Here's the next chapter. I hope you'll enjoy it.
Kunoichi69 - Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it. Yeah, I have big plans for Marina in the future. She will grow and get stronger and become a great battler as she become a dragonite. Although, Charles would be a little upset to see her grow up so fast. I wasn't quite sure about involving the fire in the anime, because the chapter was already long enough. But I suppose the fire could still happen during Ash's battle, like you said, but I will only mention it in a future chapter. Thanks for reading.
Lovely - Yes, there was a lot of character development in the last chapter like the Fleur de Lis sisters evolving, Marina and her battling, and Titania finally getting to battle. I must remember to make a chapter about Charles getting a Sun Stone for the Fleur de Lis sisters. Thanks for reading.
Guest2 - Thanks so much, I'm glad you enjoyed it. Out of the disguises Team Rocket have put on, the one that James was wearing was strangely good. It was even more strange when you consider that Jessie did the bare minimum in terms of disguise. Oh and I did watch the video and I've been craving one of those Oran Berries she made ever since. Hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
Djinn - Thanks so much, I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter as well.
pokemonking0924 - Indeed, he did, but it all worked out well in the end except for, as you said, Thackeray. The photo of Ash will come up again in the future as part of a project Alice will be working on which I'll go into further details in the next chapter. I'm glad you liked the omake, Fleur does hate her new form now, but she understands that it's a necessary step to become a blossom. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
MBS41 - Thanks so much and I've fixed the mistake. Sometimes I type way faster then I think causing me to make some mistakes.
SkullGreymonX - It was quite a challenge for Charles the last chapter, especially with Marina causing trouble, but everything seemed to work out. Thanks so much for reading. Oh and yes, Charles is going to have a hell of time with the Princess Day episode. I can just picture him and Benny waiting on a bench miserably and waiting for them to be done with their shopping.
TurboDriver07 - Thank you so much. Blissey visiting the corral sounds like a great idea. Oh and Ash will definitely not get over the photo and it will come up again in the future. Hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
Guest - Thank you, I've added your suggestions to the list. I honestly have no idea what happened to grimer. It must have gone missing when I was moving some stuff in my files. I'll make sure it stays on this time.
Grasshopper - Yeah, you are right. However if you look at the review below, I do make some exceptions on what can go on the Potential Pokemon list. I've added your suggestions, thank you so much.
Guest - You raised a very good question. Yes, I'm only accepting Pokemon from the Kanto region for now and the amount will increase with every region they go to. But I realised that there's only a limited amount to choose from. This is why I came up with exceptions:
1. Geography: If the regions are connected or near to another region then there is a chance that Pokemon from one region can migrate to the other. For example, canonically, Kanto is joined to Johto on its western border, so if the team happened to find themselves in western Kanto, they may find common Johto Pokemon like sentret, sunkern or aipom. Do note that rarer Pokemon like the Johto starters or wobbuffet are less likely to migrate.
2. Evolution: Some evolved forms of certain Pokemon were introduced later in later generations, but if it is found in the Kanto region then it can go on the list. For example, slyveon was not introduced until Kalos, but since eevee can be found in Kanto then it can go on the list. This is the same for igglybuff (with Jigglypuff), bellossom (with oddish) and sirfetch'd (with farfetch'd). However, Pokemon whose evolutionary line doesn't appear in Kanto, like togedermaru or Frosmoth, can't be on the list.
Hope this helps.
wellingtonlucas282 -Wow! That's brilliant, I'm so glad you enjoy them. I hope you will continue reading and reviewing for future chapters. Thanks so much.
GGG - That's a good point, I can leave some of them for the Orange Islands. It all depends on how the story goes and whether it makes a good chapter, to be honest. The scrapbook is going to be an end of region thing, but I'll devote a whole chapter on it. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll enjoy the next chapter.
Sonic07 - Indeed, she did and I like the idea of them teaching Marina about batterling. Maybe I can devote a chapter to each in the future. I'm glad you liked the chapter and the omake, I really had fun writing it. Charles' Pokemon won't be in this chapter a lot, because this chapter is in the perspective of Team Rocket, but I'll make sure they'll have an appearance next time. Pyro is back definitely, but I'll consider swapping Sneak and Kami as well. Thanks for reading.
Guest - Thank you so much, I'll be sure to check it out once I published this chapter. Thanks again.
Thank you all for reviewing, hope you'll enjoy this chapter.
Chapter 30: Plan B
Forest in Eastern Kanto
A cool breeze rustled the leaves of the trees, making the only sort of noise in the secluded part of the forest. Everything was tranquil. The Grass Pokemon were enjoying the late morning sun, a pidgey was singing in happy tune and a few caterpie were munching on some of the fallen leaves. It was all peaceful and nothing would ever spoil it.
"-AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNNN!"
And then everything was spoiled.
The three members of Team Rocket crashed through the branches of the trees and slammed into the ground with a mighty thud, making all the Pokemon flee in fright. They groaned in pain, suffering not only the impact of their fall, but because of their latest electrical attack.
Jessie was the first to sit up and she began to shake her fists in the air, "I've had it! This is the fourth time this week that the twerps sent us blasting off!"
"Meowth," James sighed, sitting up and rubbing his aching head, "I thought you said our robot was resistant to giant magnets?"
The talking Pokemon sat up and shook his head, "Yeah, but it was resistant to giant electromagnets. How was I supposed to know Pikachu was hiding in that post box."
"Did that happen before or after the twerp did the tap dancing?"
"After. Remember the female twerp wore the bow tie and did the thing with the block of Parmesan cheese."
"Oh right," James said with a small nod "Honestly, the whole thing was such a confusing mess that we probably will never mention it ever again. Anyway, should we start planning our next scheme?"
"There isn't going to be an another scheme," Jessie hissed angrily, her arms crossed in front of her.
Meowth and James shared a confused look, "What do you mean," James asked, "We have a pikachu to catch."
"I'm tired of going after that twerps' pikachu," Jessie grumpily muttered, "It's always the same. We come up with a scheme, we capture pikachu, the twerps somehow find us, we battle, we end up blasting off and, worst of all, my hair gets ruined! I've had it! I don't want to do anymore schemes that involve the twerps and that pikachu!"
"Wait, Jessie. You're not suggesting that we..." Meowth gulped, "...stop trying to capture pikachu, are you?"
"We need that pikachu to give to the boss," James added.
Jessie sighed in irritation, "Well, no. I don't want to stop either. I just want a break that's all. Do something else like go to a festival or visit a spa."
James' eyes sparked, "Ooh, I like the sound of a message!"
"Eating popcorn and other sweet treats!"
"And a picnic while we watch a fireworks show!" Jessie and James chorused in excitement, throwing their arms in the air.
However, Meowth slid between them and shook his head.
"Unless you guys can conjure money out of thin air, then we can't do a thing. We're broke, remember?"
The two Team Rocket members bowed their heads in despair, "Oh right...yeah," they muttered.
