[Pokémon] LEGEND

I'm…sorry. My thoughts were most likely what offended it. I just thought that, after Deoxys, nothing good could come of Team Rocket, and, well, there was more to it that Mewtwo took to heart—

"Deoxys?" Denise repeated. "The thing that destroyed Pallet Town years ago? Team Rocket made that?"

It was accidental, but yes; it was their radio waves that went into space and mutated it.

"It was them," Aries repeated, his voice flat. Denise looked at him oddly; she was smarter than he gave her credit for, detecting the edge in his voice.

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I take it this is reference to the Pokemon Special/Adventures manga (haven't really read much of the manga but I heard about Giovanni and Deoxys interacting at one point)? If so, a pretty neat reference there. Can see you've been putting both anime and manga references and I don't mind canon cocktailing too much.
As for the dark-type "wet furball" that suddenly appeared, I'm kinda drawing a blank over what Pokemon it should be (Zorura/Zoroark is my first here). Another good chapter (and Mewtwo's appearance) here, looking forward to more!

Bay Alexison said:

I take it this is reference to the Pokemon Special/Adventures manga (haven't really read much of the manga but I heard about Giovanni and Deoxys interacting at one point)? If so, a pretty neat reference there. Can see you've been putting both anime and manga references and I don't mind canon cocktailing too much.
As for the dark-type "wet furball" that suddenly appeared, I'm kinda drawing a blank over what Pokemon it should be (Zorura/Zoroark is my first here). Another good chapter (and Mewtwo's appearance) here, looking forward to more!

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Actually, I don't read the manga, so if I made a reference to it it was completely unintentional. Also, I make references more for joking purposes than as actual parts of the story; I think the only substantial one was Mew mentioning Damos. And on that Dark-type furball... You're suspicions may or may not be confirmed by next chapter, but I will tell you that he's going to be a major character alongside Denise and Aries.

1.5. Stone Cold​

They did manage the trip to Cerulean City—a good long while later. Mew was no help psychically; she was too deep in thought to lend a helping hand—or brain cell, actually. Aries wanted to help, but his first two tries revealed that while he could lift people, he couldn't keep their bodies straight, and she ended up in positions she usually got in for a game of Twister.

"Some yards left, dear Arceus," she groaned. "I don't think I can even make that. The soles've already worn off of my sneakers." Aries looked at her curiously. He was just like her and Henry, covered in mud and dirt and sweat, but he didn't look mad about it at all, weirdly.

"Do you want me to try—"

"No I do not want you to try again. I have a spine for a reason; I don't want it to break, thank you." He made that kicked puppy face again. "That won't work, moron; I'm getting used to it now."

"Lucario, lu," Henry said, smirking at her knowingly. She didn't need Aries to translate for that.

"And no, I don't like him, Henry." Aries watched her for a few seconds, an odd expression on his face. "If you don't get out of my head—"

"Don't worry, I'm not reading your mind," he said coolly.

"How do I know you're not lying?"

His face didn't change, but she felt a little tingling at her left temple, like a Wurmple was trying to crawl through her skin. She slapped the side of her face instinctively. "Yeah! See? I said so!"

"I was proving a point," he said, scowling. "I can't invade your mind without you feeling it, strangely."

"Then… Then how I know Mew's not feeding you information?" she accused, even though Mew wasn't even paying them any attention.

"Mew is not as unscrupulous as you or me," he said simply. "It wouldn't, while I would."

"So you admit to not having morals," she said edgily. He shrugged.

"Of course. I'm not prideful or anything; I'll admit that I'm just human, that, like you, I can be selfish too, and I can be mean, and I can unintentionally hurt other people, but I can also make friends, like…you."

"What makes you think I'm your friend?"

He smirked. "I don't think an acquaintance would've stayed with me after facing Mewtwo. Any brave man would have pissed his pants and ran away—you stayed."

"Yeah—well—well—"

"Oh, what a perfectly biting comeback!"

She grabbed him by the collar, waving her fist warningly. "If you don't stop playing—" She froze when he turned his face away, his expression terrified, and decided to let him go. He didn't say anything, but she got the feeling it wasn't the first time he got roughed up.

"We're almost there, Denise," he said brightly, and she couldn't tell if he was faking or not. She wished the mind-reading shoe was on the other foot.

How should we get to the Johto region after this? Mew wondered all of a sudden, startling Denise.

"Space portal?" Aries suggested, eyes fixed on Cerulean City in the distance.

No; our movements are most likely being tracked, either by Silver or Cyrus, she said.

"Okay, I can believe either one of those creeps are watching us, but how? There aren't exactly cameras in the open fields," Denise pointed out.

"Yes, but there are satellites in space, many of which Team Galactic and Team Rocket manufactured. It's child's play for them to use the feed to see us."

"That means they can see Mew, doesn't it?" she asked. Mew shook her head.

Capturing psychics requires a very high-resolution camera because the energy we displace causes the molecules around us to vibrate faster in lens, which in turn makes them reflective, and the more powerful the psychic, the harder it is to decode this mirror. I believe that even for Giovanni, this will take a while, too long for them to track us if we just pop in and out of Cerulean.

"Well I'm sorry, but I don't wanna just pop in and out," Denise complained. "I'm tired and hungry and I need a shower bad."

"Luca," Henry said in agreement, trying to shake the mud from his fur to no avail.

We don't have the time to—

"Mew, please," Aries added. "Even if we were to go straight to Team Rocket's HQ, we'd be no match for them in this condition. Besides, we still have that mystery Pokémon to heal." Mew thought for a minute, then nodded. The rest of the walk was silent as they trudged across the grass, then it eased up a bit when they found the dirt pathway. Aries glanced at Denise, who was breathless, then at Henry, who was in the same condition.

"Why don't you return him to his PokeBall?" he asked.

"We—huh—lost it—ah—long time ago," she replied between breaths, trying to ignore the stinging pain of her bare heel coming in contact with sharp rocks in the dirt.

"Hm," he murmured thoughtfully.

"That's—hah—not fair, you know," she said, stopping. He stopped too, and so did Henry and Mew.

"What?"

"You're over there acting all mysterious and crap, hah, not telling me what you're thinking when you can always tell what I'm thinking."

"It isn't fair, is it?" he conceded, brushing his hair from his eyes. "Alright then; for every thought of yours that I see out of line, you get to 'see' one of mine."

"Then you already owe me, like, a hundred!"

He frowned a little, then smirked. "Let's start with two, but let's keep walking." They started again, Cerulean City so close she could smell the seawater in it and almost distinguish the people and Pokémon at the outskirts.

"Okay…. Um…" She had a lot of things she wanted to ask, but she had to pick two. "Where are you from really, 'cause since you're a human like me, you're not born or created or whatever like a Legendary."

He didn't answer for a while, walking forward purposefully. Then, "I'm from Pallet Town, Denise."

"The thing in Pallet Town… You are from there, then; you didn't answer me before. I mean, I can understand why, but…"

"What." His voice was somewhat edgier.

"Nothing. And how did you meet Mew?"

"It saved my life," he replied.

"Legendaries save lives?"

"Of course; they do feel emotions, like regular people or Pokémon. Mew is actually very compassionate."

"Like I can tell," she muttered. Henry suddenly barked, running forward. Denise looked up and realized that they were a few feet away from the entrance; she could hear and see the hustle and bustle of Cerulean City. She chased after him, eager to make it to the Pokémon Center and the beds it held.

They made it there a few minutes before Aries and Mew did, bursting through the doors. The wall clock said it was ten minutes past three in the morning; the PokéCenter was very empty as a result, with only one Trainer and his Golem sitting in the chairs. Nurse Joy and her Chansey gasped when they barreled through and they recoiled a little when Denise went up to the counter. "We need a room for two," she demanded. Nurse Joy nodded after her shock wore off and started typing in the computer, which was when Aries showed up by himself.

"Good evening," he said, approaching their counter. Nurse Joy's Chansey looked at him strangely; he returned the look and she turned away a little too quickly. He pulled out the strange Pokémon's PokeBall and set it on the counter. "Can you please heal this Pokémon, and get us two rooms too?"

"She already asked for a room," Nurse Joy replied, checking her computer. "I'm sorry; usually, we separate boys and girls, but there's only one room available for you two."

"H-Huh?" She hadn't even realized she asked for a single room, and it turned out they had to share anyway? Nurse Joy reached under the counter and handed them a room key before taking Aries' PokeBall.

"This will be ready by morning," she said. "Goodnight, you two."

"Aagh!" Denise groaned, kicking the nearest chair and instantly recoiling in pain from the metal base. Henry had that kind of tense face that meant he wanted to laugh but held it in for her sake—and damn smart of him too, lest she kick him where he absolutely did not want to be kicked.

The room was at the end of a long hall; a few other doors were open, and Denise saw a lot of other Pokémon Trainers and their Pokémon. Some of them had Pokémon from other regions, which meant they travelled a long way. She wondered how it felt to always be moving, stopping just to fight a Gym, travelling around the region until you beat the Pokémon League and became Champion. Dee told her he made it to the eighth Gym, which meant he was eligible to fight the Elite Four, but that he stopped there. She wished she had asked him why.

Their room was plain with a wooden floor, white walls, a window, and twin beds on either side. There was a bathroom on one side; Denise was the first inside, locking the door to make sure Aries didn't try anything. She dropped her backpack and clothes and took a long, hot shower and she'll be damned if it didn't feel like the best thing in the world. She stayed under until the water going down the drain changed from muddy to clear and dried herself off, digging out a t-shirt and shorts from her bag. When she opened the door, Aries was sitting on the edge of the right bed laughing with Henry. A familiar Wurmple was curled up in the corner, fast asleep.

"Hey, what's so funny?" she asked. She got annoyed when they continued laughing for ten more seconds.

"Well, Henry had a fascinating story of you as a kid," he said, wiping his eyes. "Said that you tried giving mud pies to your first crush, and he thought it was chocolate until he saw the Wurmple Eggs—" He had to stop talking because he and Henry started laughing again. She threw her backpack at him angrily, causing him to fall to the floor.

"Go take a damn shower," she snapped, stomping over to her own bed and dropping onto it, fumbling with a rubber band and her hair. Aries was still laughing as he went into the bathroom, shutting the door. Henry sat at the foot of Aries' bed, chuckling under his breath. "Yeah, keep laughing and you won't get any breakfast."

"Lu," he said apologetically, but he didn't stop.

"At least apologize with a straight face!"

He coughed and cleared his throat. "Lucario."

"Fine, fine, whatever, I'll take that." She rolled over to face the wall. The room was silent save for the sound of the shower in the bathroom. She let her mind wander and it instantly returned to the events of that day. To be honest, those last twenty hours were the most interesting of her entire life. If I keep travelling with him, she thought, then there'll be a lot more interesting times, for sure. But then there's Silver to worry about, and Cyrus too, and…Mewtwo. She shivered at the thought of its name.

"Luca?" Henry said, concerned.

"I'm alright," she murmured, shaking her head. I can't be scared, 'cause then Henry'll get worried, she thought. And I don't need Henry to be any more worried than he already is for me. She heard the water shut off in the bathroom, then Aries asked if she had any spare clothes for him to sleep in. "They won't fit, midget," she called back.

"Doesn't matter," he replied. She sighed.

"Henry, give him a shirt and pants." She heard Henry go through her bag, then the bathroom door creaked open and shut again. A few minutes later, the door opened.

"Henry, you can go clean up now, although the shower's not that clean anymore," Aries said.

"Lucario."

"You're welcome." The door shut again and the shower turned on again. She heard Aries going through her bag and sat up instantly.

"Hey, you can't—"

"Hmm?" he asked, propping the window open and setting his wet cloak and clothes on the ledge. "I was just borrowing a towel." He looked a lot smaller without his cloak, like a twelve-year-old or thirteen-year-old. Actually…

"Hey, how old are you?"

"Me?" he said. "I'm sixteen."

Sixteen, she thought. Two years younger than me, and yet…

"'And yet he looks so small and fragile,'" he finished aloud, getting a towel and straightening up.

"Hey," she snapped. "You owe me a thought for that."

"Oh, yes," he conceded with a sigh, sitting on the edge of his bed and drying his hair. "Old habits are hard to break. What do you want to know?"

"Ugh… What do you think of me?" she asked without really thinking about it. He raised an eyebrow. "I can't tell with the way you act; it's like you never had a friend before."

"I do not know; friends do not constantly threaten other friends."

"I wasn't serious that time."

"Which time exactly? The thirteenth?" He smirked as she groaned. "You're my friend, yes. I haven't had a friend, by the way," he answered. "Not before Mew."

"Oh. Alright." Henry saved them from an awkward silence by emerging from the bathroom, a towel around his shoulders.

"Lucario!" he exclaimed happily, throwing his fists in the air.

"Anyway, I'm beat," she said quickly, pointing at the lamp on her bedside table. Henry finished drying himself off before flipping the lights off. The room instantly became dark with the moon and stars throwing a few bits of light on the floor. She pulled the covers up over her head, feeling Aries' eyes on her.

"Lu?" Henry said curiously.

"Go to sleep," she snapped, rolling over. Henry didn't say anything else, but she could still feel Aries' eyes on her until she fell into a dream-filled sleep.

——————

When Denise woke up, the sun was high in the sky. It looked like it was ten or eleven in the morning. She sat up yawning and saw that while Henry was sleeping at the foot of her bed, Aries' bed was made neatly and he was gone, although his clothes were still on the windowsill and the bathroom was open and empty. She was just about to go looking for him when the room's door opened and he showed up with three metal trays stacked on top of each other.

"I brought breakfast," he said brightly, which annoyed her to no ends. There was a small folding table in the corner of the room, which Denise set up. Aries chose the same breakfast for all of them, or maybe the PokéCenter had one breakfast: scrambled Pidgey eggs, Grumpig bacon, toast, and a bottle of orange juice. Mew woke up when they started eating and Aries gave her a slice of toast with some eggs.

It tastes like individual elements and molecules, she complained.

"Then don't eat it," Denise snapped, shoving as much of her eggs in her mouth as she could.

"Denise, you'll choke," Aries warned.

"Shut up," she said, swallowing. Henry pretended to be highly focused on balancing all of his eggs on his toast, staying out of the conversation.

"Fine," he sighed, taking a bite of his toast. She gave him a few angry looks between bites; it wasn't her fault she was freaking starving, and it didn't help that he acted like eating was just a pastime. He had to be hungry too, since they did the same things the other day, but he sure as hell didn't show it.

"Also," he continued, startling her a little. He set a PokeBall on the table. "I stopped by Nurse Joy on my way to the café and I reclaimed this."

Denise picked up the PokeBall and pressed the button. It popped open and a red beam shot out and onto the floor. When the light died down, the grey and red thing was back again, except this time it was dry and glaring at them with narrowed blue eyes. Who the hell are you all? it growled. It took Denise a few seconds to realize it was speaking telepathically, and a few more to realize that she'd become so desensitized to weird stuff that she wasn't surprised at all, although she still couldn't recognize the Pokémon.

"…I see," Aries murmured. "And where is he now?"

What? the Pokémon said, confused. It stared at Aries for a long while before it muttered, Psychic, of course.

"What the hell are you two talking about?" Denise demanded. "And what the hell are you?"

Sick of dirty humans, I am, it snapped, lurching to its feet. It was tall, Aries' height, with grey fur all over its body and long red fur like hair on its head.

"He is a Zoroark," Aries said. "A Unova Pokémon."

A Unova Pokémon? she thought. No wonder I didn't recognize it.

I'm the Zoroark, idiot, he snapped, apparently offended. The king of my pack.

"You were," he corrected softly. The Zoroark narrowed his eyes at Aries.

Look, do you want to take this outside, because I have zero qualms about taking a human down and beating your scrawny little—

"ENOUGH!" she shouted, causing both of them to fall silent and look at her. "You can argue and pick fights all you want but not when I'm eating, or else you'll be pickin' a fight with me, and trust me when I say you'll lose that one. Do I make myself clear?" she snapped at the Zoroark. He still scowled, but he went to a corner and sat down, not making another sound. "Good," she huffed, turning back to her breakfast.

Okay, well, maybe I won't fight every human, the Zoroark muttered.

"Denise is the one opponent I believe even Arceus would lose to," Aries laughed, earning a glare from her.

"Lucario, Luca, Lucario," Henry said, finally adding in his two cents. Aries laughed again.

"'She was always the one saving Dee and Derrick from playground bullies in elementary school. Half of them can't have kids of their own today.'"

"You might join them," she warned, bringing Henry back to his eggs-and-toast monomania.

"In any case," he said, "what's your name, friend?"

Hah! I'm not your friend, the Zoroark grumbled, turning his back to them so that he looked like a fluffy red pillow. She vaguely wondered if it was possible to smother a pillow.

His name is Theophilus, Mew supplied.

"A very profound name," he said somewhat admirably. Theophilus snorted, but even Denise could tell he was pleased at that. "What happened to you, Theophilus?" Aries asked. He got no response, and he apparently respected Theophilus' privacy more than Denise's, because he didn't try to pry. "Please tell me; I did try to help you by bringing you to the Pokémon Center, you know."

Fat load of good that'll do me, what with Val still hot on my— He cut himself off, writhing a little in his spot.

"Who is Val?" Denise asked, and of course, she didn't get a response. Aries suddenly gasped, taking up Theophilus' PokeBall.

"I forgot to release you," he said. "Hold on—"

"Yeah, hold on," she said, putting her hand on his to stop him. He looked up at her in interest. "Don't release him just yet."

"What?" What? Aries and Theophilus said at the same time, although the latter yelled it, leaping to his feet and turning back to them. The hell are you talking about, "Don't release him just yet?"

"I'm talking about what I'm talking about," she said, unperturbed. That seemed to scare him and Aries and Henry more than if she was mad. "You're really annoying me, and 'cause I have morals enough to not attack someone that's just had their butt kicked, I won't touch you—however, I will keep you until I find your problem and solve it myself, just to get a word of gratitude out of you."

He made a grimace so bad she assumed that for him, apologizing was tantamount to suicide. And what if I don't wanna apologize, huh?

She smiled. "You get to be my Pokémon." Theophilus completely froze.

"Lucario," Henry said, shaking his head.

'If there was ever a punishment worse than death,' Mew translated, taking bites from Aries' tray while he was watching the exchange between her and Theophilus.

"Indeed," Aries agreed.

Alright, alright! Theophilus said, throwing his claws in the air. I give up! Fine, you guys can help, he sighed. But that doesn't make me like you trash any more. And you can't win against Val.

"Who's Val?" Aries asked this time, putting his hand on her arm to stop her from rushing Theophilus.

Valentine, he repeated with both distaste and fear, is the guy who wants my head on a platter—and my big brother.

——————

Denise and Aries checked out of the PokéCenter a few hours later when their clothes were clean and dry. (For whatever reason, he had washed her shirt and jeans too, which she appreciated since she didn't have money to buy a new outfit but didn't thank him out loud for.) Theophilus whined about it while they were out on an empty street near the entrance to Cerulean Cave, trying to figure out how to get to Johto.

"Plane tickets are out of the question," Aries said, Mew in his arms. At Denise's badgering, she had changed into an Eevee.

"Why? 'Cause you're broke?" Denise asked, ignoring Theophilus' ringing protests in her head. Aries did too, although he did look at Theophilus several times.

"No, I'm just scared of heights," he said very plainly.

"What? With all that crap that happened to you years ago, you're scared of heights? What, are you afraid the moon'll fall on you?"

"Lucario, Luca, Lucario?" Henry asked.

"I believe either Denise or Theophilus would go crazy, in that case," Aries said.

"What?" she asked.

"Henry suggested a boat."

"I don't like this," she complained. "Why don't you teach me how to understand Pokémon, at the very least?"

"Hmm," he hummed thoughtfully. "It isn't that hard, and with the strength of the bond you and Henry could… Alright, I will, but on the way."

"Why don't we travel by Rapidash?" she suggested.

"They're hard to find; harder to tame."

"You can't…?"

