I don't own Pokémon. I only own some of the characters in the fanfic.
(*)
Lucien walked into the living room and set the plate of spaghetti down. Looking up he noticed with some irritation that his friend was staring at the TV and hadn't even noticed him put the plate down. He cleared his throat and asked, "Anything good on?"
His friend nodded and pointed at the screen. "There's a storm spreading over Kanto."
Lucien frowned and sat down, taking his plate as he did. "I didn't hear anything when I was there."
"You wouldn't. They say it only started a few hours ago." He was silent for a moment. "I feel better knowing you're here instead of across the ocean."
"Yeah, so do I," Lucien agreed. "Now eat up before it gets cold!"
(*)
They all stood staring at Mewtwo, awed at the power it displayed.
Pierre turned to Ash. "Hey Ash, mind if I go first?"
Ash took a moment to answer before nodding his head. The turned their attention back to Mewtwo just as it spoke.
"So, these are the Trainers who made it to my island." It gave them all an appraising look before scoffing. "Perhaps this will be as easy as I thought."
With that it waved its hand and the woman who'd guided them fell forward as if her legs had given out beneath her.
Pierre rushed forward and caught her, grunting as he did. He moved backwards as the woman began to stir.
"Where am I?" she asked, confusing him. "And how did I get here?"
"I brought you here," Mewtwo explained, "to make use of your knowledge on Pokémon physiology. However, now that they are here, I find I have no more use for you."
"Who are you?" Pierre blurted out. And why does it feel like I've seen you before?
"I am the ruler of the New World, the one which will be created here today. I am the one who will cleanse this world of your kind and forever free Pokémon from the influence of humans."
Pierre heard a roar behind him and a massive bipedal Pokémon hurtled past him, charging straight at Mewtwo. Almost casually the psychic Pokémon lifted and threw it with psychic power before glaring at something behind Pierre.
"I didn't teach him that," someone behind him said defensively.
Pierre turned in time to see Mewtwo pick up and throw the offending Trainer into the fountain.
"Now then," the Psychic declared, "I suppose I should explain why you've been brought here."
"You wanted to battle us?" Ash asked.
"We're gonna die?!" Marty panicked. Mewtwo responded by throwing him into the same fountain.
"That… wasn't too far from my original plan," Mewtwo admitted. "My experiences with the human race make it clear what kind of people you are. Originally I had planned to rid the world of humans and save only the Pokémon you've never influenced."
"Charizard use Shadow Claw!" Pierre commanded, whipping out his arm as he sent out the Fire-type. If it was telling the truth they didn't have any time to waste with Mewtwo.
Charizard hesitated for only a split-second before zeroing in on the Psychic-type. Before the attack landed Mewtwo flung him upward into the spiral staircase. Roaring, the Fire-type stayed on the staircase and glared at his latest foe.
"Let me finish. That was my original plan, but circumstances have forced me to reconsider. I wish instead to witness how you Trainers interact and battle with your Pokémon. I'll make my decision from there."
They all stared at it suspiciously. Pierre wondered what circumstances could force such a powerful Pokémon to change its plans.
"If we're battling each other-" AJ began.
"You aren't," Mewtwo countered. "You'll be battling my Pokémon."
With that a massive set of double doors to Mewtwo's right swung open, revealing a massive battlefield, storm clouds hanging over it. Mewtwo flew through the double doors and they quickly followed. When Mewtwo reached the other end of the battlefield mounted glass pods began to appear from the floor next to it, each containing what Pierre assumed to be Pokémon.
"I too became interested in training Pokémon, and like all Trainers I had a choice between Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle. However, I chose to use all three."
With that the pods rose, an extra grey layer appearing between the glass and the base. The creatures inside slid out through the grey layer, revealing a Charizard, a Venusaur and a Blastoise. They moved quickly onto the battlefield and Pierre wondered how often they'd battled.
No way, that's doesn't make sense, he thought, eyeing the Charizard. They definitely have battle experience, right? How else would they be fully evolved? He looked at Mewtwo. Could he have sparred with them?
Despite the conclusion he'd come to he couldn't help but feel something was off as each of Mewtwo's Pokémon took their places. Mewtwo flew into the air and landed gracefully in the Trainer boundary box.
"I have observed you from the moment you first entered. So far, it seems that only three of you may challenge me."
Pierre looked around at the people who'd arrived. He assumed one of them was Ash, since he'd battled Ho-oh, but he couldn't be sure who numbers two and three were.
"Step forward Pierre Anderson, Ash Ketchum and Jason Cutter."
Pierre and Ash stepped forward as requested. As they did Pierre took notice of the second Trainer who'd been thrown into a fountain stepping forward. He was still soaking wet and rung out the front of his shirt as he made his way forward.
