So now we've learned the truth about Project ADAM, and the creation of Mewtwo! And more than that, we also know that Dakota, like Mewtwo, is genetically identical to Mew! What will this mean? And what will Sylvia do with this information? Could she attempt to clone Mew herself? Or are her goals located in something else? It's impossible to tell what she's planning, and it's impossible to predict what she'll do next!

KedharS: It's definitely going to be interesting, to see what the fallout of this will be. I don't think Sylvia's going to let things go so easily either.

JoshGamerV: Those are some excellent theories, and a pretty good grasp of the timeline. Let's see what this chapter provides to help you work all that out further!

Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings

Chapter 852

It was night by the time they made it back to Cerulean City. The trip home had been in silence, with everyone having a lot on their minds. Even Sylvia was remarkably quiet o the way back, which was a surprise.

While Akira was in shock over what he'd learned about Dakota, and Misty was still trying to grapple with what she'd heard, as well as trying to figure out how to be there for Akira like a good teacher should, Sylvia had something else on her mind.

This pokemon, this "Mewtwo", its psychic power was too much for its body to contain, but that might not be a result of its own abilities… Its power had to be amplified somehow, by that armor… whoever this Gleiss was, they were focused on amplifying Mewtwo's strength, to the point that it overloaded and escaped. It could have just been an accident… but what would have caused something like that? Power of that sort…

Sylvia didn't know a lot about Psychic type pokemon. But she did know that there was more than one reason she came to the Kanto Region.

It couldn't be… but it sounds like that's exactly what happened… I suppose I won't be able to figure it out just doing nothing, now will I? I'll have to thoroughly check everything if I want to be certain… well, that's quite a bother. But I can't wait to see if I'm right!

There was something else in Cerulean City that she was after.

"I'm… going to turn in for the night," Misty said when they arrived at the gym. They hadn't even gotten dinner yet, but no one really felt like eating. She was glad Diana had already locked up for the night and went home, having to explain everything to her would have been a chore. For now, they would get a good night's rest and hopefully face things in the morning.

Misty turned to look at Akira and Sylvia. Neither one seemed particularly energized, their faces will filled with troubled contemplation.

She clapped her hands together to catch their attention.

"I said, I'm going to turn in for the night," Misty repeated, a little louder. "And I suggest that the two of you do the same. We've been through a really long and stressful couple of days, and we could all use a bit of a break, okay?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever," Akira mumbled, only thinking about Dakota right now. Even his concerns for Satsuki had taken a backseat to the revelation that Dakota had become a pokemon as a result of the µ Gene.

"I'm pretty tired too," Sylvia lied, although the yawn was real. Her body may have been a little tired, but her brain was more active than ever. They all turned in for the night, but when everyone was asleep, one door opened and a lone figure slipped out.

Sylvia couldn't let herself sleep so easily.

I'm sorry, Akira, but there's going to be a slight change of plans, Sylvia apologized, patting Akira's door gently like she was giving the boy himself a cheerful tap on the back. Well, your plan, anyway. This was what I had always intended. I just didn't know that I'd be able to catch two Pidgey with one pokeball like this!

As much as she'd enjoyed the agony of Akira's revelations, she hadn't come here just to amuse herself with Dakota's condition. She had come here under order.

Fun's fun, but technically I'm also here on business. And the Phantom told me aaaaalllll about a certain little stone that just perfectly matches the description of something involving Mewtwo… and he'd like me to pick it up for him.

When the Phantom told Sylvia about the treasure he was searching for, she'd only been half-listening. He'd explained it as a special stone that was capable of greatly increasing the strength of Psychic type pokemon, and she'd thought that was all well and good, but she hadn't been particularly invested in something like that.

When he said that it was in Kanto, however, she quickly changed her tune.

"I suppose I could go pick it up while I'm there, it's always nice helping out for the cause and all," Sylvia had agreed. "Where is this thing?"

"I found the stone in Cerulean Cave. You see, there are special crystals that grow within the caverns of that labyrinth that have the unique quality of dampening the effects of psychic power. While a Psychic type pokemon could certainly fight to the best of its ability within that place, not even a trace of energy could escape; indeed, any psychic, harmonia user, or even one with senses like yours, couldn't hope to feel the slightest inkling that anything was amiss from outside, no matter how much power was contained there…"

He'd made it sound quite intriguing. The idea that there could be a cave like that, capable of resisting psychic energies, that was more than enough reason for Sylvia to pay it a little visit. Not that she could let anyone know, of course, she doubted that Misty or Akira would be cool with just letting her enter.

"So if you already found that stone, why would you want me to go back?" Sylvia had asked with a yawn. "It sounds like an absolute bore if I'm being honest, all that work just to check out a cave that's a little unique? I thought you wanted me to go pick up that crystal for you."

"Well, I did have it in my possession once," the Phantom had explained to her. "And it was quite unique. But you see, I gave it over to a friend of mine, to help him get a little stronger, and now I would like it back. I'm sure you know how it is."

"So this friend of yours still has it? And what, am I supposed to go knocking on every door in the region or something, or are you going to tell me where it is?" Sylvia hadn't seen the point in telling her about the cave if the strange psychic stone was in the hands of some random guy.

