Watching the exchange between Terrance and Mewtwo, everyone was left confused.
However, in the end, it still came down to a battle.
"If it's Terrance, he should be able to win."
Brock, supporting Nurse Joy, frowned, though he couldn't shake the feeling that things wouldn't be that simple.
Including Ash, the three Trainers were each easily defeated by the three Starter Pokémon under Mewtwo's command. This wasn't because Mewtwo's commanding ability was particularly outstanding, but rather because the Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise he commanded held overwhelming advantages in sheer strength.
Of course, if they were up against Terrance's Pokémon, that advantage would disappear completely.
"The Pokémon I'll send out is this one."
Terrance stepped onto the arena, switching places with Ash. After giving Ash a reassuring look, he let the Gallade that had been following him step forward into the arena.
With a head resembling a gladiator's helmet, a white face, and a light teal crest, the master of courtesy and swordsmanship, Gallade, made its appearance, causing those present to show puzzled expressions.
None of the onlookers were familiar with this Pokémon.
Even Mewtwo himself only had knowledge of a portion of the Kanto Region's Pokémon.
"Gallade, I choose you."
The Mega Stone hanging around Gallade's neck swayed slightly, though at this moment, Terrance did not proceed with Mega Evolution.
Against just these three Pokémon, there was no need to go that far.
"Boom!!!!"
All of a sudden, a massive figure stepped forward at Mewtwo's command. With its body covered in white markings, Venusaur let out a roar as it entered the arena, casting a hostile glare at Gallade.
"Compared to an ordinary Venusaur, this one has indeed grown impressively… but that's all there is to it," Terrance murmured to himself. "It's only enough to bully inexperienced Trainers like Ash who haven't even participated in a regional league yet."
If it were any Trainer with years of experience competing in regional leagues, they would never be intimidated by the three cloned Pokémon under Mewtwo's control.
"Mr. Brock, who is that…" Nurse Joy pressed a hand to her forehead, still dizzy and not fully recovered from Mewtwo's mind control.
"Nurse Joy, don't worry. With Terrance here, there shouldn't be any major problems," Brock reassured her, taking the chance to move a little closer.
The next instant, however, Misty smacked him sharply on the head.
"Do you even realize what time it is?!"
"Brock, what Pokémon is that?" At the same time, Ash, looking helpless, flipped open his Pokédex, feeling it had become less and less useful lately.
"Gallade. That's Gallade. It's said that the blades on its arms can retract and extend to two different lengths. It can learn many sword-style moves of different types," Brock explained after a moment of thought. Currently training as a Breeder, he was well-versed in basic knowledge, "Gallade should be a Pokémon with both Psychic and Fighting-Type. This battle will be in Terrance's favor."
"Really?!" The group looked expectantly toward the arena.
At that moment, Venusaur, under Mewtwo's command, had already begun its attack. Shaking its massive body, it fired off dozens of razor-sharp leaves, aiming to knock back Gallade with Razor Leaf.
"Use Aerial Ace."
Facing the oncoming attack, Terrance spoke softly, not the least bit concerned about the Razor Leaf.
As his words fell, silence washed over the field. Mewtwo's pupils narrowed as a pale blue flash streaked across the arena. In the blink of an eye, Venusaur's massive body was slammed down, crashing into the ground with such force that it left a huge crater!
The power was immense and beyond imagination.
The speed was so great that even Mewtwo almost failed to react in time.
Gallade's blade froze in midair as it coldly stared at the Venusaur it had just slammed into the ground. With a sidestep, it instantly teleported back to the arena, continuing to await Terrance's command.
"Blastoise, you go." With a sinking feeling, Mewtwo waved a hand.
The massive turtle-like Pokémon, Blastoise, walked forward on two legs. Watching as Mewtwo recalled Venusaur with Confusion, Blastoise fixed a stern gaze on Gallade, raising its guard to the highest level.
Yet no matter how much Blastoise tried to defend itself, it lacked the battle awareness to resist Gallade's masterful use of Teleport.
As Leaf Blade swept out, Gallade appeared behind Blastoise, standing calmly with its hands clasped behind its back like a master. Its expression remained indifferent, while Blastoise had already been blasted backward by an immense force, collapsing unconscious on the ground.
"Every one of its attacks is aimed at exploiting type weaknesses…"
Gallade's bizarre attack pattern made Mewtwo frown. Although it recognized the move as Teleport, it hadn't expected Gallade to use it so skillfully.
"Just who is this person…"
Aside from Ash, the other three Trainers spoke in shock.
The Venusaur and Blastoise that had crushed them were defeated so easily?
