Mewtwo's eyes weren't glowing.
He didn't need his psychic powers for her to understand, for her to stumble forwards in the rubble and reach out, hands glowing blue as she funneled as much aura as she dared into them to rip that damned prison-armor off of him at its joints. The sudden surge of cold power made her drop to the rock and dirt beneath her, but the satisfaction alone made up for her exhuastion.
'Thank you, old friend,' Mewtwo rumbled, flexing his power as it returned to him. He turned his face upwards, eyes on the faint light spilling down from the deep hole they were at the bottom of. 'Recall your comrades. I will ensure all of this is taken care of.'
Ash didn't argue, forcing her trembling arms to hold out Pokeball after Pokeball. Only Pikachu remained, gently cradled to her chest. Every single one of them was unconscious. She closed her eyes at the sudden burn of tears, breath hitching as the memories ran circles in her mind.
－held the Earth badge tightly, a hard-won battle making the success even warmer, until the Gym Leader chuckled darkly and spoke of an offer he had for her－
－the horrifying realization that Giovanni was the leader of Team Rocket, that－
－no way he would just let her leave now that she－
－had to escape, had to save her team, she refused to let something as simple as chains stop her from getting free and warning Lance－
－all of their Pokemon at once, even tired as they were, tremors so powerful that the walls of the Gym shook, crumbling around them while－
－deep wound, the blood splattering across the ground even as Frogadier's entire body began to glow a brilliant white－
－scream did nothing, her Pokemon, her comrade, her friend fell down through the gap in the floor－
－slid down, tumbling a bit at the bottom and screaming for Mewtwo to stop－
"－lying to you, can't you see?! His entire life revolves around treating Pokemon as tools, he's just trying to control you－"
'Enough,' Mewtwo said sharply, forcibly pulling her back to the present, and Ash forced down the bile rising in her throat.
"Okay," she croaked, obeying when the large feline Pokemon directed her to stand. He placed a paw on her least-injured shoulder and Teleported them up several levels, into the previously hidden Rocket base that had been beneath the Viridian Gym. Now, the Gym was nothing more than charred brick and chunks of rubble, and the base beneath was not much better. The exposed lab still made Ash shudder, broken glass and equipment shining the the sunlight from above. She could hear sirens, shouting and helicopters approaching, their presence setting Mewtwo on edge.
"You can go," she forced the words from her numb lips. Her legs gave out, so she crawled a little to the side and propped herself up against the closest semi-sturdy surface, carefully adjusting her hold on Pikachu. He was breathing, thank Arceus, but he was hurt badly and hadn't stirred since the attack that took him out of the battle. "I'll be fine, Mewtwo."
Mewtwo spared her a glance as he finished his preparations－Giovanni's still-smoking corpse, surrounded by the remains of his Pokemon, was propped against the opposite wall. Ash didn't even have the energy to scream or vomit at the gruesome sight, the evidence of Mewtwo's fury.
'Your body will heal, yes,' he allowed, shifting some rubble so the large 'R' logo was visible on the wall. 'I will check on you as soon as possible, Chosen. There are many things I need to tell you, that I must thank you for… I only have one request; do not cut yourself off from your human bonds. You need them just as much as you need your team.'
With that, Mewtwo vanished, his psychic power warping him right out of reality. Barely a few seconds later, the sound of beating wings reached Ash's ears. A Charizard landed heavily on a relatively clear patch, and a shocked Ace trainer met Ash's eyes. The man's gaze flickered over her body, taking in the blood and grime, the shackles still on her wrists and ankles, the unmoving Pokemon in her arms.
Then he turned his head a bit, and saw the Team Rocket logo, bright red in the sea of gray and black.
XxXxX
"THAT SON OF A BITCH!" Surge bellowed, fist slamming into the nearest wall.
Sabrina had just briefed the remaining Gym Leaders and Elite Four on what she'd learned, having been given permission to sift through Ashka Ketchum's memories. The girl, once she'd woken up, had practically begged not to have to talk about what happened, and once she'd given the woman her consent to enter her mind, Sabrina could see why.
