"If a Trainer can't cross the storm and make it here, then there's no point in sending them an invitation?"
Grey, Sabrina, and Caitlin all noticed the note on the envelope. After reading it aloud, they could vaguely feel a trace of arrogant psychic power rising from it.
Then it smacked right into their faces.
And accomplished absolutely nothing.
"Hypnosis?"
Grey turned toward Sabrina and Caitlin and asked.
The moment it touched him, a wave of drowsiness really had tried to wash over him. That psychic power had actually managed to affect him on a subconscious level.
As far as beings with that kind of ability went, aside from Sabrina and Caitlin, there was only one left: Mewtwo, the king of dramatic comebacks.
But.
According to Grey's memory, the one who did this really had been Mewtwo.
The problem was, that had happened in Kanto, and the one delivering the invitation had been a Dragonite.
Could it be that Mewtwo had decided to do as the locals did and turn his comeback plan into a Unova version?
Somewhere in Unova's waters, on Liberty Garden.
"Vini!" (Mewtwo! Are you sure this is really going to bring a whole bunch of Trainers here to play with me?)
A small Pokémon that looked somewhat like a squirrel, with a wing-shaped tail and a body forming a V-like silhouette, flew over to the side of a black-robed figure.
Blinking its large watery blue eyes, it asked the black-cloaked figure its question.
This was the Victory Pokémon, Victini.
"Yes. I already had Hydreigon match invitations with Trainers who have enough fame to meet my standards. They're barely good enough to catch my eye, but if they come over and spend some time playing with you, that should be fine."
"Although... afterward, I'll need your power. When the time comes, I hope you'll grant me some of your strength."
Through Colress, Mewtwo had learned that there was an island in Unova's southern sea known as Liberty Garden.
Victini lived there.
According to rumor, this Pokémon could bring victory to Trainers.
So Mewtwo had wandered the sea for three days before finally finding Liberty Garden.
As for any sort of detection machines, Mewtwo had casually fooled them all with psychic power.
"Unova's technology really is laughably bad. Good thing the scientist himself is actually capable."
That was how Mewtwo felt after spending these past few days with Team Plasma.
Honestly, compared to Kanto, Unova really did feel like the countryside when it came to Pokémon-related black tech.
This region's Elite Four and Champion were weak too. None of them could even detect his psychic scans.
To be honest, Mewtwo was half tempted to keep chaining Teleports until he crossed the ocean and returned to Kanto.
But he could not do that.
Whether it was the development of Genesect or the creation of Mewtwo Two, neither could be abandoned.
He, Mewtwo, had a small ambition.
He wanted to create an organization of his own, one that did not depend on Team Rocket.
If possible...
Maybe he should even build a Gym of his own.
In Mewtwo's mind, Grey's outline gradually appeared.
That young man had left far too deep an impression on him.
Sadly, he probably would not run into him in Unova.
Well, fine. He would just keep building his strength, gradually bring other regions under his control, and only then stand before Grey to reveal his true power.
When that day came, Grey would surely look at him with fresh admiration.
And when Grey begged to join him in ruling the world, Mewtwo would reluctantly accept him into his ranks.
What did Hoenn call that again...
Something like the merit of serving Rayquaza, maybe.
"Vini." (By the way, Mewtwo, you're a Pokémon from Kanto, right? So why not hold this tournament in Kanto instead? I'm happy you're doing this for me, but Trainers in Kanto should be stronger than the ones here, right?)
Victini had a lot of questions. More than anything, it was confused why Mewtwo, who clearly had Champion-level strength, would choose to hold a private tournament in a place like Unova.
Champion-level power was top-tier no matter where you went.
Even in Kanto, there were fewer than ten Trainers with Champion-level strength.
"That's right, I'm from Kanto. But through a series of circumstances, I ended up in Unova. So I figured I'd start here and build things up slowly. I want to get a taste of what it feels like to start from nothing."
Mewtwo's answer was half true and half false.
