Pokémon, Ash's art style is off!

Judging from its appearance, this mega stone is definitely not an ordinary object.

"You actually know this... Oh well, never mind."

Fuji did not reach out to take it.

He sighed and glanced at Karakara with a complicated expression.

"Since it insists on giving it to you, then it's your destiny. I'm keeping it just as a keepsake, so you should keep it too."

"This..." Xiao Zhi hesitated.

"Keep it."

Fuji's tone softened, but it still carried an air of undeniable authority.

Cubone nodded vigorously beside him, waving its short claws to signal Ash to put it away quickly.

"Ok."

Ash carefully put the stone away.

“Grandpa,” he asked tentatively, “do you know… which Pokémon’s Mega Stone this corresponds to?”

The old man, Fuji, remained silent for a moment.

He spoke slowly.

"Which one it corresponds to... I'm not entirely sure either."

He paused for a moment, as if carefully choosing his words.

"This was not created by nature... I tried to synthesize it many years ago using some special methods."

Xiao Zhi was shocked when he heard this.

This thing can be synthesized?!

I never imagined that the person in front of me was such a hidden master!

I must take a picture and show it to the PhD student!

Give him a good talking-to!

Sixty years old...the perfect age to work hard!

Fuji didn't notice Satoshi's actions.

He let out a long, deep sigh.

That sigh carried too much.

This stone was born when he was young, proud, and full of a thirst for exploration.

At that time, he was obsessed with exploring the origins of Pokémon life.

Especially those Pokémon that exist only in legends and are hard to find.

Among them, Mew, hailed as the progenitor of all Pokémon genes, is like the ultimate mystery, deeply attracting him.

To this end, he ventured into the gray area, joined the organization Team Rocket, and ultimately obtained a wisp of the dream gene sample.

With the genes in his hands, he was immediately overwhelmed by a delusional sense of mission to create history.

The delusion is that based on this, one can touch upon the core of life, even...

To create a perfect life.

He succeeded.

also failed.

An unprecedented and powerful life form did indeed emerge from the experiments he led.

Mewtwo.

Pokémon, inspired by dreams yet surpassing them.

However, when Mewtwo first opened those all-seeing eyes, he understood.

That cold, distant gaze, filled with endless confusion, shattered all his illusions about the creator.

He didn't create Mewtwo.

Rather, it was the shadow of an ancient, dreamlike life, dormant deep within the genes, that was brought to life by his hands and his skills.

This new, solitary offspring was born in a painful and intense way.

He was terrified and tried to dissuade him.

But the noise was drowned out by the Rockets' fervent desire for the "ultimate weapon".

The experiment veered wildly in a direction he couldn't control...

This mega stone was made from a small fragment of the last remaining part of that gene sample.

This is the last attempt I made before everything is beyond repair.

85. No? Why is it you again?

They bid farewell to everyone in Ziyuan Town.

Ash, along with Misty and Brock, who both had dark circles under their eyes, embarked on their journey back to Saffron City.

Sunlight pierced through the sparse clouds, but it couldn't illuminate the dark circles under their eyes.

Xiaoxia walked slowly, almost instinctively following along.

One yawn after another escaped from her mouth, and she looked listless.

"Huh? What happened to you guys...? Didn't you sleep well last night?"

Ash turned around and looked at his unsteady companion with some confusion.

Pikachu also poked its head out from his shoulder, tilting its head curiously.

"Sleep well? That's practically nonexistent..."

Xiao Gang rubbed his temples.

“You wouldn’t believe it, after we got back, Gastly came to me again, saying it was to have a heart-to-heart talk…” He sighed, “and this heart-to-heart talk lasted until dawn.”

"Me too..." Xiaoxia replied weakly, her eyelids drooping. "I hadn't even been lying down for five minutes when Gastly floated in through the wall."

Last night's events were simply unbearable to recall.

The moment my head hit the pillow, the shadows in the room began to sway.

Gastly and Gastly, one of them carrying a notebook, approached the other two separately.

They said it was to exchange feelings.

But the questions on the paper changed from "What color does Ash like best?" to "Which type of Pokémon might he prefer?"

From "What's his favorite food when he travels with you?" to "What style of tombstone do you think he prefers?"...

One by one.

The two ghosts sang in harmony, chatting until dawn broke.

Only then did he leave, completely satisfied.

"Then why didn't they come looking for me?"

Ash looked bewildered and instinctively glanced at Pikachu on his shoulder.

"Pikachu".

Pikachu shook its head.

It rubbed its cheeks with its little paws and thought for a moment.

Last night, it got addicted to reading and leaned against its pillow, clutching that thick book, "Introduction to Modern Physics".

But before I could even turn a few pages, the words started dancing in front of my eyes, my eyelids grew heavier and heavier, and finally my head tilted to the side.

I have no recollection of what happened in the latter half of the night.

As for why they didn't bother Ash.

Gastly and Haunter did speak up.

Seeing that Xiaozhi was asleep, I wanted him to get some rest.

Thus, all the "all-night talks" and all the "emotional exchanges" were borne by these two companions.

......

After walking for most of the day, the three stopped to rest in a clearing in the woods and prepared to have lunch.

Xiao Gang forced himself to stay awake, squatted down on a relatively dry open space, took out cooking utensils, and began to start a fire to cook with heavy eyelids.

Xiaoxia then carried her water bottle to a nearby stream to fetch water.

While carrying Ash, she secretly released her Goldeen to get some fresh air.

On the other side, Ash casually broke off a few dead trees and had Pikachu use Iron Tail to cut them into small pieces.

He handed the Poké Balls to Brock as firewood, then threw them all out.

"Since it's almost time to eat, everyone come out and meet your new friends!"

The white light flashed continuously.

Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Charmeleon, and Kingler appear in that order.

New partner?

Apart from Charmeleon and Pidgey.

A group of Pokémon curiously gathered around, their eyes all turning to the Poké Ball lying quietly on the ground, still unopened.

Seeing that it didn't move, Bulbasaur tentatively took a step forward, and Butterfree also curiously lowered its height—

"Hehehehehe—!"

His signature grotesque laugh suddenly erupted!