Crystal Cliff — this place overflowed with wtwo's mories.
A year and a half ago, Team Rocket sohow discovered this sanctuary. They made a desperate attempt to seize control of wtwo's power again, dispatching a large force.
However, thanks to several boys and girls — and a strange trio — their plan once more failed. wtwo erased all their mories of that incident.
Afterward, it sent the cloned Pokémon that had lived here with it to various corners of the world.
Though they were copies, they had true lives. So, they set off on journeys to live freely.
Later, wtwo also began its own journey — searching for the answer to what it ant to be alive.
It had visited Cerulean Cave, left footprints in bustling cities, wandered to distant lands, witnessed myth and legend, fought powerful humans, and even seen bizarre space-ti rifts… and now, after all that, it had returned to Crystal Cliff.
The underground cavern was still vast, the Mirror Lake shimred as ever, moss clung to the stone walls — but the other Pokémon were gone.
So this… was what loneliness felt like.
As wtwo reflected on those events, it felt confused — and just a little regretful.
Because back then… it hadn't seen Giovanni.
If Giovanni had been among the attackers, wtwo could've wiped his mory too — so that man would never recall wtwo's existence again.
During its travels, wtwo eventually learned the truth.
Giovanni and the Team Rocket executives had all been defeated by a group of young Trainers. And though Team Rocket's operations had simply moved into the shadows, Giovanni himself was no longer at HQ.
That man had gone back on the road — in search of true strength. He even left a ssage to Team Rocket:
"…Let be clear. No matter how strong soone is, they can still fall. If you can't admit defeat, you'll never move forward. To build a stronger organization, I now begin a journey alone. Soday, I will revive Team Rocket."
Hearing this, wtwo felt… strange.
The man who once saw Pokémon as nothing more than tools of power, who showed no love at all — was he really trying to start over? When that boy defeated him, did it shatter his pride as well?
wtwo took out a human device — a Pokémon gadget it had learned to use while traveling through the cities. With its illusions, it forged an identity and gained access to this technology.
Now that human society was rapidly developing, the internet was incredibly convenient — once you knew how to use it.
"Thank you for the item. The Calyrex plush is incredibly effective."
Just holding it seed to wash away all its worries, imrsing it in peace. Its emotional wounds were healing — and mories wtwo didn't even know it had began to surface.
Was the world… always this vibrant?
Despite all it had seen — despite the journey, the return to "ho" — sothing dark still lingered deep inside. But now, those shadows were lting away like winter snow in spring sun, flowing into streams and giving life to the valley.
Flowers. Trees. Sky. Breeze. Clouds. Sunlight. Rainbows. Ocean. Forests. Gravel. Earth…
To live, to feel, to think — to understand — and finally, in the stillness, to awaken.
wtwo @-ntioned Hikaru in the rchant group and left a review beneath the workshop's store page.
In human society, it had learned that many shops encouraged good reviews. More praise ant more custors — a cycle that helped business.
And, to support soone, one could buy their products. Besides, wtwo could already see the future — every item the workshop sold was authentic and powerful. Unfortunately, there weren't many Psychic-type tools available yet.
Not that wtwo needed any power boosts. Its power, even if not the greatest in the world, was among the highest.
Power isn't everything. That much it had learned on its journey a year ago.
Now, all it wanted… was peace. A quiet place to live — a corner of the world no one could find.
Just like that mysterious craftsman's ho.
wtwo unknowingly slipped into ditation.
As its mind cald, deeper mories surfaced — fragnts that made its brow furrow.
A little girl… and several Pokémon.
Sothing wet fell on wtwo's face. It reached out — and found it was a tear.
Tears…? I… have tears?
What was that feeling just now? What were those mories? Vague and uncertain — had it really experienced them?
"Tears… when the body feels pain, they fall. But only humans cry from sorrow."
Strange mories surged — tranquil and pure, from a ti wtwo didn't recognize. A wave of fatigue washed over it.
