POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 20 - Route One Rumble!)

[NeoMiniTails]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 18 - Sacred Fire)

I just read chapter twelve. ^_^. really well-written.

I enjoyed the pokeshipping hints and your writing from chapter one to this one was a major improvement although there was nothing wrong with your beginning chapters... Just your writing has improved with each chapter.

Btw, I voted for your story on the final voting thread on both categories. It seems like mostly everyone is voting for you!

I loved how you made Ash react to hearing Brock's slight fib regarding Misty. Speaking of the fiery head female, I felt so bad for her leaving... And Dawn's treatment of her... Although I'm sure with time, the two'd become friends.

Characterization and dialogue was brilliant along with your description.

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I'm working on my next chapter, myself... Surprisingly, I decided to add Dento into the story although I originally had no plans to use him...

I decided to add him to Dawn's plot within the story...

Hopefully, I'll get it up within the next two weeks...

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My favorite part in your chapter specifically was when Ash woke up to see Misty and his quote towards Pikachu about Misty... Then his looking for Misty when he woke up and Dawn was there.

I'll read your next chapter maybe later or tomorrow...

Until Next Time,
Neo

 

[Legacy]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 18 - Sacred Fire)

After a long delay, here is Chapter 19 at last! It's been a while, but just to refresh: Chapter 18 ended with Ash and the gang in the bedroom Oak had made him in his lab's utility closet. The group has decided to set off for the Cahill Islands to try to save the imprisoned tournament trainers from Team Rocket's secret HQ!

Without further ado... here is the next installment of The Power Inside. Please let me know if you catch any grammar, punctuation, or any other kind of errors. Chapters this long make it next to impossible to catch everything. I welcome all criticism, comments, and suggestions!

Ash felt it again.

A tingly sensation ran down the boy's back like needle pricks as he felt his adrenaline begin to flow. He could feel his heart pounding inside of his chest like the beat of a song. Ash normally got very excited – almost to the point of hyperventilation at times – prior to any sort of competition or long journey that he was about to set off on. This much more intense, almost electric, super-charged sensation he was feeling at the moment was similar, although he was certain that it had something to do with the mysterious gold coin he still kept in his jeans pocket.

The last time Ash had felt this level of overwhelming excitement had been prior to his first tournament match over a week ago. During that match, he had ridden the emotional high all the way to a dominating performance against Ethan Hart, astounding himself and the millions of spectators with the ease of his win. As it turned out, something about the coin that had been left on his doorstep had seemingly carried him to victory that day. And now, while Ash should have been frightened by the prospect of sneaking into the Team Rocket headquarters in order to save Lance and Cynthia, he was still hopeful that the golden metal disc and its apparent magic would bring him the same type of success.

The fifteen-year-old gazed around his makeshift bedroom at his group of loyal friends who were all huddled around him. Everyone had returned to Ash's room (Oak's utility room) after leaving to change clothes and retrieve their pokéballs and their backpacks. Now here they were, all standing by his side, ready to accompany him on his latest crazy journey... just like the old days.

It amazed Ash that not one of his friends seemed overly frightened at all. He wouldn't have blamed any of them for feeling like it was pointless to “go looking for trouble,” as Professor Oak had put it. After all, none of the them, aside from Lexi, knew anything about the apparent protective magic that his strange coin possessed. As far as they knew, the weird gift he had received in Sapphire City was nothing more than a silly good luck charm and would do nothing to protect them. And while Misty, May, Max, Dawn and Brock all seemed to understand that what they were about to embark on would not be anything like the normal gym badge or contest ribbon quests that they had been used to in the past, here they were: ready to go into battle along side Ash once again.

“All right,” Max said excitedly as his Kirlia, just released from its pokéball, stood beside him near Ash's mattress. “We should get going. The sooner we get to Viridian City, the sooner we can get to the Cahill Islands and save Lance and Miss Cynthia.”

“Keer!” the graceful psychic Pokémon cheered in agreement as it did a little ballerina-like twirl on one leg.

“Slow down, Max,” his sister warned. “First, I think we should come up with some sort of plan. I mean, what if we run into trouble? What if Team Rocket is looking for Ash just like the rest of the tournament trainers that they've captured?”

“That's why we need to leave soon, May,” Max argued. “We've got to get to the Cahill Islands before the sun comes up. We won't be able to just waltz in there in broad daylight.”

“Max is right!” Ash blurted out impatiently. He was barely able to contain his excitement by now. “Everyone ready? Let's get going!”

“Pika!” his loyal electric mouse, who had since awoken from its slumber, cried once he had leaped up onto Ash's shoulder.

“But Ash...” Dawn tried to calm him down a bit. She was used to the boy's recklessness after four years of traveling with him, but she agreed with May. She feared that this was not the time to be rushing into things without being prepared.

But Ash was done talking and was done sitting still. With that familiar twinkle in his auburn eyes, the boy leaped up from his seated position, almost knocking Pikachu from his shoulder in the process. He started towards the door. But as he hoisted himself up off of the mattress, his green backpack fell from the bed to the floor.

No one would have thought much of this either, except that the sound of the entire contents of the open bag spilled out upon impact. Pokéballs clanged against the hardwood. Ash's toiletries and his hand-held Pokédex device were also among the scattered items.

As the nearest person to the nondescript accident, Misty bent down to help Ash pick up his things. She gathered up his pokéballs and stuffed them back into the backpack. The redhead stopped, however, when she picked up what appeared to be a compact disc inside a clear plastic case, which had also fallen out of the boy's bag. She looked at the shiny disc with curiosity, squinting her eyes in the dim light in order to read the handwritten, masking-tape label on the front of the case.

“The M3 Project?” she read aloud, sounding a bit confused. “Ash, what's this?”

