The bag Mew had left was resting beside a moss-covered root. It was a simple, black backpack, unremarkable in every way. Eliana knelt, unzipping it with a quiet precision. Inside, nestled in a single layer, were the tools for her new life. Eight Poké Balls, their red-and-white surfaces gleaming dully. A small, leather pouch heavy with coins she didn't recognize. And a compact, purple device that felt like a phone, sleek and featureless, with a matching portable battery pack.
Her attention shifted to the small creature still pressed against her leg, Ralts. He was radiating a constant, low hum of anxiety, but beneath it was a thrum of immense, unfocused power. She reached out again, not with comfort this time, but with analysis. She needed to know what she was working with.
Information bloomed in her mind. The Ralts's Ability was Trace, interesting, could be useful in certain situations. But if she evolved him… the path to Gallade and the Ability Sharpness was clear. A permanent, devastating boost to cutting moves.
Yes, that would be nice. She would aim for that.
His moveset was even more telling. Teleport, Draining Kiss, Confusion, Psyshock, Magical Leaf, Charge Beam, and Hyper Voice. A wide, potent arsenal for a creature that should barely know how to stumble. This was not a starter. This was a weapon, pre-loaded and only lacking a steady hand.
"Let's see what you can do," she murmured, her voice soft, reaching out to feel any nearby minds.
She didn't need to look far. The scattered thoughts of a flock of Pidgey, pecking at the forest floor a hundred meters away, were like a discordant choir in her mind. Easy targets. Mobile, weak, and plentiful.
She walked toward them, her steps silent on the leaf litter. The Pidgey didn't notice her until she was within thirty meters. Then they erupted in a storm of feathers and panicked cries.
The command wasn't spoken aloud. It was a clean, direct pulse of thought. Ralts reacted instantly. A shard of pure psychic energy, invisible and silent, shot through the air and struck the target Pidgey. It didn't just fall; it was hammered to the ground with a concussive force that rustled the leaves for meters around. The other Pidgey scattered, their terror a screeching symphony in her head.
Ralts opened its mouth, and a loud screech, shaped and focused as if it were a physical boulder, slammed into the Pidgey attempting to Peck at them with the force of a boulder. It was thrown back into a tree and struck the bark with a sickening thud, tumbling down, limp.
Eliana watched, her expression neutral. The power was excessive. The control was absolute. There was no struggle, no backlash, no sign of fatigue from the Ralts. This was Mew's power, filtered through a new vessel.
"Good," she said aloud, the word a simple statement of fact.
Ralts's small body glowed as it raised its arms, a pale blue light surrounded the fleeing Pidgey, trapping and pulling them all back. The flock let out more panicked noises as their escape was cut off.
Raltsnarrowed his eyes in concentration the blue glow around the Pidgey glowing brighter as tiny green leaves appeared and shot at the group. Four shrieks pain were heard as the struck Pidgey fell hard to the ground with loud thuds.
Ralts lowered one of its hands to be held out in front of it, and began to let electric currents run along its arm. After a moment a blast of yellow energy burst out and struck a Pidgey dead in the chest sending the poor bird flying out of sight.
"Well, that was brutal." Eliana commented.
Ralts let an affirmative noise, brining the largest Pidgey closer to steal its energy. Letting the bird Pokémon fall to the ground in a heap of feathers afterwards.
"You know how to use all your moves, good," She motioned to the rest of the terrified Pidgey motionless in the air, "You can let those ones go, we're done here."
Ralts' eyes stopped glowing and the remaining Pidgey left conscious left terrified in a squawking panic. The test was complete and the data she needed was collected. No need to use the rest of them.
"Mew said that a town was close by, let's get moving," Eliana told Ralts who gave a nod in response. With the forest's quiet violence behind them, the two began their walk towards Dark City.
…
As the trees thinned and the crumbling skyline came into view, she paused. With a flick of her wrist, she recalled the Ralts. A Pokémon like that would bring unwanted attention. An unveiled weapon invites a challenge, and she wasn't here for challenges. She was here to observe.
Dark City was a corpse that hadn't yet stopped breathing. Buildings leaned against each other like tired drunks, their windows vacant eyes. The streets were mostly empty, but the few people she saw moved with a hunched, predatory urgency. A shout down an alley escalated into the snarling of a Growlithe and the panicked yelp of a man. The city didn't have a pulse; it had a series of small, localized convulsions.