That Gallade gave them an extraordinary impression, even making them feel that even if it were to battle Mewtwo, whose psychic power was so powerful, the outcome would be uncertain.
"Aerial Ace is a Flying-type move, and Leaf Blade is Grass-type… don't tell me against Charizard it'll use an Electric-type move?" Brock exclaimed.
Normally, a Gallade that could master slash-type moves of six different types would already be considered outstanding. But Brock believed Terrance's Gallade was something far more special.
Against Grass-type Pokémon, it used Aerial Ace. Against Water-types, it used Leaf Blade. Gallade's mastery of these moves was incredibly refined, all thanks to the foundation laid through relentless training.
Without such a solid foundation, Gallade would struggle to unleash significant power even with its newly mastered types.
"The next one is Charizard, isn't it?" Terrance looked toward the black-striped Charizard and said calmly, "Fine. Let me show you Gallade's latest training achievement."
By now, Mewtwo was no longer as composed. Of its three strongest cloned Pokémon, two had already been effortlessly defeated. This was not the outcome it desired.
As Charizard roared and took flight, Gallade gave it no chance to flaunt its arrogance.
Lifting its head, Gallade seemed to shatter space itself, appearing directly in front of Charizard. Raising its blade, it glared at the short-tempered Charizard.
Crackle.
Electric currents crackled and surged, spreading across Gallade's elbows and coursing down into the blade extending from its arm.
Channeling the power of lightning into a single strike, Gallade unleashed it using a sword-drawing technique, sending out an arc of lightning that cleaved straight into Charizard's body, striking it down instantly!
Not one of the three Pokémon had lasted beyond a single move from Gallade!
"Mewtwo, you should recognize that move. It's Thunder Punch." Terrance looked directly at it. "Any Top Trainer can train their Pokémon's moves to the point where they can be used with such freedom."
"At present, my Gallade can switch its slash-type attacks freely between ten different types, and it's still working toward mastering the eleventh and twelfth type."
"A Trainer is absolutely not as simple as you imagine."
Terrance's words shocked not only Ash, Brock, and the others, even Mewtwo began to seriously observe Gallade.
It could feel that Gallade's strength was not on par with its own, but to possess power of this level… Gallade truly surprised Mewtwo. This was probably the strongest Pokémon it had encountered since its birth.
"One of my duties as a Trainer is to help my Pokémon grow stronger, not just be a master who simply orders the Pokémon around as you imagined," Terrance said.
At the same time, Gallade also nodded, honored to be Terrance's Pokémon.
"State your condition." Mewtwo frowned, unwilling to listen to any more of Terrance's nonsense. Although it had lost, it believed that was only because Venusaur and the others weren't strong enough. If it had battled personally, it was sure it could have crushed Gallade with ease.
However, that option had been cut off right from the beginning by the opponent's cunning Trainer, and this infuriated Mewtwo.
Terrance remained calm. It was within his expectations that Mewtwo would not want to hear him talk nonsense, but judging from its demeanor, Mewtwo still intended to keep its promise.
That was good enough. As long as Mewtwo didn't go back on its promise, it was already a great success.
"Mewtwo, what I want is…"
After a moment's thought, Terrance was about to speak his condition, but before he could get more than a few words out, a commotion came from the other side.
"Team Rocket!!"
Seeing those three sneaky figures, Ash shouted in surprise.
"That's…"
Terrance caught sight of Team Rocket and suddenly realized something was wrong, because a pink creature was floating behind them, curiously seizing up Mewtwo.
That pink creature was none other than the Mythical Pokémon, Mew!
"You are…" Upon seeing Mew, Mewtwo's expression shifted drastically, its voice growing low.
"Mew—"
Recognizing the origin of this Pokémon, Mewtwo's eyes suddenly flared with blue psychic power, and it hurled a Shadow Ball with both hands!!
That Shadow Ball contained terrifying energy, its power far surpassing the Shadow Ball Terrance's Mismagius could use.
A Shadow Ball, crackling with intense blue psychic energy, plummeted instantly toward Mew. If not for Mew's nimble body and sharp reflexes, it would already have been struck.
Even so, the shockwaves of the Shadow Ball's explosion sent Mew far back.
"So over there…" Seeing this, Mewtwo pressed its assault, launching another Shadow Ball.
The pitch-black shadow energy resembled an abyss. Even Terrance had never seen such pure shadow energy before. But what shocked him more was Mew's behavior.
Facing Mewtwo, Mew acted as if it were playing a game, playfully dodging the attacks, flitting about while giggling, as though it didn't take Mewtwo seriously at all.
