"Man, what a cheapskate. Wouldn't even spare a few feathers."
Damian watched Ho-Oh fly off and shook his head. That overgrown roast bird was seriously stingy.
"And it's got no manners either. How can it just cuss people out like that?"
Damian was very displeased.
Yeah—right before leaving, Ho-Oh had been grumbling non‑stop, stuff like "greedy humans, beyond saving, do you have any idea how important feathers are to a bird?" and so on.
Didn't it know how hurtful that was?
He'd only wanted it to give a live demonstration of molting on the spot, and it had scolded him.
That bird was seriously rude.
How did something like that even end up with followers?
"..."
Erika gave an awkward little laugh.
She honestly wanted to say: the fact Ho-Oh hadn't just blasted him with Sacred Fire already meant it was incredibly well‑behaved.
"Whatever. We still got plenty out of this. Let's head back."
Damian stretched lazily and spoke to Caitlin and Erika.
Shadow Mewtwo quietly used psychic power to reattach the limiter armor piece by piece, "transforming" back into Armored Mewtwo.
Through that battle, it had discovered even more flaws:
Whenever its psychic output got too high, there were still lots of areas it just couldn't control precisely.
The limiter armor could help with that a lot.
The three of them Teleported back to Vermilion City.
In the villa's backyard, Damian opened an Ultra Ball.
With a flash of white, Suicune appeared in front of him.
"Suicune!"
The moment it appeared, Suicune instantly pulled away from Damian, baring its teeth at him in warning.
Clearly, Suicune was still very resistant to Damian.
"You lost to me.
And you couldn't hold out against the Ultra Ball either.
Right now, I'm your Trainer."
"Suicune!!"
Suicune glared daggers at Damian.
It had rejected him—he was the one who'd insisted on forcing the caught!
"Being mad won't change a thing.
That's just how it is now."
Damian raised a brow.
"Also, take a look at this."
He took out that brilliant, gleaming Rainbow Wing.
Suicune stared at the feather, eyes full of confusion.
That was… Lord Ho-Oh's?
"Yup, this is from Ho-Oh.
Means Ho-Oh approves of me too.
So what's so bad about you following me?"
Damian smiled as he waggled the feather at Suicune.
A subtle shift passed through Suicune's gaze.
It was wavering.
It could tell—this really was a feather from Lord Ho-Oh.
And a very "fresh" one at that, probably just shed from Ho-Oh's body.
If it was Lord Ho-Oh's judgment… there shouldn't be a problem, right?
"I'm not exactly a 'good person,' but I really do like Pokémon.
And I am working toward a world where humans and Pokémon can coexist in harmony."
Seeing its reaction, Damian pressed the advantage.
"For that kind of world, I need your power too, Suicune."
His tone was very sincere—because he knew plenty of Pokémon fell for that kind of line.
"There are a lot of dark corners in this world.
Plenty of people live only for their own selfishness and desire.
That's the reality of this world."
"But there are things we can do.
Facing reality head‑on is the first step, right?
Wiping out the rotten, insane parts—that's necessary."
Damian wasn't exactly lying.
Team Magma, Team Galactic, Team Plasma—those guys were all either lunatics or psychos.
Taking out those organizations and absorbing them… wasn't that a good thing?
As far as Damian was concerned, he was basically a saint.
Yet people still insisted on calling him "Evil Team Rocket."
Unbelievable.
"For a clear, blue, and pure world—let's work toward it together!"
"Suicune!!"
Suicune was shaken.
It hadn't expected this human to have such a grand dream.
No wonder Lord Ho-Oh had chosen him.
Suicune stepped closer to the boy in front of it.
With that first impression in place, it felt this human wasn't actually lying.
Because Lord Ho-Oh wouldn't be wrong.
Lord Ho-Oh had given him this top‑grade Rainbow Wing.
That was proof.
"Not bad.
But your strength still isn't quite there yet.
So next I'm going to put you through some special training, Suicune.
Think you can handle it?"
"Suicune!!"
Suicune burned with fighting spirit.
"Good. That's the energy I like."
