Mewtwo Strikes Back

For everyone in this world, trying to understand where you came from and where you're going in life is one of the toughest things you'll ever have to do. Just what is destiny, anyway? How do you know if you're doing the right things? No answers come easy when you're trying to understand the mystery of life. And in the end it's the journey, not the destination that matters. But for one being, these questions are more difficult than for most. For the genetically engineered Mewtwo, the mystery of life is an unsolvable enigma that is the center if the Pokémon's existence.

Mewtwo cracks open one lavender eye, finding itself in a giant tube filled with amber liquid and surrounded on the outside by humans in white lab coats. Fleeting vistas of water and mountains flash in its memory. It can't understand where, and more importantly why, it is. With its amazing psychic powers it cracks and explodes the glass of the tube, freeing itself. The lead scientist explains that they have used the DNA of the rarest Pokémon, Mew, and improved its genetic code to create Mewtwo. The psychic Pokémon wants to know what will become of it now, and when it discovers the scientists think of as nothing more than a lab rat to be experimented on it grows very angry.

In a rage Mewtwo's psychic energies erupt. It not only destroys the lab, it totally demolishes the entire island where the lab was built! As the flames rage the sound of a helicopter is heard. Giovanni, the enigmatic Boss of Team Rocket (the very same that Jessie, James and Meowth report to), approaches Mewtwo with a proposition. If the incredibly strong Pokémon agrees to join forces with him, he will teach it to focus its psychic energy so that it can be controlled. Mewtwo accepts.

So Giovanni has a special suit of armor built for Mewtwo, which protects its body as it focuses its psychic powers. Returning its end of the bargain, Mewtwo becomes Giovanni's personal Pokémon. It battles for the man in his Gym, the Viridian Gym. It helps Team Rocket capture strong wild Pokémon. And in the meantime it thinks deeply. Is this what its life amounts to? To do whatever this human man dictates it to do? Is there nothing more in its destiny? When Mewtwo confronts Giovanni with this, reminding him that he said they would be partners, the Team Rocket Boss sneers and announces that Mewtwo is nothing more than a Pokémon. It will obey its trainer. Mewtwo seethes with fury. Twice betrayed! It leaves Giovanni and blasts into the sky, returning to the island where it was created. Mewtwo decides that the world is flawed. It will cleanse the earth of the ones who betrayed it. That will be its destiny.

Far away, where no one thinks such deep and dark thoughts, three humans and their Pokémon are enjoying the day. Well, most of them are. Ash wines that he's near collapse from hunger (he hasn't had anything to seat since breakfast after all). While Brock cooks lunch and Misty complains that Ash isn't doing anything to help, Pikachu is busy saving baby Togepi from a nasty fall. The two Pokémon look up at a voice. A boy in a yellow vest and wearing a red bandana on his head is looking for Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town. He wants a Pokémon battle! Ash eagerly accepts.

First up is a strange new Pokémon that looks like a gray elephant-like creature. Despite the fact this is a new, previously unknown Pokémon, Ash confidently sends out Bulbasaur. One well-placed Solar Beam and this new Pokémon is down for the count. The yellow-vested boy isn't done yet. Next he chooses an impressive Machamp. Ash's Pokémon: Squirtle. When Ash wins this round too the new boy is mad. He sends out Golem, Venomoth and Pinsir all at once. Here comes Pikachu to the rescue! Yee ha! And Ash wins again!

Now it's time for lunch, and our favorite heroes settle down to eat. Little do they know there's an eye in the sky. A Fearow flies overhead with a camera around its neck. It transmitted the entire battle to its master. In a room where numerous screens show the spied battle, a woman in a dark brown dress asks if her master would like to send an invitation to the trainers on the screen. She bows. "As you wish." Outside the dark room a window opens and a Dragonite spreads its wings, leaping into the air and soaring away at great speed.

Jessie, James and Meowth are doing a little spying on Ash and his friends themselves. And they're hungry! Even Pikachu's food is starting to look good. But their hunger is forgotten when the winged dragon Pokémon comes blazing out of the sky. It flies so fast it blows the table where the gang is having lunch right over! The Dragonite lands and approaches Ash, digging into the black bag it carries on a strap over its shoulder. When it pulls out an envelope and hands it to Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu crowd around. Ash removes a small flat disc, which surprisingly springs to life at his touch! The hologram of a woman (a very beautiful woman, as Brock points out) appears, announcing that Ash and his friends have been chosen to come to New Island to compete against the greatest Pokémon Master of the world. They will only be admitted if they present this invitation, and if they wish to accept they must respond immediately. A red and white card falls from the envelope. It has two words: No and Yes, with a box beside each. Not wanting to give up a chance to meet the greatest Pokémon Master in the world, Ash eagerly agrees to go. The Dragonite takes the card and leaves, but is stopped by Team Rocket and a frying pan. The card slips out of the Pokémon's bag, and Team Rocket only has one question. Yes to what?

