(16.1)
Sasha ran through the forest, breath exploding from her lungs as she dodged, rolled and leaped to avoid the attacks of her pursuer.
Chancing a glance behind her, she saw a brief flash of pink in the trees behind her and she bit back a whimper.
The ground beneath her feet suddenly wasn't there anymore and she screamed as she was dragged backwards. Her body moved of its own accord, bringing her face-to-face with her tormentor.
"Hello," the mew said cheerfully. "As fun as this has been, I'm getting tired of it."
The creature's blue eyes bored into the eevee's. "How odd for a simple shiny pokémon like yourself to have Arceus' blessing. No, I'd say that's impossible."
Its grip tightened around the eevee.
"Tell me how you got this power!"
Sasha squirmed uselessly in the powerful telekinetic grip.
"I-I don't know!" she mewled, panting for breath. The mew narrowed its eyes with a scowl and growled.
"Well, in that case, I'm fine with-"
Sasha's body then flashed a blinding white and the mew let go of her with a shriek of agony.
"You little-!" Pawing at its watering eyes, the mew glared around, looking for the distinct coat of its prey.
"If that's how you want to play…" the mew said with a sigh, lifting a paw.
The ground trembled, the trees shaking before the entire forest was torn from the ground, sending thousands of bug and flying-type pokémon into the air in surprise.
Among the roots of a tree, Sasha braced herself. Glancing around, she couldn't see the pokémon that had started this whole mess and she grimaced. Leaping down amid a shower of dirt, she rolled on the ground to mask her silvery coat before she picked a direction and ran, hoping to distance herself-
"There you are."
Sasha froze before turning to see the mew shaking its head.
"Really, you never stood a chance. While I can't take our Lord's blessing from you…I can certainly do…"
The mew's voice trailed off as its brow furrowed. "…Yeah, I like that idea."
Sasha stared at the pokémon blankly, confused.
Darting forward, the mew touched her forehead.
"Remove these memories and then…"
There was a flash of light and Sasha found herself bombarded by freezing water. It took her a moment to realize she was paw-deep in snow.
Looking around, she wondered where she was, and how she'd gotten here. Her head felt heavy and she had trouble recalling what had happened in the last hour. Shivering in the cold, she looked around for some form of shelter from the harsh weather and was soon swallowed by the snow.
(16.2)
"Hmmm..."
Sasha pricked her ears and looked up at Mewtwo from her position against his side, head resting on the psychic's leg.
"What's that noise for?"
Mewtwo turned a page in the book he was reading and stroked her ears absently. "Says here that there's a number of pokémon where the male/female ratio is seven to one respectively. Pokémon such as bulbasaur, charmander, squirtle, lucario and...eeveelutions."
Sasha arched an eyebrow. "Is there a point to this train of thought?"
"Well, given how rare female eevee apparently are, wouldn't it make sense to have multiple partners to maximize the chance of keeping the balance?" Mewtwo asked, eyes gleaming.
Sasha's face went blank for a moment before her ears heated up and she looked away. "W-what, like a harem or something?"
"Precisely."
Sasha grimaced and shook her head. "While I'll admit that I've had my fair share of partners over the years, the thought of settling down with one has never crossed my mind. Never mind...multiple partners."
Mewtwo closed his book and rested his head on a hand, gazing down at her. Sasha gazed at her paws to avoid looking at him.
"I take it you detest harems because of your treatment by Team Rocket and Team Flare?" Mewtwo asked gently. Sasha flinched before nodding.
"On top of that, the horror stories I've heard about some breeders," Sasha replied. "I'd much rather be with one single partner who understands and accepts me, flaws and all. I...could maybe accept having two, but only if they loved one another like they loved me."
"An equal relationship, then," Mewtwo replied, stroking over Sasha tenderly. "Not one built around a domination and submission."
"Pretty much," Sasha said. "I'm comfortable with what we have, little as it is. I don't mind you going off with Sabrina or Rei now and again since I can't...ah..."
She was cut off by Mewtwo's fingers pressing into her sides and she squirmed. Mewtwo lifted her into his arms and nuzzled her ear.
"You and I are both well aware there's other kinds of intimacy and you've shown no hesitation in exploring other avenues of love," the feline teased, nipping affectionately at her ears.
Sasha giggled and turned in his grasp so she could place her paws on his cheeks.
"You're right," she purred.
Mewtwo's lips explored her face before she pulled away and smiled at him.
No more words were needed as they closed the distance between themselves.
(16.3)
Sasha and Sabrina's green-eyed espeon wandered the streets of Saffron, taking in the sights.
The espeon glanced at his companion and flicked his tail against Sasha's side gently to get her attention.
"You're drifting," he said. "Something bothering you?"
Sasha took a moment to get her bearings, stepping out of the way of some people who stared at her coat curiously before moving on.
"I was just..." Sasha hesitated before continuing on. "You remind me of an old friend from my childhood in Unova. He also had green eyes. He was an eevee at the time, of course, but eye color usually carries over during evolution, so I thought..."
Espeon's ears drooped. "I am sorry, but I have no memories of ever going to Unova, or ever knowing an eevee with your coloration."
Sasha sighed and nodded. "Figured as much. He was...very kind and caring. My first love, actually."
Espeon frowned before looking away. Sasha flattened her ears.
"Look, I'm not...projecting him on to you or anything," she said awkwardly. Espeon laughed.
"I believe you. It's just that I'm not used to being mistaken for someone else. Even if most pokémon of a species look alike; we have ways of telling each other apart, whether it's by name, height, age, smell or scars..."
