"This is actually weirder than before," Ash admitted, as they travelled towards Fuchsia.

"Huh?" May asked. "What do you mean?"

She looked around. "It seems normal enough to me… well, except being more completely countryside than most of Kanto so far. The cities seemed a lot closer together than Hoenn until now."

"No, that's not really what I meant," Ash said. "It's just that last time we went from Celadon to Fuchsia, and never came this way – so this is a new place. And that's kind of… strange to think about? Since it's Kanto."

"That's a good point," Marshtomp admitted, then inhaled and exhaled.

He used Scald, and the attack hissed in the air before splashing to the ground.

"That's good," Ash told him. "Great work! So… we sort of need to work out what to have you work on next, though."

"Well, I'm sorted for water attacks, and I've got Avalanche to keep me safe from Grass ones…" the dual-typed Pokémon said. "Maybe I should have something stronger than Dig or Mud-Shot, though."

"Oh, using Ground type, right," Ash agreed. "Brock, any ideas?"

"If you want a Ground type attack, the answer's usually Earthquake," Brock told him. "Sometimes it's not, but it's a pretty good basic rule."

"I could get behind that," Marshtomp said, pondering. "Does anyone already know it?"

"Good question," Ash agreed. "Brock, do Steelix or Geodude know Earthquake?"

"Steelix does," Brock confirmed. "I'll have him help Marshtomp learn it later, but for now he can probably focus on hitting the ground really hard."

"Got it," Marshtomp said, and began punching the ground, then hurrying along to catch up with the group before doing it again.

As he did, Latias raised her arm. "What about me? Is there something I should be doing?"

"Yeah, actually," Ash agreed. "Pikachu, can you help Latias with accessing her Noble spark? Or, whatever it's called?"

He glanced back. "Unown, is there a word for it?"

"You are one of the individuals most able to define what the word for it would be," Unown answered, floating out of Ash's bag. "There are several. Spark is a good one though."

"I like the term spark, it associates it with me," Pikachu contributed. "And yeah, I can help."

"Great!" Ash said.

Unown pulsed. "It may be useful to think about what form Lady Latias would like the power to take. Lord Pikachu has so far mostly been using it for intense single attacks, which is to use the spark for an amplification of the power of an attack. The most common other option is to use the spark for endurance, allowing for the virtual elimination of fatigue."

"And I guess doing it that way doesn't mean you can battle forever, because you still get mentally tired, and because you'd be getting hurt…" Ash said, thinking.

"I know it would be awkward in any way I can think of, and Ash has his own way of flying, but – normally I'd be thinking of giving someone a lift," Latias said.

"Since the Ride Pokémon did that, that is an understandable focus," Unown stated.

"That's what I was thinking of, yes," Latias agreed. "I don't know… is there a way of using it defensively?"

Unown stopped, then floated ahead again a moment later to keep up with the group.

"That is not actually known," they said. "It could be."

"Or I could use it to get faster, maybe… I'll have to think about it," Latias hummed. "Maybe I could ask Latios what he thinks."

"Yeah, he could have some ideas," Ash said. "Actually, do you want us to go back to Altomare to visit some time?"

Latias thought about it.

"Not yet?" she said. "Or… I'm still enjoying being away from Altomare, and I can talk to Latios, and he's carried messages to Bianca? And the fact that I could visit means I'm not really worried about it. I probably will change my mind on that eventually, but not yet."

Then she frowned. "Huh. What's that?"

Ash looked up, following her gaze, and saw a Pidgeotto flying towards them.

"Blimey," the Pidgeotto said, as he got closer. "The brief didn't lie… um, right, you're the trainer who's also a Pokémon, right? Ash Ketchum?"

"That's me!" Ash agreed. "From Pallet Town!"

"Good," Pidgeotto said. "Believe you me, it's sometimes hard to find trainers on the move, but this time I had an easier job than normal… here you go."

He dropped an envelope, and Ash caught it with Confusion.

"Thanks!" he said, opening it. "Uh… you are cordially invited to… a demonstration of amazing new developments in Pokémon science and Pokémon battling? That sounds cool."

"It does!" Max agreed. "Does it say where the demonstration is?"

Ash passed the letter to him, and Max fiddled with the Pokénav for a moment. "Um… yeah, that's not far from here. We can probably get there by lunch, actually."

"That's convenient," May said. "I… actually don't know if that's unusually convenient or just… the kind of coincidence that seems to happen around Ash? Could be either."

