Chapter 7

"Eve! Quick attack! Go!"

"Torchic!" she replied, darting forward. Roxanne had just released her pokemon when Eve hit it with a critical hit. The nosepass was knocked backwards and airborne right when he hit the cement.

"I like your style, Mew! Attack when the enemy is weak!" Roxanne spun in a perfect twirl. "I'm getting all fired up! This won't be a battle I'll soon forget! Nosepass, use block!"

"Eve, dodge it!" But it was too late. By the time I had spoken, her pokemons' attack was holding mine firmly in place. Eve's face strained, fighting the power that contained her.

"Gotcha, Mew!" Roxanne laughed loudly. "Your torchic is mine!" I clenched my fists.

"Eve! You have to break the seal!" I didn't know if she could hear me. She was so focused on breaking the block that sweat was consuming her. "Eve, I know you can do it!"

"Nosepass, use rock tomb!" Roxanne's pokemon started slowly edging closer to mine. As soon as he was close enough, he lifted his arms to the sky. Rocks started pulling themselves out of the ground. They slowly started surrounding the torchic. I squeezed my eyes shut.

"I KNOW YOU CAN DO IT, EVE!" Suddenly the whole clearing was filled with light. I held my arms up to try and block it. I had seen this before. No, I had felt it before. My eyes started watering at the brilliance. "I BELIEVE IN YOU!"

The light cleared just as quick as it had been ignited. Standing out in the open while holding nosepass high in the air was my pokemon: a combusken. Without having to be told the combusken threw the nosepass up in the air.

"Eve! Double kick!" Right when I said the word, combusken did the work and kicked the nosepass, not twice, not thrice, but five times. One for each eye and three for the nose. The nosepass went sailing so quickly that everyone ducked to avoid being impaled. It struck the side of the police station, leaving a crater the size of a house in its' wake. Alarms started sounding from the inside. Almost every police officer in the city flooded out from it and out into the battlefield. They were utterly confused until they saw it.

A nosepass plastered to the side of the building. It waved its' hand in the air, giving it the momentum it needed to free itself. When it hit the cement Roxanne dropped to her knees. The look on her face was more than astounded: it was complete fear.

"Winner!" called one of the people in the crowd. "Nosepass is unable to battle! Badge and privilege of her pokemon goes to Trainer Mew and her combusken, Eve!" The crowd burst into cheers. I stepped up to Roxanne. She met my eyes and stared.

"That… that pokemon…" She put her hands on the side of her head. "That pokemon is not normal. Don't you see that? Eve is a… a monster."

"She's not a normal pokemon, I agree." I held out my hand to her. "But she's not a monster. As long as we're together, nothing bad will happen." She paused.

"You must make that a promise, Mew Zakuro." I tried not to cringe at my name. "Swear it upon the life of your parents."

"I swear it," I said without hesitation. "The bond Eve and I share is stronger than anything. She is nothing but good. I swear upon the life of my parents as well as my own that Eve and I will change this world for the better, and not the worst." She took my hand and hoisted herself to her feet, shaking it twice before releasing it. She had left the first badge in my palm. "From now on, your my personal favorite." She crossed her arms and turned away. "But if you tell anyone, I'll yell your full name for all to hear."

"Now that is a promise I can keep as well," I said. She smiled.

"You're pretty cool for someone who hasn't been a trainer for very long," she complimented. "You're not half bad as a trainer either."

"Thanks, Roxanne." Her hand stopped me from saying more.

"Call me Roxxy. All my friends do." I nodded.

"Thanks, Roxxy."

"No problem, Zakuro." I twitched.

"Yeah, don't call me that."

"I figured."

"You figured right." She laughed.

"Oh here, take this." She tossed me an HM. "It's the move Cut. You'll need it to get certain places." She took a long look at her nosepass. She returned him to his pokeball. "Come to the pokemon center with me, I'm sure we can heal up the pokemon there. You'll need it before you head north of here. Follow me."

"This again?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"This time it's friendly." She smiled wide. "This time it's as friends, not competitors."

Brendan sat at a desk that was too large for him. Even though he had adjusted the chair as tall as it would go, he still had to sit up straight to see over it at a comfortable angle. He kept his hands on the desk, fingers laced, as Mr. Stone had instructed him to. As much as he wanted to see the battle outside, Steven's father had insisted that he come talk to him. He knew exactly what they were going to talk about, yet he had forced himself not to be rude.

"So... Brendan, is it?" Mr. Stone asked. He was standing in front of him, a stern look on his face.

