Chapter 24: Evil vs. Elite
I struggled to get above the waves. The giant jellyfish and the champion swimmer were making the already rough waves (thanks to the storm) even rougher. Josh could barely stay afloat. Megan was being swept away with every wave. Zach was faring a little better, but could barely keep his head above water.
"Kill them" Kataki said before walking back into the warehouse with Gligar, Mewtwo and our Pokémon.
Tentacruel looked down upon us, struggling to even breathe, and laughed. It then sent over 20 tentacles after us, ready to drown us in the ocean. One of the tentacles slammed me under the water and wrapped around me. I tugged and pulled, but the tentacle wouldn't loosen. Zach was smacked into Poliwrath who started squeezing the life out of him.
"Yaaaaaa!" Zach yelled as he felt his bones cracking.
Josh tried to swim away, but was smacked into the water by Tentacruel, then brought above the ocean and was squeezed like an orange. Josh now knew how Zach was feeling. Megan, meanwhile, was also smacked into the sea. She saw me trying to escape & swam over to help. Just then, one of her Poké Balls got loose and drifted away. Megan realized something and got an idea. She swam over and grabbed the ball, and released the Pokémon inside: Dratini. The small sea dragon shrieked loudly and watched as Megan told Dratini to free me from the tentacle.
"Tini!" the small creature said as it swam over to the tentacle and gave a small bite.
"Tenta!" Tentacruel shouted as both Josh & I were let go. I floated to the surface while Josh dropped into the sea. Both of us were unconscious.
"Poli?" Poliwrath wondered, holding an unconscious Zach in his arms. Just then, Dratini popped out of the water and bopped Poliwrath in the head, and he let go of Zach.
"Zach! Hold on!" Megan said, grabbing Zach and swimming to the shore, "Dratini! Cover us!"
Dratini nodded and shot a Water Gun at both Water-types, which just made them angrier. Poliwrath got ahold of Dratini and threw it against the wall of the building. Megan swam over to see if her Pokémon was OK, but Dratini came up out of the water and sent a blue beam at Poliwrath and slowly the tadpole turned into an ice cube.
"Nice Ice Beam Dratini! Give Tentacruel a Thunderwave now!" Megan shouted, dragging both Josh & I to the shore.
Dratini jumped out of the water and sent yellow waves at Tentacruel, freezing it in its tracks. When it got back into the ocean, Dratini swam over to its trainer.
"OK, Dratini, see if there's a drain pipe near here." Megan said. Dratini nodded and dove down. Poliwrath and Tentacruel were already breaking free from their prisons. Just then, Dratini appeared and spoke loudly. Megan grabbed both Zach's & mine's shirts, put Josh around her arm, then grabbed onto Dratini as it dived down. It swam for about 5 minutes when it came upon a large pipe. Using Ice Beam, Dratini froze the pipe cover and broke in. It swam down the pipe as Megan started choking on air. The small dragon kept swimming until it came to the end of the pipe, and into a large swimming area. Dratini rose to the surface, and Megan quickly gasped for air, she put the three of us onto the ledge, returned Dratini, then got up and rested. It was a few minutes before any of us got up. I was the first one.
"Ugh. I feel waterlogged." I said, sitting up, then grabbing my waist in pain. It soon subsided.
Megan just looked up at me weakly. She was worn out. I was too, and laid back down and slept.
I don't know what time it was when I woke up. I looked on my watch to see that it was 10:20 AM. I had been asleep for almost 8 hours! I quickly woke up Josh, Zach & Megan. All three looked groggy when they woke up. Josh wanted to go back to sleep, but I reminded him about Kataki & Mewtwo. Zach had a hard time getting up due to his cracked ribs. Unfortunately, our backpacks were still at the Pokémon Center. Megan reasoned that there may be a sick bay or something in this warehouse. At least some bandages. Reluctantly, all of us rose to our feet and walked along the dark walls. There was no light anywhere. Josh figured Kataki wasn't in the building. After fumbling for a minute, I finally found the light switch and flicked it on. At the end of the hallway were two large doors. After sidestepping the whole way down, we finally got to the doors and peeked inside.
"I don't see Kataki. He must really be gone." Zach said.
"Let's open it up and take a look." Josh said.
We opened the doors and staggered inside. There were a few lights on, but most of them were off. Megan flicked them on and was surprised what was inside. There were Poké Ball holders on one side of the room, laboratory equipment on another side, and a giant crane in the middle. Hung off the crane was a large cage with three Pokémon inside. Directly below was a large glass tank with another three Pokémon in it.
"Zubat! Seadra!" I shouted.
"Lapras, Scyther! You're alive!" Zach yelled.
"Poliwhirl, you're safe!" Josh said, relieved.
"Pichu! Are you OK?" Megan said, worried.
The six Pokémon looked at us weakly, and chirped up. The water types couldn't get out. Lapras tried freezing the glass, but it didn't work. Scyther's scythes couldn't cut the cage either. Plus, it was protected by a force field which prevented Pichu from getting out.
"There's gotta be a way to get them out of there!" Josh said, trying to find a weak point.
After getting some bandages from the laboratory First Aid kit, I looked up at the crane. Maybe I can bring them down, I thought. I weakly climbed the long tower of stairs to the top. When I got there, I saw three strange items. One looked like a small rock shaped like a crown. Another looked like a blue scale. The final one looked like a liquid metal in a large can. I pulled out my Pokédex, which amazingly survived the onslaught, to identify the items.
"The King's Rock. It is said to be the fossilized remains of part of ancient Pokémon kings. Said to contain great power. Dragon Scale, the scale of dragons, such as Dragonair and Dragonite. Said to give Dragon-type moves more power. Metal Coat. A liquid metal that allows the new Steel-type to flourish. It is said to be made from the armor of ancient Steel-types."
