I have always considered myself a rational thinker. Occasionally I make what some would consider an extreme decision, but it is always the right one given the circumstances. Anger inhibits rational thought, as such I seldom experience it. However, being created by humans also meant that it has been known to happen from time to time.
When Lilly confirmed with her own words what she had done, I felt a rage unlike anything else that came before it. I remember my vision turning blue in her house, the flashes of fear in her eyes even before she really saw how furious I was. The feeling consumed me like a fire, fueling my escape and leaving no room for second thoughts about what I did to her.
The entire exchange was eerily similar from when I escaped Giovanni's grasp the first time, with one or two stark differences. At that time I also left no room for second thoughts, but that state of mind came from a place of apathy. It is true that I trusted Giovanni, as I was new to the world and did not know any better. But when that moment came, severing that connection was easy as snapping my fingers.
This time around, I caught myself repeating the same phrase to myself:
She never cared about you.
After some time passed, I looked down and realized that I was flying over an ocean.
Good. I need to put as much distance between her and myself as possible.
I continued flying until my mind was absolutely numb, then I slammed into the midst of a dense forest. Massive trees and many Pokémon had made their homes there. I began to pace on my feet through the wilderness, not really seeing or hearing anything that was going on around me.
I had never experienced anger quite like this previously. At least when it was directed toward Giovanni and Team Rocket, I still felt calm and was also able to relish in taking my anger out on them. But threatening Lilly and destroying her house brought me no relief whatsoever; in fact, at that moment I truly felt as though I was about to explode. I needed to do something to release the intense energy I was feeling, but I did not know what that would be.
While I was distracted by these thoughts, I stumbled on a tree root.
I looked up and saw that its owner was a giant oak tree nearby, perhaps one of the oldest in that forest.
Without hesitation, I began pulling it from the ground using my psychic power. Its roots were holding fast, but I was not about to let that stop me from tearing it out. After about a minute of pulling and with a burst of soil, it finally ripped free from the earth. Victorious, I cried out and flung it against a nearby tree. I held it there for a moment before violently swinging my arms to the right and sending it smashing into another tree. My vision turned blue, and by then there was no more stopping me.
Again and again I growled and shouted as I sent the tree flying into other trees and rocks and the ground and whatever else was there. As I was throwing it about, I began to twist and turn my arms so that the tree creaked and groaned from the strain I forced it to bear. My heart pounded and my mind buzzed with the energy that consumed me. I wanted that tree to feel all the pain I was feeling in that moment.
I was not sure how much time passed as I took my rage out on the forest around me; it could have been hours, days even. I hardly noticed the Pokémon that were fleeing in all directions, terrified by the swift demolition of their homes. After one final scream and twist of my arms, I raised what was left of the tree high into the air before throwing it into the ground, sending up a massive cloud of dust. It was then that I fell to my knees, closed my eyes, and rested thereupon the earth, the fury finally drained from me.
I sat that way for a long time as I waited for the remnants of the buzzing in my head to finally cease. At last, my mind was clear, and my pulse slowed as I found my calm.
By the time I opened my eyes, the dust had completely settled; my own skin was covered in a thin layer of soil. There was a vast patch of open land in the middle of the dense forest. In the moonlight, the jagged stumps cast shadows where there were trees only minutes ago.
I stood up and strolled toward the remnants of the tree I used, dying in the field's center. It was twisted in ways that no tree could ever be on its own, completely broken and splintered. Thousands of leaves were scattered across the land, and the few branches that remained attached hung very loosely.
I ran my hand along the damaged trunk, feeling the sharp pieces of wood against my skin. The realization that I destroyed something perhaps much older than I would ever live to be was beginning to dawn on me.
Am I truly doomed to ruin everything I touch?
I sat down next to it, the broken wood scratching my back.
Was what happened . . . my fault? Am I to blame?
The tree, of course, didn't respond.
"No, do not let her get inside your head," I growled quietly, pressing my fingers to my temples.
"She is gone now."
The numbness was interrupted by what felt like a rock that formed in my chest. Startled, I touched it thinking that there really was something on top of me, but my hand only met clammy skin.
