Chapter Two
TEAM ROCKET TROUBLE
When everyone finished their dinner and helped clean up, Ash ran out to the backyard, ardent to run a quick practice with Pikachu. Mew floated over to the rooftop and with those inquisitive eyes filled with wonder, watched as the Trainer played around with his best friend. She sat on the wooden terrace and smiled when she saw the overzealous Trainer throw a fist in the air, boosting Pikachu's confidence and morale. While she possessed the advantage of sensing any underlying emotions and intentions of others, the genuine bond she was witnessing overcast any need for such. It was no doubt that this young Trainer and his Pokémon harboured a friendship that would last a lifetime.
Her smile then tightened into a serious frown. Is it truly by fate that I have yet again met up with these Trainers? I believe it is no mere coincidence, she told herself. There is a reason behind this meeting.
As she continued to ponder, she realized that she was sounding more similar to her philosophical counterpart. "Oh, how he has invaded my thoughts again!" she cried out.
"There you are, Mew! We thought you left without saying good-bye." A sweet, feminine voice came from behind.
"Oh, Misty. Hello. Please forgive my sudden disappearance—I am usually like that," Mew replied, watching as the young redhead leaned on the wooden rail next to her.
"No worries. Everybody needs some alone time," smiled Misty. "Would you like to tell me what you were thinking about?"
Mew studied the girl beside her. Misty's smile represented the genuine concern and thoughtfulness she had. She had never seen a human with such jade eyes. Mew felt as if she were in the forest in them. It felt as if she were home. Over the terrace she could see a great stretch of land which looked dim under the cloudless, star-filled, navy sky. Above them, a crescent moon shone. For her, it looked bigger and brighter when she was on the cliffs of the mountains.
"The evening sky is a wonder to behold… is it not?" Mew said, glancing up at the sky.
"Yes, it is," replied Misty, who was primed to look up as well. Though slightly puzzled with what the Pokémon meant, she did not bother to change the subject nor question it. The silence allowed the young Trainer to reflect, and stir in the conversation. "I guess, it also looks the same to those who are far from us. To think of it: even if it may not look the same to them, you'd feel a bit closer to those who are far because it's the same beautiful sky anyways," she added. Her attention shifted from the sky to the glowing Pokémon who sat beside her.
Mew felt her heart tingle at Misty's comforting words. "I… I agree," she said. "No matter where they are, if we look up at the same sky, it does feel as if we are closer to wherever they may be." She placed a tiny paw on the Trainer's elbow. "Thank you, Misty. I believe you understand how I feel."
"You're welcome Mew," Misty replied, enveloping the tiny paw with her other hand. "Hey… we'll always be close by, all right? Because we're friends. You, me, Ash, Brock, and all our other Pokémon. We'll always be right by each other's side, no matter where we are." Within herself, she felt bad for Mew, wondering how lonely it must have felt to be alone for all those years. Wondering how heartbreaking it was to be miles away from someone she believed would stay by her side.
The young Trainer took a breath and sighed. Misty knew little of Mewtwo, having not been fully acquainted with him, compared to Ash. She knew that she would just be giving Mew a false sense of hope by making promises that they would be together again. Instead, Misty decided to break the silence by saying what she deeply felt within her own romantic heart. "Honestly, I think he misses you too, Mew."
Mew's ears twitched at those words. She withdrew her paw and levitated in front of the girl. "Do you—? How could you say?" she asked with vivid sapphire eyes dazzling brightly under the moonlight.
Misty shook her head. "I know so, Mew. I'm pretty sure that you two would meet again. You two are meant to be with one another! I mean, you're the closest thing to what he may call his… family."
Mew sighed. She loved the idea of seeing him once again, yet thoughts of him not accepting her conflicted. "Misty, what if… what if he wants nothing to do with me? Yes, he was cloned from me. However, he is his own individual being. It does not mean he is dependent on me—it does not mean he belongs to me. He has his own potential; magnificent powers that he is finally learning to control. He has a future ahead, one that could thrive without me."
Misty was disheartened to hear Mew's words. "Mew, he may live a good life—but how meaningful would it be without you? I think that… if there's anyone who can show him his true potential and purpose in life, that's you! Sure, he can do all that he wants with all his abilities, but he still needs to realise it from someone else. Everyone needs that one special someone in their lives. Someone who would drive them to realise their purpose." She then gently took hold of Mew's paws. "It all starts with that one friend, Mew. If there's anyone who can show him that kind of friendship, it would be you."
