AN: Most of these chapters are fewer than 5000 words, but this one and a few others will be exceptions. Thank you so much for the reviews, they mean so much to be me, more than you can imagine. I truly mean that. Please enjoy this next installment.
Back in the Toka Region, outside a village known as Baydon Town, Jessie, James, Meowth, Lucy, Mondo, Duplica, Rumika, Butch, Cassidy, Domino, Archer, Viper, and Pierce landed via parachute in front of what appeared to be an abandoned laboratory.
"Looks like de place to me," Meowth said as he observed the dirty, windowless, concrete building.
"Thanks for the assistance, genius," Cassidy remarked.
Jessie growled. She hated when anyone other than her, James, and a few select family members made fun of Meowth. And even after all these years, she still hated Cassidy.
"Stick to the plan, meet back at this spot in 20 minutes," Pierce instructed. "If anyone's more than 20 minutes late, we'll send someone in after them, understand?"
"Aye!" the agents responded.
"And don't forget that in case of emergency, dial Rocket444. The backups are hanging out in the city, disguised as tourists."
"Yeah, yeah," said Jessie. "This isn't our first mission."
Pierce grimaced and then shook his head as if to tell himself to forget the comment that almost escaped his mouth.
"Don't do anything stupid," Viper added.
He shot a meaningful glare towards Jessie, James, and Meowth.
"We earned our spots in this ranking," Jessie retorted. "Have some respect!"
"You may be high in rank and trusted by the boss, but we're still the ones in charge," Domino asserted. "Just do as we say and don't screw anything up."
"Fine," Jessie, James, and Meowth sighed in unison.
"Wooooobbuffet!"
Duplica and her Ditto kept watch while the others infiltrated the lab. Meowth picked the lock and twelve of them entered the desolate edifice. They divided into pairs with each person carrying three Pokémon each.
"Dis place gives me de creeps," Meowth whispered to his partner, Lucy.
"Shhh!" Lucy interrupted, holding a paw up to Meowth's mouth. "I hear something."
They heard noises from the room ahead. They ducked into the nearest air vents.
Several yards away, Rumika and Mondo headed south.
"I'm letting Venonat out," said Rumika. "He'll help us locate our prize."
"I'll release Ditto for backup," Mondo replied.
Their Pokémon lead them to the room in which Lucy and Meowth hid. Rumika released her Ditto, Reese.
"Make us invisible," Rumika instructed.
"The only downside to this invisible thing is that I cannot see you in front of me," Mondo commented. "Or are you behind me?"
They stumbled until they found one another. They clasped hands and walked as quietly as they could to the front of the door.
"We just have to wait for someone to open the door, then we can make our move," Rumika whispered.
Jessie and James, along with Aliyah, were also invisible. They were walking down a long dark corridor in the basement, James had both of his arms wrapped tightly around Jessie's body as she led the way through the creepy, dungeon-like laboratory.
"James…stop squeezing me," she choked. "Just because you can't see my neck, doesn't mean you still can't strangle me…"
"Sorry!" he responded. He let go of her neck and searched for her hand instead. "Is this better?"
"Much. Why are you squeezing me to death? You won't lose me as long as we are linking something."
"Places like this give me the creeps." He nearly stumbled into an enormous Ariados web. "Yeeeep! See?!"
"I see, now shush."
They ventured until they came across a metal trunk. Jessie ripped off the fabric cover to reveal an enormous display of Pokéballs.
"There must be at least sixty in there!" James whispered excitedly.
"I bet they're the ones we're looking for," she whispered back.
James picked the lock, and within seconds, they were shoving the Pokéballs into their backpacks as quickly as possible. Aliyah turned each one invisible of they hit the bag.
"I wish stealing from enemy bases was always with this simple," James sighed.
"Unfortunately, we're not done yet; there's still that fusion. They probably don't keep something that powerful and rare locked up in some ordinary Pokéball. It's probably in a high-security area. Hopefully, some of the others have spotted it by now and are figuring a way to snatch it," Jessie said as she grabbed the last of the Pokéballs. "Let's move."
