Dear Nanny and Pop-pop,
Sorry for not writing last week. Jessie had another performance, and like I mentioned before, it is a group effort to get her ready. I hope you are all doing well. I wish we were closer, but we have no choice but to stay in Kalos for a while. I don't want to cause you any anxiety, but I know you always watch the news for the regions in which we are traveling. I want to explain some things before you see our faces on Kalos television. Like, I said, do not worry, and give me a chance to explain.
I guess the best thing to do is to start from the very beginning. So I suppose it started last week. It was just a typical day, Saturday, I think, though it could have been Friday or Sunday...Anyway, we were camping out near Kiloude City, and we were spending the day at the mall. I was sitting in the waiting area outside the changing rooms inside this huge clothing store while Jessie tried on clothes. Meowth was napping by my side and Wobbufet was busy putting away the dresses and shoes that Jessie had already rejected.
"James, is this dress enough, or should I add the bolero?", Jessie asked me as she came out of the changing room.
I stood up to get a closer look, observing the dress from all angles, with and without the bolero. Normally I hated these shopping sprees, but Jessie has learned to cool it over the years. I don't mind shopping and giving her my advice as long as we can keep the trips to under four hours and stay under the budget. Besides, if she got an outfit she felt confident in, she would be more likely to win at the Pokémon performances, and that would benefit the whole team.
"I think it looks better without a bolero", I decided. "Unless you think you are going to be cold".
"Nah, I will be moving around on stage", she replied.
Jessie's eyes shifted away from mine and I could tell she was looking at something behind me. I assumed it was Wobbufet, until I saw the blue blob of a Pokémon sit down next to me.
"Woba Woba!" he said excitedly as he observed Jessie in her dress. A blush appeared on his face as he smiled at his favorite trainer.
I turned to see what Jessie was looking at. It was a man. He walked away quickly when he saw me.
"Do you know who that was?" I asked, a bit annoyed that he was spying on us like that and then ran when I noticed him.
"No…", she answered, her eyes still staring at the space where he stood.
"Um, so if you want to change, I will return the bolero", I told her.
"I'll wear this one out", she said, with a slick smile on her face.
"Fine", I sighed.
Jessie knew I had a talent for removing those locked tags that sprayed ink on the clothing if you tried to remove the tag without seeing a cashier. She turned so her back was facing me. I reached down her neck and felt around until a felt the tag in my hand. I pulled it up and with a small metal pick, the perfect amount of force, precision, and a little bit of luck, I was able to get the tag off without a single drop of ink spilling on the brand new dress. It wasn't the first time we pulled this stunt. After all, we really couldn't afford a dress like that at the moment. After I was done I did the same to the bolero. Trust me, I wasn't proud, but after all, whoever was running this department store surely had more dough than the three of us did.
"Thanks doll", she said playfully, patting me on the head like a child.
Jessie proceeded pull at Meowth's whiskers until he woke up, and then the four of us left the store. Meowth complained, Wobbufet refused to return to his ball, and my stomach growled while Jessie led us back to camp. When we got back, Jessie stripped down to her bikini and lay out for a tan, despite it being only 65 degrees, and Meowth drooled over the stove while I cooked us lunch. Like I said, it was a typical day.
"Excuse me, miss?" I heard an unfamiliar voice from behind the tent, over where Jessie was 'tanning'.
"What do you want?" Jessie responded rudely, classic Jess.
The man lowered his voice and a could hardly hear what they two of them were saying over the cackling fire and our Pokémon chatting in the background. I told Meowth to go check to see what was up while I took care of the food. He scrambled into the a bush and peeped at Jessie and the stranger. I sighed again, because I didn't mean for him to spy on her, I meant for him to go talk to them.
Five minutes later, Jessie came back to camp. Meowth jumped out from under the bush and acted natural. She didn't suspect that he had been watching her.
"I am going for a walk", she announced.
"Before lunch?" I asked.
"Yes", she answered curtly as she pulled a loose skirt and tank top over her bathing suit. Wobbufet handed her the bolero we had swiped.
"Does dat mean I can eat yere portion?" Meowth asked her.
"No way! Save it for me", she replied. "I want to eat it when I get back. And if not here waiting for me, then you two will pay".
