As the rocket trio gathered themselves, Ethan took a moment to inspect them for the first time. They each were immediately recognizable, if a little different from their 2D counterparts from his memory. James still had his classic blue hair, and appeared to be around the same age as him. Although, he did look slightly nauseous from the flight he’d just taken, and his casual clothes, which consisted of a pair of simple blue jeans and a black button-up shirt, were crinkled and dirtied from his foray on the ground.

Jessie’s hair defied physics. Well, it was that, or she alone could cause global warming with the amount of hairspray she needed to keep her deep magenta hair curved, long, and uniform just as it was in the anime. Other than her hair, which was the most eye-catching, Ethan was slightly alarmed to realize that he found her attractive. Jessie was… well endowed, fit, and her long-sleeved, form fitting, black, cropped top looked specifically picked out to showcase her beauty and curves.

As she stood with James’ help, wiping her face with the back of her hand and causing her tear-streaked makeup to get even more messy on her face, Ethan tore his gaze from the humans to focus on the one pokemon in their group—Meowth.

The iconic mascot of Team Rocket was wobbly on his feet, probably still out of it from his wild ride atop a flying Garchomp. He did recover quicker from their abrupt landing than Jessie and James—probably some weird pokemon durability going on—but with one look around at everyone surrounding them, he simply stood and gauged the mood. When they locked eyes, Ethan gave the greedy cat a nod of acknowledgement, earning a grimace in return.

Cynthia wasted no time for them to gather themselves, or she just frankly didn’t care about them any longer, as she walked up to Ethan and handed him a hardy metallic lockbox and the small pill speaker. The speaker would be nice to have, and he didn’t mind the small gift as it probably wasn’t very expensive, but the lockbox held something very dangerous.

No words were spoken as Ethan turned the small key, which was already inside the lock, and opened the box to view its contents. Inside, a gleaming, metallic, pristine six-round revolver was slotted into a cut-out interior pad. Next to the weapon, roughly three dozen bullets were set aside.

Ethan closed the box, locked it again, then held it close. “Hopefully, I’ll never have to use this.”

Cynthia’s eyes roamed his face with focus, searching for something, but eventually never found what they were looking for. She nodded briskly, then looked at his visitors. Her gaze skimmed over Brock and Dawn, then focused squarely on Ash. “Why, hello there. What a powerful Pikachu you have.” She teased, causing Ethan to groan.

Ethan let Cynthia walk on by, her aim solely on the visiting group of protagonists. He instead walked forward toward the very wary and concerned trio of rockets. “Jessie, James, Meowth.” He nodded to each of them. “My name is Ethan Reed, and this is my ranch. It’ll be your home for the foreseeable future.”

He held out a hand and waited awkwardly as they each shared a look. Eventually, James reached out and shook it. As they shook, Ethan tightened his grip. “I spoke out for you. Do not make me regret this.” He flicked his eyes down to his other hand, which held the lockbox. He jostled it in his grip, drawing their attention. “A gun. Don’t make me use it.”

He let go of James’ hand, which the man hastily drew back, and carried on. “First off, you will be treated fairly here, and I know more about you than you could possibly imagine. This is not imprisonment, but there are rules while you live on my ranch. First and foremost, if you hurt, try to steal, or otherwise endanger any of the pokemon here, I will end you.”

He stared at them with the most neutral and placid face known to mankind. There was no illusion of this being a joke. “Secondly, I am a Move Tutor and Breeder. There will occasionally be guests. You may join me, and even learn what I do if you’d like, but please don’t interrupt the process.”

He took a breath, and his serious expression faded. “Look, I got saddled with you guys. I don’t like this just as much as you do, but we can make this work. Jessie, I have talked to the Joy Clan and have arranged for you to aid the Nurse Joy here on my ranch. If you’re willing, you can put that Chansey schooling to good use. James, I am planning on selling pokemon goods—Wool, milk, berry juice from my Shuckle—your expertise in business would be a boon, and I would sincerely like your help. Meowth, I’m sure you’re aware of how valuable a translator would be? You can put that to good use here.”

Ethan gestured around them. “This is your chance. Your first real chance to turn your lives around. I want you to succeed. The question is, do you want to as well?”

The three of them judged him for a moment, and Meowth broke the stalemate. “You'se a weird guy, but you seem honest. Which is weird. You’re weird.”

The confusion and slight head-tilt from the upright feline pokemon was concerning. They’d just met and Meowth was already picking up on his weird ability to be an open book. “Yup. I’m weird. Pokemon seem to be able to tell my intentions and feelings. That’s probably what you’re sensing.”

“Wait, wait, wait!” Jessie exclaimed, pushing herself past James to stand in front of him. Her face was fierce, but also filled with a sense of stifled hope. “I can be a pokemon nurse? Like, right fucking now?”

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Ethan nodded then gestured to the Pokemon Center. “Yes. The only reason you ‘failed’ your schooling” He air quoted the word, “was because you are unable to use pokemon moves. You are still capable of doing everything else required, no?”

“YES! Ah… uh, I mean yes, of course.” Jessie flicked her hair back in a display of confidence as James looked around at his surroundings for the first time.

The blue-haired rocket didn’t appear to be as aloof as his anime counterpart, and there was a calculating look present on his face. “Jessie, Meowth… Let’s give this a try.” He stated unsurely as his eyes locked onto the hundreds of berry trees. James tore his gaze away and then looked at his friends. “We can at least try, right? It’s not like we’ll be doing terrible work.” James gestured at the berry field. “Look at those trees. How much money do you think is just hanging about?”