Mew floated back a bit, surprised by Misty's words. "Why me? He has his clones to do that for him."
"Well, I don't think his clones care for him the way you do."
Mew looked down at her paws. A small pink glow omitted from them. "Friendship… That special friend I have been looking for in all these lonely years…"
Just then, laughter was heard from the backyard below. Mew and Misty looked over to see what was going on. The hollering came from Ash, who was gleefully carrying Pikachu around in circles, proudly exulting that his partner had perfectly aimed his Thunderbolt attack on the practice targets. Misty observed the way Mew looked at Ash and Pikachu, empathic of the loneliness and envy the Pokémon felt.
Given the longing gaze Mew had towards Ash and Pikachu, Misty attempted to resume the conversation, "You see, Pikachu is incredibly special to Ash. They have been friends for a really long time. In all the dangers Ash had faced, Pikachu was there with him. He never left his side nor did Pikachu ever leave his. It really is a unique friendship if you ask me."
Mew continued to watch the two. Ash still held Pikachu close, roughing up his furry head. She recalled the memory of how the Trainer had sacrificed himself by running to the middle of their furious attacks and turning to stone. Pikachu was there, and he never left his side. It all seemed clearer. Even if Ash were to remain in that state forever, Pikachu would still never abandon him.
Ash's cheering broke Mew from her trance. "That was amazing, Pikachu! Keep it up and maybe your Thunderbolt could get even stronger!"
"Pika! Pika-pi!" Even Pikachu was elated for making his Trainer proud.
"Hey! Great training, you two!" Misty said as she ran towards Ash. Mew floated by her side, and Brock carried Togepi as he followed up from behind.
"Yeah! Even at this hour you two still have all that energy to train really hard."
"Well, after your dinner, we got all the energy we needed!"
Mew hovered to the duo, twirling in excited mid-air loops. "Ash, you and Pikachu are incredible together!" she praised. "Keep this up and you two could be unstoppable!"
Ash gave her a determined thumbs-up. "Thanks, Mew! That sure means a lot coming from you."
Just as everyone stood by the backyard conversing with one another, a sudden gush of harsh winds blew.
"AHHH!" Everyone reacted, covering their eyes from the swirling dirt that formed into thick clouds of smoke. Coughing off the dust, they spotted three silhouette figures that seemed to have formed out of nowhere.
"Hey, who did that?" asked the ever-so-gullible Ash Ketchum.
"Ah, so we see you've got us a super special treat to steal!" came a female voice the Trainers knew all too well.
"And this time is not a moment to kill!" followed the male voice.
As the smoke fully cleared out, the goofy trio known as Team Rocket gave their signature pose.
"Get ready now and prepare for trouble!" Jessie initiated the motto.
"And make it double," continued James.
"To protect the world from devastation…"
"To unite all peoples within our nation…"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love…"
"To extend our reach to the stars above…"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off with the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
Meowth jumps in to finish off the motto. "Meowth! That's right!"
"It's Team Rocket!" Ash, Brock, and Misty shouted in unison.
"We'd love to stay and chat, but we've got to make a real quick steal! Gooo Meowth!" The Scratch Cat Pokémon then takes out their vacuum-like machine and pointed it towards Pikachu. "Here's an appetizer for you!" Turning the option to 'suck', the machine began drawing in massive amounts of air, pulling in the poor yellow Pokémon from Ash's shoulder.
"Pika—!" Pikachu cried out, yet was unfortunately engulfed into the machine within seconds.
"Pikachu! No!" Ash yelled out. "If you can hear me, buddy, use Thunderbolt quick!"
There was no response.
"Hah! Our little machine here's an anti-electro type. Pretty clever, huh?" James teased, folded his arms.
"And now, for the main course!" Meowth exclaimed excitedly, pointing the vacuum's opening towards Mew.
"No, you won't!" Ash said as he tackled Meowth just before he pressed the button.
"Hey! Get off me!" Meowth shrieked, brandishing his claws to use Fury Swipes.
"Ash! Oh no! We've got to help him!" Brock frantically said. Placing the oblivious Togepi down, he ran to grab Ash before Meowth could badly hurt him.
