The warming sun cast its rays down on Akala Island as the morning progressed. HeaHea City's Pokemon Center sat on the corner just past a clothes shop, and down the road from that was the docks to the island. Just to the left of the Center was the Surf Association with its Mantine style doors and surfboards leaning against the building's wall. "HeaHea City - A town that always welcomes visitors" read the sign on the opposite side of the road from the Pokemon Center.
It was around nine in the morning and Sona sat on the steps of the Pokemon Center. They grumbled sleepily and cursed the warmth they weren't quite used to. Alola was certainly one of the warmer regions and the colder-adjusted trainer wasn't that fond of heat. Being from Sinnoh they enjoyed the colder regions of Mount Coronet. However, now they were regretting packing more long sleeve shirts and pants than shorts and tank tops. It was by no means sweltering, but anything above 78 to 80 degrees was too hot for them.
With ears low and tail laying lazily out of the way of passersby leaving the Pokémon Center, Sona set their elbows on their knees and head in their hands. They knew while it was only comfortably warm now it was only going to get hotter as the day went on.
Gross.
"Well good morning sunshine!" there was a chipper call from behind them and they turned to look at the source of the voice. Eclipse stood behind them in all her illusionistic glory - a tall, curvy human form with slightly tanned skin, shorts and a tank top with thigh high socks and long fingerless gloves, a choker with that familiar blue-green orb, perfect red nails and matching eyeshadow, all tied together with that flowing red, black, and white ponytail that went past her red shorts clad rear. Sona eyed her. They were somewhat jealous of the shorts and tank top she was flaunting in that human form of hers - even if it was just an illusion. Eclipse hummed and leaned over, crossing her arms and resting on top of her trainer's head. "Sleep well?" she asked, her hand coming down to run a thumb over their cheek, down their jawline, lingering to their neck….
Sona swallowed, cheeks tingeing red, and turned their head to cut off the moving of their Pokémon's hand. It stopped at their shoulder and rested there with a toying smirk from Eclipse.
"Yeah, I did. How about you?" they asked in return.
"Mhm. Kinda hungry now though. What's for breakfast?" Eclipse sat beside them and leaned back on her hands. Sona rolled their eyes at this with a small smile. Always one to jump at food. They couldn't blame her - they were hungry as well.
A little ways down the road sat a large red food truck. A Bewear holding a malasada decorated the side of the truck and a blue and white striped shade hung over the serving window on the side. A small line had formed and the employees inside were happily passing out food and taking orders. There were four employees working inside; a tall, slender woman with long, curling magenta hair, a slightly taller man with chin length blue hair, a fairly short employee dawned in the uniform who was really a Meowth, and a Wobbuffet wearing the hat and overalls of the malasada company they were working for.
The woman, Jesse, was serving food with a smile while Meowth took their money and handed out change. James was in the back with Wobbuffet while he cooked and the Pokémon dusted the warm baked goods with powdered sugar or drizzled them with honey. As they continued to serve the food and the line died down, they all let out a collective sigh when the last customers left with their food and a smile. The morning rush was brutal and they could finally catch a break.
"So many customers already and it's not even noon," Jesse grumbled, picking up a malasada and stuffing it in her face as she leaned against the serving counter. "I didn't expect HeaHea city to be so busy, certainly a lot busier than our usual smaller towns." the woman picked up a napkin and wiped the powdered sugar from her lips.
"Hey, look on the bright side!" Meowth piped up. "More customers equals more money." he said as he nodded to the tip jar. James nodded in agreement.
"Meowth does have a point. Not to mention food on the go." he said, straining the current batch of fried goods to put out on display when they were completed.
"Wobbuffet!" the blue Pokemon behind them let out an agreeing cry of its name.
"Um, excuse me." there was a soft voice from the counter. The trio looked over to see who was needing to be served.
Sona and Eclipse stood at the serving counter. Eclipse was looking at the menu with a hand on her hip. Sona had their hand in their pocket to fish out their wallet to pay. "Two malasadas please," Eclipse leaned down a bit and muttered something into one of Sona's canine ears which Jesse, James, and Meowth were all staring at. The trainer sighed a bit as Eclipse gave a cheeky grin and pulled more cash from their wallet. "make one of those a large." They all blinked at their appearance before Meowth took their money.