They all slumped on to the grassy ground miserably, "I guess that leaves us with no choice," Meowth sighed, "We just stay in this part of the forest until something interesting turns up."
"...I don't think it's a bad name or anything. I just think it's a little strange."
Team Rocket's perked up as they heard a familiar female voice from somewhere nearby. Confused, they looked around the area for the person who spoke.
"What do you mean?"
Another voice, male this time, came from the other side of the bushes. Team Rocket sneakily crept over to them and peeked over it to see a dirt road which three people and one Pokemon travelled along. Their eyes widened in surprise when they saw Charles, Flo, Alice and Benny on Flo's shoulder and tried to be as quiet as possible as they walked by the bush they were hiding behind.
"I mean," Alice said, "All of the other Pokemon name's relate to them in some way. Pyro because Charmeleon are fire types, Ruby because tentacool have the red circles on their heads, and Manitari because of the mushrooms on her back. However, I've been thinking for ages, but I can't see how the name Benny relates to a pikachu," she explained.
Flo nodded in agreement, "She does have a point. It does seem a little strange."
"Well, technically his name is Benjamin, but I have always shortened it to Benny," he told them.
"Wait, so his full name is Benjamin Roberts?" Alice said with a giggle, "That makes him sound like a human."
Benny tilted his head questioningly at his brother, "Pik pikachu pika?" he squeaked.
"I don't know," Charles shrugged, "The name popped into my head when you hatched and it kind of stuck."
Team Rocket watched them pass by until they were out of sight before they ducked away.
"Did you see that?" James asked.
"It's the other twerps. The smart one, the nurse one and the officer one. I wonder if they are headed somewhere fun where they don't get electrocuted every other day," Jessie sighed miserably.
Meowth clicked his fingers, "That's it!" he proclaimed with a vicious smirk, "Why don't we try and steal their Pokemon instead today."
The two humans shared a confused look.
"Steal their Pokemon?"
"But they're not our targets."
"Precisely," Meowth said, raising his paw in the air, "They don't know our tricks and schemes and so we don't have to come up with any new ones. They fall for all of them like a bunch of chumps. Not only that, but that shiny pikachu is way more valuable then a normal pikachu and a strong battler. If we give the boss such a rare and powerful Pokemon, he would be overjoyed and give us anything we want. It's perfect!"
"Anything we want," Jessie and James repeated before their eyes began to sparkle.
"Like money!?" Jessie gasped as she imagined herself sitting beside a pool at her villa being served by handsome men in swimming costumes.
"Like food!?" James gasped as he imagined himself at an all-you-can-eat buffet.
"To sit on the boss' lap," Meowth sighed as he imagined himself being petted by the boss while the boss' Persian cried in the corner.
Team Rocket grinned manically and threw their fists in the air, "LET'S DO THIS!"
"Wait, I thought you didn't want to do a scheme today," James pointed out to Jessie.
She smirked, "Don't you see, we're not going after the twerp's pikachu, we going after another pikachu. This time it will be different, we won't be sent blasting away at the end of this," she told him before she shrugged nonchalantly, "Besides, It's either this or sitting in the middle of a forest all day."
Meowth and James shared a look and shrugged as well.
"Can't argue with that," James admitted.
"Perfect," Meowth said, "And I know exactly what we need to do first. Let's start with the classics!"
Team Rocket had, somehow, managed to overtake the team and set up further down the dirt path. Jessie and James were digging a large hole in the road, large enough for three people to fall into, while Meowth was on lookout. James stood to his full height and wiped his brow.
"Oh, I do like a pitfall trap," he said.
"I dig it as well," Meowth commented.
Jessie giggled in glee, "So, I think we all know what to do. Once the twerps...the other twerps, not our usual twerps...when they fall in we jump out of our hiding spot and steal that shiny pikachu."
"Maybe we can steal some of the other Pokemon as well," James added, "Oh, I can't wait to see the looks on their faces."
Meowth gasped and pointed down the road, "I can see their faces now. Quick cover the pit!" he cried urgently.
Jessie and James jumped out of the pit, covered the hole with a bamboo lattice they had made and placed leaves over that. Then they leapt into a nearby bush, closed they eyes and waited for the sound of falling leaves and the startled screams of their victims. The team walked casually to the trap in the middle of the road, but stopped sort of it. They stared at the random pulse of leaves in the middle of the road for a moment before they shared a confused look.
"What's this?" Flo asked, "Why would they be a pile of leaves here."
Alice shrugged "Maybe a Pokemon's collecting them," she suggested, "You know, to eat it for later or use it for their nest. Although, I don't know why the put in the middle of the road."
Charles hummed thoughtfully, "I never heard of any Pokemon do that before. But if that is the case, it seems rude to tread on all their hard work."
"Yeah, let's walk around it," Flo said before the team proceeded to walk around the trap and carry on their way.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket were still hiding in their bush eagerly waiting for the big moment until finally...
CRASH!
"AAAAHHHHHHHH!"
"We got them!" Team Rocket cried as the jumped out of the hiding place and posed at the edge of the pit.
"Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth that's...wait, who are you?" Meowth asked, peering down at the dazed person lying down in the pit.
The boy rubbed his head before glaring up at Team Rocket, "My name's Thackeray Bud. Who on earth are you people?! Did you dig this pit!"
Team Rocket blinked in confusion as they stared down at the very angry trainer.
"You're name's fat hairy butt?" James asked.
"Poor kid. Must have had a terrible childhood," Jessie mused.
"THACKERAY! IT'S THACKERAY! WHY DOES EVERYBODY CALL ME THAT!" he screamed, waving his fist at them.
"Alright sorry," Meowth sighed, rolling his eyes, "but what are you doing falling for our trap, like that?"
"I didn't do it on purpose! Why are you building traps if you don't want people falling in them!" Thackeray countered.
"We were trying to capture some twerps and their shiny pikachu," Jessie crossly explained, "But you came along and ruined it."
Thackeray frowned in annoyance, "Are you are talking about Charles and his girlfriends? I was sneaking up on him so I can get a rematch and I saw them walk around some leaves. Which now I can see was a trap all along."
Team Rocket jaws dropped in shock, "They walked around it!" they exclaimed altogether.
"Can they do that!?" James shouted in disbelief, "I didn't know you could do that!"
Jessie shook her head furiously, "Of course they can't, it's...cheating and really rude. We worked hard digging this pit and they don't bother falling into it."
"Kids these days," Meowth muttered angrily, "They have no respect for craftsmanship."
"Eh, I've seen better pits."
"SHUT UP, FAT HAIRY BUTT!"
"DON'T CALL ME THAT!"
Team Rocket formed a group huddle on the side of the pit. Their faces were filled with absolute fury and disbelief. The other twerps had managed to fall for the pit traps every time, so why didn't it work this time?"
"What do we do now?" James asked.
