TEAM ROCKET TROUBLE
Chapter Three
Just as everyone finished dinner and helped clean up, Ash ran out to the backyard to do some quick night time training with Pikachu. Mew floated over to the rooftop and with keen eyes, watched the trainer play around with his best friend. Even if she did have the advantage of psychic abilities to sense the underlying emotions and intentions of others, she had no need of it as she could feel the genuine bond the young Trainer had with his Pokémon - a bond that would last a lifetime. She has never witnessed such a strong and intimate friendship. A friendship that she deeply wished she would partake with another.
Is it truly by fate that I have yet again met up with these trainers? I believe it is no mere coincidence, she told herself. Perhaps there is a reason behind to this meeting…
Just as she continued to pondered more to herself, she realized that she was beginning to sound a lot more like her philosophical counterpart.
"Oh, how has he invaded my thoughts again!" she cried out.
"There you are Mew! We thought you left without saying good-bye." A female voice came from behind.
"Oh hello, Misty. Please forgive my sudden disappearance. I assure you, I am not always like this," Mew replied, looking back as the young redhead approached her side.
"No worries. Everybody needs some alone time," smiled Misty. "Would you like to tell me what you were thinking about?"
Mew simply looked at the girl beside her. Misty's smile represented the genuine concern and thoughtfulness she had. The Pokémon looked up at the night sky. The stars twinkled ever so brightly and no cloud was in sight. A crescent moon shone over the navy-blue sky giving the world a little light.
"The night sky is a wonder to behold… is it not?"
"Yes, it is," replied Misty, primed to look up at the sky as well. Though a bit puzzled with the Pokémon's choice of words, she did not bother to change the subject nor question it. The silence allowed the young Trainer to take a stir of the conversation's route.
"I guess, it also looks the same to those who are far from us," she said, looking towards the little pink Pokémon who floated beside her.
Mew's hue appeared brighter and paler due to the moonlight, giving her a soft glow.
"And if you think of it, even if it may not look the same to them, you'd feel a bit closer to those who are far because it's the same beautiful sky anyways."
Mew felt a tingle in her heart from Misty's comforting words.
"I… I believe so," said Mew. "No matter where they are, if we look up at the same sky, it feels as if we are indeed closer to where they are."She then floated over to the Trainer beside her and gave her a small warm embrace. "I thank you, Misty. I believe you understand how I feel."
"You're welcome Mew," Misty said, returning her hug. "We'll always be close by, all right? Because we're friends. You, me, Ash, Brock, and all our other Pokémon. We'll always be right by each other's side, no matter where we are."
Misty's eyes sparkled as she gazed upon the Pokémon hugging her arm. She felt bad for Mew, knowing how lonely she must have felt after all those years, of how heartbreaking it was that she could be miles away from that someone she believed would stay by her side.
The Pokémon Trainer took a breath and sighed.
"Honestly, I think he misses you too, Mew."
Mew's ears twitched as Misty spoke those words. She let go of her arm and levitated in front of her. "Did you just–? You… really believe so? How could you say?" she asked, her vivid sapphire eyes dazzling brightly under the moonlight.
Misty knew little of Mewtwo, having not been fully acquainted with him, compared to Ash. She knew that she would just be giving Mew a sense of faux hope by telling her that she only wanted to make her feel better. Instead, Misty decided to say what she deeply felt within her own heart.
"I know so, Mew. And I'm pretty sure that you two would meet again. I mean, you're meant to see each other or better yet, maybe be with one another! I think, you're the closest thing to what he may call his… family."
Mew sighed. Despite she loved the idea of seeing him once again, thoughts of him not accepting her conflicted.
"Misty, what if… he wants nothing to do with me? Yes, he was cloned from me. However, he is his own individual being. He has his own potential, magnificent power, and good locus of control. He can live a fruitful life, even without me."
Misty was quite disheartened to hear Mew's words. She wanted to relieve the hope that had once, even if it were just for a brief moment, rekindled within her.
