Father Joe was right about the storm. Within fifteen minutes of returning to the house, the sky was almost completely black. The wind howled, bending the trees and causing the weathervane on the roof to creak and groan. The booming thunder seemed to shake the entire house.

The two groups stayed in the living room, but tried to stick to opposite sides of the room. Jessie seemed especially on edge, while James was nervous and uneasy. Ash, Misty, and Brock tried to play a quiet game of Monopoly, which Pikachu seemed to be winning.

Father Joe observed them all for a moment before going to Jessie. "You don't seem happy to be here," he remarked.

Jessie started. "I'm happy for the shelter," she said. "I'd hate to be out in that. But churches and pastors' homes are the last places I generally like to be."

"Because of what you are?"

Jessie actually looked surprised. Then her eyes darkened. "Not really," she said. "Not that it's any of your business."

"Jessie!" James exclaimed in horror.

Father Joe didn't seem surprised. "Part of my business is trying to help lost souls find their way back," he said. "I try to be a good listener if anyone wants to talk."

"Well, I don't," Jessie retorted. "Except maybe to say, what has God ever done for me? My life was always rotten. My mother was an agent for Team Rocket, but she was only in it to get money to raise me. She left on an important mission when I was very young. She never came back, no matter how many times I prayed for God to bring her home. I grew up in a very poor foster home instead. Finally I left and tried to find honest work and the doors just kept slamming in my face! Then when all else failed, I had no choice but to go to Team Rocket. You'd think maybe God would have done something to keep me out of there, if He cared what happened to me!"

James looked down. He had always felt sad for Jessie's terrible life, especially how her dream of becoming a Pokemon Nurse had fallen flat. Meanwhile, even though he had lived in the lap of luxury, his life hadn't been happy either.

"Many people have asked similar questions," Father Joe said. "I don't have all the answers. No one does, of course, except God. I can say that God cares about you very much, Jessie. It may have been your mother's time to die and that's why God couldn't bring her home."

"Which means God wanted me to be an orphan," Jessie sneered.

"I'm sure He didn't want you to be an orphan, but maybe He wanted you to learn something from the experience," Father Joe said. "It's mainly through our trials that we grow."

"Oh, I learned a lot," Jessie said. "I learned that we can't count on anyone other than ourselves. I learned that life is tough and we have to be tougher to survive it. And I learned that sometimes the only road open to you isn't pretty, but you have to take it because there's no other choice."

"If you knew of a way to get out of Team Rocket and find honest work, would you?" Father Joe asked.

That silenced her. Suddenly she just looked weary. "I don't even know anymore," she confessed. "I probably couldn't be honest if I tried."

"I think you could, Jess," James spoke up. "I think we all could. It's just a matter of finding a way to be honest."

"Oh, is that all?" Jessie said dryly. "I thought it was going to be difficult." She paused. "But . . . thanks, James."

"I think so too," Meowth said from where he was playing with a ball of yarn.

Father Joe petted him and he closed his eyes in bliss. "I don't see a lot of talking Pokemon," Father Joe remarked.

"What can I say? I'm unique," Meowth said.

"You've got that right," Jessie muttered. She got up, wandering off near the fireplace in the center of the room.

Father Joe watched her, then looked to James. "You don't seem to share your friend's bitterness," he said.

"I don't," James said. "My life was the complete opposite of Jessie's, but I was lonely and sad too. I don't blame it on God, though. It was just bad luck."

"You're very kind and gentle with your Pokemon," Father Joe said. "You don't seem to fit the Team Rocket mold."

James shrugged. "I'm not always kind."

"Who is?" Father Joe said wryly. "I know I struggle."

"And since I am in Team Rocket, I try to do what I'm supposed to in order to stay in it." James stared off at the fire. "I'm a thief and an all-around rotten guy."

"Do you like committing those acts?" Father Joe asked.

