Adele explained the basics of magic to the young humans while they gave her a rundown of how things work on the world. Everything seemed to revolve around fighting matches between the animals of this world. They were called 'Pokemon', and matches were meant to be friendly and non lethal. Apparently the Pokemon enjoyed fighting, and Adele felt saddened when she remembered vaporizing that kid's rat Pokemon.
Adele almost couldn't believe that the age of indepence on the planet was ten, and they couldn't believe that back home for Adele that the age of independence was eighteen. Even Brock was only fifteen. Only a very small percentage of the population stayed in school past that age, and the ones that did were seen as losers. Even the ones that chose to stay home were allowed to drink and gamble like adults. On this planet, that's exactly what they were.
The youngest of their group, Ash Ketchum, had his heart set on being the best, and indeed he won every small fight he got into with kids along the path. His yellow rabbit never went into its pokeball like the others did. Brock said that it was unusual but not unheard of.
As they ate, Brock sat close to Adele. It was very obvious what his intentions were, even without reading his aura or listening to his heartbeat. On their first night in the woods, he offered to share his sleeping bag with her. She laughed at the 'generous offer', and pulled out her own that she'd taken from her crashed ship.
The redhead named Misty loved Pokemon with water abilities. She seemed to hate Adele though. Vibes of fear and hate rolled off her aura, and she always gave as few responses as she could whenever Adele or Apa approached her.
The path took them to Mt. Moon. It stood tall on the horizon, and Brock explained that the mountain received its name from a meteor that hit it long ago. The meteor was still in the mountain and it was called the 'Moon Stone'. Misty proclaimed the name as romantic.
Ash slapped Adele's back and laughed. "Not all meteors are meteors! Right, Adele?"
Adele nodded to the little boy. "It would be interesting if that meteor contained an alien too. How long ago did it land?"
Brock shrugged. "All sources simply say that it was before recorded history. So, at least a thousand years."
"Your recorded history only goes back a thousand years?!"
Ash chuckled. "Well yeah. Anymore and we'd have to learn a lot more in history class."
Adele groaned at such childish thinking. "So you have no idea what happened prior to a thousand years ago?"
"We have legends and stories." Misty spoke through gritted teeth without making eye contact. "They may or may not be true."
Trees parted, and Mt. Moon was closer. Their path led straight to a cave entrance in the side of the mountain. Brock, who'd been reviewing the maps, said that going through the cave should put them on the other side of the mountain, allowing them to get to Cerulean City.
A skeleton lied just off the path. Dusty flesh barely clung to bone, and the body wore a lab coat far too pristine to have decomposed naturally outside the cave. Before any of them could question what happened to the man, a swarm of blue bats with no eyes flew out of the cave. They screeched, and Adele felt herself becoming weaker.
Ash's handheld device pinged and identified the creatures as Zubat. Adele's eyes shut and Apa glared at the bats. Lines that only they could see connected the Zubat to each other, and moved as they did. The elf chanted an incantation, letting energy flow between her and Apa. One Zubat turned to energy and was sucked into a pokeball that was put at Brock's side. Energy released and a gold light vaporized the remaining Zubat. Beofre dust could coat them, Adele willed it into a ball that formed a lump of coal, and then a diamond.
"You didn't have to kill them." Misty crossed her arms and looked away from Adele.
Brock put his hand on Misty's shoulder. "Hey, she was trying to help."
"Pikachu was about to save us, and none of those Zubat had to die!" Ash and his Pikachu raised their fists. Sparks shot out from the yellow creature's red cheeks. "And I could've caught one."
Brock pulled out a pokeball and tossed it in the air. White light escaped from it as it opened, and the energy formed into one of the Zubat. "Maybe if you weren't such a little bitch, you could've caught one anyway!"
"Fuck you! Pikachu, lightning attack!"
It leapt from his shoulders and arcs of lightning came from its body as it shouted its name. Brock's Zubat writhed in agony as electricity flowed through its body until it fell limp to the ground. A red laser converted the Zubat into energy and pulled him back into the pokeball. Brock pushed the button on the pokeball that made it shrink before storing it within his vest. "You're a dick, Ash."
Misty wondered into the cave as the two boys were fighting. Lights strung along the walls illuminated the path. Pokemon inside were lethargic, and barely moved. Crabs with mushrooms on the back were ripping their fungi off to stick them in the ground. Some sort of rodent settled down on the ground and closed its eyes. It kept waking up to readjust itself.
"What is it that you have against me, Misty?"
The redhead barely glanced at her before continuing down the path. Adele repeated her question and finally Misty stopped. "Because you're a monster."
"What? Is this about those Zubat?"
"No, but that certainly doesn't help." Misty took a deep breath. "Before our recorded history, we indeed have legends. One of those legends is about monster people with pointed ears and the ability to unmake reality. People like you."
"It is true, not all elves are nice," Adele said.
"Not all humans are nice either." Apa sat down on the cave floor and used her sight to gaze down the path further. People that perfectly illustrated her point were just up ahead.
"According to the legends, people were killed or sometimes turned into horrible experiments that are far worse than killing. All by the elves. Our ancestors would've been killed or enslaved if they hadn't escaped your world. And now you've come for us."