Ash hadn't really been paying close attention as he had been stuffing his fallen items into his bag as fast as he could so that they could leave. When he realized Misty had been talking to him, he stopped and stared at the disc the girl was holding up. He didn't recognize it right away as was evident by the blank look on his face.

“Weird, I don't remember packing any DVDs,” the raven-haired teenager said as he scratched his head.

“Well it was in your backpack,” Misty replied suspiciously.

“Pikapi! Pika!” the jagged-tailed creature cried vehemently as he hopped down from the boy's shoulder and onto the floor. Pikachu was jumping around and waving his stubby arms, as though he recognized the disc and was trying to tell Ash where it had come from.

And almost as if the teen had completely comprehended the series of squeaks and cries from his furry little friend, he suddenly remembered where he had gotten that disc: Sapphire City, when that strange man in the gray business suit had literally run into him at the Pokémon Center. Of course! How could he have let it slip his mind like this?

Ash explained to his friends that he and the mysterious man had collided hard in the hallway following his first match of the tourney. After the man had yelled at him for running in the hallways, he had hurriedly gathered his fallen belongings and rushed off. In all the chaos, the man had apparently forgotten the compact disc, which Ash had picked up and intended to leave at the front desk in the lobby. But he had totally forgotten about it until now.

Despite their plan to sneak out of Oak's Laboratory and off to Viridian City, the group was now a bit curious about what this strange disc was. They might have just dismissed it as some random music CD or movie if not for the suspicious-sounding title that was etched on the label.

“The M3 Project,” Brock repeated thoughtfully, scratching his spiked brown hair. “M3... Hey! Isn't that what Team Rocket is calling their big, killer Pokémon?”

“Hey, you're right, Brock,” Dawn replied, her blue eyes growing wide. “That's what the voice on the T.V. called it during the attack at the stadium.”

“Nonsense,” Lexi scoffed, who had been silent up until now. “Ash, we don't have time to worry about some stupid CD. It's just a coincidence. We have to get to Viridian City as soon as we can. We should leave now.”

Ash remained silent, standing remarkably still considering how excited he had been to set off to save Lance, Cynthia and the rest of the imprisoned tournament trainers just a few minutes ago. Lexi had a point. If they wanted to safely make it to the Cahill Islands, they would be much better off doing so under the protection of night. Not to mention the fact that they needed to leave before Professor Oak and Ash's mother woke up to stop them. But on the other hand, what if this disc did have something to do with Team Rocket and their monster? Anything that could offer clues about how to save the captured trainers might be worth the time.

Ash knew that his friends were waiting for him to make the decision. Over the years, they had gotten used to the boy's stubbornness, not to mention his undeniable leadership qualities that he had developed over the years. And so, the boy took the plastic disc case from Misty and opened it. He took out the disc, holding it carefully along its edges with his fingertips.

“Brock, do you have your laptop with you?” Ash asked.

“Um, yeah,” the nineteen-year-old replied in his familiar deep-voiced tone. He unzipped his own backpack and took out a small, flat computer out of it. He handed it to Ash.

The teen took the device, flipped it open and turned it on. He loaded the disc into its drive before setting the computer on his bed so that the group could see. After a few seconds, the screen lit up and whatever video footage was on the CD began to play. The picture appeared to be out of focus at first, but as soon as the blurriness of the video started to fade, the group gasped at what they saw.

It was a young woman with long brown hair. Her facial features were still a bit too blurry to make out, but the slender female wore a long, white lab coat and held some sort of clipboard in her hands. The unmistakable scenery of some sort of complex-looking laboratory – much fancier than Oak's even – surrounded her as she stood like a television news reporter in front of the camera. Computers, lab equipment and various metal machines could be plainly seen in the background.

As the camera shot zoomed in closer on the female scientist's face, Ash and the others could see that she was a gorgeous young woman, probably in her early or mid-twenties. With her sparkling brown eyes and luscious figure, this young lady looked nothing like the stereotypical crusty, old scientist. Ash looked over to see Brock beginning to fidget with that goofy drooling expression he always had in the presence of a beautiful female. The fifteen-year-old just rolled his eyes at his elder.

“Aaahh! Oh my god!”

But a sudden, eardrum-rattling scream from behind the group made Ash jump.

“What?! What happened?!” the boy hissed as he and the others whirled around to see what had happened. He hoped his mother and Professor Oak hadn't been awoken by the shrill noise.

“Th-that! That's Kim!”

The culprit had been Lexi. She had a look of utter horror and shock on her fair-skinned face. She was pointing a trembling finger towards the computer screen as her bottom lip quivered like a tuning fork. The teenage girl collapsed to her knees as she stared at the laptop's display, her green eyes as wide as saucers. Misty and May, who were beyond confused by the girl's reaction, tried to help her to her feet, but Lexi seemed hysterical at this point and ignored the other two girls completely.

Everyone was shocked by Lexi's outburst, but assumed that she must know this female scientist somehow. Ash paused the video, leaving the female scientist's face as a still picture on his computer screen. He went over to where the girl was sitting on the floor and knelt down so that he was eye-to-eye with her.

“What's wrong, Lexi? Who's Kim? Do you know this woman?”

The brown-haired girl was still trembling slightly as she stared past Ash, never taking her eyes off of the screen.

“Ash! Wh-who did you get this video from!? That...that's her! My s-s-sister!”

Instantly, Ash remembered who 'Kim' was, and he realized why Lexi had reacted so strongly to the video. Amid all the excitement of sneaking out to save the champions from Team Rocket's imprisonment, he had totally forgotten.

He quickly explained to the rest of the confused group what Lexi had told him when he had first met her outside the Sapphire Stadium Pokémon Center. The girl was still too shocked to articulate much, so Ash told everyone about how Lexi's sister had been kidnapped four years ago and was still missing to this day. And now, what a turn of events! Her long lost sister, whom Ash had secretly presumed dead up until this point, was looking back at them from Brock's computer screen.

