Chapter 24: Giovanni's Last Stand
It was going to be the battle to end all battles for June and Giovanni. The fate of all the Pokémon in Kanto depended on this outcome. As if to emphasize that point, Giovanni's four remaining grunts carried in an empty capsule and placed it next to Tricia's. June saw it and her stomach churned. The capsule was a sickly reminder of what fate awaited her if she lost this battle. She had to beat Giovanni or else she would be a prisoner alongside her parents and friends.
Before the battle began, Giovanni ordered his men to bring something to him. It was a control collar, the same kind of model he'd used on Tricia's mother's Kangaskhan to get it to obey him. June wasn't surprised to see it. Of course Giovanni would need it! Mewtwo would never obey him otherwise. Giovanni brought Mewtwo out of the Master Ball and clipped the collar around its neck the moment it emerged. With the device in place, Mewtwo was now completely under Giovanni's control. It stared blankly ahead, no longer possessing a will or a mind of its own. It only knew one thing now: obey Giovanni. Giovanni ordered his men to guard the Gym. He didn't want anyone interfering with the match. Once they'd left, he stood by while June considered what Pokémon to use first. In the end, she chose to use Paige first. Her half-Ghost typing at least gave her a fighting chance. She looked over to the captives. They glanced back at her. They couldn't speak but they didn't need to. The message was clear just from their faces: good luck out there.
"I won't let you down. I'll get us all out of this mess!" June swore.
She turned to Giovanni.
"By the time I'm through with you, you'll wish you'd never messed with the Silverlock family!" she growled.
"My, my, when did you get such a fiery spirit little girl?" Giovanni chuckled, "You're not the same snivelling little coward I captured back at Silph Co."
"I've grown since then and I'm not going to let you or anyone else frighten me or push me around ever again!" June declared, "Team Rocket's reign ends today Giovanni! Paige, use Screech!" she shouted.
Paige emitted a loud screeching sound that made Mewtwo feel as if the noise itself was trying to rip him in two. Even a Pokémon as powerful as itself couldn't help cringing at the noise. Giovanni smirked. If June thought lowering Mewtwo's defences would help her, she was sorely mistaken!
"A smart move, but what good will lowering its defences do if you don't even get the chance to land a hit?" he sneered, "Use Psychic."
Mewtwo thrust its arms out and used Psychic to grab hold of Paige. The ghostly fighter monkey yelped as she was suddenly picked up off the floor and thrown across the room. It was as if invisible hands had just grabbed her and tossed her aside. June watched her Pokémon fly past her and crash into the wall behind her. The hostages winced, feeling the impact themselves. Paige picked herself up and growled furiously. Somehow she was still standing, and looking VERY ticked off.
"Throw me across the room will ya?! I'll show you!" she roared, pounding her chest furiously.
She scampered quickly across the room and socked Mewtwo in the face with Rage Fist. The punch caused Mewtwo to reel back. Giovanni was impressed that Paige had even managed to pull that off. But in the end, it did no good as Mewtwo only used Psychic again to throw Paige across the room. She crashed into the wall a second time and this time, she didn't get back up again. June could already see that this wasn't going well for her. Her first Pokémon was down and all she'd managed was landing one hit on Mewtwo! She returned Paige to her Pokéball and sent out her second Pokémon. She'd chosen Divebomb this time. Hopefully his speed and powerful Crunch attack would give her an edge in this match. But then it occurred to June that winning the fight wasn't the key here. Instead, she should focus her efforts on destroying Mewtwo's collar! Once it was broken off, it would stop obeying Giovanni and hopefully join her in stopping him!
"Divebomb, use Crunch on Mewtwo's neck!" June commanded.
