Rise of the Rockets: Side Stories (2024)

Those were the sounds that echoed throughout the area of Accumula Town. To some they were the sound of hard working people trying to restore what was lost. To others, it was a defiant chorus to what had happened: that the inhabitants of the town refused to be broken by what had happened in the past. To Evan Tierra, it was the sound of the new day. He had been dispatched here to help another agent with the efforts to fix what the fight between Palkia and Black Kyurem had destroyed. The Sages were more than happy to have his help, considering he had helped wreak said destruction upon it all. As Evan walked around, he looked for the agent he had been paired up with. One he was familiar with: Jenny Hakuda.

"Where could she be?" Evan spoke under his breath as he focused his gaze. "The Sages told me that she was around this area, but I can't seem to find her."

The girl in question was humming happily as she took a step onto the pavement and stretched. Jenny took a deep breath, and smiled widely. She was a bit sad at seeing just how much destruction there was in the city, but it was her city - she was going to make sure it was brought back to its former glory, and then some. She chuckled to herself, as she recalled how she had been informed that her partner was different than the others. That's one way to think about it... She giggled out loud, and began to hum again, as she noticed the man in question, and began to pick up her pace as she approached him.

As Evan walked, he felt a tapping on his left shoulder. The Plasma Agent turned to his left, hoping to spot who did that. When he saw no one, he continued forward.........only to stop when he was tapped on his right shoulder, hearing a faint giggling as he turned. Again, he saw no one. When he faced forward, Evan did a double take as a girl appeared very close to him, as if from thin air.

"J-Jenny Hakuda?" Evan stammered in surprise at the girl's prank. "What are you doing here?"

"Boo." Jenny giggled, as she seemed amused at how easy it was to trick him into turning. "Was looking for you, actually." She said with a smile, as she stretched again with a slight yawn. "You are here for the rebuilding, no?"

"Yeah, I'm here to help out." Evan said, chuckling at Jenny's trickery. "The Sages sent me due to having some experience with working with wood and what not. You in charge here?"

"Experience with woodworks?" Jenny said with a surprised look, but smiled shortly after, and giggled. " I mean, the crew here is truly in charge, but..." The girl seemed to be full of energy that morning. "I know the terrain the best here, so maybe you could say that?"

"Yeah, my dad was a bit of a DIY nut." Evan said, smiling sheepishly at what he said. "Well, who better than you to lead the charge on fixing this place? Lead on and I shall follow!"

Evan could not help but feel the energy that Jenny seemed to radiate. It made him feel more than willing to put his skills to the test. He was going to do a fine job fixing this town up. By hook or by crook, they'd get the job done. As if to show his determination, Evan posed dynamically, beaming the whole time.

Jenny giggled at the pose with a smile, as she nodded. "Alright!" She said, as she mimicked the pose, and proceeded to walk toward the nearest area that needed the most repairs right at that moment. "Buildings were most affected... Pretty much everything needed to be rebuilt from scratch... It's a sad thing, since there were a lot of older buildings I used to see, but I'm sure we can fix them up even better!" She said with an energetic smile, as she jauntily walked forward. She wasn't entirely certain where she had suddenly gotten this energy from... But she was certain that it wasn't a new thing.

Evan beamed even moreso at Jenny's mimicry of his pose, and followed her. As they went, Evan noted what places would benefit most from his skills. At Jenny's optimism, Evan simply grinned widely. He was going to not only help this town, but help this girl see a greater town than she could dream of.

"Where to start, where to start?" Evan said as he shut his eyes and started to point in random directions, stopping on one point after a few seconds. "I say there!"

Evan's finger pointed to a building that had barely gotten started with repairs. It was broken, but looked salvageable. All it would take was hard work and determination to make it shine again.

"That looks like a good idea!" Jenny said with a giggle, as she skipped over toward it. She was curious at how it could be repaired, but was interested in giving it a shot.

