February 3-4, 2001

Rating: PG

Disclaimer: I don't own Team Rocket (as in Jesse, James, Meowth, Mondo, or their Boss).  However, Neko-chan, Galaxia, Chan-saw, and Kiosuke are mine.

Author's Notes: Ooh, something's beginning to develop!  The shock!  The mystical, sparkliness…!

A Flu Good Rockets

By Nichole (Neko-chan) Johnson

PART TWO

The young cadet's eyes slowly struggled open.  She had drifted off apparently, without even realizing it.  Staring into the dim firelight, she waited for her senses to return, still hazy with sleep.

"You dozed off.  You looked so exhausted, I didn't bother to wake you."  The young man smiled in good humor.  He had positioned himself against a tree, legs stretched out next to the wounded Raichu the two of them had been keeping watch over before Neko had dozed off in exhaustion.

Neko nodded groggily, pulling herself back to a sitting position; shivering involuntarily as she unwound from her curled up position.

"I'm sorry."  She pushed the loose strands of hair away from the side of her face, studying Raichu with a worried expression.  "How is it?"

Kio sighed heavily.  "Same.  I can't seem to get its fever down."  He fixed the cold washcloth from the Pokémon's forehead.  "The bleeding seems to have stopped for now, though."

"Gaaastly…"  The mischievous Pokémon coalesced slowly in the air above the injured Raichu, drooping sadly.  Apparently it had fallen asleep as well; ghost Pokémon often become completely invisible when sleeping.

Neko made a patting motion in the air over Gastly's head.  "It's alright, Gastly-chan.  I'm sure it will be okay."

Kio watched her silently, an unreadable expression on his face.

"You really love your Pokémon, don't you?" he said finally, watching Gastly wind lazy smoke trails around the young woman's arm in a show of affection.

Neko looked contemplative, but nodded shortly.

"You know, it's funny, but I've never been big on this whole Pokémon thing."  She looked up, heavy seriousness in her blue eyes.  "Catching and training, that is.  It's different being a Rocket member, because you hand in all the Pokémon to your Boss."

The redhead leaned back on her arms, peering up at a lone star that had peeped through the heavy cover of foliage obstructing the sky's view.  "I could never be a trainer."

The young man nodded curiously, watching her; an odd expression on his face.  "But you really care about Gastly and Raichu.  Why is that?"

A strange smile crossed her lips.  "I didn't steal Gastly or Raichu.  I'm sure I never told you that."  She looked at him once again, and he met her gaze evenly.  "They were abandoned.  So I just kind of…befriended them.  I just can't think of them as Pokémon after that, you know?  That's how it's different."

The other Rocket made to answer but stopped.  The Gastly was watching him curiously, hovering just out of range.  It disappeared shortly, only to reappear behind him, an awed expression on it's ghostly face.

"What's it doing?"

Neko looked lost.  "I don't know."  Gastly turned at the sound of her voice, grinning suddenly and hurrying to her side again.  Both Rockets shrugged in confusion at it's behavior.

"I really don't know what that was about," commented Neko strangely.  Kio laughed lightly, turning his head up to gaze up the star she had been watching earlier.

"It's just being weird like you."

The redhead made a noise of annoyance, but didn't comment.  Her response seemed to remind him of something, however, and his eyebrows furrowed pensively.

"Why do you always have to be so cold?"

Neko looked surprised.

Kio lowered his gaze once again, this time a slightly accusing tone to his glance.  "Come on, Neko.  Are you really that un-caring?  I know you're not."

The girl stiffened angrily.  "I'm just a heartless bitch.  Is that right, Kio?  Why should I give you any special treatment?"

He returned her icy look.  "I never asked for special treatment.  I just wanted to know why the only Neko I ever see is a stubborn, sarcastic bitch.  Everyone else who knows you tells me you're normally talkative and friendly, or dramatic, artistic and silly.  But all I see is this wall of sarcasm and insult, and I'm not even sure I know who the real Neko is."

The redhead was silent.  She tore her eyes away from him guiltily, refusing to meet them.

"Maybe it's because I don't even know who the real Neko is."

He continued to glare at her, but inwardly he felt like a heel.

"Gastly," crowed Neko's Pokémon suddenly, trying to break the tense mood.  Neko sighed, gathering the smoky Pokémon up in her arms and moving to the other side of the camp.