Divebomb swooped into the air with one flap of his wings. He got up to a good height and then dived down, homing in on Mewtwo like a missile. The genetically modified Pokémon just caught him with Psychic and stopped him dead in his tracks. Giovanni wasn't going to let any of June's Pokémon land a hit on Mewtwo's collar. Unfortunately for him, Divebomb was still able to use Crunch as a holographic construct of black teeth formed in front of his mouth and bit down on Mewtwo. His Psychic powers couldn't stop it as it was a Dark type attack. The jaws bit on Mewtwo's neck but they weren't able to break the collar for the cloned Pokémon threw Divebomb away before the jaws could have long enough to break it. Divebomb skidded to a halt and flew into the air again. He swiped the air with his wings and launched a sharp Stone Edge attack directly towards Mewtwo. Mewtwo threw an Aura Sphere at the stones and destroyed them before they could get anywhere near. As the last stone was broken, Divebomb zoomed down towards Mewtwo and prepared to bite down on it with Crunch once more. Mewtwo was a fraction too fast and was able to dodge the attack. Then he used Psychic to hit Divebomb with a wave of psychic energy and knock him backwards. The huge Aerodactyl collapsed onto the floor and passed out, unable to battle any longer. Then as if to undermine all of June's efforts, Mewtwo healed itself with Recover. Paige and Divebomb's damage was gone, making it look as if they'd never hit it at all.
"The stories would tell of how those that worked on Mewtwo had created the strongest Pokémon in the world. I never would've guessed they'd be accurate." Giovanni crowed, "With Mewtwo at my disposal, Team Rocket really will be unstoppable!"
June returned Divebomb and glowered at Giovanni, her eyes still full of determination.
"Guys like you really need to learn to stop getting so full of yourselves." she snorted, "That's why end up failing in the end. Your arrogance becomes your own undoing."
Ruby and Hop smirked from behind their gags. June was certainly right on that. How many of their enemies had they themselves defeated because of their arrogance? Giovanni would be no different in this situation! The Rocket boss dismissed June's words.
"Just send out your next Pokémon so I can get on with defeating you and making you the next addition to my collection of captives." he retorted.
"You're never getting me in that capsule!" June declared, "When this is over, I'll be stuffing YOU into it!"
She sent out Cinder next. She knew this was going to be a hopeless match up as Cinder had never been a fight since she'd caught her and Cinder had no super-effective moves. But hopefully her fire powers would help in destroying the collar. The Magmar blasted a searing hot Flamethrower towards Mewtwo but it got nowhere near as he simply used Psychic to block the attack. Then Mewtwo used Psychic again to grab hold of Cinder and throw her up into the ceiling. As June expected, she was knocked out instantly by the attack. If only she'd had the time to use one of her stronger Pokémon instead of Cinder! The Magmar fell to the floor unconscious and June returned Cinder to her Pokéball. She was now feeling very frightened. What if her plan wasn't going to work after all? The captives were beginning to feel scared for June. How was it she had a whole team to use and yet it didn't seem to be doing her any good? She was going to be locked up with them for sure! Giovanni smirked with pleasure. He was enjoying himself more than he'd ever done before. He relished the look of worry on June's face.
"You see now don't you what happens when an inferior being meets a higher power." he crowed, "You were foolish to think that having a whole team would help you June. Mewtwo's power is so great that an army of Pokémon couldn't stop it now!"
He laughed cruelly. Ruby's eyes narrowed into slits of pure rage. She couldn't bear to just sit back and watch while Giovanni taunted June and made short work of her Pokémon. In a mixture of fury and desperation, Ruby squirmed and struggled until miraculously, she managed to slip her hands out of her bonds. Now she was free, she peeled the tape off her mouth and banged on the capsule furiously.
"Giovanni! I beg of you, stop this madness!" she screamed, "Let me out of here and fight me instead! I won't let you hurt my daughter!"
Giovanni's head snapped around, completely surprised to be hearing Ruby talking.
"I don't recall giving you permission to speak Mrs. Silverlock." he retorted, "You're staying right where you are and you're going to watch as your daughter falls to the superior power of my newest catch."
Ruby growled furiously and pounded furiously on the capsule as if she had even the slightest hope of breaking it. The capsule didn't even budge despite how much she was thrashing about inside it.
"LET ME OUT OF HERE RIGHT NOW!" she roared, "If you want a real challenge then fight me! I'll give you a fight you'll never forget!"
"Mum, please, you're not going to get anywhere like that!" June protested, "Don't give Giovanni an excuse to hurt you!"
"But June…" Ruby began.
"No mum, you need to do as I say this time." June said firmly, "I'm the one who gave him Mewtwo so it's my responsibility to get you all out of this mess and save Mewtwo as well."
"But you're not strong enough!" Ruby said, her eyes filling with tears, "You're no match for that thing! You're fighting a losing battle! I can't bear the thought of you being locked up with us!"
