It's been a bit since our last Elizabeth focus, and a lot longer since our last Team Rocket focus! Have to say, ever since I started rewatching the whole series through, Team Rocket really are just so relatable...

Elizabeth: 8 years old


Unlikely Dance Partners

"One! Two! Three! Four!"

"Lizzie, could you take a break from dancing for a bit?"

Elizabeth whipped around and shot her mother a look of what could only be described as disbelief.

"How are you not tired?" Misty asked, deciding to pose a different question…one that was decidedly less offensive to her daughter. "You just had three straight hours of class!"

"I don't get tired, Mommy," Elizabeth calmly argued.

"Guess I shouldn't be surprised by that answer," Misty sighed.

"Especially not of dancing!" Elizabeth continued. "I could dance all day and all night, and never get tired of it."

"Well, I'm glad you're so passionate about it!" Misty giggled. "It makes me so happy to see you so happy! But it's pretty hard to keep up with you when you're spinning and leaping all over the place."

Although she seemed reluctant, Elizabeth begrudgingly admitted, "that's fair. Okay; I'll try and walk normal until we get home."

Misty giggled. "Thank you, Lizzie."

The two continued along calmly, chatting sweetly and casually with one another as they walked down the street of downtown Cerulean. The walk from the dance studio back home wasn't so bad, especially when the weather was nice. Elizabeth appreciated it, even if her legs were starting to get a bit achy from dancing for so long. She'd never admit that to anyone, however.

Misty and Elizabeth's route to home took them past the hair salon, where Misty's go-to stylist Cassandra was standing outside sweeping. As soon as she saw the gym leader, the woman's eyes lit up, and she cheerfully greeted, "hey, Misty!"

"Hi Cassandra!" Misty returned with equal fervor. "Keeping busy?"

"Doing my best," Cassandra replied with a giggle. She glanced over at Elizabeth, her smile widening. "Aw, Lizzie, did you just have dance?"

"Yeah!" Elizabeth confirmed. "We did a bunch of work on our turns today! I did a triple pirouette!"

"Ooh, that's not easy," Cassandra commented. She had been a dancer when she was younger, and as soon as Elizabeth had learned this fact, she always made sure to talk to the hairdresser about her training. "You must've been so excited!"

"Uh huh!" Elizabeth confirmed. "It was awesome! And my teacher actually saw it! Sometimes I'll do something really cool, but she's not watching me."

"Ugh, that used to happen to me all the time," Cassandra bemoaned, shaking her head. "It really is the worst!"

"I bet I could do some right now!" Elizabeth gasped. "Want to see?"

Misty frowned at her daughter. "Elizabeth, what did I say about dancing outside?"

"Not to," Elizabeth replied quickly, "but we're not walking right now! And I just want to show Cassandra my turns!"

"It's going to be very hard to do those on concrete," Misty commented, nodding towards the sidewalk.

"No way, I can do them super easy!" Elizabeth argued. "I just have to put my shoes on!"

She knelt down and placed her dance bag on the ground, unzipping the main compartment and digging around inside. Her confident expression soon began to dissipate, however, which did not go unnoticed by both Misty and Cassandra.

"Something wrong, cutie pie?" Cassandra asked.

"I think…I might've forgotten to put my ballet slippers back in my bag," Elizabeth admitted, giving her mother a sheepish look.

Misty groaned and threw her head back. "Really, Elizabeth?"

"They're not in here!" Elizabeth cried, frantically searching through her bag again before sighing. "I must've gotten distracted when I was talking to Harper and left them on the floor."

"You've got to pay more attention to what you're doing," Misty gently scolded her daughter. "We'll just have to get them when you go back to class."

"No way, I can't wait two whole days!" Elizabeth yelped, jumping to her feet. "I really want to show Cassandra my turns, and I need to practice at home!"

"Elizabeth…" Misty warned.

"I'll go back there and get them!" Elizabeth offered, throwing her arm up in the air. "It's my fault I forgot them. You can stay here, Mommy!"

"I don't know if I want you going by yourself," Misty sighed, folding her arms.

"I'll be fine!" Elizabeth assured her mother, grabbing her dance bag by the strap and slipping it back on her shoulder. "I know my way to the dance studio by heart! And I'm going to go right there and back; I won't get distracted. I promise!"

