AN: As you will see starting from this chapter, I go back and forth in time a bit. That is the purpose of me putting the "Hiatus, Day …" at the top of each of these last few chapters. I want to show what some of the other characters are doing, and twisted timelines are always fun to write. So, the first part of this chapter takes place 50 days after Annastasia left, and the second part takes place 79 after she left. Also, if things get confusing, I encourage you to re-read the chapter, or if I made an error that makes context very difficult to understand, PM me or leave a comment. I hope you enjoy the dark side of Jay and some other things and leave a review if you can :)
Hiatus, Day 50
"Welcome to the lovely Burge City!" an enthusiastic voice greeted the tired trainers as they entered the town square. "Welcome one, welcome all!"
The odd strangers started shaking hands, and paws, fins, etc.… with everyone in the group. Rita scolded them; she was cranky from traveling and annoyed that they were so touchy when none of them even knew who they were.
"Who are you people?" she demanded.
"We are the Burge City Welcoming Committee!" they answered with extra enthusiasm. "And we want to thank you for visiting us!"
"Um thanks for the welcome…" said Logan. "I never heard of a 'Welcoming Committee' before."
"Well, I never heard of a talking Purrloin before! And a shiny one too! How special!" one of the women exclaimed.
"You're just so cute! Do you have a name?" asked another.
"Which one of these adorable children is your trainer?"
"Do you know any other tricks?"
"Cool it!" Lily demanded. "Back off—now!"
"And my name is Logan, by the way," he told them, though they didn't seem to be paying attention to him anymore.
"This one talks too! And it's a Meowth!" woman number one exclaimed.
A man turned to Maya. "Do you talk too?"
"Um, no," she murmured as she shook her head.
"Wow. Three talking cats! One is a shiny, one is normal, and one is pink with pierced ears. We don't see that every day in this small city! I'm Chelsea and it's so awesome to meet you!"
"We have to get our Pokémon to a Pokémon Center," said Lexi. "Thanks for the welcome—bye."
"Yeah, we got gym battles, so back off," said Amber.
"Maybe we'll see you around."
Lexi and the others rushed past the group of overenthusiastic strangers.
"Wait!" one of them exclaimed as they tried to get away.
"In addition to being the Welcoming Committee of this lovely village, we also happen to be the four gym leaders of the Burgundy Gym! I'm…Channel!"
"I'm Chris!"
"I'm Chelsea!"
"And I'm Carlos!"
"Wow. We sure are lucky to have run into you," Lily said sarcastically.
"We happen to all be siblings, each one year apart from one another, and we have another sister who just become an official Pokémon doctor and another brother who just became a chef. We all live and work right by the gym. If you come with us, we can fix up your Pokémon, cook you up something good to eat, and then battle you. We can be all done within a few hours," said Chris.
"Wow, cool," said Takeshi. "That means we should probably go with you."
The group was split. They ultimately decided that even though these people were annoying, they'd have to face them eventually and may as well get it over with quickly. Three members of their group were not going easily.
After pulling them aside, Lexi bent down to talk to the two Meowth and one Purrloin.
"I know they're condescending and…"
"Stupid," Lily filled in.
"…but think of this as your chance to educate them. Show them how smart and diverse Pokémon can be. Or we can leave, move onto the next city if you find them offensive."
"Fine. I'll teach em."
"Y-yes, me too," Maya stumbled.
"Well, if they're in then I am too," said Logan.
"Awesome," Lexi replied. She turned to the four gym leaders. "We accept your offer."
XO
After leaving their Pokémon, and June, who wanted to spend some time learning about Pokémon doctoring, they sat down in the large rec room turned kitchen area. The gym leaders' brother cooked them homemade pizza and ramen.
"I'm a thousand times relieved that this place is air-conditioned," Amber said as she collapsed onto a beanbag. "I was sweating balls."
"Amb, that's highly inappropriate," Jay chided.
"What is?"
"That word."
"Which word? Balls? Balls? Balls? B-L-A-L-L—"
"—Stoppit."
"She means balls of sweat, not sweaty balls," said Tamaki. "Immature kids."
Everyone laughed.
"We're certainly grateful," Nolan told their hosts. "That heat was getting to us."
"At later it's 'sposed to get cold," said Amber. "Which is good because that's Archery weather. The arrows fly better when it's cold, and I want to catch some Ledian. I saw some passing over here earlier and there's bound to be more coming."
"Why does the cold help archery?" Jocelyn asked with fascination.
"Flaaa?"
"The cold speeds them up," Amber said confidently.
"Pikachu pi," Pip affirmed.
"Right, Jay?"
Jay was on the beanbag furthest from the group, several yards away from Amber. He was filing his nails and though he appeared to be absorbed in the task he actually wasn't paying attention much to anything.
"Jay!" Amber play-shouted. "Oh, Jay!"
"Amb, you're annoying me," Jay replied.
"I just wanna know if you remember that time we talked about the arrows in the cold."
"Yeah…whatever you say."
Amb had inched her beanbag seat closer to Jay's and she was the only person to hear him add: 'No one cares' to the end of his last sentence.
Amber stared at him for a moment then looked away before he noticed. 'Did he mumble something under his breath at me or did I imagine that?' she wondered.
