The Lunatone was a peculiar creature. Its large, crescent-shaped body resembled polished stone, and it hovered above the ground. Its dark red eyes radiated an unsettling aura.
Leaf felt Mewtwo's energy shift within the ball on her belt, responding to the presence of the psychic Pokemon.
"Who are you and what do you want?" Leaf demanded, placing her hand over the Master Ball.
The man snickered at her spiritedness, but the woman appeared unfazed. "Of course, how ill-mannered of us. Lafia is the name and my accomplish over here is Eron. And what we want is that Mewtwo you have there with you. Do you also want to know why?" She inquired; her tone pleasant even though clearly mocking.
Leaf said nothing.
"I suppose we can leave that detail for later. For now, hand over the Pokemon. We won't ask again."
"That's not gonna happen. I have a mission to complete."
"Your mission is irrelevant. That Pokemon does not belong with you," Lafia stated flatly.
As if sensing danger, Ollie cooed nervously, shuffling closer to Leaf.
"We could do this the easy way or the hard way. Your choice," the man, Eron, warned, crossing his arms next to Lafia. They both appeared to be in their early 20's. Lafia was short and dark-haired whereas Eron was tall and sported long blond locks.
"I've had my fill of troublemakers this morning, so let's try the easy way," Leaf responded, releasing a second pokeball.
"Faro, use Thunderbolt!"
The Ampharos sprang to action, instantly releasing a brilliant arc of electricity from its black-yellow-striped tail. The lightning hit the Lunatone squarely, causing it to convulse violently before collapsing on the ground with a soft thud.
"Ouchie. Your Ampharos does pack a punch," Lafia snickered, hurling another pokeball out on the field.
A Gliscor materialized in a flash of light. With sharp claws, it experimentally moved the gravel around at its feet before kicking off. It took flight, circling around Leaf and her party.
"Now, Gliscor, use Earth Power."
"Faro, quick, use Dig!" Leaf ordered, knowing she could not allow Gliscor to attack.
Faro swiftly burrowed underground just as the Gliscor swooshed overhead, its tail swiping the air.
"Gliscor, Night Slash!"
The Gliscor made a second pass, but this time its claws found their mark, slashing Ollie across his wing. The Noctowl faltered next to Leaf, his wing stained with blood.
"Ollie!"
Leaf recalled Ollie to his pokeball to tend to his wounds. That had been a cheap shot by the Gliscor. Leaf usually didn't use Ollie for battling because he was a scaredy-cat. He served better purpose as her team's chauffeur – but now that was out of the picture as well.
As she released Mercurio, a Chikorita, the Master Ball quivered on her belt.
"I know you want out. Just bear with me a little longer. I need your strength." She muttered down to her hip.
Leaf glanced at Mercurio, who nodded resolutely, understanding the gravity of the situation. The Chikorita readied itself for battle, its body tense, ready to react.
Lafia appeared amused at the sight of Mercurio. "Are you sure you want to rely on a Chikorita? A Grass Pokemon? Really? What will you do against a Flying type Pokemon?"
"You'd be surprised." Leaf retorted curtly, her voice tense. She wasn't any run-of-the-mill trainer. She was the league champion and had been a Pokemon veteran at an age where most kids just got their first pokemons. Leaf breathed calmly in and commanded:
"Mercurio, use Giga Drain."
"Gliscor, use Aerial Ace!" Lafia countered.
Gliscor sliced through the air with wings but missed. Simultaneously Mercurio's vines caught a hold of its and latched on to its wings.
"Again!" Lafia instructed.
Gliscor's attack landed a direct hit on Mercurio, but peculiarly it seemed to suffer only minorly.
"Gliscor, use X-Scissor," Lafia commanded, ignoring her Pokemon's discomfort.
The Gliscor flew higher into the air, preparing for another attack. As it dove back down, it swooped close to the ground. Mercurio stood its ground, determined to counterattack.
"Giga Drain, Mercurio."
Mercurio concentrated on the Gliscor readying its vines once again, hitting the Gliscor as it drew closer. The Gliscor landed on X-Scissor, but thanks to Giga Drain, Mercurio sustained the hit.
"Good work, Mercurio," Leaf praised her Pokemon.
Gliscor hit Mercurio with another Aerial Ace once more, but it didn't have a full effect on Chikorita. Unbeknownst to her challenger, Chikorita was aided by an Eviolite it was carrying.
As Gliscor prepaired for another go, Mercurior's Giga Drain delivered its kiss of death. Gliscor slumped unconsciously on the ground.
"I have to admit, your Chikorita is not bad," Lafia acknowledged, recalling Gliscor into its pokeball.
"Now, it's time to see just how strong your team really is," Eron, who had waited at the sidelines remarked, releasing a new pokeball. An Eevee materialized on the field.
The Eevee shook out its long brown fur. It sat down, observing the battlefield with keen interest, tail flicking from side to side.
"Faro, come on out!" Leaf called to her trusted Ampharos.
"Let's start with Discharge, Faro!"
Faro complied, sending a dazzling electric shock towards the Eevee. The Eevee responded with a Thunderbolt of its own, effectively cancelling the attack.
