Ash yawned heavily as he wandered the town. He and his friends, Dawn and Brock had stopped off to pick up some supplies, but there was no gym here nor any decent Pokemon trainers. He was bored out of his skull.
As Ash sauntered along the pavement, a bright pink neon light caught his attention. Glancing up, he saw the flashing words: Salon Rockét.
Salon Rockét... that sounded familiar to him somehow. Deciding to check it out and see if there's anything suspicious, Ash opened the door and headed in.
"Ah, this is hopeless..." wailed Jessie, seated in one of the salon chairs. "Who's bright idea was it to use this idea again?"
"We don't have a choice, Jessie." her partner, James, explained. They were both disguised as stylists, both wearing glasses and black shirts. Jessie wore a red skirt and black high heels while James wore red trousers with black shoes. "You know we need money somehow."
Meowth scoffed from his position behind the cash register. "Yeah, but we ain't gettin' any customers. So fat lotta good it's gonna do us."
As if on cue, the three of them heard the bell from their door and immediately stood up straight, the words "a customer!" ringing in their heads. However, the three of them were horrified to see a familiar face and quickly ducked out of sight.
"It's the twerp!" hissed Jessie.
"What're we going to do, he's sure to recognise us!" sobbed James, already crying a river.
"Just keep yer traps shut, and maybe he'll leave..." whispered Meowth.
"Um... hello?" Too focused on arguing, Team Rocket failed to notice Ash had discovered them.
"AAAH!" the trio screamed, jumping away. In there minds, they all thought a collective "busted!"
"Hey... do I know you three?" The three rocketeers blinked. He didn't recognise them? They'd always known he was dense but this...
James was first to act.
"Ah, young man, welcome to Salon Rockét!"
As soon as he said that, Jessie immediately dragged him back over by his ear.
"James, WHAT do you think you're DOING? Get rid of him; he'll realize it's us eventually!"
"Jessie, think about it; he doesn't recognise us. At least not at the minute. Let's take advantage of this..." he grinned evilly as his glasses gained a sinister glint. "Let's show him exactly what we do at Salon Rockét."
Jessie blinked for a moment, before grinning as well. "I get it..."
Ash watched them both giggle creepily from their corner. As if looking for an answer, he looked at Meowth.
"Uh... Meowth!" shouted the cat Pokemon, leaping back to the cashier desk and curling up on the seat."
"Huh..." muttered Ash. "Guess I was wrong..."
"Oh, good sir!" practically squealed Jessie. "Welcome to Salon Rockét!"
"Wonderful news, young man!" cried an almost-giddy James. "As a prize, I'm proud to announce that you've won a makeover, absolutely free!"
Ash gulped, for some reason images of his adventures in Celadon filling his mind. "Eh... n-no thanks..." he stammered as he inched towards the door; he failed to notice Jessie slink in behind him.
"Oh, but we INSIST!" she shouted, as she booted him in the back onto one of the salon chairs. Meowth, realising his cohorts plans, pressed a button hidden under his desk. Immediately, metal bonds shackled Ash's arms and legs to the chair, preventing him from getting up.
"H-hey! Wh-what is this?" he demanded, struggling futilely against his bonds.
Jessie chuckled as she switched the sign to "CLOSED" and both she and James through off their disguises.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!"
"You're Team Rocket!" shouted Ash.
"Got that right, twerp!" chuckled Meowth. "And this time, we gotcha right where we wantcha!"
"But don't worry, dear," smiled Jessie with false sincerity. "You'll still get that makeover we promised you." Her smiled shifted to menacing. "Whether you like it or not! You humiliated us so many times, well now it's our turn to humiliate you!"
"Ooh, what should we do first, what should we do first!" asked an excited James, jumping from one foot to another.
"Meowth!" roared Jessie, the same demonic smile on her face. "You know what to do!"