I was so amazed at these things that it took a shriek from Zubat to get me out of my trance. Remembering my job, I looked at the controls behind me. I had no idea what any of the levers or buttons did, and pressed the red one. The crane started up and shook the cage a little. Pichu, Zubat & Scyther tried to hang on. I tried another lever, which lowered the cage down some. By pressing another button, the cable came closer towards me and the cage slammed against the side, making me rock back and pull another lever. Now my chest hurt even more. The cage was stuck deep within the tower when the cable lowered. The cage fell down and smashed the glass, freeing the water types. The cage slammed down to the ground, and the others got out. Meanwhile, the crane tipped over a bit, sending the table with the items hurdling towards me. Due to the drop, I flew out of the window, followed by the three items. Scyther flew up to grab me, but was covered with the Metal Coat and fell into the water. The King's Rock slammed Poliwhril on the head and made it fall into the water. The scale hit Seadra on the head too. I got up from the water and barely managed to walk over to my friends.
"I'm really starting to get sick of this. I've had enough of the water" I said, before looking at Seadra. It still had that scale. I tried to pry it off, but it didn't work. I was too weak. Josh tried to get the King's Rock off of Poliwhirl and Zach tried to scrape the Metal Coat off of Scyther. Just then, all three items glowed and expanded.
"Hey! What's going on?" Zach wondered.
The Metal Coat completely covered Scyther and started turning red. It's long scythes shortened into large claws. Its legs became longer as it itself became taller. Poliwhirl was soon covered by the King's Rock, then turned green as it grew taller. It grew a large gut and longer arms. Seadra became a light blue and grew taller. It's two fins becoming one and it's nose becoming thinner. The light disappeared from each of them. Scyther became all red with two large claws and spiny legs. Poliwhirl became pudgy, and had an actual mouth now, and no gloves, not to mention green. Seadra was taller, meaner looking with scales all around and a nose that looked like a saw blade. I pulled out my Pokédex.
"Scizor. The evolved form of Scyther. Despite the great increase in weight, it is faster than ever, and has a powerful armor coating to go along with it. Its claws are very deadly. Politoed. The other evolution of Poliwhirl. This Pokémon doesn't have the brute strength of Poliwrath, but it is better at Defense and uses its weight to its advantage. Kingdra, the evolved form of Seadra. It is now a powerful Dragon-type that is as fast at swimming as Dragonair. It can spray a Water Gun with pinpoint accuracy, even more so than most other Water-types." (Ed. Note: Yea, I know you need to trade to evolve thing in the game, but the trade-to-evolve thing doesn't exist in the anime remember?)
We were all amazed at how the Pokémon evolved. The three of us just stared blankly at the new Pokémon. Kingdra flopped around in joy of its evolution, and splashed Politoed, who Water Gunned Kingdra, and the two started up again. Josh & I quickly recalled our Pokémon. Megan was looking at the set of Poké Balls when the evolution happened. She was surprised by the evolutionary light and accidentally knocked down one of the Poké Balls. Megan quickly picked it up and noticed something. Instead of the normal top half being red, it was purple with two pink dots and an "M" in the middle.
"Hey guys, look at this." Megan said, handing the ball over.
"I've never seen a Poké Ball like this before." Josh said, puzzled.
"Hmm, it feels heavy, so it must have a Pokémon inside. Let's see what it is." I said, throwing the ball, although it went all of 5 feet.
Out of the ball came a small pink cat that looked like Mewtwo, except that it didn't look as mean. It had a long, thin tail and big feet with small arms. It shook its head and looked around. Realizing it had been released, it quickly jumped up & down and flew about in excitement. Then it stopped and had a look of worry.
"Umm. What IS that thing?" I asked.
"I dunno." Zach said.
"I think I've seen that thing before." Josh said, "I heard a few years ago that scientists found ancient remains of the Legendary Pokémon Mew, but clones were unsuccessful. They took place on New Island, but the scientists mysteriously vanished without a trace."
"So that thing is a Mew?" Megan asked.
Scizor's wings popped open and it flew up to Mew. Zubat flew up as well. The two Pokémon talked to Mew, explaining what's going on. Mew had a shocked reaction on its face, nodded, then used its Psychic powers to release the other Poké Balls from their holders and released 25 Pokémon. All of them looked like normal Pokémon except the Venusaur had white spots, the Charizard had brown stripes, the Blastoise had black spots on its shell, and the Pikachu had spikier fur. Before we could ask what they were, Mew enclosed all of us in a glowing, pink bubble. The four of us felt really strange.
"Hey, my sides don't hurt anymore!" I said, feeling my waist.
"My ribs feel good as new!" Zach exclaimed.
"All my injuries are gone!" Josh piped.
"Mew must have healed us all." Megan said.
Then, before we knew it, we left the island in a pink flash.
Meanwhile, on Indigo Plateau, The Grand Masters were preparing the stadium to welcome two new inductees into the group: Hiro and Kris, who both won the Indigo Tournament after tying in the final round. (Author's Note: Kris is the girl from Crystal.) Lance, Karen, Will, Bruno & their newest inductee, Koga, were all there, along with the Champion Ash Ketchum and his two friends, Misty & Brock, who decided to stop by. Brock has been traveling with his rival Susie, trying to learn all he can about breeding while Misty has been kicking back. Lance, with his golden blonde hair set in a whirlwind style, adjusted his black cape while his Dragonite was exercising. Karen, in her skimpy black dress and long, flowing, silver hair, was feeding her Umbreon. Bruno was training with his Hitmonlee. His spiky hair drenched with sweat as well as his huge muscles. Will, dressed as the Human Fly, was focusing his Psychic powers with his friend, Xatu. Koga, in his purple ninja outfit and cape, was meditating. Ash was feeding his Pikachu. He had grown some, but he still wore his green, fingerless gloves, black T-shirt, blue jacket, jeans & an Official Pokémon League Expo hat. Brock was checking out the health of his Pokémon, and decided to take off his green vest. Misty still wore her small yellow shirt, suspenders, and cut off shorts, and was sleeping with Togepi.
