Magic Knight Pokémon: Side Story
Chapter 7
Tears of life
By Wanderer D
"Scyther!" the green Pokémon challenged as he flew at his intended target: a human girl holding a sword.
With lightning fast swipes it tried to get past the redhead's guard, but with an impressive amount of skill, she kept up with all the slashes, swipes and cuts that her opponent was able to think of.
"Yah!" the girl, turned a block into a twirl that transformed into an attack and this time it was the Scyther that was put on the defensive. Slowly, she began to drive him back.
Ash, watching the battle with his head resting on a table groaned. "Is it ready yet?" he asked, turning to look at the other two members of the party, Brock, who was cooking and Misty, who was chopping some vegetables.
"Ash, if you're not training, you could help too." She growled as she carefully placed plates and glasses on the table, where Togepi was happily trying to catch a butterfly.
Behind them, Brock gave the slightest of nods as Scyther flew past, followed by a roaring Hikaru.
"I can't…" Ash groaned. "I can't move even one millimeter…. I'm starving…" he groaned again. Pikachu, who was resting on his head just sighed. "Besides, I can't interrupt Hikaru's practice... or I'll get an earful on how dangerous it is again."
"The stew is almost ready, don't worry about it guys. Once we've all eaten we'll be as energetic as Hikaru." Brock said cheerfully, sipping a taste of his cooking.
Mokona, standing next to him and holding a plate with vegetables nodded happily. "Puu-puu!"
Pikachu and Togepi looked at the road as a teenager with a red bandanna and dressed as a pirate ran up to them.
"Hey you! Are you Ash from Pallet Town?" he asked, pointing at Ash.
Ash blink-blinked. "That's right. That's me." He answered.
"Can I have a Pokémon battle with you?" the pirate-dressed teenager asked.
"Okay!" Ash shouted, jumping up from the table. He ran up to the boy.
"I thought you couldn't move one millimeter?" Misty asked venomously, glaring at him.
"There's always energy for one Pokémon battle before lunch!" Ash countered. "Go, Bulbasaur!" he shouted, throwing his Pokéball into the air.
As soon as Bulbasaur appeared, the pirate threw his own Pokéball, revealing a Donphan.
Bulbasaur immediately charged.
"Donphan! Rollout!" the pirate ordered.
Donphan immediately curled into a ball and spun, smashing into Bulbasaur, sending him into the air. Donphan then did a tight turn and still rolling, hitting Bulbasaur again, sending him up again.
In mid air, Bulbasaur started gathering sunlight, and as Donphan turned to try and hit him yet again, Bulbasaur fired a Sun Beam at point blank, knocking out the other Pokémon in one hit.
"Well done, Bulbasaur!" Ash shouted as he called his Pokémon back.
His opponent just growled and threw another Pokéball, revealing a Machamp, just as Ash sent Squirtle out.
Machamp managed to kick Squirtle once, but the water Pokémon evaded the second attempt in time to hear Ash's orders.
Rolling back, the water Pokémon used Bubble Beam, shooting a straight line of bubbles at the Machamp and watching in satisfaction as they exploded and knocked him out.
In a feat of anger, the pirate-dressed teenager threw out three Pokéballs. As each fell Ash considered his next move. First a Venomoth, then a Golem and at last a Pinsir appeared in flashes of red light.
Smirking, Ash pointed at them. "Pikachu! Thunder-shock!" he shouted.
"Pi-ka!" Pikachu shouted as he jumped from Ash's shoulder, sending a yellow lighting bolt straight into the three Pokémon. The three challengers fell to the ground unconscious.
"No!" the pirate shouted as he fell to his knees, before calling them back.
"I did it!" Ash shouted, jumping up and down.
"It's because your opponent was weak." Misty said over her shoulder. "Don't get too exited Ash."
"He didn't even raise them properly." Brock added without bothering to look up from the stew. "You can always tell the malnourished Pokémon from the ones with good health."
"Why you…" the pirate started to say, but stopped as Scyther and Hikaru, still fighting, landed between him and the other three.
"Nice try, Lafarga!" Hikaru called, ducking under a swipe. She then brought her sword around and brought it down. Scyther managed to block in time with both his blades as his trainer pushed him back, leaving skid marks on the grass.
"Scyther!" her Pokémon grunted, trying to push back.
Hikaru smirked. "Not yet!" with that, she pushed him back with enough force to make him fall on his back. As the Scyther tried to stand up again, she touched his neck with the tip of her blade.
He followed the blade to look at his trainer. "Scy." He conceded.
Hikaru nodded and stepped back, letting her Pokémon get to his feet. She looked at the pirate-dressed boy as he ran away, screaming. "What's wrong with him?"
From up a nearby hill, Team Rocket watched the group.
"Pikachu gets stronger and stronger." James muttered, putting away his binoculars.
"And Hikaru never ceases to amaze me." Jessie looked away disgruntled.
"And Mokona and Pikachu always evade our best crafted plans…" Meowth said with a sigh. "But we can't give up!"
"I will get that Pikachu and that Mokona!" Jessie said.
"But look at that." James said enviously as he watched the group seat down to eat.
"I'm so hungry…" Meowth slid down to the floor.
"I got a frying pan..." Jessie said, pulling it out of her backpack.
"And what good will it make without meat or vegetables? It's just an iron board!" Meowth growled.
"Wow, Brock, that was great!" Hikaru said, sitting back on her chair, happily patting her stomach.
"Pika!" Pikachu said, agreeing wholeheartedly with Hikaru.
"Puu!" Mokona added.
"Yeah, I could…" Ash started to say when something flew past over them so fast and so suddenly that it bowled over everything on the table and sent the group rolling on the ground.
