HelloYellow17
Gym Leader
- Pronouns
- She/Her
- Partners
-
Mew’s Meddling Mischief
It was one of those warm, sticky-air nights.
Usually Mew didn’t mind warm nights, but if there was one thing she didn’t like about this corner of the world, it was that it was always warm. Warm and sticky, even at night, even during blossom season. She weaved silently through the forest, listening to the sounds of various insects and nocturnal Pokémon, and tried not to think about the icky sticky air in her fur.
Normally, she’d simply zip to another region that had more pleasant nighttime temperatures for sleeping—but Mew wasn’t here to sleep. Mew was looking for something—anything—that might be entertaining. Exciting. Interesting.
In other words, Mew was bored.
Mewtwo didn’t want to play. Rayquaza was busy. Xerneas was no fun, Jirachi was napping again, and Arceus had told Mew in no uncertain terms that she was not to bother him again for at least the next 200 years.
She huffed and pouted as she circled around a big tree. Hmph. Why did nobody want to play? She was the best playmate. Victini had said so. But Victini was also busy, and nobody else seemed to care much about Mew’s devastating boredom.
So here she was, flitting about under a thick forest canopy in the middle of the night, looking for something to do, yet nothing out of the ordinary was calling for her attention. A pod of Cascoon here, a Dustox fluttering over there, and—what was that?
Something was glowing through the trees some distance away. Mew wasn’t aware of any Pokémon around here that could glow. Her eyes widened with excitement. Something interesting! Something new!
She wove through leaves and branches, fixated on the Glowing Thing. But as she got closer, her enthusiasm dimmed. What she had hoped to be a strange Pokémon or some Newfangled Thingamajig was simply…the dying embers of a campfire.
Although…a campfire meant that humans were nearby, so maybe Mew could poke around and see if they carried anything fun in the little bags they liked to carry around. Not as exciting as she’d hoped, but it was something.
Mew didn’t bother with humans much. Nothing against them, but they were…well…boring. They couldn’t fly or breathe fire or use telekinesis like Pokémon could, and they seemed to make up for this by being very noisy.
Mew felt a little bad for them, in a way. They tried their best, the poor things. And not being able to fly? She couldn’t imagine. Were they sad all the time? Because Mew would be sad all the time if she couldn’t fly.
Quiet as the moon above, Mew hovered lower over the campsite, turning herself invisible for good measure. She located the human—a boy, nestled in his little human-made Metapod cocoon, with two Pokémon beside him; a Mudkip and a Poochyena. The Mudkip, like her trainer, was fast asleep, but the Poochyena was wide awake, scanning the undergrowth with his sharp eyes.
He turned his head, his eyes settling right over Mew, yet he didn’t react whatsoever. Mew flicked her tail and held back a gleeful giggle as he turned away to look elsewhere, completely unaware of her presence.
Heh. She liked being sneaky. Sneaky was fun.
She quietly poked around, peeking into bags, sampling the leftover roasted berries, looking, looking…searching for anything that might cure her boredom for even a second…
When suddenly, out of nowhere, the human boy ROARED.
In a rush of panic, Mew immediately teleported across the ocean.
What was that? What was that? What was that?!
She’d never heard a human make that sound before. Mew pondered for a moment, letting her nerves settle down, and then—pop!—she was back at the campsite. She had to know what kind of human could make such a sound.
Still invisible, Mew cautiously hovered over to the boy. Had it been a battle cry? A shout of alarm? Had Poochyena alerted him to something…?
The human was still asleep. Poochyena sat beside him, still as a statue, having not moved an inch.
Huh.
Weird.
Mew stared at the human until it happened again—a loud, bellowing sound, except she realized he was breathing in instead of shouting. It was so loud she felt the vibration in her fur. And all the while, the human and his Mudkip companion slept through it all.
Weird!!
It was the most bizarre thing Mew had ever seen, and that was saying something. Apparently, humans could breathe-yell in their sleep. Like a Snorlax! And this human could definitely compete with a Snorlax. Maybe humans did have abilities after all!
“Oh, my gods, Darren, will you put a sock in it!”
Mew nearly teleported again from the shock. Instead, she managed to keep her wits about her and zip behind the nearest tree—and good thing, too, because just a second later, something flew through the air and hit the breathe-yelling human with a loud THUMP.
His sleep roars immediately cut short into a grunt. Poochyena barked, which then made the human sit bolt upright and launch the sleeping Mudkip from his lap. “Whass-goin-on?!”
“Your snoring, that’s what! How is anybody supposed to sleep around you?” A second human sat up from across the campsite and folded her arms, arranging her face into something that resembled a grumpy Taillow. She’d been buried under a pile of blankets, and Mew, so focused on her exploration (and the tasty roasted berries), hadn’t realized there was anybody under there at all.
