Chapter 94, everybody! And now, that moment you've all been waiting for: Darkrai VS Mewtwo! This is that part.

So I've had people review way early on saying that if there's a big enough power gap type disadvantages can be overridden, which is true over usual type matchups, but it's doubtful that this works when one type no-sells another type (Electric vs Ground, Psychic vs Dark, Dragon vs Fairy). Also the boys are quoting Blue Sky's Robots (Blue Sky's library will always belong to Blue Sky disney's buyout is not acknowledged in this house). And some Jurassic Park, Surf's Up, Homeward Bound, Disney's Tarzan, and Sam Raimi's Spider-Man moments too. Also Mewtwo quotes Don't Starve.

So intelligence can actually be a genetic trait (Mom has been told before that it's hereditary) but there also has to be the desire to do something with that intelligence, and the cloning wasn't specified to scan and copy the brain as well (I dig into the whole clones + brain scans thing in my one BH6/Ducktales fic Safe in Brother's Wings). And responsibility has got to be one of the scariest things out there, but you gotta accept it.

And now for reviews: thanks to Dragonkeeper10, Vulaan Kulaas, BlastShooter87, davisin5764gamilcom, Summerotter, LongNightDragon, AllieSnow, Guestowhat, Cyan Quartz, thor94, Silverwing23, Viruz pirata, Tr1vium, ChibiFoxAI (oh if Koga ever found out :3), epantoja521, Guest, Guest (Me Again), and griffin blackwood for the reviews! I'm a little concerned about y'all hoping for Ash to nuked.

Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo

And now, for something completely different:

The Pokémon League-sponsored school's etiquette class would once again like to remind you that the Paldean method of eating is not appropriate everywhere. To quote, 'please stop eating like everything is a pie-eating contest. Thank you.'

"Okay, tirdy bucks on Darkrai."

"Meowth mow," the Meowth clone declared.

"Okay, I know you gots da loyalty ting going on, but I've been doing some reading, and Dark trumps Psychic."

"I'm sure if the power gap is wide enough, there could be such a thing as overriding type disadvantages," Brock said, taking a bite of pie. "Oh wow, this is some good stuff."

"I love the crust on this," James agreed.

"I don't believe this," one of the other trainers said. "These two…Legendary Pokémon are fighting over who gets to boss us around and you're just sitting there."

James and Brock both looked up. "Uh, yeah," James said. "We're kind of used to it."

"Yeah. Hey, Ash, have you tried the pie yet?" Brock asked.

"Still working on the cake," Ash said, glancing at Misty's plate. "Jell-O?"

"I like Jell-O," Misty said, eating the lime-green gelatin.

"I prefer the pudding, myself," Jessie said.

"But you don't get the nice Jurassic Park reference with pudding," Ash pointed out.

"This is true," Misty said, shaking her wrist a little.

"Okay," Meowth said, hopping onto the table, clone-Meowth right behind him. "We're taking bets now—two-to-one Darkrai favor. Who wants in?"

"Mow," clone-Meowth said, balancing an upside-down hat on its head.

"Shouldn't the other Meowth be able to walk and talk too?" Ash asked.

"Nuh-uh," Meowth said, shaking his head and a paw. "Dat cloning machine only did genetics—latent talent, if you will. Me learning how to walk and talk—dat was sheer force of will. It was something I got from years of practice, not something I got from a few seconds of beeping."

"Meow," clone-Meowth said.

"Exactly—dat Mewtwo fella may tink he's all dat, but he's missing the big picture."

"Which is?" one of the other trainers asked.

"It doesn't matter where or how you're born—it matters what you do with yourself."

Silence.

"That's pretty deep," James said finally.

"Tank you," Meowth said, rubbing his chin and looking smug. "I'm pretty sure I read dat in a fortune cookie somewhere. Anywho, on with da bets!"

Mewtwo was unleashing a fearsome barrage of psychic attacks, shredding the air with their power.

Darkrai was fairly certain it would have impressed anyone else.

"Wow, this is great—no, really," he said, allowing some of the weaker attacks to wash over him as he crossed his arms. "You should take this show on the road. You know what? Go do that—take a hike."

