AN: This chapter was updated/revised on January 6, 2020.
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."
Lenka
Day 56
All the visiting groups spent one night in the bungalow before they went their separate ways. James, Jessie, Meowth, and Lucy returned to the Pallet House. The parents who had come to visit returned to their careers. Nolan, Lucas, Lexi, Tyler, and Jake went back to Kanto, en route to Vermillion City. Rita and Ralph headed for the Team Rocket cabins that had been established on one of the smaller islands. Rumika emplaned to TRHQ, her goal to use their espionage-related resources for the Jezz Project. Tomoko, Soledad, Tamaki, Anika, Gracie, Tobie, Carol, Mariana, and Flare returned to their geo-catching assignment.
Annastasia, Michio, Jay, Jocelyn, Amber, Jezz, Logan, Lily, Maya, June, Takeshi, Benny, their Pokémon headed towards the location of their first contest.
The contest-goers and their support squad were their beds, sleeping peacefully, except for Jezz, whose dreams were despairingly tumultuous.
...Flashback
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 winced as the portentous tune played repeatedly in his sub-cognizance. Then the gloom of his dream indolently developed into lightness. A petite girl with greenish-blue eyes and magenta hair was singing it in front of a ballet mirror. Three adults, two of whom were strangers, bustled into the room: a middle-aged man, a young woman, and an elderly woman the child considered a dear acquaintance.
The singing ceased. The girl knew the two strangers were social workers because of their matching uniforms. She flinched.
"We're taking her," one of the strangers gruffly announced.
"Reconsider," the elderly woman replied. "I'm all but begging you."
"You've distracted us for too long. You need to think of what's best for her."
"You don't think I am what is best for her?"
"We've talked about this many times," the other stranger sighed. "You're empathetic, considerate, and experienced, but you can't be responsible for her. There's too much at stake—"
"—According to whom?"
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.
"Jess, you are going to have to come with us now," he announced.
"Jess isn't my name!" the child shrieked.
"Yes, it is."
"You are confused," said the other worker, feigning sympathy. "We are going to help you. Do as you are told and no one will get hurt."
"No!" said the child, pushing them away. "Oddish, use Stun—"
"Don't you dare have your Pokémon attack us!"
The workers took out Police Balls. The child's eyes widened in fear and the Pokémon cowered.
"Don't take my Pokémon," she begged.
"If you cooperate, they may come with you," said the social worker.
"…Promise?"
"I swear."
The child returned her Pokémon to their original balls. She huffed at the ground, then lifted her head to view the duo who was to change her life.
But their faces were concealed, thus their facades impossible to recall.
XO
Day 57
Jezz sat up in his bed and rubbed his eyes until they were all but raw. He took a couple of deep breaths as Vileplume, Delcatty, Porygon, and Chimecho used their healing status moves to calm his racing mind and aching heart. He was concerned about how much he felt like Jess and was worried ill about what it meant.
"Xatu, why?" he asked, prompting the bird to look at his face. "Why was I Jess?"
"Xuuu," he hummed.
"Please, tell me!"
"Xatuu Xat!"
Xatu screeched, then flew out the tent opening. Jezz shut the flap behind the disobedient owllike menace, then looked over his friends.
Amber and Jay slept in peace throughout Jezz's psychological ordeal. He realized that he had moved considerably in his sleep and shuffled back over to them. With Xatu gone, his next bout of slumber was dreamless.
XO
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 for the eighth 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."
"Some 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," said Lucas. "I knew that my luxuries of a private school were going to be gone out here, but I at least want a warm bed and a shower."
"With hot water!"
"Amen!"
"I would really like the comfort of a bed tonight," Brodie added.
The group entered the Rogue Raichu. According to the greasy motel manager and his Snubbull, the starting price for one two-person room was twenty-five dollars a night for both individuals.
"This is a great deal and I'm not missing out on it," said Brodie. "I'll room with Viviana. Lucas, you can be with Jake and Tyler. Nolan and Lexi can be together."
"I want to sleep with Lexi," Jake pouted.
"Tambien," Tyler whined.
"No thanks," Lexi replied. "I'd much rather be with Nolan; he isn't as creepy as you guys are."
"Thanks, Milady," Nolan responded, bowing with brummagem drama.
"I agree, which is why I suggested that you and Nolan share," said Brodie.
"And why I like Brodie's plan," said Viviana.
"We aren't creepy," Jake asserted.
"Let the ladies be the judge of that and shut up. We're not arguing over this."
"I'll admit that I'm flattered, but that doesn't mean I'm doing anyone any favors," Lexi told the boys.
"Fine," Jake and Tyler vented together. "Whatever."
Tyler and Jake pouted while Nolan and Brodie talked to the front desk. After paying the rental fee, a 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 were still 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.
"Are you asking me out?" Brodie asked, raising his eyebrows.
"I meant as a group…"
"I know what you meant. I'd say probably not. The only good delivery services around here are expensive and I bet most of our team is at least as exhausted as I am."
"What you gonna do?"
"Sit in my bed and eat chips."
"I can go for that."
"It's trail mix and whiskey for me tonight," said Lexi.
"Really?" said Nolan.
"Mmmhmm. Why, do you have something better?"
"Not really. It just sounds really pathetic when you say it out loud."
