Part Two~ Looking for Hope

Jessie thought. Then she looked up and noticed a young trainer sitting on a rock up ahead.

She quickly walked up to him and smiled.

"Oh, hello fellow trainer! I'm on my way to the Pokemon league, how about you?"

"Yeah, me too! Can I see your badges?"

"Sure." Jessie said, pulling out the box and proudly showcasing Otoshi's badges to the boy.

"Wow...those are really nice, You must've worked and battled really hard to earn those jewels!" The trainer said, smiling. Then he reached into his backpack and pulled out a box. "Check out mine." he said, opening the nox and presenting his badges. Jessie smiled, her eyes glinting as she examined the badges.

"Are you sure dat's her?" asked Meowth, staring harder at the young woman James had claimed to be Jessie.

"Yes, positive." James said, having a short flashback of all the disguises him and Jessie had worn over the years. "Jessie and I have worn many disguises, and I'd recognize that fashion flare anywhere." He said, a tear escaping his eye.

"Oh my goodness, what's that over there?" Jessie said, pointing to a fake illusion behind the trainer.

"Huh? Where?" he said, turning around. Just as as Jessie reached for the badges, a small black smoke bomb rolled out between them, and exploded simultaneously in a mass of smoke. Jessie looked around, then heard the most familiar voice in the world.

"Prepare for trouble...." said James, desperately hoping this would make Jessie want to come back to Team Rocket.

"Trouble....?" Jessie blinked.

"Yes, and Make it double." said James, and then Jessie smiled and moved beside him, knowing it was only right to say the motto. James gave a sidelong smile and pulled out a rose.

"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, blast off at the speed of light!
Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

Grabbing the box of badges from the bag that Jessie had dropped, Meowth ended the motto with his line.
"Meowth! Dat's right!" Immediately, the young trainer turned and ran as fast as he could, screaming.

"AAAHHHH!!!! TEAM ROCKET!!!!!!!!!!" James raised an eyebrow, then turned to Jessie, and opened his mouth to say something, but Jessie beat him to it and began to cry a fountain of tears.

"I was so close to stealing all that kid's badges but you had to come and ruin everything!!" she cried.

"You can steal from a kid but you can't steal from us." said Meowth.

"You have disgraced the disgraceful Team Rocket!!"

James said, pointing at Jessie, who suddenly had a look on her face as if the world had just ended.

James thought, fearing he had spoken too soon and that what he said had come out all wrong.

"My moment in the spotlight is over ..." Jessie said, hanging her head.

James was so thankful that his heart wasn't made of glass, or else it would have shattered into a million pieces.

"J-Jess..." was all he could get himself to say. Jessie still cried speechlessly, and Meowth, tail hanging low, turned to James.

"Jimmy....I tink dis is it... we're gonna have ta say goodbye for good." James just stood, staring at the girl he loved with all his heart and soul...and the realization that she was never going to love him back hit him like a ton of bricks. Then, he did the only thing his sullen mind could tell him to do. He ran. Ran right back in the direction he had come, far far away, as fast as he could, tears blinding him like crazy, but he didn't care. He kept going, refusing to stop for anything except a miracle.