Chapter 169: Do You Have a Grudge Against Mewtwo Cells?
Asahi: "...."
While he was pleased to receive a new title, he was not pleased with how the system had described it.
The truth speaks for itself! Whether he had "deceived" Mewtwo or not wasn't for the system to decide.
"Mew, tell me, did I deceive Mewtwo?" Asahi turned to Mew and asked.
"Mew?"
Mew thought for a moment… then nodded seriously.
Not only did it nod, but it also looked furious. If Asahi hadn't filled Mewtwo's head with nonsense, why would it believe Mew was its mother?
"Cough, let's change the subject."
Clearing his throat, Asahi quickly released Mewtwo, using it as a distraction to shift Mew's attention.
Then, he turned to check his system rewards.
[Please select your reward.]
[1. Mewtwo Cells (Implantable)]
"....."
The moment he saw this option, Asahi fell silent.
System, do you have a personal vendetta against Mewtwo's cells or what?
He glanced at the other two rewards.
[2. Mew's Eyelash]
[3. Mewtwo's Psychic Spoon]
Mew's eyelash?
Isn't this a bit insincere? Mew was right next to him. If he wanted an eyelash, he could just pluck one while it was asleep.
But Mewtwo's Psychic Spoon...
That reminded Asahi of a moment from Pokémon Special, where Mewtwo wielded a massive psychic spoon as a weapon. That had left quite an impression.
Among the three options, the Psychic Spoon seemed like the best choice.
But instead of choosing immediately, Asahi turned to Mewtwo and asked,
"Mewtwo, can you create a Psychic Spoon?"
If Mewtwo could simply make one with its psychic powers, picking this reward would be a total waste.
Mewtwo looked confused, clearly not understanding what Asahi meant.
"Never mind, then."
Still, Asahi held off on making a decision and instead called Grandpa Blaine.
"Grandpa Blaine, do you know if Rocket Team had any plans to make weapons for Mewtwo?"
Through the receiver, the sounds of a Gym battle could be heard. Grandpa Blaine seemed to be in the middle of a match.
After a brief moment of thought, he replied, "I believe there was such a plan. A researcher proposed making a giant Psychic Spoon for Mewtwo, modeled after Alakazam's. I'll check the storage facility after my battle."
"Alright, I'll leave it to you."
Hanging up the phone, Asahi let out a sigh of relief. Good thing he had thought twice about it—otherwise, he might have wasted a reward.
He turned back to the system's options.
After eliminating the Psychic Spoon and Mew's Eyelash, the only remaining choice was the Mewtwo Cells (Implantable)—the very option he had rejected twice before.
"Do I really have to pick this...?"
Still feeling hesitant, Asahi decided to wait until Grandpa Blaine found Mewtwo's weapon before making his final decision.
---
Living Room
Lying on the couch, Asahi casually grabbed Eevee, lifted it high above his head, then pressed it against his face, inhaling deeply.
"Buiii~! Buiii~!" Eevee let out indignant cries, but Asahi ignored them.
Sabrina, who had been reading a book, finally put it down and glanced at Asahi.
"That Mewtwo that just joined the group chat… It's really Mewtwo?"
Asahi rolled his eyes. "Of course, it's Mewtwo. Why would I lie about that?"
Did they really think he was that bored?
Sabrina: "..."
She had assumed Asahi was just messing with Gary. She never thought it was actually Mewtwo.
"With my hard work and dedication, our Kanto Division has finally reached the level where we no longer need to fear Rocket Team! This calls for celebration!" Asahi declared proudly.
(More like through deception and coercion…) Sabrina silently ridiculed.
But outwardly, she nodded in agreement—albeit with a very perfunctory attitude.
"What do you plan to do with Miyamoto?" Sabrina asked. "That woman is nothing like me. She's a diehard Rocket Team loyalist… The little tricks you used on me won't work on her."
Little tricks?
Asahi had just pulled out a specially-made energy cube, intending to feed it to the sleeping Mini Lugia on the carpet. Hearing Sabrina's words, he paused—then casually held the cube up to her instead.
"How about you try it again?"
"....."
At the sight of the cube, Sabrina's body tensed instinctively. Blushing, she turned her head away.
"Hmph…"
Smirking, Asahi proceeded to feed the cube to Mini Lugia instead.
"I'm not planning to recruit Ariana," he explained. "I haven't handed her over to the League because there's something I need her to do."
Sabrina raised an eyebrow. "And that is?"
Asahi smiled slyly and uttered two words:
"Classified information."
The smirk on his face made Sabrina want to punch him.
Unfortunately, she couldn't win in a fight…
Damn it, I need to capture a Legendary Pokémon too!
She refused to let Asahi have the upper hand forever.
Just as she was about to say something, Asahi's phone rang.
He answered the video call, and Lance's face appeared on the screen.
"The sweep of Viridian Gym is complete," Lance reported. "We caught quite a few Rocket Team members, but we didn't find any classified information. Giovanni was extremely cautious."
He sighed. "I still can't believe Giovanni was Rocket Team's leader…"
Among all the Gym Leaders in Kanto, Giovanni had always projected the image of a kind and reliable mentor.
To Lance, aside from Cerulean Gym, Viridian Gym had been the last place he expected to be affiliated with Rocket Team.
And yet, he had been completely wrong.
"The League has now lost three Gym Leaders to Rocket Team…" Lance sighed. "This leaves us with an even bigger gap to fill."
Agatha had just patched the hole left by Fuchsia Gym, and now Viridian Gym had become another major problem.
"As the saying goes, 'when you owe too much, you stop worrying about it,'" Asahi quipped.
Of course, the main reason he wasn't too concerned was that this wasn't an International Police problem.
If anything, he had prevented the situation from being even worse. If not for his intervention, there would be five vacant Gym Leader positions instead of just three.
Just then, Lance suddenly suggested, "How about you temporarily take over as Viridian Gym's leader, Asahi?"
Asahi froze.
"Me? A temporary Gym Leader?"
His expression immediately twisted in pain. Clutching his chest, he gasped, "I won't lie to you, Lance… My battle with Giovanni left me severely injured. The doctor said I need plenty of rest."
Lance: "....."
Could you be any more dramatic?
After pretending to be weak for a while, Asahi finally straightened up and said, "If you're really short on candidates, I do have a recommendation…"
"Who?"
"Gary. Gary Oak."
Asahi figured Gary was getting a bit too cocky again—so it was time to increase his workload.
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