The Secret of MissingNo

By Mandy (Owston) Nader

"Radio Mr. Giovanni, at once!" yelled the panicked young intern. "They've escaped!"

Scientists dashed madly around the main laboratory of the Cinnabar Island Research Facility. Utter chaos ensued. If one of those. THINGS were to escape into the outside world, who knows what might happen?

Professor Eric Stone, a man in his mid twenties, wrung his hands as he glanced at the shattered window in dismay. Just when everything had been going so well.

Once the DNA from that Mew eyelash had been extracted, creating a new Pokemon had actually been quite simple. But creating the "ultimate" Pokemon that Giovanni demanded was another story altogether. But no time to think about that now. Those clones... those half-completed clones had escaped.

If there had been time to fully complete and test these new Pokemon, their escape into the wild might not have been a problem. Or at least a much smaller problem. But these were still in the experimental stage. no one had yet been able to create a genetic Pokemon that could safely be captured in a Poke Ball and stored on a PC without fear of "side effects". There were rumors of terrible computer viruses spreading through the world, infecting every computer on the network, if an unfinished or 'glitched' Pokemon was sent to a computer storage system.

These mistakes must be contained, at any cost.

"Professor, what should we do?" cried a laboratory assistant, on the verge of panic. Everyone in the lab paused to hear their superior's decision.

"The only way off the island is by Surfing. Neither of those 'mistakes' knew that attack, so they can't have gotten far," Stone said, glancing at their expectant faces. He addressed the three senior members of the research team. "Mark, take a group of five and scour the west coast. Tina, you do the same for the east coast, and Janet, you take the south coast. Take along some of the new extra-strength Master Balls. if you can catch these clones, do so. At any rate, report back to me as soon as you find anything unusual."

As they ran out of the Research Facility, Stone turned to the rest of the group. "Everyone else needs to remain calm. We have the situation under control. Remember that Mr. Giovanni is counting on us to create the world's most powerful Pokemon. and we're going to do it, despite this minor setback!"

The remaining scientists still looked skeptical, despite the pep talk. Stone tried to smile at the small group, feeling anything but optimistic about these recent developments.

"Now let's get this place cleaned up and get back to work. We have Pokemon to create!"

The other researchers slowly returned to their workstations, murmuring to one other. The young Professor gazed out the broken window once again, grabbing his ever-present mug of coffee from the lab table. Why did this have to happen now, when things had been going so well? They hadn't created an actual Mew-clone yet, but they were getting closer with every new experiment. The most recently developed clones had been progressing quite nicely. Stone was especially proud of the Water Gun and Sky Attack he'd managed to teach the first clone. The second clone's natural ability to mimic the opposing Pokemon's type was an unprecedented achievement.

But Giovanni had not been impressed when Stone had called him about these new breakthroughs. "You fool!" the Rocket Boss had shouted over the videophone, a vein bulging on his forehead. "That's the best you come up with, after I've poured thousands of dollars into your research facility? Simple imitation? A common Ditto can imitate attacks!"

"But sir," Stone had argued. "This Pokemon doesn't need to Transform! It can-"

"Stop wasting my valuable time and money. Report back to me if and when you create something powerful. If you can't handle this simple job, I have no choice but to hire someone more competent than you."

Stone took a large gulp of his coffee. "The man doesn't even realize what he's asking for," growled the young Professor, swirling the hot liquid around in his mug. "We're working on the impossible, and all he cares about are instantaneous results. He's asking us to play God, just so he can control the world's most powerful creature. Doesn't he realize that these kind of things take time?"

Stone slammed his fist down on the table. Curse that Mew! Curse that Rocket member, Miya something or other, who supposedly discovered that creature's existence almost 20 years ago! Once she brought back conclusive evidence of a powerful "new" Pokemon, Giovanni simply HAD to have one. He moaned and complained like a spoilt brat, getting his mother, Madam Boss, to send out countless search parties to capture a Mew. The elusive kitten Pokemon simply could not be found.

When Giovanni assumed exclusive control of the Team Rocket organization, he changed his tactics. If the real Mew was impossible to find, he reasoned, all other plans were to be put on hold until one could be scientifically created. But no longer was Giovanni content with owning a legendary Mew; now he wanted something even better. a creature similar, but superior in every way. Project Duplicate was born.

As one of the top graduates from the Pokemon Scientific Institute, Stone was quickly recruited for work on the Team Rocket cloning studies. He was ecstatic to be placed in control of the Cinnabar Research Facility's work on Project Duplicate. Working for the Rockets wasn't really a problem with Stone; he always figured that once he got some field experience, he would go legit. Provided he could find any legit work.

That was always the problem with this line of work. There were always organizations set on using cloning technology for less than reputable purposes. Never once had Stone heard of someone hiring specialists in genetic technology for noble purposes, like treating diseases. Maybe someday, after that cursed kitten was cloned.

His reverie was interrupted as another scientist, a woman several years older than him, ran to his workspace, breathing heavily.

"Professor!" she cried, gasping for air, "Giovanni's sent his flunkies down here. they're looking for you!"

"For me?" gasped Stone. All thoughts of legitimate work vanished as panic consumed his consciousness.

"The Boss is furious that. those things escaped. he holds you responsible..."

Wide-eyed, Professor Stone stared out the shattered window as a large black helicopter came into view.

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