Chapter no.186 Speculation

One of the higher ups of the Indigo Plateau, the man whose authority rivaled the Elite four ,Giovanni, the former Viridian city gym leader posed. "I wasn't informed that Team Rocket has been active outside of Kanto."
Steven glanced at Lance, before answering. "An Executive had attacked the mystical Forest of Illusions, notorious in Hoenn for being the abode of several Ghost-types. We believe that they were quite… successful in their endeavour."
"Did they capture them or kill?" Daisy, who was representing the rest of the Waterflower sisters, put forward.
"Capture, to my knowledge." Steven answered.
"Why would you think that the ghosts were killed?" Lance inquired.
"Well… It would have gotten a similarity with what happened with the Tauros herd at the Meadow." Daisy answered, feeling sickened just by the mere thought of it.
"To my knowledge, the… massacre was done by Mewtwo, though it can be agreed that he is after all, working for Team Rocket, or at least, with them."
"I don't understand." Giovanni interrupted. "This… Mewtwo, as you call him, seems like a Legendary, at least as far as his powers are concerned. Why would a pokémon want to… systematically cause the deaths of other types of pokémon?"
"That… is indeed one of the main topics behind this meeting." Lance answered. "We have gathered intel that Team Rocket has been… experimenting on pokémon, trying to create, and stable hybrids by combining DNA of multiple types to create a better version of both."
"They are, aren't they? Bloody bastards." Lt. Surge exploded. "Do we have any details?"
Lance paused, sending a meaningful glance at Steven. "We do."
"Like?" Giovanni pressed.
"Lance… Allow me." Steven intervened.
Lance considered it for a moment. "Go on."
Every eye turned to Steven, who cleared his throat. "We have a specific Charmander in question, whose genetic typing is… interestingly, dragon/fire. His move set, to my knowledge, is composed of draconic attacks, and his inner-flame is much lower than is imaginable for a fire-type. Also, his DNA is an unnatural cross-breed of a male Garchomp and a female Charizard. To my knowledge, he was found on a solitary route, from where he was picked up and taken in by a trainer."
"An unstable hybrid." Lorelei declared.
"It would seem so, but the experiments made on this… Charmander's DNA reveal that not only is this hybrid pokémon stable, but also capable of mutating to create an almost new species, with evolution."
"Then where is this Charmander?" Blaine inquired, his face holding a frown. "I expect he is already being tested out at the Labs?"
"The Charmander in question…" Lance admitted, "-is with his trainer."
"And why?" Blaine argued. "According to protocol, the Charmander must already be in League custody for experimentation."
"We have received assurance that we will be getting all the data revealed through the tests made on Charmander's DNA."
"And why?" Blaine argued angrily. "Either way, the tests could be wrong as well! Why are we accepting that at face value?" Blaine barked.
"We do when the researchers are Samuel Oak and Bill Montgomery." Steven replied from his place.
That shut everybody up.
"I am not even going to ask how Oak and Montgomery came into this business." Blaine muttered.
"Good." Steven replied merrily. "We aren't going to talk about it anyway."
"Who is this… trainer?" Erica asked softly.
Steven sighed. "Ash Ketchum."
"Ash?" Flint recognized. "The one from Pallet Town?"
"Yes." Steven muttered.
"You know him?" Blaine grunted, glaring at Flint as if he was the source of all evil in the world.
"He… defeated my son on the first go. Currently he and my son are on a journey together."
"So…" Giovanni mused, "It seems like Steven here, knows this Ash Ketchum personally."
"You might… say that," Steven agreed.
"Ash Ketchum is… an honorary Associate of Indigo league." Lance declared in a monotone. "For reasons which are on a need-to-know basis."
"And I suppose that Mr. Stone here has a hand in his sponsorship?" Giovanni put in slyly.
"I did." Steven admitted, staring hard at the other man.
Giovanni checked in, on the laptop in front of him. In a matter of seconds, Ash's trainer profile was on his page, as he eyed through the contents. "Interesting… and quite an interesting group of pokémon under his registration." He looked up. "How long has this kid been into training?"
"I'd take a rough guess at four months." Flint answered. "He challenged my son back in April, and it was his first week of travelling, from what I remember."
"Interesting." Giovanni mused, his lips curling.
"I think we might be digressing from the point?" Lorelei rebuked everyone, much to Steven's chagrin.
"Thanks, Lorelei." Lance muttered, clearing his throat. "Intel suggests that someone out there, has been working on pokémon-hybridization, and we have a specimen to prove that. Also, we know that Team Rocket has been capturing pokémon of various types in large quantities- Beedrill from Viridian forest, the Rhyhorn population from Grandpa Canyon, Tauros from the Isle Meadow-"
"Wait, I thought that the Tauros were killed." Daisy interjected.
"They were, but stats have revealed that over forty of them were unaccounted in the deaths." Lance answered.
"And now the ghost-type from Hoenn." Sabrina muttered.
"Rock, Bug, Ground, Ghost—anyone notice a pattern?" Lorelei muttered sarcastically.
"And we should not forget that Team Rocket has been found to have a surprisingly large number of Magnemite, Umbreon, Goldbat and Muk under their command."
"Electric, Dark, Flying and Poison." Lorelei commented darkly.
"And Charmander- surely, the one Ash has is not the only one out there?" Steven proposed.
"Add fire to that list, Lorelei." Lance replied with a sigh. "Nine types out of eighteen."
"You are forgetting something else. All nine types are offensive ones." Lt. Surge voiced, "And if you count this Mewtwo, then you have psychic in them as well."
"This looks more serious than I had anticipated." Erica exclaimed.
"We should not forget Mewtwo." Blaine muttered.
"Yes," Lance muttered as well, "-we have a Legendary… well, or one that might pass for one, working alongside Team Rocket, though its aims aren't… clear at the moment."
"Is it not possible that Mewtwo could be- you know…?" Lorelei put forward, not really sure how to put it.
"I must confess I have given a lot of thought on that." Lance admitted. "The name Mew-two, does suggest a similarity to Mew, and given the nature of his powers, or at least those that have been publicly spotted anyway, are more likely something that Mew could probably do."
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𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗽𝘂𝘇𝘇𝗹𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆 – 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗮 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗮𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗽𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗶𝘇𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 - 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗮 𝗞𝗮𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗮'𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗾𝘂𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗞𝗮𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀, 𝗮 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗸𝗲𝗺𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝗻𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝘀𝗲. 𝗜𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗵𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘆, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱. 𝗠𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗞𝗮𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗮, 𝗵𝗼𝘄𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗺𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝘁 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗮𝗿𝗯𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺𝘀𝗲𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀. 𝗜𝗳 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝘆 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗼𝗿, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗽𝗼𝗽𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗞𝗮𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝘃𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗺𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗽𝗵𝗮𝘀𝗲. 𝗔𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝗲, 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘀𝘂𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗞𝗮𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗮 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿 𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗼𝘄 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗼𝗻, 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗰𝗵 𝗽𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝗱. 𝗜𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳-𝗱𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀: 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗺𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝘃𝘂𝗹𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗞𝗮𝗸𝘂𝗻𝗮, 𝗕𝗲𝗲𝗱𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗮𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝘀 𝗻𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗣𝗶𝗱𝗴𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗮𝘆.