Chapter 763: Destination: The Dragon Clan Territory
Mewtwo did not know what Team Rocket was like in the past.
But to Him, the current Team Rocket was an organization that straddled the line between good and evil.
That group's operating style was treacherous and almost unpredictable.
No.
You could say there was a pattern.
Everything they did centered around the theme of "saving the world."
They had intervened to save more than one or two unexpectedly discovered survivor bases, but they would also forcibly capture certain special humans and Pokémon for experiments.
Furthermore.
The current leader of Team Rocket, "Silver."
Was Giovanni's biological son, Silver.
Exactly as Kazuya had guessed, a human who had lived for a hundred and fifty years.
According to Mewtwo.
When the Great Darkness event broke out.
Silver used himself as test material for an experiment. He forcibly merged Ceruledge's genes into his body, intending to turn himself into a humanoid Pokémon to gain the power to fight against magical beasts.
But ultimately, it decisively failed. He even lost both arms, to the point where he could only use prosthetics now.
However.
The result wasn't completely terrible.
During that experiment, some other materials and equipment effectively served their purpose, causing Silver's youth to return and extending his lifespan.
That was why he could live until now.
As for what exactly that experiment entailed, or who the participants were...
Mewtwo knew absolutely nothing.
After all, when those things happened, He hadn't even been born into this world yet.
He only knew that Team Rocket was not acting alone in their quest to save the world.
They also had cooperative organizations in the Hoenn and Kalos regions.
"Incredible, incredible. Maybe humanity can actually save the world themselves," Kazuya sighed in admiration.
Then he raised his hand and stuffed a piece of Bird Egg Waffle into his mouth.
The taste wasn't too sweet, even having a slight hint of saltiness. It was really good; no wonder it became popular.
As for Team Rocket?
He had to admit.
Team Rocket's determination to save the world was unquestionable.
Especially that guy Silver. Treating himself as a test subject so early on—he was simply a madman.
People like that could achieve anything they set their minds to.
Kazuya didn't doubt that Team Rocket might truly have a sliver of a chance to save the world in the future.
Regarding his words.
Mewtwo was noncommittal.
More accurately, Mewtwo simply didn't care about this matter, so He wouldn't consider whether Team Rocket had that chance.
Whether this world was saved or not.
Mewtwo felt it didn't matter.
If it weren't for the memories belonging to Mew influencing Him, whether the world was saved or not wouldn't affect Him in the slightest.
Right now, He only cared about what this brown liquid in His hand was, as it tasted incredibly awful.
"That's coffee. It's a drink only adults can understand," Kazuya explained, seeing the confusion in His eyes.
"...Delicious."
Mewtwo took a sip and nodded with feigned seriousness.
The Lucario beside them smiled at this but said nothing.
"Lucario, what's the longest we can stay in one place?" Kazuya turned to look at the dog.
Over the past few decades, Lucario had traveled many paths, so his experience must be broader.
Some things Scizor didn't know.
Perhaps Lucario did.
"Well, generally speaking, it's best not to exceed a week. But since Lord Kazuya and Mewtwo are together, it would be best if we changed our hiding spot every three days."
Lucario thought for a moment and gave a specific answer.
Three days.
Basically meant their footsteps couldn't stop.
It would slightly delay training.
But there was no other way.
"Alright, then we'll stay in Egg Village for two days, then continue heading west."
Kazuya nodded, then looked at Lucario and Scizor, "For these two days, you two take Mewtwo out to fight in the town. Improve His combat skills and help Him accumulate some battle experience."
"Yes." x2
Both nodded simultaneously.
Kazuya's current task was to retrain his attribute energy and Aura.
Those were paths he had walked countless times and didn't need anyone's guidance or to be led in training.
All he needed right now was time.
The long journey began.
The four Pokémon zigzagged their way into the Mt. Silver mountain range.
Because this place was truly a good training ground, they wandered around the Mt. Silver mountain range, staying for quite a long time before crossing it and arriving in the Johto region to the west.
By this time.
A month had passed since they left Egg Village.
In that month.
Kazuya's training in attribute energy finally reached its conclusion.
A narrow offensive coverage was no longer his weakness in this life; the fly in the ointment was now that his perception ability was inferior to his previous lifetimes.
Therefore.
His next training focus.
Naturally shifted to Aura.
Training Aura was a mentally exhausting task. Even with Kazuya's talent, it would take a lot of time, so he could only take it slowly.
As for psychic powers.
Kazuya did want to train them.
But one must take things one step at a time; taking too big of a step could pull a muscle.
Although both Aura and psychic powers fell under special abilities, their training methods were completely different and entirely opposite.
Aura required continuous battle.
While psychic powers required continuous meditation.
You can't have your cake and eat it too.
So Kazuya had to make a choice, otherwise, the progress of both abilities might be very slow.
