Who I Am - Lightning99
Chapter 12:
Found
"It's been roughly a week, Meowth, stop complaining!" Jessie berated across the kitchen in the vendor van that had become their workplace over the past week or so.
Jessie hadn't counted the days herself; she lived every twenty-four hours of freedom with rapture, delighted at her ability to pass and even greet Officer Jenny without being hunted. She sunbathed on the beach in their off time, reclined with regal glamour, reading magazines through her black paned sunglasses. She wasn't oblivious to the stares from the passing men or their tensing as they strut across the sand, gambling their chance for some shared interest. But Jessie never returned their looks. Some notion of their attraction tickled her, though, an indulgence she'd rarely experienced having lived as a criminal for so long, a foreign, forgotten but human pleasure.
Jessie loved her new freedom. James, however, appeared to appreciate the freedom more than Jessie did. He was constantly upbeat and grinning, bouncing on his toes instead of walking, his behaviour erratic. He'd compiled a long list after their first morning-shift – which he constantly kept possession of – detailing activities he wanted to partake in: swimming with the Mantine and Mantyke, scuba diving with the luring promise of glimpsing Kyogre, hang gliding in a Braviary's territory. She barely saw him during her bronzing, flaunting hours on the beach, which she appreciated – his presence repelled the relaxation and the stares. She didn't often see Meowth either, who accompanied James on all ventures despite his initial desire for rest and relaxation.
"I love the beach as much as the next Pokémon, but sand gets in my paws," he'd said, following James – who was clad like a peppy tourist in a shirt and shorts and sandals – up the boardwalk to whatever activity he had planned. James and Meowth were her partners, no longer in crime, but the rare alone time was a virtue.
"But we're better than this, damn it!" Meowth shouted. He ripped his bear hat from his head and hurled it at the grainy floor, stamping his three-toed foot repeatedly. "We're much better than this! As much as I hate to say it, I miss the action we got when fighting Ash–"
"Don't…" James intervened. He dropped his head. Lacking the conviction to continue his point, James silenced. He retreated to lifting the baked doughnuts, lathering on the toppings, and dropping them into bags, a manoeuvre Jessie had unknowingly committed to muscle memory. She was on the counter that day, and she went back to her job too, even though their customer base wasn't bustling.
Ash remained the trio's Critical Hit, the one thing that hurt them the most. Jessie conceded secretly to herself that she missed Ash and his enviable courage and skill, his once-irksome-turned-admirable devotion to loving and helping Pokémon. Most importantly, his presence, his simply being there, tethering her to something meaningful. A reason. He'd always been there.
Their ragtag team – denoted as Team Rocket's dregs – had always been assigned to the impossible task of kidnapping Pikachu. Jessie wondered, now, why Giovanni constantly chose them despite their countless failed endeavours. The idea that he trusted them to do so seemed absurd. The idea that it was a pointless task to keep them occupied seemed more reasonable. James, in a tactless outburst one evening, shared his opinions concerning Ash to Jessie, views that were identical to her own. Only, the sophistication of the language James used suggested a deeper feeling, that he was hurting more. It was as if he became Brock for that moment.
The trio didn't talk amongst themselves for the rest of their shift after Meowth's blunder. Jessie dully hollered out from the front window, Meowth handed her the doughnuts that James had automatically made and wrapped. They were a machine; they acted without a consciousness, guided only by the jotted order slips that acted as their ignition in place of a button.
James spoke when they exited the van's steamy, sweaty interior into a different kind of warmth, and when they'd changed out of their uniforms and into their normal clothes. It was about an hour or two after mid-day, the perfect time to peacefully relax on the beach before the oglers arrived. That's when Jessie liked it most, no matter the pleasure she felt when all the attention on her.
"We'll drop our things off with you at the beach, Jessie, and then Meowth and I are heading off to try some Mantine Surfing. I can't wait!" James said, his voice reclaiming its buzz, his eyes not.
