TWO OF A KIND

@->->-

"Hey, James! Come look at this!"

"Huh?" James flipped the pancakes he was cooking onto a plate and brought them to his partner. "What is it, Jess?"

Jessie held up the newspaper and pointed to one of the ads. "Pokemon Paradise!" she exclaimed.

James sighed. "Not another pokemon snatching scheme! Jessie, it's our day off!"

"I know that!" she said. "But that's not what I had in mind!"

James raised an eyebrow.

"Well, since the two of us have the day off, then why not our pokemon, too?" she explained. "I think Arbok, Weezing, Lickitung, Victreebel, and Meowth would love to spend a day at Pokemon Paradise -- it's supposed to be a great vacation spot."

"That's a terrific idea, Jess!" James said. Then, he turned to the cat, who was sitting in the chair next to Jessie's. "Isn't it, Meowth?"

Meowth poured some milk into his coffee and grinned. "Sounds like the purr-fect plan to me!" he quipped.

@->->-

Once they had eaten breakfast, Jessie, James, and Meowth set out for Pokemon Paradise. And since it wasn't far from the trainer inn where they had spent the night, they arrived in a matter of minutes.

As they crested the hill at the edge of town, they found themselves looking down at a large park. There was a giant mountain surrounded by forests, meadows, rivers, and lakes, and there was even a playground -- something for every kind of pokemon to enjoy!

"Meowth! You was right, Jessie! Dis is gonna be fun!" the cat exclaimed.

Jessie and James exchanged smiles and brought out the rest of the pokemon. They all responded with the same enthusiasm as Meowth.

Jessie knealt down and gave Lickitung a hug. Then, she reached up and did the same to Arbok. "Have fun, girls," she said to her two pokemon.

"Tung! Licki-lick!"

"Chaar-bocka!"

James grinned. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, Weezing. You, too, Victreebel."

"Wee-zing!"

*CHOMP*

"Mmmph...mmmph...mmmph...."

Jessie rolled her eyes and pried James out of Victreebel's mouth. "James, you've got to start teaching that thing to show you some respect," she sighed.

"I know, I know," James replied as he smoothed his purple hair. "I'm going to...."

Jessie exhaled a mushroom-shaped cloud. That's what James said every time Victreebel chomped down on him (which was pretty much every time he brought it out of the poke ball). Somehow, she just didn't think it was going to happen any time soon.

"Bye bye, youse two!" Meowth said as he began heading for the park. "Have fun playin' kissy-face!" He then winked at them.

Jessie turned as red as her hair, and so did James.

Seeing the reaction he had provoked, Meowth puckered up and made kissing noises at them.

A vein popped out on Jessie's forehead, and she gritted her teeth. "Shut up! What we do by ourselves is none of your business!" With that, she swung her mallet and sent Meowth flying.

Arbok, Weezing, Lickitung, and Victreebel laughed.

Jessie smiled again as she and James waved good-bye to their pokemon.

@->->-

"So, what ARE we going to do on our day off?" James queried as he and Jessie headed back up the road.

Jessie turned and put her arms around him. "Anything that involves some time alone with you is fine by me!"

James hugged back. "Well, what do you know? Great minds DO think alike!"

The two of them pulled closer and went into a full liplock.

@->->-

"Awwwww!" Lickitung said as she watched the two young lovers kiss. "Humans do the cutest things! Don't they?"

"Yep," Arbok agreed. "Especially those two -- they make the best couple!"

"I'm glad they finally realize that they belong together," said Weezing. "Sometimes it's your best friend that turns out to be your one true love!"

Victreebel sighed. "Are we gonna sit here and watch the humans tongue-wrestle all day, or are we gonna go have some fun?!"

The other three turned and frowned at him, but they knew that he was right. So, looking back one last time at their trainers, they began heading for the park.

@->->-

"What the hell took youse guys so long?!" Meowth demanded when the four pokemon finally arrived. He had become tangled in the branches of a tree when he landed, and he was waiting for them to come and free him.

"Geez! Don't say 'hi,' or anything!" Weezing said sarcastically.

"Will ya just shut up, and get me down from here?!"

Arbok frowned. "Hmmmph! I say we leave him there until he learns some manners!" she hissed.

"In that case, he's gonna be up in that tree for a loooong time," Weezing remarked.

Arbok chuckled as Meowth started screaming profanities at them again.

"Maybe too long," said Lickitung, who was getting sick of listening to the cat's foul language. "Don't worry! I'll get you down, Meowth!" she called up to him.

"Thanks, Lickitung! Yer a REAL friend!" Meowth said, casting a venomous glare at Arbok and Weezing.

Arbok stuck her tongue out, and Weezing made two faces at him. Then, Lickitung hit the tree trunk with one of her Mega Kicks. The force of the kick was so great that Meowth was shaken loose from the branches, and he landed on the ground with a jarring crash.

"....A real friend...." he moaned.

Lickitung laughed. "I'm outta here, guys," she said. "If you want me, I'll be down at the lake."

"See ya!" said Arbok.

"What're you gonna do, Victreebel?" Weezing asked.

Victreebel looked around for a moment. Then, he saw a nearby topiary garden where a Paras, a Vileplume, and other grass pokemon were playing. And then, he saw the main attraction....

"Whoa! Hedge maze!!!" he exclaimed as he made a mad dash for the garden. "Hedge mazes rule!!!!!"

"Guess we know where he'll be spending the day...." said Arbok.

"And what about you?" Weezing asked, coming to her side. "What are you going to do today?"

Arbok looked up at the mountain. "I thought I'd find a nice sunny spot where I can catch up on my beauty-sleep," she yawned. "Seems like all I ever do is battle anymore...it'll be nice to just relax for a change."

Weezing smiled. "Mind if I join you?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way!"

But as they began to head up the path, they heard Meowth say, "Hey! Dat sounds like a good idea! I'm comin', too!"

"Fine," Arbok said, a hint of annoyance in her voice.

Weezing gave no reply, but his two faces frowned.

@->->-

Before long, the three pokemon arrived in a lush, green meadow near the top of the mountain.

"Ahhhhh! Now dis is the perfect place for a nap!" Meowth said contentedly as he stretched himself out between Arbok and Weezing.

Arbok coiled herself up and closed her eyes.

Weezing drifted down into the grass and exhaled in a frustrated sigh. Why does Meowth always have to follow us around? he said to himself as he tried to fall asleep. When am I ever going to have a moment alone with Arbok? I really need to talk to her, and I can't do that if he's here!

Suddenly, the tranquility was shattered by the crackling of electric sparks and the sound of, "PIKAAAAAA!!!!!...RAIIIIIIII!!!!!!"

The three pokemon looked up just in time to see Pikachu and a Raichu charging towards them at full-tilt-boogie -- they were running so fast that a crash was imminent....

"WAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!" Meowth, Arbok, and Weezing screamed in unison as the two electric mice slammed into them and sent them sky-high.

"HEY! Watch where ya goin'!" Meowth shouted when he crashed to the ground.

Then, Arbok landed on top of him, and Weezing landed on top of her.

"Unnnnhhh...what was dat all about?" Meowth groaned as he crawled out from under the giant cobra.

Arbok sweatdropped. "I don't know," she replied.

"Hey, Arbok, are you okay?" Weezing asked as he floated back into the air.

"I'm fine...fuzzball, here, broke my fall," she said.

"Yeah. Now GET OFFA ME!!!" the cat shouted.

Arbok frowned as she watched Pikachu and Raichu in the distance, still charging about and giving each other the look of death. "Looks like they're heading back this way," she remarked.

"I guess we're gonna have to find another spot for our nap," Weezing sighed. "I don't wanna stick around and get Thundershocked -- I get enough of that as it is!"

"You and me, both!" Arbok growled as she began to slither away. "Honestly! Why does that little rodent always have to ruin things for us?!"

"Yeah, really!" Weezing agreed, following her.

@->->-

After a few minutes of searching, Arbok found a grassy bowl of earth on the side of the mountain. It was still warm and sunny, and since it wasn't out in the middle of an open field, there was no need to worry about getting stampeded.

"Ah! This looks like a much better place for a nap!" she said, curling herself up and getting comfortable once again.

"Yeah," Weezing replied as he came to her side and cuddled into her.

He looked over at the cobra and smiled. At last, they had finally ditched Meowth, and he could tell her what was on his mind....

"Hey, Arbok?"

"Hmmm?"

Arbok looked over at him. When her obsidian eyes met his own, Weezing suddenly found that all of his resolve was gone.

"Well...I...uh...." he stammered.

"Hey! Dere youse guys are!" Meowth called out once he had caught up to them.

Weezing breathed a sigh of relief. For once, he was actually glad for the cat's intrusion.

"Never mind," he told her.

@->->-

The new spot that Arbok had found did, indeed, turn out to be better than the last one -- now that they were in a more secluded area, there was nobody to disturb them.

But as Arbok and Meowth dozed off, Weezing drifted uneasily about.

Aw, man! Why did I have to wuss out like that?! he cursed himself. That was my chance to finally tell Arbok how I feel about her, and I blew it! What's wrong with me?!"

But Weezing knew all too well what was wrong -- he was afraid to tell Arbok that he was in love with her! The two of them had always been the best of friends, ever since the day they met...when they were little Ekans and Koffing, but could they ever be something more than just friends? He wanted more than anything to tell her how he felt, but he was afraid of how she'd react if she didn't feel the same way. What if she whacked him with her tail? Or worse, what if she wouldn't even want to be his friend anymore? He valued their friendship, and the thought of jeopardizing it scared him.

Weezing looked down at the sleeping cobra and sighed. Her purple scales glinted with an iridescent sheen in the afternoon sun, and she looked more beautiful than usual. I love you, Arbok, he said to himself. If only I could say it out loud....

But before he could muster the courage to do so, he heard a loud roaring sound coming from below.

"Hnnnh...what was that?" Arbok grumbled, none too thrilled at being awakened from her beauty-sleep once again.

"I don't know," Weezing told her.

They heard the roaring again, only this time, Meowth woke up and began to growl a string of obscenities under his breath.

"HEY! KEEP IT DOWN!!!" he screamed as he stormed to the edge of the cliff to see who had dared to awaken them.

But when he looked over the edge, a jet of fire shot up and roasted him.

"What the?!" Arbok and Weezing cried in unison as Meowth reeled backwards and collapsed.

Another jet of fire spewed up, and the two pokemon sweatdropped. "Uh, I don't think I wanna find out what that thing is," Weezing said nervously. (After all, he was filled with poisonous vapors, and the thought of igniting and blasting half the mountain to kingdom come wasn't an appealing one.)

Arbok, however, was more irritated than frightened. "Here we go again," she hissed. "Why can't we EVER seem to get a moment's peace?!"

"Yeah! Whadda we supposed to do now?" Meowth asked.

"Hmmmph! I'll bet they're doing this just to annoy us!" Arbok huffed. "I'll bet they're TRYING to scare us away! Well, I'm not gonna give them the satisfaction! This is MY vacation, dammit, and I'm gonna stay here and enjoy it!"

Weezing nodded. "Me, too!"

Meowth wiped the soot from his face and came to their side. "Yeah! We ain't goin' nowhere!"

With that, the three pokemon huddled together and did their best to ignore the constant roaring and the occasional jet of fire shooting up at them.

And it worked for a few minutes, too. But then, Meowth lost his temper again.

"I'VE HAD ENUFFA DIS!!!" With that, he pulled a bomb seemingly out of mid-air and stormed back to the edge of the cliff. "I TOLD YA TO KEEP IT DOWN!!!!!" he screamed as he lit the bomb and prepared to throw it at whoever was disturbing them.

But then, there was a loud popping sound, and suddenly, Charizard came flying up.

"Look out!" Weezing cried as the dragon fell out of the sky and started plunging towards them. But before he could push his friends out of harm's way, Charizard landed amidst their huddle, crushing Meowth.

"Unnnnnhhhhh...." the cat moaned.

"We're blasting off again!" Arbok and Weezing cried in unison as they were sent flying by the force of Charizard's impact.

@->->-

Arbok groaned. She had landed on an outcropping of rocks at the base of the cliff, and her entire body was aching. Noticing that the lake was nearby, she slowly made her way to the shore and took a drink of water.

"Why can't they just leave us alone? All we wanted was a little relaxation on our day off...." she sighed as a tear rolled down her face.

It was then that she felt a burning sensation. Looking down at her reflection on the surface of the water, she noticed that her face had been scraped when she landed, and her salty tears were causing the wounds to sting.

Suddenly, her sadness gave way to rage.

"My face! My beautiful face! Perfection has been ruined!" she cried. "Somebody's gonna pay for this!"

Arbok looked around. The first thing she saw was Weezing, who had landed in a soft flower bed a few feet away. Her black eyes flashed when he looked over at her.

"YOU!" she shouted.

"Hey, Arbok, are you oka...."

But before he could finish the sentence, Arbok whirled around and slammed him with her tail, sending him crashing into the side of the mountain.

"OW! What was that for?!" Weezing whined.

"Just look at what happened to my face!" she cried, indicating the scrape marks.

"Well, how the hell is that MY fault?!" he demanded.

"Because you're here, and I need someone to blame!" she snapped.

Weezing frowned when he heard this. Somehow, he always seemed to take the blame when things went wrong. Arbok had a short temper, and she couldn't accept the fact that sometimes bad things just happened -- with her, everything always had to be someone's fault...and since she couldn't very well take it out on their beloved trainers, he had become her designated scapegoat. It was infuriating, but at the same time, he found it endearing....

And this made him realize something -- if Arbok was going to smack him around anyway, it didn't matter how she responded if he told her how he felt....

"WHY?" Weezing cried as Arbok slithered away from him. "Why are you always so mean to me, Arbok? I LOVE you!"

Arbok stopped in her tracks and slowly turned to face him again. "What. Did. You. Say?"

"You heard me!" he said firmly. "I said I love you!"

Too dumbfounded to speak, she gave no reply, just sat there with her mouth hanging open.

"Let me guess. You don't feel the same."

"Well, how am I SUPPOSED to feel?!" she snapped. "How the hell am I supposed to react when you go and spring something like that on me?!"