His first choice was, of course, Aura.
Whether in terms of training experience or application techniques.
The Aura that had followed him all the way from his third life to his current eighth life definitely steadily surpassed his psychic powers.
Therefore.
In the days to come.
Kazuya would need to engage in continuous battle with magical beasts.
And it was best to focus on close combat.
This way, the speed of training Aura would be faster.
On the other hand, Mewtwo's progress was also tremendous.
Under the tutelage of Lucario and Scizor, and after experiencing hundreds of actual battles in the Mt. Silver mountain range, Mewtwo's combat ability had taken a qualitative leap compared to a month ago.
Especially in the realm of close combat experience and skills, Mewtwo could already be called a veteran martial artist.
This was perhaps partly because His two seniors were both kings of close combat.
But one couldn't ignore Mewtwo's dazzling talent either.
The title of a Legendary Pokémon wasn't just for show.
Kazuya had a profound understanding of this in his current life.
Training with this body was as smooth as flowing water, yielding twice the result with half the effort, vastly faster than his previous lifetimes.
As a Psychic-type Legendary Pokémon.
Mewtwo's intelligence and potential were even more unimaginably exaggerated.
Many things only required a little bit of thought to understand and learn; this was truly a terrifying talent.
After exiting the Mt. Silver mountain range.
Kazuya immediately confirmed their direction and headed southwest.
Lucario instantly began recalling the human towns they would pass through in this direction, then asked curiously, "Lord Kazuya, are you going to Blackthorn City?"
"That's right."
Kazuya nodded.
Blackthorn City, located in the northeastern corner of the Johto region.
That was the first destination Kazuya had decided on long ago.
More accurately speaking.
It was the Dragon Clan Territory located deepest within Blackthorn City.
He only had one friend in the Dragon Clan Territory.
Dragonite.
That was a friend Kazuya knew since his second life.
The last time they met was in his third life. Roughly three hundred and thirty years should have passed by now, and even in Kazuya's memories, it was over three hundred years ago.
It really had been a very long time.
At that time, Dragonite was already quite old, with wrinkles appearing around her eyes.
During his fourth life, Kazuya had heard Lance and Lorelei talk about Dragonite. She was able to live a bit longer due to the growth of her strength, which was considered pretty good news.
But he didn't go look for her.
After all...
He wouldn't stay by Dragonite's side.
Meeting again would only add to the sorrow, experiencing separation one more time.
Just knowing she was still living happily was enough.
Now...
Over a hundred years had passed since then.
Kazuya didn't know if she was still alive either.
Perhaps Dragonite had already died of old age before the Great Darkness event; that would also be considered a very good ending.
Or perhaps Dragonite was still alive today, struggling to survive within the Dragon Clan Territory.
Without seeing it with his own eyes.
Kazuya couldn't guess.
But precisely because of this.
He wanted to go over and take a look.
What if Dragonite was truly still alive?
Then did she need his help right now?
"..."
Beside him, Scizor frowned thoughtfully.
He liked to guess the intentions behind Master's every move, always feeling he could learn something from it.
But regrettably.
He couldn't guess who Kazuya was going to the Dragon Clan Territory to find.
This was normal.
After all, the last time Kazuya and Dragonite met, Scizor wasn't even born yet.
And neither he nor Meowscarada had ever mentioned Dragonite to Scizor in the past, so it was perfectly normal for the latter not to know.
"Is there something special about Blackthorn City? Does Kazuya have a friend there?"
Mewtwo looked at Lucario curiously, asked half the question, and then looked at Kazuya.
He had also seen the projection emitted by the Time Flower earlier.
He knew the Tree of Beginning wanted Kazuya to go visit the places where his former friends lived.
Therefore.
If their next destination was Blackthorn City.
Then either that city had something special about it, or it was the hometown of one of Kazuya's friends.
It was worth mentioning.
After spending a month together.
Although Mewtwo didn't say it and it didn't show on His face, His actual relationship with the three companions had improved significantly.
In the past, Mewtwo wouldn't take the initiative to talk to them, only answering passively.
But now it was different.
"I don't think there's anything special about Blackthorn City itself. If I had to guess, it's probably because of the Dragon Clan Territory there. If I remember correctly, it's Champion Lance's hometown? Lord Kazuya was once Elite Four Lorelei's ace; he must have had quite a few interactions with Champion Lance. Perhaps they were friends?"
Lucario made a guess based on what he knew.
It wasn't unreasonable.
But it was still a bit off the mark.
Lorelei and Lance could be considered rivals and friends.
But Kazuya's relationship with Lance was just so-so.
The latter would shudder whenever he saw him, putting on an expression like he was facing a great enemy every time. Where would he find the time to bond with him?
Kazuya was certain that the "friends" the Tree of Beginning referred to.
Definitely did not include Lance.
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