The breathe-yeller rubbed at his eyes. “Cass?” He blinked, still looking like a confused Slowpoke, until her words registered and he pulled back his lips over his teeth—a smile, that’s what it was, though it always looked weird on a human. “…Sorry.” Then he blinked at the thing beside him that she had thrown. “Did you throw your shoe at me?”
Grumpy-blankets’s face turned red. Mew didn’t know humans could do that, either.
But the truly strange thing was what happened next: the girl’s raging annoyance, which Mew sensed rolling off her in waves, softened immediately. It melted away like snow in the hot sun, and Mew felt it be replaced by…an odd feeling. Embarrassment? No, that wasn’t right. It was warm, yet skittish, easily spooked like a Ponyta and restlessly flitting all over the place like a Vibrava.
“I, uh…yeah. It was the first thing I could reach and I didn’t really…think it through.” She huffed out a weirdly strangled sort of sound, like she was trying to laugh but it didn’t come out right. Then she dropped her gaze to her hands in her lap.
“Sorry, that was..I shouldn’t have done that. Or yelled at you. I know you can’t help it, and I ended up waking up Shiro and Haru…” She glanced at the Poochyena, who settled back down beside his human with a huff, and then at the Mudkip, who…was flat on her back, stubby legs in the air, blissfully blowing bubbles in her sleep. “Or…just Shiro, I guess. Haru seems fine. Somehow.”
The boy snorted and gingerly pulled the Mudkip back into his lap. “She’s always been a heavy sleeper. Part of why I chose her, to be honest. And Shiro was awake anyway, so don’t worry about it. It’s okay.” He ran a hand through the patch of fur on his head (why did humans only have fur on their head?) and sighed. “I’m the one who’s sorry, Cass. You’re right, I don’t mean to, but it’s still affecting you. I don’t blame you if you’d rather…travel separately, you know. It’s probably not easy being stuck with me.”
He laughed, which was actually a human sound Mew rather liked, but his emotions didn’t match it. She sensed a trickle of guilt.
Blanket human frowned, and the surge of sadness that followed caught Mew by surprise. “Why do you keep saying that? Of course I’m staying. We’ve always planned to do this together, and I’m not about to quit just because of some snoring. Come on.”
The boy fiddled with his hands. “I—I know. I just feel awful about this. Sleep is important, and if you can’t sleep because of me…” Then he looked up. “How’s this? When we get to Rustboro, first thing we’ll do is get you some earplugs. Several pairs, even. Hell, earplugs and earmuffs.” He grinned. “And then you won’t have to throw your shoe at me anymore.”
The girl raised her eyebrows, then burst into laughter. “Okay, you know what? Deal. We’ll find the stuff construction workers use, and maybe that’ll do the trick.” That warm, fluttery emotion was back as she returned his grin, and this time, Mew sensed it in the boy, too.
What’s happening? First Grumpy-blankets had awakened with a fiery temper, and now she was smiling as the two bid each other goodnight and the girl snuggled back down in her bundle of blankets. (She then pulled a few over her head for good measure, as if that would help defend against the boy’s breathe-yelling, somehow.) That fluttery feeling was overpowering, like the girl had turned into a beacon of emotion, and the boy…
The boy was smiling, too, but nervousness quickly rose up to snuff out the warmth that was there. He settled down as if to sleep, but then whispered to the Poochyena at his side. “Shiro, if I start snoring, wake me up, will you?”
The Poochyena licked the boy’s face in response—eew. Why did he do that? Did humans taste good? Mew couldn’t imagine that to be true. Unless…? Hmm. She’d have to test this theory sometime.
Things had escalated so fast—and so noisily—yet here they were, going back to sleep after a short exchange, their emotions completely different from what they were at the start.
Were humans usually like this? Maybe these two were unwell. Maybe the girl had eaten a few too many Pecha berries too fast. Now that was something that would make your stomach all fluttery and jittery, something Mew knew all too well. But…no, somehow she knew that wasn’t it. For one thing, a Pecha-induced stomachache didn’t usually make anybody smile. Unless humans smiled when they were in pain, too? That sounded like just the sort of bizarre thing humans would do.
Mew couldn’t make sense of it. She wanted to observe more, but the humans were falling back asleep now, which meant things were going to be boring again. With a sigh, she flew away through the trees…but instead of teleporting elsewhere, she found herself settling down for the night up in a tree, not far from the campsite. Because maybe, come morning…she’d have more entertainment.
As luck would have it, her wish was granted.
Mew basked in a patch of morning sunlight in the form of a Wurmple. The sticky icky air actually felt nice when she was in this form. She could lay…in this sun…all day…
Uh-oh. She raised her head and blinked away the sleepiness. The problem with transforming into other Pokémon was that she started to think like the form she was in. And Wurmple…had a tendency to…drift off…snzz…
…No! Mew had things to do today! …She couldn’t remember what, but it was important. Maybe. Sort of? Was it…fun? …Yaaawwwn…
Mmm, that leaf over there looked tasty. But it was…so far away…and inching across the forest floor required effort. Effort didn’t sound like fun. But…hungry. Or was she just bored? Bored…that reminded her of something. What was it, again?
