Chapter 249: Mew vs. Dark Mewtwo! Ash Returns!
Mew's brain short-circuited again.
It genuinely had not seen that coming — that Dark Mewtwo would pull the exact same line twice.
"You— you— you—!!"
Finally snapping back to itself, Mew's face flushed red with anger.
"You are seriously so rude, myaa!"
Mew had made up its mind: no matter what, this dark, hulking creature was getting a proper lesson today. Sure, it usually had a good temper — but it could get mad too, damn it!
Dark Mewtwo's expression stayed cool and detached, as if it hadn't just said anything at all.
"Little one, aren't you curious about my origins?"
"?" Mew tilted its head. It genuinely was a bit curious, honestly — it really had caught its own scent on this thing, and that was deeply strange.
"Mewtwo is an entirely new life form, born from genetic engineering research — and part of that genetic material is yours. In fact, it forms the most fundamental, foundational base of the whole genome," Mammon said, smiling as he laid out the truth. No point hiding it — Dark Mewtwo had long since made peace with its own origins.
"Eh?" Mew's eyes went wide instantly. A Pokémon engineered from its own genetic material — that meant...
"Then clearly I'm your mother, myaa! You jerk, that's really rude of you!"
Mew's mental wiring was evidently a bit unconventional — it didn't seem remotely bothered that its own genes had been used to create an entirely new Pokémon. Instead, it was fixated on what Dark Mewtwo had just said. And genetically speaking, wasn't Dark Mewtwo the child here, since it had been born from Mew's own genetic material?
"I have no parents," Dark Mewtwo said, voice low and flat.
"How can you say that, myaa!" Mew looked thoroughly wronged.
"Mew, aren't you angry?" Mammon asked, quite curious about its reaction.
"Why would I be angry, myaa?" Mew tilted its head, not understanding the question — was it about the human using its genetic material without permission to create Mewtwo?
"This world is a wondrous place, myaa. It's vast, and I've seen all sorts of Pokémon come into being," Mew's clear, childlike telepathy rang out, innocent and pure as a young girl's voice. "But nothing in this world is purely accidental. So-called life — if it can truly come into being and possess a will and mind of its own, then it's alive. It's been recognized by the world itself, myaa."
Mew's words left Rika and Caitlin momentarily stunned.
"I really am surprised that this dark, hulking thing was born from my own genes — but the fact that it exists at all means it was always meant to happen, myaa. Even if it hadn't shown up today, someday, in some form, it definitely would have been born eventually, myaa."
Mew gnawed its claw, studying Dark Mewtwo carefully. Its words struck something deep in Dark Mewtwo — it had long since made its peace with how it came to exist, but hearing Mew so readily affirm that existence still stirred something within it. The look in Dark Mewtwo's eyes as it watched Mew couldn't help but soften.
But then, the very next moment —
"But still, you really are ugly, myaa. Why are you black? And you're so huge — you didn't inherit anything from me at all, myaa, even though you had such a cute 'mom' to work with."
Mew, with the thoughtless honesty of a child, hadn't really registered — until Mammon said it outright — that this dark creature had actually come from its own genetic material. It looked nothing like Mew at all!
Dark Mewtwo's fists clenched, its cold gaze fixed on Mew.
"You are NOT my mother!!"
"Eh? I clearly am, though — you've got my genes and everything, myaa." Mew was thoroughly unconvinced.
"That's because I'm your father," Dark Mewtwo said flatly.
Third time. That was the third time.
Mew snapped instantly, absolutely done with this creature's rudeness.
"You jerk! I am going to teach you a real lesson, myaa! You are not a cute child at all!"
"Hmph. Then let me see what you've got."
Dark Mewtwo let out a cold snort, battle-intent kindling in its eyes. Its name was Mewtwo — meaning, quite literally, "beyond Mew." Dark Mewtwo didn't harbor any deep obsession over Mew specifically, but it felt there was real value in settling, once and for all, which of them was actually stronger.
"If you're going to fight, take it up in the sky — not down here," Mammon reminded them, sensibly.
Neither Mew nor Dark Mewtwo objected. Both shot skyward at once, vanishing beyond the clouds.
"Mammon, you're not stopping them?" Rika blinked, surprised — she'd assumed Mammon would break this up the same way he had the first two times.
"No need. Mewtwo and Mew go back a long way — it'll do them some good to actually fight it out once," Mammon said, shaking his head.
"Oh, I see." Rika nodded thoughtfully, then grew curious. "So who do you think'll win?"
