Team Rocket Meets Me

by Kasumi kouri gaki

Not quite the Team Rocket you know from the anime! See it from the point of view of the second in command.

I'll never forget my 15th birthday, the day that will go down in my history as the most earth-shattering so far.

I was training my Psyduck, "Headache", and wondering why I was a good three days away from home (biking, that is. It would be about double that if I has been walking), on my birthday. I know that you're thinking something along the lines of "So? Most trainers are gone on their birthday." But I generally train around home, not on the road.

Anyway, I got off the subject. Let's get back to what I'm supposed to be talking about. You already know that I'm training Headache. It was a sunny fall day at about noon...

"Good job!"

"Psy!"

I reach into my backpack to get an apple for Headache, but I don't have a good enough grip on it. Needless to say, it falls to the ground, ending up about a foot away from me. Headache's not paying attention, so I'm stuck picking it up. As I bend over, I get the feeling that something's wrong, but considering I'm not really looking at my hand as I pick up the apple, I shrug it off. That turns out to be a major mistake.

A thin, straw-like line of ice comes from my outstretched finger and hits the apple. As if to try to confirm that this wasn't a dream, it's also still stuck to my finger. "... What the...?" Suddenly I'm on autopilot as I decide to recall Headache, grateful that this... hallucination of mine comes off of my hand when I get Headache's Pokéball. After I put Headache's Pokéball in my backpack, I sit down at the base of a tree. "Don't... worry. That didn't... really... happen..." That's the last thing I say before I pass out.

The next thing I'm aware of is Sparky shocking me awake.

"AHHHH! Sparky, dammit, STOP!"

"Pika. Chu pi," he says after finishing my shock treatment.

I look around, then glance at my watch. It's about three hours from the time I blacked out. "Sorry, Spark. Thanks, I needed that." Then my glance falls on the apple, which (considering my day) still has the ice on it. "This is crap. It can't be real..." For no real reason, I pinch myself. Of course, it hurts. "Ok, ok," I mutter, "as much as I don't believe this crap that's going on, I'll admit that it's real..."

Sparky blinks. "Chu pikachu?"

"I don't know what's going on right now, Spark. You know pretty much everything I do..."

Sparky's ears droop. "...Pi cha?"

I grin weakly and hug Sparky. "Don't worry; we'll both understand this someday..."

... And that's what happened. I'm having some trouble believing that it's been exactly a year and a month since then.

Enough of the flashback, though. It is back to real time. Where's the place? Fuchsia City. Specifically, the Safari Zone. A tall blond guy walks up to me and asks if I would be interested in joining a group that goes by the name of Team Rocket. I ask for details and agree to join. I'm told where to go and given a map, then I thank the man and start on my way.

A week later, I step up to the office door. I hear a voice say, "How did Giovanni stand his job? This is bor-" They stop when I knock on the door nervously, briefly wondering who the heck Giovanni is. The person has me enter.

Upon entering, I see that the person is a girl that appears to be about two or three years older than I am. I step up to her desk, a deadly serious look on my face. "I want to join the team," I demand.

"Why?" she asks, smiling slightly.

"I have heard that you were still in need of members for the team. I believe I can do it some justice, at the very least."

"What are your qualifications, exactly?" I tell Chase, starting with my Pokémon and their levels, and finishing with how dedicated I would be to the team. It is then that Chase stands up, comes around her desk, and faces me to say, "You don't have to tell me any more. You're in. You are also more qualified than anyone else is here, so I know exactly what job I will give you." I listen very carefully. "You will be my right-hand employee."

"Thank you." I raise my hand to shake Chase's, but as I do, I notice an icicle hanging off of my finger. I groan under my breath and think; I wish that wouldn't have happened... I knock it off, hoping, praying even, that Chase hadn't noticed. Unfortunately...

"Misty, what... was that?" She moves her hand away from mine, looking pretty confused. "How in the world... who or what are you?" she manages to say while backing away slowly.

I look at the icicle. It looks like it hasn't melted at all, but I'm not surprised. "It's nothing, really. I don't exactly like the fact that you had to find out this way..." I then look at Chase, who only stops backing up because she would have run into the wall. "But other than this, I'm a normal person. You'll get used to it soon enough, like I did. I've had this ability for... about a year and a month now, since my fifteenth birthday. But after only a few months with it, it was already kinda boring. This can be extremely beneficial to the team, I think. I've spent plenty of time practicing and can make ice walls that don't melt for at least two hours. I could use those walls to separate Pokémon from their trainers, such as with Ketchum and his Pikachu." I smile evilly.

"I see." She also smiles a bit, losing her suspicion, and walks back to me. "Yes, that could be useful... I guess I should explain what my plan is for this team. Not only do I plan to capture that Pikachu, which all other dimensions have failed to do, but I also plan to capture ALL Pokémon, no matter what the cost." The look in her eyes sinks deeper into evil. "And that isn't all. Not only do I wish to own all Pokémon, I also wish to own their trainers."

I cut in, asking how she expects to get all of the trainers to join her.

"It's called deceiving. I will make them think that they get more Pokémon when they fight new trainers. But once the new trainers lose, those people must join us, even thought they don't know it. They think that they get something better by joining us when actually, they just sell themselves to me." A glint of red flashes through her eyes, and it makes me a bit curious. In my eagerness to get started, I ignore it.

"Sounds like a great plan. How soon will we be able to start?"

"I've already started it. So far, I have twenty-three, which is almost enough."

Almost enough... I think. I wonder what she wants me to do first. "So, what do you want me to do first?"

"First I need you to help me with the new recruits. They are still uncertain about the 'get more Pokémon by finding others to join their group' thing. We have to convince them about this group by the name of Team Rocket," she says. "Misty, in the true dimension that I came from, and in all of the others I have visited, they all had one thing in common: a weak Team Rocket. Everyone in this land knew about them. But in this dimension, the leader of the others, a man by the name of Giovanni, was killed just after he began his plan of a Team Rocket. That's when I showed up, just in time to take over. Only thing is..." She sits back in her chair. "...Nobody in this dimension knows about us."

My eyes light up. "Don't worry, they will soon enough."

Chase smiles at me. "I have to check on our newest recruits. Follow me." I do that, looking around the place quietly, learning my way around. We stop in front of an unmarked door. "I need to see how their training is coming. I am going to need all of them ASAP to start my plan." We walk into a room of about twenty recruits. I remain near the door while Chase goes up and talks to the person in charge of their training. The teacher introduces Chase to the newcomers, and Chase explains a little about where she came from. One trainee pipes up, asking how she has been in Team Rocket for two years if it's brand new.

Chase reaches into a pocket and pulls out a clear blue stone. "This stone has helped me more than you know. I am not from this dimension. I have come here to form a strong Team Rocket, something I have not found in any other dimension I have visited."

Another person asks her where she got it.

"An old friend," Chase says while walking back to the door. She nods to the teacher, and I follow her when she exits the room. "They're training well. They will be ready to begin in a day or so. I will split them into groups of about three and send them to different towns. Soon, Misty. Soon I can start."

A few days later we meet again. The recruits have been taken to different cities and given instructions as to what their mission is. They have been told to scout for new trainers and get them to join the team. But they don't know that they're just fueling Chase's plan...

"A trainer with eighty-something Pokémon just joined... My plan is working, Misty. Yet there is one thing I'm concerned with."

"And what's that?"

"So far, we've had nothing go wrong. Nothing has stopped us; no police have gotten in the way, no slowdowns even!"

