"The rules are simple—one-on-one. For you, I won't bother with tricks. I'll show you my strongest power."
After Ash accepted, Giovanni snapped his fingers.
The gate on the left side of the battlefield rose, and a Pokémon clad in heavy armor stepped out. Ash's pupils shrank the moment he saw it.
Mewtwo!
Giovanni had actually sent Mewtwo into battle. No wonder he was so confident. Fortunately, the armor suppressed Mewtwo's full strength. That gave Ash a chance.
Seeing Mewtwo, Ash's expression grew firm. He pulled out a Poké Ball and hurled it forward. With a burst of white light, Dragonite emerged onto the field, wings unfurling.
"Dragonite?" Giovanni raised an eyebrow. "A rare Pokémon, but still far beneath my Mewtwo."
He didn't realize Ash's Dragonite was a powerhouse—comparable to a Legendary Pokémon in its own right, standing nearly on par with Mewtwo.
"Humph!"
"Dragonite, use Iron Tail!" Ash commanded sharply.
Dragonite's tail gleamed with metallic light as it whipped toward Mewtwo. But just as it was about to strike, a crushing psychic force froze Dragonite in place.
"My Mewtwo is the strongest creation," Giovanni said coldly. "Though it doesn't always obey me… luckily, that armor keeps it restrained."
Mewtwo acted on its own, ignoring Giovanni's orders, its eyes glowing with psychic energy.
If not for the armor's suppression, both Dragonite and Mewtwo would be considered Legendary-class Pokémon.
Even then, Mewtwo's natural advantage as a Psychic-type gave it a higher chance of victory. But Dragonite, having mastered lightning, possessed incredible offensive power. Between the two, the outcome was far from certain.
"Rooaaar!"
Dragonite roared and forced its way out of the psychic grip, straining against the suppression. If not for the armor holding Mewtwo back, Dragonite would've been immobilized for much longer.
"What?! Impossible!" Giovanni's face twisted in disbelief. "No Pokémon has ever broken free of Mewtwo's psychic control!"
"Boom!"
Before he could recover, Dragonite swung its massive tail and smashed Mewtwo backward several meters. Dragonite didn't let up, closing the distance and slamming a Hyper Punch straight into Mewtwo's armored headpiece.
"Bang!"
Sparks crackled as the armor split, fractures spreading along its surface. At that moment, Ash felt something—Mewtwo's power rising.
"It's you."
A voice rang in his mind. Mewtwo.
"So… when Dragonite cracked your armor, it loosened the suppression," Ash realized, replying with his own aura-tinged thoughts.
"I didn't expect to find you here… If not for this wretched armor, I'd crush you where you stand!"
Mewtwo's voice seethed with fury, resentment at humanity festering from years of control.
"Even without the armor, you wouldn't recover your full strength right away," Ash answered calmly in his mind.
"That long suppression put your true power into slumber. It'll take you at least a month or two to awaken completely."
As their mental exchange continued, Ash commanded Dragonite forward. Against the armor's restraint, Mewtwo could only rely on psychic force, unable to unleash the rest of its abilities.
"Damn it… that Dragonite is far beyond champion level. I underestimated him."
Watching his Mewtwo forced backward by Dragonite's assault, Giovanni realized too late that he had been outmaneuvered.
Although part of him wanted to remove Mewtwo's armor, fear held him back. He had poured enormous resources and effort into creating and controlling Mewtwo. If it broke free now, everything he invested would be lost in an instant.
"Stop! I forfeit!" Giovanni's voice rang sharply across the battlefield.
At his command, Ash signaled Dragonite to halt its attack. The great dragon pulled back, though its eyes still burned with fighting spirit.
Ash's aura picked up Mewtwo's lingering hostility.
"Calm yourself. If you continue now, Giovanni will only tighten your restraints. Even if you can't escape today, staying conscious is more important."
Sure enough, after Ash's words reached him, the blue glow in Mewtwo's eyes dimmed, his rage momentarily subdued.
"I didn't expect you to push me this far." Giovanni's teeth ground together.
"Fine. Here—the permanent badge, gem-engraved. And this Poké Ball. Both are yours. As for the Viridian Gym… one of your family's people will take it over."
He was furious. The armor would need to be reforged, and he had just lost control of the prestigious Viridian Gym. But Giovanni wasn't foolish enough to provoke the powers backing Ash, not now.
"I'll look forward to the next time you try something like this,"
Ash said coldly as he collected his prize. While Giovanni's attention was elsewhere, Ash quietly extended his mental energy, seeding disruption into the mechanisms of Mewtwo's armor.
The floating gem enhanced Ash's psychic ability, allowing him to act without drawing suspicion. His aura was strong, but his Mangekyō techniques demanded immense energy. He knew he could only rely on one—either his chakra-fueled powers or his aura-driven mental force—not both at once.
...
TN:
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