Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon

Back in Pallet Town, James stared out into the large meadow that backed up their home. He observed the tiny droplets of rain as they chased each other down the wet glass. It was early in the morning and everyone else was still asleep. He looked over at Jessie, who was curled up in bed with Acorn, Aliyah, Arbok, Ninetales, and Mime Jr. lying beside her. The rest of their Pokémon were either on the floor, couches, or on James' side of the bed, all gently snoring through the foul weather. James snuck out of the room and headed downstairs.

'It's so quiet with everyone gone,' he thought to himself. 'I miss them so much; I hope they're dry enough with all this rain.'

"You okay?"

James turned around and saw Jessie coming down the stairs. Acorn and Aliyah followed behind her.

"I didn't mean to wake you up. I just couldn't sleep. I can't stop thinking about the kids," he whispered.

"They're gonna be fine," Jessie said as she brushed the hair out of his eyes. She was just as worried, but she couldn't show it when James was already upset, it would just make him more depressed. "Annastasia's in charge."

"Yeah…"

"And you are not the reason I woke up." She handed him his phone. "We were requested for a mission. Agents 008, 009, 010 and 005 want our assistance."

"Archer, Domino, Viper, and Pierce. What do they want?"

"The usual—rides. This time to the Toka region. They also want backup. Apparently, the new recruits aren't up to it."

"Sounds like they want us to do something fun."

"It sure does. You in?"

"Always."

The Pokémon left the kitchen to give them some alone time. A few minutes later, Lucy and Meowth entered the kitchen, having been woken up by the same text message as Jessie.

"AHEM!" they called in unison.

Jessie and James stopped what they were doing and turned red as they scrambled to compose themselves.

"Yous gotta learn notta do that," Meowth ranted. "Yer not de only ones livin here!"

"We're assuming you got the same message we did," said Lucy. "We're ready to go whenever you are."

"Yeah. We need some time to get ready," said Jessie. "Twenty minutes. Make the coffee while we get our uniforms."

"Sure," Lucy and Meowth replied in unison as they jumped onto the kitchen counter.

"Can you make us something to eat too?" James asked before he headed up the stairs.

"Weeze got it, yous just go take care of yer makeup," Meowth responded.

Half an hour later the four of them (plus Remy, who was driving) were in their private jet on their way to Viridian City. From there they would pick up Domino, Archer, Pierce, Viper, Cassidy, Butch, Rumika, Duplica and Mondo, along with a few other agents that were fairly new to Team Rocket. Then they were set to head over to the Toka region.

"This is just like old times," said James happily as he looked at his three family members. "Just the four of us going out on a mission together. It is strange without Anna-chan here."

When the jet finally landed, the rest of the Rockets boarded immediately and they were back into the skies in a matter of minutes.

"How are the kids doing?" Rumika asked as they sat down. "Miss them yet?"

"Yes," Jessie and James replied in unison.

"Meowth and I kinda like the quiet," said Lucy. "Lily and Logan can be really annoying. Most Pokémon don't stick around their parents for this long."

"Most Pokémon aren't mega rich or think that they're part human either," Mondo pointed out.

The chatted about the kids for a while. James once again stared out the window and watched the droplets of rain flow down the panes of glass. Jessie noticed his worried expression and took his hand.

"They're fine," she whispered. "They were raised by us—what could possibly go wrong?"

James just nodded and rested his head on Jessie's shoulder. She rubbed her hands through his hair a few times while they both closed their eyes and tried to relax.

XO

Back at camp, Annastasia was jolted awake by the rain, which was starting to leak into her tent. After placing a towel over the spot where Logan had accidentally ripped the fabric all those years ago, she sat up and looked at her phone.

'It's only five,' she thought to herself. 'I might as well get up since this rain is keeping me awake.'

Annastasia quickly put on her uniform, including a TR themed rain poncho, and slipped out of the tent. She was extra careful not to wake Amber and Jocelyn, with whom she was sharing the shelter. Bleu and Lil-G followed her outside.

Annastasia filled her canteen and fed her Pokémon. She was doing some early morning stretches when a familiar sensation rang through her body.

'Not here…At least no one else is awake…'

Annastasia proceeded behind a stand of trees several feet away from the campsite and slowly lowered herself to the ground. Lil-G and Bleu sensed what was happening and scuttled to her side.

"Taria," Bleu murmured as Annastasia lied into his wooly feathers.

"Lillipup pup," said Lil-G.

