Jessie Joins the Fun!

Mt. Moon was renowned for its massive bat population. Zubats, Golbats, even the occasional Crobat. Swarms of the aerial mammals inhabited its caverns and tunnels, and when the night fell, they took to the skies to lord over the open air. Those who traversed its paths were warned well in advance to proceed with caution, as encountering these creatures was highly likely, and depending on what kind and how many one ran across, those encounters could range from very annoying to fatal.

But no matter how dangerous the bats of Mt. Moon might be, they were nothing compared to the majestic creature that now spread its wings over the slopes of the mountain.

Noiverns were large for a batlike Pokemon, but this Noivern was large even when compared to other Noiverns, towering high over its brethren, rising up even beyond that of a fully grown man. Which was a good thing, as a fully grown man was seated on its back, frantically searching the ground below.

The search for Misty and her friends was not going well. Not that Lance had truly expected to find three small children in the vastness of the mountain or the forest surrounding it, but he still held out hope. Misty was one of his people, and even if she weren't, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night knowing that he had let a young girl down.

Unfortunately, even without the sheer size of the search area, complications kept rising, mainly because the whole place had absolutely lost its mind.

Noivern's ears twitched, and it called out a shrill warning. Grabbing his binoculars, Lance peered down at the ground. His heart leapt when he saw that there were indeed three young children down there. However, they were in trouble, as two bulky bovines were menacing the poor kids.

Wild Tauros. Tauros were known for being ill-tempered at the best of times, but given the circumstances, the herds had become outright hostile.

"Down!" Lance called. "Drive them off!"

With another cry, Noivern came down into a tight spiral, swooping down to slam into the ground between the Tauros and the children.

The Tauros bellowed in alarm, and then in challenge. In answer, Noivern shrieked a warning. That was enough for the bulls to reconsider their chances and opt to seek out easier victims.

"Oh, wow, it's Lance! Lance came to save us!"

Sighing in relief, Lance turned in his saddle.

Then his face fell.

The kids he had rescued was not Misty and her friends, but rather a trio of picnickers that looked to have gotten lost. They were gazing up at their region's champion in awe, clearly not having expected to be rescued by a legend.

"You saved us!" one of the girls exclaimed, clasping her hands together with stars in her eyes.

Lance shook off his disappointment. Misty or not, they were still children in need of help. "Come on!" he said, holding out his hand. "Let's go find your families."

Once the starstruck children had been reunited with their families (and Lance begrudgingly acquiescing to a picture and a round of autographs), he was again in the skies, desperately searching.

Encounters like that had been happening all day. Despite Ambihilech's promise of a three-day grace period, it would seem that his arboreal neighbors were not content to wait. Lance kept finding trainers, campers, hikers, and many other travelers being menaced by various wild Pokemon, all of them furious over Team Rocket's actions, and all of them looking to take it out on any humans that they could find.

There! A young woman surrounded by a swarm of angry Oddishes!

There! Two young boys, brothers by the looks of them, being pursued by a pack of Mankeys!

There! A flock of Pidgeys chasing a family from their campsite!

Over and over again. And though Lance would never turn away from someone in need, every rescue took time away from his search for Misty. And who knew what dangers could be in store for her and her friends?

…

There are times when one is confronted by a situation so utterly contradictory to itself that it's impossible to truly know how to feel. And as the realization of Jessie's survival swept through Ash, he found himself caught in the grip of such two opposing reactions that he was left with no reaction whatsoever.

On the one hand, Jessie had survived! The woman that he had let die, that was only in danger in the first place because of his carelessness, that had begged him for help only for him to make the conscious decision to let her drop to her death was alive! He hadn't caused the death of another human being, much less his own PokeGirl, after all!

On the other hand, Jessie had survived. The woman that had tried time and time again to hurt him, to kill him, had hurt and tried to kill both Misty and May, was probably responsible for hurting and possibly even killing many other people, was certainly at the least guilty of a great many crimes, and was objectively a terrible human being, was alive, and now lay before him and his friends.

His conscience had been unburdened, and they were now in very real danger.

Any doubt that the ravaged woman was actually Jessie vanished as the two of them locked eyes, and she whispered, "A-Ash? Is that you?"

Ash said nothing.

However, the girls' tongues were not quite so tied. "Jessie?" May repeated, rising to her feet in alarm. "Wait, this is Jessie? The same Rocket girl that you were so messed up about?"

"Sweet Mother of Arceus, it is her," Misty breathed. On the ground, Nidoran pawed at the earth and growled.

Jessie didn't pay them the slightest bit of heed. "Ash!" she joyfully cried as she struggled to sit up. "It is you! You found me!"

Then, to Ash's horror, the previously thought dead Rocket Grunt lurched toward him, arms spread wide.

A moment later May's toe impacted with Jessie's face, knocking her back down. "Ow!" Jessie cried as she grasped at her nose. "What'd you do that for?"

In answer, May planted her foot down on Jessie's chest, sandwiched tightly between her admittedly impressive breasts. "Don't. Move," May growled as flames swept up and down her arms. Jessie froze in place, her eyes wide with fear.

By then, Misty had also gotten to her feet, and now took her place next to May, her own fists balled up and crackling with a barely restrained thunderstorm. At May's other side, Nidoran hunkered down, his primary horn pointed directly at Jessie's bare leg. "You got some nerve," Misty said. "Coming back like that. How'd you even get out here? Why are you still alive?"

"Ni!" Nidoran growled in agreement.

"I…I don't know?" Jessie stammered. "What's going on? Ash, why are they so angry with me? And what's that spiny little thing?"

Ash didn't speak. He couldn't speak. It was as if he had forgotten how.

"Ash? Ash, please! It's you, right?"

"Stop focusing on him, and focus on me!" May growled. She pressed her foot deeper into Jessie's sternum. The air around her leg grew hazy with heat, and the sole of her shoe began to hiss.

Jessie's eyes bulged out. "Ow! Ow, ow, ow. Stop. Stop hurting me. Please, stop!" She seized May's calf with both hands, only to yank them away with scalded fingers.

"Hurt you?" May drew back a burning fist. "Oh, lady. I have not even begun to hurt you!"

That was what finally jerked Ash out of his stupor. "May?" he said, rising to his feet. "May, stop!"

May paused. She looked over her shoulder at her trainer. "Really?" she said in disappointment.

"Yes, really! Threaten her if you have to, but stop torturing her!"

"Ash…" she sighed.

"That's an order, May! Get off of her!"

May sighed again. "Ash, buddy. You are entirely too nice for your own good." However, she obeyed, lifting her foot from Jessie's chest, revealing a burn mark in the shape of her shoe's tread.

Jessie immediately scampered back until she was leaning back against a tree. "Ow," she mumbled again, gingerly touching a scorched finger to her scorched chest.

"Yeah, that's right!" May snapped. "'Ow!' Now, you better get to talking, or that's the smallest burn I'm leaving you with!"

"Save some for me," Misty growled.

"Nidoni…" Nidoran added.

Jessie stared up at the two angry preteen PokeGirls and their poisonous ally. "What's going on?" she said. "Why do you hate me so much? What did I do?"

"Are you serious?" Misty said. "What, just because we got clothes on now, you suddenly can't recognize us?"

"Uh…no? I mean, I don't recognize you, but I'm not sure what your clothes have to do with anything."

Now Ash's confusion was outweighing his horror. "Really?" he said, stepping forward. "You really don't know who we are?"

"I know who you are," Jessie said, pointing at him. "You're Ash, right?"

