Mewtwo Strikes Back (3)

"Scizor, Exeggutor, Arcanine, come on out too!" After defeating the three Pokémon, Liu Qing's expression grew grave. He released his remaining three Pokémon, then looked at Mewtwo and said slowly, "Salamence, Gyarados, Arcanine, Exeggutor, Haunter, and Scizor are my partners. We train together and grow together. Now, with them at my side, I'm going to challenge you, Mewtwo!"

"Admirable courage. But as the strongest being in the world, I cannot possibly lose to you!" Mewtwo remained unafraid. In its eyes, Salamence and the other five Pokémon were merely slightly stronger insects. It waited for Liu Qing to make his move.

"I never imagined I could defeat you in this battle. I simply want to enjoy fighting someone as powerful as you. For both me and my Pokémon, that will be an invaluable experience!" Liu Qing paused, then continued, "But I don't agree with your claim to be the strongest in the world. On this continent alone, there are Lugia, the god of the sea, and Ho-Oh, the god of rainbows, neither of whom is weaker than you. Across the sea, on the Hoenn continent, there are the legendary sleeping Pokémon Kyogre, which created the seas, Groudon, which created the land, and Rayquaza, the god of the sky. On the Sinnoh continent, there are Dialga, the god of time, Palkia, the god of space, Regigigas, the king of the pillars, and Giratina, the ruler of the Distortion World, along with other legendary beings living on other continents. And finally, beyond even you, there is Arceus, the legendary creator that made the world! Their power has been accumulating since the world first came into existence. You could even say that you, born so recently, are nowhere near their equal!"

"What a fascinating story. I never expected a human to know of so many powerful beings. But why have I never sensed their existence? Are you questioning my power?" Mewtwo had only recently been born. Though innately powerful, it had little experience—like an adult with only a child's knowledge. This party was simply a way to vent its resentment toward humans, a resentment that also stemmed from confusion about its own existence. Hearing Liu Qing list so many powerful beings inevitably piqued its interest, though its attitude remained far from friendly. It was like a child who was clearly interested but did not want anyone to know. And Mewtwo was not the only one intrigued; Ash and the others were listening avidly too.

"Why can't you sense their existence?" Liu Qing smiled slightly. "Because beings at your level are beyond the world's understanding. They choose to live in other-dimensional spaces inhabited by Unown. There, you can unleash your power without limit, without worrying about destroying the world. That's also why you can't sense the presence of others on your level!"

"In return for telling me this, I will let you attack first. Have all your Pokémon come at me together!" Mewtwo said after a moment's thought.

"Okay!" Liu Qing nodded and looked at the six Pokémon before him. "Everyone, give this battle everything you've got!"

At Liu Qing's words, all six Pokémon answered together. Just then, Haunter's body suddenly began to glow white. The light grew steadily brighter and more dazzling, and Haunter's body slowly enlarged within it. When the light of evolution faded, a Gengar floated in midair.

Under the immense pressure of facing Mewtwo, Haunter finally evolved! Excitement stirred in Liu Qing's heart. He had never expected a goal he had failed to achieve after a month of effort to be accomplished here. His confidence soared, and he looked at Mewtwo as he issued his first attack command. "Salamence, Gyarados, you two go first! Double Giga Impact!"

Against an opponent like Mewtwo, powerful moves were the right choice. At Liu Qing's command, Salamence and Gyarados roared together. Spiraling pale-purple light enveloped their bodies, merging into an even larger spiral of power. With a terrifying rush of wind, they charged straight at Mewtwo. Meanwhile, Gengar had already vanished from its spot.

"Arcanine, jump up and prepare Flamethrower Flame Wheel! Exeggutor, disrupt it with Nature Power! Scizor, Swords Dance!" Though Double Giga Impact looked formidable, Mewtwo merely took it a little more seriously. It stretched out one hand and stopped the attack head-on. Rings of intense energy rippled outward, seemingly folding the surrounding air, yet failed to harm Mewtwo in the slightest. Had the Earthquake produced by Exeggutor's Nature Power not disrupted Mewtwo, the two Pokémon's combined attack might already have been reflected back at them. Just then, Liu Qing issued another command. "Now, Gengar! Hypnosis!"

The instant Liu Qing finished speaking, Gengar suddenly emerged from the overlapping shadows of Salamence and Gyarados. Scarlet light flared. Even Mewtwo was caught off guard, and as the light washed over it, its thoughts grew hazy.

"Arcanine, Scizor, now! Give it everything you have! Flamethrower Flame Wheel! X-Scissor! Go!" Hypnosis did not seem particularly effective; Mewtwo showed no sign of falling asleep. Still, even this brief moment of confusion was a rare opening. Liu Qing could hardly let it slip away, and he swiftly gave his commands.

"You think that paltry power can bring me down?" At that moment, Liu Qing's plan fell apart. Mewtwo's dazed expression suddenly cleared, and its eyes blazed with dazzling blue light. Almost simultaneously, all six attacking Pokémon cried out in pain. Under its control, they were hurled away and landed motionless beside Liu Qing, already unable to battle.