"This food is great, Mister," Jocelyn told the chef. "I love mushroom ramen! Meowth and Onēsan make it for me at home sometimes!"
"Flaaaafy fla!"
"You know a Meowth who can cook?" Cory inquired. "Awe!"
"Cooks, talks, reads, writes, builds machines, drives…does everything…kinda," said Lily. "And he's my dad, and Logan, Maya, and I can also cook, and so can my mom, and I bet we can all cook even better than you people."
"We can certainly chop the noodles well," Logan added.
"I have a question for you three," Chelsea said as she pointed to Logan, Maya, and Lily.
"Ooh, I'll answer it."
"Why do you talk?"
"Huh?"
"You already can understand Pokémon. Why bother learning another language?"
"We talk for the same reason you do," said Lily.
"Oh, okay," Chris murmured. "Did a trainer teach you?"
"Logan and I are twins and we learned from our parents. Now I'm teaching Maya."
"Yes…" May said hesitantly.
"Lily and Logan are twins," said Lexi. "They don't have trainers."
"Fascinating. How did you learn?" Cory asked as he attempted to lift Maya, who jumped away.
"She doesn't like being held," said Jocelyn. "And you're supposed to ask before you pick her up."
"Fla, fee."
"Oh, right…" Cory responded. "Sorry. So, then, how did you learn?"
"Me…I…nya," Maya murmured as she backed away from the group of humans and other monz.
Lily jumped in front of her. "Stop looking at her like that! Don't you know it's rude? I'm teaching her and that's that."
It was awkward for almost everyone, but not Maya, who was relieved, and Lily, who was confident.
"Our apologies," said Chelsea.
The other semi-strangers added to that.
"We think it's sweet that you are so protective of your little sister," said Channel.
"We're not sisters, we're girlfriends," said Lily. "Lovers."
The siblings stared at the two of them intensely. Maya tried to ignore them and continued eating while Lily glared back.
"Um, there's no problem here, right?" Nolan asked in a falsely sweet tone.
"No, it's just very odd," said Chelsea.
"Why?" Jocelyn asked.
"Fla?"
"I didn't know Pokémon fell in love," said Channel. "I bet we can learn a lot from you talking Pokémon."
"Ummm, maybe," Lily mumbled.
Her mumbling surprised them all, but Logan the most. Lily never shied away but she was doing it now. He was the quieter, more compliant, twin and she was assertive. Supposedly.
"You should have more respect for us because talking Pokémon are smarter than most humans," said Logan. "We can do everything humans can do and more especially me, Lily, and Maya. We have amazing perspectives on life and can teach you lots."
"In that case, I look forward to it," said Chelsea. "Now tell us something we don't know."
XO
This gym also did double battles, and everyone earned a badge after just one try. Takeshi used his newly-evolved Beedril and Scizor, June used Tia and a Tangela she caught in Celadon, Jay used Togetic and a Pinsir he recently captured in the forest, and Amber used Fearrow and Scooter.
As they left the facility, Jay meanly remarked that there was 'a reason that the Burgundy Gym wasn't popular', which was very unusual behavior for him, but no one decided to call him out for it. Not immediately.
"Onēsan would be so proud," Jocelyn gushed as they walked through the city."I wish she was here to see."
"She isn't here and you just have to get used to it," Jay said coldly. "Stop bringing her up every five minutes. It's annoying and pointless and your voice is the most annoying noise in the entire world."
The group paused except for Jay, who kept walking as if nothing happened. They all noticed and acknowledged that his negative attitude was increasing in prevalence, but never before had he acted so distant and cold towards one person specifically.
Jocelyn fumed. "You're so mean! You were never mean before! Now you're always mean!"
"Flaaaaa!"
Rita, Lexi, and Nolan grew anxious; Annastasia never told them what to do when her siblings got into a serious argument because it wasn't something they ever did.
"I am not being mean," Jay asserted. "But you're annoying and I'm sick of it and that's a fact."
"That fact is that you're being douche," said Amber. "And that's the most annoying noise in the entire universe. Cut it out."
"Stay out of my business."
"If 'your business' is pissing me off, I'm not staying out of it."
"Um, Jay, Amber, please don't fight," said June. "We are all just tired and—"
"Why is everyone always bothering me?" Jay interrupted. "I thought you were on my side but all you do is make me feel bad."
By now the group had resumed walking for the sole purpose of keeping up with Jay, who had never ceased and had increased his pace.
"We're not bothering you, you're bothering us," said Amber. "I bet even your Pokémon agree."
Togetic was conflicted, knowing Jay was in the wrong but unwilling to admit it. He hid behind Pip and Bayleef.
"The only person my Pokémon agree with is me," Jay grumbled. "Now back off."
"Your Pokémon think you're being a douche too," said Lily.
"Ha! Knew it," said Amber.
"Stop arguing," Rita said as she attempted to stop Jay. "This is the third time this week."
"I just want everyone to leave me alone," said Jay.
"Jay, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you started this," said Lexi. "Stop walking and listen."
Lexi never gave Jay an order before. Jay decided to listen.
"Jay, Dude, Amb's gotta a point," said Tamaki. "You need to lighten up a little. You're letting too many things bother you."
