James groaned as he stirred awake, the sounds of waves rolling against the coast and the burning rays of the sun beating down on him striking his mind instantly. The last thing he remembered, he was being thrown across the ocean in a careening balloon with his team… they must have hit the water and washed ashore, he reasoned.
Picking himself up, James sighed. Fantastic, he thought to himself as he shook his head, sending grains of sand flying from his blue bangs. He was tired, his body hurt, and now, his clothes were going to itch terribly from all the sand in them.
Another groan to his left caught his attention, and as he looked around, James spotted his cohorts in crime dragging themselves from unconsciousness in similar situations. Another sweep of his eyes across the beach showed the ruined remains of their balloon, little more than cloth and kindling in the sand.
James pushed himself to his feet with a groan, brushing himself off before checking his belt and letting out a sigh of relief when his hands closed around his Pokeballs. For a brief moment, he considered letting Koffing and Gyarados out to check on them, but when he remembered exactly what had caused their current situation, he thought better. He could check on them later. For now, he simply brought Gyarados' Pokeball to his eyes, checking a display on the underside and sighing once more in relief as he confirmed that the Atrocious Pokemon was indeed back inside, and not lost to the sea.
"What in da world happened!?" Meowth cried, shaking himself violently as sand flew from his fur all over. "First I hear dat da mission's a success, den yous two blow our escape!?"
James glared quietly at Jessie as the woman pushed herself up, wringing the water out of her hair. "Somebody decided it was a good idea to kick my Pokemon overboard," he snapped out.
Jessie snapped upright before rounding on him. "You're blaming me!?" she shrieked indignantly. "You're the one that came back from that mission with a Magikarp of all things, and then you leapt overboard after that useless fish!"
James found himself grinding his teeth in anger. "That 'useless fish' was the very thing that almost ended your life!" he yelled. "If I hadn't done something, you would have been dust in the wind!"
The two glared at each other angrily, advancing on one another as they reached for their Pokeballs, ready and willing for things to devolve into violence. They both froze suddenly, however, before howling in pain as searing pain erupted over their faces, crimson scratches appearing upon their skin as Meowth stood up, turning to them as he retracted his claws.
"I don' care WHAT happened back dere," the Scratch-Cat snarled. "But you's two need to cut dis out so we can get outta here!"
Hissing through his teeth in pain, James sighed before nodding. "Fine," he muttered, before looking around in confusion. "Wherever 'here' is… I have no idea where we washed up…"
Jessie grumbled to herself as she glanced at their wrecked balloon. "Looks like any equipment we might've had is toast too," she pointed out. "And any paper maps we had…"
"Are mulch," Meowth confirmed. "No wattaproof sleeves. Guess we're walkin'."
Groaning in resignation, Jessie and James nodded, and the trio turned to begin the likely long and tiring trek from their crash site to whatever signs of civilization they could find. Along the way, frustrated with feeling of sand and sea against his skin, James found himself discarding his Rocket uniform overshirt and simply walking in a black tee shirt and white pants - Jessie likewise discarded her shirt, wandering along in her crop top and skirt, her long red hair hanging down her back for once as it dried.
After a short time, the trio found themselves walking along what looked like an old, abandoned minecart track, though Meowth noted that the rails themselves seemed almost brand new. They had decided to follow the tracks in the hopes that they would lead the trio back to a mining town of some kind, no matter how small, and from there they could make their way back to Kanto proper.
A rumbling sound in the distance caused the trio to pause, listening intently to try and figure out which direction the noise was coming from. Staring into the distance, the group was shocked to see a train of not mine carts, but some other form of raised cart train speeding towards them, filled with youngsters screaming excitedly.
His eyes widening suddenly, James grabbed both Jessie and Meowth and pulled them back just as the train sped past, a rush of wind nearly knocking the trio off their feet.
"What da heck, James!?" Meowth cried out. "What's da big idea!?"
James didn't answer, taking deep breaths as he tried to calm his racing heart down. Jessie frowned, watching after the train in confusion. "Why does that remind me of something…?" she muttered to herself.
"That…" James panted, pausing to help the others to their feet. "Was the Gravelrock Gold Rush…"
His eyes widening, Meowth turned to stare after the train himself. "Da rolla coasta from Pokemon Land?" he asked incredulously, to which James simply nodded quietly. As they stared after the coaster, the face of an overly-large Rhydon seemed to rise over the horizon, its arms raised dramatically as it 'roared' mechanically at where the coaster had likely passed.
"Guess we know where we are, at least…" Jessie muttered.
Following the track all the way to its source, making sure this time to give it a wide berth, the trio eventually found themselves in the main hub of Pokemon Land. After being chewed out by the ride operators for being on the wrong side of the safety barriers, until they explained that they were lost at sea and simply washed ashore not knowing where they were, at which time the operator's tone shifted and she instead directed them towards the gift shop, handing over a pair of cards decorated with the Pokemon Land logo.
