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Viridian City, Viridian Gym.
In the deserted closed research lab, Mewtwo, who had grown noticeably larger while still curled up in a ball, opened its eyes.
There was no sound around, except for the occasional noise of bubbles rolling when the nutrient solution provided oxygen.
Mewtwo looked around and carefully scanned with its psychic powers, confirming there were no signs of life before finally letting out a sigh.
[So quiet...]
This pure silence was something Mewtwo had long become accustomed to.
In fact, since the day it first became conscious, such solitude occupied most of its memory, forcing it to waste much of its time sleeping.
If possible, it wished its only friend would visit more often.
At least with Mew around, it wouldn't be so bored, resorting to sleep to pass the long waiting hours.
Unfortunately...
According to Mew, it had its own duties and couldn't stay here all the time.
Moreover, as Mewtwo's brain gradually developed and gained clearer awareness of the outside world, it could clearly sense—
These humans appearing intermittently before it were definitely not good people.
It had asked Mew, but only received ambiguous answers and warnings not to trust any words from these humans.
One day, Mew would take it away from here, escape this small, completely isolated room, explore the vast outside world, and meet other kind-hearted humans.
Though on the point of "kind humans," Mewtwo was still reluctant to believe.
From what it had seen, every human it encountered had some negative feelings towards it, more or less.
Whether it was the "BOSS" always dressed in a black suit, whose gaze held undisguised arrogance, or the researchers seemingly centered around him, recording various data about its body, none of them treated it as a living being.
Even the human leader called Giovanni referred to it more as a "tool."
As Mewtwo gradually understood human language, it knew well that "tools" were lifeless objects for humans to manipulate at will.
After realizing this, Mewtwo could no longer have a good face for this BOSS.
Even though it could sense some special connection between itself and him, similar to its bond with Mew.
But only Mew was special.
The only one who expressed clear goodwill was Mew, who suddenly appeared, bringing the only light into its dark life.
In a way, Mew was its only tie now.
Therefore, Mew's reminder was entirely redundant; how could it possibly be influenced by such humans and stand against it?
If it weren't for its inability to leave the nutrient solution environment and Mew advising it to wait until its body matured before planning an escape together, it might have already used its psychic powers to blast open the fragile glass container in front of it.
With the development of its body and brain, its mastery and control over psychic energy improved daily. Given time, it would surely grow extremely powerful!
Coincidentally, just as Mewtwo was thinking, a series of neat and hurried footsteps echoed outside.
Mewtwo immediately furrowed its brows and instinctively closed its eyes, pretending to be asleep.
Generally, the researchers' steps were relatively loose, and there wouldn't be many of them.
A group of people appearing here could only mean their leader, the man called Giovanni, had personally arrived.
Sure enough, the research lab's door soon opened, and through its psychic powers, Mewtwo could clearly sense the presence of a group of humans.
The leading man quickly approached it, gazing at it with admiration.
"Indeed, a creation from Mew's genes—already nearing maturity and showing evident intelligence in such a short time."
"I can feel it—you're using your psychic powers to secretly observe me right now, aren't you?"
Long after Giovanni's words, there was still no response from Mewtwo.
But he didn't seem to mind, instead revealing a confident smile.
"Well, I admit I was arrogant. Allowing Mew's visits must have negatively impacted your growth."
Upon hearing this, Mewtwo, who had been feigning sleep curled up, instantly opened its eyes.
How did he know about Mew's existence?
This question didn't need to be voiced, nor did it expect an answer from Giovanni.
To protect its only close friend, Mewtwo immediately made an extreme decision.
"Boom—"
As a flash of blue light crossed Mewtwo's eyes, the glass container holding it instantly shattered, sending shards flying everywhere, causing the researchers to instinctively duck.
Giovanni, however, remained calm, even finding time to observe Mewtwo's levitating body using psychic powers.
"Hmm, excellent eyes."
Meeting Mewtwo's gaze for the first time, Giovanni's face quickly showed clear satisfaction, and he spoke again.
"Don't look at me like that. If our Rocket Team's top secret could be breached by a Pokémon using teleportation, we wouldn't have reached our current level."
"But it doesn't matter. Believe in your potential. After fusing my and Mew's genes, your future power will surpass Mew's a hundredfold."
