"This is...!"
Zinnia was stunned when she saw the Poké Ball that Gary handed her.
Having traveled with Gary for a while, Zinnia recognized the pink-and-white Heal Ball. Among Gary's Pokémon, only Latios was stored in one.
Gary was actually giving her Latios now? Zinnia was a little flattered by his concern.
"I can't help it. None of the Pokémon you have are strong enough. If you run into danger, you won't be able to handle it," Gary said bluntly.
"Don't underestimate my Pokémon. They're plenty strong," Zinnia replied, unconvinced.
"Yeah, I know. This is just a backup—just in case. Hopefully, you won't even need to use it." Gary patted Zinnia's head gently, brushing her hair twice.
Zinnia imdiately recoiled, like a kitten being pet with a cat-calming glove.
"Don't touch my head!" she snapped, slapping his hand away and fixing her hair.
"Don't worry. I'll be fine," she said confidently and headed for the dock.
Gary stood there watching as Zinnia boarded the transport ship. He didn't leave until the ship slowly pulled away and disappeared from sight. Only then did he return to the hotel.
The hotel was actually a building operated by the Devon Corporation. Over the past two days, its presidential suite had been converted into a command center. A machine capable of detecting Infinity Energy had been installed.
As soon as any fluctuation in Infinity Energy occurred on the Aether Marine Platform, the device would pick it up instantly.
Currently, a map was displayed on a large screen in the command room. A red dot was moving slowly on the screen. It was near Slateport City and heading toward Route 108. That red dot was the transport ship.
The ship's GPS tracking was still active, which was standard. Even the guards stationed at the Aether Marine Platform couldn't remove the tracker without suspicion.
Out at sea…
At the Aether Marine Platform located near Route 108, one of the platform's machines was actively collecting data from the seabed.
A transport ship loaded with supplies was approaching. Several staff mbers on the platform, who knew about the scheduled delivery, gathered to et it.
As soon as the ship docked, a group of workers—led by a man—jumped onto the deck. The man shouted excitedly, "Luki! Finally! Did you bring what I asked for?"
"Of course. I've got your stuff right here," Luki replied, tossing him a black plastic bag.
Luki was the captain of the transport ship and responsible for regularly delivering supplies to the Aether Marine Platform.
"Ah, perfect. Now we've got food for the week!" the man cheered.
He quickly opened the bag and pulled out a long cardboard box—packed with cigarettes.
Ripping the box open, he grabbed a pack, lit a cigarette, and sighed in relief as the stress visibly lted off his face.
The platform staff were all familiar with Luki and had a good relationship with him. Living at sea was isolating, and since the Aether Marine Platform was running a classified project, the workers lived there full ti with minimal access to the outside world.
While the company provided housing and three als a day, luxuries like cigarettes and snacks were hard to co by. So whenever the staff needed extras, they relied on Luki to bring them.
Over ti, they beca friendly.
Zinnia erged from below deck, helping the rest of the crew unload supplies. Her small fra quickly drew attention.
"Hey, little girl, hold up a second," the smoking man said suspiciously.
Zinnia froze in place.
"Is sothing wrong, sir?" she asked, pretending to stay calm.
Luki quickly stepped in. "Aben, she's my niece. Ca along to help out."
"Your niece? You brought your niece to work at sea?" Aben blinked, surprised.
Life at sea was tough. Most sailors were n, and female crew mbers were rare—especially young girls.
"Just giving her so experience. She'll transfer to logistics afterward," Luki replied casually. "Zinnia, get to it."
"Dit!" Zinnia responded with a quick nod, hurrying along with the crew.
Aben stared after her for a mont. Zinnia looked tan and rugged—like a village kid used to the outdoors—so he didn't think much more of it.
Just like that, Zinnia had infiltrated the Aether Marine Platform.
Once onboard, she imdiately observed the platform's buildings. A strange cylindrical structure caught her eye—it resembled a tower, with a fully steel-clad exterior. It looked quite different from the nearby resource-collection units.
"That building… it feels oddly familiar sohow," Zinnia thought to herself.
"Zinnia! What are you spacing out for? Follow !" a crew mber called out.
"Oh!" she replied, quickly jogging to catch up as they headed into the storage area near the cafeteria.
While moving through the hallway, Zinnia discreetly attached a small scanner underneath a fire hydrant, then continued hauling crates.
Because they were delivering supplies, no one thought anything strange of it, and few paid close attention.
After the delivery, Zinnia looked back at the strange cylindrical building. Feeling drawn to it, she made sure no one was watching and slipped inside.
"Security's so sloppy. This isn't anything like what Steven said it'd be."
Finding a side entrance labeled "Ergency Exit," Zinnia quietly entered the building.
Inside the safe passage, she checked her surroundings—no surveillance caras. She breathed a small sigh of relief.
She pulled Poké Ball from her pocket and released one.
"Craaaack!"
A Noibat erged in a flash of light.
"Noibat, use ultrasonic waves to scan the hallway. If anyone's nearby, let know imdiately," Zinnia whispered.
"Noii-bat!" the little dragon-bat cried, nodding.
Noibat released a series of sound pulses. When it confird the area was clear, Zinnia pressed a small energy detector against the inner pipe wall.
anwhile, in Slateport City…
Steven, Wallace, and Gary were gathered in the command room, monitoring the situation. They were all hoping Zinnia would complete her infiltration mission and return safely.
What they didn't know was that Zinnia had already gone off script and started acting on her own.
Suddenly, soone burst into the room.
"Mr. Steven! Mr. Wallace! Sothing terrible has happened!" a man nad Kennedy shouted.
"There are signs of Kyogre in the waters around Route 124! It's altering the climate—and it's causing a tsunami!"
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