"Who... am I?"
The black Pokémon lowered its head, deep purple eyes fixed blankly on its own hands. This power... this self... this version of itself...
Suddenly, the sound of rotating propellers reached its ears. The black Pokémon jerked its head up, and the eerie purple light flared in its eyes again, flickering like a furious flame—enough to make your skin crawl.
A youth dressed in a white shirt and black trousers leapt down from a helicopter. With the help of psychic power from a certain round, gray figure, he pulled off a clean, cool landing.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk..."
Damian swept his gaze over the area. The ravaged ground was proof enough of the kind of "abuse" it had just taken. Then he looked straight at the Mewtwo standing before him. No—this wasn't just Mewtwo.
It was Shadow Mewtwo!
It looked almost identical to a standard Mewtwo, but its body was pure, ink-like black. A fractured golden crystal seemed embedded in its left shoulder, and even the tip of its tail carried a faint golden shimmer.
Tap, tap, tap...
Damian walked toward Shadow Mewtwo at an even pace, each footstep striking sharply against the ruined earth.
The purple light in Shadow Mewtwo's pupils flickered nonstop, swinging between violent bloodlust and cold rationality. More than once, instinct urged it to lift its hand and use overwhelming psychic power to halt this human's approach—but reason forced the urge down. Logic told it this human, who had appeared out of nowhere, probably knew exactly what it was.
"Look at this place. You did all of this. That's… seriously impressive," Damian said, stopping about two or three meters away, a grin spreading across his face.
"Who are you?" Shadow Mewtwo's low, raspy telepathic voice rang out.
"Damian. Just call me Damian."
"And who... am I?"
"Mewtwo. You should already know that, shouldn't you?" Damian replied, still smiling.
Admittedly, Shadow Mewtwo had only just officially awakened, but it must have been conscious for a long time. Those unfortunate researchers buried under the ruins wouldn't have bothered to lower their voices when they spoke around it.
Shadow Mewtwo fell silent.
So... am I really Mewtwo?
"You were born from Mew's genetic material, blended with the genes of various elite Pokémon, plus a portion of a special 'substance,' and the pinnacle of cloning technology. That's how you—Mewtwo—came to be."
Damian didn't hide Shadow Mewtwo's origins. This "Shadow" version existed because of that golden stone on its left shoulder. Damian had found it by chance and originally intended for the researchers to study it. Unexpectedly, an accident occurred: while Mewtwo was still an infant, it absorbed the stone. And that was how Shadow Mewtwo was born!
"Mew... Clone... Mewtwo..."
But hearing Damian say it out loud only made Shadow Mewtwo seem even more lost.
So... am I really just a copy of Mew?
The purple light in Shadow Mewtwo's eyes flickered faster and faster. So it was a cloned organism? A meaningless experimental subject? The violence built into its body began to shove its emotions toward the edge. The truth—that it was "just a clone"—was something it couldn't accept.
"Calm down. You aren't anyone's copy. You are you. You're an individual named Mewtwo."
Damian raised an eyebrow as he caught the change. He drew on natural Viridian Power to soothe Shadow Mewtwo's emotions. It seemed this Shadow Mewtwo was far more ferocious than the one in the movies. But that made sense: no one knew what that stone was made of, yet it had changed Mewtwo's "skin" and seemed to have altered its typing as well.
The warm, gentle Viridian Power eased Shadow Mewtwo's emotions slightly. Of course, Damian's words mattered even more. It wasn't a copy of "someone"?
"Mew is Mew, and Mewtwo is Mewtwo. Even if you were born from its genetic material, so what?" Damian's voice stayed warm, steady, and strangely calming. "There's no need to hesitate, to feel lost, or to tear yourself apart. Mewtwo, you're a truly unique existence. Your very birth proves it. The world has already acknowledged your 'miracle'!"
"You have every right to exist. You're not a mistake. You're a free living being. You don't need to lock yourself up with the word 'clone,' because you were never the same as Mew in the first place."
Shadow Mewtwo stared blankly at the human before it. Having only just awakened, it had very little resistance to Damian's words—especially since its mind wasn't exactly in a normal state right now.
"I..."
Even so, Shadow Mewtwo remained lost. Even if its existence was free, what was it supposed to do next? Goals, ideals, will... it had none of those things.
"You've only just awakened, so you're feeling lost, right?" Damian saw straight through Shadow Mewtwo's helplessness. At this stage, Shadow Mewtwo was still quite naive. And that was exactly why this was the best time to steer it.
"Then come with me. I'll take you with me, Mewtwo. Together, we'll find our future."
Damian reached out his hand in invitation, offering a sincere smile. Under the subtle influence of Viridian Power and his persuasive words, he believed Shadow Mewtwo wouldn't refuse.
"Future?" Shadow Mewtwo looked directly into the youth's eyes.
"Yes. A future that belongs to us." Damian's smile widened, his words landing with weight. "It will be brilliant—dazzling, even—but I can't walk that path alone. So I need you, Mewtwo. Lend me your strength. What do you say?"
Shadow Mewtwo stared at the outstretched palm for a long time.
"Our... future..."
Above the broken ruins, the distance between the black Pokémon and the youth grew smaller and smaller.
...
Celadon City—a city where multiple generations lived together. The Kanto region's largest department store was located here. The name "Celadon" represented the dream-like colors of a rainbow. As one of the largest cities in Kanto, second only to the super-metropolis Saffron City, Celadon City was very prosperous.
Not only did it have the largest department store, but one of the official gyms—the Celadon Gym—was also located here. Furthermore, Celadon City was home to the world-renowned Celadon Game Corner!
"How does it feel, Mewtwo?"
On a street in the southern part of Celadon City, Damian asked the Shadow Mewtwo beside him. Shadow Mewtwo was currently wearing a set of silver-gray armor with a high-tech aesthetic.
"I am not quite used to it. My psychic powers have become sluggish," Armored Mewtwo replied through its raspy telepathy, shaking its heavy arms.
"Your power is too strong. Since you've just awakened, you can't control that kind of strength properly yet. This restraining armor will suppress you, but it'll help you master your power faster—and more completely," Damian explained.
Armored Mewtwo fell silent; it naturally understood.
"Hmm?"
Damian suddenly looked toward the distance. Not far away, a group consisting of a trio and an electric rat entered his field of vision.
"What a coincidence."
Damian flashed a wide smile.
Oh, look what he had found.