"With our new jobs starting up, soon we'll have enough money for real food."
"Yeah, if your boss decides to like you," Jake chuckled. "People say he's a hardass."
"We're going to work on building that relationship."
"How do you plan on doing that?" Viviana asked.
"Sucking up."
"Potentially bribing as well," Nolan added.
"And trying ridiculously hard to not screw up."
"Evoking sympathy."
"And he loves A, and since we're A's angels, hating us is something he'd have a hard time doing."
"Cool. Well, I'm going straight to bed. 'Night everyone," Viviana replied. "Enjoy your pathetic meals."
"We'll try."
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. Rattata chased and ate some of them.
"This place is disgusting," Lucas commented.
"We might be better off outside," said Tyler.
"Do you really wanna sleep outside again, where there's bound to be even more bugs and rats?" Nolan queried.
"…On second thought…"
The group got to Lexi and Nolan's room first. They opened the door and turned on the lights. The room was spotless and smelled of apple potpourri. Everyone looked under the furniture for pests, but the entire place was clear.
"At least this room is clean," Jake commented. "But there's only one bed. Shit, you're lucky."
"Shut up," Lexi slated. "We're friends."
"And surprisingly, we've been in this situation before," said Nolan.
"Whatever. Let's check on our room. Make sure there isn't any weird crap in there," Tyler irritably responded.
Jake, Lucas, and Tyler's room was down the hall. After looking around a bit, they concluded that their room was also clean.
"Viviana sent me a text. She said she saw a cockroach in the hall but their room is flawless," Lexi told the others.
"Then we are good to go," Nolan replied.
The group divided and went back to their separate rooms.
"I'm 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 said as she and Nolan changed into their nightwear. "Who knows where those things have been? They could be covered in diseases…Rattata nips can be deadly."
"I too would love to sleep without any disturbances, especially from gross bugs," Nolan responded. "At if we get bitten, we can sue. No biggie."
Lexi sighed, somewhat comforted by his sunny semblance.
The teens pulled snacks out of their backpacks and flipped on the ancient television. There were three channels and the only show that had no white noise was about a couple that traveled the country building houses for low-income families.
"This is just like old times," Nolan remarked. "Remember how A used to love these shows?"
"She wanted to be like those people," Lexi recalled. "She wanted to use her money to help others—and she wanted to make the experience personal."
"Speaking of that…we could've asked the Morgans to let us borrow one of their cars. They have at least three."
"You know I hate asking them for things. Just because they can buy us everything doesn't mean they should."
"I felt the same way for most of my life but I've re-evaluated my position."
"Why?"
"I talked to A about this. She says that when someone has money, the decent thing to do is to share it, and to do it without being an asshole. The idea of money just sitting in a vault somewhere instead of being used to improve the world are thorns in her sides. 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. These are her words."
"Okay, I get it. We just can't give her anything in return and that's what really gets me."
"Well…hey, that's not true. We're her friends. We've been with her through thick and thin. We've cheered her up, slowed her down, helped her remember, helped her forget, learned from her, taught her—we were there when she was too sick to leave the bed and there when she saved the world. We've helped babysit, Poké-sit, train, battle, rest, plan, and execute more times than any of us can count. I'm not saying we deserve extra praise for all that, but I wouldn't call us lazy friends."
Lexi admired the way Nolan talked about Annastasia and fully agreed with all her words; it's just that no one other than Annastasia herself ever told her that.
"You make a lot of good points," Lexi told Nolan. "Let's move on."
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 asked.
"It's three-quarters of the way full," he responded. "And where'd you even get that? Alcohol's expensive."
"My grandfather gave it to me. It's from his liquor store and we can handle this thing. It's not that strong."
"Fine then, I'll indulge. Do you happen to have shot glasses on hand?"
"Nope. I figured we can just drink from the bottle."
Lexi passed the bottle to Nolan and he took a healthy swig.
"It's been too long," he murmured, passing it back to her.
"Mmhm," Lexi mumbled. "Too long."
"It's good."
"The best there is."
"I like this. Traveling again, just you and me and some other random people."
"It's nice."
"I hope this doesn't change once we start working. Working for real, I mean."
Lexi nodded and handed the bottle back to Nolan. "Have more; we have a long way to go."
Two hours later they lied sprawled on the floor, their conversation having lightened up considerably until Nolan decided to bring up an old subject.
"Lex, how long are we gonna do this?" he questioned sleepily.
"Drinking?" she replied.
"No, like us. Like us. Us hanging out like this."
"I didn't think there was a time limit."
"I wanna know why we're always together but not…together."
"Because…" she huffed and rubbed her temples in frustration. "Please don't go there."
"Why not?"
"Because I don't want to…We tried this before."
"That was that was a long time ago."
"It's been barely two years since we broke up."
"But a lot has changed in two years."
Lexi released some of the tension building in her lower jaw.
"I don't like drama," she asserted, her thoughts swirling.
"I just wanna know why our relationship ended," Nolan replied.
"It didn't end, or else we wouldn't be here, now. People date for a few years, then get bored and break up. That's how it works."
"That's negativity."
"And reality."
"Okay, okay. I don't like how Tyler and Jake are all over you."
"Oh, so you're jealous."
"…yeah."
"I'm not seriously considering them. I'm just leading them on—or more accurately, allowing them to lead themselves on."
