(A/N: Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and all those other seasonal greetings. Got a rather fun chapter for you. I think it's my favorite chapter for this story so far. At least it was to write.)

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter 10: The Mating Game

"Mew, come, there is somewhere we need to go."

Mew floated over, as cheerful as ever. "Ok, where are we going?"

He chose his words carefully. "I want to introduce you to someone."

Mew's face lit up. "As your mate?"

He sighed, choosing to remain silent. Soon this 'mate' and 'breeding' nonsense would be finished. He couldn't believe he didn't think of it before. The idea had come to him while they had been visiting her uncle a few days ago. Now he was going to do what he should have done when she first declared herself to be his mate.

He teleported to his destination, knowing Mew would simply teleport to where he was. She appeared a few seconds later, looking around curiously. They were in a new forest, a river running beneath them towards the mountain in the distance.

"I've never been in this forest before," she commented. "Who are we here to see?"

"Someone who gave me some very valuable advice," he replied. "That a Pokémon's real strength comes from the heart."

Closing his eyes, he sent out a telepathic call. They didn't have to wait long before a second Mew suddenly appeared, this one being male. "I'm here!"

The female Mew did a double-take. "Hey, another Mew."

The male Mew cocked his head to the side. "I could say the same for you."

Mewtwo cleared his throat as he spoke to the female Mew. "Yes, this Mew is a friend of mine. You saw him in my memories. He's the one I fought against with my clone Pokémon."

"Ooooh," the female Mew replied. "You mean from back when you were being bad."

"Yes, he was being bad, wasn't he," the male Mew agreed.

Mewtwo grumbled. "I'm sure we can agree that I made mistakes. Lets just move on from it."

The female Mew latched onto him. "I agree! So lets mate!"

He brushed her off. "I told you countless times, I am not your mate, nor will I ever be." He glanced at the male Mew. "He is."

The male Mew blinked. "I am? Wait, is this the 'surprise' you mentioned?"

The female Mew looked confused as she glanced back and forth between Mewtwo and the other Mew. "This is a joke, right? I can't be his mate, I'm your mate."

"You are not," Mewtwo insisted. "You deserve a more suitable mate than I. Someone who can actually continue the Mew species rather than someone like me who can only bring forth more… abnormalities."

"You're not abnormal," the female Mew insisted. "Just different. The first of a new species. I told you that it's more important to increase the number of a new species than to increase one that's already flourishing."

"She's right," the male Mew replied. "Though the Mew race is few in number, there's only one of you."

Mewtwo glared. "Be that as it may, I still have no intention of reproducing. That leaves only the option of preserving the Mew race, as it should be."

"No!" the female Mew cried, shaking Mewtwo's shoulder. "I love you! I'm your mate! Only yours!"

He brushed her off again. "This is for your own good. It was what you originally set out for anyway. You have a duty, remember? You told me so yourself." He turned to the male Mew. "Will you accept her?"

The male Mew tapped his chin. "Hmm, nah."

A surprised look crossed Mewtwo's face. "What? You refuse?"

As if he didn't have a care in the world, the male Mew floated on his back in the air with his eyes closed. "Yeah, I'm not really looking for a mate right now."

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed. "Do you not have an obligation to preserve your species?"

The male Mew flipped upside-down. "Well, that's true. But that's only if there are no other options. Since she has you, she doesn't need me."

Mewtwo growled. "I am not a suitable mate for her, whereas you are." His fists clenched. "This is for the best."

The male Mew's eyes drifted down to Mewtwo's clenched fists. He cut his eyes and smiled mischievously. "Ok, then lets have a contest to see who would be a more suitable mate."

Mewtwo raised an eyebrow. "A contest?"

The male Mew nodded. "Yes, you and I will compete, and whoever wins becomes the lovely lady's mate."

"No!" the female Mew snapped. If she weren't flying, she would have been stamping her feet. "I don't care who wins, Mewtwo is my mate!"

"It'll be fine," the male Mew insisted. "It'll be fun too. And it would show who would be the better mate."

Mewtwo raised an eyebrow. Why suggest a contest? He was faster, stronger, smarter, more powerful, and superior to the male Mew in every way. Did the male Mew decide this because he knew Mewtwo would come out on top? Well, that could be easily remedied.

It seemed though that the female Mew knew what Mewtwo was thinking. "And what's to stop him from simply throwing the contest?"

