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On the other side.
Slowking found Uxie.
It asked how to deal with Mewtwo, this unstable "source of pollution."
[It's fine... let it stay here for now, on Mirage Island.]
Uxie replied.
After hearing that Mewtwo had made a vow to the Tree of Beginning, it had basically already decided that this creature was not a threat.
But it also understood the concerns of Slowking and the other sages, so it simply decided to let Mewtwo stay on Mirage Island for the time being.
They could talk about it whenever Mewtwo wanted to leave.
"I understand."
Slowking nodded in agreement. After that came the issue of solving the polluted ley lines.
The black energy had polluted the ley lines of Mirage Island and had also affected the ley lines of Mist Island.
The plants inside Mirage Island and Mist Island were already showing signs of wilting, and the quality of the soil and water had even been impacted.
The Diglett responsible for monitoring the soil of Mist Island told Slowking that if the pollution problem could not be solved, the damage to Mist Island would be incalculable.
At the very least, the production of resources and the hatching rate of Pokemon Eggs would be affected.
The balance was disappearing.
This made Slowking very anxious.
The resources and water sources of Mist Island were the foundation for countless Pokemon. Without these two things, who knows how many incidents of fighting over food would occur every year.
Pokemon might even starve to death.
It could not stand by and watch this tragic situation unfold.
But the problem was that drawing color on white paper was easy, but removing the color was extremely difficult. What they needed to do was completely remove the pollution, not just cover it up with a facade.
After attempting to clean it, Uxie found that doing so was simply too inefficient, so it decisively changed its approach.
It converted elimination into redirection.
Using the Adamant Orb, it transported illusions in front of the stubborn black energy, luring them to possess the illusions, appear, and then be destroyed.
Doing this might be much more efficient than forcefully pulling them out.
And that was indeed the case.
It even saved Uxie the effort, as all energy consumption was borne by the Adamant Orb.
The water beneath the altar had become much clearer. However, the price was that illusions would suddenly and silently emerge from many places.
They did not appear from the Adamant Jungle as originally planned.
.....
Somewhere on Mirage Island.
Li Xiang recalled his exhausted Aegislash.
In less than three hours, they had harvested nearly two hundred illusions.
The cost was just a few minor wounds, completely depleted attribute energy and physical strength, along with the gems they had accumulated earlier.
Unrelenting attacks were just that effective.
Even if there were over-level illusions, they could overcome them with group tactics. After all, they had Mewtwo and Starmie as a safety net.
It was like playing a game with two max-level characters carrying them.
[Is it over?]
Mewtwo looked at Li Xiang. In front of it were many immobilized illusions.
"Pretty much. They're out of energy."
Li Xiang nodded.
With so many new candies, Incineroar and the others would surely get a significant boost in stamina.
Just as he finished speaking, a blue light enveloped him and carried him toward Trophy Mountain.
The illusions never went near this place for some reason. As it happened, when they landed, they ran into Slowking, who was about to return to Mist Island.
"Good afternoon, you two."
Slowking greeted them. After receiving a response, it said to Mewtwo, "If you seek knowledge, sir, why not come down and see for yourself?"
"Secretly peeking with your psychic powers is not very polite behavior."
Mewtwo turned to Li Xiang and asked, [Is that true?]
Li Xiang was taken aback. "Uh, I'm not really sure, since I can't project my psychic powers out of my body."
For non-Psychic-types, psychic powers could generally only control organs and limbs through nerves. Out-of-body perception was not included in that.
[...I see. I understand.]
Mewtwo nodded to Slowking. [I'm very sorry. Next time, I will come down myself.]
When it was in a learning state, it was very gentle, hardly deserving of the description "the most savage Pokemon."
Slowking bowed its head and flew down the mountain.
The two continued deeper. They arrived at the altar.
The Adamant Orb was spinning, appearing to be in operation. Uxie was nowhere to be seen—
Well, actually, it was lying on a vine, not visible unless you looked closely.
Next to it was a sign with characters written on it, clearly aimed at Li Xiang.
——[Resting, Do Not Disturb].
This lake guardian was a bit scatterbrained.
[What does it say?]
Mewtwo looked curiously at the text on the wooden sign, revealing its illiterate nature.
"It says it's sleeping, don't bother it."
Li Xiang explained as he came to the edge of the altar and called out to Mewtwo.
"Come, taste this water."
He hadn't dared to approach this place before, afraid of disturbing Uxie's work. Now he finally had the chance.
[Water?]
Mewtwo obediently came to Li Xiang's side and, following his actions, used its psychic powers to take a little water and drink it.
To be honest, it didn't know what ordinary water tasted like.
But it was the first time it had felt such joy in both body and mind, even more comfortable than when it had lived in its culture dish.
"You can probably only experience this kind of water here."
Li Xiang smiled and released his other Pokemon, letting them recover their energy and stamina.
The closer to the source of the water, the better the quality. The flowing water beneath the altar had surpassed the ability of Li Xiang's tongue to judge; the only thought left in his mind was the word "delicious."
[My mental energy and injuries are slowly recovering.]
