A/N: First off, I apologize THIS MUCH (holds hands out really wide) for not getting this out sooner! School and junk have been taking up my whole life… I have no free time! I can't even read many stories on so I'm sorry if I'm not reviewing anything.

Thanks to all who reviewed! Trust me, without you guys, this part would probably be out in June when school's over. Haha. But now that Spring Break is here, I think I have some time to crank a couple of chapters out!

By the way, did I mention how sorry I was?

All disclaimers can be found on part one.

I apologize. For the third time. Heh.

Operation: MATCHMAKER
By: xSPiNx

Chapter Two: Three Strikes

Just how Team Rocket gone from a dreaded pokemon organization, to a weird matchmaking service, Meowth didn't know. But, if the boss said that they had to play matchmaker with Ash and Misty, then they had to play matchmaker. After all, the boss was never wrong. Ever. And if Meowth wanted that coveted spot on the boss's soft chair… well, then he had to listen.

Jesse and James, however, had adapted well to their new mission objective. They were sitting on a log, carefully discussing their matchmaking tactics.

"Finally, a mission where I can put my skills to use!"

"I know, Jesse. No wonder the boss came to us for this one. He obviously knows that our people skills are the best in the business!"

"Too bad we can't just give the girl a makeover…" Jesse frowned. "We could work wonders with a little makeup… then, who wouldn't be able to resist her!"

"Is Ash old enough to… err… appreciate our work? Or is he still in that 'girls have cooties' stage?"

"Of course he's old enough! He's a teenage boy!" Jesse's eyes welled up. "It's a wonder how fast they grow up… it seems like just yesterday he was foiling our first plan…" She sniffed. "Anyway, it's the other spiky haired one we have to watch out for. Who knows what he might do if we unleash Misty's potential?"

"Well." James paused. "I guess we'll see what happens when we make her over!"

"You boneheads are forgettin' a thing or two…" Meowth interrupted calmly. "HOW ARE YOU GONNA GET DEM TO AGREE TO DIS!"

"Oh." James said, the realization dawning on him. "I hadn't thought of that… I guess we'll just have to cause a little mischief."

"We'll just force her to do it. And after that it's going to take more than a little mischief," Jesse purred, a twinkle in her eye.

James turned to Meowth fearfully. "I don't like the sound of her voice, Meowth…"

"Yeah, and dat twinkle in her eye can only mean one thing…"

That twinkle was one that Meowth and James knew well. And from previous experiences, they knew that it could only lead to one of two things one, a totally crazy plan that would somehow end with an unexpected blast off into the air, or two, a totally crazy plan that would be delusional enough to… work!

Jesse eyed James, her eyes gleaming. "It's going to take a little romance. After all, all's fair in love and pokemon, right?"

James didn't know why, but he had a steady sinking feeling in his stomach.

"But first, we have to get Misty. Are you ready to dig that hole, James?"

James perked up. After all, all great plans start with a hole. And if this plan had one, then how bad could it be?

"AIYEE! ASH!"

Her voice had interrupted his training with Pikachu. "Aww man, what did I do this time? Let's take a little break, OK buddy?"

"Pika!" Pikachu shot Ash a victory sign.

Ash hurriedly trotted back to the campsite, where he found Misty, with her back against a tree, shielding her face with her hands. She was crouched down, trying to make herself look smaller, and was kicking at something in front of her. Brock was standing beside her, looking thoroughly amused. He smirked. "Here comes your knight in shining armor, Misty."

Misty, who was too preoccupied with whatever it was she was kicking, didn't respond. Instead, in a slightly panicked voice, she whispered, "Get it away… get it… away!"

Ash looked at Brock, raising his eyebrows. Brock just smirked again, and motioned to Misty. "Be my guest, Ash. After all, she did call for you."

Ash didn't know exactly how he should approach this situation. He crouched down to Misty's eye level, paused for a bit, and looked at Brock, who just shrugged. Finally, he said awkwardly, "Err… Yes, Misty?"

Misty pointed feebly at something behind Ash and whimpered.

Ash circled around slowly to catch a glimpse of a spinarak scurrying off into the overgrowth. "Um, there! It's gone now."

Brock looked at the two younger trainers with a knowing look, then shook his head. He cleared his throat. "Misty, do you need anything?"

Misty, who was still rattled from her little run in with the arachnid, just nodded feebly. "A little something to eat would be nice…"

Brock nodded. "Lemme just go wash up at the stream." They heard him trampling off in the bushes, when suddenly…

BOOM! CRASH!

