James sat on the floor of his living room with Mondo's son Alex, Mime Jr., Aliyah, Acorn, and Growly. Wild Rattata and Oddish joined them as they played with blocks. Inkay, Weezing, and Chimecho were floating around them, helping the toddler to stay entertained. They were laughing as the Pokémon made funny faces while the two of them built miniature towers.
"Looks fun," Meowth said as he and Lucy entered the house. "Maybe weeze should get yous yer own set."
"These were once Anna-chan's blocks," James responded, recovering from his giggle fit. "She loved to build with them when she was three. Remember how Jay used to take them and organize them by shape and color, and Jocelyn just threw them? It's funny the way they were all so different…"
"Did you play all day?" Lucy asked.
"Jessie and I took Alex for a stroll through the woods, then we had a picnic in the park, where we met them," James explained, gesturing towards the wild Pokémon. "Then we sat down in here, and Jessie left to take care of something at the hotel. Alex and I have been playing with these blocks for about an hour now."
"Meowth! Come play!" Alex demanded.
"Um, ok squirt, just don't pull de whiskers," Meowth told him as he picked up a block and half-heartedly started to build something.
"I'm going to sleep," Lucy announced right before dashing up the stars. "If you need anything from me…reconsider."
"Okay!" James and Meowth responded right before she shut the door.
"Did you have fun today as well?" James asked.
"Sure did. Weeze took a limo to Celadon City and saw a play. Den weeze went to dis fancy seafood restaurant dat served de best sushi in the entire world," Meowth said gleefully, little stars appearing in his eyes. "And to finish it all off weeze hit de casinos."
James helped Alex place a block atop a small tower that he was trying to make. "Win anything?"
"Not much, but it sure was fun."
"Jessie and I were thinking about surprising the kids when they got to Pewter, but then we decided that it would be better to maybe give them their space. We sent gifts instead—and that Pokémon transfer machine that Clemont finally finished working the kinks out of."
"Sweet. Weeze got one of dose here?"
"Sure do…Why do you care?"
"Cuz dat means dat Lucy and I could just hop in dere and go wherever we want in a blink of an eye! We could go to Alola and be back in less den tirty seconds, and weeze don't have ta go inta Pokéballs first or nuthin!"
"I haven't thought of it that way… He should make one for humans—we'd save a ton on gas."
"What's up?" Jessie asked as she and her Pokémon entered the house.
"Veeeee!" Acorn and Aliyah squealed when they saw her, getting up to rub against her legs.
Ninetales strode over to Growly, who rolled over to make room for his partner to lay down. Meowth explained the teleportation device and why he was so excited about it.
"I'm looking forward to you being gone more often," Jessie said when they were finished explaining. She took a spot on the floor between Alex and James.
Alex stumbled onto Jessie's lap and handed her a block, instructing her to 'build a castle'.
"Good, yous can take my place. I need a nap," Meowth said as he headed toward the stairs.
"Play, Aunt Jessie, play," Alex chanted. He pushed another square green block into her hand. "Pleeeaasssseeee?"
"Okay," she agreed.
Alex clapped then made several more trips to the toy box to bring her more blocks. He jumped and singed while he played.
"Sure is energized…" said James. "He skipped his nap too."
"It's because you gave him that snow cone," Jessie replied. "The sugar's kicked in."
They spent the next hour creating and then knocking down little buildings until Alex fell asleep.
"I'll put him to bed," James said as he scooped him up.
Jessie stretched then flopped onto the carpet, as exhausted as Alex.
James carried Alex up the stairs and then lay him down in Annastasia's large bed. He flipped up the temporary bedrails, changed him into his pajamas, and left a sippy-cup of water next to his bed. Then he walked back down to the living room. The Pokémon had cleaned up the blocks and left the room while Jessie just lay there on the ground with her eyes shut. James lay down next to her. When a few seconds passed and she hadn't said anything, James leaned over and poked her awake.
"Hey, I was sleeping," she said groggily, looking up at him smiling.
"I was just wondering if you were hungry," James replied. "And also, I don't know if we should wake Alex up and make him brush his teeth."
