5

"There are some people after my Darkrai," Platinum began her explanation in a somewhat rushed tone. "some very bad people."

That was pretty much what Mewtwo had figured. {The same people who are responsible for driving that other Darkrai insane?} the psychic pokemon asked.

She nodded, her green eyes intense. "The very same ones."

"Why would they be after your Darkrai?} he questioned her. "[is it because it's a white one? Does it have some kind of special ability?}

She shook her head. "No, he's just like a normal Darkrai, but white. It's not a shiny either," she claimed. "It's not what he has that they want, but what he knows."

A normal Darkrai but white. Odd. {What does he know?}

"The location of a very special pokemon."The young woman responded in a somewhat dramatic voice.

A very special pokemon? What did she mean by that?

It could be another legendary, he concluded. Humans seem to be obsessed with finding and capturing legendary pokemon. It was like they had nothing else to do with their lives.

{What makes this pokemon special?} he questioned her. As Mewtwo spoke he began to regain feeling in his body, however he didn't let on in case the human decided to use her Darkrai on him again or stop talking. {What does "he" hope to gain by discovering its location?}

Platinum could only shake her head once more. "I don't know what he wants from her," she replied. "I just know he's been after her for a long time now. He had her once before but she got away and he is determined to get her back at all costs."

Liar.

{You intend to prevent him from capturing "her" then,} he stated. {she must be very important to you if you're going out of your way to ensure nobody finds her. }

"It's not like that," she denied the claim, shoving her gloved hands deep into the pockets of her trench coat.. "I just don't want that man getting his hands on her. You saw what he did to the Darkrai in the woods, and it's obvious from that that he most likely harmed her as well and will harm her again if he gets her back." her face filled with determination "I can't let people like that get away with harming pokemon like that."

It made sense. There were humans out there that did truly care about pokemon, whether it was their own or just the creatures in general. He shouldn't be surprised she would want to protect it. However he knew there was more to it than she was letting on. Just by her body language and the tone of her voice gave away that this "her" she was talking about was a creature she had some kind of personal feelings for, as if it wasn't just a random wild pokemon she was keeping safe from a bad person. He wasn't going to push the matter, she could continue to pretend she didn't know more about the situation than she claimed, he would find out eventually. One way or another.

But what did the human mean by she "marked" him? What was she implying by that statement anyway?

{You said she marked me, what did you mean?]

Platinum pushed herself away from the wall and went to the entrance of the cave to look out. Seemingly satisfied that nobody had discovered their location yet she turned back to him. "That is something I would like to know as well."

What was that supposed to mean? {I don't know what you're talking about.}

She pointed at his face. "There is a mark on you," she explained. "it looks similar to the symbols written in the lore for that pokemon. It's given to those who have been touched by her, if you have it it means you had some kind of encounter with her and she thinks you're important enough to pass it on to."

Mewtwo suddenly flashed back to the night before after he'd fallen from the sky when his powers failed and he'd crashed, he could recall a strange, white colored creature looming over him and reaching out. Had that been the pokemon she was talking about and when he'd gotten "marked?"

{You said it's part of some kind of lore, and her "marking" me is part of it,} he said, hoping to get more of an answer for the human. {I don't know anything about this pokemon aside from what you're telling me. You live in this region, I don't. Even if you don't have a personal connection to her, you do at least know any legends surrounding her. Surely it wouldn't do you any harm to tell me more.}

"Hmmm..." she made a face, seeming to consider it which only annoyed him further. Why would she hesitate to tell him about the lore for legendary pokemon in the region? It wasn't like that information was classified. If he were to visit any library in Ario he'd most likely find facts or legends.

This human wasn't very consistent and it was irritating.

After a few seconds of silence, Platinum started to say something then froze, listening. Mewtwo also listened, becoming aware of the faint sound of barking. The human again looked out of the cave and swore, quickly pulling her head back in.

"Looks like we're going to have to finish this conversation some other time," she said, moving away from the entrance, back over to where her Darkrai was floating silently. She glanced at Mewtwo. "Can you move?"

