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Team Rocket headquarters was about to be raided. Such intrusion had unfortunately become quite common these days, the disrespectful peons of various organizations seeing fit to invade their space on multiple occasions. After the destructive event that had leveled Team Rocket's actual secret former headquarters and all of its valuable and powerful contents, their enemies had been damn near unstoppable in their efforts. It had been a few years, but it seemed they weren't quite done yet. When called on to do something about it, Jessie was on the case.
Having investigated and broken into many unfamiliar buildings for a variety of purposes, gaining an alternate entrance to the former site of Viridian Gym was almost too easy of a non-challenge. Many days and even nights had been spent there, including when Jessie had to act as a gym leader for a while. Every bit of the place was known. The secret entrance of a window unseeable from the street accessed by scaling a wall usually unnoticed by those entering and exiting was chosen. After opening it up, Jessie went down the hall and found the air vent. She released Arbok as quietly as possible and got an easy boost. From there, the targeted room was traveled to with ease, Arbok squeezing in after, occasionally hissing lowly, though they were mostly discreet, of course. Finding the destination, the vent was kicked off and an entrance was made.
Though this person had been the one to call Jessie here, she cursed. "Shit, Jessie, what the hell are you doing?!" Cassidy demanded once realizing who had entered with a giant pokemon following with various hissing calls. Arbok slithered around the area while their acting boss got out from behind her desk.
Now having arrived, Jessie got a look around the room. Cassidy's young son was also there, and had also stood up in surprise, eyes wide, though not saying anything himself. Everything else looked much the same, except perhaps a little cleaner than the last time she'd been there. The only major difference was in Cassidy herself. Jessie pointed at her. "You hacked off all your hair."
Cassidy primped her new spiked, short hairstyle before sitting down in the fancy chair that used to be reserved for their boss Giovanni, who hadn't been back since the incident. "I do have a new style. Do you like how it looks?" Cassidy asked.
"It looks like you hacked off all your hair." Jessie said, sitting down on the other side of the desk and putting a hand on her chin as she further observed the person in front of her. "Is getting rid of your long hair your way of trying to get attention?" Jessie said, inadvertently running her hand partially down her own long hair.
Cassidy groaned, rolling her eyes. "I'm getting busier and busier lately and don't have time to maintain long hair, that's it. Maybe you'd have time to make your own self-improvements if you made a similar choice."
"Huh?" Jessie scowled, narrowing her eyes. Styling her hair didn't take that long, especially since she had James happy to help. "You're giving out styling tips while looking like that?"
"There's absolutely nothing wrong with how I look. It's fashionable. And you could consider it yourself. Rapunzel-length hair on older women is considered passé, you know."
"Older women?!" Jessie repeated indignantly. "I'm only in my thirties, the same as you. There's only a month between us, remember?" Cassidy shrugged, appearing to hide a smirk at having gotten this reaction. "Whatever! Did you call me here to pretend to my face you know more than me about style, or was there an actual mission?"
Cassidy took a breath. "The police are stopping by today," she said.
"Right." Jessie grinned, standing up with a new target in mind. "Don't worry, I'll soon put a stop to that."
"No," Cassidy said firmly, holding up her arms. "Cooperating with them has benefited us so far. I'll need you to stay away."
"What? You're the one who called me here!" Jessie pointed out.
"Right. I do have a very important task for you," Cassidy said.
Jessie leaned forward in her seat. What kind of exciting mission would this be? How high level, since she was one of the few agents left that hadn't been arrested, fired, or just died in the complete mess that had gotten Team Rocket so much attention in the first place? Would it have something to do with the frequent police presence, or was it part of a completely new venture?
"James isn't here," Cassidy pointed out.
That had already been known - James and Meowth were very far away gaining a delivery of new pokemon of recently discovered species from overseas. Meowth had wanted to act as 'ambassador', and there had really only been a need for one human for that task. Jessie had easily decided to let it be James since she hadn't been in the mood for long plane rides and jet lag, especially not with also having to come right back to Kanto. Meanwhile James had been excited, so let him. Staying behind, it turned out something even more exciting was waiting. The possibilities for what Cassidy was going to ask for were endless.
