Journey

Death of Duty

Part 7: Fall of the Pokemon League

Deicide

We attempted to create the most powerful Pokemon in existence… We succeeded. — Ichiro Fuji

I stood at the roof's edge, gazing down at the plaza below. More trainers were still teleporting in, hundreds by the minute. I clenched a fist and attempted to centre myself before the chaos began. Too many would be dead by the day's end. It was a tragic, but ultimately necessary sacrifice to ensure the future of humanity.

"Lance," Giovanni said. The taller man, still clad in a tailored suit, joined me at the edge. He nodded with the modicum of respect that was expected of my position. At least he still offered the expected deference.

The Viridian Gym Leader had a habit of squirming out of tough situations. He'd done so with Mewtwo. He'd done so with the mess with Silver in Kalos. He'd done so with Rocket. It set me on edge when every battle these days seemed to exact a heavy toll on all except for him.

"Giovanni," I grumbled in reply. I offered nothing else, just a curt side glance that he wouldn't be able to glean anything from. No sense in tipping him off that I was aware of his eventual betrayal.

We stood in silence for a moment, watching a pair of trainers rise atop a venomoth. They banked away from the tower, giving me and my Elites a wide berth. "The moment comes," I said slowly. I was aware of his machinations behind the scenes. I knew he would betray me for his own goals when the moment presented itself. "The culmination of everything we've worked towards since you let Mewtwo escape."

Giovanni sighed. "I suppose you will not see reason, then?"

"We destroy the abomination," I replied with the hint of a feral growl behind my voice. "It is too dangerous to be allowed to exist."

The Viridian Leader remained stoic. He'd been pushing me to reconsider destruction of the Master Ball after capture. This was likely the nature of his betrayal. He would never allow an asset like Mewtwo to be thrown away needlessly. Not when control was still a possibility, however thin.

He nodded. "I understand, Champion." He stepped back, returning to his place beside Sabrina.

It wasn't more than a minute before the first group arrived. Alder and his Elites, flanked by a pair of Saffron psychics and their kadabra. The two gym trainers disappeared a moment later, no doubt off to collect more of the foreign Leagues.

Adler grinned and wrapped me in a crushing hug, nearly lifting me off the ground. He dropped the hug and stepped back to survey us. "Some mess you lot made for yourselves. Something about a rampaging psychic?"

I straightened my cloak, shifting to adjust my cloak. "I would prefer to wait until everyone arrives," I said, trying not to let my frustration show. Alder's boisterous demeanour grated on the sensibilities Blackthorn had drilled into me. "So as to not repeat myself needlessly."

Alder frowned, but restrained himself from replying. He rejoined his companions and the rooftop returned to silence.

Seven more trainers arrived moments later, arrayed in a circle around a floating metallic bell. Each wore flowing robes, coloured to reference the types they specialized in. The bronzong disappeared into a ball on Elite Lucian's hand and the group turned to us.

Then she stepped out from her group, clad in flowing black robes trimmed with gold. She seemed to softly glow in the gloom, her pale skin the colour of the moon.

"Lance," said the Grand Champion, her tone calm and measured. "Perhaps an explanation is in order." Cynthia Shirona crossed her arms, scowling intently at me.

The two Saffron gym trainers with the Sinnohvan delegation disappeared again a moment later. I had little hope that they'd garner any more support. Diantha and Kalos were still refusing collaboration between Leagues after the incident with Silver on the Riviére. Hoenn was still a smoking ruin. Paldea and Galar were simply too far for even Saffron's teleporters to bring in a timely manner. This was all the support we were likely to get.

I cleared my throat and stiffened my posture. "I thank you all for coming on such short notice. As you may have surmised, we have a situation unfolding that threatens everyone."

"One of your own making," Cynthia interjected.

I nodded slowly. "Let me start from the beginning." I gestured towards Giovanni, a small attempt to deflect some of the blame. "Leader Giovanni and I revived an abandoned project with the intention of creating a countermeasure for the increasingly dangerous threat of hostile legends." I motioned him forwards, allowing Giovanni to explain.

