Chapter Eighteen: Mewtwo
If the bright spots of pain from Tyranitar's Crunch hadn't been clouding Mewtwo's mind, he might have noticed that the presence of his cells was slipping further and further away. As it was, only one thing was clear in his head:
He was going to tear these Pokémon apart.
The Tyranitar was trying to lift Mewtwo off his feet, but Mewtwo braced his legs against the ground and swung the heavy Pokémon off him. He tried to aim its body at the Dusknoir, but the ghost-type quickly levitated out of the way, taking to higher air. Mewtwo lunged after the Dusknoir, and it evaded again, yet he swung a Shadow Ball after it. The Dusknoir continued to avoid, and Mewtwo pursued it across the airport, swinging another Shadow Ball, and another. The Dusknoir's movements were erratic, its one eye dark purple and fazed with the energy of Mewtwo's own cells, increasing its speed. Jerking side to side to avoid Mewtwo's attacks, it whirled and charged at him once it thought it saw an opening. But Mewtwo pitched another Shadow Ball and sent Dusknoir careening back towards an airplane. There was a crashof metal and several screaming humans as they hurried out of the way. Knowing Dusknoir would only take a few seconds to recover, Mewtwo turned around, looking for the Tyranitar.
But instead, it was the Team Rocket girl who shot him square in the chest.
Mewtwo grunted as he was sent flying back just as Dusknoir had been. The strike—it had come from the Domino girl, shot from the bud of that flower of hers, and its electrical power wrapped its spindly tendrils around him like a thousand tiny Spinarak crawling over his skin and leaving behind their strands of web to withhold him. His whole body shook as the sensation spread, numbing him as he rolled on the ground over and over. He stopped on his side, feeling though a ghostly Froslass had breathed her Icy Wind into his bones. His body twitched with relentless spasms, his psychic powers turned to static, and his eyesight was blurred beyond use, but Mewtwo—with great effort—pushed himself up with his arms. His legs refused to respond. He was trying to force them to cooperate when he felt a firm, small touch on his collarbone.
Mewtwo blinked several times, and eventually his eyes started to work again. Agent Domino stood directly before him, cruel smile on her lips as she leaned forward and watched him closely, her elongated staff pointed at him, with the bud on his chest.
"We were fascinated,"she drew out, "when we discovered hundredsof blueprints for technology dedicated to defeating psychic-type Pokémon of extreme power in our old records. Like ray-guns that stunned any Pokémon, and shot energy that neutralized psychic energy. And yet, no onehad any memory of ever commissioning this research." She twisted the staff between her fingers, shifting the bud to Mewtwo's neck. He bared his teeth at her, but held still, waiting for his muscles to recover enough that he could move properly.
"Tell me," she said, her voice lowering to a whisper, "what you took from us. You, somehow, for some reason, stole our memories, stole our history, and we didn't even knowit." Her eyes turned cold. "No one steals from Team Rocket." Her voice got lower. "Give it back."
Mewtwo's eyes began to glow, rage building in him that she dared, she dared,to speak to him with such temerity. His power was scrambled, yes, a staccato of energy with little organization, but he still hadpower, even beyond his psychic abilities. Giovanni's technology wasn't perfect, and would never live up to Mewtwo's strength.
Mewtwo lifted his eyes to her, clenching his fingers and feeling them glow with blue energy. You do not get to command me.
Aura Sphere shot out of his fingertips and sent her careening back. Mewtwo wasn't sure how effective her 'dark-type' clothing was, but a fighting-type move would have some effect nonetheless. Knowing she or one of her lackies would be on him in moments, he tried to summon impetus to his limbs and stand up. He straightened one leg underneath him, using his tail to balance himself. His eyesight was clearing up and his psychic abilities became less muddled with each passing second, but then he realized that both Tyranitar and Dusknoir were right on top of him.
The Dusknoir grabbed him from behind, wrapping its strangling, gangly fingers around his arms like ropes, holding him in place while the Tyranitar charged Shadow Claw in its talons and drew back to strike him.
