The morning after… Pyrotechnics exploded all over the arena. There were twenty-five thousand spectators. Five national TV channels were transmitting the event in prime time. Around the ring, there were seats for the competitors and their supporters. Sabrina was Mewtwo’s official trainer for the tournament. Metal-Mewtwo was standing near the ring, ready to give advices if necessary. Giovanni and Victoria had a special place on a balcony to watch the show. Among the competitors, Mewtwo saw the rude guy from the Palace with his Hitmonlee. Close by, there was his father, the Dojo Master, with a Hitmonchan. Le Français was there too, with a Machamp. That chamionship is gonna be unforgettable… After Giovanni’s speech, the matches could begin. The referee took the mike and said: « Ladies and Gentlemen, here is the first match of the Saffron CPT ! On my right, from Cianwood City, Johto, Oliver ! And his pokemon, 1.80m tall, weighing 118kg, the metallic nightmare, Scizor ! On my left, from Fuschia City, Kanto, Le Français ! And his pokemon, 1.90m tall, weighing 130kg, triple pokewrestling champion, Presse-Purée ! » The Machamp was really impressive. Near him, the metallic bug looked like a match. The referee screamed: « Fight ! » Both opponents came at the center of the ring. The wrestling pokemon Irish Whipped the Scizor who bounced against the rope right to Presse-Purée who greeted him with a Clothesline Chop. Then, the Machamp finished his opponent with a Seismic Toss. Fight over: Scizor was KO. « Ladies and gentlemen, we’re now setting the second match. On my right, from Saffron City, Kanto, the current full-contact champion, Izimaru ! And his pokemon, 1.60m tall, weighing 49.80kg, Hitmonlee ! On my left, from Viridian City, Kanto, Bryan ! And his pokemon, 1.50m tall, weighing 56kg, Scyther ! » At the « Fight ! », the Scyther attacked directly with a double Slash combo. It missed, and the ninja pokemon countered with a Mawashi-Geri and a middle kick. The big bug avoided the first kick, but the second one hit his chest and knocked him out. That Hitmonlee was very strong ! As he left the ring, Izimaru met Mewtwo. « So we meet again. My pokemon is starving to crush you down. I’d give up right now if I were you. » Then he looked at Sabrina, mimed a French kiss, and got back to his seat. « What an asshole ! _ Don’t worry, Saby, I’ll teach him a lesson. _ You call me Saby ? _ Well, you call me Mewty, so… » She smiled. He was too lovely ! « Third fight ! On my right, from Saffron City, Kanto, The Dojo Master and Saffron Champion, Shidoshi ! And his pokemon, 1.60m tall, weighing 50.20kg, Hitmonchan ! On my left, from Blackthorn City, Johto, Victor ! And his pokemon, 1.40m tall, weighing 48.70kg, Granbull ! » That fight was very short. Hitmonchan threw a quick and rough Ultima-Punch to the dog’s head, breaking one of his front teeth and putting him out of order. The father was better trainer than the son… « Fourth fight ! On my right, from Celadon City, Kanto, Cue-Ball the Biker ! And his Pokemon, 1.20m tall, weighing 32kg, Primeape ! On my left, from Cinnabar Island, Kanto, Sabrina ! And her pokemon, a real titan, 2.11m tall and weighing 122kg, Mewtwo ! » The ape began with a powerful roundhouse kick. Mewtwo avoided it by jumping over the kicking foot. Primeape, furious, threw a tackle. The clone stepped aside and replied with a spinning kick to the back of the head. The fury pokemon sent an Ultima-Punch. The white and purple titan blocked it and combined a double elbow strike and a knee smash to lay his opponent stone-cold. He left the ring. Sabrina gave him a hug and Metal congratulated him, using their handshake combination: hit each other’s palm, then the back of the hand, then punch the fist twice, then finally shake the hand. It looked like a U.S. Marine handshake. That was one hell of a victory, but the tournament had just begun… That was a really exciting tournament. The crowd was hysteric at each fight. Mewtwo, the two pokemons from the Dojo and Presse-Purée the Machamp seemed undefeatable. But the semi-finals and the final would take place the day after. And it’s at the last fight of the day that everything could have changed: Mewtwo had to face a Machoke from Lavender Town. The pokemon was trained as a kickboxer. Mewtwo started with punches to the head, but the