I do not own Pokémon. Credit goes to Satoshi Tajiri and Game Freak.
Also, credit goes to Laurleen aka Emi-Xstitch on DeviantArt for co-writing the first four chapters and then RubyDaSquirlz on DeviantArt for the successor chapters starting at chapter 5.
The newly revealed Team Rocket grunt shifted his gaze towards the cloaked figure. Leaf let out a distressed moan as she embraced herself to Mewtwo, encouraging him to hold her close.
"Easy," Mewtwo assured her, "you're going to be ok."
"I'll give you an offer, Mewtwo," the Rocket grunt demanded, "if you turn yourself over to our leader now, he'll spare your girl's life."
Mewtwo blinked twice as he narrowed his eyes, extending his paw forward.
"I'll take you down with no effort if you move any closer," Mewtwo threatened, "no one will be any the wiser."
The Team Rocket grunt huffed before he sent out an Ekans. Sandshrew stepped forward to meet it.
"Sandsand!"
Leaf buried her face into the makeshift cloak.
"Sandshrew," Leaf called, "use Dig!"
Sandshrew quickly dug under the Ekans and waited to feel its heartbeat above him. Mewtwo kept his tail hidden under the cloak and wrapped it around her protectively.
"Steady, Ekans!" the grunt commanded, "move into position and get ready to strike the rodent!"
Sandshrew quickly moved underneath it and scratched at the snake's underside even after he exited the dirt. The Ekans let out a pained hiss before it plopped onto the ground. The grunt growled before he recalled his Ekans. Leaf peeked from under the cloak and took a moment to swap out Sandshrew and send in Magnemite. The grunt soon sent out a Zubat. Magnemite sparked, displeased at the grunt before focusing on the bat Pokémon.
"Leech Life!" the grunt ordered.
"Thundershock!" Leaf countered.
The Magnemite allowed the Zubat near it, trying and failing to leech anything, and shocked it after a second of confirmed contact. The Zubat let out a screech as the electric jolts surged through its body. Seconds later, it passed out and dropped to the ground. The Rocket grunt snarled before he recalled his Zubat.
"I see you two don't know when to quit while you're ahead," he growled.
"Neither do you. Now leave before I make good on my warning," Mewtwo continued to glower at him.
As soon as the grunt turned and stormed off, Leaf and Mewtwo sighed in relief. She took a step back, allowing the psychic Legendary to lean forward and nuzzle her face.
"Are you all right?" Mewtwo asked, "I hope he didn't scare you too much."
"Yeah," Leaf nodded sheepishly, "I'll be ok."
He nodded and waited for her to move first, slowly relaxing from the intense commotion. After a few minutes of silence, they continued their stroll through the route. Leaf spotted an Abra floating between the tall grass blades out of the corner of her eye, so she pulled out her Pokédex and held it out to scan her new discovery.
{Abra, the Psi Pokémon. They're known to sleep for 18 hours a day and will teleport whenever it senses approaching danger. They use extrasensory powers even while they're asleep.}
Leaf stashed her Pokédex and started tiptoeing past the patch of tall grass. Mewtwo glanced around before levitating above the ground. As they headed east, Leaf would occasionally make a brief glance at the river to her right. He tried to stop glancing over to the left, since the cottage at the edge of the route sent chills down his spine. The brunette trainer stopped in her tracks and tilted her gaze towards a berry tree to her left.
"Maybe I can find something helpful here," Leaf muttered to herself.
Pulling out her Berry Pouch, Leaf stepped over to the tree and inspected each branch, plucking out a few Persim berries. Mewtwo watched her and carefully floated up to see if any higher berries were ripe enough.
"Would you like more?" Mewtwo asked her.
Leaf took a moment to check her Berry Pouch.
"Maybe a few more will do," she answered.
Mewtwo spotted a few more ripe Persim berries and proceeded to harvest them, levitating them closer to the young trainer.
"Will these do?"
Leaf grabbed the floating berries and stashed them into her Berry Pouch. She took a step away from the tree while Mewtwo descended to the ground. Once they reached the edge of the route, Leaf sighed and crouched to the ground near a pond which had a bridge over it. The psychic Legendary simply stood by her side, scanning his surroundings in a moment of silence.
"Did you find something?" Mewtwo spoke into her mind.
Leaf simply shrugged before she glanced over her shoulder and locked eyes onto a cottage sitting on the other side of the pathway. Mewtwo followed her gaze and perked up his head.
"I'm getting that feeling again," Mewtwo told her.
Leaf lifted her head and gave Mewtwo a confused stare.
"What feeling?" she paused.
"Just…something familiar. May I investigate?"
