Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, the Jennys, the Joys, or any other characters you may recognize.
"All right, everyone, time to turn in your work!"
Jenny grinned and waved her paper around in the aisle as the teacher walked towards her, collecting sloppy, scribbled drawings from each of her students on the way. She knew, she just knew that she had done the best work in the class this time. But the teacher was taking so long to get here, smiling at the other kids while she looked at what they had done.
"A shopkeeper, Joey, how lovely! And Mandy, a Pokémon trainer? What a fine one you will make, too! And David...what is this, David?"
"A Team Rocket," the boy answered with a toothy smile, as the teacher gave him a concerned look.
"How interesting...ah, and Jenny, a police officer, no doubt!" The teacher said, moving on quickly from David and reaching out for Jenny's paper. The little girl proudly shook her head.
"Nope!" she answered. "A gym leader!"
The teacher paused, studying the drawing on little Jenny's paper for a moment with a confused expression. Jenny waited eagerly for the praise that was surely coming her way.
"A...gym leader?" the teacher asked, almost unsure of herself. "But every Jenny in your family has become a police officer, don't you want to be like them?"
"Nope!" Jenny said again, shaking her head. "I wanna be a gym leader!"
"But, Jenny," Joy said from next to her, eyes wide, "a Jenny has'ta be a police like a Joy has'ta be a nurse!"
"I don't wanna," Jenny said stubbornly, crossing her arms. "I wanna be a gym leader, so I'm gonna!"
"Well, Jenny," the teacher began again, no doubt to interrupt the little argument as little Joy opened her mouth again. "It is a lovely drawing. Now, Sarah, let's see what you've done!"
And she was moving on already, without even another word about Jenny's picture.
"Jenny? Jenny, will you come in here, please?"
Jenny turned hesitantly away from the television, dragging herself to her feet and trudging across the room, into the kitchen where her mother was waiting. In her hands was the drawing Jenny had done a few days ago, sent home by the teacher just that day.
Jenny smiled. She must be wanting to tell her how pretty the drawing was!
"Is that my picture? Isn't it pretty? Did I do a good job on it, Mommy?"
The older Jenny smiled tiredly. "Yes, it's very pretty, dear. But I wanted to talk to you about it. Is it true you told your teacher you wanted to be a gym leader when you grew up?"
"Yup!" Jenny said, still grinning as she waited for the praise. "And I'm gonna be the best one ever!"
"Jenny, dear..." Her mother sighed, putting the drawing down and taking her daughter's hand. "Come on. I need to show you something."
Now Jenny was confused. What was her mommy doing? Why wasn't she proud of her daughter? And why was she taking out the big picture album?
"Remember this, dear?" the older woman was asking, opening the big book. "It's our photo album, of our family. See, here's your Granny Jenny when she was my age. And then, there are your aunts from Fuchsia, Saffron, and Vermilion City at our family reunion last year! Remember that day?"
"Yeah!" Jenny said, nodding and pointing at another picture, this one depicting herself with one of the Jennys. "And there's me and Cousin Jenny from Viridian!"
"Now, do you notice anything about all of these pictures, honey?" Jenny's mother asked her gently, as the little girl continued to flip through the pages and pages of pictures, all showing various numbers of identical women.
"It's all our family," Jenny answered promptly. "Ooh, look at Granny Jenny's Arcanine! I didn't know she had one!"
"Yes, she did," the mother said. "But what else do you notice about the pictures? What do all of our relatives have in common?"
"We're all named Jenny and we all look alike," Jenny said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world. "Just like all Joy's family is named Joy and they all look like her!"
"And we're all police officers, dear," her mother said, "just like all of the Joys are nurses."
Little Jenny frowned. "But I don't want to be a police officer," she said, pouting. "I want to be a gym leader like Erika!"
"I knew I shouldn't have let you play in that gym while I worked," her mother muttered under her breath, shaking her head and closing her eyes briefly. "Sweetie, I know you want to be a gym leader now, but once you get older you'll understand. Being a police officer is a great honor for Jennys! We are respected for what we do, and citizens are extremely grateful for the protection we give them. Don't you want that?"
"No," Jenny growled, crossing her arms.
"Then, don't you want to be like the rest of the Jennys?" the older woman asked, starting to get desperate. "Don't you want to be like Granny Jenny, like all your aunties and cousins? Like me? Maybe someday you'll be working with me here in Celadon!"
"No," Jenny said again. "I wanna be a gym leader!"
Her mother sighed again and was about to continue, but was interrupted by an urgent beeping coming from the telephone. A familiar face popped up onscreen.
"Officer Jenny!" the frantic policeman called. "We've got an emergency down here at the Pokémon Center! Team Rocket is trying to steal all of the Pokémon! We need you at once!"
"I'm on my way," Officer Jenny replied firmly, nodding and already headed for her bedroom, where her uniform was. She continued shouting instructions even through the closed door, her voice loud enough to be heard by the policeman. "In the meantime, just try to hold them off and keep them busy! Make sure they don't get away with any of those Pokémon! And try to remove as many from the Center as you can to get them to safety, ask Nurse Joy for help keeping the sick ones stable!"
"I'm on it," the policeman said, and the connection cut abruptly. Little Jenny's mother had finished changing into her uniform, slamming the cap down onto her head as she hurried towards the door.
"Now, Jenny, we'll finish talking when I get home. If it gets too late, brush your teeth and make sure you get to sleep on time! I love you, honey!" The door slammed shut behind her, the woman too rushed to care or even notice.