"S-so strong!" Liu Qing now had a firsthand understanding of what a Super Legendary Pokémon was. It was far beyond anything he could handle at present, and even tactics were useless. Hypnosis had worked, but its effect had lasted only about a second—not nearly enough time for Liu Qing to launch an attack. As he lost, the others who had pinned their hopes on him all looked shocked and disappointed.

"Neither your speed nor your power is enough." Mewtwo looked at the fallen Pokémon and spoke indifferently. It spread its hands, conjuring nine black Poké Balls, each with a central section resembling a red eye, and sent them flying toward Liu Qing.

Oh no! The sight of those Poké Balls set alarm bells ringing in Liu Qing's mind. He flung out a Poké Ball, releasing his newly evolved Blissey, and shouted, "Blissey, Block!"

Hearing Liu Qing's command, Blissey immediately waved its hands and unleashed a burst of white light. At that same moment, six of the Poké Balls struck Salamence and the other five Pokémon. But the red light emitted by the balls was deflected, allowing Liu Qing to breathe a sigh of relief. The other three trainers' Charizard, Venusaur, and Blastoise were not so fortunate. They were drawn straight into Mewtwo's specially made Poké Balls.

Seeing Ash's and the others' three Pokémon captured, Misty immediately demanded, "How can you steal other people's Pokémon?"

"Steal... no. I intend to use the Pokémon you are so proud of to create stronger copies—copies better suited to me!" As Mewtwo spoke, more black Poké Balls appeared around it. After using its psychic power to fling away Ash, who had spoken up to stop it, Mewtwo sent every ball flying. It seemed to pay particular attention to Liu Qing's side, where a mass of black Poké Balls surrounded them and rained down.

"Damn it! Blissey, use Gravity Field, then Protect!" The sheer number of Poké Balls left Liu Qing speechless. He could no longer be certain that Block would remain effective if they were hit by so many balls. And if Blissey were captured, Block would cease to work as well. Fortunately, though Blissey's abilities were not particularly suited to battle, its defense was first-rate. As Gravity Field spread, the descending Poké Balls slipped out of Mewtwo's control under the increased gravity and fell to the ground. Mewtwo reacted quickly and tried to regain control, but Blissey had already used Protect, shielding every Pokémon within it.

While Blissey maintained the triple defense of Block, Gravity Field, and Protect, the other trainers' Pokémon were captured one after another. Even those returned to their Poké Balls were not spared. Soon, Ash's Pikachu was also caught. By then, Blissey was showing signs of exhaustion. Though Liu Qing did everything he could to encourage it, it could not hold out against Mewtwo's controlled Poké Balls. Moments later, the triple defense dissipated, and all seven Pokémon were inevitably drawn into black Poké Balls.

"Humans, I have no intention of taking your lives. Go home now!" Mewtwo said indifferently, looking at Liu Qing and the others left in the arena. Its eyes flashed blue, and the hall's two great doors opened, revealing the storm outside. "If you can make it through that storm!"

Everyone, Liu Qing included, looked furious at those words, yet they also felt utterly helpless. Just then, a massive explosion erupted behind Mewtwo, and a large number of Pokémon ran out. These, however, were all copies. Perhaps Liu Qing's seven Pokémon had been captured too late, for not a single copy was of the same species as any of his Pokémon. Mewtwo was clearly surprised by this unexpected turn and voiced its confusion.

Then Ash emerged from the thick smoke with a host of Pokémon behind him. In Liu Qing's eyes, Ash seemed to shine like a savior, his expression solemn and his presence dazzling. He tried to engage Mewtwo in hand-to-hand combat, but against Mewtwo's psychic power, he was utterly weak. Unable to resist that immense force, he was flung away. Just as he was about to crash into a building, a pink bubble appeared behind him and absorbed the impact—Mew had arrived!

Seemingly harboring some grudge against Mew, Mewtwo launched a Shadow Ball at the playfully appearing Pokémon. But Mew's Teleport was impressive too. Though Mewtwo's attacks were powerful, not a single one hit, and Mew seemed to think it was all a game, laughing as it dodged.

Mewtwo, however, grew irritated. Declaring itself the genuine article, it attacked Mew again and landed a hit. But Mew reflected the force of the attack back at Mewtwo. After Mewtwo insisted that its purpose was to create stronger copies, Mew countered that originals were originals, and that in a contest of sheer strength without moves, the originals would never lose to copies. The two sides launched into battle.

The originals and their copies began fighting hand-to-hand, without using any techniques or moves. Blue energy enveloped Mewtwo, while pink energy surrounded Mew. The two forces formed dazzling energy barriers that collided, sending ripple after ripple through space.

"Blissey, sorry for the trouble, but please heal Salamence and the others!" Liu Qing frowned at the battle raging around him. He had never expected events to develop into this utterly unnecessary fight. After all, whether original or copy, naturally born or artificially created, they all now possessed life and were living beings. Liu Qing wanted to stop the battle, but lacked the strength. Apart from Blissey, all six of his Pokémon had been rendered unable to battle by Mewtwo's attack. For now, he could only hope that Blissey's healing would help them recover some of their strength!