Mewtwo frowned at the young man before him, who wore a faint smile, and the Hoopa and Celebi by his side, but remained silent.
Rope, however, looked at Mewtwo with some surprise. Their Mewtwo was more like a girl—sensitive, delicate, and suspicious, yet decisive when necessary.
Ultimately, though, she simply wasn't cut out for leadership. Managing a small group was manageable, but truly leading a large organization was beyond her capabilities.
The Mewtwo before them, however, was clearly different.
This Mewtwo's eyes revealed suspicion, cunning, decisiveness, and pride.
More importantly, he genuinely exuded the aura of a leader.
Rope couldn't help but feel moved. The same person could become completely different depending on their environment.
Rope didn't rush to speak, nor did Mewtwo. But Celebi and Hoopa beside them couldn't hold back any longer. After all, their friend was still in danger.
"Mewtwo, release my comrade!"
Celebi declared fiercely.
Truth be told, when Mewtwo first appeared, Celebi had been a bit intimidated.
But after recalling Rope's exploits, she genuinely felt... Mewtwo was nothing special. Rope could crush him with a single finger—if not, just another finger would do.
What was there to fear from such an opponent?
Hence her current arrogance.
Hoopa, meanwhile, silently transformed into Liberated Hoopa. Ghostly winds swirled around him, accompanied by several blue will-o'-the-wisps drifting nearby.
Mewtwo looked at Hoopa with some confusion. In his memory, after transforming into Liberated Hoopa, Hoopa would either be dominated by its Dark-type personality or revert to its Psychic-type dominant normal form. This sudden shift where Ghost-type went from being the weakest to the dominant type was something he'd never seen before.
"Your form... seems quite unusual."
Mewtwo scrutinized Hoopa from head to toe as he spoke.
Hoopa returned the scrutiny, its eye twitching slightly.
"Your state also seems different from your usual self."
Hoopa had witnessed Mewtwo before it had chosen to align with Rope. Powerful, yet limited—devoid of divine authority, possessing only divine strength. Back then, it was questionable whether that Mewtwo could even defeat Mew.
But this Mewtwo before him? Based on Hoopa's assessment, it could easily beat up Mew, go toe-to-toe with Rayquaza, and if it chose to Mega Evolve, it wouldn't be outmatched by anyone.
That is, among deities of normal strength.
Entities like the Rope-enhanced Wukong, Mewtwo, or even Entei would be beyond this Mewtwo's current capabilities.
And for Hoopa, they'd be beyond its reach too.
Hoopa has never entered Rope's Poké Ball. It's a free-spirited deity. Given its friendship with Rope, the latter wouldn't even suggest capture—let alone ask Hoopa to enter the ball.
Mewtwo knew it wasn't its normal self, but what constituted "normal"?
To Mewtwo himself, this present state felt perfectly normal. Yet to Hoopa, a far more powerful Mewtwo—one capable of unleashing fireballs—was the true standard.
Such things never had a fixed definition.
Mewtwo offered no further comment. He ignored Celebi, who sulked nearby, desperate for attention. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Rope.
Rope waved at him, like an old friend greeting an old friend.
Mewtwo stared at Rope for a moment but couldn't discern anything unusual. To him, Rope seemed like an ordinary Trainer, lacking even the presence of those Trainers he had defeated long ago.
So he finally turned to Hoopa and said, "Want Celebi?"
Hoopa stared at Mewtwo's icy expression and asked just as coldly, "What are your terms?"
Mewtwo snorted derisively.
"Beat me. That's the condition."
The moment the words left his mouth, Mewtwo vanished from his spot and instantly materialized before Rope.
Mewtwo's eyes held utter indifference, white light swirling around his legs.
His left leg bent, gathering power, then lashed out violently toward Rope's head.
He had ample experience dealing with Pokémon accompanied by Trainers.
Having fought under a Trainer's commands and assistance for years, their own combat instincts had grown relatively weak. As long as he took out their external brains—the Trainers—first,
the battle was half won.
He'd always handled humans this way. Thanks to his power, few Trainers could survive.
Most tapped out after the first wave.
Subsequent battles with Pokémon then shifted from hard mode to easy mode.
And this time, naturally, it was one-hit...
Before Mewtwo could even finish the word "like," his leg had already struck Rope's head.
Yet to his astonishment, it felt as though he hadn't connected with anything solid.
His left leg sliced through Rope's skull as if kicking into a ball of flame. Beyond the searing heat, there was no other sensation.
Essentially, it was like kicking air.
Before Mewtwo could process his astonishment, a fist the size of a sandbag, solidified from flames, hurtled toward his face.
His instinct was to dodge, but the moment that thought formed, he felt a searing heat like approaching the sun and a force as overwhelming as a tsunami.
His entire Pokémon body flew backward like a kite whose string had snapped.
Mewtwo was utterly bewildered until he smashed into a building, leaving his mark. Only then did he come to his senses, feeling the excruciating pain on his face.
Rope frowned: "Seriously? Is fighting this unsportsmanlike around here? You attack the trainer first? Trainers aren't Pokémon. They can't take a beating..."
Hoopa: "..."
Celebi: "..."
Mewtwo: Wha-what are you talking about?
A trainer who can't take a beating knocked me flying?
Mewtwo pulled himself out of the building, shaking his slightly dazed head. Once clear-headed, Mewtwo turned to Rope, his expression serious. "What kind of Pokémon are you? Why take human form?"
Rope's mouth twitched. "I really am not a Pokémon..."
Clearly, Mewtwo wasn't buying it, still eyeing Rope warily.
Rope waved his hand wearily.
"Hoopa, this is your opponent. Take care of it quickly. Cynthia's cooking dinner today, and I need to get back soon."
Hoopa desperately wanted to remind Rope that the length of time they'd spent here held no meaning for that world, but seeing Rope's impatient expression, he held his tongue.
Better to get this over with quickly...
So Hoopa looked at Mewtwo as if he were already a corpse.