Chapter 91: While the Twerps are Away…
High in the skies above Legenda a familiar Meowth-shaped balloon floated. Its inhabitants, the trio of Jessie, James and Meowth were busy coming up with their next big scheme to steal Ash and Nikki's Pokémon.
"Okay Meowth, what's the plan this time?" Jessie inquired.
"I'm telling you this one is foolproof!" Meowth bragged. "There's no way the twerps will beat us this time!"
"Well, don't keep us in suspense. Tell us," James urged.
"Alright then. Now, you know how the twerps always seem to have trouble whenever we break out the giant robots, right? Well, what if we used three of them at the same time," Meowth said. This seemed to intrigue his teammates.
"They do seem to have trouble with our robots at first," James commented.
"And using three would give them even more trouble," Jessie added. "I like that plan, Meowth."
"Well then, let's get to it!" Meowth said.
"James, how much money do we have for this plan?" Jessie wondered. Eager to get this plan underway James took our their wallet to see how much they had to spend on their trio of robots. He opened it up and looked inside, but once he did his face fell.
"Um, James… you don't look too good," Meowth commented.
"That's because we're… um…," he stuttered.
"What, James?! Spit it out!" Jessie demanded.
"We're broke," James finally said.
"What?!" Jessie shrieked. She snatched the wallet from James' hand and looked inside. The wallet was completely empty, save for a few cobwebs.
"How can we be broke?! What happened to all our money?!" she asked.
"I think your Contest exploits might have had something to do with our current money predicament," Meowth chimed in.
"Don't you try to put all the blame on me!" Jessie spat.
"Regardless of whose fault it is the problem still remains," James said.
"Well, how do we got some money in our pockets?" Jessie wondered.
"We could always find someplace to go and see if we can scrounge up a few bucks," Meowth suggested. It wasn't a very inspired suggestion but at he moment they had few options. Reluctantly their objective changed from plotting for a way to steal Pokémon to searching for a place to make some money.
"Hey, that place looks good," Meowth commented, pointing down below. They were currently floating over a very busy looking town.
"Looks good enough to me," James said. Jessie agreed as the trio guided their balloon down, making sure to land on the outskirts of the city to avoid drawing unwanted attention to themselves. Once they landed they changed into their disguises and entered the town. The streets were filled with people and Pokémon, all of hem seemingly having the same destination in mind.
"I wonder where everyone's going," James said. They got their answer when they happened to pass by the local Pokémon Center, seeing a flyer advertising a Pokémon Contest that happened to be taking place there that day.
"Well, that would explain where everyone's going," James said.
"Not only that but this gives us the perfect opportunity to 'procure' the necessary funds for our future endeavors," Meowth added.
"What do you mean?" James asked.
"While everyone's busy with the Pokémon Contest we can rob them blind without them noticing," Meowth explained.
"That's not a bad idea," James said. "What do you think, Jessie?" When they turned to their partner to get her opinion they were shocked to see that she had changed into her Contest outfit.
"I think it's time for me to win another ribbon," she stated.
"Seriously? You're going to choose the Contest over our goal of stealing Pokémon for the boss?" Meowth questioned.
"Well if you think I'm going to pass up this opportunity to get one step closer to entering the Grand Festival then you're out of your mind," Jessie said.
"But we need money in order to go through with out plan to steal the twerps' Pokémon," James argued.
"Then you two focus on that. I, on the other hand, will be busy winning my third ribbon." Before James or Meowth could argue further Jessie left them to go register for the Contest. The remaining two Rocket members each let out a frustrated sigh.
"I wish she was as focused on our mission as she was on her Contests," Meowth groaned. "Maybe then we'd actually get in good with the boss."
"I know what you mean," James agreed. "In any case we'd better get busy trying to find a way to get some money." With Jessie's attention elsewhere the two of them headed into town.
"Hello, everyone, and welcome to the Pokémon Contest!" As Christy went through the introductions Jessie looked around at her competition. In her eyes none of them stood a chance against her, but then she noticed someone missing among the competitors.
"The twerpette isn't here. I wonder if she even knows about this Contest," she mused. By this time Christy had finished her introductions and was getting ready to call out the first coordinator.
"Alright, let's get things started with our first coordinator… the always mysterious Lady Jessica!" With a smirk on her face Jessie made her way to the stage, soaking in the cheers of the crowd.