"It's not going to happen mum." June insisted, "I can do this! You're just going to have to trust me. I will defeat Mewtwo and that's a promise."
Despite everything, Ruby couldn't help but smile at her daughter. Hop was equally as touched by June's bravery. He wished he could take his gag off so he could voice his praise for his little girl. He looked to Ruby and nodded. She would have to do all the talking in this case. Ruby nodded to Hop and looked back at June.
"June…I couldn't be more proud of you." she said softly, "You've grown so much. You're not my little baby anymore…you're a Pokémon trainer just like your father and I. Now you kick that evil bastard's butt for us!" she cried hotly.
"Gladly!" June replied, "And hopefully this next Pokémon should give me a leg up…"
She threw her next Pokéball and brought out Spyro. Ruby, Hop and Ash stared in wonder at June's next choice. It was sure lucky of her to find a Dragonair on her travels! But would it be enough to win this match? Trace and Tricia shared knowing glances. They could guess what June was up to with this one.
"Let's give ourselves a boost!" June cried, "Spyro, use Dragon Dance and don't stop until your Attack and Speed is at max!"
The siblings nodded. That was EXACTLY what they'd expected. It worked against Blaine so maybe it would work against Mewtwo. Spyro began to dance around gracefully through the air. Giovanni tutted.
"Do you seriously expect that to work?" he sneered, "Mewtwo can stop that dance before your power boost can get too high for it to deal with!"
To demonstrate, Mewtwo held out its hands and caught Spyro with Psychic. All at once, Dragon Dance had been foiled and Spyro was unable to move. But he had used it long enough to get a bit of an Attack and Speed boost. Mewtwo threw Spyro backwards but the serpent like Pokémon positioned himself so he could use his tail like a spring to bounce off the wall and launch himself back towards his opponent. He then surrounded himself with draconian energy and ploughed into Mewtwo with Dragon Rush. He came in too fast for Mewtwo to dodge and the attack was enough to nearly knock the wind out of it. Mewtwo hurled backwards and crashed down onto its back, skidding to a halt just in front of the captives. They were impressed. That had been the most decisive hit June's Pokémon had landed so far! To take advantage of the moment, June ordered Spyro to Dragon Dance again. By the time Mewtwo picked itself up and stopped Spyro with Psychic, he'd managed to Dragon Dance twice so he'd be even stronger and faster than before. Mewtwo threw Spyro aside but once more, the Dragon Pokémon managed to avoid a huge impact by cushioning the blow with his tail. He used Dragon Rush once more, moving so fast that Mewtwo barely had time to register what was happening before it was slammed and sent flying through the air.
And as the fight raged on, nobody was aware that a surprise guest had managed to sneak into the Gym. Misty had managed to arrive at last and had taken out the grunts guarding the Gym so now Giovanni would have no backup. Then to make sure nobody would see her, she'd snuck into the Gym around the back. Her Starmie had managed to wrench the door open with Psychic. She kept close to the wall and moved slowly towards the captives. She was worried Giovanni might see her and so she had to be as quiet as possible. But there was no chance of him noticing anything. The Rocket boss was too laser focused on Mewtwo and its battle against June's Pokémon. Misty could touch him on the shoulder and he'd probably not notice her. She watched as Spyro battled Mewtwo. To her surprise, he seemed to be doing rather well. Mewtwo used Ancient Power to launch fossilized rocks at the serpent like Pokémon but his Speed boosts from Dragon Dance made him too fast to hit. He dodged them all and ploughed into Mewtwo with another powerful Dragon Rush. The Legendary Pokémon crashed down onto its side, grunting heavily from the blow. Then he rushed in and walloped Mewtwo with Aqua Tail. It seemed June had things under control for now.
Misty tore her eyes away from the battle and looked to the captives. They hadn't seen her either as they were too focused on the battle. The Gym Leader reached into her pocket and pulled something out. She'd stolen the remote control that opened and closed the capsules from Giovanni's grunts when she'd taken them out at the door. She pressed a button on the control and to everyone's surprise, the capsules opened up. Ash turned and saw Misty, grinning slyly at him.
"What would you do without me Ash?" she teased.
"You sure picked a good time to get here." Ruby whispered, "How did you know to come here?"
"I was with June at the time Giovanni called." Misty explained, "I pretended to be knocked out in Cerulean Cave so Giovanni wouldn't suspect I was following June back here. Now you're free, we can help her beat Giovanni!"
