*Disclaimer: I do own Pokemon
The Contest
"I can't forget you when you're gone
You're like a song
That goes around in my head
And how I regret
It's been so long
Oh what went wrong?
Could it be something I said?
Time, make it go faster
Or just rewind
To back when I'm wrapped in your arms"
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Day 48
All of the visiting groups spent one night in the bungalow—though about half had to go to the Pallet House via teleporter—before they went back to their separate ways. James, Jessie, Meowth, and Lucy returned to the Pallet House for a bit to do some work. Everyone's parents who had come to visit also returned to their careers. Nolan, Lucas, Lexi, Tyler, and Jake went back to Kanto, en route to Vermillion City, the location of the hospital in which their travel companion's lay and of their next challenge. Rita and Ralph returned to the Team Rocket cabins that had been established on one of the smaller islands. Rumika went back to her headquarters. Soledad, Tamaki, Anika, Gracie, Tobie, Carol, Mariana, and Flare returned to their Geo-catching assignment, while Annastasia, Michio, Jay, Jocelyn, Amber, Jezz, Logan, Lily, Maya, June, Takeshi, Benny, and all their Pokemon headed towards the location of their first contest. It was now nighttime and everyone was in their beds, sleeping peacefully, except for Jezz, whose dreams were tumultuous.
**Flashback Dream**
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home
Swing low, sweet chariot
Comin' for to carry me home
If you get to heaven before I do
Comin' for to carry me home
Tell all my friends I'm comin' there too
Comin' for to carry me home
Jezz heard the song playing over and over again in his head. The eerie tune was dull and played quietly in the background as the darkness of his dream slowly developed into lightness. A small girl with greenish-blue eyes and magenta hair was singing it in front of a large ballet mirror. Then two strangers, one man and one woman, came busting in the room. A small, frail woman followed behind. The girl immediately stopped singing her song. She recognized that the two strangers were social workers because recalled their uniforms from the last time she encountered them. She cringed at their presence.
"We are going to take her now," one of them announced gruffly. "You've distracted us for too long. You need to think of what is best for her."
"You don't think I am what is best for her?" the elderly woman, a familiar face, demanded.
We've talked about this already. You are a kind person, but you can't be responsible for her," said the female social worker.
The kid listened to the adults argue. She bowed her head in shame and snuggled up against her Chingling and Oddish, both of whom had come over to comfort her. Then the male social worker made her stand up.
"Jess, you are going to have to come with us now," he told her.
"Jess isn't my name!" the child shrieked.
"Yes, it is. You are confused. We are going to help you," said the other worker.
"But…but…Oddy and Chingg…" she mumbled through tears.
"They are coming with you," the man promised. "I swear."
The girl nodded and let the social workers take her away.
**Dream ends**
Jezz sat up and took a couple of deep breaths. He was concerned about how much he felt like Jess, and was worried about what it meant.
"Xatu, what does that dream mean?" He asked the Pokemon. "Why was I Jess?"
"Xuuu," the bird hummed.
"Please tell me!" he demanded.
"Xatuu Xat!" Xatu screeched before flying off.
"Oh well," Jezz breathed.
He looked over at his friends. He was once again sleeping in the same tent as Amber and Jay. It was actually chilly for once, and the three of them were snuggled up tight until Jezz's disturbing dream shook him awake. He realized that he had moved considerably in his sleep, and shuffled back over to them. When he fell back asleep, his slumber was dreamless.
xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Another sun had set in Vermillion City, and Lucas, Jake, Lexi, Nolan, Tyler, Brodie, and Viviana were looking for a place to stay. The Pokémon center was full, and half their party was not prepared to camp out again for the eleventh time in a row.
"I see a motel up ahead," Lexi pointed out. "Looks cheap."
"We need super cheap," Nolan responded. "As cheap as it gets. I have no money, and as far as I know, either do you."
"I know. But motels are sometimes only thirty dollars per person per night. I think it is worth the extra expense. I need to get cleaned up in a real shower, not a river, and I think Viviana is willing to pay anything to avoid another night outdoors, especially after enduring the pain from that broken arm."
"It's true," Viviana confirmed.
"True for me as well," Lucas agreed. "I knew that my luxuries of private school were going to be gone out here, but I at least want a warm bed and a shower."
"I would really like the comfort of a bed tonight," Brodie added.
The group entered the motel. It was called the Rogue Raichu, and the starting price for one two-person room was twenty-five dollars a night for both individuals.
"This is a great deal," Brodie exclaimed. "I can be with Viviana, Lucas can be with Jake and Tyler, and you and Lexi can be together".
"I want to sleep with Lexi", Jake pouted.
"So do I," Tyler whined.
"No thanks. I like Nolan more. He isn't creepy like you guys are," Lexi told them.
"Thanks milady," Nolan bowed.
"You're welcome," she responded brightly.
"Creepy? We aren't creepy," Jake whined.
"I'll be the judge of that," Lexi retorted.
"Fine," Jake and Tyler vented together.
"It's settled, but I am flattered you all want to sleep with me," Lexi chuckled.
Tyler and Jake pouted while Nolan and Brodie talked to the front desk. After paying the rental fee, the motel worker handed them three sets of keys. Nolan handed one to Lucas.
"We got one room with three separate beds, and two rooms with two separate beds," Brodie announced. "Any complaints?"
"No," they collectively responded, though Jake and Tyler still looked disappointed.
Brodie and Nolan collected the money for the rooms from the other members of the group and they walked up to their rooms.
"Are we gonna have dinner together?" Lucas asked Brodie.
"Probably not. We are all too tired to go out, and all the delivery services around here are expensive. I think we are all just gonna stay in and eat snacks," he answered.
"Good. That is what I want to do," he responded.
"Same here. I am so not in the mood to go out. Plus I can't afford it. It's trail mix and whiskey for me tonight," said Lexi.
"Really?" Nolan asked her.
"Mmmhmm. Why, do you have something better?" she responded.
"Not really. It just sounds really pathetic when you say it out loud," Nolan explained.
"With our new jobs starting up, hopefully we will get enough money for real food," said Lexi.
"Yeah, if your Boss decides to like you," Brodie chuckled. "I hear he is tough."
"We are going to work on building that relationship," Lexi told him.
"Cool. Well I'm going straight to bed. 'Night everyone," said Viviana.
"Same here. I am not really that hungry. See you in the morning," said Brodie.
Everyone exchanged 'goodnights' and went up to their respective rooms on the second floor of the small motel. On their way up Lexi noticed some cockroaches and termites hiding in the nooks between the stairs and the wall.
"Yuck. This place is disgusting," Lucas commented.
"We might be better off outside," said Tyler.
The group got to Lexi and Nolan's room first. They opened the door and turned on the lights. The room was neat and smelled nice. Everyone looked under the furniture for pests, but the entire place was clear.
"Well at least this room is clean," Jake commented. "But there is only one bed. Shit you are lucky."
"Just shut up," Lexi berated. "We are friends, not animals".
"Whatever. Let's check on our room. Make sure there isn't any weird crap in there," Tyler responded irritably.
Jake, Lucas, and Tyler's room was down the hall. After looking around a bit, they concluded that the room was clean.
"Viviana just sent me a text. She said she saw a cockroach in the hall but their room is spotless," Lexi read from her phone.
"Then we are good to go I guess," Nolan responded.
The group divided and went back to their separate rooms.
"I am still kinda worried. If a cockroach gets in here I will scream and get the manager himself to come over here and get rid of it," Lexi told Nolan as they changed into their nightwear. "Who knows where those things have been? They could be covered in diseases and who knows what else."
"I would love to sleep without any disturbances, especially from gross bugs," Nolan responded.
