular police officers, he often worked undercover on various missions, so his real name had to remain confidential.

He had come to Lumiose City to investigate a secret case, disguising himself and setting up a detective agency, where he later met his assistant, Emma.

Looker and Emma first met in the backstreets of Lumiose City. She lived there with a group of stray Pokémon, relying on each other for survival.

Emma had been living with the stray Pokémon in the alleys since she was very young.

However, through Wmma's memories, Looker eventually learned that she did have parents. Unfortunately, they treated her very poorly, which led her to run away from home.

After getting to know Emma, Looker, feeling sympathy for her situation, took her in and made her his assistant in detective work.

Having run away from home at a young age, Emma had never systematically learned anything, so Looker personally taught her how to read and write.

As they spent time together, their relationship grew stronger, and Looker even began to think of her as his own daughter in his heart.

However, one day Emma suddenly disappeared, leaving behind only her companion, Espurr, who had been with her since childhood. Despite Looker's extensive search efforts, he found no trace of Emma.

Until yesterday, when he received a message stating that the person causing trouble all over Lumiose City, Essentia, was actually Emma.

Looker's first reaction was, of course, disbelief. Emma was kind-hearted and timid; how could she possibly be the malicious Essentia?

Nevertheless, his anxiety over not being able to find Emma drove Looker to the location mentioned in the message.

After recounting his experience with Wmma, Looker pulled out a photo: "This is Emma. You just met Essentia—are they the same person?"

Yuga looked at the girl in the photo, who appeared to be around fifteen or sixteen years old. She had dark curly hair and was holding an Espurr, smiling shyly yet happily.

After pulling his gaze away from the photo, Yuga shook his head and said, "It's hard for me to tell if the masked person is the same as the girl in the photo just from this image."

"I see..." Looker felt a bit disappointed upon hearing this, but he also sighed in relief. He had always doubted that Emma could be the malicious Essentia.

After bidding farewell to Looker, Yuga found a small inn to stay for the night. The next morning, he successfully met with the informant arranged by Malva.

The informant was an unremarkable middle-aged man who, upon meeting Yuga, said directly, "I won't introduce myself since it's uncertain whether we'll see each other again after this." As he spoke, he pulled out a set of clothing, indicating for Yuga to change into it.

"You'll impersonate my assistant, and I'll help you blend into the laboratory. After that, you'll need to act based on the situation."

This informant was someone Malva had placed in the Lysandre Labs. Although Malva worked under Lysandre, his high status in Team Flare allowed him to secretly support his trusted confidants.

Looking at the lab coat, black-rimmed glasses, and other items in front of him, Yuga couldn't help but voice his disbelief: "Are you planning to rely on these things to get me in? Do you think the people at the Lysandre Labs are fools who can be tricked by such a flimsy disguise?"

The informant was taken aback by his words: "Is there a problem?"

Yuga sighed and replied, "Never mind. Just lead the way; I have my own methods to get in."

The informant asked in confusion, "How do you plan to get in on your own?"

Yuga smiled and called out, "Gengar!"

As soon as his voice fell, Gengar appeared ominously before the informant, who was startled and instinctively stepped back several paces, clutching his chest.

Yuga instructed Gengar, "Gengar, use invisibility."

Upon hearing this, Gengar placed its chubby little hand on Yuga's shoulder, causing Yuga's figure to slowly fade from the informant's view.

"So you just need to lead me. Your outfit is too unreliable," Yuga's voice echoed in the air, sending chills down the informant's spine.

Ghost-type Pokémon are so terrifying!

After proving he had a way to enter the institute, Yuga's figure reappeared before the informant, who stammered, "That's quite a convenient ability!"

In fact, not all ghost-type Pokémon can help others become invisible; most can only conceal themselves. Yuga's Gengar and Mismagius were special cases because they hailed from the mysterious spirit world, granting them this unique ability.

However, Yuga rarely had the opportunity to use this ability.

Since Yuga had a better method for infiltration, the informant naturally didn't insist that Yuga follow his plan.

Thus, with Gengar rendering him invisible, Yuga followed closely behind the informant to the entrance of the Lysandre Labs.

Looking at the building before him, Yuga was very surprised. Isn't this the café where Lysandre met with Diantha yesterday? It was also where Essentia had disappeared.

Who would have thought that the Lysandre Labs was hidden in this café?

The informant led Yuga not through the café's front door but through the back entrance, which Yuga had passed by while chasing Essentia the previous day.

The back door of the café was unlocked and had no guards, allowing the informant to open the door and lead Yuga inside.

This back entrance connected to the café's storage room, which was dark. The informant pressed something, and with a "click," a section of the floor in the warehouse split apart, revealing a passage leading underground, with faint lights glowing from within.

Yuga silently followed the informant down the staircase into the passage, which was well-lit. Behind them, another "click" was heard as the floor above closed again.

At the end of the passage was a door, guarded by two members of Team Flare dressed in red uniforms. The informant took out an ID badge and signaled to the guards, who nodded and opened the door.

