Alola Trials

by chipotlepeppers

The Pokemon trainers introduced in 'Heroine' go on their second journey. Now that they are better able to handle the trials of the Pokemon world, they choose to explore Alola, expecting it to be a paradise and vacation of sorts. When Michio tells them of a harbinger he saw in the sky, they don't believe him, until the harbinger delivers its tumultuous trials. Sequel to 'Heroine'.

39. To Us

AN: This chapter was updated/revised on April 2, 2020.

---

AN: I decided to make this chapter two parts because I couldn't find anything to take out:) This is the last chapter (basically 2 chapters) before the epilogue. Please enjoy:)

---

To Us

"Here's to us, here's to love
All the times that we fucked up
Here's to you, fill the glass
'Cause the last few days have kicked my ass
So let's give 'em hell
Wish everybody well, here's to us, here's to us."

Halestorm

Part 1

Out of their group of eight competitors, Jocelyn was the first to go up for the performance section, though she was the tenth person out of everyone total. Instead of being nervous, she was frantic, trying to fix her hair last minute.

"I am up after two more people. Help me, Flaafy!" Jocelyn squeaked as she rushed to a mirror.

Flaafy handed her the curling iron. Jay took it away.

"You're going to burn your hair if you keep using this," he admonished.

"Fee," said Flaafy, agreeing with Jay.

"You aren't even supposed to be back here!" Jocelyn argued. "Go sit in the crowd so that you can watch me!"

"I'm only trying to help. Last time you had some frizz," Jay responded as he doused her curls with hairspray. "And I can see you clearly from back here."

He used the smooth end of a brush to fix her curl, and Jocelyn grumbled as he tried to fix her mascara as well. Jezz was standing nearby, leaning against a stool. He knew by now that it was pointless to try to stop Jay when it came to styling.

While he was drifting in thought, an Alolan girl who looked about Jocelyn's age tapped him on the shoulder.

"You were one of the kids that were kidnapped!" she loudly announced.

Everyone in the backstage area turned to look at him. She also pointed out Jay, though Amber was in the audience and not visible from where they were standing.

"No, we weren't kidnapped, you have misunderstood the reports," said Jezz.

"They got lost," Jocelyn told the group of contestants currently staring at them.

Jezz turned to Jay. Jay nervously scratched the back of his head.

"Yeah, and ummm, we only want the attention of the judges," Jay added when no one refused to take their eyes off them.

The little girl who called them out apologized. A few people continued to look at them and whispered suspiciously, but the majority of the thirty contestants competing decided to leave them alone. Then three other people came up to them, and the moment Jezz saw the trio, he knew they were going to antagonize him.

"Hi, Jessica," Haku announced.

Jezz gulped nervously and looked away. Luckily no one else heard her, because for once she wasn't obnoxiously loud.

"I am talking to you," she asserted, forcing herself into his view.

Jay and Jocelyn noticed this girl talking to Jezz and walked over so that they were standing on either side of him. Anika and June also noticed this, but they backed off, keeping their distance until they felt they were needed.

"Me?" Jezz responded. "My name is Jezz Morgan. If you don't believe me, look it up."

"Oniisan, did Jezz get his name officially fixed?" Jocelyn whispered to Jay.

"Annastasia made it his legal name two days ago," he whispered back.

"Don't be fresh. We come bearing good news," Haku announced. "Lona, explain."

"We are officially apologizing, and we are never going to bother with you again because you are a waste of time anyway," the teen explained.

"Thank you," Jezz replied.

"That wasn't a nice apology!" Jocelyn complained.

"We weren't talking to you, brat, I was talking to Jess," Haku scolded.

"His name is 'Jezz', not 'Jess'. He doesn't have a girl name anymore."

Jezz turned red and looked to Jay, who shrugged. Haku and the other two girls laughed.

"As we said, we decided that you weren't worth our time and energy, and we decided to be nice and let you know we aren't going to be looking for you again, ever," said Haku.

"But don't forget, there at least three people in this world who you are never going to be able to fool," Alina remarked.

The three of them walked away, leaving Jezz speechless. As much as Jocelyn wanted to help in the consolation, the judges had just announced her name, and it was time for her and Flaafy to take the stage and perform. June, Anika, Maya, Lily, Jay, Gracie, and Cassandra watched from backstage. Jay and Jezz watched her from the television monitor located towards the back so that they could avoid the other contestants.

Flaafy performed a perfect Double Team on Cotton Spore attack, while Minun hit each spore with a Thunderbolt. The judges awarded her with beauty and cleverness points, and she returned backstage with an enormous smile.

"You did so well. I hope I do as well as you did," Cassandra said the moment they returned.

"Flaafy and Minun were perfect. You are a remarkable young trainer," Jezz praised. "I am amazed every time I watch you."

"That is so sweet, Jezz," said June. "Jocelyn, that was great. You're a star."

"Thank you! I am so happy I didn't mess up. I wasn't sure if my routine was good," Jocelyn responded.

"Minununun," Minun chattered.

"Flaaafy, Flaaa," Flaafy asserted.

"Bo, bo," said Pinky.

Jocelyn hugged the Minun, Flaafy, and Bounsweet.

"You're the bestest Pokémon," she told them.

"Your Pokémon are proud," Anika remarked. "That's good—means they're confident."

"Thanks, Anika. I hope you do well."

"I probably will."

"I bet you're right."

"When do you go up?" June asked.

Anika gestured to an Alolan girl and her team of Pokémon.

"After that person," she told the group.

"That's Lona. She is Haku and Alina's friend," Jay whispered to the other kids. "She's a bully. She hates my family because they are members of the Kapule Klan, and everyone in the Kapule Klan hates anything related to Team Rocket."

"That is too bad because her Dragonair and Lurantis look amazing," said Benny. "How come all the mean people are always the best at things?"

"You're wrong," Jocelyn told Benny. "Because we are going to get more points than her anyway."

"Yeah," Gracie agreed. "More points than her and everyone else in that Kap—whatever Klan."

"I gotta go line up," said Anika. "Wish me luck."

Five minutes later, Anika anxiously entered the stage with her Stufful and Simisear.

"Simisear is my favorite fire-type after Charizard," Soledad told Tamaki and Takeshi. "I always wanted to catch that Pokémon."

"Maybe you can make a trade," Takeshi suggested.

"I would, but Ani really likes to use Simisear for contests. But, maybe one day…"

Anika's Pokémon pulled off a routine that involved Simisear's Flame Wheel and Stufful's ability to leap many times its own height. Everyone was in awe, not only because of Stufful's high jump but also because the Pokémon was able to careen through the Flame Wheel effortlessly.

That was incredible!" Gracie squealed as Anika returned to backstage. "I thought Stufful was going to get hurt."

"Sufff Stuffl Stu Stuffl," said the Pokémon.

"Stufful is saying that he was nervous when they first started, but now he really likes doing the routine," Maya explained.

"Sta, suff, sta."

"He trusts Anika a lot."

"Awe, you're a sweetie," Anika said as she fed her Pokémon team some treats. "All of you are."

Anika offered the treats to Maya and Lily too. Maya passed hers to Lily—because Persim was her girlfriend's favorite flavor.

"Are you scared they are going to disqualify you again?" Benny asked Maya.

"No, because Sandshrew and Annastasia made a case for me, and now that is illegal for them to discriminate against Pokemon," Maya replied.

"That advocacy thing is a nice benefit for us Pokémon. Sandshrew is good for a lot of things, I just wish it wasn't a huge jerk about it," said Lily.

"Maybe that'll someday change," said June.

"It's a long shot, but maybe."

Meanwhile, Ralph and Rita were sitting in the second row. Rita had just finished listing all the names of the contestants from their group.

"What about those other kids that Soledad and Ani were hanging out? You know, Tomoko, Flare, Ani's cousin…there were others…why aren't they doing the contest?" Ralph asked as he observed the children and teens sitting nearby.

"Not interested, I guess," Rita answered.

"Why isn't Jay doing the contest? He loves the limelight."

"He wasn't prepared at all. The only reason Jezz was able to prepare in such a short period of time was because he planned his routine a month in advance. Plus, Jay suggested one time that he wasn't interested in going all the way to the Alola Grand Festival. He probably didn't want to risk winning and taking the chance away from one of his friends. After all, he is one of the best out there."

"He is a sweet kid. He probably didn't now that he could give his ribbon away if he wanted to."

"Maybe, but I don't think any of his friends would have accepted it anyway."

"They are nice. I am surprised you like nice little kids."

"They aren't always so sweet and innocent. They have attitudes sometimes—and everyone knows the sweetness gets increasingly acrid as they get older."

"That is a negative outlook."

"It's a truthful outlook."

"I still don't get why you are obsessed with them suddenly; you said you hardly knew most of them, and never even met the others until last year."

"I was around kids my whole life. Even though these kids don't have as many problems as the kids that I am used to working with, I still like them, and they like me."

"I was going to playfully tease you, but that might be too romantic for you."

"And you'd be right."

Jezz was up directly after Anika, who had earned even more cleverness points than Jocelyn, but Jocelyn still had the most points overall. Meanwhile, Jezz realized that he wasn't as nervous as he was for the last contest. He walked over to the side-stage and peered out into the crowd. Amber was watching him. Jay caught them locking eyes.

"Is Amb making you nervous?" Jay asked Jezz.

"No," he answered.

"She said you were acting weird around her."

"Thank you for looking out for me, but now it is my turn to go up."

"Then go. No matter what happens out there, everyone is proud of you."

Jay dashed out of the tent.

"Chimecho, Furfrou, this is your time," Jezz whispered to his Pokémon. "I love you. Let's do our best today."

One on stage, Jezz introduced a total of fifteen rubber balls to Chimecho, who used his long tail to toss the balls to Furfrou. Furfrou allowed each ball to bounce off the tip of his nose, while Chimecho suspended the discarded balls using his psychic abilities.

"It's a simple idea, but the results are great. Jezz got high points in every category. And we were worried he'd be underprepared," Soledad told Tomoko.

"I haven't spent that much time with the kid, but I'd say he's pretty cool. I like him a lot," Tomoko revealed.

"You aren't going to meet a guy like him anywhere else."

Cassandra had her turn three people later, then Maya was up five people after that, and right after her, it was Benny's turn. He, Jackson, and Shellder entered the stage as the last first-round contestants of the night.

"He doesn't look as nervous this time as he did the last time," Flare noticed.

"Because this time he knows what to expect," Tamaki responded.

"Bugseon is not a common Pokémon in general, because not many people choose to put in the time and effort it took to train an Eevee to learn bug type moves, not when they could have a fire, electric, water, ice, fairy, grass, dragon, rock, earth, fighting, flying, poison, ghost, psychic, dark, or nuclear-type eevolution," Carol remarked.

"But we can still be impressed, even though most people do not like this eevolution," Tobie added.

"Why don't people like this eevolution?" Tamaki asked.

"Don't you know that bug-types are consistently ranked low or last on the yearly lists of 'most popular', 'most liked', and 'most envied' Pokémon?"

"Never heard of that. But it doesn't matter—Benny's Bugseon Jackson is one of a kind anyway."

Jackson used String Shot while Shellder used Water Gun. Combined, the substances created a rubbery constituent, which they used to shoot weightless bouncy balls at the audience. Several people screamed and stood up, but after realizing that the product was harmless, the audience laughed and cheered.

"Well done! Benny, you've created so much laughter and applause," Jocelyn gushed when his routine was through.

"I think you got the greatest reaction out of everyone," said Gracie.

"Congratulations, that was very well done," Maya added.

"But I didn't get as many points," Benny said glumly, observing the scoreboard.

"But you still made it to the second round," June pointed out. "You have the chance to make the points up, and you don't, remember it's only a contest. There's nothing to lose."

"I know. I want to make everyone proud, do something cool for once. Plus, Jackson just evolved and it would be like a double victory if we get to win in at least one category and make it to the final round."

"Wait, are you saying that theoretically, one person can win all six categories?" Anika eagerly inquired. "If so, how come I didn't know this?"

"It isn't true," Cassandra cut in. "If a person has the highest amount of points in more than one category, then that person has to pick their preference and then the judges pick the second-place winner to enter the second round."

"But it isn't going to happen this time either," Anika observed as she pointed to the scoreboard.

"Yeah, it looks close. Hey, all eight of us made it!" Jocelyn exclaimed. "This is amazing!"

"See, I told you that you wouldn't be total failures," Lily responded.

"Haku and her friends also made it," Jezz whispered to Jay. "What if they make it to the top twelve? Then I might have to face one of them."

"It's your chance to beat her," Jay replied.

Tamaki entered the backstage. "I know they don't want too many family and friends coming back here, but I figured since Jay and Lily are here, I might as well stop by."

Benny hugged Tamaki. "How did I do? Do you think it was good or was it a dumb idea?"

Tamaki ruffled his hair. "It was great, not dumb at all."

The second round went as smoothly as the first, with everyone making it to the battle rounds, which always took place after the performance and beauty rounds.

"I am not surprised that everyone made it, they worked very hard," Lucario told Annastasia.

"They've taken a liking to you and you to them," she noted.

"Yes."

"Good."

"There seems to be something else on your mind."

She chuckled; Lucario, her guardian Pokémon, could always tell.

"I'm thinking about how they let Maya compete this time," said Annastasia. "And while not everyone in the audience approves, it seems most do, and I'm proud of that—not because I did anything, but just because…it's a big step for them, ya know? Lily and Maya are spearheading the Pokémon-as-coordinators movement. Even though it makes sense to me that a Pokémon knows a Pokémon better than a human does, and therefore could make a good or even superior coach, what they are doing isn't as simple as it seems on the surface. Am I making any sense?"

"You are," Lucario responded. "It was wrong for them to disqualify her because she is a Pokémon—it should have never happened."

Lucario seemed hesitant. Annastasia felt something on him that she never did before: apprehension. Something was making him Michio-in-a-crowd level anxious.

"You are concerned about the attention this Pokémon Rights Movement will bring to you," Annastasia inferred. "You enjoy your life of coexisting from a distance and fear that this meshing of classes will disrupt your way of life."

"I fear nothing of that sort," Lucario softly replied. "As long as you, Annastasia, remember that not all of my people want what Lily and Maya are striving for."

"I will make sure no one ever makes you pay property taxes."

Lucario laughed. Annastasia beamed; the Pokémon rarely laughed.

They were interrupted by the announcer, who was about to reveal who was going to battle whom.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, for the top twelve for the Allamanda Contest!" he declared as he pointed to the now-lit monitor.

"I'm battling Gracie! Oh no!" Jocelyn cried.

"Flaaa!" Flaafy moaned, his voice quivering.

"Minunun!" Minun groaned in disappointment.

"It's okay," said Gracie. "It will be like when we practice: we will both try our best, and may the best team win."

"Yeah," Jocelyn hesitantly agreed.

"Fee," Flaafy sighed, still peeved by the outcome.

"I have to fight Maya," Anika moaned. Anika found Maya several feet away from where she was standing and walked up to her. "Maya, are you battling yourself, or do you have another Pokémon helping you?"

"It is a double battle and Logan offered to battle with me," she responded.

"Are you kidding me?" Lily gaped. "I thought you were teaming up with Plusle!"

"I was originally, but Plusle's all stuffed up so Logan is taking her place."

"I bet that's why Logan agreed to dye his fur…He wanted to look cool for the performance. Maya, I trust your judgment, but Logan is…he is…you know…"

"The best there ever was," Logan declared as he and Squirtle Gun strutted up to them.

"No, you aren't. You only know one and a half moves."

Logan proudly patted Squirt Gun on the back. "Not anymore. I've been practicing with my friend here."

"Okay…" Lily had a hard time believing it. "If you say so. I hope you've at least been working on your dodging skills."

"I've been cross-training, so I'd say I'm good on that."

"I'm going to have to battle Lona," they heard June complain. The Pokémon turned around. June, Cassandra, and Jezz were right behind them. "Jezz, that is the girl who was talking to you before. I can tell by your expression that you don't like her. Was she mean to you when you were living in Alola?"

"Yes," Jezz replied. "She was a bully to me."

"Then I suppose it's extra important for me to win."

"Not specifically."

"Don't tell me otherwise. If she picked on you—she might as well have picked on me, or Takeshi, or any one of us."

"That's sorta what it means to have friends," Jay remarked. He fist-bumped June. "You'll do awesome June—you always do."

"And no pressure," Cassandra added. "I just noticed that I'm taking on Alina. June told me she was also bothering you."

"That is correct," Jezz replied. "I am honestly relieved you are battling them."

"Why do you say that?" June asked.

"Because it means that the chances are, they will lose."

"That's what I like to hear," Cassandra replied, fist-bumping Jezz.

"Thank you both very much," Jezz replied.

"Who has to battle the other evil trio member, that leader girl?" Lily asked as she squinted at the monitor. "Ohhh shit."

"It's okay, Jezz. You can do this," Jay encouraged.

"I will most certainly try," Jezz responded, nearly gulping, as he glanced at Haku's profile picture.

"That's the spirit," said Jocelyn. "You can win!"

"Fee!" Flaafy cheered.

'If I don't win to spite my enemies, I will do it to please my friends,' Jezz thought.

The group headed towards the outdoor arena with mixed emotions, although a common theme among them was anxiety.

It made several of them wonder why kids their age were often uneasy.

To the left of the arena there was a tent, and the battlers waited in there until it was their turn to go while the audience was relocated to the bleachers.

"I'm here," Amber announced as she entered the holding tent. She walked right up to Jezz and put her hands on his shoulders, compelling him to look at her directly. "You okay?"

"I believe I am. I have fought many bullies before. She will be no different," he decided.

Amber smiled with relief. "I am glad you think that because my intention was to run over here and make you think that."

"I understand you better now and I had a feeling that would be your course of action."

"I wonder if you will ever learn to talk more like a kid."

"I will try to do that too."

"I'm going to go back to the audience so that I can get a better view of the battles," Jay told Amber. "I'd rather watch them live than on the monitor. Good luck, Jezz. I have faith, and remember—if this matters to you—you've already made us proud."

"What you think does matter to me. And thank you."

"I wish you luck too," said Amber. "And…"

She abruptly reached into her pocket, pulled out a small object, and held it out to Jezz.

"This is my luck arrowhead," she said. "Even strong people need a little luck—and a redhead is the best person to give it to ya. You can't keep it though. Just hold onto it for now and give it back to me after you win."

"I will," Jezz said as he accepted the gift. He pressed his hands together and bowed to her. "This is incredibly kind. Thank you."

Amber raised her eyebrows; in Kanto, the hand-press meant 'extra thanks' or 'extra sorry'. She wondered if Jezz knew this.

She reckoned he probably did.

"Np," she said with her classic salute. "See ya."

"Yeah, see ya soon," Jay added.

Jezz watched them leave and waited for that last little wave that both of them always gave him whenever they parted. Then he looked to his other friends.

"Fruuu Furfrou," Furfrou chanted as he licked Jezz's hand.

"We are the last ones up. Did you notice that too?" Jezz inquired.

Both Furfrou and Chimecho nodded. They walked over to the television located near the back of the tent, which showed the matches to the battlers in waiting. Jocelyn and Gracie were the first of their group to go up.

"Grace Miller will reveal her Pokémon first," the official declared after she lost the coin toss.

Gracie revealed her Mudsdale and Toucannon. Jocelyn chose Flaafy and Slowbro.

"When did Jocelyn get a Slowbro? Is she borrowing it from someone?" Annastasia asked.

"She met that Slowpoke at the Surfrider Beach. It evolved with her Shellder," said Mewtwo, who was once again disguised as a Lucario.

"I guess she wanted it to be a surprise."

"That is what she implied," Lucario affirmed.

Watching the battle between the two girls was more exciting than the audience probably anticipated. Jocelyn's Slowbro defeated Mudsdale in almost no time at all, though she struggled in the second round when Gracie enlisted Toucannon. Toucannon beat Slowbro but later was defeated by Flaafy. Jocelyn won.

Gracie and Jocelyn shook hands after the match.

"Congrats," said Gracie. "If I had to lose…I'm glad that you were the one to beat me."

"Anytime," Jocelyn replied.

"Fee, fee!" Flaafy giggled.

Jocelyn noticed Gracie watching Haku, Lona, and Alina.

"I wish I could have beaten someone else though," Jocelyn sighed.

"Well, as fate had it be, one of us had to lose," Gracie replied.

Gracie, Jocelyn, and their Pokémon rejoined the other contestants backstage.

"That was fantastic," Jezz told the girls and their monz. "Your lovely Pokémon were very effective and efficient. Mudsdale's Earthquake was the best I've ever seen in a level-forty Pokémon, and Flaafy's Special Attack stat must have risen since last I checked."

"Awe, thanks," Gracie said as she patted Mudsdale.

"Fla," Flaafy said with a bow.

"We all worked hard, especially them," Jocelyn said as she gestured to the Pokémon. "Glad you noticed."

"Next up is Maya and Logan versus Ani," Benny declared as he took another glance at the lineup.

"Yep. It's now or never, Maya," said Anika.

Anika chose Talonflame and Yanmega. Maya and Logan decided to handle this battle themselves.

"Have you been training with Logan?" Annastasia asked Michio.

"A little bit," he replied. "He hasn't improved much though. He has some good moves, but…well, you'll see."

Logan was up first against Yanmega. The bug-type Pokémon used Shock Wave to blow him halfway across the battlefield. He witnessed some Alolan natives laughing at him, but he pressed forward. He attacked Yanmega with Shadowball, but his aim was off.

"He is certainly trying," Lily said to Amber and Nolan, who were sitting on each side of her.

"That Shadowball was a decent size," Nolan noted. "if he could aim it, then he could win."

"Unless he's got some other moves," Amber mused. "Ones that don't require much aiming."

'He doesn't have any other moves,' Lily thought.

Yanmega beat Logan after his second, and more powerful, Shadowball once again missed. A second Shock Wave had blown him across the stadium and it took him over one minute to produce a new attack, thus disqualifying him.

"In Kanto, there is a two-minute rule, but here it is a one-minute rule," Logan bitterly mumbled as he drifted to the sidelines of the arena.

Maya was upset, not only for Logan, but also because now she had two Pokémon to battle, and Yanmega was hardly weakened by any of Logan's attempted hits.

"I feel sorry for him, but I feel very sorry for Maya," June sighed. "Now she either has to forfeit or battle both of Ani's Pokémon by herself."

"Ani appears to be unhappy about it too," Cassandra noted.

"Yeah. I wish they could both win," Jocelyn lamented.

"Flaaa, fee," Flaafy murmured.

a moment of hesitation, Maya jumped high into the air, claws out, and used Fury Swipes on Yanmega. Yanmega shook her off, but she got right back on.

"Look at her, she's savage!" Lily happily exclaimed. "Go, Maya!"

Maya could hear the cheers coming from her group. She pressed forward, and eventually, her Fury Swipes took the bug Pokémon down.

"Super impressive," she heard one of the judges comment, and that motivated her further.

Maya was next faced with Talonflame. She knew Talonflame would be a bigger challenge, especially because she wouldn't be abie to use her Fury Swipes without getting burned. She opted for her only Special Attack—Shadowball—instead.

On the third attempt, she managed to get Talonflame down.

"Maya is one of the most magnificent Pokémon ever," Jezz commented.

"So is Logan, if he practiced his aim more then he could be a champion," Cassandra replied.

"Oh yes, I wasn't suggesting that Logan was unimpressive. Rather I was admiring her talent as it is relative to her."

"I figured you didn't mean any harm by the comment anyway."

Jezz watched as each pair went up against one another. Occasionally, he turned his head to look at Haku, and a few times, he caught her watching him. He was starting to let his nervousness get the best of him when Annastasia and Michio came into the tent.

"We wanted to check on you," Annastasia told Jezz. "We saw who you were up against."

"I know you don't like her, Michio. Maybe I can beat her for you," said Jezz.

"Beat her for your own sake," Michio advised. "I know I wasn't the only one she fucked up."

Jezz nodded. "I will do my best, I promise, swear, I will."

"I know you will."

"I wanted to make sure you weren't freaking out. And I have your food if you want anything," said Annastasia.

"I ate enough food on the ferry," Jezz replied.

"Good. Make sure you drink a lot of water. Do you have your water bottle with you?"

Jezz reached into his bag and held it up for her to see.

"Good. I'll leave you alone now," she responded.

She started to walk away, but Jezz reached out to her. "You can stay."

"I don't want to nag you more," she told him.

"Other than Hauana and Perry, no one ever asked me questions like that before. I don't mind. I am happy about it."

"Awe," said June. Jezz was embarrassed—he didn't realize his friends could hear them. "Jezz, that's the sweetest thing. A, can you believe it?"

"Hardly," she said with a laugh.

"That'll change, give it a few weeks," Lily remarked. "He will turn into a teenager."

"But he will be a sweet teenager," June retorted.

"That is nice to say, June," Jezz nervously responded.

Seeing how worried he was, Annastasia and Michio decided to sit in the tent until it was his turn to battle. Like Jay, she wanted to see him live.

"Jezz, you're up," said Anika, snapping Jezz to the present.

"Yes. I will see you after the battle," he responded, trying to sound determined and not scared.

Everyone wished him luck as he exited the tent and headed to the trainers' platform.

"It's nice to have to face another girl," Haku whispered to Jezz as she walked past him, towards her own platform.

'I thought she was going to be nice for now on. Maybe that was a lie,' Jezz thought.

His Pokémon noticed how his expression changed from determination into sadness. They both came closer to him.

"Chimecho?"

"Frou?"

"Sorry, I forgot that I have to return you to your balls. I will let you out soon, I promise," he said as he opened their Pokéballs.

The Pokémon kept talking to him. "I'm fine," he added in a whispered before he stuck both balls onto his belt.

Jezz chose tails on the coin flip, and it landed heads, which meant that he had to reveal his Pokémon first. He decided to stick with Chimecho and Furfrou. Haku went with Mienshao and Delphox.

The first battle was Chimecho versus Delphox.

"Flamethrower. Burn that puny scarf!" Haku ordered.

Delphox ran towards the floating Pokémon, flaming stick in hand. It was clear to Jezz that this Pokémon was worked up from some previously bottled-up anger, and that this was what was driving the Pokémon.

"Chimecho, fly upwards then use your Heal Bell," Jezz instructed.

Delphox stopped in his tracks. A content, sleepy look came over his face, and all the rage was gone.

"Hey, get going! Flamethrower!" Haku yelled.

"Delllphoxxxxx," Delphox sighed.

Haku yelled some more, and Delphox got up. Chimecho used Heal Bell again, and Delphox decided that it would rather lay contently on the ground and absorb the healing essence rather than fight. Haku was outraged, the audience was baffled, and the judges disqualified them for breaking the one-minute rule.

"Victory number one. Thank you, love," Jezz told Chimecho.

"Chi," the Pokémon sang, twirling contently in the air.

"Take a break. I'm going to let Furfrou take on the cat."

Jezz returned Chimecho and released Furfrou while Haku sent out Mienshao.

"It's a classic: cat versus dog," James observed.

"But cat always beats dog," Meowth retorted. "Except dis time, I dink yere right."

"Lieeee," Peruva cried, as she watched Mienshao attempt to kick Furfrou in the face.

"Whose side is she on?" Cassandra asked Michio.

"Prrrow," Peruva moaned. "Prrr."

"Our side. She is hoping that Furfrou will beat Mienshao up," Lily translated. "But she wishes it wasn't so."

"Good. I can't believe that Mienshao played you. Actually, I can believe it, but it sucks," Michio told Peruva. "You were too good for him anyway."

"Lie," she said with a smile.

"My Pokédex says that Furfrou is a normal type and Mienshao is a fighting-type," Benny said as he showed Jocelyn his dex. "Jezz should've picked a fairy or psychic-type Pokémon, because then he'd have the advantage."

"But Furfrou is one of Jezz's oldest, strongest, and wisest Pokémon," Jocelyn replied. "He told me so. I bet he's got a trick up his sleeve."

"Feeya," Flaafy agreed.

Furfrou's 'trick' was his Hidden Power move. It defaulted to a psychic-type move, which was powerful to knock Mienshao out with just one hit.

"Jezz beat her! He won! He won! Yessss! Ha-ha! I knew he'd win!" Jay cheered.

"Yay, Oniisan!" Jocelyn screamed.

"Feeeee!" Flaafy exclaimed.

"I'm so happy for him," Annastasia breathed. Only Michio heard. "This battle was probably nerve-racking for him."

"Amb, isn't it like, amazing he won?" Jay asked, shaking his best friend's arm.

"It's great," Amber said with a smile. She brushed Jay's hands off her forearm. "I knew that arrowhead would work."

"C'mon, you knew he'd do it even without that lucky charm."

"You're not wrong, my friend. Let's go congratulate him and his monz."

Meanwhile, Michio and Annastasia watched Amber and Jay approach Jezz from a distance.

"If Jezz teams up with Jay and Amber for Multi-Battles in the League, they'll be unstoppable," Michio remarked.

"Hm…elaborate," Annastasia replied.

"Because Jezz gives Jay and Amber everything they lack."

"And Amber and Jay are his greatest mentors."

"That's what I mean."

"I was thinking the same thing. Like Ash and Brock, or Paul and Alain, Misty and May, or Iris and Dawn, my parents…All of them were Pokémon League tag-team champions. There are few competitions designed for triads, but if we look, we shall find."

"Do you think he'd like that?"

It made her warm to think that instead of dwelling on his agoraphobic thoughts, Michio was thinking about the well-being of another—the kid that was somewhere among a brother, friend, and son.

"I think Jezz would like that," Annastasia replied. "It depends. He wants to go to school, do research, write a book, mirror politicians…where we go and when and how is going to depend on what he wants and what is physically possible."

"I know," Michio replied, thinking of Jezz's worsening health. "But if we help, I bet we can move things in the right direction."

Annastasia took her eyes of the young trio, smiled widely, then rested her head on Michio's shoulder.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I am surprised at how calm you are right now," she told Michio. "This place is crowded, your enemies are nearby, and you just witnessed an intense battle. That's great."

"I don't think it's that great," he mumbled.

"Why would you say that?"

"It's the first time I did this without medication. Pathetic, right?"

"I said, 'don't take this the wrong way'. I think that should make you prouder, not the opposite. You've come so far."

Michio didn't look back on the pith of his recovery fondly, but that didn't mean he wanted it to be forgotten entirely. Annastasia could understand without demanding details—it was one of the things he loved most about her.

"Did you notice something else?" Annastasia inquired.

"No, what?" he responded.

Annastasia pointed to the concluded scoreboard.

'I did it!' Jezz silently cheered. 'I got the most points overall, winning the contest, again. How does something like this happen to a person like me?'

Jezz tried not to look too proud as he accepted the champion ribbons from the chief judge.

"Congrats, young man. You are the first male trainer to ever win this contest," said the judge.

'Probably because I am one of the only boys to sign up,' Jezz thought.

"Thank you so very much, Sir," he told the judge.

Before Jezz headed back to the tent, he looked at to the audience and saw Rita, standing there with Ralph. A memory popped into his head. He had seen them together before, when he had looked out into the audience and saw them standing there in their uniforms. At the time, he didn't acknowledge them as together, and for him it seemed it was a coincidence that they ran into each other. But this time there were no uniforms, and Jezz could tell that the energy between them had changed, even though he was half a football field away.

Everyone in his karmic circle was overjoyed to see his victory, and they all tackled him with a group hug and gave him compliments the moment they had the chance.

"I thought you all would be…no so happy…because you didn't win yourselves," he told the group.

"No, we are proud of you. For us, this was just another contest. For you, this is something amazing," June replied.

"You had loads to overcome, but you still did it," said Takeshi.

"You beat Haku!" Logan cheered.

"You showed everyone that you could win even though you didn't have as much time as everyone else to get ready," said Cassandra.

"You are two steps closer to the Grand Festival," said Soledad. "I want to see you reach the top."

"You will totally make it to the top," said Tamaki, playfully hitting his back.

Jay gushed along with the others. Amber watched Jezz in silence. In her eyes and mind, nothing had changed. Whether Jezz lost or won didn't make her impression of him change.

He would still be the Jay look alike, talented rival, and consistently erudite, and ever mysterious more-than-a friend.

"Thank you for lending me your lucky arrowhead," Jezz said as he held it out to her.

Amber sniggered. "It's not a good luck charm."

"It isn't?"

"Nah. It's just an arrowhead that I bought and thought looked cool."

"Then why did you tell me it was lucky?"

"Cuz I have this belief that if you believe you can do something, you will eventually do it."

"It was still thoughtful and generous for you to let me borrow it."

Jezz was still holding it out to her. Amber used both hands to close Jezz's hand around the weapon-turned-trinket.

"Keep it," she said.

The compliments kept flowing from friends, family, even people Jezz hardly knew. He could tell they were genuine, and that was the best part.

He couldn't know if his aberrant and mendacious ways could cease forever, but at least he could strive to make it happen, and that made all the difference.

XO

Part 2

Day 74

The day after the contest was quiet and serene.

Partly because everyone except Annastasia and Jezz slept past eleven.

"They all must be exhausted. Normally they are up by nine," Annastasia commented as she poured Jezz a spot of tea.

"Thank you," he said.

He took in the beverage and sighed contently. The Pidgey-themed analog clock on the wall read 10:45.

"What did you do all morning while I was out running?" Annastasia queried.

"I was writing," Jezz replied. "And reading. I did some exercise too."

"I hope Jay rubs off on you."

"How do you mean?"

"I mean he could benefit a lot from more academics and exercise…hi, Jay."

Jezz almost jumped.

"Mornin," Jay mumbled, stumbling half-blindly to the coffee pot.

"Mornin," said James, coming up behind him, his mannerisms matching Jay's.

"Noooo," the moaned together when the pot was empty.

"I swear I made some…musta forgotten to…unless Plusle…never mind," siad Annastasia. "My mistake. You do know that it's almost 11, right?"

"I was up past midnight," said Jay, rubbing his eyes.

"Doing what?"

"Minecraft."

"Jay!"

"Isn't that game like, twenty years old?" James yawned.

"Yeah, but it's still good," Jay defended. "I was just trying to catch up with Amb and Jezz; they're better at it than I am."

"That's more important than beauty sleep?" Annastasia teased.

"Occasionally…at least my moisturizer held up."

During the next half-hour, almost everyone in the house and hotel woke.

"Mom, Papa, are you awake?" Annastasia asked, waving her hands in front of her parents.

"Half-way," said James. Her mom just groaned.

"I hate to talk business before you're completely awake, but you do know that today is the second interrogation, right? I told Warden Michael that I would be there at noon exactly."

"Oh, right. You wanted one of us to come with you…We forgot."

"No, it's okay. I have a backup, and she is probably better suited to go anyway."

"What's best is best," Jessie yawned.

"So sweet. Why doesn't it ever last?"

"It lasts occasionally. You have to spend more time with us, then you will see."

"If you say so…I'm going to go shower now. Michio should be awake by now…"

"You should take him with you."

"I don't think he wants to go to the interrogation; he's not needed there at all."

"I meant to the shower. He needs a good wash—and the poor innocent soul only has one good hand."

"I knew you were going to comment the moment I finished that sentence…Whatever, the point is that I am probably not going to see you before I leave, so don't panic if I don't come back until dinnertime."

"Why did you say that about Michio?" Gracie asked Jessie after Annastasia had gone up the stairs.

Jessie looked up from the baby she was holding and stared at Gracie. "I forgot you were here, that's why."

XO

Annastasia flipped the lights on in her room. The only people in bed were Lil-G, Bleu, and Peruva. She heard the sink running and then a sneeze and a crash, and Annastasia knew in an instant that someone got fried.

Annastasia hastily opened the door.

"Why are you so stupid?" she groaned.

"Plussllee!" Plusle laughed, leaping to Annastasia.

Michio got up off the ground. "That hurt, a lot."

"Why did you think it was a good idea to bathe an electric-type?" she asked.

"She was disgusting, all sick and gross and she wouldn't stay in the bed I made her in the corner. She was on my feet all night," he explained. "And I couldn't fit the rubber glove over my cast, and I couldn't get the cast off by myself, either."

Annastasia opened the bathroom cabinet and took out a pair of rubber gloves. She picked Plusle up, drained the sink, and wrapped her in a towel.

"When they are sick you are supposed to bathe them since they can't bathe themselves," Michio said defensively.

"Yeah, but carefully," Annastasia replied.

Annastasia surveyed the bathroom. The toothbrushes, combs, lotions, soaps, and medications that were on the shelves and countertops had fallen to the ground. There was ash on the tile floor, walls, and ceiling. The toilet paper was unraveled and there were multiple puddles of soapy water on the ground.

She helped Michio to his feet.

"I will clean the bathroom when I get back this evening," Annastasia decided. "As for you, don't electrocute yourself again…please…are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"You probably have brain damage."

"Maybe, but not more than you."

"Fair…call your mom and make her fix your skin before it peels and bleeds."

"'Fix my skin'?"

"She probably has an ointment and/or internal potion that will speed up the healing."

"Don't you have burn cream here?"

"Amber used it all up yesterday. You can have someone go to the pharmacy for you, but you might put it on wrong so ask someone who knows what they are doing for help."

"Plusss," Plusle added, affirming Annastasia's instructions.

"Sure," Michio replied, though he wasn't sure of anything.

Annastasia knew he wanted her off his back, so she helped him sit down and decided to spent the rest of the day not nagging him, or anyone else.

"I apologize for the nagging. I'll stop today, and then stick to one nag every three days, and I will make it a different nag each time," she promised.

"Then they are just reminders, not nags," he pointed out.

"That is the point, I have to make them stay 'just reminders'. I don't want to be a nagger, and I have to practice before Jezz comes home. I don't want nagging to become a habit."

"You know that ADD thing when you think obsessively about whether or not you are offending someone or making the wrong choice?"

"I'm…familiar…"

"You're doing that now."

"Oh. You know, Plusle has made you nicer."

"She has that effect. Didn't you have something you wanted to do?"

"Yes: shower. But one more thing…since you're awake, and I still have some time before I head over, I want to update you on everyone's plans."

"Okay."

"The kids are sick of Alola. Rita wants to stay for a little bit, have some kind of marriage-free honeymoon with Ralph and finish the assignment Gio gave her, but everyone else…most of them want to go home and have a three or four week break and only show up in Alola for the day of the contests. The geo-catchers already have a new assignment, so they are leaving early tomorrow morning. Nolan and Lexi left yesterday so that they could finish their training, and so my parents are going to be here alone in Pallet with the twins, Jay, Amber, and Jezz, and perhaps you and me."

"When did everyone make all these plans?"

"I wasn't involved. I think the kids made these decisions themselves, and as for Rita, Nolan, and Lexi, I knew they wouldn't be staying at the Pallet House for more than a day."

"Alola is practically in our backyards because of the teleporter that Clementine gave us. So why are June, Takeshi, Cassandra going back to their houses?"

"I think they're homesick. I purchased teleporters for all their homes, so they are practically living next door, but they will be in the places in which they were raised. Tamaki is also going home instead of staying with the geo-catchers so that he could be with Benny. I am not sure how long they all will be gone, it depends on each individual…and it is 'Clemont', by the way, not 'Clementine'."

"I find it hard to believe that we living in a world in which kids would rather spend time with their parents than their friends."

"They are aren't teenagers yet."

"What about the trio?"

"Amber is going to go home eventually, but first she wants to be around for when I tie up all these loose ends with Jezz. Even then, I am sure she will be here often to visit, and the boys might go to her house too. I know our plan was to stay in Alola longer, but that isn't happening."

"It sounds all resolved."

"It pretty much is. There might be a few changes here and there, but that is the battle plan, or so I hear. Like I said, I didn't plan this. What I did plan was my hunt for Jezz's roots, and today this final interrogation is going to help me, possible give us the final answers we need."

"About that interrogation, you should get in the shower. I don't want you to be late."

"I am, then I am flying out of here. I'll see you later—don't forget to take care of those burns."

"I won't forget. Bye. Don't get killed."

"I love you too…and don't get killed either."

XO

Annastasia and Rita decided during their brief, pre-interrogation meeting that Lucy and Rumika should monitor them from Team Rocket headquarters using a sound and image device. A product of their own invention, the device would allow the two women to see and hear everything that Rita and Annastasia could see and hear while allowing them to communicate efficiently.

Rita and Annastasia arrived at the prison right on schedule.

"Thank you for having us again," Annastasia told Warden Michael as she and Rita entered the facility. "These interviews are probably going to have a big impact on Jezz's life."

"It's all part of the job," he responded brightly.

"We appreciate it just the same."

He looked to Rita. "And you are?"

"Rita Scott., Team Rocket agent, level 500, number 553," she answered. "I am helping with this project; I am a friend of both Annastasia and Jezz."

"It's nice to meet you. Rumika and Lucy told me about your situation in greater detail. I hope you find the information you need to help this kid. Please follow me."

"Usodannnn," a Pokémon greeted them as they walked past one of the offices.

The psychic-type flew from its perch and onto Warden Michael's shoulder. The officer scratched its and it chirped gratefully.

"I haven't seen one of those in years," Rita commented as she petted the bird. "I've always wanted my own."

"She is going to guarantee us legitimate results," said Annastasia.

"That's why I love them."

"You wanted to talk to Jessiebelle Winchester, correct?" the warden asked.

"Yes," they confirmed.

"She is through the doors, at the end, just as last time."

"Thank you," Annastasia replied.

As expected, Jessiebelle was less than happy to see who her visitors were.

"You've returned," she complained as Rita and Annastasia took their seats.

Annastasia and Rita adjusted their mouth and earpieces, unfazed by Jessiebelle's attitude.

"Who are you?" Jessiebelle asked Rita.

"Rita Scott. I am working with her," Rita answered as she gestured to Annastasia. "We have some important questions that you need to answer."

Jessiebelle scoffed. "I do not need to do anything. I have rights too."

"We understand, but as I said last time I was here: this isn't about us. This is a child who needs our help. Please help us."

"Why are you coming to me? You asked me last time if I had a child, and I said 'no'," Jessiebelle huffed.

"I asked if you had a son, not if you had a child."

Rita and Annastasia could have sworn they witnessed her turn a few shades paler after the remark.

"If I answer these questions, what do I get out of it?" Jessiebelle questioned.

"I'm glad you asked. Warden Michael and Delia from Team Rocket agreed to let you go on probation earlier if you comply," Rita replied.

"Probation in this particular facility means you get to live outside the prison a few days a week. You can travel anywhere in Kanto, as long as you inform your probation officer about it. You can buy and cook your own food instead of eating whatever they serve here, and if you follow all the rules, you have a chance of getting a much less restrictive probation, which would allow you to live at home permanently, get a job, vote, marry, have kids…and say that this is an improvement, since you have multiple life sentences. And the transaction will be bail-free," Annastasia explained.

"How can I trust that you will do this for me?" she asked.

"Usodan!" the Pokémon chirped.

"Because she will be listening to the entire interview. She'll hunk if we like. Everyone here benefits."

Jessiebelle nodded, though the girls could tell she was still very hesitant, a sign that she will probably try to withhold some information. Annastasia knew that just as before, they needed to word their sentences carefully.

"We need to know your family history," said Rita started. "Which other Tonakas do you know and where are they?"

"You will have to be more specific than that," Jessiebelle told them.

"Usoooo!" the Pokémon honked.

"That question was apparently specific enough for you to provide us with an answer," Rita inferred.

"There are a few Tonakas that I know," Jessiebelle admitted.

"Who are they?" Annastasia questioned.

"Your mother's parents," Jessiebelle answered.

"Miyamoto and Masuru are dead and we already knew that."

"They are dead according to the rumors. No one ever found Miya's body. For all we know she could still be alive."

Usodan hesitated before letting out another honk.

"What are you hiding?" Rita inquired.

"I do not know if Miyamoto is still alive. I don't know what happened to her husband either," Jessiebelle replied.

"Tell us what you know about Miyamoto."

"I don't know much of anything about her. Are we done yet?"

"We cleared our schedule so that we could spend the whole day here talking with you," Annastasia replied. "We want to take our time and get all this sorted out."

Jessiebelle scowled. "Fine then. I'll talk."

"Tell us about Masuru," Rita requested.

"Specifically, how close were you to him?" Annastasia asked.

"He was like a father to me," she answered. "My own father and I were close, but he was like a second father to me."

"Why was that?"

"He was always there to help me out. He bought me nice things, gave me advice, things that fathers should do."

"How old were you about when you and Masuru had this relationship?"

"I was eight or nine years old—several years after his wife left him."

"You mean when she died."

"All the same."

'Masuru sent my mother to live in foster care then became a father figure to Jessiebelle, and later Jezz…' Annastasia thought. 'Maybe Mew wasn't the only reason Miya left…'

"When you escaped from prison 15-16 years ago, did you go to Masuru?" Rita queried.

"Yes," she answered.

"Only you?" Annastasia asked.

"Yes."

"Thanks. Now we want to move in another direction," said Rita.

Annastasia picked up on Rita's cue. "Did you ever have a child?"

"What a ridiculous thing to ask. Of course, I haven't," she asserted.

"Usooooo!" Usodan honked.

Annastasia and Rita exchanged a brief victory smile.

"Most people living in jail cells find that having a baby is hard to do," Rita pointed out.

Annastasia frowned. She didn't like where this was going. She turned to whisper into Rita's ear.

"Be careful, Rita. She could have been assaulted," she said cautiously.

Rita sighed. "I know, but I am just trying to get her to talk. I'll key it down."

"Jessiebelle, when did you have this child and who is the father?"

"About twelve years ago. The father is gone," she replied.

"Do you know who the father is?"

Jessiebelle furrowed her brows. "I do. I am not trash."

"You could have fooled us," Rita mumbled inaudibly.

