(19.1)
From her perch on Mewtwo's shoulders, Sasha stared down at the four islands of Alola.
Well, five, if one counted the large white object in the ocean as an island.
"Looks artificial," Sasha said, squinting at it.
"It is. Probably privately owned as well, so we won't barge in unannounced," Mewtwo said as he descended towards one of the islands.
"Look at you, being all mature and stuff," Sasha teased.
"We're quite a ways in the air," Mewtwo said casually. "Sure would be a shame if you fell."
Sasha stuck her tongue out at him and watched the island below grow in size. Soon, she was able to pick out things such as cities, towns and roads. Mewtwo angled for a large city and they landed at the sea port.
"Malie City," Sasha read off a sign. "Of...Ula'ula."
"I'm quite surprised you got the pronunciation right," Mewtwo said, stretching his limbs as Sasha jumped down.
"Do you know how to pronounce it?" Sasha asked, flexing her paws and shaking herself.
"Not a clue," Mewtwo said cheerfully. "And here come some locals. Although judging by their dress..."
Sasha turned to see a group of people ranging from early to late teens walking towards them, decked out in black and white, gesticulating oddly as they moved.
"Heyo, welcome to Malie City of Ula'ula Island. This here's Team Skull property and any visitors must pay a fee," one said.
"Hold up, C. They're pokémon. So odds are they don't have any money," another said.
"Huh, fancy that. Well then, what do we do, D?" C asked, scratching his head.
"Well, the boss ain't gonna be happy if we don't come back with something," a female said, pulling out a poké ball. "So I guess that means we capture 'em."
"Or you could not do that and let us pass," Sasha said.
"Hold the bone, did that eevee just talk?"
"Sure did, V."
"Before we do something we all regret," Mewtwo said, locking the Skulls' poké balls with a twitch of an eyebrow. "Let's get introductions out of the way. My name is Mewtwo, my companion here is Sasha, and you lot are blocking the way and being a nuisance."
"Dang, C, what do we do?" D asked.
C stroked his chin before sighing. "Let 'em go. Odds are if a pair of pokémon are wandering around, that means they're strong. Tell Plumeria and the boss about them and let them handle 'em, I say."
"Fair enough," D said. "Welcome to Malie City. I hope you enjoy your stay."
As swiftly as they had appeared, the Skull members vanished.
"An…interesting welcoming committee," Mewtwo said.
"I was more amused by the fact they had letters for names," Sasha said. "Do you think N was a Skull member at some point?"
Mewtwo chuckled before peering at a map of the city on a nearby billboard. "Well, since we're here, may as well look around. Shall we split up and meet back somewhere in a few hours?"
Sasha perused the map before nodding slowly. "There's a garden that looks interesting. I'll go give that a look. I'm sure you'll find your own way around?"
"I shall do my best," Mewtwo said as they parted ways.
(19.2)
Mewtwo and Sasha hovered above the Orre region and gazed at the barren landscape below.
"Doesn't seem very inviting, does it?" Sasha murmured.
Mewtwo's eyes swept over the land, from the bustling port cities, to the few fertile areas, to what appeared to be the half-melted ruins of an artificial tower in the middle of the desert.
"Mewtwo!"
At Sasha's alarmed yelp, Mewtwo instantly dropped, narrowly avoiding a blue sphere of energy.
"Below, there's more!"
Mewtwo spun around, hands glowing with energy as a veritable swarm of blue spheres shot up at them.
"Aura Spheres," Mewtwo said. "Keep an eye open behind us, will you? This may get a little rough."
He felt Sasha shift around on his shoulders and he flexed his fingers before catching one of the spheres in his hand and swiftly analyzed the aura composition.
"We're dealing with a lucario," Mewtwo said, hurling the sphere at another, causing both to detonate. "But there's something off about his aura. Shall we go introduce ourselves?"
"Not particularly enthused by the idea," Sasha admitted. "But since they're attacking us, it only seems polite to find out why."
