In the next room, two floating and talking felines paused as a surge of evil power came over them.
He's back, Mewtwo said softly in Mew's head, more to himself than the other Pokémon.
Mew stared straight at Mewtwo. Now do you understand what I was trying to tell you?
The larger feline lowered his head. Yes. He closed his eyes. I must atone for what I have done...
Mew nodded. You shall.
The humans came back into the room, looking confused. The two felines turned towards them.
"Giovanni's Pokéballs just disappeared," Shura Ketchum said, scratching his head. "I just don't understand it."
And you don't want to, Mew said quietly, though no one heard her. Reluctantly, the feline spoke psychically in a feminine voice. There is an important conversation we must have, but— Mew cut off as a bird materialized in the air in front of her.
Ash's Pidgeot stood on the floor in front of them, looking confused. "Pidge?" he asked.
The bird's Pokéball materialized onto Ash's belt. He stared down at the bird, looking confused. "Huh? I thought you stayed to help protect the other birds near Pallet..."
"Mew," said the small feline, getting everyone's attention. You will learn more about why Pidgeot's here soon enough. But, first, there's someone I think you'd like to see.
In walked the last person in the world Ash would have expected to see.
Delia Ketchum blinked in confusion. "I just don't understand it. There was this voice in my head that told me to come to the Viridian Gym and wait until the doors opened. I wouldn't have come, but Mimie seemed to know something about it, and he encouraged me to come. Are you all right, A—" she looked up and saw Ashura Ketchum, and she faltered. "Shura?" she whispered.
"Delia?" the man said, swallowing. Was it really her?
"Shura!" she exclaimed, running towards him with tears in her eyes. She embraced him, sobbing softly against his chest. "I thought you were dead."
Ashura smiled sadly down at her, encircling her with his arms. "In a sense, I was dead."
"What happened?" she asked, pulling back and looking up at him.
Ashura took a deep breath and proceeded to explain everything to her. Pikachu, standing nearby, listened to everything with an attentive ear. Even Ash and his friends listened some to catch more of the story.
As he listened, Ash watched his parents with a smile. They were back together at last.
He felt an immense joy bubbling up inside of him, but he also had a strange sense that something not nearly so joyful was looming on the horizon. He tried pushing the feeling to the back of his mind. He needed to enjoy this moment. It had taken so long to come...
Misty moved closer to him, and he turned slightly, smiling at her.
"They're finally back together," Misty whispered, her eyes sparkling.
"Yeah," Ash said with a grin. "Yeah," he asserted more forcefully. "Together."
Misty got an "aww, how romantic" look in her eyes. "They really love each other..." She hesitated. "Ash, do you think you'll ever get married?"
The youth turned and looked at her in shock. Brock, who was standing some distance away, silently guffawed.
"Uh, I'm just worried about training my Pokémon right now, Misty," Ash said, deflecting the question nervously.
Misty nodded, deep in thought.
"Hey, champ," Shura called. "C'mere."
His face shining, Ash rushed over to his parents, giving and receiving a much-enjoyed hug.
Brock and Misty exchanged meaningful glances. "I'm so happy for him," Misty said quietly.
"Yeah. Looks like things are finally going right for him," Brock commented.
Flamekist and Pikachu looked at each other, then at Ash, then back. Pidgeot just stood blinking.
"Doom?" tried the Fire-Type tentatively, holding out a paw.
The electric mouse stared at her for a minute, thinking over what he had heard from Ashura. He trusted the man for reasons he didn't understand, and could he really stand to still doubt his Pika-pi? Pikachu remained motionless for a few more moments. "Pika," he said finally, taking her paw in his and shaking it.
The two Pokémon grinned at each other, most, but not all, of their differences forgotten.
Mew and Mewtwo watched the various exchanges silently.
Everyone thought the bad was over with.
What they didn't know was that the bad had just begun.
Author's Note: The sequel to this story is named "Resurrection of Evil."