"That isn't so bad, is it?"

"No, it's wonderful. I guess I'm just used to my own dimension."

"Think about it though. We haven't done anything wrong yet!"

Chase smiles. "You're right."

I get an idea. "Want to get away from the deskwork for awhile? I have a few people that I want to recruit. Those people are Alan, my twenty-two-year old brother; Sabrina, my thirteen-year-old sister; and Jake, my fifteen-year-old friend. There's one possible problem, though. I might need your help convincing them to join...

"Help convincing them? That's easy. Go get them."

"Ok, but I think they should meet you when they agree to join..."

Chase shrugs. "It's no trouble if it means I might have new members. Call them."

I shake my head slightly. "It's not about it being trouble. It's the fact that they would need convincing from a higher authority. I had little influence over their lives when we were younger, and that control has grown even weaker since we've all become trainers, and especially since I've joined the team. We've all been so busy recently, I've hardly had a chance to see them and talk to them... By the way, I do know how many Pokémon they've got. Alan has twenty-nine; Sabrina, seventeen; and Jake, seven. But I forgot to ask them about joining the team..."

"Hey, if they want to join, they want to join. Wait." Chase takes a blank piece of paper and writes on it. I look over her shoulder and see that she is writing about her mission and dream, and generally just asking them to join. She then gives it to me. "Take this to them. Go now, and hurry up with their answer.

I cover the distance to my house in a day and a half (fast, considering how long it takes for me to get home from that general area usually.)

Upon arriving home, I let myself in quietly then yell, "I'M HOME!"

Alan walks into the room. "Chill, Misty. We're not deaf, you know."

I think, A, I could make you chill. But I only say, "Sorry."

Sabrina walks in at that point. "Where've you been? Getting another badge?"

"No, I've joined Team Rocket."

"Team Rocket? Why?" They ask in perfect unison.

"I wanted to... I told my boss about you. She sent something for you to read." I dig Chase's letter out of my backpack and hand it to them. They read it quickly then return it to me. "So, you're joining?"

"Yeah, we'll join..." Alan says quietly.

"...But why do you want us to?" Sabrina adds.

"I thought that you would be good at it. I'm going to head over to Jake's now. We'll leave in the morning."

I leave and walk the short distance to Jake's house. Upon arriving, I greet him with a simple "Hi".

"Hey, Misty. What's up?"

"Nothing... Unless you count the fact that I'm a Team Rocket member."

"Team Rocket? Sweet deal. Know how I can join?"

"Did... you know I was coming?"

"Yeah. Alan called to 'warn' me."

"Ok. Well, since you're so eager to join, I don't need to show you my boss's letter..."

"Nope. When are we leaving?"

"Tomorrow morning. Get you bike ready."

"Ok."

We make it back in the same amount of time it took me to get home (in part because I was eager to have them meet Chase, and partly because Jake was excited about joining the team).

I walk into Chase's office, my siblings and friend not too far behind me. "What do you want them to do first?" I ask Chase.

She smiles very slightly and walks up to Alan, Jake, and Sabrina, greeting them with: "So you want to join my little team? I welcome you. I am glad that you have agreed to the proposal I have written you. I give you a choice of what you would like to do: recruit others, or defend my plan. I have been in different dimensions in which the other Team Rockets have... come up against a struggle in their beginnings. I'm expecting one soon..."

Suddenly a computerized voice fills the room, saying, "Chase has new e-mail."

She replies, "Display on screen. No voice." She turns to us. "If you'll excuse me, this may be important." She sits at her computer and proceeds to read the message. A few minutes later, Chase's smile disappears and is quickly replaced with a look of anger. I immediately come over to see why her mood changed so suddenly. I am only able to read about a line of the message before Chase erases it. The part I manage to read says: "We have reason to believe that you are involved in activities that may be harmful to trainers and their..."

While ignoring the others, who don't seem to mind at the moment, I whisper to Chase, "Already? I thought it would've been a little longer 'till something like this had happened..."

Chase sits back in her chair. "That's not the worst part, Misty. The worst part is that this e-mail comes from the same town that a more recent recruit was placed. Her name is Jessy. You don't know her, but in my home dimension, she screwed up a lot. Her and her partner James. I've been keeping a careful watch over them because I knew that they would do something wrong, like in all the other dimensions... However, since this dimension is different, I have given them a chance." She starts typing a letter to the sender of the e-mail, explaining their mission and basically getting Jessy and James off the hook. However, after sending the e-mail, she pages them to come to a nearby vidphone.

I notice a rising anger in Chase, and I get a feeling that Chase is going to yell at them a lot. "We'll go in the hall while you yell at them..." The four of us exit the office and sit near the door. "So, guys recruit others or defend plan?"

They answer in unison. "Defend plan."

"Great... Hey, I think she's done yelling already."

Jake answers with, "I don't really want to go back in right now, in case she's not done."

"Ok. We'll wait a little longer..." We wait for about five minutes longer, then go back into Chase's office. "They've decided that they want to help defend your plan as their part of being on the team."

Chase still looks angry, but is calmer than when she was yelling at Jessy and James. "Good. Misty, those two had let it slip that their boss was going to take over. I know they had good intentions, but now I must pull all of my troops out of that city for awhile. This is a major setback. However, I have decided to send your people to that city to recruit undercover."

"What city do they need to go to? My family has connections in some cities that may just help with getting trainers to join..."

"Really... Misty, I'm impressed. You have been very useful to me so far and now you tell me your family can help... This is perfect. You say you're from Saffron City. Maybe they could help out there. I also need you to go to Viridian City to 'help' Jessy and James. I am putting you in charge of them-"

I think, Aw, crap. I've gotta more or less baby-sit 'em?

"-I've had enough of them in the other twenty-two dimensions I've been in."

"But how were you able to change from dimension to dimension?"

Chase turns to face a padlocked cabinet. "If you will ask your family and friend to start for Saffron City, I will show you."

They leave without putting up a fight. They don't want me mad at them, plus they know all too well that I'm a nosy brat sometimes. They also knew damn well that it was one of those times. "Ok, now that they're gone..."

Chase unlocks the cabinet and brings out a box that is about ten inches tall and eight inches wide. She opens the lock on the box and lifts the lid slowly. In the box is a glowing blue stone that lights up the things around it with a soft blue light. "If you touch both of your hands on the stone, it takes you to a new dimension. If you want to go back to one you have already been to, all you have to do is think about what made that dimension different. Each one has a slight difference, or a big one. The last dimension I was in before I found this one had no Pokémon and was more technologically advanced. They didn't have a computer storage system, but they had things they liked called online shopping, chat rooms, and HTML. There was no room for me, so I left. Smartest move I've ever made."

I stare at the stone in disbelief and wonder. "How did you get that?"

Chase shakes her head. "An old friend. He doesn't exist anymore." I look at Chase questioningly, so she explains why. "Dimension skipping does have a side effect; it tires you out a great deal with every few skips. If you skip through an extreme number, as he did, it tires you out to the point that even sleep will not help. Unfortunately, he didn't know this. So when he died from this unusual side effect, he gave me the stone, so I could find a dimension that he never found... a dimension that he fit into." She looks at me while closing the box. "I don't need this anymore. I've found my place. So it will stay here until I give it to another person who doesn't seem to fit into this dimension."

"You once said you went through twenty-two dimensions before you found this one. How 'tired' did you become?"

