"Neigh..."
The flames on Rapidash's body dimmed somewhat.
Pryce's Swinub gave it an unprecedented sense of pressure.
It had fought alongside Blaine for many years, and it had even battled several Champion-level Trainers before.
But none of them had ever been as terrifying as the Swinub before its eyes.
"Strange. Why is there another uninvited guest?"
Grey sensed that something was wrong.
Above the Indigo Conference...
No, to be more specific, above the viewing room he was in, an enormous and uncontrollable surge of psychic power was wildly erupting.
"This power feels so familiar... yet it also feels completely different."
Grey's eyes gradually narrowed, while the eyes of the little Riolu beside him lit up.
"Mew!" Wow, a new all-you-can-eat grill master is here!
The little Riolu blinked, already unable to hold back its excitement. It could not wait to fly into the sky and get friendly with the new little buddy.
Grey was silent.
What do you mean, new grill master?
Little Riolu, are you treating them like a tool?
"Mew!" Grey, how could you look at me like that? In your eyes, am I the kind of lazy little thing that only asks others to grill meat for me?
The little Riolu was not convinced. At the very least, when it was time to work, it did contribute. It was just usually a little too lazy to personally grill meat. Was there any need to talk about it like that?
Grey, is it because I haven't been swinging a knife lately that you think you can get full of yourself?
"Are you not?"
After asking back, Grey snapped at it in annoyance.
"Every time we eat barbecue together, when have I not been the one grilling it for you? Fine, I grill it for you. But every time I'm done, you don't leave me even a bite. You eat it all yourself! Little Riolu, look me in the eye!"
"Mew!" Hehe, isn't that because the meat you grill is so good? But now, I don't think you need to worry about barbecue in the future anymore. As long as we get that guy to join us, our grill master problem will be solved.
The little Riolu had already imagined the scene in the future.
Mewtwo grilling meat for them tirelessly without complaint.
Grey stared blankly.
Regarding the little Riolu's thoughts, Grey did not say much.
If it could actually manipulate Mewtwo into doing that, then it would be impressive.
"Mew!" Since you don't object, I'll bring it over directly!
After saying that, the little Riolu used psychic power to lock onto Mewtwo, who was searching for others in the sky above. With a slight effort, it teleported Mewtwo into the private room.
"???"
Mewtwo Two was a little stunned.
She had only just arrived at the Indigo Plateau and wanted to see which opponents here could serve as targets for her training.
As a result, she was teleported here by a little Riolu.
"Who are you?"
Mewtwo Two's voice leaned feminine, and it was a mature, cool voice at that.
"Mew." I'm Mew. You were probably created using my eyelash too, right? Let me guess, you can't perfectly control your own power, causing most of your psychic power to leak out whenever you use it?
The little Riolu did understand Mewtwo somewhat.
Everything it said was a symptom Mewtwo One had once told it about.
Based on Team Plasma's situation, as well as the experimental data Team Rocket had been unable to modify, there was a high chance Mewtwo Two had the same problem.
"Mm, that is indeed the case. In that case, do you want to help me?"
Compared to Mewtwo One, Mewtwo Two's personality was fairly gentle toward outsiders. At the very least, she did not start fighting the moment a conversation went poorly.
Grey sat at the side, watching the little Riolu communicate with Mewtwo to see just how far it could go.
"Grey, what kind of Pokémon is that?"
It was Lillie's first time seeing Mewtwo. It looked like a person and had an indescribable sense of dignity.
"That Pokémon is the artificial Pokémon Mewtwo, created by Team Plasma. Right now, she should have turned over a new leaf."
Although the data came from Team Rocket, Mewtwo Two had indeed been created by Team Plasma.
There was no denying that.
Besides, if he said Mewtwo had been created by Team Rocket and that spread, it would probably cause unnecessary trouble.
If he said Team Plasma, then there was already Genesect as a precedent, so there most likely would not be any problems.
At most, the League would ask a quick question and would not make a big issue out of it.
"Mew." I do want to help you, but I'm afraid you'll think I'm using you. So whether I help you or not depends on your own choice. If you want me to help, I'll help. If you don't want me to help, then I won't.
The little Riolu turned around, placing both hands behind its back. After saying a sentence, it sighed once.
"How will you help me?"
Mewtwo Two felt that what the little Riolu said was a little abstract.
They were clearly all words she could understand, but once they were strung together, why did she not understand them?
"Mew." Power-control training starts with small things.
"Mew." I know you have many questions. For example, who are you? What should you do? Where should you go next? It feels awful when all kinds of questions appear in your mind but have no answers, right?