"Did you get back all our Pokémon?" Hop asked as Ruby ungagged him.
"Not yet. The grunts still have them but they're unconscious outside." Misty answered, "Come on and we'll get them back."
Making sure not to make any noise, Misty led Ruby, Hop, Ash, Trace and Tricia out of the Gym the way she'd snuck in. Giovanni was so absorbed in the battle that he didn't realize his captives were gone. June saw them sneaking away but managed to stop herself from crying out in surprise and joy. She had to make sure he didn't suspect anything so she had to keep up the battle for now. Spyro rushed in with another powerful Dragon Rush and he hit Mewtwo. Mewtwo grunted and was brought down onto the floor once more. June began to feel more relaxed. It seemed just a few Dragon Dances were enough to win this match for Spyro was clearly on top for the moment.
"Keep up the pressure Spyro! We've got this now!" June cried eagerly, "Another Dragon Rush!"
Spyro lowered his head and charged. He was like an oncoming express train about to mow down anyone stupid enough to walk onto the rails. But to June's horror, Mewtwo was able to react just in time and catch Spyro with Psychic and hold him in place. Spyro's attack was stopped and now he couldn't do anything as Mewtwo had hold of him. Mewtwo launched Spyro up into the ceiling and then slammed him down onto the floor. He repeated the move several times, knocking the wind out of Spyro with every blow. Then to finish off, he used Ancient Power to bombard Spyro into unconsciousness. Spyro was pummelled mercilessly by the rocks and eventually, he keeled over onto his side into unconsciousness. He'd come so close to finishing the battle but not close enough. June returned Spyro to his Pokéball and Giovanni had Mewtwo use Recover again to heal some of the damage he'd taken from Spyro. He wasn't able to heal all of it and with any luck, it would give June an advantage for her last two Pokémon to exploit. She looked to Ray and nodded grimly.
"It's all up to you now Ray. You're up next." she said solemnly. Her tone of voice was like that of a soldier who was about to send his men onto the battlefield and didn't expect them to come back alive.
"I get ya. I'm here to soften it up some more so you can use your secret weapon to finish the job." Ray acknowledged, "I'll do my best you see if I don't!"
He got down on all fours and put on his bravest face to disguise the fact he was absolutely terrified and didn't expect to last long in this battle. This was also a personal match for him as Giovanni was the man responsible for the team that had kept chasing after him and trying to kidnap him for profit. He would be happy to give Giovanni an example of why he shouldn't be messed with.
Mewtwo took in the sight of Ray. Why was the sight of a trainer and their Pikachu so familiar to it? Hadn't it met another human like this before and they'd tried to help it in the past? It was sure it could remember something like that but the memory was fuzzy for the moment. Giovanni noticed it hesitating and fumed.
"What are you waiting for? Attack!" he barked, "Sweep away that pathetic Pikachu with Psychic!"
"Dodge by digging underground!" June shouted frantically.
Ray dug down just in time before a psychic attack could hit him. But in the end, it did no good as Mewtwo just used Psychic to rip up the floor and expose him. Yelping in surprise, Ray retaliated by using Zippy Zap. The move made him so fast that even Mewtwo couldn't dodge or block the attack in time. He zoomed up towards the Legendary Pokémon and crashed into him, inflicting huge damage and sending him reeling backwards. Giovanni was taken aback by what had happened. He'd never seen a move like that before.
"What kind of trainer are you?" he exclaimed.
"A creative one." June retorted, "Something you'd never understand. You just think raw power is how one wins battles and I'm here proving how wrong you are!"
She ordered Ray to use Zippy Zap again and just like before, the Pikachu came in so quickly that Mewtwo didn't have time to react. He was hit again, the little Pikachu sending the much larger Mewtwo stumbling backwards like a fly being batted away. Giovanni frowned. If only that Pikachu had never escaped from Team Rocket, he'd never have joined June's team and become such a nuisance in this fight! Once this was over, he'd sell the damn thing off and Ray wouldn't be escaping him a second time! He could already imagine how profitable this Pikachu was going to be now he'd been trained to be so strong by June and even knew a newly created move.
