Jessica and myself, James of the illustrious Team Rocket, pressed our backs against the walls of the Viridian Pokemon Center in a weak attempt of staying out of trouble. I bit my lip nervously as we slid down the halls cautiously.

"Why are we here again, Jessie?" I asked my partner dumbly.

"Keep your voice down, James!" Jessie snapped. "We’re here to swipe some rare pokemon for the Boss! This is only the about the 10th time I’ve told you! Now shut up!"

I curled my lips into a pout, but said nothing. I had learned the hard way when to be silent. We continued onward to our goal at the end of the hallway. Meowth stayed right at our heels, succeeding in staying out of sight, but failed tremendously at not getting under foot.

"Meowth, get out of my way! Ouch! Stop it!" Jessie growled.

"Watch it, Meowth! You almost made me fall!" I whined.

"Quit your complaining!" Meowth quipped. "You don’t wanna wake da woikers, do ya?" We were immediately silenced. Once we reached the target, Jessie pushed me ahead roughly to make sure the coast was clear. As soon as I gave the signal, all of us moved in quietly.

"Search the place. I know they’re here somewhere," Jessie whispered.

"And if they’re not?" I questioned. Jessie whacked me in response to that stupid remark.

"They’re here," she assured us. "I’m sure of it." We rummaged through the heap of garbage and after a thorough investigation, we found our objective- the pokeballs.

"Now we have them. Now let’s get out of here before we get caught! I don’t want to go to prison!" I complained.

"I don’t tink they’ll catch us! At least, I hope not!" Meowth replied. Jessie shoved all of the red and white balls into her knapsack. I gazed at her, dreamily. Were we meant to be? Is she my one true soulmate?

I still had mixed feelings about her. Through past trials and tribulations I had learned of our secret love for each other, but... was it really meant to be? Even after the incident with Raquel, she still seemed very distant to me. As though none of that ever happened. As if it meant nothing to her.

Meowth glanced at a control panel curiously hovering over the dials.

"Hmm... I wonder what dis button does..." He leaned in closer to the button, his paw directly hovering over it...

"Meowth, no!" I ordered. My sudden outburst startled him and he stumbled onto the button, causing a series of alarms to sound.

"Now look what you’ve done, you idiotic feline!" Jessie yelled.

"No time to argue! We gotta go!" Meowth cried as we gathered our stolen goods and rushed to the nearest exit. We could already hear the pounding of footsteps echoing behind us as we ran.

"Faster, Jessie! Faster!" I shrieked.

"I’m going as fast as I can! Besides I have a cramp in my left leg!" she responded.

"Well, we can’t have everything!" We stumbled toward the front door, our gateway to freedom, but a gang of Officer Jennys blocked our path.

"Hold it right there, you criminals!" they shouted, guns raised. I gasped in horror as we all screeched to a halt. We reluctantly raised our hands into the air.

"This looks bad!" Meowth gasped.

"That’s the way it always looks for Team Rocket," I groaned.

"Now hand over those stolen pokemon!"

"Certainly, officers," Jessie complied smoothly. She reached into her knapsack for the pokeballs... and any useful weapons she could find...

"Keep your hands where we can see them!" Jenny snapped, tightening her grip on the trigger.

"Of course, Officer Jenny, but then how will I deliver the pokeballs to you?" Jessie replied calmly. Jenny hesitated, then slightly lowered her gun.

Jessie pulled out the pokeballs, but what Officer Jenny didn’t notice was that tiny smokebombs had been cleverly hidden amidst the pokemon.

"Here you are, Officer!" Jessie yelled as she threw the pokeballs in her direction. Once the smokebombs came in contact with the floor, smoke was sent in every direction, choking all present. While they were all distracted by the diversion, we disappeared into the mist.

"Come back here!" Jenny commanded as she pointed her gun into the smoke aimlessly.

"Sorry we couldn’t stay for the party, Officer Jenny, but we really have to bolt! We’ll have to take a raincheck on it," I cackled.

I released my faithful pokemon, Wheezing, and ordered him to smash open a window for our escape. Wheezing complied and we leaped outside. Home free at last.

After we had gotten a good distance between the Pokemon Center and us, we paused to catch our breath.

"It was your fault this time, James!" Jessie accused once she was able to breathe.

"My fault? How is everything my fault? It was your plan!" I protested.

"Yes, but you went along with it!"

