Chapter 160: Mewtwo Strikes Back Again? Just Give It a Shock. (Part 3)

After severely "punishing" the Growlithe, whose face was full of innocence, Luo Mu ordered it to dig its slippers out of the hole and wash them clean, or there would be no dinner tonight, before storming off in a rage.

Only the Growlithe remained, looking utterly bewildered as if struck by an unprovoked disaster, pitifully staring at the several holes it had dug.

Now the Growlithe truly understood the frustration of a mute eating coptis—bitterness with no way to speak of it.

Usually, it messed with Luo Mu's slippers every single day; just this one time it didn't, yet it was framed by some sinister individual, and the Growlithe was nearly worried to death.

Did it bury them or not? How could it not know?

The Growlithe stared at the small hole for a long while, thinking about tonight's dinner; after a moment of hesitation, it still walked over and started digging again.

What if it really remembered wrong?

In the gap while searching for the Luxray, Luo Mu gazed toward the farmland district, where a miniature sun, jointly released by the Dragonair and others, was shining down on the plants below, helping them carry out photosynthesis.

Seeing such dutiful Dragonair, Luo Mu did not forget the promise he had made to them; moreover, that was at least his own Dragonite's mother, so by both emotion and reason, he had to do his utmost to help find her.

After pondering for a short while, Luo Mu asked in his mind, "Where is the Dragonite Leader now? If you cannot tell me the specific location, then a general area will suffice."

The Hint System remained silent for quite a while before finally displaying text.

【Kanto Region】

"The Kanto Region."

Luo Mu stopped in his tracks, frowning slightly.

This was truly far enough; Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh were considered adjacent regions, and hearing from Serena, that so-called Kitakami was also near the Sinnoh region.

That meant there was a time difference of about twelve hours between the Paldea region and the Kanto region; even flying at full speed, a Dragonite would have to fly for a long time to cover this distance, so why would the Dragonite Leader abandon her child and the Dragonair to go there?

Luo Mu could not figure it out at all.

The Delibird picked up the pair of slippers carrying a familiar scent, thinking that Mew indeed had nothing to do with being reliable; it had actually thought Mew was finally going to step up this time and teleport Luo Mu over.

Since the slippers had disappeared again, the one suffering misfortune was definitely the innocent Growlithe.

Mourning the Growlithe for one second and letting out a long sigh, the Delibird stuffed the two pairs of slippers into its tail pocket and spoke to Mew, "De-li-li?" (I'm going to find that strongest Trainer to have them release the Dragonite Leader from mind control; are you coming?)

Mew thought for a moment and, surprisingly, did not cause any trouble, likely wanting to make up for its image in the Delibird's eyes; it nodded and touched the Delibird.

A flash of light passed, and the figures of the two Pokémon vanished from the attic.

Meanwhile, the Dragonite Leader sat like a rag doll in the dust-filled attic, its eyes filled with the human girl from the depths of its memory, willingly immersing itself in an illusory bubble of happiness.

The Delibird's vision blurred, and it found itself in a spacious hall; looking downward, it saw a very familiar human swinging their right fist at a humanoid Pokémon surrounded by a terrifying oppressive aura, which made the Delibird feel something was wrong at just a glance.

As expected, the youth's punch not only failed to hit but was directly repelled by the Pokémon's psychic power, sending him flying precisely in the direction where they had appeared.

Amidst a chorus of gasps, the Delibird, feeling that it had at least followed them for a while, did not hesitate too much; it directly lowered its altitude, grabbed Ash's clothes, and helped him land steadily.

"Thank you, Delibird!?"

Ash rubbed his temples, which were spinning from the impact, looked at the Pokémon that had saved him, and cried out in surprise.

His impression of this Delibird was far too deep; his Pikachu had never lost so helplessly like that, and recently his mind had been entirely filled with the desire to challenge the Delibird to a rematch.

Mew also floated down, curiously sizing up the cap-wearing youth.

On the other side, the several people worried about Ash were also startled by the sudden appearance of the Delibird and Mew; they recognized the Delibird, but they had no impression of the other Pokémon.