Mewtwo looked down at its own body in surprise, feeling a surge of vibrant vitality.
It turned its head and looked toward the dense jungle, sensing a living creature slowly breathing.
"Naturally produced healing potion."
Li Xiang took out his water bottle, filled it, and tightened the cap with a screw.
Unfortunately, this kind of naturally gifted treasure could not become a stable resource for him. Otherwise, with this miraculous effect, Incineroar and the others would progress even faster.
He looked at the group of Pokemon that had drunk their fill.
He believed that after resting a bit more, they could continue hunting illusions.
In their spare time, Mewtwo chose to chat with Li Xiang over going to the museum to read books.
[I want to try the feeling of being caught.]
It suggested that Li Xiang use a PokeBall to catch it.
"Are you serious?"
Li Xiang's expression was one of surprise. He didn't expect Mewtwo to have such a strange idea.
[Of course.]
Mewtwo nodded. It had long been very curious about the specially constructed thing that was a PokeBall.
"If you say so."
Li Xiang took off his backpack. He always carried empty PokeBalls with him.
"Take your pick?"
He placed a Luxury Ball, an Ultra Ball, and a standard Poke Ball in front of Mewtwo.
[Can we try them all?]
Mewtwo chose "I want all of them."
"If that's what you want."
Li Xiang enlarged a Poke Ball and tossed it at Mewtwo. "Don't resist, though. If you resist during the capture process, it will break."
Smack!
The Poke Ball opened, sucked Mewtwo inside, and fell to the ground.
After three shakes, the indicator light went out.
The capture was successful.
Li Xiang picked up the Poke Ball and shook it. "Can you hear me?"
[Yes.]
A familiar female voice sounded in his ear.
"How does it feel?"
[Not great. The space is quite cramped, very boring and monotonous.] Mewtwo shared its thoughts on the standard Poke Ball.
Li Xiang asked, "Can you get out on your own?"
[I'll try.]
As soon as it finished speaking, the Poke Ball began to shake. Li Xiang quickly placed it on the ground and stepped back two paces.
Then he saw the Poke Ball open with a pop.
Mewtwo escaped, returning to its original form amidst a flash of white light.
"You're out?"
Li Xiang was somewhat surprised. Scenes of Pokemon emerging from their Poke Balls on their own had appeared in the anime, but they were often for comedic effect.
In the world he lived in, such autonomous exit was extremely rare.
[It didn't break?]
Mewtwo turned its head to look at the Poke Ball. It had used a portion of its power but hadn't expected not to damage the Poke Ball.
[Can I break it?]
It looked at Li Xiang, who made a "go ahead" gesture.
The Poke Ball was then crushed into pieces by psychic power.
[Try another ball.]
Mewtwo suddenly became interested in this technology called the Poke Ball.
[The Luxury Ball, okay?]
"Of course."
Li Xiang had no objection.
But he couldn't help thinking to himself that this guy might want to learn from the original Mewtwo and create a Mewtwo Ball that could capture already-caught Pokemon.
No way. He needed to give this blank slate a heads-up.
He couldn't let it head down the path of becoming an enemy of humanity.
The Luxury Ball, Mewtwo's impression was similar to Team Rocket's Meowth's, feeling it was many times more exciting than a standard Poke Ball.
The Ultra Ball was slightly inferior, but harder to escape from than the Luxury Ball.
[Human technology is truly interesting.]
Mewtwo felt it was getting a bit addicted to playing. [Are there any others?]
"That's all I brought. Why would I carry so many Poke Balls? It's not like I'm here to catch Pokemon. I'm here to increase my strength."
Li Xiang replied.
[That's true.]
Mewtwo scratched its head. This familiar gesture made Li Xiang's eyes widen.
Generally speaking, young children would subconsciously learn the habits of those around them.
When Li Xiang was unable to refute someone, he would subconsciously play with his hair. And Mewtwo, who had been with him for less than a day, had already picked up this habit.
"You—"
[Me?]
"Nothing."
Li Xiang shook his head, thinking that the original Mewtwo's initial personality, which was so similar to that of a warlord, might have had something to do with its working under Giovanni.
Because Giovanni was cruel enough, and through constant exposure, Mewtwo became cruel as well.
It wasn't until Ash appeared and touched its heart that Mewtwo then leaned towards Ash, becoming an excellent leader who yearned for peace and cherished companions.
They chatted casually for a while longer about Poke Balls.
Then they set off again to harvest illusions.
Li Xiang had to accumulate enough of the new version of candies before the Pokemon of Mist Island took down all the illusions.
He wanted to earn as much as he could.
As usual, Mewtwo assisted him, which Li Xiang was very grateful for.
[Friend, helping each other. That's what you taught me, isn't it?]
The artificial Pokemon was a little confused.
"That's right, but gratitude is still necessary. Just because you're good to me doesn't mean I should take it for granted."
Li Xiang shook his head. "This way, I won't get angry just because you don't help me one time."
[There's such a way of saying it?]
"Yes."
[Humans are very complex.]
"Absolutely right."
[But I will always help you, no matter when.]
"I'm extremely grateful."