I hope the Torterra get a good home. At the end of the movie, he says he'll take care of them, but where would you keep something so big? They create quite a commotion when they wake up.

Polaris-Ponyta, Link-Raichu, Charren-Charizard, Tlaloc-Braviary, Kinesis-Alakazam, Yarak-Talonflame

Mewtwo, Lily-Mom Mewtwo, Twilight-young Mewtwo

Chapter 27: Moving Mountains

I lowered myself through the skylight and dropped, landing in a crouch. Tim came next, slipping and landing on his back. I grimaced and helped him up. Harry jumped through, and Tim caught him.

The hall was dark, but monitor screens cast an eerie light. Lucy pulled out a flashlight, passing the beam over the walls. Several round glass doors lined the passageway.

Harry glanced around the dark passage. "I may have amnesia, but I'm pretty sure this is the worst idea anyone's ever had."

"This place is bad business," Link agreed. "I think I disabled all the cameras in this room. I'll keep an eye out for more."

"Thanks, Link."

"I really think that you have experience breaking into buildings," Harry insisted.

I sighed and answered in a low voice. "Sometimes I get tangled up with bad people. More than once, they've kidnapped my friends and Pokémon. So I went to get them back."

"Well then," Harry said.

"They kidnapped your friends?" Tim asked.

"What is that?" Lucy asked. She had her flashlight up to one of the doors. A hand slammed against the glass and we all leapt back. A face was staring through the door – a Greninja. Lucy aimed the light further along the hall, and we saw more Greninja watching us through the glass. These were the guard Pokémon Mewtwo had mentioned. Had they been abandoned here? It had been days, and they didn't look in bad shape. So someone was taking care of them? Still, I'd have to get them out of here once I finished looking around.

Harry leaned forward to read the monitor. "Test 22. Power enhancement?"

"They're using these Pokémon as experiments, to make them stronger," I growled.

"But why?" Harry asked. "If Roger Clifford's behind this, what's he doing experimenting on Pokémon?"

Lucy moved to another window. "A Torterra garden."

Several of the grass/ground types raised their heads to look at us. Like the Greninja, they didn't look neglected. I glanced at Link, who nodded. He understood. This place wasn't abandoned. We'd need to make our visit quick, and get out of here.

"Pokémon evolution test 33," Tim read from the Torterra's panel. "Growth enhancement.

"They look normal sized to me," Lucy said. "Maybe it hasn't started yet. It's like they're trying to manipulate Pokémon evolution."

"What do you know," I growled, clenching my fists. "This is a lot of the stuff Team Rocket was working on."

"I need to document all of this," Lucy said, pulling out her camera. "You go ahead, I'll catch up to you."

I didn't want to leave her alone in this place.

"It's okay," Link said, sensing my thoughts. His ears swiveled back and forth. "It's empty. I don't hear anyone else."

I nodded and followed Tim and Harry deeper into the building. We emerged into a burnt out husk of a room.

"Whoa, what happened here?" Tim murmured.

"Bad stuff," Harry said. "Really bad stuff."

This is where Mewtwo had broken free. Even in his weakened state, his escape had been explosive. Ahead of us was a round capsule of metal and glass. It was split open like an egg. I froze when I saw it. They had him locked in that little box. Those monsters. I grit my teeth, not trusting myself to talk.

Yarak perched on a piece of debris, glancing around the room. Link's fur was bristling. If I had fur, it would be bristling too.

Harry called, "hey! Over here!" He'd found a functioning computer panel. "It says Dr. Laurent's station." He pressed one of the icons, but nothing happened.

Tim pressed more of them. "It looks like most of the files are corrupted." But then he clicked one, and it beeped. The air around us changed. Link and I jumped. Yarak shrieked and flapped his wings.

"Uh-oh," Harry said. "Another one of those holograms."

