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"The same as me."
"To change this world."
Ariel's answer was concise and without a hint of hesitation.
The Psychic fluctuations in the air froze for a brief moment.
Ariel's calm figure was reflected in Mewtwo's purple pupils.
It was probing, analyzing, attempting to see through every corner of this human's soul.
It had seen too many humans.
The scientists who created it, Giovanni who exploited it, and those mediocre people who feared it and coveted its power...
Their desires were either naked or subtle, but essentially no different.
If the man before it, beneath layers of disguise, ultimately revealed his purpose to be merely using its power, then even if his words just now had truly touched it, Mewtwo would categorize him as the same kind of person as Giovanni.
From then on, there would be no further connection.
Meeting that scrutinizing gaze, Ariel spoke again, clearly and forcefully.
"Change this rotten world, change those innate inequalities, and change those disgusting rules set by the strong."
As he spoke, he didn't assume an impassioned posture; he merely stated a fact calmly.
Yet it was precisely this calmness that revealed an unshakeable determination.
Though this wasn't Ariel's primary goal for becoming stronger.
Changing the world was an ideal state, while what Ariel wanted was a power that ignored rules and an unconstrained freedom.
The former was a byproduct of the latter; the path they walked was the same.
Mewtwo fell silent.
Its super-brain, constructed from countless genetic codes, felt a genuine sense of "surprise" toward a human for the first time.
A member of Team Rockets, someone within a dark organization, harboring such a... seemingly bright ambition?
How contradictory, and how absurd.
"So, what do you intend to do?"
Mewtwo's telepathy rang out again, with a bit less coldness and a bit more inquiry.
"Become the most powerful person in this world."
Ariel's answer was crisp and direct.
"So powerful that I am the rules."
This statement was arrogant to the extreme.
But Mewtwo did not mock him.
In Ariel's eyes, it didn't see the madness of a pipe dream, only the calmness and focus directed toward a goal.
This man was serious.
It began to see him in a new light.
"Do you need my help?"
Mewtwo's telepathy drifted over lightly, like a casual question, but Ariel keenly captured the fleeting fluctuation in the air and the change in Mewtwo's expression.
A test.
This was a trap, a test to see if he was like the others, whose ultimate goal was to covet its title of the "strongest."
The corner of Ariel's mouth twitched upward almost imperceptibly.
Although Mewtwo's strength was immense,
Ariel far outclassed it in this level of interpersonal maneuvering.
"Right now, I don't."
He answered decisively.
"I will earn my own strength; I know my own rate of progress very well. On the contrary..."
Ariel paused, looked up, and stared directly into Mewtwo's eyes.
"I think it is you who needs my help."
As the words fell, the air pressure inside the cave suddenly plummeted!
Mewtwo laughed—not a human laugh, but a fluctuation on a spiritual level, filled with condescending mockery.
"Me? Need your help?"
In its eyes, Ariel was nothing more than a weak human with a bit of cunning.
No matter how he trained his pokémon, before its absolute power, they were no different from ants.
On what basis did he dare say such things?
"What do you need most right now?"
Ariel ignored the spiritual pressure and continued on his own.
"Revenge. A hearty revenge against Team Rockets."
He took a step forward, his voice not loud, but every word pierced the heart.
"Being treated as a weapon, as a blade, played like a puppet by that man called Giovanni. I don't believe you don't have resentment in your heart."
Hum—!
The entire island trembled slightly, caused by Mewtwo's uncontrolled Psychic power.
Ariel's words were like a precise scalpel, slicing through its layers of wrapped pride to reach the scar it least wanted touched!
That's right!
Resentment! Hatred!
It hated Team Rockets, and it hated even more the man who gave it a name and then imprisoned it within cold armor—Giovanni!
"Emotion is a sign of the weak."
Mewtwo's voice suddenly became sharp.
"And I am no longer weak."
"Is that so?"
Ariel chuckled softly, as if hearing an amusing joke.
"That suit of armor controlling you could not only restrain your power but also influence your thoughts, right?"
He stared at Mewtwo's purple eyes, which were flickering due to emotional fluctuations, and delivered the fatal blow.
"If, at your weakest... for example, after a great battle with a certain legendary pokémon where both sides are injured. If the people from Team Rockets appeared again with more advanced equipment, would you still be confident you wouldn't repeat the same mistake?"
"Think about that feeling—thoughts imprisoned, body out of control, once again becoming a puppet in someone else's hands. Do you want that situation to happen again?"
Mewtwo fell completely silent.
Those dark memories surged back into its mind like maggots in bone.
The feeling of suffocation wrapped in armor, the chaos of thoughts being interfered with by electric currents... it had experienced it, and it did not want—would absolutely not allow itself—to experience it again!
Ariel was right; this was a massive hidden danger.
After a long time, Mewtwo's voice rang out again, carrying a trace of imperceptible dryness.
"Then what do you think I should do?"
Ariel smiled.
The fish had taken the bait.
He didn't answer immediately but unhurriedly took a Poké Ball from his waist.
With a flash of red light, a bizarre-looking pokémon appeared beside him.
Malamar!
It floated in the air, its tentacles swaying gently, its yellow eyes flickering with a hypnotic light as it firmly locked onto Mewtwo.
"It's very simple."
Ariel patted Malamar.
"Just let it place a Mental Stamp in your subconscious."
Mental Stamp!
That's right, it was the same Mental Stamp Ariel had placed on every member of Team Evil, which could slowly change a person's thoughts subconsciously!
As soon as those two words were spoken, the Psychic power around Mewtwo surged instantly, turning into a literal storm that swept up the rubble on the ground!
"You want to control me?!"
An angry roar exploded in Ariel's brain, carrying a killing intent that could destroy everything.
As the pinnacle of the Psychic-type, it knew better than anyone what a so-called Mental Stamp meant!
It was the lowliest, most shameless method of spiritual enslavement!
This man was, after all, just like Giovanni!
However, facing this Psychic storm that could tear steel apart, Ariel simply waved his hand calmly, signaling it not to be nervous.
"Don't misunderstand. This stamp isn't meant to control you; it's meant to protect you."
His voice remained steady, as if the violent Psychic power was merely a breeze on his face.
"There is a huge gap between your strength and Malamar's. With your ability, you only need to set aside a tiny amount of mental energy to completely seal this Mental Stamp; it won't have any actual impact on you."
"But..."
Ariel's tone shifted.
"When you are captured again and your thoughts are controlled by external forces, your own seal on this stamp will naturally be released. At that moment, it will take effect."
"It will be like a seed buried in the deepest part of your mental world, instantly taking root and sprouting, helping you break through the mental shackles and... wake up!"
Ariel's gaze was clear as he met Mewtwo's murderous eyes candidly.
The violent Psychic power gradually subsided.
Mewtwo hesitated.
Its brain was rapidly calculating all possibilities.
Logically, Ariel's proposal was flawless.
It was indeed an insurance policy to prevent trouble before it happened, a weapon to deal with the worst-case scenario.
But emotionally, letting another being leave a mark in its mental domain was in itself an insult to its status as the strongest.
Accept, or not accept?