"Mew, mew." Once you can perfectly use your psychic power to accomplish one thing, the confusion in your heart will disappear like smoke in the wind.
The little Riolu mewed several times in a row. The more it spoke, the brighter Mewtwo Two's eyes became.
Do not be fooled by the fact that she had refused to strike back in the previous chapter.
She simply did not want to strike back because someone else shouted at her to do so.
If it was for her own purpose, then Mewtwo Two felt that when it was time to strike back, she absolutely should strike back.
"Mew." Looks like you already have an idea. But right now, I can't accept you as a disciple yet. Before officially accepting you, I want to see how strong you are.
The little Riolu looked at Grey.
Its meaning was obvious.
Grey, go fight Mewtwo Two!
Grey was confused.
"Why me?"
Grey pointed at himself, then looked at Mewtwo.
[Pokémon: Mewtwo]
[Type: Psychic]
[Level: 75]
[Ability: Pressure]
[Moves: Psystrike, others omitted.]
Level 75. A Mewtwo that had not yet struck back.
Its strength was about the same as Mewtwo One from a month and a half ago.
It made Grey remember the scene from when he had first met Mewtwo.
If the little Riolu had not been there, he probably would have sent Giovanni flying on the spot.
Of course, that matter was already in the past. No matter how much he reminisced, it was only a sigh over old memories.
"Him? A frail human? You want him to test my strength?"
Grey was usually rather restrained, and his Aura would not leak outward. Because of that restraint, Mewtwo Two somewhat looked down on him.
"Mew." Don't be fooled by how frail and delicate he looks. His current strength has already reached the peak level of the Champions from every major region.
The little Riolu covered its mouth and laughed.
What it was talking about was Grey's strength when he used Reshiram and Kyurem.
If he used Annihilape, his strength was around the lower-to-middle level among Champions.
A little better than the entry standard.
Only a little better.
"Grey, what is little Riolu saying?"
Lillie tugged on Grey's sleeve and leaned toward his ear, asking softly.
"Mm... It's saying that I'm a very good Trainer. If Mewtwo wants to follow someone, I'm actually the best choice."
Grey spouted nonsense without his face turning red.
"?"
The little Riolu and Mewtwo both stopped their discussion at the same time and turned their heads to stare at Grey. Their meaning was obvious.
"Ahem, I was just livening up the mood. Anyway, next up is the battle between the other Gym Leaders. I checked, and it's Gym Leader Muno versus Gym Leader Whitney. If you don't want to watch it, we can use this chance to test your strength."
These words were not only directed at Mewtwo.
They were also directed at Silver and Green.
He had not been at the Gym these past few days, so he did not know how strong these two apprentices had become.
"All right. I'll trouble you later, Grey."
Silver's strength had improved rapidly now.
During the month he had spent as an apprentice, the Pokémon he was raising had also reached the level forty range.
His Croconaw had evolved into Feraligatr, while Sneasel and Murkrow had respectively evolved into Weavile and Honchkrow.
Speaking of which, Silver and Green both seemed to count as type specialists.
Green's team had quite a few Fairy-type Pokémon.
Silver had more Dark-types.
Although Feraligatr was not a Dark-type, it did have "gator" in its name.
If you rounded it up, he could count as a Dark-type specialist too.
Indigo Plateau, in a relatively remote area away from the venue.
"This is the place. The environment is pretty good."
Grey looked out into the distance. The area was open. As long as they did not create too much destructive noise, the League would turn a blind eye.
"Well then, let's skip the chatter and start fighting."
Thump.
The Poké Ball at his waist dropped in response.
"Nihil!"
Annihilape stepped onto the ground, its pitch-black fists clenched tight. Its crimson eyes stared fixedly at Mewtwo.
Annihilape and Mewtwo were old acquaintances too. For some reason, though, it felt that the Mewtwo it had encountered today was even weaker than the one it had seen last time.
It felt like it was meeting Mewtwo for the first time again.
[Pokémon: Annihilape]
[Type: Fighting, Ghost]
[Level: 75]
[Ability: Defiant]
[Moves: Rage Fist, others omitted.]
Their monkey bro had also reached level 75, truly possessing the ability to stand shoulder to shoulder with the main Pokémon of Champions.
Mewtwo treated it as a major enemy.
Seeing that this frail-looking Grey actually had such a powerful Pokémon, she could not help viewing him in a new light.
"You make the first move. I'll take a look at what's lacking in your psychic control."
