After a long flight to the 'middle of nowhere', Toka, Misty, Ash, Butch, Cassidy, Domino, Archer, Meowth, Lucy, Jessie, and James' landed in front of a small brick building surrounded by barbed wire. Rumika and two other agents monitored via satellite.
"Testing, can you hear?" Rumika asked through her microphone.
Rumika's voice echoed in everyone's earpiece.
"Loud and clear," several of them responded together.
The team slipped on the bulletproof suits, which were surprisingly form-fitting ('the future is now, thanks to science!' its designer had informed them) and then they approached the tall fence.
"Acorn, Aliyah, teleport us to the other side of this fence," Jessie instructed.
"Veee veee," the Pokémon responded, following her directions. "Eevee eve eve."
"They want to know if they should make us invisible," Lucy translated.
"Not yet. Rumika and the others need to be able to see us," Cassidy responded.
"Who's in charge here?" Jessie asked.
"Me," said Domino.
Jessie was about to retaliate, but Meowth and Lucy grabbed a hold of her mouth, preventing her from lashing out.
"James, I need you and Botch to go set off those security guns," Domino ordered.
"You mean have them fire at us?" James asked worriedly.
"Yes. While they're firing at you, the rest of us will climb in through one of those windows. Rumika, Oakley, and Annie will be on lookout duty. The rest of us and our Pokémon will look for the information we need."
"But we could get killed!" Butch exclaimed. "And stop messing up my name!"
"That sounds kinda dangerous. Can't you come up with a better idea?" Ash asked.
"You, Pikachu, and Misty can go set off the guns," Domino suggested.
"He takes that back," Misty replied.
"Chu chu," Pikachu agreed.
"Look, morons. You'll be wearing the fucking suits. Now go set off the guns. It might take us hours to find the information we need and I don't want to camp out here overnight," Domino continued.
"James, you'll be fine. See you soon", Jessie said as she and others departed. "Good luck."
"Okay…. good luck to you too," he sighed before Butch dragged him away.
"What is taking you all so long! Hurry up!" They heard Annie's voice in their ear.
"We are hurrying. James and Butch are holding us up as usual," Domino replied angrily. Just as Cassidy and Wendy were Jessie's main adversaries, Annie and Oakley were Domino's.
Meanwhile, James and Butch were about to jump in front of the main entrance. They were going to use Inkay and Houndoom to smash a window so that the rest of the group could get in the building while they distracted the motion-censored weapons.
"I still don't see why Giovanni couldn't ask the lower-ranks to do this sort of work," James whined.
"Most of them are busy doing grunt work or helping with that project he has Mondo in charge of. Now stop complaining," Batch snapped. "You think I don't feel the same way? Have Inkay use Hyperbeam on the window. I'll have Houndoom use Shadowball. As soon as they make contact, we run. Rumika said those bullets should follow us."
"Right. Inkay, use Hyperbeam!"
"Houndoom, Shadowball!"
"Run!" they cried together as bullets pounded their backs.
"That screaming's our cue," said Domino smirked. "Let's go."
"They sound like they are in pain…we should check on them," said Misty.
"They're probably just scared."
Cassidy and Jessie exchanged worried glances, a rare moment of mutual sympathy and agreement.
"I'll check," Jessie whispered before separating herself from the others.
Jessie climbed back out the window. James and Butch were running around in circles, quite comically, cursing and crying.
"Well, they are still running, and no one is bleeding or dead, so I suppose they are fine,' Jessie thought to herself before sneaking back towards the group.
A few moments later she, Cassidy, Domino, Archer, Misty, Ash, Meowth, Lucy, and a bunch of their Pokémon were ransacking the jam-packed library, looking for anything related to the fusions.
"Nice of you to join us," Domino sneered. "Help. I need to get this over with."
Jessie fumed as she joined the others. They searched section by section, to ensure a thorough investigation. About an hour later, they heard excided chirps from Ash's Hawlucha.
"What is it?" Ash asked the Pokémon.
"Haw haw haw!" she cried, pointing to a page inside a book she was holding.