Evan walked near the building, studying how much damage had been dealt to it. He noted that the building was still stable, but needed a lot of touching up. Evan peered inside one of the windows. "What a wreck. It'll require some work, but I think we can do it! Let's go inside and figure out the extent of the damages and make our plans from there, huh?"

"Right!" Jenny nodded, as she walked over toward the door, and tested it carefully. She wasn't quite sure how well it would hold up, but had hopes that it wasn't too bad. "Hopefully none of the supports are too bad, because then we can help out more quickly!"

"It seems to be in fine shape." Evan said as he walked right in, whistling as he did so. The Plasma Agent felt no fear as he marched forward, looking around to see what could be worked on. He then turned to Jenny and grinned. "Come on in! The floor seems to be just fine! Just be careful."

Jenny giggled, as she followed right behind, and thought for a moment. "This actually seems to have been untouched mostly, aside from the debris here... I wonder why it got left alone?" She mused, seeming a bit surprised about that.

"They probably thought it was all right the way it is." Evan said, frowning slightly. "That it didn't need any work." Evan continued to look around, making sure not to lose sight of Jenny as he moved around, moving debris so he could look closer at what damage there could have been. "I disagree about that. It can stand to look even better, don't you think?"

"But, we should check the basem*nt, for foundation damage, Jenny." Evan said as he motioned Jenny to follow him down into the basem*nt. "No telling if it's truly safe to be in this building."

Jenny nodded, as she followed Evan. "Yeah; we can't be sure until then. We don't have much to worry about, though..." She said the latter part a lot quieter than the first part, a slight smile on her face, as she trusted in the power of their Pokémon to save them if something went wrong.

As Evan and Jenny made their way down to the basem*nt, Evan could see that what was the case for the upper floor was not the case for the basem*nt. Parts of the foundation looked secure, but the rest looked far worse for wear. Evan chuckled weakly to himself. It must have been good fortune that the floor didn't collapse while they were up there.

All right, I think I see the problem, Jenny." Evan said. "We've gotta reinforce the foundation to a manageable degree before we do anything else. We'll need something to support it while we do that. Any of your pokémon able to help with that? I've got Landorus, but I don't want the Unova public to see one of their patron pokémon serving one human."

Jenny thought for a couple moments. "Nope!" She said cheerfully, as she looked around at the foundation, wondering what they could even do there.

Evan sighed amusedly. There was no helping it; he'd have to use Landorus' might to help this building. Evan struck a pose as he sent out the Abundance Pokémon. The pokémon looked at his surroundings, studying the ground most of all, as if spying some secrets Evan and Jenny could not see.

"Landorus, I hate to ask one such as yourself for this, but....." Evan said, scratching his head. "Could I ask for your help in stabilizing this building?"

Landorus nodded calmly, and made a wind up motion with his right arm. As soon as it finished, the Abundance Pokémon thrust his arm into the ground, causing a pillar of rock to rise up. Several more pillars rose as the Abundance Pokémon became enshrouded in a golden Aura. Each pillar rose up to key points of the ceiling, looking tough and sturdy.

"This will ensure that the floor will not crumble." Landorus said in his rumbling tone. "The rock around this area is wondrous in how much it can take. Hopefully it is enough for you."

"Thank you Landorus!" Jenny said with a giggle, as she looked around. She hoped it would hold out for good, but figured it would at least work for while they were inside. "Let's go look at the rest of the house, to see what's needed, then!"

"Lead on, and I shall follow!" Evan said happily as he returned Landorus to his poké ball. "I'm thinking maybe we could go upstairs and check out the other rooms."

Evan could not understand how Jenny could be so energetic about such work. Then again, he shouldn't be one to complain. After all, he'd rather see smiles than frowns any time of the day, especially considering what had happened.

"Good idea!" the blonde said with a smile, as she hummed, and they headed back up the stairs. "You said this was DIY?" Jenny asked curiously, as she looked over her shoulder at Evan.

