AN: This chapter was updated/revised on March 26, 2020.
Back to Kiwi Mountain
"We stuck it out this far together
Put our dreams through the shredder
Let's toast 'cause things got better
And everything could change like that
And all these years go by so fast
But nothing lasts forever."
Halestorm
Jezz, Amber, and Jay were confused by the black haze that Mimikyu had created. Togekiss, Pip, and Vileplume clung to their trainers. Mimikyu also decided to hold onto Amber, and everyone else was in their balls. Together they watched the city slowly transform into the interior of a familiar building: a Pokémon Center. The first face they saw was that of a Nurse Joy, who was just entering the lobby area in which they stood.
"What are you three still doing here?" she demanded.
"We just got here," Jay answered slowly. "Don't you recognize us?"
Nurse Joy took a closer look at their faces. "You are those missing children!"
The three of them nodded in response.
Nurse Joy made them all sit down on the couch. "I—you...I don't know what to say! Are you really them? Half the world has been trying to spot you. Tell me your names."
"Amber K," said Amber.
"Jay! Jay Paul Morgan," Jay stumbled.
"And I am Jezz Tonaka," said Jezz.
"Stay here," she instructed. "I am going to call Officer Jenny."
The kids were excited by the concept of being escorted back home, even if it meant that police were involved.
The trio had only a few minutes to talk before Nurse Joy and her Chansey, Audino, and Wigglytuff re-entered the room.
"Your families must be so worried! Everyone in Alola and beyond is looking for you," she said. "Of all the places to show up, you come here. I don't get how you got passed all the roadblocks."
"Our Mimikyu teleported us here," said Amber. "We think."
"May you please explain what you mean by 'roadblocks'?" Jezz inquired.
"The roadblocks are in place because there is going to be a nasty hurricane," she answered. "This place is supposed to get hit very badly. That is why there are no Pokémon or trainers here. Everyone living on this island had to evacuate."
"Then why are you and your Pokémon still here?" Amber asked.
"I came to make sure I had everything important out of this building. The police know I am still in here and they are coming to pick me up soon as possible since the hurricane is coming sometime tonight. You all will have to come with me."
While Nurse Joy continued talking to his friends, Jay was looking around the Pokémon Center's lobby. He noticed a calendar on the wall and was relieved to find that it presented the correct date, though he figured that they had returned to the present when Nurse Joy recognized them.
"My ride should be here soon," said Nurse Joy. "I don't have much food, only a few pieces of fruit that I can give you."
"We would very much appreciate that," Jezz replied.
Nurse Joy left the room to get their food and to grab some last-minute items that she wanted to take from the center. After she left, Jay pointed out the calendar on the wall. They all smiled.
"I wonder why Mimikyu brought us here and not to the bungalow," said Jezz.
"Probably because that is where I said I wanted to go," Amber mumbled. "At least we are in the present, and in Alola. Now as long as your Xatu doesn't pull anything, we should be able to get home soon."
"I am worried that there is going to be a hurricane. I wonder if this is the aka lele's doing," said Jay.
"I certainly hope that it is not, but Mary did say that they aka lele always brought about terrible trouble," Jezz noted worriedly.
"There is no point in worrying about it. Plus, it could be totally unrelated: you know better than we do that hurricanes are common here in Alola."
Amber and Jay each took a deep breath and then stretched out onto the couch. Jezz ignored them and instead stared down at the ground.
"What's wrong?" Jay asked.
"I am afraid to go back with you," Jezz said quietly.
"You have to come with us," said Amber. "We are not letting you out of our sight." Then she softened her tone. "Why are you afraid?"
"I am afraid that I have permanently ruined all the good relationships that I have formed here. I have run away from many places in my lifetime, but I never returned to anyone before, not willingly…Sometimes I feel that I don't belong with you."
"You do belong with us. In our trio," Jay replied. "Right between Amb and I."
"Pikaaa," said Pip.
"Toh tohhh," Togekiss cooed.
"And with our extended family," Jay added, patting the Pokémon.
"How can I explain what I've done?" said Jezz. "How could they forgive me? Then one day they will discover who I really am and it will lead to more rejection and pain…"
Jezz turned around so that he wouldn't have to face them. Amber spun him back around and grabbed him by the front of his shirt.
"Listen here. You aren't allowed to just show up, change everything, and then just walk away," she said passionately. "The three of us will get back our families and you aren't going to bitch and whine about it ever again!"
Jezz froze and his tears stopped. Jay pried Amber's fingers off Jezz's shirt and urged her to relax.
Amber did not like Jay trying to defend Jezz when they both knew he was wrong. She tapped her toes, crossed her arms, relaxed her shoulders, and sighed.
"If I wake up and you are gone, I'll never be able to stop worrying about you for as long as I live," she told Jezz. "You are wrong if you actually think the best option is to run away again."
"She's right," Jay quietly replied.
"I'm so sorry," said Jezz, nearly choking on the words.
Amber's tension eased. She stepped closer to Jezz and gave him a private and reassuring grin.
"I suppose I'll have to wait and see how sorry you are," she said. "Don't do that again."
"I won't ever run away again," he promised.
Nurse Joy returned to the lobby and handed each of them an apple.
"The police are almost here in their motorboat," she announced. "They will take us to Melemele Island. Then you will be escorted back to your families."
"Great," said Amber.
"Whoa, thanks," said Jay. "Finally, we're almost home."
"Oh dear, were you crying?" she asked Jezz.
"No, Ma'am," Jezz squeaked.
