Inside Mewtwo's cloning laboratory, the cold mechanical devices emitted a steady, rhythmic hum.
Ash ran through the maze-like corridors, his Aura guiding him as he tracked Pikachu's scent. Rounding a corner, the sight before him made him gasp. An entire wall was lined with transparent cultivation pods, each containing a floating clone of a Pokémon.
Bulbasaur, Charizard, Squirtle... even a Pikachu. They all had their eyes closed, appearing as if in a deep slumber.
"Pikachu..." Ash pressed his hand against the glass of one pod. Through his Aura, he could feel Pikachu struggling in pain within.
At that moment, Mewtwo appeared silently at the entrance of the lab.
"It seems you have found my collection room," its voice rang out with a tone of clinical satisfaction. "Now that my experiment is complete, you are free to leave."
Ash spun around, his eyes burning with fury. "Give Pikachu back to me!"
Mewtwo shook its head slightly. "The storm outside is intensifying. If you leave now, you might still preserve your lives. As for these Pokémon... they shall follow me to usher in a new era."
Suddenly, the laboratory's alarm blared.
Mewtwo frowned slightly. "It seems some of the prototype Pokémon are becoming restless."
In an instant, it teleported away from the lab.
Ash seized the opportunity and rushed to the control console. Relying on the resonance between his Aura and the machinery, he quickly bypassed the basic operating system. One by one, the cultivation pods slowly hissed open, and the imprisoned Pokémon began to wake.
"Everyone, go save the others!" Ash shouted to the Pokémon.
With their help, Ash located where the Mewtwo Balls were stored. When he opened the locker, he found that the original Poké Balls had all turned pitch black, their surfaces swirling with an ominous light.
"This is... the conversion process for the Mewtwo Balls isn't finished yet?!" Ash immediately began to use his Aura to purify the spheres. Under his efforts, the Poké Balls gradually regained their original red and white colors.
The liberated Pokémon gathered around Ash, their eyes burning with the flames of indignation. Led by Ash, they marched in a grand procession back toward the arena.
Mewtwo was currently organizing the clone Pokémon into ranks. When it saw Ash returning with the freed Pokémon, it showed a distinct surge of emotion for the first timerage.
"You dare disrupt my plans!" Mewtwo's voice thundered with indignation.
Ash stood at the front of the Pokémon, refusing to back down. "I will never abandon a single Pokémon!"
"If that is the case, then feel the gap between us for yourself!"
Mewtwo raised a hand and fired a beam of Psychic energy. Ash quickly rolled to the side, and the ground where he had just stood split open into a deep trench.
"Everyone, scatter!" Ash commanded the Pokémon as he charged toward Mewtwo.
The battle that followed was nothing short of breathtaking.
Ash displayed incredible martial prowess, condensing his Aura into his fists and feet. Every strike he landed carried a faint, pale blue glow. Mewtwo's mental assaults were often evaded by Ash's subtle footwork just before they could connect, while Ash's relentless chain of minor attacks forced Mewtwo to focus entirely on defense.
"This human..." Mewtwo grew increasingly astonished during the exchange. "To think he can utilize psychic power to such a degree."
It knew that if Ash's power remained at a level comparable to its own, it might actually suffer a loss.
Ash's tactics were clear and effective: stay in close quarters so Mewtwo couldn't utilize its long-range advantage, use continuous strikes to disrupt Mewtwo's concentration, and interrupt every attempt the legendary Pokémon made to charge a powerful move.
For a time, two shadows blurred across the arena. Blue Aura and purple telekinetic energy constantly collided, resulting in a stalemate that no one expected.
"I didn't realize Ash had become this strong..." Misty murmured while watching from the sidelines.
However, the gap in raw power was ultimately too large to bridge completely. Unable to secure a quick victory, Mewtwo finally lost its patience.
"Enough!" it roared, and a massive explosion of telekinetic force erupted.
The range of this attack was too wide for Ash to fully evade. Just as the mental shockwave was about to hit, a pink figure suddenly appeared in front of Ash, casually raising a protective barrier.
"Mew~"
Mew spun playfully in the air, looking curiously at both Mewtwo and Ash.
Mewtwo stared in shock at the sudden arrival. "You... you are my prototype?"
Mew nodded happily, flew a circle around Mewtwo, and then pointed at Ash, making a gesture as if inviting them to play together.
"Play?" Mewtwo's voice turned cold. "What do you take me for? A cub in need of companionship?"
It suddenly launched an attack at Mew, firing a direct Psychic blast. Mew dodged with ease, its face still wearing an innocent, radiant smile as if treating the entire encounter as a game. The two legendary Pokémon then commenced an earth-shaking duel within the arena.
Telekinesis and Dazzling Gleam collided in the air, creating shockwaves that made the entire castle tremble. The trainers were forced to seek cover.
Ash watched the battle tensely, his Aura running at full capacity as he looked for an opening to intervene. He could feel that this fight was far more than a contest of strength; it was a collision of two different philosophies of existence.
While the two gods were locked in combat, the manufactured clone Pokémon suddenly began to act strangely. The light surrounding them became unstable, and a sense of individual consciousness began to dawn in their eyes.
In particular, the Pikachu clone looked toward Ash and, of its own accord, unleashed a Thunderbolt. Even more shocking was that all the clone Pokémon simultaneously turned toward Mewtwo, their gazes filled with doubt and defiance...
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