Yay, I can update at a semi-regular basis again!

Jason sat in the lobby of the Hotel Camphrier pouring over some paperwork that Steven had had faxed there. Celestia sat across from him reading a guide book about the surrounding area while April and Jasmin sat sipping tea and mentally swapping stories about their adventures with their respective Trainers. Amanda and Lucien were sitting in another chair napping.

The group had arrived in Camphrier Town three days after Jason and Celestia had met. The journey there was fairly uneventful. Both of them had, however, obtained new Pokémon. Jason had come across a Pokémon called Fletchling, a quick moving Bird-Pokémon that, according to the Pokédex, evolved into the Fire/Flying dual Type Talonflame as its final evolution.

Celestia, by some odd stroke of luck, had obtained a recently hatched Froakie—a Water-Type that was used as the Water-Type starter Pokémon in the Kalos Region. They had noticed it when Jason had fallen behind with a limp and saw the baby Frog-Pokémon hanging on her back. April had entered its mind and discovered that it had imprinted on Celestia. According to Jasmin, that made a total of eight Pokémon that had done that—the other seven having been at the ranch.

Celestia looked up from her book, "So, what did the Chump send you that's so important that we have to sit here for two days?"

"Don't you mean Champ?" Jason asked without looking up.

"I know what I said. So what are you working on?"

"You're case file," Jason answered as he flipped to another page. Jasmin and Celestia both gave Jason their full attention all of a sudden. "It's odd though. I don't even see any statements made by you." Jason looked across the table to Celestia, "Did no one even ask your side of what happened?"

Celestia glanced around, "I assume you're referring to the reason I'm on parole." Jason nodded and Celestia sighed, "No, no one asked me my side of the story. Usually when I try to tell my side of a story it ends with me being arrested."

"Well, I'm asking now. I have their side of the story, but something seems off."

Celestia seemed taken aback, though her look quickly turned to one of suspicion. "Ok," she said, "but do you promise you'll take what I say into consideration."

Jason nodded, "I will; however, I would like to—with your permission of course—have April analyze your memories of the event in question as you tell it."

Celestia glanced to April, "I'm not sure if that's wise. I have a pretty messed up past and…"

Don't worry, April's mental voice rang in their heads, as long as you're telling the story, I can stay at the forefront of your thoughts. I promise I won't delve where I'm not welcomed.

Celestia looked to April, then back to Jason, "Can I have Jasmin block out the rest of my memories. It's not that I don't trust April, I just don't want her to accidently slip into the wrong set of memories."

Jason nodded, "Of course."

Celestia sighed, "Ok, here we go…"

For the next hour, Jason listened to Celestia talk about an incident in Lilycove City where two men had cornered her. In self-defense she had grabbed a nearby broken piece of pipe and swung it at her assailants, knocking one of them unconscious. The two men had later had her arrested, claiming she had assaulted them. From there the case was already documented.

Jason looked to April who simply nodded. He looked back to Celestia, "April says you're telling the truth, as does my personal instinct." He pulled out a black credit card from his pocket and passed it to April, "Here, ya'll go find something to eat. I'm about to file a report to have Celestia's probation removed."

Celestia was in absolute shock, "Wait, so I won't have to deal my psycho parole officer any more?"

Jason shook his head, "Nope, the order should be fully filed and carried out well before we ever get back to the Hoenn Region. Now go and celebrate your freedom." With that Jason pulled out some blank forms and began filling them out.

"So, April," Celestia said between bites of her fruit salad, "why does Jason want to help me so badly? He doesn't even know me."

April looked up from her garden salad, Jason doesn't like to see people wronged. He has his own personal sense of justice. I've actually seen it get the point he took to fighting people because they wronged someone. He actually got arrested while we were traveling the world because he knocked someone out in a brawl.

Jasmin looked at April, Jason's has a record?

April nodded, He does, and it's all for attacking someone out of a sense of justice. He was quite the vigilante when he was younger. He's calmed down since then, of course.

Celestia shook her head, "So he likes to play 'hero'?"

April shrugged, That's one way to look at it. Although, now that I think about it, almost all of his Pokémon were rescued from one bad situation or another. She looked down, He even saved me from certain death.

Celestia nodded. She hadn't been sure of Jason's intent, but now she knew that Jason wasn't like most people she had met. Jason actually had a heart. She looked down at her fruit salad, "You know, I'm not used to people taking my side—other than my cousin and his friend. It…it's nice."

April was about to say something when Lucian walked up, Amanda riding on his head. He looked to April, "Well, Jason just went on a rant. Apparently, Steven wasn't willing to lift the probation until he found out you read her mind. After that his tune changed entirely. Jason's in his room resting. He has one of his headaches and his leg is bothering him."

April nodded, I'll go take care of him. She slid the card Jason had handed to her over to Celestia, Here, use this to pay for the food. With that she teleported away.

