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March 1st, Sunday.
Entering March, Paldea's Mediterranean climate rapidly warmed.
As the saying goes, "Spring sleep knows no dawn," Aiden indulged in a rare lie-in.
He only slowly awoke when the gym's new employee—Indeedee—entered his bedroom and gently pushed his shoulder with her fluffy little hands.
Glancing at the time, he was stunned.
Good grief…
It was almost lunchtime already.
"Indeedee~"
Seeing Aiden awake, Indeedee smiled sweetly before heading to the kitchen to start her day's work.
Though she ate quite a bit, this Indeedee's professional skills were excellent. Otherwise, with her appetite, surviving in human society would indeed be difficult…
Still groggy in bed, Aiden needed half a minute to fully wake up, shaking his head vigorously.
Damn bed demon! The moment you slack off, it locks you down for hours!
After a quick wash in the bathroom, Aiden finally felt fully revived.
With Indeedee joining the gym, he no longer needed to prepare the three daily meals.
Of course, even if he occasionally felt inspired to cook, the other Pokémon would collectively block him from entering the kitchen…
After tasting Indeedee's cooking, all the gym's Pokémon were easily won over, no longer willing to recall their previous sandwich-only diet.
Aiden could only sigh helplessly about this.
His cooking skills had clearly improved significantly, yet he'd been instantly replaced as head chef by the newly arrived Indeedee.
But since the Pokémon enjoyed it, he'd let them have their way.
Glancing at Indeedee preparing hamburger steaks and curry rice in the kitchen, Aiden decisively abandoned his plan to help.
Enjoying rare leisure time, Aiden soon stepped out of the gym. Basking in the warm sunlight while Miraidon watched him with a puzzled expression, he stretched comfortably.
Ogerpon and Squirtle were watering the fields. Mewtwo, Lucario, and Sableye sat on the nearby lawn, seemingly discussing something.
"Luca!"
Spotting Aiden, Lucario immediately stood up, calling out with impressive force.
"What's happened, Lucario?"
Aiden walked over with a smile.
Normally, Lucario should be doing morning exercises at this hour. Seeing it resting today was unusual.
"I have some questions I'd like to ask them."
Mewtwo looked up, gazing at Aiden with a serious expression.
"In the game, both Lucario and Sableye have special Mega Evolution forms, but their post-evolution ability improvements are almost completely opposite."
"So… can Mega Evolution be understood as a kind of atavism? Merely expressing a more primitive form that was already determined long before discovery?"
Mewtwo's question was profound enough to momentarily stun Aiden.
This week, through its own efforts, Mewtwo had reached Ultra Ball rank in "Pokémon Champion." Its growing familiarity with the game's Pokémon had deepened its understanding.
Naturally, Mega Evolution—as a new mechanic—had become its primary research focus.
It was genuinely interested in Mega Evolution and actively seeking ways to achieve autonomous Mega Evolution. Some confusion during this process was normal.
And Mewtwo's question had actually hit the nail on the head.
The essence of Mega Evolution was awakening innate abilities—arguably a form of atavism in some sense.
Taking its examples of Lucario and Sableye:
After Mega Evolution, the energy stimulated Lucario's Aura power to expand, awakening its combative instincts. It became more aggressive, its battle style colder and more ruthless.
Thus, Lucario's post-evolution strength improvements almost entirely manifested in offensive power and speed.
Sableye, however, was the opposite. Most of the Mega Evolution energy is stored in the red gem on its chest, causing it to expand and detach from its skin—becoming its sturdiest shield.
The enlarged gem could block any attack, even reflecting moves—but its weight made Sableye's movements extremely difficult.
Sableye's original average weight was only 11kg, but after Mega Evolution, it surged to 161kg, causing obvious speed changes.
Besides this, the most crucial point was...
"You're absolutely right in your guess. Except for the exceptionally special Charizard with its two branching evolution paths, other Pokémon's Mega Evolution shows considerable uniformity. No individual variations have been discovered so far."
After a moment's thought, Aiden nodded.
As Mewtwo said, Mega Evolution was relatively fixed—post-evolution paths were practically set in stone.
However…
Exceptions always existed.
"But I don't think you should compare yourself to other Pokémon, Mewtwo."
As Mewtwo lowered its head in thought, Aiden suddenly smiled again.
"Every Pokémon has its uniqueness. As the world's only individual of your kind, what kind of Pokémon you become ultimately depends on your own choice."
"So why not ask yourself what you truly want?"
"If you could also master the Mega Evolution phenomenon—breaking limits and advancing further—what form would you take then?"
He wasn't just saying this.
Counting legendary Pokémon, only two species had two different Mega Evolution forms.
Besides Charizard, there was this slightly confused Mewtwo before him.
Though Mewtwo X was often jokingly called the "last place among Mega Pokémon"—practically negligible compared to other first-tier Legendaries in-game—
In reality, Mewtwo's final form had little to do with Aiden's opinion. It almost entirely depended on Mewtwo's own heart.
So whatever power Mewtwo awakened, Aiden would gladly accept it.
Well… at most he'd just tease it a bit.
Mewtwo X's problem was abandoning its powerful psychic abilities to temporarily become a pure combat specialist.
But in reality, this issue had a simple solution.
Just have Lucario train with Mewtwo for a few months—if needed, add some weights. Future physical strength would definitely be excellent.
In the real Pokémon world, nothing was impossible.
Recalling his gym's various rule-breaking existences, Aiden felt completely confident giving this assurance.
The gym already overflowed with cheaters—adding Mewtwo wouldn't make much difference.
