The Secret of MissingNo

By Mandy Nader

Chapter 15: Myall vs. MissingNo

"So we meet again, Professor," drawled 'M. "It looks like you're still playing with life the same way you did years ago. You realize these experiments of yours end today."

"Didn't I tell you this would happen? That detestable professor created another monstrosity in that cursed laboratory," shouted MissingNo, turning to 'M. "If you would have listened to me and attacked right away, he would be only a bad memory by now!"

"How was I to know that one of those experiments still remained alive in there?" hissed 'M, pixels flickering.

"I suppose you were too busy with that ridiculous dream-invasion plan of yours to spare this place a thought," retorted MissingNo. "I told you we should return here, and now it's too late. So much for your brilliant plans."

"Silence, you fool. You're the one who failed against a single trainer in Fuchsia City. So much for your superior strength."

"I have never been defeated," growled MissingNo. "I am far stronger than any Pokemon, natural or created." MissingNo pointed towards Myall's bubble. "You can't tell me that little freak can compete with my tremendous power."

"Why don't you see for yourselves?" challenged Eric, glaring defiantly at the Glitches. Gone was the shaking, nervous coffee addict; he was replaced by an angry man finally presented with the opportunity to fix the mistake that destroyed years of his life. I'm not running away this time, he thought angrily.

"Isn't that cute," sneered 'M. "The Professor wants to battle." The pixellated Glitch turned to his ghostly brother. "Think you can handle this alone, MissingNo, or do I need to help you along?"

"I'll show you all what superior strength really means!" boomed MissingNo, unleashing the surging wave of a Surf attack toward the Professor. Eric reached for a Poke Ball at his belt, but Myall sprang forward before he could react.

"Myall, what are you doing?" shouted Eric. "I'm going to battle with Alakazam. You're not ready to battle yet!"

Completely ignoring Eric, Myall closed her eyes and pressed her front paws together. Her body seemed to spark with invisible electricity. Suddenly sharp silver slats folded out of her back. A bright blue plume of energy flowed between them as the small cloned kitten gave the professor a self-satisfied smile. The ruby on her forehead gleamed with an inner fire.

"She looks like me now!" cried Entei in surprise, a smile crossing his face. "At least she's got good taste!"

"Myall has a special battle form?" asked Jeremy, wide-eyed. "That's one cool little cat!"

"Kitty power! Kitty power!" cheered Rose, dancing around as the others looked at her askance.

"Must be a Rocket thing," muttered Jeremy.

Myall raised her paws and a bright pink beam of energy shot from between them. The beam hit the oncoming the Surf attack, which suddenly stopped as if frozen in time.

"How did she do that?" gasped Jeremy. "I've never seen Pokemon moves like that before."

Myall gestured with her paws, and suddenly the frozen Surf attack roared to life, rushing back the way it had come. MissingNo cursed as it hastily floated above the approaching waves.

"I guess you're ready to battle after all," Stone said, a hint of pride in his voice. "All right, Myall. Let's see what else you can do."

"So you have some Psychic abilities. I am not impressed," grunted MissingNo as it glared at Myall. Without warning, MissingNo suddenly charged forward at the peach-colored kitten. "I'm still stronger than you'll ever be!" the Glitch roared.

Instinctively, Myall raised her shield and MissingNo bounced off easily.

"Stop acting like a headstrong fool," shouted 'M. "Haven't you ever heard of strategy?"

"I'll listen to your battle advice the minute I see you actually battle," snorted MissingNo.

As the Glitches traded insults, a tiny voice spoke into Eric's mind. Psy Dust. Let me try. Eric blinked. Had he really heard that? What did Psy Dust mean?

"Is that a new attack of yours, Myall? Psy Dust?" Stone asked. Closing her eyes for a second, Myall raised her paws forward and her shield vanished. A sparkling purple dust flew from her paws and into MissingNo's eyes. The Glitch screeched as the dust clouded its vision.

"Wonder what that move was," Rose mused. "This kitty's got some neat tricks."

"You call that an attack? I didn't feel anything!" the Glitch roared, unleashing another Surf wave. But Myall's Psy Dust attack had completely disoriented the ghostly Pokemon. Instead of the wave crashing onto the genetic kitten, the Surf attack rushed toward 'M.