The Mew clone tried again and was glad when he could actually do so. He floated up to stand on his feet, eyes glowing bright blue as he did. He was very tempted to shoot across the cavern and grab the girl by the throat, but controlled this impulse. There were more important things to focus on.

Platinum's only reaction to that was a nod, though a slight relaxation of her face made him wonder if she'd been expecting him to do the same thing. "Good," she said. "Now get out of here before they see you."

That was what he'd wanted to do since the beginning. He lifted off the ground but, feeling a slight bit of concern for her, paused briefly to face the human and her pokemon. {What about you? How do you intend to get away from them?}

"Don't worry about us," she told him. "You just focus on not being seen and getting back to your trainer. If they spot you you're going to be just as wanted as Darkrai and she is." she waved him off and she and her Darkrai headed deeper into the cave. "Now go!"

Mewtwo needed no second bidding. He turned from the two and floated toward the entrance, taking a cautious look outside. The barking had grown louder but he couldn't see the pokemon making the sounds or their owners. With no intention of waiting until he could, the pokemon flew around the stone hiding the entrance and shot into the air without another look back.

Time go back to Iris Town and check on Karen. She was probably worried sick!

"Hey!" One of the man in black's underlings shouted, stopping in their tracks to point into the sky. "What is that?"

His companions looked up where he was pointing. All caught sight of a large cat like creature flying away from the area their Houndooms were leading them to.

"Is that it?" one asked.

Another had brought binoculars. "I don't think so," he said, raising them to his eyes for a better look. "it doesn't look like the one the Boss is after." he lowered the binoculars and handed them over to another so they could look.

"You're right," they confirmed, adjusting the lenses for a sharper focus. "it's not the same, but it looks similar. It could be a different species."

"Should we go back and tell the Boss?" the first one asked.

The one who had brought the binocular's thought it over. "One of us should tell him," he stated with a nod. "You head back and let him know, the rest of us will keep going. You know how much he wants that Darkrai."

So it was decided. The one who had gotten the best look at the flying creature would go back and tell their boss about it while the others continued on.

It was turning out to be a very eventful night.

Back in Iris Town Karen was still waiting for Mewtwo's return. She'd grown lonely during the afternoon and sent out the rest of her pokemon, an Absol, a Vaporeon, a Espeon, her Lampent, and a female Gardevoir. Four of the pokemon wandered around the park, looking at the hedge art and just enjoying the peace of the place, her Gardevoir sat on the bench with her, listening to the girl as she talked about how worried she was.

"He's never been gone this long before," she said to the fairy pokemon. "I'm really concerned about him. What if he doesn't come back? I know we don't always get along but I thought we were at least friends, or at least he seemed to care."

She looked at Gardevoir. "If he didn't care he wouldn't have gone through so much to rescue me from Giovanni, even though he knew that horrible man wanted to make him his slave."

Gardevoir knew the story. The beautiful pokemon nodded and put a hand comfortingly on her arm. If she knew how to speak like Mewtwo did she would have told her everything was going to be okay and Mewtwo would come back. He always did, he'd grown very protective of the human girl in the time they were together.

The girl sighed and leaned back on the bench, titling her head upward to stare at the darkening skies. "I hope he's all right," she said more to herself than to Gardevoir. "what if he's lying hurt somewhere? What if that Darkrai did something to him? Psychic pokemon are weak against dark pokemon, he could be dying somewhere in those woods and I have no way of finding him!"

Karen took out the Master Ball and looked at it. The pokemon storage container gave no indication that Mewtwo had died as the light on it still blinked. It made her feel a little better but didn't do anything to qualm her fears. Mewtwo could still be injured somewhere out there with no way of getting back to her.

She put the ball back into her backpack and slung it over her arm as she stood up. "I'm really not doing anything useful sitting here and waiting," she told her Gardevoir. "I should be out there looking for him." She looked at her other pokemon who were still exploring the park. "Let's go, guys," she said. "It's time we set about finding him."