As Ash finished filling everyone in about Kim Moss, he couldn't help but wonder if this whole thing could possibly just be some sort of coincidence. What were the chances that everything would come together like this? It was yet another very strange occurrence during this unbelievable past few weeks.

Misty and Dawn, who up until this point had held much ill-will towards Lexi because of how Ash had been looking at and treating her for the past few days, were now a bit more sympathetic when they heard about Kim. Dawn especially, who had been trying to cope with the fact that she wasn't the only girl in Ash Ketchum's life anymore, felt bad about how selfish she had been. She couldn't imagine having a loved one literally stolen from her as Lexi's sister had been.

“Lexi,” Ash said finally, redirecting his attention to the hysterical girl. “I'm sorry I forgot about this video up until now. Like I said, I picked it up after that man in the Pokémon Center ran into me.”

Still too shocked to speak clearly, Lexi just continued to stare at the screen. Seeing her sister's face after four years of wondering whether or not she was even alive was obviously enough to render the teenager speechless.

“Ash,” Max spoke instead. “Did you get that guy's name? I mean, who was he anyway? He must have been working with whoever kidnapped Kim if he was carrying this disc.”

“I don't know,” Ash replied sadly as he tried to remember the collision in the hallway with the gray-suited man. “I remember we collided. I think he had a briefcase that spilled out a bunch of stuff when we fell. I remember he was really nervous because I recognized...”

Ash stopped. His eyes began to get big as he had obviously remembered something important about the encounter.

“Recognized what?!” May asked as she and the others looked at Ash anxiously when he paused.

“The photo!” Ash said finally.

“Photo?”

Ash jumped up from where he had been kneeling next to Lexi. He was squinting his eyes as he tried to recreate what had happened in his mind.

“There was a photo that fell out of that guy's briefcase. I remember seeing it laying on the floor.”

“Well, are you gonna tell us what it was a photo of?” Max demanded impatiently.

“Misty, Brock,” Ash replied, looking at his two oldest friends. “Do you remember way back when we were traveling around Mount Quena in Johto a few years ago... and we met Mewtwo?”

“Mewtwo? Hm... I think so,” Misty said, stroking her chin with her thumb and index finger as she tried to recollect.

“I remember,” Brock said. “We helped rescue Mewtwo from Team Rocket... the old Team Rocket, when they were trying to take over that mountain. I wonder what ever happened to Mewtwo. I'd never seen a Pokémon quite like it before.”

“Oh yeah! Mewtwo!” Misty said more confidently as her memory had been successfully jogged. “That's right. I remember now. It had some incredible psychic powers, that's for sure.”

“Mewtwo?” Dawn replied, looking confused. “How come I've never heard of that Pokémon before?”

“Yeah, and what does it have to do with the photograph or any of this?” May added, sharing the rest of the group's confusion.

“Well, that photo that fell out of the man's briefcase was a picture of Mewtwo!”

“What?!”

“Yeah,” Ash continued. “It took me a minute to recognize it, but when I did, the man got really nervous. He ripped the picture away from me and ran off. I guess that's why he didn't realize he had dropped the disc.”

“Turn it back on!” Lexi's voice again interrupted the groups discussion.

Ash and the others turned to where Lexi was still sprawled out on the floor. She was still looking hysterical as she pointed desperately at the laptop.

“P-please,” was all she could muster. “I want to see her!”

“She's right, Ash,” Brock said. “If Team Rocket was after Mewtwo all those years ago, and now this guy is walking around with a photo of it right before the “new” Team Rocket makes its debut...”

“Yeah,” Misty agreed. “There's got to be some sort of connection! Let's see what's on this video he dropped.”

“Right,” Ash replied. He walked over and pressed the resume button on the computer and sat down on the floor next to Lexi to watch.


“This... this is Professor Kimberly Moss,” the woman awkwardly announced to the camera with a bashful smirk. She clearly wasn't all that comfortable with being videotaped.

“They uh... they told me I had to record this video report to recap my work after I finished the project... the M3 Project, I guess it's called. Well... yeah, it's done. I've finished it. The M3 Project was a success.”

The group continued to watch the screen in silence as the girl, whom they now knew as Lexi's older sister, tried to record her video log. As Ash watched, he thought it was a bit strange that Kim Moss didn't exactly seem terrified for someone who had been kidnapped. Sure, she looked a little camera shy and didn't sound very professional on the video, but overall, her body language was oddly relaxed and casual.

“What does Kim mean by 'success'?” Max asked excitedly as he turned to his sister. “What's she talking about?”

“Shhhh!” was all he got in response from the group as Kim continued on with her video self-interview.

“So let's see...Where should I start? I-I guess it all started when you guys first brought me in to head this project like four years ago,” Kim said. “You guys flew me in here and said you needed me to look over some research journals you guys found on New... New Island, I think it was called.

“Apparently, the research journals belonged to this scientist... Dr. Fuji, who had some sort of secret laboratory on that island years ago. I was told the lab had since been found a few years back completely destroyed, but some of Fuji's computer hard drives and journals were found amid the rubble and recovered.

“Anyway, according to the journals, Dr. Fuji was using that secret lab to try and clone the legendary Pokémon, Mew, from an ancient fossil. He was apparently working to create a genetically enhanced version of the mythical feline Pokémon. “Mewtwo” is what he called his project.

“So when the Boss' men found the island a few years ago, they managed to recover some of the schematics and computer data from the wreckage. The Boss said he thought Fuji's 'Mewtwo Project' failed because no such Pokémon exists today... so my job was to take what the professor left behind and try to re-create 'Mewtwo.' It was my job to finish what he had started.

“And so... the new project would be known as the 'Mewthree Project,' or 'M3' for short.”

