Red's POV

I clung to Charizard as we soared over the region., the wind had picked up so I clutched my hat in my hand.

I saw Cerulean City not far from us now. After being knocked unconscious by Petrel, I had been inundated with more images of Cerulean Cave.

Rogue Two had come up again as well. MissingNo had said that name to me. He asked me to set it free, whatever that meant.

I wasn't sure what it all meant, but it seemed like we were about to get some answers. Charizard dove towards the city and flew across the river. The flaming lizard landed at the entrance to the cave, we hopped off and I returned him.

"This is it. We finally get to meet Team Rocket's leader." Daisy mused. "I wonder what he's like."

We strolled into the cave, immediately getting hit with a wave of damp air. I shivered as I walked through it. Purple rocks were scattered all around the floor. The only source of light were the fluorescent bulbs dangling from the roof of the cave.

I notice a man made path carved out from the stones. This is weird. I thought this cave was off limits...

The ground sloped downward, and we began to descend. Machines stuck out of the walls and random parts of the floor was replaced with metal.

"Maybe this is why," Daisy mumbled. "Isn't this where Yellow found Mewtwo?"

I nodded. That's right! Maybe it was here for a reason? We weren't getting any answers while walking down the path.

At the end of the path was a metal door that was shut tight. When I tried pressing the button to open it nothing happened. I noticed a flash of red from the darkness next to me.

"What was that?" Daisy wondered. I looked over at the source of the light. In the darkness, I made out the shape of a Persian setting on the stone. I reached out a hand and tentatively touched the statue, it was made of stone.

I heard the pounding of footsteps on the other side of the door and stepped back from the statue, I clutched a Poké Ball in my hand and Daisy did the same.

The door burst opened and five Team Rocket grunts swarmed out.

They sized us up, and then seemed to back down.

"So it's those kids that caught all the admins?" One of the grunts said.

"If they beat all the admins, then no way am I fighting a battle I can't win!" Another grunt said. He ran for the cave's exit.

"Me too!" Another piped up.

"Same!"

"Agreed!" Three more grunts ran out of the cave.

"Wait for me, guys!" The last one shouted and he dashed after them.

Daisy and I chuckled at the display. "Guess word's gotten around. Let's get going." The door had been left open, allowing us to walk inside.

The door led to a flight of stairs leading down into the darkness. The lone light bulb flickered on and off, partially lighting the path.

About halfway down the stairs the area became illuminated again, so we could actually see when it ended. At the bottom of the stairs was a tunneled out path.

The path was wide, which let us walk side by side and keep moving.

I noticed it was getting progressively colder the further we went. Daisy started to shiver, and I wished I'd brought some warmer clothes.

After what felt like forever, we reached a circular open room. The rock walls were smooth and had been carved out in a dome shape. There seemed to be some sort of machines placed all along the walls.

In the center of the room was a see-through cage in the shape of a dome. The dome took up about half the size of the room. I saw a purple blur speeding around in the doom. The Pokemon came to a halt for a moment, letting me get a good look at it before it sped off again.

Mewtwo. I thought instantly. It was almost human in a strange way. Its body was a pale shade of pink, while its tail was purple. There seemed to be another neck connecting to its head in the back and it only had three fingers on each hand. It's eyes were full of rage.

In front of the cage was a man dressed in a black suit. He had short black hair and cold black eyes. On the side of his suit was a small red R. There was a sharp frown on his face.

I had never seen him before, but his aura was eerily familiar. It seemed like this might have been the leader of Team Rocket.

I began to move forward and Daisy followed me. However, as we approached I noticed one more detail. Bill was lying on the floor in front of the man.

The stranger threw his head back and laughed while Bill glared at him. His hands were clenched into fists. "I can't believe this..."

"You didn't stand a chance." The man seemed to sling acid with his tone. "I didn't become the leader by being weak." His eyes fell on Daisy and I. "Oh? Look who shows up."

Bill glanced over at us. "Red! Daisy! Thank Arceus you're here!"

"How did you know to go here?" Daisy questioned.

Bill sighed. "Archer let it slip that this is where they were hiding out. I went to check it out... but he beat me like I was nothing."

"We already caught all your Admins! Give up!" Daisy ordered.

The man shook his head. "Silly girl. A child like you  should know better than to get involved in this business. Leave now and you will be allowed to go freely. If not... then I'll crush your Pokémon like the wimpy tools they are!"

"Pokémon aren't tools! They're our friends!" Bill countered.

