Chapter 109 – The truth about Ash Ketchum
Pallet town, Kanto Region…
The Pokémon stood back to admire their paw work. The restored Yungoos Mecha was the combined efforts of all of them; Ashachu, Snivy, Axew, Zoroark, Geyser, Sniveon, Dragonite, Flygon, Hikari, Buizel, Totodile and of course Meowth…Blade too. The Mecha stood at least three meters tall. As tall as Dragonite, Charizard and Flygon standing on each other's shoulders. It was surprisingly sleek considering it had been a pile of broken parts only a few hours prior.
"Well, I've got to paw it to you Meowth," said a slightly sarcastic Ashachu. "You actually rebuilt that hunk of junk." He patted Meowth on the back, a little too hard.
Meowth pulled a face, suppressing his annoyance. "Ya knows you're never going to be able to tow eon Team Rocket with dis machine. Their too strong for ya."
Ashachu grinned and put his arm around Meowth in a mock embrace. "Hey buddy. You want to stop saying you and start saying we! Come on."
Meowth groaned. "What dis is still not over!"
"Vii"
He felt a hard tug on his paws, which were still bound, causing him to fall flat on his stomach. "Yowch…son of a…" He looked up to see a disapproving Snivy standing over him with a scowl on her face.
"Get moving," she growled, as she dragged him back up to his feet.
The Mecha Yungoos jaws dropped open, providing an entrance to the vessel. One by one, Pokémon started boarding, exchanging nervous murmurs as they did so.
"WAIT…guys." Blade couldn't believe they were actually going to do this. He'd been on this Mecha and on the Halberd before, and he knew which he'd bet on in a battle. "This is a suicide mission!"
The Sneasel ran that he jaws of the Yungoos after them. When first built by Meowth for Team Rocket's purposes, the Mecha had contained a large holding area in its belly, where it had stored Geyser and Charizard. Now this part of the Mecha had been converted to resemble a military drop ship. Two long benches along the walls for the Pokémon passengers to sit on during flight with little other furnishings. Blade found himself in a sea of angry faces.
"There's no way you're going to beat Team Rocket in this piece of crap!"
"So, why, do you care?" an angry voice shouted. Blade couldn't tell.
"Yeah, ya cock knob, nobody's asking you to be a part of this." That comment came from Buizel.
"Ash is our trainer and Pikachu and Charizard are our friends," added Sniveon. "They've fought for us, so we're going to fight for them."
A chorus of angry voice crashed over the Sneasel. It was hard to tell what anyone was saying. He started to feel annoyed. Why did everyone hate him so much. And then he heard a familiar voice break through all the rest.
"Blade!"
Ashachu stuck his head out of the cockpit, beckoning the Sneasel to join him. Good, Blade didn't want to be around the rest of them anyway. He ran forward to join Ashachu.
"Hey kids. What's up?"
The cockpit was as Blade remembered it. The three-tiered consoles for Jessie, James and Meowth. Only this time with Ashachu and Blade at either side of Meowth as opposed to the two Rocket Grunts. Blade immediately noticed the handcuff holding Meowth's paw to the armrest.
Blade looked between the three of them, bit his lip, and then sighed before blurting out, "you guys can't be serious about this. Trying to take on Team Rocket in this Mecha is a suicide mission. Every instinct in my body is telling me that. Heck, this lot took it on, and they didn't have a secret human death machine..."
Ashachu glared at him. "What do you care. Nobody's asking you to help."
Blade sighed again and rubbed the back of his head with his claw. Why did Ashachu have to say the same thing as Buizel. He took a deep breath and said, "Because kiddo. Believe it or not, I...really care about you." His voice broke on the word care, and he felt a hot pressure behind his eyeballs. Yet he resisted the urge to cry, and continued, "You too Geyser, and Hunter as well, but I...I really like you Ashachu. And I don't want to see you get hurt."
Ashachu was taken aback by this response. His ears fell back, and his expression softened when he saw the sad look on Blade's face. The Sneasel looked down at his paws, turning his face away from Ashachu and lifted up a claw to scratch at his cheek, as if trying to hide himself from Ashachu and Geyser.
"Y-y-you're really important to me Ashachu! I didn't have a lot of friends before I met you, and..." He sniffed then swallowed, abandoning his train of thought, and continuing, "And when we were together in the Aether Foundation. When we almost...That wasn't just pheromone induced lust, I truly had feelings for you."
Ashachu opened his maw to say something, but Blade held up a claw and cut him off before he could do so.
"I...I love you, man! And don't get me wrong, I know that we're never going to be true mates and that our hearts both truly belong to someone else but...Doesn't change the fact that I love you." He sniffled, and Ashachu noticed the tear running down his cheek. It was impossible to hide now.
