Ch 33. A Mew-tastic story

On his way to Saffron city, Ares and his pokemon enjoyed their stay at a small cabin. It was rather old, being hidden amongst the trees. Yet around the cabin, all kinds of pokemon were frolicking about. Inside it was much the same, even more so when they met an old aquintance they had become acquinted with not too long ago.

Sitting in the old cabin was Mr. Fuji, the old man from the pokemon tower. He was there surrounded by multiple pokemon of different species that were being taken care of by small children. They were clearly not his own blood, as the children did not look like him at all.

"We meet again, Mr. Fuji."

"Ah, hello there...ehm...who were you again?"

"I'm Ares, Mr. Fuji. We met at the pokemon tower. You did leave before I could introduce myself, so it isn't strange you wouldn't know."

Mr. Fuji nodded at the explanation as he could remember something like that happened, though Ares's figure was a bit vague when he tried to recall it, as were a lot more of his memories as of late. Not that strange though, as his age was seemingly catching up to him.

"Yes, yes, Ares. It is good to see you again. Did you find what you were looking for?"

Ares nodded, as he showed the gloves to Mr. Fuji.

"I found these. Apparently there was a small note in the book that hinted towards it."

"A note?"

Mr. Fuji glanced at Ares in confusion.

"I've read that book from cover to cover and I never saw a note. You must be imagining things."

"I-I see. If you say so."

Not going in further on the subject, Ares turned towards the pokemon gathered around them.

"Are these pokemon yours, Mr. Fuji?"

Mr. Fuji laughed in return at the question.

"Mine? Oh no no, these aren't mine. All these pokemon are wild you see."

"Wild? They don't look wild to me."

Which they didn't, as they were very calm. They didn't attack, no matter which child was grooming them. They were as docile as they could be.

"Yes. Wild. They were previously from trainers. They were abandoned you see. All these pokemon are trying their hardest to regain a little bit of faith in us humans. These children that are caring for them come here every day to feed them, brush them, tell them stories. I believe they have grown attached to them. Even that fierce Nidorino over there can't help but become a bumbling smiling mess when Anna comes by to take care of him."

Mr. Fuji once again cackled in delight, reminiscing about the moment that happened. Fortunately for him, the little happy moments remained clear in his mind.

"Now I believe I need to tell you something. But it is best if it stays behind closed doors."

Mr. Fuji nodded to himself. He carefully stood up, wobbling a bit, his legs still asleep from the long time he had been sitting. Motioning Ares to follow, Mr. Fuji led Ares to a small backroom.

Closing the door behind him, he made sure everything was closed tightly. All the sounds from the livingroom had dissapeared as soon as the door closed. At this point Ares became wary, as he reached for his pokeballs on his side. Umbreon was inside, while Lucario too became wary and looked at Mr. Fuji for any signs of attacking.

"Now now, don't be so on edge. I am just an old man that wants to share a story."

Mr. Fuji calmly said as he sat down on one end of the table and pointed at the other for Ares and Lucario to take a seat on.

"Please sit and relax. This story might take a while. But first I need to ask you something."

Having taken a seat of his own, Ares waited for Mr. Fuji to ask a question.

Mr. Fuji's gaze became stern as he stared intently at Ares, in his tone of voice were none of the jolly undertones, as they were replaced by a that of a man who didn't accept any jokes or cleverly worded lies as reply.

"You have a Mew in your company, have you not?"

Not knowing how to react to Mr. Fuji's question, Ares remained quiet. Mr. Fuji in return began to nod, as if it was enough evidence.

"I saw him hang around you yesterday. I was passing by while you were battling that young lady, you see. It was such a wondrous scene, Mew was barely hidding as he was looking at the battle from behind you. This also made me think about telling you about something else, as you will surely encounter it if you have a Mew on your side."

Ruffling through the shelves, Mr. Fuji came back with a report of some kind, along with a few pictures. They were worn down, not by age but by the many times it had been taken out. On the picture, a group of scientists were seen. In the background, the vague shape of a pokemon was seen in a large, glass tube of some kind. It was suspended in a liquid, its details too faint to make out from the rest.

"See here. This is me, along with my previous colleagues. This was from a long time ago. You see, I was a pokemon researcher that was tasked to create a copy of a certain pokemon. That pokemon is none other than Mew. But as the experiment went on, we instead created a pokemon that wasn't Mew, but a whole new pokemon, created from a combination of pokemon and human DNA. We named it Mewtwo."

Mr. Fuji became silent, letting the words sink in as he continued shortly after.

