~Alola Region, Hau'oli City~
The teleportation landed Caleb on a beach. He immediately recognized it as the same beach he had once visited with Amber.
The city was in the midst of a grand festival. The beach was bustling with people, and flickers of firelight rose into the night sky, exploding into brilliant fireworks that lit up the darkness.
People stood there, hand-in-hand with their families and Pokémon, watching the spectacle intently, so no one noticed Caleb's sudden appearance.
He stood quietly for a moment, watching the fireworks display. Then, he telepathically asked, "Can you sense its exact location?"
Mewtwo was strangely silent for a moment before replying: >..No need. It's already here..<
Caleb was stunned. Before he could react, he heard the surrounding crowd break into commotion.
He seemed to sense something and turned around, then met a pair of cool, brown eyes. In that instant, the sounds of fireworks and the crowd seemed to vanish.
But a moment later, Caleb snapped back to reality, and the cacophony of noise flooded his ears:
"Is that–!"
"Mewtwo? Why did it suddenly come here?"
"Oh my god, it seems to be looking at that Trainer!"
"What's going on?"
Some confused tourists pushed their way through the crowd with great effort in order to get a better view of the spectacle. Their eyes immediately locked onto the man Mewtwo was watching.
It became apparent that they knew each other...
Before anyone could figure out why Mewtwo had suddenly appeared, a new question followed:
"Who is he?"
"No idea!"
Comments like these echoed around the place.
A few reporters who happened to be on vacation picked up cameras originally meant for the fireworks and quietly aimed them at the scene...
...
{T/N: To avoid confusion, I'll be calling this Mewtwo as Mew2 when necessary. I'm open to better alternatives though if anyone has any...}
Silence. Silence was the bridge of their reunion.
Caleb noticed a camera flash aimed at him. He was about to turn and confront the photographer when a strange voice echoed in his mind.
>..You came..<
Mew2 stared fixedly at him, silently communicating telepathically.
Caleb froze, forgetting about the photographer for a moment. He looked up at Mew2, asking, "You know me?"
'That shouldn't be possible.' He thought. After all, he had never encountered this Mew2 in any of the previous Instances.
Mew2 didn't explain. Its gaze swept over Caleb as if searching for something. After looking for a while without finding it, it finally couldn't help but ask: >..Are you a Trainer?..<
The sudden change of topic left Caleb bewildered, but he still nodded, "Yes."
Mew2 asked bluntly: >..Don't trainers carry Poké Balls?..<
Lately, it had encountered many humans who wanted to capture or challenge it, so it had some understanding of the Trainer profession. It knew that Pokémon needed Poké Balls to travel with humans.
'What does carrying Poké Balls have to do with this Mew2 knowing me?' Caleb wondered.
Mew2, waiting impatiently for an answer, seemed to grow even colder and somewhat irritable: >..How are you supposed to take me with you without a Poké Ball?..<
Then, with a sour expression, Mew2 scanned the crowd, used psychic power to snatch a Poké Ball from a bystander, and voluntarily entered it. Then, it carefully controlled its power so the ball wouldn't explode. It then arced through the air, headed for Caleb's hand.
Caleb instinctively reached out and caught it. The Poké Ball containing Mew2 settled quietly in his palm.
The crowd had witnessed the entire scene. The festive atmosphere vanished, replaced by stunned silence...
'What's up with this Mew2? I thought Mewtwo said the item's affection rating didn't affect them that much... So why did this one just throw itself at me first meeting? It even brought its own Poké Ball to boot...' Caleb wondered, dumbfounded.
Just then, the onlookers finally snapped out of it and stared wide-eyed at the young man holding the red and white ball. Their expressions revealed a shock akin to seeing a Caterpie taking on Rayquaza.
Caleb didn't need to think hard to know what went on in their minds. So, he directly used the Warp Beacon and teleported back to the room Caitlin had prepared for him in Unova...
...
Caleb took out Mew2's Poké Ball. With a flash of white light, the aloof Mew2 appeared in the room.
They locked eyes again...
After a moment, Caleb couldn't help but ask, "Do you know who I am?"
Mew2 looked at him and finally answered: >..Amber's brother..<
Caleb stared. That wasn't what he wanted to know.
Mew2 seemed to understand what he was thinking. After a pause, it lowered its gaze and said: >..She, Amber, talked about you every day. Before she left, she asked to stay by your side and protect you..<
Amber was worried that after she was gone, Mew2 would be lonely in this world, so she asked it to find Caleb.
During its time in the dreamscape, Mew2 had seen all of Amber's memories. It knew what Caleb had done and everything that had happened in the past.
Amber knew about Team Rocket. She had been afraid they would retaliate against Caleb. Mew2 understood this and decided to find him and protect him for her.
But the truth went far beyond that...
After Amber's departure, Mew2 felt lost and afraid in this unfamiliar world. In that state, Caleb, who was connected to Amber, became its only anchor.
Maybe it was Amber's influence... But over time, that emotional attachment grew stronger. Especially for a creature newly born from a lab, such feelings could easily take root.
Unknowingly, the seed took root and sprouted, gradually growing into a towering tree with lush branches and leaves.
However, Mew2 didn't voice these thoughts. It looked at the speechless young human before it, and for the first time, deep inside, it felt a sense of peace.
"Actually, I don't need protection..." Caleb said after a long pause. If that was the only reason, it wasn't necessary.
During his time in Infinite World, he had reviewed Mewtwo's story and knew it had gone through a long period of confusion after leaving the lab.
After careful consideration, Caleb said solemnly, "Little Amber is gone. She was a pitiful child. My actions back then led her to misunderstand some things, which is why she thought I needed protection. But Team Rocket is gone now. There's pretty much no one in this world who can hurt me. You don't have to protect me specifically because of that."
Caleb felt these things should be clarified early on. Mew2 probably had its own things to do... He wasn't even sure if this world's Mewtwo (Mew2) had gone through its rebellion arc.
But to his surprise, Mew2's expression darkened. Its voice turned cold: >..You don't want me?..<
Caleb: ??
'Where did that come from?'
He hesitated. Maybe he was being too sensitive. But he didn't want a Pokémon to follow him just because of some item from Infinite World.
"It's not that I don't want you... I just feel that you belonged to Amber, and also..." As he spoke, he pulled out the red heart from his inventory, placed it on the table, and moved to the side, "What about now? Do you still feel favorably towards me?"
Mew2 gave the heart a strange look. After a long while, it said: >..That... seems to be mine..<
Caleb tilted his head in confusion as he turned to look at the red heart. Using Appraisal, a line of text appeared above the item:
[Mewtwo's Heart: SSS-grade special item. Formed from Mewtwo's feelings of gratitude. Holder gains +100 base favorability with Mewtwo...]
'Mewtwo's feelings of gratitude... Which Mewtwo? Which one could it possibly be?'
Caleb's expression turned complicated. He had assumed the item was fabricated by Infinite World...
Mew2 watched his expression, its surface calm belying its inner tension, then asked: >..Can I stay with you now?..<
....
{T/N: I think Caleb is slow...}