AN: That ship name that a reader came up with was "Anachio" - I think it sounds like "Pistachio", I dunno, what do you think? Anyway...I can't really think of anything else to say but...here is the next chapter.

UPDATE: As of April 22, 2019, the title "Pistachio" is certainly a thing…here…in Alola Trials…The Journal…

ENJOY and please REVIEW:)

Jessie and James planned on spending the day at Nanny and Pop-pop's estate. James couldn't wait to see the toddler's face when he saw all the toys and Pokémon waiting for him to play.

Alex squirmed uncomfortably in his car seat as James reached over to buckle him in.

"I have to peeeeeeee!" he whined, smacking James in the face with a Pikachu action figure.

"Alex, Dear, didn't you just go?" James asked, gently taking the toy from the kid.

"Nope!"

"Okay, but let's hurry."

Jessie glanced up to see James running back into the house with the three-year-old in his arms.

"He'll get tired of it," she sighed.

"Tired of what?" Meowth asked, jumping out from behind her. She jumped up in fright.

"Hey! Watch it!" she scolded, hitting him with the magazine she was just reading. "It's none of your business."

Meowth rubbed the spot where she hit. "Sheesh…and ta dink I once thought you'd soften up once yous got married."

"Are you coming with us or not?"

"We're in the trunk," Lucy said as she showed her face.

"Weeze gonna be sleepin, so don't wake us up," said Meowth.

"I'll try to resist the urge," Jessie mumbled.

James returned a full ten minutes later, an ashamed looking Alex in his arms. He once again placed him in the booster seat and buckled him in. He got in the driver's seat next to Jessie.

"What happened? Why did you change his clothes?" Jessie asked, too low for the toddler to hear. He seemed too occupied with the book James gave him to notice anyway.

"There was an accident," James replied shortly.

"Oh, I see. You used to absolutely hate when things like that happened."

"Mmhm…But he's only three—it's not his fault. There's nothing to stress over."

Jessie groaned. James was tougher to crack than she anticipated.

Thirty minutes into the ride, Jessie's phone rang.

"I told yous to keep it down!" Meowth complained. "Turn dat ringer off!"

Jessie ignored him and answered the videophone. It was Giovanni. She put headphones in to block out the noise from the radio.

"Are you busy?" he asked.

Jessie looked around the car. "Well duh."

"There is no reason to act smart, Jessica."

"Don't tell me you need us."

"How quickly can you, James, Meowth, and Lucy get over here?"

"We need at least an hour and a half, but it depends on what you need. We have Mondo's son with us, and we are on our way to James' grandparent's house."

"Are your Pokémon with you?"

"…Uh, yes…"

"Excellent. Drop the boy off there and meet me at HQ."

"Look, that isn't what we had…"

"I don't care what you had planned, I need you over here asap, and bring your Pokémon with you!"

Jessie swore aloud and then slammed the phone down. She ripped the headphones out of her ears and pouted.

"Giovanni wants us?" James guessed.

"He wants us to leave Alex at the estate and to head over to HQ with our Pokémon," she moaned.

"He doesn't want us to bring our jet or anything?"

"He didn't say much else."

"Well, it's not like we have to go. We aren't his underling grunts anymore."

"Remember the six-month family feud that ensued the last time we disobeyed one of his commands? He's such a drama queen—and this time it sounded urgent."

"Wow Jess, putting de needs of utters before yereself," Meowth commented. "How selfless."

"You and Lucy need to come too."

"He said dat?!"

"Yup."

"Dammit!"

"Alex only met Nanny and Pop-pop twice, and he was just a baby," James murmured. "I feel bad leaving him with strangers. I promised him we would play all day."

"Well, that is what happens when you have little children," Jessie responded. "You have to leave them behind while you go on dangerous missions."

"I know."

James watched Alex sadly, who continued to play with his toys, unaware of what the adults were discussing.

They pulled up to Nanny and Pop-pop's place about a forty minutes later. James quickly explained the situation to them and then handed them Alex. Alex seemed to get over the distress of their departure once he saw all the Pokémon they had on the estate. James, Jessie, Lucy, and Meowth jumped back into the car and headed straight to headquarters.

Rumika, Delia, Ash, Misty, Domino, Archer, Cassidy, and Butch were waiting for them in Giovanni's office.

"It's about the fusions," he started. "Rumika, debrief."

"We found another facility that we believe will be very helpful to us," Rumika announced. "It's much smaller than the other building, but we think it might hold some very important information inside."

"Like what?" James asked.

"Like how to control those beasts we've locked in captivity."

"So, if we get that information, we'll be able to control the fusions we have at our home too," Misty inferred.

"Theoretically, but we cannot be too sure about anything," Giovanni responded. "I'm more interested in getting that monster fusion under control."

