Chapter 140: Now is Professor Mewtwo's Teaching Time!

Snap!

Mewtwo watched as the half-energy tooth once again broke through the psychic barrier, extending almost right up to its chest, and could not help nodding in approval.

[You gained a sudden comprehension in the heat of battle, and at the same time managed to harness your heart of rage, using the moves and types most advantageous to you. He was right; your talent is truly formidable.]

[But it is still not enough.]

A surge of bright blue light flashed in Mewtwo's eyes, blasting the Gyarados backward.

[He said you have a combination move that requires charging. Combine it with the second-stage Dragon Dance you just comprehended, and use it.]

Gyarados grinned. While that fierce tackle had indeed shattered the psychic barrier, the ensuing recoil force was by no means small.

However, all of this was worth it!

Second-stage Dragon Dance!

On this foundation, if it could continue to grow stronger, then with just a furious surge into the skies, it would be able to rapidly reach the pinnacle of Dragon Dance!

"Gyarra!"

Here I come!

It did not tell Mewtwo to be careful, because Gyarados already acknowledged Mewtwo's strength, and even felt deep admiration.

I can also become that strong!

"Gyarra!"

With a single roar, rainclouds gathered; this was its home turf, the water-rich academy lake!

The momentum of this combination move was even greater than when it had challenged the Typhlosion!

An even more violent Hydro Pump surged downward. Mewtwo furrowed its brow, observing Gyarados's movements, the blue light in its eyes growing even brighter.

[The anomaly, found.]

Mewtwo extended its left hand, lightly pointing toward Gyarados's position.

[Halt.]

Telekinesis!

Hum—

In just an instant, the Hydro Pump dissipated, and the type-energy Gyarados had gathered at its tail re-merged into the lake. Its entire body was pulled taut horizontally in mid-air by Mewtwo's telekinesis.

Well, it looked very much like a flag or a kite, except without a flagpole or a kite string.

Zhu Suihan, who was just about to grab an umbrella to block the rain, paused for a moment. Then he patted Lapras's head, signaling her to move closer so he could ask what on earth was happening.

"What's the situation? Why did you suddenly attack?"

Mewtwo looked back: [Suihan, it does not know how to battle.]

Zhu Suihan: ?

Lapras and Milcery: !

Such a ruthless evaluation!

"Gyarra!"

Though Gyarados was suspended in the air as if immobilized by an acupressure seal, it still looked extremely unconvinced upon hearing what Mewtwo said.

What do you mean I don't know how to battle!

[You do not know how to battle; rather, you resemble a living fire truck.]

Gyarados froze, not quite understanding Mewtwo's meaning.

Zhu Suihan touched his chin: "But I think its application of moves is quite proficient. Did you notice something different?"

[Only at times like this do I truly believe you are a human.]

Mewtwo nodded slightly: [Humans, without the aid of instruments, are indeed unable to perceive the flow of type-energy within Pokémon.]

[Gyarados only circulates the type-energy within its body relatively smoothly when using Rain Dance and a series of Water-type moves.]

Zhu Suihan was puzzled: "Wait, judging by its typing, what about Flying-type moves?"

[I have never seen it use them, but presumably they would not be very proficient either.]

Mewtwo stated: [You should have accompanied the Joy Academy team out on disaster relief missions in the past, is that correct?]

Gyarados nodded.

[To put it in a nutshell, even though it has mastered the heart of rage, it lacks refinement in its application of type-energy.]

Mewtwo shook its head: [It has mastered the heart, but has not mastered technique and power. That is the root of the problem.]

Lapras asked in confusion: "Wu?"

Little Mewtwo, your standards aren't being set by your own perspective, are they?

Milcery nodded in agreement with the big sister's view. If problems were judged by Mewtwo's own standards, not many Pokémon could be considered capable of battling.

[Not at all. It simply lacks some basic common sense, or rather, this is merely a coincidence of fortunate circumstances.]