"Mewtwo was created from Mew's DNA, meaning it had the same capabilities and power as Mew. When we were almost done, Mewtwo escaped, unleashing its might as it went on a rampage and destroyed the laboratory. I barely managed to escape with my life. Its whereabouts are still unknown, but I believe it is searching for Mew. If you encounter it in the future, please be careful. It has no understanding of this world at all, so the chances are high it will attack you on sight."

Ares was shocked to hear this information, as was Mew who was trembling on his shoulder. From her aura, Ares could tell Mew was anything but happy. She seemed furious. He did not know what to say about this, carefully picking out his words as he thought of a reply.

"I will. Thank you for telling me. Though I do need to ask. Who asked you to create Mewtwo in the first place?"

Mr. Fuji shook his head.

"I don't know. The name was never given, only the fact they wanted a copy of Mew, as well as the money we would get to fund our research on the start of each month. I have regretted my actions ever since the lab exploded. That's why I take care of all the poor abandoned pokemon I find, to make sure they have a happy life, even after the misery they had experienced."

Deciding not to go any further on the subject, Ares said a few comforting words and farewells before he left the cabin, finding somewhere remote to take a breather as Mew didn't seem too keen on remaining hidden for a while now.

Once they were far enough from the road, a fuming Mew dashed off, destroying boulders after boulders to release some of her pent up anger.

Once she came back, she was still angry, but she also seemed a bit more relaxed.

"Are you fine now?"

Ares asked as he began to carefuly remove the sand and dust from her fine fur, rubbing her head in attempt to calm her down a bit more.

[I am not fine at all! How dare they callously create life! That creature!.... that THING is something that shouldn't exist in the first place. It goes against the natural order!]

"But it is already alive. He can do nothing about being created. He didn't choose the life he currently has. He did not ask to be created, to live in misery because of a few humans. What right do we have to deny his life, his whole being?"

[IT IS WRONG! IT SHOULD NO EXIST!]

"..."

Ares kept quiet as all kinds of feelings went through him.

Then what about him?

He was called an abomination, a monster, the very fact he was alive was a sin.

He wasn't normal as well. Was it wrong for him to exist as well?

Though the circumstances of their creation were different, it was due to his parents, as well as Mewtwo's creators, that they existed. They had a right to be alive, that no one else could refute, even if they were... unnatural.

Not knowing how to feel about this, Ares stopped what he was doing, letting Mew vent out all her anger as he found a quiet place for himself as well. Sitting down, staring aimlessly through the canopy above him, trying to keep the rising sense of fury as well as sadness in check. He had no right to feel like this, as his and Mewtwo's situations were completely different.

Yet he could not help but feel this way, for himself as well as for Mewtwo.

Lucario could feel what he was feeling as he sat besides Ares. Without so much as a word, Lucario pushed Ares head down on his lap as he gently began to pat Ares's head. It was a strange sensation.

As he had grown up without so much as a bit of parental love, the exception being Leaf, though he did not receive anything like physical affection from her, the soft stroking of his head beneath Lucario's gentle paws was... calming, if he had to put it into words.

Feeling the worry Lucario was feeling for him, Ares covered his eyes as he let Lucario do what he wanted to. Lucario's paws let him feel a bit more relaxed, yet also a bit lonely for some reason. He so desperately wanted to know why he was what he was. These thoughts that didn't seem to fade away only got stronger as they continued to mess with his head. Every day, every second, driving him mad with confusion.

'This must be the same as what Mewtwo feels... at least up to some point. I can not imagine what kind of emotions Mewtwo is going through, compared to my fragile identity crisis.'

With that lone thought, Ares didn't want to think anymore. Knowing what Ares needed the most, Lucario took out one of Ares's pokeballs as he let out Clefairy. Seeing her trainer all depressed, Clefairy looked in confusion at Lucario. Telling Clefairy about what happened in a few words, Clefairy too had a inkling about what Lucario wanted her to do. Singing a gently tune for her trainer, Ares quickly fell asleep, his restless mind turned off.

Seeing Ares falling asleep, Lucario continued to comfort his trainer, who was still so broken and torn inside. Clefairy took off towards Mew, who had become quiet as the time went on. Lucario looked in the direction of Mew, who had finally calmed down. He could see her sulking silhouette as she too sat down besides Ares along with Clefairy in tow. She was already regretting what she had said, a bit at least. Alas, words were hard to take back once spoken.

Regret was a bountiful thing in this messed up, but beautiful world.