Lexi nodded and then pulled a bag of snacks out of her backpack. She sat down next to the coffee table. "We could have asked the Morgans to let us borrow one of their cars. They have a few of them, and even though they took them to Alola, Mewtwo is strong enough to teleport them back and forth, I think."
"Maybe that is true but you know I hate asking them for things, you feel the same way. Just because they can buy us everything doesn't mean that they should," he replied before joining her on the floor.
"I have re-evaluated my position," Lexi started. "I talked to A about this. When you have money, the decent thing to do is to share it, and to do it without being an asshole. Those are her words, not mine. Anyway, you know as well as I do that her intention is never to show off or to put us down. The reason she buys us so many of the things we need is because she knows her privilege and wants to share with us and helps us in any way she can. Once again, her words, not mine."
"I feel like I can't give anything back in return. I am not humiliated because I lost all my pride a while ago, but I do get uncomfortable because I can't give much in return," Nolan responded.
"We helped her watch all those kids last year. And we are her friends. We do little things for her and are always there when she needs us. That is all she wants," Lexi assured him.
They continued to eat their snacks and talk about the days' events. When they were finished eating Lexi lifted a three-liter bottle of whiskey from her knapsack.
"Wanna help me finish the bottle?" she offered.
"Finish? It's three quarters of the way full," he responded. "And where'd you even get that? Alcohol is expensive, you know."
"My grandfather gave it to me. It's from his liquor store," she responded. "And we can handle this thing. It's not that strong," Lexi replied.
"Fine then," he gave in. "Do you happen to have shot glasses on you too?"
"Nope. I figured we can just drink from the bottle," she answered.
"Fine," he sighed, taking a sip from the bottle. "Ahh. It's been a while".
"Mmhm," Lexi mumbled as she took some in. "Too long."
"I like this. Traveling again, just you and me and some other random people," he started. "I hope this doesn't change once we start working, working for real I mean."
Lexi nodded and handed the bottle back to Nolan. "I agree Here, have more. We have a long way to go."
Two hours later they lay sprawled out on the floor, their conversation having lightened up considerably, until Nolan decided to bring up an old subject.
"Hey Lexi, how long are we gonna do this?" he questioned sleepily.
"Drinking? Traveling? Procrastinating our meeting with Giovanni?" Lexi guessed.
"No like us hanging out like this…" his clarified.
"Forever I guess. I didn't think there was a time limit," she responded tiredly.
"I was actually wondering why are we always together but not…together?" Nolan wondered.
"Because…because…um wait," Lexi stammered. She sat up and looked at Nolan. "What are you saying?"
Nolan avoided her gaze. Lexi sighed with frustration and rubbed her temples.
"Please don't go there now," she requested.
"Why not?" he questioned.
"Because I don't want to," Lexi answered. "We tried this before."
"That was that was a long time ago, we were only kids," Nolan replied.
"I was fifteen and you were seventeen," Lexi reminded him.
"You are right, but a lot has changed in two years," he explained.
Lexi softened her expression. "Yes. I suppose it's because I don't like drama. I sometimes wish I could live in a world where drama didn't exist, but it does, and I want to avoid it unless it is absolutely necessary."
"So then why did our relationship end?" Nolan asked.
"It didn't end, or else we wouldn't be here, now, would we?" Lexi pointed out. "People date for a few years, then get bored and break up. That is how it works."
"That's negativity," he responded.
"It's also reality," she affirmed.
Nolan paused. "But now you are considering Jake or Tyler, and they hardly know you."
"I am just leading them on. Or more accurately, they are leading themselves on," Lexi explained. "Let's go to bed before we end up completely regretting this conversation."
She shut the lights offered her hand to pull him up of the ground. He accepted it and they clumsily fell into their bed. They both lay with their eyes closed, for nearly an hour had passed before they realized they weren't ready to go to sleep just yet.
"I am going to email the boss," Lexi said to Nolan as she sat up. "I think the sooner we stop procrastinating, the better. We need the distraction."
"Ok," he mumbled.
Lexi got up and walked over to her laptop, which was sitting on the desk, charged and waiting for her to use.
"Here goes nothing, Nolan. Wish me luck," she called as she logged in.
But he was already asleep and didn't hear her.
Lexi stifled a laugh. "It was job stress that kept him awake, nothing else."
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Day 52
It was almost time for the group to do the season's first contest in Alola. Actually, it was their second. Someone switched out their registration forms with fake ones, causing Annastasia to confuse the date. Two days ago, they had showed up at the supposed contest grounds, and found the place empty. It was a custodial worker who told them that they missed the contest by a day. Luckily, she found out that the second one was happening soonafter, and they were more than prepared to enter it.
Soledad, Anika, and the rest of the Geo-catchers and their friends met up Annastasia's group. It was early in the morning, and Jocelyn, June, Jay, and Jezz woke up so that they could start to get ready. They all sat together in the local Pokémon center, grooming their Pokémon and making last minute adjustments on their routines.
"Benny, are you going to compete with your new Pokemon?" Gracie asked.
"No. Wishiwash isn't ready yet, But Jackson is," he answered.
"Since you are all in the same competition, are you going to cheer for one another?" Gracie inquired.
"Of course we are, right Benny?" Jocelyn questioned as she poked him gently in the ribs.
"Uh-huh. I'll cheer for all of you," Benny replied.
Amber, Jay, and Jezz were in their shared dorm room talking and getting ready for the competition.
"I still think you should register," Jezz said to Amber. "With your archery skills, you could pull off an awe-inspiring routine."
"But contests are so…I don't know. I'd rather wait and do the Alola trials instead," Amber responded.
"I think we've endured enough Alola trials," Jay mumbled.
"Why don't you try both?" Jezz suggested.
"The thing is, for contests, girls always have to dress up all pretty. I am not wearing a dress on stage unless someone pays me," Amber answered.
"You can pretend to be a boy," Jay suggested.
"Jezz, can you believe him?" Amber responded.
Jezz looked up from grooming his Delcatty. He returned to his work after mumbling a very silent "I guess not."
"What's the matter?" Amber and Jay asked in unison.
"Nothing," he answered quickly.
"Please tell us," Jay begged.
"It is really nothing, there is no reason to be concerned," Jezz responded.
"Ok buddy," Jay responded.
"Yeah, we'll move on," Amber added.
"I for one and pumped for my routine. I sorta wanted to try contests last year, but mom would have gotten wayyy to excited. She probably would have followed me everywhere and insisted on helping me with my routine. Now since she has Sil and Rose to look after, she won't be all over me. She is still coming to watch though. Meowth, Lucy, and Papa too," said Jay excitedly.
"It's gonna be fun to watch you compete against Jocelyn. It will be especially fun if she beats you," Amber sniggered.
"Amb, there is no way she is gonna beat me. She's only eight. She may have my mom's lucky ribbons, but I got super awesome Pokémon," Jay replied.
"Don't forget you have to beat Jezz too. And he's experienced," Amber reminded him.
"I suppose that is true. I have done many contests in the past," Jezz responded. "But I wish you luck nonetheless".
Lucario knocked on their door. "Annastasia says five more minutes before we walk over to the contest grounds."
"Coming!" all three children responded in unison.
"Ready man?" Jay asked Jezz.
Jezz nodded. "And so is Delcatty."
"Delllllla," she purred.
"And Togekiss looks ready too", said Jay.
Togekiss climbed off of Jay's bed. "Toge toge togggggeee."
Jay pet him on the head. "Let's do this."
Amber picked her bow and arrows up off the dresser. "Let's move it, ladies."
"Yes sir," Jay sniggered.
Jezz shut the lights and the three of them walked down the hall. In the lobby of the Pokémon center, June, Jocelyn, and Benny were standing all dressed and ready to go while the other members of their group assembled.
