Giovanni stared at his empty hand.

His mind was too disciplined to deny what had happened, yet at the same time-

He couldn't.

He couldn't comprehend this.

He couldn't comprehend the failure.

He couldn't comprehend that there was nothing left for him to do.

He couldn't comprehend that it had all been for nothing, all the effort, the deaths, the struggles…

And Giovanni couldn't comprehend how, on the eve of victory, he would need to sound the retreat.

He stood there for either an instant or an eternity. He couldn't tell.

A new light shone in the cavern which dragged Giovanni out of his confusion. He looked up and took in the two terrible beacons of light that were Mewtwo's eyes.

Giovanni realized his slip up half a second after he finished the thought- even thinking its name could bring its attention- but there was no change from the psychic legendary. Just the two pools of light that seemed to sear his very soul, filling his mind, his body, his past, present, and future, everything he was, had been, and would be. Nothing escaped from Mewtwo's gaze.

Metal screamed as every machine in the cavern was crushed into a lump of metal the size of a lug nut, the air itself screeching as it filled in the vacuum. The faint purple glow vanished from the cavern and Giovanni felt colder and emptier for it.

Mewtwo looked past Giovanni. It took him longer than it should have to realize that it was looking at the boy who foiled him-

Emotions exploded within him at the thought, too many, too powerful, a contradictory swirling storm. Giovanni pushed it aside as he turned to look at his foe.

The blue light had faded from the boy's eyes, replaced by a reflected purple glint as he stared, blank faced, into Mewtwo's eyes.

It was then Giovanni understood.

This was the boy from Viridian, from Pewter, from the wilds between Saffron and Vermillion. And that boy may have been involved in more failed operations, at the behest of his puppet master. The beast had been working against them from the very beginning using its own inscrutable methods.

A simple emotion filled his heart: rage. Why had it used the boy instead of shutting down the operations in other ways, instead of simply stopping the hearts of him and the other leaders of Team Rocket. Was it all for Mewtwo's own sadistic amusement? Did the artificial legendary even care about the suffering their struggle had caused? About the broken lives left in its wake? Or was it just a game to the beast?

His fist clenched despite himself and Giovanni knew that he could never forgive it for toying with them so. All the blood spilled was on its uncaring hands.

Was the boy even aware that he was Mewtwo's game piece? Or did the abomination keep such knowledge from him?

The caves shuddered and the sound of rocks grinding filled every centimeter of the cavern, jolting Giovanni out of his thoughts. Mewtwo's eyes had left the boy, looking up and Giovanni saw layers of rock peeling away from the focal point of its gaze. Light, sunlight, poured into the depths of the earth that had lay in darkness for billions of years as Mewtwo bent its will upon the world and the world deformed to its whims.

Mewtwo then rose from the ground, without effort or even the usual glow of telekinesis, as if gravity was something to be ignored and not overcome. Without preamble it accelerated upwards with great speed and vanished from his sight.

Taking with it all the hopes and dreams of victory for Team Rocket.

Giovanni let his gaze drift from the emptiness where Mewtwo had stood to look at its pawn, the boy who had cost them so much. Blue light was fading from the boy's eyes, leaving them once again amber, locked in a hard glare as they met Giovanni's own. They stood, staring each other in the eye for a moment and Giovanni didn't know what to think.

There was one thing he should do, he realized. If nothing else the boy had fought well. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a tiny emblem that looked like a plant stem becoming an emerald.

One of the last Earth Badges. He had originally brought them to simultaneously mock League prisoners and honor members of Team Rocket, but it looks like he had one more duty as a gym leader.

"Here." Giovanni spoke to the boy. "Whatever else may be said about today, you earned this at least." Giovanni threw the badge, the last Earth Badge he would ever give, at the boy with enough force to injure if the boy didn't catch it.

The boy snatched it out of the air, the last of the blue draining from his eyes as he did.

"So long. I hope never to see you again, chosen pawn of Mewtwo," Giovanni told him and then turned and walked off to rejoin his team, Persian falling into step behind him.

It would've been kinder to kill the child, but Giovanni would barely have enough within him to organize the retreat of his people after their defeat. He wouldn't be able to handle anything else today.

Next time though, next time he would spare the child by killing him. Better to be dead than under the control of a monster.

Ash watched the traitor leave, not taking his eyes off them for an instant, resisting the urge to blink. Only when they were out of sight did he relent.

And once Giovanni was out of sight and Ash's body felt like it was out of danger, all the exhaustion and pain hit him at once. He stumbled back a step and then let himself collapse onto the rocky ground. His chest heaved as his lungs demanded oxygen to pay off the anaerobic debt he had accrued, his vision swam, and he didn't feel like he would move for a week.

