The three Pokémon were lined up in the back of the lab room, facing Tim and Allen. Both had collected the notes on the Pokémon that were standing before them and had pen and clipboard in hand. There were laptops sitting on nearby tables, wires trailing from them and connecting to the tower of a supercomputer. Alder observed from a distance, arms folded as he leaned on a table. Allen was sitting off to the side in his wheelchair, watching Tim speak animatedly to the test subjects.

"So what we're going to start off with," said Tim, "is a test of your basic combat abilities. When it's your turn, use any move of your choosing that will normally damage an opponent. Status-affecting attacks like Hypnosis aren't going to work because they won't register on our device." He pointed to a large steel plate bolted to the back of a wide ovular opening, which was set in the wall like a test chamber. The steel plate looked very plain compared to the rest of the room.

"This plate," said Tim, still pointing to the plate, "is going to measure the strength of your attacks, which will be processed by the supercomputer, which compiles the data, which sends it to our laptops. We'll all be able to see how strong the attack is and measure your skill level."

We don't even have to go that far; we already know who's going to win, whispered Alakazam. Mewtwo smirked while Gengar let out a snort that he hastily turned into a cough.

"So," said Tim, apparently noticing nothing, "who's going first?"

Gengar promptly raised his hand in response. Tim's eyes fell upon him, looking a little surprised at such a quick reaction.

"That makes it easy!" he said. "May I have your ID card so that the machine knows who is going?"

Gengar lifted the lanyard above his head and held it out for Tim. He took it and swiped the card through something that looked like the electric lock to the lab. Gengar's picture and information showed up on one of the laptops, along with a prompt on the screen that said, "Ready to collect data". Tim moved to this laptop and typed something in while he said, "Go ahead and position yourself about fifteen or twenty feet away from the plate, if you please." Allen was already taking notes on his clipboard, scribbling with the same speed that Tim did earlier. Gengar took his position as Tim had directed and looked expectantly at the latter.

After one last keystroke with gusto, Tim said, "Okay! Whenever you're ready, Gengar, give it your best shot!"

Gengar turned to the target, stanced himself, and said under his breath, "All right… standard battle tactics… let's go." With his eyes locked onto the steel plate, Gengar put everything he had behind his punch as he thrust his fist straight at the target with incredible speed.

Though he was standing twenty feet away, a whooshing sound came from near the plate, followed at once by a loud, jarring smash! It sounded like he had punched a locker door but with much more strength. After the attack, Gengar relaxed, shaking his right hand and saying with a chuckle, "That felt good."

"Nice job!" said Tim, turning back to the laptop and typing again. "That was a fine Shadow Punch, if I must say so myself. That'll rank highly in the final results." He paused as the data was shown on the screen. "Yep, there you go. Here's what the machine read for your stats."

Gengar walked up to the laptop and leaned in to read what was on the screen.

"Estimated Level: seventy… Attack: one hundred ten… Speed… two hundred fifty!" Gengar exclaimed, jumping back in surprise. "That's really high!"

"Indeed it is," said Tim. "Your speed is relatively unmatched. Compared to the results of all the Pokémon I've had in here for study, you're by far the quickest. I would definitely keep that in mind and use it to your advantage."

"I will," promised Gengar, stepping back away from the computer and rejoining the others.

"Okay… next volunteer?" asked Tim, looking between Alakazam and Mewtwo. Alakazam raised his hand and stepped forward, handing his card over to Tim before filling in the testing spot. Tim repeated the process and said, "All right then—whenever you're ready, go ahead and give it a shot."

Alakazam nodded, contemplating his target without moving a muscle. Nothing happened for a moment. Then his eyes began to glow white as he stanced himself, bending his knees slightly to prepare for an attack. He brought his arms straight behind his back then forward again in one fast, gracefully sweeping motion. From both hands and eyes fired a stunningly bright white ray of energy; so bright, in fact, that Mewtwo was temporarily blinded, forced to quickly turn away as he threw his arm up to shield his eyes. A deep, reverberating tone issued from the point of contact even louder than Gengar's attack. Mewtwo could actually feel himself unsteady as the sound waves washed over him. He staggered a little as he took a step back to try and steady himself again.

When he looked up again, he found Tim and Alder exactly like he was; both had their arms up to try and block the brightness of the attack. Allen and Gengar, however, had plugged their ears with their fingers instead. They were hunched over, simply trying to avoid the colossal noise that was still echoing around the room.

