(A/N) Happy All-Star weekend to everyone that cares, and to those who don't, uh... happy regular weekend!
Anyway! It just so happens that my reading week starts as of today, so it wouldn't be crazy to expect a couple of chapter updates within the next seven days.
As for the purpose of this story, and why I'm updating this instead of any of my other stories that haven't gotten any love since last year... I mean, Pokémon's pretty cool, innit?
Lol.
Seriously, though. Pokémon's cool. Cynthia's cool. Red's... the guy doesn't say much, but I guess he's cool too. The point is, the idea of a young Cynthia who's still getting used to her role as Champion going on adventures just sounds fun to me, somehow.
Please enjoy, and expect updates on stories you actually care about soon.
X
The early morning hours of Kanto were a sight to behold, the first rays of sun casting a beautiful flame of light across everything they touched. Of course, Viridian City was no exception to this.
Sinnoh's champion definitely appreciated this, as the odds of finding any trace of natural light at six-thirty back home were slim at best.
Ever the pragmatist, she chose to take advantage of her environment while their group stopped here for the night. Blue was insistent that they did, saying that he had tools that would prove invaluable to them on their quest.
"Again."
Garchomp –a strong-looking specimen– ran towards a weighted pylon planted some thirty meters away. Despite the speed it built up, the Pokémon was still able to stop and twist around it on a dime, finally stopping at a marker cone near to where it started.
Cynthia checked the stopwatch she had in hand and wrote the number on her clipboard. Garchomp waited for further instructions, a little out of breath.
"That was your best time this week. Good job."
Garchomp expressed its satisfaction with a soft cry.
The pair had been repeating the same circuit for the past hour in an attempt to better the Dragon-Type's agility. That was discounting the various other drills the girl put Garchomp through since the crack of dawn.
"That's all for today, girl." The Sinnoh champion approached her Pokémon and took off the heart rate monitor attached to its wing. She wrote down the numbers next to the time of completion.
Returning the exhausted creature to its Pokéball, she sighed. The training field she was in, while small enough to fit on the property of the Pokémon Center, was spread out enough for it to take a while for her to collect all the equipment she'd set out.
"Maybe this was a little much," she mumbled to herself, crouching to grab the marker cones strewn about.
"I'd say," agreed Red, who'd just come out of the very same Pokémon Center looking haggard. He glanced pointedly at the pylons, markers, high-beams and various other structures that were set from one end of the field to the other. "Where did you even get all of this?"
"They're rentals," she answered. "You can pick them up at the front desk."
Red made a mental count of how much that would cost her, considering just how much she brought. He quickly decided that her money wasn't his problem, though he still wondered what it was all for.
"Is this all… necessary?" he asked, not knowing himself if he was referring to the training regimen or the material costs of doing so.
"Of course." Somehow, she managed to sound both cool as a cucumber and insulted at the same time. "As champion, I must maintain a certain standard. To do that, my team and I work as hard as we can, whenever we can. Money is no object. I would've thought you'd get that, being a Champion yourself."
The Kanto trainer grimaced. They may have sorted out their differences caused by misunderstanding, but that didn't change the fact that they started off on the wrong foot. There were still disagreements to be had between them.
"Of course we work hard," he affirmed, Pikachu nodding along on his shoulder. "It's just that we don't need all that extra stuff."
Cynthia didn't like that answer. "Extra stuff?" she parroted.
"Are you two really arguing right now?"
Approaching them with a frustrated flare to his nostrils was Blue. He didn't look like he started the day in a good mood.
"Blue," Red nodded, acting as if nothing happened. "You're done already?" Checking the clock on the back of his Pokégear, he added, "It's not even eight yet."
"That didn't take long. I thought you said you'd be finished by noon at the earliest," added Cynthia.
"Yeah, well… I didn't so much 'finish' as I did 'drop everything I was doing to come and get you'," was the Gym Leader's awkward reply.