They filled the trunk with fake balls resembling the ones they snatched. Jessie and James quickly re-locked the case and put the cover back over it. Then they joined hands and the two of them, plus Aliyah, made a run for it.
XO
"Don't even think about moving a muscle," Amber warned the Pidgeotto. "It will be better for both of us this way. Just let me capture you."
Amber shot an arrow directly above the Pidgeotto. The Pidgeotto looked up, just in time to see a net drop over it.
"Yes! Now Thunderbolt, Pip!" she instructed.
"Chuuuuu!" he cried.
Pidgeotto fainted. Amber caught it in a Pokéball.
"Excellent," she smiled. "I captured my very first Pokémon! I knew this arrow-net thing would work. Come on Pip, let's show A."
Amber found Annastasia feeding her Pokémon down by the river.
"Feast your eyes," she announced, holding the Pokéball out for Annastasia to see.
"Nice. Whatcha find?" Annastasia inquired.
"A Pidgeotto."
Amber released her Pokémon. The large bird did loud chirp before landing on a nearby tree branch.
"This is my loyal Pokémon Pip, my friend Annastasia, her Pokémon Bleu the Altaria and Lil-G the Lillipup," Amber told Pidgeotto. "I'm Amber Ketchum, your trainer. Together you and I will win gym battles, the Poké-Olympics Archery Division, and the Pokémon League. It'll be loads of fun."
"Pidddddgggeee?" it chirped.
"I cannot understand you, but we got translators. You'll meet them later. I have a lotta food. We made it all ourselves." Amber took some of Annastasia's Pokémon food and offered it to Pidgeotto. "Have as much as you want."
"Go on," Annastasia said as the Pokémon watched them nervously. "Amber barks, but she doesn't bite, and we will both take great care of you."
The Pidgeotto happily accepted the food. It ate a good amount of provisions and then perched itself onto a nearby rock. Within seconds, it was asleep.
"It doesn't seem bothered that I captured it," Amber commented. "Or excited."
"Pidgey and Pidgeotto tend to have mild temperaments," Annastasia replied. "The way he's sleeping in front of us means he trusts you."
"I should let him sleep for a while before I train."
"Good idea."
"I gotta go tell Jay! He'll be soo jealous. I bet he didn't catch anything yet."
"The last time I saw him he was in his tent grooming Togetic. I think he's still upset about what Michio said. I decided to give him some alone time, but it has been a while…"
"I got this." Amber lifted her bow and returned the sleeping bird to his Pokéball. "C'mon, Pip."
Pip ran ahead of her, Amber close behind.
"Thanks!" Annastasia called after her.
Amber stopped briefly to wave back. "Anytime!"
XO
While Annastasia and Amber chatted, Jay, June, Jocelyn, Takeshi, Lily, Logan, Soledad, and their Pokémon were out trying to build up their own teams.
"A Caterpie!" June laughed as she pointed ahead.
"You should catch it," said Takeshi.
"Yeah, especially because you saw it first," said Jay.
"Go for it," said Soledad.
"Okay, I got this," June murmured. "Bulbasaur, use Vine Whip on Caterpie!"
Bulbasaur ran towards the bug-type and released his vines. Before it could attack, the Caterpie launched a String Shot. The sticky web got tangled in Bulbasaur's vines, tying them together and rendering the attack completely ineffective. Caterpie laughed in its victory and then started to crawl off.
"Oh no!" June cried. She bent down to try to help remove the sticky substance from her companion. "What should I do?"
"Lily and I can help," said Logan. "You're up, Squirt Gun."
"Break down that web with a gentle Water Gun," Lily instructed.
The Squirtle wet Bulbasaur's vines, and together Lily, Logan, Jay, and June were able to remove the String Shot remnants.
