Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon
AN: I thought it might be helpful to do an update on some of the relationship statuses and living situations of my characters from Stand by You, just for reference:
- Giovanni & Delia get married sometime after Jessie & James. They live in Viridian City where Delia runs the Pokémon hospital and Giovanni runs the Team Rocket HQ.
- Later on, Ash & Misty get married. They live in Cerulean City with their daughter Amber. Misty runs the Cerulean Gym and Ash is a Frontier Brain nearby.
- May & Drew get married and have a daughter named Lola, but she is only a baby at the beginning of this fic, and a five-year-old son named Mateo. They live in Hoenn and still do contests. They also have careers as Pokémon Coordinator Consultants and work with Ariana, Harley, Dawn, Serena and a few more of their past rivals.
- Iris & Cilan get married and have three kids, Ines, Luna, and June. They live in Saffron City, in the apartment where Brock and Autumn used to live. Cilan is a Pokémon Connoisseur and occasionally fills in as the Striaton City Gym Leader specializing in grass-type Pokémon. Iris raises dragon-type Pokémon and is a member of the Kanto Elite Four.
- Serena & Clement get married and have a daughter named Camille. She is still a baby at the beginning of this fic. Serena does both Pokémon contests and performances, and Clemont is an inventor.
-Autumn & Brock get married and live in Viridian City. Brock is a Pokémon Doctor in Delia's hospital and Autumn is a Pokémon Breeder. Takeshi is their only child.
- Mondo & Duplica get married and have a toddler named Alex. They both work as Team Rocket special agents, and Duplica does shows at The House of Imitae on weekends.
- Bonnie & Max are together, but not married or living together yet. Max works as an intern with Professor Ivy in the Orange Islands and Bonnie does Pokémon performances there.
- Rumika is a free agent (literally). She moved out of Pallet Town and into her old mansion not long after Jocelyn was born. She has turned it into an informal motel, but otherwise lives alone, and tends to spend most of her time at Team Rocket HQ or in Pallet Town with her family.
-Archer and Domino get together, but they aren't really 'married'. They are some of Giovanni's top agents and are only assigned to really important missions. The same goes for Cassidy and Botch, who have a child named 'Saria' who is not featured much in this particular fic.
- Tracey gets together with Misty's sister Daisy. Eventually, they get married too.
- Ritchie and Sakura get married and have two children. They will not come until later on in the fic, I don't want to give out spoilers. They live in Johto, where Ritchie is a Frontier Brain and Sakura raises Eevee.
- As for the others...Most of my original characters are still a bit too young for any type of serious relationship that extends beyond familial ties or strong platonic friendships, but...I will stop now.
Thank you. Enjoy the story:)
"Get up up up up!" Annastasia heard two familiar voices sing.
"What time is it?" Annastasia yawned as she sat up in bed.
"Seven," Lily and Logan replied in unison. "Time to get up!"
"I guess this means you're still coming with us."
"Duh," said Logan.
"We've been waiting for this day for a while," said Lily.
"Tell my mom and Papa I'll be down in a few," Annastasia responded.
"Okay," the twins replied before trotting out of the room and heading down the stars.
"Are you excited to leave?" Annastasia asked her Altaria and Lillipup.
"Taria tar," said Bleu.
"Pup pupppp!" Lil-G squealed.
"I love you," Annastasia said as she petted each of them. "This'll be unlike any other mission we had in the past. Instead of capturing Pokémon for the boss, we will be helping the little guys train and earn their gym badges. Most importantly though, we have to be there to protect them."
"Pup pup pup!"
Annastasia folded her hair into a bun and finished putting the final touches on her TR uniform, which was slightly different from of the others. It symbolized her rank and position in the TR family. Her parents designed it, just like they had all the others. The top was a white tank with a red 'R' on the front. It extended just passed her belly button. She wore a black undershirt that covered her midriff and small black gloves with rubber grips. She wore white short shorts and small black boots that were specially designed to handle the tough forest terrain that she would be encountering. She topped it all off with a black beret, which, according to her parents, were 'coming back into style'. Bleu and Lil-G wore little white handkerchiefs that also had a red 'R' on them. Jessie and James had made them for all of Team Rocket's field Pokémon.
"We look great," said Annastasia. "Let's go."