"We should just leave him be—one night without brushing his teeth won't hurt."
"Are you sure?"
"No, but no one's ever sure with these types of things. I think the risks outweigh the benefit this time."
"I guess so. Earlier today I showed him our room so that he would know where we are sleeping. So, if he wakes up and needs something, he will know where to find us…those bedrails will keep him from rolling out of bed but Mondo says he frequently slides down the bottom of the bed and—"
Jessie was mostly asleep. He stopped and chuckled.
"I was listening," she said a few seconds later. "Thinking ahead, I like it. About that food offer, I could use some ramen."
James offered his hand to help pull her up. His phone rang, and Jessie grabbed it before he could. She put it on video mode so that they could see the kids. Jocelyn, Jay, and Annastasia were standing in the lobby of a Pokémon Center, smiling back at them.
"Mommy! Papa!" Jocelyn exclaimed.
"Hey," said Jay and Annastasia together.
"We miss you!" Jocelyn added enthusiastically.
"Flaafy!"
"We missed you too, Princess," Jessie responded.
"How are things going? Is everything okay?" James asked.
"Things are great, and Jay has something to show you," Annastasia replied.
"Look!" Jay exclaimed, holding up his Boulder Badge.
"Nice! How did you get that?" James asked.
"I defeated Alyssa," Jay responded.
"Tell us how," said Jessie.
"First she sent out this enormous Rydon. I decided to see how my Tauros would do. After going back and forth for a while, my Tauros managed to use a Giga Impact to finally finish it off. Then she sent out a Rhyperior, and I thought for sure I was going to lose. After all, I am not that great at battling. But my Tauros did a great job weakening it before he finally fainted. I let Togetic have a shot, and after a Psybeam attack, Rhyperior was lost in confusion. We then finished that round with Psychic. Lastly, Alyssa sent out a Golem! I was shocked, it was like she was saving all of her strongest Pokémon for me. Anyway…Togetic learned Hyperbeam! Everyone was sooo impressed, especially Amb. Golem was down and I won the Badge!"
"That is so great," said James. "I am glad for you. We know you must be working hard."
"Togetic is the best partner ever."
"I thought for sure you'd have a much harder time out there," said Jessie.
"Huh? Why?"
"Don't take it the wrong way…"
To Jessie, Jay will always be her mini-me, as neither Annastasia nor Jocelyn shared her passion for fashion or enjoyed watching Pokémon contests and performances. She still saw him as that gentle little boy with a Togepi and long purple hair. She still felt he was that adorable mini James who cried hysterically last year when he thought he accidentally hit an Oddish with his bicycle. She had a hard time picturing him training in the woods, competing in gym battles, and winning too.
"Jay has really been doing well. He has cooked for us almost every day, his Pokémon are all in top condition, and he is still his cheery ol' self," Annastasia said proudly.
Jay grinned but his embarrassment was obvious. "A's been doing a great job of taking care of us and the others."
"Even Michio likes her," said Jocelyn.
"Flaa."
Jocelyn and Flaafy nodded together.
"I'm not sure if 'like' is the status I'd go with but I agree that things are going well, and Jay, a big part of that is your willingness to always help," said Annastasia.
"Awe, they're so cute," said James. "Right, Jess?"
"Right," she agreed. "Cutest, prettiest, handsomest…best in general, I'd say."
"Ditto."
"I'm learning so much about Pokémon," said Jocelyn. "I'm really happy dat I gots to come."
"She's still talking like Meowth," said Jay.
"That's okay, Princess: talk however you want," said Jessie.
"That's right," said James.
"Where are Lily and Logan?" they asked in unison.
"They called Meowth on his phone. After what happened last time, we decided it would be better to call separately," Annastasia responded.
"How's Alex?" Jay asked. "I wish we could help you watch him."
"Alex is asleep. After playing all day and eating junk, he passed out into a sugar-induced coma," Jessie replied.
"Did that really happen?" Annastasia asked worriedly. "That's very unhealthy. I hope you're not going overboard."
"He's fine, Princess. We don't need you worrying about it."
