No matter how much he struggled, Vicious was powerless against Mewtwo.
Stripped of his Dark Ball, the Pokémon he had controlled, and that massive robot, he was nothing more than an ordinary human—albeit a somewhat physically strong one.
Let alone Mewtwo; even a single Elite-level Pokémon could have easily subdued him.
After all, not everyone was like Ash. Under the influence of Mewtwo's psychic powers, the memories of the time before Vicious joined Team Rocket were completely wiped away.
Mewtwo also took the opportunity to scan for anyone else within Team Rocket who knew the manufacturing process for the upgraded Dark Ball, as well as anyone aware of Vicious's current itinerary.
"Only three scientists know how to create the Dark Ball; they are being held in a state of semi-captivity at an underground base in Ecruteak City."
"They cannot step a foot outside the base without Vicious's permission. Once we reach Ecruteak City, we can strike directly at the heart of the operation and destroy the Team Rocket base."
Mewtwo shared this intelligence with the group. The existence of the Dark Ball threatened to plunge the world into chaos, so it had to be destroyed at all costs.
Ecruteak City lay along their route—accessible after passing through Goldenrod City—so there was no need to alter their travel plans.
"Okay, Mewtwo, you lead the way when we get to Ecruteak City. We'll destroy that Team Rocket base once and for all!" Ash clapped his hands, sealing the fate of the Team Rocket base.
Vicious had lost consciousness and wouldn't wake up for at least a day; wiping away so much memory caused immense mental trauma. Upon waking, he might suffer from other lingering aftereffects beyond just the memory loss.
But that was no longer Mewtwo's concern. Although her temperament had improved significantly since joining Ash, she couldn't tolerate being mocked by a mere underling, which was why she had been particularly brutal when taking action.
The process had been far rougher than the memory wipe performed on New Island.
"Um... excuse me. My name is Sam. Thank you for saving Celebi—I still don't know your names, though." Sam finally found a moment to introduce himself to Ash and the others...
They finally struck up a conversation.
Ever since Ash had appeared out of nowhere, events had unfolded in rapid succession; he hadn't had a moment to introduce himself, and his emotions had been on a rollercoaster ride thanks to Ash's actions.
Not knowing much about Ash, he had been terrified every time he saw the boy pull off such dangerous stunts.
After all, Ash had stepped in to shield them; had anything happened to him, the guilt would have haunted him for a lifetime.
Fortunately, Ash was completely unharmed—though he himself had certainly been scared out of his wits.
"Hi there, I'm Ash from Pallet Town. These are my friends: Brock, Misty, and Serena. This is Pikachu, and that's Mewtwo."
"Pika-pika!" Pikachu also gave a friendly greeting to Sam. The boy's refusal to let go of Celebi, even when facing the threat of death, had given Pikachu a very favorable first impression of him.
For some reason, Pikachu felt a strange sense of familiarity with the boy named Sam, even though he was certain they had never met before.
Mewtwo gave Sam a slight nod in greeting before transforming into a beam of light and returning to her Poké Ball.
She generally preferred staying inside the Poké Ball when there was nothing pressing going on.
"Ash, Misty, Brock, Serena—thank you all! Oh, by the way, Ash... when will Celebi wake up?" Sam asked, glancing down at the sleeping Celebi in his arms.
"He wasn't actually injured; he was just terribly frightened. He's fallen asleep to recover now, but he'll wake up soon."
After briefly resisting Mewtwo, Celebi had calmed down and realized he was safe, eventually drifting off peacefully in Sam's arms.
It wouldn't be a long sleep, though; Celebi hadn't sustained any real injuries—at most, he had suffered minor damage from that punch Ash had landed earlier.
However, Celebi is a Psychic and Grass-type Pokémon. Ash's punch—effectively a Fighting-type move—was doubly resisted by Celebi, so it didn't deal much damage.
"Oh, that's a relief..." Hearing this, Sam let out a heavy sigh, his heart finally at ease.
