"So what are ya gonna do with your winnings?"

Once more in their 'tourist' clothing, the trio of displaced Rocket Agents made their way along the Porta Vista promenade,their destination being the harbour in the distance. Jessie simply shrugged in response to Meowth's question.

"Honestly, I'm not sure," she admitted. "I mean it would make the most sense to just add it to our normal funds, right?"

James simply shrugged in response. "If that's what you want to do, that's fine," he said. "But I'm not going to make you share."

The trio continued on, walking at a relaxed pace as the sea breeze washed over their faces. Quick battles came and went as trainers came to challenge the winner of the recent beauty contest and her friend.

Before long, the harbour was upon them, bustling with activity as people came and went from the many ferry's visiting the island. With how busy the area was, the trio soon found themselves at the edge of the marina, overlooking the calm waves of the sea as they took a moment to gather themselves. The hustle and bustle of the crowds filled their ears as they continued on, rendering the trio deaf to the sounds of the waters below.

One sound that cut through the din of the crowds like a hot knife through butter was very familiar to the trio, that of an explosion out on the waters as a small vessel began visibly tipping onto its side.

Before Jessie could react, a blur of motion at her side caused the woman to leap back in shock, only to realise all of a sudden that James had vanished. The flash of light beneath the waves told her where her partner had gone, just as he emerged from the waves straddling the serpentine body of his Gyarados, which thrashed angrily for a moment before Jame's hand on its side seemed to calm it.

"Please, Gyarados, I know you're angry at me but I need your help! Those sailors are in trouble!"

A beat of calm seemed to pass over the atrocious sea serpent before, almost angrily, it turned to swim rapidly towards the sinking ship. As they approached, James scanned the wreckage, mentally noting the various Tentacool that had overtaken the ship, seemingly dragging the entire vessel down into the waters.

James thrust an arm out confidently. "Gyarados, use Twister to scare the Tentacool away!"

Gyarados seemed to snort derisively before rearing back, summoning a swirling vortex of energy around the ship that tore the cerulean jellyfish from the vessel, sending them flying in all directions as the boat corrected itself in the water and the sailors let out cheers of approval. A cry from one of the sailors had them all grabbing buckets and trying to bail water from around their feet. Seeing their distress, James called for Gyarados to help once more, and the sea serpent snorted before wrapping its large tail around the back of the ship before turning to swim back towards the docks, dragging the sinking sailors behind it.

James surveyed the docks as they approached, spotting Jessie and Meowth rushing to meet him. Already watching him though was a diminutive woman with a face carved from stone, surrounded by an entourage of young men that seemed to be her servants. James had Gyarados deposit the ship upon the shallows near the dock so that it didn't sink any further before hopping off of the leviathan's neck and turning to recall it into its pokeball.

"Excellent work, dear boy!" the small woman cried out, her shrill voice grating against Jame's ears. "That's the third ship I've lost this week! Glad I can at least save some money on repairs now that it's been recovered instead of sunk!"

James laughed nervously as he rubbed the back of his neck, averting his eyes as Jessie and Meowth arrived, both looking at him incredulously. "Thanks," he muttered. "Don't really know what came over me."

"Well whatever it was, I can make use of it!" the woman shouted, letting out a grating laugh. "The name's Nastina, and that over there-" she said, pointing with her cane at a large structure on the water that seemed to be under construction. "-is my new Resort and Hotel! Which would be finished by now, if those stupid Tentacool would just stop sinking the boats with all my workers before they can get there!"

James glanced at the ship he had just saved, then out over the water, blinking as he noticed that the normally deep blue waves were littered with an uncountable number of glowing red spots just below the surface, which he could only assume was the Tentacool in question.

"But you, with that mighty Gyarados of yours, you could wipe them all out!" Nastina continued. "Send those slimy sea-pests packing! I'll pay you for your time~"

James grimaced, feeling uncomfortable with the woman's tone before looking to catch his team's eyes, noticing Meowth's scheming eyes. "Can I have some time to think about it?" he asked, sighing with relief when Nastina simply shrugged and had one of her servants hand him a business card.

"Just meet me here if you wanna take the offer," the grizzly woman said, turning and having her servants carry her off rather than walk herself.

The trio of Rocket Agents watched the woman and her entourage leave, before Jessie seemed to snap back to her senses and rounded on James.

"And what exactly were you thinking!?" she demanded, jabbing an accusatory finger into James' chest.

James recoiled, placing a hand over his chest tenderly as he frowned. "To be quite honest, I wasn't," he shot back. "I just acted. And it seems like that's landed us an opportunity to make some big money, if that woman can be trusted."

