Hiatus, Day 100
"I guess this is good-bye for now," Michio told his former employers. "You're just going to hang out here until you can find someone else to hire to maintain and drive this boat?"
"That's the plan," Hiro responded. "It shouldn't be too hard. After all, it didn't take us much effort to find you. And I can drive the boat, I just prefer to have someone else do it for me."
"See ya, kid. It was nice having you around. I hope it all works out," said Elsa.
"I hope so too," said Michio.
"Just…before you disappear: is there anything you need?"
"I've got enough of your unsolicited dating advice to last several lifetimes."
"You've never been with anyone before—I wasn't going to let you pursue this girl blind."
"When I first asked her out, she told me to go take a few classes and then try again," said Hiro. "The best advice I ever got."
"I'll try to make that somehow applicable to us," Michio replied.
"Good," said Elsa. "Text when you get there."
"I will. Bye."
XO
Meanwhile, in an attempt to get him out of the house, Amber dragged Jay into the forest. She equipped him with a beginner's bow and together they fired at moving targets that their Pokémon stimulated with their attacks.
"No offense Amb, but this is boring," Jay said for the third time that hour. "I wasn't born to shoot arrows."
"Togetic togeeee," said Togetic as he pulled a wayward arrow out of a dogwood. "Toge."
"Fine, let's go in," she surrendered. "It's gonna rain soon anyway. Look."
The sky was a dark gray. The headed for the house.
"What do you want to do once we get inside?" Amber asked.
"I was hoping we could watch a movie," Jay replied.
"Sure. Something funny, though."
"Def."
Jessie, James, Mondo, and Duplica were sitting on the back porch while Alex and a bunch of their Pokémon played with blocks.
"It's a good thing you came back," said Mondo. "It'll pour soon."
"Play with me," Alex told Amber and Jay.
"Yeah…we were gonna watch some movies," said Jay. "Can Alex can come with us?"
"As long as you take the Pokémon with you," Mondo replied. "He really likes playing with them."
Amb and Jay each took one of Alex's hands. "We got this."
Amber and Jay brought him to the living room, where Lucy and Meowth were doing a video chat with Rumika. They didn't realize that the kids chose to eavesdrop on their conversation.
"…I told you already: no one, especially me, believes that she's in the Tree," they heard Rumika explain. "Someone lit a campfire out there a few days ago, and it wasn't anyone from our side of the fence. We also found her boot prints. She has a custom-made uniform—it had to be her. She was definitely wandering around out there, alone. There was definitely no Pokémon present."
"Jessie and James are gonna flip when dey heard dis. I hope dat de Boss has got every plane and helicopter searchin dose mountains," Meowth responded. "Cuz no one can argue with dat evidence."
"We're searching with everything we got, but none of our radars are functioning. We think that the monster fusion attacked from afar…it can do that since it has the abilities of every Pokémon. It even shut down the new ones that it shouldn't have been able to detect."
"Want me to break the news?" Lucy asked.
"They'll have loads of questions. Bring the phone over to them. Mondo and Duplica are still there, right? They didn't go home yet, did they?"
"They're on the porch. We—"
"Uh-oh," Meowth interrupted.
Lucy and Meowth turned around at the same time. They were so involved in their conversations that they didn't even bother to acknowledge any background noise until one of them dropped something on the floor.
"Are you still there?" Rumika asked after everyone had paused for a moment.
"We will be right back. Give us a moment," Lucy told Rumika before hanging up.
"I-I don't understand," said Jay, ready to cry. "What happened?"
"Jay, don't freak out," said Meowth.
"That isn't gonna work," said Amber. "He's gonna freak out no matter what."
"Yeah, weeze figured…"
"We were going to tell you," said Lucy. "This information just came in. No one is sure what it means yet."
"She sounded sure," Jay sniffed. "Why do they think she's alone? What did they find?!"
Jocelyn was upstairs, and she heard Jay yelling. She came down to see what was going on.
