"What time did he say we'd be done?"

"He said around noon."

"Anything we can do to speed this up?"

Mewtwo shook his head, "Nope, just manual labor."

Gengar and Mewtwo were standing in front of the deli, fitting in a new window that had smashed the last evening. The sun was blazing overhead, making the autumn morning disproportionately hot for the time of year. Both had been sweating all morning from working to help clean up the town square. They had so far replanted the scorched grass, filled in cracks found in the building walls, and returned cars to their upright position. This was the last thing they had to do before calling it for the day, and both were quite tired from the morning's work.

"I'll be glad to see everything fixed here. This square certainly deserves to look its best, don't you think?"

Gengar gave a sideways look as they sealed the window in place, waiting for Mewtwo's response. Mewtwo ensured his side was secure before saying, "Certainly. I saw the square yesterday morning, and I must say that it was a wonderful sight."

Gengar hesitated for a second, "Are you okay, Mewtwo? You seem out of it."

Mewtwo jerked his head upward and looked around.

"What—? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. It's just—I was just thinking about what Allen said this morning."

It was true. Ever since they had left the ICU, Mewtwo's thoughts had been on the Mega Ring. Such a powerful device, with the secret entrusted to so few people. Mewtwo couldn't imagine how much of a breakthrough this would be for the research team once Allen returned with the Mega Stone. But the tests were what he was really thinking about. Nobody really knew what exactly the Mega Stone was capable of. In a way, Mewtwo was excited to see its potential, but he was nervous at the same time. What if the ring did something they weren't expecting? Allen did say that the results could be unpredictable.

"Hey Mewtwo!"

"Huh?"

"We're done! All of these windows have been replaced."

So they were. They had moved right along and replaced all the glass that needed fixed, all with Mewtwo hardly noticing.

"Oh! That didn't take very long."

"Not at all!" Gengar replied joyously, "Shall we tell Alder we're finished?"

"Yes, definitely," said Mewtwo as he swiveled on the spot, trying to locate Alder. "Where's—ah, there he is!"

They saw him kneeling by the fountain, tending to the mums around the base of the fountain and wearing a large sunhat to provide shade while he worked. He looked up when he heard the two approaching and grinned when he saw them.

"Are you two finished?" he asked, and when the two nodded in unison, he clapped his hands together, "Great! Good timing too, I just finished planting these mums here. Don't they look nice?"

Mewtwo looked down at the mums. Indeed, they looked quite nice, and they complimented the fountain well.

"They do look good," agreed Gengar as Alder beamed down fondly at the flowers. "Do you garden often?"

"In my spare time. Alakazam will join me sometimes—he likes to help with my spice garden."

Mewtwo could easily picture the pair side by side in a large yard, working away on the land, perhaps passing the time with discussing current events or the like. It made him smile at the thought.

"What are you smiling at?" asked Alder with a grin to match Mewtwo's.

"Oh, nothing," said Mewtwo, hastily trying to rearrange his expression, "Just thinking… thinking about what we could do for lunch."

Alder folded his arms thoughtfully and looked to the horizon, biting his cheek in thought. Gengar asked, "How about the deli? I've been wanting to try it out all morning."

Mewtwo gave a shrug and said, "The deli's all right with me. I'm up for anything."

"Well!" Alder exclaimed, "That was easy, wasn't it? Let's clean up before we go, though."

"Certainly," said Mewtwo, and they all began to move about, returning the various tools they used to their proper locations.

"Hey Alder!" Mewtwo shouted across the square as he carried a large bag of seed in his arms, "Where did you say Alakazam was again?"

Alder approached him with rake and spade in hand and said, "He's back at my house doing some bookkeeping. I asked him to do that while we were out here. Why do you ask?"

"I was just wondering if he wanted to join us for lunch." Mewtwo said as Alder fell into step beside Mewtwo.

"Oh!" said Alder with surprise, "I didn't even think of that! I'll ask him now. Thank you for reminding me."

Mewtwo nodded as Alder went quiet. For a moment, there was silence except for their footsteps.