"Please tell us," Annastasia pleaded. "Remember, you will get probation if you help us."

Jessiebelle watched Usodan. "He worked here."

"What was his name?"

"Daniel."

"What happened to Daniel?"

"He became ashamed of me. He ignored me, then when it came time for reassignment, he chose go to a different prison."

"I don't understand exactly what that means."

"Inmates can hold jobs and earn money within the prisons, and they often get to choose whether or not they want to be transferred to a different jail," Rita explained.

"Daniel was an inmate, and when you told him he was the father of your child, he left."

Jessiebelle looked away. "I suppose I may be trash after all."

"No, that isn't what I was implying. We just need to clear about everything."

Rita pressed on. "Whatever happened to this child of yours, and how come Team Rocket never found out about it?"

"I put the child into the hands of some old associates," she answered. "Your people never knew about the pregnancy because of the medical confidentiality agreement with the doctors and nurses here."

"Were these old associates of yours part of the Kapule Klan?"

"Yes."

"Your child was living with the Kapules—with Masuru specifically," said Annastasia. "Then what happened?"

Jessiebelle hesitated, then tapped her fingers on the table and glanced around the room.

"Tell us what happened to her," Rita demanded.

"The Kapules wanted to use her, and since she was no use to me, I let them adopt her," Jessiebelle replied. She chewed the inside of her cheek and continued to tap her fingers neurotically. "Those—elitists—didn't want to raise her themselves, so they paid Masuru to do it."

'Nervous but nonchalant,' Annastasia thought. 'Distressingly familiar…'

"They thought she was a money baby," Jessiebelle continued.

"So they could embezzle her inheritance," Rita gathered.

"They assumed my fortune still existed and that she would eventually inherit it since I am in here for life. That obviously isn't true, but I let them think that, for it was an efficient way to get rid of her."

"You didn't want her?" Annastasia inquired.

"She was a burden. Why would I want a burden? She made my life worse."

"But you still kept photographs of her. Otherwise, you wouldn't have recognized him in the pictures we showed you."

"You aren't making any sense. Who are you talking about?"

"Annastasia and I have had plenty of contact with your kid," said Rita. "His name is Jezz Morgan."

Jessiebelle looked at them with confusion and dread as Rita took her wallet out of her purse. Rita laid down five different photographs, several of which Annastasia had never seen before.

"Isn't he cute?" Rita asked.

"They told me she was a girl," Jessiebelle stated. "Who is this?"

Jessiebelle picked up a photo an about seven-year-old Jezz and twelve-year-old Rita playing soccer.

"I worked at the shelter he ran to one time…he was the kind of kid who ran away whenever he felt the urge. Smart, adventurous, humble even—unlike his mother, apparently," said Rita. "He likes sports, Pokémon, books, science, politics, and girls…and many other things."

"I have a son, then," she replied. "Jess doesn't exist."

"You got it."

Everyone noted Usodan's lack of response.

"I named her Jessica Tonaka because I thought she was a young lady. I don't understand why Masuru or any of the Kapules failed to tell me about this mix up. Who changed the name to Jezz Morgan, and why does my child have your surname?" Jessiebelle asked.

"Why did you name your child after my mother?" Annastasia countered.

"I hate them both with equal passion. The surname was Masuru's; he kept it after Miyamoto disappeared. He changed it from Winchester, which was fine with me. I didn't care—what better to name an unwanted child then after your enemy?"

"You wanted 'her' to go to etiquette school, you made sure she had a Pokémon to protect her, an Oddish, you made sure she had discipline. Why would you bother to do any of that if you hated her?"

"She would be in the world while I was in here. If people found out we were related, I wanted her to be at least presentable," Jessiebelle answered. "And I don't believe that this boy is my child. What is really going on here? Why are you telling me this kid is mine?"

"We can do a maternity test to confirm. We'd want to you meet him, though. We'd all be more than willing to arrange that," Rita offered with a smirk. "We promise he is yours though."

"Usodan agrees with us," Annastasia pointed out.

"I have no desire to meet this child or to take a maternity test. In fact, I do not care at all. You can leave me now. I don't know what the point of this interrogation is anyway."

"He is a fascinating child, intelligent and kind, and he has been through many tough trials but he's done so well. He wanted to know his origin and we traced him back to you. It would be special for him to meet you, but only if you are kind to him. It would break his heart if he met you and discovered that you hated him."

"But there is no scientific evidence that he is even mine."

"Not yet," Rita responded.

Jessiebelle struggled to hide her interest. "The doctor who delivered my child is here. She can set this record straight."

"That won't be necessary, not when we can give you the maternity test. Or you can believe Usodan, she has never been wrong before."

"Says you."

"Then let's do the maternity test," Annastasia suggested. "Remember that if you comply, we can improve your situation."

"This counts as complying because you can get the same information from Dr. Hana."

"It's true, A," Rita sighed.

"I would rather do things my way, and I am not giving your people my blood. Tell the warden to find Dr. Hana. Dr. Hana will have all my child's medical records up until age six. She still works here, so she shouldn't be too hard to find."

'If Jezz didn't destroy the files, they could still exist,' Annastasia thought.

"What about after age six?" Annastasia inquired.

"They lost track," Jessiebelle replied.

"Doesn't that bother you?"

"I have no reason to care."

"You should care because he's your son," Rita replied.

"If you aren't going to look for Dr. Hana, then we are done here."

Annastasia noticed her reaching for her earpiece.

"No, stop, please," she implored. "We will meet with Dr. Hana. We will come back as soon as possible."

"The go. I will be here, waiting to prove you wrong, but you don't have to came back if you don't want to," she said with a wry smile.

Rita and Annastasia went to the warden. Usodan followed them, and he jumped on Michael's shoulder when they returned.

"I can tell by your face that you didn't get anything good," he sighed. "Anything I can do to help?"

"Yes. Can you direct us to a Dr. Hana? I need her to give me Jezz Morgan's medical records," Annastasia replied.

"Who?"

"Jessiebelle's son," Rita clarified.

"Well, I can show you where Dr. Hana's office is, but I can't give you those files; it's illegal without a signed consent form from one of his legal guardians."

Annastasia opened her backpack and took out a folder. She removed a few papers and handed them to him. He briefly scanned them.

"Which is you," he remarked. "How did you manage that?"

"It's a long story," Annastasia responded.

"Huh. Let's go get you what you need."

XO

About an hour later, Dr. Hana confirmed what they already knew: they were not going to be able to convince Jessiebelle that Jezz was her son.

Now they were sitting in the guest visiting area of the prison, trying to figure out their next move.

"What are we going to do? Tell her that he is a trans boy? I hate to make presumptions, but if Jessiebelle has these inhibitions and cold feelings towards her child now, I can easily imagine things being worse after she hears about this. I feel like we have to choose between letting him meet his biological mother and sparing his feelings," Annastasia vented.

"Relax, A. Jezz hates when people try too hard to spare his feelings. He likes truth. Truth is all he wants," Rita reminded her.

"I know, but this is intense. This is all that he has."

"No, it's not. He has us. He has a comfortable and safe place to sleep, excess to medicine and good food, Pokémon, a kind heart and a smart brain. And friends, human friends. That is a big deal. He has never had a group of friends before. That is why he seems so weird compared to other kids. He can handle her. It will be hard, but everything will be okay," Rita told her.

"I trust you, and I know you know him better than I do, but I am having trouble handling this."

"Don't underestimate yourself."

"…I'll try…"

"That's all I'm asking you to do."

"What do you want to do about his father? Where do we start with that?"

"Rumika already found him."

"What? When? How?"

"She told me she found him while you were in the bathroom. Using her database, he wasn't hard to find at all."

"But we know nothing about him."

"Actually, we do. Your mother and all her twerp friends knew him very well."

"You mean, Jessabelle's Daniel is the same Danny?"

"Yep."

"That guy who tortured her, almost killed her, almost killed me…Is Rumika sure about this?"

"Yep and yep."

"But…"

"It's sick and wrong? I know."

"You're sure this is legitimate, no holes, proven?"

"It started as supposition but soon became our guiding truth."

"Tell me what you learned."

"Uncorrupted records prove that Danny was here for about as long as Jessiebelle has been. He is registered as 'Jessica Tonaka's' biological father, though not his legal one. The files were corrupted by a Porygon, probably the same one he gave Jezz, and that is why we couldn't find it until we had a lead. Jezz once revealed to me that the Porygon came to him mysteriously. He didn't need to capture or even train the Poryon when he went to corrupt his own files."

"I can't believe this. I can't tell my mother this, or Jezz…It's way too hard…How do I do this?"

Rita patted her on the back. "Tell the truth."

"Yeah, I know."

"If you won't to do it, I will. Or Rumika will. You aren't in this alone. We agreed from the beginning that we were going to be honest no matter how much we hated the truth. We can't protect him from what already happened, and even if we could—he doesn't need to be protected that way."

Annastasia wiped her eyes. "I suppose the maternal instinct has already kicked in."

Rita rolled her eyes. "It kicked in the moment you opened your eyes."

"Are we going back to talk to Jessiebelle?"

"There is no point."

"I was hoping you'd say that."

"We will show Jezz the recording of the interview, and we will let him decide if he wants to go. I think we should leave because there is nothing more that we need from her."

"Let's get the recording and get out of here."

