Lilah quietly rode through Route 211, her bike slicing through the fresh grass with ease. Weavile clung to her shoulder, crouched low to reduce wind resistance. It was quiet, save the wind, which was blowing rather harshly through the afternoon sky.
Lilah came to a sudden halt, her bike's rubber wheels screeching against the dusty ground as she stared into the dark, gaping mouth of Mt. Coronet.
"Eterna City's right through here," she said quietly, tilting her head towards the opening. "I wonder what kind of Pokémon is inside the egg that girl was carrying? I haven't seen anything like it before. What do you think, Weavile?"
Weavile grumbled.
Lilah shook her head. "Don't be jealous. I'm just curious."
She stretched out her thins arms, raising them high over head with a grunt. "Mt. Coronet's rough terrain," she remarked. "You'd best hold on tight."
~-~-~
It was evening by the time Lilah and her companion reached Eterna City, the sunlight dimmed to a comforting glow, bathing the cobblestone walkways with a dull shine.
Lilah stared into the quiet city, Weavile slowly leaning forward to gaze over her shoulder.
"It is pretty, isn't it?" Lilah said, a small smile on her lips. "I haven't been to Eterna in ages. You were just a Sneasel last time I was here."
Weavile was quiet.
"Well," Lilah said, swinging her leg over the seat of her bike, "We can walk from here. The forest is just past Route 205. I'll leave my bike here until we get back."
~-~-~
Lilah strolled through the dark forest, Weavile's bright eyes flashing here and there, her sharp eyesight picking up the slightest of movements. Lilah was stepping carefully, doing her best to avoid twigs and rocks on the forest floor. "We should have come during the day," she said with a small sigh. "But now that we're here, we might as well-"
Suddenly, Weavile leaped from her shoulder, firing Dark Pulse in quick succession, landing on the ground and slashing the unknown enemy with Metal Claw before finally backing up and standing firm, her chest rising and falling heavily with each breath.
Lilah's head snapped up as a thick branch high above her head snapped, falling to the ground with a crash. Hundreds of Golbat exploded from the trees, Lilah shielding her head with her hands.
'Golbat?' she thought, her heart racing. 'Golbat don't normally nest here, do they?'
Then, as quick as they had come, the Golbat were gone, now just a black haze in the distance. Lilah looked up in astonishment, when she heard Weavile cry out in alarm.
There, Weavile was alight with the faint purple glow of Dark Pulse, firing it as fast as she could at the dark shape in the gloom, her fur glistening with a few beads of sweat.
Then, with one final Night Slash, the opponent fell to the ground, defeated. Lilah rushed to Weavile, who was panting heavily, but unharmed. And there, laying unconscious in the short grass, was a...
Skarmory?
Lilah stood quickly, her eyes now alert and searching the shadowy trees. "There's something wrong here," she said to her companion, her voice dark. "Skarmory don't live in areas like this. They live in mountainous places, like Mt. Coronet..."
Her voice trailed as Lilah and Weavile spotted another shape, this time distinctly human, this time clutching a multicolored egg, running through the trees.