Lance the Dragon Trainer Comments etc. to stallion@paradise.net.nz Intro This fanfic mixes everything together (Mew, Mewtwo, Lance, Jesse, James, Meowth, Ash, Brock and Misty) into one huge melting pot of a thing which reveals a lot about Mewtwo. It also shows Rocket Success, Meowth Psipower, Mewtwo's Father, Mew's location and much more. Happy Happy Ivysaur! Let's go. Jesse and James walked together, their Pokémon clipped on their belts to protect themselves from any trainers that would try and cause trouble. "I'm glad we left Meowth behind. We have to talk about this alone," James said solemnly. "Yes, James," Jesse replied, just as earnest. "We have to get more Pokémon!! We can't get along with just two - Team Wimpy are always winning, and that Ash is SUCH a pest.." James commented. "Yeah, I agree. Maybe the best way to succeed is to get rid of Ash," Jesse replied, an evil flicker in her deep blue eyes. She somehow pulled out a long and shining chain from a small compartment in her belt. She showed it to James, the many links gleaming and shimmering in the afternoon sun. "Remember Big Jess? Well, I kept this thing." James looked at it in awe. "This is JUST what we need! We knock Ash out, steal his Pokémon and throw him in a sea somewhere," James snapped his fingers as he spoke. "Yes, that COULD work. But I thought we'd kill Ash outright," Jesse laughed. James looked shocked but quickly replied. "I... uh.... well.... we're not murderers, maybe we should just hold him somewhere." "But it would be fun to see his head fly off!!!" Jesse laughed again, and James saw a side of her so evil, it was like her heart was made of stone. He frowned and contemplated. How would he get Jesse to believe that murder was a crime? "Jesse, we can't. We may be evil, but that is TOO evil, and it's illegal!" he yelled. "We'll just have to see about that, won't we?" she said coldly. "Jesse, no." "OK, I won't. But instead we can become real trainers and surprise that Ash when we win for once." "Better." "Deal." They slowly walked back to the cabin they were staying in, any disputes settled. But Jesse still held that glinting chain in her hands, so many memories flowing back.... **cue that sad music** She saw her good times in the bike gang, not so good times, and all her time with Team Rocket. **stop the music** But no, once we become the greatest, we won't need to rely on a gang, she thought. James was stuffing food into his mouth and Meowth was asleep, making little mews as he slept. Jesse hit James with the paper fan and went to bed, determination to succeed still strong. In the morning, she set out early without James and Meowth, hoping she wouldn't encounter Ash along the way. Luckily she didn't. When she reached Celadon City, she charged straight to the mart, despite a few strange looks from citizens. Team Rocket's uniform wasn't exactly everyday casualwear. Taking the elevator up, Jesse bought a Thunderstone, a Firestone, a Leafstone, a Waterstone and stole a Moonstone from a traveller while he wasn't watching. She headed to the mansion and went up the back, swiping an unguarded Eevee from another traveller. This is tooo easy, she thought with confidence. She took the Eevee deep into the forest and called it out. Looking at it with glee she threw all the stones at it at the same time. BOOM!!! A huge explosion sounded. But out of the dust popped a magnificent and majestic creature. It had the head of a Jolteon, the legs of a Flareon, the tail of a Vaporeon, strange grass whips sticking out of its back and it stood on two legs, another huge tail sticking out the side, with 6 spikes on it. Jesse's mouth fell open with awe as she watched the Hyper Eevee swing its huge tail into the fire of the explosion and gain a flaming tail, like a Charmander, Charmeleon, and Charizard. "Umm... Pokémon return!!" She called it back, not quite knowing what to call it. She tossed the Pokéball up in the air as she walked back, however by some weird twist of fate, Ash, Misty and Brock jumped out of the bushes into sight. Jesse did the motto, substituting James and Meowth's voices for her own dire imitations. "OK let's fight!!!" Ash cried eagerly. "Pokéballs go!!" Jesse yelled, throwing both Arbok and Hyper-Eevee. "OK then, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, attack together!" Ash threw his Pokéballs also. As Jesse's Hyper Eevee appeared out of the dust again, Ash was so stunned he could hardly speak. "Bulb.. Bulb... Bulbasaur Vine Whip!" he did manage to get out. "BULBASAUR!" Bulbasaur cried as it hit the huge Hyper Eevee with 2 vines. This just made the Hyper Eevee angrier and it roared in frustration. It swung its huge fiery tail and it hit the Bulbasaur right on its snout, sending it fainted to the side. The Hyper Eevee easily cleared all of Ash's Pokémon, but before it could finish Ash, Jesse brought it back, as well as Arbok. She pulled out the chain and cocked it in her hands. Ash looked scared to death and didn't move, but Brock tried to grab the chain. Jesse swung it as hard as she could and Brock went flying, knocked unconscious by the force. "I'm sorry your little friend here had to learn the hard way. Now hand over that Mew I know you've got hidden in your coat somewhere!" Jesse yelled at Ash. He reached deep into his coat and pulled out a Pokéball, giving it to Jesse. In return, Jesse threw Ash a Pokéball. "Now let's just check this is the right one. I don't want to have to use..." Jesse tapped the chain against her hand, "this." She threw the Pokéball and out came the exact Pokémon she had been hoping for, but it wasn't Mew. "Hmm, it's not what I wanted, but it'll do." She walked away, leaving Ash and Misty to tend to Brock. When she got back to the hut where James and Meowth were waiting, she gave James the Pokéball and whispered something in his ear. James nodded solemnly and took the Pokéball, hiding it in his shirt. Meowth was still asleep. Meanwhile, many kilometres away ... Mewtwo had had huge technological advantages since it had escaped capture from thousands of trainers. It had learned the ways of the Pokémon trainer, how to catch Pokémon, how to battle, and how to be an effective fighter. It learnt the flame of the Charmander, the raging waters of the Squirtle, and the overpowering grasses of the Bulbasaur. It had integrated all this knowledge with powerful psychic powers and strength beyond