Beta: Gerald of Revea

AN: Okay, I'm putting a halt to the Mewtwo Arc after this chapter. I have written over 2k of it trying to get something that I was happy with that would wrap everything up before the big fight. I failed in that regard.

I'll probably post what I want to do the rest of it in like a 4k chapter when the relevant story beats pop up.

-Cloud-

Underprepared.

I didn't think I was at the time, I wasn't even worried. All that mattered was Mewtwo's reaction.

In my mind, there were 2 possible exchanges paired to my confrontation. We would either battle or we would talk.

Meowth had tried to convince me to let him build a strong enough robot to kill Mewtwo, or even better, destroy the island.

I refused on the basis of the idea.

I was starting to regret that.

Without saying a word, Mewtwo had grabbed the three of us with his Psychic energy, skipping any sort of exchange entirely.

"Mewtwo, hold on a sec!" I panicked, trying to reach for one of my Pokéballs, but it was like pushing against a concrete wall.

"I can stop-!" Meowth tried to say something, but he didn't have much time to air his grievances.

Both Meowth & Braviary were both teleported away, out of sight and leaving me alone with Mewtwo.

"There's nothing wrong with being a clone!" I shouted desperately, trying to find something that would get Mewtwo's attention, but it didn't work.

"They took your memories!" I snapped, causing the Pokémon to still.

He turned to me, not speaking nor making a motion for me to continue. However it was clear he wanted more answers.

I let out a small sigh of relief. Glad that shit didn't hit the fan entirely.

Option B is a go.

For the battle, I had a simple plan. F.E.A.R.. If he wanted to talk, I would have given him a revelation.

Mewtwo's Origin, a 10 minute story that touched on Mewtwo's first memories, when he was still being created in a test tube.

Using telepathy, Mewtwo was able to come into contact with other clones being made in the lab. A charmander, a squirtle, a bulbasaur & a human.

These were Mewtwo's first friends. From these 4, he learned what it was like to care for someone.

Sadly, these four also taught him how it felt to grieve.

His friends were clones, but unlike him, they were unstable. Not in the sense that they were insane, but in terms of their limited lifespan. They started to die one by one, with Mewtwo being the only survivor.

Mewtwo didn't understand what was happening to them. He hadn't been exposed to the concept of death before and now they were gone.

He felt angry. Angry that his friends were being taken away from him.

And when a Psychic type Pokémon is angry, it makes that fact known.

The scientists, not wanting Mewtwo to wake and destroy the lab and everyone within, injected a serum to make him forget the events ever took place.

And so, his memories of his friends disappeared, and he never regained them.

Later on, Ash Ketchum made Mewtwo understand what it was like to care for someone.

Sadly, Ash Ketchum didn't exist in this world.

So someone had to fill in.

"When you were still in a test tube, you started to have memories." I spoke, gathering my thoughts. "They were forcibly taken away from you because they thought you were going to die."

Mewtwo continued the gaze at me, his ever present frown remaining on his face, refusing to say a word.

He looked away, although I was still in his peripheral vision. The fact that he was not giving me any form of answer was starting to make me feel nervous.

"Life was beautiful."

I stared.

My brain froze to an utter halt at the words, completely derailing any other thoughts I was having.

I was lost for words, my surprise evident to Pokémon as he eyed me with some level of interest.

It was said so…wistfully. Melancholic. And it was completely out of character for what I knew of the Pokémon.

'No, that isn't quite right' I frowned, continuing to watch Mewtwo in silence.

Mewtwo was not what I expected. He was not prideful. He didn't go into a speech about how his clones are superior lifeforms or anything.

Contradictory to his statement, he had no issues carrying out whatever experiment he was doing on the Pokémon within the test tubes. There were parallels between the two but they also had their differences.

He was frustrating to figure out.

He closed his eyes, a small smile twitched on his face but it disappeared just as quickly.

"I am afraid you are wrong," he spoke, his deep voice resonating throughout the room, bringing me back to attention.

"The scientists-"

"Took my memories." He interrupted, stunning me for a moment. "That is correct. You are wrong in thinking I have forgotten them."

What?

"You seem surprised by this." Mewtwo observed, looking at me with a small amount of amusement. "I assure you, I could never forget AmberTwo."

"Then-" I struggled to find words trying to grasp the missing piece of the puzzle. "Why are you here? Why are you experimenting on these Pokémon?"

"That's not for you to know!" Mewtwo snapped, anger noticeable in his tone for the first time in the conversation. "And you." his glare sharpened. "Know too much."

"The fuck is that supposed to mean?" I asked, before yelping as he telekinetically brought me towards him..

