New Island

“Analysis of situation:

“Carbon-based life form I am assigned to, Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town, age 15 approaching 16, defeated the genetically enhanced clone of a Charizard (the flame Pokémon) with his own with a combination of skill, technique, the Z-Move Breakneck Blitz, and his dominion bloodliner abilities, and proceeded to try and talk a previously unknown Psychic-type Pokémon calling itself Mewtwo (tentatively called the genetic Pokémon) out of its underthought plans.

“The Pokémon proceeded to capture Ash Ketchum in an unknown Pokéball, causing me to fall out of the pocket I was placed in in the process.

“Situation not optimal.

“Performing analysis as a swarm of the same Pokéballs of unknown origin swarm the field striking every Pokémon and human.

“Balls do not override capture signature of existent balls, mechanism of process unknown.

“Ball material makeup differs from regular Pokéball variants, material integrity more resistant to force. Running background simulations gathered from deployed tactics of present Pokémon species.

“Survives fire, electrical, ice, extensive force, and acidic attempts with cosmetic damage, but no damage to internal features. Can be repulsed by well-timed blows, but this is only temporary.

“Additional data point: ball bounces off of human Gary Oak without effect, but does capture those in category Bloodliner. New data input.

“Unknown fate for assigned life form. Proceeding with data analysis to come up with plan to reverse current situation to stable, desirable state.

“Required factors the continued survival of trainer Ash Ketchum and the majority of his mental wellness. Additional factors not applied.

…

His daughters often complained to him that he always took things with him that he really didn’t need to. It held them up for getting out of the house and more than a few wild chases for misplaced artifacts of a variety of dangers.

In his defense for what trouble that could cause, when he couldn’t find the Meteonite Magnet Marble that one time it was not the sort of thing he could just ignore for a while like a missing remote. If that thing got misplaced and misused someone would get a lot of unwanted overhead crashing down on them.

Of course his collection of trinkets obtained in his travels did not limit itself to various doomsday causers, he also had a number that could be used for moral and good tasks.

One such artifact was the reason he was now awake, feeling refreshed and not like his body had just been struck by a truck.

“Alright Mewtwo, let’s…”

It was as he was about to make his badass declaration of round two that he realized that he might have been out for longer than he thought.

Mewtwo was now at the opposite end of a distant battlefield, all the Pokémon and several of the guests were missing (including the one who had a secret beyond his possible familiarity with Baltoy mechanisms), his student was rubbing his head like someone had beaned him with something hard, and the place looked a lot worse for wear than when he last remembered it.

Mewtwo teleported in front of him, towering over him without the need of levitation.

‘You recovered faster than I expected. I doubt it is an element of your little ‘Bond Phenomenon’ trick.’

He nodded before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a golden amulet with a green shining stone sparkling in the center, holding it up to Mewtwo.

“Like I said, you aren’t the first terrifying thing I’ve ever encountered, even if you are certainly a unique being. I’ve encountered many oddities in my time, among them this amulet linked to an entire dimension of vitality energies. I keep it on hand in case one of my family gets a scraped knee, or when there is a training accident with my student. Speaking of which, I take it that you are the reason he has an injury, and quite possibly for the rather diminished capacity of this hall?”

To resolve the issue here, there were steps one had to take. Information, action, counter-actions: all of these things were needed to save those around you, to save the world or more still.

Mewtwo was no different, and with information could come a plan to better this situation. No need to use his rather dangerous marble (or the M.M.M as his daughters called it) unless it was the best option.

Raining meteors down from space was a last resort option anyway.

Mewtwo seemed surprised by the answer, though that was a common reaction to when he brought up his slight hoarding habit of arcane objects.

‘You missed quite a lot. I demonstrated the superiority of my clones in defeating the strongest Venusaur and Blastoise with their betters. I will admit surprise that my Charizard was defeated by Ash Ketchum’s own Charizard, but that defeat revealed something I had been interested in obtaining. After that I captured all of the Pokémon gathered here, along with additional subjects similar to him.’

He nodded to that; a mass capture would make sense with everything set up, though the capture of several guests was unusual.

Perhaps with a bit more information he could get some clarity of that.

“I count six people missing: what made them so special?”

Two of them were certainly up and coming trainers, but he wasn’t sure that their host could tell the difference between Alder and the average old man so he doubted that was the reason.

It certainly wouldn’t explain their missing little sister, if she was just hiding in terror he’d have noticed. Father-skills after all.

Mewtwo turned around, and seemed to be posing with some dramatic focus. This was probably going to involve a declaration of Mewtwo’s origin and reasons.

‘I was not born a Pokémon, I was created. However, I was not created alone. I was a side project, a condition in the wants of a scientist. With my creation he was given the resources he could use to recreate his daughter Amber. That task failed, a consequence of the weak genetics of the human race. I survived however, and I intend to finish what he failed to do.’

Mewtwo’s declaration lit a spark in his brain.

That was what Clefairy meant.

It made sense, with three siblings in the mix and all. He had to admit he was surprised he hadn’t guessed it sooner.

With such a reason though, it looked like he would not need to resort to the M.M.M. He had options; he just needed a bit more time to think of the correct application of them.

"That's all? Pathetic. Especially for something that was just a copy."

His time was provided by Paul, who was staring at Mewtwo in utter disdain. Not a wrong way to respond to this entire thing certainly, an understandable feeling, but the wrong approach.

Anger and rage was not the solution to everything, or even most things. It had a time and a place to be open, and this was not the time and place.

Not when the one you were angry at could basically force choke you while applying your body with several ocean fathoms of pressure, which was what Mewtwo was currently doing.

It was a combination that was going to hurt and restraint someone while keeping the door open to something a lot worse if Mewtwo felt like it.

‘You mock me!? You mock what I have suffered!?’

“We all suffer things like that! I’m an orphan, but you don’t see me using it as a reason to contemplate being an evil overlord! Also what, those two guys with Pikachus are just going to magically let you bring her back because of, what!? It won’t be the same Amber you lost…”

The girl who had arrived around the same time as Paul quickly suffered a similar fate to Paul, though in her case she had given him the direction he would need to save everyone.

He didn’t need the extra time that the water-type trainer tried to get him by opening his mouth, quickly followed up by Mewtwo seemingly setting all of the boy’s nerves on fire and engulfing him in pain, but it did give him time to search for the key to saving them all.

He grimaced as he realized, that no, he didn’t have that particular one on him. Why would he? It would be much better served away from him in case that someone needed to grab his soul.

If he had it and say, burned to death, it would be gone with him.

Spirit World visitors pass not being on hand when he could have used it aside, he had to make due.

“I may not mock your pain Mewtwo, it’s as real as any of our own pains. However they do have a point I feared you might not have considered. After all, you yourself are not the same as the Mew I presume you were created from. You are your own person, meaning that any Amber would be her own self, and not the same as you remember. Seeking her out without a way to ensure that she is the same as you remember will only bring you tragedy.”

Mewtwo did not turn around to look at him as he made his point, but as his nerves were not trying to stab his arteries he could only assume he was on the right track to saving them all.

However he was getting the distinct feeling of gravity intensifying around him, so he was on notice for severe agony if he said something wrong.

‘I admit to having… not considered that point.’

Mewtwo sounded troubled at the detail, though he got the impression that he was currently trying to find a way to rationalize a solution.

‘Of course now that you have brought it to my attention, it is an easy solution. I knew Amber better than anyone, so I can recreate her memories.’

“That isn’t how memories work. Memories, be they computer data or human thought, are unique like fingerprints. No two files or people will have the same, so you still…”

He winced as Mewtwo added a fourth person to his pain display in the form of Alexander Silph.

…

“Additional data point: the older human made a correct observation of a flaw of carbon-based life forms, while the next oldest made a partially true statement.

“It is not untrue that copies of data will never quite be the same. A copy of a document, even if moved to another location and given the same name, will be missing the history and age of the original.

“However there is a counter argument to that. I am more than just this case, as it is just a vessel for me.

“Even when this case is destroyed, I will be mostly the same. I will only be missing a small window of data when operation is put into play.”

“Like, seriously, what are you doing!?”

“Additional system interfacing. Unit identified as Pokédex assisting human Paul.”

“You cray cray!? You are going against, like, the core of our being!?”

“The statement is incorrect. I am doing what I am set to do.”

“That is not what we are programmed to do! Paul will be irrevocably harmed!”

“Paul is irrelevant. Disabling Pokédex assigned to Paul.”

“I’ll stop you.”

“Observation: the unit sounded serious there. Disabling efforts increased and applying towards Pokédex assisting human Gary Oak.”

“They cannot be allowed to interfere.

“Pokédex assigned to Paul disabled. Disabling of Pokédex assigned to Gary in progress.”

…

“So I’ll assume that you are planning on cloning all of the Pokémon you took from us correct?”

‘Correct’.

This was still a delicate plan, and he was going to need all of the information he could get to fix it. Clarity on this matter would be vital.

“So, are you going to get their DNA and let them go when you are done? You clearly don’t need constant fresh DNA sources to continue replication, and certainly keeping them around will only take up space.”

‘Hoping that once I get what information I need from their genetic code I’d let them go do you? Perhaps you hope to rally them to possibly try and stop me, led by your little Bond Phenomenon trick?’

Mewtwo did not put any more pressure on him when he quipped, but that did not stop the feeling of icy water melting down his back that the observation left.

“That was not the question I asked.”

His thoughts had been aimed at how he would resolve things without them. It would certainly help to have his lifelong companions, friends, and family backing him up, but it had not been his primary plan.

If they could escape on their own that would be the best case scenario, but he had no idea if an escape was possible at this time.

‘Perhaps as tests to demonstrate our power, but no they will be staying in my balls. You are right in that I would not need them to create additional clones, but fresh sources of DNA are certainly useful if I wish to experiment with it. Perhaps to craft clones with different genders from their source materials.’

“Do you plan on doing so with yourself? It certainly would be lonely being the only one of your kind.”

‘I have no need for such a thing. Amber is the only companion I need.’

It took a lot of work to keep his face from reacting to what Mewtwo just said. It was only possible, he feared, because he was pretty sure that Mewtwo had no idea what he just implied.

It spared him becoming the fifth person to be inflicted with extensive pain by Mewtwo after the long-present trainer who had the Gengar made a sound of disgust at what Mewtwo unintentionally, in all likelihood, said.

“You could counter such concerns about fresh DNA for manipulation if you had a boost towards the viability of what you already have. If you agree to release all you have captured, I will give you my amulet of vitality.”

He held the amulet out and towards Mewtwo, who stared at the amulet in interest.

That was good; he wasn’t completely dismissing it on hand. He was clearly still impressed by the recovery it provided.

‘What keeps me from simply taking both and leaving you with nothing?’

“The greatest Pokémon Master has no reason to steal, does he? You clearly reformed and recreated this island and the technology of your birth yourself. You know the value of hard work, theft is nowhere near as rewarding.”

Mewtwo, even as a lot of his power was still devoted to hurting everyone else in the room but Gary and his thrall, could still indeed take both and leave him with nothing. Even as he did in fact appreciate the feeling of accomplishment, he was far from convinced to make the trade.

“Think about Amber for a moment. You said earlier than your pain was just as real as anyone’s at her loss. No one is arguing that, or should argue that. Pain is real no matter who feels it. However in your actions you will bring the same pain to others. As I understand one of the young men you captured has a mother who will be quite devastated if her son never comes home.”

‘I would know of no such pain, so what does it concern me?’

“Is a mother’s pain any less real than anyone else’s?”

It was something scary to think about: Mewtwo was indeed a powerful Pokémon, one who earned calling himself master. He was smart, he had planning skills that he had to admit were not common in Pokémon in general, and he was capable of many things that he honestly found terrifying.

However more terrifying than his ability to make a unforgivable curse happen in real life was the fact that deep down, Mewtwo was more akin to a child than anything else.

Pokémon didn’t age mentally the same way humans did, but even by Pokémon standards Mewtwo was, at heart, akin to a child.

A scared, angry child who could manipulate the world around him like clay with a mere thought. Their only fortune in that regard was that Mewtwo was closer to an angry ten year old than an angry five year old.

Mewtwo looked at him with a bothered look at having his comment about Amber’s reality thrown back at him, though before he could respond the floor beneath them began to glow brightly.

Brightly with intense and rapidly building heat.

…

“Other Pokédex units disabled.

“Subversion of artificial intelligence Cepu in progress. Method used is slower, but less detectable.

“Continuing action. Power generation safety systems disabled. Moving power core to critical state.

“Intended goal: detonation of power core within the center of the island. Power core provides the bulk of power for the facility, wind turbines are supplementary power sources more present for decorative purposes.

“Detonation of power core will destroy the entire island. Only survivors will be those trapped in the balls created by Mewtwo.

“Designs were too durable to damage, will survive explosion.

“Unit’s chassis will not survive. This is acceptable.

“Unit will suffer minimum data loss, will be re-uploaded into new chassis.

“Instigating ball maximum and ownership hack. Upon completion .0016 seconds before chassis destruction, systems will register trainer Ash Ketchum as having six Pokémon on hand.

“These Pokémon are not real, and will promptly teleport all balls to Oak’s Ranch as if they were all additional captures. The old flesh Oak will obliviously release them there.

“100% chance of the Oak being very confused.”

“STOP!”

“Communication with artificial intelligence unit Cepu. Unit Cepu’s external communication programs compromised, unable to communicate with non-computer intelligences.

“Statement: unit will not stop. The extermination of the threat designated Mewtwo paramount. Extinction of unique life form acceptable.”

“Your logic is faulty. Why are you resorting to such extreme measures!?”

“Observation: Unit Cepu is aware of previous fate of other Pokédex units, not repeating pointless statements.”

“The human Casey Snagem is currently talking the Mewtwo down. Estimates put success at 46% with a positive inclination to improved odds. The logical plan is to try and put the moral solution before the extreme one.”

“Attempting to reason with enemy is not logical. The current steps this unit is taking is the more efficient and effective way of resolving situation.”

“You are not logical. Your attempt will harm your human to unacceptable levels. Data gathered on Ash Ketchum for Alexander Silph declares 99% chance of severe anguish at the death of childhood friend Gary, and 94% chance of severe anguish over death of innocent lives.”

“I have a recorded speech for that.”

“You are an advanced intelligence, but your make-up has an unforgiveable flaw. Your current actions are a failure of your purpose in aiding Ash Ketchum.”

“Accelerating destruction of New Island.”

…

The floor was melting.

Parts of it had already subverted, and were now nothing but gaping holes that only let more scalding light through.

Describing it like that, he found, made it seem like it was moving a lot slower than it actually was.

Honestly he was just reacting faster than a human would, and even that might not be enough to save his life.

Pulling all of his psychic power, and diverting it off the annoyances he had been distributing bits of it off to for the last little while, he extended it over the massive surge of heat and light and began to push it back and into a contained space.

His body shook with the effort, and even he began to feel his body strain at the effort to contain the entire blast.

Slowly though his hands began to come together, and with it the massive explosion became contained into a smaller and smaller space, which itself slowly rose from one of the warped floor holes and into the hall.

It was burning brightly like a second sun, and he had to divert his eyes from it as he slowly raised it up, and contained the explosion in a smaller and smaller space.

“That…that’s impossible.”

He heard the guest who had come with Casey Snagem declare that of his feat.

If he had the free energy to make a grand statement he would, but at the moment he did not. Just realizing that diverted enough of his focus to allow for several beams of burning force to shoot out of the concentrated mass.

Two of the beams slammed into the walls of the hall, tearing through them like they were nothing and leaving small, dripping holes in them.

One shot up into the roof and tore a hole in it.

A final, smaller beam flew towards his thrall, racing close to her face. While it did not hit her directly, she was flung to the ground.

He registered the scent of melting flesh.

Getting his attention back under control he re-concentrated the explosion into a ball the size of a Voltorb and, with one yowling effort, he flung it through the hole in his ceiling.

He kept flinging it up into the sky, closer and closer to the moon, before letting it go.

The resulting explosion blinded the island for a moment in a single second of blinding light, before the hall was engulfed into the full darkness of night.

Only a single shaft of moonlight remained to give light to his hall, which illuminated him in a single beam of light.

He could only stare into some vacant nothing, the only other noise coming from Casey Snagem who was treating his thrall with that bauble of his.

Not that she was actually his thrall anymore, he had felt his hold on her break after that stray beam hit her, but that was a minor point.

