Lucius rode on his Gyarados, descending onto an unnamed island covered with coconut trees.
"You've all been waiting long." Lucius dismounted from Gyarados.
Seven highly fused human mutants and four mutant Pokémon stood on the island.
Among the seven humans, aside from the stunning beauty from Mandarin Island, the other four men and two women bore varying degrees of mutation.
As expected, the higher the fusion rate, the more one could maintain their human appearance, with mutations only manifesting when powers were in use.
The four mutant Pokémon included an Intimidate-ability Growlithe, a Torrent-ability Croconaw, a Defiant-ability Farfetch'd, and a Swarm-ability Ariados.
What a pity—if that Vespiquen hadn't perished under Draco Meteor's assault, these five could have formed an undead Pokémon squad.
Among them, only Farfetch'd and Croconaw retained relatively intact appearances due to their higher fusion rates. The other two looked grotesque and terrifying.
Growlithe's body had large patches of rot, its tongue turned grayish-black, and several writhing tentacles protruded from one eye. The once brave and adorable appearance was now utterly horrifying. As for Ariados, it had grown four extra legs, and its body was riddled with cracks, oozing dark green liquid.
Lucius frowned at the sight, and even Gyarados behind him looked bewildered.
These two Pokémon were definitely not fit to be shown in public.
Lucius pulled out a Poké Ball and tossed it at Farfetch'd.
With a flash of red light, Farfetch'd was smoothly captured—proving that mutant Pokémon could indeed be stored in Poké Balls.
As Lucius observed the mutants, they, in turn, observed him.
"You're a member of Team Rocket?" The beauty with over 90% fusion was the first to speak.
"That's right," Lucius nodded. "My name is Archer, an executive of Team Rocket."
He wore the Team Rocket uniform—anyone with some knowledge would recognize it.
"So… will we be joining Team Rocket?" She smiled faintly, pressing further.
"No need. We'll be establishing a new organization," Lucius smirked.
These mutants all had fusion rates above 70%, far higher than the Soran of the Biker Gang. Their intelligence was nearly fully intact, making them capable of normal thought and conversation. The only difference was that they couldn't resist the Emperor Strain's pheromonal commands—even self-destruction would be possible at its bidding.
"But I'm just an ordinary glassblower… I doubt I could…" One man with white chitin plating on his arm hesitated.
Lucius scanned his memories—he was a glass artisan from Sunburst Island, not even a Pokémon Trainer.
"Don't worry. You won't be asked to do anything beyond your abilities," Lucius said flatly.
Relax… once the organization is up and running, you'll be obsolete.
"What kind of organization will we be forming? Like Team Rocket?" The beauty's eyes sparkled.
A glance into her memories revealed her name—Flora. Once a hostess at a club on Mandarin Island, her greatest asset was her beauty. A life marred by domestic violence and constant bullying had twisted her personality. Last night, her high fusion rate not only granted her immense power but also amplified her ambitions.
Before Lucius summoned her, she had already killed two people on Mandarin Island.
"Something like that… I'll explain in time," Lucius deflected, unsure what the next mission would entail.
As they chatted, Lucius gleaned information about the group.
Apart from the glass artisan and hostess, none of the others had notable backgrounds. It seemed fusion rates were unrelated to social status.
With the headcount complete, how should the organization be formed?
Register it with the League?
Lucius doubted the system would recognize League protocols.
Then…
"Ahem… Alright, let's get down to business." Lucius cut through the chatter with a serious expression. "I hereby announce the founding of the 'Hive.'"
"Hive?" The mutants exchanged glances, with only Flora showing excitement.
It was understandable—they had mutated against their will, and now some mutant gangster wanted to start an organization with a dull name like "Hive." Why not call it the Ant Nest instead…
Lucius ignored their stray thoughts. "Do you wish to join?"
A proper organization needed members, whether their consent was genuine or not.
"I join." Flora raised her hand excitedly.
"I join." Zeyan, a fourteen-year-old traveling Trainer infected on Sunburst Island, followed suit. His goal was to become a Champion and surpass his cousin, Anabel.
Anabel… Lucius found the name vaguely familiar, but it wasn't important.
The others joined one by one—though only Flora and Zeyan did so willingly. The rest merely complied out of resignation.
Three members were still missing.
Lucius sensed Soran delivering the Biker Gang's dirty money to victims, while Ophelia was with Scott.
Hmph, Ophelia…
Lucius tapped into Ophelia's memories—she had learned to mentally control Scott. Unlike Vespiquen, who commanded through pheromones, humans had no such innate ability. Yet Ophelia had figured it out herself.
What amused Lucius was that Ophelia didn't realize it was pheromone-based—she thought she had developed psychic powers like Sabrina and planned to undergo testing at the Shadow Ops headquarters.
Lucius chuckled and sent them a message:
I cordially invite you to join the Hive. If you agree, reply with "I join."
—
"Beep… Beep…"
Scott and Ophelia, riding in the same car, received the message simultaneously.
"Hive?" Ophelia muttered, puzzled. "Is this some pyramid scheme?"
"I join," Scott suddenly declared.
"…?" Ophelia glanced at him through the rearview mirror.
"I received a message inviting me to join the Hive. It asked me to reply with 'I join,'" Scott said slowly.
"You received it too?" Ophelia raised an eyebrow, slightly surprised—it seemed the message had been sent to many. Then she added, "A message like that? Just saying 'I join' in the car... would that really be enough to join?"
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