Sunset was not amused. Not amused at all.
The group had made their way back to Viridian City and, after a quick stop at the Pokémon Center, had found themselves a booth at a retro-looking burger joint. The interior was clean, and the waitress had been cheerful and friendly, taking the humans' orders with a bubbly smile.
Then she had offered to bring 'feed' for the Pokémon.
Twilight, already in the process of trying to reach down and show Sunset the menu, had been caught off guard, and therefore hadn't spoken up when Elaine and Trace had ordered a bowl for each of the Pokémon, including Sunset and the new Nidorans.
Silently stewing in what was becoming an increasingly foul mood, Sunset watched as Trace and Elaine brought out each of their Pokémon; Elaine her Bellsprout and Nidoran, Trace his Eevee, a Pidgey and a Rattata. Twilight followed suit and brought out her own Nidoran with an uneasy glance at Sunset.
"Okay, here's your Poké-pellets!" The waitress reappeared with a tray and a bright smile. Crouching down, she set several bowls full of little brown pellets coated in thick gravy on the floor. "I'll be back out with the burgers in just a second!"
"Um, c-could we have another of what I ordered as well, please?" Twilight asked quickly.
The waitress nodded. "Sure thing, I'll bring it out as soon as it's done!"
Sunset glared after her, half wishing that she could set fire to the woman's skirt with her mind.
"Are you not going to eat that?" The female Nidoran asked. She didn't bother waiting for an answer before grabbing Sunset's bowl and pulling it closer. "Mine now."
Slightly mollified by Twilight's quick last-second order, Sunset raised an eyebrow at her new companion. "Don't you want a burger or something, too?"
"No way, that human food is weird," Nidoran replied flatly.
Sunset shrugged and turned to face her next challenge.
The chair.
The darn thing was just high enough that jumping up was likely impossible. Teleporting up was obviously an option, but it took more effort than Sunset really wanted to put in, which just left grabbing Twilight's attention and being picked up.
Dignity or effort. It was a harder choice than Sunset was willing to admit.
"Do you want to come up here, or would you rather eat down there?" Twilight asked.
Sunset huffed and, deciding on laziness, held her forelegs out for Twilight to pick her up. At least Twilight was decent enough not to comment as she settled Sunset on the bench next to her.
It wasn't long before the waitress came back out, bearing a tray loaded with burgers. She placed one in front of each of the humans, hesitated, then plonked the last one down on the table in front of Sunset. "Enjoy!"
"Will do!" Trace said loudly. He set about his meal with a ravenous fervour, as if he hadn't eaten in days.
Elaine raised an eyebrow at him, then rolled her eyes before turning back to Twilight. "So, how are you finding Kanto so far? It must be weird, having so many Pokémon around."
"It's… yeah, it's weird," Twilight replied. "I imagine things are weirder for Sunset, though."
"Really?" Trace asked. "How so?"
"There weren't any Pokémon where they originally came from," Elaine explained.
"Hm?!" Trace tried to exclaim in surprise, but his mouth was already full to bursting again.
"Apart from Sunset, obviously," Elaine said sharply.
Sunset ignored them and concentrated on her food. As if this world hadn't done enough to annoy her yet, she was now having trouble with actually eating the meal in front of her. For a start, the burger was almost as big as her head. The fact that she couldn't use her magic to properly levitate the cutlery certainly didn't help.
"Do, uh… do you want me to cut it up for you?" Twilight asked.
"Please," Sunset replied with a nod and a resigned sigh.
Twilight quickly obliged, cutting the meal up into bite-sized pieces that Sunset could handle. When she was done, Sunset mumbled her thanks, remembering a second too late that Twilight wouldn't be able to understand her anyway.
As she shakily levitated a chunk of burger into her mouth, Sunset struggled to keep her temper in check. She wasn't sure how much more of this she could take.
In a dark alleyway, tucked away in the depths of one of Viridian City's residential areas, the Observer crouched, speaking into a small box clasping in their hand, "They are here. One young woman, and one small Pokémon. They are traveling with Priority Trainer 5 from Pallet Town. Priority Trainer 6 is present, but does not appear to be traveling with them."
'I see.' The voice seemed to reverberate through the Observer's mind. 'So, Keres did indeed choose to bring in some wild cards. Hmmm. He is getting desperate, now that he cannot cause another Dimensional Cascade without causing irreparable damage to the fabric of reality itself. This farce has gone on long enough. In all previous iterations, Priority Trainer 5 leaves Viridian City to reach Pewter City before Nightfall. Does it seem likely that the wild cards will accompany her in this iteration?'
"It is almost certain," the Observer replied.
'Good. Send a single Tracker to intercept them in Viridian Forest. Kill them.'