"Uh…Yeah?" What was going on?

Misty frowned. "Wait, how come you can recognize him and not us?"

"I don't recognize him; I know him!"

"What?" Now May's confusion was also taking precedence. "What are you talking about? What's the difference?"

"I've never seen him before," Jessie said. "But of course I know him! He's my master!"

Ash stared. "Huh? So, do you have like amnesia or something?"

"I…" Jessie started trembling. "I don't know. I woke up and everything just hurt so much. I couldn't move, I could barely think. All I knew was that I had to find Ash." Then her face lit up. "But you found me! You made the hurt go away!"

"Wait, are you being serious?" Misty said. The electricity around her hands fizzled out. "You can't remember anything? Like, at all?"

Nidoran cocked his head in confusion. "Dori?"

Jessie shook her head. "No. No, I-" Her shivering grew worse. "It's gone. I try to think, but it's all blank. There's just…just pain. Pain, and Ash." Then a slow smile spread over her face. "And then the pain was gone, and there was just Ash."

It was the smile that took Ash by surprise. Unlike the cruel and gloating smirks he had seen Jessie wear in the past, this was wholly genuine, a pure and innocent expression of joy that simply lit up her face.

However, the girls weren't quite so affected. "You have got to be kidding me!" Misty exclaimed. "There is no way you don't remember what you did!"

Jessie stared blankly up at her. "But I don't! Do we know each other? What did I do?"

"Oh, for the love of-" Misty thrust a finger at her. "You're Jessie!"

"I am?"

"Yes! And you work for Team Rocket!"

Not the slightest flash of recognition could be seen in Jessie's face. "Uh, was I an astronaut or something?"

"No, idiot! You're a criminal! An evil monster that tried to kill me!"

Jessie made a sound not unlike the squawking of a particularly surprised parrot. "I did? But how? That doesn't sound like me!"

"Oh, so now you suddenly remember?" May demanded.

"No! But I certainly wouldn't hurt a child!"

"Except you did!" Misty retorted, her hands balling back into fists. "You ambushed us, hit me a bunch, poisoned me twice-"

"And you and your stupid friend smashed your way into a PokeCenter and tried to kill me, Ash, and that Nurse Joy," May growled.

Absolute horror was etched all over Jessie's face. "What?! But…why?"

"Because you're a monster!" Misty cried.

Ash could not say that he disagreed. However, he was looking directly at Jessie's face during the girls' entire diatribe, and the reactions that he saw were leading him in a disturbing direction.

And that was that Jessie was telling the truth.

Maybe she was just a really good liar. He supposed to be in Team Rocket you had to be, though the brash and arrogant woman that he unfortunately knew didn't strike him as the sort to have the cunning or intelligence to pull off that kind of deception. Also, she had been half-dead just a moment ago. How could she have put on this kind of performance after all that.

And then he saw the telltale glistening in her eyes. Tears. Jessie was actually crying.

By all the pinfeathers of the Great Guardians of Kanto, Jessie was really telling the truth!

"Guys," Ash said, motioning for the two to step aside. "Back off, okay?"

"What?" May gawked at him. "Don't tell me you're buying this-"

Ash shot her glare. She shut up.

"Ash, are you sure?" Misty said as she lowered her hands.

"I don't know yet. But still. Just…give her some room."

Though the two PokeGirls clearly disagreed with their trainer's instructions, they still complied, lowering their smoking or sparking fists and stepping out of the way. Confused by the sudden turn, Nidoran backed off by a few paces, though he kept his horn focused.

"Don't get too close," Misty said. "If she poisons you…"

"I know," Ash said. He took a step forward.

Jessie immediately tensed up, looking to all the world like a frightened child anticipating an upraised hand. Ash paused, then he knelt down so that their eyes were level.

"Are you being honest with us?" he said. "You really don't remember anything?"

Now with tears streaming openly down her face, Jessie shook her head. "I d-d-don't," she sobbed. "I j-just…I don't know! I can't r-remember anything! J-Just the pain, and wanting to find you, and…who are you? Why do I want…" She burst fully into tears, covering her face as she cried.

Ash swallowed. Maybe this was still just a trick, but he didn't think so.

However, May apparently did. "Oh, give me a break!" she snapped. Flames against burst to life around her hands. "You expect us to believe-"

"Ah!" Jessie curled up into a ball, covering her bald head with her arms. "Don't hurt me! Please, don't hurt me!"

"May!" Ash barked. "I said back off!"

"Screw that! You think I'm gonna let this scum trick us into-"

Jessie leapt.

Misty threw herself into action, seizing Ash by the collar of his jacket and yanking him behind her with one hand while shooting off a thundershock with the other, while May employed both hands for the latter, blasting at the amnesiac woman with twin fireballs. Nidoran charged, launching himself at her bare flesh.

However, all three of them made the mistake of assuming that Jessie was jumping at them. Instead, she leapt to the side, neatly clearing their attacks. Landing on her feet, she fled, disappearing into the trees.

"Guys, stop!" Ash cried. He quickly recalled Nidoran.

The other two, however, were not so easily stopped. "Hey!" May fired another ember blast after her. "Get back here! I still owe you for what you did to my friends!"

She was about to run after the fleeing Rocket, but Misty clamped a hand on her shoulder. "May, just let her go," she said.

May gawked at her. "Seriously? Just like that?"

"Yeah. Trust me. Memories or no memories, you don't want to go chasing after her. That never ends well."

Behind them, Ash was just pulling himself to his feet. It wasn't an easy task. His mind was still racing in a hundred different directions, leaving him practically dizzy.

"Ash, why'd you stop me?" May demanded. "You can't seriously be trying to protect that monster."

Panting, Ash fell back against a tree, one hand clutching his chest. "B-Bec-cause," he forced out between gasping breaths. "I d-didn't want…oh man. I didn't want o-one of my best f-f-friends killing somebody!"

May stared. "But she deserved it!"

Ash didn't have the breath to argue.

"Okay," Misty said at last. "No bickering. Our lives just became a lot more complicated. Jessie is somehow alive and loose in the forest. How, I don't know. And apparently, if she's not lying, she had her entire memory wiped!"

"She's lying," May hissed.

She's not, Ash thought.

Misty shot May a warning glance. "But regardless, we still need to deal with it. So-"

"So, how about we all stop being stupid and do the obvious thing?" May interrupted. "I'll do it. Right now."

Ash took as deep a breath as soon as he was able. "No," he said.

"Give me a break, Ash. Look, just sit here and close your eyes and cover your ears so you don't have to see or hear anything. I'll be back-"

"I said no!" Ash barked. "May, I'm the trainer here, you're the PokeGirl, which means what I say goes!" He thrust a finger at her. "And I say that you are not becoming a murderer today, and that's final!"

May blinked. And then her eyes went cold. "You're an idiot, Ash," she said.

"Hey!" Misty snapped. "Watch it, May!"

Ash didn't respond. May's words felt like a punch to a gut, and the ghost of a Very Bad Day from years before began to whisper in his ear.

Hey, take a look at this idiot! Man, I can't believe we were ever friends!

May must have seen the look of pain in Ash's eyes, as the anger in her own immediately shifted into remorse. The seething rage seemed to literally melt from her body, and she took a hesitant step back, glancing around in uncertainty.

"Okay, both of you, just back off," Misty continued. "We're a team, okay? And right now, we need to work together to come up with an idea."

May's face hardened again. "I had one. Let's do it."

"No," Ash said in a cold tone.

