All kinds of attacks flooded the battlefield.
Elemental beams. Close-range strikes. Coordinated suppression.
Every move aimed at vital points.
Ethan had just been about to intervene—
But then he noticed something.
This Mewtwo wasn't as simple as it looked.
Mewtwo
Floating calmly in midair, it weaved through the storm of attacks with surgical precision.
Close-quarters blows brushed past empty space.
Long-range elemental techniques exploded harmlessly behind it.
It was like watching someone stroll through a field of flowers—
Without a single petal touching them.
Ethan inhaled sharply.
"So strong…"
"Only Totem-tier, yet able to handle this many at once."
No wonder the Divine Eagle Alliance put a one-hundred-million bounty on it.
Dodging at this scale required:
Extreme combat awarenessHigh-speed calculationPerfect spatial control
And while dodging—
Mewtwo countered.
Psychic bursts flung attackers backward.
Wave after wave.
It wasn't losing.
The Strategy
"Box it in!"
"Don't let it escape!"
"If it bleeds out, even better!"
Ethan's gaze sharpened.
That's when he noticed it—
On Mewtwo's back.
A deep, torn wound.
Still bleeding.
Their plan wasn't to overpower it.
It was to exhaust it.
Delay.
Bleed it out.
Then collect the bounty.
Mewtwo chose a direction and surged forward.
But with:
20+ Champion-tier Pokémon5 Totem-tier Pokémon
Breaking through wasn't easy.
Even for it.
Ethan exhaled.
"Guess I'm stepping in."
Metagross rumbled beside him.
"Boss, I can capture it instantly."
Ethan shook his head.
"No."
"We're not here to catch it."
"We're here to deal with them."
Divine Intervention
Metagross descended like a falling meteor.
One trainer spotted it.
"Another one?!"
Too late.
"Metagross — Gyro Ball!"
Metal limbs extended.
Rotation accelerated.
The battlefield turned into a demolition zone.
Metagross spun through the formation like a freight train.
Any Pokémon it touched—
Went airborne.
"Who are you?!"
"You want to steal it from us?!"
Ethan stepped out calmly.
"I'm not interested in stealing it."
"I'm interested in why two dozen grown trainers are ganging up on one injured Pokémon."
One of them shouted:
"You know who we are?!"
"Offend us and you offend the entire Divine Eagle Alliance!"
Ethan laughed.
Out loud.
That might've worked—
If he hadn't already been their public enemy.
"Since you know who I am…"
"Stay and try."
"Or leave."
Silence.
They had already recognized him.
Ethan Stone.
Donghuang's rising monster.
With a Divine-tier Metagross.
They calculated quickly.
Zero percent chance of victory.
"…We're leaving."
They withdrew.
Unwilling.
Humiliated.
Before they disappeared, Ethan called out:
"Tell your higher-ups to prepare the hundred million."
"Don't make me come collect it unannounced."
They ran faster.
After the Battlefield
Silence returned.
Mewtwo still hovered in the air.
Guarded.
Ready to retaliate.
Ethan slowly released Hatterene.
"Heal it."
Three successive Healing Wishes.
The wound visibly shrank.
Bleeding slowed.
About seventy percent restored.
Mewtwo's eyes widened slightly.
For days, it had only seen humans who hunted it.
Now—
One helped.
It didn't drop its guard.
But the hostility eased.
Ethan didn't approach aggressively.
Instead, he spoke gently.
"I won't force you."
"But if you don't want them hunting you again…"
"Stay with me for now."
"With me here—"
"They can't touch you."
Wind rustled through the canyon.
Mewtwo stared at him.
Not understanding every word—
But understanding intent.
And for the first time since escaping—
It wasn't alone.
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