Confused, Jessie and James made their way into the gift shop, with Meowth keeping quiet to maintain the guise of being a regular Pokemon. When they showed the clerk their cards, she smiled at them and told them they could help themselves to anything in the store, and congratulated them on winning.
"Must be some kind of prize you can get in the park…" Jessie muttered as they walked further into the store. "That girl gave them to us… maybe for new clothes?"
"Makes sense," James shrugged, casually flicking through a rail of merchandise. "Hopefully we can find something that isn't tacky or garish…"
Rolling her eyes, Jessie made her own way to a different rail. "Okay there, mister fashion expert," she taunted, before grabbing an outfit and making her way to the changing rooms, with James soon following. Meowth sighed, jumping onto a bench to wait for the duo as he looked around, listening casually to people's conversations to try and gather any useful information.
A short while later, James stepped out of the changing booth he had claimed, now sporting a pair of Sandshrew-patterned boots, simple blue jeans, and a teal-coloured shirt covered with pink flower patterns. Not long after, Jessie joined them, her own outfit consisting of a pair of beige slip-on sandals, dark grey three-quarter length pants, and a blue tee-shirt with a Squirtle face under a short-sleeved black jacket.
The clerk at the desk rung their items up with a smile, swiped their card, and handed them both a tote bag with the logo for the theme park printed on the side with a 'Have a nice day!', and never ones to pass on free stuff, the trio simply nodded politely and were on their way out of the door.
"So…" James said as they made their way towards the park's exit. "What now?"
"I don't know," Jessie muttered in response. "I suppose… find a phone? Call in a pickup to take us back to the mainland?"
"Dat would be the best ting," Meowth chimed in, pausing for a moment as they all glanced at a pay phone at the park's gateway. "Or we find our own way back."
James nodded to himself at the thought. "I could get behind that idea. A bit of time away from missions and assignments would be nice."
"And we are in one of the best holiday locations in all of Kanto right now," Jessie provided. "I think Porta Vista is only a few hour's walk away, in fact."
"Plenty of ferries coming and going from there."
"Lots of time to recuperate from a harrowing field accident."
"An' some chances for you's two ta get stronga!"
Two fists impacted the top of the Scratch-Cat's head, leaving the feline Pokemon in a dazed heap on the ground as Jessie and James continued their walk.
"He's not wrong though," James mused. "Even if we just spar with one another, we could use some better training than… none."
"I know," Jessie sighed. "Just don't let that pompous cat know he was right."
James smirked, nudging her with an elbow playfully. "Obviously. If Meowth's head got any bigger we wouldn't need a new balloon!"
"Koffing, use Sludge!"
Koffing let out a gurgle of a cry, before spitting out its sickly purple liquid, which splashed over the Oddish it was facing off against. The young trainer that had challenged them let out a cry of anguish as her Pokemon stumbled back in a daze before falling over, out cold.
Letting out a sigh, the girl recalled her Oddish before smiling. "That was a good battle, mister!" She said before turning and running off into the distance. "Have a good vacation!"
"You too!" James called back almost automatically, before he turned to Jessie and Meowth. "Wow, that's three victories today alone. Koffing's doing great!"
"Ekans isn't doing bad either," Jessie offered, rolling her serpent Pokemon's ball around in her hand. "I wonder what's different?"
Meowth scoffed from his position above the two, resting on a tree branch where he'd had a better view of the battle. "Da diff'rence is dat you's two are using ya heads fa once!"
"That and these trainers are pretty weak," Jessie chuckled. "I wonder if we could even catch some new Pokémon around here?"
As the trio pondered the thought, their travels took them over the crest of a hill, revealing the sprawling white-sand beaches of Porta Vista proper ahead of them. The resort town stretched off into the distance on their right, while to their left the sea sprawled for miles until it vanished into the horizon.
"Huh, guess we made more progress than we thought…" Jessie mused as the trio hurried down to the beach, knowing they were just one step closer to reaching home. As their stomachs all gave a lurch and a groan, however, Jessie sighed. "Does anybody have any cash?"
Surprising her, James quite readily held out his wallet, which seemed to be bulging with unspent notes. "You weren't paying attention, but all of those trainers we beat handed us money as a prize. Seems a standard wager is in place between most League trainers which lets them support one another through battle. Who knew?"
"Lunch is on James!" Meowth cut in, laughing as he leapt up to snatch the wallet and run ahead of the group. "I'm gettin' an all-you-can-eat fish platter!"
