Before Mewtwo could respond, Ash started to talk again. "I'm not j-joking. When I...I...ok, lemme just...explain.
When I finally got off that ship, the war was over and everybody was talking about this new era. Peace, hope, recuperation and all that stuff. I saw your coronation on a TV somewhere.
I can't really tell you how I felt when I heard you'd be in charge. My head was so messed up I couldn't figure out how I felt. Besides, it's not important. It's not like there was anything I could do about it." the boy shrugged sadly. "Like there was anything I could do, period.
Kachu seemed decent...you know, it's funny. I knew who Kat was, but...I never made the connection at first. Stupid, huh? Or maybe I just didn't want to get it. I remember thinking they were really silly names...don't tell them that, please?
I was...I was gonna give this 'new era' a shot. I really was. I swear. But...heh, I don't need to tell you that that didn't go too well."
Mewtwo nodded, looking back down at the report. You separated yourself from your friends, once you had disembarked. You then bounced around from job to job, and had a few run-ins with the police for loud outbursts. Never anything serious, until...
"The movie premiere." Ash finished. His eyes became faraway again, as he remembered that fateful day.
"I was down on my last dime from my last job...you know, I can't remember what it was. I remember I got fired for talking too much about the old days. But I don't think that was entirely it...
Anyway, I was wandering around Slateport City, not sure where to go. I'd heard that there was this new movie coming out, and everybody was going to the theatre. Well, I thought, might as well stop by. What else was there to do? Kinda dumb, now that I think about it. But hey, a movie's always fun. Most of the time...
On my way to the theatre, I saw a bunch of movie posters and they...irked me. I didn't know why, so I took another look. Lemme know if you've seen any of these...
'Ruby: The terrifying true story of a captured Scyther.'
'The Revenge of the Trainers'. I think that one was being taken down.
'The rise of the Revolution.'
'Paul.' Yeah! They made a movie about Paul! Why would they make a movie about that...oh yeah. Er, anyway...
'Great Hero Tyranitar faces against Pokemon Slave Ring! Take Down the Villainous Champion!'
I saw that one. Pure schlock.
Yeah, stuff like that. It took me a second to figure out what was bugging me. The bad guys in all the movies were humans. I don't think I saw a single human hero there, or even just one in a positive light. They were always looming in the background, looking all menacing and scary. The Paul movie? He was framed and shadowed like he was Satan himself. Course, I'm just going by the posters, but...it was still there.
Actually...how the heck did they make so many movies so fast? It couldn't have been a year since the fighting had stopped.
They rushed production. Some of those movies were made in a day. The only one I saw with any sort of budget or production value was 'Paul', and that was because Nido was backing it. And it was still terrible. An hour and a half of Nido's revenge fantasy.
Geez, you'd think killing him would be enough.
Not for Nido.
Yeah...anyway, I finally got to the theatre. There was a big crowd, waiting to see this new movie. Plenty of Pokemon, but also a lot of people. I didn't get why. They all looked miserable, like they'd rather be somewhere else. I guess their bosses dragged them along, or this was the only entertainment in town since the contest hall was destroyed.
The movie was called...er..."Lies and Slavery, the...true...story about...training...""
Ash's entire body tensed up and the memory came back. His fists clenched as he remembered his fury and frustration that day.
"'L-learn from witness statements and inter-interviews the terrible reality of the time before the rev-the rev-the revolu...'" he hissed and spit, shaking with rage. "Learn how every s-single trainer was an evil enslaver, and how h-horrible the world used t-to be before the amazing Nido s-saved us all...That was what they were saying, really...
There was some kind of...I dunno, interview booth near the theatre. I guess it was the movie makers, talking about their project to the press. There was a Volcarona and a Leavanny...those are their names, right? They were talking with an Exploud reporter, telling everyone about their movie.
I only caught the tail end of the conversation. "...this movie will be controversial, to say the least. What do you hope to accomplish?"
