Drew awoke bright and early to the ring of an alarm, his hospital bed was beginning to feel far more like a trap than the vacation he’d hailed it as in the beginning. This morning, his mind was elsewhere, though. His daughter was challenging a Gym.
‘I actually get to watch her live…’ He thought to himself excitedly, ‘My little girl is actually challenging a Gym…I never thought I’d see the day she’d become a trainer. Much less the one in which she’d challenge Giovanni of all people…’
“To think she told me she wanted to be a ranger…Haha…” The memory still stuck in his head, his adorable daughter in the same ranger gear as him, standing side by side, watching over Mt. Silver and the Route towards it.
‘Well, beggars can’t be choosers…’ It wasn’t meant to be, it seems. ‘Then again, nothing's set in stone yet. I didn’t want to go into the field either. Maybe she’ll grow tired of the trainer life as well?’
His wishful thinking could only keep him that occupied that long, as he finally picked up his phone and searched through the net to arrive at the official Kanto Pokemon League Site to view the livestream. There was still some time to waste while the stream started, but Drew was unfortunately still bedbound for now.
He could sit up or take a walk with a walker, but he didn’t appreciate the looks people gave him when he used the thing. It made him feel pitied every time he showed up anywhere with it, ‘And what better place to watch my daughters' Gym Battle than my own private hospital room?’
‘Whatever, let’s look at the news around her while I wait…’ Drew lolled his tongue around as he opened a new tab in the browser and simply searched up the same ‘Valerie Riston’, hoping to find some juicy gossip about his favorite daughter.
In his own opinion, Social Media pages tended to lose threads of discussion rather quickly, so instead, forums were particularly great spots for trainer discussions, and many different threads popped up in his search results when it finally loaded.
…
?[OFFICIAL] The League Circuit: Discussion, Hype & Predictions Thread
by ?UpdateBot Date: January 1st | Category: Regional News & Circuits | Status: Sticky | Comments Open
Welcome to the new season, Trainers!
The wait is finally over. As the first Gym badges of the year are officially being polished and the registration gates at the Indigo Plateau (and beyond!) swing open, it’s time for our annual League Megathread.
Whether you’re a rookie starting your journey today or a veteran analyst who spends too much time looking at spreadsheets, this is your home for the next ten months.
? Current Season Info
- Registration Status: OPEN (Closes March 31st)
- Gym Circuit: Active (All 8 Regional Gyms)
- Conference Date: Projected for late November
- Defending Champion: Lance Blackthorn
? What we’re watching this year:
- The "Rookie Wave": Our resident Professor has chosen another batch of new sponsored trainers. How will this affect the populace, and how will both the Professor's grandson and his friend shake up the region?
- Wild Pokemon Mania: We’ve seen ample changes in the wild Pokemon populations in certain regions of Kanto. How will this affect the new trainers of the year?
- The Meta Shift: Might makes right teams have dominated the Kanto Circuit for the last few years. Will they continue to steamroll through their strategic counterparts, or will cooler heads prevail?
? Forum Rules Reminder: Keep it civil. No flaming other regions or specific trainers.
- No "leak" talk without spoiler tags.
- Predictions are just for fun—don't bet your Pokédollars.
Let the games begin! Who are you rooting for?
? Mod_Arcanine · Jan 1st
I watched that clip of Gary Oak driving out of Pallet Town in a car with tons of pretty girls on his side. I don’t think many people found it as funny as I did.
? MuttMankey34 · Jan 1st
If he thinks people are gonna parade him around the country just because he has Oak in his names he's wrong! What a poser! And that Ketchum kid is already a dud, who oversleeps a ceremony like that?!
? ORLLYWHYNAUT · Jan 1st
Oak chooses people for a reason. Don’t count him out yet.
? jhako (Verified Ace Trainer) · Jan 1st
I’m excited for what this League Year has to offer, but I can’t help but feel anxious about that stuff at Mt. Silver…
? Umbroeon12 · Jan 1st
What went down there anyway? Was there any concrete news about it?