"I don't understand," Mewtwo hissed, pausing to recover slightly before resuming his assault. "Why aren't you being affected?"

"Weren't you paying attention when I told you you were in trouble? Dark trumps Psychic, genius."

"Really," Mewtwo said, narrowing his eyes. "Well then, I'll just have to go for a more upfront approach."

Darkrai wasn't surprised when Mewtwo suddenly flickered out of sight. Let's see, obvious place would be the back, but this guy was so sure of himself that he'd go for the front.

So Darkrai put his hand up in front of his face, catching Mewtwo's fist handily when he flashed back into view, aiming a punch at Darkrai's eye.

"You're going to have to get up earlier in the morning than that," Darkrai sneered, before slamming a Sucker Punch into Mewtwo's gut, over and over and over and—

"ENOUGH!" Mewtwo roared, shooting out a Protect—Darkrai tightened his grip on Mewtwo's fist, was able to hang on despite Protect trying to shove him away—strike the Protect with Brick Break—one, two—

Third hit Protect failed—draw back—

Mewtwo sent a punch surging for his ribs—

Darkrai dropped his fist, opened his hand, and caught the punch.

"See what I did there?" he asked conversationally, before flinging Mewtwo away to bash against a wall. Wait a moment as the glow from an unmistakable Recover faded….

And dodge the blistering Fire Punch that Mewtwo tried to connect with—seize his tail as he passed.

"Nice open, but poor follow-up—fail," Darkrai informed him, before flinging him away. Mewtwo righted himself before surging for him again, this time fist glowing in a passable imitation of his own Brick Break. Ah, so he was wising up. No matter—still an easy dodge.

"I WILL DESTROY YOU!" Mewtwo roared, adjusting his course and surging back at Darkrai from a much closer range, too close to dodge—

So Darkrai didn't.

"You'll destroy me?" Darkrai snarled, falling back a little. "I don't think so, pal! I'm smarter than you—" catch one fist thrown at him. "I'm cannier than you—" catch the other fist and then pull him close so their noses were touching. "And I…am SO much meaner than you."

And with that, Mewtwo went flying again.

Ash watched with the rest of them as Darkrai hummed a little, picking at his claws and waiting for Recover to fade and Mewtwo to come surging at him again before catching him, using his own momentum to fling him away.

"Go ahead!" he crowed, as Mewtwo went sailing for a wall. "I can do this all day!"

"Can he really?" someone asked.

"Oh sure," Ash said breezily. "Darkrai's great at this." Especially as he was batting Mewtwo away once more—

This time though, Mewtwo's impact was cushioned by a pink bubble.

Ash blinked. "That's different."

Where that came from became evident when a smaller pink thing appeared, bouncing up and down on its own bubble until Mewtwo popped it.

"What are YOU doing here?" Mewtwo growled.

"This is a fair question," Darkrai said.

"What is that?" Misty asked.

Ash checked his Pokédex. "No clue."

"Wait I know what that is!" Jessie squawked, leaping up. "That's Mew!"

That got everyone's attention—all of them watched as the pink thing, Mew, circled around Darkrai before apparently addressing Mewtwo.

"Translation, please," James said.

"Mew's upset about copyright infringement," Meowth said.

"Seriously?"

"Dere's a bit more dan dat, but I don't feel comfortable translating all of it with kids present."

Mew surged forward, aiming for Mewtwo—

Darkrai intercepted and batted it away.

"Beat it, pinkie," Darkrai snarled. "I have no interest in making this a three-way."

"Mew!" Mew objected, righting itself.

"Oh really? Good for you. Now take a number." Darkrai held up a claw as another Psychic attack slid off him. "Because unless you can do this, you'd be better off sitting this one out. Now shoo."

"Mew mew!" Mew argued.

"I'm not having this conversation."

"You just find someplace to sit," Mewtwo snarled, breathing ragged. "I'll take care of you just as soon as I finish this one off."

"Oh, I'm shaking."

"You can sit with us, Mew!" Ash offered, waving at it. Mew looked, wavering a little before Ash held up a slice of cake.