"He said he'd be delighted to join us. We'll be meeting him at the deli when he's finished with his work, which should be quite soon."

They returned all of their equipment and supplies and walked across the square together to find Gengar already outside the deli, bouncing on the balls of his feet in anticipation.

"I hope you guys are as excited as I am!" said Gengar, positively glowing with enthusiasm, "I'm ready for some lunch after working all morning!"

Alder chuckled and said, "I'm glad to see you're excited, Gengar. I'm ready to eat as well, but we'll go in once Alakazam joins us."

Rather than disheartening him, Gengar seemed even happier to hear this as he gave a wide grin. Mewtwo noticed how different this grin was from the one he remembered, one which, in combination with the narrowed eyes of malice, was quite frightening. Now, his round, bright eyes made his mood infectious, so Mewtwo couldn't help but smile with him.

"The more the merrier!" said Gengar, rubbing his hands together and looking around, "When's he getting here?"

"He's just finished, so he should be here right… about… now."

It couldn't have been more perfect. When Alder said the word "now", a bright white circle came into view on the ground just feet from them, along with a shaft of light that seemed to emanate straight into the sky from this circle. In this shaft, they could see the faint form of Alakazam, growing from merely shadow and vapor, to a ghostly figure, then to a fully solid being. The light dimmed and then vanished as soon as Alakazam opened his eyes. He stepped forward to join the group and asked, So when's lunch?

All of them laughed. Alder took point by opening the front doors and beckoned for the others to follow.

Once over the threshold, an amalgamation of smells bombarded Mewtwo's nose, causing him to breathe in deeply all of the different scents. Fresh bread, ham, turkey, chicken, fruits, and salads all met his nose as he turned his head just to sniff the air. His stomach gave a rumble in response.

As their group was led to a table situated by one of the large windows he and Gengar had repaired earlier, Mewtwo realized that he hadn't had a proper dining experience before; he had only served himself some cereal this morning at the Pokémon Center. That was all well and good, but he felt that he was likely to look a fool if he didn't know what he was doing.

Mewtwo drew up to Alder and whispered in his ear, "You might have to guide me through this, because I don't know what to do."

Alder turned to speak out of the corner of his mouth, "It's simple enough. Have the window seat right here and I'll explain."

Mewtwo slid into the booth to sit opposite of Gengar while Alder filed in on his right, taking off his hat and setting it on the floor. It was a bit of a squeeze for Mewtwo given his size, but he managed to fit while he shoved his tail under the table. Gengar sniggered as he watched him struggle. Mewtwo threw him a look of jealousy along with a smirk as he felt rather silly with this situation.

As soon as they were all seated, Alder leaned over and muttered, "Here's what's going to happen; first, we'll get menus that we can use to order." When he said this, he received four of these menus with a word of thanks and handed them out to the others. "After a bit of time, our server will take our orders. I'll go first; all you have to do is follow my lead."

"Thank you!" Mewtwo whispered. He directed his attention to the menu in front of him that said "High Street Deli" embossed with curly, gold writing on the cover and opened it up.

So many options! There were sandwiches, hoagies, salads, and scores of other options. You name it, it was on the menu. All of these choices slightly overwhelmed him, so he decided to look only at the sandwiches for the time being. But even then he didn't know what to choose.

"Any suggestions?" Mewtwo muttered.

Alder looked at his menu thoughtfully and took a moment to answer.

"Hmm… I would suggest one of the sandwiches here." He pointed out some of the options, which included ham, chicken, and turkey, topped with various condiments of the customer's choosing. "I'll be paying, so you can choose anything you wish."

Mewtwo looked more closely and decided to go with the cheapest thing out of respects for Alder's generosity and wallet. He settled on a chicken sandwich.

"All right," Mewtwo said, "I've decided."

"Did you want anything to drink as well?" Alder asked.

Mewtwo turned over the menu and felt his heart sink. Why were there so many drinks? He barely took a glance before giving it up as a bad job.

