"Beautiful, isn't it?"
Before Delia had time to react, a hand clamped over her mouth and another hand seized her arm.
"You had me so worried earlier, Delia. I really did believe that you were ill," Jiraldan whispered in her ear. "You can't imagine how relieved I am to see you up and about."
Delia struggled to escape and viciously dug the heel of her shoe into Jiraldan's foot. Cursing, he tightened his grip on her.
"Now no more of that, my dear," he hissed as he pulled her closer to him. "If you value your son's life, you will calm down and do as I exactly as I say. Do you understand?"
Delia nodded reluctantly.
"Good. Now let's go reunite you with your son."
---
"Whoa, what is this place?" Ash asked as they opened a door at the end of the long hallway.
Behind the door was a huge room that resembled a medieval Gothic chapel, except the stone floor was marked like the floor of a Pokémon gym. At the end of the room, under the stained glass rosette window was a huge golden door adorned with what appeared to be images of Pokémon.
"Misty, look!" exclaimed Brock.
Instead of stained glass windows, the spaces under the tall pointed arches lining the walls were filled with Pokémon of all shapes and sizes. Each Pokémon was suspended in a glowing sphere just like Raikou and Suicune.
Misty pointed to the Pokémon in the nearest archway. "Look. It's a Dragonair."
"And there's a Jynx," said Brock as he pointed to the Pokémon in the opposite arch.
"And there's a Clefable," Ash gasped.
"It's incredible," Misty whispered in awe. "It's just like a church, but…"
"Actually, it's a reproduction of the Cathedral of Notre Dame. Though on a much smaller scale, of course."
The three teens turned in surprise and saw Jiraldan standing with Delia in the balcony at the far end of the gymnasium.
"Ash!" Delia broke free of his grasp and made an attempt to run, but Jiraldan lunged for her and grabbed her arm.
"Mom!" Ash ran toward the end of the gymnasium where the balcony stood.
Jiraldan addressed Brock and Misty. "If you don't want to see anything happen to the mother of the Chosen One, I suggest you stop your young friend immediately."
Ash stopped in his tracks and glared at the man who was holding his mother captive.
"Let go of my mom!"
"I will…eventually. But first we have a score to settle." He forced Delia into a chair next to him. "Even though I hold you and your friends responsible for destroying my flying fortress the last time we met," He pointed his finger at Ash. "I hold you solely responsible for the loss of my prize…Lugia."
"Lugia was never yours in the first place!" Misty shouted angrily.
"Pokémon aren't objects to be collected!" said Brock.
"I'm afraid I disagree with you, young man. You say that Pokémon aren't objects, but then why do you use them to fight?"
"That's different!" Ash snapped.
"How so? In either case, the Pokémon's feelings don't matter. The Pokémon does the battling; it's the one that gets injured, yet the trainer doesn't feel any pain."
"That's where you're wrong. The trainer and the Pokémon are a team. We battle together," said Ash.
"It's the trainer's responsibility to look out for their Pokémon and take care of it. A good trainer would never let their Pokémon battle until they are seriously injured," said Brock.
"Pokémon do have feelings. They love us and we love them in return," said Misty, cuddling Togepi to her.
"How touching, young lady. But I'm afraid you're wrong about one Pokémon in particular," Jiraldan smiled as he pressed a button on the control panel in the balcony.
The doors at the other end of the stadium opened to reveal a huge silver catlike Pokémon.
"Mewtwo?" Ash gasped.
"That can't be Mewtwo! That's Giovanni's Pokémon," Misty said, blinking her eyes in disbelief.
"Where do you think Giovanni gets the money to finance his operations?" Jiraldan said slyly.
"You?" said Brock.
"Yes. The two of us have a rather successful business partnership. Giovanni's Team Rocket steals rare and valuable Pokémon to add to my collection, and in return I provide the financing to keep Team Rocket in operation. All the Pokémon you see here are courtesy of Giovanni's minions," Jiraldan said as he waved his hand in the direction of the Pokémon encased underneath the arches of the stadium.
"Why you…" Ash started towards Jiraldan again but was restrained by Brock and Misty.
"Getting angry will just make things worse, Ash," Brock said as he struggled to keep a grip on Ash's arm.
"Listen to your level-headed friend," Jiraldan continued. "Besides, there's a better way to settle our old score."
"I challenge you to a Pokémon battle!" Ash shouted.
"Wonderful. I was hoping you'd say that," Jiraldan beamed as he started manipulating the switches on the control panel. "Although this may look like Mewtwo, it isn't. Meet Mew Prime, the precursor to Mewtwo." Mew Prime crackled to life and stepped out of the shadows. "This was the first prototype in the attempt to create a Pokémon superior to Mew. A little gift from Giovanni in gratitude for providing the financing for reconstructing the laboratory facilities on Cinnabar Island. You know how important it is to us collectors to have the 'first edition'," Jiraldan chuckled. "But don't be fooled. Even though this may not be Mewtwo, it's still just as powerful. In some ways it's actually superior. Observe." Jiraldan flipped a switch and Mew Prime started moving mechanically towards the three teens.
"It's a robot!" Brock exclaimed.
"Actually, it's closer to a cyborg; half-living, half-mechanical. But the best part is that unlike Mewtwo, there are no messy emotions to deal with. Mew Prime will obey my every command unquestioningly."
