The Power of Emerald

The morning after XD-385 nearly killed Mewtwo, May walked into the room where Mewtwo was supposed to be in the Pokemon Center. What she saw made her giggle. Ash was sleeping in the same bed as Mewtwo, while Mewtwo had him in a loving embrace. He also had a gentle grin on his face, probably the first one he ever had.

As May approached them, Mewtwo awoke to the feeling of someone he did not know. “Stop. Do not come any closer. Who are you?” May did as he said and answered, “I’m May. I’m a friend of Ash.” Mewtwo sighed, “Sorry. I do not trust humans that I don’t know. However, since you’re a friend of his, I can trust you.” May walked over to him and said, “That’s OK. By the way, you two seem to make a cute couple.” Mewtwo blushed at the position he was in, “We are not a couple! I just love him very much. But not in the way you are thinking of!” May’s laughter woke Ash up. “Morning, Mewtwo.” He then gave him a gentle hug, being careful not to harm him since his wounds had not completely healed yet. May grinned, “Are you sure you’re not a couple?” Ash and Mewtwo yelled at her to leave.

A few minutes later, Ash met his companions in the lobby. Latias greeted him with a kiss, as did Bayleef. Brock asked, “How’s Mewtwo?” Ash answered, “The nurse says he won’t be able to walk for a week at least. But I’m not leaving without him. I hope you guys understand that.” Neo walked past him saying, “I’ll fix that.” After he went through the door, Latias asked, “Do you think he’s going to try to kill him again?” Ash shook his head, “Nah. He wouldn’t hurt him unless I said he could.”

When Neo entered the room where Mewtwo was, Mewtwo became frozen with fear all over again. He was in no shape to defend himself. “Chill, bro. I didn’t come here to hurt you. I came here to heal you. Big difference.” Mewtwo calmed down only slightly, but became frightened when his brother grabbed his arm. “Do not move.” A gentle glow engulfed them both. Mewtwo could feel his bones heal and rejoin. His bruises disappeared. He also didn’t feel sore anymore. “That was Recover. Now come. Ash is waiting for you.”

Ash was surprised to see his two friends walk out through the door to the recovery room side by side. “Hey, Mewtwo! So you’re not scared of Neo anymore?” Mewtwo rolled his eyes, “Well, maybe just a little.” Everyone laughed. Max checked the PokeNav. "It looks like our next stop is Lilycove City. There’s also a Contest Hall, May!” May shrieked, “YES! My next contest! Let’s go! C’mon!” Before they knew it, everyone was running to keep up and not slip on the wet streets of Drizzle City. Once they were a mile away, the weather cleared up. Mewtwo stayed close to Ash. Just being near him made him feel happy, an emotion he was not familiar with.

“Jessie, how long do we have to wait like this? My legs are tired and this heavy energy container on my back isn’t helping!” Jessie replied, “Well, I don’t like it much either, but whatever the Boss says goes. Now deal with it.” Meowth added, “Easy for you to say! You really think I can move with this on me!?” Jessie shouted, “I know that it’s heavy, but it is still just a prototype. The final product should be a lot lighter and smaller! Hmmm?” Jessie’s radar was picking up a group of creatures approaching. “Looks like our target has just walked into our trap! Ready, boys?” James groaned, “Let’s just get this over with before my back is thrown out!”

As they walked down the path to Lilycove City, Neo stopped everyone. “I can sense them. Looks like we are really popular with those three. And it looks like they’ve brought some friends.” Team Rocket had no hope of moving quickly with the heavy packs, so they made a sneak attack. Out of the ground ahead of the group, a beam of strange energy was fired at the gang! Neo took the shot head on, but collapsed in extreme pain! “GRRRRRAAAAAHHHHHH!!!!! It’s….. Shadow energy!!!!” Team Rocket climbed out of their hiding place, giving their signature group laugh. “Hah, it looks like we actually won this time, Jessie!” Neo climbed to his feet while clutching his chest, “You have guts showing up now. But you still can’t win like this!” Jessie laughed, “I know. That’s why we brought some backup! Come on out, boys!” 100 Rocket members rose out of the ground with camouflage covers on their backs! “You can’t survive against all of us. Your only smart choice would to surrender and come with us. What is your decision?” Neo smirked, “How about, None of the Above! I have a little trick that I’ve wanted to try for awhile now. It’s called, “Divide and Conquer!”