Ash suddenly had a new friend.

Mewtwo, meanwhile, seemed to have gone for a third option, warming up an attack—

And sending it surging towards the group.

Ash barely had time to register what was happening—

Before Darkrai intercepted, slicing the attack in half and sending it dissipating away.

"Dirty tactics—I approve," Darkrai snarled, from deep within his chest. "But just so you know? That. Was a very. Stupid. Mistake."

And with that, Darkrai surged forward, claws out—Mewtwo barely had time to register what was happening before Darkrai collided with him and started to physically rip him a new one.

"Um," Misty noised.

That was Ash's feeling as well—he had never seen Darkrai be so purposefully vicious before.

No wait, he had once—in Lavender Tower, when the ghosts had attacked.

And then they went slamming to the ground, Darkrai spinning Mewtwo around so he got the brunt of the impact—Darkrai's attacks must have finally made whatever made Mewtwo fly fail. Swung again—

Mewtwo forced him off with an Icy Wind, Recovered—dodged with a Substitute—eyes started glowing—

Darkrai batted away the Psywave—looked at his arm to note the thin cut along it.

"Miracle Eye," Mewtwo snarled triumphantly. "You can be hit now."

Darkrai looked at him evenly. "That won't save you."

Mewtwo had thrown up a Protect in anticipation of his next attack—Darkrai crashed right through it, spiked him against the ground, surged for him, ready to rip his head off—

Skidded to a halt when he registered the obstacle in his way, arms spread and looking stern.

"Out of the way," he growled, pushing Ash to the side.

Ash latched onto his arm. "No," he said. "You made your point, you won. It's over."

"It's not over," Mewtwo hissed, struggling upright—leg failed him, sending him crashing back down. "Just…give me a minute."

"No," Ash told him. "You can't even stand right now."

Darkrai tugged Ash behind him when Mewtwo tried to take a swing at him, slapped Mewtwo back down. "You—stay down. You," he said, turning to address Ash. "Go back over there and sit down."

Ash was still giving him a stern look. "Kicking him when he's down doesn't make you the better person."

"Tell him that."

Ash looked at Mewtwo. "There's no shame in losing."

"Yes there is, shut up," Mewtwo spat.

"See that? He wants to have his head handed to him, let him have what he wants."

"No," Ash insisted. "This is wrong and you know it."

Dangit stop reminding him that he had a better nature somewhere deep down. "Fine. We'll chat. Now go over there where you won't get hit by an attack because someone decided to be petty."

Ash gave him a stern look, did finally head over to the others, Misty and Brock looking like they had just had a couple of heart attacks—kept glancing back like he was expecting some dirty pool. Fair enough, he was ragingly petty and had no love for this annoying cat.

Unfortunately, the kid had to go and stop him long enough for him to cool down and go back to thinking critically. Look back at Mewtwo, attempted Recover spluttering—in human parlance, they'd call it running out of PP for the move; in Poké-practice, there was only so many times per shot that a Pokémon could manipulate the energies for said move. It'd take a while for him to generate enough energy to use Recover again.

Good—it meant he'd listen.

Mewtwo gave a strangled squawk at the big black paw squeezing his windpipe.

"I should squash you like a Scatterbug right now," Darkrai told him conversationally. "But I won't. Congratulations, you got your sorry hide saved by one of the humans you planned to destroy. That burns, doesn't it?"

"Get off me," Mewtwo hissed, pawing at him.

"Nah, I need you paying attention. Because see, I'm reasonably sure I can guess where you're coming from—they use you then they dump you, that's what trainers do, correct? You gave them everything, and at the end of the day, they drop you like a newborn Girafarig because you underperformed." Drop him. "Because you're a thing. Because you're not one of them. Am I getting warmer?"

"And what makes you think you could possibly understand?" Mewtwo spat, struggling to get up.

Darkrai assisted him along by grabbing his throat again and hoisting him up so he could properly hiss in his face.

"Because I am a vile and despicable creature whose species has been nearly hunted to extinction because humans fear what they do not comprehend," Darkrai hissed, keeping it low and controlled—this was one thing he didn't want being overheard. "I have gone through life being attacked with the intent to kill, and after a while, even the best person lets that get to them. I became the monster they made me out to be. That happens.