"I have no desire to kill or enslave humans."
Misty avoided looking Adele in the eye. Whether that was because she didn't want to face her, or because she knew that gave a magic user the best view inside a soul was difficult to discern. Footsteps echoed off the rocky walls. "I won't tell the others about you, but I do not trust you," Misty said. "I can't."
Ash and Brock caught to them, huffing.
"Told ya they were up here and, holy shit look at all the Pokemon!" Ash pulled out his red device and pointed to the creatures that Adele now knew as a Sandshrew and Paras. He turned his cap around and threw a pokeball at the restless Sandshrew. The device wiggled as if the creature was trying to break out. It became still as the red light dimmed. "I caught a Sandshrew!"
"There seems to be something wrong with these Pokemon." Brock knelt in front of a Paras that had ripped off its mushrooms. Apparently they were supposed to have fungi growing on them. "These lights are disturbing the Pokemon."
"This cave isn't usually lit up?" Ash asked.
Misty shook her head. "It's supposed to be a rite of passage for trainers to navigate their way through the dark cave. I didn't think about the lights until now."
Apa looked up at lights and used her other sight. "The power supply isn't much further. We will run into whoever is running the generator, though I could go ahead tell you who it is."
As they followed the lights down the cave, another Pokemon bounced into view. It was pink, carrying a small rock, and chanted 'Clefairy' with every jump.
"I bet I know this one's name." Adele smirked as the Clefairy bounced down the cave. Ash's device pinged and confirmed its name. It also stated that it was rarely seen by humans. His eyes lit up as he retrieved a pokeball the size of a golfball from his belt. He hit a button and it swelled to the size of his palm. "I have to catch it! Pidgetto, go!"
As he threw the red and white ball, its halves separated to spit out a blob of white energy. It morphed into a brown bird the size of a chicken. Red feathers swooped back above its eyebrows and it shouted its name.
"Tackle it!" Pidgeotto flew for the Clefairy. It looked up in fear, and it dropped its stone as the bird slammed into it. As it was knocked back, Ash beaned it with a pokeball. It turned into red energy like the Sandshrew did, and it was sucked in. After a couple seconds of struggling, the red light dimmed. "Alright! I captured a Clefairy!"
"Prepare for trouble." Jessie stood on a rock platform above them holding a shovel.
"And make it double." James stood next to her holding a pickaxe. Apa let the energy swell in her.
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"Jessie."
"James."
"Team Rocket, blasting off at the speed of light!"
"Meowth, that's right." Meowth let himself drop to the ground level with them. His paws were held up in a threatening position.
"Don't you guys get tired of saying the same thing?" Ash asked.
"Not these two again." Adele groaned. "Why are you here?"
"We wanna get our hands on the Moon Stone so we can power up our Pokemon with it." Meowth gave no hesitation in explaining their motive.
"You put the lights in this cave!" Brock raised his fist at them. "You're why the Pokemon are so confused!"
"A man is dead because of you," Apa said.
"Oh my, how will we ever forgive ourselves." James smirked.
"If we have the Moon Stone, nothing will stop up." Jessie pointed at Adele. "Not even you and your magic."
"We won't let you get away with this," Ash said.
Brock gestured around the cave. "You want a rock? Take one of these and then get lost!"
"'Get lost'? How rude!"
"Let's teach him some manners," James said. They threw their pokeballs and called out their Pokemon. Ekans and Koffing appeared from the white light spit out from the devices.
"Should I kill them?" Adele pointed her staff at the Pokemon, and they flinched upon seeing her. Apa eyed Koffing and her eyes glowed red.
Brock shook his head and threw a pokeball. A Zubat materialized from the light. "We can handle this."
Ash threw his own Pokemon and a butterfly as big as Pikachu materialized. Koffing tried to create a smokescreen, but Zubat blew it away. It let out a screech that pierced Adele's skull. Koffing and Ekans turned on each other to the dismay of their owners.
Meowth stood before Apa with a grin. His claws were drawn and he let his fangs show. "So, it seems we meet again."
"I will not hold back if you attack me."
"Well, good meeting you." Meowth scrambled up the rocks to join Jessie and James. They all ran out of a side opening that led outside. Apa chased after them and found the generator. Meowth pointed a claw at her. "Don't you mess with that!"
Lightning arced around Adele's familiar, and a drop of sweat dripped down Meowth's face.
"Just kidding! Mess with it all you like!" They ran further down the hill just before Apa let her energy release upon the generator. Fuel ignited blew the machine to pieces. The cave was plunged into darkness.
Misty screamed and went to Adele for protection. "It's pitch black in here!"
"I thought you wanted it like this." Adele laughed when Misty realized who she was holding onto for protection and leapt away. She tapped her staff on the ground and gold light filled the cave as Apa walked back in.
"Ah, this is much better," Ash said.
"I do not think Team Rocket will be bothering us for a while," Apa said.
"Not sure if threatening to kill their Pokemon is a viable solution." Misty put her hands on her hips. "Even Team Rocket wouldn't stoop so low."