When everything died down, Alakazam was still holding the pose, breathing hard as though he had run a marathon. He dropped his arms then lowered himself to a knee, trying to regain his breath.

I am—not as young as I once was, they heard him say. Alder moved forward and grasped him firmly around the shoulder, steering Alakazam towards a seat where Tim was and sitting him down.

"Are you all right?" asked Allen, looking very concerned.

"Yes, he's all right," said Alder. "He's just not—he hasn't done that in a long time. I can't remember the last time I saw him use Psybeam. Must've been years ago, huh?"

Alakazam nodded in response. They all turned their attention back to the screen where the results were printed.

"Estimated level: eighty-five..." Tim read off, eyebrows raised. "Attack: one hundred thirty… Speed: one hundred ninety-five… Special attack—wow," he breathed, "three hundred eighty. That's just—like—wow.

"So Mewtwo," said Tim in a voice that suggested precisely what Mewtwo feared as to what would come next, "If you would, please…"

They repeated the process again, this time everyone moving back by at least a couple feet. Mewtwo couldn't blame them, for he would've done exactly the same thing.

"Whenever you're ready," said Tim.

Mewtwo turned to face his target, staring at the innocent-looking plate of steel. The others made it look so easy to strike without fear of hurting others. Obviously, control was of the essence in this situation: one false move, and—well…

What was he to do? Could he use a less powerful attack and achieve similar results? It was worth a shot, wasn't it?

Praying that this would work, Mewtwo charged up the purple sphere of energy in his hands, but didn't allow it to be any bigger than the size of a softball. When he ensured that he was ready, Mewtwo released the energy toward the target.

Nothing happened. The energy hit the target and dissipated upon contact. Mewtwo turned around to see Tim's face displaying nothing but dull surprise. He ran forward to the laptop and read the data that was displayed.

"Erm… there isn't a reading," said Tim. He turned to look at Mewtwo with a calculating expression. "Perhaps that wasn't the proper attack? Would you like another go?"

"Yeah…" said Mewtwo in a dazed voice. "I guess that was the wrong thing to do. Sorry about that. I'll—I'll try something different this time."

Tim retreated. Mewtwo turned again to the target, thinking. He wasn't the most powerful Pokémon in existence for nothing, right? What could he do that no other could ever hope to accomplish?

The answer struck him in one horrible stroke of inspiration.

Throwing all caution to the winds, Mewtwo began to charge. The energy was not purple this time, but a reddish-orange color. It grew larger and larger in his hands until it reached the size of a beach ball, at which point Mewtwo felt like he could not put in any more power. Above the droning hum from what he was holding, Mewtwo could hear the rushed footsteps of the others diving to cover. The energy started to crackle and spark, where arcing began to take place on the inside. It looked like some weird ball of superheated plasma. He could not wait much longer, for the attack was costing him stamina to keep at bay. When he felt like he couldn't stand holding on any more, he released.

The explosion was enormous. Mewtwo was blown off his feet and slid over a table before coming to rest at the other side of the room. Miraculously, he didn't feel hurt at all. He slowly got to his feet and looked around.

Apparently, everything survived except for the papers that had lain on the table tops. They were all fluttering about as if they had been caught in a high breeze. The others were emerging from behind whatever cover they could find, looking as surprised as Mewtwo felt. He gingerly walked back toward them.

Tim was the first to recover from the shock.

"That was a very… very… dangerous thing to do," he breathed. "There aren't a lot of Pokémon that can use Hyper Beam without causing collateral damage." He took a few shaky breaths before continuing, "But that aside—what do the readings say?"

They all crowded around the laptop to see the results, but nobody had to read them out loud. Everything was maxed out. Even the level estimation failed to produce a result. It was here and now that Mewtwo fully understood the truth behind Gengar's words from the Pokémon Tower:

Nobody speaks your name without fear striking their heart.

"Umm, Tim?"

Tim didn't turn at Mewtwo's words, but Mewtwo knew that he was listening.

"I'm more than happy to help with everything that's going on, but can we not test my abilities with the Mega Ring? I mean," he hesitated, trying to place his words delicately, "even the machine couldn't tell how powerful I am. Either we need to take a different approach once we use the Mega Ring or I could just sit out with the power testing phase once we do use the Ring." He waited a second before adding, "What say you?"

