It was late. Cory looked at the clock. Eleven PM.

A man poked his head into the doorway of Cory's office. "Russet, you got a minute?"

Cory looked up. "What's up, Mike?"

"We've got some new developments on the Intrinsic case."

Cory stood up and met Mike at the door. "Let's go. I want to hear this."

The two walked down the hall. "You know what 'intrinsic' means, right?" Mike asked.

"Yeah. Core, integral."

"Exactly. And that's what they're trying to play. Have you seen their new commercial?"

"No, I haven't. You know me; I don't watch TV."

Mike stopped walking and looked Cory square in the eyes. "You're too serious, Russet. Come on, you're, what, twenty-five?"

Cory also stopped and returned his gaze. "Twenty-four. What's that have to do with anything?"

"Come on. When I was your age, I knew how to have fun."

"This job doesn't call for 'fun'."

Mike sighed. "I'm afraid we've ruined you. You're the best guy we have. You're also the youngest we have. Maybe someone my age isn't right for the job. But you no longer know how to live a normal life."

"Who's to say what is 'normal'?"

Mike sighed and laughed. "Well, no arguing with that." He resumed walking, and Cory followed. "Anyway, Team Intrinsic has a new commercial out, trying to win the hearts of the general public. But we think they're up to no good."

"Wouldn't follow differently from any other 'Team'."

"That's right. Reminds me of the Rocket case thirteen years ago. Oh, here we are." They stopped at a door. Mike removed a card from his wallet and swiped it in the keylock. The lock clicked and Mike opened the door and beckoned Cory in.

The door shut behind the two. The room they were now in was dimly lit. As a matter of fact, the only light source in the room came from a projected image on a wall.

A man walked over to Cory and shook his hand. "Ah, Cory Russet, it's an honor to meet you. Alan Nichols, lead Intelligence. I understand you're top agent here?"

"I wouldn't go that far, but pretty close," Cory shrugged.

"Humble man. Have a seat."

Cory took a seat at the side of the long table as Nichols walked to the front and began the presentation.

"All right, first of all, Team Intrinsic has a new commercial out, designed to bring them into a more family-friendly position." He clicked on a small black box on the screen being projected, and a clip started playing. It faded in to a shot of a grassy field, and a calm, male voice spoke. "Our world…"-the clip shifted to a shot of a barren wasteland-"…is a fragile ecosystem. Team Intrinsic aims to help preserve our world" (a shot of the Earth) "for the future." It ended on a shot of a young child, smiling at the camera.

"Short but 'sweet'," Cory muttered, particular malice on the word "sweet."

"Yes," Nichols agreed. He pressed a button on his remote and shifted to the next slide. It showed a logo, "FundGen" in stylized letters.

"FundGen?" Cory asked.

"Yes. It's a very new company, started up less than six months ago. The name is short for 'Fundamental Genetics'. We believe that it may have ties with Team Intrinsic, if not a cover organization for Intrinsic itself."

"Are we going to have another Rocket/Mewtwo fiasco on our hands?"

"No, no, while it's unclear as to FundGen's motives, we don't believe that they're cloning legendary Pokémon. The Mewtwo incident was never made public, and, if it hadn't been for that kid stumbling onto their plans, they would have succeeded. But we think that Intrinsic is too smart for a Rocket rehash."

He pushed the button on the remote again. The logo was replaced by a picture of a sleek, black tower.

"This is FundGen's headquarters, located in Pomegranate City."

"Not too shabby."

"Not at all." He clicked the remote again, and a picture of a man, roughly in his early thirties, appeared. He was tall, lean, and wore a navy blue suit. His long hair was slicked back, and he had on slim sunglasses.

"This is Alexi Michaels. He is president and founder of FundGen, and possibly leader of Team Intrinsic. He's been linked to both."

"Takes care of himself, doesn't he?"

"Not only that; it's rumored that he has a mansion on Kiwi Island. He's a very rich man, and could afford to buy whatever he wanted: good or bad. Now—"

Before he could continue, Cory's cell phone rang. Anyone else, and it would have been rude, but Cory only received important matters on this phone. He took the call.

"Yeah?"

"We've received a distress call from FundGen headquarters. How quickly can you get to Pomegranate?"

"I'm at HQ right now. I can be there in ten minutes, give or take."

"Hurry. It's an urgent call, and time is important. The agent was collecting information, and came under fire."

"Well, that rules out FundGen as a legitimate company. I'm on it." He shut the phone and turned to Nichols. "I'm sorry to cut our meeting short. Send me the remaining info in a secure email. I'll get back to you."

Nichols nodded. "Will do. Good luck."

Cory opened the door. "I don't need luck," he said without turning back to him. He walked out and closed the door.