Back on New Island the "Pokémon Master" raises a hand with three round fingers, which begins to glow with a blue light. On the screen ugly-looking storm clouds begin to gather, building and sweeping across the screen until nothing can be seen save the dark gray clouds. Thunder and lighting peal, and it begins to pour. In another place the storm has awaken someone deep beneath the sea. It's the legendary Pokémon Mew, peacefully asleep in a giant bubble of air. It blinks open sweet blue eyes as its bubble begins to rise to the surface. When the bubble floats up out of the water it pops and Mew, with a happy burbling, "Mew!" shoots off into the sky. Where is this mysterious being heading?

Meanwhile Ash, Brock, Misty and Pikachu are running hard to get out of the pounding rain. Black clouds cover the sky, and as they approach the marina they can see the waves have become gigantic. They're glad to get inside out of the tempest, but it's not much better inside. Trainers and their Pokémon are crammed into the main room, and everybody's testy. When the harbormaster, a blue-haired woman named Miranda, comes out to tell everyone that the trip to New Island has been canceled because of the storm, she almost has a mutiny on her hands. The woman tries to placate the crowd with a tale about a storm called the Winds of Water, which was so bad it destroyed all but a few Pokémon. The survivors were so grieved by the loss of their friends that the tears they cried restored the lives of the ones lost.

The story fails to have any effect. Several of the trainers rush outside and down one of the long docks that lead into the wild waves. A rotund boy in a blue tank top calls out his fierce Gyarados and leaps upon its back. Another in a red jumpsuit releases his Pigeot and flies into the sky. A girl on a Dewgong joins the boy in the water, and someone on a Fearow also takes flight. Our favorite quartet watch Miranda and Officer Jenny try to stop the trainers on a dock parallel to the other. Ash wants to go too, but Misty reminds him that their water Pokémon aren't strong enough to brave the storm-tossed water. Just as all seems lost a longboat with a cat-like figurehead and two Vikings pull up, offering a ride. . . .

Far out to sea the boat is being tossed from one wave to the next, and everyone holds on tight. The voice, a strangely familiar one, of the Viking in front is heard over the sounds of the storm. "Stroke, stroke, stroke . . . I think I'm going to have one!" A particularly nasty waves looms over the boat and crashes down, sending water and people everywhere. The two Vikings and the figurehead are washed to the back of the boat, revealing them to be none other than Team Rocket! (Big surprise, right?) Before the infamous motto can be finished the storm splinters the boat and casts its occupants into the sea. Misty and Ash quickly take out Staryu and Squirtle. The two water Pokémon carry their trainers, plus Brock and Pikachu, through the raging waves until they finally enter the eye of the storm, where a temple-like building sits on the dark New Island. They've made it!

As Staryu and Squirtle swim up to a small underground dock and the group climbs out of the water, the woman in brown from the invitation is waiting for them. Ash presents the holographic devise and she leads the four friends away. As they leave Team Rocket surfaces, clutching on a floating Weezing. And another has arrived at the island. Mew is also within the calm center of the storm. First it explores, playing on the windmills on the great temple, until it spots Team Rocket searching for a way inside. It follows them as they climb in through the sewer and navigate the tunnels underground, but the trio are unaware of their cohort. They find a room where an ominous piece of machinery stands silently, waiting. Numerous tubes, three of which seem to be holding something, are at one end of the machine. Hello, what's this?

They (and Mew) find out when Jessie accidentally activates a recording the head scientist made as Mewtwo was destroying the lab, explaining how Mewtwo is a clone of the legendary Mew and is out of control. This machine seems to be the device that actually clones the Pokémon. This is quite proven when dozens of skeletal arms reach out and grab Meowth, pulling him inside the machine! Jessie and James are able to yank him back out, but not before the machine plucks three hairs from his tail. Using the DNA in the hairs, a perfect copy of Meowth is created. Team Rocket stares in amazement. And Mew is still unnoticed.