"Yep." Evan said, still grinning as he followed his fellow Agent. "Means Do-It-Yourself! Decorating, home improvement, painting!"

Evan started to playfully march behind Jenny, seeing if he could match the cheeriness she exuded. There had to be a reason she was so cheerful, without being annoying about it. Even he didn't ever feel that way, even on his good days.

"Hmmm..." Jenny nodded, and smiled. "Then we should do that too! Maybe if we find out who's in charge of this place, we could touch it up too!" She said with a wider smile, as she looked around at the walls, intrigued about it.

"It really depends." Evan said, stopping his march. "But, I'm not opposed to the idea, and I am sure the owners wouldn't be as well!"

The Plasma agent recalled how he did that sort of thing with his father when there was nothing to do. He wasn't as good as him, but Evan had to help somehow. He especially wanted to see if he had improved somewhat, since he was more experienced now.

Jenny hummed, as she looked around the place a little more. "Well, let's first start off with the basics!"

"I think my definition of 'the basics' may be different from yours....." Evan mused. "But let's get started anyways! We'll bring this place back to its former glory."

As Evan spoke, his Garchomp popped out of her Poké Ball and slightly roared, ready and willing to help the two agents however she could.

Jenny looked around, as she gathered up the supplies that would be needed, and walked around, looking for places to start work on. She wanted to start on the walls, for one, to check out whether they had been damaged too much, or how the state of the insulation was.

Evan followed suit, going outside to get approval from the people in charge of the restoration. When he was given approval by both owner and those in charge, Evan grabbed two pairs of safety glasses. It was always better to stay safe, even with pokémon helping. Evan reentered the building and handed Jenny one pair of glasses.

"We've gotten approval!" Evan stated excitedly. "The owner says that we can go as far as we want with the repairs and touching up!"

Jenny smiled widely, as she put the glasses on, and giggled. "That's great news!" She said happily, as she thought for a moment. "Gnip, do you mind helping take this wall down?"

Gnip growled approvingly as she tackled the wall with her shoulder. Gnip continued her demolition, her eyes gleaming with ferocity as she took down more and more of the wall. Chunks of drywall fell on the ground as the Mach Pokémon worked.

"Gnip, you're a natural at demolishing anything!" Evan said over the commotion, grinning widely. "I think she prefers this to rebuilding things!"

Jenny giggled, and nodded. "I'm sure she could help rebuild, too, though!" The girl smiled, as she walked out of the room, to go get the new sheets of drywall, and the insulation they'd need for this particular room.

"Help.....rebuild?" Evan asked, a bit uncertain on that front. "Gnip, destruction and creation are two sides of the same coin. I think, as easily as you can break things, you definitely can fix them!"

At the sound of Evan's encouraging words, Gnip roared ferociously and performed one last slam on the wall, knocking down the last of the drywall. Evan pet her lovingly, praising the Garchomp for her power.

Jenny returned after a little while, and dragged in the insulation. "The drywall's just outside..." She giggled, and thought for a moment, as she pulled out a safety mask. "You might want this." She sighed, glad she could help out in this way.

With much effort, and some occasional goofing around, the two Plasma agents managed fix up much of the building, restoring it to what it used to be. While the outside needed work, the inside was pristine and wonderful. It still required more touching up, but it was better than nothing. Evan exited the building and stretched, noting the beautiful sunset. The scarlet rays shone over the workers leaving after a hard day's work.

"Maaaaaan, it's been a while since I did that sort of thing." Evan stated, trying to stifle a yawn. "It's good to just stop and fix something on occasion."

"Yeah, I agree..." Jenny yawned, as she stretched as well, and looked over at the house with a smile. "I'm glad we could do all that for the house! I'm sure the owners will be pleased." She giggled happily again, wondering just how much more of the city was damaged.

"That they will!" Evan agreed. "But, it seems like it has to come to an end for now. Everyone's going home to get a breather in before the new day arrives."

