"Wow that girl can really make a mess of things."
A person stepped over the mass of thick glass scattered around the shadowy room. Heavy breathing could be heard through a gas mask, as the last remaining essence of the red mist slowly leaked out the smashed window. The unidentified young adult was covered in head to toe with protective gear, thick rubbery gloves covered their hands, and a one suit consisting of shiny elastic material covered their body. Cool night air blew through the window, as the person ran its hand along the jagged edges of a thick piece of glass that had fallen onto the ground.
Something big had smashed its way through an impenetrable fortress, it was clear millions had gone into the facility, and the security was top notch. The impossible had been done, the base was inescapable, built to keep anything contained.
Astonishingly someone had blown through the wall of grunts, avoided the gas, survived the high-tech guns the organization created, and broke the expensive twelve-inch bullet proof glass. The dozens of bodies had energy burns, bruises the size of footballs on their bodies, and concussions, but the person had left them alive.
The young adult slowly put its hands up to their mask, gently tugging at the top, before lifting it off their head.
Short black hair blew in the breeze, as the face of the stranger was revealed.
A woman no older than nineteen took a deep breath of the gas-free room, her black hair blowing freely in the breeze. She did not seem to be part of the organization, and she looked like she was treading among her own path. Even though the women seemed careless of stepping into dangerous grounds, she had a mission at hand.
A small Pokémon nuzzled the girl's leg, she turned to it, letting the silvery moonlight touch her face. She had white porcelain skin, and a mysterious shade of red in her eyes. Even though her eyes were not very revealing, one could tell she was a little on the odd side.
"Oh Aster, did you find something? Just what I'd expect from such a smart girl!"
The women smiled at her Pokémon, the short baby-like Pokémon made a happy sound before lifting its body up to hand her master the item it had found.
The Pokémon had a spherical body, consisting of a purple color. Her eyes were in the shape of a plus sign, they were black and full of love for her master. Two floppy ears with yellow tips fell over her face, and two stubby arms stuck out from her body.
The women took the item from her Pokémon's mouth, and examined it. The object was created with careful craft, it seemed to be made from a flat shiny light-blue metal. Wires curled into the object on the back, and it released a smoky aroma when the women played with it. It looked like the object was only to be used once before self-destructing, so something could remain hidden.
The female stroked the "R" sticking out in the front, she knew the object had something to do with Team Rocket obviously, but the little device was hiding something.
"Very clever Giovanni, you used a hologram and then destroyed the device to hide your location."
The women slid the device in her left pocket before taking out a strange beeping device out of her right pocket. The item had two antennas sticking out of its head, and a screen showing what looked like to be a GPS that was glitching out.
The mysterious girl slapped her device, as it glitched, its little red dot zooming all over the screen.
"Where are you hiding Zala, you and Rayquaza are the only ones who can help us now."
"Murr," the Pokémon beside the women purred, shivering as they both stood there, relying on the device to locate their target.
"Dang, the air patterns have already depleted, their trail might be lost by now, we got here too late."
Suddenly the night sky lit up, and a beam of white light surrounded the girl, illuminating the room and blinding the women. The women hid her eyes from the light, staggering back in surprise.
Giant silent aircrafts hovered in the sky, the flying objects had a short nose, with thick dark glass stretching overtop of the nose. The object was black, several hundred feet in length, and it had long arms coming out from the body. The arms had several heavy metal wires connecting to them and the body, making it clear that it took lots of power to activate the giant guns hanging from the arms. A giant metal ball was behind the guns, attaching the back of them to the rotating sphere, so that the guns could rotate at will.
Two metal giant circles were on each side of the aircrafts, and bright blue lights could be seen on the inside of the circles. The unidentified object was far more advanced than anything the women had ever seen, it was silent and did not make a sound, they could have been there for a long time and no one would have known.
A scratchy audio play of a robot's voice spoke, catching the women off guard.
"Identify yourself, you have thirty seconds to comply, or we will use deadly force."
The women blinked, before scratching her head in confusion, clearly not feeling threatened of fearful. Aster her Pokémon companion growled at the aircrafts angrily, but her master seemed content and chill.
"Well hiya, what's up with your rude welcome?" The women smiled, waving at the aircrafts, "my name is Zinnia, nothing more, nothing less, just your average tourist, exploring the lands ya know?"
The aircrafts rumbled, before their guns rotated locking onto the women named Zinnia and the lights around the muzzle started to glow bright blue.
"O-Oh, alright, I mean I can keep talking about myself, but I guess you all are looking for a different answer?"
Zinnia still didn't seem bothered that her life was about to be blasted away.
"This is just such a niiiiiiice city, I would have just assumed you Team Rocket members would be pretty chill too, guess not."
The aircrafts did not reply, as blue light started to gather in front of the guns. Zinnia sighed before taking out another small device from her right pocket, the device was small enough to fit in her palm. It had a gray button on the front, and a small rectangular body, and one single antenna.