"When are you coming back?" I asked. Jessie and I normally went out together and rarely ventured out on our own.
"I'll be back before nightfall, I promise", she answered.
She put her Pokeballs in a small purse and left, ordering Wobbufet to stay behind. When she had walked a good distance away Meowth jumped onto the rock next to me and waved his paw at me, indicating that he wanted to whisper something in my ear.
"Jessie's goin' out on a date", he informed me.
"Oh", I replied. "With who?"
"Some guy with bright red hair", he answered.
I didn't know anyone around our age that had bright red hair, other than Jessie, but I did know who Meowth was talking about. It was that man from the store. She left with the guy who was spying on us.
"What did he say?" I asked Meowth.
I didn't like the idea of my best friend running off with some stranger, especially some guy who was watching us but was too creepy to come say hi to me.
"He asked Jessie if she was married", Meowth replied, giggling a little.
I giggled too. I wasn't exactly a ladies' man, but than isn't how I would have started a conversation with a woman I wanted to ask out.
"Well, she obviously said 'no' and den he's like 'well den maybe weeze should go out'. Jessie got all red and den agreed. That's 'bout it", Meowth explained.
"Did they mention where they were going?" I asked Meowth.
"Why, yous wanna follow her?" he asked suspiciously.
"No, its just that if it gets dark and she still hasn't returned, I want to know where to start looking for her", I answered.
It was true. I didn't have any intention of following them. I would never intrude on her privacy like that. She told me everything anyways, its not like this was some big secret that she was going to hideaway.
"Jim, she don't need you to protect her", said Meowth. "She's tougher den yous".
"I know that. But the three of us are a team and we need to know where are members are at all times", I responded.
"Yeah, well I'm still more worried about yous getting hurt by a stranger den Jessie", he replied.
"Just eat your food", I told Meowth, suddenly very annoyed with my scratch cat team member.
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Jessie returned four hours later, about five minutes until sundown. She was alone. I was waiting for her by the fire while Meowth was out hunting.
"Wobbufet!" yelled Wobbufet. He ran up to Jessie and hugged her when he saw her coming.
"Hey Jess", I said softly.
"You finished eating?" she asked, sitting down next to me.
"No, but the food is ready now", I told her.
"I saw the fleabag on my way here", said Jessie. "He was looking for bugs to eat. Disgusting".
"I suppose it is just his natural instinct", I replied.
"You sound sad. What happened? Did the fleabag call you names again?" Jessie asked jokingly as she stuffed her face with a rice ball. She poked me playfully in the ribs, and I couldn't help but smile and giggle a little bit.
"Nah, I was just bored is all. I didn't expect you to leave for that long", I answered.
I felt guilty as soon as the words left my mouth. I sounded needy, and I didn't want to make her feel bad for going out on her date. She had every right too. I was just answering her question honestly, it's true that without her around I get pretty lonely.
"I didn't think I would be gone long either", she responded with her mouth still full of food. "Sorry 'bout that".
"Its ok. So Meowth told me that some guy came along and asked you out", I said. No point in pretending I didn't know, not when my partner could read me like a book.
"Argh. I hate when he spies on me. Well its true, I had a date. I was going to tell you anyway", Jessie responded.
"I figured. So who was that guy? Do you know him from somewhere?" I asked.
"He has been to my last few performances. He says that he is a big fan of mine", she answered. "He has been watching me and cheering me on since my very first performance".
I never saw this guy before, but then again, as time went on Jessie was accumulating more and more fans. We knew the names of almost none of them, and they just seemed to blend in with the crowd. He could have been there all along without any of us noticing.
"Well he has good taste", I replied. "Do you like him?"
"James, it has only been one date", she answered. "I really don't know that much about him. He is handsome, but he didn't even kiss me".
For some reason I felt relieved. Jessie tended to get infatuated with handsome guys, whether or not they showed interest in her. At least she wasn't obsessive over this guy. I wasn't in the mood to deal with that again. Not so soon after the Dr. White incident I told you about.
"So I guess he asked you out again", I said after a moment of silence.
"Yep, but I declined. There was just something about him….you know what I mean?", said Jessie.