Mewtwo shrugged off the blows from earlier and used Recover to once again replenish its health. That only made it an open target for Ray to use Zippy Zap on again. He bodied Mewtwo with his electrified tackle attack and prevented it from recovering as much health as it normally would've. Then Ray used Brick Break to send a piece of debris from the floor flying into Mewtwo's face with his tail. The debris smashed into it and Mewtwo reeled to one side, feeling as if its brain had been smashed out of its skull. Ray then charged in one last time with Zippy Zap. He landed a powerful hit…and unfortunately it was the last hit he landed in the fight. He knocked Mewtwo down but unfortunately, Mewtwo caught him by surprise by using Psychic to lift up a bunch of debris just underneath him. Ray yelped in alarm as the debris shot up from the floor and crashed into him. It was like being hit by a makeshift Stone Edge. Now Ray had been caught off-guard, he fell heavily onto the floor and the impact winded him so much that Mewtwo was able to get back up and use Psychic on him before he could get back up. Ray was at Mewtwo's mercy and June watched with horror as Mewtwo used Psychic to squeeze Ray into submission. The poor Pikachu wailed in anguish, feeling like he was being crumpled like a soda can.
Mewtwo then threw Ray across the room and straight into June. The teen trainer caught Ray in her arms and was knocked off her feet by the impact. She landed heavily on her bottom and cried out in pain. But at least she'd saved Ray from a nasty impact. She looked down at Ray and stroked him tenderly. Ray looked up at her weakly.
"S-sorry June. I tried…" he grunted.
"Ssshhh. You did your very best Ray and I can't thank you enough." June said kindly, "You just rest for now my brave little Pikachu."
She put Ray down and left him to rest up. This was it, her last Pokémon and by far the one that was guaranteed to succeed in this match. She looked to her Key Stone. Now was the time to use it. Steeling her nerves, June drew out her last Pokéball and threw it. Ironhide materialized onto the field. The mighty Scizor bared his sharp metal claws and dared Mewtwo to face him. Giovanni blinked in surprise.
"I wasn't expecting a Scizor. You are full of surprises my child…" he purred with interest.
"I thank my parents for that. They're often unpredictable in battle." June said with admiration, "So I try to be as well. And if you think THAT'S surprising…"
She held up her hand and showed off the glove she was wearing. Giovanni recoiled, unable to believe that he hadn't realized the whole time that June had something new on her. The Key Stone glinted in the light of the Gym as June held it up.
"A Key Stone?!" the Rocket boss exclaimed, "Then that means…"
"Yep. It's time for you to face the power of Mega Evolution!" June crowed, "Want to test Mewtwo's power? Then test it against this!"
She held up her hand and all at once, the Key Stone began to glow as did the Scizorite that Ironhide was wearing around his wrist.
"Key Stone, reveal the true power our bond together has created. Unleash your true potential! MEGA EVOLVE!" June chanted.
A bright light engulfed Ironhide and all at once, his body began to transform. Giovanni covered his eyes as the light was too bright for him. In a matter of seconds, the transformation was complete and Ironhide now stood before Giovanni as a completely new Pokémon. Mega Scizor were about a foot taller than regular Scizor and sported much bigger claws with jagged teeth. There was more black on Ironhide's body than before and as a Mega Scizor, his Attack, Defence, Special Defence and Speed were increased so he was stronger, slightly faster and more durable than before. Ironhide roared with anticipation.
"Wow, that Mega Evolution makes me feel like a whole new mon! I've never felt so powerful in my life!" he exclaimed.
"Then let's put it to the test!" June said eagerly, "Use Fury Cutter!"
Ironhide charged towards Mewtwo. The Legendary Pokémon held up its hands again and used Psychic. However, it failed to slow Ironhide down due to his species being resistant to Psychic attacks. Ironhide shrugged it off as if he barely even felt the psychic energy on him. His attack landed and Mewtwo was hit with a flurry of scything cuts and slashes of Ironhide's claws. Giovanni recoiled. Of all the Mega Pokémon June could have, why did it have to be the perfect Pokémon that could counter Mewtwo?! Ironhide uppercut Mewtwo and it was knocked backwards by the blow. Mewtwo grunted and brushed itself off. Then it retaliated by throwing an Aura Sphere at Ironhide. It and Ancient Power were the best moves for Mewtwo to use at this point as Ironhide didn't resist Fighting or Rock attacks. Aura Sphere whooshed through the air and slammed into Ironhide. But his defences were strong and he withstood the blow. He retaliated with another Fury Cutter. June's plan was to keep using it over and over as Fury Cutter got stronger the more times it was used. Ironhide sliced away at Mewtwo again, causing greater damage than before. Mewtwo retaliated by using Ancient Power to bombard Ironhide with a shower of fossil rocks. After its attack had landed, Mewtwo's body flashed as Ancient Power boosted all of his stats at once. June felt nervous. This would be problematic if the fight was allowed to continue.
