Chapter 31
"Destiny"
"Pikachu," suggested Pikachu.
'Let's go for a walk.'
"…Pika," I shrugged.
'…Why not.'
"Persian, persian, per…?" Persian added with a grin.
'Yeah, when was the last time you got a little fresh air, Ash…?'
They took me outside. It had been a few days since the Team Rockets had come. I guess they decided not to worry about them anymore…Persian had started leaving less often and even spent a few nights over…I think they took me outside because they didn't want me to stay inside and just try to avoid the humans…I could understand them a little more now, and I could even speak a little of their language, but I still preferred the Pokémon over the humans.
It was nice outside, I guess. There was a small breeze, and it wasn't very cloudy. The Pokémon were enjoying it at least…I was too busy looking around to pay attention to them. I had only been out here once before, and that was just coming from the hospital…The sky was very bright…very blue…and there was a little gray, but not much. Across the yard was a thin forest. Something strange was in it…Before I could tell the Pokémon, the strange things jumped out.
"Pika pi ka!!" Pikachu shouted in alarm.
'Team Rocket!!'
The two humans started saying stuff that was hard to understand, but the Meowth stopped them. It yelled at them then it turned to us.
"Ash is coming with us!" it said.
I blinked in confusion.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu replied.
'No he's not!'
"We have ------ ---- the ----!" Meowth said.
Persian stepped forward.
"Persiiann…Persiiann…"
'Well, I won't let you take him…'
Meowth sneered.
"The ---- has ------- you, Persi. Now, you're just a -------."
"Pikapi?" I asked.
'What's that mean?'
"…Pikaaa…"
'…Means Persian's not on Team Rocket anymore…'
That confused me even more.
"Pikachu…Pika?"
'But I thought those guys were Team Rocket…not Persian?'
Pikachu didn't answer me.
Persian growled at Meowth.
"…Perrrrsiannn…Persian…Perrrr…"
'…Master would never do that…Master is my friend…Not you…'
"…Pikachu…?" I asked.
'…What are they talking about…?'
Pikachu just shook its head.
"The ------ wants to see you too…" Meowth told Persian, "He says you two have a lot to talk about…"
Persian growled. I saw its claws slip out and it started scratching the ground.
"Perrrrrsiann…Perrr…"
'Be careful what you wish for Meowth…I might have to get revenge…'
"Meowth!" the human with the big hair said, "Hurry up! We don't have all day!"
Meowth growled at Persian.
"You're just -------, ------- I'm ------- the top cat again!"
Persian couldn't take it anymore. It jumped onto Meowth, scratching and biting furiously.
"Meowth!" the two humans gasped.
They each took out two Pokéballs and threw them. Four Pokémon appeared. I listened to what they said to figure out their names.
"Arrbok!"
"We-eezing!"
"Lickii!"
"TREEEE!!!!"
These Pokémon did not look friendly.
"Pi…Pikachu?" I asked.
'Uh…What are they doing?'
Instead of answering, Pikachu took off its belt, held it in its paws, and then whipped it across the ground. As it hit, the Pokéballs on it opened up and unleashed four more Pokémon.
"Bulbasauurrr!"
"S-quirtle!"
"Pidgeootto!"
"Sssandslash!"
Pikachu coiled the belt and took off its hat. Then it handed them to me.
"Pika."
'Here.'
"Pi…kachu…"
'Um…Okay…'
I had no idea what was going on, so I decided to let everyone else work it out.
Meowth finally broke free of Persian's wrath and stood exhausted next to the two humans.
"We're…-----------…" it panted.
"How ----," the blue-haired one said.
"I think we can ---- the ----…" said the one with big hair, taking out a Pokéball, "Charizard! Go!"
She threw the Pokéball into the grass, and a large, orange Pokémon with wings and a burning tail appeared. When it roared, fire burst from its mouth into the sky.
Charizard…
…Why do I feel like I've seen it before…?
When it was done flaming, it looked down towards me. I stared into its eyes, ignoring the battle between us, awed by the familiarity of it…
Why? Why is it so familiar?
"Charizard!" shouted the girl, "The ---- wants us to bring back Ash and Persian! Do it!"
What…?
With a loud cry, Charizard flew into the air. It looked over the battle briefly, then dove down and grabbed Persian in it claws. Persian howled in surprise, but it recovered pretty quickly.
"Persian!! Pe-errr!"