Meanwhile, Soledad and Charmander chased after the Caterpie. After Bulbasaur was free, the other two starters, plus Jay's Togetic and Takeshi's Cyndaquil, followed.
"Five against one isn't fair," said Logan.
"Oh, right," Jay said as he stopped running. "Togetic, let's let June handle this on her own."
Everyone stepped back and let June and Bulbasaur go after the Caterpie on their own. She used Razor Leaf and Sweet Scent, and eventually defeated the Caterpie.
"Yay June!" Jay cheered.
"You rocked it!" Takeshi exclaimed.
"Awesome! Now catch it!" said Soledad.
June captured Caterpie with a single throw. She strode over and picked up the ball, smiling at it broadly.
"I captured…. A CATERPIE!" she exclaimed happily, holding the red and white ball over her head.
Everyone clapped and hooted. She let Caterpie out of its ball.
"Welcome to the team. I think I'll call you Scooter," June said as she petted its head. "Because you're so cute! Quick too."
"According to my Pokédex, it's at level five and has a speed stat of thirty-six," Jay read.
"That's remarkable," said Soledad. "Congrats."
"Yeah, congrats," said Lily, Logan, and Takeshi.
"Thank you so much," June replied. June fed Caterpie the Pokéblock Annastasia had made.
"Jocelyn's going to flip when she sees that one of us already caught a Pokémon," said Jay.
"I want to show the others, but since we're already here…"
"Let's keep walking," said Lily. "This forest is full of Pokémon.
The group soon came upon a colony of Rattata and Raticate. They hid behind bushes and watched the Pokémon graze.
"We should go after them," Lily whispered.
"It's just like a Meowth to want to go after a rat," said Soledad.
"She's right," said Takeshi. "We need more Pokémon before we face AJ. Annastasia said we need three each and that she, Lexi, and Nolan are only gonna lend us one."
"So, we each need to catch a Pokémon today or else we won't get to face the Mahogany Gym," Jay concluded.
"Will you challenge AJ too?" June asked Lily and Logan.
"Nah," they said together.
"We came along for the ride," said Logan.
"We'll help you catch new Pokémon and train—Squirt Gun too—but we probably won't do any gym battles for a while."
"A said that AJ can only take on a few opponents a day, which means that if Lily and I battle too, then we'll spend more time than we need in this lil town. I'd rather move on."
"Same."
"Squirtle Squirrr," said Squirt Gun. "Squirttt."
"He says that he'll battle for you if you ever need an extra mon," Logan translated. "And that June's Vaterpie is a dude."
The kids thanked their mentors then huddled. They devised a plan to capture the wild Rattata and Raticate. When they were satisfied with their decision, Soledad and Takeshi sent their fire-types to light a flame near the main tree where they were feeding.
"This'll be genius," Soledad voiced proudly as the bushes started to burn.
The goal was to scare the Pokémon into fleeing. Lily and Logan would then herd them against the collection of boulders near the edge of the forest. Togetic, Caterpie, and Bulbasaur would jump out and use Confusion, String Shot, and Razor Leaf to assault the Rattata and Raticate. Meanwhile, Squirtle would put out the fire, and the kids would use their Pokéballs to capture their weakened victims. It was supposed to be foolproof.
XO
Back in Toka, Domino and Archer were rounding a dark corner in the basement of the mysterious lab. They were accompanied by Acorn, Jessie's beloved Mew, who had made them all invisible. After nearly an hour of walking blindly, they came upon a glowing light.
"There's our target," Domino whispered. She pressed a button on her watch and then spoke into the tiny microphone. "This is 009 and 008, requesting to speak to agents 042, 043, 044, 045, 046, 060, 065, 080,092, 093, 007, and 006."
"045 and 046 coming in," Cassidy spoke into her own watch. "We're on the top floor; nothing's here."
"Jessie and I got the balls, they were in a display case, and we are certain they are the right ones," James spoke into Jessie's watch. "We're near the entrance."
"This is 042 and 043 by the way," Jessie added.
