At first, Mewtwo thought that Shadow Mewtwo was holding back some powerful move, carefully gathering energy in preparation for a devastating strike. He remained tense, fully alert, ready to counter any sudden attack.
But when he looked more closely, he realized—Shadow Mewtwo wasn't charging a move at all. Instead, it was clutching its head tightly with both hands, its body trembling. Its eyes looked clouded and confused, its entire expression warped with pain. Clearly, it was suffering from another episode of its mental split.
Shadow Mewtwo covered its head, muttering under its breath, words spilling out incoherently, as if talking to something—or someone—that wasn't there.
"Tsk tsk tsk… what's wrong with that dark-looking Pokémon? Don't tell me it's sick or something? Why's it holding its head like that?"
"From the way I see it, this looks more like some sort of psychic attack from another Pokémon, forcing it into this condition."
"Then why doesn't that other Pokémon take advantage of this perfect opening and finish it off?"
The surrounding spectators all began to murmur. To them, this looked like the perfect chance.
Indeed, Nathan also noticed it. If Mewtwo struck now, if he unleashed his power while Shadow Mewtwo was completely defenseless, it was very likely that he could end the battle in one decisive blow.
But Mewtwo did not attack.
Instead, he merely hovered in the air, staring silently at his counterpart, watching without moving.
"AHHHHHHH!!!"
A frenzied roar suddenly erupted from Shadow Mewtwo. Its entire body shook as an overwhelming surge of violent energy exploded outward. The oppressive aura instantly pressed down on the entire battlefield.
The moment this brutal force manifested, Shadow Mewtwo twisted its head sharply, its scarlet eyes locking onto Mewtwo like a predator spotting prey. In that instant, it was as if its only instinct was to tear Mewtwo apart and devour him whole.
"Dodge it!!"
Nathan, who had been observing closely, immediately shouted with alarm.
But before Mewtwo could even react—Shadow Mewtwo vanished.
In the blink of an eye, it reappeared directly behind Mewtwo, its enormous fist already raised and driving forward toward Mewtwo's back.
BOOM!
The strike connected. Mewtwo, caught off guard, was hurled forward like a broken kite, his body tumbling uncontrollably through the air.
Not letting up for a second, Shadow Mewtwo immediately charged forward, determined to press the attack.
Mewtwo crashed heavily onto the ground, his body dragging a long scar across the earth. But in the very next moment, Mewtwo's figure flickered—and he too disappeared from sight.
The next heartbeat, his fist smashed into Shadow Mewtwo's body.
The force sent Shadow Mewtwo flying in return.
Both of them—Shadow Mewtwo and Mewtwo—used nearly identical combat techniques. Their movements, their strikes, even the way they disappeared and reappeared, were like mirror images of each other. The only differences were in the finer details, minor variations in the use of small skills.
When Shadow Mewtwo staggered back to its feet, before Mewtwo could follow up, it once again clutched its head.
Another episode of its mental split had struck.
This time, Mewtwo still refrained from attacking, but his eyes remained wary, his body tense, watching closely, ready for another sudden sneak attack.
A few long minutes passed.
Finally, Shadow Mewtwo lowered its trembling hands. It glanced at Mewtwo once more… and then, without any warning, turned and bolted.
Nathan, who had been watching intently, froze for a second.
Did he see that right?
Shadow Mewtwo… ran away?
Honestly, no matter how he thought about it, he never expected that he would witness something like this.
Shadow Mewtwo's strength was by no means inferior to Mewtwo's. Yet despite being evenly matched, it chose to run.
And it didn't just run—it ran cleanly, without hesitation, without even a glance back.
Mewtwo himself was stunned. He hadn't imagined that in the middle of a battle like this, Shadow Mewtwo would simply retreat.
But Nathan had a hunch. That sudden escape—most likely—it was related to Shadow Mewtwo's schizophrenia.
"Mewtwo, let's go after it!"
Without hesitation, Nathan gave the command.
Volcarona's wings flared as it carried Nathan swiftly into the air, following the fleeing Shadow Mewtwo at high speed.
Mewtwo too gave chase, his psychic energy propelling him forward effortlessly. Both Mewtwo and Volcarona were extremely fast. Within moments, they had Shadow Mewtwo back in sight.
Sensing the pursuit, Shadow Mewtwo glanced over its shoulder. With a snarl, it launched several pulsing Aura Spheres backward, trying to block their pursuit.
But if it thought that would be enough to lose them—it was dreaming. Nathan and Mewtwo tore through the counterattacks, still chasing relentlessly.
Shadow Mewtwo's expression twisted. Grinding its teeth, it suddenly vanished again.
Teleportation.
"Are you kidding me!?"
This time, Nathan was left completely speechless.
Shadow Mewtwo had actually used Teleport—not to attack, but just to run.
In battle, Teleport could be used for ambushes, to appear behind an opponent for a surprise strike. But when it came to escaping—Teleport was perhaps the best escape technique of all.