"Why's everyone so tense?" she asked quietly.
"Flaafy fla?"
"Weeze gotta talk to yer parents. Den we'll explain," said Meowth.
"I can't believe you won't even tell me what's happening!" Jay cried. "What kind of family are you?!"
Jay dropped Alex's hand and ran up the stairs. Alex clung to Amber and Jocelyn.
"Why's everyone sad?" Jocelyn inquired.
"Fla?"
"It's hard to explain," Lucy sighed. "Amber, we can take care of Alex. Can you go talk to Jay? Or at least keep him company? Make sure he doesn't break anything."
"Got it," Amber said before heading up to his room.
"What about me?" Jocelyn asked Meowth and Lucy.
"Can you just go back to your room? We have some private things to discuss that we will tell you about later," said Lucy.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
"Okay."
"Fla fee."
Meowth and Lucy led Alex back outside. They looked in all directions before they decided to speak.
"What happened?" Duplica asked first. "Did they kick Alex out already?"
"No…weeze just got a phone call from Rumika," said Meowth. "And de kids ova-heard."
"What's up?" said James.
"It's not good news," Lucy responded.
"We…we don't really know fer certain. It could be good news," said Meowth.
"They didn't…find her, did they?" Mondo asked nervously.
"Not like dat."
"Tell me before I go mad," said Jessie.
"Rumika don't tink she's in de Tree of Beginning no more."
"They found a small clearing where someone had built a fire recently. Not far from there were footprints. The printing matched her custom boots," Lucy added.
"This is great news!" James exclaimed. "Now we just need to pick her up!"
"Hold on! It's not that simple. Rumika says they've searched everywhere. Physically and with technology. And there are enormous fusions all over the place. So far, every plane we sent after her has been severely damaged by these Pokémon. If it wasn't for the emergency autopilot system the Rumika installed, everyone on those planes would've died. You are not allowed to go out there. Giovanni says if you try, he'll shoot down your plan before it leaves the runway."
"But…but I don't understand. If they found her once, why can't they find her again?" said Mondo
"We don't know. Rumika wanted to talk to you. She figured you'd have a lot of questions. We have to go talk to Jay."
"Are you crazy?! You can't tell Jay about this yet. He's too young. He doesn't know how to cope yet," said Jessie. "It'll traumatize him."
"I told yous dat he ova-heard us talkin," Meowth responded. "He already knows and he can't unknow."
Jessie and James groaned. "Meowth…."
"We'll talk to Jay. He's expecting us and you need to get the details from Rumika," said Lucy.
"Lucy, you talk to Jay. Meowth, go with her if you want but keep your Meowth shut."
"Agreed."
XO
Lucy and Meowth knocked on Jay's door.
"I'm not talking to you," Jay called from the other side. "Go away."
"Amber, open the door," Lucy commanded.
"I can't. I promised," she replied.
Meowth and Lucy sighed in frustration.
"Weeze got claws," said Meowth. "Weeze can open dis here door anyways!"
"Stop it," Lucy whispered. "Can't you hear him crying? He's scared. We'll wait. Jay will open the door once he calms down."
About ten minutes later the doorbell rang. When no one answered it, Lucy encouraged Meowth to go.
The scratch-cat Pokémon opened the door and groaned at the sight of their guest.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" said Michio. "Is now a bad time?"
"Kinda," Meowth grumbled.
"Wobbbb!" Wobbufet called as he came wobbling into the living room.
"Just stay with Wobbuffet," Meowth instructed.
"Sure," said Michio.
Michio followed Wobbuffet into the kitchen and sat on one of the counter stools. The blue Pokémon handed him some water. Meanwhile, Meowth told Lucy that Michio was downstairs.
"They said Michio just got here," Amber whispered to Jay.
Amber, Pip, and Togetic had their ears pressed up against the bedroom door while Jay lied sulking. Jay momentarily lifted his head off of his pillow.
"Do you think it's a trap? Should I go out there?" he whispered.
