(20.1)
"I blame you for this," Sasha said as she and Mewtwo hovered above the burning remains of the Reborn Neo Team Plasma Aerial Frigate.
"You told me to free the pokémon, so I did," Mewtwo said. "How was I supposed to know that would trigger the self-destruct system?"
"Because it's in practically every work of fiction involving giant flying ships!"
"Except this isn't fiction," Mewtwo pointed out. "Neo Reborn Plasma or whatever they're calling themselves nowadays literally installed it and thought it was a good idea."
"Well, at least the pokémon got out alright," Sasha murmured before pricking her ears. "And the police and fire department are on their way to investigate the hullabaloo."
Mewtwo did a quick psychic scan to make sure none of the Plasma members who were still alive were in mortal danger before he and Sasha made themselves scarce.
(20.2)
"Only sixty-four trainers made it through the gym circuit?" Sasha asked as she drank some lemonade that had been served by a surly sandslash. "That feels awfully low."
Mewtwo shook his head. "The tournaments are every six months or so and are held in different places to prevent overcrowding. That also gives plenty of time to set things up and space battles out accordingly."
Sasha nodded slowly and curled in Mewtwo's lap.
"Not gonna lie, I was scared at first, but once the battles started, I was able to focus on those and put the fact I was being watched by thousands of people out of my mind."
"More like a little over ten thousand, and that's not counting the additional people watching from home or online," Mewtwo corrected, smoothing her ruffled fur. Sasha rolled her eyes and flicked her tail.
"I don't have a problem with that, since they're not here."
Mewtwo stroked her ears. "I'm glad you had fun."
"Fighting a slaking, slowking, seaking, nidoking, kingler and kingdra is hardly what I'd call fun," Sasha replied, stretching her sore limbs.
"What matters is that you won. Since your next match is tomorrow, shall we depart, or would you like to see the other matches?" Mewtwo asked.
Sasha shook her head. "I'd rather have Ash's team be a surprise. Let's go."
"If that is what you wish."
(20.3)
Well...this could be going better.
Sasha hung in the grip of a very angry hydreigon and was silently thanking Arceus for giving her alternate forme greatly boosted stats all across the board. Mewtwo had called it something like Evo Boost and she'd accepted the moniker for the boost without comment.
Wrenching her mind out of the clouds, Sasha gritted her teeth and triggered Flash, causing the dragon to release her. All it really did was anger the dragon even more and she then found herself on the receiving end of Solar, Charge, and Hyper Beams.
Pokemon with multiple mouths, she decided, sucked.
Enveloping herself with a Mirror Coat, she tanked the trio of moves before firing them back at the dragon, sending it crashing through the copse of trees that dominated the middle of the field.
She winced as the dragon kept going, crashing through the wall of the stadium.
"And the winner of the quarter-finals by ring-out is Sasha!" came the announcer's voice, cutting through the roar of the crowd.
Sasha peered after the hydreigon worriedly. "Do you think it's okay?" she asked Mewtwo as the clone scooped her into his arms, giving her a light squeeze.
"Believe me, hydreigon are some of the most durable dragons out there. They're considered pseudo-legendary for a reason."
Sasha nodded and watched as the trainer called out his swanna to chase after the dragon-type.
"Sorry!" she called as he flew past.
"Did that trainer seriously only have five pokemon?" Mewtwo asked, shaking his head. "Sloppy."
"That's why they made the opening round a two versus one battle," Sasha replied. "Which was a good way to keep the match somewhat fair by mixing it up from the usual six versus one it would've been otherwise."
Mewtwo nodded. "You did well against his lucario and ferrothorn. you didn't even use Fire or Fighting moves, even though that would've made it much easier."
He ruffled her ears. "Very clever of making them hit each other to preserve your energy though."
Sasha purred and nibbled on his fingers. Mewtwo pulled them away and she pouted.
"Come along, little one. Let's get you healed and then we can go home for the day."
Stroking over her fur, the clone exited the field and made his way through the league's halls, swinging by the Nurse Joy on duty to treat Sasha before heading out onto the road.
"Mewtwo!"
The duo jumped in surprise at the booming voice and Mewtwo looked around, not seeing anyone.
"Up here."
Looking up, the duo was greeted with the sight of Arceus striding down from the sky as if descending a flight of stairs. On his back, a mew and celebi waved to them.
"Lord Arceus," Mewtwo greeted. "What brings you here?"
"I - we - were in the area and decided to come see Ash battle. Did we miss anything?"
"Just the first two rounds," Sasha replied.
Arceus and Mew stared at Celebi.
"...Seriously?" Celebi deadpanned. "Seriously?!"
"I wanna watch Ash fight," Arceus said stubbornly, closely chorused by Mew.
With a long-suffering sigh, Celebi waved farewell to Mewtwo and Sasha before all three vanished in a flash of light.
"Did you see them during your first match?" Mewtwo asked.
"Nope. Did you?"
"Nope."
"My winnings says they ended up at least five weeks off target," Sasha said with a grin.
"I will double that and put it on a month exactly," Mewtwo replied, kissing her nose to seal the deal.
(20.4)
Mewtwo watched as Sasha tested out her power.
The duo had traveled to the desolate land to the north of Mt. Moon, the site of a great war or something eons ago. Off in the distance, a palace loomed; and beyond that, a large tree.
"Hold this for me, would you?" Sasha asked, carefully removing the Eviolite from her collar and undid her scarf. Mewtwo wrapped the orb in the material and teleported it away.
