Flash Back
Prologue
One dark night, Team Rocket was up to their old tricks again. Hiding in a tree, they spied Ash and his friends, wearily making their way into a small town called Crimson Town.
"There are the brats!" James exclaimed.
"We'll get 'em 'dis time." Meowth said as he snatched James' binoculars from his gloved hands and peered into them.
"They're so tired from walking, they won't be able to stay awake long enough to battle us!" Jessie laughed.
"Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get that Pikachu!" James cried as he grabbed his binoculars back.
Team Rocket slid down the tree and sprinted into the town. They hid in a small alleyway and waited for the brats to pass them. A few moments later, they heard a quiet conversation...
"Ooohh. I'm so tired!" Misty groaned. "Someone point me to a hotel."
"What do you think we're looking for?" Stephen asked, rubbing at his eyes.
"We haven't seen a place to sleep ever since we got into town!" Brock grumbled.
"Pika..." Pikachu said quietly.
"There's got to be a place to sleep somewhere around here." Ash yawned as he picked Pikachu up.
In the alleyway, Team Rocket stood, quietly laughing to themselves.
"Hah! Did you here 'dat?" Meowth chuckled in his thin Brooklyn accent. "'Dey can barely keep awake! 'Dis'll be easy!"
"Okay then!" Jessie said excitedly. "Let's go get them!"
Ash and co. kept walking down the sidewalk, looking for a place to crash when a light fog rolled in. Two figures appeared in the fog.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"Make it double."
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all people within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the..."
"Why do you guys always do this?" Ash interrupted.
"Yeah, we're tired. Go away." Stephen moaned.
"Why you little...we won't leave. We want Pikachu!" Jessie said angrily as she threw a pokéball. "Arbok, go!"
"Go Weezing!" James cried.
Ash and friends just yawned as the two poison pokémon appeared.
"Pikachu and I are too tired to fight." Ash said. "You want to take this one Brock?"
"Nope." Brock yawned. "You up for it Stephen?"
"Sorry. I'm so tired, I can barely walk, let alone have a battle." he grumbled. "Misty?"
Misty rolled her eyes and picked a pokéball out of her bag.
"Okay, fine. Go Starmie." she mumbled. As usual, Psyduck popped out of the ball instead of Starmie. However, Psyduck popped out of the ball completely asleep.
"Psy...duck..." It snored.
"Sheesh," Brock said as he looked at Psyduck. "It even comes out when it's asleep..."
Misty recalled Psyduck as Pikachu hopped out of Ash's arms and charged up.
"Okay Pikachu, giv'em your electric shock and let's go find a hotel." Ash said.
"Pika...chu!" Pikachu said as he blasted Arbok and Weezing. Jessie and James returned them and pulled out the pokéballs holding Likitung and Victrebell.
"Might as well help." Stephen said as he tossed his pokèball before Team Rocket could. "Flareon, give Team Rocket your Flame Thrower."
The small fire pokémon leaped out of it's ball and blasted Team Rocket with it's fiery breath as Pikachu shocked them. Team Rocket was launched into the distance.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they cried as they hurtled through the air.
Back on the ground, Ash and crew had shrugged off the inconvenience and walked off to a hotel that Brock spotted. Meanwhile, in the air...
"Boy, we blast off so often, we should get frequent flyer miles." James groaned as he flipped through the air.
"Yeah." Meowth said. "Sheesh, we've actually gotten so used ta blastin' off, we can actually have conversation while we're doin' it."
"Let's just hope we land in water this time." Jessie said as she straightened out her crisped hair.
"Uh...no such luck Jessica." James said as they started to fall towards the forest beneath. Just then, they passed the trees and saw that they were really heading for a huge rock quarry. Team Rocket screamed as they shot towards the ground.
"Looks like Team Rocket's crashing off...ooff!" James began to say. Before he could finish his sentence, his belt snagged on a large outcropping of rock, instantly stopping his fall. Seconds later, Jessie and Meowth shot past him towards the bottom of the canyon.
"Jessie! Meowth!" James cried as his friends plummeted to the bottom. Suddenly, a falling rock hit James in the head, knocking him unconscious.
