Author's Notes
This is Jessie/James... Even if it doesn't seem like it right from chapter one, or even chapter two. It takes place in an AU of mine where events are similar but not absolutely identical to earlier anime and characters actually age. This story specifically is a crossover with the BW games, so any gen 5 characters are based on how I interpret them from the games, not the anime. This story focuses more on the anime characters, especially the rockets, while the companion fanfic, "New Hero of Truth" will focus more on the game characters. Readers of either are free to ignore the other, as the two can be read separately with no real confusion.
1
Goals
Jessie, James, and Meowth snuck off the ship, stepping onto the dock. They'd been too busy arguing before to figure out where it was going. They just knew that Pikachu and its trainer were on board, and where it went, they went as well. Though Ash didn't notice them, they noticed him in the distance now, and that was enough.
The second thing that they all noticed was that this wasn't some new, unfamiliar area, not at all. It was quite familiar - the dock of Vermilion City. "So, we're back in Kanto," Jessie said, frowning.
"We can't be back here already!" Meowth said.
James nodded. He was feeling the same as the other two. It felt strange to be back in Kanto after all this time - and still, with nothing to show for it. "What are we supposed to do here?" Jessie muttered.
"I guess we should go back to base now," James said, thinking this must be on their minds too.
"No way!" Meowth said. "If we're going to see the boss, we should at least have something to show him. We're returning from being his representatives in Johto. We should be able to bring some kind of returning gift."
Jessie and James nodded. "Right," they said.
"Well, the twerp's right there," Jessie said, motioning toward the city. "We could just pick up one of his pokemon for the boss's present, couldn't we? Just like stealing an apple from a neighbor's tree."
James and Meowth nodded. "Pikachu would be perfect," Meowth said.
"It would! Let's do it. We'll need this, and this, and this," James said, bringing out their pre-prepared restrain Pikachu kit. They had rubber gloves, an extendable arm for grabbing it, and a humane bubble for transporting it.
"Pikachu really will be a prize," Jessie affirmed.
"That little guy's more powerful than ever," Meowth agreed.
"Let's go get it right away," James said.
"Yeah, the twerp might not be expecting us right after he gets off the boat," Jessie said.
"Let's go!" Meowth said, motioning for them to charge forward.
Ash was alone. Both Misty and Brock had left Johto before him, and had since gone home to their families. Ash knew his mom would be waiting for his visit as well, but couldn't go back to Pallet Town just yet. There was someone who would be going with him.
"Hey, Ash!" that person called.
"Pika!" Pikachu called at the one who had finally arrived.
"Gary, hey!" Ash said, waving back at him.
When Gary caught up to them, neither were really sure what to say. Ash had definitely defeated Gary fairly at the Johto league. Even considering how Gary had bragged about being so much better than him from the first time they'd set out, Ash but didn't feel much like bragging about beating him now.
Gary was also silent. He knew he'd been muttering some stuff to Ash before they'd battled which the hothead might have interpreted weirdly. He just put a hand to his head sheepishly. "You and your pokemon look pretty energetic still," Gary eventually said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said pleasantly, but felt his trainer was still tense.
Ash didn't say anything at first, unsure of what to say to his friend. Then he suddenly made a noise of discontent and exploded with his question. "Gary, you aren't really giving up on being a trainer, are you?"
"Well, yeah," Gary said. "Like I said, I'd the either the very best at the Johto League or I'd be done with training. I gave it my best, but it didn't work out. It happens. Believe me, it happens pretty often, actually."
"So you're just giving up?" Ash said.
Gary sighed. There was his rival's, well, now simply friend's, hotheaded interpretation. "I'm not giving up. My pokemon journey's just over. It was fun and I learned a lot. But I'm never going to be elite, so there's no use in spending any more time on it."
"What kind of an attitude is that," Ash said with a pout. "And how is that fair to your pokemon, to just give up on them!"
"I'm not-" Gary stopped himself. He wasn't going to get off track with this argument. "Look Ash, most people who aim to be 'masters', full time professional pokemon trainers, they fail, and go on to pursue other professions. It's nothing to be ashamed of. Just going on the journey isn't a waste even then."