"Some things are immune to even my boundless charm," he said, although she couldn't tell if he was joking or not.

Even so, Mew said, we can't ride Rapidash across the water.

"What about teleportation?" she asked. "I mean, that's a Psychic-type move, isn't it?"

"Maybe in a different time," Aries said, "but right now, with all of this baggage… And besides, teleportation becomes iffy after a certain amount of mass; you're more likely to teleport and leave a few extremities behind."

"Like?"

"Well… How well would you fare without, say, your right arm?"

This is stupid! Theophilus exclaimed, getting a sharp look from Henry this time. Oh, like I'm scared of a Psychic-type with no Psychic-type abilities, he scowled, crossing his arms over his bushy chest.

"Luca," Henry snapped, turning to him with his fists clenched.

You can't hurt me, Theophilus said.

"Lucario," Henry said bitterly, cracking his knuckles. Denise grabbed his arm.

"I'm all for you knockin' his brains out, Henry, but he may actually be useful against you-know-who and you-know-what, so spare him, please?"

Henry moved away from Theophilus, although he kept a grimace on the whole time. "I know!" Denise said. "Warp pad!"

"Warp pad?" Aries repeated, confused.

"You know, that crap Team Rocket invented that'll take you anywhere in seconds!"

"Doesn't that entail—I don't know—finding and infiltrating a Team Rocket base?"

"We can do that, no sweat."

Yes, "sweat," Mew countered. Even if we don't consider Silver, who is one of their stronger Trainers, the Executives are currently in Kanto, and they make for strong protection.

"But we have you," Denise said. "And Henry and this wacko here."

Who says I'm helping you? Theophilus snorted.

"Can you, please?" Aries asked.

No, he said. I'm not gonna help out any humans because you all are some useless, selfish bastards and I'm ten times better off without any of you buggin' me! he yelled before he vanished. Like, vanished vanished—he completely disappeared a second later. Then:

"He's still here," Aries said quietly.

"What is he, invisible?"

"Something like that; he is creating an illusion for our physical eyes, but my mind's eye can still perceive his thoughts. We can't touch him though," he said when she started kicking where Theophilus was standing seconds ago.

Frustrated, she pulled out his PokeBall and pressed the return button. The red flash scattered everywhere for a minute before finally catching Theophilus' form, pulling him back inside. "So we're going to a Team Rocket base?"

Aries thought for a long while. "I can't think of anything better, so…"

"Lucario," Henry shrugged.

This is madness, Mew said, but she was outvoted.

"Then it's settled," Denise said. "Let's start looking."

The interaction between Denise and Aries in the beginning was fun. I do like after Aries revealed he's sixteen and he hadn't had any friends besides Mew she started to feel slight sympathy towards him.

So I was right the Pokemon the group found was Zoroark. Ouch over his brother wanting his head, though. Curious the reason for that.

Mew vanishing at the end was amusing. And the group going to a TR base sounds like things will be picking up fast again soon. Looking forward to that!

1.6. Ancient History​

After everyone (except Mew) agreed on looking for a Team Rocket base, they split apart, Denise, Henry, Aries, and Mew searching around Cerulean for any information on a base. They reunited three hours later in front of the Bike Ship looking as desolate as when they started.

"No information, huh?" Denise sighed.

"No," Aries said.

"Lu," Henry said.

Nothing, Mew said.

"For a mafia group, they're pretty low-key," she said, shaking her head. "Anyway, I'm hungry." She checked her wallet, which only had a couple of dollars inside.

"I'm broke," Aries shrugged.

"Luca."

"Then what do we do?" She looked around and saw two Trainers with a Houndour and Rapidash battling. At the end, the losing Rapidash's Trainer gave the Houndour's Trainer thirty dollars.

"Battle?" Aries suggested, following her eyes. "I mean, I'm not a Trainer, but you and Henry could…"

"Battling!" she exclaimed. "I forgot that Cerulean City has a Gym! I could go there and get a Badge right now!"

"Denise—"

"It'll be quick, I promise!" She took off with Henry behind her, searching for the Gym. It was easy to find: a large building near the center of the city with a Dewgong statue on the front. She burst through the doors into the main area. The Gym was as spacious as the one in Pewter, except instead of rocks and dirt, it had a large swimming pool in the center and a lifeguard's seat at the far end with wet bleachers for whatever audience there might be. In the front were two pillars like in the Pewter Gym, though, and there was a man leaning against one of that looked a lot like—

"Bill?" she asked, pointing at him. He stared at her in confusion.

"My name's Billy," he said. She stared back, completely caught off-guard. Is this another Nurse Joy thing? she thought. What is this, a cloning project? Billy looked at the Gym. "Anyway, this is the Cerulean Gym, and the Gym Leader's Misty up there. This Gym uses Water-type Pokémon, so it'd be smart of you to use Electric-type or Grass-type Pokémon. If you beat this Gym, you'll receive the Cascade Badge from her."

"Alright," Denise said. "You ready, Henry?"

"Luca!" he said, pumped. They ran forward to the southern edge of the pool, which was when the girl on the lifeguard's tower jumped down to the northern side. She looked a little younger than Denise with dark red hair and a blue jacket over an orange one piece swimsuit.

"You're the newest challenger?" she asked.

"Yeah, obviously."

"Well, I'm Misty, and I'm sure Billy already explained the Gym rules to you, so we'll get started."

Billy sighed and walked to the eastern end of the pool. "This battle is between Gym Leader Misty and…"

"Denise."

"…and Denise. Both Trainers will use three Pokémon each, each being allowed to substitute as they want, and the battle is over when a Trainer's Pokémon are unable to battle or a Trainer forfeits. Now, get on with it."

Misty pulled a PokeBall from her pocket. "Lapras, I choose you!" she announced, pressing the button. The red light landed in the pool and a Lapras surfaced.

"Henry," Denise said. He nodded and jumped forward onto the closest safety line, balancing on his toes. "You first."

Misty raised her eyebrows. "Alright, then. Lapras, use Rain Dance!"

"La!" her Lapras sang, raising its head to the ceiling. Dark clouds suddenly manifested, and in an instant a heavy rain was falling over the Gym. While Billy pulled out an umbrella and Misty was already dressed for water, Denise felt her clothes getting soaked again. She hoped the rain was clean at the very least.

"Now Lapras, Surf!"

Her Lapras raised its flippers and drew the water up to eight feet high, throwing it towards Henry; he tensed before leaping into the air, although Denise was not nearly as he fast and was thrown onto her back. "Lucario!" he said apologetically.

"It doesn't matter!" she called back, pushing her wet hair from her face. "Aura Sphere!"

Henry, still in the air, pulled his paws back and shot a ball of bright blue energy at Lapras. Lapras, astonished at the speed, was hit head-on and disappeared underwater.

"Lapras!" Misty called.

"Lapras," Lapras said, surfacing with a nasty bruise on its head.

"Lapras, Surf again!"

Lapras used Surf again, but this time Henry was just coming down and was therefore caught in it. When the wave died down, Henry was gone. Denise stared at the surface; she could see his shadow in it. "Henry!" she shouted. "You know what to do!"

"He's underwater," Misty said. "He can't hear—"

Henry leapt from the water at Lapras' end and grabbed its neck. Surprised, it didn't have a reaction when he flipped it over his head and onto dry land, attacking it with Close Combat. It couldn't defend on land or with its flippers, so it took Henry's beating easily. Suddenly, Lapras dissolved into red light, returning to Misty's PokeBall. "What happened? Decided it was too weak?" Denise taunted. Misty swapped PokeBalls, completely serious now.

"Golduck!" She released a Golduck onto the field. It eyed Henry dangerously.

"Henry, Close Combat!"

"Disable!" Misty cried when Henry was inches away. Golduck's eyes glowed through the sheets of rain and Henry froze mid-punch.

"Henry?"

"Lu," he said, shaking his head and throwing another punch. He froze again, looking confused.

"Use Psychic," Misty said. Golduck's eyes glowed again as a pink light surrounded Henry. His jaw clenched in frustration as he tried to break free, then it shot him all the way back into the pool. Henry just barely managed to catch himself on the edge, landing in front of Denise.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Lucario," he said, glaring at Golduck.

"Henry, use Swords Dance." Henry closed his eyes in concentration and several ethereal swords manifested around him, circling him until he was glowing with energy. "Now, Extremespeed." He vanished, moving too quickly for her to see.

"Golduck, spread your Psychic wide to catch him!" Misty ordered. Golduck's eyes glowed again as it spun around, searching. Denise bit her lip. Make it, she thought, please make it—

"Luca!" Henry shouted, coming into view a few feet away from Golduck. It laughed triumphantly before throwing him up into the center of the arched ceiling with a loud thud! Henry gasped in pain as it began falling. Denise looked at Golduck worriedly; it was biding its time, ready to throw him again. She needed a way to beat his Psychic; damn, if only Henry could use Psychic too—

But Misty and her Golduck don't know he can't use Psychic, she thought. "Henry…use Psychic."

He landed at the edge of the pool, looking at her in disbelief. She wished that she could be telepathic like Aries, but instead she looked at him pleadingly, hoping he'd agree. His eyes widened and he gave her a thumbs-up; her shoulders fell in relief. He focused on Misty's Golduck, his eyes glowing bright red and his appendages floating in the air. Her Golduck flinched and covered itself in preparation for…nothing. When nothing happened it dropped its guard, surprised, which was when Henry lunged at it with a point-blank Aura Sphere. It hit her Golduck in the stomach, throwing it back a few feet, and he grinned as he charged it again and attacked.

"Golduck, Psychic!" Misty tried, but Golduck couldn't focus with Henry attacking him in every direction with paws and feet. He finally relented when Golduck was shaky on its feet, webbed fists clenched feebly. "Water Pu—"

"Shadow Claw!" Denise interrupted. Henry struck with Shadow Claw once, forcing Golduck on one knee. "Again!" Again. "Again!" Again.

"Disable!" Golduck's eyes glowed and Henry froze in the middle of his fourth attack. "Psychic!" Golduck's eyes glowed again and Henry went flying into the far western wall of the Gym hard enough to send bits of plaster flying.

"Extremespeed!" Denise called. Henry hit the ground and disappeared; Golduck tried to catch him with Psychic, but his waves might've just missed because Henry slammed into him seconds later, throwing him into the bleachers with a crash! "Finish it off with Dragon Pulse!" Henry grunted as he formed a ball of blue, red, and gold energy, and as soon as Golduck looked up, he struck it. Golduck cried out once before tumbling off of the bleachers and to the ground in a limp pile.

"Golduck is unable to continue," Billy said unenthusiastically. She missed Bill's passionate refereeing. "The winner is Lucario."

As Misty returned her Golduck, Henry shuffled back to Denise. "We did it," she said, holding her fist out. He bumped her fist with his, a weak smile on his face. Misty sent out her Lapras again.

"Lapras, Surf," she said, even as the rain above faded into a light drizzle. Denise wrung her hair out gratefully as Henry turned ahead, facing the wave that approached them from the other side of the field. He moved out of the way, but he was slower than before.

"Henry, are you good?" Denise asked him.

"Lu," he said, nodding. She expected that; he was never a person to admit when he was beaten.

"Dragon Pulse again."

"Lapras, dodge!" Misty tried, but her Lapras was still injured from before. Henry's attack hit it in the face, stunning it; he moved closer and dealt it a good old fashioned fist to the face. Her Lapras collapsed into the water and didn't surface again; Misty returned it and pulled out her last PokeBall. "Starmie, use Rapid Spin!"

The red light her PokeBall created shot through the air and slammed into Henry's head; he stumbled before tumbling into the water, followed by Misty's Starmie. It picked him up with Psychic and threw him so far back Denise had to catch him lest he bowl into her. "Henry?" she asked, shaking his shoulders. He groaned, and as soon as she released him he crumpled to the ground.

"Lucario is unable to continue, the winner is Starmie," Billy said. Denise tugged him to one of the pillars in the lobby and propped him up against it.

"Alright, rest until I win this thing." She walked back to the pool and fingered the other PokeBall in her pocket. Arceus give me strength, she thought before pulling it out and pressing the button. The red light shot out and landed in front of her, disappearing seconds later. Misty and Billy looked in interest at Denise's choice. "Theophilus, I really need you to battle for me."

There it goes, right there! Humans forcing Pokémon to battle in some stupid game! He started up right off the bat, crossing his arms over his chest. Denise tried hard not to roll her eyes or sigh.

"I'm not forcing you, I'm asking you. Please? I need the money from it."

It's my choice, huh? I choose not to, he said, dropping to the floor and crossing his legs. She clenched her fists and glanced at Misty, who was watching them in interest.

"Is that a Psychic-type Pokémon?" she asked, pointing at Theophilus.

"You could say that," Denise said, but in reality she had no idea what his type was. "Theophilus, just this once—please—I'll do anything in return."

His hair bristled. Anything, you say?

"Uh-huh." Arceus knows I'll regret it, she thought. Theophilus didn't move for a while, then he stood up, pointing a red claw at her.

I never forget, keep that in mind. I'll do this and this alone—for the next two minutes, I'm your Pokémon.

"Two minutes," she repeated bitterly.

It'll take me less than that, actually, to beat something like this, he said, cracking his knuckles.

"But wait—I don't even know your moves, or your type—"

Doesn't matter; I'm still not taking orders from a damn human.

A little arrogant of you, she thought dryly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Alright then, do your thing."

Theophilus looked towards the sky as a sudden blast of heat filled the room. Misty flinched; her Starmie slid deeper into the water. Within a second, he was moving so fast he was a grey blur headed straight towards Misty's Starmie.

"Starmie, dodge!" Misty shouted, but before it could even move, Theophilus struck. Denise had to gasp; he was fast—faster than Henry—and strong too, leaping back after leaving a deep score in Starmie's purple skin. "Ice Beam!" Starmie rose from the water and spun as it released a beam of bright blue energy. Theophilus used Flamethrower; the two attacks met in the middle and dissolved into a cloud of steam.

You're insulting my great strength, he said as his body emitted dark smoke. The smoke moved in Starmie's direction; it used Rapid Spin, trying to scatter the smoke, but it was consumed very quickly. The smoke vanished seconds later and Starmie was left bobbing on the pool's surface.

"Starmie?" Misty's Starmie righted itself, wobbling a little. "Psychic!" Seconds passed but nothing happened. "Starmie, try Psychic again." This time, Starmie's gem glowed, but nothing happened to Theophilus.

"Theophilus?" Denise asked. He shook his fur out, hands on his hips.

As if that'd work against me, he snorted. He put his hands together and formed a ball of whirling purple energy. He fired his Shadow Ball at Starmie, who caught it psychically and threw it back; he dispelled the energy with a swipe of his claws and lunged forward, a Horror movie-type smile on his face.

"Starmie, use Water Gun!" Misty commanded. The attack was nullified by Theophilus' Flamethrower, then he was within breathing space (assuming Starmie breathed). He laughed aloud before hitting it with Shadow Claw, forcing it underwater, and he followed it down.

"Theophilus!" Denise called. A few bubbles rose to the surface, then she and Misty had to move away from the water as a series of attacks came through, straying onto the Trainer's posts. Denise was almost frozen, barbecued, and fileted before the attacks stopped. Both Trainers stared at the water anxiously.

"Is it a tie?" Billy wondered.

"Are they…?" Denise wondered.

Suddenly there was a boom! and half of the pool rose into a giant wave, splashing free and wetting the entire Gym. Denise groaned as she started wringing her hair out again; Misty wiped her eyes before staring into the pool. Something jumped out onto dry land. Two minutes and two seconds; I'm getting shabby, Theophilus said, holding Starmie's unconscious body between his claws.

"S-Starmie!" Misty cried, returning her Pokémon. Theophilus snorted, bending over and shaking his thick fur dry.

"Starmie is unable to battle; the winner is…whatever the hell that thing is," Billy said, flicking his hand in Theophilus' direction. He bristled angrily, crossing his arms. "The winner of the battle is Denise."

"That was an interesting fight," Misty said. Denise didn't expect anything else, but suddenly there was applause from the bleachers.

"Truly," Aries said, smiling. Denise ignored him for the time being and approached Misty; Misty held up the shiny Cascade Badge before dropping it in Denise's palm, followed by two hundred and fifty dollars. Denise admired the Badge for two seconds before chucking it at Aries; it hit him in the forehead, causing him to slip off of the soaked bleachers and onto the ground with a thud.

"I could've used you-know-who when you-know-who-the-bastard-is wouldn't listen," she said heatedly. Aries smiled apologetically, rubbing the red mark on his forehead.

"It's not here," he said, and Denise realized that he was alone. "It found a base and sent me to tell you—very interesting battle, by the way. Ingenious. And to think you tamed the untamable Theophilus—"

"I didn't," she said bitterly. She heard him cackling behind her and angrily returned him to his PokeBall. Aries' eyes scanned her face.

"You promised him something," he said.

"You owe me!" she said angrily. "You owe me a thought, you freaking brain-peeper."

"Well then?"

"…I can't think of one right now, but I will." She shoved the Badge in her pocket and stared at the money. "At least I can get new clothes now."

———————

"Where's that base?" Denise asked, shoving her worn-out clothes into her backpack. Aries didn't hear her at first, intent on his chocolate wafer strawberry something-or-other Castelia Cone that she was surprised they sold in Kanto and more so surprised that one of 'em costed eight dollars. "Aries!"

"Huh?" He looked at her.

"The base!"

"Oh, um, right." He looked at the Thrift Shop she just visited. "Secondhand clothing?"

"Shut up; it's the best I can do without blowing all of our cash." she argued. She did manage to pick up some normal, minimally-worn clothes: a blue hoodie, cargo shorts, and a newish pair of Running Shoes. "And you're getting off-topic!"

"I apologize," he said, looking anything but sorry. Then he blinked, looking to her side. "Where's Henry?"

"Pokémon Center."

"We can't go without him; there might be Grunts to fight."

"We have Mew!"

"I don't like pushing it to fight," he said apologetically. "You know it already has so much responsibility."

"I guess you're right," she grumbled. "Then what do we do in the meantime?"

He looked at her pocket. "I think we should get to know Theo."

"Theo—you mean Theophilus?"

"Yes; I believe Theo is less of a mouthful, don't you?" His smile was dazzlingly sickening.

"I'm not trying to get friendly with a rat that's had too many trips to the hair salon."

You're the only rat here! he said, appearing beside Aries.

"How did you get out?" Denise snapped.

PokeBalls can't hold me!

"You must have hit the button when you leaned against that pillar," Aries said, pointing at the pillar next to her.

"I should've tossed it when I had the chance," she sighed.

Hey! Remember, you owe me something!

"Yeah, yeah, I remember. The hell do you want?"

Hm… He actually thought about it for a minute. You got money, right?

"Sure."

Take me to the best restaurant here.

"And that is—?"

"House of Staryu," Aries answered. She looked at him evenly. "We passed by a lot of businesses searching for the base."

"House of Staryu… I remember we had that place in Pewter. It was like this real fancy seafood place for people and their Pokémon… Dude, that'll cost all of my money!"

Exactly, he grinned. How's it feel now, using Pokémon to fight your battles? I'm getting my reward, or else. He flashed his claws dangerously.

"Fine!" she said. "Just you—"

"I'm a bit hungry too," Aries interjected. She gave him a murderous look. "On second thought, I'm not all that hungry."

"You're a conniving, devious Rattata, aren't you?"

Aw, you flatter me, he said.

"Wish I could flatten you." It didn't help that he continued smirking at her. She didn't think she could hate a Pokémon so much, but there he was.

——————

Wow, that was good! Theo said on their way back to the PokéCenter. That Dragalge Soup and the boiled Clauncher with the Tentacruel Sushi Surprise—who knew poison could taste so good distilled?

"It better have been delicious for two hundred dollars," Denise grumbled, hands in her pockets.

Don't act like that! he snapped, but the grin never left his face. I saved you something out of the goodness of my heart!

"Fish bones may count as food for you, but not for people."

Ingrate, he muttered. She moved past him into the PokéCenter before she tried to throttle him. There were a dozen trainers in the waiting room, only two of them with Pokémon, and Nurse Joy wasn't at the counter, but her Chansey was.