XO

After retrieving the disk they needed from Michael, Rita suggested getting a late lunch at a local restaurant, the same one Annastasia had treated Rita, Nolan, Lexi, and Michio to days before.

"No offense Rita, but I am still depressed over the fact they do not have gluten free bread here," Annastasia grumbled as Rita led her to the front door of the place.

"I did a little advocacy of my own, and the gluten-free stuff is back. Pasta, bread, pizza crust, soup crackers…everything you could want," Rita revealed.

Annastasia hugged her friend. "You're the best."

"There's a second surprise."

Rita nodded towards the parking lot.

Michio was there, walking with Jezz, his full team of MVPs, Bleu, Lil-G, and Peruva.

"I didn't know Rita wanted to do lunch," said Jezz. "Or I suppose we can call it an early supper."

"It is a surprise for me too," Annastasia said as she opened the door to the place.

"Surprise!"

Over twenty voices had yelled the word, leaving both Jezz and Annastasia staggered.

"What is happening?" Jezz asked worriedly.

"Looks like a surprise party," Annastasia laughed.

"A surprise party? What an interesting concept. They are very creative."

"Awe, you don't even know what that is," Rita commented. "Jezz, they didn't invent the concept of a surprise party, and you can figure out what it means."

"I suppose it is a party that people have without telling you, and then they invite you later and it's a surprise."

"Something like that," Rita and Annastasia responded together.

"Jezz, we decided that we needed to have a toast, and then a party!" Jocelyn announced. She handed Jezz a root beer float. "Now we can all toast together!"

"Flaafy!" the Pokémon added, guzzling the soda.

"Plus!" said Plusle, jumping onto Michio. "Annie, did you know about this?"

"Nope," she told him. "Rita must have though."

"I did," said Rita. "And guess who helped, other than the kids."

"My parents?"

"Nope."

"Lexi and Nolan."

"Nope."

"Ralph?"

"…"

"Sandshrew."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"I wouldn't have guessed that."

"Of course not. You are only a human, you've haven't the intelligence to guess correctly," Sandshrew commented as it waddled up to them.

"It got everyone over here and used the allowance you gave to pay for everything," said Rita.

"Thanks, Sandshrew," Annastasia replied. "Why did you decide to like us all of a sudden?"

"It's none of your business," Sandshrew responded before walking away.

"Okay, well at least it did something nice…"

The party was the type of warm get-together that nearly everyone needed. Jezz was especially grateful; this was likely to be their last time all together until Christmas, and that was a long time to wait. He was happy to see Rita with Ralph, Nolan with Lexi, Soledad with Tamaki, June with Takeshi, Flare with Carol, and Annastasia with Michio.

He didn't realize how so many of his close friends also had significant others.

It made him a bit jealous.

"Hello? Jezz?" Jay questioned as he waved a hand in front of Jezz's face. "Are you in there?"

"Yes. I apologize for daydreaming," Jezz replied.

Jay could tell what Jezz was thinking based on his facial expression and the current focus of his eyes.

"You don't have to apologize for that," said Jay. "I came over here because I noticed that you are a romantic."

"I do not think about romance much, but lately I have…but I don't think I ever will have a romance. The more I explore the idea, the more improbable it seems."

"Jezz, once you learn to relax and let go, someone will fall for you. I bet several people have, but they didn't tell you yet."

"Why would people hide something like that?"

"You'll figure it out. You are a smart kid." He took Jezz's hand. "Come hang out with us, Amber was asking about you."

Amber was playing poker with several of the older kids. When Jay and Jezz approached, they stopped their conversation and Amber asked the boys to sit down next to her.

"Amb was telling us that Professor Rosedale discovered that Mimikyu can only grant one wish and that this is why Mimikyu won't give her anymore," said Tobie.

"I wish you knew that earlier, then you could have wished for unlimited wishes," Jay whined.

"But if we go back in time…" Amber started.

"That wouldn't work. You see, if we did go back in time, we would have already known it because it would have already happened," Jezz interrupted. "Sorry to interrupt. I knew where you were going with that and I didn't want you to raise your hopes only to be disappointed."

"That sucks."

"You wished to be with us, right? Wasn't that your wish?" Jay inquired.

"Yeah. But I would have liked to have wished for unlimited wishes instead."

"I think that if life was too easy, we'd all get bored," Jezz responded.

"Maybe," Jay replied. "But we'd at least be able to get little things done to make our lives better. Like I could get a boyfriend, Amb could get a brain, and you—"

Amber punched him in the arm. "I already have a brain, and it's bigger than yours."

"I don't want to argue, but actually the size of the brain doesn't indicate intelligence, and higher intelligence does indicate that you are better than someone else anyway," Jezz told his friends. "And I personally believe that a small group of people possessing the power to wish for whatever they want with no limits is dangerous, and such a think should never exist."

"Just out of curiosity, if I make a trade with you and Mimikyu officially becomes mine, does that mean I get one wish?" Lexi inquired.

"The professor said one wish, that's it," Amber responded glumly. "I asked that question too."

"I read in a book one time that when Mimikyu really loves someone, they use their power to bring good luck. Good luck is something we can all use," Jezz told them.

"We all have issues, and a little bit of luck will be good for all of us," said Nolan.

"Would you like to play with us? Jezz, you'd probably be good at this. Amber says that you are good at everything. And Jay, I heard you aren't so bad yourself," said Tobie.

"I actually do enjoy poker," Jezz replied.

Amber sighed. "Proceed with caution; I bet he's going to win this."

XO

Towards the end of the celebration, Annastasia had called Jezz to the back porch for a private discussion.

"What do you want to talk about?" Jezz asked her. "The interrogation?"

"Yes," she answered. Annastasia sat in one of the restaurant's outdoor rocking chairs. Jezz got into the one across from her. "It will be quick, don't worry. I don't want to ruin the party for you, but I felt I should tell you what happened as soon as possible."

"It is okay. I am not in a rush to get back, and I do want to know what happened."

"This is mostly about loose ends I think we should tie up. Do you understand what I mean by that?"

"Yes. You've finally uncovered my roots," he replied.

"Yes. I have everything. Notes about your mother, your father, where you were born, your early medical history…"

"Earlier medical history? But Porygon, and the house exploding…"

"Someone must have kept a locked backup on some obscure file. The prison you were born into had it."

"But jail clinics only keep information like that if the mother requests it."

"I know. She must have wanted those files. I can tell you about the interview, or I can show it to you, or both. Which to you prefer?"

"Both. Can you tell me what happens first?"

"Certainly. It isn't good news though."

"I figured."

Annastasia took a deep breath. "Rita and I explained that you were a boy, not a girl, and she immediately assumed that the doctors had lied to her and told her that she had a boy and not a girl. We showed her pictures of you and told her that you were her child. Then she got suspicious, and denied that you were hers. She told us that a Dr. Hana worked at the facility and had your earlier medical records. We left the interview, retrieved those files, and looked over them. They stated that you were born a girl. We didn't know if we should explain your situation to her, so we left. We wanted to leave the next move up to you."

Jezz thought about the dream he had.

"I understand," he told Annastasia. "I am not sure if I want to meet her."

"I can show you what you said to us, but I will warn you that Rita and I were disappointed."

"Maybe I will look when I get older. Is there anything else I should know?"

"We discussed your father. She told us that he was an inmate named Daniel. Rumika did a quick search on her database and discovered that Daniel was a criminal that my family already had a lot of experience with."

"Did he hurt your family?"

"Yes, he did, my mother especially. When they were young and then again about eighteen years ago, right before I was born. Honestly, this is the last thing I wanted to talk with you about, but I promised you the truth."

"I understand. I appreciate you saying that. And...I knew, some of it: Jay told me that you and your mother have HIV like me because of this person. And that he hurt your mom, and that you could have died. Jay said his name was Danny, and that he was evil."

"I don't think that there are evil people but it is hard to believe that sometimes."

"I don't want to meet him."

"I didn't think you would. But that is okay. You aren't obligated to meet him just because…you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. We can ignore them forever if that is what you want. And you can always change your mind."

"I will remember that."

"Is there anything you want me to do to make this easier?"

Jezz hesitated. "Can you keep this a secret? I am not telling you to lie, but if people ask, maybe tell them that you don't want to talk about it. Is that okay?"

"I was going to do that anyway."

"What if your mother asks?"

"I'll tell her whatever you want me to tell her, but like you, I don't like to lie."

"You can tell your parents if they ask. This might be important for them to know."

"Okay. If they ask, I will explain."

"Thank you so much. I know I have said this before, but I am very much excited to come live with you. But I am worried that I will be a burden because of all my problems."

Jezz looked away. Annastasia inched closer to him.

"You aren't the problem. And all these problems that other people gave you, we will deal with them, we can to it. My house is not going to be heaven. There will be a lot of ups and downs, and there will be pain occasionally. We will probably get into arguments or accidentally hurt one another other. But I am a safe place. Any problems you have, I can try to help you, as long as you let me in and don't hold back."

"I fear my future, and ashamed of my past; it is the reason I dislike Xatu's visions. But I am nervous a lot mostly because I am scared. I didn't know I had AIDS. When I went to Spectrum, they told me I was HIV positive but if I took my medicine, I wouldn't get worse. But I didn't realize that they thought I was taking that medication my entire life."

"You have no reason to be ashamed of the past, and it is valid that you are afraid. But you are also brave, and brave people do things despite their fear, not because they lack it."