"What was that?" Ash asked from under the white blanket as he pulled it from over him. "Oh… a Dragonite!"
As everyone got up and stood next to him, the Dragonite pulled a small metallic box from the bag it carried, the dragon Pokémon then gave it to Ash.
"Is this for me?" Ash asked as he pressed the red button in the center.
Immediately, a small hologram of a lady in an old-style dress appeared.
"She's beautiful…" Brock said.
"Wow, looks like princess Leia!" Hikaru muttered.
Ash was about to ask her what she meant when the hologram lady started speaking.
"Please forgive the abruptness of the letter." The lady said with a slight bow. "My master, the greatest Pokémon Trainer in the World has invited you to meet him in his Castle in New Island. If you accept, please tick 'yes' in the card. Thank you." Having said that, the hologram disappeared.
Dragonite then handled Ash a card that had a "Yes" and a "No" written down next to empty boxes.
"What do we do?" Misty asked, looking at the others.
"Let's go for it!" Brock said.
"But wait, wouldn't that take more time from you meeting back with Sabrina and Joy?" Ash asked Hikaru.
Hikaru shrugged. "I still have a couple of days, and I think it would be interesting to meet this trainer, even if he or she has a Star Wars obsession. Besides, if he is the Greatest Pokémon Trainer in the World as he claims and owns an island, he must have considerable resources, different than the army at least. He might be able to help me find Umi and Fuu."
Ash nodded. "I think so too. The Greatest Pokémon Trainer in the World, huh? Wait... Star Wars?"
"Well then, put yes on the card." Misty said.
Ash nodded and ticked the empty box next to "Yes" and gave it back to Dragonite. After putting it in his bag, the dragon Pokémon took a running leap into the air and flew away.
Just as Dragonite was about to clear the hill, Jessie slammed her frying pan in it's head, and with the help of James and Meowth managed to hold back Dragonite as it struggled to fly past.
"Oh, no you don't!" Jessie growled.
"We want to know where the twerps are going!" Meowth said as they struggled.
As Dragonite pushed, a slip of paper flew out of his bag and fell at their feet. The Pokémon freed itself and flew away, leaving the three Team Rocket members alone as they picked the small card.
The group had just finished picking up and started walking towards the harbor when it started to rain. The storm was so strong that they had to run as fast as they could to the pier.
Once they ran inside, they stared at the storm through the windows.
"It was a beautiful day!" Ash looked around. "I guess no more Pokémon Battles for a while."
"The weather along this beach can change easily." Brock said as he dried himself up with a towel.
Hikaru just frowned at the storm, ignoring the wet clothes. "It's not a normal storm." She said. "It came too suddenly."
Ash blink-blinked. "What do you mean?" he asked.
Hikaru shook her head. "I don't know... it wasn't magic, so it was definitely not Frey's doing."
They heard a commotion on the main entrance and walked to the large crowd of people that had gathered there around Officer Jenny and another woman.
"What? The ferry has been canceled?" someone asked.
"We can't go to the New Island?!" A girl in the front asked.
"Oh, no! We were invited to go!" someone else said from the back.
Hikaru and the others pushed their way to the front as officer Jenny motioned with her hand to the woman standing next to her.
"Be quiet everyone." Officer Jenny said, drawing everyone's attention. "Here is the Pier Master."
"I'm Boijer." The woman introduced herself. "If you would like to go out in the sea, just look at the clouds. Its pretty bad weather out there." She said as lightning rumbled behind her, as if proving her point.
"Is it that terrible?" Officer Jenny asked worriedly.
Boijer nodded. "I grew up on a port and I've never experienced something like this. It came out of no-where and it promises to get worse. Besides, the storm is above New Island, just offshore from this pier." She explained. "I can't let you be placed in such danger. As the authority on this pier, I forbid it."
Hikaru nodded. "I knew there was something weird with this storm…" she said.
"I'll be fine with my Pokémon." A boy in the front said. "My Pokémon are stronger in water."
"Wait! Haven't you heard what I have been saying? It is too dangerous!" Boijer stated.
"She's right!" Jenny said, calling their attention again. "Besides if your Pokémon got hurt now they wouldn't be able to get treatment at a Pokémon Center!"
"What do you mean?" Ash asked for all the present.
"The Nurse Joy from the Pokémon Center has gone missing. Without her you can't get treatment for your Pokémon!" She pointed at a poster on the back of the room. "That's the poster of the Nurse Joy we are looking for. If you see her, please let us know."
Brock walked up to it and looked closely. "She's very pretty…" he said, then a frown crossed his face. "I think I've seen her somewhere before…" he muttered.
"Of course. In every town and city with a Pokémon Center." Hikaru muttered to herself.
"Hey, wait!" Officer Jenny shouted, making them turn.
They saw that a group of trainers had ran out into the storm.
"Go, Pidgeot!" A boy in red pants shouted. As soon as the Pokémon bird had appeared, he jumped on its back and flew off.
Meanwhile, the boy that had said that his water Pokémon wouldn't have any trouble at all had jumped on the back of his Gyarados and was sailing away.
"Stop! Stop or I'll arrest you!" Officer Jenny shouted as she ran onto the pier.
The girl that had also spoken up at the pier house, ignored her and jumped on the back of her Dewgong and followed the others.
"Wait!" Officer Jenny shouted again as Boijer joined her. The Pier master shook her head.
"Some trainers have no fear." She said to Jenny. "To them, this is just one more challenge. They follow their hearts. That is what sets them apart and will make them Pokémon Masters."
Together, they watched as the Trainers disappeared into the sea.
Ash and Co. ran out of the house in time to see the other three Trainers leaving.