"What? Why, what's wrong?"
"I found more Team Rocket stuff."
"Is that so much of a big deal?" Red didn't sound too worried. "I mean, you find their 'leftovers' every other week."
Cynthia was considerably more worried than Red. "Hold on, did you just say Team Rocket? The criminal organization?"
It was the Kanto Champion who answered her. "I'm sure you know, but Team Rocket had been really active in the Kanto region until they were disbanded." She nodded, so he continued, "Well, the thing is, their boss was the city's Gym Leader."
The blonde's eyes widened. "What?"
"Yeah, thankfully that was taken care of," chipped in Blue, trying to lighten the mood. "Every now and then, we find some old trinket of theirs stashed away."
Cynthia relaxed considerably. "Red's right, then. That doesn't sound like anything too urgent."
Blue's eyes hardened. "Usually, I'd agree. However… it seems that we aren't the only ones hunting our fairy tale friend."
Nothing else needed to be said. The two Champions followed him with haste.
X
Blue led them straight to the administrative space near the back of the building.
Red looked around, seeing all the papers either stacked neatly in piles or organized and sectioned into folders. "I'm surprised you know where this place is, let alone use it."
"Har, har," was the dry response to the jab. "Just shut up and follow me."
To both Cynthia and Red's surprise, a stairwell revealed itself when the Gym Leader pushed the office desk to the side.
"How long has that been there?" asked Pikachu's current mount.
"No clue. I accidentally came across it for the first time a few hours ago. You're gonna wanna see this."
The stairwell itself led to a long tunnel passage. It was well lit, had a tile floor and brick walls. A permanent base, most likely.
Red and Cynthia stared in awe when they reached the end of the path. it was a large, circular room with high tech equipment throughout. In the center lay a cubic vault, the door left wide open.
"This was here the whole time?" asked Red in disbelief.
"Yeah. With all these lights and machines, it's no wonder my electricity bill is so high," joked Blue. "But that's not why I called you here. Check this."
He brought them into the vault. The only thing left in it was an inconspicuous filing cabinet.
One of the drawers was already open. Blue took out a plain white ring binder with two words and a number written on it in marker.
Mew 2 Project.
Speechless, Red took the binder from his hands. The documents were numerous, so he went straight to the bookmarked sections to hurry things along.
July 12th
Purchase of Specimen A was successful. Executives (redacted) have recruited Dr. Fuji of Cinnabar Labs to lead the project. Agreed payment is (redacted).
July 21st
The Guyana research team has been forcefully disbanded upon confirmation of delivery of Specimen A. Executive (redacted) and officer (redacted) have been dispatched to silence any individuals aware of Specimen A's existence. Methods have been left to their discretion.
August 23rd
Dr. Fuji has contacted (redacted). Initial attempts have failed. Trials 1, 2, 3 did not survive. Dr. Fuji requests additional funding.
September 7th
Funds in the amount of (redacted) have been processed. Officer (redacted) has been dispatched to oversee the remainder of the project.
November 30th
Dr. Fuji has contacted (redacted). Trials 4 through 18 did not survive. Trial 19 was successful. Authorization to proceed with Specimen A will be processed within 24 hours.
January 14th
Dr. Fuji has completed the procedure on Specimen A successfully. Specimen A-1 has been incubated.
February 5th
Specimen A has disappeared. All investigations are inconclusive thus far.
February 6th
Specimen A-1 is born. Dr. Fuji has named it Mewtwo.
September 1st
(redacted)
…
"This…" Red muttered. His words were barely coherent, sounding more like grunts.
"Well? What is it?" asked Cynthia impatiently.
He handed her the folder. Both men watched her eyes widen more and more as time passed.
"This 'Specimen A' that's mentioned… could it be–"
"Mew? I would guess so," Blue interrupted her. "And that would make Mewtwo the Pokémon in Cerulean."
"That's…" started Red. What did he want to say? Bad? Worrisome?