"She says dat she found somethin' yous outta read," Meowth translated.
The book had a picture of something that looked like it was part Charmander and part Squirtle, almost like Jessie and James' Diablo. Ash read the page's contents aloud.
"It says: 'The art of fusing Pokémon is in no way a new science. In fact, ghost, dark, and psychic type Pokémon had been fusing together different Pokémon for ages, specifically elemental Pokémon, as shown below. The purpose of this was to protect their own kind, as fused Pokémon tend to remain loyal to those who 'create' their fusion, and dark, psychic and ghost Pokémon used to be considered the weakest of types. As dark, psychic, and ghost Pokémon have evolved over time, their desire to fuse other Pokémon together for their own purposes of defense has diminished, as psychic, dark, and ghost Pokémon now have many other skills and no longer need elemental Pokémon to protect them. Now it is rare to see fused Pokémon in the wild, though it is still possible. Humans, however, have taken an interest in this process over the years. The unnatural fusing of Pokémon, such as the joining of non-elemental types, is something that some scientists have taken interest in, but there is not much documentation on their progress'."
"Whoa," said Misty "I had no idea that Pokémon were capable of such things."
Domino scanned the page and a few others before and after it. She sighed in frustration.
"It is still too vague," she complained.
"There's gotta be more information," said Archer. "When was this book written?"
"1992."
"Then let's keep looking because clearly technology's made progress since then."
The Rockets sighed and returned to their tedious search.
"I found something," Cassidy said after a while.
"Toss it," Domino instructed.
Cassidy scowled and gently tossed the book to her coworker.
"Pokémon Syntheses: A Study and Analysis," Domino read. "Did you read in here yet?"
"A bit. It's pretty heavy stuff though. Brainiac shit, ya know?" Cassidy replied.
Archer leaned over Domino and they read the first few pages together.
"We should bring this to Dr. Namba," he suggested.
"Yes. Someone in that department could figure this out," Domino replied, shutting the book.
"Oh please, how hard can it be to read a book?" Jessie inquired, pushing Archer out of the way.
She took the book from Domino and opened to the first page. After reading for a few seconds, her expression changed and she handed the book back to Domino.
"If I don't understand it, there is no way a nit-wit like you could," Domino remarked.
Misty, Ash, Pikachu, and Azumarill silently giggled from the corner, ignoring Jessie's 'I'm-not-afraid-to-punish-you' glare.
"I think we should look for Buzz and James," said Lucy. "It's been hours. They were supposed to meet us here once the guns were finished going off. The noise stopped about ten minutes ago, and they still haven't come back."
"The guns stopped? Why didn't you say anything?" Jessie snapped as she turned to Meowth and Lucy.
"Weeze sorta forgot dat humans can't hear as well as weeze could," said Meowth.
"We didn't expect this building to be soundproof, either," said Lucy. "But it shouldn't matter: Rumika and several other agents are monitoring them."
Just then Rumika's voice entered their earpieces.
"We lost track of Buzz and James," she announced.
"WHAT?!" Cassidy and Jessie yelled together.
"Chill. They're around there somewhere. They have tracking devices in their clothing. They're nearby, just out of sight of my video feed. This isn't too surprising since I can only see inside the building where you are and what's in front of the plane. Last we saw them was about five minutes ago. They ran to the back of the building, but they never came back out, and they never entered in, so they must still be out there somewhere. I think one of you should take a few Pokémon and take a look."
"I'm on it," Jessie said as she headed towards the door.
"Me too," said Cassidy.
"Great. TTYL," Rumika replied.
Jessie and Cassidy turned the corner and noticed that the half-dozen security weapons that were once guarding the building were now destroyed.
"JAMES! BUTCH!" they shouted together.
They called several times until they heard two familiar groans. The women hurried towards the source of the noise.
"What happened?" Cassidy asked as she knelt down between them.
"James, are you okay?" said Jessie.
James, Butch, Inkay, and Houndoom were covered in scratches and bruises. Butch had a black eye and James' lip was bleeding. Inkay and Houndoom looked utterly exhausted, and they lay on top of their masters in a wretched heap.