Curious, he then asked Ash, "By the way, Ash, I don't think I've ever heard your name before. You're clearly so strong—why haven't you entered the Kanto Elite Four and Champion tournament? With your skills, I'm sure you could at least become a member of the Elite Four."
At these words, Ash, Misty, and the others exchanged puzzled glances.
"What Elite Four tournament? The Kanto Indigo Plateau Conference just ended a little while ago. The Elite Four and Champion tournament wouldn't happen until the end of the year at the earliest. By then, I might even be the Masters Eight Champion."
"Masters Eight? What's that?" Sam looked completely bewildered.
In turn, Ash and the others were equally baffled by Sam's question.
Ash knew his reputation in Johto and Kanto was significant—he was quite famous, really—but not everyone knew him. While it was a bit surprising that Sam didn't recognize him, it wasn't entirely unreasonable.
But not knowing about the Masters Eight tournament? That was just way out of the loop!
After some conversation, they finally understood the reason: Sam had actually come from forty years in the past!
He didn't belong to this era. Forty years ago, someone had been hunting Celebi; Sam stepped in to save the Pokémon but was eventually cornered by the pursuer.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself lying in the forest with Celebi sleeping quietly beside him, and the person who had been chasing him had vanished without a trace.
Before he could figure out what had happened, Vicious showed up piloting a giant robot. Sam had no choice but to flee with Celebi once more—and Ash already knew the rest of the story.
"To think Sam is from forty years ago... Time travel and all that—it's truly incredible. Once Celebi wakes up, we'll have it take you back home," Ash said with a look of wonder. He, too, wanted to experience time travel, but he wasn't the sort of person to squander Celebi's power for selfish gain.
Transporting even a single person through time and space was already a heavy burden for Celebi; hauling several more along would surely exhaust the poor creature to the point of collapse.
Even a Mythical Pokémon with Champion-level strength couldn't simply ferry multiple people through time at will.
That might be a different story if it had reached the "Divine Realm" tier of power.
Sam nodded. It was a relief that Celebi hadn't been snatched by that villain; otherwise, he would have been stranded in this era—forty years into the future—forever. His parents and friends would surely be heartbroken if they never saw him again.
Fortunately, that worst-case scenario had been averted.
Now, all that remained was to wait quietly for Celebi to wake up and take him back to his own time.
While waiting for Celebi to stir, he could ask Ash and the others about how the world forty years in the future differed from his own.
"Whoa! A Pokédex?! That's amazing—such advanced technology! The person who created it must be a brilliant researcher!"
"A smartphone? You can make long-distance calls... and video calls? My goodness, that's incredibly convenient! When I get back, I'll have to ask the scientists in my time if they can build one, too!"
"Ash, you're only fifteen?! I thought you just looked young, but it turns out we're about the same age!"
"..."
Everything Ash and his friends described left Sam utterly astonished; things like Pokédexes and smartphones simply didn't exist forty years ago.
Ash's age, in particular, left him gaping in disbelief.
They were the same age—fifteen, nearly sixteen—yet Ash was already capable of battling legendary Mythical Pokémon, whereas Sam hadn't even reached the "Elite" level of skill yet. The gap between them was staggering.
However, he felt a bit better once he learned that someone like Ash was in a league of his own even in this future era.
If it were common for fifteen- or sixteen-year-olds forty years down the line to possess Elite Four or Champion-level strength, he would have wanted to just bang his head against a wall and give up.
"Someone's coming." Ash, who had been chatting happily with Xuecheng, suddenly turned his gaze toward the dense forest; he sensed a powerful Aura approaching.
Rustle, rustle! A rustling sound emerged from the thick woods, and a blue figure darted out!
Its entire body was covered in clear, luminous ice-blue fur—smooth as flowing liquid gemstone—and it exuded an air of elegance.
The embodiment of the North Wind—Suicune!
Ash hadn't expected to encounter Suicune again. However, this Suicune's Aura was different from the previous one's; beyond the difference in Aura, the most obvious distinction was its strength.
This Suicune possessed only "High-level Elite Four" strength, whereas the one he had met before was at the "Mid-level Champion" tier—a vast difference in power.