"The psychic－Mewtwo－seemed to hold a large amount of respect for her, and was concerned about her recovery. It is likely it will return to her at some point, but I do not believe it will be hostile to us unless we try to prevent it from contacting her," she finished, eyes never once leaving the Champion's furious gaze. She understood his rage; Ashka was a kind soul, had never once deserved to have such a fate. Seeing what little she did about the girl's destiny, Sabrina could only hope this was the end of her interactions with Rockets. Lance's feelings for Ashka only increased the boy's emotions, but he was, fortunately, keeping himself under control.
"I want every bit of intel we can get from the rubble," Lance said in a dangerously soft voice. "With their leader gone, Team Rocket will be scrambling to regroup. I want every last one of them taken care of before they can. Koga, I need you to scout out their locations from whatever we can salvage from that base. Erika, I need some of your best grass type support teams on standby for when we raid other bases. Flint, you will…"
Sabrina allowed her senses to expand, following the flow of reality as the Indigo Champion prepared to wipe out Team Rocket. There were many things they could have－should have－done to prevent this, but now all they could do was move forward.
She had not truly understood Ashka, the first time she met the girl face to face. There was something odd, something warped about the child's existence. Her soul had once belonged to two separate lives, and Sabrina hadn't been sure why the child glowed so brightly with countless threads of fate.
'Chosen.'
Mewtwo's name for the girl had cleared Sabrina's sight, and made her heart ache. The fate of those Chosen by Legendaries were never easy. It would seem that Ashka would have many difficult times ahead.
XxXxX
Ash had become a little numb to the routine of waking up in a hospital. The nurses told her that her Pokemon were still being treated, gave her the rundown of her injuries, subtly avoided telling her anything about the aftermath. The only thing she managed to overhear was how she had－while apparently still unconscious－freaked out when a nurse tried to rid her of her shirt to properly treat the many cuts and sprains she'd received to her torso and shoulders. It had taken something like six nurses to finally sedate her, and by then the three feathers that were shining like LED flashlights on her skin had already been seen.
She'd been delirious, and so many people had tried to take them away from her, tried to peel them off her skin, only for them to flare, shrieks followed by the smell of burnt flesh. The scent was familiar, horrifically familiar, and had Ash scrambling for something to throw up in every time. The feathers pulsed, lulling her back to sleep, blanketing her in a sensation of safety that would fade until the next time somebody that wasn't her tried to touch them.
The Legendaries didn't give just anyone their gifts, after all.
For the entire week she'd been on enforced bed rest, she'd been tense and ridden with panic attacks, nightmares of the carnage the leader of Team Rocket had been willing to cause for the sake of killing her. Add to that struggling against the sedatives, Ash felt ill. Something was going terribly wrong, the power of the feathers sharpening and becoming more painful than warm. Black veins spread from where they met her skin, and even breathing began to hurt. Her lucid moments became few and far in between.
Eyes sunken and hollow, gasping for breath, she could only wish desperately for her Pokemon, but no one ever listened to her pleas to see them.
XxXxX
"Something seems to be upsetting you, ma crevette."
Jumping slightly, Serena tilted her head back, offering Professor Sycamore a weak, sheepish smile. He sat down across from her in the break room, and the girl sighed, for once not protesting the nickname.
"... Ashka said she'd check in every two weeks on her training trip… she's three weeks overdue," Serena admitted, gaze falling to her hands, clenched in her lap. "She said she'd be out in the Kanto wilds… I'm worried. She's had a few mishaps before, where she needed to go to the hospital, but if she's out in the middle of nowhere…"
The professor frowned, gray-blue eyes dimming just slightly at the news. "She seemed a very responsible trainer, from what I saw. I'll leave a message for Samuel, perhaps her PokeNav was damaged, or something came up."
"Yeah, maybe… She did say Oberon was trying to figure out how to use it, last time we talked." She huffed out a laugh at the thought, turning as the side door to the connected examination room opened, Mimi bounding through it ahead of one of the professor's assistants.
"Sorry for the wait, Serena," Sophie apologized, "we're all done now. Thank you, again, for letting us study your Buneary. It's been extremely helpful in learning about the shiny gene."
Mimi pounced on her trainer's shoes, chattering away as she was picked up and cuddled. Her carefree, happy demeanor made Serena relax a bit, the little Buneary's innocent obliviousness soothing her if only slightly. In reply to Sophie's words, Serena shook her head.
"It's nothing, you guys brought Mimi here and took care of her until I got my license, think of this as returning the favor. Besides, she likes coming to see you."