What is this?
The sensation was vaguely familiar, almost
Where have I felt this way before?
There was silence for a moment, soon broken by a gentle breeze that began to blow over the field and through the trees surrounding it. I sat there for a while, listening to the wind and mulling over what to do next. I no longer answered to any humans; I was free to choose, to live my life the way I wanted to once again.
Then . . . why did I react so viciously?
I closed my eyes again and breathed deeply, knowing what I had to do at that moment. I left the tree lying there and took off again into the night sky, flying south toward Hoenn.
Though I was able to think more clearly after that episode, I was beginning to grow increasingly angrier at myself for allowing this to happen in the first place.
How could I have let my guard down so easily? I should have known from the beginning that she never meant to help me.
And then I remembered the first night she found me, how she spent the next hours cleaning and dressing my wounds despite the resentment she felt toward me for hurting her and her Pokémon.
She had to ensure that I did not become ill and weak. Perhaps the price on my head would have dropped significantly, I thought to myself bitterly, shaking the previous memory out of my mind.
I finally arrived at where Ash should have first started his adventure in Hoenn: Petalburg City; I wanted him to hear what had happened from me first, rather than some lie from Lilly.
The sun was just beginning to lower in the sky here, but I knew in Kanto it was around the time that people would be waking up to begin their day. I pictured Lilly opening the door to my room as she always did and saying good morning—
Do not think about her.
I quickly cleared my head of the thought.
Trusting her nearly killed me. She is no longer of any importance.
I scanned the small town for any sign of Ash, but he appeared to have left the area roughly a day ago.
Due . . . west? Yes, certainly west.
I levitated once more and headed in that direction.
A short while later, his presence became clear. The sun was slowly setting over the mountains, turning the tall grasses golden and casting long shadows over the ground. I noticed the burnt spots on trees where some of Pikachu's electric had been discharged, and a single footprint in a mud puddle made by a shoe indicated that Ash had walked around there. I continued heading in the same direction, finally coming across the boy asleep under a tall pine tree. He was still with his Pikachu, but now a Treecko also rested by his side.
Asleep at this time of day? Some trainer you are.
Without hesitation, I hovered to Ash and repeatedly tapped him on his cap with a finger.
"Ash!" I said loudly.
He woke with a start, practically falling over. Pikachu squeaked and bolted upright, relaxing again once he realized it was me. But without missing a beat the Treecko bolted launched himself at me, smacking at my shoulder with small fists. Unabashed, I levitated him over by Ash, who finally sat up. He was looking at me with a half-asleep expression upon his face.
"Mewtwo? Whaaaaaat are you doing here?" he asked through a yawn.
I did not respond immediately because I was still distracted. The Treecko did not enjoy being suspended in the air; it screamed incessantly and swung its small arms about. I placed it in a maple tree nearby, from which he watched me with mistrusting yellow eyes.
Ash pushed himself to his feet, yawning again as he stretched his arms.
"Is Lilly here, too? She didn't tell me you guys were—"
"Ash, it was all a lie," I interrupted curtly.
"So . . . she's not here, then?" he asked, yawning yet again.
I put a hand to my forehead, annoyed at his oblivious attitude.
"Lilly never meant to protect me, she . . . she was going to sell me back to Team Rocket yesterday."
Ash's eyes widened and he choked on the air that he gasped, then closed his mouth and stared at me incredulously for a moment.
"Is this supposed to be a joke? Did I miss April Fool's day?"
"What is April Fool's day?"
Ash pinched his own cheek and asked, "Am I even . . . am I awake right now?"
"Yes Ash, you are," I replied, trying not to roll my eyes again.
"But," he said slowly, almost to himself, "she couldn't . . . she would never— "
"It almost happened! I arrived at home today . . . well, yesterday, and she left a note explaining that she was paid to keep me in one spot. I read it before she was able to flee the house, and . . ."
I trailed off in response to the face Ash was making. He was now staring at me with a look of utter bewilderment.
"Is there something you need me to clarify? I thought I was being clear enough."