"Bye, Mommy," the little girl said belatedly, but she wasn't upset. She was far too used to the late departures to be affected by it. That was just the norm when your mother was the city's Officer Jenny.
Fifteen Years Later
"I'm so happy you decided to take this job, Jenny!" Nurse Joy said excitedly, reaching out to hug her childhood friend over the counter. Officer Jenny smiled back and returned the hug with one arm, still clutching a Pokéball with the other. "I remember how you used to talk about wanting to become a gym leader, or a scientist, or an artist, or really anything other than a police officer! But I'm glad to see you finally came to your senses. And right back in Celadon! Why, you'll be working under your mother now, won't you?"
"Yes, I will be," Jenny replied, still smiling as she pulled back. "You know, I'm happy too. It's nice to finally find your place, realize where you belong. And to be here, in Celadon? It's wonderful to see all of my old friends again. I imagine I'll really enjoy working here."
"That is fantastic," Joy said sincerely, her eyes shining. "Now, what brings you here? Just came to visit an old friend? Did you hear that I'm in charge of the Pokémon Center for the week while my mother is off with her sister?"
"I had heard, but I'm afraid I had another reason for coming," Jenny chuckled. "You see, I was just assigned this Growlithe as a partner, and I wanted to bring him in to be checked out."
"You remembered that!" Joy crowed happily. "Well, come right on back, let's get this boy checked out!" She stepped out from behind the counter, unlocking and opening a door to the back room for Jenny. The officer stepped through, looking around at the high-tech facility with interest. "This is just our room for the routine things. Pokémon storage is through there," she pointed through another door, "and emergencies are brought into another room, accessed from the front room." She laughed a little. "I am grateful that you remembered to bring him in now, you know. Not nearly enough trainers actually bring their Pokémon in for routine check-ups."
"How could I not remember? You were always complaining about how trainers only came rushing in for emergenices," Jenny teased.
At that moment, frantic shouting could be heard from the front, and one voice above the rest was calling for Nurse Joy.
"Speaking of emergencies!" the nurse said, turning towards Jenny. "I'll be back as soon as I can, just stay here!" With that, she rushed off to the front room of the Pokémon Center.
Jenny waited and listened. Within seconds there was a yelp, and then the noise died down. She smirked and walked towards the door, holding it open and surveying the scene in front of her. Nurse Joy was on the floor, unconscious, and surrounded by several men in Team Rocket uniforms.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" she asked impatiently. "The door's open."
One by one, the Team Rocket members filed in, each carrying a massive bag. Jenny directed them towards the Pokémon storage room, one man staying back with her as the others went inside.
"If all our missions go this easy, you'll be promoted in no time," he said, grinning over at her. "Grunt now, but who knows? Maybe by next year you'll be Commander."
"Yeah, sure. Complimenting me won't get you far, David," Jenny muttered, but was inwardly pleased. "I imagine they'll all be like this, though. People expect a Jenny to be trustworthy, kind, honorable." The last three words were said mockingly, with just a little bitterness added. "No one thinks a Jenny could ever do something like this. Morons, all of 'em. I disappear for a year, not a word said to anyone, and suddenly show up again wanting to be a cop? After a lifetime of refusing? And they just give me the job!" She laughed at the thought of her mother's face, so thrilled and just so trusting when her daughter showed up out of the blue.
"Yeah, well, not everyone can be smart as a Rocket," David said, shrugging. They watched as more Rocket grunts began to exit the storage room, lugging filled bags of Pokéballs with them. They'd sort through and pick out the weaklings later. "But, man, having a Rocket Jenny undercover with the police? Why we never thought of this before, I don't know! It'll sure make jobs a lot easier, you know. Gettin' in places with no trouble, givin' 'em bad information about us, sendin' 'em off in one direction while we go the other…" He trailed off, smiling at the idea of all the possibilities. Jenny smirked.
"It was a brilliant idea, wasn't it?" she asked, not really expecting (or wanting) an answer. She hadn't even thought of it herself until a few weeks ago, just months after joining the Rockets herself. It had been an impulse decision, but one that she knew was right from the moment she was offered a place. After all, she had a lifetime of bitterness built up towards the Jennys, so what better career than as their worst enemies?
It was a long while before Nurse Joy began to groan and stir out in the front room, and by that time, all of the Rockets were gone—with the Pokéballs from the storage room. As soon as she heard the groaning, Jenny stumbled her way towards the front, holding one hand to her head as if in pain.
"Nurse Joy? Nurse Joy, are you all right?" she asked, in the exact right, concerned tone of voice. "I'm so sorry, they just burst in here and knocked me out, and I think they took all the Pokémon!"
"Oh, no!" Joy gasped, sitting up abruptly. "This is terrible! We must call the police station immediately, and maybe they'll be able to catch them before they get too far!"
"Of course. I'll get them right away," Jenny said, all business, before pausing. For a split second she wondered if she was pushing the act too far, but she just couldn't resist…
"I am so sorry, Joy!" she sobbed, turning away and covering her face with her hands. "It's all my fault! I should have stopped them, I should have protected all of the Pokémon!"
"Oh, Jenny, it's not your fault!" Joy shouted, rushing to console her friend. "It's just your first week, and even the best officers would have been caught off guard! Here, you sit here while I call the police, we'll have this straightened out in no time!"
And only the hands covering her face hid Jenny's smile.
Author's Note: The idea for this fic just popped into my head and I just had to write it. Because, seriously? Every Jenny in the world wants to be a police officer?
I think I'm putting too much thought into a cartoon/game again.