"I…"
Caught off guard by Aiden's encouraging words, Mewtwo quickly refocused.
Depends on me?
Could Mega Evolution actually relate to one's willpower?
As for what form it ultimately wanted to take…
From Aiden's words, it should determine its growth path in advance.
"Hmm, I understand."
Mewtwo nodded firmly.
It had nothing to hesitate about—its most trusted power was the strong psychic ability it shared with Mew, its innate gift.
Even with Mega Evolution, its primary direction wouldn't change.
Seeing its decision, Aiden's eyes showed clear approval.
Initially, he'd thought Mewtwo might be difficult to get along with. But after so many days together, he could clearly feel—
Aside from its introverted nature, Mewtwo was actually a well-behaved, easygoing child.
Sometimes, Aiden even felt their relationship resembled that of an unreliable old father and his obedient, sensible daughter…
Its stereotypical personality flaws mainly stemmed from the influence of Giovanni—its incompetent "father."
Now that this possibility had been severed at the roots, Mewtwo's character was becoming increasingly human-like rather than that of an ordinary Pokémon.
So…
Boss Giovanni really didn't know how to raise kids!
If only his thinking had been normal, letting Mewtwo grow up like a human child in a healthy environment, none of these problems would have existed!
Aiden even seriously suspected that Mega Mewtwo X was a special form born from Giovanni's forced intervention. Normally, a psychic-specialized Mewtwo would almost never become a muscle-bound fighter, right?
However…
Thinking this, Aiden suddenly realized something.
After Mewtwo's physical growth stabilized, its attention had recently focused entirely on "becoming a qualified trainer."
But achieving autonomous Mega Evolution clearly required significant personal strength.
Was it becoming unbalanced in its development?
Having this thought, Aiden quickly considered internally.
For Pokémon, what was the best way to improve and solidify strength? Naturally, battling.
But with Mewtwo's current strength, participating as a gym apprentice against rookie trainers would be somewhat unfair.
Even holding back, it would need to intentionally lose quite a bit—and wouldn't gain much training benefit.
Only facing opponents of equal strength could truly improve its level.
So, was there somewhere it could unleash its full potential?
Yes, brother—there is.
"Mewtwo, how about… I take you to participate in a small competition to practice?"
Aiden raised an eyebrow, suddenly looking at Mewtwo as he spoke.
Exactly—the Psychic-type Master Tournament he'd just discussed with Cynthia last night was the perfect stage.
When you need a pillow, sleep comes to you.
A large group of powerful psychics and their carefully trained Pokémon would be perfect whetstones for Mewtwo, which hadn't yet reached its complete form.
International tournaments had no rule prohibiting legendary Pokémon from competing.
Being able to gain a legendary Pokémon's recognition was itself the best proof of a trainer's strength. Besides, Mewtwo perfectly met the competition requirements.
Type Master Tournaments typically used 3v3 battles, with only two needing to match the designated type.
Adding the purely filler, non-combat Indeedee, he could actually cobble together two Psychic-type Pokémon for the competition.
As a gym leader, participating in a Type Master Tournament was perfectly reasonable—President Geeta would approve his application instantly.
It was, after all, an Ultra Ball-level event. Good rankings would earn significant points.
For Aiden—the "sunshine gym leader" skilled with multiple types—participating in several Type Master Tournaments shouldn't be difficult. Future international points might even directly qualify him for the next Master Tournament.
Moreover…
He'd already promised Cynthia to accompany her to Johto to spectate. Becoming a competitor instead shouldn't be a problem.
Last tournament, he'd been merely a spectator and strategist, watching from the audience as Cynthia claimed her championship.
This time, it should be his turn to shine and show off his "child"!
Mewtwo's current fighting ability wasn't excessively overwhelming—it was still far from true legendary levels.
If it were Mew—this stat monster + mechanic monster + unorthodox strategist—Aiden would feel he was bullying other trainers.
But Mewtwo in its growth phase should be just right.
Of course, Mewtwo's own wishes mattered most.
After all, Aiden was merely temporarily hosting Mewtwo at Sunshine Gym—he'd never treated it as his own Pokémon.
If it refused, he wouldn't force it.
However, to Aiden's surprise—
"Okay."
Just as he prepared to explain further, Mewtwo accepted his suggestion without hesitation.
For Mewtwo, after this time together, it was certain Aiden was completely different from other humans—every choice was genuinely made with its best interests in mind.
Since he'd proactively suggested this, he must have his reasons.
It only needed to trust him.
Honestly, Mewtwo had never imagined that after the Team Rocket incident, it would so quickly develop such deep trust in a human.
But if that human was Aiden…
He deserved it.
Noticing Aiden's stunned reaction to its decisive answer, Mewtwo somehow felt a surge of pleasantness in its heart.
If its trainer were Aiden… it wouldn't mind at all.
"Alright, then it's settled."
Aiden quickly composed himself, nodding.
He needed to inform President Geeta and Cynthia about participating.
As Paldea's official gym leader, attending international tournaments required League notification to free up his schedule.
As for Cynthia…
Since Caitlin would also be competing, telling her would help Caitlin mentally prepare.
For Aiden, losing to Caitlin at the Master Tournament wouldn't matter much.
But Caitlin had reasons she couldn't afford to lose.
Losing to Aiden in front of Cynthia? Don't even think about it!
So, prepare to die, Aiden!
Without even needing to find Cynthia, Aiden had already imagined Caitlin's words, a smirk spreading across his lips.
However…
Don't get it wrong, Caitlin!
You're the challenger!
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