'Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon

Description: During a critical comma in his life, Jezz Morgan-Kapule unfurls the journal in which he recorded his life experiences. He narrates the story of his life, including how he became friends and family with the daughter of Ash Ketchum, Amber Ketchum, and the son of the notorious antiheroes Jessie and James, Jay Morgan, and how they led him to his own self-discovery.

The Journal

Chapter #26: Into You

"Dear me, you'll be older one day
I'm writing from the future and you're doing ok
I say now
Dear me,
Hold on to what you've got
Things are gonna change but change is better than you thought."

Eric Hutchinson

March 9, 2033

Last night I talked to Perry and Hauana about my day with the Kanto kids. I gave them generic answers, like 'they were nice', and 'I had fun'. This time though, I wasn't lying, not really.

I visited again today.

I met Jay's mother Jessie, his Aunt Rumika, Aunt Lucy, and Uncle Meowth. Lucy's a Purrloin who is Meowth's mate and Logan and Lily's mother. Rumika is Jessie's first cousin. Rumika lives in a big mansion with tenants. She visits regularly since she doesn't have any other family and is close to the Morgans.

Rumika joked and said that I could be her evil older sister's child, and Jessie and James got mad at her. Not really mad, but I can tell they were annoyed. After that happened, I ask Jay:

"Is Rumika's big sister truly evil?"

Jay scratched his head and looked in both directions before he leaned in to whisper. He covered his mouth with his hands so that no one could even try to read his lips.

"She's in jail. My parents don't want me talking about it, but I'll tell you later in secret."

Annastasia's friends came with me, Jocelyn, Jay, Soledad, Annastasia, Michio, and the twins to the Pokémon Park. Annastasia had her Altaria 'Bleu', Lillipup 'Lil-G', Espeon 'Star', Xerneas 'Abnoba', and her Wobbufet with her.

The other kids and I had six Pokémon each, other than Jay and Soledad, who bought at least fifty Pokémon each. That's why we came to the big park.

Michio has a Darkrai, Latios, and Lunala. I asked Michio if any of them were origin legendaries, but he said that they probably aren't. They are still rare, even if they are not origin legendaries. I know that there are only a few Latios, Darkrai, and Lunala that humans know about. Michio also has many common Pokémon: a Weezing, Arbok, Lickilicky, Golem, and even though Plusle wasn't his, I can tell Plusle loves him. Plusle was on Michio's shoulder the whole time, and she rubbed her head against his chin every few seconds. Minun also likes Michio, but he stayed on Annastasia's shoulder most of the time.

Jocelyn said that Plusle was supposed to be Rose's Pokémon and Minun was supposed to be Silver's, but the Pokémon like Michio and Annastasia more than they like the babies. I might offer two of my Pokémon to the twins. I know an extra-friendly Stuffl who lives near my house, and we have many wild Bounsweet, Pichu, Eevee, and rare Kantonian Vulpix (aka Keokeo) in my current neighborhood.

Jay and I battled against Amber and Soledad in a boys-against-girls mini-match. Jay used Gardevoir, I used Vileplume, Amber used Pelipper, and Soledad used Aggron. In the end, my Vileplume was the last one standing.

"It's awesome that your Vileplume is at such a high level. All your Pokémon are at high levels. Togekiss is my most powerful Pokémon. He is a level seventy-two, but my others are all in the thirty-five to fifty range. Your whole team is above sixty! That's amazing," Jay gushed.

"It's cool," said Soledad. "Is battling your favorite Pokémon-related activity?"

"It is certainly one of them," I replied.

"That was a good match," said Amber, sounding much friendlier than she had been earlier. "Jezz, you fit in well with us."

"Sure do," said Jocelyn.

"Flaa Flaafy."

The others took a lunch break while Jay and I groomed our Pokémon. We had to share the brushes, wipes, and healing solutions, so we wouldn't all couldn't groom our Pokémon at the same time. I also got the message that Jay wanted alone time with me.