Lexi dropped the empty whiskey bottle into the recycling bin and rinsed her hands.
"Let's go to bed before we end up completely regretting this conversation," she added.
She shut the lights offered her hand to pull him up off the ground. He accepted it and they clumsily fell into their bed. They both lay with their eyes closed.
Nearly an hour had passed before they realized they weren't ready to sleep just yet.
"I'm going to email the boss," Lexi decided, reaching for her laptop. "The sooner we stop procrastinating, the better. We need a distraction."
XO
Day 58
It was almost time for the group to do the season's first contest in Alola.
As they petulantly expected, they ran into less-than-perfect luck.
Someone switched out their registration forms with fake ones, causing Annastasia to confuse the date. Two days ago, they had shown up at the supposed contest grounds and found the place empty. They were charged a high fee for missing their slots and dampened the positive reputation they were attempting to build.
They at least discovered that another contest was happening the next day and swiftly entered.
Soledad, Anika, and the rest of the geo-catchers and their friends met up with Annastasia's group early un the day. They sat together in the local Pokémon Center, grooming their teams and making last-minute adjustments on their routines.
"Are you competing with your new Pokémon?" Gracie asked Benny.
"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?"
"Of course!" said Jocelyn. "Right, Benny?"
"Uh-huh. I'll cheer for all of you," he 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 told Amber. "With your archery skills, you could pull off an awe-inspiring routine."
"But contests are so…I dunno. 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 replied.
"You can pretend to be a boy," Jay suggested.
"Jezz, can you believe him?"
Jezz looked up from grooming his Delcatty. He returned to his work after mumbling a hushed: "I guess not."
"What's the matter?" Jay asked.
"Nothing."
"Please tell us."
"It is truly nothing: no reason to be concerned."
"Okay."
"…Sure…" said Amber.
"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 Rosie to look after, she won't be all over me. She is still coming to watch though. Meowth, Lucy, Papa, and Rumika too."
"It's gonna be fun to watch you. It'll be especially funny if Jocelyn beats you."
"Amb, there's no way she is gonna beat me. She's only eight. She may have my mom's lucky ribbons, but I got a full team of super awesome Pokémon."
"Yeah, well, in order to win you'll have to beat Jezz too, and he's experienced."
"I consider myself an about-average competitor," 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," he told the children.
"Coming!" Amber and Jay replied.
"You ready?" Jay asked Jezz.
Jezz nodded. "Delcatty and I are, as you say, 'all set'."
"Cool beans." Jay patted Togekiss' head lovingly. "Let's do this."
Amber slung her bow and quiver over her shoulder while Jezz and Jay checked themselves in the mirror.
"Let's move it, Ladies," she told the boys.
"I shall," Jay retorted, passing through the doorway. "Thanks, Sir, for the reminder."
"Anytime."
Amber, Jay, Jezz, and their MVPokémon headed to 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 trio.
"Ditto," the triad responded.
"Everyone ready for our first Alola contest?" Annastasia asked the group.
They responded with several proclamations of 'yes', 'totally', and 'ready to kick ass'."
"Maya, why'd you say 'yes' too?" Lily asked.
"I registered myself," she answered quietly.
"No way! You didn't say anything."
"I wanted it to be a surprise for you. Logan and I worked on something together."
Lily turned to her brother. "You too?"
"Mmmhhmm," he gleefully hummed. "It was all Maya's idea. She came up with a great idea for a routine and wanted to surprise ya."
"That's marvelous," June told Maya. "You must be really nervous though. You are so shy…not in a bad way though! I just always thought you were very quiet. Geeze I shouldn't have said anything…I bet I just made you even more nervous…"
"This is going to help me become less shy," said Maya. "That is another reason for me to do this."
"I'm proud already," said Lily. "Next time tell me though. I could have helped you get prepared."
"Next time I will. Swear."
"Mewtwo, ready to teleport us?" Annastasia inquired.
"Shikkari," Mewtwo replied.
Within seconds, they were 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 saved you a spot in line," Rumika explained.
"Yeee!" Rose repeated.
Annastasia let her and Silver pull on her fingers.
"We appreciate this," she told Rumika. "And Sil, ouchy! No biting, please."
"Peeze," Rose replied, attempting to mimic her eldest sister's words.
"Are there really this many people competing in the contest?" June asked as she meekly observed the crowd.
"Nope," Duplica replied. "In Alola, audience members must get passes in order to see the contest. They charge admission. That's what this line is for."
"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 my budget!"
"Amb, chill; we'll pay for you," said Jay.
"No. I can pay it… It's just messed up that they're taking away even more of our hard-earned bread."
"The money goes towards a budget that lets Alola have these contests," said Jezz. "Hauana and Perry said that they save a lot of money paying taxes this way."
"Well…still…"
"Jezz, your guardians are here too. They went that way," James said as he pointed in the opposite direction. "They're on line for food. They said they were getting you something called 'malasandana'."
"Malasadas," said Jezz and Michio in unison.
"Yes, those."
"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 looked to Amber and Jay. "We should get some."
"I want some of those donut things too," said Takeshi.
"Double ditto," said Logan.
"Mmmhmm," Lily hummed, licking her lips. "Let's get it all."
"Hauana and Perry 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."
"As many as they can make!" said Alex.