"It's up to you," said Amber. "But if you do, get rid of those mascara stains first. You know Michio will never let that go."
Amber handed him one of his make-up remover wipes. He then checked his hair and teeth in the mirror, then took out his styling gel, but Amber took it away.
"It's Michio, not the Queen, so just go," she instructed. "If not, we're gonna be stuck up here forever."
"Why are you two just sitting up there? Where is everyone?" Michio called to Meowth and Lucy. "Isn't that Jay's room?"
"Jay's not letting us in. It's a long story," Lucy responded. "And none of your business."
Michio shrugged. "Jay wanted me to come. If he doesn't want me here, I'll leave."
Jocelyn heard Michio's voice and busted out of her room. She and Flaafy ran down the stairs and jumped onto Michio.
"You came! You finally came!" she exclaimed.
"Flaaaaafy!"
"I know," said Michio.
"I missed you," said Jocelyn.
"I missed you too."
"Flaafy Flaafy!"
"Are you going to explain what's happening around here?"
"All I know is that Jay was fighting with Lucy and Meowth and I think my parents are still on the back porch."
"Do you want to investigate with me?"
"Duhhhh."
Meowth and Lucy saw Michio, Jocelyn, and their Pokémon going towards the back door, to the porch entrance.
"Wait! We need to talk about this together!" Lucy exclaimed.
Amber finally opened Jay's door.
"Introducing…Mr. Jay Paul Morgan!" She announced dramatically. "I know you all had your doubts, but I didn't kill him! Not today, anyway."
"Cut it out, Amb," Jay said as he pushed her away.
He purposely lowed his voice to sound tougher, but he fooled no one, least of all Michio, because there were remnants of tears on his face as well as a hint of a smile.
"Hi, Michio," Jay said shyly.
"What the hell's going on?" Michio asked. "Are you okay?"
"Ahh well, umm, I don't know."
"Now that we're all together, we can talk about what Rumika and I recently discovered," said Lucy. "Let's convene on the porch."
"What happened to Jay?" Michio whispered to Amber as they walked towards the back of the house.
Amber raised her eyebrows, not quite sure why Michio seemed interested. "It's confidential information. If you want to know, speak to my lawyer."
"Fine, don't tell me."
"Oh, it's you," Jessie commented as Michio and the others entered the porch.
"What's everyone talking about?" Michio asked.
"I want to know too," Jocelyn pouted. "And look! Michio just got here! I told you he would come!"
"Flaaaafy feee!"
"We may as well let them in," Lucy told Jessie.
"But not Jocelyn," Jessie whispered. "All this info will overwhelm her."
"Right. Amber, Jay, Michio…you can listen in."
"Why not me too?" Jocelyn asked.
"Flaafy?"
"It's all boring adult stuff," James assured her. "We will give you a summary of the important parts later."
"Okay!" she said before putting her headphones back in. "I'll be in my room, waiting for your sum-ar-y!"
"Fla!"
Jocelyn skipped away, to the adults' relief.
"Okay," James sighed. "Where to begin?"
"With Rumika," Mondo said as he handed James the phone.
XO
Hiatus, Day 83
Scarlett had been wandering through the Tree of Beginning alone for over twenty days.
When the fusion expelled Annastasia from the Tree, it had an unforeseen impact on the small electric Pokémon. Scarlett found herself weak and unable to utilize the power of her aura. Her aura was still present, for without it she wouldn't be alive, but she could no longer take control use it the way she once could. It was as if all her training had gone to waste. It wasn't until Lucario and Mewtwo came looking for her that she finally was united with them again.
They found her in the middle of the night, asleep near a patch of time flowers.
"Scarlett! At last, we have found you!" Mewtwo exclaimed upon seeing her. "Wake and speak!"
"Piii ka," she said tiredly. "Pikachu chu pik pi pika. Piii ka."
"We know," Lucario responded. "What we don't understand is why or how this happened, or why you didn't come back to us after your meeting with the monster fusion."