“All right, either I’m losing my mind, or we’ve seen that same bush three times already.”
“Ugh, I think you’re right…”
Voices. Human voices. Mew blinked open her eyes again (when had she closed them?) and suddenly she realized she recognized those voices.
…Oh! Oh! Sleep-Yeller and Angry Blankets! The funny humans!
In a flash, she was Mew again—thank goodness. Sometimes she worried she might forget and stay a Wurmple forever. It was risky business, staying in another form for too long.
“How about we take a lunch break? We can look over the map again while we eat.” The boy was talking. Mudkip trailed after him, happily observing the scenery without so much as a care in the world.
The girl sighed. “Yeah, might as well. I swear this forest goes on forever.” Despite her grumbling, she seemed happy at the boy’s suggestion. She removed her bag and began pulling out all kinds of strange objects—darn, Mew wished she’d found her bag last night—and then tapped the round objects attached at her hip. Flash! Mew jumped at the sudden burst of light, then watched in awe as two Pokémon materialized: a Torchic and a Silcoon.
Ohhhh. The tiny mon-houses humans liked to carry. Mew had never understood them, and the bright light-flashes always startled her, but they were fascinating all the same. How did they work? Weren’t they uncomfortable? Wasn’t it cramped in those little round things? The Pokémon before her showed no signs of being bothered at all, so maybe not. Weird.
“Heya, Pep, can you help us out with a fire?” The girl asked Torchic with a smile. The little bird chirped and scampered over to Sleep-Yell boy, who was building another campfire contraption.
Mew circled overhead, once again invisible. The emotions from the previous night were still there; fluttery feelings from the girl, and some of the same from the boy, though there was a greater mix of…nervousness? Guilt?
“You sleep okay last night? Er, after the snoring thing?” He glanced up at the girl and then quickly back to the little formation of sticks he was making. Torchic waited impatiently, hopping from foot to foot.
“I did, yeah. Sorry again for losing my cool last night. It’s really not a big deal, I promise.” Now the girl was nervous. But why? Both humans seemed both happy to be companions, and yet scared of each other at the same time. Which was weird. If Mew was ever scared—which, uh, never happened, not ever, Mew wasn’t scared of anything, ever, just to be clear—but if she were to get scared, she would just teleport away. Scary things weren’t pleasant to be around. Or so she heard from other Pokémon that got scared. She wouldn’t know, of course. Definitely not.
“It’s fine, Cass, don’t worry about it. I’m the one who’s sorry.” The boy started to yawn, but quickly stifled it. “And don’t worry about the map, either. I can take a look at it and see if some fresh eyes can help.”
The girl turned red again. She was like a Kecleon who could only change into one color. “Haha, yeah, maybe I should leave the map reading to you. I’m not very good at it, apparently!” She laughed, but it sounded more like a slightly panicked Poochyena than a human laugh. Mew decided this girl was bad at laughing. “Sorry I’m not more help.”
“What?” The boy looked back up at her with a frown. “You’re plenty helpful. It’s crazy how capable of a trainer you are already. I bet you’d be able to handle yourself solo with no problem.”
Any happy feelings the girl had evaporated immediately. Her face fell, and she gave an aggravated huff. “Well, I’m not traveling solo, and I’ve never planned to,” she said briskly. Then she turned back to her bag, and the sadness that spilled from her was enough to make Mew falter in her flight. Wow, Mew never knew humans could feel so…much.
The boy was floundering in confusion. “I didn’t mean—I just meant…nevermind. Sorry.” He sat back with a defeated sigh and gestured to Torchic, who set the sticks ablaze with a squawk of delight. “Thanks, Pepper.”
Mew flipped upside down and scowled between the two humans. Why were they so weird? The girl seemed happy when the boy addressed her, but then she’d get upset. And the boy was even more confusing, always feeling happy and guilty and sad at the same time. What was with these humans?
Mew racked her brain for an answer. Maybe…maybe…the girl wanted to be noticed? Ohhhh…yes! That was it! She’d been really happy after throwing something at the boy last night. So that must mean…throwing something made her happy! Or…mostly happy?
Mew didn’t linger too long on the last part. An idea took hold and she zipped a short distance away into the underbrush, giddy with anticipation. She knew exactly what to do.
Swaggering back to the humans with brimming confidence, she gleefully observed her new Makuhita form. Makuhita looked really squishy and soft on the surface, but she could feel the muscular power underneath, the burning desire to put it to good use. Yes, this form was perfect for her plan.
She boldly stepped out from behind a bush, and the girl saw her first. Mew couldn’t detect emotions very well when in a different form, but the sad look on the girl’s face quickly changed to what was definitely excitement.