"That's the place, right?" Ash asked.

"That's right," Max agreed. "It's got the right address, anyway."

"Great!" Ash said, trotting forwards, then blinked as he saw a familiar face up ahead by the door. "...wait. Professor Oak?"

"Ash!" Professor Oak replied. "I see you were invited as well."

"I didn't know anyone else was invited," Ash admitted. "And, well, the others came along because we were nearby already. How come you're here to see… oh, yeah, it said Pokémon science as well as Pokémon battling."

Professor Oak smiled. "I used to be quite a good Pokémon battler, you know! But I'm fascinated to see what Doctor Yung has to show us."

"Doctor Yung," Brock repeated, thinking. "I'm not familiar with the name. Is he another one of those specialist researchers like Doctor Akihabara?"

"That's quite a broad category!" Oak said. "But, yes, he's not a Pokémon Professor, though he might be aiming to become one-"

The door opened.

"Oh, good, you're here," said a man in a lab coat and glasses. "I'm Doctor Yung, as you… probably guessed?"

He chuckled. "Welcome to the Mirage Mansion."

"Mirage Mansion… like the Mirage Kingdom?" May said. "In Hoenn? We went there a while ago."

"Well, not exactly like the Mirage Kingdom," Yung said. "In fact, there's not much that's the same, apart from the name of course."

He stepped back. "Do come in… my word, Mr. Ketchum, you certainly do look unusual in person."

Then Dr. Yung shook his head. "Sorry, that was poor manners. As I say."

"Thank you, Doctor," Professor Oak said. "I have to admit I'm curious!"

Dr. Yung took them to his lab, a large room which had had most of the equipment pushed to the sides, and flicked on a switch to power up some dome-shaped generators.

"This is going to be one of the greatest breakthroughs in Pokémon battling and Pokémon research since… since the Pokéball, even," he said. "Or the Technical Machine, at least. This is… the Mirage System."

He picked up a control tablet and tapped on it, and a bluish outline appeared in the middle of the room before turning into an Armaldo.

Ash took a step back, surprised. "What just happened?"

"Impressed?" Dr. Yung asked. "It's a Mirage Pokémon. My system can generate any Pokémon using raw data, no matter how rare it is or even if it's extinct."

Ash floated his Pokédex out of his saddlebags, flipping it open, and the machine went beep.

"Armaldo," it declared. "The Plate Pokémon. This appears to be a representation."

"It can tell the difference?" Yung said. "Professor, your work is amazing as always."

"So… this is a Pokémon you created out of thin air?" Ash said.

"Not really a Pokémon, but very close," Dr. Yung told him. "And they can be just as strong as needed… and I can erase them before replacing them with another Mirage Pokémon."

He tapped another control, and the Armaldo vanished, replaced by an Aggron.

"That doesn't seem right," Ash said, frowning. "I… guess they're not real Pokémon, but just making something and then destroying it the moment you don't need it any more? It doesn't seem right."

"Oh, Mirage Pokémon aren't any more real than sketches," Dr. Yung replied, waving his hand dismissively. "That's half the point! They can be made to do things that would be dangerous for real Pokémon, because they aren't real Pokémon."

He adjusted his glasses. "Though there are other benefits as well… I think a battle would be a good way to demonstrate that."

"I'm up for one of those," Marshtomp said. "Still need to work on Earthquake, but let's see how Scald handles things."

"If you want," Ash agreed.

"Agg-ron," Aggron said, and Ash took a step back.

"What?" he asked. "That was… so weird. I didn't understand it."

"It's just synthesizing a noise for effect," Dr. Yung said, dismissively. "There's nothing there to understand."

Ash frowned, still feeling uneasy about the whole thing, then shook his head slightly to dismiss it. "Okay, Marshtomp… open with Scald!"

Marshtomp spat out a jet of boiling water, and the Mirage Pokémon ignored it.

Max blinked. "Are you sure that's a good simulation?"

"Razor Leaf," Yung replied, tapping his controller, and Aggron fired a jet of glowing green leaves.

"Avalanche!" Ash said quickly, and Marshtomp's next blast of water flash-froze as he used Avalanche at the same time. The combination deflected some of the worst of the Razor Leaf attack, though not all of it, and when the leaves had stopped flying Ash pointed.

"That's not a move Aggron learn, is it?" he asked.