"I'll need you to watch Jonathan," Cassidy said.
"Huh." Jessie didn't even balk as she took in the message that played like a cold shower all over her curious anticipation. "You need me... To baby-sit?" she eventually asked.
Cassidy nodded, her expression nonplused. "This nosy group has nothing left to discover, at least from what's here and not buried. I'll let them poke around, but I'd rather they're not talking to my son, so I'll leave him to you."
Jessie slammed her hands on the desk in front of her, letting out a growl. "Is that it! You have the best agent in all of Team Rocket right in front of you, and all you can think of is saddling her with a baby-sitting job?"
"That's what I need you for right now, yes," Cassidy said testily.
"Do you think that's all I'm capable of?"
"I'd surely hope you'd be capable enough for such a simple task."
"Are your thoughts so dull that you don't see my limitless potential?"
"Ugh, are you calling me dull? There's no need to stoop to that. I'd say something about glass houses, but-"
"I'm just saying this is stupid! I'm here to be a part of one of the greatest organizations on earth, not be a nursemaid!"
In between Jessie and Cassidy's sniping back at each other, the quiet kid had easily faded into the background, but currently had walked right in front of the desk. "Jessie is right," he said, breaking into the conversation. "She doesn't need to watch me. I'm twelve already, almost thirteen. She can be doing other stuff. I don't need a baby-sitter. Don't be so dumb."
Though this kid was acting like backup, fully agreeing with everything said, the words still sent a wave of pricks almost as if being rolled over a cactus. Cassidy was just getting a taste of her own medicine, but even so, her kid spitting her own haughtiness back at her didn't seem right at all. "Hey there," Jessie responded right away. Jonathan looked toward her, giving his full attention. "Listen to yourself," Jessie continued, "and think a little bit more about who and where you are. Maybe you're mommy's little spoiled brat, but you're also a Team Rocket employee and she's your boss. You don't insult her. You listen to her and follow orders!"
Jessie paused from shouting, even having plenty more to say. But instead of throwing the Cassidy-like attitude at her, the kid's face drooped in possible guilt in an image that was so reminiscent of James. He didn't spout out any more sass, just nodded silently back. As he ought to, Jessie considered furiously, ready to be set off again at another word.
"Thank you, Jessie," Cassidy said coolly, breaking the silence. Ugh, that was right, Jessie had basically accepted the job at this point, lest she look like a hypocrite. Cassidy pulled something out of her desk, then held it out. "Maybe it's better the two of you go somewhere out of town. I wouldn't want them seeing you hanging around anywhere too close. Feel free to charge any necessary expenses."
Jessie snatched the offered item, then pulled up the air vent cover to place back. Arbok coiled itself up, ready to give her a boost again.
"Oh, and you take the front door, we still have a few hours before anyone arrives," Cassidy said. "The both of you be sure to change out of your uniforms, too."
Jessie tossed the metal item on Cassidy's desk upon being given the order. It rattled with an irritating sound as it landed, and Cassidy cringed. With that, she returned Arbok to its pokeball, went to change into something nondescript, and met up with the now-familiar kid at the entrance. Even if not knowing him, he'd be recognizable at this point, looking so much like James. He was about the age James had been when they'd met while attending Pokemon Tech, too. Even his voice was reminiscent of James's back then, not that this kid used it much. She nodded at him, and they started on their way out.
Glancing down at what Cassidy had offered revealed it was indeed her personal company credit card. Jessie held it up, enjoying watching it sparkle in the outside sun. "Looks like Cassidy will be treating me to all kinds of 'necessary business expenses' today," Jessie said, then chuckled out loud as the possibilities went through her mind.
"Where are we going to go, Jessie?"
Despite how he often seemed to easily disappear, the kid was indeed right next to her, relaxed, mild, and cooperative despite his previous attitude. The outburst in the office had been surprising as she hadn't heard any of that from him before, though James had said there had been some problems for a time. Whatever reason he was acting like that, didn't seem he was going to give her much trouble. "We're supposed to get lost, so I guess we'll take a train out of town," Jessie said.