"Coming right up!" he said, plastering that classic retail smile on his face as he turned to look at his human partners. Sona, however, gave a look of slight confusion.
"Wait a minute," their head cocked a bit. The small feline Pokémon turned to look back at them, eyebrow raised.
"Sorry, did you want to order something else too?" he inquired.
"You're a Meowth and you can talk like a human?" the trainer looked confused yet intrigued. There was a tense silence from everyone inside the food truck. "That's pretty neat, I've never seen anything like that before." they gave a smile. Eclipse raised her eyebrow and crossed her arms.
"You're acting like that's something new." she said, nudging her trainer in the side. Now it was Sona's turn to tense as Meowth gave the two an odd look.
"Here's your food!" Jesse set the bag of malasadas on the counter. There was an odd rush in her voice as if she wanted to get these two out of here as soon as she could. Sona took it and moved the bag out of the way as Eclipse reached for it.
"Well, thanks. You guys have a good one." she gave a friendly smile to them all before walking off to an outdoor table across the street. The trio watched them as they left and Meowth looked to Jesse and James.
"Something's up with that kid," he said with a frown. "No one's ever seen I'm a Pokémon that quickly! And what's with the ears and tail and horn and whatnot? Not a usual get-up you'd see around. Not anywhere really. And what was with that remark?" Meowth sounded confused. "'You're acting like that's something new', what does that mean?" he crossed his arms with a thoughtful look. Jesse and James both looked to Meowth at this with perplexed expressions
"Huh?" James raised an eyebrow. "What are you talking about, who said that?"
"The red head. You didn't hear that?" he returned the confused look. They both shook their heads. "So if only I could hear that lady," he blinked in surprise. "Does that mean she could be a Pokémon!?"
James raised an eyebrow at this idea. "But how would that be possible?"
"Wobbuffet!" another cry from Wobbuffet. They all glanced at the blue Pokémon before turning their attention back to the partners who were now enjoying their food at the outdoor table outside the Pokémon Center. Sona was wiping their face with a napkin and Eclipse was digging into the large malasada with no thought given to the jelly smearing on the corner of her mouth. The group couldn't hear what the pair was saying, but Sona frowned a bit and said something to their partner before leaning across the table to wipe her face.
"Eclipse, be more careful." the trainer huffed, puffing a cheek as they cleaned their partner's face. "You're getting jelly on your face. That'll get your fur all sticky." The Pokémon let out a noise of discomfort as the napkin rubbed at her cheek.
"Come on, at least let me finish my breakfast before you start treating me like a kid." she said, pushing their hand away once the jelly was cleaned up.
"No, you made me spend a bit more than I planned, I get to gripe." Sona retorted and Eclipse chuckled.
"Come on! I'm sure it wasn't much more and I'm hungry." she sank her teeth into the pastry, causing jelly to well up at the corners of her mouth again. Sona rolled their eyes and took another bite of their own food as they sat back in their seat.
"I expect more effort in our next battle then so you can pay off that malasada that 'wasn't much more.'" they retorted. Eclipse simply gave a playful smile and leaned forward across the table. Two Pokémon ears popped out from her hair and her long ponytail vanished. Instead the hair was replaced by a tail on her rear. It waved cutely as Eclipse placed her hands on the table and pressed her lips against Sona's. The trainer went bright red as she looked at Eclipse and jelly smeared on their own face.
Jesse, James, and Meowth all blinked in surprise as they watched the interaction unfold not far from their truck. They all watched for a moment longer to see Eclipse be pushed back and Sona start raising their voice at her to 'put those away'. The trio ducked behind the counter and gave each other bewildered looks.
"Do you think?" Jesse spoke.
"Perhaps?" Meowth sounded curious.
"That girl has to be?" James pulled out his pocket Pokédex book.
"A Pokémon!?" they all sounded in unison.
James flipped to one of the pages near the back and placed his finger on the image. A Zoroark was printed on the page and Meowth frowned.
