Trigger Warning: There's a stillbirth/miscarriage flashback scene in the middle of this chapter some may find upsetting.
Chapter 3
"I see I have a visitor." I said. "Long time, no see, Matt."
"If you don't help us, you might not see me again." Matt replied. "I barely got here myself. I was only lucky Jim showed up when he did. Do you know why we're here?" I nodded grimly, knowing I would have to break the silence.
"I…can't…" I said. "I can't fight anymore."
"Why not?" asked a new voice from across the hall. It belonged to my wife Ann Marie. "You know more than anyone it's the right thing to do. Hell, it's the only thing to do right now. I don't want our baby to be born into a desolate wasteland." She said, patting her pregnant belly.
"You guys don't understand." I replied. "When I challenged Ash 4 years ago, I had no idea what I was getting myself into."
"All I know is you let one bad loss give the Alliance the courage they needed to take over Kanto and Johto." Matt shot back. "Even now, Ash isn't satisfied that you've gone into hiding. His troops are looking for you with orders to bring you to him."
"Why are they still looking for him?" Ann asked Matt, not even trying to hide her concern. "Ash didn't just beat Ted four years ago. He shattered his fighting spirit in front of the whole world."
"Apparently, he wants to have a rematch." Hiro explained. "That's what we've been hearing, anyway. There's no telling if he's for real about that or not."
"I'll battle him when I'm good and ready." I said, getting down from the ceiling.
"When will that be?" Jim asked as a shot Ann a look. "Will it be before or after he's kidnapped Ann and the kids and is threatening to kill them? Hiro, Dave and I are the only ones standing between Jessie and James and the invasion of Mt. Silver. Once we're done, you're gonna be next."
"We can't hold out much longer." Hiro added. "Most of the Pokemon Centers in Kanto are being controlled by the Jets. Not only that, they shoot anyone who comes in and steals their Pokemon. There are very few safe places to get pokemon treated now."
"Ted, you really must help us stop The Jets." Matt said to me. "If Mt. Silver is invaded, even you won't stand a chance against their grunts. The Jets use Pokemon that have been genetically engineered. My strongest pokemon didn't even leave a scratch on them."
"They started experimenting on Pokemon after gaining power." Hiro added. "They hope to make the most powerful pokemon the world has ever seen. Having visited their research lab, I can tell you they are well on their way to doing that."
"Giovanni also had that dream." I said. "The end result was Mewtwo and Mewthree, both of which rebelled against him. They can't effectively force pokemon to battle against their will."
"They can now." Matt shot back. "When I battled Jordan, his pokemon had some kind of Mind Control Device on them. They were nothing but empty shells that showed no emotion. I killed one of them just to put it out of its misery."
"He probably would not be here if my Lugia and Dark Mewtwo hadn't come in time." Jim added while nodding slightly. "Being genetically engineered, Dark Mewtwo was able fight Jordan's Pokemon. I was only lucky Jordan was the only one using those Meta Pokemon and I caught him by surprise. Once he regroups, I don't know if I'll be able to do it again. We're in need of backup."
"I'll help you, Uncle Jim." Fin said to him. "I've got Raichu DNA in me and I've been getting really strong."
"I want to help, too!" Katrin exclaimed. "My ability to move through solid walls could prove useful."
"I'm glad to see some members of this family want to help." Jim said as he shot me a look. "The more help we get, the better off we will be."
"I'm not going to stay here forever." Ann said to me. "Not while the rest of the world is in danger. I'm am going to whatever I can to help out." I still wasn't convinced.
"I don't even have the resources to fight the Jets." I finally said, remembering that battle from four years ago. "Three of my best pokemon are dead. Besides, there's no challenge in it anymore."
Sounds like a childish excuse to me." Jim shot back.
"What?" I said, almost taken off guard on what he just said.
"You heard me." he relied. "You sound like a spoiled brat that is still getting over the fact he can't do the right thing."