Pinching her nose, Misty sighed and said, "Anyway, how about this? We head back to the Ranger's Station and tell them that there's a crazed Team Rocket PokeGirl loose in the forest. No matter what they're tied up with right now, they still got to deal with this."

Ash frowned. "I thought we agreed to stay away from the police."

"Then we tell someone else to tell them! No matter what we decide, we have to take some kind of chance!"

"And if they're as crooked as we think they are?" May demanded.

Misty threw her hands up into the air. "Look, either they're on the level, and Jessie gets arrested and hopefully passed off to some kind of PokeGirl psychologist. Or they're Team Rocket, and they bring back her memory and she goes back to being just another Grunt. Either way, she's not our problem anymore, and nobody dies!"

Ash raised his voice in protest. "But-"

"Ash, it's either this, or we try May's idea. Yes or no?"

Ash really, really hated the choice being laid before him. He had only just learned of Jessie's survival, and now he was going to have to choose her doom.

But it was like Misty had said: it was either this, or let May have her way. And he would never let that happen, for both Jessie and May's sakes.

"All right," he said at last. "The police, then."

…

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me," May hissed.

The three of them had emerged from the forest at the edges of the Visitor's Center. There, the police had completely taken over, with several parked squad cars with their lights flashing, and uniformed officers scurrying this way and that, accompanied by their PokeGirl and partially uniformed PokeGirls. The visitors themselves were all in the process of evacuating, with a line of cars being directed out of the complex and toward the highway while those without vehicles were crowding around the bus stop.

"Do you think it has something to do with Ambihilech?" Misty asked.

"Who cares?" May snapped. "She's the problem, not your talking Pokemon friend!"

May pointed out one woman in particular, a voluptuous woman with purple hair who wore a long white coat, who was standing near the entrance to the main building and having a tense conversation with one of the police officers and a couple of rangers. From the look of things, it was clear who was in charge.

"Her?" Ash said, shading his eyes with his hand. "What about her?"

"That's the Rocket bitch that tried to torture me!"

"What?!" Ash and Misty exclaimed in unison, both of their heads swiveling toward their irate friend in shock.

"That's her!" May said, her glare boring holes into the unaware woman. "I was this close to torching her, but she weaseled away at the last second!"

"Oh," Misty said, her face paling. "Well, I g-guess that answers the question of whether or not we can trust the police."

Ash's heart felt heavy in his chest. Again. Yet again the grown-ups that they were supposed to be able to go to for protection had proven to be liars and traitors. Was there really any point in trusting adults? Sure, Brock seemed okay, but he was starting to really seem like the exception that proved the rule!

After a few moments of dismayed staring, Misty said in a small voice, "I just realized that if they get her back, she'll just tell them about us. So, uh, maybe letting them know about her is a bad idea."

"Right," May growled through clenched teeth. "Forget these losers. Let's just get out of here."

Ash sighed. "Yeah," he said. "Let's go."

…

The walk back to camp was long and quiet.

Ash knew that he ought to keep his wits about him. Jessie was still out there, and would likely pop up again. And if she did, what would happen? Would she be a danger to them? Would they be a danger to her? What if she was lying? Would he have to let May do what she wanted? What if she wasn't lying? Did they just bring her with them? They couldn't send her away, couldn't give her to the police, couldn't do anything smart!

And oh yeah, the police! The rangers! Team Rocket once again proved to have far too many fingers in far too many pies. Were they patrolling the forest right now, looking for them? What if they got caught? Escaping the mountain was supposed to have meant escaping Team Rocket's clutches, but they forever seemed doomed to have everything ruined by those criminals. It was like Team Rocket now had a personal vendetta against them.

Ash heard whispering behind him. Misty and May were speaking to each other in hushed tones. About what, he couldn't tell. Maybe about how much of an idiot he was. May had said it, hadn't she?

Ash swallowed back at the growing lump in his throat. It wasn't fair. He just didn't want his friend to be a murderer. He just didn't want anyone to die. It wasn't fair!

To everyone's relief, the camp was undisturbed when they finally emerged into the clearing that now served as their home base. Ash ruefully looked over the small plot of land that they had staked out as their own, at least for the time being, from Misty's orange tent to their inert firepit and the nearby log. It wasn't much, and they hadn't been there long, but it still felt like more of a sanctuary than any other place that they had stayed. But they would have to soon leave, before Team Rocket caught up with them again.

The three of them didn't speak much as they integrated their new supplies into what they had. As they worked, Ash again overheard Misty and May having some kind of hushed conversation. He still couldn't make much out, but he did pick up his name being dropped a time or two.

When they were done, Ash mumbled something about needing a walk and went off by himself. He headed off into the grass, walking until he found a tall tree growing by itself.

With a small groan, Ash collapsed back against the tree. He put his head in his hands as he tried to think. There had to be a way to fix this that didn't involve killing anybody. He couldn't put his girls in danger again, but he also couldn't let them become murderers! He had been absolved of letting Jessie die, only to be faced with the very real possibility that she would die anyway, this time at his friends' hands!

He couldn't let that happen. And yet, he wasn't sure how to stop it if it did come to that. Or if he even should.

Then his body began to tense. Soft footsteps through the grass. Someone was coming, probably to lecture him again.

"Ash?"

Yup. It was May. Ash slowly exhaled. Well, this had been coming sooner or later. Time to face the music.

He looked up at the older girl, bracing himself for an argument.

Then all thought of another fight completely fled his mind.

May stood there, not a stitch of clothing on her. Despite having returned to her happiest state, her face was downcast, her shoulders drooping, and the blush in her cheeks more from shame than arousal. In her hands she held a short, flat paddle of wood, one with small holes in the middle.

"May?" Ash exclaimed, sitting up straighter. "What-"

May took a deep breath. "I…overstepped. It's not the PokeGirl's place to question her trainer. And no PokeGirl should ever call her trainer names like that. I shouldn't have done that. I…I need to be punished."

"What?" Ash said again. "No, May, of course you can question me! I mean, yeah, that was kind of mean, but I get it! You-"

May suddenly let out a growl of pure frustration. "No, it's not okay, and no, I can't!"

Before Ash could ask her what in the world she was talking about, May dropped down to her knees. She bowed her naked, lithe body, prostrating herself before him until her forehead kissed the grass, arms extended out to offer the paddle to her master.

"Please," May said. "Punish me."

Whatever it was that Ash needed to help sort out the whirling thoughts and emotions in his mind, this certainly was not it. How was he even supposed to respond? First May had gotten really mad at him, and now she wanted him to…hit her? Sure, her being a…what was the word? A masochist. Sure, her being a masochist was kind of obvious, but this?

As Ash sat frozen, Misty suddenly appeared, walking past May's submissive form toward Ash. "You might as well, Ash," she said, sitting down next to him. "Trust me, it's better this way."

"B-Better? For what?" Ash sputtered. "You can't seriously expect me to-"

Misty reached over and took his hand. "Ash, this is her way of apologizing. She won't be happy if you don't. Besides, it's a trainer's responsibility to discipline his PokeGirls."

"But she's not my PokeGirl!" Ash protested, thrusting his free hand toward May. "She's yours! I can't-"

May made a small choking sound inside of her throat.

Realization hit Ash like a punch in the gut. Right, there was nothing more hurtful to a PokeGirl than being rejected by her trainer.

"Ash, she's your PokeGirl too," Misty said, her tone gently admonishing. "You should know how this works. I'm yours, she's mine, so that makes her yours also."

Ash breathed out. "Right. Um, sorry. I didn't mean it like that."

