OK, so this is like a combination of different Pokémon episodes and the movie merged into one. But I think it came out nicely. Anyway, here's the plot. To save katkind and Skylar and Jade, the Swat Kats are once again turned into Pokémon with Kari and David as their trainers. They have to find each other, collect different Pokémon, and defy the odds of beating a super-powerful Pokémon and his powerful clones. Searching Far and Wide By Kari Gilmore Chapter 1: One hot afternoon, Kari was listening to some music while swimming in the small pool used in the obstacle course. "It's too damn hot today," she said to herself as she floated on her back. She looked up and saw David jumping into the air and trying to grab the rope over the pool. He missed and he came falling towards the water. Kari screamed and dived under before David hit. They both surfaced at the same time and glared at each other. "There are public pools, you know," David said. "Why? I don't have to pay to swim in this one," Kari replied. Then someone landed on her head, causing her to go under. Kit jumped off her head and landed outside the pool. He stopped briefly to apologize once Kari got her head back up and ran ahead. "Christopher Clawson, get your tail back here right now so I can--!" Kari started, then got dunked again when Skylar and Jade jumped on her head and followed after Kit. "Come back here, Kit!" Jade's voice said. "You're not gonna get away!" Skylar's voice followed. Kari brought her head up part way until her nose was above the water. "Those kats ain't got no respect, you know what I'm saying?" David asked as he imitated somebody. Kari raised her mouth out of the water and grumbled. "I swear, if I get dunked again, I'm gonna tear somebody's tail off!" she yelled. "Cowabunga!" Lance and Gwen yelled overhead, making a grab for the rope. Kari dived underwater again to save herself from getting jumped on the head again. Lance and Gwen grabbed onto the rope, swung over the pool, then landed on the other side. Then they followed after Skylar and Jade. Kari brought her head up again, looking very much annoyed. "Looks like you could use a vacation, Kare Bear," David said, getting out of the pool. Kari swam on her back again and looked up at the sky. "Well, David, this *is* my vacation. Though I think I need a vacation from my vacation," she said. "Swat Kats don't get vacations often. Even temporary Swat Kats," Chance said as he and the others came and stood by the pool. "Though you could use one. We've been watching the kittens jumping on your head," Katarina grinned and winked. "Don't remind me, Katney," Kari said with a little bitterness in her voice. "You're 17 now, Kari. Act your age and mature. You don't see the rest of us whining," Jake said, brushing the sweat off his forehead. "First off, I didn't *just* turn 17, Jake. I've been 17 since December. And second, I wasn't whining!" "You need to relax, Kari. You're starting to get as uptight as Kat," Tigera said as David got out of the pool. "Don't think Kat didn't hear that, Tiger," Kat said as she looked like she did not hear what Tigera said and sharpened her nails. Kari got out of the pool and stretched. "Nevermind. I'll find my own way to relax. Maybe I'll watch some Pokémon tapes or something," Kari said as she grabbed a towel and headed for the garage. Later, Kari was in the room Chance and Jake let her sleep in whenever she wasn't in her own world. She was lying on her bed while listening to some music. She sweated a bit even when the air conditioner was not working. She took a water balloon from a basket that she kept by her bed and dropped it on her face, causing water to spill. The water against her face and the cold chill from the air conditioner helped cool her down. "I wanna be the very best like no one ever was. To catch them is my real test. To train them is my cause," she sang along with the music playing. A Pokémon trainer; that's what I wanna be. It would be so cool to have pets like that, she thought to herself. She started to sweat again, and then she dropped another water balloon on her face. "Damn, why's it so hot? You'd think there was a giant fire ball in the sky." She got up and looked out the window. She saw something flying through the sky. She grabbed some binoculars that were lying by her bedstand and looked through them. Her eyes widened. "No way," she whispered, and took a second look through the binoculars. "Talk about foreshadowing." She dropped the binoculars and ran out of her room. She ran past everyone in the living room and the kitchen. Before they could get a word out, Kari jumped on a motorcycle, strapped on her helmet, then took off. The group went into the garage and watched her take off. "What's gotten into her?" David asked. "I don't know, but we're gonna find out," Chance said, grabbing his sword and jumping in the tow truck. Meanwhile, Kari was following the flying object in the sky. Buster and Ann were walking on the street when they saw her ride by. "Wonder what Kari's up to?" Buster asked. "Think we should follow?" Ann asked. "Why not? *They* are." Buster pointed to the tow truck with everyone in it. They then ran after them. Skylar was looking through some binoculars and looked ahead at Kari. "It looks like she's following after something," she said. "Can you tell what, Sky?" Chance asked. Skylar looked up at the sky and at the figure Kari is chasing after. "Yeah, something in the sky. It looks like a furless kat, but I'm not sure," she said, handing them to Jake. His eyes widened. "I don't believe it! That's Mewtwo!" he said. "Who or what is Mewtwo?" Jade asked. "Pokémon #150. One of Kari's favorites. We also know quite a bit since we were turned into Pokémon at one time," Chance said. They stopped at a stoplight. Once they stopped, Buster and Ann climbed into the back. Then they followed Kari again. Kari pulled her motorcycle off the road once she had reached the country and Mewtwo had landed on the ground. Mewtwo glared at her. "Why have you followed me, human?" he asked telepathically. "I just wanted to see what you were," was all Kari managed to say. "It's better if you hadn't followed me. I'm tempted to destroy you now." "What?! What for?" "Your true form is a human. Humans may have created me, but they only wanted to use me as a lab rat. Either that or use me as a weapon. I vow to rid the world of you and whoever stands by you." Mewtwo's eyes started to glow a dark blue. Kari then started to float into the air just as the tow truck pulled up. The Swat Kats then jumped out. Buster and Ann followed. "Put her down now!" Fractor ordered. Mewtwo then waved an arm forward. With that action, Kari flew towards the group and crashed into them. Only Skylar and Jade remained standing. "Are you kats willing to battle with me?" Mewtwo asked. "Give us a minute to get up and we'll be happy to answer your question, Mewtwo," Quiver said as Kari got up. Mewtwo grinned evilly. "Stupid feline. Only Pokémon are allowed to fight another Pokémon. And none of you have or are Pokémon," he said. "Gee, we can't really catch any around here," Razor said. "Nor do we want to be turned into any again," T-Bone followed. "No? Well, then, maybe *this* will help you change your minds," Mewtwo said as his eyes glowed dark blue again. Then Skylar and Jade were lifted off the ground and floated by Mewtwo. "Hey! Let 'em go! They don't have anything to do with this!" Ann said. "Yeah, deal with us, not them!" Venus followed. "What gives you the right?" Buster asked. "You want me to spare your world and your species, don't you? These two will help make sure you truly want to save this world," Mewtwo said as Skylar and Jade disappeared. Then the rest of the group floated in the air. "Six of you will become Pokémon while two of you shall become trainers. I will supply the trainers with supply and no limit to the number of pocket monsters you may keep at a time. But the two trainers will have to find each other and the six Pokémon before you are able to battle with me on my island. Both of you will have one Pokémon that is your teammate. Do not fail, or your world will be destroyed." With that, they all disappeared in a blinding light. Chapter 2: Kari awoke with a gasp. She sat up and looked at where she was. She was in an open field in the middle of a mild spring day. "Ah, sure beats the hot summer sun," Kari said to herself, then stood up and looked at herself. She was wearing faded blue jean shorts, a purple tank top, and white and purple tennis shoes. She also realized that she was no longer a kat. She was her normal human self. "Hmm. I wonder which Pokémon I ended up getting," she said to herself, taking a ball off the hook on her belt. She threw it, causing the ball to open, a gleam of light pouring out, and a small turtle-like creature appeared in front of her. "Squirtle," it said. It also wore a pink collar. "Cool, a Squirtle. A *female* Squirtle. Hello, little friend," Kari said, kneeling down closer to the Squirtle. "Squirtle, Squirtle!" the Squirtle said, looking quite happy. "Which of my friends are you?" The Squirtle thought for a moment, then made a sawing motion towards her hand. "Sharpening nails? Quiver?" The Squirtle nodded. "Well, now we just have to find the others. And that'll be a piece of cake." She sat down and heaved a heavy sigh. Quiver sat down next to her and also heaved a heavy sigh. Then an apple dropped down on Quiver's head. "Squirtle! Squirtle, Squirtle, Squirtle!" she rubbed her head and looked up at the tree branches. "Huh? What hit you?" Kari looked up. A small cat-like white-pink Pokémon with a long tail and purple eyes floated out of the tree and looked at Kari and Quiver oddly. "Mew," it said. "Quiver, it's a Mew!" Quiver looked at her, a little annoyed. "Squirtle, Squirtle," she said. "What do you mean, 'well, duh'? I wasn't