"Of course, to become the strongest Pokémon in the world, you'll need some guidance and training from me."
"Since Mew has already discovered your existence, then…"
"The first step to divinity begins with defeating it head-on."
Giovanni's face quickly revealed a sly smile.
Honestly, if it weren't for one researcher's Hypno detecting spatial anomalies nearby, he never would have thought Mew would appear at the research base beneath the Viridian Gym.
The Eastern saying "the darkest place is under the lamp" probably meant exactly this.
Few people knew that the "Team Rocket," which now dominated Kanto and Johto and acted like the underground emperor of Indigo Plateau, originally started as a scientific organization.
And Giovanni's mother, the founder of Team Rocket, primarily aimed to study a 'mythical Pokémon' that humans rarely encountered—
Mew!
Despite her lifelong efforts, she never found Mew, with the only clue being a fossilized eyelash.
After inheriting Team Rocket from his mother, Giovanni struggled to understand her thoughts. Later events further accelerated his transformation and that of Team Rocket.
Now, the formidable criminal organization Team Rocket was solely developed and strengthened by Giovanni.
But Team Rocket alone wasn't enough, far from it.
His goal had always been a glorious revenge against the deity revered by Kanto and Johto.
So…
Mewtwo's power was essential.
Thinking this, Giovanni's smile gradually faded.
Mewtwo floated in the air, looking down at Giovanni below, who remained fearless.
It intended to speak but suddenly felt a terrifying presence behind it, instinctively turning around.
"Whoosh—!"
All it saw was a pair of cross-shaped poison needles rapidly approaching its neck.
Its ears heard unfamiliar buzzing sounds.
With no combat experience, Mewtwo failed to react in time and was instantly struck by the swift poison needles at the back of its neck, losing consciousness and collapsing on the ground.
The intense buzzing sound quickly dissipated, revealing the terrifying figure that left behind a trail.
"Well done, Beedrill."
Looking at the reliable figure in the air, Giovanni nodded, then quickly turned his gaze to the unconscious Mewtwo.
Its body had indeed grown to a level capable of surviving outside, but its lack of combat awareness left its attention unfocused.
This gave his ultimate ace, Mega Beedrill, the opportunity to strike.
For safety, he even used the new power of mega evolution to ensure Mewtwo lost resistance in one fell swoop.
With newfound strength, combined with Bug-type's absolute dominance over Psychic, Beedrill's performance did not disappoint him.
For now, his plans seemed to be proceeding perfectly.
"Although possessing power surpassing any other Pokémon…"
"If you don't learn to use it, isn't it like owning a treasure without realizing it?"
"No self-awareness needed—just become a qualified tool. Under my command, you'll grow beyond your wildest imagination."
"At that point, even Ho-Oh won't be your match."
After this seemingly muttered monologue to Mewtwo, Giovanni waved his hand and looked at the trembling researchers beside him.
"Proceed as planned. Starting today, equip Mewtwo with armor made from special materials designed to suppress its powers."
"Yes!"
Only after Giovanni left did the other researchers let out a relieved sigh.
"Whew—, Boss Giovanni's Beedrill is terrifyingly powerful—it instantly knocked out Mewtwo…"
"In terms of sheer strength, even any of the Elite Four would be no match for him now, right?"
"But wouldn't this provoke Mewtwo's resistance?"
"What do you know? Recently, the International Police's combat strength has inexplicably increased significantly. Many of our men have been captured, and our remaining forces have retreated to major cities."
"If any of those minions leak information, it'll be hard to keep Boss Giovanni's identity as the Rocket Boss hidden!"
"So, unless something unexpected happens, Boss Giovanni is preparing in advance for the upcoming battle with the League!"
"I see…"
The researchers chatted idly, quickly cleaning up the mess left by Mewtwo and retrieving an expensive-looking set of special armor.
While fitting Mewtwo with this armor designed to fully suppress psychic powers and brainwaves, leaving only combat instincts, one researcher couldn't help but mutter:
"Come to think of it, doesn't Boss Giovanni seem a bit too extreme?"
"If we treated Mewtwo like a newborn… might it willingly become a part of Team Rocket's power?"
"How dare you say that? Don't mention it again!"
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