Though May didn't lift her head, she did give him a small nod.

"Come on," Misty said, giving his palm a squeeze. "I'll walk you through it."

This was, undoubtedly, one of the weirdest…no, wait, was this the weirdest thing he had ever gotten himself caught up in? After all, that business with the talking crystal Onix hadn't been that long ago. He supposed that he ought to start accepting that his life was going to be an endless caravan of weird from here on out and just go with it.

"Okay," he said at last. "Let's…you can…let's go?"

A full-body shiver swept through May. Her face still downturned, she slowly rose to her feet and walked over to her owners. Ash's heartrate quickened as she approached. Was he really going to do this?

May knelt down next to him and held the paddle out. Ash hesitated, and then gingerly closed his fingers around the leather-bound handle. The paddle was made of lightweight wood pulp, intended to be swung fast, but it felt oddly heavy in his hand.

Getting down on all fours, May crawled forward until her torso was stretched over Ash's outstretched legs. She hunkered down onto her elbows and knees, her pert little butt stuck into the air.

Misty nodded. "Since this is your first time disciplining her, five whacks is good to start," she said to Ash.

I can't believe I'm doing this, Ash internally lamented. He'd better get through all five quickly.

Closing his eyes, Ash raised the paddle, but then felt strong fingers close around his wrist. "Nuh-uh," Misty admonished. "If we're doing this, then we're doing this right. Slow it down for a moment."

Mystified, Ash lowered his arm.

"First of all, you're keeping your eyes open," Misty instructed her trainer. "When a PokeGirl offers herself to you, you need to give her your full attention. Even if she's misbehaved and needs to be punished, you still need to focus on her. Anything less is disrespectful. Got it?"

Ash let his eyes travel down May's naked back and over the curve of her upraised rear. He nodded.

"Good. Okay, second of all, you can't just come in swinging." Taking the paddle from Ash's hand, Misty guided Ash's trembling hand down until it was resting against the warm, yielding flesh of May's rear. "It's like what May taught you earlier. You have to build up to things. The foreplay is just as important as the climax."

Ash frowned as May's hand moved his own, gently massaging May's luscious cheeks and the undersides of her lightly tanned thighs. "Are you sure this is a punishment? This doesn't feel like a punishment."

Despite her vulnerable position, May couldn't hold back a snorting giggle.

"Don't tell me you're complaining," Misty said, the edge of her mouth lifting in a fetching manner.

"I'm not! I'm just…new to this!"

"Then let me lead." Misty continued to guide where Ash's hand went, stroking and caressing the naked butt that lay draped over Ash's thighs. Ash felt his fingers brush over the puffiness of her labia where it poked out between her thighs, and they came away glistening.

"Okay, that's good enough," Misty said. "Now, it's time to begin."

The handle of the paddle found its way back into Ash's grasp, and hand encircling Ash's wrist brought it up to hover over the slopes of May's perfect ass. Then it came down, smacking the flat of the paddle against those firm cheeks with a loud thwack!

The fatty flesh jumped and jiggled to ripple out into a full body shudder. May let out a small sigh, and gently murmured the word, "One."

That did it. Ash felt something unlock deep inside of him, a deeply buried wellspring of warm intimacy and burning pleasure. He now saw a side to himself that never before made itself known to him, one that not only allowed him to lay hands on May in such an aggressive manner, but also let him enjoy it.

When the second swat came down, Misty's hand no longer guided him.

"Two," May mewled.

Ash's cock tightened so hard and so stiff in his pants that he was certain that May must be feeling it poke into the smooth, taut skin of her stomach. That only excited him further. May lay in her right and proper place, submitting to her master's punishment and feeling his throbbing arousal every second of it.

Another smack. Another mesmerizing bounce of those tantalizing cheeks. Another breathy count. "Three."

It was so similar to when that lady doctor had inspected him back at the Pewter City Hospital, as her firm fingers poked and prodded at his damaged skin, the pain awakening something else inside of him. That day, he had learned the pleasures of being given pain, of submitting to someone stronger than you and letting them have their way. Now another lesson was being taught, the lesson of giving, the lesson of administering that pain, the lesson of being in complete control of another human being.

The paddle came down. "Four," May whimpered.

And yet, despite how hurtful May's words had been, despite how upset she had made him, there was no anger in this, no genuine desire to hurt her. In its own, weird way, this was as much a display of intimacy as kissing her had been. This was an expression of pure trust. May only allowed Ash to treat her this way because she trusted him. If it had been simple regret over being mean, she would have simply said that she was sorry and let that be the end of it. But Ash now saw how that wasn't enough. She needed this from him, to show him just how much she loved him.

The fifth and final swat came down, the paddle striking right where the slope of her rump melted into the back of her thighs. "Ah!" May gasped. "Five!"

"Okay, you're done," Misty said, taking the paddle from Ash's grip. "Now, what you need to do is-"

But Ash already knew. The time for firm discipline was over. Now came the time for tenderness.

He reached down to envelop May's waist in his arms and gather her up. May went willingly, her body remaining loose and compliant as he pulled her up so that she sat in his lap, facing him and leaning against his front. Sighing, she draped her arms around his shoulders and let her head lay to rest against his shoulder while his hands ran up and down her hips and thighs, one affectionately massaging her rear while the other slipped into the warm spot where her thighs met.

"Wow," Misty said as she watched as Ash wet his fingers against May's vaginal lips. "You went right in there. Are you sure that you've never done this before?"

Lifting his free shoulder in a sheepish half-shrug, Ash continued to run his fingers through the cleft of May's groin, stimulating her until he felt that weirdly familiar convulsing of her sex. Her body tensed, and then relaxed.

May silently rose to her feet. "Uh, th-thank you," she said, bowing at the waist. "If you like, I could give you a blowjob, or…"

Ash wordlessly wiped his hand on the grass. "Um, not right now," he said. Honestly, a blowjob did sound great, but he was now so mixed up inside that what he really needed to do was get his head on straight and try to make some sense of what just happened. "Actually, could you…give us a moment? I need to talk to Misty."

May's shoulders tightened, but she nodded. "Okay," she said in a small voice. The normally brash brunette turned and meekly walked away.

Ash watched her go.

"You okay?" Misty asked once May was gone.

Ash nodded. "I am! I am. But, wow, that was weird!"

The two of them stood to their feet. "Well, you're going to have to get used to it if you're keeping us around."

Frowning, Ash suspiciously regarded Misty. "Don't tell me you're going to make me spank you every time we get into an argument."

A small smile tugged at the edge of Misty's lips. "Hmmm. Not sure if we're there just yet. But seriously, this just shows that May's serious about this."

"But you guys argue all the time, and I've never seen you spank her!"

"It's…" Misty placed one hand on her hip and sighed. "Look, it's different. I knew May for a couple years before I caught her. Arguing…is kind of part of our thing. But we had such a rough time getting to where we are now with you, and she really wants us to go all the way with this. So I guess she's taking it extra seriously now that you're for sure going to be our trainer from now on." Her smirk grew. "Also, just for your information, I've gotten to spank May plenty of times before we met you, sometimes because she went too far and deserved it, and sometimes for the fun of it."

An unbidden but not unwelcome image of May, naked and tied up, sprawled over Misty's knees as she had been over Ash's, while a sadistically grinning Misty swatted at her behind popped into Ash's head. "Does it really count as punishment if she enjoys it so much?"

"Eh." Misty stuck out her hand and waggled the palm. "It's more of the principle of the thing. Besides, it's not like either of us could actually hurt her. I doubt those swats even stung."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Except, you're a PokeGirl now," he pointed out. "So, you could probably make her feel it."