I knew exactly what she meant. Jessie looked a little bit sad, just like I supposed I looked like at the moment. I didn't really understand it. Camping out for so long was probably starting to get to us. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a side hug. She returned it, then sighed and rested her head on my shoulder. We stayed like that for a while, then Meowth came back.
"Are yous two going to take a bath?" he asked us, scrunching up his face in disgust, pretending that we reeked.
"In the morning", we replied together, too tired to do much else.
Jessie and I took off our day clothes and folded them for the night. We stayed up reading for a few hours before nodding off. Meowth curled up by our feet.
At around midnight I could have sworn I saw a shadow and heard someone curse. Jessie was still asleep next to me and Meowth hadn't budged since he fell asleep one hour previously. I carefully removed Jessie arms from my chest (she often had dreams that involved grabbing, beating, or hugging me in her sleep) and I got up to look around. No one was in sight, so I shrugged it off. I went back into the tent and passed out a few minutes later.
The next morning we headed straight for the hot springs, which were about a thirty-minute walk from our camp. They were private springs, the best place to bath. It was expensive but we made a habit of sneaking in to these things. We simply had one of our Pokémon distract the manager while Jessie, Meowth and I bathed in luxury. It worked every time.
"See, dis water is de kind of water dat Meowth approves of", the Pokémon announced as he slid his body into the pool.
Jessie and I routinely bathed together, which wasn't as weird as it may sound. We weren't really embarrassed around each other, and we both liked having someone there to wash our backs. Neither of us trusted Meowth to do it. After we scrubbed the two days worth of dirt and sweat off our bodies, the three of us closed our eyes and relaxed.
"Uh oh", Meowth said after a few minutes. "I dink we're in trouble".
"What?! Are you saying that someone is coming?" Jessie demanded. "Crap, Wobbufet is usually good at distractions"
"I'm saying dat someone's already here", he replied, his ear's perking up in alert. "and it don't sound like Wobbufet or de manager of de springs".
I shuddered involuntarily. It was just like last night. Was someone watching us?
"Let's get out of here", Jessie said, standing up and wrapping a towel around her. She threw a towel at me and Meowth too.
"Don't bother, dere gone now", said Meowth as he tossed the towel aside and slinked back into the pool.
"Are you positive? Meowth, if some creep is peeping on us and you don't say anything I swear to god I will…."Jessie started, her temper rising.
"Chill Jess", Meowth responded. "I promise. Nobody's here. Dey left. Let's just go back to relaxin''".
Meowth closed his eyes and relaxed, but Jessie and I had a bit of a harder time. Humans are like that, after all, we don't usually like the idea of having strangers watching us bath or listening in on our private conversations.
So after we cleaned ourselves we enjoyed a breakfast of wild berries and some peanut butter we had left over from the convenience store we robbed last week. We tracked the twerp. We weren't going to focus on stealing Pikachu today, as Jessie and I were too sore from the last blast off, but it was still good to know where he was for next time.
We did managed to catch some of those stupid Vanillite though. Jessie and I almost kept one for ourselves, but the things were so damn annoying, that we sent them to the boss the moment we had a chance. As usual, he was not very pleased with us when we called to tell him about our latest catch. Something about them not being 'rare' enough for him. I still was angry at the boss for holding Mime Jr. and Carnivine from me, but I was too afraid at the moment to ask for them back. Last time I asked the boss was outraged and said that he needed us to gain experience by learning to capture and train wild Pokémon for ourselves. He said that is what made us successful in Unova. Anyway, I am rambling. But these are the thoughts I was thinking when it happened.
I was alone at camp. After reporting to the boss and changing into our typical day-clothes (not our uniforms), Jessie went to use the public restroom while Meowth took a catnap. Wobbufet was in his ball for once and so was Inkay. I heard footsteps but before I could turn around, someone hit me, hard. The force of the punch to the back of my head caused me fall over, but I didn't hit the ground. He grabbed my shirt and just as I opened my eyes to see who was attacking me, he hit me again, this time breaking my glasses and giving me a black eye.
I yelled for help but the guy kept on attacking me. I fought back, and managed to apprehend my attacker, but everything changed when I noticed the dagger in his right hand, poised to stab me right in the stomach. From that angle he could stab me mercilessly. I let go and backed up.