sure if you knew what it was. Oh, nevermind." Kari rolled her eyes. The Mew circled around Kari, repeating its name a few times. Kari just did not know whether to run or to have Quiver battle it. Then it floated by the empty pokéballs linked to her belt. "Unless you wanna be my first new Pokémon, I'd stay away, Mew," Kari said. "Mew. Mew, Mew," Mew said. "Squirtle?" Quiver asked, cocking her head. "What did it say?" Quiver replied in Squirtle's language. "She *wants* to be my first Pokémon?" Kari asked, quite amazed. Quiver nodded as Mew floated in front of Kari holding an empty pokéball and offering it to Kari. "Well, if you sure you want to, Mew, I guess you could." Kari took the ball, then Mew flew right into the ball, having it turn her into a ray of light, and then closed it. "Well, I didn't exactly catch this one, so I'm not too happy. Well, we'll just continue looking for some Pokémon then." "Squirtle," Quiver said as she and Kari walked down the path. Meanwhile, David, who had also turned back into a human, was just seeing which Swat Kat he got. When he threw a pokéball, a small dinosaur-like creature with a flower bulb on its back came out. "Bulbasaur," it said. It also wore a blue collar. "For some reason, I can tell which one you are," David said, kneeling down to the Bulbasaur. "Bulb," the Bulbasaur smiled. "Yeah. You're Razor." The Bulbasaur doubled over and shook his head. "Bulbasaur, Bulba!" "Just kidding with you, Buster. You realize it's not gonna be easy finding Kari and the others." Buster nodded. "Charmander!" a voice said. "Huh?" David looked to see an orange, lizard-like Pokémon standing near them. It had a small flame on the tip of its tail. "Cool. A Charmander. It's a shame grass type Pokémon are bad against fire types." "Saur!" Buster said, charging at the Charmander. "Well, if you wanna battle, I won't stop you, I guess. Buster, poison powder!" "Bulb!" From the bulb on Buster's back came some kind of powder that sprayed at the Charmander. The Charmander grew a sick look on its face and fainted. "Char..." David took a pokéball from his belt and threw it at the Charmander. The ball trapped the Charmander inside. David held his breath as he watched the ball wiggle and the button on the ball glowed a bright red. Then, it stopped wiggling and the red light went off. "We did it! We caught Charmander!" David said, picking up the ball. "Bulbasaur," Buster smiled, looking quite proud. David then let Charmander out, who was still out. David sprayed some antidote on the Charmander, who then leaped to its feet and smiled. "Charmander!" "Hey, where'd that collar come from?" David asked, eyeing the blue collar Charmander had. "Bulbasaur, Bulba, Saur Saur," Buster said. "Whatever Pokémon I catch, they automatically get those collars, revealing their genders?" David asked. Buster nodded. "Cool. He doesn't happen to be T-Bone or Razor, would he?" Buster and Charmander talked to each other, then Buster shook his head. David sighed, "The search goes on. Come on, guys." Meanwhile, Kari had climbed out of a tree with a few apples. Quiver and Mew were sitting on the ground as Kari laid out apples in front of them. Mew was now wearing a pink collar, which was hard to see on her pink body. "Will this be enough for you two?" Kari asked. They both nodded. Kari was about to take a bite of the apple when she heard voices yelling. "Quiver, Mew, you stay here. I'm gonna see what's going on." Kari got up and went in the direction of the voices. Quiver and Mew looked at each other, then followed Kari. Kari pushed some low-hanging tree branches away and saw some kids beating up on a cat-like Pokémon with sticks. "Meow! Meow!" the Pokémon yelled, trying very hard to scratch the kids. "Oh, that poor Meowth. I gotta save it. I guess it's weak enough..." Kari said, holding up an empty pokéball and throwing it. The ball hit the Meowth and trapped it inside. The ball wiggled for a few moments, then stopped. "Hey, we were having fun beating up on that Meowth!" a boy said when Kari stepped into the open. "You wouldn't like it if it was *you* being beat up on, kid," Kari said, picking up the pokéball. "It's none of your business! Keep out of it!" "It's *my* Meowth now so it *is* my business!" "Mew!" Mew said, floating by Kari's head. Her purple eyes glowed a bright blue. Then the three boys were levitated into the air. "Hey! Tell that whatever-it-is to put us down!" one of the boys said. "You promise not to beat up on Pokémon unless you're actually trying to catch it?" "Yes!" all three boys said. Then Mew let them down. "That Meowth's name is Meowzy. It was abandoned because it's trainer thought it weak," a boy said as he and the others took off. Kari stood there with Mew and Quiver by her. "Meowzy. That's a cute name, don't you guys think?" Kari asked her two friends. Both nodded. Then it suddenly dawned on Kari. "Wait a minute! I actually caught a Pokémon! I did it!" She grabbed both of her Pokémon by their hands and swung them around in a circle, very happy. When she stopped, both Pokémon were dizzy. "Let's meet Meowzy," Kari said, letting Meowzy out of the ball. Meowzy was wearing a pink collar now. She was badly injured. "Aw, poor thing." Kari picked up the Meowth, held her in her arms, and stroked her fur. "Meow," Meowzy said weakly. "It's all right. I captured you to save you from those boys. I won't abandon you if you're weak." Meowzy smiled weakly and licked Kari's face. "Squirtle," Quiver said as if she was saying, "Aw." "Mew," Mew said, about the same as Quiver. "Well, let's find a Pokémon center and they can fix her up," Kari said. Both Pokémon nodded and followed her down the path. Meanwhile, a Growlithe was walking down a path. ((Author's note: BTW, so long as Pokémon are alone, they'll be talking in English in their SK voices. To humans, they'll be saying their species' name in the species' voices. We clear on that? OK.)) "How am I gonna find the guys? I don't even remember what Pokémon they were turned into. And Venus wasn't a Pokémon at all. This is gonna be fun. You're just gonna have to hunt 'em down, T-Bone. Simply that," the Growlithe said to himself. "Pikaaaaa!" a voice screamed. T-Bone's head jerked at the sound of the scream. He looked around, then saw a waterfall ahead. Then he saw a Pikachu hanging onto a rock under the rushing water. "Even as a wild Growlithe, I gotta save the mouse," T-Bone said to himself as he ran towards the waterfall. Then the Pikachu lost its grip. "Chaaaaa!" it screamed. "Growl!" T-Bone said as he jumped, grabbed the Pikachu in his mouth, and splashed safely into the water. The Pikachu's head came up once the water was calm. "Whew! Thanks for saving me, Growlithe. I owe you one," he said. He looked at T-Bone, who had fainted. The Pikachu dragged him onto the shore. The red circles on his cheeks glowed. "Pi-ka-chuuuuuuuu!!" Sparks came flying from his cheeks and into T-Bone, giving him an electric shock. T-Bone howled and sprang to his feet. "You all right?" the Pikachu asked. "Yeah, I think so. Fire Pokémon can't swim. Thanks. Are *you* all right?" T-Bone asked, shaking the water out of his fur. "Thanks to you." The Pikachu squinted his eyes. "T-Bone?" "Huh? How'd you know my name? Wait. Razor?" The Pikachu nodded and smiled. "All right! Great to find you again, buddy," T-Bone said, giving Razor a high four. "Have any luck finding the others?" Razor asked. "Not a trace. I can't remember what kind of Pokémon they were turned into." "Me, neither. And Venus wasn't turned into one last time." "Well, let's get to finding them. Otherwise, we'll never battle Mewtwo, he'll destroy the world, and we'll never get Skylar and Jade back." Razor jumped on T-Bone's back as he walked down the path. "What were you doing hanging on for dear life for anyway?" T-Bone asked. "I was fishing and a Magikarp knocked me in," Razor replied, bitterly. T-Bone merely chuckled. Chapter 3: David was heading towards the nearest town with Buster walking beside him. "Well, we've caught plenty of Pokémon, but we still haven't found any of the others. There's a lot more Pokémon in the world than I thought," David said. "Bulb," Buster said, pointing ahead at a Pokémon Center. David nodded and walked inside. On his way in, Kari was trying to go inside as well. "Ow! Watch it!" they both said. Then they blinked. "David?" "Kari?" Kari took out a piece of paper and pen and marked something down. "Find David. Check. You end up finding any of the Kats?" Kari asked when she and David walked inside. "Nope. I've only had Buster as a starting Pokémon since we got here," David replied, pointing to Buster. "Bulbasaur," Buster said. "Same luck. Quiver was my starting Pokémon as Squirtle," Kari said, pointing to Quiver. "Squirtle," Quiver said, waving. She and Buster went to each other, looking happy. "You've any idea what the others were turned into?" she asked. "Uh-uh. We've captured nine and none of them are them," Buster replied. "We've caught eight. And they're not them either." "Wonder what they're talking about," David said as he dropped some pokéballs on the counter in front of a redheaded nurse. Kari did the same, but an egg-shaped Pokémon with a nurse's hat took them. "Chansey," it said. While they waited, they sat down. "So, what did you end up catching?" Kari asked David. "Well, my first Pokémon was a Charmander. Then I caught a Weedle, an Oddish, a Bellsprout, a Magikarp, a Scyther, and my most impressive, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres," David replied. Kari whistled, "What a haul! My most impressive Pokémon is the very rare Mew. But I didn't exactly *catch* her; she *wanted* to be my Pokémon for some reason. So my first Pokémon was a Meowth named Meowzy. I also caught a Caterpie, a Ponyta, a Lapras, and 3 Eevee that I plan to evolve." "Very nice. Some of mine have evolved into