Hesitating, it opened a private ssage to Hikaru:
"I need to revise what I just said. The Calyrex plush triggered so strange mories. Is that normal? They feel like mories from right after I was born… buried deep inside . Are those… my deepest psychological scars?"
A response soon ca:
[Can you explain in more detail? I'm not a licensed therapist, but I need to know your symptoms to help guide you. It's not my job — but you are my custor, after all.]
[Since my product triggered this, of course I'll help you.]
wtwo went silent.
After so thought, it disguised its identity — one it often used while living among humans. It slightly altered the recovered mories and integrated them into the "backstory" of that fake identity.
[I see… So you had a girl and three Pokémon as companions when you were young. And only after holding the plush did you recall them — but after the mories returned, you rembered that they all suddenly vanished without a word, right?]
wtwo: "That's right. And… I rembered her na."
"Ai. Yes… she was Ai."
The na in its mory was actually Ai No. 2, but wtwo knew that girl wasn't a real "human" — and so, it left out the number. A designation like "2" would be inappropriate.
Who was she? What was she really?
Why… why does my heart ache with the urge to see her again?
[…]
"…What is it?"
[Nothing. Childhood traumas are often hidden by the mind — but they don't disappear. They beco buried thorns in the soul. Did you know that forgetting is actually a psychological defense chanism? It's one way we protect our ntal health.]
[It helps us escape negative emotions and pain, allowing us to stay emotionally stable. Trauma also leads to avoidance — avoiding places, people, and even topics that trigger those mories. I rember you once said you avoid speaking with other psychics unless necessary. That's also a form of avoidance.]
[But… you aren't just avoiding psychics. From what I can tell, you're avoiding humans — or rather, strangers.]
wtwo was silent.
That… hit ho.
Thinking it over, wtwo realized it was true.
It had traveled many places, t many humans. But even while disguised, it had always avoided crowds. It avoided contact — not just out of fear of exposure, but because…
It truly felt distant from humans.
If there was anyone it could acknowledge — it would be that boy called Ash.
"So the best solution is to forget these mories again? But… the urge to see her won't go away."
Even though I know she doesn't exist anymore… wtwo thought quietly.
[Forgetting is one solution — it protects your mind. But… haven't you already understood what "the aning of life" is?]
wtwo froze.
The aning of life… Who am I? These were the questions it had once obsessed over. But after eting that boy Ash, it had found its answer.
"At the very least, it ans I'm a being who can live on this planet."
And now — only the Trainers who once helped it, and Giovanni, knew of its past.
"Who… are you?"
[Huh?]
Hikaru's confused response made wtwo blink — and chuckle. It shook its head.
Guess I'm overthinking it.
Right — Hikaru was just a strange human with mysterious power. Maybe not soone who could see the future, but perhaps "the aning of life" was just a common psychological concept.
It didn't know much about psychology.
[I don't know why you suddenly asked that, but I guess my words touched sothing deep inside you. Let's say you have understood the aning of life. Once soone finds that aning, they not only feel happiness — they also gain strength to face any hardship. Even in the face of suffering, guilt, or death, they can remain optimistic.]
[There's only one true form of heroism: to love life after seeing its harsh truths. A human once said that.]
In that mont, wtwo felt a beam of light pierce its heart.
Not from the plush — but from the words themselves. A powerful will, from far across the world, had reached into its soul and deeply moved it.
Yes… no matter the past, the fact that I'm here now ans it's behind .
But still… even knowing the truth of reality, why did it feel unwilling to let go?
The girl's voice echoed in its mory. She once said:
"Living will surely be fun."
That was what the girl called Ai No. 2 had said.
[So… after everything, I want to give you sothing. So tools. I hope they'll help you regain your strength.]
[There are three ways to heal childhood trauma. First is forgetting — avoidance. Shaful, maybe, but effective. The second is to confront it. Face it, step past it, and overco it.]
[And the third… do you want to see her again? If you could, wouldn't that resolve everything? I can't guarantee it'll work, but… I want to give you a gift.]
wtwo's hands clenched tight. Even its breath faltered.
O mysterious craftsman...
Please… help .
(End of Chapter)
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