"We maybe Mega Evolved, but this fight could still go badly for us." June muttered, "So we must focus on freeing Mewtwo, not defeating it. Use Fury Cutter and aim for the collar this time!"
Ironhide obeyed and sliced at Mewtwo with his claws. The Legendary Pokémon blocked his attack by levitating a piece of debris in his way. He smashed it to pieces but he kept on going. Mewtwo used Psychic to slow him down so his attack wouldn't hit as hard but it barely made a difference. Ironhide still managed to hack away at Mewtwo's collar and do some damage to it. It was scratched and starting to crack as his claws sliced into it. One more hit from Fury Cutter and it would fall to pieces. Desperate to keep Mewtwo under control, Giovanni ordered him to use Aura Sphere directly in Ironhide's face. Mewtwo held up a hand but Ironhide jumped back and bent over backwards to avoid the blast. Aura Sphere missed him completely and smashed into a nearby wall. Mewtwo then used Psychic to throw more debris at Ironhide to keep him back and force him to attack something else. Ironhide smashed through the debris with ease and lunged at Mewtwo with another Fury Cutter. Mewtwo grabbed him by the wrists and held his claws away. The two struggled against each other, pushing hard and fighting for dominance. June and Giovanni watched, scarcely daring to breathe. Who was going to win this wrestling match?
In the end, nobody did. Mewtwo was suddenly struck from behind and he let go of Ironhide as a searing pain flared through his back. The same thing that he attacked him then sliced at his neck, cutting the collar clean off. Giovanni stared in disbelief as he saw Reaper suddenly on the battlefield and landing back on the floor after leaping up and attacking Mewtwo from behind. He spun on his heels and for the first time he noticed that his captives had all escaped!
"WHAT?!" he exclaimed, "This is impossible! How did they…?"
"You shouldn't have told me to leave Misty behind." June sneered, "You ended up giving her the opportunity to follow me and rescue everyone behind your back."
As she said this, Ruby, Hop, Ash, Misty, Trace and Tricia all stood on the side lines with one Pokémon each out to back them up. Ruby had Reaper, Hop had Zamazenta, Ash had Pikachu, Misty had Starmie, Trace had Jolteon and Tricia had Gyarados. Giovanni stared, his eyes pinpricks of shock and horror. He looked as if he was about to faint. All this time, June had been toying with him! The whole thing had been a distraction to keep him busy so Misty could free the captives! He growled angrily at June.
"You insolent little brat! I bet you planned this from the start, didn't you?!" he snarled accusingly.
"Well no actually. I just went along with it after Misty sneakily confirmed to me she wasn't knocked out." June replied truthfully, "Once I saw Misty was conscious and only pretending to be knocked out, I sort of figured out what she was planning and thus I pulled off this gambit to keep you busy while she saved everyone."
"I can't believe you actually fell for the oldest trick in the book." Misty gloated, "I doubt even Ash would've bought my little act and you know how dense he can be!"
"Hey!" Ash cried indignantly.
"Don't act like I'm not right here handsome." Misty teased.
"You're finished Giovanni." Ruby said coldly, her arms folded and her eyes narrow slits of fury, "You have no men left to back you up, Mewtwo's no longer under your control and June's successfully outwitted you. I suggest you give up now because there really are no other options here."
Before Giovanni could give an answer, Mewtwo suddenly groaned and clutched its head. It blinked heavily. Everyone stared at the cloned Pokémon curiously. What was it going to do now it was free from Giovanni? Mewtwo looked around, clearly confused over where it was.
"Are you OK?" June asked with concern.
"What…what happened? Why am I here?" Mewtwo murmured, "This isn't my home. Wait…" it paused as it retraced its steps for the moment, "I remember…I was fighting two humans and then I got absorbed into something that hit me from behind…"
It then looked at June and glared at her with pure ferocity in its eyes.
