"That island—is in a very, very distant ocean. Although it's very far from you, I believe that with Mewtwo's power, it will definitely be able to come here someday!"
Carver: "..."
What else could he say?
Faced with the request of a girl about to pass away, Carver felt a pang of sympathy in his heart.
He nodded and agreed: "If Mewtwo is willing to come here, I'll help you take good care of it."
Hearing this, Ai visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
A smile appeared on her face as she said softly: "Thank you."
After speaking, Ai prepared to return to New Island to bid farewell to Mewtwo there, then completely disappear from this world.
But just as she was about to leave, a line of information suddenly appeared before Carver's eyes.
[Ai's mood improved. Joy Level +50. Received Ai's gift: "Consciousness Preservation Device."]
[Consciousness Preservation Device: A miraculous device that can permanently preserve consciousness in the network world in the form of bioelectricity. Currently can bind target "Ai No. 2." You agreed to Ai's request and fulfilled Ai's final wish in this world. She has decided to give you this precious device as a gift.]
Looking at the device that suddenly appeared before him, Carver was slightly stunned.
This was...
Kanto region, New Island, nighttime.
Mewtwo awakened from its slumber. Because its brain waves were too active, those researchers had injected it with sedatives, forcing it into a sleep state.
When Mewtwo opened its eyes again, it found Ai, Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Squirtle standing before it.
Mewtwo was stunned, then regained awareness, looking around to find itself once again in Ai's hometown.
"You're awake, Mewtwo." Ai's face showed a happy smile.
She extended her hand toward Mewtwo, just like any ordinary day, flying through the neon-lit city under the cover of night, floating in the sky and looking down at the myriad lights below.
Stars, moon, bustling traffic—
The world seemed so vast and magnificent.
Even though it had seen this many times, Mewtwo still couldn't help but be mesmerized by such scenery.
Had Ai once lived in such a beautiful place?
It turned to look at Ai, but suddenly discovered that Charmander's body beside Ai was gradually disappearing!
Then Bulbasaur and Squirtle followed, and even Ai's body began to gradually fade away.
Mewtwo immediately felt an ominous premonition.
It widened its eyes and hurriedly asked: "What's happening?"
Young Mewtwo was frantic with worry.
But Ai's face carried a gentle smile.
She looked at Mewtwo and began to bid it farewell: "We have to leave, Mewtwo. I found a very good person to help take care of you. After you leave the laboratory, remember to go to him!"
Mewtwo couldn't care about that now. It kept shaking its head: "Where are you going?"
Ai: "Our lives have reached their end, Mewtwo. Don't feel sad for us. We were very happy to have met you."
"Ai..." Mewtwo murmured. An unprecedented sadness welled up in its heart for no reason. Its eyes gradually moistened, and a tear dropped from them.
Mewtwo was stunned. Having never cried before, it didn't know what that was.
But Ai told Mewtwo: "Those are tears. Only humans cry because of sadness."
Ai's body had completely disappeared. She looked at Mewtwo before her and said softly: "Thank you, Mewtwo. Don't be sad for us. You must continue to live."
As her words fell, the figures of Ai, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander finally disappeared.
The surroundings once again fell into darkness.
Only Mewtwo remained alone, floating in this pitch-black space. It tried to search for something but couldn't find anything.
Its heart hurt—that was an emotion impossible to describe in words.
Was this sadness?
In the laboratory, the device containing Mewtwo suddenly erupted with an extremely powerful psychic energy.
This scene immediately caught the attention of all the researchers.
"What happened?"
"Mewtwo's brain waves are fluctuating violently!"
"What on earth is going on?!"
Dr. Fuji, hearing the commotion, quickly arrived. Looking at the exploding device, he calmly gave orders to his subordinates.
"Quickly inject Mewtwo with sedatives!"
The researchers frantically got to work.
With the injection of sedatives, Mewtwo's violently fluctuating brain waves finally calmed down.
Dr. Fuji and the researchers looked at the mess on the ground, their hearts filled with fear.
What terrifying psychic power! This creature could burst out such frightening power while still in its juvenile stage. When it fully matured, how far would its power grow?
They couldn't imagine.
If Boss Giovanni obtained this power—then Team Rocket would gain tremendous assistance on their path to conquering this world.
Everything disappeared, all sounds vanished—
Mewtwo felt its consciousness continuously sinking, as if it had fallen into a bottomless ocean.
Its brain stopped thinking. Ai had disappeared, and those cloned Pokémon had also disappeared.
Who am I?
In the ups and downs, only this one thought remained in Mewtwo's mind.
Finally, it completely stopped thinking.
Mewtwo fell into a deep sleep once again.
When Ai opened her eyes again, she was shocked to discover that she had appeared in Mr. Carver's computer!
"What—what on earth is happening?!" Ai looked at her hands in disbelief.
What was going on? Hadn't she disappeared?
Although her time in this world had been very brief, Ai clearly understood what that meant.
Disappearing meant death—completely leaving this world, unable to see, hear, or think.
"You're awake?" Carver looked with interest at the girl in the white dress on the screen.
Ai's current state was somewhat similar to an AI life form capable of independent thought?
"Mr. Carver." Only then did Ai notice the human outside the screen. "What exactly is happening?"
"I sensed your consciousness was disappearing, so I used some special means to keep you here. However, from now on, you'll probably only be able to live in the network world," Carver explained.
After speaking, he looked apologetic: "I'm sorry, I had no way to save Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Charmander."
Ai stared at her body in shock.
She had been bidding farewell to Mewtwo just a second ago, but the next second she appeared here...
Mewtwo... That's right!
"Mr. Carver, what about Mewtwo? Where is it?" Ai hurriedly asked.
"Mewtwo didn't disappear. It should still be in the laboratory," Carver answered.
However...
If nothing unexpected happened, Mewtwo's brain waves would become unstable due to excessive grief over Ai's disappearance, causing the powerful energy within its body to go out of control.
Those researchers would inject it with sedatives to stop this, causing Mewtwo to fall into sleep and forget about the deceased Ai and cloned Pokémon during its slumber.
When it awakened again, it would destroy the New Island laboratory, don armor, and enter Giovanni's Viridian Gym.
And Ai and the cloned Pokémon would be buried deep in Mewtwo's memories.