I do not own Pokémon. Credit goes to Satoshi Tajiri and Game Freak.
Leaf had all day to wait for Red and Gary to take turns challenging Brock, so she made her way to the central flower garden with Mewtwo accompanying her. She let out Pidgey, Bulbasaur and Cleffa so they could also relish in watching the flowerbeds. He stayed close to her and tried to relax. Clearly if any of the Rockets in the town were aware of him, they would have attacked by now. He remained intrigued by the casual, calm, harmless human life. Maybe they really weren't like Giovanni. They weren't all battle hungry.
Leaf examined a bush holding red and white camellias and leaned closer to sniff at them, relishing in the relaxing aroma they emitted. Mewtwo imitated her movement, tilting his head as the next strongest smell he had in his memory flashed up only to be replaced. The image of the lab filtered out to this new calm moment and he relaxed in the bubble shielding them from the fear and stress in the air. Pidgey perched on the fence to relax in the gentle breeze while Bulbasaur brought Cleffa a camellia she pulled towards her with her vine. The psionic feline watched Pidgey and hesitantly reached a hand towards her, resisting the urge to hold her in place with his telekinesis. He wasn't sure why he was doing this. Perhaps he wanted assurance that Pokémon, even wild Pokémon, weren't feared by him— that he was one of them.
"Have you ever smelled flowers before?" Leaf asked, her eyes locking onto Mewtwo.
Mewtwo shook his head.
"Not purposefully like this," he admitted, "only in passing. I hadn't realized they were so relaxing."
Leaf took a moment to pull up her socks.
"My dad likes to plant sunflowers in the front of my house just before summer begins," Leaf mentioned.
"I can't say I know much about flowers," Mewtwo shrugged, "do they smell pleasant?"
Leaf placed a finger on her chin.
"I don't know of any flowers that have an awful smell," she replied.
He tilted his head as he thought over the Pokémon he'd seen.
"Surely there must be some, as a defense mechanism?" Mewtwo pondered, "much like a Gloom?"
Leaf glanced over her shoulder and stiffened at the sight of the girl from yesterday, still in the same outfit nonetheless. Two boys walked alongside her while she carried a well-groomed shiny Eevee in her arms, dressed in a lavender chiffon scarf tied in a classy knot and embellished with a ruby heart-shaped gem encrusted in a golden heart-shaped brooch. A pink hair bow decorated the shiny Eevee's head. Leaf grimaced before she withdrew Cleffa and Pidgey, catching Mewtwo's attention.
"Leaf?" Mewtwo paused.
Leaf shot a brief glance at the psionic feline.
"We gotta go," she urged.
Bulbasaur paused and turned to give her trainer a concerned look. Mewtwo turned his gaze towards the three kids making their way to the garden. He edged closer to Leaf to prepare a stealthy escape, assuming the boys were doing their best to be bodyguards. Children could be strange sometimes, and what in Helix's name has that girl done to her Eevee? Leaf scooped Bulbasaur into her arms and made a leap over the fence, landing on her feet from a short fall. Mewtwo floated down the stairs and gave her a nod.
"Steady, Leaf," Mewtwo spoke into her head, "deep breaths."
Leaf nodded silently as she scanned her surroundings. She remained close to Mewtwo's proximity as they slowly tiptoed past the rich girl and her two henchmen, whom Leaf could recognize. They hoped to slip past them unnoticed.
Unfortunately, luck wasn't on their side.
Just as they were about to turn a corner, the pink-haired girl made a brief glance at Leaf and made a smug grin.
"Oh my goshies!" the pink haired girl teased, pointing at Bulbasaur, "is that a Bulbasaur? That's the lamest Pokémon to start with!"
Bulbasaur narrowed her eyes at the pink-haired girl while Leaf shuddered and hugged her grass starter protectively to her chest.
"Bulba," Bulbasaur growled.
Mewtwo huffed, moving to block their views of each other.
"She can talk, with her Normal-type," Mewtwo assured the grassy amphibian, "it wouldn't be very effective against Brock's crew. You've proven yourself a worthy starter, Bulbasaur."
"Saur!" Bulbasaur chirped.
The pink-haired girl narrowed her eyes as she stomped her way towards the young girl and the hooded feline Pokémon.
"Excuse me," the shrill girly voice demanded, "you don't get to just walk away from me! Look at me when I'm talking to you!"
The two boys followed close behind. Mewtwo turned to shield Leaf, using his tail to spread the cloak to hide her where needed.
"She's not a Pokémon," he growled, "you have no command over her. Leave her be."
The pink-haired girl paused in her tracks, placed one hand on her hip and tilted her head.