Chase shrugs. "Let's just say I can sleep very well at night."

"Who exactly is this friend of yours?"

Chase looks surprised for a second, not expecting that question. "We both entered Team Rocket at the same. We went through training together because of that, so we became good friends. His family had given him the stone, since they were into witchcraft for centuries. Before he died, he told me a little about it, like how to use it and such, but a few hours later he slipped away. Any more questions?" she asks, half expectantly.

"One more before I shut up and we can get to work. As you can tell, I like to know a little about my boss," I say, thinking, especially if they have this interesting of a personal history! "Did you leave any family behind when you skipped dimensions?

Chase nods. "My mother and sister. In my dimension, children are allowed to leave home when they are ten. I don't know if they are allowed the same thing here. My sister and I got involved training Pokémon when we were older, however. I was fourteen and she was seventeen. I joined Team Rocket when I was seventeen, and my sister got involved in spiritual stuff. I'm now nineteen, and the last I heard, Cacille-"

I think, Cacille? Cool name.

"- had joined up with a group of aliens called Kats on their MoonStone project." She shrugs. "Those Kats are the reason I started dimension skipping, because I knew there would be no place for me if they joined up with Team Rocket, which they did. But I don't mind not having my family, because I was never

very close to them."

Suddenly, we hear two voices.

"Prepare for projection!"

"And make is astral!"

"To protect the world from Pokémon stealers!"

"To unite all people within the Astral Realm!"

"To denounce the evils of Earthal vibration!"

"To extend our reach to the fifth dimension!"

"Astra!"

"Vibro!"

"Team Astral; project off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or prepare to vibrate!"

Another voice chimes in, saying, "Moltres, that's projection!"

The second voice, which I'm guessing is a guy's, says, "You know, Astra is a little suicidal right now. Her grandpa might die in any time and now she finds out about Cacille who dies. She's a little crazy right now."

Astra suddenly appears in front of Chase and runs into her. Astra says, "What do you think you're doing?"

Chase replies with, "Me? Where did you come from?"

"The astral plane!"

Chase looks very strangely at Astra. "Who are you, what do you want, and what are you doing here?" I'm not completely sure, but I think I see a look on Chase's face that could've been translated as something like "I've heard the words 'astral plane' before... But where was it...?"

I ask quietly, "Chase, do you know her?"

She turns to me. "I don't think so, but she has one minute to explain herself and that other guy."

"Before what?"

"Before you see how deep my temper can go."

I think, Oh, crap... and turn to face them. I say to them, "Explain yourself now. I've already seen a small sample of how ticked Chase can get, and I don't really wanna see it again right now."

"Well?" Chase looks at her watch. "Thirty seconds left. Who are you and what is this 'team' you talk about?" She secretly whispers to me, "This person is a bit weird. She says she's on a team, yet I don't see the other person."

I think, Considering all the stuff that's happened to me, yeah, this is still weird...

Astra says, "Dude, don't put any more pressure on me than I already have! I'm about to break down any second."

I whisper to Chase, "She's suicidal anyway. If your bad side's killing, she wouldn't care."

Astra asks, "What's so funny?"

Chase replies with, "Nothing, but I don't want to be on my bad side right now."

"Your bad side?" Astra attempts to explain herself. "I am a member of Team Astral. We're on the side of Team Rocket, of course. We help them out on THE OTHER SIDE."

Vibro adds, "Yeah, we on Team Astral train our Pokémon not only on Earth, but in the Astral Plane, too! They can do so much more. They could float and they don't have to worry about running through doors! Isn't it great, Astra?"

"Just lovely," she says as she looks down.

Vibro they says, "Our Pokémon have new special attacks. Check it out!"

I must've zoned out from shock or something then, because the next thing I'm aware of is Chase getting off of the floor and saying, "I don't know why you're here or what you're planning, but both of you, wherever that other voice is coming from, could be very useful to me. Misty, what do you think?"

Wide-eyed, I nod slowly.

Chase turns to Astra and the voice. "So, what are you planning to do and how are you going to do it?"

A few days later I enter Chase's office as she talks to someone on the phone.

"Then we agree to the terms," I hear Chase say. "No ifs, ands, or buts. Remember, the shipment must be in Cerulean City by noon, one week from today," she ordered. "I have confidence in your abilities. Don't mess this up." She then hangs the receiver up, turns around, and notices I've arrived. "I hope he doesn't screw up again, Misty. He already has once... A few days before you arrived, in fact. He knows what will happen to him is he does screw up again. ... Problem is, he does such a great job, I'd almost regret killing him. Almost, but nowhere near enough to stop myself..."

"Don't worry, he won't screw up. I think he knows you're not kidding," I say, with a sudden evil feeling rising inside of me. I smile because of it.

Chase looks at me, slightly concerned. "Something wrong?"

"Nah. Just wondering what Jessy and James are doing right now." My smile changes to a smirk. "Nothing benefiting us, I'd be willing to bet."

"I'd take you up on that bet, but I know who'd win."

"What did they screw up in your home dimension?"

"They just tried to do the simple task of capturing a Pikachu. Of course, this is just too simple to be successful, and it's really of no use if they would capture it. That's why I assigned them the task of recruiting. Of course, everyone they try to recruit is immediately repulsed by the though of joining us. They just don't know how to convince."

I blink. "Just a Pikachu??"

"Well, they had a harder task of trying to kill the leader of the MoonStone expedition and take his wife, but... the Kats were smarter than they were, as almost anyone is. So later, Giovanni sent a 'friend', an evil clone with your exact name-"

"My exact name? Are you saying I'm in Team Rocket in any dimension I'm in?"

"No. Some you were good, others you were evil. The original Misty in my dimension was good, the clone evil. Most of the time you had no special abilities, except for that dimension and... this one..."

Suddenly, Chase's computer beeps with that annoying pre-programmed 'You've got mail' sound. Chase sits at her computer and reads it, while I read it from over her shoulder.

E-mail from Cassidy and Butch

Hello Boss. We recruited eight new members this morning and three more this afternoon. Not much, but it is only 2:30. We hope to have thirty by the end of the week.

"Excellent," Chase says as she closes the Internet connection.

I make a Pokéball out of ice. Chase sees it and goes slightly pale. "Please don't do that! It's reminding me of this morning!"

"Sorry. I was bored." A headache suddenly attacks me, almost sending me to the ground from the pain.

"What...?"

"A song came back to haunt me." I shake my head slightly, hoping it would make the headache go away a little faster. "I used to be active in a church choir before I found out about the ice thing. I quit so the others wouldn't see it, because religious people..." I scoff. They just don't understand."

"I agree! I hated church... even though my sister forced me to go often, in hopes that it would change my mind about my career. What song came back to you?"

"A song called Laudate pueri Dominum. It's Latin, translating to Ye Sons of Israel. Unfortunately, singing was sometimes the only thing that saved my sanity before I joined the team."

"Yeah. I used sing also, in my high school choir. However, I tired of it and all the comments about my 'beautiful voice', which I hated. Sometimes songs come back to me, but rarely. I quit choir when they wanted me to sing in an ensemble." Chase leans back in her chair, closing her eyes.

"Tired already? It's only 2:45."

"Yeah. I don't know why, but I lost a lot of energy after this morning's encounter."

"What they did to you was weird."

"I just couldn't fight back. I've never been unable to fight back. However, if they do it again, they'll die..."

"... What?"

"But... how do I kill people with no bodies?"

