Chapter 4: Trouble On The Double!
When Meowth opened his eyes, he knew it was mid-morning. The Sinnoh sun shone brightly in the sky and was clear over the horizon, but not yet fully at its daily peak.
On either side of Meowth were Jessie and James. Both were still deep in slumber, but Meowth had to wake them up. A lost day would mean making no progress. And no progress would be ill news as far as the boss was concerned. Stretching out his stiff joints, Meowth took a deep breath.
"C'mon, you two! Da sun's up high in the sky, and we've got lotsa woik ta do!"
Unfortunately for Meowth, this reveille call was met with an undesired response.
"You know how important it is that I get my eight hours of beauty-sleep," the long red-haired Rocket sighed, still not entirely awake.
The short blue-haired James rolled over. "Five more minutes, Mom."
Meowth sweatdropped and sighed. Then, donning a look of determination on his face, he extended his razor-sharp claws. "Ok, guess I gotta do this, then!"
A couple of swipes at the faces of his dozing comrades proved more than ample enough to awaken them. As was to be expected, neither Jessie nor James were happy to be woken this way.
"OWCH! Meowth, what was that for?!" Jessie fumed at the scratchcat Pokémon.
"Yeah Meowth, what gives?" James huffed, rubbing his bleeding face.
"We got the whole day aheada us, an' we can't sleep all day! We mustn't anger da boss!" Meowth retorted.
Jessie and James looked at each other, then looked at Meowth with apologetic faces and embarrassed smiles. They were both blushing.
Now that they were all awake, the brushed off the dust from their white uniforms and washed their faces in the nearby pond. They didn't know what they'd do today, but knew that before the day's end, they'd have a bold new plan to capture Pikachu. Oh, how delighted the boss would be!
Suddenly, a rustling came from the trees on either side of the road ahead of them. The rustling was soon accompanied by human voices.
"Prepare for trouble and make it double!" a man's voice called out from one side.
"To infect the world with devastation," a woman's voice cried in response from the other side of the road.
"To blight all peoples in every nation."
"To denounce the goodness of truth and love."
"To extend our wrath to the stars above."
"Cassidy!" Suddenly, a woman with long orange hair jumped into view. She was wearing a black Team Rocket uniform.
"Butch!" A man with short green hair jumped out of the trees and onto the road, landing beside the woman. He was also wearing a black Team Rocket outfit.
"We're Team Rocket, circling the earth all day and night!" Cassidy cried.
"Surrender to us now, or you'll surely lose the fight!" Butch exclaimed.
One of their pokéballs snapped open, and a large brown rat came out. "Raticate!" It finished the motto.
Giovanni stood on the balcony of his office building. He'd just gotten off the phone with Cyrus. On the plus side, many of the affiliates of Teams Rocket, Aqua, Magma, and Galactic were dispersed throughout the Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh regions. Team Rocket would steal Pokémon from any who might resist the takeover proceedings, while Teams Aqua, Magma, and Galactic would hold the seas, lands, and even the entire universe at their mercy. Submission would be the order of the day. Insubordination would result in a dreadful end.
However, there were loose ends to be tied down. Maxie and Archie's rivalry was still in full swing, and it took the combined effort of Giovanni and Cyrus to persuade them to continue with the operation. They agreed, but grudgingly so. I'll need to keep a close eye on that loose cannon, Giovanni sighed.
A thought then crossed his mind. One other serious issue. My wayward associates. Too much was hanging in the balance. Too much to risk losing everything to the severe incompetence of three buffoons. Giovanni had a bargain to uphold, same as Cyrus, Maxie, and Archie. This will not go over well with the others if Jesse, James, and Meowth find a way of screwing this up. I'll have to find some way to defuse this ticking time-bomb, he thought.
The next wave in his train-of-thought made him smile, and he nearly chuckled. "Of course, Butch and Cassidy!" Giovanni knew well of the accomplishments of Butch and Cassidy. They had only ever been able to bring glory to the Team Rocket name. Unlike a certain trio. Yes, Giovanni though, Butch and Cassidy will be more than capable of keeping those clowns in line.
He placed his finger on the intercom button and spoke into the receiver.
"Attention. May Butch and Cassidy please report to the main office? I repeat, may Butch and Cassidy please report to the main office?"
"What is the meaning of this?!" Jessie shouted. She shot a cold glare at her orange-haired rival.
"Who are you to come storming here with that attitude? That motto's copyright stuff, we worked day and night on it! You have no right to such a parody!" James fumed. Meowth sighed; James, in his rage, was getting the wrong end of the stick. These were Butch and Cassidy, after all – their bitter rivals. Their tactics were so different that they could not stand to see each other as fellow Rockets.
Butch spoke up. "If you must know, the great Giovanni sent us here to keep you three in line. I'm not personally into hanging out with rookies ("ROOKIES?!" Jessie screamed. Butch merely brushed her hostility off), but the boss says he can't let you screw up his plans this time, Jimmy boy."
"The name is James, thank you very much! And I'd appreciate it if you would remember it for once, Hutch," James snorted.
"That's 'Butch' to you, Jimmy John!" the green-eyed Rocket shot back.
"James! James! The name is James! Why don't you remember what I just told you?! I said my name's James!" Meowth, who watched the heated exchange from the sidelines with interest and amusement, thought he could pick out the hurt in his partner's angry exclamation.
"That'll do it, gentlemen." Cassidy piped up. She turned to face her three incompetent brethren.
"You don't want us here, and we don't want to be here, but the boss has been looking for you. He says he needs you for his latest undertaking, and that you'll be under our watchful eyes!"
"Oh, is that so? And what might this plan be?" Jessie inquired.
Cassidy gave a silent giggle and smiled a malicious smile. "You'll see in due time."
"Let's get moving, you three," Butch added.
Jessie, James, and Meowth shot nervous glances at each other and gulped. They despised, if not dreaded, being underlings to the likes of Butch and Cassidy, so arrogant were they. But if the boss had indeed sent them, then they'd best follow his orders.
Butch and Cassidy took the lead and began heading down the trail. But before the Rocket trio could move, they took one look back.
"Count yourself lucky you get to see another day, twerps…" James whispered in the direction he was facing.
"…But soon we'll be back…" Jessie added.
"…And then, we'll nab your Pokémon!" Meowth finished.
They turned back to the road, and as they began walking slowly behind Butch and Cassidy, they whispered to themselves, "Looks like Team Rocket's marching off again!"