"And dis is agents 044 and 080. Right now, weeze are spying on dis room dat's got a lotta cool lookin' technology in it," Meowth whispered into his watch as he and Lucy looked down at the scene below them. "We're all de way to de right of de house."
"Agents 060 and 065 are in the same room as 044 and 080," Rumika responded
"And 006 and 007 are proceeding to target," said Pierce.
"We're ready to initiate part two," Domino announced. "I'm firing in minus fifty."
Everyone struggled to put their invisible earplugs into their invisible ears and their invisible goggles over their invisible eyes.
Archer pulled a field gun out of Domino's backpack. They fired it vertically. There was a boom and an explosion of poisonous gas. The gas spread like wildfire, burning the eyes of every human with the facility. Meanwhile, the high pitch sounds rendered everyone within a one-mile radius completely deaf. The only ones immune were Pokémon and those wearing the proper precautions.
"We got this," Domino said as she used her Master Ball to capture the beast in front of her.
"It failed!" Archer exclaimed in shock as the monster popped right back out.
"What!? It can't fail…Go, Mew, do whatever you can to weaken it!"
Acorn fired relentlessly at the enormous Pokémon. The creature seemed unaffected by their various assaults.
"Maybe two Master Balls at the same time will work," Archer suggested.
They threw the balls at the Pokémon in harmony. The result was the same.
"Why isn't this working?!" Domino growled in frustration. "That's it—time for plan B."
Domino contacted the backup Rockets, and explaining the situation them, had them rush to the facility. In the meantime, everyone else was rushing to steal as much of the sophisticated technology as they could carry.
"This is turning out to be an awesome heist," James said as he, Rumika, Duplica, and Mondo lifted a large machine onto their jet.
"I wonder why Domino and Archer are still in there," Rumika pondered aloud.
"Viper and I will see what's taking them," Pierce said as the others continued smuggling goods onto the plane.
Pierce and Viper returned to the building just as the back-up agents were arriving. Everyone gathered around with one enormous Pokémon, assaulting it with various attacks and Pokéballs, only to find that nothing was weakening it.
"I never saw anything like it," Viper said breathlessly.
"Stop fighting," Pierce commanded. "See if tranquilizers will work."
The backup squad fired dozens of tranquilizing darts at the fusion. The creature didn't go down until at least one hundred darts had hit it. Pierce captured it in his Master Ball and locked it.
"We don't know how long we will have before this thing breaks out. I'm hoping it would be able to escape a locked Master Ball, but after seeing it put up such a good fight…I don't know what to expect," he told the troops.
When all the Rockets had finally left the scene, Pierce explained to everyone what had happened with their target Pokémon and the difficulty they had in securing it.
"Sounds terrifying. I hope the boss will know what to do this it," said Jessie. "I never heard of a Pokémon that could resist a Master Ball."
"I can't imagine what we'll find in those machines and codes we stole," said Mondo. "Hopefully some answers."
The rest of them chatted about the mission until they arrived at headquarters. Jessie and James explained to Giovanni and Delia what they had accomplished, and he suggested for them to stay a while, mostly so they could help sort through and access all the stolen materials and Pokémon.
"I wouldn't mind staying," said Lucy.
"Same," said Meowth.
"Jess, how feel you?" James asked.
"It's not like we have any mouths to go home and feed…" she told the boss.
"Excellent," said Giovanni. "We have much work ahead of us."
"Aye!" the agents responded in unison.
"Woooobbuffet!"
XO
Nolan and Lexi were back at camp, making some soup over their fire pit. Michio sat in the corner, filing his nails. Pikachu napped on a soft patch of grass. Jocelyn and Flaafy played chess on the picnic blanket.
"He's been sitting there for an hour," Nolan mumbled as he glanced over at Michio. "What's he doing?"
"His nails. Looks like he's a pretty boy too," Lexi whispered. "What a hypocrite."
"There's something up with that guy…I bet he isn't as tough as he seems."