"Incredible!" shouted the Sinnoh native. "Team Rocket did it, then. They found a Legendary. We have to capture it!"
"I don't think you get it." Red frowned. "We're dealing with a creature made by terrorists."
"I'd say it's you who doesn't get it," Cynthia replied heatedly. "To a mythologist and historian such as myself, this is the discovery of the century– maybe even ever. If we can prove without a shadow of a doubt that Legendary Pokémon are real, then countless long-standing theories will be validated! We should be willing to sacrifice anything and everything to see to that being done."
"I think you're crazy," was Red's incredulous reply.
"Enough! Both of you," –Blue gripped both of their shoulders before they could say anything else– "need to chill out. This is a seriously huge problem now, and we can't be arguing about petty shit like this."
The Gym Leader shot his League's Champion a glare. "I would think you'd know that better than me."
Red met Blue's glare for a moment but quickly turned away with a sigh. "Sorry, all of this is just a little…" he trailed off. The cap-wearing boy surprised Cynthia by bowing in her direction. "I spoke without thinking. It won't happen again."
"Yeah… so did I," she followed his example, though it was more reactionary in nature.
"Well, that was a piss-poor reconciliation if I've ever heard one, but it'll do. Now. Who's getting us the ferry tickets to Cinnabar?"
"Huh?"
"What?"
The two champions stared at the Gym Leader dumbly.
"Come on, now," he whined. "It's pretty obvious, isn't it? We gotta go to the lab!"
"And what, we're going to search the entire island to find it?" Red wasn't impressed with the plan. "We're running out of time."
"Hm." The blonde nodded in agreement.
"Seriously? You're okay with fighting a manmade super-Pokémon without even knowing what's up with it? It won't even take that long! We go down to Pallet, take the ferry there, and when we're done we can take the ferry again all the way to Vermillion! That's practically two seconds away from Cerulean! What's the big deal? " Blue was quickly getting frustrated. The situation weighed heavily on all of their minds.
"I'm the Champion. I can't just leave, no matter how good my reason is. If this… Mewtwo attacks while we're on Cinnabar, who's going to stop it? Misty?"
Cynthia crossed her arms, falling deep into thought.
Red was right. A Champion's responsibility is to the region they're in charge of. That was something she knew, but it had never occurred to her what that really meant before now. She felt like she was shackled by her new position, but originally she'd attributed that to a period of adjustment. It was sobering to hear words like that from someone who'd been doing it for years.
"Fine! You two go then, and I'll shack up at Misty's Gym 'till you get back. If anything happens, she'll have me to back her up."
"Will two Gym Leaders be enough?" spoke Cynthia before she could think. She quickly amended, "I mean do disrespect, but–"
Blue waved it off. "I get it, really I do. The difference between a Gym Leader and a Champion isn't anything to scoff at, but you don't need to worry."
"Yeah. Blue was the Champion before me, after all," added Red.
Cynthia's eyes widened almost imperceptibly. Her outward reaction hid her surprise well. "I see. We'll leave you to it."
The ex-Champion frowned. "All that being said, move fast. Misty and I will hold it off, but I don't think any of us truly understand what our true 'worst-case scenario' is."
"Alright." Red reached to grab Charizard's Pokéball, but Blue held his arm.
"Don't waste any time or energy getting there. Take the convertible."
"Are you sure? I know you don't like other people driving that thing."
Instead of replying, Blue placed a set of keys in the Champion's palm. "You're right. I don't."
Nothing else needed to be said. The three made their way to the garage at the back of the gym. A tarp covered their designated form of transportation, which Blue pulled off in a single swipe.
Cynthia couldn't say that she knew much about cars, but she could definitely admire the beauty of the one before her. It was a few years old, to be sure, but its condition was excellent. It was covered in a glossy red paint job that didn't sport a single scratch.