"A Zoroark perhaps? They are known for their ability to cause illusions, and those ears and tail popped out of nowhere!" he explained.
"How could it be though? Didn't look like a Zoroark to me." he placed a paw on his chin and gave a thoughtful look. "Well… it kinda did. It did have that red and black." the feline shrugged a little as he gave it more thought.
"And that pretty blue crystal you see with their kind." Jesse chimed in. "Perhaps it's a super rare kind of Zoroark with different coloring!" she smirked.
"An undiscovered Alolan Zoroark you think?" James closed the book after flipping through the pages and finding nothing on the subject. He slipped it back in his pocket and looked at his companions.
"A super rare Alolan Zoroark that no doubt the boss will want to see! With those illusion powers of her's, no doubt they could be put to good use!" Meowth rubbed his paws together. They all gave a knowing smirk to each other and peered back over the counter. They looked back at the direction of the table while keeping low to be able to spy on the pair.
Sona was wiping their face and the ears and tail on the woman sitting across from them were gone. Seems like no one else had noticed what had just unfolded. However their face was still red and they frowned at their Pokémon.
"Eclipse!" they snapped. The tall woman simply hummed and popped the rest of her malasada into her mouth. "You know what I've told you about doing that in public!" they lowered their voice as they hissed to their partner.
"Doing what in public?" she purred, leaning back in her chair and crossing her arms with an innocent smile. Sona sputtered for a moment.
"You know what!" they snapped while trying to keep their voice down. Their ears lowered and their tail waved irritably as they set the half eaten malasada down on the table.
"Come on, after looking at you my illusions don't make that much of a difference." she pouted with a stuck out lower lip. "What's the harm in letting me show off a bit too?" Sona's face went redder.
"N-No not that," she blinked and shook her head. "well yes that but you know what I mean!" Eclipse leaned forward and rested her elbows on the tabled.
"What? Are you saying you don't like me being sweet with you," she continued to pout. Sona continued to stutter out jumbled and unintelligible words and the Pokémon laughed in amusement. "because I know you never have any objections with that." she hummed. Sona's face only went a darker shade of red and they continued to try and get out the words they couldn't put together. It was a small amount of time before they could finally put out a coherent sentence.
"Eclipse, please!" they retorted as their ears lay flat against her head. Sona let out a sigh as Eclipse's human illusion fell to be replaced by a Pokémon in the seat across from her trainer. The Pokémon across from them looked much like a Midnight Lycanroc, however she did have the traits of a Zoroark - her arms and legs sported the grey coloring and elbow fluff of Zoroark, as well as the red claws, blue ponytail orb, red eye markings, and the familiar but different black chest fluff.
"Then what is it?" she asked, a sly smirk on her face as her arms moved to cross behind her head. She sat back and crossed one leg over the other to relax in her seat. Before the trainer could answer, there was the sound of a woman clearing her throat a few feet from the pair. Both pairs of ears perked at the sound and they both looked to the source of the sound - two people dressed in lab coats and their Meowth partner stood with cheery smiles in front of their table.
"Well good morning!" the woman chirped, clutching a clipboard to her chest. The man beside her held one as well and the Meowth dawned a much smaller coat with a notepad and pen in his paws. Eclipse and Sona gave a perplexed looked to each other before looking at the duo. "Jessica is the name, Pokemon research is our game!" she explained, taking Sona's hand and shaking it enthusiastically.
"Jason, at your service." the man introduced himself as he grabbed Eclipse's paw and shook it just as well. She gave an uncomfortable look as he let it go and Meowth took his place. She gave a curt nod and glanced at her trainer.
"Er, Sona. Nice to meet you." they greeted awkwardly. "What can I do for you?" they set the other half of their malasada down.
"Well we were conducting some research in the area and happened to notice you with your absolutely stunning partner here." Jessica complimented. They watched as Jason and Meowth had begun getting uncomfortably close to their partner. The two began taking notes and checking her vision and temperature. At this, the Pokémon slapped them both away. She was clearly put off by their up close and personal attention. "Would you mind answering a few questions for our research?" Jessica's question brought the trainer's attention back to her.