"Thank you, thank you my adoring fans!" she said as she waved to the crowd. "And now, Yanmega! Mawile! Out you come!" She tossed two Poké Balls, the spheres opening and releasing a purple cloud of smoke. When the smoke cleared both Yanmega and Mawile were revealed.
"Start off with Ancientpower!" Jessie called. Yanmega flew out and formed an Ancientpower orb.
"Now toss it to Mawile!" Jessie instructed. The Ogre Darner Pokémon did as she was told and launched the Ancientpower in Mawile's direction.
"Catch it, Mawile!" Jessie shouted. Right when it looked like the Ancientpower would hit her the Deceiver Pokémon flicked her head jaws forward and caught the attack. Many people thought she'd bite clean through it, but to their surprise she managed to hold the attack in her jaws without destroying it.
"Good. Now let's do that a couple more times," Jessie said. Mawile transferred the Ancientpower to her right hand just in time to catch another one, this time putting it in her left hand. She then caught one more, bringing the total to three.
"What do you suppose she's going to do with those Ancientpower orbs?" Christy wondered. The crowd was wondering the same thing as they anticipated her next move.
"Alright Mawile, time to show off your hand-eye coordination," Jessie said. To everyone's surprise Mawile then began juggling the orbs, being careful not to drop any of them. This went on for a while until Mawile tossed the orbs into the air and caught them on the edge of her head jaws, balancing them perfectly.
"Now give them a toss!" Jessie instructed. With a flock of her head Mawile sent the orbs airborne.
"Now Yanmega, use Silver Wind!" she shouted. Yanmega took careful aim and fired off three seperate Silver Wind attacks, each one striking one of the Ancientpower orbs and shattering them in an explosion of glitter. The crowd erupted in cheers, clearly impressed by her performance.
"Wow! What an opening performance!" Christy praised. "Let's hear what the judges thought."
"That performance was just outstanding!" Nurse Joy said.
"Very remarkable," Mr. Sukizo added.
"That performance made it clear that she has raised her Pokémon very well," Mr. Contesta praised. Jessie continued to smile, basking in the praise she was receiving from both the judges and the audience.
Following Jessie's performance the other coordinators put on their best showings. Jessie watched each of them, and while some truly did impress her in her mind she didn't see anyone who she felt could defeat her in the head-to-head rounds. Naturally it came as no surprise to her when it was announced that she had made it to the next round. As she stepped onto the stage for her first battle she came face to face with her first opponent, a young brown-haired boy who appeared to be a bit nervous.
"And for our first battle it'll be Lady Jessica versus Marcus!" Christy announced.
"Oh, this will be all too easy," Jessie thought to herself.
"Let's have five minute on the clock! And… begin!"
"Roselia! Spheal! Let's go!" Marcus shouted, sending out his two Pokémon.
"Wobbuffet! Mawile! Out you come!" Jessie said, sending out her Pokémon. Marcus seemed to lose his composure upon seeing Jessie's Pokémon, but quickly got it back as he made the first move.
"Roselia, use Energy Ball!" he called. His Roselia brought her rose hands together and formed a ball of Grass type energy. She then held the Energy Ball over her head.
"Spheal, launch that Energy Ball with your Headbutt!" Marcus instructed. Everyone thought the Energy Ball would detonate upon being hit by Spheal's attack, but instead the attack was launched at a greater velocity than it would have been had Roselia simply threw it herself.
"Mawile, catch that attack and throw it at Wobbuffet!" Jessie said. Just when it looked like the attack would hit Mawile clamped her head jaws around the attack, spinning them to make sure she kept the momentum of the attack going, and threw it in the direction of Wobbuffet.
"Now Wobbuffet, use Mirror Coat!" she continued. Wobbuffet's body took on a pinkish glow as he bounced the incoming Energy Ball off his body and sent it hurtling right back at Marcus' Pokémon. The speed of the attack made dodging practically impossible as the Grass type attack struck home, exploding between Roselia and Spheal and taking a chunk out of Marcus' points.
"Nice try, but you'll have to do better than that!" Jessie taunted.