Zinnia pressed the button, and a shockwave of yellow light burst from it. The aircrafts immediately shut down, the lights from the guns and rockets holding it up vanished. The first one crashed into the one on its left, and the one on the right dropped from the sky.
When they hit the ground, they erupted in flames, causing the entire city to rumble and shake. Pieces of metal flew from the aircrafts when it exploded, causing another massive rumble that caused a few little shops to collapse. Zinnia yawned, before walking over to the broken bullet proof glass, and peaking out of the hole.
"Yeah, the locals might have some trouble getting their lights on for a few days, and the city might smell like burning metal too."
Aster made a disapproving sound, before bouncing over to the warp panel that was mysteriously fixed.
"Ah, I know Aster, we don't have time for more sightseeing." Zinnia said, taking her hand and removing a regular red and white pokéball from her waist. Zinnia let her thumb run over the smooth surface, before gently tossing it out the window.
A bright light appeared flashing on Zinnia's face, before she turned to Aster and smiled.
"Let's go hunt us a knight."
~Later~
Rayquaza gently landed on the swaying long grass in a clearing in a dark forest. Tall willow trees danced in the breeze as soft moonlight spilled a silvery light upon the ground. The night was in its last stage, and morning would be present soon, the mission had taken all night, and Lydia struggled to keep her eyes open.
Lydia was like a zombie, her emotions were drained, and she was just a husk of a living being. Lydia mumbled to herself, rubbing her face with her armored hand, and yawning tiredly.
Rayquaza seemed exhausted as well, but he managed to stay full of energy for his master. Lydia's armor clanked together, as she made her way to a crackling fire and silently looked over at her companions.
They seemed to be fast asleep, their features were covered by a heavy sleeping bag, filled with fluffy fur.
Lydia's armor started to liquify, its hardened features became soft as it crept away from her clothing and skin. It grew smaller and smaller, retreating from her body and gathering on her right arm. The liquid started to take form of a circular object, wrapping around Lydia's wrist, before hardening.
It seemed to be a bracelet, made from a metal material, a little dragon head that resembled that of the helm Lydia wore stuck out on the top of the bracelet. The bracelet was two inches thick, silver, and pretty bland.
Lydia's clothes were revealed, she wore black, gray and white camo tight leggings. A gray long shirt covered her butt, and attached to the shirt were white long sleeves that went to her wrist. She had tall silver and black boots that the leggings sank into easily, she looked like a normal thirteen-year-old girl.
The bracelet was over Lydia's sleeves, it looked a little odd, but she didn't seem to mind.
Lydia quietly made her way over to a small pond a few feet away from her camp. The teenager then dipped her burnt and blistered fingers into the cool water, she clenched her teeth as the water ran over her skin. Lydia released a shaky breath, she needed to calm the rash and blisters, so they wouldn't be too obvious.
The chainmail had kept the energy from eating away at Lydia's fingers, but unfortunately it still leaked through and irritated her skin.
A twig snapped in the distance, Lydia lifted her hands from the water and listened carefully. The teenager was ready for combat, she could tell she wasn't alone in the forest.
Something stepped out into the moonlight, Lydia was ready to attack, but the creature wasn't very menacing or dangerous looking.
It had a humanoid figure, and it was covered in short, soft, cherry blossom pink fur. It had cute little paws, with a big black metacarpal pad, and four littler digital pads on the inside of its paw. Its arms were shaped like those of a human, connecting to its shoulder blades that were also covered with its soft short fur. Its collarbone line could be seen, along with the start of its tail that took up most of its stomach. Its tail was white, and it went in-between the creature's legs and created an upright "S" behind it.
On the tip of its tail it had smooth fluffy pink and white feathers, along with sleek white short fur covering its entire tail. The creature's head had spiky fur sticking out on its right jawline, and furry pointy ears that stuck up from the top of its head. Its ears were the same color as its face and body, but the ears had a thin layer of visible long fur outlining them.
The creature had what seemed to be a feline's nose, and a short snout that stuck out a little. It had bright jade colored eyes, that seemed to glow in the darkness. Its two legs were on both sides of its tail, nothing abnormal about them, expect its feet were big paws.
"Oh, my bad, did I scare you Zala?" The creature said, its voice was soft and friendly.
The girl newly named as Zala, rolled her eyes. This creature was one of her companions, he looked girly, and didn't fight well, but he was loyal and a good friend of hers.
"Trust me Lupe, I don't think you would ever scare anyone."
Lupe seemed a little offended, as he crossed his arms and gave Zala and angry look. Lupe's ears twitched, and he didn't look too threatening even when he tried to give a scary look.
"I'll have you know, I happen to be a Shi Pokémon with my own talents and I am a very powerful force to be messed with!"
