Jessie, James, and Meowth arrived in Sinnoh today, but they didn't get the luxury of being in the Matori Matrix ship, or in the other ship. They came their own way. Did they need to? No. They came early, thinking that if they did, they could make new bases here in Sinnoh and get extra credit from the boss.
But after using a water bike all the way from Hoenn to Sinnoh, they regretted it almost immediately. At some point in the middle, Jessie brought out Wobbuffet to pedal for her, which sucked for James and Meowth.
"That's no fair, us Pokémon ain't got no other Pokémon to do the dirty work…" Meowth muttered.
"Then suck it up!" Jessie snapped, leaning forward as she pedaled, "We need to get there faster anyway, so pedal harder!"
Meowth groaned, his little paws struggling against the pedals, "Easy for you ta say! Ya got Wobbuffet doin' it for ya!"
Wobbuffet continued pedaling behind Jessie, looking absolutely miserable as it did so.
James, meanwhile, was quietly pedaling beside them, his eyes half-lidded from exhaustion, "I wonder why I don't have a Pokémon that can pedal for me…"
He suddenly stopped. James blinked and thought about it, "Wait…"
He reached into his coat and pulled out a Poké Ball, "Oh yeah. I could have just asked Gyarados to take us there."
There was a long, uncomfortable silence as Jessie and Meowth slowly stopped pedaling. Very slowly, they turned their heads toward James. Both stared at him with the kind of expression that suggested they were seriously considering murder.
James smiled nervously, "Now, before either of you gets angry, I can expl-"
Jessie pressed the button on the Poké Ball before he could finish, and she called out, "Gyarados! Take us the rest of the way!"
The Poké Ball opened in a flash of light, "GYAAAAAAAAAARADOS!" Gyarados emerged with a massive roar, towering over the three of them.
James immediately looked nervous, "Ah…"
Gyarados looked around for a moment before spotting James. Its eyes lit up, "Gyaa!"
"Oh, hello there, buddy-" Before James could finish, Gyarados lunged forward and wrapped itself around him.
"W-Wait! Gyarados!" It lifted James into the air, completely ignoring his protests.
Unfortunately, Jessie, Meowth, and Wobbuffet were still attached to the water bike.
"HEY!" Jessie shouted as the bike was suddenly dragged forward, "WAIT!"
Meowth's eyes widened, "Oh, no…"
Wobbuffet let out a startled cry, "WOOOOOBBBBBUUUUFFET!"
Gyarados took off. The water bike shot across the water at ridiculous speed before Gyarados suddenly veered toward the shoreline.
"JESSIE!" James screamed.
"JAMES!"
"WHY ARE WE GOING TOWARD THE LAND?!"
Gyarados didn't seem to care. It flew over the shoreline and straight into the forest, dragging everyone along with it.
Branches whipped past their faces as Jessie screamed, Meowth clung desperately to the bike, Wobbuffet was dragged along behind them, and James was being squeezed tightly against Gyarados's body.
"GYARADOS! SLOW DOWN!" James shouted.
It did not slow down. Eventually, Gyarados finally came to a stop, landing heavily in the middle of several trees. The water bike was wedged between two branches. Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet were all tangled up in the branches.
There was a moment of silence. Jessie's eye twitched, Meowth groaned, Wobbuffet was upside down, and James slowly peeled himself out of Gyarados's coils.
"Okay…" James muttered, "So, now you understand why I didn't call Gyarados out immediately."
"Now he tells us," Meowth said slowly before falling on his face, and Wobbuffet fell on him not long after.
Thankfully, Chimecho came out of the Poké Ball and healed them with a little melody, so they all got back up. James thanked Chimecho, putting it around his neck like a scarf, and then he returned Gyarados to its ball.
Soon after, Mime Jr. and Cubone both came out of James' and Jessie's Poké Balls and looked around with them.
"So where are we?" Jessie asked, looking around as she held Cubone in both her arms.
"Beats me," Meowth said, "I don't even know what forest we're in."
But James looked around and saw a tree. He went over to it and felt it. As he stopped, he said, "Wait a minute…"
"What's up, Jimmy?" Meowth asked, but James didn't answer right away.
He pulled out a Poké Ball and tossed it out, and from it came Growlie, who wagged his tail and nuzzled against James' leg.
James rubbed his head, then he pointed at the tree, "Hey, Growlie, doesn't this tree seem familiar?"
Growlie tilted his head, then looked at the tree. He walked over and sniffed it, then he barked and wagged his tail.
Jessie looked over at Meowth, and he translated, "He's saying that this is one of the trees he marked a long time ago."