"And what if that beast of yours had decided to just toss you off its neck and eat you, huh!?" the redhead cried. "Look what happened last time you let it out of its Pokeball, it sank an entire cruise liner!"

Jame's frown deepened at the accusation. "Because you decided to kick it off the side of the ship," he responded sharply. "Something that, might I remind you, is the entire reason Gyarados was so angry in the first place."

"Dat's enuff!" Meowth shouted, jumping up to scratch at the human duo's faces to silence their argument, sending them both reeling back in pain. "I got an idea~"

Fury boiling just below the surface, Jessie rounded on Meowth, hissing through her teeth at the scratch-cat. "Well spit it out then!" she spat. "What possible ideas could you have at this time?"

"Somethin' to get us back in da boss' good books, dat's what," Meowth responded with a cheshire grin, turning to saunter back towards town and leaving his human companions in confusion.

Crowded around a video-phone in the nearest Pokemon Center, Jessie and James checked their surroundings nervously as Meowth picked up the receiver and started dialling.

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Meowth?" James asked in a hushed tone. "Calling the boss on a public line?"

"Well what else are we s'possed ta do?" the feline shot back as the machine began to ring. "We ain't exactly got any safehouses around here, have we?"

"He's got a point…" Jessie sighed, rubbing her temples as she crowded in some more to block the booth they'd taken. "And I suppose it is about time we called in… but what's this got to do with that horrible woman?"

Meowth's cheshire grin returned. "You'll see~" he purred, before schooling his expression as the line picked up, revealing a figure masked in shadow. "Sir, it's good ta see you's in good health."

The trio sat nervously as the figure seemed to regard them curiously, before a low chuckle sounded from the receiver held between them all. "So, you survived, did you?" the figure questioned, his voice deep and menacing. "Miasma had you all marked as chum. Where are you calling from?"

James leaned in then, answering the question quickly. "Porta Vista, sir. We encountered some…" He paused, considering his words carefully before finishing the sentence. "...complications, when making our exit."

Jessie grumbled something under her breath.

The figure stared at the trio in silence for a time before shifting, seeming to nod to himself. "I see. And what, pray tell, leads you to call me now? Have you decided your impromptu vacation has lasted long enough?"

The trio gulped, glancing between each other nervously before Jessie gave Meowth a nudge just out of view of the camera. The scratch-cat coughed nervously to clear his throat before answering.

"We was just try'na find the right time an' place, sir," he said placatingly. "It's been a rough couple'a days. But we didn' come empty-pawed."

The figure sat up at this, clearly intrigued. "Oh?" he rumbled. "Do tell."

Catching on, James leaned in. "There's a woman here, sir, by the name of Nastina. She seems to be having some troubles with the local wildlife, as a large school of Tentacool is causing her some troubles with her construction efforts. She's offering a large cash prize to anyone able to clear them out."

Jessie's eyes widened as she too realised Meowth's plan. "We were thinking, sir, that we could knock out three Pidgey with just one Rock Throw," she chimed in. "While we do need to ask for extraction, we think it could also be a good idea to send a small squad of Grunts to capture the Tentacool and claim the cash prize, all without any opposition as the locals seem to want rid of them as much as Nastina."

The figure stared at the trio, sitting back and steepling his fingers in contemplation. "That is… interesting…" he muttered. "Okay, request granted. I'll have a squadron of grunts sent to your location to help with the collection of these Pokemon, and we'll cover up any suspicions by having one of our… benefactors make an appearance. Call it a charitable act."

The trio nodded along, not truly understanding but relieved that they didn't seem to be in trouble. They snapped to attention as the Boss addressed them all directly once again.

"I'll send a phone number to you, I want you to provide this Nastina woman with the contact details for our benefactor so he can arrange a meeting. Meanwhile, a squadron of Grunts will be dispatched to you. Rendezvous and take command of these grunts, have them start collecting the Tentacool as soon as possible. As a reward for your efforts, you may have your pick of the Pokemon captured to keep for yourselves."

The trio each gave a nod of understanding, giving a subtle salute before the line was cut off. Jessie and James breathed sighs of relief as they sat back, the tension they hadn't realised had settled over them suddenly bleeding away.

"See, what'd I tell ya's?" Meowth boasted, buffing his claws against his chest. "Da Boss woud'a punished us fa' sure if we hadn't brought 'im a big score like dis!"

James couldn't help but chuckle, rubbing a hand over Meowth's head fondly. "I have to admit, it was a stroke of genius cluing the boss in on the Nastina business. I suppose we should go and accept the job now."