Lucien sat down where April had been and sighed, "I swear that boy's gonna die of an aneurism one day."

Celestia raised an eyebrow, "You sound like a worried father."

Lucian rolled his eyes, "I practically raised the boy, I may as well be his father."

Jasmin eyed Lucian over her tea. April had apparently told Lucien to keep quiet as well.

It wasn't long before the waitress came back to the table and added Lucien's order to the ticket.

Celestia took another bite of her fruit before asking her next question, "So, are there any surprises I should expect while traveling with Jason?"

Lucien glanced up from his soup, "I'm not sure I follow."

"I mean is there anything…I don't know…odd about him?"

"There's plenty odd about the boy. It's what make him human. But no, there's nothing to out of the ordinary about him. Although he does snore."

Celestia rolled her eyes, "Trust me, I heard."

Lucien chuckled, "So did I, and I was in my Pokéball. Other than that, just expect a lot of attention if people here pick up on who he actually is. The reason he was chosen for this is because he's apparently fairly popular in this region."

Jasmin looked up, So we should expect the paparazzi?

Lucien nodded, "More than likely. Like that woman hiding in the bushes over there with a camera." Lucien turned his head to the bushes in question.

From out of the bushes stepped a young woman that, to Lucien, looked a little like Viola did. The key difference being her pink hair with only one extension coming out over her right eye. She was wearing a black and pink shirt with the collar turned up and the sleeves rolled to her elbows. She wore a pair of grey pants and hiking boots. In her hands was a camera that Lucien guessed fit in the bag that sat at her back.

The woman bagged the camera and approached the table, "How'd you know I was there?"

Lucien just held up a glowing palm.

"Aura, right. Sorry for the secrecy, but my sister called me and told me about Jason being here in Kalos and said he'd be in Camphrier Town fairly soon. So I made my way out here to see if I could catch an interview."

Lucien nodded, "I see. I hate to disappoint you but…"

"But I'm running a little late." Everyone turned to see Jason strolling up, April behind him.

The woman approached Jason with an out stretched hand, "Jason, it's good to meet you in person. My name's Alexa. I work for the Lumiose Press."

Jason shook her hand, "Call me crazy, but you look familiar."

"Yes, people do say I and my sister, Viola, look alike."

Jason nodded, "I guess that explains how you knew I was here."

Celestia stood up at this point, "I'll let you two get to your interview. I think I'm gonna walk around town." She handed Jason back his card. Jasmin got up and walked away behind her.

"Just meet me back at the hotel tonight." Jason looked to Lucien, "Go with them would you? Just in case others try to crowd her."

Lucien nodded and followed after them, Amanda jumping onto Jason's shoulder. Jason looked back to Alexa and offered a seat. They sat across from each other with April sitting between them.

"So," Jason said, "what do you want to know?"

Alexa opened up a notebook and turned on a recorder. "Well, I suppose first thing's first: What brings you to Kalos?"

"A diplomatic mission. A request from the Kalos Pokémon League has reached the Coalition of Leagues that they be allowed to join. I'm here to meet each Gym Leader, as well as the Elite Four and Champion to make sure they are all agreeable to enact laws that may not already be in place."

Alexa made a few notes before continuing, "Alright, next question: I'm sure you were offered transport, yet you refused. May I ask why?"

Jason sat back before answering, "I enjoy traveling. That and there are Pokémon here I've never seen before. It's something of a learning experience for me."

Alexa nodded and then put down the notepad and turned off the recorder. She looked to Jason, "Now this is just me being nosy, but you happen to be traveling with a very beautiful Gardevoir. Is there something there you wouldn't say publicly?"

April blushed and Amanda snickered. Jason chuckled, "There's a lot there I wouldn't speak of in public."

"And that other girl?"

Jason shook his head, "No, she's someone I hired to battle the Gyms here so I could observe them in battle. I would battle them myself, but I get carried away and lose my ability to observe."

"So," Alexa said, picking her notebook back up, "you've hired someone to battle for you…"

Celestia walked up to a painting in one of the rooms of Shabboneaue Castle. The town was peaceful enough that she found herself relaxing—an activity she wasn't used to doing. Jasmin and Lucien—who had followed her at Jason's request—were off admiring a statue behind her, passing idle chatter.

"Hey, Lucien," Celestia called over her shoulder.

Lucien turned his attention to her, "Yes?"

"Why is Jason still so popular? I mean, it has been several months now since he became a Gym Leader right?"

Lucien shrugged, "I can't say for sure. He's always had a knack for drawing attention, and it's not because he does it on purpose."

Has that ever gotten him into trouble? Jasmin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A few times, but nothing major. He can definitely hold a crowd's attention though."

Celestia nodded and moved to another painting, this one showing a woman with an Eevee cuddled in her lap. "So, what about you? What's your story?"