imagination. Its psychic powers were in fact so strong; it had managed to bypass the previous genetical limit of 4 moves. It had learned every move of every single Pokémon, and raised its health to unbelievable levels. Mewtwo was practically invincible. But would it ever be caught? Would it ever fall victim to a trainer too clever for it? No, it was too strong. Mewtwo had picked up English off trainers, and it was capable of thinking in an advanced way like no other Pokémon had before or will do again. But then a handsome young man came along, in his hand a gold Pokéball. His stone grey eyes flickered in the dim light of his torch as he moved through the Unknown Dungeon. For some reason, the Pokémon ran away from him, as if he possessed a power so great, they were too scared to come near him. Mewtwo knew this man; he was Lance the dragon trainer. He used to be the leader of the Elite Four, but he had suffered so many defeats at the hands of trainers weaker than him, he quit and became a rebel, an enemy to all Pokémon. He treated his dragons with contempt and hate, as if they were the reason for him losing so many times. But in fact it was his own fault his concentration had slipped too much, he had chosen the wrong moves, managed his Pokémon badly and failed to maintain enough health to pull through. But what special and powerful Pokémon did this gold Pokéball contain? When Lance had previously challenged Mewtwo, he had carried only his original dragons. And he had failed. Failed so miserably, the dragons had almost been killed. Mewtwo was not a heartless killer however, and went easy on Lance's Pokémon when they were weak. Lance had roared the cry of an angry beast as he failed, he had howled like a wounded animal, his cry of pain and sorrow echoing through the dark, dark dungeon. He had retreated, tears in his eyes, but anger and determination welling up deep within his heart. Anger for Mewtwo. Anger for his dragons, who had failed him so many times. Anger for all the Pokémon of the world. Anger for himself. But this time, he was prepared. He had brought a Pokémon so strong, it would surely defeat the beast of that dingy and dark dungeon. The beast everyone called Mewtwo. He held his gold Pokéball in his hand and a small grin appeared on his face, not of mirth however, but of genuine, powerful confidence. He laughed evilly and threw his head to the ceiling, looking hard at the huge beast that was about to kill him. His grin and laugher suddenly disappeared. Lance was going to die. He wasn't going to make it out of this dungeon. He would never see the glowing rays of daylight ever again. The beast came closer, preparing to slice Lance in half. Meanwhile... James held the Pokéball Jesse gave him and examined it closely, scrutinising every part of it. He noticed a small chink in it, but that didn't matter. He still had the Pokémon he had wanted for years now. The Pokémon that always slipped past his grip. The elusive, powerful, indestructible Moltres. He dug deep into his shirt and pulled out a permanent marker. On the Pokéball he wrote Moltres Property Of James Rocket, No Touching and put the Pokéball back in his shirt. Jesse watched James do this and when he glanced her way, she raised her eyes to the heavens. "I was the one who went and knocked out that stupid little twerp's Pokémon until he gave me that." James grinned at her and added to his writing on the Pokéball. Moltres Property Of James Rocket, Jesse Only Can Touch. Jesse grinned back. "You're an OK guy, Jimmy Boy, you really are. At first I thought you were a bit stupid but then you proved your worth," she said, gazing deep into his bright green eyes. He gazed back and ran a finger through his long hair, his eyes shining with happiness. "I got Moltres." Jesse grinned again and flashed a thumbs-up at James. He nodded back and walked away to find somewhere to get some TMs for his Moltres. Suddenly Ash dashed in on Jesse and glared angrily at her. "Hey! I know I shouldn't have trusted TEAM ROCKET! This Pokémon you gave me for that Moltres is just a Level 2 Pidgey!" he cried in frustration. "Well, my Pidgey is special and super strong. It evolves into Pidmoyo at level 4. Pidmoyo is the strongest Pokémon of them all," she replied craftily. Ash's expression softened and in his stupidity he believed Jesse and dashed off again. She laughed as she watched him run down the road, holding his stupid Pidgey's Pokéball in his hand. James then burst in, his Moltres flying behind him. "I taught it Fire Blast and this new TM they just got in today, Inferno of Doom!" Jesse stared at the Moltres crying happily as it flew around James, and saw the happiness in James' face. She wished her Hyper Eevee could be like that, she could have the same kind of affection and love towards it. She sighed and walked back inside. Meanwhile Lance was frozen in terror as the bird like beast dived towards him. It had a broad icy tail, huge fiery wings, a body sizzling with discharges of thunder and a huge mouth that opened to reveal rows and rows of razor sharp, serrated teeth. It soared closer and closer until... "DRAGONITE!!!" his Dragonite roared as it jumped out of the Pokéball, somehow sensing its master was in trouble. Lance's eyes filled with tears at the thought of such a loyal and caring Pokémon, but his eyes quickly turned angry as he yelled as loud as he could through the cave. "Dragonite, Hyper Beam!!" he commanded. Everything seemed to stop for a second. The huge, roaring beast, his own Pokémon, its eyes determined, and Lance, his finger pointed in the air and his other hand pulled into a fist as he ordered his Dragonite to attack. Suddenly time started again, and the Dragonite released a huge beam of energy. A beam of determination and courage, a beam combining Lance's years of experience and Dragonite's enormous power. The Hyper Beam attack curved towards the bird and hit it so hard, it got knocked back hard with momentum. Lance grinned at the Dragonite and returned it, realising he had just defeated Honou, the most powerful legendary bird of them all, a mix of Moltres, Zapdos, Articuno and Aerodactyl. "Great Ball go!" Lance certainly wouldn't miss this chance. The ball grabbed Honou and contained it, shaking with the force, but still getting Honou. Lance congratulated himself inside and picked up the ball, putting it on his belt next to his dragons, a proud