"Chansey?" Denise called. She looked up from her rapid typing on the computer screen. "My Lucario—is he healed?"

"Chansey, chance," she said. Denise turned to Aries.

"She said yes, but he still needs some rest," he said.

"But I don't have any patience left. Where is he?"

"Chansey!" she said, shaking her head determinedly.

"Show me!"

"Chan!"

"She takes her job very seriously," Aries noted.

"Shut up with the admiration and show me where Henry is."

"As you wish, Master," he smiled, bowing. She made sure to punch him in the head on his way up. Chansey looked like she wanted to stop them, but a Trainer came up to her then, distracting her. Aries took the opportunity to lead Denise into the recovery room. There were several other Pokémon in there, like Volbeat and Kangaskhan and Glalie, but the only one she saw was Henry in the far right corner.

"Henry!" she yelled, maneuvering around the beds in the room to reach his. He was on his side in a peaceful sleep that would've been cute if he was a Riolu—he wasn't, though, so she grabbed him by the shoulders and shook him wildly. "Get up get up get up!"

"Luca! Luca!" he gasped, eyes bouncing around his skull. She released him and he fell to the ground, disoriented.

"Welcome back."

"Lu," he sighed, getting to his feet. She held up the Cascade Badge for him; his eyes widened and he grinned. She high-fived him.

"That much closer to being Champion, Henry!"

"Lucario!"

Aries and Theo were in the waiting room when they returned. Aries smiled at Henry. "It's good to see you back in commission, Henry."

"Luca."

"I'm sorry to be putting you in danger so quickly after your recovery, but we've found the Team Rocket base, and there is most likely going to be resistance in getting to the warp pad."

"Lucario!" he said, pumped.

"I don't think he minds," Denise said.

"Well then, if that's settled—"

Yeah, if that's settled, I'll just be staying here, Theo interrupted, dropping into one of the chairs.

"No you're—" She gasped as she checked her pockets and came up empty. He waved his PokeBall in the air.

Looking for this? I took it when you were changing clothes earlier.

"You little—"

"Denise, we can't force him," Aries said, shrugging.

"Fine, I guess we can't. Stay here if you don't want to help save the world," she snapped at Theo.

I was never a hero.

"Ugh! Aries, show me where the damn base is." He tilted his head to the side, smiling. "I swear I'll beat the grin off of your face."

Abrasiveness is never attractive, Theo chimed in.

"Yeah, 'cause obviously you have herds of women."

"This is awfully petty, Denise," Aries said, shaking his head at her. She clenched her fists but held her tongue. "Let's go."

"Lucario," Henry agreed, flexing his shoulder.

"Yeah," Denise said, throwing angry look at Theo, who was checking his claws. "Let's go."

The gym battle I thought was a fun read and we got to see Lucario an Theo in action! Like the use of Aura Sphere when Lucario used it and the one mention of Theo having a grin like in horror movies. I would thought though Misty would figure out Theo is a dark type, or at least that none of the psychic attacks are working on him (thought she stopped commanding Starmie to use.Psychic immediately after). It was amusing Denise took Theo to an expensive restaurant in exchange for owing him something. Looking forward to more!

@Bay, how come you didn't call him Henry in the post? It feels a little weird seeing him being called Lucario when I always call him Henry XP I dunno

Also, chapters will come faster, as I've finished the story ^^ and can post as I edit them.

1.7. Morals Never Learned​

"The warp panel is in the Bike Shop, according to Mew."

"Good," Denise sighed, pushing her hair back from her face as they trudged down the empty streets, him, her, Henry, and Theo in his PokeBall, which Denise reclaimed through excessive force. Henry recommended that they travel at night to avoid any crowds and ensure that if any Team Rocket members attempted to follow or confront them, they would be obvious. As such, it was dark as they moved towards the Bike Shop, which was locked and bolted very well.

"Allow me," Aries said when Denise attempted to use a monkey wrench to smash the doorknob. "Although I am curious where you got that from."

"I found it," she said, tossing it aside. Henry gasped and calmly walked away to wallow in pain in the grass; apparently, it landed on his foot. Aries focused on the lock's innards and shifted them as if inserting a key. The lock clicked and the door swung open. "That was actually pretty cool," Denise commented. "I didn't know you could do that."

He can't, Mew interrupted before Aries could speak. But I can. Denise and Henry burst out laughing while Aries turned away.

"What's the situation inside?" Aries asked Mew, looking at the rows of hanging Bicycles. Mew reverted to its original form and hovered behind the counter.

There are no visible defenses; that must mean that Team Rocket is guarding the other end of the warp panel, it said. The cash register uses a passcode to unlock that door— it pointed out a backroom with a mechanical lock with its tail, —which has to contain the warp panel, as the other one only has bike parts and tools.

"Have you found the passcode then?" He joined it behind the counter. Mew shook its head. Aries sighed, then Denise pushed him away to look at the register's buttons. "Denise?"

Her hand hovered above it for a moment, uncertain, then she entered a six-digit passcode. The door's lock clicked and it opened a crack. Aries looked at her, eyebrows raised. "How did you know?"

"I only put 1-2-3-4-5-6," she said, blinking. He exhaled in understanding.

'Team Rocket must be full of geniuses,' Henry commented sardonically.

"I doubt that they would make it this easy by accident," Aries said. "If it truly is this easy, then what Mew said is right and we will be facing the members on the other side."

"We're ready for them!" Denise high-fived Henry. "Right?"

"Perhaps not that ready, but we are as well." Aries glanced at Mew, who nodded. The four of them approached the door and pulled it open; inside were a few extra Bikes and cardboard boxes lining the walls.

"Where's the warp pad?" Denise asked. Just then, Mew groaned, clenching its head.

"Mew, are you alright?" Aries asked worriedly.

The warp field's energy is affecting me, it said, shaking its head. Don't you three feel it as well?

"Now that you mention it, my skin feels tingly," Denise said, rubbing her arms.

'I'm getting a headache,' Henry complained. 'Don't you have one too?'

"Now that you mention it… Although, I thought it arose from Denise's presence."

"Shut up!" she snapped. Aries chuckled, but his mind was working; if Henry had a headache instead of just some vague sense of the warp field, then he sensed more of the energy than a non-psychic or non-Psychic-type should've. Perhaps he did have some Psychic-type abilities. He ceased his laughter when he noticed Mew still reeling.

Mew, you're being affected more than you let on, he said. Mew shook him off.

I'm fine; let's just find the warp panel.

They searched around, moving boxes and bikes but finding nothing other than the occasional Spinarak, which put Denise on edge. Aries couldn't look into her mind to see but it seemed that she was scared of arachnids; he wanted to laugh, but then again she would break his neck for that, and he was quite fond of living. "We found nothing," she said, kicking a bike onto its side.

"Lu," Henry sighed.

"Maybe this was just some wild goose chase set up by Silver? That bastard's real cunning; he might've just done it to set us off."

"Then this was for naught," Aries sighed. Appearing highly frustrated, Denise chucked Theo's PokeBall at the wall. It ricocheted off of the concrete and hit Mew in the forehead instead, causing it to fall into a heap of discarded bike repair tools. Denise gasped.

"Oh my Arceus—Mew I'm really sorry!"

Mew appeared to have momentarily lost consciousness. "Why would you do that?" he whined to Denise.

"Why do you sound like a six-year-old?" she countered, taking up the PokeBall. There was a crackling sound, then the red beam shot out of the center and ricocheted around the room, giving each of them painful bruises on their forehead identical to Mew's before Theo finally slammed bodily into the far wall, loosing the knickknack shelf above him.

'I didn't know a PokeBall could do that,' Henry said.

"I didn't know that light could cause bruises," Aries muttered petulantly. A small glass vase on top of the shelf wiggled before toppling, except it didn't fall; instead, it hung at a precarious forty-five degree angle. The wall clicked and then a small square part of it no more than twenty-four inches around opened up at the bottom, revealing a green pad inside of the niche.

"People still do that crap?" Denise wondered, pointing at the vase.

"Just thank Arceus that they do," Aries replied, grasping Theo's clawed hand. "And I thank you as well, dear Theophilus, for without you this all would have borne no fruit."

I did what again? he asked, dazed. Aries laughed.

"Well?" Denise said. Aries looked back at her.

"Well what?"

"Well let's do it to it. Come on, Henry." She picked Mew up carefully with both hands and crouched down, crawling into the small space. The warp pad emitted a strong green light that enveloped her; she looked surprised, then the light completely consumed her, and when it was gone so was she.

'Denise,' Henry said worriedly, quickly following her and leaving just Aries and Theo. Aries pushed Theophilus forward; luckily, he was still too out of it to protest, but the both of them made for a very tight fit in the small space. Aries got a mouthful of Theo's fur as he tried to squeeze in beside him, and Theo's claws were shoved into a very sensitive area.

The green light surrounded them, intensifying his headache until he felt physically sick. He had the terrible feeling of being shoved through a too-small pipe and felt his bones shift and grind against in each other in response. There was another bottoming-out feeling like he was on a rollercoaster that suddenly dropped, and then it all disappeared as they landed bodily in a very dark and very cold room.

"Denise? Henry? Mew? Theo?" he spoke aloud, hearing his voice echo. His mind was still highly disoriented but he had the vague sense that the room was empty. He grasped Theo's arms, pulling him up. "Theo, can you please give some light?"

Theo's eyelids flickered, then he opened his eyes. Being a Dark-type, they worked almost like flashlights, illuminating a small space around them with a bluish hue. Ugh… Where are we?

"I'm going to assume that this is somewhere within Team Rocket's base."

Where's the loud annoying one and the quiet one? he asked, snorting.

"That's what I'm trying to find out." Theo looked around, illuminating a dirty linoleum floor and boxes full of old and broken machine parts. There was a door on the other side of the room, which Theo immediately pounced on. "Wait! We don't know what's outside."

Well I'm not going to stay inside! He pushed the door open and disappeared down the corridor; Aries followed him and found a hallway full of warp panels. It seemed that Denise, Henry, and Theo took one, but it was hard to tell which of the seven that they used; perhaps they even used different ones. His mind reeled from all of the possibilities; he heard that Team Rocket's HQ was labyrinthine, but that was just ridiculous!

Suddenly, the panel to his immediate left lit up. He barely had time to move before someone materialized on it. It was a Rocket Grunt angrily speaking on his Xtransceiver. Luckily, his attention was drawn away from Aries, so he took the opportunity to use the fifth panel to escape. Landing on his feet this time, he realized that he was in some sort of storage room lit by flickering fluorescent lights. Metal shelves filled with PokeBalls lined the walls, bringing back the memory of Team Rocket's infamous PokeBall theft. The thought of all of those Trainers with missing partners made him sick—well, not as sick as the warp panel, but still.

It was really stupid now that he thought about it. He had spent so many years training with Mew, and yet he was still as defenseless as ever without Denise or Pokémon to back him up. "Damn it," he swore, kicking a shelf in anger. First of all, he knew that it was wrong to be angry considering he was supposed to be learning to detach himself from his emotions, but he really couldn't be bothered with that—that is, until the shelf's leg cracked and the entire thing came crashing down, spilling PokeBalls everywhere. To make matters worse, most of then landed on the button, causing the mass release of over thirty Pokémon in the small room. The noise level instantly rose, and conversely the level of space instantly dropped as Aries was crammed into a corner by an Aggron, Tyranitar, and Aerodactyl. He tried to force them away telekinetically but the recoil of attempting to push such heavy Pokémon left his skeletal system achy.

"What's going on in there?" someone outside shouted. He heard the door open, then the Pokémon rushed out in a flurry, squawking and screaming and making a general ruckus. When he was finally out of the fray, he noticed the Grunt was lying on the floor covered in footprints. He wasn't sure if the guy was alive, and really, he didn't care; he just needed to find Denise and the others and get out of there. He started to rush away, headed down the long hallway, but something stopped him. He didn't think Arceus was there—or at least not fully formed—but sort of divine power made him stop instead of running down to the fork in the hallway, which was smart of him as a Pokémon came flying at the spot where he would have been, claws flailing.

"Weavile," the Weavile hissed, turning to him in disappointment and anger. His Trainer followed, a dapper young man in an expensive black suit and with combed red hair that spiked at the bottom. When he turned enough for Aries to see his face, he frowned, then laughed.

"Oh, Arceus!" he chuckled. "I thought I was seeing things, but it really is you… Where's Mew, huh? Oh, wait, I know; she was with that mouthy brat and her Lucario when they tried to take over HQ or whatever. Well, they're dealt with, so that just leaves you, huh, Aristotle?"

Aries didn't respond; he couldn't, not with his train of thought running on broken tracks. Silver. Arceus, it was Silver. He found that he was not any less terrified of him than he was as a small child, and for good reason too: he was stronger, Aries could sense it, and coupled with his original strength, he had to be a complete monster. "Silver," he finally whispered, feeling his blood run cold.

"Oh, you can speak after all?" he smirked, crossing his arms over his chest. Aside from the improved fashion sense, he hadn't changed much, perhaps by about three inches, but since Aries was always a short person it didn't make a difference. His Weavile grinned madly at Aries.

'I missed you,' he cackled, opening and closing his claws.

"Well?" Silver asked expectantly. Aries blinked, taken aback.

"Well…what?"

"Well, have I spared you for naught, or have you actually gotten stronger within these last eleven years?"

"I…I don't know; you tell me."

"I'd be glad to find out," he said, causing Aries' stomach to bottom out from fear. "Although not today; Weavile is the only one I have."

"What are you doing with all of those Pokémon, Silver?" he demanded, regaining his wits. Silver wagged his index finger reproachfully.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, little Aristotle; don't meddle in others' business." He tucked a loose lock of hair behind his ear, frowning. There was something different about him; he didn't seem quite as laidback as eleven years ago, as if there was something else on his mind. Aries wanted to peek—tried to, in fact—but Silver's mind was a Dark-type's stronghold. He focused on Silver's body; perhaps he could redo his show of telekinesis. He sure was more advanced with it; it was possible, but still, something held him back. Suddenly Silver's eyes widened, then he grinned. "You look like you're going to throw up. Are you… Are you scared, Aristotle?"

He wanted to protest, but frankly he did feel like he was going to throw up, and his legs were shaking, and he was dizzy enough that he was starting to see double. It was worse than when he was a kid, because now, Silver was the real deal, Team Rocket Boss Giovanni's son, and Aries was still Aristotle, that stupid kid that couldn't do anything to fight him back. "You're not getting away this time, Silver," he said, trying to be brave.

"Yeah?" he chuckled. "How do you propose you're going to stop me?"

Aries' eyes widened, not from the realization but from the sudden burst of emotions from down the hall. He couldn't react; Weavile couldn't react; nobody could react when Denise suddenly tackled Silver from behind, getting him in a half nelson while Henry incapacitated his Weavile with a well-positioned Brick Break. "Find Mew! She's at the warp panel!" Denise said to him. He stared, his brain still trying to process it all. "Aries, you hear me don't you? Go!"

"A…Alright." He regretfully ran down the hall, sending his mind out to find Mew's. He found several Grunts' scattered brains trying to contain all of the Pokémon he accidently released, along with a handful that had been attacked or rendered unconscious by Denise, Henry, or Theophilus, before he finally found Mew down the hall. It was in a room with four warp panels each on the left and right walls, whizzing in circles nervously. "Mew!"

Aries! It tackled his abdomen, stubby arms grasping his shirt. He hugged it back, feeling tears well in the corners of his eyes. It detached from him after a moment and hovered next to one of the panels. This one, this one! it said.

"No! We have to wait for Denise and—" Something large rammed into his back, sending him flying forward until he skidded on the ground and crashed into the wall. Disoriented, it took him a few moments to place the Arbok before him, followed by his Trainer.

"Would you look at this?" Team Rocket Executive Ariana mused, twirling a lock of long red hair on her finger. Her platinum-colored heels clicked out a staccato beat against the linoleum as she moved forward, her Arbok hissing warningly at Aries. "The intruders are right here—and one of them is Mew! Gio—I mean, Silver will be very pleased to see you," she said to Mew.

You're not taking me to Silver, Mew said, clenching its little fists. Ariana narrowed her eyes.

"Arbok, Bite."

Her Arbok leapt at Mew with speed worthy of praise; Mew grabbed him psychically and twisted him into a tight knot, throwing him back at Ariana. She gasped in surprise as she was tackled by her own Pokémon, then doubly in surprise when Henry came running in, walking all over her face.

Where is Denise? Mew asked worriedly.

'She's looking for Theophilus, Arceus knows why,' he muttered. 'The PokeBall will work within a certain range; she's trying to get within distance of him so she can return him. In the meantime—oh! Aries, are you alright?'

"'ve been better," he muttered, sitting up with his back against the wall. "It's amazing… I haven't been this sore outside of psychic training in a long time. It's very nostalgic, really."

'Um…really, are you alright?' Henry asked again, somewhat worried for his mental state.

"Yes, yes, fine." he grunted, getting to his feet. Something was broken; he just wasn't too sure what, although the disturbing feeling of blood saturating his shirt was a hint. Thankfully, his cloak hit it from peripheral view.

"I hope you all didn't forget about me," Ariana said from the doorway, getting to her feet. Her Arbok got out of his knot too. "Arbok, use Sludge Bomb!" He hacked up a ball of purple slime and spat it at Mew; Henry intercepted, grabbing it before crushing it between his paws. He smirked as he crashed his fists together.

'I've been waiting for a good fight since that Gym battle.'

Aries, go find Denise and bring her here, Mew ordered. I'll help Henry.

Aries nodded and started searching mentally. The place was still highly hectic; he wasn't sure he could find her mind among hundreds of others'. Then Aries found Denise's "voice" saying the one word he never thought she would.

Help.

All of the blood drained from his face as he tried to push through her mental defenses to see what was going on. She was in a room with Theo, who was unconscious and bleeding, and some sort of indistinguishable Pokémon. He could only make out the strange sounds it made, like it had no idea how to use its mouth. He gasped when, so deep in Denise's mind, he felt the sting of a lash on his arm. Then her scream filled his mind; he clapped his hands on his ears and dropped into a crouch, jumping out of her mind and back into his own. He heard Mew gasp as it looked into his thoughts, but he didn't give it a moment as he ran past Ariana and into the hall, down to the warp panel he saw Denise take.

The teleportation left him disoriented for a moment, and when he regained his wits he saw he was in a room with three more panels. He took the one to the far left and ended up in a room full of computer cubicles and small Eevee and the evolutions of the Eevee. Most looked at him and deemed him innocuous before continuing to wreck the room, burning the computers and freezing the desks so on and so on. He passed through them to the other warp panel easily.

When he landed, the first thing he noticed was the energy moving in the room—or lack of thereof, actually. Living things always emitted energy, so his first assumption was that the room was empty—until he saw Denise. She was on the floor next to Theophilus; neither was moving. His first impulse was to check on them—that is, until he saw what put them in that condition.

*OUY ERA THE EON NKNWO SA ITTSRALOE* Deoxys said. It was Deoxys; it had to be. Nothing else on Earth could feel so inhuman and terrifying—well, except maybe Mewtwo. Aries stepped back, swallowing. Its speech was peculiar; it didn't speak verbally or mentally, and yet he understood every word as if they were engraved on his brain. It shifted its body towards him, lifeless eyes raking over him. *OYU REA ETH ENO EYTH TNWA---* it continued thoughtfully.

Aries tried to dig into Deoxys' mind but the end result was a debilitating migraine. He rubbed his temples while trying to figure it out the old-fashioned way. "What do you want?" he asked slowly. Deoxys cocked its head one way then the other and was silent long enough for Aries to assume it didn't speak English.

*I---WANT---OUT* it finally said, stilling. Aries watched as it seemed to melt down, its body slowly changing. Two of its tentacles disappeared and its body changed from mainly orange to mainly grey; in a second it was behind Aries, even though there was at least thirty feet between them, and within another second it was gone via the warp panel. Stunned, he checked on Denise.