Mewtwo's gaze simultaneously swept over, and upon seeing Mew, its pupils constricted, its surrounding aura instantly surged, and without a second thought, it raised its hand to condense a Shadow Ball and threw it at Mew, disregarding that Ash and the Delibird were still within the Shadow Ball's explosion range; in its eyes, there was now only the single Pokémon, Mew.

Mew, who noticed Mewtwo's action first, tilted its head and made no move, whereas the Delibird's heart hung in the air; it immediately exerted its full strength to use the most powerful move it knew, Blizzard.

Biting wind and snow blew past, barely freezing Mewtwo's Shadow Ball, which was approaching the power of a basic attack.

After urgently accomplishing all this, the Delibird blinked its eyes and suddenly realized a fact.

It seemed that although that humanoid Pokémon looked frightening, its attack strength wasn't actually that strong?

At the very least, its full power could block the opponent's Shadow Ball; if it had been Luxray's lightning, it would have long since pierced through the Blizzard and electrocuted it numb.

Discovering that its attack had not even touched Mew and had been blocked by a seemingly ordinary Delibird, Mewtwo's fury grew even stronger; it flipped its wrist and flung out two Shadow Balls shimmering with a pitch-black aura of destruction.

Feeling that it had witnessed an unexpectedly good show, Mew finally exerted its effort; psychic power surged forth, and with a flash of light, it directly carried the Delibird and Ash across space to appear before Mewtwo.

The suddenly appearing Ash startled Misty and the others, who cried out, "Teleport!?"

Mew covered its mouth and emitted an innocent, naive laughter, getting excited all on its own.

"Mew! Even though I was created based on your prototype, I will now prove that I am the stronger one; the victor becomes king and the loser becomes a bandit—I am the true original!"

Mewtwo could no longer suppress its fury; psychic power surged out crazily, and it directly launched an attack against the bewildered Mew.

Mew continuously dodged Mewtwo's attacks with flexible and showy footwork, and whenever it couldn't dodge, it used Teleport; Mewtwo simply could not lay a finger on it.

"What's happening?"

Ash's group, Nurse Joy, and the Trainers who had crossed the storm all looked at each other in blank dismay.

Perhaps because it had consumed too much psychic power earlier teleporting Luo Mu's slippers, one of Mew's Teleports was a beat too slow, and it was directly hit by Mewtwo's Shadow Ball, getting blasted away.

Sensing the psychic power permeating Mewtwo's body, the Delibird finally realized that the Pokémon playing with the Dragonite Leader's mind was most likely this one, and fury instantly surged within it.

"De-li!" (What kind of strong one are you!)

The Delibird's voice immediately drew the attention of both Mew, who was slightly angry and preparing to counterattack, and Mewtwo.

Seizing the opportunity, Mew also emitted a mocking sound that feared the world was not chaotic enough: "Mew-mew-mew!" (The original is the original; an imitation can never compare to the original!)

Mewtwo, with fury reaching the heavens, declared, "In that case, let us prove that our strength far surpasses yours!"

Mewtwo's psychic power rippled outward, and the clone Pokémon army below received the order, directly launching an attack against the Trainers' Pokémon present, their prototypes.

Meanwhile, Mewtwo also condensed psychic power to wrap around itself and launched the most primitive close-quarters battle against Mew.

Every collision between them erupted into shockwaves that swept the surroundings, causing buildings to constantly shatter and collapse.

Below, countless Pokémon with nearly identical appearances fought in a chaotic melee, striking each other's flesh; even Pokémon with gentle temperaments were no exception, as they were now dominated by the most primitive desire to win.

Gradually, even Pokémon covered in scars, whose stamina was nearly exhausted, continued to struggle, while in the duel between Mew and Mewtwo high above, the sphere of psychic power enveloping Mew gradually became transparent.

Joy clenched her trembling hands tightly, her face showing reluctance: "Whether prototype or clone Pokémon, everyone has now been born into this world; what meaning does this battle truly have..."

"We are all of the same kind; why must we determine a winner and a loser?"

Brock and Misty were also shocked and awed by such a cruel scene, their expressions filled with immense sorrow.

Meanwhile, Xiao Zhi had already rushed into the center of the Pokémon battle, stopping Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and other Pokémon from harming each other.

The Delibird watched this chaotic scene; while feeling bewildered, it also knew it had to do something, or at least stop the fighting among the Pokémon below.

