"D-Dad?! What brings you here?" James said nervously, getting ready to run.

"I was just escorting your childhood friend around the Kanto region. She's finished her business, so I invited her to relax at the vacation home for a while!"

"My childhood friend?" His heart sank. That could only mean Jessebelle. But...

"J-James? James! Yay, it's you!" a shy, feminine voice cried out. At first, James thought it was Jessebelle, but that girl was definitely neither shy nor feminine. Then who was it...?

"Um...James?" A dark-blue haired girl with shy eyes and a rather flashy blue outfit appeared before him.

"...Huh?"

"Wh...Waaaaaah! James doesn't remember me!" she said, about to start crying.

"N-no! I do! Just give me a second!" The girl looked so cute and innocent, if she started crying because of him, he'd feel really bad.

"Sniffle...sniffle..."

"Um..."

His lack of any sign of recognition did her in.

"Waaaaaah!" she started crying.

"P-please stop!"

"Don't you remember? Sniff... It's me, Evelyn!"

"Ev...elyn?" It still wasn't ringing a bell.

"W-waaaaah! Even after telling you my name, you don't remember me!" She started crying again, harder.

"Wait...Evelyn? Shy little Evelyn?!" James finally remembered who this girl was. When they were kids, her parents came for business and decided to bring their four daughters over. While her mother took the other three to Celadon for a night out, she opted to stay at the house, where she met James. They were both sort of on the shy side, so they became fast friends, and since then, she had visited many more times, on her own.

"Sniff...so you remember me?"

"Yeah! But what's with that flashy getup? It's so...unlike you..."

"O-Oh, that. Well, my sisters got this idea to start up a battle place, with each of us specializing in a different type of battle. It's gotten pretty popular! Trainers from around the world come to challenge us!"

"Impossible! You, a world-class battler?"

"Y-Yeah...is that so hard to believe?"

"It's just...you were so shy when we were kids... You still are, actually! Hmm, then again...shy girls are pretty popular among old men..."

"Oh yeah? I'll battle you right now if it'll prove my skill!" she said fearfully.

James laughed. They used to battle for fun when they were kids. "You're on."

"Fine! Go, Froslass and Lilligant!"

"Hmm? A double battle?" James asked. He'd participated in many a tag battle with Jessie, but rarely ever a double.

Evelyn nodded. "It's what I specialize in!" she said proudly.

"Okay, then. Growlie, feel like a little battle?"

"Growl!"

"All right. And for your partner...Inkay, come on out!"

"Inkay!"

"Oh! A Kalos Pokemon! Have you been to the region, then?" Evelyn asked, a little surprised.

"Yes, why?"

"That's where our Battle Maison is!"

"R-Really? I don't suppose you're heading back there anytime soon...?"

"I was actually planning on heading back right after relaxing a bit here!"

"Interesting..." James plotted in his head. He pictured himself and Evelyn at the train station. She would flash her Kalos passport, James would pretend he forgot his at home, the guard will get suspicious, but cute little fanservice girl Evelyn would vouch for him...then the guard, drooling, would let them through! It was foolproof!

"Um, James?" Evelyn snapped him out of his deep thought. "A-Are you ready?"

James nodded. "Yeah. May the best trainer win!"

"Right! Okay, Froslass, start us off with an Icy Wind! Lilligant, give yourself a boost with Quiver Dance!"

"Fros...lass!" the ice spirit launched the first attack of the battle.

"Growlie! Dispel it with Flamethrower! Inkay, try to disrupt Lilligant with a Psybeam!"

"Growl!" Growlie let out a stream of fire from its mouth, blasting away the Icy Wind just before it hit his team.

"Ink...kay!" The squid Pokemon turned upside down and fired a colorful beam at Lilligant. Unfortunately, it had already finished its dance, and was free to gracefully dodge it.

"Ha! Nice try! Lilligant, Quiver Dance again! Froslass, Icy Wind, a second time!"

Lilligant began her dance again, only faster, and more gracefully. Froslass exhaled another breath of wind at Growlie and Inkay.

James knew trying to hit Lilligant would be useless at the moment, so he directed his efforts at Froslass. "Growlie, Inkay, hit Froslass with Flamethrower and Psybeam!"

"Ink...kay!" Inkay fired its attack well enough, but Growlie, on the other hand...

"Growlithe!" he opened his mouth to fire off another Flamethrower, but something jinxed him, causing the attack to fail. "Growl!" he tried again in vain.

"What the-" Unfortunately, with only Inkay fighting against the Icy Wind, the attack pushed through and hit both of them head on.

"Looks like Growlie got cursed by Froslass's ability! Now...Lilligant, Quiver Dance once more! Froslass, keep them pinned with Blizzard!"