"Are you injured?" Mewtwo inquired.
"Piii ka,' she repeated.
"She obviously needs rest."
"But we need more information regarding Annastasia," said Lucario.
"We will get nowhere until she is healed."
Mewtwo's Heal Pulse restored HP but was not sufficient in restoring full vitality. He used his psychic ability to carry the Pikachu until they reached the top of the Tree, a hidden yet open expanse. Acorn and Aliyah were resting there, still ill.
Lucario handed Scarlett one of the potions that they had been giving Annastasia to help enhance her abilities. Bleu used Heal Bell.
"This is all we have," said Lucario. "There are no more medicinal plants."
Scarlett drank the potion, then Lucario and Mewtwo watched her and the Mew sleep.
"I hoped that Scarlett and Annastasia were together," said Lucario. "This may mean that the fusion did something bad to her. Perhaps it injured Scarlett and that is why she took so long to get to us. She was too hurt to do otherwise."
"We will just have to wait until she awakens to learn the truth," Mewtwo responded.
XO
Scarlett woke hours later. It was obvious she was feeling much better. Mewtwo, Lucario, Lil-G, and Bleu had gathered Oran berries and Sitrus berries for her to snack on. They also carried fresh water from a nearby river using some of the Tree's giant leaves.
"Lillipup lil lillil," said Lil-G. 'Why isn't Annastasia with you?'
"Chu pika Pikachu chu ka pika," said Scarlett.
"It banished her?" Lucario replied.
"Chuuuu pi."
"The fusion teleported her out of the tree and asked her to walk home, if she makes it there and back, it'll prove that she is worthy."
"Pikapichupi chu chu."
"But how can we trust it?"
"Tarrria tar Altaria tarrrrr alta?" Bleu asked. 'Can't you detect lies? Isn't it an ability of yours?'
"Yes, but that fusion can overpower me," Mewtwo responded.
"We must reason with it," said Lucario. "We cannot let it get away with this. She may already be dead. Humans cannot survive very long without food, water, or shelter; it doesn't matter how tough they may be."
"Then we'll go. This must end."
XO
Hiatus, Day 100
Rumika was in her mansion, communicating to her family and several others via video chat. She had just finished telling them about the discovery of the most telling piece of evidence yet: a journal with her name on it.
"We haven't read anything. I was thinking that some things are probably private. I will teleport this to you, then you can decide what you think is relevant to this investigation and what isn't."
"That sounds fair," Jessie responded dully.
"Maybe there will be something in that journal that can help."
"Maybe."
"Bye, everyone."
Jessie, James, Meowth, Lucy, Jay, Amber, Jocelyn, Mondo, Duplica, Alex, Michio, and their Pokémon responded to her goodbye. After she hung up, Jay returned to his room. Everyone else stayed where they were.
"What's gonna happen to Onēsan?" Jocelyn inquired.
"Flaafy fla?"
"We don't know yet," said Jessie. "There's still work that's gotta be done."
"Everything will be okay," said James.
"Do you promise?" Jocelyn asked. "Pinky swear?"
"I…I can't pinky swear yet. The truth is we don't know. We have to figure it out… May you give the adults some more time alone?"
"But I just did that."
"And we are grateful. Just a few more minutes. We'll give you that summary we promised."
"O-okay."
"Flaaaaaa."
Flaafy and Jocelyn returned to their bedroom.
"Is there anything you want me to do?" Mondo asked.
"No," Jessie replied. "You should probably go home. Things are going to be…well, you know…"
"We understand," Duplica said as she lifted Alex.
"I don't wanna leave," Alex said as he reached for James.
"We will play together again soon," James responded. "And we will do whatever you want."
While Jessie, James, and Meowth said goodbye to their guests, Amber and Michio followed Lucy and a bunch of the other Pokémon into the kitchen.
"Are ya really just gonna take A's Pokémon and leave to go find her?" Amber asked.