"Hmm? Yeah, have fun," Jessie replied indifferently. James grumbled, and Meowth just sighed. They walked in silence for a minute, and Jessie could feel them thinking.
"Why don't you join us?" James asked before she could question him.
"Join you?" Jessie loudly asked.
"Sure. We're a team, aren't we? We should act like one, do things together. We may not be involved with Team Rocket anymore, but I still think we should stay together, in some way, as often as we can," James said, almost timidly, the way he always spoke whenever Jessie as their ill-tempered leader.
Jessie recovered from her sudden daze and gave James a quizzical stare. She wanted to sunbathe again – or feel the fleeting flutter of her heart after connecting eyes with a handsome ogler – but the idea of sticking together seemed important. Maintaining a fragment of her past was more important. She fiercely grinned.
"Then prepare yourselves, boys! I'm gonna out-do you in whatever challenge you've got set up! I won't lose to you two, of all people! Watch me ride that Mantine all the way back to Kalos!" she bellowed, starting a jog towards the steps onto the beach. James and Meowth, grinning, followed behind her swinging purple hair as she strode on. They were behind her, but they weren't in her shadow.
They ran around the side of a building, turning left towards the lifeguard shack perched opposite the fine-sanded expanse of inviting beach. When they rounded the shack, they stopped. The beach's beauty was impaired by smoke like a plume of tar intertwined with reeds of yellow electricity rising into the air on the other side of the beach, in the market area of the city. The people on the beach stared at the cloud, muttering.
To Jessie, the black cloud looked as if it ascended from an inferno, a blaze, or a well-placed Thunderbolt, and for a moment, the sight looked so familiar to Jessie she could almost envisage what was at the centre. Them. Team Rocket. Pikachu. Ash. The scene of their daily defeat. It was like the smoke of Pikachu's move finishing them off. Her heart knew it couldn't be true. Ash was gone.
But what if? Jessie defiantly thought, suddenly needing to know what was occurring at the base of the cloud.
Jessie ran, ignoring the impossibility of the idea, grabbing for the hope that had been lost to her, to all three of them. Running towards her wish to reclaim a simpler time without tragedy. James and Meowth called her. They were weak sounds, so distant even though they ran within the leash of her hair. Her thoughts of sunbathing and occupying her stagnant life on fleeting, transparent schoolgirl attractions disappeared; the fun of Mantine Surfing and re-tying the slowly fraying bonds with her team seemed pointless. She needed to know. She desperately needed to know.
But her rash sprint was childish. Her pounding chest died once again when she reached the scene. Four people dressed identically in black vest tops, all with varying coloured hair, stood slouched in opposition to Officer Jenny and her Manectric, taunting and jeering, swaggering on their toes. A Raticate fronted the gang, facing Officer Jenny, and Jessie was bewildered. It had black fur, a larger body and fatter cheeks, and squinting red eyes that looked evil. What further surprised her was its size: it was multiple times taller and bulkier than a normal Raticate. Jessie had never seen anything like it. But the surprise morphed into disappointed anger, an anger that didn't make sense to her. She had hoped for no reason and was angry for no reason.
"Is that Raticate hopped-up on Rare Candies or something?!" Meowth exclaimed, "It's huge!"
"Is it a Shiny?!" James, partly curious, asked. Jessie saw his hand twitching for his back pocket, his replacement for a Pokédex, his digital encyclopedia.
"Manectric, Discharge!" Officer Jenny commanded, and her trusty partner bravely bounded forwards.
"Heh, heh, Hyper Beam, yo!"
A quick flash and Raticate's Hyper Beam overpowered Manectric's Discharge, striking Manectric hard in the head. It slid back on its side, defeated.
"Stop resisting! Hand over the items you stole from this lady's stall immediately!" Officer Jenny called as she returned the Manectric and sent out a Growlithe.
"No way, yo! We gotta survive too, ya know! We ain't dying for no reason! We gotta do this to live!" one of the female gang members replied, and that irked Jessie. She detailed exactly what her life had been only a few weeks before: striving to survive off law-breaking and villainy. Suddenly, she didn't want to think about how she'd previously been.
