No matter how much Soshima struggled, in Mewtwo's hands, he offered no resistance whatsoever. Having lost the Dark Ball, the Pokémon he'd controlled, and the giant robot, he was nothing more than a slightly stronger-than-average human.
Under Mewtwo's psychic power, Soshima's memories from after joining Team Rocket were completely erased. Mewtwo also checked whether anyone else in Team Rocket knew the method for crafting the upgraded Dark Ball, or knew about Soshima's operation.
Only three scientists know how to make the Dark Ball. They're located in an underground base within Ecruteak City, in a semi-imprisoned state. Without Soshima's permission, they can't leave the underground base. Once we arrive in Ecruteak City, we can directly destroy Team Rocket's base.
Mewtwo shared the information with the group. The existence of the Dark Ball would cause world-scale chaos, so no matter what, this thing had to be destroyed. Ecruteak City was a shortcut for them, a city they could reach after passing through Goldenrod City, so they didn't need to change their route.
"Okay. When we get to Ecruteak City, you lead the way, and we'll destroy Team Rocket's base." Ash clapped his hands, deciding to head to Team Rocket's base.
Soshima was now in a coma, and it would be a long time before he woke up. So much of his memory had been erased that the damage to his mental state was significant. When he woke up, besides the memory loss, there might be other aftereffects. But this had nothing to do with Mewtwo.
"Um, thank you for saving Celebi. I don't even know your names yet. My name is Sammy."
Now Sammy finally had time to introduce himself and respond to Ash and the others. Since Ash had appeared in front of him, things had been happening one after another, and he simply hadn't had a moment. Moreover, his mood had been fluctuating constantly because of Ash's actions. Not fully understanding the situation, and seeing Ash do such dangerous things, his heart had leapt into his throat every time.
Ash had shielded them to save them, and if anything had happened to him, Sammy would probably have felt guilty for the rest of his life. Fortunately, Ash was unharmed. But the threat had been genuinely significant.
"Hi. I'm Ash, from Pallet Town. These are my companions: Misty, Brock, Serena, Pikachu, and Mewtwo."
"Pika pika." Pikachu enthusiastically greeted Sammy. This young man, willing to face death rather than release Celebi, had made a rather good impression on Pikachu from the start.
Moreover, for some reason, Pikachu always felt that this kid Sammy gave off a familiar feeling. Though of course they'd never met before.
Mewtwo nodded to Sammy as a greeting, then transformed into a beam of light and returned to its Poké Ball. Under normal circumstances, it preferred staying inside.
"Ash, Misty, Brock, Serena, thank you. Also, Ash, Celebi. When will it wake up?" Sammy glanced at Celebi, sleeping in his arms, and asked.
"It wasn't seriously injured, just shaken. It's asleep and will wake up soon."
After resisting Mewtwo a little, Celebi had regained its senses and realized it had been rescued, so it had settled down peacefully in Sammy's arms and drifted off. This deep sleep wouldn't last too long, since Celebi hadn't suffered overall damage.
At most, Ash's punch had caused some. But Celebi was a Psychic/Grass-type Pokémon, and Ash's punch, overall, should be considered Fighting-type. Celebi had partly resisted it twice, so it hadn't caused much lasting damage.
"That's good then." Sammy breathed a sigh of relief, his worries subsiding. Then he looked at Ash curiously. "Speaking of which, Ash, I've never heard your name before. You're so powerful, why don't you compete in the Elite Four Championship? I think with your strength, you could at least become one of the Elite Four."
Hearing this, Ash and Misty and the others all showed strange expressions.
"What Elite Four Championship? The Indigo League here in Kanto just ended not long ago, the next Elite Four Championship is at least at the end of the year, and before that, we've got the Eight Greats championship on the horizon."
"What are the Eight Greats?" Sammy was full of question marks.
And Sammy's return question only added more question marks to the air. Ash wondered to himself. His reputation in Johto was definitely not low, quite famous even, but not everyone would know him. Sammy not knowing him was somewhat unexpected but also reasonable. However, not knowing about the Eight Greats championship was just too far behind.
After some back-and-forth, they finally understood the reason. Sammy was from 40 years ago. He wasn't from this era. Forty years ago, someone had been chasing Celebi, and Sammy had rescued Celebi, only to be caught by the pursuers again.
When Sammy had opened his eyes, he'd been lying in the forest, Celebi sleeping peacefully beside him. The pursuers were nowhere to be found. And he'd vanished from his own time without a trace.
Before Sammy could even figure out what had happened, Soshima had already sent a massive robot to his location, forcing him to flee once again with Celebi.
Ash now understood the whole picture.
"Sammy is from 40 years ago. Time travel, huh. When Celebi wakes up, we'll ask it to take you back," Ash said with a sigh. He also wouldn't have minded experiencing time travel, but he wasn't the type to burn Celebi's power for his own curiosity.
Taking one person through time was already a heavy burden for Celebi. Taking several more would exhaust it to death. Even a Legendary Pokémon with Champion-level strength couldn't casually move several people through time. If it reached god-level, then it was a different story.
Sammy nodded. It was fortunate that Celebi hadn't been kidnapped by that villain. Otherwise, he'd have been stuck here for the rest of his life, forty years into the future. His parents and friends would have been heartbroken if they never saw him again. So the worst-case scenario hadn't happened. Now, all they needed to do was quietly wait for Celebi to wake up, and then it would take him back to the past.
