"Come this way!" James calls out to us as he waves us in the direction of the nearest
machinery rental place. Meowth and I just tag along behind him, trying to figure out the whole
scheme of things. "Meowth, isn't James sort of acting..."

"A bit too cocky for his own good?" the cat finishes up. "Yeah, I tink so. I mean,
just cause he's suppose to be a legendary bird-type doesn't mean he hasta push us around."

I find myself contradicting my own thoughts out loud. "But it's sorta nice to see him
actually standing up for something."

"I gotta admit, Jimmy's certaintly gotten braver." We both looked up at him, or rather,
the back of his head. His chin is held high, and he's got perseverance in his step. "Well,"
Meowth admits, "it's partially a welcome change."

"Yeah, partially."

We continue to walk behind him. I start to notice certain things about him that I've
never stopped to consider before. He's got broad shoulders, ones that are now being held
straight and proud. I've never seen anyone with such shiny hair than my partner's, which is
waving in the breeze. His figure, although a bit slim, is the perfect match to my somewhat
curvy shape. And... well, if you're *behind* someone, you have to notice something else.

"Hey, Jess, why's your face red?" Meowth calls up to me.

"I'm just a bit hot today, Meowth," I reply. I giggle mentally.

James suddenly stops in front of me, and I bump into his back. "Why'd you stop, James?"

"James the Moltres has found a worthy piece of construction equipment to steal."

I look up to find a simple crane standing before me. "James, how are we going to move
that thi..."

He silences me with a loud "Shush!". Walking up to it, he hops in and starts fiddling
with the controls. "My degenerate rogues, we have come to heist this piece of machinery for our
evil plan! I say, get in the gondola!"

Again Meowth and I obey.

"James the Moltres will now soar!"

Turning the ignition, he kicks it into high gear, and pulls a lever in front of us. The
crane lurches forward and slowly rolls out of the yard. Behind us I hear a storeclerk running to
catch up. "Hey, just what in the..."

James prompty stops crawling forward and turns the boom around. "The Moltres will not
be stopped! Be gone, you vile charlatan!"

The clerk runs back into the store, screaming for his mommy. I applause a few times for
a job well done.

"You!" I stop my congratulations. "You will be the one to operate the crane while
James the Moltres carries out his plans! Be prepared not to mess up, or you will have the wrath
of he!"

My eyes are now saucers as I stare at him. Did he just... just... threaten me? I can
hear Meowth gasp beside me. He mutters something that I catch. "Jimmy's gonna be sleepin'
outside the cabin tonight..."

And yet, that's the exact opposite of my wishes.

"We have one more stop before my genius is carried out! Onward to the costume shops!"

Oh, my gosh.

*R*

Meowth and I sit in the crane a few yards away from the entrance to the shop. James has
been in there forever, and I don't know what could be taking him so long...

He struts proudly out of the front door, holding what appears to be a large white box in
his hands. I just sigh as he climbs up and sits himself in the driver's seat. "Now James, the
nefarious Moltres, will drive to the scene of the robbery!"

Now, you know when he starts tacking on evil adjectives, he's gone a bit too far.
"James, don't you think that this is enough?"

He turns around and looks at me with a frightening glare. "I would suggest that you
keep your comments to yourself while the Moltres is in control."

I look into his deep green eyes, and I search frantically, but I can't seem to find any
sign of the James that there once was. The James I knew before. My friend James. I'm getting
so much more worried now.

He turns back around. All I can do for a few seconds is stare at the back of his head,
and then I tear my eyes away.

Why do I feel the tears building? No, you won't cry. You just won't. I bottle my
emotions up like I always do, waiting for the day to release them. Taking a deep breath, I find
the strength to look up again. Standing now, I walk over and place my hand on his shoulder, just
for my own sake. To prove that he's still the same on the outside, at least. I just figure he's
immune to it like he was before, and it turns out I'm right.

