"Let him get a good look at what true power really is."
As Giovanni's words fell, Mewtwo floated up beside him, suspended in midair. Its eyes glowed blue, and the thoughts it wanted to speak poured straight into Grey's mind.
"Who am I…"
"Where am I…"
"What is the meaning of life's existence…"
Three profoundly philosophical questions suddenly echoed in Grey's head.
He looked up and met its gaze, and it felt like being targeted by a lion. It was as if, if he couldn't give an answer Mewtwo was satisfied with, it would use its psychic power to crush him without mercy in the next second.
[Pokémon: Mewtwo]
[Type: Psychic]
[Level: 75]
[Ability: Pressure]
[Moves: omitted]
[Description: A man-made Genetic Pokémon whose power rivals legends from every region. Its strength is rising at a frightening pace.]
A Champion-tier Mewtwo!
And Grey was certain that what he was seeing now still wasn't Mewtwo's full power.
"Buddy, can you beat it while keeping the area of effect down to the absolute minimum?"
Grey started calling in backup, using Aura to ask little Riolu whether it could suppress Giovanni.
Looking at its status panel through the system, little Riolu could absolutely fight.
The problem was that they were deep beneath Celadon City.
Right above them was the very center of Celadon.
And besides that, there was a whole group of Pokémon still waiting for him back where they'd just been.
If they went all out down here, the shockwaves from their moves would definitely cause heavy casualties among those Pokémon.
So right now, it was a situation of: they could fight, but they really shouldn't if they could help it.
"If it's me, keeping you safe won't be a problem. And for a short time I can keep the collateral damage to a minimum as well."
Little Riolu linked minds with Grey. After thinking for a moment, it added, its tone grave, "But if it drags on, I'll have to go all out too. At that point, wanting to protect the surroundings will get… difficult."
Grey rested one hand under his chin, eyes on Giovanni's half-smile as he waited for Grey's reply, and asked little Riolu, "Roughly how many minutes?"
"Five minutes at most."
Little Riolu stepped in front of Grey, turning its head slightly as it spoke.
"That's enough."
Grey dipped his head slightly, then reminded it, "Put your own safety first."
Then he fixed his gaze back on Mewtwo.
"I might not know who you are right now, but I can tell you the second thing. This is Celadon City. Standing in front of you is Grey, the leader of the Fighting Dojo in Saffron City."
He flicked his fingers, and a thread of Aura shot out like an arrow, slipping straight into Mewtwo's body.
"As for the meaning of life… that's something you'll have to find for yourself."
"…"
Mewtwo said nothing. Pure psychic power surged toward Grey.
"Mee-oo~" (Careful.)
Grey shielded little Riolu with his body.
Seeing such a small Pokémon daring to meet its eyes head-on finally stirred a ripple in Mewtwo's otherwise calm expression.
"Riolu? No… you're not Riolu. What are you really?"
Mewtwo's psychic power swept across little Riolu, and as it felt the energy surging inside that body, its tone shifted dramatically in a matter of seconds.
The pattern of its power matched a Riolu's, but it could clearly sense something off.
A strange sensation that brought one possibility to mind at once.
But it was still only a possibility—not yet confirmed.
"Mee-oo~" (Shouldn't you know very well who I am~?)
Little Riolu smiled as it arched a brow at Mewtwo.
"Mee-oo~" (Turn around and leave now, and I might just let you all walk away~)
"INSOLENCE! I AM THE STRONGEST!"
Mewtwo was completely enraged by little Riolu's words. Its Aura surged like a tsunami, filling the space and pinning little Riolu in place.
It clenched its right hand into a fist, and a giant Aura Sphere over two meters across formed rapidly in its palm, the vibrations around it twisting the very air into rippling distortions!
"Mee-oo~" (Ooh~ Aura power, huh~ You're the second user I've seen who can handle Aura that well~)
The tips of little Riolu's black ears trembled. In the swirling snowfall, it tracked the Aura Sphere's path with pinpoint accuracy.
It crossed its paws over its chest, deep blue Aura gathering into a sphere between them, then thrust both paws forward!
BOOOOM!!!
The two Aura Spheres slammed into each other in midair, and the shock of the explosion vaporized the snow on the underground floor in an instant.
The power of both attacks was evenly matched, the aftershocks forcing them both back several steps.
Snow was whipped up by the raging air currents into spiraling vortices, the two Pokémon's figures looming in and out of sight behind the veils of white.
"The destructive power is pathetic… Did someone reinforce the space?"
Watching the way the surroundings were changing, Giovanni realized something was wrong.
A direct Aura Sphere clash between Mewtwo and little Riolu should, under normal circumstances, be enough to blast the entire underground base straight into the sky.
But now, that wild power felt like it was crashing against invisible walls, doing nothing more than shaking down a few ceiling lights.
His gaze swept around them, and with Viridian Power he finally found the anomaly.
Faint golden energy, almost invisible to the naked eye, was flowing all around them like a vast nervous system, covering the entire space.
Its function was obvious: reinforcing the defenses of this whole chamber.
But when had this barrier been laid down…?
That thought in mind, Giovanni's fist clenched unconsciously inside his suit sleeve.
This feeling of something slipping out of his control made the hairs rise on the back of his neck.
"Copycat! If you have the guts, stop imitating me!"
Watching his own move being forced into a stalemate and seeing how effortless little Riolu looked as it did it made Mewtwo's chest heave, its fingers shaking against its will.
The psychic field around Mewtwo went berserk!
It suddenly pressed its three rounded fingers together, and a flash of light arced between them.
A crescent-shaped energy blade formed out of thin air and then screamed forward with Mewtwo's swing!
As it cut through the room, the solid floor under little Riolu's feet split apart in an instant, the shock alone pulverizing it!
If this had been outside, that strike would have been enough to cleave a small mountain in two!
"Mee-oo~" (Your temper's still way too hot, young Pokémon. You really need a lot more training~)
Little Riolu kept its paws crossed, black Dark-type energy roiling in its palms like boiling tar.
As it spoke, that mass of energy stretched out into a ring-shaped beam!
Whoosh!
Dark Pulse and the Psycho Cut crossed in midair, the dark-purple ring of power steadily eating away at the blue blade of light.
Where their types collided, the shockwave shattered the flung snow into mist. The floor of the conference room began to collapse layer by layer from the point of impact, radiating outward in a pattern of cracked rings!
Black and white dust clouds tangled together, and everyone's vision was swallowed up completely.
"Blaziken, go!"
Grey gave the order through Aura.
His goal couldn't have been clearer.
Take the king to take the thieves!
Take out Giovanni first!
Blaziken nodded sharply. With its Speed Boost fully stacked, it was even faster than most Pokémon using Extreme Speed.
Its figure blurred, afterimages peeling away from its movements one after another.
In the blink of an eye, Blaziken closed the distance to Giovanni, its clenched talons wrapped in blazing fire, dazzlingly bright!
"Gym Leader Grey, sneak attacks are a bad habit."
Giovanni sounded anything but surprised.
"Bzzzzz~"
A Poké Ball dropped from his belt, and a low, droning buzz filled the air…
A yellow-and-black hornet-like shape flickered into view through the flames—
Beedrill!
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