the next stage already, however. All of them except Buster and Charmander. And Scyther since it doesn't evolve, of course." "Well, Caterpie evolved into Metapod already and Ponyta already turned into Rapidash. The rest didn't evolve yet. I need some stones to get any further for my Eevee. Quiver doesn't wanna change yet and I haven't reached a Pokémon Center before all this and Meowzy's too injured to battle." "I need some leaf stones, myself." "David, Kari, your Pokémon are all healed up. Hope to see you again," the nurse at the counter said, handing them their pokéballs. "Thanks, Nurse Joy," Kari said as she and David took their balls. They walked out with Buster and Quiver behind. "David has a Gyardos? He wouldn't be able to handle it!" Quiver said, laughed a bit. "Well, I'm surprised you managed to catch a Lapras and a Mew just wondering around wanting to be a pet!" Buster said, also laughing. "That's why I'm wondering, Buster. Mewtwo's too strong for the average Pokémon. Only thing that could possibly stand up to him is what he was cloned from." "You mean Mewtwo is just a clone of Mew?" "That's what I understand. Maybe Mew knew about it, and she wanted to help us save the world and my daughters. I just hope they're all right." Kari held out a pokéball and said, "Let's see how Meowzy is now." A ray of light came from the ball and Meowzy appeared, looking much better and very happy. "Meow!" she said, leaping into Kari's arm. Kari giggled and petted Meowzy, hearing her purr. "You know where we can find some of those stones?" David asked. "Yeah, Celadon City. I was just heading there," Kari replied as one of her pokéballs on her belt opened up, letting Mew out of her ball. "Mew," she said. "Don't like being in the pokéball, huh? All right, you can stay out if you think it's fair I'm keeping Quiver and Meowzy out." "How far is it to Celadon City?" David asked. "Far enough. Why, you gonna let one of the bird trio fly us there?" "Would, but I don't know this world as well as you, so just lead the way." Meanwhile, T-Bone and Razor were sleeping under a shady tree. Razor perked his ears up, opened his eyes, and saw a baby Pikachu nearby. "Pi-Pikachu," it said. Razor went up to it. It sniffed Razor, then sneezed. Then it offered its tail. Razor took it's tail by shaking it with his own. "I've heard of shaking hands before, but shaking tails?" Razor asked himself. "What's this, Razor? Made a new friend?" T-Bone yawned, looking at them. "Pika!" The baby Pikachu looked scared and ran behind the bushes. "Aw, T-Bone, you scared her," Razor said, following after the Pikachu. T-Bone followed after him. When he found him, Razor was standing still. T-Bone looked, and saw that they had found a group of wild Pikachu. The baby Pikachu was hiding behind a tree stump. "Tell your friend to go away from here. Growlithe are not allowed here," a Pikachu said. "He scared the baby," another said. "I don't see why. T-Bone's tamed. He doesn't bite," Razor said. "Actually, I *do.* Nah, it's OK, Razor. I'll just, uh, take a walk for a while. You and the Pikachu can get to know each other better. Maybe you can talk them into changing their minds," T-Bone whispered into Razor's ear. Razor nodded and T-Bone took a walk along the river. A few hours later, T-Bon returned to find the Pikachu in a group sing-a-long. Razor was singing along with them, with the baby Pikachu on his head. T-Bone shook his head and chuckled. "Hey, guys, I'm back," he said after they had finished singing. The Pikachu smiled at him and said their hellos. Razor came up to him. "I got them to change their minds about you, buddy," he said. "Great. Thanks, Razor. Listen, maybe we should head out and start looking for the rest of the Kats now." "Oh. Well..." "Well what?" "Well, that baby Pikachu's still afraid of you and I don't really wanna leave until I've convinced her she shouldn't be afraid of you. Plus, they invited us to stay with them tonight." "Oh. Well, if you can convince the Pikachu that she doesn't have to be afraid of me, be my guest. I'll just be over here, catching some Zs." T-Bone went over to a tree, laid down, and closed his eyes. That night, Razor was curled up next to the Pikachu group while T-Bone was looking at them under the tree. "He seems so much happier with his own Pokémon species than he does with me. Maybe... I should go on without him," T-Bone said to himself as he got up and left. The next morning, Razor was picking some apples from a tree and he did not know T-Bone had left. A Pikachu came up to the tree and called up to him, "So have you decided if you want to stay with us?" Razor dropped a few apples down to him and climbed down. "I've decided as tempting as it is, I'm sticking with T-Bone. He's my best friend and I'd never want to leave him on his own," Razor replied. "But I figured you'd be feeling sad about that baby since her parents were both captured by trainers. You've made her feel so much better, I figured you'd be her new father." "Yeah, I do feel sorry that she lost her folks, but I gotta stick with T-Bone. We're partners and best friends." Then another Pikachu came up. "Some partner. He left you behind," she said. "What?!" With that, they ran over to the tree he was sleeping under. "He couldn't have left me behind," Razor said to himself. "His loss," a Pikachu said. "Maybe he thought I was better staying with the Pikachu. I gotta find him." With that, Razor took off. "Hey, wait for us!" A few Pikachu followed after him, as did the baby Pikachu. Chapter 4: T-Bone had caught a few Goldeen and Seaking fish to eat. He had finished one when he heard something rustling in the bushes. He looked through and saw a Vulpix, a fox Pokémon with six tails, lying behind the bushes. He went over to it and nudged it with his snout. The Vulpix looked up at him. "Vul-pix," she said weakly. T-Bone could tell it was a pregnant Vulpix from the size of her stomach. "You all right?" he asked. "I'm just weak. A group of Vulpix left me behind because I couldn't keep up. Some group, huh?" the Vulpix asked. T-Bone went back from behind the bushes and brought back some of the fish he caught. The Vulpix sniffed the fish and looked up at T-Bone. "What are these for?" "For eating, silly. I've got some more saved up." T-Bone loaded her on his back along with the fish. "We'll look for a Pokémon Center and they'll fix you up," he said. "Thanks. You're a pal, T-Bone," Vulpix said. "You're-- How'd you know my name?" "T-Bone, it's me-- Ann." "Ann? Don't worry, we'll make it." Meanwhile, Razor and the four Pikachu felt they had gotten themselves lost. "Do you know where you're going, Razor?" a female Pikachu asked. "Not a clue, but I'll bet T-Bone doesn't know where he's going either. He had to have gone this way," Razor said. "Pi-Pikachu," the baby Pikachu said, walking up beside Razor. "Where'd you come from?" one of the male Pikachu asked. "Go back to the group where you'll be safe!" the other male said. "Pika!" the baby Pikachu said, gripping onto Razor's lightning bolt-shaped tail. "She's attached to me. Just let her stick around. It's not like we're on a dangerous mission," Razor said as the baby let go of his tail. "We were safe in the group! Only way a trainer could catch us was if we strayed from our area!" "And we're out of our group *and* area!" "Look, I never asked you guys to come. If you want to go back, I won't stop you," Razor said, looking back at them. The three adult Pikachu looked at each other. Then the female said, "We'll stick with you." "Hey, look! A sign!" the first male Pikachu said. Razor ran over to it and read out loud, "Celadon City." Inside Celadon City, T-Bone and Ann stepped out of the Pokémon Center. "Feeling better?" T-Bone asked. "Much. Stomach feels much better. Had any luck finding the guys?" Ann asked. T-Bone stopped, then sighed. "Did I say something wrong?" "Ann, it's just--" "Hey, look! They have some kind of party going on over there!" They saw balloons, Pokémon, tables with food, and several trainers. They walked around and saw all kind of evolved Pokémon that could only evolve by stones. "There's so many evolved Pokémon here," Ann said. "And so many trainers who might think we're free for catching, Ann. Kari and David are bound to have captured some stone evolving Pokémon and they're bound to come here to evolve 'em," T-Bone said. "Sounds reasonable enough." Razor and the Pikachu were hiding under a table with food. They peeked from under the blanket. "There's so many Growlithe and Arcanine here, it's hard to tell if he evolved or not," Razor said. "I'm just worried about if trainers see us, they'll wanna catch us and then evolve us," the second male Pikachu said. The baby Pikachu's stomach growled. "Pika Pika," she said, rubbing her stomach. "I thought she ate before she left," the female Pikachu said. "Well, she was still on her mother's milk and she's a little finicky about what she eats," the second male Pikachu said. "OK, I'll get her something," Razor said, coming out from under the table. He got on top of the table and grabbed a plate of vegetables. "Hey, look! A Pikachu!" a trainer said. "Let's catch it!" another trainer said. "Pika!" Razor said, dropping the plate on the ground and running with some trainers running after him. The Pikachu under the table grabbed the plate of vegetables and pulled it under the table. "Pi! Ka! Chu!" Razor said as he jumped from table to table. When he was not watching where he was going, he jumped right into a Squirtle. Both of them were knocked off the table, causing the trainers to miss them and run off. "Hey, why don't you watch where you're going, Pikachu?" "Why don't you just stay off the tables, Squirtle?" "You know, my trainer's been looking for a Pikachu. I could bring you to her if you ticked me off enough," the Squirtle said, pointing to a human. Razor blinked to