Lilligant began her dance again, faster this time, and more graceful. Froslass took a deep breath, "Frooooss..." and exhaled a huge blast of cold towards Growlie and Inkay "Laaaass!"

"Yikes!" That was quite the strategy. One Pokemon to distract the enemy, while the other strengthens itself. James knew that if Lilligant got any stronger, he'd be in a tight spot. But he was also pretty sure that Growlie and Inkay could take out that Froslass right now if they combined their efforts. He decided to let Lilligant boost; in the end, even with her boosted strength, once Froslass went down, it'd be two against one. "Growlie! Inkay! Push back the Blizzard with Fire Blast and Psybeam!" he ordered.

"Growl!"

"Inkay!"

Soon, the field exploded in a mixture of fire, ice, and psychic energy. Fortunately, the combined efforts of Inkay and Growlie were more than enough to overcome Froslass's Blizzard. Their attacks hit the icy spirit head on.

"Fros!..." it cried in pain, before crumpling to the ground, defeated.

"Hah!" James yelled, victorious.

"Hehehe...did you forget about my other Pokemon?" Evelyn replied. Lilligant still stood, perfectly healthy. It shone with power, having had its offenses and defenses heightened three times.

"Hmph. It's still two on one! Growlie, use Fire Blast! Inkay, Psybeam!"

"Growl!"

"Inkay!" His two Pokemon fired their respective attacks.

"Lilligant, blow it away with Petal Dance!"

"Liiiiill!" it cried, blasting a horrendous torrent of petals and wind directly at Growlie, completely blowing away the combined attacks of James's two Pokemon.

"Growl!" the fiery dog was blown back by the force of the petals. He was out cold.

"Growlie, no!" Uuu...this was bad. That Lilligant must be powerful to have blown away two powerful attacks, and still have enough strength to take out Growlie, who should have been resistant to her grass attack.

"Lilligant, use Petal Dance!" Evelyn ordered. James had barely recalled his fallen friend before she ordered another attack.

"Liiiiiill!"

"Inkay, get out of the way, quick!"

"Ink!" Inkay managed to jump out of the way in the nick of time, but...

"Petal dance, again!"

"Liiiill!" It fired off another blast of petals and Inkay.

"You've gotta be kidding me! Inkay, dodge, again!"

"Ink..." He jumped out of the way again, but the blast still grazed him. "Kay!" it cried out in pain.

This is bad... James thought. That Lilligant is too powerful...if only there was a way to turn its strength against it...

"Lilligant, Petal Dance, one more time!"

"Gah! Inkay, dodge it!"

Unfortunately, Inkay was too weakened and exhausted from the battle. It took a much larger portion of the blast this time.

Oh man, another attack like that and we're finished! Think, James...what attacks does Inkay know? There's Foul Play, Psybeam, Tackle...there was also another move it had learned recently, but what was it?

Wait... That's it!

"Inkay, use Topsy-Turvy!"

"Inkay?" It looked a little confused. Then it remembered. That time Meowth was training. He was trying to learn Hone Claws; he was close to succeeding, too! That is...until Inkay used Topsy-Turvy to reverse all his progress. Inkay laughed at the memory. He could be a real jerk sometimes.

"Inkaaay...ink!" Inkay did a weird dance, flashing spots of light all over its body, seemingly hypnotizing Lilligant. Suddenly, Lilligant was flipped upside down, and fell on its head.

"Lill!"

"Lilligant! What happened?"

"Lilli...gant..." It shook itself, and looked ready for battle again. "Lilligant!"

"I-I don't know what you did, but apparently it didn't work! Lilligant, finish him off with a Petal Dance!"

"Liiiiill!" the flower Pokemon fired off another blast of petals, only this time, much weaker. It harmlessly dispersed before even reaching Inkay.

"Wh-what?" Evelyn and her Pokemon were shocked. "How?"

James smirked. "Topsy-turvy. It reversed the strength that your Quiver Dance gave you. All right Inkay, finish her off with Psybeam!"

"Ink...kay!" it once again fired the colorful beam from its mouth.

"L-Lilligant, dodge it!" Evelyn called out. Unfortunately, Quiver Dance had boosted its speed and reflexes, which meant Topsy-Turvy slowed it down considerably. The same thing happened to its special defense. The result?

"Lilligant!..." the flower Pokemon cried in pain, taking the Psybeam head on, with its defenses already crippled. It fell to the ground, unable to battle.

"Yes!" James cried out in victory.

"Haaaaa...I should've seen this coming...James always was better at battling than me..." Evelyn sighed, smiling as she recalled her fallen Lilligant.

"So...what was that about being a world-class battler?" James said, looking smug.

