I do not own Pokémon. Credit goes to Satoshi Tajiri and Game Freak.
After Mewtwo and the kids left Viridian Forest, Red scurried his way back to the Viridian Pokémon Center. The psionic feline hovered a few inches off the ground as he followed Leaf and Gary down the street. They ducked into an alleyway and the professor's grandson rummaged between crates on the ground. He found a discarded brown piece of cloth lying on top of one of the crates.
"I'm unconvinced this will help me blend in," Mewtwo folded his arms.
Gary glanced over his shoulder.
"Why?" Gary tilted his head, "is it too small for you?"
"No, but wouldn't it simply draw attention regardless?"
Leaf leaned her back on the wall and crossed her left leg over her right shin.
"Should we head over to the Poké Mart again?" Leaf asked.
Gary lifted the piece of cloth off the crate.
"I'm sure this can be made into a cloak," Gary insisted.
Mewtwo sighed and levitated it around himself. He fiddled with the cloth for a minute or so until he managed to form a makeshift hood. He fiddled with the cloth a little more until he was able to conceal his tail.
"Should we get some kind of fastener?" Leaf fluttered her hands.
"That sounds like it would be appreciated," Mewtwo mumbled.
Leaf checked her messenger until she found a safety pin and held it out before the psionic feline.
"Will this work?"
He studied it before telekinetically picking it up and applying it to the cloth.
"For now," Mewtwo proclaimed, "I believe it will be sufficient. Thank you."
Leaf smiled before she followed Mewtwo and Gary out of the alleyway and down the street. They passed several blocks and turned a corner or two before they set foot into the Pokémon Center. The professor's grandson spotted Red sitting at a couch in the waiting hall, who turned to his right and waved at them.
"The Pikachu's in the emergency care unit," Red informed.
Leaf and Gary approached the couch and sat next to him while Mewtwo simply hovered close by.
"How long will it take for him to get better?" Leaf asked.
Red tilted his head towards the ceiling.
"Nurse Joy estimated maybe a couple of hours," he shrugged.
Leaf glanced around the large room until she spotted a tap water station at the corner of the room. She pulled out her canteen and sprinted towards the tap water dispenser. Holding her canteen beneath the faucet, she activated the dispenser until her canteen filled up with water. Once she finished, she carried it back to the couch and stashed it into her messenger bag. Mewtwo watched them silently, seeming to realize he probably needed to drink as well as eat. Gary noticed as the cloaked psionic feline surveyed the room until he noticed a cafeteria.
"You hungry, bud?" Gary asked.
Leaf pulled out her Pokégear to check the time.
"I'm not sure," Mewtwo replied, "I've not had to eat in the time I've been alive. I don't truly understand hunger and eating yet."
Red tilted his head and gave him a confused look.
"You've never eaten anything?" Red paused, "how long have you existed?"
Mewtwo gave Red an intense stare.
"I believe you would say it's been at least over a decade," Mewtwo answered, "as I recently heard."
Leaf stood up as Gary scratched his head.
"It's still a few hours before dinner," Leaf offered, "but I can get you a snack."
"I will take recommendations," Mewtwo nodded, "I assume I need to eat to blend in."
Leaf stood up from the couch and led Mewtwo towards the cafeteria, where they stopped at a shelf displaying rice balls with assorted fillings, ranging from umeboshi to tsukudani. Mewtwo raised his brow when he spotted the rice ball filled with tuna and mayonnaise.
"That one looks intriguing," Mewtwo pointed out.
The second Leaf noticed which rice ball Mewtwo fixated on, she grabbed a package of it from the shelf and sprinted to the drink display.
"Hydration, right?" Mewtwo clarified.
Leaf nodded as she grabbed a bottle of matcha tea and walked over to the counter.
"Hey," Leaf called to the cashier, "I'd like to buy these."
Leaf set the items onto the counter.
The cashier scanned each item before walking over to the cashier.
"Certainly, miss," he replied, "is this everything?"
Leaf nodded as she pinched the rim of her hand.
