After giving the bewildered Growlithe a stern punishnt, Lucas ordered it to dig up and clean his slippers, or else no dinner tonight. He stord off.
Growlithe, wronged and confused, stared at the holes it'd dug, feeling the sting of being wrongly accused.
Usually it chewed Lucas' slippers every day, but this ti, when it hadn't, soone had set it up. Poor Growlithe!
Staring at the holes, worrying about dinner, it reluctantly started digging again.
Maybe it really had made a mistake?
On his way to find Luxray, Lucas looked toward the farmland and saw a miniature sun—created by Dragonair and friends—shining on the crops to help photosynthesis.
Seeing their dedication, Lucas rembered his promise to help find Dragonite's mother.
After a mont's thought, Lucas asked in his mind, "Where's the Dragonite leader now? If not exact, even a general area is fine."
The system stayed silent for a bit, then typed out a reply:
[Kanto region]
"Kanto, huh…"
Lucas stopped, frowning.
That was far. Kanto, Johto, and Sinnoh were neighboring regions; Paldea and Kanto were twelve hours apart by ti zone. Even at full speed, it'd take Dragonite ages to fly that distance. Why would Dragonite leave its children and go all the way there?
Lucas couldn't figure it out.
…
Delibird picked up the slippers, thinking that w really wasn't reliable—so much for hoping it would finally be useful and teleport Lucas over.
With the slippers gone, poor Growlithe would be the scapegoat.
Delibird sighed, put both slippers in its tail pouch, and said to w, "Deli deli~?" (I'm going to find the strongest trainer and ask them to free Dragonite's mind. Coming?)
w thought about it and, perhaps to restore its image, nodded and touched Delibird.
A flash of light, and the two Pokémon vanished from the attic.
Dragonite sat there like a puppet, lost in mories of the human girl deep in its mind, willingly imrsed in a false bubble of happiness.
…
Delibird's vision blurred, and it found itself in a spacious hall, looking down to see a familiar human swinging his fist at a humanoid Pokémon radiating terrifying power—a glance told Delibird this was trouble.
As expected, the punch missed, and the Pokémon used psychic power to fling the boy—right toward where Delibird and w appeared.
Amid shouts, Delibird caught Ash's clothes and helped him land safely.
"Thanks, Delibird!?"
Ash rubbed his head, dizzy from the impact, and stared at the Pokémon who saved him.
He rembered Delibird well—his Pikachu had never lost so badly; lately, all he thought about was challenging Delibird for a rematch.
w drifted down, curiously eyeing the cap-wearing boy.
Ash's friends, worried about him, were startled by Delibird and the unfamiliar w.
wtwo's gaze turned their way. Upon seeing w, its pupils contracted, psychic aura exploding as it hurled a Shadow Ball at w—regardless of Ash and Delibird being in the blast radius. wtwo saw only w.
w tilted its head, unfazed, but Delibird's heart lurched. It quickly used its strongest move: Blizzard.
Icy winds froze the Shadow Ball mid-air.
Blinking, Delibird realized sothing: that humanoid Pokémon looked scary, but its attacks weren't as overwhelming as expected. At least Delibird could block its Shadow Ball—if this were Luxray's Thunderbolt, it would've blasted through the Blizzard and zapped Delibird numb.
Infuriated that its attack hadn't even reached w, wtwo launched two more Shadow Balls.
Finally, w acted. With a flash of psychic power, it teleported Delibird and Ash right in front of wtwo.
Ash's sudden appearance startled his friends.
"Teleportation!?" Misty shouted.
w giggled, lost in its own fun.
"w! Even if I was made from your DNA, I'll prove I'm stronger—victor takes all! I'm the real one!"
Unable to hold back fury, wtwo attacked w with a barrage of psychic force.
w dodged nimbly, using Teleport to evade. wtwo couldn't land a hit.
"What's going on?" Ash, Nurse Joy, and the trainers looked at each other.
Perhaps having used too much psychic power earlier trying to teleport Lucas, w's Teleport lagged, and it was hit by a Shadow Ball, sent flying.
Sensing wtwo's psychic aura, Delibird realized this must be the Pokémon that had tampered with Dragonite's mind. Anger flared.
