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Taking A Chance (PG, May/Drew, Ash/Misty)
- Thread starter Jo-Jo
- Start date
deoxysmaster8000
no-one can beat me!!
yay!!!
i loved it!!!!!!!! ash, you got some magor splanin to do! and drew get some lessons on how to talk to a girl (i wouldnt even say those things!!!!)anywho great story so far!!!hurry up please!
i loved it!!!!!!!! ash, you got some magor splanin to do! and drew get some lessons on how to talk to a girl (i wouldnt even say those things!!!!)anywho great story so far!!!hurry up please!
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R
Rene Bellosh
Guest
Hey, can you PM me when the next chapter is up? I seriously can't wait!
I have a gut feeling she's finished with it by now.
I have a gut feeling she's finished with it by now.
Valkyrie X
Well-Known Member
Daaang Jo-Jo, I must say I'm quite impressed with this fic...Veeeery interesting indeed...Very interesting.
I like the originality you put into it...It seems to stand out from other shipping fics. It's pretty cool how you added a twist to everything, with Ash getting his liscense taken away, and Drew and May having never met and all that...
Your grammar = Perfect. I could not find a single grammatical or spelling error whatsoever. Good grammar is something I really appreciate in fics; it just makes everything so much easier to read, like you're reading a published novel or something. You've mastered this writing technique.
Description. It was pretty good...for the most part. I think it could use a tad more description...But that's just me. I suppose description isn't such a huge factor in shipping fics...I'm just very picky when it comes to it. Not that I'm saying that you describe badly, by any means...
The chapters' lengths are all excellent, so I won't comment on that...
It pleased me how none of the characters were...well, out of character. Ash is still dense, Misty's still hot-tempered, Drew's still his cool, arrogant self...And so on and so forth. Very well done here.
Also, I loved the occasional humor in the chapters...Especially when Ash wanted to "veto" the name "Petunia"...That, I must admit, was pretty funny.
Being a huge Contestshipper myself, my favorite part had to be when Drew just randomly kissed May...The kiss was described very nicely; I could actually feel the passion within it.
Overall, this is truly a remarkable piece of work. Just update a bit more. I'll definitely continue to read and support this fic...Keep it up, Jo-Jo. I look forward to the next chapter.
;381;Lati_Lover;380;
I like the originality you put into it...It seems to stand out from other shipping fics. It's pretty cool how you added a twist to everything, with Ash getting his liscense taken away, and Drew and May having never met and all that...
Your grammar = Perfect. I could not find a single grammatical or spelling error whatsoever. Good grammar is something I really appreciate in fics; it just makes everything so much easier to read, like you're reading a published novel or something. You've mastered this writing technique.
Description. It was pretty good...for the most part. I think it could use a tad more description...But that's just me. I suppose description isn't such a huge factor in shipping fics...I'm just very picky when it comes to it. Not that I'm saying that you describe badly, by any means...
The chapters' lengths are all excellent, so I won't comment on that...
It pleased me how none of the characters were...well, out of character. Ash is still dense, Misty's still hot-tempered, Drew's still his cool, arrogant self...And so on and so forth. Very well done here.
Also, I loved the occasional humor in the chapters...Especially when Ash wanted to "veto" the name "Petunia"...That, I must admit, was pretty funny.
Being a huge Contestshipper myself, my favorite part had to be when Drew just randomly kissed May...The kiss was described very nicely; I could actually feel the passion within it.
Overall, this is truly a remarkable piece of work. Just update a bit more.
I'll definitely continue to read and support this fic...Keep it up, Jo-Jo. I look forward to the next chapter.;381;Lati_Lover;380;
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Woo Hooo! Tis very nice Jo-Jo, I read it a loooooooooooooooooong time ago on FF.net, and JUST realized you have it here! ^^ I would've reviewed on FF.net, it's just... _ _' I forgot my sn. lol, anyway, so yeah, nice story though! very long chappies. WHens the next one coming out???
Hehe. ^^; Sorry about the long waits. I write reeeeeally slowly, and since threads normally get pruned on here, whenever I do finish a chapter ahead of schedule, I try to put off posting it until a month has passed since I put up the last one... er, it's complicated, but it makes sense to me, honest. So I plan to post chapter 5 in about three days' time, on the twelfth(?). It has Team Rocket-ness, yey. ^_^
So I plan to post chapter 5 in about three days' time, on the twelfth(?). It has Team Rocket-ness, yey. ^_^dark-rukario
Indigo Champion
sorry about not being here every day like i said iv been busy ;rukario;
K
KingFirestump
Guest
Oh this is awesome Jo-Jo! I'm not much of a Contestshipper (I don't pay too much attention to shippings other than Pokéshipping) but I could really picture that kiss. I liked it how you brought May and Drew into the story without a trip to Hoenn. And that letter to the Pokémon Legue was interesting. I wrote a similar one for my own fic but yours is better. If only you updated more... Oh well, no one's perfect. Keep writing!
Brian Random
I WAS FROZEN TODAY!!
Jo-Jo... so far, I've read all four chapters that you've written so far and I've asked myself if this is a good fic. The answer is that this is not a good fic... this is a BRILLIANT fic.
The descriptions, lengths, characters, grammar, spelling, characters... all fantastic! No question about it, you can write, girl.
One more thing, looking forward to more.
The descriptions, lengths, characters, grammar, spelling, characters... all fantastic! No question about it, you can write, girl.
One more thing, looking forward to more.
deoxysmaster8000
no-one can beat me!!
go jo-jo go! mojo jo-jo, evil story wrighter!!!!!because she takes FOREVER!!!!!nothing bad im just REALLY, REALLY, REAAAALLLLLYYYYYY,impatient please let me still be your friend!!!!
Part V
Heeeere's part five! Thanks for holding on so long, everyone. Warning: this chapter features random musical numbers. Also plenty o' Team Rocket, and the mysterious origin of Misty's cold.
---
Misty’s Lament
Misty watched the vase shatter into a hundred pieces. Neither that nor her accompanying shriek of fury soothed her feelings one bit. She spun on her heel and kicked the dresser as hard as she could, then hobbled across the room and flung herself into a chair.
How dare he. All this time, he’d been playing the victim while secretly breaking the law? That was the kind of behaviour she’d expect from Team Rocket, not from Ash. How had the kind, well-meaning boy she’d befriended all those years ago turned into someone capable of lying like that - to his own fiancée, no less? Come to think of it, how was it that Violet had known the truth before she had?
The answer to that question came as soon as she had begun to think about it: Tracey. Ash must have told him, and he would have told Daisy - and whenever one Water Flower knew anything, the other two always knew it too before the hour was out. So that meant that all three of her sisters, as well as one of her closest friends, had been keeping her in the dark. Misty felt a stab of humiliation through her heart. Did Brock know? Had he been deceiving her for all this time, too? What about Mrs. Ketchum?
“This is the worst anniversary ever!” she cried, pounding her fist into the arm of the chair.
She felt a sudden pang for Togepi. The little egg Pokémon had amazed them all nine years ago by evolving to Togetic, only to leave forever shortly after. As far as she had been able to make out, it felt a yearning for a distant land where it somehow knew it was needed. Eventually, Misty had decided to let it go. They had shared a tearful goodbye, and that was the last she had ever seen of her beloved baby Pokémon. She still missed Togepi terribly, especially in moments of crisis. Right now, she felt as though she could use something warm to cuddle.
