Primary Colors II: Battle Flags
Chapter 5
By: Sforzie
Giovanni threw his fourth pokeball. "Go, Scyther!"
"Scyther Scyth!" the green Pokemon slashed its long bladed arms in the air.
"Poliwrath, Body slam!"
"Scyther, Quick attack!"
Poliwrath charged his opponent, but Scyther jumped away and quickly slashed at Poliwrath's back.
"Wrrath!" Poliwrath spun and tripped Scyther. It hit the ground and rolled, jumping back up to its feet.
"Focus energy and slash!" Giovanni called. Scyther raised its arms and began to glow.
"Scyther!" In a flash Scyther leapt at Poliwrath and slashed it repeatedly in the face. Poliwrath hit the ground.
"Wraaath," it sighed, and fainted.
"Return, Poliwrath!" James called. Scyther tapped its arms on the floor as he called out the next Pokemon. "Go, Pidgeotto!"
"Yeah, you can do it Pidgeotto!" Seleca cried from behind the glass. Chansey was standing on its tip-toes and looking out the window as well.
"Pidgeoooh!" Pidgeotto flapped its wings and hovered a few feet above Scyther in the air.
"Double team, Scyther!"
"Pidgeotto, whirlwind!"
Pidgeotto beat its wings in the air, pushing the quickly advancing Scyther back. Scyther leapt into the air, moving in a blur, and somehow pinned Pidgeotto down.
"Geeoohh!" Pidgeotto cried angrily and beat its wings against Scyther's segmented form. Its back scraped on Scyther's blades, causing the bird to cry out in pain. It managed to finally push Scyther off. Pidgeotto climbed wearily back into the air.
"I don't think Pidgeotto's strong enough to beat Scyther," Jessie said.
"Oh, it is," Seleca said.
"Wing attack, Pidgeotto!" James said.
"Pidgeee!" Pidgeotto began to dive.
"How can you be sure?" Jessie wondered.
A smile danced across Seleca's face. "Because its going to evolve."
"Huh?" Jessie looked up.
Just as Seleca was saying, Pidgeotto was beginning to glow as it shot down at Scyther. The green Pokemon on the ground jumped about nervously, trying to throw off Pidgeotto's advance.
There was a flash, and Scyther flew back several feet. Pidgeotto shrieked and began to fly back up-only it wasn't Pidgeotto anymore.
"Oooht!" Pidgeot shrieked.
"Scyther, slash that bird!" Giovanni shouted.
"Mirror move, Pidgeot!" James said.
"Scyyyther!" Scyther jumped into the air and slashed at Pidgeot. It only succeeded in ruffling a few feathers.
"Pidgeoooht!" Pidgeot folded its wings and dropped out of the air, and brought its sharp wing tips down on Scyther. With its wings folded, Pidgeot was a dead weight, and landed heavily on Scyther.
"Urrr..." Scyther's eyes spun. Pidgeot hopped away and stood.
"Rrr, Scyther return!" Giovanni shouted. "Having your Pokemon evolve during a battle is a low shot. But I have a few low shots of my own. Go Raichu!"
"Rrraaichu!" the large electric rat leapt onto the field in front of Pidgeot. Electric sparks jumped from its cheeks and hit the ground at Pidgeot's feet.
"Pidgeooh!" Pidgeot leapt back.
"Full counterattack now, Raichu!"
"Chu!" Raichu leapt at Pidgeot, who barely got into the air before being struck by Raichu's tail.
"Pidgeot, quick attack!"
"Pidgeoht!" Pidgeot shot down at Raichu, hitting it in the head. Raichu fell over, but as it got up, the Raichu noticed James.
Or rather... it recognized James.
"RAI!" Raichu screamed and used thundershock. Twin bolts flew at James. One missed, burning a mark in the glass window, and the other struck James. The women behind the glass jumped back as the pane lit up. A scorch remained.
"James!" Jessie shouted, leaping back at the window. He was singed, but back on his feet.
"Why did it do that?" Seleca wondered.
"Raaaichu!" Raichu leapt into the air and shocked Pidgeot.
"I don't..." Jessie shook her head.
"That Raichu is out of control!" Seleca cried.
Raichu used Swift attack on Pidgeot and shot electric stars at the bird.
"Pidgeoooht!" Pidgeot hit the ground hard.