"We couldn't do dis before cuz she was inside dat Tree. Now dat she's out, weeze got more options," said Meowth.
"Annastasia has Dragonite, Tyranitar, Gengar, Salamence, Giratina, Metagross, Kuyrem, Reshiram, Latias, Latios, Blaziken, Wobbufet, all of which can mega evolve. She has befriended several Lugia, a Celebi, Jirachi, Arceus, Ho-Oh, Entei, Raikou, and Suicune. We and the others think that taking them and going look for her is our best option," Lucy explained.
"If she had all those Pokémon to begin with, why did you make her go out without them?" Michio asked angrily. "How could let her go alone with just a few regular Pokémon with her?"
"When we had her go out to train she was supposed to be gone for three weeks, not three months, and she was accompanied by some of the most trusted and powerful Pokémon we know. Mewtwo is the strongest Pokémon on this planet, other than the monster fusion, and that Lucario is the only Lucario we know who can successful mega-evolve under pressure. Most of these Pokémon were busy with other tasks at the time anyway—it all made sense in context."
"Whatcha gonna tell Lily and Logan?" Amber asked.
"Right now, there is nothing they can do and I don't want to stress them out more," said Lucy. "I'll answer their questions but spare them the details unless they insist."
"They're in Aubergine now, which means they'll be in Cerulean next since that is the reverse order, we traveled in. What should we tell my friends when my mom's not around to do rematches?"
Jessie, James, and Meowth came into the kitchen. Lucy explained their previous conversation.
"I wanna bring dem here," said Meowth. "Lily, Logan, heck, even all dem twerpy kids. All dere parents are gonna be with us. It's gonna be betta dat dere all in one place."
"Why's that?" Michio inquired.
"Though it doesn't happen that often, I honestly have to say that I agree with Meowth," said Jessie, ignoring Michio. "Those twerps are on our side now, which means that by default their twerp offspring are involved. Since they are too young to help us, they should just be here. They are too young to do anything, but with those uniforms they are targets."
"You mean my friends are in danger?" Amber queried.
"What do you mean by the word 'twerps'?" Michio inquired.
"Yer friends ain't gonna be in no danger if dey come here," said Meowth. "Why don't yous go talk to Jay? Tell him weeze are workin on a plan."
"I'd rather hear that plan first," Amber retorted. "I'm not feeding him false hope."
"Pikachu pi," Pip asserted.
"You're acting like I'm not here," Michio grumbled.
Jessie smiled at him. Michio was already intimidated, but now he was nearly panicking.
"Go on," said Jessie. "Say what's on that not-so-thick mind of yours."
"I also have rare Pokémon," Michio replied. "Lunala, Darkrai, and Latios, Latias, Solgaleo, a Liepard that can mega-evolve…. I hatched this half-assed plan to look for her…but I have to go to Alola and pretend to be reformed or some shit first," he explained. "I know I said I would help out with chores and shit, but this is more important. And I really…"
"You want to help. Hmmm."
"Let him continue," said Lucy. "Michio, if you have more to say we'd love to hear it."
"I also might have something that could help that sick Tree," he continued. "It's a rare potion. Legend says it's hundreds of millions of years old. It can restore life to anything. If I use it on the Tree or the Mew, it will make them better. There's a short supply, but I'm certain it'll work."
"I wonder if we can buy something like that," said Jessie.
"Do you have 20 billion dollars lying around?"
"We don't have quite that much," James responded.
"Do yous?" Meowth asked.
"It's the reason camping and cooking over a bonfire was a culture shock," he responded.
"Yer dat rich!?"
"It's in my parent's vault. I've stolen from there before. I'll just do it again."
"Whoa, he's loaded," Amber mumbled. "Hey, Michio, it's great that you are and I are friends. I'm impressed that you'll be using your nefarious nature to help us."
"I'm impressed that you know what 'nefarious' means."
"I'm the smartest person in our group. Tell them, Jay."