Lupe smiled, thinking he was really something special, his tail twitched as he waited for Zala's reply.
"Hush Lupe, I am not going to take you seriously when I know you are a fairy."
A deep shade of red colored Lupe's cheeks, as he puffed his cheeks out in frustration and embarrassment.
"Fairy AND steel, I am a duel type, and remember fairies beat dragons fair and square!" Lupe threw his head to the side in an attempt to be dramatic, only making Zala scoff at his attitude.
"Alright then Lupe, Rayquaza is back at camp, wake him up and show us what you can do, Mr. Fairy."
Lupe's eyes bugged, as he quickly tried to change the subject.
"N-Now, we know I am still working on battling, but we are getting off topic, where were you all night?"
Zala hid her hands behind her back, suddenly putting up defensive barriers and challenging her companion with a stare of death.
"Where I go is of none of your concern," Zala said in a warning tone.
Lupe's ears flattened in concern, her voice had changed from a teasing tone to a dark and twisted version. Zala never really opened up to anyone, Lupe had always tried to pry open her barricaded heart, but she always shut back up every time a little light went though.
Lupe's eyes were full of sadness he felt the pain and humiliation that Zala was feeling. His senses were connected to Zala, whatever she felt when she was near him, he did too. His paws ached, along with his heart, he wanted to cry, the weight of a thousand worlds seemed to rest on his shoulders.
"Stop sharing my emotions, they aren't yours to bare." Zala said.
Lupe carefully and gently approached Zala, as she rested on a smooth stone lining the pond. Zala was silent as Lupe sat next to her, the feathers on his tail dipping into the water behind him.
"You could have died." Lupe quivered. "I don't need to mentally know where you went, when your emotions speak for you."
Zala knew she couldn't hide anything from Lupe, he wouldn't ever tell a soul what kinds of things he uncovers with people and Pokémon. Even though Zala knew these things, she wouldn't dare explain the weakness she always felt. It didn't matter how much training and preparation she did, she still felt like it wasn't enough, and it wasn't.
"I wasn't strong enough Lupe, two years of merciless training. I had everything I needed to take down Giovanni, I could have sworn I was ready."
Lupe outstretched his paw, gently touching Zala's shoulder, the teenager flinched a little, not ready for physical contact. Lupe nudged Zala carefully, enough to bring her attention to the rising sun in the East. The two sat quietly sharing the moment, the two realized that the sun was beautiful, and it would wash away all the darkness in the world, all expect the dark that Zala carried.
"The sun always brings a new perspective, it doesn't matter what happened yesterday, it matters what you want to do with today." Lupe said, when he saw that Zala wasn't listening he inched closer. "You didn't lose, if you lost this battle you wouldn't have returned."
Zala was silent as she let the warm morning-light wash over her aching muscles.
"You-know-who is going to be furious when he finds out about my little 'midnight adventure,' so let's agree to never speak of it in front of him."
Lupe flinched thinking of the tyrant that they both knew so well. He would not be too kind to Zala, if he were to learn of her disobedience.
"Speaking of him, shouldn't we get back to camp before he awakens?" Lupe said, Zala's eyes bulged when she remembered her master was an 'early bird.'
The two quickly scrambled back to camp, their hearts full of fear as they saw their campfire slowly dying and a black creature looking towards the morning sun. His hands were behind his back, in a 'parade rest' position, his long red tail flowed behind him as his body was still.
Zala tripped over a rock, she cried out in surprise as she grabbed Lupe's arm to balance herself. Lupe was knocked off balance, and the two went tumbling to the ground, getting a mouth full of grass and dirt.
The creature's head twitched when he heard Zala complaining about Lupe's horrible balance.
"Wow, you seriously can't stand on your own hind paws!"
Lupe's voice cracked as he shouted a reply back to Zala.
"Me? You are the one who tripped and pulled me down with your heavy-"
Lupe was cut off as a powerful psychic energy ripped him off the ground and placed him upright. Zala was assembled the same way as Lupe, to where they were both standing perfectly straight.
"I expect you two to assemble silently and orderly every morning, my way hasn't changed, yet you two still don't seem to understand."
The creature that had just recently spoken turned around to reveal itself, its voice was deep and masculine identifying the creature as male. The male creature's voice was rough and commanding, but not in a terrifying way, just a very structured and tough way.
The male had deep purple eyes, they were emotionless and hidden, on his right eye there was a scar running down his right eyebrow frame, down to the top of his cheek bone.
This was indeed the Shi Pokémon that had saved Zala from Team Rocket two years ago, the features were unmistakable.
"Come on Shadow, I think Lupe and I deserve a little rest and relaxation, we have been training for years, I don't think there is anything else I can learn." Zala said, only to see the Shi Pokémon named Shadow lower his head and darken his gaze.