"Well...a lot of folks seem to look at the past with these rose-colored glasses. They think that the world was a better place before the revolution. It's not just people, either. Some Pokemon I know think that they want the old days back. They don't realize a lot of the terrible things the humans actually did. Just ask our good friend, Mr. Anders."
Mr. Anders was a Pignite. I...it's funny. He really wasn't that remarkable. Ever have that, when you see someone really important, but you don't know he's important, so you don't notice much? That was kinda what it was like.
"Well," Anders said, "I know for a fact that many of the trainers cared absolutely nothing for their Pokemon. They believed that we were just...tools for their entertainment. My own trainer left me to starve when I lost a fight, and I know for a fact that I'm not the only Pokemon to go through that."
You know, I actually agreed with Anders. Seriously, I got what he was saying. Where he was coming from. But then the Volcarona butted in...
"Let's be honest here. EVERY Pokemon went through that. Maybe not in the same manner, but every Pokemon has experienced abuse at the hands of their trainers. Physical, emotional, psychological. Heck, Pokemon training is inherently abusive! It's high time the humans faced up to that. They were all basically just -"
That just...I...
I know it...I know it's kinda hypocritical...you know, after all that thinking I'd been doing on the ship. Why s-should I be outraged about something I was agreeing with a month ago? A minute ago?
But...the way they were talking about it...the way they'd been banging on about it with those movies, the nerve they had so soon after the war, it really...it really struck a nerve, I got so mad...I just...and then I realized something. I realized why. And when I did...I couldn't hold it back any longer.
"HAH!" I yelled so loud I got everybody's attention. Pointing right at that smug little firebug, I started screaming. "YOU'RE JUST TRYING TO CONVINCE YOURSELF THAT SO YOU DON'T FEEL GUILTY ABOUT WHAT YOU DID! YOU AND THE REVOLUTIONARIES KILLED HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE, DESTROYED THOUSANDS OF LIVES, RUINED AN ENTIRE WORLD AND NOW YOU'RE TRYING TO TELL EVERYBODY THAT IT WAS WORTH IT! WAS IT?!"
Ash blinked and remembered he was still in the cell. With an embarrassed chuckle, he got down off the table and returned to his seat.
"S-something like that. I think it sounded a lot better back then."
It did. Mewtwo agreed.
"Yeah..." Ash sighed, twiddling his fingers for a second. "You know...if I could, I would take back everything I did that day...everything I did my whole life...but I...I won't take back what I said then and there. I mean...it h-had to be said, right?"
Yes.
Ash breathed a sigh of relief. "Yeah...I thought so.
But yeah , a lot of people agreed with me. Suddenly there was a lot of shouting and yelling. But it wasn't...well, I've been thinking and, it wouldn't have been so bad if...he...
Something else about A-Anders. After I...said that, there was this look on his face. It was...I only just remember it now. It was...guilt. He looked guilty. Not that it...mattered. Not when...
But as I was saying, it wouldn't have been so bad if he hadn't...turned around...
That's when I saw it. I saw it, and everything else just disappeared. The world just vanished, and I...
I saw that scar.
The only thing I saw of the creature that set my house on fire. The one thing I could recall about the Pokemon running off into the night. A fat pig creature with a long scar down his back.
Anders was the one who killed my mother.
I just…everything around me disappeared, and I...came right at him, roaring like an animal. He turned back and saw me coming, but I was on top of him before he could react.
"YOU!"
He looked up at me with these wide eyes, scared out of his wits. His voice was cracked, I think my hands were around his throat. "Whu-what are you talk aheeeegh talking about?! What are you doing?!"
I just snarled. "You were in Pallet Town that day, the day the revolution started! I saw you there! You were running away from my house!"
"I-I-I-I don't know what you're-"
"YOU were running into the woods! YOU set my house on fire! YOU KILLED MY MOTHER!"
He finally figured it out. His eyes...I'll never forget that face. He was terrified and...guilty, at the same time. I think...I think he realized what was gonna happen.
"Oh god, oh god, you're...you're...it was an accident, I swear, I'm sorry..."
I think he meant it. Like that mattered.