Chapter One
Hours later, James awoke, still snagged on the rock outcropping.
"Huh...where am I? What happened?" James said as he rubbed his sore head. Suddenly, a realization hit him.
"Oh-no, where's Jessie and Meowth!?" he cried. Swinging his legs, he was able to swing far enough to grab onto the outcropping and pull himself onto it. He quickly climbed down the rock face to the bottom, fearing the worst for his friends. His fears were confirmed once he reached the bottom.
He found Meowth first, dead. The pokémon's little body was crushed, his spine snapped into pieces. James picked up his fragile form and hugged him.
"Meowth...no." James moaned, holding back tears. He heard a quiet voice nearby.
"Ja..ja.. James?" it called.
"Jessie? Is that you?!" he called back.
"Yes James...it's me." she cried.
James carefully set down Meowth's body and dashed over a large boulder to the voice. There, he found Jessie, lying in a shallow pit, a long, bleeding, gash down her face. One of her legs was broken, twisted awkwardly. Jessie didn't seem to notice though. James ran up to her and propped her up against a stone.
"James...I thought I'd never see you again." she said, wincing in pain.
"Shh." James said. "Don't worry, I'm right here."
"Where's Meowth?" she asked. James just looked away.
"Oh." she said quietly.
"Just stay still Jessie." James said as he started to pick her up. "I'm going to get you to a hospital."
"No." Jessie resisted. "I know I won't make it there."
"Don't say things like that Jessie!" James said as he hoisted her into his arms. He started to walk, but his head suddenly began to swim. He tripped and fell, throwing Jessie by accident. He quickly got up and scrambled to her side.
"I guess I hit my head harder than I thought." he said, taking her hand in his. Jessie smiled and began to cough, a small trickle of blood coming from her mouth.
"Here James." she said, knocking her pokéballs off of her belt. "Take them...they'll need a new master."
"Jessie..." James said, tears forming in his emerald eyes.
"James...I never got to tell you." she said. She started coughing again, but slowly got her voice back.
"James...I..I...I lo..ve..." she stuttered. Suddenly, her eyes closed and her grip slackened in James hand.
"No! Jessie! No!" James cried as he held her close to her. "Don't leave me Jessica. I love you! Don't go!"
James sat there for hours, sobbing over his lost companion and love. He laid Jessie and Meowth in a large pit and covered it with rocks. Then he climbed up the rock face to the top of the quarry. He stood over it, gazing into the night sky. Rage suddenly boiled up in James as he screamed into the night sky.
"Why!?" he raged. "Why did you take them from me?! Why!?"
He fell to his knees, sobbing loudly. He looked to the sky again, the anger gone from his face.
"Why?" he asked. "Why did I live? I wish I had gone with them. I'm nothing without them. I can't go on without Meowth...or Jessica. Why didn't I die with them?"
James looked back over the quarry and a cruel idea entered his mind. He still could go with them. It was a long way down, and he wasn't by that blasted outcropping anymore. He walked over to the edge, his life hanging with his decision. Looking down, he leaned forward and dropped off the edge. He dropped for a few yards before his hand shot out and he snagged a hold of the bedrock.
"No." he whispered to himself as he began to climb again. He painstakingly made it to the top. Looking back over the quarry, a small tear fell from his eye.
"Goodbye Jessie. Goodbye Meowth." he said, slowly walking away. He walked for a few minuets and then looked back to the starry sky. He never was one for religion, but he needed something to hold onto.
"Uh...sorry to bother you...sir." he said to the sky. "I need your help. I don't know why you've taken my friend's lives and not mine, but would you find it in your heart to help me get through this? I know I'm just a thief, I probably don't even deserve to talk to you. I really need help right now, so would you just help a little?"
James stared at the sky for a while, and then he laid down and went to sleep, exhausted from the night's happenings. Little did he know as he drifted off to a fitful sleep, someone up there, someone above the stars and the sky and everything else, heard his prayer and decided to answer...
Chapter Two
James awoke the next morning in a large grassy field. Pidgeys were chirping, Rattatas were just waking up, and Spearows flew across the sky to find food. Wondering how he got there, James tried to sit up, but found he couldn't. Looking down, he found that he was lying in his sleeping bag. He looked around the field and discovered a familiarity about it.