Smiling at that, Sophie plopped down next to her, and the trio made a bit of small talk. It was a welcome distraction from Serena's worries, even when Augustine excused himself for a short while, his Gible scampering along behind him. He returned just after the two females had finished a conversation on one of the newer clothing stores on Vernal Avenue, mouth set in a small frown. When Serena sent him a questioning glance, he shook his head slightly, expression smoothing out into one of consideration.
"Serena, might I request your assistance? I've been meaning to survey some of the Pokemon on Route 4, and you've a way with Pokemon; would you come with me this afternoon? Ah, perhaps you might find another companion, as well," he mused.
The young trainer perked up a bit at that, having been wanting to explore a bit. She used Route 4 to get to Lumiose several times, now that she had Mimi, but her mother insisted that she didn't dally and so had been reluctantly hurrying down the main path every time. While she didn't necessarily agree with his praise, she had learned quite a bit during her visits to the lab, and was able to approach Pokemon in a manner that set most at ease. It helped that Mimi was very small and friendly, Pokemon didn't feel threatened by her, so the little Buneary was able to break the ice in a way and introduce her trainer.
"I'd love to," she said, a touch of eagerness in her voice. Maybe she could use this as a sort of test run, for her future journey! Ash had once told her how she'd gotten each member of her team, with only one actually needing a battle to be caught. Serena liked that approach a lot, making friends and then offering a spot on her team. Besides, Grace never said she wasn't allowed to catch more Pokemon before she started her journey. "Oh, but I'll need to stop somewhere and buy some Pokeballs before we go, I don't have any. If I'd known earlier I would have borrowed some from Calem."
"That's right, you're his cousin. He's one of my best contractors, you know, he makes my job easier. Tell you what, I'll give you a few Pokeballs, since the Poké Ball Boutique is all the way across the city, in exchange for your help today. How does that sound?"
"Really? Thank you so much!"
"Marvelous! I'll grab those, and our equipment, then we'll be off!"
As the gate to Route 4 was just a ten minute walk from the lab, it didn't take them long to find themselves in the well-kept garden path. Low-trimmed bushes and shrubbery created a maze-like feel, interspersed with small fields of flowers and winding walkways. As far as routes went, it was a very mild one, with small Pokemon unafraid to scamper between the feet of passerby. Neatly sidestepping a pair of squealing Skitty, Serena took in the lovely area.
"Route 4 is always so pretty," she commented as she followed the professor towards one of the largest flowerbeds, where it overlapped with the forests that bordered the route. Mimi hopped beside them, sometimes inspecting a flower that caught her eye. Curious little thing… "So, what exactly will we be doing here?"
"Many new trainers pass through here on the way to Lumiose, and the area is filled with low level Pokemon. It's just routine to go through and make sure nothing too strong has moved here to make trouble. If we find one that cannot be reasoned with, I'll have my Ivysaur send it to sleep and we'll catch it to relocate it. It's only happened a few times, but we make sure to check anyways. Keep an eye out for anything unusual, conflict between wild Pokemon, or the sound of a battle. Here, take the Pokeballs and this radio and we'll split up. Let me know if you see anything!"
Nodding, Serena whistled for Mimi to follow her, following the line of hedges and glancing around. It was rather peaceful, with a slight breeze carrying the scent of flowers and greenery. Smiling to a passing Ledyba, she wandered some of the smaller paths.
"Seems like a quiet day, huh, Mimi?"
"Buneary, bun bun," the little Normal type agreed, before her upright ear twitched, no doubt hearing something Serena couldn't. Alarmed, she darted off towards it.
Breaking into a sprint to keep her Pokemon in sight, Serena felt the first prickling sensation of unease. The professor had said strong wild Pokemon didn't often come to Route 4, but what if…? She hadn't really done any training with Mimi, since she was so little and young, what if she got hurt? Serena let out a small gasp when Mimi ran straight past the tree line.
"Bun! Bun buneary, bun!"
Dodging a tree, Serena took in the scene. A small group of Scatterbug and Spewpa were huddled against a tree, shaking beneath the glare of a angry-looking Beedrill. Mimi stood between them, paws waving as she scolded the much larger Bug type, voice raised and ready to throw down. Oh dear…
"Drillll," Beedrill hissed, raising its stingers aggressively. "Beedrill!"
"Buneary!"