"Clearly, we are working with twerps who don't respect classic traps," Meowth said, "We have to take things up a notch and pull off and bigger and greater scheme then this one."
Jessie nodded, "We'll catch up to them and think of another plan to capture their Pokemon. If they think they can pull the wool over the formidable Team Rocket's eyes then they are sadly mistaken. We're going to capture that pikachu, no matter what it takes."
"Right!" James And Meowth firmly agreed.
Thackeray, who was still stuck in the pit, overheard their conversation and smirked, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Oh, I see," he mused, catching Team Rocker's attention, "You guys, are Pokemon thieves," he said before pointing up at them with a determined look in his eyes, "Well, if you want any of my Pokemon then you have to face me in a battle. You should know, but I'm well experience Pokemon trainer and I don't take mercy on thieves like- Hey! Where are you going!?" he shouted in surprise when he noticed they weren't there anymore.
Team Rocket stopped and looked over their shoulder at the pit.
"Do you have a shiny pikachu on your team?" Jessie asked.
Thackeray raised an eyebrow, "Err...no."
"Then you're not worth stealing from," Meowth told him, "Catch you later, Fat Hairy Butt," he called out as Team Rocket causally left.
Thackeray gaped in disbelief, "Not worth stealing from? Come back here, you cowards and battle me! How dare you insult me! Come back! Come back now!" he screamed.
...
...
...
"Can you at least help me out?" he asked, "Maybe send down a rope or something. Hello? Are you still there? It's cold down here...hello?"
...
...
...
"They'll be back."
Up In The Air
From up in their Meowth shaped hot air balloon, Team Rocket followed them from high above to make sure they we noticed. The forest had ended a while ago and now they were floating over pleasant countryside. They spied on them through binoculars, focusing on the back of their heads and taking note of what they were doing. Eventually, James groaned in boredom and leaned on the side of the basket.
"Can we just do it now? We've been trailing them for ages," he complained.
"Not yet," Jessie snapped at him, not putting her binoculars down for a second, "I want to plan this through this time. I don't want things to happen like last time...or every time before that."
"I agree with James," Meowth piped up as he lowered his binoculars, "I think we should strike while the jron's hot.
Jessie glared at the Pokemon, "Don't be stupid. Did you forget we're not dealing with our usual twerps. We need to plan it through this time and wait until an opportunity comes up."
"Speaking of opportunity," James said, spotting something through his binoculars, "Look at this."
Jessie and Meowth raised their binoculars to their eyes again and saw the team taking a path branching off the one they were walking on. They followed their route and saw they were going towards a town. It was quite a large town with tall, stone buildings, cobblestone streets and what looked to be a nice marketplace in the centre of it. They smiled deviously as they realised that the narrow lanes made it great place to set up their plan.
"Looks like they are stopping there," Jessie mused, as she clenched her fist and smirked, "This is our chance. Now this is what we do. We set up a stall in the marketplace offering a new machine that polishes pokeballs. Once the twerps deposit their pokeballs into out trap, we'll say that the machine is broken and we have to take it to our workshop and promise them we'll retrieve their pokeballs. That is when we make our escape. Isn't it marvellous?"
James hummed thoughtfully, "That all sounds great, Jessie, but it sounds a little over complicated. I, for one, have a better idea."
"Oh you do, do you?" Jessie questioned, raising a critical eyebrow, "Let me guess, we dress up in disguises, approach them, and then grab the pikachu. It's very cliché, James."
"If it ain't broke; don't fix it."
"Both of you guys are wrong," Meowth told them, waving a finger at them, "My latest Pokemon catcher machine is going to get the job done. They would never see it coming."
Jessie snarled at the suggestion, "But I want to do my plan. It's guaranteed to work."
"No, we're doing my plan. There's nothing wrong with the classics," James retorted.
"It was my idea to go after the other twerps, so I say we do my plan," Meowth told them.
Each member of Team Rocket glared at each other. Neither of them willing onto back down and let the other had the way. Eventually, Jessie leaned back and sighed in irritation.
"Fine, since we can't decided who's plan to do, then why don't we split up and do our own thing. If one of us manages to catch the pikachu then..." she hummed for a moment before she smirked as she got an idea, "...then that person gets first bragging rights when we present the Pokemon to the boss."
"Bragging rights," Meowth and James repeated before they smirked as well,
"All right, it's a deal," James agreed in determination, "The boss would appreciate a good, old-fashion Team Rocket scheme."
Meowth nodded, "I'm in as well. I think the boss would prefer my great technical skills."
"Then we're all in agreement," Jessie said as she pointed dramatically at the town, "What are waiting for? Let's capture that pikachu!"
...
...
...
"Well, we need to find a safe place to land first," Meowth pointed out, causing Jessie to sweat drop, "Does anybody see anywhere without power lines."
"Hmm, what about over there?" James asked, pointing at the ground.
"Nah, the ground looks uneven. Let's just circle the town until we find a better place."
James nodded, "Landing a hot air balloon is hard work, isn't it?"
"You said it."
"STOP RUINING MY DRAMATIC DECLARATION!" Jessie bellowed at them.
Town's Park
On the side of path running through the town's small but picturesque park, James was waiting for the Charles, Alice and Flo to walk on by. Now that they have split up, James now had the freedom to carry out his own scheme. He was dressed in a blue and white stiped shirt, white trousers, a straw boater hat and wore a fake moustache to disguise his features. He stood next to a pikachu-proof cage which he disguised as an ice cream cart with a blue parasol to make it look more realistic. The plan was simple: offer the twerps ice cream and, when they least expect it, grab pikachu and shove him in the cart and run off before they could catch him.
"Nice and simple," James told to himself in glee, "Nothing beats the classics and the boss is going to reward me handsomely," he looked down the path to see his victims walking up the path and gasped, "Here they come."
He waited for them as they got closer and closer, his eyes trained on them and he tried to suppress his evil smirk. However, before he could do anything, he felt a tap on his shoulder.
"Excuse me, sir."
He looked around and saw the town's Officer Jenny standing behind him, looking at him curiously. He blinked in confusion before glancing at the kids down the path and then back to her.
"How can I help you, officer?"
"Do you have a licence to sell ice cream?" she asked.
"Err...no."
The officer raised a stern eyebrow, "Then I have to ask you to come with me to the station, sir."
"But...I..." he stammered when he noticed that his victims had just walked by without him noticing, "Oh damn it," he muttered in annoyance.
Building Roof
A while later Meowth was on top of a roof in the middle of town, peering down at Charles, Alice and Benny with a toothy grin. They were sat at a table outside a nice, little café, enjoying a few milkshakes and a slice of cake while talking to each other. The talking Pokemon waited until he spotted Flo jogging down the road with Alette in her arms before she sat down at the table as well.
"That's the last one," he told himself, "now I can finally use my latest invention."
