Pokemon: Way of Life Chapter 52

Hi all,

Here's the next chapter. Thanks for your support in regard to my mum. It has been a hectic couple of days. She suffered a mini-stroke but is recovering nicely. Thankfully, there will be no long-term effects as long as she does therapy.

Mew flew around him, inspecting him from all sides. Lucas was in his altered state, with his arms and head transformed into Mewtwos. The Pokemon was taking his time examining him, and Lucas' aura was slowly bleeding away. He couldn't remain in this form indefinitely.

'Okay, you can change back. I need to get something that should be of help. Wait here.'

Mew flew out of the cave. Lucas used his Immutable skill to release the transformation and looked down at his body. Thankfully, everything was as it should be and he wasn't missing anything. He noted that he had some notifications waiting, so he opened his menu to peruse them.

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Congratulations!

The player has completed a quest!

Awakened 03: Mew, where are you?

Reward: Levels + 2

The player has now reached Level 21

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Awakened Quest 04 (Final)

Awakening

Description: The player has found Mew, who has agreed to help him with the full transformation into Mewtwo, as well as help him control it. The player must complete this step without using any skills, including the Immutable skill.

Objective: Achieve the full transformation in the allotted time.

Restrictions: All skills are restricted, including passive skills like Mental Resistance.

Reward: Transformation - Mewtwo Level 50

Time Remaining: One week

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What the hell was that restriction? How was he supposed to change back into his human state if he couldn't use the Immutable skill? It was his safety net. He wasn't sure what would happen if he was stuck in his Mewtwo state. What happened when he ran out of his aura? Did he revert back to a human? Or were there other negative consequences he was unaware of?

It seemed absurd to him that he could transform into Mewtwo at level fifty. Considering Legendaries were stronger than normal Pokemon by a lot, he should be able to contend with Pokemon at much higher levels. He wondered how it would work, considering he already had his own parameters. Would they simply be separate parameters and not affect each other?

Mew returned, and floating behind it was a bunch of huge yellow palm leaves, probably harvested from one of the trees on the island.

"What are they for?" Lucas asked, looking at them curiously.

'These plants will help you stay calm. They have a restful quality that reduces stress and anxiety.'

Mew started arranging them on the ground, and Lucas took the opportunity to examine them.

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Sunnyside Palm Leaves | Ingredient | Rare | Grade: 3

Description: They belong to the Sunnyside Palm tree, and have medicinal properties that relieve stress, anxiety, and anger. The trees are rare and only grow on islands in the southern seas.

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'Sit down.'

Mew pointed to the circle of leaves and Lucas sat down inside the circle. There was a fresh scent permuting the air that smelt like citrus, and he felt a strange lightness overcome him, almost as if he had been relieved of all his burdens.

'Was your transformation deliberate or something that happened subconsciously?' Mew asked.

"The latter," Lucas shrugged. "I just woke up like this one day. First, it was my head, then my arms."

'This is going to be more difficult than I imagined. You have no frame of reference to help you through the initial transformation. What does it feel like to transform now? Can you describe it to me?'

Lucas looked down at his arms as he tried to recall the feeling. "I don't think it's anything special. When I think of transforming them, they change without effort. I do not feel any pain or any sensation at all."

'That is no help at all.'

{0(((..)))0}

26th November

The next evening, Lucas was halfway through the next stage of his transformation. Mew had decided Lucas needed to work on transforming his neck first, but he did not explain the reasoning. However, considering his current predicament, it may have been a mistake to start with this body part.

Lucas was short of breath, feeling like he couldn't get enough air into his lungs. There was a tight feeling in his chest as if his heart was being squeezed in a vice.

He had only the leaves to keep him calm, but they were not helping at the moment. He did not have access to his mental resistance skill due to the quest, and after months of using it as a crutch, he was not prepared for its absence when he really needed it. Also, because he could not use his Immutable skill, he could only be transformed back into a human with the help of Mew, who could do so easily.

'Calm your mind. You have all the air you need. Take slow steady breaths.'

