Chapter 36

At that, all those visions that Delia had just seen of Cynthia faded, as she now looked directly at Cynthia, who had given her all those memories of her time spent growing up and how she had become Mewtwo.

"That was…" Delia started to say as she tried to come up with the words.

"Difficult," Cynthia finished for her, "at least it certainly is for me every time I think of them. Do you have any additional questions for me?"

Delia's first thought was actually a bit of nervousness as she looked at Cynthia, now clearly in her Mewtwo form and remembering just what she had done as Mewtwo in that last vision as she asked, "are you…dangerous?"

Cynthia laughed before saying, "dangerous definitely, but more in the way that you yourself are dangerous. As Arceus said, my Mewtwo side has slowly begun to take over more and more, but I've also worked hard at controlling it. Right now I am perfectly in control as Mewtwo, but that won't always be the case. I'm afraid, the power deep inside me has been working on trying to become yet even stronger and evolve. When it does, I'm afraid I would have no control over what I will do then."

Delia thought again for a moment before observing, "So that's why you need Ash. To try and stop you?"

"Yes," Cynthia admitted, "his task is certainly great, but I know that he will eventually be up to the task when he needs to. You may have noticed that I have tried to help him as much as I can, but not help him too much to the point where it stunts his strength."

She nodded before asking worriedly, "What happens if he fails?"

"Then I would unfortunately destroy anyone and everyone," Cynthia admitted gravely, "so yes, I have to have a lot of hope for him."

"What makes Ash so special though that he can defeat you?" Delia inquired.

Cynthia merely shook her head and said, "I don't know. Giovanni certainly seems to have an idea. He has of course kept tabs on all of you for quite some time even if it took him awhile to finally reveal himself. He's been forced to stay pretty much in hiding ever since I proved that Team Rocket is a criminal organization. Yet he himself was never convicted and he makes sure he can't be linked to any crime. However he is the only one who still remembers what truly happened at the lab and if he could, he'd try and capture me again, but knows he's simply too weak."

"What does Giovanni think about Ash then?" Delia asked.

"He suspects that Ash may be like me and have the capability of becoming Mew," Cynthia confessed, "of course he'd then love to try again with causing him to transform into one or even into a Mewtwo like me, although with ensuring this time that he couldn't escape."

Her eyes widened at this declaration, worried now about Ash getting himself captured. Cynthia however seemed to know exactly what she was thinking as she smiled and reminded her, "don't worry, he actually has no intention of catching or doing any real harm at all to Ash anymore."

"No intention of harm?" Delia asked incredulously, "what about all the times Team Rocket has attacked us?"

"That wasn't his plan originally," Cynthia explained, "he actually found out about Ash a lot sooner than you might have realized. You may remember way back when Ash tried to challenge his gym he was forced to provide them with a blood sample?"

It had been so long ago, but Delia did remember vaguely he had.

"They test every trainer like that in order to try and find one with the Mark of Mew," Cynthia stated, "it turns out there is a certain gene found only by those with the Mark of Mew. Team Rocket's theory then is that all those with the Mark of Mew mean Mew is the Pokemon they would turn into. As soon as he realized that, he tried to get another Mew fossil to use on Ash, as of course the previous one had been destroyed by me in the lab disaster."

Delia was still following along as she said, "the giant Rhydon trying to steal the Mew fossil from the Museum in Pewter City."

"Yes," Cynthia agreed with a nod, "we had a narrow escape then, but of course it ended up being destroyed and Giovanni was forced to abandon his plans. I have no doubt his next plan was to bring Ash in anyway, even as merely a human, his power to change humans into Pokemon would have been invaluable to him. However at the time he was momentarily preoccupied with catching Lugia which proved to delay things just long enough for something else to happen: I found Ash. I knew almost from the moment I saw him just who he was and what he meant to me, but I promised myself that I wouldn't reveal myself until the time was right. I sensed that already he had a lot on his plate and that he wouldn't be able to handle the extra burden just yet."

"You keep saying that," Delia observed.