"Deli~!" (You call yourself strong?!)
Delibird's voice drew w and wtwo's attention.
w taunted, "w w w!" (The real one is always better—the fake can never compare!)
wtwo, enraged: "Then let's prove who's truly stronger!"
With a psychic wave, wtwo ordered its clone Pokémon army to attack the trainers' Pokémon below.
wtwo itself cloaked in psychic power and charged at w for a close-quarters battle.
Each clash sent shockwaves through the surroundings, shattering the building.
Below, duplicate Pokémon fought their counterparts fiercely, even the gentlest ones driven by instinct to battle.
Wounded and exhausted, the Pokémon kept fighting. Above, w's psychic shield grew weaker as it battled wtwo.
Nurse Joy, hands trembling, said: "Original or clone, they all live in this world now. What's the point of this fight…?"
"They're all Pokémon—why must we fight?" Brock and Misty were shaken and saddened.
Ash rushed into the fray, trying to stop Pikachu, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, and the others from hurting each other.
Delibird watched the chaos, dazed but knowing it had to do sothing—at least stop the fighting below.
But alone, it was powerless.
BOOM!
A deafening crash drew Delibird's attention.
w's psychic shield had shattered; w was slamd into the ground by wtwo, lying in a crater, battered.
Delibird froze, suddenly rembering—w had used up much of its psychic power trying to summon Lucas! It wasn't at full strength, so it lost to wtwo.
"It's over. From now on, I'm the real one—wtwo, the strongest Pokémon and the greatest trainer!"
wtwo's eyes were cold as it ford another Shadow Ball for a final blow.
"w…"
w's weak voice sounded. Knowing why w lost, Delibird sohow found the courage to stand protectively in front of w.
"Move!"
wtwo dispersed the Shadow Ball, gathering psychic power to fling Delibird away.
But w, mischievous but not foolish, spoke up: "w w w, w w!" (Sure, I lost, but even if you beat , you're not the strongest trainer—have you asked Delibird's trainer?)
"What did you say?"
wtwo stared Delibird down, sizing it up.
Sure, Delibird could block its Shadow Ball, but that didn't an it should take w's word that it wasn't the strongest.
Now obsessed with proving itself, wtwo took the bait. It wanted w to admit defeat.
w quickly shifted bla: "That trainer is far stronger than ; even if you beat , it doesn't make you the strongest!"
wtwo knew it was being provoked, but proving itself was its purpose. If it beca the strongest, then it was the real one; w was the fake.
wtwo spread its psychic power, forcibly stopping the Pokémon battles below and dividing them into two groups, clearing space.
Then it turned to Delibird: "Where is your trainer? Bring him out."
Delibird glared at w, but w looked away, unfazed. Despite wtwo's pressure, Delibird stayed silent.
w spoke: "w w." (He's far away. Even I can't teleport him here.)
w briefly explained the failed attempt to summon Lucas.
wtwo sneered at w's lack of skill. "Your psychic control is pathetic. Give what you used to summon them, and let try!"
w endured the taunt, planning to escape with Teleport at the first chance.
Delibird glared at w, not expecting such betrayal. Under wtwo's psychic force, items in Delibird's tail floated out.
A family photo caught wtwo's eye. The warmth in the photo made it pause, but it focused on the task. Guessing the trainer was the one in the photo, it grabbed a pair of slippers.
wtwo's imnse psychic power surged, tracing the faint scent on the slippers, searching across space for their owner.
…
Back in Paldea, Lucas had just recalled Luxray and found Dragonite, returning them to their Pokéballs before heading to town.
Just outside the farm, a subtle spatial ripple whisked Lucas away.
"????"
Looking around at the familiar scene, the silver humanoid Pokémon, and the slippers in its hands, Lucas' mind nearly short-circuited.
What's going on?
Then he saw the people and Pokémon restrained by psychic power, and the wtwo before him. A wild thought occurred:
Could this Pokémon be... wtwo from "wtwo Strikes Back"?
"Deli…"
A familiar cry made Lucas turn. Delibird was staring at him, eyes shining, along with w, also restrained.
No use panicking. Forcing himself calm, Lucas picked up Delibird and asked, "What's going on?"