Before Celebi woke up, though, Sammy could ask Ash and the others about the differences between the world now and 40 years ago.
"Whoa, a Pokédex? That's amazing. Such a cutting-edge device. The person who created it must be an extraordinary researcher."
"A smartphone? It can chat remotely? Video? My god, that's fast. When I get back, I'll go find some scientists on our side and see if we can create one."
"Ash, you're only fifteen years old? I thought you just looked young, but it turns out you're about the same age as me!"
Every fact Ash and the others mentioned shocked Sammy. Pokédex, smartphones, these were things that didn't exist 40 years ago. But Ash's age was what shocked him so much.
Both of them were fifteen, approaching sixteen, and yet Ash could already battle Legendary Pokémon, while his own strength hadn't even reached Elite level. The gap between them was simply too big.
However, when he learned that someone like Ash was a unique existence even in the current era, he felt much more at ease. If forty years later, it was common for fifteen or sixteen-year-old teenagers to possess Champion-level strength, he'd have gone looking for a wall to run himself into.
"Someone's coming." While happily chatting with Sammy, Ash suddenly looked toward the forest. He'd sensed a powerful Aura approaching.
A rustling came from the forest, and immediately afterward, a blue figure emerged. Its entire body was covered in translucent, ice-blue fur, smooth and flowing like liquid gemstones, and it exuded an elegant aura.
Suicune.
Ash hadn't expected to encounter Suicune again, but this Suicune was different from the previous one. Aside from a difference in Aura signature, the most obvious difference was in raw strength. This Suicune only had the strength of a High Elite Four, while the Suicune they'd encountered before had the strength of a Mid Champion. The gap was too wide.
"Release Celebi!" Suicune snapped.
Hearing this, Ash was startled for a moment. Then, following Suicune's gaze, he looked at the sleeping Celebi, and after a moment, realized why Suicune was here.
"Suicune, calm down. We didn't harm Celebi. Celebi isn't hurt, it's just asleep." Ash repeatedly waved his hand, explaining.
Clearly, Suicune had somehow sensed Celebi's earlier danger and rushed over. But by the time it arrived, Celebi had already recovered, and Suicune hadn't noticed the shift. Celebi actually had another nickname: the Guardian of the Forest.
Whenever it acted abnormally, chaos rippled through the forest around it. This was why Suicune had noticed Celebi's unusual state to begin with. Now that Celebi was asleep, the disturbance in the surrounding forest hadn't fully subsided yet, which was the source of Suicune's misunderstanding.
However, Celebi's current condition was immediately apparent. It was merely fast asleep, and Suicune could tell. The wary and angry expression on its face gradually disappeared. Then it fixed its gaze on Ash.
"You carry the aura of Lord Ho-Oh. What is your relationship with Lord Ho-Oh?"
"You Legendary Beasts have keen senses, as always." Ash pointed to himself and solemnly introduced himself. "I am Ash, the Rainbow Hero. Nice to meet you."
Hearing this, Suicune's expression, which had just relaxed, once again showed shock. "So it's the Rainbow Hero. I apologize for my intrusion."
Ash waved his hand, then blinked and asked curiously, "Also, you're not one of the three Legendary Beasts directly under Lord Ho-Oh's throne, right? So if I defeat you, can I subdue you?"
He had won the previous battle against that Mid Champion-level Suicune and obtained a Suicune scale, but because he hadn't yet challenged Lord Ho-Oh, he couldn't subdue that Suicune. That one had been directly subordinate to Ho-Oh among the three Legendary Beasts, which was different from the wild Legendary Beasts scattered across the world.
But this one was just an ordinary member of the trio. Although they were both Suicune, their positions and strength were different. Did that mean he could subdue this Suicune?
Suicune was stunned, clearly not expecting Ash to make such a request. After a moment of silence, it nodded to Ash. Permission granted.
Only the three Legendary Beasts directly subordinate to Ho-Oh weren't allowed to be subdued by humans, because they served as Ho-Oh's messengers in the outside world, needing to help Ho-Oh handle many things. Ordinary Legendary Beasts, if defeated fair and square by humans, could be subdued.
Some might assume that if it's just a wild Pokémon, all one needs to do is defeat it and bring it into the fold. That wasn't quite true. Suicune was still a member of the Legendary Beast trio, and even if captured by a Poké Ball, it would escape without hesitation if released. Except for the one who commanded Rainbow Ho-Oh, no one else could become its Trainer.
Normally, the Legendary Beasts didn't have that many rules. As long as their Trainer wasn't some kind of villain, they'd willingly accept.
Having received Suicune's approval, Ash excitedly clapped his hands and called down to Pikachu at his feet. "This time it's all thanks to you, Pikachu!"
"Pika pika!" Pikachu jumped out from Ash's feet, his spirits high. This was his second battle against Suicune. However, unlike the previous time, this time Pikachu didn't need to use Aura fusion to boost his strength. Just partner form would be enough. Because this time, the opponent was only Elite Four level.
"Wait, wait. That's Suicune? A Legendary Beast Suicune?" Sammy's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "Ash, you're sending Pikachu against it?"
He didn't understand anything about "Rainbow Hero," but one thing was clear. Ash was about to fight a Legendary Beast, but wasn't there something wrong with the Pokémon Ash was sending out? Why Pikachu? If he'd sent out that Pokémon called Mewtwo, it would've been a sure win.