"You knew I was here, you know that I am a clone. So there just lies one remaining question."

His eyes started to glow a deep purple.

"What else do you know?"

-Cloud-

'Am I a better battler when drunk?'

It was an idle thought, but one I couldn't help but wonder about as I waited for someone to get me.

My battle with Geeta begins within the hour. I had arrived with my team of six, and now all I had to do now was wait.

Battles in the wild are spontaneous. You can't prepare for them. It's up to luck whether or not you have a good matchup. That's not the same for Gym battles, or in this case, a Champion battle. It's scheduled, you know when & where it is going to happen and it's all you can think about.

The problem isn't the attention, it's the wait.

It was probably the reason why Mewtwo brought me out training for a few days in the first place. It kept my mind occupied.

Sonia had texted me that she and the rest of the group were in one of the commentator booths, although Psyclone was only there in spirit.

Sadly.

"MONGREL!" Psyclone exclaimed, stepping out of a now broken locker. "You will be brought out within the minute!"

"And you needed to teleport here to tell me that," I looked at him expectantly, causing his eye to twitch.

He ignored me. "Did you read the rules of the match?"

"It's tourney rules." I rolled my eyes. "6v6, single match, standard switching sets."

"So you didn't then," Psyclone nodded, and despite not showing any facial expression, I could tell he was feeling smug. "I'm glad to hear that."

"Wait, they changed something?" I stood up in alarm, a slight bit of panic entering my tone. "What did they change?"

"They didn't," Psyclone said offhandedly, making me sigh in relief.

"But Paldea doesn't have the same ruleset that other regions do."

"So are you going to tell me or…" I blinked, a sigh quickly following now that the room was empty. "Or disappear into thin air. Fantastic."

"Excuse me, Mr. Cloud," a voice filled with enthusiasm called out, a student rushing into the room. "It's time for you to make-"

The boy paused mid-sentence, looking between myself and the broken locker.

"The fuck happened here sir?!"

"Ugh, pfft-" I struggled to think of a reasonable answer. "It was like that when I got here?"

"Ah, I'm sorry to hear that sir!" The boy beamed, taking me aback. "I'm glad that isn't my problem sir!"

"That's the spirit," I gave him a thumbs up, making him beam at me again. "So what were you going to say?"

"Ah, I forgot about that, didn't I?" the boy laughed, his positive mood never fading.

"Your match is about to begin."

-Lance-

It was a rare occurrence that he was excited to see a Pokémon battle.

He had his fun dominating upstart trainers when he first became champion, but it started to become more and more of an annoyance when he got older.

This is unlike Geeta, who challenged Cloud expecting an easy win.

'Although she is in for a rude awakening' Lance shook his head in amusement, watching as the headmaster of the school walked out onto the stage.

He had never met Cloud, though he doubted many knew more about him than he did.

Cloud was an elusive trainer, never staying in one place too long. He had spent months trying to track him down, but had no luck in that regard. He had been wanting to talk with him for years now, before he even became a livestreamer. And it was all because of a single battle.

Battle #337: Red vs Cloud: 6-6. *DRAW*

His defeat against Blue was humbling. He had been a champion for many years and had forgotten how the thrill of battle felt.

It was a well fought match, but in the end, he was the weaker trainer.

Within the same day, another challenger attempted the Elite 4 run, a young man named Red.

Red had a very similar success story to Blue. Coming from the same town, less than a year of training, and able to quite handily beat the other members of the Elite 4.

At first, Lance was thrilled to be able to battle a trainer on par with Blue. Strong challengers have been scarce in Kanto and to come across 2 in one day was almost too good to be true.

And then the battle happened.

And he was not able to defeat a single one of Red's Pokémon.

Blue was no different, losing to Red in a similar fashion.

Despite having the qualifications, Red did not take the position of champion. As soon as the battle was done, he walked out of the building, not even recording his win in the Hall of Fame.

After failing to get into contact with Red, Blue was once again offered the position. He refused it, going so far as to leave Indigo altogether.

Those in the Pokémon League were left at an impasse, with both Red & Blue not willing to be Champion, the League decided it was best for no one to know about it.

Thus, it was swept under the rug.

Later, there were leaks that Blue had beaten the Elite 4 and became Champion. Blue has continuously denied this claim.

The whereabouts of Red are unknown. He has not been seen within the last 2 years.

His record of Pokémon Battles had come to a halt soon after he completed the Elite 4 challenge. Lance thought the boy had gotten himself killed, but Blue assured him that wasn't the case.

His battle against Red affected him as a trainer. He was more hesitant, less resourceful in his battles. He would always win of course, but the matches were closer than he would have liked.

