Since Green only needed to capture a single Flabébé, Serena and the others decided to prioritize helping her complete that first.
Meanwhile, after receiving Umbreon and the newly captured Fletchling, Gary planned to treat Fletchling's injuries and spend some time bonding with it before heading out into the wild to search for Pokémon for Tierno and the others.
Tierno wanted a Poliwag, Trevor a Sandshrew, and Shauna a Caterpie. All three species were quite common in the Kanto region, but Gary wasn't about to settle for just any random specimen—he intended to carefully select individuals with strong potential rather than capturing them casually.
While both sides were busy with their own plans, over at Viridian Gym, Ash had just finished his afternoon training session under his teacher.
"Alright, Ash, that's it for today. I remember you still have to handle consultations at your online clinic this afternoon, and I have some matters to attend to as well," Giovanni said with a gentle smile from across the battlefield.
"Got it, Sir," Ash replied, nodding seriously.
Then, as if remembering something, Ash added, "By the way, Sir, since my clinic hours are fixed for patient appointments, I was wondering—would it be possible to set a fixed time for my training here as well? That way it's easier for me to schedule everything."
"Fix the schedule, huh… let me think." Giovanni paused briefly. Although most of Team Rocket's operations were handled by his subordinates and his secretary Matori, with only major decisions requiring his direct approval, having a fixed teaching time would indeed be convenient for both of them.
After a moment, he gave his answer. "Let's set it from 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM. That's usually when you come by anyway."
"2 to 3 PM… alright, that works." Ash nodded in agreement.
"Then I'll take my leave, Sir."
With that, Ash wrapped up his session at Viridian Gym and finalized his afternoon schedule. He quickly mounted his bike and headed toward the Pokémon Center.
Once Ash left, Giovanni's warm, teacherly demeanor vanished. The moment the door closed, his expression turned cold and authoritative again—the true face of Team Rocket's leader.
He returned to his office, where Matori was already waiting.
"Matori, adjust my schedule. From now on, 2:00 PM to 3:00 PM every afternoon is reserved for teaching Ash."
"Yes, Boss," Matori replied without hesitation. As his secretary, she never questioned any of his decisions.
"Also," she continued, "Dr. Fuji from the New Island research facility reported that both the Mewtwo Project and the Ash Clone Project have made major breakthroughs. He wishes to brief you personally."
"Oh? Both projects have made significant progress?" A rare smile spread across Giovanni's face. "It seems fate is on Team Rocket's side."
"Connect me to Dr. Fuji."
"At once."
Within moments, the office display flickered to life, projecting a live feed from the New Island laboratory.
"Boss Giovanni," said Dr. Fuji, a gray-haired man with a neatly trimmed goatee, bowing respectfully.
Giovanni waved off the formalities. "I heard from Matori that both the Mewtwo Project and the Ash Clone Project have achieved breakthroughs. Is that correct?"
"Yes, Boss," Dr. Fuji replied. "Previously, the Mewtwo Project encountered a bottleneck. The cloned specimens suffered genetic chain collapse, leading to premature death, and we were unable to stabilize them despite repeated attempts at developing gene-stabilizing agents."
"However, after the Mewtwo embryo was treated with Ash's psychic abilities, its development stabilized. The previous issue of genetic collapse has completely disappeared."
"After more than two months of cultivation, the Mewtwo specimen has progressed from a cellular embryo into a juvenile form. It has successfully passed the most critical stage."
"As for the Ash Clone Project, since it involves direct cloning using Ash's genetic material—unlike Mewtwo, which combines Mew DNA with aggressive human genes—the process has been much smoother."
"Ash-2 has also developed from an embryo into a young infant form. However, since Ash-2 is purely human and not a legendary Pokémon like Mewtwo, it is subject to normal human lifespan limitations."
"To ensure long-term usability for you, Boss, I have chosen not to accelerate its growth with hormones. Instead, we are allowing it to develop naturally."
"Based on the human gestation cycle, Ash-2 should be fully 'born' in about ten months."
As he finished his report, Dr. Fuji stepped aside and redirected the camera toward the laboratory's incubation chamber.
The screen revealed five massive containment pods.
"These three contain cloned Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur," Dr. Fuji explained. "Their genetic material was extracted from ancient fossils of Charizard, Blastoise, and Venusaur."
"They serve as control samples for the Mewtwo Project. Since their experiments began earlier, any potential instability will appear in them first, giving us time to prepare countermeasures."
He then gestured to the remaining chambers.
"This one contains the Mewtwo specimen, and the one beside it holds Ash-2."
Inside the Mewtwo chamber, the creature floated within nutrient fluid. Even at this early stage, it already possessed a humanoid outline—its form roughly a blend of Mew's features and human traits. However, it was still small and fragile, nothing like the towering, imposing figure it would one day become.
Next to it, the Ash-2 specimen appeared even more underdeveloped—a translucent, pinkish infant form, its body not yet fully solidified.
Giovanni stared at the screen, his eyes gleaming with ambition.
Everything was proceeding exactly as he desired.
And once both creations were complete, the balance of power in the world of Pokémon… would never be the same again.
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T/N:
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