He dodged behind Vileplume wiped his eyes with a tissue he had in his pocket.
"Okay, then," Joy mumbled. "I would like to know why you ran away if you don't mind telling me. Your story has been all over the news. It seemed that you had vanished from the Earth. Care to explain?"
"Ask him," Amber replied, pointing to Jezz.
"My Xatu teleported us all back in time," said Jezz.
"Did you ask it too?" Joy asked, confused by the explanation.
"No…he enjoys antagonizing me…"
Jay and Amber went along with this half-truth.
"You must have a powerful Xatu," Joy remarked. "They cannot do that until they have a very high level of experience. Why did it take so long for you to return?"
"My Xatu doesn't respect me," Jezz divulged. "I think it is because I am a fearful person. Some Pokémon will not respect their trainers if they think that they are weak and do not deserve their respect. I believe that my Xatu feels this way about me. I accidentally traveled back in time with Xatu, and I took my friends with me. This entire endeavor was a mistake."
Amber and Jay silently agreed with the story. It was concise and explanatory, and therefore good enough to satisfy the curiosity of the dozens of people who were bound to interrogate them.
They would save the true and twisted tale for the important people.
"I remember the day before you disappeared from this Pokémon Center. Your group was very kind. They were all so worried when they woke up and couldn't find you that day," said Nurse Joy. "They will be overwhelmingly glad to see you safe."
"We are hoping they will be glad and not angry," said Jay.
"I am sure they will be relieved to have you back. They were upset that you were gone, of course, but this wasn't your fault. It was scary for them, and I am sure it was scary for you too. I know they will be happy to have you once more. Now let us go outside. I can hear them landing."
The kids followed her outside. There were three officer Jennys and a few other cops in uniform. They had a large motorboat behind them. They were relieved to see the children and grateful that Nurse Joy had them with her. The ushered them onto the boats. As soon as they were settled, the captain started the boat and they were on their way to Melemele Island.
"I always wondered why there are so many Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys. Can you tell us?" Jay asked his fellow travel companions.
"Well, it is an interesting story, really," Nurse Joy responded. "I'll tell you later. There is not enough time to explain the whole thing. Melemele isn't that far away from here."
"I have a similar tale to tell, but I think we should save it for some other time," said one of the Officer Jennys. "But it is interesting, I'll tell you that."
Amber noticed a Team Skull bracelet on Officer Jenny's wrist and asked about it.
"Team Skull used to have a questionable reputation back several years ago," said Officer Jenny. "But now they are on good terms with the people of Alola, well, at least they are harmless. It is like the way Team Rocket once was in Johto, Kanto, Hoenn, and the Orange Islands. My husband has been a member of Team Skull since before he was born. The organization is important to my family."
Amber and Jay both wondered what she meant by 'family'. It could mean her immediate family or the endless collection of Officer Jennys.
"That's cool," Jay said after a while.
"I would encourage you all to call your parents the moment we land. We have a phone you can borrow. They probably have already been contacted and informed that you were safe, but they are going to want to hear your voices," said Nurse Joy.
"Do you think the Pokémon Center will be damaged by the impending typhoon?" Jezz queried.
"The weather reports all say that the winds are going likely going to reach up to 176 mph, so it's important to take precautions and evacuate just in case," Officer Jenny responded.
"I heard there is going to be more hail and rain, and it is supposed to be worse than last time," Nurse Joy anxiously added.
"Last time?" Jay inquired.
"Oh, right…since you weren't here, you wouldn't know…"
"Know what?" said Amber.
"The last few days we have seen some horribly intense storms. The storms have killed about a dozen people and left countless other injured, sometimes seriously. This is the worst it has been in over a hundred years."
"I don't know if anyone ever told you about the story of the aka lele—" Officer Jenny started.
"—We shouldn't bring that up now."
"We know what the aka lele is, at least a little bit," said Jay. "Can you tell us more?"
"I am not sure what you know, but first and foremost, the aka lele is a curse that some Mimikyu are able to create," said Jenny. "When a Mimikyu becomes disturbed, whether it be lonely, scared, or anxious, it can project those fears onto other people in the forms of destructive forces: storms, accidents, bad luck…it is mostly high-level Mimikyu that have this ability, and because of its high level, it is able to create massive turmoil."
"Whoa," the trio remarked. Though they already had this knowledge, it was scary to see a frightened police officer.
'Mimikyu better stay in its ball,' Amber thought.
Minutes later they arrived on Melemele Island.
"This island is famous for being the first island that Pokémon trainers from other regions land on first. This is where Professor Rosedale does most of her research," the captain of their small boat explained. "Now good luck kids, get home safely!"
The kids thanked him and then stepped off the boat. The captain drove the boat away, but the Officer Jennys and Nurse Joy stayed with them.
"Professor Rosedale is the professor that Soledad and her group of Geo-catchers are working for," Jay reminded his friends. "I wonder if they are still looking for those Morelull."
"Tamaki mentioned something about her fascination with Mimikyu," Jezz responded. "Perhaps she is researching the aka lele."
"I know that she is. The professor and I are friends, and she has mentioned it to me before," said Nurse Joy.
An officer explained how a boat was coming to take them to their home island. The trio boarded to the new boat, and then their escorts waved them good-bye.
"Good luck! Your families will be waiting for you when you land!" Officer Jenny called out to them as the boat pulled away.
"Thank you so much for your help!" Jezz called after them.
Amber and Jay added to that. Then the trio let their Pokémon out of their balls and turned to face one another.
