Pokémon: Virus Evolution

In the future world she spoke of, a terrifying virus spread among humans, Pokémon, and even ordinary animals.

At first, people were not overly cautious; they didn't even consider it a virus.

After all, it didn't harm humans or Pokémon. Instead, it strengthened their bodies, increased their agility, and activated cellular regeneration.

It seemed like a divine gift. People became obsessed with studying it, willing to pay any price to obtain it.

Research institutions worldwide competed to experiment with it, attempting to develop gene-enhancing drugs.

Some illegal organizations even used it as a raw material to create addictive chemical pills with minimal side effects, distributing them globally.

During that era of madness, many amassed immense wealth by exploiting it.

Even when rare cases of allergic reactions or poisoning occurred, people dismissed them as unfortunate anomalies.

In just two years, it became as common as antibiotics, and a portion of the population could no longer live without this intoxicating substance.

Media outlets and prestigious magazines, under the influence of benefiting corporations, began calling it the "Divine Gene."

But there was no mercy from the gods—only a silent, creeping devil.

One day, a deeply infected Pokémon evolved in an abnormal direction, transforming into a grotesque, bloody abomination. The scientific community was thrown into turmoil.

Soon, similar cases surged worldwide. Pokémon failed to evolve properly, turning into terrifying and bizarre creatures.

Humankind was finally forced to take action.

A month later, the Cinnabar Island Research Institute declared that these evolution failures were caused by the so-called "Divine Gene." It was not a miraculous substance that granted longevity and strength but rather a rapidly mutating bioweapon.

This claim sparked massive controversy. Too many corporations and organizations had benefited from it; they outright refused to acknowledge it as a dangerous virus.

Yet, despite the opposition, certain institutions and regions began restricting entry to carriers of the gene and started developing countermeasures.

Strangely, it was as if the virus sensed humanity's suspicion and hostility.

From that moment on, it began to mutate intelligently. Large numbers of people started collapsing, but falling was not the end—the true horror was that they rose again as undead creatures without heartbeats or body heat, driven only by an insatiable hunger for flesh.

Pokémon suffered an equally tragic fate. What once enhanced them became the scourge that twisted them into bloodthirsty, undead monsters.

Even some Legendary Pokémon were transformed by the virus into monstrous abominations, spreading destruction and death.

Kanto, Johto, Sinnoh, and Unova fell one after another.

The survivors could only seek refuge in isolated areas that had largely escaped infection, such as the Oblivia region (from Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs) and the harsh, remote Orre region (from Pokémon XD: Gale of Darkness).

In just one year, civilization collapsed. Humanity suffered catastrophic losses. If not for the fact that most of the infected were slow-moving, even the last remnants of life would have been extinguished.

Fortunately, they found it—the last Celebi untouched by the virus, sleeping deep within a mysterious altar in Oblivia...

To be honest, after hearing Misty's account, Oliver and the others desperately wished these two people before them were insane, that their words were nothing more than the ravings of lunatics.

But when they saw the photos on Misty's phone—the shattered ruins of once-thriving cities, the undead roaming the streets day and night, the rotting flesh and exposed bones of zombie-like creatures, Charizards with twisted bodies breathing green flames, grotesque abominations defiling the very concept of life itself—

They fell into silence.

With their Champion and Elite Four-level strength, Misty and Ash had the credibility to make such claims.

Ash stepped forward, placing a faintly glowing Rainbow Feather into Celebi's hands, the entire virus now contained within a barrier.

A determined glint flashed in his eyes. "Celebi, use Natural Gift."

"Bi~!" Celebi's tiny hands crushed the Rainbow Feather, sending platinum-colored ripples through the air, radiating divine energy.

A sacred, overwhelming presence seemed to descend from an unknown realm. The protective barrier over the police headquarters responded to this mysterious force, and endless trees and flowers began blooming, forming white lotus-like petals.

Within seconds, the barrier, towering over a hundred meters tall, erupted into roaring white flames.

Ash was purging the entire area—the building, the infected, everything—with Ho-Oh's Sacred Fire!

If the previous events had gone unnoticed, now the entire city was watching.

A massive white fireball, over a hundred meters in diameter, illuminated Cerulean City like a second sun, turning night into day.

Had it not been burning in the city center, it would have been the most breathtaking sight ever witnessed...

Because of Celebi's mysterious power, despite the raging inferno only ten meters away, Ash and Sakura felt no heat at all. Instead, the night breeze carried a slight chill.

The entire scene was serene, oppressive—like a silent yet frenzied, magnificent performance.

Or perhaps, a solemn offering to the gods.

Sacred Fire was Ho-Oh's exclusive move. Apart from itself and its guardian Entei, no other Pokémon could learn it naturally.

As the divine flames raged, deep within Ophelia's body, Lucius sensed that the virus he had spread outside the building was completely eradicated.

And from its final moments, he saw not only the virus disappearing, but also the entire trembling building, the screaming people, the unfortunate Pokémon, and everything within the barrier—both living and inanimate.

That entire space had been erased by the Sacred Fire, leaving not a single trace behind.

Watching the divine flames burn, Ash's chest heaved with heavy breaths.

It worked.

At last, they had destroyed this horrific blight before it could spread.

Even at such a devastating cost, it was worth it. If necessary, he would erase all of Cerulean City...

Someone began sobbing.

It was one of the police officers who had already gone home but had returned after noticing the chaos.

Under Oliver's orders, they had not acted aggressively, but they knew—

The fire contained their colleagues, their Pokémon partners, and those suspects who had committed no crime deserving of such a fate.

Oliver, Daisy, and the others stood silently, their faces illuminated by the sacred, pure-white flames, which cast a ghostly pallor over their skin.

-----

Want to read ahead of schedule? 

Join here for advance chapters: patreon.com / madbot635