"Youse two we’re the ones who screwed up in dere!" Meowth defended.

"I suggest you stay out of this, Meowth! It was your fault the police came after us!" I pointed out.

"Was not!"

"Was too! You’re the one who triggered the alarm!"

"Well, if you hadn’t been daydreaming about Jess, we would’ve gotten outta dere faster!" I blushed slightly at the comment. "So it’s all your fault!"

Everything was all James, James, James. Why couldn’t somebody else share the blame for once? For the first time in my life, their hurtful words suddenly penetrated through my cheerful nature.

After a moment of complete silence, I sighed, "Aren’t you guys tired of dealing with failure? Of always... losing out?" Jessie glanced at me, surprised at my suddenly serious tone.

"Yeah... so?" I took a deep breath. Now I had to make the most difficult decision in my life- whether to leave the life I had known or not.

"I really didn’t want to do this, but... but I’ve had enough. I can’t cope anymore. Team Rocket has taken everything away from me... I’m tired of failure. I’m tired of defeat. I’m tired of...Team Rocket."

Jessie’s face suddenly fell, all of what I had just said sinking in.

"Yes, Jessie. I’m sorry, but I’m afraid you will be losing something as well, Jessica. Me."

"Uh, Boss? Sir? I’d like to speak with you for a moment... please," I queried timidly as I peered into his office. Documents were stacked neatly on top of the desk, with Giovanni seated in a nearby swivel chair, scowling at me. He seemed as though he was in one of his more pleasant moods, so I decided to inform him of my decision.

"Boss," I began. "I know that this may be hard, especially since I’ve been a member for so long and... well, I’ve thought it over and..." I took one quick glance out the door back at my best friend, who was waiting patiently with Meowth outside. She would look in once in a while, only to turn away in anger. Or frustration. With Jessie I could never tell.

"James, I don’t have time for your insignificant problems," Giovanni snapped as he took a sip from his glass of water. Not listening, I continued.

"...I need to leave Team Rocket." The glass slipped from Giovanni’s hand, causing it to shatter upon hitting the ground. I suddenly wished I could reverse time and prevent myself from saying that right then. I took a step back and watched as Giovanni tensely placed a shaky, clenched fist upon the desk as though trying to control his rage.

"You’re... what?" he demanded, daring me to repeat myself.

"I... I... I..." I stuttered. "...Boss, I just need to move on. I can’t stay in Team Rocket forever and... I hope you’ll understand, o’ wise and esteemed Boss. By the way, that is a lovely tie you’re wearing. It matches wonderfully with the bright red tomato sauce stain." I bit my lip nervously. "Boss? Sir?"

"I understand perfectly, James. That you are a traitor to Team Rocket." A traitor? What was he talking about? "Are you even aware of what happens to those who try to leave Team Rocket?"

"Uh... no." Giovanni snapped his fingers and his henchmen apprehended me. My eyes frantically darted to Jessie in the doorway. My heart screamed out for her to help me, but she just pretended that she never saw me and glanced away.

"Jess, we gotta help him! Who knows what dey’ll do ta him!" Meowth shouted.

"Why should we help him? He’s deserting us, remember? He doesn’t care so why should I care about him?" Jessie retorted.

"You know dat ain’t true, Jess," Meowth stated. Jessie simply turned away. Why Jess? Why? Even though you know I love you, you still treat me so. Why?

The sudden ring of the telephone startled us all. Giovanni reached for it reluctantly. "Yes?"

"We found it, Boss," came the reply from the other end. His expression immediately changed from anger to shock in a matter of moments.

"What? You found it? Where? Where is it being delivered?"

"It’s being shipped in a green pokeball to the Pokemon Lab in Pewter, but send an expendable member to retrieve it. The security will be very tight, as it is in any lab. The member may not return, but that’s a chance you’ll have to take."

"And I have the perfect member for the job..." Giovanni sent me a wry smile. Or sneer. It was difficult to decipher. "James, I will grant you your last request if you do a little favor for me."

"Favor?" I asked suspiciously. The Boss placed an arm around my shoulders slyly, trying to convince me to fall into his newly formed trap. At first I wanted nothing to do with it, but after I took one last look at Jessie, I decided to make the worst decision of my life-to go along with it. Anything to get myself out of this pit. What I didn’t know was that I was digging myself a deeper ditch.

"James, I want you to retrieve a pokeball for me."