"I don't with I ever thought of myself as 'brave' before."

Annastasia moved so that she was as close to him as the chairs would allow. "Remember what you, Rita, and I were talking about the other day, about your future. It is going to be very happy. You will have unlimited books, lots of Pokémon to play with. Your friends will be a step away because of our teleporter and now-friendly Mewtwo and Sandshrew. Michio and I will cook you any food you want as often as I possibly can. When you are sick there will be no more hospitals, just a family nurse, a warm bed, some Pokémon healing, a writing tablet, and a TV. I will give you an allowance if you help me take care of all the Pokémon, I plan on taking in so that you can save up and buy the things that you want. And Rita and I are going to get you everything you need to transition. It doesn't matter how far you want to go. We can talk about that some other time, but I will help you get whatever you need, and no request is too ridiculous, not if it makes you feel more comfortable in your own skin."

Jezz reckoned it would seem too good to be true if it wasn't for the fact that he still had a lot to overcome.

"Why do you care about me?" he asked after a few moments.

Annastasia recalled Michio once asking her that same question.

"It is the way I am," she replied. "I like taking care of things and helping people. What I don't understand is why so many people have treated you poorly. I think you are a wonderful person because you are, generous, genuine, truthful, interesting, quirky, emotional, independent, dependent, courageous, polite, optimistic, hardworking…and there is such much more to add to that."

"You are very sweet," Jezz responded. "It is going to be strange living with someone who thinks that much of me. I hope I don't disappoint."

"Unless you turn into a jerk, I will never be disappointed in you. You are hard not to like. You will see that once people get to know you; they will love you. That is what happened here, with all your new friends."

"I suppose that is true. I am excited and nervous for my new life to begin. I don't like Alola. I don't want to go back, even though I am supposed to go to the Grand Festival."

"You did so well in those two contests, and I know you will do better in future ones, but just because you are good at something, it doesn't mean you have to do it."

"I don't want to come off as that person who quits while they are ahead, and I feel bad for taking the opportunity to win and those ribbons away from someone who really wants to go all the way to the Grand Festival."

"Last year, when I was traveling with Nolan, Lexi, Lily, Logan, Jay, Jocelyn, Soledad, June, Takeshi, Tamaki, and Michio: no one enjoyed the gym battles half as much as they enjoyed being together, catching the Pokémon, and taking care of one another. If we keep doing these contests, as you know, we will not be traveling from city to city the way we did in the past. We will be spread apart. That fun experience will be lost."

"But everyone seems to really enjoy the contests."

"Some people do, some don't, and that's okay; we'll find a way to make it all work. I have quite a lotta stuff to do in Kanto. And if you want to come with me, we can do things like settling into our new home, meeting our new neighbors, gathering more friends, and hanging out with the friends we already have. I can also get the Pokémon nursery started. If you are feeling ambitious, we can look at different institutes, or you can help me work on this project I am going to do with Rita. It involves Spectrum. I think you would find it interesting."

"All that sounds more fun than contests."

"I think so too. But I am fine with whatever."

Jezz hesitated again. "We should have listened to Michio."

Annastasia laughed. "Why would you say something like that? He isn't necessarily a fountain of good ideas."

Jezz also laughed. "No, I mean because of the harbinger. He knew something bad was going to happen, but everyone said it was a myth and that it wasn't real. If we listened, maybe all these good things would have happened sooner."

"Maybe. The aka lele curses people, though, not places. It probably would have gotten us even if we didn't come to Alola. But it's all over. We will go home and relax and that will be that."

"I am going to miss everyone though. Silverville is near Saffron City, right? That isn't near Pallet Town," Jezz replied.

"You friends will only be a step away. And I am a big fan of sleepovers. And we can go to the Pallet House for dinner often. Michio only knows how to make Hawaiian dishes, and I only cook Japanese and French style. My parents and Meowth can make Japanese, French, Spanish, Mexican, South American, North American, and they are always dishing out more."

"You said 'dishing'."

"You have to get used to puns if you are going to share my house."

"Oh, yes. Where did they learn to cook all of that?" Jezz asked.

"Trial and error, Lucy, Cilan, Brock, and some television shows. But mostly trial and error and Brock."

"This sounds amazing. I am glad we met."

"Me too. Is there anything else you want to talk about before we go back inside?"

"I do not understand the vision Xatu gave me. A few times he showed Pallet Town, and it looked like a tornado had hit it. He showed it to me several times before we came to Alola. He also showed it to Jay, Amber, Jocelyn, the Pokémon, you, and Michio. I don't understand what the point of that was," said Jezz.

"The last aka lele curse destroyed Pallet Town in a tornado. That was about a hundred years ago. Perhaps Xatu was giving us his own harbinger. That is what Professor Rosedale and Keaka told me when I asked about the Xatu."

"I don't think Xatu hates me. I think he is bad at communicating."

"He is not the only one."

"I know…We are both getting better at explaining what we need though."

"I've noticed that. It makes me proud. Is there anything else?"

"Not really. I am really hoping that Xatu will finally give me peace. I hate seeing visions of my past, the creepy lullabies of songs I don't remember but the words I still recall when I awake. There are some good songs, but I only hear parts of them. I wonder if that is a message too."

"Pokémon work in mysterious ways."

Jezz stood up. "Would you like to go back to the celebration?"

"I was about to suggest that. People are going to start to leave soon. And there are two birds looking for you."

"Birds?"

"The leader of the flying army and a former Blue-Jay."

"I'll go find them, thank you."

They parted ways once they came through the door. Annastasia spotted Michio. To her shock, he was sitting at the bar. Without hesitation, she headed over there. Rita saw what she was up to and stopped her.

"He's fine, A," she whispered.

Annastasia stopped for a moment. "Rita, I told you to watch—"

"No, just leave him, he is doing fine. He ordered water. Just look at him. He is just sitting there, all hot, trying to impress people. People like us."

"It will be almost impossible to get him to stop."

"It will be easy if he doesn't even start. I know you want to help, but give him some space. Besides, Plusle is keeping an eye on him."

"Plusle is too young to understand."

"But she isn't too young to help. He is sitting at a bar, in a crowded restaurant, and he isn't drinking or having a panic attack. The 'impossible' has already happened."

She relaxed and thought of how perfect it was to have a reasonable friend nearby.

"I've bit a bit on edge lately, being suspicious I guess because things are looking up and waiting for them to go down. It's hypocritical of me," Annastasia confessed.

"When you take my favorite kid home, expect me to show up so that I can see him and remind you to finally relax. You got everything that you wanted. We all did. It's resolved."

Meanwhile, Jezz looked back at Michio. He poked Amber and Jay.

"Hey, watch it," said Amber.

"Everything okay?" Jay asked.

"We have a problem," Jezz whispered, gesturing to Michio.

Amber and Jay looked up from the cupcakes they were eating and followed Jezz's eyes. Amber noticed Rita and Annastasia nearby.

"Someone is watching him," she told him.

"I should stop looking," said Jezz as he sat down next to them. "It is rude, and he just saw me."

"You also have to stop worrying about other people," said Jay. "That is what A does. They don't need two of you in the same house."

Jezz wasn't completely convinced, but he decided to let him go since Rita and Annastasia sat down on either side of him.

Meanwhile, Michio was discreetly watching Jezz from across the room. He lost focus when the two girls took their seats.

"Are you okay?" Annastasia asked.

"Yeah, I'm actually good," he responded.

Annastasia raised her eyebrows. 'Good' wasn't an adjective that Michio used often, especially not to describe himself.

"I was watching Jezz," he continued. "I can't decide if he is a nerd or not."

"Everyone thinks he is cool. And Jay said the others say that his awkwardness is endearing, not nerdy," Annastasia told him.

"That is not the first time someone called it endearing," Rita noted.

"I guess we are his parents now. You, me, and Rita," Michio remarked. "Because now we know for sure that his real parents aren't coming for him."

"You sound like you like the idea of being a mom."

"I won't complain."

"And complaining is your favorite thing to do, so that means that I am right."

"And where does Ralph fit in? Did you forget about him already?"

"I don't really like the idea of dragging Ralph into all of this. Jezz, Jamie, whatever you call him, he has always been my kid. I don't want Ralph to interfere. You all can interfere, since I trust you, A, and suppose I can't get around Michio, and you have the same ambition and patience as me but also the money that you are going to have to use to take care of him. And Ralph, I am not going to parade him around as my boyfriend. If people ask, I'll tell them who he is, but I doubt we are going to be together for more than a month."

"Or it can be years, a decade, or several decades, I can tell you don't know yet," Annastasia retorted.

Rita got up. "Michio, enjoy your lack of alcohol, Annastasia, enjoy your blueberry wine, nerd."

"Stop flirting with me and go back to Ralph."

"I'll see you in Silverville."

"I am not going to see you until then? I don't even know when we are going to go back."

"I have a feeling you'd be moving in within the next few days. I am going to be occupied here for the next two or three weeks."

"Okay. Then yes, we will be waiting for your surprise visit."

"Bye-bye."

After their final party in Alola, the group finally broke up, and the next time they would all be together would be the Morgan's Christmas party that was still months away.

To varying degrees, each member of this karmic circle became more perceptive, mature, confident, comfortable, sensitive, prudent, kind, and honest. They got what they wanted, needed, and deserved. No one was going to be left out.

XO

The End