He glanced back at her, well aware she wasn't his trainer but wanting to make sure she would be all right for a moment with whether she wanted to go inside with him or wait outside. Leaf reached into her bag and brought out her Squirtle who waddled over to Mewtwo and lifted his head up, gazing into the Legendary's eyes. He smiled and pat the Squirtle's head with his tail, keeping eye contact.
"You may follow me if you wish."
Leaf scooped Squirtle into her arms and stood to her feet. Mewtwo watched her and started to walk towards the cottage, moving to knock on the door. Much to their disappointment, no one answered.
"I guess no one's home," Leaf shrugged.
He tilted his head and focused carefully.
"No, I can sense…something in there," Mewtwo corrected, staring into Leaf's eyes, "should I try the door?"
Leaf and Squirtle nodded in unison without saying anything. Mewtwo took the hint and his psychic energy danced from his fingertips, his telekinesis turning the knob and pushing the door open. The psychic Legendary led the young trainer into the cottage before they started scanning their surroundings. When Leaf set her Squirtle down, the tiny turtle tilted his head and wandered over to one of the capsules, flinching when he noticed something behind the desk. Mewtwo noticed his reaction and moved to see the Kabuto struggling on its rounded back, probably having tripped back over the desk.
"Uh, hi!" a southern American accent came, "I'm Bill! A true blue Pokémon fanatic!"
Mewtwo tilted his head. The voice seemed familiar somehow. Was this the same Bill…?
"How?" Leaf stammered, staring in disbelief, "just…how?"
Leaf kept her breathing stable while she fluttered her hands.
"I…uh, screwed up an experiment and got combined with a Kabuto," Bill explained nervously, "uh, you mind helping me up?"
Mewtwo studied him and took a deep breath, using his telekinesis again to right the oddity.
"Whew, thanks!" the Kabuto sighed in relief, "would you mind helping me get back to normal?"
Mewtwo gave the Kabuto a slow nod before he shifted his gaze towards the teleporter.
"What do you need me to do?" Mewtwo asked.
Bill waved a leg at the computer.
"The procedure is already onscreen," Bill explained, "I'm pretty sure you just need to tell the Cell Separation System to Start Process. You can use the mouse."
Mewtwo nodded and focused his eyes on Leaf.
"I don't know how well I can grip this 'mouse'."
Leaf scampered over to the computer desk and perched one hand on the mouse. Mewtwo opened the door to the capsule behind him, helping Bill inside and shutting it. He tilted his head to listen to a muffled call and stepped away, nodding to Leaf.
"He's ready," he spoke into her head.
Upon cue, Leaf clicked on the Start Process icon. The insides lit up, flickering slightly. Both capsules and the tubing between them started sparking, the humming in the room grew louder and higher in pitch before finally stopping with a sudden whoosh of steam from under the capsules. Mewtwo didn't realize it disturbed the cloak enough to dislodge the hood. The doors opened and a small Kabuto scuttled out towards the front door. Mewtwo and Squirtle watched curiously, and they soon heard coughing as Bill stepped out into the steam. Leaf avoided staring into his eyes and simply huddled closer to the psychic Legendary.
"U-Uh," she stuttered, "h-hey."
The redhead smiled and watched her. Obviously as the steam was clearing, he hadn't noticed Mewtwo properly yet.
"Hey, thanks a lot," he smiled, "is there anything I can do to repay you?"
"I-I can't think of anything, really," Leaf let out a nervous chuckle.
Bill watched her and thought for a moment. Once an idea popped into his head, he raised one index finger.
"Oh, I know! I have these," Bill offered, "I wasn't going to use them, as I don't really like fancy gatherings."
He went over to the desk and picked up two cruise tickets for the S.S. Anne, stepping back over to the two visitors.
"You and your friend can use—"
Bill finally looked up at Mewtwo and his words caught in his throat. That was when the Genetic Pokémon realized his hood was down.
"Hello, Bill," he spoke into the man's head.
Bill's eyes widened and he took a step back, not paying attention as the tickets slipped out of his hands and fell to the floor.
"M-Mewtwo?!" Bill warbled.
Mewtwo gave Bill a nod and avoided eye contact as well, letting his tail drop into view again.
"Yes," he affirmed, "I may have grown since the last time we locked eyes."
Bill started taking deep breaths in an effort to calm himself from the shock. Mewtwo wheeled a chair over to him.
"Sit," Mewtwo instructed, "you've gone pale. I imagine you have questions."
Bill slowly settled into the chair while Leaf knelt down and picked up the tickets. Mewtwo used his telekinesis to wheel in two more chairs before he sat down, keeping an eye on Bill. The young trainer clutched the tickets in her hands as she settled into her seat, allowing her Squirtle to jump into her lap.
"I-I haven't heard of your last whereabouts for thirteen years," Bill stammered, "I-I just, were you terrified or something?"