Blue pixels of the hologram flashed, rebuilding the lab around us until it was pristine and new. That horrible capsule stood in the middle of the room. It was intact, and full of liquid. Inside, Mewtwo floated unconscious. I knew it was just an image of the past, but my breath caught. Bu instinct, I moved closer to him.

A hologram of a woman walked past. "After much trial and error," she recited to her recorder, "we perfected a stable method to extract Mewtwo's DNA."

"How could they," I snarled, clenching my fists.

"Mewtwo came from this place?" Harry asked.

Before I could respond, the hologram jerked and reformed. Dr. Laurent's voice continued her documentation. So calm and matter-of-fact about torturing my friend. "Clinical trials proven successful. The inhalant results in confusion, and the total loss of free will. Which in turn, makes the Pokémon go wild. We've designated this chemical as serum R."

"They used Mewtwo to make R," Tim said.

"And they were testing it at the battles," Harry jumped down onto the ledge, and the hologram reformed again.

"The neural link is operational." Dr. Laurent set some sort of head gear onto a model of a human head. I had the urge to punch her. But of course she wasn't really here.

The computers of the hologram started blaring red. "Alert. Condition: Red."

I whirled around to find Mewtwo's eyes open, and a look of fury on his face. He threw his arms out, and the glass front of the capsule exploded outward in fragments of glass. Dr. Laurent's hologram flew back from the force of Mewtwo's power. In reflex, I threw up an arm as the illusion of glass shards flew past me. I almost expected to feel them slicing my arm, but nothing happened. The hologram scattered apart with the debris of the explosion, and the image faded.

"That must have been how Mewtwo escaped." Tim was still staring at where Dr. Laurent had disappeared. I wondered if the blast had killed her. It might have. But I also couldn't imagine Mewtwo killing someone like that. Even as angry as he was.

"But what did that thing want with Harry?" Tim asked.

"Good question, kid." Harry turned back to the computer display. "I'll try and take us back to the beginning."

Once again, the hologram reformed. This time the capsule was empty, and covered with a tarp. Dr. Laurent's narration continued. "Day 1. The lab is almost fully operational. All that remains is to capture the most powerful Pokémon known to mankind. Mewtwo. It escaped years ago from the Kanto region. Fortunately our benefactors hired a specialist to track it down." Dr. Laurent faced someone behind us and said, "Good luck Detective Goodman."

Tim and I turned, bewildered, to see a man walk away from us, raising an arm in acknowledgement. Then the hologram faded.

I clamped my hands to my head as my mind reeled. Detective Goodman. That was Harry. Harry had tracked down Mewtwo and made it possible for this mad scientist to catch him. It was his fault Mewtwo had gone through this.

But then he'd come back and freed Mewtwo. And the Greninja had nearly killed him. I stared at Harry, my mind reeling. I wanted to be furious. But I couldn't be. He'd risked his life to try to fix his mistake. Did Mewtwo know that Harry was responsible for his capture? Yes, he knew. He just hadn't told me. I could understand why. I tended to overreact when someone threatened my friends. Mewtwo stayed here where he was in danger, so he could heal Harry. He so rarely interacted with other humans that I was touched by his determination to heal the person responsible for his capture.

"Damnit, Mewtwo," I whispered. I knelt beside Link, who placed a hand on my arm. This was a lot. But we hadn't even found what I was looking for. Where was the rest of the R? I had to get rid of it.

"That's why Mewtwo took Harry," Harry said. "It was revenge for being captured."

Before I could say anything, Tim stormed out of the lab, back toward Lucy.
"This doesn't make any sense! Harry would have never been a part of this."

I stood and dashed after them. "I'm sure once he found out what was going on, he tried to make it right." It was so confusing, not being able to tell them the whole story. I kept forgetting what they didn't know.

"I want to believe that," Harry said, "but we gotta be honest here. Tim, you haven't seen him in years, I got amnesia, and you've never met him. None of us can say for sure what Harry would or wouldn't do."