Misty’s nose began to itch. She broke off from her thoughts to search for a tissue, and sneezed so explosively that the chair nearly toppled over.
“Oh, this stupid cold!” she howled.
She had to find a way to take her mind off things. She began to look around the room for a distraction, and her gaze happened to fall upon the dresser. The book that her doctor had recommended lay where she’d dropped it fifteen minutes ago. After a moment’s hesitation, she picked it up and began to thumb through. This could occupy her for a few minutes.
At last she found her place, and began to read aloud. “‘An unmarried female, particularly when involved with a man who is unwilling to commit, can experience prolonged feelings of –’ a-choo! ‘- frustration. Due to this, she may suffer from psychosomatic symptoms affecting the upper respiratory tract. Such females – constantly in suspense – can exhibit neurotic tendencies (see note)’.”
Misty frowned. If she had understood correctly, the passage was telling her that waiting around all this time for Ash to pull his finger out and marry her was the source of her cold. But that was ridiculous – wasn’t it?
She read the note: “‘Chronic, organic syndromes, toxic or hypertensive, involving the eye, ear, nose and throat’.”
Misty lowered the book with an incredulous laugh. She hadn’t misinterpreted – this quack was really trying to sell the idea that commitment-phobic boyfriends caused the ‘flu. Why on Earth had Dr. Chelle given her this rubbish? As if her blocked sinuses had anything to do with her being stuck in engagement-limbo for seven years, while her fiancé sneaked around behind her back organising illegal Pokémon tournaments –
“Ah… ah… ah…” Misty gasped suddenly. She seized the tissue once more with a shaking hand. “A–CHOO!”
The air rang with silence while the echoes died away. Misty sat perfectly still, the lower half of her face hidden from view, unease stirring inside her.
“It’s a coincidence,” she told herself sternly. Of course it was. To think otherwise would be absurd.
And yet… there was no denying that the biggest sneezing fit had occurred when she was yelling at Ash earlier…
She could test it. That would prove things once and for all. Misty settled back in her chair, closed her eyes, and tried to conjure up the moment when she’d discovered what Ash had done. At once, images rose in her mind, as vivid as though they were really happening before her all over again – and with them came the familiar tingling sensation, spreading through her nasal passages and finally bursting out of her in the form of three deafening sneezes.
At the end of it all, Misty was left hunched over, mind racing. “Oh, no,” she moaned. “Not good…”
If the book was right… if the author really was on to something… then her only hope was to either persuade Ash to marry her, or make herself stop loving him.
Misty buried her face in her knees with a despairing wail. It looked as though she’d have to face up to certain facts: she was going to be stuck with her cold for a very, very long time.
It was the start of yet another uneventful weekend in the Viridian City Pokémon Centre. Nurse Joy stifled a yawn, turning a page in the magazine she was reading, which had an interesting article by a famous breeder. Since the new system had been devised, fewer people needed to bring in their Pokémon for healing, which meant much less work for a Joy to do. Most of the people coming in these days were only looking for a cheap place to stay. Sometimes she felt more like an innkeeper than a Pokémon nurse – a fact that she would do well never to mention to Brock Harrison, as he would undoubtedly seize upon it as yet another reason why he and she were meant to be.
Somebody nearby interrupted her train of thought by clearing his or her throat. Joy looked up to see a man and woman standing in front of her desk, regarding her from beneath identical bowler hats.
“Oh! I’m sorry,” she exclaimed, stuffing the magazine under the desk, hoisting a smile onto her face and trying her best not to stare at their outfits. The bowlers in and of themselves weren’t so peculiar, but combined with the greatcoats and the false moustaches, it was a bit of a strange get-up. “How may I help you?”
The woman spoke, in an obviously fake British accent. “We were just wondering if a Mr. Ash Ketchum was staying in this Pokémon Centre?”
“We have a package for him,” the man explained.
“Of great importance,” chimed in a third voice from below the level of the desk.
Joy leaned over to see a small figure standing in-between the other two. It was either a Pokémon or an extremely short, ugly human. Whatever it was, it was dressed just as strangely as its two companions. From above, all Joy could see of its face was a patch of faded brown hair and a set of long whiskers.
“Well, I’ll just check that for you,” she said, moving over to the computer and accessing the database. “K-e-… Ketchum… oh, I’m sorry. There was an Ash Ketchum staying here, but he checked out this morning.”
The trio’s faces fell. “Did Mr. Ketchum mention where he was going?” the man asked hopefully.
Joy shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. If he comes in here again, I’ll tell him you were looking for him. What are your names?”
For some reason, all three looked panicked at being asked this question. “Uhhh, don’t worry about it, we’ll find him ourselves,” said the woman. “Goodbyeeee!”
With that, they dashed out of the Centre as fast as blinking.
Joy stared at the doors swinging on their hinges for a few seconds, before giving herself a little shake and putting the encounter out of her mind. After all, there were plenty of weird people in the city.
Once they’d reached the other end of the street, the trio slowed to a halt. All three looked greatly annoyed.
“Well, dat was a big fat waste of time,” complained the shortest member. “Da twoip could be anywhere!”
“Once again, a brilliant plan ruined by bad timing,” James sighed, raising his eyes to the heavens.
“Oh? Dat’s funny, ‘cause I always t’ought our plans were usually ruined by an explosion or a giant hole or dat Pikachu –”
Meowth’s words ended in a yelp as Jessie, always quick to anger, whipped out a fan and bopped him over the head. “Don’t talk about failure to me!” she yelled. “The plan would have worked fine if you hadn’t made us chase that dust bunny through three fields!”
Meowth picked himself off the ground and glowered at her. “For da last time, from where I was standin’ it looked just like an Espeon, OK? Besides, need I remind youse who it was insisted on dropping off at dat store back dere to rob ‘em of their entire supply of ‘Rock Solid’s Brand-Name Hair Gel’?
“That was different! I have to keep my fabulous hair in this shape, or I get split ends! Plus, it makes better cushioning when we blast off.”
James made the mistake of trying to be reasonable. “That nurse said the twerp checked out this morning, so us being a couple of hours earlier wouldn’t have mattered anyw – ow!”
“Who asked you?” Jessie and Meowth both roared, fists still raised.
James was luckily spared further violence by the appearance of an unlikely saviour. A tall man with short, spiky hair hurried around the corner. He was looking around in a distracted manner, despite his eyes being screwed tightly shut.
“Say, ain’t dat one of da twoips?” said Meowth.
Jessie swung around to look, nearly bowling the cat-Pokémon over with her hair. “I believe it is,” she said. “Maybe he’s looking for Ash, too!”
James jumped to his feet, spirits recovered in an instant. “In which case, he’ll lead us straight to Pikachu!”
Team Rocket rubbed their hands together, cackling. “We’re gonna get promoted!” they sang.
‘Da twoip’ came to a halt nearby, and peered at the gym across the road. A young man with green hair and an expensive suit lurked outside, cunningly concealed behind a lamppost. It was unclear why Brock should find this so riveting, but he stopped and stared for a good few minutes nonetheless.