"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, starting to get really annoyed.
"Giving up is insanely easy." Jim said as he raised his voice. "You should know that better than anyone else. You insisted Ash, Jessie and James give up messing with people and they never did. Because of that, their evil is now law in Kanto and Johto. Now that we're asking-no, begging you, you're ready to bitch about how unfair life is!" I didn't take kindly to that. Not from him. That's when I surprised everyone when I punched him in the face, his nose exploding with blood. Jim fell to the floor in surprise. When he staggered to his feet, his nose was oozing with blood. "That's a start." Said Jim. "Now let's take it one step further. Come on, hit me again!"
"That doesn't meant anything." I replied. "You just had that one coming. Just like this one!" I punched him again, this time a hard body blow. He fell to the floor in agony.
"Ted, that's enough!" Matt exclaimed as he stepped between us. "Jim was trying to help you. If you want to start hitting people, hit me! I'm the one who came looking for you. Just don't go doing stuff like that to your little brother!"
"I need some time to think." I replied as I turned to leave. "All this drama talk is really pissing me off." I went into my bedroom and closed the door. I just wanted some space to sort things out. I was being asked to go into a war zone without any of the supplies I needed. Even I knew that was too risky. There was too much of a chance of something bad happening to Ann, the baby and the kids. That's when the door opened and someone walked in. "Who's there?" I asked, sitting up on the bed.
"Someone who cares." Ann said as she sat on the bed next to me. "I'm worried about you."
"You may want to worry about Jim a little more." I replied, shrugging. "After all, he can't breathe out his nose right now."
"He'll be fine." She said. "Besides, he isn't the one I'm married to. You are."
"I'll be fine." I replied. "I just need some time to think. These are some very dangerous times, after all."
"For you...or for me?" she asked.
"You and our baby first of all." I replied, rubbing her belly. "This region is a war zone and you'll be shown no mercy just because you're pregnant. More so since you're my wife."
"This isn't the only time I've been threatened while pregnant." Ann pointed out. "In case you forgot, the same thing happened when I had Katrin."
"You had been secured then." I reminded her. "TR made a house call and paid for it. Not only were their plans nixed but you ended up having Katrin the same day."
"You know I wouldn't mind being in another situation like that." Ann whispered coyly. "We could even make it a tradition. Every time I get pregnant, we have some loonies try to kill me. I couldn't help but laugh at her dark humor.
"That is really unethical." I said. "It wouldn't be good for the baby, either."
"You never know." she replied. She then turned on the ultrasound machine next to the bed. "Let's find out." She lifted up her shirt, exposing her large belly. "It may be only 6 months now but if the baby is born now it could survive."
"That's if we were really lucky." I said as I picked up the wand from the machine and putting some gel on it. I moved it slowly across Ann's belly. "When's the last time you felt the baby moving?" I asked her as I looked at the screen.
"Not in awhile, actually." She replied. "I haven't felt it move for a few days. Why do you ask?"
"Because I'm not getting any activity here." I explained. "No movements, heartbeat, nothing." Ann quickly sat up to look at the screen. It wasn't moving at all.
"What's wrong with it?" she asked. "Don't tell me it died in there…" There was a twinge of fear in her voice. It was small but noticeable. "This can only mean one thing." I said, studying the machine. Ann didn't answer. She didn't want to hear what I said next. "Someone pressed the pause button."
"What?" She Asked. I heard relief enter her voice. "Someone paused the screen?" After readjusting the machine it started moving again.
"Looks like everything's fine." I said. "Give it 4 more weeks and it will have a good chance of surviving."
"It will at least have a chance." She replied quietly. "The other one wasn't so lucky." This being Ann's 3rd pregnancy, I had good reason to be so edgy. She was pregnant when I fought Ash 4 years ago.
The day after the match Ann was supposed to see her doctor. I was already getting everything ready for our move to Mt. Silver and wasn't with her. About 30 minutes into the appointment I was asked to come to the hospital. Fearing the worst I took Fin and Katrin with me.