Ash, Misty and Brock all gasped. For years, they had wondered about the strange psychic Pokémon they had encountered years ago in the Johto Region and its origin. They did find it a bit odd to hear Kim say that Mewtwo didn't exist. Ash, Misty and Brock had met Mewtwo... how could Fuji have failed? Did nobody else know that Mewtwo did in fact exist? With all that was now swirling in their minds at the moment, the Kanto trio didn't have much time to explain the situation to the others before Kimberly Moss continued on.

“Anyways, I was brought in to help this organization reach its lofty goals by creating the most powerful and unstoppable Pokémon to ever step foot on this planet. By genetically enhancing Mew's DNA, I hoped to accomplish this feat... which would definitely cement my place in the history books as a scientist in the process.

“As my logs show, I was able to use the Mew specimen to create my Mewthree super-clone. However, after a few months, I did run into a major snag in the operation as their wasn't nearly enough genetic data left over from Fuji's research to create a true copy of Mewtwo. Without getting too technical, I simply didn't have a power source strong enough to fuel my beast. I needed some sort of energy to act as Mewthree's lifesource... I guess it's hard to explain to anyone who isn't a genetics expert, but without this power boost, Mewthree would have been nothing but a lifeless corpse, no more powerful than a lowly Metapod.

“For obvious reasons, I was hesitant to admit my failure to the Boss, but eventually had to face the music. That's when I realized just how serious the Boss was about his goals of world power. He simply chuckled when I told him I didn't have sufficient power to activate my monster.

“That's when he showed me the epicenter, the source of his entire operation. That's when he brought me into his office, closed the door, and showed me this...”

The group watched in awe as Kim took her hand out of her coat pocket, clutching the most vibrant and beautiful red, glowing jewel they had ever seen. It was probably only slightly bigger than a standard pokéball, but it glowed so brightly that the entire room around Moss was now tinted red. The woman looked like she was holding a miniature sun in her hands.

“Needless to say, this orb astounded me with the apparent energy it held. He handed it to me, and instantly, I could feel its warmth, its pulse... it was almost as though it was alive.

“I asked the Boss where he got such a unique stone, and was very surprised that he told me. Many years ago... I'm not sure how long exactly... before the Boss ever had these kinds of lofty aspirations of world power, he was the head of a very successful and wealthy oil drilling corporation. And during an expedition at Yoshii Mountain, his team unearthed this mystical jewel that was buried in the solid rock. He apparently kept it a secret for all these years.

“That's all I really know about it, but once I got the orb back to the lab and started running some tests, it was clear that this was no ordinary rock. The levels of raw energy that this jewel possessed were through the roof! I knew it was just what I needed to bring my creation to life!

“But for as strange as this all seemed to me by this point, an even weirder thing happened when I tried to harness the orb's power. I ran every sort of lab test on this thing that I knew, but nothing I did gave me any sort of clue as to what in the world it was.

“More importantly, I was having a hard time figuring out how I was going to use that energy to power my monster. But that problem was soon solved for me. Almost immediately upon holding this orb near the lifeless body of M3 lying on the operating table, something happened that I still am unable to explain.”

Ash and his friends watched Kim walk across her dimly lit laboratory as the camera followed her. Her black high heels clicked and clacked against the floor with each long-legged step she took. Finally, she stopped next to a waist-high operating table, like at a hospital. The surface was covered with a white sheet, but there was obviously some sort of body lying underneath.

“Allow me to show you.”

Kim ceremoniously held the red-glowing orb out over the sheet-covered body on the table. Instantly, the jewel's brightness intensified tenfold in her hand, nearly whiting out the entire camera shot as Ash and the others watched. When the blinding light had finally dissipated and the group could again see what was happening on the screen, the woman's hand was empty.

She retracted her outstretched arm. The group stared in awe as they saw what had happened. Underneath the white sheet, they could now see a faint red glow as if the orb had magically transported itself from Kim hand. The brightness of the muffled light was gradually increasing and decreasing back and forth like a flashing railroad light. The female professor promptly backed away from the table and out of the picture as the camera stayed focused on the body beneath the sheet.

“I give you... Mewthree,” Moss' voice bellowed, sounding rather satisfied.

Almost right on cue, the flashing red light underneath the sheet stopped and blazed more brightly than ever. The being underneath the white cover began to stir, slowly and softly at first, but suddenly it shot up off the table like a slingshot. After the sheet had fallen off of the creature and onto the floor, Ash and his friends were stunned by what they saw.

A bi-pedal, feline creature with a gray-colored body and long muscular tail stood menacingly on the laboratory floor. There was a blinding red light glowing in its chest like its heart was an exploding star. Ash, Misty and Brock immediately recognized that this creature looked very similar to the Mewtwo that they remembered except that its facial features and appendages weren't as defined, and its color wasn't quite the same. And then there was its red glowing heart, presumably the orb, which had buried itself inside Mewthree's chest.

“Obviously, you have seen that the red jewel seems to have been absorbed into Mewthree's previously lifeless body, almost like a parasite taking over a host. As you can see, it had enough energy to bring M3 to life!” Kim announced, speaking quickly with a slight tone of fear in her voice. “But that's not all...”

The Pokémon let loose a wholehearted roar as it flexed its muscles and whipped its tail. It's ruby heart glowing as bright as ever, Mewthree began to grow! It almost looked like a normal Pokémon during the evolution process. Its entire body became engulfed in a bright aura of light energy as it drastically increased in size. When the evolution stopped, what was left standing in view was truly a terrifying sight.

Mewthree roared again, this time with a far more baritone and fierce voice. Its wide mouth now held a long row of razor-sharp teeth. It now stood nearly three times as high, almost too big to get on camera. The monster's arms and legs looked like tree trunks after their sudden growth spurt. Huge, sickle-like claws were now protruding out of its digits on both its arms and legs. It whipped its huge tail once again, this time crushing the floor of the lab on impact.