Its owner sent them off with a parting message. "Treat my baby well, will ya? And one last thing…"
He tossed a briefcase into Cynthia's arms.
"You might need this."
Curious, the blonde opened it.
Her eyes widened.
"This is–"
"Hm?" Red came up behind her and quickly matched her expression. "How did you even get these?"
The brunette laughed. "My last name is still Oak, you know?"
"Is this what you came to get? Won't you need these more than we will?"
He shrugged. "Hey, who knows? They're experimental, so they might not ever work on something like a pissed off Mew clone. Don't sweat it though. I have a couple on me."
There wasn't any more time for chitchat. He made a show of pushing them into the car. "No hurry up and go! Anything you can find out about Mewtwo and 'Specimen A' could potentially save our asses."
"Assuming you still have one when we get back."
Red's comment wasn't appreciated, if being shoved over the door was any indication.
X
The Champions sat in the car silently, the Kanto representative flooring it the whole way back to Pallet Town.
Cynthia had her eyes fixed on the briefcase held on her lap.
In her possession was one of the most closely guarded projects in the entire country. Knowledge of its existence was kept to a strictly need-to-know basis, considering the only reason she recognized it was because she had taken over the position of Sinnoh Champion.
It would be a tool that revolutionizes the dynamic between people and Pokémon. Incidents resulting in trainer deaths would decrease by eighty percent –if the R&D team was to be believed– as unsuccessful captures of more powerful Pokémon would no longer occur.
The new-age Pokéball was dubbed the Masterball.
The reasoning behind the naming convention was that the tool emulated the effective capture rate of a Pokémon Master; an individual who sits at the top of the Pokémon League.
It made sense that if anyone were able to get a hold of a Masterball –let alone five of them– it would be the only active League official with a family relation to the country's Master.
Kanto, Oblivia, Almia, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh. The Pokémon League and its Champions did a formidable job of keeping the regions in check, but it was none other than Samuel Oak who held the sole responsibility of looking after all of it. It was no wonder that he was held in such high regard.
Eventually, Cynthia broke the silence. "We have three of the five Masterballs with us. Was it wise of Blue to only take two for himself?"
Keeping his eyes on the road, Red answered, "We won't know until this is all over. Blue and Misty are dealing with a precarious situation, but at the very least they know what to expect. We don't know what we're going to find in that lab."
"Could it be anything worse than a mutated Legendary Pokémon?"
"…I hope not."
Pikachu jumped on to its trainer's shoulder from the back seat.
"Pika, Pikapi!"
Red suddenly slammed the breaks and swerved to the other side of the road. The tires sliding against the dirt road formed a cloud of dust that obscured the path ahead.
Cynthia was about to scream at him for driving recklessly until she saw movement within the dust cloud. All three passengers threw themselves out of the car, and not a moment too soon.
BOOM
A speeding ball of flames slammed into the vehicle, exploding the moment it made contact. There was nothing left save for scraps of metal.
Red and Cynthia looked at each other, cold sweat running down their spines. They had nearly died.
The smoke cleared, revealing two individuals, dressed head to toe in black. They stood behind a raging, six-foot-tall fire-type Pokémon, its smoking arms held out before it. It was likely the perpetrator.
A Magmortar.
"Oh? They lived," spoke one of the pair– a strangely groomed purple-haired man. His lax body language spoke volumes of his indifference either way.
"It seems so." His partner –a pink-haired woman– scoffed.
"Magmortar!" she ordered, nearly screaming. "Trespassers!"
The one word was all it needed to hear. The blast Pokémon planted both feet firmly on the ground, its arm-cannons glowing a bright red.
Pikachu reacted without instruction. Like a bolt of lightning, it catapulted itself into Magmortar's stomach. Unlike with a regular Tackle attack, Pikachu's electric typing made a show of lighting up its target with millions of volts.
The enemy Pokémon's attack was interrupted. Its body was sent careening backwards, almost toppling on top of the woman commanding it.