"Not at all!" Yung said, pleased with his reaction. "Mirage Pokémon are just data. I can load any Pokémon up with any attack."

"Then I guess that means we'll have to use teamwork!" Ash decided. "If Mirage Pokémon are just data, then they lose the experience of the Pokémon in how to do things!"

"...huh," Pikachu said. "Latias, did you see that?"

"See what?" Latias replied. "You don't mean the thing Aggron did, right?"

"No," Pikachu replied.

Yung tapped at the controls again, and the Mirage Pokémon he'd generated prepared an Ice Beam attack – then suddenly stopped moving, the representation glowing and fizzing.

"That's not a normal attack, right?" Brock said. "I've never seen that."

"I've never seen it either!" Doctor Yung said. "I don't know what-"

The controller in his hands exploded. "Ah!"

"Doctor!" Max asked. "Are you all right?"

"What's happening?" Professor Oak said.

A new voice answered him. "I have taken control of the Mirage System."

Ash looked up to see who'd spoken, and saw a hooded figure on a balcony.

More than a dozen fossil Pokémon and two Marowak formed at once, shimmering for a moment before materializing in the same way as the Mirage Pokémon from before, and Marshtomp tried attacking one before getting blasted by three Energy Balls in the same moment.

"I am the Mirage Master," the hooded figure said. "I am in control now."

"What are you doing?" Yung asked.

"The Mirage System will create a perfect Pokémon, free of flaws," the Mirage Master said.

"But perfect isn't one thing!" Ash retorted. "It means different things for-"

A Kabutops materialized with its scythes already around Professor Oak, holding him in place, then half-a-dozen Bastiodon all appeared at once mid-charge. That happened at the same time as a wild mixture of attacks from the rest of the Mirage Pokemon, and the combination drove the friends out of the room.

"I don't think they can get us, from here," Brock said, after a few hectic minutes. "They're still Mirage Pokémon, and those generators… they must have a limited range. Right?"

He pointed. "They're guarding the area, but they don't seem to have any ability to attack us out here or they'd still be doing it."

"I guess that makes sense," Ash replied. "But… what's the point of all this? What's going on?"

He frowned. "Uh… I guess that Mirage Master guy must have hacked into the computers, or something? Is that possible?"

"Maybe, if he's got a Porygon," Brock frowned.

"Isn't a Porygon a digital Pokémon?" Max said. "I've only ever heard of them."

"Well, Team Rocket once stole one, and they were able to use it to hack into the Pokémon Transfer System," Brock told him. "Though they never did anything like that since, so… they must have lost it. Maybe this Mirage Master got hold of it."

He shook his head. "We don't really know at this point."

"And it would take way too long to make a hacker costume," May said. "I guess, at least… that's the only way I can think of to get into the system ourselves."

"I… could create a Pokémon to do it, but that would… I don't think it would be a good idea," Ash decided. "It seems too much like how Doctor Yung was talking – even making a virtual Pokémon just for one thing and then erasing them again, it made me uncomfortable."

"Making Pokémon is a big responsibility," Brock said. "Could we try and break in and rescue Professor Oak somehow?"

Ash frowned. "Hmm…"

"Ash – you should let everyone know," Pikachu advised. "Earlier, during the testing, I saw someone. Mew."

"Mew?" Ash asked, twisting to look at Pikachu. "You saw a Mew?"

"Only for a moment," Pikachu explained. "It was a weird time to say hello, but they might be hanging around somewhere."

"Right…" Ash said, then blinked. "Hold on, those mirage generators… we think that stops the Mirage Pokémon from coming out here, right?"

"Yeah," Max agreed. "Why?"

"I just thought," Ash explained. "We're in the middle of nowhere, so… if this place is getting electricity, it's got to be from somewhere here and we can find a way to turn it off! Then we can rescue Professor Oak without needing to have a fight in a room he's trapped in… I'd hate to see him get hurt."

"What about if I do something?" Latias asked. "I can stay invisible, remember?"

"Yeah, that is a good point," Ash admitted. "I guess… can you go and listen in on what's going on, while we make a plan?"

Max set off with the Pokénav to try and find the nearest Officer Jenny and get her help, a job which Brock had originally volunteered himself for before everyone not called Brock agreed it was a bad idea to leave it to him, and May and a chastened Brock agreed to take care of both egg canisters, and keep an eye on what was going on and try to stop it if the Mirage Master's plans – whatever they were – started to cause trouble.

