"You know me?"
The moment Cynthia realized that the person before her was actually her arranged fiancé, even she became visibly flustered.
She glanced at Red again.
Especially after noticing how young his face looked, she became even more uneasy.
Cynthia had battled legendary Pokémon before.
But speaking with her arranged marriage partner…
And such a young one at that…
This was truly a first for her.
Cynthia nodded.
"I know of you."
Then—
The air once again fell into a bizarre silence.
Mewtwo looked at Red in confusion.
So… are we fighting or not?
Cynthia's Pokémon were equally bewildered.
In their eyes, their trainer was normally decisive and calm.
So why did she seem so strangely off-balance today?
Just as the atmosphere became unbearably awkward—
Shi Ze suddenly let out a miserable scream.
"Nooooo!"
He crazily rushed toward the mural that had been smashed apart by Garchomp and Mewtwo.
"My mural!"
"It contained records about the legendary gods!"
Watching Shi Ze clutch his chest in agony, Cynthia finally snapped back to reality.
She looked regretfully at the destroyed mural before turning toward Red and taking a deep breath.
"Of course I know Gym Leader Red's name."
"Not just me."
"I suspect even the distant Kalos region has already heard of you."
Then Cynthia looked toward Mewtwo standing beside Red.
"So this is the legendary Pokémon rumored to have ties with you?"
There was unmistakable envy in Cynthia's eyes.
After all—
As a trainer, and especially as a Champion-level trainer—
If Cynthia claimed she wasn't jealous of Red's bond with Mewtwo, that would absolutely be a lie.
Seeing Cynthia's expression, Garchomp and the others immediately realized the battle was over.
Still—
As Garchomp walked back toward Cynthia, it unwillingly glared at Mewtwo.
Mewtwo, meanwhile, looked completely indifferent.
Because in Mewtwo's eyes—
Against opponents of the same level, unless they were fellow legendary Pokémon—
It regarded everyone else as insects.
A swarm of insects was still just a swarm of insects.
Mewtwo looked toward Red.
"Companion."
"Hurry up and grow stronger."
"I'm still waiting for the day you successfully capture me."
"If you can accomplish that in this lifetime, of course."
"Though with how often you cry for help…"
"I honestly wonder whether you'll ever become stronger."
Although Mewtwo's words sounded merciless—
It still casually replenished the psychic coordinates inside the Poké Ball afterward.
After all—
Among all humans, the only companion Mewtwo truly acknowledged was Red.
And Mewtwo certainly didn't want Red to actually die.
Red turned toward Cynthia.
"So what brings the Sinnoh Champion all the way to Kanto?"
"It can't seriously be just for exploring ruins, right?"
Red merely asked casually, trying to break the ice.
Yet unexpectedly—
Cynthia clenched her teeth and remained silent.
As though the real reason she had come to Kanto was something even a Champion couldn't bring herself to say aloud.
"…Right."
"I suppose a Champion's mission would be confidential."
"If you don't want to say it, forget it."
Red smoothly changed the topic.
"How much do you know about these ruins?"
The moment the topic shifted to ancient ruins, Cynthia instantly became energetic again.
"I believe these ruins were constructed to imprison a group of Pokémon worshipped as gods."
"But logically speaking…"
"If they were truly divine beings, they shouldn't have been imprisoned on such a massive scale."
"So perhaps my interpretation is mistaken."
Hearing Cynthia's deductions, Red couldn't help but feel impressed.
"As expected of a Champion."
"You deciphered the mural contents that quickly."
"You're correct."
"These ruins truly do imprison 'gods.'"
"However, they aren't legendary Pokémon in the traditional sense."
"They're merely unusual super-ancient Pokémon that proclaimed themselves gods."
"Self-proclaimed gods?"
"Special super-ancient Pokémon?"
Hearing Red's information, realization finally appeared on Cynthia's face.
"Ohhh… so that's how it is."
"I never expected Gym Leader Red to also research super-ancient civilizations."
"Not at all, not at all."
Just as Red and Cynthia entered mutual business-flattery mode—
Suddenly—
The entire ruin began violently shaking.
It felt as though some monstrous creature was about to emerge into the world.
"Damn it!"
"We were too slow—the ancient Pokémon escaped!"
Just as Red inwardly cursed their bad timing—
He suddenly noticed Mewtwo standing beside him.
Then glanced toward Sinnoh Champion Cynthia nearby.
And abruptly came to a realization.
…Wait a second.
With this lineup, forget some super-ancient Pokémon.
Even if Rayquaza showed up…
Hell, even Groudon might actually get beaten up here.
Red's eyes instantly lit up.
Hehehe.
Ancient Pokémon… prepare to suffer.
Meanwhile—
Because of the battle between Garchomp and Mewtwo—
The super-ancient Gengar had finally managed to escape from its sealing vessel.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"Pathetic humans!"
"The great Gengar God has descended upon this world once more!"
"The humans who sealed me back then…"
"Prepare yourselves!"
"I shall make you suffer a fate worse than death!"
Accompanied by maniacal laughter, terrifying ghostly energy surged through the entire ruin.
A gigantic body burst forth, directly shattering the underground structure apart.
The super-ancient Gengar had finally descended upon the world once more.
And even more delightfully—
It could no longer sense the presence of its ancient rivals, super-ancient Alakazam and super-ancient Jigglypuff.
This realization sent Gengar into absolute ecstasy.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"All beings capable of stopping me have vanished from this world!"
"From this day onward…"
"The world shall belong to me—the Gengar God!"
Only then did the ecstatic Gengar finally notice Red and Cynthia standing below like tiny ants.
"Kneel, humans!"
"You shall become the first servants of the great Gengar God!"
"This is a divine blessing bestowed upon you!"
Looking at the crazed super-ancient Gengar before them, Red and Cynthia exchanged glances.
Then Red sighed helplessly.
"…Sigh."
"It's just a mere Elite Four-level super-ancient Gengar."
"What exactly are you acting so arrogant for?"
The next second—
Mewtwo and Garchomp directly flew up before Gengar.
"HAHAHAHA!"
"Mere insect-like humans and Pokémon actually dare challenge me, the Gengar God?!"
"How ridiculous!"
And then—
Faced with getting jumped by a legendary Pokémon and a Champion's ace simultaneously—
The so-called Gengar God suddenly stopped laughing.
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