"When is the show going to start?" Ash asked, digging in his backpack for something.
"Hiro & Kris should be here in about an hour. We'll start at around 2 o'clock." Koga said.
"I don't think you'll be starting anything any time soon."
"Who said that?" Karen asked, worried.
Koga and Will both sensed the evil presence. They faced the platform where the inductation was going to be held to see a tall, well-built man standing there.
"Kataki. Why are you here?" Koga asked, not afraid one bit.
"Why, I've come to kill you all. Nothing major," he said, smiling. His six Pokémon: Sneasel, Houndoom, Nidoking, Tentacruel, Poliwrath, & Gligar, stood near him. They jumped down, ready to battle.
"You challenged us before and lost big time. You're not going to win this time either!" Ash said, with Pikachu agreeing.
"Oh, but this time I have a surprise new Pokémon. I'd like you to meet a good friend of mine: Mewtwo! Show yourself!"
From the top of the stadium came a tall catlike creature covered in a red aura. Ash, Misty & Brock felt like they knew that Pokémon somehow, but couldn't place it. Lance started to get a bit worried. Koga was as well. Bruno, Karen & Will were amazed at the Pokémon when it stopped in midair. Then they heard just two words.
"Kill them."
Mewtwo nodded and fired a psychic blast. The trainers dodged it, but were spread out. They decided to release their Pokémon, since a battle was started.
"I choose you, Meganium, Cyndaquil, Totodile, Charizard, Bulbasaur!" Ash called out, releasing his Pokémon team. (Ed. Note: I seriously believe Ash will keep Bulbasaur, release Noctowl, and Charizard will return to help him out in the Johto Leagues.)
"Umbreon, Murkrow, Houndoom, Vileplume, Gengar! Let's go!" Karen yelled, throwing her Poké Balls.
"Venomoth, Crobat, Muk, Forretress, Ariados! Come out now!" Koga shouted.
"All right Xatu, Slowbro, Jynx, Exeggutor, & Alakazam! You're up!" Will yelled.
"Dragonite, Dragonair, Gyarados, Charizard, Aerodactyl, Go and attack!" Lance shouted.
"Staryu, Poliwhirl, go get 'em!" Misty called out, but Psyduck came out and had to be returned by Misty.
"Onix, Geodude, Golbat, Pineco! Let's do it!" Brock shouted, releasing his Pokémon.
The thirty-three Pokémon came out ready for battle. Since Psychics are weak against Dark-types, Karen's Umbreon, Houndoom & Murkrow attacked first. Umbreon & Murkrow disappeared in order to use Faint Attack and Houndoom decided to Crunch the Psychic. All three Pokémon were repealed by Mewtwo's Barrier and sent into the ground. Mewtwo launched itself at Houndoom in order to finish it off, but Gengar's Night Shade stopped it. All of Will's Pokémon launched Psybeams at Mewtwo, who blocked them all easily. The two Charizards double-teamed a Flamethrower and Pikachu & Dragonair supplied the electricity. All the blasts glanced off of Mewtwo's barrier. It then sent the blasts back at the Pokémon. The electricity hit Slowbro & Xatu, fainting both of them. Jynx & Exeggutor were hit by the fire. Will recalled them immediately. Alakazam tried to fire a Psychic blast, but Mewtwo took control and threw it into Will, and both Pokémon and human were knocked out.
"Vileplume! Sleep Power now!" Karen called out.
"Vile!" Vileplume said as it released a blue power.
"You know what to do" Kataki said, smiling.
Umbreon, Gengar, Houndoom & Murkrow took this chance to attack. Mewtwo simply put all the powder into a psychic bubble, and released it onto all of Karen's Pokémon, putting all five to sleep. She quickly recalled her Pokémon. Koga was up next and all of his Pokémon launched different attacks. Muk threw a Sludge Bomb, Forretress threw spikes, Venomoth shot out a Psybeam, Crobat fired a Hyper Beam, and Ariados launched a Night Shade. All the attacks were cancelled by Mewtwo, who lifted all five Pokémon and started choking them in midair. Koga was forced to recall all of his Pokémon. Meanwhile, Bruno's Onix stepped up, and almost touched the roof. It dropped down to tackle the cat, but Mewtwo charged up his fist and punched Onix in the neck area, almost cracking through the tough covering. The four fighting types leaped behind Mewtwo to attack, but the psychic launched an attack behind him with incinerated the four Fighting types. Hitmontop, Hitmonchan, Hitmonlee & Machamp were all out.
"What is this thing? I've never seen anything that powerful!" Lance said, worried.
"It's deflecting all of our attacks. We can't get through" Ash said.
While fighting Lance's Aerodactyl & Dragonair, one of Mewtwo's Psychic blasts landed near Ash & Lance, sending them tumbling to the ground. Pikachu, Meganium, both Charizards, Gyarados, Dragonite, Cyndaquil, Totodile & Bulbasaur were all angry and launched their special attacks at Mewtwo. Mewtwo quickly shocked the flying rock and the dragon and quickly contained all the energy inside a psychic bubble, then sent the blasts back at the Pokémon. Bulbasaur, Totodile & Cyndaquil fainted quickly. Gyarados was shocked by the electricity from Dragonite & Pikachu, and fell. Meganium was severely injured, but both Charizards, Dragonite & Pikachu escaped most of the onslaught. Things didn't look so good as Mewtwo quickly appeared behind the fire dragons and punched both their necks, almost breaking them. Both Charizard coughed up some blood before fainting.
"Charizard!" Ash & Lance said together, racing towards their Pokémon.