I leave soon after that because Chase falls asleep. Upon arriving the next day, I notice Chase throwing furniture around a room next to her office. She does this for several hours, with me just watching the whole time. Suddenly, like turning off a switch, she was done. She stopped for a few seconds, put her long hair into a ponytail, and simply shrugged and said, "Ok, I'm done."

I nearly facefault from not knowing this side of Chase well enough. Oh, my... I hope this day doesn't get any worse...

But it did. How? Jessy and James screwed up so much that the police got involved and were 'accidentally' led to Chase.

Stuff that I just don't want to go on about happens (but you can probably guess what it is), and then I follow Chase as we re-enter her office. "They are complete idiots. You have got to do something about them. Can't you make them smarter or something??"

Chase stops suddenly where she stands. "What... did you say?" she whispers.

"Can't you make them smarter or something? I'm sure the technology could be secured to do such a thing."

"It's already been done in my home dimension."

"Did it work?"

"No," she says in a low tone.

"Let me guess. You don't want to tell me?"

"You wouldn't believe me."

"I've believed everything else!"

Chase sighs and sits down in her chair. She faces towards a beautiful view of the outdoors. "James went crazy because of the treatment he received. In a dispute over the level of our authorities, he called over an unsuspecting Rocket. He took that Rocket's pistol, aimed it at me, and fired."

"And you used the blue stone to escape in time?" I ask softly, alarmed.

Chase does nothing but mumble a few words almost out of my hearing range. I almost ask Chase to repeat her words, but then it clicks and the mumbles become words. I fall completely silent for a minute, then Chase says, while turning halfway toward me, "Leave me for awhile." I do so, pondering the meaning of the mumbled, "I was killed."

After exiting Chase's office, I sit down across the hall from the door while thinking the same basic thing I had been thinking for the past five minutes, which was: O... k. If Chase got killed in her home dimension, how did she get here?

I guess I fell asleep, because the next thing I'm aware of is someone shaking me. When I see it's a cop, I think, What... what's going on? When I see none other than Jessy and James, I sit bolt upright and ask, "What may I do to help you?"

"We have come to charge a person known to us only as 'The Boss' for conspiring to capture Pokémon illegally for personal use."

"Please wait here for just a moment."

"All right." She takes hold of Jessy as I charge into Chase's office. Chase is still sitting, facing the window.

"The police have some to incite charges of conspiring!"

"Their basis being?" Chase asks darkly.

I look out the door, having been told nothing else that I remembered and wanted to get chewed out for. The two cops walk in, dragging Jessy and James behind them. "We caught the two activating plots to capture Pokémon illegally to be sent to 'The Boss', who we assume is you. Is this true?"

"I am the Boss, yes," Chase says while giving Jessy and James an evil look.

"Since you have been charged with conspiring to capture Pokémon illegally for your own use, we will need to talk with you. However, we will let you deal with these two beforehand. Just know that running out will mean you being jailed upon capture with no trial."

"I had no plans to do so, officers. Thank you," Chase says, calmly ushering the officers and me out of her office. I immediately put my ear to the door to listen, even though I have a feeling I'll be able to hear everything Chase says either way. Soon, her voice rises higher and higher in anger. I take my ear off the door to prevent myself from going deaf.

The rage goes on for over five minutes, and upon dismissal, Jessy and James run out the door, frightened. They almost knock over everyone in the hall. Chase calmly comes to the door and ushers the officers back in, while I'm stuck taking the now-terminated screw-ups to their new home... a far off island (supposedly in the middle of nowhere, but for some reason I do feel a little sorry for those incompetent idiots, plus I don't want them to go insane from lack of people after all, they're half insane now). I sigh and think, Ok, what island is farthest away from here that I know about? Mandarin Island? Tangello? Valencia? All I know is I can't tale 'em to Mikan island. Cissy's too cool to have them bug- on the other hand, if I make 'em go to Mikan Island, I have an excuse to visit my old friend on occasion...

I catch up with Jessy and James and say to them, "Meet me here, one week from tomorrow, so I can make sure you make it to your new home safely."

James asks, "How will we get there?"

"You'll find out."

Grasping the fact that I'm not going to tell him, he says, "Ok."

The week passes quickly. Once I was one hundred percent certain that Jessy and James would be going to Mikan Island, I started to train my Pokémon a little harder than usual, 'cause last I heard, Cissy

was the island's gym leader...

Jessy, James, and Meowth walk up to me. We're in a field that has only a few trees. Jessy asks, "Where's the transportation?"

"Still in its Pokéball." They blink as I get Ice's Pokéball out. "Come on out, Ice!"

None of the seem to notice that I have Articuno, and James asks, "What kind of stupid Pokémon nickname is that?"

"It's my Pokémon, right?" Jessy and James nod. "Then let me give it whatever nickname I want to."

Meowth then asks, "When are we leaving?"

"When the three of you shut up, that's when." They do so, and I think, They do a good job of behaving when there's someone watching them. Maybe Cissy or I can find someone to keep an eye on them when I'm not visiting. I get on Ice and say, "Coming?" They get on Ice after a moment's hesitation. I smile and think, I don't want them finding out about it because they're liable to tell the whole world, but with the ice thing, I've got a feeling that I'll be able to keep them under control... Then I say, "Ok, Ice, on to Viridian City!"

James asks, "Why Viridian City?"

"That's where we're gong to stay tonight. Tomorrow is when we make it to Mikan Island. It's a habit of mine when I have to go there, mainly."

"Oh, ok."

Since Jessy, James, and Meowth were soon enjoying (their) rare view of the land, I decided to practice some of my ice tricks. As I make a Pokéball, I think, Pretty easy for me now. What else could I do? ... Maybe a miniature replica of the Pokémon Tower, or Pokémon sculptures...

Suddenly Meowth looks at my hand and whispers, "What is that?" in my ear.

"Hmmm...? Oh, there's nothing there, Meowth. I think you're just seeing things." I make it melt and wait a few seconds before asking, "See anything now?"

"No."

"What do you think you saw?"

"A Pokéball made out of ice."

I sweatdrop. "You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Don't be surprised, but-"

"What?"

"-you might end up seeing one again someday. You might even see sheet ice in eighty-plus degree weather..."

"How do you know?"

I jokingly say, "I'm psychic, that's how." Actually, furball, I'm the damn ice machine. Have a problem with that? Too bad!

"Ya really are?"

"On occasion, yeah. Today just happens to be one of the good days."

We reach Viridian soon after the conversation ends, and I heal my Pokémon. Jessy, James, Meowth and I eat dinner, then go to sleep for the night.

The next day we leave, but end up sleeping most of the way to Mikan Island. At the Pokémon Center, I receive directions to the gym, and I am glad to hear that it is fairly close to my current location. Excited, I nearly drag Jessy, James, and Meowth along behind me. Jessy asks, "Why are you in such a hurry, gaki?"

"The leader of the gym on this island is an old friend of mine."

We reach the gym and enter it. "Cissy! Are you here?" I shout.

"Of course I'm here. Where else would I be?" The fact that she was at the gym didn't surprise me, but where the answer came from did. She was right behind me!

"Don't do that to me!"

She blinks. "Misty?"

"Yeah, it's me."

"What are you doing here?"

"I'm helping my 'friends' with their move to the island."

"I see... Ya in the mood for a battle?"

"... Not particularly. Maybe next time I'm here?"

"Ok, then."

