AN: This AN is about fanart. If you are uninterested, then jump right back into the story:)
I'm editing this on May 5, 2019. As of this date, I have a DeviantArt account under the username 'chipotlepeppers'. This has some visuals—and if you're new to this series, some potential spoilers. There are various contributors: Pokemonfanthings, It's-Bri-Again, Hot-Ice-Cream, Julie Togepi, The-Collector-of-Things, Iamsomething, and myself. So, there are a variety of styles. None of us consider ourselves artists, and I for one would appreciate if someone who was an artist considered making fanart. Unless I find it somehow inappropriate (overly suggestive, violent, or far OCC), I will post it to both my DeviantArt account and Tumblr. I will also promote your blog/brand in any way I can. All styles are welcome and even if you don't make OCs, I'll still appreciate it.
So, that's it for art. If I have updates on this, I'll post it to my profile page. I hope you enjoy this next part:)
The surfing competition went as many of them probably expected, with Amber taking home the trophy for the 11 and under category and Michio conquering the twelve and up one. Tamaki regretted ever mentioning the competition in the first place, since came in second to Michio and would have won the trophy for himself if the Alolan was absent from the competition. Michio sorta shrugged off the victory, whereas Amber's wore hers as proudly as possible. Everyone was proud of her, and stunned that she managed to win two prestigious contests in a row, but she got into the habit of talking about it nonstop, right up until breakfast the next morning.
"They ought to create a sport that is a combination of both archery and surfing," Amber said as they finished up their morning meal at the Pokémon Center. "Then I could be the champion of that too!"
"Don't get a big head, Amb," Jay mumbled, staring into his bowl of cereal.
"Toge Togetic."
"If you won two contests in a row like this, you'd be acting the same way," she retorted.
"Would not," said Jay.
"Would too."
"You're being obnoxious. All you have talked about since last night were the contests I watched you win."
"I thought you were going to be happy for me, but you're being an unsupportive friend."
"That's not true! I always support you. I was there for both contests, and even though I competed alongside you in the second one, I still cheered you on."
"Should we interrupt them?" June whispered to Takeshi, who was at that same table along with Soledad and their Pokémon.
"I don't think so," Takeshi responded. "This sounds personal. Let them get out of this Jamb themselves."
"We can intervene if it gets out of hand," said Soledad.
"Is that likely?"
Jay and Amber kept bickering. Their Pokémon watched on shamefully.
"But halfway through my archery contest, you left for no reason! And now you're getting mad at me for being proud of myself!" Amb continued.
"I had a reason, I was going to explain later, but it doesn't sound like you would even care!" Jay cried.
Jay was tearing, Amber was fuming, and everyone else was dead silent.
"How could you say that?!" Amber yelled.
She reached forward and grabbed Jay by the front of his shirt. Pip responded by electrocuting her. Amber stopped mid-sentence. Since Amber was holding onto Jay, they both experience the shock as it traveled from her body to his.
"Pip!" they both yelled angrily once the shock was over. Amber let go of Jay. Soledad, June, and Takeshi stepped between them.
"Stop arguing," Soledad ordered. "You're best friends. Now cut it out and make up."
"Just chill," said Takeshi. "Amb, you need to stop bragging and yelling, and Jay, just…let it go."
"There's no reason to stay mad," June added.
By the time Takeshi finished his sentence, Nolan, Lexi, and Annastasia had made their way to their table.
"Your friends are right," Nolan said as he and the other teens checked Amber and Jay for injuries. "We're more than friends here. We're traveling companions—practically family. Everything you say and do affects all of us."
"I'm tired of her always taking advantage of me," said Jay. "She's so mean sometimes."
Togetic patted Jay's back sympathetically and handed him a napkin, which Jay used to dry his tears.
"Well, you're too sensitive," said Amber. "You're ten but you still act like a baby. I know I sound mean sometimes but I'm just being frank. Someday you're going to have to learn to face real mean people by yourself. So, don't call me mean!"
"I already experience mean people," said Jay. "And you're not much different from them!"
"If this is how it's gonna be, then both of you must follow me," said Annastasia.
"What happens if I don't?" Amber taunted.
Annastasia glared at her. Amber gulped and decided to follow her and Jay to an empty dorm.
"You will stay in here and talk in total privacy until you make up," Annastasia announced. She handed each of them their water bottles and a protein bar. "However long that takes."
After she shut the door, Jay said:
"You should apologize to me."
"Of course, you would think that," Amber retorted.
"I didn't do anything wrong. You got mad at me for calling you out."
"You shouldn't have called me out."