"Pidgeot!" Seleca cried.
"Chansey!" Chansey covered its eyes.
"It must-it must be evolved from the Pikachu that you stole from that brat," Jessie said. "We were always chasing it..."
"Raaaaii...." Raichu growled. Pidgeot didn't get up.
"Pidgeot return!" James called. The beam hit the bird but didn't pull it back.
"Pidgeot!" Seleca said anxiously. James ran to the large bird's side, and looked it over. He shook Pidgeot, but its eyes remained clamped tightly shut. Raichu impatiently stamped its feet, cheeks sparking. After a minute James picked up Pidgeot, and carried it to the opposite end of the field. He set it down in the corner, placing the pokeball next to it.
"What's he doing?" Seleca hissed at Jessie.
"He can't leave the field, and no one can come on. If Pidgeot is... too hurt to return to its pokeball, it will just have to remain on the field until the match is over." Seleca bit her lip, and they watched as James went back to his standing mark.
"Go, Sandslash!"
"Rraaaichuu!" Sandslash had barely materialized before Raichu was charging up. It's tail slashed back and forth, and the air crackled around it.
"Sandslash, Fury swipes!" James shouted.
Sandslash and Raichu leapt at each other, colliding with a bang. Sandslash lashed out at Raichu as they jumped apart. It dug long red marks in the Raichu's side as its claws flashed past.
"CHU!" Raichu shot miniature lightning at Sandslash, but it curled into a ball and rolled away.
"Poison sting!" James shouted. Sandslash uncurled, shooting tiny poisonous pins at Raichu.
"Raaai!" Raichu shrieked in pain as the poison sting dug in. It staggered for a moment, shaking its head in an angry daze.
"Slasssh," Sandslash growled in response. There was a brief stand-off between the two Pokemon.
"Sandslash, slash again!" James cried. "Give it all you got!"
"Raaaichu!" Raichu leapt away as Sandslash came towards it, and caught Sandslash in the back with its tail.
"Slash!" Sandslash curled into a ball and rolled in front of Raichu.
"Raaaichu!" Raichu shouted again, trying to zap Sandslash. Sandslash remained protectively curled up, and the shock proved harmless. As soon as the electric volley was over, Sandslash uncurled and jumped at Raichu. Caught off guard, Raichu quickly fell to the attack.
"Chu..." Raichu wailed, still sounding angry, and fainted.
Giovanni hesitated for a moment, not sure if the Raichu was really out. When he was finally convinced that the rampaging Pokemon was really fainted, he called it back and grabbed his last pokeball.
"Go, Onix!" he shouted.
"Uh oh," James muttered as the giant rock snake appeared.
"Sand, Sand!" Sandslash looked back at James uncertainly. It knew that it was clearly out-gunned.
Onix roared down at Sandslash, who curled up into a protective ball before it could make any attack.
"Sandslash, uncurl now!" James shouted, stomping his foot.
"Saaand," Sandslash sighed, unrolling and looking up a Onix.
"Rock throw, Onix!" Giovanni called.
With a roar Onix came flying at Sandslash.
"Slash!" it squealed, rolled up, and managed to rolled away from Onix in time to avoid the attack.
"Sandslash, fury swipes!"
"Sand!" Sandslash leapt up into the air and struck repeatedly at Onix, leaving little scratches in the stone snake's face, and not much else. Onix looked at Sandslash inquisitively.
"Rrrr?" it said, seeming to wonder why Sandslash was even bothering.
"Bind it now, get this over with Onix!"
Onix obeyed, but first it had to catch Sandslash. The smaller Pokemon rolled away from each lunge, and when Onix did manage to finally coil around Sandslash, it popped out from within the bind. On the second run of this though, one of the spikes on Sandslash's back caught between two of the sections on Onix's body. Sandslash was caught, and quickly Onix finished it off.
"Sandslash, return!" James said. He reached for his last pokeball. On the other side of the glass barrier, Seleca was busy yelling at her Pokemon for being dumb enough to get into a fight before an important battle. "Go, Chansey!"
He threw the pokeball, and it hit the ground. At first, nothing happened. The crowd leaned forward, looking expectant, and Giovanni looked smug.
"Run out of Pokemon, James?" he asked from across the arena.