Finally, something happened. The gym doors opened and a man stepped out, followed by a couple of women who were presumably his wife and daughter. He carried a stack of fliers, while the other two were laden down with a megaphone and a miniature podium. The girl drew a kazoo from her pocket, took the megaphone from her mother, switched it on and played a brief fanfare, the sound magnified and distorted with static. She then handed it to her father, who stood up on the podium and announced, “Citizens of Viridian City!”
A few curious heads nearby turned, then lost interest and carried on with whatever they had been doing beforehand. The man either didn’t notice this or decided to soldier on regardless. “I am here to announce that the gym is under new management – myself, and my family. I am ready to accept any and all challengers, provided they can show that they have the legal right to train Pokémon. Defeat me, and you will earn a Balance Badge.”
He looked around hopefully, only to see that Brock and Team Rocket were the only ones listening. His face fell slightly, but he seemed to decide this was better than nothing, and went into a speech about the benefits of earning badges.
At that moment, his daughter, who had been standing off to the side daydreaming, looked over at the man behind the lamppost. Her gaze slid past him as though he were simply another part of the scenery - then she did a double take. He smiled winningly at her, raising one hand in salutation; she scowled and turned away. For some reason, this seemed to please Brock, who chuckled to himself.
The man stepped out from behind his ingenious hiding-place and took a spot in front of the podium. Standing to attention, he gave every appearance of rapt fascination with the gym leader’s speech. The girl looked absolutely furious. She hissed something at him, flapping her arms as though shooing away a flock of geese. His response was to produce a red rose from his jacket pocket (it was unclear how he’d kept it in there without squashing it), and hand it to her with a soulful expression.
“Hey!” James spluttered. “Roses are my theme! Jessie, Meowth, he stole my theme!”
The other two just shushed him.
The girl stared at the proffered bloom, face scarlet; then she knocked it away, strode up to her father and tugged on his sleeve.
The gym leader paused mid-sentence. “What is it?” he asked, forgetting to turn off the megaphone.
The girl mouthed something, while the object of her ire stood off to one side, eyes wide in a perfect simulation of innocence. Her father’s expression hovered between puzzled and annoyed. “I don’t see…” he began.
The girl jabbed a finger at the interloper, her lip movements growing more vehement. Her father began to look decidedly vexed. “Oh, all right,” he grumbled, getting down off the podium.
His wife gaze him a puzzled look; he shrugged. Bending to gather up the podium and the fliers, he set off up the street, his family trailing behind him. The green-haired man followed a few paces behind, blithely ignoring the death glares the girl was sending his way.
“Ooookay… what was that all about?” said Jessie, speaking for the entire team.
James and Meowth looked clueless.
At that moment, however, something happened to drive the entire incident out of their minds: yet another man came into view around the corner. He had his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slumped, and a Pikachu trotting at his heels.
“It’s the twerp!” squealed Team Rocket, overjoyed.
Brock looked every bit as pleased to see Ash as they were. “Say, you’ll never guess what,” he called, hurrying up to his younger friend. “I just saw May giving Drew a brush-off like no other. There’s no way he’ll be able to take her to the St. Helena – heck, he wouldn’t be able to take her across the street!”
Ash just grunted. This was clearly not the response Brock had been expecting. “What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Misty found out about the You-Know-What,” said Ash gloomily.
Brock turned pale. “Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
“We’re dead.”
“I know. And I’m the deadest of all. She threw me out of the gym and said she didn’t want to even look at me.” Ash’s tone grew indignant. “Why she thinks it’s OK for her to get all mad after what she’s done, I don’t know.”
“Why, what did she do?”
“Let’s just say it’s better if you don’t get in touch with my mom any time soon.”
Brock didn’t enquire further. “Don’t worry, Ash. You’ve done stupid things before, and she’s always come around eventually.”
“I don’t know… she was pretty angry.”
“As angry as she was the time you T.P.ed her dressing room?”
“Angrier.”
Brock looked alarmed. “That is bad. Maybe you should lay low for a while. Do you want to stay at the inn?”
“Yeah, that’d be great,” said Ash, looking pathetically grateful. “Thanks.”
The two men walked the few feet down the road to the bus stop. Team Rocket exchanged significant looks and sidled around the corner.
“This is perfect,” Jessie hissed as soon as they were out of sight. “The twerp is so torn up about his little girlfriend, he won’t know what’s going on until us and Pikachu are already three blocks away!”
“Which only goes to show dat guys who waste their time on goirls are suckers,” said Meowth in a worldly manner that managed to convey that anyone who mentioned the name Meowsie would soon be missing an eye.
James nodded mournfully. “It’s a tragedy when a man has to go and let himself fall in love with his own fiancée.”
“Now, Jimmy,” said Meowth, now affecting a benevolent air. “I am told dis kind of thing is a common weakness, and we must be tolerant of it.”
“That’s true,” James admitted. “Everywhere you look, men are carrying parcels, walking from department store to department store, producing compliments on demand… kind of like us on Princess Day.”
The two male members of the team shuddered in painful memory. Their recollections were cut short when Jessie’s right boot connected with their backsides. “You both should be grateful for a chance to dote upon my fabulous self!” she screeched. In a calmer voice, she added, “Although I will admit that the number of couples one sees these days is quite revolting.”
“I didn’t know you had a problem with romance, Jess,” said James, surprised.
Jessie’s eyes welled up with tears. “I wouldn’t if it weren’t for the fact that it never seems to involve me!” she sobbed, sinking theatrically to the ground. A red spotlight suddenly appeared from nowhere. Meowth looked around nervously, as though suspecting an accompanying rain of cherry blossoms. Fortunately, none materialised.
“There, there, Jessie,” said James kindly. “It’s not your fault that most men aren’t attracted to evil.”
“Myself, I don’t understand dat,” said Meowth. “What’s not to love? Except for da whole psychotic violent lunatic thing –”
Jessie seized his head and pounded it into the ground, rather proving his point.
“Well, I don’t get this pairing-off business whatsoever,” said James, paying no attention to the brawl erupting between his two best friends. “Romance is all very well and good, but agents in our position could never afford to put it before the Team.”
“Ex-actly,” said Meowth, extracting himself from the whirl of fists and claws. “It’s getting’ outta hand. Just look over dere.”
Jessie and James raised their heads to see where Meowth was pointing. A large cinema stood just across the road – which was strange, as it hadn’t been there a few seconds ago. Before either of them could ponder this, a swell of strings and brass came from nowhere, holding a long chord. Meowth stepped forward, chest thrust out, into yet another magically appearing spotlight, this one blue. He drew a breath, and began to sing.
“What’s playin’ at da Roxy?” he caterwauled, gesturing towards the cinema. “I’ll tell ya what’s playin’ at da Roxy: a picture about a Minnesota man so in love with a Mississippi goirl dat he sacrifices everyt’ing and moves all da way to Biloxi. Dat’s what’s playin’ at da Roxy.”
A green spotlight came into being next to his, illuminating Jessie. She had somehow acquired a newspaper, which was open at the front page. “What’s in the Daily News?” she warbled, more tunefully than her teammate. “I’ll tell you what’s in the Daily News: a story about a guy who bought his wife a small ruby with what otherwise would have been his union dues. That’s what in the Daily News.”
