[Special Ability]: Complete Mega Mewtwo Y genes (can freely Mega Evolve into Mega Mewtwo Y)
[IVs]: 6 perfect IVs
[Base Stats]: Total 680, HP 106, Attack 110, Defense 90, Special Attack 154, Special Defense 90, Speed 130
...
[Lesser Legendary: 101–150, top-tier Legendary: 151–200]
Level 177?
Thanks to the data panel the system provided, this was the first time Ash had ever known Mewtwo's strength this clearly.
At the same time, the system's helpful note about the level ranges for lesser Legendaries and top-tier Legendaries answered a question that had been lingering in the back of his mind.
One thing worth mentioning was that the Mewtwo Ash had caught was not the original first-generation Mewtwo created by Team Rocket.
This was the second Mewtwo, the one Team Plasma had created in Unova by stealing Team Rocket's research and combining it with new resources.
In other words, it was the one that had fought the red Genesect in the movie.
Having learned from Team Rocket's earlier failure, when Team Plasma created Mewtwo again, they deliberately removed some of the more violent Pokémon genes from the mix.
They also added the Mega Evolution stone data Ash had made public.
That made this a Mewtwo with a gentler personality and a complete set of Mega Mewtwo Y genes.
It could freely Mega Evolve into its Y form during battle.
And while in its normal state, it could even use the X Mega Stone to evolve into Mega Mewtwo X.
As for its Ability and typing, though, those were no different from the original, more violent Mewtwo.
Pressure, a small chance to make the opponent flinch.
Reality and the games were still not quite the same.
If you really thought about it, that chance to cause flinching was far stronger than the in-game version that simply drained extra PP.
On an ordinary Pokémon, that was actually pretty decent.
But on a true top-tier Legendary like Mewtwo, especially when you considered the opponents it would have to face, it started to feel a little lacking.
Still, with Ability Enhancement in play, it was far too early to jump to conclusions.
Ash's gaze lowered as he looked toward the enhancement details.
[Enhanceable]
Ability: Pressure I (Exerts pressure on the opponent, with a small chance to make the enemy flinch; lowers all of the opponent's stats by 1 stage, triggers only once)
[Enhancement Task]: Defeat Sabrina or Tate or Liza or Olympia or Tulip. Defeating any one of them will complete the enhancement task.
A full stat drop!
Attack, Defense, Special Attack, Special Defense, and Speed, all lowered by one stage at the same time.
That was incredibly strong.
Even if, from what he could currently see, it only triggered once and still was not enough to make Mewtwo the undisputed strongest among top-tier Legendaries, that did not stop Ash from looking forward to what it might become later.
If it could keep triggering, then against an enemy sitting at -6 in every stat, Mewtwo would not even need to boost itself to tear through them.
As for the task... while it did catch Ash a little off guard that Mewtwo's enhancement task had skipped straight to the same level as other Pokémon's second-stage enhancement tasks, it was still fine.
Because... Mewtwo itself was just too strong!
No matter how powerful the enemy was, as long as they did not reach the level of a top-tier Legendary, Mewtwo would absolutely one-shot them.
Completing the task would be ridiculously easy.
This time, Mewtwo was really about to make a comeback!!!
...
"Ash, can we take a picture with Mewtwo?"
While Ash was checking Mewtwo's status panel, Professor Sycamore, Clemont, Bonnie, and even Serena all wore openly eager expressions.
"I'll ask for you!"
"I already agreed."
Compared to the original Mewtwo, the one Ash had caught had an especially gentle temperament.
And on top of that, Mewtwo felt that maybe it was because of these people that it had been able to come here and see Ash.
So it agreed to such a small request without hesitation.
Professor Sycamore went all out and called over everyone working at the lab. He even brought in his Garchomp, along with all the Pokémon in the backyard of the lab.
Ash also called out Latias.
Together, everyone took a huge group photo in the backyard of the lab. Mewtwo stood coolly in the center, while everyone else wore excited smiles across their faces.
After the photo, the Professor did not bring up any request to study Mewtwo or Latias.
On one hand, Professor Sycamore's research subject was not Pokémon themselves.
