Stepping inside, Chen Ming saw Ash sliding down the banister.
Holding a promotional flyer, Ash ran over excitedly. "Mom, can I go? Can I join Professor Oak's Pokémon camp?"
Busy washing dishes, Auntie Delia froze, her hands stopping as she looked at the flyer in Ash's grip.
"It says it's a camp to observe wild Pokémon with Professor Oak."
Ash pointed at the flyer, introducing it with excitement.
Delia acted as if she were hearing about it for the first time. "Oh, a camp like that? Alright, then I'll sign you up." Entrusting Ash to the professor would also give her a chance to visit some old friends; maybe they could even go shopping together.
Just thinking about the things she wanted to buy got her a little excited.
"Yay! Awesome! Awesome!"
Ash spun around and around with the flyer, completely deaf to anything else at this point.
Delia put her hands on her hips and shrugged, looking somewhat helpless. "But Mom has things to do early that morning, so you'll have to make sure you wake up on time, alright?"
"I'm so excited! What kind of Pokémon will I meet?"
"Are you even listening, Ash?"
Tilting her head, she looked at Ash, though she had a strong feeling he wouldn't be able to get up.
Watching this scene brought back memories of the plot he had known. The probability of finding Mew was easily seventy or eighty percent; the rest depended on himself.
Noticing A-Ming standing in the doorway in a daze, Delia asked without a second thought, "Do you want to come along, A-Ming?"
"No thanks, Auntie Delia. I've made my own plans. I've already decided to go into the forest to observe Pokémon—it's pretty much the same kind of thing."
Chen Ming shrugged with a smile, casually sharing his own arrangements.
Delia switched into full-on lecture mode with a straight face. "How reliable of you! Well, you need to watch out for your safety, don't lose track of time, and remember to come back for dinner..."
Chen Ming desperately wanted to cover his face and run, but his manners wouldn't allow it.
Seeing his chance, Ash slipped away like an old pro, leaving Chen Ming to bear the brunt of it alone.
When Delia finally snapped out of it, Ash was nowhere to be seen, leaving her with a helpless sigh. With a temperament like that, she really worried about letting him go out on a journey.
If only Ash could be as steady and reliable as A-Ming. Then again, Professor Oak was willing to let such a young child enter the forest—though to be fair, it wasn't particularly dangerous.
Several weeks passed, bringing the morning of the summer camp.
Chen Ming had knocked on Ash's door to wake him up, but the muffled response from inside made it obvious he was still fast asleep.
After a moment's thought, he decided to leave him be, strapped on his backpack, and headed out.
Inside the pack were drawing paper, pencils, some notetaking supplies, and the boxed lunch Auntie Delia had prepared for him.
As he stepped outside, he wondered if Ash would forget to head over, but if the plot held true, Ash was bound to be late anyway.
Entering the forest, he wasn't far from the location where Professor Oak was holding the summer camp.
A quick glance around revealed not a single soul, which meant the group was probably still waiting for Ash.
Just as Chen Ming suspected, Ash was still lost in a summer camp daydream, hugging his Snorlax plushie and refusing to get up.
Chloe raised her hand happily and asked, "Professor Oak, aren't we leaving yet?" She was very excited about the camp activities.
Professor Oak wore a helpless look, crossing his arms and smiling awkwardly. "Well—we're still missing one person..."
Chloe looked puzzled. "But the gathering time was ages ago."
"He lives nearby. He's a very spirited boy."
Knowing that Ash had overslept yet again, the professor still felt he needed to offer an explanation.
At that moment, Goh, a boy who looked noticeably tanned among the children, chimed in...
...
After waiting a long time without a sign of Ash, they had no choice but to set off with the children who had already gathered.
Along the way, they spotted a newly minted Trainer using a Squirtle to battle a Caterpie.
Generally speaking, starting out by catching Bug-type Pokémon made it very easy to get through the rookie phase—a detail that was almost identical in both the anime and the games.