"Just water's fine," said Mewtwo, closing his menu with a snap.

"So you've decided?" asked Alder, "You know what you want?"

"Yup," said Mewtwo unconcernedly as he laid his menu down on the table, "I'm ready."

"Excellent," said Alder. "How about you guys?" he asked, looking across the table to Gengar and Alakazam. Gengar was still looking down at the menu in his hands, biting his lip in thought. After a moment, he said, "I think—yeah, I know what I'm going to order." An enthusiastic grin lit up his face as he looked over the top of his menu, "Oh boy, I can't wait! This is going to be awesome!"

Alakazam had not even touched the menu that lay in front of him, but said, I'm ready when you guys are.

"So everyone knows what they want? Sure? Okay!" said Alder, recollecting the menus. Mewtwo gladly handed his over now that he knew exactly what he wanted. Their server, a young lady with a kind face, approached their table after a short time and greeted them.

"Hello! My name is Sara, and I'll be your server this afternoon. I see that you all have your menus put away—does that mean you all are ready to order?"

"Certainly," said Alder as he moved the pile of menus to the corner of the table, "we're ready to place if you're ready to take." At these words, Alder nudged Mewtwo under the table, and Mewtwo heard his voice say, Pay attention to how I do this.

Sara withdrew a notepad and pen from her server's apron and asked, "So who will be starting us off?" Poised to write, she looked up expectantly at the group.

"I will," said Alder, "with the club hoagie, a side of chips, and some green tea."

Sara scribbled all of this down on her notepad and looked up again to address Mewtwo.

"And you, sir? What will you have?"

With purposeful calmness, Mewtwo said, "I'd like the chicken sandwich with some water, please."

Sara nodded, scribbling this down as well. Alder gave him two thumbs up in response. She took the other's orders and said, "Okay, we'll get you your drinks and the food will follow shortly."

She walked away. Alder swiveled in his seat to face Mewtwo.

"Fantastic! Very nicely done, if I must say so myself."

"Thank you," said Mewtwo with a smile, "But of course, learning from the best has its advantages, right?"

"It certainly does," said Alder with a smirk.

After a relatively short time, Sara came back with their drinks on a small tray and began to distribute them.

"So the green tea goes here, I believe?"

"Correct," said Alder as she placed the mug in front of him.

"The regular water goes to—?"

"Me," said Mewtwo, raising his hand and receiving the glass.

"Here's the lemonade…"

"Thank you," said Gengar as he too received his drink.

"And lastly, the High Street's finest Sake, to you, sir."

Alakazam smiled and nodded, taking the drink. Mewtwo glanced at it, a bit puzzled. The beverage seemed almost identical to water by appearance; it was clear and thin. Mewtwo brought his own glass up to Alakazam's wooden bowl of Sake for a side to side comparison. He wondered what made these two drinks so different from each other. As if reading his mind, Alakazam addressed his unasked question.

This drink, Alakazam said, raising his bowl to take a sip, contains the hopes and dreams of all men. It brings you to a wonderful place; a paradise, if you will. When under extreme stress and pressure, it acts as a form of relief. For centuries, men and Pokémon alike have conquered the darkest of times with the help of a little drinking. Never indulging in enough to destroy your sanity, but having just a night to remember that life has its celebratory moments in the worst of times.

Mewtwo's brow furrowed, extremely confused with the words he had just heard. A drink to have in the darkest of times to keep spirits raised? It sounded like something he could use with all that has happened. Mewtwo knew better than to just blindly experiment, so he simply smiled at Alakazam and sipped his own water.

Sara soon returned with the meals, passing out each order to whom had ordered what.

"Is that all for now?" Sara asked with a smile.

"Yes, thank you very much," Alder answered. Sara nodded and continued her rounds to other tables.

Everything tasted superb. Gengar told some cheesy jokes as they ate, and laughter always followed along, even after jokes that didn't make any sense. Mewtwo periodically glanced back to Alakazam to notice any change, but Alakazam remained the same poised Pokémon he always was.

