Interlude XXIV - Omens
In the aftermath of the psychic battle, Looker desperately tries to reach Bill over the radio. Bill eventually answers, sounding concussed and barely coherent, but confirms that he is alive and working to restore the network. When Looker asks about Rowan's status, Bill flatly states that the rogue psychic is dead before abruptly cutting the connection. Looker deduces that Bill likely executed the incapacitated Rowan to eliminate the lingering threat before help could arrive. With the immediate crisis contained, Looker pivots to narrative control, ordering his agents to prepare body doubles for Red and drafting a boring cover story to downplay Red's involvement and minimize media scrutiny.
At the Interpol hospital, Red lies trapped in a severe comatose state. Jason, serving as his primary psychic healer, carefully withdraws from a merger, emotionally exhausted by the sheer chaos inside his friend's shattered mind. Dr. Zhang and Laura watch anxiously as Red's vital signs show only marginal improvement. Jason explains that Red's hundreds of psychic partitions have completely collapsed, flooding his consciousness with a chaotic, roaring torrent of his own memories mixed with the alien, cannibalistic remnants of Rowan's mind. To help Red heal, Jason must plunge back into the terrifying psychic maelstrom. Entering a deep meditative state, Jason merges with Red's sleeping mind to painstakingly untangle the corrupted memories. When a comforting memory of Red's home is suddenly swallowed by a bizarre, alien landscape from Rowan's experiences, Jason projects a mindset of detached observation, successfully breaking apart the fused memories and purging a fraction of the taint, hoping Red's subconscious will learn to adopt the stabilizing mental state.
Days later, in the ruins of Pallet Town, Professor Oak holds a massive press conference. Investigative journalist Zoey Palmer watches closely, having noticed Pallet's prolonged blackout and sensing a deeper story. Standing before the scorched skeleton of his destroyed laboratory, Oak somberly lists the casualties of the unown incident, including his old friend Dr. Amara Singh. He then reveals the existence of the "glitchmon"—digital anomalies that corrupted the pokedex servers and forced Oak to personally obliterate his life's work to contain the spread. Citing the unprecedented existential risk these entities pose, Oak announces a temporary moratorium on live unown research in Kanto. Zoey manages to ask a question regarding Red's suspiciously early involvement at Cinnabar and Pallet. Oak stonewalls her, deflecting the inquiry, but Zoey privately resolves to uncover Red's true role in the disaster.
In an undisclosed location, Fuji and Mazda watch the unfolding news. The global reaction to the glitchmon has been fractured; while Kanto struggles with the fallout, other regions refuse to halt their lucrative unown research, eager to monetize the spontaneous pokegenesis. Their dread deepens when Champion Lance publicly announces that Indigo will lift its own moratorium by partnering with Silph Corporation to accelerate the deployment of the Master Ball, claiming the technology will be capable of safely containing the glitchmon. Knowing the truth, Fuji confesses to Mazda that the Master Ball was originally commissioned as the ultimate contingency plan against the psychic hybrid's immense power. Staring at the screen, Mazda realizes that the apocalyptic dream warnings and the unown's violent awakening were not enough to deter humanity's reckless ambition. Resolving that hiding is no longer an option, Mazda decides it is time to take direct action.