That was only one of his reasons.
In reality...
If he really held this kind of tournament in Kanto, the people showing up would not be rookie Trainers.
It would be the Kanto Elite Four, two battle legends, one absurdly sturdy Pokémon Professor, and three kindly Gym Leaders.
That made ten, exactly.
Mewtwo might not even rank in Kanto's top ten.
His own current strength was still too lacking.
He could not match Grey physically, and when it came to psychic control, Sabrina would chase him around and beat him senseless.
What a damn mess.
Mewtwo cursed inwardly and let out a helpless sigh.
"Vini." (I see! Then what are you planning to do after the tournament? I don't really know where I should go either.)
Ever since that wealthy benefactor of hers had died, Victini had been alone here.
She had watched many friends pass away, but her heart had not changed much.
She was still the same playful Victini as ever.
"As for you... find yourself a good Trainer and go with them."
Mewtwo had no intention of bringing Victini along.
More precisely, he did not want Victini seeing what Team Plasma was doing.
A Pokémon that still had the innocence of a child should be allowed to keep that innocence.
That was what Mewtwo wanted to tell Victini.
But in the end, he only placed a hand on her head and said nothing more.
"Vini." (But I want to go see the world outside.)
Victini's voice turned quiet.
She had already traveled around Unova.
The only thing that still felt new to her now was other regions.
"Then find a Trainer from another region. Unfortunately, none of the Trainers I know seem to have come here, so I can't help you there."
Mewtwo sighed again.
He still had to remain in Unova for a while, so there was no way he could keep Victini with him for the time being.
"Vini." (Okay.)
Victini's voice fell, and she returned to her little room to play with her little toys alone.
She had no idea how long the withdrawal would last after this Strongest Trainer Tournament ended.
"I heard there's a tournament here. Can I join too?"
A boyish voice full of upright energy suddenly rang out.
Not from outside, but directly inside Mewtwo's head.
"This is..."
"Telepathy?"
Mewtwo understood immediately. Quite a few intelligent Pokémon could do that.
Though in most cases, it was a power possessed by Legendary or Mythical Pokémon.
Splash...
Clear streams of water fell from the sky, forming a curtain.
Within it, the outline of a colt-like Pokémon gradually came into view.
It descended proudly onto the island, chin raised.
Mewtwo got a clear look at the little colt Pokémon in front of him.
Its body was cream-colored. It had a thick, fluffy red mane on its head, a curved horn on its forehead, pale blue fur trailing down its neck, and a matching tail.
Only, that horn...
Looked like half of it had been chopped off.
Mewtwo could sense that this colt Pokémon had not originally looked like this.
Something had clearly happened to leave only half the horn remaining.
"An uninvited guest?"
Mewtwo frowned slightly.
A loser wanted to join the Strongest Trainer Tournament?
And besides, were you even a Trainer?
"Vini!" (Keldeo! Why are you here?)
Victini knew this little colt.
It was none other than Keldeo, one of Unova's three major Mythical Pokémon, not counting Genesect for the moment.
"Vini." (Wait, what happened to your horn?)
Victini noticed Keldeo's forehead and could not help asking.
"I... forget it. That's not something I can explain quickly. I ran into a powerful enemy... sigh."
Keldeo's thoughts drifted back to the past.
Not long ago, for reasons even he did not quite understand, he had foolishly decided to test himself against Kyurem.
The result was that he got beaten senseless.
And half his horn had been broken off.
He had been searching for a way to restore it.
His masters had once told him that battling all kinds of Pokémon could stir up fighting spirit, and with enough of that spirit, his horn would heal.
Then, by chance, he had overheard some Trainers on the road talking about this tournament.
After learning it was being held here, he had rushed over as fast as he could.
Only to find that nobody had arrived yet.
Only his friend Victini, and some humanoid Pokémon he did not know.
Damn it. Had he really been scammed?
"If you want to participate in this event, then aside from Trainers, all uninvited Pokémon are refused."
