Mewtwo's eyes gleamed with a mix of arrogance and curiosity as he accepted Ash's challenge three-on-three to prove his point. He stretched out one hand and waved it dismissively through the air.
In an instant, three imposing Pokémon materialized before the group: a Charizard, a Blastoise, and a Venusaur.
They looked identical to their natural counterparts, except for the eerie, glowing markings etched across their bodies like scars from unnatural birth proof of their cloned origins.
The very space around them warped and shifted. Grass and stone rippled like water, reforming into a vast Pokémon stadium complete with marked battle lines, elevated platforms, and a roaring crowd of… nothing.
It was an illusion born of Mewtwo's psychic power, yet it felt utterly real, the air humming with tension.
Ash and his companions, along with the three other trainers the loudmouthed guy in the blue T-shirt, the impulsive one in orange, and a wide-eyed girl with a ponytail found themselves standing at one end of the field, facing Mewtwo's clones across the divide.
The blue-shirted trainer blinked in disbelief, his earlier bravado gone. "No way… those things look just like the Kanto starters, but… wrong. And that kid's seriously gonna battle a Legendary with his own team?"
The orange-shirted guy crossed his arms, smirking nervously. "This oughta be good. If that Mewtwo thing wipes the floor with him, maybe we can sneak out while it's distracted."
The girl clutched her Poké Ball tightly, her voice a whisper. "I don't know… that Ash guy seems way too calm. Like he's done this before."
Mewtwo's voice echoed in their minds. "Let us begin. My clones will demonstrate the superiority of a world without human weakness."
Ash nodded, his grin widening. He reached for his first Poké Ball. "Alright, then. Charizard let's show 'em what real power looks like!"
Ash's Poké Ball burst open in a pillar of flame, revealing his Charizard a colossal dragon whose very presence warped the heat around him. Its tail flame burned not orange, but a pure, sacred white-gold, radiating an almost divine intensity. Wings spread wide, it let out a roar that shook the stadium lights.
The clone Charizard answered with its own bellow, eyes glowing with artificial fury, and both took to the skies instantly.
Mewtwo struck first. "Flamethrower!"
A spiraling torrent of fire erupted from the clone's maw, twisting into a blazing drill aimed straight at Ash's Charizard. The heat was so intense it scorched the battlefield below.
Ash didn't flinch. "Counter with Blast Burn full power!"
Ash's Charizard inhaled deeply, chest glowing like a forge, then unleashed a cataclysmic explosion of holy fire. The two flames collided mid-air in a blinding detonation, sending shockwaves that rattled the barriers and forced the onlookers to shield their faces.
Blue-shirt shouted over the roar, "Are you kidding me?! That explosion it's like two suns colliding!"
Orange-shirt's smirk vanished. "That's not normal fire… it's burning hotter than anything I've ever seen!"
The girl gripped the railing. "Look Ash's Charizard isn't even fazed!"
Indeed, where the clone recoiled from the backlash, Ash's Charizard surged forward through the smoke, wings cutting the air like blades. It slammed into the clone with Wing Attack, talons raking across marked scales. The clone twisted, countering with a brutal Fire Punch that connected solidly flames erupting on impact.
Ash's Charizard took the hit head-on, scales glowing red-hot, but the sacred flames of its Holy Blaze ability flared brighter, converting pain into power. Wounds began to knit as the fire around it intensified.
"Dragon Claw now!"
Ash's Charizard dove, claws enveloped in draconic energy infused with holy fire. It slashed across the clone's chest, leaving deep, glowing wounds that refused to heal quickly.
The clone retaliated with Air Slash compressed blades of wind slicing through the air but Ash's Charizard barrel-rolled through them, taking only glancing cuts.
The aerial duel became a storm of fire and fury. Flamethrowers crossed like lasers. Fire Spins clashed into blazing tornados. Every impact sent embers raining across the field.
The clone, desperate, charged with a Dragon Rush, body cloaked in blue-purple energy. Ash's Charizard met it head-on with its own, the collision producing a thunderclap that cracked the stadium floor. Both dragons locked talons, spiraling downward in a deadly embrace.