He turned around and looked at a circular plastic container with a lid that was lifted open. Attached to container via a a few wires was what looked like a rocker launcher, but instead of having a missile in it, it had projectile with four grabbing fingers on it and an antennae on the top of it. On the launcher itself there was a screen with a keyboard underneath it.
"My Pokemon-seeking capture device is sure to impress the boss," he declared as walked over to the launcher, "This thing is connected to the national pokedex, so all I have to do it find the entry for pikachu," he typed on the keyboard until an image of a pikachu showed up on the screen, "prepare the launcher," he said as he hefted the launcher onto his shoulder, "and then fire Pokemon-seeking missile. The missile will find its target, grab it, and deposited it my pikachu-proof cage and then I will get our hands on one shiny pikachu," he declared in to the air. He then nodded contently, "Yep, saying what the invention does to nobody was even better the second time. Now aim..."
He raised the launcher into the air.
"...Ready..."
He tightened his grip on the trigger.
"...and fire!"
He pulled the trigger and the Pokemon-seeking missile zoomed into the air, powered by a rocket device at the back. It flew around in circles a few times before the devise found its target and flew down to the road. After a few seconds of waiting, the missile flew back up the building, hovered over the cage and deposited its target as the cage snapped shut. The missile then retreated back into the launcher, ready to be fired again if necessary.
"Alright!" Meowth cheered as he made his way to the clear plastic cage, "I've got myself a-"
He stopped mid-sentence as he stared at what the missile had brought back. It was an adorable life-size pikachu plushie, waving cheerfully back at him. Meowth glared at the stuffed toy for a few moments before going over to the roof and looking over the side.
"Pikachu memorabilia!" a street vendor called out as he rolled his cart full of pikachu-inspired toys and souvenirs by the café the kids were sitting at, "Get your life-like pikachu memorabilia right here!"
Charles pointed the vendor out to Benny to which he responded by rolling his eyes in amusement.
"What!" Meowth cried as he turned to the launcher's screen and began punching in the keys, "That's not a pikachu. The one down at the café is a real pikachu."
The screen showed a picture of Benny labelled '80% match' and a picture of the pikachu plushie labelled '95% match'.
"It's a shiny pikachu," Meowth said out loud as he punched in a few more keys, "It just has different coloured fur. It should be in the national pokedex."
The screen then read, 'National Pokedex: Pikachu (shiny): N/A'
"Oy vey," Meowth muttered in annoyance as he pressed a few more keys, "Fine, just find a target with a large electrical output," he ordered before he fired the launcher again.
The missile flew around in circles again before it found its target and brought it back and deposited into the cage.
"Finally, some result- Oh come on!" he shouted when he saw that the missile didn't bring back Benny.
In fact, it wasn't even a Pokemon. It was a mushroom-looking device with an a silver disk onto of a stem with copper wire wrapped around it. Meowth looked over the side of the building once again and sweat dropped at what he saw.
"Tesla coils!" a vendor shouted as he pushed his cart full of live electrical equipment by the café, "Get you're tesla coils right here!"
Meowth raised an eyebrow, "That seems like a dangerous thing to sell on the street," he said before tearing his mid away from it and going back to the launcher device, "Fine, I just need to be a bit more specific. Find a real-life Pokemon with a large electrical output down in the street below us," he ordered before he launched the missile for the third time today.
The missile, once again, flew around in circles for a few seconds before speeding away to retrieve its target. Eventually, it came back and deposited the target into the cage and the lid sealed shut.
"Okay, this time I must have got the pikachu," Meowth said as he made his way to the cage, "No way, would it get it wrong this..."
The talking Pokemon's face fell in horror as two very annoyed eyes stared back at him. To be fair, it was a real-life Pokemon with a large electrical output, but it was just not the one he was hoping for.
("Target locked,") the voltorb robotically said, ("Opponent identified as meowth. Type: Normal. Must use Self-destruct.")
Meowth gulped as he saw the voltorb begin to glow brightly, "Oh no."
Meanwhile, down at the café, a trainer with black hair and tanned skin came up to the team's table, scratching his head.
"Hey, you guys haven't happened to see my voltorb, have you. He was next to me a second ago," the trainer asked them.
They were about to respond with a giant explosion erupted from the roof of the building across from them. Everybody in the street stopped in stare at the black plume of smoke billowing up into the sky in awe. Suddenly, Alice heard something above them and saw something falling towards her. She stood up and caught the voltorb before it could hit the ground and passed it over to the trainer.
"Is this the voltorb you're looking for?"
"Sparks!" the trainer cried as he hugged his Pokemon, "Where did you go?"
The voltorb smiled with its eyes up at him, ("Target: eliminated.")
Up on the roof, Meowth laid on the among his broken invention covered in black soot. He raised his head and coughed, sending a plume of smoke out of his mouth, "Back to the drawing board," he said before he collapsed once again.
The Street
James, who had somehow got away from Officer Jenny and waited on the side of the street, waiting for Charles, Flo, Alice and Benny to walk on by. He now wore a white painter smock, a red beret, a fake beard and circular sunglasses and stood next to an canvas and easel and a cage disguised as a trunk.
"Right, well that last one didn't work, but this time for sure," he told himself before he spotted his victims coming down the street, "Alright James, let's-"
He suddenly felt a tap on his shoulder, "Excuse me, sir. Do you have a license to be painting people on the street," Officer Jenny asked with a stern look.
James turned to her with a sheepish expression, "Err..."
Market Place
The market was busy today as hundreds of people swarmed the many booths who offer everything from fruit and vegetables to toys and sweets. Among the booths was one red and white booth with a sign which read 'Pokeball Polishing Service' in big, bold letters.
It looked professional enough. Jessie wore a purple business suit, tied up her long hair into a bun and wore a pair of triangular glasses. She stood before a machine that was painted silver and gold, it had a tray that slid out to place pokeballs on and a large screen that displayed the how long a polish would take. Of course, the machine was a complete fake. It was mainly made out of cardboard and the lights were just for show. However, when you slid the tray into the 'machine' with the pokeballs in, the pokeballs would fall into a basket where Jessie would be able to remove it and run away with the stolen pokeballs.
"Those two numbskulls really think they can do better than me," Jessie chuckled darkly, "It is I who will capture the shiny pikachu and bring it back to the boss. All because of my cunning skills," she looked out into the crowd and smirked when she saw the team, "Just in time," she said before she called out to them in a sweet voice, "Yoohoo! Children come over here!"
They looked around towards their booth and shared an unsure expression. Hesitantly, they approached Jessie, giving the machine behind her a curious look.
"Sorry, were you talking to us?" Flo asked.
Jessie nodded, "I sure did. My name is Jessi- I mean Jess. Just Jess," she told them, almost slipping up, "You three all look like Pokemon trainers, am I right?"
Alice rubbed the back of her head, "Well, actually only one of us-"
"That must also mean you have pokeballs," 'Jess' interrupted, "Tell me, young man, how often do you clean your Pokemon's?"