"A pokeball?"

"Yes, James. A pokeball. A very special pokeball. It is absolutely essential for my newest plan."

"Which is?"

"I shall fill you in on further details at a later date. For your own safety, of course."

"Of course," I repeated dryly.

"The green pokeball of which I speak is at the Pewter Laboratory. Do you think you can handle your last mission?"

"Yes, sir! You can count on me!"

"Then go and don’t fail me." I raced out the door and crashed into Jess and Meowth.

"James, watch where you’re goin’!" Jessie snapped, shoving me aside.

"So what did he say?" Meowth asked.

"He sent me off to find some pokeball. But I may need... help." Jessie crossed her arms and cast a cruel glance at me.

"Don’t look at us. We’re not your friends, remember?" I frowned.

"I never said that, Jess. Don’t put words into my mouth."

"Stop arguin’!" Meowth ordered as he clawed both of our faces. We yelped in pain.

"Meowth!" we cried.

"Why’d you do that?" I demanded.

"Because I don’t like to hear youse two fight." A moment of silence passed between us as we just gazed at each other, reflecting on Meowth’s statement.

Giovanni leaned back in his seat, hands folded across his stomach as he listened intently to our argument, pondering to himself of his decision.

After a few moments went by and our voices were out of earshot, he called into the intercom, "Bring in Cassidy and Butch."

Immediately after, the two loyal members obediently stepped in.

"You called, sir?" Butch questioned.

"Yes. I have a job for you two." They smirked at the response and grinned evilly at each other.

"And we are happy to oblige," Cassidy replied smugly.

Jess and I strolled silently side by side, the moonlight being our only light on the path. Meowth was able to keep up with our pace, being that we were moving so slowly. I was very uncomfortable with the absolute quiet, but what could I do? What could I say?

"Jess..." I began. "Please say something."

"What is there to say, James?" Jessie muttered.

"Don’t be like this. I can understand that I will be missed, but..."

"Missed? No, you won’t be missed, James. I’m angry because you’re leaving us like this! Just like that!" she snapped her fingers to demonstrate. "After all we’ve been through. You just choose to forget all of that! Whether you like it or not, James, we’re a part of your life!"

"I’ll miss you too, Jessica." Jessie stared in shock at me with her jaw hanging down for a moment, but then she regained her composure.

"Let’s just get this done and over with." I frowned, but said nothing. Was I making the wrong decision? I mean, Jessie did have a point- we had been through a lot. But I couldn’t continue with this just for her, could I? If she wasn’t willing to tell me she needed me, then I saw no purpose in staying.

"James, what did da Boss say when you told him dat you was leavin’?" Meowth queried.

"That my last mission would be to retrieve that green pokeball I told you about from the Pewter City Laboratory and then he’d grant my request. Why?"

"A Lab? The security’s gonna be tough to get by!"

"Well, we have to try."

"Yeah. The sooner we get that pokeball, the sooner James can get on with his life." She shot me a icy cold glare. "I’m sorry, Jess. If only... if only I didn’t have to leave you, but I’m afraid I must. Only you can stop me, Jess. I need a real reason to stay."

"I tink we’d better stop, Jess," Meowth suggested nervously.

"Why? Don’t tell me you’re scared of the dark, Meowth," Jessie smirked.

"No! I just got a bad feelin’ about dis..." Jessie sighed deeply then unrolled her sleeping bag onto the cool grass reluctantly.

"Fine." She crawled into it and snuggled against its warm covers as I pulled out mine. I burrowed inside my bag as Meowth nuzzled against me. "Good night..."

"Good night, guys," I yawned. I listened intently to the soft, slow breathing of my teammates as they both drifted off to sleep leaving me stranded with my thoughts.

Suddenly, I heard movement among the bushes as if someone was following us... voices were echoing all around me... eyes were staring at me through the darkness... lurking in every direction, waiting... waiting... waiting...

"Jess!" I cried.

"What?!" she snapped.

"Someone’s out there, Jess," I muttered.

"James, nobody is out there. Now can you please get off." Just then I realized I was strangling Jessie with my tight grip. I released her slowly, my heart still racing.

"What if there is? What’ll we do?"

"There is nobody out here so will you just..." A twig snapped in a nearby thicket and some curses could be heard from inside.

"Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" she sighed.

"That... noise? It almost sounded like..."