"Whose side are you on?" Jay asked as he turned to Tamaki.
"Both sides. All the sides. Heck, there aren't even any sides."
"We're all on the same side," said Takeshi.
"Yeah."
"And that's the side in which you're Jay and not mirror-Jay," said Amber. "We're not treating you any different just because—"
"Don't say it," Jay warned.
"Look, I know things are tough, but it'll get better," said Nolan. "A will come back. In the meantime, don't take your frustration out on us. We're unhappy too."
"And you're too adorable to become a douchebag," said Rita.
"And we're here for you," said Lexi.
"All three of us," said Nolan.
The others agree that they too would be there for Jay but this didn't make Jay feel reassured—it made him embarrassed and even more upset. He turned away from them and moved towards the very back end of the group.
"Don't look at me," he demanded. "Just keep walking. I don't want to talk about anything."
"It might make you feel better," said June.
"I agree," said Rita. "We're not therapists but we're the next best thing."
"Totally," said Tamaki.
"I don't want to talk," Jay growled.
"Are you sure, Dude?"
"Positive now leave me alone."
The kids looked to their teen guides anxiously.
"Let's just keep moving along," Rita sighed.
XO
Hiatus, Day 79
"I wonder if I should use Victreebel or Bayleef for my next battle," Jay said as he and Amber played cards in his dorm. "The next gym leader will have a whole variety of types and we have to select five Pokémon to battle with. What're you gonna do?"
Amber grinned, grateful for the now-rare neutral attitude from Jay.
"I'll pick a variety too but not sure which ones," she replied. "Definitely Pip for his electric, normal, and steel-type moves. Then I'm thinking Talonflame for her flying, dark, and fire moves, Venomoth's got poison, bug, and flying moves, and Pelliper's got water and flying moves. Scooter's working on Dazzling Gleam so then I'll have more flying-type moves, a psychic-type move, and a fairy-type move. If I can get Scoot to learn Dazzling Gleam before my match, then he's definitely going in. And since the battle's not for a while, I bet we can do it."
Jay coughed. Eager to listen to whatever he had to say, Amber leaned in to show her engagement. But he didn't say anything, just continued shuffling cards for their next game of rummy.
"You killed it at the last gym," said Amber. "Bayleef and Togetic came a long way since we left Pallet."
"I suppose," Jay mumbled. "But 'killed it' is an exaggeration. We barely made it. The only reason Bayleef was even still battling was because she refused to return; she collapsed the moment we got to the Pokémon Center and Togetic was really worn out too."
Amb didn't like the monotone; free of inflections, this wasn't Jay. This wasn't even Michio because at least the Alolan had a cool accent and would articulate sarcasm with precision.
"Well, that battle looked good to me," said Amber. "You need to chill. This is the first card game we had in over a week, you missed three episodes of Queer Eye and have yet to complain, and I haven't heard you gush about Project Runway since—you've been tense. I'm sorry for yelling at you before. I was hot and hungry and that's a dangerous combo for me."
"That was a while ago and you already apologized," he mumbled. "I don't want to talk about it."
A despondent tone overtook the next card game, which lasted a mere ten minutes. Then Jay stood and said that he was bored and was going to go train his monz.
"I don't think you should train," said Amber. "It's hot out and you trained for three hours straight yesterday and then again in the evening."
"Not everyone's naturally good at this stuff and some of us need more practice and care enough to do it," he retorted, clearly irritated.
"Don't get mad at me; I'm just telling you to relax. You can be good at this and do the other stuff you like, even if—"
Jay never cut her off before purposely, and this was definitely on purpose.
"—I know, I know," he mumbled. "'I can still enjoy myself even though 'being upset won't help'. I've heard it more times than I can count and repeating it over and over again makes me mad."
"Then I won't repeat it," Amber replied. It took half her energy to restrain from fighting back. "I'll tell the others to do the same. Better?"
"Yeah, better."
"But why battling?"
"Focusing on the battle is easier for me."
"Yeah, but don't you get kinda bored after a while?"
"If you want someone to play with you, go find someone else. Don't stick around just to criticize me or tell me to relax. I don't want to hear it, especially from you."
"Do you even hear yourself? You're acting like a jerk again. Just when I thought you were getting over it, you're back to—"
"—I'm not getting over anything anytime soon and don't call me a jerk you brat."
Amber's instinct was to push Jay, but she didn't; this was a kid who was one push away from a breakdown if he wasn't already having one. But Jay could tell she almost did it, and that was almost as bad. a peice of his heart broke.
"I'm not a brat," Amber growled. "And I didn't say you were a jerk, I said you were acting like one. There's a difference."
"No there isn't. Go away!" Jay demanded.
"You're doing the exact opposite of how Annastasia wanted!"
"Toge Togetic!" Togetic shouted at Jay.
"Piiiiiika!" Pip repeated, his face sparkling with electricity.
"Amber Ketchum, you don't know what you're talking about," Jay asserted, crossing his arms.
"Wow, my full name. How intense," Amber mumbled as she mimicked his actions. "She wanted you to be yourself, not some jerk. Since when do push people around, make fun of people, scowl at everything—since when do you care more about battling and arguing than your own friends?"