Tim remained very still throughout hearing out Mewtwo and didn't change his posture when Mewtwo stopped speaking. Mewtwo could tell that he was doing some quick, hard thinking. After a full ten seconds, Tim said with the same delicacy as Mewtwo, "I think you're right… Obviously, this testing method can't properly accommodate attacks of your power. We'll have to think up a new method. But," he said, still addressing the computer screen, "I'd hate to miss out on how the Mega Ring affects different kinds of Pokémon." He finally turned to look at Mewtwo. "Do you mind us at least seeing how the Mega Ring affects you?"

"You mean physically?"

"Precisely."

"I—no, I don't mind at all."

"And you two?" Tim asked, looking between Alakazam and Gengar, "Do either of you mind?"

Both shook their head 'no' in unison.

"All right then," said Tim. He began to drum his fingers against the top of the table, looking at the laptop's screen again. "So we'll have to get everything set up again… Allen, can you get all the notes on the Mega Ring before we start?"

"Yeah, just a minute," said Allen. He rolled off to one of the tables and shuffled notes around to search, returning with the proper documents. He handed them to Tim, who began to review. He mumbled to himself as he read, eyes roving across the pages.

"Can you do me a favor, Mewtwo? Go down this big hall and take a left in the C-wing to our office and retrieve the Mega Ring for us. It's room C-5 in a safe that's bolted to the floor under Allen's desk. The code for the safe is thirty-three, eighteen, forty-five. Got that?"

"Room C-5, safe under the desk, code's thirty-three, eighteen, forty-five," Mewtwo rattled off to himself. "Yeah, I got it."

"See you soon," said Tim. He handed back Mewtwo's card, pulled the notes towards him and Allen, and began to pour over them while Alder, Alakazam, and Gengar huddled together and talked in whispers. Mewtwo turned, opened up the doors, and left the room.

The hallway was much darker now that some time had passed since they entered the building. Most of the lights had been turned off, leaving some areas in complete darkness. Mewtwo walked on, feeling a sense of eerie foreboding creeping up on him through the silence. He was searching for something that would lead him to the C-wing when he saw a small sign hanging from the ceiling with a letter C and chevrons pointing to the left. He turned down this hallway, looking through the windows of totally dark rooms. Near the end of this hallway was a wooden door with the brass number five on it. Mewtwo took hold of the handle, turned, and gently pushed the door open.

Once he flipped the light switches, the whole office came to be visible. Inside were four large desks, two together on the left and far wall. Each had a chair and desktop, along with little odds and ends that belonged to their respective owners. Filing cabinets and cubbies lined the whole right wall, jam-packed with folders and papers like the ones that Tim had brought. Near the door frame were four hooks for coats, where two lab coats were still hanging. Small name plaques above each hook denoted to whom the space belonged. They read, from left to right, 'Bishop,' 'Greene,' 'Prasad,' and 'Fuller.'

Mewtwo crouched down to see under the desks and found the safe that Tim was talking about earlier. He reached for the dial and began twirling it, working in the numbers he had memorized.

"Thirty-three…" he mumbled to himself as the dial whirred smoothly, "eighteen… forty-five…"

There was a faint click, as if something had fallen into place. He grasped the lever and twisted hard, causing the door to pop loose and swing freely on its hinges. There, sitting on the floor of the safe, was the Mega Ring. Colored gunmetal gray, tiny particles refracted the light and made it sparkle when Mewtwo moved his head. He picked it up and turned it in his hands, even trying it on around his wrist. The only thing different from his remembering was the stone. Where it should have sat was instead a single cavity that could accommodate a variety of stone sizes.

But when he remembered what it had cost them to discover about the Mega Ring, he was suddenly overcome with a violent urge to fling the Ring away from him. Suppressing this impulse with difficulty, he relocked the safe before standing up to leave. He glanced at Allen's desk and belongings, turned towards the door, then did a double take.

Something on the desk had caught his eye. Propped up next to the computer monitor was a picture of two teenagers, arm in arm and laughing jovially at the camera. Mewtwo bent over to get a closer look.

He quickly recognized the boy on the left as Allen. He was wearing his round glasses and his beanie, looking very similar to when Mewtwo had first met him. With his face and body undamaged, he looked quite handsome. However, the person with whom he had his arm around was not familiar. He was shorter by about a head and looked very skinny in comparison. His thin face suggested a worn air, accentuated by his oddly grayed-out hair. He seemed like a frail fellow, as if a single gust of wind might simply blow him away. However, once Mewtwo looked past these features, he could see a striking resemblance to Allen.