"Just off the pier lives the strongest trainer in the world! I can't stay here!" Ash shouted over the wind.
"But we can't cross! Our Pokémon aren't strong enough!" Misty warned.
Ash looked away, downcast. "Right." He muttered.
Just then, a small wooden boat pulled up next to the pier. Inside, two Vikings were controlling it against the wind and waves.
"Want a ride?" One of the Vikings asked.
Ash looked at the others.
The waves were getting worse by the second and soon a huge wave washed over the small boat, tearing the clothes from the Vikings and revealing Team Rocket.
"Team Rocket! I should've known!" Ash shouted angrily as the waves kept everyone mostly on their seats.
"You guys always appear at the worst of times!" Brock growled.
"What do you want now?" Ash asked them.
"Maybe they want to go in a blaze of glory!" Hikaru said, ready to blast them.
Somehow Team Rocket was able to stand on the moving and shifting boat. "If we're asked what we want..." Jessie said.
"The answer is simple…" James stated.
"Watch out!" Meowth shouted as a wave turned the boat upside down, sending everyone into the sea.
As soon as she was underwater, Misty called out Staryu and swam up with it, holding on to it. She saw Brock swimming towards her.
"Misty!" Brock called, grabbing Staryu as soon as they were close enough.
"Where are the others?!" she asked just before another big way pulled them down. Underwater, Misty pointed at Ash as Squirtle helped him swim towards them. When they broke the surface, they gathered together.
"Hold on tight everyone!" Ash said. "Where's Hikaru?!" he asked, looking around.
At that moment, a Dratini broke surface next to them, carrying Hikaru on her back. "Hey guys!" she waved as they swam towards the others. Her backpack opened a little to reveal Mokona.
"Puu!"
Together, they kept on swimming towards New Island.
They found their way into the castle through a cavern in the coast.
When they were protected from the storm, they kept on swimming until they reached the small pier where the lady from the card was waiting for them.
"Welcome to the New Island. Please show me your invitation." The woman said once they had climbed onto the wooden platform.
"This?" asked Ash as he pulled out the hologram card, as he showed it to the lady, the hologram activated, stating that they had been invited.
Brock, in the meantime, had been staring at her. He snapped his fingers as a smile came to his face. "I knew it!"
"Yes?" asked the lady, turning to look at him.
"You're Nurse Joy! I saw in the missing person poster back at the pier!"
"She does look like her." Hikaru said after a moment.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I've been serving in this castle all my life." The lady said. Then, dismissing the whole conversation, she motioned for them to follow her. "Come this way. The other guests are already waiting."
Ash and the others followed the lady past a pair of huge doors that opened to let them in. Inside, three trainers were seated along a large table. The room itself was huge, with the ceiling lost in the darkness above and a large spiral staircase in the back that went all the way up.
"Those are the trainers who have already arrived." The woman said as she motioned them in.
"Only three?" Ash asked surprised.
"The trainers who were unable to cross the storm aren't worthy of meeting my master." The woman stated.
"You mean the storm was a test?" Brock asked, amazed.
The lady ignored his question and walked further into the room. "Please free your Pokémon and be seated. You are the chosen trainers." She said.
Looking at the others Ash shrugged and called out Bulbasaur and Squirtle, while Brock called out Vulpix. Hikaru let her Dratini out on one of the many fountains, next to Misty's Pokémon and called out Ryukari, who went to stand next to Umi, even if he was a little uncomfortable with all the water.
"Maybe I should have called him Ascot." Hikaru laughed as she let out her Scyther, Lafarga and her Evee who immediately nuzzled her legs.
The Pokémon's appearance and her laughter drew the attention of the other Trainers to them.
"Hey, what took you so long?" The boy in red that had ridden the Pidgeot asked them when he saw them approaching.
"How did you get here?" Ash asked.
"I flew here." The trainer said, pointing at his Pokémon. "My Pidgeot can cross something like that in one flight. I'm Sora, by the way. Everyone greet them!"
His Ryhorn, Pidgeot, Venusaur, Scyther, Sandslash and Hitmonlee were quick to follow orders and called their names as they greeted the newest arrivals.
Lafarga and the other Scyther exchanged glances, measuring each other up.
Ash looked around and spotted a Gyarados roaring on the fountain next to where Hikaru's and Misty's Pokémon were. Next to it was a Tentacruel and outside stood a Golduck, a Nidorina and a Vaporeon.
"I'm Umio and that's my Gyarados." The other boy said. "I rode him across the sea. Those kind of waves were nothing for it."
"Gyarados is very hard to train, right?" Ash asked as he walked to the table.
"Yeah but if you can handle it, no one is more reliable." The boy answered proudly.
It was the girl's time to show off as she pointed out her Pokémon on the other side of the room. "I'm Sweet! My Pokémon are the ones over there." She said as her Wigglytuff ran to join its friends, Blastoise, Vileplume, Rapidash, Ninetails and Dewgong.
"Hey, Mokona, come out!" Hikaru said, looking down into her backpack.
"What is it, Hikaru?" Misty asked.
"I don't know, Mokona just doesn't want to come out, I guess." The magic knight shrugged and closed her backpack. "Oh well."
At that moment, the lights went of and a beam of light went down the middle of the spiral staircase, making the darkness around them fade a little.
"Now it is time for you to meet my master, the greatest Pokémon trainer in the world."
As they all watched enraptured, a creature started floating down from the top of the stairs, slowly becoming visible as it reached their level.
Everyone gasped as the Pokémon finally landed. It was like nothing they had seen before.
"The strongest Pokémon trainer in the world is Mewtwo." The woman announced.
As the lights came on, everyone looked at the Pokémon in astounded silence.