Ash frowned. He couldn't believe Gary was still speaking so casually, like it was alright for him to act this way. "But what about your pokemon?" Ash eventually repeated.
"They have their place, on Gramps's Ranch, throughout Kanto and Johto, and even still hanging out with me."
"I bet they'd prefer to battle," Ash said.
"Uh, some of them," Gary said. "I won't give up battling completely. Just the whole traveling trainer experience, I'm done with it."
Ash was beginning to follow Gary's thought process, but it still didn't sit right with him. "Well, I'm not giving up on battling just because I wasn't number one this time," Ash said.
Gary laughed slightly. "Yeah Ash, don't you do that. You've still got a long way left on your journey, don't you?"
Ash nodded. He'd always thought he and Gary would always be traveling at the same spots, competing in the same leagues. Ash had wanted to surpass Gary, to be the superior pokemon trainer, and knew just beating him once didn't prove that. Gary was always better than him, catching more pokemon, earning more badges more quickly, and more. Ash felt somewhat of a sense of loss knowing that Gary would no longer be around to compete against.
Gary smirked. He was over his jealousy against Ash. He'd lamented before that Ash's decisions as a trainer had seemed so amateurish, yet he still made it far, even Gary's grandfather had praised Ash's efforts. The younger Gary who complained about Ash's decisions to his grandfather professor was met with a lecture on how different trainers can have opposite but both valid approaches to Pokemon training. It had annoyed Gary then, but now, he was more mature, humbled individual. He could see what his grandfather had meant, even if he still had to shake his head at certain things, like how Ash still hadn't evolved his first pokemon. But who was he to argue with success?
"What are you going to do now, huh?" Ash asked. "Just go home and stay home, then?"
"No way," Gary said. "Gramps got started with his research when he was even younger than me. I'm going to get out into the field like he did back then and discover new things myself."
"Pokemon research?" Ash said.
"Yeah, of course," Gary said. "My journey as a pokemon trainer prepared me pretty well for this." It wouldn't be the same for all trainers, but Gary had close contact with various pokemon professors and researchers during his journey, and had been involved with some investigations and experiments even then. He had a good knowledge base for what would be his first job in the field. "I won't be a trainer, but I'll still be traveling, learning about all kinds of pokemon. Just from a different perspective than a trainer."
"That sounds really cool!" Ash exclaimed. "You're going to help Professor Oak, then?"
"Na," Gary said. He wanted to make a name for himself, not just leach off the well known name of "Oak" for his success. Sure, his relations had helped him get his first job at his age, but he'd prove that he deserved it soon enough. "I'll be working for someone else, far away from Kanto. Some place my gramps has never even been."
"You'll go where Professor Oak's never even gone?" Ash said. "Where?"
"The Unova region," Gary said. "It's got a lot of unique pokemon species that you'd never see around here."
"Wow, that's awesome, Gary!" Ash exclaimed. "I want to go too! We should go meet all the new kinds of pokemon. Wouldn't it be fun, Pikachu?" Ash said.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed.
"Alright! Then it's decided. We're going to the Unova region too!" Ash said.
Gary laughed. Even though they were older now, Ash still seemed very much like the kid who had originally gone off on a pokemon journey. "Well, there is a league and gym leaders there, too," Gary said. This wasn't necessarily a part of every region of the world. "It might be a good experience for you. But don't you think you should talk to your mom, first? It's a lot farther away than Johto."
"Yeah, I know that," Ash said sulkily. "But no matter what she says, I'll still go."
Gary shrugged. "Good luck to you then, Ash," he said.
"Thanks. And you too, Gary. I bet pokemon research will be complicated, but fun!" Ash said.
"Thanks. You ready to go to Pallet, then?" Gary asked.
"Yeah!" Ash said.
"Well, I'm not just yet. Why don't you wait here? I have to go pick up my plane ticket before we go," Gary said.