"Amb, you weren't being yourself. Or rather, you weren't being the best version of yourself. I don't like when the bragging-Amber comes out, but the worst is when the mean-Amber comes out. And you got mad at me for being sensitive. That's not fair game."
Amber sighed. She got up and kicked the bed, then internally kicked herself. "Fine. You're right."
"You're still upset."
"I don't like it when this happens…I'll admit it: I was being mean."
"I didn't mean to hurt your feelings by leaving for part of the archery competition."
"Well, it's not like you were obligated to be there anyway. I shouldn't have made you feel like you needed to stand there and watch me instead of enjoying the festival for yourself. Besides, it was nice of you to be there for most of it."
"I enjoyed watching you. There was nowhere else I wanted to be. Plus, I had no idea where the others were and my phone was totally uncharged."
"Well, it was nice no matter what the reason. Thanks."
"So, are we made up?"
"There's something else."
"What?"
Jay took some time to gather his thoughts. In the meantime, Amber tried to listen for breathing on the other side of the door. Nothing. The truly were alone, just as Annastasia said they'd be.
"Well, just so you know…I truly have faced real mean people by myself. I don't always run crying to you or Annastasia," said Jay.
"Like who?" Amber asked. "When?"
"Like everyone, every day. First off, they're those people who aren't total strangers but who don't really know me either. When none of you all are looking, they might knock a soda out of my hand, or push me down, or trip me, or cut me in line. I don't fight back physically, but sometimes I do stand up for myself. That's why I get beat up so much. Then they're the people that have known me since kindergarten. They spread rumors about me and convince other people to not be my friend. Lastly, they're those total strangers who make fun of me online—I don't know who they are—I just know that they hate everything about me and people like me."
As Jay spoke, Amber frowned and squeezed her bow, which was still loyally tucked behind her. When he finished, she let go of it and tapped one of the diamond studs pierced into his ear.
"Those earrings are going to make things worse," she sighed.
"Three people already tried to rip them out," he replied. "But I won't let them. These need to settle for a few weeks to heal or else the holes will close up."
Amber laughed. "I was more concerned about you getting hurt or those earrings getting stolen."
"Yeah, well, I'm a little worried about that too."
"I guess your parents can just buy you new ones. Or hire a personal police force to hunt down the thieves and then sue them. I for one will never own diamond anything."
She sounded sad about it. It wasn't typical of Amb to get jealous of his wealth, though he had noticed her hesitation towards it recently.
"The next time we pass a jewelry store we can get your ears pierced and put in some diamond studs," Jay suggested. "You'd look so great. Can we do it? Pleeease?"
"No way," she responded. "I'm not sticking needles in my ears just because it looks nice. That shit's crazy."
"Beauty is pain, and that's a curse."
"Don't you know it?"
Amb mumbled those last words. Jay cupped his ear and moved in closer. "I didn't hear that."
"Maybe you need hearing aids to go with those diamonds. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I say we're officially made-up. Best friends forever again. I won't mention those dumb contests ever again, unless we end up coming back here for next year's Child Day. Then I'll remind you of how awesome it was to become a champ for a day."
"Amb, you're a champ every day. And yeah, I agree; we're officially made-up."
Jay opened the door. Togetic, Chikorita, and Pip were keeping guard, under Annastasia's orders to not let them out until they were acting like friends again. Pip squeaked an apology for shocking them and jumped into Amber's arms. They walked back down to the café, were everyone was waiting with their bags, ready to move on to the next location.
"So, you made up?" Soledad asked hopefully.
"Yeah," they replied in unison. "Jynx!"
"Hug to prove it," Annastasia commanded.
Amber and Jay embraced with Pip getting crushed in the middle.
"Good, now kiss!" said Rita.
"Ew, gross," the children responded, pushing each other away.
"Anyway, we're ready to go. Are you?" Annastasia asked.
"Yup," said Amber.
"Ditto," said Jay.
"Excellent," Annastasia replied. "Let's head out."
"But Jay, aren't you going to change into your TR uniform?" Soledad asked.
"I really like this shirt," he said as he looked down at the glittery Wooper. "I just got it yesterday."
"And you've been wearing it ever since," said Lily.
"I…um…"
"It looks awesome, Jay, no one cares if you're out of uniform," said Annastasia. "They're just for fun—Rita's the only one required to wear one right now."
"Yeah…I know."
The other kids noted how Tamaki and Benny also had their backpacks and were following them out of the PC.
"Are you coming with us?" Takeshi asked.