I started hitting him. Punching him in the face. I just...all I saw was my mother, burning in the fire. I keep hitting him, hitting him until he started bleeding. Everything got loud, but I didn't hear anything. I think the other Pokemon attacked me, but I didn't notice. Blood splattered all over my face, and I didn't care. I just kept hitting and hitting and hitting and hitting...
And the whole time, he just kept looking at me with those eyes...
Ash was shivering now, even though it hadn't gotten any colder. His eyes were wide, and his hands were twitching. Trying to calm himself down enough to continue talking, he took a drink of water.
"Why didn't he...why...didn't he fight back? He knew I was gonna...he...he HAD to know...was he...was he really sorry? Did he really think...I was...even I'm not sure anymore."
Ash sighed, lowering his eyes. "I was sure then, though. I was sure, I...when the police finally managed to pull me off him, when I saw that he was...that I...I felt great. I felt better than I'd felt in a long time. Like I...like I actually accomplished something. Something terrible, horrible, but...something. I avenged my mother, that was something, right? Right?" his voice was cracking, like he didn't believe what he was saying. "That was...something. I did that. Not my Pokemon, not my friends...I did that. Me.
I don't...I don't think I need to tell you about the court thing. Yeah, you were there. I saw how...disappointed you were in me. Don't...don't say anything. I could see it in your eyes. The child who stood up for any kind of life, murdering someone so...What kind of...what kind of person am I?
Don't tell me. I don't wanna know.
I can tell you about something you weren't there for, though. You don't know...well, you didn't see what happened in Slateport Prison. I'll...I'll tell you about that..."
Ash gulped. He was coming to the end of his story. After this, there was nothing more to tell. After this, he had to make a decision. His fate.
"Slateport prison. Wasn't it the museum once upon a time? Odd place to make a...Er, anyway...
I'd been in the cell since the trial. It kinda reminded me of the SS Leonard, my time spent there. Heh, of course it did. A dry land prison.
I wasn't doing anything. Not even thinking, like on the ship. I just...sat there, for Arceus knows how long. No-one to talk to, I was the only prisoner in the hallway that day. Not hungry, not thirsty, not tired...well, I was tired, but I couldn't sleep. I still wasn't sleeping. And...ugh, I'm rambling, let's just...let's just get to when...
He showed up. He... I just...I heard the door at the end of the hallway open and close, then I heard someone cough right in front of my cell, do I looked up and...It was Kachu.
He wasn't wearing those robes I saw on TV, with those colors. These ones were plain. He was wearing that crown, though. The one that looks like a Pokeball splitting open? That one. That's how I could tell it was him.
He looked...sad. He just quietly said my name, like he was scared to say it out loud. "...Ash?"
I looked up. You know, I still didn't figure it out. "Heh. So what does the architect of the New Era want with someone like me?" I asked him.
He stammered. I'd never seen him like this. Whenever he was on TV, he was calm and collected. He always had this sad look in his eye, but he never...he was biting his claws and fingering something in his...robe pocket? I dunno, but he was really nervous.
"Ash, I...I...it's me, it's..."
"I know who you are. Lord Kachu. Big shot Pokemon. What do you want?"
He gulped. "I just...I just want to talk to you. Ash, I'm...I'm not just that, I...it's me."
I still didn't figure it out. "You? You who? I don't-"
"I...I..." he finally just sighed. "Pikapi."
I finally figured it out.
My Pikachu, the Pokemon I had traveled the farthest with, the one who'd been with me since the first day, he was Lord Kachu! I couldn't believe it! I mean...I mean, what kind of a coincidence is that? It'd been so long, I was so happy to see him. I was...I was honestly proud. He'd come so far since...since...
And then I remembered.
"You..." I started growling. I was shivering, but I wasn't cold or anything, I just...I..."You...you TRAITOR!"
Kachu was standing close enough to the bars for me to grab him. I held him up by the collar of that cloak, trying to...not trying to...I thought about choking him.
"You miserable little rat! You stab me in the back, and now you come back as the second-in-command of this stinking new era! You've got a lot of nerve, seeing me after so long!"