"Roar!! Let go of Celebi!!"
Ash was momentarily stunned by the shout. His gaze instinctively shifted to the sleeping Celebi, and he quickly realized why Suicune had appeared.
"Suicune, calm down. We aren't the ones who hurt Celebi. Celebi hasn't been harmed; it's just asleep," Ash explained, waving his hands reassuringly.
Clearly, Suicune had sensed—by some unknown means—that Celebi was in danger and had rushed over immediately.
However, by the time it arrived, Celebi had already returned to normal, a fact Suicune hadn't yet noticed.
Celebi is known as the Guardian of the Forest; whenever something is amiss with it, the forest itself falls into turmoil. That was how Suicune had detected that something was wrong.
Although Celebi had since fallen into a deep sleep, the forest's unrest—triggered by Celebi's earlier state—had not yet subsided. This was the key reason for Suicune's misunderstanding.
Yet, one could tell at a glance that Celebi was merely sleeping. Suicune naturally realized this as well, and the look of vigilance and anger on its face gradually faded. Then, it fixed its gaze on Ash: "Woo-oh~"
You carry the aura of Lord Ho-Oh. What is your relationship with Lord Ho-Oh?
"You Legendary Beasts certainly have keen senses," Ash said, pointing to himself and introducing himself with a serious air.
"I am Ash, the Hero of the Rainbow. It's a pleasure to meet you."
Upon hearing this, the look of shock returned to Suicune's face, even though it had just calmed down: "Woo-oh~"
So, you are the Hero of the Rainbow. Please forgive my rudeness.
"Hey, no need for apologies—why stand on so much ceremony?"
Ash waved his hand dismissively, then blinked and asked curiously, "By the way, you aren't one of the Legendary Beasts directly serving under Ho-Oh, are you? If I defeat you, can I catch you?"
He had battled a Suicune at the Intermediate Champion level before; while he won and obtained a Suicune scale, he couldn't catch it because he hadn't yet challenged Ho-Oh.
That previous Suicune was one of the Legendary Beasts serving directly under Ho-Oh—different from the others. But the one before him now was just an ordinary Legendary Beast.
Since they were both Suicune but differed in status and strength, did that mean he could catch this one?
Suicune was stunned; it clearly hadn't expected Ash to make such a request.
After a moment of silence, it nodded at Ash—signaling its permission.
Only the Legendary Beasts serving directly under Ho-Oh were forbidden from being caught by humans, as they acted as Ho-Oh's eyes and ears in the outside world, handling various tasks on its behalf.
Ordinary Legendary Beasts, however, could be caught if defeated by a human in a fair battle.
Some might argue that even with a direct subordinate, if you defeat it and capture it in a Poké Ball, it becomes your Pokémon regardless, doesn't it?
That isn't the case. Even if a direct subordinate were captured in a Poké Ball, the moment it was released, it would flee without hesitation.
No one could become their Trainer—except for the Hero of the Rainbow, who holds dominion over Ho-Oh.
The ordinary Legendary Beasts don't have so many rules; as long as the Trainer who subdues them isn't a villain, they will willingly acknowledge that person.
Upon receiving Suicune's assent, Ash excitedly snapped his fingers and called out to Pikachu at his feet, "I'm counting on you this time too, Pikachu!"
"Pika-pika!" Pikachu leapt out from beside Ash's feet, looking full of energy.
This was their second time battling Suicune. However, unlike the previous encounter, Pikachu didn't need to use Aura Fusion to boost his power this time; simply wearing his hat would suffice.
After all, this opponent was only at the Elite Four level!
"W-Wait a minute... that's Suicune, isn't it?! Suicune, one of the Legendary Beasts!" Sam's eyes went wide as he exclaimed, "And you're sending Pikachu out to face it, Ash?"
He hadn't grasped the concept of the "Hero of the Rainbow"; he only understood one thing—Ash was about to engage in a capture battle with Suicune, but the Pokémon he had chosen seemed... off.
Why send Pikachu?
If he had sent out that Pokémon called Mewtwo from earlier, it would have been a guaranteed win!
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