? Spppeeed1567 · Jan 1st
Apparently, some fire-type went haywire. This kid on MewTube got to have an interview with a girl who was there. LINK.
? Adoring___Fangs · Jan 1st
Replying to Spppeeed1567: That girl, Valerie Riston, is gonna be interesting, she’s got a Larvitar. Theyre unruly but if she manages to tame it a larvitar could be really strong.
? Umbroen12 · Jan 1st
A friend of mine with a charmander left my local town to go on his journey. Wish you luck Damien!
? HeapingReward098 · Jan 1st
I don’t know who you are, but good luck damien. Treat your Pokemon well.
? ResidentLanceBlackfan · Jan 1st
NOBODY AND I MEAN - NOBODY WILL MANAGE TO DETHRONE BLACKTHORN THIS YEAR! I BET YOU MY ENTIRE SAVINGS! THE BLACKTHORN SWEEP WILL CONTINUE!
? luckychansey · Jan 1st
You’re clearly delusional if you think he’ll keep this up. The guy is riding on the coattails of his clan.
? ResidentLanceBlackfan · Jan 1st
LANCE SWEEP! LANCE SWEEP! LANCE SWEEP!
? Mod_Arcanine · Jan 1st
Please keep it civil. No betting. I’ll be forced to time you out.
? ResidentLanceBlackfan · Jan 1st
[Message deleted by Moderator]
…
‘Even in Forums, cooler heads don’t always prevail…’ He scrolled past the wall of comments, running his eyes over the multiple thousands of comments on the single thread. Some had actual predictions, some were real trainers talking about their experiences last year and their plans on how to improve this year, and others were just anonymous people online hedging their bets about the most mundane things. The big picture Drew could draw was that everyone was excited.
“At least one of ‘em has the right idea.” Drew thought with a self-satisfied grin as he looked at the post mentioning his daughter before pressing the ‘Like’ Button. His finger continued to scroll, revealing more about the current trainer scene.
Back when he was still trying to get into the Gym Circuit, it was nothing like this. After all, the war had just ended. All the kids were driven to train a team of their own, to challenge strong trainers and temper their team into something that could defend their country. Drew didn’t have the luxury of hundreds of websites that accumulated a wealth of knowledge for him to drink in, ‘Man, I remember the books I used to read back then…’
He’d fallen for it just the same way, build a team worthy of defeating the Champion and drive his country to victory, ‘Well, the dream hadn’t been that straightforward…’ He admitted mentally.
It was the hip thing to do, tradition even, but Drew was too much of a boring slob to do it for his own interest. If it hadn’t been for certain factors, Buddy, Michelle, and a bit of arrogance on his own part, he might’ve never tried his luck.
‘It did go pretty well, all things considered,’ Drew reminisced fondly.
What a twisted turn of fate for his daughter, the stay-at-home champion, to fall into the same trap as him. Suddenly, he felt lucky that tensions between Johto and Kanto had eased since he couldn’t imagine the horror of his little girl being conscripted.
‘Not like I got conscripted either…’ Drew thought with a sigh.
Suddenly, his phone vibrated, ‘Ah, right.’ He quickly navigated through the browser of his phone and back onto the page for her Gym match and paid the viewing fee before the stream finally loaded.
“Welcome to the Gym Challenge, everyone!” A cheerful announcer called out to the audience, “We here at the Viridian City Gym, we hope this winter season has been nice to you. Our Gym has been deep within the throes of renovation, as our Gym Challenge, the Spin Tile Maze, received a well-earned visual and performance upgrade. While we wait for our first challenger of the year, let me introduce our renovated arena!”
The camera panned over the darkened arena as the announcer's voice over continued, “You might remember the arena for its light green ceramic tile flooring, which was lovingly accentuated by walls painted in a pale pinkish-orange. It might’ve looked lovely and accentuated when those colors were in fashion twenty or so years ago, but our resident Gym Leader Giovanni has finally had enough of those drab colors and decided to give the Gym a proper makeover.”