"Good night, Kio."  Her voice was cold, leaving no room for further discussion.

Kio crossed his arms stubbornly, leaning back against the tree.  "Yeah, goodnight, Neko.  You owe me for all this, you know."

"I know."

On the other side of the fire, Neko shivered slightly, pulling her jacket closer for warmth.

"Gastly."  The Pokémon brushed the young woman lightly with its smoky form, just below her collarbone.  Just about the place where her heart would have been.

Neko smiled strangely, a strange feeling coming over her.  "Mmm, that's nice, Gastly?  What is it?"

Gastly didn't answer her.  The cadet sighed dreamily, drifting off once again into sleep.

*           *           *

"I—AM—HUNGRY!!"

Jesse sneezed, then glared glumly at her partner, who was apparently feeling better.  "I think we've figured that out by now, James."

"James-senpai, I already gave you all the Tootsie Rolls in my pack!"

"I need something more substantial!" moaned the thief pathetically, eyeing Meowth strangely.

"Don't look at Meowth like dat!"

James bared his teeth.  "Come here, cat!" he growled, diving at the Pokémon.  There was an insane look in his eyes.

"AAAGGGH!!  MEOWTH!!"

Jesse sighed hopelessly.  "James, leave Meowth alone."

Mondo shrugged.  "Besides, he'd be stringy!"

"Yeah!  Really stringy!"

"I'm not picky!" replied James, grabbing hold of the cat's hind legs.

The Pokémon growled threateningly.  "Well I'm also really tough!"  He gave the young man a good swipe to the face, leaping nimbly out of his grasp as he howled in pain.

"Meowth, leave James alone," countered Jesse calmly.

"If I had known you all wouldn't like the herbal stew, I would have brought some real food with me."

"A painful oversight," commented Jesse with a sigh.

James shook his fists in the air angrily.  "Curse you, painful oversight!"

"Meowth will catch a bird!"

Jesse sniffed derisively.  "I'd like to see you try!"

James was hopeful, however.  "Ooh, a big bird, Meowth!  Find us a Pidgeot!"

"Dis is a hunting trip, not a suicide mission, lamebrain!"

James looked unimpressed.  "Your aspirations are much too low."

"I'm sure Miss Neko and Miss Galaxia will be here soon with provisions," pointed out Mondo hastily, not liking where this was going.

"What if they don't?!" wailed James.  "I can't wait that long!"

Meowth was lazily tying strands of grass together.  "Dey probably died or sompin'…"

"That's horrible, Master Meowth!"

James looked thoughtful.  "I hope we're invited to their funeral.  I bet there would be free food there."

Jesse rolled her eyes.  "I think you two need to go back to sleep.  You're feverish again."

"Should I administer emergency sedative, Miss Jesse?"

"No, no, put my mallet away, Mondo.  Maybe later."

Just as James was about to set into another string of wailing and complaining, Neko, Galaxia, Kio and Chan-saw crashed through the nearby brush in a loud mixture of bickering and whining.

"I told you it was this way!  Maybe if you had listened to me in the first place, we wouldn't have run into that swarm of angry carpenter ants!"

"Hey, I said it was this way!  You're the one that went the wrong way!"

"Oh, don't try to place the blame, Kio!  You insisted we go that way!"

"I did not!  You weren't paying attention to where you were going because you were too busy chewing me out about something else that was also your fault!"

"Both of you shut up already!  I'm going to scream!"

"Seeeey!  Chansey, sey, chan!"

Team Rocket and Mondo looked up in surprise and joy.

"Neko-chan!" cried James happily.  "Did you bring me food?"

Neko looked up from her argument, smiling brightly as she spotted James.  "Jamesie-chan!  We made it!"

The two hugged each other gratefully, weeping pathetically into each other's shoulders.

Kio looked on disturbingly.  "This is a side of Neko I'm not sure I wanted to see…"

"Jess-chan!" cried Galaxia cheerfully, the volume of her greeting causing many to flinch painfully.  She hugged the other woman tightly.  "Oh, how are you doing, poor girl?"

Jesse swallowed a cough.  "Terrible.  Glad you're okay, though."

"Oh, I thought you had died or something!!" James was wailing loudly.

"I thought I was going to die!" wailed back Neko.  Both went into another fit of waterworks.

Meowth simply looked on in annoyance at the happy reunion, Kio looking similarly disturbed, though his was more of a confused type of horror.