The male Mew smirked. "I don't think that's much of a problem." He glanced at Mewtwo. "Our friend here has a pretty big ego, and major superiority complex. Don't look at me like that; you know it's true. So you see, I don't think he could allow himself to lose on purpose, especially to someone weaker than him. After all, the two of us never did get to finish our battle on New Island, did we?"

Mewtwo glared at him. The male Mew knew his weakness. While he did indeed have a big ego, he also suffered from an insecurity to prove himself, especially when up against a Mew, to prove that he was more than just a copy. And while he no longer held any hostility towards the male Mew, their battle had ended in a stalemate, and his competitive nature demanded that they settle things.

The female Mew still didn't look convinced. "I don't know…"

The male Mew floated over to her and whispered in her ear. Her eyes widened, and the male Mew winked at her. Mewtwo frowned, wondering what he had told her. It couldn't be anything good. But when he tried to read his mind, he was quickly shut out.

"No, no, none of that," the male Mew told him. "Just wait here, I'll set up the obstacle course."

Mewtwo blinked. "Obstacle course? For what?"

"Our contest, silly. Back in a bit."

He teleported away, leaving the other two alone. Mewtwo felt rather apprehensive about the situation. This was not going the way he planned. He supposed he should have expected this with the playful nature Mews had.

Floating over to him, Mew gave him a sad look. "Why are you so opposed to us being mates?"

He sighed, closing his eyes. "I am not getting into this with you again. Soon you will have a mate worthy of you."

Mew cocked her head to the side. "Worthy?"

He frowned. "A bad word choice. In time, you will understand."

"No, I won't."

He ignored her as they waited for the male Mew to return. And nearly half an hour later, he did.

"That certainly took a while," Mewtwo grumbled impatiently.

The male Mew rubbed the back of his head bashfully. "I may have gone a little overboard, but everything is all set up. Come on, I'll show you."

He led them over to a tree. "Ok, first we'll climb this tree, then go down the other side. Then we'll race over to the river and swim across. We're not allowed to fly for this part though."

Mewtwo felt the urge to roll his eyes. "I figured that out on my own."

"Once we're out of the water, we'll fly to that mountain over there. There's a series of caves, and we have to choose one and find our way out. The use of Teleport is prohibited."

"Obviously," Mewtwo muttered.

"Once we're out, we'll fly around the mountain 10 times as we fly to the top. There we'll meet a Probopass who will ask us a riddle. Once we solve it, we must search the forest until we find a Mint Berry, navigate though the forest and bring it back here, and then we have to eat our way through this pile of apples." He motioned to the two piles of red fruits.

"Where did those come from?" Mewtwo asked, knowing that they hadn't been there a moment ago.

"I picked them earlier and then teleported them over just now. So, once we've eaten our pile, we have to throw our Mint Berry into the knot of this tree without using our psychic power. If you miss and smash it, you need to go get another one. Whoever gets it in first wins."

Mewtwo raised an eyebrow. This was certainly… interesting. And it was well thought out for a Mew. The contest required speed, skill, strength, intellect, and luck. And while the male Mew was right, that his pride would not allow him to lose on purpose, he wouldn't mind too much at losing the eating portion of the race. The male Mew was a fool to put that part at the end. He would beat him in all the parts that mattered, then throw the contest at the eating portion.

He suddenly found himself teleported by the male Mew into the starting position. He blinked in surprise as his opponent got into a sprinting position.

"On your mark…" the male Mew began. "Get set…"

'Why am I doing this?" Mewtwo wondered.

"Go!"

To Mewtwo's surprise, the male Mew transformed into an Ambipom and began racing up the tree. Mewtwo was taken aback, but if that's the way he wanted to play.

He Mega Evolved into his X form and quickly scrabbled up the tree. Naturally being an adept tree climber, the transformed Mew beat Mewtwo both up and down the tree before transforming into a Rapidash and racing for the river.

Now Mewtwo saw the male Mew's strategy. He knew that Mewtwo would be able to beat him in nearly any test of skills, so he was transforming into different Pokémon that excelled in different areas to gain an advantage.

'Clever,' he thought as he reached the bottom of the tree and began running. 'This is proving to be interesting.'

By the time he reached the river, the male Mew had transformed into a Gyarados and was halfway across. When he reached the other side, he transformed into Mega Latios and sped off towards the mountain.