He decided to look into Red, try to understand how he was able to get as strong as he was. The only thing of note from his background was that he was raised in Pallet Town and was a trainer sponsored by Professor Oak.

But that didn't answer his questions. Red's Pokémon had gotten strong too quickly, and it seemed like he knew every move he was going to make.

He had looked into his battle history, the results putting him on edge more than he would have liked.

Throughout his time as a trainer, Red did not lose more than a single Pokémon in battle.

However, there was one black spot on Red's pristine record.

Battle #337

He had thought Cloud was similar to Red. An absolute monster to battle against and a prodigy unlike any other.

However, Cloud was older, he had more experience as a trainer than Red and his battle history was not as clean as Red's.

Red didn't have all his badges at that point. Cloud had 13 in total. It still ended in a draw.

Finding out that Cloud had settled down and became a livestreamer of all professions felt like the biggest slap in the face. To have the potential to be a true champion, a figurehead for trainers everywhere, and then to waste it all by being a glorified entertainer of all things was a massive disappointment.

What he did not expect was for him to learn more from Pokémon battling in a month watching Cloud's streams than he had in the past 5 years.

"Why can't this battle start already?!"

Or for his cousin to develop a bit of a crush on the boy.

It was his fault. He had recommended to Clair to give the streams a watch. Try out some of the tactics he recommends for battling and see how it turns out.

Needless to say they worked, and Cloud became Clair's new celebrity crush.

"You don't have to wait long, Clair." He rolled his eyes, gesturing towards the stadium. "It seems like it's about to start."

And he was right.

"Today, it is with great excitement and anticipation that I stand before you to announce a truly epic battle." Clavell's voice echoed throughout the stadium, immediately quitting the bustling audience.

"It truly warms my heart to see so many people gathered here today, whether that be gym leader, student, or those that just have a love for Pokémon battling, all are welcome in the land of Paldea."

He paused for a moment, a small grin appearing on his face.

"Now that the formalities are out of the way, it is time we introduce our contestants!"

Another cheer resonated from the audience as the screens above the stadium changed, showing a picture of the Paldean Champion.

"A distinguished former student, a revered educator from the esteemed Uva-Naranje Academy, and a renowned force in the world of battling. With the utmost honor and a sense of pride, I extend a warm welcome to none other than the reigning champion of Paldea, the one and only Champion Geeta!"

Emerging from her bunker, Geeta strided with purpose, radiating an aura of determination & unshakable pride. As she reached the edge of the battlefield, she turned and waved to the audience, a small smile gracing her face as the audience cheered in turn.

For the champion to come out first is rare. However, that is due to etiquette more than anything else. The challenger is the one that is introduced first, however in this case Geeta was the challenger. An odd occurrence, but not completely out of the ordinary.

The screens changed once again, now showing a picture of the grinning livestreamer himself.

"An Ace Trainer and renowned streamer. A controversial figure, but no doubt an entertaining one. Ladies and Gentlemen, can you please give a warm welcome to the guest of the hour, Cloud!"

-Cloud-

I was in the zone.

My pre-battle jitters vanished as soon as my name echoed throughout the stadium.

Stepping out of the bunker and into view, I was greeted by an overwhelming cheer. With every step I took, my rapidly beating heart slowly became a steady, reassuring rhythm.

I grinned, pumping my arms up in the air, drawing another raucous cheer from the crowd. Their enthusiasm affected my own, making me feel all the more excited for the match ahead.

The Courtyard itself had changed since the last time I saw it. It used to be a track and field with trees spruced around the area, it was now a large seating area suitable for a stadium. The seats were nearly completely filled with spectators, excited to see my upcoming match.

I gave a two-fingered salute to the commentators box, knowing Sonia & friends were there, even if I couldn't quite make out where they were.

It was the thought that counted anyway.

My attention turned to Geeta who was waiting for me to reach my side of the field.

Arms behind her, her back straight, Geeta did not let her calm smile slip from her face.

She did not greet me, speak or make any other motion as I made my way to my side of the field.

As I got there, a podium rose in front of me with 6 spherical grooves etched into it.

'Been a while since I've done this,' I noted, placing 5 of my Pokéballs into the grooves, keeping the one I intend to send out first.

Most people had different types of Pokéballs for their team. Usually, it was a mix between Pokéballs, Ultra Balls and Quick Balls.

The Podiums hid the Pokéballs from view of the opposing trainer, so neither could pick and choose which Pokémon they'll send out based on which type of Pokéball they are holding.

"This match will be a 6v6 battle" The referee announced, looking at both me & Geeta. "whoever makes all six of their opponent's Pokémon unable to battle will be the winner."

With no word of a rule change, my grin got all the wider.