Mewtwo's tone brooked no argument.
Then he added one more line.
"...And losers too."
"Damn you..."
Keldeo snorted coldly and turned away without another word.
It was just some Strongest Trainer Tournament, that was all.
At worst, he would just find some Trainer at random to serve as his temporary Trainer and then use his own strength to beat every opponent there was.
With that thought in mind, Keldeo started wondering where nearby might make a suitable base.
Apparently...
Castelia City was the closest.
Good. Then Castelia City it was.
With that decision made, Keldeo mobilized the Water-type energy throughout his body, wrapped himself in a curtain of water, and shot away like a sharpened arrow of water.
Back on Liberty Garden—
"Vini." (Mewtwo, Keldeo didn't mean anything bad. That's just what he's like...)
Victini still wanted to say something in defense of her friend.
"I know. A hot-blooded Mythical Pokémon like that, still unbroken even after getting thrashed? No... it's more like he's forcing himself to hold together. If I let him take part, he'd only get beaten even worse."
The weakest Trainers Mewtwo had invited this time were all at the level of powerhouse Gym Leaders.
The strongest were Champion-level.
Every single one of them could have beaten Keldeo just as badly as the one who had already wrecked him once before.
And under those circumstances, he still wanted to enter the Strongest Trainer Tournament?
Please. He should go wash up and go to sleep.
"Oh. Okay, then."
Victini knew Mewtwo had a sharp tongue and a soft heart, so she accepted his explanation and did as he said.
Back in Unova, in Castelia City—
During the two hours that Grey and the others spent wandering around the city, they went through quite a lot.
Arresting Team Plasma members, running into viewers and fans, taking Meloetta out for some Casteliacones...
Two short hours had somehow felt like two whole days.
In any case, it had been an extremely fulfilling evening.
"Melo!" (It'd be so nice if I could play with you every day!)
Meloetta was thoroughly satisfied. This was the first time she had ever spent such a full, lively day.
Usually, aside from staying in the sacred place where she was worshiped, she had to be on edge even when going out to see humans.
She had heard that plenty of bad humans were especially fond of cute Pokémon that looked like her...
And if she got caught, they might do all sorts of unspeakable things.
She absolutely did not want that.
But luckily, the people she had met were Grey, Sabrina, and Caitlin—three genuinely good people.
And because they were here, she had been able to spend such a comfortable day.
If possible, she really wanted to keep traveling and playing with them for a while longer.
"Sure. We're going to be traveling around Unova for the next few days anyway."
Grey had already planned their route.
From Castelia City, they would head north to Nimbasa City, then west to Driftveil City, then north again to Mistralton City, then fly to Icirrus City, and from there go to Dragonspiral Tower to pick up Reshiram.
And after all that, ride Reshiram straight to Liberty Garden.
Yeah. Sounded like a pretty good route.
At least Grey felt there was nothing wrong with it. It was already the fastest route for picking up Reshiram.
Keep your feet on the ground. No pointless shortcuts.
Only one plane ride as a little break.
Perfectly reasonable.
"Exactly. Meloetta, you should just come have fun with us."
Caitlin liked Meloetta a lot too. And tomorrow Sabrina would be going with Rosa to Virbank City to film a movie, so Caitlin could use this chance to bring up Meloetta over and over and close the distance between herself and Grey.
Besides, Nimbasa City's Ferris wheel was famous.
Late at night, the three of them—her, Grey, and Meloetta—riding the Ferris wheel together...
Just imagining it felt romantic.
The more she thought about it, the more a blush spread across Caitlin's pretty face. Her pale hands pressed tightly against the absolute territory between her over-the-knee black stockings and denim shorts, and her skin quickly turned red.
Another day worth looking forward to.
Come on. Back to the hotel so tomorrow could arrive sooner.
Caitlin was already impatient for morning.
"Melo~!" (Yay!)