Lucas listened to the voice, closing his eyes and breathing in the leaves' scent. Gradually, his breathing slowed as he calmed down, although he still felt like he wasn't getting enough air. Spots appeared behind his eyelids, and he felt dizzy. It was only a matter of time before he fainted.

When he first agreed to try for the full transformation, he didn't understand what he was getting into. He was beginning to understand why the system was enacting his change so slowly at first, as his body had to prepare for the massive physiological changes that were occurring. Now that he was trying to enforce the change, he had to suffer through all the consequences that resulted from it.

His current objective was the perfect example. The problem was the size difference between it and Mewtwo's. It was narrow, which meant he had smaller lungs to breathe in the oxygen he needed to fuel his body. Thankfully, his balanced energy seemed to help him out, smoothing out the differences between the two different physiologies. Basically, it helped by fixing the plumbing inside his body so all the parts fit together to work as a functioning biological system.

'Okay, I'm turning you back now.'

Lucas felt the Pokemon's aura wash over him as he shifted back into his human state. As the breath rushed back into his body, he sighed in relief. Opening his eyes, he glared at Mew, who was floating in front of him.

"It was not a good idea to start with the neck first. How am I supposed to focus when I am unable to breathe? I should work on it last, as I cannot supply enough oxygen to my body."

'It may have been a mistake. Live and learn.' Mew shrugged its shoulders.

Lucas wanted to smack the little bastard. In fact, he would have tried it if he had not been sure that he would hurt himself by doing so. It took the Pokemon a whole day to realize that the current direction he was taking was not the right one. Then again, he wasn't sure there was a right way of going about it. He wanted to forget the whole thing and return to Cinnabar Island.

Lucas looked down at his body and considered his options. Honestly, from what he remembered of Mewtwo from the anime, he wasn't looking forward to certain aspects of the transformation. The tail connected to its body and created a bulging growth between its legs that joined with its stomach. Like all Pokemon, it had no sexual organs. Which meant part of turning into Mewtwo was literally unmanning himself. Considering he was not losing anything, it was a silly fear to have, but it did not lessen his anxiety.

"Let's try transforming a leg next," Lucas decided.

'The reason I started with your neck, is because the more body mass you are forced to change at once, the more your energy will go out of balance. If you push it too far, you will be flooded with red energy and your mind will be clouded with rage.'

"Your thinking is wrong. It's not like I have to change my entire leg at once. I can start with a foot."

He was not expecting anything tangible soon. Unlike the previous two times, where he had the system doing the work for him, he had to force the change himself. The progress he made took him all day.

Lucas focused on his right foot and used his Omniscient Eyes skill to see through flesh and bone to get a thorough understanding of his anatomy. As a part of the transformation, he needed to understand his own body thoroughly, along with the body he was transforming into. He didn't have a convenient Mewtwo on hand to study, but he had a clear image of Mewtwo from the anime. It wasn't ideal, but as long as he had the balanced energy to fix up any small mistakes, he should be fine.

Lucas flooded his foot with his Aura until it lit up like a lantern. Next, he summoned an image of Mewtwo's foot within his mind. From his memory, the Pokemon had three large toes with spherical tips, with one of them being off to the side, separate from the other two. He didn't know how biology worked, or if it even applied to Mewtwo in this case. He believed that the way its feet were designed helped with its balance. From what he recalled, Mewtwo was six feet seven and had a heavy unwieldy tail that could potentially make it unbalanced. It was only a layman's guess, however.

To transform his foot, he had to change it at the molecular level. From what Mew had said, it appears that Mewtwo's DNA is in harmony with his own. In essence, he was a chimaera. A single organism that contained two sets of DNA, with the potential to exist as two separate organisms. From what he understood of animals in his old world, this was not usually the case. Instead, it was usually a blending of the two organisms, which led to mutations and unique features.

Lucas focused on the aura and merged it with his foot. At the same time, he imagined his foot being reshaped. Mew had told him that it didn't matter too much how he visualised the change, but it might help if it were more visually striking. So, he decided to go with the most vivid imagery he could conjure up.