“Darren!” she hissed. “Darren, look!”
“Wh—oh!” He looked up, and his face changed, too. He got to his feet. “Hi there, little guy. You’re a brave one!”
“Think it wants to battle?” The girl was standing now too, hopping from one foot to the other like her Torchic companion.
Ooh, a battle! That sounded like a lot of fu—no, no, focus. That’s not what Mew was here for.
Right. Throwing. Mew was good at throwing. Makuhita were good at throwing. Mew picked up a nearby pebble and lobbed it at the boy—and missed. The pebble sailed past his ear.
Oops. Throwing things without telekinesis was harder than it looked.
The boy jerked back with a yelp. “Holy—what was that for?”
Mew grunted. For some reason, she was really annoyed about missing her target. She just wanted to hit something, and hit it good. She found another pebble, twice the size of the first one, and lobbed it again.
Thunk. It bounced off a tree to the boy’s right.
“Hey, what’s your problem?” the girl barked. “Look, if you’re mad about us being in your forest, I promise we’re on our way out! Or, uh…we’re trying to be. We won’t bother you, okay?”
Mew ignored her and growled in frustration. Just hit something, that’s what she wanted! She needed to throw something bigger. Bigger was better. She wasn’t sure why, she just knew she agreed with that sentiment.
“Pep, Ember!”
“Chic!”
Tiny flames burst from the corner of Mew’s vision, and it took a second to register they were searing her right arm.
…Ow. Ow. Owowow!
Mew swung around and slammed her fist into Torchic without thinking. With a squawk, the other Pokémon was sent flying through the trees. Woah. Mew hadn’t meant to hit that hard.
The boy ran a hand through his hair while the girl cried after her fallen Torchic. “Sweet baby Rayquaza—Haru, Water Gun!”
“…Kip?”
“Oh, gods—over there—no, right there, Haru!”
Mudkip’s gaze finally settled on Mew. She slowwwwly blinked…once…twice…three times. “…Mud!”
Mew was well out of the line of fire before Mudkip even opened her mouth. Heh. Heheheh. A FIGHT! This was FUN! She pumped her fist into the air and bellowed a battle cry.
“Poppy! String Shot!”
Oh. Mew wasn’t prepared for that. Out of nowhere, a web of sticky string flew at her, and before she had time to blink, she was restrained in the stuff. The Silcoon had been so quiet and still, Mew had forgotten she was there.
Sticky. Mew remembered she didn’t like sticky. And then she remembered what she was here for in the first place. Oh!
Using sheer muscle, she forced her arms loose from the restraints and grabbed the string connecting her to the big round bug. Then, with maniacal glee, she swung her new projectile around and around, gaining momentum until she let it fly straight towards her target. And this time, she didn’t miss.
FWUMP! Silcoon rocketed straight into the boy’s stomach, knocking him off his feet. Mew heard him make a wheeeeeze sound, and the girl yelled and scrambled over to him.
Ha! Hahahaha! That was fun! And satisfying! She’d finally hit him! She’d WON!
…wait, what had she won, exactly?
“Oh, my gods! Darren! Are you okay?”
The boy let out another wheeze.
Now that her opponent was defeated, Mew’s fighting instinct settled down. Without really knowing why, she stepped forward—making the girl and the Mudkip flinch—and then bowed. It just seemed like the right thing to do.
The girl gaped at her, speechless. Mew pounded one fist to her chest, then turned and swaggered away.
She returned to the campsite a few moments later, back in Mew form and very pleased with herself. That plan had worked perfectly. Surely the girl would feel happy now, and the boy would feel happy too, because who wasn’t happy when their traveling companion was happy?
“Oh, Darren, I’m so sorry—I don’t—I’ve never seen a Pokémon attack like—gods! What the hell was that?!” The girl was frantically fumbling around with her bag again. “Can you breathe? Talk to me, Darr.”
Huh. That did not look or feel like happiness. She was upset. Really upset. But why? Did throwing things not work?
After a few shuddering gasps, the boy managed to speak. “I think…I’d rather…get more shoes thrown at me.”
The girl spluttered into that nervous Poochyena laughter again, though her fear melted away. “I don’t blame you! I’m just—I’m so sorry, if I’d known my call would have backfired like that—”
“S’okay. Are…Poppy and Pepper…okay?”
“Y-yeah, they’re fine, they’re in their balls for now. They’re made of tougher stuff than you or me, for sure.” She pulled a square object from her bag and touched his shoulder. “Here. Stay down for a bit and lay that over your stomach. It’ll help you heal faster.”
“I think…I’m fine…just…catching my breath.”
“Sure, but use it anyway. You’ll probably have some bruises later.” They both fell quiet for a moment as she leaned over him and handed him the pack. Mew saw their hands brush, saw their eyes meet, and suddenly there was a rush of heated emotions between them both—
Then the girl pulled back abruptly, and the fire was snuffed out as quickly as it sparked. She managed a weak smile. “G-guess this means I’m cooking lunch, huh?”