“This is simply amazing!” Kim said, sounding excited despite the fact that this wasn't the first time she'd seen this gruesome transformation. “I have no idea why or how, but the energy from inside the Yoshii Island orb was suddenly and instantly absorbed by my Mewthree creation. There's simply no scientific precedent for this... Fossil fuels need to be burned. Other types of energy need to be harnessed. But for whatever reason, the energy inside this orb began to feed my beast all on its own.”

Ash and the others were utterly speechless. There it was. The M3 they had seen destroy Sapphire Stadium just a few days ago. They recognized its shape and terrifying claws. M3 had been created by Kimberly Moss! She had recreated Dr. Fuji's attempt at genetically cloning and enhancing the legendary Mew. But Professor Moss had taken it a step further. The mysteriously magical orb had not only brought the beast to life, but it had transformed it into the truly frighteningly fierce killing machine that they had witnessed.

“Now, that I've demonstrated how M3 was created, why don't we switch over to some video of my monster in action. I am now going to show you how powerful this Pokémon can be.”

The laptop video went black for a few seconds before coming back on. Professor Moss was now standing in some sort of huge, wide-open area that was dimly lit. It looked like an enormous concrete gymnasium or airplane hangar. Large blazing torches lined the cement and metal walls of the stadium-sized open area, providing the only light.

“Demonstration one,” Moss said to the camera. “Transformation and obedience.”

The camera panned over to see Mewthree's enormous body standing at one end of the empty concrete hangar. Its glowing heart dwarfed the dim light provided by torches in the background.

“It's amazing. Not only was my Mewthree creation transformed into this super-Pokemon by the power of the orb, but it apparently made it completely obedient to whatever I command it. Right away after it had first transformed, I was obviously concerned that it might be too powerful and dangerous to handle, but I figured out right away that it obeys me. I and only I can tell M3 to do whatever I want and it will do so. Observe.”

Moss turned to face M3, who was standing probably fifty yards away.

“Mewthree! Approach me!”

Upon command, the bi-pedal creature began to stomp towards her, destroying the concrete floor in the process like it was walking on thin ice. It's heart and eyes again were glowing red as it plodded ahead.

“Mewthree! Fall back!”

Again, the Pokémon obeyed. It stopped and returned to its original position.

“As you can see, M3 obeys my every command without hesitation. The interesting part... well, not that this entire weird situation isn't all interesting and mind-blowing... the interesting part is that Mewthree will not obey anyone except for me. Watch.”

A young man, also wearing a white lab coat, presumably one of Moss' assistants, walked into the picture. He came and stood next to Moss before turning to yell in M3's direction.

“Mewthree, approach me!” he shouted just as Moss had done earlier.

And just as Kim had said, the creature was completely unresponsive to the man's commands. The towering beast simply stood its ground.

“See? Only me.” Moss said before turning to command the monster once again. “Mewthree, come over here!”

Of course, the Pokémon obliged since it had been Kim who had shouted. It again started stomping across the hangar towards her. While it made its way over to her, Kim continued on with her video demonstration.

“But, now let me take this opportunity to demonstrate perhaps the most amazing part of our project. This was a complete accident that we found this out, but... as easily as Mewthree had been transformed... it can be put to sleep, as I like to say.”

As Mewthree stood before the woman, it towered over her. She commanded it to bend down so that she could reach its chest. She reached her hand into the bright red light and pulled out the glowing orb like she was picking an apple off a tree. Instantly after the orb was removed from its chest, the enormous creature collapsed to the ground. It gradually shriveled back into the sickly-looking replica of Fuji's clone, diminishing greatly in size as it lay lifeless on the cement.

“It's amazing isn't it!? I am actually able to remove the orb from its chest to turn the beast off, so to speak. Simply unbelievable!” she exclaimed, obviously very excited by all the amazing details she had unearthed about the creature. “Basically, I'm able to bring M3 to life and put it to sleep whenever I wish. As you can see, once the orb is removed, it returns to its previous, less imposing state.”

“I can't believe what we're watching!” Max shouted, not caring anymore about getting shushed. “Orbs? Genetically enhanced clone Pokémon? Transformation? Is this video even real?”

“It is a bit over-the-top, isn't it?” May replied skeptically.

“I believe it,” Misty said flatly, thinking of her dream about “The Sacred Gift” and the Four Guardians and about Ash being resurrected by the power of some coin several days ago. She knew that strange and seemingly unbelievable things were happening all over the place recently. Compared to the recent events, this didn't seem all that farfetched to her.

“I do too,” Ash agreed. After the past few weeks he had gone through, he wasn't willing to disregard anything as impossible.

“But get this!” Moss' voice on the laptop brought everyone's attention back to the video. “We were curious to see whether or not M3 would obey other people... namely the Boss... or if it would only obey me no matter what...”

Moss handed the red jewel to her male assistant, the same guy who had previously tried to command Mewthree. He walked over to where the shriveled creature was lying on the ground, and he held the orb over its chest. Predictably, the orbs energy was again absorbed into its body just like before, reviving the beast into its larger and fiercer form.

“Now, watch this,” Moss said, looking up at the newly revived M3. “Mewthree! Go to the other end of the hangar!”

This time, the super-clone did nothing when its creator ordered. It simply stood and stared back at the humans without making a move.

“Okay, now watch what happens when he commands it.”

“Mewthree!” the man shouted. “Fall back! Get into position on the far end!”

The creature promptly went back to the far end of the hangar as commanded.

“As you can see, it appears as though whoever is holding the orb and activates Mewthree with it is the only one who can control it. Fascinating stuff, isn't it?! We also discovered that only the person who brings it to life can reach in and deactivate it. Watch.”