Jonathan said nothing, just followed her to the station, standing by silently as she got them both a ticket to Saffron. There should be plenty to do in the large city that was easy to disappear into. Being cooperative, silent, and really grown enough that Cassidy wanting someone to watch him was certainly overprotection, the kid could maybe become her assistant rather than her charge, and this day would easily pass right by.
"Jessie!" Jonathan called from a ways behind. He had stopped in the middle of the station. As he pointed, Jessie realized it was to show her the location she'd missed. Following him back, the thought was had of how casual he was around her. He didn't call her 'Miss' Jessie, as some newer Team Rocket employees around the base had started to, nor 'senpai' as Mondo had and very often still did. Just 'Jessie' seemed weird, but what else would he call her?
Certainly not 'auntie'. As they boarded the train, Jessie gritted her teeth at the thought. While she sulked, Jonathan grinned as he stared out the window. "I lived in Saffron with Dad," he said.
The fact had been recalled. While temporarily settling down, James had gone there to hopefully escape being recognized, the same as she was doing now. It really was close enough for a day trip, but Jessie had actively avoided going there during that time. It had felt a little like James was being stolen away, and maybe she hadn't wanted to be tempted to steal him back.
There wasn't much other conversation along the way. Once arriving at the station, they exited and wandered around. Jessie hadn't planned on going out that day, so had no particular place she wanted to be, and the kid didn't complain. But they weren't just going to burn time that day, were they? Jessie was carrying a charge card and a drive to use it liberally. Seeing a nail salon, she took the kid's arm and dragged him in. A group of squirtle in uniforms greeted them. Eventually, a human informed she'd only have to wait a few minutes.
"Jessie, why are you getting your nails done?" The tone of the question seemed innocent enough, but was surely the first complaint at Jessie being able to take advantage of this situation at all. While Jessie thought of what may be a smart quip in response, the boy looked at his own hands. "Our uniforms have gloves," he said.
Oh. So that was what he was getting at. "So what," Jessie said. "I'm not in the uniform 24/7." As the kid glanced at her curiously, she recalled the times in her life where she had been for the most part, and spoke up before that might be brought up. "And who cares anyway! This can just be for me. A secret hidden power, my own flashy surprise for anyone that happens to see." Jessie laughed, then narrowed her eyes. "Why? Did you want your own manicure?" She paused, and the kid's eyes widened in surprise, almost like some lost little meowth. Meowth aside, he again looked quite James-like. Jessie sighed. Right or wrong, she came to the conclusion that knowing James, she knew this kid better as well. "You do, don't you?" she asked.
Without waiting for a response, Jessie went and asked for an appointment for him as well. He didn't protest, but if he were actually pleased wasn't clear either as he simply sat down to wait. Jessie sat down, arms folded. "You might say thank you," she said.
"Oh... Yeah." Again he appeared guilty, looking down at the ground. "Thanks, Jessie."
At the end of their appointments, they both had sparkling nails. Jessie's were a simple pink, but the kid had picked green and glittery with some sort of wavy pearl-colored symbol in the middle. "It's cool," he said as he peered over at Jessie's nails as she showed them off. She grabbed his hand to force him to hold it up and show off. He looked away shyly before they both exchanged a smile.
"Where do you want to go next?" Jonathan asked as they exited the building.
Jessie actually did have several ideas of how to rack up the business expenses, but for some reason the question irritated her. "What about you? Don't you have someplace you'd like to go?" Jonathan's eyes widened in surprise, and his shoulders went up. "What? Are you just some follower with no ideas of your own, or were you just too afraid to ask?" Actually, from what had been seen before, this kid rarely expressed anything he wanted, just quietly hung around without saying much at all. With a parent like Cassidy, was he pressured to just do whatever she said without giving his own input? Jessie had refused to be the stand-in for the partner who had always fallen into line, and this kid should also be his own separate person.
"Um..." Jonathan looked down. As he looked back up, Jessie gave him an expectant look. He pursed his lips. "Um... We could go to a park or a battling place... Do you want to see my new pokemon?"