"I tell myself I do . . . that it's even fun. But sometimes even I have to admit I hate it. Occasionally I put my foot down and won't cross a particular line. I won't steal from a church, for instance." James sighed. "Jessie tells me being in Team Rocket hasn't corrupted me, but I don't know that I believe it."

Father Joe looked thoughtful. "I don't know you, but it's obvious that you still have a moral code and feel shame and regret, even if you won't always allow yourself to consciously realize it. I think you're allowing yourself to be swayed by bad influences, but no, you don't come across as corrupted to me."

"That's encouraging," James said. "You probably see a lot of people who have been corrupted."

"I see some," Father Joe said, "but mostly I see lost souls with a lot of goodness and potential still in them." He paused. "Suppose you could have an honest job, any honest job. What would you want to be?"

James pondered. "A Pokemon Trainer, perhaps. I tried to get into Pokemon Tech once. So did Jessie, although it wasn't her first career choice. And we both failed." He shook his head. "It's all academic to discuss it anyway. Jessie's and my honest dreams weren't the same. If we tried to go straight, we probably wouldn't stay together . . . and I don't want to lose her." He covered his face with his hands.

"What did Jessie want to be?" Father Joe asked.

James hesitated, glancing over to where Jessie had walked the rest of the way across the room and was observing the Monopoly game. "A Pokemon Nurse," he said at last, albeit reluctantly, still not sure he had a right to say.

"Well," Father Joe smiled, "if she could go through Pokemon Nursing School and get licensed, she wouldn't have to be tied down to a hospital. You could be a Pokemon Trainer and she could travel with you as a Nurse, treating sick Pokemon wherever you found them."

James sat up straight. "That's a nice thought," he said softly, almost longingly. "But it's a dream. It would never come true."

"It sure won't if you don't even try," Father Joe replied. He got up and quietly walked out of the room to let James ponder on the matter.

James looked down at Meowth. "What do you think, Meowth?"

Meowth looked up at him. "I think if you guys could get set on an honest path, it's fine. But what about all the charges against us and stuff?"

"Oh, you're right," James groaned. "It really is hopeless. We'd probably have to turn state's evidence and testify against Team Rocket to get any kind of immunity." He slumped back and covered his face with a hand. "And then we'd probably have to go into the Witness Protection Program to stay safe from Team Rocket!"

"We wouldn't have to do all that just to go around in disguise all the time," Meowth said. "We do it half the time anyway."

"Yes, but only as a part of Team Rocket schemes," James retorted. "I don't want to have to live my entire life incognito!"

"Well . . ." Meowth studied the ball of yarn in his front paws. "Then I don't know what to tell you, Jim."

"There's nothing to say," James said. "We made our bed. Now we have to sleep in it."

"Why'd you tell that guy all those things anyway?" Meowth wondered.

"Oh, I don't know. I guess I felt that I didn't want to use my facades around him. Maybe I felt they wouldn't work anyway." James leaned back and stared at where the Monopoly game was being played.

"Yeah, they probably wouldn't," Meowth said. "He seemed like he was pretty good at reading people."

"In any case, I hope we won't be here very long," James said in concern. "Jessie really might try to go through with stealing from the collection plate."

"So what is the deal with you and God?" Meowth wondered. "If you're not mad at Him and stuff. You're not religious, that's for sure."

"I believe in God," James said. "I respect churches and people of the cloth. But you're right, Meowth. I'm not religious. I doubt any thief could be. Well, unless maybe they think they're Robin Hood or something silly like that."

"And Team Rocket sure doesn't," Meowth said. "They think they're more like the sheriff of Nottingham or something."

"With aspirations of taking over the world and oppressing everyone," James mused. "Butch and Cassidy's motto really is the actual Team Rocket motto. Funny how ours expresses exactly the opposite ideas for the most part. It doesn't seem like our goals match up with Team Rocket's no matter how hard we insist they do."

"It sounds to me like you've really been putting a lot of thought into this, James," Meowth said. "And that it didn't just start now."