Weezing drifted to her side. "Is it really that shocking? Earlier today, I said that sometimes it's your best friend that turns out to be your one true love. So give me one good reason why it can't be like that with us!"

Arbok's dark eyes flashed again. "Well, first of all, we're two totally different species!"

"So what?!" he shot back. "Pokemon of different species fall in love with each other all the time! That Magnemite in Gringy City had a thing for Pikachu...Bulbasaur fell in love with Florinda's Gloom at the Xanadu Nursery....Hell! Even Psyduck and Wigglytuff were an item for awhile...and they're not even the same TYPE! So tell me! What's wrong with two poison pokemon like us being a couple?"

Arbok said nothing.

"And what about what we said about Jessie and James?" he continued. "Didn't we agree that they belong together?"

"Yeah, what's your point?"

"Arbok, think about it! We're like Jessie and James in a lot of ways!" he explained. "In the years that we've been with them, they've started to rub off on us! Haven't you noticed? We've become so much like them...which is why I think that we belong together just as much as they do!"

Arbok closed her eyes. She knew he had a point.

"We've always been the best of friends," Weezing told her. "So tell me why we shouldn't be something more!"

"....I can't," she said at length. "I can't tell you why because I can't think of a reason why...." She hung her head and turned away from him. "You want to know the truth? I think I love you, too...."

"Then why...."

She looked back at him, tears rolling down her face again. "I just didn't know how to tell you because...I was afraid!"

Weezing smiled at her. "You and me both."

Arbok sighed. "How long have we felt this way, Weezing? And how long have we been afraid to tell each other?"

"Well, I've been in love with you for years...practically since the day we met!" Weezing told her.

Arbok laughed bitterly and shook her head. "Me, too! Isn't that the damndest thing?!"

Weezing gazed into her eyes. "Arbok, you and I are two of a kind...just like Jessie and James!"

Arbok smiled at him. "You're right...you're right. We are a lot like them....Hell! It even took us forever to figure it out!"

"So you agree with me?"

She nodded and rested her head on the larger of his two faces. "Yes. I do."

The two of them would have embraced, but they had no arms. So instead, Weezing nuzzled against Arbok, and she responded by coiling herself around him.

"I'm sorry I hit you...I was just upset about what happened earlier...." said Arbok.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean anything by it," came Weezing's reply.

Arbok and Weezing cuddled closer and closed their eyes. But as they leaned in to kiss, they suddenly heard Meowth's voice.

"Hey! Dere youse guys are! I've been lookin' all over for ya!"

"Baka cat," the two pokemon muttered in unison as they reluctantly pulled away from each other. Then, they began to laugh.

"What's so funny?" Meowth asked.

But before they could tell him to get lost, two familiar voices echoed through the valley.

"Arbok! Lickitung! Time to go!"

"Come on, Weezing, Victreebel!"

"You, too, Meowth!" the two voices said together.

Looking up at the sky, they saw that the sun was setting -- their day off was drawing to a close.

Arbok and Weezing smiled at each other and started heading back.

"Well, ain't ya gonna tell me what you was just laughin' about?" Meowth asked, following them.

The two pokemon exchanged glances. "Nope," came their reply.

"Come on! Dis is killin' me! Talk already!"

Seeing the cat's frustration only made them start laughing again.

@->->-

"So, how was your day off?" Jessie and James asked once the five pokemon had returned.

"It sucked!" Meowth growled as he stormed up the road.

But when they saw the happy looks on the faces of the other four pokemon, they knew that this wasn't entirely true. Lickitung had spent the day at the lake, watching swimming matches between the water pokemon and soaking up some sun, and Victreebel had met a cute Vileplume in the hedge maze -- he was in such a good mood that he decided not to bite James! And, of course, Arbok and Weezing were feeling great!

"What's with him?" James asked as he watched Meowth stomping away.

"Who knows?" Jessie replied. "And who really cares? At least the others look like they had a good day!"

Arbok and Weezing smiled at each other and nuzzled once again before being returned to their poke balls. Yes, it had definitely turned out to be a good day for them.

@->->-

"Strange," Jessie remarked as they followed Meowth back to the inn.

"What is?" James asked.

"The way Arbok and Weezing were looking at each other just now," came her reply. "It's like...they were in love with each other...."

"Wouldn't surprise me," he told her. "After all, those two are the best of friends...and sometimes it's your best friend that turns out to be your one true love!"

Jessie turned and put her arms around him. "That's so true, James...that's so true!"

James returned the embrace and pulled her into him. "They're two of a kind, Jess...and so are we!"

Jessie smiled at him. "I can't imagine a better way to fall in love."

"Neither can I," James said as he pressed his lips against hers.

The two of them stayed like that until the sun finally sank below the horizon and their day off officially ended. They released each other with more than a little reluctance, but then, they remembered that even though the day was over, the night had just begun....