"Please, wwhhaat ddo yyou wwantt?" I stuttered.
"Don't yell, or I will make this more painful then it needs to be", he responded, sending shivers down my spine.
Without my glasses or contacts, I could hardly see anything, but I did notice that the man had black hair and brown eyes. He didn't look familiar, and I could not think of one good reason a to why he would want to kill me, after all, most rational human beings would agree that thieves didn't deserve a death sentence. He started fighting me again, but this time it ended with the knife in my side. He pulled the knife out and pushed me back.
The man must not have noticed Meowth asleep under one of the towels from the hot springs. After he pushed me down I landed backwards on top of him, waking the Pokémon up immediately.
"What's de big idea?" Meowth growled as he jumped to his feet.
Seeing the situation in front of him, Meowth immediately sprung into action. He fury swiped the guy and wrestled the knife from his hand as he tried to stab me again. He released Inkay and the two of them fought him together. I honestly can't remember much after that. I was in a lot of pain and I was holing my hands to my wound, hoping that Meowth realized that humans were more vulnerable during these types of attacks than Pokémon were. Meowth continued to fight, and I remember Inkay coming up to me and chirping in my ear. He was crying. Poor thing. I must have looked really hurt. Meowth told him to go get Jessie, and he flew away. Everything after that is just flashy visions.
I had a fleeting vision of Jessie kneeling down next to me. She took off the bolero she was wearing and used it to cover up my wound. Wobbufet handed her the towel that Meowth had been using as a blanket and she wrapped it snuggly around my waist, covering the wound and forcing me to sit up. Gourgeist, Inkay, and Meowth managed to knock that guy out cold, and he was lying on the ground. Then I passed out too.
I was dreaming about being attacked by a gang of Vanillite when I awoke suddenly. Confused, I looked around at my surroundings. White walls, beeping machines, a hospital gown, an IV in my left arm, and two chairs hosting my two best friends on my only Pokémon.
"Innnnkay!" Inkay squeaked happily as I noticed him looking at me. He was blurry, as I no longer had my glasses, but I could tell he was glad I was awake.
As I hugged Inkay I looked over at Jessie and Meowth. They both looked back at me and gave me half-smiles.
"Yous scared us Jimmy", Meowth started. "I mean, without yous 'round, we woulda had to carry all dat stuff back to HQ on our own".
"Not to mention the boss would have blamed us for your death", Jessie added.
She was joking, but I could tell she was crying at some point. Her face was still a little red and she rubbed one last tear from her eye just to make sure they were all gone before I noticed.
"Innnnkay", Inkay said again, this time handing me my contacts.
"Thank you," I told him as I popped them in.
"So, can you explain why some stranger attacked me?" I asked hopefully.
"Yous mean yous don't know who dat was?" Meowth asked.
"No", I replied.
Then I realized that the situation was probably even more confusing for Meowth and Jessie than it was for me. Meowth was sleeping and Jessie was just walking back to camp when they found out I was stabbed by some unknown man. I guess I just hoped they would have some answers for me. After all, they did rescue me and take that guy down.
"Meowth, can you leave so I can talk to James alone?" she asked.
"What? How come?" he whined.
"Just leave or you are going to end up with your own hospital bed!" she spat back.
"Geeze, I'm leavin'" he answered, cursing Jessie on his way out of the room.
Meowth slammed the door and Jessie rolled her eyes. I looked at her in confusion, waiting for her to explain something to me. She knelt down next to my bed and smiled. To my surprise, she burst into tears and pulled me into a hug. I didn't really know what to say, so I just hugged her back, even though. It was painful, physically, I mean. Then I begged for her to let go, as it hurt to have her on top of me like that.
"It was that fan guy", Jessie told me.
"Fan guy?" I repeated, initially not understanding.
"Just let me explain, and don't interrupt, and don't tell Meowth" she replied.
"Okay", I agreed, waiting for her to continue.
"The person who attacked you was the guy I went out with yesterday. His name is Timothy. He must have gotten jealous or something after I rejected him for a second date", she confessed.
"Why would anyone be jealous of me?" I asked, incredulous. This guy was a maniac, for sure.
