As the saying goes, seeing the words is like seeing the person—
Red could almost picture Sabrina's cold, expressionless face.
[I heard Songzao Gym was attacked? You really bring trouble wherever you go.]
[I also heard you defeated Hunter J? No idea what kind of luck you have.]
[If you see this, reply to me immediately.]
In the final part, her tone became noticeably lighter.
[I actually wanted to call you, but the people at the Gym said that wouldn't be formal enough. And you didn't leave your number last time.]
[Anyway, you're welcome to visit Saffron City again.]
Red examined the envelope carefully.
Finding no additional information, he sighed regretfully.
"What a pity."
"What's a pity?" Ninetales asked, clinging to his arm while absorbing Viridian Power.
"It's a pity Sabrina didn't expose her connection with Team Rocket in this letter."
"Otherwise, I'd have some leverage over her."
Ninetales stuck out her tongue.
"Keep talking like that and I'm cutting you off."
...
On an unknown island—
Or rather, now officially renamed by the League as Elite Island.
Ordinary people couldn't understand why the League would bother naming a deserted island.
But what they didn't know—
Was that a Legendary Pokémon lived there.
And not just any Legendary—
One that possessed extremely high intelligence and was willing to communicate with humans.
That Pokémon—
Was none other than Mewtwo, who had been reported by Red.
After being ganged up on by multiple Elite Four members last time, Mewtwo had calmed down quite a bit.
At the very least—
It now understood that there were always stronger beings out there.
But deep down—
Mewtwo still had two obsessions.
Because its body contained human genes, and it lacked a clear sense of identity—
It couldn't determine whether it was human or Pokémon.
So—
It wanted to become the strongest trainer.
To prove its identity.
And the second obsession—
Red.
Mewtwo clearly remembered—
It was Red who exposed its existence to the League, leading to it being surrounded by Elite Four members less than three years after its birth.
Just thinking about it filled Mewtwo with rage.
"I invited you for a battle, and you reported me to the League?!"
No one could tolerate that—
Let alone Mewtwo.
But due to its agreement with the Elite Four, it couldn't leave the island.
So—
It decided to lure Red here instead.
At the same time, driven by its desire to become the strongest trainer—
It wanted to battle more trainers.
Thus—
It reached a new agreement with the League.
In exchange for a strand of its own hair—
The League would provide resources to host a tournament on this island:
The Elite Cup.
The winner would receive extremely generous rewards.
Mewtwo smirked.
"Didn't you say trainers only act for profit?"
"Well, now I've provided the incentive."
"You should come, right?"
However—
To its surprise—
Red didn't participate in the first Elite Cup at all.
Mewtwo couldn't understand why.
Later, through its own methods (memory reading), it learned the reason.
"So… he just doesn't care about my rewards?"
Mewtwo nearly broke down.
It also recalled—
The trainers who came were all weaklings.
Nowhere near the level of the Elite Four.
"I'll host a real Elite Cup this time."
"One that attracts trainers from all over the world!"
But—
Stuck on an island, it didn't have anything worthy as a grand prize.
Then—
Looking at its reflection in the water—
It had an idea.
"…Isn't this the perfect prize?"
Yes—
Mewtwo decided to offer itself as the ultimate reward.
Back in Songzao City—
Red noticed something strange.
"Why are there fewer challengers lately?"
Xiaowen rolled her eyes and showed him her phone.
"Maybe because you spend all day training—or doing questionable things with Ninetales—instead of keeping up with the news."
"Don't you know the Elite Cup is about to start?"
"Elite Cup?"
Red scratched his head.
It was his first time hearing about it—in both this life and his previous one.
"It's a tournament sponsored by some mysterious figure," Xiaowen explained.
"The rewards are pretty generous."
"Top 64 gets Evolution Stones."
"Top 16 gets a Permanent Evolution Stone."
"Top 4 gets special resources like Soul Sand."
"But the most special reward…"
"What is it?" Red asked.
Xiaowen lowered her voice mysteriously.
"Accurate information about a Psychic-type Legendary Pokémon."
"Including its location—and everything about it."
"In other words… a chance to capture a Psychic Legendary."
"Oh?"
Red's first thought—
Celebi.
"And since the League is backing it, the reward should be real."
Hearing this, Red was tempted.
Celebi was too elusive—
But this was a real opportunity.
However—
Xiaowen immediately saw through him.
"Don't even think about it."
"If you leave, those two idiots will just cause chaos. I'm not staying behind to babysit!"
Red looked at her.
"Then come with me."
"…What about the Gym?"
Xiaowen was stunned.
Red rubbed his chin.
"There are barely any challengers these days."
"Let them take turns as acting Gym Leader."
"I'll lock the storage room. Unless they burn the place down, it'll be fine."
"And you've been interning here for almost a year."
"Consider this a vacation."
"…Will that really work?"
She sounded doubtful—
But also a little excited.
After all, she hadn't gone out much in nearly a year.
"Then it's settled."
The next morning—
Ash and Gary woke up groggily.
Only to find—
The Gym completely empty.
They froze.
"…Did we get robbed?"
Just as they were about to call the police—
They found a note left behind.
"You two take care of the Gym. Xiaowen and I have something to handle. We'll be back in a few days."
"The Gym is yours for now."
Ash's eyes lit up.
"Master's gone? Then I'm the acting Gym Leader!"
"You? I'm the senior disciple! Obviously I should be the acting Gym Leader!"
"What did you say?!"
Meanwhile—
Red and Xiaowen had already arrived by boat at Elite Island.
Clearly—
Red had completely forgotten that he was the one who reported Mewtwo.
Unaware—
That the moment he stepped onto the island—
A certain Pokémon, who had made itself the grand prize, slowly opened its eyes.
"Red… you finally came."
"You have no idea how much I've been waiting for you."
At that moment—
Ninetales, who had been clinging to Red, suddenly felt its fur stand on end.
A terrifying aura—
Appeared, then vanished just as quickly.
Red gently stroked her fluffy head.
"What's wrong, Ninetales?"
She clung tighter, uneasy.
"Master… I feel like this island is dangerous…"
Red pointed ahead—
Where Lance, the Dragon Master, was maintaining order.
"With a Flying-type Elite Four like Lance here, what danger could there be?"
"Relax. You're probably just nervous from seeing so many people."
"…Is that so?"
Ninetales lowered her ears, biting her finger, her face full of uncertainty.
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