Joanna and Mew

"Please?" Joanna Ketchum begged her mother. "I'll be back before dark this time."
Mrs. Ketchum gave in. "Alright, Joanna, but don't touch anything you're not supposed to."
"Thanks," Joanna said and rushed out the door.
"Don't forget your coat!" her mother yelled, but Joanna was already outside.

Seven-year-old Joanna was going to Professor Oak's laboratory. Professor Oak was a widely known and acclaimed Pokemon researcher who kept lots of different Pokemon in his lab. So, Joanna would visit frequently and play with them.

Joanna noticed that her mother was growing tired a lot lately. So tired, that Mrs. Ketchum called her mother to come and help since Mr. Ketchum left just recently. Joanna's mother was pregnant and expecting any minute, so things were tense around the house. But Mrs. Ketchum's daughter was very excited to be getting a baby brother, whom they were going to name Ash.

Joanna burst through the door to Professor Oak's lab and stopped dead short.

Professor Oak was alright, and everything was in order, but one thing stuck out like a sore thumb. Professor Oak was observing a small white Pokemon that was sitting calmly on a table. The professor went on making observations, but the Pokemon on the table whirled to look at her. Beautiful blue eyes met her dull brown and almost mesmerized her. She was barely able to say, "What's that?"

"It's a newly discovered Pokemon," Professor Oak answered. He folded up his notepad, stuck it in his pocket, and turned to Joanna. "It's called Mew."
"Mew," Joanna repeated. She smiled at the new Pokemon. "It's cute."
The Pokemon smiled at the compliment and stood up on the table. All of a sudden, it was floating in the air towards Joanna.

"It's a psychic Pokemon," Professor Oak explained. "It's very powerful and very rare."
Mew hovered in front of Joanna a moment, then floated to her shoulder. Joanna was tensing. She'd never seen a psychic Pokemon, and the first one she sees is the rarest in the world.

The new Pokemon settled itself on Joanna's shoulder and smiled again.
Professor Oak laughed. "I think it likes you."
"I hope so," Joanna replied. She reached up to touch Mew's head, but drew back suddenly. She didn't want to get zapped or anything.

Mew just nuzzled her cheek, seeming to urge her to touch it. Joanna reached up and stroked the Pokemon's head. It didn't zap her, but a warm, friendly feeling passed through her hand and into her body.

"How long is it staying?" she asked.
Professor Oak shrugged. "I have to make a couple more observations. It's actually been quite a cooperative Pokemon. It doesn't run away or try to attack me with its attacks. The most it should have to stay is about two weeks."

Joanna was now cradling Mew in her arms. Suddenly, Mew's ears perked and it floated out of Joanna's arms then hovered between her and Professor Oak.

"What's wrong?" Joanna asked Mew. But Mew didn't say anything. Joanna's surroundings started to fade abruptly, although Professor Oak and Mew were crystal clear. Professor Oak had a perplexed look on his face. The only calm one was Mew, who had its eyes closed in tight concentration.

They materialized in the hospital lobby, where everyone who was already there was now staring at them.
"Mew must have teleported us from the lab to the hospital," Professor Oak observed.
"But why?" Joanna added worriedly. She felt a tugging on her sleeve and looked down to find Mew pointing at something. She followed Mew's finger to see�Mrs. Ketchum in a wheelchair!

Joanna forgot about everything else and rushed to her mother. "Mom, what's going on?"
"Joanna!" Mrs. Ketchum exclaimed. "How'd you get here?"
"Uh�Professor Oak brought me. What's happening?"
Mrs. Ketchum smiled. "Your brother's going to be born."

Now Joanna beamed. "Really? Oh�"
"Excuse me," a nurse said and pushed Joanna aside gently. She got to Mrs. Ketchum and started to wheel her away.

"Goodbye, dear," Mrs. Ketchum called. "You make sure Professor Oak stays here with you."
Joanna waved to her mother and turned around. Mew and Professor Oak were standing before her. "She's giving birth to Ash," Joanna explained.

The professor beamed, but Mew's face didn't change to the news. Joanna looked at it suspiciously and sat down to wait in a seat. Mew moved so it hovered right in front of her.