"You fool, what do you think you're doing?" 'M hissed, soaring into the air. "Don't attempt to drag me into your losing battle!"

"Losing?" roared MissingNo, still scrubbing at its eyes. "It must be nice to sit back and watch while I do all the fighting for both of us!"

"Aren't you the one always touting your superior strength?" 'M shot back. "Prove it!"

Rose took advantage of 'M's temporary distraction to ready one of her new Master Balls. Aiming the shiny sphere at the pixel-patterned Glitch, Rose threw it hard. The Master Ball pulled 'M inside with a loud sucking sound. The ball shook briefly and the light on the ball flickered several times. Then it became motionless.

"Yes!" Rose cheered, reaching forward for the ball. She jumped back in shock as the Master Ball suddenly began to shake before exploding into tiny pink and purple shards.

"Sh*t," muttered Entei.

"You'll never contain me with that little toy," sneered 'M, soaring high into the air. "It's impossible to hold something that has no physical form."

"There has to be a way to catch it," muttered Rose. "I'm not leaving without that thing in my collection."

"I've never seen 'M battle," added Entei. "It would probably go down after one hit. But if Master Balls don't work…"

"I wonder if there's something Myall could do," mused Jeremy. "She was created just like those Glitches, so maybe she has some ability a natural Pokemon doesn't have."

As if answering Jeremy, the tiny voice again spoke into the Professor's mind. I can use Crystal Wave.

"All right, Myall, use Crystal Wave," commanded Eric Stone.

"Crystal Wave?" asked Rose and Jeremy in unison.

"What the hell is Crystal Wave?" asked Entei.

The delicate kitten closed her eyes for a moment, focusing energy.

Suddenly, MissingNo crashed heavily into Myall, sending her spinning backwards toward the wall of the Pokemon Mart. She gave a high-pitched cry of shock.

Jeremy leaped forward and caught Myall right before she crashed into the concrete wall. "Whoa, careful!"

MissingNo laughed. "You've lost your touch, Professor. It looks like you can't make clones like you used to."

"Myall, why don't you use that attack we were practicing in the lab?" called Stone, trying to ignore MissingNo's taunting. "That should give you a moment to concentrate for your Crystal Wave attack. Just don't let your guard down completely."

Myall took a deep breath and raised her shimmering shield. Her eyes closed and her paws pressed together, as if she was preparing to summon a great force.

MissingNo floated backwards for a moment, then rushed forward, charging at the shield and crashing into it heavily. The bubble's surface wobbled slightly for a moment.

"I am still the strongest Pokemon ever created!" roared MissingNo. "You won't stand against me for long!"

MissingNo pulled back, then flung its ghostly form forward for another full-body tackle. As the Glitch connected with the protective barrier for the second time, a tiny, spidery crack appeared in the front of the bubble.

Rose gasped. "At this rate, Myall's shield isn't going to hold up much longer!"

"See, I told you it was useless to stand against us," hissed 'M smugly as MissingNo readied for one final attack on the shield. "You and your clone are through, Professor."

"Hang in there, Myall!" shouted Jeremy.

As MissingNo crashed into the bubble a third time, a huge crack split the shield into two jagged pieces. With an evil leer, MissingNo forcibly pulled Myall from the wreckage, closing its long, zombie-like hands around the Entei-colored fur at her neck. "I knew I would win. Now you die."

Her eyes still closed in deep concentration, Myall didn't visibly react. Suddenly, the fur around her neck began to glow a bright orange-red color and flames sprouted from her body.

MissingNo screamed in pain, flinging the genetic kitten away as Myall's flames seared its ghostly hands. Myall landed hard on the beach with a small squeak. She blinked, rubbing sand from her green eyes as MissingNo glared at her venomously.

"Quick, Myall, try to bring your shield back up!" shouted Stone anxiously. "Maybe you can still charge up your Crystal Wave."

Myall sighed wearily as the fragments of her original bubble rose from the ground and rejoined themselves around her body. As before, she closed her eyes and pressed her tiny paws together.

MissingNo laughed. "You don't know when to give up, do you? It's obvious you're exhausted from trying to stand against me," the Glitch taunted. "You're almost out of psychic energy too, aren't you?"

