Mewtwo's words sent a chill through everyone present.
Revolution? What exactly did she mean by that?
"What do you mean by revolution?" Ash demanded, frowning deeply."You've already escaped Giovanni's control. You're free now, so why are you still doing this?"
His words caused Corey and the others to tremble, another wave of shock crashing through them.
Giovanni?
The Giovanni rumored to be the true leader of Team Rocket, the former strongest Gym Leader in Kanto?
Was this Pokémon his creation?
And if so, why was she here? Why organize a so-called Strongest Trainer competition?
'Because you humans are utterly disappointing, including you, Ash.'
Ash: …
From Mewtwo's tone, it was clear she was deeply disappointed in him.
But why?
He couldn't understand it. He had never intentionally wronged her. If anyone deserved her hatred, it should have been Giovanni. Giovanni was the one who had imprisoned and controlled her.
So why was her hostility directed at him?
Then Mewtwo spoke again, but this time, only Ash could hear her voice.
'There is something on your Gardevoir…Don't tell me you truly didn't know.'
Ash's expression changed instantly. His pupils contracted.
She had discovered it.
Gardevoir's essence, Mewtwo's missing fragment.
No wonder Mewtwo was so furious. No wonder her disappointment ran so deep.
But when had she discovered it?
If she had realized it during their battle, she wouldn't have been so calm then. And at that time, even while still under Giovanni's control, Ash's Aura had clearly sensed no hostility from her, if anything, there had been the faintest trace of goodwill.
Yet now, her disgust was unmistakable.
Where had she discovered the truth?
And when had she begun planning everything that led to New Island?
"There must be some misunderstanding," Ash said, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart.
"Mewtwo, come down first. Let's talk this through properly."
'There is nothing to discuss.'
Mewtwo's icy voice echoed through everyone's minds once more.
'I saw it with my own eyes. Humans are fundamentally untrustworthy. The fact that I didn't immediately tear that thing out of her body was the final courtesy I showed you.'
'From this moment on, we are enemies.'
The atmosphere froze.
Everyone's gaze instinctively turned toward Ash.
From Mewtwo's words, Corey and the others could tell that this Pokémon had a deep, personal conflict with him. Yet from Ash's own words, it sounded as though he had once rescued her from Team Rocket's leader.
So why had things deteriorated into what sounded like outright hatred?
Misty and Brock, however, understood far more than they wished to.
They knew the truth about Gardevoir.
Mewtwo's words could only mean one thing, she had discovered the existence of her spiritual essence within Gardevoir.
That alone could explain the drastic change in her attitude.
But when had she realized it?
Lorelei did not know the details of Gardevoir's condition, but her thoughts were clear and sharp. She knew Ash was the first person Blaine had trusted with Mewtwo's existence, so it was natural that Ash carried secrets related to her.
But one thing was certain.
Mewtwo had not discovered the truth during their battle.
If she had, she would never have shown Ash any courtesy afterward.
Which meant only one possibility remained.
After escaping from the League, Mewtwo had gone to find Ash herself.
She sensed something on him, realized she had been deceived, lost all remaining hope in humanity, and only then came to New Island to prepare this event.
If Mewtwo could hear Lorelei's thoughts, she might have said:
'An astute human.'
Because Lorelei's deduction was entirely correct.
After recovering and leaving the League, Mewtwo went straight to Ash.
Ash's Aura was not constantly active, and Mewtwo, standing at Champion level, deliberately concealed her presence. As long as she stayed nearby only briefly, Ash would not sense her.
And the moment she arrived, she felt it.
Her missing spiritual essence, residing within Gardevoir as she trained.
The psychological impact was overwhelming.
That fragment was something Mewtwo had instinctively searched for since birth. It was not merely power, it was a missing part of her existence.
When she sensed it, everything shattered.
During their battle, she had faintly sensed something on Ash, but interference from Poké Balls and restraints had prevented her from confirming it.
Now, there was no doubt.
And Ash's own words echoed clearly in her memory:
"The thing on me might be yours, but you can't use it yet. Maybe when you break free from Giovanni, you'll be able to."
She remembered them perfectly.
'Might be yours. Can't use it yet. Only after breaking free.'
Isn't this implicitly suggesting that she should leave Giovanni and work for Ash, only then would Ash return her psychic origins to her?
So that hot-blooded boy who appeared to love Pokemon, full of passion in battles, is also a liar! A complete liar!
Feeling deceived, Mewtwo was heartbroken and decided never to trust humans again!
She wanted to create a world where Pokémon rule over humans! She also wanted humans to experience the taste of being deceived and toyed with!
But clearly, she couldn't achieve this with just herself as a Pokemon, so she decided to rally outstanding trainers to come, those trainers' Pokemon with talent, genes, and strength surely wouldn't be weak.
By using their Pokemon, she could quickly create a Pokemon army, using Team Rocket's technology!
And thus, today's battle of the strongest trainers came to be.
Ash obviously didn't expect this whole event was caused by him, and he indeed didn't perceive Mewtwo coming to him. Gardevoir actually sensed something, but Mewtwo appeared only briefly and disappeared immediately.
Gardevoir's psychic origins had a slight disturbance, yet she didn't think in that direction at all, after all, Mewtwo was still in the league at the time, who would have thought she'd already escaped and directly found her way to Pallet Town?