"Her IQ is like, ten points high than mine," Jay affirmed. "Won't you get in super big trouble for stealing from your parents? What if you go to jail?"
"It's worth the risk," said Jessie. "Michio, how quickly can you get to and from Alola?"
"With a good jet—an hour to get there and then an hour back. It might take me a whole day to get what I need…my family can be difficult, especially since I ignored them for nearly seven months, and breaking into that vault's going to take some planning."
"We have Clemont's teleporter," said James. "There's one here and another the basement of the Toka base."
"And my parents have one to headquarters to my house," said Amber. "How'll that help Michio?"
"It means Michio's our limiting factor," said Lucy. "The sooner he gets what we need, the sooner this entire operation can be done with."
"Okay, slow down everyone, I'm losing track of the plan," said Jay.
Lucy took out her tablet and began typing. "Michio will leave Kanto early tomorrow morning to get his Pokémon and that pricy potion by tomorrow afternoon. We'll get Annastasia's Pokémon, which should only take a few hours."
"Where the hell are her Pokémon?" Michio asked.
"In the native habitats," said James. "The only ones here in Pallet are the ones who prefer to be."
He remembered Annastasia telling him that before. He pushed her out of his mind—now was not the time to daydream.
"Ash and Misty will get theirs; I know those twerps have befriended and captured some powerful Pokémon over the years. Then we will all meet in the Toka base basement when we are done," said Jessie.
"Is that all?" said Jay.
"For now."
In a rush to update their friends, Amber and Jay collided.
"Ouch! Geeze, Amb, I think you broke my nose," Jay complained, holding two hands over his face. "Thanks a lot."
"Well, that's what you get for being in my running space," she replied. She rubbed the spot where Jay hit. "You have a hard nose."
"How badly does it hurt?" James asked as he kneeled in front of Jay. Jessie pushed Amber out of the way so that she could see. Lucy handed them paper towels to clean up the blood. "Do you need to go to the ER?"
"It's okay, I got it," said Jay.
Jay took the paper towels and carefully and quietly tended to his nose. They were all surprised; Jay usually bawled at the sight of blood, even if it was just a few sprinkles.
"Why's everyone in shock?" said Michio. "It's just a bloody nose. Look at him; he's fine."
"Kid, de last time yous scraped yer knee yous cried fer an hour," said Meowth.
"I'm not like that anymore," Jay asserted.
"Since when?" Jessie asked, the most perplexed of all.
"Since he grew up five centimeters," said Amber.
"I grew six centimeters, Amb," Jay retorted.
"Five and a half…maybe."
"Is it true that we're going to Toka?"
"Um, we are dear, but we weren't planning on asking you kids to come," James said delicately.
"Why not?" said Amber.
"It's dangerous. You'd be a liability," said Jessie.
"Which is why after we get everything we need together, Jessie is going to stay here and babysit," said Lucy.
"Exactly. Wait….NO! Are you nuts? I'm going too!"
"You have to stay here," said James.
"Weeze need someone ta hold down de fort and yer good at dat," said Meowth.
"You do it!" Jessie growled. "The only reason you survive missions is because of me. Or get precious Brodie or one of those teenagers that worked for us at the Pallet House to do it! There are plenty of other people who can stay behind!"
"That's not the point. You're a liability too," said Lucy.
"I can't believe we are actually discussing this," Michio groaned.
"You, shut up," Jessie snapped, pointing to Michio. "If anyone should go, it should be me!"
"It's not so bad, Mom," Jay said as he put his hand on her shoulder. He winked at his father and brandished his bloody nose. "We can spend time together. You can take me to one of those doctor appointments that you go to where they show the baby on the little TV. I don't really want both of you to leave anyway. It would be too sad. Even if Rita and Nolan and Lexi all my friends were here."
Jessie hugged Jay. "I will stay, for you."
"I forgot how much easier tings were when Jay was around," Meowth remarked.
"Get ready," said Lucy. "The sooner we move, the better. Michio, how's your credit?"