"You look wonderful," June told the three of them once they got closer.
"Ditto," the triad responded.
"Everyone ready for our first Alola contest?" Annastasia asked the group.
"Yes," the competitors replied.
"Maya, why did you say 'yes' too?" Lily asked.
"I decided to register as well," she answered quietly.
"No way! You didn't day anything," Lily responded.
"I wanted it to be a surprise for you. I am going to be working with Logan," Maya replied.
Lily turned to her brother. "You too?"
"Mmmhhmm," he mumbled. "Maya had a really good idea for what to do, so I decided to help her out."
"That is great Maya. You must be really nervous though. You are so shy," said June. "Not in a bad way though! I just always thought you were very quiet."
"This is going to help me become less shy," Maya responded.
"I am proud of you already," said Lily. "Next time tell me though. I could have helped you get prepared!"
"I will. I wanted to surprise you this one time," said Maya.
"So everyone is here. Mewtwo, ready to teleport us?" Annastasia inquired.
"Yes Miss," Mewtwo replied.
A few seconds later everyone was outside the contest grounds. Mewtwo disguised himself as Lucario once more, and he along with all the other Pokémon and humans walked to the registration tent.
"Jay!"
"Anna-chan!"
"Princess!"
"Eeeeveee!"
"Wobba!"
"Yeeee!"
Jessie, James, Rumika, Silver, Rose, Mondo, Duplica, and Alex were waiting right outside the registration tent. They gestured for the group to come over.
"We were saving you all a spot on line," Rumika explained.
"Yeee!" Rose added.
Annastasia picked her up. "We appreciate this."
"Thank you. This line though…it is incredible. Are there really this many people competing in the contest?" June asked nervously.
"Nope. Apparently in Alola they make the audience get passes in order to see the contest," Duplica explained. "They charge admission."
"No way! That's not fair," Amber complained. "How could they do such a thing? I am supposed to be saving money, not spending it. My parents said that I am already over budget!"
"Amb, we'll pay for you," said Jay.
"No. I can pay it," she grumbled. "But I am still upset that they are charging a fee. It's messed up."
"The money goes towards a budget that let's Alola have these contests," said Jezz. "Hauana and Perry said that they save a lot of money paying taxes this way."
"By the way, your guardians are here too. They went that way," said James. He pointed in the opposite direction. "They went to get in line for food. They said they were getting you something called malasandana or something like that."
"Malasada," said Jezz and Michio in unison.
"Yeah those," James responded.
"Those are my favorite. They let me eat many different sweets. I never got to do that before I started living with them," said Jezz happily. He touched Jay and Amber's shoulders. "Let's go get some."
"And I want some of those donut things too," said Takeshi.
"And so do I," said Logan.
"Mmmhmm", Lily hummed. "Let's get it all."
"Jezz, your guardians said they were going to bring the food to you. You should get registered and then go sit in the holding building where it is nice and cool until it is your turn to begin. I can call them and ask them to get some extra so that all of you can have some," said Duplica. "Alex wants some too anyway."
"Yep," said Alex. "As many as they can make!"
"That's how I feel too," said Benny. "I want all they can make."
The group chatted for a while until it was finally their turn to register and buy tickets. After that they headed to the indoor food court where they met up with Jezz's guardians and ate lunch.
"Why didn't you two register for this contest?" Hauana asked Michio and Annastasia.
"I did try doing a contest in the past, but I didn't really enjoy it that much," Annastasia answered. "I am more interested in collecting and taking care of Pokémon. I don't battle much anymore either."
"I just never found anything about them interesting," said Michio. He wanted to go on a rant about how it was drilled into his head as a child by his family and neighbors that contests were for girls, but he held it back. "I don't like crowds."
"Oniisan are you anxious because there are a lot of people here?" Jocelyn asked worriedly.
"No," he lied.
Annastasia watched his expression. "Michio let's go for a walk. You are finished eating, right?"
"Yes," Michio responded. He walked up next to her. "Bye. See you all later."
"Bye!" the children responded in unison.
"Don't forget, Oniisan, I am number seven," Jocelyn reminded him. "Don't miss me or I will be really upset!"
"Flaaaafy!"
"Bounsweeeeet!"
"Flaafy and Pinky too," she added.
"I won't miss you, promise," Michio told her.
"Jocelyn really wants to impress you," Annastasia said to Michio as they exited the food court. "She is so nervous. She wants to show you that all the training you did with her paid off. She wants to prove how much she learned and remind you of how much you taught her."
"Oh. She said that? Really?" he questioned.
"Yep. Several times," Annastasia responded. "She cares about your opinion. So does Jay, and Jezz. In fact I think they all do."
"It's not like I'm their coach," he shrugged.
"Compliments from you are uncommon, and therefore more valuable," said Annastasia.
"Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something."
"Ok," he responded.
"It's about Jezz. Rumika, Rita and the others are deadlocked. The files on Jezz's foster families are gone. According to Rita, it looks like they have been destroyed, and all the files are unrecoverable. They have been trying nonstop for a week, and the situation seems hopeless. They suspect a Porygon went after it."
"Porygon?" Michio inquired. "That sounds familiar…"
"It's a man-made digital Pokémon. It can travel through cyberspace, and in some cases, it will act like a virus and destroy data," she explained. "It explains why we can't find any information on Jezz. He doesn't exist on paper or on digital files. There is absolute no proof that he is alive or has ever been."
"That sucks," Michio mumbled.
"How are you feeling?" Annastasia asked randomly.
"Okay", he answered hesitantly. "Why are you asking me?"
"I know you don't like these things. All these crowds, and the possibility that you will run into someone you know," she explained.
"Unfortunately, that is true," he sighed. "I shouldn't be this fucking pathetic."
"It is pathetic, but pathetic doesn't have to be a bad thing, there is nothing wrong with 'pathetic'," Annastasia responded.
"You always know what to say," Michio replied sarcastically. "Let's talk about something else. So this Porygon Pokémon destroyed Jezz's information. Why?"
"If it had a master, and it was commanded to do this, that would be its most likely motivation," Annastasia responded. "I am very suspicious about this, and I am not the only one. We are thinking it's time to take a visit to the Viridian City prison, and interview our number one suspect."
"Wait, Porygon," Michio suddenly remembered. "Jezz has one of those. You don't think that he…"
"No, I don't. It wouldn't make any sense for him to do that," Annastasia interrupted.
"You think it was that Jessiebelle woman," Michio guessed.
"Yes. Regardless of where she fits into all of this, she probably knows something that can help us. If we can confirm that she is not Jezz's mother, than at least we can eliminate her as a root. But I have this horrible feeling he is her son. Jezz's aura reminds me of her. I never wanted to say it out loud, but it's true. And if she is not, I am sure she has something to do with this whole thing. Honestly we should have interviewed her a long time ago," Annastasia replied.
"Are you going on your own?" he asked.
"No. I will definitely have someone with me. Rumika, Rita, Lucy, even one of the other spies. I didn't mean to get you involved. I just needed to get this off my chest," she sighed.
"I can come with you too, if you want," he offered.
"We'll see," Annastasia sighed. "Let's go back to the group. It's about time for them to go up. But if you have to leave, just come back out here. I can cover for you. And Jocelyn will understand if you tell her the truth."
"Thanks for the cover," he responded.
"No problem," she repolled.
The two of them headed back towards the front of the contest grounds. The announcer introduced the first competitor just as they were taking their seats. Ten minutes later, Soledad, Tamaki, Anika, Tobie, Gracie. Carol, Tomoko, Flare, and Mariana entered through the gates just as the third competitor was going up to perform.
"I really hope none of my friends were number one or two," Soledad said anxiously as she watched the next contestant enter the stage.