addition to his team. He now respected his dragons, after Dragonite's selfless act of loyalty towards its master. Lance was now ready to challenge Mewtwo, all his Pokémon strong and healthy after he used a Max Revive on Honou. Lance was wearing a t-shirt and jeans, but suddenly a deep chill welling up inside him and he reached into his pack, pulling on his old army shirt and continuing on his way. He shouldn't be scared however, should his dragons fail he had Honou, and if even that should be defeated, he had that gold Pokéball. Lance felt confident enough to go all the way. He walked onto Mewtwo's island and the beast looked up from the meal it was eating. "Ahh, Lance my lad, we meet again. Hopefully this time you have some effective firepower!" Mewtwo laughed. "Mewtwo, I will defeat and capture you. You can be sure of that," Lance replied with utmost confidence and skill in his deep voice. "Don't be so sure, Lance." Mewtwo said in annoyance. Lance laughed and called out Gyarados. "Gyarados, get him with Dragon Rage!!" Lance roared. Gyarados, diving into the lake around Mewtwo's island, performed a mighty Dragon Rage, leaping at Mewtwo. It was hurt by this, but not phased. It charged itself up and launched a huge Thunder at Gyarados (if you weren't paying attention, Mewtwo can use any move of any Pokémon). Mewtwo had studied its Battle Chart and knew that electric attacks were strong against water. Gyarados fainted instantly. Lance looked a little disappointed and returned Gyarados, but sent out Dragonair. "Dragonair, Agility!" Lance growled, planning to make Dragonair super fast and out speed Mewtwo. Mewtwo launched an Aurora Beam at Dragonair. Dragonair felt the blow and about quarter of its HP was taken off. "OK Dragonair, this is it. Hyper Beam it!!" Mewtwo tried to get in an Ice Beam but Dragonair was too fast, having used Agility. It launched a Hyper Beam at Mewtwo, hurting it very badly to an inch on its life. "L-lance, d-don't do this.." Mewtwo moaned. "Dragonair, finish it off with Dragon Rage!" Lance yelled. By some twist of fate, Mewtwo managed to restore itself and launch an Ice Beam before Dragonair could attack. It fainted from the power and Lance started to get a little bit scared. "Dragonair, return. Go, Honou!" He called out the legendary beast. "Honou, get him with a Quad-Attack!" Lance ordered. Honou fired ice, lightning and fire at Mewtwo. As if this weren't enough, it also bit Mewtwo hard five times. Mewtwo wasn't injured badly, but about a quarter of its HP was gone. Mewtwo realised this Honou was QUAD type, and after some thinking launched a Hyper Beam. The Hyper Beam hit Honou and like before, it fainted. "Oh ****!!" Lance yelled in terror, but he still had that gold Pokéball. "Go, Pokéball" Lance threw it. A Pokémon appeared, and a very strange choice at that. It was a Charmeleon! But what was so special about this one? "Charmeleon, Inferno!" Lance said coolly. The lizard conjured up fire power so powerful, it could destroy cities. It silently released this huge mass of power at Mewtwo, and Mewtwo tried to run, but it was no use. The fire hit Mewtwo and despite its extraordinarily high HP, it still fell. That moment seemed to go in slow motion for Lance, Mewtwo falling onto its island and hitting its head on the hard rocky ground, fainting. Lance panted as he returned Charmeleon. He threw an Ultra Ball, not taking any chances. It clamped on Mewtwo and shook again and again, so much more than any other Pokémon. About a minute later, it finally stopped and glowed a strange bright green in the centre. Lance picked up the Mewtwo and couldn't believe it. He had actually caught Mewtwo! His legs were still shaking with excitement and adrenaline so he sat down for a few moments, regaining his balance. When he got up, he called out his emergency Pokémon, Dugtrio, and dug back up to the surface on it. Luckily Mewtwo was safe because it was deposited when Lance got it, because he already had six Pokémon. He walked to a Pokécenter, deposited Dugtrio, and got out Mewtwo. He then visited a paint shop and painted the Pokéball green, coz he already had a gold one ^_^ and Mewtwo needed some distinguishing mark from his other Pokémon. He also painted Honou's silver. Lance was so happy with himself, he decided to rejoin the Elite Four, because they were without a leader. The Elite Four Committee gladly accepted him back and once again, he was winning battles. Back with Team Rocket Jesse and James had managed to get themselves a decent number of Pokémon, which they kept in a special vault deep in the woods. If you tried to steal Team Rocket's Pokémon, you would have to beat all the guards then crack 50 codes, all extremely challenging. Team Rocket simply wouldn't have their Pokémon being stolen. However the only Pokémon they used all the time were Jesse's Hyper Eevee and James' Moltres. Ash, Brock and Misty were too scared to come near Jesse and James; they even allowed their Pokémon to be stolen! Team Rocket felt they were so good, they were ready to take on the Elite Four and earn the title of Pokémon masters. But would they be able to defeat the mighty Lance, even with the powerful Pokémon they possessed? Jesse and James took the Pokéballs they wanted and headed for Victreebel Road, renamed because of the huge masses of abandoned wild Victreebels there that no-one wanted. Thousands were caught every day, but still millions remained. J and J got through Victreebel Road easily, catching a Victreebel each while they were at it. Just for the fun of it, they caught 5 more Victreebels as well. They challenged Lorelei, the first of the Elite Four. They easily cleared Lorelei with Jesse's Zapdos and James' Jolteon. Beating Lorelei, they moved through to Bruno, which was again easily beaten. Agatha was also very easily beaten. Now comes the hard part, James thought. We'll beat 'im though. They chose their main Pokémon, which you should know by now. Jesse's Hyper Eevee and James' Moltres. Both these incredibly strong Pokémon were at Level 99, the highest a normal and healthy Pokémon could get. Lance first sent out Dragonair. "Hyper Eevee, Triple Attack!" "Moltres, Inferno!" The Hyper Eevee charged up and launched a lightning bolt, followed by a powerful blast of water and a swing of its powerful fiery tail. The Moltres fired blast after blast of raging fires from its blazing wings. The Dragonair