Misty's eyes widened. "Wait, you're right. I didn't think about that. Huh."

Ash had a feeling that his two PokeGirls would be exploring that new wrinkle to their dynamic soon enough. No doubt May was going to be thrilled. However, that would have to wait.

"I'm going to go talk to her," he announced.

Misty frowned. "Ash, remember, it's how-"

"I know. She has her way of doing this." Ash turned from her to head off. "But I have mine."

He found May standing on the shore of the lake, staring out at the still water. Shaking his head, Ash approached her.

May glanced over her shoulder as he neared. She winced, and turned back to the lake.

"Hey," she said as Ash walked up to stand beside her.

Ash took a deep breath. "Hey," he responded. "Look, can we talk?"

May pursed her lips. "About what? I messed up. I was punished for it, like I should be. It's done."

"May…" Ash said with a sigh.

Though she kept her face directed forward, May still regarded him out of the corner of her eye. "Don't tell me that you didn't enjoy it."

The memory of how her butt had jiggled and shook with every strike pushed itself to the forefront of her mind. "I did! But-"

"So, there's nothing to talk about," May said, folding her arms and turning away from him.

Ash gritted his teeth. No. He was done with this. "Listen, we did the PokeGirl thing. But now can we do the friend thing? Please?"

That made May wince. Sighing, she dropped her arms, and finally turned to face him. "Okay," said with a defeated shrug. "Okay, fine. Let's talk."

And that was the problem. Yes, they needed to talk, but now that it was coming down to it, Ash found it difficult to put all of his complicated feelings into words. "May. I know…all of this is new to us. And I know how much being my PokeGirl means to you. But seriously, I'm still so new to all of this, and you two are the ones teaching me. So please don't think that you can't argue with me when you think I'm making a mistake. Because I've made plenty!"

"Maybe," May said with a shrug. "But I didn't have to be so mean about it."

"Well, no," Ash admitted.

May swallowed. "I'm sorry I called you an idiot."

"Um, thanks," Ash said, awkwardly scratching the back of his head. It was odd, but he was actually getting more used to receiving random sexual favors than he was to being apologized to. "And-"

"But I'm not sorry about the rest," May said in a firm tone. "I still think you should've let me go after her."

Ash scowled. "Not going to happen."

"Ash…" May said with an exasperated sigh.

Ash shook his head. "May. I know you…see things differently than me, but I spent most of yesterday and today thinking that I had killed her! And it feels terrible! I'm not going to let it happen to you!"

"But I'm different than you!" May protested. "I can handle it if it means keeping both of you safe!"

Ash met her eyes. "Have you ever actually killed anyone before?"

"Came close," May said after a beat.

"But have you?" Ash pressed.

The silence told him everything that he needed to know.

"I know you'll do anything to protect us," Ash said at last. "And I know that they're…really bad people. But taking a life…I can't let you do that. I just can't!"

May's eyes were starting to mist. Blinking it away, she turned her attention downward, hands clenching and unclenching at her sides. "I hate them," she said at last. "I hate them so much. I hate them because they hurt us. I hate them because they hurt you, because they hurt Misty, because of what they did to Nurse Joy. I hate them because they tried to take me away. I hate them because they're evil, twisted people who do nothing but hurt others." Then she looked back up at Ash. "But I also hate them for making me feel so hateful. Ash, I don't like feeling hateful. I just want to have fun with you and Misty. I don't want to have to deal with any of this!"

"Yeah," Ash said softly. "Me too. "

May swallowed. "What if I do go too far? What if Jessie finds us and…things happen? Or some other Rocket? Or some other bad person? What if I do take someone's life? Would you even be able to look at me anymore? Or would I just be too repulsive to you?"

"Never," Ash said with a smile. He put his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug. "I don't care how far you go; I'll always be there to bring you back."

Sniffling, May wrapped her own arms in him in return. "Even if I do something you hate?"

"Especially then," Ash confirmed. 'That's when you'll need us most of all."

May let out a small laugh. "I'm really glad it was you that ended up with us."

They stood there for a time, just holding one another, enjoying a moment of simple intimacy, one formed by shared love and affection instead of simple lust.

Well, for the most part.

"So," May said into Ash's shoulder. "You're grabbing my butt."

"Well, yeah," Ash said, giving the cheek in his hand a small squeeze. "Have you seen it?"

Smiling, May moved back a bit, though their hands remained resting on one another. The two locked eyes, and then drew close again, their lips meeting.

…

Even with things resolved between them, the threat of Jessie still hung over the small campsite, dampening everyone's spirits.

They tried to keep themselves busy. Misty pulled out some issues of manga from her pack, but she couldn't stay focused. Ash tried to squeeze in a little more Pokemon training, but his heart wasn't in it. May suggested that they finally give a threesome a try, but her recommendation was half-hearted even for her, and the idea was dropped. Even the thunderous erection that spanking May had given Ash ended up deflating in pretty quick order once the stimulation was gone.

It was a relief when the sun started to go down, because at least they then had something to do. Now that she had some proper ingredients to work with, Misty set to work preparing dinner. In desperate need of something to keep his hands busy, Ash tried to help out the best that he could, only for Misty to tactfully suggest that he leave this work to her.

Dinner ended up being seasoned chicken, stewed green beans, and fried potatoes. Ash was sure that he would have no appetite, but to his relief, once he took the first bite he became intensely aware of just how hungry he was, and dug in with relish.

Afterward, they all pitched in to prepare the camp for the night. Dishes were washed, food was carefully packed away, the campfire extinguished and covered with dirt, and all supplies brought in. After that, they got cleaned up for bed. May was already naked (of course), so Ash and Misty stripped down, and the three of them headed down to the lake. For once, they kept things more or less chaste. Even when Misty helped Ash with his lotion, it seemed more casual than sensual.

Finally, after brushing their teeth and putting the last bit of their supplies safely away, they finally all wound up inside of Misty's tent, and May took great joy in unpacking their brand new three-person (and up) sleeping bag.

"Wow," Ash said, staring down once it had been unrolled. "That's…uh, that's-"

"Big," May finished for him, the side of her mouth slyly perking up.

Ash nodded. When the girls had told him about having purchased a new sleeping bag that could fit all three of them, he had expected one that was, perhaps, about twice the size of his own, one that maybe could fit a fully grown man.

This wasn't that. This was practically a king-sized mattress in size and shape, one that filled the entirety of Misty's tent and then some. And given the adjustable straps on its body, it might possibly be made to be even bigger.

"How many people are you expecting to squeeze in there?" Ash asked as he gestured down at the comfortable monstrosity. "There's only three of us, and you can probably cram at least two more kids in there!"

Letting out a bubbly giggle, May threw herself on top of the enormous sleeping bag. "Now you're getting the picture," she sighed as she stretched herself out fully.

Ash frowned. "Wait, what's that supposed to mean?"

"Ignore her," Misty sighed. "She's got this idea about you catching even more girls. Like we weren't in enough trouble already."

No kidding. Catching more girls was what got them into their current predicament.

"Well!" May purred, deftly swinging her legs around to move her naked body up so that she was now sitting on top of the sleeping bag, legs tucked in on other side. She gleefully clapped her hands and rubbed her palms together. "We're here, we're naked, so let's break her in!"

Well, Ash had no problem whatsoever with that idea, but before he dove in, a troubling thought occurred to him. "Wait, what about Jessie?" he said.