"That's what Annastasia said about him."
"A will figure him out."
"No doubt."
"I can hear you," said Michio.
Before Nolan and Lexi could respond, they heard a noise coming from the woods.
"It sounds like yelling," Jocelyn said as she and Flaafy stood. "Uh-oh!"
"There's smoke..." Nolan said in disbelief. "Crap. Where are the kids?"
They watched in confusion and fear as dozens of Tauros, Rattata, and Raticate stampeded through their camp, knocking over tents and trampling almost everything in sight.
"AHHHHH SHIT!" Michio screamed. "What are these things?!"
"Run!" Soledad, June, Lily, Logan, Takeshi, and Jay cried as they and their Pokémon came sprinting after the stampede. Behind them was an enormous fire.
"What the hell is going on here?" Annastasia shouted as she and Amber rejoined them at camp.
"No time to explain, fire, fire!" Jocelyn bawled.
"Flaaaaaafy!"
"Shh, it's okay," Annastasia whispered. She looked up at the preteens and twin Pokémon. "Start talking."
"Long story," they panted. "No time!"
"They're right, A. That fire's coming right at us," Amber pointed out.
"Pichuu."
"Everyone, send your water Pokémon out and instructed them to put out the fire. Takeshi and Soledad, have Cyndaquil and Chary use Mud Shot. Lily, Logan—look for wild Pokémon and instruct them to do the same."
"Yes, ma'am!" Lily and Logan said before dashing off.
"Jay and Togetic—attach our retractable hose to the spigot near the well. Put the head on the other end. Turn on the faucet as high as it can go. Togetic, drag the sprinkler head as close to the fire as you can tolerate and get as much of the vegetation soaked as possible. I'll have Bleu and our other flying Pokémon use Gust to redirect the flames which will buy us some time. Amber and June, take Pip, Bulbasaur, Jocelyn, and Flaafy somewhere safe and call Officer Jenny. Everyone else stay here and help me direct the Pokémon."
"Yes ma'am," the kids and teenagers (except Michio) responded.
"What the hell caused this?" Michio asked.
"It's a long, pitiful story," Jay sighed.
As Jay and Togetic looked for the hose, he noticed Annastasia had that familiar weariness to her. He wondered if that thing that happens to her happened, and if it did, how she was still able to think on her toes.
"Are you feeling okay?" he asked after she, Lexi, and Nolan sent their flying-types to the skies.
"I'm fine," she breathed. "Nothing like a forest fire to get you out of that afternoon slump."
Jay ran next to her. "I just want to make sure. Togetic—do you think you can get the water without me? Ask Lil-G and Michio's Pikachu to help."
Togetic nodded, took the rolled-up hose in his hands, and fluttered towards the well, Lil-G and Pikachu following.
Jay was one of the only people who understood how terrifying those episodes could be and he could always seem to be able to tell when Annastasia was still recovering from one.
"Thanks, bud," Annastasia told Jay. "I was going to ask if you were okay."
"I'm tougher than I look," said Jay.
"I know…but you never liked fires."
"True."
"Thanks for taking care of Jocelyn…I saw you reassuring her before she, June, and their Pokémon made a run for it."
"Jay, help us out!" Soledad shouted as she tossed him an empty bucket, which nearly hit him in the face. "The more water, the better!"
Annastasia kept an eye on all the Pokémon managing the fire. Seeing that Nolan and Lexi were keeping it under control, she focused on grounding herself and the little humans caught up in this.
Within ten minutes Officer Jenny had arrived with not only the Squirtle Squad, but also the Blastoise and Wartortle troops to put out the fire, and Ash's Squirtle promised to not tell Amber's parents about the incident. Twenty-five minutes later, the fire was completely out, Officer Jenny had gone, and their group had reconvened.
"You people have no idea how relieved I am to see you all okay," Annastasia announced. "You were all together and no one was hurt—it's a miracle."
