The odd one out: Mewtwo

The Pokemon franchise has made Nintendo a very rich franchise. It produces around of handheld and console games that make instant millions every year. It also has an on-going TV show, manga, trading cards, and movies in Japan and North America every year. So much is the franchise, that Super Smash Bros. includes Pikachu as the big icons of Nintendo for both Super Smash Bros. 64, Super Smash Bros. Melee (Gamecube), and Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii).

As a fan of Nintendo, I too have become accustomed to purchasing a Pokemon game for my Nintendo hand held console. Although Pokemon is one of the easiest RPG games to play, one specific character/feature of it makes me keep coming for more. That character is Mewtwo.

Mewtwo is an intersting Pokemon. He is the 150th Pokemon in the national pokedex and is one of the original Pokemon in the original games: Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow. Mewtwo is a legendary Pokemon in the games. As Pyschic type Pokemon, he was designed to be the most powerful pokemon in the games. This, in my opinion, is continued throughout the franchise. Only to be challenged by the latest legendary pokemon in the Ruby/Sapphire and Diamond/Pearl game series.

Mewtwo is also the only pokemon in the games that has an actual origins. According to the Diaries in the Abandoned labratory on Cinnabar Island, a city in the Blue/Red and Fire Red/Leaf Green games, he is the offspring of Mew the bonus 151st pokemon in all the games. However, because of his power he can have vicious tendencies and ended up destroying the lab and escaping. He is also the prize of the player defeating the Elite Four and can only be found at the bottom of the Cerulean cave in Cerulean City.

So, what is it about Mewtwo that draws me back to the franchise? Well from watching the series off and on I find that most of the characters are either too sweet and innocent or too evil or just not human enough to be related to. From watching the movies that Mewtwo has starred in, I can really relate to him as a character.

Origins in the Movies:
In the first pokemon movie, Mewtwo was cloned from a fossilized remnant of Mew. Mew is the rarest and most powerful natural Pokemon on earth. However, Giovanni wanted to make a clone of Mew that would be the most powerful, even surpassing Mew. Giovanni, however, is the leader of the main criminal organization in the series called Team Rocket. So, Mewtwo began as no more than an object to help Giovanni rule the earth.

Pokemon, the first Movie. Mewtwo Strikes Back/Mewtwo vs. Mew:

So, the movies present the first character that is the bad guy in one and a good guy in the other. In the first movie Mewtwo refuses to submit to Giovanni and attempts to wreak vengeance on humans. He even goes as far as pitting pokemon born of natural means against clones he created to prove who is the stronger one. In this battle he fought against Mew, according to his refletions in the movie Mewtwo Returns Mew was his "nemesis," not his parent because Mewtwo during this point was struggling with what his purpose should be and up until the end of Mewtwo Returns, his own self worth.

Mewtwo Returns

The fact that by his second movie he turned good it showed that even the worst of us can have redeeming qualities. Although in the next movie Giovanni still views Mewtwo as his personal property, Mewtwo wants to protect everyone from Boss Rocket's (Giovanni) oppressive power. He even is willing to sacrifice himself.

Now the only character that has been willing to put his life on the line for another in the whole franchise that I have seen is Ash. And that was to knock some sense into Mewtwo.

Was Mewtwo just evil in the first movie, Mewtwo Strikes Back?
I don't think so. In the first movie, Mewtwo suffers through questions we all deal with: Why am I here? What is my purpose? What is my destiny. The answer that he got was, "To serve your master, that is your purpose" (Giovanni, Mewtwo Strikes Back). What would any of us had of done in response to that? Mewtwo was tool to the people who cloned him and to Giovanni who ordered even before he was brought into existence! Any one of us would have called for vengeance to that.

Now I know what your thinking, because I am a Christian shouldn't I shake my head at someone or something who rebels against his creator? Well, yes, but there is a difference between us and God, and Mewtwo and Giovani.

First, Mewtwo was not created from scratch like Adam and Eve were . Because he is a clone, Mewtwo is really just the resultof Mew's DNA replicated and mutated . Second, God created us partially for us to "Fear God and keep His commandments, for this is the whole duty of man" (Ecclesiastes 12:13b NIV). Mewtwo was created in order to further Giovanni's plan to rule the earth. God's love is also what motivated Him to create us and send Jesus to die in order to provide a way for us to return to Him 4,000 years after our first parents, and the rest of us humans after them, chose to rebel. What was Giovanni's motivation for sparring Mewtwo from the torture he made the pokemon undergo in order to get Mewtwo's will to submit to his own? "You can't destroy it, it could take years to clone it again" (Black Tulip, Team Rocket Agent to Giovanni, Mewtwo Returns).

