Pokemon: Spiritual Master-Chapter 535: Mewtwo Finds Its Purpose

"ROAR!!"

Kyurem roared furiously, its icy aura growing ever more intense.

"Johan, what should we do?"

Staring at the berserk Kyurem, Keldeo, though not as terrified as before, still gulped nervously and asked.

What should they do? What else—

Subdue it.

"Go!" Johan gave a light wave of his hand.

At his word, Ninetales, Dragonite, Tinkaton, and the rest surged forward at once.

Cynthia and Caitlin's Pokémon followed immediately after. Then the three Swords of Justice leapt in as well.

"Uh?"

Keldeo blinked twice at the sight.

Was it really okay for this many of them to gang up on one Kyurem?

Wasn't this just a straight-up beatdown?

But Johan told him—

"This is a righteous beatdown."

The longer Kyurem rampaged, the more the environment suffered. Nearby wild Pokémon would also be harmed.

That's why they had to strike—no matter what.

This was the same reason the other Swords of Justice hadn't hesitated for a second.

Keldeo was just a bit slow to realize it.

But after hearing Johan's brief explanation, Keldeo's expression hardened.

For justice's beatdown—no, for the environment and the Pokémon!

He galloped forward.

...Though for some reason, he felt a tiny bit happy doing so?

Must be a delusion.

At the same time, Johan took out the DNA Splicer and channeled Aura into it once more.

The Splicer's connection to Kyurem ran deeper than the Rainbow Wing to Ho-Oh or the Silver Wing to Lugia.

Last time he'd channeled Aura into it, he had felt Kyurem's response. If things went right, maybe this battle didn't need to happen at all.

And sure enough—

Johan's perception was pulled into a frozen world.

Every inch was covered in ice crystals. All he could see was frost, nothing more.

But some places were different.

Right before him stood a massive ice sculpture of Kyurem. On either side of it were hollow altar-like slots—presumably meant for Zekrom and Reshiram.

Understanding clicked in Johan's mind.

Then—

He raised his hand and slowly pulled away wisps of dark red energy from Kyurem's sculpture.

This was... Defusion?

Huh. He could do that?

As the violent energy that had empowered yet unbalanced Kyurem was stripped away, the Pokémon's rampage began to settle.

Mewtwo and the others felt the change—the resistance from Kyurem was growing weaker.

Finally, when Johan peeled away the last of the red energy, Kyurem shut its eyes and stopped moving.

[Thank you, human.]

Updat𝒆d fr𝒐m freewebnσvel.cøm.

A deep, serious voice echoed in Johan's mind.

"Kyurem?"

[Yes, it is I.]

A pause.

[Thank you for your help.]

Polite for a dragon-type legendary, Johan thought.

Dialga, Palkia, Rayquaza... all of them were arrogant and hot-headed beyond belief.

Kyurem's composure was... weirdly refreshing.

But maybe this was why it had agreed to test the Swords of Justice before—and why it had frozen them to protect them from Team Plasma.

Kyurem was a godlike Pokémon that understood right from wrong.

"I'm glad you're better now." Johan sighed in relief.

Kyurem's ice sculpture grew more lifelike—it was "looking" at Johan.

And then—

[One more thing... could you ask them to let me go?]

Huh?

Johan opened his eyes—

Mewtwo, the Swords of Justice, Keldeo, Garchomp, Dragonite, Tinkaton... had Kyurem completely pinned to the snowy ground.

"Yoji!!"

Larvitar sprinted like a ninja over to Kyurem's massive head. It raised one green foot—

One good kick for justice!

But—

STARE

Kyurem opened its eyes and glared at Larvitar.

"Yoji?!"

Larvitar froze, foot suspended in midair. Then it slowly retracted the kick, clasped its hands behind its back, tilted its head to the sky at a 45-degree angle, and started whistling.

What a lovely moon tonight~

Kyurem: "..."

Johan pressed his lips together. Was it possible...

That Kyurem was only acting polite because it had no choice?

"...Alright guys, it's calm now."

Kyurem left with the Swords of Justice.

After being captured, used as a weapon, and nearly exploded—all for nothing—it really just wanted to rest.

Though Kyurem was angry at Colress and Team Plasma, it needed time to recover.

To stop it from rampaging again, Johan promised: if given the chance, he'd help Kyurem settle the score.

As for if Team Plasma captured Kyurem again?

Well, with the losses they'd suffered—no Genesect, no airship, no Kyurem, and half their force wiped out—if they could still catch Kyurem, Kyurem might as well freeze itself with a block of tofu and smash its head in.

Plus—

The Swords of Justice and Keldeo would be keeping watch around Giant Chasm from now on.

With all of them together, Team Plasma wouldn't even think about making another move unless they had Zekrom or Reshiram.

With Kyurem's departure, the incident was finally over.

Johan could breathe.

He had just wanted to help some Pokémon get home—how had it turned into this mess?

Back in Opelucid City.

Under Shaga's direction, most Team Plasma members were arrested. League staff were clearing lingering frost.

Although Mewtwo had intercepted most of the Ice Cannon's blast, plenty of residual energy had affected the city.

