"No. I came in secret. He doesn't know."
Mewtwo shook his head.
Besides, what did it have to do with Giovanni if he went out?
His relationship with Giovanni was equal cooperation. He could go wherever he wanted!
Even if he just stayed at the Fighting Dojo, Mewtwo felt Giovanni wouldn't dare say a single word.
"Then you're this."
Grey gave Mewtwo a thumbs-up.
Though to be fair, Giovanni's Beedrill really did have something going on.
If Mewtwo actually fought that Beedrill, there was no guarantee he'd have the chance to beat it.
Mewtwo's control over his own power right now was just too poor.
Even when he used forty percent, most of it leaked out.
If that happened in the Fighting Dojo, people would laugh their teeth out.
To put it simply, even Nobuhiko—who got soloed by Sabrina, the second-generation Fighting Dojo leader—had once come close to taking Grey down purely in hand-to-hand combat.
Anyone who could become a dojo leader wasn't just required to be strong with Pokémon—their own personal strength had even higher requirements.
Because if you're a martial-arts Trainer, you need to be able to trade a few moves with your own Pokémon first.
If you can't even control your own power, how are you supposed to convince anyone?
"By the way, didn't that guy teach you how to control your strength? With your current power, it's basically just 'strong body, clumsy brick-throwing.'"
Grey suddenly realized something was off.
Before, he'd felt Mewtwo's pressure was terrifying because Grey's Pokémon weren't that strong yet—and Giovanni was there backing him.
But now that Mewtwo had come to the dojo, setting aside "ally" status, at least he was temporarily neutral.
And in that state, Grey noticed Mewtwo wasn't actually as scary as he'd imagined.
It was like his stats were just inflated.
His base panel was crazy high, but his "skill scaling" was bad—an intense disconnect.
Honestly, Mewtwo in games was like that too.
Even Mega Mewtwo X's physical moveset was kind of absurd.
It barely had any high-power physical STAB at all!
"No."
Mewtwo shook his head.
What could Giovanni teach him?
A guy who uses Bug- and Ground-types teaching him how to control psychic power?
That was just comedy.
"Sigh. Then what's the point of following him? Or did he promise you something?"
Grey genuinely didn't get it.
Why did Mewtwo insist on sticking with Giovanni?
Was there some benefit?
Wasn't Giovanni just treating Mewtwo like a complete sucker?
"No. I also don't know where I can go. I don't even know who I am, or what the meaning of my life is—why I even exist."
Mewtwo felt like he was working for Giovanni right now, but at least he was doing something.
Even if it wasn't good work, it still gave him a little motivation.
"…"
Deep down, Grey let out a long sigh.
This kid had been gaslit by Giovanni way too hard.
"Is there something wrong with his brain?"
Sabrina's puzzled voice suddenly came from the side.
She didn't know Mewtwo's true identity, but from a psychic's perspective, this guy was lost.
Standing at a crossroads in life.
Which way to go. Where to go.
He didn't know.
So he needed someone like a life mentor—someone to point out a path.
"No idea. Maybe. The stronger someone's psychic power is, the more they hide it day to day, the more they can come off as… not very bright."
Grey rubbed his chin as he chatted with Sabrina.
Mewtwo's situation needed time.
At least with how stubborn he was right now, there was no way to fix him in one go.
"How about this—let me give you a small goal."
Grey thought carefully and decided Mewtwo needed a positive target.
"What goal?"
With no violent tendencies, Mewtwo was like a curious kid. Anything Grey said could spark his interest.
"People stronger than you exist. The sky is bigger than the world you see. If you want to know what kind of existence you should become, strength is the most important thing. So—become number one in Saffron City first."
With every word, Grey's palm patted Mewtwo's shoulder like he was keeping rhythm.
It left Mewtwo looking dazed.
"Become… number one in Saffron City?"
Mewtwo didn't understand why Grey was only asking him to become number one in a single city.
Was he not qualified for more?
"Not just raw strength—control. The degree to which you can master your own power."
Seeing Mewtwo's blank face, Grey explained, "In Saffron City, if you throw a rock on the street, there's a high chance you'll hit a psychic—and a small chance you'll hit a martial artist."
"The ones who can stay in Saffron City—those two types—without exception, they're all Trainers who can control the power in their bodies."
"So what you need to do is this: suppress your power to the same level as theirs, and still beat them."
"Otherwise, with how you were just now, at the same level you'd be the one getting pinned and beaten."
Grey wasn't trying to scare him—this was a conclusion he'd reached from training Pokémon for a long time.
Mewtwo's power control was simply too weak.
Pick any random psychic and they'd probably do it better than Mewtwo.
"…"
Mewtwo didn't know what to say.
When he heard Grey's words, he could feel Grey was genuinely thinking from his perspective.
That kind of concern stirred an unfamiliar emotion inside Mewtwo.
It felt far better than Giovanni's cold, icy way of speaking.
Grey was even willing to use aura to soothe his emotions.
And Giovanni?
His Viridian power was basically only used on Persian and Beedrill!
Comparing the two, the difference was obvious.
At this moment, Mewtwo had started to feel real dissatisfaction toward Giovanni.
Both were Gym-type Trainers—so why was the gap this huge?!
"Hah…"
Mewtwo took a deep breath and exhaled a murky sigh.
"Then… I'll go?"
"Sure. Bye-bye~ If anything happens, come find me anytime."
"Mio~" (Don't forget you still have to come grill meat for me later! Don't forget! I'll come get you when it's time!)
Riolu didn't forget to remind him of the bet.
"Yeah. I know. I'll remember."
After saying that, Mewtwo used Teleport and vanished from the Fighting Dojo.
"So who was that person?"
Sabrina was curious about Mewtwo's identity.
"Just a psychic who's lost right now."
Grey brushed his hand through the lingering psychic residue Mewtwo left behind and smiled calmly.
"I see…"
Sabrina didn't say more. She turned and left.
…
…
Saffron City, Rainbow Hotel.
"You're back?"
Swirling a wine glass, Giovanni closed his laptop. Seeing Mewtwo return, he stood up—yet felt something was off.
"What about what I told you before—when is it going to be done?"
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