Pokémon: Raising Abandoned Pokémon into Legends

"Son of a—"

Rio had calculated every possible scenario except one: that Mewtwo would simply Teleport away the moment it was released. He’d fallen into the trap of thinking Mewtwo would either attack him or be won over by his speech.

"So, kid—what now?" Gengar’s voice echoed in his mind, sounding almost gleeful. Rio had spent all that time educating them, and Mewtwo didn’t appreciate it one bit.

"What else? Chase it!" Rio watched Mewtwo vanish from sight with multiple Teleports in quick succession. He calmly recalled his other Pokémon one by one, leaving only Charizard out. He climbed onto Charizard’s back and pulled out the lockbox containing Mewtwo’s skin tissue.

"Good thing I have this—otherwise, catching it would’ve been pointless," Rio muttered, using the box to point Charizard in the right direction.

"Roaar~" Charizard took off, following the direction Rio indicated. After a while, Rio changed course. "This way." A bit later, he changed direction again. "Over here."

About half an hour later, Rio and Mewtwo met again on another island. Mewtwo was startled—it hadn’t expected to be found. Then it remembered the skin tissue and let out an angry telepathic cry—"Damn humans!"—before Teleporting away once more, vanishing from sight.

"Fine—let’s see how long you can keep this up." Rio smirked, patting Charizard’s back. Charizard understood and chased after Mewtwo again. As long as he had the skin tissue, even if Mewtwo fled to outer space, he’d find it. No rush—none at all.

Another hour passed. Rio and Mewtwo met again over the waters of the Johto region.

"Hello there—we meet again. Still planning to run?" Rio greeted with a grin. But before he could finish, Mewtwo vanished again. Stubborn as ever, it chose to keep fleeing.

"Fine—you can keep running until the end of the world. Let’s see who outlasts who," Rio muttered. "Charizard—this way."

"Roaar~"

They chased each other for an entire day, from daylight to nightfall. Finally, Mewtwo grew tired of running and decided to stop. During the chase, Rio had even taken a break to have a big meal with Munchlax, which cost him some time. Mewtwo thought it had finally shaken him off—only to be reunited with its nightmare two hours later. The exhausting chase continued until now, when it could run no more.

"Human—are you insane?! I swore the moment I escaped Team Rocket that I would never again take orders from any human. If I did, I’d be the stupidest being in the world!" Mewtwo’s voice thundered in Rio’s mind. It stopped fleeing and faced him directly, a Psystrike forming in its hand—a clear warning that if Rio kept chasing, it would fight.

Rio simply said one thing: "Do you want to know the meaning of life? And your own worth?"

The words struck Mewtwo like water in the desert to a wanderer. Its rage instantly subsided.

"You know the meaning of life?" Mewtwo stared at Rio, the Psystrike dissipating.

"Of course." Rio shrugged. "Want to sit down and talk? You’re tired from running, and I’m tired from chasing."

Rio patted Charizard’s back, signaling it to land. Soon, he sat down on the grass. Mewtwo stood across from him, looking down.

"Tell me—what is the meaning of life? What is my purpose?"

"Easy—conversations need the right attitude. That condescending stance of yours—is that how you normally talk to someone? Are you showing me respect?" Rio said calmly, trying to shift the dynamic and regain control of the conversation.

Mewtwo stared at him for a long moment. Eventually, it sat down across from him. "Now talk."

"Patience—a good chat needs snacks. Otherwise, it’s just boring," Rio said leisurely, pulling out some food from his bag—rice crackers, sausages, sunflower seeds, peanuts...

He paused, staring at the four items.

"What’s wrong?" Mewtwo asked, puzzled.

"I feel like something’s missing."

"Four things and you still want more? Did you fuse with Snorlax’s genes or something?" Mewtwo was getting annoyed—Rio was stalling, dragging out the conversation with all this food. Was he trying to chat or go on a picnic?

Rio looked at it seriously: "That thing is very important. Without it, I won’t be able to speak properly—which will affect my performance and prevent you from finding the meaning of life."

Mewtwo’s eyes widened, its irritation vanishing. So I misjudged him. But what could be that important? Something that could help it find life’s meaning?

"What’s missing?" Mewtwo asked eagerly.

"Let me think—what is it?" Rio stared at the four items, deep in thought. Mewtwo sat quietly, watching expectantly.

"Oh—I remember now!" Rio slapped his thigh with a look of realization.

"Good—what is it?" Mewtwo leaned forward excitedly.

"The most important thing—beer! How can you snack on sunflower seeds and peanuts without beer?" Rio said with frustration. "Damn it—I can’t believe I forgot to bring beer!"

Mewtwo’s mind went blank. Seven or eight seconds later, veins bulged on its head as it stared at Rio. I’m going to kill him—he’s mocking me. Beer is a human drink—what does it have to do with finding the meaning of life?!

Just as Mewtwo was about to raise its hand and fire an Aura Sphere, Rio spoke again: "Can you wait here a moment? I’ll fly to a nearby town with Charizard and grab some beer. I promise—when I get back, I’ll tell you the meaning of life."

Hearing that promise, the bulging veins subsided. I’ll hold back, Mewtwo told itself. If Rio’s answer didn’t satisfy it, it would make him pay.

"Go," Mewtwo said through gritted teeth.

And so, Rio flew off on Charizard, leaving Mewtwo alone on the island, staring at the rice crackers, sausages, sunflower seeds, and peanuts.

Oh—and the lockbox containing Mewtwo’s skin tissue. Whether intentionally or not, the box had fallen from Rio’s pocket as he climbed onto Charizard. He glanced at it—and didn’t bother to pick it up. Instead, he said casually: "Ah, forget it—too lazy to pick it up. Watch it for me for a bit."

With that, he flew away. (Cognitive Dissonance Theory – Insufficient Punishment Strategy.)