The boy blinked, seemingly dazed, then registered what she said. He groaned. “Was my turn, though.”
“Yeah, that was before a Makuhita came out of nowhere and decided it had a bone to pick with you. Just stay there, and I’ll take care of it.”
“I’m sorry, Cass.”
She scowled at him. “You keep saying that. Sorry for what? Just let me do this.”
He looked away. “All right.”
…And now they were sad again. Wha—come on!
Mew snorted and took off. She had some brainstorming to do.
It was nightfall by the time Mew found her way back to them. The humans hadn’t gone far, though that wasn’t surprising. Even if they weren’t hopelessly lost, the boy still didn’t look like he was up for much traveling.
“We really need to get a move on tomorrow, though,” he was saying. He sat beside their campfire, stroking Poochyena’s head. “I’m already feeling a lot better thanks to that med-pack and Oran juice earlier. I don’t want to hold us up more than I already have.”
“Only if you’re up to it,” the girl said. She was sitting across from him with Torchic asleep in her lap. “You still look a little rough to me.”
He shrugged. “I was fine to make dinner, wasn’t I?”
“Cooking isn’t the same thing as trekking through a humid forest.”
“Well, the good news is, I took a look at the map earlier and I think I know where we need to go.”
She perked up at that. “Really?”
The boy said something else, but Mew didn’t hear him. She yawned. Hmm, this was boring…they weren’t sad like earlier, but neither of them were exactly happy, either. They were still so skittish around one another, for baffling reasons Mew couldn’t grasp.
She flicked her tail. Time to put her next plan into action.
Mew really quite liked the Sableye species. They had a knack for mischief and fun that she admired, and they made great playmates. But being a Sableye was even better.
She crept through the shadows, silent only in the way ghost types can be, and constantly had to keep herself from giggling. Oh, there were so many ways she could mess with these dumb humans…but no, she couldn’t get carried away. They had seemed to enjoy being close to one another earlier, so all she had to do here was make them get close again. Surely that would do the trick.
Hehe. Trick. Mew liked tricks. And being tricksy. Tricksy and sneaky and spooky and thief-y and—
Focus.
She lurked in the shadows at the edge of the firelight, keenly observing her prey—er, victims—no, the humans. Just humans. She was briefly distracted by a very tasty-looking rock, and paused her operation to nibble at it for a bit. She’d worked hard to come up with this strategy, so she deserved a treat.
Right. And now…
The humans had a tendency to run to one another when one appeared to be in distress, and now it was time to test it out. Actually…she was about to test two ideas at once.
Creeping around until she was behind the girl, Mew slowly, silently, stealthily slipped out from the bushes and slinked up to her back. A maniacal grin split across her face, and with sheer glee, she licked the back of the girl’s neck.
Mew learned two things very quickly: one, that humans did not taste good at all. They were NASTY.
The second thing was that humans could scream really, really loud.
Mew dissolved into the shadows immediately, but not before the girl got a glimpse of her and screamed again. Ow. That was a very unpleasant sound. This girl was apparently capable of competing with Whismur.
Still, despite her instinct to run as far away from the shrieking as she could, Mew instead scuttled up the tree and observed from above, snickering uncontrollably.
Her plan worked. The girl jumped to her feet and the boy was at her side in a flash, pulling her close and yelling, “What! What!”
Torchic scampered around and chirped frantically while Poochyena, bristling and snarling, began sniffing around to find the intruder. The girl yelled a few jumbled and incoherent things before finally stammering, “G-g-ghost! A ghost licked me!”
“A ghost what?”
“It licked me! I swear I’m not crazy, I’m telling the truth, I saw it!”
“N-no, I believe you! Did you see what it was?”
“A S-Sableye? I think? Are those the ones with the c-creepy grins?”
The boy made a face. “Yeah, I think so. I mean, all ghost types have creepy grins if you ask me, but…those guys especially.”
“Gods!” The girl pulled away from him and brushed aggressively at her neck, shivering. “Are Sableye normally even in these parts? What’s with all the Pokémon attacking us today?!”
“Don’t know if it was an attack so much as a prank,” the boy said, looking around warily. “They say ghosts love to mess with people.”
“G-great. Awesome. That will help me sleep tonight.” She sat close to the fire and pulled her knees to her chest before wrapping her arms around herself. Torchic ran up and snuggled into her side, and Silcoon wobbled over close behind. “I know we’ve always wanted to be trainers, and this is part of it, but…right now? It sucks.”
The boy sat beside her. For a second he raised his arm as if to put it around her, but then he faltered, thought better of it and pulled away. “Yeah, today has been…something.” He threw her a sideways glance with a tense expression. “You don’t…regret becoming a trainer though, do you?”