Drew looked over the opulent golden accents all around the gym's rooms and could only cringe a slight bit, ‘What does he think he is? A king?’
The audience clearly didn’t share his disposition, oohing and aahing at the brand new renovations with wonder and excitement. The camera had an ample view of the audience, showing that there were surprisingly few people present. A few of the people seemed familiar, he could spot Michelle’s peach-colored hair from anywhere.
What made his eye pop out of his head was the giant orange dragon a few rows in front of his ex-wife, accompanied by a red-haired man donning a cape, ‘Lance Blackthorn?!’
Even the announcer hadn’t noticed the man, instead continuing to extoll the virtues of their brand new arena, “With the Gym’s Spin Tile maze beautified, Giovanni also saw it fit for his very own Arena to get a makeover. The new arena will dazzle trainers with its beauty and class, really painting home the nobility of the Gym Leader who represents the eighth Gym badge, their final challenge before the conference.”
“Surprisingly though,” The announcer pivoted, “Our first challenger of the year possesses not a single badge to her name. She is the first challenger of the year in our Gym! Let’s give her a big welcome when she finally reveals herself- Oh! Here she comes right now!”
Drew felt his throat tighten as the camera panned over to his daughter. She wore the same outfit she’d seen him off in. She didn’t seem particularly different, except for the periodic updates he received from her and Michelle. Without them, he couldn’t have known about any of the crazy events that befell her.
Her gait was weak, and her hunched posture showed that she was still anxious about the upcoming challenge as a Gym Aid led her out and towards the Spin Tile Maze. Their chatter was being broadcast live, but only when she confirmed she was ready did the Aid finally announce the beginning of the challenge, “Your time starts NOW!”
“Kick Ass, Valerie…” Drew cheered silently from his hospital bed with a balled fist.
…
“Ooh!” Drew watched as his daughter fought to keep her balance on the spin tiles, only to get thrown into a tumble before landing on the stopping platform in an unceremonious heap. He felt quite fortunate that the Spin Tiles were installed after his Gym Challenge.
“Aah!” The second Spin Tile already looked like an improvement, but the way Valerie clutched at her mouth already made Drew uneasy, ‘She can’t keep this up all day…’
Another tile, and Valerie seemed to actually be begging to catch her bearings, as she managed to land on her feet. She looked to be going in the right direction, as even the announcer began to commend her efforts.
A very stable performance through the Gym Challenge overall, but to Drew, it was like watching magic. The same girl who couldn’t be asked to get up from the couch to get a new bag of snacks was now riding a wave of energy like a skateboard in front of his eyes. His couchpotato of a daughter almost felt alien to him.
That wasn’t even the biggest shock, though. As Valerie hopped onto the next spin tile, only continue riding for an uncomfortably long time before another camera at the beginning of the maze caught her being thrown out back at the very start.
“Ooh! And Valerie has finally taken a wrong turn!” The announcer cooed, “And what a turn it was, sending her back all the way to the start of the Labyrinth! Luckily for her, she still has nine minutes left. Will she be able to find her way to our beloved Gym Leader in those critical minutes? One more wrong turn and it could all go down the drain for her!”
The author's content has been appropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.
‘Well, she’s still got more than enough time, right?’
…
His daughter got up and retraced her steps beautifully. Only when she got to the place of her previous failure did she look down at the Pokeballs at her belt. Over the microphone clipped to the hem of her blouse, everyone watching the challenge could hear her call out to her Pokemon.
“Sybil, which of the two is it?”
“I can’t believe it!” The announcer picked up on what she was doing immediately, “She is using her Natu’s latent future sight abilities to predict the correct way out of the labyrinth!”
‘Damn, that’s smart.’ Drew thought enviously, ‘She definitely didn’t take after me.’
…
“I- WHAT?!” Drew almost jumped out of his seat if it wasn’t for the leathery skin on his back that pulled him back down with an audible wince. He couldn’t even stop the livestream to rewatch what he’d just seen, he’d have to rewatch it later, ‘How’d that little Larvitar just beat a Rhyhorn with a single punch to the gut?! Didn’t Michelle and Valerie say it wasn’t her goal to win?!’
