Chapter 89: Discovering the Secrets of Mew

"Lucario, use Aura Sphere! Urshifu, use Surging Strikes! SIrfetch'd, Iron Defense followed by Leaf Blade!"

Lucario nodded, firing off a few rounds of Aura Spheres. Sirfetch'd raised his shield, and iron casing enveloping it as it took the hits. Then Urshifu rushed forward, smashing his fist right into the shield, knocking Sirfetch'd back. The Wild Duck Pokemon retaliated with a swing of his Leaf Sword, forcing Urshifu back.

"Dravovish, Ice Fang! Dragonite, Dragon Tail!"

The Fossil Pokemon leapt, ice covering his teeth as he bit down hard onto Dragonite's Tail. Dragonite winced, but swung her tail round and round, throwing Dracovish off with a mighty swing, but Dracovish quickly recovered.

"Rillaboom, use Drum Beating!"

Rillaboom roared, and began bashing his drum set, creating massive roots to surround him like a shield. Ash then turned to Pikachu, placing his hat on top of his partner's head.

"Let's do this, buddy! 10,000 Volt Havoc!"

"PikaCHUUUUUUUUUUUU!"

Pikachu unleashed all of the built up electricity in his body, sending out a giant bolt of lightning right towards Rillaboom's shield. The two collided, creating a big explosion. When the smoke settled, Rillaboom's shield was broken, but he stood still firm.

"Alright! So far so good, guys!"

Ash's team let out their own cheers of pride. Goh and Lillie applauded their efforts, prompting Dragonite to bring the entire team into a big hug.

"Man, Ash sure is running them like crazy."

"Don't worry, they love it. They just want to make sure they're ready for the battle festival."

"Aw man, I just cleaned up in here!"

Chloe entered the park, annoyed by the mess. Ash chuckled, rubbing his head.

"Sorry, Chloe. I guess we got carried away."

Chloe just sighed, and shook her head.

Incoming call from Project Mew. Incoming call from Project Mew.

Surprised, Goh took out his phone to answer. Danika was the one calling him.

"What's up, Danika?"

"Your device is picking up signals similar to Mewtwo's in an abandoned laboratory just off CInnabar Island. They're faint, but the similarity is undeniable. We believe this may be where Mewtwo originated from."

"So if we recover something from this lab…"

Danika nodded.

"We may be closer to finding Mew. This is a dangerous mission, so we're only sending You and two others. The three of you make up the current top three challengers, so we're expecting big things."

"Yes, ma'am!

"Good. They'll meet you at the Cinnabar Island Pokemon Center."

With that, Danika cut the call, leaving Goh to prepare.

"Alright, another trial mission! Hey Ash, you want to come?"

Ash just shook his head.

"Thanks Goh, but I need to do some training. My team's on a roll, right guys?"

Ash's team roared out in agreement.

"Can I come?"

Goh was surprised by Chloe's volunteering.

"Are you sure? No offense, but these missions can get pretty dicey. Three unevolved Pokemon might be enough."

"Oh, we'll hold our weight. Besides…"

She then walked up and kissed him on the cheek, making him blush.

"If I do run into trouble, I'm sure my big, strong boyfriend will protect me."

That was enough for Goh to be convinced.

"Sure, you can come! I wonder who else we'll be working with?"

"I just had to ask."

Gary just laughed.

"Aw, is that any way to treat an old friend? After all, if we're going to be working together on this, we should at least get along."

"Goh, aren't you going to introduce me?"

Goh sighed, putting aside his animosity for the moment.

"Sorry. Chloe, this is Gary Oak, Professor Oak's grandson. Gary, this is Chloe Cerise, my girlfriend."

Gary was much nicer to Chloe, offering her a handshake that she reciprocated.

"So you're Professor Cerise's daughter? Gramps has told me all about him. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise. Say, Goh mentioned you have an Umbreon, right? I was wondering if I could see it?"

"Sure! He could use some exercise too."

Gary sent out his Umbreon, who immediately took a shine to Chloe's Eevee as the two began chasing each other around in circles.

"Goh?"

To Goh's surprise, his old friend Horace was coming up the path to the Pokemon Center.

"Horace? What are you doing here?"

"Danika told me to meet you guys here for the mission."

"Wait, you're the third challenger? I thought you were trying to catch Celebi?"

"I am, but I figure if I meet every Psychic type Pokemon, I'll eventually meet Celebi! And Mew is a Psychic Type, so…"

"Well, welcome to the team!"

"Alright! So…how does this work?"

Goh pulled out the tracking device Danika had sent them and turned it on.

"Now we head that way."

The laboratory was old and decrepit, its paint worn down from years of abandonment. Where the front door once was, a gaping hole now stood.

"Gee, how inviting."

"Wonder what happened here?"

"I don't know, but it's our job to find out."

When they entered, they found it surprisingly well lit. Though that probably had more to do with the sunlight coming in through the many holes in the ceiling. A few wild Pokemon shifted about, but they mostly ignored them.

