Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.


Chapter 8

Professor Katt introduced himself. "I specialize in Pokémon mythology and archeology. I've never met Professor Oak, but I greatly admire his work. It's an honor to meet people he holds in high esteem." The professor struck Ash as an energetic person, devoted to his study; he enjoyed talking about Mew and the research MID had been doing. His lab uniform had various stains on them, and every once and a while he seemed to notice them and attempted to diminish them slightly with a handkerchief. His overall appearance reminded Ash of Seymour the Scientist, the man he, Misty, and Brock had met at Mt. Moon long ago, though Professor Katt was slightly tidier and less eccentric, to Ash's relief.

"Well, basically, Mew is one of the oldest Pokémon species we know about. It may have existed in plentiful numbers hundreds of millions of years ago. More recently, the Mew population dwindled, and very, very few humans have seen it. In fact, it has not been seen in centuries. Now, there are many reasons why Mew is so important. Yes, it is incredibly rare, but that's only one of them." Professor Katt's eyes shone. "Mew has been the subject of research for countless scientists. Just being able to see it up close would be a breakthrough!"

He stood gazing off into the distance, dreaming of that impossible encounter, until Sahil gently brought him back to earth. "Uh, Professor, you were saying?"

"What? Oh, yes," Katt turned back to his guests. "Have any of you ever heard of the Pokémon known as Mewtwo?"

Ash, Misty, and Brock all said "Yes." Katt looked surprised.

"Really? Hmm, I guess more people read the National Pokégraphic than I thought. Well, doubtlessly you know then that Mewtwo was created by the evil organization Team Rocket but escaped and was never heard of since?"

Ash, Misty, and Brock exchanged glances, but Ash replied, "Yes." His confidence bolstered, he added, "In fact, I read the National Pokégraphic on a weekly basis!"

Misty slapped her forehead, and Brock suppressed a groan, but Professor Katt laughed. "I like you, Ash. That was a good joke."

"Uh, joke, yeah," Ash replied sheepishly.

"But I assure you," the professor said seriously, "that only I am capable of reading National Pokégraphic at that speed."

As Katt took a moment to mime reading an issue of the magazine at the speed of one issue per week, Sahil whispered to the others. "Whatever you do, do not ask him how he manages to read a monthly magazine weekly." There was, however, no need; no one even thought of asking the professor to explain further his reading skills.

When Katt had finished his pantomime, he returned to what he had been saying about Mewtwo. "Anyway, Mewtwo was created from DNA from a fossilized Mew hair. That hair was discovered... you guessed it... here, in Guyana!" Katt spread his arms wide. "Actually, it was found very close to where this building lies. In that hair's DNA, the DNA of almost all the Pokémon we know today can be found! Do you know what this means?" He was almost jumping up and down now.

"It means that Mew may be an ancestor of all other Pokémon," said Justin.

"That's right!" Professor Katt seemed jubilant. "You kids are pretty smart. Of course, I shouldn't be surprised, considering Professor Oak sent you."

Justin was about to correct Katt regarding his non-existent relationship with Professor Oak when Sahil gave a look which said: "Don't bother."

Professor Katt started walking again. "So you know that Mew is important because it is rare and scientifically significant. But I doubt any of you know about Mew's special powers."

Sahil tensed. "Professor, maybe we should discuss in the lab. One can never be too careful..."

"Ah, yes. Of course, Sahil. The lab would be much safer. Speaking of which," he added, approaching a door with no doorknob to speak of, "we are here." He stood in front of what looked like a camera lense, and after a second, the door clicked open. Ash followed Professor Katt, looking confused, but then Sahil cleared things up.

"Eye-recognition technology," he explained quietly.

"Oh, wow," mumbled Ash as he tried to imagine how eye-recognition technology worked. He was so busy imagining such technology (which, in Ash's minded, consisted of a few microscopic particles in a person's eye waving colored flags to catch the attention of the camera lens) that he walked right into the backs of Misty, Brock, and Justin. The three, along with Pikachu and Bulbasaur, were staring at something in the lab with incredulous expressions on their faces.

"What is it, guys, what's so fascin - " He too halted and stared.

Professor Katt coughed. "Kids, I'd like you to meet my colleague, Professor Chu."

/

Perched on a stool in front of a computer was a Pikachu with a white lab coat like Katt's. When it turned around, its pointy gray beard became fully visible. The Pikachu stared back at Ash and the others through its glasses, and for a few seconds no one spoke. Finally, Sahil broke the silence.

"Professor, good to see you again. I hope you are well."

Professor Chu recognized Sahil, uttered a cry of delight, and hopped off the stool, walking two-legged over to Sahil and Vidyut. It shook their hands/paws with its tail (a common greeting with Pikachu) and started talking to them in a thin, squeaky voice.

