"So, um, communications are still down. I guess." Charizard swished his tail. He raised an eyebrow while examining Meowth. "He's out."
"You need sensitivity lessons. Seriously." Wartortle sighed and pulled Charizard by the tip of his wing, dragging him away from the scene. "Venusaur, can you see how Pikachu's holding up?"
He shrugged and craned his neck. "Eh, not…well?"
Pikachu's back was turned to Meowth, her head pressed against the cavern wall.
"Stay here with Venusaur, fire-breath." Wartortle squinted at Charizard and waddled back over to the mouse. "Pikachu?" There was no response. "Pikachu."
Without moving her head from the wall, she responded in a flat tone. "What."
"This can't stop you."
"It hasn't."
"Then—"
Pikachu interrupted him with a glare. She walked away to the corner filled with the communications equipment, some of the radios dented by Steelix. Hunched over a desk, Pikachu's eyes pored over papers she could not read.
Ash wasn't paying attention: he had restarted Dexter 3.1 twice, for good measure. He pointed it at Meowth again, only for the glitched image and repetitions of "Missing No." to return. Directing it towards Venusaur, the standard image of the Pokemon appeared on the small screen, with the narration "Venusaur, the seed Pokemon." Hesitating, he scanned Meowth one last time with the device. Even though Meowth looked like a Meowth now, the Pokedex would only show the pixelated image and repeat "Missing No." until the computer was restarted again.
He looked down and noticed Pikachu's absence— he sighed. Pikachu's tail stuck out like lightning from the chair in the communications nook.
"Not now. I need to come up with a plan." Her face was buried in Meowth's notes, conscientiously written down by James.
Ash opened his mouth to respond that he could read the notes to her, but seeing her face, he held back the words. He sat down and pulled his knees to his chest. The papers—Gary's letters—crunched. Stricken by panic for a split-second, Ash shifted his weight forward to pull out the stack of letters from his pocket. Some were already yellow at the edges from age. How long had Gary been writing?
It was hard not to skim over some of the wordier parts, but Ash kept reading. At points he stifled laughter, at others, tears. And then, his face turned red. He checked to his left and his right, making sure no one was reading over his shoulder, and he grinned.
Misty had perched on a boulder on the other side of the space. She watched Ash as he read the letters. Her gaze centered on Gary's necklace, now resting on Ash's chest. Misty then looked away. Her mouth smiled, but her eyes didn't.
Lickitung tapped her on the shoulder, startling her.
"Psyduck wants to tell you something."
"What?"
Lickitung pointed towards Rock Tunnel's entrance. "We have a visitor."
"I'm not sure what you're saying. You want me to see Psyduck, Wobbuffet…Alakazam?"
Lickitung nodded.
/
"Hey? Buddy?" James poked Meowth. "We gotta move you."
"It's not like he's going to just get up and walk to a more convenient place, James." Jessie brushed hair away from her face. "Is it even safe to move him?"
"Let's check his pulse again." Brock crouched down to place two fingers on the cat's wrist. "It seems to have evened out a bit."
James, hands on his hips, surveyed the cavern. "I guess it'd be a bit nicer for him by our sleeping bags." He scooped up Meowth in one motion.
"I always forget how heavy—" James gawked at something, losing his grip on Meowth enough that one arm swung loose, limp. He composed himself and repositioned the cat before whispering, "What. Is. That."
"It looks familiar, though, doesn't it?" Jessie tilted her head towards the tall, purple Pokemon. It wore a dramatic black cloak.
Ash looked up from the letters to find Misty and Psyduck with a Pokemon that he could have sworn he had dreamt about, long ago. He packed away the letters back into his pocket, smoothing out the crinkles in the paper. He pulled out Dexter 3.1—again—and flipped it open.
The computer narrated, "Unknown Pokemon."
Misty flashed a sheepish grin as she approached Ash. "Today's the day for Pokemon that break the Pokedex, huh?"