May's face fell. "Ash, really? Do you really got to-"

"Of course I do! She's still out there, and no matter what's going on, she's going to be looking for us!"

Misty sighed. "That's a good point, I hate to say. Maybe we could…set a watch? Take turns?"

Then Ash got an idea. He went over to where his belt was lying, unclipped one of the three pokeballs, expanded it, and popped it open. There was a flash of light, and Zubat materialized on his forearm.

"Oh, that's smart," May breathed.

Zubat turned his head this way and that, ears twitching. He chittered a question.

"Hey, buddy," Ash said. "Listen: I've got a really important mission for you, one that only you can do. Are you down for it?"

Zubat immediately straightened up. He spread wings and let out a shrill whistle.

Ash smiled. "Great! I knew I could count on you. All right, you remember Jessie, right? That-" Wait, did Zubat even know what Team Rocket even was? Presumably he should, given that they had invaded his home, but there was no way to parse out the finer details. "-that evil PokeGirl we were fighting?"

Zubat squeaked an affirmative.

"Well, she's back. She's somewhere in the forest, looking for us. So, I need you to keep watch while we're asleep. The moment you catch any sign of her, sound the alarm and wake us up, okay?"

Another affirmative whistle.

"All right, good," Ash said with a nod. "But here's the important part. Something weird happened to her, and she's been acting strange. I don't know what it is, but I don't want to take any chances. Do not attack her. Just wake us up immediately, understand?"

His wings drooping, Zubat let out a disappointed squeak.

"I know, you want to fight, but this is important! She's really tricky, so for now, play it safe, okay?"

Zubat eagerly bounced his tiny body up and down.

"Great! I knew I could count on you!" Ash opened the front of the tent and held his arm out. Zubat launched into the air and was gone, fluttering high in to the star-speckled sky.

"That was really smart," Misty observed. "He'll be able to hear her coming from miles away."

Ash beamed at the praise. "Thanks. I just hope he doesn't get hurt."

"He won't," Misty assured him, laying a hand on his shoulder. "The guy's a lech, but he's a smart lech."

"Then he's in good company," May stared. She then motioned impatiently to the pair. "Now, get down here already!"

Ash smiled, but acquiesced. He was about to kneel down, but May was already there, the beautiful brunette kneeling before him as she lustfully regarded his smooth little cock with hazy, half-lidded eyes. "Mmmm," she murmured, leaning in to gently kiss the throbbing tip.

As that was going on, another beautiful young girl sensually pressed her supple form against his back, the hard nubs of her nipples poking into the skin around Ash's shoulder blades. "Okay, trainer mine," Misty murmured, her soft lips brushing against the lobe of Ash's ear. "Ready yourself." Naked flesh met naked flesh, and Ash's shivered as wet kisses were planted on the back of his neck and shoulders.

Still on her knees, May leaned in toward Ash's cock, her bright blue eyes eager with naked desire. "Ah, here we go," she breathed as she ran her tongue up and down its length.

The erotic feel of May's mouth elicited a slow groan from Ash. His back involuntarily arched against the softness of Misty's body. She took immediate advantage, lunging in to capture his mouth with her own and drinking in his whimpers. Her tongue pushed itself in to dance against his.

Helpless against their ministrations, Ash found herself lowered down to the ground, ending up practically in Misty's lap with May's face buried in between his legs. Misty's strong arms wrapped around his heaving body as they continued to kiss.

Ash could have let himself drift away then, to just surrender himself to the warmth of both of these lovely girls' soft mouths, but then Misty pulled away from him. Disappointed, he instinctively tried to follow her, wanting her lips to return to his.

Giggling, Misty laid a finger against his nose to push him back. Mystified, Ash settled back, wondering what she had in mind.

He got his answer when she crawled around his body on all fours, her delectable rear cheerfully swaying back and forth, to hunch down next to May. The older PokeGirl took notice and smiled around her mouthful of cock. She scooted over, making way for her first master.

Leaning back on his elbows, Ash stared down his bare body at the pair. "Um, girls?" he said. "What are you-"

Misty and May each placed a hand on one of his thighs, moving his legs further apart. Then, in tandem, they both moved in, Misty's mouth closing over Ash's engorged glans while May ran her tongue up and down the base.

Ash's whole body buck as he gasped. "Guys," he moaned as the heat was brought to its bursting point. "I'm…This is-"

It did. Ash erupted, ejaculating burst after burst all over Misty and May's faces, leaving them streaked with gooey white strands.

"Wow," May said, blinking in surprise as Ash fell back panting. She reached up to touch a fingertip to the warm semen coating her face. "Was that our first facial? Because I think that was our first facial!"

"I think it was," Misty responded. "Huh."

"Still. Can't say I hated it."

"Me neither."

The two glanced over to each other, and then exchanged twin smiles.

Though he was still caught up in the post-orgasmic haze, Ash immediately came out of it when, to his delight, Misty and May moved toward one another, kissing deeply and using their tongues to lick each other's faces clean.

"Well, that was fun," May remarked as they parted. "But I don't think we're done just yet."

Ash blinked stupidly up at her. "I, uh, kind of…finished, though."

Misty snorted. "No, you didn't. You just need a recharge."

"Recharge? What-"

Reaching over, Misty picked up the metal canteen of BoosterAde. She then scooted over to sit back on her haunches right behind Ash, propping him up so that he was leaning back into her lap.

"Here you go," she said, bringing the canteen to his lips. "Got to stay hydrated. May?"

As Ash greedily soothed his parched throat, May went to work. She stood fully to her feet between Ash's legs, spread her own legs, and, to Ash's equal parts confusion and enjoyment, began running her fingers up and down her pussy.

Pushing the canteen away, Ash frowned up at her. "Are you going to squirt on me or something?"

"Something like that!" Grinning, May held up her hand, which now glistened with her own juices. "Misty? Your turn."

Setting Ash back down, Misty crawled back over to May as the other girl got down onto her knees. Ash then noticed that Misty had a hand between her legs, playing with her sex just as May had done with her own.

"There's a lot of different ways to help trainers keep up with their PokeGirls," May explained as the two girls both held up their arousal-slicked hands. "One is the very cool fact that PokeGirl pussy juice acts as a natural aphrodisiac! The more you get smeared onto you, the more gas you have in the tank!"

"So, let's top you off," Misty said with a mischievous grin.

The two then went to work, rubbing, caressing and squeezing Ash's shrunken penis, coating it with a layer of their own juices. It worked. Electric pleasure so hot that it was almost painful surged through Ash's body, chasing away any trace of fatigue and filling him with vigor. His penis swelled up to its full length, ready and willing to perform.

"There we go!" Misty said, giving it an affectionate pat. "Now, you already gave me a pretty good pounding earlier, and we had lots of fun in the mountain. So, I'm thinking May here needs a little attention." She nodded to the brunette. "May? Assume the position!"

"Yes, ma'am!" May turned away from Ash, hunkering down on her forearms and knees, her butt stuck into the air. The implication was clear.

"C'mon," May purred as she fetchingly waggled her luscious ass back and forth. "Like we did in the hotel room. Only for real this time."

Nodding numbly, Ash levered himself up onto his knees. Positioning himself behind her, he took one firm cheek in one hand and grasped the length of his cock in the other. From there, he pressed the tip against May's velvety crotch, feeling around until it started to slide into her opening.

"Oh," May sighed as Ash entered her. She began to lightly rotate her hips around, helping Ash delve deeper. "Mmmm. There he is. There's my champion."

