Caitlin, one of the Unova League's Elite Four, wasn't like Lance from Kanto who was constantly running around. Most of her free time was spent surfing the internet.
Thanks to the Unova League's intelligence departments, Caitlin was among the first to learn about the incident that occurred in Alola last night... Mewtwo had voluntarily appeared before someone, used psychic force to steal a passerby Trainer's Poké Ball, and chose to follow a human.
These unbelievable, fantastical pieces of news spread like wildfire to every region.
However...
Caitlin never would have guessed that the mysterious person who captured the world's attention was actually right in front of her all along!
She suddenly realized she had misjudged the young man standing across from her.
"Now's probably not the time to talk about that." Caleb said dryly as he looked at Caitlin's stunned expression.
Caitlin snapped out of it, "Sorry, I just didn't expected it to be you..."
Caleb waved it off, signaling that they should focus on the task at hand. He turned to the man Caitlin had restrained with telekinesis.
The man looked to be in his twenties, wearing a generic blue plaid shirt. His appearance was so generic, he could easily disappear into any crowd...
Caitlin composed herself, returning to her usual proud and poised demeanor. She stared at the man, whose face showed a mix of fear and confusion, and demanded, "Who put you up to this?!"
The thief swallowed nervously, struggling to speak. "I-I don't know what you're talking about."
Hearing this, especially after the case had troubled the League for so long, Caitlin was almost amused by his denial, "Oh? You don't know what I'm talking about?"
The thief forced himself to stay calm. "Yes, I was just training my Pokémon's psychic abilities. I don't know how I ended up here."
Caitlin furrowed her delicate brows and threatened, "If you keep lying, I guarantee you'll spend the rest of your life in jail!"
The thief flinched at her words and mumbled, "I'm really not lying."
Caitlin fell silent, simply staring at him intently.
Time ticked by slowly. The thief seemed hesitant, but he still didn't speak up. At one point, he even made eye contact with Caleb, and the two exchanged a look of mutual bewilderment.
'Is this really how they interrogate suspects in the Pokémon world?' Caleb had assumed it would be similar to how it was done in his original world, equipped with harsh interrogation methods, where stubborn suspects would be subjected to intense pressure.
But then again, maybe Caitlin's noble upbringing meant she'd never done this before.
Thinking this, Caleb cleared his throat and said, "Let me handle this."
Caught off guard by Caleb's offer, Caitlin flushed with embarrassment.
Indeed, this was her first time doing something like this. As a League Elite Four member, such tasks usually weren't her responsibility. Moreover, given her status, she couldn't exactly resort to physical force if the suspect refused to talk.
Caleb didn't say more. He had plenty of experience with this sort of thing from his past adventures with Mewtwo. They didn't even need words. Just a glance, and Mewtwo would know whether to read someone's memories or alter them.
However, when he looked over at Mewtwo this time, his stoic companion just stood there motionless, quietly meeting his gaze.
Caleb: "..."
He was confused for a second, then quickly realized which Mewtwo this was... He had almost forgotten that he was now a Trainer with two Mewtwos.
Hesitating for a moment, Caleb asked, "Can you read his memories?"
Mew2 hesitated: >..I've never done something like that before..<
It was worried it might accidentally hurt the man.
After thinking it over carefully, Caleb decided to drop the idea. If Mew2 couldn't control its power and accidentally killed the guy, that would be bad. After all, Caleb was only here to be an 'observer', he had no intentions of altering the timeline.
Reading human memories required psychic intrusion deep into the brain, which could be risky.
So he said, "Then let's leave it to the other one."
Another flash of white light, and a larger, more mature-looking Mewtwo appeared in the room.
"M-M-Mewtwo?!" Caitlin never could have predicted things would unfold this way. Seeing this, she couldn't hold back her exclamation, "There are two?!"
Caleb smiled at her, saying, "Yes, they're both my companions."
Mewtwo nodded politely at Caitlin. It is said that Pokémon and trainers grow alike over time, and Caitlin found herself stunned by how similar this Mewtwo's expression was to Caleb's.
Mew2 felt pang of sadness when Caleb assigned the task to Mewtwo. It worried Caleb might not want it anymore. Its mind raced, imagining itself abandoned and wandering the world alone.
That day, Amber had once again asked Mew2 to protect Caleb. The young Legendary Pokémon had treated that request as its sole purpose.
But now, it seemed Caleb didn't really need its protection. He had many powerful partners by his side, and he already had another Mewtwo. They worked together so seamlessly…
Every time Mew2 thought about this, a wave of bitterness washed over it: 'So, who am I meant to protect? Why do I exist?'
At that moment, Mimikyu, who had been standing quietly in the shadows after defeating Kadabra, blinked. She keenly sensed that this new companion's emotions seemed a bit off.
Mimikyu glanced at her Trainer... Caleb was busy with Mewtwo, reading the bad guy's mind.
The Disguise Pokémon hesitated for a moment, then activated her nanotech particles. Gold-and-red armor snapped into place, and its back engines emitted a soft blue glow. Then the thrusters propelled Mimikyu to their new companion's side.
"Kyu?" (What's wrong?)
Mew2 looked up at the little creature it had only met once.
Mimikyu cheerfully introduced herself, "Kyu, kyu kyu!" (Hello, I'm Mimikyu! From now on, we're companions!)
She didn't know what was wrong, but she wanted to try her best to cheer up her new friend. As Caleb's first Pokémon, Mimikyu wanted everyone to get along happily.
Caitlin, who had been keeping an eye on Caleb, noticed the situation out of the corner of her eye and exclaimed in shock, "Is that Pokémon Mimikyu?! And what's that form?!"
Caleb and Mewtwo, having finished reading the thief's memories, also turned their attention to the scene...