was quite hurt by this, but still had a lot of life left in it. "Dragonair, Agility!" Lance roared, preparing the same strategy he had used on Mewtwo, even though it had failed. The Dragonair's Speed flew to amazing levels. "Hyper Eevee, Jolt Attack!" "Moltres, get that Dragonair with a powerful Fire Blast!" A huge jolt of lightning zapped out of the Hyper Eevee, and combined with the hugely powerful fire of the Moltres' Fire Blast, injuring the Dragonair badly. "Dragonair, strike back with Dragon Catastrophe!" Lance commanded. The Dragonair fired a huge and powerful white beam from within itself, hitting both the Hyper Eevee and the Moltres quite badly. "Hyper Eevee, go on! HYDRO PUMP!" "Moltres, Wing Attack!" Huge blasts of water hit the Dragonair hard, and then two fiery wings were thrust in its face. It fainted, not able to stand this kind of abuse. Jesse and James quickly used a Max Potion on their Pokémon. Lance called out Gyarados, rather unwisely because the Hyper Eevee had huge lightning powers. "OK, I get the first move this time. Gyarados, Hyper Beam 'em!" Lance commanded. Gyarados fired the biggest Hyper Beam it had ever fired and hit both the Moltres and the Hyper Eevee hard. "Hyper Eevee, weaken it with System Shock!!" "Moltres, get it with Fire Spin, combined with a powerful Drill Peck!" Hyper Eevee launched a single, but powerful, bolt of lightning at Gyarados. This combined with Moltres' attacks weakened the Gyarados so much, it was too weak to fight and fainted. "OK then, go Dragonite!" Lance threw his third Pokéball. "Hyper Eevee, #4, #5, #6 Attack!" "Moltres, Fire Killer!" Hyper Eevee zapped its own burning tail with lightning and sprayed it with poison water, which didn't put it out for some reason. It swung its charged up tail as hard as it could, and hit Dragonite hard and fast, weakening it a lot. Moltres Powered Up and launched so much fire, the chamber was filled with it. The Dragonite was not feeling too good. "Dragonite, Dragon Rage!" Lance growled. Dragonite, powered up a lot from being hit so many times, fired all the power of an angry dragon at Hyper Eevee and Moltres, almost fainting them. "Hyper Eevee, this is it. Finish it off with Stone Death!!" "Moltres, if the Eevee doesn't kill it, just Fly." Hyper Eevee fired all five evolution stones at the Dragonite again and again, annoying Lance hugely with Dragonite can't use ! He got so annoyed, he kicked his Dragonite hard, fainting it. "Opps. Well, go Honou then." Honou!? But he's not in THIS version! Jesse and James thought in terror. "Hyper Eevee, this is going to be hard. Use your instincts to decide which move!" "Moltres, do the same." The Hyper Eevee and Moltres formed a team, and did their most powerful attacks together. "MOLTRES!!!" Moltres screeched. "EEEEEVEEEEE!!" Hyper Eevee called. They injured Honou not very much, actually. "Honou, use all your powers!! QUAD ATTACK!!" Lance roared. All three of Honou's elements launched at Team Rocket's Pokémon, and then they both suffered five hard, big bites from those powerful teeth. Remarkably, they were both still in good health. "Hyper Eevee, Metronome Evolution Style!" "Moltres, Fire Beam!" Hyper Eevee chose a random evolution of a Pokémon, which just happened to be Butterfree. 'Butterfree' used a powerful Psybeam, and then turned back into Hyper Eevee. The Moltres powered up a very special move and launched a giant beam of powerful fire at Honou. Honou fainted! "NO! Honou's supposed to be strong! Go Mewtwo," Lance yelled. To Jesse and James, a Mewtwo seemed to be even an anti-climax after that powerful Honou. "Mewtwo, use your instincts. I know how good you are," Lance told Mewtwo. "Yes, Lance, I've had so much practice.. I think I'll use Super Hyper Ultra Beam!" Mewtwo replied. It can talk? Jesse thought in surprise. "Hyper Eevee, Super Beam!" "Moltres, Fire Spin!" Hyper Eevee launched a beam of fire, lightning and water combined at Mewtwo, not hurting a bit. It also shook off the Moltres' attack. It powered itself up to maximum levels and threw itself at Hyper Eevee and the Moltres, emitting hugely strong psychic powers to defeat the two Pokémon. Moltres fainted instantly (!) but the Hyper Eevee was still up there. "Moltres! Return. Jesse, it's up to you," James admitted. "Yes. Hyper Eevee, use all your moves together!! Go!" The Hyper Eevee used move after move and battered the Mewtwo again and again, but it was still strong! It used a powerful, original Mewtwo Psychic on Hyper Eevee, but very amazingly, it MISSED! Hyper Eevee was now very angry, and fired a huge white beam of ICE from within itself, somehow! Soon, Mewtwo was coated in ice. Hyper Eevee decided to get the ice off, and used a powerful Fire Blast. Mewtwo was now a little too hot. Hyper Eevee suddenly got even angrier and filled the whole room with lightning, fire and ice. When it finally cleared, Hyper Eevee ran over to Mewtwo and bit and bit it again and again and again. Mewtwo ended up having a very small amount of health. 30 Points to be exact. It tried to Psybeam Hyper Eevee, but in its weakness, it couldn't reach and the Psybeam fizzed out and hit the ground. Hyper Eevee whipped Mewtwo with its vine whips and swung its fiery tail at it, taking away the last few HP. Mewtwo opened and closed its eyes a few times, spun around, fell to the ground, chewed its tail and finally fainted. Lance looked devastated. He howled with disappointment. "NOOOOOOO!!!!!!!" he cried. Tears stung his eyes but he held them back and returned Mewtwo into the special green Pokéball. He gripped it tightly and suddenly his legs turned to jelly. He couldn't hold it anymore. He fell to his knees and buried his head in his hands. After a while he looked up at Jesse and James, their grins huge as they hugged each other, so happy they weren't realising what they were doing. Mewtwo had finished acting and got up, comforting Lance. "It's OK, mate. I got knocked out there, I didn't mean to," Mewtwo comforted. "YOU! YOU WERE THE ONE WHO MADE ME FAIL AGAIN!" Lance roared, towering above Mewtwo. Mewtwo walked back in fright and opened the door for Jesse and James to go through. "Um... you are now Pokémon masters. Thanks for coming," it said. Lance looked at them with contempt and ordered them to leave. They walked out of the door, new Pokémon masters. Meanwhile Meowth was kicking out and watching TV, a frozen orange juice