'Ash!! Run for it!'
"Per!?"
'What!?'
"Piikachu!"
'Run!'
Pikachu broke out of battle and ran towards me. Charizard was zooming in pretty fast. I glanced from one to another, not sure what to do.
"Zzaarrrd!!!"
"SIIIAANN!"
I think Persian tried to stop Charizard, but it didn't work, because it reached out and grabbed me too.
"PIKAPII!!"
"ASH!!'
Pikachu made a huge jump and grabbed onto Charizard. Seconds later, we were flying over the city.
"Pika!!" I said.
'I don't like it up here!!'
Sparks of electricity flew from Pikachu's cheeks.
"Persian!!" Persian cried, "Pe-errrsian!"
'Wait!! If you shock Charizard, we'll all fall!'
"Pika…chu…"
'Yeah…you're right…'
"Charrr…"
'Uh-huh…'
Trying to ignore how very high up we were, I stared at Charizard. I was a lot closer now, and I still couldn't shake off the feeling that I ought to know this Charizard very well…
"…Pikachu?" I asked.
'…Where are we going?'
"…Charizard…"
'…The HQ…'
"……Pikaa?"
'……What's that?'
We all noticed a definite waver in the flight after I asked that, but Charizard recovered quickly.
"Charizzarrrd?" Charizard muttered.
'Where've you been?'
I didn't really know the answer to that, so I decided not to say anything.
Before long, Charizard sailed downwards and finally landed on the roof of a building. It dropped us on the floor unceremoniously.
"…Well ----, Charizard…" said a voice.
I looked up from the ground to see a man in an orange suit looking down at us. He had a thin smile on his face…He also looked familiar…and he scared me.
"Ash…---- time, no see."
I had no idea what he meant by that.
"…I'm ---- you ------- to ---- in."
"Perrrrsian…"
'Master…'
The man glanced at Persian.
"Ah…Persian…Meowth told me that you turned -------…You know what ------- to --------…"
"Persiiian!"
'I am not a traitor!'
"Pika?" I whispered to Pikachu.
'What's a traitor?'
"Pikapi…" it whispered back.
'Be quiet…'
The man laughed quietly.
"I ----- it ------ ------……Ash? Are you ready to ------ Team Rocket?"
I just stared at him, because I didn't know what he just said.
"Perrrsiiann…Persiannn…"
'He doesn't understand you…He only talks to Pokémon…'
"What? That's ----------. -- ------ he can ---------- me."
"Pikachu…" I said.
'Persian's not lying…'
He looked surprised. He straightened himself up and looked demeaning at me.
"Then I ----- you'll ---- have to learn -------…Come on."
He reached out with his hand to help me up from the ground.
*They'll never find you*
I blinked.
What was that?
*A Charizard, eh? I wonder why it wasn't out of its Pokéball. It probably could have gotten you out of this mess before you got into it.*
…These voices weren't real…I was hearing them in my head…
*Tsk tsk tsk. So many questions. Ask one at a time, young man, and you might get the answer you're looking for.*
Wait…It's only one voice…
*I am not trying to kill you. The only one preventing you from leaving that…is yourself. You can either stay there, or come out and join Team Rocket. It's up to you. I would think that the sooner you leave, the better…*
"What's the ------ Ash?"
*How dumb do you think I am? I know you won't be totally loyal right away. You need another motive to stay with us. That's why I am keeping your Pokémon under custody.*
That voice…It's the same as…
I stared up at the man in a new light…
I did know him before…
*Yes! I am Ash! And now that I'm ten, I can finally get my Pokémon license. I will journey to gain the wisdom of Pokémon training. And I hereby declare to the Pokémon of the world, I will be a Pokémon Master. Pokémon Master! That is what I'll-!*
I knew that voice. That was me!
Pokémon Master…? What…?
…It started off slowly…but I found myself remembering things…They weren't all in order…and they didn't all make sense…at first…but as I remembered more and more…I started to understand…
Me…Mom…Gary…Professor Oak…Pikachu…Misty…Jessie, James, Meowth…Pidgeotto, Caterpie…Brock……Everything…Everyone……Now it made sense…
……And now I knew who this man was.
…He had been talking to me, but I hadn't been listening. I was too busy remembering…
I looked into his eyes. I felt something stirring within me…something long dormant and forgotten…a feeling older than me…maybe even the entire human race…
'I know you…I know who you are and what you've done to me, my Pokémon, my friends, and a lot more people than I can name…'
The feeling was growing…It was building up inside of me…like it wanted to come out.