"The adventure finally comes to an end," Jay breathed. "It was a long, tough, road, but we made it."
Amber noticed that Jezz looked flushed. She felt his face.
"Jezz, you're on fire," she remarked. "Why didn't you tell us that you weren't feeling well?"
"I didn't want to cause more trouble," he murmured.
"Don't worry, we are going to be back at the bungalow soon. We'll get food, water, and everything will be okay," said Jay.
Chimecho doused him with Heal Bell. It made him feel better—but, as usual, the effect was temporary.
"You are right," Jezz responded weakly. "Soon everything will be fine…"
XO
Inside the Morgan's bungalow, Lucy, Rita, Rumika, Annastasia, Professor Rosedale, and Keaka Kapule were waiting for something to happen.
Sandshrew kept telling them that the hypnosis strategy had worked, but they were having a difficult time believing it.
"I succeeded; I assure you. The children are on their way," Sandshrew insisted. "You humans are being ungrateful, after everything I have done—"
"—Okay, but we don't have any evidence that says that is true," Annastasia anxiously interrupted.
"Wait; any minute you will receive an important phone call."
The phone rang five seconds later. Everyone jumped to it, but Lucy got there first.
"Morgan's residence," she spoke into the receiver.
"Good afternoon, this is Officer Jenny of the Kiwi Mountain City Police District," said the woman on the other side of the line. "We would like to speak to the head of this household."
"This is she," Lucy excitedly responded.
She put the phone on speaker so that the others could hear. Everyone exchanged happy and hopeful expressions. Sandshrew exited the room as Michio entered.
"Shh, come sit with us," Annastasia told him as she patted the spot next to her. He didn't know what was going on, but he obeyed.
"We found your son, Jay Morgan, and nephew, Jezz Tonaka, at the Pokémon Center in Kiwi Mountain City. They and their friend Amber Ketchum are now being escorted to Melemele Island. We are going to have an officer bring them to your address. Is this fine, or would you prefer to bring them somewhere else?"
"No! Bring them here, that is perfect," Lucy told the officer. "Thank you."
"No problem. You will get a call right before they arrive."
Relief fell like rain.
"After all that we've been through, this seems almost too good to be true," said Annastasia.
"I wouldn't say that it is too good to be true, rather I'd say it's about time," said Rita. "We are going to have to give Jezz a long talk, and I am going to be the one to start it."
"Sandshrew was right, it managed to get them back," said Rumika. "I can hardly believe it. I thought it was going to mess with us. You can never tell with that creature."
"I learned that with Sandshrew, you have to take everything literally. As literally as possible, I think that will work, but even then, I'm not always sure," Annastasia replied.
"I am happy that this worked out," said Keaka. "I should probably go, give your family their space."
"You are welcome to stay. You too, Professor."
"No thank you. I will get going," Professor Rosedale responded. "Congrats on finally getting this sorted out."
"Thank you both for your help. I am going to call my parents the moment they arrive. They are going to want to know about this immediately."
XO
Jessie and James asked Acorn and Aliyah to teleport them back towards the bungalow the moment after they got off the phone with Annastasia. When they arrived, the kids were home, and they heard Jay frantically trying to explain something to Annastasia.
"Anna-chan, what's going on?" James questioned as he stepped into the room.
Inside the living room, Jezz was lying on the couch with his eyes closed while Lucy and Meowth held a cool towel to his head. Rita was on the phone with someone, Amber appeared to be trying to explain something to Rumika and Logan, and Annastasia was talking to Jay.
"Jay!" his parents exclaimed in unison.
James and Jessie pushed Annastasia out of the way so that they could embrace him.
"I'm okay, I'm okay—but he isn't," Jay said as he gestured to Jezz.
James let go and walked up to Jezz. "What's wrong with him?"
"We aren't really sure. When we were almost here, he had some kind of a panic attack and passed out," said Amber.
"I never heard of such a thing. Why was he panicking?"
Rita hung up her cellphone. "Keaka will be here any minute. And so you all know, this isn't the first time this has happened to Jezz. When he gets overly stressed-out, he passes out. Not only was he sick, but he was probably terrified of coming back here."
"It's strange how this just happened so suddenly," said Jay. "We weren't expecting this at all."
"I don't understand why he'd be afraid to come back. You all are weird, but not that scary," Michio remarked.
"It's a long story…"
Chimecho and Bleu were using their healing abilities on Jezz while Amber and Jay tried to explain what happened to the adults. Annastasia sat down next to Jezz, whose eyes were now opening. She tried to encourage him to talk, but it was to no gain.
"This is what he did to us. He stared at us, but couldn't talk. Then he got shaky and fell," Amber explained.
"Rita, you said Jezz did this before?" Annastasia inquired.
She nodded. "Jezz had a series of nightmares that were so intense, that he thought they were real. He claimed to be hallucinating, and according to the other volunteers at Spectrum, he was yelling at them. They woke him up and tried to explain what he was doing, and he panicked for some reason. He passed out, and the doctors found that his heartbeat was at 180 beats per minute and is blood pressure was four times higher than what is considered safe."
"I took his vitals a few moments ago, and his heart rate and blood pressure were really high." She placed a hand on his chest. "His heart is slowing down now, which is good, because his heartbeat was at 190 two minutes ago. That is the highest I have ever seen in a child. He needs to take a medication that will calm him down."
"Why don't we have Acorn and Aliyah teleport him to the hospital?" asked Rumika.