"Meowth! Oh no!" Jessie and James yelped, jumping in the brawl to help their teammate out.
"I'll help out too!" Misty said as she ran to help her friends out.
Mew, somewhat terrified and confused as to what was going on, levitated back a bit to avoid the ruckus. Due to all the fighting, the machine's switch turned to the 'blow' option at maximum power and, suddenly, produced violent strong gushes of wind that blew in different directions.
"AHHH!" everyone screamed out in panic, each trying their best to avoid being blown away. Since the machine was pointed directly at Team Rocket, they were the first to be blasted off at incredible speed.
"Well, at least we almost got a chance to grab a rare Pokémon, right?" Meowth remarked awkwardly as they flew mid-air.
"Almost is never enough!" cried out Jessie.
"A Pokémon we won't get to see anytime soon again because…" James commented.
"We're blasting off agaaain!"
Back on the ground, the machine was going haywire, the forceful winds began blowing towards the direction of the Trainers and the Pokémon.
"These winds are too strong! Someone's got to stop that machine!" Brock yelled as he clung on tightly to a sturdy tree. Misty was holding on to Togepi with her eyes shut tight, feeling debris of dust, dirt, and stone hit against her face as she tightly held on to the same tree.
Across from them was Mew, who hugged a different tree with her tail wrapped around it. These winds… no, please… she remembered her nightmare. Suddenly, everything around her seemed to slow down.
…Everything faded into darkness.
"Succumb to me," echoed an ominous voice in her head—a voice familiar to her nightmares.
"Succumb!"
Fear overwhelming her, Mew whimpered as she held on tighter to the tree, digging her claws into the trunk. Please, stop, she begged.
"Pikachu… is in that thing! I've… got to… get him out!" Ash cried out, pushing his way against the direction of the wind. He paid no attention to the pain as stones and sharp twigs hit his flesh. He ignored the calls from his friends begging him to stop. All that mattered to him was his goal—to get Pikachu out of that machine no matter what. Unfortunately, Ash was too light and the strong winds blew him away.
"AHHH! No! Pikachu!"
After hearing Ash's scream and witnessing his determination to get his best friend back, Mew felt a tinge of courage pulse through her veins. She may have been paralyzed in her nightmare, but this was reality. She closed her eyes drawing in power, she opened them with a pink glow. Letting go of the tree, she immediately used Psychic, stopping the harsh winds and preventing Ash from a painful fall. After bringing the Trainer back safely back to the ground, she destroyed the machine with one more Psychic attack, freeing Pikachu in the process. With one more display of her psychic powers, Mew gave Pikachu a softer and safer land in Ash's arms.
In the aftermath of the mishap, everyone simply stared at Mew in awe—disbelieved and taking in time to process what they all have just witnessed.
Mew lowered her stance and glimpsed at her side with an embarrassed expression. "Please forgive me; I wish I could have helped sooner. Everyone was in danger, and I merely cowered."
Suddenly, she felt someone wrap their arms around her in a hug. It was Ash.
"Thanks, Mew. Thanks for saving me and Pikachu," he said warmly. "You're really awesome, y'know!" Misty and Brock smiled from the back. They walked towards the lot and joined in a group hug.
"You don't have to apologize at all. You truly are something special, Mew! You're more than legendary," Misty beamed. "You saved us all!"
Mew loved the feeling of being embraced. It was warm and intimate. A luxury that she rarely experienced, she cherished every second of the moment. It was wonderful. I believe I now know why I was meant to cross paths with these humans again, she smiled to herself.
Breaking the embrace, Mew glanced at each of the Trainer. "Perhaps," her tiny voice echoed. "It may be best to share with you three..." Her tail swivelled as she hovered towards the backdoor of Brock's home. "My nightmares… the reason why I was afraid."
Not very far from where Mew and the Pokémon Trainers settled, from within a dim crystal cave, inhabited a tall, pale, feline-like Pokémon. Its stance intimidating as its deep, brooding eyes. The Pokémon isolated itself as it walked deeper into the cave, sharing its home with a few others, all sharing the same preference of solidarity and seclusion.
"I can sense you… Mew," the Pokémon whispered.
Its deep voice resonated throughout the cave walls as it looked up towards the opening to gaze at the very same night sky.
"I know of your nightmares, I see them too."