Chapter 110 – The monster in the High Castle!

Team Rocket's Castle...

"Seventeen years ago, an expedition team to the jungles of Guyana made an important discovery," said Giovanni. "An eyelash belonging to the Pokémon Mew, that had been preserved in amber. The Mew species is often believed to be the origin species of all modern Pokémon. The Guyana discovery confirmed it. The DNA extracted from the eyelash contained the basic genome for all existing Pokémon. This might have been one of the most important scientific discoveries of all time, had Team Rocket not acquired it. Our scientists extracted the DNA and used it to grow an enhanced version of the Mew species. Enhanced psychic abilities, extremely high stamina, and the ability to use powerful attacks. It was Team Rocket's weapon. But there was a catch."

"Mewtwo was not only highly intelligent, but also highly emotional." Dr. Namba continued the explanation. "Capable of exercising free will and questioning why it needed to follow orders. We devise a device to control Mewtwo. A suit of armour designed to both enhance the Pokémon's abilities, but also to deliver EM waves directly to Mewtwo's brain...Only it wasn't enough. Mewtwo overcame it..."

"But there was another characteristic of Mewtwo's intelligence which we were able to exploit. Mewtwo also had a high level of emotional intelligence and could form attachments to other. One attachment in particular."

Ash listened with bated breath. His throat had gone very dry, and his heart continued to beat rapidly. He looked between Giovanni, Namba, and his mom, not knowing what to say or to make of what he was being told. Mewtwo continued to float in the tank and Jessie, and James were still standing, unspeaking, by the entrance to the chamber. Pikachu had moved, dropping out of Ash's arms, and climbing down onto the floor beside his trainer. Ash was feeling to numb to be able to continue to hold him. like his arms might give way. The baby Pichu clung to Pikachu's back.

"Delia became Mewtwo's handler and keeper," said Namba. "The two spent so long together that they formed a powerful bond, similar to that most trainer's form to their Pokémon. As you would well be aware marriages between trainers and their starters are incredibly common. Normally Team Rocket does not encourage it's members to form relationships with their Pokémon. Pokémon are tools, not spouses."

"But Mewtwo was far more compliant when allowed to spend time with my daughter," Giovanni added. "So, I looked the other way when I found out they were engaging in relations. That was until Delia fell pregnant with you, Ashton! Scans showed early on that you would be born a human and not a Pokémon. A human being but with the DNA of a Mew. But unfortunately, your birth created complications. Parenthood reshaped Mewtwo's intention and it no longer wanted to do the bidding of Team Rocket. Delia and Mewtwo had a falling out. Mewtwo broke free of its restraints and tried to escape the lab with you. Fortunately, we managed to subdue Mewtwo, but it was apparent after that that you and Mewtwo would have to be separated. I made an agreement with Delia to protect you from Mewtwo and from Team Rocket. Delia left the organisation with you, and resettled in a quite part of the Kanto Region where you might be safe..."

Ash didn't know what to do. Everything his grandfather and Dr. Namba were saying was horrifying. Part of him wanted to know more, part of him wanted to run and forget it all. Like this was all just a bad dream. He looked at his mother who had started to cry softy. Wiping her eyes with the back of her hand.

"M-mon...Is this true?"

Delia nodded. "I'm...I'm afraid so Ash. I was Mewtwo's trainer. I loved Mewtwo. He was my companion. We were just like you and Pikachu. But we fell out. Had a fight over what we were being asked to do for Team Rocket. It's the biggest regret of my life..."

"You...You told me that my father was a trainer on a journey," said Ash. "Why did you never tell me the truth."

"Oh Ash." Delia put her arms around her son and hugged him. Ash was feeling pretty numb inside at this point, so he neither rejected nor reciprocated the embrace. "I should have told you ages ago. But I wanted to protect you. I thought if you didn't know, the authorities might leave you alone. And...I always worried that if you knew the truth, you might try and fight Team Rocket yourself."

This comment surprised Ash. He glanced up at her frowning. "Team Rocket have been trying to get me and Pikachu since the first day I was a trainer. Jessie and James, they attacked the Pokémon Centre in Viridian City and confronted me in the forest."

"I swear Ash, I had nothing to do with that," said Delia.