"How'd you know?" she asked. Mew only smiled and curled up in Joanna's lap.
Several hours later, a nurse walked into the lobby, looking for Joanna.
"Joanna?" she called. "Joanna Ketchum?"
Joanna woke with a start. "What? What's wrong?" Mew floated off her lap and into the air, and Professor Oak woke from his light nap.

Joanna looked at the nurse. "How's my mom? And my brother?"
The nurse smiled. "They're both doing fine. Would you like to come and see them?"
Joanna nodded vigorously and started to walk towards the door her mother went through. Professor Oak started forward too, but the nurse stopped him.

"Sorry, sir, but only family members are allowed," she explained.
Professor Oak smiled and nodded in understanding. When Mew started after Joanna, the nurse held up her hand again. "That applies to Pokemon as well."

Mew grimaced, annoyed, and slouched into one of the chairs. Professor Oak sat in the chair next to it and smiled. "Don't worry, Mew. Joanna will be back soon."

Joanna walked into the room where Mrs. Ketchum was quietly. She saw her mother cradling a little baby and singing to it. Mrs. Ketchum looked up and motioned for Joanna to be quiet. Joanna walked to her mother's side to see her new brother.

Ash was fast asleep in his mother's arms. He had the same jet-black hair as Joanna, as well as the markings under his eyes that looked like little squat Z's.

"He looks so much like you," Mrs. Ketchum whispered. Ash then suddenly started to cry. Mrs. Ketchum smiled. "And acts like you did, too."

Joanna looked on as Mrs. Ketchum went on making shushing noises, when she felt another presence behind her and she whirled around.

Looking out the door window for pursuers, was the little white Pokemon that had brought her here.
"What is that?" Mrs. Ketchum gasped.
Joanna grimaced. "Mew." She went up to Mew and looked it in the eye. "How'd you get here? Where's Professor Oak? You know you're not suppose to be here."

Mew shut its eyes and images suddenly flashed in Joanna's mind. The images showed Professor Oak's pregnant daughter-in-law being rushed inside. Another flashed image showed Professor Oak rushing out of the waiting room and into a long hall with a nurse beside him. The third image showed an unguarded door�the one that Joanna went through.

Once the images stopped, Joanna squeezed her eyes and shook her head. "You have an odd way of communicating."

Mew smiled, then noticed Mrs. Ketchum looking at them, and Ash still crying. It floated through the air to Ash's side. Ash stopped crying at Mew's presence and instead started laughing.

"How does it do that?" Mrs. Ketchum wondered.
"I ask myself the same thing."
"No, I mean, Ash can't see this young, so how did he know�uh�."
"Mew."
"Mew was there?" Mrs. Ketchum finished.
Joanna stared at Mew, who was staring at her from Ash's side. "Mew just has that effect, I guess."

When Joanna and Mew walked out of the hospital an hour later, Joanna realized she didn't have any place to go. Her grandmother left just the day before and she couldn't stay home alone. Mew nuzzled her arm and sat on her shoulder. She was renewed with confidence, realizing she wasn't alone, and started home.

It was dark when she got home, and she was almost scared to step inside. Suddenly, Mew leapt off her shoulder and stepped in front of the front door, shaking its head.

"What's wrong?" she asked. She started forward when she was abruptly lifted into the air and set down a few feet away. She tried to walk, but her feet seemed to be glued to the ground. She looked up and saw Mew with a determined look on its face.

"Mew," she said, growing angry. "Did you do all this? Did you throw me in the air and glue me to the ground?"

Mew nodded slightly and turned to the front door. It opened all on its own and Mew floated into the darkness.

"What's it doing? I hope it's not leaving me out here," Joanna said to herself. A cold breeze swept through the trees and plowed into her, sending chills down her spine. She looked up into the night and saw the stars sparkling above her. Seeing the stars reminded her of when she would stargaze with her father. He left suddenly; saying it had to do with business. She once found a clue to where he was going; it was a letter of some sort. She took it and hid it in her room. All she was able to read was the name "Giovanni" at the bottom of the paper.

A sudden burst of light from inside the house reminded Joanna of Mew. A shadow shot out of the roof and was suspended in the air for a moment. Mew stepped out of the front door; its eyes locked on the dark figure. The shadow screamed and Mew hurled it, with its eyes, into the dark.