Finally, James stepped up, ubiquitous rose between his fingers, looking gaunt and dramatic in his own purple spotlight. “What’s happening all over?” he belted out, spreading his arms wide. “I’ll tell you what’s happening all over: guys sitting home by a television set, who once used to be something of a rover!”
“That’s what’s happening all over!” Team Rocket sang in unison. They twirled through a series of stylish poses. “Love is the thing that has licked ‘em!”
“And it seems the twerp is just another victim,” James finished off.
With that, the music stopped, the cinema, spotlights and newspaper vanished, and Team Rocket returned to what passed among them for normalcy.
“Speaking of the twerp, we’d better go catch him now,” said Jessie, with no sign that anything out of the ordinary had just happened.
The other two nodded. “Right,” said Meowth. “Youse guys remember da plan?”
“But of course,” said James, whipping out a small, square parcel. “We go and give him this –”
“Sneak off while he’s unwrapping it –” put in Jessie.
“- And then call out the trigger word.”
“And you both remember what da trigger woird is?” said Meowth.
“Sure do!” Jessie and James chorused. “It’s Wobb –”
“Don’t say it, you numbskulls!” Meowth hissed, clocking them both over the head.
The three of them hurried back around the corner, just in time to see the bus pulling away from the curb. Ash, Brock and Pikachu were visible in the back seat.
There was a long silence. Team Rocket contemplated the dissipating trail of exhaust fumes, their faces frozen in a rictus of disbelief. Then they burst into tears and flung their arms around each other, sinking to the ground in a heap.
“So close!” James wailed.
“And yet so far!” sobbed Jessie.
“Anudder plan gone up in smoke!” said Meowth tearfully.
One of Jessie’s Poké-balls suddenly popped open. “Wooobb, wobba,” said Wobbuffet sympathetically, patting her on the head.
Jessie gave a snarl and returned it. “Butt out, Wobbuffet!”
There was a nasty little pause as all three of them realised what she had just said.
The parcel began to smoke.
“Oh dear,” said James.
Three seconds later, the blackened Team Rocket shot through the clouds like a speeding bullet, all three members screaming at the top of their lungs.
“We’re blasting off agaaaaaaa –”
Ash peered through the back window of the bus. He could have sworn he’d just seen a shooting star out of the corner of his eye – but that was impossible in broad daylight, wasn’t it?
He hit Brock on the arm to get his attention. “Hey, did you just see that?”
Brock looked at him blankly. “What?”
“I thought I saw something…” Ash trailed off, a note of uncertainty creeping into his voice.
“You’re still in shock,” said Brock, patting his shoulder in a kindly manner. “You’ll be better once we get back to the inn.”
Ash smiled at his friend. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He settled back in his seat, and put the supposed star out of his head. It must have just been a trick of the light.
“- Aaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiin!”
A distant speck in the sky grew larger, accompanied by three voices raised in a screech. Finally, Team Rocket thudded into the ground with a hefty thump.
“Ouch,” James whimpered.
Meowth gave a groan; Jessie didn’t even answer. None of the trio stirred from their landing-place for several seconds.
Finally, Jessie staggered to her hands and knees, crawled over to James and hit him on the shoulder. “Stop lazing around down there and help me up,” she ordered.
“You’re more up than I am,” James complained.
Jessie hit him again, harder this time. Finally, with a whine of protest, James dragged himself to his feet, tugging Jessie with him. Meowth was left to clamber upright unaided, muttering darkly under his breath.
“How’s dat hair gel woirking out for ya, Jess?” he grumbled.
Jessie gave a satisfied sniff and flicked the end of her brilliant magenta locks, which were totally unscathed from the explosion. As far as her head was concerned, she might as well have placed it inside a concrete bunker. It was a pity that the rest of her hadn’t been as lucky.
Team Rocket surveyed the wreckage of their plan. A few charred scraps of cardboard and a whiff of gunpowder were the only remains of the Wobba-bomb. The traditional gust of wind blew past, stirring the remaining ashes and mingling with the trio’s sighs. It seemed that there would never be any escape from the curse of bad luck and unerring comic timing that had dogged them ever since they had first encountered the twerps.
Jessie suddenly broke the silence by letting out a gasp and leaping forward. The other two looked at her, but she didn’t notice. Her eyes flashed, every muscle in her body tense with expectation.
“Jessie?” said James uncertainly.
Jessie made an impatient swatting motion to silence him. She turned her head to the side, listening intently. “Do you hear that?” she hissed. “Those voices?”
James and Meowth exchanged glances. By their estimation, they had crash-landed in a small street in Pewter City, not far away from the centre of town. There were a great many voices to be heard, as the usual crowds milled about the main road nearby. Why Jessie should find this significant was unclear. They hoped the force of the blasting off hadn’t done anything funny to her. Once, she had been stuck inside her own childhood memories for three days.
Without saying another word, she revolved on her heel and strode up the street, leaving her confused team-mates to scramble after her.
As they reached the corner, Jessie came to a halt. Holding out a hand to stop James and Meowth, she stood still once more, eyes gleaming. “I knew it,” she hissed. “I’d know that snooty brat’s voice anywhere –”
James decided to risk it. “What is it, Jessie?” he whispered.
Jessie turned to look at him. Her face was alight with manic fervour. “Cassidy.”
Meowth’s eyebrows shot up; James blinked, nonplussed. “Cassidy? And Botch?”
Jessie nodded. James and Meowth peered around the corner. A man and woman could be seen a few feet away. They were wearing long leather coats, but the stiff, bronze-coloured bunches at the back of the woman’s head identified her as Jessie’s lifelong rival.
“Well, who’da t’ought,” Meowth breathed. “Ain’t it been nearly five years now?”
“It has,” said Jessie grimly. “I thought I’d finally seen the back of that bimbo and her brain-dead partner.”
James wisely decided not to point out that the bimbo and the brain-dead one, unlike them, occasionally pulled off the missions that Giovanni set them, and inched forward for a closer look. “I wonder what they’re doing?”
Jessie yanked him back. “Idiot! Do you want them to know we’re here?” She then leaned in herself, scrutinising Cassidy through narrowed eyes. “They must be up to something.”
“How do you know dat?” said Meowth.
Jessie snorted. “Take one look at their outfits, Meowth. Why else would they be dressed like that?”
Meowth glanced down at his own attire – the trench coat was now rather singed – and twiddled the end of his false moustache. “You’re probably right.”
Butch and Cassidy were talking in low voices. Jessie, James and Meowth strained their ears until they could just about make out what they were saying.
“- Telling you, we’re close. They run their operation from an inn. Shouldn’t be hard to find.”
“We got a name?” That was Butch, his gravely voice ever distinctive.
Cassidy’s smirk was evident despite her back being turned. “Yes, but we won’t need that. This place is going to be hard to miss. You won’t believe what it used to be…”
The duo started walking away, still deep in conversation. In one swift motion, Jessie, James and Meowth leaned over the nearest wall, picked up a plant pot each, held them in front of their faces and tiptoed up the street in pursuit.
“- Not exactly low-profile, huh?” Butch gave a rough bark of laughter.