It didn't matter though. He had won! And he had even gotten another badge out of it! Which still counted, even under these circumstances, surely?

He looked up through the hole Mewtwo had made, enjoying the feel of the sun after so long in the chill depths.

Ash, what in the Distorted World was that? Pikachu asked, plopping down right next to his trainer.

Huh?

What in the Distorted World did you just do? You know, reacting faster than humanly possible when you're, you know, A HUMAN! Pikachu shouted.

Oh, Ash said, letting his head fall to the side so he could look Pikachu in the eye. I don't know. But whatever it was, it happened when we freed those abras too, so I figured I might as well try and use it.

Use what? Charmander asked, from Ash's other side. The trainer let his head flop to the other side to see the bipedal lizard staring down at him.

I don't know what, Ash replied.

Wait, then what were you talking about? Pidgeot asked, from his feet.

Whatever it was I did, Ash answered.

What did ya do? Primeape asked.

I don't know.

You don't know what? Butterfree asked, hovering above Ash.

What I did.

And what did you do? Magikarp, asked, flopping closer to Ash.

I don't-

Okay, enough of this, Squirtle said. We're talking about the inhuman stunts you pulled, right?

Ash nodded.

And you don't know how you did them, right?

Ash nodded again.

Everyone clear on that? Squirtle asked, looking around at the rest of the team who all nodded.

I wonder what that legendary's up to? Pikachu asked, looking up at the hole that ranged from the bowels of the earth to the surface of the mountain. And why didn't they just teleport instead of doing that?

Maybe they don't know Teleport, Ash suggested.

With that much power they could probably figure out a way to brute force it, Pidgeot said, also looking up at the hole. At least it gave us a quick way out.

Yeah, we can get back to the gym or a pokémon center and sleep for the rest of the day, Ash said, knowing that he would need to move his aching, exhausted body soon but savoring the time before the oncoming suffering. No, he continued with a groan, we should go after Mewtwo to make sure it's alright and that Team Rocket doesn't have a backup plan.

Well, first we've got to pick up Bulbasaur and then find Brock and Misty, Pikachu told him. I think we should get moving before they come here.

Ugh, they're probably going to be mad at me, Ash groaned. They're going to lecture me or yell or just be McBossyPantses in general. Can't I just lie here instead?

Then they'll find you and think that you're hurt, Butterfree pointed out. And that will upset them and make the yelling and lectures worse.

Uuuuuuuuuuuuugh, Ash groaned again. You're right. But I don't wanna get up.

Do you need some motivation? Pikachu asked, an evil grin on his face as his cheeks sparked.

No, just give me a minute, Ash sighed. Oh, Magikarp?

Yeah?

You did a great job! Ash told him.

I did? Magikarp looked surprised.

Yeah! That was a great Tackle! Butterfree told him.

You destroyed the helmet before Giovanni could use it to take over the world! Charmander added.

It was so cool! Squirtle contributed, patting Magikarp on the back.

It was a little bit awesome, Pikachu told the water type. Congrats on your first big win.

I… I won? Magikarp looked around at the team in wonder. That's never happened to me before.

'Bout time then, Primeape said, adding his own hearty slap to Magikarp's back to go along with Squirtle's pat.

Knew you had it in you, Pidgeot said. But we're keeping Bulbasaur waiting. He might still be fighting, so we should hurry up and try to get back to him.

Good point, Ash said and then groaned again. He ignored his body's protests and picked himself up. Come on, let's go get Bulbasaur.

Ice creaked as a surprise Ice Beam caught the last of Brock's opponents in the back. The trainer and their pokémon didn't even have time to cry out as they were frozen solid.

"Make sure to mark this location," Misty's voice rang out of the darkness while Brock searched for the source of the attack. "If they don't get hypothermia, the League can take them prisoner."

"You okay?" Brock asked, looking towards where he heard her voice. He saw her emerge from the darkness, Starmie at her side.

Misty looked damp from her fight in the underground river, but Brock didn't see any wounds on her. It was a relief on multiple levels; he wouldn't need to be worried about her sisters slowly murdering him. Hopefully he would also avoid the shouting.

"Where's Aaron?" She asked, looking around.

"He went ahead, we need to hurry up after him," Brock told her. "I didn't want him to face these guys. He should be waiting on ahead. Onix, let's move!"

"Got it," Misty nodded as Onix lowered himself so that the humans could get on. Once they were aboard the stone serpent took off, plowing down the tunnel.

"So, you know he didn't wait, right?" Misty asked as Onix barreled through the cave.

"Even he wouldn't be reckless enough to pick a fight with Giovanni," Brock told her. "Hopefully he did as instructed and only attacked at an opportune moment before withdrawing to somewhere safe."