"Well before he asked me out, I told him I was single. He seemed very interested in my life, so I told him about you and how we traveled together. I obviously didn't mention Team Rocket, but I did talk about our partnership. After I said no to a second date, I guess he was spying on us. That must be who Meowth heard in the springs. He probably didn't like the idea of us in there together. I guess he though if he got rid of you…" Jessie explained.
"Oh", I said. That made sense. This wasn't the first time suitors had backed away after seeing our partnership, but no one had ever taken extreme measures and tried to kill one of us off.
"This is my fault, I suppose I shouldn't have talked about you", she said after a few moments. "Shit, if it weren't for me, you'd be fine right now".
"Actually Jess, I sorta have a confession too", I started. I explained how I noticed that guy watching us at the store, and then again in the middle of the night.
"Well, there is nothing we could do about it now except sue that bastard for everything that he is worth", she replied angrily.
"I sorta hurt everywhere. What exactly did he do to me, and what happened after I passed out?" I asked, genuinely curious.
"Meowth and I hide all our Team Rocket stuff and then called an ambulance to take you and him away. We told the doctors and police that he attacked you and that you managed to knock him out right before passing out. We left out the part about our Pokémon attacking him, we don't need anyone to know about that part. Anyway, we stayed with you, I told them I was you wife and Meowth was our pet so that they could let us in. They took you to the ICU and then ran a bunch of tests. You got three broken ribs, a broken arm, a concussion, and it is going to take a while for that wound in your side to heal. The doctor said that despite all that, you were lucky though, since if that stab was only a few more inches to the left, you would have been killed no doubt. Oh, and you have a black eye and need another pair of glasses. You have been asleep for about six hours".
"Hm. You'd think I'd be less torn up with all that experience blasting off", I mused.
"Well, we have gotten used to having the parachutes ready", Jessie replied.
Someone knocked on the door and Jessie called to asked who it was.
"It's me", a scratchy voice replied. "If yous two done actin' all love-love in dere, I'm bored and would like to come back in".
Jessie got up and let Meowth in. He plopped onto the bed. A doctor followed behind.
"Your friend here told me you were awake", the doctor told me. "Smart Meowth, he is"
Meowth looked at me and Jessie proudly before curling up on the windowsill and taking a nap. Jessie scowled.
"Yeah, I just got up a few moments ago", I answered.
He asked me a bunch of personal questions about my health and then checked my vitals. He told me I would have to stay a few days. I told him that was fine, since we didn't plan on leaving for a few days, but secretly I was bummed. Not only was I stuck here being poked and prodded by strangers is lab coats, but Jessie and Meowth would have to work harder to pick up my slack. My teammates were never really happy about having to do that. After he left. I turned to talked to my two friends.
"I already told de Boss what happened" Meowth announced.
"What did you say?" Jessie and I asked in unison.
"I don't him some psycho attack James, and when he didn't believe me, I sent him some photos", the cat announced.
"Thanks", I mumbled sarcastically.
"At least we have an excuse", said Jessie.
"He still wants us to go to work dough. He says dat it's a shame but dat don't mean we can spend a week just sittin' around waitin' fere James to get better", Meowth told us.
"Then let's get to work", said Jessie. "James, you don't mind if we leave, right?"
I sorta did mind, but I knew that they were just going to get bored and cranky here. Hospitals sucked for everyone, visitors included. So I told them to go on ahead and to call me later tonight.
I didn't have to worry because three hours later, the two of them returned will all types of stolen goodies. The three of us enjoyed a forbidden picnic before we drifted off to sleep. I supposed the hospital staff didn't mind them staying the night, after all, Jessie had told them that the two of them were my closest family.
So that is it. Now I am healed and everything is back to normal. We ended up not suing the guy, since apparently they would have to do a background check on us, and Jess and I would surely fail that. He did go to jail though, so I am not worried that he is going to attack me again. Please don't worry about me. For now on I am going to always keep my Pokémon close to me. I hope Chimecho is doing well. Tell him that I said hi and that hopefully we can visit soon. I know we will be returning to Kanto soon and we will stop by so you can meet our other Pokémon. Please take care
Hugs and Smiles,
Little James.
the end.
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AN: Thank you for reading! Please review if you have an opinion to share and if you want check out some of my other fics. Peace and love:)