Chapter 237: To Conquer External Enemies, First Secure the Internal (Part 1)
After escorting Giovanni to the League prison, and with a few days of vacation still remaining, Rio left the League once more. He arrived at a deserted island.
Why? To provide psychological therapy for Mewtwo, of course.
He knew that Mewtwo would most likely attack him the moment it was released. So an uninhabited island was the perfect place—no risk of collateral damage.
With a flash of light, before releasing Mewtwo, Rio first sent out Charizard, Articuno, and the others to act as bodyguards.
"If it floats me into the air and the Master Ball gets knocked out of my hand, you need to save me immediately," Rio instructed seriously.
Unlike other Pokémon, Mewtwo was a Psychic-type—if it wanted to kill him, it would be just a glance. There might not even be time to react. So this had to be treated with extreme caution.
"Roaar~"
"Don’t worry—with this legendary bird here, that artificial Pokémon won’t lay a claw on you," Articuno said confidently.
"Wait—Articuno, I need to correct your mindset," Rio said, his expression shifting.
Articuno was showing prejudice against Mewtwo. If that wasn’t corrected, it could easily enrage Mewtwo. Mewtwo wouldn’t get angry if you called it powerful—but call it an "artificial Pokémon," and it would explode in fury. Because it knew you were looking down on it.
With a flash of light, Rio released Raikou, Munchlax, Red Gyarados, Greninja, Eevee, and the others. Before releasing Mewtwo, it was better to educate his other Pokémon first—so that Mewtwo could feel a sense of acceptance and belonging. Otherwise, their attitudes could ruin his entire therapeutic plan.
To conquer external enemies, first secure the internal.
"Everyone—what I’m about to say concerns our newest member. I want you to listen carefully," Rio said, holding the Master Ball. He knew Mewtwo was listening from inside.
"From now on, none of you are to use the term ’artificial Pokémon’ to refer to it, nor look at it with any kind of prejudice. That is bias. That is discrimination. A Pokémon is a Pokémon—it doesn’t matter whether it was created or born through natural inheritance."
"As long as it exists, it is equal to us. In essence, you are no different from it. What you have, it has. What it has, you have. Discriminating against it is, in a way, discriminating against yourselves—because we all have flaws in our own lives. If Mewtwo’s flaw is being artificial, what are yours?"
Charizard and the others exchanged glances, falling into brief thought. Only Munchlax looked at Rio with a blank expression.
"Ka~"
"The little chubby says it doesn’t discriminate at all—it welcomes Mewtwo wholeheartedly," Gengar translated on autopilot.
"I know—that’s good. I’m not saying all of you are discriminating; I’m just reminding you that such an attitude isn’t right. If you have it, correct it; if not, take it as encouragement," Rio nodded.
Munchlax only cared about food—it really wouldn’t care whether Mewtwo was artificial or not.
"This legendary bird doesn’t discriminate either—I was just stating a fact," Articuno interjected, sensing that Rio had specifically gathered everyone because of it.
"I know—I understand. I just wanted to use this opportunity to make my position clear. I’m not blaming you," Rio said, sensing Articuno’s slight defensiveness and steering the conversation. "There’s a saying: ’The speaker may not mean it, but the listener takes it to heart.’ Even if you don’t intend to hurt someone, the words you say unintentionally can wound them—because you’re unconsciously imposing your own perspective onto them."
"For example—" Rio scanned the group, initially thinking of using Annihilape as an example, but realizing that had a 99% chance of causing chaos. Instead, he settled on Munchlax, who was currently spaced out. "How do you think Munchlax feels when you call it ’little chubby’?"
Hearing its name, Munchlax snapped out of its reverie about its next meal, thinking Rio was calling it out for not paying attention. It awkwardly looked down and started drawing circles in the sand with its toe.
Rio, like a teacher, scanned the group. The Pokémon, like students, exchanged glances—none willing to be the first to speak.
"Left to right—everyone says something. Charizard first. What do you think Munchlax feels?" Rio finally resorted to calling on them directly.
"Roaar~" Charizard let out a low, uncertain growl, like a shy student.
"Charizard says Munchlax probably doesn’t feel anything—it’s never gotten angry when called ’little chubby,’" Gengar translated.
Rio nodded, then looked at Annihilape. "Annihilape—your turn."
Hearing its name, Annihilape immediately turned to Munchlax and raised its fist. "Annih~" — Do you feel anything when I call you little chubby?
Seeing Annihilape’s fierce expression and raised fist, Munchlax quickly shook its head. Getting its answer, Annihilape turned back to Rio with a grin that looked more terrifying than a scowl.
"Annih~"
"Annihilape says Munchlax doesn’t feel anything—Munchlax told it so itself," Gengar translated.
Watching Annihilape’s smug expression, Rio’s mouth twitched. Are you sure that’s Munchlax’s genuine feeling, and not just you intimidating it into saying that?
"Gyarados—your turn." Suppressing his exasperation, Rio turned to the Red Gyarados.
To his surprise, it asked a question first: "ROAR!!" — If I get it right, is there a reward? Like letting Annihilape hit me a little longer?
Rio: "..."
Honestly, he wanted to find a therapist for himself right now. He also wanted to slap the Red Gyarados—but hitting it would only make it feel rewarded. How infuriating.
"If you get it right, you get an extra ten minutes of beating. If wrong, you lose ten minutes today," Rio said through gritted teeth.
The Red Gyarados’s eyes gleamed. "ROAR!!" — Little Dragon says it agrees with big brother Annihilape—Munchlax doesn’t feel anything.
Rio sighed, then looked at Gengar. "What about you, Gengar?"
"No feeling," Gengar said without hesitation.
"Raikou?"
"No feeling—I’ve never seen Munchlax react badly to being called little chubby. It always answers cheerfully," Raikou said, using telepathy and putting Gengar out of a job.
"Greninja?"
"Gren~"
"Greninja says it also thinks ’little chubby’ doesn’t bother Munchlax—but stealing its food definitely would," the unemployed translator Gengar chimed in.
"Little Eevee?"
"Eevee~"
"Little Eevee says it thinks ’little chubby’ might actually bother Munchlax a little—because it feels like it’s not a nice word."