"It has a Thunderbolt?!" Leaf exclaimed, genuinely surprised.
"What, you didn't expect that, miss Champion?" Lafia commented.
"How about we try a different approach, Eron?"
"Sounds good to me." The blonde smirked and tossed his pale strands of hair over his shoulder.
"Eevee, use Sand Attack," Eron ordered.
"Faro, use Protect!"
Eron and Lafia laughed as the sand obscured the visibility in the area.
"Now, use Dig," Eron commanded.
The Eevee effortlessly disappeared into the sand, and before Faro had a chance to react, the Eevee had surfaced beneath him. Faro stumbled, trying to regain his footing as the Eevee began attacking him with a combination of quick attacks of his claws and fangs.
"Faro, use Dig as well," Leaf shouted, hoping to get the upper hand.
Faro tried to follow the Eevee underground but was soon knocked back to the surface. He stood shakily on his hind legs, swaying back and forth, attempting to get a clear view of his opponent.
"Faro, can you continue?" Leaf asked, worry seeping into her voice.
Faro nodded and lowered himself to all fours, looking around. Suddenly, he lunged forward.
"Now!" Eron called out to his Eevee.
"Now Faro, now Mercurio!" Leaf shouted as well.
The two Pokemon attacked simultaneously, both landing a direct hit. Eevee was hurled backwards from the force of the impact and rolled a few feet across the ground before lying motionless. Faro collapsed on the ground, unable to move. Mercurio was exhausted from the battle but still standing.
"Well, that was fun." Lafia clapped her hands together, amused by the outcome of the battle.
Leaf recalled Faro into his pokeball and the three trainers stood there, squaring each other off with measuring glares. The gray uniformed duet was out of Pokemon.
"You put up a good fight, kid."
"I'm not a kid." Leaf corrected, her eyes narrowing.
"Well, whatever you are, you can't fight the both of us. You might have beat us in our Pokemon battle, but I bet you wouldn't stand a chance against us without them."
Lafia stepped forward, her eyes burning with zeal. She grabbed Leaf's wrist, pulling her close.
"Now give me that Pokemon, or I'll break your pretty little bones. I don't think you want to test me on that."
Leaf froze. This was a situation she had never faced before. She didn't fear these people, but she couldn't risk putting Mercurio in danger. Pokemon used by trainers were not allowed to attack humans, no matter the circumstances. Still, Leaf took a gamble and stealthily pressed on the release button on the Master Ball.
As the two women stared at each other, something shifted behind Lafia. A deep rumbling sound reverberated through the air. A moment later, an enormous creature rose from the ground.
'That is enough.'
Mewtwo towered over the trainers, casting a dark shadow over them. The Pokemon's voice resonated within the minds of everyone present, projecting ominous thoughts into the back of the heads of the humans. His piercing gaze bore into the trainer that held Leaf, causing her to flinch.
'Let go of the girl.'
Lafia released Leaf from her grip and stepped back. She glanced at Eron, who looked equally terrified. The Pokemon's voice felt like it was hissing right next to their ears even though it stood several feet away.
"You're a big boy, aren't ya. Tssk. I guess we'll have to catch up later." Lafia commented and hurriedly returned her Gliscor into its ball. Eron followed suit, recalling his fainted Eevee.
"I would advise against following us. We have our ways to get what we want, and it won't end well for you. You should count yourself lucky." Eron threatened as they swiftly retreated into the forest.
Mewtwo watched them disappear into the distance, only releasing his psychic grasp once he was certain they were gone. He felt the familiar fatigue associated with using his powers. It was not easy to use telepathy to affect objects at such a great distance. The effort had drained him.
Leaf looked up at him, a look of surprise mixed with relief evident on her face.
"Thank you," she said gratefully.
Mewtwo did not acknowledge her gratitude. Instead, he gazed over the vast landscape of the valley. The forest stretched before him, rolling hills rising in the distance. He took a deep breath, savoring the fresh air.
He heard a soft thump as the girl dropped to her knees beside him, her body shivering. Her hand gripped the Master Ball on her belt, clutching it tightly to her chest.
"What has the professor got himself involved with?" She murmured.
A/N: Firstly, yeah, I took some poetic license with Eevee's moveset. Secondly, I'm not promising a full return to this fic. I still am and probably always will be an avid collector of the TGC. I also really wanted to take a break from my main body of work (the Inuyasha longfics). As I've stated on my profile, this fic is still very much up for adoption. Anyone who feels the inspiration to continue this story on their own can copy, edit and utilize this story as they see fit. You have my full permission without needing to explicitly reach out and ask for my permission.
I may or may not return to this fic in a year or so again. I'm terribly sorry if this disappoints some of my readers, but I just have to say that Scarlet/Violet really put me off this franchise. Those additions to the Pokemon library of games are simply sub-par. (This is coming from a person who took to video games after playing Pokemon Emerald which completely upturned my life and molded me as a nerd. But the current games are so underdeveloped it's embarrassing. -_- No wonder Palworld is taking the genre by a storm. I hope this slaps some sense into Nintendo and Gamefreak and they'll strive to do better. I absolutely still love Pokemon and hope all the best for the franchise.)