"Denise?" he whispered, placing his hands on both sides of her head and pressing his forehead to hers; the direct contact with the focal point of her body allowed him deeper into her subconscious than he could do with his admittedly-poor psychic abilities. He couldn't feel her heart beating, which terrified him; he closed his eyes and focused on it, using his telekinesis to make it beat. He almost used CPR, but he had a feeling she wouldn't like that very much. At first, nothing happened, then he started gasping for breath herself, thank Arceus. She looked around before her eyes focused on Aries', which was when she surprisingly turned a deep shade of red, pushing him onto his behind with her hands.

"Never do that again," she mumbled, sitting up and pushing her hair from her face.

"Save your life?" he asked tiredly, relief still strong in his veins. She made a displeased noise; Aries noticed she was still red. "Don't tell me that you like me, Denise."

"I don't," she snapped, turning to Theophilus. "Just don't get so in my face again; it makes me uncomfortable." Lucky for her, Aries didn't have the mental strength to see if she was lying. Theo was quickly roused, although he wasn't particularly coherent.

"Zoro—" What came out of his mouth next was not proper for any sort of ears. Aries shook his head when he was done.

"We have to go, Denise." He took Theo's PokeBall from her pocket and returned him; he then grabbed Denise's hand and led her to the warp panel, which sent them back to the computer room. Thankfully, Deoxys wasn't there, but there were several Grunts working to capture the Eevee.

"There they are! The intruders!" a female Grunt called, pointing them out. Several Pikachu, Vulpix, Parasect, and Omastar turned on them; Aries threw up Protect just as several attacks went flying at them. He pushed Denise forward and gestured for Theo to help; he groaned but created his own Protect barrier as well. With two of them, they protected themselves against the numerous Pokémon and headed for the other warp panel. Right before they stepped on it, someone else materialized.

"You," Silver hissed at Denise, arms crossed over his chest. Even without his Pokémon he was still bigger than her and much more intimidating.

"You," she repeated just as disdainfully, and then she did the one thing that made Aries love her forever: she moved back and gave Silver a good, quick, hard kick in his tiny unborn Silvers. As strong as he was, Silver crumpled to his knees almost immediately, clutching his jewels for dear life. He tried to say something to her but it sounded too squeaky to decipher. "Let's go!" she said to Aries, who was still shell-shocked.

Arceusdamn, you're one manly woman, Theo said, crowding onto the warp panel with the both of them. I may be a little scared of you now.

"Good," Denise said before the warp panel activated. Aries had a different feeling than before; something was off.

"You guys—"

Something struck him hard in the side of his skull, causing him to stumble just as the warp commenced. A Grunt stood off to the side appearing triumphant; Aries watched the metal hard drive that he threw ricochet off of the ground and skid across the tiled ground. He lost his balance, tipping out of the square of green light; Denise grabbed him by his cloak, pulling him back in just as they went through the loop. Aside from the pain of warping, a terrifying numbness filled his body as they landed in a rectangular room full of crates. It wasn't the same one from before; the warp panels must have switched or something. "Oh my Arceus," he gasped, feeling the numbness turn into a severe burning pain. He lost his balance and hit the ground.

Human? Theo said, and he even sounded a little worried. I mean…what was your name again?

"Damn it, Aristotle," Denise swore, looking through the door. He tried to look too but somehow he couldn't roll over to see. "Johto. We're in Johto," she muttered, both amazed and displeased. "Theophilus, can you lift him?"

Theo grunted as he lifted Aries onto his back, which was when he became aware of how wet the left part of his cloak and shirt had become. Denise looked back at him, which was when he noticed tears in the corners of her eyes. "Damn, that's a lot of blood," she muttered, wiping her eyes on her sleeve. "Look, I know I wasn't all that nice to you, but…but you're my friend, so don't die, please? Come on, Theophilus!" She disappeared through the door and Theo rushed to follow with Aries' weight.

"What are you…" Aries mumbled, deeply confused. "I can't feel my hand…my left…my left hand, why can't I feel it, Denise…?"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, little Aristotle; don't meddle in others' business." He tucked a loose lock of hair behind his ear, frowning. There was something different about him; he didn't seem quite as laidback as eleven years ago, as if there was something else on his mind. Aries wanted to peek—tried to, in fact—but Silver's mind was a Dark-type's stronghold. He focused on Silver's body; perhaps he could redo his show of telekinesis. He sure was more advanced with it; it was possible, but still, something held him back. Suddenly Silver's eyes widened, then he grinned. "You look like you're going to throw up. Are you… Are you scared, Aristotle?"

He wanted to protest, but frankly he did feel like he was going to throw up, and his legs were shaking, and he was dizzy enough that he was starting to see double. It was worse than when he was a kid, because now, Silver was the real deal, Team Rocket Boss Giovanni's son, and Aries was still Aristotle, that stupid kid that couldn't do anything to fight him back. "You're not getting away this time, Silver," he said, trying to be brave.

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Quite a reunion between Aries and Silver there. I like how you describe Aries's emotions. Also good thing Denise made a distraction a little after.

Her Arbok leapt at Mew with speed worthy of praise; Mew grabbed him psychically and twisted him into a tight knot, throwing him back at Ariana. She gasped in surprise as she was tackled by her own Pokémon, then doubly in surprise when Henry came running in, walking all over her face.

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Okay, this part is pretty amusing.

The teleportation left him disoriented for a moment, and when he regained his wits he saw he was in a room with three more panels. He took the one to the far left and ended up in a room full of computer cubicles and small Eevee and the evolutions of the Eevee. Most looked at him and deemed him innocuous before continuing to wreck the room, burning the computers and freezing the desks so on and so on. He passed through them to the other warp panel easily.

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I chuckled over this scene too.

"You," she repeated just as disdainfully, and then she did the one thing that made Aries love her forever: she moved back and gave Silver a good, quick, hard kick in his tiny unborn Silvers. As strong as he was, Silver crumpled to his knees almost immediately, clutching his jewels for dear life. He tried to say something to her but it sounded too squeaky to decipher. "Let's go!" she said to Aries, who was still shell-shocked.

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Go Denise! :P

Concerning the last part in which the group are now at Johto and Aries can't feel his left hand, I have a bad feeling about this. D: Looking forward to more!

I should mention that this chapter as a whole is called 'His Exile' as seen in the Table of Contents, but is actually split into two parts: 'Colored Crimson' and 'The Living Dead Man.' They were interesting to write, and they are actually the most unique chapters in the story, as you will see {XD}

2.1.1. Colored Crimson (Part I)​

"Pathetic… Truly pathetic, Silver," Giovanni reprimanded, his once-strong hazel eyes sorrowful. Silver hang his head.

"It was a mistake, alright? I didn't expect—"

"And that was your mistake." Even as Giovanni lay on his sickbed, he was still as not-proud as ever of his son, his son who killed the Legendaries; his son who helped build the same machine that made Mewtwo; his son who trained Mewtwo; his son who did everything in his power to keep the family business and his last-remaining family alive even when it'd be so easy to let all of it crumple and pave his own path as Pokémon Master Silver.

"You're not serious, Pops; all the crap I did for you, and this one damn—"

"This one mistake has cost our HQ its integrity, many fine Pokémon, and many semi-useful Grunts," Giovanni interrupted.

"Yeah, I know, I trained most of those fools, but you're not—"

"I really can't believe all of my fatherly advice has culminated this."

"YOU'RE NOT LISTENING TO ME!" he shouted, finally losing his cool. Giovanni didn't flinch at all, but he did finally shut his trap. "I know I made a mistake, but Pops, I'm twenty-eight-Arceusdamn-years-old; I don't need you calling me out like a little brat, alright? Secondly, what fatherly advice? The last thing I remember you telling me is to not shake the bars on my crib. Thirdly, you're underestimating the brats that broke into HQ in the first place. That kid that was with the Legendaries eleven years ago? He was there, and his virile friend kicked me hard enough to send me to the gynecologist. He beat me, okay?"

"Just as he had done eleven years ago?" Giovanni reminded him. He ground his teeth together.

"I wasn't expecting it then, and I wasn't expecting it now, but I swear on Mom's grave that that kid's gonna be lying on one of our lab tables within the next two days."

"He better be, because—cough, cough—if not, you'll be there instead," he said, his coughs wracking his weak body. Silver snorted, turning away.

"What a great way of greeting your only son, Pop," he muttered as he walked away from Rocket Boss Giovanni.

——————

"I wish you wouldn't rile Giovanni up so much."

"Morning to you too, Ari," Silver smirked, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "I love that boot-shaped bruise on your face; is that the new style?" She scoffed, affronted, as she groomed her gross Arbok. "Hey, where are you co-workers…Diesel and Atom?"

"Petrel and Proton?"

"Yeah, yeah. I hate one of them, you know, the flamboyant one; he keeps telling these damn Trainers our passwords. He's the reason we're always changing 'em, and why I can't ever remember 'em!"

"Petrel is a work in progress," Ariana said defensively. "Not all of us can be as perfect as Giovanni's son, you know."

"I'm not perfect, Ari; I just seem that way." He sat down in HQ's rec room, which consisted of a coffee machine, flat-screen T.V., cute little café tables, and plenty of other pointless things Team Rocket had too much money on hand to purchase, and took a gulp of his coffee, relishing the burning feeling it left in his throat.

"Well, I haven't seen much of you these last three days," she said, sitting in the seat opposite to him and fluffing her hair. He remembered how she tried to ask him out on a date a few years back; he refused and told her that she had about as much character depth as a two-bit arcade game, and for the rest of the month she barely even looked at him. (He also started finding globs of poison in his coffee, but that was another, more painful story.)

"I was…occupied. Not all of us like being here, y'know."

"But you live here, don't you?"

"Technically." And technically, he owned about five other houses in Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Kalos. There were some perks about having the underworld's boss as a dad, including the fact that cash never seemed to run dry. "Hey, don't you technically have some detective work to be doing? You and Asher and Gasoline and Molecule?"

"Archer, Petrel, and Proton," she corrected, offended. "At least learn your own associate's names, boss."

He finished his coffee with a grimace, standing up. "Don't call me boss, alright? I'm not the boss until Pops finally kicks that old bucket—which he won't be doing, by the way."

"He's old and he's terminal, Silver; face facts already," she called as he started to leave, pushing the double doors open.

"Facing facts isn't really my forte," he called back. "But alliteration is, if you're curious."

He passed through the repaired halls (which were only repaired so quickly because of Team Rocket's aforementioned overflowing pockets) and headed down to the research wing to his old pal, Computer Nerd #12. The man was forty-something with a greasy ring of brown hair around his balding head and large bifocals. He seemed to be one of the debtors that Giovanni roped in; Silver wasn't sure since he never asked. He went to Twelve's cubicle and dropped his elbows down on the corner of his fast food-infested desk, causing him to jump in his chair and nearly take out twelve thousand dollars' worth of computer equipment.

"Hey, buddy," Silver grinned. Twelve returned his geniality with a curt and slightly-fearful nod. "Did ya do me that favor I asked?"

"O-Of course, Silver sir," he stammered, his fingers flying across the keyboard as he loaded his files. Silver, being Giovanni's son, wasn't the novice with hacking, but if something happened he'd rather that some nameless slave to Team Rocket take the blame than himself. "A boy named Aristotle checked into the local hospital in Goldenrod City three days ago, just ten minutes after the intruders escaped from here." He quickly printed the information and handed it to Silver.

"Good, good." He patted the man's shoulder. "Just for this, I'll knock a thousand off of your debt."

His eyes lit up. "Really? You'd do that, sir?"

"Sure I would. Now get back to work." Silver turned away from his quiet rejoicing, pulling his Xtransceiver from his pocket and dialing a number.

"Archer speaking," a uniform voice said on the other end. Silver had to sigh at that.

"Archie, cover for me, will ya? I'll be taking a little trip."

"Silver? That you? No I'm not going to cover for you again."

"Please?"

"No way!"

Silver stopped at a corner and looked around before whispering, "I'll tell everyone what really happened to that chocolate mousse at the Christmas party."

Archer was silent for a few seconds. "…You mean it?"

"What do you think?"

"Fine, fine! I'll cover you!"

"Thanks a bunch, Arch. Oh, and pay a thousand to Computer Grunt Twelve from my account, then add ten thousand to his debt."

"...Done. Can I know where you're going at least?"

Silver went to his bedroom where Ariana, as per his orders, had retrieved clothes just like the ones he wore back in the day and laid them out on his bed. He grinned. "I'm going to visit an old…friend."

——————

Goldenrod was about as crowded as he remembered it. The last time he went there was about two decades or so ago, back when Giovanni still cared a little more about his family than the family business. They went to the amusement park, ate Castelia Cones, and had playful little Pokémon battles with Silver's little Cyndaquil. He shook off the memory and shoved some indistinct bills at the cab driver.

"Keep the change," he said, climbing out. The driver thanked him, surprised, before driving away. Maybe he gave him a little too much of a tip, but it didn't matter anyway; the money he didn't get from Giovanni's exploits he could regain from battling some poor idiot Trainers. They usually paid awfully well, especially if he flashed an Amulet Coin for whatever reason.

Something about the grand city in the nighttime was soothing, even for a monster like him. He took some pleasure in the bright lights and the joyous citizens and the overexcited Pokémon hanging around; it was that kind of carefree stuff that he missed in his childhood and led to him being, well, Silver today. (Not to blame Giovanni; after eleven years of soul-searching, he realized that he probably would've ended up crappy even without his old man's help.)

"Umbreon!" A full-grown Umbreon started pawing at his jeans. He bent down to pet it, which was when its Trainer, a ten-year-old boy with crimson hair like his and wary eyes, snatched it up into his arms.

"Denny, you shouldn't walk up to strangers like that," he chided his Umbreon. Silver scratched his head.

"'s alright; I'm a Trainer too, ya know," he said, gesturing to his PokeBall belt. The boy watched him carefully. "The name's Si…Simon. What about you?"

He hesitated for a second, then he muttered, "Jenson."

"Alright… You're a Trainer then, Jenson? Battling Gyms and such?" Jenson nodded. "This one is Whitney, right? You challenged her already?" He shook his head. "Well, good luck, then."

"Wait," Jenson said when he started to turn away. The heavy crowds of Goldenrod started to push them apart; Silver just shrugged helplessly and kept moving.

Luckily, the cab driver dropped him off close to the hospital. When he walked in he was bombarded with the lack of noise in there; people were in the waiting room juggling their PokeBalls nervously or the non-Trainers were talking to each other, anxious. He approached the receptionist's desk and put on his best "I'm a trustworthy young gentleman" face.

"Excuse me, ma'am," he said to the young blonde receptionist, "my best friend had a terrible accident three days ago and I just heard about it; I was wondering if I could go see him?"

"Of course," she giggled, obviously infatuated. She checked her computer. "What's his name?"

"Aristotle."

She checked the database. "Aristotle, Room 425. Here." She handed him a pin-on nametag that read 'VISITOR.' He flashed another smile at her before walking away, getting onto the elevator at the end of the hall. He got in with a taller man with mint-green hair and Trainer's clothes that hit the button for second floor, and Silver hit the button for fourth. Quiet elevator music played as it ascended.

"What are you in for?" the man asked. Silver shrugged.

"Accident." I only wish I'd seen it happen, he added silently. "You?"

"Same thing." He got off when they reached second floor, leaving Silver on his solitary journey to fourth. The elevator dinged and he stepped off, scanning the plates next to each room's door.

"415," he read aloud, walking down the hall. "Sixteen…seventeen…ack, this is gonna take for—okay, twenty…twenty-one…twenty-three…twenty-four…" He stopped in front of room number 425, which was when that girl that racked him came out of the door in a hurry. She stopped once their eyes met, clenching her fists.

"I already burst your grapes; what more do you want, huh?" she snapped angrily.

"You're in good shape," he said sardonically, noting how tired and bedraggled she looked. "What, your boyfriend's in worse condition than I thought?"

"He's not my—ack, what do you know." She pushed him backwards which, considering how angry she looked, was letting him off easy. "Get out of here now. It's 'cause of you that Aries is in that room now, and if you don't start movin' right now you'll get your own room here, got it?"

He reached behind his back surreptitiously. "Oh, yeah, I got it."

She raised her eyebrows doubtfully just as he found the right PokeBall and pressed the button. The red beam materialized just behind him, but before she could react Silver's Alakazam knocked her out; Silver caught her just before she hit the ground, sitting her down and resting her against the wall. "Stand guard," he commanded his Alakazam before he entered the room.

Something about Aristotle seemed so small, like he was still a kid. He was asleep (or maybe sedated; Silver wasn't sure) with the covers pulled up to his chest. His clothes were folded on the nightstand so Silver could see the bandages around his left shoulder, and when he leaned forward he could see his left hand—or rather, his lack of left hand; he remembered finding Aristotle's misplaced limb at the edge of the warp panel. If Aristotle had been a Team Rocket member, who were all well-versed in teleportation via warp panel, he would've known that when one's molecules were moved, anything outside of the energy field was left behind, which included extremities like hands or feet and a chocolate bar that one time Silver used it.

"Poor you," Silver sneered, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's because of you that Pops is cracking down on me—well, more than usual. You're just a weak kid; by yourself you're nothing. I don't understand how you bested me back then, or how you bested me three days ago, but it doesn't matter; no, it doesn't matter, because I'll best you, Aristotle, and your funny little friends."

He inadvertently stepped forward and felt something under his shoe. He looked down and saw Mew curled up next to the bed, fast asleep. He clenched his fist and his jaw but didn't make any moves against her—for the moment, at least. Aristotle, on the other hand, was another case.

Aristotle had messed up his chance with the Legendaries eleven years ago and messed up his already-shaky relationship with his old man. He wanted to punch him, at the very least, but…he couldn't. Not like that. He went as far as clenching his fist and throwing it but he stopped before his knuckles even touched Aristotle's nose. "Gah," he groaned, digging his fingers into his scalp. "What's going on with me…? I never used to be this damn soft." His Xtransceiver rang, bringing him out of his self-loathing. He checked the Caller I.D. and rolled his eyes.

"Yeah Pops, what's up?"

"This is Archer speaking."

"Archie! What's going on?"

"We need you right now. Your little pet is out of control."

"You mean…? Alright, I got it." He shoved his Xtransceiver into the recesses of his pocket and snorted at Aristotle. "One of these days…"

On his way out, he bumped into a second Trainer, knocking his hat to the ground. "My mistake," the man said, bending to pick it up.

"Yeah, it was," Silver snapped. He watched the man straighten up and his eyes widened. "Dear Arceus, not you."

"Not me what, Silver?" he taunted, fixing his hat on his head. "It's a hospital, you know; anybody can visit anybody, unless, say, that anybody is the son of the underworld's crime lord and one of the main reasons why the patient is a patient in the first place."

Silver shifted his entire body to him, shoving his hands in his pockets and letting out a breath. "You always were a real bastard with information; I just hope for your sake that it's not getting out there."

"Don't worry, your dirty secrets are as safe with me as they've been thirteen years ago."

"They better be." With that, he stomped away, leaving Aristotle's second visitor to his own devices.

——————

Team Rocket's HQ was in a bigger mess than three days ago, except this time it was just the Grunts and executives scrambling, not loose Pokémon. (Which, as a side note, they only regained a third of; the rest were either scattered via the warp panels or, er, put down.) A few Grunts shakily directed him to the Battle Room, which was the large empty basement floor used for Pokémon training and such. He descended the stairs to find his old friend telekinetically choking Ariana.

"S-Silver," she stammered, her face turning blue. "P-Please…make it…s-stop…"

"I don't know," Silver said flippantly. "That's the prettiest I've ever seen you."

Still as rotten as ever, huh, Silver? Mewtwo jeered, releasing Ariana. She fell on her knees coughing and sputtering.

"Still as callous as ever, huh, Mewtwo? What are you doing here anyway? I thought you disowned us or whatever?"

Oh, don't have any misconceptions; I made my disownment very clear, it said. I just wanted to talk to you, and with you on one of your daily excursions, I felt that causing a ruckus was the only way to get your attention. You were never one for sitting down with a nice cup of tea, you know.

