Giovanni's face turned ashen. "Lance?"
This was completely unexpected.
A Champion-level trainer leading a surprise attack, combined with the threat of Articuno, made the situation indeed tricky. But how could Lance appear there? And how did the League act so swiftly?
Could someone have seen through his plan?
A figure suddenly flashed in Giovanni's mind.
"It must be Carl!"
He was too familiar with the League officials to believe they could unravel his schemes. Only the mysterious Carl could predict the unpredictable.
"No wonder the League hasn't intervened with me; they were already focused on Articuno."
A thought crossed Giovanni's mind: Could Mewtwo's disappearance also be linked to Carl?
But now wasn't the time to delve into that.
Giovanni quickly instructed Flint to activate the main ship's coordinate system. Then he turned to Instructor Viper: "Switch the teleport coordinates immediately." The main ship had a backup teleportation point, just in case.
The original plan to head to the Silver Mountain base was forcibly abandoned. The priority now was to intercept Lance's group and ensure the airship could focus on Articuno. Mewtwo had already escaped. He couldn't afford another failure.
"Understood!"
Responses echoed from both ends of the communicator. Flint and Instructor Viper acted swiftly, and in the blink of an eye, six people vanished through the teleportation device.
In the command center, Damaris watched the entire process through the surveillance screen. Giovanni's reinforcements were on their way, he noted seriously. "Notify Lance, avoid entanglement, and help Articuno escape first."
Given the current situation, pursuing Team Rocket wasn't wise. The internal conflict between Giovanni and the masked man temporarily restrained the criminal organization. But if Giovanni gained a legendary Pokémon, the whole scenario would drastically change.
"No need to overexert."
Just as Damaris pulled out his communicator, Carl's voice suddenly came through.
"Carl! You—"
Damaris and the others, including Cynthia, were visibly surprised.
Carl appeared with Sabrina, supporting Mewtwo.
Mewtwo, the artificial legendary Pokémon, held power comparable to a deity!
Could the mysterious escape route for Mewtwo indeed be Carl's doing?
This man was truly unfathomable!
"It's time to settle the bet, isn't it?" Carl smiled, looking at Mew.
Mew felt an inexplicable discomfort. It hadn't experienced such feelings in millennia.
But Mew was always true to its word.
"Meow."
Mew vanished instantly.
In the blink of an eye, it reappeared, along with Lance, Lorelei, Blaine, and other League members.
Articuno wasn't among them, possibly teleported elsewhere.
"Meow~" (A bet's a bet.) Mew grumbled reluctantly and turned to leave.
It loved excitement but wasn't fond of being the center of attention.
Just as it was about to leave, Carl spoke again: "Mew, dare to bet once more?"
"Meow~"
Mew halted suddenly, its face conflicted.
If it were anyone else, it wouldn't even bother.
But Carl was different—this mysterious man had bested it.
"Meow~" (What's the bet?)
"Hide-and-seek, for a day?"
"Meow?"
Mew found this absolutely laughable.
In human terms, it was like showing off in front of an expert!
If it weren't for its image, it would have burst out laughing.
Hide-and-seek?
It played hide-and-seek long before humans even appeared!
Although the world's history was now sealed, Mew wasn't sure how long humans had existed.
But in the original Pokémon world, it was second only to the creator deity.
It couldn't remember how many years it had lived. From the dawn of mythical Pokémon, it had been obsessed with hide-and-seek. As the World Tree created more Pokémon in its image, its playmates increased. In any form of hide-and-seek, it was a master.
Now, a young human dared to challenge it in its territory? Wasn't this an outright provocation?
"If you're scared, forget it." Carl shrugged nonchalantly.
"Scared? What a joke!"
"Meow~" (I'm only afraid you'll cry from losing so badly.) Mew chuckled, deciding to teach this arrogant human a lesson.
"Then let's begin." Carl said easily, "To be fair, we'll take turns being the seeker and the hider, for a day. I'll hide first, you seek. How about it?"
"Meow~" (No problem.) Mew agreed readily, its tiny paw gesturing, "I'll give you three minutes to hide."
Watching Mew's confident demeanor, Carl almost laughed. The little creature only had three fingers, making its gestures quite amusing.
"Sure." Carl nodded, then added, "But before we start, we need to agree on the stakes, to avoid any cheating."
"Meow~" (Me, cheat?) Mew bristled, its fur standing on end.
"I said 'someone', not specifically you," Carl explained helplessly.
"Meow~" (You'd be the one to cheat.) Mew pointed at the legendary Pokémon with Lance and the others, "(My integrity is well-known.)"
"Alright, alright, you have the best integrity." Carl didn't argue and laid out the terms: "We each take a turn as the seeker, so it's like betting twice. If I lose, I'll do whatever you ask for a day. But if I win, you have to do two things for me, within your power and without breaking the legendary code."
A glint flashed in Carl's eyes as he revealed his true intentions. After saving Mewtwo, he'd delayed because he wanted to help remove the rings from its feet but found himself unable.
Through communication with Mewtwo, Carl learned that the rings had become an inseparable part of its body, forcibly removing them would cause permanent damage, and hinder its future potential. So far, only Giovanni might know the solution.
Carl shook his head, thinking Mewtwo was too naïve. Although he couldn't contact Arceus, Mew here surely had a way to solve this problem. He needed to create an opportunity for Mew to help.
"Meow~" Mew showed a surprised expression. It hadn't expected Carl to mention the "legendary code", a secret unknown even to ordinary legendary Pokémon. Recalling the power Carl displayed when rescuing Mewtwo, Mew's curiosity about this human deepened.
It happily accepted Carl's wager, planning to use the opportunity to delve into the mysteries of this enigmatic human.
"Deal!" Carl flashed a satisfied smile, then turned to his companions with a question: "I'm heading back. Are you coming with me now or later?"
Sabrina answered without hesitation, "I'm coming with you."
Caitlin initially wanted to act aloof but quickly changed her tune after hearing Sabrina, "I'm your student; it would be dishonorable to break my word." She implied she would join too.
Only Cynthia hadn't decided. She glanced at Caitlin, who had betrayed her, and smiled wryly, "I need to help Chairman Damaris handle the follow-up matters, but I'll join you later."
As an invited Champion, she couldn't be as carefree as Caitlin.
------------------------
Patreon Advance Chapters: p@treon .com / kirekky