"You and your father both have a habit of making that promise and then not keeping it," Misty quipped.

"Well…this time I will!" Elizabeth giggled, tilting her head to the side.

Misty whined and narrowed her eyes. Elizabeth really thought she could cute her way into everything she wanted…it was a tactic Misty had used often herself as a child, and having it used against her was indescribably frustrating.

"Come on, Misty," Cassandra cut in, her eyes shimmering. "Give the girl some freedom!"

"Cass, really?" Misty grumbled, glaring at the stylist.

"It's literally down the street," Cassandra dismissed with a wave of her hand. "Besides, everyone in this town knows Elizabeth! If anyone tries to mess with her, she'll have backup in a heartbeat. Of course, I doubt she'd need it."

"Yeah, I'm super tough!" Elizabeth agreed, shooting a fist out in front of her.

Misty sighed and hunched her shoulders, knowing there was no way she was ever going to win this particular argument. "Alright, fine. But just to the dance studio and back! Do you understand?"

"Of course!" Elizabeth chirped, clutching the strap of her dance bag as she began to run off.

"Wait!"

Elizabeth groaned and stopped in her tracks, turning back towards her mother. "What now?"

Misty plucked a poke ball off her waist and pressed the center button, freeing a relaxed Vaporeon from inside the sphere. "Vaporeon, would you please go with Elizabeth back to the dance studio and keep an eye on her? Make sure she comes right back here after she gets her shoes."

"Vay!" Vaporeon purred.

Elizabeth started to pout. She loved Vaporeon, and didn't mind the water type coming along with her, but that wasn't the girl's point of contention. "You really don't trust me, do you?"

"I don't trust other people," Misty grumbled, shaking her head. "But I do worry about you getting sidetracked. Vaporeon gives me peace of mind on both fronts. Could you just appease me, please?"

"Fine," Elizabeth sighed, glancing down at the bubble jet Pokémon. "Let's go, Vaporeon."

The water type nodded and darted after the young girl, making sure to keep at her side. Misty kept her eyes on the two until they were out of sight, at which point she hummed and turned her attention back onto a smirking Cassandra. "What?"

"Nothing," Cassandra snickered.

"Yeah, right," Misty scoffed.

"Okay, fine, you're just super overprotective," Cassandra giggled. "It's cute! But I really think Elizabeth can fend for herself."

"I know she can," Misty begrudgingly admitted. "But I also know that, by no fault of her own, trouble has a way of finding her…"

XXX

"Oooh! Look, Jess!"

Jessie growled as she snapped her head around. "What is it now, James?!"

Her partner had his hands and face pressed up against a glass window, a big, goofy grin playing on his lips as his eyes followed something that Jessie herself couldn't see. Meowth, who'd been standing beside Jessie, furrowed his brow.

"Hey, James looks dumba than usual," Meowth remarked.

Jessie stomped towards the man, getting in his face. "We don't have time for window shopping! We're here on a mission!"

"I wasn't window shopping," James calmly refuted, pulling away from the glass and frowning. "I was watching dance!"

"Dance?" Jessie repeated, a hint of disgust in her voice.

"Ah, I've always loved the ballet!" James sighed, crossing his hands over his heart. "Nanny and Pop-Pop would take me to the theater to see the latest touring company from the time I was a tiny tot. I was always in awe of its beauty! My parents enrolled me in classes after much begging and pleading; that was truly one of the highlights from my childhood!"

"You mean tah tell me you're loaded and all you cared about was a stupid dance class?" Meowth deadpanned.

"It wasn't stupid!" James hissed. "It was a place for me to express myself without the fear of being judged!"

"That sounds like the definition of stupid," Jessie scoffed.

"You don't mean to tell me you never took ballet class, do you, Jessie?" James asked. She shot him a nasty look, causing him to sweat drop. "Oh, right."

"Things like dance class cost money that I didn't have growing up, unlike some other rich snobs I know," Jessie huffed, turning her nose up. "Ballet, while beautiful, is fundamentally destined for the spoiled upper crust."

James raised a finger to signify he had an idea. "You know, you don't have to take formal classes to express yourself through dance! Anyone can do it! If you'd like, we could-"

"We're not talking about this junk!" Jessie fumed, clubbing James over the head. "I already told you we're here on a mission, and that doesn't involve dance!"

"Wobba!"