Whatever it was, it probably wouldn't involve Mirage Pokémon themselves, so by trying to stop it from the outside they could avoid the power of the Mirage Pokémon from getting in their way.

And Ash, with the strongest team they had available right now, would be going into the depths of the Mirage Mansion to try and turn the power off. A quick check by Swellow had revealed no sign of power lines, so it was probably generators or an underground power line and either way looking in the basement was the way to go.

"Ash," Latias said, as they'd just finished deciding. "The Mirage Master is demanding that Professor Oak give up his Pokédex data – I guess there's a password to decode it, and the Mirage Master doesn't know it?"

"Huh," Ash frowned. "So… maybe that's what the Mirage Master needs to make this complete Pokémon, unless that's a bluff?"

"Don't know," Latias admitted. "But then this Mew appeared again, and the Mirage Master said that it was a failed creation and sent a Mirage Magneton after it?"

"That's… weird," Ash decided, then translated for Brock and May.

"I… hmm," Brock said, thinking. "That's… weird, but I don't think we know what it means yet."

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Okay, we should hurry before the Mirage Master threatens Professor Oak or something – Marshtomp, can you and Koraidon dig us a way in between you?"

"Or, you could use the door I found," Swellow said. "Just saying."

"...yeah, that's probably better," Ash admitted. "Lead on, Swellow!"

"Generators make noise, right?" Ash asked quietly, glancing at Latias. "Can you or Pikachu hear anything?"

"Nothing except for us," Pikachu replied. "Stand still a moment?"

Ash stopped trotting, and Koraidon halted.

"...nothing," Pikachu said, shaking his head. "But that probably means it's the other side of the building?"

Koraidon pointed. "That way?" she asked.

"That's right," Latias confirmed.

Then something appeared in front of them.

"Mew?" Ash said, blinking, then refocused. "Wait… there's something about them, that's a Mirage Pokémon, right?"

"I saw you before," Mew said. "But I don't know what Pokémon two of you are."

Ash frowned. "Uh… I can understand you, but there's something weird about you. It's not like that Mirage Pokémon from before, it's more like…"

He turned, to look at Pikachu. "Pikachu, you remember that thing with Molly and those fake Pokémon? I just realized – the way the Mirage System made Pokémon appear is a lot like how Molly did it, isn't it?"

"Yeah, you're right," Pikachu agreed. "It's not exactly the same, maybe? But it was close. And the Pokémon Molly made to battle with didn't actually speak properly either, except Entei."

"Can you explain what you are talking about?" Mew asked. "I would be delighted to have more information."

"Are you a Mirage Pokémon?" Ash said. "Because I think we've met someone like you before."

"That is interesting," Mew said. "I am a Mirage Pokémon, yes… my data indicates that I am the first Mirage Pokémon instantiated by the system. My creator however declared me to be a failed creation."

"Wait, that's… familiar, right?" Ash said. "Isn't that what the Mirage Master said?"

"Yes, it is," Latias confirmed.

"Then – okay, hold on – I need to think," Ash requested. "So… you're more like Entei, because you're able to think and have conversations and stuff, not like the other Mirage Pokémon, and… and all the Pokémon Molly made were made by Unown, but…"

He looked back. "Unown, I think we need some help… you said before that there were, uh, configuration changes after Greenfield?"

"That is correct," Unown stated. "However, at this time I do not have sufficient information to be sure about what is going on."

"That's not what I'm… really thinking about," Ash replied. "Wasn't there something about user checks?"

"User privilege checks were instituted," Unown confirmed. "However this is being done, either it does not involve Unown or some method of circumventing these controls is in place."

"I think…" Ash said, then stopped. "Because of who I am, I have those privileges, right?"

He glanced to his side. "That's how Koraidon, uh, exists."

"Correct."

"You are a created Pokémon?" Mew asked. "I did not know this was possible through any means other than the Yung Mirage Pokémon System. Until now, the only individual I was aware of that could create artificial Pokémon was Doctor Yung."

"...Mew?" Pikachu said, slowly. "Is it all right if I ask you a question?"

"Please, go ahead!" Mew agreed. "It is nice to have someone to talk to."

Ash held up a hoof. "I think I know what you mean, Pikachu. Mew – there isn't a Mirage Master, is there? It's all a trick, and Doctor Yung did it in the first place to make us think he wasn't responsible for it."