Joanna stared after the figure, when images shot through her mind again. It was from Mew's point of view, and showed it floating through the house and into her bedroom. There was a sudden blast of pink light that flooded the room and showed the figure was a person. She couldn't see the person's face, but she did see a large "R" printed on the person's shirt.

Joanna's vision went normal and she saw Mew standing in front her. Mew had saved her. If she'd gone into the house, she could have been attacked by the figure. Now she knew why Mew had frozen her to one position.

She looked at Mew and whispered, "Thank you." Mew smiled and sat on her shoulder again.
Joanna was shaken awake and her eyes opened groggily. Professor Oak and Mew were standing over her.
"Professor Oak? When did you get here?" she asked.
"Last night. I walked in and saw you and Mew asleep on the couch. Mew filled me in on what happened last night. Are you alright?" he asked.

Joanna nodded. She was suddenly wide-awake when she remembered last night's events. "How's my mom?" she asked wide-eyed.

Professor Oak smiled. "She's fine. So is Ash. They'll be coming home today, so I suggest we clean this place up a little."

Joanna remembered something else. "Professor, where did you go last night? Mew showed you rushing through a door as well as your daughter-in-law."

Professor Oak smiled even wider. "She gave birth to my grandson, Gary."
"Really?" Joanna smiled. "Maybe Ash has a future playmate."
Thievery

Joanna was too busy at home with Ash to go to Professor Oak's lab. So Mew would visit her frequently and play with Ash. Mew was Ash's first friend, and would probably be his only one for a while. When Ash and Gary were introduced to each other, they didn't exactly hit it off.

When a year passed, Mrs. Ketchum was well enough to be left alone. Joanna could go back and visit Professor Oak as well as Mew. One day she realized something while playing with a Ponyta, and asked Professor Oak, "I thought Mew was going to leave a long time ago. Why is it still here?"

"Do you want it to leave?" Professor Oak asked back.
"Oh, no," Joanna said quickly. "I'm just wondering."
Professor Oak nodded. "Well, every time I make an observation of Mew, something else shows up, and I have to make more notes."

"It's been here a long time. It must have a lot of secrets." Joanna looked around and spotted Mew in a tree, asleep. She climbed up and sat next to it. It woke up slowly and looked at her. She smiled, and so did Mew.

One month before Joanna's tenth birthday, she overheard her mother talking to Professor Oak on the phone.
"I'm just worried," Mrs. Ketchum said. "I don't know how she'll do."
Joanna couldn't hear what Professor Oak said, but she hoped it was good. Joanna knew that in one month she would begin her Pokemon journeys, and her mother was growing nervous.

"But probably the only real bad thing is that she's grown so attached to that Mew. I don't know if she'll be able to leave it. Do you think it's possible�." Mrs. Ketchum's voice trailed off and Joanna couldn't hear what she said.

"No, I suppose not," Mrs. Ketchum sighed after the professor responded.
Joanna turned away and went to play with her three-year-old brother. She didn't want to hear anymore. She knew she'd have to leave Mew as well as her family. Ash probably wouldn't even know he had a sister since he'd be so young when she leaves.

The evening of the day before Joanna's tenth birthday, she was trying to decide which Pokemon to start out with: Bulbasaur, Charmander, or Squirtle. She was walking home from the store when she passed the Oaks' home. Gary's mother and Professor Oak were engaged in some sort of argument, and Joanna could hear through the window.

"You should keep that little white one for Gary," Gary's mother argued.
"Mew is much too powerful, even for me. I can't give it to Gary," Professor Oak objected.
"That's the reason you give it to Gary. It's so powerful. He won't need any other Pokemon if he has that one."
"No! I'm almost done studying Mew, and then I'm letting it do what it wants to. If it wants to stay and wait for seven years and then go with Gary, that's its decision, not yours." Professor Oak was clearly angry. He loved Pokemon and believed in their rights.

Joanna couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd seen how Gary treated the Pokemon at the lab. Once he pulled Eevee's tail and growled at an Oddish. She couldn't see Mew with a brat like that.