"Then what will we do with it?" asked Domino. "That whole Mewtwo experiment didn't necessarily work out. In the end all we did was add to the wild Pokémon population."

"Mewtwo is peaceful. There is no telling what this thing will do if it ever gets loose. This beast isn't even intelligent. Other Pokémon cannot seem to communicate with it."

Giovanni looked at Lucy and Meowth.

"It's true. It was just spewing nonsense, not even real words," said Lucy.

"Dat ding wasn't a Pokémon anymore," Meowth added. "It was evil."

"Let's not get carried away," Ash said defensively. "I refuse to believe that any Pokémon can become evil. And even if it doesn't talk like a Pokémon, it's still a Pokémon. What else would it be?"

"Ash is right," Misty asserted. "We have to help that poor thing, no matter how tough it is."

"I agree with the twerps. That thing was Pokémon at some point, right? Maybe there is hope for it," said James.

"We can discuss the morality of this later," Giovanni responded. "First, we must get it into a manageable state, and we can only do that if we have the information we believe is being stored in this facility. Right now, we can only put it to sleep. There has to be a more efficient way to soothe it. That is what this next mission is about."

Delia showed them a map. There was an area of Toka that was rarely explored, and naturally, that was where they would have to go next. The lab was a small two-room building filled with books. The information they needed could be hidden inside any one of them.

"This is shady," Lucy said after Giovanni finished giving them the details of their next mission. "A two-room library in the middle of nowhere? It sounds like a setup. How do we know it is not just going to explode the moment we show up?"

"I already checked this place out," said Rumika. "It has connections to the last place we infiltrated. I'm certain what we need is there. As for its safety, I did send out some detectors to look for any evidence of bombs and any other form of heavy weaponry. All we got on the radar were some automatic rifles that will go off if anyone gets too close to the building."

"Is that all?" Cassidy asked sarcastically.

"We have full body bullet-proof suits for you and your Pokémon to wear," Delia assured them.

"This doesn't sound too bad," said Lucy. "I'm in."

"Same," Jessie, James, and Meowth agreed.

"And we will fill in for Mondo and Duplica," said Ash and Misty.

"Pika!"

XO

It was noon by the time the children and teens arrived in Aubergine.

"This quaint little village just makes me so happy," June sighed as she looked around. "It reminds me of the village my mother is from."

Even though it was the 2030s, Aubergine looked like it belonged in the 1930s. There were old-fashioned lampposts, cobblestone walkways, water troughs, and posts for people to tie their ride Pokemon. For once Annastasia was not in the lead, and she let the children run passed her as they checked out the old-fashioned candy, toy, and hobby stores.

"You look exhausted," said a familiar voice.

"Thanks for the update. I had no idea," Annastasia replied sarcastically.

"Pika?" asked Scarlett.

"I'm fine," she told Michio and the Pikachu. "Just tired."

Annastasia was up three times last night with more of those 'visions', but she didn't want to make a big deal about it. Jay knew her so well, she figured he already noticed anyway, so there was no point in bringing it up. She recalled her brother's face when he handed her some freshly made tea this morning. He rubbed her shoulders and told her everything was going to be okay. Jay was just like that. Michio wasn't, which is why he was the last person she was going to let know her secret. It annoyed her that he was being so nosy ever since he found her like that. He kept bringing it up.

"So, how am I doing with those point things?" Michio inquired. "I imagine pretty well."

"You're golden," Annastasia replied, rubbing her temples.

"I thought I was the sourpuss. Looks like the princess gets perturbed once she's out of her palace for a while…Unless…. there's something you'd like to share…"

"Leave me alone."

"Fine, just take note: this time you are the one ignoring me, not the other way around."

Michio and Scarlett turned their backs and walked away.

'He is such an asshole sometimes,' Annastasia thought to herself. 'Hm.'

The group gathered for a mid-day meal. Lexi, Nolan, and Annastasia prepared spring rolls for them while they talked and enjoyed a view of the lake.

"There're people catching water Pokémon," Logan said as he pointed to the dock.

"So?" said Amber.

"You should catch some."

"But we're eating."

"It is always good to have water-types on your team," said Nolan. "We'll wait."

Amber stood and swung her bow over her shoulder.

"I'm going," she decided. "There's a whole 'nother part of the lake where no one's fishing. Jay, you coming?"

Jay swallowed his last bite and nodded hesitantly.

"I don't want to get my clothes all wet," he said fretfully.

Amber dug through her knapsack until she found her rain poncho. She thrust it into his arms. Jay pulled it over him.

"Does it look okay?" he asked.

"It's fine," said Soledad. "Not your best look, but at least your clothes will stay dry."

"I approve," said June.