"They're thieves, and they personally threaten my safety," Adele said. "I feel nothing wrong in defending myself. If they do not wish for threats, then they should not attack us."
Brock rubbed his stomach. "Well, I'm hungry. I say we and the Pokemon take a lunch break."
Ash laughed. "I agree with that!"
Misty sat down and let out all of her Pokemon except Goldeen. "Just tell me that you didn't kill any of them."
"Just their generator."
Misty sighed with relief and pulled rice cakes from her purse.
Brock flipped through a notepad that was covered in dust and dirt. "Apparently that man's name was Seymour. He was a scientist."
"You looted his corpse?" Misty asked.
Brock shrugged. "He doesn't need this notepad anymore."
"What kind of scientist was he?"
"A Pokemon scientist." Brock flipped through the damaged pages. Many of them were ripped, presumably as he was attacked by Zubat. "His ideas are pretty out there. He seemed to have believed Pokemon came from space on the Moon Stone, and landed here."
Adele raised an eyebrow. "You really believe humans are native to this planet?"
"Why wouldn't we be?" Ash asked.
"For one thing, I know the planet that humans evolved on, and it wasn't this one," Adele said. "Second, have you noticed that humans don't resemble Pokemon at all? Which are the only animals on this planet. If you're different from everything else, then that makes you the aliens."
"Don't project your freaky alien-ness on everybody else." Ash took a bite of his rice cake.
Adele rolled her eyes as she ate her own. "Typical humans."
Brock couldn't believe what the beautiful alien was saying. Could humans really be descended from aliens long ago? If the Moon Stone was older than recorded history, then it was possible. On the other hand, Misty could be right about her, and she could be nothing but trouble.
Pikachu and Clefairy talked on a nearby rock in Pokemon language and Ash thought out loud that he wished he knew what they were saying. Apa was gazing with interest at the two Pokemon, and he wondered if the alien cat could understand them. Clefairy had retrieved her rock while the others were eating and seemed very interested in showing it off the Pikachu. They both scurried away. Ash shouted at them to stop, and they didn't even slow down.
Everybody recalled their Pokemon and chased them as they ran out of the cave. It was dark outside by the time Clefairy led Pikachu to another cave entrance. Other Clefairy skipped around inside,with a ring of smaller rocks surrounding a much bigger rock. When Ash's Clefairy set her rock down, they all began to glow, and the Clefairy rejoiced.
Pikachu did his best to tell them what the Clefairy were doing. Ash made several bad attempts at interpretation; including thinking that the Clefairy were doing the Macarena, despite the fact that Pikachu hadn't made that movement at all. Finally, he was able to deduce that the Clefairy worship the stone.
Adele approached the circle of Clefairy and raised her hand at the Moon Stone. She closed her eyes and her ears twitched. "This is what fuels a hyperspace engine."
"What's a hyperspace engine?" Ash asked.
"It is what allows us to go into the dimension hyperspace and bypass the laws of physics that would prevent faster than light travel."
"The stone that makes some Pokemon evolve is really part of a spaceship?" Brock couldn't believe these things were from space.
"They can hold large amounts of mana, and can cause mutations in some animals. That could be perceived by you as 'evolution'." Adele's head turned slightly. "Our friends are back."
"How'd you know?" Team Rocket came in through the cave entrance. Adele pointed at her big ears, and the criminal duo frowned. "No matter. The Moon Stone is coming with us."
Jessie and James threw their pokeballs to summon their Pokemon. Koffing filled the cave with a smokescreen. It stung Brock's lungs and Ash used Pidgeotto to blow it away. As the smoke cleared, only a hole remained where the Moon Stone once stood. Team Rocket was nowhere to be seen, and Brock sent Onix to go into the tunnel after them.
"We can still catch up to them." Ash led the way out of the cave and they ran down the hill. Onix's giant form emerged in the distance, and Team Rocket's screams carried through the air. Remains of a wrecked sled scattered around the giant Moon Stone.
The giant rock snake moved to tackle them, and Koffing countered it. Despite the size difference, Koffing was able to bash Onix back. Clefairy from the cave found their way through the tunnel and emerged. They chanted their name as they waved their fingers back and forth. Team Rocket watched the curious display. Adele and Apa took a step back just before an explosion consumed Team Rocket and the Moon Stone.
"Team Rocket is blasting off again!"
"Are they immortal?" Apa asked.
Before anybody could answer, Ash pointed at the Clefairy. The Moon Stone had been blasted to pieces, and fragments rained down on them much slower than regular falling rocks should. As a piece hit a Clefairy, it would glow and enlarge. "Clefable!"
"They're evolving!" Ash clenched his fist and cheered as his Clefairy evolved, and he scanned it with his Pokedex to confirm. "I have a Clefable!
The Pokemon were celebrating in what had to be an amazing occasion for them. Light from the Moon Stone illuminated the otherwise dark field, and cast reflections from Adele's face perfectly. "So, Adele. If the Moon Stone is how you jump to hyperspace, doesn't that lead more weight to Pokemon being space visitors?"
"Or humans being from space," Adele said. "That stone looked like it hadn't been touched in a thousand years."