They made it to their destination without further incident, and spent the next week enjoying the beach, stuffing their faces, and generally living it up.

"So," James wondered aloud one day as they lay side-by-side on their beach chairs, "When we get back to Goldenrod...what's our first move?"

Jessie took a long sip of her drink, licking her lips with a satisfied sigh before answering, "We have plenty of time on the flight there to talk about it. Let's just enjoy ourselves for the time being."

"Fair enough," James stretched his arms, folding them behind his head and glanced toward a nearby cluster of palm trees, "Hmm. Those three certainly are!"

Arbok and Weezing were dozing in the cool, dense shade of those palm trees, relishing this vacation as much as their trainers. Arbok was coiled up with his head resting on a patch of grass, with Weezing cozily settled in the center of the spiral his body formed. Persian had vacated his own chair several minutes prior to join them, curling up in a ball with his head resting on Arbok's tail. Raising her sunglasses, Jessie followed his gaze to the little group and grinned.

Her and James caught each others eye and they cooed in teasing unison, "Awwww!"

In addition to relaxing on the beach, enjoying the spa, and eating to their hearts content, the two humans also spent a good deal of time alone in their room, discovering each other and what they enjoyed, even learning more about themselves. It was one of these nights that James brought up what had been eating at his mind, and the couple soon ironed out what they hoped were the last major kinks in this new relationship.

Persian quickly learned to walk away and go find something to amuse himself with whenever he heard the distinctive sounds of their 'activities' when approaching the door. It was times like that he both hated and yet greatly appreciated his superior sense of hearing.

At their vacation's end they boarded a plane yet again, this time bound for the huge, bustling city of Goldenrod, and it was there in the airport lobby that the trio was huddled together in their out-of-the-way corner plotting their next move.

"Alright team," said Jessie, "Like we discussed on the way, priority number one is finding a temporary place to stay until we can nab a more permanent residence."

Looking around, James asked, "How are we going to find one?"

"Hows about right 'ere?" Persian suggested, holding up a small, thick guide-book in his jaws.

"Where'd you get that?" said Jessie.

Persian rolled his eyes, "At de tourism stand we walked past on de way in. One of us has te tink ahead."

Choosing to ignore his sarcastic tone, Jessie snatched the booklet from Persian and replied, "Great work! Now then, let's see...hotels, motels...ah-ha! Here's some lovely places down-town!"

James peered over her shoulder, "Wait-they want how much?! No no no no..."

"What's yer issue?!" grumbled Persian, Jessie's irritated expression signaling her agreement with the Pokemon's sentiment.

With a frustrated sigh, James responded, "While it's true that we have a lot of money for the moment," spreading his hands he continued, "Like I've already said, if we blow a lot of it now, how will we start our business? How will we finance all the things we'll need? Let's face it; that chunk of cash is all we have until we start generating our own! I mean..."

He felt his words might have been a touch hypocritical as he remembered the tiny, velvet box hidden in the bottom of his suitcase...

One day while perusing the shopping district of the island resort while Jessie and Persian were at the spa for the fourth time, a small, bright flash had caught his eye from a shop window. Pausing, he had looked toward it only to realize he had stopped in front of a jewelry store, and that that flash had been the tropical sun glinting off of a delicate, flawless diamond ring. He stood staring at it, startled at the singular, unexpected thought running through his mind. The store owner wandered out to cheerfully ask him if he was interested in seeing or purchasing anything, and snapped from his spell, James had quickly sputtered an excuse to leave and strode away. He spent the rest of the day slowly wandering the island's paths and back streets, heart racing and head a mess of various emotions, finally stopping on the boardwalk to sit and stare out over the ocean as the molten sun slowly sank into the water.