"No..." James said nervously. He ran over to where his last pokeball sat unopened. "Chansey?" James kicked the pokeball. It finally broke open, and in a flash of light the Pokemon materialized.
"MEEEEOWWWTH!" Meowth leapt out of the pokeball, looking angry and dazed. He slashed James in the face, and the trainer yelped, grabbing his cheeks.
"Meowth! You're not Chansey!" James shouted anxiously down at the cat.
"Huh?" Meowth looked around. "Where am I?"
"You can't use my own Pokemon against me!" Giovanni shouted. James picked up the struggling Meowth.
"You will explain how you got into Chansey's pokeball later," James hissed into Meowth's ear. Meowth was looking around.
"Are we at the battle?" he said dully. James nodded. "Ooops. Am I fighting?" James nodded again. "Against who?"
In response, Onix growled. Meowth swallowed, jumping from James' arms. "I hate battling Onixes!"
"Just fight it, and win," James said lowly. "You're my last Pokemon, and Onix is his last."
Meowth looked nervous. "I can't beat an Onix..."
"Well you'd better!" James looked back up at Giovanni. "I'm not battling with your Pokemon, Giovanni."
"Nonsense," Giovanni said. "Meowth is my Pokemon."
"Not anymore," James said. Giovanni snorted. "Because- because we stole him. Meowth is-"
"I'm Jessie's Pokemon now," Meowth said. James looked shocked.
"Huh?" Jessie and Seleca looked at each other in surprise.
"That is..." Giovanni looked thoughtful. "I suppose it doesn't matter. There is no way a Meowth can beat a rock Pokemon."
"Dat's what I was trying to tell him," Meowth sighed. James had went back to his standing mark.
"We'll see," he muttered. "Go, Meowth!"
"Alright, alright," Meowth squared his tan little shoulders.
"Onix, slam attack!" Giovanni shouted.
Onix roared and slammed down on Meowth. He scrambled to the side, but his tail was pinned down by Onix.
"Ow, my tail! Get off my tail!" Meowth shouted in an angry panic. He pulled his tail loose and jumped to his feet. Onix went at him again, knocking Meowth clear across the room and several feet into the far wall. Meowth crawled out weakly.
"Ow," he coughed. Onix reared up and screeched, glaring down at the feline Pokemon. "James, I don't wanna do this!"
James looked frantic, and then appeared to get an idea. He dug into his pockets.
"Meowth, come here," he said. Meowth crawled over to James, who really wasn't very far away. James pulled out a set of headphones from his pocket. "Here, Meowth. I'm sorry."
"My headphones!" Meowth said happily. "I knew you took dem!"
"Yes, I did," James looked sheepish. "Now, go out there and sing."
"Sing?" Meowth whispered back at James. He nodded. "Well, okay."
"What now?" Giovanni growled. Meowth hopped in front of Onix, who seemed puzzled by the addition of headphones to Meowth's appearance.
"Sing attack, now!" James shouted.
"Sing?" Giovanni blinked. "Meowth's can't sing!"
Meowth hit the play button. Music started up, almost loud enough to be heard by the audience. He perked up quickly, revived by the music.
"Oh, I went down south to Lavender Town, singing polly-wolly Po-kay all the day, trying to catch myself a ghost Pokemon, singing polly-wolly Po-kay all the day!"
"Rrr?" Onix looked puzzled as it listened to Meowth's screeching singing.
"It's Meowth's therapy tape!" Jessie said in surprise. On the field, Meowth was beginning to dance to himself.
"Catch them all, catch them all, catch them all my Poke-friend; for I've gone down south to Lavender Town, singing polly-wolly-Pokay all the day!"
As Meowth went into his second number, a low rumbling could be heard.
"I'm a Meowth, you're a Meowth, everybody is a Meowth, but I'm the coolest one!" Meowth was shaking his tail as he happily sang, seemingly oblivious to what was going on around him. The rumbling continued.
Onix was... laughing.
"I got fleas, you've got fleas, everybody else gots fleas, but I've got the bestest ones!" Meowth jumped up and down, and his singing got louder.
"I gotta tail, you got tails, everybody else gots tails, but I've got the cutest one!"
"I didn't know Meowths could sing," Marlequette said in the audience. Thomas sighed.
"He's no Jigglypuff."
Onix was laying on the floor, laughing uncontrollably. Giovanni looked furious.