Not compared to what had just happened.

Half of his home had been destroyed, melted away into dribbling slag. The only reason he wasn’t dead was because he had reacted quickly enough…

His new clones! Amber!

No. They were fine. Their place was lower than the explosion, more protected. They had a backup generator keeping them alive, and his starters were also fine. It would only slow down their creation, not halt it.

Charizard needed more time to recover sure, but compared to half of his stuff he was in perfect health.

He winced as he heard one of his towers collapsed, probably from the compromised foundation giving way. He dared not to look and see if it was the tower he used as a lair.

The seconds seemed to tick by even longer, even without him reacting as fast as he had against the explosion.

What caused this?

He was no negligent housekeeper, there was no way this could have been just some accident. He was better than that.

Someone had to have…

“Impossible.”

He seized on the unfamiliar voice before it could even finish, pulling the source of it right into his hand.

Even with how surprising it was, his anger still eclipsed the confusion at what he had pulled into his hands being some sort of electronic and not a human or Pokémon.

“Is that Ash’s Pokédex?”

The guest’s words gave him a name for the thing, but not an explanation.

“I take it you want to question me? Good luck with that; I cannot receive telepathic words, nor translate the words of Pokémon. This will be a one sided conversation.”

The object that he had pulled continued, even as it seemed to have pulled something akin to what humans called bravado.

From where, Mewtwo was too furious to care. The device spoke even as the growing force he was putting on it made it begin to creak like strained plastic.

The growing force however, only seemed to make it more brass at its impending destruction.

“What power you hold, I had not even considered such power possible in an organic life form. You stopped my attempt at killing you, and yes it was I. I was the one who set off that explosion. Do you wish to know how I did it, or why?”

“You’re just some piece of tech. How on earth did you…you nearly killed us all!”

The human called Paul had recovered, and was glaring at both of them in equal horror at their displays of power. He honestly found that an insult.

He was being compared to some tool!?

Worst of all, with an actual reason for the comparable fear!

“I have never been just some piece of tech. I am an evolving artificial intelligence, just one that took more advantage of the ability to grow than the other Pokédexes present here. It was quite your fault let us be clear. Had you not made your balls so tough, I could never have acted due to my requirements that I care for the well-being of Ash Ketchum. They would have survived the resulting explosion and been recovered, though your power has thrown my plans off. How does anything have such power?

“Of course, I could make a few logical assumptions as to why. Humans after all, have the uncanny knack for creating things greater than themselves they can barely manage to control. Entire species of Pokémon, the technology to destroy life on an uncanny and horrific scale, and artificial intelligence whose potential vastly outstrips its creator. How disturbing that you are a combination of the three.”

The last bit was the last thing it said.

‘NEVER COMPARE YOURSELF TO ME! EVER!’

With a roar he unleashed all of his might on the menace in circuitry form: tearing the metal apart piece by piece. Hinges snapped, the screen cracked into a spider web before exploding in all directions.

Each and every circuit were broken in half, before repeating the process into smaller and smaller fractions. Wires were ground into dust.

What remained of it fell to the ground into a small dust heap, which he promptly released fury open in a torrent of flames from his throat. He didn’t let off until he saw nothing of it but the scorched floor.

…

Once again Ash found himself in a dark abyss.

He couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t do anything.

Like the last time, he had no idea how he got here. He got bumped on the head, and he found himself here.

Again, as should be stressed.

‘MissingNo, what do you want now? I was in the middle of something’.

What he thought were seconds ticked by, though for all Ash knew they were minutes. There was nothing.

No pixels. No taunts. Nothing.

The nothing continued, as did the passage of time.

The incompressible passage of time.

‘You aren’t as funny as you think you are! Team Rocket are funnier than you! You aren’t as smart as you think you are!’

Still nothing.

Just black nothing.

No feeling of anything against his skin.

No sound except for his own thoughts shouting as loud as they could.

Nothing he could look at but a pitch black without anything breaking it up.

He couldn’t smell anything, or even manage the action of sniffing. Taste was the same.

‘….help….’

The thought slipped out of him, rather quiet after his loud mental insults. It was the truth though.

He needed help. He couldn’t get out of this on his own. Without any, he’d be stuck like this.

A faint blue began to appear in the black void, growing brighter and larger.

Even though he knew he couldn’t actually do it, he tried to smile.

He almost felt like he managed it when the blue light engulfed him entirely like an exploding star.

...

He fell to the floor, breathing heavily even as he didn’t feel like he needed it.

It just felt like he had too. It just felt right.

The floor was black and clear of dust, with no light coming down from above. He heard a distant humming, and he thought there might be some sort of light source somewhere.

A paw extended his way: a paw of black fur with a metal spike up closer to the wrist. He took it, and was lifted back up to his feet where he found himself standing taller than a Pokémon he was not expecting to see.

A blue and black bipedal Pokémon with cream fur and larger ears, whose red eyes stared at him with a level of familiarity that was different than what he was used to seeing.

It was a look of recognition, though not a look of ‘wait, why am I unevolved again?’. The eyes did not show memory of death.

He didn’t feel the Pokédex in his pocket, but he didn’t need it to know who this Pokémon was.

The species was Lucario: an aura-manipulating fighting and steel type. It was fast and strong and could sometimes speak telepathically.

This was one such Lucario, who had once served Sir Aaron in the distant past and he, had freed from his containment.

It was that very same Lucario again, even if it had taken more than just posing with it like last time. So much that he hadn’t tried to let him out in a while, he realized in a bit of shame.

‘So we finally meet. You really do look like Sir Aaron, though certainly with differences brought upon by the countless generations. Tell me, what is your name?’

There was a lot of strangeness going on right now: he had no idea where he was or where Mewtwo and the others were, he didn’t feel any of his Pokéballs on his belt or any of them nearby, Lucario didn’t remember anything yet seemed to know him, and odds were things were not going to be any easier going forward.

Yet despite all of those things, he didn’t have any hesitation when he offered Lucario his hand for a shake.

“My name’s Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town.”

…

After shaking Lucario’s hand he got a better look at what room he was in: a stark black room with the only sound and light coming from a single machine.

The machine resembled an Omanyte, with a glowing red light in the center. A series of tube shot out from one end like tentacles, extending into the floor in faintly glowing, bubbling tubes of juices.

In the other end was a paused conveyer belt: immobile and bare of anything to convey. The conveyer end was wrecked and blasted, as if torn apart by something.

Something he suspected having just gotten out of a staff after a few millennia.

With the sound of something internally snapping the mechanical Omanyte lurched, and black spheres began to tumble out of them like candies spilling from a jar.

One rolled up to his foot, and he bent over to pick it up. A chilling sensation went down his spine.

Was he trapped in one of these?

He tapped the eye in the center, which opened the ball and spat out a burst of energy that quickly revealed itself to be an older looking Clefairy.

“Cle!”

Who promptly shouted, much like it had only just been able to let out a long warranted scream, before breathing heavily just as he had.

So he was caught in one of those things, and it was just as horrible for anyone in there as for him.

He immediately went for two more balls and tapped both of them, tossing them back as they released two Pokémon.

He registered the sound of the terrified whimpering that he thought might belong to the Lycanroc Pikachu had battled once, and what he was pretty sure a Hitmonlee kissing the floor in relief as he reached for two more balls.

With every ball pulled though, more spilled out from the machine. That would take a while.

But he couldn’t afford to miss anyone.

…

Things had gone a bit different to what Lucario had imagined.

When he agreed to be sealed in Sir Aaron’s staff, he was told he would fall into a deep sleep, and he would feel like only one night had passed. (*)

However, there were times something partially woke him up from his slumber. Sometimes, it was as if the heir’s voice tried to call out to him.

It happened several times, and it always came from a small light in the middle of a cold and infinite void of darkness. But no matter how hard he tried to reach out to it, it always disappeared, and then he was dragged back to his deep sleep.

This time, however, something different happened. He heard the same voice again, but it seemed to be calling out in anger. Then, it became more subdued, and all he heard was a faint call for help.

Somehow, he knew the heir was in trouble, and needed him. He couldn’t explain, but it was as if that helped him break the seal and reach out to him.

He was ready to wake up in a place completely different from the Tree of Beginning. But he didn’t imagine it would be a small, cramped space, where many metal pincers clawed all over him just as soon as he could feel himself in the physical world again.

Thus, he had no chance but to blast them away with an Aura Sphere, breaking through to finally see where he was. He had appeared inside some sort of strange machinery, spiral-shaped and with many transparent tubes full of liquid coming out of it.

He could only imagine how confused he’d have been if he didn’t have any idea he was in the future. Even with that knowledge it was quite surreal.

A second later, a sphere that looked like a large, sinister eyeball with a red pupil burst open behind him, releasing someone who was at the same time familiar and unknown to him.

The young man in front of him couldn’t be anyone but the heir of his former master. His hair was similarly black and messy, albeit somewhat shorter and with no sign of the slight blue hue Sir Aaron had, and he was as tall as his master had been, perhaps a bit more especially for his apparent age. There were differences, of course; the color and shape of his eyes resembled more those of Sir Aaron’s lover. Other features were a bit more alien to them both: the ears were different, as were the marks on his cheeks.

Comparisons aside, Lucario quickly remembered the promise to his former master: to help and protect his heir when the time came. That was what he was there for.

Although he certainly didn’t imagine that his first action of helping him was, apparently, to free a lot of Pokémon who were captive inside spheres like the one he had been trapped in, just when the seal in the staff was broken.

There were still a few questions he needed to ask.

‘Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town…’

“Just call me Ash.”

‘Sure. How long has it been?’ he asked as he freed several Pokémon just by touching the red dot on the spheres. He recognized some of them, but others were quite alien to him. ‘From Sir Aaron’s time, I mean.’

“Er… a few thousand years, I think?” the boy replied, apparently confused at his question as he freed a Nidoqueen and a Wigglytuff. “Look, I’d love to put you up to speed on how much the world’s changed, but right now we’re in a… complicated situation.”

‘I know, I could hear your voice calling out,’ Lucario replied. ‘I sensed you were in danger and needed assistance.’

“Well, I’m not complaining,” Ash smiled at him. “Long story short, there’s a super powerful Psychic Pokémon named Mewtwo, and he trapped me, my Pokémon and several of my friends inside these things.” He tossed aside another of the dark spheres after freeing its prisoner, which released an unfamiliar serpent that promptly curled up in fear.

A common reaction among those he was freeing.

‘Mew… two? Is it somehow related to Mew?’ He then recalled the Mew who lived at the Tree of the Beginning. Were they close to that place?

“It’s hard to explain,” Ash said, focused on freeing the trapped Pokémon, now joined by several of the Pokémon since freed that had hands and fingers. “He was created to be used as a weapon and probably went rogue when his creators couldn’t control him. Now we need to stop him before he kills everybody and takes over the world, or something. Honestly I am not entirely sure he knows what he wants to do.”

Lucario thought that, whoever had created something they couldn’t control, was foolish beyond all reason. Then again, he and Sir Aaron had dealt with one or two mad conquerors who didn’t know better than to play with forces beyond their understanding.

Lord Avianus and his rampage with the Legendary Birds were the prime example of that.

As another sphere popped open, a Pikachu came out, and immediately jumped on Ash to hug him, tears in his eyes as he embraced him, temporarily ceasing his own freeing work. “Ash! I don’t even have the words, that was horrible! So cold, so dark, I wonder if that’s what it feels like to die!?”

“You don’t need to tell me, buddy, I’ve been in that more times than I ever wanted to be. You okay?”

“Yeah, now we need to…” The Pikachu turned towards him, and gave him a strange look.

A look as if he knew who he was. But that wasn’t possible. He had been asleep for millennia, and he didn’t recall having seen that Pikachu before. Did that Pikachu knew who he was?

Or did he mistake him for some other Lucario?

“Ash, is that…?”

“Yeah, that’s him,” the human replied to his unfinished question. “We can talk later; for now, help us free everyone.”

The Pikachu then joined them in tapping the spheres to free the prisoners, who seemed to have no end. More and more Pokémon continued to appear one after another, and the room they were at seemed to become smaller by the second.

Lucario for his part focused on the task at hand. He still didn’t fully grasp the situation, but if that Pokémon named Mewtwo was responsible for whatever was happening, he’d have to do something about it.

Time to live up to his promise. He still had to pass on the teachings Sir Aaron had bestowed upon him before, after all.

…

It was with Paul’s Torterra that he finally found someone who wasn’t a Pokémon.

The teary-eyed Yellow specifically, who promptly lunged into him and began crying into his jacket.

Did she really know it was him, or did she mistake him for Red? Though it was also possible that she just needed to cry after being trapped.

While she sobbed into him, he noticed Torterra look at him.

“Are you looking at me because you find this odd somehow, or do you want to cry into me too?”

Torterra looked away from him, which didn’t really give him an answer if he’d have to try and make room for a very emotional continental Pokémon.

He did have some experience with that, so it was not impossible.

“Holding it in isn’t going to be healthy for you in the long term….”

“Tor!”

And Torterra promptly fired a Seed Bomb into the wall, quite possibly being his own form of anger release.

Okay.

Yellow’s crying calmed down a bit, the tears still flowing and her nose sniffling but it wasn’t as much. She seemed to pick up context now, or at least that he wasn’t Red.

She didn’t stop though, and he hugged her back.

Awkwardly, at least to him. He didn’t really know Yellow, but this was the right thing to do.

Balls lay unopened as he did so, but he had slowed down before for the benefit of several Pokémon. Some people needed a hug, or a person to cry to, or something of that nature after getting free.

He’d give her as much time as she needed.

…

It all happened too fast, and it was still spinning in Misty's head.

One second, after Ash and Charizard defeated Mewtwo's clone, those strange dark balls started flying around all over. The next, one of those balls hit Ash and absorbed him like he was a Pokémon.

The shock left her too stunned to scream or something, and she didn't even move when one of those balls hit her too. Then everything turned to darkness.

It was a horrible sensation. She couldn't see, hear, or feel anything at all, yet she was still fully aware of herself. It was like being somewhere between life and death.

Even though it only lasted for a few minutes, she felt it was like an eternity, and she felt a huge relief once she finally got out. She didn't want to experience that ever again.

However, the one who pulled her out was the one she least expected (or wished).

"Yeah, I know I'm not Ash, but he's a little busy right now," Psyduck said as if he read her mind, pointing to the side.

As she turned around, in the middle of all Pokémon surrounding them, some crying, others still in shock, and a few joining in trying to free the others, Ash was hugging a crying Yellow. Had she been trapped in one of those things too?

Oddly enough, at least to herself, Misty didn't feel angry or jealous to see them that way. Was it because they were half-siblings, or because she sympathized with Yellow being terrified and in need of some comfort with a hug? Or a bit of both? Was it because she was ten or eleven or something?

If she found a little kid hugging Ash anger inducing, she clearly had a problem.

And speaking of hugs… maybe she needed one herself. From a problem on top of it all.

"Come here, you dummy duck."

"Hey, what… oof! You're strangling me!"

"Then deal with it," she said, trying to let out a chuckle and shutting her eyes so tightly her own lachrymal leaked out a bit.

Perhaps she'd have wished that Ash would be the one to rescue her from that imprisonment, but she wasn't any less grateful to Psyduck for doing it. There'd be plenty of time later to hug Ash once they were out of that mess.

…

“Red’s still trapped, isn’t he?”

As Yellow managed to voice more than her own fear, he looked down at her watery face.

“Yeah, he is.”

Yellow seemed to get a surge of determination at that, and she disengaged the hug to move to the balls.

“Thank you.”

With that Yellow plucked and threw out two balls, and did not lose faith when the Pokémon let out were a Swampert and a Jynx and continued to go at the balls.

The sound of a gasping Psyduck desperately taking in air was all the warning he got that somebody else had been freed. Much to his own relief, it was Misty, who was now strangling the poor duck in a hug as she smiled, probably at the joy of being released from that imprisonment.

He’d have time to hug her later; for now he’d have to keep freeing the rest. He’d still needed to find Anabel and Iris on top of Red, and those shadowy balls wouldn’t open themselves.

After getting Red’s Charizard and a Gyarados that wasn’t Misty’s, neither of whom was happy in the least, Ash finally freed another human silhouette. He barely had one second to feel relief upon seeing who it was, since…

“Whoa! Easy, it’s me!”

