"You're welcome anytime," Carl nodded in agreement, waving goodbye to Damaris. "We'll be off now, see you around."
With that, Carl, along with Mewtwo, Sabrina, and Caitlin, vanished without giving Lance and the others a chance to respond.
The scene was left in stunned silence. Everyone was astounded by the simultaneous appearance of the legendary Mewtwo and Mew.
"Ouch! Why'd you pinch me?"
"Did it hurt?"
"Of course it did, it's all red now!"
"Well, that means it's not a dream."
"Didn't you do the same thing when we saw Articuno five minutes ago?"
"That time I pinched Alex; he's not the most reliable guy."
Alex, rubbing his arm, looked bewildered. "Really? First, excruciating pain, and now I'm being bad-mouthed too?"
"And what about seeing Articuno? Today we even saw Mew and Mewtwo! Doesn't it feel like a dream? I've never seen so many legendary Pokémon in my life," said the excited onlooker.
A number of trainers were discreetly observing Mew, nodding in agreement. Although Articuno is a legendary Pokémon, sightings are reported all over the world, and people even say that encountering it is possible if you're in peril in the mountains.
In contrast, Mew is considered the origin of all Pokémon, and nobody's ever truly seen it. Yet today, it appeared before their very eyes.
The most shocking of all, however, was the mysterious young man, Carl, with Mewtwo by his side. Anyone who's played the XY games knows about Mewtwo's connection with Mew, but always thought it was just a game feature. Who knew reality would prove otherwise? Was Mew's appearance related to this?
Many resolved to stay up all night playing, trying to find Mewtwo in the Cerulean Cave. Unfortunately, Carl had already left with Mewtwo, otherwise they'd have loved to get a picture to remember the occasion. Thinking of this, they all turned their attention to Mew.
"Click!"
The sudden sound of a camera shutter brought the place to a hush. In the corner, a burly man was drenched in sweat, internally cursing his wife for insisting on leaving the camera sound on—this was a disaster.
"Help!"
The cry for help caught everyone's attention as they turned their heads.
Professor Oak had somehow appeared in the hall, rolling around on the floor with his eyes shut, like a fish out of water. The unusual sight left many scratching their heads.
"Oak, you're finally back," Agatha said coolly.
"Agatha?" Oak shuddered, slowly opening his eyes. Seeing his surroundings, he was so overwhelmed with relief that he was almost in tears. "I'm saved! I finally escaped! That Mew is terrifying—"
Before he could finish, everyone stared at him, shocked.
"You've really got some nerve!" Agatha added, "It's a legendary Pokémon."
"Yes, yes!" Oak quickly corrected himself. "It's a legendary Pokémon, the supreme existence, the origin of all Pokémon. We should praise and honor it…" He rambled on like a broken record.
Blaine couldn't help but tease in a low voice, "If you were this good at talking back in the day, you'd have won Agatha over long ago."
"Hmm?" Agatha's glance cut him off immediately.
Damaris shook his head at his old friends' antics and reminded them, "Mew left a while ago."
Oak's voice halted abruptly. "Ten whole minutes of free-falling! Do you know what that was like?" he said, his voice trembling.
Though no one answered, everyone thought, seeing his state, it must have been quite unpleasant.
Damaris ignored Oak's complaints, turning to the middle-aged man with the camera. "Delete the photo."
If they angered Mew, the consequences could be dire. Today's events made him realize just how insignificant humans are in the face of legendary creatures.
"President, didn't catch anything," the man said, showing the empty screen to everyone.
"No surprise there," Blaine commented. "It's not easy to capture an image of a legendary Pokémon."
Everyone nodded in agreement. After all, capturing such a being on film was no simple task.
Damaris looked toward Lance, "How are things on your end?"
Lance shook his head, "We're not sure yet. We'll need satellite imagery to figure it out." He was filled with questions, unsure where to start.
Meanwhile, onboard the Team Rocket airship:
Giovanni stared at the empty screen, his voice cold, "Where is Articuno? Where did the League members go?"
Furlong stammered, "They just... vanished all of a sudden!"
Giovanni's expression darkened. All the meticulous planning, and it was all for nothing?
"What happened?" he asked, suppressing his anger. He longed to vent his frustration on someone.
During the New Island operation, he'd risked everything, using ghostly barriers and Mew genes, depleting half of Team Rocket's resources to capture Mewtwo, only to fail at the last moment.
And now, after revealing the secret airship and pouring resources into capturing Articuno, failure struck again at the crucial point.
Was he just a joke?
Furlong tried to explain, "Just before you arrived, Articuno and Lance and his team vanished."
Giovanni looked incredulous, "Do you really think that's possible? While large-scale teleportation isn't out of the question, it requires a massive cost. Even the League wouldn't attempt it lightly. The problem isn't the resources; it's that the League couldn't possibly perform such a large-scale teleport in such a short time. Stranger still, Lance and Articuno weren't even in the same place, yet they disappeared together while the airships surrounding them remain. Does such teleportation technology even exist?"
Furlong was at a loss for words. The evidence was undeniable, yet hard to swallow.
"Wait! Every airship has surveillance footage. Check it, and we'll find out."
"Get on it!" Giovanni ordered impatiently.
Furlong quickly gave the command. Soon, all surveillance footage was retrieved and synchronized with the help of Rotom, the playback sped up.
The first ten minutes showed the electric net strategy effectively trapping Articuno, easing Giovanni's tension slightly. At least Furlong hadn't lied; the capture plan was progressing smoothly.
Then the footage suddenly shook as Lance and the League trainers appeared.
"Of course, they showed up," Giovanni muttered, a flash of coldness in his eyes. These pesky meddlers would be dealt with eventually.
With most of the team focused on maintaining the electric net, Furlong could only dispatch a small group to confront them, clearly no match for the Champions. He contacted Giovanni for reinforcements.
While waiting for backup, something peculiar happened—Articuno and Lance's team vanished simultaneously.
"Stop! Right there!" Furlong shouted. Thanks to Rotom's precise control, the footage froze at the critical moment.
Giovanni scrutinized the screen, brows furrowed. "This blue light... is it psychic power?"
The footage showed both Lance and Articuno enveloped in a blue glow. Rotom advanced the frame by one second, and both Pokémon and people disappeared.