The pink Pokémon battling Nidoking looked like a petite pink kitten.
Its tail was nearly twice its body length with an olive-shaped tip, and it had big, bright blue eyes filled with sparkles.
But "battle" wasn't quite the right word—"play" was more accurate.
Floating gently in mid-air using psychic power, this tiny catlike Pokémon gracefully dodged Nidoking's heavy attacks, like Hammer Arm and Thunder Punch, by teleporting around with ease.
Every time Nidoking's attacks missed, it pounded its muscular arms against its chest, roaring furiously in frustration.
"Mii mii"
The mischievous pink Pokémon covered its mouth with its tiny paws and giggled gleefully, clearly having fun toying with its enraged opponent.
But this only made Nidoking even angrier.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! ... ROOOAR!!"
With a thunderous roar, Nidoking smashed its giant fists into the ground.
RUMMMMMBLE!!
The earth quaked violently. Rocks shattered. A massive, jagged crack tore through the field, racing straight toward the floating pink Pokémon.
As the fissure reached beneath the kitten's feet, it suddenly stopped—and an eruption of earthy energy burst upward like a muddy geyser of raw power, aimed directly at the playful creature.
But just as the rock-and-earth torrent was about to engulf it...
"Mii mii"
The pink kitten let out another mischievous giggle. The space around its body twisted and shimmered, and in a blink—it vanished.
WHOOOOOM!!
The ground attack struck only empty air, blasting skyward before crashing back down into the crater below.
"Mii mii"
Now behind Nidoking, the pink kitten hovered lazily and let out a tinkling laugh.
But what fun was a game of catch if only one side threw the ball?
With a playful glint in its eye, the kitten flipped upside-down mid-air, clenched its tiny paws into fists, and slammed them into the ground.
BOOM!!
Once again, the earth cracked open, rocks exploded, and shockwaves burst outward.
But this time… the target was Nidoking!
From Ash's point of view, he couldn't tell whether the pink Pokémon already knew Earth Power—or whether it had used a Mimic-like ability to copy Nidoking's move just moments ago.
Regardless… it was identical.
Caught completely off guard by an attack it thought was its own, Nidoking stood frozen for a second.
And that second was enough.
CRASH!!
A pillar of churning earth surged up beneath it, knocking Nidoking off its feet and sending it crashing to the ground in a heap.
"Mii mii"
Hovering above, the pink kitten laughed again, covering its mouth with a dainty paw.
To it, the entire exchange was nothing more than a silly little game.
Nidoking wasn't seriously hurt—it was a Ground-type, after all—but it had definitely been rattled.
And being laughed at again… was the final straw.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! … ROOOOAR!!"
Like a raging gorilla, Nidoking beat its chest and roared, eyes blazing with fury. It fixed its burning gaze on the floating pink tormentor above.
No more games.
Flames surged in its mouth—and with a roar, it unleashed a fiery inferno straight at the pink kitten.
The flames stretched out mid-air, forming a massive flaming kanji-shaped cross: the powerful Fire-type move, Flamethrower!—no, wait—
Fire Blast!
"Mii mii"
Unfazed, the kitten danced through the air and teleported out of harm's way again.
But this time… it decided to return the "ball."
No hesitation.
As soon as it reappeared, the pink kitten opened its mouth and spat out a blazing ball of fire—
which expanded mid-air—
and formed the exact same fiery kanji pattern.
BOOOOM!!
Caught completely off guard, Nidoking took the full blast of the Fire Blast head-on.
The playful kitten, who had been holding back earlier, now seemed to get a bit too excited.
Its previous Earth Power had been gentle, but this Fire Blast… had been a full-power strike.
It wasn't just a playful move anymore.
The power of this Fire Blast far exceeded Nidoking's. It wasn't even close.
BOOM!!
When the dust settled, Nidoking's massive body lay blackened and scorched on the ground—completely KO'd.
If any other camper had witnessed this, they might've just thought,
"Wow! That pink Pokémon is super strong!"
But Ash knew better.
He wasn't just any camper.
He was a reincarnated soul from another world.
And he instantly recognized the identity of this kitten-like Pokémon floating in the air.
"It's... Mew!!"
Ash stared in stunned amazement.
The origin of all Pokémon—
the genetic ancestor of every species—
a Mythical Pokémon said to contain the DNA of all others—
Mew.
"To think I'd run into Mew… here… in the middle of a summer camp!"
Ash was beyond shocked.
Then, a memory hit him.
"In the original story, Goh met Mew during Professor Oak's summer camp... Could this be the same Mew?"
Technically, it made sense.
Mew didn't have a fixed habitat. It wandered the world, appearing in random places at random times.
The chances of encountering one were astronomically low—but not impossible.
In the original timeline, Goh did encounter Mew during Oak's summer camp.
Now, Ash had encountered one himself.
His initial surprise began to fade, replaced by a new thought:
Instead of wondering why Mew was here…
Could he approach it?
Could he interact with it?
Could he… copy its moves?
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