AN: This chapter was updated/revised on July 25, 2019.


"Hey, we were just about to get you!" May called to Ash and Misty (and though she didn't know who she was yet, Rumika). "Oh. Hey, are you an old friend?"

"No," Rumika replied.

"Are you a Pokémon trainer?" Bonnie asked.

"Yes, but I didn't come here to train or battle Pokémon."

"Rumika is Jessie's cousin," said Ash.

"Oh...that's...great," May replied, confused.

"Nice to meet you," said Serena. "I thought Jessie didn't have any family."

"She would've mentioned a cousin," Dawn said suspiciously.

"My identity has been kept a secret from Jessie, and hers from mine," Rumika replied.

"I don't understand," said Clemont. "How are you and Jessie related?"

"I am Jessiebelle's younger sister. I have been spying and researching my family's secrets for years but I only recently realized Jessie's existence."

"Rumika says that her mom and Jessie's mom were identical twins," said Ash. "That's why Jessie, Jessiebelle, and even Rumika all look alike."

"That...explains a lot," said Drew, the others nodding along in agreement. He and the others had always been freaked out by their similar appearance.

"Years before my parents and Jessiebelle were arrested, I was investigating my family's history but it was only recently that I discovered the full truth. I don't want this to be a secret anymore," said Rumika.

"You're on our side, right?" Bonnie asked.

"I don't like my family any more than Jessie and James like theirs and I need to help them; I have reasons to believe that Team Firestar agents are going to go after Jessie and her family."

"As in hurt them?" Clemont inquired.

"Yes."

"But I thought that Team Firestar was disbanded."

"Why would they be the targets anyway?" asked May.

"Jessie really screwed them over by winning that lawsuit," Rumika replied. "The chances are she will get to keep both mansions and most if not all of their wealth and that of Team Firestar. Anything left over after all their debt is paid to Team Rocket will go to her. Some of it will go to the other victims as well, but her case was by far the largest."

"What makes you think that's the plan?"

"Spying and research."

"Rumika was a victim just like James," said Misty. "We trust her."

"Then I suppose we trust her too," said Serena.

Rumika bowed. "You have my appreciation."

'She even sounds like Jessiebelle,' Ash and several of the others thought. 'But serious, determined, and not evil.'

"But Jessie didn't know what would happen if she won the case. No one did," said Serena. "It's not her fault. Team Firestar abused her! Of course, she wasn't just going to let them get away with it. And their poor baby—"

"—I know all this and I agree with you, but these people don't care about intentions, they care about results," Rumika interrupted. "I came to warn Jessie and James. I just talked to them via video chat and they are going to purchase a train ticket for me so that I can meet them in Silverville asap. I have additional information to give them as well."

"Are bad people going to come after us too?" Bonnie asked.

"No. What they are doing is risky. They don't have many chances; by attacking they are exposing themselves, and so they want to go after who's worth it."

"You're positive we're safe?" Drew asked.

"As sure as I can be and I'm rarely wrong. I will, however, give you my contact information so that you can message me if you have questions I can answer or if something suspicious turns up and I am not around."

"Yes, Definitely," said Serena. "I have them all written down in my notebook—I'll get that for you."

"What should we do?" Bonnie queried.

"Stick together, don't let yourself get into a corner with a stranger, don't let your Pokémon wander off without a companion—anyone can be an agent in disguise."

"Including you," Drew remarked.

"You don't have to trust me, but why else would I come out here alone? I have no backup, not even a full team of Pokémon."

"I really don't see a reason as to why we shouldn't trust you. We should tell everyone about this so that they know what is going on," said Serena. "And here's the list of our numbers."

"I'll call my mom and Giovanni," said Ash as he took out his phone

"Thank you", said Rumika. "Now if you don't mind, I would like to take a nap. I haven't slept a full night in weeks—I've been taking naps instead."

"The Pokémon Center's full now, but you can nap in our tent," Bonnie offered. "We won't disturb you."

Rumika bowed, then entered the tent with nothing but her backpack.

The group of friends looked at one another, unsure of what to make of their new traveling companion.