"Blade," he whispered softly.
Blade took a breath, before saying, "and I don't have...him...Shadow anymore. You and your little group here is all I have. And I don't want to see you get killed. So please kid...think this though."
Geyser raised his brows surprised. "Damn...And I had you down as a disruptive influence with a Slowpoke brain. Maybe I misjudged."
Ashachu however, slipped out of his seat at the console, and sidled up to Blade and gripped a hold of his paws with his own.
"Huh."
Blade looked down, to find Ashachu's little face starting up at him waring a warm smile. "Blade...it's alright. I...I love you too...And I got this!" Being a head shorter than Blade, he pressed himself up on his toes, moving his right paw the side of Blade's face and whispering into his ear...
The Sneasel's eyes widened as he heard what Ashachu was saying. Ashachu pulled away and the two of them looked at eye other. "You mean," Blade started, but before he could finish, Ashachu pressed his muzzle against Blade's and kissed him.
Geyser let out an exasperated sigh. "Are you two really doing this now. Can't you save the touchy, feely little make up make out until after we've beaten Team Rocket...Or when we're in the distortion world, whichever comes first..."
[Pokémon]
Team Rocket's Castle (formerly Ultra Megaopolis), Ultra Space...
The clothing was comfortable, and it was a relief to no longer be nearly naked...Especially in front of his mother and evil grandfather. Still, Ash felt a powerful sense of disgust at the black Team Rocket uniform Jessie and James and brought to the chamber, and which Giovanni had made him put on. The purple R splashed across his chest glinted in the low light, mocking him.
Ash, Delia, Pikachu and the newly hatched/born Pichu were led out of Giovanni's office chamber and down a series of corridors and stairs until he was in what Ash thought must have been the very heart of the castle. Like Giovanni's office this room was also dimly lit, and it was a strain on the eyes to be able to see. Most of the light came from six glass tanks which lined the walls, each lit with a different coloured light that seemed to come from within the tank: red, green, orange, violet, yellow and blue.
"What is this place," Ash demanded as he looked around. "What's in these tanks."
He tried to keep his voice firm, but he noticed the apprehension in his voice. Something about the tanks was unnerving. He was holding Pikachu and Pichu in his arms and hugged them a little tighter to his chest for comfort.
"Take a look," Giovanni suggested, gesturing towards the closet tank.
Ash approached tentatively. He could feel Pikachu's heart beating under his hand, and small delicate fingers of his newly hatched Pichu gripping his skin. His breath caught in his throat. He stopped a metre away from the tank, afraid to approach. It was glowing with a bright blue light. Leaning forward, he peered inside.
"Oh my..."
He stepped backward, nearly falling over in horror at what he saw. He felt Pikachu go ridged in his arms. Floating there in the tank, its immense form taking up nearly all the space available so that it was practically pushing against the glass, was a quadrupled dragon Pokémon with metallic skin and a long pointy head.
"Th-that's...Dialga...You...you've got Dialga in there."
"Pika!" Pikachu cried, echoing his trainer's horror.
"Pichu Pichu." The little Pichu hugged the side of Pikachu's head.
Ash spun around to face his grandfather, a horrified expression on his face. Giovanni had a twisted smile on his face, which was made all the more sister by the strange light. "All Pokémon exist for the glory of Team Rocket."
"Are...Are all these tanks filled with."
Ash spun around again, peering at all the tanks. His stomach turned over as he made out the outlines of Virizion in the green tank, Suicune in the red and Zeraora in the yellow. He didn't dare look at any of the others.
"These were the leaders of the guild," Giovanni explained unprompted. "Of the Pokémon that lived here, they were in charge. From this place here in the Ultra Space, they operated a system of rescue teams. These tanks operate as part of an infinite energy converter, which drains these Pokémon of their aura to power the castle and our weaponry. It may interest you to know this is the same energy that powered the Halberd and the Ultimate Weapon."
Ash already knew that but hearing it from Giovanni made it sound all the worse. He turned back towards the exit where Jessie and James, who had escorted them down, were standing, along with Delia. "Are any of you okay with this," he demanded.
Neither Jessie nor James said anything. They remained standing stoically at the door, without showing any expression. An odd show of discipline for them. Delia pulled a face, clearly uncomfortable, but also said nothing.
Ash looked bac at Giovanni in disgust. "You...You said you were going to tell me about my father," he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
"As you wish," Giovanni replied.
He snapped his fingers, and a light came on, illuminating a part of the room that had previously been shrouded in darkness. There was a small platform in the middle of the room, surrounded by large computer terminals covered in light and diodes. Ash approached slowly, unsure what to expect.
"Wh-what is this?"