"Same," said Benny. "I want all they can make."
"Me too!" said Jocelyn.
"Fee, fee!" said Flaafy.
"Too, too!" Rose merrily squeaked.
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 register for this contest?" Hauana asked Michio and Annastasia.
"I did try doing a contest in the past, but I didn't enjoy it enough to keep participating," Annastasia replied. "I'm more interested in meeting various types of Pokémon and taking care of them. I don't battle much anymore either."
"I bet someone with as many marvelous monz as you have won many contests," Perry said to Michio.
"I never found anything about them interesting," Michio replied.
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," he softly added.
"Oniisan, are you anxious because there are a lot of people here?" Jocelyn asked worriedly.
"…No."
Annastasia watched his expression.
"Let's go for a walk," she suggested. "You're finished eating, right?"
"Yeah," Michio replied.
He stood next to her. Annastasia waved goodbye and they embarked on a private stroll.
"Don't forget, Oniisan, I'm number seven!" Jocelyn called after them. "Don't miss me or I'll be super upset!"
"Flaaaafy!"
"Bounsweeeeet!"
"Flaafy and Pinky will be too," she added.
"I won't miss it," Michio vowed.
"Jocelyn unquestionably wants to impress you," Annastasia said once she and Michio were out of the others' earshot. "She wants to show you that all the training you did with her paid off and prove how much she learned from you. She wants to remind you of how helpful you've been."
"She said that?"
"Several times. She cares about your opinion—they all do."
"It's not like I'm their coach."
"Compliments from you are uncommon and therefore more valuable."
"Noted."
"Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something else."
"Okay."
"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…that sounds familiar…"
"It's a human-made digital normal-type Pokémon. It can travel through cyberspace, and in some cases, it will act like a virus and destroy data. It explains why we can't find any information on Jezz. He doesn't exist on paper or on digital files. There is absolutely no proof that he is alive or has ever been."
"That sucks."
"How are you feeling?"
"…Okay…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."
"I thought we were talking about Jezz."
"Now we're talking about you."
"I'm…fine…I shouldn't be this fucking pathetic."
Annastasia felt guilty for bringing it up—she wouldn't have done it if she knew he'd have that negative of a reaction.
"There is nothing wrong with 'pathetic'," she told Michio.
"You always know what to say," he sarcastically replied. "Let's talk about something else. I want to know why some Pokémon would destroy Jezz's information."
"If Porygon had a trainer who commanded to do this, that would be its most likely motivation. But that's all we can infer. Like everyone else on this case, I'm suspicious. I'm thinking it's time to take a visit to the Viridian City prison to interview our number one suspect."
"Wait…Porygon…Jezz has one of those. You don't think that he…? Do you?"
"It wouldn't make any sense for him to do that."
"You think it was that Jessiebelle woman."
"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, then at least we can eliminate her as a root. But I have this horrible feeling he's 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, I think we should have interviewed her a long time ago."
"Are you going on your own?"
"Rumika, Rita, and/or Lucy will come with me."
Michio commented on how stressed she seemed and offered her a mint 'chill pill'.
"I didn't mean to get you involved," she added. "I just needed to get this off my chest."
"That's fine," he replied. "I can come with you and the spies too."
"Maybe…Let's go back to the group. It's about time for them to go up. If feel like you have to leave, just do it. Jocelyn will understand if you tell her the truth and I'll cover you."
"Thanks; I'll take the cover."
"Anytime."
The two of them headed back towards the front of the contest grounds, then Michio went out on his own, the goal to get away from the hordes of people.
The announcer introduced the first competitor just as Annastasia took her seat in the front row. Minutes later, Soledad, Tamaki, Anika, Tobie, Gracie. Carol, Tomoko, Flare, and Mariana entered through the gates 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'd 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, 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," said Tobie.
"That's because it's disguised as a Lucario."
"Where's the talking Sandshrew?" Flare asked as they made their way over to the others.
"It's with June's father. He somehow convinced it to leave Annastasia alone," Soledad replied. "He took it to his house."
"Onēsan!" Jocelyn exclaimed when she noticed the group approach. "You made it!"
"Flaaaaa!"
"Bounsweeeee!"
"And you got a Stufful!" she added excitedly.
Stufful smiled happily and rubbed up against Jocelyn, who squealed and patted its head.
"Stufful likes you," Benny said as he joined them.
"I missed you," Tamaki told Benny. "Can I get a hug?"
Benny reached across the Pokémon to embrace Tamaki. "I wish I could see you every day."
"It's only been a few days..."
"Feels like longer."
"I feel that."
By now most of the other kids had noted the arrival of their friends but didn't get up because it would've been an unwelcome distraction to the audience enjoying the contest. Benny, Jocelyn, and the geo-catching group walked and whispered.
"Who's Stufful's trainer?" Jocelyn queried.
"We all are," said Tobie.
"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. "It's soooooo cute!"
"Fee," Flaafy agreed, offering the baby Pokémon some of his berries.
"Bous," said Pinky, mimicking Flaafy.
"He wasn't feeling well, so I didn't want to take him out of his ball and get someone else sick," Carol explained.
"But he seems all better now," said Anika.
The geo-catchers and company swiftly took spots near their friends. After various exchanges bother verbal and nonverbal, Stufful lamented to Maya, Lily, and Logan.