"You are capable of retrieving things you teleport, right?" Sasha asked. Mewtwo simply held out a hand, scarf reappearing before it vanished again.
Smiling slightly, Sasha then tapped into her power. Shaking herself, the umbreon examined herself, flexing her paws and limbs with a frown.
"Feels different without the Eviolite?" Mewtwo asked.
"Oddly enough, not as much as I was expecting," Sasha murmured. "If anything, it feels...lighter?"
She shook her head. "No, that's not the right word..." Stamping a paw in frustration, she then shot into the sky with a shriek of surprise.
Mewtwo rose with her, arms crossed, face carefully blank as she flailed and twisted in midair.
He carefully leveled the changed eevee, reorienting her so she was level again and she relaxed before staring down.
"Right...randomization...eheh...think we could go down and try again?"
One quick flash later had them on the ground again and Sasha took a break before flicking the imaginary Metronome.
A hole opened up in the air in front of her and she poked her head in curiously.
"Hi Palkia," she said cheerfully to the baffled legendary pokémon before she pulled her head back as the hole closed.
Using the move again, Sasha briefly glowed pink before she unleashed Secret Power.
Another use had her use Sharpen, which turned her fur spiky like a Jolteon's, yet metallic.
She then went through it several times in quick succession, unleashing Fire Plume, Earth Power, Dazzling Gleam, Metal Burst, Screech, Toxic - she had to stop to throw up the bitter substance to prevent being poisoned herself - and one last use had her unleashing a massive ring of fire that turned the ground to glass and had Sasha wheezing for breath as it took its toll on her.
Mewtwo watched the proceedings carefully, senses monitoring Sasha's vitals and he was surprised she was able to do so much in a short amount of time and once he'd made sure the fire wouldn't cause problems, he knelt by her side and stroked the back of her neck gently as she drank the water he had pulled from the ground.
"You have improved quite a bit since that time you blew up," Mewtwo said.
Sasha licked her lips and shook herself. "Odd thing was, I could feel the type of the move I was going to use before choosing to actually use it."
Mewtwo tilted his head, gaze thoughtful. "Well, it's not like you have to use Metronome when you transform."
Sasha shrugged. "It's more fun when you're not entirely sure what you're gonna do next and I can understand in some situations it's probably wise to not leave things to chance…so…"
Mewtwo nodded and they resumed training.
(20.5)
Somewhere on the Kanto mainland, Sasha wandered aimlessly.
Blood ran down her body from various cuts and scratches she'd accumulated over the past several hours. Further adding to her misery, the sky was black with rain clouds and the water poured down as if it was determined to wash away everything below.
"You'll catch your death out there."
Sasha barely registered the voice and she looked around blankly, ears perked.
"Over here, little one."
Through the deluge, Sasha saw an opening to a cave or grotto of some kind and she staggered into it before collapsing on her stomach, panting as her weariness caught up with her.
"Goodness; rarely do I encounter young ones out on their own. Have you no parents?"
Sasha's eyes adjusted to the gloom and she made out the faint shape of an absol curled up in a nest of dry grass against the far side of the enclosed space. His eyes were milky white and Sasha realized with a start the pokémon was blind.
"Ah, so you've noticed."
Sasha averted her eyes and got to her feet.
"Sorry," she said. "I'll just be on my way then."
"So eager to rush to your death?" the absol asked, tilting its head.
"…"
"Didn't think so. I apologize for the lack of a fire or warmth. You may want to find some way to dry yourself before you catch a chill," the absol said, flexing its paws.
"I'd rather not cause a mess," Sasha said, discreetly flicking her back paws free of moisture. The absol laughed.
"It is no problem," the absol said as a Protect barrier shimmered to life. "Go ahead."
Sasha shook herself hard, sending water flying everywhere. Relaxing with a sigh, she shivered and fluffed her fur against the cool air.
"So, how did you come to be wandering out here on your lonesome?" the absol asked.
Sasha hesitated and the absol nodded.
"Fair enough. You are, of course, not obligated to tell me anything. But do you mind if I make some educated guesses?"
"Go ahead."
"There's blood on you – you're quite hardy for one so young. Most pokémon your age wouldn't have dared travel with such wounds, so you're running from something. They were received long enough ago that they've healed somewhat, but the weather has reopened a few of the larger ones."
Sasha nodded before chiding herself for doing so – the absol couldn't see the motion. "Yeah, that's right," she said.
"There's something else…you have a…feeling about you. You're one of his, aren't you?"
Sasha frowned. "What do you mean?"
"A Blessed, picked by Lord Arceus."
"A what?"
"That is not for me to say," the absol said.
"But how do you know what a Blessed is?" Sasha asked.
"I've been around a long time. Wasn't always blind – I've seen a lot of things in my time before I was given a new course in life. Now I spend my time listening."
"You're not making sense," Sasha said.
"I'm old. I'm allowed to be vague and cryptic," the absol said with a grin. "It's one of life's few joys the older generation gets to experience. One day, you'll understand."
"Right," Sasha replied before lifting and shaking her paws at a time with a grimace.
"Rest," the abol said gently. "You're young, but not immortal. Stay here until the rain lets up, at least."
"…Thank you," Sasha said. A glance around the space revealed a second nest and she settled down in it carefully before she gently licked her wounds before curling her tail around herself and drifted off to sleep.