Cassidy sniggered. “Amazing, isn’t it? That anyone that clueless has managed to escape the police for this long? A former Pokémon gym – they must get raided once a week.”
“The police in this city couldn’t catch a cold.”
“Point.”
Jessie, James and Meowth glanced at each other. It was clear that they were all thinking the same thing.
Jessie motioned for the other two to lean in closer. “Former Pokémon gym?” she mouthed.
The other two nodded. “Da twoips,” breathed Meowth.
Jessie bared her teeth in a snarl. “Can you believe them?” she hissed. “The Boss has gone and given them some big undercover mission, and we haven’t been told a thing! And us right in the next town!”
James looked uneasy. “What are they after the twerps for? I don’t like the sound of this.”
Jessie’s eyes narrowed. “Me neither.” She drew herself up to her full height and flashed a tight smile. “So here’s what we’re going to do. We’ll follow them and find out what they’re up to. Then we’ll foil their plan, take over whatever mission the Boss has given them, make out that they screwed up, and steal all the glory.”
The faces of the other two lit up. “And we’ll get big promotions?” said James.
Jessie gave a smirk to rival Cassidy’s. “You betcha.”
Meowth tried to rub his paws together, only giving up when he remembered about the plant pot. “And we can even nab dat Pikachu while we’re dere!”
Team Rocket suppressed their cackles as they crept towards the corner that Butch and Cassidy had just rounded. This was shaping up to be a less monotonous day than usual. And if they were lucky, they’d have a chance to get away with landing their rivals in jail yet again.
It was a matter of principle, really. After all, nobody picked on their twerps, but them.
As they made their way up the high street, Cassidy discreetly nudged Butch’s arm. “Say, did you know that those losers Jessie and James and their freak of a Pokémon have been following us for the last three blocks with geraniums on their heads?”
“Yup,” said Butch casually.
“Just checking. Think we should get rid of them?”
“Nah. What can they do?”
“Mmm. That’s what I thought.”
Heeeere's part five! Thanks for holding on so long, everyone.
Warning: this chapter features random musical numbers. Also plenty o' Team Rocket, and the mysterious origin of Misty's cold.---
Misty’s Lament
Misty watched the vase shatter into a hundred pieces. Neither that nor her accompanying shriek of fury soothed her feelings one bit. She spun on her heel and kicked the dresser as hard as she could, then hobbled across the room and flung herself into a chair.
How dare he. All this time, he’d been playing the victim while secretly breaking the law? That was the kind of behaviour she’d expect from Team Rocket, not from Ash. How had the kind, well-meaning boy she’d befriended all those years ago turned into someone capable of lying like that - to his own fiancée, no less? Come to think of it, how was it that Violet had known the truth before she had?
The answer to that question came as soon as she had begun to think about it: Tracey. Ash must have told him, and he would have told Daisy - and whenever one Water Flower knew anything, the other two always knew it too before the hour was out. So that meant that all three of her sisters, as well as one of her closest friends, had been keeping her in the dark. Misty felt a stab of humiliation through her heart. Did Brock know? Had he been deceiving her for all this time, too? What about Mrs. Ketchum?
“This is the worst anniversary ever!” she cried, pounding her fist into the arm of the chair.
She felt a sudden pang for Togepi. The little egg Pokémon had amazed them all nine years ago by evolving to Togetic, only to leave forever shortly after. As far as she had been able to make out, it felt a yearning for a distant land where it somehow knew it was needed. Eventually, Misty had decided to let it go. They had shared a tearful goodbye, and that was the last she had ever seen of her beloved baby Pokémon. She still missed Togepi terribly, especially in moments of crisis. Right now, she felt as though she could use something warm to cuddle.
Misty’s nose began to itch. She broke off from her thoughts to search for a tissue, and sneezed so explosively that the chair nearly toppled over.
“Oh, this stupid cold!” she howled.
She had to find a way to take her mind off things. She began to look around the room for a distraction, and her gaze happened to fall upon the dresser. The book that her doctor had recommended lay where she’d dropped it fifteen minutes ago. After a moment’s hesitation, she picked it up and began to thumb through. This could occupy her for a few minutes.
At last she found her place, and began to read aloud. “‘An unmarried female, particularly when involved with a man who is unwilling to commit, can experience prolonged feelings of –’ a-choo! ‘- frustration. Due to this, she may suffer from psychosomatic symptoms affecting the upper respiratory tract. Such females – constantly in suspense – can exhibit neurotic tendencies (see note)’.”
Misty frowned. If she had understood correctly, the passage was telling her that waiting around all this time for Ash to pull his finger out and marry her was the source of her cold. But that was ridiculous – wasn’t it?
She read the note: “‘Chronic, organic syndromes, toxic or hypertensive, involving the eye, ear, nose and throat’.”
Misty lowered the book with an incredulous laugh. She hadn’t misinterpreted – this quack was really trying to sell the idea that commitment-phobic boyfriends caused the ‘flu. Why on Earth had Dr. Chelle given her this rubbish? As if her blocked sinuses had anything to do with her being stuck in engagement-limbo for seven years, while her fiancé sneaked around behind her back organising illegal Pokémon tournaments –
“Ah… ah… ah…” Misty gasped suddenly. She seized the tissue once more with a shaking hand. “A–CHOO!”
The air rang with silence while the echoes died away. Misty sat perfectly still, the lower half of her face hidden from view, unease stirring inside her.
“It’s a coincidence,” she told herself sternly. Of course it was. To think otherwise would be absurd.
And yet… there was no denying that the biggest sneezing fit had occurred when she was yelling at Ash earlier…
She could test it. That would prove things once and for all. Misty settled back in her chair, closed her eyes, and tried to conjure up the moment when she’d discovered what Ash had done. At once, images rose in her mind, as vivid as though they were really happening before her all over again – and with them came the familiar tingling sensation, spreading through her nasal passages and finally bursting out of her in the form of three deafening sneezes.
At the end of it all, Misty was left hunched over, mind racing. “Oh, no,” she moaned. “Not good…”
If the book was right… if the author really was on to something… then her only hope was to either persuade Ash to marry her, or make herself stop loving him.
Misty buried her face in her knees with a despairing wail. It looked as though she’d have to face up to certain facts: she was going to be stuck with her cold for a very, very long time.
~*~
It was the start of yet another uneventful weekend in the Viridian City Pokémon Centre. Nurse Joy stifled a yawn, turning a page in the magazine she was reading, which had an interesting article by a famous breeder. Since the new system had been devised, fewer people needed to bring in their Pokémon for healing, which meant much less work for a Joy to do. Most of the people coming in these days were only looking for a cheap place to stay. Sometimes she felt more like an innkeeper than a Pokémon nurse – a fact that she would do well never to mention to Brock Harrison, as he would undoubtedly seize upon it as yet another reason why he and she were meant to be.
Somebody nearby interrupted her train of thought by clearing his or her throat. Joy looked up to see a man and woman standing in front of her desk, regarding her from beneath identical bowler hats.
“Oh! I’m sorry,” she exclaimed, stuffing the magazine under the desk, hoisting a smile onto her face and trying her best not to stare at their outfits. The bowlers in and of themselves weren’t so peculiar, but combined with the greatcoats and the false moustaches, it was a bit of a strange get-up. “How may I help you?”
