Mewtwo Strikes Back Part 1

**"Mewtwo Strikes Back Part 1"** is the is the forty-first (forty-third in Archive of Our Own and Royal Road) chapter of *Pokémon Reset Bloodlines.* While Ash and company are enjoying a beach day, they receive an invitation from someone who claims to be "the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer". Ash recalls having received it in the previous timeline as well, but it ultimately resulted in nothing, at least as far as he can remember. Despite having some doubts about it, they decide to attend. Meanwhile, on New Island, Mewtwo surveys trainers all over the Kanto region, sending invitations to them to bring them to his lair, wanting to use them to put his plans into motion.

## Plot

Near the Kanto shoreline, Misty is enjoying some diving with her Pokémon, pondering about how much she never gets tired of it no matter how many times she does it, while also wishing that she could share it with the others, especially Ash. She also thinks back about how Ash tried to ride a giant wave to plant a flag on a rock while helping an old surfer, something all of them agreed was too reckless and told him to never do it again. In the meantime, they've also tried to find ways for the others to dive underwater for as long as she does thanks to her powers, but their attempts so far have failed, while also imagining she and Ash could have very romantic scenarios underwater together. Staryu then snaps her out of her thoughts, warning her of an incoming Seadra that she begins chasing after, to hopefully catch it for herself, another benefit of the underwater diving.

Meanwhile on land, Ash's Pokédex suggests they could possibly solve their underwater problems by buying rebreathers and goggles. Ash stares off in the distance as several of his Pokémon, Charizard, Pidgeot, Yanma, Butterfree and Vivillon, do some flying exercises. Ash recalls that they skipped on paying a hotel in the past few days due to Iris' insistence on using their Secret Bases, and then spots her and Anabel talking to each other telepathically, which somehow makes him worried when they approach him with a suntan lotion bottle. He tries to bail out but Pikachu won't let him, wanting to see what's going to happen. Iris explains how Anabel told her about using the lotion to protect their skin from the sun, and they wanted to ask Ash to rub some on their backs while they do his. The suggestion, which Ash catches on was Anabel's, leaves him standing there in shock, prompting Iris to suggest they could start doing so right away, but Anabel tells her it's not okay to rub lotion on someone semi-comatose without their permission. That snaps him out of it and he agrees to do it, while blushing furiously. He goes for Iris first, who comments it feels nicer than she expected, and Ash mentally thinks the same as he continues to rub her back, while still feeling nervous about doing it as he notices how her skin isn't too smooth but her muscle underneath feels nice to the touch. When Iris suggests he could also do the front, he quickly ignores it before moving on to Anabel, whose skin is much smoother and paler but also appealing in its own way. Iris then suddenly asks if it was bad to watch her, and Ash at first thinks the question was aimed to him, but it was actually to Anabel, who replies that no, it wasn't, leaving Ash wondering what they could possibly be talking about, while Pikachu continues to watch in amusement. After Ash is done with them, Anabel takes to rub lotion on his back, and she admits to find it quite appealing that he hides a lot of physical strength under his kind and caring personality, though she does notice that Pikachu's stare suggests that he has similar intentions to Iris of getting Ash together with all of them, while Iris insists that they later do their fronts too, which Anabel quickly shoots down. Right then, Misty comes out of the water, and Anabel manages to sense Ash's thoughts about finding her physically attractive as well. Right when Iris suggests that she gets some lotion applied by Ash as well, a trainer interrupts them, calling Ash out on "selling out his dignity", though Anabel picks up that he's actually ogling at Misty's body and having pervert thoughts about it. Ash asks Misty if she wants to deal with the guy or leave it to him, and Misty tells Ash that he and Pikachu could probably benefit more of kicking the guy's butt, much to the latter's bemusement.

