Virus Evolution: Pokémon, Marvel & Beyond

The public notice sent a clear message to all: Those who dare invade the Empire shall be annihilated. Of course, with the world overrun by t

The public notice sent a clear message to all:

Those who dare invade the Empire shall be annihilated.

Of course, with the world overrun by the infected, this declaration wasn't aimed at its own citizens. It was meant for outsiders, especially now that this world was connected to a neighboring parallel universe.

Due to the spatial rift overhead, Lucius's avatar could sense Mewtwo's status from this side as well.

Mewtwo, traveling with Ash, had already arrived in that future world.

The Oblivia region was home to one of the last remaining strongholds of the survivors' resistance, a base that had gathered most of the world's surviving elite.

Among them were former leaders of villainous organizations, Giovanni, Maxie, Archie, and Cyrus, each of whom had joined the resistance with whatever remnants of their factions had survived the cataclysm.

"You're saying your side has already dealt with the virus, and now you're willing to help us?"

Giovanni's sharp gaze bore into Mewtwo.

"Yes," Mewtwo replied calmly, looking at the future version of the man who had once created him.

Though not yet old, Giovanni, seven years down the line, was already graying heavily, the signs of defeat and hardship etched into every strand.

Present in the war room were Ash, Misty, Cyrus, Blaine, Professor Oak, Diantha, and other high-ranking members of the resistance.

"Can you tell us how you defeated the virus?" Blaine asked, his voice heavy with fatigue.

He had been one of the leading scientists researching a cure, seven years of relentless effort, yet still nothing to show for it.

It wasn't for lack of skill. The virus mutated too fast for any antidote to keep pace.

And with most of the world in ruins, they no longer had the materials or supply chains needed for research and testing. Things were now harder than ever.

From Ash's earlier introduction, Blaine had learned that this Mewtwo came from an alternate timeline, one in which the virus had been successfully neutralized, apparently due to early warnings from Ash.

Mewtwo chuckled softly and swept his gaze across the room.

"To overcome the virus," he said, "you don't destroy it. You…"

He paused.

"…accept it."

"What—?!" The room erupted in shock.

In an instant, Diantha's Gardevoir and Cyrus's Weavile leapt in front of their Trainers, ready to defend them.

But even at Champion-tier, none of them could threaten Mewtwo.

Psychic Terrain erupted, and for a moment, time itself seemed to stop.

Centered on the Oblivia Temple, half the region was paralyzed. No person, no Pokémon, could move.

A heartbeat later, Mewtwo withdrew his immense psychic force, and reality resumed.

"The Holy Leviathan Empire…?" Giovanni muttered, his eyes clearing, lips forming unfamiliar words.

"Symbiosis?" Blaine's voice shook as he parsed the flood of memories that had just been uploaded to his brain. "You mean… humanity and the virus have achieved coexistence? Without mutation? Without losing their minds…?"

This was a different beast altogether. The Old One Virus was nothing like the ones of the past.

With Mewtwo's mental sweep, every creature within his psychic radius had now been infected, peacefully.

"You're all citizens of the New Empire now," Mewtwo said flatly, his words projected into their minds.

The resistance leaders stood stunned, some confused, some terrified. But their minds were no longer their own. Now, they held knowledge of the New Empire.

From their collective memories, Lucius was able to piece together the full story of this parallel world's current state.

The virus in this world had taken the classic Umbrella Corporation route. Ironically, or perhaps deliberately, the organization that rose from its ashes was also called Umbrella.

The name alone revealed the truth: this virus was itself a transmigrant.

In its early stages, the virus operated like a megacorp, controlling companies and distributing products laced with trace amounts of anomalous proteins: miracle drugs, gourmet delicacies, mass-market items. Total product ecosystem control.

Once enough people were exposed, the virus triggered a rapid mutation cascade, devastating entire regions in mere days. (See Chapter 32 for details.)

Lacking an Emperor Strain, Umbrella could only control mutants via high-tech biochips implanted directly into their brains.

Umbrella scoured the globe for powerful mutated Pokémon, implanted them with biochips, and conscripted them into an undead army bound to its command.

As for the rest of the mutated creatures?

Umbrella let them kill each other in a brutal game of natural selection.

Only the strongest survived.

When a mutant rose high enough in the food chain, reaching commander-tier strength, Umbrella's army would capture and chip it. If it couldn't be controlled, it was destroyed.

That was the Tyrant Virus's hallmark. Without an Emperor Strain, it lacked any mechanism for compatibility-based control, so biochips were the only option.

But that limitation came with a twisted advantage:

The Tyrant Virus didn't restrict its hosts' growth.

Even infected Pokémon could grow stronger through constant battle and evolution, surpassing their limits again and again.

In contrast, the Veronica Virus, to preserve its rigid class structure, prioritized compatibility. The stronger a Pokémon, the higher its fusion ratio. Weaker ones often broke down completely or lost their minds.

This ensured top-down control, but stifled growth potential for lower-tier hosts.

Now that he had the full picture, Lucius could finally judge this world's viral system.

Trash.

Yes, compared to his own creation, this virus, and its version of Umbrella, was just trash.

Because the initial infection was spread via consumer products, it mainly penetrated human society and urban Pokémon, with almost zero reach into the wild or mythical species.

The first to fall were human civilizations and city ecosystems.

Though the virus later managed to infect most wild Pokémon through attrition, it never reached the realm of legends.

Worse still, the virus's dormancy period, designed for stealth marketing, lasted too long. By the time it activated, the Team Magma and Team Aqua incidents had already played out, Groudon and Kyogre had been awakened.

And mythical Pokémon don't eat human food. To infect them, it would take direct combat. But expecting mutated Champion-tier Pokémon to infect a Legendary?

A hopeless dream.

Lucius remembered vividly how dozens of his own Champion-tier infected had once assaulted Giratina in the Distortion World, and utterly failed.

In hindsight, he knew how lucky he had been.

Even the Veronica Virus couldn't infect Legendary Pokémon. It simply couldn't overcome Kyogre's natural immunity.

But by sheer chance, Kyogre had undergone Primal Reversion at the exact moment. The virus fused with the power of the Blue Orb, permeating Kyogre's entire being.

That moment granted Lucius access to the Divine Gene, shattering the ceiling of Resident Evil-style bioweapons and giving birth to the Leviathan Virus.

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