"What do you expect, woman? You had us purposely get attacked by machine rifles," Bitch retorted.
"It wasn't my idea, it was that stuck-up, dumbass, bossy, bitch Domino's genius," Jessie retorted. "How the hell were you injured if these suits are bulletproof?"
"There are limits," said James.
"Okay…Try to stand."
James grabbed hold of Jessie and slowly got to his feet. He clutched his right arm miserably. Jessie eyed him suspiciously.
"Why are you holding your arm like that?" she asked.
"It's just sore," he mumbled. "C'mon, let's go finish the mission."
While Cassidy helped Butch, James tried to walk passed Jessie. She held out an arm, blocking his way.
"Let me see," she ordered.
"Its fine," he retorted.
"No, it's not. If it's broken, I'm going to have to set it for you."
"It's not broken, but, um it's sorta…"
He stopped talking completely and tried to walk past them. Cassidy and Jessie grabbed the back of his shirt before he made it more than two steps.
"Spit it out!" Jessie demanded.
James removed his left hand from his arm to reveal a large wound. It was deep and bloody, and he inhaled sharply as he removed the pressure.
"What did you do?" Cassidy questioned.
"Houndoom's fire accidentally singed the suit," Butch confessed.
"Houndoom got scared and just started attacking everything. Part of the arm piece burnt away, leaving it exposed. Those bullets were coming at us so fast and one got me," James explained.
"So, it was your stupid Pokémon," Jessie said to Cassidy. "Should've known you'd be the weak link."
"Houndoom didn't do anything wrong—James was in the way. Now let's just get back inside. I don't want to listen to Domino bitch for the next few hours about how we took too long," Cassidy replied.
Cassidy and Binch started walking back into the building.
"That Cassidy makes me so mad," Jessie spat. "Everyone involved in this mission sucks."
"This earpiece goes two ways," Rumika reminded them.
"Everyone but you, Lucy, Meowth, and our Pokémon suck."
"I can agree," James moaned.
"The plane has medical supplies," said Rumika. "Get her to help."
"Sure," Jessie sighed.
"Well she is sorta right, Jess," James said as they continued walking. "Houndoom didn't do it on purpose. And it only hurts when I move."
"No matter what, we gotta get that cleaned before it gets infected. We'll have Aliyah use Heal Pulse to get rid of the pain."
Jessie escorted the bruised and beaten James to the library. Everyone else was still searching the shelves while Butch sat in a corner and chugged a water bottle. Upon seeing him, Misty took off her backpack and pulled out a water bottle. She handed it to James.
"Aren't you thirsty?" Misty asked when he didn't take it from her.
"My arm," he replied.
Misty looked at him quizzically. Jessie sighed and took the water bottle from her. She helped James to the ground, unscrewed the cap of the bottle, and handed it to James. He drank it down in one long chug.
"What happened to the other one?" Ash asked as he looked to James' hand.
"Houndoom burned his suit open, and a bullet got him in the arm," said Jessie. "Acorn's getting the first-aid kit."
"Oh, sorry to hear that," Misty replied. "James, what else do you need?"
"To not keep talking about it," he murmured.
"Right. We'll get back to work. Text us if that changes."
"It's okay—Aliyah can help me, right girl?" he said to the Eevee.
Aliyah placed a paw on his right hand, which was still covering his wound. A few seconds later the pain was gone. James uncovered the wound.
"It looks like it cut you to the bone," said Rumika. "A wound that deep can get infected easily."
"Redheads, it's sweet of you to play nurses' aide, but we need to focus if we want to get this mission over with," Domino interjected.
"Yes ma'am," Misty replied angrily, her temper starting to rise. If she spent much longer with Domino, she was sure she was going to lose it.
"Piss off," Jessie and Rumika responded together.
After cleaning the cut and wrapping it tightly in gauze, Jessie and James joined the hunt. Lucy and Meowth filled James in on what they had found so far.
