Goh knew exactly where he needed to go next, but first, he needed to send a quick text to the group to avoid any further suspicion than he already had thanks to his botched attempt at getting Chloe on his side. He still didn't understand why she had not been on his side, given that the two were close friends.
Goh had decided to go right back to Snowbelle City, as he knew that the old Team Rocket members were there and might know something about Trent and Kiera, the names Giovanni had given him. As he flew atop of Flygon once more, an activity he was starting to grow tired of, he composed a quick message to send to his friends individually.
Hey, you guys! I'm busy catching Pokemon right now. I think I'm close to catching every Pokemon; Mew seems closer than ever. I'm sorry I can't be there right now. The Professor has got a workload cut out for me, so I'm working on that currently. Hope to see you guys soon!
He felt it was simple and nice enough to come from Goh himself, so it worried him when he got a text from Ash himself a few minutes after sending the message. Out of all the people he had to interact with, Goh worried about Ash the most; he was unaware of how much training he had gotten on the island and was always running the risk of being caught.
Hey, Goh! Glad to hear from you. Look, I didn't have the chance to say much back in Snowbelle City, but I want to now. I'm really glad that we found you and that you're okay. As much as we honestly wanted you to come with us to Pallet Town, I like to think I'd know what it's like to just want to leave it all behind.
I'm going to compete in the World Coronation Series again, so we're going to see all of the Pokemon that I caught in my previous journeys! I never got to see them with you, but I'm sure you might be able to someday. I'm going because I need a few more Pokemon to fill up my team completely.
Anyways, I mainly just wanted to say how sorry I am for leaving. Everyone else here has managed to forgive me, but if you don't, then I understand. It was just super tough to lose my Pokemon and I had no idea how to cope with my crumbling reality. That's why I ran away, I guess. Or at least, that's one of the reasons. I think you can guess who the other reason is.
Goh was almost to Snowbelle City but was intrigued by Ash's exposing message, so he continued reading. After all, there was so much personal information being shared in this private message that Goh could easily use to take down Ash.
Speaking of that person, I'm not sure what's going on. I know you were one of the first people to realize I had feelings for Serena, but you also helped me understand those feelings. It feels like our reunion should have been perfect and amazing, but it was just a lot of fighting and disappointment.
We've managed to make amends, but I have no idea what's going to happen from here. We haven't managed to find time to talk to each other privately, and she hasn't said anything about any form of a relationship. I might just be getting in my way, but I guess time will tell.
Anyways, that's it. I've been typing this whole thing while walking toward Professor Oak's lab. We're almost here and I want to make sure I'm in the right headspace for choosing the correct Pokemon, so hopefully, I'll talk to you later in person.
~ Ash
Most of the conversation, while important to the actual Goh, was not important to Mewtwo, who had landed at Snowbelle City. He made his way over to the Pokemon Center and walked in, avoiding talking to Nurse Joy and heading straight for the restroom.
Goh thought that humans were very inefficient, and using the restroom was no exception. A waste of paper and water, he thought to himself as he walked in and flicked the light. He hadn't relieved himself in this form, so it took him a while to figure out how to do so.
Finally, after he was finished, Goh walked over to the sink and began thoroughly washing his hands. I need to go see Jessie and James next, he thought to himself as he covered every part of his hand with soap. Since they know me as the original Goh, I can get them to tell me everything I need to know about Trent and Kiera.
Looking up at the mirror that sat right above the sink, Goh noticed something odd about his reflection. There was a look of despair on the reflection's face; he stared at it blankly and realized that what he was looking at was not his true emotions. It was the emotions of the true Goh, trying desperately to get out from the prison within his own body.
Goh stared back into the mirror, speechless. From the other side, the true Goh looked back in fear and a longing to return to the real world. "How can I see you?" Goh muttered, bringing his hand forward to the glass; he expected his reflection to do the same, but instead, it backed up as he brought his hand forward.
"How is it possible? My reflection isn't obeying the laws of reality?" Goh whispered to himself, somewhat terrified. From the other side, the original Goh looked back angrily, running up to the edge of the mirror and jumping into it, creating a loud thud sound from his side. "You took my body from me! Against my will!
Goh was now the one to take a step back. The original Goh had just talked to him through the mirror. "This must be my hallucinating mind," he whispered to himself, staring at his hands. "You mean my mind! This was never your body! Give it back!" Goh yelled from inside the mirror, pounding against the glass.
Quickly approaching the sink and splashing water on his face, Goh shook his head and blinked his eyes a few times, trying to remove the vision from his sight. Unfortunately, as he refreshed his mental state, the original Goh still stood in the flawed reflection of the mirror, staring incriminatingly at his kidnapper.
"Just because you're trying to get rid of me doesn't mean that I won't be here, watching your every move!" Goh screamed, his voice muffled by being trapped within the parallel world. "It won't matter what you see because I'm in control!" Goh responded sternly. "I'm the one that took over your body!"
"It won't matter! You should've just stayed in that stupid body of yours!" As Goh said this, he got closer to the glass and put his face up against it, trying to get closer to his enemy. "Ash and the others will never believe that you are the real me! That's how much they know me!" As he said this, Goh's eyes narrowed.
"That's where you're wrong," he reprimanded confidently, causing the original Goh to temporarily raise an eyebrow. "See, did they believe the true Goh would run away in search of Ash? I don't think so." He got closer to the mirror and threateningly stared down Goh, who began to cower.
