When Lance saw Team Rocket Executive Orca standing before them, his expression changed slightly.
However, Noland of the Battle Factory immediately stepped forward.
The muscular Frontier Brain grinned and pointed toward the cloned Articuno.
"Articuno."
"That thing in front of you is a fake."
"A clone."
"Show it what a real Legendary Pokémon looks like."
At Noland's command, Articuno let out a sharp cry.
Its wings spread wide.
A moment later, it shot into the sky like a streak of blue light.
For a true Legendary Pokémon, pride was not something that could simply be ignored.
Especially when facing an imitation.
At the very least, Articuno intended to utterly crush its counterfeit counterpart.
"Ding! Articuno's current attributes are as follows:"
Pokémon: Articuno
Divinity: None
Level: 78
Ability: Pressure
Type: Ice / Flying
Potential: Red
Bond Evolution: Not unlocked
Mega Evolution: Not unlocked
Moves: Ice Beam, Blizzard, Gust, Ancient Power, Freeze-Dry, Snowscape, Sheer Cold, Hurricane...
Friendship: 0
History: An ordinary member of the Articuno species. Through its bond with Battle Factory Head Noland, its growth accelerated rapidly, allowing it to reach extraordinary strength.
Likes: Noland
Looking at Noland's Articuno, Aiden nodded in approval.
Truthfully, there still wasn't a single opponent on this battlefield worthy of forcing him to personally intervene.
Even the cloned Legendary Birds were insignificant before his true Legendary Pokémon.
A fake was still a fake.
Against the genuine article, the disadvantage was overwhelming.
As expected—
When Noland's Articuno clashed with Orca's clone Articuno, the clone actually possessed a slightly higher level.
Yet it was suppressed from beginning to end.
The natural Pressure exerted by a true Legendary Pokémon slowed the clone's movements considerably.
The same thing happened elsewhere.
When Brandon's Heatran engaged the cloned Moltres, the overwhelming presence of the true Volcano Pokémon immediately placed the clone at a severe disadvantage.
Its defeat came even faster.
Seeing this, Orca's face filled with disbelief.
"How is this possible?!"
"These are Team Rocket's greatest technological achievements!"
"How can they be so weak?!"
Aiden laughed.
"Weak?"
"No."
"They're pathetic."
"Latios!"
"Use Luster Purge on that fake Zapdos!"
The instant Aiden gave the command, Latios opened its mouth.
A massive beam of brilliant light erupted forward.
Boom!
The attack struck the cloned Zapdos directly.
A deafening explosion shook the battlefield.
After taking a direct hit from a far superior Legendary Pokémon, the clone lost an entire wing.
Its body spiraled downward.
Unable to fly.
Watching all three cloned Legendary Birds rapidly fall into disadvantage, Lance immediately seized the opportunity.
"Dragonite!"
"Break through!"
The next moment, Dragonite unleashed a devastating attack that shattered Team Rocket's defensive line.
The massive entrance to Team Rocket Headquarters was forced open.
For the first time—
The true face of the organization was revealed before the Pokémon League.
"The path is open!"
"Everyone!"
"Charge!"
As Lance gave the order, League forces surged forward.
Orca attempted to stop them.
Countless Team Rocket Trainers poured out through the opened passage.
But against a Master-tier Trainer like Lance, they were completely helpless.
Then—
A soft sigh echoed through the battlefield.
Soon afterward, a middle-aged man carrying a gentleman's cane slowly stepped forward.
Giovanni.
"Lance."
"Lance."
"The last time, I spared your life out of respect for Professor Oak."
"And now you've come back to provoke Team Rocket again?"
Lance's expression darkened.
"Giovanni."
"Last time I underestimated you."
"And besides—"
"What's there to brag about?"
"You're only relying on cloned Legendary Pokémon."
"If you have any real skill, then let's settle this using the Pokémon we trained ourselves!"
The moment Giovanni heard those words, he burst into laughter.
"Hahaha!"
"That's hilarious."
"I possess stronger Pokémon."
"Why wouldn't I use them?"
"You League people are all hypocrites."
"Every one of you desires Legendary Pokémon."
"But none of you are willing to use technology to seize that power for yourselves."
"Team Rocket succeeded where you failed."
"And because of that, you call us heretics."
"How ridiculous."
As Giovanni spoke, Latios finally finished off Orca's cloned Zapdos.
What surprised Aiden most was something else entirely.
The system awarded no experience whatsoever.
Apparently—
Even the system did not consider these clones true lifeforms.
They weren't real Pokémon.
Only artificial imitations.
Then, after remaining silent for a long time, the system finally reacted.
"Ding! Host has entered direct conflict with Team Rocket."
"Special mission triggered."
"Choice One: Completely destroy Team Rocket."
"Reward: One Arceus Plate of any attribute (excluding Fire-type)."
"Choice Two: Spare Team Rocket."
"Reward: Coordinates to one Secondary Legendary Pokémon."
"Choice Three: Join Team Rocket."
"Reward: Full future outcome predictions for the conflict between Team Rocket and the Pokémon Leagues."
Seeing the options, Aiden was briefly stunned.
The system hadn't appeared in quite some time.
Yet after reading the rewards, his decision was immediate.
Join Team Rocket?
Impossible.
Spare Team Rocket?
Even more impossible.
Leaving aside the enormous difference in rewards, Aiden personally despised Team Rocket.
These people experimented on Pokémon.
Experimented on humans.
To him, they were no different from war criminals.
Without hesitation, he selected the first option.
Destroy Team Rocket.
Then he looked at Giovanni.
The Team Rocket leader still wore an expression suggesting he had done nothing wrong.
Aiden suddenly smiled.
"If I remember correctly..."
"Mewtwo was created under your direct orders."
"You harvested genetic material from countless innocent Pokémon."
"You even obtained DNA from Mew."
"The ancestor of all Pokémon."
"You mixed that with human genetic material."
"And after sacrificing countless lives, you created Mewtwo."
"A manufactured Legendary Pokémon."
"Am I right?"
Hearing that, Giovanni finally turned his attention fully toward Aiden.
To be honest—
He admired Aiden.
A regional Champion before the age of twenty.
A genius unlike any other.
But admiration meant nothing.
Anyone who stood against Team Rocket had to die.
"So."
"The Champion of Hoenn wishes to lecture me?"
Giovanni smiled coldly.
"Tell me then, Legendary Trainer."
"What wisdom do you intend to share?"
Aiden's smile disappeared.
"Then answer me this."
"You used innocent Pokémon as experimental subjects."
"You used innocent humans as test material."
"You sacrificed countless lives."
"All to create Mewtwo."
"All to satisfy your ambition."
"In your eyes..."
"Was that truly the correct thing to do?"
Giovanni answered without the slightest hesitation.
"Of course."
The certainty in his voice was absolute.
And for the first time since arriving in Kanto—
Aiden was genuinely furious.
...
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