Evan felt less energized, but still didn't feel like resting. Gnip, however, felt beat. She needed to rest herself back up if they were going to be doing more of this work with her. With that thought in mind, the Mach Pokémon decided to just simply lie down to show her fatigue.

Jenny nodded, and sighed slightly. "That was pretty tiring, though, I have to say!" She said with a giggle, though her upbeat style didn't seem to be affected by her being tired.

"You don't know tiring until you've worked with my father." Evan stated, sighing a bit. "He worked me to the bone when I was younger. We would stay up so late during summer vacation to get a project done..."

At his words, Evan wondered how things were going for his parents in Eterna. He hadn't really kept in touch with them since he had fled Eterna City so long ago. He hadn't even written them a letter.

"I haven't really seen my father in so long, Jenny." Evan said nostalgically. "Or my mother for that matter. I wonder if they are doing ok."

"Why haven't you seen them?" Jenny asked curiously, as she looked over at Evan..

"Well, given all that's gone on...." Evan said, rubbing his hand on the back of his head. "What with Sinnoh once being covered in Darkrai shadow, and everything that has happened to me, I'm not sure if I can really go back to them. We didn't part on bad terms exactly. But I am not sure how they'd react to all that has happened."

"Hmm..." Jenny thought about that for a moment. "Why don't you try, though? I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

"I dunno, that's what terrifies me!" Evan said as he scratched the back of his head nervously. "I really don't wanna worry them. I just can't go and tell them that I died in battle and somehow came back. They'd wonder what happened and..."

"I think if you just handle it like you handle everything else, then everything will be fine." Jenny said with a smile. "I mean, you don't want to worry them, but don't you think that not hearing from you for so long would worry them too?"

"Well there is one other thing...." Evan said, remembering his situation. "I can't exactly go to Sinnoh right now, seeing how busy we are here. Unless Eterna City is in need of help with repairs. I heard the town was torn apart pretty bad. I'll have to see if they could use help there."

"Hmm, that's a good idea. I wouldn't mind helping if you got that go-ahead." Jenny giggled, and looked to the sky. "I mean, everyone needs help, not just here. Plus, the repairs are looking pretty good here already!"

"All right, I'll hold you to that then, Jenny!" Evan said as he drew close to Gnip. "Maybe we should go back to our homes and take a breather, huh? It was fun though!"

The Plasma Agent looked upward and thought about all that had happened. He hoped he could face his parents, even after all that had happened. He hoped he could go to his true home again.

As the days moved on, so did the relief efforts in Unova. Some to a point where the civilians didn't require help from the government. This allowed Team Plasma to branch out into helping the other regions to an extent. Among those goodwill missions, was one to restore Eterna City to some measure of glory, after the damage that had been wrought upon it by the Ancient Darkrai. The Sages chose to send one particular agent there among others, alongside an agent he had specifically requested come with him.

"Welcome to Eterna City, home of myself!" Evan Tierra's voice rang out as he and another Plasma agent exited a plane. "Isn't it a lovely place?"

Evan posed excitedly as he was exiting. He seemed more dressed for a vacation than he did for hard work, and rather carefree for one working for Team Plasma.

"Oh wow..." Jenny seemed surprised at what the city looked like. "I never imagined it to look like this!" Even in its damaged state, the city exuded an aura of majesty. The girl smiled in awe, as she looked around, wondering how it might look when the repairs were done.

"The city is a mixture of new and old, but not to the extent of Opelucid City." Evan said, grinning. "The new is slowly overcoming the old, but I think recent events may have changed that. Shall we, then? The Sages said we're free to help when and where we can, but also have allowed us to treat this as off time, since I gave them that sort of request."

Evan breathed deep as he escorted Jenny through the airport, recalling all the pleasant memories that he had locked away for so long. The agent looked around after they had left the building, seeing a good deal of hustle and bustle as people came and went about their business.

"Oh, there was one more thing I wanted to tell you, Jenny." Evan said cheerfully. "I also believe around this time of year, the people of Eterna have a heritage festival. I've only attended it once before and had a blast then. Wanna join me when we have time?"