"Get, up, Onix!" Giovanni shouted, but went unheard.
"Well I've got friends in Pokecenters, where Nurse Joy works, and Chanseys chitter my blues away, and I'll be okay.." Meowth continued into another, doing a good Garth Brooks impression. "Oh I'm not big on pokeball stasis, so I just stay out and-" Meowth stopped suddenly.
"Meowth, what's wrong?" James whispered. Meowth blushed.
"The batteries died!"
Onix was still laughing, tears rolling down his face. James blinked. "Meowth, use fury swipes on his cheeks!"
"Rrrroger!" Meowth turned back, tossing the headphones at James. "Meeeowth!" Meowth jumped at Onix, and slashed him repeatedly in the face where the tears wet the rocky surface. Onix roared in sudden pain-Meowth's attack had finally hit home. Onix got up, a bit winded from its rumbling laughter.
"Onix, tackle that stupid Meowth!"
"I'm not stupid!" Meowth shouted, just before being tackled. Onix squashed him into the dirt. "Owwww... James...."
James looked thoughtful again. "Meowth, if you win I promise to take you to that really good all-you-can-eat place in Celedon city."
Meowth perked from where he lay flat on the floor. "Really?"
"Promise!"
Meowth jumped up, drooling. "I can't wait! I'm so hungry I could eat the whole buffet!"
"Onix, tackle it again!"
Onix came thundering down on the drooling Meowth, who jumped out of the way.
"Ooooh, my tail! You've got it again!" Meowth howled, stuck down in the dirt next to Onix. "Get off! Ow!"
"Bind it now!"
Onix curled up around Meowth, only to find that the said Pokemon wasn't even there. Meowth had been faking the tail injury, and jumped up on top of Onix's head. He held on to the funny point on the stone snake's head as Onix roared and tried to shake him off.
"You stupid snake!" Meowth hissed, digging in his claws, "I want that buffet! And you're not going to stand in my way!" Meowth drooled on the stony outcropping and sunk his teeth in hard. Onix grunted in pain, and shook its head. Meowth was flung into the wall next to the window.
"Does drool count as water?" Seleca said with wonder. Jessie shrugged, watching 'her' Pokemon get back to its feet.
"You don't taste good!" Meowth spat. "But victory will taste sweet! Or maybe it'll taste like chicken..." Meowth was briefly distracted, but then bounded past James to where Onix waited.
"Rage, now, Onix!" Giovanni was apparently impatient to get this over with. Onix roared, its eyes flashing red. It jumped at Meowth, catching him on its nose. But instead of stopping, Onix continued forward. It seemed intent on crushing Meowth into the wall again.
James was directly in the giant Pokemon's path.
"Aiii!" James shrieked and jumped out of the way. Onix roared as it slammed into the glass window. Jessie, Seleca, and Chansey screamed and tried to get out of the way as the window shattered and the giant Pokemon came through. It dove to the floor.
There was silence as dust filtered down out of the air. James coughed, staggering back to his feet. Jessie groaned from within the destroyed observation room, but sat up after a moment.
"Oh, my hair..." she mumbled, picking glass shards from her hair. Seleca was at first nowhere to be seen, but then she climbed out of the hole that had been left by Onix. There was a bruise on her cheek, but she looked otherwise okay. Chansey was laying on its back a few feet from the hole, unharmed.
There was a long moment of quiet, and then the ground in the arena field began to shake. James and Giovanni struggled to keep on their feet.
The ground in the middle of the field erupted. It pierced right through the center ring, and Onix appeared. It roared angrily as it shot back out into the arena. Onix landed on the ground, shaking everything, and then sat.
"Meowth?" James called. There was no response. Meowth was nowhere to be seen. James balled his hands into fists.
Onix burped.
"You ate Meowth?!" James shrieked in disbelief. "You stupid Pokemon, you're not supposed to eat your opponent!!"
Onix growled down at James, as if to say 'You're next, bigmouth.' James and Giovanni stood in wait.
"I believe I win," Giovanni said after a minute. From within the destroyed observation room Jessie wailed.
"No... that isn't fair!" Jessie pounded her fists into her legs. "You goddamn stupid Pokemon!" Seleca sat motionless, holding Chansey. Jessie began to sob, covering her face with her dusty hands.