"We were just after your Pikachu kid," James called out from the back of the room.

"We were told it was the kit of Zekrom," added Jessie. "That it was an extremely powerful and rare Pokémon. That's why we've been chasing you all this time."

"We had no idea you were the bosses son. We were in the dark as much as you were!"

Delia released Ash as Giovanni approached and put her hand on his shoulder.

"And now that you know the truth about who you are," the boss snapped to Ash. "It is time for you to make a choice. Embrace your origins and become part of Team Rocket. You can enrol in our training program. You have already proven yourself to be a powerful and skilled trainer. Now you can use those skills for the benefit of Team Rocket."

Now Ash felt a flash of anger. He recoiled and glared at his grandfather. "I'll never become one of you. And besides, I'm not powerful. It's my Pokémon who are powerful. I wouldn't have gotten anywhere without them. And I can tell you, that they will never become Rocket Pokémon."

Giovanni's face twisted into an evil smile. "The choice is entirely yours. I agreed long ago that you would be protected from Team Rocket always. But that protection does not apply to your Pokémon. You will be free to leave here when our mission is complete. The same will not be so for your Pikachu and Pichu over there."

"Pika!" Pikachu growled at these words, springing into a battle-ready position, his fur bristling and his cheeks sparking. The little Pichu clung tightly to his back.

Giovanni snapped his fingers and at once, Jessie and James moved from the back of the room towards him, taking Pokéballs off their belts. Ash's heart started to thump in his chest.

"Father no." Delia turned to Giovanni and put two hands on his chest. "You promised me you wouldn't...You can't take his Pikachu from him, it'll hurt him. It'll hurt him so badly..."

[Pokémon]

Meanwhile...

"Ugh...This has to be the worst job in Team Rocket," Wendy complained as she stretched back in her chair in front of the Radar screen.

Wendy was a young women, around the same age as Jessie and James, and had been a member of the evil organisation for about the same amount of time. She had short green hair which she kept stylised. Once having hoped to be a powerful Team Rocket operative and trainer, she found herself mostly doing admin and coms work at Team Rocket Headquarters, including...

"Monitoring the castle's radar. As if anything is going to find and approach us here in Ultra space. For Rocket's sake it's another dimension..." She tapped her fingers dully on the screen in front of her and sighed. "Maybe I'll go and get myself a smoothie from the break room. Not like anything's going to happen!"

But as she rose from her seat, the monitor started to beep.

"What...No way."

Looking down at the radar, she noticed a dot approaching the castle. Wendy raised her eyebrows as she resumed her seat and activated the scopes. On a separate screen overhead, the image of what looked like a ferret flying through the empty blackness.

"What the hell..." Wendy picked up an intercom device and turned a dial on her console, before speaking into it, "Hey Voltron Furret...State your name and intention."

There was a crackle of static, then a nasal voice replied, "Dis is the Geyser-Acquirer to Team Rocket HQ. I'm requesting permission to dock."

"One of our own," Wendy muttered. "That doesn't seem right." She raised the communicator to her face again. "I don't recall dispatching your vessel. Identify yourself."

"It's Meowth," the pilot on the other end of the line replied. "I'm a Team Rocket member. I got separated from my partners in a mission. Managed to steal this, Mecha. Inputting code now."

"What's going on in here," growled a disgruntled voice from behind.

Wendy looked over her shoulder to see Gozu enter the room, wearing his eyepatch and a scowl.

"There's an unidentified vessel seeking permission to come aboard sir," said Wendy. "Says they're a Meowth who got separated from their agents."

"Do they have a code?"

"Yes, they do. I just don't recognise the vessel though."

Gozu examined the scopes. "Looks like it's one of Doctor Zager's designs. Grant them permission and send a crew down to meet this Meowth. Can't cause too much trouble now, there's only one of them..."

[Pokémon]

"Come on Riolu, keep up!"

Hunter felt a powerful tug on the bindings around his paws, jerking his arms forward and nearly causing him to lose his footing. He ran a few steps forward so as to keep his balance, but he deliberately did not pick up the pace to keep up with his captors, a Machoke and a strange looking Meowth with iron coloured grey fur and a beard like mane around its face.

"Well, maybe I could if you hadn't tied my paws," Hunter retorted, wishing he could have come up with something clever than that. "Where the hell am I anyway. What is this place."

