A Prisoner in his Own Mind

'Well thanks for the help everybody!' Ash said while collecting the photos and books from everyone (whose faces were no longer in clear view), stacking them on the coffee table in front of him. 'Thanks to these, I've taken enough trips down Memory Lane to put together the perfect Team of Six...'

"Pause," A deep voice said. The room and its inhabitants froze, as a new figure entered the scene. With a drink in his hand, he took a sip, approaching the frozen Ash Ketchum. "What team does he have in mind Mewtwo?"

'Master,' The Shadow Mewtwo said, kneeling on the floor projecting this vision of Ash. 'The boy is bringing his Greninja, the Charizard, the Incineroar, the Venusaur, the Darkrai and… his Pikachu.'

"Most intriguing," Giovanni said, swirling his drink. "He spends months collecting Legendary Pokemon of his own, yet he is only bringing one into battle with me… Intriguing it isn't the Melmetal either. That thing is a true enigma..."

'What are we to make of his Pikachu, Master?' The corrupted Psychic-type said. 'They appear to have put all past animosities aside and-'

"You must take me for some kind of fool then," The Rocket Boss said, turning towards the Legendary Pokemon. "I have followed this boy very closely for many years, manipulating his timeline so this very Prophecy would not have to happen. In an attempt to turn his own friends against him, I only made him go down this path of righteousness. If anything, this error of mine has prepared him for our very battle. My greatest failure in life is that I have been unable to defeat him sooner… I have seen enough!"

Mewtwo rose up from the ground, destroying the Psychic projection into Ash's mind. The room that Giovanni and Shadow Mewtwo stood in soon reverted back to Giovanni's Office on board the Rocket Freighter. Walking over to his desk, which was revealed to have a Persian sleeping in the chair behind it, Giovanni pressed down on a button on his desk, speaking into an intercom.

"I would like a team of our Reconnaissance Agents dispatched to the Vermillion City Penitentiary. It is time we break our old accomplice Tobias out of the chains that bind him," Giovanni said. "I would also like you to prepare my personal team of Pokemon, Codename: Epsilon Five."

"Right," The female voice on the other end said. "You're Pokemon will be primed and ready for your battle in a few days, and our dispatch shall break Tobias out in say… 25 minutes."

"Thank you Arianna," Giovanni said, before taking his button off the intercom. "It pays to have good help."

'Tobias,' The Black Mewtwo said to itself in its mind. 'Why was that name so familiar?'

"You see Mewtwo," GIovanni said. "My fatal flaw is that I am often too sure of myself, and at the end of the day my victories are undermined because of it. It all started when that punk 10 year old Red-"

'Red?' Mewtwo said in its mind, without interrupting Giovanni. 'Who is Red?'

"-defeated me in my own gym!" Giovanni continued. "I was so sure of victory… that my first Rocket Empire fell to its knees because of it. I was so sure Tobias and his Darkrai's insanity would be enough to overwhelm him-"

'Darkrai!'

Mewtwo closed its eyes, as the mental image of it fighting against Darkrai popped into its mind. But rather than fighting alongside Giovanni, he was fighting with Ash. For a moment, Mewtwo felt as if it had broken free from the dark clutches of its mind.

'What is this feeling…' The Legendary said in its own inner monologue once more. 'I have felt it once before… when I hurt that girl…' This feeling passed however, how all memories of Ash left its thoughts, as an intense wailing noise filled its head.

"I was even confident enough MY Mewtwo's abilities to put an end to the boy, but destiny still prevented that from happening. But alas, now you have been placed on my doorstep!" Giovanni said, extending his arms outwards towards Mewtwo. "With the Dark Aura of the Distortion World flowing through you, I have become the most dominant force in the Multiverse!"

'Yes, my Master,' The Shadow Mewtwo said bowing its head forwards. 'With the aid of Tobias at our final battle, Ash Ketchum shall be no more.'

Author's Note: May was right! It seems like the old Mewtwo is still inside the dark depths of its mind! Will he be able to break free, or will he aid Giovanni in his plot of ridding the world of Ash Ketchum? Find out as their epic clash draws even closer!

-Kid Arceus