I spend the rest of the day and part of the next hanging out with Cissy and helping Jessy, James and Meowth adjust to the island. At about noon, I set out, warning Jessy and James that I would call or visit them once every month or so, and that they were not to call me unless it was extremely important.

After that, I let Ice out and get on, telling him to fly to the Pokémon Center in Viridian City.

We arrive just as the sun is setting. I have Nurse Joy make sure Ice is OK, then I have a quick dinner, read a relatively short book (about 250 pages long), then go to sleep for the night.

After a dreamless night, I wake up when a group of kids enters the Pokémon Center. I groan and check my watch. "9:00? Guess I better get up." I eat breakfast and ponder what to do today. "... Gotta get some supplies for my buddies anyway. Why not go to Celadon City?"

Once I'm done with my breakfast and I'm ready to go, I step outside, blinking in the bright sunlight. I'm a little annoyed that I left my sunglasses in my room last time I was at home, but I shrug it off and reach into my pocket for a Pokéball and say "Come on out Ice! It's time to fly!" as I throw it.

When I arrive at Celadon City, I decide to go to the roof of the department store first thing to get a bottle of water. When I enter the building, the first thing I see is a wall of people. I sigh and think, There must be a sale today. Good thing I tend to be patient with this type of stuff. Slowly, I make my way to the elevator and board it. As the elevator proceeds to stop at every floor, I wonder if it might've been faster to take the stairs. After what seems like an eternity, the elevator stops at the fifth floor.

I walk out of the elevator and try to push my way through the crowd as I slowly make my way to the stairs up to the roof and the vending machines. I'm nearly dying from thirst, it seems, so I speed up slightly. I bump into someone. "Sorry!" I yell.

The guy I ran into turns to face me. "That's all right," he says. "... So, what's your name? Mine is Touya."

I get a good look at him and almost blush, but I stop myself. C'mon stupid, you're way too busy with work to have a boyfriend! "... Misty. ... What kinds of things do you like to do?"

He hesitates for a second, then says, "Actually, I've been trying to join Team Rocket lately, but I haven't run into anyone that's signing people up..."

I blink. "You haven't run into a recruiter yet? Where do you live and how do you train your Pokémon?"

"... I live in Moss Green Village and train around home except for when I'm taking on a gym leader or coming here... Why?"

"Just getting things so I understand them... Your route here doesn't take you past the Pokémon Center, does it?"

"Nope."

"... Then that may be why you haven't been stopped by a recruiter. ... I'm gonna be blunt here. Where you live is too small for recruiters to be placed there, and I noticed that the recruiters in this city were hanging around the Pokémon Center. Well, today at least..."

"How do you know that where I live is too small and who the recruiters even are?"

"... I don't know why I'm telling you this, but I am a Team Rocket member. In fact, I am the team's second in command."

He blinks. "Really? That's... kinda cool, actually."

I grin. "I could sign ya up… Hell, take you straight to the boss to sign up, even..."

"I'd like that."

"How 'bout we go tomorrow? Meet at the Pokémon Center at... 9:00?"

"See ya then."

The next day comes, and the first thing I am aware of is someone shaking me lightly to wake me up. "... Oh, hey... 'd I oversleep?"

"No, just eager to join."

"Don't blame ya."

"How long will it take to get there?"

"Not long, because my favorite Pokémon is in my party and knows Fly...Uh, could I have a little time to inhale some coffee before we go, though?"

"Sure. An hour sound good?"

"Perfect. See ya then."

The hour passes quickly. "Ready now?"

"Yeah."

We head outside and I throw a Pokéball out. "Come on out, Ice!" After Ice comes out of his ball, I pet him and ask how he's doing today. Ice coos, and I grin. "That's good. I guess you're willing to take a person to meet the boss, huh?"

Ice nods and grins.

I pause. "Sorry, my friend. Actually, I'd like to go to the Pokémon Center near home first. Touya, would I be correct in guessing that you still need to defeat Sabrina for her badge?"

He sweatdrops. "... Yeah, you would be."

"Don't worry about not having it. It just helps play into a plan that I've got."

"Care to clue me in?"

"We'll arrive in Saffron City, borrow some bikes and we'll both head to the gym."

"Why will you be going too? Do you still need to get the badge yourself?"

"No, I don't need it. That's just where that city's recruiters hang out."

"But you already recruited me-"

"They don't know that. They'll think that you're just a random trainer that may or may not be interested in joining the team. I'm gonna sneak up on them and when the right time comes, I'll surprise them."

"... Sounds like a plan, but if you're on your bike, won't they hear you coming?"

"Nah. I'm pretty good at sneaking up on them on it."

"Ok, then. Let's go, then."

We get on Ice and head out. A few hours later, we're in Saffron City. We heal our Pokémon, get a couple bikes, and pedal somewhat lazily in the direction of the gym until I say, "There they are. I'm going to

go now, so I can get in position."

"All right."

I speed up, turning onto a road that veers slightly away from Alan, Jake, and Sabrina. When I'm almost on them, I cut through a patch of trees, ending up about ten feet behind them. I move closer to them,

not saying anything and barely breathing. A few minutes later, Touya rides up on his bike. Alan approaches, saying, "I suppose you've heard those rumors that have been spread about Team Rocket lately, haven't you?"

Touya's tone is cordial. "Indeed I have. But they're only rumors, right?"

"That's right," Sabrina and Jake add in near unison as they step closer.

Jake adds, "Have you been thinking about joining Team Rocket?"

Touya nods. "Yes, for about three weeks now."

I move up until I'm right behind the three as Sabrina says, "So why don't we sign you up?"

"... Interested as I am, I think I'm going to have to say no."

"Why not?" She blinks.

I say in a low tone, "Because I already did." Alan, Jake, and Sabrina jump since they weren't expecting me, but I notice that Alan seems the least affected by it. It must be because he's the most used to

this kind of crap from me. I shrug inwardly.

"Misty, what the hell are you doing?" Alan asks.

"Spoiling your plans. I knew that you guys would be here, simply because so many trainers try to get their Marsh Badges each day."

Sabrina asks, "Why here, though?"

"I knew that it'd be a well-frequented spot so you'd have better luck, ne? I just guessed that it'd be the gym instead of the Pokémon Center, and I turned out to be right. I know that you're not the best at

talking people into doing stuff, after all."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. You already had him signed up anyway."

Ano... Not quite. "If you were good enough, he would have wanted to sign up regardless."

"Hate to interrupt the verbal battle here," Touya interjects at this point, "but I'm gonna go ahead and get my badge."

"All right. Good luck!" Not that I think you need it. "So, how good of a job are you doing getting new members for the team?"

"The best we've done so far," Jake says, "is eighteen new members in a week. Our average seems to hover around ten to twelve per week."

"Most of those don't seem to happen until the weekend, though," Alan adds.

Blinking once, I ask, "What's that got to do with anything?"

"Nothing..."

I cock my head, a grin on my face now. "You're skipping out during the week sometimes, aren't you?"

"Yeah."

"... I won't tell Chase this time, but don't do it again, k? Last time she got pissed at Jessy and James, she yelled at them for over five minutes. I'm surprised that I didn't get a headache from it."

"How do you know it was that long?" Sabrina asks.

"Stopwatch feature on my watch."

"Must be a new watch then. How long have you had it?"

"Nah, it's the same old one. I just got bored one day and started messing with the extras..."

The small talk continues for about twenty minutes longer, until Touya comes out of the gym with a wide grin on his face. Resisting a sudden urge to hug him, a smile finds its way to my own lips as I say, "I guess you got it?"

