Nozomi's muttering gradually turned into self-directed brainstorming...
Her eyes sparkled with inspiration as she hugged Mimikyu and stood up, saying, "I'm borrowing this little guy for a bit!"
Caleb glanced at the dark circles under her eyes and suggested, "Maybe you should get some sleep first? We can talk after you wake up."
"No need, I'm wide awake right now!" Nozomi shook her head firmly.
Her mind was buzzing with excitement... if she slept now, the inspiration might vanish by the time she woke up.
"Alright." Caleb sighed helplessly.
He patted Mimikyu's head and said, "I'll come find you once I finish handling things here."
Mimikyu nodded obediently...
Watching Nozomi and Mimikyu disappear through the entrance, Caleb finally turned his attention to Mewtwo.
As if sensing his gaze, Mewtwo glanced back. In an instant, it teleported from Darkrai's side to stand before him.
Mewtwo: >..What is it?..<
Caleb asked, "You know the exact location of Rocket City, right?"
Mewtwo nodded.
Caleb continued, "Can you Teleport me directly into Giovanni's room?"
>..Yes..<
Mewtwo's response was succinct. A faint blue glow flickered in its eyes as it asked: >..Shall we go now?..<
Caleb hadn't expected Mewtwo to be so decisive. After a brief pause, he said, "No rush. We'll go tonight."
Mewtwo gave a slight nod.
Just then, a red streak shot into the area...
Caleb and Mewtwo looked up simultaneously to see Latias soaring toward them, her expression cheerful.
Latios trailed behind his sister but didn't descend. Instead, he hovered in the air, casting a wary glance at Mewtwo before landing on a sunlit patch of grass some distance away, his gaze fixed intently on Latias.
"Good morning." Caleb greeted Latias.
"Woo woo~"
Latias circled Caleb twice, her melodic cries ringing through the air. But when she caught sight of Mewtwo, her expression twisted into fear.
Mewtwo pressed its lips together and vanished with Teleport.
Caleb stared at the empty space where Mewtwo had been and asked, "You're afraid of Mewtwo?"
Latias gave a timid nod, "Woo..."
She turned slightly, extending her right wing to show Caleb. There, an unmistakable dark scar marred her feathers.
"Woo!" Latios let out a stern cry from nearby.
Latias immediately retracted her wing, offering Caleb an apologetic smile before obediently flitting back to her brother's side.
Lurking in the shadows, Darkrai watched the exchange silently, its thoughts unreadable...
....
Caleb didn't linger in the ecological zone for long. By 10 a.m., he regrouped with Dragonite and Lucario to meet Reika...
He informed, "I'll make my move at 1 a.m. Mewtwo and I will Teleport directly into Giovanni's room."
Reika nodded gravely, "We'll support you fully. Nozomi-chan can hack the Rocket Tower's network. So you'll have thirty minutes to deal with Giovanni."
"That's enough." Caleb wasn't overly concerned. Even if they were discovered, he still had an Escape Rope as a fallback.
"Good." Reika took a deep breath.
With the plan settled, Caleb turned to leave, intending to check on Mimikyu at Nozomi's lab. But as he reached the door, the earlier incident in the ecological zone resurfaced in his mind.
He doubled back and inquired, "How did Latias get that injury on her wing?"
Reika blinked in surprise, "You saw it?"
Caleb nodded, "They both seemed terrified of Mewtwo."
Reika hesitated. She hadn't planned to bring this up, but since Caleb asked, she saw no reason to hide it...
"This goes back a long way. Three years ago, before we relocated to Vermilion City, we had a base in Saffron City." She replied, "But later, someone tipped off Team Rocket. Giovanni sent Mewtwo to raid us. During the evacuation, Mewtwo used its psychic powers to snap Latias' wing."
"If Darkrai hadn't been there that day, we might not have made it out alive." A shiver ran down Reika's spine at the memory.
'No wonder Latios looked at Mewtwo with such wariness...' Caleb mused.
Reika continued, "Back then, there were no Pokémon healing items on the market. Combined with delayed treatment, Latias' wound never fully healed..."
....
After getting his answers, Caleb left the control room...
Following the base layout Reika provided, he made his way to Nozomi's lab.
When he pushed the door open, he found her sipping coffee with one hand while manipulating a holographic projection with the other. The projection displayed a sleek, blue-tinted mech modeled after Mimikyu's form.
Under Nozomi's fingers, it morphed through countless iterations, its design growing increasingly refined.
Mimikyu was bored out of its mind and sat on a tiny couch Nozomi had prepared for it. Spotting Caleb, it immediately used Splash, launching itself into his arms.
Caleb caught it effortlessly, settling it onto his shoulder as he approached Nozomi.
Only then did Nozomi notice his presence. Dark circles hung heavily under her eyes, yet her gaze burned with exhilaration.
"You're here! Quick, take a look. Are there any features you want added to this mech?" she asked energetically.
For once, Caleb felt a pang of guilt. Studying the bloodshot veins in her eyes, he said, "Seriously, you should sleep first. This isn't urgent."
Nozomi waved him off, "Later. Gotta finalize the mech's design first. Let me tell you, this'll be the greatest invention of the century! Even those fossilized geeks at Team Rocket haven't cracked nanotech yet!"
Caleb understood now. He glanced at the holographic mech, asking "So this is the world's first nanotech-powered armor?"
"Yep!" Nozomi nodded, then sighed regretfully, "Too bad self-repairing nanites are a nightmare to produce. Otherwise, we could mass-manufacture these..."
Caleb didn't fully grasp the technicalities, but he recognized the sheer effort she had poured into this project.
"Thank you." he muttered.
Nozomi, who was still riding her creative high, blinked in confusion, "Huh?"
Caleb: "Never mind. Go sleep. We'll need you for tonight's operation."
"Oh, right!"
The pink-haired girl ruffled her messy hair, finally snapping out of her frenzied state as exhaustion caught up with her...
After saving the mech's blueprint, she held up five fingers and declared:
"Give me two weeks. Two weeks, and I'll transform your Mimikyu into... Iron-Kyu!"