(17.1)
Cyrus floated in a void, arms crossed over his chest as he went over the events of his defeat.
Every time he went back and tried to enact his plan, something came along to disrupt it, whether it was one kid, two kids, a pokémon or divine intervention, his dream of a perfect world never reached fruition.
There had been one time, countless repeats ago, where he had succeeded, but soon after, everything had shattered and he had found himself stuck in an endless loop of failures.
"So how do I get out of this?" he asked aloud.
"You know the answer to that."
"Accept that the world is fine as it is and give up my dream? Never gonna happen," Cyrus growled, before blinking and composing himself.
"Emotion, yet peace, which is a lie," he said, closing his eyes.
One day, he knew he would break this cursed loop. Everything would work itself out in the end, as he had foreseen.
"Through knowledge, I gain wisdom. Through wisdom, I gain power. Through power, I gain victory. Through victory, my chains are broken...yes...the chains...red as my blood and clearer than crystals. One to bind time, one to bind space..."
Giratina watched the rambling human from the shadows before flitting away to report to Arceus.
(17.2)
"I have a question for you."
Sasha flicked her ears, eyes closed, to show Mewtwo she was paying attention from her perch on his chest, purring as his hand stroked through her fur.
"Were you ever put into a poké ball? When Team Rocket captured you, or afterwards?"
Sasha opened her eyes and frowned, thinking back.
"No, I don't think I have ever been in one. Why?"
Mewtwo sat up, seamlessly transferring Sasha to his lap as he rolled his head, sighing as the bones popped. "Well, since we're heading off to Alola, where neither of us are well-known, odds are we'll have some idiot throwing poké balls at us for some reason or another."
Sasha's brows went from low to high. "Speaking from experience?"
It was Mewtwo's turn to scowl and even though the ire wasn't directed at her, Sasha was keenly aware of his fury.
"I've had some experience, yes," he said simply. "Now then, back to you...I was wondering if maybe you'd consent to being at least registered in a poké ball so you couldn't be captured by one."
Sasha nodded after a moment. "I don't see a downside, even though most of the times I've been captured usually involve drugs or good old fashioned nets instead of convenient things like poké balls."
"Any particular type you'd like?" Mewtwo asked, waving a hand as several dozen poké balls suddenly popped into view. Scanning them, Sasha eventually settled on what Mewtwo called the Cherish Ball.
The other balls vanished and Mewtwo gently tapped it against her forehead.
The ball snapped open as Sasha dissolved into silver energy and was sucked in. Closing with a click, the ball shook once before letting out a confirmation beep.
Mewtwo stroked the ball tenderly before releasing Sasha, who wobbled a bit before shaking herself.
"That was...interesting," she said. At Mewtwo's inquisitive stare, she elaborated. "It felt like I was sleeping, or in some kind of barely-aware state. I knew where I was and how I got there, but didn't really have a desire to leave."
Mewtwo smiled as he then opened the ball to stare at the interior. "I've been inside a poké ball a few times. Never in this timeline, but I have memories of being held in a Master Ball when traveling with Red on his journey."
With a flick of his fingers, a red device popped into view.
"And now I can register you to my pokédex."
Sasha watched curiously as Mewtwo flipped open the device and placed the poké ball on a screen, which glowed briefly before a picture of a shiny eevee popped onto the screen with a small list of technical details, such as height and weight, below it.
"About what I was expecting," Mewtwo said. "Never really gained back the weight you lost when you were recovering from being frozen though, even after all this time."
"Is that bad?" Sasha asked, stomach clenching uncomfortably.
"In your case...I don't think so. Height and weight obviously varies among a species, and the 'dex only ever provides an average for each."
"I see," Sasha said, staring at the Cherish Ball.
(17.3)
Brock and Misty were chatting about the League matches when Misty suddenly went silent and then grinned.
Brock turned to see a man and woman walk up to them. Two kids were holding onto the male's hands, giggling and chattering rapid-fire, to which the male replied with soft replies.
"Well, well, can't say I imagined running into you here," the woman said as the male freed his hands to remove his sunglasses.
"Almost makes me want to burst out into our motto for old times' sake," he said.
"Jessie, James," Brock said politely. "How's life been treating you?"
"Well enough. Where's the twerp?" Jessie asked, keeping one eye on the kids.
Brock waved a hand towards the field, where Ash was in the middle of a battle.