"Here's something," James said after about an hour. "A book about how scientists can use psychic Pokémon to help transfer the abilities of one type of Pokémon to another type."
"Give it here," said Domino, taking the book away from him. She scanned a few pages. "This looks like it can be useful, and it was published in 2020. But we need more."
"At least we're making progress," said Jessie. "James has been a much bigger help than you."
"Can't say the same about his wife."
"There are no consequences for me beating you to a pulse."
"Everyone, calm down and focus!" said Misty. "No one wants to be here…let's keep working and get this over with."
XO
After lunch, Annastasia, Lexi, Nolan, Jay, Jocelyn, Amber, Soledad, June, Takeshi, Logan, Lily, and Michio returned to the Aubergine Gym. Amber managed to capture a Spearow on the walk over using her archery skills, and the affectionate Pokémon offered to battle for her. According to Logan and Lily, she loved to battle and relished the idea of facing a Ditto.
"Who's next?" Helena inquired.
"Me," Amber said confidently.
"Very well."
Helena took her spot in the arena. Amber followed her lead as Elaine announced the official gym rules.
"Spearow, time to make your debut!" Amber declared, throwing her Pokéball into the air.
"Speeeeeearow!" the Pokémon screeched.
"Ditto, transform," Helena instructed. "You have the first move, Dear."
"Go, Amber!" Jocelyn exclaimed.
"Flaaa!"
"Go, Amber! Go, Spearow! You can do this!" the others cheered.
"If anyone can win this badge like it's nothing it's you!" Jay added.
"Peck," Amber commanded.
"Gust!" Helena countered.
Spearow braced against the Gust, trying her hardest to not smack into the wall or windows. Amber had her try to use Agility, but the bird just squawked helplessly.
"She doesn't know Agility yet," Lily translated.
"Okay…hit the ground," Amber suggested. "It'll get you out of the wind."
Spearow gripped the ground with all her strength as Gust continued. Eventually, Spearow was forced to let go. Amber returned her to her ball.
"Spearow is out of the match, round one goes to Gym Leader Helena," Elaine announced.
"Darn. I guess it was dumb to use a Pokémon I never even practiced with," Amber mumbled.
"It's okay, Amb. You'll bounce back," said Jay.
"Yeah, Amber you're one of my favorites! You can't give up ever!" Jocelyn cheered.
"Flaaaaaaaa!"
"Pip, wanna shot? " Amber asked her MVP.
Pip squeaked as he ran towards Amber.
"I choose Pip," Amber announced.
"Amber and Pip make an excellent team," said Soledad. "I hope that one day me and Chary can be that close."
"And I bet you will be," June replied. "Bulbasaur and I too, and Takeshi with Cyndaquil, and Jay with Togetic…"
"Definitely," said Annastasia.
"Electric Pokémon are my favorite," said Jocelyn. "Go, Pip!"
"Flaafy Flaafy!"
"Charrrrmander!"
"Bulbasaurrrr!"
"Ditto, transform!" Helena instructed.
"Ditto!" the Pokémon called out as it turned into a Pichu.
"Pip, Thunderbolt!" Amber commanded.
"Catch that bolt and throw it back," Helena retorted.
"Dodge, then use Quick Attack. Finish with that surprise move we practiced!"
Pip dodged all Ditto's attacks and used his impressive speed to confuse the other Pichu. Ditto grew dizzy, and after a few moments, Pip assaulted it with a spontaneous Head-butt, which sent it flying. Elaine declared Ditto unable to battle.
"Another tie, another riddle," said June. "I wonder what hers will be."
"Excellent work, Dear," said Helena.
"I know," said Amber. "What's my riddle?"
Annastasia giggled.
"What?" said Michio.
"Amber had that entire scenario planned—she wanted a riddle too," Annastasia explained.
"Classic Amb," Jay added.
Helena cleared her throat, then recited:
"Catch me and a pearl has a chance of being yours, no need for a stone. Who am I?"
"So, the answer is another Pokémon," Amber inferred.