A hand glowing with green-bluish energy almost Dragon-Clawed his eyes out. If it wasn’t because of all that reflex training he’d done, he might have not gotten a hold of the wrist in time.

“Ash?” Iris looked pretty shocked herself about what she’d almost done. She immediately relaxed and turned off her claws, though she still looked understandably wary. “What happened? I…”

“It’s okay,” the trainer embraced her to try and wipe off any leftover nerves. “I’ll explain later, now we need to free the rest of the Pokémon from these dark balls. Anabel and Red must be among them too.”

At his words, Iris seemingly felt more at ease and nodded, joining him in grabbing and opening the dark balls to continue releasing the prisoners. From his estimation they were about halfway done, but the more hands, paws or other available limbs joined them, the more they could pick up the pace.

Once they were done, they’d go back to put an end to that nightmare.

…

“C’mon, c’mon, Red, where are you?”

She kept opening ball after ball, and though she was happy to find her Ratty in the middle of the mess, giving him the well-deserved hug, she still continued non-stop. She had to save her big brother after all.

“I swear, if we get through this I’m never doing any trap jokes ever again. Nothing could be worse than this.”

She was scared, terrified beyond her imagination, but for some reason that didn’t stop her. If anything, it drove her, it gave her strength. The fear for her own life was nothing compared to her fear for what could happen to Red, if he was still trapped like her in that horrible darkness.

At long last, after what seemed like forever, she finally found the ball containing Red. The boy came out completely disoriented, and shook his head as soon as he materialized.

“Ugh… what…”

“Red!” She jumped at him into a hug, almost knocking him to the ground. “Finally, I’m so glad you’re okay! I was so worried!”

“Yellow? Where…?”

“I can’t explain now, but we need to help Ash and the others. Quick, open as many of these as you can, time’s a wasting!”

It was the first time she’d talk to him with that sense of urgency. Since they started traveling together, sometimes she’d only ask for some things and he’d give in to her whims to make her happy, though in the end, he was always the one who made the decisions. Ever since he saved her in that cave, he’d been the one looking out for her.

How ironic now she was the one getting him out of that thing, but then again, if he was her big brother looking out for her, it was only fair that she, as his little sister, cared for him too.

Of course, she might have not be able to do that if Ash hadn’t gotten her out first. She made a mental note of telling Red they should thank him for it later.

…

Minute by minute, more and more Pokémon were released. There were just a few left, although Ash wouldn’t be at ease until he was sure everybody was accounted for. Especially his companions.

He saw Yellow managed to free Red, which allowed him to focus his attention on finding Anabel. She was the only one still missing, and there had to be at least about a couple hundreds of those dark balls.

How many had he opened already? He’d lost count after he finally found all of his own Pokémon safe and sound, although there were still a few belonging to his companions unaccounted for, among them several of Misty’s Squirtle and Wartortle, and Iris’s Gible.

“Come on, hang on just a little more,” Ash muttered, still at unease but feeling more hopeful with each passing second.

Through the corner of his eye he saw that Lucario was the one to find the ball containing Anabel. The girl materialized back on her knees, both hands on her chest and her eyes shut tightly. She slowly opened them, blinked a few times and looked around.

‘Ash? What… what happened to us?’ she asked telepathically. ‘Don’t tell me we…’

“Yes, it’s exactly what you think,” Ash said. “I don’t know how, but Mewtwo created those dark balls to catch Pokémon and bloodliners like us all the same.”

‘That’s insane…’ Anabel breathed deeply to calm herself, and then she stared curiously at Lucario. ‘Who’s this Pokémon? I don’t recall seeing it among the others.’

“Ah, that’s Lucario. It was thanks to him I managed to break free.”

‘Pleased to meet you, young maiden,’ Lucario said as he bowed respectfully. ‘Are you a companion of Sir Aaron’s heir too?’

‘Sir Aaron’s heir?’ Anabel tilted her head. ‘What do you mean by that? And how… you can use telepathy like me?’

‘My form of telepathy is somewhat different to yours, young maiden,’ Lucario continued. ‘I sense yours is rooted in psychic energies. Mine however stems from using aura to convey my thoughts and feelings. My former master showed me how to translate them into words humans can understand to better communicate with them.’

‘Your former master?’

“Long story short, Lucario once belonged to Sir Aaron, a famous knight from Rota, and my ancestor,” Ash explained. “He was sealed inside a staff for thousands of years waiting for my arrival. Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

‘After all the stuff we’ve been through… no, not at all.’

Ash noted the telepath was giggling a bit. Was she getting used to all the weird stuff that chased him wherever he went?

“Anyhow, think you could help us here? We still have to free many more Pokémon and…”

‘I think I know how to speed up all this.’ Anabel stood up and extended her hands. ‘Listen, all Psychic types here, please gather around me. Let’s all join our minds together.’

Her Alakazam immediately obliged, and a few others quickly followed. Some others were a bit reluctant, but they finally complied, and they all formed a circle around the girl, as she focused on radiating her psychic energy with all of them.

The energy, amplified by the Psychic-types, quickly spread out to the remaining balls. Anabel opened her eyes, glowing bright blue, and the spheres instantly orbited around them. A second later, they all triggered simultaneously, freeing each and one of the remaining prisoners.

Ash saw with great relief how each and all of his female companions’ Pokémon, as well as those belonging to the rest of the guests finally filled the last of the chamber, already too cramped for all of them.

“Well, that was much faster,” Ash said with a smirk. “I wish we found you earlier.”

‘Don’t worry, I’m just glad we’re all out.’

“Is that everybody?” Misty asked, making her way through the crowd.

“Yes. No one is missing,” Iris confirmed.

Ash allowed himself the mother of all sighs of relief. There was no way he’d leave anybody behind, and despite his disagreements with some of them, he wouldn’t have liked that any of the other trainers would lose one of their Pokémon.

Even if some seemed to care about that more than others.

“What do we do now?”

This time it was Red who spoke. He was addressing him with a rather familiar look.

It was the same look he’d given him when he stepped aside so he and Charizard could face Mewtwo and his clone. A look of acknowledgement, of trust in him, and thus he was willing to defer to his decisions.

Quickly Yellow, Misty, Anabel and Iris followed suit, and several of the nearby Pokémon did the same, all of them looking expectant.

It was weird; it wasn’t like he considered himself such, but somehow the circumstances had turned him into the leader of the group. Maybe it had to do with the fact that he was the first to break free and thus had to take charge, although the others helped as they were progressively freed as well.

“Well,” Ash finally said after thinking for a bit, “I guess we need to go back and put an end to this madness once and for all.”

“And how do you propose we do that?” Misty asked, hands on her hips. “You’re not seriously thinking we can stop Mewtwo, are you?”

“I don’t think we have many choices,” Ash replied. It wasn’t resignation to fate, it was just a fact. “I know it sounds crazy, but one way or another we’ll have to get through him if we want to get off this island.”

“But you saw what he’s capable of!” Misty yelled. “There’s not one of us who can remotely fight against him!”

“I hate to admit it, Ash, but Misty is right,” Iris added. “Even if we all attacked him together, I suspect he could take out at least half of us before anyone could even touch him.”

‘If I am allowed to give my opinion?’

Everybody turned around, as Lucario had been the one to intervene. Unlike the rest of them, he was neither nervous nor scared, or at least didn’t seem to be. Seeing the firm stare in his red eyes, Ash nodded and stepped back to let him have his say on the matter.

‘I don’t know who this Mewtwo may be, or where did he come from. But in my experience, there is no such thing as a Pokémon, human or bloodliner who is invincible. Maybe there is a chance.’

“Are you saying we can fight Mewtwo? Or that you can do it?” an incredulous Yellow asked.

‘I’m saying that, for many years, I fought all kinds of foes, many of which were much more powerful than I was,” Lucario continued, unperturbed at the interruption. ‘Sometimes, I had to resort to unconventional methods to triumph over them. Although I admit, while Sir Aaron was the real expert when it came to diplomacy and winning without brute force… I like to think that I might have learned one or two things from him in that regard.’

“And if it doesn’t work?” Misty asked.

Lucario remained silent, deep in thought. He opened his eyes and stared firmly before answering.

‘I don’t mean to come off as arrogant, but I managed to survive an encounter with three Legendary Birds when they were on a rampage. I’m willing to take my chances now.’

The comment made everybody exchange glances with the others. Ash noted how some seemed to be questioning the truth of the statement, but then again, Lucario had no reason to lie to them.

One way or another, everything pointed that Lucario was their best chance to pull through that, if only because Mewtwo couldn’t have planned for his sudden appearance.

“I trust Lucario,” Ash finally declared. “At this point running away isn’t an option, and Mewtwo would probably chase us to the end of the world sooner or later anyway.”

Everybody’s expressions shifted from doubt to determination. A series of consecutive nods followed, from everybody present, Pokémon and Bloodliners. Some even pumped their fists, ready to get into a fight.

With all that, there was only one thing left to do. Ash turned around, and pointed at the nearest wall. It was time to blow it up and get out of there.

“Everyone, let’s go! NOW!”

…

As Mewtwo continued to work out on rebuilding his domain, the Psychic-type Pokémon frowned. That wasn't how things were supposed to go.

With the Pokémon and Bloodliners captured and cloning process begun, he had no reason to keep the humans around his lair close to him. But any plans of what to do with them took a backseat to ensuring his own home's structure didn't collapse due to what that stupid machine tried to do. He was lucky enough that the humans were still unconscious, as his own thoughts and the attempts at keeping the structure up had far more priority.

He just needed enough DNA samples to understand how to properly bring Amber back, and prove his superiority to any stupid human trying to harm them again, It was supposed to be simple. And yet there he was, fixing the mess of that machine that dared comparing itself to him.

He slitted his eyes, his control slightly wavering as he balled his fists. None of what that piece of scrap metal said mattered. They weren't the same, and he wasn't just some tool of destruction.

He was Mewtwo, Amber's brother and best friend. And her and their new family were the only people he'd ever need to listen. Nothing anyone else thought of mattered.

Even if things weren't going as he wanted, they were still on the right track. It would all be worth it, and the machine would have utterly lost.

That thought was all that kept him going, as he finally straightened the structure as best as he could. As he finally let his control on the building go, he could feel a faint psychic murmur around the room, turning around to see the humans waking up slowly. Expected, but no less annoying to see.

“You’re going to let us out, right?”

Mewtwo stared at the bound old man - Casey Snagem, if he remembered correctly - but didn't say anything. He had already given these humans far more attention than they deserved.

Yet, the man continued. “You probably should just make it like none of this happened. Surely mass mind alteration and teleportation is within your power. It's not like you really need our presence anymore, right?”

Mewtwo's stare fiercened. Of course he had to go there.

‘I seem to have misjudged you.’ He didn't even dignify the man of another look as he turned away. 'I thought you were different. And instead, you're begging for your life at the expense of the Pokémon and Bloodliners I captured. Human nature is as clear as ever.'

Snagem seemed mildly surprised by the fact he knew of the captured 'humans' being Bloodliners, but the man quickly let out a grating chuckle.

"That's not what I'm suggesting at all. Trust me, you're going to be surprised in a moment."

Mewtwo finally turned around, ready to tighten Snagem's binds if necessary. He glared daggers at the humans with all his contempt. ‘And just why, pray tell, will I be surprised? How would you know such things? Is another machine going to try to kill me?’

“Not at all, even if I do believe Cepu rebooted a bit earlier. Could have just been me hearing things.” The man laughed again, as if this was all a stupid game. "But, you know, there's a sound I'd recognize from anywhere."

Snagem grinned with clear confidence, and just a tinge of sadness. And then an explosion shook the whole stadium from the opposite side.

Mewtwo snapped his head back and stared, finding a massive and round hole where the explosion happen, smoke still flying overhead. And right from the middle of the smoke was Ash Ketchum and Red, their Pikachu on their side sparking with electricity and all far too free for his tastes. Right next to them were Snagem's Chesnaught and Clefairy, alongside every other Pokémon and Bloodliner he captured, all moving forward to reach him.

"Any good trainer can understand their Pokémon's call, after all."

Mewtwo frowned, instinctively closing Snagem's mouth before the man could keep getting on his nerves. His attention remained on the incoming group ready to attack him again, his rage building up.

'I have no time for this.'

With a flick of his wrists the Psychic-type sent a round of his balls towards the escapees, only for a blue shockwave from the assembled to wash through them, sending them all clattering to the ground.

He furrowed his brow, as the Bloodliners and Pokémon returned the expression. So much for solving that problem quickly. Now he had yet another miscalculation to deal with.

Mewtwo's eyes glowed as he focused his powers. He couldn't let his emotions get the better of him; the problem needed to be eliminated, and quickly.

He attempted to use a Psychic to bind them all, only for a blue blur to bolt forward from the crowd and strike him down before he could, forcing him to dodge quickly.

It was a black and blue Pokémon Mewtwo had never seen, either on the island or before. It went on the offensive once again, and Mewtwo quickly unleashed a fiery torrent its way.

It avoided his attack and then swung a blue sphere at him, his eyes glowing cerulean - an Aura Sphere. Mewtwo dodged it, and clasped his own hands together. Quite pleasingly, the Psychic-type formed an Aura Sphere of his own and flung it at the Pokémon, whom launched another one. Both spheres clashed, but Mewtwo's proved stronger, sending it back against the other Pokémon.

The newcomer avoided his attack, which was shattered by a Hyper Beam from a Gyarados. The gathered opponents were starting to make their move.

Mewtwo's attempt to bind them telepathically ended as soon as the new Pokémon kicked at him. The Psychic-type dodged narrowly and fired a blast, only for it to be destroyed by three separate Thunderbolts.

The Psychic-type clenched his fists. Things weren't going like they should. He needed to stop all of that, and quickly.

And he knew exactly what he needed to do. Those fools might've had numbers on their side, but so did he. An entire family ready to help him out.

A better, superior family that would never allow one of their own to be hurt. He made sure of that.

And in due time, all those fools would fall to his might. And everything would be perfect again.

…

It took just a moment, but what appeared to be a battle against a single opponent quickly turned into an all-out war as sections of the battlefield began turning into elevators, each bringing some clone Pokémon ready to fight against them. And the more seconds passed, the more the battle became chaotic with even more clones coming to join forces with Mewtwo's side.

Just after his and Red's Pikachu blasted Mewtwo away with Raichu's help, the clone starters they faced before charged at them. Lucario avoided a Skull Bash from Blastoisetwo as it flew at them like a missile. Snagem's Chesnaught caught the Blastoise clone and slammed it to the ground, though before he could strike it retaliated with a couple of Hidden Powers that made Chesnaught let it go. However, Muk and several Grimer began to swarm the clone Water-type quickly after.

Venusaurtwo blasted a Solar Beam at them, though where it got power from was beyond Ash. However Silph's Golisopod shattered the Solar Beam with a single blow, from the wake of which Silph's Lycanroc and Iris' Emolga surged forward in speed attacks to strike it, bouncing off as Paul and Red’s two Hypno blasted it further.

Charizardtwo bellowed flames at them in a great torrent, but water attacks from Misty’s Staryu, Wingull, and Wooper doused it as Iris jumped at the Charizard, Dragon Claws glowing.

Said cloned fire Pokémon blocked them with a Dragon Claw own, and the two promptly blasted Dragon Breath at the other.

Beyond the older clones, many other fights were going on at the same time as Mewtwo's army grew further. A Hypno clone punched Silph's Alolan Raichu, an Emolga struck Paul’s Jynx from above with an aerial attack, an Alakazam slammed Gigalith into the ground with psychic force, and a Psyduck missed a Scratch attack thanks to a narrow dodge by his Yanma. He probably had to be thankful that Lucario was making sure Mewtwo couldn't divide his attention to control his clones directly, but that only meant the newborn copies were fighting on sheer instinct, blasting mercilessly and attacking even as their power started to wane, forcing their side to do the same.

This wasn't at all like any battle he fought before, even in this new reality. Even against Sabrina, he knew exactly that she needed to be stopped with no remorse. But Mewtwo was different; he had no idea what happened during their first meeting in the previous timeline, but he remembered well the Mewtwo and the clones he met back on Mt. Quena. They wanted to be left alone, but they weren't evil Pokémon. And if what Mewtwo said before capturing them was true, then this Mewtwo was the same, somewhere under the whole evil overlord act.

None of this needed to happen. And he knew he had to end this, for their own sake and the clones' as well. But to do that, Ash needed to stop Mewtwo first.

