Ash watches as the diamond floats for a few seconds, then flies back to the cave. James groans and slowly sits up, rubbing his head. When he opens his eyes, he gives them a quizzical look. "Where am I? Who are you?"

Brock grabs Ash and Dawn to whisper to them. James glances at Meowth, who was also waking up. "They don't remember a thing!"

"Why? What happened to them?" Dawn questions.

"I think they turned into kids," Ash says.

"I can see that!"

"Hm," Brock interrupts, "we'll have to help them. We know about James' childhood, but Meowth and Jessie could be a problem. We don't know if they were happy before or not."

"Meowth?" The kitten Meowth scans the area.

"Hi, little Meowth." James peers down at him, kneeling on his knees. Meowth sniffs his hand. Deciding he was safe, Meowth crawls into his lap and starts purring. "Aww. Are you all alone, too?"

"Meowth!"

"It also seems like Meowth can't talk yet," Brock says.

James looks at the kids. "Did you all help me escape my parents?"

Brock makes up his mind and takes the lead. "Yes, are you alright?"

James' eyes sparkle. "Thank you! Wait, where's Growlie?"

Ash explains to Dawn about James' old life behind Brock. "Well," Brock says, "Growlie stayed behind and distracted them as we helped you. We'll get him when we can. Right now, we're in Sinnoh."

"Alright, where did Meowth come from?"

"Uh, he was abandoned, so we saved him," he makes it up, getting it correct in the process.

"What?" Jessie mumbles when she rises. "Where's the orphanage?"

Ash and Dawn glance at each other in worry. "We adopted you," Brock speaks softly.

"You did? Does that mean you're my family now?"

"I guess so." He smiles. "I'm Brock. Here's Croagunk, Sudowoodo, and Happiny."

"I'm Ash and this is Pikachu, Turtwig, Gligar, Chimchar, Staravia, and Buizel."

"I'm Dawn. My Pokemon are Piplup, Pachirisu, Buneary, and Ambipom."

"Cool!" Jessie and James giggle and start playing with the Pokemon.

"What should we do with them?" Ash mutters to the others.

"Maybe we should just raise them?" Brock suggests.

"Are you crazy? They've caused us so much trouble," Dawn says.

"He has a point," Ash says, "If we raise them to be like us, they won't be evil. I could teach James how to be a Pokemon Trainer."

"And I could teach Jessie to be a Coordinator? She does bear a resemblance to Jessilina . . ." They look at her. "What? Just because I no longer want to be in contests, doesn't mean I can't teach someone else. Who knows, maybe I'll change my mind in the process."

Brock says, "Great idea. And I can try to teach Meowth to talk."

"Really?"

"Are you up to the challenge?" Ash asks.

"Of course," Brock says, "I'm always up for testing my skills as a Pokemon Breeder."

Laughter sounds behind them. James is on the ground, rolling around with Meowth and Turtwig. Jessie hugs Happiny and pets Buneary nearby. Ash notices something and grabs it before showing Brock and Dawn.

"We have a surprise for you." Brock holds out their belts filled with Poke balls. "Here's your Pokemon."

"We have our own Pokemon?" James jumps up excitedly and his eyes sparkle. He releases his first Pokemon and screams in pain and surprise. "How did you find my Carnivine? Did you get him at my cottage?" Carnivine lets go of James' head and looks at him quizzically. Mime Jr. does the same after being set free. Then, it smiles and embraces him.

"Uh, yeah."

Jessie releases her Pokemon. Dustox, Wobbuffet, and Seviper stare at Jessie in shock. Seviper glances at Ash, Dawn, and Brock, then attacks.

"Seviper!" It slithers and rises up, ready to strike.

"Wait!" Jessie grabs onto Seviper's body and cries with tears, "Don't hurt them! They're my new family." Seviper continues to give the Death Glare, but does not want to hurt the young Jessie clinging to it. "Ash, what Pokemon is this?"

"Oh yeah, that's Seviper, Wobbuffet, and Dustox. James has Carnivine and Mime Jr. We'll be sure to get you both Pokedexes when we next meet Professor Rowan."

"Okay." she lets go of Seviper, who starts to sneak along. Before it can reach the kids, Pikachu stops him.

"Pika, Pikachu. Pika . . ." He explains to Seviper, making sure to be quiet enough that Meowth doesn't hear. Seviper glances back at Jessie, then accepts it. It wraps around her in a hug, a few tears escaping.

"It's okay, Seviper. I forgive you." She hugs him back, not realizing that he is crying because he lost her and all their memories together.

"Hey, James," Ash says, "How old are you?"

James looks up from his spot on the ground. "I recently turned twelve, but Mummy and Daddy never said I couldn't get my starter Pokemon from Professor Oak. They said we were too refined to deal with training . . ." James looks at the ground as he trails off.

"You don't need a Starter Pokemon to become a trainer," Ash ensures James. "You've always had Growlie."

James sits up straight. "You're right! When will we go back for him?"

Brock says, "Probably when we have the way. We'll also stop by your Nanny and Pop Pop's cottage. They should have a surprise for you. That's where we got Mime Jr."

"What type of surprise?"

"A Chimecho."

"Really?! I've always wanted one of those!"

"So you know about Pokemon outside of Kanto?" Dawn asks.

"Some like Chimecho and Carnivine. Plus, a few more from Johto and Hoenn."

"What about you?" Dawn turns to Jessie. "Do you have any Pokemon you want to see?"

"Not really. I don't get out much." She blushes.

"That's okay. You can find some for yourself."

"Does Meowth belong to anyone?" James pipes up.

"No," Ash says, "do you want him?"

"Yes!" James hugs Meowth to his chest, who purrs in response.

"There is one thing," Brock says. "I'd like to teach Meowth how to speak English."

"Can Pokemon really do that?" Jessie cocks her head.

"If they put all their effort and hard work into it, yes. He'd be one of the few Pokemon to speak without telepathy. I know Meowth can do it!"

"Meowth!" The Pokemon agrees happily. James picks a Poke Ball and Meowth touches it with his paw, then is pulled in. It wiggles and lies still. However, he immediately comes out.

"Huh? Do you want to stay out with me?" James asks.

"Meowth!"

"That's cool!" Ash picks up Pikachu, "My Pikachu does the same."

"Anyone else?" James looks around at his Pokemon. Mime Jr. nods and Carnivine shrugs. "I suppose that would be a little complicated."

"It's getting dark." Brock looks at the sunset, then his guide book. "We should find somewhere to stay the night. It says here there's a Pokemon Center nearby. Let's go." He dashes off.

"What's up with him?"

"Oh," Dawn says, "he has a crush on certain girl . . ."