"Mewtwo?" Ash asked. He had never heard of that Pokémon.
"Well… he does kinda look like a cat, doesn't he? In a way…" Hikaru said, looking at him critically. "We should be careful, though."
"A Pokémon is a Pokémon trainer? It can't be!" the owner of the Gyarados said defiantly.
The lady turned to look at the boy. "I have decided to make my own rules!" she said, but they all noticed that her voice was mixed up with another, much deeper voice.
"That voice!" Misty said, stepping back in horror.
"Telepathy!" Brock growled, gritting his teeth.
With a gesture of Mewtwo's hand, the boy that had spoken lifted up into the air and shot across the room to land in the fountain where his Pokémon were.
Everyone stepped back warily as the boy spluttered and swam to the edge of the fountain.
"Darn it!" the boy shouted. "Go, Gyarados! Hyper Beam!" he ordered, pointing with a quivering finger at the offending Pokémon.
Gyarados powered up, gathering energy inside its mouth until he couldn't contain it any more and shot it at Mewtwo.
Everyone watched the ray as it crashed into an invisible shield around the strange Pokémon, then the ray turned around and sped back, slamming on Gyarados and sending him crashing against a statue on the back of the fountain, knocking him unconscious.
"That was easy." Mewtwo said with a little amusement. He then concentrated on the lady. "I no longer have any need of you." He said.
The lady's eyes rolled back as she fell forward in a faint. Brock caught her before she fell and carefully helped her down. As he did, the white hat she was using to cover her head and hide her hair fell off, revealing the face of Nurse Joy.
"Nurse Joy." Brock called softly when he saw her stir.
Nurse Joy moaned as she slowly opened her eyes. Still weak, she looked around. "Where is this place? Why am I here?
"To help me. Having someone that has experience taking care of Pokémon is useful." Mewtwo said.
"What did you say?" Brock asked, still holding Nurse Joy.
"Humans can be manipulated in any way with my power." Mewtwo stated.
"With your power?" Misty asked.
"Humans are not toys for you to do whatever you want with us, Mewtwo!" Hikaru said, taking a threatening step forward.
Mewtwo glared at her. "I thought of working with humans once. But I was betrayed. Humans are inferior to Pokémon, yet they control us. If weak and cruel humans and monsters control this world, this planet will come to ruin." The Pokémon answered angrily.
"Are you saying that Pokémon should rule?" Brock asked, helping Nurse Joy up.
"If that is the case, we don't need to fight, Mewtwo…" Hikaru said making soothing motions with her hands. "It's understandable that you feel that Pokémon are being mistreated but…"
Mewtwo shook his head, interrupting her. "Pokémon are no good either." He stated coldly. "The Pokémon that have been controlled by humans are just as bad."
Pikachu jumped from Ash's shoulder. "Pika! Pika, pika-chu!" he said.
Mewtwo shook his head. "To be with them by itself is wrong." He said contemptuously, picking Pikachu up with his telekinetic power and throwing him across the room.
"Pikachu!" Ash shouted. Before Pikachu crashed, the Master in training managed to jump and catch him, although both went down in a bundle.
"Weak Pokémon rely on humans." Mewtwo stated coldly.
"Ash!" both, Misty and Hikaru asked, running towards him. "Are you ok?" Misty asked, helping him up as Hikaru glared daggers at Mewtwo.
"Yeah." Ash answered, standing up. "How dare you attack Pikachu?!" he shouted at Mewtwo.
"As long as you're a Pokémon, that means I can catch you!" Sora shouted. "Go, Ryhorn!" he ordered.
His Ryhorn charged at Mewtwo, making the ground tremble as he ran, but just as it was about to slam into the Pokémon, Mewtwo stopped it in its tracks and threw it across the room.
"Ryhorn!" The trainer shouted, running to his Pokémon.
"Its no use. I am the strongest of all Pokémon in the world." Mewtwo stated.
"Oh, yeah?!" Hikaru asked.
"You don't know until you try!" Ash challenged.
"You wan to try?" Mewtwo asked, showing a little interest.
"I sure do!" Ash answered.
Mewtwo's eyes glowed for a moment as he nodded. After a few seconds, three big Pokémon raised from the ground.
"Charizard, Blastoise and Venusaur!" Hikaru said.
"These are the evolved forms of the copies I have made of these Pokémon." Mewtwo said.
"Copies?" Sweet asked, echoed by the other trainers.
The ground shook again as one of the sides of the huge hall slid open, revealing a large stadium with a battlefield in the center.
"A battlefield? You want to have a Pokémon battle?" Brock asked, incredulous.
"I've got Venusaur for that copy one!" Sora said.
"And I've got Blastoise for that copy one!" Sweet said, a mercenary gleam in her eye.
"And I've got Charizard too!" Ash said, pulling out his Pokéball. "Charizard I choose you!" he called.
As soon as he came out, Charizard exchanged glares with Ryukari and a look of contempt at Mewtwo. Without warning, Charizard shot a huge flame at Mewtwo.
"Charizard…" Ash muttered.
A column of water rose from the fountain, putting off Charizard's blast, revealing an unscathed Mewtwo. "That Charizard is poorly trained." The Pokémon said, making Ash grit his teeth.
Mewtwo took his Pokémon to the far end of the battlefield as the Pokémon trainers walked outside, followed by their Pokémon.
"Who's first?" Mewtwo asked.
"I underestimated you before, but it won't happen again!" Sora said as his Venusaur walked forth.
Turning to look at his own Venusaur, Mewtwo nodded slightly and it also walked forth.
"Venusaur! Razor leaf!" Sora ordered as soon as the two Grass Pokémon had squared off.
"Vine Whip." Mewtwo ordered.
