"Nathan, that must be where the commotion came from."
After returning, Volcarona pointed toward the south.
"You stay here. I'll go out and take a look."
Turning his head, Nathan gave a short instruction to Lily.
Then, without hesitation, he vaulted straight out the window.
Volcarona, who had already flown outside in advance, immediately caught him in midair. Man and Pokémon together rushed swiftly toward the source of the explosion.
And not only Nathan—in the skies above the city, he could clearly see Pokémon flying out from different directions, each carrying one or two people on their backs, all heading toward the place where the blast had erupted.
"Such a huge disturbance, and right near the city limits too. This is practically defying the heavens…"
Nathan muttered under his breath.
After about ten or more minutes of high-speed flight, he finally reached the area where the explosion had occurred.
It was at a small hill in the suburbs.
Or rather, what used to be a small hill.
Now, it could no longer be called a hill at all—only a barren wasteland remained.
The hill that should have stood there had already been completely blasted flat.
Around the site, some Trainers who had flown even faster than Nathan had already arrived and were cautiously inspecting the scene.
The dust raised by the explosion was so thick that one couldn't see clearly what lay inside.
Nathan, too, could see nothing but smoke and haze. But he didn't hurry forward recklessly.
In a world filled with so many Pokémon, if what lay ahead was some violent and powerful creature, charging in blindly would be nothing short of courting death.
"Ahhhh!!!"
A scream suddenly tore through the smoke.
The next moment, a figure—man and Pokémon—was flung violently out of the dust cloud.
Nathan urged Volcarona to catch up quickly, intercepting them as they fell.
When he saw the grievous wounds covering both Trainer and Pokémon, he could only murmur in silence.
"...Sigh. They're dead, find someone to identify the remains."
The sight of a human and their partner meeting such an end instantly froze the crowd.
Those who had been edging closer moments ago immediately stopped in their tracks.
Many began retreating, step by step, until they felt they had reached a safe enough distance before daring to stop.
"Volcarona, blow away that dust."
Nathan pointed at the heavy cloud of smoke still hanging in the air.
With that much dust, there was no way to see what was inside. Whoever had gone in earlier had truly been bold—and had paid the price.
Volcarona beat its wings gently, whipping up a controlled gale.
The storm it summoned quickly swept through the sky, scattering the descending dust.
What was hidden within was finally revealed.
At the place where the small hill had once stood, there was now a crater at least ten meters wide.
It was likely that the earlier Trainer and Pokémon had entered the pit and been killed within.
Nathan had Volcarona rise higher into the air.
When he looked down and finally saw the figure inside the crater, he froze.
It was—Shadow Mewtwo!
He had searched for this Shadow Mewtwo for so long, and never had he imagined that it would appear here.
And looking closely at its condition now, something about it seemed… unusual.
Shadow Mewtwo was clutching its head tightly with both hands, as though in unbearable agony.
From Nathan's investigations over the past days, he understood immediately—this was an episode of its schizophrenia.
"Come out, Mewtwo."
With a flick of his hand, Nathan released his own Mewtwo.
As soon as Mewtwo appeared, its gaze instantly locked onto the Shadow Mewtwo in the crater.
"Let's go over and take a look. Don't act rashly."
Nathan cautioned as Volcarona carried him closer.
Mewtwo followed closely behind, flying alongside him.
The surrounding onlookers, seeing his movement, couldn't help but watch in curiosity.
"Young man, don't go over there!"
Someone, seeing that a Trainer and Pokémon had already died in there, shouted a warning when they noticed another person approaching.
Nathan only smiled faintly in that direction, signaling with his expression that he would be fine.
As he drew nearer, his view became clearer.
Shadow Mewtwo's body bore no visible wounds.
But the crystal embedded within its form was flashing on and off intermittently—like the warning light of a machine running out of energy.
"Should I take this chance to kill it now…?"
Nathan muttered as he gazed down at the struggling Shadow Mewtwo.
Truth be told, with his current strength, and with Shadow Mewtwo clearly weakened in its condition, he had at least an eighty percent chance of finishing it off right here.
But just as Nathan was still weighing whether or not to command an attack, Shadow Mewtwo's episode abruptly subsided.
The sight instantly hardened Nathan's resolve.