"I'll try not to."
"He really is cute. He talks in full sentences now and tells jokes too."
"You should take a video of it," said Jay. "And send pictures."
"I wish we could play with him too! It's not fair that you get to babysit when we're away," Jocelyn whined.
"Fla."
"We'll offer to babysit again someday, promise," James replied. "What are your plans for tomorrow?"
"We're heading to Aubergine Village. It is this little French town between here and Cerulean," said Annastasia. "We'll call you when we get there."
"Okay. See you tomorrow, then. Bye, everyone."
"Good luck, my Princesses and Prince," said Jessie. "Love you."
"Love you," the kids said together before hanging up the phone.
"Bye," James sighed, staring at the blank black screen. "Hmm."
"What's wrong?" Jessie asked.
"I'm just sad that they're gone."
"I'm kinda happy they're gone…I miss them as much as you, but I like knowing that they can survive on their own."
"I suppose."
"They'll be fine—let's get ready for bed; they aren't worried or scared, so why should we be?"
XO
James lied down and stared blankly at the ceiling for a while until Jessie started to get concerned. She wrapped her arms around and scooted underneath him so that he could rest his head on her chest.
"Something is bothering you, I can tell," she said after a few moments.
"N-nothing's bothering me," he stammered.
Jessie stared at him until he continued.
"Jess, the truth is…. I've been thinking," said James.
"About anything useful?" she teased, pushing him off of her.
James paused for a moment as he tried to think of how to word what he wanted to say. He didn't want to set Jessie off—especially now.
"I think we should have another baby," he said.
James shifted his eyes away from hers, nervous for her response.
She shifted so that they were facing each other again. "We talked about this already…Remember?"
"I know…but that was a while ago. I thought maybe you changed your mind since," he murmured.
"We agreed that Jocelyn was going to be last."
"But we also said that about Annastasia and Jay and every Pokémon that lives here."
"Pokémon are different."
"Well, what about—"
"—Annastasia was the exception. Besides, I wasn't thinking about the future when I said that. When she was born, we didn't have a home or enough money to take care of her, but I knew that if that were to change…then we'd have one more. And Jocelyn—well you and I both know that she was another happy accident."
"But don't you think it would be nice? I saw how happy you were with Alex. I think it would be good for us."
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"I asked you first."
James knew he didn't have a way out. "It's just that you and I promised that we would never have any regrets, right? So, I think we should take this chance because well, one day we might change our mind and by then we will be too ol—"
"Don't you dare call me O-L-D! Or you will sleep on the couch for at least a week—and that's me sparing you."
"Right, sorry."
Jessie turned away from James, angry with him for almost calling her old, which would be the ultimate betrayal.
"Jessie, please talk to me", James begged. Several minutes had passed since either of them had spoken. "I didn't mean to hurt your feelings. I'm sorry."
Jessie flopped back onto her side to face James. He wore that innocent puppy-dog face that he used whenever he messed up. Fortunately for him, it almost always worked. James smiled that goofy grin that always forced her to smile back. Maybe they really were going to be old one day, but right now she thought that they both still looked like they were twenty-five.
"It was so much fun helping them grow up," said James. "I think it would be fun, one last time, to have one more baby. I mean it's like we always said: we never had any regrets so far, right?"
Jessie's thoughts lingered on his words, which she only did when he told her something important. She nodded to let him know that she had actually paid attention to him and wasn't trying to tune him out like she did the last time he brought up the subject. He just looked so hopeful, and although she knew he would forgive her if she gave that final no, it was just so hard to say it.
"I have to think about this more," she sighed. James face lit up. "That's not a 'yes', James, it's a 'maybe'."
"Maybe is good enough," he replied. "But may I ask what you're worried about?"
"Worried?"
"You seem worried."
"There's never a guarantee that everything will go smoothly. And if we do this, that means a whole extra round of dirty diapers, getting up four times throughout the night, and lots of crying. And trust me, you will cry."
"It's okay—I will do all the work."
Jessie raised an eyebrow.
"I mean, I'll do as much as physically possible," he amended.