As soon as Sora's Venusaur shot its spinning razor-sharp leaves, they were batted out of the air. Immediately, Copy Venusaur wrapped its vines around the original version's torso and threw it against the ground.
"Venusaur!" Sora shouted, running to kneel next to his semi-conscious Pokémon.
"I'm next!" Sweet said, walking forth. "Go, Blastoise!" she called and the huge turtle-like Pokémon stomped to the center of the battlefield.
On the other side, Mewtwo nodded at his Blastoise to go forth.
"Blastoise, Hydro Pump!" Sweet ordered without missing a beat.
Copy Blastoise, however started spinning and went through the water attack, smashing against the other Blastoise, sending it crashing into the wall.
"Blastoise!" Sweet wailed, running to the unconscious Pokémon.
Just as Ash was about to step forth, a hand on his shoulder stopped him. "Hey, bro, it's not fair if you have all the fun!" Hikaru said, poking Ash in the chest.
Ash smiled sheepishly. "But I want to fight him! Let's toss a coin!" he said.
Hikaru groaned. "But you always win coin tosses!" she said.
Ash looked at her. "Well, I won't back up!" he stated.
"Alright, alright!" Hikaru said as she tossed a coin to the air.
"Tails!" Ash called.
The coin fell on the floor and bounced twice before spiraling to a stop.
Both went to see the results, followed by their Charizards.
"Humph! Not fair!" Hikaru groaned as Ash smiled wickedly.
Behind them, Charizard smirked at Ryukari, elbowing the bigger Charizard who grumbled and looked the other way.
"Be careful Ash!" Misty warned as he stepped forth. "His Pokémon are very strong!"
"I know…" Ash muttered as he walked to Charizard. Mewtwo had already sent his own Copy Charizard to the center of the battleground.
"Charizard!" Ash said to his Pokémon before he left. "Lets fight with speed not power!"
Charizard roared and flew up, using his flamethrower to try and burn Copy Charizard, missing as the other Pokémon dodged around his flames and slammed onto him repeatedly.
"What happened to the speed attacks?" Misty asked as she looked up at the Dragon Pokémon dogfight.
"The enemy is too fast!" Brock said.
"No," Hikaru said, shaking her head. "Charizard did not follow Ash's instructions!"
After a few more hits, Copy Charizard was able to get behind the other Dragon Pokémon and grabbed him, pulling him down with him.
"Charizard!" Ash shouted as his Pokémon came down faster and faster.
"Body Slam!" Mewtwo ordered and Copy Charizard slammed the other Pokémon against the ground at a high speed, letting go at the last moment.
Charizard stood up after a second and roared a challenge… before fainting.
"Hold on Charizard!" Ash shouted, running to him. "Are you okay?"
"Now I will collect my price." Mewtwo said as he pulled his hands up. In the air, above his hands, three Black Pokéballs materialized and shot out towards the fallen Pokémon.
One by one the Pokéballs capture the three Pokémon and before anyone could react, they had disappeared into a passage under one of the golden statues that decorated the great hall.
"Hey! Charizard!" Ash shouted.
"Why are you taking other people's Pokémon?!" Misty asked.
"Taking them?" Mewtwo asked, amused. "No. I'm going to make stronger copies of the Pokémon you are so proud of." He said, raising his arms again and making hundreds of Black Pokéballs appear. "I'll take all your Pokémon and make copies."
"Copies?" Brock asked, holding his Vulpix closer.
"Stop! You can't do that!" Ash shouted.
"Don't tell me what to do." Mewtwo growled.
His eyes shone and suddenly Ash was sent smashing against Brock. The two boys skidded on the ground a few feet before stopping.
"No one can tell me what to do!" Mewtwo stated, sending the Black Pokéballs flying with a gesture of his hands.
"They're coming!" Brock shouted, struggling to his feet.
"Run everyone!" Ash shouted at the Pokémon, watching fearfully as the Pokéballs sped towards them like a black cloud.
"Ryukari, Umi!" Hikaru shouted, running towards the pair. "Target Practice!"
Both Pokémon nodded and started firing small spurts of compressed water and fire, destroying many of the black Pokéballs. "Lafarga, let's see if you've learned anything about swordplay!" she added, sliding to a halt next to him and calling out her sword.
This development made Mewtwo turn to look at them, expecting a quick catch.
However, while his Pokéballs captured Gyarados and then Golduck, five of the high maneuverability Pokéballs had been destroyed by her Pokémon's water and fire attacks.
While Seaking, Scyther and Hitmonlee were captured, the girl's Scyther and her own sword had claimed five more.
"Vulpix!" Brock shouted as the Pokémon was captured right out of his arms.
A Sandslash got caught as Bulbasaur and Squirtle followed Ryukari's and Umi's example and started blasting the Pokéballs.
The other trainers were trying to bat the Pokéballs away, but they were unable to stop them. Soon, Dewgong was caught, followed by Rapidash and Vileplume.
"Psyduck!" Misty shouted, as her Pokémon followed, she quickly closed her bag, protecting Togepi.
Mewtwo frowned as more of his Pokéballs were destroyed.
Wigglytuff was caught and then Pidgeot, soon all that remained were Hikaru's warring Pokémon and Ash's Pikachu, Bulbasaur and Squirtle.
"Oh, I know!" Ash said suddenly, taking out his Pokéballs. If you take your Pokémon back to their Pokéballs they should be safe! Bulbasaur! Squirtle! Return!" he said, calling them back into his Pokéballs.
The black Pokéballs seemed to hesitate for a second before they absorbed the Pokéballs into them.
"Hey!" Ash shouted.
"It's no use." Mewtwo said. "Nothing is impossible the black Pokéballs I created."