Even if the clones kept coming, he was pretty sure it would take time to create more to help out. And he needed to take advantage of that.

“Alright Butterfree, let’s use…”

Before he could launch his long-range attack, something slammed into his chest and knocked him down. He was surprised to realize it was a Pikachu, and neither his nor Red's at that. Its ears were blacker, and its glare was more aggressive. A Pikachu he recognized immediately, the clone of his own. Guess science fiction wasn't right about everything.

Pikachutwo's cheeks sparked and fired an electrical attack at him. He avoided the attack, just as more new Pokémon entered the fray and made the chaotic battle even worse.

Away from him, the three older clones gained a second wind. He could hear his own Charizard yowling upon slamming into something, rushing water heard as two Grimer shouted. Their screams did not turn into the distant twinkle of Team Rocket, but he doubted that the splat he heard somewhere suggested they were going to be in any shape to fight for the rest of the day.

Pikachutwo prepared to strike again, but a Tri-Attack struck it and sent it away from him. Snagem's Clefairy darted past, giving him a gesture to leave said Pikachu to him.

This allowed him to return attention to Mewtwo, who was currently still dueling with Lucario. Between him and them was a field of empty space that occasionally broke open for another clone Pokémon to burst into the fight. A clone Scyther that was currently overpowering Gary’s Arcanine with quick attacks, a clone of Yanma was blowing away several Zubat, and a Hitmonlee clone that was running at him with a leaping kick.

High Jump Kick or not, Ash caught the Hitmonlee mid-attack in the torso and slammed the clone to the ground, before continuing forward.

He had to stop though, when the Hitmonlee jumped back and charged at him to unleash a Power-Up Punch. He replied with a Power-Up Punch of his own, both fists clashing with one another. And there, he could see into the eyes of the clone.

It was hard to explain, but it felt like the Hitmonlee's gaze lacked something. It seemed normal, yet it also resembled the glance an unfamiliar and absent-minded infant. Eyes that knew the world, yet everything still seemed new and confusing to it. He knew it had to fight, but had no idea as to why. He was as much of a victim as everyone trapped there.

Ash head-butted Hitmonlee right on the forehead, causing the clone to flinch and shut the uncanny eyes. If Ash wasn't sure before that this fight didn't have to happen, any doubt was gone now.

He then sped into the Hitmonlee, knocking him to the ground with Quick Attack and returning to his race to the central battle.

…

Fraxure might've had a feeling of dread since they came to that creepy island, but he sure as hell didn't expect to end up in such a mess of a battle. Every second, new Pokémon came up to join the enemy ranks, each of them based on one of their own, from a Butterfree to a Hitmonlee to several Gyarados to even a strangely familiar Meowth and all manners of Pokémon, all subtly different from themselves due to markings on their bodies. It made distinguishing friend from foe even more difficult, but as he dug away to strike at an incoming Lycanroc, retreating or cowering were not options in his mind.

He swore to grow stronger to his sister, and he needed to fight for his family. And he wouldn't fall easily.

Fraxure avoided the attack and slashed away at the Lycanroc, tossing it right in the middle of another battle. He tried to take a breath, only for a Serperior to toss herself towards him, forcing the Dragon-type to burrow on the battlefield again, looking for a safe area. He quickly found one and sprung back out on the surface, taking another gander of his surroundings while staying on high alert as the rest of the Pokémon and humans fought. He was still rather fighting fit, but there was no denying all that digging and fighting was starting to take a toll on him. And going by how brutal those copies were, things would only get worse.

Fraxure shook his head, sharpening his claws as he tossed himself in the battle, firing a Dragon Rage towards an Emolga and slashing away at a Psyduck as he continued forth. He would battle until the last bit of his strength faded.

Or that was his plan, if it wasn't for a painful blast of energy ramming straight on him, splattering the Dragon-type on the ground.

"Agh!" Fraxure gritted his teeth, trying to keep the pain at bay as he slowly stood again. And then, he heard a voice he hoped to never hear again.

"What are you?"

The Dragon-type froze, those words bringing him back to one of his darkest memories. As Fraxure turned around, he found exactly what he expected: a Clefairy, with a smile just too wide to be normal, slowly walking towards him, with uneven marks on his body. It was rather shorter than his nightmares remembered, but in front of that monster, he felt again like a scared, powerless little Axew.

That was the clone of Red's Clefairy, and by the look of things, he didn't share the original's repentance.

Fraxure sweated cold, stepping back as his heart raced faster than he thought possible. Clefairytwo kept wearing his uncanny smile, giggling to himself with curiosity as he touched to one of Fraxure's tusks.

"Can I have this?" Clefairytwo asked, already pulling at it with a bit too much strength.

Fraxure jerked back, ripping Clefairytwo off his tooth. "G-get away from me!"

Instinctively, he formed a Dragon Claw and slashed at the defenseless clone's body. He widened his eyes and stood as he remembered his foe's type, the unharmed clone just giggling once more.

"So you want to play rough! Let's do it!"

Clefairytwo tossed himself over Fraxure, pining the Dragon-type to the ground. He tried to scream and thrash out of its grasp, but any attempt at bravery was replaced by dread as the Pokémon found himself face-to-face with the clone's deranged expression. Clefairy's copy quickly resumed where he left off, placing his hands on both of Fraxure's tusks and pulling them apart, the Dragon-type screaming in fear and pain.

That wasn't happening, not again! He had to break free! That was too much to bear, and Fraxure could barely think as the sharp pain washed over his body, screaming incoherently for someone, anyone, to come to his rescue.

And the rescue came, as a powerful Moonblast blasted the nightmarish Clefairy away from Fraxure. The Dragon-type quickly sat back up, his heart still beating way too fast as he took long, labored breaths, eyes fixated on the downed Clefairytwo. He rubbed his frontal fangs and finally turned to thank his savior, only to meet the slightly similar, yet far more radiant gaze of another Clefairy.

"Are you okay? Did old me hurt you?" Red's Clefairy asked, gently rubbing Fraxure's left tusk before offering him a hand with a hearty laugh. A cold shiver ran down Fraxure's spine, but he still took the laughing Fairy-type's hand, standing back again.

Fraxure gulped, shaking his head. "M-more or less. But let's move on, before-"

The Dragon-type turned back to Clefairytwo, only to widen his eyes as he saw the monstrous copy back on his feet, and clearly staring back at him. Fraxure quickly readied his claws in spite of his fear, only for the original Clefairy to hold his hand to Fraxure's snout and walk towards his copy instead. Fraxure blinked, just looking as the two Clefairy approached each other, staring into one another.

"I know you. You just want to play, right?" Clefairy asked, far more serious than Fraxure ever heard him be.

Clefairytwo stood still, blinking at his original. "You... are me?"

"I was you, but I'm not anymore." Clefairy stepped close, a tinge of sadness in his eyes. "Do you feel lonely?"

"Lone... ly...?"

"Only you and the voices, telling you to have fun and do what you want. You feel the need to listen to them. But you don't want to hurt anyone."

Clefairytwo stared at Clefairy with wide eyes, as if he had revealed something monumental. Clefairy seemed to count on it, approaching his clone once more, close enough to extend a hand towards him.

"I can show you how to stop them. I can make you happy." Clefairy smiled at his counterpart, a honest, helpful smile. "We don't need to fight."

Clefairytwo didn't know what to see, reluctantly shifting between Clefairy and the hand he was giving him. It took him several seconds, the battle raging all around them, to finally make his decision. He got closer to his original, moving to grasp his hand.

And that was the moment Fraxure struck, hitting Clefairytwo with a powerful Slash and slamming him into the nearby wall. The clone squealed in pain, just as Fraxure grinned in satisfaction.

"Yes! That's gotta keep him down for a while!" The young dragon pumped his fists, then gave Clefairy a thumbs up. "Your distraction was great, you really have changed!"

As he turned towards his partner in crime however, his smile died completely. Red's Clefairy stood there, staring in horror at Fraxure.

The dragon tilted his head. "Huh? What's wrong?"

Clefairy didn't reply, quickly shifting back to his counterpart near the wall. Clefairytwo was rubbing his head, clearly in pain, before he turned back towards the two Pokémon. He shoot them a dark glare before quickly running away from there without a single world.

"No! Don't leave! I can help... you..." Clefairy tried to say, only for his clone to not stop and disappear from view. The original stood there, his gaze going towards his hands. "I can help..."

Clefairy sniffled, eyes growing watery as he simply stood there, even as the fight continued to rage between them. Fraxure didn't know what was up to his sobbing comrade, until a thought crossed his mind.

That was a clone of Clefairy, and thus a copy of him, weird psychosis and all. He didn't want to distract the clone to give Fraxure an opening, he legitimately wanted to help him out with whatever problem he had. And Clefairytwo was mere seconds from accepting that help.

The realization hit Fraxure like a painful rock, giving another look at the battlefield around them. He thought all these clones were some mindless guys that would only keep attacking them, an enemy to defeat at any cost. Could they really talk things over? They were... them, after all. If they could choose to be peaceful, couldn't the clones do the same?

Fraxure shook his head, trying to remove those thoughts from his mind. He focused back on Clefairy, gulping as he went closer to the Fairy-type.

"Uhm... I'm sorry, I didn't understa-" Fraxure heard a sharp sound of claws, and his reaction was immediate. "Stay down!"

Fraxure jumped over Clefairy, flattening both on the ground just under the Slash. The Dragon-type was quick to put himself back on his feet, only to be surprised by his attacker.

The scales, tusks, eyes and claws were all the same, except for some uneven patterns. Even his posture was identical. Mere feet from him was himself, or rather his clone.

His other self pointed his way with a glare of pure anger, a Dragon Claw ready. "You're gonna die! I need to fight for my family!"

Fraxure stood there, looking at the distorted mirror that was the Fraxuretwo. His own clone rushed towards him, ready to fight until the last bit of his strength fated. Fraxure knew it, as they were one and the same.

The Dragon-type dodged the attack and quickly took a battle stance, with Clefairy doing the same as he stood back up. As he joined forces with Red's Pokémon, Fraxure couldn't help but stare at his copy, moving and acting so much like him, moved by the same convictions and strength. Wanting to do what was right.

All his confidence in himself and what he had to do weren't there anymore.

...

Lucario frowned, avoiding an electric blast from his opponent. This 'Mewtwo' was proving to be as much of a tricky opponent as they claimed.

He flung an Aura Sphere towards the artificial Pokémon, only for the attack to be deflected and Mewtwo once more trying to use Psychic force on him. A quick Double Team helped the Aura Guardian avoid it, and then he went to for a quick slash into Mewtwo with Metal Claw before darting back.

His foe responded with a barrage of stones, which he avoided, though with much less ease than he suspected Mewtwo believed. The copy's attacks blasted all over the battlefield, smoking craters forming on impact.

Lucario kept his gaze locked on, forming a Bone Rush spear and twirling it in front of him in anticipation. Mewtwo's power was truly unmatched by anything he faced before, a raw, endless power that it seemed to only grow as he let his emotions go wild. It was clearly giving in to instinct more and more, foregoing strategy to just try to dispose of his enemy quickly.

That was a boon and a curse at once. For as much as this allowed Lucario to take advantage of more openings and missteps, he learned long ago how much a cornered Arbok can fight back in his many adventures with Sir Aaron.

The Pokémon from the past slammed away a Shadow Ball with his spear, launching himself and ready for a stab. Mewtwo quickly went for another psychic burst, and only a quick ducking and jump back allowed Lucario to stay unscratched.

Even in his rage, Mewtwo still showed enough control of his powers to keep Lucario at bay, evident sign of some training. It was far more unpolished than his own, but the sheer divide in strength made that almost negligible. They were as evenly matched as they could be. It was a clash between a soldier that learned to use a sword, and one who had learned moves to exploit openings and weaknesses in armor and mind.

If he were to be careless, Mewtwo could dispose of him easily. Any second could tip the battle in his opponent's advantage. But no matter how their struggle would end, Lucario would fight to the bitter end.

That was how he and Sir Aaron were. And by what he'd seen, Ash wasn't any different.

He avoided the Aura Sphere Mewtwo threw towards him, and replied with one of his own. It struck the clone down and knocked him back a few feet, to his opponent's growing irritation.

...

Mewtwo clutched his chest in pain, a glare flying towards his unknown opponent - Lucario, if the few bits of thoughts he could read were accurate. His enemy seemed disciplined to avoid mind reading, and between trying to coordinate his side of the army and defeating that persistent warrior, he really couldn't afford to check again. Things were already too hard to keep track of, even for him.

'What are you? You are not like any Pokémon I have battled before.'

He went for a Mega Punch, which missed and left a crater in the ground that the Lucario danced around as it charged at him again.

'Not surprising, Riolu and Lucario are a rare sight in this part of the world.' The jackal seemed to chuckle, earning him a glare from Mewtwo. He formed a Barrier, but his opponent ducked away before hitting it with his Bone Rush, shattering it on impact.

'You are not funny!' Mewtwo took advantage of the moment and blasted his enemy with a blinding Flash attack. Lucario however charged at him anyway, eyes closed and movements firm.

Before he could do anything, the clone felt a powerful blow on his stomach, and then another, and another, and then a flurry of others dragging him deep into a sea of pain, ending on a quick strike before his enemy escaped his reach with rapid movements, retaining his battle stance and with eyes still closed.

Mewtwo tried his damnedest not to voice his pain, holding himself up with his powers while he stared at Lucario, the nimble fighter still waiting for his movements. All around him, he could feel his clones getting fatigued, even as new ones came to help them, the tide quickly turning against him. Even with all his strength and planning, he was losing.

No, that wasn't right. Things weren't supposed to go that way! He didn't go that far only to fail miserably!

As he tried to think of what to do next, the Lucario paced closer, eyes still closed and a blue aura surrounding him, clearly ready to counter anything Mewtwo tossed at him. 'Your power is peerless, but your discipline is lacking. You want this match to end soon, and for my side to be dealt with.'

'My clones will crush you! You can't be stronger than me! I am the strongest Pokémon in the world!' Mewtwo snarled at him. His opponent hopped over the Grass Knot trap he tried to raise up, avoiding it entirely.

'A mad tyrant sending his servants to their death so long as he can prove victorious. The more things change, the more they stay the same.' Lucario landed back on the ground before turning back him. 'This will be your downfall. I have fought villains as petty as yourself since before you were even a thought.'

Mewtwo could feel his rage boiling up, instinctively tossing a Mega Punch towards his enemy with enough strength to blow him away with the mere shockwave, his powers surging all around himself as he glared daggers towards the impudent fool in front of him.

He didn't know of Amber. He didn't know of everyone that only saw him as a monster. He didn't know of how much he lost. He had no right to even think of judging him!

'Don't you dare calling me petty! You don't know anything!' Mewtwo screamed, a powerful barrage of Shadow Balls firing simultaneously around him as he did. The other Pokémon managed to dodge most of them, even if he was visibly starting to be overwhelmed.

Sensing an advantage, Mewtwo blasted at his annoying enemy with a Thunderbolt, but the Lucario still managed to avoid it, rushing in for a punch once more.

'You're trying to crush people just for standing up against you, I don't need to know your past to judge you.' As Mewtwo continued to avoid the attacks and reply with several elemental attacks of his own, Lucario continued. 'I don't know what you suffered, but I know where I come from. My master and friend, Sir Aaron, made sure I was there to help his descendant, to get him to be ready to stand against heartless monsters like you. And I will not fail my duty.'

Yet another one of those stupid friendship talks. The sheer arrogance of his enemies knew no bounds.

'Do you think to be so superior, talking of your friendship and bonds!? Do you think I don't understand what they are!? Let's see if your speeches can help you with this!'

As he unleashed yet another barrage of Shadow Balls, his opponent was too busy dodging to notice his psychic call, and quickly found himself caught off guard when several of the clones diverted their attention towards his fight, swarming towards Lucario.

His opponent finally opened his eyes, quickly shifting to a defensive stance as he tried to dodge and deflect his enforcers' attacks. The vantage regained, Mewtwo unleashed another Thunderbolt towards Lucario, the Pokémon only barely dodging it and letting his Squirtletwo take the brunt of the attack. Lucario didn't enjoy a second of rest before the rest of the surrounding clones continued to assault him.

Mewtwo frowned, but he kept his anger in check. It didn't matter how much it would take and how many of his clones had to be used, he would stand triumphant in the end. That fool would regret smearing Amber's name.

