In the black world—
Gary couldn't help questioning the host of New Island.
Seriously—this was a huge place, but there was no way there were that many "elite" Trainers here.
It was like grabbing a handful of sand and declaring, "Yup, this is all gold!"
Naturally, he doubted the judgment of whoever was hosting this so-called tournament.
If not for the fact that this event was billed as a banquet for "the strongest Trainers,"Gary wouldn't have come even if you dragged him—let alone a dog.
The other three invited Trainers agreed with him.
By definition, "elite" meant a small fraction of the whole,
But that scene at the harbor's Pokémon Center had looked like half of Kanto showed up.
Every kind of Trainer was there—Except maybe a few bug catchers that no one ever heard of.
While everyone was still discussing the selection criteria,The host of New Island finally appeared.
First, the mind-controlled Nurse Joy walked out.
Then a humanoid Pokémon stepped forward.
At that moment, the footage froze.
...
[Ding! Since both worlds have reached the Mewtwo Strikes Back segment, Mewtwo is now permitted to speak in the livestream.]
[Note: In the future, if a legendary Pokémon appears in both worlds at the same time, that legendary will also be allowed to speak in the comment feed. However, each legendary that joins is unique (only one instance of each).]
[The livestream will prioritize whichever version of the legendary appears first in the video.]
[Additional note: Since the "legendary speech" feature was just updated, Ho-Oh, who appeared earlier, is now also permitted to speak in the livestream.]
[We look forward to your joyful interactions with legendary Pokémon~]
The Live Comparison… had updated again.
This time, it had unlocked legendary Pokémon chat privileges.
But only legendaries that had appeared in both worlds' footage could speak.
Right now, there were two legends eligible to talk:
Mewtwo and Ho-Oh.
And most importantly—
[Lance: Mewtwo's officially recognized as a legendary?! I thought legendaries were born with the world, rule over some aspect of nature, and have bloodlines named after them. Are they judging Mewtwo as a child of Mew, so—]
[Mewtwo: "Flying King," mind your words.]
[Lance: W–Wha— it spoke! It actually spoke! …Wait. Flying King??? Who taught you that nickname?!]
[Giovanni: Who else calls you that? I'm impressed—you really are the greatest weapon I ever created. Your learning speed is excellent.]
[Mewtwo: I will repeat myself: I am not a weapon. And I advise you not to come looking for me. If you do… I'll just erase your memories again.]
[Giovanni: Hmph. Just you wait. Sooner or later, you'll be mine again.]
Giovanni's memories still hadn't been restored.
However, he didn't really need them.The livestream was about to show the story of Mewtwo's birth and his original purpose.
Even without firsthand memories, Giovanni now understood his own situation.
The strongest weapon he'd ever created… had erased his memory.
It was absurd.
But now that he knew, there was no way he would just ignore Mewtwo.
If he ever had the chance, he would absolutely bring Mewtwo back under his control.
[Ash: Speaking of legends… what about Ho-Oh?]
[Professor Oak: Right! Where's Ho-Oh? Didn't Ho-Oh also get access to the chat? Why isn't it saying anything?]
[Ho-Oh: Don't mind me. Just continue your conversation. If I feel like saying or asking something, I'll speak.]
[Professor Birch: Holy—! It's really Ho-Oh! A living Ho-Oh!]
[Professor Oak: Incredible, Ho-Oh actually replied! Is the livestream translating its speech into human language for us? Or does Ho-Oh understand human speech on its own?!]
[Komatsu: Man, too bad we can't send pictures here. Otherwise I'd ask Lord Ho-Oh for a selfie.]
[Ho-Oh: ...]
Humans were just as noisy as they'd always been.
As for this livestream… what was this thing?
Arceus?
But even Arceus shouldn't be able to project everyone's past and future into the world like a movie.
Let alone create a platform where the entire world could chat together.
If it wasn't Arceus… then who?
Ho-Oh fell silent, deep in thought, and stopped replying.
People gradually realized Ho-Oh didn't like being pestered.
So they stopped spamming it in the comments,And shifted the conversation to other things.
[Ash: Hey, why did Gary show up on New Island anyway? The Gary on my side didn't go at all.]
[Gary: What, I don't qualify as an elite Trainer now?]
[Professor Oak: You originally were a potential target for Mewtwo's selection… but in the white world, you ran off on some beachside vacation. I don't even know where you went.]
[Professor Oak: If this kid were forced to "grind" like Black Ash does, he definitely wouldn't have lost in the Top 32.]
[Gary: ...]
Gary fell silent.
It was true—In the white world, during the Mewtwo incident, he'd gone off for a relaxing trip with his girlfriends.
Meanwhile, in the black world, because Black Ash was rolling so insanely hard,
There was no way that version of Gary could waste time on vacation.
He was probably in the middle of a battle when Mewtwo found him.