"And then you find a person or two who accepts you for who and what you are, and they help you be the better person you were meant to be." Darkrai tried not to let any emotion show. "And you delude yourself into thinking that's how it's always going to be. But it won't, because life is like that. But you pick yourself up and move on, because that's how you're supposed to react to adversity."

With that, Darkrai dropped Mewtwo back to the ground—mostly because he felt that the lack of oxygen was negating his reason you suck speech.

"So you're a clone of some pink putz—boo hoo, poor you, you were made solely to do battle, we should all feel sorry for you," Darkrai continued. "Well I have a news flash for you: you're using that as a crutch, because you don't know what to make of yourself. You've freed yourself from your external captors and now you're on your own, and anything that happens to you now is because of your own decisions. And that scares the life out of you."

Mewtwo went quiet and still at that—ah, so Darkrai had hit right on the money.

"And what makes you so sure that's the case?" Mewtwo asked—trying to hedge out of having responsibility pinned solely on him.

Darkrai narrowed his eyes, not wanting to say the next phrase but knowing it needed to be out there. "Because I've been there. And it doesn't get easier. But if you keep at it, you might get better at it. Pro tip though: destroying everything doesn't help. And it doesn't make you feel better either."

Mewtwo hesitated, glancing everywhere but at Darkrai, arms trembling…finally sighed and looked down. "You're right," he said quietly. "You're right. I…don't have an excuse for my behavior now. Before, when I was under someone else's control, I didn't know any better. But…being on my own and continuing the destruction of my own free will…I only perpetuated that hate." Stood, looked at them all. "I was created solely to do battle—to destroy. But I made the mistake of thinking that how I was perceived is how I must be. I'm sorry." Lower his head, look back up at Darkrai. "I don't know what to do."

"You might want to do something besides stand there awkwardly," Darkrai suggested.

Mewtwo nodded, chagrined. "I think I and my clones ought to relocate while we figure things out. And that it's best that no one remember this happened."

"That—" Blinding flash of light—

And then it was just Ash, Misty, Brock and the trio, plus their Pokémon.

"What just happened?" Jessie asked.

"I'm guessing that he vaporized just about everyone to avoid people remembering the shenanigans," Darkrai said, floating over. "Also—you," he said, pointing at Ash. "Stop running into dangerous situations where you could actually die."

"I knew you'd stop before you connected," Ash said.

"No excuse."

"So this bites," Mew said, drifting over. "I was hoping for an actual fight."

"I could punch you real quick."

Mewtwo reappeared.

"So I forgot that psychic actions don't apparently affect you all," Mewtwo said, putting his paws together and giving a little bow. "Give me a minute."

Ash's question was cut off by another flash of light—

And then they were standing on the coast of Cinnabar, not too far from the ferry.

"I'm going to guess that wiping their memories of the whole incident would probably take enough energy to accidentally wipe their whole minds?" Mewtwo asked Mew.

Mew raised a paw, considering…lowered it. "Yeah, most likely."

"Ah. Er, please keep this incident to yourselves," Mewtwo said before vanishing.

"Yeah. Bye," Mew said, waving before vanishing as well.

"So that happened," Brock observed.

"Yeah," Meowth agreed. "I kinda feel like we should learn someting from dis."

Everyone looked at each other for a minute.

"Don't accept invitations from people you don't know," James suggested finally.

"I'll take it," Jessie said, walking off. "Bye now."

"Where are you guys going?" Misty demanded.

"I want as much distance between myself and that mess as possible."

"Especially considerin' dat Parasect got cloned too," Meowth said, following her.

"Which means we'll probably stop somewhere around Alola and take our two weeks' vacation," James agreed, following her. "Toodles!"

They watched the trio leave, looked at each other. "So now what?" Misty asked.

"You go back to trying to find Missing-No and crash the game?" Darkrai asked.

"No, but that reminds me," Ash said, turning around and pointing dramatically at the volcano. "It's time to find Blaine!"