"I got enough points to afford a speed-jet to Alola," he replied. "I'll grab as much cash and that potion after I get my Pokémon. Then I'll meet you in Toka."
"I'll update Lexi, Nolan, and Rita," said James. "Ash and Gio are already putting a team together."
"Can Amb and I tell our friends about this?" Jay asked.
"Hold off for now."
"Why?" Amber whined.
"Because I trust Soledad and her schemes just a little more than I trust you, so as you can imagine, that isn't much," Jessie replied.
"I'll tell Jocelyn," James sighed, obviously dreading the fact. "She has to know we're leaving…oh, she just got back and we hardly got to spend any time with her…"
Michio was also feeling guilty. 'I shouldn't keep promising her things. I'm only going to disappoint her.'
"She'll understand," said Jay. "Um, I'll talk to her too."
As everyone scrambled, Michio discreetly jogged up the steps and knocked on Jocelyn's door.
"Michio!" she exclaimed as removed her earbuds. "Hi! Did you come to give me the summary?"
"Ummm, sorta," he responded. "But…I think I would rather play a game."
"I was hoping that we could go outside and you can do a practice battle with me and Flaafy. We are really good now. But it's raining. To you want to play Monopoly instead?"
"Okay."
Jocelyn got out the board and all the pieces. She talked about some of her favorite songs and how she might want to be a Pokémon performer like her mom was. The conversation was mostly her random jabber until Michio brought up the subject of his brief departure.
"You just got here and now you're leaving?" Jocelyn asked sadly.
"Just for a small amount of time," he responded. "When I get back, we can do all sorts of things together."
"Will you be here when Onēsan returns?"
"Of course. That's why I'm leaving. I'm going to help get her back."
"Like a heroine?"
"Something like that."
"That is nice. I bet she will be really happy to see you."
"You think so?"
"Flaafy fla."
"Definitely," she stated. "Onēsan never like-liked boys before. She had a lot of friends but… you're different. Onēsan usually doesn't like people right away. It usually takes a long time. Like years and years and years."
"I'm like that too," said Michio.
"Do you like me?"
"I like you lots."
"I like you lots too. I hope you decide to stay forever. You can be the prince who saves Onēsan!"
"Flaaafy!"
Jessie knocked on Jocelyn's door. "Are you in there, Princess?"
"Yes, Mommy!" Jocelyn called.
Jessie and James came in the room and were surprised to see Michio and the Monopoly board on the floor next to her and Flaafy.
"We need to talk to her," said Jessie.
"I'll be back in five to say goodbye," Michio said as he got off the floor.
"Bye, Oniisan," Jocelyn said right before he departed. "Promise to come back!"
"Flaaaa!"
"I will," he vowed.
Jessie and James talked to Jocelyn for a while. Later Michio came back and they finished their game. Meanwhile, Rita communicated with Michio's parents. No one explained why exactly he was coming home, but she did tell them to expect him. Next Nolan, Lexi, and Rita had to figure out a way to tell the younger members of their group what their next plan was and they only had a few hours to do it.
XO
Hiatus, Day 101
The group of Nolan, Lexi, Rita, Tamaki, Benny, June, Takeshi, Logan, Lily, Maya, and their Pokémon were three-quarters of their way to Cerulean City. They decided to take an hour break from their almost constant travel to rest their Tauros and eat their lunch. As usually, they split into smaller groups as to have private, and sometimes not-so-private, conversations.
"I was jealous of Logan yesterday when the three of us were talking to all those Lapras and Milotic," Takeshi told June. "He got to hear all those cools stories but we couldn't understand a word of it."
"I think the best part about being a Pokémon is that you wouldn't have to be a human," said June.
"Sometimes I would rather be a Pokémon that a human too…but what exactly do you mean by that?"