"Enough talk—where's my food?!"

Neko calmed immediately, pulling a large grocery bag out of nowhere.  "Right here!  My personal flu and cold survival kit!"  She grinned cheerily, handing the bag to Jesse.  For safety reasons.  James looked about ready to eat the entire bag, wrappers and all.

"Ooh, what's in it?!"  James frantically tried to peer into the contents over Jesse's shoulder.

Neko looked serious, ticking the items off on her fingers.  "Instant ramen, herbal tea, Halls Menthols, Nyquil and Dayquil, hot water bottles, fashion magazines from a year ago, three pair of bunny slippers—"

"Yippee!"

She continued, ignoring James' giddy jumping.  "—a Buddha idol fashioned out of bottle caps, a "Sing-a-long to Show Tunes" cassette, five shades of nail polish, an all-you-can-eat buffet from Perkins, a decapitated Barney doll for stress relief and a deluxe box of variety donuts."

James and Meowth quickly tore into the bag.

"Donuts!!"

"Give me da show tunes cassette!"

Jesse sighed dreamily, eyes shining.  "Oh, you guys are lifesavers!  Now move over, James!  I call the nail polish!"

Neko, Galaxia, Kio, Mondo and Chan-saw watched the three tear into the supplies like a trio of rabid pandas.

"They don't seem too sick to me…"

"It's the fever, Galaxia.  It'll wear off after awhile."

Kio cocked an eyebrow.  "That's some fever."

Neko smiled cockily.  "What, no snappy comeback?"

"He's in shock," remarked Galaxia matter-of-factedly.

"Whatever." Kio rolled his eyes.

Mondo stared at the three meaningfully.  "What took you so long?!"

They looked at each other, then back at the trainee.

"Don't ask!"

*           *           *

After awhile, just as Neko said, the trio did calm down.  In fact, they're brief adrenaline rush left them even more drained than they had been before the three cadets had arrived and they were forced to take a short nap.

Now the whole group had been fed and settled in, gathered around a small bonfire for warmth in the chill March weather.  James dozed comfortably against Jesse's shoulder, who was meticulously painting her nails a bright cherry red, as Meowth and Chan-saw played a quiet game of Go Fish!.  Seated nearby, Neko stroked a now-conscious Raichu soothingly, wrapping its wounds in the bandages Mondo had given her.  Kio had gone off somewhere nearby with his Scyther to practice his karate and Galaxia was contentedly perusing a 1999 issue of Cosmopolitan and rating the models with a critical eye. 

Mondo was preoccupied in an attempts to convince Meowth and Chan-saw to let him join their card game.  He was currently being ignored.

"Do you think Raichu will be okay until you can get it to a PokéCenter?" Jesse asked Neko in concern, looking up from her manicure momentarily.

Neko pursed her lips thoughtfully.  "I hope so.  Because I don't know how soon that will be."

Raichu looked up at her and smiled comfortingly.  "Rai!  Rai, rai!"

"You'd still fight if all your limbs were missing."

Jesse scowled sourly.  "Wish I could say the same for my Pokémon."  She sighed, smiling slightly.  "What can I say, though?  I love them anyway."

"No matter how lame dey is!" piped up Meowth.

Jesse threw a pinecone at him.

Neko's eyes seemed to spark, remembering something.  "Hey, Mondo was telling me there was something you needed to talk to me 'n Galaxia about!"

Galaxia looked up from her magazine in curiosity.

Jesse nodded.  She flushed a bit, embarrassed.  "Well, I sort of had another favor I wanted of you two…"

The blonde cadet smiled benevolently.  "Fire away!  After all, we've come all this way, we might as well help you while we're here!"

The thief smiled gratefully.  "Well, after we heard that you two were coming to help Mondo, James and I thought that maybe you two could…stand-in for us while we're sick."

Neko looked curious.  "What do you mean, 'stand-in'?"

"Well, we figured that by the time the three of us are better, the twerps will be so far ahead, it will take us weeks to catch up to them.  So we thought that if you two could keep them distracted until we're better so they don't get too far ahead, we wouldn't have to make up for so much lost time."

Galaxia looked impressed.  "Makes sense to me."

"Me too," added Neko.  "I just don't know how exactly we'd do that."

Jesse laughed.  "Oh, I'm sure you'll come up with something!  After all, James and I always seem to."