"Seismic Toss!"
Ash's Charizard gripped tighter, spun the clone like a comet, and hurled it into the ground with mountain-shattering force. Dust and debris erupted in a massive crater.
But the clone rose, battered but defiant, and unleashed Overheat a desperate, all-consuming inferno that turned the entire battlefield into a furnace.
Ash's Charizard stood firm in the center, wings spread, holy flames blazing brighter than ever. As the Overheat washed over it, the sacred fire absorbed and purified the attack, growing even stronger.
"Inferno end it!"
A single, concentrated sphere of pure white-gold flame formed in its jaws then detonated into an unstoppable conflagration. The clone's defenses crumbled as the holy blaze engulfed it completely, burning away every trace of resistance. When the light faded, the clone lay fainted in a scorched circle, markings dimmed.
The three trainers were speechless.
Blue-shirt: "That… that wasn't a battle. That was a god fighting a demon."
Orange-shirt: "I've never seen a Charizard that strong. Ever."
Girl: "Those flames… they healed it while burning everything else. Unreal."
Mewtwo's expression remained stoic, but his tail twitched. He recalled the clone without a word.
"Next," Mewtwo intoned.
Ash returned Charizard with a proud nod. "You were awesome, buddy. Blastoise take the stage!"
The Poké Ball opened with a splash, revealing Ash's Blastoise shell gleaming like polished obsidian, dark tinted glasses perched confidently on its snout, giving it the unmistakable aura of a battle-hardened gang boss.
It cracked its neck, cannons priming with a deep, hydraulic hum.
The clone Blastoise stepped forward, cannons whirring ominously, markings pulsing like hydraulic veins.
Both trainers commanded at once.
"Hydro Pump!"
Twin torrents of pressurized water erupted, colliding in the center of the field with a deafening boom. The impact created a massive wave that crashed against the barriers, drenching everyone on the sidelines.
Blue-shirt wiped water from his face. "They're evenly matched on power?!"
Orange-shirt: "No way that glasses Blastoise just angled its cannons to redirect the flow. It's already controlling the field!"
The girl: "It moves like it's been in a hundred street battles. So calm…"
Ash's Blastoise began advancing through the water, using Rapid Spin to turn itself into a spinning torpedo.
It slammed into the clone's chest, forcing it back several meters and cracking the ground.
The clone responded with Skull Bash, head lowered for a ramming charge. The two titans collided shell-to-shell, the impact sending shockwaves that uprooted chunks of the battlefield.
They traded blows relentlessly Water Pulse creating disorienting rings, Flash Cannon beams crossing like artillery, Ice Beam freezing sections of the field only for Earthquake to shatter them.
Every time the clone landed a heavy hit, Ash's Blastoise absorbed it with ironclad resilience, its gang-leader presence radiating unshakeable confidence.
"Shell Smash let's go all in!"
Ash's Blastoise glowed briefly as its defenses dropped but its speed and power skyrocketed.
It blurred forward, delivering a flurry of Mega Punches that cracked the clone's shell audibly.
The clone mirrored the move, turning the battle into a high-speed aquatic brawl.
Water exploded in geysers with every impact. Hydro Cannons boomed like naval salvos.
Finally, Ash's Blastoise withdrew into its shell, spun at blinding speed, then rocketed out with a devastating Aqua Jet enhanced Skull Bash directly into the clone's midsection. The clone staggered, cannons misfiring.
"Finish with Hydro Cannon full burst!"
Both cannons locked onto the reeling clone and unleashed a point-blank tsunami. The clone was hurled backward, crashing through the far barrier before collapsing, defeated.
Blue-shirt, soaked and awestruck: "That Blastoise didn't just win it dominated. Like a mafia boss taking down a rival."
Orange-shirt: "Style, power, strategy… everything. That thing's a legend."
Girl: "It never lost composure. Not once."
Mewtwo's aura flickered with irritation as he recalled the second clone.