Jessie reached into her pocket and retrieved a Pokéball she'd reclaimed from their locker when she left the Team Rocket's headquarters. "Yanmega, come on out!" she called. The big ogre darner emerged from her Pokéball, zipping quickly into the air, her silver wings buzzing louder than a jet engine.
One of the males, young, skinny, and lanky, noticed Yanmega first. "Who're you, lady?" the youngster asked, his expression contorting forcefully, with the apparent aim to be menacing. He was too youthful to look menacing.
"Hmm!" Jessie smirked. She sashayed forwards a few steps, slapping her hands on her hips, which she jutted outwards, adopting her rehearsed pose. "Prepare for trouble–"
"Not gonna happen, Jessie!" Meowth intervened, dashing nonetheless to her side, accompanied by James and his Carnivine gnawing on his hair.
"What're you doing, Jessie?" James asked warily, looking between the large Raticate and his female compadre, thoughtlessly dislodging his Pokémon.
"What does it look like?" Jessie snapped, "Putting the do-badders in their place!"
"Well, ain't that ironic!" Meowth said with snark.
"Whatever. They pissed me off! Yanmega, Silver Wind!" Jessie said.
"Eh?! We annoyed you?!" one of the male gang members said, shrieking as Yanmega slapped her wings even faster against the air, generating a gust of visible silver threads of wind, twinkling as if infused with tiny gems. Silver Wind's thin silver tornadoes pounded into Raticate. Raticate wailed but its mountainous body didn't move. "Why're ya helping the feds?! Raticate, Crunch!"
"I guess we're fighting now!" Meowth said and grunted, brandishing two paws that grew long white nails. Meowth ran the collision course towards Raticate, a rain of Bullet Seed from James' Carnivine backing him like an army's fleet of arrows.
"Yanmega, Steel Wing!" With a third Pokémon joining the fray, Team Rocket was a champion triple-battle team, coordinating their moves perfectly in time to stop Raticate's powerful advance. Bullet Seed relentlessly pelted Raticate, its huge body preventing any from missing. Meowth charged next, swiping at its feet, right then left, and Yanmega finished the assault, slamming into Raticate's head with Steel Wing, toppling it and stopping its Crunch.
Jessie was astonished that their coordination connected so well. She felt as if she knew what her partners would do and when they would do it. They hadn't had a battle since the news of Ash's fate, and now Jessie realised he'd done much more for them than she'd considered. Essentially, as he'd improved as a trainer, they'd had to in the hopes of kidnapping Pikachu. He'd trained them, and together, they looked to be of league-challenger standard. Ash seemed more amazing by the moment.
"I'm impressed, boys!" Jessie called.
"Hah, I always have been better at battling than you, Jessie," James said with pride in his eye.
"Oh yeah? Yanmega! Steel Wing again!" Jessie recklessly said while glaring at James, not watching her opponent, allowing her competitive emotions to bury her rationality.
"Heh! Raticate, Hyper Fang!" the second girl called, overenthusiastic with her arm-waving.
Jessie's recklessness proved a hazard. When she flipped back to the battle, Raticate's enlarged white fangs clamped onto Yanmega, a yellowish aura surrounding it. Even from where she stood the hit looked critical. A moment later, when Raticate released Yanmega, she darted back on adrenaline, collapsing to the ground when her it ran out. Jessie looked at the Raticate, bewildered. It'd almost knocked out her Yanmega in one hit.
"Jessie, attack from behind with Yanmega! We've got this!" James said, stepping forward. "Carnivine, get behind it and use Vine Whip!" Carnivine nodded its large head and slid around the Raticate, drawing its attention, forcing it to turn. "Meowth!"
"On it! Have a load of my Fury Swipes!" Meowth jeered, nipping in at its tail, slicing Raticate's back with his claws.