"So, what are the rules?" Pierre asked.
Mewtwo eyed him for a few minutes before answering. "Each of you will battle one of my Pokémon. There is no time limit, and you may only use one Pokémon each. You may forfeit if you wish."
Before Pierre could step forward the other boy, Jason, stepped forward and called one of his Pokémon forward. It was blue and quadrupedal, with a horn and what looked like a large moustache. From its coloration Pierre guessed it was a Water-type.
"I'm not sure what's going on, but basically all we've gotta do is beat you right?" he asked with a cocky grin. "If that's all then Samurott won't even have to break a sweat."
Pierre frowned but kept quiet, turning back to his own team instead. "If that's the case we need to start off strong. Charizard, I'll be counting on you for this one."
His Charizard nodded, a puff of fire escaping as it glared at Mewtwo from across the field.
Pierre turned back just as the match began for Jason's Samurott. Instead of using its Venusaur Mewtwo had chosen to send Blastoise. Jason began the fight by having his Pokémon use Megahorn, to which the Blastoise responded by blasting the ground beneath it with Hydro Pump, knocking it to the ground and sending it tumbling forward.
Before Samurott could get up it was blasted back with a silver beam and came to a stop in front of its Trainer, unconscious. Jason had a look of slowly dawning shock and horror and dropped to his knees next to his Pokémon.
"Samurott! Are you alright?"
"Return your Pokémon to its ball so that it may rest. Stand aside for the next challenger."
Jason did as Mewtwo suggested, but as he moved back to the others he shot a hate filled glare at the levitating Pokémon. Pierre stepped forward next, Charizard moving into place in front of him. Rather than keep Blastoise on the field Mewtwo called it back and the other Charizard took its place.
Pierre knew not to waste any time. "Charizard use Flare Blitz!"
His Pokémon shot forward as it was wreathed in flames, the opposing Charizard caught off guard. It quickly steadied itself however and opened its maw, unleashing a cloud of thick black smoke onto the battlefield. Pierre saw his Charizard's outline through the smoke, but judging by the sound of it he hadn't landed the hit.
"Charizard just use Flamethrower! Aim wherever!"
His Pokémon roared in response and began firing attacks in every direction. Pierre heard something thud in the smoke and the choked cry of a Charizard, followed by another hit that launched his Charizard out of the smoke and into the wall beside them.
"Charizard!" he cried, rushing to his Pokémon's aid.
Returning him to his Pokéball Pierre tried to lay out the facts. Mewtwo was commanding its Pokémon telepathically, since there'd been no verbal commands. These Pokémon were somehow far stronger than expected. Mewtwo was trying to make some kind of statement, but he couldn't tell what it was.
Turning back to the fight Pierre saw Ash and Pikachu squaring off against Mewtwo and its Venusaur. A sinking feeling in his stomach he watched as Venusaur's vines shot out and effortlessly smacked Pikachu aside. He didn't need to hear Ash say it to know it'd been knocked out.
"Your Pokémon have lost," Mewtwo declared, raising its arms. "Now they will remain here, where they can be safe from your kind."
At its command dozens of black Pokéballs came flying, capturing any Pokémon that were free. Acting quickly Pierre returned Charizard to his Pokéball before dropping it down the inside of his sock, standing up quickly so his pants covered the bulge.
He rushed to grab one of the black Pokéballs and dropped it to the ground, quickly stomping on it. The ball beeped and he stomped it again, the ball beeping rapidly as it released the Pokémon trapped inside. He felt a brief moment of relief before he was abruptly picked up and flung back into the main hall, landing in the fountain.
He splashed around and eventually managed to climb out of the fountain, glaring at the field he'd been flung from. To his shock and growing horror, he watched pods emerge from the ground and the black Pokéballs which had been taking their Pokémon fly towards them, the balls disappearing into the ground.
He leapt out of the fountain and ran towards one of the pods, the Steal Balls taking any Pokémon he had despite his best efforts, and jumped into one of the pods, sliding down the tunnel.
I hope I didn't make a mistake, he thought as he descended.
He shot down the tube and in seconds the tube levelled out and he slid out onto a conveyor belt. Looking around he noticed he was a laboratory, multiple glass pods dotted around. The Steal Balls were ignoring him, all inactive on the conveyor belt as they were placed into a giant machine.
It kind of looks like an Omanyte, he thought. Feeling something shift in his sock he remembered Charizard and reached down, quickly releasing the Fire-type from his Pokéball.
"You okay?"
In reply Charizard roared at the ceiling, his tail flame burning brightly.