In his mind, he visualised his foot being crushed, the bones snapping, the skin breaking, and blood seeping out of open wounds. The foot was repeatedly crushed until it didn't resemble a foot at all but was a flattened mess of skin, bone and flesh. Now that the material was more malleable, he imagined it slowly being remade into an entirely new foot, like a surgeon performing reconstruction surgery.

Lucas imagined three large toes emerging, with small tips at the end. Then the skin would change, slowly bleeding into a greyish-lavender shade. He visualised the fine bones shifting under his skin as he attempted to move his foot. He then lifted it into the air and wiggled his three toes around.

Lucas was proud of his visualisation skills, but it didn't help in the end. There was no change in his foot at all from what he could see. This may take a while.

{0(((..)))0}

27th November

Lucas came to awareness, recognising that he was in the cave, as there was enough natural light to outline the contours of the cave. But when he tried to move, he could not. Immediately, he realised he was in sleep paralysis. Though he knew this, it did not stop him from thrashing around in an attempt to wake himself up. No matter how many times he experienced it, it was still a little terrifying.

In the midst of his motion, he noticed that a vague shape stood at the foot of his sleeping bag. It loomed large over his prone form, making him pause for a moment. It was tall, and felt threatening, standing there without saying anything, as if it had watched him sleep. When he tried to scream at it so that it would go away, he was unable to do so. He forgot that he was not even awake since the experience was so unnerving.

The figure crouched down and its head was illuminated by glowing red eyes. Lucas recognised its feline features immediately. It was Mewtwo. Its mouth lifted up into a smile as it lay on top of him, smothering him with its weight. Lucas screamed silently, resuming his attempts to move about, feeling increasingly terrified.

Mewtwo wrapped its paws around his throat and squeezed. Lucas was helpless to do anything, lying there like a statue as his oxygen was restricted. There was no escaping the cold and remorseless gaze as it slowly squeezed the life out of him. In the midst of his fading vision, Mew leaned down and whispered in his ear.

'This body now belongs to me.'

Lucas screamed as he shot up from his bed, looking wildly around before realising it was a nightmare. His breathing was erratic and his heart pounded in his chest. He threw off his blanket and reached out to turn on the torch beside his bed.

'What's the matter?'

Lewis swore, almost dropping the torch before raising it to reveal Mew, who was floating in front of him, gazing at him curiously.

"Just an awful nightmare," Lucas shivered, looking down at his t-shirt that was drenched in sweat. He removed it and dug around in his backpack for a clean one.

'What was it about?' Mew asked, flying down and resting on his sleeping bag.

Lucas finished putting his shirt on and lay down, with his arms behind his head. He told the Pokemon about his nightmare, which agitated the Pokemon.

'This is troublesome.'

"What do you mean?"

'It seems that as a consequence of your two different states, you may have developed a second personality who thinks he should be in charge.'

"Split-personality disorder?" Lucas asked incredulously. "Do you know how crazy that sounds?"

'It's only a theory. When you think about it within the context of your nightmare, it makes a lot of sense. You dream about not being able to move, which symbolises someone that is not in control. Mewtwo appears and tries to kill you, but since you are one and the same being, it doesn't make sense. Why would it try and kill itself? It was the sentence it spoke that was the most revealing, however.'

"This body now belongs to me," Lucas murmured.

'That's right. There are not many different ways those words can be interpreted.'

"It was just a nightmare," Lucas shook his head. "Just my anxiety and fears manifesting while I sleep."

'Why don't we find out?'

"How?"

'I noticed that your mind was more open when you transformed. I may be able to delve into your mind and see what's going on.'

"Have you delved into my mind?" Lucas asked angrily.

'I may have had a glimpse. You have to remember I am a Psychic Pokemon. Sometimes I cannot control it. I see things I wish I hadn't.'

"Won't it be dangerous if there is really someone else there? He may attack if he senses you."

'Please. You underestimate my power. Now get some sleep. You will need it.'