"Jezz is terrified of doctors," Rita answered. "It will only freak him out more. Keaka will be here any minute, and she had that advanced medical kit with her when she cleaned up Michio's hand not that long ago. Now he won't have to go all the way to the hospital."
"How do you know he is terrified of doctors?" Lucy inquired.
"He told me. I am not very surprised. Doctors don't usually treat trans people with a lot of respect. He has had a lot of bad experiences with doctors," Rita replied.
"He told us that too one time," Jay added.
Jessie turned to Jay. "On a different note: we have a lot to talk about."
"I know…I already explained everything to A. Are you really going to make me do it again?"
Jessie and James turned to Annastasia, who gave them a thumb's up sign in return. Then the doorbell rang.
"Keaka, it is a good thing you are here," said Annastasia as she entered the home. "He isn't looking good."
"What happened here?" Keaka asked as she observed Jezz.
"We aren't quite sure," said James. "The kids said he had a panic attack."
"First, he got a fever, then he was all upset because he was nervous about coming back, and then he was shaking and got a fever and couldn't talk all of a sudden," said Amber.
"He can't tell seem to talk now, either," Jay added.
"Is he allergic to anything?" Keaka inquired.
"We don't know," Jessie answered. "Annastasia, do you know?"
"I don't think he is, but I can check. The Hale's lawyer had recently given me all his information, and though there isn't much, they might have allergies listed," Annastasia replied before leaving the room.
"Why does A have all his information?" Jay questioned.
"Umm, we will tell you later," James responded as he looked away.
"In the meantime, I am going to do a blood test on him," Keaka announced. "These symptoms are side effects of some poisons. Sometimes, a person can get infected even if they do not recall getting attacked. It usually only happens to people will very poor immune systems though."
"He has that," Amber informed her.
Jezz didn't seem to care or even notice when Keaka took his blood. She then opened her bag and pulled out a liquid-filled plastic bag and a long, thin tube.
"I will give him an IV so that he can get hydrated, and the medicine will work better this way," Keaka explained. "I can do a blood test now since I have my computer and a testing kit with me. It should only take about ten minutes."
"Mom, why the hell were you carrying around all this stuff? All you needed to take care of my hand was some disinfectants and bandages," said Michio.
"I am always prepared. I am a leader, it is my responsibility," she answered.
"Ha, doesn't that sound familiar?" Annastasia nudged Michio. "Keaka and I are two of the same."
"Great," he responded unenthusiastically.
Annastasia handed Keaka Jezz's list of medications and incomplete medical history. "I don't think he is allergic to anything."
"Excellent," Keaka responded. She put a new medication into his IV.
"That isn't painful, is it?" Jay asked as she watched her work.
"It probably is hurting him a little bit, but not much. I am always very careful," she replied.
Jay nodded. "Okay, thanks."
"Thank you for coming to help," Annastasia told Michio's mother.
"It wasn't any trouble," Keaka responded as she finished entering data into her computer. "I am not sure if he was poisoned, but he obviously was very freaked out. But he is okay now."
Jezz had closed his eyes. They could tell by his breathing that he had fallen asleep.
"I gave him a tranquilizer," Keaka explained. "Don't worry, it is safe. I used it on Michio hundreds of times."
"Mother! You don't have to tell everyone!" Michio scolded.
"It's is not a big deal. My point is that it isn't very strong. He probably only fell asleep because he was tired, and the tranquilizer made him relaxed enough to do so."
"Jezz hardly slept the last few days," said Amber. "He was always reading, writing, and/or worrying. We told him not to but he wouldn't listen."
"He is addicted to reading, writing, and worrying. You are never going to get him to stop," said Rita. "I've tried."
"We should let him rest. Let's move somewhere else," Keaka suggested.
Everyone agreed, and everyone but Jezz's Pokémon moved to the kitchen. Jay could hardly speak because now both his parents were hugging him in the most constricting way possible.
"Tell us what happened. Are you sure you are okay?" Jessie asked worriedly as they continued to smush Jay.
"Parents, you are squeezing me," Jay squeaked.
"Sorry."
They let go.
"No go, explain yourself," said Jessie.
"I told you that it is a really long story," Jay replied.
"We have nothing but time."
"I will explain," Annastasia offered. "Let's go somewhere private first."
Annastasia and her parents went to her bedroom down the hall. Annastasia closed the door and the three of them sat down on her bed.
"I am so relieved that A, Rita, and that woman…Michio's mother? Anyway, I am relieved that they are here," Jay whispered to Amber as he glanced down the hall. "They saved the day."
"Mmmhmm. I wonder where Jezz's guardians are," Amber responded. "The cops told us that they called our families. My mom and dad called and said that they were on their way. No one mentioned the Hales."
"Let's ask," Jay suggested. He walked up to Rumika and tapped her on the shoulder. "Rumika, Jezz is going to want to see his guardians when he wakes up. Do you know where they are? We should at least call and explain things."
Jay was overheard by Meowth and Lucy. The cat Pokémon decided to save Rumika the tough talk. Meowth and Lucy approached Jay and Amber.
"Yous two follow me," Meowth instructed.
"Sure," Jay responded, though he was unsure of what was happening.
Meowth and Lucy took them to the back porch.
"Why are we out here?" Amber questioned.
"Jezz's guardians passed away," Lucy told them.
"They…died?"
"No way," said Jay. "That can't happen…"
"Well, it did," Lucy replied.
"They were young…sorta. I didn't even know they were sick. Oh my god."