"Well, I've nothing better to do now; I'll indulge you, Mewtwo." Mewtwo smirked and snapped its fingers; Ariana instantly vanished. "Convenient; you should teach me that trick—you know, for future reference."

Ha-hah. A circular table from the rec room appeared in the middle of the floor with two fancy hand-carved chairs and a porcelain tea set. Silver raised his eyebrows. You said you would indulge me, did you not?

"It seems like you've picked up a sense of humor in the last five years." He pulled up a chair and Mewtwo pulled up the other. "What is this, Earl grey? I hate that crap and you know it."

No, black tea, it said calmly, using Psychic to pour both of them a cup. Black like our hearts.

"You really do know me; I love my meals with a side of allegory." He added a generous amount of sugar before taking a sip. It wasn't poisoned, he could say that much. "What, no side dish?"

I wouldn't want you choking, it said, smirk widening. Silver took another drink before setting his cup down.

"What happened, Mewtwo? I thought you've become quite fond of speaking aloud."

That is…part of what I wish to bring up. Mewtwo lifted its head, which was when Silver noticed a long and dark scar on its neck. Now he was fully interested. As I said, we need to talk.

Silver grinned, then he became completely serious. "Alright then, talk."

Aaaaaaaaaah now you've really got me curious. Who's the man Silver bumped into? What happened to Mewtwo? Not like I expect you to answer these questions until you post more of the story, but....

"Thanks a bunch, Arch. Oh, and pay a thousand to Computer Grunt Twelve from my account, then add ten thousand to his debt."

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Awfully sneaky there.

Something about Aristotle seemed so small, like he was still a kid. He was asleep (or maybe sedated; Silver wasn't sure) with the covers pulled up to his chest. His clothes were folded on the nightstand so Silver could see the bandages around his left shoulder, and when he leaned forward he could see his left hand—or rather, his lack of left hand; he remembered finding Aristotle's misplaced limb at the edge of the warp panel. If Aristotle had been a Team Rocket member, who were all well-versed in teleportation via warp panel, he would've known that when one's molecules were moved, anything outside of the energy field was left behind, which included extremities like hands or feet and a chocolate bar that one time Silver used it.

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Losing your hand from those warp panels must sound very painful. D= But yeah, had an idea that was what happened to Aries.

Like Nah, very curious over a couple stuff that happened at the end. I'm sure though the questions concerning that man and how Mewtwo got that scar will be answered soon. Looking forward to more!

2.1.2. The Living Dead Man (Part II)​

First of all, I have to thank you so very much for eliminating the Legendaries in the first place, Master.

"You're very welcome, now get on with it," Silver said, waving him on. Mewtwo sighed, taking a long and thoughtful drink of tea.

You do know Team Galactic Leader Cyrus, or at least know of him?

"Sure; him and Pops used to always fight over stealing Pokémon—I know the bastard."

And you know what he tried to do fifteen years back?

"Yeah, the moron tried to create a new world using Dialga and Palkia and was beaten by some bratty Trainer from Twinleaf Town. He was lucky to have escaped with his life."

What if he didn't?

"What do you mean, What if he didn't? He's not a zombie…is he?" Mewtwo didn't respond; Silver groaned. "Just when I thought I knew everything."

He's not a zombie in the media's sense, like those stupid movies you always watched, Mewtwo said, causing him to groan again. But he is a living corpse. The new dimension was dark, like a black hole; it sucked in his life energy like everything else, and for a few moments Cyrus was dead to the world.

"And then…?"

Cyrus was inside there for two years before the portal reopened somewhere in Sinnoh. I don't know what happened, but as a Psychic-type I can tell something is very wrong with him.

"Okay, but how do you know any of this?"

Mewtwo smiled devilishly. Perhaps I have set up residence in a Galactic Grunt's mind?

"You sly Delphox, Mewtwo." He paused. "Oi, since when could you do that?"

I don't know—within the last three years? If only you had been there to see me mature, Master.

"Stop calling me that already, you baby. What's done is done; you've made yourself a good living in any case, so don't be so damn petty. Anyhow, why exactly is Cyrus a problem for me?"

He's not so much a problem for you as for Team Rocket as a whole.

"Oh, great, then I don't care."

Silver, I know you're not the biggest Rocket advocate, but this also puts your father in danger—my creator. Don't tell me you've lost that little bit of heart you had, Mewtwo snorted.

"Alright, alright, maybe I didn't. What exactly is Cyrus planning to do?"

He thinks that by using the advanced DNA research and technology we have, coupled with the abilities of a human psychic as both a medium and catalyst, he can recreate and summon Dialga and Palkia to make a more permanent and less pernicious new world directly on top of this one, one that he can rule.

"Quite the ambitious zombie, isn't he?" Silver said, finishing his tea and pouring himself another cup. "You don't happen to have any side dishes, do you?" Mewtwo appeared bored as he summoned a plate of peanut butter cookies. "Wow."

You still enjoy these, don't you?

"Of course!" He took a bite and grimaced. "These are stale."

So is your sense of humor, it replied curtly. We're on an important topic.

"So? Food is also very important. Continue, continue."

Team Galactic has also amassed a good amount of power within these last five years, Mewtwo continued. They allied with small-time Trainers that made it big in their regions, people like Lucas, May, Calem, and Hilda, making them a more formidable force than before. I'm sad to say that I'm not even a match for them at this point; my attempt at opposition fell flat, even with my—cough—unmatched prowess.

"Modest much? And yeah, that's a pretty bad injury you got."

I'm working on healing it, don't worry.

"Who said I was worried?" he said calmly. Mewtwo scoffed and rolled its eyes. "Okay, maybe a little, but… Okay, I see the problem with Cyrus, but if you can't handle him what do you expect me to do?"

I don't know, it admitted, but though I hate to say it, you are more resourceful than I; you can think of a solution can't you, Silver?

"I'd be flattered had that not been so bitter," Silver smirked, finishing his third cup of tea and checking the pot. "You didn't magic a full pot huh?"

I didn't expect a long conversation—or such gluttony, Mewtwo said dryly.

"That's not the way to butter someone up for a favor, Mewtwo."

I've said already that it shouldn't have to be considered a favor for you to help out your father, your own flesh and blood, you cruel bastard.

"Gee, thanks for the heads up!" Silver threw his hands in the air. "We're both bastards; it's no secret, and therefore it doesn't affect me in the slightest to hear as much, especially from you. Anything else, or was that it?"

I don't know; any questions?

"Um, yeah, tons."

Narrow them down?

"Well, you mentioned Cyrus having our DNA technology? How'd he get that?"

Cyrus has dozens of spies, Silver, and some of them are even under your nose. I assume you remember a middle-aged, balding man by the name of Jermaine?

"No, not really."

Alright, let me see if I can remind you—this is quoted verbatim from a thought I procured from him: "Just for this, I'll knock a thousand off of your debt."

"Him? He was a spy? He still here?"

No; he's speaking with Cyrus at the moment. Silver took out his Xtransceiver and sent a quick mass message to the Grunt guards.

"Well he's not coming back in. One more thing, Mewtwo—how do I beat him alone?"

I never once said you'll be alone in this. Silver worked his jaw irritably. Team Rocket—

"Is my father's team; not mine," he interrupted, creating a period of angry silence.

I apologize for the suggestion then, it interrupted calmly, standing as well. Look, I have somewhere to be.

"Gee, got a hot date waiting?"

Really, I wish you could level up your jokes like you level up your Pokémon, it said dryly. Silver grinned.

"It's been…nice seeing you again, Mewtwo, even under the circumstances. Pops may have made you but it was me that taught you everything you know; I hope it means as much to you as it does to me."

Mewtwo didn't respond to that. You're really getting soft, Silver, it muttered before waving away the table then disappearing itself. That was always creepy; it just vanished without any smoke or noise or anything. Silver sighed and shook his head.

"Sir?" a timid voice said from the entrance. Silver turned and scoffed at the short Grunt standing there.

"What? I'm not in a mood to rob someone's stupid Pokémon or mess with weak Trainers, guy."

"T-That's not it, sir," he said, looking at his feet as he spoke.

"Then it's…?"

"Your father…the Boss…he wants to see you, sir."

"Great," Silver said, looking back at where Mewtwo was moments ago. "I want to see him too."

——————

Giovanni looked a lot better; he was in his office instead of a bed wallowing in his feces or something. He was in his usual suit behind his desk shuffling papers; Silver would've believed that him being sick was just some sort of nightmare if Giovanni hadn't had a group of prescription bottles next to his paperwork. "Silver, we need to talk," he said, getting straight to the nitty-gritty.

"Sure Pops, let's have a little chat." Silver drew up one of the slick leather office chairs and sat opposite to his father. Giovanni shuffled papers in silence for a while more, apparently stalling—or maybe he just forgot Silver was there like usual.

"Jermaine tells me that you visited a hospital in Goldenrod City?"

"Jermaine? Who's that?"

"One of the Grunts working on the computers?" Giovanni sighed, shaking his head. "One part of being a boss is memorizing your workers' names; you should learn them as well, Silver."

"And why the hell should I? I digress; what's the big deal huh? I'm twenty-eight, I can do what I want when I want."

"Fair point well made. It also came to my attention that you visited one of the intruders in that hospital; more than that, you left him there without reporting his location to me or any of the Executives."

"Okay…and?" Giovanni held his gaze until Silver groaned. "Alright, alright, I made a mistake, but—"

"You seem to be making a lot of mistakes as of late, Silver," he said. Silver inhaled; he recognized that tone, the same tone Giovanni used to tell him that his mom died and he (Giovanni) would miss the funeral for something-or-other, that he had "business" and couldn't come to his third-grade Spelling Bee, that he had to interview some potential business associates and missed his inauguration as the Johto League Champion—it was pretty much his I'm-sorry-I-can't-be-a-real-father-but-business-calls tone.

"What exactly are you getting at?" he asked hesitantly, sitting forward. Giovanni sighed and put on his best business face, which was an altogether different red flag.

"You're off of the team, Silver. Off of Team Rocket."

"Oh. Oh, that's not all that bad," Silver said, surprised. Well, he would have to earn his own cash, get his own apartment, but it wasn't a big deal; it wasn't nearly as bad as what he thought Giovanni was about to do, at least.

"That's not all."

"It's not?" Silver could count on one hand all the times he was afraid in his entire life, and this encounter with his father made it as the third time. "Then…what else, Dad?" He gripped his knees anxiously as Giovanni stood up, turning to the glass wall of his office with his hands clasped behind his back. The very classic I'm-about-to-end-your-world businessman pose.

"You're not just out of Team Rocket; you're out of the family as well."

"I'm…what?" You're out of the family. It couldn't be—no, Silver must have been hearing things, there was no way that Giovanni, his father, his biological father, the one who raised him all by himself since he was four would even consider—

"You've been making too many mistakes, causing too many rumors to circulate. Having you here is becoming a liability, and having a relation with you has others thinking that I'm a traitor. The traitor is you, Silver, and that's the one thing that I despise."

Silver stood up so fast the chair overturned. "No… Dad, you can't be serious. I'm your son—your son, Arceusdamnit, you can't just—just—disown me! Dad!"

"You should go," was all Giovanni had to say. Silver clenched and unclenched his fists; he wanted to punch Giovanni—or maybe himself, he wasn't sure—but he was so angry and frustrated and just so…miserable inside. Uh-huh, yeah, the same Silver that ignored his dad for most of his life was miserable that his dad disowned him, because no matter how much of a Stunky his old man was, he loved him, and to walk away would mean giving up the last person that still probably loved him in that world. He gritted his teeth and shook his head, repressing the urge to cry as he turned away from Giovanni as well. Even so, a tear spilled down his face.

"F…Fine."

Little did he know, Giovanni was crying too.

He thinks that by using the advanced DNA research and technology we have, coupled with the abilities of a human psychic as both a medium and catalyst, he can recreate and summon Dialga and Palkia to make a more permanent and less pernicious new world directly on top of this one, one that he can rule.

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That explains why Cyrus wants Aries, thought a part of me thinks that plan might backfire big time.

"Gee, got a hot date waiting?"

Really, I wish you could level up your jokes like you level up your Pokémon, it said dryly. Silver grinned.

"It's been…nice seeing you again, Mewtwo, even under the circumstances. Pops may have made you but it was me that taught you everything you know; I hope it means as much to you as it does to me."

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Silver and Mewtwo's interactions are oddly fun to read this chapter.

"You should go," was all Giovanni had to say. Silver clenched and unclenched his fists; he wanted to punch Giovanni—or maybe himself, he wasn't sure—but he was so angry and frustrated and just so…miserable inside. Uh-huh, yeah, the same Silver that ignored his dad for most of his life was miserable that his dad disowned him, because no matter how much of a Stunky his old man was, he loved him, and to walk away would mean giving up the last person that still probably loved him in that world. He gritted his teeth and shook his head, repressing the urge to cry as he turned away from Giovanni as well. Even so, a tear spilled down his face.

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I quite like this paragraph here. Ouch over Giovanni disowning Silver, though.

Enjoyed this chapter overall, Cyrus's purpose cleared up and the bombshell at the end. Looking forward to more!

2.2. Love And Other Extreme Sports​

"Come on, Fido!" Denise yelled at Theophilus, who was grudgingly shuffling on all fours behind them. It wasn't the funniest nickname ever, but with the bright pink canine collar he was wearing, it sure was.

I'd claw your eyes out if not for these, he grumbled, holding up his claws, which were covered by pretty pink booties that matched his collar.

"Maybe if you were good enough to add clothes to your illusions you wouldn't need them," Denise grinned, enjoying herself very much. She pulled on the bedazzled leash that matched his pink collar and pink booties. It wasn't that he couldn't add clothes (having seen his illusions before on a test run, Denise saw that he actually had an amazing eye for details) but he couldn't replicate the actual feel of them, which would've been a problem if anyone bumped into Denise, Aries, or Theo while they were outside, and the point of using his illusions in the first place was to hide from the overactive Team Rocket members that were also in disguise all around Johto.

With a terrible sense of humor, Theo made himself a pet Furfrou with a Heart Trim (Denise had asked if that made him a female, which he pointedly refused to answer) and her and Aries a—bleck—a married couple. She would've throttled him for it but Aries held her back and, well, she didn't want to rile him up anymore; and besides, if any Team Rocket Grunts saw the three of them like that, there was no way they could recognize them—unless they had a Psychic-type or something, in which case Aries would give them a warning and they'd make a run for it.

"You look great, sweetheart," he grinned, thoroughly enjoying himself more than she was. The illusion made him appear a foot taller and a lot more debonair than he usually did in a dark suit and with nicely-gelled hair. Denise was a little shorter and looked too much like an '80s sitcom's housewife; even more annoying, she had to act the part too, and while Aries was too happy (as he always was, damn it) it was out of her nature to act generous and lovey-dovey. "Oh!" Aries put his arm out, stopping her just as she was about to cross the street.

"What?"

"Allow me," he said, his grin widening as he took off his blazer (which was actually a secondhand Trainer's jacket) and laid it over the puddle she was about to step in. She rolled her eyes and made sure to step on his hand as she walked past—well, his good hand. She had also been trying to avoid looking at the bandaged stump of his left wrist. Mew said that it was psychically possible to put his cells in overdrive and regrow it similar to how a Heliolisk could regrow its tail, but not with the amount of energy it or Aries himself could produce; if they found another Psychic-type Pokémon or strong human psychic, it said, then they could do it, but until then he had to become right-handed. She couldn't help feeling responsible for that too; it was her suggestion in the first place to try Team Rocket's HQ, and look where it got them.

They had went to the Goldenrod Pokémon Center and managed to get two rooms this time, since it was late at night and a trip back to Mahogany Town would take a while. Denise shared a room with Mew and Aries shared a room with Theo and Henry, the three of them being males (or for Aries, close to one {old habits die hard}). Denise took a long shower and dug in her bag afterwards for her clothes, and in the process she found her original clothes, the ones she left Pewter in that Aries had hand-washed. The thought of it made her feel happy and sad at the same time.

Denise, can I ask you a question? Mew asked, sitting on the windowsill.

"Sure, I guess."

Do you like Aries?

"What?" she asked. "Why would you ask that?"

Any time you look at him or speak with him, I sense a tangle of emotions from you I can't really decipher. They aren't bad, but I can't tell if they mean anything either.

"Well I don't know either, okay? What, do you have a problem with how I care about him?"

No, no, on the contrary; I'm like his parent, and knowing that he's found a special someone is very, um, entertaining, to put a word to it. Mew giggled at Denise's irate expression before she became serious again. But right now isn't the time for it, okay, Denise? After all is said and done, then you can decide what happens next.

"I'll see about that." She found a different t-shirt and jeans she picked up in the city and changed into them, flopping onto the bed tiredly. "This month's been a major adventure… I would've never done all of this had I stayed in Pewter. It's funny; I never really thought past all of its greys and browns, and here I am goin' through regions with you and Aries. It's ridiculous."

You're not homesick, Denise? Mew asked, flying over to land on Denise's raised knee. She sat up with a sigh.

"Of course I am; I have been since we left, Mew. All of this though… All of this has just been one big distraction. You know, Dee never challenged the Pokémon League, even though he had all eight Badges?"

Why is that?

"Not sure, although I wish I could ask him."

Mew nodded. You know, I believe this Pokémon Center has video communications.

Denise sat up again, eyes wide. "Really? You're serious? Then…"

You can go talk to your brother, Denise.

——————

This is stupid; I mean, he might not even be in the Pokémon Center. Why would he be? It's two in the morning, she thought, shaking her head at the screen. It's been saying 'Dialing…' for the last ten minutes; he's not gonna pick up, he's not—

"I have a call from Goldenrod?" Denise's heart picked up as Dee appeared on the screen. He was looking over his shoulder at the Nurse Joy back home, who shrugged and went back to her work. When he saw Denise he immediately broke into a grin. "Denise! Damn, it's been too long!"

"Yeah, Dee! I missed you too."

"How's it going? I see you're in Johto," he said, looking around the PokéCenter she was in.

"Yeah, it's going pretty good. Not the best, but that's a Trainer's life, you know?"

"Yeah… Where's Henry?"

"He's in a room with Aries," she replied. Dee was silent for a few seconds.

"That boy you were with?"

"Yeah, him." He was silent again, which made her suspicious. "What's the problem with that?"

"Your tone changed as soon as you mentioned him," Dee said, causing her eyes to widen. "I mean, I was joking before, but…do you really—I mean, you and him…?"

"No! Of course not!" she said, shaking her head. He made a small noise in the back of his throat but didn't continue. "Why're you in the PokéCenter so late at night anyway?"

"Oh, um, Champ threw his back out a few hours ago," he said. "He's fine now though." His Machamp appeared on-screen pumped as ever.

"How'd that happen?"

"It was weird. We were passing a construction site and a steel beam almost killed me; Champ saved my life though, and I'm ultra-grateful." He fist-bumped Champ. "Don't know how it happened; the workers can't explain it either."

"Well I'm glad you're still alive 'n' kickin', Dee."

"Yeah, me too," he beamed. "Anyway, I gotta go before Mom has a coronary. I'll talk to you later, yeah?"

"Promise," she said before signing out. She sighed and dropped into one of the waiting chairs. The Pokémon Center's lobby was completely empty; even Nurse Joy and her Chansey had gone to catch some Zs. She thought about her house back in Pewter and plenty of other things too and started to ask herself the big question: Is all of this worth it? "That's impossible to answer," she muttered aloud, leaning back in the chair with her eyes closed. She was just starting to fall asleep when she heard footsteps and immediately leapt to her feet, fists clenched.

"Oh, Theophilus, it's just you," she sighed, running her hands through her hair. He watched her carefully as she sat down again. "Don't scare me like that again. Hey…what's up?" She noticed something different about his eyes. They were the same color, yeah, and the same width apart and all that crap, but something was different. "…Theophilus?"

He suddenly smirked, which made her think things were alright, until he said what he said next: I thought I'd never hear that damned name again.