His eyes screwed shut in concentration, Ash now covered both cheeks in his hands and eased himself further and further into her heat, until he was fully enveloped in that tight, wet sheath. As he did, a shadow fell over his face.

Ash opened his eyes. May now stood facing him over May's ass, her legs hugging the older girl's thighs and her drooling crotch now level with Ash's face. "Hey, don't forget me," she murmured, reaching down to part her lower lips with two fingers.

Well, it would seem that the time had come to learn how to multi-task. Keeping one hand on May's ass cheek for balance, he reached up to grab onto Misty's ass as well, bringing her puffy pussy over to his mouth. His nostrils filled with her pungent musk, while his tongue flickered out, lapping at that sweet and sour taste.

With two different muscular members buried into the sexes of two different girls, Ash set to work, thrusting in and out of May while his tongue wormed his way deep into Misty as well. Soon the tent was filled with the wet schlaps of his thighs slapping against May's and the mingled cries and moans of both girls as their trainer saw to their needs.

As someone who hadn't given much thought to sex until it literally fell into his lap, Ash never really knew how much of a workout it could be. But in his chest beat the heart of a champion, one that determined to fight to better himself in all regards. This was just another part of his training, one that would reforge him into someone stronger than ever before. He ignored the burning in his thighs, pushing on to keep thrusting and to keep licking. Nothing mattered other than the other kind of warmth, the one that grew hotter and hotter every second that he was in contact with his girls.

So deep was his concentration that when the climax hit, he almost didn't notice until his hot seed was spurting into May. He cried out into Misty's pussy and would have fell over were it not for how she was holding his head steady. Even then, he tried to keep licking.

"Ash, it's okay," Misty said with a happy laugh. "I already came."

She did? Man, Ash hadn't even noticed. That was good. Time to collapse.

As Ash let his exhausted body droop down, Misty and May were there to see to his needs just as he had seen to theirs. One cradled his limp body as he fell back. The cool metal of the canteen pressed against his lips, and Ash drank greedily, quenching his thirst.

Then he felt something cool, soft, and moist press against him. Cracking one eye open, he saw Misty and May kneeling on either side of his spent body, wiping it down with white wipes.

"Uh…"

"Remember that morning in the hotel room?" Misty said. She pinched the tip of Ash's deflated penis and lifted it up to thoroughly wipe it down. "And how smelly it was?"

"Post-sex hygiene is important!" May declared, cleaning all the sweat and other fluids from Ash's stomach.

Well, that made some measure of sense. Keeping his eyes closed, Ash lay back, letting the girls do their work. When they were done, Ash was lifted up just enough to be slipped into the warm embrace of the sleeping bag. He was utterly spent, yes, but also just so comfortable and so content. The new sleeping bag was not only larger than the cast-off that Nurse Joy had found for him, but so much softer, like drifting off to sleep in an Altaria's wings.

The fabric rustled on either side, and soon he was gathered into Misty's arms while May spooned him from behind. Sighing, he laid his own arm across Misty's hips. A soft mouth pressed against his, and he felt his head tilted back just enough to be kissed by another.

Soon, all three were happily drifting off in each other's arms. But as they did, Ash found a curious thought worming its way into his sleepy mind.

Misty had mentioned something about May wanting him to catch even more girls. While a silly thought, Jessie was also his PokeGirl. And if she was telling the truth about losing her memories, if she truly wanted to reform, and if (and this was a long if) the other two girls could be convinced to give her a chance, then might it be possible that he would be sharing that extra large sleeping bag with three girls instead of just two? Even when naked, Ash had never found Jessie attractive, but that was mostly because she had such an ugly soul. But now that ugliness was gone, and thinking back, she was very pretty when her face wasn't twisted up into a sneer and she wasn't actively trying to kill them all.

Ash wasn't sure how he felt about that idea, but it stuck in the back of his mind as he succumbed to the darkness.

…

Outside, despite his instructions, Zubat was not patrolling the area in search of the enemy. He was instead perched atop the tent, large ears pointed down, listening in on every salacious bit and enjoying himself immensely.

The last few days had been quite the learning experience for Zubat. He never really had much experience with humans, his flock living in one of the deeper caverns of the mountain. But hearing his master enjoying time with his mates had made Zubat realize all sorts of things about himself, mainly being his taste for the sounds of humans mating. Nidoran, he knew, found it annoying, but Zubat most certainly did not.

Finally, the squishing and moaning ceased, and there was nothing but the human pups' soft breathing. Zubat smiled. He didn't know how often he was going to be able to indulge in his newly discovered voyeuristic impulses, but he was determined to enjoy each time.

But the time for being a lech (as Misty called it) was over. Now it was time to get to work.

Zubat spread his wings and took flight.

…

The mountain was collapsing, and Misty and May were slipping away from him.

"Ash, help!" they cried as they slid down the steep slope. Down below, a massive crevice yawned, ready to devour them.

"Wait!" Ash threw himself down and reached for their grasping hands. "Hold on! I got you!"

But he was too late. Eyes wide in terror, they slipped from his grasp to be swallowed up by the mountain, the cavern filling with the sound of their screams.

Ash jolted up, gasping in time with his racing heart. But the shrill screams continued.

"Misty?" he mumbled as he fumbled around. "May? Are you-"

His hand found a bare shoulder to one side and a naked breast on the other. Moments later, the two were moving up.

"Ash?" May inquired.

Oh, thank the Three. It had just been a dream. But why was that screaming continuing?

Wait, no, it wasn't screaming. More like shrieking, as if-

Zubat!

"Jessie," Ash breathed.

A moment later, all three of them were scrambling out of the sleeping back. Ash dressed in a hurry, grabbing the clothes he had set aside and yanking them on.

"Ash, is this really the time?" May said in exasperation. "Who's even going to see except-Oh, come on, Misty! You too?"

Misty paused, her shirt partially zipped up. She pursed her lips, drew the zipper down, and let the shirt drop back to the ground.

Meanwhile, Ash ignored May's protests and finished buckling up his pants. "Let's go," he said, grabbing his hat and putting it on. Now dressed for battle, he and the two naked PokeGirls headed outside.

It was still in the early hours of the morning, but the sun had risen enough to bathe the clearing in a gentle warm light. All around, the morning birds were filling the air with their cries, drowned out by the shrieking of one frenzied Zubat, who was circling over the tent as he continued to the sound alarm. When he saw the three human children emerge, he stopped his screeching and swooped down to land on Ash's arm to chitter anxiously at him.

"Okay, we're up!" Ash said, "Good job. Now, where is she?"

Zubat extended a wing out and chittered again.

Then Misty's hand came down on his other arm, her fingers digging into his bicep. "Ash," she said in warning.

Ash looked up. His mouth thinned out.

There was Jessie, still completely naked and still completely bald. She sat in the grass, huddled up in a tight ball, her knees brought up and legs mashing against her breasts, arms hugging her shins tight. Jessie's shoulders were shaking. She seemed to be crying.

Ash recalled Zubat, and the three children slowly approached the weeping woman. Ash kept his hand near his other two pokeballs, ready to bring out his warriors.

"Jessie?" he ventured as they drew near.

Jessie sniffled, and she raised her head to look at them, tears streaking her cheeks. "Uh, hi," she said.

"Where have you been?" Misty asked.

"Hiding. And, uh, crying. A lot." Jessie wiped her eyes with her wrist. "Listen: I know you don't believe me, but I truly, honestly can't remember anything. I don't know if I hit my head or what. But, was I really…evil? Was I really a bad guy?"