"Sure did."

"Great. Ready to go meet Chase?"

"Sure am. Let's go."

"All right. Bye, you three."

They glare at me when they realize that I haven't officially signed him up, but grudgingly say, "See you later."

Touya and I ride our bikes to the building where Chase's office is. When the building is in sight, I tell Touya to follow me when I enter the office.

I enter the office, leaving the door open like I'm expecting someone to follow me. "Well, I got rid of them," I say in greeting.

"Good."

"I also got a new member for the team. He should be right behind me."

"He's not, though."

I blink. "What?" I ask in a monotone, then sigh. "Excuse me for a minute," I add before turning and entering the hallway. "Tou-ya, I thought you wanted to join the team!"

"Considering, I'm nervous."

"Heh. Should have figured, but based on me being not really nervous when I joined… Yeah. Gomen. Ready to go in now?"

"Yep."

As I enter the room again, a guy that's about 6' 3" with brown eyes and wavy dark hair follows me. "Chase, this is Touya. I met him a few days ago in Celadon City. Touya, do you have any questions for Chase?"

"Actually, I do." He looks at Chase. "Do you know who the Viridian gym leader is?"

I whisper to him fiercely, "What the hell kind of question is that?"

"A pretty good one, I think, since eventually we'll both need to know."

I sweatdrop. "Ah, yeah. That is a good point… So Chase, for the record, who is the Viridian gym leader?"

"Well, if I remember from my dimension, it was Giovanni…"

Eh? There's that name again… Wonder who he is/was…

"I think it should be the same he-" She stops for a moment. "Oh my…" She smiles. "It's… me." She giggles for a second. "I didn't think taking over a dimension would lead to this particular turn of events." She laughs evilly. "Looks like I'm more powerful than I thought." She looks at me.

I blink. "You are? That means… I'll have to battle you when I need that badge?"

"No, you won't have to," Chase replies.

"If you're the gym leader, then why not?"

"Well… Not that I like to admit it, but I am a terrible trainer. Most of the Pokémon that I have were caught by my sister. I'm afraid I just don't have the patience," she says somewhat darkly. "And my Pokémon are barely over level thirty. I only got to the second badge before I joined Team Rocket, right after the 'famous' bridge."

"So who is going to be the gym leader?"

"We'll have to see who is qualified. Perhaps Astra and Vibro are, but if they want the chance to see, they have to come back. And if they don't come back or aren't qualified, we'll just have to do a search."

"May I get started in the meantime? I want to be prepared, since I don't think…"

"Go for it. I don't really think that will happen, either."

Then I leave the office to search for a new gym leader. I spend about a month wandering around on my bike, going from small villages to big cities and everywhere in between to battle with trainers that hoped to be the new gym leader. By the time I made my way to a small town near Fuchsia City I know that my search is almost over. About an hour later, as I wander through the town enjoying the sights and sounds, I hear a girl say, "Hey, aren't you the one that's looking for a gym leader?"

I grin. "Yeah, I am. I guess you want to test your best against my powerful team, am I right?"

"That you are! How do you want this battle to go?"

"I'll play it nice and let you pick the style."

"… In that case, how about best of three?"

"Sounds all right to me." The battle is one of the longest ones I've had during my serach, and the girl barely wins. "… What's your name?"

A confused look crosses the girl's face. "It's Travica."

"Travica. All right, good battle. This was my first loss in quite some time, especially considering my search. Want to guess what that means?"

"I'm the gym leader now?"

"That's right! Want to go tell your family?"

"O… ok."

We head to a nearby neighborhood. On the way to Travica's house, we run into a few of her neighbors who get to hear her good news. One person even tells me that Travica had always wanted to be a gym leader, even long before she was a trainer. That person even tells me Travica had said something recently about being a gym leader, yes, but "not as a normal gym leader" he recalls with a note of confusion in his voice. I understand, of course, but say nothing because I don't have a chance as Travica returns, barreling down the sidewalk on her bike, yelling, "C'mon, Misty, let's go!"

Grinning, I say good-bye to the neighbor, get on my bike, and lead Travica to where we're going."

Once we reach the building I now know as my second home, Travica get off our bikes, put them in the bike rack, and go inside. The walk to the office is a quiet on as Travica starts to learn her way around. As we reach Chase's office, I hear her say, "- if Misty found a new gym trainer yet..."

Thinking, Perfect timing! I open the door and walk in, followed by Travica and her Persian. I say, with a hint of excitement in my voice, "I've solved the gym leader problem." Travica and Persian move closer to Chase's desk. "Chase, this is Travica."

Chase smiles a bit, even though she looks like she's got a bad headache or something. "Welcome. Has Misty told you why you are needed in this team?" She puts here head in her hand for a few seconds and grimaces. "I'm sorry, I have a bit of a headache."

"I know, that's why I came." Travica replies.

"We really need a gym leader," Chase says, a lot louder than normal. "Sorry, I don't mean to yell, by my headache is really severe and aspirin never really helps it."

Travica giggles slightly. Chase seems to take it in stride. After all, Travica was nervous and that did sound a little funny.

Chase smiles a bit, but it doesn't last long and she turns to me. "Do you trust her?"

I nod. "Based on what I've been told, she has always wanted to run a gym, but not as a "normal" gym leader. She's backed this idea up with proof from neighbors that I have listened to."

Chase nods. "You're in, Travica, starting immediately." A few seconds later, though, she looks disturbed for some reason.

Considering Chase is in a good mood, I dare to ask her, "… Chase, is anything wrong?"

"No, Misty, just an idea based on an old memory."

I blink a few times. "Huh?"

"Come. I will tell you on the way."

I follow Chase, who is walking faster than normal for some reason. "So, when ya going to tell me what the hell's going on?"

Chase stops. "I don't like to talk about it much, but we're going to a mental hospital."

"And just why are we doing that?"

"Because many people who are called crazy… are exactly like me."

"… You want to see if we can find more members there…"

"Yes. If only to rescue them from that hell, if they are interested in joining and are capable of doing the job."

"We do need all the people that we can get… How many of them do you expect to join?"

"Perhaps there won't be any; perhaps there will be a few. I don't know… I just know that if there are any people there like me…" Chase goes quiet. A few seconds later a frown appears… Soon after that she looks pissed off.

… Oh, crap.

Then we arrive. We're walking by some rooms when Chase and I see a particularly familiar person. Chase yells, "Astra! What are you doing here?!"

… What the… How the hell did she get in there?

Astra looks at us. "What?" she asks, her face very pale. She shouts, "I knew it! They're all out to get me!" Then she mumbles something that only Chase can hear and Chase tells me what Astra said. Then Astra says,"Well, I'll be back in my team; I just need to get out of my body and transfer my physical body out of here. Hee heeee, no signs of escape; just a disappeared body gone out of existence but- They have cameras here watching… hearing my plans-Aaaahhhh!!"

Chase looks at me, then Astra, then back at me. "…How did she get in here?"

Shrugging, I say, "I don't know about you, but I'd say that since she has a plan, let's leave her to it."

"Good… idea..." she says slowly, turning and walking past Astra's room.

The next day when I wake up, the first thought that pops into my head (besides "It is too damn early to be up. It's only ten a.m.") is that today would be a good day to head to Mikan Island to check on Jessy and James. Since I stayed up pretty late last night, I decide to sleep as Ice flies to Mikan Island.