"Mew, I think that if there's anyone who can show him his true potential and purpose in life, that's you! Sure, he can do all that he wants with all his abilities, but he still needs to realise it from someone else. Everyone needs that one special someone in their lives. Someone who would drive them to realise their purpose." She then gently held on to Mew's paw. "If there's anyone who can show him true friendship… it would be you."
Mew floated back a bit, surprised from Misty's words. "Why me? How?"
"Well, one good reason is that no one cares for him the way you do."
Mew looked down at her paws. A small pink glow omitted from them.
"Friendship… The special friend I have been looking for in all these lonely years…"
Laughter was heard from the backyard. Mew and Misty turned about to see what was going on. From the balcony, the two watched how Ash gleefully carried Pikachu around in circles after he perfectly aimed his Thunderbolt attack on the targets. Misty observed the way Mew looked at Ash and Pikachu. Once more, she felt the loneliness and envy Mew had been feeling for so long.
"You see, Pikachu is incredibly special to Ash. They have been friends for a really long time. In all the dangers Ash had faced, Pikachu was there with him. He never left his side nor did Pikachu ever leave his. It really is a one-of-a-kind friendship if you ask me."
Mew resumed her attention towards the two. Ash still held Pikachu close, petting his head. She then recalled her memory of how Ash had sacrificed himself, running towards the midst of their furious attacks, and had turned to stone. Pikachu was there, and he never left his best friend's side. And she knew all too well that Pikachu would never leave him, even if he was to remain in that state for eternity.
…
"That was amazing Pikachu! Keep it up and maybe we could even get your Thunderbolt to get even stronger!" Ash cheered as he placed his yellow buddy on the ground.
"Pika! Pika-pi!" even Pikachu felt proud of himself and happy that he made his Trainer even prouder.
"Great training, you two!" Misty said as she ran towards Ash, Mew floating by her side. Brock carried Togepi and followed up from behind.
"Yeah! Even at this hour you two still have all that energy to train really hard!" he praised.
"Well, after your dinner, we got all the energy we need!"
"Ash, you and Pikachu both are incredible," Mew cheered. "Together, you two could be unstoppable!"
Ash gave her a determined thumbs-up. "Thanks Mew! That sure means a lot coming from you." Mew merely responded with a joyful smile.
Just as everyone stood by the backyard conversing with one another, a sudden gush of harsh winds blew.
"AHHH!" Everyone reacted, covering their eyes from the swirling dirt that had formed into thick clouds of smoke. After coughing off the dust, they spotted three silhouette figures that had seemed to form out of nowhere.
"Hey who's that?" asked the ever-so-gullible Ash Ketchum.
"Ah, so we see you've got us a super special treat to steal!" came the female voice the trainers knew all too well.
"And this time is not a moment to kill!" supplemented the male voice.
Just as the smoke fully cleared out, the trio known as Team Rocket gave their signature pose.
"Get ready now and prepare for trouble!" Jessie initiated the motto.
"And make it double," continued James.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation…"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"
"To extend our reach to the stars above…"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off with the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
Meowth suddenly jumps in to finish it off. "Meowth! That's right!"
"It's Team Rocket!" the three shouted out in unison.
"We'd love to stay and chat, but we've got to make a real quick steal! Go Meowth!" Meowth then takes out their vacuum-like machine. "Here's an appetizer for you!" Pointing it towards Pikachu's direction and turning the option to 'suck', the machine sucked in the air, pulling in the poor yellow Pokémon.
"Pika-pi!" cried out Pikachu. The machine was strong, successfully engulfing Pikachu within seconds.
"Pikachu! No!" Ash yelled out. "If you can hear me buddy, use Thunderbolt quick!"
There was no response.
"Hah! Our little machine here's an anti-electro type. Pretty clever, huh?" said James as he folded his arms. Ash gritted his teeth in frustration.
"And now, for the main course!" Meowth exclaimed excitedly. He pointed the vacuum's opening towards Mew.
"No, you won't!" Ash said as he tackled Meowth just before the machine could pull Mew in.
"Hey! Get off me!" Meowth cried out, preparing his paws to use Fury Swipes.