"Yes," May said flatly.

"You're part of Team Rocket," Misty added. "They're like the worst criminal organization in all of Kanto!"

Jessie withdrew deeper into her little ball. "Uh, would you get mad at me if I asked what a Kanto is?"

May began to sputter, and before the yelling began, Ash quickly jumped in. "It's the name of the region where we are," he said. "Kanto region. It's out home."

"Oh."

"Plus, you did try to kill all three of us," Misty added. "A lot."

If Misty had reared back and slapped Jessie right across the face, she probably would have hurt her less. The older woman gasped, the shock and horror on her face as naked as the rest of her.

And then she began to cry.

The three children watched in discomfort as Jessie sobbed into her arms. It wasn't the small, quiet weeping that adults often did in vain attempts to hide the fact that they were crying. It wasn't even childish sniffling. It was open, unashamed bawling: big, ugly sobs that spoke of the deepest of pain and misery from someone who didn't care who knew it, ones so strong that she started hiccupping.

"I'm s-s-sorry," she moaned. "I'm s-so sorry! I don't…I d-d-don't…I don't wanna be a monster! Oh God, I don't wanna be a monster!"

Ash glanced over to Misty in hopes that she would know what to do. Judging by how her face twisted up, she did not. Neither did May. The three of them just stood and watched as a grown woman, who not too long ago had basically been their arch-nemesis, cried like a baby.

He wanted to comfort her. Yes, she had done some truly terrible things to himself and Misty, but at the end of the day, she was still his PokeGirl, and his PokeGirl was hurting. He began to move forward, only for Misty to seize him by the sleeve. The two locked eyes, and Misty shook her head. Gritting his teeth, Ash stepped back.

In time, Jessie began to calm down, her sobs easing into small whimpers. Ash still felt like a total heel for just standing there and watching her, but he did.

Finally, Misty shook her head and said, "Okay, we need to talk. Ash? Tell her to stay put."

"What?" Ash blinked. Why would-Oh. Right. "Oh yeah. Jessie? Stay right there, okay?"

Her face still nestled in her arms, Jessie nodded and said, "Yes, master."

May bit down on her inner cheeks. Misty turned her head while mouthing the word wow.

As for Ash, he had nothing to say at all.

The three of them walked until they were out of earshot of their possibly ex-nemesis and now extremely real problem. "Okay, here's the deal," May said once they had stopped. "She's not lying. Whatever happened to her in that mountain, it definitely reset her to factory settings."

Ash felt his heart lift ever so slightly. "Really? Is that even possible?"

"Yes," May said flatly. "I've read up on cases. Some of the more mystical types, like psychic or fairy or dark, can wipe out certain memories. It's tricky and really, really dangerous, but it's possible."

"Remember that Nurse Joy that helped you?" Misty said. "Remember how I said she looked all out of it, and we figured that Team Rocket had scrambled her memories?"

Ash's throat tightened. He nodded.

"Well, sometimes it can go too far, and the PokeGirl gets completely wiped," May continued. "There was this one case during the Galar tournaments a few years back where that happened. They managed to bring her back, but for a while, she couldn't even remember her own name."

"Wow," Ash said softly. He had long learned to trust May when it came to PokeGirl knowledge. "That's pretty wild."

Misty frowned. "So, is she going to remember who she is?"

"I…I don't know," May admitted. "The one I read about? They had to work pretty hard to fix her, and I don't think it was a sure thing. I think the experts said that if they didn't, then there was a good chance that she would've been stuck like that."

The three of them all looked back to where Jessie was waiting. The amnesiac woman still huddled in a ball, and had begun gently rocking back and forth.

"Okay, so, we got a really powerful PokeGirl with no memories, who used to be an evil criminal who's tried to kill us all a bunch of times," Misty said. "But for now, she's…"

"Innocent," Ash said.

"Well, I was going to say a blank slate, but I guess…"

"What do we do with her?" May asked. "Because I know what I said earlier, but I don't think even I feel like wasting her now."

"Me neither," Misty sighed. "I mean, the Jessie from before? I wouldn't like it, but I think I could do it. This Jessie?" She shook her head.

"Ash, do you still have her human ball?" May asked.

Ash nodded. "Yeah, but it's toast." He pulled it out of his pocket. The previous day, he had given it as much of a cleaning as he could to get the smell out, but nothing would fix the damage.

The girls both grimaced. "Okay, we can't leave her by herself," Misty said. "We can't hand her over to the police. We can't let Team Rocket get their hands on her. We can't kill her. And we can't even recall her until something smart comes along."

May's face fell. "I don't like where this is going."

Ash took a deep breath. "Well, it's starting to look-"

"Ash, please don't say it," May begged.

"-like we don't have a choice-"

"I mean it, Ash! Don't say it!"

"-except to bring-"

"Ash!"

…

"I can't tell you guys how much I appreciate you letting me come along!" Jessie said as the four of them hiked their way down the path toward Cerulean City.

"Don't mention it," Misty said, staring dead ahead with hollow eyes. "To anyone. Please."

"Oh, but I need to!" Jessie happily responded. "I just feel so…so light on my feet! I get to be with my wonderful master Ash! Isn't it the same for you? How can you not tell everyone how happy you are!"

May shot Ash a look. Ash didn't meet her eyes, though his face did twist up into a grimace.

It really was the only choice available to them. With all other options out of the question, they were pretty much forced to bring her along. However, with no working human ball to keep her in, that meant traveling with her out in the open. That was uncomfortable enough, but since they didn't have any clothes that fit her, that meant that their party had become three fully clothed preteen children and one completely naked and completely bald woman. While sending a PokeGirl along with underaged children to keep them safe wasn't unheard of, in those instances usually some effort was made to dress her a little more modestly than was customary. This was really going to be hard to explain once they reached civilization, or met anybody along the way.

But what was proving to be even more of a problem was Jessie's disposition. In contrast to her earlier misery, once Jessie had been told that she would be accompanying her master for the foreseeable future, her mood had immediately perked up, and now she was nothing but cheery.

Perhaps a little too cheery.

Like, aggressively so.

"So, are you two Ash's PokeGirls too?" Jessie inquired. "I saw that you were naked earlier, so I thought to myself, huh, I bet that they're all part of his harem!"

Ash really wished that she would stop talking.

"Yes," Misty said, staring dead ahead.

"Oh, swell! That's great; that's really great! I knew he must be a wonderful trainer to have so many other pretty girls! You two can show me the ropes, then! What sort of food he likes, his sense of humor, how he likes having his cock sucked, everything I need to know!"

A pained look passed over May's face. "This is getting weird," she muttered under her breath. "Even for me."

"Were you two criminals as well?" Jessie asked.

"No!" Misty snapped.

"Well, if you want to get technical about it," May muttered.

"Shut! Up! May!"

"Okay!" Jessie sang. "Hey, can I carry your stuff? It feels weird with me not helping out."

Both Ash and May instinctively seized the straps of their backpacks. "No," Misty said.

"Okay! Just let me know if you want me to help."

"Will do," Ash muttered.

They continued on for a bit in blessed silence, broken only by the sound of Jessie's contented humming. Ash didn't recognize the song, but at least she wasn't-

"Ninety-nine bottles of beer on the wall, ninety bottles of beer!" Jessie sang. "You take one down, pass it around…sing with me! Ninety-eight bottles of beer on the wall!"

May buried her face in her hands. Misty sighed. As for Ash, he didn't react in the slightest, other than to realize that, to his horror, he was beginning to miss it when Jessie was evil.