At his lair in New Island, Mewtwo observes Ash's battle, taking notice of his trainer skills on how he easily dominates the match. His thrall, the hypnotized Nurse Joy asks if she should send an invitation, and he replies that yes, she should, believing that Ash should be able to go through his storm if his other Pokémon are as well-trained as Pikachu. He then presses a button to send his messenger with the invitation, and then Nurse Joy reports about the progress on his clones, which are already fully grown and just need to wake up at his command. Mewtwo acknowledges it, and then inquires about Amber, but the thrall has bad news on that front. She has worked on what Mewtwo managed to salvage of Dr. Fuji's research, as he apparently discovered how to clone Amber with Bloodliner DNA, making her much more stable and less likely to degenerate, but the notes were badly damaged when the lab was destroyed in Mewtwo's rampage leaving them illegible, and Dr. Fuji and anybody else who might have known the secret died along with it. This enrages Mewtwo, who involuntarily unleashes his powers shaking the island and causing pain to the hypnotized nurse, first trying to blame Giovanni and then Dr. Fuji for his plans not going as he wants, but then recomposes himself and acknowledges that he's the only one to blame for destroying Fuji and his research. Once he's calmed down, he asks the thrall if she could figure it out if there was a real Bloodliner present, and she replies affirmatively, as they have the necessary equipment. Mewtwo sends her to get back to work while he continues to search for trainers to lure into his lair, hoping that he manages to catch at least one Bloodliner among them.

Back at the beach, after defeating the trainer Ash feels tense, and Misty offers to give him a massage to help him relax. Ash takes notice that neither Anabel nor Iris seemed to be uncomfortable with him rubbing lotion on Misty, even though he was a little embarrassed when she untied her top for him to do it. After she's done, Ash comments he never imagined she'd be so good at giving massages, and she admits she didn't either, as her sisters were often given massages. For a moment, Ash thinks about offering her one if she wants, and despite not voicing it aloud, she seemingly catches on what he's thinking and teases him about it with a flirty smile. She then laughs at his expense, admitting that it's funny to see him like that, and he ends up laughing too, before they get interrupted by a gust of wind flying near them. A Dragonite lands to deliver an envelope for Ash. Said envelope contains a device that projects the image of a woman inviting them to a gathering hosted by "the world's greatest Pokémon Trainer" in New Island. The Pokédex however retorts that New Island is deserted and there should be no one there. Despite some doubts, they ultimately decide to go and check it out, if only out of curiosity.

The group heads for the ferry terminal, when suddenly it begins to rain, which Ash's Pokédex complains was not in the forecast, forcing them to run to take shelter inside the building. The rain only increases Ash's bad feelings about the invite, as well as the hole in his memories about how these events went in the past timeline. Inside, the whole place is packed with people murmuring, yelling and pretty much only increasing the stress that already plagues the air. Misty suggests they'd be better off riding on Gyarados than the ferry, which Ash complains about when they chided him for trying to ride a giant wave and now she's talking about going out in the middle of a storm. Misty replies that a Gyarados is safer than a surfboard, and Pikachu agrees much to Ash's chagrin. Anabel however offers an alternative: she can easily teleport them all to New Island, thereby bypassing the whole storm, and right then the ferry is cancelled and one of the awaiting trainers decides to use his Gyarados to brave the storm himself, so they all finally decide to take Anabel's offer.

As they arrive to their destination, they take notice that the island seems to be in the eye of the storm, with the sky clear showing the full moon above them as it sheds light over the island's structure, which looks rather weird for Ash. Pikachu, the Pokédex and Iris seem to agree that the island's formations seem unnatural. Anabel asks Misty if she felt something from the rain, which the redhead denies, and Anabel explains that she sensed that psychic powers are generating the rain. Despite the obviously ominous atmosphere, the group decides to investigate what's going on, and Ash clings to the hope that it'll be alright since no one died the first time around (as far as he knows).

The group heads from the dock to the island's main body, taking notice of the lamps illuminating the path and how the land mass seems to have been forcibly pulled out of under the water by unnatural forces. They run into the woman from the message, who welcomes them to New Island and requests that they present their invitation. Iris asks about why the place smells so bad, but the woman ignores her question and repeats her request in the same monotone voice, so Ash complies. The woman prompts them to follow her upstairs, and as they go up Ash wonders if she's some kind of robot, but Anabel confirms she could read her mind so she's human, although her thoughts are odd and she's unsure what would happen if she goes deeper. A bit later she gets the feeling that they're being watched, and Ash at first thinks it might be Sabrina, but he remembers that his Pokédex told him she'd been arrested, making him discard the notion. As they reach a strange door it opens wide for them, and the woman tells them they're the first to arrive and they can wait and serve themselves with the food provided until her master presents himself. Misty asks if they can know his name, but once again the woman ignores the question and requests they bring every Pokémon in their possession, as her master will only present himself when all worthy trainers do so. Misty inquires whether this is some kind of trap from Team Rocket to steal their Pokémon, and the woman angrily replies that "Team Rocket is not [her] master" before repeating the request to bring all their Pokémon through the computer terminals with the same monotone from before. They ultimately decide to comply for the time being.