"Ka-Pik! Pikachu! Chu pika-chu, chu pika pika?"

"I'm fine, thank you. As you can see, Professor Oak's deliverers have made it safely, despite being attacked."

Professor Chu didn't turn his attention back to Ash and the others until it had finished exchanging light electric currents with Vidyut. When it did re-examine them, it was with the scrutiny of a wise old professor, though not without politeness. When Ash's Pikachu offered its tail, Chu gladly shook.

"Pika Chu. Chu pika-chu."

"Pika Pikachu. Pika!"

Ash cleared his throat. "Uh, ehem, uh, hi there, Professor Chu. My name's Ash."

Encouraged by Ash, the others added their greetings. "Hello, I'm Misty." "Howdy, I'm Brock." "And I'm Justin. Nice to meet you."

Chu greeted them somewhat less cordially than he had Pikachu, but again the Pokémon didn't seem impolite. He shook Justin's Bulbasaur's vine almost as heartily as Pikachu's.

"I have worked with Professor Chu for years. He is one of the leading experts in Pokémon genetics."

Chu acknowledged the compliment, then went back to his computer.

"Should we step out, or are you fine with us talking here, Professor?" Katt asked of Chu.

"Pi-ka."

Apparently, this meant yes, because Katt didn't motion to return to the corridor. He began where he had left off. "Through our combined research, we have discovered that Mew is one of the most powerful Pokémon on earth!"

Justin looked confused. "Is? I thought you said that Mew hasn't been seen in centuries."

Ash, Misty, and Brock were as confused as Justin. They had encountered a Mew before, but their memoires of that occasion had been erased. They had reacted to Professor Katt's mention of Mewtwo, whom they met on the same occasion, because they had later met Mewtwo again, this time leaving with their memories intact.

Katt replied to Justin. "Yes, well, friends, that's where that photograph comes in."

Ash, feeling his excitement mount, opened his bag and retrieved the precious photo. Katt took it and examined it. Chu also took a look at it.

It was a minute before they reacted. Katt suddenly jumped, pointed to a part of the photo, and exclaimed. "There!"

Chu took the photo and put it on a machine, which scanned it and pulled up the image on his computer.

Misty pointed. "Hey, I knew I had seen you somewhere before, Professor Katt! That's you in the photo!"

It was true. The man in safari clothing was undoubtedly Katt. The real Katt pointed out the other notable points of the photo.

"Yes. And this is my Tangela." He pointed to the blue tentacles barely visible at the bottom. "I should have introduced it to you earlier." He took out a Poké Ball. "Meet my jungle companion and life-long friend, Tangela!"

Ash recognized the blue tentacles . Tangela waved its body in a friendly manner. "Whcht whcht!"

Professor Katt continued to identify parts of the photo to the others. "We're outside the jungle. The person taking the photo is a young student of mine, who went to Kanto soon after this was taken and happened to show Professor Oak this photo. It wasn't long before Oak caught this little baby, heh-heh." He pointed to the miniscule pink dot in the upper left corner which Misty had pondered at the airport in Viridian City.

Both Misty and Justin gasped. "Is that Mew?"

Professor Chu rolled his eyes. "Pi," he sighed, as if saying, "Obviously."

Now Brock was getting excited. "So this means that Mew isn't totally extinct?"

"We should make sure that that is indeed Mew before making assumptions," Sahil cut in.

"Of course, Sahil, well spoken." Katt turned to Chu. "Professor, will you do the honors?"

Chu clicked an icon in the computer screen, and the screen zoomed in on the pink spec. Soon, a definite shape emerged, although it was very fuzzy. Ash could barely make out what looked like a tail on the thing. Then Chu clicked another icon, and the high-tech computer redefined the image, replacing the blurry screen with a crystal-clear one.

The Pokémon (for clearly it could be nothing else) hovered in the air, seemingly standing on an invisible floor in the sky. It had a long tail, long back legs, comparatively short front paws, and a wide, feline head, its nose and ears making it appear roughly triangular. One blue eye was visible from the angle of the photo. The computer program pulled up a virtual Pokédex and identified the pink Pokémon as "Mew, the New Species Pokémon."

Everyone was speechless; even Chu couldn't find words to express himself (whether in Pika-language or in any language). Mew still existed. And one was seen right near there.


A/N: I considered ending the chapter at Professor Chu's appearance, but that would have been too short. I hope you liked it anyway!

Also, I felt it appropriate to give Professor Chu a gender. Inconsistent, I know :(

Finally, National Pokégraphic was actually mentioned in the episode "Don't Touch that 'dile!"