Facing the Elite Four's strange expressions, Lorelei could only nod helplessly.
"It's exactly what you're thinking," she said honestly. "Just now, Ash relied entirely on his own Aura Power to contend with Mewtwo. Otherwise… with my strength alone, I wouldn't have been able to hold out until you arrived."
The moment those words fell, the gazes of the Elite Four all shifted, locking onto Ash with expressions that could only be described as unnatural.
Bruno and Lance were seeing Ash for the first time.
Bruno's eyes swept over Ash from head to toe, lingering on his arms and legs. His brows furrowed deeply.
"These skinny arms and legs," Bruno muttered. "Is this real or fake?"
As a Trainer famed for physical combat, Bruno could tell at a glance, Ash's physique was only slightly better than that of an average teenager. His exposed arms weren't bulky. There was no exaggerated muscle definition. Forget eight-pack abs, nothing about him looked like someone who could trade blows with a God Level Pokémon.
With a body like this, throwing a punch at Mewtwo should have ended with bones shattering on contact.
"Ash," Lance said, stepping forward and extending a hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Lance. Just call me Lance."
Then his expression turned serious.
"Leave the rest to us. Take your companions and withdraw first."
Although Lance also harbored doubts, now was not the time to pursue them.
Regardless of whether Ash truly possessed the power to contend with a God Level Pokémon with his physical body alone, now that the Elite Four had arrived, it was unacceptable for a teenager to continue shouldering such a crisis.
When the sky falls, the tall ones hold it up.
They were the tall ones.
If a child had to bear this burden for them, then the Elite Four would have lived in shame.
Mewtwo frowned slightly, but did not refute Lance's words.
On one hand, she was curious. Curious about how strong humanity's so-called pinnacle combatants truly were. Curious whether the four Elite working together could actually contend with her.
On the other hand…
She genuinely did not want to fight Ash anymore.
Despite how evenly matched the battle had appeared, Ash's punches had grazed her body multiple times. If not for Teleport and her Psychic precognition, she would have taken direct hits.
Mewtwo could clearly feel it.
If one of Ash's punches landed cleanly, with her current physical state, it would cause severe damage.
Her stamina had already dropped below half.
Upon reaching God Level, a Pokémon's attributes rose across the board, but stamina experienced the most drastic improvement.
Regardless of species, once a Pokémon reached God Level, its stamina rivaled that of a legendary.
At the same level, a normal Pokémon might have stamina of one hundred.
A pseudo-legendary, one hundred fifty.
A legendary Pokémon? Two hundred, or more.
While legendary Pokémon varied, they all possessed absurdly thick health reserves.
After stepping into God Level, Mewtwo's stamina had undergone a qualitative leap far beyond even that.
And yet;
After taking only two solid punches from Ash and several clashes, half of it was gone.
The implication was terrifying.
If forced to choose between fighting Ash again or facing all four Elite Four at once, putting aside emotion and pride, Mewtwo would choose the Elite Four without hesitation.
In her judgment, even all four of them together would be easier to handle than Ash.
That was why she remained silent.
She believed the reason she couldn't defeat Ash was simple, she hadn't fully adapted to her newly elevated power.
If that was the case, then she would use the Elite Four as practice.
Once she completely mastered her body…she would fight Ash again.
Ash looked at Lance's solemn expression, then at the silent Mewtwo.
After a moment, he shook his head slowly.
"Mr. Lance," Ash said, "take Misty and the others away. Leave this to me."
"This started because of me. I want to take responsibility for it myself."
Earlier, Ash hadn't understood the root of Mewtwo's so-called revolution.
Now, he did.
It was a misunderstanding, one he had caused.
And he would resolve it himself.
"Ash..." Lance began.
"Lance," Lorelei interrupted quietly. "Let him go."
Her burgundy eyes met Lance's, conveying something unspoken.
Lance paused.
Then he exhaled and released all of his Pokémon.
"I understand," he said gravely. "But if things spiral out of control, I will intervene immediately."
His gaze turned cold as it locked onto Mewtwo.
"Mewtwo, don't blame us. You are simply too dangerous. Even if it's unfair… we will take you down if necessary."
That final sentence struck Mewtwo like a blade.
Her pupils shrank violently as suppressed fury surged through her heart.
'Dangerous…'
'Dangerous…'
You humans always say that word.
When you want to destroy something but lack moral justification, you invent excuses to comfort yourselves.
Humans, these vile creatures, are not fit to rule this planet.
From the moment she was born, she had never been treated as a Pokémon.
Only a weapon.
The League appeared benevolent, but at its core, it was no different from Team Rocket, constantly wary, constantly afraid, ready to erase her the moment she stepped out of line.
She had never destroyed anything of her own will.
She had only followed orders.
And yet… they still feared her.
Was being powerful truly a crime?
Mewtwo's furious, confused gaze met Ash's.
The young man stood firm, eyes steady, carrying a light she could not explain.
She understood his meaning.
'You are not a weapon.'
"Come on, Mewtwo," Ash said, stepping forward.
"Round Two."
He inhaled deeply.
"This time, I won't hold back."
The Aura within his body surged to its absolute limit.
When Ash fought Mewtwo earlier, he had actually been holding back.