"I-I don't do that…"
"Ever since she left you have been talking about nothing but gym battles unless you're making some random rude remark, and when someone tries to redirect you, you lash out and start insulting people. You used to be asclose to Jocelyn as you were to me and I don't even remember the last time you said something nice to her."
"I-I'm not that bad…"
"You're probably the reason June and Takeshi prefer to hang out by themselves instead of with us, Tamaki's always standing up for Jocelyn, and why Logan is always around Lily, Maya, and Squirt Gun. And Rita, Nolan, and Lexi all agreed with me. You also used to call your parents all the time and talk about the baby but I think it's been days since you even called to say hi."
"You don't understand what it's like for me. You're good at everything and I'm bad at everything. And now I lost everything."
"You're good at loads of stuff I can't even do and didn't lose anything. A's coming back and everyone else is still here and even though you hurt them, they aren't going away."
"They're not here for me—they're here for you. And you have no right to tell me what I should be feeling because your family isn't broken."
He mumbled his last few words into a pillow, making them incomprehensible.
"I can't hear you," said Amber. "Move the pillow so I can understand."
Jay lifted his head and roughly shoved the pillow to the floor. He turned and faced the wall so that Amber couldn't see his face. He didn't speak.
"Go on," she prompted.
Jay flopped back down onto the bed; face down into another pillow, apparently losing his confidence to speak. But then he tried.
"I just want her to come back and now I don't think she ever will. I wanna go hide forever but I can't do that because now I'm the oldest. I have to take care of Jocelyn and our Pokémon and my parents and the baby because Annastasia always did those things but now she is gone and she might never come back," he explained in one muffled breath.
"Toge," Togetic sighed sadly, lying down next to Jay as he quietly grieved.
Amber groaned. "Jay, she's going to come back. Just because they don't know where she is, it doesn't mean she's gone forever. You shouldn't think that way. It isn't healthy. Neither is hiding all the time. Everyone is wondering why you are always insisting on being alone and acting mean when you do talk. And it hurts me most. This is the most time we spent alone together in a long time. I don't get it."
Jay lifted his head up from the pillow but went back to facing the wall so that he didn't have to look at Amber. He waited a few seconds before he spoke again.
"I don't want to be around you because you are too much like her," he confided. "Even though you don't look like her or sound like her you act like her sometimes, like now. You are beautiful and brave like she was and Jocelyn looks up to you and so do I. When we are just hanging out you remind me of her and it makes me sad so I don't want to be around you. Unless we talk about battling because Annastasia rarely did that. It'd help me if could go away now."
Amber sighed. "You'd think after being your number one friend for practically ten years I would remember that I'm not supposed to yell at you. But you can't tell me to go away and expect me to take you seriously."
Jay was silent. His Pokémon chanted a few more words at him, and Pip motioned for Amber to say something more. Amber walked to the other side of the room so that she was between Jay and the wall.
"This isn't awkward," she told Jay, holding both of his hands in hers. "Because we're best friends. I shoulda known what was going on. Actually, it's worse: I sorta did but I didn't want to think about it."
"I feel like I don't even have the right to complain—your life's even harder than mine," he mumbled.
"I don't agree. I think you have it rougher. I know being rich doesn't make life easier, even though in the past I sorta said it did…I know better now."
"Well…I say it doesn't matter."
"Yeah, we shouldn't compare ourselves to each other. Agree?"
"Agree. And thanks for um, you know, everything."
"Ditto, my friend. Wanna get lunch?"
"...yeah."
Jay, Amber, and their Pokémon left the lobby and met up with June and Takeshi, who were sitting alone in the café sipping smoothies and playing Pokémon cards.
"Whatcha up to?" Takeshi asked as they passed.
"Getting lunch. Wanna come?" Amber asked.
"Already ate," said June.
"Where is everyone?"
"Nolan and Lexi took Jocelyn and Benny to the movies, and I am pretty sure Rita is hanging out with that guy we met yesterday after dinner. And Tamaki was just in his room, talking to Soledad and Anika on video chat."
"Our Pokémon, Lily, Maya, Logan, and Squirt Gun are getting massages from Nurse Joy's Machoke," Takeshi added.
"When you finish eating, do you want to come back here and play cards with us? We can do teams: you two versus me and Takeshi."
"I'm in," said Amber. "Jaybird?"
"Well…maybe one of the Pokémon would want to play in my place…" Jay murmured.
"I think you should play."
"I heard you're good," said June. "Takeshi said you two played sometimes when your dads hung out."
"I like playing Pokémon cards but I don't want to play today," Jay responded.
"We can eat lunch and then come back," said Amber. "And if Jay doesn't wanna play, maybe Pip or one of my monz will. If not, I'll take you both on myself."
"Good plan," said June. "Enjoy your meal."
"We will."
XO
After Amber, Jay, and their Pokémon left to get their food, June leaned into Takeshi.
"I know he seems okay now, but I think Jay's getting more and more depressed," she whispered. "Amber said that he never wants to do anything but battle, he cries every day, and that he's only pretending to be interested in other things, like cards. Plus, everyone knows he's been acting rude lately."
"Last time we tried to help we just made him more upset," Takeshi replied. "How do we help?"
