The Lab

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  Team Rocket is at it again, you must stop them!

Compared to this, Slowpoke Tails are nothing.

You hear these things, and you know with certainty that you must stop Team Rocket, no matter what.

You and your trusty Pokemon journey far and wide, until you come across a secret entrance in the middle of Lavender Tower's first floor. It is a trapdoor, and you just narrowly fit through it. Beneath the trap door is a spiral staircase, seeming to go into the very center of the earth. The light of the torches on the wall cast a sinister red tint on every inch of the place. You know you must go on. Team Rocket must be stopped.

Besides... How bad could it be?

As you near the bottom of the stairs, you start to hear it, a faint bubbling sound, like the sound of a boiling liquid.

There is a door in front of you. From the looks of it, it is specially sealed so no sound or scent can escape. You puzzle this, but open the door anyways, and are immediately attacked with the most horrible scent you have ever smelled. Your eyes burn and water, and for a second, you cannot see a thing, but then your vision clears, and you realize that this is not the scent of a horde of Muks, but the scent of boiling flesh. You gag as you see a large white tank, obviously the source of the odor, there's something in there.

As you walk towards the tank, a loud buzzer sounds, and a second later, you hear the cry of a Jigglypuff, and then hear a splash. You are forced to hear the agonized scream of the Pokemon as it is boiled alive. You risk a look, and you are right. The water is a muddy red, with floating chunks of meat in it. You force yourself to hold it together, and somehow you manage to do so.

This is an all-time low for Team Rocket, and it sickens you.

You force yourself to look around, and you see a door off to the side, behind the tank. You hurriedly rush over, unable to stand the stench of boiling Pokemon flesh, and the sight of this horrendous device.

As you close the door, the buzzer sounds again, and this time it is the cry of a Pikachu. You shudder, and almost vomit there. You clutch the Pokeball with your own Pikachu inside of it, and press on.

The next room is filled with the agonized cry of Pokemon. A symphony of screams. The first thing that catches your eye is a cage with a Vaporeon in it, and it was hopping around, in an odd way. And when its paws landed on the metal floor of the cage, you understood why. An electric arc of current would snap up once the paws got close enough, and for a split second, the Pokemon would tense up and open its mouth, as if wanting to cry out. And then it was in the air again. Its fur was sticking out all over the place.

You turn your head away, just in time to see a group of Bellsprout go up in flames from a flamethrower in the wall. Then an automatic fire extinguisher is activated, and the charred Pokemon are no longer aflame, until the flamethrower starts up again.

You turn, unable to stomach this any more. You vomit, spewing your lunch everywhere. You watch in disgust as a small, weak looking Growlithe in a small cage strains at the bars, lapping at the air, trying to lick up your vomit. This Pokemon looks like it hasn't eaten in a long time, it can't even stand up anymore. Or perhaps the cage is just too small...

You turn and run, almost running into a large tank full of water. This one was not boiling, but it was clear, and inside, you could see several Geodudes struggling to swim, fighting for their lives, but their bodies were too heavy, and you knew they would die, just like the other Geodudes, the lifeless ones scattered amongst the living.

All around you, Pokemon are being tortured, and you are helpless, utterly helpless. You know you must go on, though, for you cannot stomach the sight of all this torture.

Another door, this one slightly ajar, you have no choice but to move forward.

Oh, but you wish you didn't. The door slams shut behind you, and an automatic locking mechanism locks you in. You are in a dimly lit hallway, and the walls, floor, and ceiling are painted black. As you step forward, a panel in the wall is suddenly lit up. It's a glass panel, probably a one-way mirror. You can see everything as a masked man in a lab coat, runs a scalpel along an Audino's stomach. This Audino is strapped to the metal table, and by the looks of it, very conscious of this procedure. You quickly turn your head away, but another panel lights up, and in this room, you see a Squirtle, and two people this time. One is holding the squirming Pokemon down, and the other has a hammer and a chisel. You are frozen in horror, and slight curiosity. And then you see them attempt to crack open the Squirtle's shell.

You hurry down the hall, and on each side of you, new panels light up. One with just a Fearow, strapped to the wall, its stomach ripped open, guts falling out, already dead. One with two men dragging in an indignant Machop, and hitting it when it pulled away. On and on these mutilations were revealed to you, until at last you got to the end of the hallway, trying not to look at the Chansey being dissected, or the Machamp in a weights room, forced to lift weights and grow stronger, muscles obvious, tearing through the skin.

You wrench open the door, and come face to face with Giovanni himself.

"Well hello" He says, smiling. "Like what you see?"

You shake your head and take a step back. Giovanni follows.

"You see, we at Team Rocket want to see if we can make a super Pokemon. I know Mewtwo was created by us, but we want to do better than that. We want to create the ultimate Pokemon, but one that obeys me. All the research got destroyed in the fire that Mewtwo had caused, so we have to start over. And you won't stand in my way... Will you?" He asked, the last two words forceful. He pulled a Pokeball out of his pocket, almost like he anticipated that you'd instinctively reach down to the Pokeballs on your belt. He steps forward into the room, and you back up, throwing out your first Pokemon. You hear the familiar cry of your beloved Pikachu, and glare at Giovanni. "This isn't right!" You say, before he sends out his own Pokemon. You and your Pikachu gasp when they see the Pokemon that appears. It looks almost like an Entei, with the same face and paws, but it has the tail of a Flygon, the body of a Galvantula, and many gashes, bloody spots, and stitches.

"This is a prototype, but it works well in the event a brat like you shows up", Giovanni explained, pointing at your Pikachu.

The Entei creature rushed forward, moving fast for something that looked as awkward as that. It bit down hard on your Pikachu's head, and your beloved Pokemon gave a cry, struggling to free itself from the creatures jaws. You fumbled with the pokeball, which had dropped to the floor, and you look up in time to see your Pikachu's head get crushed by the creature's massive jaws. You hear the crunch, and see as blood and bits of brain squirt out of the back of your Pokemon's head. "No!" You cry out, too numb still to cry, but still feeling agony.

You turn to run, but come face to face with another spliced creature. This one looks like a mix between Alakazam, Arbok and Dustox. It uses Psychic, and you see your Pokeballs all float into the air, and then release your most prized Pokemon. They look around in terror. Some see the now abandoned body of Pikachu, and start to panic. Some try to fight, but the Entei creature gobbles them up, one by one, each Pokemon crushed in the creatures jaw, bursting like an overripe tomato. Now you are truly alone, surrounded by the bloodied bodies of the Pokemon you once called your friends. You scream, hoping someone hears you, but it's useless.

The Kadabra-Arbok hybrid slithers towards you, and you feel its cold, rough scales start to wrap around you. The feeling of being squeezed, that pressure, it builds, and the last thing you hear is Giovanni saying "Team Rocket WILL rule the world. No matter what it takes." And you believe him.

And then, there is a sudden release of pressure, and your skull pops like a balloon, almost as soon as your heart stops, and for a second, you feel the most unbearable pain in your life, but then there is darkness. Eternal darkness.

 

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