As we walked, I thought about the conversation I had with Ash the previous day about this mission; we only had 24 hours to prepare for it.
"Lilly, are you really sure about this?"
"Of course I am!" I had said, "A Pokémon that needs to be rescued from Team Rocket? Why would I say no to that?"
"But, this isn't just any Pokémon—"
"Oh, relax! I've dealt with some pretty Legendary Pokémon back in Hoenn, trust me!"
"Lilly, stop brushing me off, I already know all that!" he had said angrily.
"Fine, what do you want to say?"
"I'm trying to tell you that Mewtwo is going to be different from any Pokémon you've ever faced. He's dying, he'll probably do whatever it takes to get you away from him."
"So? How is that different from—"
"I'm saying that he will definitely try to kill you. He won't see you as someone who is trying to help him. You understand?"
He took me by the shoulders and brought his face very close to mine.
"I know you're a good trainer, and I know you have captured Legendary Pokémon before. But only reason I'm asking you to do this is because of your . . . you know . . ."
I had shrugged out of his grasp and put my hands on my hips.
"Are you saying my team isn't good enough to take him?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
"I ought to make you eat your words!" I had objected.
"I'm just worried. I care about Mewtwo and I want him to be safe, but risking your life isn't worth it to me," he said nervously.
"Ash I promise, it'll be okay!" I had insisted.
"You're absolutely sure that you can get—"
"Yes, I told you, he always comes out when I'm in danger. If for some reason my Pokémon are all knocked out, which I doubt will happen, I know that he'll be able to defeat Mewtwo for sure."
"I just hope you're right."
We followed the Slowpoke for what felt like hours. Pokemon watched us pass by, but most did not approach us; the ones that did Gyarados was able to scare off by simply baring her teeth.
As I watched the Slowpoke walk, looking at its stumpy tail fanned the flames of my curiosity to the point where I simply had to ask how he lost it.
"Slowpoke, what happened to your tail?" I tried to make my voice sound as innocent as possible.
"Team Rocket," he growled to himself, kicking a rock as we walked.
"They came here?" Togkiss asked.
"Yes, many years ago. I was one of the few they managed to catch . . . I was a little one, see."
"You mean they couldn't catch all of you?"
"Most of the Slowpoke here were strong enough to fight them off . . . they are no longer Slowpoke, if you know what I mean."
I thought for a second, then said, "Oh, right . . . that means you can't evolve."
"A Shellder can't latch onto my tail, so I'll never be able to become a Slowbro."
"I wish there was something I can do," I said sympathetically.
"I'm afraid there's nothing," he sighed sadly, "I shall be a tailless Slowpoke for the rest of my days."
"Where are we, by the way?" I asked, suddenly realizing that it had become even darker.
"Nearly there . . . yup, here we are."
"Huh?"
I could feel that there was something powerful ahead, but . . .
We were at a dead end.
"There's . . . just a wall here," I laughed nervously.
"This used to be an entrance to another part of the cave, but he sealed himself off in it."
I sighed, then muttered, "I was hoping we could get to him more quietly than blasting through a rock wall."
As I said that, I could already see Arbok readying her tail.
"No, Arbok, we need to try to be quieter," I said quickly.
"Why? He musssssst already know that we're here," she said.
"I . . . yeah, you've got a point."
"Only Mewtwo can open it with his power," the Slowpoke chirped suddenly.
I turned to look at him and asked, "Have you seen him do it?"
"Yup, he just presses his hand to the wall—"
"Like this?"
"Yeah."
"Okay . . ."
I waited a moment, but nothing happened.
"Arceus," I whispered, "help me open up this door."
Still nothing.
I sighed again, lowering my hand from the wall.
"Wait, what were you trying to do?" the Slowpoke asked, bewildered.
I ignored the question, feeling frustrated.
"Go ahead, Arbok." I said without looking at her, gesturing toward the wall.
She looked at me with surprise. "If he said only Mewtwo can open it, what makesssss you think I can?!" she hissed indignantly.
"Lilly, is Arceus going to respond if we need help after we enter his lair?" Togekiss asked, concerned.
"I don't know!" I shouted, frustrated, "I thought he would understand that I need him for this, but . . ."
"It's alright," Ninetails said suddenly.
I looked at her, trying to keep the tears of frustration in my eyes.
"We can do this, with or without Arceus. We've never needed him to help us catch a Pokemon before, right?" she continued, addressing all of us this time.
They nodded in agreement.
"E-everybody . . ."
I wiped my eyes with my sleeve and looked at the wall again.
"Arbok and Gyarados, you guys are up."
"We have to do this swiftly, or else we'll have more problems than just Mewtwo," Gyarados said, looking up at the ceiling of the cave.
She was right; I hadn't thought about the cave itself coming down.
"Okay, then we'll try three times," I agreed.
Arbok and Gyarados positioned themselves next to the wall, their tails pulled back at the ready.
"One . . . two . . . three!"
On three, they let out a cry and swung their tails at the wall. The sound it created bounced off the walls and kicked up a cloud of dust, but once it settled we could see that it had no effect on the wall.
"Again," I said, but when I looked they already had their tails in the position.
"One, two, three!"
They swung again. The ground shook from the resulting vibration; I had to hold on to Ninetails to steady myself.
The wall still stood, unbreaking.
"Maybe we should—"
"No! One more time, I've got it this time," Gyarados insisted, her tail already pulled back.
"Gyaradossss, the whole cave could come down," Arbok warned.
"She said three times, didn't she?" Gyarados growled at her.
"You can do it then, I'm not gonna be resssponsssible for bringing thissss cave down on top of usssss," Arbok said nonchalantly.
"Fine," Gyarados replied.
She looked back at me and said, "On your command, trainer."
I hesitated, not sure if this was worth the risk. But the way Gyarados was looking at me told me she was not going to back down from the challenge.
"I-I think it will take a lot more than Gyarados to make the ceiling fall down," Slowpoke said hesitantly.
"Alright," I said, looking back at Gyarados.
"One . . ."
She raised her tail even higher.
"Two . . ."
She bared her teeth at the cave wall, as if it were a Pokemon she was battling.
"Three!"