The audience was silent, breathless.
Onix roared at James. It opened its mouth again, but instead of attacking, it stopped. Onix made a choking noise and its eyes went wide.
"Rrrrr?!" Onix coughed, shaking its head vigorously. It coughed again, its stony body going even more rigid than usual. A line of dark red started to trickle from its long pointed mouth.
"Onix?" Giovanni called uncertainly.
"Rrr..." Onix coughed, and red hit the dirt on the field. It was blood.
"Onixes don't have blood..." James muttered. "It'd kill them..." He took a few hasty steps back as Onix jerked forward. Onix gagged, its mouth hanging open and pointed down at the ground. Its body shook, and it coughed harder. Another hard gagging cough, and something fell out of Onix's mouth. Onix shuddered, and lay down on the ground, wheezing.
"Meowth!" James ran to the bloody lump that Onix had coughed up. Meowth groaned and rolled over.
"I didn't want to be the buffet..." he said, dazed. There were several medium length slashes all over his body, likely caused from being inside the stone snake. The cuts were bleeding freely. It was Meowth's blood, not Onix's that had some out of Onix's mouth. Meowth whimpered as James tested the largest wound.
"Can you fight?" James asked. Meowth gave a weak smile.
"Why bother? I already won!" Meowth was fighting to keep his eyes open. If he fainted now, the match would be lost.
"What do you mean?" James looked surprised. He fixed his stare over at Onix, who was motionless on the ground. Its eyes were closed, and Giovanni was standing near it.
"Get up, Onix!" Giovanni shouted. "Get up, you're not going to let that Meowth beat you."
Onix looked at its trainer dully. Meowth's blood was pooled on the ground, and Onix's cheek rested in the puddle.
"I've heard of this before," Meowth muttered to keep himself going. "An Onix rages too much, mauls or kills its opponent and swallows it by accident. Though that darn thing swallowing me wasn't an accident!... The blood from the animal touches the inside of the Onix, and its done for. An Onix can't live with moisture on its insides."
"Then how does it cry?" James said, petting Meowth soothingly.
"No one knows." Meowth looked sad. "I never had an opponent die on me before."
"You've never had an opponent before," James noted.
"I fought that Vileplume," Meowth argued. James smiled.
"You did, you did," he agreed.
"Jessie, look," Seleca whispered. Jessie raised her face, sniffling.
"What's going on?" she wondered. "Who won?"
Seleca was silent as a cheer went up from the audience. Onix had fainted.
"James," Seleca said, smiling. They got to their feet, picking their way towards the door.
Giovanni met James in the center of the arena. He had a stony look on his face, and James was sweating again.
"I... yield," Giovanni said, after a long minute. He pulled a ring from his the middle finger on his right hand, and placed it regretfully in James' palm. "Take care of Team Rocket." Giovanni turned away and went to be with Onix.
James turned to Meowth with a smile, and the cat promptly fainted.
"James! James!" Jessie was bolting across the arena. There were still tears on her cheeks, but for once it didn't matter. "You won!" James pulled Jessie to him in a tight hug.
"Was it ever any other way?" James murmured into her hair. Jessie laughed.
"You had me very worried," she said.
"Did you get hurt?" James asked. Jessie shook her head.
"Just a little shaken up," she said.
"Pidgeot..." Seleca whispered. She knelt next to the bird, which still sat in the corner where James had left it.
"Is it...?" Jessie asked him. He shook his head.
"Geoh," came weakly from Pidgeot. Seleca sniffed and scooped the bird up into her arms. The hairs on her arms stood on end.
"I think its body is just holding too much electric energy," James said.
Sirens could be heard approaching outside as Seleca was carrying her Pokemon off, Chansey trailing behind. The people in the bleachers began to leave quickly.
"Someone called the cops!" a voice in the departing audience. No one noticed Marlequette sliding her cell phone into her pocket during the rush. Within a minute, few members of Team Rocket remained in the arena.
A police squad, led by an Office Jenny, charged into the arena. Giovanni stood by his dead Onix, Jessie clung nervously to James, and Seleca was already gone off to the Team Rocket Pokemon clinic with the rest of James' Pokemon (Meowth too). The police surrounded the group.
"What the hell happened in here?" Office Jenny asked.
"A... Pokemon battle," James said.
"Looks like it got a little out of hand," Jenny said.
