Chapter 4

"Heh…too easy…"

Meet Jeff, the slick and sly Sneasel. After conning his latest victim into giving up the rare Starf Berry, he walked down in the Viridian Forest while munching on his "well-earned" prize.

"This place is a gold mine! The abundance of easy fooled Pikachu and bug type Pokémon make this place home for me. I never have to work and if they are not persuaded…"

Jeff extended his claws, "I can always beat the help out of them! HA HA HA HA!"

Jeff continued to walk down the road, gloating for his own genius. He whistled rudely, laughed ostentatiously, and he scared the little bug Pokémon at first chance.

"Oh…YES!" He hooted. "This is where I belong!"

But upon approach of the exit of the forest, he spotted a large group of the Forest's inhabitants. Curiosity took hold as he strolled over to the assemblage.

"Ey? What's going on over here?" Jeff questioned professionally.

A young Caterpie wasn't having it, "Leave us alone Jeff. This is none of your concern."

Jeff scoffed, "EVERYTHING is my concern, little lady. Now tell me, what reason do you…"

He paused. He did not want to insult them…yet, "locals have for this gathering?"

An older Pikachu stepped out of the crowd and eyed Jeff warningly, "We discussing Mew, the one who is taking on the trials…"

Jeff held up his glistening left hand, "Pu-lease! I know well enough about this fool and his desperate attempts at achieving stardom!"

Someone from the crowd shouted, "But you just asked…"

"I know what I asked!" He snarled. He stopped to regain his composure, "Anyways, I heard that Mew was its given name. Tell me…what is its real name?"

The Pikachu from before rose his voice once more, "We do not know. In fact, that is what we are discussing. The true identity of this challenger."

"Oh really?" the Sneasel snickered. "What a waste of time! You idiots are of no worth to me now. But tell me, wherein you get this information on…this showcase, hmm?"

The young Caterpie was about to protest an outrage, but the Pikachu said, "Our source of information derives from the Sinnoh region. Go there if you want the facts."

"Maybe I will…" Jeff whispered, mainly to himself.

The two Pokémon eyed each other rather cautiously. The Pikachu did not want to start a fight, but it refused to back down. Jeff decided to let it go for now.

The Pikachu pointed towards the dark vicinity, vacant of trees, "There's the exit…don't hit a branch on the way out."

Jeff smiled, but said nothing. He merely walked out of the forest, wondering who this person is…and how he can get involved…

"Oh man! This is crazy! How am I supposed to defeat a legendary Pokémon with the moves I know? Tackle, Confusion, Tail Whip, and Metronome aren't going to help me here! That Azelf is too much; it just keeps attacking. All of my moves have been deflected, absorbed, or just plain missed while I'm the local punching bag…taking all of its hits so far. The only reason I'm still conscious is because of a lucky Metronome that gave me Recover. But I can't take much more. How am I supposed to win?" Mew thought wildly, while hiding behind a semi-broken pillar.

"Come out, come out, wherever you are!" Azelf gleefully taunted. It just LOVED to battle. "C'mon, I'll try to make it as painful as possible!"

Mew gave an involuntary squeal of fear at the sound of these words, giving Azelf the location of Mew.

"There you are!" Azelf shouted. It launched a Water Pulse attack that grazed Mew's small leg. The rest of the blast decimated the pillar.

At this point, Mew was scared senseless. Not only was the penalty of death on the line, but then there was pain beforehand.

"Oh my Arceus, Oh my Arceus…what am I going to do!" It thought while running away from Azelf's Shadow Ball.

"You can't run forever Mew!" Azelf laughed. It launched Shadow Ball after Shadow Ball, not even aiming for it anymore. It just wanted to see Mew dance. "I am too powerful to be defeated by you!"

"Power…where have I heard that before?" gasped Mew.

Mesprit's message was recalled in Mew's head. "Power is only power if you let it be. To harness it in any form, anything, will grant victory."

"That's it! I have to harness the power, even if it comes from my opponent."

Azelf launched another Shadow Ball, but this time Mew caught it with its tail and threw it back at it. Azelf dodged while an enthusing grin stretched even wider on its face.

"Things just got…interesting…"

Azelf conjured up a Thunderbolt and directed it around with Psychic. Azelf made it seem as if the lighting was dancing in the air, controlled yet free.

"Mew!" It called out. "You gotta learn how to fuse your moves together. This stream of electricity…it is elegant…yet fierce!"

