I felt kind of silly introducing the girls to the pce, but they were here because of me, and I felt better today. Getting blown back like that yesterday was a real eye-opener; a reminder that despite everything I’d gained, I was still far from invincible. This isnd was supposed to be the crucible that would help us all get stronger. I was still worried about my Pokémon, considering how low their levels were compared to the threats we were facing, but they would just have to train harder in Prisma.

  What we needed was more time, but time was a luxury I never seemed to have enough of. That being the case, I needed to put my all into this special training Looker had set up for me and the girls.

  Pulling myself from my inner thoughts, I looked around at the massive isnd before me. I hadn’t gotten a good look at the pce as we were coming in, but even from our nding spot near sea level, the view was breathtaking.

  The bck-site wasn't just some off-shore military base; it was a bizarre, massive collision of untamed nature and hyper-futuristic urban development. Half of the isnd was dominated by a dense, towering tropical jungle that looked entirely untouched, while the other half was a sprawling, half-constructed cityscape designed to test some big pn.

  Massive, reinforced concrete skyscrapers stood partially finished, surrounded by thick, energy-absorbing bst walls. Simuted city streets were already heavily cratered and scorched from what looked like daily, high-tier battles. The air traffic was just as wild. High above, a patrol of heavily armored Corviknight circled the perimeter in tight, disciplined formations, keeping the airspace locked down. Closer to the coast, flocks of Wingull and Pelipper completely ignored the military presence, diving into the surf.

  On the ground, the logistics were entirely powered by heavy-duty Pokémon. I watched a squad of four-armed Machamp effortlessly hauling massive steel I-beams toward a half-built arena, while a massive Aggron stood near the hangar doors, acting as a living, impenetrable barricade. Off in the distance, the crackle of raw electricity echoed as an Electivire jump-started an industrial generator to power the bst shields.

  Before I could take it all in, a squad of heavily armored Interpol guards marched out onto the tarmac. They didn't say a word, just fnked us and ushered us away from the giant Skarmory and into the main reception bay of a fortified bunker built directly into the side of a cliff. They pointed us to a set of metal benches and immediately marched back outside, the heavy bst doors hissing shut and sealing us in the sterile, brightly lit room.

  "Well, the hospitality is certainly overwhelming," I muttered, taking a seat. My ribs gave a dull throb, reminding me I still needed to take it easy.

  Anabel paced the room, inspecting the reinforced walls. "This is a bck-site, Landon. We aren't here for the buffet. We are waiting for Looker's liaison."

  Before I could reply, the distinct sound of someone humming an upbeat pop tune echoed from a maintenance shaft above us. A second ter, a metal grate popped off the ceiling and cttered loudly to the floor. Someone dropped down, nding in a perfect crouch with their back to us.

  And suddenly, the entire room went completely silent.

  It wasn't the surprise entrance that stunned us. It was the fact that the person crouching in front of us was wearing the bottom half of a hyper-advanced, glossy bck combat suit. The material was clearly designed to compress and enhance the wearer's muscuture, but the way it gripped her cheeks left absolutely nothing to the imagination. It was, without a doubt, the most aggressively tailored, gravity-defying piece of tactical gear I had ever seen in my life.

  She stood up and stretched, arching her back, completely oblivious to the fact that her lower half was essentially a weapon of mass distraction. I blinked. I tried to look away. I really did. But my brain completely short-circuited.

  Beside me, I heard Jennifer choke on air. The muscur officer was staring wide-eyed, a deep blush spreading across her cheeks as she subconsciously gnced down at her own cargo pants, clearly sizing up the ridiculous competition.

  "Ahem," Anabel coughed loudly, her voice dripping with absolute, lethal disapproval.

  The girl spun around. She looked to be in her te teens, with short, choppy brown hair and a bright, street-smart grin. She was wearing a baggy, oversized green jacket on top, which only made the skin-tight suit pants look even more absurd.

  "Yo! You must be the VIPs Looker sent over!" she chirped, resting her hands on her hips. "I'm Emma. I'll be your main liaison while you're on the isnd."

  "Landon," I managed to croak out, forcing my eyes up to her face. It took physical effort. "Nice to... meet you."

  Emma grinned, noticing exactly where my eyes had been a second ago. She didn't look embarrassed in the slightest. She just patted her hip, the glossy material snapping slightly. "Sorry about the outfit. This is the bottom half of my Essentia Expansion Suit. Getting out of it takes like twenty minutes and a lot of baby powder, so I usually just keep the pants on. They ride up a bit, but the leg support is amazing!"

  Anabel looked like she was about to have an aneurysm. "Is there no dress code protocol on this isnd? You are representing an international w enforcement agency!"

  "Looker says my tactical output excuses my uniform viotions," Emma beamed proudly. She leaned over to pick up the fallen vent grate, giving the entire room another front-row seat to the impossible physics of her suit.

  I desperately averted my eyes. I was a man of culture, sure, and I had a world filled with many pretty women, so I was used to seeing this stuff. Mostly. The issue was that I was currently fnked by a furious Interpol investigator that already thought I was a womanizing people-catcher, and a very intense officer who looked like she might jump Emma at any moment. I didn't have a clue how to even start to address that issue. This was, at the very least, dangerous territory.

  Jennifer cleared her throat, crossing her arms defensively. "Are we going to stand here staring at her... tactical output all day, or are we moving?"

  Emma ughed, tossing the grate aside. "Right! We've got a crazy training camp ahead of you, and a bunch of really angry people waiting in the jungle to tear you apart. Follow me, I'll show you the Sector Z-A yout before we meet the Doc."

  She turned on her heel and strutted toward the bst doors. The three of us followed, and as we moved out onto a high observation walkway, the scale of the "redevelopment" hit me all over again.

  I looked down at the glowing blue roads. "I’ve traveled a bit since I woke up, but I’ve never seen anything like this. What did you call this pce? Lumiose?"

  Emma nodded, her eyes fixed on the shimmering grid below. "It’s a project. A massive one. Right now, it’s just a name on a blueprint back in the Kalos region, but the 'Lumiose Urban Redevelopment Pn' is the most ambitious thing humanity has ever tried. They want to build a city from the ground up where humans and Pokémon don’t just live next to each other—they live with each other."

  "Build a city?" I asked, leaning further over the railing. "You mean this isn't a remodel? This is a birth?"

  "Depends on who you ask," Emma said cryptically, her tone losing its pyful edge for a moment. "Some say it’s the future. Others say it’s trying to recim something lost. All I know is that the technology required to make it work is so advanced it borders on the impossible. That’s why we’re here. We’re stress-testing the 'impossible' before they try to build the real thing."