The Phantom only smiled.

"No, no, you misunderstand. I'm quite certain that the stone is right back where it belongs, in Cerulean Cave. Remember, those crystals dampen the power of psychic energy, so if it wasn't there… believe me, people would know."

He'd been very cryptic saying that, which only made Sylvia more intrigued. She'd supposed that it was worth a glance, at any rate.

"So just go down into that cave and find some rock? I assume it's going to be something that I'll recognize when I see it?" Sylvia had asked him, not finding the prospect of digging for a random stone in a cavern that exciting.

The Phantom smiled again, and his eyes seemed to shine with the light of a man who was laughing at his own private joke.

"Oh, believe me, you'll know it when you see it. And I'm certain that there will be one or two surprises for you to face when you get there as well. I could tell you… but knowing you, I believe you'd much prefer to be surprised, now wouldn't you?" He'd chuckled ominously, setting the situation as the perfect bait for her interests.

Sylvia stood outside the mouth of Cerulean Cave. It was a rather chilly spring night, but she could still feel herself sweating.

Well now, this is a little different than I'd expected, she admitted to herself, her lips curling up in an excited smile.

She was absolutely certain that this pokemon, Mewtwo, was hidden within the Cerulean Cave. It was the only thing that made sense.

Mr. Fuji had described the pokemon as having psychic power so immense that it couldn't contain it, destroying the entire laboratory.

The Phantom had been completely correct. Power like that? That would have drawn attention. It would have been loud and noisy, not just a simple explosion that could be explained away as a gas leak or something of the sort.

Mewtwo would have been causing carnage and destruction wherever it went. Rangers would have been called, the news networks would have been giving it full coverage.

But Sylvia had never heard anything about an incredibly deadly Psychic type pokemon destroying everything around it. She'd never even heard conspiracy theories about anything of the sort, and those were some of her favorite things to investigate.

That meant that Mewtwo had to be hiding somewhere. But considering Mr. Fuji talked about it like a walking nuclear bomb of fallout damage, it couldn't be hiding just ANYWHERE, it had to be somewhere specific.

Like a cave that wouldn't allow psychic energies to seep out into the rest of the world.

What he'd said about the pokemon's armor just confirmed it. This stone that the Phantom was looking for, the stone that amplified Psychic type pokemon and their moves, it was the thing that had given Mewtwo all that extra juice and made its psychic powers go out of control.

Which meant that this Gleiss had the psychic stone, and had used it in the experiment.

And wasn't it convenient that the Phantom mentioned having given away the stone "to a friend" in order to "help him get a little stronger" was it?

You didn't need to be a genius like Sylvia to connect those dots.

Richard Valon was this "Gleiss".

She didn't know how it was possible, considering how old he looked, but it was the only explanation that made any sense. A younger brother? A son? No, ridiculous, things like that would be far too convenient. The way Mr. Fuji described those cold, heartless green eyes, that was absolutely him. Which meant that unless he was a very prodigious preteen, the Phantom was older than he was pretending to be, a lot older.

Which put her in an interesting position. Valon, the Phantom, Gleiss, whatever he was calling himself, had sent her to Cerulean Cave to retrieve this stone.

And had conveniently forgotten to mention the absurdly powerful articially-cloned Psychic type pokemon it was attached to.

That was certainly not what she'd been expecting when the Phantom had told her about "surprises" that she might encounter, but she definitely wasn't complaining. Something like this was exactly what she was hoping for. Ever since she'd learned about Mewtwo, she'd been intrigued.

And the Phantom wanted her to encounter it head-on?

The question became a matter of whether or not he expected her to be able to handle it, or if he had been sending her off to die. If it was the former, then she had to appreciate his confidence in her abilities.

If it was the latter, well…

Well, that just wasn't very nice of him at all, now was it? She would need to send him an angry letter if that was the case!

But she knew it didn't matter. After all, she was a master of Ghost type pokemon. She assumed that was why the Phantom had sent her, after all. He used Ghost types as well, and they were Shadow Pokemon on top of that, but apparently he wanted to test her.

And she could appreciate a test or two, if it meant she would get to face a pokemon like this, whose abilities were so troublesome. She was actually getting very excited!

I'll be facing off against such a powerful Psychic type… I don't think I've ever been this pumped up for a pokemon battle! Sylvia had never battled a legendary pokemon before. And while Mewtwo wasn't technically a legendary pokemon, it was a clone of one, and she thought that counted for enough. So right now, she was thinking about what she would do, when a certain annoyance entered the corner of her eye just as she was entering the cave.

Sylvia paused, and sighed. "So are you here to babysit me, mom?" She asked with a biting laugh, not even bothering to look over her shoulder.

"I came here because you do not know what you are doing," Ryoko said from behind her.

Sylvia rolled her eyes. "Sorry, but I know quite well what I'm doing, I don't need you to babysit me or give me any warnings."

"Then you realize what lies ahead of you in this cavern?" Ryoko asked. "I see. In that case, I suppose this will be our final meeting."

