Mew wasn't surprised by Gardevoir's attitude.
With Mew's temperament, she wasn't about to take something that small to heart.
"Mew~"
She glanced at the other Pokémon below the bed, then crooked a tiny paw at Gardevoir, signaling her to lower her head.
Gardevoir's brow furrowed even deeper.
The way Mew was acting made her seriously suspect the idiotic cat was about to switch sides.
With Mew's personality, it was absolutely something she would do.
Even so, after thinking it over again and again, Gardevoir still leaned in slightly, deciding to hear her out.
The moment Mew moved closer, Gardevoir quietly set her psychic power in motion—on guard for whatever came next.
But to her surprise, Mew didn't pull anything.
Instead, she started laying out the next step of the plan.
When Mew pulled back, Gardevoir shot her a suspicious look.
According to Mew, all Gardevoir needed to do was hold Zoroark and Latias in place.
Mew would use Teleport to move Elias somewhere safe.
The only one who might interfere was Mewtwo.
But Mewtwo was basically a clueless baby—she'd only come over for the commotion, and she wasn't a real threat.
Honestly…
It wasn't a perfect plan, but for the situation at hand, it would work.
Most importantly, only by moving Elias away could they keep Latias and the others from noticing the bite marks on his neck—the ones Gardevoir herself had left.
Still…
Could this idiotic cat really be this considerate?
Gardevoir couldn't help finding it strange. A moment ago, Mew had been hugging a Berry, looking like she was happily watching the show.
Why did she suddenly decide to help?
"Mew! (There's no time!)"
Seeing Gardevoir still hesitating, Mew waved her little paw urgently, pushing her to decide.
Gardevoir snapped back to herself.
Fine. They'd do it Mew's way…
Thinking it through, Mew really didn't have anything to gain from this.
Elias wasn't awake. Following Mew out would just mean sleeping somewhere else.
During that time, no matter what Mew wanted to do, it would be pointless.
Once she understood that, Gardevoir exhaled softly, a weight easing off her chest.
"Gardevoir, Gardevoir…"
She flicked a hand at Mew, agreeing.
The moment she got permission, Mew felt a surge of giddy joy.
But to keep Gardevoir from noticing anything, she fought to press down the grin threatening to creep onto her face.
It's going to work… it's going to work!
You dumb Gardevoir!
Seeing Gardevoir and Mew apparently come to some kind of deal—
Below the bed, Zoroark was the first to bare her neat little fangs.
"Gardevoir, move!"
She tried to look vicious as she spoke.
Too bad… it didn't work in the slightest.
Gardevoir glanced at her, folded her arms again, and made it clear she had no intention of budging.
At the same time—Latias's eyes flicked, and she suddenly vanished from where she stood.
The next second—
"Ugh…"
Latias reappeared not far from Gardevoir, clutching her aching head.
Staring at the psychic wall in front of her, she looked utterly shocked.
She was Elias's mom, okay?! And Gardevoir was still guarding against her?
This Gardevoir was hopeless!
Puffing out her cheeks, she shot Gardevoir a fierce glare.
With the two main movers failing back to back, Milotic—who'd been itching to act—could only swallow her thoughts for now.
Seeing that, Gardevoir let out a disdainful little snort.
In most places, stopping Zoroark and Latias at the same time wouldn't be easy.
But this was indoors—and Elias was lying right there.
All she had to do was raise a psychic wall. Neither of them would dare smash through it by force.
"Gardevoir!"
Gardevoir turned her head toward Mew, signaling her to hurry and carry out the plan.
With Gardevoir holding the other two nuisances in check, Mew's lips finally curled upward—impossible to suppress any longer.
In a flash, she was beside Elias, her fluffy little paws landing on him at the same time.
Psychic power stirred. She was just about to take Elias and vanish far away from this place—
Thunk!
A dull impact rang out.
Mew, who had already begun to fade, snapped backward and rolled across the bed several times.
"Mew—"
She clutched her little head, face twisting as she let out a muffled, indignant whine.
"Stupid cat."
Mewtwo stood where Mew had been, calmly tossing out two words.
Blue light spilled from her right paw.
Clearly, that heavy thunk against Mew's head had everything to do with her.
Seeing Mewtwo appear out of nowhere, Gardevoir's face darkened.
She'd been so focused on Latias and Zoroark that she'd forgotten this kitten who didn't understand anything.
And hadn't Mew said it would be fine?
This was "fine"?
Watching Mew still rolling around on the bed, Gardevoir suddenly understood, on a deep level, the importance of picking the right teammate.
Meanwhile, Latias and Zoroark's eyes lit up at once.
"Gardevoir? (You're helping them?)"
Gardevoir swallowed and tried to negotiate with Mewtwo.
Compared to Latias and the others, she figured Mewtwo—born only a few months ago—would be easier to bluff.
But to Gardevoir's surprise, Mewtwo shook her head.
"Elias is awake."
Mewtwo looked at Gardevoir and said it evenly.
Only when she said Elias's name did a faint, hard-to-catch ripple pass through her eyes.
On a genetic level, she was extremely sensitive to Mew's psychic fluctuations.
She'd felt Mew's psychic power just now with perfect clarity.
She didn't know what Mew had been trying to do, but in Mewtwo's eyes, it definitely wasn't anything good.
"Gardevoir?"
Hearing an answer she hadn't expected, Gardevoir tilted her head in confusion.
"Mew?! (What are you talking about?!)"
Before Gardevoir could think further, Mew's frantic voice cut in first.
Staring at Mewtwo in the distance, despair flooded Mew's heart.
You ungrateful daughter!
This time, that dumb Gardevoir hadn't even noticed.
She'd been this close—one tiny step away from pulling it off.
And yet…
Mew's flustered, furious reaction only made Gardevoir narrow her eyes.
She studied Elias's motionless body, and sure enough, she sensed a faint trace of psychokinesis.
She reached out and grabbed—crushing it. The psychic binding on Elias shattered instantly.
Under Mew's hopeless stare, Elias opened his eyes again, then sat up and rolled his shoulders, working the stiffness out.
"Mew..."
He looked at her and called her name, helpless.
In an instant, several gazes—Latias's and Zoroark's included—stabbed straight into Mew.
Mew: …
---
Mewtwo: As long as you do the opposite of Mew, whatever you do is right.