"And Meowth!"

"Yeah, you too, loud-mouth."

Neko seemed to consider it for a few minutes.  Finally she smiled resignedly.  "Well, I suppose I'll have to borrow your Arbok, then.  Raichu won't be of much help for awhile."

"Chu…" pouted Raichu sourly.

Jesse looked uncomfortable.  "Um, I really don't think Arbok would be much of a help…"

"Okay.  How about James' Victreebell?"

"I really don't think you'd want any of our Pokémon."

Neko looked pensive.  "Where am I suppose to get another Pokémon?  I can't battle with just Gastly."

Chan-saw looked up from her card game cheerily.  "Sey!  Chansey, chan!"

The redhead looked at her skeptically.  "You sure, Chan-saw?"

The pink Pokémon chirped brightly in reply, waving her arms happily.  Meowth took the opportunity to sneak a glance at her hand.

Kio walked back into camp, wiping the sweat off his brow with a towel as he hooked his Scyther's Pokéball back onto his belt.

"What did I miss?  Girl talk?"

Neko rolled her eyes, giving him a withering glance.  "Business arrangements.  Butt out, Kio."

The dark-haired cadet shook his head in mock reprisal.  "Again with the sarcasm!"

Neko resisted the urge to bite his head off further.

Jesse was giving her a knowing glance, one which Neko knew she had seen someone else give her but couldn't quite remember who.  The older girl shook her head gently to herself, finishing up her nail job and putting the nail polish away somewhere, James stirring a bit against her shoulder.

"You two look so cute together," remarked Neko suddenly, an odd smile on her lips.

Jesse blushed despite herself.  "Neko, I think you're beginning to come down with a fever as well..."

Neko laughed, finishing the last bandage on Raichu and calling it back in it's ball.  "Nope, I'm perfectly fine."

"Except in the attitude department!" piped up Kio snidely.  This time Neko stuck her tongue out at him.

"Go stick your head in a bear trap, moron."

"Ladies first!"

Jesse sighed, feeling her meds beginning to wear off.  "I think I'm going to follow James' example and take a well-needed nap…"

`"Good luck," muttered Neko, picking up another of the fashion magazines and flipping through it.

Easing James gently off her shoulder, Jesse curled up comfortably on her side, ignoring the loud commotion of the camp with some difficulty and closing her eyes tightly against the midday sun.

Beside her, James shivered slightly, cold after losing the warmth of her shoulder.  Inconspicuously, she gave a gentle kick to his shin and he turned on his side once again, throwing his arm over her waist comfortingly.

Jesse gave a little sigh of contentment, and slowly drifted off into sleep.

Neko smiled knowingly to herself.  "Like I said.  Cute."

*           *           *

When James awoke it was nearly dusk.  The camp was bustling loudly, apparently in the middle of dinner.  Someone had thrown several blankets over him and Jesse, who was still sleeping soundly, her face slightly flushed with fever.

He snuggled closer under the covers, trying to block out the others' voices and feeling the beginnings of a sinus headache kicking in.  Jesse was so nice and warm and smelled so good.  He just wanted to fall back to sleep.

"James, they're going to do it."

The blue-haired thief jumped in surprise.  He had thought Jesse was asleep.

"They are?"  His throat itched terribly and he stifled a cough.  "That's good."

Jesse 'mm-hmm'ed drowsily in response.  He felt her hand squeeze his arm affectionately under the covers and he smiled softly to himself.

"Jess, maybe this sick thing won't be so bad."

"Maybe," she replied evasively.  "As long as we don't run out of meds."

"Hmm, I second that."

The redhead was silent for several moments and James thought she had drowsed off once again.  Then she sighed irritably.

"Now if only someone would bring me some damned Nyquil!"

James whined pitifully.  "But Jesse, I just got comfortable again!"

She kicked his shin sharply.  "Now, buddy!  Or no more snuggling!"

James groaned in defeat and crawled away to get the Nyquil.

*           *           *

Galaxia yawned lengthily.  She hadn't gotten much sleep that night because of Neko and Kio's constant bickering over everything and nothing.  The blonde groaned inwardly.  She had a feeling they had another long day ahead of them.

At her feet, Flareon whined softly, cocking it's head hopefully.

"Alright already, I'll get you your breakfast…"

She rummaged through her supply bag, searching for the Poké Chow.