The Rhyhorn was sprawled out in a heap. It had attacked Larry, but never actually landed a single hit before being dispatched, ‘Just what did they-’ He stopped himself short, the answer already at the back of his mind, ‘…Status-Moves…’
Giovanni was already sending out his second Pokemon, a miniature Nidoqueen appearing out of the Pokeball. Drew truly felt his heart hammer away inside his chest from the excitement of this battle.
‘Is she going to win this?’
…
Drew’s throat felt dry, and he didn’t even dare breathe as both fighters were down to their last Pokemon. In the heat of the moment, Valerie’s Natu had somehow managed to evolve and completely turned the tables on Giovanni’s Persian.
The feline lunged up at the newly evolved Xatu in a feeble attempt at retaliation, but just before it could hit the Flying-Type, its figure stopped dead in the air and began to warp ominously.
“What?!” Drew literally shot up from his bed, almost managing to get up and onto his feet before the pain shot through his legs and up his spine with a hiss, “ACK!”
He dropped back down in his bed with a groan, “Ooowww…Why the fuck did I do that…”
Just as quick as he cursed himself, he raised his phone back into sight. He watched as the crowd erupted into cheer at the sight of a fainted Persian in the arena down below.
“She…won?” Drew spoke in disbelief.
“What is going on in here?” A Nurse looked into the room in annoyance, “Mister Riston, you should really be resting right now. What are you doing awake?”
“Oh, Karin.” He’d seen her hundreds of times by now, the two were well acquainted with how much she’d taken care of him. “I’m just…” Drew thought about making up some kind of excuse, but couldn’t get himself to, “Watching my daughters' first Gym Battle…I think she just won.”
“Well…” She wanted to retort, but found herself agreeing with his reaction as she came to his bedside, “I guess just please try and keep it down, ok? We have other patients who sleep longer, and you’re also still recuperating.”
He couldn’t find any point in disagreeing, “Yeah…I guess you’re right, Karin, sorry…I’ll try and be a bit quieter.”
Suddenly, a loud voice could be heard from his phone's speaker, “International Police! League Enforcement! Hands where we can see them!”
“Huh?” Both he and the nurse vocalized at once, and both their gazes were fixed on the video of the Gym Battle.
The two proceeded to watch as the Champion of the Indigo League descended from the bleachers and addressed the audience of the fight, “People of Viridian City and the Kanto Region as a whole who are watching this broadcast. I am Champion Lance Blackthorn, and I am here today to announce the arrest of Gym Leader Giovanni of the Viridian Gym.”
“What?!” The two uttered in shock.
“Gym Leader Giovanni has lived a double life, as both Gym Leader and head of a crime syndicate called Team Rocket. His syndicate's crimes include, but are not limited to, racketeering, Pokemon kidnapping and trafficking, extortion, and Pokemon cruelty.”
“Team Rocket?!” Drew’s eyes bulged out of his head, ‘The same Team Rocket that attacked Valerie?!’
“Thanks to a joint task force consisting of Ace Trainers, InterPol Agents, League Enforcement, and the courage of one newly-minted Trainer, justice has prevailed. You will be immediately taken into custody and face the full legal proceedings of the Indigo League and InterPol. Please give yourself up peacefully and don’t make this any harder than it needs to be.”
‘A joint task force with Valerie?! What the fuck has she been up to?!’ Everyone in the audience, including Drew and Karin were slack-jawed at the accusation, “What?!”
Drew watched as Giovanni began to extol to the audience of thousands about something regarding strength. It wasn’t quite entirely clear to Drew or Karin, but the man was clearly insane by the rambling tone his voice has he worked himself up into a maniacal laughter, “You’ve arrested the staff of my Gym, but you think you’ve cornered me, defeated me? Haha…This battle is far from over. Hahaha… I have been preparing for this…”
Every camera in the arena shook as an earthquake hit the area, and Drew watched as one second the video feed just suddenly cut out before an error message suddenly appeared.