After I arrive and wake up, I walk in the direction of Cissy's gym. About halfway there, I hear a noise. Surprised that it sounded like James, I follow it to a small shack about 100 feet away out of a mixture of curiosity, concern, and being put in charge of them in the first place. I step into the doorway of the shack. Yeah, it's small, but it's well-kept with some furniture. Jessy is comforting James for some reason, and a Growlithe is sitting on James's left, looking like it is ready to attack any possible intruders if only it would be given an actual attack command. As soon as it notices me, it starts barking. Jessy and James look at me, then James pets the Growlithe and says, "You can quit barking, Growly. She's a friend."

I walk the rest of the way to them and sit down near Jessy. "What's up?" I ask.

James sighs. "Nothing you can help with, Misty."

I think, Try me. Darn, I'm not gonna get him to talk. Must've been horrible… I'll wait if I have to. I say, "If you don't want to talk, you don't have to. But if and when you want to, I'm willing to listen."

"But you're leaving soon, aren't you?"

"Yes, but you can call me if you need to." I dig a card out of my pocket and hand it to him. "This is my pager number. If you want to talk you can page me and I'll get back to you ASAP."

"Ah, OK."

Suddenly I notice Meowth isn't here. "Where's your furry friend?" I ask.

Jessy answers. "He's hanging out at the gym. I think Meowth likes Cissy."

"Huh, really? Well, since you seem convinced that I can't help you, I guess I'll go visit them for a bit. See ya."

James says, "Bye. See you later."

Jessy whispers to me, "I'll call you to explain later."

"Ok. The number I gave you when I brought you guys here is my cell phone. I don't have it on all the time, but just keep trying till you get me or leave a voicemail message."

"All right, I'll talk to you then. Bye."

"Bye, Jessy." As I make my way out the door, I hear Jessy say, "James, don't you worry! Even though that brat's bent on marrying you, it is not going to happen!

Thinking, Poor James…, I make my way to the gym. When I enter I hear the sounds of a battle going on, so I rush to the main part of the gym. Cissy's battle is against a guy that looks like he's only about ten or eleven. Another guy is there that looks about… maybe fifteen, and there's a girl that looks like she's about the age of the first guy and a Pikachu. A Squirtle and a Seadra are being pitted against each other.

The first thing I hear is the girl say, "Well, which one, Tracey?"

The older boy says, "It… looked like Squirtle hit it first."

Cissy replies, "Looked that way to me too. I hate to admit it, but you just got your badge, Ash."

Ash shouts, "All right! I got my Coral-Eye badge!"

The Pikachu makes a v-sign with its stubby little fingers and says "Pi pikachu!"

Tracey says, "Great!"

They leave and I walk up to Cissy. "Who do you think that kid was?"

"Like I would know? No doubt he's not local though."

I look around. "Where's Meowth? I was told that he was here drooling over you."

"He was, but for some reason, he ran like hell when those kids and that Pikachu came in here," she says with a shrug.

"I guess he'll be back soon."

"Yeah. Why are you here?"

"Decided to visit the island to check up on them for the heck of it."

"Ah."

Meowth nervously peeks around a corner. "Are they gone yet?"

"Yes," I say, "but why are you scared of them?"

"I'm not scared of them. It's just that Jessy, James, and I aren't exactly on the best terms with 'em."

Cissy asks, "And why's that?"

Meowth sweatdrops. "… I can't tell you that."

I whisper to Meowth, "If we leave the gym, could you tell me?"

"Hmmm. I guess so."

"Ok." I turn my head to Cissy. "Meowth just told me that he wants to go home for the day. I'm going to walk with him, ok?"

She shrugs. "Whatever. See ya."

"Bye." Meowth and I exit the gym and sit under a tree. "Ok, Meowth. What's up with you not being on good terms with those kids?"

"When Jessy, James, and I were on the team, the Pikachu was one of the Pokémon that we tried to steal."

"I bet if you had just been sitting by Cissy, not saying anything, they wouldn't have known it was you…"

"Eh, I probably would've messed up and talked. I didn't wanna take any chances."

"Good point. Want me to take you home- Is that place even your home now?"

Yeah, it is. Cissy's family had it but didn't use it often."

"That's cool. You probably should go home. When I stopped by, a Weezing and Growlithe were guarding James for some reason."

Meowth sweatdrops. "Growly and Weezing were guarding James?"

I nod. "Yup."

"I'd better go now."

"Ok, see you next time, Meowth."

As soon as the words leave my mouth, Meowth is off like a shot. I think, Wow, things must be pretty damn bad if James won't talk and Meowth takes off like that… But what?

Leaving it at that for now, I start to head back to my second home. After all, duty calls, and I sure wasn't in the mood to have Chase yell at me for something stupid.

Eventually, I make my way back to Chase's office again, and enter, asking, "Well, what have I missed while I was gone?"

Astra says, "Well, you've missed the possible coming of two new people."

I blink. "Is that all?"

Chase nods. "Not much worth noting has happened." She sits down at her desk and starts on some of the paperwork lying in her inbox. After muttering to herself about something (… I think I caught the phrase "need a secretary") for a minute or so, she says, "That's it!"

"… What exactly is it?" I ask as the others just look at Chase strangely.

"A new idea… A new way of doing things…"

As if on cue, a girls bursts through the door and looks around quickly, stopping when she sees Chase. She says, "I am here to meet with the one called Chase Stargazer. I was sent by Team Astral." She strikes a pose.

Chase stands up. "You've found her. Team Astral sent you? Strange, they have not yet told me about you. Though they do tend to be a little messed up mentally sometimes… What are your intentions?"

"I am here to help your team reach its ultimate goal, the same things Team Astral believes in. I am here to help you take over everything." She smiles wickedly.

"Everyone, leave us."

Suddenly, but almost painfully at the same time, Alan says "Hey Misty?"

"Yeah?" I answer.

"… The day you invited me to join Team Rocket… I was heading back to my room after you went to Jake's, but outside of your room, I slipped on something and almost fell… It looked like ice. You know anything about why it happened?"

My eyes narrow, but I'm nervous too. "Why would I, even though it was outside my room? Hadn't it been like three weeks or a month since the last time I had been in my room?"

"About that long, yes… Quit screwing around and answer one question. Please?"

"What would that question be: 'Did you really do that?'"

"Well, yeah, it would be."

I close my eyes for a second, then sigh. When my eyes open, there are tears of desperation in them. "… First I have to ask: Do you promise not to tell if I say yes?"

"Of course I do."

"Hold out your hands and close your eyes," I order with a mischievous grin suddenly appearing on my face. No peeking or you will really know if it was me… Not like I meant to do that, but I will admit that I did.

Alan obeys, and I concentrate on making a perfect replica of a Pikachu out of what now feels like my oldest friend. About a minute later I grin, brush a still-cold finger against my cheek for the heck of it, and place the little thing in my brother's cupped hands. He opens his eyes to stare at an intricately detailed model of a Pikachu that stands at about six inches tall. "This is your way of saying yes?" he asks incredulously.

I nod. "One of the best Pokémon for me to make a frozen figurine of, considering I've got my cute little Sparky 'chu for inspiration."

"… Well, yeah."

I check my watch. "Wanna see my rarest Pokémon?"

"Sure, why not?"

"Let's go outside. Considering its wingspan, it's a bigger Pokémon." I say, dragging Alan into the clearing near the house. Once we reach the clearing I grin. "C'mon out, Ice!" I shout playfully, tossing a sparkly light blue Pokéball with snowflakes etched into it. "Time to officially meet my oniichan!"