"Stufful says that he's never going to evolve because he likes the way he is now," Maya explained.
"Good for you," said Logan, offering the panda Pokémon a high-paw.
"Dammit," Flare groaned. "Leave it to us to find the one Stufful that doesn't want to evolve."
"Can you do it for us? Pleassseeee?" Gracie asked. "You're cute but we really need help finding those Morelull."
Stufful shook his head 'no' and then bowed in shame.
"Don't feel bad Stufful. We still like you," said Jocelyn.
Tomoko almost commented on how Jocelyn should become Stufful's trainer—and add to her collection of pink Pokémon—but Anika switched the subject.
"Who's up first?" she queried.
"Me," Jocelyn replied.
"Exciting."
"It is but I'm sooo soo so nervous. What if they don't like us?"
"Flafee?" Flaafy worriedly added.
"As long as you like you, it doesn't matter what they think," Jay told his younger sister.
Jessie overheard this. "Jay, you are completely right. Jocelyn, Princess: no matter what happens you will be the best one out there."
"Thanks" Jocelyn responded.
"Fee," said Flaafy
"What about me?" Jay asked his mother.
"You'll 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," said Jocelyn.
"Oh, right," Jessie murmured in surprise.
"That's good," said James.
"Jocelyn this is the seventh performer. You better go get ready," Mondo told his niece.
"Yikes, you're right!" she exclaimed. "Can someone come with me?"
"I will," said Jay, with Amber and Jezz offering the same less than a half-second later.
"You three are totally in sync," Duplica noted. "I bet you'd be good at group performances."
"I agree," said Annastasia. "And I hate to end this convo, but it's best for all those performing to head backstage."
"Yeah," Jay agreed. "See ya later. Wish us luck."
"Good luck," the others replied.
"Are you going to talk to him about our decision to go talk to Jessiebelle?" Rumika whispered to Annastasia after the children had left.
"Thus far I've only told Michio," Annastasia quietly replied. "We should wait to tell Jezz; bringing it up immediately before a contest will bring him extra anxiety."
"You should bring it up to him soon after this."
"I aim to."
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.
"She's certainly prepared," Annastasia assured him.
"What makes yous so sure?" Meowth queried.
"Those emerald eyes were loaded with determination and will."
"Wise analysis," Rumika praised.
"I've learned to analyze from the best."
The entire contest hall went dark and two shadowed figures entered the stage.
"Is this part of the performance?" James worriedly asked.
"Just watch," Annastasia retorted.
A 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 a clever use of electricity," said Mondo.
"It will earn her major coolness points," said June.
"Flaafy, Double Electro Ball!" Jocelyn commanded.
With a resolute bleat, Flaafy shot a pair of beachball-sized electric spheres through one of three hoops located on the opposite side of the crowd. Everyone turned around just it time to see the spheres of electricity combine and move through the single top ring.
"I didn't even see those rings," James gasped.
"That was the point, to surprise the audience," Michio replied.
"You made it," Jessie remarked.
"We thought you left—I mean, took a walk," said James.
"I never left," Michio replied.
"Were yous hidin?" Meowth asked.
"Something like that."
"Flaafy must have practiced a lot," said Soledad commented. "Michio, I have a feeling you helped."
Michio shrugged offhandedly. "You're not wrong."
"She will earn both cleverness points and coolness points," said June. "For creativity and skill."
"And Flaafy is really well-groomed and Jocelyn's dress is beautiful. They might win the beauty round too," Gracie added, sighing in admiration.
"I'm so proud of my baby," Jessie sobbed.
"Yay, Jocelyn!" both her parents shouted dramatically, causing everyone to glance and roll their eyes.
Jocelyn smiled and giggled at her parent's overreactions 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 the best so far," June told them. "I hope my Pokémon and I do as well as you did."
"I bet you will," Jocelyn replied.
"Fee, fee, fee," Flaafy concurred.
Jocelyn's energetic Bounsweet jumped from the still-disguised Mewtwo's lap and onto her shoulder. He rubbed against her face.
"Bees, swee, beebee," Pinky told Jocelyn.
"Pinky the Bounsweet is glad you did well and wishes to perform alongside you in the next contest," Mewtwo explained.
"Thanks, Mewtwo…I mean 'Lucario'," Jocelyn replied, smiling widely and winking. "Pinky, you and I can work on a special routine, maybe even one that has all three of us in it."
"Sweee!" Pinky cheered.
Several contestants later, it was Jay's turn to gleam.
"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 let's not forget that he had a bit of help," Annastasia remarked as she discreetly pointed to Amber and Jezz.
"Use Solar Beam Combo," Jay happily—and nervously—instructed.
Togekiss flew around to the back of the audience and issued a rainbow Hyperbeam and a golden Solar Beam across the open auditorium. The two beams flew independently and halted when they clouted the opposite wall with a stunning and prevailing detonation. The crowd cheered as loudly for him as they did for his sister.
"That was beautiful," James breathed.
"He's perfect!" Jessie squealed.
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. 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 Aurora Veil danced above them. The crowd gave them a standing ovation.
"It just used Teleport! And some weird psychic-snow thing!" Tamaki exclaimed. "No way!"
"I wonder if that Teleport was Delcatty's 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."