"I never said she was a Pokémon," she retorted, "you're over-exaggerating."
One boy with spiky blond hair and a blue scarf folded his arms.
"So where'd you two come from?" he mocked, "a freak show?"
He and the other boy with turquoise-hair and a green headband burst into laughter. Leaf gritted her teeth.
"Don't you have something else to do, Ellie?" Leaf snapped, "whatever it is, leave us out of it!"
The pink-haired girl's face reddened and scowled before she stomped her foot.
"How dare you call me that?!" she screeched, "my name is Eloise Suzanne Flora Prudence Labelle, the Beautiful Baroness from Kalos!"
Eloise's loud shrill voice caused Leaf to flinch as she tried placing one hand over her ear.
"Aren't we out in public?" Mewtwo reminded, "you should know full well it's rather impolite to shout when you're introducing yourself. Now leave, all of you."
Eloise huffed and clenched her fists.
"Hmmph! Boys!" Eloise commanded.
Upon cue, the blond boy sent out his Growlithe while the turquoise-haired boy sent out his Mankey.
"Growlithe," the blond boy commanded, "use Flamethrower!"
Growlithe spewed out a blast of fire hurtling towards Mewtwo. He thought fast and scooped Leaf into his arms before leaping out of the way, the young brunette cradling Bulbasaur protectively.
"What a coward," Mewtwo growled, "using other humans to use other Pokémon to fight her battles."
Mewtwo's expression softened when he gazed upon Leaf.
"Are you alright? Where do you want to go?"
He kept an eye on them, ready to throw them aside if needed. Leaf may have felt a little shaken, but took a deep breath.
"Anywhere that's a safe distance from her will do," Leaf suggested, "I'll tell you more about her, Blake and Omari."
Mewtwo nodded. As he shuffled a little to prepare for a quick escape, Eloise caught a brief glimpse of Leaf's face and a sudden realization hit her like a ton of bricks.
"L-Leaf?" Eloise blurted to herself.
Mewtwo glared at Eloise again and braced for another attack. His eyes glowed from beneath the hood in warning. Blake and Omari exchanged confused glances as they waited for her orders, when all of a sudden…
"Eloise, darling!" a distant jovial voice called, "the cameramen are here!"
Eloise paused and composed herself before she turned around and skipped merrily towards her dad dressed in a fancy business suit and combed back hair. The bratty baroness looked over the cameramen briefly before she excitedly jumped up and down.
"Yay!" Eloise squealed in joy, "thank you so much, daddy! You are the absolute best!"
Mewtwo carried Leaf away and made a beeline towards the Pokémon Center.
"What a conflicting human," Mewtwo sighed, "is Bulbasaur alright, too?"
Just as Mewtwo stopped at the entrance, he lowered Leaf to the ground. She took a moment to examine her Bulbasaur, who let out a happy chirp.
"Well, she's unscathed," Leaf answered, "that's for sure."
"Good," Mewtwo nodded, "I'll follow you in."
Mewtwo and Leaf made their way inside the Center and settled into a couch at the lobby. While Bulbasaur perched next to her, the young girl brought out Cleffa who sat on her lap.
"Cleffa?"
"Hey, Cleffa," Leaf sang softly, "how you doing?"
Leaf gently patted Cleffa on the head. Mewtwo sat down next to her while he drew the cloak around himself. The young girl blinked twice before she shifted her gaze to Mewtwo.
"Uhmm," she paused.
"I don't mean to pressure you," Mewtwo told her, "I'm simply waiting for you to be ready to tell me about those three."
He glanced at her briefly before turning his gaze to the floor. Leaf took a moment to think before she took a deep breath.
"I used to go to the school in Viridian City," Leaf began to explain, "before my parents and I moved to Pallet Town four years ago. Eloise, Blake and Omari were my classmates."
Mewtwo nodded in acknowledgment, unable to keep from remembering her reaction to seeing the building.
"Remember when Red mentioned that I see the world differently?" Leaf continued, "well, those three kids would tease me and make fun of me for being different. And my homeroom teacher didn't lift a finger to stop them."
Leaf hugged her arms to her chest and lowered her head.
"They would call me names, laugh at me and agitate my sensory issues," she added, "but when I try to stand up for myself, my homeroom teacher would get me into trouble for disrupting the class."
Mewtwo frowned in concern, the cloak shifting as he curled his tail underneath. His own fists clenched, tucked out of sight.
"There was even one time when Eloise would falsely accuse me of stealing her lunch," Leaf elaborated, "and Mr. Gibson has believed her claims more than whatever I have to say. He would then threaten me into giving Ellie my lunch."