"Yup!"
"Alright then," the cashier informed her, "that'll be…300 PokéYen altogether, please."
Leaf took out her wallet and offered the money to the cashier.
"Thank you, ma'am," the cashier smiled as he took the money and put it into the cash register, "enjoy."
Leaf grabbed the matcha tea and rice ball before she led Mewtwo back to the waiting hall. Sitting down at the couch, the young girl offered the items to the psionic feline.
"Here you go!" Leaf chirped.
Mewtwo carefully studied the packages.
"Thank you," Mewtwo spoke in her mind, "I may need assistance learning how to access them."
Upon cue, Leaf took a moment to open the package of the rice ball and twist the bottle cap open before she let Mewtwo pluck the matcha tea and rice ball out of her hands.
"Thank you," Mewtwo gave a shy smile.
Red winked and gave Mewtwo a thumbs up.
"Gotta learn from somewhere," he quipped.
While Mewtwo started eating the rice ball, Leaf pulled out her canteen and took a sip of the tap water.
"Interesting," Mewtwo mumbled as he chewed silently.
Putting away her canteen, Leaf pulled out a fidget spinner and fiddled with it while Mewtwo gave the matcha tea a taste test. He processed the flavor in his mind for a few moments before he nodded.
"Pretty enjoyable, this one," Mewtwo mused.
Mewtwo raised a brow as he noticed Leaf spinning the lobes of the fidget spinner.
"What is that?"
Leaf blinked as she turned her gaze to Mewtwo.
"A fidget spinner," she explained, "it helps with stress relief so I don't get overwhelmed."
"I see. Apologies for interrupting."
Leaf simply smiled before returning her focus to her fidget spinner while Mewtwo went back to eating his rice ball. They all sat in the waiting hall until a couple hours later, a ding sound could be heard from the intercom. Red perked up before he stood up and approached the counter.
"Red?" Nurse Joy asked, "do you have a moment?"
"Yes, ma'am," Red nodded, "is he ok?"
Nurse Joy closed her eyes for a brief moment.
"The treatment was a success," Nurse Joy informed him, "but Pikachu will have to stay overnight to rest. By morning, I'll let you figure out if you want to release Pikachu back into the wild or let him travel with you on your journey. Is that fair?"
Red placed a finger on his chin as he processed the information in a moment of silence.
"Completely fair."
Later on that evening, Red, Leaf, Gary and Mewtwo settled into the guest room. Once the young girl closed the curtains, the psionic feline removed his cloak.
"Thank you," Mewtwo sighed, "I apologize for imposing on you."
Leaf, Red and Gary searched their bags to pull out their pajamas while Mewtwo sat down on one of the beds.
"That's ok," Red told Mewtwo, "I guess we oughta figure out where you're going to sleep."
Gary tilted his head as he counted the number of twin-sized beds in the guest room.
"I can float in a corner," Mewtwo assured the boy, "I'll be fine, thank you."
Leaf relaxed her shoulders in relief as she carried her pajamas into the bathroom. Red and Gary sent out their Pokémon, with Squirtle jumping onto his trainer's bed to knead the mattress. Mewtwo stretched and huddled into a corner. After a few minutes, Leaf emerged from the bathroom clad in her pajamas and carrying her day clothes. From there, Gary entered the bathroom to change clothes while the young girl brought out her Bulbasaur, Cleffa and Pidgey.
"Cleffa?" Cleffa called over to Bulbasaur, jumping up and down on the pillow while flapping her arms, "Cleffa!"
Bulbasaur bounced gently in response.
"Bulba Bulbasaur!"
Leaf smiled softly as she scooped up Bulbasaur off the floor and set her on her bed. She reached into her messenger bag again and pulled out a Togepi doll, hugging it closer to her chest. After a few moments, Gary finally emerged from the bathroom and tossed his clothes onto the top of the dresser. Red shook his head at his rival's untidiness and went to change, day clothes messily folded when he came out. While the boys tucked themselves beneath the covers, Mewtwo took a moment to browse a nearby bookshelf. He raised his brow upon spotting one particular title The Origins of Battling. He levitated the book off the shelf.