"I know Nolan talked to him a few times, but we haven't talked to his parents. His parents think he's doing fine. They don't know he's just pretending. I think we should tell them what's really going on."
"I get that you wanna help, but I think that's kinda…like, tattling. He doesn't want us to butt into his business."
"I normally would agree but I think that it is the right thing to do in this case. Someone needs to help him. I know his parents aren't necessarily the pictures of mental health, and they are hurting too, but no one loves him as much as they do. If they can't help them, they should at least know. Maybe they know someone who can."
"That's wise. June, you're so smart."
"Why's she so smart?" Amber asked as she and Jay took the empty seats across from them.
"Oh…um…she just beat me in Pokémon," he lied. He quickly picked up all the cards and shuffled them. "Ha-ha. I made a dumb mistake, and she outsmarted me, again. So…what'd you get?"
"Split pea soup," Jay responded.
"I got carrot soup and candy," said Amber. "Pea soup looks like cooked nose boogers. And is it P-E-A soup or P-E-E soup?"
"Amb, that's gross. Now I don't want to eat it anymore."
"Just pretend I never said anything." Jay made a face, but he was so hungry that he started to eat it anyway. Amber turned to June and eyed some of the Pokémon cards she had left out on the table. "Nice Shiny. Where'd you get that?"
"Lily," June said as she passed Amber the green Salamence. "She, Logan, Squirt Gun, and Maya run the underground market for counterfeit Pokémon cards. I kinda feel guilty for playing with this, but it was a gift, plus I plan on collecting the real cards as well."
"I'm sure there are eleven-year-olds out there committing worse crimes," Amber reasoned.
June shuddered. "I sure hope not."
When their game was over, Takeshi and June convinced Amber, Jay, and their Pokémon to take a walk with them. Tamaki joined them, as did Lily and Maya, who spotted them as they were leaving the café. They decided it would be a great day to go to the Peach City orchard, which featured some of the best fruit in the world, as well as over one hundred different types of peaches.
"As felines, we aren't really that found of peaches, but certain types of berries are good. Especially when you're hungry," said Lily.
"Nya nyyy nyanya...ny," said Maya.
"Maya says that Ganlon, Apicot, and Tamato berries are her favorite," Lily translated.
"Aren't Tamato berries super spicy? I thought only fire-type dudes could eat those things," Tamaki commented.
"Nya Nyaaaaa nyaaaa."
"Wow, I didn't know that," said Lily.
"What'd she says?" June inquired.
"Her dad was a Pansear: a fire-type. I guess you get it from that side of the family."
"Yes," said Maya.
"Blue-Jay should try one of those," Amber remarked.
"Why in the world would I do that?" he inquired.
"Your reaction would make my week."
"No way. It would kill me! Try one yourself."
"We both will."
"Yeah, sure…"
Once they paid their entrance fee at the front gate, they could pick as much fruit as they wanted for an hour.
"We don't have to stay together the whole time," said June. "We should all just get the stuff that we want."
"Otherwise you'll spend days in this place," said Rita. "I suggest pairs."
"Mmm. I'm glad they have pears," Logan hummed.
"I met you can browse in groups of two."
"Oh. I'll be with Squirt Gun. We want Pamtre berries."
"I didn't even know those existed," said June.
"Since most of our Pokémon have the same natures and we have similar tastes, we should travel together," Amber told Jay. "I'll show you where the Tamato berries are. I saw a pamphlet by the door…"
Amber dragged Jay in one direction. Bayleef, Togetic, Pip, and the rest of their Pokémon followed. Tamaki decided that he wanted to get apples and Salac, Belue, and Apicot berries for his mother's Espeon, who was still traveling with him, so he and the Pokémon with Docile natures went his way. June, Takeshi, Lily, Maya, Qualilava, and Ivysaur went straight through the orchard, not looking for anything in particular.
"I thought you wanted Tamato berries," Takeshi said to Maya.
"I do but n…. nya nyasu nyyyy nya ny," she responded, looking to Lily for translation assistance.
"Maya says that she wants to explore the orchard first, so that she can see what else they have," Lily explained.
"Ditto for me," said Takeshi.
"The pamphlet says there are all kinds of medicinal berries here too…I've heard of classics such as Sitrus, Chesto, and Pecha, but never of Spelon, Nomel, or Nanab. Some restore HP, some soothe, some promote healthy skin…Who knew there were so many?"
"But you gotta watch which berries you give to which Pokémon," said Lily. "Because some berries are gross as heck. Like, I ate a Petaya berry once and it almost made me puke."
"And I…nyaaaa, Nya-ny," said Maya.
"And she feels completely neutral towards them but hates Salac berries. Giving the wrong berry to a Pokémon isn't so medicinal—causes tummy issues and confusion."
"Nyyy naaa."
"And headaches."
"That's why Nolan gave us this guide," said Takeshi. "It's a map of the orchard and information on which fruit Pokémon like based on their Nature. All we have to do is get fruits that match our Pokémon's likes and avoid the ones they dislike. Uh, I just realized…they snuck in a lesson. This is gonna be hard work."
"Or you can cheat and have us translate."
"Oh."