"IT WAS YOU!" it bellowed angrily, "You captured me somehow and brought me here to be controlled by this man! Yet another human seeks to abuse my power for their own gain!"
"N-n-no Mewtwo, I can explain! Please, it wasn't like that! I…" June protested.
"No more lies. I will see you and every other human in this room perish at my hands!" Mewtwo roared.
It grabbed June with Psychic and picked her up. June cried out as she suddenly rose off the floor and then she began to scream in agony as Mewtwo began to apply the pressure on her body. She felt like she was being scrunched up like a newspaper. Her screams filled the entire Gym. Giovanni leapt into action. He didn't care for June's safety but he worried for his own so he whipped out the Master Ball and tried to return Mewtwo. But Ruby grabbed him by the arm, twisted his hand to one side and broke his wrist. Giovanni howled in agony as his hand flopped down uselessly and the Master Ball fell to the floor. Ruby snatched it up and tried to return Mewtwo herself. But Mewtwo expected this and used Psychic to snatch the ball out of Ruby's hands. It then clenched its fist and destroyed the Master Ball instantly. It was no longer a captured Pokémon. There was no saving June now! It turned its attention back to June and continued constricting her. June howled helplessly.
"H-h-help m-me!" she whimpered feebly.
"Put my daughter down you monster!" Hop growled furiously, "Zamazenta, use Behemoth Bash!"
The steel wolf charged into Mewtwo and slammed into it with his shield like mane. Mewtwo dropped June and Ruby and Hop both caught her before she could hit the floor. June coughed and gasped with relief as air rushed down her throat and into her lungs. She was lucky as Mewtwo had come so close to killing her then and there. The parents tended to June while their Pokémon kept up the battle. Mewtwo clearly wasn't going to listen to reason now so like it or not, they had to fight it into unconsciousness. Reaper sliced into it with Shadow Claw, Zamazenta bashed it with Behemoth Bash, Gyarados bit down on it with Crunch and Jolteon zapped it with Thunder. Ash and Misty double-teamed it together with Thunderbolt and Hydro Pump respectively from Pikachu and Starmie. They were the most upset about this for they knew about Mewtwo's past and why it felt the way it did about humans. They wished there could've been another way.
"Knock it off Mewtwo!" Ash called out to it, "We're not your enemies here!"
"June had no choice! She was forced into handing you over to Team Rocket!" Misty explained, "We're here to save you from them!"
Mewtwo glared dismissively at the two.
"You and that girl violated my refuge! You deceived me and captured me so this human could use me! You do not want to save me! You only want to use me like all humans do!" the Legendary Pokémon growled, "Now all of you will feel my wrath!"
It held up its arms and used Psychic to begin ripping the ceiling down. Everyone stared in horror as chunks of ceiling and pieces of wall crumbled and tore themselves free and began to fall to the floor with a terrifying crash. The floor cracked and shook was Viridian Gym began to fall apart. Mewtwo was going to bring the whole place down on them!
"EVERYBODY EVACUATE NOW!" Ruby screamed at the top of her voice.
Nobody waited to be asked twice. They all took to their heels and fled the building as Mewtwo continued to bring it crumbling down. Giovanni looked back helplessly, pained to see his own Gym falling to pieces. Why couldn't he have just left well enough alone and never bothered with Mewtwo! Mewtwo kept up its rampage until eventually, the whole Gym collapsed in on itself like a house of cards falling down. It looked as if the building was folding together at the centre. Viridian Gym was nothing more than a pile of rubble. Luckily everyone had managed to escape with their lives. But it didn't seem their lives would be much longer as Mewtwo emerged from the wreckage and fixed its steely gaze on them. It whooshed down towards everybody. If bringing the building down on top of them wouldn't work, then it would have to be more straightforward!
Ruby and Hop huddled close together protectively in front of June and braced themselves. But Mewtwo never reached them. Everyone stared in amazement as all of a sudden…Mewtwo collapsed onto the ground! Ironhide had saved them at the last minute. He'd caught Mewtwo off-guard with one last Fury Cutter and as he'd used it so many times, its power was enough to finish the fight. Mewtwo was finally down and unable to battle anymore. The match was over and not just June, but all her friends and family were victorious. The whole group sighed with relief.
