"This is the place."
Mewtwo and the others materialized out of thin air.
Hoopa and Celebi looked anxious. The moment they arrived, they began releasing their senses to locate the captured Celebi.
The place wasn't particularly large. One teleported away while the other opened a portal for himself. Soon, both vanished from their original spots, clearly having found Celebi's location.
Mewtwo turned to face Rope, who stood watching like a spectator, and asked coldly, "You don't seem particularly enthusiastic about this matter."
Though his tone was icy, delivered in that feeble voice, it held little real menace.
Rope paid him no mind, instead surveying the surroundings.
It was clearly a cave.
Electric lights hung from the cave walls. Such installations were quite common. Electricity served as the primary energy source in the Pokémon world, and it was also remarkably easy to obtain.
The energy required here could be supplied by a single Electabuzz alone.
"I'm not particularly interested, but Celebi has helped me a lot, and Hoopa is my good friend. So helping them this time is inevitable."
After a cursory survey of the surroundings, Rope remarked, "This is Celadon Cave, right? Why choose this place as your base after conquering the world?"
Celadon Cave was indeed an excellent hiding spot, though it must be said the living conditions were truly abysmal.
Of course, not everyone was like Rope, striving to make any place as comfortable as possible.
Many found joy in an ascetic lifestyle.
"This is where I achieved my breakthrough in power."
Mewtwo made no secret of it to Rope. After all, in the face of such overwhelming power disparity, concealment held little meaning.
As Mewtwo spoke, his gaze fell upon the deep pool within the cavern.
Rope followed his gaze. In the depths of the pool, a faint pink glow seemed to flicker.
"The world's rules... have actually gone haywire..."
Rope understood the situation at a glance. Yet there was little that could be done about it. The growing pains before ascension were an inevitable burden every world on the verge of transcendence had to bear.
"You know what's going on?"
Mewtwo, noticing the regretful expression on Rope's face, asked curiously.
He had pondered many related possibilities before, yet never found any answers. Still, he understood that when a world's rules were laid bare, it could never bode well for that world.
Rope didn't respond, only shaking his head. The dim light illuminated his face, yet a large portion remained shrouded in shadow.
"This is a harsh reality."
After a long silence, Rope finally spoke.
"The world will converge into one. But due to recent events, there will be far fewer parallel worlds. This means your competition won't be quite as brutal."
"What competition?"
Mewtwo pressed immediately after the question.
"Who truly rivals Mewtwo?"
Rope made no attempt to conceal it. Since he'd already decided to speak, he might as well elaborate. This matter wasn't covered by confidentiality agreements, so Rope didn't mind sharing a few words.
"I don't know how many Mewtwos survive the devouring process during your battles to exist as independent entities, but I imagine it can't be many..."
Though Mewtwo didn't grasp Rope's exact meaning, he understood the gravity of the matter—something that could determine his very survival...
Instinctively, it opened its mouth to ask more.
But before the words could form, Rope waved his hand decisively, signaling silence.
"This world has given you enough aid. Now, just be yourself. Our world doesn't need to worry about such things, but your other worlds... they'll have to compete together..."
Rope patted Mewtwo's shoulder. Before Mewtwo could respond, he transformed into a stream of flame, dissipating on the spot and drifting away into the distance.
Watching Rope vanish before his eyes, Mewtwo felt his mind spin in confusion. After drawing a deep breath, he silently calmed his unsettled emotions and too vanished from the spot.
Far away, Rope's form coalesced. He finally beheld the Celebi that Hoopa had longed for so intensely.
True to form, from their world of exceptional talent and natural beauty emerged a pink Shiny Celebi.
Rope couldn't discern much difference in appearance between Shiny and non-Shiny Celebi, but clearly, Hoopa could handle ordinary Celebi normally. But when faced with that weakened pink Celebi, it practically transformed into a love-struck puppy in an instant...
Rope could only twitch his lips, speechless.
Over there, Celebi also spotted Rope.
Weakened, she offered him a faint smile before flying towards him.
"Thank you for your help."
Celebi said politely to Rope.
Rope waved it off. "No need to thank me. I came here because of Celebi's request and Hoopa's demand, after all."
It wasn't that Rope was unfeeling; he simply saw no need to accept this debt of gratitude. Even if he hadn't come, Hoopa could have reached this place with Celebi's help to save her.
His presence here was merely a safety net.
Celebi didn't mind Rope's coolness.
"Though I never saw you in the world's original future, you've clearly become an indispensable part of our world. Thank you for saving us."
"Just doing my duty."
Rope said with a smile, then turned to Hoopa. "If it's okay, let's head back first."
Hoopa met Rope's slightly grave gaze, his expression immediately turning serious. Though he didn't know what had made Rope so solemn, it must be something significant.
"Maggie, open a door for us. Let's go home."
Hoopa floated over to Maggie and said with a smile.
Maggie nodded gently with a warm smile.
Celebi took a deep breath and waved to Rope and the others.
"Come visit anytime!"
"This world welcomes you too."
Hoopa was about to say, "We definitely will," but Rope cut him off.
"You come too."
Rope's tone was unwavering.
Celebi, Hoopa, and Maggie all froze momentarily, but seeing Rope's expression, none dared to object.
Celebi silently flew to Rope's side, unsure of Rope's intentions.
"World Ascension is beneficial for this world, but for the other worlds within the collective—especially their inhabitants—it's far from certain..."
"Some may complement, but more will compete, merge..."
Rope looked at Celebi and said, "Next, it's about ensuring you survive this competition as best as possible."
With that, Rope and the others vanished from this world.
Mewtwo stood in the distance, lost in thought.