Giovanni did not reply, but at that moment, a door opened nearby flooding the room with light. Ash looked over his shoulder to see a wiry red-haired man enter. Ash's stomach flipped over again as he recognised him...Dr. Namba.
"You called me, Giovanni sir."
"Place the ultimate Pokémon in the machine, please Doctor," Giovanni instructed.
[Pokémon]
Pallet Town...
"Three...two...one. Lift-off!"
The Yungoos Mecha took off, shooting into the air like a Draco Meteor attack. How did it fly...Rocket engines in its paws that provided a downward thrust. The Pokémon onboard fell silent as the Mecha approached and entered the Ultra Wormhole. It was a surprisingly short journey. The grey skies above Pallet Town disappeared to be replaced by a swirl of colours followed by darkness...And then the sight of Team Rocket's castle, floating in the empty space.
"Wow," Geyser exclaimed, raising his brows. "Team Rocket's busy."
"What happened to Ultra Megaopolis," Ashachu wondered aloud.
Meowth drummed his free claw on the console before him. "You're looking at it twerpachoo."
"I told you not to call me that!"
Meowth ignored his retort. "Ultra-Megalopolis sit on an asteroid in the middle of da Ultra-space at the centre of the multiverse. It connects all words of da Pokémon multiverse, which is why da guilds use it as a base. Da rescue guilds train some of da most powerful Pokémon from multiple dimensions. Dat's because Team Rocket wanted to take it over."
"We just need to know one thing," Ashachu said, swivelling around to face Meowth.
"Nyaaa." Meowth did not like the dark look on Ashachu's face. He had never seen any of the twerp Pokémon look like that before.
"One thing Meowth...And you are going to tell me." Ashachu nodded and Geyser, who promptly rose from his seat and grabbed Meowth around the neck, putting him into a half nelson.
Blade's eyes widened. "Man, when did you two learn to work together!"
[Pokémon]
Team Rocket's Castle...
"Right away sir."
Dr. Namba stepped over to one of the consoles behind the platform and started turning the knobs and dials. Ash watched with bated breath, holding Pikachu and Pichu close to him, as he wondered what fresh nightmare Team Rocket had waiting for him.
Or what this could possibly have to do with his father.
As he watched, a hatch in the bottom of the platform opened, and another tank rose up out of the ground. This one was a dark purple in colour, filled with a dark vicious liquid. Ash's heart sped up as his eyes slowly made out a human shaped figure inside.
"It fought against Eternatus and won but sustained some damage. But thanks to its superior body and Team Rocket technology and full recovery will be made," said Doctor Namba. "Behold Ash Ketchum."
Flood light above the tank suddenly activated, filling the room with light. Ash blinked several time as his eyes, which had been growing steadily use to the dark, were assaulted by the sudden brightness. As they readjusted, the creature in the tank came into focus, and he gasped. He had seen it before. A humanoid Pokémon with a long tail, three fingered paws and feet and a slightly pointy muzzle.
"It's...It's Mewtwo. I-I-I don't understand."
"Ashton Satoshi Ketchum," said Giovanni, a note of mirth in his voice. "This is your father!"
"Wh-what!"
"Pika!"
Ash couldn't believe it. He turned back around to look at his mother, who came up to him and put her hands on his shoulder.
"It's true," she said softly. "Ash, Mewtwo is your father!"
Ash raised his head and looked Delia in the eye. Even in this impossible situation, he could tell that she wasn't lying.
"How...How can that be?" he asked. "How can Mewtwo be my father."
"You bred with that Pikachu of yours twice, didn't you," Giovanni interjected. "Surely, it isn't that hard to imagine..."
Ash looked back at the humanoid Pokémon in the tank. As he examined Mewtwo carefully, he noticed a lightning bolt shaped mark underneath Mewtwo's eyes. Similar to the birthmarks under his own eyes, and the ones on Ashachu's and now his newly hatched Pichu's chests. The idea of his mother breeding with a Pokémon certainly wasn't that hard to understand. How and why, that had come about, was what Ash was stuck on.
"Mew-Mewtwo is my father," he repeated looking down at the two mice Pokémon in his arms. "I'm...Part Pokémon."
"Pikapi," Pikachu cooed, rubbing his head against Ash's chin to sooth his trainer and mate. He didn't know what else to say.
Ash closed his eyes for a second, focusing only on the feel of Pikachu's fur against his face. Trying to block everything else from his mind. He opened them again and stared back at the tank. Mewtwo appeared to asleep, or in some type of status. Ash slid his right arm free of Pikachu and place his hand on the glass. He felt Pikachu and Pichu cling to his left arm and little tighter.
"Piiika."
"Pichu Pi!"
"Ash honey," said Delia, after a moment of silence.
Ash glanced over his shoulder and saw his mother standing behind him. "Mom...I think you've got some explaining to do!"