After bringing the rest of his Pokémon, Ash takes Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Charizard and Pidgeot apart to a corner for a bit, asking if any of them remembers anything about this place. None of them does, with Charizard noticing he recalls having some bruises he didn't know how he got, and Pidgeot recalling that there was a point she recalls having "stopped existing", giving everyone more bad vibes about the place. Pikachu then states that, if the place is alive and tries to devour them, they'll have to kill it and escape, and everyone agrees to it.

The second person who arrives to the island is Corey, who quickly engages in some friendly conversation with Ash. Corey mentions he's been hearing about many top rookies like Ash and hopes to have the chance to battle him in the Indigo League. As they continue to chat, Iris remains wary about the place, and shortly after Red and Yellow arrive themselves, having braved the storm with the help of Red's Lapras and Yellow's Bloodliner powers. Like Ash and his friends, they both get creepy vibes from the woman who guides them. As soon as they arrive to the main room, he and Ash spot and acknowledge each other with a nod. Ash finds it weird that Red uses the Pokémon transfer system as he recalled Red used to keep his sealed Pokéballs on him before, while Misty comments that Red seems to be acting nicer than she expected considering their last encounter, though she wonders how he could take Yellow through that storm. Ash then approaches to talk to him, having quite a few things to say. As Red continues to bring back his Pokémon from Seven Island, the two begin exchanging some of their experiences since their last meeting. As the trainers talk to each other, Ash's Pikachu focuses his attention on Red's Clefairy, who seems intent on going after Fraxure while his back is turned. After he dodges a few of the Pokémon scattered around to go after him and stop his attempt, much to his surprise Clefairy doesn't attack Fraxure; he had just come to apologize for his previous behavior, leaving them wonder what could have happened for him to change.

On the upper level of his lair, Mewtwo keeps an eye on the storm he's created, and everything that happens within her, how many trainers try (and fail) to push through it to get to New Island, albeit nobody with fatal consequences. He still awaits for those strong enough to brave the storm, or smart enough to bypass it, like Ash and his friends did, but he finds himself torn when the means used to arrive aren't Pokémon based, as he feels when a new group arrives in a submarine, having chosen to go under the storm. At first he considers tossing the vessel away with his powers, until he realizes that two of the occupants have gotten invitations, so they are not unwelcome, and he lets them in.

The group in the submarine is formed by Casey Snagem, Gary Oak, and Alexander Silph, the latter of which is the submarine's owner. As the woman comes to greet them, Casey asks if this is not some sort of cult island, with Gary remarking that it looks more like a mad scientist island and the woman might be some kind of robot. One thing is for certain: they know they're walking right into a trap. Gary feels creeped out by the woman's behavior, unable to read it. Right after them, Fergus arrives, riding his Gyarados to push through the storm, and Gary wonders how he managed to tame it, not having the same success with his own female Gyarados, which Fergus explains he did by training his from a Magikarp, as it's much easier than catching a Gyarados after it's already evolved, though it's not impossible. The chat makes Gary feel less inadequate, knowing that he's not the only one with those issues. The four of them quickly join the others, and Red quickly recognizes Gary among them, while Yellow notices that Ash doesn't seem happy to see Alexander Silph. Anabel explains to them how they battled each other and Ash felt upset when he learned Alexander was holding back just to test him, which Yellow notices is a lot like Red acted to him before. Red smiles, drawing a parallel between that and his own encounter with Rosso back at Six Island, though he's snapped out of his thoughts by a scream from Misty, who is scared of Silph's Golisopod.

Misty for her part notices that the room seems slightly less creepy with more people joining them, though she has the strange feeling that it seems to grow larger the more people arrive. She feels ashamed for overreacting to Golisopod before, while also somewhat understanding why some people are scared of Pokémon like Tentacool and Tentacruel, which she likes. Her Gyarados suddenly engages in a glaring contest with Red's and Gary's respective Gyarados as they try to intimidate the others, until Fergus shows up and brings in his own Gyarados, roaring at them to get them to back off. Misty and Fergus strike some small chat with each other, both complementing the other's Gyarados. Fergus then asks if she's the younger sister of the former Cerulean Gym leaders, which Misty confirms much to her chagrin. Fergus explains that he saw her battles in the Battle Dome and Fuchsia City and was impressed by her skills, wondering how her older sisters became gym leaders when they had someone like her. Misty explains that her parents didn't allow it, but now they're gone, she plans to eventually restore the Cerulean City Gym to its former glory. Fergus then mentions that he's been interesting in applying to do the same should he fail to win a League in a few years. Misty seems to take it as a challenge and replies she won't give up the gym so easily, and Fergus brings up that the Whirl Cup, an important tournament for Water-type specialists, is coming up soon. He hopes they could meet there and face each other, and whoever wins among them becomes the new Cerulean Gym leader. Misty accepts the challenge, and promises she'll be there.

