Extra 12: I choose you! (13)

Time continued to move on and quickly 6 months had passed.

Kurama had used this time to prepare everything for his departure to Alola after his business with the Pokémon League had ended.

He decided this because it was the least he could do for the League after they accepted him as Gym Leader despite his zero recorded experience.

Delia and Daisy were happy to have Kurama in their lives for the past few months, more so when they heard the enormous progress Ash had made during his journey.

The black-haired young man, along with his friends, had traveled all over Kanto and defeated all the gym leaders, except for the leader of Viridian City, which is why the trio was on their journey back home.

Kurama had a bad feeling when he heard about the new leader because he had heard rumors that he was extremely wild. He had even heard something about how the new leader seemed to have taken Pokémon from his challengers.

Kurama had tried to contact the league about this so he could investigate, but to his annoyance, they seemed unwilling to get in the way, but his expression changed when he saw how a familiar silhouette was running at full speed towards the Pokémon center.

He without a second thought ran after the boy, only to see how he was crying from helplessness.

"Gary" - Kurama said as he walked to his son's young rival.

"Kurama-san" - muttered Gary as he tried to make an effort to resist the tears.

Being his last medal, he had let his sister's friends go home because he didn't want to bother them anymore, which was good. After all, he didn't want anyone to see him in this state.

"What happened?" - Kurama asked with concern.

"The leader of the Viridian City Gym" - answered Gary while muttering helplessly - "He annihilated my team and left them on the verge of death."

"!" - Kurama's eyes widened in surprise as he ran to Nurse Joy so he could corroborate the words of the young trainer from Pallet Town.

He did this not because he didn't trust Gary, but because this accusation was serious and he needed proof to get in the middle of it.

After hearing the nurse's confirmation, Kurama walked to Gary and told him that he would get to the bottom of this.

"You don't have to grieve, Gary" - Kurama said as he put his hand on the boy's shoulder - "You are strong."

"I'm not!" - Gary exclaimed as he started to cry again - "If I was strong, that man wouldn't have wiped me out, and my teammates wouldn't be this wounded."

"Gary, strength is not only measured by the power of your Pokémon, but also your heart" - replied Kurama as he made the young man look up - "Your concern for your Pokémon, shows the huge connection you have with your friends. This is something that not many trainers understand why everyone expects to have the strongest team just because of their species, but that only categorizes them as a trainer of the bunch."

". . ." - Gary was silent as he listened to his father figure.

"This defeat won't leave you on the floor, Gary" - Kurama said seriously - "I'm sure it will make you much stronger, and your Pokémon will feel how important they are to you, taking them to a new level of power in the process."

"Are you serious?" - Gary asked as he wiped tears from his eyes.

"Of course" - nodded Kurama firmly - "You'll soon see how I was right."

"OK" - nodded Gary as he walked back to the nurse to go see his friends, but before he could take another step, he stopped because he felt something touch his head - "What is this?"

"I'm sure it will come in handy" - Kurama said with a mysterious smile - "Put this one on your Blastoise and concentrate your mind on this stone."

"OK?" - Gary was confused, but still decided to follow Kurama's instructions, after all, he knew that he wouldn't hurt him.

Kurama smiled when he saw the boy return to his injured friends, only to squint his eyes and walk towards the City Gym. He had a lot of things to talk about with a certain replacement of his.

* * * * *

"The tests have been satisfactory" - said a man in a business suit with short brown hair. He was smiling as he watched with fascination the strange creature in front of him, a kind of Pokémon covered by a strange metallic armor.

[Will this be useful to control my powers?] - asked the creature.

"I gain nothing by lying to you, Mewtwo" - replied the man while laughing inside, after all, he was happy that his creation was so easy to manipulate - "Do you not feel that your powers are much easier to handle?"

[ . . . ] - Mewtwo just kept silent when he heard this question because it was true that his abilities were now suppressed and much easier to control, but at the same time he felt a bad feeling.

"Sir, we have a new visitor" - said a voice from an intercom.

"Are you ready for a new confrontation, Mewtwo?" - The brown-haired man asked.

[Yes] - replied the Pokémon before walking next to his 'trainer', not knowing that soon things would change.

* * * * *

Kurama had decided to enter the gym wearing different clothes and a hat to hide his face to prevent the leader from discovering his identity.

He looked around, only to frown as he saw all the changes the current leader had made to his gym.

"Welcome to the Viridian City Gym, challenger" - said a voice Kurama recognized immediately.

He now understood why the League didn't want to get in the middle of this, which made him furious, after all, this man was one of the most wanted criminals in the world.

"The challenge is simple, just defeat one of my Pokémon and you will get the earth medal" - the man continued with a tone full of emotion and disdain - "I expect you to be much stronger than my last challenger"

"Oh, I am" - replied Kurama, only to notice how the current gym leader froze at the sound of his voice - "It's been a while, Giovanni"

"Kurama" - replied Giovanni, the current Gym Leader of Viridian City, as well as the leader of the criminal organization the [Team Rocket].

"Your hands are everywhere" - said Kurama coolly as he looked carefully at the man in front of him - "But this time there will be nothing you can do to escape."

". . ." - Giovanni was silent as a small smile appeared on his face - "Not this time, Pokémon League hound dog, this time I have a secret weapon that will eliminate you from my plans once and for all!"

Slowly, Mewtwo walked in the direction of the battlefield with his armor on, only to open his eyes in surprise at the sight of the 'human' in front of him, after all, he could sense the latent power hidden within him, a power that was far superior to his own.

"Meet Mewtwo, the latest creation of [Team Rocket]" - Giovanni said happily - "The strongest Pokémon in the world, born from the Mythical Pokémon Mew."

"What did you do?" - Kurama asked as he looked worriedly at the armored Pokémon, not out of fear, but out of pity. He could feel the psychological suffering the poor creature was going through.

"Didn't you hear me?!" - Giovanni exclaimed as he stretched out his arms - "I had my scientists create the perfect creature, a Pokémon capable of defeating whoever was in front of me, a Pokémon that will take me to the top of the world!"

Kurama noticed how Mewtwo's emotions began to swing drastically, only to frown - "Bad words, Giovanni."

"Oh, you feel sorry for my Pokémon, do you?" - Giovanni asked disdainfully - "Did you hear that, Mewtwo? Someone sympathizes with you!"

Mewtwo looked up and felt how the human in front of him, seemed to show empathy in his situation, something that honestly surprised him because ever since he was conscious, every human he had ever met treated him like an abomination or just an object.

"Anyway, it's time for you to show how strong you are, Mewtwo" - Giovanni said neutrally as he pressed a button.

[ARGH!] - Mewtwo's roar of pain echoed in place as a red electric current ran through his entire body thanks to the armor he had.

Kurama quickly called out to Latios as he noticed how the eyes on Mewtwo's helmet, glowed a deep red color.

"We've been analyzing Mewtwo's psychic waves for quite some time and we finally managed to figure out how to control him at will" - said Giovanni with a devious smile - "Do it, Mewtwo"

[Affirmative] - answered the Pokémon with a robotic voice.

"Latios, this will be difficult, I can feel it" - said Kurama seriously - "That's why we'll fight with everything"

"La-tios!" - Latios exclaimed as he nodded firmly. He too could feel his opponent's pain and fear.

"[Mega-Evolution!]" - exclaimed Kurama as Latios' body was consumed by a powerful multi-colored light.