"I especially hope I didn't miss Benny. I promised I would watch him live," said Tamaki.
"I see them," Gracie announced. "Look, over at the end. They didn't go up yet."
At the end of the bleachers in the enormous crowd they spotted James, Jessie, Meowth, Lucy, all their kids, June and her parents, Takeshi, Rita, Benny, Jezz, Amber, Michio, and all the Pokémon traveling with them.
"They are the only people with their Pokémon out," Tomoko noted.
"It's still not common for people in Alola to leave their Pokémon outside of their balls, even though Annastasia has talked to local governments about it," said Soledad. "And not all those Pokémon are theirs. Lucario, Mewtwo, Maya, and all those Illumise, Volbeat and of course Lily and Logan don't belong to anyone."
"I don't see a Mewtwo," Tobie responded.
"That's because it's disguised as a Lucario," Soledad explained.
"Where is the talking Sandshrew?" Flare asked as they made their way over to the others.
"It is with June's father. He somehow convinced it to leave Annastasia alone," Anika answered. "He took it to his house."
"Onesan!" Jocelyn exclaimed when she noticed Soledad and her friends approaching. "I am so glad you made it!"
"Flaaaaa!"
"Bounsweeeee!"
"And you got a Stufful!" she added excitedly.
Stufful smiled happily and rubbed up against Jocelyn, who squealed and pet it on the head.
"Stufful likes you," said Benny as he joined in on petting it. "I missed you Tamaki."
"I missed you too little dude," Tamaki replied as he gave Benny a side hug. "Even though it has only been a few days."
"We caught Stufful because once it evolves into Bewear, then it can help us find the special Morelull we need to bring to Professor Rosedale," Tomoko explained.
"You should have introduced Stufful the other day!" Jocelyn scolded.
"He wasn't feeling very well, so I didn't want to take him out of his ball and get someone else sick," Soledad explained. "But he is all better now. At least I think he is."
"Stuff stuffff Stuffffful ul," the Pokémon told the group.
"He is saying that he is never going to evolve, because it likes the way it is now," Maya explained. "Good for you, Stufful."
"Stuff Stufful," it responded.
"Darn it. Leave it to us to find the one Stufful that doesn't want to evolve," Flare lamented.
"Can you do it for us? Pleassseeee?" Soledad asked.
Stufful shook its head 'no' and then bowed it in shame.
"Don't feel bad Stufful. We still like you," said Jocelyn.
"Who is up first?" Anika asked the group.
"Me," Jocelyn answered. "I am sooo soo so nervous. It is just gonna be Flaafy and me up there. I hope they like us."
Jessie overheard this. "Princess no matter what happens you will be the best out there."
"Thanks mama," Jocelyn responded.
"What about me?" Jay questioned.
"You will also be the best," she replied.
"Michio has been helping me train. Of course we spent most of our time focusing on Plusle and Minun, but he helped me train with Flaafy too," the eight-year-old explained.
"Oh right," Jessie murmured in surprise.
"That's good," said James.
"Jocelyn this is the fifth performer. You better go get ready," Mondo told his niece.
"Yikes you're right!" she exclaimed. "Can someone come with me?"
"I will," said Jezz, Amber, and Jay in unison.
"You three are very in sync," Duplica noted. "I bet you'd be good at group performances."
"I agree," said Annastasia. "It's a good idea for you to all head backstage now. Jay you are number ten and Jezz you are number twelve, so you may as well."
"Yeah. See you later. Wish us luck," Jay responded.
"Good luck," they all responded.
"Are you going to talk to him about our decision to go talk to Jessiebelle?" Rumika whispered to Annastasia after the children had left.
"No. I only told Michio. I think it would be better if we wait until after to tell him. It will probably just bring him anxiety, and he doesn't need that right before a contest," she whispered in response.
"That's a good idea," Rumika replied.
They sat in silence and watched the next few competitors perform. Then it was Jocelyn's turn.
"Contests in Alola are quite different then they are in different regions. I can't wait to see what she does. I hope she is prepared," said James.
"Don't worry papa. She's prepared," Annastasia assured him.
The entire contest hall went dark and two shadowed figures entered the stage.
"Is this part of the performance?" Jessie asked.
"Yes. Just watch," said Annastasia.
A single bolt of electricity shot vertical into the sky, directly hitting the stage's main light. The stage lit up to reveal Jocelyn and Flaafy. Everyone cheered.
"That was clever use of electricity," said Mondo.
"It will earn her major points," said June.
"Flaafy, double electro ball!" Jocelyn ordered.
"Flaaafeee!"
Flaafy shot two large electro balls through one of three hoops located on the opposite side of the crowd. Everyone turned around just it time to see the two spheres of electricity combine and move through the single top ring.
"I didn't even see those there," James gasped.
"That was the point, to surprise the audience," Michio replied.
"Flaafy must have practiced a lot," said Soledad.
"She will earn both cleverness points and coolness points," said Anika.
"And Flaafy is really well groomed and Jocelyn's dress is beautiful. They might win the beauty round too," Gracie added.
"I am so proud," Jessie sobbed.
"Go Jocelyn!" both her parents shouted.
Jocelyn smiled and giggled at her parent's over-reactions while she took her final bows. As soon as they were finished, they rejoined the audience. She and Flaafy earned compliments the whole way back to their seats.
"You were great, the best so far. I hope I do as well as you did," June said to Jocelyn.
"I think you will, Onesan," Jocelyn responded.
"Fla", her Pokémon agreed.
Pinky, who was sitting on Mewtwo's lap, jumped back onto her shoulder and rubbed against her face. It chanted a few words to her.
"Bounsweet is glad you did well, and he wants to perform in the next contest," Mewtwo translated for Jocelyn.
"Thanks Mewtwo…I mean 'Lucario'. Pinky you can definitely compete. I am allowed to use anywhere between six and one Pokémon, depending on the type of contest I enter," Jocelyn responded.
"Bouns!" the Pokemon cheered.
Ten minutes later, it was Jay's turn.
"I can't wait to see what he prepared," said Jessie. "He said he did this all on his own. I am so excited, so proud."
"So am I, but I think he had a bit of help," Annastasia told her mother. She could see the other two members of his trio sitting in the front row, waiting for his performance to start.
"Solar Beam combo!" Jay commanded.
"Toge!" Togekiss cried.
Togekiss flew around to the back of the audience and shot a rainbow hyperbeam and a golden solar beam across the auditorium. The two beams flew independently and stopped when they hit the opposite wall with one powerful and beautiful explosion. The crowd cheered as loudly for him as they did for his sister.
"That was beautiful," James breathed.
"How did he learn that?" Jessie asked. "He is perfect!"
Instead of returning to his family, Jay and Togekiss took back their seats next to Jezz and Amber in the front row. Jezz got up to get ready for his turn.
"Good luck Jezz," said Amber. She squeezed his hand. "You'll kill them, if you believe it."
"Thanks for believing in me," he whispered.
Jay and Amber each gave him a high five as he and Delcatty made their way to the backstage. Another ten minutes later it was their turn to perform.
"This is going to be another good one. Jezz worked really hard," Annastasia told her family.
Instead of saying his commands aloud, Jezz simply nodded to Delcatty. Delcatty purred softly and then disappeared from view. A moment later he appeared on the opposite side of the stage. Jezz nodded again, and Delcatty disappeared and reappeared next to the judges. A moment later Delcatty reappeared in front of Jezz, and the two of them took a bow as a purple and white psybeam danced above them. They crowd gave them a standing ovation.
"It just used teleport! And some weird psybeam thing!" Tamaki exclaimed. "No way!"
"I wonder if that was an assist move," June pondered.
"It had to be. Delcatty can't use teleport any other way," said Anika. "At least I don't think it can."