Machoke had a perfect defense. None of the punches could break his guard, and he countered with a powerful kick to the shin. Fortunately, Mewtwo managed to avoid it and threw a kick to the face. The kickboxer pokemon fell but got up immediately and charged. The clone greeted him with a body uppercut. Machoke’s breath was cut, but nothing seemed to be able to break his rage: he grabbed Mewtwo and threw him knee strikes. But the titan grabbed him too and it became a knee strikes contest. They tried to punch, but they were stuck to each other, and no-one seemed decided to loose grip. Then, Mewtwo realized he had an advantage: a long tail. It was not very regular, but he had no other idea: he threw a tail uppercut to the chin. It worked: they were separated. It was now Mewtwo’s turn to charge, and he threw a middle kick to the ribs. Machoke threw the same kick, but more powerful. They continued those kicks, but Machoke was more powerful, and Mewtwo was losing advantage. He didn’t see the roundhouse kick coming and caught it in the temple. The shock threw him against the ropes. When he turned back, he saw the Ultima-Punch coming, but didn’t parry it: right in the face. He was now on a very bad position: his temple and nose were bleeding, and he felt as if he was floating. He knew that it was the edge of the KO. And Machoke continued, this time with a knee smash to the stomach. Mewtwo didn’t know how long he could bear it. Machoke took a run-up and threw a front kick to the face that litterally ejected the clone out of the ring. Miraculously, Mewtwo managed to hang to the top rope and slid back to the fighting area. He vainly tried to grab Machoke by the chest, but this one broke free with an elbow smash to the neck. This strike was so violent that everyone in the room could hear a horrible cracking. Then, a front kick to the stomach pushed Mewtwo on the turnbuckle. He thought that Machoke’s victory was inevitable when he felt a metallic hand on his shoulder. « Gather your strength, brother ! It doesn’t look like, but he’s yours ! » The kickboxer pokemon charged to finish him, but Mewtwo put him to the ground with a leg scissor, and smashed him down with all his strength remaining. KO ! It was hysteria in the arena ! Everyone was applauding and chanting his name ! He stood up and tried to step out of the ring, but he felt strange, his vision was getting darker and darker… Finally, he vanished. The situation was critical. They were all gathered in a room in Saffron Pokemon Center. Mewtwo was on a stretcher, with a pump on his mouth to help him breathing. He was in deep coma. Metal was helping the nurses with his medical analyzing program. He said that his brother had multiple light wounds and an important neck trauma. « So, said Victoria, what are we gonna do now ? _ I’ll cancel his participation to the semi-finals, said Giovanni. He can’t fight in that status. _ I just hope he won’t die, said Sabrina. Please, don’t die… » The poor girl was in tears. « He won’t, said Metal. He has a regenerating organism. Sooner or later, he’ll be better. The problem is that he can take hours, weeks, or even months, to wake up. _ Anyway, said Victoria, we can’t help, so we’d better go. Come, Sabrina. _ No. I’d rather stay here with him. _ Don’t worry, said a nurse, she can stay. _ Okay. Do as you please. » She stayed the whole night. In fact, she fell asleep. She awoke at about 2:00 am when she felt a hand stroking her hair. Mewtwo was awaken. Well, not really: his eyes were half open and he could move his arms. It was good yet. « Mewty ! You scared me ! Metal, come ! _ I thought I’d never see you again, bro ! How do you feel ? _ As if I got rolled over by a truck, but I’ll survive, I guess. Tell me… have I kicked his ass ? _ Yeah, you did. _ At least, something that doesn’t go wrong… » A nurse got in. « Mewtwo, Le Français would like to see you. _ Let him in. » The tall French trainer appeared. « Oh, merde ! It looks pretty bad… _ Don’t worry. I’ll just spend a good night and at afternoon, on the ring again ! _ Are you crazy ? _ Ain’t it what you wanted ? _ Listen, big guy: I’d love to shut Macaroni’s mouth, and Presse-Purée would’ve been honored to fight with you. But in your condition, it’s suicide ! _ Unbelievable… _ What ? _ You just said two English sentences properly. _ So you