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Following behind the group, Li Xiang felt himself being stared at by a large moth.
"...Why do you keep looking at me like that?"
He couldn't help but ask Volcarona.
Unfortunately, Volcarona didn't answer and quickly flew over to Entei's side, avoiding him.
'What's wrong with this guy?'
Li Xiang scratched his head in confusion, keeping Dark Mewtwo in his peripheral vision.
He was worried it might silently use Recover, and they'd have to fight another hundred rounds.
Fortunately, Dark Mewtwo seemed to have been hurt badly this time. It was still unconscious, its eyes tightly shut, its face full of violence.
It looked ferocious, nothing like the cute, cool original.
Before long, the group arrived inside the Tree of Beginning.
They could see that Mew had led them to a massive rock face covered in various plants, illuminated by countless colorful crystals.
The inside of the Tree of Beginning was actually hollow. Countless thick roots were densely packed everywhere, growing wildly.
Slender vines hung down from the top, covered in unknown flowers.
Li Xiang looked at this scene, reminiscent of an underground world, and at the increasing number of Fossil Pokémon in the sky, feeling quite awed. Unfortunately, the Dark Matter had destroyed many plants and crystals, leaving many places dark.
Like an office building with its power cut.
"Wow, this is terrible."
Mew, at the front, had a pained expression. "How are you going to compensate me! You damned thing!"
It shook Dark Mewtwo's body, making Li Xiang's heart leap with fear. However, Mew being this irritable was actually in line with its characterization.
Thinking back now, the Mew in the movies wasn't very friendly.
It actually argued with Mewtwo over who was the original, saying things like, "The original is the original; a counterfeit can't compare to the original."
Isn't that just rubbing salt in the wound?
Lore-wise, it was also said to transcend human emotions, interests, and ethics, possessing both purity and cruelty, making it an existence beyond human comprehension.
The three legendary beasts exchanged glances, seeing the helplessness in each other's eyes. As if sensing their gaze, Mew curled its lip and tossed Dark Mewtwo onto a nearby tree root.
Then, the roots came alive, firmly binding its limbs and torso, followed by crystals covering its body.
In an instant, Dark Mewtwo was restrained by crystals and roots. It was like a cage, sealing Dark Mewtwo's entire body, leaving only a somewhat foolish-looking face exposed.
'Hey! Shouldn't I take a picture of this?'
Li Xiang quietly took out his camera.
"Hey hey hey! What are you doing over there, kid! No recording allowed here!"
Mew called out to Li Xiang as if it had eyes in the back of its head.
"Oh, sorry."
Li Xiang embarrassedly put the camera away.
"I forgive you."
Mew waved its little paw, looking at the crystals that were gradually turning black, showing a troubled expression. "Ah! So annoying! Why is it always such a coincidence!"
Entei stepped forward and asked, "What exactly happened here? Who is this?"
Clearly, they didn't know the specifics either. Perhaps Ho-Oh had sent them to suppress the Lake, and they had been transported here by chance, discovering a Pokémon they had never seen before, Dark Mewtwo.
"I should be asking you that! How did you get here? This is a different space!"
Mew glared. "No one can enter without my permission!"
So where did Mewtwo come from?
Li Xiang opened his mouth but didn't dare argue with Mew, because this little creature was a bit irritable.
Come to think of it, judging by their portrayal in the anime, many top-tier legendary Pokémon were mostly irritable hotheads. None of them would talk to you without being beaten down first.
Among them, the three most irritable were the one who couldn't fly, the one who swam, and the large caterpillar. They would scatter your ashes at the slightest disagreement, nearly shattering the core of Deoxys, an alien passerby.
Faced with Mew's questions, the three legendary beasts shook their heads.
Entei said, "Unfortunately, we don't know either."
Raikou said, "We were at Mirage Island, suppressing the black mist and Phantom Pokémon there. The energy within the Adamant Orb was being controlled by the black mist."
Suicune said, "The black mist suddenly erupted, engulfing us. When we woke up, we were here."
The three of them spoke in unison, leaving Mew stunned.
"It's affecting the Three Great Lakes too?"
It widened its eyes, then closed them. After a moment, it opened them again, its expression turning panicked. "This is serious! This is serious!"
The youthful voice suddenly had a bit of an accent.
The others were confused.
"Giratina has emerged from the underground lake! It's over! I'm going to get beaten!"
Mew whimpered like a kitten, covering its head and crouching down in defense.
'Underground lake? Giratina? It seemed that the Uxie over there was guarding the Lustrous Orb.'
'Could Giratina have been controlled by the Dark Matter?'
Still, as the master of antimatter, it probably couldn't be that low-level.
The Ho-Oh Guard was also surprised upon hearing this.
"The underground lake has fallen?" Entei asked nervously.
Mew shook its head. "No, the Three Great Lakes are stable now. The black mist can't get replenished and won't amount to much."
It glanced at the culprit, only to find that this guy had completely polluted the crystals sealing it.