"No there are plenty of things you still need to learn, one being patience, and another being restraint. Like, showing some restraint in hunting down Team Rocket when I specifically told you that you were NOT Ready."
Lupe whistled awkwardly, as Zala glared at her dragon companion, thinking that Rayquaza had filled Shadow in on the details of their little trip.
The dragon was sound asleep, his giant body resting on the ground. The legendary Pokémon was too big to be sleeping outside of his Pokéball, but the powerful deity seemed to be having a good dream, as his head rolled against the grass making permanent marks in the ground.
"I don't think it was Rayquaza," Lupe said.
Zala glared at her Shi companion, she seems to have figured out the obvious way Shadow had received his information.
"You read his mind, didn't you?!"
Shadow crossed his arms, as the two challenged each other through fierce gazes.
"I am a psychic Pokémon, reading minds is kind-of what I do." Shadow replied, making Zala's face flush with anger. Zala knew Shadow could read minds whenever he wanted, he invaded her privacy daily, and Lupe's privacy, and pretty much anyone or anything that he meets.
"Okay, that is rude, and you need to stop doing that, people and Pokémon have very private things they think about!" Zala said.
"Yeah!" Lupe added, when Shadow shifted his gaze over to Lupe, his enthusiasm died. Shadow stared at Lupe, as the little cherry blossom colored Pokémon's eyes darted in all different directions.
"Perhaps Lupe's imaginative brain shouldn't be exposed, I shall refrain from sneaking a peek in the near future." Shadow said calmly.
Lupe's face started growing red, as Zala glanced at him, curious as to what Shadow had seen, and why even he wouldn't be glancing through his thoughts anytime soon.
"I-I have no idea what he went through," Lupe said nervously. Lupe started searching his own brain, wondering what embarrassing thing Shadow had uncovered, and by Arceus, he had a lot of them.
Shadow quickly turned to Zala, and as the two locked eyes, Shadow could almost sense a presence of evil and disharmony. Shadow knew that Zala was headed down a dark path, her anger for the two that ruined her life blinded her from making the right choices.
Shadow wouldn't say she was exactly 'evil,' but she definitely wasn't doing anything for the greater good either. A strange aura surrounded Zala, one that seemed to have grown stronger from yesterday, probably because she talked with her arch enemy Giovanni.
The aura was visible to Lupe and Shadow, Lupe could sense emotions, and Shadow could read minds, but they both could sense and see aura.
Lupe had seen Zala's aura change, when he first met her, her aura was gray and since he was a fairy he could understand its meaning through her strong feelings. Lupe had concluded that she felt depressed, scared, and skeptical of her surroundings. That was understandable, her heart was full of hurt and questions that no one could answer.
The more Lupe traveled with Zala, the darker her colors grew, changing from a vulnerable gray color, to that of the blood she wanted to spill.
Shadow could not read emotions; therefore, the aura was meaningless. He had seen the colors change as well, but his knowledge of it was empty. He asked Lupe about the recent color change with Zala, and Lupe seemed to be quite distraught about it as well.
Lupe had explained that Shadow knew what color it was, because he could see it, but the meaning of it was what troubled Lupe. Shadow had seen a dark red aura surrounding Zala, meaning she was bloodthirsty and vengeful.
Shadow had trained Zala for self-defense, but Zala started to ask for more 'effective' training. Shadow had agreed that she was ready for the next level, and that is where he had made a mistake.
Now that Shadow looked at Zala, it was not the same girl he had met two years ago. That girl was soft, teachable, and in desperate need of someone to help and nurture her.
The girl that stood in front of him now was full of hate, Shadow did not need to read her mind to know that she only went against his wishes for one reason:
To kill Giovanni.
It all made sense to him now, her sudden interest in moves that would take down several people at once. Her dark aura, and the way she shut off all communication with her companions, leaving them to wonder what they did wrong.
Shadow had created a human death machine, one that was a danger to everyone around her. Her ignorance had almost cost her life, if she didn't have her companion with her, Giovanni would be creating even more abominations.
Shadow would never say Zala was too far-gone, but she needed help, the hate was consuming her.
"Zala," Shadow said gently, watching as Zala crossed her arms and looked over to the ground.
Her aura was overwhelming now, ever sense she returned from her mission. It spilled from her chest, touching the ground below and illuminating her body shape. She was murderous, and what scared Shadow, was that it was the same color aura that Giovanni had.
Shadow took a deep breath, his next actions needed to be swift and smart. Even though the Shi Pokémon was created to be a soldier of war, he believed that taking a life was wrong, a thought that he developed himself.
The thoughts in his brain were to attack, kill, and destroy but when he broke free, he was able to clear his head and create his own thoughts.
If Zala were to kill Giovanni, that hole in her soul for revenge would never be filled, even though the illusion of Giovanni dying told her that was how to fill it. After that, it would be finding her parents for abandoning her, and then finding the one who betrayed her the most.
