A/N: Just to avoid confusion, Italics= Mewtwo speaking telepathically

Chapter 81: Getting More Than You Battled For

"Mewtwo? What's a Mewtwo?"

Before Ash could elaborate, Mewtwo attacked, sending a huge pulse of Psychic energy at them, forcing all four of them to jump out of the way. Quillon turned to Ash and Goh.

"Get to cover! We'll hold it off!"

"But-"

"GO!"

"GET OUT!"

Goh and Ash quickly ducked behind some rocks before Mewtwo could launch another attack, the wave of energy just barely missing them as Danika and Quillon prepared to counter attack.

"Weavie, I choose you!"

"Go, Jellicent!"

Ash and Goh panted heavily, listening as the fierce battle raged behind them. Once he had regained his composure, Goh turned to Ash.

"Ash, what is that thing?"

Ash sighed. He'd known a conversation like this would come up eventually, but he'd hoped it would be under better circumstances.

"That's Mewtwo. He's a clone of Mew."

"And you know that because?"

Ash took a deep breath.

"Because I've met him a few times. And…I've met Mew a few times before as well."

"And you never thought to bring this up?"

"I was going to, I promise!"

"When, Ash? You know how much meeting Mew means to me! My whole life, I've been searching for a chance to even get another glimpse of Mew. And here you are telling me you've not only seen Mew once, but more than that? And that there's a clone of them running their own island? What other secrets are you keeping from me?!"

Before Ash could respond, another blast shot past overhead, knocking them to the ground.

"Look Goh, I understand you're upset, and you have every right to be. But can we maybe have this conversation another time?"

Goh sighed, realizing Ash had a point.

"Alright, fine. Any idea why he might be attacking us?"

"I don't know. We were on this Island for hours before he attacked."

"And I was just about to catch that Rhyhorn before he did. I wonder if…"

Then, Goh sat up.

"Cover me."

"What?"

"Don't worry, I have an idea!"

Ash hesitated for a moment, before nodding.

"Alright. Lucario and our Kubfus will help Danika and Quillon. That should give you enough of an opening to do what you need to. I just hope you know what you're doing.

"Trust me, so do I."

Back with the two chasers, things were not going well. Mewtwo was proving to be more than capable of tanking their attacks and dishing out more damage. Every time they got a super effective hit on him, he returned the attack with even more damage to their Pokemon.

"Shadow Ball, Jellicent!"

"Night Slash, Weavile!"

Jellicent launched a Shadow Ball at Mewtwo, creating a cloud of dust that disoriented him enough for Weavile to leap in and begin slashing at him. For a moment, it seemed like that had done it, only for Weavile to be thrown backwards from a Fire Blast, landing at Quillon's feet out cold. Before Danika could order Jellicent to attack, the Water Type got knocked out with a Thunderbolt.

"Are you done yet?"

Danika and Quillon refused to give up, taking out another pair of Pokeballs.

"Do you think Ash and Goh are alright?"

"I'm sure they're fine, but right now, we need to worry about us. Go, Urshifu!"

"You too, Urshifu!"

Mewtwo eyed the two new Pokemon curiously.

"Interesting."

"Wicked Blow!"

"Surging Strikes!"

The Wushu Pokemon charged, ready to strike Mewtwo. Unfortunately, Mewtwo was super fast, easily evading their strikes before sending a Psybeam in their direction. While Quillon's Urshifu didn't take any damage from them, Danika's Urshifu was taking the full brunt of them.

"Lucario, Aura Sphere! Kubfu, Dynamic Punch!"

From out of nowhere, Ash's lucario leapt up and fired an Aura Sphere right at Mewtwo's face, knocking him off balance. Then the two Kubfu came running in and began punching at Mewtwo's legs, though he managed to push them away with a Psycho Cut. Quillon turned around and glared at Ash.

"I thought we told you to stay out of the way and let us handle this."

"Yeah, cause you two were doing such a great job."

Quillon was about to retort, but Danika was quick to interrupt.

"That's enough, Quillon. Where's Goh?"
"He had an idea on how to stop Mewtwo and told me to help hold him off."

"Well, let's hope he knows what he's doing."

Goh carefully made his way behind rocks and trees, making sure he wasn't seen as he made his way over to the meadow. It didn't take him long to find the Rhyhorn he had tried to catch, which immediately began backing away in fear.

"Shh, shh, it's ok. I won't try to catch you again, I promise."

