Many people would assume that Celebi was a mythical creature that controlled time and space. In reality, Celebi's specialty was time, more than anything.
On the space axis, it was far weaker than Palkia. But on the time axis, even Dialga called itself a mini-Celebi.
Celebi could travel through time and even alter cause and effect, provided there was a sufficiently powerful energy supply.
The Dark Ball's creation was actually based on the power of Mewtwo, which was why it could be even stronger than a Master Ball, and could even steal other people's Pokémon. However, the methods and data for creating the Dark Ball had been destroyed by Mewtwo, and it was unclear where Soshima had gotten the data from.
Moreover, the Dark Ball he possessed had been modified. Besides being able to forcibly capture Pokémon, it could enhance the captured Pokémon's power and place them under the user's control.
The original Dark Ball, while capable of a 100% forced capture, would still leave the captured Pokémon eventually obeying its true will once released. It could only capture, not truly control.
The new Dark Ball combined capture, control, and power enhancement into one, making it immeasurably stronger than the original version. Of course, this wasn't good news for Ash or Mewtwo. If something like this could be mass-produced, even without controlling Celebi, the entire world would descend into chaos.
So today, it wasn't a matter of Soshima keeping them here. They had to keep Soshima here. This guy was a worse threat to the world than the Iron-Masked criminals before him.
"Celebi, show them your power!" Soshima ordered.
Celebi let out a fierce cry, and a visible shockwave spread out, blowing the entire forest into disarray. Pikachu dug his feet in and held his ground, but Misty and the others were thrown several meters back by the shockwave, crashing into trees, their backs aching. If it weren't for their usual training with Ash, they'd have all taken internal injuries this time.
"Mewtwo, Mega Evolve!"
Facing Celebi's rage, Ash didn't hold back either. He immediately let Mewtwo unleash its most powerful form: Mega Evolution. A seven-colored aura enveloped Mewtwo, its form growing slimmer, and a long tail trailing behind its head.
Mega Mewtwo Y. This form could push its psychic power to the extreme, its overall strength comparable to a High god-level Pokémon.
Although Celebi had been boosted by the Dark Ball, it wasn't a combat-type Pokémon. It was a Legendary with time manipulation, but its raw power wasn't outstanding. Under the amplification of the Dark Ball, its level could barely be considered Beginner god-level.
Compared to Soshima's belief that possessing Celebi would let him rule the world, that was a bit naive. A Beginner god-level Pokémon, even with time manipulation, was no match for a High god-level Pokémon. Even holding its own against a Mid god-level Pokémon in a straight fight would require some luck.
Ash was just being cautious. That was why he had Mewtwo go full power from the very start.
"Mega Evolution? Even that guy Giovanni was working on weapons that could Mega Evolve?" Mewtwo's Mega form caught Soshima off guard. Mega Evolution was a relatively new system, and the Mewtwo that Giovanni had built had been in development long before that. Logically, it shouldn't have been able to Mega Evolve.
Mewtwo coldly glanced at Soshima. If it weren't for Ash's earlier order to leave the guy to him, it would have crushed that guy's head already.
'Weapons, weapons, so annoying.'
It had learned patience during its time with Ash, but that didn't mean it was harmless. If this had been before, Mewtwo wouldn't have even bothered with dialogue. It would've killed that guy with one strike.
Without warning, Mewtwo teleported in front of Celebi, raised one hand, and unleashed a massive surge of psychic power, intending to subdue Celebi directly.
Logically, given the enormous power gap, Mewtwo should have been able to overpower Celebi easily. However, at the moment Mewtwo's psychic power surged, Celebi simply vanished from in front of it.
On the other side, Ash, after a few bounds, arrived in front of Soshima. He clenched his fist, one hand grabbing the frame of the robot Soshima was piloting, the other hand swinging a punch straight at Soshima. He'd held back the strength of this punch.
Ash's fist struck empty space, a hair's breadth from Soshima's face. His punch had been blocked. The one blocking it was none other than Celebi. The Celebi that Mewtwo hadn't been able to grab had instantly appeared in front of Soshima.
"Haha, kid, no matter how strong your body is, can you really compare to a Legendary Pokémon? Celebi, kill him for me!"
To capture the enemy, first capture the king. When facing a formidable Pokémon in the wilderness, the first target was always the enemy Trainer. Ash's physical abilities were far beyond Soshima's, and Mewtwo's power was an unknown quantity, but it was undoubtedly what Giovanni had once called Team Rocket's ultimate weapon, and now it had Mega Evolved on top of that. Its strength wasn't something to underestimate.
Even though Celebi had been boosted by the Dark Ball, it was impossible for it to subdue Mewtwo in a short time. Meanwhile, Soshima was about to be captured by Ash in one fell swoop.
Once he, the Trainer, was captured, everything would be over. So he'd anticipated Ash's move from the start. From the very beginning he hadn't intended for Celebi to clash with Mewtwo. He'd wanted Celebi held in reserve to protect him directly.
As long as the obstructing kid was dead, everything else would fall into place.
Mewtwo coldly watched the energy surging from Celebi's body without moving. If it wanted to, it could remotely teleport Ash away. Psychic-type god-level Pokémon were just that unreasonable in a fight. But Ash didn't need help.
Everyone who'd met Ash knew he had abilities far beyond a normal human, but only Mewtwo knew just how absurd he really was. He was a being who could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with gods.
Celebi released its psychic power without restraint, as if it wanted to crush Ash into pulp.