"Shut it! You have no right to speak when you fell so easily." The man snapped. "Do you realize who you're up against? I am Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket! I've run this organization for years! Operation after operation, I've spread my influence to every corner of Kanto and Johto alike!"

Daisy narrowed her eyes. "I'm going to make you pay for what you did to my parents!"

Giovanni scoffed. "I'm not going to waste my time fighting a weakling."

I held out my badge case, showing off my eight Gym Badges. I've got this. I took a few steps towards Giovanni.

"So, it looks like the mute boy steps forward. You are foolish... standing in my way constantly. Just because you have Gym Badges, that means nothing against me! Do you know what I have behind me? It is Rogue Two, the second Mewtwo!" He seemed oddly proud of the trapped Pokémon, as if it was his prize instead of a living creature.

"A second Mewtwo..?" Daisy gasped.

"They made another clone after the first one escaped. This time, it was meant to absorb the power of another rare Pokemon. MissingNo." I flinched when he said MissingNo.

Bill scoffed. "MissingNo? That's a myth! Are you just making things up!"

Giovanni made a fist with his hand. "Shut up! MissingNo is not a myth, it is a far more powerful Pokémon than you can comprehend!"

Daisy drew a sharp breath. "Why are you telling us this?"

Giovanni chuckled. "So you can learn exactly what you're up against. Dr. Fuji created a Pokémon that could best MissingNo. One so powerful, it escaped. However, I managed to capture it here. And with this..." Giovanni took out a Poké Ball with a dark purple top. "We can finally capture it."

I looked at Bill. What's up with this MissingNo talk? "MissingNo is some old legend, a mysterious Pokémon that appears in brief glimpses and that only a few people remember. I didn't think it... actually existed." Bill then shook his head. "Wait a minute, who asked that?"

I started to feel confused. I didn't know anybody else knew about MissingNo. What was his connection with Rogue Two?

Giovanni sighed. "If my grunts could have held out a bit longer... it would all be a cinch. Oh well."

"Red won't let you do this!" Bill protested. You won't hurt either of these Pokémon. I took a step forward and sent out Charizard.

Giovanni scoffed. "Then just try to stop me! I spent months planning this! Creating the strongest collection of Pokémon known to man! I will not let some petulant children defeat me! I need only my Nidoking to defeat you in this battle!" Giovanni roared, he threw an Ultra Ball into the air.

A Nidoking appeared, pounding his fists together. It was like Rhydon, resembling a standing rhino except it had giant ears and its body was mostly purple.

It was time to face the devious leader of Team Rocket. "Nidoking, Poison Jab!" Giovanni barked. Nidoking lumbered forward, his claws glowing purple. Block it with Slasy! Charizard's claws blocked Nidoking's attack.

Charizard pushed back, leaving Nidoking wide open. The Charizard then hacked at Nidoking, striking it twice.

"Rock Slide!" Giovanni commanded. Nidoking roared, and rocks burst from the ceiling above Charizard and rained down from the Look out Charizard!

Charizard flew into the sky, weaving around the rocks to get high into the air. Now use Fire Blast! Charizard launched a ball or roaring flames into Nidoking. The opposing Pokémon took the attack head on and seemed unscathed.

"You cannot win, boy! Your Pokemon isn't strong enough! Use Ice Beam!" Giovanni's Pokémon fired a white ray into the sky. The attack froze Charizard's wing, and he started to fall from the sky. "Now, Poison Jab!"

Nidoking swung a venomous claw into Charizard's face, flinging him into a patch of rocks.

Charizard staggered up and huffed out a bit of smoke. Hang in there Charizard! Use Solar Beam! The lizard began to draw in energy around his body.

Giovanni smiled. "Use Rock Slide!" Another set of rocks tumbled down. This time, they slammed into my Pokémon.

Charizard roared and fired a beam of light directly into the foe. "Pathetic! Finish this with Poison Jab!" Nidoking lumbered forward, readying his claws.

Charizard struggled out of the stones and roared. Hit him with Slash! Charizard flew forward and jammed a claw into Nidoking, while Giovanni's mighty Pokémon slammed a chunky fist into his face.

Both Pokémon were thrown from each other, and Charizard staggered. Charizard! Hang in there! I ran up to check on him. My Pokémon seemed to be getting quickly worn down, while Nidoking stood strong.

I put my hand on Charizard's arm. We're going to get through it! I believe! The ring on my finger was starting to shine with light. I noticed that the red stone in my Pokémon was doing the same.

