EmeraldMoonGreen asked for this one. Here you go, Amiga! Enjoy! :)

Pokemon belongs to its respective owners. I own nothing.

A/N: Takes place after "Pokemon: The First Movie".

Perhaps Not So Different Than We Seem

Mewtwo glanced around, staying hidden as he searched for a place where he and the cloned Pokemon could stay and be safe from the world. Though he had wiped the memories of those who had met him, he wasn't going to take a chance on other humans trying to capture the cloned Pokemon or him. He didn't need to be around humans so soon.

Though his mind went back to the boy, Ash. The boy was definitely not like the other humans he had had bad experiences with. Even the boy's Pikachu had stood up for his trainer and didn't want to fight, feeling they should all get along. They were the same after all.

The purple clone nodded to himself, feeling that if an original Pokemon could accept the clones and a young boy could show that they didn't have to fight each other, perhaps the clones would have a place in the world someday.

And maybe he would too.

He set down to take a rest when he heard a sound nearby and grew curious, moving aside a branch to better see what the sound was and his eyes widened as he saw the very same boy who had so bravely stood against him standing firmly in front of Misty and Brock and their Pokemon. Pikachu was behind him, having been injured. Facing Ash was another trainer, a larger boy who had an Alakazam and a Golbat out and he moved his hand. "Get their Pokemon!" He said to the psychic and poison types, who moved fast to attack.

Misty clung to Togepi and Starmie stayed by her while Brock stood protectively over Misty and Onyx was right behind him, ready to defend as well, but looked like he had been through a tough battle already. Ash's Squirtle lay nearby, also looking a bit bruised.

"Leave us alone!" Ash said firmly.

"I will when you hand over your Pokemon," the bully said.

"Never!"

Alakazam and Golbat were about to attack again, but Ash jumped in front of them, taking the brunt of the attacks and crying out as the attacks injured him before he felt to the ground, knocked out. Mewtwo immediately stepped in after seeing the boy lose consciousness and formed a protective shield, stopping another attack in the process. Moving his hand, he pushed the other psychic Pokemon and the poison Pokemon back toward their trainer and then levitated all three of them. "Come near this boy and his friends and their Pokemon again and you will answer to me," he growled warningly.

"Who are you?" The boy asked haughtily.

Mewtwo used his psychic attack and threw all three back and into a nearby lake before turning to the other three, waving his hand and healing the others, who recovered, but he saw Ash was still unconscious and hurt. He gently picked him up and started levitating, about to teleport himself and the boy away. "Wait!" Misty cried out.

"Where are you taking Ash?" Brock asked.

"Somewhere where he can heal," Mewtwo said, his voice gentle. "Don't worry, I will return him back to you when he has recovered."

With that, he teleported away with the unconscious boy in his arms as they watched, curious about him.

It wasn't long after the purple Pokemon found an abandoned island. "Perfect," he said to himself and let the clones out to explore their new home while he used his powers to create suitable shelters for them and for himself. Once that was done, he set the boy down on a bed and was about to tend to him when he noticed him move.

Ash groaned and then woke up, feeling sore but worried about his friends and their Pokemon, along with his Pokemon. A hand came to his shoulder and gently pushed him to lay back down. "You were injured taking a hit for your friends and Pokemon," he heard a voice say and he looked to see Mewtwo standing over him.

To the Pokemon's surprise, the boy didn't look afraid and he slowly sat up again, wincing a little but taking some deep breaths. "My friends. Pikachu, Squirtle, the others. Are they okay?" He asked worriedly.

Another surprise was that Mewtwo sensed no hostility from Ash and once again, gently pushed him to lay back down. "You should worry about the injuries you received," he said gently.

"No," Ash said, softly protesting. "I need to know. Are they okay?"

The Pokemon sighed, seeing that the boy wasn't going to let it rest until he either saw that the others were okay or he was promised that they would be checked on. "I will check on them after I heal your injuries," he said, hoping the boy would agree.

Ash looked up at him. "You promise?" He asked, to be sure.

Mewtwo nodded. "I promise," he said.

Nodding, the boy finally settled down and allowed the tall Pokemon to examine his injuries and then heal him. A moment later, the pain he felt was gone and he felt much better, smiling as he stood up. "Thanks," he said. "Who are you?"

"I am called Mewtwo," the Pokemon replied. "A clone of the Pokemon named Mew."

Ash's eyes widened. "Wow, so Mew is real?" He asked, having heard stories about the small Pokemon.

"Yes," Mewtwo responded and noticed the boy seemed to be curious about him, circling him with eyes wide in wonder, similar to how a younger child would perhaps be in awe while watching a magic trick. "You're not…afraid of me?"

Ash shook his head. "Why would I be?" He asked. "You healed me. You stopped that bully from hurting my friends and our Pokemon. Plus, you're really interesting."

The Pokemon looked a bit stunned before smiling to himself, noting that the boy was relaxed and saw him as a friend. Some of the clones then came out and stopped when they saw the boy and the Pokemon who created them. Seeing them, Ash was in wonder and carefully walked over to them. The clones shyly approached, unsure at first.

The Meowth clone sat by Ash's feet and let the boy pet him. "Meowth," he said, purring happily.