Joanna ran home and rushed into the kitchen. Mrs. Ketchum was trying to get Ash to eat his dinner.
"Oh, hello, dear," Mrs. Ketchum greeted. She looked up at Joanna. "Joanna, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost."

"Uh�" Joanna stuttered between gasps. "I'm just excited about tomorrow, I guess."
Mrs. Ketchum smiled. "You should get some rest if you want to get to the lab first and pick the best Pokemon."

"Uh, yeah, goodnight, Mom." Joanna turned and rushed up the stairs to her room. After she closed her door, she grabbed her backpack and threw clothes and shoes and such into it, then nabbed her wallet. She was about to rush out of the room when a photo caught her eye. It was a picture of her, Mrs. Ketchum, and Ash taken just recently. She stared at it for a moment, then pulled it off the shelf. After gazing at it for another minute, she stuffed it in her backpack and rushed down the stairs.

At the base of the stairs, Mrs. Ketchum was starting to head up with Ash in her arms asleep. "Where're you going?" she asked.

"Uh�Professor Oak's lab�I've got something of his�see ya." As she walked past her mother, Mrs. Ketchum noticed Joanna's backpack.

"And what's in the backpack?"
"Uh�the thing that belongs to Professor Oak," Joanna said hastily and rushed past and out the door.
The street was pitch black and it was very hard to see where Joanna was going.
"Wish I brought my flashlight," she muttered to herself. She continued running down the road to the lab and passed the Oaks' home. Professor Oak was still there.

Joanna thanked her luck and ran to the lab even faster.
The lab was dark and opaque. Joanna searched the wall for a light switch and found one. She flipped it and the lab was flooded with light.

"Mew," she whispered. "Mew, where are you?"
Mew popped out from behind a corner and smiled. "Mew," Joanna called, "how would you like to come with me on a trip?"

Mew got a questioning look that seemed to say "To where?"
"We're just going�uh�all over the place," Joanna said. She got a pleading look on her face. "Please come with me, something terrible will happen to you if you don't."

Mew still didn't look so sure. It floated up to her face and stared at her in the eyes. Its face went blank for a moment, seeming to bore right through Joanna. After a minute or more, Mew squeezed its eyes and they fluttered open. It looked at Joanna and nodded.

"You'll come?" Joanna cried, almost not believing it. "We have to leave right now."
Mew smiled and perched itself on Joanna's shoulder. The two turned the lights off in the lab and turned to the darkness of the world together.

Professor Oak got a call at his son's home and heard the voice on the other end was frantic.
"Professor Oak?" It was Mrs. Ketchum.
"Mrs. Ketchum? Why are you calling me here?" Professor Oak asked.
"I called your lab but no one was there. Is Joanna with you?"
"No, is she supposed to be?"
Mrs. Ketchum wailed. "Joanna's gone. She told me she was going to your lab to give you something. It had been a while so I called your lab to see what was keeping her. But no one's there."

Professor Oak's memory was suddenly jogged. He remembered a small shadow run under the window when he was arguing with Gary's mother.

"Mrs. Ketchum, I'll have to call you back," Professor Oak said quickly and then hurried to his lab. Once he arrived, he looked around for Mew, and saw it was missing as well. Professor Oak headed to his phone and dialed Mrs. Ketchum's number soberly.

"Uh, hello? Mrs. Ketchum? I don�t know where Joanna went, but I'm afraid she took Mew with her."

Hellos and Good-byes "Mew, do you have any idea where we are?" Joanna asked her Pokemon. She turned to her right and saw Mew shrug.
A year had passed since Joanna stole Mew from Professor Oak, and she would never go back. She was sure stealing a Pokemon, especially from Professor Oak, would be unforgivable.
They were in another forest somewhere near Mt. Moon. Everywhere she went she was stared at and people would talk in murmurs around her. Probably because no one besides those from Pallet Town had even seen Mew, so anyone else who sees it is taken aback. One thing that surprised her was that Mew�s disappearance hadn�t been notified in any newspapers or media.