Had Mewtwo been in his apogee, which he almost always was, he would have twisted out of Dusknoir's grip and forced the ghost-type Pokémon to take the brunt of Tyranitar's Shadow Claw. But as it was, he doubted he jump a foot high, much less wrest himself from Dusknoir's grip and successfully escape Tyranitar's reach. And with his arms restrained by Dusknoir, he couldn't shoot Aura Sphere again.
With his options limited, Mewtwo summoned his strength to use Protect, trying to form a shield between himself and the Armor Pokémon, even if it still left him open to Dusknoir. Tyranitar slashed its claw against Mewtwo's transparent shield, the bang reverberating like a Bronzong's cry, and Dusknoir gave a deep hiss of frustration. Its round body began to glow with a dark purple-red vortex of energy, and Mewtwo's eyes widened as he recognized Dark Pulse charging up. He struggled against Dusknoir's hold, but he hadn't recovered enough energy yet, and there was no way he could use Protect against Dusknoir while he was in its arms.
Then—a completely unfamiliar Absol came out of nowhere, its talon glowing with the shadowy power of Night Slash, fissuring its claws right through Dusknoir's chest. The Absol's sonorous cry cut through the battle just as abruptly as the Night Slash. The Dusknoir's hands were wrenched away from Mewtwo's arms, and Mewtwo barely had time to process what he was seeing when a solemn Lucario and a twirling Politoed began attacking Tyranitar on the other side of his shield.
One of Mewtwo's legs gave out of him without Dusknoir's hands to hold him up, and he fell to one knee, his shield dissipating. His tail dropped to the ground but he refused to fall over, still dumbfounded as to what was happening. As an Alolan Marowak joined the Absol in facing off the Dusknoir and forcing it back, an Audino rushed to Mewtwo's side and dared to place a gentle hand on his shoulder. He did not have strength nor focus to shake her off, but he tensed unsurely at her kind eyes and sympathetic smile. From her touch, an alleviating, warm energy emitted and flowed slowly into his body. It soothed his muscles and dimmed his pain, like Recover, but warmer and fuller and did not leave him tired.
"Don't worry,"she said to him. "I've got you."
Heal Pulse,Mewtwo recognized dimly. She was tending to him, resuscitating him. He wasn't sure why she was doing so, nor why these Pokémon had just come to his rescue. He turned his gaze to the Dusknoir and Tyranitar, and saw them struggling to battle several Pokémon that had appeared out of nowhere. An Unfezant swooped down to Air Slash the Dusknoir, a Kricketune was Screeching at the Tyranitar, the Absol from before stood resolute guard between Mewtwo and the chaotic conflict.
Where did all these Pokémon come from? Why are they helping me?
And then a human appeared at the Audino's side.
Mewtwo wrenched himself back at an unfamiliar human appearing so closely, so suddenly. His limited psychic abilities at the moment meant he hadn't felt her come near, at all. But even through his alarm, he could see this girl was of little threat. She was a teenage human trainer, in bright clothing that reminded him of Ash's red-haired female friend, the water-type trainer. Her obvious youth, friendly demeanor, and his own exhaustion made him unable to completely withdraw.
She didn't seem to notice his wariness, but knelt down next to him with concern. "Are you all right?"
He narrowed his eyes, but didn't have time to respond. Another trainer, this one with shaggy black hair, a green jacket, and a backwards cap, came to her other side. Why were these two trainers here? Mewtwo was already weak—were they about to launch barrages of Pokéballs at him?
The second trainer didn't draw a Pokéball, however. He only glanced at Mewtwo before he turned a hard glare towards the Tyranitar and Dusknoir. "Leave this Pokémon alone! You're really hurting him!" the boy shouted at them.
Agent Domino, fists clenched in anger as she stood only feet from the battle, snarled at him. "Foolish boy," she spat. "How dare you interfere. Bug off; this is none of your business."
"No way!" And thenanothertrainer boy appeared along with the others. "We are Pokémon trainers, and we'll never let any Pokémon get ganged up on like this! This isn't a proper battle!"
There were fartoo many humans around Mewtwo for him to be comfortable. But their words, so naïve and foolish, yet so clearly and firmly believed in, caught his attention. Two and two came together in his mind—these trainers were protecting him.These humans were standing up for him.
Impossible, his instincts told him.
And yet, here it was.