Sylvia snorted. "You know as well as I do that isn't the case." She had no intention of dying here. "And if all this talk about fixed timelines and guarantees are true, then you also know that there's nothing you can say or do that will convince me to turn away, isn't that right?"

"I am not able to tell you either way," Ryoko replied. "It could be that you will turn back from later on in this point, is that not so?"

"No, it's not so," Sylvia replied. "I'm going in there, and I'm going to fight it. And I suppose you'll be coming with me, isn't that right?"

Ryoko let out a long sigh. She could not reveal to Sylvia the truth. She knew, of course, that Sylvia survived this encounter, because Sylvia was correct. She had lied to the girl. Sylvia survived past this night, she knew it because she had encountered the girl in the future.

But that did not mean that Ryoko knew how it had happened. She was certain that Sylvia had gotten cold feet and turned away from the cave. But she seemed so certain that she would not. It was intriguing.

Ryoko checked her watch. She had plenty of time before Celebi would take her to her next point in the timeline.

"Indeed. I will accompany you."

Sylvia couldn't help the grin that broke out across her face. That answer was enough to turn her on her heel and approach Ryoko.

"Oh, really? Is that right?" She asked, staring down contemplatively at the time girl. "You want to come with me? Because that's what 'the timeline dictates' is that it?"

"That is correct," Ryoko answered. There may have been other factors that attributed to this decision, but it did not change the fact that her words were the truth.

But Sylvia didn't accept that for a second. "No, no, no," she huffed, shaking her head. "No, it's not as simple as that little missy! You know as well as I do that something like this won't be solved so easily! It's not that you want to come along because you 'need' to come along, because that's what 'the timeline' dictates."

"I do not understand your meaning," Ryoko calmly lied.

Sylvia smirked. "You came here because you were curious. And that's why you're going to follow me down into that cave, isn't that right? Because you know that I'm coming back alive, and you want to figure out how that's possible. Because in spite of all your talk about being a higher entity working for the laws of nature and the universe, that doesn't change the fact that you're still a woman with curiosities of her own."

Ryoko was always unnerved by the ability of Sylvia to understand the thinking of others. In spite of the fact that the things that Ryoko had experienced greatly dwarfed those of Sylvia, she could not help but admit that the other girl was far ahead of her in terms of intellectual capability. It was a simple fact that could not be denied.

But Ryoko would deny it. She would not give Sylvia what she wanted for a second.

"If that were the case, then you know that I would not be able to tell you," Ryoko calmly replied. "So either way, the answer is not relevant, is that correct?" Sylvia was a master of reading people, but Ryoko had quite the capability of lying with a straight face. With her archaic manner of speaking, even Sylvia would have difficulty discerning the truth from her.

Sylvia smiled, her eyes twinkling in the night.

"Well, I suppose that's fine," she finally answered. She'd already gotten more than enough out of Ryoko to confirm her suspicions.

If Ryoko really was curious about this like she assumed, then that meant there were limits to the things she was capable of. She admitted that freely, of course, but seeing her twisted around by her own limitations was exciting indeed!

Sylvia wondered just what Ryoko expected to see within that cave.

"I must say, it's a nice night for an excursion," Sylvia said, turning back to the yawning maw of the cavern and stretching. "I'm very happy that I have someone to share it with as well, aren't you happy to be coming here too?"

Ryoko did not reply.

That was fine. Just being here was answer enough. Sylvia shot her a coy smile, enjoying just how young the other girl looked. While her eyes were old, her body looked like that of a teenager, perhaps even one younger than Sylvia herself. And her face may have been locked into an expression of cold indifference, but that was certainly not the case.

No, to Sylvia's eyes, she looked like a child trying very hard to pretend to be an adult, she always had. Even though Sylvia knew she was dealing with a woman who walked through time like it was nothing, a woman who knew far more secrets of the universe than Sylvia could ever hope to uncover, she still couldn't shake that sensation.

"Well, come along mommy," she sneered mockingly, stepping into the cave. "If you want to come babysit me while I go have my playdate with Adam, then you better be able to keep up! We wouldn't want you to run out of time, after all!"

Sylvia was intentionally goading Ryoko, but Ryoko was far too mature to take the bait. She followed calmly after the other girl, not saying a word. Her face didn't so much as twitch in response.

So as Sylvia flounced into the cavernous entryway of Cerulean Cave, Ryoko walked evenly, unaware of what she would uncover inside, but certain that Sylvia would leave long before they ever got close to seeing Mewtwo.

Meanwhile, deep within the heart of the labyrinthian tunnels of the cave, a being of immense power stirred. It could sense, for the first time in years, someone had entered its home. And not some errant pokemon, either.

No, the beings that it could feel were similar to the ones that it had sensed when it first awoke, all those years before. The "human" creatures responsible for its creation, and who filled the world around it, so massive in scale that they had forced the creature into hiding within these caverns.

Its power began to rumble. The crystal implanted in its breastplate amplified its psychic powers, and it prepared to meet its guests.

So, Sylvia was working towards her own agenda this entire time! Or, more specifically, the Phantom's agenda! If she's right, and the Phantom really did have a hand in the creation of Mewtwo, what could he want with it after all this time?