"Okay," Ash agreed. "We'll be over there on the dock!" he said, running toward it. Pikachu hopped off his shoulder and followed. Gary again just smiled. He really couldn't expect his friend to sit still for so long.
Jessie, James, and Meowth saw Ash running toward them. "Bingo," Meowth said. "Go on guys, now!"
Jessie followed Meowth's directions and reached toward the running pikachu with the extendable arm. "Pika?" Pikachu said as it was suddenly picked up. "Pikapi!" Pikachu called for Ash as it flew threw the air, toward the rocket members who hid in the corner.
"Huh? Pikachu?" Ash said, looking around for his friend.
James had the rubber bubble ready, and put it over Pikachu's before it could attack them. "We've got it!" James said happily.
"Now let's jet out of here!" Meowth said.
"Right!" Jessie and James agreed.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu said worriedly.
"Pikachu! Where did you go?" Ash called. The captors were already well on their way, running away from them. They didn't bother restraining Ash, hoping that he simply wouldn't have seen where they'd gone. It seemed to be working well so far, so they just kept running through the city. As they turned the corner, James ran into someone and dropped Pikachu, and Jessie in turn ran into him. They all tumbled to the ground.
"Ouch!" James exclaimed.
"Hey, watch it," Jessie said.
"Uh... Sorry about that," Gary said.
Jessie and James looked at Gary, becoming startled upon recognizing him. Jessie picked up the protective bubble containing Pikachu. "Out of our way, rude brat! We're in a hurry," she said.
Gary also recognized them easily. "Hm. I guess you guys ran into Ash?" he said casually. Listening closely, he could actually hear Ash shouting from around the corner.
"It's not like we're friends. Not the twerp and us, and not you and us," Meowth said.
"Right, fine, I get it," Gary said. Truth be told, he had been worried when he'd initially heard that Ash was being followed by some Team Rocket members. But this group, they were clowns. And from talking to Ash, Gary knew that they never called for other backup when they failed. Even his grandfather had said not to worry about it. That these three weren't really affiliated with the real Team Rocket. Even if they didn't seem to know that.
"Good, then step aside!" James said.
"I know, we should take his pokemon too! I bet this brat has some pretty powerful pokemon," Jessie suggested.
"Good idea! Rob him, guys!" Meowth said.
"So, when did you all arrive in town?" Gary asked.
"Meowth's right, you should stop talking to us so casually like we're friends," Jessie said.
"I know. You're not friends, just people who happen to play cat and mouse games with Ash all the time. I hope I can still have that much fun when I'm all grown up," Gary said.
"What did you say?!" Jessie demanded.
"We're not just playing around, you know!" Meowth said.
"That's right! We're always on the job! Always!" James said.
"I can confirm that! We're even working right now!" Meowth said.
"Let's hurry up and go!" James said.
"No," Jessie said, brandishing her own pokeball. "We'll teach this kid a lesson and take his pokemon, too."
"Right, Jessie," James said, grabbing his own pokeball.
"Going to allow me in on your game?" Gary said. He brought out two pokeballs to counter them. This should be easy enough. "That's fine," Gary said. "Now isn't really the time for you to be playing with Ash's pokemon. To be serious, we're on a tight schedule, and have to get going right away."
"I'll show you serious. Go, Arbok!" Jessie said.
"Go for it! Carnivine!" James said.
"Go! Umbreon, Electivire!" Gary said. He smiled as the battle began. After just one attack, both of their pokemon were knocked out.
"Arbok!" Jessie said in dismay as the pokemon was hit with the electric attack.
"Carnivine!" James cried as Gary's Umbreon smacked the pokemon down.
Gary walked over to where Meowth was, now holding the pikachu-bubble that Jessie had dropped. "I win. Fair's fair, hand it over," Gary said.
"Hey, I'm also a pokemon, " Meowth said. With one paw, it protectively held the bubble, and with the other retracted its claws.
Gary shrugged. He'd given it a chance. But if they weren't going to go by the rules, then it wasn't a game. And if it wasn't a game, then he wouldn't play around. "Umbreon, quick attack."
