Author's Note:

Reminder: Don't make Alex's sister angry.

"Jess!" I shouted, running and positioned myself between her and the battered pokemon. Yes, it was definitely my older sister. Her blue eyes sparkled with worry, and her raspberry-colored hair curled up in an arc before spiraling in on itself.

Tears came to my eyes. "Jessie…" I choked out. I ran to her arms and hugged her. "What happened to you?"

"What happened to you?" she said back finally. Her voice turned to a whisper. "You were supposed to be in Hoenn."

"If you had visited… or even called," I began, wiping my eyes and pull away from the embrace. "Dad died, we moved. We never heard from you again."

Serena had appeared at my side. She looked from me to Jessie to the red-colored "R" emblem on my sister's top. She thought for a moment and did the only logical thing. Quick as she could move, she picked up a rock and hit Jessie in the head.

I gaped and turned to Serena. "Who was she?" she asked calmly. I looked at my sister, laying on the ground, an angry red bump appearing on her forehead where the rock had hit. I sighed, and began to tell Serena the story.

It is 9 years prior to our journey. I burst into her room, grinning. "Jessie, Jessie, want to play Pokemon Trainer? I got-" I stop suddenly. Her bedroom window was open. She was gone. I rush over and close it and the drapes, heart pounding.

I notice a piece of paper on her bed, I pick it up and mouth the words, "So you want to join Team Rocket?"

"She was you SISTER? She's a criminal!" Serena screeched.

"IS my sister," I corrected, peeling the R symbol off Jessie's shirt. "If this is on when we get to the hospital, they'll arrest her," I explained to Serena. I cradled the bloodied pokemon in one arm and picked up my sister's feet with my free hand. "Come on," I say, "help me get her to Lumiose."

I sat in the waiting room, my chin resting on my hands. I was lost in thought, oblivious to anything else. I don't even recall what I was thinking about, just… thinking.

A nurse in short black boots with shortly cropped blue hair flung open the doors and walked towards Serena and I. "Your sister is awake, you can come see her now."

I stood slowly, and followed the nurse to Jessie's room, Serena coming quickly behind me.

Jessie noticed me enter the room. "Hi, Alex," she greeted in a weak voice, before grabbing the lump on her forehead in pain. "What happened?"

"You fell… er, tripped," Serena answered quickly. "Hit your head on a rock. Nasty injury it was."

Jessie stared blankly at her for a few moments, then turned to me. "Please let me explain, Alex…" she begged. "I left Hoenn because I wanted to see the world. Team… the organization," she corrected herself, the blue-haired nurse was still in the room, "helped me do that. I've been in it for 9 years, since I was 14." She points feebly at me. "You… your expression, your reaction, makes me regret every minute of it. I've tried to quit several times, but they never believed I would. They sent me out to the back of their headquarters."

Jessie pauses before continuing. "I ran. Took the pokemon with me. Poor Ralts, pretty sickly looking, even when he was first brought there. While traveling through Route 4 after I deserted, I realized it had a tracker on its leg. I tried to get it off… I panicked, thinking they would find me. Ralts thought I was trying to hurt it, and attacked me. I fought back, and…" she trailed off.

I was surprised that Serena had stayed quiet so long, but finally, she spoke. "What about Ralts, what's going to happen to him? And your mom, are you going to call her, tell her you're alive?"

Jessie gave a small smile. "I was actually thinking of going back to live with mom, if she'd let me."

I smiled back. "She's your mother, of course she will. She misses you to death, you know."

"Alex can take Ralts," Serena said suddenly. Jessie and I both turned to her. "Another pokemon to add to your team, right? Once he gets discharged from the Center, of course," she finished, running her fingers through her hair.

"That's actually… a good idea," Jessie agreed. "It's not every day you come across a psychic-fairy type."

Jessie was discharged from the hospital two days later. Ralts was still being healed, but I promised Jessie that I would come back to get him when he was healthy again.

We opened the doors and stepped out of the hospital and into the mid-day sunlight. I turned to Jessie.

"Say hi to Mom for me, okay?"

She nodded, and we went our separate ways.