Chapter 148: Mewtwo’s Escape

When Natsume arrived at the courtyard of the research lab, he still saw Ash and Gary wrestling with each other.

“Aren’t they supposed to be having a Pokémon battle?”

Natsume asked curiously.

“Yeah, Ash sent out Midchu, Gary lost, but he’s not accepting it,” Misty waved her hand.

“All right, I have a task for you two.”

Natsume clapped his hands, his eyes flashing a cold blue light, forcibly separating the two.

“Go to the seaside lab and invite Professor Westwood. Understood?”

He handed them a photo showing a research lab standing on the beach.

“Professor Westwood?”

They took the photo and looked closely.

At the entrance of the lab stood an older man with a white beard and a Mediterranean hairstyle—it was Professor Westwood himself.

“If I remember correctly, Professor Westwood is a master of Pokémon theory,” Brock said, stepping closer.

“Wow, there’s a beach near Pallet Town? Looks perfect for a vacation,” Misty’s attention was completely elsewhere.

“Yeah, the northwest connects to the sea,” Ash said, not finding it unusual.

“That’s strange. Why have you never mentioned that Pallet Town is a vacation spot?” Misty asked curiously.

“I don’t know. The tourism over by the beach is quite developed,” Ash shook his head. He wasn’t interested in that. Putting on his hat, he was ready to leave.

“Safe travels—”

At the entrance of Professor Oak’s lab, Natsume waved them off.

“Ah~ Mr. Natsume, what did you mean by getting familiar with the reserve this afternoon?”

Behind him, Giselle yawned as she stepped out.

“That? I’ll take you up to the snowy mountain over there. As for Ash and the others at the beach, you can check it out yourself if you have time,” Natsume said, pointing. Giselle looked in that direction and could vaguely see a mountain with a white peak.

Around Pallet Town, the terrain is varied, ideal for tourism development.

However, when the League drew boundaries, Pallet Town was not designated as a tourist city because it is also a reserve.

This was something Natsume discovered while considering where to locate his own research lab, checking maps and League policies.

Secondary Reserve—Low View Zone

Within a primary Pokémon reserve, most areas are home to rare Pokémon populations, like Mt. Moon.

A secondary reserve, on the other hand, has diverse ecosystems with abundant species.

One important reason Professor Oak chose Pallet Town for his lab is that it is within the Low View Reserve.

“Climb the snowy mountain!?” Giselle shivered.

“Don’t worry, there are plenty of Ice-type Pokémon from the lab over there. You can just have fun,” Natsume waved his hand.

When deciding the location for his future lab, aside from League policy support, the diversity of the local ecosystem was also an important factor.

For example, Pallet Town is by the sea and near snowy mountains, surrounded by hills, and itself sits on a small plain.

Using this as a standard, Natsume meticulously studied maps for two days.

Finally, he confirmed the location for his lab—directly opposite Professor Oak’s lab.

This way, Ash and Gary could act as free labor when at home, and if his lab ever exploded, he could use Oak’s lab in an emergency.

Additionally, Professor Oak and Nurse Joy were stationed in Pallet Town year-round.

Even if he went out, he wouldn’t have to worry about the lab being unattended.

The most important point: the League requires each lab to help new trainers by raising starter Pokémon and feeding excess Pokémon registered to trainers in the Pokédex.

Starter Pokémon—Professor Oak had plenty, and Natsume had expanded the nursery several times.

For feeding trainers’ excess Pokémon, he could let them go to Oak’s lab for meals.

It was worry-free, perfect, and allowed him to focus on developing Rotom.

The more Natsume thought about it, the more wonderful his future life seemed.

Boom!

A loud explosion came from the direction of the snowy mountain, shaking the ground.

“Mr. Natsume, look!” Giselle pointed anxiously toward the mountain.

At the top of the snowy mountain, white smoke billowed as Natsume’s expression changed drastically.

Avalanche!

This is bad—there are still many Ice-type Pokémon from Professor Oak’s lab on the mountain!

Just as Natsume prepared to teleport, an overwhelming psychic pressure descended, thick and all-encompassing.

Hngh!

On the mountain, countless plumes of white smoke were instantly compacted, layer upon layer, eventually forming solid ice blocks.

Such powerful psychic energy!

Natsume froze. This psychic force was several times stronger than Nessa’s.

He looked up toward the source of the power—a streak of blue light cutting across the sky.

Inside the blue light, a humanoid figure with cat ears and a long tail.

“Mewtwo?” Natsume’s expression was strange.

The armor that limited Mewtwo had fallen away. Psychic energy surged freely, radiating in all directions.

Who am I? What is my purpose? What am I meant to do?

The same question suddenly appeared in countless minds.

“Mr. Natsume!” Giselle looked at him in surprise.

“I heard it too,” Natsume nodded, understanding immediately.

It seemed Mewtwo was preparing a counterattack.

Psychic tendrils extended, and Natsume tried to communicate with Mewtwo.

“You are Mewtwo. You are a great benefactor. You will defeat Ho-Oh, Lugia, and Groudon,” he sent his humble wish.

“And all the treasures obtained—the Rainbow Feather, Sea Bell, Red Orb, and Blue Orb—will be donated to Natsume Lab without charge.”

In the sky, Mewtwo, charging forward, seemed to stumble as if hitting an invisible wall.

Soon, Mewtwo’s figure disappeared completely on the horizon.

“Mr. Natsume, that Pokémon… it looks like the one from Viridian Gym,” Giselle said uncertainly.

“Did it run away?” he asked curiously.

From the strength it had displayed, Giselle guessed it might be a legendary Pokémon of priestly status, similar to Ho-Oh.

Yet he had never seen a Pokémon of that appearance before.

“That’s not something you need to worry about,” Natsume tapped Giselle on the forehead.

“The urgent matter now is to check the snowy mountain, to see if any of the devices there were damaged.”

With that, Natsume took the lead.

Mewtwo had escaped from Sakamaki’s lab. From the moment it gained divine authority, this event was inevitable.

To Natsume, Mewtwo felt like a student who had read too many books but never practiced what they learned.

These past days had likely made Mewtwo realize the gap between human reality and the knowledge in books.

Now, this powerful student could no longer resist and wanted to act on its own.

But books only teach how to be human; how to act is learned outside them.

“Hopefully, it’s not too idealistic,” Natsume yawned, unleashing his psychic power as he and Giselle sped toward the snowy mountain.