His Umbreon hit Meowth with the attack, and then Gary grabbed the bubble as it was dropped. "Looks like I win this time," he said. Looking at Jessie and James, who seemed frustrated and then looking at their incapacitated pokemon, Gary shrugged, and turned away. He began walking down the street, leaving the group where they were. He knew they'd be gone by the time he got back, but he was more concerned about what might have happened to Ash than reporting them and having them arrested.
"Gary!" Ash exclaimed when he met up with him. "Why's Pikachu like that?" he said, grabbing the bubble and letting Pikachu out right away.
"Pi pikachu!" Pikachu informed.
"Yeah, you know, your 'friends'," Gary said.
"I don't believe how those guys are always stealing! What makes Team Rocket think it can just take everyone's pokemon away?" Ash fumed.
"I dunno," Gary said, unsure of how else to respond.
"Where did they go, anyway? I'll show them."
"Just forget about it right now, Ash. They're just losers," Gary said. When it came to these kinds of fights, it was definitely better to avoid them as much as possible, and definitely not incite them.
"But they always do this!" Ash said.
"Calm down, we've got Pikachu back already."
"But they'll just do it again, to me or someone else!" Ash said.
"Yeah, but you can't help what they do. Just don't worry about it so much," Gary said.
Ash frowned. "I guess you're right," he said, though he still felt the urge to fight the rockets. He usually did it to get Pikachu back, but Gary had already done that for him, so he really should just calm down, he told himself.
"When you go to Unova, there's no rocket presence there like in Kanto or Johto, or even any similar group. Those annoying rockets will be a thing of your past while you're there," Gary said.
"I sure hope so," Ash said.
"Come on, then. I've got my plane ticket already, so let's get."
Jessie fumed as she watched Ash and Gary wander off. "Oh," she said in a huff. "We'll show him who's an annoying loser. Right James?"
"Right," James said, reaching for the pokeball that contained his undamaged pokemon.
Meowth picked itself up, then stepped in front of Jessie and James. "You too cut it out," it said.
"If you want to give up, fine. But we still have usable pokemon left," Jessie said.
"You clods are losing track of what's really important here! Our ultimate success in Team Rocket is more important than any one pokemon or getting back at any one annoying twerp."
James now hesitated, and Jessie glared at Meowth. "What do you suggest we do then, Meowth?" she said. "We don't have anything to show the boss! Should we go back empty handed?"
"I'm not saying that at all," Meowth said. "We just need to look at different options. Something that one brat said got me thinking."
"What's that, Meowth?" James asked.
"Well, where's this 'Unova' he's talking about? Either of you know?" Meowth asked.
"Unova's just another region. It's pretty far away," James said.
"And there's really no rockets there, huh," Meowth said.
"Team Rocket will take over the world eventually. But right now we're only in Kanto and Johto," Jessie stated what they all knew.
"Right," Meowth said. "So think about it. We were going to be the top in Johto, but those other jerks came in and stole the spotlight for us even there."
"Ug. Yeah, Cassidy and her stupid partner should have just stayed out of our affairs," Jessie said, then paused. James just looked away.
"Right, so they became the representatives of the Rockets in Johto. But if we travel someplace farther away, no one's gonna come show up and steal our ideas." Meowth smiled as it finished explaining its new idea.
James nodded. "We'd be the top rockets there!"
"Cassidy wouldn't follow us that far!" Jessie said. "I hope."
"I don't think she was following us, Jessie. It was just a coincidence that we ran into each other a few times," James said.
"Yeah, sure," Jessie said.
"But Meowth, why Unova? Why not any other region?" James asked.
"Because it's far away, haven't we talked about that already?" Jessie said.
"Exactly," Meowth said. "Also, you heard the twerp's little friend there. Him and his pikachu are headed there too. So we can still have an opportunity to capture that rare pikachu while getting other powerful pokemon," Meowth concluded.
"Yes! We can get that pikachu at last," Jessie said.