Mewtwo chuckled before turning his attention to the oncoming Aura Spheres. With a thought, he simply teleported past them.
"They're coming around," Sasha warned.
"Splendid, they're locked on to our aura signatures," Mewtwo said with a sigh.
"That's possible?" Sasha asked in surprise.
"I have no idea."
Sasha rolled her eyes before firing off a Shadow Ball at the spheres, causing a chain reaction and causing several to explode.
"They seem unstable," the eevee mused. "Does that have anything to do with what you said before?"
Before Mewtwo could answer, a large shape suddenly materialized in front of them and punched the clone in the chest, knocking them out of the sky.
Mewtwo recovered swiftly, body twisting around to land hard on the ground feet-first. Mewtwo lifted one hand, touching Sasha to make sure she was alright as the other formed a psychic barrier between them and their opponent.
"The heck is that?" Sasha said as she got a good look at their opponent. "You said lucario, but-"
"Mega Lucario, calling forth the dormant power of a pokémon to grant a tremendous boost in ability, but..."
The lucario screamed at them before shattering the barrier with its fists and lunged forward.
Mewtwo caught the strike with his hand before blasting it away with Psychic.
"That scream sounded...painful," Sasha said softly as she watched the lucario skid across the ground.
"A poorly executed or - even worse, forced - Mega Evolution is agonizing for a pokémon. It's why there's not a lot of pokémon who can Mega Evolve and the Pokémon League is exceptionally strict about letting trainers use it in battle," Mewtwo said grimly.
"Do you think we can help him?" Sasha asked. Mewtwo blinked in surprise before he narrowed his eyes.
"I...don't know," he said, striding forward. The lucario had vanished and Mewtwo couldn't sense the pokémon's aura in the immediate area.
"Well, that's disappointing," Sasha said, sniffing the ground. Mewtwo gazed around before extending an arm for Sasha to jump up on to.
"What don't we look around a bit and see if anyone else knows about Wes. I'm sure this lucario will track us down again and we can try getting some answers then," Mewtwo suggested. "Plus, it'll give us time to prepare."
Mewtwo stroked Sasha's ears before they teleported away.
(19.3)
Mewtwo paced the length of a bookshelf before turning and paced back, eyes glued on the set of books in front of him.
After arriving in Malie City, Sasha and Mewtwo had split up to explore the area before meeting back at the port around noon.
Asking around for information, Mewtwo had been directed to the library by the locals, who hadn't seemed all that surprised to see a giant psychic cat talking into their minds.
Once ensconced in the library, Mewtwo had started reading up on whatever piqued his interest and he had found several books on Alolan culture and began to read.
He sensed Sasha's psychic signature enter the library and he sent the books he had been reading back to their places in the shelves before going downstairs.
The eevee gave him an amused glance before gazing around the place.
"Of course you'd head to the library," she teased. Her face then became serious and she went on. "I ran into something quite interesting in the local garden-"
Before she could continue, the doors to the library burst open and a blonde-haired boy wearing an abundance of black clothing appeared, before doubling over, panting.
Mewtwo and Sasha (as well as the vast majority of everyone else in the vicinity) stared at him, waiting for him to catch his breath.
Eventually, the boy straightened, brushing his hands on his pants before clearing his throat.
"Sorry about that. I'm looking for something - a friend of mine has gone missing. He's about six feet tall, quadruped, wearing a giant wooden helmet and likes to drive me up the wall."
The boy blinked in surprise before pointing at Mewtwo.
"You there! You look strong, and my friend is attracted to strong presences. Have you seen him?"
"Uh...no. I've been here for the past-" Mewtwo glanced at the clock and did a double-take. "Much longer than I anticipated. Sorry, but I haven't seen your friend. Besides, I'd think I would have noticed a creature of that description, as would anyone else here. Especially if it's six feet tall."
"I met him," Sasha spoke up. "In Malie Garden. Didn't say anything, just touched me and ran off."
