Chapter 74
Then let's go together, but I think it's better to wait and see how things develop up there," Xia Mu added.
Mew agreed with him.
...
Time passed slowly, second by second.
Although invisible to the naked eye, Xia Mu and Lucario, possessing the power of Aura, could roughly discern the situation above.
Mew could also sense it through its psychic abilities.
During this time, Sonia and the Team Rocket trio remained undisturbed.
Sonia stayed by Xia Mu's side, doing nothing, while the Team Rocket trio secretly engaged in considerable communication.
In terms of cunning, no one in the original anime storyline surpassed them; it's just that some of their actions and thoughts were rather naive.
Just then, a commotion arose, and the rows of Clone Balls were enveloped in a white light and vanished.
This startled Xia Mu, who immediately checked his storage space for Clone Balls, which hadn't disappeared.
Sonia's two Clone Balls were still there, likely locked onto those rows of shelves, preventing them from being taken beyond that range.
Shortly after, the previously static cloning machine began to operate automatically.
Everyone's attention turned to it.
"What's going on? Have we been discovered?" James couldn't help but exclaim in surprise.
This was no good sign. Jessie and Meowth were clearly terrified, trembling as the three huddled together.
"Everything here is controlled by Mewtwo.
I used my Aura Sense to see Mewtwo up there using those special Poké Balls to steal other people's Pokémon." Xia Mu's expression was cold, revealing nothing of his true feelings.
"Stealing Pokémon?!" Sonia exclaimed in shock.
The Team Rocket trio exchanged glances: "Can you capture other people's Pokémon with Poké Balls?"
"Perhaps that's what makes these Poké Balls special," Xia Mu casually remarked, then looked at the transport tunnel connecting to the space above.
One Clone Ball after another fell from above, then were continuously fed into the cloning machine via the transport belt.
Cloning in progress!
This scene shocked everyone once again, even Xia Mu, who already knew the plot, couldn't help but be taken aback.
A short while later, another violent scream rang out.
Under everyone's gaze, a person emerged from the tunnel entrance.
It was Ash.
He was still struggling, clutching a Clone Ball and desperately trying to break free.
Xia Mu knew that Pikachu was inside.
However, these mechanical arms were difficult even for adults to withstand, let alone a ten-year-old child.
He truly lived up to his reputation as a super rookie; when he went berserk, even legendary Pokémon would tremble.
"It's that brat!" Team Rocket exclaimed, their minds momentarily blank.
Ash saw them, and although surprised, he didn't want to pay them any attention: "I don't have time to talk to you now, damn it, let go of my Pikachu!!"
This frantic behavior triggered the cloning machine's self-protection mechanism.
"Lucario, give him a hand," Xia Mu commanded Lucario beside him.
'Lucario~~!' With Lucario's intervention, the mechanical arms were severed, and Ash was freed.
Was that the end of it?
No!
As the core of the cloning machine flashed with electricity, Xia Mu suddenly had a bad feeling.
Recalling the scene from the original story, he immediately shouted, "Oh no! The machine is overloaded and about to explode! Everyone, find somewhere to hide!"
Almost the next second, a deafening 'BOOM!!!' resounded.
The cloning machine was destroyed, and the explosion also destroyed most of the laboratory's functions.
However, all the necessary genes had been collected, and Pikachu, just like in the original story, couldn't escape the blast.
Long after the explosion, the smoke gradually dissipated.
Everyone finally came to their senses.
Xia Mu held Sonia, shielding her from all the damage at the last moment.
It was thanks to Mew that everyone was safe; it used its psychic powers to block the shockwave, preventing serious injuries to everyone.
Ash was only concerned with his Pokémon, and only after confirming that all his Pokémon were unharmed did he breathe a sigh of relief.
Then, he had the mind to consider where he was and what had happened.
Team Rocket was there, as were Xia Mu and Sonia.
There was another Pokémon he didn't recognize, and whose Pokédex entry wasn't there either, just like the Mewtwo above.
"Brother Xia Mu, Sister Sonia, what's going on? Where is this place? What are all these things…"
Seeing the data of various Pokémon appearing on the screen, and then seeing these Pokémon being cloned one by one, he was dumbfounded.
"It's great to see you're safe and sound. I roughly understand the situation upstairs, but the situation here is a bit complicated.
Let me explain it to you simply…" Under Xia Mu's explanation, Ash finally understood what was happening.
Especially seeing that even his Pikachu, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur had been cloned, a surge of anger burned within him.
Stealing other people's Pokémon and then copying them!
Watching the cloned Pokémon emerge from the culture dishes and enter the elevator to the ground, Xia Mu intervened to stop Ash from going berserk.
There was no need to stop him, because doing so here would only worsen the situation.
It would be better to let them go up, following the original storyline.
Besides, they had important things to do: rescue the Pokémon inside the Clone Ball and destroy the place to prevent it from being used again.
Under Xia Mu's command, not only Ash but also the Team Rocket trio joined in to help.
When all the Pokémon were released, their emotions were clearly terrible, on the verge of going berserk.
The upcoming battle between the original and its clones in the original story was influenced by this negative emotion.
It felt like being forcibly captured and replaced—no one could accept that.
Xia Mu used his Aura to communicate with the Pokémon, and with the help of Sonia's Pokémon, he brought the situation under control.
After all, Sonia's Pokémon were quite familiar with him; Xia Mu had even bought them some Energy Cubes.
With no Pokémon causing trouble, Xia Mu's next step was to have Lucario destroy the place.
Ash was dumbfounded. After all, he was still a novice, and although he had done a good job in the original story, he still acted with a childlike innocence.
"Brother Xia Mu, what kind of Pokémon is this Lucario? It's not even listed in the Pokédex. Is it a legendary Pokémon like Mew?" Ash asked.
Xia Mu smiled and replied, "Although Lucario is indeed rare, it's not a legendary Pokémon.
Your Pokédex is only the Kanto region version. When you travel to other regions and upgrade your Pokédex, you'll see many more Pokémon you haven't seen before.
Lucario don't have wild footprints in some regions. The region with the most is probably Sinnoh."
"Sinnoh? There are many Pokémon I haven't seen before?" Ash's eyes lit up, forgetting the current situation.
Seeing this, Xia Mu couldn't help but think of a certain possibility and exclaimed, "Holy crap!"
Speaking of which, in the original story, Ash went to the Orange Islands first, then the Johto region, the Hoenn region… because of this one sentence, Ash skipped all those regions and went straight to the Sinnoh region. I can't even imagine it!
However, if that were the case, it would be quite interesting.
After his change, Ash's fate has begun to change.
…
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(End of Chapter)