"The only reason I made sure that you were the body I chose was that you were acting unstable. You were the easiest to gain control of and the easiest to use against your friends," Goh explained, crossing his arms. "And the only reason I didn't stay in my original body was that Ash would clearly overpower me with his Pikachu."
"Then why don't you try to take them down now? You've had so many opportunities," Goh asked, confused. Goh shook his head and sighed. "If I do it now, they'll know something is up and try to stop me. I've got to get on their good side to rebel against Ash." Goh gritted his teeth in the mirror; he couldn't let Mewtwo know this, but he had to find a way out of his mental prison.
"I own you, Goh. You're a mere voice in my head now," Goh stated firmly. "In fact, your pitiful reality of trying to catch Mew is a failed attempt at trying to be fulfilled in life. Nothing, and I mean nothing, will ever make you worthy of encountering that creature. You were created to be my vessel, through which I would be able to destroy this wretched place humans have created."
Never had spoken utterances caused such turmoil; Goh was shattered by these words, much as the mirror was shattered as Goh sent an aggressive punch right towards the mirror Goh. Glass was sent all over the sink, fragmenting the image of Goh into a bunch of pieces.
"You monster! You'll never succeed with such a negative view of humans!" Goh's faded voice echoed from each glass piece. Goh smirked, and with a bloodied hand, waved sarcastically towards the pieces. As he walked away, he heard small shouts, mostly ignoring them.
He perked his ears, however, as Goh made one final statement. "You aren't a prodigy! You're a monstrosity!" Goh chuckled and turned towards the mirror with a side glance. "Monstrosity. I like it," he said quietly to himself, walking out of the room and into the Pokemon Center lobby.
He walked towards the door but was momentarily stopped by Nurse Joy. "I heard some shouting and thuds in there. Is everything okay?" She asked, worried. Goh turned towards her, and with the most basic and fake smile, he could muster, replied, "Everything's just fine! Nothing's wrong! Thanks for the concern!"
To any outsider, it was a completely regular interaction, but it truly went deeper than that. Any individual who was aware of what had just witnessed what occurred between Mewtwo and Goh would have been horrified to see how seamless and calmly Goh switched into his feigned friendly mode; it was an extremely difficult task that proved well.
Goh was more motivated than ever to get to the source of why those Team Rocket members were at the island; he could never separate Ash and the others and solving that mystery for them would be the easiest route. So, he made his way straight to where Jessie and James lived, knowing he needed to interrogate them quickly about Trent and Kiera.
He knew he needed to knock, but as he approached to door, the words of the true Goh echoed in his mind. "Ash and the others will never believe that you are the real me! That's how much they know me!" Even though he didn't want to believe it, Goh knew it was true; his plan was not working because of how much of a friend Goh was.
His agenda had shifted slightly. No longer was he going to act like Goh to people; he was going to act however he needed to achieve his manifest. So, instead of knocking as he should've, Goh kicked into it as hard as he could, causing a large clatter and wood splinters to be sent flying in every direction.
Immediately, Jessie and James ran into the room. "Goh?!" James exclaimed with genuine shock. "What are you doing, Twerp!?" Jessie exclaimed, holding Tyler close to her chest in an attempt to calm him down. "Do you know who Trent and Kiera are?" Goh asked, walking over the broken door and approaching the family.
"Tre-What now?" James asked, flustered. "Trent and Kiera. Giovanni said they were in Team Rocket as members," Goh asked again, this time clarifying his question. "Um, yeah they were," Jessie answered. "Why?" She looked behind her and saw Meowth was standing behind a corner, signaling to Jessie that he was going to strike.
"Don't ask why! Just tell me one more thing!" Goh exclaimed, his fists trembling. "Where are they now?" As he yelled, Tyler could be heard screaming in the other room, piercing both Jessie and James's ears. "They could be in Giovanni's old lair!" Jessie yelled over the screams. "And where would one find that?"
"I don't know. It's in a mountain somewhere," James replied while Jessie was managing to reduce Tyler's screaming. "It's where he kept Mewtwo prisoner like some science experiment." Goh cringe at hearing his former name being said; he found it repulsive and described his previous body.
"Thank you," he said, turning around and leaving abruptly through the doorframe. As he did, he heard small feet running against the wooden floor and realized something was coming after him. He reached out and grabbed the nearest object to him, which happened to be the small wooden Persian statue that sat out on the porch.
Swinging it around, he made contact with the force coming after him. "Yeowch!" A high-pitched voice screamed. Goh stared down and saw that it was Meowth who had been running after him; his claws were readied to attack him. Meowth looked up at him with fear and said, "C-Come on twerp! Why you gotta ruin the house like that!"
Goh scoffed and threw down the Persian statue, splitting it in half. He made his way down the stairs and reached for Flygon's Pokeball, but not before James rushed out of the house. "Goh! Why did you do this! We were living a peaceful life! We've done nothing wrong!" He exclaimed frantically.
In response, Goh turned around and stared at James. Goh wasn't a name that he liked either; it reminded him too much of the disgustingness of humans. However, the term that the true Goh had called him was appealing and fit his disposition so well. "I'm not Goh," he replied, releasing Flygon onto the street and boarding it. "I'm a monstrosity." James was speechless as Goh flew away, heading towards his old prison and leaving the former Team Rocket members in shambles.