Her bloodlust would never stop, it would consume her and pull her into a void of darkness where she would never emerge.
Zala thought she could never be happy until those who have wronged her were put into the ground, and Shadow knew he needed to show her a different way.
"Zala, we are going to take a trip, get your things." Shadow said.
The black Pokémon couldn't stop Zala from feeling the way she did, but perhaps if he gave her some feeling of justice, she would understand one can have justice without murder.
Zala snorted, what was Shadow going to do? Perhaps he was going to give her another lecture about how she was a disobedient apprentice and teach her a lesson by making her stand on a mountaintop without any food or water for a day, so she could fast and mediate.
Shadow walked over to the snoring dragon, the poor thing was exhausted from being up all night. Shadow patted the dragon's smooth green body, Rayquaza snorted before his yellow eyes popped open.
"Rwarrg?" Rayquaza protested, his eyes lulling, as he rolled onto his back, scratching his chest with his short arms.
"Rayquaza is a baby he needs his rest, you shouldn't make him fly when he has had no sleep." Zala said, Shadow gave Zala an annoyed look as Rayquaza blew air from his nose, blowing a few meters of grass back.
"Isn't that funny, if someone were not out all night, Rayquaza would have been rested." Shadow shot back at Zala, making the teenager roll her eyes at her master.
"Come on big baby, we need you to take us somewhere." Shadow said, patting the dragon once again. Rayquaza dramatically released a weak ember onto the grass, before looking back at Shadow.
"Rwaraaa!"
"No you aren't Rayquaza, yesterday you were healthy as a Mudsdale!" Lupe said, the dragon lifted his head, before exaggerating once more that he felt sick. Rayquaza spat out a nasally roar, causing several Pidgey to flee from nearby trees, as the roar carried on through an echo for a good few minutes.
Zala crossed her arms, watching her dragon act like a toddler. Even though he was a toddler, she still expected more from her companion.
The four sat there, as Rayquaza heaved on the grass, when the dragon realized his friends were not buying the act, he rolled his eyes and picked himself up. Rayquaza yawned, revealing his sharp fangs, before stretching out his long serpentine-body.
"Rawg Rhyrr Raaaa!" Rayquaza cursed, causing Shadow to wrinkle his nose and Lupe to cover his mouth.
"I don't know what you said Rayquaza, I don't speak dragon." Zala said, as the dragon lowered his head allowing Zala to climb onto his back. Zala grabbed ahold of his lower horn, before climbing towards his neck and sliding into place.
Shadow sat in front of Zala, making the teenager grunt in discomfort when his tail slapped her in the face. Rayquaza started to lift into the air, much to Lupe's horror, as the gentle Pokémon ran in front of Rayquaza trying to catch his attention.
"Hey, don't leave me!" Lupe yelled, Rayquaza gave a small grin, before snatching Lupe up in his claws.
Rayquaza looked towards the sky, before levitating his body up to the clouds. The dragon was easy to steer, you could give him commands, or gently press your foot against his left or right side.
Zala usually just told Rayquaza what to do, but when she had to go into stealth mode, she had to use different commands.
When telling Rayquaza to veer right, she would lightly squeeze her thighs together allowing her right foot to dig a little into his side. The dragon was sensitive, and could feel the pressure, making him obey and turn right until the pressure was lifted. The same went for the left side, the commands were the same both ways.
When commanding the dragon to dip lower towards the ground, she would lightly press both of her palms in front of her on the tip of his spine. Rayquaza would then descend lower and lower until the pressure stopped. If he was extremely low to the ground, he would land and then the pressure would cease.
When asking the dragon to ascend, Zala would stroke the dragon's neck repeatedly until the dragon was at the height she wanted.
Rayquaza took ages to learn the commands, but now he could easily recognize what his master wanted. When Shadow was in control, the dragon couldn't help but feel a little nervous and uncomfortable, but he still obeyed and did as he was told.
Rayquaza could feel Shadow stroking his neck, slowly and gently. The dragon lifted his head and started to go up, until the stroking stopped. When asked to go forward, both feet would gently kick Rayquaza's sides and he would go forward.
When Shadow did just that, the dragon went forward, when Zala wanted the dragon to go faster she would lightly but rapidly kick Rayquaza's sides. Her companion would then pick up speed until the kicks stopped, Rayquaza was huge and well armored, so the kicks did not irritate or bother him in any way.
Shadow lightly kicked both his feet into Rayquaza, and the dragon obeyed picking up speed. Rayquaza gripped Lupe tightly, making sure he was not dropped, as the dragon cut through the air with ease.
Zala sighed, as Shadow commanded her dragon to go to an unknown destination. Shadow always had a good sense of direction, when they traveled at night, he would easily recognize their direction by the structure of stars. Zala didn't know if he was programmed with that in his system, or if he just picked up a thing or two over time.