"It was never 'in hand', officer," James said. Jessie nodded in agreement.
Jenny looked at Giovanni. "I got a call saying that Team Rocket was located here, and it looks like that's right."
"Yes, officer," Giovanni muttered. "But I'm not the one in charge here."
"Then who is?"
"We are," James said, gesturing to himself and Jessie.
"Then I'm afraid I'm going to have to arrest you," Jenny said. Jessie quickly whispered something in James' ear, and stepped back from James.
"Uh, Officer Jenny?" James said quickly. "May I have a word with you?"
"Make it quick," Jenny said, and followed a James to a few feet away.
"Um, what if we made a deal?" James said.
"A deal?" Jenny balked. James nodded.
"You see, Giovanni, that gentleman who said he isn't in control of Team Rocket, wasn't totally telling the truth."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we just had a Pokemon battle, and I won," James said. "And so I became the leader of Team Rocket."
"So?" Jenny didn't seem impressed.
"So, Giovanni was the former leader of Team Rocket. The leader who led us to become the terrible people that we are so well known for being. But we're willing to change."
"And how do you plan on doing that?"
"We're going to move a new headquarters, and will change our ways. We won't try to steal Pokemon anymore. I've realized that the members of Team Rocket could be much more useful to society if we focused on helping people instead of hurting them."
"And?"
"And we can't do it if you arrest us," James said. "So, if you take Giovanni instead... we will do everything we can to make what I just said happen."
Jenny held up a tape recorder. "I have you on tape, Mister Team Rocket." James nodded. Jenny considered this. "Alright. Boys, just get Mr. Giovanni." Jenny pointed a finger squarely at James. "We will be watching Team Rocket very closely."
"Yes, ma'am," James swallowed. The police hauled off Giovanni and Onix. Jenny turned to look back at them.
"I want Team Rocket out of this town by tomorrow midnight." Jessie and James nodded, and then the police were gone.
"We got out of that easily," Jessie said with surprise, her voice echoing in the now-empty arena. James nodded.
"Come on, let's go."
The Team Rocket Poke-clinic was located underneath a warehouse a few blocks away from the arena. It was quite abuzz with activity.
"Congratulations," a nurse said to Jessie and James. It was only the thousandth time they'd heard the same sentiment while taking the path to the center.
"Thanks," they smiled.
Jaymes was sitting behind a desk in the lobby of the clinic, talking on the phone.
"Who you talking to?" James asked, leaning on the desk.
"The travel agents in Tokyo," Jaymes said, flipping through a thick book of hand-written names.
"Tell them to get Pika and Rachel back over here on the first flight," James said.
"Why?" Jaymes blinked. "They haven't finished their mission."
"It's been canceled," James said. He quickly explained what he had said to the police.
"About time," Marlequette said from where she was returning from one of the treatment rooms. "I was getting tired of being chased by the police."
"I don't know if I know how to be a good guy," Jaymes said thoughtfully.
"Seleca can teach you," James said.
"Speaking of which, where are our Pokemon at?" Jessie asked.
"Wing one," a nurse who was walking by said. They thanked the nurse and then went to the hall.
"Oh, how's my Arbok?" Jessie asked.
"Chaarr!" Arbok was curled up on a table and didn't look as flat as before. It sat up and greeted its Master happily.
"You did a good job, Arbok," Jessie said as she hugged the snake.
Jolteon was sitting on the next table, looking okay, although it was hooked up to a machine that was monitoring the electric current in its body. At the next table was Poliwrath, who looked very tired. A bandage was on its cheek. Davis was standing next to it.
"Poliwrath fought quite impressively," Jessie said with a smile.
"It did it for Haley," Davis said.
"Poli Poli!" Poliwrath proved Davis' point.
"Jolteon," the electric fox barked happily, and Davis scratched it between the ears.
"They all did very good," James said.
"Even Meowth?"
James hesitated. "Even Meowth."
Across the room were the other three fighting Pokemon. Sandslash looked tired, and the glue was hardening in the cracks on its back. Meowth was laying on a table, somewhat awake, but recovering from his wounds. He was wrapped neatly in bandages.
"I want some music," Meowth whined. "And how long do I have to have to keep all these bandages on? They itch!"
"Just overnight, Meowth," a doctor assured him.