"Mewtwo—Mega Evolve!"
After all, Shadow Mewtwo had once coveted Mewtwo. Now that its episode had passed, who knew if it might turn hostile against his partner?
Brilliant white light enveloped Mewtwo, and when it dissipated, Mega Evolution was complete.
The surrounding crowd instantly grew restless with excitement.
"Is this… is this going to be a battle?"
"Hey, what level is that Trainer's Pokémon anyway? For him to dare fight something like that…"
"Legendary level."
A man standing nearby glanced sideways at the questioner and gave the answer flatly.
"Oh, Legendary level… huh?! Legendary level!"
Similar conversations spread among the spectators.
At first, few people had noticed the aura of the two Pokémon.
But now that they were about to fight, attention turned sharply to them.
Their presence, their sheer momentum—it was unmistakable. Legendary-class Pokémon. And that fiery moth looked oddly familiar to many as well.
As Shadow Mewtwo's schizophrenia faded, its gaze swept the area—and in an instant, its eyes locked onto Mewtwo.
The next second, it moved.
With explosive speed, it lunged directly toward Mewtwo.
Nathan immediately urged Volcarona backward, retreating a considerable distance.
A fight between Mewtwo and Shadow Mewtwo was not something he could afford to direct from up close.
The crowd, seeing even Nathan pull back, instinctively backed up further as well.
Who could possibly know a Pokémon better than its own Trainer?
If even its Trainer had retreated that far, it could only mean the coming battle would be devastating enough to sweep bystanders into the crossfire.
And indeed, as the fists of Mewtwo and Shadow Mewtwo collided, the shockwave sent everyone else retreating dozens of meters more.
Some even turned and sprinted away to buy binoculars—after all, staying too close meant risking death, but staying too far meant they couldn't see a thing.
The clash between Mewtwo and Shadow Mewtwo was no less violent than the earlier explosion that had destroyed the hill.
Both Pokémon could fly, but neither rose into the sky; instead, they battled fiercely on the ground.
Every collision of fists left deep craters in the earth.
Even a casual sweep of a tail gouged pits into the dirt.
It had to be said—Shadow Mewtwo's strength was terrifying.
Nathan's Mewtwo had been with him for so long, consuming all manner of resources to enhance its speed and power.
Shadow Mewtwo had enjoyed none of those benefits.
And yet, despite Nathan's Mewtwo being in its Mega Evolution XY form—its power and speed pushed to their peak—the two were still locked in stalemate.
To surpass this further, Mewtwo would likely need to step into the World-class level.
And still, at this moment, it was only evenly matched against Shadow Mewtwo.
The outcome of this fight would likely depend on whose psychic powers proved superior.
The scale of their battle was overwhelming.
The destructive force was tremendous.
In just a short span of time, the ground was already riddled with craters large and small, as though a meteor shower had struck the land.
This fight, which was supposed to take place after a year-long agreement, had arrived half a year early.
And what's more—it was Nathan and his Mewtwo who had sought Shadow Mewtwo out.
If the battle had been delayed for the full year, Nathan could guarantee that his Mewtwo's strength would have grown at least thirty percent stronger than it was now.
But now that Shadow Mewtwo had been found—and was still rampaging, wreaking havoc on other Pokémon—Nathan could no longer sit idle.
And Mewtwo felt the same.
Their fists clashed again and again. The sonic booms of their speed and the deafening roars of their impact filled the battlefield.
The bystanders were utterly dazzled.
"These two Pokémon… they really are Legendary level, right? They're too strong!"
"Am I the only one who thinks they look incredibly alike? Could they be the same species?"
"Forget that—doesn't anyone realize the Trainer over there seems to be Nathan Vesper, the former World Champion?"
The onlookers' voices buzzed with speculation, but most of the attention remained locked on Mewtwo and Shadow Mewtwo.
As the fight dragged on, the battlefield continued to expand outward.
Nathan, watching Mewtwo struggle to gain an upper hand, was just about to command it directly, or perhaps even initiate Synchronization Mode—
When suddenly, an unexpected change occurred.
After one more furious clash of fists, Shadow Mewtwo abruptly pulled back, retreating rapidly to create distance.
(End of Chapter)