The View from the Edge of a Cliff
~by Heatqueen~
The Rocket trio had only found themselves in their usual circumstances, trawling through the wilderness with only the vaguest hint of direction, with no city in sight and scarce resources to see them through. The night brought air heavy with moisture, bringing out a frizz in Jessie's once tight hairstyle that now lay limp and home to stray twigs and leaves.
On this rare occasion, Jessie wished for wind. Not of the gentle breeze variety, but a gale, something to drown out the thick silence that enabled dark thoughts to swirl loudly in her head. Her looks were already ruined, why not be a bit windswept as well? A storm would at least allow her to temporarily forget her troubles. But no, the clear, twinkling sky mocked her sorrows by looking like the perfect night. The view beyond the edge of the cliff on which she sat contained miles of land stretching towards the horizon and an almost-full moon casting a soft light over the landscape.
Perhaps if she jumped off the cliff, the thoughts would stop.
She turned and looked at her sleeping comrades wrapped up in thin sleeping bags. At the very least it was summer, and they did not have to spend their nights shivering. They were both out cold, exhausted from yet another foiled plan, battered with injury, sick with the thought of another dreaded phone call from the boss, who would no doubt be furious (though not surprised) at their incompetence.
They were also the only reason why Jessie would never jump off the cliff.
'I feel that I have been in this situation before,' she sighed.
Failure had happened so often that it was par of the course. Jessie wasn't sure if she'd become immune to its effects. During the early days of her Team Rocket membership, she'd cried at night, devastated to think that she would never be an agent worthy of her late mother Miyamoto. Somewhere along the way, she had run out of tears, and each failure came with a resigned roll of the eyes and hours of sarcastic remarks.
She was determined to prove that she wasn't the weak link in her team. There had been moments when Jessie had been alone and almost succeeded. There had been that time when she'd gotten hold of those gym badges, and was well on her way to grabbing a few more. It had been James and Meowth who had foiled that plan by interfering at the wrong moment. No, it definitely wasn't her who kept failing, but it would be nice to succeed, just once, just to prove that success was possible.
Casting her eyes back over the landscape, Jessie found her thoughts infiltrated by the usual musings of what a normal life might have been like, if only she'd never joined Team Rocket. Somewhere out there, among the rocks and trees and rivers, were wild Pokemon living freely, without a care in the world. Jessie longed for the same. Perhaps if she found a cave somewhere and hid from the rest of the world, life would be easier, though she would have to give up the idea of a rich and luxurious lifestyle. Well, it's not as if she'd ever had money anyway.
Her musings were interrupted by a soft sound coming from her left. Jessie turned to spot a Caterpie sitting just a few metres away. Jessie recoiled, not particularly fond of bugs. The little thing appeared to be staring at her. It made that soft noise again and looked at Jessie in a way that rendered her self-conscious.
Just go away, she thought viciously. How dare you interrupt my self-pitying reveries like this! But the Caterpie did not move. It just sat and kept looking at her.
Jessie didn't have the heart to argue, or even try to capture it. Capturing it wouldn't prove anything except that the pokemon was weak and pathetic. Well, weak pokemon were for weak trainers.
Eventually Jessie realised that the Caterpie had curled up into a ball and focused its gaze on the vast landscape that tormented her. Its eyes appeared to gleam in the moonlight. Jessie wondered what it was thinking. Was it also dreaming of a better life?
Alright, so I've succumbed to the stupid bug, she thought frostily. The creature was far too innocent to detest. In a way it was like having a silent companion, someone to listen who would never talk back, tell her what to do or spill her secrets to anyone else.
'You must have it so easy,' Jessie said. The Caterpie raised its head and blinked. 'It must be nice being a worm. You're so low that you couldn't get any lower.'
Perhaps that was too harsh, but the Caterpie didn't seem to mind. It turned towards her, seeming to listen intently.
'Maybe someday you'll become a beautiful butterfree. You'll get your day when you get to soar. Me, I don't soar, I just land on my backside all the time.'
The Caterpie let out a noise that sounded like a giggle.
'Hey! It's not funny!'
But the Caterpie was rolling around laughing. Jessie couldn't help but join in, though hers was more of an ironic laugh. It didn't take long for her to sober and feel a stab of pain in her heart. Even a measly caterpie would laugh at her failures.
'I suppose it is pretty laughable,' she sighed. 'All the effort for a stupid Pikachu. It's as if catching the damn thing has become my sole life purpose. And what for? Even if we did catch it, what use would it be? The boss would never promote us. Not with our abysmal record. You know, I always wanted to be looked up to. When I was younger I was going to become rich and beautiful and live in a big mansion with hundreds of luxurious possessions, and the best food that anyone could ask for. The whole world would love and respect me. The boys would want me and the girls would want to be me.
'But who would want me? Weak, pathetic Jessie from Team Rocket? Plain girl with weird hair and a vicious temper?'
The Caterpie shuffled towards her and rested its head on her lap. Jessie didn't desire the contact but had no heart to remove it. Instead, she traced patterns on the Caterpie's pillow-like head.
'You're sweet for a Caterpie. But you shouldn't be hanging around with the likes of me. You should go back to your Caterpie family where I have no doubt you are safe and loved. Not wandering around the wilderness with no food or a comfortable bed to sleep on. I must no longer feel the stones digging into my back, there have been so many.'
The Caterpie rose and shuffled away. It stopped and then let out its string shot on a blank patch of grass. The string formed zig-zag patterns that slowly built up in layers, forming a thick, flat mound. Jessie's jaw dropped when she realised what it was supposed to be.
'For me?' she gasped. Tentatively, she reached out a hand to touch the mound, unsure about making contact with something that came out of the body of a Pokemon. She was long accustomed to becoming entangled in the sticky strings of a Caterpie during lost Pokemon battles, and the thought of such a thing happening again made her shudder. She touched the thick mound, surprised to find that it was firm and not all that sticky. With growing confidence she hopped onto the edge of the mound and grinned when it gently dipped with her weight.
'You are the best Caterpie ever!' she squealed, and the Caterpie crooned its affection.
Jessie lay on the mound and gazed wistfully into the sky.
'I suppose it would be too much to ask you to come with me on my journeys. You're too kind to get wrapped up in the nasty business of Team Rocket.'
The Caterpie hopped onto the mound next to her and curled up into a ball. Jessie's hand reached for its head.
'You are the first Pokemon I've encountered in a while who hasn't fled in terror. I guess that's my fault for trying to steal them all. But what choice do I have in a job like this? You don't just leave Team Rocket. That's practically a death sentence.'
She looked across at the Caterpie. It had fallen asleep.
'Well it was nice to have a friend for the night.'
The next morning, the Caterpie was gone, and the only evidence of its existence was the mound on which she slept, and the faint dent where the Pokemon had curled up beside her.