Slowly, he began to make up his mind, and at the moment he did, leapt to his feet with a hearty half-laugh, half-sob, startling several nearby people, not that he noticed as he took off at a full-speed run. Skidding to a halt in front of the jewelry store, he managed to dart inside just as the owner was beginning to close up for the night. A short time later, he re-emerged, clutching a small box wrapped in tissue paper and ribbon against his chest, tears in his eyes and a huge smile across his face.

He paused to look up at the rising moon, "This time, I know I'm making the right decision..."

Jessie stared at her partner, waiting for him to continue as he had seemingly stopped mid-sentence, a glazed, faraway look in his eyes. Finally she lost her patience and snapped her fingers in front of his face.

"Hello? Earth to James? You still with us?"

"Oh!" he yelped, yanked back to the here-and-now, "Y-yeah! Sorry. Anyway, we should probably go with a more inexpensive, modest place."

Persian gave a resigned sigh, "I gotta admit, ya got a good point, Jimmy."

"Fine, fine...we'll get a cheaper place. It is only temporary, after all," Jessie finally agreed, flipping through the booklet a bit more, "Here we go! This place seems nice! Let's go guys!"

It didn't take them long to get down-town from the airport, and from there they took another trolley to a small, quiet neighborhood away from the main bustle of center city to search for their chosen hotel. After a little walking, and several wrong turns, ("Dis stupid place really is a maze!" Persian had whined), they finally found the place-a large, several-story brick building with intricate concrete scrolls along the corners and roof-line. The brick facade was ancient and stained with years of rain and weather, thick swathes of ivy clinging to it's sides.

"Well! This looks..." said James, waving his hand in a circular motion as he sought the right word.

"Like somethin' from a horror movie?" Persian offered.

Jessie again chose to ignore him, snapping their guide-book shut and declaring, "Since we went through all the trouble to find this place, we might as well suck it up and stay here. Let's just hope there's no...Litwicks around..." she added in a quieter tone, then stepped up to the front door and swung it open.

Her companions shuddered, then followed her inside.

Upon entering the lobby, they stopped and gaped at the lush interior, it's warmth and grandeur sharply contrasting the stark outside. Delicate, scrolled wallpaper covered the walls, well-built, expensive-looking furniture was scattered about the room, the marble floor tiles shone and thick, plush carpets were underfoot. A wide spiral staircase snaked up one side of the room to the upper floors, a large fireplace took up part of one wall, and in the middle of the ceiling a shimmering, elaborate crystal chandelier hung from a long brass chain.

Jessie dropped her suitcase and clasped her hands together, eyes shining, "This-this place is divine!" she gushed, "I can't believe they only want five-hundred a night!"

"Reminds me a bit too much of the west entrance of my parent's mansion..." grumbled James.

"Or a haunted mansion," Persian's ears perked up, "I hear someone in dat back room dere!"

He pointed with one paw to a tall, wooden door upon which was a metal plaque that read 'Management's Office' behind the high, intricately carved front desk, and indeed, voices could be heard from the other side.

Walking up to the desk, Jessie plucked up the heavy brass bell sitting there and rang it. For a moment there was no response, the only sound being the bell's echo as it bounced off of the walls and high ceilings. Then they heard a loud creaking sound, and looked up to see the door swing open, then shut again-but no one could be seen. Immediately they felt the hairs on the backs of their necks stand up.

"D-did youse two see dat?!" Persian fearfully whispered, backing up a couple steps.

The two humans nodded and, like Persian, had taken several steps back as they instinctively reached for each other.

Jessie gulped loudly "Please don't t-tell me this p-place is actually-!"

Suddenly, a scratchy, high-pitched voice from seemingly nowhere appeared.

"Welcome! Can I help you?"

"Aaah!" the group cried in terror, grabbing each other in a hug, "This place really is haunted!"

That voice spoke up again, "Oh, for heaven's sake you lot! Keep yer pants on! Heh heh heh, except maybe for you, young man-you sound pretty cute! Gimme a second, gimme a second..."