"So what are we looking for, exactly?" Chloe asked.

"Data, DNA, anything that can be used to prove Mew was here," Gary said, inspecting the walls.

After a while, Goh came upon a small alcove. There was a small desk with a strange statue standing on top of it. After examining it for a minute, Goh saw that the ruby eyes could be pushed in. Out of curiosity, he pressed them, only for the door to close behind him.

"Hey!"

"Goh, are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'm alright! I just pressed the statue's eyes and the door closed on me."

"Wait, this room that was locked before just opened! Don't press anything else yet!"

While he waited for the signal, Goh examined the room a bit more thoroughly. To his surprise, one of the desk drawers that had been locked was now open. Peering inside, he found some old science notes. The writing was a little worn, but he could piece together what it was saying.

"Diary, Day 5: We discovered a new Pokemon deep in the jungle? Could that be Mew?"

"Okay Goh, you can open the door!"

Goh walked back to the statue and pressed the ruby eye again, allowing the door to slide open. He stepped out, diary entry in hand.

"There you are, Goh! Were you scared?" Gary teased.

"Actually, I think I found a clue."

He handed over the diary entry, allowing the other three to read it over.

"Wow."

"Good work, Goh," Gary complimented. "Now we have 2 pieces of the puzzle."

He then took out another diary entry and handed it to Goh.

"Diary, July 10: We christened the newly discovered Pokemon Mew."

"Well, that proves Mew was here."

"Yes, but it doesn't explain what happened here."

"Maybe there's more entries somewhere. Let's keep looking!"

A combing of the first floor revealed nothing more, so they took the ladder down to the basement. Gary went first, then Horace, then Goh with Chloe bringing up the rear. As Chloe made her way down the ladder, however, she slipped and lost her grip. Luckily, Goh caught her before she hit the ground.

"Woah, that was close. Thanks, Goh."

"No problem."

"Watch your step," Gary said. "That ladder might not be safe."

"Gee, thanks," Chloe snarked.

"Hey, what's that in your hand?"

Chloe looked down to find a scrap of paper.

"I must have grabbed it when I fell. Maybe it's another diary entry?"

"Only one way to find out."

Chloe unfolded the paper, and read it aloud.

"Diary, February 6: We obtained a new Pokemon from Mew's fossil. We've dubbed the new Pokemon, Mewtwo."

"Well, that proves it. Mewtwo came from here."

"That explains why we're getting that energy reading."

"So, is that it? Do we head back up now?"

Gary shook his head.

"You're still getting the reading, right? That means there's still more we can find out about this place."

With that decided, the quartet made their way further into the basement.

Despite looking everywhere, they found nothing more.

"Well, this is a bust!"

"Maybe we should head back. We may not have all of the pieces of the puzzle, but we do have proof that Mew and Mewtwo were here. Isn't that what you were here for?"

Gary shook his head.

"That may be true, but Project Mew will want the whole story."

"There's one last room that we haven't checked yet."

The door was heavy, and required all four of them to push on it to get it to open. When it did, they were shocked to find a huge laboratory. Broken glass littered the floor, tables scorched to ash, and two huge broken tubes stood at the far end. Goh glanced down at the tracker.

"Jackpot. Whatever it is making that energy reading, it's in here."

"Alright, everyone split up!"

The quartet scoured over every inch of the room, looking for any clues. Goh was just about to move past an old bookshelf when something caught his eye. Bending down, he reached over and grabbed the object from its perch. To his surprise, he found a perfectly preserved Mew fossil. Glancing down at the tracker, he found that it was exactly what he was looking for.

"Hey guys, I found something!"

The other three came over, surprised by Goh's find.

"A Mew fossil? I thought they took a live one from the jungle!"

"If they were cloning Mew, maybe they restored one first?"

"I don't know, but look what I found!"

Horace took out another page of notes that he had found in a drawer and read them aloud.

"Diary, September 1: The Pokemon Mewtwo is far too powerful. It's no use… I cannot control it!"

Everyone stared at the paper in silence for a minute.

"Well, I think I have a pretty good guess on what happened here."

"Me too. Come on guys, I think we have all the evidence we need."

"Agreed."

"Hold it right there!"

Just as they were about to leave, smoke began to fill the room. The four of them quickly covered their mouths to block the smoke.

"What the…who's there, show yourself!

As the smoke cleared, two very familiar silhouettes appeared and began to recite their motto.

"Prepare for trouble, like you don't already know!"

"And make it double, now prepare for the show!"

"To protect the world from devestation!"

"To unite all people within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now and prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Not you three again!"

"Don't you have anything better to do?"

"As a matter of fact, we don't!"

Horace, however, was very confused.

"Wait, you know these guys?"

"Unfortunately. They're a bunch of no good crooks who work for Team Rocket! They're always trying to steal Pokemon."