"Hey, this is where I was yesterday morning?" he said as he got out of his sleeping bag and stood up, seeming very confused. "How did I get back here?"
"Mmm..will you keep it down James?" a woman's voice said. "I'm trying to get some beauty sleep."
James whirled around on his heel and looked down to see a red-headed figure in a blue sleeping bag. The figure sat up and rubbed her eyes. James rubbed his eyes as well. Then he rubbed them again...and again..and again. He pinched himself. It hurt. He looked back to the girl sitting in the sleeping bag and leapt onto her, hugging her in complete joy.
"Jessie! Jessie! Jessie!" He cried happily. "You're alive! You're alive!"
"That's more than I can say for you if you don't get off me!" she growled as she bopped him on the head.
"Will you two quit arguing?" Meowth said as he woke up grumpily. James quickly got off Jessie and grabbed Meowth, hugging him tightly.
"Meowth! You wonderful little feline!" James cried, squeezing Meowth till he turned blue in the face.
"Meowth! Let go!" Meowth choked. James quickly dropped him and went back to hugging Jessie.
"Uh...I'm glad you're happy to see us James," Jessie said. "But why are you acting like a lunatic?"
"Last night." James started to explain. "You guys died when we fell down that big rock quarry!"
"Died?" Jessie asked as she pulled out a map. "We didn't die. We're right here. Besides, the nearest rock quarry is miles out of the town we're headed to."
"Don't you remember anything?" Meowth asked, giving James a weird look. "We was heading ta' Crimson Town ta' intercept 'da brats so we could steal Pikachu."
James just stared at Meowth and Jessie, very confused. He pulled his left glove off and looked at his wrist watch. It read, "8:27 a.m, Tues."
"Tuesday?" He wondered out loud. "But we trailed the brats on Monday night, and went after them on Tuesday, really late at night..."
"No we didn't." Jessie said as she took a brush to her hair. "We just found out where they were last night. It Tuesday morning. Now could you make some breakfast? I'm starved."
"Meowth too." Meowth said as he started to groom his fur.
"But... uh... How many eggs Jessie?" James said.
"Four please." She replied as she put on some eyeliner.
Still thinking to himself, he quickly made a fire and cooked some eggs and bacon. Jessie and Meowth dived into them, but he just picked at his breakfast while he was trying to figure out what was going on. After they finished, they took down camp and started down the road, James still deep in thought.
"What could've happened...?" He wondered to himself. "Jessie and Meowth died Tuesday night, but now they're back, and it's Tuesday morning... What's going on here?"
They traveled all that day till nightfall when they reached Crimson Town. They climbed a tree and soon spotted Ash and co, sleepily walking into town.
"There are the brats!" Jessie exclaimed.
"We'll get 'em 'dis time." Meowth said as he snatched James' binoculars from his gloved hands, even though James wasn't really paying attention, so he didn't react.
"They're so tired from walking, they won't be able to stay awake long enough to battle us!" Jessie laughed.
"Let's go get 'em!" Meowth cried. They quickly slipped down the tree and dashed into town, James slightly trailing behind. They made it to a small alleyway and waited for the brats. Soon, they heard a quiet conversation.
"Ooohh. I'm so tired!" Misty groaned. "Someone point me to a hotel."
"What do you think we're looking for?" Stephen asked, rubbing at his eyes.
"We haven't seen a place to sleep ever since we got into town!" Brock grumbled.
"Pika..." Pikachu said quietly.
"There's got to be a place to sleep somewhere around here." Ash yawned as he picked Pikachu up.
In the alleyway, Jessie and Meowth were laughing while James continued thinking.
"This is just what happened last time..." He thought. His pondering were interrupted by the sting of Jessie's paper fan.
"Stop daydreaming James! The brats are almost here, let's go!" she whispered loudly as she put her fan away.
"Uh, okay Jessie." He mumbled as he got ready for the motto.
Ash and co. kept walking down the sidewalk, looking for a place to crash when a light fog rolled in. Two figures appeared in the fog.