"Hey Neko, where's the Poké Chow?"

Neko looked up from her breakfast.  "Um, I think it's over by Jess 'n James' bags.  Hey, while you're at it, wanna' feed their Pokémon as well?"

Galaxia nodded, getting up from her seat reluctantly and retrieving the food and Pokéballs.

"Alright you guys, breakfast time!"

The four Pokéballs shook momentarily, the Pokémon inside appearing in a cascade of red light and a chorus of noisy cries.

"Chaar-BOK-a!"

"Whee!"

"Eeee!"

"Licki!"

"Flare!  Flare-Ee-ON!" cried Flareon in indignation, bounding over for first dibs.

Galaxia cried out nervously, hurriedly dishing out the food and backing away before she could get mauled by the hunger-crazed animals.

"Don't you guys feed your Pokémon?!"

Jesse looked up from her instant ramen with a blank expression.  "Hey, we forgot.  We were busy yesterday!"

James peered around her shoulder quizzically, wrapped in a blanket for warmth.  "Hey, where's my breakfast?  I want ramen!"

"Get your own!" growled his partner dangerously, baring her teeth.  James pouted sourly.

"Here James-san, have a donut," offered Neko, tossing him the half-empty box.

"Ooh!  Eee-hee-hee!"

"That's real healthy sick food," commented Galaxia pointedly.

"I'm not his doctor!"

"You'd make a terrible doctor."  James grinned.  "But a great lunch lady!"

"She'd probably be charged with malpractice," muttered Kio from his sleeping bag.  Neko threw a magazine at him.

Mondo looked up from where he was feeding his Ditto and Tauros.  "Perhaps we should make a quick supply check before Miss Neko and Miss Galaxia head out."

Neko waved a donut dismissively.  "Already did it, Mondo-san!  Now all I need to do is find Chan-saw a Pokéball!"  She took a bite of the pastry, scowling thoughtfully.

"Sey!  Chansey, chan!"

Meowth looked up from his can of tuna.  "I don't got a Pokéball, lamebrain!"

"Chan!  ChanSEY!"

Meowth narrowed his eyes angrily.  "Grr!  Ahm just as free as you are, powder-puff!"

"That's because the Boss dropped you like a bad habit!" piped up James cheerily, snickering to himself.

"Eh, shuddap, Jimmy…!"

Jesse shrugged nonchalantly, a smile playing on her lips.  "Maybe the same could be said for a certain loud-mouth cat.  Anyway, Neko-chan, James and I have plenty of empty Pokéballs we could loan you."

James nodded.  "We don't always steal our Pokémon."

"What are you guys talking about?  You two haven't caught or stolen a single Pokémon in ages!"

"Danks for remindin' us, Galaxia…" 

Galaxia stuck her tongue out cheekily at the cat.  "You're welcome, Meowth!"

Kio groaned, reluctantly climbing out of his bedroll and coming to the fire to get some breakfast.  "Okay, I hate to interrupt all these important conversations, but what exactly am I going to be doing this whole time?  I didn't exactly plan on getting stranded in the middle of the woods somewhere."

"Oh, don't worry, you're free to leave whenever you want!  Good riddance!"

James looked confused.  "I'm sure Mondo could give you a ride back to headquarters.  But what happened to your car?"

Chan-saw burst out laughing suddenly.  "Seey!"

Meowth snickered.  "Chan-saw says, 'It met a cement truck!'"

"Ouch."

Neko put her hands on her hips indignantly.  "Because of inattentive driving, of course!"

Kio scoffed.  "And who made that driver inattentive, stupid?"

"Don't blame me for your less-than-stellar driving skills."

"At least I have driving skills!"

"Ooh, ouch!  I'm really insulted, Mr. Hot-Rod!"

"Ooh, where's your mind this morning, kitten?"

"Bite me, Kio!"

"Where and how hard?"

Jesse and James had dry expressions on their faces.

"Why exactly do I find this familiar?"

"Because they've been going at it since yesterday morning!" screamed Galaxia in annoyance, pulling her hair.

"Seey…" murmured Chan-saw, shaking her head.

Mondo looked ill.  "I think they're giving me a headache…"

"Di-too…"

"Meowth!  Someone put a sock in dey're mouths!"

*           *           *

After Neko and Kio's bickering had been successfully taken care of and the breakfast mess cleared away, the whole group gathered around the fire for one last time. 