Lucas switched off the torch and tried to get comfortable again. How was he supposed to fall asleep after listening to such a horrific revelation from Mew?

{0(((..)))0}

Lucas sat down and stretched his legs out. After practising all day yesterday, he mastered transforming his right leg. Now he would start on his left. He expected it to be a lot faster now that he had some experience under his belt, and that his left leg was identical to his right.

'Are you ready?'

"Let's do this," Lucas said. While he was busy, Mew would enter his mind and try to discover if he had any lurking dangers buried deep within his mind. Taking a deep breath, he got to work.

Mew's eyes glowed as it activated Telepathy. Normally, it was too risky for a Pokemon outside of a bond to allow it access to a human's mind because red energy was corrosive. Since Legendaries had balanced energy, it wasn't a problem in this case.

Mew found the human mind fascinating. It was not supposed to be a real or tangible phenomenon. Instead, it was supposed to be something that manifests itself in mental phenomena such as sensation, perception, thinking, reasoning, memory, belief, desire, emotion, and motivation. Maybe it was a byproduct of the brain's biological processes.

Every time he delved into humans' thoughts, he was constantly amazed at the fact that their minds manifested as physical, living things, and not as something more ethereal in nature. Mew liked to call it their Mind Palace. Every human was different, as they built their Mind Palace around a certain location or concept that was significant to them in some way. In Lucas' case, Mew found itself in what looked like an orphanage.

He looked around the building with a frown. There was a sense of oppression permeating the place, due to its bleak interior design, with its lack of bright colours, old shabby furniture, and faded carpets. In a fit of curiosity, he opened one of the doors, which had the name Bruno on the nameplate. A small black dog rushed at him, barking furiously, so Mew closed the door quickly.

Mew noticed that as he climbed up the stairs, more and more colour appeared throughout the place, and the oppressive feeling gradually dissipated. It seemed like the higher Mew climbed, the lighter the atmosphere, symbolising Lucas' positive emotions.

As Mew moved down another hallway, a ball bounced out of an open doorway. Mew froze as a fully transformed Mewtwo walked out of the room, and picked up the ball. It looked up and spotted Mew, and a smile rose on its face.

'Why have you come here?'

Mew stepped forward, looking at the Pokemon warily. 'I know who you are. You are Lucas, or should I say, another personality inside him.'

Mewtwo tossed the ball in the air and caught it. 'So what if I am? What are you planning to do about it?'

'You cannot replace him. He is the dominant personality. I would ask you to stop your malicious actions towards him.'

Mewtwo raised a hand and a ball of swirling psychic energy appeared. 'I can do as I please. You could say that I have more right to this body than he does. Just look at him now. Struggling to access the Mewtwo state, while I have already mastered it.'

'Why are you attacking him now? What has changed?' Mew stepped closer, and an aura of psychic energy swirled around its body. Mew was sure it could take this Mewtwo down, but it wasn't sure what damage it would do to Lucas' mind if it damaged this place. This would require a great deal of care on its part.

'He temporarily lost his mental resistance that blocked my attempts to reach him. Now that he is vulnerable, it is only a matter of time before I will be able to replace him. The bastard has such a remarkable fortune for what he received from Arceus. Now it will be all mine. I'm sure if you search for this place long enough, you'll discover for yourself what I'm talking about.'

'I'm not concerned about that. I only need to stop you.' Mew suddenly raised its paws and entrapped the Mewtwo in a cage of Psychic energy, causing it to cry out in rage. It hammered on the sides futilely before getting an idea. Mewtwo tried to teleport out of the cage, however, when it disappeared, it reappeared in the same spot.

Mew approached the cage. 'You may have the power of a Legendary, but you are merely a pale imitation. It will be a long time before you could stand up against me.'

'Let me go. His body belongs to me.'

Mew stopped at the cage and placed a hand on Mewtwo's head, freezing it in place. 'Quiet. Since you have already learned how to master Mewtwo's state, I may as well obtain the information for Lucas' benefit. I am sure things will go a lot smoother now.'

