Pokémon: Virus Evolution

In the original Pokémon anime, the most frequently appearing villains were undoubtedly Team Rocket's infamous trio, often referred to as the true protagonists. However, despite their antics, they were never truly evil.

But real villains? They weren't nearly as amusing.

With a mere thought, Lucius detached from the Treecko crawling through the ventilation ducts, his consciousness leaving its host and floating toward the source of a nearby voice.

At Level 2, his vitality and adaptability had significantly improved. Unlike before, detaching from his host was no longer a death sentence.

Riding the air currents, Lucius soon drifted into an office.

Under the bright artificial lights, a stern-faced man sat behind a desk, two subordinates standing before him.

Heh, so this is the guy in charge?

Without hesitation, Lucius slipped into the man's respiratory system.

The cold-faced man remained completely oblivious to death creeping into his body, continuing to issue instructions to his subordinates.

Lucius could immediately feel that his upgraded infection rate had improved significantly. Though the man's physical fitness and immune system were superior to Kuran's, the infection spread even faster than before.

In the presence of Lord Virus, you humans are nothing but fragile insects…

Before long, system notifications flashed within Lucius's mind:

[Host body successfully infected: 100%. Evolution state updated.]

Host: Mike

Species: Human

Type: Normal

Ability: Ruthless

HP: 357 (300 base HP + 57 Progenitor Virus bonus)

Attack: 11

Defense: 9

Special Attack: 1~2 (1 base Sp. Atk + 1 Progenitor Virus bonus)

Special Defense: 7

Speed: 10

Occupation: Hunter Association Member, Pokémon Smuggler, Level 25 Pokémon Trainer

Skills: Dark-type Pokémon Breeding, Potential Extraction, Potion Crafting, Sitrus Berry Cultivation, etc.

As expected, Mike was far superior to the student Kuran in both stats and experience.

Lucius glanced at his own evolution progress—infecting Mike had increased his genetic evolution rate by another 5%, bringing it to 12%. His attribute boosts had also slightly improved.

Suddenly, a flood of memories surged into Lucius's consciousness, revealing Mike's past and deepest thoughts.

A complete scumbag…

The more Lucius saw, the colder his heart became.

On the surface, Mike was a registered member of the Unova Region's Hunter Association. Behind the scenes, however, he worked for Syndicate, Unova's largest Pokémon smuggling ring. In fact, he was currently Syndicate's operations manager in Cerulean City, Kanto.

Mike was sadistic to the extreme. Unlike most Pokémon hunters, who merely captured and sold Pokémon for profit, Mike took pleasure in torture and execution.

During captures, he would often kill Pokémon outright. If a Pokémon resisted, he would torture it to death—a behavior so extreme that even members of Syndicate disapproved.

After all, despite being criminals, Pokémon smugglers still operated as a business.

To them, captured Pokémon were assets. No sensible person would destroy their own merchandise for fun.

Especially when healthy Pokémon fetched a much higher price.

But Mike? He enjoyed it. He crippled and killed Pokémon at whim, simply for his own amusement. His reckless behavior had caused so many problems that even Syndicate grew frustrated.

Yet, thanks to his powerful older brother—a high-ranking Syndicate enforcer—they could only transfer him to a different department.

Now, he was in charge of smuggling Pokémon to high-end restaurants and illegal underground laboratories.

The more Lucius dug through Mike's memories, the more he understood the real Pokémon world.

It wasn't as idyllic as the anime portrayed. Darkness festered in the shadows of society.

A large portion of smuggled Pokémon ended up on the dining tables of wealthy patrons. Pokémon dishes were delicacies—far more expensive than regular meat.

As for the ones sent to illegal laboratories? Their fates were even worse.

They were treated like lab rats—tortured in the name of science.

The ugly side of society…

Even the original anime hinted at Pokémon being used as food several times.

At that moment, Mike had finished assigning tasks and was now reviewing documents on his desk.

Lucius, through Mike's eyes, could see everything on the papers.

The documents contained details of the week's Pokémon smuggling operations and updates on the facility.

One particular section caught his eye:

"Hoenn Shipment #1914—Escaped"

The description below confirmed that this "Hoenn Shipment #1914" was none other than Treecko.

Pokémon possessed incredible abilities—especially high-level ones, who were not only powerful but also intelligent.

Though this facility mostly dealt with low-level Pokémon, some had unyielding spirits and strong rebellious tendencies.

Treecko, however, was in a league of its own.

It had already attempted to lead two escape attempts.

The second attempt had nearly succeeded.

To punish it, Mike had his Pokémon beat Treecko to a pulp.

Then, his Venipede had repeatedly stabbed Treecko with Poison Point, leaving it severely poisoned.

He had intended for Treecko to slowly suffer in front of the other Pokémon—to crush their will to resist.

But somehow, despite being on the brink of death, Treecko had managed to escape.

Pokémon escaping was already the second incident this month.

If it happened again, the facility could be exposed.

Lucius could feel the anxiety in Mike's heart.

At the same time, his gaze shifted to another document—this one marked in bold red text.

"Urgent: Tomorrow's transaction with the Houston Corporation must be handled with utmost care."

Houston Corporation…

Lucius scoured his memory. That name had never appeared in the original Pokémon anime.

Having seen enough, Lucius activated Venomous Plague without hesitation.

"Ugh—"

Mike's face twisted as his skin turned ashen purple. A choking sensation and excruciating pain engulfed him, a hoarse groan escaping his throat.

[Host HP -30]

[Host HP -30]

System notifications confirmed the attack's effect.

Huh, impressive. His physique is strong enough to resist the full -50 HP per second effect.

Mike's body convulsed violently, toppling him from his chair. His bloodshot eyes darted toward his belt, struggling to release a Pokémon for help.

But his spasming muscles wouldn't let him.

[Warning: Host HP below 100. Death imminent in 5 seconds.]

Lucius smirked.

You slaughtered so many Pokémon.

Now, enjoy your own slow, agonizing death.

[Warning: Host HP = 0. Host has died.]

The system's final notification rang as Lucius leisurely floated out of Mike's corpse.

A Level 25 Pokémon Trainer—dead before he could even release a single Pokémon.

So, this is my first time killing a human, huh?

Gazing at the blackened corpse, Lucius realized something.

He didn't feel even the slightest remorse.

Not a shred of guilt.

Was he… no longer human?

No.

He wasn't human anymore.

He was a virus.

And he had no reason to feel anything at all.

Without another thought, Lucius drifted away with the air currents—though at Level 2, he still preferred not to linger outside a host for too long.

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