“What?! What the fuck just happened?!”
…
Mewtwo, approximately four days ago
Mewtwo touched the walls of the cave for what felt like the hundredth time today. Whatever was nagging at him, it was nagging at him quite harshly.
“Hey.” His green friend stomped into the room unbeknownst to his plight.
“State your business.”
“I returned.” She spoke tersely.
Her communication skills left a lot to be desired, it had been grating on him since they’d first met, “Your thoughts are cluttered. Elaborate.”
How’d he even get to this point?
…
Six days ago
Mewtwo touched down a bit below the highest peak he could spot in the distance, landing near the snow line of the mountain. Ripping at the leftover pieces of armor on his body, the memory of Giovanni, the human he’d trusted, flashed back through his mind as the pieces of metal armor heavily fell to the ground.
“You are a Pokemon, Pokemon are used for human purposes. They live for humans' sake…” Mewtwo recited, Giovanni's words tasted like ash in his mouth. Giovanni could not be trusted anymore. He promised Mewtwo strength, but instead, Mewtwo realized that he’d only used him for his own gain, as a tool.
‘To think an entire species is so arrogant as to enslave gods…’ Mewtwo pondered, his emotions flared as he looked towards the horizon. No human towns were in sight, only the greenery of the wilderness stared back at him. In his anger and desperation to get away, he had fled without thought, ‘…Where am I?’
In the corner of his vision, something moved, and with a sweep of his arm, the would-be attacker was caught in his Psychic grasp.
“Whoa!” A small, brown-furred Pokemon floated over towards him, tumbling wildly inside its Psychic grasp. On its forehead was a crescent moon-shaped patch of lighter fur, as it held tightly onto the berry between its paws. The Pokemon looked terrified when it realized its predicament. “W-Who are you?! Let me go!”
Who was this weak, little Teddiursa to command him around? It had snuck up on him. He should crush it in his grasp. He’d beaten far stronger Pokemon in a bout.
Suddenly, a large paw landed on his outstretched arm, grasping it firmly, “Hey, you. Let go of my little one, will you?”
When Mewtwo turned his head, he saw a large brown-furred Ursaring bear down on him with fury in her eyes. She was clearly challenging him, his strength.
Mewtwo released the small Pokemon, tossing it to the wayside as it fled into a cave in the mountainside in panic, “Waaah! HELP!”
“There we g-” Before the Ursaring could finish, she was launched backwards by a thrust of telekinetic force at high speed, smashing through a pair of trees before coming to a halt.
“Kugh!” The Ursaring coughed as it rose out of the destruction, “What is your deal, assaulting my kid like that and then throwing me around?!”
Lamenting the result of his throw, Mewtwo ignored her question, “Pathetic.”
The Ursaring scoffed at the insult as she rose from the destruction, “Ha! Says the Pokemon randomly attacking others…”
In that moment, more Pokemon appeared out of the hole in the mountain that the smaller Pokemon had run into. The small Teddiursa stood behind the two of them, pointing at him fearfully, ‘Just like how those humans looked at me…’
A stout, four-legged Pokemon with a long trunk spoke up, apparently a Donphan, “What is going on out here?”
“Donphan, stay back.” Ursaring turned to the group of newcomers, calm echoing through her voice at the sight of her child, “It seems like a new Pokemon has found its way up to the second layer. And it's not friendly.”
The Donphan scanned him up and down before asking a question, “Who are you?”
In his time at the Gym, he’d found out about his origins and existence, “The humans named me Mewtwo. I am the result of their science. A product. A weapon.”
“Humans, hmm?” Donphan mused, “Did they send you here?”
“Incorrect.” Mewtwo denied vehemently, “My creators... they sought to shackle me. I severed the chain.”
“You wouldn’t be the first Pokemon that happened to.” Donphan replied, “Why attack Ursaring?”