"I thought I was done with you freaks after Johto," Gary snarled.

"Fat chance! Now, hand over everything you have on Mewtwo!"

"And why would you care about any of that?"

"Wouldn't you like to know? Go, Seviper!"

"Cacturne, go get them! No, not me, them!"

"So, it's a battle you want? Go, Arcanine!"

"Gardevoir, I choose you!"

"Come on out, Urshifu!"

"Go, Ponyta!"

And so the fight was on. Goh's Gardevoir and Chloe's Ponyta teamed up on Jessie's Seviper.

"Poison Fang, Seviper!"

"Psybeam, Gardevoir!"

"You too, Ponyta!"

The two Psychic types launched their attacks, hitting Seviper head on. Despite that, Seviper charged forward and bit down hard onto Ponyta, making her cry in pain.

"Ponyta!"

"Don't worry, Chloe! Gardevoir, use Psychic!"

Gardevoir concentrated hard, lifting Seviper off of Ponyta and throwing him off her.

"Now use Heal Pulse!"

Gardevoir ran over to Ponyta and sent soothing waves of psychic energy into her, healing her injuries.

"Thanks, Horace!"

"Don't mention it!"

Meanwhile, Goh and Gary were fighting James's Cacturne. Both Urshifu and Arcanine leapt to avoid a Pin Missile.

"Urshifu, Dynamic Punch!"

"Flame Charge, Arcanine!"

The two charged, hitting Cacturne straight in the face, sending him flying into a support beam. Then there was trouble. Cacturne hit it so hard, cracking it and making the building shake.

"Uh oh!"

"The building's about to collapse! Let's get out of here!"

"Team Rockets blasting off again!"

With that, the trio and their Pokemon scattered, leaving our heroes to find their own way out.

"Don't worry guys, my Gardevoir knows Teleport! She'll get us out of here in no time!"

Before they could escape, Chloe noticed that they had dropped the papers and fossil.

"Wait guys, the evidence!"

"Leave it! I'm sure Danika and Quillon will understand!"

But Chloe had already gone back, scooping up the data and running back. But she tripped and fell, right as a piece of ceiling came crashing down towards her.

"Chloe!"

Goh immediately ran over to her, his Urshifu blocking the ceiling beam from hitting them.

"I…I think my ankle's twisted…"

"It's okay, I've got you."

Gently, he scooped her up and carried her bridal style. After returning Urshifu, he ran back over to the others.

"Alright, I've got Chloe!"

"And I've got the evidence!"

"Right, let's go!"

"Gardevoir, use Teleport!"

Gardevoir got them to the surface just in time, as the building completely collapsed behind them.

"Man, that was hectic."

"Agreed."

"Thanks for the save, Goh."

"Of course. As your big strong boyfriend, I'm always happy to save you."

Chloe rolled her eyes, but gave him a grateful kiss.

"Come on, let's get going."

No sooner had they returned to Vermillion City did Quillon call them back.

"Did you get everything, Quillon?"

"We did. Good work, all three of you. You've each earned three tokens for your efforts. We'll be in contact soon."

With that, the call ended, and three tokens appeared on each of their screens. Gary smirked, and returned his phone to his pocket.

"All in a day's work. I'd better get going. Later Goh, later Horace!"

But as he was about to leave, he saw Chloe looking down at her wrapped up foot downcast.

"Hey, what's up?"

Chloe sighed, stroking Eevee's fur as she tried to cheer her trainer up.

"I was useless on the mission today! I almost fell to my death, Ponyta barely did any work, and if it weren't for Goh and his Urshifu I would be dead! And now my foot has to be in a cast for a whole week. I'm sorry, guys."

For once, Gary smiled kindly.

"Ah, don't worry! We all have our bad days."

"Even you?"

"Don't tell Ash this, but back when I was traveling through Johto, I tried to capture an Ursaring."

"Really? An Ursaring?"

"Yeah! Boy, was that a stupid idea, nearly got myself torn to shreds."

He then turned his attention to his Umbreon, stroking his loyal Pokemon's fur as he purred.

"Luckily, my buddy Umbreon stopped them. Of course, he was an Eevee at the time, but not by the end of the battle! A real pal."

Chloe smiled, feeling better.

"My point is, we all do something stupid from time to time. I'm sure you have to deal with that all the time with him."

"I heard that!"

"But it's all part of being a trainer! You've just got to get back up and try again."

Chloe laughed.

"Thanks, Gary!"

Gary nodded, then walked away, Umbreon giving Eevee one quick nuzzle before joining his trainer. It was only then that Chloe noticed Goh was deep in thought.

"What's wrong, Goh? Gary was just joking."

"It's not that, I was just thinking. What kind of person would want to clone Mew? And do all of that to Mewtwo?"

"A sick, twisted person. That's who."

Back in the ruins of the abandoned lab, an old rusted over nameplate lay atop the rubble. Unbeknownst to anyone, its name read: Dr. Fuji.