'That cheeky little…' Mewtwo thought.

Once he climbed out of the river, he changed from his X form to his Y form. The male Mew already had a head start on him, and being in the form of the fastest flying Pokémon, he only gained more ground.

When he reached the mountain, he saw the male Mew transform into a Crobat, which would allow him to easily navigate through the cave by using sonar.

It was pitch black inside, so Mewtwo used Flash, and once he made it through, he flew around the mountain 10 times before flying to the top. There was indeed a Probopass at the top, and an Alakazam was standing beside it. He knew right away that the Alakazam was the male Mew transformed. Now having an I.Q. of 5,000, it made the perfect form to solve the Probopass' riddle.

The Probopass turned to Mewtwo. "You have arrived. Excellent. Here is your riddle. What will always be a mystery, even when it is known?"

Mewtwo's eyes narrowed. This was his riddle? Was it the same one the male Mew received? Probably not, or else only one was needed to answer. In any case, this would be his chance to get ahead. If he answered his riddle before the male Mew-

"It's Ditto," the male Mew replied. "The one who is everything, but nothing, it's Ditto."

"Correct," the Probopass declared.

The male Mew smirked and transformed from Alakazam back to Mega Latios once again. "See you at the bottom."

Mewtwo's eye twitched. He felt the male Mew's riddle had been easier. But his… How could something still be a mystery when it was already known? If you know the unknown, then why would it…?

His eyes widened. "Unown," he told the Probopass. "That which is a mystery even when it is known is the Unown."

"Correct!" the Probopass confirmed. "Now you just have to find-"

"A Mint Berry, I know," he insisted, and flew down into the forest. From up above, he saw that the male Mew had transformed into an Arcanine, undoubtedly to sniff out a Berry.

He must have been fortunate, because he found a Mint Berry bush after only a few minutes. He plucked one and maneuvered around the trees until he was out of the forest. There was no sign of the male Mew. So much for an Arcanine's superior sense of smell.

Upon reaching the starting point, he snatched up an apple and began eating. The male Mew still hadn't emerged when he started on his second.

"Go, Mewtwo!" the female Mew cheered. "You can do it!"

He froze mid-bite. What was he doing actually winning? This was the part of the contest where he was supposed to let the male Mew win, but he wasn't even here yet.

He slowed down his eating, even making a show of thumping his chest as if he had eaten too fast.

"What are you doing?" the female Mew cried, noticing how he had slowed down.

There was a loud crash as a Steelix raised its head above the treetops and began crashing through the forest. Mewtwo had to admit that this was smart. In this form, the male Mew was so big he didn't even need to find his way out of the forest, he could see the way out and just trample through the trees. And as soon as he exited the forest. He once more transformed into Mega Latios again and sped towards the starting point.

It turned out that Mewtwo hadn't even needed to slow down his eating. The male Mew simply transformed into a Swalot and swallowed all five apples whole in a single gulp. Then he resumed his normal form and moved into position to take his shot.

"Mewtwo, hurry!" the female Mew wailed.

Seeing no further need to hold back, Mewtwo finished his remaining apple as the male Mew took his shot. He missed the hole, his berry splattering against the tree trunk.

"Darn," he muttered. "Be right back."

Turning back into Mega Latios, he shot back to the forest. Mewtwo's eyes narrowed as he looked down at the Mint Berry in his hand. He hadn't expected the male Mew to miss his shot.

"You got this, Mewtwo!" the female Mew encouraged. "Make the shot!"

There was only one thing left for him to do. He threw the berry, deliberately missing, his berry joining the male Mew's as a splatter on the tree.

"I missed," he nonchalantly stated. "I better go get another one."

"You did that on purpose!" the female Mew accused tearfully.

He ignored her as he flew back to the forest, just as the male Mew, still transformed as Mega Latios, came out. And by the time he retrieved a new Mint Berry and returned, the contest was over.

"It's my win!" the male Mew declared.

"So it is," Mewtwo replied, popping the berry into his mouth. So that was it, it was finally over. He'd thrown the contest, and now he wouldn't need to be bothered by anymore of the female Mew's mate-to-be nonsense.

For some reason though, rather than being relieved, he felt depressed. He tried to shake away the feeling, telling this was for the female Mew's own good. She would get over him eventually and move on with the other Mew. But for some reason, that thought didn't just hurt, it really irritated him.