With another furious hiss, the Beedrill's stingers began to glow ominously. The little Spewpa and Scatterbug squealed in fear, and Serena gathered her courage and jumped in. Hastily going over the moves her Pokemon knew, she called out the commands.
"Mimi, use Quick Attack to deliver an Ice Punch!"
"Bunear," Mimi nodded, body shining with silver light as she lunged beneath the reach of her opponent's stingers. One paw lit up with an orb of bright blue, and Mimi slammed it into Beedrill's chest, ice spreading from where her paw impacted. Startled, the Beedrill flew back, eyed Serena with a narrow gaze, and seemed to rethink the situation. Hissing to itself, it fluttered its wings and darted off, farther into the forest.
Sinking to her knees in relief and exhaling loudly, Serena took a moment to compose herself. Then, she smiled. "That was great, Mimi, I'm proud of you." Turning around to check on the Bug types that were slowly moving away from the tree trunk, she asked, "Are you guys okay?"
Some of the Scatterbug chittered at her, inching their way closer while the Spewpa scuttled forwards to swarm Mimi. One broke away from its friends, coming right up to the human girl and patting her knee, chirping rapidly at her. When she just tilted her head, confused, the Spewpa hopped onto her lap, and wouldn't budge. Resigned, Serena patted its head gently and glanced at its friends, who were currently burying Mimi in affectionate snuggles. The Buneary was eating up the attention with glee, causing her trainer to snort.
Once the Bug types had thanked their rescuers enough, all but the one on Serena's lap headed for some nearby bushes. The Spewpa called out once, a hurried conversation of clicks and squeals that seemed to surprise the group, if only for a moment. Then, the Spewpa hopped back to the grass, staying close to Serena's feet.
Eyes widening, Serena stared down at the fluffy bug. If it wasn't going back home with the others, then… Excitement welled up in her chest but she pushed it down for a moment. "Spewpa… do you, maybe, want to come with me?"
"Papapapa," the little Bug type nodded cheerfully, nuzzling Serena's shins, its soft white fur tickling her skin.
Not bothering to hide her delight, Serena quickly leaned down to pluck Spewpa off the ground and into her arms, giggling when it nuzzled back eagerly. Mimi bounded over, jumping to her favorite hangout on her trainer's shoulder, trilling out a question and wriggling happily when Spewpa replied. Pleased with Mimi's apparent approval, Serena freed one hand and pulled out one of the Pokeballs the professor had given her.
"Welcome to the team," she said with a wide grin, gently tapping Spewpa's head with the Pokeball, red light sucking the Bug type into the device. It wobbled once in her hand before clicking, a tiny shower of sparks proving the capture's success. Unable to hold back a little squeal of delight, Serena trotted back to Route 4, knowing that she still needed to finish the job Augustine had tasked her with.
About an hour later, the radio she'd clipped to her belt chimed.
"Serena! How goes the survey?"
"Mimi found a lone Beedrill cornering some other Pokemon, but it flew back to the deeper parts of the forest after one Ice Punch," she replied. "I think it had just been mad about something. But other than that, there's been nothing. What about you?"
"Everything has been normal over here. Why don't you meet me at the fountain in the middle of the Route, it's about time for a break, don't you think?"
"Okay," she agreed, and turned away from the flower bed she'd been about to walk by. She was close to the fountain, anyways, and her legs were getting a little tired. Still, she sped up a little when she could make out the professor's familiar figure sitting on the lip of the fountain.
When she first got Mimi, she had offered to help out around the lab to thank the man and his assistants for taking care of the little Buneary, but she found that she had fun learning from them. She didn't think she wanted to be a scientist, but the things she learned kept her busy and occupied enough that she didn't feel so impatient to start her own journey.
Sitting down next to the tall man, she let Mimi down, her little friend wanting to bat at the water of the fountain. Augustine shifted to face her, eyes dropping to the Pokeball in her hand with interest.
"I see you've found another friend, ma crevette!"
Making a face at the professor's preferred nickname for her－she was not a shrimp!－Serena shoved down the mild annoyance and released her new Pokemon. Spewpa trilled, hopping up and down on her lap before its gaze found Mimi. It scuttled over her knees to rush to Mimi's side, joining the Buneary in a sudden game of splash.