" … I know that you're a great trainer, but how did you manage to capture Articuno?" Alan asks.

"Actually, I was just roaming around in an area where it was rumored to be. I was just hoping to catch a glimpse, really. It came to me after awhile… Like we were calling out to each other." I chuckle. "Sounds

too damn cliché, doesn't it? But it's true; he practically begged me to be his trainer."

"I see. And what the hell do you mean … 'Officially meet my oniichan'?"

"Exactly that. I mean, Ice has heard stories about you from me and seen you as we were flying over Saffron several times… but, you know? Heh," I add as Ice comes out of his Pokéball. "Alan, meet my Articuno, nicknamed Ice. Ice, my oniichan Alan."

"What kind of soda do you want, Jake?" I hear coming from an open window.

"… Oh, shi-" I recall Ice and take off running to enter the house through the kitchen door, ending up by the kitchen table. Before Sabrina had a chance to fully acknowledge my presence, I scoop the frozen Pikachu off the table.

"Neechan, what the hell…?"

"Something wrong, Sabrina?" Jake asks as he enters the kitchen. "Oh. Hi Misty, Alan," he adds as he notices I'm in the kitchen and Alan's entering the kitchen from outside.

"Hey, J-man," Alan says as he walks up to me and stops.

"Heya, wassup?" I add as I catch my breath.

Sabrina raises an eyebrow. "You could start by telling us exactly why you're making such a mad dash for the kitchen table… when the only person in here at the time was myself."

"Ano… 'cuz I've got something pretty in here today, but it's breakable and we all know that you're a klutz," I say jokingly as I gather my bearings and the Pikachu figure.

"Hey, that one time was only because Sparky was wandering around the house and I almost tripped over him!" she throws back incredulously. "… Could I see it?"

I sweatdrop. "… Remember that "see" doesn't mean "touch" and it's cool, I guess." Out of the corner of my eye, I think I see Alan wince at the pun. I wink at him, and he plays along by joining Jake and Sabrina, who are looking at me expectantly by this point. I open my hands up, bringing the frozen Pikachu into view again. Ack, slightly melted. Not enough for them to notice, I hope.

"That is cute," Jake says. "Where did you get it?"

"I don't remember for certain. One of those villages that I went through when I was looking for a gym leader for Viridian, I think, but don't ask me to remember the name of the place. I had it with me because last time I went to see Cissy I took it with me to show to her. Any other questions for me?"

"Nope," Jake replies.

"I've got nothing," Sabrina adds.

Alan's turn. "Honestly? At least one, but I think you might be more comfortable answering them on the way to your room. You two, no following or I won't try to stop her if she decides to sic Sparky on ya."

"O-ok," they promise, sweatdropping.

We step into the hallway and close the kitchen door. "Why didn't you -"

"Why didn't I tell my darling oniichan? You've seen about as many of that type of movie as I have. The ones that did tell tended to get the label "nuts" or "freak", didn't they? Well, I didn't want somebody that I chose to tell to say that to me, especially someone I love, because as far as I'm concerned it's old news but it'd hurt like hell regardless." I accelerate the melting of the figure as we walk, so that by the time we reach my bedroom, there's nothing left. We enter my room, with Alan sitting at my desk and myself lying on my bed, right next to my desk.

"Hey, what did you do with it?"

"It's been melted and absorbed into the hallway carpet."

"… Without using hot water to melt it?"

"Yup."

"Can you do that with any ice, or just your own?"

"Haven't really tried it with other ice. The times I was bored enough to attempt it, I wasn't good enough at manipulating the temperature of mine to notice much of a difference between either one. I haven't been that bored lately. Guess I could try it again sometime soon. I'll let you know the results when I do, ok?"

"Ok... How long have you been able to do that?"

"Since my fifteenth birthday."

"Have you noticed if you've started making stupid... "inside puns" more than usual compared to before then?"

"I wouldn't say more than usual, but sometimes they do... slip out." I grin.

"Smartass."

"What are you, a "noob"? Of course I am."

Alan raises an eyebrow. "And speaking of things slipping..."

"What? A friend pointed out a webcomic that uses the "language" because one of the characters speaks that way sometimes. I may be one of the most casual gamers in the world, but I found the language to be amusing. I originally picked up a bit to read some comics from that site that had it so heavy that they had translation boxes in-panel. I think it's helped in other ways, though. When Chase was looking for some computer people, I'd say it helped me decide which ones I could recommend to her.

"So, have you tried yet?"

"Actually, I have."

"And you didn't tell me because...?"

"Becuase it was only a few days ago and I forgot about it till now. I ended up in the break room and remembered to try it. turns out, like I thought it might, that it being mine does make a difference when I'm forcing it. Not too much, though. When mine had melted completely, there was about a marble-sized piece of the other left."

"Forcing it?" A familiar male voice, but not the one I was expecting to respond.

I turn my head. "Ah, J-baka, I thought that was you."

He punches me lightly on the shoulder. "How many times to I have to tell you not to call me that?"

I stick my tounge out at him for a second before replying with, "Probably as many times as I've told you not to sneak up on me recently. Besides, what's wrong with being called "Silly J"?"

"I'm Kenji. What's your name?"

"… Call me "kouri gaki"?"

"… "Ice brat"? Why?"

"I like it. Can't that be enough?"

"I guess so."

"Thanks, Kenji."

"I hear that you are Misty, second in command of Team Rocket."

I raise an eyebrow at the girl. "Who are you and how do you know exactly how high up I am in the team?"

"Watashi wa Hane desu."

"Wing? That's a rather unusual name, but I can tell it's a fitting name for you. You're interested in joining the team, aren't you?"

"Yes, I am."

"I should have known." I grin. "Seems like at least half the people that want to initiate a conversation with me now are people knowing full well that I'm recruiting for the team. I can't have been the first person that you've come across that's been recruiting for the team, though."

"You are the only one that I deem worthy enough to recruit me."

"I see... Still, who told you how high I am?"

"... I think he said his name was Jake. Why?"

"Just wanting to know who gets punched for no apparent reason... He was with a guy and a girl that looked a little like me, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then yeah, that's Jake."

"Yes, I am a Team Rocket member. It's not bad to have a job that you like, is it? Beats a fast food place, anyway. If I worked there, I'm sure I'd just want to hide somewhere and sleep at least half the day away."

"Good point, Misty."

"Damn straight."

What a day. I need to give Jake an old-school butt-kicking for it, too. Overall, I'm just viewing this as taking one for the team, though. I haven't had to truly do that for awhile, at least in my warped opinion.

What was it that Jake did? He directed one of the most... interesting recruit wannabes my way and she caught up to me today. My opinion of Hane would be that she'd be a good catch overall, but she would definitely have to be kept well in check. I get the impression that if her reins are somehow too loose, she might try to usurp both of us in time. Regardless, I've sent her to you with the standard "Hi guys. This is one of my picks" note for the guards. She should be there in about three days... Well, more along the lines of four if you're overworking yourself again today.

I hope that you don't mind me sending the occasional person straight to you after I've given them a once-over. From what I've noticed during the very short stint I had at a fast-food place, and even more so since I'm joined you, is that at least something like this makes for a bit of a good distraction once in awhile.

I'll go ahead and let you go now. I don't want to take too much of your time, whether you're reading this five minutes after I send it or the next morning.

(-M-)