"Ahh! A two on one?! Whadda we do?!" one of the boys shouted, panicking. One of the girls slapped him across the face, and he promptly shut up.
"Uhh – uhh – Raticate, Hyper Beam!" the second boy called nervously.
"Jessie!" James prompted, and she knew what he meant.
"Yanmega, Sonic Boom!" Jessie called, feeling a level of excitement for battling that surpassed her other experiences.
Yanmega misdirected the Hyper Beam away from Carnivine into a cluttered stall with three quick flicks of Sonic Boon aimed right at Raticate's jaw. The Raticate grunted and looked back down to prepare another beam, but James already commanded Carnivine to slap its puffed cheeks with Vine Whip. Meowth switched to consecutively using Scratch instead of Fury Swipes for, Jessie assumed, that slight increase in power to weaken Raticate faster.
"Siver Wind!" Jessie added, and Yanmega blew another gust into Raticate. It seemed to do more damage. As if it were super effective.
Raticate is a normal type, right? Jessie questioned herself.
A few seconds more of the consecutive attacks seemed to infuriate the Raticate. The gang members tried to command it to use Hyper Beam, but it didn't obey. It tucked itself in and tensed, and its two front teeth extended. Raticate gyrated on one foot, spinning faster than it presumably could, aiming its teeth outwards as it spun. Consequently of assaulting at close range, Meowth and Carnivine were hit by the move. Just before the connection, Jessie once again saw that spark of yellow aura around Raticate. Carnivine and Meowth struggled to get back up. But so did Raticate. Their consecutive attacks had done damage.
"Yanmega, Silver Wind once more!" Jessie called, hoping she hadn't so far achieved consecutive Critical Hits and that the move had some increased effect on Raticate. This time, Raticate tucked and rolled out of the way just in time. It prepared Hyper Fang again and rolled towards Yanmega. "Silver Wind!" Jessie repeated. The gust hit Raticate, but it didn't falter or stop. It rolled right through the gust, undoubtedly enduring the damage, and unleashed the Hyper Fang on Yanmega, who swivelled in a corkscrew to evade it.
"Carnivine, Bullet Seed!" James commanded, jogging backwards to Jessie's side. Jessie glanced at him, his grin, then at the Bullet Seed, which pelted onto Raticate's head. When it finished, the large Pokémon slumped, and its eyes dropped into unconsciousness.
A moment of silence revealed Jessie and James', and their Pokémon's, exertion in the form of deep breaths. A second later, their heaves couldn't be heard over the applause and acclamation.
Looking up, Jessie saw the gang members throw their stolen goods from their arms and scurry away, abandoning the large Raticate, yelling. She took in the cheers and clapping next, a lightness permeating her chest, familiar but foreign too. Was it pride, without the cause being their foul deeds? It felt good for her.
She caught James' eye, but he didn't look back. His eyes were stars, his smile the curve of a crescent moon. Jessie realised something about her companion at that moment and questioned everything she thought she knew. Praise and admiration seemed to make James happy, doing good deeds, not the pointless evil endeavours he concocted that she took credit for. It made her curious; did he consider the previous years a chore? Had he wanted to change the entire time? If he did, Jessie hadn't paid attention to him at all. She didn't even know her closest friend.
Jessie couldn't complain. She didn't know herself, either, seeing as the praise, the hollering and complimenting elated her more than the prospect of being physically attractive. She didn't need to know why she loved it, either. She just enjoyed the moment, wondering where these new revelations would lead her. But for now, hearing the praise was enough.
James didn't know why Jessie intervened in that fight, and he didn't care either. He was thankful she did. In that ceremonious moment, James felt everything he'd ever wanted: respect, admiration, accomplishment, pride. It felt as if it cleansed his heart from all bad thoughts. James was more than himself.
"Thank you for that," James heard in his ear. It was Officer Jenny. "You battled excellently! You're wonderful trainers."
Jessie recoiled beside him. She didn't seem capable of responding, so James did it for her. "It's our pleasure, Officer. But please, don't forget our Pokémon."