"Magmortar!?– You!" she pointed at the Champion duo. "Who are you?""
The blonde was about to speak up, but her road trip companion held her back.
He had just noticed the bold letter "R" embroidered onto the front of their uniform.
"That's none of your concern," replied Red, not wanting to tip off any Rocket splinter cell of their presence. "On the other hand, I'd love to know why you're attacking an innocent pair on their way back home."
"Nothin' personal, kiddies," spoke the man lackadaisically. "Order's from up top, 'n all. No one gets to Pallet Town right now."
His partner glared at him.
"Oh. I said too much, so please forget all that."
Red had to physically hold himself back from reacting. What was Team Rocket doing near Pallet? Weren't they disbanded?
"Enough of this! We take them out, right now!" screamed the Rocket woman again, though this time the order was directed at her partner.
"Damn you're loud," he spat back, though the Pokéball in his hand spoke volumes of his intentions. Before he released the creature inside, however, he paused and took a good look at the Pikachu and its trainer. The Pokéball was immediately put away and replaced by a different one, coloured an odd black rather than the traditional red and white.
He summoned a veritable beast of a creature before him. It was a large, draconic Pokémon with heads for arms.
"Petrel… do you really have to use that thing? HQ already gave us a Magmortar, so I don't think a couple of kids from Kanto will put up a fight. Just bring out a Weezi–"
The Team Rocket member– Petrel, as his partner called him– dropped any preconception of being an easy-going individual. He grabbed her by the shoulder hard enough to elicit a gasp of pain.
"The situation just got a little more serious, I'm afraid. I'm all for messin' around with my subordinates, but you'll call me Executive Petrel when circumstance demands it, am I clear?"
She nodded, the fear in her eyes as clear as day.
Both Cynthia and Red caught on immediately. Contrary to what they had first believed, it wasn't the woman who was in charge. It was the man– Petrel.
"Allow us to ask, then," Cynthia posed cordially in spite of the imminent chaos. "What are you doing in Pallet Town?"
The answer wasn't one they wanted to hear.
"Hydreigon. Draco Meteor."
Little comets of dragon-type energy carpet-bombed the ground where the Champions stood. It was only thanks to a pair of well-timed Iron Tail attacks that the two got out unscathed.
"Tch. That Pikachu really is quick. No wonder you are who you are, Mister Champion."
The Rocket woman was shocked. "Wait! Then he's–"
"Yes. Pokémon Champion Red. Alert HQ, we're pulling out. I'm not getting sandwiched between the Kanto Champion and the League Master."
Red clicked his tongue. It was bad enough that Team Rocket was still around, but it would be worse if they'd be purposely tiptoeing around him from now on.
Actually, that was the best-case scenario. It was just as probable that they would take out all the stops and bring the whole organization down on him.
Yes, he was able to take them out almost single-handedly before, but never let it be said that it was a head-to-head contest of strength. He won because they underestimated him and they were unprepared.
They wouldn't make the same mistake twice.
"Cynthia, we need to stop her from leaving."
She understood the gist of things, so she didn't bother questioning him. "Garchomp and I will keep her still, then."
Red nodded her way. "Pikachu, we're taking out the dragon-type."
With a single jump, the electric mouse joined the Hydreigon in the air.
"Pika!" it exhaled, twisting its body around to fling an Electro Ball right into the Rocket Pokémon's face.
Unfortunately, it was not to be. The Hydreigon was able to shoot out another Draco Meteor from its hands, forcing Pikachu to use the Electro Ball to intercept rather than attack.
Red frowned. Pikachu was a special case –having been subjected to countless battles– but it was otherwise uncommon for a Pokémon to move so effectively without the instruction of its trainer. It was a problem for them now, particularly because the enemy Pokémon would be able to fire another Draco Meteor faster than Pickachu could close the gap between them.
Change of plans, then.
"Thunder, Pikachu."
Petrel's eyes widened. "Find cover!"