The Rhyhorn was still scared, and started to back away. It was only then that Goh could get a better look at its body. Although small, there were various cuts and bruises all along his body, and not the kind that it could get in nature. It was then that Goh understood.

"You've been mistreated, haven't you?"

The rhyhorn whimpered, and nodded his head.

"Hold still, I have something that can help with that."

Back at the battle, Mewtwo had recovered from the surprise attack and was easily handling the battle, despite his opponent's best efforts.

"Where is Goh? We could use some help here!"

"Well he's not here, so we'll have to make do! Urshifu, use Sucker Punch!"

"Aqua Jet, Urshifu!"

"Lucario, use Flash Cannon! Kubfu, use Iron Head!"

Mewtwo rolled his eyes, and used Protect, blocking all of the attacks. As he waited for them to run out of energy, he caught a glimpse of the meadow out of the corner of his eye. When he saw Goh kneeling over a Rhyhorn, his eyes narrowed.

"No!"

In a fit of rage, he made the barrier explode, sending his opponents flying as he flew off towards Goh. When the three others saw where he was headed, they immediately became concerned.

"Goh! We have to go help him!"

"Right behind you, Ash!"

"Stay away from-wait…"

When Mewtwo finally reached them, he was prepared to fire off a Hyper Beam, but stopped when he saw what Goh was doing. Instead of hurting Rhyhorn, Goh was applying first aid to it, spraying potions on its injuries and gently rubbing ointment on its skin, making it feel better. At the same time, the others had reached them as well.

"Goh, are you ok?"

"I am, I just wanted to make sure this little guy was ok. He's been through a lot, but I think I've gotten him to trust me."

He then turned to Mewtwo.

"That's why you attacked us, isn't it? You thought we were going to hurt him?"

Mewtwo nodded.

"In my extensive travels of the world, I've seen the extent of how cruel humans can be to Pokemon. That's why I established my base on this island, to give them a safe place from those who wish to do harm."

Danika stepped forward.

"Mewtwo, you have my word as a trainer and a researcher that we would never do anything to hurt these Pokemon. We'll leave right now if you wish."

Mewtwo turned to Ash.

"I recognize you, you've helped me before. Can you vouch for them?"

Ash nodded.

"I've seen them in action. They don't hurt Pokemon, they rescue Pokemon. I promise, we had no intention of bringing harm to you or your sanctuary."

Mewtwo nodded in understanding.

"Thank you."

Later that day, as the boat made its way back to Vermillion City, Goh sat at the edge of it, looking out towards the ocean. Ash came up behind him, nervous.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"Listen, about back on the island-"

"It's ok. I think I understand."

"You do?"

Goh nodded, and straightened his back.

"It came to me when I was treating that Rhyhorn back on the island. Mew and Mewtwo are special Pokemon, and there are people out there who want to take that power for the wrong use. If they fell into the wrong hands…"

Ash nodded.

"Trust me, I've seen what happens when it does."

"So while I'm still not happy that you kept it a secret from me, I understand why you did it."

"Thanks, Goh."

"Besides, I don't want to catch Mew that easily. I want to earn it, you know? Prove to myself that I'm worthy of such a daunting task."

Ash smiled, and patted him on the back.

"That's the spirit! And we'll be supporting you all the way, right buddy?"

"Pika!"

"Kubfu!"

Goh smiled.

"Thanks, guys.""

An hour later, the boat docked in Vermillion CIty. Quillon and Danika helped Goh and Ash with their things.

"You did well today, challenger Goh. Two more tokens will be added to your total."

Goh cringed at how overly formal Quillon was, but nodded. After that, it was time for the four to part, but Danika was having a rather tough time parting with the two Kubfu.

"Oh, you're so cute! I wish I could take you with me!"

"Danika, come on! Professor Willow is expecting a full debriefing of our findings."

Danika chuckled, and turned to say goodbye to Goh and Ash.

"Hey Goh, do you mind if we take your scanner? Professor Willow was really impressed by it, and thinks it could help us find Mew."

"Of course!'

"Thanks! I promise we'll put it to good use."

But as Danika was about to board the boat, she paused and turned around.

"You know, our Urshifu evolved from Kubfu."

This made Goh and Ash's jaws drop.

"Really?"

"Does that mean you trained under Master Mustard?"

"Yep! That's how Quillon and I met."

"Woah, that's so cool."

"How do we evolve them?"

Danika smirked, and climbed up the gangway.

"That's something you'll have to find out for yourself."

With that, the boat departed, leaving Ash and Goh to ponder Danika's parting words.