Now he's just returned to his original position.
Everyone was left speechless by Giovanni's words. Misty and the others couldn't think of any reason to refute them, while Ash was carefully observing Mewtwo in the field.
Undoubtedly, this was the man-made Genetic Pokemon that Blaine mentioned. The Mewtwo before them was clearly not in its true form, as its power was completely restrained by those machines.
[Species: Mewtwo]
[Gender: Female](Referencing the voice in the Extreme Speed Genesect movie, although normally, Mewtwo should be genderless~)
[Attribute: Psychic]
[Level: Elite Peak (Champion Peak)]
[Ability: Pressure]
[Skills: A whole bunch]
[Six-dimensional Ability: Physical Attack S (S) Special Attack S (S) Defense S (S) Special Defense S (S) Physical Strength S (S) Speed S (S)]
An extremely luxurious panel, with all six dimensions not only maxing out at S level but also trained to S level. However, this is nothing remarkable for a Pokemon like Mewtwo.
After all, even Blaine's number two Ralts has full S-level aptitude, and Mewtwo was created by integrating and absorbing various powerful genes, primarily led by the Mew Gene. Having this level of capability is only to be expected.
What worried Ash the most was Mewtwo's level. It had two levels: one being Elite Peak Level and the other being Champion Peak Level.
The latter should be Mewtwo's true current level, while the former was its power in its present state.
He could sense that the machine on Mewtwo greatly suppressed its power, preventing it from fully exerting its strength.
Although not knowing why Giovanni did this, Ash felt that such a machine shouldn't be able to forcibly suppress Mewtwo. It was likely more due to her own will that her power was being suppressed.
Disregarding the machine on Mewtwo, her strength, as Blaine mentioned, was suppressed to a Champion Level. If not missing the core of her spirit, her talent might have already reached the Divine Domain Level by now.
'Who are you...?' A clear and cold mature woman's voice echoed in Ash's mind. For a moment, Ash almost mistook it for Gardevoir's voice, but he quickly realized there was a tonal difference between Gardevoir's voice and this one.
Among those present, human or Pokemon, no one else could use telepathy with him other than the Pokemon before him...
'My name is Ash, and I'm a Trainer aiming to become a Pokemon Master!' Ash didn't know why Mewtwo initiated a conversation with him but truthfully shared his aspiration, which he had been proclaiming all along, with Mewtwo.
'Ash... there's something on you... that's drawing me... what is it...'
Ash: !!!
Could Gardevoir be exposed?!
Upon hearing Mewtwo's words, Ash's first reaction was this, but he quickly dismissed the idea.
If Gardevoir were exposed, Mewtwo's emotions wouldn't be so indifferent. That would be her core spirit; she might not recognize everything else, but she would undoubtedly recognize her core spirit.
Therefore, the item Mewtwo sensed couldn't be Gardevoir. What else could it be?
Ash thought about it, his expression tightening—it's the MEGA Evolution Stone!
Other than Gardevoir, the only thing on him that could attract Mewtwo was the MEGA Evolution Stone.
And the MEGA Evolution Stone was in his space backpack.
Being a spatial item, Mewtwo could sense the MEGA Evolution Stone in the space backpack but couldn't sense Gardevoir in the Pokeball. This wasn't due to Mewtwo's heightened sensitivity to the Evolution Stone, but rather because the core spirit was hidden inside Gardevoir.
This was like Mewtwo having to sense the core spirit through the Pokeball and Gardevoir, so obviously, it couldn't be detected.
'Why... don't you respond?' Mewtwo's voice was tinged with a bit of confusion. Although Ash had responded telepathically to her the first time, he had not replied during the second interaction.
'I'm unsure what to say; perhaps what I have does indeed belong to you, but you currently have no need for it. As long as you're still under Giovanni's control, you won't have the opportunity to use what I have.'
Upon hearing this, Mewtwo tilted her head slightly, seemingly unable to understand Ash's words.
What did he mean by having something that belonged to him but couldn't be given? Do all humans speak in such convoluted ways?
"You must be Ash, right?" After a long silence, Giovanni finally spoke up. He felt he had achieved his goal, which was to drag down the atmosphere for Ash and the others to its lowest point.
This way, no matter if he later intended to battle Ash or capture him, it would be relatively easy.
But what Giovanni didn't know was that Ash was not affected by the previous atmosphere at all...
"I am Ash. I've heard of you, Mr. Giovanni. When I learned you were the leader of Team Rocket, I was also a bit incredulous. At the time, I wondered why the league allowed the head of Team Rocket to become Kanto's strongest Gym Leader."
"Heh, that's a deal between me and the league. The league isn't as great as you imagine."
"Enough talk. Since we're enemies now, I won't be swayed by you. I just want to ask: are you battling me as the Viridian Gym Leader or as the leader of Team Rocket?" Ash's gaze became sharp, and his voice gradually turned cold.
Ash was unmoved by Giovanni's denigration. The league's nature was their own business, and of the league personnel Ash had encountered, Professor Oak, Blaine, Joy, Lorelei, and various Gym Leaders were all decent people.
So no matter what Giovanni said, Ash only judged based on his experiences, even if Giovanni's statements were true.
"Tsk tsk, no wonder you've achieved so much at your age; this mindset isn't something many possess... If I said I'd battle you as the leader of Team Rocket, what would you do?" Giovanni tossed the question back to Ash.
"In that case, I'd use my full strength to defeat you and send you to prison."
"Oh? So you're saying if I battle you as the Viridian Gym Leader, you wouldn't give it your all? I'm quite curious about what 'full strength' means for you." Giovanni raised an eyebrow, speaking with interest.
Frankly speaking, with the combat power Ash had displayed, he wouldn't even make it past Giovanni's main Pokemon. The only one that seemed formidable was the Bulbasaur that defeated Koga's Crobat.
However, there was still a question of why that Bulbasaur could unleash such power and whether it could replicate that performance. Giovanni would never believe it came without any cost.
Aside from that Bulbasaur, Giovanni paid little mind to Ash's other Pokemon, including Pikachu.
"Why don't you find out for yourself?" Ash didn't directly answer Giovanni's question.
"Alright then, I'll battle you as half a Gym Leader and half the leader of Team Rocket. How does that sound?" Giovanni wasn't annoyed. Instead, he went along with Ash's words and made a proposal.
"Half Gym Leader, half Team Rocket leader?" Even Lorelei, watching from the monitors, was puzzled by this approach.
"This Giovanni, he's genuinely intrigued by that boy, enough to say such things. He even seems to want to recruit him into Team Rocket." Beside Lorelei was an old, slightly hunched woman with a face full of wrinkles.
If someone from Kanto were present, they would immediately recognize this seemingly frail old woman as Agatha, one of the Elite Four of Kanto, known as the Ghost-type Elite!