Annastasia and the Pokémon felt her entire body seize, but what happened immediately after was only something she witnessed: heavy fire, crashing, bursts of smoke, propellers, Beedril, Crobat, Houndoom, and a Mega Venasaur. She felt a burning and cutting sensation all over her body. All she could do was wait for it to end—all the years this has been happening, she still hasn't found a way to make it stop. As she shook, Bleu held her in his soft, cloud-like wings, preventing her from banging into something hard. Lil-G sat on her lap, trying her best to steady her. Annastasia could only vaguely feel their presence.

Five minutes later, everything stopped. Annastasia breathed hefty sighs of relief.

'Finally, it's over,' she thought to herself. "It wasn't so bad that time.'

Annastasia chugged the contents of her canteen then slowly made her way back to the campsite.

"I'm glad this didn't happen while everyone else was awake…I would have really freaked the kids out…even though their parents know…'

Annastasia was sixteen years old the first time this had happened to her. She was on a mission with her parents in the Toka region. She and her father were scaling a cliff. Her mother, Meowth, Rumika, Lucy, Mondo, and a handful of their Pokémon were waiting for them at the top. Suddenly a pang of heat jolted through her body. She froze in place.

"Anna-chan? Is everything alright?" her father had asked, looking down at his daughter, who was hanging just a few feet below him.

Against her will, Annastasia let go of the cliff. Safety ropes prevented her from falling. Her body was paralyzed after she instinctively shut her eyes. She saw chaos. Black helicopters were exploding before her, Wobbuffet jumped in front of her and counteracted the waves of heat, preventing them from burning her alive. There were gunshots, bombs, and Pokémon and human shrieks. A red, black, and dark green Venasuar roared and rushed toward her. As this was happening, she shook and stared blankly at an invisible target.

Though they couldn't see what Annastasia saw, everyone reacted. James, being the closest, immediately used the climbing ropes to lower himself down to her. He held onto her and tried to get her to open her eyes.

"Anna-chan? Can you hear me?" he asked desperately. "Please say something!"

Annastasia could hear him, but she couldn't get her body and brain to cooperate enough to respond. Those watching were confused and terrified, wondering if someone had attacked her without them noticing.

James held Annastasia until she stopped shaking, then he and Jessie helped to carry her up the cliff. When she got to the tip, her family checked her for injury and asked her a bunch of questions, but she was too tired and confused to answer any of them sufficiently.

"What happened?" Jessie asked James, desperate for an answer. "Why did she scream? Why is she so scared? Why can't she talk to us?"

"Everything was fine a moment ago, and then she just stopped climbing and let go of the cliff," said James. "I have no idea what just happened."

"Yous feelin alright?" Meowth asked as her parents lay her down on the ground.

"Does she look alight?" Jessie snapped.

'I wanna respond,' Annastasia recalled thinking as they hovered around her. 'I'm okay; nothing hurts anymore.'

"We need to get her to a hospital," said James.

Annastasia coughed as she found her voice. "No…no…I'm fine…I must have dozed off...and had a nightmare…"

"Annastasia, you can't go on this way," said Mondo. "Rumika, Meowth, Lucy, and I will finish the mission while your parents take you somewhere safe."

"Don't worry, Anna-chan, things will get better from here," James said, his voice calm but quivering.

Jessie released Swoobat. "We need you and Bleu help Annastasia down this cliff."

"Grab onto her harness and descend carefully. We'll meet you below."

Annastasia remembered being extremely tired, and she must have fallen asleep soon after the incident. The next thing Annastasia recalled was waking up in the hospital. Her parents were in the other room, talking to a few doctors and nurses.

"It will be a while before we know what is really going on with her," she heard one of the nurses say.

"Can't you figure it out faster?" Jessie asked in an angry and frustrated tone. "This is my daughter we're talking about!"

James put a hand on her shoulder and whispered in her ear, telling her to lower her voice since Annastasia was waking back up.

"I'm sorry but there is nothing we can do about it," the nurse responded, walking away. The doctors followed her out of the room.

Jessie gave a huff of frustration. Her parents walked into her room and asked her how she was feeling. Bleu and Lil-G were nestled up in her bed with her, as Jessie and James insisted that the Pokémon be allowed in.

"Why am I here?" Annastasia asked.

"Don't you remember?" James whispered.

"I remember we were climbing the cliff, and then I felt really hot, then frozen, then I started seeing things," she said. "I thought it was real, then I assumed it was a nightmare…did I somehow fall asleep?"