Shadow pressed his hands on the tip of Rayquaza's spine, the dragon felt the pressure, and immediately started to sink towards a thick forest. Rayquaza glided over the trees, scanning for a place to land. Rayquaza was a very fast Pokémon and in minutes they were already where Shadow wanted them to be. Rayquaza could travel one third of the speed of light during his maximum potential, Zala hasn't reached the level where she could unlock that power just yet though.
Rayquaza touched his stomach on the grass below him, gently lowering his head so his companions could slide off his neck.
The dragon dropped Lupe straight on his back, making the poor Pokémon bruise his tailbone.
"What the heck Rayquaza, I thought we were friends!" Lupe yelled, massaging his lower back.
Shadow landed on the grass along with Zala, the Shi Pokémon mapped their destination, as Zala patted her dragon.
"Take a nice long rest buddy," Zala said.
Rayquaza grinned, as Zala returned the dragon into his pokéball, making the clearing seem much more spacious.
"We are not too far from Cerulean City." Shadow said, as his companions shrugged. Zala and Lupe had no idea why Shadow had taken them to Cerulean City, but Shadow had everything already figured out.
Shadow was going to give Zala a feeling of security, in hopes to snuff out the darkness in her soul. He was blind then, he never would have guessed that her past would eat away her purity, that was his fault.
Shadow was going to do what he trained her for, they were going to take down Team Rocket humanely.
"Want to explain what we are doing here?" Zala said gruffly, clearly not interested in doing some sightseeing.
Shadow didn't answer, as Lupe fiddled with the fur on his right cheek. Lupe knew he would have to go into a city, and he hated anything that had to do with social interaction. Lupe didn't know how to interact with humans, Zala was a different story, she never really talked to him much.
Shadow was a Shi Pokémon, and he didn't really talk much either, so Lupe was fine hanging around him as well.
Lupe could never go into cities, whenever someone talked to him, he had a severe anxiety attack and could never say what he was thinking.
Shadow's body started to change, morphing into something more casual and teenage-like. Shadow had the ability to cast an illusion of himself, but he could only do one illusion, and it could only be casted on him.
Shadow's claws slid into fingers, and his horns sunk back into his head. His black skin started to glow until it melted into a lighter and more normal color. Shadow's purple eyes transformed into a brighter color, that looked more relaxed and less intimidating.
Shadow stood in front of his companions, now completely human, looking like an average nineteen-year-old. Shadow had golden blond hair, styled in a spiky controlled mess kind of way. His bangs were curved along the left side of his face, touching a little bit past the bottom of his eye.
His eyes were sea-blue, they were friendly and inviting, unlike his normal look. Shadow's body was muscular and built, his tight gray muscle shirt exposed his well carved form. A silver chain necklace hung from his neck, along with black jeans covering his legs. A single silver chain went from his front pocket over to his back, and his feet were covered in white and gray tennis shoes.
Lupe swallowed, before activating his secret ability. Lupe was only useful for his ability to create life-like illusions, unlike Shadow, Lupe could produce a large amount of illusions at one time. Lupe's illusions consisted of anything he could think up, he could make someone look different, or create a separate illusion all together.
Lupe's feathers on his tail started to shrink, as his body got smaller and skinnier. Lupe's green eyes remained the same, but his entire body became more realistic and human-like.
Lupe now stood in front of his friends in an entirely different form, his body was muscular, but hidden by a roomy white hoodie covering his chest. His hoodie was up, framing his soft pale face, and pushing his black hair farther down his right side.
Lupe's whole right side of his face was covered by a thick gathering of his hair, touching all the way to the bottom of his jaw. On the left side of his face, his hair was covering his ear and the side of his face, giving him a very shy emo-look.
Lupe squirmed uncomfortably, before pulling up his gray jeans. Lupe looked casual as well, looking younger than Shadow, but older than Zala.
Lupe looked about sixteen, three years older than Zala, even though he acted younger.
"Alright, now that we look like people, let's go." Shadow said, the two teenagers looked at each other, before following the blond male.
Once the trio reached the city, Lupe immediately started to freak out. The buildings were huge, they towered over the hundreds of people walking in the streets and on the sidewalks.
Several fountains squirted water in an orderly conduct, as wild bird Pokémon settled in small parks pecking at leftover sandwich bits.
The teenagers blended into the crowd quite easily, walking among the people as if they were never strangers. Shadow led the pack, as Zala struggled to breathe in the compacted city.
Someone slammed into Zala, the teenager was pushed to the side, making her anger explode.
"Hey idiot, next time you do that, I will knock your teeth out!" Zala challenged.
The stranger turned around, revealing her face. She had a hard look, and bright blue eyes that screamed danger. Her hair was long, on the left side of her head she had a series of spiky hair sticking out. Her orange hair fell over her forehead, in a jagged but stylish manner.