The boy ran a hand through his hair before sighing heavily. "Of course he did. Sorry to inconvenience you, but do you mind if I tag along with you? Null is sure to track you down again, although...I am quite confused as to why he went to you...a mere eevee."
Sasha narrowed her eyes before Mewtwo placed a hand on her scruff, stroking soothingly over her as she relaxed.
"We will gladly help you find your friend," Mewtwo said. "But you have yet to introduce yourself."
The boy straightened up before striking a rather bizarre pose. "My name is Gladion and my lost friend is named Null."
"Why do we always attract the weird ones?" Sasha muttered to Mewtwo.
"Be nice, Sasha," Mewtwo said. "Now then, Gladion, you said Null is attracted to power, yet for whatever reason he went after Sasha here instead of the strongest psychic legendary in the world-"
"And very modest," Sasha added dryly. "And in no way boastful or egotistical."
"If you are quite finished, I think we can find Null easily enough," Mewtwo said. "With the two of us, we should be enough of a beacon to get Null's attention."
The trio moved outside before Gladion spoke again. "So how does your plan work?"
Mewtwo smiled before turning to Sasha. "You said Null touched you, and I feel his energy on you, so..."
Mewtwo's eyes glowed briefly before he let out a mental psychic pulse, which ran through the entire city.
"The hell was that?" Gladion asked. Mewtwo looked surprised.
"You could feel that?"
Gladion nodded and Mewtwo stroked his chin.
"Hm...well, I was hoping to trace Null's energy back to the source, but he doesn't appear to be in the city. Guess we'll have to try again elsewhere."
"If you're so strong, can't you do it again with a stronger pulse?" Gladion asked.
"I'd rather not turn everyone's brains into pudding," Mewtwo said. "Besides, this gives us an excuse to explore the island and see the sights."
Gladion's face went blank with disbelief.
"You are of course welcome to look for your friend on your own," Mewtwo said, crossing his arms. "I'm just doing this the best way I know how."
Gladion waved his hands dismissively. "No, no, you're right. Compared to searching normally, your way is probably faster. Shall we go?"
Mewtwo, Sasha and Gladion strolled up Ula'ula Island's Route 17, searching for Type: Null.
The sky was a dark gray and thunder rumbled in the distance.
"Anything?" Gladion asked, hands in his pockets.
"Yes, actually," Mewtwo said, pointing at a large object in the distance. "The trail leads there."
"What business do you have in Po Town?" asked a new voice, startling the group.
They turned to see a man sitting under a tree, an Alolan meowth curled in his lap.
"We're looking for my friend, Officer Nanu," Gladion replied.
"That giant dog of yours finally come to its senses?" Nanu said with a grin. Gladion narrowed his eyes before jamming his hands into his pockets and walked away, grumbling under his breath.
"Not the nicest one on the force, are you?" Mewtwo asked.
Nanu laughed, a harsh sound. "More like the only one on the force. Nobody else is crazy enough to live near those yahoos holed up in Po Town."
"Yahoos?" Sasha asked.
A look of surprise crossed Nanu's face. "Hunh...don't see many talking pokémon round these parts. Or else you're an exceptionally weird eevee."
"The latter part certainly applies at times," Mewtwo said with a snicker. Sasha rolled her eyes at him before going after Gladion.
"Mhh...I can tell you're strong. I hope you'll keep an eye on those two," Nanu said, leaning back and looking up at the sky. "Especially with that storm brewing."
"They're both stronger than they look," Mewtwo replied.
"Your pet, maybe, but Gladion's always been a weak kid, always relying on others to help him instead of doing things himself. Probably why he joined Team Skull - they're mostly harmless, but they do care for one another, in their own way. Well, I won't keep you any longer. Good luck," Nanu said, getting to his feet as his meowth stood by his side.
"And to you as well, Officer Nanu," Mewtwo said with a salute.
(19.4)
"My lord?"
Arceus turned to see Citlali floating upside-down as it worked on the Kanto timeline.
"Is there any particular reason your Blessed can speak the various human languages?"
