"Who… am I?"
The Shadow Pokémon lowered its head, its deep purple eyes staring blankly at its own hands.
This power…
This self…
Suddenly, the sound of spinning rotors cut into its ears.
The Shadow Pokémon snapped its head up, those deep purple pupils flaring to life again, burning like ghostly flames—chilling to behold.
A boy in a white shirt and black pants jumped down from the helicopter.
With the help of a certain gray fat guy's psychic power, he landed neatly and stylishly.
"Tsk tsk～"
Damian swept his gaze over the surroundings.
The ravaged ground vividly told him exactly what kind of "abuse" it had just suffered.
Then Damian shifted his attention to the figure standing at the very front—Mewtwo.
No, to be precise: Shadow Mewtwo.
Its shape was almost identical to an ordinary Mewtwo, but its body was pure black, and it looked like a broken golden crystal was embedded into its left shoulder.
The tip of its tail also glowed with a hint of gold.
Tap… tap… tap…
Damian walked slowly toward Shadow Mewtwo, his footsteps unnaturally clear on this ruined land.
Shadow Mewtwo's purple eyes flickered on and off, reason and bloodlust fighting for dominance.
Instinctively, it wanted to raise its hand several times and use its overwhelming psychic power to stop this human from getting closer.
But every time, its reason forced that instinct back down.
Reason told it this suddenly appearing human might know its identity.
"Look around you. You did all this. Pretty impressive."
Damian stopped two, three meters in front of Shadow Mewtwo and grinned at it.
"Who are you?"
A hoarse Telepathy echoed from Shadow Mewtwo's mind.
"Damian. You can call me Damian."
"Then who am I?"
"Mewtwo. You should already know that, shouldn't you?"
Damian smiled as he answered.
Strictly speaking, Shadow Mewtwo had only just awakened—but it should have been conscious long before now.
Those unfortunate researchers buried beneath the ruins here had never bothered to hide anything from it when they were talking.
Shadow Mewtwo fell silent.
So it really was Mewtwo?
"Using Mew's genetic code as a foundation, they added in genes from all sorts of exceptional Pokémon, plus a portion of a special 'substance,' and combined that with advanced cloning bio‑technology.
That's how you were born—Mewtwo."
Damian didn't hide anything about Shadow Mewtwo's origin.
The biggest reason this particular Shadow Mewtwo even existed at all was the golden stone on its left chest.
Damian had stumbled on that stone by chance.
He'd originally planned to have the researchers study it—
But due to an accident, the then‑infant Mewtwo had absorbed it directly.
And from that, this Shadow Mewtwo was born.
"Mew… clone… Mewtwo…"
Yet after hearing Damian's words, Shadow Mewtwo only looked even more lost.
So it was just a copy of Mew?
The deep purple in its eyes flickered faster and faster.
So it was only a clone—just a meaningless experimental body?
Its innate, feral violence began driving its emotions out of control, and the realization that it was merely a "clone" was something it simply could not accept.
"Calm down. You're not anybody's copy. You're you. You're an individual named Mewtwo."
Damian raised a brow and let the power of Viridian flow out, soothing Shadow Mewtwo's raging emotions.
This Shadow Mewtwo seemed even more vicious than the one in the movie.
Then again, that weird stone—whatever it actually was—had basically given Mewtwo an entirely new "skin," and even seemed to have altered its typing.
Bathed in the warm, gentle power of Viridian, Shadow Mewtwo's mood eased a little.
Most important of all, though, were Damian's words.
It wasn't someone's "copy"?
"Mew is Mew, and Mewtwo is Mewtwo.
Sure, you were born from its genetic data. So what?"
Damian's soft voice made it easy to relax.
"Don't hesitate. Don't get lost. Don't tie yourself in knots, Mewtwo.
You're truly one of a kind. The very fact that you exist proves it.
This world acknowledged your 'miracle'."
"You're not wrong. You're not a mistake. You're a free lifeform.
You don't need to shackle yourself with some chain labeled 'clone,' because you're already different from Mew."
Shadow Mewtwo stared blankly at the human in front of it.
Having just awakened, it had no real defenses against Damian's words at all—
Especially when its mind wasn't exactly stable right now.
"I…"
Even so, Shadow Mewtwo was still a little lost.
Even if it was free to exist—what was it supposed to do next?
Goals, dreams, will… it had none of those.
"You just woke up. You're confused, right?"
Damian could see Shadow Mewtwo's helplessness.
At this stage, Shadow Mewtwo was honestly a little immature.
But that was exactly why this timing was perfect—for luring it over.
"Then come with me. I'll take you along, Mewtwo.
We'll go looking for our future together."
Damian extended his hand toward Shadow Mewtwo in invitation and gave it a genuine smile.
With the subtle influence of the power of Viridian plus the way he phrased things, he was confident Shadow Mewtwo wouldn't turn him down.
"Future?"
Shadow Mewtwo stared straight into the human's eyes.
"Yeah. Our future."
Damian's smile grew brighter, every word landing with weight.
"It's gonna be a dazzling, brilliant future.
But on the road to get there, I can't walk alone."
"So I need you, Mewtwo.
Lend me your power. How about it?"
Shadow Mewtwo stared at the boy's outstretched hand, dazed.
"Our… future…"
On the shattered ruins, the distance between the Shadow Pokémon and the boy slowly shrank.
...
Celadon City—a place where multiple generations lived side by side, and home to the biggest Celadon Department in the Kanto Region.
The "jade rainbow" in its name referred to a dreamlike, multicolored arc of light.
As one of Kanto's largest cities, second only to the super‑metropolis of Saffron City, Celadon City was incredibly prosperous.
Not only did it boast the largest Celadon Department, it was also home to one of the official Gyms—Celadon Gym.
On top of that, Celadon City housed the famous Celadon Game Corner.
"How does it feel, Mewtwo?"
On a southern street of Celadon City, Damian asked the Shadow Mewtwo walking beside him.
Right now, Shadow Mewtwo was wearing a sleek, silver‑gray set of armor with a heavy sci‑fi vibe.
"Takes some getting used to. My psychic power feels sluggish."
Armored Mewtwo flexed its arm, now weighed down by the armor, and replied with that same hoarse Telepathy.
"Your power's too strong, but you've only just awakened.
You can't properly control that much strength yet.
This limiter armor will suppress your raw power, but it'll help you master it perfectly a lot faster."
Damian explained.
Armored Mewtwo fell silent.
It understood that perfectly well.
"Hm?"
Suddenly, Damian looked off into the distance.
A trio of kids plus a single Pikachu came into view.
"Well, would you look at that. Talk about fate."
Damian broke into a wide grin.
Yo, yo, yo—look what he'd just spotted.
~~~
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