Instead of getting upset, James just smiled and chuckled to himself. "Technically that's our money anyways," he said, noticing Jessie's questioning gaze. "I was just keeping it safe. Since we're technically 'MIA' right now we can't exactly go charging things to the Team Rocket account."
"True," Jessie mused. "But we're going to have to report in eventually before they declare us lost. If they haven't already."
The two then quickened their pace, hurrying to catch up to their feline companion as they saw him staring at a menu in the distance. As they got closer they laughed as they noticed that the Scratch-Cat Pokemon was salivating over the seafood selection, and James bent down to snatch his wallet back as they beckoned for Meowth to follow and made their way inside.
The beachside restaurant turned out to be owned and run by an elderly ex-sailor by the name of Moe Briney, who served them happily as he regaled them with tales of his adventures around the world with his brother and their Pokémon. James payed generously for the service, even when Meowth hissed criticism in his ear when he did so, mostly because the entire time they were there all the trio could hear from outside was a wave of verbal abuse being hurled at Moe from a neighboring restaurant run by a rough-looking woman they were told was named Brutella.
The trio shared a smirk as they continued on their way, having sent Koffing into one of Brutella's open windows to fill her kitchen with noxious smog.
Not much farther down the beach, a crowd had gathered around a large stage. As the group approached to inspect the spectacle, they discovered that Porta Vista's annual Beach Beauty Bikini Contest was underway, boasting a number of prizes with the top being a large lump sum of cash. Letting her vain personality get the best of her, Jessie quickly pushed her way to the front to enter, sending James off with the task of finding her a flattering swimsuit that was sure to net her the victory.
And so it was that, when the competition got underway a few hours later, Jessie strutted confidently out onto the stage in a flattering crimson two-piece, with her Ekans draped elegantly over her shoulders after being treated with a special oil to make her scales shine in the sunlight. Other contestants tried to protest that she was cheating, but Jessie could only smirk as the judges ruled her appeal to be perfectly legal - Meowth had taken the time to read over the rules, and appeals using the contestant's Pokemon to accentuate their beauty were in fact not just legal, but encouraged in order to show that true beauty came from cooperation with your partners.
Or something like that.
After the competition had been cut down to a mere sixteen women, the second round began, revealed to be a knockout-style tournament where the winner was determined not just through strength, but visual appeal. Supposedly this was Porta Vista's homage to the Contest Circuit, as their resort island had been deemed too remote to be accepted as a regular stop for the real thing.
Jessie borrowed James's Koffing for the tournament, as the entrants required at least two Pokémon each to participate. This proved beneficial however when the first girl she came up against released a Cubone, confident in her ground-type's superiority. Her face fell, however, when Koffing's ability to Levitate above the battlefield removed any advantage she thought she had, and the battle ended as Jessie made a spectacle of blinding Cubone with Koffing's Smokescreen, only to turn it into a black tornado as Koffing was sent spinning into the cloud, draining her opponent's points slowly but consistently until the round was called in Jessie's favour.
The second round went similarly well, as this time Jessie went with Ekans against her foe's Pidgey - which fled in fear as Ekans rose up and hissed menacingly, letting off a Glare to freeze the bird in place before knocking it off the stage with Sucker Punch.
The third round was where the difficulty increased for Jessie, as her opponent seemed somewhat competent compared to the others she had faced. Leading with a Golduck against Koffing, Jessie began by trying to recreate the Smokescreen Tornado, only for the blinding spectacle to be dispersed by a Confusion from Golduck, costing Jessie greatly in the points department. Not deterred however, Jessie called for a Stockpile from Koffing before having it rain down on the battlefield with Sludge attacks, leaving the terrain coated in harmful toxins that left Golduck fumbling as it tried to find its footing. Jessie then had Koffing take advantage of Golduck's misfortune with a rapidly spinning Tackle that sent the duck flying back, skidding over the toxic-slick stage, and careening into the judge's stand in an absolute mess.
The fourth and final round saw Jessie and Ekans facing off against a blue-haired individual in a flattering mermaid-styled swimsuit and her Vaporeon. The red-headed rocket had to curse her luck - of COURSE the finalist she went up against would be a Gym Leader.
"Best of luck!" Violet called out to her, and Jessie forced herself to give a smile before falling into a more serious mindset.
"Begin!"
"Aurora Beam!"
"Ekans, underground!"
The action began almost instantly, as Violet's Vaporeon leapt into the air before firing a rainbow-hued beam at Ekans. A flash blinded the crowd as the attack seemed to land, only for the arena to clear and show no sign of Ekans on the frozen ground.
Confused, Vaporeon landed gracefully as it attempted to locate its opponent, only for the serpent to emerge from beneath the ice and slam into the water-type's underbelly, using the momentum to cool around Vaporeon.
"Ekans, use your Acid!" Jessie called out.
