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Although Miraidon had indeed gained quite a bit of weight recently, at least its speed shouldn't have changed much.
Not long after departing from Mesagoza, Aiden returned to Sunshine Gym with Mewtwo.
On a typical Tuesday afternoon, challengers would usually start arriving one after another.
However, since Aiden had already posted a leave notice with perfectly justified (though shameless) reasoning beforehand, the students should have already spread the news.
Never mind whether what was written was correct or not—you just say whether he saved the world or not!
If not for Teacher Azure's thin skin and the numerous favors he still owed Lance, he should have thick-skinnedly stayed in Kanto to ask for a banner to hang, with something like "Agent of Justice" written on it.
It's common to give banners to the police, but have you ever seen anyone chasing after Officer Lance to demand a banner, brothers?
After opening the door, Aiden turned around and gestured for those behind him to enter.
"Mew~"
Mew nodded first, then flew unceremoniously into the room, finding a comfortable spot on the sofa to lie down, letting out a contented sigh.
"..."
Before Aiden could say anything, it was Mewtwo who reached up to cover its forehead, looking embarrassed.
So this was what Mew was normally like... not very serious, was it? At this moment, Mewtwo suddenly realized—
Was there perhaps such a possibility.
It wasn't actually that Aiden wanted to befriend Mew, but rather that Mew had stubbornly stayed here and refused to leave?
Seeing the faint flash of helplessness in Aiden's eyes, Mewtwo suddenly felt it had guessed the truth.
"...You've worked hard."
For some reason, Aiden noticed Mewtwo's gaze toward him had suddenly become much gentler, and it even reached out to pat his shoulder.
?
Its action left Aiden momentarily confused, but he didn't dwell on it, quickly leading Mewtwo into the interior of Sunshine Gym.
"Now that we're home, let's release all the Pokémon to relax."
Aiden looked at Mewtwo, making the suggestion while also releasing the five Pokémon he had brought with him.
"Yaaah!"
The first thing Sableye did upon appearing was to look around the room, quickly spotting Bagon sleeping soundly on the sofa, immediately letting out a sigh of relief.
Sylveon then walked slowly forward, greeting Mew who was waiting to watch shows together, before slipping into Aiden's room, seemingly using its ribbons to search for paper and pen, preparing to immediately draw the image of the black Rayquaza it had just seen again.
"Luca..."
It seemed that Lucario, sensing unfamiliar aura waves within Sunshine Gym, narrowed its eyes, and upon confirming it was Mewtwo and the several Poké Balls it carried, immediately relaxed.
At the same time, its gaze occasionally flickered toward Mewtwo.
It was the same type of Pokémon as itself—able to walk upright.
Which meant...
Besides its powerful psychic abilities, it might also be able to master close combat techniques like itself, right?
If it could become a sparring partner for training, that would be great.
Seemingly sensing Lucario's "dangerous" thoughts through a subtle connection, Aiden shuddered, patted Lucario's shoulder, and said earnestly:
"If you want to find a Pokémon for sparring practice, you can go ask that Incineroar permanently stationed in the gym!"
"Different Pokémon have different physiques. Mewtwo is still better suited to specializing in psychic abilities and trainer cultivation. What kind of trainer personally gets into fights anyway, don't you agree?"
What a joke!
If Mewtwo learned combat techniques and eventually evolved into a Mega Mewtwo X that couldn't use any moves and had regressed in psychic abilities, what would happen!
Wouldn't this Mewtwo be ruined by his own hands, and wouldn't Mew laugh himself to death...
"Lucario!"
Lucario thought for two or three seconds before nodding firmly.
Although it wanted to retort...
When in the Kanto region fighting against that middle-aged trainer skilled in earth powers, it had personally witnessed Aiden stepping in to fight Giovanni hand-to-hand.
But since the trainer had already said so, it clearly meant he had his own plans, so it was better not to overstep.
