Logan was happy, for once. This was usually the happiest day of the year for him, considering the rest of the year was usually terrible. How could it be joyous, living in poverty in a cruddy house in Lavender Town, neglected by your emotionally confused mother all the time? He got some happiness hanging out with the gang, sure. Candy was the light of his life, and she probably returned the favor. But today, January 13, his 17th birthday, Logan was going for a big change. He was leaving to join a new generation of Team Rocket.

There were a few reasons Logan wanted to join the team. For one thing, he was exceptional at getting away with things. He and the rest of Dark Arbok had stolen Pokemon and such for seven years. He smirked at the stolen Pokemon he still owned. Grimer. He rarely used it in battle, but it was nice to have around. He trained with it and sometimes even talked with it. They had gained reasonable trust with one another. His first Pokemon, gained criminally. He felt he could succeed doing the same thing on Team Rocket.

He also needed to escape from home. The gang was going to get into deep trouble soon, and if there was one thing he had learned from it, it was to hit and run. He couldn't stick around. On top of that, his household was entirely messed up. His mom was a ranting, depressed, or berserk wreck most of the time and they were dirt poor. He had no idea who or where his dad was. Logan was sick of being his mom's dress-up doll. She's been forcing him to be a Coordinator for years. He didn't want to be a Coordinator or celebrity. He wanted his Pokemon to become unmatched in strength, not beauty.

Logan shuffled from his room to the kitchen where his mom was sitting. "Mom."

Jessie turned to her son. "Yes, Logan?"

"I'm leaving today, remember?"

"Logan, I have a lot on my mind. Remember that I have no one to support me," she snapped.

Logan knew he was his mom's right hand man, but he was not starting an argument he could not win."You sad you had something for me?"

Jessie showed a little more life in her face. She hopped out of her chair and went to her ran back with a white uniform. It had a red letter R on it, for Rocket.

Logan picked up the outfit. He could see it was fitted for a woman. "This is a girl's uniform."

Jessie smiled a bit. "It was mine. Back when I was on the team. I failed miserably, but at least I wasn't alone…" She drifted off, thinking of her old Pokemon and Logan's father. She caught herself and turned back to Logan. "But that was the past." Jessie grabbed Logan's shoulders. "You're not going to let me down, Logan. Go out there and fix our namesake!"

Logan nodded. "I'll do my best." He reluctantly put on the outfit, which surprisingly wasn't as tricky to wear as he'd thought. Still, he blushed a bit.

Jessie giggled. "I never knew we'd worn the same size."

"Wobbuffet!" The blue Pokemon suddenly appeared next to her.

Logan waved goodbye to his mom and Wobbuffet. He rushed to the new base, hoping Dark Arbok wouldn't wait for him. The outfit was humiliating.

Lindsay sat on her bed to reflect on her decision. Why was she joining Team Rocket? What would she get out of it? She remembered all of her problems would vanish if she escaped that one boy. She could not bear to be around Jojo anymore.

Ever since she had enrolled at school thirteen years ago, Jojo had done nothing but make her miserable. He would follow her and use his Bellsprout to harm her in several ways. His favorite techniques were spraying her with Acid, making her sleep in class with Sleep Powder, or whipping her with Vine Whip. Luckily, her dad or Meowth came through for her most of the time, but that didn't stop Jojo from trying again the next day.

Lindsay ran downstairs to the living room. She was wearing her dad's old Team Rocket uniform. Granted, it was a boy's outfit, but it stayed on well. She approached her dad and Meowth confidently.

"Happy birthday, sweetie," James told his daughter.

"Seventeen, huh, Lindsay? Last time I saw you, it feels like you were no bigger than Me-owth," the catlike Pokemon told her.

Lindsay giggled. "Thanks, papa, thanks, Meowth. I've been thinking about the offer the other day. I'm willing to take the position on Team Rocket."

James grew serious. "Lindsay, why do you want to leave?"

"I'm sick of that boy hunting me down, for one thing. Besides, I could make friends."

Meowth pondered. "You could use a few new friends."

"You're willing to steal Pokemon for profit?" James reflected on when he had done the same thing. "Lindsay, Meowth, your mother and I used to be on the team. It was extremely tough."

"I've never even seen Mommy, except in pictures." She picked up the nearby picture of her teenage dad with a younger Meowth and her mom. She's always thought Jessie was pretty. "I still don't get why you left each other."

James started to become deep in thought. He snapped out of it. "Okay, Lindsay. I'm willing to let you go, only because I need for you to be free." James's goal for Lindsay was to let her choose her own path in life without him restricting her, unless it was for her own good. That was the opposite of how he had been raised, and he hadn't liked his childhood at all. He loved Lindsay with all of his heart and was barely ready to give her up, but she was anxious to take the path, so so be it.

Lindsay hugged James. "I'll come back sometimes, papa. I promise." She was almost going to cry. James held on to her for a while.

Meowth, not wanting to be left out, even snuggled in and started bawling. "I'm going with ya, Lindsay! I'm gonna take good care of ya, you'll see!"

James parted and remembered something. "I almost forgot your birthday present. Don't leave yet." He rushed off to the backyard and returned a few minutes later. He held out a Poke Ball. "You can finally have a Pokemon all to your own. I found this one and thought it would be a great starter for Team Rocket."