"I think about it a lot," James said. "Sometimes I lie awake for hours thinking about it. When I was growing up and later ran away from home, I had no idea that eventually I would turn to crime. I was always an upright citizen. Then I think on what being in Team Rocket has done to me and I'm not proud of it, no matter what I might say."

"Then why do you stay, Jim? Is it really just because of Jessie and me?" Meowth frowned.

"I don't know what to do or where to go," James said. "And . . . yes, I don't want to be alone. Finding friends is rare. I don't want to not have you two in my life."

"Maybe we can all figure it out," Meowth said.

"Jessie doesn't seem to be in the mood," James remarked.

"I wonder if she's heard everything we've been saying," Meowth blinked.

"We're talking low. The twerps don't seem to be listening," James said. "And just as well; this doesn't concern them."

The wind howled more ferociously outside. Something banged against the side of the house. Everyone jumped.

"What was that?!" Misty exclaimed.

"Probably a tree branch," Brock said. "It could have broken off and hit the house."

Ash started to get up. "I'll just go over and see."

"Don't be foolish!" Jessie snapped. "People who look out windows in heavy storms regret it if the window breaks while they're there!"

Ash immediately sat down, startled. "Yes, Ma'am!"

"She's right, Ash," Misty said. "Although I'm surprised she bothered to mention it."

Jessie just turned away in annoyance.

James looked at Meowth and got up, going over to her. "I understand it's hard for you to be here, Jess, but maybe it won't be for too much longer." He sighed to himself. It was always hard to deal with his friend when she got into one of her moods, although he had figured out how to master such situations better than he once had.

"It had better not be." Jessie didn't turn and instead bored holes through the wall with her gaze. "You know, that gem out there must be very powerful. The Pokemon too. Considering how removing them brings destruction on the town."

"And we don't want to do that," James exclaimed.

Jessie didn't seem to be listening. "If we had the right kind of equipment, I'm sure we could pluck the gem out of there without risking being hurt."

"And then take it to the boss?" James was frowning now.

"Well, why not?" Jessie snapped. "It could be a good thing for us! Surely he'd be grateful for a powerful object, even if it wasn't a Pokemon! Or maybe we'd get really lucky and get the gem and at least one of those rare Pokemon! We should at least try."

"And what would happen here in the meantime?!" James shot back. "Supposing those Pyros didn't just chase us back to Team Rocket Headquarters and destroy it, they'd probably try destroying this town! Think of all these people! Do you want to be responsible for that?!"

"If they did chase us back to Headquarters, maybe we could capture all of them," Jessie said.

"I doubt they'd obey us even if we could catch them," James retorted. "They'd probably be like the twerp's Charizard. And what if we'd be responsible for Team Rocket Headquarters getting blown up again?"

"James, this could be our big break!" Jessie exclaimed.

"For what, moving up the Team Rocket ladder?!" James was frustrated. "Wake up, Jessie! It's never going to happen! We've been unlucky all our lives and it's not going to stop! Every time we come up with anything, it always fails."

"Well, that means that if we try to make a career change, we'll still be unlucky!" Jessie snarled. "That priest is filling your head with nonsense, James!"

"I'm probably hearing nonsense from all directions!" James snarled right back. "I don't want to risk those Pokemon leveling this town! Or coming after us!"

"You're too soft! You've always been too soft! I don't know why I even put up with you!"

"Well, I don't know why I put up with you either! You're always abusing me and Meowth!"

By now their voices had raised so much that everyone in the room was staring.

"You wanna go to another room?" Ash suggested.

"I don't think we should leave the living room if we're not invited," Brock said.

"I think they've completely forgotten we're here," Misty said.

"Will you stop, you guys?!" Meowth suddenly shrieked, his front paws held over his ears. "You wanna air all our dirty laundry out in public?!"

Jessie and James stopped mid-scream and turned to look at him, each blinking in turn.

