Fire at Cerise Labs

"I can't believe that creep Arlo tried to cut us out of the mission!" Jessie hissed, crawling behind James through the vent.

"Shhhh," James hissed back over his shoulder.

"I mean I expected it from bob hair, glasses goon girl but really? And then to try and blame us for the twerp getting away? The nerve of that creep."

James shushed her again. "You're going to get us caught!"

Jessie opened her mouth, replay waiting on her tongue when James stopped near the vent cover to peer down.

"There's Rose and the twerp!"

"Wait I can't see!" Jessie tried to maneuver on top of James to get to the vent and huffed when she couldn't fit and slid back behind him.

"Quiet! They're saying something."

"Well what are they saying?"

James sighed, hanging his head. "I can't hear them. Meowth? Do you think you could?"

Meowth grumbled and carefully picked his way across Jessie's back as she flattened against the metal bottom of the vent. He crossed James the same way and wiggled into the gap over his shoulder tipping an ear down.

"They're sayin' somethin' about twerp one letting twerp two go. Guess that Arlo guy needed him get somethin' big."

"Big? The boss didn't say anything about a big job," James murmured.

"And they're cutting us out!" Jessie seethed. "We need to find out what that job is."

"Hold it!" James glanced over his shoulder at Jessie. "Isn't Arlo still trying to get the boss to agree to his shadow Pokémon project?"

"You think he's cutting out the boss?"

Meowth leaned forward abruptly with a hiss. "The twerp is heading ta that lab to get back some Pokémon."

"We need to get there first!" Jessie started to wiggle backwards out of the vent.

James followed her, dropping back outside where Wobbuffet was guarding their exit. Jessie fixed her hair as Meowth brought up the rear. A quick check for and address and they melted into the night, white uniforms moving like ghosts.

The flashing police lights were just obscured enough that Jessie and James didn't see them until they were almost at the barricades. The fire, bright enough to light up the night sky was much more noticeable. The brick of the building was licked black as flames poured from every window. A towering inferno, erupted like a volcano from the center of the glass dome the Pokémon park was housed in.

"It looks like they got here first," Jessie whispered. "Those poor Pokémon."

James nodded solemnly. "They didn't even steal them. They wouldn't have had the time."

"Let get outta here," Meowth added. "Not reason to be hangin' around waiting to be blamed."