Truly worthy of being a trainer—to have already planned a training regimen for Mewtwo?
Thus, Lucario stopped dwelling on it, immediately entering the training hall to begin its daily cultivation.
"Oger~"
In non-combat state, Ogerpon without its mask looked just like a child, making it completely impossible to guess what terrifying power it actually hid...
After greeting Aiden, Ogerpon glanced at Mewtwo not far away, then immediately hummed a tune as it walked out of the gym, putting on its Well Mask to begin its leisurely farming life.
As for the last one, Miraidon...
No need to think about where it was now.
"What's wrong? Is something bothering you?"
All his Pokémon had already left for their own activities, even Mew had skillfully turned on the TV to start watching shows, yet Mewtwo still hadn't moved, standing motionless in place. Aiden soon asked curiously.
"No, nothing..."
Mewtwo immediately shook its head.
Although it had initially been suspicious of Aiden, thinking he might be like other humans—only pretending to care for Pokémon while actually trapping them with chains called "bonds," using Pokémon's power for their own purposes...
But from the behavior of the Pokémon in this gym, Mewtwo immediately realized how one-sided its previous thinking had been.
Not only Aiden's captured Pokémon, but even other Pokémon just staying temporarily at the gym, all lived harmoniously together, appearing very happy.
This special emotion couldn't be faked no matter what.
Mewtwo seemed to understand Mew's thinking now—was it because of this reason that it wanted to keep itself by Aiden's side, slowly eliminating its prejudice against humans?
Thinking this, the corners of Mewtwo's mouth unconsciously lifted slightly.
"Come out, everyone."
Having made up its mind, Mewtwo no longer hesitated, releasing its few companions all at once.
"Squirtle!"
"Bulba!"
Seeing their "boss," the cloned Pokémon led by Bulbasaur quickly smiled, surrounding it in a circle, occasionally letting out cheerful calls one after another.
Even Mewtwo, who was usually rather aloof, had a much gentler look in its eyes when facing them.
Seeing this, Aiden silently nodded.
For Mewtwo, these Pokémon that had left Viridian Gym together with it could probably be considered its family.
Even the "rebellious version" of Mewtwo, who held great malice toward humans, treated the clones well, with its greatest goal merely being to find a utopia where they could all live together, far from humans.
Although his place might not be a paradise, it should be sufficient for living.
As an official Paldea gym with complete facilities, Sunshine Gym, though not particularly large in area, was more than enough to accommodate dozens of Pokémon living together.
So letting Mewtwo stay here temporarily was no more troublesome for Aiden than preparing some extra ingredients.
Anyway, the cloned Pokémon would be cultivated by Mewtwo itself. Who knows, in the future Mewtwo might not only replace him in fulfilling the Gym Leader's duties, but might also master excellent breeding abilities?
Watching Mewtwo interact with these Pokémon, Aiden suddenly felt somewhat comforted.
In that case, today they would have a big meal after a long time!
...
Though he called it a big meal, it couldn't really be considered one.
Aiden was quite aware of his own cooking abilities.
So he chose the most reliable approach.
Ordering takeout!
The Pokémon world already had some similarities to his previous world. With mobile apps having developed to their current level, the emergence of food delivery service was only natural.
Moreover, Pokémon delivering food was much faster than humans, with terrifying efficiency.
Half an hour later, the door of Sunshine Gym was knocked on.
"Coming!"
Aiden immediately went to open the door, and what he saw was a female Indeedee that looked somewhat familiar to him, and the huge delivery bag she could barely carry with both hands.
"Um!"
The female Indeedee showed a sweet smile, handing the heavy delivery to Aiden before sighing in relief, waving at him.
Aiden had some impression of this Indeedee.
After all, he hadn't tried most of the food stores in Mesagoza, only that Seafood Fresco restaurant he had visited with Cynthia and Caitlin had left a deep impression on him.