"Prepare for trouble."
"...Make it double."
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To...unite all people within our nation..."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"....."
Jessie and Meowth glared at James, wondering why he stopped the motto. Ash rolled his eyes and gave a weak smile.
"Boy, that motto is getting so old, even James is tired of it." he mocked.
Jessie looked shocked at the idea of getting tired of the Team Rocket motto. She quickly grabbed James by the collar.
"That's not true, is it?!?" She growled at him.
"No...I'm just...distracted tonight." he answered.
"Well get un-distracted! We have work to do!" She yelled as she bopped him upside the head.
"Uh...guys...we've got trouble..." Meowth said, his voice twinged with fear. Jessie and James looked up to see Pikachu and a Flareon standing there. The two pokémon attacked, sending Team Rocket rocketing through the air.
"James! This is all your fault!" Jessie cried as she flew through the sky.
"I don't believe this is happening again!" he said as he flipped a few times.
"If I could reach you, my claws would be all over your face!" Meowth shouted angrily at him while slashing at him with his claws, never quite reaching his face.
"Uh, Jessie, Meowth, don't look down..." James said. They looked down anyway, only to see a large, rocky canyon jumping up at them as they fell through the air.
Team Rocket screamed as they fell into the canyon. Once again, James belt snagged and he watched his friends plummet towards the bottom. Again, he was knocked out by a falling rock.
Hours later, he awoke and climbed down the rock face. He found Meowth's crushed body by some rocks. Once again, he found Jessie, her leg broken and her head bleeding. He didn't try to move her this time.
"This can't be happening." he cried as he wiped away some tears. "Not again..."
He stayed with Jessie until she passed. She still uttered that one unfinished sentence before she was gone again. Once again, he buried his lost friends in the canyon. He climbed the canyon walls, crying the whole way up. Not understanding what was happening, he slept by the canyon that night, waiting to see what would happen the next time he woke up.
Chapter Three
James awoke early the next morning. He was again in his sleeping bag in the grassy field. He turned to his right to see Jessie and Meowth asleep in their sleeping bags. He quickly got out of his bag and pinched himself. It hurt. Once he was knew he wasn't dreaming, he got changed and walked into the forest. After he got a few miles from camp, he looked to the sky, the sun just coming up.
"What's happening?" He asked. Just then, a huge fireball blasted across the sky. It left a fiery streak as it turned... and headed straight for James! James quickly dived behind some trees for cover and waited for the impact. It never came. He peeked out from behind the trees to see the fireball, hovering in the air a few feet above ground. The fire faded to reveal a young man that looked exactly like James. But instead of the Team Rocket uniform, he wore long, flowing white robes.
"Who're you?" James asked as he came out of his hiding spot.
"I'm your guardian angel." the young man said.
"My guardian angel?" James asked. "I didn't know I had one of those..."
The angel just laughed as he landed on the ground. He walked up to James, smiling.
"Everyone has a guardian angel, even you James." he said. "Pokémon have them too."
"Amazing..." James gaped as he stared at his exact image.
"Anyway, I was sent down here by my boss to answer your question."
"My question?"
"Yes. You wanted to know what's happening." the angel replied.
"Oh! Please tell me! What's going on with me?" James said as he grabbed the angel's legs. The angel smirked a little and pried James off of him.
"Well, your friends, Jessie and Meowth, did die that one night. However, they weren't supposed to. Until you can stop them from dying, the day will keep repeating itself."
"You mean forever?!" James cried.
"For you at least." the angel replied. "Nobody else knows that time is repeating itself. To them, the day is a brand new one, just happening. Besides, anything can happen during this time, even to you."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, even you can die during this time. If you do, you'll wake up a few minuets later back in that field."
"You mean I'm immortal?"
"In a way, everyone is right now."
"Hmm..." James said as he scratched his chin. "Interesting. Now how can I save my friends from getting killed?"
"You just keeping thinking about that. But you better get back to camp. Your friends will be waking up anytime now."
"Oh!" James cried as he started to dash down the road. He quickly stopped and turned to thank his guardian angel, but he was gone by the time he turned around. Smiling to himself, James hurried back to camp. He arrived just as Jessie and Meowth were waking up.