XO

A few hours later Ash and Misty had snuck away from their group and were eating a picnic lunch along with Pikachu and Azuril, marking their first time being alone since their first kiss.

Ash was picking at his food, and avoiding her eye contact, much to Misty's discomfort.

"What's wrong?" asked Misty. "You must be hungry. We haven't eaten since breakfast and you love onigiri."

"Ah...um...," he mumbled.

"You've been nervous around me lately. What happened? I can't be that bad of a kisser."

"Pikaaaa," Pikachu said as he tapped Ash.

"I know, Bud, I'm getting around to it," Ash told Pikachu. "It's not that Misty, I swear."

"Is it about Rumika?" she asked.

"No."

"Please, Ash, just talk."

"Azuril zu," Azuril pleaded.

"Pi, ka, pi, ka," Pikachu chanted, urging him to speak.

"I just sorta feel like I'm not good at this…like I'm failing to be a good boyfriend," he confided.

"Oh," Misty replied. She was relieved it wasn't something worse. "I didn't know you felt that way. I don't think you're a bad before. I think you're a really good one."

Misty took his hand. Ash rested his head on her shoulder and the Pokémon scurried away.

"You don't have to worry about saying the wrong thing. Friends first, remember?" said Misty.

"Yeahhh…" he sighed.

Ash leaned in and kissed her again, this time holding it for a little longer.

"Was that okay?" he asked.

"That was perfect," Misty replied.

"Hey!" Max and Bonnie yelled as they moved towards them.

"We were going to start packing up. Rumika just woke up and she is ready to get moving," said Max.

"Let's go!" Bonnie demanded.

"Right," said Misty. "We will meet you by the trailhead in five-ten minutes."

XO

"It must have been awful having Jessiebelle as your big sister," May said as she, Rumika, and Serena filled their canteens.

"We're eleven years apart, so I never had a rivalry with her," Rumika replied. "But those times we did have to spend together did suck."

"Where were you when all hell broke loose at the Morgans' mansion?" asked Serena.

"I hadn't been at the Winchesters' nor the Morgans' estates for years, except for when I was spying and investigating this case."

"When did you leave?"

"I have been on the streets for about five years. I occasionally stay at a Pokémon Center but since I do not have a license, I usually can't stay for more than a few hours."

"You know you can get a license from Professor Oak."

"I would have needed to show him some form of identification. I don't have any. My parents kept my birth certificate locked up and I don't have a drivers' license nor passport."

"Did you leave because your family mistreated you?" Serena inquired. "Geeze, that's invasive! I'm sorry!"

"I'm not offended," said Rumika. "I wasn't a target the way James was a target if that's what you're thinking."

"A 'target'?" said May.

"James doesn't have any siblings or legitimate children, which makes him the last living heir. Even if Annastasia was… 'qualified' it might not count anyway because everyone wants sons…sons are a big deal to upper-class society. When James' odd behaviors became noticeable, it became important for the Morgans to restrain and train him. 'Odd' didn't even have to be what normal people consider odd. Like collecting things or playing with wild Pokémon are perfectly normal things for kids to do but they couldn't have him behaving like that. They cared a lot about the fact that he existed but not about him. I also found this upper-class lifestyle uncomfortable. Though I was low on their list of priorities they still constricted me. I was about seven when I discovered that my family was getting involved with this Team Firestar gang, and I didn't like it. Soon after that, I found out about James, and I despised the way they were trying to use him. Now my priority is to help and keep myself safe in the meantime."

"Well you are safe here with us," said Serena.

"We look out for our own," said May.

"Like a family," said Misty.

XO

Back at the mansion, James' grandmother had taken Jessie out shopping while James and Paul watched the baby. They were in the kitchen making Pokéblock for the many wild Pokémon who sought refuge in the house.

"Jessie will love this!" James exclaimed as he showed Annastasia the finished Pokéblock. "If you could chew, I'd totally give you some!"

James' grandfather tried a piece, then shared it with the various Pokémon hovering nearby.

"You can win an award with a recipe like this," he remarked.