Jay, Amber, Jocelyn, Takeshi, June, Nolan, Lexi, Lily, Logan, Lucy, Meowth, Rumika, Mondo, Duplica, Ash, Misty, May, Drew, Lola, Mateo, Serena, Clement, Camille, Iris, Cilan, Ines, Luna, Bonnie, Max, Gary, Dawn, Professor Oak Sr., Soledad, Delia, Giovanni, and all of their Pokémon were gathered in the kitchen. Jessie and James had cooked up a breakfast buffet at the Pallet House and carried everything over to the main house.
"Wow. I didn't realize everyone was meeting for breakfast", Annastasia commented as she approached the table. "Looks great."
"Help yourself," said James. "We have vegetable wontons, natto, yogurt, berries, eggs, waffles, and rice." He handed her a plate of chocolate chip pancakes. "And special pancakes for our lovely children."
"My favorite. Thanks a ton."
Several of their guests chuckled. Many of them thought it was amusing how a child as wealthy and privileged as her could obtain such joy from a simple plate of flapjacks. It wasn't a mystery at all to her. Jessie and James still lived humbly; most of the time, and really only spoiled their children on occasion. Of course, they had their butler Remy, a private jet, their own hotel, and her parents didn't have to work as if their lives depended on it as most families did, but Annastasia and her siblings didn't have the same upbringing as James. They didn't have lots of fancy toys, food, or rare Pokémon. They weren't sent to etiquette school or forced to learn any musical instruments or foreign languages. They still did family picnics in the forest and attended public school just like the other kids in Pallet Town, and although they did put a few additions on the house since they first moved in, their house wasn't that much bigger than their next-door neighbor's. It wasn't even the largest home in Pallet Town, as Annastasia's friend Lexi's home was even larger than hers.
"I wonder where dat Michio kid is," Meowth said as he helped himself to one of Annastasia's Altaria-shaped pancakes.
"Hey that was mine!" she complained.
"Stop actin like a child, Miss 'I'm seventeen, Meowth'," he mocked. Meowth turned to James. "Yous better get Michio up. He's gotta leave with de rest of dem."
"I'll get him," James offered.
James walked across the street and entered the hotel. When no one reacted to his knocking, James called Michio's name until he responded.
"WHAT!" Michio yelled.
He slammed open the door, startling James.
"I came to wake you," James coughed. "We made breakfast. The kids wanted to get their starters asap..."
Michio sighed and rubbed his eyes. "Can't they wait at least until noon?"
"They've been waiting almost their entire lives for this day. Most of them had never had their own Pokémon before, plus there is another child coming all the way from Fuchsia City to get her starter and it would be impolite to keep her waiting. Gary says that it is better for all the kids to arrive at the same time so that they could discuss who should get which Pokémon."
"Fine. I will be over there in ten minutes." He slammed the door in James' face. "Never wake me up again!"
XO
Back in the kitchen, everyone was finishing up their morning meal. The kids were laughing talking about which Pokémon they wanted to get.
"I think I want Squirtle," said June. "I think it would be lovely to have my own eevolution one day. But then again, I always liked Bulbasaur…I know either one would make a great partner…"
"Both Squirtle and Bulbasaur are great Pokémon," said Tracey. "I never had either of them, but I know lots of people who did."
"Including me," said Ash. "And we're still great friends. Bulbasaur works as an ambassador here on the ranch and Squirtle works with officer Jenny as chief of the Squirtle Squad."
"I remember you telling me about them," said June.
"My starter was a Squirtle," said Gary. "He evolved into Blastoise when I was eleven. He's one of my most powerful Pokémon."
"It doesn't really matter who you pick," said Duplica. "A friendship with a Pokémon is just like a friendship with a human. It takes love, courage, respect, and trust. It's important to always put your Pokémon's feelings above yours. If you remember that, you can be friends with anyone."
"She's right", said Ash. "Friendship with your Pokémon is the best…it's even the key to success!"
"Pikachuuu!" his partner agreed.
"Wobba," Wobbuffet said suddenly.
"Eeveeee eve," said Acorn and Aliyah.
"Wobbuffet, Acorn, and Aliyah wanna give yous all a goin away present," Meowth translated.
Wobbufet and the two Eevee gave each of pre-teens a handful of white handkerchiefs with red 'R's in the center.
"What are these for?" Soledad asked.