"Wow, you sure look happy James." Jessie said as she picked up her brush.
"He probably had a dream 'dat he was at an all you can eat buffet or somethin'." Meowth said as he rubbed his charm till it sparkled.
Still smiling, James set out some pans and started a fire.
"How many eggs do you want Jessie?" he asked as he cracked an egg into the pan.
"Four please." she replied as she put on some eyeliner.
James was smiling all day long as he and the rest of the group tracked down Ash and crew. By the time they had gotten to Crimson Town, James had figured out a plan to save his friends.
"Okay then!" Jessie said excitedly. "Let's go get them!"
"Yeah!" James said.
Ash and co. kept walking down the sidewalk, looking for a place to crash when a light fog rolled in. Two figures appeared in the fog.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"Make it double."
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all people within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"Jessie...hey, wait a second..." Jessie said as she looked around. "James! You missed your cue! Uh, James?"
"Where's James!?" Meowth cried as he and Jessie started popping around looking for James.
"Uh oh...Meowth, look!" Jessie cried. Meowth turns to see Pikachu and Flareon glaring at them.
"Pikachu, electric shock." Ash yawned.
"Flareon, flame thrower." Stephen said quietly.
"Pikaa..." Pikachu said as he charged up.
"Flaree..." Flareon growled as fire began to form in it's mouth.
"Take this!" James shouted. James dropped down from the roof of the building the were standing by, landing on Flareon and bashing Pikachu with a mallet. Both pokémon were instantly knocked unconscious.
"Yaah! Flareon!" Stephen cried. He quickly whipped out a pokéball to return his pokémon. Before he could aim the ball, Meowth leapt up and slashed his face.
"Yeeow!" Stephen cried as he clutched his face and fell over.
"C'mon guys, let's get out of here!" James shouted as he grabbed the unconscious Pikachu. Jessie snatched up Flareon and they dashed off out of sight.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried.
"Flareon! No!" Stephen cried.
"Let's go get them!" Brock said.
The four friends took off after Team Rocket. However, they were so tired that they didn't make it very far. Team Rocket also had a big head start and was out of the town in a matter of minuets They reached a small cottage in the woods and celebrated their victory.
"Yahoo! We actually won!" Jessie said as she twirled a noise maker.
"'Dis is a first for us!" Meowth said as he danced around.
"Everything's going right this time!" James said happily.
"C'mon, let's get these pokémon to the boss!" Jessie said as she pulled out a pokéball. She dropped it on Pikachu and he was pulled inside. James did the same to Flareon. Neither pokémon struggled since they were still unconscious.
"This is perfect!" James thought to himself. "We have Pikachu, we've beaten the brats, and Jessie and Meowth are still alive! Things couldn't possibly go any better!"
Dashing out of the cottage, they hopped into a small jeep, James driving. Jessie turned on the radio and began to sing a loud rendition of "My Way." James smiled and he began to sing along too. Soon, Meowth joined in and the three were singing in a mismatched unison as they turned onto the highway. James was still singing when the car phone rang. Jessie turned the radio down as James picked up the receiver.
"Hello?" James said.
"James, is that you?" a dark voice said on the other end of the line.
James put his hand over the bottom of the receiver and smiled at Jessie.
"It's the Boss!" He said happily. "He'll be glad to hear we've got Pikachu!"
"And a Flareon." Meowth added. James put the phone back to his ear and told the boss the news.
"Excellent!" The boss said. "You finally did something right for a change."
"Uh, thanks boss." James said. "We're almost at HQ. See you in a little while!"
James hung the phone up and Jessie blared the radio again. They sang all the way down the freeway. Soon, James saw their turn.
"There's the exit." he said as he started to turn the car. Just then, the car in front of them screeched to a stop. James threw the wheel to the right, narrowly missing the stopped car. The jeep then plowed into another car, sending the other car onto it's side. A red truck behind them slammed onto it's breaks and smashed into the overturned car. It was sent careening into the air and began to fall...straight at Team Rocket!