Azelf directed the Thunderbolt straight through the path to Mew. Mew however saw this coming and used its Confusion attack to slow it to a stop. Mew couldn't do all of those fancy moves like Azelf did, so it just aimed at Azelf and launched.

"Aww…I feel like such a role model." Azelf snickered.

Azelf created a water shield from Water Pulse and absorbed the electricity within it. Water began to charge with the power of the Thunderbolt and Azelf directed it back to Mew in the form of a wave.

Mew knew that it couldn't stop the wave, nor dodge it. So it had to rely on something else.

"It's risky…but I have no choice!"

Mew closed its eyes and began to use Metronome, swinging its tiny paws back and forth in a rhythmic pattern. The paws began to shine, but nothing happened yet as the wave approached.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Mew begged.

Mew suddenly started running towards the water. It tried to stop, but couldn't.

"Not Take Down! Anything but Take Down!" Mew cried out.

At last the wave of electricity slammed against Mew furry pink body. It suppressed the urge to scream in pain as it felt lighting course through its whole being. Finally the electricity discharged from the water, leaving only a slightly wet arena. Mew laid limp on the floor, its body ignoring the demands to get up.

The whole stadium was dead quiet. After a few minutes, still Mew showed no signs of getting up.

Arceus sighed, "Well, it looks like Mew has fainted. So the winner is…"

"WAIT!"

Mew slowly stood up, buckling every few seconds. Its eyes no longer so innocent, but determined. Azelf frowned at this defiance; it wasn't usual that a Pokémon like Mew could stay up through its signature move.

"Okay, I've had enough! Nasty Plot!" Azelf shouted stridently.

Azelf focused to bring its attack power up, while Mew used this time to briefly rest and think of a plan.

"Okay. Azelf is strong and only getting stronger. I have to think of a way to bounce back a move so powerful that Azelf will eat the dirt. But what? Hmm…I have an idea. But it's incredibly risky; so many things rely on chance. If it fails…I'm done for."

Mew took a deep breath and used Metronome again. The move it got was Light Screen.

"Yes, now time to place it here…and here…to there…"

Mew placed several Light Screens all around Azelf's area. They were positioned perfectly and since Azelf just finished powering up, it didn't notice the current move.

"Use that move…use Shadow Ball…" Mew hoped.

"Time for my most powerful Shadow Ball yet!" Azelf chanted loudly.

"Perfect!" Mew thought.

Azelf fired the ball at Mew. Once again, Mew caught it will its tail.

"Not that move again." Azelf scoffed.

Mew just grinned. Then, Mew threw the ball into the air and tackled it to the first Light Screen, which bounced off another Light Screen.

"What is this!" Azelf demanded.

The ball was then sliced in half by an angled Light Screen and those two balls were reflected off yet another Light Screen. The balls headed right towards Azelf, but Azelf merely dodged it and smirked.

"Your little plan was a failure!" It sneered.

"I don't think so!" Mew yelled back.

Azelf looked to see that the Shadow Balls were still heading towards it, so it moved again. And again…and again! The Light Screens were angled so that the move would never bounce out of Azelf's range.

Azelf, out of panic, tried to break the Light Screens…with more Shadow Balls. But these too joined the reflection game. Eventually, Azelf was pummeled by its own attack, and fell to the ground. It lied there, unmoving.

Silence captured the Stadium as Arceus stared in disbelief that Mew had just defeated a legendary Pokémon like that.

"…Azelf looks like it has fainted…The winner is Mew! Mew has passed the First Trial: Trial of Strength!" Arceus decreed.

They vanished from the stadium and returned to the Heavenly Palace. Azelf lied on the golden floor, unconscious while Mew just smiled in relief.

"What do you think of that Arceus? Not bad for a regular Pokémon, eh?" Mew commented.

"Ah yes…well done Mew. I shall see you tomorrow morning to discuss your next trial. For now I shall attend to…uhh…Azelf's current condition." Arceus said.

Arceus teleported away from the Palace and took Azelf with it. Mew sat down in, thinking in wonder of its own brilliance. But then, a new thought struck it.

"Umm…I STILL DON'T HAVE A ROOM!"

"The Pokémon of Johto are just as gullible as Kanto!"

Jeff moseyed along a random route, eating another Starf Berry. It stopped and sat down while looking at the full moon.

"I'll find that Mew…one way or another!"

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