"I hurt my ankle," Jocelyn sobbed. "Jay had to carry me back!"
"Flaafy!"
"Oh, Jocelyn, it'll be okay," Annastasia cooed as Jocelyn held her ankle and cried. "Bleu will fix it right up. Bleu, use Heal Pulse."
"Tarrrrrriaaaa."
"Wow!" Jocelyn said a moment later. "It's all better!"
"Almost," Annastasia replied. "Heal Pulse isn't strong enough to mend bones. I'll take you to the nearest clinic and have them check to see if it's broken. If that's what happened, they'll give you a cast and within two weeks you'll be able to walk again. For now, hold on to me."
"Okay."
"Flaaa."
"We're sorry," said June. "I've never been sorrier in my entire life."
"We really didn't mean to do it," said Logan.
"I can't believe I let you down. Forgive me, Anna-sama," Takeshi said as he bowed excessively.
"What are you talking about?" Annastasia asked.
"We can't lie," Jay said, partially to Annastasia, partially to the others involved. "It was us. We started the fire."
"It was technically just me and Takeshi," said Soledad. "We had Chary and Cyndaquil light a bush on fire so that it would scare the Rattata and Raticate. Our plan was to herd them all into a dead end and then use a bunch of attacks on them so that we could capture some."
"Then Squirt Gun was going to put the fire out…but he got too scared too and ran away," said Lily.
"Ee didn't know what else to do, so we tried grabbing buckets of water from the stream but the fire spread too quickly and before we knew it, we were all running away like maniacs," said Jay.
"There were some Tauros by the stream, and when they saw the fire, they freaked out and started running too," said June.
The guilty children and Pokémon hung their heads in shame. Michio scoffed, cursed, complained, and then walked away. Annastasia continued to speak to them.
"That was really dangerous and irresponsible. This is why trainers are only supposed to carry six Pokémon at a time. Trying to keep track of too many Pokémon at one time can lead to disasters," she said calmly. "Please don't try anything like that again."
"Okay," they all replied.
"Cynda"
"Charmander!"
"Toge"
"Squirt Squirtle!"
"Bulba."
After all the Pokémon apologized, they bowed their heads in front of Annastasia, Lexi, and Nolan. Their young trainers did the same.
"It's okay," Annastasia said as they assembled into a group hug. "I'm here to help, always, and I am glad you told me the truth. Did anyone catch a Pokémon? Amber got a Pidgeotto."
"That's right," Amber grinned as she brandished the Pokéball. She let it out and it sat beside Pip. "A super good one too."
The Pidgeotto blushed. "Pidgeeee."
"He's flattered," Lily explained.
"June got a Caterpie and Raticate," said Jay.
"That's wonderful. Congratulations," Annastasia responded.
June also blushed. "I named Caterpie 'Scooter' because he's cute and quick."
"Awesome."
"The others got Pokémon too."
"I got two Tauros," said Jay. "I can't think of any nicknames…I'll keep you posted."
"I got three Rattata," Takeshi proudly announced.
"I got a Raticate," said Soledad.
"At least something good came out of this," said Lexi. "Pokémon and a lesson learned."
"Onēsan, what about my ankle?" Jocelyn asked quietly.
"There's a clinic less than a mile from here," said Annastasia.
"Are you sure?"
"I sprained my ankle in this same stretch of woods one time," said Lexi. "Unfortunately, I didn't have an awesome big sis to help me, but A came to my rescue; we know exactly where to take you."
"I'm so grateful! Thank you, Lexi and Onēsan!" Jocelyn chirped.
"Flaafy Fla!"
"That's why we're here," Annastasia responded.
"Fortunately, lunch was saved," Nolan announced after he observed the pot over the fire pit. "Everyone, dig in!"
"Onēsan, can I eat lunch before we go to the clinic?" Jocelyn asked.
"Of course," Annastasia replied. "I suggest never skipping a meal—especially when Nolan's cooking."