Patches of unmelting ice remained throughout.

Some couldn't even be removed with fire.

But that wasn't Johan's problem anymore.

At Shaga's arrangement, Johan and his team were housed in a luxury villa.

Honestly—

He was exhausted.

One sleepless night fighting Team Plasma and Kyurem. The moment Johan sat down on the bed, his eyes were already closing.

His body could take it, but his mind?

After Mega Evolving both Mewtwo and Gengar, and trying to control the DNA Splicer—he was fried.

Still, there was one last thing to do before sleeping.

"Oowoo~"

Ninetales curled beside him, while Gengar floated overhead clutching a ghostly blanket, already asleep.

It had opened the rift to the Distortion World and shoved in an exploding airship—no wonder it was wiped out.

"This is from Kyurem."

Johan took out the DNA Splicer again. Now, the Kyurem sculpture was gone. Only three empty slots remained—just like before, when Zekrom and Reshiram hadn't been placed.

But Kyurem had left something behind for Ninetales—or rather, for Johan. A thank-you gift.

"Oowoo?"

As Ninetales touched the Splicer, it froze slightly.

A move tutor?

On the Splicer, Ninetales saw a frozen screen showing how Kyurem had used Glaciate.

"Study it. If you can't learn the move, at least study the frost-condensing technique."

"Oowoo~"

Ninetales nodded seriously.

It had seen true Ice-type power and realized its own shortcomings.

Meanwhile, on the balcony—

Mewtwo stood in silence, watching the rising sun.

Not far away, a man in a suit, a Herdier, and a little girl were playing in the snow.

The girl giggled like bells, chasing Herdier in circles, building snowmen.

"That's Trainer Daddy!" she said, pointing to a vague lump of snow.

The man looked awkward.

"This is Herdier!" she pointed to a smaller snowman.

"Bark!" Herdier wagged happily.

"Daddy and Herdier are heroes!" the girl said with awe.

The man puffed his chest. "Of course! Daddy and Herdier fought too!"

They had helped. Kind of.

"I'll be a Trainer when I grow up—just like Teacher Johan!"

"...Not Daddy?" the man blinked.

"Hehehe~" the girl laughed. "But you're just as amazing as Teacher Johan!"

"Right, right..."

To a child, their parent was always the greatest hero.

He began bragging about his younger years.

His wife gently joined them, smiling as she listened. Herdier trotted in circles.

The woman exchanged a look with her husband, full of silent gratitude—

Thank you, Teacher Johan, the hero who saved our city.

"You saved them," Mewtwo's voice rang in Johan's mind.

"No." Johan smiled, gripping the balcony railing. "We saved them, Mewtwo."

Mewtwo pressed its lips together.

Together?

Watching the girl laugh, seeing Herdier bounce about—

Mewtwo thought of Mewtwo-2, Charmander-2, Squirtle-2, Bulbasaur-2...

It hadn't saved them.

But maybe now... maybe they would be proud of what it had become?

Its face didn't change—but a warmth stirred inside. A strange, comforting feeling.

"I think... I've found a little bit of my purpose."

It remembered Johan once told it—the meaning of existence is something to be found, not something defined.

Back then, Mewtwo hadn't fully understood.

Now... it did.

Johan smiled at the rising sun. "Isn't that wonderful?"

If Mewtwo could find its purpose, it wouldn't need to ask "Who am I?" or "Why am I here?" anymore.

"Yeah." Mewtwo nodded. For once, its heart felt light.

Human or Pokémon—it had found its path.

"Now that this is over, I think I'll head back for a bit."

Because of Johan's influence, Mewtwo's view of Team Rocket had softened slightly.

It had come here to help, but it still had things to do.

Like... finding Mewtwo-2 and the others.

Porygon-Z could help.

And after this Mega Evolution, Mewtwo had new insights into its powers.

It needed time to reflect.

"Alright."

Johan didn't object. Mewtwo was free.

"Also," Johan added, "if you ever want to help more Pokémon—or if you ever need help—you can come to me."

In the original timeline, Mewtwo founded an island refuge for cloned and wild Pokémon.

After the Genesect incident, Johan had similar thoughts.

"Okay."

Mewtwo nodded, then soared into the sky.

Two days had passed since Johan saved Opelucid.

The media had gone wild, and Johan's fame in Unova skyrocketed.

His power rivaled even Champion Alder.

A hero who turned the tide—that's the kind of story Unovans love.

Now, with their eyes opened, the League intensified its crackdown on Team Plasma.

And so—

In N's Castle, Unova.

In the round-table chamber sat Ghetsis, face grim, surrounded by six Sages and, in the corner, Colress—legs crossed, looking unconcerned.

This entire disaster had been to support Colress's research.

The cost was immense—and it failed.

But Colress, the operation's commander, looked utterly unbothered.

Everyone was furious.

But what good was that?

The League's crackdown was so intense, Team Plasma couldn't even leave their hideouts.

They needed a scapegoat.

Ghetsis was glad he'd prepared one.

Just then—

BOOM—

Dark clouds swirled above N's Castle. Thunder cracked.

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Powerstones?

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