Allen's brother…

He picked up the photograph and turned it around. Written on the back in calligraphic writing:

Allen and Joseph "Joe" Greene

Brothers to stand the test of time

Something clenched in Mewtwo's stomach, rooting him to the spot. He couldn't think of why this was happening until he recognized this as a strong emotional reaction to the picture. Another second later, and he realized that he was looking at family, something that he never had. He was never allowed to receive a mother's love or a father's affection. He never got to experience what it was like to have siblings to compete with, rival against, and work alongside. Nobody to call "family."

Hot, searing pain burned his throat and blurred his eyes. Unable to stand the bitter thoughts for company, he replaced the photograph and left the room, desiring nothing else but to escape the sorrow that was overwhelming him.

He ran through the halls, swiped his card through the lab's electronic lock, and burst into the room. The others were still grouped together, watching Tim give an explanation on something that Mewtwo couldn't hear. He hastily tried to rearrange his expression as he walked across the room towards the group.

"Ah, thank you Mewtwo." Tim turned towards Mewtwo, noting the Mega Ring in his hand. Mewtwo handed the Mega Ring to Tim, and Tim began to make the appropriate preparations. He placed the Ring on the center counter of the room, assembling all materials to this new work station. Pages of notes, beakers filled with certain chemicals, and tools of precision lay at his side.

"Allen, may I have the stone?" Tim asked, the anticipation obvious in his voice. Allen reached into his pocket and pulled out the Stone. It sparkled against the artificial light of the lab, the spherical shape still mesmerizing despite the countless times it's been seen. Carefully, Allen handed Tim the stone. Tim smiled, placing the stone next to all the other materials.

"Is everyone ready for the experiment to begin? We are about to bear witness to what might be the greatest discovery in our century!"

"If this really works," Allen breathed, "I—it's just so unbelievable to think about. All of our research... and to think it might work! I'm ready to give it a go." Allen turned to Mewtwo and the others. "How about you guys?"

Allen was met by nods all around. Although hesitant, Mewtwo acknowledged the feeling Tim and Allen must be experiencing; an experiment that has always failed may now succeed. That is quite a spark to revitalize this project. He wasn't going to let his own nervousness inhibit that.

"Alright!" Tim replied. He took hold of the Mega Ring, locating the proper indent in which to place the stone. Carefully, he poured a small dose of epoxy to act as a final binding once the stone was in place. After a few seconds, he then proceeded to place the stone in the cavity, which bonded on contact with the epoxy.

In Tim's hand, the Ring looked even more mystifying as the Ring itself scattered the light it caught while the Stone glimmered with the strange light from within. For a few seconds, all was quiet.

"So Allen," said Tim, holding out the Mega Ring, "would you like the honors?"

Allen took the Ring from Tim's hands and into his own, turning it with an expression of interest.

"Whenever you're ready," mumbled Tim.

Allen slid the Ring over his hand and onto his wrist. At once, the Ring shrunk to fit his wrist. This time, not only was the Stone glowing, but the entire Ring was shining dully, emanating an aura of palest green.

Everybody froze. Allen stared blankly at the Ring as he said, "Uhh… is it supposed to do that?"

Tim looked equally surprised as he referenced the notes.

"Err… I don't know," he said sheepishly.

Allen moved away from the group to the open floor space and said, "Gengar, come here."

Gengar stepped forward, wringing his hands anxiously as he approached Allen.

"Yes?"

"Do you remember what I said about how these experiments could be unpredictable?"

"Yes, of course."

"Well, if you don't want to do this, I can't force you to. I'll be more than understanding."

"Are you kidding? I've been looking forward to this all week! I'm ready to do this!"

Allen looked slightly taken aback at his enthusiasm, but said, "All right… get ready!" He raised his arm and, slowly and deliberately, pressed his finger to the Mega Stone.

At once, Gengar gasped in surprise. His figure became cloaked in a white silhouette, dimming everything in the surrounding area. He grew brighter and brighter, so much that everything else turned to velvety blackness.

And then he began to change. Very quickly, his hands seemed to have sunk into the ground along with his feet. Spikes grew along his back and where his hands contacted the ground while his ears elongated by a significant amount. He looked like a runner at the starting block. Once his features ceased to change, there was an explosion of light.

Everyone's jaw dropped in awe.

"Oh my goodness," Tim breathed, "it works!"