Well, she couldn't argue with that. James was a lot of things. He was cowardly, whiny and he made lot of dumb mistakes. He always would try to find the quickest and easiest way to get a job done, even if it meant public ridicule or moral shame. There were things that he would never be able to face. Despite all that, he always kept promises.
Jessie remembered how helpful he had been in the past. He changed way more dirty diapers than she did. Once each baby was done nursing, he took over every feeding. He used to be the one to check the closets for monsters and read the third and fourth bedtime stories every night. He would stay up with the kids whenever they were too sick that even a Pokémon couldn't heal them. He always carried the heavy bags whenever they had to travel and taught them how to take care of Pokémon. If he said he was willing to go through that all again, then Jessie believed him.
"How about I make you a deal then," said Jessie.
"Deal?" he replied.
"This week, while we're playing with Alex, think about all the things we had to go through when we were raising Annastasia, Jay, and Jocelyn. I don't mean the happy-cute stuff, I'm talking about all the emotionally disturbing, disgusting, awkward, and physically uncomfortable shit we put up with for the last seventeen years. Think of all the sacrifices that we will have to make if we have another baby. Then at the end of the week, if you are still willing to go through with it, then so will I."
"Really? Do you mean that?"
"Yes, but seriously think about it. I really hate being pregnant, but if you are going to help me with everything else, then I would actually really like having another baby. I think it would be nice, like one last hurrah before we retire and become one of those hot superrich couples that spends all their time traveling the world and having fun."
"You are the best."
"I know."
They laughed and hugged. James was relieved to get that conversation off his chest.
"But like I said, I want you to think of the hard times. Worse-case scenario shit," Jessie reiterated.
"I will," he responded. "Promise."
"Wobbuffet!"
Wobbuffet and several of their others Pokémon pushed open the door to their bedroom and let themselves in.
"Can you give us a few hours?" James requested.
"Eevee?" Aliyah asked, looking James in the eyes.
"Awe, never mind, you can stay."
"Vee!"
"James…" Jessie groaned.
"We have all morning," he responded, taking her hand.
Jessie pulled the covers over herself. "Fine, but I still don't like it."
They relaxed into the warm sheets and closed their eyes.
Ten minutes later they heard the crying of a scared toddler coming from the hall.
"It's for you, Papa," Jessie said as she gently pushed James. "Remember all those sacrifices I mentioned?"
"I got it," James mumbled, stumbling out of bed.
Alex was standing on his bed. He sat down as James approached.
"What's wrong?" James asked.
"I'm hungry! I have to use the bathroom, and I'm scared!" he cried.
"It's okay, Alex, there's nothing to be afraid of. I'll bring you to the bathroom, then we can go make a snack."
Alex smiled widely as he took James' hand and followed him down the hall.
Soon they were both crawling back into his bed so that Alex could sleep between him and Jessie. James happily clung to both of them as the toddler fell asleep.
"Look, isn't he cute?" James whispered to Jessie, who was barely awake.
"Yes but…," she started, not sure where she was going with the 'but'. "Goodnight."
XO
"Rise and shine, Champs," Annastasia announced.
It was 8:00 am and the young travelers were currently staying at the Pewter City Pokémon Center. Annastasia, Lil-G, And Bleu were in the process of waking them all up.
"Pichu Piiiii," Pip whined as he crawled further under the covers.
Amber sat up and yawned. "So, after Michio and Soledad battle, we're heading to Aubergine?"
"Yep. There isn't a Pokémon Center there, but there is a nice campsite for travelers. It's an old gym, but it didn't become official until recently. I think it would be cool to check it out," Annastasia responded.
"Well, if they battled yesterday as planned, we'd be able to get there sooner."
"Things don't always go as planned."
Soledad and June were already dressed and packing up their stuff while Amber got herself ready for the day. Meanwhile, Nolan and Takeshi were preparing snacks for everyone while Lexi looked for a missing sock. Jay was helping by getting everyone's Pokémon back from Nurse Joy and Michio was giving Pikachu her allergy medicine. Annastasia went to check on him, as he was the only person that she had yet to speak to that morning.