"Oww," they heard Brock grunt. "Hey, where'd this hole come from!"

And then suddenly, in a disappointed voice: "Hey, dis ain't her! It's one of da other ones!"

Jesse's voice followed quickly. "We know that Meowth!"

"So what do we do now?" James piped up.

"Dis plan stinks!"

"Well," Jesse huffed indignantly. "Do either of you two have any bright ideas?"

"I do!" James' voice piped up again.

"I'm absolutely thrilled…" Jesse sighed sarcastically. "Alright, let's go back to the drawing board…"

Ash and Misty heard three pairs of footsteps crushing twigs and leaves, slowly fading away. Then, there was silence. And then, they heard Brock yelling weakly, "A little help here! This hole is deep!"

"In order to successfully complete Operation: MATCHMAKER, we have to get past a few obstacles. But luckily for us, I have a plan." James slid his "smart glasses" up his nose so that he could see clearly. In front of him was a blackboard, decorated with crudely drawn stick figures.

Jesse was sprawled out in front of the board with her head in her hands, clearly not impressed with the professor act. "And tell me again what this plan is?"

"Simple." James motioned to the board in front of him. "Twerp hates Twerpette." He gestured to a chalk drawing of Ash's head, with a mad expression on it's face. "But, if Twerpette is in trouble " he pointed to a picture of Misty screaming her head off "then, Twerp will come and save her!" He finished by showing Jesse a picture of Ash with his hat on backwards, and holding up a "V" with his fingers his victory pose.

"What's your point?"

"Isn't it obvious?" James pointed to a weird equation at the bottom of the board. It was a picture of Ash's face, followed by a plus sign, Misty's face, an equals sign, and a heart. Next to the heart was another equals sign, and next to that was a drawing of a Pikachu. After the Pikachu was another equals sign, followed by a big dollar sign. James stood by it, pointing triumphantly. Jesse and Meowth just looked at him in utter confusion. They both looked at each other, shrugged, and then turned their attention back to James, who was beaming proudly by his work. Meowth was the first to break the silence.

"WHAT'S DAT SUPPOSED TO MEAN!"

James shot their mascot a distasteful look. "Ash plus Misty equals love," he stated, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "And Ash and Misty's love equals a Pikachu for Team Rocket. And a Pikachu for Team Rocket…" he trailed off, stars in his eyes. "A Pikachu for Team Rocket means a promotion!"

"But we know that already."

"Exactly."

"So what's da point of dis?"

James' face went blank. "I forgot." His face lit up again. "Oh yeah, I have a plan!"

Jesse and Meowth face faulted. This better work.

Sometimes, he confused her. There were those days when he would get her so mad that he couldn't be in her line of sight or she would let him have it, but other times, he would be so sweet that he would have her secretly smiling for days on end.

She sighed. Too bad the bad days usually outnumbered the good.

"Misty, can you get me some firewood? I'm having a little trouble starting the fire!"

The leaves in the trees above her rustled. Bending down, she picked up a stray branch. "No problem, Brock!"

But then again, Misty thought, he wasn't all too bad. Get past the snotty, immature attitude that all boys have at that age, and you'd be left with a pretty nice, caring guy that she could actually get along with. She sighed again. But how long would she have to wait for that to happen? With Ash's denseness and slow development, it would probably be years…

"Misty?" Brock's head popped out of the clearing. "Where's the firewood? Are you having trouble?"

The leaves above Misty's head rustled again, this time more forcefully. "I CAN"T HELP MYSELF!"

"AIYEE!" Misty took off screaming. "WHAT WAS THAT!" WHAM. Fortunately for Misty, Brock saved her from running straight into a tree. Unfortunately for Brock, she pushed him into the tree. Hard. Very Hard. Very, VERY hard. Leaves, twigs, and various pokemon fell out of the foliage from the shock as Brock collapsed into a convulsing heap on the ground. Little birdies dancing around his head, Brock made a feeble attempt to prop himself up on one shoulder. "I'm… fine…"

"HE SAID TROUBLE! TWICE!"

The voice sounded weirdly familiar, but Misty wasn't going to take any chances. She brandished a branch toward the talking leaves. "Who's there!"

"PREPARE FOR TROUBLE!"

Misty groaned. She lowered, the branch, leaning on it as she waited for Team Rocket to finish their motto.