She looked down at Torchic and scratched him under his chin. “No, of course not. I’ve wanted this for as long as I can remember.”
Mew sensed a pang of guilt from the boy once again. But before she could ponder over that, she noticed something sticking out of a bag, which had been left abandoned on the other side of the camp. Something shiny.
Mew clawed her way down the tree trunk while the boy spoke up. “Why didn’t you leave when you were fourteen, then? At the training age?”
The girl blinked at him. “Hm? I just wanted to build up some savings before I left. You know, for emergencies and stuff. I like to be prepared. But didn’t you already ask me that?”
“I…yeah, I did. I just wondered if there was any other reason.”
The girl smiled nervously and fiddled with the laces on her boots. “W-well, isn’t it obvious? We always said we’d be trainers and travel together.”
“But we were just kids then. And that was before…before Pa died.” His voice was very quiet now. “Before I had to stay and work for two years to help Mom and Casey.”
“So? A promise is a promise. So…I waited.” She chewed on the inside of her lip and met his gaze.
They were very close now, his eyes pouring into hers. In a breath that was barely above a whisper, the boy spoke. “Why?”
Had Mew been in her usual form, she would have found this exchange absolutely fascinating. But her Sableye instincts pulled her towards the unattended bag instead, the firelight glinting mesmerizingly, tantalizingly off the strange shiny object that she was certain was a stone. A very tasty stone. Mew reached for it, her claws wrapping around the smooth surface with a light clink, and pulled it close, admiring its oblong shape. She’d never seen such a rock before, and she couldn’t wait to taste it—
“GRROWF!”
The human pair leaped away from each other with strangled yelps. Poochyena, having found his foe, charged at Mew, kicking up dirt from under his paws and sailing over the fire in one bound.
Mew squawked. No! Her rock! She had to at least get a taste! Clumsy with panic, she opened wide. CRUNCH.
…That. That was not a rock. And not tasty at all. And why was it sparking?
Poochyena bit into her arm with a ferocious snarl, and Mew screamed—more out of surprise than pain, but those teeth still hurt, regardless.
“You!” The boy was back on his feet and yelling now. “Get out of here! GO!”
Mew didn’t need to be told twice. She shook off her attacker and scampered away, spitting out bits of the nasty not-rock as she went.
Mew was growing agitated. When she returned to their camp that night, the humans were not speaking to each other, and they were even more nervous than before. She spent the rest of the night coming up with as many ideas as possible, and the next day, she launched them all.
She became a Shroomish and pelted them with Bullet Seed from the cover of the bushes until Torchic chased her away with his horrible flames. She became a Taillow and dive-bombed both of them with malicious glee, until she got distracted by the shiny glint of the girl’s ear-decorations and only barely avoided being sucked into one of those tiny round mon-houses when the boy threw one at her.
Even her most clever idea yet fell short; in Lombre form, she summoned a storm with Rain Dance, forcing the humans to set up shelter under a makeshift tarp tent. They huddled close in their confined space, those heated emotions once again swelling between them, almost fluttering into happiness—but then the lure of the dance carried Mew away, and she delightfully lost herself in the Rain Dance, moving and prancing with increasing fervor and the rain falling harder and harder, until the tarp ripped in two and dumped buckets of water all over the humans’ heads.
Ohhhhhh, how frustrating!
Mew spent that evening flopped on a tree branch, letting her tail dangle limp over the side. She was exhausted. When was the last time she’d been this tired? She couldn’t even remember.
She stared, defeated, down at the humans below, who were shivering and huddled close to the campfire in a set of dry clothes, hanging their old set up to dry. Their tired, strained voices floated up to where Mew lay.
“Still love being a trainer?” The boy said with a weak laugh. He held Poochyena close for warmth, though the latter only begrudgingly obliged.
The girl was curled up with her Pokémon, too. She mirrored his tired laughter. “I don’t know. Ask me in twenty-four hours after we get mauled by a Slaking or something.”
“Gods, that would happen at this rate, wouldn’t it?”
They chuckled and scooted closer. The girl sighed wearily. “Should we take a look at the map again?”
“Sure. For what it’s worth, I think we’re getting close. At least we aren’t going in circles anymore.” He rifled through his bag and pulled out something that looked identical to the not-rock Mew had tried to snack on.
“I’ll just take a quick look and you can put it back. Wouldn’t want a Swellow or gods-know-what to barge in to snatch it out of my hands.” She grinned at her dry joke, but the boy didn’t share her amusement.
“I really am so sorry, Cass—”
“Darren, honestly, you’re fine. I promise. It’s not your fault.”
“I left your bag unattended when we knew there was a nosy Pokemon around—”
“Don’t sweat it. I’ve got savings, remember? I can buy a new one when we get to Rustboro. Along with the earplugs and earmuffs.” She grinned again. “Besides, every trainer loses or wrecks their PokeNAV at some point. It’s like a rite of passage. If anything, I’m honored.”