Lucien chuckled, "I actually used to belong to Jason's mother. After an incident during one of his trips she insisted that he take me with him."

Celestia turned with a questioning look, "What happened?"

Lucien closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, "He got attacked by a group of Pokémon that smelled the food he had cooked. He had just returned all of his Pokémon and was about to go to sleep. The wild Pokémon attacked him before he could get to a Pokéball. He finally managed to grab April's—mind you she was a Kirlia up until this point. When she saw the state he was in…well, to hear Jason tell it, April evolved out of pure rage and sent these Pokémon flying straight into the mouth of Hell."

Jasmin looked surprised, How bad were his injuries?

Lucien sighed, "He had several broken ribs and his left leg was broken in two spots. His eye was swollen shut for a week and he needed stitches in his left arm. To be honest, I don't know how he survived. Ever since then though, April refuses to go into her Pokéball for any reason."

Celestia gave Lucien an odd look, "So she sleeps in the tent with him?"

"Yes, but it's purely platonic." Well, he thought, it used to be.

Celestia seemed relieved, "Ok. Just curious, but who is Jason's mother?"

Lucien turned back to look at another statue, "Glacia."

Celestia and Jasmin swapped a look. "Wait," Celestia said, "you mean that psychotic mad-woman is Jason's mother?"

Lucien looked back to Celestia, "So you've met her?"

"She's my probation officer!"

Lucien blinked, "Oh. Well, at least with what Jason did you won't have to deal with her anymore."

"So I won't get frozen to the ground any more?"

"Nope no more…wait…WHAT?" Lucien couldn't believe what he was hearing.

Celestia chuckled, "Yeah, she has a bad habit of freezing me solid when she sees me."

"I'm sorry, my mother does what now?" Everyone turned to see Jason and April walking in, Jason's eyes seeming to glow with anger. Celestia looked closer…Wait, his eyes are actually glowing?

Jason pulled out his League issue Pokégear and dialed a number, "Hey Mom, it's Jason." He was quite for a minute, "I'm good…Yes, April and Dad are fine too."

Celestia looked to Lucien who just shrugged, "He tends to call me that, kinda like you call Jasmin your mother." Celestia nodded and turned her attention back to Jason.

"Actually," he was saying, "the reason I called is because I was curious about something. Since when is it ok for you to FREEZE PEOPLE SOLID?" He was quite again, "What am I talking about? I happened to meet one of your parolees here in Kalos…Her name is Celestia…Her? Dangerous? I'm sure she could be if threatened, but at least she doesn't go around freezing people solid for a crime she didn't commit…Oh you mean Steven hasn't told you? I looked into her case, had April read her mind…Yes she stayed at the forefront, don't worry…and I found out the truth. Her probation is being lifted…Look, I'm making this simple, either you leave the poor girl alone, or I'm bringing Dad up there to pound that Walrein of yours into a pile of blubber!" With that he hung up the phone. He looked over to see Celestia's jaw agape. Even Jasmin looked surprised.

Lucien was smiling, "Please tell me you meant that about the Walrein."

Jason just nodded and rubbed his head, "Every word."

He looked to Celesta, "Well, if my mother causes you any more trouble, just pop by the Gym and let me know."

Celestia looked close to tears, "I think I may have judged you wrong Jason. You're actually a pretty cool guy."

Thank you, Jasmin's voice echoed in his head. No one has ever stood up for her like that. I think it'll do her some good to have someone like you on her side.

Jason nodded to her, "It's getting late. I want to head out of here in the morning so we can get to Cyllage City as soon as possible."

Lucien eyed his son, "You feeling ok?"

Jason shook his head, "Not really. I just need some rest though." He turned to leave the castle.

April looked at him concerned. She turned to Lucien, If I ever get my hands on Steven…

Lucien nodded, "Trust me, I'll help. And I'm afraid it's only going to get worse. Cyllage City is on the coast."

April sighed, Great. That's really going to make him home sick.

Celestia looked at Jason's retreating form. She honestly felt bad for him. He was her age and had so much responsibility just suddenly thrown on him. And from the sound of things, he wasn't here by choice.

Celestia smirked, "If you two need a place to bury the body, I'm sure I could find some spare ground at the ranch."

Jasmin smacked the back of Celestia's head, Celestia! Have you lost your mind? Celestia just gave Jasmin an innocent look. Jasmin shook her head, We should obviously bury him in the forest and plant a tree over him. That way the turned soil doesn't raise suspicion.

April smiled, Well, it's good to know we have someone on our side too.

The group started after Jason, passing idle chatter. Jason gave a small smile as he listened. He may have been home sick, but he had made a new friend. Hopefully, the rest of the trip would go smoothly from here.

Yeah, he thought to himself, as if I could be so lucky.

We continue to learn more about Jason's history, though Celestia still remains a mystery...