Lindsay had never gotten a Pokemon- Jojo had stalled her on her tenth birthday, of course, and she was too scared to get one herself afterwards. They had a few family Pokemon, but this one was all her own. She took it without haste. "Thank you! Thank you!" She held the Poke Ball out. "Poke Ball…" She threw it with great force. "Go!"

Out popped an eyeless, purple, flying Pokemon. Lindsay recognized the squeaking Poison-Flying type right away. "A Zubat! It's so cute!" The Zubat landed on her arm. It already seemed to like Lindsay. She hugged her father once more. "Thank you! Every time I use it in battle, I'll think of home."

She recalled Zubat, grabbed her things, and walked out with Meowth. She had to cover her face to hide from Jojo. She stuck a rose in her hair and the picture of both her parents under her belt for good luck.

The base wasn't very crowded with potential members- there were only twenty or so. The new leaders of the team, Butch and Cassidy, were not pleased with the outcome.

"We're too desperate for members. We don't have time to test all of them." Cassidy sighed.

"We can check their performance through their work. Right now, let's take what we can get," Butch replied.

Logan approached Cassidy. "Lady, my name is Logan and I'm joining the second generation of Team Rocket."

She stared at the white girls' uniform for a while, recognizing its owner. Ugh. This must be Jessie's son I've heard about. If the little jerk is anything like his mother, this team is in trouble. We don't have much of a choice, though.

Cassidy faked a smile. "Welcome to the team, Logan. We'll find a place for you here." Logan chuckled smugly. Cassidy directed him to an area away from the other members. "Just wait here until we find you a partner." He waited in the area for his partner.

Lindsay ran up to Butch, Meowth watching from the back. "Excuse me, sir, I'm here to join Team Rocket."

Butch glanced at Cassidy, at the young man standing alone, then at Lindsay in her vintage, masculine, white attire. It became clear this was the second child of the losers. Butch pushed Lindsay toward the same area. "I think we've found your partner."

Butch and Cassidy turned to Logan. "Logan, we would like to introduce you to…"

"…Lindsay," finished the girl in James's uniform.

Butch and Cassidy left the two teenagers to themselves. Logan moved closer to Lindsay. Logan took a good look at Lindsay's apparel. "Think we can make an outfit trade, Lindsay?" She nodded embarrassedly.

The two went behind the bushes so that no one, including each other, could watch them undress. They slipped each other their outfits, then emerged triumphantly, Lindsay wearing Jessie's uniform and Logan wearing James's uniform. Logan sighed. "Glad the humiliation is over."

Lindsay squealed. "I can't believe I'm going to finally go on an adventure!" She grasped Logan, much to his surprise. "We are going to be great friends, I just know it!" Logan sighed again. "I was wrong."

Meowth came up from outside to meet with the twosome. "I see you've made a new buddy, Lindsay." He held out his paw to Logan. "Hey there, my name is Meowth!"

Logan seemed shocked. "You're a…talking Pokemon." Lindsay picked up Meowth. "I know, but you'll get used to it. He's like my second daddy!" Logan rubbed his arm. "At least you have a dad. I've been supporting my mom since I could walk. Apparently, my dad left a while ago." Lindsay nodded seriously. "My parents are separated, too. I don't know my mom, but Meowth does."

Meowth jumped off of Lindsay. "Ah, yes, I remember your mom well. She and James, your dad, were on Team Rocket together. I saw sparks, and not just from the electric attacks we endured. The three of us all stuck together like glue. We was the Three Rocketeers! As soon as the team disbanded, they eloped and married each other on Mt. Silver, under the cover of snow. After a while, Lindsay and her brother were born, and the two couldn't handle it anymore, so they split." Meowth's eyes glimmered. "I haven't seen Jessie since."

Logan pondered. "That's weird. My mom's name is Jessie."

Lindsay pondered as well. "I never knew I had a twin brother. You never told me that part, Meowth."

Meowth looked at Logan carefully. "Hey, boy, what's ya name?"

"Logan."

Meowth became shocked. "Ah! That's Lindsay's brother's name, too!"

Lindsay stared at Logan. "No way he's related to me. Even if our moms share a name, or if my old brother has his name. Logan and Jessie are common names."

Meowth needed a way to prove his theory. "Lindsay, don't ya have a picture of your mom and dad?"

"Yeah, but it was in the other outfit." Logan checked his uniform and found a rolled-up picture under his belt. He checked it over and recognized the woman in the picture immediately. "That's her! That was my mom!"

Lindsay and Logan shared a glance with each other, and spoke simultaneously with the same realization:

"We're brother and sister!"

"Twins, to be exact. So happy birthday to both of ya!" Meowth gestured toward a nearby Pokemon Center. "Being experienced in the field, I say we hit that Pokemon Center first!"

"Shouldn't we wait for the bosses to tell us what to do first?" Lindsay asked, ignoring Logan's madness mantra of saying, "This freak is my sister" over and over again.

Meowth glared at his old rivals. "They don't know nothin'. Now c'mon, kiddies." Lindsay and Logan followed Meowth, and he turned around and handed them each something on paper. "This is a motto I wrote up for ya guys. It's kinda like the one ya parents had, but redone."

Lindsay and Logan studied the papers, then ran to the Pokemon Center to improvise their ambush.