But instead, she just heard silence. And then again, in a more forceful voice: "PREPARE FOR TROUBLE!"

From the mess of leaves and branches, she heard James' voice. "Aww, but Jesse, I don't wanna… What about the plan!"

The tree rustled again, even more than before, and Misty could hear a slapping sound come from it. "Oww, Jesse, that hurt! Fine, make it double…"

"TO PROTECT THE WORLD FROM DEVASTATION!"

Silence. Then the bushes rustled again, and there was another thwomping sound. "OWW! To unite all people within our nation…"

"TO DENOUNCE THE EVILS OF TRUTH AND LOVE!"

"…to extend our reach to the stars above."

"JESSE!"

"…James…"

"TEAM ROCKET, BLAST OFF AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT!"

"…" The leaves rustled again, but this time, there was no smacking noise. "AHH! DON'T HIT ME AGAIN! OK, I'll say it, I'll say it! SURRENDER NOW OR PREPARE TO FIGHT! "

Another voice piped up halfheartedly. "Meowth… this ain't right…"

"There, now doesn't that make you feel better?" Jesse's voice had a much calmer tone to it. She took a deep breath. "I just can't help myself when I hear the word trouble! Now, to deal with you, Twerpette!" She turned around, doing a total 360. "…Twerpette?" But it was too late. Misty had already gone, with a barely conscious Brock following close behind her.

Jesse sniffed. "How rude! How dare they leave before the motto is finished!"

"Back to da drawing board…" Meowth scoffed. "But good thing for you guys, I have a plan. I always knew I was da brains behind dis operation!"

"Cut the small talk, will ya Meowth?"

"Yeah, what's the plan?"

"It's a simple one, but a classic. Da old Team Rocket approach!"

Ah, yes, the classic Team Rocket plan! How could they have forgotten it! Say the ol' motto, intimidate them with your ferocious pokemon, and get away with your prize! It was textbook, sure to work! And it had worked every time… err, almost every… err, well… it had worked for other Team Rocket members.

It was still worth a shot.

The sunset bounced off the trees of Viridian city. The sun floated calmly in the sky, casting shades of deep orange, purple and pink across the light blue sky. Occasionally, a puffy cloud would make it's way across the sunlight's warming rays, but other than that, it was the perfect welcome.

Ash Ketchum, of Pallet Town, was almost home.

He remembered when he first started his pokemon journey, the very spot he sat at now was the place that started it all. The spearow attack, that forged an unbreakable bond between him and Pikachu. The fears, the triumph, the thrill that made Ash believe that he actually did want to become a pokemon master. The excitement ran through his bones again, and he felt like he could almost jump for joy.

"So this is where it all started, huh?"

Ash wheeled around slowly, already knowing who the voice belonged to. One other thing had happened here too. He had met Misty. And as much as he hated to admit it, he couldn't of made it as far as he did without her or Brock. They were always there to boost his confidence and give him valuable advice.

"Yup."

Misty walked closer slowly, then, after what seemed to be much deliberation to herself, sat down. She hugged her knees, resting her head. "It's hard to believe that this is where it all happened…"

"Yup."

"I mean, if it wasn't for you, I would still have my bike and be on my way to becoming the greatest water master this world has ever heard of!"

"Yup."

The pair sat in silence for the next couple of seconds, enjoying the view, until Ash got up. "Well, I'd better get back to camp…"

"Wait!" Ash turned around, and Misty bit her lip. Quick and painless, just like pulling off a band aid, she told herself. After taking a deep breath, she walked up to him quickly and gave him a tight hug. "Thanksforsavingmethismorning!"

Woah, hold on. Is she hugging me? She's hugging me! Wait, this is weird. Uh oh. Where do I put my hands? Ash suddenly realized that he had been standing awkwardly with his hands at his sides. Hesitantly, he lightly placed his hands around Misty, and hugged her back. "Uh, no problem?"

With her arms still around him, Misty took her head off of his shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes. "No really, you don't understand. Thank you." She smiled at him, and at that moment, she just felt the irresistible urge to just kiss him. But she was sure that it was just the gratitude in her. But, if she ever wanted to, that moment was the perfect one to do so beautiful sunset in the background, touching heartfelt moment, yadda yadda…

She felt herself involuntarily moving closer to Ash, when suddenly, familiar cheesy villain music started playing the background. And then, from the bushes behind them, they heard a voice announce: "Prepare for trouble!"