James shrugged. "Makes sense," he muttered. It was a place to be, at least. He didn't want to stick around there as a failure, he wanted to get moving, so he'd just accept anywhere that Meowth said.
They wandered around the city, gathering some brochures on Unova and looking through the library about the region. "These common pokemon will be rare to anyone from around here, won't they?" Jessie said. "I don't think I've ever seen any of them before."
"There are a lot of strong species too! You know the boss will be happy with that," Meowth said.
"Unova has a lot of powerful legendary pokemon, too," James said. "We should capture them all in the name of Team Rocket!"
"Yeah, but it is far away," Jessie said. It was dramatically so, Jessie could see from looking at the map. "So I guess you won't want to go, James."
James blinked in confusion. "Why not, Jessie? We can capture Pikachu and pokemon we'd never see in Kanto and legendaries no rocket's ever touched! We should definitely go!"
"Yeah! What's the problem, Jessie?" Meowth asked.
"It's not my problem," Jessie said.
"So everything's okay... Isn't it?" James asked, honestly concerned about what might be bothering her.
"Whatever, James," Jessie muttered. "Yeah, this is the place to go," she said to Meowth, before the pokemon got the wrong idea about the conversation.
"You bet it is. I say let's get going right away," Meowth said.
"Shouldn't we go get supplies first?" James said.
"You think they're gonna give anything else to us?" Meowth said.
"Oh... Maybe not," James said.
"I'm sure we could get something. But it would be embarrassing to drop by now, wouldn't it?" Jessie said.
"That's true," James said. "We don't even need to stop by the base at all then, do we?"
"Nope," Meowth said.
"But what about for you, James?" Jessie asked.
"What about for me?" James asked.
"Don't you want to see your girlfriend?" Jessie said.
"Ah..." James paused, suddenly feeling awkward. "No... I don't think I should," he said.
"Don't miss out on our account, James," Jessie said.
"Yeah, I don't think it would be that big a deal if you want to," Meowth said. "Maybe we could get some research done in the meantime."
"I don't, and I don't need to," James muttered.
"Don't you realize how far away we'd be, then how long we might be gone for?" Jessie said. Of course he did, she realized once she asked. "Did you two break up or something?"
"Oh... No," James said. "It was just never really like that in the first place, Jessie."
"Please, James," Jessie began. "You have a kid together and it 'wasn't like that'. Sure."
"It wasn't," James muttered.
Jessie shrugged. She guessed it made sense. James had seemed kind of distant with Cassidy any time she'd seen them. Not hostile, just distant and uncomfortable. It was possible he'd just gotten caught up in something in the heat of the moment and then regretted it. Jessie hadn't really believed it before, but now with James's hesitation to even go see Cassidy, she was becoming convinced. It didn't erase all the issues though. "What about the kid?" she asked James.
James fidgeted. This was a awkward subject for him. He hadn't even seen his son in months, becoming years now, even. He wasn't there when the kid was born. The baby James had held later had just cried and cried. Cassidy said he had colic, which from what James understood meant that he just cried constantly with no reason. James hadn't even held him that long before Cassidy had taken him back to try and calm him.
The second and last time James had seen his son, he'd been walking and talking. Still, the kid wanted nothing to do with him, and would scream and cry as James approached. The toddler hid his face from James and latched onto Cassidy as James spoke with her. James could really understand the sentiment. No matter how young the kid was, James would never force any unwanted interaction with him, not the same way his parents had with him.
James supposed that he had been a little young, and there was a chance the kid's feelings would be different now. James could go back and see him, but the guilt just ate away from him, and left him with an awful feeling from just thinking about it. "There's no point," he said aloud, mostly to himself.
Jessie shrugged. It was all none of her business, anyway. "I guess we leave right now, then," she said.
"We've got to plan the way there, first," Meowth said.
"Sure," Jessie said. "And once we get there, we aren't messing around. We'll steal the very best, and capture all of the legendaries, all for the glory of Team Rocket."
"Right!" James agreed, trying to push his various failures out of his mind and center his thoughts around all of their future successes. With his optimistic teammates by his side, he did just that.