Professor Oak provided a live commentary on the Trainer's battle process while casually spreading some Pokémon knowledge.
"When dealing with wild Pokémon, after battling them like that, throwing a Poké Ball allows you to catch them. That's the normal method."
"Just throwing a Poké Ball straight away is incorrect, everyone. Make sure you remember that."
Aside from Goh, pretty much everyone else was listening attentively.
"When you all reach the right age, you can choose to become Pokémon Trainers. There are application sites within the League of every region, and you'll be given a starter Pokémon then."
"After that, you can go out on adventures with your Pokémon. But until then, you need to study up on your Pokémon knowledge!"
Seeing the children's enthusiasm running high, the professor continued imparting knowledge at an unhurried pace.
Everyone chimed in cheerfully, "Kay, got it~!"
Still, there was always some arrogant little punk trying to show off, proudly boasting about a whole bunch of nonsense.
Professor Oak just laughed heartily without offering any reprimand. "Well, aren't you reliable."
The group continued forward, stopping whenever they encountered a Pokémon to explain the basics. Although interruptions frequently cut the professor off, he was getting on in years and naturally didn't mind too much—saving his breath every now and then wasn't a bad thing.
Watching all this, Chloe felt a bit embarrassed, especially since she was the one who had brought that boy along.
Having been raised under her father's education, respect for Pokémon professors was ingrained in her from childhood, and she found it rather difficult to watch.
She had no choice but to offer a quiet word of warning.
Professor Oak didn't mind in the least and continued leading the procession.
Well, as for knowledge regarding evolution, he would just have to explain that himself...
Deep in the forest, the moment the professor led the group inside, Chen Ming swiftly finished up his current notes and kept a watchful eye on the surroundings.
Soon, they reached the other side of the bridge. Knowing Mew was about to appear, Chen Ming expanded his telepathic range.
Fortunately, his telepathy, which hadn't been used in a while, didn't glitch out. Hearing some guy shouting about an arrogant, impossible dream, Chen Ming genuinely didn't want to dignify it with a response.
Hearing that, Chloe instinctively stopped in her tracks and stared at him like he was an idiot. "Because a pipe dream like that is completely impossible..."
No matter how Goh tried to explain, Chloe refused to believe a single word.
As their conversation continued, Chen Ming had already reached the bushes near a Nidoking not far away.
Mew was playfully teasing the Nidoking.
Decisively unleashing his telepathy, Chen Ming froze Mew in mid-air and, wanting to avoid drawing attention, carried Mew off toward the deep recesses of the forest.
Finding it immense fun, Mew didn't struggle at all, covering its mouth with its tiny hands and giggling incessantly, seemingly quite fond of this game.
When Chloe and Goh finally stopped talking, they realized they had strayed far from the main group.
Intending to stop Goh—who kept edging closer to the Nidoking—and tell him they needed to turn back quickly,
she somehow managed to anger the foraging Nidoking, forcing Chloe to run for her life right alongside him.
Fortunately, Chloe was quick-witted and remembered the direction the professor had headed, so the two of them fled straight toward him.
Missing the time spent watching Mew and Nidoking battle, they tore along at a much faster pace, putting them not too far from the professor.
Hearing the commotion, Professor Oak swept his gaze over the children and immediately noticed two were missing.
Chloe wasn't the type to pull stunts like this. It seemed she must have been keeping an eye on that brat. *Sigh,* what a handful he was.
With a helpless smile, Professor Oak suggested, "Everyone, would you like to watch a Pokémon battle in a moment?"
The children cheered happily, "Yes—!"
"Alright, nobody wander off. Stay right here, and we'll start soon." These kids were so much more obedient.
As he spoke, Professor Oak released Dragonite.
"Dragonite, go lure that Nidoking over here, and make sure those two kids are safe and don't get hurt."
Judging by the roar just moments before, the professor had already figured out what kind of Pokémon it was, and his tone remained calm and unhurried.