"Naturally! They all battled excellently."
"Thank you very much," Meowth said, folding his arms. Officer Jenny stared at the talking Kantonian for a moment, before turning back to James' continuation.
"Is everything alright now? Are those criminals gone?" he asked.
Jenny nodded. "Yes. That was Team Skull, as they call themselves. Usually, they are just nuisances who vandalise and try – and fail – to steal Pokémon and items. Today, though, they somehow got a Totem Pokémon on their side. It's unusual for them to put up such a fight. I'll have to talk with Kahuna Hala."
"Well, I am glad we were able to help," James said, the truest statement he'd ever spoken.
"Thank you, once again." Jenny turned to walk away but stopped before she did. "This will sound bizarre, but you have the makings for it from what I saw, so I have to ask. Have you ever thought to join the Alolan Police Department? We are currently understaffed and could use experienced trainers such as yourselves."
James' eyes and smile flared. If he thought he had everything he wanted moments ago, that single question upturned his reality, opened a door in his mind that had for so long been bolted shut. He had an opportunity, and with the lingering worry of what he'd overseen and heard at Team Rocket's Headquarters, it was a life-changing opportunity. "Do you truly mean that?! You think we could join?!" he eagerly asked, twitching, almost grabbing for Officer Jenny's hand.
"I do. Please, think it over. I have to go and tend to the Totem Raticate but let me know what you decide." Officer Jenny nodded before walking away.
"Did you hear that?! We could join the police! Then we could quit that doughnut selling job and earn some real money, a real living!" James said enthusiastically, trying to bargain the idea to his companions.
"The police, huh? That'd be ironic!" Meowth said, chuckling to himself. "You know, though, I think it's a great idea."
"Jessie? What do you say?" James asked, hope in his eyes. She sighed, obviously unsure. "If we're in the police, we can do something about the situation we saw at the HQ."
Jessie frowned. "Why're you asking me?"
"You're a part of our team, right? We all have to agree," James said.
"Oh, alright. Only if I can still have time off to lounge on the beach! I need my destressing time from you idiots," Jessie said.
"Of course! Thank you!" James shouted, jumping forwards and pulling Jessie tight into a hug., trapping her arms at her sides. Jessie immediately became rigid. James let go a moment later, lost in his thoughts, barely seeing Jessie smile.
"Officer Jenny! Is everything alright?! I came as fast as I could!" James heard behind him, and a clatter of footsteps. It was a young man, his hair light pink, his attire charming.
"Ilima! Thank you for coming, but everything is taken care of. You see, Team Skull somehow got Totem Raticate on their side for a little while," Jenny replied, standing to shake hands with Ilima.
"Really?! Now that's unusual… I'll have to consult Hala about this," Ilima said.
"It is. I thought to do the same," Jenny said.
"On behalf of the Kahuna and Trial Captains, thank you for taking down Raticate. We will make sure he is well tended to, and everything returns to normal. Sorry for the inconvenience," Ilima said.
"Actually, these two trainers here are the ones to thank for resolving the issue. They battled Raticate and defeated him. They're the heroes today." Officer Jenny gestured Jessie and James. Jessie straightened her back, and James liked how that sounded. They were heroes.
"Is that so? Excellent, thank you! Could I ask for your names?" Ilima said.
"My name is Jessie, and this is James and Meowth," Jessie said, gesturing her companions.
"Nice to meetcha!" Meowth said. Ilima's eyes widened, and he crouched to Meowth's height.
"A talking Kantonian Meowth! Fascinating! As a Normal-Type trainer, this is incredible! My name is Ilima, nice to meet the three of you–" Ilima said, standing back up, shaking their hands.
"Ilima! Sophocles fell on our way here and took Lana out with him, so the others stopped to help them, but I'm ready to battle–" The voice abruptly stopped. "Team Rocket?!"
"Pika?!"
James whipped around and saw them stood there, eyes squinted, calculating.
