Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon, any characters, or any other affiliations. I'm simply using them to fulfill my own twisted ends.

Team Rocket Unsolved Mysteries—Solved!

Aka My take on some of the things I've wondered about our favorite Team Rocket trio-Jessie, James, and Meowth (and possibly other assorted Team Rocket members)

Unsolved Mystery #1: Why James carries a rose

       A young boy wandered through an enormous garden, taking in the sights, sounds, and smells. This boy was none other than our very own James, at the tender age of 9. It was on this day that James made a discovery that would haunt him the rest of his life.

       James had often heard his mother comment to her friends which flowers she did or didn't like. One that stuck out in his mind was the fact that she thought roses were absolutely horrid. She had often claimed that if a single rose ever was found in her gardens, she would personally make sure that the whole area was mowed down so that the rose couldn't grow back.

Even then, James was very sensitive, but didn't want anyone else to find out; therefore, he only visited the gardens in secret. He made a confidential promise with the head gardener that he could visit at any time he chose, as long as he helped to take care of the flowers. One day, James was keeping that promise when he stumbled across a hidden path that looked as though it hadn't been cared for in years. Wildflowers grew everywhere, the grass was as tall as James's knees, and there wasn't a bit of wall in sight; it had all been covered by wild ivy vines, which climbed up a trellis archway to make a sort of tunnel when combined with the large bushes that grew along either side of the path. James cautiously walked down the path, unsure of what might come out of the bushes surrounding him. Finally, after what seemed to him an eternity, the path opened into a beautiful rose garden, full to bursting with roses of every shape, size, and color imaginable. Even the walls had rose ivy trailing them. James wondered why there would be such a beautifully kept rose garden on the premises when his mother hated the flowers. Suddenly, James saw a small cross in one corner. He hurriedly walked over to it, but once he got there, he stopped short. He knelt down to read what had been engraved into the stone cross.

Jamie Mara Woodson

1984-1987

Our Beautiful Baby Girl

James's blood ran cold. His parents had never told him that he'd had a sister. He wondered what other secrets they were keeping from them. Suddenly, James got an idea. He pulled a small knife from his pocket. He normally used it for pruning, but today was different. He used its tiny blade to cut two roses from nearby bushes, one blood red, the other as white as snow. He squeezed the stem of the red one in his hand until the thorns punctured his skin; gritting his teeth to keep in squeals of pain, he held his hand over the white rose and watched as the droplets of his blood fell, staining the immaculate white petals. He then ripped off a piece of his undershirt and tied it around his hand to staunch the bleeding. He tucked the red rose into his pocket, so that he could place it in a vase in his room. However, he took the bloodstained white rose to his mother, who was having tea with a friend. Holding the rose up to his mother's nose, he asked a simple question: "What else have you hidden from me?"

       Later that night, when James was getting ready for bed, his mother came in to tell him a story. She told him about a little girl named Jamie, who had hurt herself on a rose thorn. She got sick because her parents were too busy to notice that she'd gotten hurt, and she got into some garbage and germs entered her body. She ended up dying, so her family buried her in her favorite place—the largest rose garden on the premises. From then on, James's mother hated the flowers that caused her first child to die, and did everything in her power to prevent her next child, a little boy with light bluish-purple hair, from having to suffer in the same way.

Note: So, to sum up, James carries the rose in memory of the big sister he never got to meet. (I got the last name for the epitaph from the fic "The Facts in the Case of Woodson vs. Ketchum" by Cori Falls, on her website A White Today, and a White Tomorrow, which is an awesome Rocketshippy site) P.S: Sorry for the bad ending, everyone. I wrote this in about 15 minutes to try to get rid of some crippling writer's block I've had lately. I got this idea from watching an episode of Pokémon from the first season on Cartoon Network. As the opening theme was playing, I caught a glimpse of Jessie and James. James was carrying a red rose, and as I saw that, I began to wonder to myself why he began to carry it. Thus, this idea was born. Just so you know, this will be a series. I'm planning one about James and his bottle cap collection right now, as well (it's just a matter of getting it written) If anyone has a Team Rocket Unsolved Mystery (TRUM) that they'd like solved, just tell me in a review and I'll write about it. I especially need ideas about Jessie, because I can't think of anything.