"Jessie and I used to make Pokéblock all the time and we even won a few competitions," James bragged.

Paul raised a glass and a block. "To many more."

James clanked his water glass against Paul's. "To many more."

The continued to make Pokéblock until the timer that James set went off.

"It's time to feed Annastasia," he explained. "I took this bottle out of the fridge about 45 minutes ago…it should be room temperature by now…come on, Anna-chan, let's see if I can get you to eat something."

Paul followed James into the nursery. Annastasia looked around the room as she sucked on her beloved Eevee plush. She giggled and reached forward when she saw the bottle.

"I love feeding her, you should watch," James whispered before turning to Annastasia. "Hey, Anna-chan, you hungry?"

"Aya," she replied.

"See?! Isn't that the cutest thing?!"

"Sure it," Paul replied.

James lifted her and settled into their armchair. "Jessie is probably going to call any minute to make sure I didn't forget."

Right on cue, James' cell phone rang.

"Can you get that?" James asked.

"He didn't forget," Paul said into the phone.

"Tell James to make sure she finishes the whole bottle by noon. She will probably take a bunch of breaks, but that doesn't mean she is full. It's just that all that sucking and swallowing is a lot of work and it tires her out."

"I will pass on the message."

They hung up the phone.

"Momma says that you have to finish that whole bottle by noon," he told the baby.

"Everything Jessie said, I know that already," James sighed. "She's always been like that, just not with babies, you know, probably because we never had one before. Though she was always particular about her Pokémon's routines…"

Annastasia just looked at him, confused. Jessie was always there, even if she was asleep on the other side of the room, she was always nearby. James held the bottle up to her lips.

"Come on, you can do it", he said. "I know she's not here."

Annastasia pushed it away and babbled something crossly.

"She likes routines," James explained. "Are all babies like this?"

"More or less," Paul responded. "Talk to her more. They like that."

He did, and soon Annastasia gave in.

"Good girl," he whispered. "Pop-pop, can you stay for a few minutes? I want to talk."

"I'd like that," Paul said as he took a seat. "What's on your mind?"

"So much...too much."

"Just blurt it all out."

"Jessie and I were upset by something Liz…well, she was forced, but we still wish it didn't happen…we don't think Annastasia is ever going to grow up to be normal. They already think she is developing blindness and problems with her lungs and bones and she won't get to live very long, even. I don't know how I would recover from something like that."

"It's not the sort of thing people can recover from. If something that horrible was to happen, you'd have no choice but to accept it—the way you've accepted everything else so far."

"It seems so selfish, to worry about ourselves, but we talk so much about her, and what she did, and I feel bad. I didn't give her a fair life. She deserves good health and a neighborhood, parents who are m—good people. You know? I want her to exist but the timing of everything from conception to birth and basically everything else so far has been awful. Just a few years ago the idea of 'settling down' seemed horrendous and even though I've thought about it more, it still frightens me. Ten years from now maybe…and I didn't just do this to myself, I did it to my entire family. I've even dragged Meowth into this."

"I think Annastasia has some great things going for her, you didn't doom your family, and just because you have a kid it doesn't mean you have to 'settle down'. You have more restrictions and responsibility, but most of what you loved to do before you can still do. Do you think you may be thinking this way because you just can't believe it?"

"That seems accurate."

"One thing I can tell for sure is that you're going to be good at this. No matter what happens, you'll keep doing well. You've always had something about you that was a little different. You aren't your parents, and I know you think a lot of me, but that's because you don't know the whole story. I didn't abuse you or your father but Linda and I were passive. We followed the rules. You're doing something much better with your life—breaking them. You're facing the consequences and it's hard but you're doing fantastic. The life you're living is good."

"I think you're giving me too much credit."

"I think you're giving yourself too little credit."

"Were you really going to adopt me?"

Annastasia hiccupped and pushed away the bottle. James transition to burping her while Paul tried to think of why James brought it up.

"We knew what was happening in that house," he told James. "We didn't confide this because…in a cowardly sense, we didn't want you to know that we failed you. I don't want to have regrets because I don't want you to have regrets, but I hated the manipulation. You were always so sweet about it. You loved them even when they didn't love you."