"That's not really cheating…" said June. "Because we still have to…it's cheating. We'll resort to that if we get stuck, but let's try to do this the way Nolan, Lexi, and Rita intended us to first."
"Let's start by assessing their Natures," Takeshi said as he turned to his Pokémon. "Time to take out the dexes."
As they scanned their Pokémon, June looked through the map. Lily and Maya were about to move forward, but June stopped them.
"I don't want to spoil anyone's fun, but while we're alone, I think we should talk about something important," she whispered. "But first—is anyone eavesdropping?"
The Pokémon listened to and sniffed their surroundings. Nothing.
"It's about Jay, isn't it?" said Lily.
"I've been worried about him and I don't think I'm the only one," said June.
"Ditto," said Maya.
"Jay needs us to help him. It's our duty as friends. Or, we need to find people who can help us help him."
"Logan and I already told our parents," said Lily.
"What did they say?"
"My dad says that Jay's parents are super stressed out. They say that all the Team Rocket bases are being bombed and agents are being scattered all over the place. There's lots of fighting going on and they're terrified because they have no idea where A is or how she's doing."
"But I thought there was a lot of hope," said Takeshi.
"Well, there is, sorta. Hope, denial, blurred lines…our parents know what is up with Jay, but they don't want to tell Jessie and James; they are afraid it will ruin them."
"Ohhhh, well…um…"
"Then we should find someone to help him ourselves," said June.
"I've already been looking into it," said Lily.
"Like a counselor?" Takeshi asked. "I don't think Jay would like that."
"He'd hate an intervention even more."
"Nyyyya, ny."
"I think we gotta go beyond 'cheering him up'."
"Then let's tell his parents," said June. "Because I don't think anyone knows Jay more than they do."
"Amb might," said Takeshi.
"But Amb's a kid like us and can mess this up—it could ruin their friendship."
"I don't think it will ruin it entirely but I don't think it's a good idea either," said Lily.
"What about Jocelyn?" Takeshi inquired.
"Let's handle Jay first. We should call their parents tonight."
"Should we tell the others?"
"Tamaki, Rita, Lexi, Nolan, and Soledad should know…just not Jay."
XO
On the seventy-ninth day since Annastasia's disappearance, Jessie and James were staying in the basement of the Team Rocket base in the Toka region. Or rather, what was left of it. The only part of it that remained of the four-story building was the basement, and that was where the survivors were staying. They were fortunate to have their own room, as the basement was rather extensive, but they were not allowed to go outside under Domino's orders, as she and Archer were the base leaders.
It was late in the day and they were resting on their temporary bed, watching the news.
"Another vicious attack leaves twenty-four people dead and eleven seriously injured in Blackthorn City. It appears that no humans were behind the attacks and that these odd-looking Pokémon attacked without instruction," a newscaster announced.
"I don't want to watch this," said Jessie. "All this news—always the same."
"I agree entirely," James said as he lifted the remote.
Jessie leaned back and rested on James as he flipped through the channels, but every station had the same or similar news. The fusions were everywhere; even though Team Rocket knew how to control them on an individual basis, there simply weren't enough agents to go around.
"Just turn the T.V. off," Jessie suggested after about ten minutes of channel surfing,
James turned off the power and watched Jessie instead. She moaned as she flipped onto her side, clearly uncomfortable.
"Do you want me to get you anything?" James asked.
"Yeah, I would really like my daughter back," she responded.
"She's on my mind too, always, even when I'm thinking about everything else too."
"I want to talk about the last time we saw her. There was something that Lucario said that seemed, well, ominous to me. And I didn't pick up on it until just recently, after our last meeting…"
Hiatus, Day One
"Got everything Anna-chan? Extra-large water bottle? Hygiene supplies? All the Pokémon care items? Your medicine? Your snacks? Your tracker?" James interrogated.
"I told you I have it all. I triple-checked, I swear," Annastasia replied.
"Pikaaa," said Scarlett, lifting her small satchel and draping it over her body.
"Be careful with that satchel. I have had it for a long time. It was a gift," Lucy told the Pikachu.
"I thought you stole it from Bonnie Dupont," said James.
"The details don't matter."
"Piiiii," Scarlett sighed.
"You should say your final goodbyes now. We'll be camping out for at least three weeks," Lucario told the Annastasia, her parents, and Pokémon.
"I told my friends and siblings that would call once a week," Annastasia recalled. "They'll be disappointed. Especially Jocelyn. I promised her."
"We'll explain everything to them," said Jessie.
"So don't yous worry dat pretty little head of yere's," said Meowth.
"Thanks," Annastasia replied. "I guess this is goodbye, at least for a little while. I will meet you back at this spot twenty-one days from now."
"Take care of yourself," said Lucy. She climbed up on a rock so that she could give Annastasia a closer hug. Meowth did the same.
"Be careful, Anna-chan," said James. "We love you. Stay safe."
"Tarrrria Altaria tar," Bleu told them.
"Your Altaria says that he would do anything for you for you, die if he had to," Lucario translated.
"Lillipup pup Lillipup," Lil-G barked.
"And she says she would do the same."
"Pikachuuuu!" Scarlett exclaimed
"Scarlett too."