Suddenly, a wild Pokemon leapt from the bushes. It was a Spearow. Joanna sighed. She�d run into so many wild Pokemon that she wished she�d have bought some Poke Balls. With one zap from Mew, the wild Pokemon fainted, and Joanna and Mew were on their way again.
"We�re gonna hafta find a store and buy some Poke Balls. We keep running into all these wild Pokemon, I should catch some," Joanna said. Mew sat on her shoulder and nuzzled her cheek. Joanna smiled and reached up to pet Mew�s head. "Even though you may be the only one I need. Now if only we could get out of here."

Mew flew off her shoulder and into the air above the trees. All of a sudden, images flashed through Joanna�s mind. She could see a city just outside the exit to Mt. Moon. When the images stopped and Mew flew back down to Joanna�s side, Joanna thought a moment.
"I think that�s Cerulean City. We can see if we can get some supplies and stuff there." Joanna started running in the direction of Cerulean City with Mew just ahead of her.

Joanna entered Cerulean City tired and realizing it was getting late. Even Mew was growing tired and decided to rest on Joanna�s shoulder. She passed store after store and they all closed right before she opened the door.
After looking around town for the third time for a store, Joanna collapsed under a tree. Mew slid from her shoulder and cuddled against her arm.
"I guess we�re sleeping here tonight, Mew," Joanna said and started to pull out her sleeping bag. "Hey!" someone yelled.

Joanna wheeled around and saw a girl about her age standing with her arms crossed. "Uh�something wrong?" Joanna asked politely.
"Yeah," the girl answered. "You�re on private property."
"I am?"
"Duh."
"Oh, well, I�m sorry, I didn�t know." Joanna rolled up her sleeping bag and stood up. Mew was watching from Joanna�s shadow, so the other girl couldn�t see it. Joanna looked at the girl. "Do you at least know a place I can sleep the night?"

The girl studied Joanna. "You can sleep there, if you win in a Pokemon battle. Do you have any?"
"Um�." Joanna glanced at Mew, who nodded. "I have one."
"Good. I�ve got three. Just to tell you, they�re all water Pokemon."
"Well, mine�s psychic," Joanna said and stood aside to reveal Mew.
The girl gasped. "I�ve never seen that one. What is it?"
"Mew. It�s a new Pokemon." Joanna turned to Mew and it floated up in front of her. "So, ready to battle?"

The girl reached behind her and pulled out a Poke Ball. "Alright. I choose�"
"Daisy!" someone else screamed. Joanna and the girl looked to see who cried out. Two more girls were running up to them.
"Daisy," one girl puffed, "what do you think you�re doing?"
"You know we can�t use Mom�s Pokemon for battles," the other girl said.

"How�d you two know I was here?" Daisy said.

"We followed you," the first girl said. "Lily saw you stealing three of Mom�s Poke Balls."
"Excuse me?" Joanna piped up. The three turned to her. "Who are you?"
The three girls looked at each other, then back to Joanna. The girl who challenged Joanna and Mew sighed. "I�m Daisy. These two are my sisters, Lily and Violet."
Lily spoke up. "Together we make up the �Sensational Sisters.� One day we�ll run the gym here and be professional swimmers."

"Although there is one more member, girls," Violet said.
"Who?" Joanna asked.
"Our younger sister, Misty. She�s a toddler right now. And I don�t think she�ll be able to make it up to our level," Daisy explained.
"Okay that�s very nice," Joanna said abruptly. "But I thought we were going to battle?"
Daisy turned to her sisters. "C�mon girls. If she wins she�s just gonna spend the night out here."
Lily and Violet exchanged nervous glances. "Alright," they said.

Daisy turned to Joanna. "By the way, what�s your name?"
"Joanna Ketchum. Now, let�s battle." Joanna motioned for Mew to get up from its napping position on her shoulder and it reluctantly floated up.
Lily and Violet gasped. Daisy turned to them and explained Mew was a new Pokemon. Then she turned back to Joanna. "For my first Pokemon, I choose Dewgong," Daisy said and threw the Poke Ball to the ground. Dewgong materialized in front of Joanna and Joanna turned to Mew.

"Just take care of it, Mew," she said. Mew surrounded itself with a protective pink bubble and shot a beam of light at Dewgong. Then, before the battle even began, it ended. Dewgong fainted and fell to the ground.
The three sisters gasped. "Oh no!" Daisy screamed. "Mom�s gonna kill me."
"Just throw out another Pokemon, Daisy," Violet said.