see it was Kari buying a few stones. "Your trainer's my friend Kari!" he said. "You mean you know her? Are you a Swat Kat?" the Squirtle asked. Razor was about to answer when he heard the same trainers coming back. "There's that Pikachu!" And Razor ran in-between Kari's legs and the trainers ran past her. "Sheesh, these trainers are so rude, aren't they, Quiver?" Kari asked the Squirtle. "Squirtle, Squirtle! Squirtle!" Quiver said. "You found one of the team? Where?" "Squirtle!" Quiver pointed after Razor running from the trainers. "That Pikachu? Well, let's split up, find David and his Pokémon, and try to save him," Kari said, releasing a few of her Pokémon. She released Mew, Meowzy, her 3 Eevee, and Metapod. "Ready to evolve yet, Metapod?" Kari asked. "Metapod, Metapod," the Metapod said, shaking slightly. "Rats. All right, Metapod, return." Metapod returned to his pokéball. "OK, Eevee, are *you* ready to evolve?" Kari held up three stones and put them in front of the Eevee. Two of the Eevee had blue collars and the other had a pink collar. The two with blue collars each touched a stone. They both glowed and grew in size slightly. The first one turned into a Vaporeon, a water Pokémon. The second turned into a Jolteon, an electric Pokémon. "How about you? Do you want to evolve now?" Kari asked the female Eevee. "Eevee?" "You don't know if you want to evolve or not?" The Eevee shook her head. "Well, if you don't want to evolve now, I won't force you. Anyway, split up and find David and his Pokémon. And some of you find that Pikachu." The Pokémon nodded and took off. A stray Eevee was watching and took off as well. Razor ducked under a table, causing the trainers to lose him again. He panted and noticed he was back with the other Pikachu. "Trainer trouble?" the first male Pikachu asked. "Yeah. But I think I found one of my friends. I gotta go back out there," Razor said. The baby Pikachu gripped onto Razor's tail. "Pi-Pika!" she said, shaking her head. "But I gotta find my friends." "You'll get chased again by those trainers. They might end up catching you," the female Pikachu said. Outside, Quiver found Buster. "Buster! Razor's around here!" she said. "Are you sure?" Buster asked. The stray Eevee was watching them. "T-Bone or Razor. He knew who Kari was. I know it was one of them!" "What Pokémon is it?" "A Pikachu." "Might be Razor. Pikachu are electric and lightening is what he uses. Let's go." T-Bone and Ann walked through the party with some collars on. "Too bad we couldn't make better collars, T-Bone," Ann said. "It's hard to when you don't have any fingers, Ann. Anyway, these collars will keep us from being captured. Just hope Kari and David are here," T-Bone said, looking around. Quiver and Buster stopped by a table when they noticed T-Bone and Ann walking together. "How often do you see a Growlithe and a Vulpix hanging around each other?" Buster asked. "Can't be because they're both fire types. But maybe... T-Bone! Ann! That you?" Quiver called over to them. T-Bone and Ann stopped, then looked back at them. Ann smiled and ran over to Buster. She nuzzled against him, very happy. "Bulbasaur," Buster said, eyes turning into hearts. "Vulpix!" Ann said and licked his face. "You look good as a dog, bro," Quiver said when T-Bone walked up to her. "Missed you, too, Quiver," T-Bone said, patting her hard on the back, causing her to fall on her face. She lifted her face up when Meowzy came up to them. "Did you guys find that Pikachu?" she asked. "D'oh! Forgot!" Quiver said, slapping herself. "Pikachu?" T-Bone asked. "Don't have time to explain. Just help us find him!" They nodded, then separated again. Razor was running from more trainers this time. "Chu! Pi! Ka! Chu!" he yelled as he was dodging pokéballs. "You can't get away!" a trainer said. "Hate to admit it, but they're probably right. I can't run anymore," Razor said, collapsing and panting. "It's mine!" "No way! I saw it first!" "No, I called it!" "But I saw it first!" The trainers were fighting over who would catch Razor. Then the stray Eevee stood between Razor and the trainers. "An Eevee! That's even better than a Pikachu," a trainer said. "What are you doing, Eevee? Save your own tail," Razor said, panting and sweating slightly. "Nah, Quiver would never speak to me again if I let some trainers catch you, Razor," the Eevee replied. Razor's brown eyes widened. The trainers were now fighting over who was going to have the Eevee when the Eevee sprouted bat wings on her back. "No way!" a trainer said. "An Eevee with Zubat wings?" "Now *that's* rare!" Kari and David overheard and looked at the Eevee flying into the air and avoided pokéballs. "An Eevee with wings? It's gotta be Venus!" Kari said. "Don't catch that Eevee!" David called after them. The trainers looked at him. "And why not? We saw it first," one said. "Because it's *my* Eevee. Right?" Kari asked, looking up at the Eevee. The Eevee smiled and flapped down into her arms. "Eevee! Eevee!" she said. "Well, all right, we'll give you that. Now we can look for that Pikachu," a trainer said. "Uh... what Pikachu?" David asked, looking around. When they looked, the area was bare of Pikachu. The whole area was almost bare of trainers as well. "Come on, David. Let's find the rest of our Pokémon and get out of here," Kari said, grabbing David's arm and leading him away from the trainers. When the trainers were gone, Razor peeked out from under a table. He sighed in relief and came out. He noticed the evolving stones on the table and a small backpack Pikachu size. He closed the tops of the boxes the stones were in and placed a few in his bag. Then he put the backpack on his back, then went to find the other Pikachu. In the forest area, David, Kari, and their Pokémon rested by a lake while David was laying out two leaf stones in front of two Pokémon. They were the weed Pokémon, Gloom, and Weepinbell, the flycatcher Pokémon. They both touched it and grew in size. Gloom evolved into Vileplume, a flower Pokemon. She now had a large flower on her head. It was so heavy, she fell on her rear. "Vileplume," was all she said. Weepinbell evolved into Victreebel, much larger than his first form. The water Pokémon were playing in the lake. Lapras was a lovely and peaceful Pokémon. Gyarados, the seadragon Pokémon, was in the water as well. Vaporeon made himself disappear in the water like magic, then dunked Quiver's head underwater. Rapidash was running in the field with Charmeleon riding while Scyther was practicing his swords dance attack. Jolteon, Eevee, and Venus, now a Flareon, were enjoying watching Butterfree, Beedrill, Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres flying in the sky making a nice sky show. "With all the battles they've been in, you'd think they'd be tired," David said. "Yeah. Guess they're too full of energy," Kari said as Meowzy and Mew came over to her. She petted them each with one hand. Buster was also sitting by David. Then he remembered something. "Bulbasaur! Bulba! Bulbasaur!" he said, eyes wide. "Whoa, whoa! Buster, what's the matter?" David asked. Lapras swan up to the edge of the lake. "Buster says that he and Quiver found T-Bone and Ann back in Celadon City," she said telepathically. "You did? What Pokémon are they?" David asked. "Saur!" "A Growlithe and a Vulpix, he says," Lapras said. Then Butterfree and Beedrill flew up to their trainers. "Free, Free!" Butterfree squeaked. Beedrill buzzed. "They see a Growlithe and a Vulpix in the distance," Lapras translated. "Moltres," David called out to the firebird, "go get them! They can't hurt you since they're both fire types!" Moltres cawed and flew towards them. T-Bone looked up at the bird. "A Moltres! Watch out!" he said, ducking down under the tall grass. Ann did the same. Moltres landed and looked at them. "I don't come to fight you. My master requested that I bring you to him," Moltres said. "Well, tell your master if he wants us to come, he has to get us himself!" T-Bone said. "Who is your master?" Ann asked. "His friend calls him David. And if it helps, David calls his friend Kari," Moltres replied. "David and Kari? Well, you can lead us to them then." Chapter 5: T-Bone was still awake when everyone was asleep. Most of the Pokémon were back in their balls, except the team, Meowzy, Mew, and Charmeleon. T-Bone was still thinking about that Pikachu they had mentioned back at Celadon City. "Could that Pikachu had been Razor? Nah, Pikachu are rare, but there are enough of them. Couldn't have been him," he said softly to himself. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again with tears. "But I really miss him..." He got up, held his tears back, and ran away from the group. During his run, memories flashed through his mind about the time he and Razor spent, good times and bad. "I never wanted a partner, I never asked for one. Get shot one time, you get stuck with one," he said to himself. He stopped for a moment and panted. The sun began to rise and he saw a shadow casting over him. "Huh?" He looked up and saw a Raichu standing on top of a small slope. T-Bone shook his head. "Just a Raichu," he said to himself, then started to walk off. "T-Bone?" the Raichu said. T-Bone stopped, then looked at him. "Razor, I left because I knew you'd be happier with the Pikachu. Now that you know, you can go back." T-Bone had his back to Razor so he could not see his eyes filling with tears. He was trying to hold them back. "Was *that* the reason? Buddy... I was gonna decide whether I was going to stay or not. I was gonna leave with you and find the others." T-Bone's eyes widened. "You were?" He turned to look at him. Then the four Pikachu stood by Razor. "He was, Growlithe," the first male Pikachu said. "He went out to search for you when he found out you left," the second male said. "He almost got captured by trainers in Celadon City trying to find you," the female Pikachu said. "So that *was* you," T-Bone said. Razor nodded. "I don't belong with the Pikachu. They made me feel good for a while, but I still would've gone back with you," Razor said, eyes water slightly. "You mean that, Razor?" T-Bone asked, smiling. Razor nodded. "Pi-Pikachu," the baby Pikachu said to Razor. "Sorry, but I can't take you with me. Reasons, I can't say," Razor said, offering his tail to her. She took his tail in hers, and shook his tail. That is when Kari, David, and a few Pokémon out of their balls appeared. Quiver smiled, "Squirtle, Squirtle, Squirtle!" She, Buster, Ann, and Venus ran up to Razor. "Hey, I found him first, you guys!" T-Bone said. The baby Pikachu moved up to Kari and David slowly and unsure. "Pikachu?" she asked. "Aww... a baby Pikachu," Kari said, slowing kneeling down and picked her up. "Raichu," Razor said. "What did he say?" David asked. "Saur, Bulbasaur. Bulba," Boulder said, looking back at them. "Her parents were captured? So she's kinda an orphan, isn't she?" David asked himself. The Pikachu looked up at Kari with her blue eyes. "Chu," she said. "Ahem, guys!" T-Bone barked to the Pokémon that surrounded Razor. They moved away with that. "As I was saying, I still wanna be with the team, T-Bone. You're stuck with me, for life. Besides, I'm a Raichu now, and Raichu don't belong in a Pikachu clan," Razor said, winking. T-Bone took a step forward as the three adult Pikachu started to cheer for the two of them. With that, Razor ran down the slope and jumped into T-Bone's arms. ((Author's note: I know, it's sappy, but why not?)) The baby Pikachu jumped out of Kari's arms and tried to join in the hug. Razor chuckled a bit and picked up the baby. "You're cute, but don't interrupt something like this," he said. "Pi-Pika," the Pikachu whined a little. Kari walked over to them and the Pikachu jumped into Kari's arms. "She's a sweetheart, Razor. Is anyone taking care of her?" Kari asked. "Rai, Rai," Razor said, shaking his head. "Pi-chu," the Pikachu said, looking up at Kari, then licked her face once. She looked at her for a moment, then spoke up. "I'll take care of her. David out numbers me in Pokémon anyway." "Hey, Kari, you realize what we have here?" David asked. "Uh... I don't know, what?" "We found the team and each other. We get to battle Mewtwo now." "Yeah, but we don't know where his island is." Mew floated by Kari's head. "Mew. Mew, Mew, Mew," she said, floating around. "You know where Mewtwo's Island is?" David asked. Mew nodded. "Well, lead the way then, Mew," Kari said. Later, Kari, David, and a few Pokémon were riding on Lapras' back while she was swimming above the water. "Looks like rain. The flame on Charmeleon's will go out of it rains," Kari said. Charmeleon looked at David and said, "Char." "Probably for the best, Charmeleon," David said, holding up his pokéball. Charmeleon nodded as he turned into light and went inside the ball. Meowzy, Mew, and the baby Pikachu were curling up in Kari's arms. "Mew," Mew said. "Meow," Meowzy said. "Pika," the Pikachu said. "You don't have to stay out here. You can be in your pokéballs where it's safe," Kari said to them. They shook their heads. Lapras looked ahead. "Hold on tight, everyone. We're heading for rough waters," she said. "Wonderful," David and Kari both said. The Pokémon in Kari's arms bundled closer to her. Waves came crashing against Lapras' back, threatening to knock the passengers off her back. "Lapras, do something!" Kari yelled. "It's almost too rough to ride!" David said. "Meow!" Meowzy said, holding the baby Pikachu tight. "Pi-chu!" "I almost can't go through this myself. Everyone, hold your breath!" Lapras said as she began to go under the water. They did so and traveled under the waves. Lapras looked back at them every few minutes. When she noticed they passed out, she swam up to the top. The passengers on her back inhaled and panted. Mew looked up and saw an island ahead. "Mew," she said, gloomily. "That's not Mewtwo's island?" Lapras asked. "If we don't find his island, kat kind and mankind are doomed," David said. "P-P-Pika," the baby Pikachu said, shivering. "We may have to stop here for the night, Lapras. It's getting cold and we need shelter before the storm starts up," Kari said as Lapras landed on the island's shore. They jumped off her back, then Lapras returned to Kari's pokéball on her belt. Mew surrounded herself in a pink bubble when rain started to pour. "There's gotta be someplace to hide for the night," David said. "Pikachu!" the baby Pikachu said, pointing ahead. They looked and saw a cave ahead. "Great eye! Come on!" Kari said, running inside the cave with the others. Meowzy looked outside and began to panic. "Meow! Meow!" she said. Mew came outside and everyone noticed something bouncing off of her bubble. "Mew!" she said. "Sheesh, it's a rain, snow, and sleet combination!" David said. "Mew!" Mew said as she floated back inside. "We're gonna have to get some of our Pokémon to help seal the cave up," Kari said, grabbing a few pokéballs from her belt. She threw them, then Rapidash, Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Butterfree appeared. She threw some extras, then Quiver, Ann, now evolved into Ninetales, and Venus came out. David took out his pokéballs and threw them. Buster, Charmeleon, Beedrill, Vileplume, and Scyther came out. He threw a few more, then T-Bone, now an Arcanine, and Razor came out. "OK, everyone! We need to seal up this cave!" David said. The Pokémon nodded, then started gathering rocks and placing them at the entrance. "Well, that's taken care of," David said, rubbing his arms. "Yeah, now it's just c-c-cold," Kari said. The Pokémon agreed, shivering. "OK, everyone. Let's gather around either Charmeleon's tail, Venus, or Rapidash to keep warm," David said, standing by Charmeleon. "Meleon," Charmeleon said as he raised his tail up and letting the flame get larger. Later, darkness had settled in outside in the storm. "Nice and cozy in here, isn't it?" David asked. "Yeah," Kari said. Rapidash snorted, then her fire mane and tail began to lower. "Rapidash, are you all right?" Kari asked. "She's used up almost all of her flame. So have Venus and Charmeleon," David said as the flames on both Venus and Charmeleon began to lower. "Here, Venus, Rapidash. You need to rebuild your strength," Kari said, holding up two pokéballs. "Flareon," Venus said, shaking her head. Rapidash snorted and shook her head. Charmeleon did the same even though all three Pokémon were sweating and were tired. "Sorry, guys, but it's for your own good," David said as he and Kari held up their balls and made them return. "Come to think of it, David, the pokéballs should be a lot warmer than out here," Kari said. "Yeah. All right, everyone, you're going in your balls now," David said. All of the Pokémon shook their heads. "You're going in!" Kari said, holding up her balls and making all the Pokémon but Mew, Meowzy, and the baby Pikachu. David already made his go back in. "Mew, Meowzy, Pikachu, you're going in, too," Kari said. They shook their heads, then jumped into her arms. "Pi-chu! Chu!" the baby Pikachu said. "Meow," Meowzy said. "Mew," Mew said, gripping onto Kari's shirt. "You wanna stay out and keep David and me warm?" They nodded. "You have some disobeying Pokémon, Kari. At least they love you," David said, sitting down. She sat down with them. As the storm raged on outside, David and Kari looked at their pokéballs. "You think they're warm enough?" Kari asked. David took out a blanket from his backpack, laid it on the ground, then laid all the pokéballs inside. Then he wrapped them up in a bundle. "That should help. Just hope we don't get our balls mixed up," David said. "Don't worry about that. I marked their names on my balls," Kari said, grinning. Her Pokémon were sleeping on her lap when Meowzy's head shot up. "Meow?" she asked herself, shivering. Kari noticed some rocks had come loose and caused two large holes, letting the wind, ice, snow, and rain inside. Kari and David ran over and sat in front of the holes. "It's freezing!" David said, clenching his teeth. "Meowzy! Mew! Pikachu! You gotta go back inside your pokéballs!" Kari said to her Pokémon. "Mew!" Mew said, shaking her head along with the other two. "I know you don't like being confined, but it's warmer in there! Please, guys." "Pi-chu!" baby Pikachu said, gripping onto Kari's leg. Meowzy and Mew gripped onto the other leg. "It's an order, you guys!" "Meow!" "Meowzy!" Then the blanket with the pokéballs shook, then the balls opened and the Pokémon appeared. "Huh?" David asked himself. All of his Pokémon gathered around him. "Charmeleon? Beedrill? Vileplume? Victreebel? Gyarados? Scyther? Articuno? Zapdos? Moltres?" All of David's Pokémon stayed by him, keeping him warm. Then Kari's Pokémon came to her. "Butterfree? Rapidash? Lapras? Eevee? Vaporeon? Jolteon? Meowzy? Mew? Pikachu?" All of her Pokémon stayed by her, keeping her warm. The Swat Kats Pokémon stayed by them as well. "They have us outnumbered," David said. "Not fair..." Kari said, smiling. "We are not going to let the two of you freeze alone," Lapras said. The Pokémon nodded. "Sigh, at least we're loved," David said, smiling and shrugging. "You win. We'll all be cold together," Kari said, letting her bangs fall in her eyes. "Yeah. We'll be cold together," David said. And they stayed that way throughout the night. Chapter 6: The next morning, the Pokémon helped David and Kari get out of the cave. "The storm has stopped. It's safe for travel," Lapras said as she looked up at the sky filled with gray clouds. "Horray. Now, will everyone else go inside their balls so we can have a safe travel?" Kari asked. "Rai, Rai!" Razor said, pointing ahead. Everyone looked and saw a large Pokémon palace. "Mew! Mew, mee, Mew!" Mew