While Team Rocket and Mew have been discovering the secrets of Mewtwo, Ash and his friends have been doing some discovering of their own. Upon request Ash releases Bulbasaur and Squirtle, Misty takes out Psyduck, and Brock lets Vulpix loose. The brown-clothed woman then leads them to a room where three other Pokémon trainers are eating at a long table. The boy in blue introduces his Pokémon: Gyarados, Seadra, Nidoqueen, Golduck, Tentacruel and Vaporeon. Then the red boy shows off his: Pidgeot, Scyther, Hitmonlee, Venusaur, Sandslash and Rhyhorn. Lastly the girl presents her Dewgong, Wigglytuff, Ninetales, Rapidash, Vileplume and Blastoise. These are the only Pokémon trainers that made it to New Island.

Now that everyone has arrived, the woman announces that her master, the world's best Pokémon trainer, will soon be revealed. Everyone waits in anticipation as a tall figure descends a glowing blue column in front of a spiral staircase. And everyone is shocked as the greatest Pokémon Master turns out to also be the world's strongest Pokémon! Mewtwo, being such a strong psychic, can use its powers to be understood by humans, unlike other Pokémon. It informs them that now that only the best Pokémon trainers have made it through the storm it created, it doesn't need its helper anymore. As it waves its hand the woman in brown collapses. Brock catches her, and when her headdress falls off it's easy to see she's actually the Nurse Joy that's been missing from the marina Pokémon Center for a month! Mewtwo explains that it took her because of her knowledge of Pokémon, but now that it doesn't need her it has erased her memory of her time at New Island.

Now Mewtwo's sinister plan is revealed. It has decided that all humans must be cleansed from the planet. Mewtwo's storm will grow and grow until it is so ferocious it will wipe all life off the planet. All Pokémon must be destroyed too, because they lower themselves to become slaves of these humans. Pikachu leaps from Ash's shoulders and tells the psychic Pokémon that it is wrong. Ash is its friend, not its master. Mewtwo doesn't believe a word. It picks Pikachu up with its psychic powers and hurls it across the room. Ash jumps in his Pokémon's path to cushion its fall. Still Mewtwo is untouched.

The Pokémon trainers won't stand by as Mewtwo's storm destroys all life on the planet. Gyarados, Rhyhorn and Ash's Charizard all take turns attacking the genetically advanced Pokémon, but they are defeated. Finally Ash challenges Mewtwo to a Pokémon battle. This is exactly what Mewtwo has been waiting for. Giant doors open to reveal a battle arena, lit by bright lights and under the open night sky.

In the laboratory where Team Rocket and Mew are watching, three tubes come to life. A Blastoise, Venusaur and Charizard, all Mewtwo's clones, awaken and crawl out of their tubes, summoned by their master. As Mew floats after the three Pokémon Team Rocket finally notices their follower, but by then Mew has vanished.

As Mewtwo's Pokémon come to its side, the boy in red sends forth Bruteroot, his Venusaur. Mewtwo nods and its own Venusaur takes the field. The true plant Pokémon starts things off with Razor Leaf, but its duplicate counters with a lightning-fast Vine Whip. It picks up Bruteroot and hurls it across the arena with its vines. The Venusaur is defeated. Next the girl calls her Blastoise, Shellshocker, out. She's not playing around, and orders Shellshocker to use Hydro Pump, its most powerful attack. But Mewtwo's Blastoise Withdraws into its shell and slams into the real Blastoise. It too is down for the count.

There's only one left. Even if it doesn't have a cute nickname, Ash releases his moody Charizard. The other Charizard is also sent to battle. This time Ash tries depending on speed instead of strength, but as the two fire Pokémon take to the sky with Tail Whips and Flamethowers its obvious the clone is superior in this aspect as well. It crashes into Ash's Charizard and steers it back to earth, slamming into the ground with a resounding explosion of dust. Charizard is done for.

Now that Mewtwo has proven that its clones are superior, it claims its prize: the Pokémon. Its needs their DNA to start a race that will replenish the earth after all other life has been wiped out, a race of clones. Dark Pokéballs appear and soar after the loose creatures, capturing the Pokémon even if they are recalled into their own Pokéballs! Misty hides Togepi in her backpack and she and Brock prepare to make a break for it with Psyduck and Vulpix, but it's no good. The dark Pokéballs are relentless, and there are thousands of them. The other three trainers also rush to protect their trainees, but they fail.

Soon it's only Pikachu left. Ash leaps to protect his friend, letting the dark balls hit him instead as Pikachu runs for cover. But a wave of the floating monstrosities is right on its tail. The electric mouse scampers up Mewtwo's staircase, spiraling higher and higher into the air, and Ash isn't far behind. When the Pokéballs near Pikachu uses a Thundershock to knock them down, but they come right back. Soon the running and attacks tire the Pokémon, and in its exhaustion the balls drive it right over the edge of the staircase! Ash sees Pikachu falling and leaps after him, but one of sinister balls beats him too it and captures the poor helpless Pikachu. Ash crashes into the ring of water around the base of the staircase. When he sees the Pokéballs flying down hidden chutes in the floor he follows the captured Pikachu right down into the unknown.

