While Nozomi was conversing with Mewtwo, Sabrina stood quietly by their side, listening.
However, Sabrina couldn't comprehend the exchange between human and Pokémon.
Talk of "the meaning of one's existence," or "you're the most honest person I've ever met"—every single word made sense to her, yet when strung together, they became incomprehensible.
Sabrina was utterly baffled.
But when Mewtwo heard Nozomi's words, its eyes flashed with a sudden gleam—a visible tremor of psychic energy born from excitement.
"Are you serious?" Mewtwo asked.
"Of course," Nozomi replied confidently. "You already know I'm an honest man. I never lie."
He thumped his chest with pride, the sound echoing pa-pa-pa—his face practically shouting 'Hurry up and believe me!'
Mewtwo considered it for a moment. Indeed, that sincere gaze from earlier hadn't seemed false. Finally, it gave a small nod.
Seeing that, Nozomi sighed inwardly. As expected, Mewtwo is still too young.
Apparently, no one had ever told Mewtwo that humans are, by nature, ever-changing creatures.
Take Nozomi himself for example—he never trusted others easily, not even himself. Because he understood that the person one was a second ago might not be the same person they are now, nor the same person they'll be in the next second.
Of course, Nozomi had no intention of deceiving Mewtwo this time.
He looked at the Pokémon and asked, "So, how do you plan to search for the meaning of life?"
"What do you mean, 'how'?" Mewtwo tilted its head, puzzled.
It seemed confused that there could even be different methods for such a pursuit.
"Well," Nozomi said thoughtfully, "there's a more intense method and a more gentle one. Which would you prefer?"
"What's the intense one? And the gentle one?" Mewtwo asked eagerly—without realizing it was already being guided neatly along Nozomi's train of thought.
"The intense method," Nozomi began, taking on the air of a philosopher, "is through battle. Seeking the meaning of your existence in the heat of combat—that's the most straightforward and brutal way. Often, in the middle of a fight—or when you're beaten half to death—you suddenly understand."
"The advantage is that it's simple and direct," he continued. "But it has drawbacks too."
"What drawbacks?"
"For one thing, finding high-quality opponents isn't easy. Still, in your case, that's not much of a problem. You could just make a circuit—Ho-Oh, Lugia, Groudon, Kyogre, and Rayquaza. After fighting all of them, you'd probably grasp the meaning of life."
"First thing, huh? Then what's the second?" Sabrina interjected, voicing the question that Mewtwo wanted to ask.
"The second drawback," Nozomi said gravely, "is danger. You're still in your growth phase. You're not exactly weak, but you're not strong enough to go toe-to-toe with those legends yet. You'd probably lose. And those guys aren't exactly the forgiving type—when they fight, they don't hold back. If you get more than half-dead, fine, maybe you'll reach enlightenment. But if they straight-up kill you, well… that's not ideal."
Mewtwo's body grew cold as it imagined that possibility.
"Of course, you don't need to worry too much," Nozomi added reassuringly. "If you become my Pokémon, I can train you. I can even teach you to Mega Evolve—like my Metagross here."
As he spoke, he pointed toward Metagross, who obligingly swung its four iron arms, showing off the raw power of Mega Evolution.
Mewtwo compared its own strength to the sheer might of a transformed Metagross and instinctively nodded.
But soon, it snapped back to awareness and asked, "Then… what's the gentle method?"
"The gentle method," Nozomi said, "is more complicated. To understand the meaning of life, you must first understand where you came from."
"I know that," Mewtwo replied. "I was created by human scientists." Its tone grew cold at the mention, full of hatred for its creators.
"No," Nozomi said immediately, shaking his head. "That's a shallow way of thinking."
Mewtwo blinked, clearly unconvinced.
If it wasn't created by those scientists, then how else could it have come into being?
Ignoring its skepticism, Nozomi began counting off on his fingers. "Being created by scientists is just a general concept. You'll never find the meaning of life if that's all you know."
"Then explain," Mewtwo said. "Convince me."
Nozomi spoke slowly, with a teacher's patience. "First, you must understand what inspired those scientists to create you. How did they come up with the idea? What motivated them?
Then, you need to trace the entire process—from the initial concept and design to the materials they used, the technological methods, the number of experiments they conducted, the problems they encountered, and how they solved them.
You must also understand their mental journey—the emotions, the ambitions, even the fears they held while creating you. Only by knowing all this can you begin to have the qualifications to explore the meaning of your life."
"Begin?!" Sabrina exclaimed, wide-eyed, her brain practically aching.
Mewtwo's face, too, was a picture of existential crisis.
"Exactly," Nozomi said calmly. "That's why the gentle method takes longer."
"Of course," he added with a faint grin, "it's not that hard. It only seems complicated. Really, all you'd have to do is bring those scientists together and interview them one by one. You'd figure it out easily."
Then he looked innocently at Mewtwo and asked, "Right, Mewtwo?"
"…"
Mewtwo's lips trembled slightly. For the first time since its creation, it regretted killing those scientists.
After a long silence, it finally admitted what it had done.
Sabrina covered her face, feeling secondhand sorrow for Mewtwo.
But before the gloom could deepen, Nozomi spoke again—lifting Mewtwo's mood from hell straight back to heaven.
"Of course," he said smoothly, "there's another way."
"What way?" Mewtwo asked immediately. Its mind was now fully caught in Nozomi's rhythm—despite its immense power, its emotional intelligence was no match for Nozomi's conversational traps.
"Well," Nozomi said, putting on a knowing look, "since you're so strong, it's impossible that you were created out of nothing. There must be a blueprint—a model they based you on. So if you can find that blueprint, maybe you'll finally understand the meaning of life."
"That blueprint…"
As Nozomi spoke, Mewtwo's mind conjured the image of a small, pink figure it had seen countless times in its dreams—the one it could never quite reach.