From that strange creature — a being never seen before — they not only felt a threat coming from its strength, but also a pressure originating from Pokémon blood itself.
Although they did not possess divinity, they were still legendary Pokémon, and that did not prevent either their nature or the legendary blood flowing through their veins.
They had only experienced that kind of sensation before when facing Giratina, that being capable of speaking to their trainer as an equal, whose divinity stood at a higher level.
It was an oppression belonging to the same tier of legendary Pokémon!
What surprised them was that, logically, any legendary Pokémon capable of overwhelming them at that level should have been a first-tier god with divinity. They had never seen a first-tier one without divinity.
Did a first-tier legendary Pokémon without divinity even exist? It seemed not.
And yet, from that creature they were clearly feeling an oppression that belonged to a first-tier legendary Pokémon.
After conveying what they sensed to Kael, even his face showed surprise. He looked again at the creature beside Giovanni and asked, "Giovanni, what exactly is that Pokémon at your side? Could it be the Mew that your Team Rocket has been pursuing all these years?"
If Arceus was the creator of the entire Pokémon world, then Mew could be considered the ancestor of all Pokémon in existence.
But according to Kael's recollection, Mew was not a Pokémon that excelled in combat. And strictly speaking, Mew belonged to the category of Mythical Pokémon, which differed from legendary Pokémon in another way.
Upon hearing the question, Giovanni's smile deepened even further. He slowly shook his head.
"It is not Mew. But compared to Mew, its combat capability is greater. I have named it Mewtwo."
"In the entire Pokémon world, there exists only this one!"
Mewtwo!
Everyone felt a tremor in their hearts. Just from hearing the name, one could understand Giovanni's intention: Mewtwo, the one who surpasses Mew. That alone was enough to see the immense confidence he placed in this Pokémon.
"Mewtwo? Is this the result of what your Team Rocket has been doing all these years? A product of genetic engineering?" Kael's eyes reflected academic curiosity.
But this time Giovanni did not evade the question.
Today, he had brought Mewtwo precisely to display it before everyone's eyes and to tell the League, and the entire world, that Team Rocket was going to rise again — and it would do so with absolute power.
Although the current Mewtwo had not yet reached the ideal state Giovanni had envisioned, nor had it developed its power to the limit, the strength it already possessed was sufficient for him.
With a Mewtwo capable of temporarily rivaling a first-tier legendary Pokémon, Giovanni no longer feared the unknown hidden cards of the League so much.
Cain observed Mewtwo floating beside Giovanni with burning intensity. The heat in his eyes was almost impossible to suppress. If not for the fact that everyone present were major figures, he truly would not have wanted to restrain that passion.
He lowered his head and shifted his gaze toward the ground, avoiding looking at Mewtwo any longer. He feared that the intensity in his eyes might be detected by Giovanni and Kael. If Kael noticed, it would not be a big issue, but with Giovanni it would be difficult to explain.
I make you the deputy leader of Team Rocket, and you're coveting my Mewtwo?
Most likely, as soon as they finished dealing with Kael, Giovanni would immediately turn around to deal with Cain.
Only after suppressing that internal desire with great effort did Cain look at Mewtwo again.
He sensed that the psychic seed he himself had planted within Mewtwo's body had already sprouted, yet he detected not the slightest emotional fluctuation, nor any trace of independent thought. It was as if there were absolute emptiness inside its mind.
The mark Cain had left on Mewtwo's armor when he had once touched it — allowing the system to register it — was also still there.
Those were the two precautions Cain had taken, the ones that would allow him to immediately perceive Mewtwo's movements and whereabouts.
Earlier, inside Mt. Silver, after forcibly capturing Moltres, Cain had still been hesitating about whether or not to involve himself in this matter.
Although he did not want to see a colossus like the League collapse, he still had enough self-awareness to know that even if he intervened, it would not change the situation too much. He could play a somewhat important role, yes, but certainly not a decisive one.
If no one capable of truly altering the course of the situation appeared, then whether he participated or not would not make much difference.
The only possible difference would be when exactly the League would fall.
But it was precisely at that moment that Cain sensed Mewtwo's approach. And if Mewtwo was approaching, what did that mean? That Giovanni was also there!
If Cain had been able to see through the Sacred Church's plan, then Giovanni — who, besides being a master strategist, knew Kael even better than Cain did — could of course deduce certain things as well.
And so Giovanni, the enemy of the League and leader of Team Rocket, ended up arriving at Mt. Silver even faster than many of the League's own experts.
Then came the key question: why would Giovanni, as the leader of Team Rocket, want to help the League? Why not seize the opportunity and, together with Kael, destroy the League in one fell swoop?
Cain, putting himself in Giovanni's position, seriously thought through the matter.
The most important point came down to a single question: could the League truly be annihilated in one strike by the Sacred Church?
After considering all the possibilities, the final answer was... impossible.
Even if the Sacred Church eliminated everyone at the League headquarters in Mt. Silver, the League would probably not disappear. At most, each region would be left leaderless and act independently.
But that clearly did not fit Giovanni's and Team Rocket's plan to gradually swallow the entire League.
And it was not as if the regional Leagues acting independently would necessarily make it easier for Team Rocket to invade them.
(End of chapter)