Chapter 69

Chairman Goodshow: "Twenty years ago, Team Rocket was still just a bunch of poachers, still in the stage of small-time mischief."

Goodshow felt some regret; back then, he should have crushed Team Rocket early on, nipping the evil in the bud.

Bruno: "Twenty years ago, I hadn't even received my starter Pokémon. Back then, the thing I looked forward to most was just having one Pokémon. Those really were nostalgic times."

Agatha: "Twenty years ago? That really was a hateful time."

Professor Oak: "Ahem."

While everyone in the chat room was reminiscing about the past, the video continued.

["Back then, my mother, the previous leader of Team Rocket, didn't take the Mew eyelash fossil seriously at all. She only took it out when recalling old friends."]

["It was I, Giovanni, who discovered the true purpose of Mew's eyelash!"]

["I sought out Fuji, the greatest genetic engineering doctor in Kanto and even the world. With his help, Mewtwo was born."]

[Giovanni stopped his speech and looked with a smile at Ash and the Mew on his shoulder. "By the way, I must thank you and Mew. If it weren't for you, the Mewtwo project wouldn't have progressed so easily."]

[The genes contained in just one eyelash fossil were simply too few. Upon learning that the Pokémon by Ash's side was Mew, Giovanni dispatched a large number of Team Rocket members to search for traces left by Mew in the places Ash had visited.]

[Although a huge amount of manpower and resources were spent, everything was worth it; Mewtwo was born ahead of schedule.]

["I think Mew must have come to New Island because it sensed Mewtwo's existence. Even the good-natured Mew couldn't tolerate its 'territory' being disturbed by an unknown Pokémon."]

["Then what is your goal? Giovanni," Ash asked calmly.]

["Mew. Mewtwo can become even more perfect. As long as it can absorb all of Mew's genes, it will be the only god in this world at that time." For the first time, madness appeared in Giovanni's eyes.]

[Things had reached this point, so there was nothing more to say. Ash and Pikachu exchanged a glance, and Pikachu understood.]

["Pika Pika Pika Pika Pika Pika Pika Pika."]

["Then I'll leave Misty and Brock to you, Pikachu." Ash then handed the Poké Balls of Charizard and Venusaur to Misty and Brock.]

["Leave the rest to me," Ash said firmly.]

["You must win, Ash." Misty gave Ash a tight hug, then turned and left.]

["Come back safely, Ash," Brock said with concern.]

["Don't worry."]

[After Misty and Brock gradually disappeared into the night, Ash looked at Giovanni and asked in confusion, "Why didn't you stop them?"]

[Giovanni laughed out loud. "Who do you think I am? I wouldn't do such a classless thing."]

["No," Ash shook his head. "You think you've already won."]

["Perhaps." Giovanni didn't explain further. He turned back, patted Mewtwo on the shoulder, and said slowly, "Go, cause a scene, Mewtwo."]

[After receiving Giovanni's order, Mewtwo slowly rose into the air. During the ascent, its armor gradually fell away. By the time it reached a certain height, the decorations had disappeared, and Mewtwo revealed its true form in front of Ash and Mew for the first time.]

[Its body was silver-white, and from a distance, it looked like a standing big cat. Like Mew, it also had a long tail.]

[Looking closely, one could still see the similarities between Mewtwo and Mew; the biggest difference between the two was their temperament.]

[Mewtwo was more like a hissing, ferocious big cat, while Mew was a cute little kitten that meowed.]

[In the sky, Mewtwo was already waiting. After Mew gave Ash a reassuring look, it also began to ascend.]

[The sky was the battlefield for it and Mewtwo.]

["Then you and I should also have a showdown." Putting away his worry for Mew, Ash looked at Giovanni with murderous intent.]

[He would never let off anyone who dared to target his companions.]

["Hey hey hey, no way, this isn't the Gym Leader from before. You don't think you can still beat me, do you?" Giovanni smiled coldly.]

[Ash didn't reply, but his eyes told Giovanni that he did think so.]

["I've been underestimated." Even with his strongest Pikachu not by his side, he still wanted to win; it was simply ridiculous.]

["Go, Persian. Come out, Ursaring."]

[Persian, who had always been by Giovanni's side, presented an image to outsiders as a well-behaved and obedient cute big cat, but if you really treated it as just a pet, then you were not far from death.]

[Persian didn't hold back just because Ash had no Pokémon by his side. With killing intent, Persian rushed toward Ash without hesitation. Yes, that's right, it didn't matter if there were no Pokémon; the Trainer was a target anyway.]

[The sharp claws shone with a cold white light under the moonlight.]

[Fake Out.]

[Persian was like a hunter in the jungle, attacking with a lethal move. Its sharp claws were aimed specifically at Ash's neck.]

[Neither surprised nor panicked, Ash took a back step and successfully dodged Persian's claw attack.]

["Come out, Lucario, Bullet Punch."]

[Ash used himself as bait just to make Persian reveal a flaw.]

[How could Lucario waste the golden opportunity found by the Trainer risking himself?]

[The fist hit Persian's waist like a bullet, blasting Persian five meters away with one punch.]