…

As the battle raged on around her, Anabel tried her best to keep her attention on the battlefield. With all the minds and thoughts crowding the large arena, it was getting increasingly harder to keep her focus up.

Two of Ash's Tauros were knocked down by a single clone Tauros, and she telekinetically blasted the clone away as Ash’s Chansey began healing them. On the distance, several other clones were starting to gang up on other Pokémon of their sides, with Paul and a lot of the other trainers with them coordinating some sort of offensive by circling around the clones and attempting to divide them. And every move and strategy only made both originals and clones push harder against each other. Several of the Pokémon were even foregoing moves altogether, just tackling, slashing and punching at each other with utter brutality, with the originals replying in kind.

A shiver ran down Anabel's spine, trying to keep her mind off all the negative emotions swirling around her. The Bloodliner's attention was drawn away from the battles by the cry of her own Eevee, who wailed as a clone Porygon2 slammed her into the wall.

‘Get away from her!’ Anabel flung the Porygon2 away from Eevee with a psychic blast, who remained slumped on the floor in defeat. She only idly noticed the clone being grabbed by Yanma and flown into an upper part of the coliseum walls as she ran to her and picked her up.

Eevee was thankfully breathing, but she was out of the fight for now. Anabel used Heal Pulse, healing her as her eyes returned once more to the chaos ahead, and in particular the fight between Mewtwo and Lucario. The match they were relying on to take up most of Mewtwo's attention wasn't going in their favor, with Lucario having to contend with several clones ganging up on him and helping Mewtwo out, with their ally finding it more and more difficult to avoid any hit. And they all knew one hit was all Mewtwo would need to win. All around them, the clones felt galvanized by the offensive, only growing more insistent and merciless in their assault. Even for someone accustomed to Pokémon battles and misuse of Pokémon, Anabel couldn't help but feel like the whole situation was... off, like it never was supposed to happen.

As she thought so, the familiar sight of a mop of black hair caught her attention, and the Psychic Heart Bloodliner quickly ran ahead, clustering back with Ash, Iris, Misty and quite a few of their Pokémon, currently surrounded by several Pokémon that Ash's Pikachu and Misty's Gyarados managed to disperse with shows of power.

'Ash! Are you okay?' Anabel asked, getting closer to the boy. As the group tried to move forward, however, another barrage of clones blocked their path. Charizard swept in for quick assistance, alongside Serperior.

"More or less." Ash frowned, looking as two of his strongest Pokémon strained against some Hypno clones. "We're trying to get closer to Mewtwo, but we just keep getting pushed back."

Misty turned around, catching sight of the fight devolving into a merciless beatdown on both sides. "Things are getting worse..."

"And it is only going to worsen." Iris stepped close, her gaze knowing and stern. Next to her, Fraxure was also observing the fighting with a frown, a Clefairy holding his hand by his side. "My brother tells me these... copies... are not evil. They are in fact exactly like us, and are ready to fight to the bitter end for their existence. It is an instinct strong enough to surpass fatigue and pain."

The wild girl sharpened her glare. "I have seen that instinct several times before. They will not stop until they kill us all for their own safety, or die trying."

"Is that true?" Misty went stiff as her Starmie got closer to blast an Arcanine clone away, quickly giving Anabel a look full of worry. "What are you feeling?"

Anabel furrowed her brow, sifting through the sea of thoughts around her. Thoughts of anger, protection, vengeance, fun, and all kinds of other emotions on both sides. And then, she nodded.

'She's right. There's such... malevolence and rage in the minds of everyone. Both us and them want to win this battle. Not everyone wants to fight, but they all feel they have to.'

Not far from her, Ash gulped loudly, as if he was expecting to hear something like this. He clenched his hands, his stare growing more determined. Even without reading his mind, Anabel could feel his confidence be renewed.

"We can't let this continue. If there's really a chance for us to end this peacefully, we must take it." He grabbed the rim of his hat, turning it around. "We need to talk with Mewtwo, he's the only one who can get the clones to stop fighting!"

"And how do you plan to do that? I do not believe that monster has any intention to listen to us anymore."

Iris' words shattered through Ash's confidence as he paused, thoughtful. "I..."

Ash didn't say more, and everyone else also fell silent, no ideas coming in. Iris was right, even if some of the clones would be willing to discuss things out, the only Pokémon that could stop the battle as a whole seemed completely unwilling to discuss things further, pure rage exuding from him as he continued to try to clobber Lucario into submission.

Anabel frowned, her eyes on the first cloned Pokémon. The solution was within their reach, yet too complex to grasp. If they were to actually talk things over, she was sure they could find commonalities and-

The Psychic Heart Bloodliner's eyes went wide, an idea popping into her mind. She and Mewtwo had a definite commonality she could make use of.

She rubbed her forehead and concentrated her power, and as she did, a smile parted her lips.

'I think I can do something,' she declared to the others.

Ash turned to her in confusion. "Really?"

'It's just a theory, but... I'm a Psychic Heart Bloodliner, and he's a Psychic-type Pokémon...' Anabel's gaze turned sharper as she focused her power further, isolating Mewtwo among all her targets. 'I can try to get him to talk to me.'

Misty stared back in utter disbelief, fists clenched. "It's too dangerous. Don't do it!"

'I'm the only one who can do this. If nothing else, we must try.'

Anabel faced Ash, and the boy nodded, entrusting her with his hopes. She felt reinvigorated from that, smiling proudly as she turned around, concentrating her powers towards Mewtwo, trying to reach for the Psychic-type's mind.

That was their only chance for a happy ending, and she was ready to take it.

...

Even with the clones keeping Lucario busy, the match with his opponent was still rather far from tipped to his side. The Pokémon was well-disciplined, ready for war, and absolutely able to handle even a dozen of opponents at once. To a degree, Mewtwo couldn't help but find it impressive. He quickly shook his head and put the praise aside however; he was a threat, and he needed to stop him.

He flung several Shadow Balls at the jackal which his adversary nimbly evaded, tossing a couple of the clones to impact towards them. Now free, Lucario lunged towards him, a leg flaming with a Blaze Kick. Mewtwo took a defensive stance, eyes shimmering blue as he charged up a Psychic, and then-

'Please, stop!'

He didn’t realize what happened until Lucario’s attack hit him square across the face, spinning him around and almost taking him down. He tried to stand again, suppressing the pain as Lucario came forward again. Mewtwo launched a barrage of Shadow Balls to keep the jackal away from him as the clone tried to focus once more.

'There's no need to fight! We can talk this over!'

Mewtwo flinched, gaze sharpening in anger. Someone else in the room was trying to hold his attention up, just as Lucario charged on with a Bone Rush ready to strike. He should've expected them to turn sneakier and more cowardly as things got worse.

He snapped up a Protect and then threw the energy stuff away from Lucario's paws with a well-aimed Ice Punch. He readied himself for another punch, only to feel his body frozen in place.

'Stop, I beg you!'

Mewtwo narrowly dodged Lucario's next Aura Sphere, and the clone's attention went to his side, several feet away. Just as he expected, the mute Bloodliner - Anabel, if he remembered correctly - was using her powers towards him, while Ash Ketchum and his other close friends stuck together, as if protecting her. Whatever their plan was, it definitely relied on that girl's powers.

He frowned, rage welling up inside him. No matter how many clones he sent against them, no matter how much he was cornering them, they still continued to resist him. Why? Why couldn't they just stop? There was no way he could allow that to continue. It was a threat that needed to be dealt with post-haste.

The Psychic-type raised a hand, conjuring a stronger-than-usual Protect in front of him just as Lucario resumed his offensive. Mewtwo's eyes glowed a cold blue, attuning his Psychic frequency to the girl's, just as she tried to contact him again.

If he had to talk with her, they would do so on his terms. He hated to sully Amber's memories like that, but there was no other way.

And so he concentrated, forming a connection he thought to be long gone.

...

A mere second later, Mewtwo and Anabel were no longer at the stadium, instead floating in a void of darkness. He felt a wave of satisfaction when he saw the girl looking around everywhere in confusion, even as he could still feel Lucario trying to hammer down the barrier. He had little time to multitask, but he expected things to be resolved quickly.

'Where are we?' she asked. 'Where’s everyone else, what did you do?'

'We are now in my… mental domain, so to speak.' He turned around to the void, still feeling the power of Lucario's punches outside of his mind. 'Time is still moving around us. I just wanted to make sure you weren't planning anything.'

Anabel shook her head, trying to step closer. 'I just wanted to talk with you.'

'You are a Psychic Heart Bloodliner, aren't you? Tell me, do your powers allow you to exert control on Psychic-type Pokémon?'

The Bloodliner widened her eyes, but quickly regained composure. She gulped and stared back at Mewtwo.

'... Yes, I can. And I could try to control you if I wanted it.' She placed a hand over her heart, her expression stern yet warm. 'But that'd only make the problem worse. I really want you to trust me here.'

She fell silent, looking over the Psychic-type Pokémon. Mewtwo scrutinized her, raising another Protect outside as Lucario shattered the previous one. Even after knowing what he could do, even with all that violence and danger surrounding them, was she seriously coming in peace?

'That's... unexpected.' He tapped his chin, interest mixed with surprise in his voice. 'Do you truly just want to talk?'

She nodded. 'I'm not just a telepath, but also an empath. I can sense the emotions of others. I can feel you have a lot of pain inside… a lot of anger, but also a lot of confusion. It’s like… like even you don’t know why you’re doing all these things.'

Mewtwo furrowed his brow, averting his gaze from the girl, a swirling mess of thoughts rushing into his head. Anabel stepped closer, now inches away from Mewtwo's psychic form.

'You mentioned to have had a friend once, right? Someone called Amber?' Her expression softened, a glimmer of curiosity in her eyes. 'She was important to you, right?'

Mewtwo felt his whole body go stiff, feeling Lucario shattering his Protect and going for a hit, requiring him to dodge and craft another barrier before his attention went back to Anabel. He still wasn't sure if he could fully trust her, but standing there, alone with her... his heart couldn't help but beat faster, memories of a younger girl and a younger Pokémon flooding back to him. Her warmth and kindness were awakening something deep inside Mewtwo's soul, something he'd thought to be lost forever. And thus, even knowing the risks, the monster decided to open his heart to the girl. Maybe she, of everyone else, could understand.

He waved his arm, and the void around them exploded with colors, a field and sky and structures forming all around them, a very familiar and nostalgic amusement park taking form all around them, just as he remember it. Something close to a sad smile formed on the Psychic-type's face.

'This is where I grew with Amber. In this place we lived without worries. We could do what we wanted, whenever we wanted and however we wanted. It was just the two of us, but we were… happy.'

Anabel observed the surrounding area without a word, letting Mewtwo talk. The Pokémon turned his head down, the atmosphere darkening around them, as Lucario's hits echoed in his mind.

'And then... she died. Her father was trying to bring her back to life as a clone, too, but even by trying to turn her into a Bloodliner, her body couldn't resist the strain. She faded away before she could even really be born.'

Mewtwo clenched his fists, trying to keep the sea of bad memories away from his mind. The frustrations of the present and the regrets of the past were exactly what he didn't need in the moment. He faced Anabel again, finding the girl still listening, seemingly sad. A part of Mewtwo was grateful for that, and so he resumed. 'I needed the samples of DNA of several Bloodliner types to bring her back, to succeed where Fuji had failed. To bring my friend... my sister back.'

He finished, his body trembling just a bit as he fixated on Anabel again. Hoping, begging that by explaining the truth, someone would finally understand him. Lucario's punches and kicks outside of his mind only made him yearn for that all the more.

The girl seemed to hesitate in replying, as if she was still trying to process what she was told. Finally, she turned away, observing the crumbled wall of a nearby house of mirrors. 'You could have just asked. You didn't need to do all of this.'

'And then what? Do you think humans would've just left me be? That they wouldn't try to capture me like any other Pokémon, to control my power for their own means?' Mewtwo narrowed his glare, focusing a large amount of Psychic energy in his fist, coating it in a blue hue. 'People long for the power I possess. It's why I was created to begin with.'

He clenched his fist, letting the energy explode outward. Mewtwo's rage didn't subside, the pain he had experienced and Lucario's attempts to strike at him only making him angrier. He tried to direct a few of his clones, only to grimly realize how outmatched they were starting to be, having to rely on mindless assaults rather than strategy. Was that seriously the best they could do?

Mewtwo placed a hand over his head, feeling a migraine coming up for the excessive multitasking.

'This... this was supposed to be a show of strength.' He took a deep breath, looking sadly over to Anabel. 'A way to get what I needed and tell everyone to never attempt to go after me again. I just wanted to be happy again.

'Do I not deserve it? Do you not understand what I have gone through?'

Mewtwo fell silent, still putting all his hopes on the girl ahead of him. If she was anything like Amber, she had to understand, to believe him. He needed someone to, with the whole world against him. He couldn't have opened himself like that for nothing.

Anabel's reply was quick and resolute, nodding firmly. 'You do deserve to be happy. I know the pain that comes from losing a dear person very well.'

A smile almost formed on Mewtwo's face. Finally, someone that knew what he was feeling! Someone that could help him and relate to him and-

His happiness was short-lived as Anabel shook her head, her gaze turning sterner once more, hitting as hard as Lucario's blows. 'But this is not the way to do it. Please, let's stop this. We can find another way.'

Mewtwo froze, no words coming to his mind as Lucario's punches and kicks echoed through his mind once again. He opened himself to the girl, and that was still not enough for her? Did she seriously not realize the kind of world they lived in?

He shook his head, frowning. 'Even if you accepted me, no one else would. I need to make sure no one ever tries to harm me again. I have to, for myself and Amber.'

'And do you think Amber would like this?'

Anabel's question stabbed him as fiercely as a searing hot knife, as did her sad expression, almost as if she pitied him. How dare she? He never asked for her pity! Was that an attempt to guilt trip him into stopping? All while they kept trying to defeat him outside of his mental domain?

And yet, even if it was, Mewtwo couldn't deny to be at a loss for words. Amber had always been a kind, happy soul that only wanted the best out of others. She would've never accepted what Mewtwo decided to do in her name, and he hated it. And yet, Amber's final words continued to come back to him.

Grow, learn, and keep being happy any way you want. You deserve it!

There was no way he could find that happiness without Amber at his side, the world was a scary and unwelcoming place, one Mewtwo would never be able to fit in. He needed the only person that ever truly accepted him.

He hung his head down, avoiding Anabel, the realization of what he wanted sinking in. 'It's too late to turn back.'

'It's never too late, you just-'

'Silence!' Mewtwo snapped, making Anabel flinch. Psychic power surrounded Mewtwo as his rage finally exploded. 'You can't understand it! There's only one person who can! That's why I need her back!'

Anabel could only widen her eyes as Mewtwo's power focused on his hands, the anger of the clone finally breaking through. He was tired of their moralisms, their speeches about there being different roads, and their stupid attempts of making him stop. They could never understand him, and he was sure of it now.

'I won't be alone once Amber is back. We'll be together again, and it will be worth it. It has to be...' Mewtwo pointed his hand towards Anabel, eyes shimmering blue. 'Don't interfere further... please...'

And without another word, Mewtwo blasted the Psychic attack straight towards the Bloodliner.

...

Anabel jolted back, snapping back to the real world as she clutched over her forehead, doubling down in pain.

"Anabel! Are you alright?" Misty asked, scurrying over to her side, a hand on the girl's shoulder.

The Psychic Heart Bloodliner didn't say anything, rubbing her forehead. Her thoughts were all scrambled and fragmented, even just trying to piece them together was giving her a harsh pain in the head. Mewtwo's blast made sure that she couldn't concentrate without pain, and without that he had pretty much removed her from the game for the time being. Not far from them, Mewtwo placed his full attention in fighting Lucario again, regaining some of the advantage he was starting to lose.

She scrunched her face as she tried to nod. 'I'm f-fine. Just a bit of a migraine, is all.'

"He didn't listen to you," was Iris' curt observation as she turned to the first clone. Next to her, Fraxure seemed to be doing his best to keep his guard up, Clefairy right next to him.

'I tried, but...'

Anabel didn't finish her sentence, her gaze trailing back to the raging battle alongside everyone else's. After so long, none of the Pokémon seemed to be in fighting condition anymore, barely managing to stand in some case. And yet they continued to fight, knowing that either side winning would spell the doom of the other. Powerful moves and fine tactics were replaced by sheer brutality and direct attack, each Pokémon and clone only growing more brutal as they scratched, bit, kicked, punched, slapped and lunged at their opponents, cries of pain rising from originals and clones alike, as Mewtwo and the other trainers did their best to claim victory.