He sighed. "It does get rather lonely around here though. Don't meet a lot of eeveelutions around these parts. Funny, considering the traffic that passes through and the gym battles I've had."
"If you want to screw, you only have to ask," Sasha replied bluntly.
Espeon tripped over his paws and faceplanted into the ground. Cheeks and ears burning, he stared at the shiny eevee who met his wide-eyed stare with an amused one of her own.
"I...uh...that's...erm...but...Mewtwo-" he squeaked.
"-Doesn't mind," Sasha said. "Neither of us are in a closed relationship. We're just...close friends. Really close. Besides, we're not...exactly...intimacy with him is hard due to size difference. I mean in terms of body size, not...ya know..." she added hastily.
She made a crude gesture and Espeon meekly nodded.
"So?" Sasha asked, flicking her tail.
Espeon stared at the brazen eevee who leaned forward and gave his nose a kiss.
"Alright," he said. "That's doable."
Sasha purred and they teleported from the middle of the sidewalk.
(16.4)
Sasha was lying on her back in front of the fireplace, warming herself as the wind and snow howled outside the window.
Mewtwo knelt by her and placed a bowl of cocoa beside her. Sniffing the warm drink, Sasha then blew on it gently with Frost Breath to chill it before taking a sip.
"It's cold enough inside without you doing that," Mewtwo chided her gently, giving her ear an affectionate tweak. Sasha batted at him with her paws and grinned.
"Well, when you insist on serving me boiling water, then I see nothing wrong with preserving my tender lips and tongue from its hotness," she replied. Mewtwo arched an eyebrow and chuckled, taking a sip from his own drink.
If he felt any discomfort from the steaming beverage, he didn't show it outwardly. The clone then waved a hand, bringing an armchair and blanket closer to the fire.
Sasha watched in amusement as the clone promptly bundled himself in the blanket and took a seat.
"Now I know how a metapod feels," the replica said with a content sigh. "The weather outside is quite frightful, but inside is most delightful."
Sasha stared at him strangely before she jumped into his lap and curled up, enjoying the warmth from the genetic pokemon and fire.
"So this is...what, almost a year that we've been together?" she asked after a few minutes of comfortable silence.
"I'll admit I didn't glance at the calendar when I first picked you up from Mount Silver, but that feels about right," Mewtwo replied, telekinetically stroking the eevee's fur.
Sasha relaxed and purred drowsily. "And what a maybe-year we've had, hm?"
Mewtwo snorted. "That's one way of putting it, yes. Not nearly as many life-and-death situations as I'm used to, actually."
The shiny pokemon gazed at him with a frown and Mewtwo shrugged within the confines of his cocoon.
"Trouble tends to find me whether I like it or not. Whether it's some evil team or an idiot trainer who thinks to add me to their collection or even a legendary pokemon who thinks man-made pokemon are inferior to natural-born pokemon."
Sasha's frown deepened and she nestled close. Mewtwo closed his eyes and freed an arm to touch her head gently, stroking her cheek.
"It's nothing you need to worry about, Sasha. There's nothing for you to worry about as long as you're with me."
Sasha sighed and rubbed her cheek against his fingers, red eyes locked on violet.
"And what of the day when I'm not?" she asked. "What if I do settle down with someone and raise a family?"
"Then find someone who you can protect and can do the same for you," Mewtwo replied. "Find someone that can make you laugh and smile; someone who can evoke emotions from in you even when they're not there with you. A mere thought can warm you as much as a touch. I've...had things like that before and the feeling is something I can't put into words."
"Then show me," Sasha replied, standing on her hind paws, front paws resting on the blanket as she lightly nuzzled his face.
Mewtwo's lips twitched in amusement as he pulled Sasha into his cocoon, wrapping her in his arms as he rested his chin on her head, mind brushing against hers as he poured his affection into her. Sasha shivered and closed her eyes with a happy sigh.
(16.5)
Sasha snuggled into Mewtwo's arms and sighed, nuzzling his chest.
The replica stroked over her soft fur and kissed the top of her head.
"Something on your mind?" he asked.
Sasha shook her head and gazed up at him. Kneading his chest with her paws, she then nuzzled his cheek and purred.
"You two are not easy to find."
Mewtwo let out a hiss as Sasha tensed, fur standing up as her claws sank into his arm and chest. Petting the spooked pokémon, the clone turned to see Arceus rising towards them.
"Interesting place you chose...not a lot of pokémon can even fly this high, aside from my children and I," Arceus said, looking around.
"I find the upper Mesosphere quite soothing, since you're away from the light and noise of civilization," Mewtwo replied evenly as Sasha fretted over his minor wounds.
Arceus chuckled and nodded, looking around. "And the view is quite lovely too."
"Why are you here?" Sasha asked, tail flicking in irritation.
"I'd like you two to go to Alola," Arceus said simply.
"Any particular reason why?" Mewtwo asked.
"I'd rather not bother my Chosen with it and you two seem like you could use a vacation after your League venture," Arceus said.
"Hm...I've heard interesting things about Alola. It's not like any other region and while it does have an Elite Four, it's not set up like a gym challenge," Sasha mused.
"Someone has been reading traveling brochures again," Mewtwo teased. Sasha stuck her tongue out at him.
"So you'll go?" Arceus asked.
Mewtwo and Sasha exchanged glances before they both nodded.
Without another word, Arceus vanished and Mewtwo gazed up at the field of stars and planets that littered the vast open space above them.
"There's something Arceus wasn't telling us," Sasha murmured.
"I noticed that as well. Guess we'll find out what's going on when we get to Alola."
"I can't wait."