"You little troublemaker—why do you want tasty stuff again? Fine. I'll take you out to buy some."
Grey scooped up Riolu with one arm, wearing an expression that screamed "I can't believe you," then turned to Giovanni. "Gym Leader Giovanni, I'm taking my Riolu out to buy something. I'll come back to check on you later."
"Sure. Gym Leader Grey, come by whenever you like."
Giovanni nodded lightly and picked up the newspaper by his bedside, flipping it open as if nothing was wrong.
Sabrina stepped out first.
Grey followed right after, carrying Riolu as they left together.
…
…
Behind Celadon Hospital, in the landscaped greenbelt, there was no one around.
Grey stopped beneath a lush oak tree.
Riolu suddenly perked up its ears as something unusual rippled through its aura sense.
A wave of psychic power rolled through the air. Fallen leaves lifted and hung motionless inside an invisible field.
Grey raised his eyes, and there—three steps away—stood a purple-haired man in casual clothes, appearing as if he had been there the whole time.
The brim of a baseball cap cast shadow over most of his face, but that distinctive aura couldn't fool an aura user like Grey.
"Interesting disguise."
Grey chuckled, absentmindedly stroking Riolu's fur.
Even with his body fully blended into a human form, that near-arrogant energy field belonging to a Legendary Pokémon still flickered in and out of view.
Of course, the energy on Mewtwo was also a bit… young.
Even if it was vast and overwhelming, it was still nowhere close to the Riolu at Grey's side.
That level of control wasn't something a newly born, man-made legend like Mewtwo could truly compare to.
"How did you notice me…?"
Mewtwo's fingers tightened slightly. The shifting shadow from the cap brim danced across his face, and a trace of confusion flashed in his purple eyes. "My energy control… should have been perfect."
"Ryo?" (Perfect? Want to see what you look like from my perspective?)
Riolu tilted its head, ears twitching lightly.
Then it sent its own psychic power flowing into Mewtwo.
Only then did Mewtwo realize that while he had hidden his appearance, his aura signature was still crystal clear to aura sensing.
Like a firefly in the dark—no matter how you disguise it, you can't hide the light of life.
"So, what do you want with me?" Mewtwo smoothly steered away from the topic, clearly not wanting to discuss it further.
"What happened to that guy in white—the one with the long cowlick?" Grey didn't say Colress's name. He just described the most obvious features.
"Let me think…"
Mewtwo closed his eyes, trying to figure out who Grey meant.
"The one you took from Giovanni not long ago," Grey added, sending the words straight into Mewtwo's mind through aura.
That did it. Mewtwo remembered immediately.
"Oh. Him…"
Mewtwo hesitated, looking like he wanted to speak but couldn't decide how.
"Come on, tell me. We're on the same side." Grey stepped closer and patted Mewtwo on the shoulder. "Did you forget the fighting techniques I taught you?"
"Did you teach me?" A giant question mark practically popped up over Mewtwo's head. He clearly remembered Grey teaching him nothing—just saying that once Mewtwo's psychic control could match the psychics in Saffron City, then they could talk about the next step.
As for "fighting techniques"…
Yeah, that definitely hadn't happened.
Mewtwo trusted his memory.
If he said there wasn't any, there wasn't any.
After asking back, Mewtwo immediately shook his head again. "No."
"Ahem. Not a big deal." Grey cleared his throat and kept patting Mewtwo's shoulder in a steady rhythm with each sentence. "Mewtwo… actually, comparing you to the psychics in Saffron City these days has helped your fighting skill too."
"Those sparring sessions weren't just to train mental power."
His palm suddenly sank, pressing lightly on a certain pressure point near Mewtwo's shoulder blade.
"Because the way of combat is about…"
Before he finished, his fingertips slid along the spine toward the elbow joint, aura flowing in.
"Receive, neutralize, release."
Riolu stood nearby mimicking the motions, aura circulating in its palms like a flowing yin-yang pattern.
After that, Grey slowly exhaled. "For example, right now—seventeen of your leverage points are locked by me. That's the beauty of neutralizing force."
"Don't believe it? Try using any move right now."
Mewtwo tried to mobilize its energy.
And then…
Mewtwo discovered that it really had been restricted by those few seemingly casual actions.
Under the baseball cap, his pupils tightened.
This human had just overturned his understanding again.
"So fighting can be this technical…"
Mewtwo stared blankly at his own hand. In his mind, every frame of his recent battles against Fighting-type Pokémon replayed.
Moves he had always categorized as "brute force" began to break apart and reassemble in his thoughts.
The subtle angle of the wrist.
The precise timing of hip rotation.
Even the rhythm of breathing matched to the moment of exertion…
As a Psychic-type Pokémon, Mewtwo's mind was terrifyingly sharp.
In the span of a heartbeat, enlightenment flickered in the purple eyes beneath the cap.
So the opponents he had crushed with raw power… their movements had been hiding this kind of mechanical artistry.
Riolu jumped at just the right moment, completing a standard spinning kick midair.
Mewtwo unconsciously simulated the motion—and realized that with the same strength, proper technique could generate more than triple the kinetic efficiency.
Grey's lips curved slightly as he watched the man-made legend sink into deep thought.
Lessons that could truly shatter Mewtwo's worldview didn't come every day.
"Um…"
Mewtwo suddenly looked up at Grey. "Please—teach me. You have to teach me!"
"Teaching you is fine, but…" Grey stopped halfway.
Mewtwo looked like it was about to itch itself to death waiting for the rest.
"But when—"
Mewtwo blurted out, unable to hold back.
Grey didn't answer that. Instead, he asked the two questions he cared about most.
"Tell me what Giovanni's goal was in having you do this. Did he reveal his identity to you?"
Mewtwo was one of Giovanni's top Pokémon—and also one of the key "masterminds" behind the recent incident. There was no way it knew nothing.
"No." Mewtwo's expression hardened. "Giovanni is the one who created me. Betraying him over something like this…"
"Fine. Name your price."
Grey found it funny more than anything.
Mewtwo had learned fast.
This was the classic move:
Pay up.
// 20 chapters today! I hope you enjoy it. The cover change is temporary, it's just to attract new readers and also show some love to Cynthia and Caitlin fans. As always, thanks for the Power Stones!
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810