"Charizard," the dragon clone said, sitting by them.

"Pikachu," the small mouse clone said, coming nearer.

Mewtwo was a bit surprised that the clones were letting the boy come near them and they were coming closer to the boy, curious about him and the boy was giving them attention. "Hmm, he treats them like friends," the purple Pokemon said to himself, deciding to watch the interactions for a bit.

Ash was petting the Charizard clone, who let him, growling in a friendly way. The boy when reached into his pocket and pulled out a Lum berry. "You guys like Lum berries?" He asked, giving one to Charizard, who accepted it and really enjoyed it. Ash then gave another Lum berry to Meowth and another to Pikachu. The other two clones enjoyed the berries and spoke their names happily.

The psychic Pokemon watching them grew thoughtful as this gave him more insight on humans and from the boy's actions, it seemed that not all humans were cruel or had selfish intentions. Some had very good intentions and saw Pokemon as friends and equals. He was pulled gently from his thoughts when he saw the Pikachu clone playfully tackle Ash, who caught the small mouse Pokemon and began tickling him, making the small Pokemon laugh happily.

Using his telepathy, Mewtwo could hear the clone's laughter and thoughts that it liked being tickled and Ash's thoughts about how his Pikachu loved it too. Smiling to himself again, he grew curious. If Pokemon were ticklish, were perhaps humans ticklish too?

He planned to find out.

After a bit, Ash let the Pikachu clone up and it hugged him. "Pikachu!" It said happily, nuzzling him.

The boy laughed and hugged him back with a smile. Just then, they heard the other clones call out and Ash stood up. "Is that one of the other clones?" He asked, to with the three nodded. "Sounds like he might have found something."

The three headed off to see what their friend had found and Mewtwo came up behind Ash, being quiet as he reached his hands forward before placing them on the boy's sides. Not expecting that, the boy jumped in surprise, letting out a startled cry as he flailed in the air for a moment, making the purple Pokemon laugh in amusement before catching him. Ash looked a bit embarrassed, but laughed a little. "Good sneak attack, Mewtwo," he said.

"Thank you," the cloned Pokemon said. "But that wasn't my intent."

The mischievous in the Pokemon's voice made Ash turn to look at him and he saw Mewtwo's eyes glow blue and he felt something surround him and lift him up a little. Realizing it was the Pokemon's psychic powers, he wondered what Mewtwo was up to.

He got his answer a bit later when fingers began tickling his sides. "Hey!" Ash cried out in surprise before laughing and squirming, his laughter growing louder when his ribs were tickled.

"Hmm, so humans are ticklish too, just like Pokemon," Mewtwo said with an amused chuckle.

"AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! HEY, THAT TICKLES! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" He laughed harder.

"So it seems," the Pokemon said, grinning as his fingers tickled the boy's underarms next. Ash lost it right then and burst into the loudest laughter ever. "My, and a very sensitive spot right in your underarms it seems too."

Though Mewtwo probably didn't realize that his words were making the tickle torture worse, Ash felt the tickling take hold of him and put him in a mild paralysis as he laughed until he ran out of breath and his voice gave out. Hearing that, the Pokemon stopped and waited for the boy to catch his breath. "Hmm, perhaps we Pokemon and you humans aren't so different than what we seem," he said thoughtfully.

Ash finally stopped laughing as he recovered from the tickle torture and looked at his new friend. "Pokemon really aren't that different from humans," he said. "They have feelings too. And can think for themselves."

"True," Mewtwo said in agreement before smiling and seeing the boy's wounds were healed. "I should get you back to your friends. They were worried about you."

"Are they okay? And our Pokemon?" Ash asked.

"I checked on them," the purple Pokemon said. "They're all alright and have recovered."

The boy nodded. "Thanks," he said.

Nodding, Mewtwo picked Ash up into his arms and held him in a protective hug before teleporting them back to the others, who had set up camp and were waiting for them. "Ash!" Misty called out.

"Pikachu!" Pikachu cried out, happy to see his best friend safe.

Mewtwo set the boy down and watched in amusement as his friends, both Pokemon and human alike, glomped him, making him fall to the ground and laugh as they hugged him and he returned their hugs.

Brock turned to the Pokemon. "Thank you," he said.

Mewtwo nodded. "Keep your dreams and follow them with your hearts," he said as he levitated to fly away.

"Mewtwo!" Ash called to him, making him look at the boy, who ran up to him and hugged him. He returned the hug. "Take care of yourself and the others," he said.

"I will, my friend," the Pokemon nodded. "And you do the same."

With that, he flew away, teleporting back to the island. Ash and his friends stood still for a moment and then headed back for camp. "I've never seen a Pokemon like him before," Misty said.

"He must be a special Pokemon," Brock said.

"And a special friend too," Ash said. "Just like you guys and our Pokemon."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu said in agreement, snuggling close to Ash, who smiled and hugged him back.

On their new island, the clones were settling in as was Mewtwo. "I hope I'll see them again in the future," he said to himself. "Perhaps one day…I might let him be my trainer."

It was a possibility he would consider from a human who proved that they really weren't much different beyond physical appearance.

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GoldGuardian2418