Suddenly, copies of Neo began to appear out of thin air and surrounded the group of Rockets! Max yelled, “Whoa! Is that Substitute?! How did he create so many?! I thought there can only be one at a time!” Mewtwo answered, “It must be because of the 385 species of Pokemon within him. He can create one Substitute for each specie.” The Rockets were terrified of this sheer opposition. All the Substitutes spoke at once, “Have a nice flight!” They then created a massive Whirlwind that blew all of the Rockets away! Once they were out of sight, all of the Substitutes vanished in puffs of smoke, leaving Neo. To his surprise, all his companions applauded his performance, causing him to blush slightly. Without further incident, they moved on to Lilycove City.

Meanwhile, Team Magma leader Maxie had called for an emergency meeting with Team Aqua leader Archie. Archie spoke first, “You better have a good reason for calling me since we are on opposing sides.” Maxie answered, “Indeed I do. It involves XD-385.” Archie’s face went pale, “Don’t tell me he’s back on Earth?!” Maxie nodded grimly. “We have discovered the wreckage of his containment pod outside Forttree City. It is believed to have crashed there about 2-3 weeks ago. Also, we have received disturbing reports that a criminal organization based in the Kanto region has made more than one attempt to capture XD-385.” Archie yelled, “He’s been on the loose for that long?! We have to take desperate measures! We can not allow his powers to fall into the hands of evildoers!” Maxie nodded, “I know. I also believe that the only ones who can stop him are the two Pokemon that we have been searching for. Kyogre and Groundon are the only ones that can destroy him. I have also received reports on a surefire way to awaked them. Apparently, they are sleeping below the ocean just outside Lilycove City. The moment they sense XD-385, they will focus all their strength on him.” Archie replied, “What makes you so sure he will find them?” Maxie grinned, “We have reports that a teenage boy with Ruby red hair and Sapphire blue eyes and wearing green clothes is approaching Lilycove City. I’m certain that it’s XD-385.” Archie ended the meeting with a handshake, “I see. Let us join hands once more to destroy this threat to the world.”

The next day, Ash and the gang arrived in Lilycove City. It was late, so they checked into a hotel. The next morning, May barely succeeded in wining her next contest ribbon against a trainer who used a Bellossom, giving Beautifly a major type advantage. It was still a close fight. Ash and Latias just spent their time with each other since Lilycove City was a favorite vacation spot for loving couples. They truly qualified as one. Mewtwo stayed with them to try to not stand out very much. Neo and Latios kept an eye on them to keep them safe.

“Archie, are you in position?” “Yes, but what about XD-385?” Maxie replied, “He’s near the shoreline. It’s the least populated area right now.” “Good. Then let’s begin.” A moment later, two bright beams of light rose up from the ocean outside of Lilycove City! Ash noticed and asked Neo, “Was that you?!” Neo answered, “No! Those are not mine, even though they are the same color as my hair and eyes!” Just then, the water began to ripple heavily. After a moment, the two super ancient Pokemon, Kyogre and Groundon, rose out of the sea with a mighty roar from both of them! Neo couldn’t believe it. Team Aqua and Team Magma had awakened these two extremely dangerous Pokemon to destroy him! “Master! Get away from here! I have to stop them!” The two Pokemon sensed his massive energy and shifted their gaze from each other to him.

Neo’s hair turned blue again and he flew at his brothers. Groundon made the first move and tried to slash him with his massive claws! His large size made him a little slow though, so Neo had no trouble evading it. However, Kyogre landed a potent Sheer Cold attack on him! The intense drop in temperature would have rendered any other Pokemon unconscious, but Neo changed his Ability at the last second to Sturdy, causing the deadly ice blast to become useless. Neo then started to attack Kyogre with nothing but brute force in an attempt to knock him out. However, Groudon fired a Solarbeam at point blank into Neo from behind! He wasn’t hurt that much, but was knocked back into the sandy beach. Just as he was getting up, a massive hole opened in the stormy sky!