"You know he didn't."

"Well, I can delude myself into thinking that he did and that he wasn't murdered by my former colleague who turned out to be a monster that didn't think anything of enslaving Sabrina, someone I thought he got along with."

"Kygore, I want Giovanni dead so badly," Misty growled. "I want to feed him to one of the gym's gyaradoses. And make sure to tell them not to store him in the cheek pouch that they use to protect their young, just send him straight to their stomach."

"He'd suffocate," Brock said. "Just have them slowly crush him instead."

"Nah, I want something useful to come of that fucker," Misty clenched a fist. "No one messes with my sisters."

"Except you."

"Well, obviously."

It didn't take very long for them to reach a blockage in the tunnel. Brock immediately ordered Onix to use Dig to get through it, while pulling out a flashlight to investigate the scene. While the stone serpent removed the obstacle, Misty noticed something under the rocks.

"Bring the light over here," she called out to Brock and pointed to what she saw. The light fell over it and both of them let out a quiet gasp at the crumbled green form they found.

Team Rocket was already retreating before the official order to withdraw went out. Their forces in the city had been shattered by the defenders, their forces on the mountain smashed flat by Lance, leaving only the forces guarding the interior who had survived the attacks by wild pokémon and those who secured the routes that they had used to infiltrate the city in the first place.

Scattered remnants from the city and the mountain surface trickled in while panicking sentries kept an eye on the skies. Forces from within the mountain fled into the deepest tunnels that they had used, abandoning their equipment. Some of the tunnels had collapsed leaving the desperate fighters with the choice of exiting on the mountain surface and risking being spotted by the dragons overhead or to navigate the dark depths while under constant assault from wild pokémon.

The rage signal was gone, the device destroyed by a lucky blast from the skies. Doctor Namba and his team had already withdrawn, having been evacuated at the first sighting of Lance.

Archer had withdrawn to a communication relay and was coordinating the desperate flight. Explosions bloomed around the site, forcing him to shout to be heard through the roaring chorus they filled the air with.

"Withdraw now! We don't have any units to cover your retreat so you need to pull out before the League forces arrive!" Archer bellowed into the radio. "Get your asses in gear!"

A firm hand landed on his shoulder and Archer, fighting the burst of panic he felt, looked back.

"Well said," Giovanni told him. There was no mark on the man, but Archer could tell that he wasn't alright. The former gym leader's shoulders were slumped and his visage had lost the quiet self-assurance and confidence that Archer had always seen there.

"I'll handle this," Giovanni said to Archer. "Withdraw."

"No-" Archer began, but Giovanni cut him off.

"If something happens to me, you and Arianna work out who should be in charge." Giovanni continued, grabbing Archer under the shoulder and hauling him away from the radio. "Now take your own advice and get out of here before the League arrives."

Archer wanted to argue, but he knew better than to try. He took one last look at his boss, a newly emptied man who was sitting down in front of a radio in the desperate hope that he could save a few more of his men.

And then Archer took off.

Well, that explains the noise, Ash said as he and his team neared where Bulbasaur had stayed. They could see a shifting pile of rubble and a stone horn poking to and fro Onix's horn as he cleared the passage.

Huh, Squirtle said, looking around at the collapsed tunnel. Wonder if it was the Rockets or Bulbasaur who did this?

Bet it was Bulbasaur, Pikachu said, looking around. But how did he avoid- Hey, Squirtle do you know if Bulbasaur knows Dig?

No, Squirtle shook his head. He'd probably just whip the rocks away from him and then wait for us to find him.

Looks like Onix is on that, Butterfree said. Phew, I must be more tired than I thought. I'm not really sensing him.

Yeah, that was a tough fight, Charmander agreed. I hurt in places I didn't even know I had!

I don't think some of these scratches are going to go away until I evolve, Squirtle sighed, looking down at his marked shell.

At least my fur will hide ta scars, Primeape said, looking himself over.

Ugh, a very dangerous battle and I didn't get called out until the very end, Magikarp sighed. I mean, winning was nice, but I could've died instead and that would've been so much better.

Don't you start now, Ash muttered and then turned back to the vanishing rubble and Onix's face as the stone serpent finished clearing the path.

Brock- "Sorry, Brock, you there?" Ash called out. Oh, and thanks for getting that, Onix.

Ash didn't know what to make of the strange look Onix gave him before the stone serpent withdrew its head.

"Aaron are you alright?" Brock called out, stepping through the opening Onix had made. "What happened?"

"Uh…" Ash tried to think of a simple way to explain things. "Giovanni almost got Mewtwo-"

"Mewtwo?"