"Oh, uh… I guess I could?" they shrugged. They glanced at Eclipse who was giving a confused look back at them. This interaction was certainly unexpected to say the least.
"Wonderful!" she clapped her hands together and retrieved her clipboard from under her arm. "So what kind of Pokémon is your partner, exactly?"
"She's not exactly a common breed." before she could finish Jason cut her off.
"A Zoroark? Perhaps an undiscovered Alolan breed?" he asked as he pressed his pen to the clipboard. Sona gave a perplexed look.
"Huh? No, she's a Lycanark. At least that's what she goes by. A hybrid of a Lycanroc and a Zoroark." she explained. Jason jotted this down after they all looked at the trainer and her partner.
"Now that's unusual." Meowth spoke up. "Usually when two Pokémon of different breeds have offspring the little tyke is a Pokémon of one of the parents." he said as they all took notes.
"Well, that's not Eclipse's case." they shrugged. "No idea how it happened but here she is." Sona smiled at their partner in a sort of proud manner. As annoying as she could be, they couldn't deny they loved having her as a partner. Jessica tapped her pen to her chin before jotting down more notes.
"So she can still use illusions like a Zoroark?" she asked. She sounded eager to know more about their Pokemon. The trainer nodded.
"Yep, her ability is Illusion." they confirmed. The three looked between each other knowingly and Eclipse caught the smirk that passed between them. She frowned slightly as Meowth pulled something from his coat.
"What's it to you?" Eclipse questioned rather harshly as she eyed their short companion. Sona's ear twitched at this and they looked to her.
"Eclipse don't be rude." their voice was slightly stern as they spoke. Meowth waved a paw dismissively.
"No worries," he smiled reassuringly. "We understand that being asked so many questions can be off put-"
"Wait a minute," Sona frowned. "aren't you the cooks from the Malasada truck?" Jessica, Jason, and Meowth looked between each other as they froze. A tension hung in the air as Eclipse's eyes narrowed. "With the talking Meowth?"
"Now what makes you think that?" Jessica replied, attempting to laugh off their accusation. Her smile faltered as Sona continued to speak.
"Your talking Meowth, and that red hair of yours. Not to mention your partner's blue hair. There's no way you're both cooks and researchers. Who do you work for anyway?" the trainer looked at the three with a suspicious look.
"Looks like the jig is up." Meowth said, and they all leapt back. Sona and Eclipse stood as smoke suddenly surrounded them after a loud bang. The two could only assume it was a smoke bomb of sorts.
"Who do we work for? Well I suppose we could tell you." Jessica's voice rang out through the smoke.
"However it may be surprising to the likes of you two." Jason's voice followed not long after.
"The beauty so radiant the flowers and moon hide in shame! A single flower of evil in this
fleeting world," she explained. "Jesse."
"The nobly heroic man of our times!" Jason's voice came through the smoke. "The master of darkness fighting back against a tragic world! It's James."
"It's all for one and one for all. A glittering dark star that always shines bright! Dig it, while Meowth takes flight!" their Meowth's voice came through as the smoke started to dissipate.
"Team Rocket, let's fight!" the three exclaimed.
As the smoke finally cleared Sona looked around to find that Eclipse was no longer in the chair beside them. Realizing where she was, Eclipse began to beat on the glass of the container she found herself Rocket must have trapped her in there while the smoke was still thick and obscured their vision.
"Hey!" Sona glared at the three. "What do you think you're doing!?" their ears perked forward in clear irritation bordering on anger.
"Oh dear, isn't is obvious?" Jesse laughed. "Your partner here could be of great use to us and our boss back home."
"We'll be taking her for a ride now!" James smirked. Meowth pulled out a remote and slammed his paw on the button. There was a beep and a large Meowth style hot air balloon lowered down behind them.
"So long, twerp! Thanks for the Pokémon!" the feline Pokémon chirped as he hooked a line to the container. Once it was properly attached her leapt into the basket of the balloon. Sona gritted their teeth and rushed at them.