Ash and Pikachu.
James' heart soared into heaven. He felt like he was above life.
Before he even thought, James ran at Ash, yelled his name, and grabbed the pair into a strong embrace. Unrivalled bliss, disbelief, and relief congregated in his heart. He was overwhelmed in the feelings so much he didn't consider how bizarre his actions would seem in Ash's mind, to Jessie even who seemed to be searching inside herself for a reaction. Having felt a plethora of painful emotions prematurely and incorrectly for however long they'd lived since the news of Ash's death – which now was apparent to be false – James was renewed with new life and vigour.
Jessie clutched onto the embrace next, tearing up, a sight which had once been considered a myth, then Meowth stepped between them too. James considered the situation then; how different their reactions were to how they would have been before believing Ash was dead. That changed him. Them. In a twisted way, only because Ash was alive, James was pleased for it to have happened. He was a different person now, and now that he found Ash alive, a coincidence more unlikely than them catching Pikachu ever was, he knew he'd never wish bad on him ever again.
"Uhh, what's happening?" Ash asked, bewilderment in his voice.
James jumped back, wiping his nose sloppily with his hand. "You're alive! Thank Arceus you're alive!"
"Yeah, umm, of course, I'm alive."
"What do you mean 'of course I'm alive'?! We thought you were dead!" Jessie contributed, folding her arms as if blaming Ash.
"What–" Ash stopped himself. "Wait… You believed I was dead?"
"Yes! It was all over the news! Didn't you know?!" James answered.
Ash shook his head. "No! So, everyone thinks I'm dead?"
"Yeah, Oak told the news you passed away. He said he saw your body after the attack…" James trailed. They'd been stupid the entire time. How could they have believed Oak's words at all?
"Oak. Again. It's him again!" Ash said angrily.
"Ash, do you know these trainers?" Ilima asked, a ghost suddenly materialised beside them.
"Yeah, they're… friends. Sorry, Ilima, but could I go and talk to these guys for a little bit? I'll come back and help clean up, I just need to talk about some things," Ash said.
"Of course. Take all the time you need."
"Thank you. Come on," Ash said, beginning to walk away from the market. Team Rocket followed. There was more going on than any of them realised. James knew that now, and from his desire to talk, Ash seemed to know it too. When they were far enough away from people, Ash asked them to explain. They explained all they knew.
"So, Oak lied to the news outlets saying that I died, and it was all over the TV? Everyone, including my mum, believes I'm dead? Oak did tell people about it… And you've stepped away from Team Rocket after you've seen something really bad?" Ash asked, sat atop a short brick wall a little way aside of the market, beside a luscious patch of grass and bushes and a red-leaved tree.
"That's about it, yes," James confirmed. "I hope we can lose all the bad blood between us. Over the years we've had our troubles, but believing you died… Well, that definitely changed something."
"Of course, especially because you went to check on my mum. I can't thank you guys enough for that, really," Ash said, softly smiling, hardly having to think about it.
"It's the least we could do," Jessie said, just like all of her contributions so far. Short, quiet. She didn't seem to be as comfortable with the situation as James was, but Ash couldn't blame her. She had been the most influenced by Team Rocket. Speaking as friends wouldn't seem natural for her yet.
"What did you see that made you want to leave Team Rocket? You said you wanted to tell me before – you know," Ash asked, nonchalantly moving his hand to ruffle Pikachu's head. "Not that I can do loads about it. Why didn't you go to Lance instead?"
Jessie parted her lips to speak. She closed them when she seemed to realise that he was right.
"He's got a point, you know," Meowth said, then nodded his head side-to-side, as if toying with the thought. "We've got bad reps in Kanto. That's why we hesitated."
James sat down on a bench opposite Ash, laughing. "Nevermind that now. It's something for another time. We've got an opportunity to do something about it ourselves, seeing as Officer Jenny offered us jobs in the police force."
"Really?!" Ash asked, "That's ironic!"