"Sure, sounds like it might be fun." Jenny said with a smile, as she seemed entranced by what was going on in the city. "I'm impressed, I have to say... I never expected the city to be quite like this!"

"Wait until you see the old part of town...." Evan said, winking. "Especially the statues of the three Dragon Pokémon of Sinnoh. Anyways, I have a place for us to stay in town and I think you may like it better than some silly hotel."

"Oh yeah?" Jenny seemed curious about that, but paused, and smiled slightly, as she began to get a feeling she knew where he meant.

"Yeah, made the phone calls and everything!" the Plasma agent spoke. "We'd best not keep them waiting. They seemed very excited about putting us up, and I think you may like the people there too!"

Jenny chuckled slightly, but nodded. "Alright, let's get going, then!"

Evan led the way to near the outskirts of the city, observing all the projects going on as they passed. There seemed to be a feeling of vim and vigor in the air, as if the city itself was preparing for something. Evan smiled as they made it to the outskirts, where most of the housing for the city was situated. The two passed by many houses, each one having that "old meets new" vibe that the city was known for. Children were playing in a nearby park, their joy apparent to the Plasma agent. Evan then stopped suddenly and took a deep breath.

"There it is, Jenny." Evan said. "That's my home."

The house was a light blue, with white outlined window frames adorning it. The door was light brown, and seemed a bit tall. Evan looked back at Jenny and smiled warmly.

"I wonder who's home....." Evan wondered aloud as he approached the door and prepared to knock. "No finding out til we knock!"

Jenny seemed amused at that, and walked up and knocked on the door. "Definitely." She said with an amused smile at beating him to the knock.

"Can't say I didn't see that coming..." Evan said as he knocked anyway.

The doorknob trembled slightly as it turned. As the door opened, the pair of Plasma Agents saw before them, a giant of a man with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes with a stern expression on his face. He was dressed in a manner that showed he wanted to look good for some reason, his frame looking imposing and powerful. Upon looking down at Evan, the man's face softened, as if seeing the Plasma agent reminded him of happier times.

"Well, look what the Stoutland dragged in." the man cheerfully said to Evan, before turning to Jenny. "And who might you be, young lady?"

"My name's Jenny... Nice to meet you, sir!" She said with a small smile, as she seemed to be a little in awe of what was going on. She didn't know how to respond otherwise, however.

"Don't call me sir, Jenny." the man spoke, his voice rumbling warmly as he made a welcoming gesture into his home. "Call me Alexander. Alexander Del Tierra at your service. I am this boy's father and I am glad to have you both in my humble home."

Jenny smiled, and nodded. "Alright s-, I mean, Alexander." She sheepishly smiled, and meekly walked inside a bit, as she looked around curiously, wondering what the interior was like.

Evan followed inside, seeming to be full of energy upon seeing his father welcome him inside. The interior had tan walls with art hanging on them. There were family photos on the nearest wall. Each photo, save one, had the Tierra family in whole. One of the pictures featured a tawny haired teenager, beaming brightly towards the three people. Evan sheepishly grinned at Alexander, who seemed more than pleased to see Evan.

"So where is Mom?" Evan asked. "I know she's here, but where is she?"

Jenny looked around curiously, as she took in all the pictures. She looked to be in awe, and found it all pretty amazing. However, she seemed curious about the odd picture out, and smiled in amusem*nt at it.

"She's out in the garden, kid." Alexander said kindly. "She wanted everything to look good for when you came back. Now, get over here."

Evan walked towards his father, only to get arm-locked by the beast of a man. Alexander laughed raucously as Evan struggled to free himself from his father.

"Hey now, aren't I a little old to have that done to me?!" Evan shouted, trying to stifle his laughter. "I thought we had an agreement!"

Jenny giggled in amusem*nt, as she watched the two interact. She smiled slightly, as she felt a little out of place at this family reunion, but was glad for him.