The last thing Hunter remembered was being pulled off Dragonite's back by Team Rocket's grabbers and placed into a small dark cage inside their Darkrai Mecha. He had been unable to see anything or even feel the waves of aura coming from the others. He wondered if he had passed out, as the next thing he'd been aware of was his cell being opened from above to reveal his two captors...Who had wasted no time cuffing him and dragging him off.

"Ma-choke." Machoke gave no reply, but rather grunted and gave another hard tug on the rope.

Hunter braced himself and just managed to avoid being pulled over. "Seriously, I'm not messing around. Where am I?"

His surroundings consisted of a large high ceiling chamber with dark metallic walls and low lighting. All around him were giant machines shaped like Pokémon, on which other Meowth's were working. Either cleaning or sticking various tubes and cables into opening. He quickly realised this had to be a Team Rocket thing and thought he must have been back on the Halberd. At the far end of the chamber what seemed to be an opening. Only beyond it seemed to be a dark black void.

"What are you planning to do with me, where are my friends?" he demanded again.

"No talking, just keep up."

Another hard tug on his ropes. Hunter realised if he didn't walk voluntarily, he would be pulled over and dragged across the floor. Something that would have decisively less dignity than the little he had at the moment. And so, he followed as the bearded Meowth and Machoke led him up the giant hall towards a set of steel door. As they approached, they heard a loud roaring sound from behind. His captors came to a halt, turning around to see what was making the noise, and Hunter looked over his shoulder.

"Nya."

"Choke."

"What the!"

From out of the darkness at the other end of the chamber flew yet another Mecha, this one shaped like a Yungoos. Hunter felt a thrill in his stomach. He had seen this machine before.

"Wait...How can that thing be here now," He murmured.

The Yungoos' paws had converted into four rocket engines, each with a small trail of blue flames. This provided a downward thrust that allowed the Mecha to fly. The flames disappeared as the Mecha came to rest on the floor of the chamber, the folding back into mechanical paws. Stepping quickly, the Mecha closed the distance between itself and Hunter, until it was directly above the Riolu and his captors.

"Choke-Machoke."

"Nya nya nya!"

Machoke and the Meowth exchanged looks as though unsure what to do. Hunter's heart rate increased as he tried to work out what was going on. 'Wait...Those two look as though they weren't expecting this either. This could be my chance...'

But his train of thought was broken as the skull of the Mecha Yungoos opened, peeling back to reveal a three-tiered control panel, at which were sitting...To Hunter's amazement...

"G-Geyser. Ashachu!"

And of course, Meowth, with Blade standing in the background.

"Pikaaaaa!"

Ashachu let out a loud cry, like a wild Pikachu. Then he threw himself off the Mecha Yungoos and, as he fell activated an iron tail attack, his tail turning a metallic colour. He landed tail first on top of Machoke, driving his tail into the top of the fighting type's head, and sending him crumpling to the down. As his paws hit the ground, the iron coloured bearded Meowth pounced on him, claws brandished.

"Pika-chuuuuu!"

Ashachu let off a thunderbolt attack, hitting the Meowth directly. The cat like Pokémon convulsed for a second as the electricity coursed his body, before it keeled over backwards and lay still.

Hunter looked wide eye at Ashachu and swallowed. "Ash-Ashachu!"

"Pika." Ashachu sliced his tail through the air.

At first Hunter thought he was attacking him, so he closed his eyes and lifted his paws to shield his face. But then he felt the cuffs around his paws fall away, a sensation that gave him instant relief. He hadn't noticed how much they had been cutting into his fur and skin.

"Uhh thanks..." For a moment he and Ashachu stared at each other awkwardly, Hunter unsure whether to hug or lick Ashachu or punch him.

The awkward moment passed, as the jaws of the Mecha Yungoos descended, and the rest of the Pokémon poured out; Dragonite, Flygon, Axew, Zoroark, Sylveon, Sniveon, Nova, Snivy, Oshawott, Hikari, Buizel and Totodile.

And, of course, Geyser, who came up behind Hunter and embraced him in a beartic hug from behind, pressing his Samurott muzzle into the crook of his neck.

"There you are cutie. Oh man I was so worried about you!"