"That's true," Takeshi and Soledad agreed.
"It could have been an invisibility move too," Tamaki mused.
"Remember what we told you in the past: almost any Pokémon could learn almost any move as long as they practice hard and long enough," Annastasia told the children.
June and Benny got up to go backstage while they waited for turn, and Amber, Jezz, Jay, and their Pokémon returned to their family and friends.
"Delcatty was awesome Jezz," Jocelyn said brightly.
"I can't believe you taught him teleport. That is an excellent move," said Soledad.
"Thank you very much. The teleport is actually quite weak to be honest. Delcatty can only teleport a few yards at a time, and cannot bring people or objects with it. We are working on it almost every day though," Jezz responded. "It is an assist move. Xatu is the Pokemon on my team with that ability, but he is too stubborn to perform."
"Delca," Delcatty confirmed.
The Pokémon and their trainers all looked to the stage. Four more contestants went up, then it was June's turn.
"I am sending all my wishes to June," said Takeshi.
"That's so sweet," said Gracie.
Takeshi turned red. "I didn't mean to say that out loud…"
June took the stage with Cutiefly. She took out a flute and played while Cutiefly danced around in the air, showing off its cuteness and agility.
"She will get so many cuteness points for that," said Jezz. "I am glad for her."
"I'm confused, why do you all keep references 'cuteness' and 'coolness' and 'beauty' points?" asked Mondo.
"This contest produces six winners total, each one a champion in a different category: Agility/Toughness, Cleverness, Cuteness, Coolness, Beauty, and Mystery," Jezz explained.
"That's unusual," Duplica commented. "All the contests I've done were different."
"It's a tradition around here," Jezz responded.
"So how does someone get coolness points?" asked Gracie.
"If a performer and their Pokémon are in sync, have unique moves, and/or are neat and tidy, they will earn coolness points," Jay explained.
"What about agility and toughness?" asked Mariana.
"That would be if a Pokémon does agility tricks, like leaping over high obstacles or jumping through hoops or something like that," Jezz explained.
"And mystery?" asked Lucas.
"That would depend on the predictability of the move. If a move is unpredictable or unclear, it will earn mystery points. In my opinion, mystery points are the hardest to go for, so I usually go for beauty and coolness," Jezz replied.
"But that teleport was pretty mysterious," Tamaki pointed out.
"I suppose I may earn mystery points as well," said Jezz. "But that wasn't my goal."
The audience gave June a long ovation while she bowed and Cutiefly blew kisses. After exiting the stage, she came and sat down with the rest of the group.
"You were beautiful up there June," said Takeshi as she took her seat. "Amazing."
"Thank you," she replied sweetly.
"I bet your parents were watching you the whole time," said Jay.
"They said they were going to live stream it," she responded.
"I didn't know you could play the flute," Soledad said to June. "When did you learn?"
"I wanted to learn since I was really little, and so my dad got me a flute for Christmas. Jezz showed me how to play a few simple songs," she answered.
"I didn't know you did that," said Annastasia.
Jezz blushed. "Oh, it was no big deal. June picked up on it really quickly. She is very smart and talented. I never said anything because no one ever asked me about it."
"Jezz can play lots of instruments," Jay gushed. "Flute, clarinet, violin, cello, piano, and he even let me teach him a few things on my guitar."
"Impressive twerp," said Jessie.
"Thanks ma'am," he replied, nodding his head.
Amber rolled her eyes. "I told you, you don't have to say 'ma'am' anymore. Especially not to her."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Jessie asked irritably.
"It's just a habit," Jezz sighed.
"I know how you feel Jezz. For a long time I was forced to call everyone ma'am and sir too, and when I was free from that environment, it too me a long time to get used to speaking normally," James sympathized.
"And if yous ask us, we'd say dat he still talks funny", Meowth added.
"Oh, and you don't?" Lucy and Jessie said together.
Meowth shrugged. "I got an excuse dough. Pronouncin' dem human words is hard."
Jay wrapped an arm around Jezz. "He man, you can call people whatever you want. Amber can get over it."
Amber stuck her tongue out at Jay, who reciprocated. As usual, Jezz laughed at this.
"Jay's right, I guess. Sorry Jezz," said Amber.
"It's okay Amber," Jezz responded. "Which member of our party is up next?"
"That would be Logan and Maya. After this next person it is their turn," James answered.
A female contestant and her Braixen exited the stage. Logan and Maya stepped forward. Both Pokemon were decorated in nice jewelry and groomed to perfection.
"Maya looks amazing!" Lily exclaimed. "That necklace…those jewels…and she is so elegant. Look at how she can walk on two legs without extra effort. She's come so far"
"Next up is Logan and Maya, a Purrloin and Meowth duo all the way from Kanto!" the announcer called out.
Logan nodded towards the side stage. Squirt Gun picked up his cue and started playing the classical music.
"That's the nutcracker," said Jezz.
"Are they going to dance?" asked Jay.
No one needed to answer his question. They two Pokémon started dancing to the ballet. Lily was in awe.
"Dancin' fere a Pokémon Contest. How original," Meowth commented.
"Lily, that should be you up there," Lucy told her daughter.
"Maya did this for me. She wanted to make it a surprise," Lily whispered. "She's incredible, mother, isn't she?"
"Yeah. You know how to pick them," Lucy responded.
The crowd cheered loudly as Logan and Maya took their final bows. Everyone seemed highly impressed by the two, never expecting a Purrloin and Meowth to perform together and to do it well, without a trainer to guide them. They returned to their family. Lily gave them both a tight hug.
"That was beautiful," she gushed. "Logan, I didn't know you were capable of that."
"He actually taught me," Maya explained. "He helped me a lot."
"But who taught you?" Lily asked Logan.
"Jezz," he answered.
"Wow Jezz. You are one good resource," said Rumika. "You are a man of many hats."
"I very much appreciate the compliment," he responded shyly. "That was very lovely, Maya and Logan, I feel you did very well and I am sure you will get many points for that routine."
"That is sweet. Thank you," Maya responded. "We couldn't have done it without you."
"Benny is up now!" Jocelyn exclaimed, turning everyone's attention back to the stage. "Go Benny!"
"Flaafy!"
"Bounsweeeeeeet!"
"Plusle!"
"Minininun!"
"Your sister is sweet, cheering for her opponent," Lucario said to Annastasia.
"Yes. Sweet is a good way to describe Jocelyn. Unless she is disturbing you, of course," Annastasia replied.
Benny and his Eevee nervously entered the stage. Benny held up three hula-hoops, then placed them several yards apart from one another.
"Ok Jackson, do your thing!" Benny called out.
"Eeveeeee!" Jackson screamed.
The Eevee did a backflip into one of the hoops, then leapt high in the air and did another flip into the second hoop. Lastly, he launched himself as high as he could go and spun into the third hoop. When he was finished, Jackson hopped next to Benny and they both took a bow. The crowd went wild.
"That was incredible! I can't believe it!" Tamaki exclaimed. "Yeah little dude!"
"Yay Benny!"
"You nailed it!"
"You were the best!"
"Flaaaaa!"
"Bouns sweeeeeet!"
Benny was the last competitor, and after he left the stage, the host came out to announce who would be moving on to the second round. Benny returned to his family and friends.
"Mom! Dad! When did you get here?" Benny asked incredulously. "I thought you said you wouldn't make it."
"That was before we knew about the Morgan's transporter. We wanted to surprise you," said Sakura as she handed him a gift.
"And you got me a present?!" Benny exclaimed.
"Yes. I keepsake," his father explained.
"We were running a little late. We got here about five minutes before you went on. We are so glad we didn't miss you, but we recorded the program at home just in case we did," Sakura told him.
Benny stuck the present in his backpack. "I will open this later. Now we have to see who is going on to the next round."