"It's still true," Cynthia answered, "if there is one thing that being Mewtwo has taught me, it's figuring out others weaknesses and how to exploit them. One of Ash's weaknesses is that he'll often try to do more than he can handle. While that also shows determination, I know he is not yet ready. So instead I have continued to encourage him and give him advice and help when he needs, but mostly just keep tabs on him and watch from afar. As long as I do so, Giovanni will always be hesitant to try and bring him in, although he has proven to at least risk something occasionally. The giant Wailord attack for instance was not on his bidding, his giant attacked because that was all it really knew to do, to attack anyone that came near. However when you were all shipwrecked, what with having such a distinct advantage in his very own impregnable fortress he attempted to risk it. However as you know, he never caught Ash and instead all of them escaped. His latest attack several days ago however proved that he has evidently changed his mind. His sending Domino was meant more to test not only her, but Ash as well to find out which of them was stronger. Domino he may have intended to try and use on me to try and keep me human long enough for him to capture me and my Pokemon for himself, but after Ash defeated her, he found that she clearly wasn't up to the task and Ash was clearly far superior. That's why he's doing what he is now: he actually wants Ash to succeed in trying to challenge me, so that he can swoop in when we're both weakened after battling and get us both."

It certainly made sense, Delia thought.

"That's why I believe he chose to finally reveal himself, at least to you," Cynthia claimed, "first of all to secretly get firsthand information on how Ash is doing, but also to learn how he can help Ash succeed. Simply giving away his badge to you is a sign of that. Of course if you were worried, I also suspect he really does like you."

"Oh, gee that was really what I was worried about," Delia answered sarcastically.

Cynthia smiled and commented, "beauty is often a fickle thing."

"It doesn't seem to do much good for me with Ash," Delia observed.

"I wouldn't give up just yet," Cynthia cautioned, "Ash is still figuring out plenty of things about himself, including how he truly feels about you. That also brings up something I would like to discuss with you: I have foreseen that in his 8th and final gym battle Ash will need to learn how to use some of his abilities better."

"What, his Mark of Mew abilities?" Delia inquired.

"Yes as well as some other abilities he evidently has," Cynthia answered, "I confess to know little about just what Ash can really do. I assume he must have some other things that make him truly special but I have no idea what they are. However I do know of a few: first of all I know he has Aura abilities, as well as a telepathic link with Lugia, as well as some psychic powers that might just be the same as either of the first two."

She was aware that Ash had such abilities but she confessed to Cynthia, "I don't think he knows about those last ones."

Cynthia however raised an eyebrow and asked, "I'm pretty sure he does actually even if he doesn't fully realize what they are. How else do you think he can manage to have enjoyable sex with Lugia and Jessie? Let me guess: you were hoping he had some sort of ability to make his penis grow to a ridiculously large size?"

Delia blushed and said, "Well it might have been a bit of a fantastical hope."

Cynthia however just laughed and said, "You really need some sex."

"Yeah I do," Delia agreed, unable to resist smiling back.

POKEMONPOKEMONPOKEMONPOKEMON

Ash of course still had no idea that he was at that very moment being talked about or just what his destiny was. Instead he was just busy trying to Mega Evolve Pidgeblast.

"Are you ready?" He asked her.

"Yes, now press the ring," Pidgeblast answered, super excited and a bit impatient to see what would happen.

He pressed the Mega Ring and then…Pidgeblast started to glow and grow before his eyes. When she finally stopped evolving, he looked her over.

She had put on about 3 inches in height, putting her at about 5'9 along with her wings having grown a great deal with now blue at their tips.

Pidgeblast let loose an Aeroblast, this one far stronger than any she had yet unleashed.

"Wow!" She commented as she flew up into the air at breakneck speeds, "I'm awesome!"

He grinned and told her, "Yeah you are."

She tested out her newfound Mega Evolution for a while with his Pokemon capable of flight joining in before she commented, "you know I feel like I could be the one to take Blaine."

He thought about it but then said, "No, I don't want to risk it. Jessie apparently has a plan though."