Mewtwo said: [Judging by your descriptions, the enemies it faced inside the academy were basically stronger than it, or else had a type advantage.]

[And disaster relief missions generally have no strict requirements; it's just about exerting force against the source of the disaster. Using moves that way naturally ingrained some bad habits.]

[That is why I called it a living fire truck. It spends far too much time maintaining the continuous use of a single move, so its detailed manipulation naturally falls short compared to other Pokémon.]

Gyarados fell silent, beginning to review its life as a dragon.

It seemed that really was the case.

Sticking to just one routine, its combat style only started changing after it got to know this family in front of it.

And then it had almost been roasted into a fish by a Flamethrower from a Typhlosion.

[Your combat style can roughly be understood as knowing only a single trick, and it was solely due to the immense power of the Gyarados species after evolution, coupled with the Dragon Gate potion Suihan gave you, that you attained your current strength.]

Mewtwo spoke slowly: [Even against opponents of equal strength, when you fight, you are likely the one who loses more often.]

"Gyarra!"

That thing has a type advantage against me! Who understands the pain of a quadruple weakness to electricity!

[Type matchups are a part of strength, but they do not determine everything. If you are defeated due to a type disadvantage, it only proves that the opponent made full use of their advantages and achieved victory against a stronger foe.]

Mewtwo said: [Learn more about how to control your power—take the training methods of Lapras and Milcery at my home, for instance, starting from the very basics.]

[Of course, you can also leverage your own strengths and fight in another, far more violent manner.]

Gyarados's eyes lit up.

[Dragon-type Pokémon, especially you Gyarados, even if you just gather together and use Dragon Dance, it will bring disaster to passing Pokémon and human ships.]

Mewtwo used its psychic powers to simulate its thoughts, projecting this miniature three-dimensional hologram right in front of Gyarados.

[Then use the wind-summoning and rain-bringing you excel at to make even greater modifications, turning this move into a torrential storm.]

[And you will become a mighty being who commands gales and floods; a single raindrop becomes a Hydro Pump, and a breeze becomes a Hurricane.]

[As for anything further, it will depend entirely on your own efforts. I can only give you a general direction to help you play to your strengths and circumvent your weaknesses.]

Mewtwo glanced toward the direction of the back mountain: [I can sense the two powerhouses you mentioned, but they are not just playing to their strengths and avoiding weaknesses—they are striving to make up for their shortcomings as well.]

[Humans and their partners build "systems" and "lineages," but for a Pokémon like you who loves freedom, this path will be much harder.]

Mewtwo descended beside Zhu Suihan: [Whether you walk this path is up to you.]

Milcery raised both hands high: "Milu!"

The heart of an emperor, the path of an emperor!

Gyarados was just about to ponder Mewtwo's advice when it snapped back to its senses, only to find many scattered murmurs of discussion arising from all directions.

Rolling its eyes with great effort, Gyarados saw many Nurse Joys standing to its left and right, and some senior students even asking their partners to enter the water for a closer look.

Ah, this academy Gyarados is indeed very strong; you can tell just by looking at its scales and muscles.

It's just that the wound on its head is very fresh, probably caused during the battle just now.

Gyarados: ?

It remembered!

It had been hanging in the sky like an aerial kite the whole time!

It had almost forgotten about this while listening to Mewtwo's advice on how to improve its strength!

Right now, Gyarados felt like a patient lying in bed while the attending physician brought a bunch of interns over, pointing out that there was a problem here and a problem there, potentially caused by this or that.

If this were in some unspeakable medical department, the sense of shame from such an experience would be immense.

It might even want to beg Arceus to hit it with Judgment so it could restart its life anew.

Oh right, this is the Johto region, so it should probably be begging Ho-Oh to come over and breathe some fire instead.

And what made it even more coincidental was that all the onlookers were also doctors, or at least reserves.