The woman spoke, in an obviously fake British accent. “We were just wondering if a Mr. Ash Ketchum was staying in this Pokémon Centre?”
“We have a package for him,” the man explained.
“Of great importance,” chimed in a third voice from below the level of the desk.
Joy leaned over to see a small figure standing in-between the other two. It was either a Pokémon or an extremely short, ugly human. Whatever it was, it was dressed just as strangely as its two companions. From above, all Joy could see of its face was a patch of faded brown hair and a set of long whiskers.
“Well, I’ll just check that for you,” she said, moving over to the computer and accessing the database. “K-e-… Ketchum… oh, I’m sorry. There was an Ash Ketchum staying here, but he checked out this morning.”
The trio’s faces fell. “Did Mr. Ketchum mention where he was going?” the man asked hopefully.
Joy shook her head. “No, I’m sorry. If he comes in here again, I’ll tell him you were looking for him. What are your names?”
For some reason, all three looked panicked at being asked this question. “Uhhh, don’t worry about it, we’ll find him ourselves,” said the woman. “Goodbyeeee!”
With that, they dashed out of the Centre as fast as blinking.
Joy stared at the doors swinging on their hinges for a few seconds, before giving herself a little shake and putting the encounter out of her mind. After all, there were plenty of weird people in the city.
~*~
Once they’d reached the other end of the street, the trio slowed to a halt. All three looked greatly annoyed.
“Well, dat was a big fat waste of time,” complained the shortest member. “Da twoip could be anywhere!”
“Once again, a brilliant plan ruined by bad timing,” James sighed, raising his eyes to the heavens.
“Oh? Dat’s funny, ‘cause I always t’ought our plans were usually ruined by an explosion or a giant hole or dat Pikachu –”
Meowth’s words ended in a yelp as Jessie, always quick to anger, whipped out a fan and bopped him over the head. “Don’t talk about failure to me!” she yelled. “The plan would have worked fine if you hadn’t made us chase that dust bunny through three fields!”
Meowth picked himself off the ground and glowered at her. “For da last time, from where I was standin’ it looked just like an Espeon, OK? Besides, need I remind youse who it was insisted on dropping off at dat store back dere to rob ‘em of their entire supply of ‘Rock Solid’s Brand-Name Hair Gel’?
“That was different! I have to keep my fabulous hair in this shape, or I get split ends! Plus, it makes better cushioning when we blast off.”
James made the mistake of trying to be reasonable. “That nurse said the twerp checked out this morning, so us being a couple of hours earlier wouldn’t have mattered anyw – ow!”
“Who asked you?” Jessie and Meowth both roared, fists still raised.
James was luckily spared further violence by the appearance of an unlikely saviour. A tall man with short, spiky hair hurried around the corner. He was looking around in a distracted manner, despite his eyes being screwed tightly shut.
“Say, ain’t dat one of da twoips?” said Meowth.
Jessie swung around to look, nearly bowling the cat-Pokémon over with her hair. “I believe it is,” she said. “Maybe he’s looking for Ash, too!”
James jumped to his feet, spirits recovered in an instant. “In which case, he’ll lead us straight to Pikachu!”
Team Rocket rubbed their hands together, cackling. “We’re gonna get promoted!” they sang.
‘Da twoip’ came to a halt nearby, and peered at the gym across the road. A young man with green hair and an expensive suit lurked outside, cunningly concealed behind a lamppost. It was unclear why Brock should find this so riveting, but he stopped and stared for a good few minutes nonetheless.
Finally, something happened. The gym doors opened and a man stepped out, followed by a couple of women who were presumably his wife and daughter. He carried a stack of fliers, while the other two were laden down with a megaphone and a miniature podium. The girl drew a kazoo from her pocket, took the megaphone from her mother, switched it on and played a brief fanfare, the sound magnified and distorted with static. She then handed it to her father, who stood up on the podium and announced, “Citizens of Viridian City!”
A few curious heads nearby turned, then lost interest and carried on with whatever they had been doing beforehand. The man either didn’t notice this or decided to soldier on regardless. “I am here to announce that the gym is under new management – myself, and my family. I am ready to accept any and all challengers, provided they can show that they have the legal right to train Pokémon. Defeat me, and you will earn a Balance Badge.”
He looked around hopefully, only to see that Brock and Team Rocket were the only ones listening. His face fell slightly, but he seemed to decide this was better than nothing, and went into a speech about the benefits of earning badges.
At that moment, his daughter, who had been standing off to the side daydreaming, looked over at the man behind the lamppost. Her gaze slid past him as though he were simply another part of the scenery - then she did a double take. He smiled winningly at her, raising one hand in salutation; she scowled and turned away. For some reason, this seemed to please Brock, who chuckled to himself.
The man stepped out from behind his ingenious hiding-place and took a spot in front of the podium. Standing to attention, he gave every appearance of rapt fascination with the gym leader’s speech. The girl looked absolutely furious. She hissed something at him, flapping her arms as though shooing away a flock of geese. His response was to produce a red rose from his jacket pocket (it was unclear how he’d kept it in there without squashing it), and hand it to her with a soulful expression.
“Hey!” James spluttered. “Roses are my theme! Jessie, Meowth, he stole my theme!”
The other two just shushed him.
The girl stared at the proffered bloom, face scarlet; then she knocked it away, strode up to her father and tugged on his sleeve.
The gym leader paused mid-sentence. “What is it?” he asked, forgetting to turn off the megaphone.
The girl mouthed something, while the object of her ire stood off to one side, eyes wide in a perfect simulation of innocence. Her father’s expression hovered between puzzled and annoyed. “I don’t see…” he began.
The girl jabbed a finger at the interloper, her lip movements growing more vehement. Her father began to look decidedly vexed. “Oh, all right,” he grumbled, getting down off the podium.
His wife gaze him a puzzled look; he shrugged. Bending to gather up the podium and the fliers, he set off up the street, his family trailing behind him. The green-haired man followed a few paces behind, blithely ignoring the death glares the girl was sending his way.
“Ooookay… what was that all about?” said Jessie, speaking for the entire team.
James and Meowth looked clueless.
At that moment, however, something happened to drive the entire incident out of their minds: yet another man came into view around the corner. He had his hands in his pockets, his shoulders slumped, and a Pikachu trotting at his heels.
“It’s the twerp!” squealed Team Rocket, overjoyed.
Brock looked every bit as pleased to see Ash as they were. “Say, you’ll never guess what,” he called, hurrying up to his younger friend. “I just saw May giving Drew a brush-off like no other. There’s no way he’ll be able to take her to the St. Helena – heck, he wouldn’t be able to take her across the street!”
Ash just grunted. This was clearly not the response Brock had been expecting. “What’s the matter?” he asked.
“Misty found out about the You-Know-What,” said Ash gloomily.
Brock turned pale. “Are you serious?”
“Yep.”
“We’re dead.”
“I know. And I’m the deadest of all. She threw me out of the gym and said she didn’t want to even look at me.” Ash’s tone grew indignant. “Why she thinks it’s OK for her to get all mad after what she’s done, I don’t know.”
“Why, what did she do?”
“Let’s just say it’s better if you don’t get in touch with my mom any time soon.”