said. "That's Mewtwo's place? And you said it was the wrong island," David mused. Mew growled and psychically slapped him upside the head. "Ow! OK, cut it out and the rest of you better get in your pokéballs," David said, rubbing the back of his head. The Pokémon nodded and went inside their balls when David and Kari held them up. Even Mew and Meowzy decided to stay in their balls. Only the team and the baby Pikachu stayed out. The baby then hopped into Kari's arms. "Well," Kari said, taking in a big breath, "are we ready?" "No, but we don't have a choice either." They both walked over to the palace and went inside. "Pikachu," Pikachu said in wonder. It was large room with a tall spiral staircase, a fountain that would fit the biggest Pokémon, and a large platform at the far end of the room. "Remind me to get the name of his decorator," Venus said. "Mewtwo sure knows how to pick his hangouts, doesn't he?" David ask. Kari looked up, then said as she looked at David and the others again, "Yeah, good with guests, too." She pointed up. David looked up and saw Skylar and Jade hanging overhead by ropes. "Raichu! Rai, Raichu!" Razor said, sweating slightly. "Squirtle! Squirtle, Squirtle?" Quiver called up to them. "Translation is, Skylar, Jade, are you guys all right?" Kari asked. "Oh, things are *swinging* here, Kare Bear," Skylar said as she and Jade were swaying around a bit from the rope. "Aye, we've been *hanging* around up here all night," Jade said. The Pokémon face faulted, then had a few sweatdrops on their heads. "Charming. My daughters have your sense of humor, T-Bone," Razor said. T-Bone gave him an annoyed look. "Make anymore jokes, Razor, and I'll be having a Raichu rump roast," he said. Razor gulped. "Don't worry, girls. We'll get you down!" David called up to Skylar and Jade. Then T-Bone and Ann sniffed the air. "Ninetales," Ann said, looking ahead. "Ar..." T-Bone said, looking in the same direction. "Bulba?" Buster asked, looking back at them. David and Kari both looked at them, then looked at the direction they were facing. Then they saw Mewtwo floating down from the top of the building and down to the platform at the far end of the room. "Congratulations. You have found each other and you have survived the storm that I have brewed up last night. Now, you must fight me to claim your prizes," he said. Then Buster and Quiver started glowing. "Squirtle?" "Saur?" Then Charmeleon was forced out of his ball and into the open. And he, too, was glowing. "Char...?" "I'll even give you a sporting chance with three of your unevolved Pokémon," Mewtwo said. They all grew in size and shape. The flower bulb on Buster's back opened up to look like what appeared to be a flowered palm tree with leaves. "Venusaur," he said in a deep voice. Then Charmeleon grew in size and also grew a pair of wings. Now he looked more like a dragon than he did a lizard. He still had the flame on the tip of his tail. "Char!" he roared, sending fires out of his mouth into the air. Then Quiver grew bigger with a hard shell of her back with two large water cannons coming out. "Blastoise!" she said. "Wow! Buster and Quiver evolved to the third stage even before reaching their second!" Kari said. "And Charmeleon evolved into Charizard! All right!" David said. "Nine?" Ann blinked. "Chu," both Razor and the baby Pikachu said. T-Bone barked. "Flare," Venus simply said. "I decided this to be a fair fight. Your three Pokémon will fight against three of *my* Pokémon clones," Mewtwo said as three Pokémon stepped up behind him. Buster, Quiver, and Charizard gasped when they saw that the three clones were Venusaur, Charizard, and Blastoise. They were almost identical except the clone of Venusaur had white spots, the Blastoise clone had black rings on its shell, and the Charizard clone had dark orange stripes. "This doesn't look good, does it, boys?" Quiver asked. "Uh-uh," both Charizard and Buster answered. "All right, Mewtwo. We know what we get if we win..." Kari said. "But what else happens if we lose?" David finished. "If you lose, not only will the world be lost, but I will also take your Pokémon as my prize. They are fools to sink to serve humans," Mewtwo said. "Pika! Pi-chu, Kachu! Pi!" the baby Pikachu said to Mewtwo. "Even a Pokémon that *chooses* to serve humans under his own free will is even more foolish than the rest!" Kari placed the Pikachu on the ground as Mewtwo lead them to the battlefield. On their way out, Kari took Mew's pokéball and placed it out of sight in her backpack. "If we lose, you're our last chance, Mew," she whispered. Mewtwo and his clones stood on the far end of the field. Kari, David, and their Pokémon stood at the other side. "Who will go down in defeat first?" Mewtwo asked. "Don't be so cocky, Mewtwo! I'm up first!" Quiver said, stepping up. "You're sure you want to go first, Quiver? Buster or I could--" Charizard began, putting a claw on Quiver's shoulder. Quiver looked back at him and shrugged to get his claw off her shoulder. "I want my piece of him, Charizard! He katnapped my daughters, he turns me into a Pokémon, and then he tries to drown us! I want to burn my heat off!" she said. Charizard blinked, then nodded. "Good luck," both he and Buster said. "There is no way you can win. I have engineered these Pokémon so that their special attacks are more powerful than those of ordinary Pokémon," Mewtwo said. "Don't brag, Mewtwo. Quiver hates braggers," Buster called over to him. Mewtwo's Blastoise stepped up. "OK, Quiver, let's show 'em what we've got! Water stars attack!" Kari ordered. "Blast!" Quiver said as several water star-shaped blasts shot towards Mewtwo's Blastoise. "Skull bash," Mewtwo said before the water could do any damage. Mewtwo's Blastoise spun around like a giant wheel. It spun faster, tearing through the water blast. "Blastoise?!" Quiver asked, wide-eyed. "What the--?!" Kari asked, looking quite surprised. Mewtwo's Blastoise collided with Quiver, sending her crashing into the ground. "She's going to feel that in the morning," Charizard said. "I think she's feeling it now, Charizard," Buster said. Kari ran over to Quiver. "Are you OK, Quiv?" she asked. "Blast...toise," she said, then fainted. "Who is next?" Mewtwo asked. Then Buster stepped up. "Nobody beats up on Quiver while I'm around! Let's rumble!" he said. Mewtwo's Blastoise stepped out of the field as the Venusaur stepped in. "Let's show 'em a new move! Buster, ground pound!" David commanded. "Saur!" Buster said, lifting one of his feet and stomping it on the ground several times. The ground cracked open and was cracking the ground beneath Mewtwo's Venusaur. "Vine whip," Mewtwo ordered. Two vines came from the clone Venusaur and gripped onto the pipes at the top of the building. It lifted itself off the ground before it could fall in the hole Buster created. "Venusaur!" Buster said in frustration. The clone Venusaur then swung down and landed on top of Buster. The impact knocked Buster out. "Buster!" both David and Kari said. "This doesn't look too good for me, does it?" Charizard asked himself. Then he shot flames at Mewtwo. Mewtwo did not move. The flames surrounded Mewtwo, then the flames turned into ice. The icicles clattered to the floor. "Char!" Charizard said in frustration. "I don't think you should've done that, Charizard. That'll just get Mewtwo more fired up," David said to him. "Venusaur, return. Charizard, it's your turn," Mewtwo said as the clone Venusaur came back and the clone Charizard stepped up. "Better chose your moves carefully, David. You've seen what they've done to Quiver and Buster," Kari whispered. David nodded, "Power won't get Mewtwo anywhere without some speed. Charizard, our best chance is to use your speed attacks!" Charizard roared and flapped his wings, then flew into the air. Mewtwo's Charizard did the same. "Char!" both Pokémon roared as they aimed fire blasts at each other and flew higher and higher out of an open window. Each attacked, each avoided the other's moves. "I can barely see them!" Kari said, peering into the sky. Suddenly, both Charizard crashed through the roof and slammed to the ground with Mewtwo's Charizard on top of David's Charizard. Charizard roared in pain from the impact. "Charizard!" David said, running towards his Pokémon. Charizard laid on the ground, stunned. Mewtwo's Charizard flapped its wings and roared proudly. "Oh, crud. We lost," T-Bone said. "That's not good," Razor said. "Yeah, there goes our record," Ann said. "No, Ann, don't you get it? You remember what would happen if we lost!" Venus said, sweating slightly. Ann's eyes widened. "Looks like your speed isn't good enough," Mewtwo said to David. "As the winner, I will claim my prize... your Pokémon!" He raised his arm. Hundreds of black and silver pokéballs appeared in the air. Three of the balls floated over to the three fallen Pokémon. Buster was captured in a beam of red light. "Buster!" T-Bone said, trying to snatch the ball from the air, but missed it. Another trapped Quiver in the same beam of light. "Quiver!" Kari shouted, trying to grab the ball. "Rai!" Razor said, jumping up to try to catch it. He missed. "Chu!" "No! Charizard!" David said as the pokéball captured his Pokémon. The baby Pikachu jumped into Kari's arms, who held her tightly. "He's going to steal our Pokémon!" she cried. Mewtwo chuckled darkly, "Steal? No, I'm just going to use them to make stronger copies. Copies that are worthy of me." "But that's against the rules!" Venus protested. "Yeah, you can't do that!" Ann followed. "This is *my* world now, ladies. I make my own rules," Mewtwo said firmly to them. A blast of blue light shot out of his eyes. The blast sent both Ann and Venus through the gym. They landed to the floor hard. Mewtwo waved his arms and sent more pokéballs flying out into the air. "Everyone, run!" Razor called