"Still using the classics," James said with a tsk. "You'd think he'd be using the newer 'mons instead of having them on ranch duty."
"And how would you know where they are?" Misty asked suspiciously.
"Just because we're no longer active members of Team Rocket doesn't mean we don't have access to their databases," Jessie said. "Jim, pay attention, this is important."
One of the kids pouted before sighing and swinging their arms.
"Ah, so you've officially retired?" Brock asked in surprise.
"Gotta pass the torch and all that," James said, leaning on the railing with the other child to watch Ash send Pikachu put against a Mawile, which promptly Mega Evolved. "And that is what happens when a trainer shares a bond with their pokémon, Miller."
"Still gym leaders?" Jessie asked.
"I take turns with my sisters," Misty said.
"Most of the time, although I'm showing the ropes to my siblings as well," Brock said.
"Definitely reminds me of old times," Jessie said, stretching her arms above her head. "If only Meowth was here..."
"Where is he?" Brock asked.
"Got a promotion," James said dismissively. "Giovanni's persian died some years back, and he jumped at the opportunity."
"Uh...congratulations?" Misty said, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, that's just how things are nowadays," James said. "Times change, and so must we."
"And it's time for us to find the betting stalls and lay it all on Ash," Jessie said, rubbing her hands together. "Come along, Jim, Miller."
"You and everyone else," James muttered with a shake of his head.
"What was that?" Jessie growled.
"Nothing, dear Jessie," James said meekly.
Misty watched them go and chuckled. "Wow. They really haven't changed, have they?"
"Old habits die hard," Brock agreed.
(17.4)
"So, how do you deal with people who want to catch you?" Sasha asked as Mewtwo brushed her fur.
"Laugh at them before wiping their memory and teleporting them to the nearest pokémon center," the replica said. "There's been a few times where I've done that to pokémon who stumbled across me by accident as a knee-jerk reaction."
Sasha gazed at him, head tilted as he scratched her ears. "Have you ever done that to me?"
"There were a few close calls back when I first met you, yes, but I grew out of that within a few days," Mewtwo replied, massaging her paws.
Sasha thought back to that period and remembered Mewtwo had sometimes hesitated whenever seeing her.
"Was that something Sabrina helped you with?"
Mewtwo's face went blank for a moment before he nodded slowly. "Back then, I was doing it subconsciously and the Kanto League took issue with that and dispatched Sabrina to deal with it."
"Before or after you met Ash?" Sasha asked.
"After," Mewtwo said, stroking her tail. "It had become a defense mechanism so that I wouldn't be used by people like Giovanni."
"And the reason he's still walking around without a care in the world doing evil deeds is...?"
"Nobody can prove anything and he's got everything so deeply buried it'd take years to unravel his role in it," Mewtwo said with a sigh.
"And the reason you don't forcibly extract a confession?" Sasha prodded.
"Manners, Sasha," Mewtwo said dryly. "It's what separates us from the animals."
"Hm...I'm sure some day he'll slip up and get destroyed."
"I await that day most eagerly."
(17.5)
Mewtwo woke up to an unfamiliar weight on his chest and he frowned before craning his head to see what had decided to use him as a pillow in the middle of the night.
His eyes swiftly adjusted to the gloom and he frowned at the sight of the eevee he had rescued.
Part of him wanted to shove her off, but it was tempered by the fact he knew she wasn't fully recovered and he took a moment to marvel at her stubborn nature.
Laying his head back, he sighed silently, dragging a hand over his face. He had initially dismissed the possibility of the eevee getting attached to him, but as the days passed and her body healed, she revealed herself as the type of pokémon who thrived with a companion.
Her mind was as sharp as her tongue and he found himself amused by her antics and how she acted like a maiden around her crush. He idly examined that thought before dismissing it.
The mere thought of the two of them in a relationship was as absurd as the likes of Giovanni or Ghetsis turning over a new leaf and using their organizations for the betterment of the pokémon world.
Comforted by the thought, Mewtwo drifted off to sleep and when morning came around, the eevee was noticeably absent from his bed and didn't bring it up in their conversations.
Over time, she became bolder and started coming into his room before he had fallen asleep, curling up against his side without a word and Mewtwo couldn't find the strength to push her away.
By the time they had admitted their feelings to one another, they spent more nights together than alone and had been inseparable ever since.