But, relying solely on its own strength...

Boom!

Just then, a tremendous noise drew the Delibird's attention.

There, Mew's psychic barrier shattered completely upon colliding with Mewtwo, which slammed Mew directly into the ground, leaving it lying scarred and battered in a large crater.

The Delibird's expression froze as it remembered something it had overlooked.

Mew's psychic powers had been heavily depleted not long ago to teleport Luo Mu! Its condition was incomplete, so it lost the contest of strength to Mewtwo.

"It's over. From now on, I am the real one, the Mewtwo who has surpassed Mew! I am both the strongest Pokémon and the strongest Pokémon Trainer!"

Mewtwo's gaze was cold as a Shadow Ball began to coalesce in its hand, clearly intending to deliver the final blow to Mew.

"Mew."

Mew's weak voice rang out. Knowing the reason for Mew's defeat, the Delibird found courage from who-knows-where and stepped directly in front of Mew.

"Get out of the way!"

Mewtwo dispersed the Shadow Ball and gathered its psychic power, intending to fling the Delibird away.

Although Mew loved to play, it was far from foolish; its slightly taunting voice rang out: "Mew, mew, mew, mew, mew!" (Indeed, even with Mew's condition incomplete, Mew lost this fight. But you claim to be the strongest Trainer and Pokémon—have you asked the Delibird's Trainer?)

"What did you say?"

Mewtwo's oppressive gaze fixed directly on the Delibird, sizing it up and down.

Indeed, the Delibird could block a casual Shadow Ball from it, but that did not make Mew, a defeated opponent, qualified to claim it wasn't the strongest.

Now filled with the desire to thoroughly prove itself at this opportunity, Mewtwo was completely swayed by the matter brought up by the old fox Mew, urgently wanting to make Mew submit with conviction.

Seeing Mewtwo take the bait, Mew breathed a sigh of relief; while internally complaining about why it had gotten involved in such muddy waters, it immediately began shifting the conflict: "Even Mew admits that Trainer's strength is far beyond its own. Even if you defeat Mew, it doesn't mean you've become the strongest!"

Mewtwo knew Mew was taunting it, but its goal was to prove the meaning of its existence; as long as it became the strongest, it would be the genuine article, and Mew would be the counterfeit.

Mewtwo willingly accepted this taunt.

Mewtwo raised a hand and clenched its fist; psychic power rippled outward, and its massive telekinetic force precisely controlled and halted the battling Pokémon, distributing them to the left and right sides of the arena according to their factions, clearing a space in the middle.

Having done all this, Mewtwo turned its oppressive gaze toward the Delibird and asked in a commanding tone, "Where is your Trainer now? Let him come out."

The Delibird glared at Mew, who had shifted the disaster eastward, but Mew shamelessly averted its gaze; facing Mewtwo's increasingly powerful pressure, the Delibird stubbornly remained silent.

However, Mew spoke again: "Mew, mew." (He is very far away right now; even Mew's psychic powers cannot teleport him here.)

Mew briefly explained the failed attempt to summon Luo Mu.

After hearing the whole story, Mewtwo glanced disdainfully at Mew and mocked, "Your control over psychic powers is so crude; truly useless. Hand over the item used to summon you; let me do it!"

Taunted, Mew chose to endure, planning to seize an opportunity to escape using Teleport.

The Delibird stared angrily at Mew; it hadn't expected this fellow to be so despicable, but under Mewtwo's powerful telekinesis, the items in its tail were lifted out one by one by psychic force.

A warm family portrait photo entered Mewtwo's sight; the happy atmosphere in the photo made Mewtwo pause. Suppressing the emotions that suddenly arose, Mewtwo did not forget what it needed to do now. Thinking that the Delibird's Trainer must be the human in the photo, Mewtwo, under the strange gazes of the humans around it who were suppressed by its psychic power, grabbed a pair of slippers.

Its body's surging psychic power began to flow, using the faint scent on those slippers to cross space and search for their owner.

Meanwhile, in the Paldea region, Luo Mu had just recalled his Luxray and found his Dragonite; after storing them in their Poké Balls, he planned to go into Pingdie Town to purchase fish fry.

The moment his front foot stepped out of the farm gate, after an imperceptible spatial fluctuation, Luo Mu's figure vanished from the spot.