Her parents shook their heads. Annastasia described what she saw and heard; she could even recall the smell of blood and the burning sensation in her throat as she struggled to breathe through the smoke.

"What's wrong with me?" she asked.

Doctors asked Annastasia a queue of questions. When they left, the Morgans had more questions than answers, adding to their piqued frustrations.

"They're all assuming I took drugs," said Annastasia. "But I didn't—do you think I did?"

"No, we don't think that," said James.

"Did someone slip them to me?"

"Possibly," said Jessie.

"I don't want to think about that," said James. "I just want to know that this won't ever happen again."

"What else did those doctors do after they brought me in?" Annastasia asked.

"We ordered them to do an MRI—we're still waiting on the results, but they all seem to believe it was a seizure caused by some pre-existing condition."

Annastasia could tell that she was scared and worried, more scared and worried than she was, as she was mostly still disoriented.

"But I've never had one before…right?" she asked.

"If you did, it wasn't like this," said Jessie. "This was something completely out of the realm of normal."

Still unsure of just what had occurred, they prescribed anticonvulsants and updated her medical file, which was already brimmed with protocols, prescriptions, and lifestyle limitations.

"They seem hopeful," said James. "Perhaps this is the last time."

The visions continued. Ten days and twelve episodes later, they finally got to meet with the neurologist who had examined her MRI results.

"I have been looking over these results constantly for days," said the doctor. "Unfortunately, this is something that modern medicine just can't fix."

"Why? What is it?" her parents asked together.

"I looked into the report on that trauma you mentioned she experienced before and shortly after her birth and as a young child. It turns out that caused some serious problems with the development of her brain. Certain parts developed insufficiently. These visions are most likely suppressed memories, from her early childhood, perhaps even warped by imagination. The brain can't tell what is real and what is fake. These visions are starting now because at this age the brain is undergoing some major changes. Some of these changes must be triggering the attacks."

"When will they stop?" asked Jessie.

"I don't know if they will ever stop. We can give her a medicine that will help to keep her alert, which may prevent her from having them often, and she can continue the anticonvulsants, but I cannot guarantee that the medicine will be effective. Most likely this is something she'll have to deal with her entire life. She should keep her Pokémon with her at all times. They can make sure she doesn't fall and hurt herself during an episode."

Annastasia remembered how depressed she was after hearing that news. She spent hours crying about it and there was nothing anyone could do to make her feel better. After all her hard work and training, both at Pokémon Tech and in the TR training, she never thought that her biggest weakness would be her inability to forget. It took her a while to get used to the almost daily interruptions and the confusion and exhaustion that followed each event. She lost so much of her strength, both physically and mentally, and she worried about her status as a top agent. She felt as though she let her parents, friends, and siblings down, as for sixteen years they called her 'perfect' and 'indestructible'. Now, they were constantly worried about her, and she couldn't go anywhere alone without at least one of her Pokémon her side.

'But things got better,' Annastasia thought to herself, her mind returning to the present day and the rainy campsite. "Look at me now. They believe in me. They wouldn't have let me go on this journey if that wasn't the case.'

Amber emerged from her tent. Pip, Jocelyn, and Flaafy followed behind.

"Goooood morning, trainer A," Amber saluted.

"How come yere doin dose weird poses?" Jocelyn asked.

"Flaafy?"

"I'm just stretchng. How come you're talking like Meowth?" she countered.

Jocelyn smiled. "Maybe I'm part Pokémon."

"You two sure are smiley for this early in the morning. What time is it?"

"We're at 0700," Amber replied.

"I dink Onēsan wants real time, not military time," said Jocelyn.

"Flaafy flaaf."

"I know what she means," said Annastasia. "It's already 7:00 am? Time really flew. It feels like I just woke up a few minutes ago and it was five. Well, that's good—soon we'll be ready to move on."

"It'll be hard to build a fire since everything's so wet," said Amber. "It's a good thing we have fire types! —Or um, you know, someone does…"

"Pikaa," Pip said as he shook his head.

"Let's wake the others," Annastasia suggested. "I told them to set their alarms for seven, but you're the only ones who got up."

"We're up," Lexi and Nolan called as they emerged from their tents.

Takeshi and Jay, who were sharing with Nolan, and June and Soledad, who were sharing with Lexi, also got up. Their Pokémon came out as well.

"That leaves Lily, Logan, and Michio," said Annastasia.