The airborne creature didn't have the time. A devastating lightning strike came down, slamming it firmly into the ground.
Red looked to where Cynthia's Garchomp was holding up the Magmortar. She didn't seem to be having any problems, but it was better to be safe than sorry.
"Pikachu, go help–"
"Look out!"
He heard Cynthia's warning, but he didn't have the time to react. One of Hydreigon's heads came from behind him and bit into his shoulder.
"ARHG!"
His cry of pain was heard loud and clear. The Team Rocket woman smirked, thinking that her escape was all but assured with the Champion –the main threat– being taken out. The girl she was fighting was surprisingly strong, but nothing that Magmortar–
Like a pile driver, Garchomp's Giga Impact practically buried the Blast Pokémon. It was out like a light before it knew what was happening.
"You idiot!" yelled Petrel. "Don't underestimate the blondie!"
Too late.
Garchomp was already chasing after the Hydreigon. Two Giga Impact attacks met head to head.
Red, as injured as he was, wasn't out of it yet. He'd underestimated the Hydreigon's ability to take a hit once, but he wouldn't a second time. While the creature was distracted, he called out to the distraught Pikachu at his side, "End it now!"
Nothing more needed to be said. It used the same Tackle attack variant that it used earlier –the Volt Tackle– and slammed right into the side of the Rocket's unaware Pokémon.
The force behind the blow wasn't at all comparable to the first. Every step the tiny creature took shattered the ground below by stray currents. The energy coursing through it was simply too strong to contain.
The Hydreigon nearly folded in on itself.
Petrel clicked his tongue, returning the crumpled mess of a dragon to its Pokéball. He could tell immediately that it wouldn't be getting up from a hit like that. "You know? It's kind of a bother to have so many scary-strong people hovering around the gate points. Please do take your time recovering from Hydreigon's little gift, 'cuz I'd rather have to deal with you… later than sooner, I guess?"
"You bas–"
Red's retort was cut short by a grunt of pain. He lost all feeling in his legs, and it was only the quick hands of Cynthia catching him that preventing his unceremonious drop to the dirt.
No good… he was losing too much blood. She would have to make sure that he was alright, but it would have to wait until after she got the answers they needed.
The Sinnoh Champion grit her teeth. She hated this "road trip" already.
"Gate points? What are you talking about?"
Petrel scratched his goatee absentmindedly. "Did I say too much again? Damn, that's a pretty bad habit, isn't it? Oh well. Not that it'll do 'ya any good. We'll be off now."
"You think we'll just let you leave?"
Garchomp showcased its acceleration splendidly, getting up into the Team Rocket Executive's face in a blink of an eye, though it wasn't able to do anything other than that.
"Easy, now!" tutted the purple-haired man, having released five Weezing to surround the Mach Pokémon. "You might be able to trap me eventually, but I promise I won't make it easy for ya! Besides, Mister Champion isn't doing so hot right now."
The blonde looked down at her charge and grimaced. He made a fair point.
"Don't worry about me!" growled Red. "You can't let them contact their headquarters!"
"Too late!" the Executive singsonged. He pointed to where his partner stood– rather, where she once stood. All that remained further down the destroyed road was an empty crater.
He grinned, walking away knowing that they wouldn't pursue.
In the aftermath of their failure, they were left alone.
"…Bring out Charizard. I'll help strap you to its back," was all Cynthia felt she could say.
They hadn't even made it to Pallet Town yet –let alone Cinnabar– and things had already gone to shit. Would it have gone differently if Blue had come with them? Would they have been better off if they hadn't come here in the first place?"
"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let my guard down like that."
No, he shouldn't have. What's done is done, however, and they could only trust that any time they lost getting Red medical treatment wouldn't cost them too much in the long run.
From the corner of her eye, she saw the smouldering death trap that was once a shiny red convertible.
"Blue has insurance, right?"
Red's face grew even paler.