Annastasia petted the three of them. "That's very brave and sweet, but I won't let that happen. I will do my best to not put myself in a situation like that".
"That may be hard to avoid."
Lucario's voice was quiet but dark. Annastasia knew precisely what he meant but the others didn't.
"What do you mean?" James and Jessie asked together.
"I don't want to alarm you…" Lucario began. "…but this training is dangerous. She will be taking on powerfully forces to achieve a difficult task. She won't be helpless—it is peaceful up there and there are healing springs in which she can rest and recover. I have with me some of the most valuable potions in the world with me to help her if she injures herself. But if she doesn't succeed in controlling this force, then with no training at all it will come to consume her entirely anyway, and she will have no chance. With this, she at least has a chance."
"Did you know this already?" James asked Annastasia, astonished.
"Yes," she sighed.
"Why are you just telling us now?" Jessie asked.
"We knew you'd flip out and there's nothing we can do to change the situation. I know we just arrived, but the truth is I've known about this for a while. Instinctively, I knew it my whole life—a gut feeling they grew stronger the older I got. From the time I was a little kid I knew that learning to use and control my aura would be difficult and painful."
"But deadly?" said Meowth. "No one eva told us dat."
"I have confidence that Annastasia will be fine," Lucario interjected. "Although she is just a fragile human dealing with a powerful aura that even some Pokémon cannot handle, we have many ways to help her and we will. She isn't going in without sufficient support."
Her family quietly accepted this—doing otherwise would just upset Annastasia and there was no point in doing that.
"We should go," Lucario murmured.
"Mom, Papa, Meowth, and Lucy: I love you. Thank you for…well, Meowth was right when he said that you and Rumika and our Pokémon gave me a good life. Mom: don't take your frustration out on other people. Dad, don't crowd or overwhelm her. Meowth, don't provoke her. Lucy, keep being that reasonable middle ground."
"Oh, so it's all bout Jessie," said Meowth, making everyone laugh.
"Are you surprised?" Jessie sighed. "No, it not about me. That was yesterday's story. If it wasn't already, then now it's all about A."
They exchanged several more words, then Lucario gently reminded them that it was time to go.
"Annastasia was born to do this," he said. "I'm sorry it had to be this way."
Three weeks later, Jessie and James returned to that spot, waiting for them to return, but they never did. When they contacted headquarters and had Rumika scan for her tracker, they discovered that all the radars were misfunctioning and that her tracker signal was dead. The last scan showed that they were inside the Tree of Beginning, which is what they had reported, and they had shown no signs of leaving the Tree. However, they had no way of being able to use their radar to scan for her, and when they sent Pokémon to go search, they discovered that the Tree was impermeable; there was nothing they could do get into it, physically or digitally. Now, months later, people still don't understand what was going on, not even her family.
"Lucario said 'Annastasia was born to do this'," said Jessie. "To do what exactly? To become a sacrifice? Is that why she miraculously survived as an infant? Just so that she could die seventeen years later? She was born to do this. What a horrible thing to say. As if she had nothing else to live for. Her only purpose in life was to stop those experiments. And we don't even know who is behind it all. It's sick and wrong I hate the Lucario. We should sacrifice him instead."
"You're not wrong, but you need to calm down," James replied. "Try to relax."
James took picked at her fingers to loosen the grip on the pillow she was about to rip apart only to have her throw it across the room instead, knocking over and breaking one of their last glasses.
"Nowhere in the history of 'relax' has anyone ever relaxed," Jessie argued. "How could anyone 'relax'? We don't know where she is or what happened! She could've died the moment her tracker went off the scanner or she could be dying right now. She could've suffered. She could still be suffering and we might never find any answers."
"We will if it's the thing I do," said James. "And she could still be fine. There is no evidence that she or any of her Pokémon have been seriously injured. Her aura is still present, which means that she is still here, one way or another."
"Or she got sucked up by that Tree. Like we did once. Except this time no one is there to sacrifice themselves for her."
"I would."
He whispered it and regretted it after seeing Jessie's reaction.
"No, no way! James, don't even think about it!" she demanded. "Even if that did work, which it might not, Annastasia wouldn't want it. You can't do that to us. You have other kids, you know, and me, and we all matter."
"I didn't really think that comment through," James sighed. "I was thinking that if you had to choose between Anna-chan and me, who do you think deserves it more? There are a lot of things in life she hasn't done yet."
"Argh. I'd prefer to have the twerp sacrifice himself. That sounds like something he would do."
James frowned. "Don't suggest it: he might actually do it."
"Good."
Someone knocked at the door.
"Is it safe to come it here?" they asked.
"It's open," James said wearily.
Jessie quickly wiped her eyes as Meowth, Lucy, Chimecho, Mime Jr., Arbok, Serviper, Inkay, and Wobbuffet strode through the doorway.
"Hey," he murmured.
"Yous feelin' alright, Jess? Yous look pale," Meowth remarked.
"I wish everyone would stop asking me that," she growled. "Duh, feel sick. You would too if you had half a watermelon inside of you and your seventeen-year-old princess was MIA!"
Wobbuffet stopped her by handing her a mug of hot cocoa. She smiled and took it from him. Then she patted the loveable blue blob on the head.