"Ash, I-"
"DON'T TALK TO ME! Do you have any idea what you put me through?! You...you destroyed everything! You...you...traitor, you...I HATE YOU!"
The way he...he looked at me when I...s-said those words...he was...I...I didn't care, I just...he said "I-I-I'm sorry..."
"YOU'RE SORRY?! YOU THINK YOU CAN FIX EVERYTHING BY SAYING 'SORRY'?! I HATE YOU! I NEVER WANNA SEE YOU AGAIN!"
I dropped him on the floor, and he...he just ran away, crying. Sobbing.
Ash stopped talking for a second, gnawing on his knuckle again. Confused regret filled his eyes, pushing out the tears.
"I...I...the second he'd ran out the door, I...I wanted to take it all back. I mean...c'mon, he saved my life! Face it, he...saved my neck the only way he thought he could...
But..." he tried to look angry again. "He was...he was in charge! After what he did! He betrayed me, and now he's in charge of a world where everything we did is...I would never have gotten so mad if he wasn't-"
He caught himself, his eyes going wide. "Oh...oh my...d-don't tell him I said that. I didn't say that! He can't know I said that! Don't...please don't tell him I said that..."
Mewtwo nodded solemnly. I won't.
"Th-thank you...I figured that would be it. I just ...I just drove off my best friend, and now I'd screwed up absolutely everything in my life. Everything. A- At least it couldn't get any worse, right?
And then huh-he showed up...
I had just slunk into the corner of my cell. I didn't know if I was angry at K-Kachu, angry at myself, angry at everything else, or just depressed. Unbelievable, huh? Used to be the worlds most confident kid, and now I can't make up my mind about anything anymore.
The door opened. I...hoped it was Kachu. But the footsteps that came up to my cell were way too heavy to be any of my Pokemon. Besides, there were too many of them. Three sets...yeah, three. They came right up to my cell, but I didn't even look up. And then he started talking.
"So, you are Kachu's former master."
I didn't place the voice at first. Never heard it before. Sounded like something off a tape recorder. So I just answered "Yeah."
He chuckled...somehow. "It is a good thing he finally saw your true colors."
That set me off. I whirled around to deny that...not sure how I would, come to think of it. But I stopped when I saw just who had said that.
I never heard his voice, but I'd definitely seen him. On the TV, before and after the revolution. I recognized those scars across his eyes, that voice box fused onto his neck. That look in his eye...
This was him. This was the one responsible for everything that happened. The one who destroyed the Indigo Plateau. The one who had Pallet Town burned. The one who started it all.
Nido the Great.
I was just...paralyzed. I couldn't move. Right in front of me was the creature who destroyed my entire world...and there was nothing I could do about it. He'd brought along two of his buddies, a...um, Bisharp and a Heatmor? Yeah...
"Y-You..."
That monster smiled that damn smirk. "So you do know me. I certainly know you."
I couldn't believe my ears. "What?!"
He just laughed and changed the subject. "I would like to share a revelation I've had with you, Ash Ketchum."
So he did know who I was. But how? And...Well, why would he care? "What are you talking about?"
He motioned to his buddies, and they split up down the hallway, each one guarding a door. "You see, trainers like you always puzzled me for the longest time. The ones who persistently claim that their Pokemon are their 'friends' even as they imprison and enslave them."
You can bet that got me mad. "WHAT?!"
"Let me finish. It is a remarkable tactic, I will give you that. Very ingenious, in theory at least. By convincing your...pets that you really care about them, you minimize the chances of any rebellion or insubordination. A smart move."
I didn't say anything. I just sat there and seethed. One part of me was telling me 'he's right' and the other kept shouting 'he's wrong' and I couldn't...I was too confused and upset to say anything, so he just kept going on.
"That part I understood. But what I didn't understand was the lengths you went to to maintain this lie. You see, I looked into your history. Ash Ketchum, perpetual loser. Years of experience and still never getting anywhere close to the championship. Your constant attempts to reinforce your 'friendship' cost you so many victories...why would you keep it up?"
