Grunts didn't get the cool tasseled dresses, but it did feel good to look like a girl again. Giovanni gave me a black blouse fastened with a Rocket "R" brooch at the bosom and a long, plain black skirt. My favorite part was the hat. It had a little red feather and a net that partially covered my face. Also, all "Rockettes" bobbed their hair. Giovanni also gave me a special purse with hidden pokeball compartments, a set of Pokemon medicines, a make-up kit, and money.

Members of Team Rocket didn't really have a home, but Viridian Gym was home base. We traveled a lot, and Giovanni put us up in hotels or unoccupied apartment spaces. When we weren't out on a mission, we spent the night at Viridian, but it was never for more than a day or two.

Giovanni assigned me to my first mission the next morning.

"I feel very blessed to have you," said Giovanni. "I believe this first mission is especially suited for you. I need you to deliver the contents of this suitcase to a colleague at the lab on Cinnabar Island."

He handed me the suitcase. "What is it?" I asked.

"That is none of your business, my dear," said Giovanni, "but know that it is very valuable. Go south of Fuchsia City. There will be an unmanned motorboat named 'The Persian of the Sea.' It's yours. You'll find in it everything you need for your trip. Travel south, and you'll meet up with my colleague on the Seafoam Islands. Say, 'Mew,' and he will respond, 'Mewtwo.' That's how you will know you have the right guy. Give him the suitcase, and I've instructed him to give you a little trinket in exchange, a special gift from me."

"Okay...," I said, trying to hammer out all of the steps in my head. "Moo?"

"Mew," corrected Giovanni.

"Mew," I repeated. "I guess that's simple enough."

"And while you're out there," said Giovanni, "please, feel free to train your Pokemon and catch whatever you like. When you come back, you must show me what you've caught. Usually I just let you keep it, but sometimes if you happen to fulfill one of my needs, then I'll pay handsomely for it. Fair enough?"

"Fair," I agreed.

"And if you run into trouble, all you need to do is call my number, and I'll take care of it," he instructed. "My number is inscribed in your compact mirror in your purse."

"Thanks," I said.

"Don't be shy out there," he said. "Your days of hiding are over. You are under my protection now."

"Okay," I said, unsure what exactly he meant by that.

I set out on the road again. I really needed to catch myself a Pokemon I could ride or get a new bike. I wondered where Ash was now, and if he had beaten Daddy, and if he was looking for me. I hoped more than anything that I would not run into Ash and Brock on any of my missions.

I was getting close to Fuchsia when I heard a Pokemon that had been on my wishlist when I was very young. Nanny Joy had given me a stuffed version that I played with constantly.

"Far-far-farfetch'd! Far-far-farfetch'd!"

I felt excitement ripple through me. I was going to catch that Farfetch'd no matter how far off the path I had to go.

Farfetch'd stepped out of the bushes in the path ahead of me. I reached into my purse for a pokeball.

"Go Staryu!" I called. But it wasn't Staryu that popped out of the pokeball.

"PSY-YI-YI!"

"Oh, nuts!" I said. "Psyduck, return!" That's when I felt a tug on my purse. I turned around to see a brown-haired boy with a big brown feathered hat.

"Ehhh, sorry, ma'am," he said.

"You were trying to rob me, weren't you?"

"No," he said. "A woman shouldn't have Pokemon. I was just doing my civic duty."

I scowled and looked in my purse. My other two pokeballs had been replaced with rocks. I pulled them out and chucked them at him. "Give me back my pokeballs, or I'll report you to the police!"

"Oh, will you?" said the boy. "I'd like to see you try to explain that one."

I glared at him. We appeared to be at a stalemate. Did this count as trouble? Could Giovanni get my Pokemon back for me?

"Psy?"

Well, it was worth a shot. "Psyduck, use Water Gun!"

Psyduck spat a jet of water at me, and the boy doubled over laughing. "Now I understand why girls can't be trainers! You're pathetic!"

"My Psyduck just needs work," I said. "My other two Pokemon are perfectly trained."

"Yeah, right!"

"What, are ya scared?"

He glared at me. "As if!"

"Then prove it! Give me back either one of those Pokemon, and I'll fight one of yours!"

His face relaxed. "Fine!" he said. "Only because I'm curious!" He tossed back a ball to me. "And if I win, I keep this pokeball, and I tell the police on you."

"Fine!" I said, though my stomach was in knots.

"Go, Farfetch'd!" the boy exclaimed. The Farfetch'd I had been trying to catch belonged to him all along.

"I choose you!" I said, hoping for Seaking, but Staryu appeared.

"Farfetch'd, Fury Attack!" ordered the boy.

"Staryu, Bubblebeam!" I countered. Farfetch'd came at Staryu slashing with his leek, but Staryu hit in in the face with bubbles, and it couldn't see where it was stabbing. "Finish it with Rapid Spin!" I declared, and Staryu knocked Farfetch'd out.

The boy's jaw dropped. "Oh my...," he said.

"Well?" I said. He dropped his head and tossed Seaking's pokeball back to me. "That's what I thought," I said, putting all three of my Pokemon back where they belonged. "Now you just run along and tell everyone that you got beat by a girl," I said, but he had already run.

Satisfied, I bent down to pick up Giovanni's suitcase and carry on, but it wasn't there. I kicked off my shoes and ran back up the path. He couldn't be that far, though if he'd run into the bushes, he would be hard to find again. I wondered if I should catch a Pidgey and make it fly around looking for him. Could Psyduck fly?

I ran out of breath and knew he had to have gone off the path. Well, this certainly would classify as trouble, but I was not about to call Giovanni and tell him how horribly I'd screwed up my first mission. I was considering going to find Ash and Brock and just pretend this whole Rockette business had never happened when a policeman buzzed by on a motorcycle. "Officer!" I cried. "Officer! Help! I've been robbed!"