"Naturally…Remember, you cannot ask anyone else for help. I'll give you some time to it over. If you get it right, then the Courage Badge is all yours."
"Hmmm. That's a tough one," Soledad thought aloud. "I have a guess, but it doesn't matter since I can't help anyway."
"You're smarter than I thought," said Takeshi, much to June's dismay. "Just like Anna-sama."
"Actually, I haven't a clue about the answer to that riddle," Annastasia remarked. "I appreciate the compliment, but remember that everyone here's smart: not just me and Soledad."
"Oh, right."
Amber returned to the group as she thought more about her riddle.
"Who wants to go next?" Helena asked.
"I will," said Soledad. "I must redeem myself."
Helena asked her to explain, and Soledad told her about her failure at Pewter City. Helena told her that she could tell she was a strong girl, and that a few failures meant nothing in the long run.
"Thank you, Helena," Soledad responded. "I like you."
"Ditto," the gym leader replied.
"Ha, it's another pun," Michio noted Annastasia saying.
"Ha, they're fucking hilarious," Michio retorted.
"Puns are fun."
"Lame."
"Hey, yous: pay attention to Soledad!" Jocelyn demanded.
"Fla!"
Everyone cheered for Soledad as Helena released her next Ditto. Soledad chose Chary.
"Flamethrower!" she instructed.
"Ember!" Helena responded.
"Use your Flamethrower to destroy the embers."
The Charmander destroyed dozens of embers at once. The audience roared.
"Nice work, now use Dragon Breath," Soledad suggested.
"Head-butt!" Helena commanded.
Dragon Breath paralyzed Ditto. Soledad breathed a sigh of relief.
"Chary musta just learned that," said Logan. "Yet she's got it mastered."
"Charmander can learn a dragon-type move?" Jay asked.
"Sure can," said Nolan. "Soledad's really been hitting the books."
A bright white light surrounded the Charmander.
"Chary's evolving!" Jocelyn exclaimed as she bopped up and down.
"Flaafy!"
"Another evolution," said Lexi.
"I'm so happy for her," said Nolan and Annastasia.
"Ditto!" the children replied.
"Look Flaafy, she's gonna become Charmeleon!" Jocelyn squealed. "Cool!"
"Chary!" Soledad cried happily. "You're a Chameleon! Look at you!"
"Charm-me-lee-on!" the Pokémon replied, flexing her new muscles.
"Congrats, Dear," said Helena. "Ditto: you know the drill."
"Ditto!" it exclaimed, morphing into a Charmeleon.
"Use Head-butt," Soledad suggested. "Let's see what you can do."
Charmeleon and the Ditto spared head-to-head for several minutes. Chary used Head-butt, Dragon Breath, and Flamethrower to weaken her opponent, and eventually, Ditto collapsed.
"Chary! I'm so happy and proud of you," Soledad said as she hugged her Charmeleon. "You're the best. Do you wanna keep going?"
"Charrrrrme charmmm."
"She says she wants to lead the win," Logan translated.
"Hm," Soledad nodded. "Then she shall!"
"Charrrrm!"
Helena sent out a second Ditto. Everyone resumed their cheering. After a ten-minute fight, a tired Charmeleon had the opportunity to relish in her second victory in a row. Helena awarded them the Courage Badge.
"This is so great!" Soledad exclaimed as she squeezed Chary's hands. "It was all you."
"Great comeback," said Nolan. "And Chary: congrats on evolving."
"Yeah, congrats!" the others added.
"That was incredible. I honestly didn't expect that from you," Jay said as he patted her on the back.
Soledad blushed from the compliment and unexpected physical contact. He smiled at her blissfully, and she returned it with an equal, or perhaps even greater, amount of genuineness.
"Amber, have you thought of the answer to that riddle I gave you?" Helena asked the redhead.
"Um, no," Amber said as she shifted her gaze to Helena. "I sorta forgot. Can you say it again?"
"Sure. 'Catch me and a pearl has a chance of being yours, no need for a stone. Who am I?'"