“He’s here, Rayquaza! Maybe he can calm them down!” As the mighty Sky Pokemon flew down to the Pokemon of the land and sea, he sensed the dangerous power within Neo. Rather than calm the two enraged Pokemon, Rayquaza ordered them to attack Neo all at once! “Well, THAT was wishful thinking!” By this time, all of his friends, as well as a large number of inhabitants of Lilycove City, had gathered on the cliff side and beach to watch this battle of the Superpowers. To Neo’s horror, the three Pokemon began charging different types of energy in their mouths while in a triangle formation! Groundon was gathering heat energy, Kyogre cold energy, and Rayquaza lightning energy. Neo new this was more than a simple Tri Attack. The elements of Fire, Ice, and Lightning, when combined together in high enough concentrations, could be unleashed in a single blast known only in legend as the Big Bang Attack! Knowing that the blast would wipe out the city, Neo flew in front of a rocky area in the bay and began to charge up energy in both hands for a Hyper Beam attack. (This is it. If I can’t stop this attack, it might be the last thing I ever do!)

Back on the cliff side, Mewtwo had set up a powerful barrier to defend his companions from any shrapnel. The energy coming from Neo was great, but the combined energy coming from the three super ancient Pokemon was enormous! Even if Neo entered that extremely psychotic form that he used against Mewtwo, he still wouldn’t survive this attack if he took it head on!

The moment came. The three super ancient Pokemon gathered enough energy of the three elements to use the dreaded Big Bang Attack. Neo had also gathered as much energy as he could for his Hyper Beam attack. All at once, the four combatants fired! The Big Bang Attack was a rainbow of blue, yellow, and red. Neo’s Hyper Beam was its typical orange color. When the two blasts collided, the shockwave was immense! It toppled street signs and other small formations. They four warriors struggled to push their opponent’s attack back at them with their own. Neo was having a hard time. He had never been up against something like this! Even though he had the strength and potential of all three of his super ancient siblings, it made little difference now. Ash, Mewtwo, Latias, Latios, Bayleef, Pikachu, May, Max, and Brock looked on in horror as Neo struggled to push the massive blast away from him. Just when things looked like a stalemate, the three Pokemon unleashed even more power into the already deadly Big Bang Attack! Neo’s Hyper Beam was being overwhelmed by this apocalyptic attack! Bit by bit, his Hyper Beam got shorter and shorter as the Big Bang Attack got closer and closer.

“I….. CAN’T……. STOP IT!!!!!!!!!” Neo let out a scream of sheer horror as the Big Bang Attack engulfed his Hyper Beam and then his body! The blast plowed into him, then into the rocks that jutted out of the sea behind him! The resulting explosion created hurricane winds that buffeted the people of Lilycove City! It only lasted a moment, but when the flash of light from the explosion receded, Ash felt a terrible sense of loss as he gazed at what was left after the blast. The rocks were gone and a large crater was being filled with sea water. There was no sign of Neo at all. Ash felt awful, but Latias, Latios, and Mewtwo felt even worse. They had lost one of the very few family members they had. Maxie and Archie breathed a huge sigh of relief. The Ultimate Bioweapon had finally been eradicated.

Ash sobbed, “I can’t believe he’s gone. He gave everything for us. Why would anyone want to kill him?!” Just then, Latios sensed something faint. Could it be? “Don’t grieve just yet. I do not believe that he is done yet.” Ash looked out to the crater and saw something rising out of it! Was it Neo?! Mewtwo yelled, “He lives! Our brother lives!”

Neo levitated over to the only stone pillar that was left standing and landed on top of it. He was a mess. Heavy burns and bruises covered his body and his uniform was in tatters. He gazed at the three Pokemon out on the ocean staring back at him. He then spoke softly, “I never wanted to go all out, but if I’m to live to defend my master, I must let go of the fear and achieve my true form!”