"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 a turn, and Amber, Jezz, Jay, and their Pokémon returned to their family and friends.
"Delcatty was awesome," Jocelyn said brightly.
"I can't believe you taught him Teleport. That is an excellent move," said Soledad.
"Thank you all so very much," Jezz replied. "The Teleport is honestly quite weak, as Delcatty can only teleport several yards at a time, nor can he bring people or objects with him. We are working on it almost every day though. It was also done through the move Assist; Xatu is the only Pokémon I have that can use Teleport, 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."
"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?"
"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?"
"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.
"That Assist-Teleport was pretty mysterious," Tamaki pointed out.
"I suppose I may earn mystery points as well."
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," Takeshi said as she took her seat. "Amazing."
"Thank you," she replied sweetly.
"I bet your parents were watching you the whole time," said Jay. "I remember they said they were going to live-stream it."
"I didn't know you could play the flute," said Soledad. "When did you learn?"
"I wanted to learn since I was little. My dad got me a flute for Christmas. Jezz showed me how to play a few simple songs," June explained.
Annastasia smiled proudly and Jezz and June.
"I didn't know you did that," she remarked.
Jezz reddened "Oh, it was no big deal. June picked up on it quickly—she is intelligent, hardworking, and talented. I never said anything about knowing the flute because no one ever asked me about it."
"Wow, thanks," June murmured, blushing profusely.
"Jezz can play lots of instruments," Jay gushed. He elbowed his mother playfully, prompting her to follow his lead and watch Jezz. "Jezz can play the flute, clarinet, violin, viola, cello, piano, harmonica, the cornett, and he even let me teach him a few things on my guitar."
"Impressive," said Jessie. "For a twerp."
"You have my appreciation, Ma'am," Jezz replied, dipping his head.
Amber rolled her eyes. "I told you, you don't have to say 'ma'am' anymore. Especially not to her."
"This twerpette doesn't know what she's talking about," said Jessie. "I can go by 'Ma'am'. I collect titles."
"It is a habit I have difficulty breaking," Jezz sighed as Amber quietly mocked Jessie.
"I know how you feel," said James. "For a long time, I was forced to call everyone 'ma'am' and 'sir'—not saying you're being forced—but um, well, it took a while for me to speak normally naturally."
"Yous still talk funny," Meowth remarked.
"Oh, and you don't?" said Jessie.
Meowth shrugged. "I got an excuse dough. Pronouncin human words is hard and I'm not even a human."
Jay wrapped an arm around Jezz. "You can call people whatever you want. Amber can get over it."
Amber stuck her tongue out at Jay, who reciprocated. As usual, Jezz grinned at this.
"Jay's right, I guess," Amber mumbled.
"It is quite okay," Jezz responded. "Which member of our party is up next?"
"That would be Logan and Maya. After this next person, it's their turn," James answered.
A female contestant and her Braixen exited the stage. Logan and Maya stepped forward. Both Pokémon 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 hit the button on a 90's stereo, initiating a tune of classical music.
"What the hell is going on?" Amber asked her friends.
"This piece is from The Nutcracker," said Jezz.
"Are they going to dance?" asked Jay.
No one needed to answer his question; the duo danced before further speculations could be made. Lily was in awe.
"This is my favorite…Maya must've asked Logan…I don't think I ever told her…" Lily murmured.
"Awe, you're soft," said Anika.
"I'm a Meowth of many sides."
"And some of those sides are squishy?"
"I like you, Anika: don't ruin it."
"Dancin fer a Pokémon Contest. How original," Meowth commented.
"That should be you up there," said Lucy, tapping Lily's paw.
"Maya did this for me. She wanted to make it a surprise," Lily whispered. "She's incredible, isn't she?"
"You know how to pick them."
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 taught me," Maya explained. "He helped me a lot."
"But who taught you?" Lily asked Logan.
"Jezz," he answered. "And he composed that recorded music we used."
"Wow, Jezz. You are one good resource," said Rumika. "A man of many hats."
"And ties," said Logan, pawing Jezz's western-style bowtie.
"Geeze, you can do lots more than you look like you could do...that's a compliment, by the way," said Takeshi.
"I very much appreciate the compliments," Jezz shyly responded. "That presentation was 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!" 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 told Annastasia.
"Yes. Sweet is a good way to describe Jocelyn. Unless she is disturbing you, of course," Annastasia replied. "She tends to do both on occasion."
"Mewtwo and I know that well."
"Agreed," said the psychic Pokémon.
Benny and his Eevee tensely entered the stage. Benny held up three hula-hoops, then placed them several yards apart from one another.
"Jackson, do your thing!" Benny commanded.
"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 Jackson!"
"You nailed it!"
"You were the best!"
"Flaaaaa!"
"Bouns sweeeeeet!"
Benny and his Eevee were the last competitors. After they 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 gasped as he gleefully ran towards them. "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, handing him a gift.
"You got me a present?!"
"Veee eve?!"
"It's a 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 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. "Contest rules are 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's the right thing to do."
"Oh…I suppose."
"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!" 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 Takeshi. "Maya, Lily, Logan: leave it to me to get you justice. I won't leave until our point is made clear."
"You're the best," said Logan.
"We can stand up for ourselves," said Lily. "But as always, it is helpful to have a friend help us out."