The stranger threw her hands up, and gave a nasty look, before walking backwards a little. The female whipped back around, and disappeared into the crowd without a word.
"Rude little-" Zala was cut off as Lupe grabbed her hand, taking her deeper into the crowd and away from where she made a scene.
Zala watched as Shadow and Lupe ducked into an alley, covering Zala's mouth as Shadow looked into the crowd.
"Murmph!" Zala growled, from under Lupe's hand. Lupe put his finger to his lips, as Shadow looked for something.
Shadow had spotted a group of people scouring the city, their auras were black as night, and Lupe had warned Shadow that those colors were usually associated with bad people.
Black was hostile and secretive, and only one organization came to mind when Shadow tried to pinpoint who those people truly were.
Zala ripped Lupe's hand off of her mouth, and opened her mouth to demand an answer from them, but was cut off by Shadow.
"I saw something that we needed to hide from, and I think its obvious why they are here." Shadow said.
Zala had a clue as to what he was talking about, but he was just so shady about everything she wasn't one hundred percent certain.
"Come on guys, let's hide out here for a while." Lupe whispered, Shadow kept watching the black aura people lurking in the crowd. One of them took out a small device, and turned it on, before locking eyes with Shadow.
The disguised Shi Pokémon turned from the man, ducking behind a dumpster with Lupe. Over Shadow's head was a worn out blinking sign that read: "City Block Tavern."
Zala didn't hesitate to open the door, revealing a comforting bar, with chestnut wooden floors. Plush booths were in all corners of the tavern, but some tables were angled towards a few TVs with wooden stool chairs. Small chandeliers hung from the ceiling, but didn't really change the lighting in the tavern.
The place was quiet, a few men chatted in the booths, but other than that it was pretty empty. A bartender cleaned a few glasses, while watching something on the TV hanging from the ceiling in front of him.
Shadow wanted some information, and getting info at a bar was a pretty well-known tactic. The disguised Pokémon silently approached the bartender, and the man broke his concentration from the TV to look at Shadow.
"Look kid, I don't know if your friend put you up to this, but I don't sell to anyone underage." He said.
The bartender was a little overweight, he wore a gray suit with a white-cuffed shirt under it. A light golden tie could be seen, along with dark gray pants, his eyes were dark-brown, and questioning. His arms were exposed, they were very hairy, but his beard was cut and shaved nicely.
"I am not here for a drink, I am here for information." Shadow said, sliding a few dollars in cash as a friendly "encouragement."
The bartender seemed intrigued, as he silently took the money and stuffed it into his pocket. The man casually began cleaning his glasses again, as he raised an eyebrow at Shadow.
"What is it you want to know? Are you in trouble with the law?" The man said, Shadow shook his head making the bartender relax a little.
"When did Team Rocket start poking their noses around town?" Shadow asked, the bartender hummed before setting down his glass.
"I would say they have been here for years, but just recently they have been appearing more than usual."
Shadow looked over to Zala, she seemed to be interested in a match between a Gengar and an Incineroar. Zala seemed mesmerized by the TV, as she leaned against the back of a booth, made of smooth wood.
"Have any idea why they might have crawled out of shadows all of the sudden?" Shadow asked.
The bartender ignored him, looking at him with yearning eyes. Shadow sighed before sliding over more money to him, the bartender seemed satisfied before feeding Shadow more information.
"Word on the street says Team Rocket had a troubling encounter, and now they are simply trying to find the one that caused it. Rumor has it, that their visitor wasn't even human, because not one person would be crazy enough to go into their base without having a death wish."
Zala snorted, Shadow picked up on her mumbling, and realized she was eavesdropping.
"Well there is one person that has gone into a Team Rocket base and had come out alive." The bartender cleared his throat, waiting.
Shadow growled, before digging through his pocket and slapping more cash into the bartender's greedy hands.
"You've pretty much run me dry of information, but I can point you to a girl who knows about Team Rocket. Like I said, there has been only one person that has recently gone into Team Rocket's headquarters and has made it out alive. You can find her sitting at one of those wooden tables by the TV."
Shadow turned to see a lonesome girl, her eyes had bags under them, and dried mascara dyed the entire bottom of her eyes black. It was clear that the girl had been crying, and she seemed to be staring endlessly at a TV hanging above her.
She wore a white fuzzy wool sweater, her black tank-top was exposed, but her arms and shoulders were covered by her sweater. Her black tank-top was cut off when it reached her stomach, revealing her abdomen. She had short jean-shorts, that were overtop of black almost see-through tights that were tucked into high black boots with gray shoe laces.
The girl had a black floral choker around her neck, and long darker blue hair fell down her back. She had two gold hair clips that held up her hair in the front, and a black beanie hat on her head, with a pink kiss-mark in the middle of it.