The Audino's trainer, the girl, stood up with angry, fisted hands and shouted at Agent Domino, "You're a bully! Youshould bug off!"
"Little twerp!" one of the Team Rocket agents shouted back. "Tyranitar, attack them!"
Tyranitar roared its wide mouth open and charged a bright Hyper Beam of white light between its jaws, which soon shot out at the Lucario and Marowak. The Lucario dodged, but the Marowak was blown away by the hit. The Beam streaked across the landscape, jagging at Politoed, who barely managed to scramble out of the way, and heading for Mewtwo, Absol, Audino, and the trainers.
Mewtwo still wasn't sure what these young humans were doing, but he wasn't going to let them be hurt.
Audino's Heal Pulse had helped clear his mind, and though his psychic powers were still crippled, his body was starting to work again. He was between the trainers and the Beam in a heartbeat, using Protect to defend them. It struck against his dome, the energy streaking off into harmless flares. Mewtwo didn't even flinch at the power suspended before him, and bending the energy around him, he turned the Beam over in the air and redirected it back at the Tyranitar. The power slammed into the green Pokémon and it stumbled back, shaking side to side.
"Wow…" one of the trainers whispered admirably, while the Absol offered its songlike howl in gratitude.
Mewtwo glanced back at them. As much as it impressed him that they had stepped in, this was still not their concern, and Mewtwo wanted as few humans involved as possible. Thank you for the assistance, Mewtwo spoke to them, and they all gasped and lifted their hands to their heads in amazement at his voice. But she is right; this is not your concern. You must leave.
The trainer of the Absol responded first. "Helping Pokémon isour concern! We're not gonna leave you to them!"
And as if that statement alone settled the matter, the trainers jumped back into the battle. They didn't even seem to realize that their actions were wrong, not morally, but because humans simply didn't do this. The third trainer commanded, "Unfezant! Wing Attack!"
Despite these trainers proving Mewtwo wrong by their compassion, they still held true to the human propensity of being persistently foolish. Still keeping the shield in place, he tried to reason with them. Even working together, these opponents are extremely strong. The three of you cannot defeat them—you could get hurt.
"It won'tbe just the three of them."
An adult man ran across the runway, followed by over two dozen other young trainers of different ages and regions, all glaring determinedly at the Team Rocket agents and ready to fight. But the man leading them—
"Ryme City Police Department! All battles stop, all Pokéballs drop, or you better be ready to be popped!"
The boy's father. No mistaking it. If not by his character, then by the Pikachu running right beside him, sporting the same detective cap as always.
And then, before Mewtwo could fully process what they were doing, all the young trainers stood at his side, facing off against Team Rocket. On both of his flanks, he suddenly found several trainers not facing off against him as he was used to, but standing at hisside. Standing by him almost loyally, protectively, supporting him.
Mewtwo was too stunned to muster a coherent thought to send to their minds, and his shield vanished as he lost focus. What was this? All these trainers should be attacking him,should be sending their proud teams after him, bombarding him with Pokémon and Pokéballs. Why were they joining his side instead?
"You're clearly outnumbered," the boy's father called, now standing directly at Mewtwo's side. He was almost twice as tall as most of the children standing beside him. "Stand down now."
Agent Domino gripped the staff between her fists tightly. "You underestimate the strength of Team Rocket!"
"Youunderestimate the strength of ten-year-olds!" the boy's father shouted back. He opened his arms to encompass the children behind. "And I have a small army of them here."
One of the young trainers shot him a glare. "I'm eleven."
The father ignored her. "By the authority of the Ryme City Police, stand down now."
Agent Domino narrowed her eyes, glancing at all the trainers. She was very clearly outnumbered, even if only by little humans, and Mewtwo wondered if she actually might surrender. He wished his psychic powers had recovered enough to give him a solid read on her, but he was barely starting to feel the humans right next to him at this point.
Mewtwo studied her body language instead. She was leery, not as confident as she had been minutes before, but she stood firm. "Wewere the ones who were attacked by thatrabid Pokémon!" She jabbed her gloved finger at Mewtwo, and he narrowed his eyes. Just like Team Rocket, to twist people against other foes. What she said was true…but lacking details.
