"Arrogant?!"
Seeing Red turn his back, Mewtwo instantly flew into a rage!
"Human! Are you looking down on me?!"
At this moment, Mewtwo's voice was no longer disguised—it was icy cold, filled with killing intent.
Red, still turned away, replied calmly:
"A copy is still just a copy. I trust my Pokémon—and the effort we've built together."
"Good… very good!"
Mewtwo suppressed its anger and commanded:
"Castform—use Rain Dance!"
Clearly, in its pursuit of becoming the strongest trainer, Mewtwo had studied a wide range of Pokémon.
Even a relatively uncommon one like Castform was no exception.
The cloned Castform used Rain Dance—a sphere of water burst midair, and rain began pouring down instantly.
At the same time, both Castform transformed into their Rain Form, resembling droplets.
However—
Red's Castform looked at the rain and showed… confusion.
Not because the opponent was strong—
but because—
"Is that really my clone?"
"What?!"
As a Pokémon, Mewtwo could understand it—and was baffled.
Why was it still so confident against an opponent with superior overall stats?
At that moment—
Red's Castform didn't attack.
Instead, it slowly closed its eyes.
Mewtwo laughed in anger.
"The trainer is arrogant—and now even the Pokémon?!"
"Use Weather Ball!"
A blue flash passed through Mewtwo's eyes as it gave the command.
The cloned Castform opened its mouth, forming a colorless energy sphere.
[Weather Ball: Power 50. Absorbs environmental weather. In weather conditions, its type changes accordingly and its power doubles]
In rain—
this became a 100 power Water-type move, further boosted by:
Rain (×1.5)STAB (×1.5)
A devastating attack.
But just as it was charging—
something went wrong.
The cloned Castform suddenly realized—
it could no longer draw power from the weather!
Worse—
it was reverting back to its normal form.
"Wu—?!"
Seeing it panic, Mewtwo frowned.
"What's happening?!"
At that moment—
Red's Castform slowly opened its eyes.
Its gaze was filled with pride.
"You're trying to control the weather… in front of me?"
"You really don't take me seriously."
Mewtwo focused—and finally realized:
The rain—
though summoned by its own Castform—
had been completely seized by Red's Castform!
Not only that—
it had refined control to the point of selectively weakening the weather energy around the opponent!
Now Mewtwo understood their confidence.
They weren't relying on raw stats or move power.
From the very beginning—
Castform's training had been singular:
Weather.
When Marshtomp trained its body—
Castform trained weather.
When Larvitar was eating or slacking—
Castform trained weather.
It had poured everything into mastering atmospheric control.
Especially rain—
which it now controlled with absolute perfection.
Even Mewtwo—
could not reclaim control without brute force.
"This… is what Castform has been training all along!"
"In my system, there's no 'weakest link theory.' A Pokémon's strength depends on its strongest point—not its average!"
"Now—let's end this."
"Show them your power!"
At Red's command—
Castform used Weather Ball as well.
A pure white sphere formed—
but in the next instant—
countless strands of weather energy poured into it!
The sphere expanded wildly—
turning sky-blue—
growing to the size of a small truck!
Seeing this—
the cloned Castform collapsed in despair.
Castform hurled the massive Weather Ball—
It struck directly.
The crushing water pressure and violent weather energy combined—
creating overwhelming damage!
"Another instant knockout!"
"It seems something went wrong with Xiao Ai's Castform—Red's Castform has taken it down in one blow!"
"This is the first time Xiao Ai has lost a Pokémon!"
"Will Red claim the championship?!"
"Or will Xiao Ai abandon his principles and switch tactics?!"
"Let's wait and see!"
...
"WE WON! Master really is invincible!"
Back at Songzao Gym, Ash jumped up in excitement.
Even Gary didn't argue this time.
"Incredible… He actually turned the opponent's weather into his own."
"When will my Wartortle reach that level of control…"
Clearly, Gary understood far more than the average spectator.
"Gym Leader Red… actually won?!"
Clair stared in disbelief.
Lance stroked his chin.
"A Castform specialized entirely in weather… that level of control is extraordinary."
"Even a Dragonair of the same level couldn't match it."
"That strong?!" Clair looked at Castform in shock.
But Lance's expression soon turned serious.
"Still… Red, are you sure you want to defeat Mewtwo?"