"I do," Jessie agreed with an eager grin on her face, "of course we'll have to wait for Delia to get back before we fully implement it but essentially what we're going to do is give him a taste of his own medicine and make his volcano arena just a bit different."

"I'm not so sure you want to risk anything with an active volcano," Ash cautioned, remembering his coma adventure with Blaine when the volcano had nearly erupted.

"Oh no, don't worry," Jessie said, "I've got it all worked out."

"You care to tell us?" Joy asked curiously.

"When Delia gets here," Jessie promised.

POKEMONPOKEMONPOKEMON

The next day, Misty found herself entering the volcano gym, a bit nervous, but eager to prove herself.

"I'm here to challenge you to a rematch," Ash told Blaine as he stepped forward.

Misty tried to look just as confident as Ash did as she stood next to him. She felt prepared and confident that she would win, but it was important to project that confidence to her opponent.

Blaine however merely smiled back and asked, "What is never wanted except by those against you, always has just as many as it's opposite, and sometimes happens to all?"

"Defeat," Venus answered, immediately getting the riddle.

"We'll see about that," Ash observed, "unless of course you are referring to yourself?"

"I don't battle to lose Ash," Blaine pointed out.

Well, you will be today, Misty thought.

"I battle to grow and learn and grow closer to my Pokemon," Ash said as he glanced back at his Pokemon before adding, "even if there might be some setbacks along the way."

"Well spoken," Blaine agreed as he rubbed his hands with obvious relish at getting to battle again, "so I'm assuming you will be using your two Fire types again?"

They had figured out that was exactly what Blaine wanted them to do. Having to use Fire-types, where he clearly had the advantage in experience using them and with a gym setting that seemingly forced them to use just them was an added difficulty they didn't need. They had worked out how to fix both of those problems.

"Like I said, I battle partly to learn," Ash told him, "which is why I learned from our last battle that I can't allow you to be the one to dictate who I use in battle. The lava is indeed a threat, but I'm sure you would agree that being afraid of fire or lava in this case will only hold you back as will any fear that gets in the way of making a good decision. I won't make that mistake again."

Blaine nodded approvingly again and said, "I do believe we have a scholar here."

Ash however smiled and looked back at his Pokemon again and said, "No I just have some really smart Pokemon."

"Yeah, he does," Pikachu agreed happily.

"It's really a riddle, isn't it?" Venus observed, "I can't believe I didn't see it myself, but it's a riddle with more than one answer. The most obvious answer is the one that gives you a huge advantage, but it doesn't mean it's the only or best option."

"Very well then," Blaine agreed with approval as he pulled out a pokeball, "let's see if your solution works. Go Archie!"

Blaine's trusty Arcanine came out of his pokeball and looked at each one as if trying to decide who his opponent would be.

"I choose Misty!" Ash declared.

Misty proudly stepped forward. She had agreed to risk the lava but now no longer feared it thanks to their efforts to prepare.

Ash then pressed his Mega Ring and she found herself evolving. To her satisfaction, both Blaine and Archie looked surprised.

She gave them a smug grin and asked, "What's the matter? Ever seen a Mega Blastoise before?"

Before they could get over their surprise, Ash nodded at her to do what she needed to do while he distracted them a bit.

"I also learned another thing from our last battle," Ash observed, "while this is indeed inside a volcano, I also couldn't help but notice that this is still an island, an island also populated by hot springs. The heat from the water has to come from somewhere so I figured it has to come from-"

At that moment, Misty unleashed her attack, having spent the time concentrating and bringing up the water from underneath. With a massive roar, that water became a major geyser that she directed right at Archie.

Archie was blown off his feet from the water attack. The heat at least might not have been so bad…but then she followed up with an Ice Beam attack, failing to freeze the water, but definitely making the water very cold, making the damage done to Archie even greater.

"Get out of there Archie," Blaine told his Pokemon.