He had deliberately reserved part of his strength, keeping it in reserve for Misty and the others. If anything unexpected happened on their side, he needed to be able to reach them instantly.
But now, with all four Elite Four present…
If they still couldn't protect a handful of people from the aftermath of battle, then they truly did not deserve the title of Elite Four.
'Holding back?'
Mewtwo's voice echoed coldly in his mind.
'What arrogance. Are you saying you weren't using your full strength just now?'
"That's right."
The moment Ash's words fell, his figure vanished.
In the next instant, he appeared directly in front of Mewtwo, mid-air, and threw a punch.
Mewtwo's pupils shrank violently.
Teleport!
Her body vanished from the spot.
But Ash had already anticipated it.
"Whoosh—!"
An Aura Sphere formed instantly in his palm and was hurled into the empty sky like a comet.
The next moment, Mewtwo reappeared mid-air, her body materializing directly in front of the roaring, azure energy sphere!
This time, there was no time to teleport.
She crossed her arms instinctively, Psychic power surging outward as a translucent blue barrier formed in front of her.
"BOOM!!"
A violent explosion ripped through the air.
A mushroom-shaped cloud bloomed across the sky.
Mewtwo was blasted downward, but she forcibly regained control before hitting the ground, stopping herself barely a meter above the shattered surface.
But she had no time to recover.
Ash appeared again.
This time, he was above her.
Mewtwo was facing the sky.
Ash was facing down.
In her purple eyes, a fist rapidly expanded, filling her vision.
"BANG!!"
A point-blank punch smashed directly into her face.
The impact drove Mewtwo into the ground like a meteor.
The earth collapsed inward, forming a massive crater in the already devastated terrain.
Dust and debris billowed outward.
When the smoke cleared, Ash stood calmly at the crater's edge, looking down.
At the center of the crater, Mewtwo lay sprawled on the ground, limbs spread in a large "X", eyes tightly shut.
She did not move.
Lance, Bruno, and Agatha stared in silence.
This was the first time they had witnessed Ash's combat power with their own eyes.
And the first time they had ever seen a human fight like this.
If they had harbored doubts earlier, those doubts had been obliterated by Ash's fists.
This wasn't technique. This wasn't skill.
This was raw, overwhelming stats.
Speed. Strength. Reaction time.
In all three areas, Ash had completely crushed Mewtwo.
She couldn't match his speed. She couldn't match his strength.
Teleport only delayed the inevitable, Ash instantly predicted her landing point and attacked again.
The only skill Ash had used throughout the entire exchange…
Aura Sphere.
Mewtwo's Psychic barrier failed under pure force.
And the close-range punch that followed sealed her fate.
This was the super Pokémon Team Rocket had once called their ultimate weapon.
A God Level existence.
And she had been beaten into the ground like this.
If an uninformed bystander witnessed the scene, they would probably assume Ash was the weapon of mass destruction.
Lance silently recalled his own words: Mewtwo, you are truly too dangerous.
'Was it too late to take those back?'
At the time, he genuinely believed it.
But now?
If danger had a definition, Ash fit it far better.
Bruno swallowed hard.
He remembered muttering about Ash's "skinny arms and legs."
He had even imagined that in a real fight, he could punch this kid until he cried.
Now he realized, Ash's punch would likely stop his heart.
Bruno prided himself on physical cultivation. Among humans, very few surpassed him.
And yet, standing before Ash, he felt like a novice.
A heaven beyond heaven.
Once this was over, he had to ask how Ash trained his body.
This wasn't just special power.
Ash's physical foundation alone surpassed his own.
Agatha didn't voice her shock, but inwardly, she sighed.
It was fortunate Trainers weren't allowed to fight in official League battles.
Otherwise…
Who could stop this boy?
"Did Ash… win?"
As the battlefield fell silent, Misty asked uncertainly.
Lorelei frowned slightly.
"Probably. A blow like that to the face… even a God Level Psychic Pokémon shouldn't be able to withstand it."
Mewtwo hadn't moved for over ten seconds.
She appeared completely incapacitated.
Then, her eyes snapped open.
Psychic power exploded outward.
Her hands snapped together, chaotic purple energy condensing violently between them.
This was her exclusive move.
Her final defiance.
Psystrike.
Ash sighed softly.
Even he wasn't sure why.
He raised one hand. Azure light gathered.
An Aura Sphere, vast as a meteor, formed above his palm.
The scene felt hauntingly familiar.
"Isn't that…" Misty whispered, eyes widening.
"The final clash at Viridian Gym?"
Back then, it had been Lucario versus Mewtwo.
Now, It was Ash himself.
Lucario watched in silence.
For a moment, Ash's figure overlapped with his own memory from that battle.
Was he really that fearless back then?
Now, he could only watch.
But someday, as long as he stayed beside Ash, he would reach that height again.
"Mr. Lance. Mr. Bruno. Grandma Agatha. Miss Lorelei."
Ash didn't turn around.
"Please protect Brock and the others."
Then he leapt into the air.
The colossal Aura Sphere smashed downward.
Mewtwo screamed and hurled her Psystrike forward.
The two energies collided.
BOOM!!!
A detonation like a nuclear explosion tore across New Island.
Light swallowed everything. The island itself trembled under the impact.