He tossed his head, indicating Mew. "Mew can be any Pokémon, but Mew can think, and – and that's not what Yung wanted, is it?"

Mew didn't say anything, just nodding, and Ash's voice sped up. "He – he worked out how to create new Pokémon, in a mirage way sure but still creating new Pokémon, but he doesn't see Pokémon as anything important! Just, ways to battle, and he considered Mew a failure because they had a mind of their own! He doesn't have any Pokémon, not any real ones, did you notice – and he had Mew and he could have had an amazing friend but he sent them away because they were something else and, and now he wants to steal Professor Oak's data just to make his Mirage Pokémon better at battling, because that's all he thinks Pokémon are good for and-"

Latias put her paw on Ash's shoulder, and Ash took a breath to calm himself down.

"He – he had a child, and he looked them in the eye and told them they were a failure," Ash said, more quietly.

"That's terrible," Koraidon mumbled, blinking away tears.

For a long moment, there was silence, then Ash struck a hoof on the floor.

"Unown," he said, firmly. "Tell me if this isn't possible, but otherwise we're doing this."

Unown transitioned into Alphabet Form, and Mew gasped.

"I have not seen that form before," they said. "That is very interesting!"

"Mew," Ash said. "If the Mirage System stopped working, what would happen to you?"

"I would cease to exist," Mew answered. "It… is scary. But the way that my creator is using the Mirage System is scary as well. I think he should be stopped."

They twisted their tail. "Regardless of what happens to me."

"Unown," Ash said. "Turn Mew into a real Pokémon."

There was a very bright flash.

"Professor, we don't have a choice," Doctor Yung said. "You heard what the Mirage Master said… it's regrettable, but what other option do we have?"

"The whole point of the Pokédex system is to gather information to deepen scientific understanding," Oak said. "But so much of what's actually gathered is information private to the trainer and the Pokémon… and you have to realize, Doctor, this is a situation where the information would be put to very immediate negative use."

"Professor, if this is supposed to-" Yung said, then without any fuss the Mirage Master vanished in a momentary shimmer of blue light.

So did all the Mirage Pokémon.

"What?" Yung asked. "What just happened? Status report!"

There was no response.

"Override Mastermind 2!" Yung said. "What is happening? If this is that damn Mew then-"

Steelix came through the wall.

"Professor!" Brock called. "Doctor! All the Mirage Pokémon just vanished – are you all right?"

Then Koraidon smashed through one of the doors leading further into the mansion, with Ash, Latias and Pikachu following behind her.

And a Mew, floating uncertainly with the rest of the group.

"Doctor Yung!" Ash said. "He is the Mirage Master, this has all been a trick!"

"What?" Oak demanded. "Yung, have you no shame?"

"It's that Mew!" Yung said. "That must have – what happened? Why is the Mirage System not working?"

"Mee-ew-e-ewww-mew," the Mew said. "Mew-ew, meeew."

"Yeah, I guess it would be bad for a computer if you turned an important bit of the circuits into an actual Pokémon," Ash said. "That would break it open, right?"

"What will happen to me now?" Mew asked, once several Officer Jennies had shown up and put Doctor Yung under arrest, and once there'd been enough conversations with them to make sure the police knew what had happened. "I've never been able to leave the Mirage Mansion before… I've never been alive before."

"You were alive," Ash said. "Just… in a way that was more temporary than you are now."

"But what should I do?" Mew pressed, inspecting their paws. "Am I even a real Pokémon?"

Ash was quiet for a long moment.

"You are a real Pokémon," he said, pronouncing a fact. "And… there's this thing someone told me once."

He tapped a hoof, making sure he had it right.

"The circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant," he recited. "It is what we do with the gift of life that truly determines who we are."

Then Mew hugged him.

"I'm… not used to people saying nice things about me," the new Psychic-type said, letting go after a minute. "Sorry, I'm just… I was so worried, and that's so nice…"

"You know," Ash began. "It's up to you what you do, like I say, but there's some Pokémon I think it would be really helpful for you to meet… I last met them a while ago, but I think the one in charge is going to really know how to help you appreciate who you are now. How does that sound?"

AN:

Yung is probably quite lucky he didn't get a meteorite to the face.

Really, the fact he had literally no way to know Ash wasn't just a rando Pokémon who happened to be a trainer (it's not like he has Oak's Pokédex database) is… to blame.