Elsewhere, Casey Snagem takes notice of how Gary seems put off by the presence of Ash and Red, but comfortable enough to talk to Ash, noticing that his previous losses, coupled with his latest training has more or less knocked off his ego a peg or two. His Clefairy, on the other hand, has taken notice of the physical resemblance between Ash and Red, but they're cut off as more guests continue to arrive to the island.

Outside, Neesha surfs across the waves on her Dewgong, while Paul does the same on his own Gyarados nearby. She and Dewgong pierce through a particularly big wave using Waterfall, but as they make it through they notice that Paul doesn't seem anywhere to be seen. Shortly after however, she spots him being held by a Fearow, having chosen to switch mounts mid-travel. The two of them then head for New Island and arrive together. Once she gets a clear view of him, she recognizes him from the Fuchsia Tag Tournament. They're both greeted by Mewtwo's thrall, who says that her master has deemed that "all those who are worthy of him" have arrived, and beckons them to follow her. Neesha wonders what she could have meant by that, but Paul doesn't care, so they walk upstairs to join up with the others.

As soon as Paul arrives, Ash notices how Raichu tries to hide behind him, but Paul doesn't even notice her. As Paul releases his Pokémon as requested, Ash also notices how Alexander Silph watches them in a rather obvious manner, feeling tempted to tell him to knock it off. Ash however is interested in seeing Paul owning a Seviper, of all things. He gazes at a whirling staircase going up that nobody had felt like going up, also partly due to bad feelings of what could be up there, and then Anabel approaches him, asking him if she's felt something changing in the air. He confirms it, noticing how Iris and Casey Snagem seem to have sensed it too as they keep staring at the staircases. The thrall announces that they're all about to meet her master. Everyone becomes tense as Mewtwo in person finally descends from the staircases, revealing himself to them. Ash's Pokédex is unable to identify him, but Ash does recognize him as the same Mewtwo from Mount Quena in the old timeline, as the hostess announces him as both the greatest Pokémon Master and the most powerful Pokémon in the world. Corey feels outraged at the claim and voices it out loud, causing Mewtwo to trap him with his psychic powers to shut him up. Mewtwo declares that he the most powerful Pokémon, who has mastered his own powers, and thus he can call himself the strongest Pokémon Master in the world. Immediately Paul, Fergus and Red order Torterra, Gyarados and Pikachu respectively to blast Mewtwo with their attacks, but Mewtwo uses his powers to stop them, much to their shock. Corey's Gengar tries to sneak up on him from behind, prompting Mewtwo to deflect the attacks towards other nearby Pokémon. When Yellow's Ratty tries to attack him, he's briefly caught off guard by his unusual speed, and inquires to Yellow how it became so powerful. Yellow replies that it's because she and Ratty couldn't let him hurt anyone, especially her brother Red. Not being the answer he expected, Mewtwo demands that they tell him what he wants to know, where Ratty's power came from. Red steps up to defend Yellow and backs her claims, saying that Pokémon and people can achieve many things together to grow stronger, even pointing out to the mind-controlled woman as proof of him needing her. Mewtwo counters that, while she was helpful to his plans, she wasn't essential, and continues to demand for answers. Casey Snagem adds they're giving him the answers, but he's refusing to listen because they're not giving him the answer he wants to hear. Mewtwo then admits he was briefly distracted by Ratty's strength, before adding that he seeks to prove his superiority and that of his clones while also entertaining the possibility of taking over the world. Casey Snagem mockingly points out that those goals aren't exactly very original, while also giving him credit for being the first Pokémon who thinks about it, adding that he's faced several villains with similar goals during his lifetime, before challenging him with his Chesnaught. The two activate their Bond Phenomenon transformation, much to the surprise of everyone present. While Casey admits he probably can't beat Mewtwo, he still wants to prove his point that Pokémon and humans are stronger together, which he does by having Chesnaught hit him from behind with a thrown Spiky Shield. Mewtwo commends it, but also takes notice that it has the glaring weakness of making Casey feel the damage sustained by Chesnaught. Mewtwo fires a Hyper Beam, prompting Ash to grab Yellow and roll out of the way. Chesnaught gets in between to protect his trainer while supported by the other Pokémon belonging to Casey, but the Hyper Beam still sends them flying. Mewtwo then decides to prove they're powerless to stop him by summoning his first clone Pokémon, of a Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise, and challenges those who have the same Pokémon to see if one of them can best them. Corey, being the only one with a Venusaur steps up to the challenge. The Blastoise belonging to Misty, Gary and Neesha seem to reach an agreement and the latter steps up. Red, for his part, decides that Ash would be the better to challenge Mewtwo's Charizard, and defers to him. Ash accepts it, knowing that this time he won't have any reasons to hold back on using his Bloodliner powers.