"It's over…finally…it's over!" June whispered, barely able to speak.
"It is sweetheart. Thank Arceus it's over!" Ruby sighed, clutching June as if determined never to let her go, "Gosh, I didn't think a trip to Kanto would have this much excitement!"
"Everywhere we go we seem to get caught up in some crazy adventure." Hop chuckled, "Should've expected the same here!"
"At least we're all alive now and Team Rocket are finished!" Tricia exclaimed.
"Speaking of…" Trace muttered, glaring at Giovanni.
The Rocket boss was standing where he was, a look of total defeat on his face. He was still clutching his broken wrist. The strange thing was, he didn't seem particularly angry about it. He seemed to just…accept that he'd lost and that's all there was to it. He looked to June grimly.
"What else needs to be said? You've defeated me and as I can see, not even Mewtwo's power will make Team Rocket unstoppable." he said solemnly, "My arrogance has blinded me to the fact that it's not just raw power that makes one powerful, but it's the relationships you forge with others that does."
He then held out a hand. June peered at it. At first she thought Giovanni was asking to shake her hand but she quickly saw that he was actually handing her the Earth Badge. This had been a Gym Battle after all and she'd won, so the badge was her's. The Earth Badge despite its name actually bore a resemblance to a kind of green leaf. June took the badge but with no sign of thanks on her face. She scowled at the loathsome man before her.
"At least unlike you, I can wear this badge with pride." June said coldly, "You've done many horrible things to me, my family and my friends Giovanni and I'll NEVER forgive you for them! Your organization has done nothing but bring pain and misery to others and you've put me through all sorts of horrible, stressful situations! I hope I never have to see you again!"
"You won't." Ruby said venomously, "He's going away for a long, long time…"
"Indeed." Giovanni accepted, "It is clear now that I have neither the strength nor the power to keep Team Rocket running. I hereby declare Team Rocket disbanded from this day forward. But mark my words, I will come back stronger and I'll prove to my subordinates that one day, I'll be fit to lead them into victory once again." he said cryptically.
"Yeah right, if the authorities ever let you go that is!" Ash retorted, "The way I see it, you'll never walk free again!"
Giovanni's face didn't change. He may have accepted his fate, but he remained convinced that somehow, someday he would return and Team Rocket would be back on top. Reaper stood behind Giovanni and sharply jabbed him with his swords. Giovanni obeyed and knelt down so Reaper could hold his swords to his throat. Zamazenta and Ironhide stood beside him too to make sure he wouldn't get away. Ash and Misty phoned for the local Officer Jenny to arrest Giovanni while Ruby, Hop and June sat together. Team Rocket was gone for good and the family could enjoy the rest of their time in Kanto peacefully! Ruby stroked June's face softly.
"My wonderful, brave, clever little girl. I can't stress enough how it's thanks to you and Misty that the day was saved! Without you two, we'd still be prisoners of Giovanni!" Ruby said with awe in her voice, "When did you become so grown up June?"
"Please mum, it's nothing really." June said modestly, "And I don't deserve all the credit. You two mentored me well so it's thanks to you both I became as strong as I am now!"
"But it was you who put our teachings to good use." Hop noted, "You never gave up, even when things got stressful for you and you panicked at times. You kept on going and even when we were locked up by Giovanni, you still showed great courage and fought to save us all. You're an amazing child June and we couldn't be prouder of you."
June was so touched that she began to cry. She didn't want to but she couldn't keep the tears from rolling down her cheeks. She hugged her mother and father in return.
"You two are the best!" she sobbed happily.
Ruby and Hop let June unleash all her emotions. The poor girl really needed it. Ray watched the family with awe in their eyes.
"You did it June. You really did it…" Ray whispered to himself.
It had been quite a journey for June, but it was all over. Team Rocket had been defeated and all eight Gym Badges were her's. Now she only had one thing left to do to complete her journey. June would be illegible to compete in the Indigo League where the Elite Four awaited her. Her path to becoming Champion was laid out ahead and June couldn't wait to reach the end of it…
It's finally over. Team Rocket is no more and Giovanni is behind bars at last. Mewtwo is out of his hands and everyone is safe again. June has eight Gym Badges and can prepare for the Pokemon League! But first, Tricia may have some "Confessions" to give to June before anything else happens...
Trivia: I don't really have any for this chapter.