The figure that descended was none other than Mewtwo. Unlike before, however, he was not in his original form. Instead, he had taken on the human guise he had once used when meeting Lin Feng.
"What? You just declare yourself the strongest? Don't make me laugh!"
"Why should we accept your judgment?"
The one who shouted was a burly trainer crouched by a poolside, wiping down his Gyarados. His face flushed red with indignation.
All of them had endured grueling trials to get here, each one chasing the same dream: to be recognized as the greatest Pokémon Trainer. And now, before the tournament even began, this stranger dared to claim the title for himself?
How could anyone accept that?
"Why?"
Mewtwo's lips curled into a smirk. His features began to shift, melting away the human disguise until his true form emerged. His psychic aura swelled as he spoke, each word carrying an almost divine arrogance.
"Because I am the strongest Pokémon here."
He no longer rejected his identity. He was both Pokémon and trainer, challenger and judge.
"You may release every Pokémon you own," Mewtwo continued, voice echoing with chilling confidence. "Test your strength against me. See if any of you can stand."
Though they had all heard stories of powerful Pokémon, none of the trainers present had ever witnessed such absolute dominance firsthand. Yet Mewtwo's calm certainty left no room for doubt. He had never known defeat, and it showed in every movement.
"You!"
The heavyset trainer let out a sharp laugh, more out of anger than amusement. "Fine then! Let's see if you're as tough as you think!"
He hurled his Poké Balls, summoning his entire team in a flash of light.
The other trainers, stirred by his defiance, followed suit. One by one, Poké Balls burst open until the battlefield was crowded with power: Gyarados, Ninetales, Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, Golduck final evolutions, the pride of their trainers.
Each Pokémon glared at Mewtwo, their spirits inflamed by their masters' outrage.
But Mewtwo merely raised one hand.
A psychic ripple swept outward, and in an instant every Pokémon was lifted off the ground, suspended helplessly in midair. Invisible shackles bound them, their bodies frozen despite their desperate struggles.
Wide-eyed, the trainers stared in disbelief.
"What… what is this?"
Their strongest partners their pride, their weapons, their friends were rendered powerless in a heartbeat. No commands could break them free.
This wasn't a battle. It was domination.
Mewtwo's cold gaze swept across the six foreign trainers, who had sailed across seas in search of glory.
"Now I will declare the rules of my game."
His tone was flat, almost indifferent, as though he were discussing something trivial. Yet every word struck like thunder.
"You came here to claim the title of the strongest trainer. The condition is simple: defeat me. If you succeed, the title is yours, and I will grant you a gift of my own making. But if you fail…"
His eyes glowed, psychic light dancing ominously.
"…then you will die here. Fight, trainers. For your lives, and for your Pokémon."
The calmness in his voice was more terrifying than rage. To Mewtwo, life and death were not matters of cruelty or kindness, but of inevitability.
In truth, his original rules had been harsher still. But ever since crossing paths with Lin Feng, some fragment of him had changed. Out of respect for life, he had chosen to offer a chance, however slim.
As he spoke, he pointed a finger to the ground. The arena beneath them shimmered and reformed, reshaping itself into a proper battlefield lined with stone and steel.
The overweight trainer who had first shouted stepped back, face pale. Fear flickered in his eyes.
"What kind of sick joke is this? I didn't come here to play your twisted games! I want out do you hear me? I'm leaving!"
He recalled his Pokémon in a panic and rushed toward the exit. But when he reached the massive doors, he found them sealed tight.
He pushed with all his weight, but they didn't budge an inch.
"Gyarados, Hyper Beam! Blow it apart!"
Gyarados reared back, gathering destructive light between its jaws before unleashing it in a roaring torrent. The beam struck the barrier, shaking the walls but when the smoke cleared, the door stood unscathed.
"I forgot to mention," Mewtwo's voice whispered into his mind, calm and merciless, "I have surrounded this place with a psychic barrier. Until the challenge is complete, none of you will leave."
The trainer froze, sweat running down his temples.
"Since you are so eager," Mewtwo continued, "you shall be the first challenger."
Invisible force seized him, dragging him back to the battlefield. He landed roughly on one side of the arena, while Mewtwo floated to the other.
"You have two choices," Mewtwo declared. "Defeat me… or die."
Then, almost mockingly, he added, "Of course, you need only defeat my Pokémon."
He raised a Poké Ball, its surface gleaming crimson under the psychic light. With a flick of his wrist, it burst open.
A massive Salamence emerged, its wings casting shadows across the arena.
But this was no ordinary Salamence. Its scales were marred with scars, deep gashes carved across its body. Most horrifying of all, a jagged scar stretched from the corner of its mouth up to its eye, a permanent mark of pain.
This was not the Salamence that had appeared in Wutong Town. This one was different its suffering far worse. When Mewtwo had rescued it, its body had been riddled with wires and tubes, a prisoner of Team Rocket's cruel experiments. Its hatred for humans had reached a breaking point.
And yet its power eclipsed even the other.
Normally Mewtwo kept it restrained, wary of its rage. But now… now he had chosen to unleash it.
"If you defeat their Pokémon," Mewtwo told the beast, "I will grant you freedom."
Salamence's eyes glowed blood-red at the promise. A guttural roar tore from its throat, echoing like a death knell. Its wings, crimson as fresh blood, flared wide, transforming into blades of destruction.
The overweight trainer stumbled backward, panic in his eyes. He barely had time to shout before Salamence lunged.
Its maw opened wide, teeth gleaming. In one swift motion, it clamped down on Gyarados's neck. With terrifying strength, Salamence lifted the serpent's massive body, dragging it skyward.
The trainer screamed, but his voice was drowned out by the beast's roar.
With a sickening crash, Salamence slammed Gyarados back down. The ground split under the impact, dust and smoke exploding outward.
When the haze cleared, the sight froze everyone's breath.
Salamence's colossal body pinned Gyarados beneath it. The mighty sea dragon, once feared by so many, lay limp, its eyes glazed, its body battered beyond fighting strength.
Two moves one savage bite and a crushing slam and the ten-meter-long Gyarados had been utterly destroyed.
The trainers around the arena shuddered, terror gnawing at their resolve. For the first time, they began to regret their ambition.
Why had they come here?
Why had they sought this title?
"Roooar!"
Salamence's bloodstained eyes swept across the arena, its killing intent radiating like heat. The trainers could feel it, a murderous hunger that no command could quell.
The game had only begun.
And death had already taken its first step onto the field.
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