Jessie and Meowth finally took stock of their surroundings, finding the idyllic scenery of Berry Falls. From where they stood, they could see the side of his berry fields, the training grounds, the Pokemon Center, and even the small cottage built just for them. Ethan decided to point that out. “That cottage is for you guys. It’s a little small, but it's yours for as long as you stay.”

Then, Ethan decided that it was time to reveal one of his surprises. It had taken paperwork and a lot of begging, but he really wanted to start off on the right foot with the rocket trio. Yes, he had threatened them, but he’d very much prefer that they get along. He looked to Munchlax, who still held the little Piplup in his grasp. “Munchlax, let that Piplup down and go bring me the two pokeballs in my nightstand drawer. Do it in under two minutes, and I’ll convince Shuckle to give you a sip of his juice.”

Piplup was promptly dropped straight onto the ground, on top of his head, as Munchlax sprinted across the clearing with shocking agility. The four of them watched the berry muncher go about his task, and Ethan carried on the previous conversation. “As a show of good faith, I have used what limited connections I have to make a gesture of goodwill.”

Roughly fifteen seconds later, the speedy form of Munchlax was coming their way again. Hid dark blue helper skidded to a stop, nearly barreling Ethan over, and instantly held out two pokeballs with nervousness. Ethan looked at his phone, and let out an audible ‘hmmmm.’ Munchlax fidgeted right up until Ethan gave his verdict. “Good job! I’ll make sure to talk to Shuckle later. Thank you for your help.”

Ethan grabbed the two pokeballs, then looked at the patiently waiting rocket trio. He locked eyes with James, then casually tossed the two pokeballs towards him. “James, release your pokemon.”

James, caught by surprise, fumbled with catching the two pokeballs for a bit. Once he had them secure, he flashed Ethan one final glance before releasing the two pokemon held within.

Before the two pokemon were fully revealed, one of them blitzed forward and jumped into James chest. The only thing anybody could make out was a quick flash of orange and red before an extremely happy bark echoed out around them. “Gro!”

James fell onto his butt as the force of the excited tackle knocked him back, but his eyes were as wide as saucers as he shakingly held up his first true friend. With but a whisper, disbelief in his tone, he murmured the Growlithe's name. “Growlie?”

“Gro! Grooo!” Growlithe, tail wagging with unadulterated excitement, jumped up and placed his paws on James chest, then gave his face a dozen licks of love.

The second pokemon floated in the air, watching the reunion with small sparkling tears in the corners of its eyes. Before James could even come to terms with his childhood pokemon being there with him, the clinging of chimes drew his attention.

“Chiiiimecho! Ching-a-ling!”

The floating wind-chime floated over and placed itself in between the hyper Growlithe and James’ face, saving its trainer from more drool and slobber.

Jessie had a bright smile of happiness for her friend’s reunion, and Meowth grumpishly wiped his wet eyes in an attempt to appear manly.

“I tried to find Arbok and Wheezing, but I wasn’t able to. I hope that this proves that I do want you guys to be happy here.” Ethan said once things began to calm down. Not wanting any undue praise for his actions, as he didn’t do anything but ask about their retrieval, Ethan turned and left the trio by themselves. He’d give them time to come to terms with their new environment, and he already had more than enough on his plate as is.

As he made his way over to where Cynthia, Ash, Dawn, Brock, and now Joyce and Jocelyn stood in conversation, he spotted his last guest finally arriving. Tobias wore the same clothes he wore before, and he looked intrigued about the small gathering at his ranch. Ethan walked past Cynthia’s group, where they were talking about battles, gyms, and pokemon, to meet Tobias one-on-one.

“Welcome to Berry Falls. Sorry about the group, today is a big day.” Ethan said as they met.

Tobias nodded in understanding, his eyes roaming the talkative group before locking onto the out of place blonde hair of Cynthia. Ethan spoke up as he noticed Tobias’ target. “Not today Tobias. Absurdly strong pokemon or not, that’s not what you’re here for.”

At the cryptic mention of his ‘strong pokemon’ Tobias’ gaze swapped from Cynthia to Ethan’s placid comforting smile. “Don’t worry, I only know of two of them. The one you rode in on, and the one I suspect you caught here in Eterna Forest not too long ago. I live here, and it’d be hard not to notice the disturbance.” Ethan gave him a knowing head nod and a slight grin. “It’s a good thing I have a confidentiality agreement. Rest assured, I haven't, and won't, speak about them with anyone.”

With a judging stare, Tobias glared at him for a few moments. Ethan broke the awkward atmosphere. “So, I’m going to teach your Pyroar the move Heatwave for seventy-five thousand, correct?”

Tobias still glared at him, but nodded in response. Ethan smiled. “Great, we can get started now, or you can get situated here on the campgrounds beforehand. Up to you.”

Tobias scanned the now curious group of conversationalists throwing glances their way. “I’ll set-up my tent and supplies. Too many prying eyes for my liking at the moment.”

“That sounds good to me. Just come by my home, which you can find by following this path down past the berry trees, or find any of my pokemon. They can come find me.” Ethan pointed off towards the camp grounds. “Campgrounds are right over there. Feel free to nab some of my berries for your pokemon while you get situated.”

Tobias stalked off, still slightly miffed about Ethan proclaiming his knowledge of his two legendary pokemon. It would have been impossible to keep a secret, but he hoped that he didn’t sour their relationship before it even started by admitting what he knew.