The moment ruined, along with Misty realizing what an awkward position she was in, led her to jumping out of Ash's arms literally!

"And make it double!"

Misty groaned. Team Rocket had the absolute worst timing! "Haven't you already said your motto once today? Isn't there a limit?"

"To protect the hey, what's that supposed to mean? You don't enjoy the motto?"

"NO!"

Jesse was taken aback. "Well! If you aren't the most ungrateful little twerp! We try and try to spice up your day with our motto, and we get this in return." She sniffed, turning her nose upward. "Fine, we'll skip the formalities. Twerpette, you're coming with us!"

"Who's gonna make me? Pikachu, come here! We need you for a second." Misty smiled smugly at the trio, who were now fighting desperately to get behind each other for the inevitable electric shock soon to come.

"Pika?" Pikachu's fuzzy head popped out of the bushes.

"Do your thing, pikapal." Misty smirked at Team Rocket, and gave them a sly wink.

"PIKAAAACHUUU!"

ZAAAAAAAP! BOOM! "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

So, Team Rocket's day hadn't been as fruitful as they had thought. But, when all was said and done, they could proudly say that they still had their dignity.

Or something like that.

"I'm tired of losing all the time, Jessie! Why can't we win just once?"

"There, there. We don't lose all the time. The twerps just always win." She frowned at her own logic. Because they both knew the simple truth if someone had been keeping score, it would have been Ash and Company, ninety-nine million, and Team Rocket, one half. On a scale of one through ten, the chances of Team Rocket's success were about as good as a negative number. "Speaking of the twerps, isn't that one of them?" She motioned to a spiky haired figure in the clearing.

The person heard them coming an whirled around. "Who's there!" When he saw that it was Team Rocket, he relaxed. "Oh, it's just you."

Jesse ignored him. "Where are the lovebirds?"

Brock involuntarily shuddered. "Don't mention them. Every time I've been around them today, something bad seems to happen!" He muttered something inaudible about trees and holes in the weirdest places.

Suddenly, Jesse's eyes twinkled. "How would you like to prevent all those injuries?"

"Hmm. And how would I do that?"

"Easy. Team up with us!"

"Jesse, what are you"

Jesse promptly hit James over the head, shutting him up. She hissed, "Quiet! We need someone on the inside! Think about it. If the twerps always win…"

"… and we recruit one of the twerps…" James' eyes glimmered as he caught Jesse's drift. He turned to Brock, smiling cheekily. "So how about it. Wanna be our partner?"

"Why would I want to do that?"

"Becaaaaause… by our magnificent logic, and after much research, we have discovered that Ash and Misty… err, belong together. And if they spend less time and energy arguing with each other, they get to, err, spend more time enjoying the better things in life. And each other's company." Jesse smirked. And less time thinking about that Pikachu!

It took a couple of seconds for Team Rocket's logic to finally click in Brock's head.. What they were saying actually made sense! And now that he thought about it, his life would be easier if Ash and Misty got together. No more loud arguments, no more bickering, no more resolving problems, and a lot more silence. And, a lot less time watching over Ash and Misty, and a lot more time doing the finer things in life like scoping out hot girls. He thought for a while, then nodded mischievously. "I'm in."

To be continued…

A/N: Heh. A little longer than my usual installments, but I really wanted to fit this all in one chapter. Just a few things to ponder what exactly is Ash going to do in Pallet? Why was Misty so thankful to be saved by Ash? And WHY did Team Rocket have to interrupt them? (Gah, don't you hate it when authors do that whole "interrupted moment" thing? Heh. Sorry, I had to do it!)

Expect a NIIIICE healthy dose of rocketshippy in the next couple of parts. The reason that it hasn't been showing up yet is mainly for plot reasons. Haha, you'll understand in the next part. So don't fret, faithful rocket shippers!

Sorry again for the long wait for this part! I haven't had any free time lately, and it doesn't help that the internet wasn't working at my house. It's fixed now, so hopefully things can get rolling now.

Just a little note as I don't have much time anymore, I won't be updating as regularly as I used to (haha, as you've probably figured out, because it took me four months to get this part out!) And, I don't have any time to proofread, etc, so does anyone want to be my proofreader/beta reader/idea giver? Good grammar and English skills, please! ) Leave your email if you're interested.

With that said, take care everyone, and tell me what you think if you have the time!