"They weren't sick."
"Dere was a storm. It was a really huge and nasty storm too. It caused a pileup on the highway," Meowth explained.
"Jezz is going to be crushed," said Amber. It wasn't until she spoke that she realized how tense her hands and jaw had become. "He'll be a mess."
Jay looked at Amber helplessly. Beyond upset, Amber felt guilty too—there was nothing she could do to comfort Jay, and facing Jezz with this news was unimaginable.
Amber sighed. "I don't think anyone should tell him when he first wakes up. He's already upset. Telling him will just…"
"…Give him a heart attack," Jay finished. "But I don't think that it would be better to wait. Are we supposed to get him to calm down only to make him more upset a few minutes later?"
"He needs to rest for a while. When he is in a calm place, someone will explain," said Lucy.
"Who will?"
"Probably A."
"This is really horrible," said Amber. "Probably the worst thing that could've happened to Jezz—and it's not even about him. It's about the Hales."
"When did this even happen?" Jay asked.
'How long were we gone?' he thought. 'Was it longer than we thought?'
"It was de night dat de three of yous three disappeared," said Meowth. "Rita was in de accident too. She hurt broke several ribs, but she was able ta recover."
"She looks so good! There is no way she broke ribs. Those take a long time to heal. I know because my dad broke a bunch of ribs one time," said Amber. "It took months for him to be able to move right."
"Gary Oak, Professor Ivy, and Professor Rosedale were able to create a super potion that can heal bones within 36 hours," Lucy replied. "Rita was the test subject. She healed fine, with no additional pain."
"It must have been painful when she broke them though."
"Naturally."
"I wonder how they managed to create such an awesome medicine. They are going to make a lot of money that way," Jay responded.
"They used the essence of these special blue and green Morelull. Soledad's group of Geo-catchers was assigned to find them. Professor Rosedale has spent decades trying to find the secret ingredient, and once she got it, she was able to make this amazing potion."
"But they can't bring back the dead," Amber sighed.
"No, nothing can."
The group of four returned to the kitchen. Amber and Jay got some food and attempted to answer all the adults' questions about what they did and why. Amber withheld talking about Mimikyu though, as she felt as though it would be better if Jezz was there to help her explain everything. Ten minutes later, Amber's parents showed up.
"Amber! Amber!" she heard her mother's voice calling.
Amber stumbled out of the kitchen and into the front room to greet them. "Hey, Mom. Hey, Dad."
"We are so glad you are okay!"
Now it was Amber's turn to be crushed by a hug.
"You had us so worried," said Ash. "You should've never run away."
"I know. I was dumb, as usual," she mumbled.
"No, you aren't dumb…well, what you did was dumb…" Misty lectured.
"Pika!" Pikachu scolded.
"Zil," Azumarill chided.
"I am sure you had a good reason though," said Ash. "Right?"
"Yep," Amber nodded.
"We know why you did it: you wanted to help your friend. But we don't get how," said Misty.
"I got help from a rare Pokémon."
"A legendary?" Ash queried, his eyes wide. "Which one?"
"Technically it isn't a legendary, but it is super cool. Mimikyu. A level 500 hundred Mimikyu."
"That means they're real after all," Misty murmured. "Amber, are you making this up?"
"We swear it is true," Jay defended. He had just walked out of the kitchen and came forward until he was standing next to Amber. "Amber, show it to them."
"First, you gotta understand that Mimikyu is really shy and doesn't' like to come out of its ball," Amber told them. "Ok, Mimikyu, can you please come out? It's only my parents, Jay, Togekiss, two Pikachu, and an Azumarill. They aren't going to fuss over you."
The ball shook, and Mimikyu jumped out. It hissed, grabbing the attention of the occupants of the kitchen, which happened to be everyone else in the house at the moment.
"You caught a Mimikyu. They are great Pokémon," said James. "Very um…. helpful…and loyal…"
"If they are on your side," Ash remarked. "This one doesn't seem to hate Pikachu as much as the last Mimikyu I met."
"It doesn't like Pip that much, but it stopped attacking him," said Amber.
"Amber and Jay claim that this Mimikyu is a level five-hundred," Misty announced.
The reactions were mixed:
"No way!"
"That's amazing!"
"It can't be!
"The aka lele," Misty murmured.
Keaka nodded. "This is the Pokémon who has been creating all this trouble." She kneeled in front of the Pokémon. Mimikyu let her pet its head. "Have you decided to stop yet?"
Mimikyu nodded and looked into the eyes of Amber and Jay. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
"Congratulations, children. You have given Mimikyu the gift of trust, and it decided to reciprocate. This is very lucky," said Keaka.
"Does this mean no more bad luck?" Jay asked.
"That is precisely what it means. Pokémon never lie. If this Pokémon says it is going to stop, then it will stop.'
'If it can create bad luck when it is distressed, why wouldn't it be able to make good luck when it is at peace?' Annastasia wondered.
"By the way, we know four Pokémon and a fusion that always lie," said Jessie.
"Dis again? I told yous years ago dat I only lie because yous make me," Meowth asserted.
"But you lie to us too," James pointed out.
"Dat's cuz humans corrupt Pokémon. »
Someone knocked on the door.
"I'll get it. You keep up your fun little chat," said Rita.
Rita grimaced and crossed her arms when she noticed who was standing on the stoop.
Everyone sensed the drama about to ensue and left the front room in order to go to other parts of the house.
"Why are you here? What do you want?" Rita demanded.
