Agency

Standing before the open elevator shaft in the ruined Cinnabar mansion, the group debates their next move. Ranger Neasman insists CoRRNet must be informed of the discovery immediately. However, Leaf vehemently objects, fearing that either CoRRNet or the League hierarchy might already be compromised and would orchestrate a coverup. Blue argues that the League wouldn't tolerate a rogue project creating regional threats, noting that Indigo would likely riot if such a thing were exposed, but he acknowledges they need hard proof first. Leaf wants to take the discovery straight to Interpol, but Red points out the grim reality of their position: they only have an abandoned, buried basement and Dr. Fuji's unverified story notes. Without concrete evidence tying the lab to Team Rocket or proving it poses an active, tangible threat, Special Administrator Looker is highly unlikely to divert essential agents from tracking down active renegade cells.

As the debate circles, Red sits quietly, stroking his pikachu. Over the past two months, he has methodically evolved all his other pokemon into living weapons, utilizing his psychic danger-projection training and Interpol's vast resources to maximize their combat effectiveness against renegades. Yet, he explicitly refuses to evolve Pikachu. He has deliberately held onto his sentimental attachment, accepting the tactical cost of not having an Alolan Raichu in order to keep his starter from becoming just another tool for killing. Rather than dissecting and challenging these feelings as his younger self would have eagerly done, Red is surprisingly content to just let his emotional attachments exist without interrogation.

Leaf stubbornly attempts to plan a covert, independent excavation of the lab, suggesting they approach the buried structure sideways from a nearby slope. However, Cadet Wendy and Neasman dismantle the idea, explaining the massive engineering, logistical, and security hurdles of quietly tunneling into the facility without triggering a collapse or drawing wild attacks. Recognizing that their options are rapidly vanishing, Red feels a sudden surge of frustration over his own passive compliance. For the past two months, he has allowed Looker and the hunters to manage his life, suppressing his own agency to appear safe and cooperative. Refusing to let fear dictate his actions any longer, Red reclaims his initiative and announces he will personally convince Looker to investigate. Blue cryptically agrees to withhold the discovery from the League, noting he wants to quietly investigate whether Cinnabar's Gym Leader, Blaine, is involved first.

Leaving the others to finish their patrol, Red teleports directly to Interpol's Indigo headquarters with his Hunter escort, feeding a berry to his abra along the way. In a private, secure meeting, he briefs Looker on the secret lab and the implications of Leaf's story. As expected, Looker is highly skeptical of the lack of actionable evidence and offers only a low-priority investigation, unwilling to divert valuable resources from hunting active Rocket operations. Red refuses to accept this dismissal. Pushing through his rising anxiety, he intentionally adopts Blue's "battle calm" mental state, applying the combat-focused cognitive partition to a social confrontation for the first time. The borrowed mindset strips away his nervousness, leaving him coldly focused on his objective. Unwavering, Red threatens to escalate the matter to Director Tsunemori or use his own considerable resources if Looker ignores it. Respecting Red's newfound resolve, Looker relents and agrees to assign a full squad led by Agent Murphy. However, he warns Red that relying on raw personal power to dictate terms bypasses the necessity of institutional hierarchy; if Red wants to call the shots, he needs to officially join the organization and put in the work to climb the ranks. Red agrees, leaving the meeting feeling more alive and present than he has in months.

Meanwhile, Blue continues sweeping the rest of the island for ditto nests with the rangers on their pidgeot mounts, deploying a growlithe, nidorino, and rattata to flush out the dense brush until they locate a confirmed vulpix nest. Despite the routine work, Blue is deeply unsettled by Red and Leaf's earlier assertion that the psychic hybrid—if it truly exists—would be less dangerous than a mindless elemental because its human intelligence means it can be "reasoned with." Blue understands the fundamental flaw in that logic: reason is only an effective tool when power is somewhat balanced. An intelligent, legendary-level threat could simply ignore reason and impose its will if its values differ from humanity's, making it infinitely more terrifying than a predictable force of nature. Seeking reassurance, he subtly tests Neasman's stance on the hybrid. He is immensely relieved when the ranger confirms that, unofficially, they would immediately begin planning how to stop it. Blue realizes that if he inevitably has to fight a moral battle against his best friends to eliminate the hybrid threat, he won't be alone.