"Look out!" Jessie screamed. The truck slammed on top of the jeep, causing both vehicles to explode into a mass of burning metal and fiery slag.
"Yaah!" James cried as he sat bolt upright in his sleeping bag. He looked around and saw Jessie and Meowth in their sleeping bags. Sighing, he rubbed his eyes, got up, and set out the pots and pans.
"This is getting monotonous, but it's better than being dead." He thought to himself. The noise from the cook wear woke Jessie and Meowth. Jessie requested her four eggs...again. They all ate their meal and were getting ready to go when an idea popped into James head.
"Hey Jessie, I was thinking..." he said as he pulled out his wallet. "How about we forget about the brats and Pikachu today."
"What? We can't! We have to capture..." She began to protest. James reached into his wallet and pulled out several credit cards.
"Let's go shopping instead. My treat." He said as he handed some cards to Jessie and Meowth. They all smiled and dashed off towards the nearest mall.
"There, crisis averted." James thought to himself as he sprinted after Jessie and Meowth. They spent the whole day at a shopping mall. Jessie bought twelve different outfits while James bought a new suit. Meowth came out with a ball of string, some catnip, and a brown leather collar.
"Wow James, 'dat sure was nice of ya ta treat us to all 'dat free stuff." Meowth said as he tossed his ball of string in his hands.
"Uh, you're not going soft on us, are you James?" Jessie asked, eyeing James suspiciously.
"No, no." James said as he shook his head. "I just felt like having a day off, that's all."
Jessie and Meowth shrugged as they walked out across the mall parking lot to get to a small restaurant on the other side. They passed by several cars when a masked man hopped out from behind one of the cars. His hand was inside his pocket, which had a tubular bulge in it.
"Okay, give me your cash and bags and nobody gets hurt." he said as he pushed his pocket at the three. Team Rocket just gave him a blank look. Then, Meowth started to laugh a little.
"Heh, I can't believe 'dat 'dis guy is trying the old "Hand-in-the-pocket" gig. C'mon bud, we know you don't actually have a gun, so let us pass and..." Meowth started to say. He was silenced when the man pulled his hand out of his pocket to reveal a pistol. Meowth gulped loudly and hid behind Jessie's legs.
"Now give it to me!" the man said as he shook his gun a little.
Jessie and Meowth quickly handed over their belongings while James just stood there with his arms crossed. The thief pointed the gun at James' chest.
"C'mon blue-boy, hand over the cash or I'll pop ya' one." The man threatened. James rolled his eyes and reached for his Weezing's pokéball. There was no reason for him to be afraid. The man cocked his gun.
"Hey, no pokémon, wimpy." he said. James just shrugged as he took his hand away from his pokéball. Suddenly, his hand shot out and snatched the gun from the man's grip. James turned the gun at the man's head.
"Don't call me wimpy." James said, giving the man a wry smile. Jessie and Meowth grabbed their things from the man. They were just about to turn to leave when they heard a woman's voice.
"Freeze you thieves!"
Team Rocket and the would-be thief looked up to see Officer Jenny and two other officers with their guns raised.
"Drop the gun!" she commanded. "Now!"
"You don't understand officer," Jessie quickly said. "This man was robbing us."
"That's right officer! We're not the bad guys here!" James said. He turned to face Officer Jenny when she cocked her gun.
"Yeah right. Now put your hands in the air!" Officer Jenny said. The two other cops cocked their pistols. The group smiled weakly and put their hands up.
"Drop the gun!" she shouted at James. James obediently dropped the gun from his hand. It hit the pavement and went off, hitting one of the officers in the leg. Jenny and the standing officer quickly fired several times into the group, thinking James had done this intentionly.
Chapter Four
James woke up seconds later in his sleeping bag. Sighing, he once again got out the pans and made Jessie her four eggs and bacon. Meowth munched on his breakfast while James rubbed his temples, aggravated by the fact that no matter what he did, he and his friends still ended up dying somehow.
"You got a headache James?" Meowth asked as he gulped down an egg.
"No, uh...it's just...oh nevermind." James said as he munched on a piece of bacon.
"James, what's wrong with you today?" Jessie asked as she set her fork down on her plate.