in his hand. He was watching a very interesting documentury about Mew, the newly discovered Pokémon. When the programme was over, he turned off the TV and started playing James' Gameboy, his special Japanese Yellow Version of you know what, Pokémon. Suddenly Jesse and James burst in the door, Pokémon Master badges in their hands. James saw Meowth playing his Gameboy and he turned purple with fury. So did Jesse when she saw Meowth watching her TV. They both hit Meowth with steel fans instead of paper ones. "Looks like you guys are back," Meowth moaned in pain. James made a face at him and grabbed his Gameboy back. Jesse and James proudly pinned the badges on the inside or their Team Rocket jackets, together with their other eight badges they had got years ago. "Meowth, if you'd come, you would have been a Pokémon Master just like us," James boasted. A bead of sweat appeared on the back of Meowth's head. "This is.. uh.. kind of weird. What do we do now? We've won... I suppose they'll have to cancel the show now," he said sadly. "NO YOU STUPID FELINE!" Jesse and James snapped in synchronisation at Meowth, towering over him. "We will become the stars of the show," Jesse said dreamily. "We'll have all the money we want!" James added, just as dreamily. Meowth simply rubbed the back of his head, shrugged his shoulders and walked out. "I'm going for a walk," he explained. Jesse and James blinked at him in puzzlement. He walked and walked, not knowing where to go. Meowth was all mixed up, now that Team Rocket were champions, what would happen to him? He was sure he would be replaced AGAIN, by Persian or some other awful thing. He sighed and kept walking. Meanwhile, Lance was so overcome with disappointment and absolute despair, he didn't know what he should do. His mighty Pokémon, for God sakes, even Honou and mighty Mewtwo, had been defeated by two trainers so much the inferior of him. His previous cool confidence was smashed into pieces and he walked in shame, he was now Lance the previous Master. All his friends gradually drifted apart from him, they didn't want to friends anymore with a loser like Lance, formally Lance the Dragon Master. He relied solidly on Mewtwo to be a shoulder to cry on, a great friend. If it weren't for Mewtwo, he probably would have committed suicide by now. But now, every day, he thought, plotted, schemed and planned a way to defeat these two trainers, to once again gain the respect and honour he deserved. The rank he had seeked for so long. Lance would make it through. He would triumph; he was sure of it. But it wouldn't be easy, the road to success would be long and hard. He looked up, clenched his fists and gritted his teeth. He was on victory road. The path to ultimate victory. He pulled on a shirt and walked out the door, taking all his Pokémon. He stood tall and marched exactly to where he wanted to go. A clearing deep in dark forest. A clearing where wild Pokémon roamed free as the clouds. A place where he trained his Pokémon to be the very best they could be. The place he called Blackheart Clearing. "What!?" he yelled as he saw a confused looking Meowth wandering around. But he had the Red Version! "It's Lance!! Let's battle, you loser!" Meowth cried in disgust. "OK. You're a trainer?" Lance questioned. "Yea. I train myself!" Meowth growled. "Go, Honou!" Lance roared. The bird popped out of the Pokéball and yelped a loud battle cry of 'HONOU!' Meowth used a power he had never used before. His anger and sadness was so strong, it released the forces of every animal that had ever felt rage at another. Meowth used Psychic forces and fired a very powerful, disabling Psychic. The power of it was incredible. After releasing such power, Meowth held his head in pain. "Oww. That gives you a headache!" he moaned. Honou fainted. Meowth was amazed as his own power and Psybeamed, Psychiced, and Psywaved all the rest of Lance's Pokémon, beating him. Lance dropped to the ground and pounded it with his fists, angry and very sad. "NOT AGAIN!" he roared with pure anger. "Oh well. I guess you're a Pokémon master, little Meowth," he said wistfully. Meowth retracted his claws a few times, nodded at Lance, collected his Master badge and went back to Team Rocket's hut. "WHAT? YOU beat LANCE?" James said in amazement. "Yeah. I used psychic powers," Meowth replied. "Lesse yer badge then," Jesse added doubtfully. Meowth proudly flashed the Master badge. "I guess it's all over for us, then," he said, not as proud. James nodded sadly and kicked off his boots and gloves, sitting in his chair to play Gameboy. Jesse shrugged her shoulders and started reading a Pokémon training magazine, hoping to become a real trainer one day, instead of a stealer. Suddenly Lance kicked down the door, an expression of pure anger on his face. "You three are going DOWN!" he screamed. "OK, Lance. One on one, you versus me. No Pokémon," James said coldly. "I don't care for fist fights. But since I'm a lot more man than you, Let's fight, James," Lance agreed. James pulled on his gloves and threw on his shoes, facing Lance with his fists in front of him. "No weapons. Come on," James taunted. James threw a swing punch at Lance and hit him on the nose, which promptly started bleeding lightly. "We'd uhh.. better step back Meowth. This is a man's fight," Jesse said awkwardly, sitting down. Lance growled in anger and aimed a kick at James' waist. James dived to the right and dodged, but was in a vulnerable position, crouching. But he still kicked Lance on his ankle, causing him to stumble back. Lance was so angry, he was almost foaming at the mouth. James got up and faced Lance again. Lance elbowed James hard on the chest, knocking the wind out of him. As he was gasping, Lance powered a fist to James' guts, hitting hard. James lost his cool confidence and let rage take control of him. He roared in rage and hit Lance hard on the groin with a heavy black boot. Lance stumbled back, holding his crotch and fell to his knees, feeling quite sick. James fired a fist at Lance's nose, starting the bleeding again. He wiped the blood away and tried to hit James, but missed. James smashed his nose again. Lance went groggy and disorientated, and fell to the ground. James laughed and stole Lance's Pokémon, kicking him out of the door and slamming it behind him. Throwing his Pokémon in their vault, James relaxed and sat down. "How many