"James, there is nothing! Go to sleep!" Maybe Jessie’s right, I reasoned as I crawled beneath the covers. Of course there was no one out there. Who would follow us? I mean, we were only after a special pokeball... special pokeball... hmm... I wonder what’s so great about that pokeball. Why does the Boss want it so badly? Oh well. I’ll figure it out soon enough.

Meanwhile, I have to work with the problem at hand. The stranger in the woods...

"James..." a voice called from the forest. "James..." I pulled the covers over my head in fear. If I made it through the night...

Jessie gazed at me from her sleeping bag, hiding in fright. She smiled at my innocence and child-like demeanor then once she made sure I was asleep, she planted a kiss on my forehead lovingly, whispering, "Good night."

I felt Jessie’s warm lips touch me, though she believed I had fallen into a restless slumber. And though I knew that she had done it out of pity, not love, as I had hoped, I felt comforted by her and was able to fall into a peaceful, relaxed sleep at last.

"James, get up," Jessie hissed. "If we’re gonna do this job, we have to get to Pewter first!"

"Huh?" I grumbled as I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes. Jess lightly kicked my leg.

"Wake up," she ordered. "I need my breakfast!"

"You have hands. Use them." Anger filled her as she yanked my sleeping bag away.

"Now," she growled dangerously.

"Y-yes, ma’am!" I immediately got to my feet and began searching through my bag for our meal. Don’t mess with Jessie when it comes to food.

"Mmm! This food tastes so good, Brock!" a voice complemented from the woods. Could it be...?

"Yeah! I just love your pancakes!" another called. It sounded an awful lot like...

"Well, what can I say? I’m a great cook!" a third voice replied. It was the twerp trio! With breakfast...

"Jessie, do you like pancakes?" I asked grinning. Ash, Misty and

"You have to make these more often, Brock!" Ash suggested.

"Well, one thing’s for sure-I wouldn’t have any leftovers!" Brock laughed.

"Prepare for trouble!" Jessie began.

"And make it double!" I added.

"Oh no! It’s Team Rocket!" Misty cried.

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples 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 right!" Meowth concluded.

"What do you want now, Team Rocket? You’re not getting my Pikachu so don’t even try!" Ash yelled, hugging Pikachu tightly against his chest.

"Oh, please. We didn’t come here for that," Jessie sighed.

"Yes. We have a much more important job to attend to," I informed.

"Oh yeah? Like what?" Ash demanded.

"Breakfast first of all." We all jumped savagely onto the stack of pancakes.

"Hey! Those are mine!" Ash threw himself onto top of us as we struggled to steal the food away. "Cyndaquil, stop Team Rocket from stealing my breakfast!"

We held up our prizes and were scorched by the flames of Ash’s pokemon.

"We’re blasting off again!" we cried as we were hurled into the air. Ash joyfully caught the plate of slightly burned pancakes.

"Hmm... another more important job for Team Rocket? It doesn’t make sense," Brock reasoned.

"What doesn’t make sense, Brock?" Misty questioned.

"Why would their Boss give them a more important job if they couldn’t handle this one?"

"I don’t know, Brock."

"There’s something fishy going on and I don’t like it. Not one bit.

"But why are you worried, Brock? It’s just Team Rocket."

"Because their downfall may be ours too."

"Aaaah!" we shrieked as we flew through the air and landed with a thump on the hard ground.

"Well, dere went breakfast," Meowth observed dizzily.

"Now what?" I queried.

"We get your pokeball," Jess answered, nodding toward the Lab before us.

"All right! Let’s go!" Jessie held me back before I was able to dash off.

"Don’t be stupid! This is a delicate mission, which needs to be treated with caution. We have to be ready before we go in. Now let’s go get or supplies."

"Can we pick up some donuts too?" She slapped me in response.

"Darkness fell over the quiet city of Pewter as we expertly evaded the lenses of the security cameras adorning the Pewter Lab. The musty building before us was shrouded in obscurity and foreboding. Somebody should definitely call a redecorator. It looked completely horrendous! Unless the old, run-down look was in nowadays.

"Binoculars?" Jessie asked as she ‘x’ed off items on a list.

"Check," I answered.

"Rope?"

"Check."

"Smoke bombs?"

"I was supposed to bring them?" Jessie glared in my direction. I grinned in response. "Just kidding." She turned away so I wouldn’t notice her smiling. No luck.