He stepped forward. "The creature is a hybridized clone of Mew, spliced with human genetic material."

I shot him a glance. That was a poorly veiled attempt to disguise what he had done. My stomach turned as I shifted the blame from Giovanni to myself. I'd ordered him to do whatever was necessary. It was ultimately on me more so than it was him.

"We'd hoped that by creating a hybrid of sorts, the creature would be stable and compliant, whereas our previous attempts created unstable and unruly subjects."

Alder snorted. "Clearly that didn't happen."

Giovanni nodded grimly. "The creature surpassed all of our our wildest estimates. It was obscenely powerful. We had, for all intents and purposes, succeeded in creating our countermeasure."

Cynthia looked out at the ruined city. "Some success," she remarked.

"Our failure was born from a place of human weakness," Giovanni continued with a scowl. "The creature discovered the breadth of our experimentation. To put it simply, it snapped due to the stress."

"I can't help but notice the vague explanation of said experiments," Cynthia said. "Should I expect them to be as inhumane and unethical as they seem?"

Giovanni remained silent. Cynthia glanced over at me for an answer. I nodded slowly. We'd done horrible things to create the object of our destruction. We'd sacrificed thousands of children, replaced them with shoddy clones so that their families were none the wiser. We'd used them up like nothing more than a resource, feeding them to the experiment in ever greater numbers.

"We forsook our humanity for this," I said solemnly. The guilt weighed on me, pressing down atop all the other responsibilities that rest on my shoulders. "This destruction is the penance exacted for that hubris."

The rooftop was silent for a long moment. I had no doubt that the two other champions were levying their judgement in my direction.

"What's the plan?" Adler asked, breaking the silence. "How do we win this?"

I stepped forward, ignoring Giovanni's pointed stare as I produced the Master Ball from the folds of my cloak. "We have arrayed our forces to delay it as much as possible. Rangers… Leaders… Trainers… Army… They'll do what they can to damage the creature and we will hit it once that battle is concluded."

I saw Alder and Cynthia's scowls. Their elites mirrored their expressions.

"Are we expecting the forces below to be effective?" Alder asked carefully.

I shook my head. "Minimally," I replied. "There are some elements of the defense that may be more effective than others, but they will serve as little more than an attempt to exhaust the creature's strength."

"How many?" Cynthia asked.

I hesitated. I didn't want to answer that. I had hardly wanted to know the answer myself. Too many people who relied on me were dead, dying, or soon would be.

"How many?" she repeated.

"Two to four thousand trainers depending on how quickly they responded to the League alert," I began. "Fourteen of the sixteen Indigo Gym Leaders. There were an estimated fifteen thousand KNA troops within the city at the beginning of the battle, but casualties thus far have been heavy and with comms as they are, there is no way to know how many are still active."

A disquieting murmur spread across the rooftop. I knew why. Damn near twenty thousand people were being used as cannon fodder. Not to mention the civilians cowering in the ruins. Saffron was the largest city in Kanto with nearly two million people packed within the walls. I had no doubt that casualties would stretch into the hundreds of thousands with the state of the city.

"So…" one of Alder's Elites began, a woman with long black hair and deep purple robes that marked her as the ghost specialist. "Are we not talking about the fact that the city is a warzone?"

Alder turned as if to quiet her, but turned back to look at me. "I'm curious as well," he added. "Kanto hasn't seen war in nearly fifty years, since before Oak was Champion. I'd love to know what's actually wrong, considering that there ain't much of Saffron left untouched. You aren't telling us everything."

"True," I replied, reticent to expand on that. "My region is undergoing some unrest at the moment and—"

"That's putting things lightly," Cynthia interjected, cutting me off. Her cold glare told me that I'd hear more about this later if we both survived. "However, it can wait until the threat is dealt with."

I nodded. "Thank you, Grand Champion." I turned back to look at Alder, glaring daggers into the uncouth Unovan. "If there are no more—"

"Lance!"