"I was," Mewtwo admitted, making a brief glance at Leaf, "I've been attempting to come to terms with myself, my powers, my purpose. I've had several attempts at trying to teach myself humans aren't as bad as Team Rocket makes them out to be. Until I met Leaf, I hadn't had much luck."
Bill didn't say anything as he nodded. Leaf started swinging one leg back and forth.
"Do you know if Fuji survived?" Mewtwo continued, "I'm glad to see that you have, and I was hoping to talk to him, if I could."
Bill scratched his head in a moment of silence.
"I…do know he left Cinnabar Island after you escaped," Bill mentioned.
Squirtle perked his head up all of a sudden.
"Squirtle?"
Leaf, having perked her head up, pulled out her Pokégear and typed down Fuji in a search engine. She took a moment to scroll down a couple results.
"I…only got the Pokémon House in Lavender Town," Leaf blurted, "when I looked up Fuji, that is."
Mewtwo tilted his head.
"Perhaps we can check there," Mewtwo offered, "if you'd be alright with stopping by."
Leaf took a moment to think over the question as she lowered her head.
"After I get the Vermilion Badge?" she clarified.
Mewtwo gave her a soft smile.
"Of course," he agreed, "your journey comes first."
Mewtwo placed his hand on Leaf's shoulder, eliciting a smile out of her. The Legendary then shifted his gaze towards Bill.
"Are there any more questions or shall we leave you to rest?"
Bill shook his head.
"It was nice talking to you two," he told them.
As Bill rose to his feet, Leaf and Mewtwo stood from their chairs, the psychic Legendary putting his hood back on.
"Ok, take care," Leaf nodded.
Leaf and Mewtwo returned to Cerulean City a while later. Trading the Nugget at the loot shop was enough to provide extra cash to keep her going. As it was almost noon, they stopped by a small sandwich restaurant for lunch. Mewtwo made sure to secure his cloak before he left Bill's cottage and sniffed at the air when they entered the sandwich restaurant. They both found an empty table near the window.
He sat more in the shade and stayed silent as he thought to himself. Squirtle pressed himself against the window to peer outside. In the meantime, Leaf tilted her head towards the TV screen. Her face lit up when she heard the familiar pleasant catchy song from the TV's audio and saw an anime character she recognized appear on the screen.
"Oh?" Leaf warbled, "Asuna-chan's on!"
"Squirtle! Squirtle!" Squirtle chirped as he happily jumped up and down on the table.
Mewtwo looked to her and then to the TV, tilting his head.
"Something you like?" Mewtwo paused.
Squirtle answered excitedly and sat next to her on the table, happily watching it with her. Mewtwo made a noise of acknowledgment, but otherwise quietly watched it to see what the fuss was about. The episode started with the heroine of the show, Asuna Sakuragi, delivering lunch to the greenhouse in Floaroma with her Cherrim floating alongside her.
"I hope something exciting's going to happen here," Leaf chirped to herself, "right, Squirt Squirt?"
Squirtle winked at Leaf while Mewtwo read through the menu. He listened to the show while he read, intrigued by the options. While the episode continued to play, both the psychic Legendary and the young trainer ordered their lunch when the waiter stopped by. Mewtwo glanced through the window again. He relaxed and let his tail lay on the seat next to him. Leaf and Squirtle were already engrossed at the antics of Asuna and her best friend Mika trying to figure out the whereabouts of the flock of Starlys, Staravias and Staraptors.
Several minutes later, the waiter returned with the sandwiches on a tray. Mewtwo perked up his head and nodded gratefully, taking and eating one. Leaf happily munched on her grilled cheese sandwich. The psychic Legendary savored the flavor slightly while he ate, reconfirming that he liked human food. By the time they finished their lunch, the episode of Miracle Asuna-chan ended with the stranded Starly finally reuniting with its flock and they continued their migration, which was enough to satisfy Leaf's curiosity. Mewtwo couldn't help but give Leaf a gentle smile.
"May I ask why you like the show?" Mewtwo asked her.
Leaf placed a finger on her chin.
"For one thing, it teaches basic lessons on how to be a decent person," Leaf explained, "and second, I find myself relating to Asuna-chan."
Mewtwo nodded, knowing her reason made sense.
"Well," Mewtwo agreed, "I'm glad to hear that."
Shortly after Leaf paid the bill, she and Mewtwo stepped out of the sandwich restaurant. The psychic Legendary took a moment to scan his surroundings.
"Are we calling it a day?" Mewtwo asked.
Leaf shrugged as she swayed her torso from side to side.
"Maybe we could meet up with Red and Gary back at the Center," Leaf suggested.
Feel free to drop a review, because Mewtwo is in need of emotional support!
Mewtwo and Leaf would also like to see any memes you can come up with related to this fanfic!