"I know you want to get even," he said, taking note of a computer attached to the machine, "but first we should make sure we can get out of here safely."
Walking over to the machine he started on the computer while Charizard looked around the lab. Pushing the biggest button on the console he was greeted with a static screen and what sounded like garbled audio.
"I haven't got much time. I pray this record of our experiments survives," a voice declared, making him jump. "A year ago, we discovered a fossil that proved to be remains of an ancient Pokémon Mew."
Remains! Pierre thought, leaning closer. Is it dead?! Could it have died?!
"There was sufficient genetic material to replicate Mew, but Giovanni, who funded our project, proposed we design super-clones more powerful than any living Pokémon."
Pierre heard Charizard wander closer at that, but he was glued to the screen.
"Many attempts failed, but finally we succeeded. We produced a living Pokémon, we called it Mewtwo. But for some reason the creatures' anger is out of control, with its psychic powers it's destroying our laboratory. We dreamed of creating the world's strongest Pokémon, and we succeeded."
The screen went blank and Pierre stared in dawning horror. World's Strongest… Mews clone… The labora-
Behind him Charizard roared and he turned in time to see something retreating into the darkness. The computer spoke up again declaring, "DNA acquired."
As soon as it said that the machine it was connected to hummed and spat something out of one of the tubes on its side. Pierre watched as whatever it was slid into one of the pods and came to rest. A feeling of dread creeping up his spine he moved slowly towards the pod and saw a Charizard curled up into a ball, floating silently in a vat of green fluid.
The Charizard lacked his scars and bumps, but he'd recognize his own Pokémon anywhere.
Super-clone, he realised, reaching up to cover his mouth. Charizard stomped its feet angrily and turned to the other pods, fire lighting up in its maw.
"Wait!" Pierre ordered shakily. "We don't need to worry about that for now." Rushing back to the computer he pushed another button and was met with some kind of programme. Exhaling he said, "For now let's just try and get everyone else's Pokémon out of this thing."
Pierre tried but couldn't find any way of manoeuvring through the programme. With the way the buttons were positioned it seemed almost as if it wasn't designed to be used by humans or anyone with hands, which didn't make any sense to him.
"Who even built this lab?" he asked angrily. He paused. "Wait who did build this? This place was destroyed by that thing upstairs, and Nurse Joy wouldn't know how to rebuild this." And why didn't I hear anything about its destruction the first time?
As he pondered, he heard something beep and the vats around him rose slightly before the Pokémon inside began to slide from under them. Charizard stomped his foot as they emerged, seeming dazed and confused. Within seconds however they began to move as one towards a doorway. Pierre considered following them until the doorway was closed by grey goop.
"Well, that's disturbing." He turned back towards the computer and had an idea. "Charizard, set it on fire."
Charizard paused for a split-second before he blasted the computer with a Flamethrower. As the machine melted a fog horn sounded and a stream of Black Pokéballs spat out of the machine, which quickly began releasing the Pokémon inside.
Pierre waited until he saw them and grinned, rushing forward to greet his own Pokémon. Gyarados, Raichu, Goomy and even Magmar rushed to hug him, Gyarados covering them all with its massive frame. Pierre laughed as Charizard joined in, hugging him from behind.
"Hold on guys," he said, pulling away. "I need to get back up top and talk to the Pokémon who sent you here. Any ideas?"
Charizard and Gyarados looked towards the doorway and began charging attacks.
"Of course," Pierre groaned.
(*)
"I have made my decision. To the ones who have served my purpose, I am sparing your lives," Mewtwo declared. "For the moment."
Marty watched as massive doors like the one they'd entered through began opening across the building, revealing a massive storm stretching out as far as they could see. He reached down with his right hand, pausing as he remembered Bounsweet wasn't with him.
"But you cannot escape your fate. The hour of your demise draws near."
Shouldn't have come here, Marty thought, worry for his Pokémon gnawing at his insides. Shouldn't have accepted this. Why did I think it was a good idea?
As he began to panic an explosion sounded from behind Mewtwo. He and the other Trainers physically perfect Pokémon ran forward from a cloud of thick smoke. He winced as he saw a Bounsweet, an exact copy of his Bounsweet, hopping happily to stand beside Mewtwo.
"Behold," Mewtwo declared. "With trained Pokémon and humans eliminated the clones shall inherit the world."
"That can't be how you want this to end, can it?"
(*)
Pierre entered the battlefield followed closely by his Pokémon, followed then by everyone else's Pokémon. His heart was pounding in his chest, his legs felt like they'd been filled with ice and his head felt like it was expanding from the inside. Despite all that, he had a plan.
They walked forward to face the army of clone Pokémon, stopping when only a few metres separated them.