She lurched to her feet but he had her beat; he raced forward fast—faster than Theophilus, in fact—and slammed his fist into her stomach. She fell to her knees coughing and sputtering while he chuckled. "Y-You must b-be Val-Valentine," she choked out.

So my brother mentioned me, eh? he chuckled, still highly amused. It took a great deal of tracking to find him after all of this time, but it'll be worth it when I can finally rip him to shreds. He turned away, pacing across the waxed floor. Denise noticed something about his hair/fur; while Theo's was long and tapered to an end, Valentine's was sheared off around the beginning of his ponytail.

Aries, she thought, hoping that by some miracle he ignored her wishes and chose to invade her mind at that very moment. If you can hear me, get the others and get out of here! Right now!

"What is your beef with Theo anyway?" she asked, trying to stall for time.

Oh, he stole my girl, stole my bag of chips, stole my new sneakers, Valentine said blandly. Does every supervillain have to have a horrible sense of humor? Denise thought. He's not as good a guy as he makes out to be, he said gravely.

"How would you know what he makes himself out to be, unless you've been stalking us?"

No, no, no! I would never, he gasped, genuinely affronted. I just know my brother very well. My brother Theophilus loves to pin his blame on humans—humans do wrong with Pokémon, humans mess our lives up—and acts aloof as to not put any blame on himself, but the both of us and our pack know his wrongdoings very well.

"Bull," she snorted.

It may sound that way to you, but not to all of us who had to witness our pack leader lose his mind. He looked at Denise and scoffed before kicking her in the stomach again, harder.

"Lucario!" Denise raised her head and saw Henry standing in the hallway's entrance, his fists clenched and an angry vein popping out of his neck. "Lucario, lu lu Lucario!" he yelled at Valentine, and Denise could sense his barely-repressed anger.

Don't do what again? You mean…this? He kicked her again, this time hard enough that she fell flat on the ground and couldn't catch her breath for a few seconds and tasted blood. I mean, it's all the same to me, he said passively, and that was about it for Henry, who rushed him and punched him so hard Denise's jaw got sore. While Valentine was out of the park Henry carefully rolled her onto her side, lifting her shirt to investigate her stomach.

"Henry, it's okay," she muttered, her voice coming out breathy and rough. Valentine apparently did more damage than she thought, because if it was possible, Henry grew angrier. "Henry…"

"Lucari… Lucario…" '…kill…circumcision…'

"Wait, what?" she coughed, looking up. "Henry, say that again."

'The circumcision?' he asked, blinking.

"Circumcision is…disgusting…"

'You understood me. You understood me!' he said, eyes wide.

"You always were verbose when you were pissed off," she grinned. The smile fell off of her face when she looked back at Valentine, who was beginning to recover. "Are the others safe?"

'Yes, thanks to your warning. Get outside and find them while I handle this one.'

"But—damn it," she groaned as she tried to straighten up. Henry helped her to her feet, concern bright on his face. "He would—he would kill you, Henry."

'I won't die while I still have you to protect,' he said reassuringly. She rolled her eyes and tried to move forward before a fresh wave of pain stopped her, this time coupled with blood that welled up in her mouth and splattered on her chin when she started coughing. Henry caught her before she fell. 'On second thought, maybe I'm not fighting today.'

"Zoroark, zo, zo," Valentine suddenly growled, rubbing his jaw where a welt was forming. He looked at Denise, then back at Henry. "Zoroark. Zoroark zo zo Zoroark ark!"

'You're not going to touch her again or any of my friends,' Henry growled in response, lifting her into his arms. 'And if you try, I'll skin you alive and wear your fur as a coat.'

Valentine laughed humorlessly. "Zoroark zo!" he snapped, brandishing his claws.

'I don't rely on advantages,' Henry said. 'Like you do apparently, attacking a defenseless human. As Pokémon, we don't hurt humans, Valentine.'

"Zoroark? Zoroark zo zo ark Zoroark."

'She's not weak; none of them are.' Henry backed towards the door but Valentine followed him, his eyes focused like a predator's. He clenched his jaw and turned, bursting through the glass doors at an amazing speed, especially considering he was carrying Denise, who was taller than him and outweighed him. Even so, she could see Valentine gaining on them quickly as he moved through Goldenrod's streets. He neared a canal and suddenly slid to the left into an alley; Valentine wasn't expecting it and tripped over the railing, falling into the water. Henry laughed as he passed through several alleys, elated.

"You're a tricky bastard," Denise grinned.

'Thanks.' He barked as they neared the Magnet Train Station; she could see Aries, Mew, and Theo waiting by the train anxiously. He set her on her own feet and rushed forward just as a black blur raced out from the shadows. Everybody froze as Valentine stopped just in front of the station's steps, a grin on his face and blood dripping from his claws; Henry stopped too, his paws grasping the fresh slash marks on his chest. He fell to his knees as blood soaked through his fur, then he fell on his face.

I don't like getting wet, he said, flexing his claws. He spotted Theo and grinned; Theo scowled, stepping forward. They didn't talk—or maybe they didn't speak for all of them in retrospect, but the energy between them was clear.

Run, Theo said, the thought so sudden Denise had a hard time understanding it. In a second he had Valentine on the ground, the two of them locked in a stalemate. I said RUN! he repeated, louder.

"Come on!" Aries called as the train started moving. The shrieking whistle cut her off as she began to reply, then she just said To hell with it and rammed Theo off of Valentine, grabbing Valentine's wrists and sending both of them tumbling across the asphalt. Theo hit the ground on all fours, staring at her in a mix of shock and a little bit of gratitude. Valentine growled and pulled his left arm free, slashing her across her cheek; she tasted blood and saw it drip on his fur and twisted him around, pulling his arms behind his back and holding him down with her boot.

What was that? Theo called, startled.

"Denise's hostile takeover," Aries called back.

She did say she would be the one to defeat Valentine, Mew said.

But it's my brother—

"It doesn't matter!" she shouted at him, struggling to keep Valentine's arms down. "I told you I'd be the one to fight him and I'm going to be the one to fight him!" And brothers shouldn't have to fight each other like this, not in any world, she thought, imagining Derrick and Dee going at it so roughly and cringing.

"Zoro—" Humans aren't built to fight Pokémon, and that's that! Valentine said, his hair bristling as he hit her in the face again with Shadow Claw; she moved back in time to avoid the worst of the pain and injury, but she didn't doubt that she'd have scars later.

"You don't mess with my friends," Denise hissed, tightening her grip on him. He started shaking from the effort he was making to escape. "You don't mess with Theo." Theophilus gave her a perplexed look. "And you don't mess with Henry, because then you're messing with me."

Ack! Valentine opened his mouth and released a Flamethrower. She gasped and raised her arms to her face, but at such a close distance it didn't do anything to stop the fire. She felt the heat prickling her skin and smelled the smoke for just a second, then she couldn't feel it at all; as a matter of fact, she could stare at it as if there was glass between her and the smoke.

One advantage of Protect is that the barrier can be molded to fit the physique of any Pokémon—or in this case, human, Mew said. Denise looked up and saw that her eyes were glowing, and to a lesser extent so were Aries' and Theo's. Denise smirked down at Valentine, who actually started to look like he was panicking.

L-Let go of me, damn it! he cried, struggling against her grip. She released one of his arms to punch him in the face.

"That was for Theophilus." She hit him again, harder this time, and heard his jaw pop. "That was for Henry." She hit him again and again and again, angry. "That was—for every—damn person—you ever laid—your hands on—Valentine!" She was pissed off—well, that wasn't new, but everything had finally caught up to her—all that crap with Team Rocket, Team Galactic, Silver, Mewtwo—and Valentine was just unlucky enough to have pushed her buttons and ended up as her stress ball—or Pokémon, but if she kept knockin' him like that he'd end up in a ball shape.

She punched him again, hearing her knuckles crack and bruise and hearing some bone of his crack. He was groaning, halfway to unconsciousness with blood dribbling out of his mouth. He already had a black eye and a swollen nose; she could've done more damage too if Aries hadn't grabbed her fist.

"Denise," he whispered, gripping her hand gently but firmly. She whipped her head around to glare at him, infuriated, then felt her face fall at his blank expression. He had made plenty of faces in the time that she'd known him, but never ever ever had he just looked so empty. She shook her head as she stood up, leaving Valentine groaning on the floor.

"I'm sorry," she murmured to nobody in particular. She saw Theo inspect his brother's face and he sighed.

He'll live, albeit with a few more bone protuberances, he said, lifting Valentine onto his shoulder. Them being the same height, it was awkward, but Theo managed. I'll take him back to the Pokémon Center. He shuffled past Denise and Aries, avoiding looking at either of them.

"Oh, Arceus," she groaned, digging her palm into her forehead.

He's going to live, Mew said, perplexed.

"That's not the…damn it… That's not the point. I shouldn't have beat him up like that; I shouldn't have." She kicked the ground angrily, then remembered that her anger got her in that situation in the first place. "I just… Gaaaaah!" She clenched her head, grinding her teeth together. Mew touched her shoulder, trying to console her, and Aries kept looking with that blank expression.

"We should go," he said. "Henry needs a PokéCenter, and I really don't think we're wanted at this one, and you need medical attention too, Denise."

Yes, Mew said for Denise, taking her hand. Denise moaned a bit.

"I'm coming," she muttered. "I'm coming…"

I marked this chapter as .5 because it's sort of a filler (are there fillers in stories, or is that just an anime thing?). It's a flashback and is mostly here to get some stuff out of the way that I truly couldn't figure out how to put into the story otherwise so...yeah.

Also, two chapters in one day! ^^

2.2.5. The Lost Art of Speaking
​

Aries remembered a time in the hospital that between the five of them there were no inhibitions or secrets; in other terms, for a while, they all could be very candid with each other.

In waking up, aside from a lingering numbness from the medication in his blood, he didn't feel anything out of the ordinary (although that's more of a pun, saying that he couldn't feel anything out of the ordinary when the one thing out of the ordinary—that being his hand—was completely gone, which meant he wouldn't be able to feel it in any event). He shook his head to clear it and saw Theophilus curled into a furry red ball in the corner, fast asleep, while Mew was curled half under the bed in a similar dream state. Henry was leaning against the pale wall on the far side of the room next to the solitary window, arms crossed over his chest as he slept quietly. Then Denise was sitting in a folding chair at the foot of the hospital bed, her head down so her curls were all over the sheets and her arms were thrown over his legs. He full-on laughed at that sight, causing her to stir.

"Wha's… Aries?" She rolled her head to the side to look at him sleepily. "Am I dreaming this…?"

"I understand that I have a very divine visage, but I wouldn't go so far as to call myself a dream," he smirked. She groaned and turned away—then Denise sat up straight, eyes wide.

"Aries? I really—you're awake?"

"Yes," he laughed quietly, his voice somewhat hoarse. She started to make a sound that sounded suspiciously like an amazed squeak but choked herself off, waking Henry in the process.

'Wha's goin'?' he slurred, looking around in confusion. He saw Aries and broke into a grin. 'You're awake!'

"Yes, that seems to be the theme of the party," he said. Mew, too, came awake, tackling the side of his face with its thoughts too disorderly to decipher, but it was obviously glad to see him conscious.

Where's the party? Theo muttered, unfurling and flopping on his back.

"Aries is awake, you fluffed-up rat!" Denise said to him. He snorted and rolled over, but Aries could see the small smile on his face. Denise's hands curled into fists as she looked into his eyes.

"How do you feel?" she asked hesitantly. He thought for a second.

"Tired," he admitted. "Burned out. But the point is that I'm alive, right?" he smiled.

Your spiritual purity is like acid to my mind and barf signals to my stomach, Theo piped up.

'Don't mind him; he's just mad that he can't find a Pokémon hair stylist,' Henry said.

Aries, Mew said, finally getting itself together. It hovered just above his lap before moving forward, touching his bandaged shoulder and chest warily. None of this affects you?

"Do you mean physically or mentally?"

Both.

"Physically, it's all numb, but mentally…" He shifted to draw his arm out from under the sheets, staring at his bandaged wrist. The warp panel's energy had cut it very cleanly; his wrist very much resembled a stump, flat and smooth down to his remaining bones. "This will take some getting used to, but I try to look at the positives."

"You always do," Denise muttered.

"Why does that sound so depressing coming from your mouth?"

"No reason," she said in a tone that denoted plenty of reasons.

Denise is acting odd, he thought to Henry.

You mean more than usual?

I'm not joking, Henry.

I know, I know, just… She was real worried about you, and she feels culpable since she was the one that suggested going to Team Rocket's HQ in the first place.

Aries scowled a bit, finding the thought absurd in many ways. "Denise, please, don't act so rigid around me, especially after you've begun taking so much comfort in constantly threatening my life and person."

"I don't have fun doing it, I just do it to teach you a lesson," she said, suddenly affronted. He was more used to that than her moping, at least. "Like how parents spank their kids so they learn not to put their hand on the stovetop."

"I think that putting your hand on the stovetop will teach you not to put your hand on the stovetop well enough," he pointed out. Theo barked something that sounded suspiciously like a laugh and even Mew chuckled a bit.

"You've a crappy way of making people feel better," she muttered.

"Aww, I'm sorry, do you want a hug?" he mused, taking her hand in his remaining one.

"If you hug me I'll rip your arms off and beat you with them."

'She's not kidding,' Henry added.

"But she is," Aries smiled. "I'm very able to tell your true anger from your defensive one at this point, Denise."

Defensive anger? Mew asked, perplexed.

"Yes, defensive anger. She acts angry as to avoid displaying the affection I know she has for me—" She suddenly squeezed his hand so hard it made him feel lightheaded. "Oof."

Yes, I can very well see that affection, Theo said dryly.

"Love hurts, especially from Denise," Aries laughed through the pain. She released his hand and stood up.

"I'm going to get some coffee," she said, leaving and slamming the door. Aries stared after her in confusion; finally, Henry sighed and moved over to occupy her chair.

'I didn't want to say anything because making jokes seems to be your way of coping,' he said, giving Aries a level look, 'but I don't want you to crack so many, especially now; she really was very worried about you even if she can't show it well, and I've told you already that she blames herself. Also, this—' he gestured to Aries' lack of hand, '—doesn't help, so keep it hidden, a'ight?'

"Alright; I understand, Henry."

'Good.' He nodded once.

What are you, the girl's father? Theo snorted.

"Oh, Theophilus, don't be jealous that Denise has family that loves her very much."

I do have that, he muttered. Or used to…I don't know…

'Shouldn't that be unambiguous?' Henry asked. 'I mean, you either have a family or you don't.'

Guess I'm a damn ambiguity. Aries looked between them and sighed.

"Henry, Mew, can you leave for a moment?"

Oh, don't tell me we're going to have a heart-to-heart, Theophilus complained.

"Yes, that's exactly what we're going to have. Henry, Mew?"

Henry shrugged and turned to Mew, who transformed into a Hoothoot and followed him out of the door. It shut softly behind them, and he felt their energy dwindle as they moved farther out of psychic reach. "Tell me, Theophilus," Aries urged softly.

Just dig in my mind and find out for yourself, he grumbled, rolling to his side.

"Theophilus, you understand as well as I do how this works: I can only see your immediate thoughts; as a Dark-type, your body prevents me from looking beyond what you give me."

Maybe I don't want to give it to you; maybe I want to keep my story to myself. Aries might have believed him—if his voice hadn't started cracking at the end of that sentence.

"Theo, please; we may not be BFFs, but trust me when I tell you that I am one of the few people in this world that genuinely care about you."

Why would you care about me? He sounded alarmingly despondent and broken; even though his back was to Aries, Aries imagined that he was crying a little.

"Because you're my friend, Theophilus."

Friend… He sniffled a little before blowing his nose into his shoulder; Aries made a mental note not to touch him for a while. (They were buddies, yes, but not germ-buddies.) Damn, I shouldn't be crying. Men don't cry.

"Oh, feel free to do so; I'm not here to judge."

Theo was quiet for a few seconds, apparently getting his thoughts in order. I haven't had a friend since Valentine years ago, he finally said. You see, we aren't really brothers…well, blood brothers… I was a stray that the pack picked up, and it was Valentine's family that took me in. I was…happy; my old Trainer, she would always force me to battle, battle, battle… I was finally free, and not only that but with a pack of my own Pokémon.

That explains his hang-up with humans, at least, Aries thought. "And you were happy?"

Well, duh! he snapped, bristling, then he calmed down again. Sorry, just… Yeah, I was happy; I had food, home, and a real family—a lot of them, the entire pack—and I was just…happy. Then when I got older, my illusionary powers came, and in my old pack that was like puberty for you guys; I was officially an adult.

"And something went wrong?" Aries guessed. Theo nodded.

Something went very wrong. The thing about illusions is that they're dangerous, not only to others but to the user as well; you have to be in control constantly or else they'll eat you up, and I'm only slightly exaggerating. I was cocky, alright? and I thought I had everything under control…I didn't, he said morosely. Arceus, I really didn't.

"What happened?"

I'm…not sure. No, no, that's a lie, he grumbled. It's all a big haze, alright? I remember I did some bad stuff, like attacking Valentine to become leader of the pack, except I wasn't a cool leader like him, I was…what's the word…

"Crazy," Aries supplied.

Crazy, he agreed. I don't know how long things went like that, but one day Valentine just…snapped…and I woke up in the PokéCenter with you all.

"Interesting concept; physical pain can break one out of an illusion, even self-induced," Aries mused. Theo exhaled slowly, scratching his ear.

It feels…good to tell. I think.

"Hey." Suddenly the door slammed open and Theo, being in its path, was slammed against the wall. Denise stepped forward, allowing it to shut, and he slid to the ground in a heap of limbs. "That's gonna leave a mark, yeah," she said, sitting down with her paper cup filled with hot coffee. Aries sighed.

"Theophilus are you alright?"

Oof. Jeez, give me a minute. Ack, yeah, good thing we're in a hospital. He shuffled to his feet and left groaning and with his bones creaking.

"I don't mind you verbally and physically abusing me, but please don't do so with the Pokémon, okay?"

"I do what I want," she muttered petulantly, taking a long drink of coffee. He smirked and held her free hand, causing her to do an amazing spit-take on his face. "Arceus!" she exclaimed, her face turning as red as his. (Although the difference was hers was red out of embarrassment; Aries' was red from burns.)

"You are an amazing woman, truly," he said, using the blanket to wipe his face clean. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Who's paying for my hospital stay?"

"I am," she said, calming down. "Me and Henry and Theo did a bunch of odd jobs to pay for all of this."

"You all did…?"

"Of course; you're a jerk sometimes, but you're our friend, Aries."

"T…Thank you, Denise…"

"Oh, don't tell me you're gonna get all teary-eyed," she groaned, backing the chair away. "I hate tears."

"But you were crying when I was injured, were you not?" he challenged. Her cheeks turned red in embarrassment and indignation. She punched his shoulder—his injured one, at that—and he doubled over clenching it.

"Oh, crap! Did I hurt you?" she said, instantly mollified. "Sorry, I just—"

"I'd feel better if I had a Castelia Cone," he said, grinning up at her. He expected her to be angry at his little trick, but instead she seemed relieved he wasn't actually hurt. That finally allowed him to comprehend how truly concerned she was for his health and well-being. "Oh, Denise," he muttered, lowering himself until he could draw the covers over his face.

"What… What are you doing?"

"I'm just…I don't know…it's strange having people other than Mew care about me as much as you all do," Aries admitted. "I don't know how it makes me feel."

"Just be happy, Aristotle," she said, and he heard the door open and close again.

'Do you guys know what happened to Theophilus?' Henry asked. 'His nose looked broken when I saw him.'

"Gee, no idea," Denise said, and she was a pretty damn good liar. "Hey, Aries, can I ask a question?"

"Depends," he said, sitting up. "How personal is it?"

"Not all that personal," she replied. "Before Mew, what did you want to do with your life?"

Aries opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, but no words came out. He just hadn't thought about that in so long… "I wanted to be a Pokémon Professor, Denise," he finally answered. She raised her eyebrows. "What, did you not expect that?"

