You know what, boys and girls? It's 3 AM and I've got nothing to do!(well, I could work on those Unaired Episodes you all seem to love so much, but, eh.) It's Inspiration time! And this one has references to both "It's a Wonderful Life" *and* "Feathers and Foxtails"...can *you* find them?

<<2. TR DIDN'T come back... {as much as I love TR, this would show how much Team Twirp need TR.}>>This is from the Rocket Gang fan fic list! I've brought it out of the hotmail inbox for all you other kids!

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"Good riddance," said Ash as his three enemies dissappeared.

"Now that we've taken care of them, we can start preparing for the 'Let Your Pokemon Run Free and Virtually Unguarded Festival!'" said Misty.

Ash nodded. "Mmm-hmm."

Brock sighed nostalgically. "I remember my first 'Let Your Pokemon Run Free and Virtually Unguarded Festival,'" he said.

"Oh, brother," sighed Misty.

"I can guess where this is going," added Ash.

"Well, there was this really beautiful girl there..."

Meanwhile, Team Rocket paused for meaningful reflection. Of course, true enlightenment is difficult to achieve when your face is buried foot deep in the dirt and you're still trying to count how many teeth you've lost. This was no problem for Jesse and Meowth who had long ago learned that they preferred to be on top. "We're taking the day off tomorrow," Jesse announced.

"What?!" screeched Meowth. "If we don't get some rare pokemon, da Boss is gonna get us!"

"Screw that Dr. Claw wanna-be!" snapped Jesse, punching Meowth high into the air. "I am not leaving the house tomorrow!"

"Nnnnghh?" asked James.

"Yes, we have a house...somewhere," said Jesse, finally remembering to stand up so James had a chance at survival. "It's big and on that cliff remember?" When James still didn't move, Jesse nudged him with her toe. "Where we spent that one Christmas?"

"Da one where Jesse was telling us dat crap about Santa Claus being a Jynx?" added Meowth.

James managed to stand up. "Oh yeah!" He had very fond memories of that house, mostly because there was only one bed. He also had some potentially scarring memories of that house, mostly because there was only one bed and Meowth sometimes tried to sleep in it...

The next day....

"Boy, this sure is a great festival!" said Ash. He, Misty, and Brock were standing back and watching their pokemon run free and virtually unguarded.

"Look at all these rare pokemon!" said Misty. "That's the third dratini I've seen!" She reached for her pokeballs.

Brock stopped her. "Misty, just because these pokemon are running free and virtually unguarded doesn't mean we can just take them."

"Yeah, Misty, all of these pokemon have trainers," added Ash. "How would you feel if someone captured your Starmie?"

"You're right," Misty admitted. "But I just wish that *I* had a dratini."

"Me too," Ash sighed. "That'd show Gary who the loser is!"

"Ash, you lasted longer at the Pokemon League than he did," said Brock.

"I know but...he still acts like he's better than me!"

"Chaaa!" squealed Pikachu. He scampered over to Ash-tachi with a female pikachu. "Pika-pi pika-pika!"

"What's that Pikachu?" asked Ash. "You say you've impregnanted this equally high level Pikachu and that your offspring are bound to be twice as powerful as you are?" Pikachu nodded. "Wow, that's super!"

"We'll have to make sure nothing happens to a pikachu this special," said Brock, picking up the female pikachu in his arms.

"Hey, look over there!" said Misty, pointing.

"Missing Number!" exclaimed Ash.

"And a Pikablu!" added Brock.

"Wow, there really *are* some rare pokemon this year," said Ash.

"Mmm-hmmm," agreed Misty and Brock.

There was an awkward pause in conversation. "But something's missing," said Brock.

"Yeah," said Ash. "I wonder what it is..."

"Festively colored banners?"

"No..."

"Pokemon cookies?" asked Misty.

"Actually, yeah...I haven't seen any vendors," Ash said. "But you can enjoy the festival without some dumb cookies!"

"Pokemon running free and virtually unguarded?"

"No, that can't be it! There are pokemon running free and unguarded all over the place!" Ash sighed. "I guess we'll figure it out later..."