"Nothing..." he replied.
"Somethin's bothern' ya'." Meowth said.
"It's nothing, really." James said quickly.
"Okay James. Something's bothering you. You'll either tell us now, or we're going to sit here all day trying to pry it out of you." Jessie said as she set her plate on the ground. James smiled slightly.
"Okay. We'll just sit here then." He said matter-o-factly. Jessie and Meowth stared blankly for a second. They quickly hopped up and shone a bright light on James face.
"Okay James, spill it. What's eatin' you?" Meowth asked.
"Oh, nothing." James said wryly.
"Don't be coy with us James. We know something's wrong. What is it?" Jessie inquired, shoving the light closer to James' face. James just shook his head.
"Mew?" a little voice said.
"Huh? What's 'dat 'ting?" Meowth asked as he whirled around. Jessie and James looked up to see a little pinkish-white cat pokémon floating in the air near them. It's long tail whisked about it as it looked curiously at the trio.
"What is it?" Jessie asked. She whipped out a book and flipped through the pages. She looked at the book, then to the floating feline, then back to the book.
"It's not in our pokémon information book!"
"It must be some kind of undiscovered pokémon." James said as he gaped at it.
"An undiscovered pokèmon? The boss would love us if we could get him that thing!" Jessie cried happily.
"Well, what are you two-watt bulbs waitin' for? Throw some pokéballs at the 'ting!" Meowth shouted.
"You got it!" James said as he grabbed some pokéballs from his pack. "Pokéball, go!"
James chucked a ball at the little pokémon. It smiled and whipped the ball away with a swipe of it's tail. Jessie threw one of her own at it, with the same result.
"Looks like it wants to play rough. Okay then, Arbok, go!" Jessie said as she threw Arbok's ball out. The huge snake appeared in a flash of bright light and quickly bared it's fangs at the little cat.
"Mew!" the little pokémon laughed.
"Arbok, glare attack!" Jessie commanded.
Arbok's turned blue as it glared at the little cat. The mysterious pokémon laughed again and it's eyes shone the same shade as Arbok's. Arbok's eyes stopped glowing and they rolled into the back of his head. He fell flat on his face, unconscious.
"Arbok! Why that stupid little cat! How did it do that!?" Jessie cried as she returned to her fallen Arbok.
"It must be a psychic pokémon." Meowth said as he stared at the floating feline. James tossed out Weezing's pokéball.
"Weezing, tackle attack!" he shouted.
Weezing flew at the little pokémon and slammed into it, sending it spinning. It rubbed it's sore cheek and it's eyes flared red. Weezing was enveloped in a crimson aura and was slammed into the ground, creating a large crater. The little pokémon glared angrily at Team Rocket.
"I don't like the way it's looking at us..." Jessie shuddered.
The unknown pokémon's eyes flared even brighter and a red aura flowed over Team Rocket. They lifted above the ground and then were flung into the distance.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" they all cried.
They flipped through the air towards the ocean, dozens of miles away. They all hit the surface of the water and sank down. James had just started to swim to the surface when a huge shadow formed underneath him. He looked down to see a fearsome dragon pokémon.
"Gyarados!" he gasped in his mind.
He began to kick frantically to the glimmering barrier above him. His head broke the surface and he gulped down breath after breath. The Gyarados shot clear out of the water a few yards behind James. It soared up into the air and began to fall, it's gaping mouth headed straight at James. James screamed as the Gyarados hit the water headfirst, diving below the surface. It swallowed hard and licked it's fangs. A shred of James' uniform floated to the surface, it's normally grayish tone now deep red...
James woke up again in his sleeping bag once again. He got up and angrily stomped the ground. There was no way he could win! If they stayed at the campsite, that little pokémon would come again and they'd be Gyarados bait. If they left, they'd all die somehow. When would this torture end!?
James' thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Jessie snorting awake. Meowth soon followed. James quickly got out some pans and made a quick fire.
"How many eggs do you want Jessie?" he sighed as he cracked an egg into the pans over the fire.
"Four please." she replied as she put on some eyeliner.
Everyone ate their breakfast as James pondered what to do. Just then, James got an idea...