Gengar glanced down at his own appearance, completely mesmerized by the drastic change. Not only did he appear different, but his entire body surged with a new form of energy. It was as if weeks of training and battle knowledge had poured into his head at once. Faster, stronger, more cunning; the improvement felt indescribable. Concentrating, Gengar constructed a ball of shadow and allowed it to hang in mid-air before him. He contemplated his target for just a second, then struck.

Nobody saw the ball hit the target, but everyone heard the resonating, gong-like clang that came after. Rushing to check the laptop, Tim gasped at the results. Each stat bar was at least triple that of the previous data.

"This is just incredible! What power!"

Mewtwo was absolutely stunned at what he had just witnessed. Gengar's once simple Shadow Ball now struck with the power of Phantom Force. Tim and Allen were writing at the speed of light, hands traveling across the paper so fast that Mewtwo could smell more burning paper. While this was going on, he leaned in to Gengar's ear and trusted that the others weren't listening in.

"How do you feel?" mumbled Mewtwo.

"I feel…" started Gengar under his breath. "I feel like I can do anything—anything at all… I feel power that I've never had before… I feel speed and quickness that's difficult to explain… but most of all, I feel great!"

"Great?" Mewtwo repeated. "What do you mean?"

"I mean—it feels like… like everything's just fallen into place. D'you know what I mean?"

"No," Mewtwo replied with dismay. "I have no idea what that feels like."

Gengar gave a wide smile and said quietly, "You should know before too long."

"Excellent results!" proclaimed Allen joyously. "That Mega Ring sure does pack a punch!"

"Agreed," said Tim, nodding his head. "Shall we move on?"

Gengar nodded (Mewtwo spotting the disappointment in his eyes) before Allen touched the Mega Stone.

The same process happened again, but in reverse. Through the white light was Gengar's silhouette, changing back from his Mega Evolved form. In what seemed to be half the time, Gengar stood before them back to normal.

"That was fun!" he said, bouncing on his feet. "Can we do it again?"

"Not right now," said Allen as he disengaged the Mega Ring and removed it from his wrist. "Best not to overdo it, because we still don't know what the effect of continuous use has on a Pokémon. I think we should move on."

Mewtwo saw the excitement extinguish in Gengar's eye as if it were a campfire doused in water. He doubted anyone else saw this, for Gengar quickly said, "Of course. I don't want to interfere or anything like that." He graciously bowed out of the way as Alder stepped forward.

"So it's our turn next, right?" he asked.

"It is," said Allen, "but is Alakazam able to demonstrate again? I don't want him be overexerted."

They all glanced at Alakazam, who looked up at them and responded, I believe that I will be able to give it another go, but I'd rather not give any more than that. My most powerful attacks are quite tiring.

"We understand," said Tim. "If you feel otherwise, don't hesitate to say so."

Allen handed the Mega Ring to Alder, who slipped it around his wrist. Again, it shrunk to fit his wrist and began to glow, this time a hue of sunshine yellow. Alakazam took the empty floor space for himself before Alder touched the Mega Stone with his finger. For the second time, a white silhouette cloaked their vision. This time, Alakazam seemed to have been raised from the ground slightly rather than sink into it like Gengar had. His feet had folded so that he was suspended in mid-air. The light exploded, revealing Alakazam's Mega Evolved form.

Five spoons were floating above him, arcing from one hand to another. He had also grown a magnificent beard, snow white and reaching his toes. He looked like some bizarre parody of a hermit atop a mountain.

The reaction was predictable; there was nothing to be said in response. For a minute, all was still while Alakazam hovered in meditation. Then Alder broke the silence.

"Do you want to give one of your attacks a try, Alakazam?" he asked tentatively.

Alakazam nodded slowly as he swiveled to face the target. Gradually, his eyes began to build up an intense white light. Without moving at all, the light shot straight from his eyes at the target. The sound that issued was, if possible, even more jarring than the first Psybeam. Mewtwo was actually knocked off his feet and onto the ground. He scrambled back upright.

Alakazam was the only one that was completely unfazed. He retained almost precisely the same pose as before, simply meditating in mid-air. However, everyone else except Allen was on the ground. Gengar was the only one that wasn't clutching a table to support himself up again. Tim stumbled to the laptop again and took a look.

"Good God…" he said in a shocked voice. "These stats—they're unbelievable for a non-legendary!"

It was intense. The stats had increased at least two-fold, but his special was nearly maxed. Mewtwo could barely comprehend how the Mega Stone could do this to a Pokémon.