Her pokemon quickly rushed over to join her as she headed out of the park. She walked down the street, deciding it was time to leave the town and search the area close by to see if she could find her pokemon. She hoped he hadn't gone further than that because she knew nothing about the region or how to navigate it and the map she'd had had been utterly useless.

Lucky for her she wound up saved from that big headache when she heard a voice calling her from above.

"Karen!"

The girl lifted her head, catching sight of Mewtwo flying toward her. "Oh!" she exclaimed, and he flew down to meet her. "I was about to go looking for you, where have you been?"

{It's a long story} he responded letting out a huge frustrated sigh, as the girl's other pokemon surrounded the two so they could greet him. Gardevoir took his arm and hugged it to herself, looking more relieved than anyone else to see him back though he didn't really notice. {but I think we should find some place to stay for the night before I tell you anything}

Mewtwo looked around himself then leaned in to speak in a softer voice. {It might be dangerous to talk about it in the open.}

Karen wasn't sure what he meant by that but nodded, deciding to trust him on the matter. She put the rest of her pokemon back in their balls, except for Gardevoir who seemed to want to spend more time outside of it, before she and Mewtwo headed toward an Inn where they could get a room for the night.

Once they'd paid for it they went up into the room and Karen closed the door as Mewtwo and Gardevoir sat down on the bed. "All right," she said, turning to her pokemon now. "I think we've got plenty of privacy here, so why don't you tell me where you've been all day and what happened?"

Mewtwo used his telepathy to close the blinds on the room's single window before he began his story.

Back in the cave Platinum and her Darkrai were navigating their way through it . The young woman held a flashlight out ahead of her to light their way as her pokemon hovered protectively close. If any pokemon in the cave ventured too close he'd chase them away.

"I think we're almost out," she told him, after about an hour. "The exit shouldn't be too much further. I'm glad I have you with me, otherwise I would get lost in here, even though we've been through here before." she chuckled a little. "Must be because we're being pursued, it's got my mind a confused mess!"

Darkrai put a hand on her shoulder as they pressed on. After a few more moments Platinum could see a light ahead, that grew larger the closer they got to it. Relieved, she increased her step, heading for the light.

They'd almost reached the exit when the silence was broken by a loud "Woof!"

Platinum turned her head, looking back into the darkness. The sound had been unsettlingly close. "Let's get out of here!"

Increasing her pace she rushed toward the exit, breaking into a full run when she heard the barking again but much closer. Seconds later she burst out of the exit and into night darkened flat lands. She didn't even slow her pace as she struck out across it, not looking back. Moments later she could hear a howl and then voices calling after her.

"Get out of here!" she shouted to her Darkrai. "If they catch me it's no big deal I don't have the information they're after, but you're too important! Flee before they send out a pokemon with an advantage over you!"

The white Darkrai hesitated, looking at her worriedly. She smiled reassuringly. "I'll be fine," she told him. "Just go! Now!"

The dark type pokemon nodded and took to the air, flying high and out of range of anything their pursuers could throw at him.

"Good boy," Platinum said as he flew away from her.

She reached into her coat and pulled out a pokeball. Without missing a beat she summoned the pokemon inside, a Suicune that began to run beside her. The young woman reached out and grabbed the legendary beast's main, pulling herself up onto it's back.

"Okay," she said to it, "let's get out of here!"

The beast let out a roar and increased its step, dashing quickly away and out of sight.

Those who had been hunting them down could do nothing to prevent the events that happened. After the girl rode off on her pokemon the pursuers stopped in their tracks, watching helplessly as they lost their targets.

"The boss isn't going to be happy about this," one said as the Houndooms who had run ahead began heading back to their masters. He knelt down to scratch one behind its ears. "I'm afraid to imagine how he's going to take the news."

"We almost had them," the leader of the group pointed out.

"Yeah," a third said, stepping around him and leaning over to pet his own Houndoom. "but almost isn't good enough. You know he's not going to be satisfied with that. He wanted us to catch that Darkrai and now it got away, and we couldn't even catch that girl either!"

"How did she even catch a Suicune?" the first one asked, looking up from his pokemon.