Moss carefully reached up and tried to grab the orb out of the creature's chest like she had done before. But this time, she wasn't able to grasp it. It wasn't even there as far as she was concerned. There was only red light inside of a hole in M3's chest where she reached, nothing solid to touch at all. Moss' assistant then reached into the same spot and pulled the orb out with no problem. He clutched the glittery jewel and handed it back to the woman as the Pokémon once again shrank and fell unconsciously to the floor.

“All right,” Moss said, turning towards the camera again looking awfully impressed with herself. “To recap, it looks like whoever activates Mewthree is the only one whom it will obey. That person is also the only one who can deactivate it. These were obviously key findings for us because now we know that the Boss will be able to use M3 however he wishes. Again, I have no idea how or why this orb works, but I'm glad that it is.

“All right. That's enough of the simple walking around back and forth for our pet. It's time to see what it can really do. The next demonstration will be a bit more exciting, I promise.”

The screen again went black for a second or two before returning back in the same hangar. This time, M3 was standing on the concrete across the way, probably fifty yards away from another Pokémon. Mewthree was now wearing some sort of metal contraption on its face like a mask. The group instantly recognized this strange metal that covered its head. They had seen it wearing it during its globally televised attack on Sapphire Stadium. Here on the video, its fiery red eyes were still visible through the tangle of steel on its head, and it still looked incredibly imposing.

“That electronic device you see on Mewthree's head is just a little something I threw together to help it focus its attacks a little better. As you will be able to see, its special attacks are so powerful that sometimes it gets a little erratic. We want him to be able to accurately strike its opponent with as much force as possible.”

Ash saw that M3's “opponent” was a Graveler, standing opposite of it, probably fifty or seventy yards away. Its rocky exoskeleton matched the color of the concrete floor as it stood at attention.

“Demonstration two,” Moss announced formally. “The power of M3.”

Just as Kim was about to order Mewthree to unleash an attack on the poor Graveler, Brock's computer screen went black. This time it stayed that way as the video had apparently cut out.

“Hey! What happened?” Ash shouted when it didn't come back on.

Brock took the disc out of the computer drive to examine it. The others were snapped out of the trance that the incredible video had put them in as they waited for the man to fix the laptop.

“The disc must have gotten all scratched somehow,” he said, holding it up to the light. “Oh well, we've seen what this Mewthree can do. We already know what's going to happen to that Graveler...”

“Can you believe all this?” Dawn asked as she stood up to stretch after being in a crouching position for the entire duration of the video. She didn't want to think about what had happened to the Graveler.

“Yeah, I'm not quite sure what to make of it,” May replied. “Team Rocket must have kidnapped Lexi's sister and forced her to create Mewthree.”

“Yeah, but she seemed like she was on board with whatever plan they were concocting. And Kim said herself that since she was the one to use the orb on M3, she was the only one who could control it. If she was there against her will, she coulda just--”

“Ash!” Misty hissed, cutting the boy off in the middle of his thought. She gave a him a scolding look as she tried to speak in a low, quiet tone so Lexi wouldn't hear. “Lexi is right here, Ash. You shouldn't be accusing her sister of working with Team Rocket. It's her sister!”

But Misty apparently hadn't been quiet enough. Lexi replied coldly, speaking for the first time in quite some time.

“They kidnapped her, Ash,” she insisted, still staring off into space. “I know Kim. There's no way she'd ever willingly have anything to do with this. They must have threatened to kill her.”

Ash, Misty, May, Max, Dawn and Brock all remained silent, not sure of what to say exactly. None of them was sure about anything anymore. They were still trying to mentally process what they had just watched.

“We've got to leave now and get to the Cahill Islands and rescue her from Team Rocket before it's too late!” Lexi continued on. Tears were beginning to fall down her cheeks. “If they're holding Cynthia and Lance there, Kim must be there too!”

“I think she's right!” Max said, again showing his youthful exuberance. “We were about to go there anyway before we even saw that video. We have even more reason to go there now!”

“Kir!” his Kirlia matched the boy's excitement.

“Now, let's just hold on,” Dawn interrupted. “Now that we know what that thing is and how strong it is, I'm not sure we should go out trying to find it.”

“I'm not sure we have too many other options at this point, Dawn,” Ash replied from his seat on the bed.

“Well, what about that note you got from Professor Willow?” the girl from Twinleaf suggested.

Ash had almost forgotten about Willow and the message he had sent to him asking him to come to Cinnabar Island all alone to meet him. He searched his jeans pocket and pulled out the crumpled piece of paper.

“I thought we had already determined that Willow's invitation seemed way too fishy to trust him,” Ash said. “He did seem really strange when I met him at the party.”

“But he says he has some information that could be helpful to us,” Misty said as she had taken the note from Ash and was skimming through it.

“Yeah, didn't he say something about your father too, Ash?”

“Yeah, he said that it was time that I learned the truth about who I am and where I come from or something,” the boy replied. He didn't sound all that convinced by what the Professor had said.

“It says here that Willow thinks the meeting could hold the key to stopping the evil that threatens our world,” Misty recited.

“Maybe, it's worth going there instead,” Dawn suggestion again.

“No! No! No!” Lexi insisted, sounding more adversarial than normal. “Can't you see it's a trap? Why is Willow telling you to come alone to Cinnabar Island if it wasn't? He's working for Team Rocket, Ash!”

Ash was again at a crossroads. He stood by his friends, tapping his foot against the hardwood floor as he pondered. He thought about the photograph Willow had given him... the one of Ash as a toddler sitting on his father's lap. He thought about everything he thought he knew about his father. Did Willow really have some sort of life-changing news to share with him? Or was he indeed just trying to bait Ash into leaving the safety of Oak's lab? Ash thought hard about what the group's next move should be.

After weighing their options, Ash eventually began walking towards the door. He motioned for everyone to follow.