"No, I very much expected that."

'You never wanted to be a Trainer?'

"Well, yes, but not for the Pokémon League; I just found it too competitive and too much a show of who's the best fighter and not who has the best relationship with their Pokémon."

'You must've been a real a-hole as a kid,' Henry commented. 'I mean, no offense.'

"None taken, I know I was. Guess I've made up for that now though," he added, gesturing to the hospital room.

"Aries…" Mew interrupted, returning to the room with a blue-iced cupcake featuring a 17-shaped candle.

I almost forgot, it said, smiling apologetically as it rested the cupcake in his good hand. Happy birthday, Aristotle.

"It's your birthday?" Denise asked, confused. He nodded.

"It's really nothing to celebrate," he sighed. "It just puts me closer to death."

'You're one of those guys, huh? C'mon, it's your birthday,' Henry said. 'You gotta be happy about that.' He only sighed again, blowing out the candle's flame before handing the cupcake to Denise.

"I'm tired; I'm going back to sleep." She grimaced a little, but it was no excuse; he wasn't completely healed and he'd been talking for a while. Henry touched Denise's shoulder; she sighed and got up, leaving with him. Aries dropped to the pillow and closed his eyes. Sometimes, he couldn't help but wonder what would've happened if he hadn't gotten Denise and Henry and Theo involved in his bullcrap.

Love and other extreme sports
I'll admit Theo as a Furfrou and Aries and Denise pretending to be a married couple is amusing.

No, no, on the contrary; I'm like his parent, and knowing that he's found a special someone is very, um, entertaining, to put a word to it. Mew giggled at Denise's irate expression before she became serious again. But right now isn't the time for it, okay, Denise? After all is said and done, then you can decide what happens next.

Click to expand...

Thought it's cute Mew considered itself Aries's parent.

"Oh, um, Champ threw his back out a few hours ago," he said. "He's fine now though." His Machamp appeared on-screen pumped as ever.

"How'd that happen?"

"It was weird. We were passing a construction site and a steel beam almost killed me; Champ saved my life though, and I'm ultra-grateful." He fist-bumped Champ. "Don't know how it happened; the workers can't explain it either."

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Ouch over the construction site incident. Good thing Dee is fine, and him fist-bumped Champ is sweet.

Oh, he stole my girl, stole my bag of chips, stole my new sneakers, Valentine said blandly. Does every supervillain have to have a horrible sense of humor? Denise thought. He's not as good a guy as he makes out to be, he said gravely.

Click to expand...

Ah oh, Valentine appeared.

'I don't rely on advantages,' Henry said. 'Like you do apparently, attacking a defenseless human. As Pokémon, we don't hurt humans, Valentine.'

Click to expand...

Really like this line from Henry.

The part where Denise punches Valentine, oh ouch. I do like that she didn't feel good about that later.

The Lost Art of Speaking

"Yes, defensive anger. She acts angry as to avoid displaying the affection I know she has for me—" She suddenly squeezed his hand so hard it made him feel lightheaded. "Oof."

Yes, I can very well see that affection, Theo said dryly.

"Love hurts, especially from Denise," Aries laughed through the pain. She released his hand and stood up.

Click to expand...

Tough love indeed, lol.

Theo's backstory in being Valentine's family/pack is interesting. Makes sense as to why there's conflict between them. The last part in which it's Aries's birthday made me a bit feel bad he's in the hospital for his birthday (though I know some folks who aren't too thrilled about their birthdays like him).

This was a pretty fun flashback chapter! Looking forward to more!

2.3. Fidelity Or Lack Thereof​

Mahogany Town was, by its own definition, a suspicious place, and hell yeah damn sure it was. Denise and Mew (in the form of an Espeon so telepathy wouldn't look so weird) waited outside of the Pokémon Center after visiting the town's clinic as Aries took Henry inside, staring dejectedly at the Souvenir Shop. It would've been funny if she didn't feel so crappy and Henry wasn't so hurt.

"Are we really safe standing in the enemy's city like this?" Denise asked Mew quietly.

They are occupied at the moment, she replied, although she seemed highly on edge too. Oddly, Silver isn't in the city, even though I can feel some of his malevolent spirit in the air.

"Maybe he found another town to terrorize?"

Perhaps. There was a pause. Please, Denise; Valentine will be fine, and I believe Theophilus could use the opportunity to talk, as they are brothers. Legendaries, we don't have physical families as you all do, but Arceus was somewhat of a father to me; if I could speak to him once more… Her little shoulders slumped; Denise patted her paw awkwardly.

"'s alright." Then she looked up, seeing somebody walk out of the Souvenir Shop. "Mew, who's that?"

Don't use my name here where we have so many listeners, Mew warned.

"Sorry, sorry, but look." She gestured to the crimson-haired man that was standing in the middle of the town and looking around. In the darkness, she couldn't see his face well and panicked. "We have to go!"

It's not Silver, Mew sighed. I can read his mind; that is the Elite Four's Lance, although… Hmm, it appeared he had met Silver a while ago—recently, actually. They battled, but Silver seems to be crying in the memory…

"Excuse me," Lance suddenly said, turning to Denise and crossing the distance between them. She noticed he was being followed by a large and slightly-wary Dragonite. "What are you doing out here so late?"

"Sulking, I guess," she mumbled. Lance stared at her for a while before sitting next to her, his red cape falling over his regal black clothes. He looked younger and friendlier than he did on T.V. and random corner store merchandise, but at the same time distant.

"Can I sulk with you?"

"Well… Sure, but…" She watched Mew trot into the Pokémon Center and waited until the doors shut, staring at the square of light they made on the grass. "Don't you have Pokémon League-ish duties to attend to?"

"More than you know," he sighed. "But I was here trying to find a certain Trainer… It seems he's already left."

"A Trainer with red hair and a lot of attitude, I'm assuming?"

"You know him?"

"Sort of," she muttered. "Why are you looking for him?"

"I fought him a while ago, you see," he explained. "I saw the way he treated his Pokémon—like tools, just means to reach an end—and it hurt and sickened me, so I sought to battle him to teach him a lesson. As powerful as they were, they weren't a match for our friendship—isn't that right, Dragonite?"

"Drag," his Dragonite grinned.

"Anyhow, I've been trying to see if my lesson took root, but I haven't been able to find him," he said, scratching his neck.

"That's good; he's not exactly the guy people go lookin' for, if you catch my drift," Denise said, scratching the bandage patch on her cheek.

"Then how do you know him?" Lance asked.

"Messed with some of my friends, the jerk."

"He is a jerk," he agreed. "But not totally—I can tell. He seemed to learn something from our battle, at the very least, so I believe he's not completely dark."

"He's a deceitful person; I wouldn't place my hopes on that."

Lance just shrugged, standing up and checking his Xtransceiver. "It seems my free time is over," he said, turning to Denise. "It was nice talking to you…?"

"Denise," she supplied.

"Denise," he smiled, climbing onto his Dragonite. Denise watched them go up into the sky until he took off, disappearing over the horizon. She heard the doors open and close again, then someone else sat next to her.

"Henry will be fine by sunrise," Aries said blandly. She looked at him out of the corner of her eye; he was staring at the stars, his face still blank. She let her eyes drop to his missing hand, the arm of which was buried in his cloak, and started grinding her teeth. "Please don't do that; you'll loosen a filling."

"What are you, my dentist? Why are you even still worrying about me?" she asked, burying her face in her raised knees. "'Cause of me…"

"None of this was your fault Denise, damn it!" he suddenly exclaimed, causing her to snap her head towards him. "Damn it—if you have to put blame, put it on all of us, alright? Just…stop…feeling bad…"

"Aries?" she asked warily. He sighed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I apologize for acting so distant," he said quietly. "But it really had nothing to do with you; instead, I was thinking about a certain visitor I had in the hospital."

"Who? But I thought you were unconscious the whole time?"

"Perhaps, but my subconscious remained very awake and aware." She felt her face burn at the begging she'd done at his bedside. Don't die…please don't die…please…don't bleed out…Aries, I'm sorry… He smirked, showing he was still enough of a bastard to read her thoughts. "Red," he said.

"Like, Pokémon Master Red? You're kidding me."

"Oho, I'm not," he said with an odd expression; it wasn't really smug, but he didn't seem particularly sad either. "He had a message."

"Which is…?"

"Oak is alive," he said, his voice becoming rough with sadness.

"Like, the Pokémon Professor Oak?"

"The very same, and he's in there." He pointed at the Souvenir Shop.

"What? How? Why? Wasn't he in Pallet Town when—you know?"

"He was out of town at the time, actually, and Red stated that Team Rocket got him within their grubby hands when he returned to the remains of Pallet to investigate. They were using his expertise on Pokémon for their genetic experiments all of this time, Denise," he answered, shaking his head. "Creating more things like Mewtwo and Deoxys." She felt a chill go down her spine. "He—Red—wanted to intervene, but he only has his six Pokémon, which cannot challenge a team as expansive and powerful as Team Rocket."

"But we're just sitting here chatting about it all instead of goin' in there and knockin' heads?"

"What can we do without Henry and Theo?" he sighed. "Not much, especially with an idea of Team Rocket's power and labyrinthine base."

"What about Mew?" Denise asked, even though she already knew the answer.

"Be careful, I said," he warned. "And it's still too preoccupied holding the world together, may I remind you."

"Yeah, because the Legendaries are just spirit energy familiars or whatever, right?"

"Close enough."

"Can't you—oh, I don't know how this psychic stuff works—thank Arceus that I don't have to worry about that bullcrap in my everyday life—" he actually looked a little affronted by that, "—but can't you speed up their revival or convince them to come back sooner or something? I mean, it's been eleven years, if all of you are telling the truth—those bastards have slept in enough."

Aries laughed out of disbelief and general amusement. "It's not that simple."

"Fine! Tell me why," she challenged. Aries worked his jaw, looking a little irritated, but then his face fell.

"I have no idea why, actually."

"Then get to it, because Me—you-know-who is more than a valuable asset to this and against you-know-what."

"I'll have to tell it," he said. "It knows the Legendaries better and has more psychic experience, but if it does work…" His face lit up for the first time since they reached Mahogany Town. "Denise, it might work!" he suddenly exclaimed, throwing his arms around her and hugging her tightly. She gasped at the contact and was stiff before melting a little, patting his shoulder.

"Dude…I mean, like…don't."

"Hah," he coughed, pulling away and crossing his arms over his chest. "I am sorry." Something about his voice sounded strange, like it went up a half step.

"Dude…?"

"What?"

"Nothing." She punched his shoulder, causing him to groan, but he smiled a little. He stood up, offering a hand.

"There's a room inside for us; I'm sorry I couldn't get two, but the Pokémon Center isn't large enough to separate boys and girls."

"'s alright," she said, taking his hand and getting to her feet. "I wanted to talk to you anyway."

"Talk? Did we not just talk? About what?"

"Just talk," she said. "Like friends do."

——————

"You're serious?" Denise laughed, mashing the pillow down on top of her crossed legs. Aries nodded from the other bed, practicing on floating his pillow telepathically without dislocating his joints. "The famous freaking Gary Oak was a goofball?"

"Him and his friend Ash…Ketchum," he said thoughtfully. "Those two would go on all kinds of misadventures together, I swear. Hm… And at my Pokémon School, they were the most excitable students."

"Wait, you went to school?"

"Affirmative, chief."

"I thought you learned everything from books?" she said, confused.

"I did learn a lot from books, however I attended daycare and preschool just the same. I spent one year in primary school before…" He paused thoughtfully, then smiled. "I just went on my own after that."

"Before what?" she pressed. His expression changed.

"Please, Denise—"

"Remember from a long while ago, back in Cerulean? You still owe me a thought, Aristotle."

"Very well," he sighed, letting the pillow fall to the sheets. "Remember the Pokérus epidemic that took thousands of lives around Kanto, Pokémon and human?"

"Ye—crap, don't tell me—you're kidding—"

"My parents, Denise," he interrupted, rubbing his jaw. "Some of us, as you know from school, had that certain gene that made us immune; others didn't."

"Damn, well, I'm sorry," she said, trying to imagine a life without her parents since age six and failing. He sighed, waving her off.

You're referring to the Pokérus epidemic? Mew said suddenly, standing up from the foot of Aries' bed. Denise gasped a little; she thought that Mew had been sleeping the whole time.

"Y-Yes," Aries said, surprised as well. Mew scratched her nose anxiously, which both of them picked up.

"There a problem?" Denise asked, leaning forward. Mew looked around the room psychically (Denise learned how to tell after spending so much time with those psychic weirdos) before turning into its original form, curling up into a wad of bubblegum-pink fur.

The fact that you lived…and not Melanie and James…the fault for that lies with me, she murmured, her mental voice weak. Every noise-making object in the world managed to be quiet for ten seconds as they all exchanged looks.

"What?" Aries exhaled, looking like somebody had scraped all of his insides out. Mew quickly jumped into the air, grasping her tail nervously.

I'm sorry, Aries, but this was a long while ago—I myself had even forgotten about it, what with Deoxys' attack and Rayquaza and the fact that you were a child with no guardians getting harassed daily—although the fault of no guardians lies with me—

"Mew." That was probably the angriest he'd ever been at Mew, who squeaked in response. Tears built in her large eyes as she told him, except she didn't include Denise in her telepathy—thank Arceus for that, actually, because by Aries' shattered expression, she probably didn't want to know.

Suddenly Aries clenched his fists, and in that second Mew shot backwards by Psychic, crashing against the wall with a loud thud! and hitting the ground with a moan. Aries' eyes widened and he jumped to his feet at the sight of her; he swallowed, then yelped, then he ran out of the room. Denise almost chased after him but stopped, sensing he needed some alone time, although she wished it wasn't so close to the enemy's HQ.

Don't have very much thoughts concerning Lance's appearance except I have a feeling we might see more of him soon.

Some pretty interesting revelations there, first being Aries having interacted Red (he speaks! *runs* ) and Professor Oak still alive. The Pokerus stuff is interesting, and if I'm assuming right Mew is the one responsible for that? If so, now I'm reminded of your Small Writing Contest a few weeks back. Shall be interesting how Mew and Aries's interaction will be now. Looking forward to more!

Bay Alexison said:

Don't have very much thoughts concerning Lance's appearance except I have a feeling we might see more of him soon.

Some pretty interesting revelations there, first being Aries having interacted Red (he speaks! *runs* ) and Professor Oak still alive. The Pokerus stuff is interesting, and if I'm assuming right Mew is the one responsible for that? If so, now I'm reminded of your Small Writing Contest a few weeks back. Shall be interesting how Mew and Aries's interaction will be now. Looking forward to more!

Click to expand...

I had to comment; the "He speaks" just made my day, thanks {XD}

Omg a few chapters left, we're almost done here. Should I be happy or sad, I don't know
P.S. These chapters are long haha

2.4. Scents and Sensibility​

'I was fascinated with you Aries, and at the time Pokérus abounded; I feared you would catch it, as would your parents, when the strain reached Pallet Town, and at the time it was easy for me to use Psychic on the cellular level, so I…sort of…tweaked your DNA.'

"Then why not my parents!? Why just me!?"

'It would have been easier to track you…if not for a parent's watchful eye… I'm sorry, Aries. I still thought of humans as just playthings and I didn't consider your feelings at all; I truly am sorry.'

"Yeah, I'm sorry too."

Aries stared at the rising sun before rubbing his eyes hard with the butts of his hands; they were dry and irritated from his lack of sleep, but he couldn't really amend that problem with all of the information cramping his skull. It was stupid; they had a bigger goal in mind than his life which, frankly, was just as important too—

"Damn it," he muttered, falling back on the Pokémon Center's roof. He remembered Mew's constant reprimanding for swearing but just said to hell with it—literally. "Damn it, damn it—crap," he hissed as a Combee landed on his bare leg. He kicked him away angrily.

'Jeez, calm down!' the Combee called, buzzing away. He rubbed his palms together, trying to distract himself from the pressure building in his mind. He couldn't risk losing his cool, not as a psychic—he couldn't risk heavy emotions in general, evident by what happened to Mew when he became angry—but—

"Pfuaaa!" Something that had been climbing onto the roof was knocked back from his psychic release and sent to the ground. He turned away from the ladder, burying his face in his hands.

"I'm sorry, Henry."

'Jeez, and I was already beat-up too.' Henry started towards him, then he stopped a few feet away. 'Mew told me what it told you—I'm sorry if it seemed personal, but I asked—'

"I'm glad you know," he interrupted. "The more people that know its true nature, the better."

Henry made a sound that was a hybrid of a grunt and sigh. 'Aries, I know it was messed up, but that was years ago and it's obviously sorry—'

"And what's that going to do for me, huh? I should've died with them, Henry, and I was spared—not only that, but they were left to suffer. Did you see what Pokérus did to people? It was almost Biblical; I never felt worse for my parents in my entire life, that I couldn't share their pain and had to watch them waste away in front of me." He swallowed, feeling old tears prick at his eyes. "…It's just a horrible thing to happen to anybody."

'I know. Arceus, I know.' Henry finally approached him, sitting next to him, although Aries didn't look at him. 'You know, my mother laid my Egg while she had Pokérus—that's why I was a Bad Egg.'

"Hnn." He actually didn't know; those types of memories were too deep for a simple thought-skimming.

'I didn't know her for that long after I hatched,' he continued thoughtfully, 'but what I saw was horrid. That damn Pokérus wrecked her, you know, and she was a stray too; she suffered in an alleyway all the way 'til her death.'

"You were out there with her?" Henry shook his head.

'No; Denise had found my Egg a long while ago and took me in. She hatched me, but because of instincts I went to find her and—well—you know what I found. I cried over her body until Denise found me and took me back, and since then she's been taking care of me.'

"That is a sweet story, Henry, but it doesn't help with my situation."

Henry sighed, leaning back on his paws. 'I dunno, I just wanted to share… Anyway, Aries, as mad as you are at Mew, you can't honestly be angry that it gave you a chance at living?'

"That's not it…it's the 'your parents were just in the way between us' creepypasta part that I didn't like."

'Oh, that. Well, I don't know how to solve that problem,' he admitted. 'But—and this is just my advice here—I think you should wait until after we're done with that other problem.' He indicated the Souvenir Shop.

"Dam-dang it, you're right, Henry." He dropped his hands to the gritty rooftop, staring at his palms before he raised his eyes to Henry. The Pokémon Center's machine had worked wonders on his injury, and yet there were three claw scars over his chest and left shoulder that would remain there for the rest of his life. "I'm sorry for everything else, Henry; if not for my coming to Pewter City in the first place, you and Denise never would have been roped into my problems."

''s no biggie,' he shrugged. 'Denise would've gone out on her own at some point, and I'm bound to follow her in whatever she does. Also, after seeing Silver and Mewtwo, I'm glad to knock some sense into the nutcases that made them.'

Aries chuckled weakly. "Articulate as always."

'Well.' He got to his feet. 'We should go now, while we still have some time left.' He indicated the shop again.

"Without Theophilus?"

Henry grimaced. 'Sadly, that's not the case.'

——————

What took you so long? Theo snorted as soon as they walked in the room, shutting the door.

"You're not angry?" Aries asked, gesturing at Denise, who was still asleep. Theo shrugged.

I mean, it's not like I've never just beaten people up for the hell of it, and Val really deserved it, but…he's my brother; it was my job to knock some sense into him, but honestly I'm glad somebody did. He sighed, scratching behind his ear. He left after he was healed; I'm not sure where he went, but we had a little talk and I'm pretty sure that our issues are more or less resolved. Thank you, guys; maybe humans aren't as bad as I thought.

"Most of us anyway," Aries said. "Anyway, we still have one last job to do before our little group is disbanded."

Theo nodded. So how's this gonna work? We storm in guns blazing or what?

'Well, considering how well things went the last time,' Henry said, looking at Aries' missing hand, 'we need an actual strategy this time—a clear goal would help too, matter of fact.'