"It is simply a convenient side effect of unlocking their potential," Arceus said.
"Due to the whole humans evolved from pokémon thing?" Citlali asked, not even trying to hide its disgust. "That was not what I imagined would happen when we first made pokémon to populate the world you made."
"I understand your discomfort with humans. It is why I have many Chosen and Blessed so that they won't do stupid things like make your creations fight and destroy one another," Arceus said, folding its limbs under itself as it sat down.
"I don't really have an issue with that; it's just the evolutionary side of things that I didn't expect. Take dragonair, for example. It goes from beautiful sea dragon to...dragonite."
"I think it's cute," Arceus said defensively.
"You think everything I make is cute," Citlali grumbled, blushing.
"I'm only stating the obvious," Arceus replied. "Now go check on Ash. He's gotten lost again and he needs to be at Cherrygrove by tomorrow or else we'll have a paradox on our hands."
"Can't we put a bell on him? Or a GPS tracker? Or something?" Citlali grumbled.
"It's more fun this way."
"Your sense of humor still needs some work."
(19.5)
Arceus paced the length of the Hall of Origin, deep in thought.
It sensed a familiar presence enter the hall and it turned to see a pair of absol standing at the far end.
One had the regular absol coloring of dark blue skin and white fur with white eyes while the other had dark red skin and pale pink fur with striking blue eyes.
"Lord Aiedail," Arceus greeted politely. "What news do you bring?"
"I keep telling you to drop the formalities," Aiedail replied with a long-suffering sigh as he strode down the hall. Arceus' eyes glimmered with amusement and the absol rolled his own in response.
"I regret to inform you that I have lost track of Sasha," he said sheepishly. "It was shortly after she encountered Citlali, who eventually wound up teleporting her."
Arceus grimaced. "That is…unfortunate, but not…catastrophic. Citlali isn't known for murdering his prey. Could you get a general sense of the direction she was teleported?"
Aiedail ducked his head. "I was trying not to be crushed amid the forest Citlali uprooted during the chase."
"Citlali always did have a flair for the dramatic approach," Arceus mused. "Well, I'm sure that wherever she is, she's fine. I don't choose my Blessed willy-nilly and I know she was chosen for a reason."
Shaking its head, Arceus turned its attention to the other absol. "So who is this lovely creature?"
"My mate, Songbreeze," Aiedail said, going to her side and giving her cheek a nuzzle. She smiled slightly before she glanced at Arceus and averted her eyes.
"Come now, my dear, there is no need to be so shy," Arceus said gently, lying down to bring its head down to her level. "We are equals here."
Song took a few breaths before turning a glare on her mate. "When you said you knew someone important, I was expecting a salamance or lapras. Yet here we are with the Creator itself…what else haven't you told me? That you're from another universe or something?"
"Er…" Aiedail mumbled. "I do believe I mentioned that when we first met?"
Song blinked before nodding. "Alright, fair enough." She gazed at him with a scowl that softened when he kissed her nose and she pushed him away lightly before dipping her head to Arceus.
"You'll have to forgive my mate. He's an idiot," she said with a flick of her her blade-like tail, which Aiedail eyed nervously before taking another step back. "It's a pleasure to meet you, uh…Lord Arceus?"
"Just Arceus will do," the amused Original One replied, not quite hiding a smirk.
"Just Arceus it is, then," Song said. "As fun as this has been, I'd rather go somewhere a little less…barren for our next stop, if you'd be so kind, sweetie?"
Aiedail did his best to ignore Arceus' raised eyebrows as he nodded.
"That can be arranged. Perhaps Ecruteak City will be more to your liking? It's quite lovely this time of year, or so I've heard."
"So you've heard," Song said in amusement. "So you've never been there yourself?"
"I have been a little busy keeping an eye on one of Arceus' Blessed," Aiedail pointed out.
"Ah yes, but you've never actually talked with her either, so if we find her again, we'll have to do that."
"Of course, dear."
Arceus watched them teleport away before chuckling and turned back to its work.