I bit my lip, wanting to say that I was talking to Harry right now. "But we do know something. He started to research the R. That means he knew something was wrong."

"We gotta get back to the city." Tim broke into a run, Pikachu perched on his shoulder. We turned back into the dark hallway with the lab Pokémon.

"Wait!" Link exclaimed, bounding in front of us. "Something's wrong!"

I grabbed Tim's shirt, jerking him to a halt.

The hall was empty. There was no sign of Lucy.

Link burst into static light, brightening up the entire hallway. Yarak shrieked and shot toward the ceiling. Greninja. They were clinging to the dark corners, and one of them had its tongue wrapped around Lucy and Psyduck.

Yarak slashed past Greninja's tongue. Greninja howled and Let Lucy drop.

"Run!" I shouted.

Link, Yarak and I lined up in front of two Greninja. Tim, Lucy, and Harry fled.

Link leapt into the air, filling the hallway with Thunderbolt. The Greninja hissed and shrank back. I turned and ran after the others. Link and Yarak covered my back, shooting attacks to slow the Greninja. We needed to get out in the open. Tim and Lucy had broken the door to the Torterra garden and escaped through there. I followed with Link and Yarak.

The two Greninja dove out after me. But Charren swooped down, raking them with Flamethrower. Greninja used Water Shuriken at her, but she wheeled out of the way and Link blasted Thunderbolt again. Yarak and Charren faced one Greninja, and Link took the other. These Greninja had been part of some power-boosting experiment. But my Pokémon were strong. And Mewtwo had expected something like this. I reached into the bag he'd sent me and pulled out one of the eye-patterned Pokéballs. Greninja's Water Shuriken hit Yarak and he nearly fell out of the sky. Greninja pounced, but Charren used Air Slash. Greninja caught it right in the face. As he flinched, I threw the Pokéball. Greninja vanished inside.

I gave lectures about NOT catching Pokémon without their permission. But these Greninja had been lab rats. Who knew what manner of experiments they had to endure? I had to get them out of here. I picked up the ball containing the first Greninja and tucked it into my bag. Link was standing his ground, but had taken several hits from the shurikens. When he saw I was ready, he dodged Greninja's charge, then sent out Electro Ball. His attack hit Greninja in the back, knocking him forward. I threw a second Pokéball and Greninja vanished inside.

"Good job, guys." I picked up the second Pokéball.

Yarak flew high into the air, scanning the ground to find where the others had gone. He screeched in alarm. "There's another Greninja! It's going after the others!"

I shouted and ran toward Charren. But before I could climb on, Yarak called out another update. "The Psyduck! Psyduck blasted Greninja away with Confusion!"

Even as he spoke, I could feel a pressure in my ears as ripples of Psyduck's Confusion passed by.

"Wow," Link said. "That Psyduck took out a Greninja by itself? I feel unaccomplished now."

"Heh. It is impressive," I agreed.

Link started to reply, but paused. "What is that?"

"What?" I asked. But then I felt it too. The ground was trembling. An earthquake?

Link gasped and pointed. Yarak dove back toward us, screeching. Charren circled a wing around me, growling. I stared, my mouth falling open. I wasn't seeing this, was I? The mountains were moving. The earth itself seemed to rise up, cracking into huge fissures that split apart and tore the forest into bits.

My friends were in there.

I swore and returned Link, diving onto Charren's back. She took to the air, hurtling toward a mountainside that was erupting into the sky. Yarak shot ahead, looking for signs of Tim, Lucy, Harry, and Psyduck.

Charren swerved as the ground folded back on itself, flattening the trees between layers of rock. We slipped out before we were squashed like bugs in a slammed book. I scanned the mountains desperately, looking for signs of the others. But some of those fissures were so deep. What if they'd fallen?