"Anyone else coming?" Jay asked.

They were silent.

"I want to battle in the gym today, which means that all my Pokémon should be rested and ready to go," said June.

"Same," said Takeshi.

"Yeah," said Soledad. "Ditto."

"Be careful," said Annastasia. "Don't wander too far—stay within a mile radius."

"We will," said Amber.

"Promise," said Jay.

"Toge Togetic."

"Pichu chu"

"Have fun!" The others said as Amber and Jay hiked towards the lake.

When they were a few yards away from camp and out of hearing distance, Amber started to tell Jay about her plan to catch the most water Pokémon. Not surprisingly, it involved arrows and a net.

"Sounds really clever," said Jay. "Honestly, I think I caught those Tauros and Rattata because of luck."

"Nah, it's cuz you're awesome," Amber retorted. "Besides, you taught them how to fight, like a trainer's 'spossed to do."

Amber fired an arrow. It split the lichen of a nearby oak. Amber smiled proudly.

"When you become an archery master, promise you won't forget the little guys," Jay requested.

"I won't," she promised. "Besides, I'll need you there as my right-hand man."

"Your assistant?"

"Nah, more like my emergency punching bag, shoulder to cry on, microphone to rant into, and person to help me get dressed in the morning, since I'm ten years old and still can't put an outfit together," Amber explained. "Oh, and as my best friend of course."

"I can live with that."

Once they neared the lake, Amber took out two fishing lures and handed one to Jay. One looked like her mother. The one she gave Jay looked like a miniature version of herself.

"My mom gave me these," she explained. "They're good luck."

"Sweet. Thanks, Amb," Jay replied, studying the lure in his palm.

They fastened the lures to their fishing poles and sat on the ground.

"So, how were things at school?" Amber asked quietly. "Right before you left."

"Same as before," Jay mumbled. "Did Soledad tell you anything?"

"No, but even if I asked, she wouldn't have said. She doesn't gossip."

"I know, I just thought because…oh never mind…"

"I can tell you wanna tell me. Was it the same people as last time?"

"On my last day of school, the same guys cornered me again. This time they didn't go easy on me."

"What did they do?"

Amber scowled and garroted the handle of her fishing rod. She eased up when she noticed that her anger was upsetting Jay.

"There's nothing we can do about it," said Jay. "They're miles away now, and I might never see them again anyway. Besides, I told Annastasia, and she took care of it."

"Gimme details," Amber requested.

"Fine. You know that purple blazer my dad got me a while back?"

"Yeah…did they take it?! Is that why you haven't worn it since we left Pallet? You loved that thing."

"Yeah, um, so… I wore it to school. I was outside taking a walk during lunch break when six of them called me out for wearing it. They came up to me and started hitting me and stuff, the usual. Then they ripped the blazer off and tore it to shreds. One guy held me down while the others punched me and ransacked my backpack. They took my phone, laptop, Poke-nav, watch, and wallet. Then they threw me in the dumpster. That was the worst part, it was so humiliating. That's how everyone's going to remember me: Dumpster Kid. No, worse: Crybaby Dumpster Kid."

"That makes me so pissed. If I went to that school, I would've put all of them in that dumpster, after I punched out their eyeballs."

Jay shuddered. "And then you would've gotten suspended for fighting back."

"Did you at least get your stuff back?"

"After I cleaned myself up, I borrowed Soledad's phone and called Annastasia and told her what happened. She was on a mission with Rita at the time but the two of them came over right away. They got all my stuff back, including the blazer, even though it was all torn up and stunk from sitting in the dumpster for hours. Then they tracked those kids down and got them expelled."

"Good."

"I feel guilty."

"Why? They got what they deserve. It's not your fault the world sucks."

"I wish I knew what to do. What if something happens one day and no one's around to help me?"

"Well, we ain't going back to school—for now on, it's you, me, and those other people we're traveling with."

Amber's fishing bob started dancing up and down.

"Something's pulling on my line! And it's hella big! Help me reel it in!" Amber exclaimed.

Jay wrapped his hands around Amber's pole so that they could pull together. Togetic, Rattata, Pidgeotto, and Pip tried to help.

"This isn't working," Jay panted.

"Everyone get behind me and pull!" Amber ordered.

Jay and the Pokémon lined up behind her. Jay grabbed her waist and they formed a line behind her. Everyone pulled until a giant Gyarados came flying out of the water. Jay and the Pokémon were paralyzed by fear. Amber laughed and clapped.

"Oh, yeah!" Amber cheered. "It's def bigger than average. Pip, Thunderbolt!"

The Gyarados roared and used Hyperbeam. Jay and the other Pokémon snapped out of their temporary paralysis and ran. Amber seemed to be the only one not scared.

