Oscar pulled a cage up to the chamber, a sleeping Sandaconda sitting within. Oscar carefully dragged the slumbering serpent into the chamber, closing the glass doors and locking them with a metallic latch. He then ran to the far side of the room, where he had built the control panel for his prototype. With the experiment set up, Oscar would don a voice modifying headset and begin recording his research notes with a handheld tape recorder.

"Ahem--Pokepod Preliminary trial. Prototype one point oh, experiment performed by agent skull. Test subject one is a sandaconda of average size. The device I have built is a crude behemoth, but if my designs are correct then it should replicate the same energy suction that can be performed by Declan Walsh's Infinity Energy Device. Hopeful application would be to use this 'organic' Infinity Energy to power---whatever we can think of I guess. If the Megalopolins can use this energy to power their cities, surely we can do the same. Firstly I must overcome the obstacle of keeping the test subject alive while still absorbing their energy. Walsh's device always kills off the victim unless they are immortal, and for long term use I must figure out the right frequency to mitigate this risk so that subjects can provide energy for long periods of time. I shall now power on my device at level one, increasing the power gradually to hopefully discover a sweet spot for suction."

Oscar turned off the recorder, flipping several switches on his panel before pulling a small lever. The machine awoke with a roar, startling the sandaconda awake. Before it could react to what was happening, Oscar grabbed a dial that had labels numbered one to ten. He twisted the dial ever so slightly, causing the Infinity Energy absorbers in the chamber to turn on. It was supposed to be a light suction, you know because it was level one, however absorbers immediately kicked into high gear. The sandaconda was instantaneously shriveled into dust, its life source surging through the machine. The prototype sparked and fumed, bursting as it became overloaded with Infinity Energy. 

Oscar slammed his fist on a red button on his panel, activating the machine's emergency shutdown and forcing it into dormancy. As the machine died down, Oscar cursed and started the tape recorder once more.

"Messed up the suction level. Subject one has been terminated. Adjustments required, followed by additional testing."

He turned off the recorder and reluctantly got back to work...

A few hours of tinkering later, and Oscar would be ready for another trial. He pulled in his second caged subject, a Swadloon. Oscar hoped that this one survived, it would be really nice to take it home. Hopefully in that scenario it would not hold against him what he was about to do.

Oscar went back to the control panel, picking up the recorder to dictate his next set of notes.

"Test number two of the Pokepod Prototype one point oh. Subject two is a swadloon of average size. After repairing the parts of the machine damaged by the energy surge, I adjusted the suction of the Infinity Energy absorber. Hopefully I can find that sweet spot this time around." Oscar stopped the recorder and turned on the machine once more. This time when he turned the dial to one the startled swadloon would only begin shaking as it whimpered. The energy readings were very low, not enough to even charge a phone. 

Oscar turned the dial up to two, and the swadloon would begin writhing. The energy readings barely went up, but this was expected. He had eight more levels to get through after all. Oscar turned the dial to three, and to his horror the swadloon would be instantly mummified as the machine once again surged with energy. Oscar slapped the emergency shutdown button, fast enough to not damage the shell too much. He groaned, picking up his recorder as he wearily walked toward the chamber.

As he observed the mummified swadloon, Oscar recorded his next set of notes. "Test failed, subject two has been terminated. The first two levels worked fine but when to three the absorber took too much again. Why does it keep pulling so much? There has to be a way to slow it down. Maybe if I narrow the openings of the absorbers? It's worth a shot. Will make adjustments and try again." 

Oscar ended his recording, tossed the swadloon mummy aside, and began adjusting the aborbers.

As his further preparations came to a close, Oscar took a look at his final subject. Now this was a little bullshit, whoever dropped off these black market rejects was pulling his leg. A fucking dragonite? In such great condition no less? Ugh, the idea of accidentally mummifying it made Oscar wince. What a waste of potential.

No no, not a waste. If it led to Oscar making progress on this project, no price was too high. Besides, if he succeeded in finding the sweet spot perhaps he could keep it. Through great effort Oscar would remove the heavy dragon from its cage and drag it into the machine. Once it was safely enclosed, Oscar would once again head to the control panel and begin recording his notes.

"Test number three of the Pokepod Prototype one point oh. Subject is a female dragonite, unfortunately very much average size. My back is already killing me. Anyway, I've calibrated the absorbers so they should ideally absorb less infinity energy overall. My hope is to find that middle ground, enough suction to keep the subject asleep while keeping them alive. Beginning experiment now."

As before Oscar flipped on the switch, causing the machine to roar to life. The dragonite awoke from its drug induced slumber, and Oscar very quickly turned the suction to level one before it could react to what was happening. Fitting, since Oscar would have no chance to react to what happened next.

The dragonite exploded, along with the machine. Before Oscar could blink he was thrown backward into the far wall, flinching as shards of the prototype went into every direction. As the moment died down, Oscar was left staring at the smoldering ruin of his hard work so far. The emergency fire system abruptly turning on to soak the room was the cherry on top.

Oscar glumly walked over to the control panel, which now had a dragonite skull smashed through it. He picked up his discarded tape recorder and gave a small update.

"Test results poor. Further development required. Will resume next week."

--End--