"I don't even like airing it in private," Jessie said haughtily. "I just hope James will wake up and realize what an opportunity we've got before it slips away." She folded her arms.

"I just hope Jessie will realize the possible serious repercussions before she does something stupid," James countered. He also folded his arms.

Meowth slapped his forehead. "Nothing's gonna get resolved like this!"

Ash stood up and glowered at Jessie. "If you really do try to steal that gem or those Pyros, you know we're gonna have to stop you!"

"Pika-Pika!" Pikachu snapped.

"Of course you'd say that, kid," Jessie said in annoyance. "Spoken like a true goody-two-shoes." And she stormed out of the room.

"She's not leaving the house!" Misty said in alarm.

Brock hurried to the doorway. "No, she's just going into the kitchen."

"Jynx," said the housekeeper, turning away from the sink.

"Oh, shut up," Jessie muttered as she sat at the table.

James' shoulders slumped. "I shouldn't have yelled," he lamented. "Suddenly I just became so frustrated that Jessie was determined to do what I felt we shouldn't." He sighed. "I know it's hard for her to be here. It must be bringing back all those painful childhood memories of praying to have her mother back."

"Why tell me?" Meowth said. "And the twerps? Tell Jessie."

"She probably needs some time to calm down," James objected.

"I think she needs you more," Meowth said. He gave James a push towards the kitchen.

James allowed it and slowly walked in. "I'm sorry, Jessie. . . ."

She didn't look over. "When we first joined up, I wondered why you or anyone else thought that you were good Team Rocket material. You were soft and you had a basically gentle heart, even though you could be pushed into acting out sometimes. You didn't belong with a bunch of cold and brutal thieves. But you were the first real friend I had and I tried to convince myself you did belong, because I didn't want to lose you and I didn't know where else for us to go." She traced a pattern on the table with a finger.

James sat next to her. "I tried to convince myself of the same thing, for the same reason," he said gently.

"I shouldn't have been so selfish." Jessie scowled at the table. "I shouldn't have dragged you down with me."

"No, Jess," James insisted. "I'd rather have been with you and Meowth in Team Rocket than off on my own. Who knows what I would have gotten into."

Jessie smirked sadly. "Do you really think you would have gotten into more trouble alone than with us?"

"Who knows," James said. "Maybe I'd even be dead, mugged in some alley."

"Or maybe you'd be happy, off on that Pokemon Trainer's journey." Jessie finally turned to look at him. "What have I really ever done for you, James? Okay, you haven't been alone, but now you're a criminal. And even I know I'm an abrasive person. I've hurt you so many times. And I've caused you to start being abusive towards Meowth or other Pokemon sometimes."

"I'm still a stronger person for knowing you, Jessica."

Jessie stared at him. "How?" she said in disbelief.

"You've taught me," James said. "You showed me how to stand up for myself."

"I also showed you how to be cruel," Jessie retorted.

"As I see it, you're acting out mainly in response to the harshness of your past and you don't really want to hurt me or Meowth," James said.

"That's no excuse," Jessie objected. "I have no right to take out my feelings on either of you."

"You've started to get better at not doing it so much lately," James smiled.

"Oh James. . . ." Jessie closed her eyes. "I used to think no one other than my mother would ever love me. I didn't even think I could be loved. But you saw through all of my unlovable traits and loved me anyway."

"Of course," James said. "That's what friends do, isn't it?"

Jessie slowly nodded. ". . . It really means a lot to you that we don't try to take that gem or those Pyros for Team Rocket, doesn't it?" she said.

"Yes, but not just because I'm afraid it would wreak havoc on the world," James said. "I don't think it would work out for us either."

"I promise I won't do anything about it when it means so much to you that I don't," Jessie said.

"Thank you, Jessie," James smiled. "I really knew I could count on you."

"Well, I didn't know it," Jessie retorted. "Not about this. I thought I'd be willing to steal from here-this area, even this priest. But I won't."