Everyone felt a very foreboding presence. Archie and Maxie were filled with horror over what they felt. It could only mean one thing. Neo began to search his soul for the power he needed. From the limits of Lilycove City, everyone saw a strange GREEN glow surrounding Neo’s body! Pieces of the rock pillar began to break off and float up past Neo. The sky turned black and lightning began to strike all around him. Neo tilted his head up slightly and let out a yell. A second into the yell, intense green light began shining out of his eyes, his mouth, even his entire body! Suddenly, a bright flash of Emerald green light exploded out from him, followed by an even bigger explosion! A translucent Ruby red aura came from him, followed by a Sapphire blue one, and finally, a solid glowing orb of Emerald green light expanded from Neo’s body! Then, it closed into him. When Ash could see his Guardian again, he was shocked to see that there was no blue or red on him! Instead, a fierce green aura circled his body constantly and his eyes and hair had become Emerald green! This was his true form, attained after unleashing 100% of his full potential!

Mewtwo was stunned, “What power….. I estimate that he is at least 5X stronger than he was when he fought me! I concede. He is more powerful than me.” Latias added, “I feel it too. None of us can match that.” Latios thought to himself, (So this is the power that those lunatics were going to use to control this world. It would have worked, too. No one in their right mind would want to fight against something like him!)

Not the least bit intimidated, Rayquaza, Kyogre, and Groundon began gathering power for another Big Bang Attack! This time, however, Neo just stood there. As soon as they were ready, they unleashed the unstoppable attack once again! Brock yelled, “NEO! Get out of the way! You know you can’t stop it!” Just before it struck him, Neo sent the blast straight up into the sky with an upward swing of his right arm! His friends stared in awe. Max remarked, “Oh man…… He’s in a league of his own now!”

Neo extended a Leaf Blade from each of his forearms and flew at his brothers at high speed! When he got to them, they didn’t stand a chance. With the ability to lay fifty slashes on EACH of them in one second, Neo was almost unstoppable.  Finally, after 30 painful seconds, Neo proceeded to end the battle. He flew a good mile into the sky and began to gather energy into his right hand for a Selfdestruct attack. From the ground, the sky seemed to be turning green! Rayquaza made one last-ditch effort to nail Neo while he was busy. He fired the strongest Hyper Beam he could muster straight up at the bioweapon! However, Neo had predicted this and gathered more energy that was necessary. The Selfdestruct orb was a glowing ball of energy. Five seconds before the Hyper Beam reached him, Neo threw the ball of destructive energy straight down. The orb just plowed right through the Hyper Beam like a hot knife on butter. The people at Lilycove City watched in horror and awe as an orb of green energy about thirty feet in diameter came crashing down into the three Pokemon. The resulting blast was so massive that it could have been seen from space!

Ash looked on in disbelief. Had Neo killed them? The waves triggered by the blast washed the three legends up on the beach. They were just barely clinging to life. As Neo landed on the beach, everyone except his friends, fled in terror. Neo then did something unexpected. He used Wish on his three brothers. He then used Spore on Kyogre and Groundon to make sure they wouldn’t wake up and try to kill him. He then threw them back into the ocean, so they could resume their slumber. Even though Groundon weighed over a ton, Neo had no trouble. Rayquaza woke up and saw his little brother using Recover to heal the wounds he had caused. Unlike the other two, Rayquaza was much more understanding and now knew that XD-385 was no threat to the world. After they said their goodbyes, Rayquaza flew away to keep watch for anymore signs of environmental unbalance.    

When Ash and the gang reached Neo, he had calmed down enough that his aura had disappeared. At first, everyone but Ash was too afraid to get anywhere near him. However, they soon discovered that his personality in his true form was, unlike his three other forms, very levelheaded. Ash said, “Man, Neo. That was wild! So that is your strongest form?” Neo chuckled, “Yep, and you will someday be even stronger than me. However, I think we better get going. It looks like I caused quite a ruckus in town!”

In a moment, the group was cruising out of the bay of Lilycove City and towards Mossdeep City. Neo had Transformed into a Wailord so everyone would fit. As night fell, Ash wondered when and how he would become stronger than the Ultimate Bioweapon. He fell asleep in the loving embraces of his two lovers, Latias and Bayleef, as well as his newest and most loyal friend, Mewtwo. They would be in Mossdeep City by morning.