It's a long, slow drive before we reach the outside of the day care center. He parks the
crane towards the back wall of the storage area behind the main room. He leaps out of the
gondola and dashes to place the explosives against the brick blocking our path. Usually this is
a two-person job, but today it seems that he can handle it himself. I don't even bother asking
if he needs help. Once he's finished with the dynamite he comes back to Meowth and I, obviously
to give us more orders.

"This is the plan thought up by the Mighty Moltres. You," he says, pointing, yes,
pointing a finger at me. "are to control the boom of the crane while I carry out my ingenious.
And you," he continues, pointing at Meowth, "are to assist her."

Yeowch. He's not even using my name now.

We just nod our heads and obey again. I wonder, is this what he really feels like when
we execute schemes? We usually collaborate on ideas, but... I'm the one that gives the commands.

Meowth and I climb into the crane and sit down in the two seats next to each other.
James calls up to us from the ground. "You will lower me once the explosion occurs! I must
fly!"

With that, he ran off into the woods with the white box he had been carrying.

It was a few minutes before the same box was dropped onto the floor of the gondola, with
James' Team Rocket uniform still inside. "What the hell...?" I mumble.

"Jimmy must be up above us gettin' hooked to da crane boom."

"But why would he do that?"

"Dere's a lot of tings I can't explain about him now, Jess."

I just sigh.

Suddenly a loud explosion rocks the ground underneath us. I figure the bombs must have
gone off, so I wait until the smoke clears from view. Just my luck, Butch and Cassidy and the
twerps are situated inside the back room.

I push the lever that lowers the rope down. I just about send James crashing to the
ground when I see what he's dressed in, but I quickly gain control of my arm and let him down
slowly.

He's dressed as a Moltres. A Moltres. In a yellow suit. A tight yellow spandex suit.
With feathers. Red, long, wavy feathers fluttering from his arms. A Moltres! And a tail,
just like the feathers. And a beak and a head with eyes and he's a Moltres. A Moltres!! My
brain does not have the capacity at the moment to mix these thoughts coherently.

"Dat outfit..." Meowth says in awe, "where'd he get it?"

I think it was the underneath part of that tree that he portrayed so well. At this
time, well, I don't even know. "I think that costume came right out of his closet."

He just keeps blabbering on about how the book changed his life, and his ultimate destiny
to become the ruler of the world. "Meowth?"

"Yeah, one minute, Jess."

He pushes a lever and the boom swings nearer to our black-clothed enemies. Wait a
second, wasn't I just... put on hold?! The nerve! I'm furious at Meowth, but I don't have the
energy to show it. I decide to cool down and let this comment pass... for once.

"What is it, Jessie?"

"Meowth..." I begin again. "Do you... like what this book has done for James?"

"Well, I was tinking about dat earlier. It seems dat some things are improved, but I
gotta say dat I want da old Jimmy back. Quickly."

"Yeah..."

We turn back to the heated battle at hand. James releases his Victreebel and, of course,
it immediately goes for his head. But James reacts a bit differently this time. I see his foot
swing towards the grass Pokémon, and he sends it flying a few feet backwards. "Listen, you!" he
demands loudly. "You belong to James, the magnificent Moltres, future ruler of all Pokémon!
Now shape up or ship out!"

It starts to carry out its master's orders this time, flawlessly. My eyes grow ever
wider as it turns back to James for more attacks. He rewards it with a few words of thanks.
"Excellent attacks! I'm very proud of you, Victreebel, you're performing like the Pokémon of a
true Team Rocket leader!"

Even with the boost of confidence, he still has that tone of empowerment in his voice.
"There's been a real change in James..."

"Even his Victreebel's behavin'!"

We listen as our Team Rocket counter-villains continue to badmouth our partner. "How
embarrassing is this lunatic?"

"I knew that he was a loony-bird, but this is ridiculous!"

Suddenly James "flies" up towards him a bit more. "Come on, Botch, you want a piece of
me?"

"You better shut your beak!"

It now hits me that I've just seen a man in a yellow Moltres suit threaten a Black Rocket
Member while hanging from a crane 10 feet in the air. I pinch myself. Twice.

"For your information," Cassidy smirks, "that Pokémon fortune telling book is a fake! We
made the whole thing up!"