"Don't you realize when you're beaten, Professor?" sneered 'M, drifting toward MissingNo. "My brother is fully energized, and your clone is ready to drop. You're about to lose your latest experiment. Wouldn't that be a shame."

Eric's patience snapped. "Would you shut up?" he shouted, turning to 'M. "You're obviously too weak to battle, so spare me the running commentary."

"What are you so worried about, Professor?" taunted 'M as the glitch floated closer to Stone. "Destroying clones never seemed to bother you before. Why should this time be any different?"

"That's enough!" shouted Eric Stone, his eyes blazing with anger. At that moment, Myall's shield vanished. Her eyes suddenly snapped open, glowing with an intense violet color. Stone could feel unspeakable rage burning from within the small Pokemon as Myall's piercing gaze fixed on 'M. Her plume of energy shifted from a gently undulating blue to a billowing stormy purple as she thrust her tiny paws forward. With an earth-shattering cry, a shimmering stream of white-hot liquid glass poured from her tiny paws. MissingNo gasped as it fled to the top of the Pokemon Center, barely dodging the attack.

'M wasn't nearly so lucky. The Crystal Wave attack hit the pixellated body point-blank. The glitch fell to the ground as the rapidly solidifying glass grew heavier. Within moments, its L-shaped body was immobilized as the glass hardened. 'M's eyes flashed with anger as it tried fruitlessly to escape. How dare they… MissingNo, release me from this immediately!

And get myself trapped along with you? I don't think so. The ghostly Glitch smiled. I suppose we now see that I possess both superior strength and cunning.

Myall's eyes shifted back to their normal green shade and her energy plume slowly returned to normal as she gently drifted to the ground. With a large sigh, she closed her eyes and fell asleep. Jeremy ran forward and scooped the genetic kitten into his arms. He carefully poured some Super Potion into her open mouth. Beside him, Professor Stone mopped sweat from his dripping brow.

Meanwhile, MissingNo floated from the Pokemon Center's roof toward the ocean, but found its path blocked by the massive Entei. "Going somewhere, Glitch? Something with such superior strength shouldn't be running away from a little kitty," the Volcano Pokemon taunted.

MissingNo sneered and launched a Surf attack against Entei. "You shouldn't interfere with Pokemon stronger than you. You're going to get hurt that way."

"Oh no, you don't. Sparkles, do your thing!" yelled Rose, releasing a golden Raichu from its Poke Ball. The Team Rocket girl pointed toward MissingNo as Entei easily leaped out of the path of the rushing water. "Give that freakish thing a Thunderbolt!"

MissingNo screamed as the powerful electric attack traveled along its own Surf attack and zapped its genetically-created body.

"Last time I checked, Raichu wasn't even a Legendary," commented Rose. "I think you're all talk, MissingNo. You only keep your undefeated record because you run away from anything stronger than you."

MissingNo roared incoherently and charged toward the Rocket girl and her Raichu, burning hatred in its eyes. In a blinding flash of fur and spikes, Entei met the glitch's charge head-on and pinned the ghostly Pokemon to the ground. "What was that about being stronger than me?" the Volcano Pokemon growled dangerously. MissingNo struggled, but was unable to move under Entei's massive paws. "It's over, Glitch. You lose."

"Master Ball, go!" yelled Jeremy, throwing one of the improved purple-pink spheres at MissingNo's body.

"You stupid human, that trick failed to work last time! What makes you think it will work now?" the Glitch spat.

Jeremy just smiled, lightly petting Myall's head. "I've got my reasons."

As the sphere bounced off the Glitch Pokemon, there was a loud sucking sound as the ghostly Pokemon was forcibly pulled inside the Master Ball.
"No! This can't be happening! I am…"

MissingNo's voice was cut off as the Master Ball slammed shut, keeping the angry genetic Pokemon trapped inside. The center light on the Master Ball flickered a few times and then stopped. Tentatively, Jeremy reached forward and picked up the Master Ball, half expecting the Glitch inside to leap back out and attack him.

"Good sh*t," complimented Entei.

"Congratulations, Jeremy," said Rose, patting his shoulder. "You've caught yourself a Glitch."

"I… caught MissingNo?" he said in disbelief. "Now what?"

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