"Right," Daisy said and drew a deep breath. "For my next Pokemon, I choose Starmie."
Starmie ended up like Dewgong. It was out before it was in. After Dratini fainted, Daisy fell to her knees. "My Mom is gonna kill me. Her three favorite Pokemon�fainted. They didn�t even get to attack," Daisy wailed.

"Calm down," Violet coaxed.
"How can I calm down? I need to heal these Pokemon tonight or I�m in big trouble." Then Daisy caught her breath. "And the Pokemon Center is closed!"
"No, it isn�t" Joanna stated. "It�s opened all night and day, like a hospital."
"Oh, yeah," Daisy said and stood up. She turned around and faced Joanna. "Your Mew is strong. You�re lucky to have it."
Joanna turned to Mew floating next to her. "I know," she said and Mew landed on her shoulder.
The three girls turned towards the Pokemon Center. Daisy turned around and called back, "You won. You can spend the night there. Bye!" Then she waved and turned back to her sisters.
Joanna waved back and then turned to Mew. "C�mon, Mew, let�s get some sleep."

"At least I know someone in Cerulean City," Joanna said as she passed through a crowd of strangers in Viridian City one year later. Mew stuck close to Joanna and gripped her shoulder firmly.

They passed through Viridian City without having any trouble and sat down under a tree in the Viridian Forest in the evening. Joanna pulled out some food and handed a piece to Mew next to her. Although Mew wouldn�t take it.
"Mew? What�s wrong?" Joanna asked. Mew was acting gloomy lately. It wouldn�t eat and it wouldn�t cuddle up to Joanna anymore. Joanna took it to a Pokemon Center to see if Mew was sick, but Nurse Joy didn�t find anything wrong.
Mew slouched and looked at the sky. Its eyes grew watery and it stood up slowly.
"What�s wrong?" Joanna asked again. Mew kept its eyes on the sky for a minute, then turned to Joanna. It rose into the sky; its eyes still locked on Joanna. Suddenly, an image of a mountain flashed through her mind. It wasn�t Mt. Moon; it was a mountain she�d never seen.
The next moment, the image faded, and Mew was gone.

Joanna spent a week in the Viridian Forest, waiting to see if Mew would come back. But it never did.
When the week ended, Joanna packed up her things gloomily and turned toward Viridian City.
"May as well go back home," she sighed. "Although I may be thrown in jail for it." She started going towards where she thought was Viridian City.

After spending an hour wandering around, Joanna concluded she was lost and plopped down on the ground. She would wander the world looking for either Pallet Town or that mountain she saw Mew flying towards, but she wouldn�t find either of them for a while.

When Joanna turned sixteen, she realized she had gone to all the major cities around, except Pallet Town. Once she realized where she was, she swore to stay away from Pallet Town. But one thing that tore her apart above everything was the fact that her brother, Ash, would be starting his Pokemon journeys soon. She wished she could see him, but the only way she could was by the picture she kept in her inside coat pocket.
For practically the third time, Joanna strolled into Viridian City with a glum look across her face. She hadn�t really smiled ever since Mew left.

But one thing different happened that day. As she walked by a dense group of trees, two people popped out and jumped in front of her.
Joanna gasped in surprise, then peered at the two people.
They were both just a couple of years older than her. One was a girl and the other was a boy.
"Uh�excuse me," Joanna said and tried to step aside, but the girl stopped her.
"You�re excused, but you have to come with us," the girl said smugly.

"Um�" Joanna stuttered. Then she noticed something printed on their shirts: a large red R. She suddenly remembered that the R stood for a group called Team Rocket. She learned from her travels that it wasn�t a good group to get mixed up in.
She looked around her and saw there wasn�t anyone in sight. She grew anxious and stiffened up. "Why do you need me?"
"The Boss wants you for something," the boy said.
"Who are you anyway?" Joanna demanded.
"We are members of Team Rocket," the boy stated. "My name is Butch."
"And mine is Cassidy." The girl took out something long and hard, like a bat. "Now, are we going to have to use force or will you come quietly?"
Joanna backed up, then whirled around to run. But she was pulled back by her arm and the next thing she knew, all was black.