While everyone helped themselves to some soup, Annastasia went to talk to Michio, who had not returned since he stormed off several minutes ago.
"How are things with Pikachu?" she inquired.
"Nothing's changed since I talked to you four hours ago," he replied.
"It's my job to check in with you. I noticed she was eager to help us with that fire. Have you been training with her? Is it going well?"
"All she wants to do is sit around. I can't get her to do anything."
"Huh…I'll be right back."
Annastasia walked up to Logan and asked him to speak with Pikachu. After a brief exchange between the two Pokémon, Logan explained the problem to Annastasia. She returned to Michio.
"It's just as I thought," said Annastasia. "Pikachu won't do anything for you because she doesn't respect you as a trainer. You need to prove to her that you are willing to work just as hard as she is in order to reach your goals."
"How the fuck am I supposed to do that?" he asked angrily.
"Watch your language—I don't want the kids picking up on those habits…Anyway, you have to find some way to impress her. Pikachu are like that. I'm shocked you didn't know how stubborn they were. I honestly wouldn't have chosen a Pikachu if I was in your shoes…"
Michio shot a glance at Soledad, who managed to catch a few sentences of their conversation. She gave him a sly grin before giving him the stink eye and briefly sticking her tongue out at him. Michio fumed.
'That little bitch…' he thought to himself.
"If you're kind to Pikachu, she'll warm up to you in no time. Cook her a special meal. Find out what her favorite berries are and get her a bunch of those. Give her massages, offer to file her nails, scratch her under the chin, find out what else she likes. Above all, treat her with respect."
"Yeah, yeah, I will," he replied, waving her off.
Michio poured himself some soup, then he slumped to the opposite end of camp, where no one could see him.
He listened to their conversations, inadvertently focusing on Annastasia, who was answering questions on subjects ranging from Pokémon battling strategies to the likelihood of Jocelyn's ankle falling off. He wondered how she did it, and even more about why. Where did that unwavering desire to help others come from?
After lunch and clean-up, the rest of the day was spent training. Takeshi gave June one of his Rattata, and they spent the day doing practice battles and reading about their new Pokémon. Jay spent most of his time with his two new Tauros, and he even won a double practice battle between him and Takeshi's Cyndaquil and his own Togetic. Amber used Pip and her new Pidgeotto to defeat June's Caterpie and Rattata. By the end of the day they each had at least one new Pokémon, and Jay and Amber were ready to face AJ.
"It's 5:30 pm," Lexi announced. "Is the gym still open?"
"It is, but I think we should wait until tomorrow," said Annastasia. "You and your Pokémon must be exhausted, and even if you feel really energized right now, you might crash. Tomorrow you will be nice and refreshed. There is no rush to move on, and AJ says he can face up to four challengers a day, so long as we give him a brief break at some point throughout the day, everyone can still get a turn."
"Okay, Sis, if you say so," Jay replied.
"I suppose you to make a good point," Amber added. "You're the boss."
"I bet our parents want to hear about our adventures," said June.
"I suggest leaving out the part about the fire," said Nolan.
"Good idea," the children agreed as they looked for their phones. They all dialed their families.
"A, I called the house, but Remy picked up. He said that Mom and Papa were on a mission," Jay said after he hung up.
"Then we'll get them in the morning," Annastasia said as she wrapped an arm around Jay, who seemed extra concerned. "Knowing them, they might even try to get us late tonight, so shut your phone off if you don't want to be woken up at 2:00 am."
Jay nodded, and lowered his voice as he continued:
"Are you really okay? Maybe I should sleep in your tent tonight—I obviously know that Amb snores, but I don't mind it. I wanna make sure you're safe."
"Jay, you're the sweetest thing, but that's not your job. If you want to sleep in my tent you can, but the last thing I want you to do is spend your adventure worrying about me. I have nocturnal Pokémon and Lexi knows the protocol. Now, let's get those marshmallows—the day's not over yet."
That night everyone except for Michio roasted marshmallows over the fire and told each other stories.
