Chapter 144: Mew's Little Shock
"Mew…?"
Mew tilted its tiny head, a big question mark floating in its mind.
Green, though recovering from her fear, immediately played along.
She collapsed into Asahi's arms.
"Mew!"
Mew panicked and quickly flew over.
It placed its tiny paws on Green's forehead, glowing with a soft pink light.
A warm sensation washed over Green, dissolving the darkness that had loomed in her heart for years.
It felt just like when she was a child, resting safely in her mother's embrace.
Like there was nothing to be afraid of anymore.
Asahi's Aura keenly detected the shift in Green's emotions.
If before, Green had been cheerful on the surface but carried lingering shadows deep inside—
Now, she was completely healed.
With the weight lifted from her heart, Green's expression relaxed, and she drifted into peaceful sleep.
"Mew~"
Mew withdrew its paw, sighed in relief, then puffed up its tiny fists and shook them at Asahi, pouting.
During the healing process, it had realized that Green's trauma had nothing to do with it—this was all Asahi tricking it!
Asahi, seeing Mew's reaction, put on an innocent face.
"Now, now, I wasn't lying. Sure, Green's fear of birds existed before, but you did just scare her."
"Mew…?"
Mew rested its paw on its chin, thinking.
That… did kind of make sense?
Seeing Mew fall into his logic trap, Asahi gave Gardevoir a knowing wink.
Gardevoir just rolled its eyes.
Completely serious, Asahi said to Mew, "This isn't the best place to talk. Let's go to the hotel first."
Though no one was around right now, that could change. If someone saw Mew, things would get complicated.
Plus, he was still holding a sleeping Green.
Mew didn't object, casually settling onto Asahi's shoulder.
And so, with Gardevoir and Mew by his side and Green in his arms, Asahi headed for a hotel in Fuchsia City.
---
They rented a seaside villa with a built-in training ground.
With his Pokémon growing in size, Asahi had long since stopped staying in regular hotels.
After carefully setting Green down on the couch, he sighed in relief.
She wasn't heavy, but carrying someone for that long was still tiring.
Mew, watching curiously, wondered why Asahi had gone through all that effort instead of letting Gardevoir help.
"Mew~?"
It turned to Gardevoir, who was reading a book, and asked.
Gardevoir paused for a moment. "Garde…"
Mew tilted its head, still not understanding.
Then, its eyes fell on the stone tablet Gardevoir was holding.
Mew's eyes widened.
"Mew?"
Hearing Mew's question about the tablet, Gardevoir made no effort to hide the truth.
It simply gestured toward Asahi.
[It was a gift from Asahi.]
At that moment, Asahi had just finished covering Green with a blanket.
Seeing both Mew and Gardevoir looking at him, he blinked in confusion.
"…Why are you staring at me? What were you talking about?"
"Mew~!"
Mew pointed at Gardevoir's tablet.
"The tablet?"
Asahi hadn't expected Mew to ask about that.
Without much thought, he casually replied, "Oh, I got it from petting you."
He wasn't lying—he had literally received the Psychic-type tablet as a reward for petting Mew.
But Mew completely refused to believe that.
That was Arceus's tablet! What did it have to do with Mew!?
From Mew's perspective, the far more likely explanation was that Asahi had earned Arceus's recognition and been gifted the tablet.
But… it hadn't sensed Arceus appearing in Kanto at all…
Mew's mind was full of questions.
Asahi, unaware of Mew's thoughts, would've burst out laughing if he knew.
Recognition from Arceus? Yeah, right.
He had more than one of these tablets.
And he had never even seen Arceus in person.
Recognition? If Arceus wasn't knocking down his door demanding its tablets back, that was already a win.
"We can talk about the tablet later. I'm more curious—why are you looking for me, Mew?" Asahi asked.
It had been almost three months since they last saw each other on Mt. Moon.
With everything going on with Mewtwo, he had planned to seek out Mew himself.
But before he could, Mew had come to him instead.
Hearing Asahi's question, Mew momentarily forgot about the tablet.
It floated up to him, gesturing as it spoke.
"Mew!"
"Hmm… You sensed that one of your kind is about to be born, but something is interfering with your ability to locate it?" Asahi interpreted.
To be honest, this surprised him.
Not because of Mewtwo's impending creation—Sabrina had already informed him that Giovanni had begun the final phase of the project.
What did surprise him was that Mew couldn't pinpoint Mewtwo's location.
[Could Team Rocket have anticipated Mew searching for Mewtwo and used technology to block its psychic link?] Asahi pondered.
After thinking for a moment, he turned to Mew. "So you came to me because…"
"Mew~!"
Asahi raised an eyebrow. "You want me to help you find your 'kin'?"
Mew nodded eagerly, then floated up and nuzzled against Asahi affectionately.
Watching Mew act all cute, Asahi couldn't help but smirk.
"You sure picked the right person."
There weren't many people in the world who knew where Mewtwo was—and even fewer who would actually help Mew find it.
But he was one of them.
Hearing Asahi's response, Mew beamed.
"Mew~!"
It snuggled into Asahi's arms, rubbing against him happily.
Asahi sighed. Mew really knows how to secure favors.
But if he was going to intervene in the Mewtwo situation, he had to time it right.
Too early, and he might interfere with the cloning process, possibly preventing Mewtwo's birth altogether. That would be a disaster.
Too late, and with all the changes he had made, Giovanni might actually succeed in controlling Mewtwo—at which point Asahi would have no choice but to flee for his life.