Delibird tried to answer, but wtwo interrupted: "You're the strongest trainer w ntioned? Battle —and lose miserably!"
Strongest trainer?
Why would w call him that?
Confused, Lucas caught the important part: "Is this New Island? Did you use psychic power to bring here for a battle?"
"Exactly."
wtwo was surprised by Lucas' quick deduction—perhaps he really was as strong as w said.
wtwo moved to grab Lucas with psychic power, but his Pokéball opened by itself—Luxray appeared, crackling with golden electricity, disrupting wtwo's psychic grip.
Luxray was furious and guilty—it had barely entered the Pokéball before Lucas was whisked away.
It stood protectively between Lucas and Delibird, growling at wtwo.
"You're strong. w didn't lie. Let's settle this—let's see who's the strongest!"
wtwo rose into the air, sealing the trainers and their Pokémon with earth and rock. The clone Pokémon stood quietly aside.
Its gaze was full of excitent—Luxray gave off the aura of a true warrior, unlike the lazy w.
Lucas: "????"
Where did this lunatic co from, obsessed with fighting?
But if this was the edgy wtwo, it wasn't surprising.
Lucas didn't know how strong wtwo was now, but seeing the changed circumstances, he realized things had already deviated from the movie.
They had to battle.
Previously, Lucas might have avoided the fight, but after witnessing the power of Shiny Rayquaza on the plane, he was eager to see how strong a legendary Pokémon really was. He grinned: "Electric Terrain!"
Luxray roared. Lightning surged through the ground.
wtwo responded with a barrage of Shadow Balls, each condensed to the limit.
Luxray blasted them apart with surging electricity, the current racing toward wtwo.
wtwo's psychic power exploded, shattering the current and blasting back at Luxray, destroying everything in its path. Only now did it reveal its full power.
Luxray dodged with lightning speed, ignoring Lucas—it knew he was safe with another partner.
Riding on Dragonite's back, Lucas commanded Luxray to attack wtwo.
Ash and friends, restrained, stared in shock at the battle between Luxray and wtwo.
"How can an Electric-type Pokémon go toe-to-toe with wtwo?" Ash exclaid.
The fierce battle devastated most of the arena. The castle crumbled under wtwo's psychic power, only to be blasted apart by Luxray's electricity.
Ash glanced at Pikachu: "They're both Electric-types. You can do that too, right?"
"Pika?!" Pikachu shook its head frantically—it couldn't!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
wtwo burst from the ruined castle, radiating psychic power. Luxray and Dragonite followed.
After the warm-up, Lucas gauged wtwo's strength: it was newly born, once restrained in armor by Giovanni—not yet at its peak.
Its strength was just below Luxray's—full of future potential.
Luxray's Thunder shattered wtwo's psychic grip, and Lucas shouted: "Why are you obsessed with being the strongest?"
"I already surpassed w. If I defeat you, I'll be the strongest on the planet! Only that will give my existence aning!"
wtwo unleashed a torrent of psychic power, stirring storms and rain, hurling energy at Luxray.
Luxray howled, summoning thunder from the clouds—lightning shattered the psychic blast.
"Is your existence only for the empty title of strongest? If so, you'll never truly reach it."
"Hmph!"
wtwo gathered even more power, intent on blasting Luxray and half the island.
Lucas knew wtwo was trapped in an existential crisis. In the ani, Ash's sacrifice and the Pokémon's tears made wtwo realize it was part of the world, not just a tool.
But now, things were off-script. Only Lucas could stop wtwo now.
Ash's approach wouldn't work—so Lucas would do things his own way.
He pulled out his ever-present Tera Orb, tossed it to Luxray, and shouted: "Luxray, give this sulking kid a real shock!"
A crackling crystal light covered Luxray—golden lightning cloaked its body, crowned with a Tera crystal. Luxray roared like a lion.
"Wild Charge!"
Faster than wtwo could follow, Luxray smashed through its psychic shield, pinning wtwo to the ground.
Even the hastily erected Reflect and Light Screen couldn't stop the thunder. wtwo endured the pain, tried to fight back, but Luxray pinned it with a paw.
Thunder crashed down, and wtwo's consciousness faded.
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