The trio had no trouble stealing two ride pokemon, both charizard, and flying over the sea to Kanto. While the ride did take a while, it gave Jessie and James the opportunity to snatch up a few pokemon for the boss. They were flying over Kanto waters sooner than they expected, and had quickly landed outside the headquarters. They signed in and quickly made their way to Giovanni's office.
"I'm honestly not sure why we're listening to that four eyes," Jessie thought aloud.
"She did seem pretty serious, and she is Giovanni's secretary," James said.
"You only defend her because you like her," Jessie teased.
"N-No I don't!" James protested, to no avail.
"Let's just find out what she wants," Meowth interrupted their argument.
By the time the argument had resolved, they had already reached Giovanni's office. James only had to knock once before the door was flung open.
Before them stood Matori, who looked absolutely terrible. Her hair was tangled and her bloodshot eyes had bags underneath them. Her face appeared to be stained with tears, and she looked rather on edge.
"C-Come in," Matori stuttered, holding the door open. Jessie stepped inside, James thanking Matori and following suit. Matori ushered the pair to sit down before sitting down herself in Giovanni's chair.
"Are you alright Matori?" James asked, "you look terrible".
"Thank you," Matori said, "I know."
"Now, what's going on?" Jessie asked.
Matori closed her eyes and took a shaky breath.
"As you may have worked out, Giovanni has disappeared," she muttered.
Meowth gasped.
"You're kidding?" he asked, startled.
Matori nodded in dismay.
"He was supposed to return from Johto nearly a week ago. He hasn't responded to any of my messages, and there has been no contact with him from anyone from Team Rocket since his return date."
James inhaled sharply, and Jessie looked at Matori, concerned. Matori continued.
"We know that he was in Johto when he disappeared, so we'll be sending you out to look for him alongside five other Rocket members."
"Who will we be accompanied by?" Jessie asked.
"Annie, Oakley, Attila, Hun and Mondo," Matori answered.
"Attila and Hun?" James asked, a hint of nervousness in his voice. He knew Attila and Hun could be very scary sometimes, and he wasn't ready to face them.
"Relax, James, we'll have Mondo," Jessie reassured her partner.
"You'll be searching a section of Johto in the south," Matori explained, pointing to an area on a map, "The others can fill you in on the rest, but the basic idea is to scout and find Giovanni. If you haven't found him and you've searched the area thoroughly, then report back to me and I'll assign you somewhere else."
The trio nodded.
Matori let out a sad sigh.
"Are you going to be alright?" Jessie asked, for once concerned for her boss's assistant.
"It just… hurts, you know?" she muttered, "I just hope he's, you know, still alive."
"Matori, he's wicked strong, I'm sure he'll be fine," James reassured her, moving over to her and embracing her gently.
Matori looked up at him, her eyes welling up with tears.
"Yeah, but what if he isn't?"