Misty & Brock's Pokémon flew at Mewtwo, angry that their friends were being hurt. Mewtwo simply grabbed Onix, and using his Psychic powers, slapped away all the Pokémon using the giant stone snake, then sending Onix crashing to the wall. That left only two Pokémon: Dragonite & Pikachu. With the others taking care of their Pokémon, Mewtwo looked at the dragon & rat with cold, red, eyes. Extremely angry at Mewtwo, Pikachu leapt out of Dragonite's arms and fired a Thunder at Mewtwo. The cat simply flew up and above Pikachu, punching its back to the ground. Before it reached the ground, though, Mewtwo flew down and slapped it back into the air with it's tail. Ash saw what was happening and raced over to save his buddy.
"Pikachu!" Ash called out.
Mewtwo then charged up and sent a psychic ball into the already worn Pikachu. The blast exploded and sent Pikachu careening into the stairs at the opposite side of the stadium. Pikachu fell through the wall and onto the ground. There was a small puddle of blood near Pikachu's mouth, and a streak on the stairs. Pikachu could barely speak its name when Ash raced to it. However, Mewtwo pulled him back to his fellow trainers, not allowing him to get to Pikachu.
"Looks like you've been beaten. I didn't think the gap between you & Mewtwo was that great. Too bad. You may finish them off now Mewtwo." Kataki said.
Mewtwo nodded, and a red aura appeared around him. Lance then stepped up with his Dragonite.
"Dragonite, you're our only hope. You are the most powerful Pokémon we have. Not one single Pokémon has been able to defeat you alone. Now go!" Lance said, pointing to Mewtwo.
Dragonite nodded and flew at Mewtwo. It crashed into Mewtwo headfirst, stunning the cat. It then sent a Fire Blast into Mewtwo, sending it crashing into the ground. Mewtwo flew back up in the air and punched Dragonite's gut hard. The flying dragon was sent into the wall, but quickly recovered and sent a Thunderbolt into the psychic. Mewtwo blocked it with a barrier, then sent a black ball at Dragonite, which missed. Dragonite flew around the stadium at blazing speed, dodging all of Mewtwo's psychic blasts. While dodging the blasts, Dragonite sent out Ice Beams at Mewtwo, trying to freeze it, but not being able to get past Mewtwo's barrier. Dragonite flew up and Thundered Mewtwo, but it didn't do much good. Time to get desperate. Dragonite sent a blue/green wind at Mewtwo, which was barely holding out against the psychic ball. The Dragonbreath was eventually cancelled, and the ball headed for the dragon. It flew up using Agility, then flew quickly at Mewtwo, headbutting it into the stairs of the stadium. Before Mewtwo could recover, Dragonite sent a Fire Blast into the cat, creating an explosion.
"That's it Dragonite! Keep it up! Use Slam now!" Lance said.
Dragonite nodded and flew at Mewtwo, who was recovering from the Fire Blast, and slammed into the psychic, sending it further into the stairs. Mewtwo sent Dragonite away using its Psychic powers, but Dragonite recovered and turned its wings into solid steel. Flying at a high speed, the Steel Wing hit Mewtwo, making a cut into its chest and making blood come out. Mewtwo sent a Psychic blast at Dragonite, but the dragon flew up, dodging the attack and slamming into Mewtwo, making some blood come out of his forehead. Using his claws, Dragonite used Fury Cutter to rapidly cut into Mewtwo. Having enough, Mewtwo fired Dragonite away using a Psybeam and flew into the air. Dragonite tried to headbutt the cat, but Mewtwo started glowing. Dragonite had no idea what was going on until it saw that its wounds were healing.
"It's using Recover!" Ash said.
"Dragonite is too tired from all the attacks to keep this up. There's no way he can win!" Brock told everyone.
"Then we need to finish him off! Dragonite, use Toxic!" Lance yelled.
Dragonite nodded and fired a purple ooze at the newly refreshed Mewtwo. The cat easily dodged the attack and punched Dragonite in the jaw. Dragonite stopped itself and flew into the air, dodging a psychic ball and flying high into the air. Mewtwo decided to finish it and cupped his hands behind him and started charging up. Dragonite's mouth started to glow red & orange as it charged its Hyper Beam. Both Pokémon let loose soon after charging. Dragonite's Hyper Beam fired out of its mouth and headed straight to Mewtwo. Mewtwo fired his blast through his still-cupped hands (Author's Note: Think Goku using the Kame Hame Ha) and the two beams hit each other. They struggled for a few minutes, neither beam overcoming the other. Then, both beams created an explosion. Dragonite covered its head, then relaxed in order to recharge and regain its strength. It was worn out. Just then, it saw a small blue beam emerge from the smoke and head straight for it. Dragonite couldn't dodge in time and the beam hit, creating another explosion, and sending the Grand Master's best hope crashing to the ground. Dragonite was beaten.
"Dragonite! Hang on, buddy!" Lance yelled, trying to run to his Pokémon but thrown back by Mewtwo's powers.
"I don't think so. You don't move unless I tell you to, got it?" Kataki said, still on the platform. He then jumped down and moved towards the small group of trainers.
"You're not going to get away with this Kataki!" Ash said defiantly.
Kataki looked at the young trainer, still in his teens, and saw the fire in his eyes. He had to put out that fire. Before Ash knew it, Kataki ran up and backhanded Ash, sending the surprised trainer careening into the wall, landing right next to his Pikachu. Ash wiped the blood from his cheek and got up. When he saw his friend next to him, he quickly picked it up and put a Super Potion from his pocket on his buddy. Kataki decided to leave him be for now and came to Karen. The beautiful trainer had a face on anger, but Kataki could see the fear inside her. He was now standing within two feet from her. In one swift motion, Kataki grabbed the back of her head and forced his mouth into hers, kissing her passionately. He had always had a thing for Karen. A strongly opinionated woman who had the looks to match her spirit. Karen tried to pry the heaving bulk off of her, but she wasn't strong enough. The other Grand Masters were surprised, then angry even more. Lance and Brock tried to get him off, but both were slapped away. Finally, he took his lips off of Karen's.
"I detected a hint of passion from you," Kataki said, still holding the back of Karen's head.