Jessie scowled and turned her head, finding that the patient Pokémon had released himself from his ball and was standing beside her. "No one asked you, Wobbuffet."

"Wob…"

"Hey guys, look ova there!"

Meowth's sudden yelp caught Jessie and James' attention, causing them to look in the direction he was pointing his paw. Coming up the sidewalk towards them was none other than Elizabeth, her mother's Vaporeon dutifully following alongside.

"What luck!" James exclaimed. "It's the little twerpette!"

"And a twerpy Pokémon to boot," Jessie added with a smirk.

"Now's our chance!" Meowth cheered, jumping up and down.

"Except she's coming right for us," Jessie muttered, eyes widening when she realized they were in the direct path of the two. "We'll never be able to get our hands on them if we just stand out here!"

James hummed nervously and looked over his shoulder. With a gasp of realization, he cried, "quick, the alleyway!"

His teammates obliged and followed him into the vacant passage beside the dance studio. Wobbuffet, who had initially failed to follow the trio into the alley and was left standing idly on the sidewalk, was quickly yanked back into the crevice by a scowling Jessie.

Elizabeth and Vaporeon, who had failed to spot the mischievous group, continued to approach the building without any trepidation. Once they got up to the door, Elizabeth grabbed the handle and smiled at the water type.

"I'll be right back out!" Elizabeth informed the Pokémon. "I just have to grab my shoes!"

"Vay…" Vaporeon muttered.

Elizabeth scowled at the response. "What, you don't trust me either? You're just as bad as Mommy!"

Flicking her tail, Vaporeon sat down and stared silently at Elizabeth, indicating that she would do as she was asked.

"Thank you," Elizabeth trilled, pushing the door open. "Just wait right here! It's only gonna take me a second."

Vaporeon watched as Elizabeth slipped into the building, not budging from her spot. Jessie and Meowth excitedly emerged from the alleyway, their sudden movement catching Vaporeon's attention out of the corner of her eye. The bubble jet Pokémon turned her head, jumping to her paws and hissing as soon as she saw the duo.

"Aw, sweet Vaporeon!" Jessie cooed. "Wouldn't you much rather join in with us than stick around your lousy trainer and her bratty kids?"

"Yeah, who said Pokémon should be used as babysittas?" Meowth scoffed.

Vaporeon hissed again and arched her back, her eyes narrowing even further.

"She's sayin she loves her trainer and the baby twoips," Meowth translated, his voice thick with syrupy sweetness. "And that she'd never leave any of dem!"

"That's nice, but I love money, handsome men, and fine foods and yet I don't have any of it," Jessie bit. "We can't always get what we want, can we? James, bring out the…James?"

Jessie just now realized that James had not followed her and Meowth back out onto the sidewalk. Looking to her left, she found that he was still in the alleyway, balancing on top of a garbage can and peering into a nearby window, Wobbuffet curiously watching him.

"James, what are you doing?!" Jessie shrieked.

"That little twerpette just went into the dance studio!" James cried.

"So what?" Jessie spat.

"Those twerps can never let us have anything!" James yelped, jumping back down to the ground. "They're always making us feel bad about ourselves, but I happen to know that I'm very talented at dancing! And I refuse to be shown up by a tiny twerp!"

He came storming out of the alleyway, causing Jessie and Meowth to exchange bewildered looks. Even Vaporeon came down from her defensive stance when she saw the enraged man, unsure herself of what exactly was going on. Just as James reached the front of the dance studio, Elizabeth came skipping out, ballet slippers in hand.

"See, Vaporeon! I told you it wouldn't take me lo-"

The girl failed to look where she was going and wound up colliding with the lavender haired male, knocking both of them down. On the ground, Elizabeth winced and rubbed at her backside, moaning a pained, "ow."

"Vaypy?" Vaporeon asked, scurrying over to the child.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Elizabeth sighed, fully opening her eyes before looking forward. "Sorry, I wasn't looking where I was going, and-"

When she realized just who she had bumped into, however, Elizabeth gasped and scrambled to her feet, tightly clutching the strap of her dance bag. "Team Rocket!"

James shook his head out and scowled at the girl, pointing an accusatory finger at her. "Trying to cause injury to a fellow dancer?! That's a new low, even for a twerp!"