I swung my head towards the interruption, scowling. It was Sabrina. The young Saffron gym leader was perched on the edge of the roof, looking down into the gloom.

"It is here."

The scowl on my face deepened. "Then we are out of time." I turned to face the gathered group. We were the strongest trainers in the world, Elites and Champions from three separate regions. If this didn't work… I let the thought die. It would not do to dwell on that possibility.

"Our plan is to hit the creature as hard as we can. It is a psychic type. Any ghost, bug or dark types among our teams will be of utmost importance." I raised the Master Ball again. "I will hold at range with the ball. Once we have weakened it, I will attempt to capture the creature."

"What happens after?" Cynthia asked.

I caught the pointed glare that Giovanni shot me. I paid it and him no more attention than the cursory glance.

"We destroy the ball with it inside. Ending the threat of this creature is our utmost priority."

Silence reigned over us. The sounds of battle rose from below. It did not sound like it was going well. I turned towards Agatha and nodded. It was time. She disappeared into the floor beneath her, leaving only a shadowy smudge on the rooftop.

Alder sighed heavily and looked around. "Alright, I'll ask the question we're all thinking."

I turned to look at him.

"What happens if the ball doesn't work?"

I remained silent. There was no answer to give. If it didn't work, we were dead. Humanity was dead. If it didn't work… we lost.

Alder shook his head slowly. "Alright… good to know."

Sabrina was peering down over the edge of the roof. Her expression was grim. We were likely out of time. I glanced down alongside her.

Agatha had opened a massive rift in mid-air, purple miasma pouring from the gash in reality. I could already see the forms of ghosts dancing around the edges, beginning to trespass upon the mortal realm. Mewtwo sat just below the rift, gently probing the portal to ascertain what had occurred.

My hand was at my belt, releasing the trio of dragonite that had been with me for years. All three had been companions since before I was even Champion. They roared, loud and proud even as the din of battle below had gone quiet.

A series of flashes around me signified the release of our group's teams. I pulled myself atop the closest dragon, Wrath. He was my starter, so to speak, the first dragon that I'd bonded to. I felt him quiver beneath me, felt the connection between us deepen and immersed myself in the link.

He roared and I felt myself roar along with him. The brothers to each side echoed us, joined by half a dozen other pokemon. Then, with Mewtwo distracted by Agatha's portal, we launched our attack.

Wrath and his brothers separated from the group of pokemon descending from the rooftop. Three pairs of powerful wings flapped to give us some distance from the group as the dragons' maws swirled with vibrant energy.

I knew that there were likely trainers still alive down there. I pushed that thought from my mind. We could not hesitate. Their sacrifice would be remembered.

Wrath and his brothers erupted, the trio of hyper beams burning with enough intensity to light the plaza for a long moment. They were not the only pokemon attacking, but it hardly mattered. More were streaming towards Mewtwo from the ground. A steelix and a gyarados among others.

None of it mattered. Mewtwo erupted with a bubble of psychic light and the world stopped making sense. I clutched to Wrath, feeling him flail wildly beneath me. I was vaguely aware of his brothers fading from the link and knew that they were gone. We had lost, in one fell swoop, in a single attack.

The light faded. Wrath desperately tried to right himself, but the ground was rushing up too quickly and his wings refused to cooperate. We hit the ground with a heavy thud and a pained whine from Wrath. Two more heavy impacts nearby told me that his brothers' bodies had landed as well.

I clambered off my dragon and fell to my knees at his side. His wings were in tatters, the membranes shredded into fleshy bits that clung to the structure of his wings.

"Wrath…" I murmured. My hand fell to his ball. He disappeared in a flash of light. He was alive. He was the only of the three brothers left. War and Fury were gone. I closed my eyes and pressed the lone ball against my forehead. "I'm sorry, my friend."

A presence touched my mind. I knew what it was. There was nothing else it could be. No others were moving to my aid. I was alone. I rose to my feet and turned to face the abomination.

'Champion,' it said within my mind. 'Was this destruction worth it?'

