Mewtwo felt like it had been hit hard...
Damn it, why did the stronger Unbound Form hit him without much effect before, but now Hoopa's Confined Form actually landed a solid one...
Mewtwo's stomach caved in, its entire body curled into a bow shape, its eyeballs bulging slightly.
Then it was sent flying far away.
Little Hoopa dispersed the Ghost-type energy coiled around its hands. Watching the battered Mewtwo being knocked away, it sighed helplessly, "Still too green..."
"This Mewtwo has practically no experience dealing with opponents who are its equal, or even slightly stronger."
Rope added regretfully, "Unlike Hoopa, who's faced plenty of opponents both stronger and weaker than himself."
Hoopa had beaten countless Pokémon and Trainers, and been beaten by many in return—like Rope and his entire Pokémon crew. After the world's power ceiling rose, even Hoopa couldn't claim to take on Blue or Red alone anymore...
As for Cynthia... Rope had split his power evenly with her back then. Even if that power had since dissipated, its presence left an indelible mark. So Cynthia's current strength... was already enough to push Red, Blue, Leon, and Lance to strive harder.
Celebi watched Mewtwo get knocked flying, his feelings incredibly complex.
Rope was right—Mewtwo simply lacked experience and fell victim to Hoopa's trickery. Otherwise, the gap between their actual strengths wasn't truly that great.
But... this Mewtwo stands at the pinnacle of this world.
No one else can match him, and even those of comparable strength are few and far between. So where exactly would Rope's demanded experience come from...
After all, not every world held the hope of ascension, nor was it coveted by the Void Visitors.
Hoopa offered Mewtwo no further chance.
Even as Mewtwo consciously fought the urge to pass out, the sheer magnitude of the pain was overwhelming. Honestly, Mewtwo felt it might break him...
Before Mewtwo could recover from the agony, a halo materialized in the space above him. Hoopa emerged slowly from within it.
Gritting his teeth against the discomfort, Mewtwo prepared to strike again. But this time, his attack was cut short before it even began, interrupted by Hoopa.
Hoopa stood solemnly with palms pressed together, eyes tightly shut. It resembled a devout prayer to some unseen force.
In the next instant, Hoopa's eyes blazed with fury as a palm strike, carrying a chilling wind, solemnly descended upon Mewtwo.
Mewtwo froze. This move... he'd never seen it before. How was he supposed to counter???
It wasn't just Mewtwo who was stunned. Celebi looked utterly bewildered. This attack seemed even more powerful than the previous one. But Hoopa had never used this move before...
"Rope, is this your..."
She turned to look at Rope, only to see the same bewildered expression mirrored on his face.
The rest of her words were swallowed back into her throat.
"Something's off... This move looks exactly like the Buddha Palm technique???"
Rope was utterly baffled, unable to fathom how Hoopa had managed to harness Ghost-type energy with such dignified and solemn grace. That alone was quite the feat...
But was this truly Hoopa's own discovery? Or was someone else pulling the strings behind the scenes...
Rope couldn't be sure.
Still, now wasn't the time for such thoughts.
"Celebi, take me there."
Rope murmured softly, gazing at Mewtwo crashing heavily to the ground.
Celebi glanced at Rope, then shifted its gaze to the crowd farther away, ultimately shaking its head.
"You still have your own stance, after all."
Celebi spoke as it tugged Rope's collar and flapped its tiny wings to take flight.
Rope merely smiled without reply.
Watching Rope being carried away by Celebi, the crowd below visibly brightened, as if witnessing something truly uplifting.
Of course, Rope paid no heed to such things now.
Mewtwo lay sprawled in the massive crater he'd created in the ground.
Were it not for the faint rise and fall of his chest, his motionless form might well have been mistaken for something worse.
Hoopa watched the seemingly helpless Mewtwo lying on the ground and exhaled a long breath of relief.
If Mewtwo could withstand that strike, the tide of battle would have turned.
That attack had drained every ounce of spectral energy from Hoopa's body. For the next ten minutes, his spectral reserves would be depleted to near-vacuum levels. It was essentially like severing one of his own arms.
Yet the worst-case scenario hadn't materialized.
Mewtwo stared vacantly at the ground.
He couldn't comprehend why he'd suffered such a crushing defeat.
So... the outside world was this dangerous?
But... only then would he have a reason to break free!
'I refuse to... spend my entire life... trapped here...'
Rope watched Mewtwo's gaze shift from vacant to feverish. After nodding in satisfaction, a twitch crossed his lips.
If this creature truly gained the chance to leave this world, the Hoopa in other parallel universes would be in serious trouble.
After all, such resentment was practically written across his face.
Seeing no one nearby could perceive his presence, golden flames surged from Rope's hands. He flung the flames onto Mewtwo's body.
Instead of feeling scorched, Mewtwo was enveloped in a comforting warmth, like soaking in lukewarm water.
His wounds and inner exhaustion were swiftly soothed. The discomfort, however, came from the gentle burning of his internal energy, which settled at a level neither threatening nor unbearable.
Hoopa let out another deep sigh of relief. He wasn't stupid; he could see Mewtwo had regained its fighting spirit at the last moment. Though severely injured, Mewtwo possessed the potential for a power surge whenever its will to fight remained intact—a dangerous prospect for Hoopa.
Fortunately, Rope had taken over.
"Alright, now we can talk properly, can't we?"
Rope addressed Mewtwo, who had already sat up, with a faint smile.
Mewtwo lifted its head to regard this creature—human or Pokémon, it couldn't tell—and growled, "What's left to say... You won. Do with me as you please..."
Mewtwo understood clearly that even if this youth tossed a red-and-white ball at it, it wouldn't shatter the sphere to escape... because it simply held no meaning.
Sometimes, it was the Pokémon's own emotions that bound them; sometimes, it was the sheer strength of the Poké Ball itself; and other times, it was the trainer's personal combat prowess that held them captive...
The third kind of restraint was the most unbreakable...