"Why you..." Karen said before slapping Kataki, but he was like granite and that slap hurt her hand.
"Hah! That's what I like about you. You have a very strong spirit. And I'm going to break it." Kataki said evily.
"Don't you dare!" Bruno yelled, leaping to attack the giant.
Kataki's face turned serious and easily grabbed Bruno's arm and twisted it around. Bruno had never felt a pain like this before. Kataki then sent Bruno to the ground and stepped on his spine and started crushing it. Bruno yelled in agony over his position.
"Don't forget who's in control here." Kataki said with an expressionless face.
"Stop it now!" Karen yelled, tears in her eyes, "I'll do whatever you want! Just let him go!"
"That's more like it," Kataki said, kicking the wounded Bruno away. Lance, Brock & Misty ran over to Bruno to check on him while Kataki moved in on Karen. She gulped as the muscle-bound villain came closer, "I told you I'd break that spirit."
Just then, Kataki felt himself stop. He couldn't move a muscle. His six Pokémon wondered what was going on. Mewtwo looked the same as he did for the past few weeks. Karen was puzzled as to what was going on when she saw a pinkish glow outline Kataki. Before he knew it, Kataki was raised into the air and thrown into the platform. Ash came back over, carrying Pikachu.
"What was that?" Ash asked.
"Mewtwo, why did you do that?" Kataki demanded. Mewtwo just shook its head, "If you didn't do it, then that means..."
"That's right. We're back Kataki!"
Kataki looked over behind the Grand Masters to see a pinkish bubble appear. When it was gone, four humans and 28 Pokémon stood, ready for battle. Many of them looked different from normal Pokémon. One of them flew into the air looking like a small, pink, cat.
"Hmm. I thought you were killed yesterday," Kataki said, glaring at Poliwrath & Tentacruel, who shrank, "Never mind, get them now!"
Gligar, Poliwrath, & Tentacruel leaped to finish what they started. Josh, Zach and I enlarged a Poké Ball and sent out our new Pokémon: Politoed, Scizor & Kingdra. The six Pokémon collided with each other. Scizor glided into the air and hit Gligar with its claw. Politoed headbutted its fellow tadpole before it could react. Kingdra dodged all of Tentacruel's tentacles and smashed into the giant jellyfish. Tentacruel became angry and spout out Water Guns at the water dragon. However, the fish fired a Hydro Pump that beat out the gun and knocked back the jelly. Meanwhile, Poliwrath tried to crush its alternate evolution, but the toad wouldn't break down and hit Poliwrath with its big gut. Up in the air, Gligar tried a Swift against the metal bug, but Scizor blocked it with its claws and used its Agility to speed up and tackled Gligar. Kataki's three Pokémon stepped back to analyze their opponents.
"So, you used my items to evolve your Pokémon. Let's just see how much of a power increase the items gave your Pokémon. Gligar, Take Down! Poliwrath, Ice Beam! Tentacruel, Bind!" Kataki shouted.
"That's just fine with us. Kingdra, Twister attack now!" I yelled.
"Let's show 'em who's boss! Metal Claw now!" Zach called out.
"Politoed! Use your Swagger attack!" Josh exclaimed.
Kingdra nodded and its eyes glowed white. The ground around it cracked and started swirling. Using all of its energy, it sent a giant tornado of dirt at Tentacruel, which hit it dead-on. Scizor's two claws glowed and in effect look metallic. It rushed at Gligar and smacked it hard with the Metal Claw. Gligar was sent into the platform hard and dazed. Politoed made its eyes glow and waves shot out of its eyes and hit Poliwrath. The attack made Poliwrath's muscles grow twice its size. Poliwrath then leapt to attack the toad, but missed it and hurt itself badly. Politoed finished it with a Mega Punch on the back of the tadpole. All three Pokémon of Kataki's seemed beaten. Kingdra, Politoed, & Scizor were happy and excited when the other three got up, ready for more. Some of the clones were fidgetting, preparing to enter the battle. Kataki's Pokémon were weak, but they could still fight. However, Kataki didn't want to take the chance.
"Return, all of you!" Kataki said, holding up three Poké Balls & returning his Pokémon, "Mewtwo! Take care of them!"
The giant cat nodded, glowed red, and flew at the three new Pokémon. Kingdra sent a Twister at Mewtwo, but it dissipated thanks to Mewtwo's psychic powers. Scizor tried to smack it with its Metal Claw, but Mewtwo punched Scizor away. The bug landed on the ground, completely worn out. Politoed tried to confuse Mewtwo with Swagger, but the cat shook the confusion off immediately. With the increase in attack power, Mewtwo easily walloped Politoed and almost destroyed Kingdra. All of us returned our Pokémon.
"Thanks for the power increase, idiots!" Kataki said, laughing.
Mewtwo tried to kill the four of us using his Psybeam, but Mew's shield blocked it. The clone looked up at its mother, ready to attack. The other clones didn't want to attack their creator, and stayed back. Mew & Mewtwo flew into the air and fired blast after blast at each other. Each of them were hit a few times but neither gained much ground on each other. Mew then rocketed into Mewtwo's stomach, seriously hurting the clone. Mew then sent a pink ball into Mewtwo, slamming it to the ground. It wouldn't give up, though, and fired itself at Mew, hitting it before Mew could react. The small, pink, cat quickly regained its senses and smashed into Mewtwo. The two continued to clash and tackled each other.
"This is getting on my nerves. I'm tired of this foolishness. Nidoking, Toxic now," Kataki said.
Nidoking nodded and spit up a big purple puddle of toxic goop at Mew, who was not expecting the attack and thus, couldn't block it. All of us and the cloned Pokémon couldn't believe it. We didn't see the attack until it hit Mew. The Pokémon was badly poisoned and started coughing purple smoke. Its skin took a purplish glow as well. Seizing the opportunity, Mewtwo flew at its parent and smashed it into the ground. That did it. Mew was unable to fight anymore. We rushed to the aid of the cat. Unfortunately, none of us had any Antidotes. The poison was spreading quickly throughout its body. Brock quickly mixed a couple different potions together to make a makeshift Antidote and fed it to Mew.
