"And that's how he saved me from the Beedrill swarm," Serena concluded, finishing her retelling of her "damsel in distress" moment with a dreamy sigh.
"He was so brave, standing up to all those fierce Bug-types! Of course, Professor Oak's amazing Dragonite was with him, but in my eyes, it was Ash who came to my rescue."
The reaction this time, however, was quite lacklustre.
"I didn't know Abra Teleportation had such glitches in the past," May muttered, not bothering to comment on the hero-saves-damsel aspect of Serena's backstory.
They all knew the general points already, and hearing it again didn't change the outcome.
"So, the hero appears, backed up by a full-grown Dragonite," Misty commented, tapping her chin thoughtfully.
"That really is a very Serena-esque way to remember an event. It's almost more interesting how your mind filters reality."
Dawn simply offered a polite, forced smile. "It was... very sweet, Serena."
Green, ever the pragmatist, merely shrugged.
"The basic template remains. The hero appears, even if he brings a deus ex machina Pokémon. Next."
Serena, though, didn't seem bothered by their muted responses.
Her attention was drawn toward the one who had orchestrated this entire gathering: the red-headed older girl, Jessie, the supposed adopted daughter of the legendary Trainer Red, and a newly acknowledged sibling of Ash.
Serena's sweet exterior hardened a fraction. She leaned forward, pinning the older girl with a sharp look.
"So now it's your turn, Jessie," Serena challenged, cutting through the comfortable, familiar air of their collective memory lane.
"You gathered us here. You claimed you have information. So tell us honestly."
"Tell us what is your true relationship with Father-in-law—and don't tell us Red just adopted you, we all know that's a political maneuver," Misty pressed, her arms crossed tightly.
"And what precise connection are you implying you have with Ash that gives you the right to call a meeting of his fiancées?"
Jessie merely smiled—a slow, confident, and slightly unsettling smile that didn't quite reach her cold, calculating eyes.
"Patience, little rivals," Jessie purred, enjoying the tension she had created.
She ran a hand through her vibrant red hair.
"You've all shared your little origin stories with your prince. Now, let me share mine."
She took a deliberate breath, letting the anticipation twist in the air before finally beginning.
"My relationship with the man you call 'Father-in-law'—Red—is quite simple."
Jessie leaned forward, her voice dropping to a conspiratorial whisper that nevertheless carried.
"He didn't just 'adopt' me; he bought me a lineage. My real family was... a liability he needed to erase."
The other girls exchanged stunned glances.
This was much darker than they expected.
"A liability?" Green repeated, her eyes narrowed. "What kind of Kanto politics are you dragging into this?"
"The kind that involves messy, old alliances and powerful families who hold grudges," Jessie clarified, a flicker of cold pride in her expression.
"Red needed an operative, someone loyal, and someone who could be directly tied to his influence without the messy paperwork of a true blood relation."
"But what does any of this have to do with Ash?"
Dawn demanded, her voice tight with impatience.
"We're here about our engagement, not your family's dark secrets."
Jessie's smile turned utterly dismissive.
"Oh, the drama! You all truly are obsessed with the narrative, aren't you?"
She paused, taking a sip of the drink on the table, watching their impatience boil over.
"I am simply what I told you I was, nothing more and nothing less," Jessie stated, her tone turning deliberately flat and boring.
"I am Jessie, Red's politically adopted daughter, and as of three weeks ago, Ash's very legal, very official older sister."
"And that's it?" May burst out, clutching her head in frustration.
"You called us all here for a dramatic reveal just to confirm a gossip item we already knew?"
Jessie shrugged, standing up, the dramatic tension draining out of the room like bathwater.
"What did you expect? Some grand conspiracy that makes your engagement suddenly null and void?"
"I expected the truth behind the sudden, baffling appearance of a new family member who is inserting herself into Ash's life after he's already engaged!"
Misty yelled, slamming her hand on the table.
Jessie walked towards the door, stopping only to look back at the four furious, disappointed women.
"Well, now you have it," she said, her voice dripping with mock sincerity.
"I'm just the adopted sister. But you should remember that in this world, 'adopted' doesn't mean powerless. It means chosen."