"A glass cutter?"

"Check."

"Donuts?" Jess raised her eyebrows at the question.

"Check," I muttered through a mouth full of donuts. She rolled her eyes as we started on our journey to the heart of the Lab.

"Meowth," Jessie nodded toward the door, which had an alarm built inside. Meowth calmly opened a tiny hatch, filled with multi colored wires. Meowth stuck his claws inside and snapped them all.

"And dat’s how it’s done," he smiled proudly. Once we were sure the alarms had been turned off, Meowth picked the lock of the door and we crept into the Lab.

Even though we tried our best in keeping quiet as we tip toed down the hall, our footsteps still echoed across the narrow pathway.

"Stop!" Jessie hissed as she blocked my path. She pointed at the space in front of us, suspecting the worst. She pulled out a aerosol can, shook it a few times, and then sprayed the area before us. Red lasers shot across the room, ready to trigger the siren.

"Meowth..." I whispered.

"Gotcha covered," Meowth grinned, holding up his sharp claws. He pried open a little latch nearby and ripped all of the circuits. But the alarm was still activated for some strange reason. However, the lights were not.

"You stupid feline! Now look what you’ve done!" Jessie screamed.

"Jess, will you keep it down? You do want to make it out of here, don’t you?" I whispered as I pulled out a flashlight. It flicked on, lighting our way. "Hmm... there must be some way to short-circuit this alarm..."

Suddenly, I spotted the fuse box. I reached into my pocket and pulled out tiny marble smoke bombs. After aiming with accurate precision, I flung them toward the fuse box, destroying the alarm system.

"Hurry, Jess! We have to find it," I ordered. We rushed down the hall quickly, barely gazing into each room to make sure our objective wasn’t amidst the experiments. Abruptly, I came to a halt before an unrestricted area, causing a chain reaction of crashing behind me.

"James, what’s the big idea?" Jessie snapped. I merely pointed forward. In the center of the room was the green pokeball inside a large glass enclosure. "Finally." Jessie ambled into the room. I extended my hand and seized her wrist, holding her firmly.

She glared at me in anger for my reaction and I just smiled and responded, "This is a delicate mission that must be treated with caution. We have to be prepared before we go in." I held up the glasscutter deviously.

As we closed in on the target, we each got our weapons ready-my glasscutter, Meowth’s nails, and Jessie’s house keys. Each of us took a corner and began slicing glass. Before the glass could hit the ground and shatter, I caught it in mid-air and took prize-the pokeball.

"Let’s go!" Meowth cried with glee. Jessie simply frowned. Why was she upset? We had finally managed to steal something and yet she was so unhappy. Why? Was it my fault? Was she upset because of me?

Fate found us racing down the halls to the nearest exit. For, as we turned a sharp corner, who else do we bump into, but none other than Raquel!

"Raquel!" I gasped.

"James?" she queried in shock.

"Wh-what are you doing here? I thought you had disappeared!"

"I quit Team Rocket and got a job here working the night shift. The hours aren’t too bad; I just got out now. But what are you doing here? I thought you’d still be chasing after that Boss of yours. He didn’t even notice or care that I was gone!"

"I’m afraid I still am. But this is my last mission. He’s letting me go!" Jessie snorted at the sentence.

"That’s great! Maybe you can work with me! They give good pay! Come on, James! Do it for me!" I bit my lip. Raquel will always stay the same.

"I don’t know. Maybe." I peered at Jessie out of the corner of my eye, whose frown became deeper. Unless she objected, I would be left with no other choice. You don’t want that for me, do you, Jess?

The sound of police sirens finally reached our ears and we panicked in fright.

"Enough with this friendly chit-chat! We have to go! Now!" Jessie yelled.

"But how will we get out?" I asked. Jessie, Meowth and I glanced at each other in fright. Raquel pondered thoughtfully to herself then opened her mouth to speak once again.

"This way," she motioned for us to follow her. Reluctant, but unwilling to give in to the cops, we heeded her command. "Only the workers can come out this way," she nodded toward the exit and held up her key. "With the right disguise this might work..."

"Right disguise?" I didn’t like the sound of it one bit. She closed in on me, an evil gleam in her eye and everything went black.

"Raquel!!!" I shrieked. "I refuse to go out like this!"

"Would you rather go to prison?" Raquel questioned, struggling not to laugh.