As he absentmindedly petted Mew, contemplating the best timing, Gardevoir suddenly spoke.
[It's time to eat.]
Asahi blinked. "Huh? Already?"
Checking the time, he realized how quickly it had passed.
"Well, Mewtwo's problem isn't urgent. Let's eat first."
Mew's eyes lit up at the mention of food—it still vividly remembered how good Asahi's Pokéblocks tasted.
"This time, I'll make you something even better," Asahi teased.
Mew tilted its head curiously.
Something better than those Pokéblocks?
Asahi just smirked and began releasing his Pokémon.
"Alright, everyone, say hello to Mew!"
As his growing team gathered, Asahi realized—he really needed to build a storage system at his safehouse.
Although Asahi had special privileges exempting him from the League's six-Pokémon carry limit, managing too many at once was still a hassle.
But that was a problem for later.
For now, he scooped up Eevee and placed it in his arms.
Eevee curiously examined Mew beside it.
"Vee?"
Eevee greeted Mew.
"Mew~"
Mew responded but was soon distracted by something else—
Its gaze landed on the small Lugia sleeping soundly on the floor.
"Mew?"
Mew's expression turned to surprise.
While Lugia did have a species group, their numbers were extremely low, and they lived deep in the ocean, making them incredibly hard to encounter.
Yet, here was Asahi, casually owning a baby Lugia…
Also… was that the Flying-type Plate Lugia Jr. was holding?
Another plate?
What exactly had Asahi been doing these past three months?
Mew was starting to question its own judgment.
Could it be that Asahi hadn't earned Arceus's recognition, but had robbed Arceus instead…?
That thought startled Mew so much that it scared itself.
---
Green was awakened by the aroma of food.
As she groggily opened her eyes and found herself lying on the couch, covered with a blanket, she jolted in surprise.
She almost reached for her Poké Balls—
But then she heard Asahi's voice from a distance.
"Salamence, that's not ready yet! It needs to simmer a little longer—can't you be more patient like Dragonair?"
"Gengar, stop messing around and go help train Slowpoke. Don't let it slack off."
"Swampert, pass me that seasoning—yeah, that bottle."
Hearing Asahi's voice, Green relaxed.
Looking up, she saw him working with Gardevoir, both busy preparing food while fending off a very persistent Salamence trying to steal bites.
[What happened before this…?]
Green tried to recall.
Mew had been healing her… She had felt completely at ease…
Then… she had fallen asleep in Asahi's arms?
That was the last thing she remembered.
Which meant… Asahi had carried her all the way back?
Green's face turned slightly red.
At that moment, Asahi noticed her staring blankly.
"Green, you're awake? Perfect—come help out."
He had ordered way too much food, thinking he could cook it all himself. But in practice, he was completely overwhelmed.
Green rubbed her face, forcing herself to return to normal.
Then she stood up. "On my way!"
---
By the time they finished cooking, it was already afternoon.
Asahi, Green, and all the Pokémon gathered around the massive dining table.
After all the effort he had put into making this feast, Asahi felt like his body was falling apart.
Across from him, Mew's eyes sparkled as it stared at the food.
Everything looked so delicious—was this the even better food Asahi had promised?
"Eat quickly, or you might regret it," Asahi warned Mew.
Mew tilted its head, not understanding.
Until Asahi gave the signal to start eating.
In an instant, the peaceful dining atmosphere erupted into chaos.
Aside from Mew, every Pokémon immediately scrambled for food.
Even Gardevoir, though elegant, wasn't above joining the battle.
Before Mew could react, a third of the food was already gone.
"…Mew?"
Mew blinked in confusion.
Wasn't eating supposed to be about savoring the flavors?
That was what Mew thought—until it saw Salamence open its jaws wide like a Snorlax and inhale half the table.
That's when Mew finally understood.
If it didn't eat fast, it wouldn't eat at all!
Panicked, Mew joined the frenzy—
But it was clearly too slow.
After managing to scarf down a cupcake and a single egg tart, Mew looked back at the table—
And all that remained was Salamence licking the empty plates.
Mew stared at the completely empty table, utterly stunned.
"I told you to eat quickly," Asahi said.
This was a hard lesson he had learned himself.
If you weren't fast enough, Salamence's bottomless appetite would leave you starving.
If he could go back in time two months, Asahi would slap himself for making such a reckless promise.
Had he not vowed to let Shelgon eat as much as it wanted after evolving into Salamence, he wouldn't have to fight for his own food every single day.
"Mew~"
Mew slumped in disappointment.
Asahi had made so much delicious food, and it barely got to taste anything…
Just as Mew was about to sulk, a hand suddenly appeared in front of it.
Resting in Asahi's palm was a glowing Pokéblock, radiating an unbelievably enticing aroma.
"Mew~?"
Mew looked at him, puzzled.
Asahi chuckled. "I never said that was the special treat I had for you."
"This is my signature Pokéblock—even Lugia Jr. loves it. Try it."
Green, watching this unfold, suddenly remembered what happened when Sabrina ate these.
She hesitated.
Mew was a Legendary Pokémon, like Lugia Jr.… It should be fine, right?
"Mew!"
Oblivious to Green's concerns, Mew eagerly grabbed the Pokéblock.
It sniffed the delicious scent—
And without hesitation, popped it into its mouth.
Then—
"Mew~"
A soft, kitten-like meow escaped Mew's throat.
Its entire pink body flushed slightly red.
Green immediately covered her face.
---