Damian was very satisfied.
Suicune was already quite strong, of course—after all, it had been reborn through Ho-Oh's power.
But for Damian, that still wasn't enough.
It needed training.
Early next morning.
"Mr. Damian, time to get up.
Wait! Don't be like that! Y‑you—mmph—"
In Damian's room, Erika had come to wake him again… and once again got pinned to the bed.
Erika's pretty face burned bright red.
The deep, forceful kiss made her head spin, her hands pushing weakly at Damian's chest.
At some point, her casual clothes had been pushed up as well.
Thirty minutes later, Erika bolted from Damian's room with her hands over her face.
Too scary.
The flower‑arranging miss was dizzy and dazed.
Was she really going to get pregnant like this?
She had no idea that, elsewhere, an eye had been silently watching her through a crack in the door the whole time.
"Ugh— it's fine.
Damian's just using her for practice.
Ughhh—"
The golden‑haired young lady gripped the doorknob, constantly trying to calm herself, forcing down the urge to slam this always‑snacking bad woman into the nearest wall.
She couldn't do that.
If she did, Damian would definitely be upset.
And at the end of the day, Erika was just a maid.
No real threat at all.
Once she'd talked herself down and gotten her emotions under control, Caitlin stepped out of her room with her usual graceful, elegant stride, as regal as ever.
Only I, Caitlin, am worthy of becoming Damian's wife!
Lavender Town—a town wrapped in a quiet, ghostly atmosphere.
The "lavender" in its name referred to that noble, violet‑orchid shade.
So most of Lavender Town's buildings were tinged with purple.
Lavender Town was also home to Kanto Region's most famous Pokémon cemetery.
All burial and memorial services for the dead were held at the town's Pokémon Tower.
Pokémon Tower was Lavender Town's most famous building, and also a graveyard for Pokémon.
But by the second generation, Pokémon Tower had been converted into Lavender Radio Tower, and the Pokémon originally interred there were moved to the House of Memories.
Right now, Damian's group of three had arrived in Lavender Town.
But they weren't here for Pokémon Tower.
"Pokémon House."
Damian looked at the open door and walked straight in.
The interior of Pokémon House was simple and ordinary, just split into small sections—each home to different Pokémon.
Bellsprout, Rattata, Marowak, and so on.
"Hi there. Are you here to adopt a Pokémon?"
A little girl in a floral dress came up, looking curiously at the three of them.
"No, we're here to see Grandpa Fuji.
Do you know where he is?"
Damian put on his usual gentle smile and asked the girl.
"Grandpa's giving Nidoran a bath.
You'll have to wait a little while."
She blinked her big eyes at him.
"Then we'll wait.
We also brought some food for the Pokémon."
Damian took several bags of Pokéblocks and a few cakes and snacks out of his bag and set them in a corner.
Pokémon House was basically a "home" Mr. Fuji had created for abandoned Pokémon or those who'd lost their parents.
In simple terms, similar to Alola's Aether House—an orphanage.
The difference was that Aether House had Aether Foundation behind it.
Pokémon House, on the other hand, was something Mr. Fuji had built entirely on his own.
"Wow!! brother!
These are enough for the Rattata and everyone to eat for so long!"
The girl's eyes lit up, her face blooming into a bright, unrestrained smile of pure joy.
"brother's not just super handsome—he's super nice too!"
"Haha～ you really know how to talk, kid.
Here, this is for you."
Damian couldn't help laughing.
He pulled out a lollipop, unwrapped it, and handed it to her.
"Thank you, brother～"
The girl thanked him sweetly, her eyes curved like little crescent moons.
After chatting with her for a bit, Damian confirmed that Pokémon House's finances were indeed tight.
Mr. Fuji didn't really have any income anymore.
If the townsfolk and passing Trainers didn't regularly drop off supplies, or occasionally donate some money, Pokémon House probably wouldn't have made it this far.
About twenty minutes later, an elderly bald man in a gray‑white shirt, hair graying at the sides, walked out of a room.
At his feet trotted a freshly washed Nidoran.