"Did you have Nurse Joy look at her recently?" she asked.
"Last night," Michio mumbled groggily.
"Are you ready to battle, Pikachu? I think you look ready."
"Pi Pikachu!" she replied enthusiastically, her cheeks sparkling with electricity.
"Her name is Scarlett," said Michio.
"You named her? After all this time?" Annastasia replied.
"Yes. She isn't so bad. I think she is better than most Pikachu, anyway…Scarlett fits her."
"Pika!" She exclaimed, dancing around with Bleu and Lil-G.
"I think she likes it," Annastasia responded. "Wow, this is great news…I'm proud."
"Yeah, because that was my goal," he grumbled sardonically.
She made a mental note to give Michio another point for bonding with his Pikachu. It was the first morning they got up and everything was entirely peaceful, and he even gave her a nickname.
"It's going to be hard for you to battle with just Scarlett though, and I haven't seen you practicing," said Annastasia. "You should probably wait longer before you challenge a gym."
"I'll surprise you," he responded.
Annastasia giggled. "Okay, well pack up your stuff. We want to be out of here with the next twenty minutes."
She ate some granola from the cafeteria, then got the remainder of her personal items together while her travel-mates did the same.
"Have some miso," Jocelyn said as she handed Michio a bowl.
"No thanks," he responded, gently pushing the bowl away.
"Why not? Don't you like it?"
"Flaafy?"
"Pikachuu?" Scarlett asked, pointing to the soup.
"Yeah you can have it," he told the Pikachu. "It smells weird."
Jocelyn gave it a sniff as Scarlett dug in.
"It smells normal," Jocelyn stated.
"Fla."
"I'm used to fruit, eggs, coconut butter on toast and good, fresh, coffee," said Michio. "Miso is disgusting."
"It's not disgusting! You just have to try it!"
"Flaafy Fla!"
"I'm not Japanese. I don't know how you eat that stuff. I mean, it was bad enough having to eat rice for breakfast the last few days, but miso? Far worse."
"Whatever," said Jocelyn, walking back over to Nolan and Takeshi. She complained loudly about his rejection of the food she had brought him.
"Well, miso's strong for people who aren't used to it," said Nolan. "Tomorrow we can plan to make something more familiar for breakfast."
"What do your people eat?" Amber asked. "Like, pineapples and shit?"
"Amb! You said a curse!" Jay gasped. "And a stereotype!"
Michio rolled his eyes, then pulled a granola bar from his bag.
"I'm out," he said. "Scarlett, you coming with?"
"Pika," she said after slurping down the remainder of her soup. She ran after Michio and jumped on his shoulder.
"Good girl," he whispered to only her. "Let's go train—and get ready to show these Kantonians what you've got."
"Pi."
XO
When everyone was finally finished, Annastasia led them back towards the Pewter Gym. After trading places with Jay and Amber, Soledad was scheduled to go first. Lexi chose to officiate while the others took their places at the sidelines.
"I got this. I'm a smart girl. I just have to remember that," Soledad thought to herself.
"I choose Geodude," Alyssa announced, releasing her Pokémon.
"Go Jigglypuff!" Soledad announced.
"She didn't tell us about that," said Takeshi.
"She must have just gotten it," Annastasia guessed.
"Yeah, you're probably right, Anna-sama—as always."
"Jigglypuff, use Double Slap," Soledad instructed.
"Block it," Alyssa told Geodude. "Then use Stone Edge."
Soledad's face fell as Jigglypuff was sent flying across the area and into a wall.
"Jigglypuff is unable to battle, this round goes to Alyssa and Geodude," Lexi declared.
"Darn," Soledad sighed, returning her Pokémon.
"Cheer up, Soledad!" Jay called from the sidelines. "That was only round one!"
"You can do it!" Jocelyn screamed.
"Flaaa!"
June, Annastasia, Nolan, and the others cheered for her and encouraged her to keep going. She decided to send out her next Pokémon, Raticate.
"Geodude, Stone Edge," said Alyssa.
"Raticate, use Scratch!" Soledad countered.