Grey fully activated his Aura. Against a brute-force Pokémon like this, it was better to activate Aura.
"Mm."
Mewtwo transformed into a cool, aloof woman. She raised her arm, pointed her round fingertips at Annihilape, and an extremely cold light bloomed.
An icy-blue beam shot out with a roar, aimed straight at Annihilape.
Clearly, this Mewtwo was an Ice-focused Mewtwo.
Grey chose to meet the move head-on. "Brick Break."
"Nihil!"
Fighting-type light gathered, and Annihilape chopped forward furiously. The instant Ice Beam made contact, it shattered into fragments.
"What?!"
This was Mewtwo's first battle. Seeing Annihilape so easily crush her move made her unconsciously grow nervous.
"Wins and losses happen in every battle. Don't lose heart just because one move failed a little. If your rhythm falls apart every time a move goes wrong, you'll never improve in your entire life."
As a Gym Leader, Grey had seen this kind of situation far too often.
From a broader tactical view, the failure of one move was not much at all.
You could even use a mistake as the starting point for a counterattack.
It was just that most people lost their composure because of their mistakes.
Just like Mewtwo right now.
Her aura was already in disorder.
"I... understand. Again."
Mewtwo's chest rose and fell slightly, and the space around her suddenly distorted.
In the next instant, she appeared in front of Annihilape, and brilliant azure light burst from her eyes.
Psychic wrapped around Annihilape. After lifting it with psychic power, Mewtwo viciously slammed it toward the ground.
Boom!
Amid the thunderous explosion, cracks spread in every direction.
Dust rose into the sky, mixed with fragments of energy.
"Nihil." This move's power is decent, but if you want to defeat me, you still have a long way to go! Young one, you have a very long road ahead of you!
Annihilape rose to its feet, its crimson eyes becoming even more terrifying.
Blue light representing a stat decrease rose around it, only to be instantly replaced by red light representing a stat increase.
Annihilape's Special Defense fell.
Ability: Defiant, triggered!
Annihilape's Attack sharply rose!
"Wait, what is going on?!"
When Mewtwo saw the secondary effect of Psychic appear, she had actually been quite happy.
But the scene that happened next made her scalp tingle.
Mewtwo had no choice but to retreat several meters. She crossed her arms and swept them outward, sending ten crescent-shaped energy blades tearing through the air. They flew toward Annihilape with a high-frequency hum.
The Psychic-type move Psycho Cut!
"Shadow Claw!"
Annihilape raised both arms. Ghost-type energy wrapped around its fur, and its claws suddenly extended three feet.
It swung its claws down fiercely. Wherever the claw wind passed, the Psycho Cut blades shattered like glass, bursting into glittering fragments that filled the sky.
"Nihil!" Is this all your strength amounts to? The one from back then was much stronger than you are now!
Remembering the scene from when it first met Mewtwo One, Annihilape's eyes flared with blood-red light, and it charged forward like a ghostly afterimage.
Mewtwo subconsciously wanted to condense a psychic shield with her psychic power, but Annihilape was faster.
In the blink of an eye, Shadow Claw tore through the air with a shrill howl and struck solidly across Mewtwo's chest.
Clang!
The sound of collision exploded. Mewtwo was cleaved backward, and the psychic shield that had not fully condensed shattered into fragments. Three sizzling, dark-purple wounds were left clearly across her chest.
"How terrifying... Is this monkey's strength really that great?"
Mewtwo panted, unwilling to accept it.
In reality, Annihilape, whose Attack had risen sharply, was stronger than many Pokémon in terms of raw power.
Moreover, Annihilape itself was a Pokémon that grew braver the more it fought, regardless of its injuries. It had previously suffered a heavy blow, and its opponent was a fellow Mewtwo, the same kind as the first opponent that had ever made it suffer a loss. It was only natural for it to launch this kind of offensive.
After being beaten into a messy rhythm, Mewtwo was also wondering whether she should fly high into the air and go all out against Annihilape.
"Mewtwo, I told you, your footing is already unstable. What you need to do now is adjust your battle rhythm, not let me lead you by the nose."
Everything Mewtwo had done so far had been within Grey's calculations. He could even guess what Mewtwo was going to do next.
"Next, you're planning to use Teleport to fly into the sky, then release Psystrike and see whether you can explode with power in one wave to heavily injure Annihilape, right?"
Grey directly stated Mewtwo's thoughts aloud.
Mewtwo was shocked. "How did you know?!"
"Your thoughts are written all over your face. It's hard not to guess in that direction."
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