I think Mewtwo had every right to put Giovanni in his place and rebel, unlike us who have only our stubborness and selfishness to blame for our rebellion against our Creator.

More human traits? Well, in Mewtwo Returns Mewtwo does not see himself as an equal to naturally born pokemon. To him, he has no right to be on this earth because of how he was made. This is how he views the clones that are with him that he made in the previous film. We all can go through this. Feel like the odd one out. All who have gone to high school understand the fight that there is t get into the "in" crowd and the pain that we experience when we know we are not a part of it.

Just like Mewtwo understood that his choices determine who he was, he learned that he had every right to live on this earth and that he was the same as all the other pokemon. That's something that I had to realize on my walk with God too. That although I struggle with a learning disability I also have every right to live in God's creation. I am a unique creation made in God's image and Jesus died for me and offer's me salvation. And just like Mewtwo was a fully redeemed character by the end of his two movies, I am also redeemed and a child of God when I accepted Jesus in October of Grade 9.

But, I don't think Mewtwo's story is finished. Mewtwo lacks companionship, and I think he needs that instead of being forced to live alone. That is Mewtwo's one problem and it ends on a sad note to me. Although Mewtwo, because of his power and strength, has to live a more secretive life he still has no companions. I don't think Nintendo should resign him to a lonely existence for the rest of the Pokemon story. It would be nice for Mewtwo to have a Pokemon Trainer who can be his friend, like Ash and Pickachu are friends. Then I would say his story is complete for that aspect of Pokemon. And hey maybe it can be a story that does not include Ash, Misty, Brock or any of the other protagonists in the TV show?

But I am sure Nintendo will come up with something as long as the Pokemon franchise remains popular among gamers and anime lovers alike.

Notepad Session: Summary of readings from Textbook on Spiritual Formation

i like the book for spiritual formation. it really has been the answer to my prayer that i have been asking God about since Christmas. the question was, "why am i not acting more christ-like despite my 'doing' of the spiritualdisciplines." it turns out that i am ingrained in the cultural norms of do stuff and get immediate results.

i see that god works behind the scenes and that it really starts with a growing relationship with jesus. so, it hasto be god conforming me and not me conforming myself. k, i think i get it. now, what does god need me to do withthese disciplines so he...has something to work with(?)...shows i have to keep reading.

Notepad Session: Gossip

gossip. one little word that can mean so much. it defines the evil that words can accomplish and cause people to commit. i see gossip all the time. it is like an addictive drug that is hard to quit. once you gossip, it never seems to stop. yet, it can have deadly consequences and destructive long-term results.

i have seen the blatant uselessness and damage that gossiping can cause. first it doesn't solve the gossipers problems with another person. if they are not willing to discuss the issues with a particular person then what goal does it accomplish besides making whoever look bad in front of the gossipers audience.

second- it destroys relationships. you can never have a good relationship with the other person on because what is between you to is unresolved. by refusing to talk and try to gain some common ground, there will always be bitterness and anger under the surface when you encounters them. this may cause you to look for reasons to complain about the person, instead of trying to look for ways to to get along and fix them.

it also wrecks relationships if gossip becomes a rumor. by talking about it with an audience, then every member of your audience can go and spread it with someone else who has had contact with them. and if that person found out that you had been talking with them behind their back, it could erupt feud or quiet into an emotional array of bitterness and animosity.

i hope and pray to God that i resist the urge to gossip. because it is the most useless and destructive kind of conversation. the Bible tells us to live quiet lives and mind their own business. proverbs and the book of james warned about controlling the tongue, and avoiding gossipping. i agree with it wholeheartedly. i pray that my words try to dissuade gossipping and urge them to discuss their problems with the other person and to not make a problem worse.

i know that's what I'd want. i would much rather have someone confront me with my sin against them, then to find out that they recruited a band of followers by gossipping about it. that is how godly people do it and that is what the Scriptures (including the words of Jesus!) call us to do.

Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father,I confess to you that my words are sinful. they have gossiped and have said Your name in vain many times. As a brother of mine long ago said, "My ears had heard of You but now my eyes have seen You. Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes"(Job 42:5-6). I pray that You forgive me and cleanse me from all unrighteousness(1Jn1:9) through Jesus' blood that was shed on the cross. I thank You for Your forgiveness.

I pray that you help me to use my words for your glory and to resist the temptation to gossip and to use my words for evil. i pray my words do nothing but advance your kingdom and help me to know when I have messed up immediately so that i can repent and seek forgiveness and give me the courage to correct the wrongs and seek forgiveness. Love, Andrena Through the name of my Great Mediator, and my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
Amen.