"C'mon, Pip, you can do it! Climb aboard Pidgeotto. Pidgeotto, fly closer to Gyarados so that Pip can get a closer hit," she suggested.

The Pokémon confidently followed her directions. Gyarados roared so loudly, it nearly blew Amber, Jay, and the Pokémon away. Hearing the noise, Annastasia, June, Soledad, and Jocelyn came running towards them.

"Look, Onēsan, a Gyarados!" Jocelyn exclaimed, pointing to the enormous sea dragon. "I had no idea they were so big!"

"Flaaaafy!"

"There's not that big—usually," Soledad replied. "But leave it to Amb to find the largest Gyarados in Kanto."

The Pokémon roared again. Pidgeotto and Pip were wind-pinned to a tree.

Annastasia stopped running once she, June, Jocelyn, and Soledad were several yards from where Jay and Amber were battling the Gyarados. Nolan, Lexi, Takeshi, their Pokémon, plus Scarlett, joined them.

"Should we help?" June asked.

"No, they should try it on their own. I won't help unless things get too dangerous," Annastasia replied.

Togetic used Psychic on Gyarados while Amber instructed Pip to keep up his Thunderbolt. The Gyarados was getting angrier and angrier, and it was not backing down. It gave one last enormous, ground-shaking roar, and then the sky turned black.

"What's going on?" Jocelyn asked worriedly. "Onēsan?"

"Fla?"

"Dragon Rage," Annastasia murmured. "Everyone, remain calm and don't move."

The Gyarados formed a whirlpool. Five more Gyarados appeared before them.

"AHHHHH!"

"It's called Dragon Rage, and it is one of Gyarados' most powerful attacks," Annastasia murmured as Jay and Amber continued to scream.

Togetic and Pip collapsed from over-exertion. Amber shot arrows at an invisible target above Gyarados. The arrows released a net, which coated Gyarados and prevented it from moving.

"What are you doing?!" Jay squeaked.

"I'm about to catch me a Gyarados," Amber said confidently.

"But now there're six of them!"

"I…want…this…one."

Amber struggled to keep her breath as she pulled the monster's head down with the rope and net. This made the other Gyarados angry. All six of them prepared to use Shadowball on the two ten-year-olds and their remaining Rattata.

"Go, Wobbuffet!" Annastasia exclaimed as she threw a Pokéball towards the two children.

The Patient Pokémon jumped in front of the kids as Amber kept pulling her line and Jay cowered behind her. It absorbed the Gyarados' attacks then fired them back, fainting half of them in one motion.

After seeing Wobbuffet's power, the Gyarados ceased to attack. The Gyarados bearing Amber's net upon its head bowed as the others disappeared. Annastasia approached Amber and Jay.

"Where did you get that Wobbuffet?" Jay asked. "It wasn't Mom's."

"I got him for Team Rocket a few years ago," she answered. "I brought him along in case something like this happened."

"Wobbbb," the Pokémon bowed.

"Thank you. Please, rest."

Annastasia returned Wobbuffet to his ball.

"Thanks so much for saving us," Jay said as he hugged Annastasia.

"Yeah, thank...well, I guess I can't catch it now," Amber lamented.

"Why not?" Soledad asked as she and the others caught up.

"Yeah, you caught it on your line, and you fought it," said Takeshi.

"But Annastasia defeated it," said Amber. "And I couldn't have done it without A."

"I didn't want to intervene, I just couldn't let you two get hurt," said Annastasia told them. "I'm sorry if you feel like you didn't earn this Gyarados, but trust me, you've earned this."

"Yeah, I mean, it was super brave of you and like, you're the one who weakened it," said Jay.

"Take it, Amber! Please!" said Jocelyn.

"Fla!"

"The more Pokémon the better!"

"Flaafy!"

"Well…Jay and A helped a ton, so let's share it," said Amber.

"I think you and Jay should share," Annastasia replied.

"Are you sure? I didn't really do anything," Jay responded.

"You did help, more than you apparently realize. We'll take turns battling with it," Amber said as she handed him an empty Pokéball. "You do the honors."

"Um, sure," Jay replied. "Thanks. Uhh, go, Pokéball!"

Gyarados disappeared inside. Jay walked up to the spot where it landed and picked up the ball.

"I didn't think I would ever get to hold one of these. Thanks, Amb," he said as he hugged her tightly. "And thanks for saving us, A."

"Np," Annastasia replied.

"You're welcome," Amber said as she gently pushed Jay off her. "But if it ever comes down to one final battle between me and you, I call dibs."

"KK," Jay agreed.

Amber and Jay struck their first 'I caught a new Pokémon' pose.

"Love it," said Annastasia. "So, shall we continue our journey?"

"Yes, please," said Jocelyn.

"Flaaa."