I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but he stopped me.
"Then I saw your little...outburst on the news, and it hit me. The lie wasn't maintained for the Pokemon. No, it was maintained for the trainers themselves. You and trainers like you convinced yourselves that your servants were your friends so you would not have to face the reality of what you were doing."
He stopped, like he was waiting for me to respond. When I didn't, he added. "Face it, boy. If you had stopped kidding yourself, you could have won a long time ago."
"It wasn't like that." I groaned.
"Was it?" he asked, with that goddamn smile on his face.
I...didn't have an answer for him. I couldn't...I couldn't say he was wrong. He didn't know me, he didn't understand that it wasn't a lie, he didn't get anything about friendship, but...after everything, I couldn't be the one to tell him that.
Instead, I asked "Is that why you came here? To tell me that?"
His smile disappeared for a second. It was like he was...disappointed. Angry, like I said the wrong thing. But then he started smiling and talking again. "That...and to tell you about the Pallet fire. There is something I think you should know.
My advisors..." he gestured to the two Pokemon he came with. "They often asked why I bothered with that tiny little town. I imagine you wondered that as well."
That got my attention. I looked to hear what he was saying.
"There are two reasons I had that place destroyed. Pallet was the original starting town for trainers, the place where Professor Oak first gave out starters. It was where the enslavement all began, really. It had to be destroyed.
And secondly...I was looking for you."
I couldn't believe my ears. He was looking for me? What was he talking about?
"Why would you be-?"
"Because you took something from me." he started growling, not smiling anymore. "You took something from me when you took something from my old trainer."
"Your old trainer? What are you-?"
"Paul."
I couldn't…Paul was Nido's trainer? That...I'm not sure if I'm surprised, to be honest, but...I dunno, it just seemed like too much of a coincidence.
He was...shaking, getting more and more angry. "I hated him. Almost as much as you did. I wanted him to lose everything. EVERYTHING. His family, his home, his victories. But you took his greatest victory before I could. And you did not even win the competition. How...disappointing."
I think I groaned. Yippee, another reminded of the failure that was my life. I groaned and he got even madder.
"You little...I sent Anders to pick you up, but you were gone. If you'd been there, I imagine your dear mother would still be alive."
He...looked impatient. Like he was waiting for me to do something and I wasn't doing it. I guess...now that I think about it, I guess he was expecting me to scream, try to kill him, something like what I did with Anders and Kachu.
But I just...I didn't really respond. Like I said, I was too confused, too depressed, too upset to say anything. I knew he was trying to get me mad, but...I was too tired. I was too exhausted to get angry. I mean...what was he telling me? That this was all my fault, for not being with my mom that day?
I knew that already.
He snarled, "What, have you nothing to say?"
"No." I said. I think.
Well, whatever I said, it made him snap. His eye went crazy and his teeth grinded for a second. Then he suddenly roared and ripped open the cell doors with his bare hands...well, claws. You can bet that woke me up.
I screamed for the guard, but Nido grabbed me and slammed me against the wall.
"The guard is one of my brothers. We won't be interrupted."
I saw something out of the corner of my eye. "Camera..." I croaked.
"I will deal with that later." He growled. That evil eye of his stated me down, and I'd never been so scared in my life.
"Why do you wretched children not act as you should?! First Paul ruined it, and now you're ruining it...again! No matter! The council is doubting our cause because of you, and you have to be eliminated!"
Despite the terrifying memory, Ash scoffed as he recalled Nido's words.
"'You ruined it'. The mighty revolutionary, throwing a temper tantrum because his victims didn't follow his script. Why did Pokemon follow him again?"
Mewtwo could've explained how Nido had been saner at the beginning of the revolution, how he spoke very convincing speeches, how the revenge fantasy was only secondary, and he only became unhinged as the war continued. But he could tell Ash didn't want an answer to that question.
Ash shook his head. "I thought...I thought I was gonna die. Nobody was gonna save me. I was gonna die, alone, a prisoner, all my dreams reduced to nothing, all alone. I had never been more scared in my life.