The purple Pokemon "spoke" without moving its mouth. "I am Mewtwo."
"Telepathy." Brock rubbed his chin.
Mewtwo took off his cloak and dropped it to the floor. "We have met before. Twice, actually. Maybe three times? It has been a while…"
Ash stood up. "What do you want?"
"I—"
"—Because every time a strange and powerful Pokemon decides I'm the 'Chosen One,' I almost die. I—I can't handle that right now—"
"—I've come to help you…" Mewtwo nodded at Pikachu, who emerged from the communications nook. "I want to see you succeed."
"Hold up. If we've all met before, how come no one seems to remember you?" Jessie asked.
"Oh. I wiped your memories."
"Ugh. Psychic-types, right?" Charizard rolled his eyes.
Pikachu stared at the ground with her eyes narrowed. "If you want to help us, and you're powerful enough for telepathy, wiping memories, where were you? Where were you before? Before the Pidgey died? Before…Meowth?" She focused on Mewtwo's eyes, looking for an answer.
The Psychic-type's countenance didn't waver. "It would have made things worse."
"And if you knew about infinity energy, why didn't you stop it before? You could have stopped it yourself. Why didn't you?" Pikachu's voice shook.
Mewtwo extended a three-fingered hand, and a ball of blue light emerged from it. The ball grew, crackling with energy, and it encompassed the room.
There were images projected in the blue light. Fire. A laboratory. A broken tube. Mewtwo, with fire reflected in his eyes. Giovanni's shadow.
"This was how I was born. I am not like other Pokemon. I was created by humans. I am a clone, an altered clone. A genetic experiment."
A castle. A Dragonite with a message. A storm. A battle. Pikachu refusing to fight another, identical Pikachu. A legendary pink Pokemon. Ash, a child, falling.
"This is how we first met." Mewtwo waved his arm. The images faded, but the blue light remained. "And this…this is what would have happened if I tried to stop infinity energy myself."
"…You can see the future?" Ash reached out to the images.
More fire. Lavender Town. Mewtwo, facing Giovanni. An explosion. Lavender Town, gone. Mewtwo, captured. A Master Ball.
News reports on the capture dangerous Pokemon. Pamphlets on how Pokemon cannot be trusted, stuffed under doors. Articles on the benefits of infinity energy. Pokemon "donation" centers in every town.
A weapon being built, being fired.
Mewtwo lowered his hand, and the images faded. The cavern became dark again, dimly lit only by the construction lights Brock had strung around the stalactites. "If I had stopped it, it would only be revenge. Pokemon against humans." He knelt to the ground in front of Pikachu, meeting her at eye-level. "It has to be you."
"Me?"
The clone smiled, which looked strange on such a stern face. "To borrow Ash's phrasing, you are the 'Chosen One.' But you won't 'almost-die.' I promise."
Pikachu glanced at Meowth, still in James's arms.
"It has to be you. Wartortle told you this a long time ago in a different way, and it is still true. You care for humans. You understand the bond between Pokemon and humans. You understand the thrill of battle. Most of all, you understand electricity."
"I still—"
"You need this information to succeed: listen carefully. Attack Team Rocket Headquarters and Lavender Town at the same time, when the moon is right. But there is one more place you need to know about. The cottage on Route 25, north of Cerulean City. Pikachu, you must be there while others fight Team Rocket at their base and their outpost in Lavender Town."
"Bill's place? The computers?" Misty asked.
"Yes. If that is not destroyed, the infrastructure for infinity will keep getting rebuilt." Mewtwo stood, towering over the others, and picked up his cloak. "You can do this, Pikachu. There is a power inside of you."
She watched Mewtwo's figure grow smaller as he exited Rock Tunnel. In a flash, he disappeared, teleporting away.
Thank you guys for reading this far! If you have any reviews/comments/questions or just want to chat-let me know! I love hearing from you.