to what remained of his team. "We're not stupid, Razor. We know when to run!" T-Bone said as he helped Ann and Venus up, then all three took off running. "Flareon!" Venus said, stopping for a moment and sending a blast of fire at the pokéballs flying after her. The fire surrounded the balls, but they past through and captured her before she could react. Kari and David looked for their other Pokémon. "David!" Kari said, pointing at one corner of the gym. The remaining Pokémon were putting up a fight with the black and silver pokéballs. Ann was swishing her nine tails and knocked the balls away. T-Bone was batting at the balls and knocked them over. Razor was sending several electric shocks that repelled the balls for only a few seconds. He did it several times. "I... Rai...! Can't keep this up... Chu! Much longer!" Razor said, panting and sweating. "I've got an idea! Guys! They can't catch you if you're in your pokéballs!" David said as he and Kari held up some balls. Red light came from the balls and safely captured the three Pokémon. Mewtwo sneered at them, "It's no use, humans." Three black and silver pokéballs captured the three pokéballs. Several more circled around them, then captured the pokéballs on their belts. "Ah, crud! Pikachu! Where's my Pikachu?" Kari asked, looking around. "Pika!" the baby Pikachu said. Her voice sounded distant. Kari and David looked up and saw the baby Pikachu running up the spiral staircase with several of Mewtwo's pokéballs chasing after her. She made small electric shocks that repelled them for a few seconds. "Pi! Pi-chu!" she panted. "Pikachu! I'm coming!" Kari ran up the staircase. Before she got up to the top, she saw the baby Pikachu falling past her. She screamed as she was captured by the pokéballs. "Pikachu!" Kari jumped down and grabbed the pokéball. But it continued to fly towards a hole in the floor. "Kari!" David called after her. Chapter 7: Kari made her way through the dark hole, hitting the wall along the way. "Ow! Oooh! Ugh! Ouch!" she said. Then she landed on a conveyor belt that was moving. The ball that held her Pikachu was just ahead. The belt lead to a laboratory. Ahead, the belt lead into a large machine. The silver and black pokéballs were loaded inside. She grabbed the Pikachu's pokéball when metal hands were grabbing it. "Gimme that!" she said, pulling back. Then she fell backwards and off of the belt with the ball. "Some vacation this turned out to be," she mumbled to herself as the pokéball rolled beside her. Then the ball opened and the baby Pikachu was standing in front of her with her back facing her. "Pika?" she asked herself. "Pikachu! Are you OK?" Kari asked. "Pi-chu? Pi-chu!" The Pikachu jumped into her arms and gave her a hug. Then Kari looked up and saw several tubes with clones of her and David's Pokémon. "Holy kats. So this is how he made those clones. This is crazy." "Kachu," the baby Pikachu nodded. As the clone Pokémon came out of the tubes, vibrations caused the black and silver pokéballs to crash to the ground. They opened up and revealed the original Pokémon. "Meowzy!" Meowzy jumped into Kari's arms and licked her face. Butterfree, Vaporeon, Jolteon, and Eevee also came over to her. "Mewtwo's way too strong. It's gonna take more than all the moves we've got to beat him and his clones, guys," Kari said. David's Pokémon and the team came up to her. "Ninetales. Tales, Nine Nine," Ann said. "I know. We have to try." Upstairs, David, Skylar, and Jade were standing before Mewtwo. Mewtwo waved his arms and two doors opened. Outside, a storm was starting. "I will spare your lives. Return now, if you can bear the storm," he said. "We're not going anywhere!" Skylar said. "Why are you doing this? Why do you want to make copies of the Pokémon?" Jade asked. Mewtwo scuffed, "Ordinary Pokémon are too weak. They live to serve humans. I must create cloned Pokémon like myself. Superior Pokémon that don't depend on humans. Together we will inherit the world." "We're not gonna let you get away with it!" David said, raising a fist to Mewtwo. "As you wish. Let's see if you can stop me and my powerful Pokémon copies." The stone wall behind Mewtwo exploded. The Pokémon clones of David and Kari's Pokémon came out. They gathered in front of Mewtwo. "We are ready to take control of the planet," Mewtwo said. "Not unless we've got something to say about that!" Kari and the original Pokémon stepped out of dust and smoke from the lab. "Kari!" David, Skylar, and Jade said together. "I'm not gonna let you do this," Kari said. "You let the originals out. A minor inconvenience," Mewtwo said. "I want a rematch, and I want it *now*, you son of a--!" "Kari, that's just going to make him peeved and he'll send you flying like he did Ann and Venus," David said. Then Kari's backpack started shaking. "Mew, not now!" Kari said as a ray of light shot out. Mew appeared behind her. "Mew!" she giggled. Mewtwo glared at her. "It's *you,*" he snarled. "Mew," Mew said, nodding. "What is it?" Skylar asked as Mew floated over to her and Jade. "It is Mew, the legendary Pokémon. Supposedly the only one of its kind on Earth. And the most powerful Pokémon alive," Mewtwo explained. Mew floated gently in the air. "Mew, Mew," she said. "But *I'm* the most powerful Pokémon! I may have been made from your DNA, but I am the stronger one," Mewtwo protested, becoming angry. "Mew." "Mew?" Skylar asked. "And Mewtwo?" Jade asked, then snapped her fingers. "I get it! Mewtwo was cloned from Mew. Though they hardly look anything alike." Mewtwo's eyes flashed angrily. "We shall soon find out who is stronger. I'll battle you!" Mew produced a pink bubble around her body and giggled as she bounced in it while ignoring Mewtwo. Kari groaned to herself, "I like playful, but when it concerns her reputation, I get embarrassed." Mewtwo was practically red in the face. He threw a ball of psychic energy Mew, bursting the pink bubble. It sent Mew hurling backwards in the air. Mew laughed as Mewtwo pursued her. He continued to throw more energy balls at her, which Mew dodged and laughed playfully. "Mew's small, but Mewtwo's powerless against her," Jade said. "Why won't you fight? Are you afraid of battling me?" Mewtwo asked as he continued to throw energy balls at Mew. Mew laughed as she continued to dodge. "Mew! Quit playing around!" Kari called up to her. Mew looked down at her and cocked her head. With that, Mewtwo threw an energy ball at Mew that sent her flying into the clouds. Kari and David held their breath when the room grew quiet. Mewtwo grinned as he began to float back to the ground. "Mew..." Kari whispered to herself, eyes watering slightly. Then a flaming ball of fire came hurtling down from the sky. Mew was flying behind it. The energy ball shot back at Mewtwo. The force caused him to crash through a wall. Mew floated over to Kari, who gave her a hug. "See what happens when all you do is play, Mew?" she asked. "Mew!" Mew smiled. Then she floated over to the center of the ring when she saw Mewtwo floating out of a pile of rubble. "So, you *do* have a little fight in you. Now we'll decide which of us is stronger, my powerful copies or your pitiful Pokémon. The future of the world is at stake. Who will rule? My race of super Pokémon with me as their king, or your spineless Pokémon and their heartless masters?" Mewtwo asked. "Heartless?! I want a shot at him!" Kari growled. "Spineless?! I'll tear that science project apart!" T-Bone growled, trying to leap forward, only to have some of the larger Pokémon hold him back. Mew finally decided to speak. "It's not a fair fight because your copies have stronger special powers than the real Pokémon. If the Pokémon fight hand to hand, without using any special attack, the real ones won't lose to your copies. A real Pokémon's strength comes from the heart," she said. "Was that the moral of this story? Cause I don't think I'm done with it yet," Kari said to herself. Skylar blinked, "You understand her?" Kari blinked as well, then smiled. "I did. I actually understood her." "But how can both Mew and Mewtwo stop us from using our special attacks?" Charizard asked in his deep voice. Mew looked back at him. "I and Mewtwo will use our psychic powers to control the Pokémon during the battle. We'll make sure the Pokémon won't use any special attacks," Mew explained. Mewtwo faced Mewtwo standing while Mew was still floating in the air. "You think you are better than us because you came first. But we are better because we are stronger. We can defeat you even without using special attacks," Mewtwo sneered at Mew. Mewtwo opened his arms wide. The cloned Pokémon line up behind him, ready to battle. Mew looked back at David, Kari, Skylar, and Jade. "Better stay off the battle field. Don't want you do get hurt," she said. Kari nodded, then she and the other three stepped back. "Good luck, Pokémon," Skylar said. The real Pokémon gathered in a row behind Mew. Then the battle began. Each side rushed at each other in the center of the gym. Quiver and the Blastoise clone faced off, punching each other until they backed into a corner. The two Charizard headbutted each other as well as Buster and the Venusaur clone. The Rapidash stabbed at each other with their unicorn horns. The two Gyarados bit at each other's necks. The two Scyther dueled with their sharp, curved claws. The two Butterfree were zigzagging around each other as well as the two Beedrill. Vileplume and Victreebel were wrestling with their clones. The two Jolteon and the two Vaporeon were running after each other. The two Eevee were kicking sand in each other's face. The two Lapras were headbutting each other. Meowzy and her clone were biting and clawing each other into a corner. Kari watched as her baby Pikachu was getting smacked repeatedly by her clone. Mew and Mewtwo were floating high in the air, surrounded