"G-Geyser," cried Hunter. "Y-you're a Samurott now?"

"You know it Hunty."

"Ahh." Hunter blushed as Geyser started intensely licking the crook of his neck.

Ashachu looked away at this point, feeling a flash of annoyance and revulsion at the sight of the two Pokémon embraced. Still, he pushed the thought deep down inside him. Now was not the time to dwell on his complex feelings.

Around them, the other rocket Pokémon who had been working on the Mecha were slowly comprehending that something was wrong and deciding what to do. Three had reached the decision to attack, and with a loud cry of, "Nyaaa!" three Meowth, one ivory coloured and two grey and slender, attacked.

"Pikachuuu."

"Nitteee."

Ashachu and Dragonite took care of it. A thunderbolt and Hyberbeam attack sent their bodies flying across the floor. Ashachu scurried over to Dragonite and climbed onto his head to give him better gravitas as he cried out, "Hey, Rocket Pokémon. Get on your knees and put your paws on your heads." He sparked his cheeks for good measure.

The Machop, Machoke and Meowth surrounding looked at each other apprehensively. Eyes darted to the exit, while fists curled, and claws extended. Ashachu let out a burst of electricity again as others growled and brandished paws, vines, and in the case of Sniveon and Nova, little flares of fire. Flygon and Zoroark moved to guard the exit, preventing any chance of escape.

,"Anybody wants to try something stupid, and you can end up like your friends," Ashachu cried threateningly. "We've got no quarrel with you, so long as you listen to what we say and don't alert the humans. Now on your knees, paws on head."

The Meowth and Machoke did what they were told. Ashachu turned back to Ash's Pokémon gathered below.

"Quickly because we won't have much time. Where's Hoopa's Pokéball?"

[Pokémon]

"Ahahahahaha." Giovanni laughed manically as he watched Pikachu growling and sparking on the floor below. "You do realise son, that I have fought your Pikachu here before, and that encounter did not end well for it."

He made a gesture to Doctor Namba, who started pressing dials on the console behind Mewtwo. There was a loud beeping sound and red light flashed, before the tank begun to drain of whatever fluid it held inside...And Mewtwo's eyes opened.

Ash looked up, his heart racing, and for a brief moment looked into his father's eyes. He gasped. Mewtwo's eyes were the same colour as his. A light, chocolatey brown. And as they looked at each other for that brief second, Ash thought he saw something in those eyes. Was it...recognition...affection.

Whatever it was, however, it disappeared in a split second, as the glass tube surrounding Mewtwo fell away, and a claw like device descended from above, placing a helmet over Mewtwo's head. All around the psychic type, robotic arms had appeared, springing up from below the platform, to attach various parts of Mewtwo's armour to his body.

"Do you really wish to find out what you father will make of your little friends?"

There was an electronic whirring sound as the now fully armoured Mewtwo stepped over the platform, raising its arm, and pointing a gloved paw at Pikachu. At once, a blue aura shroud encased both Pikachu and Pichu, and they rose into the air and floated upwards towards the ceiling, each crying out in shock and horror.

"Pika PIKACHU."

"Pichu-Pi."

Ash felt his stomach turn over. "Stop it," he demanded. "STOP IT NOW, LET THEM GO!"

"Father pleased," pleased Delia. "There's no need for this."

"Like I said grandson," Giovanni repeated, his voice cold and menacing. "You are more than free to turn your back on this organisation and on me. But the Zekrom Pikachu and the Aura Pichu belong to Team Rocket!"

Ash felt sick as he watched Pikachu and Pichu float over to Mewtwo and started to revolve around the psychic types of head, like furry planets in a sick solar system display. He thought desperately about what to do, but with no other Pokémon on him there was nothing he could do. A mixture of anger and desperation overcame him, and he felt a hot pressure behind his eyes.

"M-mom...DO SOMETHING," he cried his voice a mixture of anguish and rage. "you can't let this happen to Pikachu!"

"Pi Pichu pi..." The little Pichu cried, flailing his arms in his air.

"Pika." Pikachu desperately tried to reach out to him as he floated by but was too far away.

Ash started to hyperventilate, breathing in and out very rapidly. He glared at Giovanni and said, his voice barely above a whipster, "You're a monster."