Chapter 160. Mewtwo Ball
Everyone was ferried onto the island one after another by Bibarel, only to find there wasn't an inch of ground beneath their feet.
"Wow, so high-tech.
The ground here is all glass."
Misty stepped on the surface in wonder.
"Yeah, it's slippery."
Rain slicked the glass.
Hugging Bibarel, Ash Ketchum almost slipped.
"Wait, aren't we standing on someone's roof?" Honora suddenly realized.
"Yeah.
This looks like a dome covered by a glass shell."
Brock added.
"Is it?" Ash scratched his head.
"Honestly, we've already wasted so much time looking for you.
Everyone else is probably already here."
Misty shook her head helplessly.
Down below,
At a long table, several Trainers sat in a row.
Behind them stood Blastoise, Venusaur, Gyarados, and other Pokémon.
"Where's the host here?
Why isn't anyone coming out?" a burly Trainer said, puzzled.
"Please do not be impatient.
Wait with patience."
A woman dressed like a nun spoke in a slow, blank tone.
"Don't tell me this is just a sham?" another female Trainer said bluntly.
"Whoom—"
The entire hall suddenly dimmed.
A spotlight snapped on over the main seat in the distance.
In the blur, two double-helix staircases twined down on either side of that position.
As the light spread, a dark-purple silhouette slowly descended.
"Only this many?"
A commanding voice rang in everyone's mind in unison.
The tone sounded somewhat impatient.
There were only three Trainers in the hall.
"There's a thunderstorm today.
You invite people out and don't even check the weather," a skinny male Trainer rolled his eyes.
"Exactly.
Of course fewer people came.
We went through hell and high water to get here," the burly Trainer echoed.
"Hmph!"
The voice sounded again.
"You humans are truly fragile, stopping dead at the first sign of adversity."
This time, the tone shifted into disdain.
"What's with 'you humans'?
Can't you talk properly?" the burly Trainer was annoyed.
Behind him, his Gyarados raised its head with its Trainer's mood and looked up toward the main seat.
"Click—"
With a faint sound, the seat rotated, and Mewtwo's figure was revealed to everyone.
"Huh?
A Pokémon!?" the three said in unison.
"A Pokémon I've never seen.
Psychic type?" the only female Trainer frowned.
"Hey, where's your Trainer?
Tell that so-called world's greatest Pokémon Trainer to come out and meet me!"
The burly man was unimpressed.
A real man should have a good, solid battle.
What's with this smoke-and-mirrors routine?
"I am the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer."
Blue-violet light flashed in Mewtwo's eyes.
The housekeeper dressed like a nun stepped to its back, with an unmistakable implication.
"A Pokémon acting as a Trainer?
You've gotta be kidding," the burly man clearly refused to accept it.
"Hmph.
Who says only humans are allowed to be Trainers?
I insist on being number one."
"Who said Pokémon can't be Trainers?"
No sooner had Mewtwo spoken than voices answered from above in perfect sync.
It looked up.
Silhouettes flashed across the lights overhead.
Ash Ketchum, Natsume, Honora, Misty, Brock… the whole group plummeted down like dumplings into soup and crashed onto Mewtwo.
Mewtwo suspended all of them in midair with telekinesis so they couldn't move.
"Pikachu, command me!"
"Pika!
Ash, use super strength!"
Ash wrenched himself free in a sudden burst and fell to the floor, and with him everyone shook off Mewtwo's restraint.
"See?
Pokémon can be Trainers too."
Ash dusted his hands and stood up.
"That's not what I meant."
Mewtwo's voice rose with anger.
If it hadn't sensed the invitation it had sent on Ash as well, this bunch would have been tossed out a moment ago.
"How did you all fall from the sky?" the female Trainer asked.
"No idea.
A piece of the ceiling suddenly opened up.
We thought the host here was inviting us down."
Natsume patted the dust from his clothes, then looked to Mewtwo.
Now it seemed this was just Mewtwo opening a section of the dome to set up the lighting.
The instant Mewtwo saw Natsume, an odd look crossed its face.
It warily stepped back half a pace.
"Hmph.
Whatever the case, a Pokémon becoming a Trainer—and calling itself number one—is pure arrogance!"
The hot-tempered, burly man swung his arm, and his Gyarados charged in.
"Gyarados, use Crunch!"
Before Gyarados could reach Mewtwo, it floated up, its body shining with blue light.
"If it's a battle you want…"
Mewtwo clapped its hands.
A platform rose slowly in front of it.
On the platform stood a Charizard whose body was laced with markings.
"Did you fix all this up yourself?"