Another Pokéball went up in flames, when one dodged under Umi's bubble beam, slipping around and catching her inside the Pokéball. Ryukari roared as the Dratini disappeared in a bright flash.
"Ryukari, concentrate!" Hikaru shouted over her shoulder, slashing another Pokéball in half, but it was too late, the distraction had allowed one of the black Pokéballs to slip in and capture the Charizard.
One of the Black Pokéballs captured Evee.
Looking at her Scyther, Hikaru motioned for him to follow her. The two still fought, slowly going back, spiraling, twisting and, in Lafarga's case, dodging, until they had their backs against the wall.
"This place is no good." Nurse Joy shouted. "Let's run outside!" Misty and Brock nodded, running out to the battlefield.
On the other side of the great hall, Pikachu was jumping, spinning, dodging and shooting at the Black Pokéballs that were going after him.
At one point he slipped after jumping on the table, but as the Black Pokéballs closed on him, Ash jumped and covered him with his body, receiving around twenty blows on his back as the Pokéballs crashed into him.
"Run Pikachu!" Ash growled, looking up at his friend.
Pikachu took the opportunity and ran, evading the Black Pokéballs as he made for the stairs, followed by Ash. As the Black Pokéballs closed on him, Pikachu managed to use Thunder-shock on them and carry on running.
After the third Thunder-shock, Pikachu was too tired to run and one of the Black Pokéballs managed to catch him as he tried to jump out of the way.
As the Pokéball flied down to follow the rest into the hole under the statue, Ash managed to jump and grab it, falling down with it into the central fountain.
As he hit the water, Ash accidentally let go of the Pokéball, which shot out of the water. Ash went running after it and as it went under the statue, he also went in.
Soon the only Pokémon left was Hikaru's Scyther. The other trainers and Copy Pokémon approach slowly to stand flabbergasted watching the two battle it out. There were already about forty black Pokéballs at their feet and the two still carried on.
"Enough." Mewtwo said, pointing at the pair with his hand.
"Scy!" Lafarga shouted in surprise when he couldn't move. "Scyther!"
Noticing her Pokémon's trouble, Hikaru stood in front of it, fighting off the Pokéballs with lighting-fast movements.
"That's… amazing!" Sora gasped.
"Incredible…" Sweet agreed.
"Impressive." Mewtwo said. His eyes glowed and suddenly Hikaru found it was very hard to move, but she still swung her sword. "You will stop!" Mewtwo ordered, eyes flaring again as Hikaru managed to cut down another Pokéball.
Everyone could now see the glowing blue outline of Mewtwo's power as Hikaru slowed down noticeably. At that moment one of the black Pokéballs absorbed Lafarga and sped into the tunnel, which closed behind it.
Mewtwo let go of Hikaru, who slumped to the ground, sweating and breathing hard. "You bastard…" she growled, standing up, "Since I don't have any more Pokémon, I challenge you!"
Ash slid down the tunnel and slammed into a moving band, where the Black Pokéballs were being taken into a machine. The moment he saw the Pokéball that had Pikachu in it, he dived in to grab it, barely noticing that Team Rocket was in the lab.
"Brat?" Jessie asked surprised as he ran into the machine.
"Sorry, I don't have time now!" he shouted as he dived head first after the Pokéball.
He managed to grab Pikachu's Pokéball as it went inside, just as many metallic pincers came down to analyze it.
"You challenge me?" Mewtwo asked, surprised.
Hikaru growled and poked him in the chest before he could react. "Of course I do! What, do you think I'm just going to let you take my Pokémon?! Fight me if you're so tough!"
Pushing her back, Mewtwo levitated and started floating to the center of the battlefield. "Very well, come then." He said.
"Good!" Hikaru said, throwing her backpack to Brock and walking straight towards Mewtwo.
"Is she crazy?!" Umio asked.
"Someone should stop her before she gets hurt!" Nurse Joy said, worried.
Brock shook his head. "I'm afraid we can't."
"Better take cover." Misty said, quickly going to the side of the battlefield.
Everyone watched as Hikaru walked to the center of the battlefield. To everyone's surprise, with the exception of Misty and Brock, Hikaru started glowing with a red aura that enveloped her completely, covering her from sight, but the aura continued advancing and by the time she was standing in front of Mewtwo, Hikaru had already changed into her Magic Knight armor.
"What is this?" Mewtwo asked, narrowing his eyes as his aura flared.
"Your first glimpse of defeat!" Hikaru challenged as her aura also flared. She pulled back her hands and fire started concentrating between them.
Seeing that, Mewtwo put both his hands together in front of him and started gathering his own energy.
Despite the situation, Hikaru had to smile. Mewtwo didn't know what to think as the human girl smiled cutely at him. "I swear, if you shout 'Final Flash' as you fire that, I'll shout 'Kame-hame-ha'." She laughed.
Even if he didn't understand the reference, Mewtwo smiled. Slight, but it was a smile, and Hikaru's eyes softened a little when she saw that.
"Whenever you want!" Mewtwo challenged, all seriousness again.
With a roar, both combatants threw their attacks at each other. Hikaru's Red Lightning crashed against a ball of psychic energy, exploding in the middle of the battlefield. Hikaru jumped through the haze and smoke and came out flying just in front of Mewtwo, energy swirling in her hand.
"Flame Arrow!"
The fire attack was deflected as Mewtwo created a protective bubble around him.
Without missing a beat, Hikaru's sword crashed against it, and psychic lightning enveloped her sword as she pushed down trying to break it.
Mewtwo's eyes glowed blue as he strengthened the sphere and pushed her back.
When an explosion shook the ground, distracting them, both dismissed their attacks.