"Don't think for one second you're getting away with this!" they were stopped by a shadow-like claw swiping dangerously close to them - Jesse had released a small, Pikachu-like Pokémon. It's ragged cloth had a shadowy appendage reaching out from under it as it let out an odd clicking hiss. A disturbing aura radiated off the cute and small appearing Pokémon that gave it a menacing feel to anyone around it.
"Mimikyu, show this twerp what happens when they try and interrupt." she commanded, hopping into the basket of the hot air balloon with James and Meowth. Mimikyu clicked aggressively and charged a Shadow Ball. With quick thinking, Sona pulled a Pokéball off their belt and threw it.
"Echo, quick! Boom Burst!" A Noivern burst forth from the Pokéball with a cry and a powerful blast of sound erupted from his ears. The sound waves from the attack struck Mimikyu and set it flying into the basket of the balloon that was now taking off. The Shadow Ball Mimikyu had charged was shot off past the pair and struck a tree. It exploded into smoke and left splinters littering the ground. Jesse caught her partner and returned it to its Pokéball.
"Nice try, but we're off!" Meowth laughed, the balloon flying higher and higher into the clear sky. Sona watched as the balloon and attached container carried her beloved partner further and further away. Eclipse continued to beat on the glass but to no avail. It wouldn't budge, let alone even crack.
"Eclipse!" Sona called while staring on in disbelief. How could they let a group of lousy thieves take their partner so easily? They shook their head. The thieves weren't gone yet, they could still do something. Sona pulled another Pokéball from her belt to release a Gogoat. The newly released Pokémon brayed as they hopped on.
"Ordona, follow that balloon! Echo, come on!" they commanded, holding onto Ordona's horns as she reared and galloped off down the road after Team Rocket. The Noivern chuffed and flew above them to follow.
"Well that was a lot easier than I thought!" James hummed, a smile plastered on his face as he looked over the side of the basket. He looked below to the container and watched as Eclipse glared up at them. Meowth hopped up and held onto the side as one paw moved to wave at her.
"Comfortable down there?" Jesse called, smiling. "Once we get you to the boss we promise you'll be let out to do his work."
"I'm not doing anything for you or you boss!" the Lycanark stomped on the floor of the glass box, but her cries of protest couldn't be heard from inside her glass prison. The trio watched and chuckled as the Pokemon continued to rant and rave below their basket. By now they were flying over a wooded area with plenty of trees and plant life below. Eclipse looked around to assess the situation - if she could somehow break the glass, she could only go down and risk landing on glass covered branches from a high up area. Not the best idea. Surely there was something she could do to break free.
A loud cry jerked everyone in the balloon from their thoughts and they all looked to the source of the sound. Echo was following after them, wings flapping as he gained on them. He hissed and glared at the three in the basket. Jesse, James, and Meowth all looked at each other in confusion.
"You think that could be the twerp's Noivern?" Meowth asked as a frown crossed his face. Jesse and James were about to speak, however a voice sounded from below them.
"Echo, get Eclipse out of there!" Sona yelled. The three looked over the edge of the balloon basket to peer down at the ground - the trainer was riding on the back of their galloping Gogoat to catch up to the group. They looked mad as they held onto the horns of their Pokemon. Jesse, James, and Meowth collectively swallowed as they looked up to Echo. The wyvern had tucked his wings and was now speeding in the direction of their balloon. There was a scream from the three and a loud pop as he dove straight through and pierced a holes on each side of the material. He flew down and grabbed the cord connecting the cage to the basket and snapped it as the balloon lost control and began speeding wildly around. The weight of the cage dragged Echo down for a moment before he was able to carefully lower it to the ground without breaking it or harming Eclipse.
Sona leapt off Ordona and ran over to the glass cage. Eclipse beat on the wall as she watched her trainer hit the button to open the cage. The canine fell forward and yelped as she hit the ground with a thud as she had been leaning against the door that suddenly popped open. She groaned and looked up at her trainer.
"Hey there," she said rather sheepishly. She cracked a smile and took Sona's hand as they chuckled and offered to help her stand. "how's it going?"