"Meowth! Oh no!" Jessie and James said in chorus. They both then joined in the brawl to help their teammate out.
"Ash! Oh no! We've got to help him!" Brock frantically said. Placing Togepi down, he ran to grab Ash before Meowth could badly hurt him.
"I'll help out too!" Misty said as she ran to help her friends out.
Mew, confused of what was going on, levitated back a bit to avoid the ruckus.
Due to all the fighting, the machine's switch turned to the 'blow' option at maximum power and hence, sudden incredibly strong and harsh gushes of winds came about again.
"AHHH!" everyone screamed out in panic. Since the machine was pointed directly at Team Rocket, they were blasted off at incredible speed.
"Well, at least we almost got a chance to grab a rare Pokémon, right?" Meowth awkwardly said as they flew in mid-air.
"Almost is never enough!" cried out Jessie.
"A Pokémon we won't get to see anytime soon again because…" James commented.
"We're blasting off again!"
…
Out of the blue, the machine went haywire and shot out strong winds in all different directions.
"The winds are too strong! Someone's got to stop that machine!" yelled out Brock as he held on tightly to a sturdy tree. Misty was holding on to Togepi with her eyes shut tight. She felt small debris of dust and dirt against her face as gripped tightly on to the same tree.
Mew hugged on tightly a different tree with her tail wrapped around it. These winds… no, please… she was reminded of her nightmare. Suddenly, everything around her seemed to slow down.
Everything faded into darkness.
"Succumb to me…" echoed the ominous voice in her head.
"Succumb…"
Fear overwhelmed her, causing her to whimper and hold on tighter to the tree. Please, stop… came out her small cries.
"Pikachu… is in that thing! I've… got to… get him out!" Ash cried out as he pushed his way against the direction of the wind. Unfortunately, he was too light and the strong winds blew tough. "AH! No! Pikachu!" He screamed, shutting his eyes tight as he was blown off.
Hearing Ash's scream and witnessing his determination to get his best friend back, Mew felt a tinge of courage and power pulse through her veins. She may have been paralyzed in her nightmare, yet she was not paralyzed in this moment. Mew closed her eyes drawing in power, she opened them with a blue glow. Letting go of the tree, she immediately used Psychic, stopping the harsh winds. Rapidly afterwards, her body then gave a blue glow. Using Telekinesis, she stopped Ash from a painful fall and brought him safely back to the ground. Once again with her Psychic attack, she destroyed the machine allowing Pikachu to be freed out. Just as Ash ran to catch Pikachu, Mew used Telekinesis once again to give Pikachu a softer and safer land in Ash's arms.
On the aftermath of the mishap, everyone simply stared at Mew in awe. She lowered her stance and looked at her side with an embarrassed expression.
"Please forgive me, I could not have helped sooner. Everyone was in danger, and I… I merely cowered."
Suddenly, she felt someone wrap their arms around her in a hug. It was Ash.
"Thanks Mew. Thanks for saving me and Pikachu," he said warmly. "You're really awesome, y'know!"
Misty and Brock smiled from the back. They walked towards Mew and joined in to form a group hug.
"You don't have to apologize at all. You're really something Mew! You're more than legendary," Misty said. "You saved us all!"
Mew loved the feeling of being hugged or embraced. It was warm and intimate. The intimate physical feeling that she rarely experienced. Mew smiled as she cherished the moment. It was wonderful. I believe I now know why I was meant to cross paths with these humans again, she smiled to herself.
A short while after the group hug, Mew broke the silence. "Perhaps," her tiny voice echoed. "It may be best to share with you…" Her tail swished as she levitated towards the backdoor to Brock's home. "My nightmares… the reason why I was afraid."
…
Not quite far from where Mew and the Pokémon Trainers were, was a dim crystal cave where a tall pale purple feline-like Pokémon inhabited.
"I can sense you… Mew."
Its deep voice echoed throughout the cave walls as it looked up at opening and gazed towards the very same night sky.
"I know of your nightmares, I see them too…"