Still, he had no desire to explain or justify himself to humans. If the table were turned on him, then would these trainers attack him? Would this fickle, fragile protection collapse so easily?
The detective practically radiated cavalier. "Funny. You're not the one being beaten to the ground," he said blithely. He then pointed to the Tyranitar and Dusknoir, still blank-eyed and deranged. "Those Pokémon of yours seem to be under the influence of the illegal chemical known as R. They looked more 'rabid' to me. And even if what you say is true, then it shouldn't be a problem to do as I said." All his flippancy vanished in an instant, and his voice turned cold. "Call back your Pokémon, and put your hands in the air."
Agent Domino was livid, and her remaining agent looked scared. But she snarled and said, "Team Rocket will neversurrender! You will feel a worldof pain!"
"Not on our watch!" one of the children cried, with a loud chorus of agreements from the others. They all threw out their Pokéballs like a thousand little Swift stars, which exploded into a plethora of battle-ready Pokémon.
Mewtwo was seriously considering if he had been knocked out and was dreaming this whole thing.
Humans didn't do this—at least not this many. Ash would certainly have joined this fray of chaos, happy to help anybody, even Mewtwo. But not every trainer was Ash; most of them wanted to catch and battle Pokémon. Why weren't all these trainers turning on Mewtwo? He was the most powerful Pokémon in the world, undoubtedly the greatest opportunity any of them had ever seen. Yet now, they seemed thoroughly uninterested in catching him and only desired to protect him. His hunters…had come to his aid. Mewtwo's mind had never conceived of this. He would not believe it if he were not watching it happen right before his eyes. It made more sense that this was all some wild dream his subconscious had constructed.
But you couldn't feel exhaustion in dreams; Mewtwo struggled to stay standing, staggering back as the Pokémon rushed forward to charge at Team Rocket. His legs gave out underneath him again and he fell on the concrete, trying to push himself back up. He felt that soft touch of Heal Pulse on his side again, and looked over to Audino.
"You're still hurt,"she told him gently. "You have to take it easy."
Mewtwo glanced up at the battle; Tyranitar and Dusknoir were being quickly cornered by the trainers' Pokémon. The two snarled ferally, not even speaking the Pokémon language, their minds were so lost. Even surrounded, they were unable to feel fear, only lashing out in mad fury. Though many of the Pokémon facing them weren't nearly as strong—a Weedle wormed its way into the battle—it was clear which side was winning. Mewtwo didn't need to step in.
He looked down at Audino, and nodded in gratitude. Thank you.
At least five of the trainers began to approach him, and Mewtwo tensed. But the detective stepped forward and waved them back. "Give him space, guys, this is a wildPokémon here and he's hurt."
Mewtwo narrowed his eyes, unsure how he felt about being called 'wild,' but it made the trainers regretfully back away and return their attention to commanding their Pokémon. Mewtwo watched as they called out ideas for strategies, tactics for teamwork, praises and advice. He noticed how they specifically ordered their Pokémon to force their enemies away from him, guarding him. Mewtwo even spotted the Noctowl he'd met yesterday, slashing her talons into her opponents.
Mewtwo was jolted out of his surveillance, however, as the detective came forward himself. He knelt beside Mewtwo, eyes skeptical behind his glasses. "Mewtwo," he acknowledged. "I didn't think you were still in Ryme City."
Mewtwo scoffed. You are as presumptuous as your son.
The detective straightened up in alarm. "My son? Tim? Do you know what's happened to him?"
It was only then that Mewtwo realized—he didn't. The battle had distracted him. He turned his head to where the ship had been—but it was gone. It had already taken off. Agent Domino's other lackey must have escaped on the ship with the cells, meaning the ship was getting further and further every second.
The boy had been chasing that agent.
Mewtwo gathered his energy, preparing for flight. He is in danger. I must go after him.
"But you're injured—" the detective began, but Mewtwo was already pushing away Audino's hand and taking to the air. He ascended above the chaos of the airport and twisted around in the sky, trying to figure out where the ship had gone. He couldn't feel his bond with the boy, his mind hadn't recovered enough yet. Telepathically, he was deaf. He would have to do things without his psychic powers. Just when he spotted the ship as a speck on the horizon, far but he could easily catch up, a black ball of energy shot past him. Mewtwo jerked back, thinking at first it was just a stray blast from the battle below, but then another came at him. Mewtwo tried to dodge again, slipping through the air, but the orb knocked into his tail.