Ash shook his head and said, "No, Mewtwo, you're making no sense! She would never, ever do anything like that— "
"Why do you not believe me? Do you actually trust her word over mine?"
I turned around, pacing for a moment, then came back and asked, "You do understand the gravity of this situation, yes?"
"I just . . . there's just no way—"
"She betrayed you, Ash! You were not there! You did not hear her say the things she said— "
"You're right, I don't understand. Lilly would never do something like that, she— "
"Enough!" I practically roared, pressing my hands to my temples again, "she does not, and she never did! Lilly was deceiving us this whole time!"
"But the story you're telling me isn't adding up. Have you thought about this at all instead of just getting angry?" Ash asked heatedly.
"Do you hear yourself? Whose side are you—"
I stopped, my heart dropping into my stomach, as humans say, at the thought I just had.
"You . . . did you conspire with her from the beginning?!"
"Really? You're just going to forget about everything I went through to protect you from Team Rocket?"
I glared back at him in defiance, though I could not help but feel somewhat relieved; I was desperately hoping that I was wrong.
"Let's think about this for a second," Ash said, taking a deep breath before continuing, "if Lilly really wanted to sell you back to the Rockets, which we both know she didn't, then why would she tell you that they were coming to get you?"
"She did not care about what happened to me," I said, my voice calmer, "she received the money and left a note explaining what she had done. I read it while she was upstairs gathering things with which to leave."
"Received the money? You mean . . . you really think they paid her?"
". . . Yes."
"Would Team Rocket actually trust a kid enough to pay them before they got what they wanted?" Ash asked me seriously.
"I . . . well . . . I suppose it would be . . . uncharacteristic of them," I admitted, avoiding his gaze.
"See? You know it's strange too," Ash murmured, looking past me as he thought.
"Well, they had to have been coming. What other reason would she have for writing that note? If she did not want me around, she could have just said that instead of putting us through this," I retorted.
"You keep saying she wrote a note, but did she say anything about them coming?"
I paused for a moment, trying to remember through the intense anger I was feeling at the time I found out.
"She said . . . she needed the money to start over in a new region," I recalled, "but . . . she would not say anything else. And I was barred from reading her mind," I added quietly.
"Wait . . . how did she—"
"Lilly has been able to create a barrier on her skin that burns those who touch her, but she figured out how to do it with her mind as well. She said very little, and when I tried to get more information . . . she resorted to that."
Ash grew quiet as he continued to think, his eyes narrowing as time passed.
"Mewtwo . . . something about this feels very wrong."
He got to his feet and continued, "I don't know why she did any of those things, but she must have had a good reason. And you're taking me to Kanto right now to ask why."
"Have you lost your mind? Why would we go back to the person who— "
"I need to talk to her about this myself, Mewtwo," he said, picking up his backpack.
"Why not message her with your technology? That would be faster than traveling there."
"That's another thing, I'm even more worried because she hasn't been answering her Pokénav."
"Perhaps because she really is guilty?"
Ash shook his head irritably, "No, my texts and calls are just being ignored. She would have just blocked me if she didn't want to talk to me."
"Blocked? Being 'blocked' means she does not wish to talk?"
"Yeah, and she never just ignores me for this long," he continued, "so she might have broken hers, or something worse might have happened. We won't know until we go find out for ourselves."
I pondered this as Ash back at the tree and waved his hand, saying, "Come on, Treecko, get into the Pokéball."
The Treecko obeyed Ash and scrambled down from the tree. Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder and looked at me expectantly.
"And what makes you think I will comply with your demands?" I asked, folding my arms over my chest.
"The whole situation is fishy, there has to be something we're missing. I know you can sense it too, but you're too proud to admit it."
"I will . . . allow for the possibility of there being more than I initially thought to the situation, however that does not explain why I must accompany—"
"And you need her, even if you won't say that either," Ash added.
I looked back at him and opened my mouth to retort, but after a moment I let out a sigh. I shook my head and said, "Very well, but I do not want you to be disappointed when you hear what she has to say."
Ash grabbed my arm, and I teleported with him and Pikachu back to Pallet Town.