AN: Thank you so much for the reviews. I love writing this so I hope you continue to enjoy:) I'll take questions/comments anytime.
The group of young trainers was on their way to Pewter City.
"I don't want to sound rude…but why do we always have to take our Pokémon to the Pokémon Center before every gym battle?" June asked.
"A Pokémon professional can always tell if a Pokémon is healthy. If a Pokémon is sick or injured, it's vital for it to rest," Annastasia replied. "Plus, the Pokémon like going there. Nurse Joy treats them well."
"I think I want to be a Pokémon Nurse one day."
The kids all looked to June.
"I knew it," Soledad winked. "Taking care of Pokémon is your favorite thing in the world, isn't it?"
"One of them," she blushed. "But I don't think I can do it."
"What makes you say something like that?" Nolan asked.
"Every Nurse I ever heard of is a Nurse Joy."
"It might seem that way, but there are actually thousands of non-Joy Pokémon nurses out there," said Annastasia. "I'll make sure we find of them for you to talk to."
"Really?"
"When A says she's gonna do something, she's gonna do it," said Amber.
"True that!" said Jocelyn.
"Flaaaafy!"
"Wow, that'd be excellent!" said June. "And to think, my whole life I thought every nurse was a Joy, and that every Nurse Joy was related."
"Actually, they're not all related," said Soledad. "It's a joke—a trick. All those Nurse Joys say they're sisters/cousins/whatever but that's not the case."
"No way," Amber and Jay said together. They crossed their arms.
"Prove it," said Takeshi.
"Well—"
"Ahem," Lexi interrupted. "I see a Pokémon Center ahead! It means we're almost there. Everyone, heal your Pokémon!"
The kids and Pokémon scuttled off while the older members of the group took their time.
"They have to all be related," said Michio. "What's she talking about?"
Lexi pursed her lips and tried not to laugh, but it failed.
"You don't know either," Michio reasoned.
"Ask Soledad," Annastasia suggested.
"I'm asking you."
"Ask Soledad," Lexi and Annastasia responded together.
When the kids returned, June said:
"The Center was closed. They said the next one is about a mile from here."
They all looked disheartened.
"No big deal," Annastasia assured them. "It's mostly on our way—only a quarter mile passed the Pewter Gym."
"You know everything," Takeshi gushed. "You're amazing, Anna-sama."
"Well, I am the one holding the map…"
"But she also recalls it being there from our prior experiences," Nolan said as he patted Takeshi's back. "Settle down."
"I am settled," Takeshi mumbled.
"Fifteen minutes," Annastasia announced after scanning her Poke-nav. "Then we'll be in Pewter City."
"Michio, are you going to battle this time?" Jocelyn asked.
She said it in the most innocent, squeakiest tone she could muster and placed both her hands on his wrist. She bit her lip as she awaited his response.
"Ummm…maybe," he said as he attempted to remove her intruding grasp.
"YAY!" she screamed. "I have been waiting to see Pikachu battle!"
"Flaaa!"
Jocelyn spent the next ten minutes gushing about how awesome electric-type Pokémon were. Michio had to admit (at least to himself) that she was adorable, though incredible annoying, and she was pretty knowledgeable for someone her age, as the young girl had been talking to him more often because of her affinity for his Pikachu. He imagined that she knew more about Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn electric-types that he did. Annastasia watched from a distance and reflected on the way he had been acting the last 24 hours.
"He's not ignoring everyone, making rude comebacks, smirking, he has Pikachu out of her ball all the time now, and this morning he helped clean up without me asking him more than once. I owe Jocelyn a favor," she decided. She also made a mental note to give Michio three chances instead of two next time he acted like an asshole since she knew it was bound to happen again.
"We're here," said Takeshi as he pointed to a familiar red and white building up ahead. "The second Center."
"Cynda!" the Pokémon in his arms cried happily.
"Charmander charrrr!"
"Squirrrrtttle"
"Piiiikkkkaaaa!"
"Pichu Pichu"
"Flaafy!"
"They sure are excited," Nolan chuckled.
"If I could expect a hot bath, a hot meal, and no work for a few hours, I'd be running toward that PC too," said Lexi.
"I really want air conditioning tonight," said Jay. "I hate sleeping in the heat. Being sweating and gross is the worse and makes for awful hair days."
"I miss TV," said Jocelyn. "Onēsan, can we watch TV when we get there?"
"Sure," Annastasia said as she tickled her. "We'll have AC, too, and maybe even pancakes."
"Mmmm…I sure hope they're on the menu," said Jay.
"Ditto," the others replied.