"Well, I usually clean them every fortnight," Charles told her.
"A fortnight?" 'Jess' gasped dramatically, "Oh no, no, no, that's not enough."
"It isn't?" Charles questioned, raising a sceptical eyebrow, "But that's what is recommended in the guideboo-"
"And how do you do clean, might I ask?" she interrupted again.
"With a rag and polish."
"A rag and polish!?" 'Jess' gasped dramatically again, "What a primitive way of doing it."
"But that's the only way of doing it," Alice argued.
'Jess' smiled and petted Alice on the head, "Oh, you're such a sweetie," she teased, earning a dirty look from the young Officer Jenny, "I suppose you can use a rag and polish, but may I present you the latest and greatest in pokeball cleaning," she declared, presenting the machine behind her, "This experimental polishing machine will take mere seconds and can clean multiple pokeballs at the same time. I'm planning to introduce this machine in every pokecentre across the region, so trainers can experience clean, sparkling pokeballs without lifting a finger. So, why don't you three give it a test. All for free, of course."
The children hummed thoughtfully as they stared at the machine before they smiled and nodded.
"Sure, why not," Flo said.
"It sounds great," Alice added.
'Jess' clapped her hands in delight, "Excellent," she said before she thought, "These twerps are morons. This is going to be much easier then I first thought."
Charles, Flo and Alice reached for their pokeballs as Benny jumped onto his brother's head. The shiny pikachu looked up at 'Jess' and sweat dropped at the way she was looking at him. Her eyes had darkened and a sinister smirk spread across her face.
("Huh,") Benny said, ("She's...weird. Really weird.")
The creepy look dropped from her face when the children looked up at her again, replaced by her cheery smile.
"Alright, here you go," Charles said as he and the girls placed ten shrunken down pokeballs each onto the counter.
'Jess' stared at the pokeballs for a few seconds, confusion evident in her eyes, "Err...you have a lot of Pokemon with you. Are they all in there?"
They gave her an odd look before Charles shook his head, "Pokemon? Oh no, these are our spare pokeballs. That's what you meant, right?"
She gulped as she looked from the empty pokeballs up to him, "Well...I also meant the pokeballs that have Pokemon in as well. Not just your spare ones, you see?"
"I don't like the sound of that," Flo commented, "Why would put our Pokemon in balls and have them polished. It sounds cruel."
Alice nodded in agreement, "Yeah, we might as well put them in a washing machine. Who knows what sort of damage it could cause them."
"Huh?" 'Jess' stammered in shock before she smiled nervously at them, "I assure you the Pokemon will be well and truly safe during the process. No harm will come to them. I promise."
"But didn't you say it was experimental?" Charles asked, "That sounds like a big risk to us. I think we'll just stick to cleaning our spare pokeballs instead, thank you," he told her as the others agreed with him.
'Jess' began to sweat in panic, not expecting this sort of a twist, 'I need to think fast,' she told herself, 'I cannot lose to James and Meowth. I want the boss to praise me and possibly a raise. Ha! I know what to do,' she cleared her throat and wiped the sweat from her brow, "Well, it seems a little unfair to your Pokemon to clean the spare pokeballs and not theirs. Why don't you take them out and leave them in the waiting area...inside the machine."
"There's a waiting area in the machine?" Flo questioned unsurely.
"Oh yes, of course," 'Jess' told them, "It's something our...Research and Development Department had just cooked up. Just put them through this door," she told them, opening a door that was in the machine, "And they'll be safe through the process. Why don't we begin with this cutie," she said, pointing at Benny, "If you like to ask you Pokemon to wait in the...waiting area and pass me his pokeball and I can begin."
Charles smiled softly, "Sorry, but Benny here doesn't have a pokeball."
'Jess' eye twitched in annoyance, "He doesn't?"
"No. He's my brother and I find it kind of weird to put your family members in pokeballs," Charles told her.
'Jess' looked from Benny perched on his head to Charles' smiling face. She raised a sceptical eyebrow, "The pikachu is your brother?"
Charles' face dropped in annoyance, "Oh I see, you're one of those people. Judging us because my brother's a Pokemon."
Benny frowned in concern and petted his face, ("No, Charles is fine.")
"It's not fine," Charles retorted loudly, drawing the crowd's interest, "For seven years we have to put up with people like you, Jess, and I'm not going to put up for it any longer."
'Jess's sweat dropped, "W-what's happening?"
"Fine, I admit that he may not be a human and we don't share the same blood and look nothing alike. And sure we have our differences, I walk on two feet and he scurries on four paws, he can send out electrical attacks and I can't, I brush my teeth and he has to gnaw on something to sharpen down his rodent teeth. But it's what's inside that counts and I know that in all aspects, except physical, Benny here is my brother and I'm so proud of him," Charles ranted passionately.
"Kid, I wasn't trying-" 'Jess' tried to say but he continued.
"And that's not all," he declared, "My mother is a blissey, my aunt is a dragonite and my daughter is a dratini. They are my family and you...," he pointed sternly at her, to emphasise his point, "...have no right to judge me. I'm sure everybody here would all say that their Pokemon are like family to them. They are not tools to be used or to trade. They may not be human, but we love each other no matter what!"
The crowd that had gathered around them started to cheer at his speech, causing 'Jess' to look around in confusion.
"W-what? Why's everybody here? What's going on?" she asked in bewilderment.
Benny jumped into Charles' arms while he gave 'Jess' a stern look, "Come on, guys. Let's leave this Pokemon bigot to her cleaning machine."
Flo and Alice collected the pokeballs and stuck their tongues at her.
"Yeah, we'll be taking these," Alice said.
"We don't do business with people like you," Flo added as they began to walk away, "Oh and you're machine's on fire."
'Jess' raised an eyebrow as he turned around, "What does that me- OH MY ARCEUS! THE MACHINE'S ON FIRE!" she screamed as saw part of the cardboard trap ablaze.
The wiring she used for the lights must have overheated and set the cardboard on fire. If Jessie had a moment to reflect instead of dealing with blaze, she would have realised that if she had James and Meowth with her, then maybe they would have spotted the fire first. After she had finally extinguished the flames, Jessie collapsed to her knees next to the charred remains of her booth and slammed her fist into the ground.
"No! My perfect plan is ruined!" she wailed.
Town Street
"This is my last chance," James said as he wore his third disguise of the day, "I don't think I can escape that officer again."
He was now dressed as a sanitation worker, wearing a dark blue boiler suit, a high-vis vest and grey bushy moustache. With him he also had a broom and another cage disguised as a bin. He brushed the streets, waiting for them out of the corner of his eye.
Finally, he spotted them coming down the streets and smirked evilly.
"Right this time for sure-" he stopped when he felt somebody tap his shoulder, causing him to cry out in anger, "Oh for goodness sake! Do I need a license to clean public streets now!"