"And I didn't get my buffet," Meowth complained.
"Tomorrow, when you're feeling better," Jessie promised.
"But I'm hungry now!"
"Well, apparently you're my Pokemon now," Jessie said lightly, " and I say you wait until tomorrow."
"Me and my big Meowth," Meowth sighed.
Seleca was standing next to the table where Pidgeot lay. She was smiling.
"I have an electric Pidgeot now," Seleca said wryly.
"How is it?" James said.
"Better," Seleca said.
"I'm sorry about getting it so beat up," James said. Seleca shook her head.
"It's okay," she said. "They're letting the extra energy drain off, and most of its wounds have already been healed. It should be okay by morning."
"Well... you did get your Pidgeot," Jessie said. Seleca laughed.
"Yes, I did. Now I think the poor thing can take a little time off."
"Where's Thomas?" Jessie wondered.
"I sent him home," Seleca said. Jessie nodded.
After making sure that their Pokemon would be safe for the night, James had Jaymes and Marlequette track down the freshly scattered members of Team Rocket. He had a meeting scheduled for late that night for all team members, in order to discuss the changes that would be taking place.
Then they went back home to the apartment building. Jessie and James took showers, glad to discard their scorched and torn uniforms. They donned matching white sweatshirts (with the proper red R on it) and black slacks. Their uniforms lay in a pile like discarded battle flags, a messy reminder of what had just passed.
"Where will we go?" Jessie asked, combing out her wet hair. They sat at the kitchen table. James' hair was still wet as well, but he hadn't made any attempts at arranging it.
"I have a place in mind."
There was a pause, and then Jessie set the comb down.
"You don't mean your parent's estate, do you?"
"What better place?" James laughed as Jessie made a face. "We wouldn't have much trouble taking over."
"I guess you're right," she said. Jessie picked up the comb and stood behind James' chair. She parted his hair and began dragging the comb through the purple tangle. James looked up at her and found that she looked unusually serious. "You fought very well."
"Do you really think so?"
She nodded, but he didn't see it. "Yes, I did. There were several times where I was worried... but you came through." Jessie laughed to herself, the comb slipping and falling out of her hands to the floor. A sob came from her throat, and she began to cry. "You came through." Jessie crouched to pick up the comb, but then she was crying to hard to be able to get up.
James pulled Jessie up into his lap. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, giving Jessie the support she needed.
"Jessie, what's wrong?" James whispered into Jessie's hair.
"Nothing," Jessie said through her shuddering breaths, "Nothing's wrong for us anymore."
"I know," he said softly. "And do you know why?"
She titled her face up from his chest. "Why?"
"You," James said, smiling. "I did it for you."
"That's so sweet," Jessie sniffled. "I never thought you to be the sappy type."
"Me neither, Jess," James said, patting her on the back. After a few minutes Jessie's crying slacked off, and she wiped at her eyes.
"I'm sorry about that," she said.
"About what? You're allowed to cry," James said. "You don't have to be tough for me. That's why we have each other."
Jessie rubbed her nose. "If you start spouting poetry I'm gonna leave."
James laughed and smiled. "Don't worry, I can't think of anything right now. Except that you're sitting on my lap."
Jessie swatted his arm, a smile creeping onto her face. "Pig."
"Well, I am hungry."
"You can grab something to eat on the way to the meeting," Jessie said. James sighed.
"This is going to be hard," he said. "Team Rocket has been bad for so long..."
"Yes, but look at the people who make up the team," Jessie said, wrapping an arm around James' shoulders. "They're not all bad, are they?"
"No," James admitted after a minute's consideration. "There are a few though..."
"I'm sure that they can be helpful," Jessie said. "And if not, we can always find a way to let them off easily."
"You're right."
Jessie patted his leg. "Now, come on. We'll have to hurry to eat before the meeting." Jessie eased herself off of James' lap, standing on the floor next to the table.
"Uh, what about our hair?" James asked. Jessie ran her fingers through her long damp hair.
"We can worry about that later," she assured him. James smiled again and stood, carefully pushing the chair back under the table.
"Let's go then," he said. Jessie hooked her arm with James', and they left their apartment as 'normal' people for the last time.
And faced the biggest challenge of their lives: converting Team Rocket.
End Chapter Five
End PC2
(The end, but it's not necessarily over.)