"But it's been so long, boy!" Alexander cheerfully said as he released Evan from his grip. "No news about you or anything! Now I hear from you that you are part of Team Plasma or somesuch!"

"Dad, we can catch up later, all right?" Evan said, smiling at Jenny's reaction to his father's antics. "I'd like to see Mother."

Alexander made a go-ahead gesture as he pointed to the way to the outside garden. Evan motioned for Jenny to follow him out back. The two passed through what appeared to be the dining room, which lead to a door to the backyard. Evan was caught off guard with amazement by what he saw. A melodious humming filled the air outside, adding more to the atmosphere of what was before them.

Jenny was surprised at what the place looked like. Flowers everywhere, and a sort of stream flowing through the middle of the backyard. "This looks amazing..." Jenny said with an awed and surprised look on her face, as she looked around.

"I'm glad you agree, young one." a gentle voice spoke as the flowers were blown around by a gentle breeze. "I took care of them myself."

As the voice trailed off, Evan couldn't help but admire the garden himself. The sheer amount of colors in the garden astounded the Plasma agent. The garden had gotten much bigger since he'd been away. As Evan looked around, he saw a woman in gardening gear standing a few feet away. Her hair was a fine, lustrous black and her eyes a warm brown. "Mom?" Evan spoke, not exactly believing his eyes..........

"That's your mom?" Jenny said in slight surprise, as she looked over, amazed at how she just exuded a sense of peace from herself.

"Indeed I am his mom." The woman spoke softly. "But who are you, that my boy has brought home, and why? I know he called ahead for a place to stay, but I wasn't told that he would be bringing a guest with him......."

Jenny gave a skeptical glance over at Evan, but then smiled at his mother. "I am one of his friends and co-workers, and I'm going to be helping him out with the restoration here." She said with a smile.

Evan scratched his head at Jenny's response, but didn't lose his composure. "Sorry about that, mother." the Plasma agent replied. "I guess I was so excited to come home, that I forgot to ask......"

Evan's mother nodded her head respectfully. "It really doesn't matter." she replied softly. "She's welcome to stay with us, as long as she needs. I am Maya Tierra. Who are you?"

Jenny smiled, as she held out her hand. "Nice to meet you! My name is Jenny Hakuda."

Maya held out her hand and shook Jenny's lightly. "Very pleased to meet you, Jenny Hakuda." Maya replied. "As you can see, I am a bit busy with gardening. But you are welcome to stay with me, or explore the rest of the house if that suits you."

"Alright, sounds good to me." She said with a smile, as she glanced over to Evan. "If you're not done, maybe I could come back after looking around a bit?" She asked Maya curiously, as she looked back over.

"It'd be fine with me, Jenny." Maya said, smiling gently. "I'll make sure to take my time. Now you go along and look around. It's been ages since Evan's been back here, so he needs to see it for himself again."

"Well then, shall we?" Evan said, smiling as he waved to his mother. "I need to see what's changed in this house since what happened. I'll be back. Count on it."

Jenny nodded, as she followed Evan curiously. She hid a slightly mischievous smirk, however, as she realized that she now had something to tease him over later.

Evan led the way, passing through a nearby hall, figuring there was one place he hadn't seen yet in the house. The two went up a set of stairs near the entryway, Evan's grin widening with every step. At the top of the stairs was a hallway with two doors, one on either side. One door was plain, with no decoration. The other door had a poster of what appeared to be people in costumes on it. "It doesn't seem to have changed from what I can see, but I could be wrong." Evan stated nervously. "This is possibly my room...."

"Oh yeah?" Jenny seemed curious about the room, but looked over at Evan, who seemed nervous. "Want me to wait outside?" She asked with a teasing smile on her face.

"Well, I wouldn't mind if you came in..." Evan replied, still a bit nerved up at what may have changed. "So why not?" The agent opened up the door slightly, trying to keep his composure.

"Alright, then." She said with a smile, as she giggled, and walked inside the room.