don’t care about what I’m saying ? Ça en touche une sans bouger l’autre, hein ? _ I’ll fight. _ No, Mewty, you won’t. As your trainer, I strictly forbide you to continue that tournament ! _ Impossible. I promised that karateka that I would kick his ass. Français, wait for me. I won’t disappoint you. » Afternoon… The semi-finals began with a fight between Hitmonchan and Presse-Purée. The Machamp’s punches were too slow. The boxer avoided them easily and punched to the stomach, the sides, or the back. But his Comet Punches didn’t affect Presse- Purée. So he took a run-up and gathered all his strength into a Firepunch that hit the wrestler pokemon in the cheek. Machamp knelt down, but rose up almost immediately: he just had a light burn on the cheek. Hitmonchan sent a double punch, but his two fists were grabbed by Presse-Purée’s lower hands while he used his upper hands to throw an Ultima-Punch combo. When he released him, the boxer could barely stand up. So Machamp finished him with an awesome smackdown: two double-axe handles at the same time, one to the chin and the other to the up of the head. Hitmonchan’s skull was cracked. KO ! The referee came on the ring and announced the next fight. « Ladies and gentlemen, now the second part of the semi-finals: the impressive team Izimaru and Hitmonlee versus the young and talentuous Sabrina and the nightmarish Mewtwo ! » The ninja was already on the ring, showing off. Giovanni interfered. « Ladies and gentlemen, I am sorry to tell you that because of severe injuries, Mewtwo won’t be able to participate… _ Wait ! » Everybody looked at the entrance of the arena: Mewtwo, Metal-Mewtwo and Sabrina approached the ring. The clone was in much better condition than the night after, but his wounds were still there. As he got on the ring, Giovanni called him. « Mewtwo ! What the hell are you doing ? _ Ain’t it evident ? I’m going to finish that tournament. _ You’re still weak ! We can’t risk to lose you ! You’re too precious ! _ So what ? I’ve been made for fighting, right ? That’s exactly what I’ll do. Let me continue, and I promise I won’t disappoint you… father. _ Fine. But I don’t like that… » Izimaru was talking to his pokemon. « That’s the bastard from the night club. Here’s your chance, he looks weak: I want you to humiliate him, so don’t throw your great kicks, let him in, counter and smash him on ground. Okay ? » The referee called both competitors in the middle of the ring. Hitmonlee had an iron-made determination. Mewtwo was anxious because he knew that another bad strike could kill him. They were staring at each other, with hatred. « Fight ! » Mewtwo began with a middle kick. Hitmonlee avoided it and countered with an Ultimawashi in the chest. The grey mutant stood up and tried a jab, but the ninja blocked and threw a kick combo that made him fall again. Okay. Third try: a middle kick, but this time, he knew Hitmonlee would counter, so he retired quick after. The ninja striked in the air, and Mewtwo took profit of that moment of weakness to kick him in the stomach. Hitmonlee rolled and kicked, but it missed. He tried a Mawashi-Geri and Mewtwo threw a low kick at the same time. Both strikes missed, but the clone became angry began a combo. Hitmonlee could not block all the strikes, and he took two kicks in the face. Mewtwo moved on with Comet Punches, and he felt the Rage coming. But his opponent made an unexpected move: he bent down and swipped his legs. As Mewtwo was getting up, Hitmonlee threw a Kakatogeri. Mewtwo was now defenseless ! The ninja threw a front kick to finish him, but the clone saw it coming: he jumped over it and landed right on the kicking leg. Blood flew on the ring while Hitmonlee fell down: his leg was broken. End of fight. Mewtwo left the ring and approached Izimaru: « Looks like I taught you a lesson, right ? _ You bastard… _ Hey, calm down. I wouldn’t mine doing to you the same thing as your pokemon. » A few hours later was the final. Everyone was flawless for the event: Sabrina ans her mother had a beautiful shiny purple dress, Giovanni had his best Armani suit, Metal’s armor was polished. Le Français had combed his hair and shaved properly. He had a green suit with medals and a beret. « Ladies and gentlemen, now is the main event: the final fight of that tournament, between two colossus: on my