"Then tomorrow when the storm lets up, we'll just be on our way," James said.

"Chasing the twerps and that Pikachu, as always," Jessie muttered.

"Are you tired of it?" James asked.

"I've been tired of it for a long time," Jessie grumbled, "but what else is there for us to do?"

"I wonder," James mused.

"You really liked what that priest told you, don't you?" Jessie remarked.

"I do, but I also see the problems with it," James sighed. "But the only way to find out if it's possible is just to try it."

"Up and leave Team Rocket and try an honest path?" Jessie looked both doubtful and worried. "If I really was going to try getting my license as a nurse, I'd need money. And you'd need money to be a Pokemon Trainer."

"So we'd have to stay in Team Rocket and try to save up money," James groaned. "Or try to find honest work. . . ."

"Which isn't likely to happen," Jessie said. "Oh James . . . I had so many dreams like that that never came true. I just don't want you to be in the same boat as me, dreaming of and longing for things that can't happen."

"I know," James said. "But wouldn't it be wonderful if they really could happen?"

"If only," Jessie muttered. "I thought I stopped believing in fairytales years ago. But when I think about it, after all our failures, the thought of capturing Pikachu really sounds like a fairytale too."

James half-smiled. "It does, doesn't it. Well, maybe we should sleep on it and see how we feel in the morning."

"Maybe," Jessie said noncommitally.

Unbeknownst to them, Ash and company were peeking in from the doorway. But they quietly slipped back into the living room and their game.

"That was weird," Ash remarked.

"I'm pretty sure that wasn't a conversation we were supposed to hear," Brock said. "It felt very private."

"Do you think they really do mean it?" Misty wondered. "About not stealing the gem or the Pyros?"

"We'll have to hope so," Brock said.

"They really didn't seem to want the world destroyed in the past," Ash remarked. "I guess we'll have to hope they mean it."

"Pikachu," said Pikachu.

Togepi trilled.

"James definitely sounded like he meant it when he told Meowth how much he regrets what Team Rocket's done to him," Misty said.

"Yeah. I wasn't expecting him to say that," Ash said.

"I also don't expect that he and Jessie and Meowth will ever leave Team Rocket," Misty said. "Even if they do feel bad about it. Nothing's ever pushed them to do it before."

Brock looked thoughtful. "I wonder what we would have done if all the doors were closed for us," he said. "Like, what if I needed money for my brothers and sisters and there was no visible way to get it except to join something like Team Rocket?"

Ash and Misty both looked at him in stunned surprise. "You couldn't ever join something like that, Brock," Misty protested.

"None of us could!" Ash insisted.

"Not if we had the lives we have now," Brock agreed. "But what if things were different and it really seemed like there was no other choice? Maybe then we would have joined. And maybe eventually we'd end up like Jessie and James-doing our best and pretending to like it and really hating it."

"I think we'd always really hate it and show it," Misty said.

"And come off seeming cold and harsh," Brock mused. "Like I did when I had to run the Pewter City Gym and hated it."

"I guess everyone's different," Ash said. "But why are you thinking about this, Brock? You never have before."

"Maybe it's the atmosphere. Or the conversations we've been accidentally overhearing. Or all of the above plus what we were talking about before we got here." Brock still looked thoughtful. "Team Rocket has always been a big annoyance to us and little else, and that's completely understandable. But when they have shown a good side now and then, I wonder why we didn't put more stock into it and really think about it before now."

"I don't know what we can really do about it," Misty said.

"Yeah," Ash frowned. "Do we keep trying to convince them to join the good guys?" He scowled. "Jessie would just call us goody-two-shoes again."

"Maybe," Brock said. "But maybe if we kept reaching out to them, one of those times we'd get through. I don't know; it's just a thought."

"A really weird thought," Ash said.

"Maybe, like Team Rocket, we should sleep on this and see how we feel in the morning," Misty suggested.

"Sounds good to me," Ash said.