Past the doorway, was a room with midnight blue walls. There was a wooden desk at one side of the room, with an assortment of books in the shelves, some looking much more worn out than the others. At the other was a rather large futon, with a bookshelf on either side. Each shelf had figures of what could be TV-show and video game characters. On one of the walls, was a poster of a very tough, but very tricksy-looking, young man, striking a very over-the-top pose.

"Nothing's exactly changed...." Evan said, clearly floored by what he was looking at. "It seems different, but then again it's been a while......"

"Oh wow, this seems very cool!" Jenny smiled, as she glanced around at all the posters, especially intrigued by the over-the-top pose poster. "What's that?" The girl asked curiously, as she pointed to the poster.

"Oh, that's a poster featuring my favorite character from a show I watched when I was younger!" Evan replied, his case of nerves fading away. "He is the second protagonist in a long-running series I am a fan of. He may look tough, but his true might, is in how he fights."

"Oh wow, that sounds cool... How does he fight?" Jenny asked curiously, as that sounded like he was strong.

"He didn't exactly use his fists, most of the time." Evan explained. "He was strong, yeah. But he was very clever with how he applied it. He would exploit weaknesses, make his opponents lower their guard, and generally annoy them. He even would turn the tides with his catchphrase: 'Your next line will be.....' and the foe would actually do as predicted."

"Oh wow, that sounds amazing!" Jenny said with a surprised look on her face. "So he could predict the future?"

"Not exactly." Evan said, smiling sheepishly. "He could read his opponents like a book. The way they moved, their facial expressions, even small things would tip him off. He made it seem like he could predict the future, so his opponents would be shaken up. He managed to actually turn the tables on someone who was considered undefeatable, and did the same thing to him, just to drive the guy crazy."

"Oh wow..." Jenny was definitely amazed by that, and giggled. "He sounds like a really cool guy, for sure!"

"He really is." Evan said, giggling himself. "Sorry, I got a little enthusiastic back there. That character is just so good though. Anything else catch your interest?"

Jenny thought for a moment, as she looked around the room again. "Hmmm... Everything's so cool, I just can't choose one thing to focus on..."

"Well, what seems the coolest?" Evan replied, smiling. "I know it may be hard to decide, especially considering the sheer volume of things..."

Evan then noted a small figure of a red robot. Said figure had what appeared a drill in its right arm. Evan's eyes glistened with awe as he recalled the source material from which it came from.

"I almost forgot about this!" Evan said as he grabbed the figure, holding it gently. "This was so cool to me when I was in school!"

Jenny seemed surprised. "Oh, wow, is that...? I haven't seen that in a while; and that just jogged my memory of it!" She smiled widely, and giggled a bit.

"You've seen it before?" Evan asked in wonder. "I recall not many people at my school really knowing about it, despite how awesome it was. Regardless, that show changed my life."

"Oh yeah?" Jenny seemed curious about that. "Because of just how optimistic the one main character was?"

"Well that, and I wasn't exactly happy before then...." Evan mused. "Lots of things were happening and I wanted something happy for once. Then I found that show, and it was such a breath of fresh air. Even when things looked down for the true main character, there was always a chance of things working out, no matter how small."

"That's a good attitude to have!" Jenny said with a smile. "Things don't always go well; heck, even I get a bit down sometimes, but you have to just keep going, don't you?"

"Sometimes, it's all you can do." Evan said as he fiddled with the figure. "It's how things are. You've gotta move forward, otherwise you'll never make any progress...."

Evan put the figure down as he walked towards the futon and looked back at Jenny. "I'm gonna take a short nap; the trip here wasn't exactly restful. Why don't you go and see my mother again? She seems to like your attitude. I know I should show you around, but I need a little rest..."

Jenny nodded. "Alright then." She said with a smile, as she walked out of the room, and headed back out to the backyard.

Evan laid down on the futon, recalling what just happened. The brown-haired trainer never really had the chance to speak about anything like that in ages. He couldn't help but feel relieved that he could. Evan started to sleep, hoping for a good rest before he had to get to work.