Meloetta cheered, flew over to nuzzle Grey, then landed on Caitlin's shoulder and planted a big kiss on her.
"Then it's settled. Everyone back to the hotel to sleep and get some rest for tomorrow."
When Grey saw that the clock had reached ten, he decided it was time to head back and call it a night.
Castelia Hotel, the city's local five-star hotel.
Just as Grey was about to walk in, he heard the sound of someone crying from across the street, coming from the opposite hotel.
"Please... give my Munna back!"
Grey, Sabrina, and Caitlin: ?
Work had arrived?
The three of them exchanged glances, then, imitating the triangular formation of the Shadow Triad they had run into earlier, crossed the street toward the place opposite.
Castelia Guesthouse.
Despite sharing the word Castelia in its name, it was worlds apart from the Castelia Hotel just one street away.
As Grey drew closer, the crying became clearer.
It sounded like a girl's voice.
"Hey! You Team Plasma creeps—don't you know stealing someone else's Pokémon is against the law? Believe it or not, I'll have your crimes published in the papers tomorrow!"
A spirited female voice suddenly rang out just as Grey stepped into the guesthouse.
The speaker was a girl wearing a white sleeveless top with a black vest over it, along with blue shorts. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, and she wore a white hat. In her arms was a Tepig with an enormous bow on its head.
"Hil... maybe we should just call the police... Officer Jenny would definitely stand up for us..."
The confident girl's name was Hilda, which made Grey lift a brow.
He had not expected both Rosa and Hilda to show up in Castelia City.
Then again...
The timeline in this story had been a mess from the start, so whatever.
And if this was Hilda...
Then the short-haired blonde girl whose Munna had been taken had to be Bianca, right?
"Heh heh heh. And what proof do you have that this Munna is your Pokémon? If you call its name, will it answer you? Little girl, don't waste your effort. A Pokémon that isn't yours simply isn't yours."
Together with the dull tap of a cane striking the floor, an old man stepped forward.
He wore a gray robe and a tall hat with an intensely religious feel to it.
Clearly, this old man held a high position in Team Plasma. His hat alone made that obvious.
One of the Seven Sages—Giallo.
"Munna, wake up!"
Bianca called desperately to Munna, but there was no response.
"Well then, if you want this Munna so badly..."
Giallo paused, then continued, "I'll make you an offer. Join Team Plasma, and I'll let you raise this Munna yourself. How about it?"
"Giallo of the Seven Sages, don't push this too far!"
Hilda was furious. Munna obviously belonged to Bianca, yet one of Team Plasma's Seven Sages had somehow twisted things around and acted like he was the one in the right.
For a Trainer, that was a complete humiliation.
"Heh heh heh. I already gave her a chance, and she simply wasn't good enough to take it. Yet now you're accusing me instead?"
Giallo let out a cold laugh. "You girls are quite the dreamers for your age. What, are you planning to bully an old man? If I release the security footage from here, who knows how many people might come out to condemn you."
"You—!"
Hilda was livid.
But the situation really was unfavorable for them right now...
What were they supposed to do?
Were they really going to let Munna be taken from them just like that?
"All of you, escort them out."
Giallo waved his hand, and the Team Plasma members gathered around him stepped forward in near-perfect unison.
It looked like they intended to drive Hilda and Bianca out.
"Hold it."
Just as the two girls were about to send out their Pokémon and fight back, a voice imbued with aura flooded directly into the minds of everyone present.
A young man walked forward slowly, surrounded by beautiful glass-like flames.
It was Grey.
Smiling faintly, he looked at Giallo and said, "Giallo of Team Plasma's Seven Sages—if I remember correctly, you're pretty good at brainwashing."
"My aura just so happens to be able to break brainwashing. So how about you let me give it a try first?"
"And don't be in such a hurry to refuse... because if you do, can't I take that as a sign you're feeling guilty?"
//Check out my P@tre0n for 30 extra chapters on all my fanfics //[email protected]/Razeil0810.