by protective bubbles. The bubbles charged at each other at full force. The group watched this with horrified faces. "This is getting nowhere! They're equally matched!" Kari said, getting a sick feeling in her stomach. "Pikachu!" the cloned Pikachu growled angrily at Kari's Pikachu. The baby Pikachu knew it wanted to fight. She shook her head. "Pika, Pika," she said. "Pikachu doesn't want to fight," Kari said to herself, closing her eyes shut tight. "Pika!" Kari opened her eyes and saw the cloned Pikachu give Kari's Pikachu a hard punch. "Contain yourself, girl. You can't get in the middle of this..." David watched the air has his bird trio were facing Mewtwo's bird trio, pecking at each other. Ann and the Ninetales clone pawed at each other. Razor and his clone Raichu were dueling with their tails. Mewtwo's cloned Flareon bit Venus' neck. The howl of pain sent chills up Skylar's spine. T-Bone was trying to avoid getting pounced on by the clone Arcanine. He panted and sweated as did the rest of the Pokémon. "Oh, Sky, this is terrible. There won't be any winners in this battle. They won't be able to beat each other," Jade said. Kari saw the Pikachu and the Meowth fighting beside each other. Meowzy was beaten, much like when Kari first saw her. The baby Pikachu still refused to fight. The clone Pikachu slapped at it, growing tired. David winced when he heard screams and roars filling the gym. All of the Pokémon continued to fight, even though they were tired and beaten. Kari closed her eyes and covered her ears to block the sound. Tears came from her eyes. "I can't take it anymore! Stop fighting!!" she yelled. "It's no use. They're not gonna stop until Mewtwo and Mew stop fighting," David said. Both she and David watched as Mew and Mewtwo swooped down from the sky in their bubbles. Mew floated to one side of the room. Angry pink flames surrounded Mew inside her bubble. Mewtwo faced Mew on the other side of the gym. Angry blue flames surrounded him in his bubble. "David?" Kari said suddenly. "Yeah?" David asked. "I'm about to do something crazy, and in case I don't get out of it alive, I love you." Before David could react, Kari ran out into the center of the field. David whispered to himself, "She loves me...?" Mew and Mewtwo sent white blasts towards each other. The blasts collided and caused a large explosion. Kari was caught in the middle. When the explosion died down, Kari's body fell to the ground. Mew gasped, "What have I done?" "Kari!" David, Skylar, and Jade cried together. "Fool. A human trying to stop our fight," Mewtwo said. "Pi-chu!" the baby Pikachu cried, rushing towards Kari. It sent small electric shocks into her body. Kari didn't move. "Meow!" Meowzy said as she came over. She licked Kari's face, then nudged her with her nose. The Pikachu continued to give Kari electric shocks. Then she stopped. A hush fell over the room. "Kare Bear..." Skylar whispered to herself. David stepped over to Kari's body, kneeled over, and held her in his arms. "I never should've waited. I should've told you before you went ahead and did this," he said, resting his forehead on Kari's. "Pi-chu..." The baby Pikachu began to cry. Meowzy followed in crying. The team looked over from where they were fighting, then gasped. They heard David say, "I love you, Kari. I love you..." Mew began to cry then. Around the room, the other Pokémon, real and copies, began to cry. The Pokémon's tears shimmer like crystals in the dark gym. The tears floated in the air, lighting the gym with sparkling lights. The tears joined together and created a spiral in the air. The tornado of tears disappeared into Kari's body. David, Skylar, and Jade gasped when Kari's body glowed with a soft light. The storm outside cleared, showing the new night sky. Mew blinked as she floated over to David and Kari. She landed in-between Meowzy and the baby Pikachu. "Pi-chu?" the baby Pikachu asked. Kari blinked, then looked at David. "I told ya it was crazy," she said. The three Pokémon standing by her jumped into her arms. "She's all right! How'd that happen?" T-Bone asked himself. "Old legend about Pokémon tears. But does it matter right now?" Quiver asked, then she and the rest of them rushed over to them. Kari was laughing as her Pokémon were licking her face. "Hey, cut it out, you guys!" she said. "The Pokémon tears revived you. Cool," Jade said as she and Skylar came over. Kari looked around the gym at the smiling Pokémon. "Does... this mean the battle's over?" she asked. Mewtwo then floated down to them. Mew faced Mewtwo. "Mew. Mew, Mew," she said. "Yes, I understand now. It was the tears of the Pokémon. They showed me that Pokémon can create life and save lives, not just destroy them. I was wrong to create Pokémon just for the purpose of destroying others. I see now that the circumstances of one's birth are irrelevant. It is what you do with that life that determines who you are," Mewtwo said. "Don't forget our trainer. She risked her life to save the Pokémon," Meowzy said. Mewtwo nodded. "It's possible for all humans and Pokémon to live together in peace and harmony. I know that now." David helped Kari to her feet. Then Mewtwo faced her. "You sacrificed yourself to save the Pokémon. Until I met you, I thought all humans were evil. Thank you and your friends for showing me that I was wrong." "No problem," Kari said. "Mew!" Mew said happily. "I'll spare your world and species. And, if you wish, I will allow you to take your Pokémon back home with you," Mewtwo said. "Pikachu!" the baby Pikachu smiled. "Hey, what about us?" Venus asked, referring to herself and the rest of the team. "Yeah, I don't think our adoring public will except the Swat Pokémon," T-Bone said. Mewtwo nodded, "When I send you home, you'll return to normal." Then Mewtwo flew into the air. A bright light lifted the cloned Pokémon with him. "Where are you going?" David asked. "We will find somewhere on this earth where we can live peacefully. Somewhere new," Mewtwo said. "So, uh, Kari, what did it feel like to be dead?" David asked, scuffing his feet in the ground. "I could hear everything after I 'died', David," Kari grinned. "So now you know?" "I was wondering when you were gonna say it myself." They leaned towards each other, then they were lifted into the air by some unseen force. Their Pokémon joined them. "Good-bye, and good luck," Mewtwo's voice said. Then everything blacked out. Chapter 8: A swirling light appeared in the sky outside MegaKat City. The Swat Kats crashed down and landed on each other with Skylar and Jade on top. David and Kari landed a small distance away from them, both back in kat form. The team got up and dusted themselves off. "Well, that was fun. Closest thing to a vacation as we've ever had in a while," Quiver said. "Yeah. Mewtwo throws a heck of a party," Razor said, rubbing the back of his head. Ann stood up and leaned backward, making her back crack. "Ann, you OK?" Buster asked, standing up. "Of course I am, Buster. Why shouldn't I be?" Ann asked. Venus looked, then said, "Because being a Pokémon speeded your pregnancy up to the 8th month." Ann looked at her stomach which was larger than what it was before. "What am I going to tell everybody now? I'll just say they wouldn't believe me if I told them." "Hey, where'd Kari and David go?" T-Bone asked. "Well, I think they'd like a moment alone before we go over there, buddy," Razor said, pointing at David and Kari looking at the sun setting. "I guess everything's all right now, huh?" David asked. "Yeah. Somehow, they always end up all right. You know how I feel now, right?" Kari asked, looking at him. "How we both feel. Yeah." Kari wrapped her arms around his neck, then said, "Good." Then gave him a kiss that lasted several seconds. "You go, girl!" Skylar said. "Way to go, Dave!" Jade said. Then Mew floated over to Kari and David, then came between them. This caused the two to kiss Mew's cheeks. "Mew!" she smiled, then giggled. Kari and David pulled away and looked at Mew. "Hello, Mary Sunshine," Kari said, grumbling almost. Mew giggled. "Pi-chu!" the baby Pikachu said as she jumped into Kari's arms. "Well, I guess we're stuck with you," David said as his Pokémon appeared behind him. "Hey, they come in handy, David. And they're great pets," Kari said as Meowzy rubbed up against her legs. The group came over to David, Kari, and the Pokémon. The baby Pikachu jumped into Razor's arms. "Pi-Pika!" she smiled. "Yeah, I'm glad to see you again, too, kiddo. You gonna give her a name?" Razor asked as she jumped from Razor's arms to T-Bone. "Well, I'm working on it. Figured since Meowzy has one, I might as well try to give everyone else one," Kari shrugged. "Nicknames are nice, but don't go through all that trouble," Mew said. "We can still understand you?" Quiver asked. "Yes. If the trainers have a close relationship with their Pokémon, they can understand them. And since you were Pokémon, you can still understand." "Now *that's* cool," Jade said. Rapidash neighed as she nodded to her back. Kari nodded and climbed onto her back. Then she stroked her fire mane, and it was not hot and she was not burned. She then took out her pokéballs and held them up. "Let's go home, you guys." Her Pokémon nodded as they returned inside their balls. Meowzy, Pikachu, and Mew climbed up onto Rapidash and sat behind Kari. "Meet you guys back at the hanger?" she asked the group. David returned all of his Pokémon except Charizard. He got on his back and said, "I'll race ya home!" "You're on! Giddy up, Rapidash!" Then they took off. Charizard flapped his wings and took off into the sky. "Guess Kari got what she wanted," Skylar said. "What's that?" Razor asked. "A vacation from her vacation and becoming a Pokémon trainer." Then they walked over to their truck that was still where they left it before they went on their journey. THE END