He raked his claws against my face, real slow, like he was trying to figure out how best to...I was begging. "Oh god, please don't, please don't, nononono..."
He didn't listen to me. He didn't listen to his henchmen either, when they told him this was bad. "Boss, if the camera sees you like this-"
"We will destroy the tapes later. Now WHY ARE NOT YOU WATCHING THE DOOR?!"
"But boss-"
He whirled around, hitting the Bisharp with flamethrower. Cooked him alive. Heck, I think he melted. The other guy just looked at his dead friend and ran back to the door.
"Cowards. No matter." His teeth were still smoking when he turned back to me. "Time to finish this..."
I shut my eyes real tight, like...like it would help any. The second I did, I saw my mother burning, because I wasn't there. I saw my Pokemon fighting for their lives at the lab, because they wanted to help me escape. I saw Pidgeot and his flock crashing to the ground, all because they tried to help me. I saw Pikachu...I...saw him...making whuh-what had to be the huh-hardest choice in his life, because I was his friend. And it was all for nothing. All those deaths, all that misery, all so I could go nuts and die.
I started ...crying. There was ...nothing else I...I could do. Nothing.
And then...then I heard his voice again...
"NIDO! STOP!"
I opened my eyes. It was...it was Ka...Pikachu. He...he came back...even after I...I...I couldn't believe it.
Nuh-neither could Nido. "What?! What are you doing here?"
"Put him down! Now!" I...felt like the Calvary had arrived. Like...like I could be..,
"You STILL defend him?!" Nido snarled, gripping my th-throat tighter so I couldn't talk. "Do not you see? You heard him! He cares nothing for you! He hates you! Now that he no longer has power over you, you are nothing to him!"
I froze. What if...what if he was...he was wrong...wasn't he? B-but...the things I said...what if Kachu was listening? What if...
His hand gripped me tighter and tighter, and I felt like I was gonna suffocate before..."When will you open your eyes, Kachu? You saw him for what he truly is! You save his miserable hide, and how does he thank you?! This wretch is keeping you from truly embracing your power! He has to die! STOP LYING TO YOURSELF! ACCEPT-"
I thought...I thought for a second Kachu would let me die. But then he...he leapt at Nido and...grabbed his tongue. He screamed, "I'VE! HAD! ENOUGH! OF! YOUR! SPEECHES!"
I saw terror in Nido's eye. Pure, simple, terror. Like Anders. I didn't think he'd ever been frightened before. He dropped me to the floor, and I just say there, catching my breath.
And then...Pikachu let out the...the greatest Thunderbolt I ever saw. He... The electricity coursed through Nido's body... Guess it worked since it was...coming from the inside. I'll...I'll never forget how it looked. It was like...it was like lightning bolts were coming out of his eyes and... I could hear him screaming...
And then he just stopped.
Nido just...fell to the ground. Clunk. Like a suit of armour. The way he fell, I could see his face. His mouth was wide open, and it was...smoking. So were his eyes. He was...he was...Kachu had...to save me...
Kachu just stood next to the body, breathing real hard. He looked...he looked...I dunno how to describe it. Like it was something he both wanted to do, and...hated to do.
The Heatmor was watching us from the doorway. The look on his face...he must've thought nobody could beat Nido. Especially not...Kachu.
Kachu just hissed at him, and he ran like a scared rabbit. Then he turned to look at me...
I should've said something. Anything. I should've said...I dunno...I should've thanked him, I should've said I was sorry for what I said, I should've...told him I...I should've...I should've said SOMETHING!
But I couldn't. I just...i just sat there, staring at him. My friend just killed someone to save my life. I was...paralyzed. I didn't move, I didn't talk, I didn't...I didn't...
And he just...
I...I don't remember a whole lot after that. It was like I passed out with my eyes open. It's all a blur. I remember the guard dragging me out, I remember the ship, I remember being put here.
And then you came in, telling me I had to choose what'll happen to me now.
