"This world... is quite peculiar."
Rope surveyed the scene before him.
Aipom's tribe brazenly snatched belongings from people waiting for vehicles. Traffic lights cycled green and red, but with a Snorlax sleeping right in the middle of the road, the once-wide thoroughfare had shrunk to just two lanes. A massive stream of cars moved forward slowly yet surprisingly orderly.
Just as no one thought to stop the Aipom, no one considered waking the Snorlax.
Hoopa and Celebi beside him watched Rope cautiously. They seemed worried he might get into a big fight over this.
Rope naturally noticed their glances, tilting his head in confusion before asking with a smile, "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Aren't you angry?"
Hoopa asked tentatively.
"This is Pokémon oppressing humans..."
Celebi remarked with a hint of resignation.
Truthfully, she'd witnessed countless parallel worlds and divergent timelines. But a scenario where Pokémon rode roughshod over humanity? That was genuinely rare. After all, humanity possessed formidable collective strength. Meanwhile, the mightiest among Pokémon—whether demigods or true deities—barely shared the same vessel.
They fought their own battles, each holding different stances. Some remained utterly indifferent to both humans and Pokémon.
Take Rope and Huibundian, for instance—they'd never give a thought to the fate of Pokémon in each other's domains.
So expecting them to champion justice for humans or Pokémon? Forget it.
In Rope's world, these entities only united because the crisis had reached an extreme level—and the calamity wasn't caused by the world itself, but by outsiders.
More crucially, those crises now threatened their very existence. If they defied Rope, Rope would win and beat them senseless. If Rope lost, they'd all be finished.
So the current situation was exceptionally rare. It meant a significant portion of Pokémon had united on the same front.
This required someone capable of uniting the Pokémon, stirring them up, and making them dissatisfied with their environment.
But they already knew exactly who this person—or rather, this Pokémon—was.
"No, it's just another way of life,"
Rope mused, stroking his chin.
"The world is vast. If you expand that scope to include the concept of parallel worlds, nothing that happens would surprise me."
Rope hailed from a world brimming with imagination. In that realm, countless minds had speculated about parallel universes and multiverses. Moreover, he'd long known reality often defied logic far more than any fantasy. Thus, he'd indeed considered the possibility of this very scenario.
"Though I never imagined this particular scenario would actually unfold before my eyes."
As Rope spoke, Hoopa had already subdued all the Aipom. The Aipom didn't seem overly angry; looking at Hoopa's face, they appeared more curious and perplexed.
Hoopa ignored their puzzled gazes, silently returning the stolen items to their rightful owners.
The little girl watched her toy float back into her hands, first with bewilderment, then breaking into a delighted smile.
Her mother, too, looked dazed at first, her gaze drifting toward Rope. She seemed lost in thought, then her eyes welled up with tears.
A figure stood there...
Two Pokémon by his side...
This mother wasn't the only one reacting this way.
Many people reacted similarly upon seeing Rope and his companions.
Older folks were deeply moved, some even shedding tears. Young adults gazed at them with fervent eyes, almost shouting, "This is how a true hero should be!" The children, however, looked a bit bewildered, struggling to understand the excitement and passion radiating from their older siblings, parents, and even grandparents.
"Seems my arrival has introduced a new variable into this world."
Rope shook his head with a hint of resignation.
Celebi ignored Rope, using her Confusion move to shift the Snorlax from the middle of the road.
The Snorlax remained unconscious, sleeping soundly as ever.
Yet none of the pedestrians stirred.
Almost everyone was staring in their direction.
"Another bloody sacrifice?"
Hoopa inquired.
"Another fulfillment of mutual respect as a prerequisite,"
Rope replied.
"Enslavement and oppression bring no peace; resistance and struggle yield far more than sacrifice."
But at this point, Rope shrugged. "That's just my personal view."
Hoopa remained silent, while Celebi fell deep in thought.
"Alright, enough of that. Don't forget we're here for a mission."
Rope ruffled the two little ones' heads and spoke earnestly.
"We need to find out exactly where Mewtwo is."
Hoopa snapped back to attention, his tone serious and grave. He cared deeply about this matter; if he didn't trust Rope to handle it responsibly, he wouldn't have been so relaxed. He probably would have searched for Mewtwo's trail the moment they arrived in this world.
"I don't think we need to search,"
Celebi shook her head, pointing down at the people below. "The new order isn't fully established yet. Mewtwo absolutely won't let go of his interest in all this. If they can see us, then Mewtwo can see us too."
"So he should show up soon..."
Celebi had fought against this world's Mewtwo for a very long time.
It wasn't that she favored humans; it was because she believed Mewtwo was exploiting those Pokémon.
They had once lived peacefully in the forest, optimistic and vibrant. But because of Mewtwo's incitement, they marched onto the battlefield, fighting for that so-called bright future. Countless Pokémon lost their lives.
Though Celebi could traverse time and space, she still couldn't accept the loss of those lives.
Thus she opposed Mewtwo's methods, and in Mewtwo's eyes, opposition equated to enmity.
That is why the subsequent events unfolded.
Her companion from another world was captured alive by Mewtwo in an attempt to aid her.
As for why alive—a living Celebi held the greatest value. Even Mewtwo could not bear to let a single Celebi perish.
Just as Rope opened his mouth to speak, spatial ripples appeared before his eyes.
Rope swallowed his words, silently watching Mewtwo emerge from the void.
Below, the humans fell silent once more.
When Mewtwo stood before the human trainers again, certain shadows once more cast themselves over their hearts.