Chapter 230: Battle Against Mewtwo (Part 6)
After a deafening, earth-shattering explosion, the entire island—and perhaps the world—fell into a brief silence. As the smoke slowly cleared, Rio’s eyes first landed on Mewtwo, still hovering in the air, protected by a shimmering barrier from Protect. It was completely unharmed—but its face was filled with shock. Clearly, Registeel’s willingness to actually use Explosion had shaken its understanding of reality.
As more of the smoke dissipated, Rio could see the devastation below. First, there was Registeel itself, lying in a massive crater created by its own Explosion. Then, scattered around it, countless Team Rocket Pokémon lay defeated. Only a handful of senior executives and their Pokémon had survived.
Finally, Rio spotted Giovanni. Together with Lt. Surge, he had been protected under Zapdos’s Protect and was unharmed. But he stared blankly at Registeel, as if unable to process what had just happened. One of the legendary Regis—at full strength, no less—had actually used Explosion on its trainer’s command, less than five minutes after appearing. In all his years, Giovanni had never encountered a battle like this. Using a legendary Pokémon as a suicide bomber?
Giovanni’s gaze slowly cleared as he looked up at the masked figure in the sky. The masked figure looked back at him.
"Boss Giovanni—have I demonstrated enough sincerity for you now?" the masked figure said mockingly, recalling Registeel into its Poké Ball. Giovanni was speechless. All he knew was that the man calling himself Gus was absolutely insane—because no sane person would command one of the Regis to use Explosion unless it was a matter of life and death.
"Mewtwo, Rio—shall the three of us now stand together and wipe out Team Rocket?" The masked figure looked at both Rio and Mewtwo.
"Agreed—let’s take down Team Rocket first," Rio said, finally able to nod without pretense.
Mewtwo remained silent and simply hurled an Aura Sphere downward. If someone was willing to sacrifice a legendary Pokémon to show sincerity, what more could it say? Destroying Team Rocket was the obvious choice.
And so, Team Rocket was doomed. They found themselves surrounded by Mewtwo, Charizard, Articuno, Raikou, Regice, and Regirock. In essence, an entire organization was pitted against six legendary-level Pokémon—one of which was nearly on par with a primary legendary. Meanwhile, Team Rocket could only field Beedrill and Zapdos. Most of their supporting Pokémon had already been taken out by Registeel’s Explosion.
In the end, Giovanni couldn’t hold on. Though bitterly unwilling, he chose to retreat.
"We’ll meet again—and I won’t forget this. If I ever find out who you really are, Team Rocket will make you pay for this," Giovanni snarled, glaring at the masked figure. He didn’t hate anyone more than this mysterious interloper—not just for planting a mole in his ranks, but for turning Rio and Mewtwo against them and ruining the mission.
"Running? Do you think you can get away?" The masked figure ordered Regirock and Regice to attack. Regirock fired a Stone Edge, and Regice unleashed an Ice Beam at Giovanni—but they were intercepted by Zapdos, commanded by Lt. Surge.
"Boss—run! I’ll hold them off with Zapdos!" Lt. Surge shouted.
"Boss, leave this to us—get out of here!" Other senior executives also volunteered their Pokémon to counterattack and draw aggro.
They’re loyal, I’ll give them that, Rio thought, watching the scene. But they could only hold off Regirock and Regice temporarily. Rio glanced at Giovanni, who was boarding a helicopter to escape, weighing whether to finish him off or let him live—perhaps he could be useful later.
Before Rio could decide, an Aura Sphere shot from Mewtwo’s palm, striking the helicopter and sending it crashing down. Giovanni was forced to release his already battered Beedrill, grabbing its legs to keep from falling.
"Giovanni—you’re staying right here." Mewtwo Teleported above him, a Psystrike already forming in its palm. Beedrill tried to dodge—but with Giovanni in tow, its speed was crippled. It had no choice but to take the hit head-on. It couldn’t withstand the Psystrike. Both Beedrill and Giovanni plunged toward the ground, only to be caught by a Rocket executive’s Pidgeot.
But two seconds later, Mewtwo’s Psychic knocked Pidgeot out cold, and Giovanni fell once more. He landed on the ground, a hint of despair in his eyes as he watched Mewtwo charge another Psystrike above him.
"Is this where my glorious life ends?" Giovanni closed his eyes, his life flashing before him.
But the attack never came. He opened his eyes to see Rio’s back—with Charizard, Raikou, and Articuno, blocking Mewtwo.
"Mewtwo—do me a favor and spare Giovanni. As the League Champion of Kanto and Johto, he’s an underground organization leader who should be brought to justice—by me," Rio said calmly, glancing back at Giovanni with a smirk.
He’d weighed his options. Killing Giovanni outright didn’t seem right—the man still had unfinished business. Simply letting him go wasn’t ideal either. The best move for maximum benefit was to capture him and throw him in League prison. Even if he couldn’t catch Mewtwo this time, catching Giovanni would be a consolation prize.
Once the news got out, his reputation as Champion would skyrocket. The public and the League would fully support him, and his position would be rock-solid. After all, he’d captured the man who had caused countless problems across both regions.
"Why should I do you a favor?" Mewtwo retorted, hurling the Psystrike and engaging Charizard, Raikou, and Articuno again.
Meanwhile, Regirock and Regice finished off Zapdos and the remaining Rocket Pokémon. Team Rocket was now completely powerless—nothing but lambs for the slaughter.
"Gengar—put them all to sleep," Rio said, dropping the act.
"Got it."
To Giovanni’s shock, a plume of black smoke billowed from behind the masked figure. Wherever the smoke spread, Team Rocket members collapsed one by one.