Psyclone's attempt at psychological manipulation had failed. If anything, it had the opposite effect. I was even more pumped for the match ahead.

It's been a long time since I had a Pokémon battle against another human, and beating a champion? That's just the icing on the cake.

"Now then, send your Pokémon out onto the field!"

"Unleash the haunt, Bayonetta!"

"Let's not waste our time, Go Gogoat!"

Wait, what the fuck?

I stared, watching as Geeta's Pokémon fizzled into existence, wondering if she was playing a trick on me.

She wasn't.

"Who the fuck start's with Gogoat?" I mouthed, looking towards Geeta who did not seem surprised about the matchup.

Ignoring whatever the commentator was saying on the loudspeaker, I gave Geeta a searching look, but she didn't give anything away. A Polar Opposite to her Gogoat.

Its dislike of me was obvious the moment it was sent out. It did not look at my Banette, it did not react to the audience's cheers.

Its glare was solely aimed on me, filled with both contempt and hatred.

Raising an eyebrow at the thing, we had a staredown for another two seconds before it focused on Bayonetta.

He eyed her for a moment before letting out a small huff, almost a chuckle but not quite.

His opinion on Bayonetta was made clear with that action alone.

A non-threat.

'Can't exactly blame him though,' I thought idly, the screen in front of me, judging the level of each Pokémon.

Banette: Level 63

Gogoat: Level 79

Was I cheating? Maybe. Did I care I was cheating? Not particularly. It's not my fault Geeta hasn't made a device to see what level a Pokémon is.

I just know more about her Pokémon than she knows about my Pokémon, end of story.

Blinking three times in quick succession, I watched as my glasses became clear again, the HUD clearing from my vision.

Finding out levels genuinely existed in the Pokémon world was pretty shocking. Psyclone had seen my memories, he had found out that the strongest a Pokémon can become based on pure training is level 100.

So, for a Pokémon obsessed with being the strongest, it was no surprise that that's exactly what he became. Level 100.

However, it wasn't as easy as just knowing when you have reached your max potential, he needed to measure it. Something he couldn't do on his own.

And so, a visor was made. One that can tell the exact level of a Pokémon. Later, myself and my Porygon made a similar version. But instead of it being a visor, it was a seemingly ordinary pair of glasses.

Sadly it wasn't perfect. Sure, it can measure the level of a Pokémon, but it isn't a replica of what it was like in the games. Health is the most important thing to know about and I can't even see that.

'Not that it would have mattered anyway,' I idly thought, watching as Gogoat stamped his front hooves in anticipation.

Banette isn't a good choice for a competitive team. It's weak in comparison to better alternatives.

Matter of fact, Bayonetta is the weakest Pokémon that I have trained for battling.

She is also the most sane.

While not the first Pokémon I got, she was part of the original six. Bayonetta doesn't have problems with battles anyway. The trainers in the Pokémon world just aren't as strong as I would have hoped.

Despite not being as conventionally viable compared to my other trained Pokémon, she does pull her weight, and would have swept through Geeta's first few Pokémon.

'Or at least that was what I thought,' I grimaced, waiting for the referee to start the match.

Bayonetta had a simple job. To take out Espathra.

Despite how much shit I have talked about Geeta's Gogoat, Avalugg & Veluza, there's a reason I don't talk shit about the other three.

They are good. Extremely good. Enough to even say that they are competitive worthy Pokémon.

Espathra can easily take down a good amount of your team if you are not careful. With Reflect, it doubles its defense, making the opponent want to use special attacking moves. With Lumina Crash, it lowers the target's special attack in half.

It's faster than most Pokémon with a 105 base stat total, but that isn't what makes it a problem.

Its problem is its ability.

Opportunist…is a broken ability. A direct counter to my usual fighting style.

The way it works is simple. If the opposing Pokémon raises their stats in any way, this Pokémon also raises the same stat by the same multiplier.

It's why I'm using a physical attacking ghost-type. When I use Swords Dance, Espathra's physical attack stat will also improve.

It has only one physical attacking move, quick attack, which doesn't work on ghost types.

Banette was the best counter I had for Espathra, and it was instantly countered by just sending out a different Pokémon.

Sadly, I doubt the trick I had planned for Espathra would work for Gogoat.

'She caught me off guard' I blinked, making me look towards Geeta with a small amount of respect.

Bayonetta will lose this round, but that's on me. Maybe if I taught her Encore there would be a different result.

But that didn't mean Gogoat wouldn't take a beating.

"Let the battle…begin!"

"Bulk-Up."

"Trick!" I snapped, forgetting about my codename for the command in the heat of the moment.