The pink cat immediately became furious and kicked Dark Mewtwo in the face.
"It's all your fault! Damn counterfeit!"
Whoa. Mew was fierce but adorable.
Li Xiang clicked his tongue in amazement as he watched Entei ask the previous question again.
"I want to know that too! This guy barged in here for no reason, attacked me for no reason, and then somehow stirred up the black mist."
Mew said irritably, "I've been suppressing it for thousands of years, and it all got drawn out and swallowed by this guy! Damn it!"
Suicune said seriously, "Can you separate it now? We absolutely can't let this power remain inside it."
"Am I not doing that?"
Mew gestured with its snout toward the pitch-black crystals. "Says it's Mewtwo, a Mew that surpassed Mew, Mewtwo. Hah!"
The pink cat spat at Mewtwo, showing none of the innocent playfulness of the few seen in the anime.
It was a bit more human-like.
Additionally, the Mew in the anime seemed to know that Mewtwo had been created, whereas this Mew didn't.
There were two possibilities for this situation.
One, there was more than one Mew. Perhaps another Mew knew.
Two, it simply didn't know, or didn't want to know.
Just then, Dark Mewtwo in the crystal gradually woke up. Upon seeing the Pokémon surrounding it in a circle, it immediately tried to attack, but the emptiness surging through its body made it impossible to struggle.
It felt like something was being drained. It was mentally exhausted.
"Let me go!"
Dark Mewtwo was enraged.
Its telepathic voice, however, wasn't the deep male voice from the first movie but a mature female voice from Genesect and the Legend Awakened.
If Mewtwo didn't have a gender, Li Xiang would have suspected this one was female.
"In your dreams! Do you know what you've done!"
Mew was equally angry, its paw slapping Dark Mewtwo's face. "If I get into trouble, you won't fare well either!"
"I haven't done anything! These things entered my body without permission, altered my body without permission. I was just using them!"
Dark Mewtwo's eyes glowed faintly as it tried to release a psychic wave. But before it could leave its body, a piercing pain in its brain interrupted it.
"Stop struggling uselessly! Talk! You counterfeit! Knockoff!"
Mew tugged at Dark Mewtwo's skin. "Who are you, where do you come from, what do you want to do! Talk!"
Counterfeit and knockoff, two words that successfully enraged the latter.
It shouted, "You're the counterfeit! I'm stronger than you! I'm the real one! You only won by overwhelming me with numbers!"
Dark Mewtwo said indignantly.
Ah, well. Its personality was no different from the one in the first movie: chuunibyou, manic, and very eager to prove its strength.
Li Xiang watched quietly from behind, even wanting to get some melon seeds to munch on.
This was too entertaining.
"Nonsense! You're not strong at all! If you hadn't absorbed all that black mist, even if I let you use both hands and feet, you couldn't beat me!"
Mew shot back. "Talk! Who are you! Who sent you!"
Dark Mewtwo looked at Mew's indignant expression, its anger dissipating, replaced by hatred.
It sneered, "I should be asking you that. Who am I, where do I come from, what is the meaning of my existence."
Alright, the classic three questions. The philosopher of the Pokémon world must be you, Mewtwo!
"Are you mocking me?"
Anger rose in Mew's heart, raising its hand to teach Dark Mewtwo a lesson.
To be honest, Li Xiang felt this guy was also being influenced by the black mist. Otherwise, such a cute creature, why would it be this irritable?
Just as Mew was about to act, Mo Ye spoke.
"Please wait. Perhaps I know its origin."
"Oh?"
Mew immediately stopped, turning its head. "Human, you know it?"
"Possibly."
Mo Ye emphasized this point. After a pause, he said, "I recall that at the Pokémon Genetic Research Institute in North America, there was a project called the Strongest Pokémon Project, aiming to create new life using the genes of legendary Pokémon."
Humans had always tried to grasp the power of the divine—creating life.
In fact, they had succeeded. Porygon was one of their creations. Later came Mewtwo, created from Mew's eyelash.
Mo Ye clearly didn't know this much; he only knew about such a project at the North American research institute.
But seeing this Mewtwo, which had never appeared in the human world, inevitably made them draw connections.
"See! You said you weren't a counterfeit!"
Mew flew into a rage, poking Dark Mewtwo's face vigorously. "You're clearly my copy!"
"I am not your copy!"
Dark Mewtwo's face was full of hatred. "You're no match for me! You needed outside help to defeat me. How could I, so powerful, be your copy!"
"I don't care! What exactly are you here for!"
Mew started acting petulantly. "You've made a complete mess of this place and haven't even apologized!"
"I've already said! It has nothing to do with me!"
Dark Mewtwo retorted. "They entered my body on their own! It's not my fault! I wouldn't do something so boring!"
That was true. The Dark Matter had its own consciousness.
It was simply using Dark Mewtwo as a vessel to satisfy its desire for destruction.