“I…” Mewtwo didn’t have a full answer for the group of wild Pokemon. In his flight, he had thrown away everything he had known: the Gym, the experiments, even his malicious benefactor. He had nothing to his name now but his own strength.
“They sought to exploit my power. I refused.” He reasoned out loud, the logic forming as he spoke. “Therefore, I shall utilize my power for my own design.”
Donpahn and the Tyranitar exchanged a look.
“I require a sanctuary. This mountain will suffice.”
That seemed to make the Donpahn grimace, shortly before his gaze fell back to the Tyranitar, now less than enthused, “Bad choice.”
“Ambition is good,” The Tyranitar continued with a heavy stomp forward, its tone darkening, “ but this is my mountain.”
“Is that so?” Psychic-TE flared out of his body in huge swaths. “Then I shall seize it from you. You possess raw power, but you lack vision. I have never known defeat, do not presume to teach me the meaning of it now.”
Rock-TE already flaring, the Tyranitar smiled, “I like a challenge.”
…
‘To think she’d be a Dark-Type…’ Mewtwo lamented, running a hand over his scars. It was his first time fighting such an utterly powerful Dark-Type, while Giovanni had planned vigorously, supposedly to groom him into his own perfect weapon, Dark-Types were a blind spot for him. It was a Type supposedly rare to be found in the region, with powerful ones ever rarer…
The fight hadn’t lasted more than a few moves since most of Mewtwo’s moves were utterly useless against her. It was a pitiful display for someone of his strength. If only he could’ve learned more from Giovanni during his time at his Gym, ‘No matter. A powerful rival is paramount to further my own strength.’
“I spoke to my son.” His rival confessed, a fond smile on her face, “He’s doing well.”
“Your progeny is irrelevant to me.” Mewtwo turned his head away with a cold stare. “When shall we conclude this? I demand a rematch. Next time, I will reduce you to dust.”
The Dark-Type hummed to herself, deliberating over the choice, “Hmm…”
He threw out a hand, pointing at the sharp pillars of rock locking him inside of a small outcropping, “And how long do you intend to maintain this farce? Release me.”
“Behave,” She ordered. “Then you get out. And my mountain stays standing.”
“I could dismantle this prison with a thought,” Mewtwo argued. “Your stone is nothing to me.”
“You break it, I break you,” Tyranitar promised.
Just what Mewtwo wanted, a proper fight! Yet, he was still injured, he looked back inwards, ‘Not yet...’
“Hmph.” He lifted his chin in defiance. “If you possess the advantage, why do you hesitate? Why not simply extinguish my life and be done with it?”
The Dark-Type hummed in a low rumble, “Hmm…My son wouldn’t like that. It isn’t right.”
“Hrm…” Mewtwo didn’t even know what to make of the answer, ‘What is her goal?’
He couldn’t relate to the feeling, his training with Giovanni had supposedly only just begun. If he had managed to stay for longer, he might’ve been taught more in-depth methods for fighting with Psychic-TE. Now he’d simply have to figure it out himself.
For how terrible a person Giovanni was, he knew how to train a Pokemon. If humans had one thing to their name, it was the strength of the Pokemon they enslaved. Such weak, pitiful creatures, yet so fearsome, their two-faced compassion…
He’d barely been in Giovanni’s clutches for less than thirty days if his internal clock was to be trusted. Truly, the human knew how to bring forth the strength hidden inside Pokemon, even if his motives were twisted. It was wonderful that the man's thoughts had been so frayed when he’d called for him that he’d revealed his entire plan out loud, or he would’ve never seen his hidden objective.
The two had planned to conquer the world, but with the man out of the picture, was that still what Mewtwo wanted? What did he want? Why was he alive? Who was he anyway? A clone? A weapon? A…
“Hey.” Tyranitar threw him out of his thoughts as she planted herself down in front of his cell, “Tell me about you.”
“Why should I grant you that knowledge?” Mewtwo projected sharply.
“You seem…” The Tyranitar searched for the right word, “...hurt.”