"That's..." Mammon raised an eyebrow. Who would win, Mew or Dark Mewtwo? Honestly, if this were a normal Mewtwo, Mammon would put Mew's odds at a solid ninety percent. Mew's true strength had always been something of a mystery, but going by the Mewtwo Returns movie, that era's Mewtwo had clearly come up short against Mew — Mewtwo had been fighting at full power throughout, while Mew had mostly been treating it as playful fun, only getting a bit more serious toward the end. Though honestly, that wasn't a fully fair comparison either — in that movie, Mewtwo had only just been born, and even having awakened, it made sense that its power hadn't yet caught up to Mew's. Not to mention Mew could transform — in the Aura Guardian movie, it had even taken the form of Ho-Oh at one point.
"Who knows," Mammon said, not answering directly — he genuinely had no read on Mew's real strength. Dark Mewtwo, meanwhile, had the Dark typing working in its favor. Not that the outcome mattered much either way — the main point was letting it get this fight with Mew out of its system, for its own peace of mind.
"Apollo," Mammon said, not wasting the downtime, placing a call.
"Boss, what can I do for you?"
"Found a plot of land I like. Get someone to buy it up, then start relocating the organization's farm operation over here. I'm sending you the location — come take a look yourself, and post trustworthy people to watch the surrounding area," Mammon instructed. He took this ranch seriously — it was going to be the future breeding grounds for the organization's Pokémon.
"Understood, sir," Apollo answered solemnly.
"The Tree of Beginning plus the Aether Paradise — that should cover things for now, two Pokémon farms," Mammon said, hanging up, gazing at the sky-blotting canopy of the Tree of Beginning stretched out before him. Right now, the only real quality ranch Team Rocket had under its control was Aether Paradise in Alola, and one site clearly wasn't enough. The Tree of Beginning suited the purpose well, though it wasn't perfect — there was no environment suited to Ice-types here, for instance, while Aether Paradise could artificially generate a snow-and-ice biome.
About an hour passed before deep violet and pink light descended from the sky.
"Heheh~ told you so — you're my child, how could you possibly beat me, myaa?"
Mew grinned, hugging its own tail, still riding high on adrenaline. Clearly, it had won the fight.
"..." Dark Mewtwo stared at the pink cat, brow furrowed tight, but didn't argue the point. It had engaged Mew in the purest form of a psychic-type showdown — raw psychic barriers slammed against each other, over and over, no tricks, no strategy, just brute force against brute force. And the result spoke for itself.
Dark Mewtwo genuinely hadn't expected that small body to be hiding such a terrifyingly vast reserve of psychic power. But there was no denying it — it had lost. After an hour of continuous clashing, it could clearly feel its own psychic reserves — normally as boundless as an ocean — running dry. And what really threw Dark Mewtwo was that Mew hadn't looked strained in the slightest the whole time, still wearing that same easy, smiling expression throughout.
"Mewtwo?" Mammon looked over at it.
"Yes. I lost," Dark Mewtwo said flatly. The result didn't sit entirely comfortably, but it could take a loss.
"Heheh~ say 'mom' for me, myaa." Mew immediately floated right up into Dark Mewtwo's face, practically nose to nose.
Dark Mewtwo's expression darkened — not that it made much visual difference, being already black.
"Losing this once doesn't mean you get to push your luck. We never agreed to any terms beforehand." It swept an arm out, dark energy pushing Mew back, voice cool and dismissive.
"Eh? You're being a sore loser, myaa!"
"I'm not. I won't lose to you again next time."
Dark Mewtwo gave Mew one last long look, then dissolved into light and returned to its Poké Ball. The pure psychic clash had drained it heavily — it needed proper rest.
"It ran away! So annoying, myaa!" Mew fumed. It had clearly won, and Dark Mewtwo still wouldn't call it "mom" — was that fair?
Mammon couldn't help but laugh at the sight — Mew really was adorable, innocent as a child through and through. He pulled out more snacks, and Mew immediately forgot all about Dark Mewtwo entirely.
Worth noting, by the end: Mew, it turned out, actually preferred alcohol to juice. After downing two bottles of hard liquor in quick succession, the pink cat clutched the empty bottles, thumping its own chest and swearing up and down to Mammon that it would absolutely, definitely watch over all those Pokémon — not a single one would go missing!
This left Mammon a little concerned, admittedly. But he figured — even drunk, surely Mew wouldn't lose all its faculties entirely? He decided to trust it. Overall, he was very satisfied with the day's haul. Once Apollo scouted the site and finalized the purchase, they could start moving Team Rocket's Pokémon over.
Bidding farewell to the thoroughly adorable Mew, the three of them headed back to Celadon City.
And then—
"Mammon?!"
A boy from Pallet Town, a yellow rodent perched on his shoulder, stared at Mammon in absolute shock. Misty and Brock looked equally stunned beside him.
And then, almost instantly, that shock curdled into fear — Mammon was Team Rocket's Boss, after all.
(End of Chapter)
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