"Um. So a Pokémon with a pearl…a suppose it could be a Spoink…but they don't give up their pearls easily…but I can't think of who else it would be…no need for a stone. I don't understand what that means."
"Yeah, that's tough," said Jay. "But I bet you'll figure it out. You just need more time."
Amber was pleased to have Jay's attention again. "Yeah, you're right…no…I know it. I know it!"
"What is it?" June asked.
"Tell me!" Jocelyn demanded.
"Flaaaafy!"
"It's Spoink," Amber said proudly.
"Sorry, Dear," Helena sighed. "The answer is 'Cloyster'."
Amber was crushed. "But…but…why isn't the answer Spoink?"
"I get it!" June exclaimed. "Spoink can't give up its pearl—it'll die otherwise—The answer is Cloyster. If you catch a Cloyster, you might get a pearl. Shellder uses a Water Stone to evolve into Cloyster—so there's no need for a stone since it's already evolved."
"June, that was brilliant," said Annastasia.
"You sounded even smarter than Soledad when you said that," said Takeshi.
June blushed. "Well, I'm sure it's luck that I happened to have read about water-types recently…"
"I got it too," said Soledad. "Sorry, Amb."
"Well…I don't need this badge anyway," Amber sighed. "I have my Boulder and Strength Badges."
"I suppose we all gotta lose sometimes," said Jay.
"Yeah."
"That is the spirit," said Annastasia.
"I would love to battle the rest of you," said Helena. "But I think my Ditto are too worn."
"Takeshi and I were hoping to challenge you too," said Jay. "Can we come tomorrow?"
"Certainly. How's noon?"
"Noon's perfect," Annastasia replied. "Thanks again."
Everyone waved goodbye, even Michio, and the group left the eggplant-themed gym.
"It's already 5:00 pm," Annastasia announced. "Are you all hungry for dinner?"
"Yes, please!" said Logan. "I could really use some tacos."
"Me too," said Lily. "With shrimp."
"Yeah! A, can we get tacos?"
"I want tacos too," Amber said as she licked her lips.
"Figures you'd be hungry," Jay replied. "You're always hungry!"
"Like you're not?"
Jay's stomach grumbled loudly. Everyone laughed.
"I suppose I could use something to eat," he admitted.
"Sorry, Logan, but there are no taco joints in this village," said Annastasia. "I knew you'd ask so I checked ahead of time. However, there are quite a few French bistros, and they all look really good."
"I want pizza!" Jocelyn exclaimed.
"Flaa!"
"Is French pizza okay?" Annastasia asked the group.
"Everything's okay with you around," said Takeshi.
"Barf," Lily said as she and Amber pinched his ears.
"I'm fine with anywhere as long as you're buying," Nolan said joking, even though they both knew, in the end, Annastasia would insist on paying for everyone.
"Same," said Lexi. "So long as it isn't too far of a walk—I'm tired from all this exercise."
Annastasia noticed that Michio hadn't made any comments. She turned to search for him and spotted him towards the back of the group. He and Scarlett were walking behind everyone else. Annastasia handed her map to Nolan.
"Nolan, you lead. I think there's a restaurant around the corner," Annastasia said before she made her way towards Michio.
Michio was surprised to see her. Annastasia scratched under Scarlett's chin. The Pikachu purred then leaped into her arms.
"What do you want?" he yawned.
"I don't want anything, I was just going to have a conversation," Annastasia responded. "You did a good job battling today. Your parents will be glad to hear that you've caught some Pokémon, trained them, and earned a badge."
"You're patronizing me."
"I'm trying to be a friend."
"I don't need friends, I need space."
Annastasia lowered her voice before she continued.
"You spend almost the entire day alone," she whispered.
"It's the opposite," he countered. "This group goes almost everywhere together. I feel pent up."
"Don't you have an outlet?"
"Yeah, alcohol."
"I mean a healthy outlet."
"Nope."
"We'll work on that…in the meantime, remember that you have another option. If you are willing to live without all those luxuries of Alola and us, you can leave. However, if you're staying with us, then you'll have to deal with me. And yeah, I'm going to check in."