"Gotcha!" the talking cat affirmed as he leapt at their prisoner, rapidly clawing away with Fury Swipes. Ash was unharmed, but the result shredded his clothes, leaving him in nothing but a pair of white briefs.
"Now then..." grinned Jessie as she loomed over her captive. "James, Meowth! Let's start the fun part!"
"Yes ma'am!" they chorused, standing to attention and saluting, as all three of them immediately got to work.
Leaning the chair back so that Ash was now facing the ceiling, Jessie and James both began to apply heavy makeup to the young trainer's face. Lipstick, eyeshadow, eyeliner, blush, and a host of other cosmetics that Ash didn't know nor recognise. Meanwhile, he could feel that Meowth had set about giving him a manicure, gluing false nails to each finger and filing them to a point before applying nail polish.
After what felt like hours, the three felons finally finished, and adjusted Ash's seat so he was sitting upright and could see their work. And his eyes widened in horror upon seeing his reflection.
Full, black eyelashes that curled upwards. Pale green eyelids that emphasized his brown eyes. Smooth, flawless cheeks with a cute blush. Full, pink and pouty lips. Looking down at his hands, he saw a bright pink inch-long talon on the end of each finger.
Ash actually looked like a girl! And the worst part was, despite this he was still recognizable to anyone who knew him.
"Aren't you just gorgeous?" Jessie's voice snapped him out of his brief shock. "I'm sure all the boys are gonna LOVE your new look!"
Grinning, she pressed a button on the underside of his seat, releasing him from his bonds. The made-up boy tried to make a break for it, but Jessie and James grabbed him before he could, and the child's struggles were futile against the two twenty-something-year-olds'.
"Time to get you dressed, sweetie!" sang Jessie as she and her partner began to walk their victim through to the back room. "We have some Pikachu panties that'll look just DARLING on you!"
"And I think I have the perfect outfit in mind, too!" grinned James.
"I got an idea!" Meowth chimed in. "How about we get some glue, to make sure da twerp gets to enjoy his new outfit for a looong time!"
"Excellent idea, Meowth!" squealed Jessie. The poor boy was helpless as he was marched into the next room for the final phase of his transformation.
"Where could he be?" sighed Dawn, as she continued to look around. Ash had went out for a walk, but he hadn't returned in two hours, so she and Brock decided to try looking for him. She turned to the former Gym Leader. "She anyth..."
She stopped mid-sentence upon spotting Brock attempting to woo a young woman, just a little distance away.
"Oh, beautiful fair maiden!" he announced, getting stares from everyone around. "You need not fear the cold grip of lonliness anymore! For I, your Rosenkavalier, have arri-URK!" Brock doubled over in pain as his Croagunk removed its poisoned fingers from his stomach.
"Croagunk..." it sighed, shaking its head.
"Sorry about that..." giggled Dawn, as Croagunk dragged its master away. She looked over the young woman. Her outfit consisted of an elegant, pale green dress with plenty of white frills. A wide-brimmed hat of the same colour with a large white bow on one side was pulled down to hide her face, and Dawn could see white high heels peeking out from just under her skirt. The girl was clearly a Lady trainer judging from her outfit, though she did seem a little bit strange. It was the fashion among Ladies to have long blonde hair, but this girl had short, shaggy black hair. Not to mention she had a noticable tan.
Dawn stopped questioning the girl's fashion choice when she noticed that she was nervously trying to inch away.
"Hey, are you okay?" Dawn asked, concerned. The Lady, however, broke into a run to try and get away.
"Hey, wait!" Dawn shouted as she began to chase after her. She didn't have far to go, as the Lady was clearly inexperienced in high heels and tripped, falling very ungracefully to the ground. Her hat flew away in the fall, prompting a "No!" from her, in a very familiar voice.
"H-hey, are you okay?" Dawn asked, as she approached the "Lady" to help her. As soon as she got a good look at "her" face though, she had to take a step back in surprise.
"ASH!"
ASH'S NEW LOOK: SALON ROCKÉT - END