Alder touched the Mega Stone, and Alakazam returned to his normal self. The first words out of Alder's mouth were, "What was it like?"

Amazing, Alakazam said. I felt much younger, much more agile, and far more focused than I could ever believe possible. It's truly something you have to experience to believe.

Mewtwo glanced at Gengar, who nodded his head enthusiastically to confirm what Alakazam had said. Mewtwo stepped forward, raising his hand as he said, "So if I were to experience the powers of the Mega Ring, would it be any different because I don't have a trainer?"

Tim furrowed his brow in thought and said, "I'm not sure, to be honest. But I would assume you'd just put the Ring around your wrist like any other trainer would. Do you want to try it out?"

"Yes," said Mewtwo. Alder handed him the Mega Ring, placing it in the palm of his hand slowly and deliberately. He clenched the Ring, feeling the cold metal against his skin, and put his hand through it. It snapped to fit his wrist, now pulsing a deep purple. Mewtwo looked up to find every eye in the room fixed upon him. His stomach fluttered from the suddenness of discovering everybody watching.

"Well… here goes," he said bravely, and he pressed a finger to the Mega Stone.

The moment his finger contacted the Stone, his legs seized up so that he could not move, even when he tried to lift a foot from the floor. A sharp pain started in his wrist and spread rapidly throughout his body, catching him by surprise and causing him to take a great gasp. The poking of a thousand tiny needles accompanied the sudden spread of pain. He doubled over, totally disoriented by this chain of events.

Without warning, the needles were replaced by a burning sensation, forcing Mewtwo onto all fours.

Then, he felt his whole body changing shape. He could sense strange growths that wrapped atop his shoulders, back to front, and reached level with his jaw. His forearms were thickening, and ridges grew along with that and on the outside of his thighs. His feet were changing as well, no longer as thin as they had been and instead bulkier. He could feel his tail shortening slightly and stiffening. The hands felt different too; the digits grew stubbier compared to before.

And as soon as it had all started, it stopped.

Mewtwo remained on the ground, drawing deep breaths. He took a minute before attempting to stand up. As he straightened, he could hear the footsteps of the others quickly backing away.

There was much more of his body than he was used to. Now standing at over seven and a half feet tall, he towered over the rest of them as he examined his new physical appearance. Everyone else had their mouths open, looking absolutely stunned at the New Mewtwo.

Gengar broke the silence first.

"Umm… how do you feel?"

Now that Mewtwo thought about it, he knew exactly what Gengar had meant; he felt like he could do anything… anything that his heart desired. And it felt great.

"It's incredible!" said Mewtwo excitedly. "Exactly like you said!"

"See?" said Gengar, returning the enthusiasm. "I told you that you'd feel it in due time!"

"Yeah…" said Mewtwo. He couldn't believe the feeling—light as a feather, as if he could fly away with happiness at any moment. He wanted it to go on and on until he didn't have to feel anything else.

"Just a quick heads up," said Tim, moving forward from the others that were still hanging back a little warily, "we agreed that we wouldn't be testing your Mega abilities, right?"

Mewtwo hung his head sadly, "Yes."

"Okay," said Tim in a marginally more confident voice. "I don't think it would be safe to test, given the power of your Hyper Beam earlier."

"I understand," mumbled Mewtwo. He touched the Mega Stone again to regress to his usual form. This time, a cool, pleasant wave seemed to have washed over him as he felt his body return to normal. Before Mewtwo had really started to enjoy this, he felt it stop abruptly.

Mewtwo opened his eyes to see Tim and Allen taking notes at top speed again. He removed the Mega Ring and set it on the table where the two were working. The Ring was no longer glowing with an aura, but the coral Mega Stone was still glimmering in the artificial light.

"Fantastic work, gentlemen!" said Tim as he dropped his pen on top of his most recent notes. "I think we can call it a day, huh? What say you?"

"I think we got a lot of work done," said Allen. He packed away all the folders and papers while he deposited the Mega Ring inside one of his pockets. "Maybe we can come back again sometime and continue research?"

Everyone nodded and murmured in agreement, Mewtwo sensing the old feelings of anxiety returning.

"If you were that powerful even before your Mega Evolution, Mewtwo," whispered Gengar as they all exited the University and stepped onto the rain-washed, streetlight-streaked pavement, "I wonder what you can do with the help of the Mega Ring..."

Mewtwo turned away, scratching his nose in an effort to not think of what he was truly capable of.