'…I can't let you keep doing this…I can't let you keep hurting people…and Pokémon…I can't let you ruin our lives with your greed…You've done too much already, and now you need to stop…and if you don't stop by yourself, I'll have to stop you…'
I couldn't hold it in much longer…I felt like I was going to burst…
"…Ash?"
He's not listening to me…
…The power was too strong. I had to let it go.
I clenched my fist together and closed my eyes. I could almost see the power inside of me…It wanted out…
I took a deep breath and aimed right at the man.
"MMMMMEEEEEWWWWW!!!!!"
I don't know how far he went. I didn't have time to check, because the power went straight back inside of me after bursting out. It covered me from both the inside and the outside. It took only seconds before I could feel nothing else…When I opened my eyes, the only color I could see was pure white. Through the humming noise, I heard Pikachu calling my name…I couldn't answer it. I could open my mouth, but I couldn't make any sound.
…After what seemed like an eternity, I could see and feel again. I opened my eyes and was surprised to find myself in the dark. Something was covering me up. I crawled forward to the small opening in front of me. I poked my head out.
"…PIKA!!?"
'…ASH!!?'
"Mew?"
'What?'
I covered my mouth in surprise. I pulled myself out from under whatever it was I was under so I could get a better look at myself.
When I looked at Pikachu, it looked really big…the same size as me…Persian was huge, and Charizard…Tall as a building…
A little nervous, I turned around to see what had been covering me…
"Mew!?"
'My clothes!?'
I looked down and saw that the tip of my tail was still underneath my shirt.
Wait a minute…My tail!?
I jerked it out and stared at it. It was thin, pink, and got larger and rounder at the tip. I could move it anyway I wanted to…I looked down. The first thing I noticed were my feet. They were very…large…They were also pink. I held out my hands, er, paws…They weren't very large at all, but they had three fingers each and they were pink.
I turned and stared at Pikachu. They all stared at me.
"Pikapi…Pika…chu…"
'Ash…You…evolved…'
I looked down at myself again.
"Meww…"
'I guess you're right…'
Persian stepped forward.
"Persiannn…Persiiaann…"
'A Mew…The rarest Pokémon in the world…'
I glanced up in surprise.
"Mew!?"
'Really!?'
Persian nodded.
"Persiiaann…Persiannn…"
'Yes…Master will want one…when he wakes up…'
"M…"
'But…'
"Persiannn…Persiaann…"
'He's already lost his Mewtwo…If he sees you now, he'll try to capture you…'
"Mew! M…mew!"
'But he can't capture me! I…can't let him!'
"Persian, perrr…Persiann…"
'That doesn't mean he won't try…You'd best leave before he wakes up…'
"Pika…"
'Ash…'
I looked at Pikachu…It looked so sad…It made feel sad too…I smiled and hugged it. Now that we were the same size, it was easier than before.
"Mew…"
'I'll come back…'
"Pikachu…"
'You'd better…'
I laughed and we let go. I looked at Persian.
"Meww?"
'What about you?'
"Perrrsiannn…Persian…"
'We'll be fine…You take care of yourself…'
I nodded.
"…Charrr…"
'…Ash…'
I looked up at Charizard.
It's nervous…
I blinked. I didn't know how I knew that, but I knew it without any doubt.
It took a deep breath.
"…Zard."
'…Good luck.'
With that out, it huffed and looked away. I smiled. It was just glad to get that out.
"Mew…"
'You too…'
Giovanni's gonna wake up soon…
I glanced back at him…He still seemed familiar…even though I knew who he was…I felt like there was something else I should know about him…
It'll probably be easier to figure out when he's awake…
…I didn't want to leave, but the feeling was urging me to leave…I knew better than to not listen to it.
I rose into the air. I wasn't sure exactly how I did that…but I liked it.
I pulled myself higher and higher into the sky. I knew that if I went higher, I would travel faster.
Wow. How'd I know that…?
"Piiikaa!!!"
'Goodbye!!!'
I looked down. Growing smaller each moment was a tiny, yellow Pikachu. It waved sadly and cried. It's sadness touched me even over the growing distance, and I cried too.
"Mmmeeewww!!!"
'Goodbye Pikachu!!!'