now?" Jesse questioned. "149." James said flatly. "Ohhhh, how much I want a lovely Weedle.." he added. Jesse grinned slightly and then threw another Pokéball in the vault. "I've had it for ages," she laughed. James raised his eyes to the heavens, and relaxed again. "Now what?" she questioned. "We can't let down our fans. But we've done everything... except.." James trailed. "Except WHAT?" Jesse snapped. An evil glint sparkled in James' eyes. "We haven't caught Mew." Jesse nodded and grabbed Lance from outside by the collar and threw him in the middle of the room, chucking cold water on him. "I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU BEAT ME, YOU INVASILS!" he roared when he regained consciousness. He reached for his Pokéballs but when he couldn't find them, his eyebrows went all the way down and his mouth twisted into an annoyed sneer. "You. Took. My. Pokémon," he said quietly with pure rage in his heart. "You will die for that," he nearly whispered. He howled a cry of battle and pulled a excalibur sword from inside his army shirt, holding it high in the air like a crusader. He prepared to bring the sword down on a still confident James, poised in front of Jesse to protect her. Meowth had disappeared. James gritted his teeth and prepared for the impact. Lance drew the sword down at lightning speed and it hit. Everything went silent. The enraged Lance, the scared James, the even more scared Jesse, and the birds outside, the T.V, and James' Gameboy. It was like everything was frozen in one moment of time. James slowly opened his eyes and looked around. The sword was centimetres from his forehead. He quickly dodged under it and tapped Lance on the side. Nothing happened. The same with Jesse. "Meowth.... What did you do??" he questioned suspiciously. "Meowth just froze time. Couldn't let Little Jim and Big Jess go to waste. Even though I've always hated you two," he explained, crawling out from behind a chair. "But why didn't you wake Jesse?" James asked, puzzled. "Because I want to ask you something I've been wondering for a long time. Do you like Jesse?" Meowth asked sheepishly. "No. No, I don't. Why do people keep saying that?" James said firmly. "It's like Mew. You know the truck. When someone first said it, it just circulated around, and soon everyone believed it," Meowth said. "Oh ok. Now can you PLEASE tell EVERYONE on your little Internet that I, James Rocket, DO NOT LIKE JESSE!! Ok?" James cried. "Yea, James. Now I suppose I can wake up Jesse, eh?" Meowth questioned. "Yes. And hurry up with it, I gotta do something about that Lance. Kill him or something," James said. Meowth un-froze Jesse and she looked around like James had. She walked slowly up to Lance and prised the sword from his fingers, giving it to Meowth. "Go put it with the rest of our trophies," she ordered. Meowth nodded and opened a vault filled with badges, Master badges, Brock's head, Ash's backpack, and Misty's suspenders. He threw Lance's excalibur in and locked it again, un-freezing Lance on his way. Jesse was going to prove to James and Lance right then and there that a woman can fight as well, and threw a fist to Lance's face, knocking him out cold. James looked impressed and clapped. Jesse just laughed and walked back to James and Meowth. After about two hours, Lance finally managed to get up. He blinked his eyes, he was getting real sick of being knocked out. He saw James, Jesse and Meowth still just relaxing, and wondered why they were doing this for so long rather than doing evil. He grinned to himself and slipped out the door. He was on a mission, to claw his way back to the top. And to do that, he'd need his dragons, Honou, and Mewtwo. He sighed and decided to explore for a while until Team Rocket decided to give back his Pokémon. But wait! Where was his gold Pokéball? He must have lost it. Oh well, he'd have to get another Pokémon somehow, and the best way to do that was to steal one. A traveller was walking nearby with a big and powerful Blastoise, stomping the ground as it moved. "BLAST BLAST BLAST BLAST!" it said quietly every step. Lance slowly pulled a gun out of his jacket. "Don't move," he said menacingly as he pointed the gun at the traveller's head. Despite the Blastoise's huge size and power, it didn't attempt to attack a man with a gun. Lance ordered the traveller to hand over Blastoise, so he called it back and gave it to Lance. "Thank you." He put his gun back and kicked the man over. The man had tears in his eyes at the thought of losing his beloved Blastoise he had raised since a Squirtle. He sniffed and continued on his way, not trying to get his Pokémon back. Lance tossed the Pokéball in the air as he walked. He called Blastoise out and ordered it to destroy the vault door with a powerful Hydro Pump. "BLAS......... TOISE!" it cried as it released masses of water from the pressurised cannons on its back. The vault door started to crack and finally tore open with all the pressure. Lance grabbed his precious dragons, Honou and Mewtwo and walked deep into the forest, wanting to be alone. He picked up an abandoned cybernetic axe off the forest floor, wondering why it was left there. He pressed the button to charge it up with cybernetic forces and thrust it at a tree. It went through the tree and dissolved the bark, blasting a huge hole in the tree's trunk. Knowing it wouldn't stand up for much longer, Lance grabbed the axe and ran back to Team Rocket's hut where James was training his Moltres against Meowth and where Jesse was filing her nails and watching infomercials, clearly bored. Lance burst in with the charged cybernetic axe in his hand and threw it at the TV, disintegrating it. He charged up the axe again and took a mighty swing at James' waist, sending his flying backwards, only to hit his head against the wall and lie half conscious, mumbling insults and curses at Lance. Lance charged the axe and aimed it at Jesse, prepared to swing it and take her out of commission as well. But once again she proved her worth and pulled out a machine gun. She fired it at Lance, taking him out. Was it for good, or would he escape again? Jesse wondered as she checked James for pulse and finding it, throwing a bucket of ice on him. He abruptly became alert and focused on Jesse again. "Good job. I have to admit it, that WAS cool," he said with a boyish grin. Jesse simply nodded and threw the machine