Brock didn’t enquire further. “Don’t worry, Ash. You’ve done stupid things before, and she’s always come around eventually.”
“I don’t know… she was pretty angry.”
“As angry as she was the time you T.P.ed her dressing room?”
“Angrier.”
Brock looked alarmed. “That is bad. Maybe you should lay low for a while. Do you want to stay at the inn?”
“Yeah, that’d be great,” said Ash, looking pathetically grateful. “Thanks.”
The two men walked the few feet down the road to the bus stop. Team Rocket exchanged significant looks and sidled around the corner.
“This is perfect,” Jessie hissed as soon as they were out of sight. “The twerp is so torn up about his little girlfriend, he won’t know what’s going on until us and Pikachu are already three blocks away!”
“Which only goes to show dat guys who waste their time on goirls are suckers,” said Meowth in a worldly manner that managed to convey that anyone who mentioned the name Meowsie would soon be missing an eye.
James nodded mournfully. “It’s a tragedy when a man has to go and let himself fall in love with his own fiancée.”
“Now, Jimmy,” said Meowth, now affecting a benevolent air. “I am told dis kind of thing is a common weakness, and we must be tolerant of it.”
“That’s true,” James admitted. “Everywhere you look, men are carrying parcels, walking from department store to department store, producing compliments on demand… kind of like us on Princess Day.”
The two male members of the team shuddered in painful memory. Their recollections were cut short when Jessie’s right boot connected with their backsides. “You both should be grateful for a chance to dote upon my fabulous self!” she screeched. In a calmer voice, she added, “Although I will admit that the number of couples one sees these days is quite revolting.”
“I didn’t know you had a problem with romance, Jess,” said James, surprised.
Jessie’s eyes welled up with tears. “I wouldn’t if it weren’t for the fact that it never seems to involve me!” she sobbed, sinking theatrically to the ground. A red spotlight suddenly appeared from nowhere. Meowth looked around nervously, as though suspecting an accompanying rain of cherry blossoms. Fortunately, none materialised.
“There, there, Jessie,” said James kindly. “It’s not your fault that most men aren’t attracted to evil.”
“Myself, I don’t understand dat,” said Meowth. “What’s not to love? Except for da whole psychotic violent lunatic thing –”
Jessie seized his head and pounded it into the ground, rather proving his point.
“Well, I don’t get this pairing-off business whatsoever,” said James, paying no attention to the brawl erupting between his two best friends. “Romance is all very well and good, but agents in our position could never afford to put it before the Team.”
“Ex-actly,” said Meowth, extracting himself from the whirl of fists and claws. “It’s getting’ outta hand. Just look over dere.”
Jessie and James raised their heads to see where Meowth was pointing. A large cinema stood just across the road – which was strange, as it hadn’t been there a few seconds ago. Before either of them could ponder this, a swell of strings and brass came from nowhere, holding a long chord. Meowth stepped forward, chest thrust out, into yet another magically appearing spotlight, this one blue. He drew a breath, and began to sing.
“What’s playin’ at da Roxy?” he caterwauled, gesturing towards the cinema. “I’ll tell ya what’s playin’ at da Roxy: a picture about a Minnesota man so in love with a Mississippi goirl dat he sacrifices everyt’ing and moves all da way to Biloxi. Dat’s what’s playin’ at da Roxy.”
A green spotlight came into being next to his, illuminating Jessie. She had somehow acquired a newspaper, which was open at the front page. “What’s in the Daily News?” she warbled, more tunefully than her teammate. “I’ll tell you what’s in the Daily News: a story about a guy who bought his wife a small ruby with what otherwise would have been his union dues. That’s what in the Daily News.”
Finally, James stepped up, ubiquitous rose between his fingers, looking gaunt and dramatic in his own purple spotlight. “What’s happening all over?” he belted out, spreading his arms wide. “I’ll tell you what’s happening all over: guys sitting home by a television set, who once used to be something of a rover!”
“That’s what’s happening all over!” Team Rocket sang in unison. They twirled through a series of stylish poses. “Love is the thing that has licked ‘em!”
“And it seems the twerp is just another victim,” James finished off.
With that, the music stopped, the cinema, spotlights and newspaper vanished, and Team Rocket returned to what passed among them for normalcy.
“Speaking of the twerp, we’d better go catch him now,” said Jessie, with no sign that anything out of the ordinary had just happened.
The other two nodded. “Right,” said Meowth. “Youse guys remember da plan?”
“But of course,” said James, whipping out a small, square parcel. “We go and give him this –”
“Sneak off while he’s unwrapping it –” put in Jessie.
“- And then call out the trigger word.”
“And you both remember what da trigger woird is?” said Meowth.
“Sure do!” Jessie and James chorused. “It’s Wobb –”
“Don’t say it, you numbskulls!” Meowth hissed, clocking them both over the head.
The three of them hurried back around the corner, just in time to see the bus pulling away from the curb. Ash, Brock and Pikachu were visible in the back seat.
There was a long silence. Team Rocket contemplated the dissipating trail of exhaust fumes, their faces frozen in a rictus of disbelief. Then they burst into tears and flung their arms around each other, sinking to the ground in a heap.
“So close!” James wailed.
“And yet so far!” sobbed Jessie.
“Anudder plan gone up in smoke!” said Meowth tearfully.
One of Jessie’s Poké-balls suddenly popped open. “Wooobb, wobba,” said Wobbuffet sympathetically, patting her on the head.
Jessie gave a snarl and returned it. “Butt out, Wobbuffet!”
There was a nasty little pause as all three of them realised what she had just said.
The parcel began to smoke.
“Oh dear,” said James.
Three seconds later, the blackened Team Rocket shot through the clouds like a speeding bullet, all three members screaming at the top of their lungs.
“We’re blasting off agaaaaaaa –”
~*~
Ash peered through the back window of the bus. He could have sworn he’d just seen a shooting star out of the corner of his eye – but that was impossible in broad daylight, wasn’t it?
He hit Brock on the arm to get his attention. “Hey, did you just see that?”
Brock looked at him blankly. “What?”
“I thought I saw something…” Ash trailed off, a note of uncertainty creeping into his voice.
“You’re still in shock,” said Brock, patting his shoulder in a kindly manner. “You’ll be better once we get back to the inn.”
Ash smiled at his friend. “Yeah, you’re probably right.” He settled back in his seat, and put the supposed star out of his head. It must have just been a trick of the light.
~*~
“- Aaaaaaaiiiiiiiiiiin!”
A distant speck in the sky grew larger, accompanied by three voices raised in a screech. Finally, Team Rocket thudded into the ground with a hefty thump.
“Ouch,” James whimpered.
Meowth gave a groan; Jessie didn’t even answer. None of the trio stirred from their landing-place for several seconds.
Finally, Jessie staggered to her hands and knees, crawled over to James and hit him on the shoulder. “Stop lazing around down there and help me up,” she ordered.
“You’re more up than I am,” James complained.
Jessie hit him again, harder this time. Finally, with a whine of protest, James dragged himself to his feet, tugging Jessie with him. Meowth was left to clamber upright unaided, muttering darkly under his breath.
“How’s dat hair gel woirking out for ya, Jess?” he grumbled.