"That Pokémon is…"
Seeing Mew, Brock and the others wore baffled expressions.
"Mew… said to be the most valuable Pokémon in the world." Realizing his Shadow Balls were ineffective against Mew, Mewtwo had already calmed down by this point.
As Mew drifted close to him, Mewtwo spoke slowly: "It's true that I was cloned from you… but the strongest should be me!!"
"I am the original!!"
Mewtwo's words sent shockwaves through Ash and the other Trainers. Ash and his two companions, along with three other Trainers and Nurse Joy, all looked on in disbelief.
"Mewtwo and Mew…"
"Mewtwo was created from Mew?"
Not only the Trainers, but even the Pokémon revealed confused expressions.
"Mew, between you and me, only one can survive. I am the original!!" Mewtwo suddenly unleashed Confusion, its entire body wrapped in a blue psychic energy as it launched an assault on Mew.
Seeing Mewtwo attack, Mew quickly darted back into the sky, tilting its head with a mischievous smile as it playfully dodged the Shadow Balls Mewtwo hurled at it.
Its behavior naturally further enraged Mewtwo.
"Mew, why won't you fight me? Are you afraid of me?"
As Mew kept dodging and fled outside the building, Mewtwo said in displeasure. The next moment, it erupted with even greater power, instantly catching up to Mew, and condensed a Shadow Ball that blasted Mew high into the sky. The attack was so powerful that it sent Mew flying to such heights that the Trainers below could no longer see its silhouette.
"Ah…" Ash gasped in shock.
"Could it be that Mew is…"
Mewtwo's strike was overwhelmingly powerful, sending Mew hurtling far into the distance.
The next moment, Terrance noticed the change. Staring at the massive blue sphere of Confusion plummeting down from the sky, he glanced at Gallade and Mismagius at his side and murmured in awe:
"A Legendary Pokemon's battle…"
In the clash between Legendary Pokémon, whether Mewtwo or Mew, the display of power was utterly terrifying. [TN: Yes, the author mentions Mew to be as Legendary Pokemon too in this chapter, maybe he made a mistake or something?]
Terrance estimated that even a Champion-level Trainer would stand no chance in a one-on-one against Legendary Pokémon of this caliber.
The blue sphere of Confusion reflected by Mew struck back almost instantly, even faster than Mewtwo's Shadow Ball. Caught off guard, Mewtwo was slammed into a building, blasting open a massive hole and causing heavy destruction.
Buzz!!!
As the smoke was blown away, Mewtwo flew out from the ruins, surrounded by a round barrier made from psychic power.
"At last, I've found a worthy opponent."
"Mew, let's see which of us is stronger!!"
Sensing Mew's power, Mewtwo immediately issued a challenge. But Mew only spun in place, looking displeased, and spoke out.
Though no one present could understand Mew's words, fortunately, there was one Pokémon who could translate.
Meowth stared wide-eyed at the sky, astonished. "So that's it…"
"What did Mew say?"
"It said: 'The original is the original. If we don't use moves and only fight with our bodies surrounded in psychic power, then the original will never lose to a mere copy.' That's what it said."
"The original is the original?" Mewtwo's face darkened with anger, and it hurled another Shadow Ball, but once again, Mew dodged with ease.
"Very well, then. We will battle without using any moves." Enraged, Mewtwo agreed to Mew's demand, enveloping its body in rippling waves of blue psychic power.
On the other side, Mew's body too became wrapped in swirling purple psychic power.
A battle without moves…
Mew's cunning condition made Terrance pause for a moment. For Mew to propose this request meant either it had already realized it was at a disadvantage in terms of moves, or it simply couldn't be bothered with a complicated fight. Either way, suggesting such a restricted battle, it revealed Mew as quite clever.
But…
With the two Legendary Pokémon about to clash in earnest, Terrance couldn't just stand by and watch.
As the bodies surrounded by purple and blue psychic auras collided, the entire New Island erupted with a massive beam of light shooting skyward, creating a shocking sight.
The shockwaves were even felt in the faraway Leafport City.
In Leafport City, Officer Jenny and Miss Joy gazed at the towering light from New Island, their expressions growing grim.
The power unleashed in a battle between legends was destructive beyond imagination, even if no moves are used.
"Both of you are immensely powerful Pokémon, but precisely because of that… I cannot let this battle continue unchecked." Terrance looked at the two Pokémon, and with a helpless sigh, he finally pulled out Altaria's Poké Ball.
In this kind of situation, only Altaria could intervene.
Between Mewtwo and Mew surged horrifying waves of psychic power. For ordinary humans or Pokémon, interfering would mean grave injuries at best…and more likely, instant death.
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