Chapter 11

The Mysterious Stranger

It was noon outside Sunshine City when two pairs of eyes peeked over a hill nearby.

"Jessie, do you really think we're going to get any information here?" asked James worriedly.

"Of course we will!" she snapped back. "This town is famous for it's tavern, the Sunshine Spot. When people are drunk, they're more than willing to give information away!"

"Hey maybe they'll give some food away too!" Meowth exclaimed eagerly. "I'm so hungry I could eat a Walrien."

"Hush." Jessie said. "Now, let's go." They stood up, and, wearing normal, everyday clothes rather than their usual Team Rocket attire, they strode down the hill towards the gleaming city.

"Hmm… Jessie looks nice today," James thought to himself as they walked. "She's wearing her hair down. It looks nice like that." Suddenly, he found himself wondering why he was thinking about Jessie. He shook his head and continued to walk.

"Was he looking at me?" Jessie wondered to herself, stealing a look over at James. "I think he was looking at me… but I'm probably just imagining things. We must focus on our mission."

And so it came to be that Jessie and James walked through the gates of Sunshine City. The city was large, consisting of tall, 2 or 3 story apartment buildings and office buildings. There were no small houses. Most of the buildings were colored a warm yellow tone, except for the Pokemon Center and the local Tavern, the Sunshine Spot, which is where they were now headed.

Jessie stopped them outside the tavern. "Now listen, nitwits. We can't use our real names in here… they're not safe. From now on, I will be Allison and you, James, will be Zachary."

"What about me?" Meowth asked.

Jessie gave him a weird look. "You'll always be Meowth, because, you're a Meowth. Get it?"

"Rats…"

"Rats? Where?" James cried, whirling around in fear.

"Oh, shut up!" Jessie grumbled. "Come on." She grabbed him by the ear and pulled him into the tavern."

It was like stepping from daylight directly into nighttime. There was very little light inside the tavern, save from the glows coming from the electric torch lights on the walls. Round tables were positioned around the perimeter of the bar, while the bar itself was in the center, at which several shady, sleazy, and otherwise mysterious folk were sitting. Smoke hung heavy overhead, causing the room to smell horribly. James wrinkled his nose as he entered.

"Jessie, this place smells horrible. Must we…"

"Shh! I am Allison now!" she reminded him. "Let's get a seat at the bar."

They found two stools to sit on, and the barkeep said, "What'll it be, strangers?"

"Sam Adams," James said.

"And for you?" The barkeep said to Jessie.

"The same."

The barkeep brought them their drinks, and for a while they sat and said nothing, carefully observing the different people at the bar. Finally, James turned and said to a man next to him, "It's a beautiful day, isn't it?"

"Sure is," the man agreed in a raspy voice, taking a big sip from his mug.

"On a nice day like this, why, all kinds of rare Pokemon come out."

"Sure do," the man agreed again.

"Zachary, why don't you tell this nice man about the Pokemon your poppa told you about?" Jessie said with a bright smile, accenting her voice just a bit.

"Oh, right, right," James said, playing along. "My poppa told me 'bout this neat li'l green Pokemon called Celebi. He didn't know too much though, he said he just seen it in a book somewhere."

"Celebi, huh?" said another man across the way. "I never heard of a Pokemon by that name."

"I have!" bellowed a fat hiker next to Jessie. "I know I have! He lives in Ilex Forest, playin with all the forest animals and little trees, eh he he he!" Jessie frowned… the man was clearly drunk, but she pressed him for information anyway.

"Go on," she said,

"Oh I don't know what he's doin' now," the hiker continued, taking a sloppy drink from his mug, "But somebody told me he's coming back! Like, he said in a month, or two months, or something. Said he's gonna show up at the full moon!"

James was secretly writing all this down. "Yes, and then what?"

"You're wasting your time trying to obtain information from drunken strangers," said a voice behind them. Jessie and James turned to see a figure in a cloak seated at a nearby table. His face was entirely covered by the hood he wore. A Wobbuffet sat next to him. "Come sit with me," he said.

Jessie and James obediently sat down opposite the figure.

"Now, what exactly is it you need to know about Celebi?"

"Why should we tell you?" Jessie asked defiantly.

"Indeed," the stranger said with a nod. "There is no reason. But if it is information you seek, you have a better chance of getting it from me than from any of the other vagabonds in this bar. Now, speak."

James took a deep breath and said, "We heard that Celebi is going to be returning in about a month. Our Boss… I mean, a friend of ours wants to capture it, so we're trying to find out as much as we can about the event."

The Wobbuffet raised its mug, and the barkeep brought it another root beer.

"This event of which you speak," the stranger replied thoughtfully, "Is fated to occur in exactly one month from today. However, even I do not know the exact location at which Celebi will emerge. You say your boss is going to capture it?"

"Yes, that's right." Jessie said, nodding.

"He is a fool," the man said, laughing. "Celebi will not be alone. He will have an army more powerful than any that walks this earth. Your entire force will be overrun in minutes."

"So what can we do?" James asked.

The man did not speak for several moments, before saying, "What exactly are your objectives here in this city?"

"We're just trying to get all the information we need," James said.

"Well here is all you need to know…" the man said. "Unless you can match the strength of Celebi's army, you stand no chance. You must do whatever it takes to become strong enough to stand a chance. Are there more of your group?"

"Yes," James said. "But they're at least three days away from here. They're scouting for information too."

"Then you must join them as soon as you can and start building your own army. Do whatever it takes, do you understand?"

Jessie and James nodded.

"Good. Now, be off, quickly."

Jessie and James quickly got up and left the bar.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

That night, Jessie and James were back at the small apartment they had rented while they were staying near Sunshine City.

"So, I guess we have our work cut out for us," James was saying as he began packing some things up for their trip tomorrow.

"Yeah…" Jessie said quietly, sitting on the edge of the bed.

James looked up. "Hey Jess, are you all right?"

"I'm fine…" she said, looking down and turning away.

James sat down next to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "What's wrong, Jess?"

She looked up into his eyes. "James, I'm scared. I mean, usually we're up against normal trainers or Pokemon that aren't too much of a challenge, but Celebi is really powerful… I'm afraid we could get hurt."

James took her hands in his own. "Hey, I'm scared too. We've never been up against a Pokemon like Celebi before. But, I can promise that as long as I'm with you, you'll be fine." He smiled.

"Do you mean it?" she asked, smiling slightly.

"Absolutely. Jessie, we've been working together for years. You're the best friend I've ever had, and I'd rather give myself up first than see you get hurt."

"Oh James…" She threw her arms around him. "Thank you… thank you…" she whispered. There in James's arms, she truly did feel safe from everything that could harm her. "Keep me safe, James." she whispered.

"I will." he assured her. "I will."