When I arrived Ann told me the baby had died. Since we hadn't told Fin and Katrin another baby was coming we were both devastated. I wasn't sure who'd taken the news worse, me or her. "How did it happen?" I remember asking the doctor. "We won't know until we can examine the body." She said.
"How do you plan to extract it?" Ann had asked. "I can't do that." The woman said. "You're going to have to deliver the fetus." That made Ann feel even worse, delivering a baby she knew was dead. We later learned the umbilical cord had wrapped itself around the baby's neck several times. The baby was slowly strangled to death.
When it came out its hands were tightly clutching the cord. It tried to free itself but that killed it faster. Had we come 24 hours ago something could've been done. Once the stillborn boy's cause of death was confirmed Ann cried for 3 days. She didn't even want to hold the baby. During the 3 days the doctors wouldn't let anyone see her other than me.
What made it worse was the fact that we hadn't told Fin or Katrin they were going to have a little brother or sister. On the 3rd day I brought the kids over to take Ann home with us. Ann still hadn't seen the body and the doctors were going to take it to harvest its organs. I told her that she should at least see the child and it would help with the grieving process. She did not want to even look at it.
I realized that if Ann didn't at least say goodbye then she would never recover from her grief. Gingerly, I picked up the small bundle as if it were alive and put it in her arms. "Ann, it's time to say goodbye." I Said. "Before we go you have to see him. He looks great!" Upon seeing the baby in her hands, Ann held the baby close to her. She started to cry softly.
"I know this is hard but there was nothing you could have done to prevent it." I said gently. "I'm sure our other children would want you to get over the grief." "Did you tell them?" She asked me. "They didn't even know you were pregnant." I said. "It doesn't matter now, though. We can get through this."
"I don't want anyone to know about this." She said. "Not our parents, not the kids, not our friends, no one."
"I won't tell anyone if that's what you want." I said.
4 years had passed and we still did not mention the stillbirth to anyone. It was as if it never happened. You could almost say it didn't.
"I know." She said when she realized I was also thinking of the past. "It's ok. I'm not sad anymore. It was bad to have not let things go." It seemed we'd both revisited a bad dream together and didn't like it even more. "Now it's your turn." She continued. "Please do this. If not for me then for the one we lost." I got up and went back into the hall. Everyone was waiting.
"Have you decided?" Matt asked me.
"I don't even have all the key pokemon I'll need to do this." I replied.
"You've still got Charizard." Katrin pointed out. "It fights with the heart of 12 pokemon."
"Even having the heart of 12,000 pokemon won't do any good against this evil." Said another voice. "Who said that?" asked Fin, getting ready to zap whoever surprised him. We looked in the direction it came from. Floating in from a window was a Mew.
"Thank goodness I found you, Ted." It said telepathically, speaking into all of our minds. "I was beginning to get worried you were captured or killed."
"Why are you looking for me?" I asked. "You must help your friends fight the Rockets and Jets." It explained. "I have come to teach your pokemon a powerful technique that will allow them to do so. It will allow several pokemon to fuse into one, becoming more powerful than the pokemon used to create it."
"You're talking as if I said yes." I noted. "I haven't agreed to anything yet. The only Pokemon powerful enough to have been a match against Ash are dead.
"We may be dead but we don't want you to just roll over and die." Said a voice from nowhere. Fin shot lightning at a wall.
"Who's there now?!" he exclaimed. "Show yourself this time!"
"Relax Fin! It's only Mewtwo." Said the voice.
"But how?" I asked. "You're dead. Where are you exactly?"
"In the afterlife, of course." Mewtwo replied. "Mewthree and Aurabolt are here too."
"How come we can hear you but can't see you?" Jim asked. "How do we know we're not going insane?"
"I can fix that." Said Katrin. "I'll use my powers to help everyone see." She then started to glow. In a flash of light Mewtwo, Mewthree, and Aurabolt appeared.