"So, it's true; they never loved me," James replied.

"I honestly don't know if they ever did but what I do know is that it doesn't matter. Not now. And if they were to apologize to you ever, I think you should keep in mind that you don't need that from them. They don't have excuses. I don't want you to be manipulated again into thinking that you should appease them. Fight them. Don't let them win."

"I don't want to. I think that if anything, whether they're forgiven should be up to Annastasia. When she's an adult, she can choose. I plan on telling her everything. I hated how my family lied to and used people—we won't do that to her."

"I'm glad you ran away from them."

"I'm glad too."

Annastasia fell asleep. Aliyah and Acorn jumped onto the chair and rubbed their heads against James'.

"You and Jessie are doing very well for first-time parents," said Paul. "Acorn and Aliyah: don't you agree?"

"Vee," they responded together, licking James' face afterward.

"We couldn't have done it without everyone's help," James replied.

"No, but neither could anyone else," Paul pointed out.

"I suppose that's true. Jessie and I think every day about how relieved and grateful we are to have you. Calling you to tell you Jessie was pregnant was terrifying, unheard of, and disgrace among certain classes. But you were happy about it."

"We could tell from the way you said it that you were going to keep her. Of course, we were thrilled. I don't see how someone wouldn't be. But we were worried for you; you never outright said it but we knew this was unplanned. Unplanned but not unwanted. Unexpected but not unwelcome."

"That's a great way to describe Anna-chan."

"We did think that maybe you would let us adopt her, but we didn't want to pressure Jessie, and that's why we didn't bring it up."

"I didn't expect Jessie to react how she did. She was terrified and worried, then happy and worried, now we're relieved in addition to those other feelings."

"Good. So, do you plan on getting married?"

"Pop-pop…"

"Don't groan at me. Just tell me. I won't tell Nanny."

"Jessie and I don't plan anything. The only way we get anywhere is because of Meowth, and while Annastasia has forced us to be more responsible, that doesn't change the fact that—"

"—James. It's okay if you don't. We'll love you just the same."

"We haven't really talked about it but...I know Jessie wants too. More accurately, I know that in the past she found marriage desirable but we never discussed it in the context of our relationship. We're together for life anyway, so it shouldn't be a big deal, but the problem is that she has been dreaming of having a fairytale wedding since before I even met her. I will disappoint her."

"Why do you think that?"

"We've always dreamed of getting rich and buying a big house together. Jessie wanted the whole world and I can't give her that. If we did have you and nanny, we would be out on the street right now. I failed her. I can't marry her if I can't get her what she wants. She's settling for me."

"Veeee Eevee," said Acorn, shaking her head.

"Eeee eve," said Aliyah, hitting James.

"I know you don't think so but I do think so," James retorted.

"That's nonsense, James—she's head-over-heels in love. When I first met her, Nanny and I both thought you two were…interesting. We figured you weren't courting her—to be honest, we didn't think you'd dare to—but there was a lot of friendship. It's different now. Not just because of Annastasia, though she certainly didn't hurt the situation."

"I can't propose to her when I can't even give her a wedding."

"We can pay for a wedding."

"No. I want that wedding to be ours."

"If you say so…at least you don't have to worry about a ring."

"Ring?"

"You don't remember, do you?"

"No…"

"My mother, your great-grandma, died a few days before your fifth birthday. She knew that your parents were going to announce your engagement, so she gave you her wedding ring."

James thought hard, but the image of his great-grandma was blurry. His grandfather could tell that he was lost.

"The crown was a ruby and sapphire rose and the band was made from pure gold. There was a small diamond at the center with a platinum lining. It was the most expensive piece of jewelry she owned."

"I don't remember, Pop-pop—I let go of a lot of memories when I left home. I'm sorry…I can't remember."

Neither of them was surprised; James was traumatized by his family, so many positive memories were lost in the shadows behind those that were dark.