After Mew obtained the information it needed, it thought about what to do with the troublesome personality. It couldn't be destroyed, as that might harm Lucas in some way. Finally, Mew decided to keep it locked away in a psychic cage, so Lucas could deal with it in the future. Before leaving the place, Mew reinforced the cage to make it as safe as possible.

"What happened?" Lucas asked impatiently when Mew opened his eyes.

'I encountered your other self.' Mew gave him a rundown of his experience in his mind.

Lucas was disturbed that he had used the orphanage as the physical manifestation of his mind, although he didn't really have a say in the matter. He was further disturbed by the fact that he had shut up the old homicidal Bruno in one of the rooms. It was nothing to worry about, as they were merely things his mind conjured up from his life experiences. Still, it was slightly disturbing to know what was deep inside his consciousness. He was surprised that he couldn't delve that deep into his mind when he meditated but that just goes to show Mew's incredible psychic capabilities.

"So, it will not be able to escape?" Lucas asked, getting to the real issue at hand.

'Not for a long time at least. By that time, you should have sufficient mastery of your psychic power that it won't pose a threat.'

That wasn't something he considered too deeply. He was going to be a Psychic Pokemon essentially. Ignore the fact that he would receive a huge boost in strength. How about powers that are not so obvious? What about delving into people's minds? Could he invade others' minds as proficient as Mew could? It was scary to consider the possibilities.

"Alright," Lucas said. "Give me memories and let's see if I can't finish this and be done with it."

{0(((..)))0}

28th November

Lucas slammed his arms into the ground, and cracks spread due to the impact. A fiery red light radiated from his eyes, and red energy was visible all over his body as he started to lose control. He raised his paw, and a ball of psychic energy materialised, but it was snuffed out before he could throw it. Mew appeared in front of him and slammed his head into the ground.

'Lucas, listen to me. You are getting out of control. Calm yourself before losing yourself to anger.

A day had passed, and Lucas had made incredible progress mastering the Mewtwo state. He could already transform both his legs now, and he was making substantial progress on his tail. However, the more mass he transformed, the more he was affected by bouts of anger, and red energy bubbled to the surface. Lucas asked Mew how red energy could affect him, as all Legendaries were supposed to have balanced auras. The only explanation Mew had was that Mewtwo wasn't a true Pokemon, but a hybrid between a Pokemon and a human. It had a flaw in its design. This meant that while Mewtwo had a balanced aura, it was unstable, allowing red energy to emerge as well.

Lucas thrashed around, trying to escape Mew, but the Pokemon was too strong. In the back of his mind, he understood that he was out of control, but he was helpless to do anything. He was merely a helpless observer, as his body was ravaged by corrosive energy. Finally, Mew had enough and changed Lucas back into his human state.

Lucas groaned as he lay on the floor. His body was wracked with pain, as the last of the red energy ran rampant through his body. He even had some burn marks on his body from corrosion. It was not the first time it happened today.

"This is torture," Lucas said. "How is this helping me control my Mewtwo state? I don't think I have made any progress today?"

'You have already made incredible progress thanks to the information I shared. Does everything usually come so easily to you?'

"Er...yes?"

'Then think of this as character growth.'

Two days later, Lucas stepped out of the cave with Mew, raising his face to the sun. It felt like he had not been outside since entering the cave.

"Are you ready?"

Lucas took a breath. "I guess so. What can I expect when I complete the full transformation?"

"Who knows?"

He glared at Mew before sitting down. He had succeeded in transforming every part of Mewtwo but he had not done it all at once. Let's hope that he doesn't get hit by yet another nasty surprise and that he can finally put this gruelling period behind him and return to his friends and family.

Lucas transformed his entire body except for his head. Then he took the last step and fully committed himself to the Mewtwo state. Instantly, he felt a veil come over his mind, and Lucas no longer existed. There was a primal feeling in his gut. Old instincts that had not been used before awoke inside of him. He was Mewtwo, one of the most powerful Pokemon in the world. Raising his head to the sky, he roared.

