Pokémon Scarlet and Violet: Infrared

Chapter J: Project Infrared

Song: "Deep Space Expedition" - Antti Martikainen

Kenji wasn't kidding when he said his lab was in a quiet part of the city. After Sada, Miraidon, and he passed the Hologram Pokémon Show, they snuck behind a burnt-out spotlight and entered a back alleyway.

Sada didn't know the meaning of claustrophobia until she was in that alleyway, and her head began to spin. It was also too dark and suspicious for her taste. Should she have trusted Kenji? What if he was pulling her into a trap? Sada didn't want him to fix her because she didn't want him to turn her into a robot.

"Kenji, where are you taking me?" she finally asked.

He picked up on her uneasiness and peered over his shoulder. "I know it looks weird, but I promise I won't hurt you or your baby, Sada. My lab is at the end of this walkway in an old, abandoned Pokémon Center."

A Pokémon Center? Why did that sound somewhat familiar to Sada? She seemed to vaguely remember a Pokémon Center on her last trip to the future. She stopped momentarily and crossed her arms. Her eyebrows arched to the point they almost hid her eyes.

Miraidon ignored the rumbling in his tummy and edged closer to her—to protect her—right when the shadow of an abandoned Pokémon Center appeared on the horizon. It looked like a ship sitting at the edge of the Earth and a haunted house just waiting for its next victim. Its shadow extended across the alleyway and almost reached the trio.

"Here we are." Kenji gestured at the obscured building. "Are you ready, Sada?"

"I-I guess." Sada wasn't, but at the end of the day, whatever happened inside the lab—she was doing it for her family, not Project Infrared.

Inside the Pokémon Center she, Kenji, and Miraidon went. At first glance, it didn't look like a lab at all. It looked like an old Pokémon Center that Kenji brought back to life. He had put new furniture in it, and the reception counter in the lobby was now a kitchen. A few holograms popped up here and there. One showed a map of Levincia, another of Paldea, and one of an incoming phone call, but Kenji didn't pick it up—although Sada had the urge to check the collar ID.

"Sit, sit." Kenji pointed at a chair. "Take your coat off; stay a while."

While she was still suspicious, Sada did. She unbuttoned her coat and tossed it over the back of the chair, sitting down.

Kenji ducked behind the reception counter and bent over. He emerged carrying a bowl of Pokémon food and said, "Here you go, Miraidon."

He almost knocked down another chair with how fast his tail wagged. Miraidon stood on his tiptoes and chased it.

Sada chuckled. Miraidon always calmed her nerves.

Kenji emerged from behind the desk and set the bowl before her partner.

At once, he dug in, and he ate like a Lechonk.

"Whoa, Miraidon, slow down," Sada said. "You don't want to make yourself sick."

"I told you he was hungry," Kenji returned, smiling. "Don't worry, my dear. I haven't forgotten about you."

Another incoming call appeared on his holographic phone screen.

Kenji checked his watch. "Oh, I need to take this." He pressed a button, and the screen shut off like a computer. "Excuse me, Sada." With that, he left her and went through double black doors at the back of the Pokémon Center's lobby.

The second he was gone, Sada stood and took a stroll. She searched the room for anything unusual, but she saw nothing. Regardless, Sada wondered if there was a way to turn on the holographic screens. She was smart enough to know that if there were any secrets, they were in them.