"So... all he needs is to receive Ash's healing psychic power?"
"I understand."
The tension that had been etched across Giovanni's face finally eased after hearing Professor Fuji's explanation.
In Giovanni's eyes, if the solution was simply receiving treatment from Ash's healing ability, then it wasn't much of a problem at all.
After spending considerable time with Ash, Giovanni had already figured out what kind of person the boy was.
Ash was, fundamentally, someone who prioritized his own interests.
As long as the price was high enough to satisfy him, arranging a transaction like this would be remarkably easy.
Besides...
If all Ash Clone No. 2 needed was treatment from Viridian Power, then perhaps there wouldn't even be any need to negotiate with Ash in the future.
Once Ash Clone No. 2 awakened Viridian Power himself, he might simply be able to heal his own body.
"So the issue of his accelerated aging..."
"Isn't really an issue at all."
Giovanni smiled inwardly, completely confident.
…
What Giovanni didn't know, however...
Was that Viridian Power was a gift from the forest.
A blessing bestowed by Viridian Forest itself.
It had absolutely nothing to do with bloodlines.
Every child born near Viridian Forest—regardless of status, wealth, or noble ancestry—had exactly the same chance of receiving the forest's blessing and awakening Viridian Power.
Precisely because it was a divine gift...
It could neither be inherited by descendants...
Nor duplicated through cloning.
Ash Clone No. 2 had been born in the New Island Laboratory, thousands of miles away from Kanto and far removed from Viridian Forest.
He might awaken Aura Power...
But he would never awaken Viridian Power.
Completely unaware of this truth...
Giovanni remained immersed in his own optimistic assumptions.
...
...
Time passed swiftly.
Before anyone realized it...
Another half year had gone by.
— Team Rocket • New Island Research Facility —
"..."
"..."
"Ashtwo."
"Try using your psychic powers to heal this Sandshrew."
After more than seven months of accelerated growth, Ash Clone No. 2 had finally developed into a boy physically identical to the real six-year-old Ash.
Both Giovanni and Professor Fuji were filled with satisfaction.
After much discussion...
The two creators officially gave Ash Clone No. 2 a name—
Ashtwo.
Its meaning was simple:
To stand above Ash.
Just as Mewtwo's name symbolized surpassing its original template, Mew, Ashtwo's name represented Giovanni's and Professor Fuji's hope that this clone would someday eclipse the original Ash.
Both names embodied the ambitions of their creators.
…
Especially two months earlier...
When Professor Fuji detected psychic energy fluctuations inside Ashtwo's incubation chamber through the laboratory's instruments...
He had nearly burst with excitement.
Even Giovanni, who had been overseeing Team Rocket's headquarters in Kanto, was alarmed enough to board a helicopter immediately and rush to New Island.
The clone's successful awakening of psychic abilities had been fully confirmed.
Unfortunately...
The celebration didn't last long.
Very quickly...
Neither Giovanni nor Professor Fuji could smile anymore.
Because...
The psychic ability Ashtwo awakened...
Possessed no healing properties whatsoever.
Giovanni even personally examined the clone with his own Viridian Power.
The conclusion shocked him.
Ashtwo's psychic ability was completely different from Viridian Power.
They weren't even remotely the same kind of supernatural force.
…
That discovery left both Giovanni and Professor Fuji utterly astonished.
Ashtwo had been cloned entirely from Ash's genetic material.
Unlike Mewtwo...
Whose creation had involved selective extraction of Mew's genes while deliberately incorporating violent human genetic factors...
Ashtwo was a perfect genetic duplicate of Ash.
There was no possibility that the clone had awakened a psychic ability the original Ash himself didn't possess.
Which meant...
There was only one explanation.
Ash possessed more than one psychic ability.
He had been hiding an enormous part of his true strength all along.
…
What shocked Giovanni and Fuji wasn't merely Ash's monstrous talent.
It was his terrifying maturity.
Extraordinary achievements required extraordinary talent...
But equally important was an extraordinary mind.
Even after everything they'd witnessed...
After their previous encounters...
And after spending so much time observing him...
Both Giovanni and Professor Fuji had already regarded Ash as someone destined to become one of the greatest Trainers in the Pokémon world.
Yet now...
They realized that the talent Ash had shown them...
Was only the tip of the iceberg.
His true abilities...
And his ability to conceal them...
Far exceeded anything they had imagined.
They were forced to admit—
They had underestimated Ash.
Completely.
…
If they had never cloned Ashtwo...
Neither Giovanni nor Professor Fuji would ever have discovered just how deeply Ash had hidden his cards.
The more Giovanni understood Ash...
The more apprehensive he became.
Even as the Boss of Team Rocket...
Even as a veteran Champion-level Trainer...
He couldn't help but feel wary of the terrifying six-year-old boy.
…
"There was a time when I deliberately accepted him as my disciple..."
"I wanted to strengthen a future enemy."
"I believed that by cultivating someone capable of pressuring Team Rocket..."
"I could force this organization beyond its current limits."
"But..."
"Was that decision really the correct one?"
…
"Instead of eliminating a monster like him while he was still in the cradle..."
"I actually chose to help him grow."
"Can I truly keep someone like this under control?"
"Will Team Rocket really be able to withstand the monster I'm raising?"
For a very long time...
Ash's overwhelming talent and frightening maturity weighed heavily on Giovanni's mind.
…
Fortunately...
After successfully cloning Ashtwo from Ash's genetic material...
A large portion of Giovanni's anxiety finally subsided.
If the original Ash possessed heaven-defying talent...
Then Ashtwo, as his perfect clone, was hardly inferior.
And...
With Giovanni's personal guidance...
Combined with Team Rocket's vast resources...
He firmly believed that Ashtwo's future achievements would ultimately surpass even Ash's.
Still...
Putting aside the talents of both boys...
Ashtwo's psychic abilities remained an enormous headache.
The clone's awakened psychic power lacked the healing abilities Ash possessed.
Furthermore...
Its nature was fundamentally different from Giovanni's own Viridian Power.
After careful consideration...
Giovanni arrived at two possible conclusions.
First.
Ashtwo had only awakened the hidden psychic ability that Ash had always concealed.
His Viridian Power simply hadn't awakened yet.
Second.
Viridian Power itself might never have possessed healing capabilities in the first place.
Giovanni had always believed his own Viridian Power to be complete.
Therefore...
Ash's ability to heal wounds and help Pokémon learn moves must actually belong to this second hidden psychic power—the very one Ashtwo had now awakened.
Ash had merely disguised those abilities as functions of Viridian Power to prevent anyone from realizing he possessed multiple psychic abilities.
As for why Ashtwo still couldn't heal injuries after awakening that hidden power...
Giovanni concluded there was only one explanation.
The ability simply...
Hadn't been fully developed yet.