Jay, Jocelyn, and Annastasia told everyone about the first time Ash had gone to earn his Rainbow Badge at the Celadon City Gym but got kicked out for being obnoxious, and then Team Rocket came along and offered their assistance…
"I can't believe your parents dressed Amber's dad up like a girl," said June. "And I'm even more surprised that he didn't mind it."
"My parents said that Ash was so gullible, and it didn't take much to convince him that it would work," said Annastasia.
"Did it work?" asked Lexi.
"Nope. Pikachu recognized Ash and zapped the wig right off of him. But he did eventually get the badge. My parents, well, they failed to steal that time, but later on they went back and snatched some perfume. A few hundred dollars' worth of it too. Of course, they just wasted it on a new Pikachu-catching machine though, but hey, they found more ways to make money."
"So, everyone won in the end I guess," said June.
"Except Gym Leader Erika," Takeshi noted.
Soledad told everyone about the time her mother, Dawn, had convinced Ash to wear a dress. And of course, June told everyone about how her mother convinced Cilan and Ash to cross dress as well. Amber couldn't help but bring up the time he wore the Nurse Joy uniform during his work experience class assignment in Alola.
"I had no idea this was a trope," said Amber. "I kinda like it."
"Pika pi!" Pip agreed.
"Let us tell you about the Moltres costume…" Jocelyn started.
Michio gazed over at the others briefly as the smallest human member of the group told everyone some ridiculous made-up story about a fortune-telling book and a flaming Moltres costume. His eyes shifted to his starter Pikachu, who was sitting between Annastasia's Lillipup and Jocelyn's Flaafy. It smiled and laughed with the other children and Pokémon. He took a deep, audible sigh and then headed into his tent, zipping it up behind him.
'This sucks. Hot night, hard ground. No internet. The sounds of the children and Pokémon combined with my own anxiety to keep me awake. What did I do to deserve this?" he thought to himself.
He heard his parents' voices in his head:
'Kanto isn't so bad, just give it a chance,' said his mother.
'Earn a few badges, collect some Pokémon, and make a few friends,' his father added gruffly.
'Six months and some effort are all we ask.'
'But this is degrading!' he recalled yelling back. 'I'm already a champion!"
"A dignified champion can connect with any and all Pokémon and earn their respect and trust. You are not even close to having that level of skill,' his father retorted.
'You're wrong.'
"No, you are wrong,' said his mother. 'We're sending you to Professor Oak in Kanto tomorrow morning and that is final. In six months, you may return. But if you haven't changed, or we hear that you did not behave well or do as we instructed, then we are not giving you access to any of your old Pokémon or your inheritance. If you do decide to change for the better, than we have to stay that way.'
"You people are ridiculous!"
"It's for your own good. Now go to bed. You have a long day tomorrow.'
Michio's mind returned to the present when a small figure appeared in front of his tent.
"Pikapi?" a tiny voice asked.
Michio unzipped the tent and found his Pikachu standing outside, waiting patiently for him to invite her in.
"Uh…come in," he said.
The rodent climbed into the tent and curled up onto his only pillow. She shut her eyes without a second word.
"I need that, so move," he told the Pokémon.
"Chuuuu…" she started.
The entire tent flashed yellow as the Pikachu shocked Michio for disturbing her.
"Godfuckingdammit!" he cursed.
The Pikachu giggled meanly then curled back onto his pillow. Michio lied on the ground beside her, having no choice but to keep his head on the cold hard surface.
"Should we check on him?" Lexi asked Annastasia as she looked back at his tent.
"Nah," she replied. "He needs to be humbled, remembered? If I heal him every time, I would just be babying him. It's not like Ash, Jessie, James, or Meowth ever had an Altaria to heal them after each electric attack."
"Good point."
The rest of them stayed up until almost midnight, then Annastasia made everyone go to bed so that they could be awake for their upcoming battles.
AN: Thanks again for the reviews! They give me motivation and life:)