"Uh, James?" Dawn says, "What happened last night?"
Choking through tears and hiccups, James quickly mentions the events of the night. "If I was there," Ash suggests, "I would send out Staravia or Gligar."
"You're no help." Dawn glares and shoves him in her pocket. She ignores his muffled complaints.
James stands up quickly. "Actually, he is!" He runs to the window and shouts, "Peter!" Within a minute, a Pidgeotto flies onto the windowsill.
"Coo? Coo, coo./James? It's been so long, but you look the same."
"Long story. You've definitely changed. Listen, one of my friends is lost in the woods down there. She has blue eyes and long pink hair. Can you please look for her? I'm afraid she's hurt."
"Coo!/No problem!" Peter soars off.
"Come on." James waves towards the doorway. "I know another way down." They reach a path into the forest.
"If the forest is so dangerous, why does the cottage lead straight to it?" Brock asks.
"Well, it's full of Beedrill, Nidoking, Ursaring, and other strong Pokemon. They're my friends, but they don't react well to wandering strangers. Growlie, can you find her scent?"
"Growl?/Do you have something of hers?"
James pats down his pockets. "Uh, no."
"Meowth!/Here." He brings an object in his mouth.
"What's this?" James grabs it.
"Meow-meowth. Meowth . . ./A ball of socks I was playing with before I fell asleep. They rolled under her bed." He blushes.
Growlie sniffs it. "Growl!/This will do." He howls, then sets off. Nanny and Pop Pop stay in case she returns. Peter appears, telling James that he didn't find her, but has to return to his family. Hours pass afterward.
"How did she walk so far on foot?" Dawn asks.
"Growlithe . . ./Is it a bad time to mention that I've been smelling something else familiar that I can't identify?"
"What?!" James screams, then runs off in the direction they were traveling.
"Wait!" They hurry after him. Almost crashing into him, they pause where he stopped.
"Arbok?" Brock says in bewilderment. Jessie is fast asleep in the curl of a Cobra Pokemon.
"Who's Arbok?" Dawn is clueless.
"Arbok is the first of Jessie's Pokemon that we can remember. It and James' Weezing disappeared at some time in Hoenn. I'm surprised we came across Arbok."
"Cha?/Who goes there?" Arbok raises his head, sleepily. He notices James and straightens up. Jessie twitches in her sleep, so Arbok relaxes again. "Chabok?/Meowth, do you know what happened?"
James replies, "Jessie, Meowth, and I changed and lost all of our memories. She doesn't remember you, does she?"
Arbok quickly accepts that James can understand him. "Cha, arbok./Yes, but she said she felt safe with me, so I protected her as she slept."
Jessie groans, "What's wrong, Arbok?" She rubs her eyes, then looks up. She cringes and freezes. "What are you doing here?"
James kneels next to her and attempts to embrace her, but she pulls away. He's hurt, but continues to be gentle. "We were so worried about you. Especially me. I don't know what I'd do if something ever happened to you! I know this is all hard, I feel the same way, but we need to be strong. When times get hard, we don't give up, but push through. We can do it . . . together." Jessie looks at the ground. James becomes stern. "Listen, I won't let you be this way. I just want you to be happy. You can either pout for the rest of your life, or decide a new path with us."
She stares up in surprise, a new fire in her eyes. "Right. This isn't like me. I've always wanted to try my best. Now is my chance. And . . . thanks." She gives him a quick hug.
Brock clears his throat. Jessie glares while James listens. "Do you know why Arbok's here?"
After a conversation ensues, James explains, "Arbok says that he and Weezing were released by us to protect a group of Ekans and Koffing from a Pokemon hunter. A few Ekans evolved and said they could guard from now on. Arbok wanted to find Jessie somewhere and got lost in this forest. Weezing stayed behind to help for now."
"Will you keep Arbok, Jessie?" Dawn asks.
"If that's okay. I have extra Pokeballs." Jessie takes out a handful. Arbok nods, then captures himself. "Now I have more Pokemon for the contests."
"You still want to do them?"
"Yeah, you described them to me, and well, I love it!"
Dawn smiles and is about to take her aside to talk. "That reminds me," Brock says, "we still need to get back to Ash."
"Oh yeah." Dawn grabs her Pokedex.
"That was unfair," Ash complains, "I have no idea what happened."
"Pika . . ." Pikachu says from his shoulder.
"Well, we found Jessie and her old Pokemon, Arbok. We should be heading there soon."
"Finally." He laughs. "Eating berries and sleeping on piles of leaves is nice, but nothing like Brock's cooking or my sleeping bag." He shuts off the video call. Everyone heads back to the cottage, says their goodbyes, and takes off for Sinnoh.
Another quick chapter. Arbok?!