"Can I still go back to see Mewtwo?"
Hearing Carver's words, Ai hurriedly asked.
Even though her consciousness had transformed into virtual consciousness, what she was most worried about was still Mewtwo in the laboratory.
Hearing this, Carver nodded and didn't stop Ai.
The current Ai was somewhat similar to an AI.
The Pokémon world was very mysterious.
There was not only the world where humans lived, but also Giratina's Reverse World, the Spirit World where souls gathered, and even the network world.
Pokémon like Porygon were born in the network world.
This was somewhat similar to the neighboring Digimon, Carver thought.
Ai didn't know what Carver was thinking at the moment. Because she was too worried about Mewtwo, worried that Mewtwo would fall into extreme sadness after she left, she directly returned through the network to the laboratory on New Island.
But now she was just virtual data without a real body, and could only view Mewtwo by accessing the laboratory's surveillance permissions.
The network world was filled with extremely vast data streams. Ai's consciousness connected to the surveillance.
The next second, she saw Mewtwo through the camera.
In that container filled with nutrient solution, young Mewtwo was quietly soaking in it. Its head was lowered, eyes closed, looking as if it was asleep.
"Mewtwo..."
Ai murmured.
She tried to call out to Mewtwo, but no matter how she called, Mewtwo showed no reaction.
She could no longer sense Mewtwo's brain waves.
This meant Mewtwo was currently in a deep sleep state.
In this state, Mewtwo had no consciousness, and she could no longer pull Mewtwo into the network world or consciousness space like before.
What should she do?
Ai's memories made her instinctively want to seek help from Dr. Fuji.
But the current her wasn't the real Ai—she was just a copy created by Dr. Fuji.
That person worked for that evil organization. Even if he knew the situation, what could he do?
Ai was momentarily at a loss.
She stayed in the vast network world and watched for a long time, from dawn to dusk, then from dusk to dawn, trying to use this method to wait for Mewtwo to wake up.
But from beginning to end, Mewtwo never opened its eyes again.
Ai suddenly realized that in the short term, Mewtwo probably wouldn't wake up again. Currently, no one in the laboratory would harm Mewtwo. With it staying there, Ai wasn't worried about Mewtwo's safety.
Finally, Ai took a deep look at Mewtwo, then returned through the network world to Mr. Carver's computer.
"You're back?"
Seeing the girl appear on the screen, Carver asked: "How is Mewtwo?"
"Mewtwo has fallen into sleep," Ai answered. "I have no way to contact it."
Her tone was full of disappointment.
Carver wasn't too surprised. He had anticipated this result.
It was the same in the anime.
Due to the death of Ai and the cloned Pokémon, Mewtwo fell into extreme sadness.
To prevent its power from destroying the laboratory, the experimental staff led by Dr. Fuji injected it with sedatives.
During the long deep sleep, Mewtwo forgot about Ai and everything that happened in its childhood.
When it awakened again, it would already be Mewtwo.
Then would come the time when the movie "Mewtwo Strikes Back" took place.
But it was still early now—there were still five years until that day arrived.
Carver looked up at the girl before him and asked: "Ai, do you have any plans for the future?"
The network world was very vast and still continuously developing and evolving. Ai didn't have to stay at the breeding house.
However, regardless, Carver would respect her opinion.
Hearing this question, Ai seemed somewhat confused and at a loss.
"I don't know... Mr. Carver, I don't know where else I can go. I was created as a copy, I..."
Carver pondered thoughtfully.
Although Ai knew a lot when facing Mewtwo who was like a blank slate, in the end, she was still just a girl under ten years old.
"In that case, why don't you stay at the breeding house!" Carver said. "Mewtwo will wake up someday. I've foreseen its future fate—you'll be able to meet again someday."
"However, even though you were created as copies, from the moment you were born, you possessed your own consciousness. No one in this world can change your will. At that time, you are yourselves, not copies."
Ai listened to these words in shock, then nodded heavily: "I understand!"
She said gratefully: "Thank you very much, Mr. Carver!"
"Then welcome to join us, Ai," Carver said with a smile. "From now on, you'll live here! Currently, the Pokémon and I are running this breeding house together. Well, this is my laboratory—it's located underground beneath the breeding house."
"But don't worry, our place isn't a laboratory that experiments on humans and Pokémon, but a laboratory that researches special Pokémon evolution."
Ai listened with partial understanding, then nodded.
"I know Mr. Carver isn't that kind of person!" Ai said. "Because Mr. Carver helped Mewtwo and me."
Carver smiled. In this regard, Ai was exactly like a girl under ten years old.
Carver simply arranged things for Ai, then returned to the surface to continue business.
Ai remained in the computer in the underground laboratory.
Having just come from the laboratory, she knew nothing about many things in the world.
Except for the memories left by the original Ai, but that part was very, very little.
What could she do now?
There wasn't much to do in the network world either.
Out of gratitude to Carver and an inexplicable desire in her heart to grow up and understand more things, Ai actively began absorbing the knowledge stored in the network world.
Not just the knowledge saved in Carver's computer, but the vast information stored in the entire internet ocean.
Pokémon names, types, attributes, ecological data... Herbology, medicine, nutrition... Science, biology, physics...
Breeding houses, Pokémon, breeders...
Streams of information poured into Ai's mind like water into the sea.
For Ai, who had already transformed into virtual AI, learning these things required no mental effort at all. Those things naturally became one with her.
As if... as if she had been born knowing this knowledge.
In the mysterious network world, Ai was rapidly growing.