The Pokémon brandished its claws and aimed for the rock-type's face, but the scratches had almost no effect.
"Um, Tail Whip!" Soledad instructed.
Geodude grabbed a hold of Raticate's tail. The Pokémon swung its opponent around in circles before tossing it across the area, where it hit the ground with a loud thud.
"Raticate is unable to battle. Round two goes to Alyssa," Lexi announced.
'Oh no! I only have one Pokémon left and she has three!' Soledad thought hectically.
"You still have a chance!" Nolan called out. "There's plenty of time for a comeback."
"Just do your best," Annastasia advised.
"Think of how well you did the last time!" said Jay.
"Don't give up yet!" June added.
"At least TRY!" Jocelyn shrieked.
"FLAAFY!"
"Ok Chary, it's your turn," Soledad said as she gestured for her Charmander to step forward. "Use Flamethrower!"
Geodude was badly burnt, he did not go down. Alyssa had him throw mud at Charmander to try and put out his fire, but Chary dodged every attempt.
"Soledad isn't a bad trainer and she practiced, I wonder why she is so nervous," said Takeshi.
"Her dad was an amazing battler he didn't have to work that hard to be the best of Pallet Town," said Jay. "He beat the Pewter gym in one shot, using only one Pokémon. I think that has something to do with it."
"I agree with Jay," June said quietly. "Plus, her mom was top coordinator in Sinnoh and Hoenn for years, and she still competes in different divisions regularly and comes out a champion."
"Soledad studies so hard and acts so calm and cool, but sometimes the pressure just builds up."
"I never thought about it that way," Takeshi responded.
"Me neither," said Amber. "That sucks."
By the time their conversation ended, Geodude had defeated the Charmander. Soledad tearfully returned Chary to her ball, then bowed her head in shame as she left the platform.
"There's nothing to be sad about," said Alyssa. "Only about 20% of the trainers who come to me defeat me in their first try. Most people take at least two tries, often three and in some cases even four or five."
"I…just didn't think I would be that bad," Soledad murmured.
"You're still learning. I understand if you have to move on to your next destination, but if you want to come back some day, I will be happy to give you a rematch."
"Okay."
Soledad shook hands with the gym leader than returned to her friends.
"Hey, my mom says that my dad only got his Boulder and Cascade Badge the first round because Brock and my aunts felt sorry for him," said Amber.
"Pi Pichu chu," Pip agreed.
"I was hoping for the best," said Soledad.
"Lower your expectations," Annastasia suggested. "What I mean is, if you invest too much in believing that every battle will be your best yet, you'll only disappoint yourself. Progress isn't linear. Besides, you just got your Pokémon—you'll be a much stronger team with a few more weeks of training."
Soledad bowed to Annastasia. "Thank you."
"Anytime."
"So, are you going to battle?" Alyssa asked Michio.
"Nope," he replied.
"I thought you were going to battle today," said Annastasia. "You have to earn at least six gym badges."
"I plan on battling at that Aubergine Gym."
"Pika," Scarlett nodded.
"Okay…so then, I suppose we're moving on."
"I guess so, Michio retorted, tearing his eyes away from hers.
The group was soon on the road to Aubergine. The gym they planned on visiting was Ditto-themed.
"I don't know if I want to do this," Soledad confessed. "I just lost all three of my Pokémon to one of Alyssa's. I don't think I am cut out for this sort of thing."
"You did fantastic at the Mahogany Gym," said Nolan. "It's as Annastasia said: progress isn't linear."
"I bet you'll do great if you bring back all that confidence you had before," said June.
"Charrrrr," Chary agreed.
"Jigggly!" Soledad's Jigglypuff said as it floated onto her shoulder.
"How did you catch a Jigglypuff?" June asked.
"And when?" said Amber.
"Yesterday," said Soledad. "I was taking a snack break when Jigglypuff came walking up to me and started talking. Then, before I could prevent it, that Jigglypuff took my snack and ran. I was so angry, so I followed it. After a while I managed to catch it using Chary."
