Chapter 1073: Infiltrating the Laboratory

When Yuga returned to the alley, the trench-coated man and the long-haired trainer were still there. The trench-coated man, alerted by Meowth, saw Yuga and was very surprised because he recognized him.

Seeing Yuga return, the long-haired trainer immediately asked with excitement, "Did you catch that person? How is my Pokémon?"

Yuga apologetically said, "I'm sorry. The masked person was too fast; I couldn't catch up and let her escape."

The long-haired trainer started crying, "What will happen to my Pokémon? Will I never see them again? Waaah…"

The trench-coated man was surprised by Yuga's words, "Even Shimizu Gym Leader couldn't catch Essentia?"

Seeing that the trench-coated man knew him, Yuga asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

The trench-coated man thought for a moment and said, "It's not convenient to talk here. Let's move to another place."

Since the trench-coated man seemed to have something to discuss, Yuga agreed.

As for the long-haired trainer, considering his identity, the trench-coated man told her to go directly to the police station to report the crime and not to follow them.

However, the trench-coated man knew that reporting to the police might not help. Essentia had committed crimes before, and the Lumiose City police had been investigating her for a long time without any results.

Guided by the trench-coated man, Yuga arrived at a discreet little studio.

After inviting Yuga to sit down, the trench-coated man apologetically said, "The place is simple, sorry for the inconvenience."

Yuga shook his head and said, "It's fine. You mentioned Essentia earlier; who is she?"

The trench-coated man introduced himself, "Actually, I'm a police officer, code-named 'Looker'."

Looker introduced his identity but did not reveal his real name. Unlike ordinary police officers, he worked undercover on various missions, so his real name couldn't be disclosed.

He had come to Lumiose City to investigate a secret case, so he set up a detective agency here and met his later assistant, Emma.

Looker's first encounter with Emma was in a Lumiose City alley where she lived with many stray Pokémon and relied on them for companionship.

Emma had lived with the strays since she was young. However, through Emma's recollections, Looker learned that she had parents, but they treated her poorly, leading her to run away from home.

After meeting Emma, Looker, sympathizing with her situation, took her in and made her his assistant.

Because Emma had run away from home at a young age, she had not systematically learned anything, so Looker personally taught her to read and write.

As they spent time together, their relationship grew closer, and Looker even began to see her as his own daughter.

But one day, Emma suddenly disappeared, leaving only her companion, Meowth. Despite Looker's efforts, he couldn't find any trace of Emma.

Yesterday, he received a message claiming that the notorious criminal Essentia was actually Emma and that she would appear in this alley today.

Looker's first reaction was disbelief. Emma was kind-hearted and timid, how could she be the notorious Essentia?

However, his anxiety over Emma's disappearance drove him to the location mentioned in the message.

After sharing his experience with Emma, Looker took out a photo: "This is Emma. You just saw Essentia. Are they the same person?"

Yuga looked at the photo of a teenage girl, around fifteen or sixteen, with dark curly hair and holding a Meowth, smiling shyly and happily.

After glancing away from the photo, Yuga shook his head and said, "The person called Essentia was masked. It's hard to determine if they are the same person just from the photo."

"I see…" Looker said, somewhat disappointed but also relieved. He couldn't believe Emma could be the evil Essentia.

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

The informant was an inconspicuous middle-aged man. After meeting Yuga, he said directly, "I won't introduce myself. We might not see each other again after this." He then handed Yuga a set of clothes and gestured for him to change.

"You'll impersonate my assistant. I'll cover for you to blend into the laboratory, and then you'll need to act on your own."

The informant was someone Malva had placed in Lysandre's research institute. Although Malva worked under Lysandre, she had a secret position to support her own trusted personnel.

Looking at the white lab coat and black-framed glasses, Yuga said, "You plan to rely on these to get me in? Do you think the people at Lysandre's lab are fools to be tricked by such a simple disguise?"

The informant was taken aback, "Is there a problem?"

Yuga sighed and said, "Forget it. Just lead the way, I have my own method for getting in."

The informant asked in confusion, "How will you get in?"

Yuga smiled and called out, "Gengar!"

As soon as he spoke, Gengar appeared ominously before the informant, who was startled and instinctively took several steps back, clutching his chest.

Yuga instructed Gengar, "Gengar, go invisible."

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

"So just lead me there. Your equipment is too unreliable," Yuga's voice echoed in the air, making the informant shiver.

Ghost-type Pokémon are so terrifying!

After demonstrating his method of entry, Yuga's figure reappeared before the informant. The informant stammered, "What a convenient ability!"

Not all Ghost-type Pokémon can help others become invisible; most can only conceal themselves. Yuga's Gengar and Mismagius are special because they originate from the mysterious Spirit World, which grants them this unique ability.

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

Since Yuga had a better method of infiltration, the informant naturally did not insist on his method.

