Pokémon: Virus Evolution

Ever since his first failed attempt to infect a Vulpix with the Flash Fire ability and suffering severe injuries, Lucius had developed a certain fear of Pokémon that relied on natural energy—especially Fire and Electric types, given their high temperature and lethal potential.

It made sense when he thought about it—a virus is also a lifeform, and high temperatures are the bane of 99.9% of all viruses.

As a result, he had mostly chosen to infect Pokémon types that were more "virus-friendly," such as Normal, Poison, and Dark types—at least until he had grown strong enough to handle the risk.

And now, the system's notification had provided a solution to part of his problem.

With the Electric-type issue resolved, could the Fire-type be far behind?

Increase lethality, then enhance transmissibility. Enhance transmissibility, then expand the range of infection…

System-kun, be honest with me—are you secretly trying to turn me into a world-ending plague?

The system, of course, did not respond to his sarcasm. Instead, he focused on the latest virus status update.

...

Host: Lucius

Virus Type: Progenitor Virus

Infected Hosts: 2/2

Level: Lv. 4

Vitality: 902/902 (Base: 192, Infected Host Bonus: 710)

Adaptability: Tier 2 (Can survive in a dormant state for 24 hours in a stable-temperature environment, long-term survival within infected hosts, increased resistance to dry conditions.)

Evolution Progress: 2%

Abilities:

Enhances infected host's brain activity by 61%.

Increases infected host's cellular activity by 54%.

Strengthens infected host's muscular resilience by 44%.

Boosts infected host's energy tolerance by 37%.

Improves infected host's agility by 36%.

Active Skill: Venomous Plague (Inflicts 10–50 vitality damage per second based on infection severity.)

Mission: Infect more than 20 lifeforms. Progress: 14/20

Evolution Path Unlocked: Progenitor Virus – Toxic Spikes Form (Secretes toxins that damage infected host cells; parasitic effectiveness on Poison-type Pokémon increases by 10%.)

Available Evolution Points: 1

...

Lucius fell silent as he processed the Lv. 4 enhancements.

This is too strong.

The Progenitor Virus had boosted both vitality and special attack in infected hosts by more than 50%, with other attributes also nearing that threshold.

This meant that any Pokémon fully infected would see their overall strength more than double.

A regular Pokémon could reach Elite-level power just from infection alone.

Without wasting time, Lucius exited his current hosts, a Liepard and its trainer, and moved toward his next targets:

A Golbat left behind by Nanwu, and a Seviper belonging to a Syndicate member.

His choice was strategic: both were Poison-types, making them more susceptible to his infection and neither were equipped with gas masks.

He needed to reach 20 infections—fast.

...

Meanwhile, Cerulean City Pokémon Center…

The doctor carefully stored the remaining Treecko blood sample and began sorting through the analysis results.

Incredible…

As a starter Pokémon from the Hoenn region, Treecko had been frequently studied in medical conferences across different regions.

With over a decade of experience as Cerulean City's lead Pokémon physician, he had treated more than twenty Treecko during his career—enough to confidently say he knew them inside and out.

But this one… was different.

The blood contained an unknown substance that activated cellular activity and produced a powerful bioelectric current while in an energized state.

This meant that the substance could enhance a Pokémon's vitality and dramatically boost its physical resilience.

Imagine it—a Pokémon battle where one side recovers faster than it takes damage.

What kind of outcome would that lead to?

Though its side effects were still unknown, its raw potential alone was worth intensive study.

"Was this the reason it neutralized toxins and healed so quickly?"

The doctor adjusted his glasses, concealing the disappointment in his eyes.

By the time he arrived at work that morning, the Treecko was already gone.

Security footage showed it leaving the treatment room at around 2 a.m.

A Pokémon that had suffered such severe injuries, yet fully recovered within half a day—this only reinforced the potency of whatever was in its bloodstream.

Glancing at the last remaining blood sample, the doctor sighed.

If only I had more to analyze…

"If this substance could be extracted and synthesized, the entire world would go insane over it." he muttered instinctively.

He recalled how the Pokémon League and major corporate families had monopolized Pokémon enhancement drugs—such as Power Booster Serums and Mental Feathers.

These were highly secretive, their formulas tightly controlled, and their market supply heavily restricted—only the wealthiest organizations could obtain them.

But if this Treecko's unique compound could be mass-produced…

That monopoly could be broken.

The problem? The Treecko was gone.

After some thought, the doctor decided that this discovery was far too important to abandon.

He paced his office for a moment before recalling something—

The young man who had brought the Treecko in mentioned finding it near the abandoned factory on the city's southern outskirts…

His mind made up, the doctor picked up his phone and dialed a friend in the police force.

...

Back to Lucius…

[Golbat's 'Inner Focus' ability analyzed. Virus evolution progress +10%. New skill unlocked: 'Mental Corruption']

[Active Skill: Allows the user to mentally disrupt infected hosts.]

[Seviper's 'Infiltrator' ability analyzed. Virus evolution progress +10%.]

[Host gains the ability to bypass Reflect, Light Screen, Safeguard, and Aurora Veil. This ability scales with level.]

Lucius had no idea that his infected Treecko had already drawn the attention of interested parties.

All his focus was on the new abilities.

By splitting his viral strain, he had successfully infected both Golbat and Seviper—not only boosting his evolution progress to 63% but also unlocking a new active skill and gaining the Infiltrator ability.

While the effect of "Mental Corruption" was unclear, Infiltrator was straightforward.

Lucius immediately thought of the egg-shaped barrier surrounding Dolores.

Could that be a skill?

Could he bypass it now?

Lucius watched Dolores for a while, but she remained inside her office, likely preoccupied with Syndicate affairs and negotiations with Team Rocket.

No choice but to find another test subject…

His gaze swept the room.

There. Found you.

Through Seviper's eyes, Lucius spotted the perfect target—

A Shinx, curled up in a cage.

-----

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