"This won't last. It's not going to cure the poison, but it will slow it down. We have to get out of here and cure Mew." Brock said.
"If I had my backpack, we could use my TM Kit to teach Rest to it. That would cure the poison." Josh said.
"Humph. That was easier that I thought it would be." Kataki said, grinning.
"Well done Kataki, the plan worked out better than I thought it would."
We all looked up to see a tall Italian man dressed in a red business suit, jet black hair, and a thin mustache standing on the top of the stairs, clapping.
"Jason! So you're behind this!" Lance said, angrily.
"Yes, I am Lance. And with you out of the way, Team Rocket shall control the world!"
"He's the leader of Team Rocket?" I asked, befuddled.
"Yes. He's Giovanni's son," Lance said.
"And he will soon see how well his little boy did, he'll come back. Mewtwo! Kill them now!" Jason shouted.
Mewtwo just floated there, not listening to Jason.
"I said kill them! Kataki, it's not listening to me!" Jason yelled.
"That's because you're not its master. I am. You are forgetting who actually did all the work. Did you actually think I LIKED working for you? It was the most disgraceful thing in my life! I hated it! The only reason I ever stuck around was so I could beat the Grand Masters. But now I'm in control. You've sat around on your fat ass so long you have forgotten about what it takes to win. But I haven't. That's why I am the victor. Mewtwo. Kill him" Kataki said evilly.
Mewtwo charged up a red psychic blast. Jason's face turned from confidence to fear as he tried to escape.
"You're going to regret this Kataki! I'll come back to kill you! Just watch me!" Jason yelled.
Before he could get out of the door, however, Mewtwo fired its blast and hit Jason, creating an explosion. When the dust settled, all that was left was a pile of rubble.
"That was easy. Now, Mewtwo, I want you to kill all those humans there, except for the three girls. I'm going to have a little fun with them before I kill them. Houndoom, you can have the little mouse as a chew toy. Sneasel can have the bat as a scratching post."
Megan, Karen, Misty, Zubat, & Pichu just gasped in shock. Now everyone was really afraid of what was going to happen to them. Misty & Megan started to get tears in their eyes as well. Meanwhile, the cloned Charizard had enough. It could see Kataki was the cause, and it wanted to free its creator from his grasp. The fire dragon roared loudly and flew quickly at Kataki. Surprised for a minute but quickly regaining his composure, Kataki braced itself as the Charizard tackled him. Kataki quickly threw the demon off and gave a good, hard punch to the gut, stunning the surprised Charizard. It grimaced in pain as it held its stomach. The other clones were angry, but were warded off by Houndoom's fire, Sneasel's ice, and Nidoking's electricity. When the smoke cleared from the attacks, the clones stood, demanding more.
"How could they take all that?" Zach asked.
"Those clones must be very powerful." I said.
Meanwhile, Kataki was still busy with the Charizard. He ran up to the Pokémon and jump kicked its head, sending it to the ground. Before it could get up, Kataki stepped on its neck, pinning it. The clones sent all their special attacks at Kataki's Pokémon. Nidoking, Houndoom, & Sneasel were being overwhelmed by the clones. The cloned Pikachu Thunderbolted the three while the Water-types used their Hydro Pumps. Kataki's Pokémon were sent back by a tackle from the Gyarados. Realizing that they were going to lose, Kataki yelled to the cloned Pokémon.
"All right. Listen up clones, either you stop your assault right now, or your friend loses one neck." Kataki said as he stepped harder on Charizard's neck, causing it to flail wildly in an attempt to get free. All the Pokémon stopped and stepped back, "Good. Kill them now Mewtwo."
"What!?" All of us said when we heard that.
Mewtwo just nodded, charged up its red aura, and charged at the Pokémon it created. The Venusaur, Bulbasaur, & Vileplume tried their Sleep Powers in an effort to stop the raging monster, but Mewtwo's psychic powers swept the powder aside. Pikachu tried to Thunder Wave the beast, but it failed to get past Mewtwo's barrier. Finally, Tentacruel decided to use its Supersonic attack on its creator. Mewtwo heard the Supersonic, and reacted strangely. Stopping in its tracks, it held its head as its aura changed from red to blue.
"Wha? Where...am I? What is..going on?" The psychic said, still cringing.
"Damn, that stupid attack is ruining my hypnosis! Nidoking! Take care of that one!" Kataki said, pointing to Tentacruel.
Nidoking nodded and promptly used Thunder on Tentacruel. Several other Pokémon were struck as well. The attack made the Supersonic stop and Mewtwo stopped cringing. Then it stood up with its red aura back and its eyes blood red. Having enough, it charged up a blast and fired a powerful psychic beam at the entire group. The blast hit before the Pokémon could spread out, creating a gigantic red bubble and exploding through the roof, almost bringing it down on us. When the explosion ended, all the clones were on the ground, very weak and barely able to move. A few of them had blood pouring out of their skin. The Charizard under Kataki's foot tried escaping again after witnessing this disaster. Back at Mew, we were trying to stop the poison with no luck. Just then, I had an idea.
"Zubat, come here." I told my friend. The blue bat came to my shoulder as I whispered in its ear.
"What are you thinking of?" Zach asked.
"I have an idea that may just work. Ash, I need your help. Do you have an extra Poké Ball?" I asked.
"Sure," Ash said, pulling an empty Poké Ball out, "But what good is it going to do us?"
"Just wait and see," I said, "Follow me."
Ash & I saw that Kataki & his Pokémon were occupied with Charizard, so we made our escape. I tried to head into the hallway, but Kataki spotted us. He was surprised by our attempt to run. In a desperate move, Megan's Pichu ran up and Thunderbolted the evil group. Kataki was about to tell Mewtwo & his Pokémon to attack, but the Charizard finally got free and started spraying fire all around the evil doers.