"We made them for your Pokémon," said James. "Each of you will be allowed to travel with six, so we are giving you each six handkerchiefs. Put them on each of your Pokémon; it's like a little uniform for them."
"Thanks!" Several of the kids responded together.
"This is cool, I guess," said Amber.
"I helped make them," Jay boasted. "I'm sooo glad everyone likes them."
"We should give some to Michio to give his Pokémon," said June. "Um, if he ever gets up…"
"Wobbuffet, give some to Michio before he leaves," said Jessie. "His Pokémon are battling on our side, even if he isn't a member."
"These are for you," James said as he knelt in front of Lily and Logan. He handed them each a small box.
"What's this?" they asked together.
"Open them."
"We got uniforms!" Lily exclaimed.
"This is awesome!" said Logan.
They each got a little white t-shirt with a red 'R', two pairs of black booties, and a black beret.
"We'll look like a real team now,"
"Meowth and I are going to wear ours too when we are in the field," said Lucy.
"Why is everyone wearing matching costumes?" Michio asked as he entered the room.
Everyone looked over at him. Other than the five and under crowd, he was the only one not wearing an 'R' somewhere on his body.
"We told you we're Rockets. These are our uniforms," said Soledad.
The kids' female uniform was a little white jumper, white knee socks, black sneakers, and a black and white beret. The kids' male uniform was a black and white shirt and pants and a black and white beret. The adult uniforms were shaped like Butch and Cassidy's but were white like Jessie and James' original. Annastasia's, Jessie's, and James' were the only ones that were truly one of a kind, and of course, everyone's shirt had a red 'R' on the center.
"We can give you one if you want to join," Soledad smirked.
"No thanks. I don't need to look like I'm trick or treating," he retorted.
"What did you say?" Jessie growled.
Jessie lifted a frying pan, ready to strike.
"Ahhhh….no Jess," James whispered as he took the pan out of her hand. "We're shooting for fewer court cases this year."
Jessie slammed the pan down, making the kids jump and Michio flinch. She poked Michio in the chest.
"You're on thin ice," she threatened.
"Mommy, don't scare him away! We're gonna have so much fun traveling together," said Jocelyn.
"Flaaafy!"
"Let's just head down to the lab," Professor Oak Sr., suggested.
Everyone walked down to the lab and waited patiently while Gary and Professor Oak Sr. prepared the five starter Pokémon.
"You know…", Soledad said to Michio. "If I were you, I would pick Pikachu."
"Why wouldn't you pick that one yourself?" Michio asked.
"I promised my daddy I would pick Charmander…I can't let him down. He thinks the Pikachu is too dangerous for me to handle since it has so much power. Pikachu is the strongest Pokémon here."
Michio didn't know anything about Pikachu, having never traveled outside of Unova or Alola. No one he ever competed against ever used a Pikachu. He never even heard of Pikachu, Pichu, or Raichu, until just recently. He fell for Soledad's trick effortlessly.
"I'll take that one then," Michio said as he pointed to the Pokéball with the thunderbolt on it.
The girl from Fuchsia City was named Elaina. Elaina told the others about how she always wanted an Eevee for as long as she lived. Soledad, June, and Michio let her pick the Eevee.
"I pick Charmander," said Soledad.
"Char charrrr!"
"I knew you would pick her," said Professor Oak Sr. "Gary told me that came to the lab almost every day this month so that you could groom her."
"It's true," Soledad said as she snuggled against Charmander. She put the Pokémon down and tied the bandana around her neck. "Welcome to the team."
"Charmanderrr!"
"I choose Bulbasaur," June said nervously.
"Bulbassaauuurrr!"
Bulbasaur rubbed his head against hers in affection.
"I like you too," she whispered.
"I want Pikachu," said Michio. "I heard it's powerful."
"Yes, well Pikachu is powerful. Are you sure you want her and not Squirtle?" asked Gary.
"Squirtle Squirt squirt?" asked Squirtle. He was hurt that no one wanted him.
"Yep," said Michio. "It'll do."
"Pikach—"
Michio returned Pikachu to her ball before she even had a chance to finish her sentence.
"In Kanto, it's common for trainers to leave all or most of their Pokémon out of their balls," said Professor Oak Sr.
"Well, I'm not from Kanto. I'm doing this my way," Michio retorted. "And I don't it bothering me when I don't need it."