"The goal is to take out Team Rocket and its affiliations," Aries said, ticking off fingers as he continued, "Which includes Boss Giovanni, Mewtwo, Deoxys, and Silver."

Cyrus as well.

"Yes, Cyrus as well, so that makes five enemies in total, and counting the each of us, that's…"

'Five,' Henry supplied. 'So we split up for this. I'll take Deoxys; I owe that bastard anyway.'

Then I'll handle Cyrus, Theo said, cracking his knuckles.

"I have Silver," Aries said. "And I believe Denise can take care of Giovanni."

'And Mew will get Mewtwo—if we find it, in any case,' Henry said.

"Then all of that is settled; we only have to wake Denise to tell her of the plan." Aries tried calling her name, shaking her shoulder, and even Theo's dumb idea that involved whipped cream and warm water, but she was an amazingly deep sleeper. "How do you usually wake her up, Henry?"

'We don't,' he said. 'We were raised in a city of heavy machinery and construction; it takes a lot to wake one of us up.'

"Oh, well." He decided to try waking her up through her dreams. He slipped into her mind and— "Arceus!" he exclaimed, jumping backwards.

'What?' Henry asked as Denise sat up, looking at Aries.

"Tell me I dreamed that," she said, her jaw clenching anxiously.

"You dreamed it," Aries confirmed, rubbing his face.

Why are your faces red? Theophilus asked. Denise scowled; Aries turned away.

"She had a funny dream," Aries elaborated, although he didn't mention what kind of funny it was. It certainly wasn't hah-hah funny, as Theo took it; it was more like the dads-would-kill-you funny that Henry thought it was. "Anyway, Denise, we have an official battle plan in order." He explained their splitting up to her while she tried to get her thoughts in order.

"And do you have any clue where any of those guys are?" she asked at the end.

"It's not as if things like Mewtwo and Deoxys can remain hidden."

Like Cyrus is a hard person to find, Theo snorted. Just look for the stupid tinfoil suits.

"Fair point," she agreed. "But there are people like Silver who, amazingly, can."

"I can locate his presence easily enough; he is a very memorable person. I just have to find the nearest source of depression."

"Then we're all gonna do this?" She looked between them as they nodded. "When?"

"Now," Aries said. "Henry, Theo, and I have to leave now to catch up with our targets."

"What about Mew?" Denise asked, "It flew off somewhere; you're not gonna look for it?"

"It's going to return to the room soon enough," he said passively, pulling his shirt over his head and taking up his original clothes. "You'll still be here to tell it what to do."

"Jeez," Denise sighed, then she looked at his bare torso. "What happened to your body?" she asked worriedly, pointing at the old scars and marks on his skin.

"Playground bullies," he answered, confused. "I thought those were common?"

"Yeah, but…yeah. Never mind." She stood up and took her backpack into the bathroom, shutting the door. Aries smiled a little at her concern, getting a displeased throat-clearing from Henry.

"After all of this, I wonder…"

'She's too good for you,' Henry said almost instantly.

"Thank you, Denise's father." He slipped his original t-shirt on and fitted his cloak over his body. He waited for Denise to finish before continuing, "Now, I have gathered a stockpile of information on each of the marks; I believe it wise to share it with you all now."

'Lay it on us, slick.'

"I should start with Deoxys; from what…from what Mew's told me, Deoxys has four different forms: Attack, Defense, Speed, and Normal, which it is most seen in. Each form strengths the said stat, making Deoxys a virtual powerhouse."

'All the same, I can take it,' Henry said, undeterred. Aries nodded.

"Enthusiasm is always welcome, Henry. Denise, Giovanni is ill, as the media has stated; it should be easy to immobilize him and call the authorities, although breaking into Team Rocket HQ is another story—they would obviously have beefed up security measures since then, which I cannot investigate, so I warn you to exercise extreme caution."

"Don't patronize me; I know how to be safe, Aristotle," she said, rolling her eyes.

Was there supposed to be a sex joke somewhere in there? Theo asked. Aries interjected to prevent Denise from acting upon her thoughts of throttling him.

"And Theophilus, Cyrus seems to be reenacting upon his plan of summoning Dialga and Palkia, and as they are mostly formed this is very plausible. Team Galactic is peculiar but strong nonetheless; they are not to be taken lightly, as with Team Rocket—"

"Seriously, don't patronize me," Denise said crossly; something wicked this way comes, thought Aristotle.

"—and I don't want you to get hurt or killed. The main ones to avoid are the Admins; the Grunts have weaker Pokémon, making them a small threat, but Cyrus is the largest, being the Boss, and if he does somehow manage to physically summon Dialga and Palkia, I very much recommend that you run."

I never run; running is for bastards, he said. I'll fight him no matter the stakes, if not for myself then for you guys, my friends.

'This is getting awfully sappy,' Henry said warily. Aries grinned.

"That about covers it all. Any questions, comments, last wishes?"

"You feel like such a comedian, but most of the time your jokes just make me depressed," Denise commented, and Henry agreed, although that wasn't very peculiar.

"Yes, I'll surely take comedy advice from you, Denise," he said understatedly. She started to rise, fists clenched, but Henry held her back. "Yes, that's precisely why I wouldn't."

"Bite me!"

I'm starting to think that he really wants to, Theo said.

"Oh, yes, I really do," Aries said, humoring him. "And hold her and kiss her and—Henry I'm joking!" he cried when Henry started to rise, fists clenched. Theo and Denise had a ball laughing at that while Aries attempted to put as much distance between him and the overprotective Lucario as possible. It suddenly occurred to him that their pointless banter/threats was their way of remaining calm while facing the impossible situation ahead of them; he started laughing, although when Denise saw that he wasn't laughing with them she stopped.

"The hell are you laughing at?"

I think he's going crazy, Theo said.

"I probably am," Aries laughed. "Hah, probably am."

——————

With five hours of sleep backing him up, Aries felt more in control and less hysterical, although the other still seemed a bit wary around him. He led them to the Pokémon Center's lobby and went to the map of Johto. "I did a little psychic location—it's like echo location, but cooler—and discovered that Cyrus is currently in the Jubilife City area. Theophilus, I believe I can Teleport you there."

Believe or know?

"…I know," he said, thinking it over. It's all about mental spirit, he thought, focusing on Theo's body. "Normally, with the way psychic abilities work, I can only read superficial thoughts of yours, and even then I can only do that when you're not consciously resisting me; at this time I wish for you to temporarily drop your Dark-type's resistance so I can Teleport you."

I don't really understand how that works, but whatever. He sighed as a pink aura of psychic energy surrounded him. I'll see you guys as soon as all of this is over—believe it! he said before Aries sent him away.

'You can do that now?' Henry asked.

"I've been practicing. Now, Henry, Deoxys was sighted in the mountain ranges of Mt. Silver."

'Alright—beam me up, Scotty—er, Aristotle.'

Aries sent him away as well, although this time there was a small patch of fur that didn't make it through. He didn't say anything; it could've been worse, like a head or something. He sighed before leaving the Pokémon Center, mentally scanning the area for Silver. Nobody was out there crying in despair and defeat or thinking of a redheaded psychopath, so he wasn't around there.

"This is it," Denise said, walking beside him. She was wearing an old Kanto League t-shirt and black Capri pants over a pair of Miltank-skin cowboy boots.

"Should I ask?"

"There aren't any real shops here, so I had to root through the Lost 'n' Found. Anyway, there was a news report; Silver's at the Pokémon League trying to fight Lance."

"Got it." He paused, really looking at her. "After this, Denise…because we're really going to live; I'm sure of it…we're going to hang out like real…friends, alright?"

"That's an odd way of asking, but sure," she shrugged. They held each other's gaze for a long while, silence filling the air. "You're a very strange man, Aristotle," she said.

"And you are a very…unique young lady, Denise."

She suddenly grabbed his cloak, pulling it. "Why do you always wear this?"

"It's warm—I don't know," he admitted. "Maybe I'm just scared of showing people who I am."

She pulled it harder until the clasp loosened and it fell away from him. "There's not really a point in that anymore, is there?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"…No, I guess not. I have to go, but we'll meet again, alright?"

"Promise," she said. Then, "You're not taking the bus or something there, are you?"

He had to laugh. "No, that'd be silly; I'm displacing my molecules, releasing them into the air to travel, unhindered, at Mach speed—"

"That sounds silly," she interrupted. "Aaaaanyway…good luck." She held out her fist; Aries bumped it with his own. It felt silly and informal, but it was the way that Denise was.

"And don't forget to rescue Professor Oak," he added.

"Of course!" she promised.

He Teleported himself this time; it was colder and less painful than the warp panel, but it still felt as strange. His surroundings spun and blurred around him until he felt nauseous, then just when he was ready to throw up they slowed, allowing him to better absorb his surroundings; as he expected, he landed on the shore of Sendoff Spring—thankfully, also, he didn't lose any body parts. (Actually, he was missing a sneaker, but that was inconsequential.) The spiritual energy of the place coursed through his body, making him feel invigorated and alive. To be honest, it was a miracle that he made it there, not only to Sinnoh but to the obscure lake, seeing that it wasn't on any conventional map, and more so miraculous that in going to a place he had never heard of in a completely foreign region he made it on the mark with no repercussions—

"Ack," he gasped, grasping his wrist; it seemed he did loose part of his stump, causing it to bleed heavily through the bandages once more. He feebly tried to staunch the bleeding with his other hand as he sat on the grass. The energy concentration was really something to admire; he hadn't felt so much in one place since he was in the Legendaries' dimension. He let his mind wander, seeing his old memories come to life in the form of faded ethereal images: him reading, Mew watching him from afar; meeting Arceus; going to the arctic; Silver; Denise; Galactic Leader Cyrus… He didn't notice he was crying until he felt his tears drip onto his hand; he wiped his face hurriedly, focusing.

A strong and biting pain surged in his missing hand, causing even more blood to spill onto the grass, staining it crimson. He became lightheaded from all of the blood he was losing, but he kept his focus, not seeing but feeling the injury within his wrist. He took a deep breath and forced his cells into overdrive, feeling the intense burning sensation of exertion double from the fact that he was using it on himself. The pain of it all gave him tunnel vision and made him want to pass out; he almost did too, falling on his back, but the sight of his skin and muscle moving within the injury kept him going. Slowly but very surely, his bones stretched and increased in number, forming his hand's joints, followed by his vessels (which were actually transparent from having no blood to carry) and then red glistening muscle. Finally, his skin covered it all, pinker than he was used to but full and unmarked.

"Thank Arceus," he whispered weakly, using his other hand to grab his shirt and wipe the sweat from his face. It was the wrong time to relax, but damn it all he needed a nap.

——————

Denise!

"Bwaha!" Denise exclaimed, falling ungracefully on her behind as Mew appeared in thin air. "Arceusdamnit, Mew, give me a heart attack why don't'cha?"

I apologize, she said unapologetically. Where did the others go?

"We're trying to get everybody in one fell swoop," Denise explained. "Aries is going after Silver, Henry Deoxys, Theo Cyrus, and I'm going after Giovanni; you were left with Mewtwo."

Mewtwo… Mew said thoughtfully. Then, What is your plan for Giovanni?

"I'm gonna storm in of course!"

Of course, Mew sighed. Denise, that won't work and you know it.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I do, but what else? I'm no strategist; besides, we went through there with no plan already and lived, didn't we?"

Barely, she pointed out. You don't even have any Pokémon.

"There are Pokémon inside of the HQ."

Denise, those are other Trainers' Pokémon that were taken by Team Rocket! You can't just use them like that! she said, appalled.

"Oh damn, you're right—sorry for suggesting it."

You're not, Mew said after a moment. Denise, you care about Pokémon enough to understand why that's wrong.

"You're right, but…I'd rather not go in there and get killed; none of us should get killed doing this. I mean, we're not doing crimes," she said, turning her hands up to stare at her palms. "We're trying to help everybody, so we shouldn't get killed doing all of this…"

Sometimes a hero can't save their own life, she said, but can save millions of others'.

"…You're right, I guess."

Then I'll go too, to find Mewtwo. Mew started to move away but Denise stopped her, grabbing her paw.

"You too—don't die."

Mew smiled. I promise I won't, Denise.

——————

"It smells like sulfur out here," Henry muttered, covering his nose with his paws as he trudged up the rocky mountain trail. He didn't quite expect Deoxys to be waiting there for him, not unless it was some Psychic-type too, but he also didn't expect the journey to be so…boring. It was about as fun as kicking rocks…which he was doing, actually. Damn it. And damn Aries for leaving out that damn patch of fur on his behind.

*LU---LUCARIO| IS LUCARIO*

Henry spun around and saw Deoxys floating at the edge of the trail's drop-off. "Okay, so maybe you are a Psychic-type," he conceded.

*WHAT---PURPOSE---YOU?* it asked in that weird tone of voice or mind.

"My purpose? Getting rid of you, of course." Henry reached out and tried to grab its tentacle but it vanished, causing him to stumble and almost fall over the edge. He gritted his teeth and started running up the remainder of the trail until he reached the cavern at the peak. The cave was dark and was filled with the sound of water dripping from stalactites. He looked around and saw that Deoxys was at the other end scratching something into the wall.

*ADENINE| THYMINE| GUANINE| CYTOSINE| URACIL* it said as it wrote. It took a few seconds but Henry recognized the chemicals from Denise's old Biology homework (which was one of the few subjects she failed dismally for some reason) as the makeup of DNA and RNA. Actually, if he wasn't mistaken, Aries or Mew said at some point or another that Deoxys was originally a virus, so it would've been made up of ribonucleic acid.

*E---EARTH POKÉMON* it suddenly cried, turning to Henry. Its facial expression never changed but something about it felt sadder. *EARTH POKÉMON---EARTH| ARE FOR EARTH* Henry tried to rush it again but it moved, its tentacles coiling into arms and hands. It formed a Shadow Ball and launched it at him; he used Light Screen to reflect it back. Deoxys' body swelled into something sturdier and it blocked the attack with flatter tentacles.

"What about Earth Pokémon?" He tried to punch Deoxys but that form was well-suited for defense; it just pushed him away, ambling to the other end of the cavern.

*DEOXYS IS---VIRUS/BELONGS UP; NOT DOWN* it said, and Henry could really hear the confusion in its voice. *TEAM ROCKET SENT I DOWN---DOWN FOR LEGENDARY---DOWN FOR MEW| DEOXYS CONSEQUENTLY FOUND MEW; FOUND MEW IN PALLET*

He tried to make sense of what Deoxys was saying, but with its turn of phrase that was an amazing effort. "Team Rocket sent you to find Mew," he said slowly, "and you found it in Pallet?"

*SMART---LUCARIO| DEOXYS---TAKEN---FOR LEGENDARY/TO FIND LEGENDARY| SUBSEQUENTLY| DEOXYS TOLD; GET RID OF ANYBODY IN THE WAY| PEOPLE IN THE WAY| DEOXYS DO IT| IT FOR DEOXYS' FRIEND*

"Friend?"

*DEOXYS' FRIEND| THEY MADE---WITH DEOXYS' A; T; C; G; U| THAT IS DEOXYS' FRIEND| HE STILL INSIDE, STILL WITH---GIOVANNI| DEOXYS GET FRIEND IF DEOXYS GET INTRUDERS*

"Wha…" Henry was lost for a moment, so he didn't have time to react before Deoxys grabbed him, changing back to its original form. Its tentacles curled around his throat, cutting off his air supply and almost instantly forcing him into unconsciousness.

——————

Aries felt his molecules collide as he materialized within the Pokémon League. On the left side of him, Nurse Joy dealt with a blond Trainer and his team; on the right side a bored cashier was waiting for a customer at the PokeMart.

"Okay…and Silver was with Lance, who's up there…" he muttered, turning to the large doors separating the lobby from the Elite Four rooms. He saw the guard standing there and realized that he had no Badges to enter, and he assumed that 'I'm here to kick butt' wouldn't suffice as a good reason. He was getting ready to daze the guard when the doors suddenly burst open by themselves; he jumped back to one of the bronze Pokémon statues by the entrance as the Pokémon Champion Lance marched through, speaking to the guard.

"Prepare for an attack," was all he said before returning to the inside, shutting the doors. The guard seemed surprised but quickly caught on, releasing his six Pokémon that consisted of a Nidoking, Aggron, Mawile, Banette, Girafarig, and a lone Magikarp. They formed a strong line in front of the door, but if the impending threat was who Aries thought he was, the Pokémon would be of no use.

In a second, all of them (except for the bouncing Magikarp) collapsed, the purple tinge of poison coloring their exteriors as they fell, choking, to the tiled ground. The guard gasped and began to draw a Taser before he suffered the same fate, followed by Nurse Joy and the PokeMart cashier. Aries looked around and sensed a Ghost-type in the room; immediately after, his suspicions were confirmed by a Gengar carrying a passenger. Silver was dropped in the center of the room; he was wearing his original clothes from eleven years ago and even wore his hair in the old style. Aries started to hyperventilate, the memories of long ago permeating his mind, but he managed to pull himself together and walk into the open.

"What are you doing here, Silver?" he demanded, clenching his fists. Silver slowly turned to him; he was paler and had marks under his eyes as if he hadn't slept in a while (or cried a lot, either/or), but the contempt in his eyes hadn't disappeared. Rather, he seemed more like he had eleven years ago: cruel, but still juvenile.

"I hate the weak," he said, looking towards the doors. "Pokémon, Trainers…it doesn't matter who or what; I'm going to be strong and wipe out the weak. That goes for Team Rocket too; they act big and tough in a group, but get them alone and they're weak. I hate them all. You stay out of my way; a weakling like you is only a distraction." He paused to look at Aries, smirking without humor. "You're a liability, you're a mistake; to think you'd have grown to be more than just a whining brat was just foolishness on my part. I'll correct my mistake now, here and now in the Pokémon League, and after that I'll show Lance what I really think of his damn morals."

"Cut the soliloquy of deprecation short," Aries countered. "I'm no mistake; the only mistake in here is in your little diatribe. Life is a gift, an amazing gift in fact, something meant for us to spend having fun with others, but people like you—Team Rocket, Team Galactic, et cetera—find some semblance of existence in taking away other people's Pokémon, hurting others, or going on some twisted journey of self-discovery that involves taking the lives of the Legendary Pokémon."

"You don't know me, Aristotle," he said, drawing a PokeBall in each hand. "I had to deal with a lot of crap, which led to me being as I am today. I believe I told you that."

"Having a rotten past doesn't equal a Be-A-Bastard free card; even if your childhood was as sorry as you let on, why did you let yourself become sorry too?"

"You had Mew," he whispered. "Mew is the perfect Legendary, the perfect role model; I, on the other hand, had nobody."

"Nobody," he repeated, appalled. Silver pushed the buttons and released his Typhlosion and Weavile.

"Nobody but a dad who cares more about his image as a mafia boss than his only family—or who used to be his only family." He took a deep breath and went up to the doors; Aries tried to cut him off but Silver's Pokémon blocked his way.

"I don't want to hurt you or your Pokémon, Silver," Aries warned.

"What're you saying? You're just a damn pacifist," he snorted, pushing the doors open. "Typhlosion, come on." His Typhlosion followed him inside and the doors slammed shut, leaving Aries alone with his Weavile.

'I missed you, buddy,' his Weavile grinned, clicking his claws together. 'Silver didn't let me cut you open back then, but I'm perfectly able to now!'

"I apologize in advance if this leaves any lasting marks," he said, letting his arms fall to his sides. "My psychic powers fluctuate with my emotions, you see, and—"

'Less talking!' He suddenly rushed Aries, his claws surrounded by shadows; Aries used Protect, expecting him to bounce off, but he latched onto the invisible barrier with his claws and pounded on it with one hand, trying to break it.

"Why do you obey Silver? He's cruel and abusive to both people and you all."

'Being with Silver is fun,' he answered simply, giving the barrier one last pound that broke it immediately. Aries was knocked flat on his back as the Weavile tackled his chest. 'You're a Psychic-type, so you can't hurt me~' he hummed, tapping Aries' Adam's apple with a claw. 'Where should I cut first, hmm?'