A large screen descended from the top light fixture above the contest hall's stage. A display of twenty-five faces and names appeared.
"I see me!" June squealed with delight. "And Jezz, and Jay, and Jocelyn."
"Did I make it?" Benny inquired, squinting at the screen.
"I see you. Congrats you all, it looks like everyone in your group made it to the next round," said Mariana. "Oh wait…"
"Maya didn't make it?" Lily wondered aloud. "But why? Her and Logan's routine was the best…I don't get it."
"Neither do I," said Lucy.
"I think it is because they didn't have a trainer," said Michio. "Rules are very strict around here."
"That is so unfair!" Lily cried.
"Oh. That makes me sad. I wish we would have known," Maya responded.
"Maybe we can try again the next contest. Maybe someone for isn't doing the contests can be our stand-in human trainer," Logan added.
"That isn't the point, Logan. They are discriminating against us," Lily asserted. "It's wrong."
"After dis we're gonna have a little talk to da people runnin' dis show," Meowth assured them.
"I don't want to be rude," Maya murmured.
"Standing up for yourself isn't rude," Annastasia told her. "It is the right thing to do."
"Ok. I suppose you are right," she responded.
"I am sorry Logan, Maya. But the good news is that the other members of our group all made it to the top twenty-five out of one hundred and two competitors. That is very impressive," James pointed out.
"Yeeee!" Rose agreed as she pulled Jay's hair.
"Ahhh! Tell her to let go you guys!" Jay yelled at his parents.
"Rose, come here," Jessie cooed.
She tickled the baby until she let go, but as soon as she was free, Rose grabbed onto Takeshi's hair.
"She really likes boys," Annastasia explained as she helped her mother get Rose off of Takeshi.
"Anna-chan used to do that, grab at people's hair," James recalled.
"But not Jay and Jocelyn. They only liked it when family or friends touched them, and so they never grabbed people," said Rumika.
Jezz watched Silver, who was resting quietly in his aunt's arms, despite all the noise and chaos around them. Rumika noticed this.
"You want to hold him, Jezz? He is very calm, likes being held," She told him. "And there is a ten-minute break before the next round."
"Ok," Jezz said quietly.
Rumika handed the baby over to Jezz. Silver didn't complain, and just continued to lay there peacefully.
"I used to have to help babysit," said Jezz. "At one of my past homes."
"Me too," said Tamaki. "Even though, I was like, only five years old."
"Tamaki is adopted too," Amber explained.
"Really?" Jezz asked. "I didn't know, you look so much like your parents."
"Just a coincidence," said Richie.
"Wow. I never met anyone else my age who was in the foster system," Jezz responded.
"Hey once you get out, it feels really good. You got good things ahead of you, dude," Tamaki told him.
"Why don't you hang out with our group?" Jezz suggested. "Annie won't mind, right Annie?"
"Tamaki is always welcome to join us, but I think he would rather stay with them," she answered.
"Soledad and I are sorta a deal," Tamaki whispered to Jezz.
"A deal?" Jezz asked. "I don't understand what you are referencing."
"We are boyfriend and girlfriend," Tamaki clarified.
"I didn't understand why you were traveling with them since you aren't a Geo-catcher," Jezz replied. "But now I understand."
"Sorry to interrupt whatever you two are whispering about," Amber started. "But, you should get going. The next part of the contest is starting."
"Yikes! I ought to get going. It was nice talking to you Tamaki," said Jezz as he handed Silver back over to Rumika.
"Yeah no prob. Get my cell number from someone in your group. Text me whenever you want to talk," Tamaki responded.
"Thank you," said Jezz one last time. He and Delcatty left to go backstage.
"What are they gonna do now?" Alex asked his parents.
"I don't know," said Mondo. "Annastasia, can you explain?"
"Sure. So Alex, for the next part of the contest, it is like a Pokémon beauty pageant. That means that the judges will look at the Pokémon and judge how healthy they look, how nicely groomed they are, and whether or not they seem happy. They are awarded points for each positive detail. The people with the top twelve highest scores will move on to the battle round. Right now all the trainers are backstage doing some last-minute Pokémon grooming," Annastasia explained.
A few moments later the contestants entered the stage, all at once. Despite its incredible size, the stage could barely fit all twenty-five contestants. The group spotted their competing friends.
"June's Venasaur has very shiny skin. That is a good sign," Soledad said to Gracie.
"And Jezz's Delcatty is perfectly trimmed and brushed. He might just come out the winner," said James.
"I am hoping that one of our kids will win. Jocelyn really fixed Flaafy up nice and Jay and Togekiss are as put together and fashionable as ever," Jessie responded.
"Jay and Jezz look ridiculously happy," Amber noted.
"Jay always smiles, and Jezz, I think Jezz really likes contests and is good at them," said Annastasia. She looked down at Amber, who was staring at the stage.
"You are probably right, A," Amber responded.
"Look! The scoreboard is lighting up!" Gracie pointed out.
The screen showed that Jezz, Jay, Jocelyn, and June from their group had made it to the top twelve. Benny, however, did not. He returned to the group while the rest of the contestants when backstage.
"I'm sorry little man," Tamaki sighed when Benny returned with Jackson. He was almost in tears.
"You made it at least to the second round. That shows that you spent a lot of time and effort on your routine, and you should be proud of that," said his father.
"I was dreaming that I could win," Benny lamented. "But Jackson got so nervous, and he was scratching at his fur and pacing. The judges didn't like that very much."
"We know what it is like to have nervous Eevee," James told him. "He will probably grow out of it."
"I hope so," Benny responded.
"There is always next time," his mother told him. "Let's go outside. That is where the battles take place, and they are going to start soon. You don't want to miss Jocelyn and the rest of your friends."
The group followed the rest of the audience outside. They were herded into enclosed gates, much like they were for the Poke ringer competition. Meanwhile the contestants were lined up, and the host was about to announce their opponents. After listing several unfamiliar names, the judge called out their friends.
"Jay Paul Morgan will be paired with Cassandra Walters, Emile Wister will be paired with Jezz Tonaka, and June Gaulle will be paired with Jocelyn Morgan," the announced declared.
"Oh no! Jocelyn will be battling June!" Benny exclaimed worriedly. "But June has a lot more experience."
"Well June deserves to win too," Takeshi said defensively.
"And Jocelyn can take her. She is my daughter, after all," said Jessie.
"Takeshi is right, Benny. They both deserve to win," Soledad responded.
"I hope Jocelyn wins. She is the underdog. June is eleven and Jocelyn is only eight," said Gracie.
"Underdog or not, Jocelyn worked hard and I bet she will win. And that Walters girl doesn't look tough. Jay will totally crush her," Jessie noted enthusiastically.
"Maybe," said Lucy. "But she's got a Liepard. Who knows, maybe it's as skilled as Peruva and I."
"But you are only a Purrloin," said Tomoko.
"She's a super Purrloin," Logan interjected. "She knows a lot of moves."
"Lieparrrrr," Peruva agreed.
"Jezz's opponent has a Breloom. I never saw one battle before. I hope Emile uses it," said Tamaki.
"Don't they have to use the same Pokémon that they used in the other parts of the contest?" Gracie asked.
"Sometimes they do, but it isn't required. The battles are all three on three. Most trainers carry around six Pokémon," Annastasia explained.
"And in these types of contests, it is common for people to Pokémon that their opponent will not be expecting," said Michio.
"How would you know?" asked Mariana. "You said you never did contests."
"Well there was a…um…past acquaintance of mine…several of them actually…who did these things, and I had to watch," he stumbled defensively.
"But Jocelyn only has a Bounsweet and Flaafy. And Pinky only knows one move," said Flare. "What is her plan?"