"That's disgusting!" Misty exclaimed. "Pokémon are just things to you. Objects for you to manipulate and put on display. You don't care about their feelings at all. All you care about is yourself and your precious collection!"
"Oh my dear, you make it sound as if I'm some sort of heartless fiend," Jiraldan said mockingly.
"You said it. I didn't," Misty shot back.
Jiraldan turned to Brock. "How in the world do you put up with these two hot-headed children?"
Ash was ready to explode. "Come on!" he shouted. "Let's start the battle!"
"Certainly. Which Pokémon will you choose, O Chosen One?"
"I choose Pikachu!" Sparks started flying from Pikachu's cheeks.
"And I choose Poliwhirl!" Misty shouted as she threw her Poké ball and Poliwhirl appeared.
"Go, Onix!" Brock's giant rock Pokémon appeared with a roar.
"Oh, three on one. That's not fair at all, is it?" Jiraldan said as Mew Prime advanced towards the Pokémon and their trainers. "But since I'm so eager to test Mew Prime's abilities before adding it to my permanent collection, I'll allow it. Now the hard part is deciding which Pokémon to deal with first." Jiraldan's gaze fell on Misty's Poliwhirl. "Let's start with something simple. Mew Prime, Thundershock!"
A huge electric blast shot out of the guns on Mew Prime's paws, sending the water Pokémon crashing to the ground.
"Poliwhirl!" Misty ran to her injured Pokémon and cradled it in her arms.
"That was too easy," Jiraldan said in bored disgust. "No challenge whatsoever."
"Onix! Wrap yourself around that thing!" Brock's rock snake Pokémon advanced on Mew Prime and wrapped it in its powerful body. "Electric shocks won't work on rock-type Pokémon."
"True," said Jiraldan as he flipped a different switch. "But Mew Prime has more than just electric attacks at its disposal." A blast of water shot out of the cannons on Mew Prime's paws, causing Onix to roar in pain and release its grip on Mew Prime. As Onix crashed to the floor, Ash stepped forward.
"Pikachu! Thundershock now!" The water shooting out of Mew Prime acted as a conduit for the electric shock delivered by Pikachu, causing the robotic Pokémon to reel backwards.
"Clever move, O Chosen One," Jiraldan said grudgingly as sparks started flying from Mew Prime's paws. "But not clever enough. Mew Prime, Psybeam." A rainbow-colored beam emanated from Mew Prime's eyes and enveloped Pikachu. The confused Pokémon staggered and collapsed.
"Pikachu! Get up!" Growling, Pikachu slowly got to its feet.
"Well, looks like we have a worthy opponent after all. Let's see how your little Pokémon fares against another type of attack, shall we? Mew Prime, Flamethrower!"
"Pikachu, Agility!" Pikachu quickly leapt out of the way of the fire blast that came out of Mew Prime's mouth.
"Mew Prime, Ice Beam!"
"Pikachu, jump out of the way!" Pikachu darted out of the way of Mew Prime's Ice Beam.
"Mew Prime, Poison Gas attack!" Before Pikachu had time to react, a cloud of black-green gas shot out of Mew Prime's mouth and enveloped Pikachu. Choking, Ash leapt into the center of the cloud and snatched the unconscious Pikachu away from the noxious vapors.
"Stop! Stop hurting Ash and Pikachu!" Delia made an attempt to grab Jiraldan's arm, but he flung her backwards into her chair.
"Unless you want to watch your son and his Pokémon die, I suggest you sit back down right now."
Delia reluctantly obeyed.
As Ash lay coughing on the gym floor, Jiraldan grinned malevolently. "And now my dear Chosen One…you and your friends accuse me of not having any feelings towards Pokémon. In an ironic twist, my Mew Prime is a Pokémon that has no feelings towards humans. Allow me to demonstrate. Mew Prime, Thundershock."
A burst of electricity shot out of Mew Prime's paws and hit Ash, causing him to moan in pain.
"Just think, that was the lowest setting," Jiraldan gloated. "Now you have a taste of what your Pokémon feels when you send it out to battle."
Misty ran to Ash and threw herself between Mew Prime and her friend. "If you want to hurt Ash, then you'll have to go through me!"
"If you insist, my dear." Jiraldan turned the dial on the control panel to the next setting. Both Ash and Misty screamed in pain as another electric burst shot out from Mew Prime's paws.
"Stop it! Why are you doing this?" Brock shouted.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave you out." Another electric blast from Mew Prime sent Brock to his knees.
Ash slowly got up and faced Jiraldan. "Leave them alone! I'm the one you want! I'm the one who kept you from capturing Lugia!"
"My, Delia, you certainly have a brave son. You should be proud," Jiraldan said as he turned the dial to the next setting. Ash screamed in agony as Mew Prime's electric shock pulsed through his body. "That was for causing me to lose Moltres." Before Ash had time to brace himself, another shock tore through him. "And that was for Zapdos." Ash dropped to his knees as the third shock hit him. "Articuno." As Ash's body contorted from the intense shock, Jiraldan turned the dial on the control panel to the highest setting.
"And now your final destiny awaits, O Chosen One! This is for Lugia!"
As Delia watched in horror, Jiraldan reached for the button that would cause Mew Prime to deliver the fatal electroshock.