"That's what I was thinking," Annastasia winked. "Once the final announcements are made, we can go over the officials. Let's just chill for now."
"Good idea," said Jay, petting the twin's heads. "Rosie, I love you, but please don't touch my hair. I work hard for this perfection."
Amber rubbed her hands all over Jay's quiff.
"How could you?!" Jay cried, clutching his hair and pulling out his handmirror.
"It's softer than Pip," she replied.
"Pikaa," Pip agreed, touching the hair himself, after which Jay cringed.
"Couldn't resist."
"At least she didn't pull it," said Takeshi, still sore from Rose's rough yank.
"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?" she asked Jezz. "He's very calm and loves being held, even by those he doesn't know too well yet. There's a ten-minute break before the next round."
"I would not mind trying," Jezz murmured.
Rumika handed the baby over to Jezz. Silver didn't complain one bit.
"You're good with everything relating to Pokémon, musical instruments, dancing…and now babies?" said Takeshi. "Geeze."
"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."
"You used to live elsewhere?"
"Tamaki is adopted too," Amber explained.
"I didn't know. You look so much like your parents."
"Just a coincidence," said Richie.
"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," said Tamaki.
"Why don't you hang out with our group? 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? I don't understand," Jezz replied.
"We're boyfriend and girlfriend."
"I didn't understand why you were traveling with them since you aren't a geo-catcher. 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," said Jezz as he handed Silver back over to Rumika. "You too, Silver."
"No prob. Get my cell number from someone in your group. Text me whenever you wanna talk," said Tamaki.
"Thank you."
Jezz and his Delcatty scuttled backstage.
"What are they gonna do now?" Alex asked his parents.
"I don't know," said Mondo. "Annastasia, can you explain?"
"Sure," she replied. "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 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. Now all the trainers are backstage doing some last-minute Pokémon grooming."
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 glossy skin and wide upper leaves," Soledad noted. "Those are signs of good health."
"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."
"Look! The scoreboard is lighting up," said Gracie.
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.
"Too bad, Little Man," Tamaki sighed when Benny returned with Jackson, struggling to hide their tears. "Don't be too hard on yourself, Bro—you were awesome."
"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," said Sakura. "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 Pokéringer 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 announcer declared.
"Oh no! Jocelyn will be battling June!" Benny exclaimed worriedly. "But June has a lot more experience."
"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."
"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's 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—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. 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," said Soledad. "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.
"And no one in our group is using legendary Pokémon," said Annastasia.
"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," Soledad remarked.
"What ever happened to that Sandshrew? We heard it was obsessed with Annastasia and Michio."
"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'll 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?" said Amber.
"That girl happens to be my arch enemy's daughter," Jessie replied.
"Arch enemy?" Michio snorted. "Isn't everyone your arch enemy?"
"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 Cassidy did was mock me and give me extra chores."
"But that doesn't mean Cassandra's the same way," said Annastasia.
"They're starting," Tomoko interrupted.
"I choose Meganium!" Jay announced dramatically, striking the pose that he and his two closest friends worked on together.
"I choose Larvitar," said Cassandra.
"Use Leaf Storm!"
"Dodge and use Harden."
"Leaf Storm Again."
"Earthquake."
"Dodge!"
Meganium dodged just in time. Larvitar did another three Earthquake attacks, but Meganium's third Leaf Storm knocked it out.
"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.
"Pory?" said Porygon.
"No, I am not getting sick," Jezz assured them. He coughed several times and almost everyone in the waiting area turned their heads to glare at him rudely. "On second thought, maybe I am."
"Chiiiiimmmmme!" Chimecho sang, dousing Jezz with his healing powers.
"Thank, my friend." Jezz patted his pal and they turned their attention back to Jay's battle. "Jay summoned his Tauros. It was smart of him to get his Pokémon from back home."
"Plu," Vileplume agreed.
"Chime, co, chime."
"Delca."
"You are going to be wonderful," Jezz told his Pokémon.
Jezz continued to cough and sneeze, doing his best to be unobtrusive. 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 leads to lots of experience points which leads to high levels," said Tobie. "Jay hammers."
"Knowing Jay, he put his whole soul into this training," said Soledad. "Even if he doesn't win this contest, for sure he is going to complete all those trials."
"Actually, I am not sure if we are even going to do the trials," Annastasia confided. "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're very behind schedule."
"I'm 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 makes me weary," 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."
"No, it is fine. Maybe later though."
"Okay. By the way, did you see where Jocelyn or June went?"
"Last I saw them they were over by the water cooler, getting their Pokémon something to drink."
"Thanks. I am going to get my Pokémon some water too. But don't worry, I'll be watching the moment you go up."
Before they parted ways, Jezz touched Jay's shoulder. Jay paused to meet his eyes.
"I just want to let you know that I am so grateful to you for supporting me," said Jezz. "I never traveled with friends before, usually I do all this on my own. It has been a wonderful experience."
"Good, 'cuz we aren't letting you ditch our group anytime soon. We love you too much," Jay replied, chuckling awkwardly—but sincerely.
"You've done more for me than I think you realize."
"Anytime." Jay took a step back. "See ya soon."
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."
"And your dad has green hair?"
"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."
"How old are you?" Jocelyn asked.
"Thirteen."
"Do you do contests a lot?"
"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."