James smiled, "I knew it! Growlie lead us to our 2nd summer cottage!" James said, pointing out, and Mime Jr. copied his pose.
Growlie nodded and took off, and James followed, making the rest of them follow. Eventually, they got to the gate of a cottage in the forest that James looked excited to see. He walked up and quickly put in a code, opening the gate.
He led the others inside, where the cottage was full and newly furnished, with TVs and all kinds of things. Standing in the center of the room, dusting the lights, was a man that James recognized, Mr. Cheeves, the Estate Manager of this specific cottage.
Mr. Cheeves looked over, saw James, and smiled, "James? Is that you? It's been so long. You've grown up. You should have called; I would have prepared lunch!"
Then Growlie ran up to his leg and jumped, making Cheeves chuckle and lean down to rub the dog behind the ears, "And of course I didn't forget about you, Growlie. Have you been keeping the young master safe?"
Growlie barked and nodded.
"Oh, that reminds me," Cheeves said as he clapped his hands, "Your Pokémon has been helping out too. I didn't want to keep it cooped up in its Poké Ball."
From the hallway, a Carnivine looked out while it was holding a duster, and when it looked at James, it immediately dropped everything and ran towards him, jumping up, then hugging him and biting down on his head.
"Haha! Carnivine, I missed you too!" James said happily. The biting didn't even bother him anymore. Compared to his other two Grass-types, this was manageable.
Jessie gave James a small nudge with her elbow, snapping him out of his reunion with Carnivine, "James."
James blinked, then looked over at her before his eyes widened slightly, "Oh! Right!" He gently pulled Carnivine off his head and looked toward Mr. Cheeves, "Mr. Cheeves, could you possibly make us some food? We just got here, and after everything we've been through today, I think we're all starving."
"Of course, young master!" Cheeves said happily, immediately turning toward the kitchen, "I'll prepare something right away! You must all be exhausted after your journey."
"Thank you!" James said with a smile as Jessie, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Mime Jr., Cubone, and Growlie all followed him farther into the cottage.
Cheeves stopped for a moment and turned back toward James, "Oh, that reminds me. You should probably call your parents and let them know you've arrived safely. I believe they're in Sinnoh right now as well, along with Miss Jessiebell."
James immediately froze, his smile disappeared, "...No."
Cheeves blinked, "No?"
James hurried over and grabbed Cheeves by the shoulders, "Please don't call them!"
Cheeves stared at him in surprise, "Young master?"
"Please, Mr. Cheeves!" James begged, his voice becoming increasingly desperate, "Don't tell them I'm here! I don't want them to know I came to Sinnoh!"
Jessie raised an eyebrow while Meowth crossed his arms, watching the scene with amusement.
Cheeves looked between James and the others, clearly confused, "But why? Surely your parents would be delighted to know their son has arrived."
"They would be delighted to know exactly where I am so they can come drag me back home!" James exclaimed, "And if Jessiebell finds out I'm here, she'll probably try to marry me again!"
Jessie winced, "Yeah, that's probably something we should avoid."
Meowth nodded, "Definitely."
James continued pleading, "Please, Mr. Cheeves! Just let them think I'm somewhere else! I only want to stay here for a little while, enjoy the cottage, and relax. I don't want them to know I'm in Sinnoh."
Cheeves stared at him for several seconds before sighing.
"Very well, young master," he said with a small smile, "I suppose I can keep your arrival here a secret."
James's eyes lit up, "Really?!"
"Really."
James immediately let go of him and breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you! Thank you so much!"
Cheeves chuckled and shook his head, "You haven't changed as much as I thought you had."
James smiled sheepishly. Jessie looked around the cottage, then grinned, "Well, if this place is anything like the last one, I think we've just found ourselves a pretty nice vacation spot."
Meowth looked around at the expensive furniture, massive television, fully stocked kitchen, and all the other amenities.
"Vacation spot?" Meowth said, "More like a mansion in the middle of nowhere!"
Mime Jr. jumped onto the couch and bounced around happily while Cubone climbed out of Jessie's arms and began looking around curiously. Growlie wandered around the room with his tail wagging, clearly just as happy to be back as James was.
Meanwhile, James sank into his seat because of what Cheeves said. They were already in Sinnoh, so that means he might have to deal with them again, and he does not want that, not at all. He'd rather marry Jessie-I mean, what? You didn't hear anything. You're crazy.
—
{Meanwhile with Ash}
Ash dragged Dawn and Verity out of the hotel bright and early to go back into Route 202. Well, Dawn was pretty easy to convince. He just woke her up and told her to do her hair, then they'd be off.
