"Don't say I'm bullying you, Chansey, it's your turn!"
Ace called out to Chansey, and Chansey immediately charged forward, fearlessly rushing towards the whirlwind.
The psychic-powered tornado gradually grew in intensity, directly sweeping up the charging Chansey.
"Break free, Chansey!"
Ace was high in the air, but he clearly understood that this move was a variation of Mewtwo's Psychic attack, evolving from its Psycho Cut.
The high-speed rotating currents would hurl any trapped object upwards. Even an opponent's attacks could be directly bounced back by the rapidly spinning currents, creating a deflection-based offensive.
But to deflect, you first needed to withstand the incoming force; otherwise, there would be no talk of bouncing anything back.
And Chansey was the Pokémon capable of doing just that!
"Bang!"
A burst of air reverberated as Chansey swung its fist with all its might, distorting the air around it. The tornado, controlled by Mewtwo, twisted and warped its shape at that moment.
"Keep going!"
As Ace's voice rang out, Chansey continued to punch, a series of explosive air bursts sounding like firecrackers. The already twisted tornado completely deformed and, accompanied by the force of Chansey's punches, it tore apart.
Mewtwo, at the very center of the tornado, stared dumbfounded as the whirlwind dissipated and Chansey dropped to the ground. It couldn't believe that its signature move had been shattered by its opponent!
"Boom!"
With a loud crack, the ground beneath Chansey's feet shattered. As dirt flew everywhere, Chansey shot towards Mewtwo like a cannonball.
Mewtwo waved a hand, and an energy shield, a variation of the Barrier move, enveloped it.
In Mewtwo's memory, once it used this move, no enemy could ever break through this barrier!
"Crack!"
The barrier's energy shield didn't even hold for a second against Chansey. It shattered like fragile glass with Chansey's punch!
"Thud!"
A muffled impact echoed as Chansey's heavy punch landed squarely on Mewtwo's body. Mewtwo immediately bent into a "C" shape, instantly getting blasted away, slamming hard into the distant ground and creating a two-meter-deep crater!
Mewtwo struggled to climb out of the crater, the light of Recover radiating from its body, quickly healing its injuries.
Mewtwo looked at Chansey in the distance, feeling a moment of self-doubt. It had been hit so hard by a seemingly weak opponent. Had it become this weak?
No, it wasn't weak.
Mewtwo shook that thought from its mind, and a more terrifying idea surfaced: this opponent was simply too strong!
"This Mewtwo... is a bit weak, huh?"
While Mewtwo was convinced that Chansey was simply too strong, Ace, unbeknownst to it, felt that this Mewtwo was a little too weak.
Even after battling Giovanni, Chansey's current level was only 45.
Although Chansey's attacks were incredibly powerful, in reality, any wild Pokémon with a level above 70 and extensive battle experience could practically wipe the floor with Chansey.
After all, while Chansey's attacks were formidable, if an opponent was fast enough and could predict Chansey's moves, they could generally dodge them.
As for Mewtwo...
Its move variations showed considerable thought, but based on its current performance, Ace was certain that Mewtwo had developed these moves for hunting, not for combat.
To put it bluntly, the current Mewtwo was still a novice in battle. Compared to Ace and others who had climbed Mt. Silver and battled all sorts of Pokémon, the gap was simply too wide.
Otherwise, upon realizing that Chansey's punch could tear apart its Psycho Wave tornado, when faced with Chansey's heavy punch, it definitely shouldn't have relied on a barrier shield to block the attack. Instead, it should have utilized the inherent Teleport advantage of Psychic-type Pokémon to engage Chansey in guerrilla warfare.
That was the most effective tactic against Chansey, and also a battle of endurance.
"Seismic Toss!"
Seeing Mewtwo, who was now doubting itself, Ace shouted loudly. He was ready to end the battle quickly.
Chansey immediately charged towards Mewtwo. Its speed was so great that Mewtwo instantly stood up, manifesting a large psychic spoon in its hand, and brutally swung it at Chansey.
"Crunch!"
The spoon collided with Chansey's heavy punch. Chansey was immediately sent flying backward, and likewise, Mewtwo's spoon twisted and deformed, almost completely ruined.
However, this was merely a construct of Mewtwo's psychic energy. With a thought, the spoon was once again perfectly intact.
Mewtwo looked at the flung Chansey and instantly regained its confidence.
"Indeed, I just wasn't serious! When I'm serious, I'm very strong!"
Chansey landed, rolled twice, and then stood up.
Seismic Toss clashing with a Psychic-type spoon, being countered and knocked away, was normal.
After all, the opponent was still a Legendary Pokémon. If it couldn't even block that, then Mewtwo might as well withdraw from the Legendary circle, because it would be too embarrassing... no, it would be too disgraceful for a Legendary.
However...
"What's wrong with this guy?"
Ace looked at Mewtwo, whose aura had suddenly flared up again, and wasn't quite sure what was happening with it.
The next moment, Mewtwo moved, launching an attack first. It swung its spoon, sweeping towards Chansey.
Chansey's body suddenly shrunk, dodging Mewtwo's psychic spoon attack, then it forcefully pushed off with its legs, landing a powerful Take Down squarely on Mewtwo's abdomen.
Mewtwo immediately felt a crushing blow, its entire body sent flying upwards by Chansey's impact.
"Let's give it a try."
Ace pulled a Poké Ball from his waist pouch and threw it at Mewtwo.
The Poké Ball struck Mewtwo's body, and Mewtwo instantly turned into red light, being directly drawn inside the Poké Ball.
Immediately after, the Poké Ball shook violently in mid-air, as if Mewtwo would break free from it at any moment.
"It really won't work, will it?"
Ace sighed, seeing the shaking Poké Ball. After all, trying to catch Mewtwo with a regular Poké Ball was simply too difficult.
But just as Ace was about to have the Chansey below deliver another fierce blow once Mewtwo emerged, the violently shaking Poké Ball suddenly stopped.
The eerie stillness, as if a pause button had been pressed, left Ace momentarily unable to react.
The Poké Ball fell, and Victreebel extended a Vine Whip to safely catch it.
Aerodactyl slowly descended with Ace. Ace picked up the Poké Ball, looked at the perfectly still Poké Ball, and said in a daze, "Did I just... catch Mewtwo?"