Chapter 118: The Mewtwo Project

At another point in the base.

Lance stood behind Dragonite, frowning as he faced the panting Nidoking.

The surviving Team Rocket members nearby hid behind Nidoking and shouted, “Hold on! The boss is almost here!”

“Nido!” Nidoking roared. It opened its mouth and spat a blazing, letter-shaped burst of fire at Dragonite.

Dragonite reacted swiftly. With a single movement, it dodged the attack, and electricity began to crackle around its right claw.

The small wings on its back beat rapidly, carrying its somewhat bulky body into a dive toward Nidoking.

Thunder Punch struck Nidoking squarely. The violent current coursing through its body drew a cry of pain, and it staggered backward uncontrollably.

With its strength nearly exhausted, Nidoking dropped to one knee and panted heavily as it stared at Dragonite.

It had reached its limit.

Just as Nidoking was about to close its eyes and collapse, a deep, steady set of footsteps sounded behind it.

The surrounding Team Rocket members cried out in delight, “Boss!”

Giovanni gave a quiet acknowledgment and walked to Nidoking’s side.

“You’ve worked hard,” he said.

“Nido...” Nidoking forced one eye open.

“Rest now. I’ll take care of things from here.”

Giovanni took out a Poke Ball and returned it inside. Then he turned toward Lance, a cold curve lifting the corner of his mouth.

“This is where it ends. Next, I’ll show you what happens to those who interfere with Team Rocket.”

Lance said nothing. Though the man had disguised himself, Lance could still sense the aura of a powerful individual emanating from him.

Lance pressed his lips together and placed his right hand over several other Poke Balls, preparing for battle.

The atmosphere in the room instantly grew taut with hostility.

A great battle was about to begin.

...

Compared with Lance’s side, things were much quieter where Hu Yang was.

He and Gengar moved between rows of containers.

Inside them floated one strange-looking Pokemon after another.

There was a Butterfree without wings, a Charmander covered in green pustules, and a Rattata with neither limbs nor a tail.

Gengar floated before one of the glass containers and placed a claw against it.

“Are they still alive?”

“Probably,” Hu Yang replied, watching their abdomens rise and fall faintly.

Cramorant also stared blankly at the scene.

In addition to stealing rare Pokemon from others, Team Rocket had carried out countless cruel and horrifying experiments on living Pokemon, as well as genetic experiments.

Many people might not know much about experiments conducted on living subjects.

But if one mentioned Mewtwo, every Pokemon fan would instantly recall that mighty figure.

Mewtwo was the most outstanding creation produced by Team Rocket’s experiments.

Hu Yang naturally knew that Team Rocket had conducted such experiments.

But no amount of cold words on a page could convey the cruelty of it.

It was impossible not to be shaken.

Looking at the Charmander covered in green pustules, Hu Yang was deeply stunned.

It was a Charmander...

Because of its gentle temperament and exceptional potential, Charmander was chosen in the Kanto region as a starting Pokemon for new Trainers.

It even possessed two distinct Mega Evolution forms. Compared with Butterfree and the others, Charmander could truly be said to have a brilliant future ahead of it.

And yet now, it was being held in agony inside a container, subjected to secret experiments. It would never again return to the land, nor would it ever meet the Trainer who was meant to be its own.

Gengar looked deeply saddened.

“Why would humans do this to them...?”

“Because of what they call their ‘ideals,’ I suppose,” Hu Yang sighed.

He walked to the row of computers behind them and searched through the files. Before long, he found one titled “Mewtwo Project.”

When he opened it, he discovered a complete record of the experiments. The earliest entry dated back three years.

July 1: The Mewtwo Project has officially been approved. To achieve the goal of creating the strongest Pokemon as soon as possible, the organization has established a laboratory beneath Viridian Forest.

August 23: The experiments have officially begun. Headquarters has sent over a group of young Pokemon. We will extract the technology required to clone genes from them.

August 25: A large number of test subjects have died. We are urgently investigating the cause.

September 15: The cause has been identified. The condition of the test subjects is gradually stabilizing.

...

After that came detailed observation records concerning the experiments performed on individual Pokemon.

Hu Yang silently scrolled to the end. The most recent entry had been edited two months earlier.

July 8: The problem of immune-system failure caused by genetic defects remains unresolved. However, the technology for creating new life from partial gene cloning has achieved unprecedented progress.

Headquarters has decided to establish a new laboratory on New Island, where the final stage of the project will begin.

The experimental records end here.

This research base had subsequently been transformed from a facility for conducting experiments on living Pokemon into a relay station for supplying Pokemon to other bases.

And Viridian Forest was Team Rocket’s breeding ground.

“New Island...” Hu Yang frowned.

In the anime, it was the island where Mewtwo was first born.

It was also the setting of the radio drama Mewtwo’s Birth and the feature film Mewtwo Strikes Back.

However, at this point in time, Mewtwo’s birth should still be more than a year, perhaps even two years, away.

Hu Yang fell into deep thought. When he turned around, he saw Gengar lying against the glass containers, its face filled with worry.

Hu Yang walked over, wanting to say something.

But at that moment, the Charmander inside one of the containers was awakened by the commotion outside. It opened its eyes and looked toward them.

A faint cry escaped it.

“Char... char?”

Gengar shook its head, as if explaining something to it.

“Gengar!”

Charmander looked at Hu Yang, a pleading light shining in its eyes.

“Char... char...”

Hearing this, Gengar seemed to lose focus. It pressed itself against the container.

“Gengar...?”

“Char...”

“Gengar...”

Charmander said nothing more. It seemed to have no strength left.

A look of disappointment appeared on Gengar’s face.

Seeing this, Hu Yang asked, “What is Charmander saying?”

Gengar murmured, “It’s begging us to help put it out of its misery...”

Charmander heard those words as well. Enduring its pain, it spoke to Hu Yang.

“Char...”

Though they spoke different languages, Hu Yang could still understand the meaning in Charmander’s clear eyes.

His first reaction was that he could not do it.

But just then, the Vulpix in the container beside them also opened its eyes.

It had heard the commotion and turned to look in their direction.

When it realized that they were not the humans in white coats, it too began to make pleading cries, just like Charmander.

Then the Pokemon in the third container awoke, followed closely by the fourth, the fifth, and the sixth.

The voices of their pleas merged into wave after wave, sweeping toward them from every direction.

Standing at the center of it all, Hu Yang suddenly felt his scalp prickle.