And with Shadow Mewtwo's level of power, the range of its Teleportation was vast.
For Mewtwo, even now, he could teleport anywhere within a kilometer radius without issue.
And the terrain they were in now was rugged mountain land, full of forests and uneven terrain. The visibility was poor, and Shadow Mewtwo could have teleported anywhere.
"Mewtwo, return."
Nathan let out a long breath. It was no use chasing. Shadow Mewtwo had fled.
But this encounter burned itself into Nathan's mind. The next time they crossed paths, he swore he would find a way to track it down.
Maybe he would even buy a tracker and somehow attach it to Shadow Mewtwo.
As he returned to the city, thoughts turned in his head. Why had Shadow Mewtwo chosen to run?
No matter how he analyzed it, he couldn't figure it out.
After all, he was just a human. No matter how clever or perceptive he was, he couldn't hope to completely understand what went on inside a Pokémon like Mewtwo.
But one thing was certain—Shadow Mewtwo truly was suffering from schizophrenia.
The fact that symptoms surfaced even in the middle of battle showed just how severe its condition was.
When Nathan returned to the hotel, he found that Grog and Meisha had already arrived. They were sitting with Lily in his room, talking about something.
"Boss, you're back? How did it go?"
Grog quickly asked when he saw Nathan enter.
When they had felt the shockwaves earlier, Grog had immediately brought his wife to Nathan's side. After all, in times of danger, being near Nathan was the safest place.
But when they arrived, they found Nathan already gone. So, they simply waited for him to return.
"It just… ran away in the middle of the fight?"
After hearing Nathan's explanation, Grog looked surprised.
In all this time, he had seen Nathan fight many battles.
Nearly every single one of them had ended in victory. But this was the very first time he'd ever heard of a Pokémon that fought Nathan's team and then… simply ran away.
"That's right. Who knows what it's thinking. But since it ran, we've lost the chance. Who knows when we'll find it again."
Nathan nodded with a sigh.
With that, he collapsed back onto the bed, exhausted. All this time spent chasing and fighting, and in the end, Shadow Mewtwo had slipped away. The golden opportunity had been wasted.
If he had known in advance that Shadow Mewtwo would just run, he would have released every one of his Pokémon to surround it.
"Boss… how about we consult a psychologist?"
Seeing Nathan lying there, lost in thought, Grog asked cautiously.
Nathan's eyes lit up. Right—why hadn't he thought of that?
…
A few hours later, in a consultation room.
"Excuse me, but I think you're all messing with me. In fact, I have proof."
The psychologist sitting across from them looked at the four people—two couples in total—with a face full of exasperation. In his mind, he wanted to curse them.
When he first got this job, he thought he was going to be treating a patient.
But now? These people were asking him questions about a Pokémon with schizophrenia.
Schizophrenia… in a Pokémon? Was this some kind of joke?
"Ahem, no, this is real. We're not lying to you."
Under Nathan's sharp, intimidating gaze, Grog had no choice but to be the one to speak.
Nathan himself refused to explain—he didn't want to be mistaken for the crazy one here. If he kept talking, this doctor might very well diagnose him with a mental disorder.
"Alright, alright, fine. Tell you what. Why don't you describe this 'patient's' daily symptoms and conditions?"
The psychologist sneered. Fine. If they wanted to play this game, he'd play along. After all, he charged by the hour—whether they were serious or joking, his pay didn't change.
"It's very powerful, often goes out to pick fights with other Pokémon. But it never kills them. However, it frequently clutches its head, like it's resisting something. And it mumbles to itself."
Since Grog didn't know the details that well, Nathan had to step in and explain.
The psychologist listened carefully. As Nathan spoke, an image gradually formed in his mind.
"Any other symptoms? Also, how often do these episodes occur?"
Though he doubted the truth of their story, his professional ethics kicked in. Whether they were asking about humans or Pokémon, he would at least give a proper analysis.
"The intervals are getting shorter and shorter. Just today, it had two episodes less than ten minutes apart."
"As for other symptoms… does being violent and cruel count? Though, to be fair, that's just its nature to begin with."
Nathan added, recalling today's battle.
The psychologist looked at him, wanting badly to mock him. He sounded so serious—if not for his own years of experience, he might have actually been fooled.
In truth, he had seen cases of Pokémon developing psychological issues before.
Most often, it happened after the death of their Trainer, or after suffering some severe trauma.
In those cases, Pokémon could develop conditions similar to autism, depression, or post-traumatic stress.
Such things weren't rare—in fact, even animals could experience them.
But schizophrenia?
The idea of a Pokémon suffering from schizophrenia was absurd. Impossible.
"If what you say is true, and that Pokémon really does have schizophrenia, then its illness has already reached a bottleneck."
The psychologist spoke calmly, analyzing as if the patient were human.
Nathan blinked.
"Bottleneck? What's that supposed to mean? Does breaking through the bottleneck mean advancing straight to World-Class strength?"
(End of Chapter)