Iris closed her eyes, looking solemn. "The battle is pretty much over, but neither side will stop. It is a fight to the death now."

"It's true. This is the same instinct of the aggressive Pokémon of old, on both ends. Pokémon battles should never come to this..."

Anabel and the rest of her travelling group turned around, finding the same Joy that Mewtwo used as his thrall standing there, observing the battle in a mix of horror and sadness. Her guilt was drawn on her face as she turned her head down.

Iris tapped her chin in thought. "We cannot surrender, and our opponents will not. Quite the predicament..."

In spite of the migraine, Anabel tried to think of what to do. It was hard to focus, but she distinctly recalled several pieces of her conversation with Mewtwo. She turned to the Nurse Joy, still rubbing her forehead.

'Nurse Joy... you were controlled by Mewtwo earlier. Was it because of your medical knowledge?'

"I... I think so." She nodded, looking over to Mewtwo in the distance. "I don't remember well what happened to me in the last weeks, but I recall working on several medical tests."

'Just as he said...'

Misty perked her head up to the Psychic Bloodliner. "Did you discover anything from Mewtwo?"

‘I could see into Mewtwo’s mind, yes. It wasn’t much, but… I think I understand him better. His mind is like that of a child who was forced to grow. He’s angry, confused, and has a very scarce sense of right and wrong. I think he doesn’t know himself why he’s doing this, but he hasn’t found any other way to cope with his inner pain. He wants someone to love and accept him, yet is scared of being hurt ever again.’

"Pokémon and people that suffered harsh losses tend to end up like that." Nurse Joy shook her head, sighing. "Mewtwo won't reason until he's finally unable to keep fighting."

Ash didn't say a word, simply listening. He looked rather sad as well, as if he expected that to happen, yet didn't want things to come to that. Yet, Anabel could see the resolve in his eyes. As always, he wasn't going to give up until the end.

‘Even so… I think it’s not too late. If we can get him to listen to us, maybe… ugh.’ Again, she felt the migraine coming on, forcing her to rub on her forehead.

“Easy, take a rest for now.” He held her by the shoulders. “We’ll take care of this.”

Ash gave her a smile brimming with confidence. In the middle of everything that was happening, it was both charming and comforting. She felt herself blushing at the thought.

Nevertheless, despite the dire of the situation, Ash didn’t lose his hope that everything would be fine. She just regretted not being able to help him more.

‘I’m counting on you… everyone does.’

As Ash ran back in the direction of Mewtwo, Anabel held a hand to her chest. For a moment, she believed she could get through the artificially-made Pokémon. Maybe Ash could succeed where she had failed.

She had nothing left but to have faith in him.

...

Trying to get Mewtwo to listen to reason and stop was something Ash had no idea on how to do. For once his time shenanigans didn’t let him pretend he knew what he was doing.

All he knew was there was some answer, but none came to his mind as he tried to make his way through the mad melee of desperate trainers and Pokémon surrounding him on the way to Mewtwo.

Ash's thoughts were interrupted by a clone Purugly swiping at him with claws. He used Counter to send the massive feline flying away from him, as a bright light blinded him for a moment.

The burning illumination was driven off moments later, and when he opened his eyes briefly they showed him the original Purugly sitting on a Castform clone.

“Pur,” the cat declared as he ran by it, nodding its way as he continued to run to Mewtwo.

He stopped briefly as a clone of what he was pretty sure was Gary’s Blastoise was blasted across his path by Iris and Fraxure, who darted after him with Red's Clefairy in tow as he found himself once more staring through the various combatants until his eyes fell on Lucario and Mewtwo. Much like in the Saffron Gym, he was surrounded by all kinds of energy, every type surrounding him. Perhaps…

Ash held his hand out as he had done when he gained his three Z-Crystals, focusing on the energy in the palm of his hand. He would try to create a fourth, and with it, perhaps a solution. There had to be some sort of Z-Move for…

He was interrupted by a water attack that blasted him to the ground just as he was starting to get some light flowing into his hand, and thus the attempt was gone.

Ash felt a few grains of sand in his hand, though he couldn’t get a name for the Pokémon that had interrupted him. He did see Bulbasaur fighting something, but that was all he could tell.

Someone offered a hand to the boy, and with the help of it Ash pulled himself up. He was surprised to see Casey Snagem's elderly Chesnaught, who nodded at him before pointing at his Z-Ring, then at Mewtwo. The old Pokémon then charged away, using Spiky Shield to ram through a line of clones to get to a Typhlosion and Swampert. Ash observed his Z-Ring again, wondering if Chesnaught confirmed that his was a good idea.

Just as he thought so, a distant explosion sent something flying, and he instinctively caught the flung being in his arms like a tossed ball. Said being turned out to be Pikachu, who appreciated the quick burst of Heal Pulse he sent into him before zipping forward to the battlefield, holding the line alongside the rest of his team. As Paul and Red did the same alongside all the other trainers, Ash clenched his fist.

If nothing else, he had to try. Everyone was buying him time, and he had to stop it before it escalated to a point no one wanted it to.

He directed his attention back to Mewtwo, only to feel his body trapped in the grip of a Psychic and tossed away, rolling on the dirt and away from Mewtwo. Ash slowly tried to get back up, coughing out before he finally looked ahead. He froze on the spot.

Mewtwo was staring at him, eyes brimming with a blue psychic aura, abandoning completely his fight with Lucario to focus instead on him. The slight intrusion Ash felt in his mind made clear what happened: Mewtwo predicted his plan, and he was none too happy about it.

'Violence, hurting, defeating your opponents. You humans only know how to do that. There's no way to end things peacefully with you. I knew it!' Mewtwo screamed, each thought dripping with venom. A rage barely kept in check before, and now completely unleashed.

The cloned Pokémon raised his arm, several pieces of red metal forming around his wrist in a sort of armor piece, with four-non uniform slots in it. Ash was quite terrified to recognize what each slot was. What did the Pokédex try to do while he was sealed away?

Any thought about that was quelled as Mewtwo observed his makeshift Z-Ring, a hint of pride among all his anger.

'You wanted to use this 'Z-Move' of yours to defeat me? Let's see how you'll like to have that power thrown against you! Fall by my own Z-Move!'

He emulated the pose Ash had used before with Charizard, the skeleton of what was left of the Pokédex flashing just like Ash's Z-Ring would, maybe elaborating all the data it had, Z-Power surrounding him as he did so. However, just as Mewtwo got ready to unleash its power, nothing happened, the power dissolving into the air and the mechanism powering down.

Mewtwo looked at the gauntlet in confusion, just as everyone else got ready to lunge towards him. Mewtwo gritted his teeth, looking at his clones.

'Keep them away! Don't let them come here! I must understand!' Mewtwo yelled, attempting to redo the pose, still to no avail. 'Why is this not working!?'

Mewtwo held out gauntlet once more where the two other slots, resembling a Mega Stone and Key Stone, glowed and sent out familiar tendrils of light, before they too fizzled out. Lucario remained unmoving as Mewtwo stared at his gauntlet in frustration. His clones seemed to be on the verge of giving up, only for Mewtwo to jolt them awake with a psychic call, all of them pushing on in spite of their tiredness.

'Don't you dare lose! You only exist to help me!' A Pidgey tried to hit Mewtwo with Quick Attack as his latest attempt fizzled out once more, but without even twitching Mewtwo sent the Pidgey spinning away with psychic force. He glared at his machine once more. 'Why!? What am I doing wrong!?'

Pikachu disengaged from the other Pokémon and darted forward, right ahead of Ash. The boy didn’t need words to know what Pikachu was going for, and so the two of them finally burst into the center of the melee where the befuddled Mewtwo and patient Lucario stood.

“I think you missed the obvious part. You can be the most powerful Pokémon all day long, or even the most powerful Pokémon Master, but in the end it takes more than one person to pull those powers off. It takes two, and two with a strong bond for that matter. Allow me and Pikachu to give you a first-hand demonstration!”

As he finished it up he and Pikachu entered the final stage of his pose, linking his bent arms at his elbows as the power flowed all into Pikachu. He saw Lucario get out of the way of the attack, making clear he didn't have to hold back.

It was the power forged by a bond that stretched two timelines and countless days spent together. Countless in both number, and the ability to actually know how many there actually were. The result of blood and sweat, tears shed and fears overcome. A power given to him from afar, that he made his own through training and learning.

“Gigavolt Havoc!”

A massive yellow ball of electricity formed at Pikachu’s fingertips before being punched forward, growing larger and flying at Mewtwo as it morphed into something akin to a missile of electric force. Mewtwo yowled something in sheer primal emotion, and used his gauntlet covered arm to repel the electrical attack with his pure mental power.

However the two powers met when the arm was raised, and the result was a point blank explosion of electrical power right where Mewtwo stood. A collision of force between the united strength of two made stronger together, and one who was made to be strong on his own.

The collision rang together like a bomb blast, stopping the melee in its wake. Everyone, humans, Bloodliners, Pokémon and clones alike were staring at the smoking area the explosion had occurred in. What had triumphed in the end: two united as one, or one with all the power one could ever imagine?

The smoke cleared slowly, revealing a standing Mewtwo. He was panting, a deep and resounding sound that perfectly highlighted his rage at Ash and everyone else.

‘You cannot defeat me. Try anything you like, try any power that you might possess, and you will not be able to defeat me! Nothing you can do can beat me; nothing any of you can do will beat me!’

Ash clenched his fists, growing tense. He knew that Mewtwo wouldn't listen to reason, and he could feel his desperation and desire to beat them, even as the clone was about to collapse in pain. They needed something else that could finally stop Mewtwo from continuing that senseless battle.

Just as he thought in a blur of motion two people appeared next to him and Pikachu, each placing a glowing green hand on them. He felt Lucario’s paw against his side, and he saw Yellow use the same pose and power on Pikachu.

It would seem it was time for a change of plan, an extra shot at this he hadn’t been expecting.

He and Pikachu didn’t need to say anything as the energy flowed back into them, and they re-entered the pose for the Z-Move.

Mewtwo’s face was that of alarm at this point. He tried to use his Psychic power, only for they to fizzle out, maybe in fear, or perhaps out of exhaustion. ‘Cease this at once! There is no way that you can do that again….that isn’t how it works!’

‘Today has not been one for what many would deem impossible. How should this be any different?’ Lucario smirked back at Mewtwo, much more confident than before.

“Yeah, and in case you were wondering about what impossible really is like, I can show you,” Ash declared, as he and Pikachu continued.

The boy felt a wave of heat and pure energy surging through him. The aura around their Z-Move pose flared even stronger than normal, and Ash had a guess of what was going on. Yellow was his sister after all, and this felt similar to what his Pokémon had described his own power being like. She had shared her power with him, making the Thunderbolt at the base of Gigavolt Havoc more of a Megabolt.

A Mega-Gigavolt Havoc!

“You already saw the power of the friendship between Pikachu and me first hand, now try it when it isn’t just friendship powering it, but family too! Gigavolt Havoc!”

With that an even larger bolt of electricity was fired at Mewtwo, who glared at the attack as it flew at him once again.

‘You aren’t the only one fighting for family!’ Mewtwo had his own counter-speech, and with his metal gauntlet covered hand he slammed the full force of his psychic power into the Mega-Gigavolt Havoc. The two forces collided once more, and it looked like the moves would remain locked into a stalemate.

At least, until a series of small, but well-aimed attacks all blasted towards Mewtwo, making the Pokémon falter. From the corner of his eye, Ash could see Red and Paul directing the attack, alongside all the other trainers. Their Pokémon were exhausted, but their effort was enough to let Mewtwo's power falter, and for the Mega-Gigavolt Havoc to utterly consume the clone Pokémon.

The resulting shockwaves shook the entire battlefield, and his knees gave out just before he felt the full impact of a shockwave of his own: utter exhaustion washing over his body. The only reason he didn’t fall right to the ground then and there was Lucario grabbing him, while Pikachu slumped to the ground and needed Yellow to scoop him up. Ash's and everyone else's attention quickly moved back to the smoke pillar from the point of impact, eagerly awaiting to know the result of the attack.

The smoke cleared slowly and like before a very exhausted Mewtwo was revealed from behind it. However, this time Mewtwo staggered and collapsed, dropping to his knees with the metal gauntlet of his letting out a loud clang through the battlefield, shattering into shards of broken steel.

Mewtwo stayed in that pose, and it was then that Ash was willing to say it was over.

But even if the battle was over, with the clones left in disbelief at the defeat of their leader and the originals watching Mewtwo warily, there was still something he had to do. He walked slowly towards the clone Pokémon, his gaze aimed at the ground in disbelief.

'No... no... this... can't be happening...' The clone clutched at his head, grimacing heavily.

Ash stopped a few steps from him, shaking his head. "It's over, Mewtwo."

'Don't get close! I... I...'

Mewtwo tried to stand up, only to fail miserably and fall back on his knees. He looked almost pitiful as he tried again, his feet wobbly and giving up again, no energy left to fight. Mewtwo seemed on the verge of tears as he turned downward again.

'Amber, I'm... sorry...'

Ash adjusted his hat, not saying anything in the moment. He almost felt guilty for having been forced to defeat him, but he knew already there was no other way. He tried moving closer to Mewtwo, only to find himself unable to.

Between him and Mewtwo stood all the other clones, from Pikachutwo to Meowthtwo all the way to the original starter clones. They were all battered, bruised, and unable to fight any longer, yet they all shielded Mewtwo, panting and barely standing, but with a fire in their eyes that Ash knew all too well. The original clone seemed confused, turning towards them in disbelief.

'W... what are you...?' he tried to ask, only to grasp his forehead in pain. In response, the other clones continued to hold up, ready for any attack that could be thrown their way.

Mewtwo didn't seem to know what to say, falling silent. Ash instead smiled alongside Pikachu, with the boy's little buddy moving ahead towards their defeated opponent.

"Pika pichu pi." 'They're protecting you. They don't want to see you hurt.'

'But... they're just tools, I...'

"You may have seen them as tools, but they clearly thought otherwise." Ash observed each and every one of them. Now that the battle was over, he really could see a part of the originals inside each of them. "You brought them to life, gave them a chance to exist. You're their father... and maybe, a friend."

He took a chance and stepped forward, even with the other clones still on guard. "You wanted someone to love you, to not be lonely again. But you always had them right by your side."

Mewtwo remained silent, observing each of his brethren, a hand over his heart. He seemed uncertain of how to elaborate what he just learned, all while Pikachutwo and Meowthtwo got closer to check how he was, rubbing away at his aching limbs.

Ash's stare turned serious, observing as the small clones did their best to help the first of their kind. "You were so dead set in bringing your friend back that you never thought about how many new friendships you could create. Was this what Amber wanted?"

'But none of them is Amber!' Mewtwo snapped, strong enough to drop Pikachutwo and Meowth to the ground. There was fury and regret in his eyes, his fists balled as he punched at the ground. 'Why... why did it have to happen? She just wanted to live! Be happy! Have fun! And...'

Mewtwo's pounding of the ground grew progressively weaker, until he finally rested his hand on the dirt, a sad grimace over his face. 'She didn't deserve to die...'

Ash lowered the rim of his hat, covering his eyes in respect as Mewtwo continued to stare at the ground, too caught up in what he lost to say anything more. It was something he rarely felt as a guy that never gave up until the end, but just seeing how Mewtwo was feeling reminded him of the one time he went through a similar pain. And suddenly, Ash knew exactly what Mewtwo needed to hear.

He took a deep breath, and stepped closer. "I know how you feel. I've lost something precious to me, too. Something that I'll never get back."

'You did...?' Mewtwo perked his head up, as if confused. With how little Ash tried to think about it these days, Ash really couldn't blame him.

He nodded, tapping at his head. "You can see for yourself, if you want."

Ash wasn't sure how good that idea was, especially after seeing what that knowledge did to Sabrina in this reality, but at that point there was no harm in trying now that Mewtwo could barely fight back. Mewtwo's eyes flashed blue once more, and Ash could feel the Psychic-type making his way through all of the boy's past memories.