"Not so fast," Misty answered, letting loose another Surf using the water she had collected. He was fast but if she could just manage to… Yes! The blast of water nailed Archie causing him to crash into the wall again and then fall down onto the floor…this time he didn't get up."

The difference here and the last battle was staggering, she had easily defeated her opponent now that the right Pokemon using the right strategy was being used.

"I do believe that's one down," Misty said boldly, "who's next?"

"Good job," Blaine said before pulling out and sending out his next Pokemon which turned out to be something she had only seen pictures of.

"My Magmortar Maggie," Blaine said proudly as he looked at the hefty looking woman with cannons for fists, "isn't she beautiful?"

"Awww, thanks honey," Maggie said, "5 kids and 30 years and you still say that."

Still, Misty had to admit for her age, Maggie looked in really great shape. She was certainly younger than Blaine at probably around 50, but still she looked really strong and with that came a lot of experience with battling.

"Use Thunderbolt," Blaine told Maggie.

"Surf again," Ash told Misty.

Maggie's attack was just a bit faster, causing major supereffective damage to Misty, but did not have long before a wave of water hit Maggie.

It would come down to who was stronger, Misty realized. Also even if she was not strong enough, Ash would then have another Pokemon to use against an already weakened Maggie. Still she would prefer to win this one all by herself.

Finally two traded attacks later now very tired, but still fighting…

"Winner!" Delia proclaimed proudly as Maggie struggled to rise but then collapsed.

"We won, oh yeah, oh yeah," Pikachu said, doing a little dance surprisingly with Celebi, who was also doing a victory dance.

She likely would have joined in if she wasn't so tired from the battle.

"Good job," Blaine said as he came forward, "I do believe you've earned this." Ash was then handed the Volcano Badge, which he gratefully took.

At that, he and his Pokemon headed out.

"That's 6 badges now," Pikachu pointed out, looking over Ash's shoulder so she could look at the new badge.

At that, however Delia reached into her pocket and said, "Actually 7, I just got the Earth badge."

"How did you manage to get another badge in the time you were gone?" Venus asked curiously.

Delia looked a bit nervous, but then countered back, "Because I'm awesome that's why."

"I'm not going to argue with that," Jessie agreed as she gave Delia a pat on the back, "a badge is a badge."

"I still want to know how you got it," Venus inquired, not to be deterred.

Delia merely gave her a tight smile and said, "I met the gym leader of Viridian while here and he gave it to me after he said I earned it."

"You didn't have sex with him did you because if I was a guy I'd give you 10 badges for that," Jessie joked.

Delia blushed and said, "No, not that, I'd prefer not to be asked about it though."

Jessie merely shrugged and said, "Okay, nobody bother Delia about it, a badge is a badge and however she got it, it's awesome."

That was just fine with her, Misty thought, not even really having the energy to bother Delia even if she wanted to.

"You were pretty awesome yourself Jessie," Ash concluded, "Figuring out about that water and how to deal with Blaine was genius."

"Well it wouldn't have worked without Misty," Joy replied.

Misty smiled back at her in response for the praise before telling Joy would had solved another piece of the puzzle,

"Well Joy you finding out at the lab that lava's damage would be greatly weakened against water types like me certainly put me at ease battling."

"It was a team effort," Ash summed up, "also since we now apparently just earned two badges because you're all so awesome I do believe this calls for a celebration."

"What kind of celebration?" Pikachu asked with a wag of her tail.

"Sex hopefully," Jessie answered.

Personally Misty would have been fine with that.

"I was thinking more something we all could do," Ash said.

At that, Celebi smiled and said, "I do believe that is where I can help."

POKEMONPOKEMONPOKEMON

Fifteen minutes later found all of them walking into an all you can eat buffet. At seeing so many rather large Pokemon, you could actually see the staff practically turn green with worry at wondering just how much they could all eat.

Of course, Ash liked to think he could hold his own in an eating competition and he certainly wanted to try now.

However even if he was willing to eat the restaurant out of business, Celebi merely stepped forward and said, "I'd like the legendary special please."