"You're welcome to join our group," said Jay.
"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."
"Uh, so…sorry for beating you."
"Don't be silly; 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," said Jay.
"That sounds good to me," Cassandra 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 back 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 Wobbuffet,' Jezz thought. 'Annastasia's Wobbuffet and her mother's Wobbuffet can counter almost anything. But why can't I remember its weaknesses?'
"I chose Delcatty," said Jezz, releasing his Pokémon. "Use Assist!"
Delcatty charged and shot an aggressive Solar Beam at his opponent's Wobbuffet. As he suspected, the Wobbuffet mirrored his attack, which Delcatty was then able to dodge, though barely.
"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 Wobbuffet."
"And mine apparently," said Jessie.
"Wobba," 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!" Amber cried.
"Sorry", Annastasia responded as she disengaged 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 rapid Ice Beam. This time Emile's Wobbuffet did not have time to react, and the result was a smooth knock out.
"Excellent," Jezz told his Delcatty.
"De llllaaa," the cat cooed.
Emile released a Registeel. The MC commented on how rare and powerful of a Pokémon it was.
'It's huge,' Jezz thought. 'I never even heard of a Registeel. I should stick with Delcatty until I see what it can do.'
His young supporters in the audience were quick to scan Registeel with their Pokédexes.
"Registeel, the Iron Pokémon," said Jocelyn's dex. "Registeel is sturdier than any kind of metal. Tempered by pressure underground over tens of thousands of years, its body cannot be scratched."
"Sounds super scary," Jocelyn replied.
"I hope a never have to battle one of those," June said after her Pokédex and that of Takeshi's gave them the same info.
"Me neither."
"I bet I can take it," said Amber.
"I bet you could too," said Annastasia.
The kids didn't know about Annastasia's personal experience with the pseudo-legendary, but she was going to save that story for another time. This time was about Jezz.
Delcatty was knocked out immediately by Registeel's Superpower attack.
"Oh no! Delcatty!" Jezz cried out. "I am regretful and remorseful."
Amber noticed how some of the audience members mocked Jezz's accent and wording. She squeezed her bow, forcing her anger into her wooden possession. 'One day, they'll pay', she thought.
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 began.
"Deeeeeeer!" the Pokémon sang.
Registeel was hit with a cloud of pink dust. Suddenly the enormous Pokémon's expression changed, as it was forced into a 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.
"And I promise it's no BS," Annastasia added.
"Neato," said Jocelyn.
"But he hasn't won yet," Tamaki noted. "C'mon, Dude!"
Jezz flashed an extra smile for Tamaki, whose verbal support he didn't expect to hear. The kids cheered louder as his opponent Emile 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,'
"It's a poison-type," Jay commented. "I saw it in my Battle Agency simulator one time. I lost using it."
"Thanks for that wonderful addition to this chapter," Amber replied.
"Np."
"Deerling, think you can handle this?" Jezz asked his Pokémon.
"Deerling," she answered, nodding her head.
"Skorupi, use Poison Jab!" Emile instructed.
Skorupi's menacing hiss startled Deerling into flinching. He just barely evaded the attack. skoor skor," it chanted a raspy voice as it charged at Deerling.
"Jump over it and use Giga Drain!" Jezz commanded.
Deerling's Giga Drain had little effect.
"It's likely a poison-type," Jezz noted. 'I should use Xatu…"
Jezz returned Deerling and selected his third Pokémon, the potent but unreliable Xatu.
"Use Calm Mind and Confusion!"
"Skorupi, dodge and use Venom Drench," Emile instructed. "Follow that up with another Poison Jab."
Skorupi was too slow, and it was it with hit with Xatu's Confusion move. 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; It knows Future Sight, one of the best psychic-type moves ever developed," said Annastasia.
"Which does him no good if it refused to listen," Michio remarked.
"But it—he—is listening now."
"I didn't know he had a Xatu. I'm jealous," Anika said as Xatu's Future Sight anguished Skorupi.
"That Xatu is a jerk," Amber asserted. "He messes with Jezz all the time. He shows Jezz past and future visions that scare the crap out of him. And he's never obedient, I bet the only reason it is listening to Jezz now is because it enjoys attacking other Pokémon."
"That's such a waste," Mariana sighed. "Would he consider a trade?"
"He's already tried that," said Jay. "Xatu wants to stick around."
"Which makes sense to me," Annastasia murmured, skill keeping her eyes on the now-exhausted Jezz and Emile. "Most Pokémon would rather stick with one trainer they don't vibe with then take a chance on a new one."
"In other words, they're both totally stuck unless Xatu has an awakening," Flare inferred.
"Yep."
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'm pumped."
XO
In The Next Chapter:
- Alolan Girls
- Meeting with Archer
- Rita's Confession
Trivia:
- Much of this dialogue is repeated in Chapter 92 of The Journal, titled 'One Step at a Time', mostly the parts that are directly related to Jezz.
- The inspiration/aesthetic quote for that chapter from The Journal is "All action results from thought, so it is thoughts that matter" by Sai Baba. That quote fits as an aesthetic for this chapter too I believe.
- The lyrics at the beginning of this chapter are from the Lenka song 'Like a Song'.
- The creepy lyrics in Jezz's dream are from the hymn 'Swing Low, Sweet Chariot'.