"I-I still am a world-class battler!" she said, puffing her cheeks. "It's just...J-James is a lot better..."

"I'm just kidding. You were really good - I just got really lucky, remembering Inkay knew that move."

"Bravo, James!" another voice entered the conversation - his father. "Good show, my boy! I see your travels have taught you well!"

James sighed. "Thanks, dad."

He laughed the hearty laugh of a rich gentleman. "Y'know, I've been thinking...maybe all that travelling is good for you."

"Daaad! I don't want to come ho-wait, what?"

He laughed again. "Yes, yes, we know, you're sick of the rich life. Tell you what: you're old enough to make your own decisions already, and from the way you trounced Evelyn, it's obvious you know how to take care of yourself already. So...you're free to do whatever you want!"

"D-Daddy!"

"Don't try to change my mind! You know how hard-headed I am, and judging from how you ran away, it must run in the family." He laughed his laugh again. "Now, farewell! And good luck! Remember to call your mother sometime! She worries about you, you know? But I always tell 'er, 'That kid's got my blood running through his veins! He'll be all right! I did something similar as a kid, too, remember dear?'"

James was completely dumbfounded. When he finally came to, he broke out into a huge smile. He nodded emphatically. "Thanks, daddy! I promise I'll make you proud!"

"Haha! I'm sure you will, my boy. I'm sure you will."

"Lunch is ready!" Nanny called from the door of the house. "Come and get it!"

"Ah! Nourishment! Are you staying for lunch, son?" James suddenly felt his stomach growl. His father laughed his hearty laugh again. "I'll take that as a yes!"

His father went inside. James was about to follow, but Evelyn grabbed his arm.

"J-James...you ran away from home?!" she asked nervously.

James nodded. "Yeah...they wanted me to marry this crazy red-head...and they were so controlling of my life! I didn't have any freedom! But I guess that's all changed, huh?" he said. Or it could be another trap... he thought, remembering when his parents faked their deaths to lure him. He shook the thought, believing that his father had actually changed. "Oh, by the way, you said you were heading back to the Kalos region?"

"Hmm? O-Oh, yeah, though with how late it is, I think I might spend the night here. Why?"

"How are you planning on getting there?"

"Ah! I...sort of have a private jet...the pilot is waiting for me over at Celadon city."

James suppressed a smile. Private transportation! No passport required! And if someone did ask, he would just say he was a friend of Evelyn's and that he was just planning on exploring the Kalos region a little. It wouldn't be a complete lie.

"Would you mind if I hitched a ride with you? I need to get back there, as well."

"H-Huh? Sure! But there are only two seats, and they're right next to each other, if you're okay with that..." she said, blushing.

"Hmm? That's fine. Thanks!" he replied, wondering why she looked a little tense over that fact.

"O-Okay! We'll leave tomorrow morning!" she said, still blushing.

With that, the two of them headed into the house for lunch.


After another day of relaxation, it was finally nighttime. James slept in his usual room, while Evelyn slept in the guest room. His father had went back home, saying he had things to tend to. James told Growlie to stay behind and protect dad, but it refused to leave its master again.

"Hahaha, don't worry about me, son! I may be old, but I can still take care of myself!" he said. Thus, at long last, Growlie would be traveling with him. He checked his belt - Chimecho and Inkay were there, as well. He was just about to send them out to lie down with him when his Rocket communicator started beeping, indicating he had just received a message.

Oh, crap. He thought. Must be Jessie, wondering where the heck I am. Braced for a rant, he checked his inbox. To his surprise, though, it was a message from Matori, Giovanni's personal secretary.

"James," the message started. "We have detected that you are back in the Kanto region. We assume that you plan on returning to Kalos soon. If this is true, Giovanni wishes to speak with you immediately, in person. If this is false...then you will be fired for dereliction of duty, as your current status states that you should be in Kalos. Giovanni looks forward to seeing you. Matori, out." the message ended.

James shuddered as he closed the communicator. This sounded serious - Giovanni, the big cheese, needed to speak with him? He looked at the time - 10:00 P.M. Evelyn said she plans on leaving the mansion at around 9:00 A.M. That gave him 11 hours to get to Rocket HQ, get the meeting over with, and get back, if he wanted a ride. Then again, if Giovanni needed him to do something in Kalos, like the message implied, it's likely he'd provide transportation. But...then again, Evelyn looked so excited to have James travelling with her. He took out a pen and paper, jotted something down, then left the note on his bed. He climbed out the window, looking back one more time.

Evelyn,

Something important came up. If I'm not back by the time you leave the mansion, then I'll meet you in front of the Celadon City department store. If I'm not there by noon, then I apologize, and you can go ahead and leave without me.

-James