"It is useless to challenge me. I am beyond your power."
"I know that," admitted Pierre. "Challenging you isn't an option for most of us. Even the ones who could challenge you wouldn't stand much of a chance. So instead I have to ask: have I missed the window?"
Mewtwo paused. "Missed what window?"
"Earlier, you said you originally planned on killing us all, but changed your mind. You said you wanted to watch us and how we battled with our Pokémon. But battling isn't all people can do with Pokémon."
"Oh?" Mewtwo sounded genuinely curious.
"No, its just the most popular thing. We're Travelling Trainers, so we're a good example, but even we aren't the best examples."
"I am familiar with Gym Leaders," Mewtwo scoffed.
"What about the Pokémon League? What about Pokémon Centers? One Nurse Joy was the foundation for a whole cloning programme. Do you really think other Centers wouldn't have people just as dedicated on staff?"
Mewtwo floated closer, close enough he could have touched Pierre if he'd raised his arm. "What are you trying to say?"
"In a minute. Let's talk about the storm outside."
"The storm will wipe out all human life on the planet, as well as the Pokémon who live with them."
"How are you dealing with bunkers?"
Mewtwo paused again and its eyes glowed blue. Pierre felt its presence in his mind and let it enter, to see what it wanted to learn.
"Humans build these structures to weather storms greater than this?"
"Frequently. And based on weather reports, your storm is powerful, but its only covering part of Kanto, specifically the part we're in, some of the sea, and maybe a bit of the region. It's doing a lot of damage, don't get me wrong, but it won't destroy civilization. Especially not if we have Pokémon with us."
Mewtwo growled, not in his mind but audibly, and lifted him with its power. "What are you trying to say?"
Pierre tried to keep his voice calm, to not let his panic shine through. "It doesn't matter if we all die here, or if everyone back at the harbour dies because of the storm. You won't get everyone, and there's a big chance you'll fail in the end.
"But, there's another solution. Right now, you're making a decision based on a lot of bad life experiences and poor examples of humanity. Leave this island, experience the world and what it can offer."
Mewtwo blinked and Pierre could feel it poking into his mind again. Instead of letting it poke in Pierre called up one of his memories for viewing.
(*)
"So that's a Dratini?" Pierre asked the strange girl in the overalls. Charmeleon eyed it warily.
"Yep." She grinned, a gap where one of her baby teeth had recently fallen out. "I spent a week and most of my birthday money to catch her. Totally worth it."
Pierre eyed the Pokémon curled around her neck and part of her arm. "Is she difficult to raise?"
The girl poked her tongue out as she thought about it. "Well, she can't get too cold, she doesn't handle it well. She's supposed to shed at least once a month, and she won't be able to battle for three days afterwards. Or the day before come to think of it. She can handle store brand Pokémon food, but I'm growing berries they say will help her grow up big and strong, and I'm trying to get a recipe for high quality Pokémon food, but the meat's not as easy to come by so- "
"All of that for a Dratini?" Pierre cut her off. Charmeleon growled at the Pokémon in question, staring when it only yawned at them.
"Well, I wanted one. I have to make sure she can be her best, right?"
(*)
Mewtwo jerked back. "Who was that?"
Pierre blinked. It really had been like he'd been right back when he'd first met her. "A friend of mine named Amelia. She's kind of a weirdo, but she means well. Knows the best Pokémon food recipes too."
"And you think that by meeting this person I too will want to live among humans?"
"Doubt it. She'd probably try to battle you, or show off her Pokémon." Pierre almost laughed at Mewtwo's shocked expression, the look an odd contrast to the monster who'd lured them here. "The point of that wasn't 'She has all the answers.' It was 'Wouldn't you like the chance to learn for yourself what other people are like?'"
Mewtwo stared at him for a few moments and Pierre tried to keep the panic out of his expression until the Psychic-type dropped him to the ground.
"This does not mean I have abandoned my idea. But I will decide for myself what I should do." The clone Pokémon began to float off the ground. "And regardless of what I decide, you and yours will not have these Pokémon."
With that Mewtwo and the clones disappeared. As they did the storm began to ease up.
They all stared at the spot where Mewtwo had been, waiting to see if the powerful Pokémon would reappear. When it didn't everyone began moving forward and reuniting with their Pokémon, Pierre catching sight of Marty catching his Bounsweet mid-hop.
Ash approached him, Pikachu on his shoulder. "What did you do?"
Pierre thought of something to say. "I spoke to him."
"And you knew that would work?"
"Not at all. I hoped it would."
Ash nodded before mareepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "So, can you give me a ride back to the harbour?"
(*)
End Chapter 08
My Apologies for the lack of fight scenes. Will put more in later. Probably