"Why?"
"Because I care, Michio."
"Looks like this is the place," they heard Nolan announce. "La Ripe Aubergine it's called."
"I hope they serve something other than eggplant," said Lexi. "Or else I'm going to have to pass on dinner for tonight."
"The menu looks good," said Jay, who was looking at the menu on his phone. "There're no tacos, but otherwise quite a varity—many fresh vegetables, soups, salads, sandwiches, pizza—"
"Pizza!" Jocelyn cheered. "Yeah!"
"Fla!"
They returned their largest Pokémon to their balls. La Ripe Aubergine was a small, crowded café decorated with antiques and old paintings. Once inside, they were surprised to see two familiar faces.
"N! Rita!" Annastasia exclaimed.
"Annastasia!" her friend exclaimed, running towards her.
"It has been so long. How have you been?" Annastasia asked her friend.
"Well, you know, pretty much the same since last we talked," Rita replied. "This must be the congregation you're in charge of."
"Yep."
"Annastasia, I'm surprised to see you here," said N. "Did you come here to visit the Aubergine Gym?"
"We did," said Jocelyn. "And we already saw Helena!"
"Fla!"
"And she battled some of us and told us a story about a Claydol and now we're getting French pizza!"
"Flaafy, Fla!"
"Good," Rita said as Jocelyn hugged her. "It's nice to see you and Flaafy. Why don't we all sit together?"
"I'd like that," Annastasia replied. "There are a few members of my group you never met."
As if she could read his mind, Soledad tapped Michio's shoulder to answer his internal question.
"That is N and his daughter Rita," she explained. "Rita has been friends with Annastasia for a really long time, and they were partners in Team Rocket for a while, but since they're nomadic, we don't see them often. I don't really know much about them."
Michio just gave her a silent nod and they sat down at a big table with the rest of the group. N reached over and scratched Amber's Pichu under the chin, then he did the same to Scarlett. It was clear they loved the special attention.
"Everyone, this is Rita," Annastasia announced. "She and I worked really closely together in Team Rocket before I left to come take you all on your journey."
"That's underplaying it," Amber whispered to Jay. "They were basically married."
"Sometimes it feels like they still are," Jay replied.
Michio heard their whispering.
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"None of your business," Amber responded.
Meanwhile, Annastasia introduced each group member to Rita and the Zorua resting on her shoulder.
"Zorua is Rita's partner the way Lil-G and Bleu are mine, Togetic is Jay's, Pip is Amber's, Cyndaquil's Takeshi's, Flaafy is Jocelyn's, Chary is Soledad's, Squirt Gun is Logan and Lily's, Nolan is Blastoise's, Lexi is Venasaur's, and June is Bulbasaur's," Annastasia explained. "N is Rita's father and long-time a family friend."
After everyone returned the greeting, N turned to face Amber, who was seated next to him.
"I can tell you and Pip are closer than ever," he said. "Pip is pleased that you chose to make him the leader of your team."
"Glad you're glad," Amber told Pip.
"Pichu!"
Next, N turned to Takeshi and Cyndaquil. He rubbed Cyndaquil's head. The Pokémon chanted happily and Takeshi smiled.
"You're Brock and Autumn's son Takeshi, correct?" N asked.
"Yeah," Takeshi responded.
"I don't think you remember me. Last time I saw you I think you were only three years old. You look just like your parents. I can tell that you too have a close bond with your Pokémon."
"N can hear a Pokémon's inner voice," Annastasia explained. "He can sync his heart with those of people and Pokémon and sense their auras which is why he's really good at connecting with Pokémon and understanding their feelings."
"Like a super-powered Pokémon Connoisseur," said June explained. "Except unlike my parents, N can read the minds of Pokémon."
"I wouldn't put it like that," said N. "But it's true that I am in tune with their feelings, and I'm not the only one."
He looked to Annastasia, who smiled, but only half the group understood why.
"That doesn't make any sense," said Michio. "It sounds like you just made that up."
"So, you're an expert, then?" Rita asked sarcastically.