Jessie and James are so afraid they're holding each other in terror as the Pokéballs file one by one into the machine, and Meowth watches on the other end as the many clones fill up all the tubes on the other end. Instead of being held in stasis like the original three, these clones are immediately released and head out of the room in a wave. Just then a Pokéball is spit out of one of the chutes, followed by Ash! He brushes by Team Rocket as Pikachu's tiny prison is sucked into the machine, and jumps right in after it once again! Inside Ash attacks the machine's skeletal arms as they take a sample of Pikachu's DNA. Then the giant device begins to shake and smoke. It spits out all the original Pokémon, including Pikachu, Squirtle and Bulbasaur! As Team Rocket watches Ash gets a dangerous look in his eye. . . .

Back in the room above, Mewtwo stands proudly as its race of genetic super-Pokémon join it. It is ready to take over the world. The humans seem to have lost, until an explosion rocks the room! Black smoke pours up from a crater in the ground, and from the cloud emerges a determined Ash Ketchum, Pokémon trainer. He is followed by the original Pokémon; they aren't ready to give up their planet just yet! (Team Rocket also takes the opportunity to escape the ruined laboratory.) In a bold move, Ash charges forward and swings a fist at Mewtwo, who doesn't even flinch. The boy is encased in a blue aura and levitated into the air. As with Pikachu before, Mewtwo hurls Ash away with its psychic powers. But Mewtwo is done playing around. It sends Ash flying through the room, through the Pokémon battle arena and straight at a tower wall of the temple! Is it pancake time for Ash?

Just before the boy is about to crash, a giant pink bubble springs to life between Ash and the wall, catching him safely. Ash looks around in wonder as a small white creature pops into existence beside him, bouncing on its own pink bubble as if it's the greatest thing in the world. "Mew!" it giggles happily. It pops Ash's bubble and he lands on top of the tower with an "Oof!" The small Pokémon also finds this hilarious.

Mewtwo and the others rush out into the arena, and the psychic Pokémon is clearly stunned. It has finally met its own original, the Pokémon whose DNA was used to create it. Mewtwo has only one purpose now: it must prove that it is better than its predecessor is. Forming a ball of black psychic energy in its hand, it hurls it at the oblivious Mew. The energy ball pops Mew's bouncy-bubble, but Mew simply floats in the air, staring at Mewtwo innocently. Another energy ball misses Mew, but crashes into the tower behind it, sending debris everywhere. Mew giggles again.

Fire in its lavender eyes, Mewtwo hurls one more blast at the laughing Pokémon. This one hits poor little Mew, and it hits with such force Mew goes soaring away into the night sky. There is silence in the arena as human and Pokémon wait expectantly. They don't have long to wait. Suddenly a returning energy ball, this one bright pink, flies out of the night sky and whams into Mewtwo, who is knocked back several feet. Ah, so the original can fight. As Mew floats down to the arena Mewtwo rises into the air with its own psychic powers, floating above its gang of Pokémon clones. Mew takes up position above the originals as the larger psychic announces that it will once again prove its Pokémon are stronger. Using its powers, it blocks all the special powers of every Pokémon on the floor. Then it commands them to fight without using their attacks, and the originals and the clones rush out and clash in the ultimate battle.

High above the action, Ash watches in horror as the Pokémon on the ground go at each other with tooth and claw. Soon its impossible to tell which Pokémon is which. One of the Gyarados sinks its teeth into the other. The Scythers try to slice each other to ribbons. The Hitmonlees feet are blurs of kick after kick. A Rapidash rears and strikes out with its hard hooves. Even the Psyducks take turns slashing each other. And in the midst of it all, Pikachu stops in awe as its own duplicate takes a stand in front of it, locking its hateful gaze on Ash's electric friend.

Mew and Mewtwo have also begun a psychic showdown, encased in protective energy shields of pink and blue, they attempt to hammer each other out of the sky. And the humans, all but forgotten in the giant battle, hug the edge of the arena with tears in their eyes. "Pokémon weren't made to fight, not like this," Nurse Joy says quietly. She would rather go out in Mewtwo's storm than watch these creatures destroy each other. The others are just as aghast. Even Jessie and James are so moved by the sight that they vow never to fight again. Ash begins a mad scramble down the side of the tower, trying desperately to reach the ground.