"Plusle, Minun, Lucario, and Lil-G are gonna give her a boost," Annastasia answered.
"Isn't that against the rules?" asked Lucas.
"Nope. Those Pokémon were registered to her. Not only that, but she trained them, well except for Lucario. Lil-G, Plusle, Minun, Flaafy, and Pinky, Jocelyn has been working with them a lot lately. Michio helped her out, but she did most of the work," Annastasia explained. "And Lucario is only going to use the moves he practiced with Jocelyn, nothing more."
"That's an impressive team. I only had Jackson, my Wishiwashi, and I was borrowing my mom's Espeon and Tamaki's Kingler and Furret," said Benny. "She woulda crushed me in a battle."
"Yep," Michio agreed.
Soledad, Anika and Annastasia frowned. "Not necessarily. The vast majority of the time it's how you train, not which Pokémon you choose. Unless you use legendaries, then it's much easier to win," said Anika. "But no one is using Mewtwo, or the Morgan's two Mew."
"Eeveee Eve," said Acorn.
"Vee," her sister confirmed.
"The Mew are right. It would have been unfair. Though I have been spending much time with Jocelyn, I am not she, or anyone else's Pokémon. And now that I can Mega Evolve, I am the most powerful Pokémon in the world," Mewtwo told the kids.
"Well you don't have to be so darn humble", Lucas replied.
"He is right though. Though it would technically be allowed, it wouldn't be fair to the other Pokémon. She can borrow any of ours, or the Volbeat and Illumise that have been traveling us, but no Sandshrew or Mewtwo," said Annastasia.
"Speaking of Sandshrew, where is it?" asked Tobie. "Soledad said it was obsessed with you."
"The bastar—Pokémon, rather, finally decided to leave us to go work with Cilan," Michio answered.
"About that…" Takeshi started. "June says that her dad can't handle it anymore. I think it will be rejoining us soon."
Annastasia and Michio sighed with frustration. "I was afraid that would happen", Annastasia responded wearily. "At least we tried".
"Shh everybody, it looks like it is Jay's turn," Mariana told the others.
"That girl he is facing looks awfully familiar," said James. "What was her name? something Walters?"
"Oh no, I know who that is," said Jessie. "Ha. This will be great. Jay will kick her ass."
"I was wondering if you would notice," Rumika replied.
"Same," said Lucy.
"What are you talking about? Who is she?" Amber demanded.
"Relax twerp. That girl happens to be my arch enemy's daughter," Jessie answered.
"Arch enemy?" Michio snorted. "Isn't everyone your arch enemy?"
"I lot of people adore me, actually," Jessie said flatly. "And no. And that girl is Cassidy's daughter. I would recognize that ugly nose and weird purple eyes anywhere. Ugh, I thought that name sounded disgustingly familiar."
"Just because you don't like Cassidy doesn't mean you should dislike her daughter," said Sakura. "After all, you didn't like us once."
"Cassidy is different. "To this day she is snobby and unpleasant," Jessie responded. "You all aren't half as bad as she is."
"I can vouch for the unpleasantness," said Michio. "When I was fucking freezing in the Toka mountains, all she did was mock me and give me extra chores."
"They are starting," Tomoko reminded them.
"I choose Meganium!" Jay announced dramatically, striking the pose that he and his two closest friends worked on together.
"Larvitar, I choose you," said Cassandra.
"Vine whip Meganium!" Jay shouted.
"Meggggg!" the Pokémon cried.
"Larvitar, use harden," Cassandra instructed.
"Try razor leaf," said Jay.
"Now earthquake," Cassandra ordered.
"Dodge!" Jay called out anxiously.
Meganium dodged just in time. Larvitar did another earthquake attack, but this time Meganium responded with a solar beam. Larvitar was knocked out.
"Good, Jay is killing it out there. I just know he will make it to the next round," Amber said proudly.
Back in the waiting area, Jezz was watching Jay battle on the television screen. He closed his eyes and sighed deeply.
"Dela?" his Delcatty asked.
"Porygon?" Porygon inquired.
"No, I am not getting sick," Jezz assured them. He sneezed loudly, and almost everyone in the waiting area turned their heads to glare at him rudely. "On second thought, maybe I am."
"Chiiiiimmmmme!" Chimecho sang as he used his heal bell on Jezz.
"Thanks my friend," Jezz replied as he pet Chimecho on the head. "It looks like Jay summoned his Tauros. It was smart of him to get his Pokémon from back home."
"Vileeeplume"
"Chime"
"Dela"
"You are going to be wonderful," Jezz told his Pokémon.
Jezz continued to cough and sneeze, doing his best to be discreet. He avoided Jocelyn and June, who were also waiting their turn to battle, worried that his coughing and sneezing would alarm them.
"Jay is awesome," said Takeshi as he watched Jay's Tauros defeat Cassandra's Lairon. "His Tauros are amazing. I don't know how he gets them to such a high level".
"Lots of training," Tobie answered.
"Definitely. Knowing Jay, he put his whole soul into this training. Even if he doesn't win this contest, for sure he is going to complete all those trials," Soledad responded.
"Actually, I am not sure if we are even going to do the trials," Annastasia interrupted. "Jay says he wants to, as does Takeshi, but it seems we aren't ready for them. Things haven't really been going our way lately. We are very behind schedule."
"I am hoping that changes," said Takeshi.
Cassandra chose a Nincada as her third and final Pokémon. Jay re-released Meganium, and within one minute, Nincada was defeated and Jay was declared the winner. His friends and family cheered loudly as he bowed and then stepped back into the waiting area.
"Good job Jay," Jezz greeted him.
"Thanks," Jay responded. "Are you okay? Your eyes look watery."
"It's fine. I suppose it is just from all this excitement. It make me weary, as you know," Jezz replied.
"Let me know if you need anything. My sister packed some cold medicine that won't make you drowsy. I can go ask her for it, since I am finished battling," said Jay.
"No it's fine. Maybe later though," Jezz responded.
"Ok. By the way, did you see where Jocelyn or June went?" Jay asked.
"Last I saw them they were over by the water cooler, getting their Pokémon something to drink," he answered.
"Thanks. I am going to get my Pokémon some water too. But don't worry, I'll be watching the moment you go up," Jay replied.
"I just want to let you know that I am so grateful to you for supporting me. I never traveled with friends before, usually I do all this on my own. It has been a wonderful experience," Jezz told him.
"Good, 'cuz we aren't letting you ditch our group anytime soon. We love you too much," said Jay.
"Thank you so much Jay. You've done more for me than I think you realize," Jezz replied.
"Anytime," Jay said before walking away.
Jay found June and Jocelyn having a nervous conversation with each other and two other girls, one of whom was Cassandra.
"Cassandra says that her parents know your parents," said June.
"Really? I don't think we've ever met before today though," Jay responded.
"I am quite sure we haven't," said Cassandra. "My parents never mentioned you before, even though they go to your Christmas party every year."
"Oh. Well a lot of us kids go to that. It is at my house and the hotel and restaurant that my parents own. You should come," Jay replied.
"My parents never let me go. Instead I go to my grandparents' house while they go to that. I never knew that there were other kids there," said Cassandra.
"We were just wondering why her parents wouldn't let her come," said June. "She says her parents are named Cassidy and Randy."
"Oh, I know them. I didn't know they had kids," he replied. "My mom and yours don't get along very well."
"That is what my mom said," Cassandra replied. "I don't know how your parents feel about my dad though. He doesn't know them that well."
"Your mom has blond hair and purple eyes, right?" asked Jocelyn.
"That sounds like her," Cassandra answered.
"And your dad has green hair?" she continued.