"This was you," I replied coldly. An indignant anger filled me. "This was all because of—"

The pressure within my head spiked, pain wracking me down to the core. I shut my eyes, attempting to bring up my mental defences. It didn't work, Mewtwo was simply too powerful.

'This city burned long before I arrived.'

I felt the pain and pressure in my head recede slightly. Enough so that I could open my eyes. The first thing that struck me was the lack of motion. Everything stood still, even the dust and smoke simply floated serenely in the surroundings. It was as if Mewtwo had simply paused it all.

'I will ask again, Champion. Was it worth it?'

I paused. The creature was baiting me. It wanted to talk. I'd give it what it wanted. "It was a necessary travesty," I began. "Devastation awaits us all. I did what was required to prepare humanity. I did what I did to give us a chance at survival."

Mewtwo shook its head slowly. 'You robbed children of their future. You fed your own people to a madman until I emerged from the massacre. Was it worth it?'

I took a breath, steadying myself. It wanted me to justify myself, to give it a reason for the circumstances that had led to its birth. It wanted me to prove myself the monster that I had become. I would not cave. Mewtwo had been borne from hope and desperation, I had to show it that or else all would die. "You were meant to be our saviour," I began, trying to pivot the conversation. Hope filled my voice. "We built you to fight the battles that we could not. We created you because we needed you."

'You needed a monster?' Mewtwo responded with indignation. 'You cut me to pieces and put me back together a thousand times, stitching together people and pokemon until you got something that worked.'

"We needed a god," I replied. The warmth and hope faded from my voice. "Humanity needed a god."

Mewtwo looked at me harshly. 'You got me,' it said. 'A monster, created by monsters.' It raised an arm, a ball of shadowy energy springing to life in its palm.

The remains of the hope died in my chest. I stood in resolute defiance as a strangely cold wind swept through the plaza. Indigo's champion would face this fate with pride and strength. I would not close my eyes.

A cold blue spear impaled Mewtwo at the base of its outstretched arm. It flash froze, the shadow ball dying as quickly as it had formed. The arm snapped off at the base and smashed to the ground, shattering into countless pieces.

Mewtwo turned towards the new threat, the stump of its arm glowing as it regenerated. A shadow ball was already forming in the creature's other palm.

Blue-yellow lightning washed over the creature from the opposite direction, throwing off its aim and practically blinding me. The shadow ball smote the ruined base of the Silph Tower, shearing through a metal beam.

The unmistakable glow of flame cut through the gloom and I saw burning wings pass over me. The unnatural chill vanished in a moment, replaced by heat so oppressive that every breath was a laboured chore.

I sucked in a hot, sooty breath. The Storm Raptors had arrived. Kanto's guardians of nature were here to right the wrong that had been done.

Mewtwo spun, throwing up a psychic shield that blunted most of Moltres' opening attack. The heat and flame still licked at Mewtwo, melting flesh down to the bone.

Another beam of pure ice speared Mewtwo from behind. The psychic barrier popped audibly and Mewtwo stumbled forwards with the frozen spear impaling it through the heart.

All three birds swooped into the square, seemingly sensing weakness in the creature. All three opened up with heavenly fury. I lost Mewtwo in the maelstrom.

There was a heavy pop and Mewtwo reappeared above the trio. Skin and flesh alternated between frozen solid and melted to the bone, the rest of it smouldering and charred while spasms of electricity coursed through Mewtwo's body.

The damage hardly seemed to matter to Mewtwo. A helix of shadow balls appeared around it, plunging downwards towards the three gods.

They never connected. All three of the Raptors pivoted in place, meeting Mewtwo's attack with their own. Explosions rippled through the air and I was finally broken from my trance. I ran for cover.

A thunderous rumble from above tore my attention back to the fight. Zapdos screeched in a piercing tone and the sky opened up. Mewtwo was smote by a bolt from above, the electricity sending it into convulsions as the skeleton within was illuminated.

More fire and ice poured onto Mewtwo from the other birds. Reality warped around the psychic, but even the creature could not stop it all.

