'The change that suddenly occurred when Beedrill was fighting Mewtwo just now... could it be through the amplification of the Battle Intent Realm?'
Red recalled the crimson aura that had erupted from Beedrill's body, vaguely guessing something, but right now Beedrill needed rest more than relentless questioning.
'Beedrill has gotten stronger again...' Charizard murmured upon seeing this scene.
'Sigh... We don't even have Mega Evolution abilities, so why does Beedrill get to have new forms again...' the other four Pokémon thought helplessly. It really was a case of 'Pokémon comparing to Pokémon will anger Pokémon to death.'
'This is what it means to be spoiled and act without restraint,' Pidgeot complained.
This comment gained the approval of the other three Pokémon, who nodded in unison.
"You've worked hard, Beedrill."
Red came to Beedrill's side, gently embracing the exhausted Beedrill and letting the weary fighter lean on his shoulder.
Initially, Beedrill stubbornly 'struggled' a few times, but due to being truly exhausted, it 'reluctantly' settled in Red's arms, not forgetting to 'accidentally' nuzzle his chest a few times.
Seeing this scene, Red also guessed Beedrill's tsundere emotions.
"Good boy. You've always been family I'm proud of. Now just rest peacefully for a moment."
Perhaps feeling somewhat guilty about fighting desperately yet losing to Mewtwo, Beedrill looked deeply at Red before collapsing powerlessly in Red's arms, having lost its ability to battle.
After seeing Beedrill's defeat, the other Pokémon also lowered their heads in slight dejection, but this was quickly replaced by flames of fighting spirit. They would train even harder until they could defeat Mewtwo.
"Red, I plan to leave Viridian Gym now and break free from Team Rocket's control. I can no longer endure being treated as a tool by Team Rocket," Mewtwo said calmly.
"Mewtwo, I've always supported your idea of leaving Team Rocket. I also want to tell you something. This world isn't as narrow as you imagine. This world is inhabited by all kinds of creatures, vast enough to accommodate every life that yearns for freedom. I also sincerely wish you can find the meaning of your own existence."
"Thank you, Red. If I hadn't met you, perhaps I would still be stuck in past confusion, unable to awaken."
Mewtwo gazed deeply at Red for a moment, memorizing Red's appearance, then showed a somewhat warm smile and waved to bid farewell to Red.
"To find Mew quickly, I'll have to cause an incident in the Kanto region. I hope you can understand my feelings then. I promise I absolutely won't do anything that would disappoint you!"
As soon as the words fell, Mewtwo erupted with amazing psychic power. After memorizing the appearances of all the Pokémon present, it looked up at the broken ceiling above, then used psychic force to shoot out of Viridian Gym, leaving Viridian City within moments.
"Roar!"
The sound of Mewtwo's departure was exceptionally loud, as if directly telling Giovanni that it had regained its freedom and no longer needed to stay in his cold cage.
Mewtwo's departure also caught the attention of Ash's group outside Viridian Gym. They were very curious about Mewtwo's existence, but Ash's Pokédex showed "No data available."
Ash looked puzzledly at Gary, hoping Gary, who had just escaped, could answer his confusion.
"That guy is the mysterious Pokémon I mentioned. Its strength is terrifying. It can defeat my carefully trained Nidoking and Arcanine in moments."
"The reason Red hasn't come out is because he's dueling with it inside Viridian Gym, but I don't know why it suddenly left Viridian Gym."
"Though it might be presumptuous to say, I still think that with Red's current strength, he can't defeat this mysterious Pokémon."
Gary explained to the confused Ash trio. Due to concern for Red, Gary hadn't immediately left with his beautiful cheerleaders but stayed with Ash's trio, waiting for Red to come out.
"What are you talking about, Gary! Even if Big Brother can't defeat that mysterious Pokémon, he definitely wouldn't flee in panic like you did!" Ash retorted. Having a rare chance to mock Gary, Ash didn't want to miss it.
"Ash, you little...!"
Meanwhile, at Team Rocket's underground base beneath Viridian Gym, Giovanni's side:
"How is this possible?! Mewtwo actually left on its own! What did this kid say to Mewtwo to make it want to leave!"
Giovanni, in the base laboratory, watched through hidden surveillance as Mewtwo left Viridian Gym. He was so angry he ground his teeth and crushed the wine glass in his hand, ignoring the broken glass cutting his palm.
Giovanni was puzzled why Mewtwo chose to escape Team Rocket's control when only Team Rocket could give the currently confused Mewtwo its sole reason for existence: becoming Team Rocket's tool for stealing Pokémon.
But Giovanni didn't understand that Mewtwo had long planned to leave. The battle with Red just gave Mewtwo the perfect opportunity to choose departure.
After all, Mewtwo's heart had always hoped for others' recognition, even when planning to leave Team Rocket...
"Forget it, never mind. After all, this guy is just a test subject from the Mew cloning project, though its born strength exceeded initial expectations."
"At worst, I'll have those guys clone a few more obedient Mewtwo. It's just a shame about this original perfect work."
'However, compared to uncontrollable Mewtwo, mass-produced controllable inferior Mewtwo might not be a bad choice either. They're all artificial life forms that shouldn't exist in this world anyway. At worst, we'll just discard them after use.'
Within moments, Giovanni regained his usual calm, no longer showing anger on the surface, and began forming new plans in his mind.
Giovanni not only wanted to recapture the escaped Mewtwo but also planned to order Team Rocket scientists to use remaining research data to clone mass-produced inferior Mewtwo, preferably creating an army of inferior Mewtwo to serve as Team Rocket's invasion weapons.
Seeing Giovanni was no longer angry, Persian, who had been hiding in fear, quickly came to Giovanni's side, constantly nuzzling Giovanni's hand with its face, wanting to calm Giovanni's remaining anger, not forgetting to occasionally lick Giovanni's wounds to help the blood coagulate.
"Don't worry, it's just a minor matter."
Giovanni said flatly, smiling slightly as he petted the affectionate Persian beside him.
"Lord Giovanni, because the League's higher-ups learned of Mewtwo's existence, plus the previous Silph Co. invasion incident, the League officials who previously had business dealings with us are gradually choosing to withdraw and no longer conduct black market transactions with us."
At this moment, Domino, wearing cheap glasses and a coat with the "R" logo, came behind Giovanni, kneeling on one knee to report Team Rocket's current situation to Giovanni.