For Verity, Ash had to actually carry her out. She didn't even do her hair, and Ash had to drag her to Dawn so that Dawn could take her to a bathroom to brush her teeth.
Eventually, they got out, and Ash took them to near the start of the Route, and so started the training from Hell program again. This time, there was no asking. They were both being put into it because Ash knew that there was Galactic, and those guys were crazy. It was bad enough he lost Brock early, so he has to make sure everyone else gets strong too.
So before the two fools knew it, it turned from a chill time training and going to catch Pokémon, to a boot camp where they were even forced to join in. After all, you yourself also play a part in how strong your Pokémon are, so they couldn't be weak either.
Now Dawn was more willing to agree to the training, than lets say, May was back when Ash trained her in Hoenn. Her biggest gripe with the training was that Ash didn't tell her this is what they were gonna do, otherwise she would have put on exercise clothes.
But Verity, she was dying on the ground next to her Piplup. The schedule went as follows: they would get a warm-up for 2 hours, then Ash would make them have breakfast, and then more training.
By the time they finished the first 2 hours, Verity nearly collapsed as Ash started cooking breakfast, since food was also very important.
Meanwhile, Verity was sprawled across the ground, her arms and legs spread out as if she had just been defeated in battle. Beside her, Piplup was in nearly the exact same position, the little Pokémon panting heavily with his flippers stretched out.
Ash finished setting up a small cooking area and was preparing breakfast, casually humming to himself as he cooked, while his Pokémon were helping out.
Dawn sat nearby, wiping the sweat from her forehead while her Piplup drank some water. She was exhausted too, but at least she was still conscious, though she still looked slightly sad she had to do this in her outfit.
Verity slowly lifted her head. She looked at Ash, then at the food, and back at Ash. Then, with what little strength she had left, she began crawling toward him.
Ash glanced over his shoulder, "Uh...Verity?"
She continued crawling.
"Verity?" Ash asked as he noticed her getting close to him
She kept crawling, and eventually, she reached him, wrapped both arms around his leg, and simply held on.
Ash blinked. Dawn covered her mouth, already trying not to laugh.
Verity looked up at Ash with the most miserable expression imaginable, "Please...have mercy..."
Ash stared down at her, "You've been training for two hours."
"Two hours too many..."
"You're exaggerating."
"I am dying."
"You're talking, so clearly you're not."
Verity tightened her grip around his leg, "Ash, please...why do I have to do this?!"
Ash sighed and put down the cooking utensil for a moment, "Because you're a Pokémon Trainer?"
"That's not a good enough reason!"
"It absolutely is."
"No, it isn't!"
Ash crouched down and poked her directly on the forehead, "Then let me ask you something."
Verity blinked.
Ash poked her again, "When we met almost three years ago in Kanto, you were stronger than this."
"Hey!"
Ash poked her again anyway, "You could actually kinda keep up with me."
Then he poked her again, "And now you're struggling after two hours of basic conditioning. We did more when I just got Charmander."
"Stop poking me!"
Ash switched from pointing at her and grabbed her cheeks, pulling them outward, "So what happened?"
"Mmph!" Verity struggled as Ash pulled her cheeks
Dawn finally started laughing.
Verity struggled against Ash's hands, "Mmph! Ash!"
Ash released her cheeks.
Verity rubbed them and glared at him, "You're mean."
"I'm asking a serious question."
"I don't know!"
Ash raised an eyebrow.
Verity looked away.
Ash narrowed his eyes, "Verity."
"...What?"
"Have you been training?"
There was a long silence. Verity's eyes shifted toward the side.
Ash's eyebrow twitched, "Verity."
"...Maybe?"
"How much?"
"...Some?"
"How much is some?"
Verity scratched the back of her head.
"Like..." She paused, "...A little?"
Ash stared at her, and Verity smiled nervously, but Ash did not look amused. Verity's smile slowly disappeared.
"Okay, fine!" She threw her hands up, "I haven't really been training!"
Dawn blinked, "Wait, really?"
Verity crossed her arms, looking embarrassed, "I mean...I did some training!"
Ash nodded, "Again, how much?"
"Enough."
"That's not an answer."
"Fine! Not enough!"
Ash sighed, "Why?"
Verity's face became red. She looked away, "Because..."
Ash waited.
Verity shuffled her feet, "Because I was waiting for you."
Ash raised an eyebrow as Verity nodded, still refusing to look him in the eyes, "Yeah."
"Why?"
"Because..." She hesitated, "Because I figured when you finally got to Sinnoh, we'd train together again."
Verity's face turned even redder, "I mean, we trained together before, and it was fun! And when I trained with you, I got a lot stronger, so I figured I'd just wait until you got here," she admitted.