A group of Cloned Pokémon walked out of the main hall.
"What happened here?" Mewtwo asked, surprised.
Out of the smoke came Ash's voice. "I did!" The Pokémon Trainer walked out of the smoke, followed by all the original Pokémon.
"Ash!" Hikaru, Misty and Brock shouted as he came into sight.
"Psyduck!" Misty called, seeing her Psyduck walking among the other Pokémon.
"Vulpix!" Brock called.
"Ryukari! Umi! Lafarga!" Hikaru cried happily, running to meet them and earning a glare from Mewtwo.
"Did you set them free?" the Pokémon asked, looking at Ash.
"I will protect my Pokémon! I won't let you use them for your evil plans!" the boy shouted, running and trying to hit Mewtwo with his fist, but the Pokémon sent him sprawling without even trying. The boy got up again and ran towards Mewtwo.
"Ash!" Misty shouted, scared.
"Stop!" Brock called.
"You're not strong enough!" Hikaru said as she turned around to see Mewtwo throw Ash up into the air against one of the outside gigantic stone statues. "No!"
Just as Ash was about to crash on the statue, a semi-transparent pink bubble appeared on his way. Ash slammed onto the soft bubble and it disappeared, reappearing again underneath him, making him bounce a couple of times.
A little, flying cat-looking Pokémon suddenly materialized next to him, looking at him in amusement. When Ash looked at him, the Pokémon popped the bubble and Ash fell on his butt on the top of the statue.
The cat-like Pokémon laughed at Ash.
"You…" Mewtwo said, surprised.
The little Pokémon then created another pink bubble and started bouncing on it, until a black ball of energy destroyed it.
The Pokémon looked down at Mewtwo as the powerful Pokémon created another energy ball and shot it, followed by another three. The new Pokémon, however, dodged them all, giggling all the way.
"Who's that…" Brock wondered.
"Pokémon?" Misty asked.
The Pokémon flew down to float a few feet in front of Mewtwo and the bigger Pokémon glared at it. "Mew." Mewtwo spat. "The Pokémon that is supposed to be the rarest Pokémon in the world."
"Mew?" Brock asked, confused.
"I was made from you." Mewtwo said as Mew looked around, apparently ignoring Mewtwo. "But I am the stronger one..." Mewtwo growled. "I am the true one."
"Mew and Mew-two." Brock shook his head. "I get it now!"
"I am the only one who will survive." Mewtwo said as he started glowing with contained power. In a second, he was shooting black energy balls at Mew, who teleported and dodged out of the way.
"Why don't you fight me? Are you afraid? Is that why you don't fight?!" Shouting in anger, Mewtwo finally hit Mew with one of his energy blasts, sending the smaller Pokémon flying into the clouds above.
Everyone gasped as the little Mew disappeared from sight, but a second later, another ball, this one blue, shot from where he had disappeared and slammed into Mewtwo, sending him crashing onto the side of the stadium.
Team Rocket stumbled into the battlefield as Mew flew down from the sky and Mewtwo floated up to meet him.
"Your attacks are ineffective against me. Now is the time to decide which one of us is the strongest, you or the copy!"
"Someone has serious daddy issues here." Umio grunted.
"Mew! Mew.. mew, mew…mew mew!" Mew said as Mewtwo glared at him.
"I see…" Meowth said.
"What's it saying?" Jessie asked.
As Meowth began to translate, Mewtwo answered angrily. "Fine! I will use my powers so they don't use theirs. I'll prove to you that the copies are stronger than the originals!" the Pokémon then shot a blast at Mew, who avoided it.
Up in the statue, Ash jumped out of the way as the blast hit the walls and statue.
"Lets decide which are the strongest without skills!" Mewtwo looked down at his Copy Pokémon. "You are the strongest! Go!"
Hikaru and the others watched helplessly as their Pokémon ran to meet each other in battle.
Without powers the battle seemed more balanced, but after a few moments, the worried trainers noticed that their Pokémon seemed less strong physically than the copies.
"Oh, this is not happening!" Hikaru groaned as she ran into the battlegrounds to physically try to stop her Pokémon and their copies from hurting each other for real.
Meanwhile, Mewtwo had created a blue sphere of telekinetic energy and had slammed into Mew's pink one as soon as the smaller Pokémon had created it, the two started slamming against each other, shooting around the whole battleground, neither giving any indication of weakness.
In the center of the battleground, Pikachu was running around, trying to calm his friends when he heard a challenge. Turning around he saw his own clone standing there, ready to fight.
"Pokémon aren't meant to like this!" Nurse Joy said, aghast. "What can possibly come out of it?"
"Nothing..." Sweet said, horrified.
"Why can't Mewtwo understand that there is no point to force Pokémon to battle like this?!" Brock asked, clenching his fists in anger.
"It doesn't matter if they're clones…" Misty said, fighting back her tears.
As Team Rocket watched the Pokémon battle, Meowth found himself facing his clone. Immediately, both prepared to fight, unsheathing their claws.
"It's you!" Meowth said. "Let's get somethin' straight, pussycat, I won't let you push me around!" he warned.
"Meowth!" Copy Meowth said.
"What do you mean we don't have to fight each other?!" Meowth asked.
"Meowth." His copy answered.
"I dunno if I should trust you..." Meowth said looking at his copy a little warily.
"Meowth!" the copy answered, sitting down and looking up at the moon.
Meowth relaxed, and looked at his claws. "What do you mean there's a beautiful moon tonight?"
"Meowth! Meow!"
Meowth nodded at his copy's answer looking up at the sky. "I guess you're right… calm and beautiful."