It didn't seem to matter though. Bayonetta's deft hand pinched the zipper in her mouth with a tug. From her mouth, a small blue scarf coursed through the air, landing on Gogoat's mane of leaves.

Surprisingly enough, Gogoat was also holding an item. It was red and crunched into a ball hidden within Gogoat's leafy coat, but I wasn't able to make out what it was before it disappeared into Bayonetta's mouth.

With a tug on her zipper, her grin was back in place.

And so was mine.

"Dance Bayo!" I called, the Banette powering-up 2 stages as Swords Dance worked its magic.

The game became one of stat enhancements. When Gogoat would use Bulk-Up, Bayonetta would use Swords Dance.

A single use of Swords Dance makes the Pokémon that uses it twice as strong when using physical attacking moves. If used again, it would make it three times as strong. If it is used any more than three times, the move becomes moot. Using only Swords Dance, a Pokémon can temporarily be up to four times stronger than what it normally is.

Bulk-Up is similar. Instead of just its attack getting stronger, its defense gets stronger as well. However, each use makes the Pokémon have 50% more defense and offense. And has to be used six times in total before the move doesn't give back any returns.

So while the Gogoat was getting stronger, it was also getting more defensive, being able to tank more hits done by physical attacking moves.

3 Bulk Up's means it is 2.5 times more defensive and offensive. 2 Sword Dances mean Bayonetta is only 3 times as strong.

However, it seems Geeta didn't know what exactly was traded to her when I used Trick.

"Rock Slide," Geeta calmly called out.

"Disable!" I grinned, watching as the Gogoat stamped the ground in frustration only to see the ground wasn't breaking up.

Despite calling out the move, Banette didn't noticeably change its previous pattern of behaviour, allowing itself to do one last spin before getting ready into a battle stance.

Bayonetta doesn't have Disable, but Geeta hasn't figured that out yet.

"Shadow Sneak!"

"Horn Leech." Geeta smiled, but it was wiped away just as quickly.

Shadow Sneak connected, the attack drilling into Gogoat's underside.

While it did take noticeable damage, it wasn't nearly enough to take it down.

Quickly regaining its balance, Gogoat charged towards the Banette at a speed far outpacing any speed it had ever ran before.

But it was too late by then.

Horn Leech is a physical attacking move. For the Pokémon that has the attack, their horns glow green and when it makes contact with another Pokémon, they will gain half the health of the Pokémon that it damages.

However, Gogoat had a slight problem.

It was choice scarfed.

Gogoat didn't just look confused, he looked bewildered. He didn't stop charging towards Banette even as no power built up within its horns.

By the time it reached Bayonetta, there wasn't an attack. There was no type energy to emphasize contact, allowing Bayonetta seemingly phasing through the stumbling Gogoat.

"Again," I smirked, watching as another Shadow Sneak connected, Gogoat roaring in anger.

Choice Scarf is a very useful item. It boosts the speed of the Pokémon that is holding it by 50%.

However, there is one downside.

You can only use the first move the Pokémon used in the battle for the remainder of the battle.

However, Trick is a move that swaps the held item of Pokémon.

So when Gogoat used Bulk-Up at the start of the match and Bayonetta used Trick?

It means Gogoat can only use one move at the moment. Bulk-Up, a move that does no damage whatsoever.

I watched as the moment of realization hit for Geeta. Eyes widening followed by a slight scowl.

She raised her Pokéball, ready to return Gogoat to his Pokéball.

But by then, it was too late.

"Knock Off!" I grinned, Bayonetta giving me a quick thumbs up as she rushed in front of Gogoat, her fist driving directly into Gogoat.

Knock Off is normally a Base 65 damage move. However, when the opposing Pokémon is holding an item, that damage increase by 50%

The moment the attack connected, Gogoat understood what it was like to take a Draco Rush to the face.

Times four.

You could have mistaken it for an explosion as the aftershock of the attack rifled throughout the stadium, The attack seemingly causing a shockwave as Bayonetta's attack struck Gogoat's skull.

The Choice Scarf traded to Gogoat floated out of its mane, quickly being blown out of the battlefield by the wind.

Gogoat didn't move from his spot, still standing despite taking the monstrous amount of damage. He was glaring at Bayonetta with all the hate he could muster.

And then it dissipated.

He fell over, toppled onto the ground like he was pushed by a strong breeze.

"Gogoat is unable to battle!" The referee called out. "The first point goes to Cloud!"

Silence emanated through the arena, moments passed without anyone saying a thing. Be it Gym Leader, Champion or spectator, all remained quiet, struck speechless by Banette's overwhelming power.

And then, the silence was broken.

"Get fucked!"