"Well, not really," said Tamaki. "We were discussing it this morning. Benny and I kind of like it here. We feel grounded, you know? So, while a journey would be fun, we aren't up for it. However, we wouldn't mind coming with you to your next gym battle in Vermillion City…so long as you'll have us."
"I can more than handle the gym on my own," said Toshi.
The kids broke into chatters. Everyone was glad that they were joining them, even if it was only temporary.
"I'll see you in a few weeks," Toshi told Benny and Tamaki as he gave each of them a good-bye hug. "Be good to your elders."
"We will," the boys responded.
Their plan was to take the ferry from Hutber Port to the mainland as Ash, Misty, and Brock had suggested. Apparently, they had done the same thing many years prior, when they had come to this Island by accident after a horrific accident on the St. Anne cruise ship left them and Team Rocket stranded. After spending time in Porta Vista, Ash, Misty, and Brock eventually made their way to Saffron City. But their group decided that they wanted to skip that gym since ghosts freaked most of them out. The idea of an electric gym was more appealing, and Jocelyn would apparently die if they didn't go to Vermillion to visit all of Lt. Surge's electric Pokémon.
Before they departed, Jay hurried to the PC's main desk.
"I have to leave now I but I wanted to give you this," Jay said as he handed her an envelope.
"That is very nice of you Jay, but what is this for?" Nurse Joy inquired.
"For letting me take Chikorita as my partner. We already make a good team and I'm really grateful for the way you helped me…it's nothing big…um…but I hope you like it."
Jay said one more thank-you before rushing to catch up with his friends.
XO
As Jessie and the others predicted, James wasn't very happy the moment they got back to Pallet. Not one of them could tell what it was, but there was definitely something wrong; there was an intensity and coldness between him and the rest of his family members, minus Alex. It was the kind of seriousness that had only manifested in James four or five times throughout his entire life, and it was something that Meowth, Lucy, and Jessie were not expecting at all.
"Howdy, Jim," Meowth had greeted him.
"Hi Meowth, Lucy, Acorn, Jessie," James mumbled, faking a smile. "I'm happy you're home."
"Yous don't look happy."
Lucy elbowed him in the ribs and told him to 'shut up'. Lucy and James exchanged a few words about the mission, with Lucy explaining how it was a 'success'. Meowth asked about Alex. James told him that he was upstairs napping, and the two cats scurried to their bedroom to do the same. Jessie and Acorn stood across from him in the kitchen.
"James, please forgive me," she began. "If I knew you would get this upset I would have never—"
"Please don't," he interrupted. "Jess, you probably would have gone anyway. And you have no idea how upset I am. Just please give me some time alone. I'm going to be sleeping in Jay's room. I already told Alex where to go to find me. I just need some time…"
Without another word, James went up the stairs. Jessie was speechless.
"Rumika didn't tell me that he was this pissed," Jessie whispered to her Eevee.
"Vee Eevee eve," Acorn replied.
Jessie plopped onto one of the kitchen stools. She closed her eyes and lay her head down on the counter. Wobbuffet came out of nowhere and started rubbing her shoulders. Frillish fetched her a glass of water and Gourgeist offered some words of comfort, though she couldn't understand a syllable of them.
"I thought only I got to be the bitchy and hormonal one at this stage," she complained to her fellow females—and Wobbuffet.
"Frill, Frillish."
"Yannnmaa."
"Eeeveee"
"Wobba!"
"I really should have listened to Meowth and Lucy and stayed behind," she mumbled. "I didn't even think of the consequences, now look what I've done to him."
Her Pokémon once again offered their chants of sympathy. Jessie got up and headed towards her bedroom. She passed James on the way, as he was heading from the bathroom to Jay's room. She wondered how long he was going to sleep there. Ten minutes? An hour? A day? Multiple days? It worried her.
Jessie tried to offer another apology but he refused to look her in the eyes. Instead, he shuffled into his son's empty bedroom and silently shut the door. Jessie tried to ignore the sound of him softly crying and climbed into her own bed.
She was surprised at how big it felt without James and a third of his Pokémon lying beside her. She suddenly realized that it was the first time ever that she had lied in it alone, and that this was the first time they had ever had an argument that they didn't settle before turning in for the night. She cried pathetically, but Acorn jumped to her rescue, and she stopped and started to think.
"I don't understand…he was so mad at me for leaving him alone, and now he wants to….be alone?" she wondered aloud. "That doesn't make any sense. And Rumika said he was fine, that he forgave me, and neither of them would lie about that. Did I do something else?"
To her surprise, Acorn shifted back into a Mew and used telepathy to talk to her, something that was extremely rare for the Pokémon to do without being asked. She usually preferred to stay in her Eevee form.