"Ooohh. I'm so tired!" Misty groaned. "Someone point me to a hotel."
"What do you think we're looking for?" Stephen asked, rubbing at his eyes.
"We haven't seen a place to sleep ever since we got into town!" Brock grumbled.
"Pika..." Pikachu said quietly.
"There's got to be a place to sleep somewhere around here." Ash yawned as he picked Pikachu up.
It was night back in Crimson Town. Team Rocket was positioned back by the same alleyway they had already been in. They hopped out of the alleyway infront of Ash & co. and went into the Team Rocket Motto.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the..."
"Why do you guys always do this?" Ash interrupted.
"Yeah, we're tired. Go away." Stephen moaned.
"Why you little...we won't leave. We want Pikachu!" Jessie said angrily as she threw a pokéball. "Arbok, go!"
James just stood there. Jessie quickly slapped him upside the head.
"Don't just stand there like a ninny! Send out Weezing!" she shouted.
"Weezing's to tired. Send out Meowth instead." James said, turning his head away.
"Hey, don't lookit me!" Meowth said, holding his paws out in front of himself. "I don't wanna fight either!"
Jessie bellowed and slammed them both on the noggin with her trusty mallet.
"Okay, I'll do it myself. Arbok, poison sti...huh?!" She started. She instantly stopped when she saw that Ash & co. were no longer there.
"Grrr....James this is all your fault!!" she practically screamed at her blue-haired companion.
"But...but..." He stuttered.
"Take this!" she shouted as she pulled out her mallet again. She brought it down on James' head and he instantly blacked out.
Chapter Five
James woke up in his sleeping bag again. He was back in the same old meadow with Jessie and Meowth sleeping at his side. He groaned and got out of his bag. He got the pans out and quickly cooked breakfast. The smell of food woke Jessie and Meowth up.
"How many eggs do you want Jessie?" James asked, even though he already knew she was going to take four.
"Um, no eggs for me." she said as she put on some eyeliner.
"Okay, here are your four...what did you say?" he suddenly asked, startled.
"I said I didn't want any eggs. They have to much cholesterol. I have to watch my figure you know." Jessie replied as she put away her make-up and began to coat her hair with hair spray.
James just stood there, shocked. She didn't want any eggs. Did that mean...?
"Hey James, since Jess don't want her eggs, can Meowth have 'em?" Meowth asked as he eyed the plate of eggs hungrily.
"Uh...sure Meowth, go ahead. I'm going for a...walk..." he mumbled. He turned and walked away into the forest. Meowth and Jessie looked at each other and shrugged. Jessie dug into some grapefruit from her pack and Meowth grabbed some eggs.
Meanwhile, James was gazing at his watch in disbelief. It read "8:45, Wed." It was the next day! He wasn't in the time loop anymore! He looked at the sky and saw a familiar ball of fire blazing towards him. The ball landed and revealed his guardian angel.
"Well James, you did it." the angel said as he smiled.
"But I didn't do anything." James said. "All I did was botch up the plan and get knocked out by Jessie."
"Exactly." the angel said. "Since Ash and his Pikachu got away, you guys weren't blasted to the rock quarry. After Jessie dropped you like a ton of bricks with her mallet, she and Meowth dragged you back to the campsite and put you back in your sleeping bag. You weren't blasted down a canyon, shot by police officers, blasted by a Mew, eaten by a Gyarados, or anything like that. You broke the time loop."
"Mew? What's a Mew?" James asked.
"Oops. I wasn't supposed to tell you that..." the angel said as he slapped his head. He quickly waved his hand over James' eyes and James got a blank look on his face. He quickly snapped out of it and looked back at his angel.
"I'm sorry, I forgot what you just said..." he said blankly.
"It's okay, it wasn't important." the angel said with a sigh of relief. "Anyway, I think you should get back to the campsite. Your friends are getting impatient."
"Oh, well, okay then." James said, still trying to remember what the angel said. "Thanks for helping me...out."
James' angel had vanished before James could finish his sentence. James just shrugged and headed back to the campsite, happily whistling all the way...
The End...
The End...
The End...
The End...