"Ted, we really think you should stop Ash, Jessie, and James." Said Mewtwo. "If you don't act NOW then we may be reunited in the next 48 hours but not in the way you'd like."
"Jordan and some of his men have started a search for you." Mewthree explained. " We have seen what awaits if you choose to stay here. In 40 hours, they will find your home. In the next 8 hours after that, everyone except Ann and the kids will be dead. Those three will be subjected to unspeakably vile experiments until they all die."
"How can I defeat the Jets?" I asked. "Puma hasn't become a level 2 Gochu yet. It only became a Gochu for the first time when Aurabolt died."
"I might not be dead for much longer." Aurabolt remarked.
"You're going to be reincarnated?" I asked.
"Something like that." Aurabolt replied. "You may not know it but this Ancient Mew has the Ability to bring one of us back from the dead. We took a vote and decided I'd be the one to return to the land of the living."
"Why can't you all be revived?" Jim asked.
"I only have the power to revive pokemon as powerful as them once a year." Mew replied. "And I can only bring back one of them."
"Does this mean Mewtwo and Mewthree will stay dead?" Jim asked.
"Not quite." Mew replied. "A long time ago before I became guardian of the Earth, 7 special Jirachi were created. You all know Jirachi is the Wish Pokemon?" Everyone nodded. "Well, bring all 7 special Jirachi together and you will be granted any 7 wishes you desire. All you have to do is find them all."
"That sounds similar to the Dragon Balls from Dragonball Z and Dragonball Super." Matt noted.
"They got the idea from us." Mew explained, shrugging. "We plan to sue them as soon as we find a good lawyer."
"Where can we find the 7 Jirachi?" I asked. "Aren't they originally from Hoenn?"
"The 7 Jirachi were scattered across the world but they recently Migrated to the Kanto Region." Mew explained. "You haven't much time. You'd better find all 7 of them before the Jets do. And here, take these. These are 7 special poke balls that you must use to catch them. Ordinary poke balls including the Master Ball will not work."
"If the Master Ball won't work, these pokemon must be powerful." I noted. "Do we catch the Jirachi with each number Ball?"
"You're catching on." Mew replied. "Each Jirachi has a number on it. They can only be caught with the corresponding ball. Do not forget this!"
"But we're only allowed to carry 6 pokemon at a time." Jim pointed out. "Even one of us can't catch all 7 of them."
"The Jirachi are an exception." Mew replied. "You can catch them all and still carry 6 pokemon with you. What say you now to that?"
"Alright, I'm convinced!" I exclaimed. "I'm ready for the task ahead of me. It's been a long time since I've battled anyone, though. I'll need to have one quick battle as a refresher."
"I've been looking to get a rematch." Matt replied as he stepped forward. "We never really settled the question of who is better between us."
"Then we shall find out." I said as I smiled. "I have a place we can use upstairs. We can battle there. But first, I'd like to see Aurabolt."
"Thanks for reminding me." Mew replied with a laugh. "I almost forgot." She then started to glow. A flash of light surrounded the spot where Aurabolt was being projected. Smoke then started billowing up from it and then stopped. When the smoke cleared Aurabolt was standing there in the flesh.
"It feels good to be back in the flesh." said Aurabolt as a Level 2 Gochu. "Let's get this training exercise started."
"We'll continue training while we wait for you guys to find all 7 Jirachi." Said Mewthree. "When we come back to life we'll be stronger than ever!"
"I'll be looking forward to that." I said. "It will be just what we could use." We then headed upstairs. Soon, we would learn the Fusion Technique.
That's chapter 3.
I decided to throw in the Trigger Warning at the top as a courtesy. Was it needed since I gave this the Mature rating? Nope, but like I said it's a courtesy.
Whew...let's just say updating each chapter for formatting took a LONG time since I literally had to manually review every line and sentance of all 34 chapters. That is why the publishing took so long after I initially uploaded them.