Meanwhile, in the garden, Maya Tierra was continuing her work, humming as she did so. This was her work, one of the many things she enjoyed about her life. Though one of the things she was most happy about was seeing her boy finally coming home. That alone made her already-good mood ten times better....

"Hello?" Jenny popped her head back into the garden, as she looked around, trying to find where Maya was.

"Oh, so you returned?" Maya asked, rising upwards from her work. "I'm glad you came back. I had a few things to ask you. Come here and give me a hand. I could use a little help while we talk....."

Jenny nodded, and went over, picking up a pair of gloves to help out. As she worked, she glanced over at Maya. "You said you had some questions?"

"Some about yourself, and some about Evan.." Maya replied softly as she dug into the ground with a small spade. "First of all, I know your name, but who exactly are you?"

Jenny scratched her head, as she tried to figure out a way to explain that. "To be honest, I'm still trying to figure that out myself..." She smiled sheepishly for a moment, but then looked over. "What I do know, though, is that I'm a really good friend of Evan's."

"Really good friend, huh?" Maya said as she continued her work. "That's wonderful to hear. I'm glad Evan made a friend, while he was away, especially considering what made him leave... Has he been keeping well, Jenny?"

Jenny nodded. "Yeah, he's been doing very well; we've all really been making a lot of friends." She smiled, but paused, as she looked over curiously. "Made him leave?" She repeated with a perplexed look on her face, having not heard that story yet.

"We......had a few problems with the Rockets." Maya replied, sighing. "There were a few problems with my husband's mining company, regarding how the Rockets were running things. So they had a group of their grunts attack our home, in retaliation. Evan left while we stayed back and surrendered. I told that boy to run, moreso because I didn't want him to see us get hurt....."

Jenny felt sad about that, but nodded. "That's so sad... I wish that wasn't needed..." She sighed, happy that everything worked out in the end, but...

"My boy has had a bit of a tough life, due to what's happened in the past." Maya continued as she worked, getting a berry ready to be planted. "He's tough like his father though, but I worry about him so much, Jenny. You mentioned other friends. What are they like?"

Jenny smiled, and began to describe her friends, and her brother, leaving out the precise details of their adventures, but otherwise going over the good things they had seen in the process.

"Wonderful...I'm glad his life has taken a turn for the better." Maya said, sighing happily. "Now for my next question, I want you to be honest with me. My boy probably has had his share of danger out there, but has he ever gotten hurt? I know it's a silly question, Jenny, but I have to know."

Jenny bit her lip at that question. "He has gotten hurt; but he's always bounced back. Like, I think one time he cut his knee, but just kept on smiling... Or, heck, he apparently gave my brother a scare, but actually came out of that entirely unscathed, much to my brother's surprise." She gave a small smile at that, knowing that even though she knew she had to be honest; she also knew she had to bend the truth a little, as it wouldn't be really believable otherwise.

"Well, that's good to hear." Maya replied happily. "Here is my final question, and it's more of request for you and you alone. My boy has done foolish things in the past, but now that he's older, I fear he may do worse than just foolish. If it comes to that.........can I trust you to make sure he doesn't lose what's most important to himself?"

Jenny seemed surprised by the request, but smiled and nodded. "I promise that I'll do everything I can to make sure he doesn't lose his way."

"I know it may seem like an out of the blue request, but I need someone to keep an eye out for him." Maya said as she flashed a grin to Jenny as she planted a berry and covered it in dirt. "Especially since he needs someone for that."

Maya rose up and walked over to the door to the house, her pace quick and delicate at the same time. "Now I think I'm done for the day, let's go inside and get some food ready." She spoke kindly. "You and Evan have a lot of work to do, and you mustn't do it without something to eat!"

"Alright! Thank you for your hospitality again, Maya..." Jenny said with a small, yet very kind smile, as she followed Evan's mother back into the house...