Thus, Yuga used Gengar's invisibility to follow the informant to the entrance of Lysandre's research institute. Yuga was surprised to see that the building was the same café where Lysandre and Diantha had met the previous day. It was also where Essentia had disappeared.

It was unexpected that Lysandre's research institute was hidden within this café. The informant led Yuga through the back door, not the front entrance. Yuga had passed this door while chasing Essentia the day before.

The back door was unlocked and unguarded. The informant opened it and led Yuga inside.

The back door led to the café's warehouse, which was dark. The informant pressed a button, causing a section of the warehouse floor to split open, revealing a tunnel with faint lighting.

Yuga followed the informant down the tunnel, which was brightly lit. The sound of the floor closing behind them echoed.

At the end of the tunnel was a door guarded by two Team Flare members in red uniforms. The informant showed them an ID card, and after a nod from the guards, the door was opened.

As the door opened, Yuga saw a large underground research facility with many people in white lab coats or red uniforms working busily.

As soon as Yuga entered, one of the guards asked his companion, "Do you feel a bit cold?"

The companion rubbed his arms and replied, "Now that you mention it, it does feel like the temperature dropped suddenly."

Hearing their conversation, Yuga slowed his steps. It was better not to stay too close to others to avoid detection of Gengar's presence. Gengar could perfectly conceal itself, but not while carrying Yuga.

Inside the research institute, Yuga noticed that everyone who met the informant treated him with respect, calling him Captain Bruno. This made Yuga realize that the informant's position in the research institute was likely high, explaining his confidence in helping Yuga infiltrate.

The informant's name was Bruno, as Yuga learned from others in the research institute. Since it wasn't practical to stick close to Bruno all the time, Yuga decided to explore the research institute on his own to find AZ.

The underground research institute was large and heavily guarded, so Yuga was very cautious in his movements. He knew there were many hidden alarm systems, so he followed the staff to avoid triggering them.

Yuga was curious about the research but couldn't understand the complex machinery and technical terms.

After searching several areas without finding AZ, Yuga was disappointed. It seemed AZ was not there. Yuga initially thought that if AZ were here, taking AZ away would cause a commotion and alert Lysandre. But now it seemed unnecessary.

At that moment, Yuga arrived at a room and saw an unexpected person.

"Is that... Emma?"

He recognized her immediately from the photo.

Emma looked similar to the photo, and she was speaking submissively to a plump man in a red uniform. Yuga vaguely remembered this man as a Team Flare scientist, but he couldn't recall his name.

Could Emma really be Essentia and involved with Team Flare? If so, it would explain everything.

Yuga decided to eavesdrop on their conversation.

"Dr. Xerosic, how much longer do I have to continue this work? I want to go home and see my family," Emma said, looking troubled.

Emma had been away from her uncle and Meowth for a long time and missed them.

Dr. Xerosic replied sternly, "We agreed that my experiment needs to be kept confidential. Otherwise, how could you easily make so much money? So you can't go back for now."

"Okay... okay," Emma said, shrinking her shoulders in fear.

Then Yuga saw Dr. Xerosic release an Malamar, which used hypnosis to gradually dull Emma's senses.

Dr. Xerosic then took out a uniform and a helmet. Yuga recognized them as the ones Essentia wore the previous day.

It seemed certain that Emma was indeed Essentia. Her drastic personality change was likely due to being hypnotized.

The uniform was a Team Flare experimental item, and Essentia's abnormal abilities were likely due to this uniform. From both the description and Emma's appearance, it was clear she didn't possess such abilities naturally.

If this was the case, the uniform was incredibly powerful. If every Team Flare member had one, it would be overwhelming. Yuga even considered wanting one himself.

He realized he needed to report this to the league.

Seeing Emma's mechanically put on the uniform, Yuga decided to hold off on any action. His main goal was to find AZ and take them away. Since AZ's location was unknown, it was not the right time to act.

Regarding the search for Emma by Looker, Yuga could only apologize silently. Some matters were more urgent than others.

With this in mind, Yuga decided to leave the research institute.

Like the previous day, after Emma transformed into Essentia, she continued her malicious activities in the dark parts of Lumiose City. Yuga followed her closely. Although he planned to temporarily set aside Emma's matter, he couldn't let Essentia go unchecked.

So, whenever Essentia attempted to steal Pokémon from others, Yuga would send Pokémon to secretly stop her. To avoid revealing his identity, he did not show himself.

Back at the hotel, Yuga immediately contacted Malva, informing her that AZ was not in the research institute and asked her to continue investigating AZ's whereabouts. Malva told him to wait for news.

He also inquired about the uniform.

Malva informed Yuga that the uniform was called the

E-Combat Suit, a secret Team Flare research project overseen by Dr. Xerosic.

Due to technical issues, the E-Combat Suit project was stalled, and currently, only Dr. Xerosic was focusing on it, so it was not a major concern for now.

Yuga sighed with relief. If Team Flare succeeded with this project, it would pose a significant threat to the league.

(End of Chapter)