Jessie gave a satisfied sniff and flicked the end of her brilliant magenta locks, which were totally unscathed from the explosion. As far as her head was concerned, she might as well have placed it inside a concrete bunker. It was a pity that the rest of her hadn’t been as lucky.
Team Rocket surveyed the wreckage of their plan. A few charred scraps of cardboard and a whiff of gunpowder were the only remains of the Wobba-bomb. The traditional gust of wind blew past, stirring the remaining ashes and mingling with the trio’s sighs. It seemed that there would never be any escape from the curse of bad luck and unerring comic timing that had dogged them ever since they had first encountered the twerps.
Jessie suddenly broke the silence by letting out a gasp and leaping forward. The other two looked at her, but she didn’t notice. Her eyes flashed, every muscle in her body tense with expectation.
“Jessie?” said James uncertainly.
Jessie made an impatient swatting motion to silence him. She turned her head to the side, listening intently. “Do you hear that?” she hissed. “Those voices?”
James and Meowth exchanged glances. By their estimation, they had crash-landed in a small street in Pewter City, not far away from the centre of town. There were a great many voices to be heard, as the usual crowds milled about the main road nearby. Why Jessie should find this significant was unclear. They hoped the force of the blasting off hadn’t done anything funny to her. Once, she had been stuck inside her own childhood memories for three days.
Without saying another word, she revolved on her heel and strode up the street, leaving her confused team-mates to scramble after her.
As they reached the corner, Jessie came to a halt. Holding out a hand to stop James and Meowth, she stood still once more, eyes gleaming. “I knew it,” she hissed. “I’d know that snooty brat’s voice anywhere –”
James decided to risk it. “What is it, Jessie?” he whispered.
Jessie turned to look at him. Her face was alight with manic fervour. “Cassidy.”
Meowth’s eyebrows shot up; James blinked, nonplussed. “Cassidy? And Botch?”
Jessie nodded. James and Meowth peered around the corner. A man and woman could be seen a few feet away. They were wearing long leather coats, but the stiff, bronze-coloured bunches at the back of the woman’s head identified her as Jessie’s lifelong rival.
“Well, who’da t’ought,” Meowth breathed. “Ain’t it been nearly five years now?”
“It has,” said Jessie grimly. “I thought I’d finally seen the back of that bimbo and her brain-dead partner.”
James wisely decided not to point out that the bimbo and the brain-dead one, unlike them, occasionally pulled off the missions that Giovanni set them, and inched forward for a closer look. “I wonder what they’re doing?”
Jessie yanked him back. “Idiot! Do you want them to know we’re here?” She then leaned in herself, scrutinising Cassidy through narrowed eyes. “They must be up to something.”
“How do you know dat?” said Meowth.
Jessie snorted. “Take one look at their outfits, Meowth. Why else would they be dressed like that?”
Meowth glanced down at his own attire – the trench coat was now rather singed – and twiddled the end of his false moustache. “You’re probably right.”
Butch and Cassidy were talking in low voices. Jessie, James and Meowth strained their ears until they could just about make out what they were saying.
“- Telling you, we’re close. They run their operation from an inn. Shouldn’t be hard to find.”
“We got a name?” That was Butch, his gravely voice ever distinctive.
Cassidy’s smirk was evident despite her back being turned. “Yes, but we won’t need that. This place is going to be hard to miss. You won’t believe what it used to be…”
The duo started walking away, still deep in conversation. In one swift motion, Jessie, James and Meowth leaned over the nearest wall, picked up a plant pot each, held them in front of their faces and tiptoed up the street in pursuit.
“- Not exactly low-profile, huh?” Butch gave a rough bark of laughter.
Cassidy sniggered. “Amazing, isn’t it? That anyone that clueless has managed to escape the police for this long? A former Pokémon gym – they must get raided once a week.”
“The police in this city couldn’t catch a cold.”
“Point.”
Jessie, James and Meowth glanced at each other. It was clear that they were all thinking the same thing.
Jessie motioned for the other two to lean in closer. “Former Pokémon gym?” she mouthed.
The other two nodded. “Da twoips,” breathed Meowth.
Jessie bared her teeth in a snarl. “Can you believe them?” she hissed. “The Boss has gone and given them some big undercover mission, and we haven’t been told a thing! And us right in the next town!”
James looked uneasy. “What are they after the twerps for? I don’t like the sound of this.”
Jessie’s eyes narrowed. “Me neither.” She drew herself up to her full height and flashed a tight smile. “So here’s what we’re going to do. We’ll follow them and find out what they’re up to. Then we’ll foil their plan, take over whatever mission the Boss has given them, make out that they screwed up, and steal all the glory.”
The faces of the other two lit up. “And we’ll get big promotions?” said James.
Jessie gave a smirk to rival Cassidy’s. “You betcha.”
Meowth tried to rub his paws together, only giving up when he remembered about the plant pot. “And we can even nab dat Pikachu while we’re dere!”
Team Rocket suppressed their cackles as they crept towards the corner that Butch and Cassidy had just rounded. This was shaping up to be a less monotonous day than usual. And if they were lucky, they’d have a chance to get away with landing their rivals in jail yet again.
It was a matter of principle, really. After all, nobody picked on their twerps, but them.
~*~
As they made their way up the high street, Cassidy discreetly nudged Butch’s arm. “Say, did you know that those losers Jessie and James and their freak of a Pokémon have been following us for the last three blocks with geraniums on their heads?”
“Yup,” said Butch casually.
“Just checking. Think we should get rid of them?”
“Nah. What can they do?”
“Mmm. That’s what I thought.”
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K
KingFirestump
Guest
Haha! That was hilarious, Jo-Jo! This story is so good. I really hope you keep going with it.
R
Rene Bellosh
Guest
Hehe, I just absolutely loved how TR acted like the idiots they always are. You even managed to include those anime effects like the spotlights and such. Can't wait for the next chapter.
You even managed to include those anime effects like the spotlights and such. Can't wait for the next chapter. Encyclopika
The Queen
Yet again, Jo-Jo, a great chapter! You do an absolutely great job on every chapter, having every character so in characater - especially TR - I could just imagine that happening to them in the real show. I had kind of suspected Misty's cold to be related to her Ash problems since Chapter 4 - but thanks for making is abundantly clear. ^^ One more thing - I find Brock to be funny - well more than normal - in te story, especially when he gave the news report on Drew. XD
Anyway, as usual and like everyone else, can't wait to read the next chapter...so original, I know. XD
Anyway, as usual and like everyone else, can't wait to read the next chapter...so original, I know. XD
Valkyrie X
Well-Known Member
Brilliant chapter, Jo-Jo. Grammar and spelling were excellent and the length was great. I'd like a tiny bit more description, but as I already stated, that's not so crucial in this fic, so you can ignore me on this if you want.=P I'd also love to see a little more Contestshippyness, but I know that'll come later, so I'll wait patiently.
I did find one tiny little error...
So, overall, spectacular job; I look forward to the next chapter.
;381;Lati_Lover;380;
I did find one tiny little error...
I'm assuming you missed putting an "of" between the "one" and "her"? Other than this small typo, your grammar was perfect.Jo-Jo said:
So, overall, spectacular job; I look forward to the next chapter.
;381;Lati_Lover;380;
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