"You shouldn't even take a Pokémon if you are going to be so mean to it," Jocelyn huffed, voicing everyone else's opinion
"I don't need you to tell me what I should and shouldn't do."
"There's no point in arguing with someone like him," Ash whispered to some of the kids, not realizing that Michio could hear.
'I'll straighten this loser out,' Annastasia thought to herself. 'He'll learn that he cannot get away with that horrible attitude nor with treating Pokémon like objects, not after I am through with him.'
"Everyone look over here! I'm taking a group photo," said Jessie.
"Hey, everyone," said Todd Snap as he stepped into the lab. "How about we take it outside?"
After everyone greeted Todd, they gathered outside for the photo. Afterward, Todd took individual photos of the trainers with their Most Valuable Pokémon. When they were finished Jessie handed him a wad of cash.
"You don't have to pay me," said Todd. "I was happy to do it."
"Take it; I'm trying to buy my way out of hell," Jessie replied.
"Umm, sure. Thanks."
Before they all left, Jessie and James pulled Annastasia aside for one last word.
"If you ever need anything, you know who to call," James whispered sadly as he gave her one last hug goodbye.
"I'm gonna miss you too," Annastasia responded. "There's no need to worry; I've been on hundreds of missions before, and we'll call weekly."
"Daily," Jessie corrected as she joined the hug.
"I'm just concerned because…if 'it' happens, we won't be immediately available to help."
"I'll have Bleu and Lil-G with me," Annastasia replied. "You know they'll keep me safe whenever I have an 'issue'. They always have. Plus, Nolan, Lexi, Lily, Logan, Jay, and Jocelyn will be my advocates."
"Okay, just…just be okay…I know you will be great…"
"Just take good care of yourself and come back safely. That matters most," said Jessie.
"I promise I will be fine. Weren't you both seventeen when you started chasing Ash's Pikachu?"
"Something like that," Jessie and James answered in unison.
They let go of Annastasia and the three of them walked back to where the others were standing. Everyone, except for Michio, looked pumped.
"Don't worry 'bout me," Amber told her parents as she slung her bow and arrow onto her back. "Pip and I will not only kill it at every gym but eight months from now, we're gonna win the Grand Title in Archery."
"Okay, Squirt. We'll see you when you get to Cerulean," Misty replied. "I'll be waiting to battle you."
"I know you're worried, but I'll be okay too," Jay told Jessie and James. "I have Togetic, A, and Amb to help protect me."
"And Cynd's never let me down," Takeshi told Brock and Autumn as he lifted his MVP.
"Mommy, Daddy, I'm ready for this," said June. "I-I'll prove it."
"Bye, bye," said Luna. "Miss you."
"Miss you," Ines mimicked.
"I'll miss you too," June told her little sisters. "But we'll video chat and I'll bring you a souvenir from every city I visit."
"Yay!" the toddlers cheered.
As the parents gave more words of assurance, Gary's starter Squirtle wobbled out of the lab.
"What are you doing out of the lab, little fella?" Gary asked as he lifted the Pokémon.
"Squirt Squirtle."
"He wants to come too," Logan translated.
"Squirtle Squiiiiirrrrtle. Squirt."
"He's been waiting for his very own trainer for a while and is really disappointed 'cuz no one wants him," said Lily.
"Since yous two are goin' on a journey too, yous can become Squirtle's trainers," Meowth suggested. "Dis way yous can compete in gym battles like de utters and Squirtle gets to have two trainers insteada one."
"Brilliant idea," said Lucy. "After all, it really isn't fair that everyone else has a partner but you two."
Gary turned to Squirtle. "Do you want to travel with Lily and Logan and maybe battle in Pokémon gyms?"
"Squirt Squirtttt!"
Squirtle ran up to Lily and Logan and squeezed them into a hug.
"I guess that means 'yes'," said May. "Squirtle, you're an awesome Pokémon."
"Squir."
Todd took a few more pictures, this time featuring Lily and Logan with Squirtle. Everyone gave one last good-bye to their parents, cousins, siblings, and friends as they left and headed to the Mahogany Gym, their first destination.
AN: Thanks for reading:) Please remember to read/review, if you can of course. Thank you to Julia Togepi so far for your reviews:) If you are reading but haven't said anything yet, please let me know how I'm doing. It would be very much appreciated :)
PS: I will post the character profiles for Annastasia's friends Nolan and Lexi at the end of the next chapter.