She walked through the center of it all, a child in a old shirt, her hands empty. People stared. Their thoughts, sharp and brittle, scraped against her mind. New meat. Does she have Pokémon? Poor girl doesn't know what she's walking in. They saw her, but none approached.
As she neared a dingy restaurant with a flickering neon sign that read "Bo's Noodles," two small children, no older than seven, burst from the door. "Get out of here!" one screamed, a boy with a tangled mop of hair. "Outsiders shouldn't be here!" added the girl, scooping up a handful of gravel and hurling it at Eliana.
A subtle nudge of her mind, and the stones swerved, each one missing her by centimeters, not a single one falling short or going wide.
A man hurried out, wiping his hands on an apron. "Kyle! Kayley! Stop it!" He scolded the children, then turned to Eliana, his face a mask of weary apology. "I am so sorry. They're just… scared." He was a large man, broad-shouldered, with a kindness that felt out of place, like a blooming flower in a landfill. "I'm Bo Jones. Are you lost?"
Before she could form a response, a crash echoed from the main street, followed by the roar of a Pokémon and the splintering of wood.
Bo's face hardened. He grabbed her arm and the children's, pulling them all back inside the restaurant. "In here, now."
He slammed and bolted the door just as the sounds of violence spilled closer. From a small, greasy window in the room, Eliana watched the street erupt. A Raticate was tearing the door off a shop. A Machop was trading blows with a Mankey. Humans screamed, shouted, and threw bricks. This wasn't a battle. It was a riot with Pokémon as the riot gear.
Bo herded the children under a sturdy table. He turned to Eliana, his brow furrowed with a concern that was almost irritating in its transparency. "You're too young to be here alone," he said, his mind an open book of earnest worry. "I know everyone in this city. I've never seen you before."
She let her gaze drift back to the window. "I'm an traveling orphan, just passing through."
The lie was effortless, smooth as water. In her mind, she was simply offering him the key he needed to lock away his curiosity.
Bo's shoulders sagged with a familiar, weary sadness. "Of course, another one. This city chews up travelers and spits out their bones." He believed her instantly. The lie was easier than the truth.
"What's happening out there?" she asked, her tone light, as if she were asking about the weather.
"The Gyms," he spat the word. "Yas and Kaz. They're not real Gyms, not really. Just gangs with enough power and money to buy the title. The League lets them fight it out, and the winner gets the official charter. Only one Gym per city, you see. So they try to kill each other, and everyone else gets caught in the middle."
He gestured at the children hiding under the table. "They try to force any trainer with a skill to join up. You're lucky, girl. Without a Pokémon, they'll probably ignore you."
Eliana didn't correct him on that, after all it'd be easier to leave if she didn't. She watched the outside settle down, leaving behind broken glass, splintered wood, and a deeper, more resentful silence. From what she could tell, no meaningful winner came out of it. She was about to turn and thank Bo for his brief, misguided shelter when the restaurant's front door was kicked open.
Three people stumbled in, reeking of sweat and cheap alcohol. Two men, flanking a woman with a cruel, sharp face. Their minds were a nauseating cocktail of arrogance and cruelty.
"We're closed," Bo said, stepping in front of them, his large body a barrier.
"Closed, don't lie." the woman sneered. Her gaze swept the room, dismissing Bo, passing the children, and landing on Eliana. "We're with Yas Gym, and we require food, now!"
"I serve townspeople and travelers," Bo said, his voice low and firm. "I don't serve animals."
The woman's smile was a razor. "That's the wrong answer old man." She flicked her fingers. Her companions released their Pokémon. A mangy Rattata, its teeth yellow and sharp. A slithering Ekans, its tongue flicking mockingly. A scruffy Spearow, hopping on the counter and screeching with malice.
The bigger man let out a nasty cackle, "We'll have your head for going against us old man, your poor kids will be left orphans."
Eliana turned toward the back exit, fixed on ignoring the conflict. This was an annoying, pointless squabble. She had learned what she needed to about the city's power structure. Her business here was done.
But then she felt it. A pulse of intent from the Poké Ball on her belt. Not a cry for help but a clear and utterly simple emotion.
She paused, her fingers brushing against the cool surface of the Poké Ball. She considered it. A test in a controlled environment, against predictable, stupid opposition. The data could be valuable.
A surge of confirmation, eager with a thirst to test its own strength made Eliana's decision.