On the other, he did not have the confidence to surpass Professor Oak.
Still, since Ash had gone through the trouble of bringing Mewtwo over, he naturally had to explain why.
So he spoke to Mewtwo alone and explained his newly acquired Ability Enhancement power. After hearing it, Mewtwo's emotions visibly rose, and it became full of anticipation for the future.
That said, there were currently no world-level disasters being caused by Legendary Pokémon, so there was no urgent need to rush Mewtwo's enhancement.
Soon after, Mewtwo returned to its Master Ball and went back to meditating to improve its psychic power and level.
When Ash returned to the others, he saw Latias floating around Serena. That reminded him that earlier he had only previewed Latias's Ability Enhancement effect and had not looked carefully at Latias's enhancement task.
So he checked it right away.
[Enhancement Task]: Defeat the out-of-control rampaging Garchomp at Professor Sycamore's lab.
"So that's what it is..."
Ash looked enlightened.
He could not remember exactly why Garchomp went berserk, but he was certain Team Rocket's trio had something to do with it.
Looks like when Team Rocket starts causing trouble later, I can't expose them right away.
At that moment, Serena brushed the sand off her clothes and looked at Ash.
"Ash, I already asked Sophie, Bonnie and I are going to borrow the lab's bathroom, and she said yes. You and Clemont can go use the bathroom on the Professor's side."
Ash could have asked Latias to use psychic power to cover both him and Serena and peel the sand off their bodies that way.
But with Clemont still here, if he did that, he would have to include him too, and the more he thought about it, the worse that idea sounded.
"Got it."
...
Above the lab, Team Rocket was sprawled out in hiding, secretly observing Ash and the others.
Under the blazing sun, sweat ran down Jessie and James's faces.
The moment they heard Ash and the others were going to take a bath, their imaginations ran wild. Cool drops of water splashing over their skin, washing away the heat, rolling down their bodies...
A refreshing chill that would cleanse away all the sweat from head to toe!
"So nice!" Jessie and James said in unison, their eyes shut.
"You idiots, meow!"
Meowth furiously lashed out with his claws, leaving several bright red scratches across both their faces.
"The twerp and those girls are going to take baths, meow! This is our perfect chance to snatch Pikachu and Mewtwo!
If we pull this off, it's promotion time, a raise, a branch manager post, and the peak of life itself!
Ahh, Meowzie!"
The moment he thought of Meowzie, the former love of his life, Meowth felt a pang of grief.
But even though he had been rejected, one Meowzie falling only meant thousands more Meowzies would rise in her place.
As he imagined himself lying comfortably in the middle of a crowd of female Meowth, enjoying all kinds of unspeakable service, a lecherous grin slowly crept across his face.
Wham!
Jessie threw a merciless punch straight into the top of Meowth's head, shattering his dream.
"That is not an excuse for you to damage a top actress's beautiful face!"
As she said that, Jessie somehow produced a mirror from nowhere and tenderly touched the scratches on her cheek.
Feeling the pain in her face, the longer she thought about it, the angrier she got.
So Jessie immediately brought out the same brute force she had once used to beat Seviper by herself in Hoenn and thrashed Meowth on the spot.
Meowth was no fool and bolted immediately.
James chased after them trying to mediate.
For a while, it was absolute chaos, noisy and ridiculous in the best possible way.
Only after Jessie finally cooled off did Team Rocket decide to make their move.
By the time the three of them finished getting themselves ready and knocked on the lab's front door, Ash's side had already changed clothes, stepped out of the bathroom, and was drying his hair.
The moment he sensed those three familiar Aura signatures approaching the lab, Ash let out a sigh of relief.
"Hah, finally!"
Not long after that,
Boom!
A loud explosion shook the first floor of the lab just as Ash finished drying his hair.
He immediately put on his hat, stepped out of the bathroom, and jumped onto the back of Latias, who had clearly been waiting for a while.
Latias carried him flying down from the second floor and straight into the first-floor lobby.
Clemont ran after them with a face full of envy, sprinting the whole way.
"Wait for me, Ash!"