Ralph coughed and composed himself. "One of my close friends was one of the police officers who took those kids here."
"So?"
"I wanted to say that I am happy they made it back. When we were together, you talked about that Jezz kid a lot."
"We were never together. We worked next to each other for a tiny, miniscule, insignificant amount of time."
"We did more than just work."
Rita stepped onto the front porch. She shut the door so that no one from inside the house could hear them.
"I don't know what your problem is," she started. "You leave me because you get jealous for no reason, and then you try to make me agree to all these dumb things, now you are here, pretending that you care about Jezz…You left, and it took too long for you to return. Now leave."
"Um, Rita, I only left for a few days. Not that much time has passed since our last kiss."
"So, now I'm being overdramatic?"
"Yes, you are."
"It was an intense few days…and don't you dare insult me."
"It wasn't an insult."
Ralph muttered the words, then regretted it, and coughed, hoping Rita didn't pick up on it.
Obviously, she did. He resumed talking before she scolded him again.
"I didn't mean to make you so feel that way," he said, dipping his head in sincerity. "I am sorry. Making you upset was not my intention. I'm really, really, very sorry for hurting you."
"But you still did it," said Rita coldly. "Answer my question: Why are you here?"
"I want us to be friends. I have been trying to find a context to come talk to you, and this seemed like a good one, since I am genuinely curious to see how you and Jezz are doing," Ralph replied.
"I thought you didn't want to see me anymore."
"I never said that. I said—I said that we should get different partners because I didn't want you to play me anymore. I know what I said was harsh, but I am pissed that you ghosted me. Can you un-ghost me? I don't know what I did to make you so upset anyway. I figured you wouldn't care after I left. I was shocked when your friends casually mentioned that you were depressed because of me."
"A talked to you? You two talked about me?"
"She didn't say anything against you. I saw her at headquarters the other day. I asked her how you were feeling and she said that you were recovering physically but you were still depressed because I left you and got a new partner."
"Oh, okay…"
'That is something she would do,' Rita thought.
"It's a douche-bag move to dump one person because you think they are a whore only to go find a new girl the next day."
"I am not seeing anyone else," he told her.
"Liar. Annastasia told me you were with this new girl, and I know she isn't the innocent type. She replaced me as your Team Rocket partner, and the two of you drive around together," said Rita.
Ralph laughed. "I agree that she isn't the innocent type, but trust me, we aren't like that. She's my stepsister."
"Stepsister? You're kidding."
"No reason for you to be jealous. Speaking of envy, I am surprised that you are the jealous type. With the hundreds of guys you have hooked up with—"
"—I have not hooked up with hundreds of guys, and I am not jealous!"
"You were distressed when you saw me with some other person because you wanted me to be with you instead. That is what jealously is. Now, I told you what I want. Tell me what you want."
Rita rubbed her temples. She could only think of one good answer out of a handful of decent responses, but even the best option for some reason still seemed unappealing.
It was stressful for a girl who usually knows exactly what she wants, and how to get it, to be confronted and without a clue.
"I want us to be Team Rocket partners again," Rita finally answered.
"Sure," said Ralph.
"What's the catch?"
"I don't want to be your work partner if you are going to be bringing random guys into our assigned cabin or dorm room at night. If you work together, we are going to have to live together, at least sometimes, and I am not going to let you kick me out every time you decide to hook up with someone."
"You're missing the point."
"What is the point then?"
"My point is that I want us to go back to sleeping together. Just you and me."
Ralph crossed his arms. "And you want me to accept that? Accept being used? Not every person in the world is like you, Rita. Some of us want the people we sleep with to have some significance beyond a casual friendship. We can be friends, and you can see other people, but I am not going to let you use me."
"We can have more than just a casual friendship. We can have a…I don't know what to call it…like committed friends with benefits deal. I won't see other people, you won't see other people, and we'll see each other a lot."
"That is what I thought we were originally. I thought I was special to you, not the third guy this month. I feel like if we went back to that you would cheat on me at some point."
Rita huffed. "I didn't 'cheat' on you, ever. We had a misunderstanding. You didn't have to call me a bitch and leave me alone in this hospital, then trick me into thinking you had a new girlfriend the next day."
"I was upset. I am sorry I did that. But I didn't trick you, you misinterpreted things."
"So, was this just one big misunderstanding? Are we going to call it that and then agree to go back to the way things were?"
"You hurt me more than anyone else has ever when you told me that I was not the only one. Now I'm ready to move on. Can we do that? Learn from our mistakes and be an actual real couple?"
"I would like that, if…"
"If…?"
"I'm not sure how to say this without sounding like a bitch, but can we be discreet about this? I don't want to announce to the world that I have a bo—um boyfriend."
"Why? I am smart, exceedingly handsome, friendly, and not a complete failure."
Ralph laughed, even though he wasn't all that amused by her suggestion.
"I know all that, but…I have never been that type of girl, you know? The type that needs a guy. The type that loves white weddings and roses and diamond rings," she replied. "It's an uncomfortable identity for me to require."
"I think it is obvious that you don't actually need me, and never said I wanted a white wedding or roses or diamond rings," he responded. "I was only curious as to why you would feel ashamed of me."
"I am not ashamed…or…"
She paused again.
'I guess this means that I am. No, it doesn't mean that,' Rita thought.
"Please finish your sentence," Ralph requested.