I held it out to Charizard, and he grabbed ahold of it.

I touched the Key Stone on my Mega Ring and it radiated with power. Mega Evolve!

The two stones responded to each other, glowing brightly. Four lights extended from the Charizardite Y and Key Stine. The lights connected and energy surged towards Charizard. A purple shell then encased Charizard. The shell exploded and the bright light died down. Flying in the air was Mega Charizard Y.

Charizard's skin had become a brighter orange, the color on his belly was now up to the bottom of his mouth. A third spike had grown from his head and the original two had sharpened. His body overall was much leaner.

His wings were now jagged and looked like they had been torn on the bottom. The spikes on the wings had grown out and his wingspan size had almost doubled. From his hands, two small wings had grown. Two spikes grew from the start of his tail, and at the end of his tail were three teeth-like spikes.

A giant ball of fire had appeared at the roof of the cave, bathing the area in sunlight. I figured this was because of Charizard's Mega Evolution. The light was so bright I that had to shield my eyes. The expression on Giovanni's face was priceless.

"M-Mega Evolution? How?" Giovanni sputtered.

When Pokémon are your friends instead of tools, you can do amazing things! Charizard use Fire Blast! Charizard launched a massive ball of fire into Nidoking. The flames were far more powerful, consuming Giovanni's Pokémon.

Now use Air Slash! Charizard flapped his wings, shooting a current of air down at Nidoking. "Use Ice Beam!" Giovanni's Pokemon countered the impending attack with an icy ray.

The moves collided and generated an explosion. Now use Slash! Charizard flew through the smoke with incredible speed. He jammed the claws into Nidoking.

The opposing Pokémon staggered and fell over. "No... no... NO!" Giovanni started to scream.

Daisy went up to the man and sent out Venomoth. "You better surrender now."

Charizard landed on the ground and reverted back to his old form. I returned him so he could get some rest.

Bill took out a Pokégear and began typing in a number. "I'll call the police!"

"You may have won... But one-day Team Rocket will return better than ever! I am nothing if not determined. You don't realize the power that we're on the cusp of!" Giovanni vowed.

I noticed the Master Ball was at his feet. I picked it up and placed it into my bag. Then, I locked eyes with Giovanni. Just try and come back. We'll beat you every single time.

Daisy rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah we get it! You're a mastermind. Now pipe down."

Giovanni bit his lip. "You think you're so special just because you're the child of some pathetic Gym Leader? Well-" Giovanni was knocked over by Daisy slamming a fist into his face.

The girl let out a sigh of relief. "I've been wanting to do that for so long."

I put my hand on her shoulder. Nice one, Daisy.

Eventually, the police arrived and they hauled Giovanni away. They weren't sure what to do about Rogue Two, but were preoccupied with the National criminal.

"So what do we do about Rogue Two?" Daisy wondered. The Mewtwo was staring at us curiously.

"I don't want to leave him stuck in this cage..." Bill declared. "If he's as powerful as Giovanni says, I want to find out a bit more about him first."

I wanted to resist, but I couldn't explain why without explaining everything about MissingNo. Bill, I think we should let him go free. After we figure it all out, I mean.

Bill jumped. "What's going on here? Who's saying that?"

Daisy glanced at me. "Have you been talking to Bill? Oh, wait let me explain!" Daisy caught Bill up on why I was able to communicate with people.

Bill scratched his head. "Well that's a lot to take in. It's pretty cool, though! I'd love to get to the bottom of it sometime! For now, I'll keep what you said in mind. Thank you for saving my skin."

I nodded. Of course, Bill! I was happy to help! I'm just glad we got here before things got worse. Bill smiled sheepishly. "Yeah... so, I saw your badge case. Are you off to Victory Road?"

I thought it over. Yeah... I guess now that this is all over that's my next stop. I'll probably need to get some sleep beforehand though.

Bill looked into the air. "Hmm, maybe I'll run and take on Blue to get my eighth badge and beat you to the league! Nah, I'm not that speedy. I guess I'll just take you on if you beat Yellow. If you don't, then we HAVE to battle sometime."

We definitely need to battle. I agreed. "Then let's shake on it." He held out his hand and I shook it. "Good luck Red." You too Bill!

With that, we walked out of the room. On our way out of the cave, Daisy and I chatted about our next stops.

Once we emerged, we boarded Charizard and flew off towards Viridian City. One more night, and then it'd be time to take on the Pokémon Legaue.