"Yes, for the fifth time." Brendan's red eyes stared at the old man with burning hatred. "But you can call me Brendan, in case you were going to ask again."

"Shut it." Mr. Stone dropped a stack of papers down on the table. "According to these birth documents, everything you say adds up." Brendan nodded slowly.

"Yes. I recall that when a person is born, they receive something called a 'birth certificate.' When you magically get one of these, your name, printed on it thusly, are kept for the rest of your life."

"You're not Brendan," Mr. Stone interrupted. Brendan sighed and raised his hands in the air.

"Ok, you caught me. I'm not Brendan." Mr. Stone stared at him. The fake pokemon trainer leaned forward to press his forehead against the president's. "If you want my name, you'll have to pay up front."

"My son was right about you." Stone leaned forward, right into Brendan's face. "You're part of Team Rocket, aren't you?"

"No. I despise Team Rocket. They were a bunch of fools lead by a demented and evil man."

"Then why did you have the master ball Giovanni supposedly stole years ago?" Brendan smiled crookedly.

"Who said Giovanni didn't steal it? You have the right idea, Giovanni, being the leader of Team Rocket at the time, wanted to catch Mewtwo with it. But as you know, he was defeated at Silph in Saffron city several years ago. When he was defeated, the master ball went missing. That's the truth." He wagged his finger. "I can promise you that."

"So you admit it: you're Giovanni." Brendan leaned back in his chair and put his feet on the table. He began observing his shoes and playing with the laces.

"You don't listen well, do you? I said I hate Team Rocket. They're a bunch of thieves. A bunch of idiots. Giovanni disappeared with them." He studied his hands. "I tried tracking him down myself years ago, but I couldn't find him. The man is a ghost."

"Listen, whoever you are," Mr. Stone said, voice impatient. "You have illegally obtained and used an item which can no longer be replaced. I could send you to prison if I chose to."

"But you won't." Mr. Stone didn't reply. "Ah. You understand now, don't you." Fake Brendan took his feet off the table and put his elbows down instead, tapping his fingers together. "You know nothing about that torchic's abilities. You know nothing about Mew. I know everything. Every last detail. I know why she's named after the pokemon of creation to why pokemon attack her to why that torchic is in a master ball. If you let her continue without me, there's more than a huge chance something could go terribly wrong." He paused. "And by horribly wrong, I mean world-destruction horribly wrong." Mr. Stone focused on the table, stuck in his thoughts.

"She is an experiment to you, then?" he whispered. Brendan stood. His red eyes were glowing ominously.

"Mew is special. She has something that no other person, no other trainer, in this world possesses. It is only natural that someone watch over her to ensure that she does not go out of hand." He put a hand on his chest. "I vow to you, Mr. Stone. Keep this all a secret and let me travel with her and I will ensure that pokemon does not hurt anyone, along with Mew herself."

"You leave me in a terrible position." The room went quiet. Then, in a much lighter tone, "How can I know that I can trust you… Brendan?"

"I can offer you the greatest possession I have." He put a pokeball on the table. "This pokemon has been with me for many years. She has my heart as the closest pokemon to me. You can take her for now. If I ever betray you, you have my permission to keep her. You can release her. You can kill her. If I don't keep my word, then do whatever the hell you want with her." Mr. Stone observed the pokeball. "If you ever need to find me, as well, she will know where I am."

"And we are to keep Mew in the dark about this, correct?"

"It is for her own safety. The extent of her powers as a trainer is far more than anyone I've ever known. She has potential. Not just with her torchic, but within herself." The room went quiet. "Do we have a deal, Mr. Stone?"

"We have a deal." They shook on it. Not too long after they released each other, the sound of rock hitting rock shattered their eardrums. They flinched and looked around. On the right wall was part of a crater that had just been formed. Dust trickled off it and down on the floor. Mr. Stone could see the outline of a nosepass in the center. His jaw gaped. Brendan laughed loudly. His red eyes faded to blue.

"It looks like she just won her first gym battle," he joked. "I guess this is what happens when you wait too long to let me get to work."

"Just get out." Mr. Stone turned away. "I'm done talking to you."

"Alright, Mr. Stone." He started towards the door. "Oh, and one last thing. If you don't keep your word and tell her, or harm my pokemon without reason, I'll find whoever is the closest to you, and I will kill them." He walked out, waving casually over his shoulder.

Mew Received the Stone Badge!

Mew Received HM01: Cut!

Mew's Eve Has Evolved Into Combusken!

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