"Whoosh!"
A fierce gust of wind, seemingly from nowhere, whipped up and furiously spun around Mewtwo.
"Stop him! That guy is a special Pokémon created by Team Rocket!"
Agatha stomped her cane forcefully. Gengar was the first to charge at Ace, with Jynx, Machamp, Crobat, and Dewgong following close behind.
Ace sneered. As Gengar was about to reach him, the swirling wind instantly shattered, and the intense wind pressure directly blew the five Pokémon rushing towards Ace away.
Mega Mewtwo Y had become smaller, more "infant-like," with ear-like protrusions forming on its enlarged head.
Those were actually Mewtwo's nerve bundles extended outside its body, and their purpose was to drastically enhance Mewtwo's Psychic power.
Mewtwo surveyed its new body. Although it felt a decrease in physical strength, the significant increase in Psychic power made Mewtwo realize that unless its opponents broke through its Psychic defenses, they couldn't possibly harm its fragile body!
"Psycho Wave!"
Ace spoke calmly. Mewtwo looked at Ace, then nodded, extending its palm towards Ace, then closing it.
The next moment, the entire ground began to tremble. A vast, ocean-like Psychic power instantly engulfed everyone and every Pokémon present.
Agatha's Pokémon had no resistance whatsoever and were all lifted into the air.
"Break free! This guy's strength has increased too much!"
Agatha suddenly threw out more Poké Balls. Two more Haunter rushed out, charging towards Mewtwo.
Bruno, controlled by Agatha, also threw out his Poké Balls. Several Machoke rapidly approached Mewtwo.
Lorelei, seeing this, gritted her teeth. Cloyster, Lapras, and four Shellder were all sent out, swiftly rushing towards Mewtwo.
"Is that all?"
Mewtwo communicated telepathically, "These guys alone might not be able to withstand this move."
Mewtwo lifted its hands, unleashing multiple bursts of energy into the air. After rising to a certain height, the energy suddenly descended.
Mewtwo's fingers twitched, and the descending energy quickly selected targets. After adjusting direction, it rapidly surged towards the Pokémon!
"Block it!"
"Boom boom boom..."
As soon as Agatha's voice fell, Mewtwo's attack instantly engulfed the Pokémon. Violent explosions erupted, and a barrier appeared around Ace, protecting him from the debris splattering from the explosions.
Ace calmly watched the scene, gaining a firsthand understanding of the power of Mega Evolution.
Evolution truly is a way for Pokémon to achieve a leaps-and-bounds increase in strength. Mewtwo's Psychic power has at least tripled on its original foundation. Currently, it has no problem dealing with those Legendary Pokémon, Ace mused silently. He also knew that this was the result of Mewtwo's diligent training every day since it had been with him for so long.
Otherwise, if Mewtwo had to figure things out on its own, the time it would take to become stronger would be significantly delayed.
The smoke from the explosion gradually cleared. Agatha's Pokémon had all lost their ability to battle. Some weaker Pokémon like Shellder and Haunter had been crushed by the overwhelming Psychic power. The close-range explosions had completely pulverized their bodies.
Agatha and the others weren't well off either. The massive explosion shockwaves had left them disoriented.
Bruno, being controlled by Agatha, served as a human shield for the two of them, so Agatha and Lorelei didn't suffer too many injuries, at most being covered in dust and grime.
Bruno, on the other hand, had endured the damage directly. He had three bleeding holes on his body, located on his collarbone, thigh, and abdomen, respectively.
The collarbone and thigh injuries were manageable, but the wound on his abdomen was a twenty-centimeter long gash, torn open by the rotating fragments of a shattered Shellder shell. His intestines were vaguely visible.
"Retreat!"
Agatha gritted her teeth. The three of them together couldn't defeat Ace. They had to retreat now, or all three of them would be finished here!
"Ah!!!"
Bruno let out a painful roar, manipulated by Agatha to lunge at Ace and Mewtwo.
Agatha and Lorelei were covered by a shadow. After quickly recalling their surviving Pokémon, they swiftly vanished from the spot.
"They're fast runners."
Ace sneered, not bothering to pursue Agatha and Lorelei.
As for Bruno, under Mewtwo's Psychic suppression, he simply collapsed to the ground.
"What's a 'Four Heavenly Kings'? Just pawns, that's all."
The barrier around Ace disappeared, and he leisurely walked over to Bruno.
Mewtwo reverted from its Mega Evolved state, and Ace placed his hand on Bruno.
"Now is not your time to die," Ace said calmly. Five mission points were consumed, and a faint light appeared on Bruno's body.
In less than three seconds, all of Bruno's injuries vanished. The two embedded rock fragments and the Shellder shell also detached from his body.
Immediately afterward, a puff of black smoke drifted out of Bruno's open mouth and slowly dissipated.
"What happened to me?"
Bruno's physique far surpassed Ace's. As soon as his injuries were healed, Bruno climbed to his feet, vigilantly watching Ace.
"Is that how you treat your savior?"
Ace stood up, clapped his hands, completely unconcerned by Bruno's reaction.
After all, Bruno's Pokémon were almost all incapacitated, and Mewtwo hadn't left yet, so soundly defeating Bruno was no dream.
"It was you... I lost."
Bruno slumped to the ground in defeat. Although he had been controlled by Agatha, he still dimly remembered some things in his subconscious.
And for a straightforward person like Bruno, a loss was a loss. It wasn't shameful; it simply meant he hadn't trained enough.
"What exactly do you Four Heavenly Kings intend to do?"
Ace looked at Bruno and said, "You are my prisoner now. Tell me the truth."
"To heal this sick world!"
Bruno looked up at Ace and said, "Our leader is Lance. His idea is to kill all humans who are currently destroying the environment, leaving only some capable Trainers and Pokémon to live in peace."
"Do you think so too?"
"No."
Bruno shook his head. "I just long to battle strong Trainers. Other than that, I don't care about anything else."
"Thick-headed brute" was a fitting description for Bruno.
He didn't care about Lance's ideas; he just wanted intense battles.
"One last thing."
Ace looked at Bruno, speaking seriously, "Where is your main base?"
"Are you trying to..."
Bruno's eyes widened as he looked at Ace, saying in disbelief, "You want to confront Lance?!"
Ace grinned, everything unsaid.
As for Lance, the Dragon Master?
Ace stated that what he feared least right now were Dragon-type Pokémon!
After training in the Draconid Village for so long, gaining the status of Lorekeeper, and receiving so many gifts from Dragon-type Pokémon.
Ace was very curious: if he actually fought Lance, how would those Dragon-type Pokémon react!