"Grandpa, a super nice big brother came to see us—he brought so much food!"
The little girl immediately dashed over, thrilled.
"Is that so? Then we definitely need to thank him properly.
You—… Damian?"
Mr. Fuji fondly ruffled the girl's hair, but the second his gaze landed on Damian, his expression froze.
"Long time no see, Grandpa Fuji."
Damian smiled and greeted him.
"…So you did come looking for me after all."
Mr. Fuji's complexion went a bit pale, his voice trembling despite his best efforts.
"It's not that bad.
I just wanted to talk with you, Grandpa Fuji—nothing else."
Damian shook his head.
"I understand.
Come with me, then."
Mr. Fuji drew a deep breath.
Some things had to be faced sooner or later.
The others didn't follow.
The girl stayed inside Pokémon House under Mr. Fuji's instructions to keep looking after the Pokémon—and she obeyed without question.
Lavender Town really was peaceful.
Even in the afternoon, the whole town was quiet.
Sunlight filtered through gaps in the leaves, sprinkling down in hazy patches of light and shadow—soft and dreamily beautiful.
"This place really is incredibly tranquil.
No wonder you chose to settle here, Grandpa Fuji."
Damian sat on a bench under a tree and smiled at the old man.
"I've already cut all ties with Team Rocket, Damian.
You should know that.
And I've never leaked any information about Team Rocket."
Mr. Fuji answered wearily.
That this Mr. Fuji had once been a Team Rocket member?
Erika was taken aback.
He just looked like an ordinary, kindly old man—nothing special about him at all.
"Of course.
That's why we've never come to bother you, isn't it?
You didn't really think we couldn't find you, did you?"
Damian smiled.
"Your disappearing act did cause us a bit of trouble back then.
But Mewtwo was already basically born, just waiting to awaken.
Personally, I was willing to respect your wishes."
Mr. Fuji fell silent.
"Then why are you here now, Damian?
I have no intention of doing any more research."
His aged voice was drained of strength.
Yeah—he was the researcher responsible for Shadow Mewtwo's birth.
But at the last moment, he'd regretted it.
So he and another scientist had fled New Island.
"What a waste of your talent."
Damian sounded genuinely regretful.
"Someone with abilities like yours deserves a much better life."
"Creating Mewtwo for you—that's the greatest sin of my life."
Mr. Fuji finally spat out what had been weighing on his heart.
Creating… Mewtwo?
Caitlin and Erika both stiffened.
So that meant Mewtwo was an artificial Pokémon?
Huh???
"Why see it that way?
Yes, we pushed Mewtwo's battle instincts to the limit.
But that's what it was meant to be.
Grandpa Fuji, you still hold a prejudice against us."
Damian shook his head.
"Mewtwo doesn't exist just to fight!
It's an entirely new life.
It has its own future!!"
Mr. Fuji's tone grew more and more agitated.
"Especially—having it fight for Team Rocket's ambition!
That's not what its life should be."
"Of course I understand how you feel.
But please, calm down a bit."
Damian raised a brow.
"I'm not here to argue with you.
Apart from Mewtwo itself, no one in this world knows it better than you do.
So I'd like to ask a favor."
"Mewtwo's potential goes way beyond this.
There's an even greater power inside it.
I want your help to unseal that power."
Damian finally stated his true purpose with a smile.
Yeah—he was talking about Mega Evolution.
Shadow Mewtwo's Mega Stone wasn't going to just appear out of thin air.
As far as Damian was concerned, only Shadow Mewtwo itself and the man in front of him—Dr. Fuji—could create it.
"Impossible."
Mr. Fuji refused without a second's hesitation.
"Oh?"
Damian looked over at him with a not‑quite smile.
"Fine.
You wouldn't believe me no matter what I said anyway.
So let's skip the talk and go with something more concrete."
Damian tilted his head slightly, a thick hint of malice curling at the corner of his mouth.
"Grandpa Fuji… you wouldn't want those Pokémon in your house—and that little girl—to run into any 'unfortunate surprises,' would you?"
Mr. Fuji's face instantly went paper white.
~~~
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