Her cream skin-tone matched her dark-blue eyes, but both of her features looked worn and defeated.
The girl lifted her arms pouring a thick red substance into a shot glass, before lifting it up and swallowing it whole.
Zala wrinkled her nose, she could smell the girl's breath from where she was standing. The girl was focused on the TV, watching what seemed to be a Pokémon contest. Beautifully dressed and groomed Pokémon followed their master's orders as they lit up the stage in sparkles and flames.
The girl flinched, before pouring herself another shot of something that was clearly not alcohol.
Shadow tossed his head over towards the girl's direction, indicating that he wanted Lupe and Zala to approach her. Zala rolled her eyes before walking towards the female, with Lupe trailing behind her cautiously.
A strong cherry-scented aroma hit Zala as she pulled out a chair and sat in front of the female. The girl paid her no mind, as she kept mumbling to herself while the contest continued on the screen.
"I-Is that cough syrup?" Zala asked, the girl snapped her attention to Zala as she realized she was not alone anymore.
"Y-Yeah, how else was I supposed to get my fix, when Jim over there wont give me the strong stuff!" The girl yelled, pointing a finger to the bartender who seemed quite used to her loud outbursts.
"My name is Marty, and you know I can't sell to underage kids." The bartender replied, making the girl pour herself another shot of cough syrup.
She threw her head back and gulped down the syrup, before slamming down the glass and yelling once again.
"Yeah, well, whatever TOM!"
The girl stared at the TV again, her entire body trembling, as her lip quivered.
"So, since you are not old enough to drink, you substitute with cough syrup?" Zala asked, as the girl glared at her while her hand shook as she reached for the bottle.
"Drink enough of it, and you'll forget you're a failure." She said, as she tried to pour herself another serving. Her vision must have been blurry, because she was pouring the thick substance on the table in front of her, and clearly not aware.
Zala gently pushed her finger into the girl's arm, moving her arm towards the shot glass that she held in her other hand. The liquid started gathering in the glass, and it no longer spilled onto the table.
"I usually won't let anyone underage into the bar, but after she snuck in for the hundredth time, I just got tired of chasing the kids away." The bartender whispered to Shadow.
The girl was obviously upset about something, her habit was only because of something she wanted to forget, she said so herself.
The girl ran her fingers through her hair, before leaning on her elbow and staring at the TV once again.
"So…Do you mind giving us some information will really need-"
Zala was cut off, as the girl started to sniff, and fresh tears started to flow down her cheeks. Her mascara started to run again, and black tears dripped onto the table as her make-up started to run.
Soon enough the girl was bawling, slamming her fist on the table and causing quite a scene, making Zala's cheeks run hot with embarrassment. Suddenly the crying stopped, and the girl looked up at Zala with pleading and desperate eyes.
"Tell me that I am beautiful," the girl said. Zala opened her mouth to say something, but was afraid that if she said anything she would upset the cherry-cough-syrup drinker further.
Tears welled up in her eyes as she yelled at no one in particular, "I knew it, I am a failure at life, I deserve to be out-casted from society and I deserve to be separated from my mother's love."
Zala puffed out her cheeks in embarrassment, as the girl balled her eyes out for a good fifteen minutes. The men in the bar ignored her, apparently this was a daily problem for them, and they just learned to talk over her.
Between sobs and wails Zala could hear a few sentences like: "I am making such a scene," and "my makeup just went into my eye and it hurts!"
When the wails died down to small sniffles, the girl recovered from her 'moment' as she looked up at Zala.
"I-I am sorry about that," she said wiping her eyes with the corner of her sleeves, turning her white sweater a little black. The girl was shaking and still sniffing, but she seemed to be a little more stable.
"Do you uh, want to talk about it?" Zala asked, feeling quite out of her element. She wasn't a robot, Zala had feelings, and she felt bad for the girl who was pretty much the same age as Zala herself.
The girl nodded her head before getting up out of her seat, and sitting next to Zala. The sudden move made Zala very uncomfortable, as the girl started to sniffle again, Lupe covered his ears as she started to cry again, wailing and sobbing to where some people left the bar.
Then the girl invaded Zala's personal space, by grabbing her shirt and throwing her head into her chest. Zala was immobilized, she felt so uncomfortable and weirded out, but the girl's grip was so tight and sturdy, Zala was not sure she could pry her off.
Shadow choked back a laugh, as Zala struggled to calm the girl down. She sobbed, and yelled, and threatened some men in the back to stop looking at her, and then sank her face into Zala's chest again.
Suddenly the girl lifted her head, and grabbed Zala's face bringing her chin down to where they could lock eyes.
"D-Don't tell anyone this, but my name is Dawn, ni-nice to meet you." The girl named Dawn whispered, putting her finger to her lips before sobbing once again.
The three teenagers locked eyes with each other, praying that this lunatic wasn't the one they were supposed to get their answers from.