With a final, infuriating smile, Jessie left the room, leaving the fiancées in a shared, simmering rage, their meeting ending not with a revelation, but with an exasperating, infuriatingly empty cliffhanger.
........
...
As the first golden rays of the morning sun struck Ash's face, he stirred and woke up with a wide, satisfying yawn.
Pikachu, curled up beside him, stretched and yawned too. Both rubbed the sleep from their eyes.
"Hey Pikachu, why does it feel like we've been sleeping for a really long time?" Ash muttered, his voice thick with sleep.
"Pi pika chu," Pikachu replied, tilting his head. (Yeah, I feel the same for some reason.)
Ash shrugged off the odd feeling.
"Anyway, no time to worry about that now!"
He grabbed his tracksuit and a fresh shirt, setting them aside, and headed straight for the bedroom door with Pikachu on his shoulder.
The moment he reached the bottom of the stairs, the familiar scent of breakfast hit him, but something else was odd. His mother, Delia, was in the kitchen, but she wasn't alone.
"Morning, Mom! Wait... um Sister?" Ash greeted her, pausing abruptly in the doorway.
"Good morning, sweetheart! And good morning to you too, Pikachu," Delia chirped, beaming as she stirred a pot.
Standing right next to her, slicing fruit with unnatural precision, was Jessie.
She was wearing an apron over her clothes.
"Morning, little brother," Jessie said, her smile mischievous and just a little too sweet.
Ash, still half-asleep, was immediately confused.
"What are you doing up this early? And... where are the others? Usually, May or Serena are the first ones down here to help you, Mom."
Delia smiled warmly at her son.
"Oh, the girls just stayed up late last night so, They're still sleeping."
Jessie finished slicing a perfectly round piece of fruit and glanced at Ash with a wicked glint in her eyes.
"They needed the rest. They had a very intense meeting yesterday, and it wore them right out. Besides, do you know? I really love cooking. Sisterly duties, you can think like that"
Ash just muttered under his breath, still suspicious.
"Intense meeting? That's weird. They never miss breakfast..."
He quickly dismissed the puzzle.
"First things first, buddy," Ash said to himself, heading for the bathroom.
"We need to wake up properly."
He and Pikachu went through their routine.
Ash brushed his teeth and splashed cold water on his face, while Pikachu hopped onto the counter to wash his face and paw-paws.
Once his teeth were clean and the sleepiness was fully washed away, Ash returned to his room, quickly pulled on his bright tracksuit, and returned downstairs.
"Alright, let's go, Pikachu! We've got a lot of ground to cover," Ash announced, the familiar excitement of his morning workout taking over.
Pikachu, now fully awake, climbed and settled onto Ash's shoulder. "Pika pika!"
"Be back soon, dear!" Delia called out. Jessie just watched them go, her unsettling smile lingering.
And with that, the duo headed out the door to start their morning exercise.
Only to meet Red waiting for them right in front of the house.
Red, the legendary Trainer and Ash's father, was already dressed in his own athletic gear, his expression as stoic and unreadable as ever.
He didn't speak a single word.
"..."
He simply gave Ash a swift, penetrating look that held the intensity of a thousand unspoken commands.
Then, Red immediately turned and began running at a surprisingly quick, steady pace, heading straight toward the dusty trail that led away from Pallet Town.
Ash stared after him, utterly bewildered by the silent exchange.
"..."
Red gave no verbal instruction, but Ash felt an overwhelming, undeniable pull—as if the space where Red's voice should have been was shouting:
Follow.
'Huh?' Ash thought in confusion, watching his father speed away after giving him that one blank look.
"Was he asking me to follow him on the run?" Ash asked Pikachu, who was still perched on his shoulder.
Pikachu, looking just as confused by Red's silent invitation, nodded slowly. "Pika... chu." (I think so...)
A surge of familiar competitive energy immediately replaced Ash's confusion. He grinned, tightening the laces of his running shoes.
"Alright, if that's what he wants, then let's outrun him!" Ash declared, pushing off the hesitation and accelerating into a full sprint.
"Come on, buddy! Let's show him the former world Champion pace!"
Pikachu responded with a cheerful, excited cry, gripping Ash's shoulder tighter.
The two partners vanished down the path in pursuit of the silent, legendary figure who had just set an unexpected challenge for their morning workout.