Chapter 229: Battle Against Mewtwo (Part 5)
Hearing that it was a task to make Gus shine, Gengar perked up immediately. "How am I supposed to shine this time?"
"Simple—just like last time..." Rio explained his plan and handed over the three Regis’ Poké Balls to Gengar. Gengar vanished into Rio’s shadow.
Moments later, it emerged from the ground and scanned the Team Rocket members. Spotting someone trying to slip away to relieve themselves in the chaos, Gengar grinned. "Gus is coming."
Meanwhile, the three-way battle between Mewtwo, Team Rocket, and Rio raged on. It was essentially: you hit me, I hit you, and then I hit someone else. If both Rio and Team Rocket took a hit, then Mewtwo—who had been doing well—would be briefly ganged up on. The rule was simple: spread the damage equally. No one got an advantage.
But in the middle of the chaos—
ZAP—
ZAP—
ZAP—
Three Zap Cannons suddenly appeared from nowhere, aimed at each of the three parties. The unexpected attack caught both Mewtwo and Team Rocket off guard.
"Who?! Who did that?!" Giovanni shouted angrily, turning toward the source of the Zap Cannon. Because of that attack, his Beedrill had been caught off guard and hit again.
"Wh—how is this possible?!" But the moment Giovanni looked, his pupils contracted. There, walking side by side, were Regirock, Regice, and Registeel.
"The legendary giant Pokémon—the three Regis! Why are they here?!" Giovanni was filled with dread. His mind flashed back to the day Rio became League Champion—when someone had attacked the League with the three Regis. Had that person followed them here?
As Giovanni murmured in shock, a masked figure floated into view.
"A month apart, and I’ve missed you, Rio," the masked figure called out to Rio in the sky.
"Gus! How did you get here?!" Rio looked furious.
"Guess," the masked figure said with a mocking tone.
"You followed me? You planted a tracker on me!" Rio said angrily.
"Wrong—you guessed wrong." The masked figure’s mask turned toward the Rocket forces below. Giovanni’s eyelid twitched—it felt like the figure was looking straight at him. A bad feeling crept into his heart.
A mole. There’s a mole among my men! Giovanni whipped around, glaring at his executives. He could accept mission failures, but never betrayal. He had sent people to investigate this "Gus" who had attacked the League a month ago—and found nothing. Now, not only was this man here, but he had planted a mole among the executives who knew about the Mewtwo capture operation.
"Boss, it’s not me!" Lt. Surge, who commanded Zapdos, shook his head frantically under Giovanni’s murderous glare.
"Boss, it’s not me either!" General Athena also shook her head.
Giovanni scanned them all—everyone denied it.
"Mewtwo—you’re the Pokémon created from Mew’s genes, right? I’ve been watching. You’re incredibly strong," the masked figure said, shifting its attention to Mewtwo.
"Who are you? Are you here to capture me too?" Mewtwo studied the figure floating with psychic power, then glanced down at the three Regis. When it was born, Mr. Fuji had implanted it with all human knowledge—so it recognized the legendary giants and knew they were powerful.
"No, no—I’m not here to capture you. I’m here to cooperate with you," the masked figure said, shaking its head. "I want to use your power to fill this world with love."
Mewtwo didn’t hesitate—it raised its hand and fired a Psystrike. Use my power to fill the world with love? That’s exactly what Giovanni said to trick me back then. Humans really are all con artists.
"Charr~"
"Jee... jee..."
"Gah-chee—!"
Facing Mewtwo’s Psystrike, Regirock, Registeel, and Regice raised their hands and fired Zap Cannons simultaneously. The three blasts collided with Mewtwo’s Psystrike in midair, creating a massive explosion.
When the dust settled, Mewtwo, Rio, and Team Rocket looked at each other, unsure how to proceed with this new wildcard, Gus, thrown into the mix.
"Let’s take down this newcomer first. This was supposed to be a three-way fight," Giovanni proposed, glaring at the masked figure. In his view, this man was more dangerous than Rio—his methods were too subtle, planting a mole right under his nose. Someone like that needed to die here today.
Rio crossed his arms, pretending to consider the proposal. Mewtwo stayed silent—it didn’t matter who it fought first. They were all after it anyway, so they all deserved to die.
"How about we take down Team Rocket first?" the masked figure suggested. "Then we’ll have a three-way free-for-all, and whoever survives wins. If you think I have an advantage, I’ll even have one of the Regis use Explosion to put us all on equal footing."
Giovanni’s eyes widened—he nearly laughed in disbelief. This "Gus" was even better at spinning stories than he was.
The masked figure continued: "Mewtwo—I know Team Rocket deceived you and has been hunting you. This is a perfect chance to deal with them once and for all, so they’ll never bother you again."
"Rio—you know my character. I always keep my word."
Mewtwo said nothing, but its cold gaze remained fixed on Team Rocket. It really didn’t want to be bothered by them anymore.
Rio said nothing either, pretending to be somewhat convinced.
Giovanni panicked. "Don’t listen to his nonsense! He says he’ll make a Regi use Explosion—do you really think he’ll go through with it? He’s lying! If he’s sincere, he should do it right now!"
Rio smirked at Giovanni’s words. The masked figure responded calmly:
"Since Giovanni insists, then so be it."
"Registeel—Explosion."
"Jee... jee..."
Under Giovanni’s horrified gaze, Registeel’s body began to glow with blinding light—and it walked toward Team Rocket.
"Not—he’s serious!!!"
"Quick—use defensive moves!"
Giovanni shouted. The next second, a blinding white light engulfed everything. Giovanni was about to witness the most intense and spectacular Explosion of his life.