"I don't have that ring," James added. "I know I wouldn't have sold it—I left all that stuff behind when I ran away. All I took with me was some clothes, cash, and food."

"Your parents must have it. I'll get it back for you."

"How?"

"Legally, that ring is yours. We have proof of it; our great-grandma put it in her will."

"But it must have been meant for Jessiebelle."

"It's still yours and you can use it however you want."

"Wow, a ring already. With a ruby rose and sapphire to match her eyes. It's like it was made for her. How can I ever thank you?"

"I want her to become part of our family. I don't want her to feel that we don't love her like our own grandbaby."

"Okay, I will. Promise. Eventually. I don't know when, or how, but I will ask her. Unless she asks me first."

"Well she might if you keep dragging your feet…It would be good for Annastasia, too, knowing that her parents are committed to one another."

"I suppose my resentment comes from the joyous example of my parents."

"Your nanny and I have been married longer than both of your lives put together. Your first wedding doesn't have to be your dream wedding. You can always just get a marriage certificate and then get a big celebration later."

"I hadn't thought of that."

"Even though your name is on her birth certificate, you don't have legal rights over Annastasia. If something happens to make Jessie incapable of raising her, you'll have to argue with the court for full custody. If you don't have everything in your life together, they can take her away."

"That can happen?"

"It can in this region. And if something were to happen to you, Jessie would have no right to your money. We would support her because we want to but we aren't going to live forever. She only has access to your stuff because you let her, but if you were married, it would be assumed to be hers too. Even if no one dies, it's for convenience. Say you take that god-forsaken balloon for a flight and get stuck somewhere. You're alone with nothing, Jessie wouldn't be allowed to take your car and look for you—if she gets pulled over, she'll get in big trouble, and even if you later explain the situation to the cops, you've still wasted several hours over something in court. You two are bound to make those kinds of mistakes."

"I don't have a car."

"James, we plan on giving you a car. We have an extra one already, but that's a discussion for another time. Do you get it?"

"Just give Jessie the car instead."

"Ayayaya," Annastasia yawned. "Ya."

"She wants more…here, Anna-chan, have more."

Annastasia peacefully accepted the bottle.

"They think she can't see well," James told his grandfather. "She's going to get those little baby goggles soon to see how they affect her."

"You said she may be blind when she's older."

"Yes."

"It seems she can see."

"She can seem some things, but we think she's great at sensing the presence of others. Unless she's sleeping, she can always tell when someone enters a room, even if they are silent. Meowth says that all the Pokémon feel something with her.

"It would be interesting to have two aura guardians in the family."

"It would be but the chances of that must be extremely rare."

"Yes, but it is hereditary."

"What does that mean?"

"All those science tutors and you don't remember how genes work?"

"I vaguely recall; it's never been relevant in my life."

"Simply put, not every generation inherits every trait."

"Oh."

Annastasia distracted them again with her refusal to eat and the noises she made thereafter. Then Paul brought back the subject of marriage, to which James groaned.

"Don't pout like that, I'm just looking out for you," said Paul "There are simple ways of preventing legal messes—it's the reason marriage exists anyway and the primary reason most people with children marry their partner before or soon after having children."

"I suppose I could bring that up to Jessie. We're not huge fans of obeying laws but I suppose because of her we must make some sacrifices. We have so many charges against us—"

"—that were exonerated."

"What?"

"It means it was all taken care of."

"Oh…how?"

"Didn't Giovanni tell you that he wiped your records when he fired you and Jessie?"

"He laid us off, and yes, but I didn't think that meant everything just went away…"

"That's what it means. Have you committed any crimes since being fired?"

"Laid off, and yes, but nothing that we were caught for."

"Then you're good."

"Wow."

They sat in silence for a while until Annastasia stopped eating.

"I think someone needs a little break. Drinking's a lot of hard work, isn't it?" James asked the baby.

He put the bottle down and continued to murmur to Annastasia. A few minutes later, James' grandfather left and James continued to feed the baby. The Eevee twins, Growly, and Mime Jr lied beside him.

"You are the best," he told the Pokémon and the baby. "Please don't ever leave me."