Giovanni's actions were far beyond Gary's expectations. As the leader of Team Rocket, and the strongest Gym Leader in Kanto, bearing so many identities, he actually sent Mewtwo to battle him over a small quarrel!
Is this something a human would do? What about the dignity of the strong? The dignity of the superior? Have they all been eaten by dogs?!
"Is this the Mewtwo Mr. Blaine talked about? It does look somewhat terrifying, and the pressure is intense..." Misty couldn't help but shrink back, instinctively wanting to hold Togepi tight, but found that Togepi was not by her side.
Right now, Togepi was still at Ash's feet. During the earlier battle, because Ash had spared some strength to protect those around him, Togepi was not affected at all.
"Even through the barrier, you can feel the terrifying pressure. The machine on him should be worn to suppress Mewtwo's power. Now, the pressure from Mewtwo is tens of times stronger than when he stood in front of Gary." Brock analyzed with a serious expression.
In this battle, Ash is likely facing unfavorable odds. The opponent is Mewtwo, the strongest artificial Pokemon Blaine mentioned, whose growth almost rivals that of a deity!
No matter how strong Ash is, there's no chance he has something that can contend with such a Pokemon. Not even a six-on-one battle would win!
Unless Ash enters the battle himself, there might be a sliver of a chance to win. After all, they've never seen Ash's full strength, so there's still a bit of hope.
But the hope is very slim.
"I see, you guys met Blaine, huh? No wonder you're not surprised at Mewtwo's existence. Seems like you got a lot of information from him." Although Misty and Brock spoke softly, Giovanni still overheard their conversation.
He was initially surprised that they knew about Mewtwo's existence, but once he heard Blaine's name, he understood everything.
Giovanni knew Ash and the others had been to Cinnabar Island, but whether Blaine was there, or if Ash and the others met Blaine, he wasn't sure, as he had been searching for Blaine for a long time without success.
Earlier, when he said Ash collected all eight badges, he didn't count the Cinnabar Badge. He said so because Viridian Gym is the strongest in Kanto, typically challenged only when one lacks the last badge or has collected all eight badges.
Why would anyone plan to challenge Viridian Gym first or mid-way? That's just asking for trouble!
But now he knew, Ash likely met Blaine on Cinnabar Island. By that count, the badge from Blaine should be their seventh badge.
Thinking of this, Giovanni's calm expression couldn't help but show some fluctuations. He had mobilized all of Team Rocket's resources to search for Blaine for so long without success, yet Ash found Blaine in just a few days on Cinnabar Island? What efficiency!
Compared to Ash, Team Rocket's officers seemed utterly incompetent. Luckily, after today, Ash would join Team Rocket, and Team Rocket would finally gain a new member who could handle a hundred men.
Giovanni felt a bit pleased at the thought.
On the other side, Giovanni's words made Misty and Brock quickly cover their mouths; they seemed to have leaked some information they shouldn't have.
But who would have thought, that even when speaking so softly, Giovanni could hear? They had intentionally lowered their voices, making it hard to hear even nearby. How did Giovanni hear them?
Ash was not too concerned about Blaine's intel being leaked. He shrugged and said, "Yes, we did meet Blaine and learned about Mewtwo's existence... Blaine said Mewtwo is like a monstrous Pokemon, very dangerous and uncontrollable, with a violent temperament, but I don't think so."
Mewtwo: ...
"Even if it's an artificial Pokemon, Mewtwo is still a Pokemon, no different than those just hatched from a Poke Egg. The thing influencing its temperament, its character, to put it simply, is still its environment, the people around it. So, the negative aspects Mewtwo talked about are all caused by you, Team Rocket. As long as you give it the right values, then it's no different from ordinary Pokemon! Am I right, Mewtwo?"
Ash stared intently at Mewtwo, trying to pass this message into Mewtwo's mind, hoping Mewtwo would awaken.
However, after he finished, Mewtwo made no moves, only its palm trembled slightly, without any telepathy in response.
The light in Ash's eyes dimmed momentarily, but soon reignited with determination. Regardless, first, defeat Mewtwo, dissolve half of Team Rocket, and then rescue Mewtwo. They could reason with it later.
All this presupposes beating Giovanni first.
"Hahaha, how naive, trying to communicate with Mewtwo? It's useless; Mewtwo would never listen to your words. You're right, it's indeed Team Rocket that's influenced it. So now, it's the ultimate weapon of Team Rocket! Once we find that missing link, everyone in the League will grovel before Team Rocket!"