"Jay and Amber sure like pancakes," Lexi noted as the two practically drooled at the thought of them.
"I can't wait to get my massage," said Lily.
"Me neither," said Logan.
"Oh yeah, since you're Pokémon, you get special treatment too," said Takeshi. "Sometimes I forget."
"Yeah, sometimes we forget that you're human," Lily countered.
Once all their Pokémon (Minus Bleu, Lil-G, and Flaafy) were with Nurse Joy, they headed to the nearest café for lunch.
"You Pokémon trainers?!" a boy called out.
The preteen with crimson hair was with two other children and a Houndoom.
"Sure are," Amber said as she and the others approached.
A young teen with long black hair, ivory skin, and pitch eyes reached her hand to Soledad, who shook it in response.
"I'm Tomoko, and this is my Houndoom," she said.
"I'm Carol," said her companion, a preteen girl with orchid eyes and shamrock hair.
The boy waved. "Name's Flare. We're are on our way to Viridian City and wanna know the fastest way to get there."
"Does that mean you already challenged the Pewter City Gym?" Takeshi asked.
"We're not looking to earn gym badges."
The others looked at them quizzically.
"We're Geo-Catchers," said Tomoko.
"You mean geocaching?" said Lexi. "What does that have to do with Pokémon?"
"Geo-Catchers are Pokémon trainers that are hired by researchers to capture specific Pokémon species and variants from different geographic locations. Then, once we're done studying them, we usually bring them back to where we found them. Professors Elm and Maple want Beedril from the Viridian Forest."
"Beedril are very dangerous. The ones that swarm in the Viridian Forest seem even angrier and more dangerous than most Beedril," said Nolan. "Are you sure you can get them on your own?"
"We have a lot of experience. I may only be fifteen, but I have already captured a ton of dangerous Pokémon. We have specialized Pokéballs and training too."
"The professors want to know why the Viridian Beedril act so angry compared to others—that's why we were hired," said Flare.
"Sounds exciting!" said Jocelyn. "Onēsan, you should do that."
"Flaaaafy."
"I think Team Rocket is gonna be keeping my hands full for a while," she replied.
"Cou can always quit and join us," said Flare, glaring at the red "R" on her chest.
"Stop staring at her," Tomoko scolded, whacking the teen with a paper fan.
Annastasia giggled as the younger kids blushed. The boy couldn't be older than fourteen.
"Don't be a perv," she heard Tomoko whisper angrily as Flare grabbed the fan out of her hand.
"So, did you eat already?" Soledad asked, breaking the momentary tension. "We're going out."
"We're running behind. So, the fastest way to Viridian?" asked Carol.
Jay grabbed a map from a local kiosk and handed it to Annastasia, who pointed out the quickest way to navigate the cities. She used a red marker to demonstrate where they should go.
"Thank you so much," said Carol.
"Next time we meet, we'll battle for sure," said Tomoko.
"See ya!"
XO
The group continued walking for another ten minutes until they came to a mall. It boasted having an enormous buffet featuring foods from many different regions.
"Onēsan, can we go here for lunch?" asked Jocelyn as she pointed to the sign.
"Fla?"
"I wanna go," said Jay.
"Me too," said Amber.
"Me three," said Soledad.
"Me four," said June and Takeshi together.
"Looks good to me," Annastasia replied. "It's four dollars per person…is that too much?"
"In what universe was four dollars ever too much for anything?" Michio thought to himself.
"Fine with me," said Lexi.
"And me," said Nolan.
"Sure, whatever," Michio replied.
Annastasia smiled and they all walked into the restaurant. They handed her their money and she paid for the group while the children chose their food.
"If Lily and Logan were here, they'd go nuts!" Jocelyn yelled excitedly. "Awe, now I wish they were here!"
"Flaa!"
"I bet they're getting treated like royalty at the Center right now," Annastasia replied.
"I miss Pip, but he likes it there," said Amber. "I'm not worried."
After she got her food, Annastasia sat with Michio, who was eating alone at a table for two while the others gathered at two larger tables.
"Look, Michio, they have malasadas," Annastasia said playfully, reaching across the table to hit him on the shoulder. "Now you can feel like you're back home in your palace."
She pointed to the buffet bar.
"Ha," he said sarcastically, scoffing at the stale pastries. "I'm passing."
"Ditto—real Alola cuisine actually looks as good as it tastes," she replied.
"Yeah, it does."
At the larger table, June was desperately trying to get Takeshi to notice her. She figured now that Cyndaquil was occupied and Annastasia was at a different table, she could get her crush to actually look at her, but Takeshi was still clueless.