"Ok, guys," Red announced, "good night!"
Leaf switched off all the lamps save for one near Mewtwo before she tucked herself under the covers, her Cleffa, Bulbasaur and Pidgey huddling close to their trainer.
"Night, dudes," Gary added.
With the three novice trainers dozing off with their Pokémon following suit, Mewtwo started to read the book in his hands, floating at the corner of the room while keeping one eye on the kids.
He took note of discussions of the distant past when Pokémon fought over territory, food and the like. The battles in question became violent to the point some unfortunate Pokémon ended up dead. Humans weren't so lucky either when they got caught in the crossfire. Over time, the destruction from the Pokémon fighting one another made the entire world hostile to everyone. Humans got fed up with the violence and destruction, so they started coming up with ways to tame the Pokémon.
Initially using nets and other forms of traps since Poké Balls didn't exist back then, humans resorted to trial and error in taming the Pokémon despite their lack of experience with dealing with them. Once some humans understood from the Pokémon's perspective and realized making them suppress their powers was counterproductive, they tried out engaging them in competitive battles. Though, instead of fighting to the death, these battles were a matter of letting out their harnessed energy, which would benefit humans and Pokémon alike. From there, Pokémon battles became a sport and the monetary gain from this new sport allowed humans to repair their homes. Over time, laws were passed to ensure no Pokémon were killed in each battle, thus humans coexisted with Pokémon as natural habitats recovered from previous destructive events.
Mewtwo ingested all of this mentally and slotted it along with his personal life experience so far. It made sense now how these Pokémon seemed to care about their trainers, even if they were only a day bonded for the majority of them.
The following morning, Red stopped by the counter to retrieve the Pikachu, who had been discharged, and offered to carry the electric mouse back to Viridian Forest. Leaf, Red, Gary and Mewtwo took another trip to the Poké Mart where the girl purchased a sewing kit and a sturdy button before they returned to the Pokémon Center. Once she took some time to sew the button onto the cloak and create a buttonhole with some scissors, they all left the Pokémon Center to continue their journey. Leaf stayed close to Mewtwo as they walked past the school while Gary made a brief glance at a limousine parked near the school's front gate. Red glanced at it curiously but remembered Leaf's reaction to the school last time.
"So, uh," Red reminded, "we going back to the forest for a proper run-through?"
"Yeah," Leaf muttered, "definitely."
"To the forest, then," Mewtwo agreed.
Out of the corner of her eye, Leaf spotted the limo car open. She stiffened and gritted her teeth when a girl the same age as her stepped out of the vehicle. She flipped her pink shoulder blade-length hair with her hand and her purple eyes sparkled with radiance and beauty. She wore a white floppy hat with a short brim, pink sash and bow and her modest pink dress reached below her knees. Her designer white jacket was fastened by a bow and a heart-shaped brooch. She walked gracefully through the front gate in her maroon short-heeled pumps with ankle straps and she had a pearl necklace and pearl earrings to finish her look. Leaf averted her gaze. She remembered that girl from anywhere.
She silently hoped that girl wouldn't notice her. Mewtwo glanced between the two girls, sensing Leaf's distress in her mind.
"Would you like to stand by my other side?" Mewtwo spoke into her mind.
Leaf didn't say anything as she skipped over to Mewtwo's other side, concealing herself from any eyes from students entering the school. Much to her relief, they left the school's perimeter. Red and Gary made another brief glance at the Viridian Gym still in ruins while a few fire trucks parked nearby. Luckily, the flames were already extinguished and the nearby buildings were left untouched. Mewtwo tensed up and huffed as they moved past the gym.
"Ehh," Gary shrugged, "I guess it'll be a while for the gym to be fully repaired. No offense."
"Too high-level for us, anyway," Red agreed, glancing down at the Pikachu in his arms.
Feel free to drop a review, because Leaf and Mewtwo could use them to offer each other emotional support!