"If it loses… who knows what it might do."
On the battlefield—
Red turned back around.
"Come on—aren't you sending out your next Pokémon?"
He recalled Castform, gently tapping its Poké Ball.
"Well done. I'll reward you properly later."
Mewtwo lowered its head in silence.
Red didn't waste words.
"Ready for the next round?"
As he took out Larvitar's Poké Ball—
for the first time—
Mewtwo showed hesitation.
"Go—Larvitar!"
As soon as it appeared—
Sand Stream activated.
A sandstorm swept the field.
Mewtwo's expression turned… awkward.
"…Sorry. Your Larvitar… I failed to clone it."
"No matter how many times I tried, it always developed uncontrollable power."
"…Clone?!"
"What did he just say?!"
"He's been using cloned Pokémon this whole time?!"
The moment Mewtwo exposed the truth—
the entire arena erupted into chaos.
Shock. Fear. Disbelief.
Even in this world—
Pokémon cloning was taboo.
The audience erupted in outrage:
"You copied my Pokémon?!"
"That's disgusting!"
"What right do you have?!"
Even the contestant area fell into chaos.
Red himself was momentarily stunned.
He had expected the cloning failure—
after all, Larvitar was a system-enhanced, dual-ability, top-tier Pokémon.
But he hadn't expected Mewtwo to expose everything.
Larvitar scratched its head in confusion.
"Wasn't I here to battle?"
Midair—
Lance finally frowned.
In the next instant—
he and Dragonite disappeared—
reappearing beside Mewtwo.
"Everyone, calm down! The League will provide an explanation!"
"I guarantee it as Champion!"
Dragonite roared—
its Champion-level pressure silencing thousands instantly.
Red picked up the trembling Larvitar.
"So this… is Champion-level power…"
His eyes showed not fear—
but longing.
Lance then said to Mewtwo:
"You should leave for now."
"If you still want to battle, I can arrange another identity later."
"But for now—this ends here."
Mewtwo remained silent.
But Red sensed something was wrong.
Mewtwo already struggled with its identity—
and now everyone was calling it a "copy."
Red quietly retreated—
back into the audience—
pulling Ninetales and Xiaowen with him.
"Those copies have no right to exist!"
At that moment—
a man suddenly shouted.
Red glanced over—
and saw the 'R' on his chest.
"Team Rocket…"
Without hesitation—
"Run!"
But—
a surge of psychic power exploded from Mewtwo.
Ninetales' expression changed instantly.
"This is bad! The psychic field is completely unstable!"
"If we teleport now, we could be torn apart by spatial distortion!"
Red's heart sank.
"What exactly are Team Rocket planning…?"
At this point—
Mewtwo dropped all pretense.
It revealed its true form—
eyes filled with killing intent.
"You humans…"
"If not for you—I wouldn't exist!"
"I wouldn't suffer! I wouldn't be alone!"
"I am neither Pokémon nor human!"
"What am I?! Just a copy?!"
"What is my purpose?!"
With a flick of its hand—
the instigator was instantly killed.
"Mewtwo—calm down!"
Lance broke into a cold sweat.
Behind him, Dragonite was ready to strike.
At that moment—
Team Rocket made their move.
Fragments of armor dropped from above.
A voice echoed:
"Mewtwo… come back with me."
"Help us capture Mew—and you'll no longer be a copy."
"You'll become unique."
Mewtwo hesitated.
At that critical moment—
Red spoke:
"Our battle isn't over."
"Running away already?"
He poured all his Psychic Power and Viridian Power into his voice.
Mewtwo's eyes cleared slightly.
And strangely—
it felt something familiar from Red's power.
But before it could react—
the armor released a red gas.
Unaffected by psychic power—
it instantly engulfed Mewtwo.
Its eyes turned blood-red.
It went berserk.
"Not good!"
Mewtwo unleashed countless psychic blades in all directions!
Lance immediately acted.
"Dragon Legion—attack!"
Charizard, Salamence, Aerodactyl, Gyarados—
along with Dragonair and Altaria—
an entire army surged forward.
At the same time—
a submarine surfaced.
Giovanni stepped out.
"Tonight… we reshape Kanto."
"With Mewtwo—Team Rocket will rule everything."
"And every trainer on this island…"
"…will not leave alive."
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