And Ash had no idea of Mewtwo's thoughts and guesses.
During the battle at the Viridian Gym, what Mewtwo perceived was the MEGA Evolution Stone, not Gardevoir's psychic origins. Of course, Ash would choose that answer, who could have misunderstood like that, what a coincidence.
"It seems talking things out with you is impossible, so I'll have to defeat you first before we can have a proper talk." Ash took a deep breath, closed his eyes, then opened them sharply, his demeanor growing more resolute!
He had to defeat Mewtwo, then get her to explain the whole story so they could communicate properly!
Right now, Mewtwo's psychic state was such that communication was impossible.
"Ash, can your Lucario still unleash that kind of power?" Lorelei walked over softly in high heels and spoke gently.
Ash shook his head. "No, Lucario's outburst was a one-time thing. Unless Lucario itself reaches that level, it probably won't be able to unleash that power again in its life."
"I thought so, then leave this battle to me." Lorelei said, taking out a Pokeball. Ash was momentarily stunned, wanting to say something, but Lorelei placed her finger on Ash's lips, stopping him.
"You're still young, with lots of room for improvement. You're strong now, but facing such an opponent is still challenging. So leave it to me." Saying this, Lorelei playfully winked, easing the tense atmosphere.
"I understand, Miss Lorelei, then I'll leave it to you." After a moment of silence, Ash agreed with Lorelei's proposal, and the power within him slowly subsided.
'Don't misunderstand, this is a duel for the strongest trainer, so your opponent is not me, but the Pokémon under my command.' Mewtwo only used telepathy to communicate with everyone once Lorelei stepped forward.
She could sense Lorelei's strength. A powerful trainer has a unique aura, and from Lorelei, she sensed an aura much like Giovanni's.
This indicated that Lorelei's trainer level was at least on par with Giovanni's.
If it were her previous abilities, dealing with Lorelei might have been genuinely challenging.
After all, to be blunt, her level was only at Champion, not truly Divine Level. Facing a team of champion-level Pokémon, even she might not come out unscathed.
But now it's different; she was entirely different from before, otherwise, she wouldn't have set up this situation, a scene specifically welcoming Ash!
Even if that Lucario could unleash that power again, Mewtwo was seventy percent sure of defeating it!
So now Mewtwo wasn't in a rush to strike, she wanted to test the strength of the three Pokémon she'd cloned using Team Rocket's technology, to determine the feasibility of a cloned army.
Hearing Mewtwo's words, Lorelei's sharp face showed a moment of surprise. Mewtwo commanding Pokémon as a trainer? While Pokémon directing other Pokémon wasn't unheard of, a Pokémon claiming it's a trainer was a first for Lorelei.
Mewtwo not only possessed high intelligence, but her thoughts were also very human-like, which made her mind more complex. Her proposal to command Pokémon in the battle surely had other intentions.
But since Mewtwo said so, Lorelei temporarily put aside her intention to engage. She also wanted to see what Mewtwo was truly up to.
While Lorelei temporarily refrained from taking action, Corey couldn't hold back.
He didn't know Mewtwo, but he wouldn't allow a Pokémon to swagger in front of him, especially in front of Lorelei, an Elite!
So Corey released his Gyarados, launching a fierce attack at Mewtwo. Mewtwo didn't even raise her head, only lifting her gaze at Gyarados. The Gyarados, which was charging in fiercely, was sent flying backward like an arrow, crashing into the castle walls, and ultimately sliding into the castle edge's pool.
Corey, who had been shouting to take down Mewtwo, met a similar fate, being flung away.
'Lack of manners, I'll discipline you on your behalf.' Mewtwo's calm words echoed in everyone's hearts, fueling an unnamed fury in Misty and Fergus. What do you mean by disciplining us on our behalf? When did humans count on Pokémon for discipline?!
But the strength Mewtwo displayed left them afraid to act rashly. Easily defeating Corey's Gyarados indicated her strength was at least Elite Level; perhaps only Lorelei could handle such an opponent.
However, if it were Mewtwo's underlings, they were confident they could handle it.
"Didn't you say you'd send Pokémon to battle us? Where's the battle happening? Who are the opponents?"
'Follow me.'
With those words, Mewtwo led the group to an arena, open-air and exceptionally vast!
Their opponents rose slowly from the arena's edge, eventually appearing fully before everyone.
Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur! The Pokémon Mewtwo used were Kanto's Three Starter!
"Kanto's Three Starter, huh? Then Venusaur is mine!" Corey saw the opponents were the Three Starter and placed the supporting Fergus aside, pulling out a Pokeball.
A flash of light, and a bulky Venusaur stood on the battlefield.
"Blastoise will..."
"Leave it to me!" Gary interrupted Misty's words, stepping forward, releasing his Blastoise.
Not being able to beat Mewtwo was one thing, but he couldn't lose against her underlings' Pokémon either. Today, he had to regain his honor!
Seeing Gary releasing his Blastoise, and sensing he had some grudges against Mewtwo, Misty decided not to contend with Gary. If Gary lost, she'd back him up; there was no rule against tag battles!
"Then the last one is mine." Ash said, throwing his Pokeball, a blazing Charizard soaring across the sky, unleashing a fiery breath before descending from the air.
Thus, Mewtwo's Three Starter each faced their respective opponents.