"Who cares?" the leader snapped. "The boss isn't interested in Suicune. He wants that Darkrai!"

"Looks like he isn't going to be getting that Darkrai." the third snorted. "It's gone and flown off to who knows where."

Their leader swore, looking through his binoculars to watch the decreasing form of the girl and her pokemon. "That girl is becoming a real pain in the rear," he grumbled. "but they have been separated now." he lowered the glasses and pulled out a pokeball. Tossing it on the ground it opened to reveal a pale humanoid pokemon that looked like it was wearing translucent white robes. It stared at its trainer with flowing yellow eyes. "Banshill," he addressed it. "Go after that Darkrai. If anyone can find it now, you can."

The pale pokemon nodded and turned, creating a small glowing leaf that faded into glittering dust. The wind caught the dust and blew it into the air, the specks taking the form of a pale string. The Banshill took the string and left the ground, beginning its search.

The leader turned to the others with a smirk. "It won't be able to escape us now." he said. "Move out!"

The lone man from the hunting party returned to Platinum's house where their boss was waiting. He found the man in black waiting by his limo, smoking a cigarette while his secretary sat in the car, working on a laptop computer.

"Sir," the man turned his head when the searcher spoke.

"Well?" the man asked when his underling drew near. "have you captured that Darkrai?"

"I do not know, sir," the other man responded. "The others were still pursuing them when I left."

"So why are you back then?" his boss demanded impatiently.

"Well, while we were out searching for them I spotted something in the sky." he proceeded to tell his boss about the pokemon he saw.

When he was finished the his boss placed a hand on his chin, thoughtfully. "So you're saying this pokemon looks very nearly like the one we've been looking for?"

The other man nodded. "Yes, it had some differences but it looked similar."

"Huh, I see." the man turned to his secretary who'd been listening to the conversation. She clicked on some keys and an image showed up on the screen. "This what you saw?"

The man looked at the picture and his eyes widened and he nodded. "Yes, that's exactly what I saw!"

His boss smirked. "Interesting," he remarked. "Looks like Giovanni's escape artist has decided to pay our region a little visit. We'll just have to make sure we make it feel welcome."

Karen listened with rapt attention as Mewtwo recounted his story, from when he arrived at Platinum's house to when he'd been taken to the cave. He left nothing out, even the information Platinum had given him about the Darkrai that had attacked them the previous night.

When he finished she said in a near whisper. "So it does exist after all."

The pokemon looked up at her. {What do you mean 'it does exist'?} he questioned.

"The creature Platinum called "her'," she explained. "it sounds a lot like the legendary pokemon the man in the park told me about."'

{What legendary pokemon?} he wanted to know.

So Karen told her pokemon the story. When she was finished he asked her some questions, more interested about the way the legendary looked than the lore behind it. {Are you saying this pokemon looked a great deal like me?}

"Yes," she nodded. "it looked similar to you but it had differences as well. It was thinner than you and its face and ears were shaped differently."

{Show me.}

She blinked. Why was he so interested? "Now?" she asked him. "but it's late and its dark out."

The psychic pokemon didn't seem to care. {Yes, now,} he said, getting off the bed. {I want to see it for myself.}

"Okay..." the girl complied, getting out of the chair she'd sat down in. Gardevoir had also gotten up. "It's not too late now, so it should be okay." she headed for the door now. "let's go."

Ten minutes later the three were in the park standing around the hedge art of the strange legendary pokemon. Mewtwo stood directly in front of it, studying it. He looked very serious and seemed to be glaring at the art. Karen and Gardevoir watched him silently, wondering what was on his mind.

After a few moments Mewtwo spoke. {You're right Karen, it does look a little like me,} he reached out, touching the piece. {But not like me at the same time. Did that man you spoke to tell you its name?}

The girl shook her head. "No, he just told me the legend that I told you earlier. I didn't think to ask because I was more worried about you."

Mewtwo looked over at her. {I think it's about time we find out more about this pokemon,} he told her. {It could be the answer to all of our questions.}