Yarak shrieked an alert. Charren turned and followed him. Tim and Harry were clinging to a ledge as it rose higher into the air. Lucy and Psyduck were beneath them on a hillside that was sliding in the opposite direction. The ground around Tim and Harry was starting to crumble. Charren grabbed Tim around the middle. Harry clung to Tim's shoulder, shouting. We glided down to Lucy. I wasn't sure if Charren could carry everyone. How would we get them out of here?

We landed with Lucy, on relatively stable land. Even if it was moving under our feet. Harry gasped in relief. "I thought… I-I-EYEBALL!"

Another ledge rose up beside us. An eye slid open, wider across than I was tall. That wasn't a ledge. It was a Pokémon – bigger than anything I'd ever seen. It bellowed and shifted, its voice making the earth vibrate. Up the river gorge, the mountains lifted their heads, booming out deep replies.

"I get it!" Harry shouted. "I get it now! This isn't a forest at all! This is the Torterra garden."

The lab had been using growth enhancements. But this was unbelievable. Each Torterra was the size of a mountain. How could any Pokémon grow to this size? What did they want with something so massive?

Above us, the hillside crumbled and rocks rolled down toward us. Charren threw out her wing, shoving the others out of the way. Then the ground beneath us vanished. Charren yelped in shock and flailed, trying to right herself. I clung to her neck. Something yellow fell past. I grabbed it with one arm. It was Psyduck. Charren swerved past a falling rock and grabbed Lucy. But Tim and Harry were already below us, falling toward the river. Charren dove toward them, but carrying all of us meant she had poor maneuverability. She dodged more falling debris. We wouldn't catch up. I could only hold Psyduck and watch as Tim and Harry plunged into the river.

Yarak dove after them. "They're okay," he called through telepathy. "I'll stay with them."

"Thanks, Yarak. I'll get there as soon as I can." I hated leaving them, but the water would carry them to safety. I had to get Lucy out of here. I could hear her shouting something from where she hung beneath Charren, but the rumbling Torterra and falling rocks meant that I couldn't catch any of the words. Charren pumped her wings, trying not to lose too much altitude as she retreated from the shifting mountains and falling debris. The massive Pokémon were lowering themselves back into the earth, their huge shells becoming part of the landscape as they returned to sleep. Had Psyduck's concussive blast woken them?

"We have to get Tim!" Lucy shouted. I could finally hear her.

"He's okay," I called back. "Yarak is following them. Let's land somewhere safe first." Charren touched down far from the Torterra. I dismounted, setting Psyduck on the ground. "Are you oaky?" I asked them.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She brushed her dusty hair out of her face. I paused, looking downstream where Tim and Harry had been swept.

Yarak had just hailed me through telepathy. "Cara, Tim and Harry made it to shore. Mewtwo asked me to bring them. I'll lead them to our camp."

"Great, I'll be right there. I want to make sure they know Mewtwo's a friend." After all, they still thought he was a monster.

A Pokémon dropped from the sky. I jumped back, and Lucy yelped. Then I exhaled in relief. "It's okay. That's Tlaloc, my Braviary."

He pulled out of his dive and landed in front of us. "Are you okay? We could hear something happening."

"I'm okay. Thanks for coming to check. Lucy, I'm going to fly down to get Tim. Can you wait at the car?"

She hesitated. "Okay. I'll wait for you guys. Be careful."

I nodded and turned to Psyduck. "Take care of her, right?" He nodded. I added in telepathy, "Call me if anything happens." Charren was breathing hard from carrying both of us. I returned her so she could rest, and climbed onto Tlaloc's back. Tlaloc took to the air, and we sailed downstream. Ahead were the valleys where Mewtwo was waiting. Tlaloc swooped low as we neared our destination.

Something leapt over the top of a rise. Tlaloc back-flapped, squawking in alarm as the third Greninja hurled a barrage of Water Shuriken. They struck us, knocking Tlaloc from the air. I lost my grip and slipped from his back. The two of us slammed into the hillside, which cracked and came down on top of us.