Shortly after the call ended...
An aura of restlessness instantly permeated the air, as if countless invisible electric charges were colliding and roaring against each other.
The sound of waves crashing against the reefs became heavy and hurried, losing its original rhythm; every impact felt like a dull hammer striking the heart.
The sky was lead-gray, with thick clouds hanging low, swallowing the last remnants of daylight.
Ariel and Yule stood side-by-side at the mouth of the karst cave, silently feeling this chest-tightening oppression.
Yule's brow was furrowed; her perception was sharper than Ariel's, and this chaotic energy field made her instinctively uncomfortable.
"What exactly... does Lord Giovanni want to do?"
She spoke in a low voice, a hint of irritation in her tone that she hadn't even noticed herself.
Ariel didn't answer, merely casting his gaze toward the hazy gray sea in the distance.
Ariana's words, "Stand by on the spot and wait for Mewtwo's arrival," were still echoing in his mind.
Mewtwo.
That name itself represented a kind of taboo.
Just then, a low hum that tore through the air came from deep within the clouds.
The sound was distant at first, like remote thunder, but in just a second or two, it was already close at hand, turning into a deafening roar.
The source of the sound didn't come from any single direction in the sky, but instead felt as if it were pressing in from all sides at once, making one's eardrums sting.
A silver-gray trail forcibly tore through the thick clouds at a dominant angle.
That was no meteor.
Meteors fall with burning flames and romantic trails.
But this trail consisted only of pure, cold silver light and a terrifying speed that ignored all laws of physics.
The clouds sliced open behind it had edges as smooth as if cut by a sharp blade, unable to heal for a long time.
"Watch out!"
Ariel barked a low warning, subconsciously pulling Yule behind him.
Boom—!
A loud crash rang out, yet it wasn't the roar of an explosion; it was more like using a mountain to smash a piece of iron.
Dull, heavy, and containing unmatched mass and kinetic energy.
The silver-gray speck of light slammed precisely onto the beach less than fifty meters from the cave entrance.
In an instant, the entire isolated island shook violently.
A massive amount of sand and seawater was kicked up, forming a murky curtain wall dozens of meters high before pouring down like a rainstorm.
The shockwave followed immediately, bringing salty moisture and a scorching blast of air that rushed toward them, making the two nearly lose their footing.
Ariel squinted, staring fixedly at the center of the swirling dust.
He knew that 'Mewtwo' had arrived.
As the dust and mist slowly settled, a silhouette gradually became clear.
It was a figure completely beyond imagination.
Its silhouette was close to human, yet it was much taller than an average person.
Its entire body was encased in heavy armor; the silver-gray metal had a cold, matte finish and was covered in complex wiring and energy conduits.
At key joints and the chest area, it was covered in somber purple gear—a purple so deep it seemed capable of absorbing light.
It showed no biological characteristics—no skin, no hair, and even its facial features were covered by a smooth silver visor.
Only at the eye position of the visor were there two narrow slits, faintly emitting a heart-palpitating purple glow.
It just stood there quietly in the center of the shallow crater it had impacted; the surrounding sand was slowly crystallizing and vitrifying, unable to withstand the invisible energy leaking out.
"This is... Mewtwo?"
Yule's voice was somewhat dry.
This was her first time seeing Mewtwo; unlike Ariel, Yule appeared somewhat constrained at this moment.
The scene before her had already exceeded her entire understanding of the word 'pokémon.'
This wasn't a life form at all, but a thorough humanoid weapon born for slaughter and destruction.
Mewtwo moved.
It walked slowly, but every step carried a pressure that could crush all things, as if it weren't walking on an isolated island, but stepping on everyone's hearts.
It stopped in front of Ariel and Yule, no more than ten meters away.
Those two purple glows behind the visor swept over them.
Ariel felt as if his brain had been violently pricked by a cold steel needle; a thought that didn't belong to him crudely forced its way into his mind.
"The altar... where is it?"
The voice had no gender, no emotional fluctuations—only absolute coldness and pure will.
It didn't propagate through air vibrations but instead rang out directly in the depths of their souls.
Yule let out a muffled groan, her face instantly turning pale as her body swayed.
This method of communication, which acted directly on the mental level, was no different from an attack to someone as sensitive to mental energy as her.
Ariel forcibly suppressed the discomfort of being violated in his mind.
He finally understood the true meaning of Ariana's phrase, "unconditional cooperation."
In front of this thing, you had no right to bargain.
Resistance, or even just hesitation, could lead to devastating consequences.
Team Rockets' ultimate goal was indeed that altar.
He took a deep breath, meeting those two cold purple glows, and exchanged a look with Yule beside him, signaling her to stay calm and not make any unnecessary movements.
Then, Ariel turned sideways and pointed to the deep cave entrance behind him.
"This way."
His voice was calm, but only he knew that his back was already soaked in a layer of fine cold sweat.
He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination.
Ariel felt that the hostility on Mewtwo right now was far heavier than when they first met!
Had the intensity of the brainwashing or mental control been increased again?
Regardless of the reason, Ariel focused with all his might.
After all, being with a humanoid nuclear weapon like this was truly more thrilling than walking a tightrope.
The inside of the cave remained dark and damp.
Faint energy remnants lingered in the air—traces left by Cynthia's previous detection.
The Obsidian Altar stood quietly in the deepest part of the cave; on the massive stone body, those ancient written symbols were like sleeping behemoths, devoid of any luster.
Mewtwo's footsteps echoed in the empty cave; every step was like a heavy hammer striking the ground, causing the entire space to tremble slightly.
It stopped before the altar, the purple light behind its visor scanning the intricate patterns, seemingly performing some kind of data analysis.
Ariel followed behind it, maintaining what he considered a safe distance.
He pointed at the altar, preparing to explain.
"Just now, Cynthia from Sinnoh was here. She tried to use an item to resonate with the altar, but failed. This altar seems to require some kind of special—"
Before he could finish, he was interrupted.
Mewtwo had no interest in listening to his analysis report.
It slowly raised its right hand, which was completely covered in silver-gray armor, spreading three fingers with the palm facing the circular groove at the very center of the altar.
Ariel instantly shut his mouth.
He realized that he might be about to witness a scene that defied all logic.
There was no gentle, probing resonance like Cynthia's.
Nor were there any complex rituals or techniques.
In Mewtwo's palm, a highly concentrated purple Energy Ball appeared out of thin air.
At first, it was only a light orb the size of a fist, but the churning energy within caused the surrounding air to begin distorting.
On the stone walls of the cave, small pebbles began to flake off—not because of vibration, but pulled by that pure energy gravity.
The next second.
The energy poured out without reservation, like a floodgate being opened.
It wasn't a beam of light, but a purple energy tsunami!
The terrifying Psychic torrent slammed into the Obsidian Altar in the crudest and most direct manner.
Vroom—!
A piercing boom instantly filled the entire cave; the air was highly compressed, forming visible rings of white airwaves that diffused in all directions.
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