Lily and Logan were asleep alongside most of their Pokémon inside one tent while Michio stayed in his own private tent. Michio's tent was much smaller than the others, but he said he would rather sleep in there alone then share with Lily and Logan, even if he would have more space in Lily and Logan's tent. Jocelyn went to wake the twins while the others got started on breakfast. Annastasia went to wake Michio.

"Time to get up," Annastasia cooed as she shook the tiny tent. "Come on, Sleepypants."

"Go away," Michio groaned.

"Time to get up, Grumpypants."

"Tarrrria!"

"Lilli lil!"

Annastasia backed away but kept her eyes on the minuscule tent. Michio emerged a few seconds later, clearly pissed off.

"It's 7:15," he growled.

"I know—your alarm went off fifteen minutes ago. Let's get cooking! Literally, we need to cook, help the others train, demonstrate how to catch Pokémon, pack lunch, return to the Mahogany Gym, watch Amber and Jay have their first gym battles, then come back here, train some more, and make dinner."

"Why the hell do I need to be awake for all this?"

"You need to help us cook our meals, clean the dishes, prepare the Pokémon food, train, and then support the others when they go to their gym battles. And, you have to take care of your Pikachu. She needs her food and allergy medicine."

"Do we have to start so early?"

"Yep."

"Michio! Help us get water from the well to boil!" Jocelyn called.

"Flaaaa!"

"Yeah," said Takeshi. "If we have to work, then so do you."

"Just make the Pokémon do it," Michio mumbled as he rubbed his eyes.

"The Pokémon already do so much by protecting us and helping us learn and grow," said Soledad. "The least we could do is take care of them."

"Char char charrrr," said her little Charmander.

Soledad's Charmander, Amber's Pichu, Jay's Togetic, Lexi's Venasaur and Vibrava, Nolan's Blastoise, Takeshi's Cyndaquil, June's Bulbasaur, Lily and Logan's friend Squirtle (who they decided to call Squirt Gun), and Annastasia's two Pokémon were also helping with the chores.

"The Pokémon are kind enough to help even though we told them that they don't have to," said June. "Another reason we should show our appreciation."

"That's right," said Jocelyn. "Thanks, everybody!"

"Flaaafy!"

"I'll let Makoa and Keaka that you're refusing to help us with the chores and neglecting your Pikachu," Annastasia told Michio, who was still refusing to help. "Unless you wanna change your mind…"

"How many strikes to I get before you call them?" he asked.

"Two."

Michio thought about it for a moment. "Fine, I'll help, just—let me get dressed first."

"Five minutes."

XO

Ten minutes later, everyone gathered around the fire that Chary and Cyndaquil had set for them. They each roasted their own potatoes while Annastasia tended to a skillet of eggs that hung independently over the fire.

"How'd you all sleep?" Jay asked as he handed a cup of coffee to June.

"Oh, this is sweet, but no thanks," she said. "I slept great, btw, I just don't like coffee."

Jay shrugged and offered some to Soledad, who also declined. Jay knew better than to offer any to Amber, who once told him that coffee made her feel like barfing.

"I'll take it," said Takeshi.

He took the coffee from Jay and sipped it, hoping to impress Annastasia with his adult behavior. It didn't work, because the second he took a sip he made a face that let the whole group know just how much he couldn't stand the bitter taste.

"It's...good," he lied.

Annastasia suppressed a giggle. "Takeshi, I still don't drink coffee. I prefer green or white tea."

"Oh yeah. Ditto."

"I made tea too," said Jay. "Nolan, Lexi, Lily, and I like coffee, but I made blueberry white tea for A and anyone else who wants some."

The others thanked him. Michio poured himself a cup of coffee. He grimaced after a single sip.

"What?" Annastasia and Jay asked together.

"It's stale," he remarked.

"What are you talking about!?" Jay exclaimed, clearly offended. "That bag is fresh, and totally high quality!"

"I think it's delicious," said Lexi. "I suppose now you're gonna tell how the Alolan coffee in your palace back home is a thousand times better than this commoners' mud."

"I was going to say it, but you took care of it," he replied with a smug smile.

"Jay, I like your coffee," said Lexi. "You made it perfectly. Thank you."

"It's the best I ever had," Nolan added.

Jay blushed. "Ha, I'm sooo glad you like it! I make a lot at home. My dad showed me when I was little."

"Jay knows how to do a lot of things like that," Annastasia said proudly. "He makes coffee, tea, does laundry, and he does makeup like an artist."