"After that, you're going back to Viridian and I'm going to go back to Saffron. My mom is going to probably want me to continue to do my dragon-riding thing until the next Cherryblossom Festival. Then it will be time to start another journey. Maybe we will all go to a different region or try doing a different challenge, like Pokémon racing or coordinating. But Pokémon can just do whatever they want, whenever they want. Pokémon have no parents, no rules, and barely any laws. Most of all, they aren't expecting to return to their home town all the time."
"Maybe we can take turns staying at each other's houses until it's time to leave for the next journey. Or we can start our next journey right away. Not everyone leaves immediately after the Cherryblossom Festival."
"I don't think my parents or my little sisters will like that."
"Maybe they'll change their minds once they see how good of a trainer this journey made you, or how many friends you made, or how you learned more about more than just battling."
"I hope so."
June and Takeshi lied in the grass. Scooter flew over to and then lied between them.
"I'm glad Amber left Scooter with me even though he's technically her Pokémon now," she said as she scratched the top of his head. "I'm going to miss you."
"I would miss you if you too," said Takeshi. "Even though I don't know you much."
June was offended. "I-I thought we knew each other pretty well. We spend so much alone time together and you are the first person I ever kissed and the first person I ever…well…"
"I thought we were talking to Scooter," said Takeshi. "I mean I don't know Scooter much."
"Oh—that's what I meant too."
"Yeah right."
"Hey…when people do that, you aren't supposed to interrupt and correct them. You are supposed to go along with it and embarrass them more."
"Ha. Next time I'll try to do it right."
Scooter flew away, leaving a space between them. June quickly closed it.
"I wonder if our parents would be mad at us for lying to them," said June.
"I didn't lie to my parents," Takeshi responded. "Did you lie to yours?"
"Not exactly…they asked what was up and I told them about my new Pokémon and the badges but I never mentioned you."
"I don't think that counts."
"I also told them that I didn't mind when Annastasia left, or Michio, or Soledad. But I miss them all and never wanted anyone to leave. Now Jay, Amber, and Jocelyn are gone, as are most of their Pokémon. I miss them loads."
"It seemed like Soledad was one of your best friends. I would be jealous if my closest friend—you—left to go hang out with other people. But Soledad told us before she left that she didn't leave for personal reasons; I bet she misses us loads too."
"You sound like Nolan."
"Huh?"
"He's usually the guy who gives all the good advice."
"I think he rubbed off on me."
Nolan and Takeshi's Blastoise, Qualilava, Fearrow, and Skarmory approached their blanket.
"I thought we had another half hour until we had to be back," said Takeshi.
"James called," Nolan responded. "They want us to go to the Pallet House instead of continuing our trip to Cerulean."
"Did something happen?" June asked nervously.
"Mostly it's because the fusion crisis is getting worse and soon the KPD and TR are going to tell every young traveler to find a safe place to go. The Morgans also have some updates on their situation and would rather tell us all at once than individually. It'll only take us half an hour via car. One of their chauffeurs is picking us up."
"Is Soledad coming too?"
"I don't know."
"We'll be back at camp asap," said Takeshi.
"Great. I just need to find Lily and Maya. Any ideas?"
"They mentioned something about a spa in the nearby village," said June. "But I don't know if they went."
"Thanks. I'll see you in a few."
"See ya," said Takeshi.
"Now I'm really stressed," June said as Nolan jogged back to their campsite. "I wonder what happened."
"I'm super worried too."
A timer on Takeshi's phone went off. He dug through his bag to try to locate it. June found the phone before he did, and when she noticed what the timer was for, she giggled at the screen before shutting off the alarm.
"What's wrong?" Takeshi inquired. "What was that timer for?"
"It was a reminder that today is Annastasia's birthday," said June. "Since you used to have a crush on her, you must have set a timer to remind you that you got her a present."
"Oh yeah. November the third at 12 pm. Now she's officially eighteen. I hope that wherever she is, she is enjoying herself."
"Maybe that's why we why we're going to Pallet."
XO
IN THE NEXT CHAPTER
· Springs
· Michio's family
· A journal and a wish