"Maybe James is going through something you don't know about."
Jessie jumped. "Warn me before you use telepathy. And I suppose that is a possibility. If that's the case, I want him to tell me. More than anything, I want him to walk through that door right this moment and explain."
"I'm hoping he will."
"I'll stay up all night and try all day tomorrow to get him to talk to me. I'll get to him."
That conversation was 60 hours ago.
James never came that night, nor did he talk to Jessie, Lucy, Meowth, or any of Jessie's Pokémon the next day or the day after that. He had left early the next morning, leaving a note for Jessie, Meowth, and Lucy explaining that he and Alex had a fun-filled day planned at the park, Professor Oak's lab, and the movie theater. He took Alex out for all three meals, and even though he called twice to inform them that everything was okay with Alex, he said it in a monotone didn't bring up anything that had to do with him or his feelings at all. The next day was similar, with James taking Alex to the museum and then a waterpark for toddlers. James mentioned that he talked to the kids and they told him about their surf competition for Child's Day and how they loved the presents they got, but his conversation with Jessie, Lucy, or Meowth did not go beyond that. Once again, he was out the whole day and didn't come back until it was Alex's bedtime. James ignored Jessie once again when she tried to talk to him about what was still bothering him, and they went to bed alone for the third night in a row. Jessie decided that in the morning, she was going to force the answer out of him.
Jessie got up at six the next morning make sure she was prepared. After making the coffee (a job Wobbuffet had reclaimed after Jay left), Jessie cooked up some eggs, bacon, and toast with all different toppings. At about 7:10 am, she heard the sound of two hushed voices and giggling coupled with soft footsteps making their way towards the kitchen.
"Something smells good!" Alex exclaimed. "Yummy!"
"Yes," James said curiously. "I wonder what it could be…"
Alex was on his shoulders and they were both dressed for a day at the beach. James breathed in sharply when he saw her and looked down. Alex, however, squealed with laughter and reached out to Jessie.
"Aunt Jessie!" He shrieked as she picked him up. "Where have you been?"
"Oh, just busy with work," she answered, smiling back at him. She tickled him and made him laugh harder. "I made you some breakfast for you."
"Yay!"
Jessie sat him down in one of those little booster seats designed so that enthusiastic toddlers didn't go toppling off of kitchen stools. James wasn't sure how to react. Alex encouraged him to sit down, and after some internal debate, he decided to obey and let Jessie serve him some food. He started eating after Alex hit him and told him that they couldn't go to the Orange Islands on an empty stomach.
"You know, I love the Orange Islands too," Jessie said to the three-year-old. "Is it okay if I come with you?"
"Please come, Aunt Jessie!" Alex shouted. "Please!"
"Well, it's up to Uncle James."
Jessie glared at him. He choked on his coffee then groaned.
"Aunt Jessie is forgetting that she has a lot of important work to do and that she can't leave the hotel," James told Alex. "So, I think it's best for her to stay here. Plus, if she doesn't come with us, she can make us something really good for dinner. Your favorite meal, whatever you want in the whole wide world."
"No! I want both to come!" Alex yelled.
"Hey, we're tryin ta sleep," Meowth said as he and Lucy entered the kitchen. "Yer bein too loud."
"Perfect," said Jessie. "You two watch Alex. Uncle James and I need to talk out back. Alone."
Meowth knew that her expression meant 'do not interfere or else' and decided to follow her orders. He and Lucy distracted Alex while Jessie left to have her way with James.
Jessie had the urge to grab him by the throat, but seeing as the toddler was still within viewing distance, she dragged him by the hand instead and waited until they got outside to the backyard before she exploded.
"I get it, James. I fucked up. I did something stupid and selfish. I put myself a risk when I shouldn't have. I made you feel abandoned. I was a jerk, an ass, and I totally deserve for you to be upset at me. But ignoring me for days? James, what I did wasn't that wrong. I didn't cheat on you. I didn't kill anyone or run off with half our money or betray you in any way. Why are you treating me like I did? The reason I didn't tell you is because I knew you would just freak out and not let me leave. Meowth and Lucy were leaving, they couldn't be stopped, and newsflash, they are my family too. I feel protective over them and I hated the idea of them going on a mission without one of us there. If you showed any interest at all in assisting them, I would have let you go, but no, you didn't. You said it yourself you would much rather stay home and play with Alex than go on a mission. So, I trusted you to watch him and then to understand and forgive me when I got back. But instead, you shun me like I destroyed all trust between us or something! Now talk before I beat the shit out of you!"