left, from Fuschia City, he’s 52 years old, he came in our country five years ago, and is now an authority in combat pokemons. Ladies and gentlemen, an ovation for the one everyone knows as « Le Français », Colonel Tony S. Forestier ! And his pokemon, the great champion, the four-armed behemoth, Presse-Purée ! On my right, from Cinnabar Island, she’s 15 years old, she began training two years ago, she’s a real talent, maybe a future champion. Ladies and gentlemen, an ovation for Miss Sabrina ! And her pokemon, the one who created the surprise of that tournament, he’s a combo master, tall, with a look that kills, ladies and gentlemen, Mewtwo ! Competitors, let’s get ready to rumble ! » They came at the center of the ring, waiting for the start. Mewtwo asked the Machamp not to take it easy: he wanted a real combat. « Fight ! » Mewtwo threw a serie of jabs in the stomach, without effect. Presse-Purée put him down with a double-axe handle. As the clone got up, he threw another double-axe handle. Then he grabbed him and Irish whipped him to the turnbuckle. He took a run-up and threw a knee smash. Mewtwo was out of the match: he didn’t know where he was. But the Machamp continued with a Suplex that laid him on the ground. An elbow drop from the turnbuckle. A leg drop to the face. Mewtwo ate an impressive quantity of damages, but he was too groggy to reply. At a moment, he felt Presse-Purée lifting him over his shoulders: the wrestler pokemon dropped him in the audience, out of the ring. Mewtwo felt slaps on his cheeks, and people were telling him to wake up. He suddenly felt some kind of electroshock, and he got up: he remembered where he was, and he even regained a few energy. He had inconsciously used the Recover technique. He ran back to the ring and teased Machamp. The wrestler tried to hit him, but he saw the punch coming, he bent down and used an Ultima-Punch combo to the abdomen. Presse-Purée was weakened, and Mewtwo, with an unknown energy, grabbed him in a fireman’s carry and dropped him off the ring ! The crowd was hysteric as Mewtwo jumped off to finish his opponent: he threw a roundhouse kick to the face, and another one, but Presse-Purée grabbed the third one, lifted the clone and smashed him on ground. The shock broke the floor, and they both landed in the machine room, under the arena. Machamp grabbed Mewtwo and maid him « visit » the backstage, smashing him on everything: walls, machines, counters or doors, that exploded almost immediately, of the shock. In the arena, everyone was worried: They couldn’t see the fighters anymore, all they could distinguish was the noise of another crash… Presse-Purée chokeslammed his opponent against a last wall and Mewtwo landed on the dressing room. He was bleeding like a swine. He couldn’t do anything but crawling. His mind was in a fog. But he had a strange feeling rushing inside his brain… The Machamp was now scared: Mewtwo was on his knees, staring at him with shiny blue eyes. Then, the wrestler’s vision got blurred, and he felt a great pain in his brain. None of the two fighters realized it, but Mewtwo was using the destructive Psycho attack… In the audience, everyone was panicked when they saw a large piece of wall exploding, revealing the Machamp who flew and crashed on the ring. The referee checked: Presse-Purée was KO. Mewtwo appeared and crawled out of the big hole. Metal and Sabrina came to help him. « Wh… What happened ? _ You won, bro ! You did it ! You knocked him out ! _ How did I do ? _ What, you don’t remember ? _ No, I felt as if I was in a fog, and when I woke up, I was in a dressing room and there were big holes everywhere. » Metal was thoughtful. Could it be a psychic attack ? Could a psychic attack have triggered while he was groggy ? He felt astonished and proud at the same time: Mewtwo had finally found his secret power. Both fighters were taken to the Center to get back a normal look. Presse- Purée had his mind twisted, but it would disappear in a few days. Mewtwo was seriously injured: his legs were paralyzed. He would have to use a wheelchair until his regeneration. After that, they went back to the arena for the ceremony: Sabrina got the Marsh Badge, Mewtwo got the champion’s gold belt, and Tony and Presse-Purée got the second best’s medals. Their pictures appeared all around the country.