The drink must not alter someone physically, Mewtwo thought to himself. His glance fell to Alakazam's drink, the round wooden cup nearly empty. After some time, Sara made her way back to their table.

"And how is everything on this fine day?" Sara asked. Mewtwo attempted to take the initiative to answer for the group this time.

"Oh it's all wonderful, thank you."

Sara smiled before speaking again,

"Would anyone like anything else? Another drink, perhaps?"

Alakazam politely held up his cup, showing signs of wanting another. Sara took it and said, "Certainly, and anyone else?"

Mewtwo hesitated for a moment. This was his chance to try that paradise of a drink Alakazam was having. Once more, Mewtwo looked at Alakazam, noticing nothing out of the ordinary. He turned back to Sara and made his decision.

"Actually, if it isn't too much trouble, I'd like to try the same drink as Alakazam."

Sara nodded, "It's no trouble at all! Customers from all over enjoy our Sake. A wonderful choice, if I must say so myself."

Mewtwo grinned and glanced at Alakazam. Alakazam smirked back, which he took as a sign of approval.

A minute or two later, Sara returned with a bottle of Sake and a wooden bowl on a small tray. She refilled Alakazam's bowl first, then handed Mewtwo the empty bowl before filling it too with Sake.

Nervously, Mewtwo picked up the drink before him. What sort of magic could lift spirits in such times? Alakazam gave a reassuring nod and said, It's only a drink. Don't look so tense. In fact, the drink will make you feel much more relaxed.

Mewtwo raised the drink, and brought the wooden bowl of Sake to his lips. Slowly, he sipped the strong liquid. Mewtwo's face filled with surprise. The heaviness and strength of this seemingly thin liquid was extremely unexpected. A rush filled his head instantly, and he felt extremely hot. His cheeks burned a cherry pink, and an unsettling feeling started to swell. Was this normal? Maybe he had gotten the wrong drink. He turned to Alakazam happily drinking, the same as before. Confused, Mewtwo attempted to utter words to the others, but found himself slurring.

"Hey… I don' exactly… feel a'ight."

The others couldn't help but laugh at Mewtwo, only causing his head to spin with confusion.

"Alakazam, I think this may be Mewtwo's first experience with alcohol. Shouldn't you have suggested something a little easier?" Alder asked, chuckling a little bit.

Hey, I think he needs it. It's basically been hell for him, so he needs to loosen up. Besides, we are his responsible friends, so we won't allow him to do anything too rash.

"Whatever you say," Alder replied.

"What he say?" Mewtwo stuttered.

Gengar grinned at Mewtwo, saying, "Oh, they were just talking about how much they love the Pokémon Mew. I love Mew too!" Alder and Alakazam shook their head at Gengar's terrible excuse for a pun. Mewtwo, too instantly intoxicated to understand the joke, simply stated,

"Oh… well, if ya keep talking smack about me, I'ma Pikachu and give yuh a dirty look."

Giggling, Gengar replied, "Sorry, sorry! It's quite Gastly of me to try and poke fun."

With both hands, Alakazam covered his face and sighed deeply. He broke the flow of horrendous jokes and uproarious laughter.

Now Mewtwo, alcohol must be used in the right amounts. You seem to have a low tolerance, so just be careful, okay? Either way, don't you feel much more relaxed?

"Oh, it's grrreat!" Mewtwo answered, head spinning. "My head's goin' round 'nd round and I can' hardly e'vn think. Thinking sucks nowadays, so it couldn't be bettar." Mewtwo grabbed the bottle of Sake before continuing his nonsense, "I want to spin on the ride again! Guess I'll need som' more tickets." He poured an overabundance of Sake into his bowl, spilling some on to the table. He began to drink, but Alakazam intervened.

All right, all right, that's enough. Maybe we'll try this form of coping some other time. Your body really doesn't take too well to this.

Mewtwo gave a glassy-eyed look to Alakazam, pleading for more.