Neko impatiently fingered the two Pokéballs now in her possession, having left her Raichu in Mondo's care, while Galaxia fidgeted uncomfortably, waiting for the others to quiet down so that she could make an announcement.

"Alright," began Jesse, giving everyone a firm glance for their attention.  The others quieted down obediently.

"This is the plan.  The brats should be on the move now, just west of here.  Galaxia and Neko, you're going to trail them and keep them occupied to make sure they don't get too far."

"Want us to cage 'em?"

"You can try but I doubt you'll be able to."

"There's just one little thing," spoke up James, sneezing.  "No capturing Pikachu!"

"Aw!  Why not?"

"Da rat's ours!"

"Fine."  Neko looked hopeful.  "Can we pick on it a little?"

"Do whatever you want."

"Heh, heh…"

Kio butted in hastily.  "Wait, what am I suppose to do?  I don't exactly want to hang around with a bunch a sick people while you guys go play practical jokes on a bunch of grade school kids."

"Aw, really?  I was hoping you would catch the flu too, or something."

"Well I'm sorry to disappoint you, kitty.  I know how much you like it hot."

"Oh, you wish!  And don't worry, you couldn't get a rise out of me if you were the last man on earth."

"Yeah, I suppose I'd have to get a sex-change to do that."

"You pig!"

"Ooh look, I already got you talking dirty again."

Jesse sighed in irritation, James grinning knowingly beside her.  "Children, let's keep the hormones in check, alright?"

"I'm beginning to feel like a guest on the Jerry Springer show…" sighed Mondo.

Galaxia stood up suddenly, surprising everyone.  "Save the bickering for later, you two!  I have an announcement to make!"

"I'm not going."

Everyone froze.  "What?!" they cried after regaining their voices.

Neko looked at her friend, wide-eyed.  "Galaxia, what's going on?!"

"I'm not going," repeated the blonde simply, sitting back down again.

Jesse narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.  "What are you planning, Galaxia?"

"G-chan, I can't do this alone!"

"That's what I'm trying to get at, Neko.  You won't be alone."

James smirked knowingly.  "I see where this is going."

"Kio will go with you."

There was another cry of surprise from Neko and Kio, as well as Mondo and Meowth.  "What?!"

Kio shook his head hastily.  "Wait just a second, I never agreed to anything!"

"I'm not going with him!"

Galaxia looked at Neko expressionlessly.  "Kio's the better man for this mission."

Jesse smiled slyly.  "I think it's a great idea."

"But what about my partner?!  Galaxia, partners aren't suppose to split up unless it's an emergency!"

"Yeah, Galaxia, listen to your partner!"

"I know.  But I think we can make an exception."

"Actually, there really isn't any rule against this kind of thing," cut in Mondo seriously.  "It's more important to get the best man for the job than keeping teams together."

Meowth grinned cattily.  "Dis should be interestin'…"

Neko and Kio scanned the others' faces frantically, unable to come up with further arguments.

"Why don't you both just swallow your pride for now until you've pulled off this mission?" suggested Jesse sweetly, getting up from her seat and facing the two with hands on hips.

"Just think of it as a job," added James helpfully, climbing to his feet and joining Jesse, arms crossed.

Kio sighed in defeat, seeing the sense in it.

"Alright, fine.  After all, I'm stuck here until Mondo here is through nursing you three back to health anyway."

"But why do I have to get stuck with him?" growled Neko in irritation, but otherwise, she seemed to grudgingly accept.

"Look, I'm not exactly thrilled about this, either, Miss Prissy-pants!  Let's just make the best out of the situation, alright?"

"I can't believe I'm letting all of you talk me into this!"

James grinned innocently.  "Because you love us!"

"Don't be too sure…"

Kio rolled his eyes, packing up his things resignedly.  "I don't think that girl loves anyone but herself."

Neko smiled darkly.  "Oh, of course I do, Kio-san—anything that doesn't remind me of you."

"Guess she don't love 'erself, den," muttered Meowth under his breath.  Jesse shushed him sharply.

Neko slung her meager supply pack over her shoulder, Kio following suit with his own bag.

"Guess we'll see you guys in a couple of days?"

Jesse and James smiled wanly.

"Don't have too much fun."

"Ha, ha.  I'm having a blast already."

Mondo tossed Neko a small electronic device.  "We'll call you when the team is feeling better."