"Can you help me open this?" she asked nervously, pushing a ketchup bottle into Takeshi's hands.
"Sure," he said nonchalantly. After smoothly removing the cap, he passed the open bottle back to her. "You know, it wasn't that tight. You totally could've gotten in open yourself."
"That wasn't the point…" June muttered pathetically, just loud enough for him to hear.
Takeshi leaned in, not sure if he understood those mutters that June meant to keep in her head.
"Um, the point?" he asked.
June was finally going to explain her constant awkwardness around him when Jocelyn forced herself into the conversation, talking loudly about which shows she planned on watching at the Pokémon Center. Both parties sighed. There was no stopping her once she got going, and Jay was too busy talking with Amber and Soledad to notice what his sister was doing.
"Jay, there's no way we're gonna run into the kids from your school," said Amber. "And I already told you that if they did, we'd defend you."
"That's not the point," Jay sighed. "I don't want to be confronted at all."
"Which school are you talking about?" Soledad asked.
"Any of them."
"Not everyone from school hates you. Most people liked you. Some really liked you. It was just a handful that were bullies—and there's no way those bullies are going to bother you with us around."
"But most of them were popular. What if you or Takeshi or June or someone else becomes friends with them by accident and before it's too late, they've been taken to the dark side?"
"Chill, Jay; you're being too dramatic," said Amber.
"I bet most of them have grades so bad they're not even eligible for their Pokémon license," said Soledad.
Jay laughed. "Huh, you're probably right…"
After she was finished eating but before they left the café, Annastasia got that familiar, dreadful, sensation in her body.
She put her tray down on the nearest table and ran into a small hallway towards the back of the restaurant, on her way to where she imagined the restrooms would be. Then a powerful and painful image filled her head, followed up quickly by earsplitting crashes, confusion, and fear.
Bleu and Lil-G sensed the distress and got up to find her. Michio was the only person who saw anything, and he decided to follow the bird and dog, more out of curiosity than concern.
Even though Annastasia did not see Bleu or Lil-G come to her, and could not feel the soft, feathery wings or leathery paws on her, she knew deep down that her Pokémon were there, just like always. While the inner intensity rose, her eyes stared blankly ahead as she kneeled on the floor, holding the two Pokémon as if her life depended on it. This is what Michio caught a glimpse of right before the vision faded, and Annastasia returned to the present.
"Ummm, what's going on?" he asked, squatting down next to her.
"What…," Annastasia started. still a bit dazed. Then she snapped out of it and remembered (at least part of ) where she was.
"Tarrrria" the Pokémon cooed, helping her up.
"Pup pup!" Lil-G yapped gleefully as she licked Annastasia's hand.
"I fell," Annastasia told Michio. "And my Pokémon were helping me up."
"Then why were you just kneeling there like that?" he asked.
"None of your business."
Michio raised his eyebrows after she snapped her response.
"You were in a good mood a few minutes ago," he replied. "It's hypocritical of you to accuse me of being moody if you're just as bad."
Annastasia felt drained. She didn't want to move, let alone spend the rest of the day entertaining and leading a large group of teens and children. She didn't want to explain or argue, either.
"I'm sorry," she said. "Let's pretend this never happened. I need water; I think I'm dehydrated."
'But you already drank five of those large bottles,' he thought to himself.
Annastasia seemed to be able to tell at least part of what he was thinking about.
"I'm sorry, Michio. I'll try not to be moody or do weird things."
"Okay…" he mumbled.
Michio decided to just drop the subject, telling himself that it was just some weird hormonal thing that made her so moody all of a sudden. But he was really annoyed, disturbed even, not only that she was hiding something that seemed painfully interesting but also because it put her in a bad mood, which made his own almost permanent bad mood even worse.
After gulping down a few glasses of water and resting at the table while the rest of the group finished eating, Annastasia led them back to the PC.
XO
The Pallet House was as crowded as ever as travelers from all around the world stopped by for a meal or a night before making their way to the local gyms.
Additionally, Giovanni had been soliciting Jessie, James, Meowth, and Lucy for more and more missions. These missions usually only took a few hours and mostly involved them giving rides to other agents, but it took time out of their day. In the midst of all this, James had been assigned the task of training Diablo, which turned out to be much less fun than he initially expected.
After an arduous week at work, Jessie and James (and Wobbuffet) got together for their typical end-of-the-day drink.
"Just a few more weeks and this place will be back to normal," Jessie announced as she raised her glass.
"Wobbbbbufffet!" Wobbuffet cheered as he took the spot beside her.
"What's up for tomorrow?" James asked wearily.