As the door swung open, Yuga was greeted by a vast underground research facility, bustling with people in white lab coats and red uniforms.

The moment they stepped into the research institute, one of the guards turned to his companion with a puzzled expression and asked, "Did you feel a bit cold?"

His companion rubbed his arms and replied, "Now that you mention it, I do feel a bit chilly. Did the temperature suddenly drop?"

Hearing their conversation, Yuga paused in his steps. It seemed wise not to stay too close to others, or else Gengar's presence might be detected! Gengar could perfectly conceal its own aura, but it was another matter when it came to hiding Yuga as well.

Once inside the labs, Yuga noticed that everyone who passed by the informant would bow respectfully to him. This made him realize that the informant likely held a significant position in the research facility, which explained why he confidently claimed he could help Yuga get in.

From the conversations around him, Yuga finally learned the informant's name—Bruno. The people in the labs addressed him respectfully as Captain Bruno.

Realizing that following Bruno around wasn't the best approach, Yuga decided to explore the research facility on his own and see if he could find any leads on AZ's whereabouts.

The underground research facility was vast, with a formidable security presence. Therefore, Yuga moved cautiously, knowing that many areas were equipped with hidden alarm systems. He carefully followed behind the staff members of the institute to scout around.

As long as he followed the staff, he wouldn't trigger any of those alarm systems.

Yuga was genuinely curious about what the main research focus of this labs was. Unfortunately, he was an outsider; he couldn't understand any of the machines the people were working with or the technical terms they used.

After searching place after place, Yuga was a bit disappointed not to see AZ anywhere. It seemed AZ wasn't here after all! Initially, he had thought that if AZ was here, there would surely be some commotion when he tried to take AZ away, which might alerted Team Flare. Now it appeared that wouldn't be necessary.

At that moment, Yuga approached the doorway of a room and inadvertently spotted someone unexpected.

"Is that... Emma?"

Having seen Emma's photo before, he recognized her at a glance.

At this moment, Emma looked quite similar to the photo Looker had shown him; she was talking timidly with a chubby man dressed in a red uniform.

Yuga found the chubby man somewhat familiar, vaguely remembering him as a certain doctor from Team Flare, though he couldn't recall the name.

Could it be that Emma really was Essentia? And that she was involved with Team Flare? If that was the case, everything would make sense.

Unable to resist, Yuga stopped to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Professor Xerosic, how much longer do I have to keep working? I want to go home and see my family," Emma said, looking troubled as she addressed the chubby man.

Having been away from her uncle and Espurr for so long, Emma missed them dearly.

Professor Xerosic responded with a stern face, "We agreed from the start that my experiment must remain confidential; otherwise, how could you earn so much money so easily? So you can't go home just yet."

"Okay... fine," Emma replied, her shoulders shrinking in fear.

Then Yuga watched as the man named Xerosic released a Malamar, which hypnotized Emma, causing her eyes to gradually lose their focus.

Next, Xerosic took out a uniform and a helmet, and Yuga immediately recognized that the uniform and helmet were the same ones Essentia had worn yesterday.

It seemed that Emma being Essentia was confirmed, but the drastic change in her personality must have resulted from the hypnosis.

Given that the uniform was a prototype from Team Flare, it made sense that the bizarre abilities Emma had displayed yesterday were due to the uniform. After all, based on Looker's descriptions and Emma's own appearance, she didn't seem like someone with powers comparable to Pokémon.

However, if that were true, then the uniform was incredibly powerful. If everyone in Team Flare had access to one, what chaos would ensue? It even made him want one for himself.

This definitely needed to be reported to the League!

Watching Emma mechanically put on that uniform, Yuga decided to hold his ground. His main goal was to find AZ and take him away; since AZ's whereabouts were unclear at the moment, it wasn't appropriate to act hastily.

As for Looker, who was still searching desperately for Emma, Yuga could only silently apologize to him. After all, some matters had higher priorities than others.

With a plan in mind, Yuga decided to leave the labs.

Just like yesterday, Emma, transformed into Essentia, continued her nefarious activities in the shadows of Lumiose City, with Yuga trailing behind her. Although he had initially intended to set aside the matter of Emma for the time being, he couldn't allow Essentia to go too far.

Thus, whenever Essentia attempted to snatch someone else's Pokémon, Yuga would secretly dispatch his own Pokémon to intervene. Of course, to avoid revealing his identity, he himself did not make an appearance.

Upon returning to the hotel, Yuga immediately contacted Malva, informing her that AZ was not at the Lysandre Labs and asking her to continue investigating AZ's whereabouts. Malva instructed him to wait for further news.

He also inquired about the uniform with Malva.

Malva informed Yuga that the uniform was called the Expansion Suit, a secret research project of Team Flare, with Professor Xerosic as the lead.

However, due to technical difficulties, the Expansion Suit project had been shelved, and currently, only Professor Xerosic was still focused on this project. Therefore, there was no need to worry for now.

Upon hearing this news, Yuga quietly sighed in relief. If Team Flare succeeded with this project, it would pose a significant threat to the League.