"Are you sure you're not already?"

"If I wasn't so doped up on antihistamines right now, I'd hit you for emphasis," groaned Jesse, beginning to sound woozy again.

Kio shrugged, looking at Neko.  "Guess that's a 'no.'"

"Yeah.  Great."

Galaxia grinned brightly, giving Neko a quick hug.  "Look on the bright side, Neko!"

"I would if there were a bright side."  The redhead sighed in frustration.  "Okay, let's blow this Popsicle stand…"

*           *           *

Ash and his friends had been travelling for several days now, strangely unhindered by the ever-present Team Rocket.  Ash had expressed extreme relief but Misty and Brock seemed suspicious.

"Do you think they're up to something really big this time?" worried Misty, holding her precious Togepi tightly. 

The three had been walking through the same large stretch of forest for the entire day and Ash couldn't count the number of times Misty had made that same comment.  He sighed loudly in irritation.

"Big deal if they are!" he replied curtly.  "It's not like any of their plans ever work anyway!"

"Pika," agreed Pikachu pointedly.

Brock looked more pensive than usual.  "Maybe so.  It's just weird that we haven't been bothered by them once in the last three days."

"Hey, maybe they died!"

"Whatever, Ash."

"Well, I'm trying to look on the bright side, Misty!  Sheesh!"

"That's a creepy optimism, Ash," muttered Brock uneasily, backing away slightly.

"Okay, then maybe they got arrested."

"Pi-chu!"

"Since when are you on their side?!"

Misty rolled her eyes.  "Pikachu's not on their side, it's just being realistic.  Face it; you've got your dumb luck and Team Rocket's got there's."

"They sure are dumb, but they're definitely not lucky!"

"Pi, pikachu, pika, pika, pi!"

"They're not invincible!  That's just stupid!"

"Pika!"  The electric rat fried him in annoyance.

Ash blinked away the ashes on his face.  "Did I say stupid?  I meant brilliant…"

Misty sighed.  "Looks like Ash has been reduced to ashes again."

The burnt trainer crumbled into a pile of, well, ash.

"Oh, boy," grumbled Brock.

The young trainer was just pulling himself together, when a familiar cry came from the path ahead of them.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!" added a masculine voice.

Ash-tachi groaned loudly.

"So much for thinking they died or something…!"

"Maybe they did and we're just hearing things," replied Misty irritably.

Brock rubbed his temples in annoyance.  "Well, let's get this over with…"

The feminine voice laughed in its familiar evil manner.

"We'll see about that twerps!"  A shadowed figure leaped nimbly off a nearby tree branch and landed several yards ahead of the three trainers, still in shadow.  "To protect the world from devastation!"

"To…unite all people in our nation," replied the male voice, a bit uncertainly, leaping down next to join it's companion in the shadows.

The first figure seemed to huff momentarily in annoyance.  "To denounce the evils of truth and love!" she continued, a bit stiffly.

Ash-tachi exchanged weird glances.

"They're loopier than normal."

"Must be the pine scent."

"To extend our…um…our, to extend something to the skies above!"

Finally the female figure turned to her partner in annoyance, hands on hips.  "Half-wit, get the lines right already!"  Her voice didn't sound quite right this time.

The other grumbled darkly.  "Well did you have to write them on a dinner napkin?!  None of this junk makes sense!" 

The male's voice wasn't whiny like Ash-tachi was used to.  The three turned to the shadowed couple with accusing glances.

"What's going on here?!" demanded Ash.

"Who are you people?"

The two figures sighed in irritation.  "Look, you gave us away, moron!" snapped the girl, smacking her partner angrily.

The two of them walked into the light, fixing the three kids and two Pokémon with wicked grins.

"Let's just say there's a new team in town," chuckled the girl evilly.

The dark-haired man beside her grinned gamely, his stance cocky.  "And we're looking for someone to play with."  He produced a Pokéball from his belt, enlarging the small orb to full size.

"I think we've found our playmates…"

Ash glared challengingly, pulling out his own Pokéball.  "I don't know who you two are, but you're playing with the wrong kids!"

Misty and Brock nodded in determination.

The two Rockets simply smiled further in amusement, the girl pulling out a Pokémon of her own.

"Let's rumble, kiddies!"  With an evil laugh, she tossed the Pokéball out onto the field and the battle began.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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