"Run!"
Sammy shouted through the pain in his body. He'd already felt how strong Celebi was from the shockwave earlier. The aura alone had blown them all off their feet. To take a direct psychic attack from something like that, even Ash's strong body couldn't withstand it. All he could do was hope Ash's physical ability was enough to dodge Celebi's attack.
But Ash just watched the psychic force engulf him. And at the exact moment Celebi released its power, the Aura within his own body erupted.
A visible, violent blue Aura wave instantly obliterated the psychic energy covering Ash's body. A second later, Ash's fist slammed into Celebi's body. Caught off guard, Celebi was blasted dozens of meters back, spinning wildly through the air.
Mewtwo instantly teleported to where Celebi was thrown, raised its hand, and gripped Celebi's head with three fingers. At the same time, psychic energy flooded Celebi's body, draining all of its energy.
The gap in power between the two was enormous, and Mewtwo had it locked down completely.
If Celebi hadn't used its psychic powers to interfere with Mewtwo's grab a moment ago, even if Celebi had teleported, Mewtwo could have pulled it back before it reached Ash.
Of course, since Celebi had insisted on fighting, Mewtwo respected that choice. Though it wasn't really Celebi's choice at all. Fighting Mewtwo would at most result in Mewtwo just holding it down with psychic power, since the difference in strength was simply too great.
Mewtwo could still hold back.
But while there was a gap between Ash and Celebi, it wasn't nearly as wide. Facing a corrupted Celebi, Ash wanted a quick finish and absolutely couldn't hold back, which was why he'd delivered that punch just now.
With one punch, everyone watching was stunned. Sammy swallowed his worried shout, his face going blank. Compared to Soshima, whose nose was bleeding, Sammy's mind had just frozen.
No matter how vivid his imagination was, he'd never expected that Celebi, right after arriving, would be sent flying by a single punch from Ash. This was a Legendary Pokémon that had been enhanced by the Dark Ball. I know you're not human, but you shouldn't be this ridiculous.
"Wait, stop, stop!"
Ash wasn't about to listen to Soshima. He'd been holding back for so long, and finally he could let this guy have it.
Fists rained down on Soshima like a storm, and he screamed in pain. Clearly, Ash hadn't used his full strength, or the first punch would have gone straight through Soshima's body. Even so, the force made Soshima's cries echo across the clearing, and even Sammy and Misty in the distance winced. That looked really painful. It felt different from just being punched by Ash. It felt more like being stabbed with needles or cut with a knife.
After about five minutes of punching, Ash finally stopped, rubbing his forehead where he'd worked up a sweat. With each punch, he'd channeled a bit of Aura into the opponent's body, hitting pressure points and amplifying the pain many times over.
Otherwise, Soshima, the newly appointed leader of Team Rocket, would have held his dignity better.
"Release Celebi now, or I'll let you experience another five minutes." Ash waved his fist, threatening Soshima, whose face had swollen.
His mask had long been torn away, but his current appearance was no different from when he'd worn it. Anyone who knew him probably wouldn't recognize him now. His head was covered in bruises, his face swollen, his mouth and eyes both puffed shut.
"Mmmph!"
Soshima wanted to say something, but his face couldn't produce any real sound, only muffled noises.
Seeing this, Ash scratched his head. "I forgot to leave his mouth alone. Now he can't even talk."
Mewtwo shook its head, then brought Celebi down to the ground. "I don't need that guy to release Celebi's binding. This controlling power was originally created from my own strength, so I can easily release it."
As Mewtwo spoke, Celebi's furious gaze suddenly calmed. The now-sober Celebi was still stuck in the moment it had been caught by the Dark Ball. It frantically activated its psychic powers, trying to break free of the restraint. But what was binding Celebi now was Mewtwo's psychic power. Even if it unleashed everything, it couldn't break free.
"Good. Now what do we do with this guy?" Ash jumped down from the robot Soshima was still slumped in, and casually tossed Soshima to the ground.
"Handing him over to Officer Jenny, he might just get rescued by Team Rocket again. It's a real headache," Brock said, stroking his chin.
There were too many complications between the League and Team Rocket. The regular Team Rocket trio had escaped Alliance prisons multiple times, and this new Team Rocket leader would have even more escape routes.
But this guy's potential for harm was far beyond what the trio could cause. If he escaped without Ash stopping him for good, he could easily throw the world into chaos again.
But to say they should just kill him right here, no matter what, they'd find it difficult to actually do. Especially if they became like Soshima, taking lives at will. What difference would there be between them and this guy?
"Let me. I'll erase all of this guy's memories, leaving only what he had before he joined Team Rocket, then we send him to prison. Even if Team Rocket rescues him, he'll be useless." Mewtwo's voice echoed in everyone's minds, including Soshima's.
Hearing this, Soshima's puffy head shook like a rattle.
Except for Soshima and Sammy, everyone else nodded in agreement. Mewtwo's approach wasn't a bad way to handle it. Sammy didn't nod because he hadn't yet processed what "memory erasure" actually meant.
'Could human memories really be erased by a Pokémon? That was a bit too terrifying.'
However, he'd already experienced many terrifying things today, so this one wasn't much different. As for Soshima, no one particularly cared about his opinion.
"Then let's do it. Erase this guy's memories, all of them." Ash snapped his fingers, deciding Soshima's fate.
In that moment, Soshima also felt what it meant to be at someone else's mercy.