“I am damaged, yes,” Mewtwo retorted, gesturing to his body. “We were engaged in combat. It is a logical outcome.”
The Dark-Type simply shook her head, “Not the body.” She tapped her chest. “Inside.”
Mewtwo paused, his telepathic presence flickering. “...Explain.”
The Tyranitar spoke again, choosing her words carefully. She constructed a longer sentence, “...It's like you’ve been hurt before.”
“You-” Her words struck Mewtwo like a physical blow. Indignation swelled up inside him, bursting outwards in a Psychic explosion which pulverized the bars of his prison.
He floated into a stand... “You presume to know my mind? You cannot comprehend the nature of my existence!”
“I don’t.” She agreed with a nod, “I can relate.”
“You...” Mewtwo hovered, stumped. “...Impossible.”
“Humans tricked me, too.” She spoke, “A long time ago.”
He was immediately dismissive, “Deception? Insults? Do not compare your pedestrian grievances to my reality. I was not born, I was manufactured!”
“They stole my firstborn.”
Mewtwo paused, “...What became of the humans responsible?”
“They got away.” She spoke matter-of-factly.
“And you... permitted them to leave?” The outrage exploded out of Mewtwo once again, the stones around him beginning to float. “They extinguished your own flesh and blood... yet you stayed your wrath? You possessed the power to destroy them! Why?!”
“I did,” Tyranitar began dryly, “I destroyed everything…”
Her tone darkened, “I destroyed so much, I started to hurt others.”
“The world hurt me. So I hurt it back.” She tersely recounted, “I was…inconsolable…”
“I thought the world had wronged me…” The Dark-Type reasoned, “So why spare it?”
“Your rationale is sound.” Mewtwo argued, “If the world declared itself your enemy, you raze it to the ground.”
He floated through the debris and dust of his outburst and looked at her with genuine curiosity.
“So? What halted your hand? Did you simply run out of energy? Or did you finally extinguish everything that stood in your way?”
Tyranitar let out a raspy breath as she rose from her seated position, “I saw how I could kill and destroy…”
“And what did you see? The corpses of your enemies?”
“No,” she corrected heavily. “I saw the destruction in my wake.”
Mewtwo remained silent, his expression unreadable.
“Crushed nests, broken bodies,” Tyranitar continued, her gaze drifting to the cave entrance, “Families killed...”
She turned her eyes back to the clone, her eyes told a thousand words to Mewtwo.
“Collateral damage is a necessary consequence of battle,” Mewtwo stated coldly. “It is unavoidable.”
“It is pointless!” Tyranitar snapped, her voice echoing off the walls. “When I rage, I can hardly stop, but if I continued there would be nothing left but rubble and silence…”
The anger drained out of her, only to be replaced by a steely resolve.
“I’d rule over nothing,” she rumbled low.
Mewtwo stared at her. The concept was alien, grating against the philosophy Giovanni had instilled in him, yet… looking at the powerful creature before him, he could not call her weak.
“So you chose… preservation,” Mewtwo murmured, testing the word as if it were a foreign language. “Over vindication.”
“I chose to have a home,” Tyranitar corrected, “A family.”
The silence between the two was deafening. Mewtwo digested the Dark-Type’s words in front of her, thinking over the actions she had taken in the past.
“To rule over silence is to rule over nothing... I concede that point.”
He floated downwards, letting his feet finally touch the stone floor. The jagged flare of his psychic aura dimmed into a steady, quiet hum, “From despot to sovereign…”
“Very well. I shall remain. But do not mistake this for submission, Tyranitar. I am merely curious to see if a weapon such as myself... can truly exist within a 'home'.”
He turned his gaze back toward her, his eyes glowing with a renewed, calculated intensity.
“But do not think my spirit broken, Tyranitar. Once my wounds have mended and my power has reached its zenith, I will have my rematch. I intend to discover if your ‘preservation’ can truly withstand the full weight of my purpose.”
Tyranitar smiled, not the same vicious smile she’d shown him before their fight, but a kind one, “Good to have you.”