"So…your Pokémon really respect you. Do…do you train every day, even when there's no competition ahead?" he asked.

"We train daily. They're my only true friends," I divulged.

"I thought you had loads of friends."

"I don't. I'm different and unskilled at making friends."

"Oh, I…well, um…I'm your friend. All my friends and my sisters like you. We can all be friends. You fit perfectly."

"Thank you, Jay, but I don't believe it."

"Why not?"

"I'm not used to being around people my own age. I fear rejection."

"Wow…um…I'm had no idea…I'm sorry."

"I apologize for my dishonesty."

"It's okay! We're cool. I-I'm glad you told me. I hope you start feeling comfortable with us. You're one of us."

"What makes you say that?"

"Everyone in our group has quirks. We don't judge each other. Our parents say we're mature, even Jocelyn. We know not to make fun of people…although Jocelyn accidentally insults people sometimes, she never means it. If any of us ever say anything mean, we never mean it for real."

"You all seem perfect."

"Far from it!" Jay laughed, then his voice got quieter. "I've been bullied my whole life. Sometimes people beat me up, steal my things, say mean stuff about me and to me. It makes me feel horrible. I get upset easily. I can't help it. I sorta have to deal with that."

"I wish people didn't hurt you."

"So do I. But you get the point, right? No one in our group would ever bully you. We tease each other sometimes, we never mean it. Soledad makes fun of my hair. I make fun of her being a know-it-all. Amb makes fun of me for getting scared easily, being bad at sports, and for getting crushes all the time. I don't make fun of her, but my sister teases her a lot. June is too nice to really make fun of, but Takeshi and I tease each other a lot. We won't pick on you."

"Amber will."

"No, she won't. I think she's acting differently because she's jealous of you...I…umm…have been ya know, talking about you a lot recently… She'll change."

We all ate dinner at the Pallet House that night. I think it is incredible that the Morgans own a hotel with a restaurant, and that it is right next to their house. Jay says they get many guests because people like to see the birthplace of Ash Ketchum; Ash used to live in the Morgan's house before he moved to Cerulean City. Delia sold the house and the Pallet House to Jessie and James after Annastasia was born.

I have so many questions for this family.

I wanted to know why Misty, Ash, and their friends went from hating each other to being neighbors and friends. I want to learn more about their family tree—and see if I'm one of its many leaves.

They invited me to a sleepover. We'll sleep in the master suite of the Pallet House. It will be Jay, Amber, Soledad, Takeshi, June, Tamaki, Anika, Gracie (Anika's little sister), Jocelyn, and Benny (Tamaki's little brother). We'll roast marshmallows in the fireplace (I didn't know that marshmallows were supposed to be cooked before consumption—I had consumed them raw. Yikes!). We'll watch funny movies, read scary stories, and play games. Pokémon are invited too. The party's tomorrow.

I made Perry and Hauana proud.

Not too bad at all.

XO

+ Inspirations and Aesthetic for this chapter is the song 'Dear Me' by Eric Hutchinson.

+Next Chapter is an extra featuring Michio, his mother, Haku, Annastasia, and Harper. Told from Keaka's perspective.

For a list of characters, places, and other quick facts introduced in this chapter, check below the cut.


OCs Introduced:

- Annastasia's Xerneas 'Abnoba'

- Annastasia's Wobbufet

- Michio's Darkrai

- Michio's Latios

- Michio's Lunala

- Michio's Weezing

- Michio's Arbok

- Michio's Lickilicky

- Michio's Golem

- Soledad's Aggron

- Jay's Gardevoir

- Amber's Pelipper

Canonical Characters Introduced:

- Stuffl

- Bounsweet

- Pichu

Original Locations:

- N/A

Canonical Locations:

- The Ketchum household in Pallet Town.

Important Miscellaneous/Other:

- Jezz learns that Rumika's older sister is in jail and that it's a story Jay's family is hesitant to share.

- Jezz opens up to Jay about his difficulty making and keeping friends.