As Mew and Mewtwo still smashed and bounced at each other without respite, Ash finally made his way down the side of the statue. Just as his feet touched the ground, he started running.
"That's enough! Stop!"
"Ash!" Brock called as the young trainer ran past him.
"I've got to stop them!" Ash shouted back, stopping for a moment.
"No!" Brock said. "It's too dangerous!"
At that moment, Mewtwo landed a few feet from Mew's hovering form. Both Pokémon's shields went down as they prepared a much bigger blast.
"Stop!" Ash shouted, running towards the center of the battlefield.
"Ash!" Brock called.
Hikaru, who had her Charizard and its copy struggling to break free from under her arms, looked up at Brocks shout in time to see Mew and Mewtwo unleash two huge energy balls at each other. Ash was in the middle as both blasts collided.
"Ash!" She shouted, horrified as the clouds dispersed, she let both Charizards fall to the floor.
In the center of the battlefield Ash stood, completely turned to stone under the power of the two over-charged telekinetic blasts. Ash fell to the ground.
Mewtwo stopped where he was, looking in horrified amazement at the still figure as Pikachu ran to it.
"Foolish!" he whispered. "A normal human tried to stop our fight."
Everyone watched silently as Pikachu shook Ash by the shoulder to no avail. When he didn't react, Pikachu used a Thunder-shock. "Pika-chu!" When it didn't work, Pikachu tried again, calling his name each time. "Pika-chu!"
Hikaru sank to her knees. "Ash... brother..."
"Pika-chu!"
Misty hugged Brock, who looked in horror at the petrified form of his friend.
"Pika-chu!"
Tears began to form in Pikachu's eyes as he tried to revive his friend. "Pika-chu!" he said again, using more Thunder-shocks without avail. "Pika-chu!"
The tired Pokémon stared at the Pikachu as he tried to revive his friend. Still calling Ash's name, Pikachu started crying.
Slowly, one by one the gathered Pokémon began crying for Pikachu and his master.
The tears started floating up as the Pokémon call Ash with each of Pikachu's attempts to bring him back.
The tears gathered over Ash's still body, as Pikachu tried one final Thunder-shock.
Defeated, the Pokémon finally let a tear fall for his friend.
The tears converged on Ash and his body started glowing. Pikachu and the others stared in amazement as the glow faded and Ash groaned.
"Pikachu!" Ash said, hugging his friend.
"Pika pi!" Pikachu shouted happily hugging him back.
Mewtwo and Mew look at each other from where they float in the air.
"He sacrificed himself to stop the fight." Mewtwo said, shaking his head as he watched Ash slowly stand up. "But it was me who pitted the Pokémon to fight against each other. He did not care whether they were copies or originals."
"Mew!" his counterpart nodded.
Slowly a blue glow surrounded the Copy Pokémon and they lifted off the ground, floating up to where Mewtwo and Mew waited for them.
"Where are you going everyone?" Ash asked, standing up.
"We will go away and find somewhere in this world to live in peace." Mewtwo said. "It might be better if no one knew or remembered about this."
As one by one, trainers and Pokémon fell asleep, Hikaru stood up from where she had been kneeling next to her Pokémon. When only she was awake, Mewtwo floated down to her.
"You realize that I must erase your memory of what happened here…" Mewtwo said. "It will be easier if you don't fight my control. Nothing will happen to you."
Hikaru smiled at him as she walked up to him. When she was just in front of the floating Pokémon, she hugged him. Mewtwo remained paralyzed the full ten seconds the hug lasted. When she let go, Hikaru smiled at him kindly. "I forgive you, Mewtwo, but you owe me a battle, and I will remember it!"
Managing to smile back, Mewtwo finally nodded and floated away. "I trust you. Remember us then... and we'll meet again." He said as everything became white around her.
***
"The ferry has been canceled!" Officer Jenny announced. "There's a hurricane coming!"
"Don't worry everyone!" Nurse Joy said, walking among the grumbling trainers. "I'm going to open the Pokémon Center as a shelter for those who want to stay there."
"Nurse Joy, Officer Jenny and Ms. Boijer look even more beautiful than usual when they are wet by the rain." Brock said dreamily. The others didn't even deign to argue.
"But why are we here?" Ash asked, blink-blinking and looking around.
"I don't know." Misty answered with a shrug.
"Oh, well. It doesn't matter." Ash said as they picked their stuff up. "Let's meet up with sis. She's at the entrance."
They walked through the long lines of trainers and Pokémon, to the door. "Hey, what's up?" he asked as Hikaru walked out of the Pier house.
"Wait!"" Officer Jenny shouted and ran out, followed by Ash and the others.
"It can't be…" Ash said, amazed.
"The hurricane... it's gone!" Officer Jenny said, forgetting about Hikaru as she looked around at the calm waters and clearing skies.
"Is this your doing?" Ash asked his sister.
"Ash... you give me far too much credit."
"I can run the ferry again tomorrow." Boijer said, walking up to them.
As Ash watched the sky, something flickered between the clouds. "Look!"
"What? I can't see anything." Misty asked as she and the others looked up.
"Except the sky." Brock stated.
"On the day I left to become a Pokémon Master, I saw a really rare Pokémon... and now.. I believe I've seen another." Ash said, wistfully.
"A really rare Pokémon?" Brock asked.
Ash nodded and while Misty teased him, Hikaru looked at the distant horizon.
"We'll meet again one day, Mewtwo." She whispered, then turned around and joined her brother and her friends. Mokona sprang from her backpack and started jumping around until Hikaru picked her up.
"Hey, where have you been, you little coward?!" She teased. Mokona looked at her reproachfully. "Puu!"
Hikaru just shook her head and smiled, looking up towards the clouds.
End Chapter 7