A/N: I wrote this, originally not intending it to even be about Pokemon! I was just writing about how I think about quotes a lot, which got me to thinking about some quotes from Pokemon. One thing led to another, and I ended up coming up with a theory about Mewtwo. Hope you like it, and let me know what you think of my theory in a review or PM.
Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon, the movies Mewtwo Strikes Back and Mewtwo Returns, or any other stuff mentioned in this story. Also i do not own the cover picture, I got it from Google Images.
Anyway, on to the story!
The Theory of Mewtwo's True Origin
"Waste no time arguing what a good man should be. Be one." – Marcus Aurelius.
I don't understand it. Why have I been thinking about this quote so much? I mean, I've thought about it so much that I've memorised it word for word, and I remember the name of the guy who said it – Marcus Aurelius. I don't even know who the heck he is! Or why he said it!
It's strange what a few little words can do to you. Simple little words, they can make you think about things in completely different ways.
I only know the quote because I heard about it in a movie. It wasn't even a major part of the movie, either. It was only said at the beginning, when Clara, who is a teacher, read it. It was written on the white board. She read the quote. Then the bell went. Class ended, she cleaned the white board, and then some actual story-related stuff happened.
Still, this quote made me think. A lot. It's true. There's not point arguing what a good man should be. Everyone thinks differently, so everyone would have a different idea of what a 'good man' should be. We should all just try to be good people, and then we will be.
Man, I think, I haven't thought about a quote this much since last time I watched the first Pokemon movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back. And a similar thing happened when I watched Mewtwo Returns.
I turn my attention back to the small container of penne pasta I'd bought from the school canteen. It was lunchtime. Why aren't I sitting with my friends then? One of my best friends, Amy, is on holiday with her family in Bali – lucky her. I never get to go anywhere, my family is too poor. Also, it's a Wednesday. My friend Samantha, who is a year above me, in year 11, goes to TAFE on Wednesdays. This leaves me alone with my thoughts.
Normally I'd be lonely without them, I think, eating some of my pasta. But today… I dunno. I guess I don't mind it.
My thoughts turn back to the Mewtwo movies.
"I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are."
Mewtwo said that, after the tears of all the Pokemon, clone and non-clone, revived Ash after he was turned to stone trying to stop Mewtwo and Mew fighting.
This is one of the quotes all the Pokemon fans love, I think to myself. This, along with Meowth's quote, is one of the two that everyone talks about. I see these quotes on the internet, and people are always saying comments like, "Wow, this quote is so inspirational and it applies to the real world and no one important said it, Mewtwo from Pokemon said it!" I get that it's inspirational and all, but I just don't get all the hype. Especially when there are better quotes in the Pokemon movies.
"We do have a lot in common. The same earth, the same air, the same sky. Maybe if we started looking at what's the same, instead of always looking at what's different, well, who knows?"
Meowth said this, when the clone Meowth said that he didn't want to fight like all of the other clones were, and instead commented on the pretty moon. I love this quote, because it's true – why do we focus on our differences so much? It would be so much happier to instead focus on our similarities. Like Meowth said, "the same earth, the same air, the same sky".
Similar to this quote, I like the part in Mewtwo Returns, when Ash and co. are looking at the Butterfree flying past the moon, and then we see Mewtwo, clone Meowth and clone Pikachu, also looking at the moon. Meowth says something, and Mewtwo says, "Yes, I'm sure the moon is round and bright to those Butterfree just as it is to us and other Pokemon who sees it." Meowth then says something else, and Mewtwo says, "If we see the moon as they do, why do we not see the earth as they do? Yes, why?"
I noticed that in this movie, more so than the first one, Mewtwo talks about how they are clone Pokemon, and they don't belong in this world because they were not born into it like regular Pokemon were.
"For these Pokemon, life is as it should be. They were born into this world. It is their home. They belong here. We were not born as they were. We are not of this world. We do not belong in it. But where do we belong? Do we truly deserve to belong here as much as the other Pokemon do? We are unlike the others."
I like this question of whether or not the clones belong. I think it is fun to think about how Mewtwo, clone Pikachu and clone Meowth react differently to it.
In one part, Mewtwo says, "The moon reflects the light of the sun. Pokemon born into this world may walk freely in that sun. But we were created, reflections. We are shadows. Perhaps we must not live in sunlight but in the shadows of moonlight."