I can see James' jaw drop like a ton of rocks.

Butch goes on. "The whole thing's a big con. And you fell for it!"

James holds up the book. "You mean that... You mean that this entire book is a work of
fiction?"

"That's right, it's all nonsense."

"Then the part about me being a Moltres type...?"

I see the small part of his upper feathers ripping from the rings on the rope. I jump
down and climb over the brick rubble, but it's too late, so I decide to take my time. Meanwhile,
James and Butch stare at each other for a moment, and then... "A lie."

The feathers snap, sending James plummeting to the ground. Talk about timing.

"The mighty Moltres... grounded."

I step up to face them. "I suppose this revelation makes it doubtful that I'm an Eevee."

My temper flares up as they talk about the Boss disappointed in us, and how we're all
imcompetant. Even thought I really dislike my partners at the moment, no one, no one talks about
our team like that unless they go through me. "Get them, Wobbuffet!"

I keep to myself that I realize we have no offense. Cassidy laughs in my face, angering
me further. "What can that bumbling blue blob do? Raticate, tackle attack!"

The large rodent charges at Wobbuffet, but it immediately puts up a cerulean shield, and
the rat gets blasted back a few feet.

"Ahahahaha!" It feels good to hear my dominating laugh once again. "My blue blob's
not so bumbly!"

Behind me Meowth is trying to convince James to get up and help . "What are ya sittin'
dere for? We gotta battle dese bums!"

"I am mighty... just like Moltres... I will prevail and triumph..."

It's obvious he's still in a bit of a shock. "Have it your way, birdboy," Meowth shrugs.

Butch points at us all of a sudden. "Primeape, thrash attack!"

My tongue gets caught and I command my Pokémon a bit too late for it to react.
"Wobbuffet, counter it... Argh!"

I get hurtled backwards and land on my back again. I hear one last command of Cassidy's.
"Raticate, use your skull bash attack!"

I feel myself being hit again, which sends us flying in the air along with the crane.
I can't hear James and Meowth's last comments on account of the harsh wind rushing past my ears,
so I just scream our usual line. "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!..."

I look over at James in mid-flight. His chin is held high, his arms are spread out, and
I can see the beads of tears being carried away with the breeze. I feel so bad for him at the
moment. He's had his dream taken away from him, just like tempting a child and then taking the
plate of candy away. I turn away, knowing if I look again my own river of sorrow will flow.

We land just a few miles away on the path into town. We get up and brush ourselves off,
no longer impacted by our falls. I see him wipe his face with his sleeve of feathers, pick up
the white box that fortunately escorted us in midair, and walk off the main road to change back
into his uniform.

"Meowth? Did you see James while we were blasting off?" I whisper, making sure that
it's not loud enough to hear from far away.

"No, I didn't, Jess. Why?"

"Oh, never mind."

Sitting at the base of a tree, I wait patiently for James to emerge from the bushes.
When he does, I see him set the package down at the roots of a small cherry blossom tree and
start walking towards town.

"James," I jump up, following him. "Don't you want...?"

"No," he states firmly. "I don't ever want to see it again."

I motion for Meowth to come along and we follow him in the same melancholy fashion. It's
about an half-hour before we make it to a small market on the outskirts. It's also when James
first speaks again. "It's devastating to think you have a Moltres type personality and then
lose it."

Meowth speaks up. "Youse was better off without a personality..."

Out of the corner of my eye I spot a small maroon book covered with symbols. I know I've
seen it somewhere before...

"Ah! Look! A Pokémon fortune telling book! This must be the real one!"

I rush over and grab it out of the bookstand. Gazing at its cover, I long for a look
inside.

Then it's not there.

James shoots me a glare as he turns away and opens the book. Why did he just take it
like that? Maybe there's still a little bit of that flame in his heart...

"Let's see... I bet this one says I'm a Moltres type... Here's my... birthday..." One
look at the page sends him twitching. I gaze over his shoulder and gasp while he cries out in
astonishment. "Oh, no! It can't be!..."