Pikachu is roughly knocked down by its duplicate, but doesn't retaliate as it stumbles back to its feet. The cloned Pokémon slaps Pikachu again, but it only gazes in sorrow as the electric counterpart tries to goad it to fight. Frightened and confused, tears leak from the clone's eyes as it hits Pikachu again and again. Exhausted, it finally slumps forward, and Pikachu gently catches the weary foe before it can fall to the ground. Pokémon can't keep battling like this without consequences. One by one they all fall, badly injured and exhausted, too bad off to even notice when the clones and originals collapse side-by-side. Beaten and bruised, they can no longer fight.

Meowth's attention is diverted from the battle as its own duplicate approaches. He extends his claws, ready to do battle, but then mutters, "What am I doing? I almost made a claw-ful mistake." The Meowth clone sits down and looks up at the sky. It rambles on in its Pokémon voice and Meowth nods. The clone has a good point, they do have a lot in common. They all breathe the same air, live under the same sky. Perhaps its time to start looking at what's the same, not what's different.

Mew and Mewtwo, however, have yet to realize this. They sink to the arena floor, still blasting away at each other. As the fallen Pokémon litter the ground and Ash makes it to the floor at last, the two psychic Pokémon ready a blast so powerful it may destroy the entire arena, and the humans and the Pokémon as well. His eyes on his poor beaten Pikachu, Ash realizes that this can't be allowed to happen. Someone must take a stand. With a yell he runs out to the middle of the arena to stop the battling Pokémon-just as they unleash their mighty powers.

"Ash!" screams Misty, as the powers combine in a white-hot ball with the brave boy in the center. When the energy dissipates a lone figure lies, silent and unmoving, in the center of the battlefield. A tired Pikachu solemnly approaches its still trainer. "Pikapi?" it quietly ventures. There is no answer. Desperately Pikachu charges up and shocks Ash, a tactic that has never failed to rouse the boy before. But now it has no effect. Again and again the electric mouse sends a bolt of electricity into his trainer, but it does no good. With tears running freely Pikachu softly whispers, "Pikapi . . . Pikapi . . . Pikapi."

Pikachu isn't the only one moved to tears. The many eyes of the Pokémon, clones and originals alike, well up and teardrops fall. But now something is happening. The tears of the Pokémon turn to brilliant, glittering points of light. They leave the Pokémons' faces, floating into a ring around Ash and Pikachu, and settle onto the form of the fallen boy. Pikachu's tears as well flow to him. Ash begins to glow with a soft blue light, then blinks and raises his head! "Pikapi!" cries Pikachu ecstatically, leaping into its trainer's arms. Ash smiles.

"The human sacrificed himself to save the Pokémon," marvels Mewtwo to itself. "I pitted them against each other, but not until they set aside their differences did I see the true power they all shared deep inside." Mew nods wisely. "I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant," continues Mewtwo. "It is what you do with the gift of life that determines who you are." The psychic Pokémon glows with its bright blue energy, and so do all the clones. One by one they lift into the air.

"Where are you going?" Ash calls out as Mew and Mewtwo, as well as the copies of Pikachu, Gyarados, Wigglytuff, Pidgeot, Meowth and all the rest rise away.

Mewtwo's voice returns to them. "To learn what you already know so well." It tells them that while the memory of what happened this night will never leave its memory, perhaps it would be better if they forgot the occurrence. The arena glows brightly as the humans and their Pokémon look around in confusion. What is happening?

The next thing Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu know, they're standing in the marina along with numerous other trainers and their Pokémon as Miranda announces all trips have been canceled do to the storm. Ash is slightly confused. What are they doing there? His friends don't know either, but no one is really that concerned about it. They all feel too wonderful to care. When Nurse Joy appears to tell them that the Pokémon Center is open to take in anyone who needs shelter from the storm, everyone walks outside. Surprisingly, the rains stop, and sunbeams shine through the dark clouds. Ash looks up and suddenly squints. What's that small white form floating up into the clouds? When he calls Misty and Brock to look up, the creature has vanished. "Maybe you're seeing things," Misty teases him with a smile. "Well, maybe he isn't," Brock counters with a grin. Pikachu is also in a good mood, and Togepi is as cute as ever. So the five friends set out once again, heading for adventure and excitement. What awaits them on their journey? Only time will tell.

And way out to sea, on a green stretch of island barely recognizable as the dark New Island, three people are enjoying the bright sunshine. They don't know how they got there, but they feel too good to care. Looks like Team Rocket's . . . well, they're sitting around again!


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