"????"

Looking at the somewhat familiar surroundings, the silver-white artificial Pokémon before him, and the pair of extremely familiar slippers clutched in its hands, Luo Mu admitted his CPU was about to burn out.

What situation was this?

Luo Mu's gaze shifted to the people and Pokémon suppressed by telekinesis not far away; combining this with the Mewtwo before him, an extremely absurd guess formed in his mind.

Could the Pokémon before him be... Counterattack Bro?

"De-li."

A familiar cry rang out; Luo Mu quickly turned to look behind him, finding the Delibird looking at him with sparkling eyes, along with Mew, who was similarly suppressed by telekinesis beside it.

Panic was useless; forcing himself to calm down, Luo Mu frowned, picked up the Delibird—the only one not suppressed by Mewtwo—and asked, "What's the situation now?"

Just as the Delibird was about to speak, Mewtwo's voice cut in: "You must be the strongest Trainer Mew mentioned. Fight me, then suffer a humiliating, dignity-less defeat at my hands!"

The strongest Trainer?

Why did Mew call him that?

Although confused, Luo Mu still grasped the key point: "This is New Island? You used your psychic powers to cross nearly half a planet just to teleport me here because you wanted to battle me?"

"Correct."

Mewtwo was surprised that this human could analyze so much information so quickly; perhaps this human really was a powerful Trainer, just as Mew had said.

Just as Mewtwo was about to move Luo Mu with telekinesis, a Poké Ball at his waist automatically opened, and an angry Luxray appeared beside Luo Mu; golden electric currents rippled outward, interrupting Mewtwo's action.

Luxray was currently extremely angry and self-blaming; it hadn't expected that shortly after entering its Poké Ball, Luo Mu would be captured by psychic power and teleported to some unknown place.

Such a loss of composure was unprecedented.

Luxray stood between Luo Mu and the Delibird, growling a warning at Mewtwo: if it dared to move recklessly again, the next electric current would strike Mewtwo directly.

"You are strong; it seems Mew didn't lie to me. Let us fight and decide who among us is the strongest!"

Mewtwo suddenly soared into the sky; under its psychic control, the Trainers and their Pokémon were sealed within rock and earth, while the clone Pokémon army under its control remained quietly in place.

Its eyes were full of excitement, for it could sense from Luxray not the aura of a good-for-nothing wastrel like Mew, who wasted its own talents accomplishing nothing, but the aura of a seasoned veteran who had fought through countless battles!

Luo Mu: "????"

Where did this madman come from, with nothing but fighting and killing on its mind?

However, if this was the chuunibyou Counterattack Bro from this era, it didn't seem strange.

Luo Mu had no idea how much power Mewtwo currently possessed, but judging by the surroundings, he understood that due to the Delibird's appearance, the course of events here was now completely different from the movie.

Those Trainers and Pokémon sealed over there, along with himself being summoned by Mewtwo, were the clearest evidence.

It seems that no matter what, a fight is unavoidable today.

Noticing this, Luo Mu might have chosen to avoid battle in the past, but having caught a fleeting glimpse of the aura of that alien Rayquaza on the plane, he was now intensely curious about the strength of legendary Pokémon like Mewtwo; a look of interest appeared on his face as he shouted, "Electric Terrain!"

Luxray roared loudly, and fierce electric currents instantly surged into the ground, causing sparks of electricity to fly across the surface.

At the same time, Mewtwo flung a series of Shadow Balls, each one compressed to the absolute limit of its power.

Without needing Luo Mu's reminder, wild electric currents surged outward with Luxray at the center, instantly shattering the series of Shadow Balls and continuing unabated as they darted toward Mewtwo.

Mewtwo's terrifying psychic power erupted instantly; a powerful shockwave immediately crushed the electric current and blasted straight toward Luxray, destroying everything in its path, for only now was Mewtwo displaying its true full power.

Electric currents flickered over Luxray's body as it instantly dashed away to evade the shockwave, appearing to pay no attention to Luo Mu behind it.

This was because Luo Mu had been carried away from the attack range by another reliable partner.

Riding on Dragonite's back, Luo Mu directed Luxray to launch an offensive against Mewtwo.