"Wobbuffet knows what I want," said Jessie.
"Woooobbbbbaaa," Wobbuffet saluted.
"I was gonna offer to get yous food or one of dose seltzer water tings yous drink sometimes," Meowth retorted. "And eh, while yer mad at me, I may as well be de beara of bad news."
"It's not bad news," Lucy interjected before Jessie and James could ask questions. "I think it's great news."
"I'm not mad at you," Jessie told Meowth. "I'm stressed. What's your 'news'?"
"Weeze were talkin to all of yere Pokémon and de all agree dat weeze should return home. Back to Pallet Town," said Meowth.
"Is that true?" James asked his Pokémon. They nodded and chanted their names.
"Do you wanna go?" Jessie asked hers.
They had the same responses as James' monz.
"They think that it will be best for everyone," said Lucy. "Waiting in this basement isn't going to help anything. If—when—she turns up, we'll be the first to know regardless."
"But I need to be the first to see her," said Jessie.
"Stayin's gonna make yous even more stressed," said Meowth. "De food sucks, it's cold, and de beds are hard as rocks."
"I never said you had to be here too."
"I agree with Lucy," said James. "Us waiting for her here isn't going to make her get here any quicker. The longer we've been here the more stress we've gotten and going home for a while may help alleviate some of that."
"Am I outnumbered?"
The group looked around at each other. There was a mutual understanding. Jessie sighed.
"I'm tired of arguing," she muttered. "So, unless she sends us a message letting us know that she will be here tomorrow, I say we leave as soon as possible."
"Good, now follow us," said Lucy.
Meowth and Lucy led Jessie, James, and the other Pokémon down the short hallway to a custodial closet. Everyone stared at the two cats quizzically.
"Weeze gots a little somethin' fer yous in here," said Meowth. "Say goodbye to dem private jets 'cuz de future is now danks to science!"
"What nonsense are you spewing?" Jessie inquired.
"Look in here."
Inside the closet was what appeared to be a small elevator-like capsule made of glass.
"That's Clemont's human teleporter," James said in disbelief. "Are you saying he made more, and that the other one is in Pallet Town?"
"That's what he told us," Lucy responded.
"Great, but I don't think I trust it," said Jessie.
"He sent himself through this about a dozen times—even took his own kid through it."
"If weeze go through dis weeze can go back and forth between Toka and Pallet Town with only a ten-second commute," said Meowth. "Who wants ta go first?"
"I suppose I'll try it," said James. "But I'm not packed: all my stuff is still in our dorm."
"Didn't yous hear me say 'ten-second commute'?" Meowth said as he clicked his tongue. "Just try it out. More den one can go at a time. He said as many as yous can fit."
James stepped into the machine with his Chimecho, Mime Jr, and Inkay.
"Now press de red button," Meowth instructed. "I gots it set fer Pallet Town."
"You better not break him," Jessie told Meowth and Lucy.
"He'll be fine," said Lucy. "We swear."
A second after James pressed the red button, the container filled up with a cloudy substance, and when it cleared, James was gone.
"Now give it a few moments and he'll return," said Lucy.
About ninety seconds later James reappeared, but the Pokémon were all gone.
"Where did de utters go?" Meowth questioned.
"It worked!" James exclaimed. "The others decided to stay behind while we got packed. Wow, it worked!"
"Hmm. I like it," said Jessie. "Now when we buy a vacation home in Alola we could literally walk there."
"That sounds like a good idea to me," said Lucy. "But now might not be the best time to be planning future real estate endeavors; we have to get our shit together first."
The group packed their things. James called the base leaders to inform of their imminent departure. There was nothing in their way to Pallet.
"Finally going home," James breathed as they loaded their suitcases. "Knowing that we're only seconds away is a bonus."
Jessie stepped into the teleporter. "I wish we could have protected her more. I think if I was a better mother, then none of this would have ever happened."
"Not true at all! We'll find them—her and everyone in her party. I know she's out there. I feel it."
"I trust you but not those 'feelings' of yours. I don't' trust my own, either."
"We both know deep down that even if something did happen to her, it wasn't your fault. You helped her to do her best—we both did. Despite all the wrong things we did in life, with her we did right."
Jessie wanted to agree but couldn't settle. "We lost her—is that the best we can do? At the very least I want to know what she's going through. I won't be able to live with myself if I don't at least know that."
"When Anna-chan comes back, she can tell us all about it."
James stepped into the teleporter as Meowth came down the hall.
"We're talking, give us a few," James requested. "Then we'll be off to Pallet and out of your fur."
"K, take yer time," Meowth said as he backed away. "I gots tings ta do anyways."
"James, do you really believe that our sweet little Acorn or Aliyah could have been the same Mew that has been living in that Tree of Beginning?" Jessie asked.
"Yes," he responded.
"Do you think that they ever got to her, after we asked them to help look for her?"
James was about to respond when his cellphone rang. He denied that call.
"Who was that?" Jessie inquired.
"Logan," James responded. "Odd, he usually dials Meowth or Lucy before me, and they both have their phones on them."
"Let's go home, then you can call him back."
"Right."
XO
IN THE NEXT CHAPTER
· More timeline twisters
· Annastasia
· Stuckness