[Corey: Ugh, we have to watch me get wrecked again… my head hurts already.]
[Fergus: You think that hurts? At least you just got your Pokémon beaten up. I got yeeted into a pool along with my Gyarados.]
[Diantha: Sit back and enjoy the show~ Let's see Mewtwo "strike back" again.]
[Mewtwo: …I'm honestly tired of it. Do we really have to broadcast my dark history twice in the same livestream?]
That was right.
In Mewtwo's view,Everything he'd done back then was nothing but pure, cringe-inducing teenage edginess.
"I'm not a real life-form."
"I'll take revenge on humanity."
Looking back on it now… it was embarrassingly naïve.
He was himself—the one and only Mewtwo.
That's what Ash had told him.
So, to the Mewtwo of now, his past self was basically just a moody, misguided child.
After about three minutes of Mewtwo and Ho-Oh being active in the chat,The video resumed.
...
In the black world—
With the mastermind finally revealed, everyone realized:
The so-called "strongest Trainer" was actually… a Pokémon.
At this moment, the one who found this hardest to accept was probably Gary.
Being overshadowed by Ash was one thing—he was used to it.Getting stepped on by his rival and losing? That he could barely tolerate.
But now even a Pokémon was standing there, calling itself the strongest Trainer.
How was a proud guy like Gary supposed to swallow that?
Yet surprisingly, he didn't shout anything back when Mewtwo made that arrogant declaration.
Because the moment he saw Mewtwo,He felt a very familiar, very oppressive pressure.
On Ash's side, his usual relaxed grin had vanished.
His face was serious.
This Aura…
It was exactly the same as the Aura he'd sensed below Viridian Gym—Only now it was even stronger.
This Pokémon was undoubtedly the same mysterious presence from those depths—
And in just one month, its Aura had grown even more powerful.
That kind of growth rate was insane.
"Ash, we should find a chance to sneak out of here," Gary muttered.
Ash: "?"
Ash turned to stare at him, confused.
Was this really the same Gary who looked down on everyone but Ash?
Since when was he this scared?
"You don't get it," Gary whispered. "Let's get out of this place first, then I'll explain."
"…I already know it's strong," Ash said. "What I'm curious about is—how you know that."
Gary always went with the flow.
If the enemy was strong, he backed off.If the enemy was weak, he rolled right over them.
That was how Gary worked.
For him to be this intimidated, he had to already know Mewtwo's true power.
Ash was curious.
He'd sensed that power through Aura.
But how had Gary figured it out?
"Fine, I'll come clean," Gary said with a grimace. "I went to challenge Viridian Gym, okay?"
He ended up telling Ash the secret he'd been hiding—How he'd been utterly crushed by the Pokémon in Viridian Gym's basement.
While the two of them whispered to each other,
Fergus had already started taunting Mewtwo,And sent his Gyarados to attack.
Mewtwo didn't even bother.
He flicked Gyarados aside with psychic power and hurled both Trainer and Pokémon into the nearby pool.
Fergus surfaced coughing and sputtering, soaked from head to toe.
Then Mewtwo issued a challenge to all the Trainers present.
He declared that he would not fight personally.
Instead, he would send out three Pokémon:Cloned versions of the Kanto starters, to face them in three-on-three battles.
Mewtwo explained that these starters—and the other Pokémon on New Island—Were all clones, created from the originals.
They were products of Team Rocket's experiments.
And the reason he'd summoned powerful Trainers here was simple:
To copy their Pokémon as well and use those clones to wage war on humanity.
However, he said,If anyone managed to defeat his cloned starters in battle,
He would not make things difficult for them.
He would personally allow those Trainers to leave the island.
Just as Mewtwo was declaring this,Ash was finishing listening to Gary's tale of his Viridian defeat.
Ash forced a grin and said to him:
"So what do you say? Mewtwo isn't even fighting personally. As long as we beat the Pokémon he sends out, he promised to let us go. Are you really planning to sneak away like some deserter… or are you going to walk out of here proudly after winning?"
Gary: "…"
Either way… we're still trying to run, aren't we?
But after hearing that Mewtwo wouldn't battle directly, Gary's confidence came roaring back.
He cracked his knuckles, eager to fight, and glared at Mewtwo.
Last time, Mewtwo had personally wiped out two of his Pokémon in seconds.
This time, it was Trainer versus Trainer—
And the opponents were just cloned versions of the Kanto starters.
If he didn't use this chance to get payback, when would he?
It wasn't like Trainers could punch each other on the field.Someone had to stand up and represent.
...
[Gary: Go for it, other-world me! Knock him flat!]
[Mewtwo: ...]
[Gary: Uh… sorry. I forgot you could read this. Just pretend you didn't see that!]
[Ash: That's so like you, Gary. "Bullying the weak and fearing the strong" might as well be your personal brand.]