Dragonite thumped its chest. *Dragon-nite!* (Leave it to me!)
Moments later, it had rescued the two stragglers, explaining battle techniques while skirmishing, and everyone listened with rapt attention.
There was only one exception...
Professor Oak shook his head with a wry smile. Although his grandson Gary was proud, he listened attentively and absorbed knowledge. Gary's arrogance stemmed from his own genuine strength. As for this other kid—his achievements would be limited. Well, they were unrelated strangers, so there wasn't much need to lecture him.
Transforming back into Mewtwo, Chen Ming revealed his full power, using potent telepathy to effortlessly carry Mew deep into the heart of the forest.
Reaching a secluded spot devoid of human presence, he released his hold on Mew.
Mew didn't mind in the slightest, cheerfully spinning around Chen Ming a few times and clapping its tiny hands together with soft chirps.
Mew let out a crisp sound, much like the voice of a young boy: "Wanna play together~?"
Having reverted to the form of Mewtwo, his innate telepathy functioned without needing conscious activation, acting almost like an instinct.
"No, I came to you because I need help with something."
Chen Ming shook his head. As for playing games, he would pass.
"Mew, do you know how to fix the problem with my body?"
Mew let out a helpless chirp, fluttering over to Chen Ming's side.
Then, tilting its little head in puzzlement, it said, "I can't tell what's wrong with your body. Would you let me touch you and check?"
Chen Ming expected this to fail. If it were that simple, the entire species of Mew would be truly miraculous.
He was about to refuse when Mew's pure, innocent eyes made Chen Ming feel like his heart was melting.
Blushing slightly, Chen Ming nodded in consent, feeling rather embarrassed.
Mew wore the expression of someone whose plan had succeeded, its smile practically uncontainable.
Next came the Mew-snuggling phase, starting from his face all the way down to the purple patch on his abdomen. Throughout the entire process, Chen Ming maintained a deeply awkward expression.
Once the contact ended, Mew zipped back out, looking rather thrilled. Why did the other party feel even smoother and silkier than itself? It was getting a little excited.
"Your body is so strange! The power inside is very similar to mine, but not entirely consistent, and there's a wild, unstable feeling to it as well."
Mew looked at Chen Ming with a puzzled expression.
*Surely it's not my illegitimate child? I'm still young; this must be the spawn of some other Mew.*
Chen Ming's face twitched slightly. Aside from telepathy, he also possessed Aura/Omnipotent Power, which allowed him to pick up on those stray thoughts to a certain extent.
The mere thought that Mew might be his parent gave him a massive headache. Acknowledging Arceus as a parent felt preferable to Mew—at least Arceus seemed more reliable.
Returning to the matter at hand,
Chen Ming asked, "Is that so? Do you have any ideas, then?"
"Well... this is a bit tricky... But I know Auntie Ho-Oh! Do you want to go borrow her Sacred Ash and try it? It might work, though she's always flying around, and I never know where she goes."
Mew told Chen Ming directly, offering the only solution it could think of.
Then, it asked timidly, "Are you the son of one of our Mews?"
Clearly, that question mattered far more. Chen Ming immediately deployed a quadruple denial: "No, I'm not, I didn't, don't talk nonsense."
"Thanks for telling me all this. Where are you heading next? Do you want me to give you a lift?"
Chen Ming nodded in thanks, partly to make up for having forcefully hauled Mew away earlier.
"Eh, don't mention it! I just wander around wherever I feel like anyway, no real destination in mind. Welp, see ya!"
Giving a little wave, Mew vanished on the spot using Teleport.
As for Chen Ming, he teleported back to the spot where he had left his backpack and shifted back into his human form.
Pulling out his notebook, he crossed out all the potential solutions for finding Mew. This plan had reached its end right from the start, prompting a quiet sigh from him.
As for someone's sinful future or grand dreams, until he saw that Mew had been completely cut out of the picture, Chen Ming didn't care about them in the slightest.