On the other side, Ash and his companions, who were bound and restrained, watched the battle erupting between Mewtwo and Luxray in disbelief, staring wide-eyed as they exclaimed, "That Electric-type Pokémon can actually contend with Mewtwo!"

The battle had lasted only a short while before the wild electric currents destroyed more than half the arena; under Mewtwo's psychic power, the castle also shattered, transforming into massive boulders that attacked Luxray, only to be smashed apart by Luxray's electricity.

Ash suddenly looked at the Pikachu beside him and asked, "Since they are both Electric-type Pokémon, Pikachu should be able to do the same, right?"

"Pika!?" Pikachu froze, and with only its head able to move, it shook it frantically.

It couldn't do it!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A large hole blew open in the castle; Mewtwo, surrounded by a glow of psychic power, took the opportunity to leave this place where it could not freely maneuver, while Luxray, wreathed in Lei Ting, and Dragonite followed closely behind, pursuing it.

After the warm-up just now, Luo Mu gradually figured out Mewtwo's combat capabilities and made his judgment.

It must have been born recently and had been bound in armor by Giovanni for a long period; the current Mewtwo was still far from reaching its peak.

As for its specific strength... it was probably just a notch weaker than Luxray.

In short, its future looked promising.

After Luxray's Thunder once again blasted apart the psychic power coiling around it in an attempt to control its body, Luo Mu looked up at Mewtwo in the sky and suddenly shouted loudly, "Why do you pursue becoming the strongest?"

"I have already surpassed Mew; only after defeating you to become the strongest can I, as the strongest on this planet, prove my existence and demonstrate that my birth has meaning!"

Mewtwo once again released terrifying psychic power, churning the wind and clouds to bring forth a torrential downpour, while a sphere of light formed from its psychic energy in its hand constantly expanded and swelled before crashing down toward Luxray.

Luxray dashed across the island, its brilliant golden pupils as dazzling as the blazing sun; it let out a high roar toward the heavens, causing thunder to crash within the dark clouds, and immediately a vast bolt of Lei Ting connecting heaven and earth split down, directly destroying the attack.

"Was your birth solely for the sake of pursuing the empty title of 'the strongest'? If that is all, then you will never be able to reach the realm of the strongest in your entire life."

"Hmph!"

Mewtwo snorted coldly and, ignoring everything else, gathered a sphere of psychic power even more formidable than before, intending to blast Luxray along with half of New Island away.

Luo Mu knew very well that Mewtwo was currently trapped in the whirlpool of a philosophical question regarding proving its own existence; in the anime, it was Ash's sacrifice and the tears of Pokémon like Pikachu that made it realize it was also part of the world, causing it to stop pursuing the empty title of "the strongest."

But now, the plot had clearly gone off the rails, and only he, who was present here, could stop Mewtwo from continuing its rampage.

He certainly could not use Ash and the others' method, so the only option left was to use the method he was best at to properly treat this chuunibyou child.

Pulling the Terastal Orb, which he never left home without, from his pocket, Luo Mu threw it toward Luxray and shouted, "Luxray, give this brat, who is trapped in his own world and won't listen to reason, a good shock!"

After the clear sound of crystal shattering, the brilliance of the Tera phenomenon shone upon Luxray's body; with the Wang Guan atop its head, Luxray's gaze burned like a torch as it drew the wild Lei Ting from the dark clouds to don a golden battle armor, its roar echoing through the universe like that of a roaring male lion.

"Wild Charge!"

Stimulated by the electric current, Luxray's dashing speed had already surpassed the limit of Mewtwo's naked-eye tracking; under Mewtwo's incredulous gaze, Luxray fiercely stomped the ground, carrying a terrifying shockwave as it instantly pierced through the sphere of psychic power Mewtwo had condensed with full effort, directly slamming it into the ground.

Even the Reflect and Light Screen that Mewtwo hastily condensed could not stop the ravages of Lei Ting; enduring the pain of electric currents crawling over its body, Mewtwo tried to raise its hand to counterattack, but was pinned down by a single claw from Luxray.

The dark clouds stirred up by Mewtwo overhead also became an aid for Luxray; electric currents surged, transforming into vast Lei Ting that crashed down straight onto its head!

Mewtwo's consciousness gradually faded away.

(End of Chapter)