Again, the electrical shock consumed him. It had hit the edge of his tail, and so the energy did not transmit through his body as fully as before, but still clamored its way through his skin and up his spine. He lost all feeling—his senses buzzed stridently, no sight, no hearing, it felt like all his cells were as directionless as Spindas.
When he regained some control over his body and came to, Mewtwo vaguely felt several talons digging tightly his shoulders and arms, yet even that was numb. The Unfezant, a Staravia, and the Noctowl were all supporting him, beating their wings wildly to lower him to the ground. His feet felt the concrete earth come beneath him, and the bird Pokémon let him go. His legs weren't working again, and he fell.
"Mewtwo!" the detective was by his side instantly. He put a hand on Mewtwo's shoulder, but Mewtwo's nerves didn't even feel it. His eyes were functional, but everything was blurred. He thought he saw some other trainers by the detective—if he was interpreting those hazy spots correctly.
Mewtwo shook his head, frustrated. He was underestimating Giovanni—despite being a human, Giovanni was unrelenting and quite capable of constructing machines that could face off against him. The crime boss had proven that at Mt. Quena, where Mewtwo had almost died. Would have, if it weren't for Ash. He could not let his guard down around Team Rocket.
This shot wasn't as bad as the first one—it had hit his tail, so it didn't spread as well as it had when he had been shot in the chest. But still, his powers were like Magnemites scattered in his head, twisting and vibrating as they tried to reassemble themselves.
"Mewtwo? Mewtwo!" the detective was calling. His voice echoed in Mewtwo's brain like a Zubat's cry. "Can you hear me? Me—"
I can hear you, human, Mewtwo grumbled. He tried to lift his head and peer at the sky, in the direction he believed the ship was. But he could barely see. He could do nothing at the moment, but the father had to understand the urgency of the situation, that the child was in danger. The boy—your son—went on the ship.
"Tim went where!?"Mewtwo knew then how completely his powers had been disabled, because he should have been able to feel the emotion of the detective's panic just as he heard it in his voice. "Why would he do that?!"
Mewtwo turned his head to face the detective. Your son has been helping me search for my cells.
"He's been helping you?" the detective repeated. Mewtwo's vision cleared enough to see the human's eyebrows wrinkle in confusion. "That's what he's been lying about?"
"Watch out!" a young trainer called and Mewtwo jerked his gaze away to see Agent Domino fast approaching them. She spun her staff in her hands and swung another black orb at them. Mewtwo bolted up, trying to get out of the way, but he knew he would be too slow. He was trying to gather the energy to use Protect again, when a Doublade slashed in front of them and used Furry Cutter on the energy ball. The Sword Pokémon shuddered as some of the energy dissipated onto it, leaving it unprepared as Agent Domino reached it. With two quick swipes of her staff, she beat the Pokémon to the ground.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" the detective ordered.
"Pika, Pikachu!" the Pokémon affirmed, and then charged at Agent Domino as she continued to advance. He swiped, and she met his blow, and then he twirled around and struck again, but again she countered him.
"Croagunk, help him out!" a little trainer commanded, and a handful of other trainers followed suit.
Mewtwo turned his attention away from the fight and turned back to look for the ship. He could not feel the boy with his mind like this, but he knew the child was getting further and further away. He needed to regain his strength to pursue, but he couldn't muster the focus. He turned his hazy sight across the airport, looking for the right shade of pink.
Audino,Mewtwo called across the psychic plain. I need you.
The Pokémon heard him, and quickly trotted her way over. Mewtwo did not resist when she placed both of her lissome hands on his shoulder. Without further instruction, she emitted her healing aura. But at Mewtwo's call, several other Pokémon and trainers answered as well.
"Mewtwo needs help!" the trainer who owned Audino called out. "Who has Pokémon that know Heal Pulse?"