"But A doesn't need makeup—I just do a little eyeliner and some eye shadow every once in a while, but she isn't wearing any now and she looks just as good."

"Awe, thanks. And this tea is perfect, just the way I like it."

Michio snickered.

"What now?" Takeshi asked.

"It's weird for siblings to get along so well," he remarked. "And does Jay seriously do makeup?"

"Yeah, so what?" Amber said defensively.

"It's…just…just saying, it's weird. Something's wrong with that."

"There's nothing wrong with me!" Jay responded crossly. "This is just a part of who I am!"

"Yeah. What's the matter with you? You're the one with all the problems," said Lily. "Think of the reason you're here."

"You're mean!" Jocelyn complained.

"Flaaaaafy flaa!"

"People are going to get the wrong idea about you," Michio told Jay. "I'm saying this for your own good."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" Jay asked angrily.

"Michio, you're gonna wanna stop talking before either me or A forces ya too," said Amber.

"Piii," Pip agreed.

"People are going to think you're gay…or something," Michio remarked, seemingly unfazed by Jay's emotional upcharge or Amber's comment.

"Why should I care about what people think?" Jay asked stubbornly.

"You should, and you should start trying to fix that."

"Two strikes," Annastasia quipped before Jay, Soledad, and Amber could bust out all over him.

"I'm just giving the kid advice," he defended.

"No, you're being an ignorant jerk."

"Yeah, no kidding," said Nolan. "Jay!"

Jay was already halfway gone, and missing within seconds after Michio's last words.

"Nolan, go get Jay," Annastasia whispered. "Michio and I are going to have a heart-to-heart."

"Are you gonna beat up Michio?" Amber asked excitedly.

"Maybe. You go help Nolan find Jay, everyone else—talk amongst yourselves. Michio and I will be right back."

Annastasia stood over Michio, annoying him to the point he decided it would be better just to follow her to the edge of the woods and get lectured than to withstand her piercing glare.

"I'll apologize to your brother when he gets back," Michio started. "Chill."

"You're not getting the point," Annastasia replied. "Jay's ten. He's sensitive. Leave him alone or I'll ruin your life."

"I said I'll apologize; what more do you want from me?"

"You need to understand that the world isn't black and white. You have no right to tell anyone here how to live. We can do whatever we want, say whatever we want, and like whatever we want as long as we aren't hurting someone else, and you are not entitled to judge us. Unless you beg for my brother's forgiveness, I'm calling your parents and letting them know that they can auction off your precious Peruya or whatever the hell its name is. And you are on cleanup duty. After we finish eating, you have ten minutes to get these dishes washed. Then you're coming with us and watching the gym battles."

"Fine. Just take it easy."

Amber and Nolan had just returned with a pissed-off Jay as Annastasia and Michio rejoined the group.

"Sorry," said Michio.

"Look at him when you say it," Annastasia ordered.

"Fine. Sorry."

"It's fine," Jay said through gritted teeth.

"You better watch out," Amber said as she and Michio glared at one another. "You mess with Jay, you mess with me, and we're not the kind of kids you wanna mess with."

"Whatever."

Everyone, including the Pokémon, took their food and left Michio alone.

"Pika pi," Pikachu said as she toddled to him.

She took her bottle of allergy medicine out of his bag and handed it to Michio.

"Piiii pi," she said, pointing to the cap.

Michio huffed. "Fine, I'll—"

"Pi chuuuuuuuu!" the Pokémon sneezed, shocking Michio with an intense Thunderbolt in the process.

"—open it," he finished, falling to the ground.

Annastasia and her team heard the noise and came running back to the sight.

"Bleu, looks like he could use a heal," she sighed.

Bleu used Heal Pulse. Annastasia picked the bottle of medicine off of the ground and handed a pill the sniffling Pikachu.

"He's so dramatic," she remarked.

"I hear you," Michio groaned as he sat up. He rubbed his forehead and looked around. "What the hell happened?"

"Just…desserts."

"What does that mean?"

"I never was quite sure. Odd expression, right?"

"Are you ever straightforward?"

She took several seconds to respond. Michio groaned again, growing impatient as he attempted to stand.

"Occasionally," she responded.

Annastasia petted the Pikachu, making her purr with gratitude. Without saying a word, Annastasia, Pikachu, Lil-G, and Bleu walked back to the others, who were eagerly awaiting her return.

AN: Thank you for the kind reviews. If you can, let me know what you think of this chapter:)