"Okay then, try this on for size! Roselia, use Poison Sting! Spheal, enhance it with Icy Wind!" The Thorn Pokémon aimed her rose hands at Mawile and Wobbuffet and fired a volley of poisonous needles at them. As she fired Spheal breathed out a breath of ice-cold wind, coating the Poison Sting in a fine coating of frost.
"Block that, Mawile!" Jessie shouted. Mawile swung her head jaws and blocked the incoming combination attack. However, Marcus wasn't done yet.
"Ice Beam!" he said. Before Jessie could react his Spheal fired an Ice Beam that struck Mawile's head jaws, freezing them shut.
"Yes, just like I wanted!" he cheered.
"Why that sneaky little scamp," Jessie thought to herself, a bit surprised but at the same time impressed.
"Let's see you stop this one!" Marcus challenged. "Roselia, give Spheal a toss!" Roselia picked up Spheal and tossed him towards Jessie's Pokémon as if he were a bowling ball.
"Now Spheal, Ice Ball!" Marcus called. As he rolled Spheal coated himself in a layer of ice, adding to his destructive power. Seeing this Jessie knew she had to counter somehow.
"Knock him away, Mawile!" she instructed. Even though she couldn't open her head jaws thanks to them being frozen shut Mawile could still swing them around, and that's just what she did as she used them to bash the incoming Spheal and send him soaring through the air back towards Roselia, shattering the ice on her head jaws in the process.
"Are you alright?" Jessie asked.
"(My head jaws hurt a bit,)" the Deceiver Pokémon groaned. Jessie knew it would more than likely cause some discomfort to Mawile, but in the end it had to be done. She was getting ready for Marcus' next move when the horn signaling the end of the five minute time limit sounded.
"And that's time on what was a rather heated exchange!" Christy announced. "Now, let's check those points." Looking up a the scoreboard everyone saw that Marcus had lost a considerable amount of points while Jessie barely lost any.
"And the coordinator moving on to the final round is Lady Jessica!" Christy said. The crowd cheered as both Jessie and her Pokémon waved, soaking in the admiration. After listening to the cheers for a few minutes she recalled Mawile and Wobbuffet and retreated to the waiting area while her final round opponent was determined.
"Well folks, it's been an action packed Contest so far, but now we've reached our final round! Let's welcome our last two coordinators to the stage!" Jessie walked out onto the stage, full of confidence. Standing across from her was a red-haired girl who looked just as confident.
"For the final round it'll be Lady Jessica taking on Lydia!" Christy announced.
"I saw what you did in your last battle, letting your opponent attack first and countering his attacks," Lydia stated. "Just know that won't work on me."
"Oh, really," Jessie replied. "And what makes you think that?"
"You'll see soon enough," Lydia said, a smirk on her face.
"Sounds like everyone's ready!" Christy said. "In that case let's put five minutes on the clock! And… begin!"
"Wartortle! Exeggutor! Come out!" Lydia shouted. Her Poké Balls opened, spewing forth hundreds of flower petals. The petals gathered in two piles, bursting to reveal Lydia's Pokémon.
"Arbok! Magcargo! Out you come!" Jessie said. Her Poké Balls opened and spewed forth intense flames that eventually materialized into her two Pokémon.
"I think I'll make the first move," Jessie declared. "Arbok, use Poison Sting! Magcargo, use Flamethrower to super-heat Arbok's attack!" Arbok opened his mouth and fired off his Poison Sting while Magcargo hit the Poison Sting with his Flamethrower, heating up the flying needles.
"Wartortle, use Rain Dance!" Lydia called. Wartortle raised his hands to the sky and called on a rain cloud, dousing the stage in a steady downpour. The rain cooled off the super-heated Poison Sting, but did not stop the attack from making contact, causing Lydia's points to drop slightly.
"Now it's my turn! Exeggutor, Egg Bomb!" Lydia shouted. Her Coconut Pokémon took careful aim and fired a single glowing egg towards Jessie's Pokémon.
"Wartortle, give it a boost with Water Gun!" she said. Wartortle spat out a Water Gun, giving Exeggutor's Egg Bomb a speed boost.
"Arbok, send it back!" Jessie instructed. Her Cobra Pokémon used his tail like a baseball bat, striking the incoming Egg Bomb like a baseball and sending it hurtling back towards Wartortle and Exeggutor.