Immediately out of thin air appeared a Pokemon dressed in a restaurant uniform who announced, "If you would come with me please."

The rest of the restaurant workers didn't even seem to notice as they walked through a door to the side and into what appeared to be another restaurant.

Only this one was much, much larger. No way it looked that big on the outside as the ceilings alone were 40 feet tall. He even chose to let Lugia out, who stretched out her wings and stood straight up and still there was tons of room left.

"Finally a room truly big enough for me," Lugia said as she sat down in a chair that was even big enough for her.

"What is this place?" Misty asked.

"It's a restaurant for legendaries," Celebi explained, "the truth is we- they like to eat just as much as anybody but of course with many legendaries being so big and simply being legendaries they can't just use any ordinary restaurant to eat. Of course they can get their own food, but like you all when you cook, that is time consuming and sometimes they just want to not have to worry about it and eat out. That's why we have a few places like this."

"Who is the chef?" Venus asked.

"Me," An obviously legendary Pokemon said, standing at over 12 feet tall and wearing a chef's uniform.

"I'm Regigigas," He claimed, sticking out a hand.

Ash took it, but it felt way too small in his huge hand. He also had a crushing grip that caused his hand to feel like it was being crushed into powder.

"Sorry," He apologized, shifting around a bit awkwardly.

From what Ash could tell, it appeared Regigigas was a bit…slow.

"I'll make you lots of grub," Regigigas said before shuffling away.

"Is he…?" Venus began to ask.

"Yeah, he's not exactly all that bright, no," Celebi was forced to admit, "really physically powerful, but he can't exactly take advantage of it as his brain isn't exactly at the same level as his body. That's why he's pretty much just stayed out of the action of being a legendary and instead just spends all of his time here cooking. It seems for some reason the only place he's really good and comfortable is the kitchen, and boy can he cook."

Only a few minutes later when they got their food, Ash had to agree with Celebi, Regigigas was an absolutely amazing cook and best of all, there seemed to be an endless supply of it. He dug in until he felt like he could practically burst with all of his Pokemon doing the same.

"There goes my girlish figure," Venus joked, who admittedly and certainly did not have a girlish figure anyway. Not that he minded

"How much is this even going to cost us anyway?" Pidgeblast asked worriedly, "I didn't see any prices."

"Legendaries don't really have any need for money," Celebi explained, "don't worry; I've already got exactly what Regigigas wants as payment."

After finishing, Celebi approached Regigigas and gave him a pretty pink flower.

"Thanks Celebi," Regigigas said, looking pleased before he walked away.

"A flower?" Delia asked in surprise.

"Hey flowers make great gifts," Venus argued, although admittedly a bit biased.

"Legendaries tend to want things that they can't easily get themselves," Celebi answered, "for Regigigas he can obtain and make as much food as he needs, but he likes pretty flowers, especially special ones like that one that can't be accidentally crushed or wilt because of him. To him it would be a great trade."

"I see," Ash observed as he loosened his pants to allow room for his stuffed stomach, "I should start collecting more of those flowers then."

Celebi just shook her head and said, "That was the only one I had left, and while normally I could just make more…"

She didn't need to finish as he put an arm around her for comfort which she gratefully accepted.

POKEMONPOKEMONPOKEMON

Rikey was not sure why she had been asked by Delia to help Ash in learning to use his Aura abilities, but she also didn't question it. In her experience, questioning things only created unwanted problems with your master.

So she approached Ash and told him her intent to help him. He looked surprised but accepted.

"Am I to assume you don't normally use it very often?" Rikey asked.

At that, Ash shifted a bit uncomfortably before admitting, "Well I have been using it for sex lately."

"Ah I see," Rikey observed, knowing full well what he meant, "I am familiar with that type of use."

Since aura use involved sensing and using emotions, thoughts, and feelings and also expressing and projecting it in an actual physical presence, it was actually great in using it to stimulate the heightened, sensitive sexual organs. She understood now one reason why sex could still be so enjoyable for the likes of Jessie and Lugia, who would feel perhaps even better than they would if Ash was big enough to fill them up.