"I don't like PDA. I don't like lots of snuggles, or holding hands, or cheesy gifts, or anything associated with Valentine's Day or White Day," she replied. "If you propose to me, I will say 'no', not matter how many gifts you get me. But…if you insist…I will tell people that you are my boyfriend. I will come home every night to you, and not go looking for other people. I will let you meet my parents, siblings, and friends. I will stand up for you whenever you need me to, and I won't yell at you anymore. Will you accept these conditions? Because this won't work out any other way."
"They are…strange…and restrictive, but I can deal. I like the part about you not yelling. You don't yell much, but it's nice you put that in there."
"Is that yes?"
She tried not to sound too enthusiastic about it, both silently agreed that she had failed.
"Sure. Seal it with a kiss?" he suggested.
"One more condition," she replied. "No using cheesy, cliché lines on me. But yeah, we can kiss. Just don't get weird about it."
After their exchange, Rita invited him to come inside. She was excited to see that Jezz was sitting up and talking, though it sounded like he was drugged, probably because he was. She went to him.
"Rita, I am so sorry. I am really, I can't explain how sorry I am," said Jezz, tears falling down his face.
Rita kneeled beside him while the others gave them some space. She took a tissue from the coffee table and wiped his face.
"Don't be a crybaby," she said. "I will probably eventually find some way to forgive you, but it is going to take a long time and it might not ever happen at all."
"Rita?" Jezz questioned worriedly. Then he smiled. "That was sarcasm, right?"
"Yes. I heard things were rough for you. Amber and Jay were telling me."
"They said that Hauana and Perry were killed. They said that you were hurt and that Annie and Michio were almost killed and, they didn't finish telling me everything that has happened, so I know there is more. I am so sad that this happened. I don't know what I am going to do. There is so my pain right now."
"Everything is going to work out. I've told myself that my whole life, and I haven't been wrong about it yet."
Jezz nodded while he attempted to process what she meant by that. "I can't believe that they are gone. It was such a horrible way to die, too."
"The Hales shouldn't have died, but it happens. People die every day, and it sucks. And while some ways of dying are better than others, there is no good way to die."
"I suppose…Can you tell me about all the other bad things that happened?"
"They are all little things. Don't worry about it. Rest instead."
"Yes, Ma'am."
He remembered that Rita didn't want to be called 'ma'am' and he apologized for it.
"You can call me whatever you want. If ma'am works for you, then it works for me," Rita replied as she got up off the ground. "I've finally given up on that battle."
Rita was replaced with Keaka, who decided that now was a good time to check his vital signs. His heartrate and blood pressure were still high but it was being normalized by the medication she had given him.
"It is good to see that you are calming down," said Keaka. "You had us worried about your health."
"My health has never been good, but you don't have to worry about me," Jezz replied.
"I looked at your medical history. There are a lot of holes, but I did notice that you should be taking a different medicine. The stuff you were taking isn't all that effective because it isn't strong enough. You must have skipped a lot of doses when you were a small child."
"I didn't have any medicine to take when I was little."
"No one ever gave you HIV medication before? When did you start taking it?"
"When Rita got it for me a few years ago."
"That was a nice thing for her to do, but you should have started taking it when you were an infant, not halfway through your childhood."
"This means that I am worse then. Am I going to die?"
"No! Not at all. It just means that you are going to have to be more careful. You are going to have to sleep more and take extra vaccinations. It will put a few limits on what you can do, but you shouldn't get too concerned about it. I suppose the worst part is that medicine costs a lot of money. While healthcare is free to people with relatively good health, it can be expensive for people who need a little extra help."
"But I was an expensive kid before! Now no one is ever going to take me in. I can't believe how much I messed everything up. I am a selfish money-leech. Not even the government will want to take care of me."
"You aren't selfish, or a money-leech. This isn't your fault. Other people who were supposed to be helping you were irresponsible. Everything will be okay."
With that, Keaka stood, and Rita returned to her spot in front of Jezz.
"I have a good idea, how about you live with Annastasia? She has a lot of money, and she's got to waste it on somebody," Rita suggested in a low voice.
Jezz looked up to where Annastasia was standing, except she wasn't there anymore. The only other people in the room were Rita, Ralph, Keaka, Amber, Jay, and Rita's Zorua. Not even their Pokémon were present. Before he was too distraught to notice that they all had left.
"She is in the other room," Rita whispered. "So, if you could, theoretically, would you like to do that? If you aren't sure, think about all the chocolate chip pancakes you will get to eat while you are there."
Jezz briefly smiled, then his face returned to the neutral frown.
"She has a lot do to," he said. "She wouldn't want to waste even more time on me. And she is young, and people will make fun of her when they find out she is like my new mom."
"Don't worry about A," Rita advised. "People have been making fun of her for her entire life, and it doesn't bother her much. And as soon as we get out of Alola, she is going to have quite a bit of free time. You could help her find ways to use it all up."
"I will use up all her money too."
"She needs to use it up on somebody. And you aren't going to use all of it. She's got a lot to spare. She might be the richest person in the world, she is at least in the top five. She has more money than her parents and Rumika combined because of what she inherited from her great-grandparents."
"You should know that Annastasia already agreed to have you come live with you. She was assigned as your legal guardian after the Hales died. She thought about it a lot. I think she will be upset if you decide not to go with her."
"Does Jezz really get to go live with A?" Amber questioned.
"It's the truth."
"I don't understand why. Did she ask to take him in?" Jay asked. "It does seem like something she would do…but still…"
"Since the Hales were able to legally adopt you right before they died, they got to pick out who would inherit you in case anything ever happened to them. They chose her as the backup guardian," Keaka replied.