"Oh…wow," James sighed.
"More substance. Now!"
"Okay, okay…There's a big misunderstanding here. I realize now I made it much worse but distancing myself from you so soon after you got back."
"What are you talking about?"
"Didn't you get my message?"
"Message?"
"The one I sent you a few days ago. You should've gotten it while you were in Obsidia."
"James, the first time I heard anything from you was when I walked in that front door and you basically shunned me up until now. What message are you even talking about?"
"Clemont's messenger was working perfectly…"
"What?"
"It was this device…better than any phone….it sent perfect messages…typing, video, voice, Morse, and I was helping him test it out and it was working fantastic. Mondo and I were using it a lot. It is like a mini plane, and you program it to find a person, and after you develop your message and select the person you want to send it too, you send it off." James made a motion like a bird flying with his hands and made it crash into Jessie. "It was supposed to find you."
"Nothing crashed into me. What was so urgent that it couldn't wait a few days? Rumika assured me no one important got hurt."
James' expression changed into one of complete sadness.
"The other day, my grandparents passed," he mumbled.
James ripped up some grass and threw it into the wind.
"Passed as in died?" Jessie asked.
"Both on the same day. One right after the other."
"Oh, wow, okay—"
James kept talking. "It was not long after you left. They said he had fallen and needed surgery. As you know, he was very old…I didn't get to the hospital in time…"
"Oh James, why didn't you ca—." Jessie stopped herself, remembering how she could not have her phone out during the mission. That's why James had left close to a hundred 'missed calls' on her cell while she was out of reach. "I'm so, so, so sorry."
"My nanny was so upset. I didn't want to leave her for a moment, but I left Alex at the lab with Professor Oak Sr., and he wasn't even prepared to watch Alex, he only agreed because it was an emergency. I didn't bring him because children weren't allowed in the emergency room, plus I didn't want to scare him. So, I left to go get Alex, and I decided that I would just have to let him know about the horrible news eventually. My plan was to take him to the estate that same day but Nanny called and told us to wait until tomorrow to come. I was going to come anyway, but she insisted, it was strange, she had never told me not to come, so I obeyed. I regret it though because the next morning one of the servants called and told me she had passed away in her sleep, about an hour after I last spoke with her."
Jessie let James fall into her lap while he cried it out. She sent a text to Lucy, letting her know that it was a big misunderstanding and that she would explain everything later.
In the meantime, Lucy convinced Meowth to take Alex to the Oak lab to play with the new Growlithe puppies that one of Gary's breeder friends had brought down. Jessie and James returned to the house.
"What's wrong?" Lucy asked.
"James' grandparents died while we were in Obsidia," Jessie explained.
"At the same time?"
"Y-yeah," said James.
"I'm so sorry."
"It's…gonna be okay."
"I now understand why you've been distracting yourself with Alex. That kid is so random, and happy all the time. I guess that is that thing about kids, right? Too bad all of yours passed that stage."
"Actually, Lucy, the truth is…," Jessie looked at James, who gave her a look that let her know that he was thinking the same thing. "Never mind, that is too much information for now."
"I'm sorry for ignoring you," James told the girls. "I'll try to start acting normal—tonight I'll move back into our bedroom. The only reason I wanted to be alone except to be with Alex was because I was afraid of this conversation. But, it's time for me to move on."
"Let me know if you need anything," said Lucy. "Do you have any plans for the funeral?"
"They were already cremated, as per request in their will, but I haven't planned any ceremony. That was my father's responsibility. But seeing as they are…well….in prison…that responsibility has fallen to me, and I have never even though about something like this before. No one other than their two servants, lawyers, and doctors even know that they are gone, as you two are the only ones I have spoken to. I suppose we should contact the children and have them come for a funeral. Just a small one though, they didn't want anything big."
"We will help you out, don't worry about it. We can take a few weeks if we need to. Do you know what the kids' plans are for today?"
"They're taking the ferry to Maiden's Peak, then making their way to Vermillion," said Jessie.
"I think we should tell them after their gym battles," said James. "This way they won't be distracted. And Tamaki and Benny wouldn't want to be dragged along to a funeral, especially since they are being taken out of school in order to travel to Vermillion."
Jessie put her arm around James. "It'll get better. Already you have something very special to forward to."
Lucy eyed them suspiciously, then after studying Jessie's blush, she rolled her eyes. "I knew it."
XO
IN THE NEXT CHAPTER:
· The Ghost of Maiden's Peak
· "Raindrops keep falling on my head."
· Talking Pokémon