"Mewtwo! Stop this Charizard!" Kataki yelled, "Sneasel, find those kids and kill them!"
Mewtwo nodded and tried to blast Charizard. The fire dragon dodged it and used its Flamethrower to direct psychic blasts away from it. It knew it couldn't win against its creator, but it had to buy some time. Meanwhile, the Sneasel tried to get to us, but the Grand Masters, Misty, Brock, Zach, Megan & Josh wouldn't allow it. Pichu delivered another Thunderbolt to it. Houndoom and Nidoking saw to it that we were to stay back. Sneasel managed to get through and charged after us.
"Where are we going?" Ash asked, climbing a bunch of stairs after me.
"To the announcer's booth. We can use the speakers to save us." I said.
Ash had a puzzled look on his face when Sneasel arrived. It ran up the stairs toward us.
When Sneasel was almost to the top, it was time to act. "Quick Ash! Throw the Poké Ball at it!" I yelled, finally reaching the top. Ash wasn't far behind.
"Why? We can't capture it!" Ash exclaimed.
"That doesn't matter. If we're lucky, then the Poké Ball will buy us some time."
Ash still didn't understand, but threw the ball anyway. My plan worked. Sneasel didn't see it coming and the ball hit it on its forehead, sending it back to the bottom of the stairs. It was stunned enough for us to gain more time. Quickly the two of us ran into the booth and locked the door.
"I don't get it. How is this stuff gonna save us?" Ash asked.
"You'll see." I said, trying to turn the damn thing on. I pressed a couple buttons and the lights turned on. What lights were left anyway.
"Ack! Sneasel's trying to get back in!" Ash said, noticing the door being slammed into. Ash tried to hold it back.
"Just a little bit longer." I said, trying to find out what button did which.
"Are you sure this will work?" Ash asked.
"Have faith." I said, trying to find what I was looking for.
Meanwhile, outside, Mewtwo had finally blasted its child into the ground. Completely worn out, Charizard was at the mercy of Kataki. Kataki then gave the order to Mewtwo to kill Charizard. Inside the booth, Sneasel used its claws to cut through the door. Zubat couldn't hold off Sneasel alone, and I still didn't find out what I needed. The Pokémon had us backed into a corner.
"Where are Ash and the other kid?" Lance asked.
"I dunno where Matt is, but I hope his plan works." Zach said, worried.
"Oh Ash, where are you?" Misty said, holding Togepi.
"Look out!" I said as Sneasel leapt to kill us. We didn't see it, but a strange glow emitted from our foreheads. Ash's was yellow while mine was red.
Just then, Sneasel glowed a strange combination of red & yellow and disappeared. Ash, Zubat, & I had no idea what just happened. We looked outside to see Sneasel appear right above Mewtwo, stopping it from killing Charizard. Sneasel fell on top of Mewtwo, who's blast ended up destroying the rest of the roof. We didn't have much time. I finally found three buttons that said "Speakers 1," "Speakers 2," & "Speakers 3." I pressed all three and hoped for the best. I raised the microphone to Zubat and gave one simple command.
"Zubat, Supersonic now!" I said.
The bat nodded and let out a deafening Supersonic which was amplified through the speakers. All the humans closed their ears at the waves. Nidoking, Sneasel, & Houndoom could barely stand the sound. Mewtwo, floating in the air, was acting strangely. As when Tentacruel used Supersonic, Mewtwo's aura started changing from red to blue.
"Arg! Houndoom! Destroy the booth!" Kataki yelled to his Pokémon.
Houndoom tried to use its Flamethrower, but it was confused thanks to the waves and burned the floor. Mewtwo was cringing the most as it was switching between its good and evil forms. The psychic eventually lost its aura and fell to the ground, seemingly out cold. I told Zubat to stop.
"Just great. Get up Mewtwo and kill all of them!" Kataki said, pointing to our friends.
Mewtwo slowly awoke and stood up, but its eyes were no longer glowed red, rather they became normal, with brown eyes. It wondered what was going on as it looked at the destruction.
"What? What's going on? All my creations are almost dead!" Mewtwo said in shock, then saw us with Mew, "Mew, what happened to it?"
"It was Kataki! He controlled you and made you defeat all of us, including Mew & your clones!" Lance yelled to the psychic, pointing to Kataki.
"He's been trying to use you in order to rule the world! He kept Mew & the clones in his lab in Poké Balls, experimenting on them." Josh yelled out.
"Kataki has been using you for his own gain!" Megan finished.
Mewtwo looked at Kataki with anger, "So, you wish to use me to gain control? You made me seriously injure my family as well as innocents? Since you disregard others lives so blatantly, I guess you disregard your own as well!" It started charging up its blue aura. It was not in a happy mood.
"Ah ah ah. It wouldn't be very fair to use your powers against me, an ordinary human." Kataki said.
"YOU would speak about fighting fair!? Very well then, I'll kill you using my own body!" Mewtwo said, jumping at Kataki with its arms out.
Kataki was waiting for this. He knew if he could get Mewtwo close he could use his machine again to hypnotize Mewtwo. The Pokémon & human met each other's hands and struggled to get past one another. Kataki got one arm free and punched Mewtwo's cheek. Mewtwo responded with a punch of his own, which would have killed any of us. Kataki, however, was sent back a few feet. The machine flew out of his pocket and landed a few feet from him. While Kataki tried to get the machine, Mewtwo leaped into the air and sent his elbow into Kataki, who coughed up a bit of blood. Regaining his strength, Kataki focused his power and socked Mewtwo on the cheek, knocking the Pokémon back about 10 feet. Kataki quickly grabbed the machine, but Mewtwo was at him again and again their hands met each other, vying for superiority. With their arms grappled like this, Kataki couldn't reach the machine. Just then, Mewtwo was hit by a Flamethrower, Ice Beam, and Thunderbolt. It looked behind it to see Nidoking, Houndoom, and Sneasel coming at it, ready to defend their master.