Natsume rushed forward like a curious kid, raised his phone toward Mewtwo, and snapped away with several clicks.
"I did…"
For certain reasons, Mewtwo was relatively polite to Natsume.
"Oh~"
Natsume's tone was meaningful.
If he remembered right, this was the island where Mewtwo had been born.
At its birth, Mewtwo's immense power had destroyed this place, leaving nothing but ruins.
But as it said, now it had repaired the site.
It had been less than a month since it escaped Giovanni's control.
In under a month, just by reading books, it had rebuilt this place and even restored the cloning machine.
Natsume glanced at Charizard, then back at Mewtwo.
This was simply—genius!
For some reason, the look Natsume gave made Mewtwo very displeased.
It felt like… like the way certain elders looked at a promising junior.
"Gyarados, Hydro Pump!"
Across the way, the burly man had already given the order, and a mass of water vapor gathered in Gyarados's mouth.
"Boom—"
A thick column of water roared at Charizard.
"Dodge right, then use Dragon Claw."
Charizard slipped past the attack with precision.
Light gleamed on its claws, and it struck Gyarados.
"Damn it—use Crunch!"
"Downward.
Evade.
Use Dragon Claw."
Mewtwo's voice was utterly calm.
"Whoa, how is it dodging every time?" Ash exclaimed.
Natsume watched Mewtwo thoughtfully.
It seemed able to use psychic power to simulate upcoming turns of the battle and then dodge with perfect accuracy.
At this rate, it was nearly unbeatable.
In less than half a minute, Gyarados collapsed weakly to the floor.
"Go, Blastoise!"
"Go, Venusaur!"
The other two Trainers also sent out their Pokémon.
Mewtwo sneered and clapped again.
Two more platforms rose.
On them stood a Blastoise and a Venusaur.
Three minutes later, the remaining two Trainers were defeated.
"Wow, it's so strong," Misty gasped.
"Since you've lost, leave your Pokémon behind."
Mewtwo's voice fell, followed by a surge of violent telekinesis.
In an instant, every Poké Ball at everyone's waist flashed red.
"Zzzzt—"
Psyduck, Charizard, Dragonite, Charizard—
Everyone's Pokémon were forcibly released.
Natsume was the exception.
For some reason, Mewtwo didn't dare release his two Rotom.
"What are you trying to do!"
Horrified, they saw countless conduits rise from the floor, each bearing a strange Poké Ball.
At the center of these balls was an eye-like structure.
Black beams shot from those "eyes," taking in every Pokémon present.
"Bastard!" someone tried to resist, but Mewtwo nailed them to the wall with a single glance.
"Togepi!"
Misty cried as the Togepi in her arms was taken.
"Hey, hey—we haven't lost yet!
And what gives you the right to take everyone's Pokémon!"
Ash refused to yield and tried to argue with Mewtwo.
Mewtwo ignored him.
Its voice sounded in everyone's hearts.
"Why was I created?"
"Is my existence justified?"
"Now I understand."
"I am a product of human greed."
"To you, Pokémon are nothing but tools to fulfill selfish desires."
Mewtwo's voice boomed like a great bell, leaving everyone momentarily stunned.
"What a joke!
Pikachu, Squirtle… they're all my partners!"
Ash broke free of Mewtwo's restraint once more.
"Pika!"
Pikachu stood up too, glaring at Mewtwo.
"What did you say?
You're following him of your own free will?"
"And you?"
Mewtwo sneered, flicking Pikachu away with a casual strike.
It turned to look toward center-parted.
"Pika pika pi—
I willingly rely on my Trainer for support."
Center-parted turned its butt toward Mewtwo.
After all, that wasn't exactly something to brag about.
Mewtwo froze, then snorted coldly.
With a wave, several Mewtwo Balls shot toward Ash and the others.
"Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Charizard, Pikachu—everyone, return to your Poké Balls!"
Ash pulled out standard red-and-white Poké Balls and recalled the group.
But the next second, a passing Mewtwo Ball absorbed even the red-and-white Poké Balls containing Ash's Pokémon.
Ash: "???"
What kind of unfair ball is that?
On the other side, Natsume couldn't move.
As a psychic himself, he was getting special treatment—telekinetic pressure pressed in around him so hard it was nearly a solid wall.
But that didn't stop him from observing the Poké Balls Mewtwo had made.
These Mewtwo Balls didn't seem like Poké Balls that only catch Pokémon.
They were more like massive mobile storage capsules, rudely taking in whatever was outside—Pokémon or otherwise.
He wondered about their performance and their principles.
Could those principles be used to improve existing Poké Balls?
Natsume's thoughts drifted far away.
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