A scrapping, shuffling noise was then heard, coupled with a string of grunts and curses. Finally a tiny, very old woman popped into view above the counter-top and rested her hands upon it.

"One of these days, I gotta have this godforsaken thing cut down to size-heh heh, mine specifically," she said, glaring at the object in question, "I'm getting sick and tired of dragging a stepladder around every time I need to reach something!"

The trio glanced at each other and stepped apart, at once relived at discovering there wasn't a 'ghost' after all, as well as mildly embarrassed at themselves.

"So, let's try this again," the lady adjusted her half-rim glasses and smiled at them, "Welcome to the Woodruff Hotel! My name is Francine. How can I help you on this fine day?"

"We-we were hoping to reserve a room." said James quickly.

Francine slid a heavy book closer to herself, flipping open the thick leather cover and picking up a gold pen topped with a feather plume, "Well, you've certainly come to the right place! This hotel has been a Goldenrod landmark for decades," as she spoke she scribbled away across a page of the guest-book, "Now, first things first, I need your names."

"I'm James. James Mor...Morton." he said after having stepped closer to the counter.

Francine chuckled and threw him a wink, "You sure about that, handsome?"

Curious and quickly getting bored, Persian had found a cozy spot in front of the fireplace to curl up and groom himself, and Jessie had stepped away to study a large, antique painting.

Gesturing to her with the pen, Francine inquired, "And your wife's name?"

The couple froze in surprise at hearing this, and unwittingly made eye contact. James felt his face turn several shades of red, while Jessie gasped slightly as her heart skipped a beat. The moment quickly passed, and both of them stumbled over each others words in their attempt to explain.

"No-no no no! We're not-!"

"You see we're still-"

"It's not really-"

Francine laughed, holding up her hands, "Alright, alright, I understand! Sorry, I just assumed. My mistake. Won't happen again."

Recovering her senses sooner, Jessie darted back over and grabbed James' arm, "No hard feelings!"

"Anyway, what is you name, miss?"

"I'm Jessie!"

"Last name?"

"Smith."

Francine muttered to herself for a minute as she jotted down the info she needed, then said, "Okay then. Next, how many nights will you be staying with us?"

Jessie bit her lip and glanced at her companions, for in this time Persian had made his way back to the group.

Finally she sighed and explained, "We're not entirely sure, to be honest. You see, we just got here from-from our hometown and are looking to make a permanent home in this lovely city! But we need a place to stay while we're looking for said permanent home. So, we're not really sure how long we'll need to stay here..."

"As long as dey got food n' a soft bed I'm happy!" Persian said.

Blue eyes widening, Francine leaned over the counter slightly, "Bless my heart-! You can talk?!"

Grinning and licking a paw, Persian replied, "It's one of my many talents!"

With a giggle, Francine clapped her hands and said, "Why, in all my years, I've never met a Pokemon with such a gift! I'll tell you what; I'll put ya down for a week, and we'll go from there," she picked up a phone and barked into it, "Robert!"

Moments later, a paunchy, balding man that looked to be in his mid-forties scrambled into the room, adjusting his uniform as he did so, "Y-yes Mrs. Woodruff?!"

James noted the name and wondered aloud, "Mrs. Woodruff...? The same name as the hotel?"

"Aaah yes. You see," Francine waved a hand to indicate their surroundings, "My husband and his family were the ones who opened and ran this place for years. When he passed away, he left everything to me. I've tried to give it back to the family a couple times, but they want nothing to do with it anymore," she took a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed her eyes, "It's quite sad. But in any case, my dear Arthur also left me a substantial savings account so I wouldn't have to worry about a thing. But enough about all that. Robert, would you show our guests to their room? I need to get back to my soap operas."

She tossed him a set of keys, "And don't get lost. Again."

"N-no chance, Mrs Woodruff! I learned my lesson!" the man said with a bow, then turned to the trio, "Can I help you with your bags? Oh! Right! And-and follow me!"