Violet's worried expression seemed to melt away. "Not a bad idea, thank you~" she called before shouting to her Pokemon. "Vaporeon, use Acid Armor to escape!"
At almost the same time, Ekans let loose with a spit of acidic venom across Vaporeon's body, only for the Water-Type's body to soften and liquefy as it slipped away from Ekan's full-body bind and reconstitute itself, only to flinch in pain.
Violet frowned in confusion, only to balk as her points plummeted even more than Jessie's had from her move. "Hey, what gives!?"
"It seems Vaporeon is suffering from its trainer's mistake!" the announcer chimed in, drawing Violet's attention. "While the use of Acid Armor was a clever tactic to escape being trapped by Ekans, the liquid state of Vaporeon's body meant that it absorbed more of the toxins from Ekans' Acid than it normally would have, leaving Violet's Pokemon suffering from a bad case of Poison!"
Jessie gave a sinister grin. This battle had just swayed in her favor, and if her time in Team Rocket had taught her anything, it was that any chance for victory was to be grabbed with both hands.
"Acid again, Ekans!"
Leaping at Vaporeon, Ekans spat another glob of it's venom in the Water-Type's face, making Vaporeon cry out and leaving Violet fuming in anger
"That's it, no more holding back!" Violet barked. "Vaporeon, let's go Surfing, now!"
Confusion took hold over Jessie's face until she saw what Violet had meant. A massive wave of water formed at the edge of the stage, growing in size as Vaporeon dove inside and swam to the apex. Violet struck a pose and winked at her before signaling for Vaporeon to attack, bringing the wave crashing down on Ekans.
"Sucker Punch!" Jessie cried out desperately.
The wave crashed down, with Vaporeon still riding atop the wake of the attack as it manipulated the water into a stunning, spinning vortex, not unlike Jessie's own Smokescreen Hurricane technique. Ekans was nowhere in sight, having been consumed by the water now covering the stage, and Jessie felt herself deflate as the familiar feeling of defeat once again washed over her…
And then somebody in the crowd shouted out.
"Look!" one of the spectators cried, pointing at the aquatic spectacle. Jessie raised her gaze, expecting to just see another marvel pulled off by Violet and her Vaporeon… only to pause.
A purple shape was moving within the water, following the spin of the vortex and slowly picking up speed. Jessie watched in amazement as her Ekans swam through Vaporeon's attack, its tail glowing with a dark aura as it closed in on the water type only to shoot out of the pinnacle of Vapreon's appeal, wrapping its tail around Vaporeon's frilled neck and dragging the water type into the air with it before spinning and tossing it back down, crashing through its own spectacle of a show and drenching the crowd in water as Vaporeon impacted with the stage.
"Finish it Ekans!" Jessie cried out desperately, now painfully aware of the timer ticking away at the age of the stage. At her command Ekans twisted in the air before firing a final, massive blast of Acid at Vaporeon, slamming into the water type and kicking up a cloud of dust.
"And that's time!" The announcer cried. "What a riveting match for the finale of our contest! Ekans and Vaporeon both put in a great amount of effort today, but with a tied score and no clear knockout, let's take it to the judges to find out who will be taking home the gold!"
Jessie waited with bated breath as the judges turned to one another to deliberate the scores. Jessie hadn't noticed, but at the announcer's words she looked up, and sure enough both her and Violet had ended the match with exactly equal points. And even as Ekans landed heavily on the stage and slithered back to her heel, Violet's Vaporeon struggled to its feet, a testament to the power of a Gym Leader's Pokemon that it was still standing.
Jessie's attention turned back to the judges as one of them stood up, and for the first time she noticed that Professor Oak himself had been there the whole time.
"It certainly is a difficult choice to make," the elderly professor mused. "But we the judges have come to a decision… Thanks to her ingenuity and ability to show off the skills of her Pokémon not well known to the public, the winner of this match and the Porta Vista Beach Beauty competition is…"
"JESSIE!"
Jessie remained frozen, even as the announcer and his assistant came out to drape her in a winner's sash and garland, only for her face to split into the largest smile she'd worn for what felt like years as the reality finally sank in. She'd won. She. Had. Won.
"Let's all give a huge round of applause for Jessie and her amazing displays of beauty, poise, and tactical thinking in the face of great odds!"
As the announcer spoke, he grabbed Jessie's wrist to raise her arm high over her head in victory. On her other side, the assistant handed her a large bouquet of flowers that she cradled in her arm. Behind her, a pair of stage hands carried out an overly-large novelty cheque, making her nearly choke at the number printed across the front, a grand sum of ten-thousand.
Jessie blinked owlishly as a microphone was practically shoved under her nose. "I don't know what to say…" she spoke softly. "Thank you, thank you everyone!"