Jessie shuddered. "Yeah, even if that woman's voice puts my teeth on edge," she muttered, only to pause and grin as an idea came to her. "You know, someone should probably wait for the grunts to arrive…"

James breathed a heavy sigh in response. "Fine. You go to the docks and wait for the grunts, I'll go and arrange the meeting with Nastina… Meowth?"

The feline crossed his paws in front of his chest, shaking his head vehemently. "Not a chance!" he cried. "I'll go wit' Jess."

James simply sighed again, resigned to his fate.

"...and that's the plan, ma'am," James finished, gritting his teeth as Nastina's grating cackle assaulted his ears for what felt like the millionth time.

"A whole team of someone else's workers, coming to solve my problems, AND I get the publicity of a charity scheme?! I love it!" Nastina flashed James a grin filled with crooked teeth. "Well I can't wait to meet this benefactor of yours. Leave it to us, you just go get to work!"

James let out a sigh of relief, turning to make a hasty retreat from Nastina's manor and meet up with Jessie. Not far from Nastina's front gates, the sounds of combat reached James' ears, drawing his attention to the waters not far from Porta Vista Harbour where he bore witness to a fleet of Rocket Grunts working to gather the schools of Tentacool into a combination of nets, tanks, and even Pokeballs for transportation.

The deep voice of a man clearing his throat startled the Rocket Agent, and James spun around to come face to face with a tall, broad-shouldered man in an orange suit staring him down with sharp, cold eyes. He couldn't explain why, but as he stared at this stoic man, a feeling of overwhelming dread seemed to wash over James like a tidal wave.

"Could you step aside?" the man asked in a snide tone. "I have an appointment to keep, and you are in my way."

James blinked in surprise before nodding, stepping to one side and allowing the man to pass, only now recognising that the imposing man was flanked by a duo of red-clad trainers with dark hair, a man and a woman, who shot him a menacing glare as they passed.

"Must be the Boss' contact…" the blue-haired Agent muttered to himself, before shaking his head clear and turning to return to the matter at hand. He had to meet up with Jessie and Meowth to make sure the Tentacool operation was running smoothly.

It didn't take long to find his partners, the redhead and feline easily picked out as they oversaw a group of Grunts loading one of what must have been many crates onto a fairly large ship.

"Get those Tentacool out of here!" Jessie shouted as James approached. "The Boss is expecting this shipment by end of day, so move it!"

"How's it going?" James asked as he stepped up next to his team.

"Good enough," Meowth replied, flipping through a clipboard. "Da boss sent one'a da eggheads from Home Base ta help out, so we got a rough guess on how many Tentacool 'dere is out dere."

"According to the numbers, about fifty percent of the Tentacool have been captured," Jessie added as she turned to him. "I've checked every last one, and none seem to be anything special. Seems most of the trouble they cause comes from their numbers advantage."

James nodded along, taking in the information. That made sense, most problems could be overwhelmed with sheer numbers alone. His attention was once again pulled away as a female Grunt approached Jessie, a blue Pokeball in her hands.

"Ma'am, you wanted us to report any unusual findings to you?" the Grunt said as she stopped before the trio, holding the blue Pokeball out for Jessie. "This Horsea has been circling the area while we work. One of the others finally managed to capture it when it passed out. It seemed to be pretty beaten up, but otherwise healthy and potentially quite powerful."

Jessie smiled as she took the ball, looking over it curiously. "Thank you, Grunt, that will be all," she said dismissively, and the Grunt snapped a quick salute before returning to her work. "I think I've just found my reward~"

"Good for you," James chuckled. "I'm good though, send the rest to the Boss. I just wanna get back to the mainland."

The rest of the day went by without much to report. The operation to collect the Tentacool went off without a hitch, with every last specimen captured and loaded into the boat by the crateful. The strange orange-suited man and his entourage exited Nastina's manor a few hours after James had met him, saying nothing to any of the Rocket members in the area and instead climbing into an expensive looking helicopter to fly away straight away.

Jessie, James, and Meowth sat around a table in the control room of the ship that had been provided for them, with the cargo stored away below them and Grunts all around working away. The journey back to Kanto would take them back to Vermillion Harbor, where they would hand off the cargo to a middle-man set to take charge of shipping them all to the Rocket Headquarters.

Content with letting their success carry them for the time being, the Trio had resigned to stuffing their faces on the journey back. Before long they'd be back to work, carrying out their usual missions for the glory of Team Rocket.

Well, the vacation was nice while it lasted!