Most of the trainers were too busy commanding their Pokémon to respond, but a few did. One trainer released a little Ralts, a young one that didn't belong in a battle like this. The Lucario forced back the Tyranitar and ran to Mewtwo's aid, along with a drifting Chimecho. They gathered around Mewtwo and offered their strength; he tolerated the contact, and accepted the help. They put their hands and paws and foreheads on him and gave him their power together.
Closing his eyes to focus on the energy that flowed into him, Mewtwo felt his strength slowly start to come back, his powers lagging behind it. He gathered up as much as he could, knowing that with each second, there was less of a chance for him to save the boy.
There was a spike of alarm that was sharp enough for Mewtwo's still-muddled senses to pick up, and he opened his eyes to see Agent Domino's battle. Despite the unfair odds of a human battling Pokémon, Agent Domino shot the Croagunk with the tip of her staff, struck down a Monferno, and batted away the detective's Pikachu. As if they were no more than newborn bug-types, she swatted these Pokémon away and turned to face Mewtwo.
At his side, the Lucario growled. It removed its paws from Mewtwo and stepped forward defensively. Summoning Bone Rush to its hands, a glowing blue staff as long as Agent Domino's, it ran forward and clashed with her. But when Mewtwo saw her wicked smile, he knew she was about to play dirty. He watched as she ducked under Lucario's bone, flipped the Pokémon over her head, twirled around as he landed on his back, and then jabbed him with her staff's electric static tip. He cried out as black lightning spread through his body, and then fainted as she removed it.
Stand aside,Mewtwo commanded to the Pokémon gathered around him, and they obeyed. He rose, calling a Shadow Ball into his hands, and swung it at Agent Domino. She ducked and rolled to the side, before leaping up and charging at him, lifting her staff above her head to strike him. Mewtwo summoned his own twin swords and blocked her attack between them. He then twisted around, slipping past her defenses to swing his swords in a long arc at her legs. She backflipped into the air to avoid his blades, spinning around before she landed on her feet a safe distance away.
Mewtwo advanced, keeping the two energy swords in his grip. It was foolish of you to challenge me,he growled into her mind.
"If it weren't for all these trainers that came to help you, you would have lost this battle," Domino snapped back.
Mewtwo snarled, but her statement was true. While he could have handled the Tyranitar and the Dusknoir (eventually), her psychic-neutralizing weapon had caught him off guard. He would have lost, if the trainers hadn't come. That concept filled him with anger, shame, loathing, but also relief, gratitude, and wonder. He instinctively hated being rescued by humans…but it also amazed him that they hadhelped, and it was infinitely better that what might have happened if he had been caught.
Perhaps humanity wasn't quite as thoroughly evil as he had believed.
Agent Domino, a testament to humanity's indisputable rotten side, kept talking. "You aren't as strong as you say, Mewtwo."
Mewtwo would love to prove her wrong someday, but now was not the time. Not now when he was still weakened, and there was still much to be done.
Perhaps,Mewtwo acknowledged coldly, though not an ounce of truth in his admission. He waved an arm and gestured back to the battle, where the Tyranitar and the Dusknoir were forced to the ground by several determined little Pokémon, the two still snarling and trying to fight, but helpless against the righteous trainers. But neither are you.
Agent Domino's face reddened with fury and humiliation. "Team Rocket willfigure out a way to defeat you!" she shouted.
She charged, but Mewtwo met her blow, locking her staff between his two blades.
Your underestimate my power, and my intelligence. Mewtwo swung his tail around like a whip and batted her away. On impact, she went flying, tumbling on the concrete. As she scrambled back up, Mewtwo took a deep breath and shot Ice Beam at her feet. The ground was covered in glassy frost, and her boots became encased in ice. Agent Domino gasped, and quickly tried to use her staff to break the ice and free herself. But Mewtwo advanced, jabbed his swords forward, and twisted the tulip out of her grip. It spun in the air before he caught it in his grip, and then broke it in half, casting the two pieces aside.
She was caught. Now for the boy.
Mewtwo threw a glance at the detective. Handle her. I'll be back.
And then he shot into the air once more. He didn't pause this time, but headed in the direction where he had seen the ship. He willed his powers to work and allow him to fly as fast as possible.
He had to get to the boy, or else he might lose him forever.