That was enough to replace Elizabeth's initial panic with confusion. Raising an eyebrow, Elizabeth muttered, "What're you talking about?"

Pulling himself back up and dusting off his outfit, James proudly announced, "I just so happen to have been trained in the art of dance since I was younger than you are today! As soon as I saw you walk into that dance studio, I knew you were doing a disservice to the craft!"

Elizabeth and Vaporeon exchanged glances before the girl turned her attention back onto James. "You're so weird."

"I can't believe I'm agreeing with a twerp, but she's got a point," Jessie huffed, crossing her arms.

"You ain't kidding," Meowth grumbled.

"What are you two whispering about?!" James snapped.

While the Rockets were distracted, Vaporeon let out a small gasp and nudged against Elizabeth's legs, catching the girl's attention. "What's up, Vaporeon?"

"Vay vaporeon," the bubble jet Pokémon replied.

"Oh, you're right!" Elizabeth puffed. "I have to get back to Mommy! She's going to start getting worried."

Just as she and Vaporeon were about to run off, however, James turned around and realized that they were trying to get away and cried, "Hold it!"

Elizabeth groaned and stopped in her tracks, spinning around to glare at James. "What now?!"

"You haven't given me a chance to prove to you that I'm a far better dancer than you could ever hope to be!" James shouted.

"…what?" Elizabeth deadpanned.

Snapping his fingers, James dramatically flailed his arms around as he declared, "I challenge you to a good old fashioned dance battle!"

"A dance battle?" Meowth repeated, sounding extremely unimpressed.

"Against an eight year old, no less," Jessie sighed.

"I don't have time for this," Elizabeth growled, rolling her eyes.

"Why? You need to get back to your mommy?" James drawled in a teasing fashion.

"Uh, yeah, I do, actually," Elizabeth breathed.

"Well your mommy will just have to wait!" James continued valiantly.

"No way," Elizabeth laughed. "If I'm late because of you three, my mom'll go crazy! And then she'll just track you down and blast you off like she always does."

Jessie suddenly appeared in Elizabeth's ear, calmly interjecting, "I hate to intrude, but I just wanted to clarify it's usually the twerp who does that and not the twerpette."

"Ya see what happens when you get involved wit kids?" Meowth sighed. "They don't pay attention and can neva get their facts straight!"

"Vay…" Vaporeon growled.

"Yeah, you're right, they're all crazy," Elizabeth agreed.

"HEY!" All three of the villains yelled together.

"Tell you what; you guys just keep arguing with each other and I won't tell my mom you were bugging me," Elizabeth scoffed, starting to walk away once again.

"Not so fast!" James shouted.

"Ugh, really?!" Elizabeth cried, whipping around.

"I think you're just trying to escape because you're too scared to battle me!" James challenged.

"No I'm not," Elizabeth grumbled. "I'm not scared of anyone, but especially not you. Besides, I don't even need to see you dance to know I'm better at it."

James' face turned bright red, to the point where you could practically see steam coming out of his ears. "In your dreams, baby twerpette! I'm more of a prima ballerina than you could ever be!"

Elizabeth tried to stifle a laugh…and failed. "Seriously? I'm a kid! It's kinda sad that you're jealous of me."

"I'M NOT JEALOUS!" James fumed.

Elizabeth shrugged, not looking convinced. "Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night."

James ground his teeth together, crying out, "I'll show you!"

He started turning pirouettes, much to Jessie and Meowth's amazement. Elizabeth, however, was not nearly as impressed, and simply turned her nose up at the display. As soon as James stopped, he smirked at the young girl and scoffed, "beat that."

"Okay," Elizabeth replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Vaporeon, use hydro pump."

The water type unleashed her most powerful attack, aiming it directly at the Rockets. They went flying up into the air, crying out as the attack pushed them higher and higher.

"Thanks a lot, James!" Jessie screamed.

"What did I do?!" James gasped.

"You tried to inflate your ego against an eight year old girl and prevented us from stealing her twerpy mother's Pokémon, that's what you did!" Jessie yelled.

"Not a very good look, Jimmy," Meowth agreed.

"We're blasting off again!"

Elizabeth and Vaporeon both watched them go until they were nothing but a twinkle in the sky. Letting out a tired sigh, Elizabeth glanced down at Vaporeon and chirped, "Let's not tell Mommy about any of that."

"Pore."