"You obviously aren't a bad trainer if you managed to catch a wild Jigglypuff," said Jay.
"He's right," said Annastasia. "Jigglypuff are difficult Pokémon for beginners to catch."
Soledad glowed. "Yeah…I suppose. Now I have to work on not getting nervous during gym battles."
"Can we talk about this 'Ditto-themed' gym we're going to?" June inquired. "I never heard of it before."
"Gym Leader Helena does double battles using Ditto. Her Ditto range from level twenty-five to level eighty-five. The level she uses is the closest match to those of the opponent's—similar to what most Gym Leaders do, but she only uses Ditto."
"That's stupid," said Michio commented. "Why only have Ditto when you can have powerful Pokémon?"
"Dittos can be trained to have high stats just like any other Pokémon, but their effectiveness in battle depends on who they transform into. The interesting thing about a Ditto-themed gym is that it forces the challenger to face themselves, their own weaknesses and strengths, in battle."
"That's because a Ditto can only use transform, just like Mondo and Duplica's Dittos, right Onēsan?" Jocelyn asked.
"Fla?"
"That's correct," Annastasia replied.
"This sounds like it's gonna be super hard," said Jay. "Can you give us more advice?"
"Strategy's key. It's vital to know all of your Pokémon's moves as well as potential moves they might learn during battle if they were to level up. You must look at their stats to see which gives you the best advantage: attack, defense, speed, etc.…and know all of their type's weaknesses. Of course, it is always good to know those things, but this is especially important in a match against a Ditto, as a Dittomaster will be in that mindset—and you can't just switch out your Pokémon as a means of escaping the battle, because the Ditto will just use Transform again."
"Yikes."
"You'll all do fine. I'm looking forward to seeing you all compete…especially you, Michio."
Michio looked at her but didn't say anything. Annastasia giggled and pursed her lips.
"And will you also be battling?" he asked, crossing his arms.
"Not my job," she retorted.
"Not even a little demo for the kiddos?"
"Annastasia, I bet I could learn everything I will ever need to know in life just by watching you," Takeshi said dreamily.
"Lay off," Lily chided, pulling at his ear. "She doesn't want you."
"Ouch. What can I say? I'm a dreamer."
"Dream about something less disturbing," Logan suggested.
"Takeshi, if it means that much to everyone, I'll give a demo, but I don't think you need one," said Annastasia. "Besides…I'd like you to spend more time learning from each other than from me."
"Huh?" said Amber. "A, the whole reason you're here is to help us train."
"Mostly I'm here to guide and protect you, and of course to help you, but my goal isn't to be your trainers."
"That goes for us too," Lexi said as she gestured to Nolan and herself. "We'll give advice but you kids gotta make your own mistakes and learn as you go."
"I know…" Amber mumbled.
"I'll always help in a pinch," said Annastasia. "But coach you…not so much."
"I think your help has been perfect so far," said Soledad. "I can't stop thinking about my loss…but you're right. And watching you battle isn't going to help me much—I gotta help myself."
"Charrr," her Charmander agreed.
"You got it," said Annastasia.
Annastasia was relieved to see Michio talking to Nolan and Lexi more. Even though their conversations were still a bit edgy, she saw it as an improvement to not speaking at all or just arguing. She was still feeling weak from her latest episode at the buffet restaurant, and even though Jay had taken over all her chores and given her several massages since then, she still felt drained. In addition to that stress, Michio's parents wanted a progress report. She was used to doing these reports for Giovanni, back when she was in charge of training new recruits, but for some reason, she felt bothered by this one. Michio wasn't a Rocket, and he was never going to be, and so she wasn't sure how to judge him. If Michio was a recruit in training she'd have already failed him. But he wasn't, and something inside her said that he didn't deserve to fail. She wanted to give him a chance, and it was true what she had told him when they first met: 'I don't give up on people that easily'. It didn't matter if he deserved it. She was determined not to change him, but to figure out what he was hiding and to get him to reveal that part of himself.
She didn't know that he was planning to do the same for her.
AN: I like hearing your comments:) That ship name tho...it reminds me of Pistachio nuts...yep:0