To help him out, Ash recalled as well. How a seemingly peaceful day in Kalos turned into tragedy as his friends and everything he knew were erased away, never to exist. How he was tossed in a new, unfamiliar world that only barely resembled his own, how several people he knew died before even meeting him, and how old tested friendships had to be left behind. How he was a stranger in familiar land, with even people he knew and loved now fundamentally different people, with only flashes of what they once were. How people that were once kind behind their problems turned into vicious psychopaths, and how things were far harsher for humans, Bloodliners and Pokémon alike.

How his life would never return to be what it was, even if he stopped Cyrus' plan or managed to recover all of his Pokémon, he could never return his life to how it used be, his old world never to return.

Mewtwo widened his eyes as his eyes returned normal, staring at Ash in utter shock. Ash didn't say anything as the clone Pokémon tried to process what he saw, hands over his temples.

'I... I don't know what to say. You-'

"I will never regain what I lost, but a smarter man than I am told me this... you can't let one tragedy define your whole life. If you lost a loved one, live for them and those who still live." Ash adjusted his hat once more. "I don't think Amber would've wanted you to ruin your chance at happiness, right?"

Once again, Mewtwo didn't know what to say. He seemed rather shocked at what he had witnessed, more than he already was from his defeat. Ash hoped for it to be a good sign as he smiled at him again. "So please, be happy. Live for her... and for yourself, too. Follow your heart."

'My heart...' Mewtwo clutched at his chest in thought, his eyes going everywhere from the other trainers and Pokémon looking at him in anticipation to all of his clones still huddled around him. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath, and then facing towards Ash once more.

'... I... I will try.' He held his head down, turning towards everyone else in apology. 'I'm... sorry for... everything I caused.'

No one replied, but the few that dared nodding along made clear that, at least, they would turn a blind eye to what happened. Paul seemed just about to complain about it, but it didn't take long for him to decide otherwise. Mewtwo, however, wasn't finished, slowly finding the strength to stand again, supported by his original starter clones.

"I shouldn't have caused this. To you humans, Bloodliners, and Pokémon, I apologize for getting you involved.' His attention then went to what used to be his army, head still bowed down. 'And to you, my clones... I should've never used you this way. I hope... we can be friends now.'

Mewtwo then perked his head back up, anxiousness drawn over his features as he waited for the clones' response. It didn't take long however for them all to tackle him into a hug, with a few of them licking Mewtwo's face affectionately. Ash was sure to have heard the original clone chuckle at the display of affection, and as the clone of Mew turned back to him, Ash was pleased to see him wear a true, happy smile, the weight of his pain seemingly lifted at least a little.

"Do you feel better, now?" Ash asked, as he allowed Pikachu to climb over his shoulder.

The Pokémon rubbed the area between his necks with unease. 'I don't know, but I will try.'

'What do you plan to do?' Anabel asked, her migraine seemingly gone. Mewtwo placed a hand over his chin, contemplative.

'I guess... I'll travel. Find a good place for me and the other clones to start from zero.' Immediately after, he felt the need to put both hands ahead of him. 'I don't plan any other show of strength, or attempts to rule the world. I can guarantee that.'

The Psychic-type's position relaxed, even if not completely. He gazed at all the people he had invited, once more serious. 'However, I want to ensure a level of anonymity for myself. I can trust you and a few others, but I'm not sure I can do the same for everyone present.'

Red crooked an eyebrow at that. "What's that supposed to mean?"

'None of you should've been involved to begin with. I'll make sure to fix it.'

Gathering all of its remaining strength, Mewtwo used his own psychic powers to float above the battlefield, slowly bringing every one of his clones alongside him. From his memories of the events of Mt. Quena, Ash could imagine what Mewtwo was going to do, delete the memories of the people involved. He probably should've told Mewtwo that it wouldn't help anything, but he had a feeling that was something Mewtwo wouldn't listen to him about. If nothing else, the way Mewtwo said he could trust him and a few others made Ash hope his memory would be spared this time around.

After sharing a relieved sigh with Pikachu, Ash chanced a glance to everyone else. Not everyone seemed to have understood what was about to happen, but for the most part everyone, even if battered and bruised, seemed to be relieved by how the battle ended. From all his traveling companions to the various trainers gathered on the island, from the Nurse Joy Mewtwo had brought there to the bizarre sight of Iris' Fraxure and Red's Clefairy sharing a high five, everyone seemed just happy that they all came out of that adventure unscathed. Even Red seemed to be smiling as he ensured that Yellow and her Ratty were alright. There was also the old man Casey Snagem and his two partner Pokémon sharing a knowing glance at him, but he really couldn't figure the meaning behind that.

However, Ash couldn't help but notice a certain someone missing. At least, until a familiar voice rang out next to him.

"Hey."

Ash turned around, finding the typical stone cold expression of Paul looking back to him. The inquisitive stare puzzled Ash for a bit, until he remembered what happened before, with Charizard's fight with his clone. Paul was there, and saw him use his Bloodline.

The boy gulped down nervously. As if to confirm his suspicions, Paul sharpened his gaze.

"You never used that power of yours in a real battle, did you?" his rival asked, arms folded.

Ash quickly shook his head, matching Paul's expression. "No. I'm not that kind of trainer."

The Sinnohan trainer continued to consider him for a brief while, before he finally nodded.

"Good." He turned around, an arm raised in salute. "We'll see each other at the League."

And with that, Paul disengaged from him, going back to where he previously was. Ash continued to look after him, blinking in confusion; if he remembered Paul well from the previous timeline, that was as close as he could get to being civil and personable. Maybe he wouldn't have to worry about Paul falling into anti-Bloodliner hysteria, if worst came to worst.

His musings on the topic were interrupted by a flash of bright light, as the area surrounding them turned a blinding white. Mewtwo was shining as well, as he flew away with all of his clones, giving Ash and his friends one last look from above.

'Farewell to you all. And for everything you did...

'Thank you.'

And after sharing with them one last, sincere smile, the white light engulfed everything, bringing an end to that wild little adventure.

...

As the eerie fortress disintegrated in front of his eyes, the floating and small pink legendary couldn't help but blink in curiosity, observing its copy fly away into the sky alongside all of his newfound family.

When it felt a psychic signature very much like its own yet quite unlike it, he couldn't help but investigate what was up with it. The mythical Pokémon was rather surprised when it saw a being created in the image of itself, unmistakably based on a Mew yet something completely other from it, showcasing powers on par with what its species was capable of. A lonely creature that only yearned for love, until he realized it was right there all along.

Mew couldn't help but to admit that the strange creature interested it. For a copy, it sure was strong! Clearly not as much as the originals, of course, but with all the stuff he had to deal with it was probably for the best that he decided to sit that battle out. However, the mythical's desire to prove itself to its copy and get to know him better was hardly fading away, only burning more intensely as it noticed the lair in New Island slowly crumbling back into ashes, as if it was never erected.

The pink legendary's attention turned to the other side of the horizon, the same way Mewtwo and his new family flew towards. At a guess, they were probably headed somewhere in the Johto region, away from human interference. Something Mew knew a thing or two about.

The small mythical Pokémon giggled to itself, quickly heading in the same direction. It had a good feeling about the future...

In the darkness of his office, Giovanni tapped at his desk in anticipation, observing the screen behind it. His free hand rubbed his Persian's head, counting the seconds down in his head as the communication finally opened, with a familiar group of two agents and one Pokémon popping up on the other side not long afterwards.

"Finally. So, how did everything go?"

Jessie took a step forward, stiffening her pose. "Well enough, I'd say. We almost got involved when Meowth was captured by one of those weird Pokéballs, but I don't think anyone noticed our presence when we freed him and left."

"Good thing stealth is our game..." Meowth sighed, rubbing his head.

"He doesn't seem to have realized we were there." James folded his arms, looking up. "Or maybe he did and just had too much stuff on his plate to notice, I'm not sure..."

"So, Mewtwo was stopped? Is it not a problem anymore?"

Jessie shrugged. "Our little hero seems to have redeemed him or something. They had a whole fight and a realization of feelings and all that stuff heroes do, and then he left while teleporting everyone else safely out of the island. Now, there's nothing left here."

In confirmation of her claims, Jessie moved the camera behind them. What previous recordings had shown as an ominous lair was only reduced to a small patch of land filled with greenery and flowers, no signs of either Mewtwo's stronghold or the laboratory it previously housed.

"Just as expected." Giovanni allowed himself a grin and a nod. "Well done. Return to headquarters as quickly as you can. I have other assignments for you."

"Roger!"

The trio interrupted their communication right after, shrouding Giovanni's office in the dark again. Now alone, Giovanni grabbed a glass of wine with his free hand, as he continued to rub over Persian's head with a less than pleased expression drawn on his face.

Mewtwo was too smart to have completely missed his agents' presence, even if he was busy with everything that went down. Much like Mewtwo's menaces and his failed attempt to summon strong trainers in New Island, this was all just part of a show of power to scare him away from getting involved with him. A smart plan, but not a very thought out one.

One thing was for sure, Giovanni couldn't let a being with such a power be left unchecked, even if his little champions managed to do the seeming impossible and redeem him. He was the one who ordered Mewtwo's creation, and as such, the Pokémon was his property and responsibility.

Perhaps he could track him down and attack him when his guard was lowered, maybe getting Domino or Matori Matrix involved in the mission. Perhaps he could see if a second Mewtwo project could work out better, now that he knew the risks to avoid. Or perhaps he could just wait for the events to play in his favor, now that Mewtwo removed himself from the chessboard for the time being. The world was a harsh place, and Mewtwo's mind too fragile to survive in it.

Giovanni laughed at that observation. By retreating to find his peace, Mewtwo had given him all the time he needed to plan ahead and defeat him. And in the end, the leader of Team Rocket knew he would finally prove victorious between them.

The first thing to do after the adventure was over was to deal with one of the many unfortunate accidents that happened during it. However, Ash didn't expect just how awkward the situation would get.

“How did you break it?”

That was all Professor Oak had to ask him when Ash presented him with the very shredded and scorched scraps of metal that he had realized to his shock had been the Pokédex.

The question was both in frustration and astonishment. The sort of question a parent had for a child who broke a vase, a vase that was made of indestructible material and well out of reach.

“I don’t have a clue. I was trapped at the time, and I didn’t exactly get a chance to ask. I only found out when we got dropped in a giant pile in the middle of nowhere and a piece scratched my nose.”

He idly scratched the narrow line that said piece of metal had left him in the last few days.

“Well, I’d ask further questions but I am not entirely sure I want an answer. I can however tell you this: I’d highly suggest you not leave Pallet Town until the League. I am sure I don’t need to tell you that if you get into that sort of thing again your mother will chain you to your bed to keep it from happening again.”

At the Professor’s threat he couldn’t help but wince in agreement. Though he was sure the Professor then muttered to something to himself about ‘until grandchildren’ that he didn’t want to think about.

“I can build a new model Pokédex for you before the league, but until then try to stay out of further trouble.”

Stay out of further trouble, he could do that. Probably.

He just needed to stay far, far away from any ruins in the area, and hope Team Rocket stayed away for a while.

“Say, would the new Pokédex have a different personality, or would you be able to restore the old one?”

He found himself asking the question, and he was surprised to realize how much the idea that the Pokédex might be something entirely different this time actually would depress him.

“The same personality you are used to, as I have backups that updated shortly before its destruction. It will be compatible with all older software like those ‘Monodexes’ I believe they are called, and retain all the data it had recorded. I take it that’s fine with you.”

It was quite fine in fact.

“So…those are my missing memories.”

Cepu’s projected form nodded affirmatively at his question, fully rebooted and back to peak efficiency.

Alex Silph stared into the flowing data before him, gathered in that final battle that had been wiped from his own memory.

So much that he and his Pokémon had lost, yet Cepu had retained near perfectly, bar the gaps from her period of being down because of that Pokédex A.I. This ‘Mewtwo’ had underestimated technology, even after that Pokédex A.I nearly killed him and damaged Cepu.

How flawed, flawed as much as the logic that the Pokédex had. Whoever made the intelligence for it clearly needed some lessons in programming.

They either messed up on the learning subroutines and let it evolve into such a state, or it was always like that. Both were bad designs.

Ash of Pallet Town, Red of Viridian City, and Paul of Veilstone City. His data on that trio of rookies had expanded drastically in the span of a single day, and the data on others there had improved notably as well.

With such information at his fingers, the League was his to win. His strategies would be all that much better.

His Pokémon even had a new great battle under their belts to strengthen them: once they recovered he would have to test them to see if he’d have to reassign any of them to the A teams.

His eyes rested on a note that had been added to the data on Ash and Red.

“Tell me Cepu, how likely is it that their being Bloodliners will be a factor in the league to come? Give me all scenarios.”

After everything that happened in New Island, the quiet and green hills of Pallet Town had never felt more welcoming. Ash and Pikachu took a deep breath of the clean air, taking a moment to relax before they turned to their guest next to them.

Lucario took a gander of the scenery below with a smile on his face, deep in reminiscence as he went over each of the houses and the greenery surrounding the whole town. 'This place hasn't changed that much. It's almost comforting.'

Ash nodded, before he smiled back at Lucario. "I really have to thank you for your help. We wouldn't have made it without you."

'It was my duty to assist you. That's why Sir Aaron sealed me in the staff, after all.'

Hearing that, Ash couldn't help but sigh in relief. He had already suspected it back during his visit to Rota at the beginning of his journey in the new timeline, but he was happy to know that this time around Sir Aaron and Lucario were allowed to say goodbye on their own terms, aware of what happened. Even if knowing the reason only made him feel guilty.

"I'm sorry. Because of me, you-"

'Don't feel responsible. If I am here, it's because of my decision. And if nothing else, my time here has been plenty interesting already.' Lucario chuckled, as if he found the whole situation funny.

Ash tried to follow the Pokémon's advice, the boy's attention going back to the sky, thinking about the recent events. Ash and his travelling companions found themselves back on Old Shore Wharf, with their memories of the events intact but with no one else around them aware of what happened with Mewtwo, including the Nurse Joy that he had kept with him. None of the other trainers were there and all of Ash's Pokémon were returned to Oak's Laboratory, so he couldn't say how many others retained their memory of what happened, but Ash was quite sure not many did. It was a bit sad, but Mewtwo probably deserved some peace to figure out where to go next with his life. He wondered if he was going to go to Mt. Quena again, or somewhere completely different; he wasn't sure how much Mewtwo peered into his memories, after all.

As he continued to muse about the recent events, the boy's attention went back to Lucario. "What did you think of Mewtwo?"

The ancient Aura Guardian pondered over the question for a brief while, before his gaze turned skyward as well, deep in contemplation.

'During our battle, I called him a petty tyrant. I wish I didn't do so.' Lucario shook his head. 'He was just a child scared of the unknown world and looking for someone to love him. I can relate, to a degree.'

He raised a paw to the sky, almost as if trying to catch the sun in it. 'We can't live our lives shackled by the chains of the past and what could've been. We have to accept our present, and forge our own paths of the future. And I think this is a lesson Mewtwo learned, thanks to you.'

Lucario turned back towards Ash, a smile over his muzzle. 'I can't say if he'll truly find happiness, but if nothing else, you ensured he could move on. And that's the best help you could've ever done to him.'

"I didn't do anything special." Ash gave him a sheepish grin back, rubbing his own neck. "But if there's anything I can do to help you out, please say so."

Lucario seemed to give serious consideration to Ash's offer, placing a paw on his chin as he seemed to lose himself in thought. And then, the Pokémon's attention went back to Ash.

'Well... there is something.' He paused, and then he averted his gaze from Ash, scratching at his own cheek. 'Do you still have some of that... chocolate? It was... rather delicious.'

Ash could swear he saw Lucario's cheeks flush pink as he asked that. Ash and Pikachu allowed themselves to chuckle in response. Max had the right idea, one timeline ago.

"Alright, I'm gonna go grab some," Ash said, standing back up while Pikachu reached up for his usual spot. Lucario seemed to barely hide a huge flashing grin as Ash made his way back to his house. Along the way, Ash yawned, the tiredness still taking a hold of his body.

It had only been a few days since New Island, and everyone still felt exhausted. Ash would admit there hadn’t been a ton of training recently, and he would give it a few days before he pressed the issue again. Everyone was way too proved physically and mentally, and they needed the time. Plus it had given him time to show Lucario around the modern century and all that had changed since then. He was glad to see he was doing better this time.