"The kids are battling Alyssa at the Pewter City Gym and we are going to babysit Alex for a week," she reminded him.
"Oh yeah, I almost forgot…"
"Wobba."
Alex was Duplica and Mondo's toddler. He usually stayed with neighbors while his parents were on missions, but their next mission required them to be out of the country for at least six days, and Mondo thought he would be better off staying with family.
"Everything's finally under control—that new staff has been keeping up," said Jessie, referring to the workers Cilan had recommended. "I know you're still bummed we didn't get roles in that movie, but there's next time; they liked our service so much they said they'd make another visit the next time they need a place to stay! This wasn't a great time anyway…"
Jessie talked on and on as James nodded. Every once in a while, she hinted about their bygone kids and cats, but mostly she was focused on everything but.
They were finishing up their wine when they received a call from Ash and Misty.
"We need your help," Ash began.
He sounded out of breath. Jessie and James' ears perked in anticipation.
"Hmm…okay, what is it?" Jessie inquired.
"Do you still have that info about the fusions that Dawn gave you?" Misty asked.
"Yes," said James.
"We need it. Can you teleport it here? It's super important."
"I guess so."
"Please hurry. They're getting out of control."
"Gotcha. It'll be there shortly."
"Thanks!"
"Awe the twerps need us," Jessie said after James hung up.
"I'd indulge more if it didn't worry me that even Ash the Pokémon Master can't tame them," said James. "What are we to do?"
"Wobbbbba," said Wobbuffet.
"Why do you always hang out with us? Where do all the other Pokémon go this time of day?" Jessie asked the blue blob.
Wobbufet shrugged. "Wob."
The couple used the transporter Clemont invented to deliver random objects through space. They typed in their location and placed the papers in the hatch, sending the flyers away. Moments later they received a confirmation text from Misty.
"It's good to know that it's not just Diablo causing all the trouble," James remarked. "I wonder what made them this way."
XO
Back in Cerulean City, Misty was sprinting from one end of the gym to another, trying to calm the various fusions that were now running loose throughout the arena while Ash looked for helpful information in the documents Jessie and James had sent.
"Well, they were right about the part about it being pointless to try to battle them," said Ash. "Fighting just fuels their anger."
"But what Pokémon can we use to calm them?" Misty asked desperately as she dodged Ice Beam from a Pokémon that looked to be half Staryu and half Glaceon.
"Jigglypuff!" Ash exclaimed. "It'll put them right to sleep."
Ash was about to call his neighbors and request to borrow their Jigglypuff, but a fusion with the head of a Mudkip, body of Goldduck, and the skill of a Dragonair knocked the device right out of his hand, breaking his wrist in the same motion.
"Ouch! Hey! I'm trying to help!" Ash scolded.
"Pikaaaa!" Pikachu added angrily, shocking the Pokémon, which made it angrier.
"Are you ok?" Misty asked as she approached.
"Fine," Ash muttered as he attempted to ignore the pain. "I'm more upset about my iPhone. All my pictures were in there."
"I bet Clemont can fix it. Let's just send one of the Pokémon over there with a note, we will worry about the phone later."
"On it!"
Ash ran towards the office.
"Get back here!" Misty shouted. "I'll write; you need to bandage that wrist. Ask Azumarill for help."
Ash grinned. "Okay…"
Misty tied a note around Ash's Pidgeot's ankle and had it fly to the neighbor's house. A few minutes later it returned with Jigglypuff and a note reading 'keep her for as long as you need'.
"Perfect. Jigglypuff, are you ready to sing for us?" Ash asked the Pokémon.
"Pu puff!" it replied happily.
Misty handed everyon but the fusions earplugs. Jigglypuff stood proudly atop the tallest diving board in the arena as it belted its restful tunes. The fusions fell asleep as Jigglypuff's song filled their heads.
"You're a genius," Misty told Ash as they returned the fusions to their balls.
"I know, but it was Jigglypuff and Pidgeot who saved the day," Ash said as Misty caught the pink Pokémon after it floated down from the Diving board.
"Jiggly," it said thankfully.
"Pidgeot, can you take Jigglypuff home?"
"Pidgeeeeeee!" it nodded.
"Thanks."
"Pikaaa!"
"Yeah, thanks a million!" Ash added.
Ash and Misty surveyed the gym.
"We gotta send them a fruit basket or something," Ash said as he lifted a fragment of ceiling tile. "This coulda been worse."
"Totally." Misty agreed. "First we should update Gio and ask our Pokémon to help clean this place—I have trainers coming if for a battle."
"On it!"
AN: Thanks for reading:) Please review if possible.