"C'mon! Bit more can't hurt, can't it? Eh?" He leaned over to Alder and nudged him with his elbow, "Get a load of thish guy!" Mewtwo said in a whisper that nevertheless carried to everyone at the table, "Hehe! 'E don't think I can handle it!" He leaned too far over, lost his balance, and fell into Alder's shoulder, collapsing into a fit of giggles which rendered him rather insensible.

Gengar couldn't take it. He held his mouth shut tight to prevent from losing control, but he was quite as unsuccessful as his jokes. He had to turn away and hide his face while he snorted with laughter. It was a full ten seconds before Gengar could turn back and say, "Oh my God, I love Drunk Mewtwo. Can we keep him for just a bit longer?"

Alder was laughing just as uncontrollably as Mewtwo as he pushed the latter back upright in his seat.

"I don't think he'll be trying alcohol again for quite some time. But yes, we'll keep Drunk Mewtwo for a little bit."

Mewtwo, hearing his name, shifted his unsteady eyes to Gengar and Alder.

"Oi! You guysh 'ant som' Sake? It's really movin'. Oh! I got an idea… what if I let you drink it, from my mouth?"

"Okay, we can give Drunk Mewtwo back now," Gengar said with a shudder.

"Quite right," said Alder, glancing around nervously, "management might think he was over served… Alakazam, do you mind moving him outside while I pay for the lunch?"

Alakazam stood up immediately and made to block the table from view while Alder removed himself from the booth.

"Okay, Mewtwo, come on—up you get…"

But Mewtwo was slumped over the table, still overcome by giggles. Alder sighed and took a hold of his arm. He tugged, but Mewtwo didn't budge.

"What the—? Why won't he move? What's going on?"

Gengar jumped out of his seat and said, "He might be stuck; I saw him have trouble fitting into the booth before we started eating."

"Great," Alder grumbled, "just what we need. Can you help me unstick him?"

"Certainly," Gengar said. He ducked under the table and worked to wiggle Mewtwo free.

"Hey!" Mewtwo said with a snort of laughter, "Whaddya doin'? Tha' tickles!"

After a tense minute, Gengar's muffled voice issued from under the table, "I think I got him free. Try giving him a yank?"

Alder obliged and gave a hearty tug on Mewtwo's shoulder. He broke free, now laying across the booth's seat in an absurdly cramped fashion. Alder pulled him the rest of the way out and tried to get him to stand upright.

"Here, Alakazam, take him outside, will you? Go straight to the Pokémon Center and see if they have any spare full heals."

Alakazam obeyed without hesitation. Supporting Mewtwo with an arm over his shoulder, they stumped their way out of the deli and into the mid-afternoon sunshine.

"Where we goin'?" asked Mewtwo, peering around and coming dangerously close to losing his balance more than once.

To the Pokémon Center, Alakazam replied. You're going to have a bit of a lie-down before you do anything else, okay?

"Whaddeva ya say, good shur," he slurred, struggling to keep his footsteps in time with Alakazam. Mewtwo's vision was quite strongly blurred, and he marveled at how some of the things he saw had split into two separate entities.

The two stepped through the front doors of the Pokémon Center—or rather, Mewtwo stumbled through with Alakazam's help—and they approached the front desk. Nurse Joy glanced the two up and down, and chuckled reading the situation.

"My, my," she began, "Looks like Mewtwo got ahead of himself, didn't he? I've been a nurse for way too long not to be able to recognize intoxication." She shuffled through the pantries directly behind the front desk, sifting through bottles of all kinds of medication. She picked up a small yellow bottle and put it on the counter.

"A full heal is just what he needs," she stated. Alakazam nodded with gratitude, and grabbed the bottle. He then guided Mewtwo to the nearest bench, and sat him down.

He began to spray the full heal over him, holding him upright to prevent him from keeling over onto the floor. Once the full heal was applied, its effects began immediately. Mewtwo's flushed face returned to its normal color, and his legs stopped jittering. His face was wiped of the smile, to be replaced by a look of utmost disgust.

"Never again…" he muttered.