After this, clone Pikachu, responds, which Team Rocket's Meowth translates for the benefit of the viewers. "It ain't fair that we have to live like shadows. This place is beautiful. But beyond this place is a big, wide world. A bright world." Clone Pikachu looks at Ash's Pikachu, and speaks to him. "You know that world, don't you Pikachu?! You were born in it, and you can live in it, anyway and anywhere you want! But because of what we are we can't live in that world like you do! Whatever we do, or wherever we go, we don't belong."
I think about this part, and how it shows how the two Pikachus are different. I think back to the scene in Mewtwo Strikes Back, when all of the Pokemon are fighting their clone counterparts. The clone Pikachu shouts at Ash's Pikachu, trying to start a fight. I'm guessing he was thinking that they have to fight because everyone else was, or perhaps he truly believes that they should fight, because Mewtwo wanted to prove that the clones were stronger than their counterparts. Either way, he tries to start a fight, but Ash's Pikachu just shakes his head, and says what I assume to be, "No." So clone Pikachu just begins slapping him, over and over. But Ash's doesn't want to fight back, so he just stands there, getting slapped over and over, probably hoping the clone Pikachu would realise that hitting him is pointless. But no, he continues to hit, until they both collapse, exhausted. Just like all of the other Pokemon, who eventually collapse, exhausted from their pointless fighting. Like Mewtwo points out in Mewtwo Returns, it is pointless to fight when there can be no winner.
I think about this part, noticing the differences between the two Pikachus. And then I start to think differently, and like Meowth said we should, I start to think about the similarities between to two Pikachus. Sure, one of them was born, I assume, in the wild, and I assume caught by Professor Oak, and has a trainer, while the other was created by a machine, but other than that, they have a lot in common. Like Meowth said, "the same earth, the same air, the same sky". Even though one of wasn't born into it, they both live in this same world. They look similar; probably have the same attacks, and both, well, Pikachus. I could think of more similarities, but I think I've made a point already. Maybe it matters to them is they're a clone or normal Pokemon but not to me, I think, copying and altering what Ambertwo says on purpose, remembering Mewtwo's origin story.
I think back to a video I found on the special features of the Mewtwo Returns DVD, called The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin. In it, we learn that one of the main people working of the cloning experiment that created Mewtwo, Mr Fugi, had a young daughter named Amber, who died. While cloning Mewtwo for Giovanni, who requested they create him, along with clones of Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur, he attempted to clone Amber so that she could be alive again.
While still being cloned, the clones were able to communicate with each other via telepathy. While Mewtwo was thinking to himself, and could hear the humans talking, he wondered, "What are those strange sounds they make?" and Amber replies, "Those are words, they're talking."
I quite like Mewtwo and Amber's first conversation, as it mostly revolves around the topic of identity, and the question of "what are you?"
Mewtwo asks, "What are you?" and Amber says, "What do you mean? I'm a girl, a person."
When Amber says, "Well, you look like a Pokemon, but you talk like a person. I didn't know a Pokemon could talk like a person." Mewtwo asks, "Person? Pokemon? What are those? Which one am I?" And Amber says what may be one of my favourite quotes: "Maybe it matters to you if you're a person or a Pokemon but not to me. If you're here if means you're the same as all of us are." The clones Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur appear, showing that what she means is, all that matters is that we all have something in common, we're all clones here. This conversation discusses the interesting topic of identity.
Amber mentions, "We're all clones, a copy. That's why we all have two after all of our names. They call me Ambertwo, but I'm still really Amber." She laughs, and Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur laugh with her. It makes sense – the scientists referred to the clones Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur as "Charmandertwo", "Squirtletwo" and "Bulbasaurtwo", but really they are just like a regular Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur (except for the markings on them that are similar to those on the Charizard, Blastoise and Venasaur that Mewtwo had in Mewtwo Strikes Back).
One of my favourite things about this short video, which I only recently found out about, is something Amber says before she disappears that she only says in the original Japanese dub.
In the English dub, when she begins to disappear and Mewtwo cries, Amber says, "My daddy used to tell me a bedtime story that when Pokemon are sad and they cry, their tears are full of life."