Ash felt his eye twitch, but he let out a slow sigh, "Fine, I get that, but you really fell behind. We have a lot of work if we wanna get you back to where you were."
Ash stood back up, "So, breakfast first."
Verity's eyes lit up, "Then we rest?"
"No."
Her eyes widened, "Then what?"
"More training."
Verity's face went completely blank.
Dawn immediately started laughing, "You should have seen that coming."
Verity slowly turned toward her, "You're enjoying this way too much."
Dawn smiled, "A little."
Ash turned back toward the food, "Besides, you said you wanted to train with me, didn't you?"
Verity froze, then she looked away again, her face becoming slightly red, "...Yeah."
Ash smiled, "Then you're getting exactly what you asked for, but be careful what you wish for~"
Verity groaned and buried her face in her hands, "I should have just stayed in the hotel."
Dawn patted her shoulder, "Too late."
Verity's Piplup also waddled over and hugged Verity's leg.
Verity looked down at her partner, "Even you agree?"
Piplup nodded, making Verity sigh, "Traitor."
Ash laughed as he finished cooking and began handing out plates, "Come on, eat. You need the energy."
Verity immediately perked up, "Food!" She practically launched herself toward the plate.
Ash raised an eyebrow, "You're sure you were dying?"
Verity was already eating, "Food fixes everything, and man, this is as good as I remember."
Dawn nodded as she began eating too, "That is surprisingly true."
Ash sat down with his own plate, watching the two of them.
After a few moments, Verity slowed down and looked at Ash, "Hey, Ash?"
"Yeah?"
"Seriously...how long is this training going to last?"
Ash thought about it for a moment, then pointed at them, "Until you two catch a Pokémon."
"Oh, that's easy!" Verity stood up excitedly, looking around quickly, and saw a Bidoof chilling under a tree.
She pointed at it, "Piplup, quick! Let's beat that one and then we can relax!"
Piplup looked up next to the other two Piplup, his mouth was still full of food. He quickly swallowed and scurried over next to Verity.
Verity put one hand on her hip and smiled confidently, "Alright, Piplup! Let's show Ash that I haven't gotten rusty!"
Piplup nodded confidently, "Piplup!"
Ash raised an eyebrow, "You sure about that?"
Verity looked over at him, "Absolutely. Just watch."
Dawn smiled, "This should be interesting."
Verity pointed dramatically toward the Bidoof, "Piplup! Let's start with-"
Piplup suddenly took off running.
"Piplup, wait!" Verity shouted.
Piplup tried to stop, but his little feet slipped against the grass. He stumbled forward, spun around twice, then tripped over his own feet and face-planted directly into the dirt.
"Pip..." Piplup groaned, lying completely flat on his face.
Verity slowly lowered her arm, as it seemed like none dared to move. A slight breeze passed.
Pikachu's cheeks puffed up as he desperately tried not to laugh, while Vee covered his mouth with his paws. Even the other Pokémon nearby were looking away, their bodies visibly shaking as they struggled to keep themselves from laughing.
Verity's eye twitched, "...Piplup?"
Piplup slowly lifted his head, his face covered in dirt, "Pip..."
Verity stared at him in disbelief, "What was that?"
Piplup shook his head, trying to get the dirt off himself.
Verity quickly recovered, "Okay! That was just a warm-up! Let's try that again."
Ash covered his mouth with one hand. Dawn was already struggling not to laugh.
Verity pointed toward the Bidoof again, "Piplup, use [Peck]!"
Piplup charged forward again, this time with considerably more confidence. He raised his beak and prepared to strike, but then tripped on a rock and fell on his face again.
The Bidoof looked at him. Bidoof slowly blinked, then it simply turned around and started walking away.
Verity's jaw dropped, "HEY! COME BACK!"
The Bidoof didn't even look back. It just continued walking away to the forest, and Verity stared after it, completely dumbfounded.
Ash's shoulders were shaking. Dawn had both hands over her mouth now, trying desperately not to burst out laughing.
Pikachu finally couldn't hold it anymore and let out a small snicker, "Pika...pfft!"
With Pikachu losing control, Vee lost his next, then several of Ash's Pokémon started laughing, and even Dawn finally lost it, doubling over as she laughed, kicking her feet in the air.
"I'm sorry!" Dawn managed between laughs, "I'm sorry, but it just walked away!"
Verity turned around, her face bright red, "STOP LAUGHING!"
Ash was trying to compose himself, but the grin on his face made it obvious he was failing miserably.
"I'm not laughing."