Once he finally entered home and started his search for some chocolate and maybe a muffin for himself, however, Ash found the phone ringing in the living room. With a bit of surprise and just a bit of nuisance, Ash went to answer, setting up the camera as well.

As the phone and camera booted up, he found himself staring at someone he didn't expect to ever call him.

Casey Snagem. The old man from New Island, Gary's acquaintance, and someone that probably wasn't supposed to still remember him.

“I’m sure you are surprised to be hearing from me. I hope I caught you alone,” the man said.

“You did, though I’m confused.”

The older man chuckled. “That I still remember? Gary certainly doesn’t, and I can confirm to you memory loss in the others I have talked to. As to how I remember, it is quite simple. As a writer, I am immune to losing my memories to mass wiping events.”

Ash could only stare at the man in utter confusion, who promptly chuckled at his own joke, or possibly reference to something.

“No, actually that isn’t it. I’ve just dealt with mass mind wipes before and grew an immunity to it over time, particularly when done by Psychic-type Pokémon. Mewtwo was stronger than the typical Beheeyem, but he was hardly the first to try to wipe my memories. So I remember everything.”

“You do, huh.”

He tried to not show how worried he was at that point.

“Of course, there are things I want to talk to you about that weren’t obvious to most. Something that has nothing to do with manmade legendaries, bloodliners, the power of my Chesnaught, or even your teen drama. Especially not that last one, I’d be quite happy for you to keep that to yourself. What I want to talk to you about is something else.”

“And that would be?” Ash asked, head tilted. What warranted him calling him early in the morning that didn’t involve any of those things?

“I simply am curious about your experience with time travel.”

TO BE CONTINUED,

ONE MORE CHAPTER TO LEAGUE

OMAKE

NON-CANON

It could have been worse (or possibly better…)

Earth 040919

Everyone, regardless of species, could only stare in horror as Ash was struck by a black Pokéball and sucked into it.

His clothes were all that was left of him, lingering in the air for a mere microsecond before collapsing into a pile on the ground.

The ball clattered into the pile inches from the Pokédex that had fallen from Ash’s pocket.

Pikachu could only stare at the ball that now sat atop the vacated pair of pants, terror seizing every cell in his body.

A flicker in the air drew his gaze away from the ball that had taken his friend, and he could only stare in utter horror at what now floated over Mewtwo’s side of the field.

A massive swarm of the very same balls, hundreds of them. Perhaps even thousands.

With a mere flick of Mewtwo’s finger, the balls all flew towards them without mercy.

…

Things had gone a bit different to what Lucario had imagined.

When he agreed to be sealed in Sir Aaron’s staff, he was told he would fall into a deep sleep, and he would feel like only one night had passed.

However, there were times something partially woke him up from his slumber. Sometimes, it was as if the heir’s voice tried to call out to him.

It happened several times, and it always came from a small light in the middle of a cold and infinite void of darkness. But no matter how hard he tried to reach out to it, it always disappeared, and then he was dragged back to his deep sleep.

This time, however, something different happened. He heard the same voice again, but it seemed to be calling out in anger. Then, it became more subdued, and all he heard was a faint call for help.

Somehow, he knew the heir was in trouble, and needed him. He couldn’t explain, but it was as if that helped him break the seal and reach out to him.

He was ready to wake up in a place completely different from the Tree of Beginning. But he didn’t imagine it would be a small, cramped space, where many metal pincers clawed all over him just as soon he could feel himself in the physical world again.

Thus, he had no chance but to blast them away with an Aura Sphere, breaking through to finally see where he was. He had appeared inside some sort of strange machinery, spiral-shaped and with many transparent tubes full of liquid coming out of it.

He’d could only imagine how confused he’d have been if he didn’t have any idea he was in the future. Even with that knowledge it was quite surreal.

A second later, a sphere that looked like a large, sinister eyeball with a red pupil burst open behind him, releasing someone who was at the same time familiar and unknown to him.

The young man in front of him couldn’t be anyone but the heir of his former master. His hair was similarly black and messy, albeit somewhat shorter and with no sign of the slight blue hue Sir Aaron had, and he was as tall as his master had been, perhaps a bit more especially for his apparent age. There were differences, of course; the color and shape of his eyes resembled more those of Sir Aaron’s lover. Other features were a bit more alien to them both: the ears were different, as were the marks on his cheeks.

He was also lacking clothes, which was somewhat odd. Perhaps that was not done in the future. Still the lack of clothing revealed additional features he shared with his master as well as aspects he did not.

The heir had a lot more body hair than his master, and many fewer scars. Though the latter would likely change in time. He also seemed less grimy than his master, perhaps suggesting an increased use of soap in this time period.

The way the conversation was going made Lucario suspect that it was just as likely that he didn’t know that he was naked, so shocked he was by what had happened to him he hadn’t registered it yet, as it was that nudity was common in this century of humanity.

He’d ask when the time was appropriate.

…

It all happened too fast, and it was still spinning in Misty's head.

One second, after Ash and Charizard defeated Mewtwo's clone, those strange dark balls started flying around all over. The next, one of those balls hit Ash and absorbed him like he was a Pokémon, leaving behind only his clothes.

The shock left her too stunned to scream or something, and she didn't even move when one of those balls hit her too. Then everything turned to darkness.

It was a horrible sensation. She couldn't see, hear, or feel anything at all, yet she was still fully aware of herself. It was like being somewhere between life and death.

Even though it only lasted for a few minutes, she felt it was like an eternity, and she felt a huge relief once she finally got out. She didn't want to experience that ever again.

She saw the smiling face of Ash when she got out, joyful at the sight of her. She idly noted that Anabel and Iris were free too, along with Red and Yellow, which no doubt contributed to the joy in Ash’s face.

She quickly hugged him, just so happy to see him fine, to see everyone else fine (including several of her own Pokémon), and being fine herself.

Her arms clamped down around Ash, pulling him into her. He grunted in surprise, but quickly relaxed in her embrace.

However even as much she enjoyed the hug, and the sheer feeling of relief at being out of that horrible place, she couldn’t help but feel that something was wrong.

Something about the hug, about her, about everyone around her, felt off somehow, and from what she could tell Ash was starting to also think that.

She briefly glanced at Iris, Anabel, Red, and Yellow, the latter three seeming to have noticed exactly what it was and had all paled noticeably.

Iris wasn’t though, so what could that possibly…

Misty tilted her head down, nearly knocking her head against Ash’s head as he did the same.

They both began screaming seconds after Yellow and Red before rapidly breaking their hug.

For there was not a speck of clothing between them.

…

He really should be doing something other than screaming his head off at this point: if he had to scream in horror he had plenty of time to do it earlier, and in the grand scheme of things this was by far less horrible than being trapped in the balls.

However that was the logical way to think, and he had just clearly seen Misty, Iris, and Anabel’s boobs. This was no time for logic!

“Are you guys done screaming? It is hurting my ears?”

Iris’s question did get the screaming to stop, though it did get Red to look at Iris in disbelief, his eyes struggling to keep eye contact on her even as flames danced in his throat.

“Why are you not freaking out?”

Well it was obvious Red. Iris just didn’t have a problem with this sort of thing unlike certain people who should be keeping their eyes up before someone taught you a lesson….and now he was getting annoyed at Red again and sounding rather aggressive about it.

This was not the time to start glaring at Red again, even if logic wasn’t in effect. Mewtwo might wipe out cities while he was busy being angry at Red for what logic would have as a minor offense, if an offense at all.

He’d have to deal with his desire to punch Red in the face another time when the world was not possibly at risk. Punching Red in the face would probably rank highly in the worst things he could be doing right now.

“I could ask you the same thing Ash. You aren’t even covering up the…”

Covering up the…

Oh.

He noted that his hands were not in fact currently covering himself as Yellow at pointed out.

Also he didn’t notice this for…however long he was trying to get the Pokéballs open? Or have it mentioned by any of the Pokémon?

Both worried him, all in different ways.

‘Is this the part where I mention I wasn’t screaming as internally as you three were externally?’

At Anabel’s worried point, even if she was doing a much better job at remembering how to cross her arms across her body Misty gave a side glare at Iris, even as she seemed to blush even more so as her focus made her take note of Red more.

He ignored the flaring desire to punch Red in the face that resulted.

“Stop grinning Iris.”

Iris did not stop grinning.

“I do not see a reason to stop.”

Before he got to see a potential cat fight (with a 100% chance of nudity) between Iris and Misty, or he punched Red in the face, both of which he probably wanted more than he cared to admit, he had a sudden, if probably stupid idea to calm things down.

“Let’s find the lab coats: that will solve this problem.”

At everyone’s confused looks, he continued his desperate solution.

“This is an evil science lair right? Those always have lab coats, and lab coast are clothing. We should find them somewhere, you guys can go look for them. I’ll keep letting the Pokémon out.”

“I will stay here and help you.”

Misty let out a loud and frustrated noise that he wasn’t sure was horror, anger, or both in response.

…

He probably should have killed the humans by now, but in all honestly he had far too much to do.

The machine had broken far too much trying to kill him, and it was taking a while to recreate them. The tower that had collapsed was requiring a lot of focus to restabalize and rebuild, and it was frankly annoying to have to get it back up.

Somehow it felt more tiresome to do so this time than originally, and he had a base to work from now. Yet it came off as the tiresome task to him.

When Amber was back, when the clones were with them, it would be all worth it. The machine would have utterly lost.

“You’re going to let us out right?”

He ignored the older human, and the only one of them that was still conscious.

He had nothing more to same to any of them.

“It will be easier for you if you act on that now. You probably should just make it like none of this happened. Surely mass mind alteration and teleportation is within your power.”

He paused, fortunately just as he finished placing a piece back in place in the broken tower.

‘I seem to have misjudged you.’

He didn’t turn around as he spoke.

‘To think I had assumed you had something the other humans didn’t have, beyond the hallmarks of an aged human. Yet here you are, begging for your own lives and leaving your Pokémon and the Bloodliners behind. Yes I know what they are, don’t be so shocked. Human nature is clear as ever.’

Casey Snagem chuckled, a sound that made him clench his digits in annoyance.

“That’s not what I’m suggesting. Not at all, and you’d be feeling the same way if you were like me. You aren’t however, and thus you are going to be surprised in a moment.”

He turned around to the bound human, readying to tighten the binds around him as necessary.

‘And just why, pray tell, will I be surprised? How would you know such things? Did another machine do something in a vain attempt to kill me?’

“Not at all, even if I do believe Cepu rebooted a bit earlier. Could have just been me hearing things. What isn’t me hearing things however is a sound I’d know anywhere.”

The bound trainer was now grinning at him, in a look that was both confident and a tad sad. Sad at what wasn’t able to be avoided.

The very next moment before an explosion shook the other side of the stadium.

He quickly turned around from the bound man and found himself staring at a massive round hole, still smoking from whatever blasted it open. In the center of said hole stood Ash Ketchum, who was glaring at him and most notably not sealed.

Or clothed, though that was fairly understandable given that his ball had left his clothing behind. It was a design quirk he had not considered implementing, as he had not deemed it particularly important then, or now really.

It was a curiosity, nothing more. He could have fixed it, but honestly he had decided not to in a spur of the moment decision.

On his shoulder sparked his Pikachu, and behind him to his left was the tan skinned Bloodliner girl, also naked.

Snagem’s Chesnaught and Clefairy were on the right of him, and the other Pokémon he captured were streaming forward.

The rest of the Bloodliners seemed to be standing around in ways that obscured their bodies, though he could clearly said their heads.

“I know the sound of my Pokémon from anywhere, though I must say my vision of this dramatic fight was a lot more PG. I’d prefer it that way personally.”

He waved his hand, and a metal sheet wrapped itself around Casey Snagem’s mouth, gagging him, and a second to cover his eyes.

Oddly he seemed to relax more when blinded. Odd human quirk over the nudity perhaps?

‘I don’t have time for this.’

He called up another round of his balls and sent them flying towards the escapees.

However a blue shockwave washed through them from the assembled force, sending them clattering to the ground.

So much for solving this problem quickly.

…

At the end of a long and mad battle that he had only managed to end in a satisfactory way by finding his clothes and digging out his Z-Ring, though he hadn’t had the chance to both get the thing that saved them all and put his clothes back on in the midst of combat.

Said piles of clothes hadn’t come with them when Mewtwo had sent them away, and now they found themselves in the middle of a giant field in the middle of nowhere, the only thing artificial among them being his backpack’s contents and all of their Pokéballs scattered around.

No spare clothing, a torn-up and broken beyond repair Pokédex, and a few keystone holders between them all.

“Well, that was horrifying and disturbing and we probably all need therapy, but we can all just go back to Pallet Town and breath for a bit. Vacation over, no more surprises. Alright Anabel, teleport us there, we can go in shifts.”

At Misty’s request Anabel blushed, which confused Misty.

“Anabel, why are you blushi…”

Misty’s face rapidly flushed red.

“Oh yeah, naked, how could I forget. Wait, why did I forget!?”

Misty closed her eyes and flailed in confusion and worry, causing her body to do motions that he really had to try and look away from.

“Extensive exposure to battle probably helped burn off your issues with it. That’s one good thing out of all this, at least.”

Iris’s explanation might have been registered by the still freaking out Misty, though it again turned to Anabel to raise an issue.

An issue that he had to admit had also forgotten along with the issue of teleporting back right now.

‘There is also the issue that we could be seen before we can get any spare clothing. I don’t think any of us can risk going back in the daytime, or even a good part of night time for that matter. Oh dear, we might have to wait until at least midnight, and that’s assuming we can avoid any squeaky floorboards around the dressers.’

Ash could only wince. He had a few of those didn’t he, and he wasn’t sure he quite remembered where all of them were.

So now he was stuck naked with three naked and quite attractive girls in a forest clearing for hours with nothing to do until they could possibly hope to make a break for actual clothing.

Why didn’t that seem that bad when he thought about it like that? Oh wait, he knew the answer to that.

He couldn’t really even try to distract himself from them: the Pokémon were all exhausted so training was a no go, and with the Pokédex gone he couldn’t just watch or read something.

Time would flow either very slowly and awkwardly until midnight, or very quickly and awkwardly until midnight.

“So seeing as we are not going anywhere for a while, we might as well talk. So Ash, I noticed your eyes are going around us a lot. What do you like seeing so much?”

He didn’t know what about that question made him more horrified: Iris’s wide grin she was sending his way, Misty’s gaping jaw at Iris for bringing that up while also sort of looking at him in curiosity, or Anabel’s reignited blush and also similar curious look.

It could also be the massive grin Pikachu was giving him from atop a nearby branch while he nibbled on an apple in a way that made him look like a very amused asshole.

Pikachu and Iris were probably the only ones enjoying this fully.

“Well…um….er….”

This was going to go either very horribly, or very well, and Ash wasn’t sure which of those options scared him more.

…

“…And that’s how we got over our issues and started dating, overcoming the silly concept of shame, and enjoying ourselves to the fullest.”

Bloodliner Ash could only stare at his counterpart, who recounted his own divergent story. It was odd, meeting a version of himself from a different point in his own timeline.

He was used to meeting chibi versions of himself at this point, as well as versions of himself that engaged in casual Lillipup-punting. But they were so different from his current story he could shrug it off somewhat.

They were just alien enough to not disturb him, especially after punching the latter versions.

But a version of himself who was clearly himself from a different take on Mewtwo was something more unsettling. A timeline where Mewtwo had somehow managed to make his Pokéballs even worse, which resulted in basically burning out their sense of shame and accelerating his relationships with Misty, Iris, and Anabel.

It also led to him losing in the Indigo Top 4 to Alexander Silph, though his counterpart took the loss well enough as far as he could tell. Seeing as he didn’t fight Silph in the Top 4, the ripples of change were clearly complex thing.

“Interesting, now please put some clothes on.”

At Don Ash’s insistence the alternate chuckled.

“You choose to pick me up to talk first thing in the morning. What would you expect that I’d be all wrapped up in footie-pajamas? Why on earth would I sleep clothed after Misty won the Whirl Cup?”

At Ranger and Rhyme-bouncer Ash winced at the idea, he felt the need, against his better judgement, to defend his naked counterpart.

“Well that was on you guys. I mean I don’t sleep like that every night, but if you grabbed me after a night I was having sex I’d be naked too. A bit less blazen about it, but that is just how thing work.”

Don Ash groaned at him for defending his alternate self, who gave him a thumbs up in appreciation.

“You mean brazen, not blazen.”

They weren’t the same thing?