November 29.
The day after Mewtwo's defeat.
It stood silently by the reservoir in the plantation, staring blankly at the water.
In the pond, Milotic and Primarina swam gracefully, whispering softly to one another.
"Milotic?" (It's been here for two days already.)
"Primarina…" (So strange… what is it thinking?)
"Milotic." (Feels like… feels like something has already…)
Milotic could not find the right words.
Yet the state Mewtwo was in now was strangely similar to the flustered look it had when Lin Feng had touched it before.
There was something familiar about it, yet also different.
The two Pokémon glanced left and right. Although Mewtwo's gaze wandered slightly, it remained locked on the water, making them feel awkward.
Finally, Primarina gathered courage, surfaced, and nudged Mewtwo. "Primarina?"
"So strong…"
Mewtwo straightened, eyes glittering with determination.
Primarina froze. "??? This strong?"
Milotic looked at itself and then at Primarina. It seemed… like it was the weakest one here, didn't it?
It didn't understand what Mewtwo was saying.
Thinking Mewtwo might have gone mad, Primarina swam back.
Mewtwo, however, did not notice anything unusual. Its mind was entirely focused on Giratina.
Previously, it had known it was powerful and that there surely existed Pokémon stronger than itself. But it had never encountered them, and assumed that even if they were stronger, it would be on equal footing with them.
The battle in the Reverse World had proven otherwise.
Except for the slight advantage its psychic powers gave it, nothing it did could match the God of Reversal.
This meant the God of Reversal was far stronger than Mewtwo itself.
The realization sparked a burning interest in Mewtwo.
It wanted to become stronger.
Then it would challenge the God of Reversal again.
It dashed into the cowshed, eyes shining as it looked at the barrels of wine stacked inside.
"Drinking may enhance psychic abilities," it murmured to itself.
Opening a barrel of honey wine, it used its psychic powers to pull the liquid into its stomach, as if an invisible force siphoned it straight in.
The wine level visibly dropped.
But when three-quarters of the barrel had been consumed, it stopped.
"Burp…"
It let out a long burp, staggering slightly as it leaned against the barrel.
The alcohol was strong. Mewtwo had known this before, but had never drunk so much at once.
Drinking that much in one go made its stomach swell uncomfortably.
At that moment, Lin Feng walked in carrying a jar of fresh honey. He was surprised to see Mewtwo leaning against the wine barrel.
But instead of rushing to help, his first instinct was to quietly pull out his phone, snap a photo at lightning speed, and then move quickly to Mewtwo's side.
"Seriously… how much did you drink?"
This honey wine was potent. Even Giratina needed three days to finish one barrel. Serperior would get drunk just by touching it. The chocolates Lin Feng made with this honey wine had their dosage carefully controlled. He never let anyone drink too much.
Even a psychic-type Pokémon could not handle drinking too much at once.
"Huh?"
Seeing Lin Feng enter, Mewtwo steadied itself, though its flushed face still betrayed how much it had consumed.
Lin Feng glanced at the barrel, now only a quarter full, and could not help twitching his lips. A full barrel held roughly 250 liters, so consuming three-quarters meant over 60 liters gone.
"You're drunk," he said plainly.
"I… I'm not drunk…" Mewtwo said, face serious. Yet its trembling legs betrayed otherwise.
Lin Feng burst into laughter.
This made Mewtwo's already red face turn even darker.
The barrels around them began to shake. The cowshed seemed to hum with some invisible force, emitting an eerie sound.
Mewtwo was clearly angry.
"Wait, wait, calm down," Lin Feng said, quickly moving to Mewtwo's side, patting its shoulder to signal it to stop using its psychic powers.
"You drank to enhance your psychic ability, right? But you know that the power from drinking cannot come instantly. And even with all that wine, you still might not be able to surpass Giratina."
Mewtwo's face was bright red, showing little sign that it had actually heard him. Yet deep down, it understood.
Lin Feng was right.
The wine could enhance psychic power, but relying solely on it to reach a level capable of challenging the God of Reversal would require unknown time.
Being newly created, it did not have the timeless patience that other Legendary Pokémon possessed.
Lin Feng shifted the topic quickly. "But… if you want to increase your strength, there is a way."
"What?" Mewtwo blinked, staring at Lin Feng, half in shock, half in disbelief.
"It's actually simple…" Lin Feng did not leave him in suspense this time. "As you know, most Pokémon can evolve."
"Furthermore, evolution usually strengthens a Pokémon and enhances its power."
You understand what I mean, right?
"You mean… I can evolve?" Mewtwo's eyes widened in realization.
Evolution. It was not uncommon in the Pokémon world. Mewtwo had witnessed many evolutions, especially alongside Team Rocket. Every evolution it had seen brought a significant increase in power.
But before, it had never truly cared. The improvement, though significant, was nothing remarkable to it.
Now things were different.
It had just heard that it could evolve. And from the scale of growth, this evolution promised tremendous power.
But how exactly would it change?
"Under normal circumstances, you cannot evolve further."
Mewtwo: "…"
It pressed on. "Then under what conditions could I evolve?"
Lin Feng smiled mysteriously.
"There is a kind of evolution called Mega Evolution. It is an evolution beyond normal evolution. It allows you to become stronger in a short time."
"Mega Evolution?"
The term made Mewtwo's eyes widen.
It felt the word was perfectly fitting.
Giovanni had once said, since it was artificially created… it was modeled after Mew. And its name, Mewtwo, literally means 'beyond Mew.'
Could it be that this evolution also had the word 'Mega' in it?
An evolution beyond evolution.
It sounded powerful.
Mewtwo, now like a curious student, stared at Lin Feng. "How do I Mega Evolve?"
Lin Feng paused, then showed a hint of surprise. "Well… I don't know either…"
Mewtwo: "…"
Right now, it felt like punching someone.