Notepad Session: Reflecting on 2008

here i am on the train going back to bible college in kitchener. man was the vacation great. it is true that mom andi got into 3 fights but god used them for good because he used them to show me the sin in my life that must be dealt with.

as i watch the train go through kingston and listen to the people around me playing music (i thought that u neededheadphones to play it) and people talk amongst themselves i look back at 2008. 2008 was an interesting year. i wenton my first missions trip with Campus for Christ and completed my first full year of university education. it sawme change my employment path from a secularized to Christian career path. it also made me confront areas of my lifethat i don't like. yes, 2008 was a very full year for me.

now here i am in 2009. god is already beginning to work within me and point to things within me and things withoutthat i need explore, ponder, and question. one of them is where should i go on with my bachelor in theology whenit is complete? i have been thinking about it. in the car today, mom and i discussed how the school would helpme move on from next year.

i told her i wanted to go into youth ministry, but now i am not so sure. i have been thinking about going into young women's ministry, but does god want me to end with a 4-year bachelor? perhaps he does want me to go on to a master's and then a PhD. i know the difficulties it would involve but i cannot help but wonder if a bachelor is notenough christian education for me.
one of the things that involve a PhD in theology or divinity is learning the languages of the original manuscripts:hebrew and greek. i know that the votes are in about the languages: learning hebrew and greek is difficult. but these are the languages that the forefather's of my faith learned, even Jesus knew them! i think it would be a cooland worth it challenge to overcome. that and i would love to become someone who has complete education to be able to teach the bible to my family and show that the translations we have are accurate and reliable.

but is this what god wants? does god want me to complete my master's degree and PhD? is it in god's will for me to become a biblical scholar in a male-dominated profession? is it the academic spectrum that is where god seesme working for him? would help me grow in my faith and strengthen my defense of it? these questions are very important for a christian like me because, like Jesus, it is important for me to carry out God's will to further His kingdom.

unfortunately there is no verse in the bible, regardless of the language it is in ;), that specificallysays what god wants me to do and what his will for the majority of my life is. that is the one problem with God'sWord is that it is individual specific for the people who are in it. meaning it only tells us what god's plan wasfor people like abraham, isaac and jacob and everyone else that is specifically in it. well, actually, we do notknow the fate of everyone. for example, only secular history tells me how we go from the Persian Empire in Ezra/Nehemiah and Malachi to the Roman Empire in the gospels. secular history is also what tells me about the fatesof all the apostles, including Paul, and how the early church grew into the modern church i see today.

it would be cool to learn the history of the world from a christian perspective. now that i have completed my secularized part of my education and my secularized history courses, i want to know the other side of the story. like how the faith and Christian background of the Father's of Confederation influenced the name of the unitedcolonies to be the "Dominion of Canada" in 1864-1867. or how the faith of Nellie McClung and the famous five(?) sparked and was the reason for the push for women's rights--> not the moving away from it, like what happened in the 1960's. who knows, moving forward with this might be my ticket to Israel!!!

but like I said, no verse in the bible says where god wants me to go. and this decision about my career path andacademic studies was decided by god before the beginning of the world. amazing. so, i need to pray and seek god on the matter to find out what decision he made. it would be cool, though, to work in a place where i can take the bible as seriously, and have the academic authority, instead of just working in a ministry where it could be a whilebefore i could be honest about people when they have to change their lifestyle. with a academic background in theBible...hey it would difficult for members of my family to question what i say about the bible.

but it is all up to god, and whatever god wants should be bringing glory to him and not glory to myself. so, i bestjust pray, read/study the Scriptures and walk with jesus and jesus will guide me in the way of righteousness andon the path that he wants me to walk.

Notepad Session: Review on Star Wars Forces of Corruption

so i have been play empire at war foc in order to get better at playing the zann consortium. i find that the consortium is better than both the allianceand the empire. why? because the zann consortium is not based on the tech-level system. both the empire and the alliance need to get their technology by leveling up. the consortium does not.the consortium already has all of its ships; however, itdoes purchase their troops' special abilities from the "black market". notsurprising considering it is a mercenary organization.

writing these text files during class are fun. it really helps to get mythoughts down. i never thought of myself as a writer but perhaps i was wrong.perhaps God wants me to use writing to reach young women at risk. i would haveto start small but i think it would be fun. the question is how...magazine?my own books? what would susie shellenberger do?hmmm...

well heavenly father, if this is where you want me to go and how you want meto reach people then here it is. i am giving my writing ability back to you andmy burden to reach young women back to you. take it and do what needs to bedone with it!