He ignored these feelings and turned to the male Mew. "I must admit, I was impressed with your strategy. I hadn't expected you to use Transform to your advantage."

The male Mew chuckled. "Well, I didn't expect you to Mega Evolve. Twice, and without a Mega Stone. You didn't do that during our battle on New Island."

Mewtwo smirked. "It seems we're both full of surprises." He closed his eyes. "But at least the matter of who the more suitable mate has been settled."

"Yup," the male Mew agreed. He turned to the female Mew. "I wish you and Mewtwo all the best."

Mewtwo's eyes snapped open. "What?"

The male Mew gave him a smile. "You're the more suitable mate."

He glared. "And how did you determine that? You won the contest."

"Yes," the male Mew agreed, "I won the contest, but that doesn't make me the more suitable mate. That's what the contest was meant to determine, and you proved that it's you by losing on purpose."

Caught off guard at having been discovered, Mewtwo didn't need to feign confusion. "What do you mean?"

The male Mew cut his eyes at him. "Come on, did you really think I didn't notice? I even gave you the opportunity to win more than once. Do you really think it took me that long to solve Probopass' riddle with Alakazam's brain? Do you really think it took me that long to find a Mint Berry with Arcanine's nose? Do you think I missed getting the berry in the tree by accident?"

This surprised Mewtwo. The male Mew had played him? He had actually given him the chance to win? More than once? That was a major blow to his pride. He, the strongest of all Pokémon, had been given handicaps? It was outrageous!

"Yet even after giving you these chances to catch up and pull ahead," the male Mew continued, "you still pushed aside your pride and let me win. Mew, tell him what I told you before we started the race."

The female Mew blushed, cupping her cheeks. "That if Mewtwo throws the race, it proves that he cares about me even more than his pride."

"Bingo!" the male Mew declared. "I know you, Mewtwo. You've got a big ego, the biggest I've ever known, and a major superiority complex. You always feel the need to prove yourself, especially against me, to show that you're more than just a copy. Yet in spite of all that, you swallowed your pride and took a blow to your ego by not only losing, but by willingly throwing the contest, just to make sure Mew here gets a proper mate."

For some reason, Mewtwo felt flustered. "T-That is because I simply wanted to get her out of my hair. And finding a more suitable mate for her was the only way."

"Yeah right," the male Mew muttered. "You're Mewtwo. If you really wanted to get rid of her, you would have by now." He then spoke only to Mewtwo telepathically. "I know you like her, yet you're willing to push her away because you feel you're no good for her. You're a very proud Pokémon, Mewtwo, yet you're willing to throw away your pride for her. That makes you far more suitable of a mate than me."

His fists clenched. He'd actually been had. "Have you forgotten what I've done in the past? How I tried to wipe out all humans and Pokémon and fill this world with clones?"

"That old news?" the male Mew scoffed, lazily floating on his back. "You made a mistake. It was bad judgment on your part due to having negative experiences up until then. But it shows how far you're willing to go for what you believe in. I know that once you accept Mew as your mate, if you put even half of the determination you had back then into your relationship, then there's no one more suitable on the entire planet for her than you. I shutter to think what will happen to anyone who dares to threaten your mate or children."

He was blushing again! How could he be blushing? Ever since the female Mew came into is life, it had been happening more and more.

"You're opinion is irrelevant," he growled. "We will never have that kind of relationship. Thus I could never be a suitable mate for her."

The male Mew yawned. "Yup, you tell yourself that for as long as you can. Stop by again when you stop being such an idiot. For now, I'm going to go take a nap. Good luck, Mewtwo. Take care, Mew."

As the female Mew waved happily, the male Mew created a psychic bubble around himself and dove into the water. Mewtwo stared at the rippling surface before glancing at Mew. She was staring at him with eyes shining with love.

He sighed. It seemed his plan had backfired.

(A/N: This chapter was a lot of fun to write. Mewtwo may be the strongest Pokémon, but there are other Pokémon that surpass him in different areas. And the male Mew, with the ability to transform, was able to use those to his advantage. But was he just humoring Mewtwo, or was the contest legit? You decide. Either way, it ended up completely backfiring on Mewtwo. Now the female Mew is more determine than ever. The next chapter will have another person from the past making an appearance. Not saying who, you'll have to wait and see. Happy holidays.)