Mew watched warily as Mewtwo stood up, and called out to the Pokemon. Mewtwo crossed its arms and summoned two psychic energy spheres. It then threw its arms forward in a cross-slash motion and the spheres flew at Mew. Flying in the air, Mew dodged the projectiles, which exploded on the ground, causing a huge explosion that raised a cloud of dust into the air.

Mew momentarily lost sight of the Pokemon, but then a ring of psychic energy sliced through the dust cloud, heading straight for it. Mew raised its paws and its eyes glowed, stopping the attack in mid-air, before throwing it down, where it cut a tree in half. It dodged to the side as Mewtwo appeared above him and threw a punch.

Now that Mew had gotten over the initial surprise, it began to think about what to do. It could sense the aura emanating from Lucas, and it was not a threat to it. In his estimation, the Pokemon's aura capacity was tiny, about the same size as Lucas' aura before he transformed. That meant that while the Mewtwo state was certainly strong, his aura had not increased to match its power. He was releasing all of his aura at once and soon he would empty the tank. Furthermore, Lucas had to spend aura to maintain his state, which was another drain on his resources.

It could still hurt Mew slightly if it was caught unawares, but that was unlikely as Lucas was in a berserk state, and not thinking clearly. The only thing he had to do was defend until he ran out of energy. Mew didn't want to attack because it was still far superior to Lucas in terms of power. It could seriously hurt him if he wasn't careful.

Lucas seemed to recognise his predicament, even his berserker rage, as it didn't throw any more psychic attacks at him. Instead, he flew close and began releasing a series of punches and kicks at Mew, who easily dodged every last one. It didn't deter Lucas. He stepped up the pace until his limbs disappeared in a blur, they were moving so fast. Any Pokemon at his level would probably have been at his mercy already, but he was dealing with a powerful Legendary Pokemon.

Mew decided to use the time to try and calm Lucas down. He sent a telepathic thought into his mind, although it was much harder to contact him this time. It seemed like Mewtwo had a natural barrier that was extremely difficult to penetrate.

'Lucas, you need to stop. Remember who you are and not this mindless beast you have become.'

Lucas stopped attacking, cocking his head as he tried to process the words. Mew took full advantage, speaking to him urgently, seeking to convince him by recalling a number of memories from the last few days. After grabbing his head as if he was trying to rid himself of Mew's words, Lucas took a wild swing in the air, aiming for nothing in particular. Mew was encouraged. He only needed to be more persuasive.

'Do you remember your family? Your parents and your little sister, Abigail. What about your girlfriend Faith? How do you think they would feel if they saw you like this right now?'

That seemed to work. Lucas lowered his hands and began descending back to the ground, seemingly having given up the fight. Mew sighed in relief and followed him back to the ground. Honestly, why did he help this human in the first place? It was more trouble than it was worth.

Lucas landed on the ground and shifted back into his human state. He groaned and sat down on the ground, feeling like he wanted to faint. "Dammit, why do I feel so drained?"

'You used up all your aura attacking me. Additionally, it takes a lot of aura to sustain Mewtwo's state even for a short time. It seems that you didn't receive a boost to your aura when you transformed.'

"Yeah, sorry about that. But you weren't in any danger right?"

'Naturally.'

Lucas tried to lie down before realising he was sitting in a small crater. Peering around, he scratched his head in embarrassment. "Did I do that?"

'You caused quite a commotion. It even riled up the natives.' Mew pointed to the sky, and Lucas followed it with his eyes.

There were several Hydreigons hovering in the sky, looking at them. They looked funny as if they wanted to tear them into pieces and run away at the same time. Lucas waved at them in apology and slowly stood. He shuffled back into the cave and lay down on top of his sleeping bag. There were several things waiting for his attention, but he was too tired to care at the moment. At least he could rest easy knowing he had finally accomplished his goal.

So, what do you think? Next chapter, Lucas' status undergoes a transformation, and he learns the joy of flying.

Thanks for reading.