Glacia: "Good, that's it, take down one of the opponent's Pokémon first."

Phoebe: "Dark Ash is still impressive. Giovanni probably never dreamed that Dark Ash would dare to use himself as bait."

Steven: "Too smooth. If this continues, Dark Ash will be able to finish off Giovanni in a few rounds, and maybe he'll even be able to help Mew."

Lance: "It won't be that easy. Don't underestimate Giovanni."]

Bruno: "Although this guy's character isn't great, he still has some tricks up his sleeve in terms of strength."

Cynthia: "By the way, who do you think is stronger, Mewtwo or Mew?"]

Flint: "Mew, I guess. After all, in a sense, Mew is Mewtwo's father, or mother."]

Aaron: "No, no, no, I think Mew is still stronger. Didn't you hear Giovanni say that Mewtwo is Team Rocket's most perfect masterpiece, a born fighting machine, a Pokémon born for battle? Mew, who is naturally peace-loving, will definitely suffer if it faces Mewtwo."]

["Meow."]

[Shaking its head, it climbed up from the ground and then threw itself into the battle as if nothing had happened.]

[This guy is too resistant to damage!]

[Ash didn't expect Lucario's punch to take down Persian, but at least it should have severely injured the opponent. But now the result was that Persian didn't look like it had suffered much damage at all; at most, it was just a minor injury. How could Ash not be shocked?]

[On the other side, Ursaring was also matched against Ash's Venusaur. You know, after absorbing all the energy of the Miracle Seed, Venusaur's level was already quite high, but even so, it could only passively defend against Giovanni's Ursaring.]

[Ash looked up at the sky. Mew in the sky was also at a disadvantage under Mewtwo's bombardment. In that case, they were all being suppressed on three battlefields?]

[This won't do, he must bring out some real skills.]

[Ash gave Venusaur a look, and Venusaur understood. It slowly began to condense toxins, preparing to start the toxic-stall tactic.]

[On Lucario's side, Ash began to release Aura throughout his body, channeling the Aura into Lucario's body. The opponent was the boss of Team Rocket, so he didn't need to follow the rules; just go for it.]

[With the addition of Ash's Aura, Lucario immediately took the initiative in the battle, and Aura Spheres began to smash toward Persian like they were free. Persian was quite resistant to damage, but if you fired ten Aura Spheres in a row, no matter how resistant a Pokémon was, it couldn't withstand such an offensive!]

Lance: "Giovanni must have been stunned by Dark Ash's operation. He's lived this long and probably has never seen a ten-shot Aura Sphere."]

Bruno: "It's not Giovanni's fault for being ignorant. Who would have thought that a human could use Aura? What's even more terrifying is that his Aura is even stronger than Lucario's."]

Lorelei: "Dark Ash + Lucario, no one can stop them!"]

["Are you a psychic?" Giovanni frowned.]

[Giovanni, who didn't get an answer from Ash, sighed. "Sigh, I didn't intend to take advantage of you, but there's no other way now."]

[Persian was knocked unconscious by Lucario's Aura Sphere, and Ursaring was also driven to the brink of madness by Venusaur's dirty tactics. There was no other way; he had to be shameless.]

["Come out, Nidoking, Nidoqueen, Dugtrio, Rhyperior, Gliscor, Golem."]

[Giovanni threw out six more Pokémon in one breath.]

Lance: "Shameless, he really has no shame at all!!!"

[Bullying the small is one thing, but now he's using human-sea tactics. Adding the previous Persian and Lucario, how many Pokémon is that in total?]

[That's eight!]

Lorelei: "Is this the first time you've known Giovanni is shameless? I can only say it's fortunate that Ash sent Misty and Brock away, otherwise Giovanni would definitely have ambushed the two to threaten Ash."]

Steven: "That's for sure. When victory is in his grasp, he certainly won't play dirty, but once he's at a disadvantage, he'll do anything. That's Giovanni for you. Those who know, know."]

["As a Ground-type Gym Leader, it's normal for me to bring a few Ground-type Pokémon," Giovanni said with a smile.]

[It could be seen that Giovanni already thought victory was in his grasp at this time.]

[Six Elite-level Pokémon ganging up on a child under 10 years old who had just started out; if he still couldn't win, why would he, Giovanni, run Team Rocket? He might as well go home and inherit the family business.]

[Oh, wait, Team Rocket is the family business he inherited.]

["Fine, playing this trick on me, right? Then don't blame me for being impolite."]

[Don't think that only Giovanni made preparations; Ash also came prepared. It only took 5 days from the village where he received the letter to the port of New Island, but he took 8 days to arrive. You don't think he was walking slowly, do you?]

[Today, let him give Giovanni a surprise.]

["Come out, Dragonite!!!" Ash smiled ferociously. He was ready to slaughter everyone.]

Lance: "When did Ash's Dragonair evolve into Dragonite?"]

Lorelei: "That's not right. Just one Dragonite wouldn't be able to deal with so many of Giovanni's Pokémon. If Dragonite were really that powerful, Lance would have been the League Champion long ago."]