gun to the side. She took the cybernetic axe from Lance's grip and suddenly had an idea. She could create a super Pokémon to defeat all others! An evil smile appeared on her face and she withdrew Machamp's Pokéball from the vault. Jesse was going to create Super Machamp. The ultimate warrior Pokémon. She took the machine gun out of the corner and put the Pokéball, the cybernetic axe, the machine gun and Lance's excalibur in the middle of the room. She also got out a welding torch and a Max Potion. She called Machamp out and put it to sleep, ready to operate on it. James came over and intently watched from a distance as Jesse grafted the various weapons onto the Machamp's fists, squeezing his eyes closed when it got gory. She left one of its arms free so it could punch and manipulate objects. She attached two high power wheels on the ends of its legs and a laser cannon to its crest. Super Machamp was finally complete. Jesse used a Max Potion on it and woke it up. Its eyes slowly opened and focused on Lance. It was out of control with anger! It charged with all its super power and speed at the downed Lance, all weapons blazing as it went. It raised the cybernetic axe high above Lance's body, preparing to mash him into mincemeat. Meanwhile... The powerful but small and elusive Mew rested in a cave far away from human sight, where no one had ever found it, and where no one would ever find it. It thought of its lost child Mewtwo, and uttered a mournful and soft cry. "Mewww!" it mewed sadly. Mew had tried and tried to call Mewtwo with psychic waves, but its strong child wouldn't respond. This either meant Mewtwo's trainer had died, or it was in the control of an evil trainer. Mew mewed again sadly, curled up and went into a deep dreamless sleep, hoping its poor lost Mewtwo would receive its call. Mewtwo did. It was inside its Pokéball on Lance's belt when it heard its mother calling. A huge rage built up within its heart and soul. it transmitted back. Mew transmitted. Mewtwo declared. It escaped from the Pokéball with psychic powers and cleared the annoying Machamp with an original Mewtwo Swift. Stars galore hit the Machamp and it fainted. Mewtwo charged through the wall and launched itself high into the air using psychic forces. It floated through the air at an incredible speed to that isolated cave, so far away from civilisation. It dashed into the cave and ran up to its mother, rubbing its face against her body with affection. Mew replied by rubbing her tail against Mewtwo's back. Mewtwo cried happily. Mew asked intently. Mewtwo replied. Mew said lovingly. Mew opened its mouth and spoke. "Mew!" it said. "Mewtwo! Two, two, Mewtwo!" Mewtwo replied. "Mew, mew, mew!" "Mew. Two! Mew. Two!" Mewtwo then asked. Mew said sadly. Mewtwo trailed before he started crying the way only a Pokémon can. Not with tears, but with small psychic charges dropped to the ground that carried a Pokémon's sadness with them. Mew comforted Mewtwo. Mewtwo cried a mournful cry of grief and sadness that haunted the seas. All life was stopped dead by that cry, frozen with fear. Everything, even the huge and savage Gyaradoses and Poliwhirls roaming silently through the deep, icy and glittering waves. Mew hugged Mewtwo with its tail and omitted a bolt of psychic energy to help relieve Mewtwo's sadness. It worked and Mewtwo brightened, but a dark cloud still hung over the land. The Zapdoses were coming for Mewtwo. Suddenly the skies filling with rain and thunder as the huge flocks of electric birds stormed the cave. Mewtwo transmitted psychic energy to protect the entrance of the cave, but still thousands of Zapdoses broke through and dived towards Mewtwo and Mew. Mewtwo dived in front of Mew and closed its eyes, preparing to feel the pain. But there was still one last chance. "MEWTWO!!!" Mewtwo growled at the birds and released all the power it had. It released the power of its fallen father, all the power of its terribly frightened mother and all its own power and learning, combined into an invisible but extremely powerful attack. The strength of such a move was beyond human comprehension. The power of it extended the whole universe. This was a power so strong, it could destroy whole planets in seconds. But Mewtwo turned the intensity down, so it was just strong enough to destroy the Zapdoses and make sure they never terrorised Mew and Mewtwo's cave again. When the wall of power hit the Zapdoses, they were frozen in their tracks. Then they simply fell to the ground, completely destroyed by the power. Finally, they started disappearing one by one, never to experience life again. Mewtwo growled in giddy joy as it wrapped its tail around Mew. The two powerful Pokémon were enclosed in a loving embrace. Mewtwo still thought of Lance, but then thought of the darker side of its trainer. Power corrupts, and Lance had been turned from an innocent but successful trainer into an evil juggernaut, constantly striving for more power to feed his hungry heart. But he was still only human, and humans are only mortal. If Lance acted like he was immortal one more time, his decision could prove fatal for him and others around him. Lance was a dangerous man, and he knew it. Beneath those intense and swirling stone grey eyes was a heart of stone and a personality of a cold blooded killer. Beneath his even seemingly amateurish exterior lay years of knowledge, years of learning about Pokémon and their powers. Mewtwo was sad that all this knowledge and power could have been put to a better use, instead of wasted on a man who didn't know what he was doing. Mewtwo just sighed and told its mother about Lance, hoping together they could stop it. Meanwhile Team Rocket had still not found anything better to do, so they were still just sitting there doing nothing useful. James had trained his Moltres as far as it could go, so he had to sit just as Jesse did and watch more infomercials. He was starting to wonder why no good anime was ever on. Well, this is New Zealand, he thought. All you can ever expect to find on here is infomercials, cooking with Jo Seager, and those dreaded AMERICAN cartoons. Shudder. James wondered why they had not stayed in America, but no, there there would have been more of those dreaded cartoons, and less of the wunderbar anime. Oh well, he thought. Easy come, easy go. Before he could relax again, a dark and mysterious entity appeared in