Pain and anger spiked in my head. Mewtwo lashed out uncontrollably and I heard the unmistakable groan of a building beginning to fail. Mewtwo reached out with the charred stump of an arm and a loud crack tore through the noise of the birds' assault.

Things seemed to go quiet for a moment. Then Mewtwo swept the charred stump out and the Silph Tower screamed. Half the tower separated from the rest, toppling onto Moltres and smashing into the block of apartments beneath it.

There was a muffled screech before Mewtwo motioned downwards with the stump. The screech suddenly died as Moltres was ground to a bloody pulp beneath the building.

They would not be enough. The Storm Raptors were foes that Mewtwo had been designed to fight and kill. Even together, they wouldn't be enough.

As if to prove my thoughts true, Mewtwo seemed to sense its advantage. It reached out again, ignoring the spear of ice that impaled its gut even as a bolt of lightning wracked the creature's body.

The chunk of Silph rose from where Moltres had been crushed. I saw the pulpy remnant of the god, saw the crushed and mangled feathers. I saw the dead god. Then Mewtwo flung it again.

The other two Raptors were ready for it. Both of them flapped hard, narrowly avoiding the chunk of building as it landed hard several blocks away. I felt the impact shake the city.

Mewtwo rocketed after Zapdos, lifting and flinging another section of the Silph Tower at Articuno to keep the two separated. Zapdos turned to meet Mewtwo in the air, wreathing itself in living blue electricity.

It didn't matter. Mewtwo dove through the maelstrom of lightning, grabbing the god by the neck with its remaining arm. There was a loud crack and Zapdos' head jerked violently to the side. With a wave of the stump, Mewtwo tore half of Zapdos' body away.

The god's separated halves landed with an unceremonious thump. They twitched and sparked erratically, but there was no doubt in my mind that it was dead. Mewtwo had eradicated any hope that might have been had.

Articuno was fleeing now. Cobalt blue wings flapped away through the smoke, still harrying Mewtwo with beams of ice and howling winds. The god killer was unperturbed. It would not be denied its prey.

Mewtwo disappeared into the gloom, only visibly by the blinding violet light it emitted. It closed with the Raptor's silhouette, flashes of light and sound tearing through the smoke.

Articuno hit the earth with a loud crunch, wings snapping and pulverizing under the impact. The snow god didn't move.

Mewtwo floated serenely down towards the square. Its flesh was still smoking, even as it knitted itself back together and replaced its dying body with fresh parts.

'Do you see, Champion?' the creature asked. 'I am what you made me. I am a monument to all of your sins.'

I stepped out from where I had hidden, meeting Mewtwo's gaze with my own. "Do you see?" I asked in return. "This is what we made you for, these are the foes we created you to destroy." I scowled and shook my head. "It was your purpose, to be the destroyer who is also our saviour."

'I choose no purpose but my own,' Mewtwo continued. 'I will—'

A violet swirl interrupted Mewtwo mid-sentence. I followed the light back to the ball. Giovanni simply nodded at me once, not giving anything away with his expression.

I opened my mouth to say something, but the Viridian Gym Leader simply disappeared with the telltale pop of teleportation.

Then it was quiet. I slowly looked around. I was alone. I slowly made my way through the ruined plaza, finding my way to where Articuno had fallen.

The snow god had landed where my dragonite brothers had. All three of the pokemon were dead. All three were broken.

I fell to my knees, the enormity of our defeat sinking in. We had lost. Three Leagues had been defeated. Three gods had been slain. Giovanni had captured Mewtwo.

"We lost…" I muttered. "Gods above… we lost."

Pokedex Entry #150 — Mewtwo [CLASSIFIED ENTRY]

Mewtwo is an experimental creation, fusing together human and Pokemon DNA to create a super weapon intended for combat against hostile Legends.

Most of the information on Mewtwo's capabilities and temperament are the matter of guesswork. Capture or destruction of Mewtwo is considered the highest priority for the Indigo League.

Told ya I was back!

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