IN:

“For the Best or for the Worst”

PART I

Because their previous plans for capturing Pikachu hadn’t worked, Team Rocket had to come up with a new one—again.

They were hovering over a large field in their hot-air balloon, when James peered over the side and pointed out something that caught both Jessie and Meowth’s attention.

“Hey! Isn’t that a nuclear waste dump we’re floating over?”

Immediately Jessie and Meowth looked over the side to see what James was talking about.

“Whoa.” said Meowth in an unusually serious tone.

“Yeah.” said Jessie. Then, looking at James, she added, “Let’s hope no one falls out of the balloon.”

James shot a nervous glance her way and moved closer to the center of the balloon.

Suddenly, the balloon began to drop, slowly at first, then, picking up speed, it continued to fall—down to the nuclear waste dump below.

“Oh no! We’re out of fuel!” cried Meowth.

“Do something, before we all die!” yelled James.

“Why is it that all the good-looking people have to die?” Jessie wondered out loud.

SLASH! Three red lines appeared across Jessie’s face. “Cut the questioning, Beauty Queen.” Meowth shouted at her. “There are some matches in the knapsack. You know what to do.” He extended his claws again and held them up threateningly in front of her face. “Or else you’re getting a red line facial.”

“Why can’t James do it?” Jessie asked.

Meowth turned and looked at James, who was yelling and crying like a lunatic.

“He’s too busy panicking. Now, get the matches and light the fuel burner.”

“All right, all right, I’m going!” Jessie said, annoyed. She went over to the knapsack and, after a few minutes of digging, pulled out the matches.

“Wha…what…what are you going to do with those?” asked James nervously, looking at the matches in Jessie’s hand.

“Well, I was going to light the fuel burner, but since you asked, maybe I should set your hair on fire instead.” replied Jessie casually, with a threatening look in her eyes.

“No, ah, no need for that, heh heh.” Stammered James, waving his hands in front of his face. “You just…light the fuel burner like you were going to in the first place. I don’t want to…stand in your way or anything.”

Shrugging her shoulders, Jessie took out a match and said, “Suit yourself.”

With an anxious Meowth and a very nervous James watching, Jessie lit the match and held it up to the fuel burner. Within seconds, the Meowth balloon was back up in the air.

“Phew!” they all exclaimed at the same time.

“Well, that takes care of that,” said Jessie, before throwing the match over the side of the balloon. Meowth watched it fall, but then he slowly turned to face Jessie, with an unsure look planted on his face.

“Uh…Jessie?” he asked.

“What is it now, Meowth?” Jessie replied in an annoyed tone.

“You did remember to put out the flame on that match before you threw it out, right?”

A look of shocked realization quickly covered Jessie’s face, and she turned pale.

“Well, Jess?” asked James.

Jessie bit her lip.

“Jessie?”

BOOM!

The nuclear waste dump exploded in a frenzy of flames, and the Meowth balloon was swallowed up in it.

“Looks like Team Rocket’s blasting off again!”