The boy laughed. “I can’t believe you’re still so chipper about all of this.”
“I mean, I wasn’t last night,” she said. “But, you know, once I allowed myself to have a pity party, I decided I was gonna roll with it as well as I could. Because I really do love being a trainer. And…it’s nice not having to deal with all the craziness alone.” She threw him a sideways glance.
“Yeah.” He looked down at Poochyena with a soft smile. “It’s really special, isn’t it?”
She brightened. “You think so?”
“Yeah. I mean…forming bonds with creatures as amazing as these guys? They always say that the bond between a trainer and their team is unique, but you don’t really get it until you experience it yourself.”
“O-oh.” She deflated a little, but then looked at her own Pokemon and smiled fondly. “…Yeah. It is special.” A tiny trace of wistfulness emerged as she spoke.
Mew wanted to throw something again.
She shifted her weight and sighed. Maybe it was time to give up. It seemed nothing short of extracting their exact thoughts and planting them in the other’s head would work—
Wait. Wait. Oooh.
Mew could do that! Maybe. Probably. She’d done it before with other Pokémon, but never humans. Humans were admittedly harder to read and follow than Pokémon were, but surely it wouldn’t be that difficult. Not impossible.
The only problem was that she would need to be close to them—very close. And she definitely didn’t want the humans to see her Mew form, not when she’d been so sneaky with humans for generations! That was the ultimate game of hide-and-seek, one she was winning, and she wasn’t about to give it up willingly.
No, she’d need to be in another form again. Which would be difficult, because her telepathy was not as strong when she was also focusing on maintaining a different form, but she could do it. She was Mew! She could do anything!
And so it was that, the next morning, she approached the humans while they were packing their things. She put on a convincing act of fearful curiosity, sniffing and darting away, creeping closer and retreating, until they finally noticed her.
The girl tensed and reached for one of the orbs on her belt, one of the tiny-Poké-houses. She hissed to the boy to get his attention, and he went very still.
“It’s just a Zigzagoon. They’re little thieves, but not aggressive. We’re all packed up, so we should be fine.”
“Yeah, well, we haven’t exactly had the best track record recently,” the girl said warily. “I don’t trust it.”
Mew sniffed and snuffled her way over to the girl, moving hesitantly and flinching at her movements. Her nose led her to a side pocket in the girl’s bag: berries. Mmm. She blinked up at the human and wagged her tail.
The girl’s face softened. “Okay, I admit it, you’re really damn cute.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a handful of berries. “You want some?”
Mew barked. Yes! Yes, she wanted them! Oh, she wanted them so, so badly, she—what was that? Oh. A butterfly. Wait, berries? Berries! Yes, yes, berries, please!
The boy laughed as Mew accepted the offering and chowed down, her tail wagging as fast as a Vibrava’s wings. “I guess not every Pokémon in this forest hates us. That’s a relief.”
Mew looked up, smacking her lips. More berries? More? Please? Please, oh, please?
Both the humans sat down to level with Mew. She sensed their amusement and joy at her antics, listened to them laugh as she suddenly got distracted by her wagging tail and chased after it. They were happy, which made Mew happy, which—wait. She hadn’t done the thing yet.
Mmm, but berries—no. No! Not yet!
Mew shuffled closer until she could rest her snout on the girl’s knee. The girl giggled and stroked Mew’s fur. Ooooh, that felt nice…scratch lower…lower…that’s it—oh, right. Telepathy.
Mew closed her eyes.
It was awfully fuzzy, trying to do this as a Zigzagoon, but with some effort, Mew broke through the barrier and accessed the girl’s thoughts.
…so cute! …catch it? …want…with us? Should ask…Darren thinks…
…huh. Well, it wasn’t perfect—oooh those scratches felt so good—but Mew could work with it. Berries… Next was the boy.
Really seems…likes her…who wouldn’t? …so good with Pokémon…she…amazing trainer…
Mew wagged her tail again. Good, good, good! Sniff—Whatwasthat?! Oh, he was offering more berries! Berries berries berries!
Now…for the link. Mew started with the boy’s thoughts.
…travel with me? Why…don’t know…bothersome…
The girl flinched. “What?”
He blinked. “Huh?”
“What did you just say?”
“I…didn’t say anything?”
“But you did.” She was getting upset now. “You don’t want to travel with me?”
“I—what? No! What are you talking about?”
The girl had stopped giving scratches. Why had she stopped? Give more! Oh, wait, something was happening…uh-oh. Mew went for the girl’s thoughts next.
…talking about?? …keeps saying…travel…so clueless! …doesn’t know anything!
“No, seriously, what are you talking about?” Now he was agitated. “Where is this coming from?”
Mew nudged at the girl’s hand again, and she idly resumed scratching, but in a different spot. “You just said you don’t want to travel with me!”