Gyarados was truly grateful that it hadn't slackened in its training, otherwise someone might be saying right now that it had fat on its belly and looked like a chubby dragon.

"Gyarra!"

Put me down quickly!

[Apologies.]

The fierce dragon plunged into the water, sending up ripples and splashes.

"I really suspect you did that on purpose."

Zhu Suihan stirred the chili oil, then looked over at Mewtwo, who was wearing an apron and washing vegetables, suspecting it had been pranking Gyarados.

Inside the living room, Lapras was using Water Gun to dampen the floor, while Milcery floated in the air, holding cleaning tools with arms formed of condensed whipped cream as she mopped.

Under the noble guise of being deeply moved by today's battle and using this method to train her mastery over moves.

Definitely not to help her trainer share the housework!

"Should I call you deeply focused on contemplation, or 'cute on the outside, dark on the inside'?"

[What is 'cute on the outside, dark on the inside'?]

"Simply put, it means looking harmless to humans and animals on the surface, but actually being the kind of ruthless person who hides it very well."

[Like you?]

Zhu Suihan looked at the chili oil in the skillet and began to consider whether Mewtwo could block it if he flung the whole pan at its face.

Never mind, food shouldn't be wasted.

"Not me. I'm just a carp in the river; you poke me, and I move."

Zhu Suihan poured the chili oil into several large bowls. The noodles, whose stretching process had just been completed by Mewtwo's telekinesis, suddenly bloomed with fragrance, blending the heavy, gentle aroma of grain with the nose-tingling punch of the chili oil.

The chili army, steeped in a murderous aura, and the steadfast noodle logistics charged into your body together, making you surrender from top to bottom, even compelling you to exclaim "delicious"—like an official surrender document issued to the food.

[Do you want chopped scallions and cilantro?]

"Put the seasonings and garnishes in a few small dishes; take whatever you want."

Mewtwo waved a hand, using its psychic powers to open the oven and retrieve the berry jam pizza baked inside.

Zhu Suihan tossed finely crushed nuts—ground to absolute perfection—into a skillet for a quick toast, then sprinkled them over the pizza.

Mewtwo poured Moomoo Milk into cups, each marked with its own distinguishing emblem—such as Lapras's ice cube sticker and Zhu Suihan's frying pan.

Milcery's was even more direct: a large character representing "Emperor."

As for Mewtwo's emblem, Zhu Suihan and the two little ones had seriously considered going to Goldenrod City to take a photo booth strip and get some flashy designs, but they were rejected.

In the end, they settled on a simple pixelated miniature portrait—clean and straightforward.

The main thing was that it wasn't weird.

"Alright, serve the food."

The chili-oil noodles and the pizza were both extra-large portions, since after all, not a single one of them had a small appetite.

Zhu Suihan bit into a piece of pizza while tossing noodles for Lapras, while Mewtwo ate noodles bite by bite, watching Milcery continuously output against food larger than herself.

The television nearby glowed, playing soothing music suitable for dining. Outside the window, a Pidove flew past, but quickly darted away upon smelling the pungent scent of chili.

As night deepened, the nearby dormitories also lit up with warm lights. Mewtwo stood on the balcony, looking up at the moon.

Having a balcony it could stand on, with the nagging sound of its trainer bathing Lapras coming from behind, alongside Milcery applying lotion to herself in front of the mirror.

It didn't need to stand atop a roof or a treetop, quietly watching the lights from afar.

Instead, it was standing right on the balcony.

The first day of normal life had a minor mishap while coaching Gyarados.

But it felt pretty good.

"Mewtwo, your turn."

Zhu Suihan carried a towel over his shoulder, his white hair dampened by water, looking like an attendant at a public bathhouse.

Lapras, having just finished her "torture," felt a great sense of relief.

"Wu wu."

Little Mewtwo, it's your turn!

Zhu Suihan took a sip of soda: "Bath time now."

Mewtwo: [?]