He turned around and grimaced when he didn't see the Officer Jenny this time. Standing behind him was a middle aged woman with brown hair, fair skin and blue eyes. She glared at him fiercely with her hands on her hips.
"Of course not," she said, "But this is the third time today you ran out of my shop with one of my costumes without paying."
James gulped, "Oh right. I guess that is pretty illegal."
Outskirts Of Town
Team Rocket met up again at their hot air balloon in the middle of a field. They sat on the grass and leaned against the basket, muttering bitterly about their failures.
"After my booth burned down, I was told to never come back to the market," Jessie murmured as she held her head in her hands, "All that planning and now it's nothing but dust."
"You think you've got it bad," James sighed, "I had to pay the fancy dress shop owner back for all the costumes I stole. Now we're really broke."
Meowth shook his head, "All that hard work I put into making my invention is now ruined. I knew I should have made the cage explosion proof. Where did we go wrong?"
Suddenly, James and Meowth felt a deadly aura coming from their partner and shivered in fear as they looked over at her. Jessie's eyes had darkened, her teeth were grit together and veins started to bulge on her face as she clenched her hands into tight fists. The male members of Team Rocket moved away from her, fearing that she may explode at any moment.
"Where did we go wrong?" Jessie repeated in a dark tone, "I know exactly where we went wrong! We were too soft on those twerps and that pikachu and we suffered because of it! But not now!" she stood to her feet and turned to her partners, "All day we have been working on our plans, but we forgot one important thing: we are a team! And therefore we must work as together to defeat those stupid twerps and take all their Pokemon!"
James grinned and stood up at her side, "Jessie's right. We've been too busy working against each other when we should be working on taking them down. We just need a way to combine Jessie's planned scheme, my classic scheme, and Meowth's technology scheme into one giant scheme. But how will we do that?"
"Oh guys," Meowth said as he reached into the basket and pulled a rolled up blueprint, "I think I know a way to combine all of our schemes that will knock the socks off those twerps."
He unfurled the blueprint and presented it to them. They study the plans carefully before grinning menacingly.
"That'll do," Jessie said.
"Indeed," James added, "That'll do nicely."
As the afternoon became the evening, the team were walking on the road out of town as they continued their journey towards Fuchsia City. Flo rubbed the back of her neck tiredly before looking back at the town they had just left wearily.
"Are you sure we can't stay there for the night?" she asked, "By the time we get to the forest it would have gotten dark."
Alice shook her head, "No can do. Our diversion made us fall behind schedule so we have to make it up. Besides, I thought you liked camping?"
"Not the point," Flo sighed, earning a chuckled from Charles.
"At least we've had a fun day," he said, "However, I wonder if-"
But before he could finish his sentence, a dark shadow fell over them which caused them to stop in their tracks. Out of nowhere, something very big landed a few meters in front of them causing dust and debris to fly into the air. Once it settled, they looked and gasped when they saw the giant black metal robot now in front of them. It had two legs as large as tree trunks which were holding up a round body as well as two slender arms which ended with sharp claws. They frowned at the sight of the large red 'R' painted on the front of the body and growled when they heard mocking laughter erupted from the speakers.
Prepare for trouble!"
"And make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
Suddenly the hatch on the top of the robot's body opened up and the two human members of Team Rocket leapt out and posed dramatically.
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth finished as jumped out as well.
The children and Pokemon sighed in annoyance, "Oh it's you guys," Alice muttered.
"What do you want with us?" Charles asked as he put his arms behind his back.
"Don't sound like your disappointed to see us!" James shouted at them before he cleared his throat, "Clearly, we want that shiny pikachu of yours, so hand it over."
Flo rolled her eyes, "Or what? Our Pokemon can take that robot down easily."
Jessie laughed, "Do you think we came unprepared. This thing is resistant to any attack you throw at us. Water, fire, electricity, whatever. It'll just bounce off with no problems."
"It's a classic Team Rocket scheme," James said with a smirk.
"Plus with my innovative skills."
"And my planned our attack."
"All combined into one perfect Team Rocket scheme!" they proclaimed simultaneously before they cackled maniacally.
Charles, Flo, Alice and Benny watched them laugh in confusion, not quite sure what to make of their antics.
("Are we missing something?") Benny asked, pointing at them.
Charles shrugged, "I have no idea," he admitted.
Finally, Team Rocket eventually stopped and grinned down at them victoriously, "Well, come on twerps," Meowth said, "Hand that pikachu over or else you'll suffer our machine's wrath."
They children and Pokemon shared a concerned look as they tried to think of a way out of this. Eventually, Charles sighed and stepped forwards and looked up at them with a stern look.
"Fine, you'll get Benny," he said, causing Team Rocket's grin to widen, "However, I have just one question I need to ask before I do that."
Jessie rolled her eyes, "Alright spit it out. What's your question?"
Charles took a deep breath and, the calmest voice he could muster, he simply asked, "What is Team Rocket?"
...
...
...
...
Jessie, James and Meowth blinked in confusion before they looked at each other to confirm that he actually did ask that question. Soon enough, Jessie turned back to him and raised an annoyed eyebrow at him.
"Didn't you hear our motto?"
"Well, yeah, I know the motto and everything, but do you guys actually do anything other then stealing Pokemon?" Charles asked, "In fact, what do you do with the Pokemon once you had stolen them?"
James laughed, "Well, obviously we used the Pokemon to take over the world."
"How?"
"What?"
"How do you use stolen Pokemon to take over the world?" Charles asked again.
James stared blankly at him. He looked over to Jessie and Meowth, but they merely shrugged in response, "Well...err...we...we have the Pokemon and we use them to...take over the world."
Flo stepped up beside Charles, "So, you're building up an army?"
"Yes!" Meowth shouted in relief, "Exactly, we have a Pokemon army that will take over the world."
James nodded, "Yeah, that makes sense. What he said."
Alice stepped up on Charles' left, "That sounds kind of...drastic, don't you think. I mean an army vs the entire population of the world. Human and Pokemon. Wouldn't it be easier to like...I don't know, get into politics and win an election."
"We don't need to once we rule the world," Jessie firmly told them, her eye twitching in annoyance, "Now stop asking stupid questions and give us that pika-"
"What's your policies?"
"WHAT!?"
"Your policies," Flo repeated, "Once you rule the world; what are Team Rocket's policies. Are you going to improve infrastructure or give more money to pokecentres?"
Jessie flinched, "I-I don't-"
"What about your policies on law and order?" Alice piped up.
"We don't really-" Meowth tried to say, but Charles interrupted him.
"Are you going to set up a universal health care system?"
James snorted, "Well duh, we're not going to let people pay hundreds of pokedollars just to go to a hospital. We may be an evil cooperation, but we're not that evil."
"Well, what other policies does Team Rocket provide," Flo asked, "We might vote for you if you set up a political party."
Team Rocket shared another desperate look before James responded, "That's not really our department."
"What department would that be?"
"...Probably management, but I don't really know."