“I have never said that, Cass. Not once! Are you sure it’s not you who’s sick of traveling with me?”
“Wh—are you serious?”
Suddenly her hand moved and hit a glorious spot under Mew’s chin on the side of her neck. Mew melted into pure bliss, her leg kicking out on its own accord, and, lost in the wonder of good scritches, sent a burst of simultaneous telepathy as the boy and girl thought the same thing in unison.
…SO FRUSTRATING!
The girl abruptly stood, and Mew flopped to the ground, the blissful scritches cut short. Mew staggered to her feet and shook herself. Well, surely that fixed things, and maybe she could have some more berries—
The boy was standing now, too. And they were glaring at one another, boiling with such intense frustration that even with her telepathy dulled, it snapped Mew to her senses.
Uh-oh.
“If you never wanted me to come with you, why didn’t you just say so?” the boy snapped.
“Me?” she spat. “You’re the one always suggesting we split up, or that I’m better on my own! Did our promise mean nothing to you? Do you know how awful that makes me feel?”
“I never asked you to wait for me!” he was shouting now. “I never wanted to hold you back, Cass, it was the last thing I ever wanted, but somehow that’s all I’ve been able to do! I’ve slowed us down, kept you awake, got your NAV ruined—”
“I told you I don’t care about the NAV!”
Oh no oh no oh no—
Mew scampered into the bushes before changing back to herself. Oh no, oh no, oh no, what should she do?
“—and here you are, starting your journey two years late and struggling way more than you would on your own, because of me!”
“Do you seriously think I’ve stuck around because I’m obligated to?”
“Why ELSE would you be here?”
“BECAUSE I’M IN LOVE WITH YOU, YOU IDIOT!”
Silence.
Mew held her paws up to her mouth and watched from the bushes.
Oooohhh no.
“Y-you what?” The boy was all but deflated now, his face blank with shock, his voice small.
Tears were spilling down her cheeks. “Gods, you’re so—I can’t believe—is that how you feel about me? A burden you’re obligated to cater to because I waited for you?”
“Wh—no, no, I—dammit, I…” he ran a hand through his hair. “I didn’t…no. I don’t. Don’t feel that way at all.”
“Oh, my gods, this is so embarrassing!” She turned away and wiped angrily at her tears. “Just—forget it, okay? Forget I said anything, sorry for blowing up and making it weird, I’ll just—”
“Cass. Stop.”
“W-we can split when we get to Rustboro, I promise—”
“Cass.”
“I’m s-sorry for ruining this, Darr, I—”
“I don’t want to split!”
She blinked and slowly turned back to him. “Wh-wh-what?”
“You heard me. I don’t want to split.” He crossed the space between them and grabbed her hands. “I…I’m sorry I misread things, Cass. You’re right, I’m a huge idiot.”
She swallowed. “B-but I just—made things weird—”
“No, you didn’t.” He was grinning now—a bewildered, shell-shocked, half-crazed grin, one that matched the positively giddy elation bubbling up inside him. “Because I feel the same way.”
She stared at him for a minute, breathing shakily, and let go of one of his hands to wipe her eyes again. “Are you kidding me?”
He burst into laughter—and not the soft, mild laughter or the tense, nervous chuckles, but real laughter, hearty laughter, so intense that he nearly doubled over.
A shaky smile curved across her lips. “L-looks like we’re both idiots.”
He straightened and stepped closer, still struggling to breathe through his chuckles. “Well, what the hell. I guess we are.”
Mew had been repeatedly baffled by humans over the last several days, but what they did next really topped it all. The pair leaned in close, noses brushing, and suddenly their mouths were pressed against one another.
WH—
Were they eating each other?
And yet, the happiness bursting from them both was enough to bowl Mew over.
…Humans were bizarre.
But despite her bewilderment, Mew felt happy. And proud. Yes, very proud! She had finally solved this baffling problem (though she still wasn’t sure what the problem was, exactly.) She had saved the day, thanks to her clever ideas! Heh. She swelled with self-satisfaction.
…Maybe…she could give humans a little hint in their grand game of hide-and-seek. As a treat.
Slowly emerging from between two trunks of trees, Mew allowed herself to be fully visible, the sunlight dappling across her pink pelt.
The girl spotted her first. She broke apart from the boy with a gasp and pointed. “D-Darren, look!”
He snapped his head around just in time to see a flash of pink and a long, slender tail playfully swish before zipping away and out of sight.
He stared. “Was—was that…?”
They looked at one another in disbelief. Then she shook her head and laughed. “No. No way. I think the last few days have gotten to us both.”
He snorted and grinned. “Yeah, you’re right. But I don’t think I mind the result.”
She leaned back in. “Neither do I.”
Mew sailed away over the treetops, heading for somewhere cooler and without sticky icky air. As the elation subsided, she realized that by solving this problem, she now had another.
Mew was bored again.