Paldea's seafood cuisine was truly exceptional—let Mewtwo and the others taste it too.
However...
He hadn't expected this Indeedee sister working as a waitress to also double as a delivery person?
For an Indeedee whose physical strength and power weren't particularly outstanding, wouldn't this be a bit too much of a burden?
"You've worked hard..."
Aiden sighed inwardly, taking several energy cubes from his pocket.
Living in human society must sometimes be quite hard, right?
After all, not all humans were kind-hearted people, even in Paldea it was the same.
So...
Even if they were just passing acquaintances, Aiden wanted to give this Indeedee sister at least a little warmth.
"As thanks, I'll give these to you, consider it sharing good fortune."
"Um..."
Seemingly surprised by Aiden's actions, Indeedee instinctively opened its mouth in surprise, but after glancing at Aiden's gentle eyes, it quickly revealed a sweet smile again.
Met a good person today!
After waving goodbye to Indeedee and watching it ride away on Cyclizar, Aiden finally closed the door.
"Dinner time!"
Upon detecting the keyword, the Pokémon in the gym quickly gathered in the living room at a run.
The most enthusiastic was naturally Miraidon—long before noticing the delivery Indeedee, Miraidon had already returned to the gym from outside, quietly waiting for Aiden's command.
With the Pokémon rented as "AI difficulty" options, as well as Mewtwo and the cloned Pokémon arriving at the gym, Sunshine Gym became increasingly lively.
Even though when building the gym, they should have considered the possibility of increasing numbers of Pokémon, so the living room of Sunshine Gym had been left with ample space, but it still seemed a bit cramped now.
However, everyone crowding together was also lively.
Watching the Pokémon sitting in a circle, Aiden quickly smiled, taking out his phone to take a photo.
"Well then, let's eat!"
"Graaow!"
Miraidon, who normally had no motivation at all, responded most enthusiastically this time, using its eyes to signal Aiden to serve it some food.
Eating at the table seemed quite troublesome for some Pokémon without flexible arms...
Looking at Miraidon, which clearly showed anxiousness and seemed like it would starve to death right in front of him if delayed another second, then at Sylveon effortlessly taking food with its ribbons on one side, and Ogerpon already competing with Lucario for pizza with their eyes on the other, Aiden smiled helplessly.
The Pokémon on his side were already accustomed to this harmonious life, so overall they were quite friendly.
Even Bagon had the fatherly Sableye carefully taking care of it.
Compared to their side, the cloned Pokémon around Mewtwo were much more wild.
"Bulba!"
Bulbasaur skillfully used Vine Whip to take a portion of seafood risotto, just about to enjoy it heartily when it discovered the Charmander beside it leaping directly to try to "snatch food from its frog mouth."
The same scene occurred with Vulpix, Tangela, and Abra—momentarily, the side with fewer cloned Pokémon became even more lively.
Aiden found this quite interesting.
After all, they had been influenced by Team Rocket's ideology since birth—correcting this would probably take some time.
Moreover, these mischievous Pokémon were sometimes quite cute...
"Squirtle?!"
The elder brother Squirtle was immediately flustered, but it didn't know what to do for a moment, just standing there anxiously.
"..."
Noticing the chaotic scene around itself, Mewtwo's mouth twitched.
Then, sitting across from Aiden, its eyes flashed with blue light.
Invisible psychic power instantly activated, lifting all the cloned Pokémon around it into the air.
Seeing that Mewtwo seemed a bit angry, the cloned Pokémon finally reacted, immediately ending their commotion.
Only the completely bewildered Squirtle looked somewhat wronged, its innocent expression making Aiden smile knowingly.
In a certain sense, Mewtwo really was quite a suitable trainer—perhaps in the future it could really become a substitute Gym Leader when he wasn't around.
A newcomer arrives at Sunshine Gym, their Pokémon fly in the sky.
For some reason, this sentence suddenly flashed through Aiden's mind.
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