Two is the Loneliest Number

I've been waiting for you.

The boy doesn't look surprised to see me, or to hear my voice within his head, or to find me sitting on my throne of rock and time. But his mind betrays him. Both in terms of his reaction. And the fact-

"You're Mewtwo."

…that he already knows me.

I search his mind. It doesn't take me long to find the source. Cinnabar Island. The mansion. What's missing from his mind is the exact moment when I took my freedom. Would he have come here if he knew, I wonder? Or would his accomplishments have inflated his ego as much as they've done already, and lead him into Cerulean Cave regardless.

I know why you are here, I continue.

He reaches for what lies within his backpack. A ball. Quite unlike one of the ones attached around his waist, but for the same purpose in the end.

But you don't know why you are here, I continue. Do you?

He stops rummaging around.

Why are you here? I ask. Why you? Why you, in particular?

"I beat the Elite Four."

Arbitrary rules did not prevent you from coming here. They never did. No, you have chosen to come here only now.

"I came here to capture you."

For an old man who sent you and his own grandson out into the world to fulfill his own dream? The boy's eyes widen. Yes, I can see that deep into your mind. And no, that isn't the reason why you are here. Your mentor is no different from the scientists that created me. Imprisoned me. Treated me like a trophy. Just as I am no different from you.

The boy stands firm. He really is a boy, I think. Not that I've seen many human children, but…come to think of it, he may even be older than myself.

You are here because your capturing of pokémon is a means to an end, I say. Your professor may want them for his own purposes, but that would not be enough for you. No. You have eight badges. You have defeated the 'elite' of your kind. Even your rival, your…former friend, I see. Was it that important, your rivalry? Are you friends still?

He remains silent.

They say that one is the loneliest number. But it is two. Two. Divided only by itself, and one. Split off from one to become its own number, distinguished from every even number, unlike every prime.

He flexes his fingers. Which ball will he go for?

You are one, with seven. Another prime. Still alone. But both of us, we're two.

"I'm not alone," he says.

Not yet maybe. But when will you be? What trainer will battle you? What will compel you to return home to your mother? Will your rival become your friend again, or will your rivalry fester into something else?

Still he stands. So now I stand. I flex my tail. I rub my fingers together. Psychic energy courses through me.

You are here for a reason. Not to capture me – if you were, you would have used your Master Ball by now.

"Then why am I here?" he asks, as if I don't know the answer.

To battle. A last battle. The one being in this region that could offer you a challenge. The one who is as alone as you will be. As you already are.

"I'm not like you," he says. "I didn't burn down a mansion."

But you destroyed an entire organization. And no, I see where you will be. Another cave. Waiting for someone to challenge you…that is, if you defeat me.

He reaches for a ball. One of the six around his waist. The thought of using the Master Ball isn't even in his mind anymore. I watch as he presses the device's button. I watch as it grows in size. I know that it is a charizard. I know what the other five are. I can see every strategy forming in his mind already.

And I can see that he's ready to see this through. A last battle. Maybe my last. Maybe his. That cave…will it be his home? Or his tomb? Or is neither correct, and will he cease to be a prime?

Come then, I say, forming a ball of psychic energy. Let us see which of us is the loneliest.

A/N

Two sources of inspiration for this. The first being "Mewthree," or whatever name you choose for the Mewtwo-esque pokémon that was revealed for Generation VI. The second being the first time I played Pokémon Blue where thinking I could always buy more Master Balls, I used it on a simple doduo. That, as a friend who'd captured Mewtwo already, was a mistake. And a derp moment.

Good times...