"Ain't that the truth!" Meowth agreed, grinning with his teeth.
"Well, congrats, guys! I'm glad you're trying something new rather than chasing me everywhere. For a minute, I thought you'd put a tracker on me and stalked me all the way out here." Ash grinned. He hadn't said it, but he was proud more than relieved.
"We weren't that obsessed," Jessie huffed, folding her arms defiantly.
"Sure, you weren't."
"I'll admit, we made some extreme moves. Nothing we can't rectify, right?" James said hopefully.
"That you already haven't, you mean. Seriously, checking on my mum despite her knowing our history… That – that's an incredible thing to have done. I'll say it again: thank you!" Ash said.
"Not a problem, Ash." James patted his shoulder. "If you don't mind me asking, what are you doing so far out here in Alola?"
"Ah, I kind of got on the plane randomly to escape Kanto… But now, I'm involved in something called the Island Challenge, which is something I'm kind of experiencing with some new friends."
"Ones that haven't betrayed you?" Jessie thoughtlessly asked.
Ash cringed but said nothing in retaliation. "That's the hope. Speaking of them, I should probably get back to my friends and help clean that mess up," Ash said, standing up, angling his arm for Pikachu to climb on.
"We'll come too, then, to give Officer Jenny our response," James said.
"Sure. We should catch up over some food or something sometime after you've settled into your lives as law-keepers, that is. That's such a strange thing to consider!" Ash said, trying to mentally imagine Team Rocket as a police force. He wondered, in amusement, how many times they'd have to arrest themselves.
"Hah, I agree!" Jessie laughed aloud.
"It'll be weird! And yes, we should. Are you staying somewhere we can come and find you?" James asked.
"Oh, yeah. I'm staying at the Poké-Center in the city, room ninety-nine," Ash said, and then he realised how oblivious they'd all been. He looked James in the eyes, who wore the same look of realisation. "You're in room one-hundred, aren't you? And I've been passing you every day, haven't I?" James nodded, and Ash couldn't stop himself laughing. They laughed the whole way back into the marketplace, waving 'see-you-soon' to one another, their relationship reformed in a positive light.
Ash left the former Team Rocket trio feeling even happier than he had after his trial. He'd never considered it before but having that trio as friends was a lot better than having them as enemies. They clicked strangely easily.
"Ash! There you are! Did you win the fight?!" Kiawe asked, observing the wreckage and the unconscious Raticate that Officer Jenny and Ilima, and some bystanders, couldn't lift even with their combined efforts. His eyes were on fire, clearly hailing Ash as the Arceus of battling.
"Nope, it was those three talking to Officer Jenny, Jessie, James, and Meowth. I was about to start tidying up the area after the incident, so you guys wanna help?" Ash asked, crouching to pick up a broken stall plaque. Kiawe's expression fell slightly.
"Of course! I love doing this type of volunteering!" Mallow said, grabbing Lillie's shoulders and skipping off to another broken stall.
"I am obliged to help out!" Kiawe strangely answered, flexing his arms before lifting a chunk of wood. Ash just shook his head. Lana and Sophocles agreed too and helped him pick up the scattered food. Ash was disappointed that the kind lady's stall was damaged; he liked getting an apple from there every morning.
It took around an hour to clean things up and wake up the Raticate, who received a stern talk from Hala when he arrived with a team of flexing Machop to help.
Ash finished fixing the canopy over the lady's stall when he spotted a Litten tiptoe to the stall and bite into an apple that had fallen to the floor. He thought to call out to it, but the kind lady from the stall tapped his shoulder as it walked away.
"Don't worry. Little Litten there comes every day for a piece of fruit, so I let him have one. He's a kind Pokémon, Litten. It always seems sad, though," she said.
"I see…" Ash said, watching the Litten walk away. He frowned, then turned at Lillie's call of help. In the distance, he could see. Jessie, James, and Meowth following Officer Jenny back into the city, towards their new lives. Ash was happier than he could say.