In the ruins of a collapsed skyscraper, Logan was half-kneeling on the ground, breathing heavily. Beside him, his Dragonair curled its body tightly, projecting barrier after barrier of shining light to block as much of the falling debris as possible. His Espeon radiated a soft, calming glow that lit up the suffocating darkness, while his Garchomp used its powerful frame to hold up the crushing wreckage above, giving Logan just enough space to move.
"Giovanni won't try to launch another ambush from underground, will he?"
Giovanni's relentless attacks had left Logan on edge, paranoid that the shattered ground beneath him might erupt again with Dugtrio or Rhyperior tearing through the rubble.
The expressions on his Pokémon—Espeon, Dragonair, and Garchomp—were grim and weary. They had stood by Logan's side through countless battles, had faced overwhelming odds before, but never had they come so close to total defeat. Their combined strength was nowhere near enough to stand against Giovanni's six-Pokémon formation. For Pokémon with intelligence, pride, and a fierce will to fight, that truth was almost unbearable.
"Don't lose hope. This isn't your failure—it's mine, as your trainer. Besides…" Logan's voice was ragged but firm. "Even if you gathered every trainer in the world, you could count on one hand those who could match Giovanni's strength. Losing to someone like him isn't shameful—it's inevitable."
He held his Espeon close, draped his other arm around Dragonair, and leaned back heavily against Garchomp, trying desperately to recover even a fraction of his strength.
All three Pokémon were battered and bloodied, their beautiful scales and fur soiled and torn. Yet not one of them had collapsed. They endured, far beyond their limits, sheer willpower keeping them standing.
"The plan's changed. I knew Giovanni was strong… but I never imagined he was this strong. That Beedrill of his… it's a monster."
Logan had believed that with Mewtwo on his side, even Giovanni wouldn't be beyond his reach. But Giovanni had shattered that arrogance with a single Pokémon. That Beedrill had taught him firsthand what it meant to face a true master—a man who stood at the peak of the world. It was a reminder that legends weren't invincible, and that underestimating others was the fastest way to lose everything.
Though Logan had never seen Lance fight, in his heart he knew: if Giovanni and Lance ever clashed in a battle to the death, Giovanni—the man who stood immovable like the earth itself—would still emerge victorious.
"…We'll have to retreat. As for Red and Blue…"
Logan hesitated, then sighed bitterly. "We'll have to leave their fates to chance."
Clutching his left arm, Logan realized the truth he had been avoiding: his time wielding Mewtwo's power was almost gone. The pain was bearable now, but the moment Mewtwo's cells spread into his brain, unconsciousness would hit him like a hammer. If that happened in the middle of this battle, the end was certain.
All he could do now was buy a few precious minutes. Minutes in which Mewtwo might free itself from Beedrill's relentless grip and carry Logan to safety. He no longer dreamed of defeating Giovanni. Survival alone was a miracle worth fighting for.
After all—he had only been in this world for ten months. For a newcomer, challenging one of the greatest bosses alive was too much, too soon.
"Dragonair, listen. You're going to take Garchomp's place and hold up the debris. Garchomp—when the moment comes, you'll Dig and get us out of here. Giovanni will sense the disturbance in the earth, I know. But we don't have another option."
Logan thought quickly, his eyes flicking to each of his Pokémon in turn. He knew they could blast the rubble apart with their strongest attacks, but doing so would drain their last reserves of strength. If they were to escape, they needed every ounce of stamina left.
"Hm? What is it, Garchomp?"
Something was wrong. Logan felt a surge of emotion from Garchomp, through the bond they shared. He turned sharply—only to see a strange sight.
Where Garchomp braced itself against the crushing debris, a shimmering, pale-pink barrier had formed. The psychic shield held the rubble aloft with ease, relieving the pressure from his Pokémon.
Logan's eyes widened. His heart skipped a beat. "…Mew?!"