("Oh I know,") Benny called out from Charles' shoulder, ("Why don't we go through Team Rocket's motto and see if it contains any policies,") he said as Charles translated for him to Flo and Alice.
"Oh good idea," Flo said, "So there's 'To protect the world from devastation'. Maybe that's something to do with protecting the environment."
"And then there's 'To unite all people within our nation'," Alice added, "Sounds quite nationalistic. I don't think I like that. Are you willing to drop that policy if we promise to vote for the Rocket Party?"
Jessie hummed and rubbed her chin, "Well, when you say it like that-" she stopped when it suddenly dawned on her why they were doing this. Her mouth pulled back into a snarl and the was fire in her eyes, "WAIT A MINUITE! YOU'RE ASKING THESE STUPID QUESTIONS TO DISTRACT US, AREN'T YOU!"
("Wow, it really took them that long to figure it out,") Benny commented.
Charles shrugged, "I mean, I'm also curious about what Team Rocket is, but, yeah, we've mainly been playing for time."
Jessie screamed in fury before she jumped into the robot's cockpit, "THAT'S IT! WE'RE TAKING THESE ANNOYING TWERPS DOWN! JAMES, MEOWTH GET IN NOW!"
The male members of the team gulped and instantly climbed into their seats in the cockpit. The cockpit controlled everything about the robot with a few buttons on the dashboard around them. Meowth, who was in the pilot's seat began to flick switches and press buttons as the other two sat and glared at their targets through their window.
"Alright!" Meowth shouted as grabbed a hold of the machine's joystick, "Ready to start the countdown."
"This is the last time these twerps will ever mess with Team Rocket!" James cried.
"Start the countdown!" Jessie ordered.
"Okay! Three twerps ready to be pummelled in three..."
The mighty arms of the robot lifted up into the air.
"...two..."
The hands began to rotate faster and faster until the claws looked like giant saws.
"...one..."
Charles, Flo, Alice backed away anxiously as the robot began to stomp towards them.
"...and GO!"
Meowth slammed the joystick down, ready to send the hands of the robot down on them. However, something else happened instead. A loud banging noise erupted from within the robot, causing Team Rocket to look around in confusion. The banging sound was followed up by more banging, getting louder and louder and closer and closer until one of the robot's leg exploded into smithereens, sending pieces for metal and other machinery flying all over the place. Before they realised what had happened, the second leg exploded as well which caused a chain reaction to rip through the robot until inevitable the cockpit exploded as well, causing Team Rocket to shoot out into the evening sky.
"TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIN BUT WE DON'T HOW!" they screamed as they became nothing but a sparkle in the distance.
Flo, Alice, Benny and Charles watch them soar through the air until they could no longer see them before the sighed in relief.
"Phew, that was close," Alice uttered, "I thought we were goners then."
Charles chuckled, "Thankfully, we had a little luck on our side. Oh and here he comes now," he said, waving to a slightly dazed Tyche who stumbled over to them. He kneeled down and petted his yellow head, "Sorry for taking you out of your pokeball abruptly. They came out of nowhere so I had to be sneaky."
Tyche waved his leaf hand reassuringly, ("It's fine,") he told him before looking at the direction that Team Rocket blasted away in concern, ("Oh dear, when you motioned towards the robot while talking to those funny people, I thought you wanted me to help fix its legs. I found the hatch and did my best with all the...electrical stuff, but I seemed to have made things worse")
Benny smiled down at him, ("Don't worry. You did exactly what we were hoping for,") he told him as Charles put Tyche back in his pokeball.
Flo looked up at where Team Rocket disappeared with a small smile, "So, do you think we've fooled them."
"I think we annoyed them enough," Charles told her with a small sigh, "I doubt that Team Rocket will be coming after us anytime soon."
Unknown to Team Rocket, the team were very aware that they were following them. In fact, they had know for a very long time now. It was not as if it was difficult for them to work out.
-Flashback 5 Hours Ago -
Countryside
Charles, Alice, Flo and Benny walked along the dirt path through past fields and farmland. Usually, they would joy the scenery, but, ever since they left the forest, they've been walking in silence with irritated expressions on their faces. Charles sighed and without turning his head, spoke to Benny on his shoulder.
"Are they still following us?" he asked.
Benny subtly turned his head and looked up into the sky. He grumbled miserably when he saw the meowth hot air ballon right behind him.
("Yep, they're still there,") he answered, causing Charles to hum.
"What is Team Rocket doing?" he questioned, "Are they planning to attack us or something."
Flo rolled her eyes, "If that's the case then she should really reconsider their choice of using the most obvious and slowest form of transport ever."
"What are we going to do?" Alice murmured, "Team Rocket bugs Ash and the others everyday. I don't think I can handle that pressure, we've got our own problems to deal with."
Charles frowned and looked around the landscape until his eyes landed upon the road branching off further down the path. He followed the road up towards a town in the distance and hummed in interest.
"I think I've got an idea. Although, we may have to divert for today," he told the others.
Alice gave him a look, "But what about my schedule."
"I promise I'll buy you a slice of cake the first chance I get," Charles said.
She pouted in annoyance, "Fine, but the promise of cake is not always going to convince me, you know."
("Sure it won't,") Benny quipped with a small smirk.
Flo glanced over, "Charles, what are you planning?"
He replied with a mischievous smile, "Getting rid of them is not going work. So we have to convince them to give up on us."
-Flashback End -
"I think my favourite was when you gave that passionate speech in the marketplace," Flo told Charles, "I never knew you could think so fast on your feet."
Benny shrugged, ("I thought it was kind of sappy and you totally exaggerated some parts. Also what's a Pokemon bigot?")
"Hey, I needed to make it convincing," Charles defended himself, "What was really great was what Flo and Alette did."
Flashback 2 Hours and 30 Minutes Ago -
Town Streets
The team were walking down the streets, enjoying the rustic charm of the buildings and the cobblestone streets. Suddenly, out of the corner of Flo's eye, she spotted Meowth on the other side of the road carrying a weird looking machine on his back, trying his best to be sneaky as he ducked into and alleyway. Flo frowned irritably and whispered to the others.
"I just saw Meowth and he's got some weird invention with him," she informed.
"What should we do for this one?" Alice asked.
"I've got an idea. You guys go on ahead and I'll meet you at the café," Flo told them.
They nodded and walked away while she stayed behind. Taking out one of her pokeballs, she released Alette into her arms, with the clairfairy looking up at her curiously.
"Alette, I need you to follow Meowth down that alley and find out what that machine does," she told her, "Make sure you're not spotted."
Alette nodded determinedly and jumped down, crossed the road and went down the alleyway. She crept silently, hiding behind bins and discarded wooden crates as went. She finally spotted Meowth climbing up a fire escape, heading towards the roof of the building next to them.
("Right, all I had to do is find out what he's doing,") Alette whispered to herself before frowning, ("But how will I do that?")