"I should be the one asking you that." they put their hands on their hips with a look of concern. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm good-" she was cut off as there was a loud crash and dirt and dust flew up around them. Team Rocket's balloon had crashed to the ground not too far away as it finally ran out of air. As the dust settled, there were several groans from Jesse, James, and Meowth as they lay dazed in the tipped over and broken basket. Jesse was the first to get up and glare at the two. Sona returned Echo and Ordona and crossed their arms.
"You really thought I would let you get away with my partner?" they scowled. The trainer turned to look to Eclipse.
"I think it's time we teach these thieves what happens when they mess with us." the Pokemon smirked and turned to look back at the three. James and Meowth had crawled out of the basket by now and were readying their Pokeballs.
"Mareanie, let's show them what happens when the twerp gets in the way!" he said, releasing a purple and blue starfish Pokemon.
"Mimikyu, time for some revenge!" Jesse threw her own Pokeball to let out the Pikachu-disguised Pokemon from earlier. There was a glint in its eyes as it stared down Eclipse and Sona. As the two got ready to attack, there was a scream from James - Mareanie had latched itself onto James' head and released a puff of toxins. This had left his face a disturbing shade of purple as Mareanie swooned and jumped back into battle position. Sona and Eclipse stared for a moment before Jesse and James ordered their Pokemon to attack.
"Mareanie, Spike Cannon!"
"Mimikyu, Shadow Ball!"
The two Pokemon leapt into the air, aiming at Eclipse as she moved in front of her trainer to battle. Mareanie's spikes glowed and let off several glowing projectiles while Mimikyu charged and released a Shadow Ball attack.
"Eclipse, dodge and use Stone Edge!" Sona yelled. The Lycanark lept out of the way of the attacks and slammed her fist into the ground. Pointed light blue rock pillars jutted out of the ground and trailed their way right into Mareanie and Mimikyu, which in turn sent them flying back to Jesse and James. They stood and turned back to Eclipse with weakened forms. "Let's finish them. Night Daze!" they ordered. Eclipse smirked as her form was surrounded with a shadowy crimson aura and her eyes glowed teal and pink. Jesse, James, and Meowth gulped, knowing that what was coming certainly wouldn't be good. She raised her arms as the aura became stronger and slammed them down into the ground. A blast of energy was released from her body, sending Mimikyu, Mareanie, Jesse, James, and Meowth flying back. They all let out a yell of surprise as they rocketed off into the sky - however Sona's satisfied look dropped when something flew out of the trees.
They all gave looks of confusion as a large pink and black bear Pokemon caught the Team Rocket members and their Pokemon and hugged them close to its chest as it perched on a branch.
"What… what is that?" Eclipse questioned.
"B-Bewear!" Meowth stuttered. "H-How's it going, old buddy old pal?" he laughed nervously. It looked down at them with a stare and they all tensed.
Bewear looked at the Pokemon and its trainer with a deep, unnerving gaze before leaping off through the branches. Team Rocket let out a cry and sounds of protest as they vanished into the forest by Bewear. Sona and Eclipse looked at each other with confused faces.
"What just happened?" Sona questioned as they gave a dumbfounded stare.
"Not a clue." Eclipse replied. She turned to look to her trainer. "So my knight in shining clothes comes to save me," the Pokemon crossed their arms. "however shall I repay you?" she fluttered her eyes dreamily. They blinked and looked at her.
"Excuse me? Repay me?" they repeated.
"Of course! There must be something I can do to repay you from rescuing me from those pathetic baddies." she grabbed her trainer's hand and pulled them close so they were pressed against each other. Their face went red and they let out a squeak as an arm wrapped around their waist and Eclipse purred in their ear.
"E-Eclipse that's not- mmph!" they were cut off and their face went red as Eclipse's lips were pressed to their own. Their fingers gently pulled at her fur as her tail waved and Sona's ears relaxed and lowered close to their head. Their eyes fluttered closed and Sona found themselves leaning into the Pokemon pressing against them. Eclipse lingered there before pulling away with a sneaky grin.
"So are we going have to find somewhere else to get or malasadas now, or what?"
"Really, Eclipse!?"