While Ash's Chansey along with a Blissey belonging to Alexander Silph and Neesha's Miltank take care of healing the injured Chesnaught and Casey Snagem, Corey, Neesha and Ash step up to the battlefield to begin the fight against Mewtwo's clones. Corey and his Venusaur, Bruteroot, go first against Venusaurtwo, both of them powering up with Growth and Swords Dance respectively. Bruteroot fires a Sludge Bomb, which Venusaurtwo blocks with Protect. Corey then orders an Energy Ball, which barely seems to scratch Venusaurtwo. Before they can use Growth to power up again, Mewtwo orders Venusaurtwo to use a Petal Blizzard, which sends Bruteroot flying and also hurting Corey in the process, albeit not gravely, before tossing Bruteroot into Corey using Vine Whip. Neesha and Shellshocker, her Blastoise, then take their turn, the former beginning with an Icy Wind. Blastoisetwo replies using Mist to hide himself, leaving them unable to see anything. Shellshocker tries an Earthquake, two times in a row, only to get hit by a Dark Pulse from Blastoisetwo, much to everyone's shock. Mewtwo then replies that he made his clones with everything perfect, power, aim and vision, before Blastoisetwo finishes Shellshocker with a Hydro Pump.

Ash and Charizard then step up to take their turn. Charizard tells Ash to start with the Z-Move, as they need to pull the stops from the beginning or they will lose. Ash accepts it, and has Charizard use Breakneck Blitz from the beginning, while Charizardtwo counters with Flare Blitz. The two attacks collide against one another, but Charizard wins the power struggle. The two engage in a claw duel with Charizard using Metal Claw and Slash and Charizardtwo using Dragon Claw, until Charizardtwo uses another attack that Ash didn't quite manage to identify, but Charizard dodges anyway before shooting a Flamethrower. Charizardtwo slashes it apart before attempting a Thunder Punch, while Charizard dodges it flying up and continuing to shoot his Flamethrower. Charizardtwo continues to fly through it before punching Charizard in the gut, sending him into a free fall, but he quickly recovers and speeds away using Flame Charge before Charizardtwo grabs him, dodging the subsequent Air Slashes. Charizard counters another Thunder Punch using Dragon Tail, before Charizardtwo attempts another Dragon Claw. The battle has clearly come to endurance, and both Ash and Charizard know that they're going to lose in the long run, so at Charizard's prompting, Ash activates his Dominion Bloodline. The power boost fuels Charizard's Flamethrower enough to defeat Charizardtwo instantly.

After Charizard lands, everyone is surprise at just what happened. Ash then tries to tell Mewtwo that their power comes from their friendship and trust between one another, and that's why Charizartwo lost despite being much stronger than Charizard. Ash states that he doesn't know what happened to him or what kind of life he's had, but he's willing to show him that power isn't everything, and won't even try to capture him. Mewtwo is left in thought, and for a moment it seems he's accepted Ash's words, until he reveals that he plans to use him to revive his deceased friend Amber, and then summons a large swarm of Poké Balls, one of which hits him and sucks him inside. As everyone is left in shock, Mewtwo's dark Poké Balls fly all over the place, capturing both Pokémon as well as Bloodliners, leaving them unable to escape.

## Continuity

* The Mewtwo arc begins.
* First mention of the Whirl Cup.