"Oh no. That's Butch," Cassandra corrected. "Butch is my mom's friend. My parents are divorced so they don't really spend that much time together anymore. Butch is an old friend of hers, and they hand out together a lot since my parents don't get along very well."
"OH. I thought they were married," Jocelyn responded.
"I don't think I remember anyone named Randy," said Jay.
"I don't know if he actually still goes. He doesn't live with us anymore. Technically I don't live with my mom anymore either, since I am always traveling. I haven't spent more than a month at a time at my house since I was ten," Cassandra explained. "But my dad left a while ago."
"I am sorry for you," said Jay.
"Oh don't be. I don't really think about it much anymore," she replied.
"Good," Jay responded.
"How old are you?" Jocelyn asked Cassandra.
"Thirteen," she answered.
"Do you do contests often?" Jay questioned.
"Whenever I can. This is my second region doing contests in. My first was in Johto. Before the beginning of last year I only did gym battles," she responded.
"Our group is really big, and you are welcome to join us," Jay told her.
"That is nice of you to offer, but I already have my own traveling group. There are a bunch of us, ages ten through fifteen, but I am the only one who signed up for this particular contest," Cassandra replied.
"I am sorry for beating you," Jay told her guiltily.
"It's no big deal. I knew coming in that I would have a hard time in the battle round. I think I should have prepared more for it, then I would have done much better," she told the group. "And the experience was nice. I love Alola. My parents never took me here growing up. They said it was too expensive."
"My family has a Bungalow here. Maybe we all can hang out there sometime. Your friend group can come too," said Jocelyn.
"And my mom won't give you are a hard time, even if she doesn't like your mom," Jay insisted.
"That sounds good to me," she replied.
"It's Jezz's turn in a few minutes," June pointed out.
"Oh yeah. Jezz in our group," said Jocelyn.
"Are you brothers?" Cassandra asked Jay.
"No, Jezz and I are friends," he answered.
"Wow. You look just like twins," she replied.
"They get that a lot," said Jocelyn.
Jezz looked backed at his friends, who waved and gave him smiles of encouragement. He took a deep breath and entered the arena on one side while his opponent Emile entering on the other side. Since he scored higher in the other two rounds, Jezz's opponent had to reveal her starting Pokémon first.
"A Wobbufet", Jezz thought to himself. "Annastasia has a Wobbufet, her Wobbufet can counter almost anything, just like her mother's Wobbufet. But why can't I remember its weaknesses?"
"I chose Delcatty," said Jezz as he released his Pokémon. "Assist!"
Delcatty shouted his name and then shot a solar beam right at Wobbufet. As he suspected, the Wobbufet just mirrored his attack.
"I wish we could communicate with Jezz. Then we could tell him that attacks that take a long time to launch aren't very effective against Wobbufet. You need to use attacks that are too fast for Wobbufet to react to," Annastasia told the others. "After all, that is what happens with my Wobbufet."
"And mine apparently," said Jessie.
"Wobbufet," he agreed.
"Use assist again," Jezz instructed.
"I don't get it. What is he doing?! Relying on assist is stupid," Amber complained. "Jezz should know better. He almost won the Indigo League last year!"
"Yahhh!" Rose agreed.
Rose reached over and grabbed onto Amber's messy, dark ginger hair. She pulled forcefully.
"A, help!" she cried.
"Sorry", Annastasia responded as she disabled the baby's grip. Rose bounced up and down on Annastasia's lap and laughed at Amber. "She likes hair."
"I've noticed," Amber grumbled.
Meanwhile, Delcatty's assist resulted in a very quick ice beam. This time Emile's Wobbufet did not have time to react, and as a result it was knocked out.
"Excellent, love," Jezz told his Delcatty.
"De llllaaa," it answered brightly.
"I choose you, Registeel!" Emile announced as she through her second Pokeball into the air.
"That thing is huge. I never even heard of a Registeel," Jezz thought to himself. "It looks like and electric and/or steel type. I should stick with Delcatty until I see what it can do."
"What is that?" June and Jocelyn questioned in unison. They each took out their Pokedexes and scanned it.
"Registeel, the Iron Pokémon. Registeel is sturdier than any kind of metal. Tempered by pressure underground over tens of thousands of years, its body cannot be scratched," The Pokedex informed them.
"Yikes. I hope a never have to battle one of those," said June. She closed her Pokedex and shoved it back into her purse.
"Me neither. It's scary looking," Jocelyn responded.
Registeel shocked Delcatty with an electric attack so quick and powerful that he didn't have time to respond. Delcatty was knocked out immediately.
"Oh no! Delcatty!" Jezz cried out. "Return I am sorry."
"Jezz, like Jay, gets super upset when his Pokémon get hurt," Amber commented. "Even though Pokémon are like, invincible".
"Well electric attacks still hurt," said Lily. "Talk to my dad".
"It's sad but true," Meowth responded.
Jezz chose his Deerling as his next Pokémon. A few members of the audience, and his opponent, laughed at his decision.
"I bet he's got something up his sleeve," Jay whispered to June and Jocelyn.
"I agree," said June.
"Deerling, use attract!" Jezz called out.
"Deeeeeeer!" the Pokémon sang.
Registeel was hit with a pink dust. Suddenly the enormous steel Pokémon's expression changed, and it entered some kind of trance.
"I wonder how he knew that Registeel was a different gender," June mused.
"According to my Pokedex, Registeel is genderless. I bet Jezz took a chance, assuming that a mysterious Pokémon like Registeel would likely be genderless, and therefore especially susceptible to attract," Jay responded. "After all, most rare Pokémon are genderless, like Mew and Mewtwo."
"But Mewtwo is male and your parent's Mew are both female," June responded.
"Not really. They chose those identities for themselves. They aren't really male or female though. That is what A taught me," Jay explained.
"Cool", said Jocelyn.
Emile sadly returned her Registeel and released her third Pokémon, a Skorupi.
"Darn. I have never seen this Pokémon before either," Jezz thought anxiously. "But it is rather small, probably not a legendary".
"Deerling, think you can handle this?" Jezz asked his Pokémon.
"Deerling," she answered, nodding her head.
"Skorupi, use poison jab!" Emile instructed.
"Skoooor skoor skor," it chanted a raspy voice as it charged at Deerling.
"Jump over it and use razor leaf!" Jezz responded.
Deerling's razor leaf had little effect.
"Poison is strong against a grass type like Deerling. I should use Xatu now," Jezz decided. He returned Deerling and selected his third Pokémon. "Go Xatu, use confusion!"
"Skorupi, dodge and then shoot it with your poison," Emile instructed.
Skorupi was too slow, and it was it with hit with Xatu's confusion attack. The Pokémon stumbled around, clearly disoriented.
"Jezz is doing well, even though he looks anxious and confused," Soledad observed.
"He made a good decision with Xatu though. That is the nice thing about contest battles. You are allowed to carry six Pokémon with you onto the battlefield, but you usually are only allowed to use two or three. It's always good to have a variety of types with you", said Anika. "And I didn't know he had a Xatu. I'm jealous."
"That Xatu is a jerk," Amber asserted. "It messes with Jezz all the time. It shows him past and future visions that scare the crap out of him. And it is never obedient, I bet the only reason it is listening to Jezz now is because it enjoys attacking other Pokemon."
"That is so sad," Anika responded.
Xatu used another confusion attack on Skorupi, forcing the Pokémon to attack itself. A few moments later it fainted, rewarding Jezz with a victory.
"Yes! Jay and Jezz both made it. I suppose we will just have to wait and see who has the most points overall. That won't be revealed until the end, after everyone in the final round has had a chance to battle," Soledad explained after she put down the Alola contest handbook. "I don't know about you, but I am pumped."
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*Lyrics by Lenka
In The Next Chapter:
Alola Girls
Meeting with Archer
Rita's Confession