[Gary: Bullying the weak, my foot. That's called adapting to circumstances! You think everyone can be as reckless as you? If you were even half as cautious as Black Ash, you wouldn't have stopped in the Top 32 at the Quartz Conference!]
[Ash: I don't need to hear that from someone who lost in the Top 32.]
[Gary: Just you wait. At the Silver Conference, I'm going to use you as my stepping stone!]
[Ash: Sure. I'll be waiting.]
...
In the black world—
Mewtwo teleported the four eligible Trainers to a battle arena.
It was open-air, with a huge battlefield.
Everyone focused on trying to defeat the cloned Pokémon Mewtwo sent out.
Only Ash kept his eyes fixed on Mewtwo himself.
When Mewtwo had challenged them earlier,He'd already explained his origins and the story of those three starters:
They were clones—creations of Team Rocket's research.
Which meant…
The Viridian Gym Leader—Giovanni—was deeply involved.
But that was something to look into after they left this island alive.
Right now, there was only one thing Ash wanted to do:
Pull Mewtwo out of his maze.
"Pokémon are like blank sheets of paper," Ash murmured, staring at Mewtwo.
"What color they end up being… depends entirely on their Trainer."
"Seeing you like this… there's no way I can just walk away."
That was why Ash would rather take the risk than escape.
He simply couldn't abandon Mewtwo.
Even though this was their first meeting face-to-face,He felt a deep sympathy for him.
A Pokémon that didn't even believe its own life had meaning,That handed the meaning of its existence to others—
How had he lived all this time?
Ash's dream was to become a Pokémon Master.
And to him, a Pokémon Master was someone who could befriend all Pokémon.
That included Mewtwo.
He wanted to tell him:
It doesn't matter if you're a clone.It doesn't matter if humans tried to use you.
As long as you are yourself,As long as you want to live—Your existence has meaning.
And that kind of message…
Could only be delivered with fists.
In the way battles between "men" were settled.
…Not that Ash had any idea if Mewtwo counted as "male."
Soon, the battles began.
In total, four Trainers were eligible to fight.
All four had at least one Kanto starter.
Ash alone had brought all three.
As for Fergus… he'd been knocked out by Mewtwo's psychic blast.
Ash had gathered up Fergus's Pokémon and handed them to Nurse Joy for safekeeping.
"Let me go first!" Corey said, rolling his shoulders as he stepped up to the Trainer's box. "I'll teach this arrogant guy a lesson!"
He sent out his starter: Venusaur.
Less than thirty seconds later,His Venusaur was one-shotted by the cloned Venusaur's Vine Whip.
...
[Corey: Hsssh… Watching it again still hurts. The shock is real. Good thing my memory got wiped originally, or I'd remember this shame forever.]
[Fergus: You can still remember it forever after seeing the video twice… I'm still worse off. I didn't even get to battle, I just went straight to sleep courtesy of Mewtwo's psychic blast.]
Mewtwo watched the two "victims" complain and chose not to reply.
He had been in the wrong.
To be precise, he'd been completely consumed by his rage.
If Ash hadn't thrown his life away to stop him from fighting Mew to the death,
He probably never would have awakened from that madness.
And none of what happened later at Clear Cliff would have come to pass.
Ash… no matter which world you're in, you really are special.
...
In the black world—
After Corey was wiped out in seconds, Neesha stepped up.
With Corey as a cautionary example, she did everything she could to stay alert and careful.
But it didn't matter.
The gap in raw strength between the clones and their originals was simply too big.
No amount of vigilance could change the outcome.
She lost too.
"Two of you are down already," Mewtwo said. "Who will challenge me next?"
"Let me." Ash stepped forward. "You've only got Charizard left, right? Oh—by the way… can I use Pikachu?"
He walked up to the arena and raised his question to Mewtwo.
Corey and Neesha stared at him like he'd gone insane.
Of all times to send out that "cute little Pikachu," he chose now?!
If even Ash lost here, then only Gary would be left.
And if Gary also fell…
Then there was a real chance they'd never leave this island.
But Mewtwo, after thinking in silence for five seconds,Gave a cold answer.
"No."
"I remember you. Your name is Ash—the one who battled Giovanni. The Pikachu in your hands is truly powerful. Its combat power exceeds the combined strength of the three clones I command."
"But this is a duel of the Kanto starter families. No Pokémon outside of those three lines are allowed to participate."
Corey and Neesha: "…"
Had they heard that right?
That Pikachu…
Was stronger than the clones that had just crushed their Venusaur and Blastoise?
Did Mewtwo have a problem, or did they?
Or had the world secretly changed its mind and decided Pikachu was now a Pokémon on par with legendaries?
After hearing Mewtwo's answer, Ash could only shrug helplessly.
As far as excuses went,It wasn't a bad one.
And he'd already guessed Mewtwo wouldn't let him use Pikachu.
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