From the billowing smoke, a furious figure shot out like an arrow loosed from a bow.
Giovanni barely registered the sound of something slicing through the air before a heavy blow struck his face, sending him flying backward.
A faint electric current crackled across his body, paralyzing him.
Dragonite glared down at him, eyes burning with rage.
Caleb stepped out of the wreckage with Lillie, staring coldly at Giovanni.
"I was wrong," he said, "I shouldn't have spared you and handed you over to the Kanto League for judgment."
Mercy toward your enemy is cruelty to yourself.
"So now you die. Dragonite, use Fire Punch! Aim for his head!" Caleb commanded coldly.
"Wuuu!" Dragonite roared, his fist igniting in flames as he dove toward Giovanni.
Just as the flaming punch was about to crush Giovanni's skull, a figure flashed in front of him, catching the attack with precision.
It was Mewtwo.
Dragonite was stunned. Though confused why his ally intervened, he instinctively held back most of his power.
"Wuu?" the shiny dragon's head tilted in confusion.
Then another figure appeared. Blue light flared in its eyes as a surge of psychic power erupted, blasting Dragonite backward over ten meters.
"Mewtwo!" Caleb's brow furrowed.
But the look the Mewtwo gave him was utterly cold.
In that instant, Caleb realized his companions had been compromised somehow.
Giovanni shook off the fading paralysis and stood behind the two Mewtwos. He sneered, "It's seless. Pokémon controlled by neural toxin can't hear you. They're mine now."
Giovanni glanced at the two Legendaries and coldly said, "You two, eliminate them."
Both Mewtwos were still battered from taking that catastrophic beam head-on, but they obeyed without hesitation, charging forward like emotionless machines.
Caleb tried reaching them through the Viridian Power, but got no response. Purification didn't work either.
The Mewtwos unleashed a Psycho Cut each.
Mimikyu leapt in front of Caleb. The first slash hit her Disguise, shattering it. The second struck her body directly
Caleb caught Mimikyu and activated the Viridian Power to heal her.
'Now what?' he tried thinking of a way out of this predicament.
In anime, protagonists often awaken their controlled Pokémon through tears or bonds, but that usually comes after the protagonist gets beaten senseless first.
But here, Caleb was dealing with two Mewtwos. He'd be dead before he even had time to cry!
"What's wrong?" Giovanni taunted, "Can't bring yourself to attack your own companions?"
As he spoke, Mewtwo launched another assault.
Mimikyu instantly shifted into her Armored Form and charged forward to intercept.
Dragonite and Hydreigon engaged the second Mewtwo. But without type advantage, Psychic-types dominated in raw power.
And Mewtwo, being a top-tier Legendary with insane base stats, kept them at bay with sheer telekinetic force. Every time the two dragons tried to close in, they were hurled back.
It reminded Caleb of Ash's battle against Sabrina in that old Kanto episode, where he was helpless against Sabrina's psychic might until he pulled out Haunter.
Caleb's eyes suddenly snapped to Hydreigon...
When Dragonite got blasted away, Hydreigon took the hit and barely flinched.
Just like how Fairy-types resist Dragon, Dark-types resisted Psychic!
"Hydreigon!" Caleb shouted.
"Roooar!" the three-headed dragon roared in response.
The battlefield was set, Caleb and Giovanni stood at opposite ends of Aether Paradise.
Hydreigon & Mimikyu vs. Mewtwo & Mew2.
"I'm sorry," Caleb whispered to his mind controlled companions. To find a way to bring them back to their senses, he'd have to defeat them first.
This was bound to be a brutal fight. But he couldn't afford to back down.
"Mimikyu, Double Team, then Swords Dance! Hydreigon, Draco Meteor!" Caleb ordered.
Giovanni laughed, "Fool! Type advantage means nothing against absolute power!"
Caleb didn't respond. He used Viridian Power to silently link with his Pokémon so that he could command telepathically.
The sky darkened. Pure Dragon aura condensed into blazing meteors that rained down on Aether Paradise.
The Mewtwos raised their heads, then their psychic power shattered the meteors mid-air. The purple aura scattered like fireworks.
Meanwhile, Mimikyu's Swords Dance succeeded. She emerged like a phantom behind one Mewtwo and struck with Shadow Claw.
But Mewtwo reacted instantly, letting loose a psychic blast that sent Mimikyu flying.
Hydreigon tangled with the other Mewtwo, spiraling into the sky.
Caleb couldn't follow them, so he focused on the ground battle.
Just then, a wave of Team Rocket and Team Skull grunts arrived.
Lusamine ignored Giovanni entirely. Her eyes were locked on Lillie... or rather, on Cosmog.
"Seize her!" she ordered the Team Skull grunts.
"Lucario! Dragonite! Celebi!" Caleb called.
The three Pokémon immediately shielded Lillie.
"Mother! Dad is still alive!" Lillie cried out, heartbroken.
Lusamine's expression finally flickered, but she didn't stop, "Considering we were once mother and daughter, I don't want to hurt you. Just hand over Cosmog."
Lillie clutched Cosmog tighter, her refusal clear.
The grunts sent out their Pokémon.
Dragonite, Lucario, and Celebi clashed with them. But there were too many enemies.
Caleb's brow furrowed deeper.
Mimikyu and Hydreigon were struggling. Their attacks rarely landed.
Giovanni stood confidently, convinced of his victory.
And Lillie's side was collapsing too.
More enemies kept arriving. If this continued, Caleb was sure to lose.
Giovanni was right. Caleb had become over-reliant on his Mewtwos.
He looked at his struggling team; Dragonite, Mimikyu, Celebi, Hydreigon, Lucario...
He realized he had been too arrogant. He thought a single Mewtwo made him invincible, he ended up underestimating his foes. That became worse when the 2nd Mewtwo joined him.
Perhaps sensing his despair, Mimikyu turned mid-fight and let out a sharp cry: "Kyuu!"
Giovanni smirked. His goal was achieved. With that being the case, he saw no need to continue playing around.
He coldly instructed the Mewtwos, "Forget those two. Kill him!"
Instantly, both Mewtwos abandoned their opponents and charged toward Caleb like soulless killing machines.
But just then, a deep, hearty voice boomed from above: "Hey, kid! Don't you dare give up!"
An old, raspy voice followed: "Sigh… young people these days are too impulsive..."
Caleb looked up and saw a massive Gengar had materialized in front of him, blocking the Mewtwos' attack.
Agatha's wrinkled face broke into a grin, "Surprised, young man?"
Behind her, Bruno barked, "Nidoking, go!"
And atop his Dragonite, Lance gave Caleb a firm nod, then locked eyes with Giovanni, saying, "It ends here, Giovanni."