There was a group sigh. Then Brock said, "Hey, those two girls standing by Mew are acting pretty suspicious to me!"

"Let's go check it out!" said Ash. He and his friends ran over. "Hey, you're not festival goers!"

The girls looked at him in surprise. "Yes, we are," she said.

"You are?" asked Ash, feeling very confused.

"Ash, they seem like perfectly normal girls," said Misty in a low voice. "Maybe we should just leave them alone..."

Brock leapt behind the girl on the left. "That's not a perfectly normal girl, it's James, Misty!" he shouted. The girl screamed while Brock tried to pull her hair off. "Oh," he finally said, releasing her. "I guess she really was a perfectly normal girl.."

As Officer Jenny read Brock his rights, Ash and Misty sat down on a nearby bench. "Boy, the 'Let Your Pokemon Run Free and Virtually Unguarded Festival' just isn't the same without...whatever it was," sighed Ash.

"Yeah," said Misty. "Hey, look! There's another gym over there!"

Ash jumped to his feet. "Pikachu, Squirtle, c'mere! See you later, Misty," Ash called as he and his pokemon ran towards the LYPRFandVUF Gym. "We're not coming back without a badge!"

Ten minutes later, Ash returned, carrying Pikachu and Squirtle in his arms. "I lost," he said.

"What?" gasped Misty. "But...didn't you get the badge anyway?"

Ash shook his head. "For some reason the gym didn't need saving..."

"Hmmm...that's odd...Pokemon Gyms almost always need us to save them from something!"

Ash glared at her. "What do you mean us?" Suddenly, an idea struck him. "Misty, I know how I can win my Festival Badge! You set the gym on fire, and I'll save all the pokemon inside!"

Not much later, Ash found himself staggering under the tremendous weight of a nidoking and dreading the weight of the electrode and nidorina still inside. The metapod and raichu he'd already managed to carry out were happily running free and virtually unguarded. Out of the corner of his eye, he happened to see Officer Jenny dragging Misty away. "All right, you," said Officer Jenny. "You're obviously the trouble maker we've been looking for!"

"But...I...Ash made me do it!" Misty screamed. "Ash, help me!"

Ash would've loved to help Misty. Unfortunately it was about that point when he felt something very essential to his bodily well-being snap, causing him to collapse. "You must be a member of Team Rocket," Officer Jenny continued. "We have ways of making you talk!"

"But I have nothing to say!" Misty screamed.

"Don't deny it! I've seen hair like yours before...that's Rocket hair!"

Misty wasn't proud of what she did next, but it had to be done and the whole thing *was* Ash's fault anyway. "He's James of Team Rocket!" she said, pointing at Ash.

Under any normal circumstances Ash could have easily pulled out his PokeDex and been on his way, hopefully with a shiny new badge to show for it. Unfortunately for him, being trapped under a nidoking was *not* normal circumstances...

Meanwhile, back in Team Rocket's unexplainable house, Team Rocket was doing what they did best: lounging around! Jesse and James were struggling to master the ancient art of the cat's cradle, and currently found themselves tangled together. "Meowth, I think we need the scissors now," said James.

"Ha! We're champion Team Rocket!" laughed Jesse. "I can handle a stupid piece of string!" Jesse then started using the ancient art of using your teeth on the cat's cradle string because your hands are essentially paralyzed. The next thing she and James knew, they were dangling half upside down over the edge of the couch, almost completely immobile. "Call Mondo," Jesse told Meowth.

"Right," said Meowth, accidentally knocking over a small, silver bell.

"Jesse, Giovanni says that every time a bell rings, an angel gets its wings!" James said. "Or is it, every time a bell rings, a bitchy girl gets a tail?"

"Whatever," snapped Jesse.

Meowth pulled out his cell phone and dialed. "Jesse and James were playing cat's cradle and..uh-huh..uh-huh..okay, thanks." Meowth hung up and turned back to his teammates and said, "He's bringing scissors, a swiss army knife, and a blow torch, just in case."

"Atta boy, Mondo!" said James. Jesse glared at him.