"Oh, uh, that's the name of the psychic legendary. Anyway, Giovanni almost got him, but we managed to smash the helmet he needed. Magikarp did great!" Ash explained. "And where's Bulbasaur? He made me leave him here because there were a lot of Rockets and we didn't have time to fight and he said he'd just delay them until you got here."

Brock's face twisted in a way Ash didn't understand.

"Aaron?" Misty's voice called out, loud enough to be heard, but once again soft as a feather.

"Misty! You're back! Did ya win?"

"I'm fine, but Aaron… can you come over here please?" Misty's voice still seemed too gentle. Ash didn't understand what was up with the two humans. Were they mad at him for fighting Giovanni? He really didn't have a choice this time, it was do or die.

Or maybe they knew that and they were trying not to be mad for once? Ash mentally shrugged. It didn't matter right now. He'd need to find Bulbasaur and then they'd need to figure out what to do next. Well, they'd need to chase after Mewtwo, to make sure it was alright and that Team Rocket didn't have any backup plans.

Ash went through the opening and-

Misty was kneeling by a small, still, broken, green form.

It was Bulbasaur, but-

Bulbasaur had to be alive. The pile of crushed meat and plant couldn't be him.

It was a river of fast flowing, hot, stinking mud, dragging Ash down and pulling him over rocks, a deluge of pain that would leave a sticky coating of misery. Every thought that tried to birth itself would be drowned in his tears, his mind without any coherent ideas except death.

Ash was in front of a mountain wrapped in thorns and the only way forward was to climb it. The sun was gone and he was lost in never ending darkness. He was before an infinite path covered in toxic sludge that he would need to wade through forever more.

His grief, his despair, all was a solid mass, within him yet larger than him, pushing and plowing its way through every facet of his being until there was nothing it hadn't touched. Ash wasn't even trying to control his tears, his face, his mouth. Sobs came too fast to be distinct, forming a keening, blubbering, low wail instead.

Ash couldn't see through his tears, could only feel the salt on his face as they washed over it, feel the disgusting sensation of the mucus flooding out of his nose. He couldn't even attempt to halt the flow, he was being crushed beneath the truth of what had happened.

He didn't know if he was standing, kneeling, or collapsed on the cave floor. Ash had no capacity to tell anymore, no capacity to even know that he couldn't tell. There was nothing left of him to care.

Telling how much time had passed was an impossibility. There was nothing but the storm of emotion tearing Ash to pieces.

But eventually he registered a gentle pressure on his shoulder. A paw and a hand, both just resting on him while sobs wracked his body. Two clustered spots of warmth on his rapidly chilling being.

Ash tried to focus on that, tried to calm himself enough that he could at least see and walk, but then his mind returned to Bulbasaur-

Bulbasaur was dead. Ash would never hear his voice again as he complained about Pikachu or Squirtle, would never hear him talk about his past. He would never hear him growl in battle, laugh at the antics of the group, discuss battle strategies, or talk about his training ever again.

Ash would never train Bulbasaur again. He would never see the grass type's leaves cut a target, never again see his vines lash out to strike or manipulate, never see seeds fly from him, see Bulbasaur's energy shine.

He would never again be at Ash's side. He would never again be at anyone's side. Charmander, Squirtle, Melaine, all the pokémon at the village, they would never know Bulbasaur again.

Once again Ash was drowning in his own grief, caught in a hot maelstrom of misery that would never, could never, end. Drowning in his own tears. Suffocated by his own endless sobs.

The gentle pressure stayed through it all.

His body was too exhausted to keep going. Ash could feel the gentle warmth of sleep, the inciting promise of oblivion. He wouldn't need to grieve, to weep, to be torn apart by his emotions if he slept, no need to worry.

But Ash knew he needed to worry. The rest of his team was still there and the situation was still dangerous. With a sob and a grunt he forced himself to close his eyes, wipe his arm over them to try and clear some of the tears, and then he forced himself up off the ground and to his knees.

He couldn't-

He couldn't let the rest of his team down too.

AN: I'd like to thank Amationary for beta reading

I was originally going to go for a structural symmetry between Giovanni's opening scene and Ash's closing scene, but that didn't pan out so I had to do a bunch of editing and deleting.

Talking with people I feel like I'm the only one who remembers what Mewtwo at the end of the first movie that might affect its portrayal in this fic.

Giovanni isn't always very self-aware is he? His breakdown was fun. There's not the sense of viscous satisfaction at his defeat that fall of other villains might bring but instead we get to see the gaping blind spot he holds on to.

The next chapter will be released April 2nd 2025

Please leave a review! Concrit is welcome because it gives be a chance to blab about the minutia!