Meanwhile, on that very same day...
Across most of the Kanto region, the moment the operation began, the entire region seemed to erupt into motion.
Civilian evacuations and the mobilization of local security forces were completed within minutes.
Then came the arrests.
Some suspects attempted to resist. Others fought desperately to escape.
But thanks to the League's careful preparations and the suddenness of the operation, most of those involved were subdued one after another.
There were, however, a few unusual cases.
Some Team Rocket members released black Poké Balls without warning, capturing League Pokémon and turning them against their trainers.
When those Pokémon were released again, they immediately confronted their former partners.
"Arcanine!"
"Pidgeot!"
"Haha! Go fight your own Pokémon!"
One Team Rocket executive grabbed onto his Murkrow's claws, preparing to flee into the sky.
Then he froze.
A small pink Pokémon had appeared overhead without anyone noticing.
Beside it floated another tiny and rather unusual Pokémon.
"Mew...?"
The executive's eyes widened.
The Mew they had searched for so desperately was suddenly right in front of him.
Why now?!
Normally, if they discovered Mew's whereabouts, they could spend months studying its habits and planning ways to capture it.
But now, looking at the smiling Mythical Pokémon floating before him, all he could do was silently pray that it would leave him alone.
Unfortunately, reality rarely cooperates with wishes.
Mew tilted its head curiously.
It glanced at Murkrow.
Then at the executive.
Its eyes immediately lit up.
The next moment, every Pokémon in the area, including those in the middle of battle, stopped moving.
One after another, they drifted into sleep.
"H-Hey! Murkrow?!"
The executive could only watch helplessly as his sleeping Pokémon carried him downward.
Meanwhile, the League members below were equally stunned.
"What are you all standing around for?!"
"Put the handcuffs on them!"
Only after the chief investigator shouted did everyone snap out of their daze and rush forward to arrest the Team Rocket members.
"Mew~"
...
Near Pallet Town.
A young man with black hair, wearing a red jacket and red cap, sat atop Charizard.
Various Pokémon accompanied him.
Across from him stood a humanoid Pokémon with vacant eyes and a purple body.
Yet at that moment, the energy within its body suddenly became unstable.
Violently unstable.
As though it had suffered a devastating impact.
Then it exploded.
Red's expression hardened.
"A Pokémon with no intelligence shouldn't be this powerful."
"No..."
"This is an artificial life-form created through imitation. It's nothing more than condensed energy."
Below, the Team Rocket executive looked up at the sky.
The moment he recognized Red, every last shred of hope vanished.
He could only curse inwardly.
If Mewtwo hadn't escaped...
If they had obtained enough of Mew's genetic material...
They could have created a second Mewtwo.
Maybe even a third.
Not this incomplete imitation powered solely by accumulated energy.
"Damn it..."
"We were so close..."
Red looked down calmly.
"Save your excuses for the League interrogators."
Then he raised a hand.
"Pikachu. Thunderbolt."
"Pika!"
Dozens of arm-thick bolts of lightning erupted from Pikachu at once.
Every Team Rocket member on the ground was struck with perfect accuracy.
...
Inside the Distortion World.
As they headed toward the final laboratory, Mewtwo finally voiced a concern.
"You're really just leaving those two behind?"
In Mewtwo's eyes, Salamence still carried the violent temperament it had developed during its years of hatred toward humans.
Leaving it alone like that...
Wasn't that a little dangerous?
Dragonite was less concerning.
But Salamence...
Walking at the front of the group, Giratina listened quietly.
Lin Feng shook his head.
"Let it be."
"It needs a chance to release the frustration it's carried for so long."
From the very beginning, he had never intended to interfere with Salamence's choices.
Just as he had told it before:
"As long as you don't harm innocent people, I won't stop you."
Mewtwo fell silent.
The cleanup operation had gone surprisingly smoothly.
Despite the heavy security surrounding the laboratories, the sudden assault had rendered most of their defensive measures useless before they could even be activated.
Now only one laboratory remained.
Yet no matter how capable Lin Feng was, he was still only one person.
Before the final facility could be destroyed, Team Rocket had finally reacted.
At this moment, the organization was like a ticking time bomb.
...
Giovanni sat behind his desk, his expression dark.
Since ten o'clock that morning, every laboratory Team Rocket operated in Kanto had been destroyed one after another as if some invisible curse had descended upon them.
The worst part?
There had been no warning.
None.
The only unusual development beforehand was Lance's recent mobilization of League personnel.
Something about a joint defense exercise.
And once the exercise ended...
Even Red had come down from Mt. Silver.
The League had somehow obtained the locations of nearly every major research facility.
Not only had they launched coordinated raids, but they also seemed to possess all the research data related to Pokémon experiments.
Within ten short minutes, news of the operation had spread throughout Kanto.
Photographs from the laboratories flooded the internet and every major media channel.
Public outrage exploded.
And it showed no signs of slowing down.
"Idiots."
Giovanni took a deep breath.
Truthfully, he had never held grand ambitions for those laboratories.
His original goal had simply been profit.
Years ago, someone had presented him with research claiming that Mew could be used to create a Pokémon superior to Mew itself.
So he funded the project.
And eventually...
Mewtwo was born.
Its power exceeded all expectations.
But then it escaped.
After that, Giovanni had considered shutting the research down entirely.
However, another proposal soon appeared.
Researchers discovered that the blood of powerful Dragon-type Pokémon possessed unique properties.
Those properties could be used to create special Poké Balls capable of forcibly controlling Pokémon.
Since the project still generated profits, he allowed it to continue.
Unfortunately, after Mewtwo's rampage, most of the captured Dragon-types escaped as well.
At that moment, Matori hurried into the office.
"Boss!"
"We've identified the key factor behind the League's operation!"
------------------------------
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