"You're literally laughing!"
"I am not."
"You are!"
Pikachu pointed toward the Bidoof, still laughing as he slapped his knee and pulled on Ash's jacket.
Ash nodded, "Yeah, I know. Apparently, even the wild Pokémon don't think you're worth fighting right now."
Verity's eye twitched, "...Ash."
Ash immediately raised his hands, "Okay, okay. I'm done."
Dawn wiped a tear from her eye, "Verity, I think that Bidoof just defeated you without even battling."
Verity crossed her arms, "It did not defeat me!"
Piplup slowly walked back over to her, still covered in dirt. Verity looked down at him, and Piplup looked up at her. There was a long silence between them.
"...We don't talk about this," Verity finally said.
"Pip." Piplup nodded.
"Never."
"Piplup." Piplup nodded again.
"Especially not with Ash."
Ash called from behind them, "I heard that."
Verity groaned and covered her face, going into a crouch, trying to make herself as small as possible, "This is going terribly."
Ash walked over and crouched beside her, finally getting his laughter under control, "Okay, okay. I'm not going to make fun of you anymore."
Verity peeked through her fingers, "Really?"
"Really."
She lowered her hands.
Ash smiled, "But we're definitely going to have to work on your footwork."
Verity's face fell, "I knew there was a catch."
"Yeah, yeah. Now come on, keep eating. You are gonna need it. Also, you better decide what Pokémon you're catching, 'cause you're gonna catch more Pokémon, and I am too. There are a few I want to get while I'm here."
"Ugh, so you already know what you want, and I don't even know what's around here," Verity said as she crossed her legs and kept chewing.
"That seems like it's on you," Ash said with a smirk.
Verity swallowed her food and crossed her arms, "Well, I was expecting you to tell me what was around here!"
Ash pointed toward the forest, "There are plenty of Pokémon around here."
"Which ones?"
"Pokémon."
Verity stared at him, and Ash smiled innocently.
Dawn immediately started giggling, "Oh, she's going to kill you."
Verity pointed at Ash, "You know exactly what I mean!"
Ash nodded, "Yep."
"Then tell me!"
"Nope."
Verity's eye twitched, "Why?"
"It's tradition, no cheating for your first catch," Ash said, "After, I can help you get whatever you want."
"Oh, can you help me get an Eevee like Vee?" Dawn immediately said, making Vee, who was laughing, immediately stop and look slowly at Dawn with fear in his eyes.
Ash shrugged, "Sure, not too hard," Ash said, making Vee immediately squeal in betrayal, looking at him.
"Wow, really!" Dawn said with sparkles in her eyes.
"Wait, if you can get Dawn an Eevee, can I get one too?" Verity asked, pointing at herself.
"Hmm, I dunno. Dawn kinda already called dibs. Surely Vee can only handle one extra Eevee per region," Ash said playfully, making Vee punch him quickly with his paws.
"Come on, Ash, please." Verity clasped her hands together.
"I'll think about it," Ash smirked and winked, "Maybe if you impress me, I'll consider it as your reward."
Verity's eyes immediately lit up, "Really?!"
Ash nodded, "Yep."
Verity immediately stood up, "Then I'll do it!"
Ash raised an eyebrow, "Do what?"
"Whatever it takes!" Verity said, suddenly looking much more motivated than she had five minutes ago.
Dawn giggled, "Wow, you really want an Eevee, huh?"
Verity nodded enthusiastically, "Yes! Have you seen Vee? He's adorable!"
Vee slowly backed away from them, looking increasingly concerned.
Ash chuckled, "Alright, alright. Then let's make this simple. You want an Eevee? Impress me."
Verity immediately pointed toward the forest, "Then let's go catch something!"
"Nope, first it's training, then when I let you go, you can try," Ash stopped her.
Meanwhile, Vee tugged on Ash's pant leg and looked up at him with an expression that practically screamed, 'Please don't do this to me.'
Ash held his laugh and looked innocently forward, making Vee start digging himself a hole to hide in.
When Ash was collecting plates, Dawn suddenly thought, "I wonder how Barry and Lucas are doing."
"Eh, they're probably fine," Verity said as she adjusted her hairband and just decided to let her hair down entirely.
"Yeah, you're probably right. Anyway, come on, let's keep going!" Dawn pumped both her fists.
—
{Meanwhile}
Barry and Lucas were running for their lives in the forest.
Lucas looked over at Barry, "How did we end up like this?"
"Just keep running!" Barry shouted back.
Meanwhile, behind them, there was an entire Luxray clan, with both Shinx and Luxio chasing after them as they were circling them.
Just a simple subplot.