I do like this line, because it makes me think of when in Mewtwo Strikes Back, it is the tears of the Pokemon that bring Ash back to like. Think about it – "their tears are full of life." It does make a lot of sense.
However I like the original Japanese line better, as it is interesting, and is on the topic of Mewtwo's identity. I read on the internet that in the original, she says that living beings cry when in pain, but only humans cry from sadness.
This really makes me think. Does this mean that Mewtwo is human – no – part human in some way, at least? I think about this as I absentmindedly scoop up the last little bits from the container of pasta with my fork. I begin to theorise about why Mewtwo could be like a human. Perhaps those cloning machines were originally created for humans – maybe the cloning process was first created by Mr Fugi to try to bring Amber back, and then used the same machines on Mewtwo when Giovanni found out he was researching cloning, and requested that a clone of Mew be created. Is that why the cloning of Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur failed – because those machines were designed for humans? But why did Mewtwo survive then, if he is a clone of Mew and the machines are designed for humans? Because the machines changed him. He is not a perfect clone of Mew. He does not look exactly like Mew, like the other clones looked like their Pokemon counterparts. I think about this, about how the differences between humans and Pokemon, and how this could affect who Mewtwo really is.
Pokemon look the same. They can be different sizes and have different voices, even different personalities. But except for their size, ever Pikachu looks just about the same. Every Charmander looks just about the same. And so on. Humans aren't like that. We all look different. No two humans are alike (with the exception of identical twins, and even then, there are usually small differences). Mewtwo and Mew do not look the same, despite Mewtwo being a clone of Mew. Maybe because Mewtwo was created using a cloning machine or a cloning process meant for humans, he is different. He has a similar look to Mew a bit, and they both share an ability to create bubbles around them, Mew's being pink and Mewtwo's being blue. They could, in some way, be classified as the same Pokemon, the same way that Ritchie's Pikachu and Ash's Pikachu are both Pikachus. In some ways, Mewtwo is a Mew. Like Amber said, "They call me Ambertwo, but I'm still really Amber." This could apply to Mewtwo as well. They can call him Mewtwo, but perhaps, being a clone of Mew, he's still just a Mew? But he's not, because he is different. Because I think he may have been created using a process meant for humans, which is why he has some human traits. Amber says, in the original Japanese version, that living beings cry when in pain, but only humans cry from sadness. I think this means that Mewtwo is, in some way, part human.
I look on my phone at the Bulbapedia page for The Uncut Story of Mewtwo's Origin, and find another interesting dub edit. It says, "The dub omits and replaces much of what the scientist who walks with Dr. Fuji says." It says that in the original dub, "He says that Mew is said to have an immortal life force, so this may explain why Mewtwo's creation was successful."
This could explain why Mewtwo survived the cloning process, I think. Perhaps Charmander, Squirtle and Bulbasaur disappeared because the cloning process, which may be meant for humans, couldn't work on them. But perhaps this "immortal life force" is what causes Mewtwo to not disappear, but instead, develop into something different, instead of becoming another Mew. Because the cloning process is meant for humans, he changes into something more human-like, being able to cry when he is sad, which Amber said only humans do.
I am snapped out of my thoughts by the bell. I put the empty pasta container in a nearby bin and gather up my books and pencilcase for my next class. As I walk to class, my thoughts turn back to the mystery I had been thinking about. Then I smile and remember Amber's words. "Maybe it matters to you if you're a person or a Pokemon but not to me."
Maybe it matter to some people if Mewtwo is a Mew, a human, a mixture of both, or something else, but not to me, not any more. It doesn't really matter, does it? The way I see it, whoever he is, he is a mystery. Then I change my mind, more questions about what Mewtwo really is popping into my head. Yes, a mystery that we should keep talking about, I realise. And during my next class, my teacher wonders why I seem so distracted. But for the rest of that day, I could not stop thinking about this mystery.
It was caused by quotes. Just remembering simple quotes can cause us to think about things (and sometimes overthink things). And this helps us to learn more about the world around us. So this is why I now love thinking about quotes I hear, no matter where I hear them.
A/N: Hope you like my theory about Mewtwo! Please let me know what you think in a review or PM. Do you think I'm right? Wrong? Do you want to add something to it? See you next time. Bye!