"I never even knew that I was officially adopted," Jezz murmured.
"We would have told you, but you weren't around," said Rita.
"Oh yes," Jezz responded. "I am happy that I will get to live with her, but I still wish…it's still not fair that they died. I wish they didn't."
"It's bittersweet."
"This is cool. I am your…I am your uncle, and I am a year younger than you," Jay laughed.
"That's true, and super weird," said Amber.
Jezz grinned but it returned to a frown a moment later. Jay's intention was to get him to cheer up, but it was clear that all the bad news was too overwhelming for him to think positively.
"Sorry," Jay apologized. "Do you want to talk to my sister? We can go get her, and you can talk privately if you want."
"That would be nice. Not if she is busy though," Jezz responded.
"She won't be," Rita assured him.
Everyone except Jezz left the room. Annastasia and the others were feeding, brushing, and giving potions to the trio's Pokémon. Jay tapped Annastasia on the shoulder.
"Jezz wants to talk with you alone," he whispered.
Annastasia handed the Pokéchow she was feeding to Xatu to Jay. "I will be back in a few minutes. Give this food to Chimecho and don't let anyone interrupted us."
"Gotcha covered."
Annastasia grabbed a glass of water and headed into the family room. Jezz was sitting up, but his eyes were down. He lifted his head when he heard her approaching.
Annastasia handed him the water. "I know the IV is hydrating you, but I figured you'd probably want something to go down your throat if it's sore."
Jezz accepted the water. "Thank you."
"You're welcome. Jay told me that you wanted to speak privately."
"Rita said that I get to come live with you."
"Yes. The Hales wanted me to be your guardian if they couldn't."
"Do you really want me to come live with you, or are you only trying to be nice? I would rather have you not lie to me. Please tell me the truth, even though I don't deserve it."
"First of all, you do deserve the truth because everyone does. Secondly, I really do want you to come live with me. I have spent hours each day since I heard the news thinking about this. I was overwhelmed at times because I was worried that you would not be happy staying with me. I thought maybe you'd be intimidated, or unhappy, or not trust me. Then I decided that I would be willing to take that risk if you consented to the arrangement. I was not overjoyed by the news, because I know that you are coming under difficult circumstances, but I am ready. I want you to come. If you don't want to come, that is okay, I will recover from the loss. Like you, I don't want someone to lie to me in order to spare my feelings."
"I trust you, even though I lied. I have a problem, and I want people to help me. I want to be able to have people that are tough enough to suffer through all my issues and not leave."
"Like the dynamic duo."
"Yes, like Amber and Jay. Also, there are many things that you do not know about me and I feel bad about hiding it because it is a big part of my life and I think that I should warn you."
Annastasia knew what he was talking about. "We can save that discussion for some other time, unless you really want to do it now."
Jezz thought about it. "I want to talk about it now, and get it over with."
"Okay. Before you talk though, I should let you know that I know a lot more than I think you realize. When we were looking for you, some important issues came up. Rita told me about your experience at Spectrum. Rita didn't want to tell us, but she had to. And not a lot of people know about this, only a handful of people do, and no one is making a fuss about it."
"And you still want me to live with you? Even though I am…confused?"
"I don't think you are confused at all. I think you are already very certain about what kind of person you are, and who you want to be, and how you are going to do it. I believe that you are surer about yourself than anyone else that I know, including myself. I definitely still want you to come with me."
"Thank you. I thought maybe you'd be upset or ashamed or feel sorry for me."
"I am sorry for you because you are an orphan and people have been so mean to you. I won't pity you once you become un-orphaned and people are nicer to you, and that will happen if you come live with me. I swear that's the truth."
"Honestly, I feel this is too good to be true."
"If it were too good to be true, you and I would never get sick again, the Hales would still be alive, and Rita, Michio, and I would not have been in car accidents, and you wouldn't have had to go through all this suffering."
"The car accident, is that where you got that scar? I didn't mean to stare, but..."
"Yes. I got cut by some glass. I am not ashamed of it though. I am grateful that I didn't get it in my eyes."
Jezz winced. "That would have been horrible."
"Yes indeed. By the way, what did you do with my mace?"
Jezz's face turned red. "It is in my bag."
Annastasia walked over to his bag and dug through until she found it.
"You carried this around? It is twenty-five pounds," she said.
"I know," he replied, looking down. "I am a strong person. I needed to use it in order to open coconuts. We never found any though, so it was a waste of mace."
"Next time you steal my mace and go time traveling, at least warn me first."
"I will, I swear. But I do not feel as though I am going to do that again. And…who am I supposed to thank for rescuing us? Amber, Jay and I don't know if it was Xatu, Mimikyu, or someone else who decided to help us. We all think it was Mimikyu, but then I heard someone saying that it was Sandshrew, because you did that experiment with it. I am confused."
"So am I. Sandshrew claims that he succeeded, but why do you think it was Mimikyu?"
"Mimikyu started the curse, and we thought it ended it too."
"That makes sense…I suppose we do not know who to thank then. Anyway, what matters is that you've returned, and everything is going to be okay."
"Thanks to you." Jezz bowed. "You have done so much for me."
Annastasia glanced towards the kitchen. "I had a lot of help. I am going to tell everyone that it is okay to come back in here. Is that okay?"
"Yes. Thank you so very much."
"Anytime."
XO
In The Next Chapter:
- -Jezz has a dream
- The Allamanda Contest
- Pre-conclusion