"This is Michio. He is a long story. I will tell you about him later," said Annastasia.
Michio grimaced; he despised the idea of them discussing him behind his back.
"Well, Michio, you have a lot to learn about Pokémon then," said N. "A person or Pokémon's inner voice is like an echo of its soul. After all these years, I have come to believe that anyone can learn to hear this echo and connect their souls to that of a Pokémon. It is not easy though, and it takes commitment and a strong sense of selflessness and love for all Pokémon in order for this to happen."
'This guy is insane,' Michio thought to himself.
"Sure," he said aloud.
"N is one of the most amazing people I have ever met," said Annastasia. "He's very skilled at reading auras. Sometimes people have that gift—like my father, Amber's father..."
"…you," Nolan added when she faltered slightly.
"I suppose I count."
"You definitely count," said Rita.
"Well, maybe, but N's ahead of the game, having truly become a master in that area."
"What can you, Ash, and James do that the rest of us can't?" Michio questioned.
"It's hard to explain…I don't think I can adequately describe it."
"My dad says that is it like he can feel the Pokémon inside of him," said Amber. "Like he can absorb the Pokémon's emotions. N is right about it taking a lot of hard work and commitment. It's a special thing you gotta have in ya."
"Others may be able to do this too," said N. "It is just something that has come easily to me since childhood. The same is true with Annastasia and her father, Ash too. Since birth, we have been able to connect with Pokémon in a special way. Anyone can build this bond, but for some, it takes more effort."
"That's why when my father was little his only friends were Pokémon," said Amber. "Everyone thought he was weird…not saying they were too far off…"
"Same with our dad," said Jay. "He only had Pokémon friends until he ran away from home. It's one of the reasons he joined Team Rocket. After he was rescued by Team Rocket agents, they decided that they could use his abilities to their advantage, and he was sent to Pokémon Technical until he was old enough to go into standard TR training."
"Does that mean you're a Team Rocket agent too?" Soledad asked N.
"I was asked many years ago when Annastasia was just an infant and Rita wasn't even born yet. I played a role in helping Team Rocket take down this gang known as Team Firestar, and afterward, they tried to recruit me. I agreed to help in emergencies, but I prefer to work alone. My goal in life is to bring happiness to as many Pokémon as possible. I do this by traveling around the world and helping Pokémon in distress. There used to be many other large gangs, but now there's just Team Rocket and a few rebels here and there. But while there are no more wars, there's still violence. I'm sure you're aware of this."
"That's why we're traveling with Anna-sama," said Takeshi. "Anna-sama is such an amazing trainer, she can protect us from anything."
"Thanks again for the compliment, Takeshi, but remember that I'm not working alone: Logan, Lily, Lexi, Nolan, and several of our Pokémon are all around the same age, give or take a year. Besides, you all are making our job easy by being safe."
"Yeah, occasionally," Amber mumbled, again it was only to Jay.
"Well, it's not like A minds," Jay replied.
"What kind of violence are we talking about?" Michio asked.
Michio heard that Kanto was dangerous, but he never had details.
"Technology is getting more sophisticated. The things that we can do now are unprecedented," N responded. "People can now take over the minds and control the bodies of Pokémon almost effortlessly. Scientists have discovered ways to make a Pokémon's attack power over one hundred times its original impact. And I am sure your families have already told you about those fusion Pokémon."
Back in his palace, no one in his family ever discussed these things. He never really thought about it before.
"It's intense, agree?" N said to Michio, who nodded his head in response.
After they talked for a while and ate their dinner, the two groups parted ways. Rita had to get back to headquarters for the night and N had plans to help assist Nurse Joy in the Aubergine Pokémon Center. When the children returned to their bedrooms, they immediately took out their phones to call their parents, excited to tell them about their latest adventure.
AN: There is a character profile for my OC Rita at the beginning of the next chapter. I wanted to include N from the black and white series in this saga for a while but I just didn't know where to fit him in. He is one of my favorite characters and you will see that he and Rita will play larger roles as the story goes on. As always, reviews are appreciated:)