Mewtwo took a moment to read Leaf's mind as she was recollecting her thoughts for this moment.
"Yet," Leaf continued on, "when either of those three pull some awful prank on me or trip me onto the floor, and I try to tell my homeroom teacher about it, he calls me a liar."
Mewtwo took and released a deep breath as he watched her memories, trying to keep his anger from presenting uncontrollably.
"I'm sorry they continue to be so cruel," Mewtwo assured her, "I'll keep you away from them."
Leaf blinked twice as she gazed into Mewtwo's eyes.
"T-Thank you," Leaf stammered softly, "you're such a good friend."
Leaf reached out to place her hand on Mewtwo's shoulder. He hesitantly lay his tail on her hand through his cloak and gave her a small nod.
"Thank you for trusting me," Mewtwo smiled.
The tranquil moment continued on until a couple hours later when the Pokémon Center doors opened up and Red and his Pikachu stepped inside, rousing Leaf's attention.
"Hey, Red!" Leaf called over, waving her hand, "how'd the gym challenge go?"
Making a brief glance at Leaf, Red pulled out his badge case and flipped it open, displaying the Boulder Badge inside.
"Pika Pika!" Pikachu chirped, his paw gesturing a peace sign.
"You should've seen Gary's face when Pikachu unleashed Iron Tail on that Onix!" Red added.
Bulbasaur tilted her head as Pikachu scampered over to the couch. Mewtwo nodded with a soft smile.
"Well done," he praised.
Red grinned and closed his badge case before he went to sit to Mewtwo's left.
"Say," Red offered, "would you like some lunch?"
Leaf's face lit up and nodded.
"Sure!" she chirped, "is Gary joining us?"
"Nah," Red shrugged, "but I can bring something to him."
Leaf and Red stood up before they made their way into the cafeteria. The brunette picked out a pork cutlet sandwich and a Nanab nutrishake for herself before picking out a rice ball and matcha tea. Red grabbed meals for himself and Gary before both trainers went to the counter to pay for their food. Bringing along additional food for their Pokémon, they returned to the couch where Mewtwo was still sitting.
"Here you go!" Leaf grinned, holding out the rice ball and matcha tea.
Mewtwo smiled softly and took the food from the girl's hand.
"Thank you."
Leaf sat down next to Mewtwo and began eating her sandwich. The psionic feline took a bite out of his rice ball as he studied their surroundings.
"Do they ever change the tannoy music?" Mewtwo raised his brow.
Leaf and Red exchanged confused glances.
"I…never really thought about it," Leaf admitted, her free hand fluttering nervously.
Mewtwo shifted his gaze between the two young trainers.
"I apologize if I've sparked a start to disliking it," Mewtwo sighed, "was it not something you ever noticed?"
"You didn't spark anything, really," Red placed his hand behind his head, "I guess they change music sometimes."
Red went to take a bite out of his lunch while Pikachu licked his chops after downing the last of an Oran berry. He relaxed and continued to eat at his steady pace, keeping an eye on the front doors. Just as Leaf finished one sandwich, the doors slipped open and Gary stepped in. Bulbasaur and Pikachu paused in their eating and widened their eyes in surprise.
"Pika?!" Pikachu exclaimed.
Mewtwo perked up his brow as the professor's grandson made his approach.
"Hey!" Gary casually waved his hand, "you guys having lunch already?"
Red lifted his head and gave his rival a puzzled look.
"I thought you were going to wait for us at the gym," Red commented.
"You're welcome to join us," Mewtwo replied.
Red sighed and handed Gary a bento box he purchased.
"Go ahead and dig in," he persuaded.
The professor's grandson took the bento box and the can of calpis soda before he plopped down next to Red and sent out Squirtle and Weedle. Mewtwo finished eating soon enough and set the empty container aside. Leaf finished her lunch next and Red finished his bento box minutes after that. He smiled as he saw Pikachu and Charmander rubbing their full bellies while Bellsprout nibbled the last pellet on its plate. The young girl focused her gaze on Bulbasaur, Cleffa and Pidgey just as they were finishing up their meals.
"Was it yummy?" she chirped.
Bulbasaur tilted her head up and grinned.
"Bulba!"
"So," Mewtwo asked, "what's your plan?"
Leaf and Red took a quick moment to dispose of the empty containers while Squirtle kept his eyes locked onto the professor's grandson.
"I'm sure you know I have a gym match coming up soon," Gary winked, "you wanna come watch?"
Feel free to drop a review, because Leaf and Mewtwo could use them to offer each other emotional support!