The words barely left his lips when the cramped, suffocating chamber bloomed with pink light. A delicate figure stepped through the haze—a little girl.
She was breathtakingly adorable, with refined, doll-like features and enormous, shining eyes brimming with both fear and wonder. Her whole presence radiated a dreamy pink glow. Soft, short hair brushed her cheeks, tied with a neat bow, and on her head were tiny ears not quite human. A frilly pink dress clung to her petite frame, paired with long stockings that ended at her bare, dirt-streaked feet. Behind her trailed a long, thin tail that twitched lightly as she moved.
For a moment, Logan froze. He had glimpsed Mew before, high atop the ruins, in its humanoid form. But he had not expected to see this—a childlike figure, fragile yet otherworldly, standing before him now.
"You've been following me since Cerulean City, haven't you?"
His voice was calm, though inside his thoughts were spinning.
There was a question he had carried since the first time he'd seen Mew. A question that only a legendary Pokémon could answer. Not even Mewtwo—brilliant and powerful as it was—could match the ancient, timeless wisdom that a being like Mew possessed. And now, finally, here was his chance.
"Mew?"
The little girl tilted her head and gave a soft, feline-like chirp. Logan knew that sound—Mew's voice.
"So you can't—or don't want to—speak in human words? Either way, it doesn't matter. I can still understand you."
He frowned slightly, but then let it go. Whether Mew meowed or spoke, he could feel its meaning clearly.
"Come here. Tell me what you know. Tell me why you've been following me. And don't say it's because of Mewtwo. I don't buy that. If you cared about Mewtwo's existence, you would have interfered the moment Team Rocket began creating it from your cells."
Logan extended a hand, coaxing gently, his tone almost like a patient teacher—or a sly trickster.
Deep down, he knew. It wasn't Mewtwo that drew her. It was him.
"Mew…"
The little girl's wide eyes shimmered with hesitation and fear. She shrank back, too timid to step closer.
"Oh, come on. You're Mew. A legendary Pokémon! And I'm just some guy. What the hell are you afraid of? Even a thousand of me couldn't touch you!"
Logan rolled his eyes at her hesitance.
Finally, after a long pause, she shuffled forward, shy and uncertain.
Logan didn't move from where he rested against Garchomp, conserving every last bit of strength. But as the little figure came closer, their eyes met evenly.
His hand rose, and gently came to rest on her head. Her soft hair pressed beneath his palm, fluffy and warm. She flinched slightly, shrinking her shoulders, her face etched with timid unease.
"All right. Now tell me. Why are you following me? What is it that I've been fearing all along? What is it you know… that I don't?"
His voice was steady, yet it carried like a whisper through eternity, slipping into her ears and stirring something within.
Meanwhile, above ground—
"Why haven't they come out yet? Don't tell me they were simply crushed to death."
Giovanni stood tall and rigid, like a spear planted in the earth. His hawk-like eyes scanned the massive wreckage.
He doubted it. Logan wasn't someone to be killed so easily. If Logan tried to break out through brute force, his Pokémon would be left too exhausted to continue. And if he tried to escape underground, Giovanni was already prepared—an Earthquake would finish them in seconds.
He had woven a flawless trap, like a spider's web. No matter what path his prey chose, there would be no escape.
Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath his feet.
"…Hmph. So you've decided. Let's see how you try to crawl out of this."
A sharp grin tugged at Giovanni's lips. For the first time in a long while, he felt the thrill of an opponent worth his full strength.
And then—
"AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh——!!"
The earth convulsed.
It was the roar of a primordial beast awakening.
The skyscraper's ruins surged upward, lifted by a power beyond reason. From beneath the rubble, a monstrous figure rose as though freed from an ancient seal. With strength that defied imagination, it shattered the debris into the sky, boulders and steel raining down like a storm.
Even the raging downpour above seemed to falter in awe and terror as the beast revealed itself.
Giovanni's eyes widened. He staggered back two steps, his voice trembling in disbelief:
"…Groudon?!"
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