"This is fighting fair? Very well then." Mewtwo said, creating a blue aura around itself and easily blasting Nidoking away. Due to their types, Houndoom & Sneasel resisted the psychic's powers. Mewtwo simply created a bigger barrier and threw the two Pokémon away.
Kataki quickly returned his Pokémon and held up a small device. It was the same one he used to hypnotize Mewtwo before. He was about to press the button, but before he could, it was grabbed out of his hands by Zubat.
"It's all over Kataki!" Ash yelled.
"You're finished! Give up now!" I said.
"Now I can see why the boss had so much trouble with you annoying brats. No matter, unlike him, I am strong enough to prevail!" Kataki said, ready to attack again.
Zubat flew into the air and dropped the device. Pichu made sure the machine wouldn't be used again via a Thundershock. Mewtwo had had enough. It charged its aura up again, picked up Kataki by the shirt, and flew into the air. Kataki found himself unable to move as the psychic lifted him up. Mewtwo then swung around and threw Kataki into the platform, sending it crashing into the ground. Just to be sure, Mewtwo charged up and released a psychic blast into the rubble, obliterating the structure.
"Whew. He's finally dead!" Ash said in relief.
Mewtwo analyzed the heap of rubble, then turned down to its friend Mew. Using its Psychic powers, it cured the poison from Mew. The pink cat blinked a few times, then jumped into its clones arms, glad it was safe.
"Good to see you too, old friend." Mewtwo said, before flying into the air and using its powers to revive its cloned comrades.
The clones awoke with a surprised look on their face. Mewtwo came down to them, but the clones were unsure if he was back to normal or not. Just then, the Charizard came up and knocked down Mewtwo, hugging it almost to death. The others realized he was back to normal and cheered. Mew came down to us and bowed. We bowed before Mew also. Just then, Mewtwo lifted up his clones using his powers and started to leave.
"Hey Mewtwo, where ya goin?" Ash asked.
Mewtwo, Mew & the clones floated in the air, ready to leave. Mew and the cloned Pokémon had a sense of deja vü with that line.
"I am going to my home. I've caused enough trouble already. Don't worry, I shall learn to be more careful about unwelcome visitors. I thank you for saving myself and my family. It is good to know there are still kind hearts in the world" Mewtwo said, looking at Ash and remembering the adventure they had when Mewtwo first tried to take over the world, and again when Giovanni tried to capture him once again. Ash had saved him twice then, and he did then, with a little help, OK a lot of help from me. Just then, he sensed a small aura of power surrounding both Ash and myself, but quickly dismissed it. Mewtwo then nodded to myself & Ash before flying off.
About an hour later, as the police arrived and checked out the scene, we were talking to the Grand Masters.
"You wouldn't mind giving us a ride to Zeta Island, would you?" I asked.
"Sure thing Matt. Anything for a friend, right Pikachu?" Ash said to his healed buddy. Pikachu jumped on his shoulder and exclaimed "Pika!"
"Matthew, we would be honored if you'd join the Grand Masters. Although you'd still have to battle one of us in order to be inducted. I don't think Hiro & Kris would find it fair if we just granted it to you." Lance said.
"Man, I'd love to, but I can't. My Pokémon couldn't beat Kataki, so there's no way I'm ready for you guys yet. But with my new Kingdra, I'll get strong enough to beat you!" I said, with my fist in the air.
"You know, it seems unfair that you give him a chance to become League Master, but you still have to fight him. Although from experience I can tell Matt wouldn't be any match right now. But, you've gotten a lot stronger since our last match." Zach said, smiling.
"Thank you. I can see a lot of you in your young brother. It won't be long before he is facing me in the ring like you did." Lance said.
"You two fought each other?" Karen said, mystified.
"I didn't know that!" Ash said.
"Yea. I also fought this tall man with the last name of Ketchum too. I still dunno who that was." Zach said.
"You fought my dad! I haven't seen him since I was 3!" Ash yelled.
Meanwhile, by the rubble, Officer Jenny uncovered a tall Italian man in a red suit covered in blood.
"Isn't this Jason, Giovanni's son? He's the head of Team Rocket!" Jenny exclaimed.
"You mean WAS the head of Team Rocket." One of the fellow officers said.
Jenny just sighed and was about to go file a report when Brock suddenly appeared in front of her.
"Excuse me, but you seem stressed out. Why don't I take you out for dinner and help you relax, Officer Jenny?" Brock said, blushing.
"I..uh.. umm" Jenny started to say.
"Let's go lover boy. YOU need to relax!" Misty said, dragging Brock away by the ear.
Lance said we could use the Grand Master's private jet to get back to Zeta Island, where all our stuff was. During the trip, Zach & Lance became best buddies again, talking about their trainer journies. Ash & I were talking about the trips we had. I couldn't believe that he was the one who stopped that freak weather phenomenon and that crystal tower three years ago. Likewise, Ash was dumbfounded when he found out it was us who stopped Team Rocket on Cinnabar. He said that Gary told him I was a pretty strong trainer, and that Ash can confirm that for himself. When we got to the island, Ash & Lance had wished us good luck. Lance told us that anytime we needed their help, we could call them. As the plane left, Ash remembered one thing that they forgot about.
"We forgot about the inductation today!" Ash said, realizing that the two most powerful Grand Masters were not present to induct Hiro & Kris. Now, by the time they would get back, the ceremony would be over.
"How do we always do this? First we forget both Misty's & Karen's birthdays, then we forget our match schedules last month, and now this!" Lance said with a sweatdrop on his head, covering up the sore from Karen's giant mallet that struck his head when she found out Lance forgot. Pikachu just sighed as the plane sped off into the blue sky.
To be continued...
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