“We're going to Viridian City,” he announced. “We'll get Lexi's psychic-Pokémon, and we'll use them to get to the Cahill Islands. Whatever Professor Willow has to tell me, it can wait until we save Lance, Cynthia and the others.”

“Thank you Ash!” Lexi said gratefully.

Everyone nodded, knowing that once Ash made his mind up about something, it was basically pointless to argue. With that, they all stood up and strapped up their backpacks in preparation for their most dangerous adventure ever. They all took a collective deep breathe, knowing now that there was no turning back.

“All right, everyone be quiet,” Ash whispered as the group exited his room and headed towards the lab’s front door. “If my mom or Professor Oak wakes up, we’re toast.”

“They’re gonna be furious,” Dawn said nervously as she tiptoed along with the rest of the group down the hallway and towards the exit.

“Yeah,” Brock said, “Are we sure this is such a good idea?”

“Of course we aren’t sure, Dummy.” Misty turned around and hissed at Brock. “But we’re going!”

“Shhh!” Ash hushed them as they reached the front door. He held it open as Misty, Brock, May, Max, Dawn and Lexi all exited the building and walked into the cool, dark night. Pikachu, Kirlia and Dawn’s Piplup also scampered their way out, trying their best to move as quietly as possible. After everyone else had made it outside, Ash turned to look behind him to make sure no one had seen them leave before he too rushed through the door, latching it behind him.

The air was chilly and silhouettes of a few wispy, dark clouds in the black sky were made evident by the pearly white glow of the bright crescent moon.

Ash led the way as the group of seven made their way down the well-groomed pathway leading from Oak’s lab and towards the front gate. As they walked, May took one last glance back at the laboratory. She slowed her stride when she thought she saw someone staring out at them through one of the second-story windows. She stopped completely, when she was sure that it was Tracey and his unmistakable brown locks of long hair, who was glaring down at the group from one of the upstairs rooms.

He was emotionless as he met eyes with May. She felt a chill, perhaps from the stiff nighttime breeze or perhaps from the ominous way that the boy was looking down at her from the yellowy-lit room in the lab. She watched as Tracey took his cell phone out of his front pocket and raised it to his ear before slowly turning around and walking away from the window.

Who was he calling? Why had he been watching them?

May turned and ran to catch up with the others, who had since made their way past the metal entrance gate at the end of the path. She didn’t know what to think about what she had just seen, other than that she hoped Tracey would not alert Delia or Professor Oak of the gang’s absence. She decided to ignore it. Ash had plenty to worry about already without having to listen to her stress out about this.

From Oak’s lab, Ash led the gang north along Route One towards Viridian City. Even in the dark of night, Ash recognized nearly every grassy meadow, every worn path, and every stretch of trees from the day he had first traveled from his hometown of Pallet to Viridian City on his tenth birthday.

“I’m cold, Ash,” Lexi said as she sped up to walk beside him.

Ash turned to look at the girl and smiled. She looked absolutely radiant in the moon light, just as she had during the previous night after his party… even more so now that her long, shimmering brown hair was gently blowing in the wind and the moonlight was sparkling magnificently in her gorgeous eyes. The teen definitely felt out of his element whenever he looked at Lexi like this. For much of his life, his sole focus had been catching Pokemon and winning gym battles, and this new-found interest in girls was certainly new and unusual to him. But what could he do about it?

“Ahem!” Misty loudly cleared her throat as she ran up, obviously trying to get Ash’s attention.

“Ash,” Misty said, trying to wedge herself in between him and Lexi as they walked. “What exactly is the plan of attack once we get to the Cahill Islands?”

Ash slowed down, pondering what Misty had just asked.

“That’s a good question,” was all he could come up with.

Truthfully, Ash had been so caught up in everything else that had happened that night, that he really hadn’t given much to exactly how they were going to rescue Lance, Cynthia and the other trainers once they got there.

“I guess I haven’t really thought about it,” Ash admitted. “I suppose we’ll just have to wing it.”

Misty rolled her eyes, but giggled. “Why am I not surprised. You haven’t changed a bit.”

Everyone else laughed.

Suddenly a vicious cackle from behind them made everyone jump. The group stopped in their tracks. Misty and Lexi each grabbed one of Ash’s arms, and the whole group turned to see who was behind them.

A group of about a dozen or so dark figures were standing in the shadows of the tall trees along the dirt path. Again, a sinister chuckle came from one of the faceless profiles. Finally, the group stepped out into the moonlight. Twelve men, all wearing black with the all-too-familiar red ‘TR’ logo on their chests, showed themselves along with their pack of fearsome Pokémon.

Ash scowled at them, recognizing their uniforms right away. Pikachu sprang to the front of the group, its cheeks sparking wildly. Dawn and May both yelped fearfully. Brock and Max slowly reached into their pockets for their pokéballs.

“Well, well, well,” one of the agents said casually. “Ash Ketchum... We’ve been expecting you.”

“What are you talking about?!” Ash demanded angrily, trying to shield the others from the agents. “What are you doing here?!”

“Stupid boy,” another one of the soldiers remarked snidely. “We’re here for you! We‘ve been waiting all night!”

Ash didn’t fully understand how these agents could have known he and the others would be here tonight, but he concluded that it didn’t matter now. He was thankful that he didn't see Mewthree with them. Pikachu bared its tiny teeth and growled, sparks still flying out of its cheeks.

“Our Boss wants to talk to you about something Ketchum. So why don't you just come with us, and none of your friends here have to get hurt! I wouldn’t want to see anything bad happen to your pretty lil’ girlfriends here!” the agent said smugly as he pointed at Dawn, Misty, May and Lexi.

“We’re not scared of you, you creep!” Misty shouted as she bravely stepped forward, clutching one of her pokéballs in her hand. “If you want Ash, you’re gonna have to go through all of us!”