Suddenly Meowth stopped midway up and grinned proudly as he looked over his invention, Ha! This thing will be a piece of cake. My invention is connected to the national pokedex, so all I have to do it find the entry for pikachu, prepare the launcher and then fire Pokemon-seeking missile. The missile will find its target, grab it, and deposited it my pikachu-proof cage and then I will get our hands on one shiny pikachu," he told himself before he sighed, "I love saying what my invention does to myself. I might do it again later."
As he began climbing up again, Alette couldn't help but sweat drop in disbelief, ("That was easy,") she sighed in annoyance, ("What an idiot.")
- Flashback End -
"He really just explained the invention out loud like that?" Alice asked.
Flo shrugged, "I guess he must of been proud of it. Anyway, once Alette explained to Charles what it was and he then translated it to me, I just called Professor Oak to temporarily take shiny pikachu off the pokedex."
Charles raised an eyebrow, "He can do that?"
"Well, he can block the information temporarily," Flo said before she gave him a teasing grin, "It's quite technical. You won't get it, Charles."
"Thanks," he muttered sarcastically.
Flo giggled and turned to Alice, "How were you able to persuade your aunt to keep on bothering James?"
"Aw it wasn't that difficult," Alice admitted.
Flashback 4 Hours Ago -
Town Park Gate
"So, you don't want me to arrest him," Officer Jenny questioned sceptically as she looked down at her niece, "Even though he's a criminal and a part of Team Rocket."
Alice nodded pleadingly, "I know, but it's kind of important if he doesn't get arrested, So, do you mind just taking him to the station because he didn't have a license or something and then letting him go."
Officer Jenny frowned and rubbed the back of her head, "Well, If it's important then I guess I can. But this is the a one time thing. This is my town and no criminals get away when I'm around."
At that moment, a few meters behind Officer Jenny, the tesla coil vendor rounded a street corner and was about to head down, but stopped dead in his tracks when he spotted the officer. He gulped nervously and slowly pushed his cart back around the corner before she could notice him.
-Flashback End -
"Come on then," Charles said as he adjusted his bag on his shoulders, "We've wasted enough time on Team Rocket. Let's get a move on."
They began walking down the dirt road away from the town, finally getting to enjoy the scenery underneath the evening sun. After walking in silence for a few seconds, Benny decided to talk to his brother.
("You know, I kind of feel bad about putting a Team Rocket on Ash, Brock and Misty's shoulders. Do you think we made the right choice?")
Charles hummed thoughtfully, "I think Ash and the others could handle them. Besides, I somehow get the feeling that Team Rocket would much prefer them rather than us," he said as they continued to walk as the sun slowly descended behind the horizon.
Forest in Eastern Kanto
A cool breeze rustled the leaves of the trees, making the only sort of noise in the secluded part of the forest. Everything was tranqu-
"-AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIINNNNNN!"
And then everything was spoiled. Again.
The three members of Team Rocket crashed through the trees and slammed into the ground for the second time today. They groaned in pain and slowly got to their feet, rubbing their heads of the headache forming. Jessie sighed and leaned against a tree in misery and frowned down at the ground.
"I give up. I'm too tired to continue scheming," she muttered.
James nodded in agreement and sat down on a nearby rock, "I know what you mean. But I don't understand, we did everything we could to get that pikachu, but we ended up failing again. Where did we go wrong?"
Meowth perked up when he realised something. "I've got it! I know what went wrong."
"You do?" Jessie and James asked.
"Of course, it's not our fault our plans didn't work, it was the twerps's fault. Our plans were perfect, but the twerps were too stupid to fall for any of them. I mean they couldn't even fall into a simple pit trap. We're obviously working on a much higher level to them. That's why none of the great traps didn't work."
The other two members brightened up instantly.
"Of course, that makes complete sense," James gasped, "Our genius goes way beyond those twerps."
Jessie nodded, "That shows that they're not even worth stealing from. Good thing we realised before we went to the boss."
"You said it."
"I totally agree. However, what do we do now?" James asked.
"-I'm not criticising you Ash, I just thought it would be a good idea."
Suddenly, a very familiar voice sounded from somewhere in the forest, causing Team Rocket to search the area.
"Well, I just don't want to give the names. I like what they are called now."
Another familiar voice replied on the other side of bush that was nearby. Team Rocket sneaked up and peered over it to see a dirt path going through a forest. On that path, Ash, Misty and Brock, with Pikachu riding on Ash's shoulder, walked on by their hiding place.
"I think naming your Pokemon is good idea as well, Ash," Brock piped up, "You'll form a deeper bond with them."
Ash hummed and tapped a finger to his lips in thought before shaking his head, "Nah, I'm fine with calling them by their Pokemon name's. Giving them other names would just be confusing."
"Confusing for you maybe," Misty quipped, earning an angry glare from Ash.
As soon as they walked passed and out of sight, Team Rocket smiled gleefully to each other.
"Look at that, it's our usual twerps," James said.
"I know. Let's come up with a scheme to get pikachu right now!"
"Perfect!" Meowth agreed as the three leaped out of the bush and began to follow the trio down the path, "I honestly had no idea what we were thinking going after the other twerps," he admitted as Team Rocket, once again, tried their best to capture pikachu.
And that's it.
I can't help but fell that this chapter was a little bit messy. I barely described the scenery and there was way too much dialogue, however, no matter how many times I rewrote this chapter, I just couldn't find a good balance. I'm not disappointed in it, but I feel like I could have done better. Anyway, I'm sure it's fine and it all makes sense.
James being arrested for not having a license was inspired by the Peter Sellers film 'A Shot In The Dark' and Meowth explaining his plan out loud to himself was inspired by the villain monologuing trope.
Hope you enjoyed the chapter and I'll see you next time.
Thanks :)
Potential Pokemon List:
Charles
Nidoran (Female)
Gastley
Ponyta
Drowzee
Goldeen
Tauros
Aerodactyl
Onix
Grimer
Flo
Psyduck
Nidoran (Male)
Kangaskhan
Cubone
Diglett
Jolteon
Shellder
Alice
Venonat
Farfetch'd
Rattata
Poliwag
Tangela
Spearow
Lickitung
Leaf
Gloom (Female)
Gloom (Male)
Leafeon
Exeggute
Omake
A Forest In Eastern Kanto
Night had fallen and the cold breeze chilled Thackeray Bud, his poliwrath and his mankey to the bone. From the bottom of the pit, they looked up and saw the stars were shining brightly above them and the branches of the trees swayed in the wind. They waited...
...and waited...
...and waited...
...until Thackeray looked down towards the other occupants of the pit.
"Do you think they're coming back for us?" he asked his Pokemon.
Poliwrath and Mankey shook their heads no in response.
Thackeray hummed thoughtfully and nodded.
...
...
...
...
"Let's give them five more minutes," he suggested, causing his Pokemon to sigh in exasperation.