"A Spewpa! Very healthy, too, judging from how white its fur is. Ah, I believe…" He leaned down to study the Pokemon, smiling when it tilted its head curiously before chirping and hopping in greeting. "Yes, this variant of Spewpa isn't native to this area! I'm not quite sure which wing pattern it will have as a Vivillon, but it is definitely one of the rarer ones."
"Really? You can tell just by looking? But it looked just like the rest!"
"The differences are very subtle," Augustine told her, amused at her confusion. "Things like the size of the colored scales in a Spewpa's fur, the precise shading of them, even the texture and length of their fur differ between the various patterns. I'm not a Bug type Pokemon expert, but for a time I studied the Vivillon line exclusively, trying to pinpoint the possible reason for the different wing patterns. It's what led me to specialize in the field of evolution, and then Mega Evolution! In any case, I can assure you that you will have a very lovely Vivillon someday."
Serena looked at her Pokemon, eyes wide. She hadn't even known that Vivillon had different wing patterns. "Is there somewhere I could see what the different patterns are?"
"I'm sure we have a textbook or two in the lab that would have pictures, but you can also find them online. Now, if you're really interested I could－oh?"
The delighted surprise in his voice made Serena whirl around, blinking rapidly when she recognized the Pokemon standing less than a foot away from her. A small, bipedal Pokemon, white and pale green with little red horns on the front and back of its head, standing at a little over a foot tall. Her breath caught, the rare Pokemon's presence having her squeal internally about her good luck.
"Ralts," it breathed, walking closer so it could put a hand on her leg. The Ralts, deciding that there was no danger, then jumped to balance on her knees. Without even stopping to think, Serena lifted her hand to pet the round top of its head, giggling breathlessly when the Ralts made a happy sound and leaned into the touch.
"Hey there," she greeted, beaming when the Ralts trilled at her, plopping down and making itself comfortable in her lap. Her mind flashed to all the stories she'd heard about Ralts 'choosing' their trainers, their ability to sense emotions, and her heart felt fit to burst. This Ralts actually liked her enough to get up close! Today was maybe her luckiest day, or tied with the day Ash told her that Mimi was waiting at Professor Sycamore's lab. "Oh my Xerneas, you're so cute!"
Mimi and Spewpa peered around her sides at the newcomer, barely taking a moment to decide that they liked Ralts. From one second to the next, Serena went from having one Pokemon in her lap to three, the little group giggling and chattering to each other. Fighting the urge to bounce in place from giddy excitement, Serena took a few deep breaths and rubbed Ralts' head to get its attention.
"Say, Ralts… I'm still new to Pokemon training, and I won't be traveling for a few years, but… I think you're pretty awesome. And you get along with my friends here," she added, giggling as the trio nodded in agreement. "Would you like to join my team? Spewpa just joined us today, too. We'll have lots of fun together!"
Ralts turned to look at Spewpa, the two having a brief conversation before it turned back to nod at her with a little smile. Practically radiating joy, Serena pulled out a second Pokeball and offered it to the dual Psychic/Fairy type. It pressed its hand against the button, essentially capturing itself. The Pokeball didn't even wobble once, clicking instantly. Unable to contain herself, she grabbed up her other two Pokemon and leaped to her feet, bouncing around as she celebrated.
It took a few minutes for her to calm enough to send her new Ralts back out, and then she properly introduced her two newest Pokemon to the professor, who congratulated her in his own quirky, semi-dramatic way. Then she got her Pokemon all calmed down so she could give the new ones nicknames. After a few yes-or-no questions, she found out their genders and brainstormed accordingly (when she started her journey, she'd have a PokeDex to simplify things, but until then she'd make do). Eventually she decided on Kofurai for her female Spewpa, and Felix for her male Ralts. Both loved their new names, and by the time the survey of Route 4 was finished, Serena was an adoring mess, fussing over her little team.
After returning the unused Pokeball and radio Augustine had given her, Serena bid the man farewell for the day and headed home, a Pokemon on each shoulder and on in her arms (they took turns, gently patting her face whenever they decided it was time to rotate). It was only late that night, after a few hours of her mother and cousin fawning over her new catches and the cuteness of her team, that Serena abruptly sat up as she realized what the professor had done. The sudden motion startled her Pokemon, snuggled up to her as they were, and she quickly apologized and reassured them that all was well.
A distraction, indeed; she had been so busy with the new experiences of today that for the first time in three weeks, she hadn't been beside herself worrying about Ash.