Pokémar Episode V, A Clone's Destiny

Emergency

As soon as we're in the car and buckled up I quickly fish out the pokedex Jackson got me from my pocket and quickly sync it up to Mewtwo's pokeball. The readout quickly confirms what I already suspected, Mewtwo is dying slowly. It states that there is some form of poison in their system that needs to be removed. I inform Jackson of such. He replies by assuring me he's going as fast as legally possible.

The trip isn't that long, thankfully. In less than 20 minutes we're already in the parking lot of the pokemon center. The moment the car is in park I get out and rush towards the entrance. I don't bother waiting for Jackson. I burst through the doors and run right up to the front desk.

"We need help." I say quickly. "Dying pokemon. Catatonic, some kind of poison." I hold the ball out to the nurse who quickly takes it and sets it into a large machine in the back. The machine sends rhythmic pulses of golden light across the surface of the ball accompanied by a light musical jingle. I glance at my dex and watch as the poison alert vanishes and Mewtwo's vitals return to normal. I breathe a sigh of relief.

"Alright. That should cover it. Here you-" Just as the nurse hands the ball back over my dex yelps an alert. The poison is back. And their vitals are dropping just as quickly as before. I show her the dex and she stares at it in confusion and disbelief. "That shouldn't be possible. All toxins should've been cleared from their system." She puts the ball back in the machine and runs it again. And once more, the poison alert vanishes, only to reappear once more.

"Please tell me there's something else we can do." I ask.

"Yeah... One moment." She puts the ball in the machine once more, this time tapping at the control panel. On its screen the words "diagnosis mode" flash into being and the machine whirs to life once more. Several minutes pass as the machine presumably scans Mewtwo for whatever is causing the sickness. Eventually a diagram appears on the screen. An anatomical display of Mewtwo. The nurse reads over it, gradually growing more concerned and confused as she goes.

"I imagine you have some questions..." Jackson says. We both knew this kind of thing would happen. But considering that Mewtwo was dying we were both willing to deal with those consequences. Consequences that were now coming to bear.

"Bit of an understatement there. First off, there's no record of this species in either the regional or national databases somehow. And then there's the fact that there's no reproductive system. So either this pokemon is the only one of its kind or it has some really, really bizarre birth defect."

"We know only marginally more than you right now. Let's focus on saving them first." I say. She pauses for a moment before conceding and looking at the screen once more.

"...Here. There's a foreign object imbedded in its brainstem that's leaking a scoliopede neurotoxin into the brain. Which raises even more questions."

"What can we do about it?"

"Best I can think of is surgery. You'll need to stay out here. We'll handle this." She quickly grabs the pokeball and rushes to the back door of the room. "Audino! Get the doctor!"

"Doctor? Got it!" An Audino replies from behind the counter before they dash through a different door on the other side of the wall. With both of them gone Jackson and I sit down in the lobby.

"Neurotoxin being pumped into the brain..." Jackson muses. "I wonder if that might have something to do with their memory loss."

"I considered that. I think it may be plausible. Hopefully the surgery will shed a little more light on the subject. Any luck finding anything at Devon?"

"Not yet. Haven't gotten a good enough excuse to head to the genetics division yet. Wouldn't want to arouse suspicion."

"Fair. What exactly are you taking, anyways?"

"It's an adaptor for the tracking sensor. Connects it to a computer remotely. Only way to program it without damaging the device."

"Ah, a 'required peripheral.' Of course." I roll my eyes.

"Not my fault they decided that was the best option."

"Granted, yeah. Regardless, we still need it. Though it doesn't really matter if Mewtwo bites it."

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that."

>>>>>>>>>>

Another hour and a half passes before we see the nurse again. She approaches us with a wary look and carrying Mewtwo's pokeball.

"Are they-" I start before being swiftly interrupted.

"They're fine. But I think we deserve some explanations." She pulls out a small vial from her coat pocket. Inside is a small machine with a large, bulbous top and six needle-like protrusions. From the bottom a long, thin tube half the length of an arm is coiled at the bottom of the vial. "This is what we found. None of us are tech experts but as near as we can tell o the biology side of things this syphons off nutrients from the intestines and converts it into neurotoxin which it injects directly into their brainstem. Not only that, but the memory center of their brain shows neurotoxic damage from a previous dose several weeks ago." Several weeks ago? That lines up with when Mewtwo Broke out of the facility. I think we found the cause of their memory loss. "Now, time for you to answer some questions. What in Arceus' name is going on here?!"

"Can we go somewhere less public? Trust me. The fewer that know, the better." I say.

"Oh no." She huffs. "You're not going into a quiet, isolated room with me. I'm not going to be showing up on a missing poster. You're going to explain right here and right now."

I sigh, defeated. "Fine," I whisper. "But keep quiet. It involves Team Rocket. I don't want them to come knocking. We found Mewtwo, the pokemon, in a Rocket owned facility. They don't have much memory from that and we're trying to solve the mystery behind it. Rocket, naturally, would prefer this stay out of sight."

"So please don't go talking about it." Jackson adds. "You've seen the news. Rocket is in the region. All it takes is one rumor passing around and you've got a 'shoot me' sign on your back."

The nurse glances between us incredulously. "Okay... That's a story..."

"You guys are the ones who saw the pokemon with a freaking neurotoxin kill switch device in its head. Is this really less believable than that?"

"I... I suppose not."

"Exactly. Now please keep this quiet."

The nurse stutters a moment before letting out a deflated sigh. "I don't get paid enough to deal with this... Fine. Do what you're going to do, just leave me out of it." She hands us the ball and takes her place at the counter, turning to address another guest. Jackson and I head back out to the car and head home. I take out the vial and look over the device. Just like the tracking sensor, the logo of the Devon Corporation is printed on the implant.

"Devon." I inform Jackson. "I think they're more deeply involved with this than we first thought. This is a pretty specific piece of tech."

"I hate to say it but I think you're right. What could they want out of Mewtwo?"

"Whatever it is, they've gone to great lengths to ensure that this project of theirs stays under wraps. Please be careful getting that adaptor from work."

"I'll be as silent as a Purrloin. Remember, I have experience in dangerous scenarios." He uses pokespeak to allude his point.

"I know, I know. I just get nervous, you know?"

"I get it." He sets a hand on my shoulder briefly. "We're in this together."

I nod. "You remind me of Thunder a little. At least the one I remember."

"You almost sound like you're giving up on him."

"What!? No! Never! What made you even think that?!"

"I think you need to let go of the past. He may be different now, but he still cares. As do you, clearly. I think, at his core, he's still the Thunder you grew fond of. Different, yes. But still the same."

"I hope you're right..."

"Nothing wrong with a little hopeful thinking."