"You are?" Ash inquired in surprise.

She just shrugged her shoulders and said, "Why do you think Riolu are in such demand as sex slaves?"

"I see," Ash observed slowly, "and you were forced to perform it on your master?"

"It was a way of life, I was used to it," She claimed, not at all bothered by the question, "I would be okay with performing it on you should you require it."

Ash just shook his head and said, "I think you should know by now that I'm not like your old masters, nor will I force you into anything. Really just anything that makes you happy."

The word happy struck a chord with her as she confessed, "I'm afraid happiness is something that will never be mine. I must merely accept my fate."

"That's no real way to live," Ash observed.

She swept her arms wide and commented, "I am a Riolu. We actually evolve due to happiness. Yet I will never evolve nor ever be anything more than anything I am right now because I will never be happy."

Ash seemed to think for a moment before observing, "I would have thought that you would at least be somewhat happy…being here with me."

She could sense his regret and sense of sadness and most uncharacteristically of her…she felt for him. He was definitely a good trainer, easily the best she had ever known, giving her hope that there were more truly good ones out there. She had watched him go through so much with his Pokemon and yet still persevere and still try to make his Pokemon happy including her. So yes, she was happy with him she decided.

"I…am happy with you," She declared finally.

It was not a big declaration, but it was a huge step for her.

He smiled and to her surprise he gave her a hug…which she actually returned which was even more surprising to her.

"I'm glad you're on my team," Ash told her.

She could have mentioned something negative, but instead just chose to hug him back for a while before she couldn't handle doing it anymore.

"All right, let's get back to work," She insisted as she brushed herself off, now trying to regain composure, "well it appears you seem to have at least a basic knowledge and use. Let's try to work off of that."

Just like with Misty, she had him meditate and concentrate on his inner self. He turned out to be very good and a quick study. Misty however chose more to work on being able to just use it as an attack, while Ash she felt could use learning the whole thing which would take a great deal longer.

"Try to read my thoughts," She explained as they sat across from each other, "concentrate on what I am thinking. Of course I do not expect you to succeed, it may take years before you-"

"I did it," Ash concluded with a smile, "you were thinking about what we're having for dinner."

Rikey was of course shocked that he picked even that up so quickly before praising him with, "good job."

Ash however was now curious as he asked, "can you read my mind then?"

"Only very simple stuff, nothing complex," She confessed, "my Aura abilities are still rather weak anyway in comparison to what a Lucario could, but I make do with what I can. From what little I've already been able to learn about you, your capabilities could very quickly surpass my own."

He thought that over for a moment before saying, "I think it's just easier for me because I already have a psychic link with Lugia."

"That may indeed be the case," Rikey agreed, "in which case you are very fortunate."

"I'm very fortunate to have such a link with Lugia," Ash replied, "it was interesting getting used to it at first, but I love it now, especially since she has to be gone so much due to her pregnancy."

"About how far along is she?" Rikey inquired.

She had noticed just how much Lugia was progressing, not at the rate that Pokemon's pregnancies normally went, but definitely faster than a human's.

"Joy seems to think she's just about halfway in her pregnancy," Ash admitted, "at this rate; she will probably deliver just before the Pokemon league."

"You might have her available to battle then," Rikey observed.

His eyes flashed for a second before he told her, "I'm more worried about Lugia. If I don't need to use her at all, I probably won't for her safety and allow her to recuperate."

Such a decision would have once seemed strange to her, but she had come to accept Ash simply wasn't like that. He put the needs of his Pokemon first above his own personal desires. She definitely admired him for it.

In order to not show exactly how she was feeling at that moment she followed up with asking, "So do you hope it is a boy or girl?"

"I don't care, as long as they are healthy," Ash answered, "Joy said we could probably find out soon if we want to. I think we probably will, I know Lugia is eager to find that out."

Rikey nodded and commented, "I'm sure you'll make a wonderful father."

Arceus, she was being overly sentimental today, she thought. Still it wasn't…so bad she decided.

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