"Yeah, James! Besides, it’s not like you haven’t done dis before!" Meowth giggled.

"I don’t see what’s so funny. Why do I have to be a girl!"

"Because I said so, that’s why!" Raquel snapped. "Is that reason enough?"

"I suppose," I sighed.

"Good," she smiled cheerfully. "Besides, you look good as a girl."

"So do you," I muttered under my breath, my tone thick with sarcasm. She beamed as if she was receiving a complement.

"Now let’s go!"

"Well, at least with my new job, cross-dressing won’t be a requirement!" I hissed to Jessie, smirking playfully. "But it may be a plus." She calmly bopped me on the head, while stifling a giggle.

The four of us exited out of the Lab, each dressed in a different get up-Meowth with a white lab coat on and a matching baseball cap, which shielded his face from the police; Jessie with the same uniform as Raquel, but with her hair in a bun; And me as an overweight middle-aged woman.

"Hey! What are you doing?" Officer Jenny screamed out at us.

"Just getting out of work, officer! The late shift can be so hard sometimes!" Raquel replied. "Don’t you agree, ladies?"

"Yes! Just ever so tough!" I agreed, giggling in a feminine tone. Officer Jenny frowned as she commanded her men to lower their firearms.

"Thank you, Officer Jenny!" Jessie acknowledged gratefully.

"Come on, men! They still might be inside!" Jenny barked. As Jenny and the others retreated, she took a closer look at me.

"Do I know you form somewhere?" she interrogated distrustfully.

"No! Where did you get that silly idea from?" I giggled nervously.

"Familiar? To whom? That amazingly handsome member from Team Rocket? Of course not! I get that a lot." Jenny looked me over in suspicion, but said nothing.

"Officer Jenny! Please hurry!" another policeman called. Jenny took one last glance at me then took off after her partner. Relief flooded through me as Jenny ran out of sight.

"It amazes me how incredibly stupid you are, James!" Jessie grumbled. "If it wasn’t for me, you would’ve been in jail for years by now!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Would not!"

"Would too!"

"Would not!!"

"Would too!!"

"Would not!!!"

"Guys, will youse just shaddup! We still gotta get dis back to da Boss and I don’t wanna get nobodies attention!" Meowth yelled.

"I afraid that’s no longer a concern of yours, Meowth!" a voice

"Who are you? Come out now!" Meowth demanded. Two figures slipped out from the shadows.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"Make it Double!" her partner added.

"Butch?" my mouth hung open.

"That’s right!" they acknowledged in unison.

"Well, unlike the three of you, the Boss trusts us. So he sent us after you to make sure you did your job," Cassidy explained.

"And we did! We don’t need your help!" I retorted.

"You accomplished your part of the mission so now hand over the pokeball!" Butch yelled.

"So you can get the credit? No way!"

"I don’t think you understand. The Boss never wanted you to return, James."

"What?" What was Butch getting at? Why did the Boss not want me to come back?

"You were never supposed to succeed. You served as a distraction so that we could retrieve the pokeball. An expendable member."

"Expendable... that can’t be true! What reason would he have to get rid of me?"

"Ask Meowth," Cassidy responded slyly.

"James," Meowth began. He took a deep breath. "I’m sorry. I should’ve told you earlier. I just didn’t want to get you worried, James.

"I remember dere was dis one member da Boss paired me up wit before youse two came around. Nice kid... a real winner. But one day he up and decided he didn’t want to be in Team Rocket and he went inside da office ta see da Boss. Me, I decided to hang around outside. Well... uh..." Meowth scratched the back of his head nervously. "...he never came out."

"You mean the Boss...?"

"Yeah. He did. I was gonna tell you later, but I was scared, James. I tought dat maybe since da Boss had let you out of da office, he’d let you go easy."

"I don’t believe you didn’t tell me. If you really cared, I deserved to at least get a warning... a clue... something!"

"I couldn’t bring myself to tell you, James. I’m sorry."

"Now if you don’t mind, I’d like you to hand over the pokeball," Cassidy replied.

"No! Not until I figure out what’s really going on! If I can’t even trust my friends, I’ll have to do this on my own!" I dashed off, away from my so-called friends.

"James!" Raquel shouted.

"Wait!" Meowth yelled. Jessie just stared at me running away in shock. Then she too screamed after me.

"Come back here, James! You can’t just leave! James!" she cried. But not even Jessie could stop me this time.