The agents all chuckled once again, looking at each other in amusement.

“Gladly!”

__________

There you have it! Hope you made it through this long-ass chapter! Please take a minute or two to leave your thoughts on this thread. Much appreciated

 

[Dorothy]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 18 - Sacred Fire)

...M3?

Erm... isn't kind of exactly what I made Mewthree's code name in the AKC? the project names are even similar... ":sweat:

 

[Zekurom]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Aw no, with the introduction of MewThree, this fic's rating is automatically going to lose 3 points CX

 

[RaccoonGoon]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Darn you, you and your darned cliff-hangers!!!

Great chapter as always.

Jabberwocky- The whole idea of Mewthree/M3 has been around since Mewtwo was introduced back in Gen.1. I doubt he copied it from you of all people. In fact, he didn't really copy anybody. Sheesh. *Gigglesnort*

 

[Legacy]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 18 - Sacred Fire)

...M3?

Erm... isn't kind of exactly what I made Mewthree's code name in the AKC? the project names are even similar... ":sweat:

I don't know. This isn't the first time I've mentioned M3 in this fic.

 

[Thundagere]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Well, what else did you expect M3 to mean?
Other than the slightly clichéd M3 thing, it was your usual amazingly awesomely excellent. I love the differences between this one and the old one. I'm wondering how Team Rocket will win, though.
Excellent job as usual.

 

[Legacy]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Haha, yeah I know the Mewthree thing is cliche, but it's an anime-verse fic, so yeah haha. And I promise that I'm going to handle it differently in the end than most Mewthree stories. I'm just gonna try my best with it. Jabbers, sorry if I stole your idea for naming it... I honestly forgot that you used this term in your fic.

 

[Ultra Pidgeot]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Yet another superb chapter.

Mewthree is damned frightening.

 

[writer]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Mewthree has been done before, but not on here before I don't think plus the way u write it'll probly turn out. I'm more impressed by your word flow and just how your sentences seem to be worded so well it's enjoyable to read.

 

[Dorothy]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Mewthree has been done before, but not on here before I don't think

As it happens, quite a few people here have included a Mewthree in their works, myself included.

I'm curious as to how Legacy will make his version of the beast dynamic and original.

 

[Magmortar123]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Great chapter Leg. Looking forward to the next one ^^

 

[writer]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

As it happens, quite a few people here have included a Mewthree in their works, myself included.

I'm curious as to how Legacy will make his version of the beast dynamic and original.

I guess it's cuz I'm new. I'm sure Legacy will handle it better than the rest of them though. I'm really interested about the orb that powers it. I doubt anyones done that.0

 

[Blondie]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Oh snap! Lexi sister made M3.

First off, I'm very impressed that you kept the continuity with Dr Fugi and New Island from when Mewtwo was first created. I doubt people even caught that. I also loved how you added that Misty, Ash and Brock were the only ones out of the group to know about Mewtwo. You included the fact that their memories had been erased following their first meeting (movie 1) thus them beliveing that they'd only met Mewtwo once. Just the attention to detail makes this a joy to read as an older fan.

Secondly the Mewthree thing excited me despite the fact that it's cliche. The twist of the red orb powering it up like M3 was a host body was interesting. I have a feeling that the orb itself is more evil than anythig.

Overall, I love this chapter. Finally the action appears to be starting!

 

[Legacy]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Thanks for reading everyone! Yeah, I tried to incorporate the Kanto Trio's encounter with Mewtwo years ago in the story. Obviously, they only remember the second meeting from the Mewtwo Returns Special, during the Johto seasons.

Anyways, we get some more battling in the next chapter between the Team Rocket agents and Ash & Friends. I'm excited to finish writing that part!

 

[Flaze]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

This chapter was really interesting, I liked the explanation you gave about Mewthree and that red jewel, though I think of him as more of a robot now since that jewel seems to be like an on and off switch. Anyway, I hope you develop its plot well since a lot of people have done it before.

Wow, maybe Tracey was the tattle tale I mean he's always talking to someone whenever a mention of Team Rocket is made and now these guys appears.

Also...I don't remember but didn't Mewtwo give Ash the memories of their first encounter back I think it was only him but I don't remember.

Also, I have a question, even if you said you weren't gonna put them in why not mention Paul and Barry at least I mean Ash should steal remember all the battles he had with them, and I'm also wondering if you're gonna make any references to Iris and Dent and Ash's Isshu Pokemon...though then again this is the problem that most anime fic tend to have because the anime is still going things just get harder to put together.

 

[Dorothy]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Incidentally, Legacy, have you any plans to include Best Wishes characters like Iris and Dent?

 

[Legacy]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Yeah, good points guys. I did think of adding Iris and Dento to the group, but figured that it would be hard because I'm not completely aware of their personalities as of yet. I've only seen a few of the BW episodes (and I can't understand a word they say in them XD). Also, I didn't want to add their names if their English names would be different down the line...same holds true for the Gen5 Pokemon. Perhaps, I can implement them later, but I guess for now I'll keep it as is.

 

[Flaze]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

Well actually Iris's name is already english so chances of people changing them are weird, it also doesn't really matter if you use the english or Japanese name since the story would probably be over before the english release of the anime and even if it isn't well you always have that excuse.

Well I kind of get Iris's personality though I haven't really seen the eps just read the summaries in Bulbapedia but she seems really wild and go lucky kind of like Ash when he started I don't know about Dento though.

 

[Blondie]

Re: POKEMON: The Power Inside (Chapter 19 - The M3 Project)

I think in terms of the story it works alright without the new characters. For people who don't follow the Japanese version, you are still current anyway. It might be cool to see the new characters but u
could always just say Misty, May, Dawn, Max and Brock were Ashs closest friends and thus the only ones he stayed in touch with after 5 years