"Exeggutor, freeze it with your Psychic!" Lydia said. Right before the redirected attack hit Exeggutor's eyes took on a bluish glow as he used Psychic to stop the Egg Bomb in mid-flight.
"Nice try, but not nice enough," Lydia taunted.
"Oh, I'm not done yet," Jessie countered. "Flamethrower!" Despite the still-falling rain weakening Magcargo's Fire type attacks there was still enough strength behind his Flamethrower to detonate the Egg Bomb, causing a bit of damage to Lydia's Pokémon and taking a bit more from her points.
"Now use Rock Slide!" Jessie instructed. With a loud bellow the Lava Pokémon conjured an avalanche of falling rocks.
"Now Arbok, send them flying!" she continued. As the rocks fell Arbok used his tail to hit them and send them flying through the air towards Lydia's Pokémon.
"Exeggutor, use Leaf Storm!" Lydia countered. As the flying rocks grew closer Lydia's Exeggutor whipped up a swirling vortex of leaves and sent it on an intercept path. As the two attacks collided the Leaf Storm gathered up the rocks, adding to its destructive power.
"Quick, Magcargo! Get in front of Arbok and use Protect!" Jessie shouted. As fast as he could Magcargo positioned himself right in front of Arbok and put up his Protect shield, effectively guarding them from the incoming attack.
"Well now, I think it's time I end this," Jessie declared. "Arbok, freeze them with Glare!" Arbok's eyes flashed yellow briefly, and almost immediately Wartortle and Exeggutor found themselves unable to move.
"Now pick up Magcargo and throw him!" she continued. Using his tail Arbok picked up his partner and threw him towards their immobilized opponents.
"Now use Flamethrower!" Jessie finished. Magcargo withdrew into his shell and fired off a Flamethrower, causing him to spin around. Lydia could do nothing as the spinning fire disk slammed into her Pokémon, knocking them down and taking even more points from her total. As Magcargo landed back next to Arbok the horn signaling the end of the five minutes sounded.
"And that's time!" Christy announced. "Let's see who won." It was a much closer match than her last one but once again Jessie had managed to retain more points than her opponent.
"And the winner of the Pokémon Contest is Lady Jessica!" Christy said. The crowd erupted into applause and cheers for the battle they just saw. Jessie smiled as she looked to her two victorious Pokémon.
"You were excellent out there," she praised.
"(But of course,)" Magcargo replied.
"(Was-s there ever any doubt?)" Arbok hissed. Jessie just smiled, not at all surprised by her Pokémon's confidence, as the three of them continued to acknowledge the still-cheering crowd.
Later in the day, after the Contest had ended, the citizens had returned to their everyday lives. Back at their balloon on the outskirts of the town James and Meowth had returned from their money-gathering exploits.
"Well, we didn't get a lot, but we got something," Meowth said.
"Something's better than nothing," James stated. "This will be able to hold us over for a while."
"Yeah," the Scratch Cat Pokémon agreed.
"I wonder how Jessie did in her Contest?" James questioned. As soon as the words left his mouth Jessie appeared, a huge smile on her face.
"Hello, boys," she greeted. "And how did we do today?"
"Well, we didn't get enough for my three robot plan, but we got enough for basic supplies," Meowth reported.
"What about you? How did you do?" James asked. Jessie didn't reply and instead showed them the ribbon she won in the Contest.
"Hey, not bad," Meowth commented.
"You know, if Team Rocket doesn't work out for some reason you could make it as a coordinator," James said.
"Perhaps you're right," Jessie agreed.
"Whoa there, let's not get carried away," Meowth said. "We've still got a job to do here, and that's to show the Legenda region that Team Rocket is number one!"
"In any case I do believe our business in this little town in concluded," Jessie stated. James and Meowth agreed with her as they boarded their balloon and took to the skies.
"So, was the twerpette competing too?" Meowth wondered.
"No. She wasn't at this one," Jessie said.
"Strange. I wonder why," James said.
"Who cares? Her loss is my gain," Jessie stated. "And now I'm only two ribbons away from the Grand Festival, and then I'll be crowned top coordinator!" She let out a high pitched laugh as the Team Rocket balloon drifted away from the small town and towards their next destination.
With Nikki not competing in this Contest Jessie took advantage and won her third ribbon. Now that she's one step closer are things turning around for the Team Rocket member? Find out in the next chapter of Search for Power!
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