all its glory at the door. It stood so much shorter than any human, but James was so scared of it he whimpered in fear and dived behind a chair. His face was covered in cold sweat of fear only, and he was shaking in fright. The mysterious entity turned around and beckoned for another, even more mysterious creature to come in. It was a lot bigger, but James was less scared of this one. More and more things were called and eventually there was a squad of them at the door. The first small one that James was so afraid of walked over to Jesse and uttered a simple word. "Mew." "James, c...come here. I'm sc...scared!" Jesse stuttered in fear. But James was glued in his place with a feeling that he had never felt before, really being afraid. "It's Mew," he whispered. "I know. Help me!" Jesse croaked, her throat dry. He slowly got up and walked up to her, grasping his black glove in hers. "We're going to be OK. We can beat them," he whispered in her ear. Jesse barely nodded and her eyes darted across the team of savage and powerful Pokémon in front of her and James. "We know you beat Lance. Now tell us where he is, or I will have to use these," Mewtwo urged angrily, waving its hand at the Pokémon. "He's here," James said, barely audible in his fright as he pointed to the ground. Lying there was Lance, his cloak spread across his back as he lay unconscious with a Pokéball in his hand. "Thank you, Jessica, James. That's all we require of you," Mewtwo growled, grabbing Lance over its shoulder and urging its squad along. Mew explained to Jesse and James through psywaves why this had happened. Mew chuckled. James simply nodded, still gripping Jesse's hand tight. When all the Pokémon had finally filed out, he dashed over and kicked the door shut, cold sweat still covering his face. He panted a few times and grabbed one of Meowth's frozen orange juices that was lying around. He gulped it down and offered Jesse one. When his fear was finally watered down with the citrus and icy cold taste, James looked at the Super Machamp lying on the floor and returned it to its Pokéball, no desire to let it suffer any longer. Meanwhile Mewtwo woke Lance up quickly with psychic forces and put him to great pain with the same forces. "Stop! I'm just an innocent dragon trainer!" Lance moaned. "And anyway, I have this." Mewtwo stopped concentrating for a moment to glance at the Pokéball. "Oh My God! That's the only Pokémon that can....." Mewtwo trailed as it sensed what was inside. It slouched its shoulders and looked up at the sky, tears dripping down its cheeks. "No, I remember now! No! NOO! NOOOO! STOP!" Mewtwo yelled in pain as thoughts flooded back into its brain. Mew looked sad as it remembered also. "Lance has Uramew!" Mewtwo cried. Lance chuckled craftily but then stopped as he saw Mewtwo's sadness. "Mewtwo, you poor beast. I yearn to comfort you but now you are my enemy..." he said quietly, showing he did care for Pokémon. "Dragonite proved to me that Pokémon are worth making an effort for. It virtually sacrificed itself for me, but yet I had treated it with contempt and hate. It didn't deserve that, but it still showed diehard loyalty... yes Mewtwo. I, Lance the dragon trainer, WILL be your trainer. Mew will be proud, I am sure, when it sees what I will do for you!" Lance yelled in determination. He walked over to the sobbing beast and put his arm around its broad back, comforting it. He dug his face into its fur and whispered. "It's going to be OK, Mewtwo. I'll take care of you now." "Yes. Just don't sic Cyromew onto me, OK?" Mewtwo laughed with mirth. "Heeheehee enough of this act. Mewtwo, I will get you! Go, Cyromew!" Lance cried, giving up the goody-good act. A strange, huge and robust creature appeared. It was like a Mewtwo in armour, except bigger and stronger looking. Red eyes glowed silently under its shimmering armoured helmet. "Cyro..... MEW!!" it roared in a hugely deep rumbling voice from deep within its chest. Mewtwo appeared fearful, but then became overcome with rage as it charged for the twisted clone of itself, throwing all its bulk onto the armoured beast. Cyromew was thrown hard against the ground and one of its titanium shoulder plates flew off and blew up, revealing a broad and muscular shoulder. It got up and swung its huge gauntlet hard at Mewtwo, knocking it back to the ground. Mewtwo got up and started smashing Cyromew hard over and over again on the chest. Pieces of metal flew everywhere revealing Cyromew's huge body. Mewtwo still punched and punched again and again until Cyromew's armour had been completely smashed off. Under the armour was a perfect larger clone of Mewtwo. Cyromew, absolutely and completely enraged with all its years of pent-up aggression, drew its fist back and punched Mewtwo, hard. As it flew towards a tree, it blacked out and hit the tree powerfully. Lance called Cyromew back and snickered but quickly stopped when Mewtwo's squad faced him and started attacking. Lance didn't last long before he was knocked unconscious with a huge kick from a Hitmonlee. Mewtwo woke up soon after and picked up Lance. Shaking with rage for this man, its previous trainer who had betrayed it so unfairly, Mewtwo withdrew its previously invisible claws and finished Lance off with a few quick swipes. "Evil doesn't pay," it whispered as it threw Lance's body into a deep pit. "He needed to die. Maybe in death he will discover that POWER CORRUPTS!" James' last two words were yelled as he slammed his fist onto the table. "Calm down, Jimmy!" Jesse laughed as she watched. "Ano ko no skirt no naka!" Mewtwo sang as it listened to its Walkman. It took its headphones off for a moment. "James at it again?" it questioned Meowth. "Yup," came the reply. Mewtwo rolled his eyes to the sky, annoyed but still glad Team Rocket had taken it and the rest of Lance's Pokémon in. "Come on, James, sing Lucky Lucky, that'll cheer us up!" Mewtwo suggested. "Sure," James replied. "Jess, hit it!" he yelled as he started singing. Mewtwo laughed as it listened. Gotta love that song. THE END Stallion the Great (c) 1999 stallion@paradise.net.nz Website at http://surf.to/stalpoke Author's opinion : It's quite good, took me ages, but I don't like the start. However most of the lance bits are pretty good. Overall, I think this rules and is a million times better than my first feeble effort which you DO NOT want to read . Thank you.