"New pokemon?" Jessie loudly repeated in disbelief. Jonathan looked absolutely aghast as she paused. Was he worried she may say no? Jessie smirked. "Of course I want to see them! You'd better show me all of them, too."
This kid had traveled to various regions that Jessie hadn't, accompanying Cassidy and some others. All kinds of new pokemon species had been showing up in various places, so various regions previously thought to be pokemon-free were now being investigated by Team Rocket and others from Kanto, which was still considered the center of all things pokemon. Jessie had made it over to Hoenn, but this kid had been on other, more official visits elsewhere. Who knew what kind of sweet, awesome, and previously unseen pokemon that he'd managed to capture.
Jonathan beamed, then started on his way. Jessie noticed he was now leading her along. Saffron City was a huge place, but since he'd lived there for a while, maybe he knew where he was going. They made it to an expansive park. Jonathan walked past more crowded areas, including where a venusaur was being shown off. He got a look at it as they went by, obviously interested. However, he still kept going and found an area clear of both people and pokemon before taking out a fancy blue pokeball with a yellow x on it. "Go, Grotle!" he said as he threw it.
An unfamiliar green pokemon that appeared to be clad in protective armor appeared. On its back were several plants, looking like someone's carefully manicured landscaping. It hopped up, approaching Jonathan with a wide smile, obviously attached. Jonathan patted the top of the armor on its head, and its smile widened. "Grotle, grotle!" it called, then ran off.
"Hey, don't go too far away!" Jonathan protested. It ran back to them, taking a flying leap before landing in front of them. Grotle gave a wide grin, hopping up and down again before running away, but then trailing back.
"It's sure energetic," Jessie noted.
"Yeah," Jonathan confirmed. "It's always been like that. And now it's bigger, so I've gotta be more careful about where it plays."
"Oh, it's evolved?" Jessie noted.
"Yeah. It was a turtwig before. It can evolve again, too."
In that way, it was like the pokemon they'd passed on their way in, besides being obviously grass type. "How lucky..." Jessie muttered, imagining the various two-stage pokemon she'd imagined training. "Who gave it to you?"
"A professor in Sinnoh. He's giving out a lot of pokemon to qualified new trainers. Mom asked, and I got to pick one too."
Cassidy really loved to promote her own kid. "She's trying to get you into some new fancy pokemon studying program there or somewhere else too, huh? You'd get in on the ground floor."
The boy didn't respond, his face blank. "Oh, yeah," he eventually said while noticing Jessie's attention still on him.
She gave him a moment more, but he still didn't add anything else. The grotle tore around in circles as its more mild trainer sat by, seeming lost in his own thoughts. He'd gotten to see a lot, and had promise to see and do even more, good for him. Jessie wanted to continue to explore the world more too, not settling down or accepting what others said was best for her. She also had to start getting more informed about new pokemon like this one, lest she become out of the loop only knowing about the hundred and fifty-some from when Kanto was thought to be the only area for pokemon. It seemed more and more difficult to keep up these days, though she tried. "I have a new pokemon as well," she bragged.
"What kind?" Jonathan asked, finally snapping out of whatever trance he was in.
Jessie took out her plain, classically colored yet brand new and hardly worn in like the other two, pokeball. "It's a bug type, one that can evolve twice just like yours. Go, Wurmple!" As her cute pokemon appeared, it glanced around, and seeing no other activity, called out happily before hopping on Jessie's shoulder.
Jonathan grinned at the sight, as anyone might. He reached up to pet it, and Wurmple called out happily. "It's one from Hoenn," he said.
"Right," Jessie confirmed. "And don't underestimate it as a little shrimp. It has some great abilities, and I'm sure it will evolve into a magnificent beautifly before long!" Jessie spun around before patting the happy pokemon that clung on her shoulder herself.
"Or not," Jonathan said.
Jessie growled at the suggestion, glaring daggers at him. "Why not? You don't think it has a proper trainer?"
"Oh, I just meant it might evolve into something else," Jonathan said.
"What else-" Jessie stopped herself. "Never mind that. I'm sure you'll learn all about how pokemon evolve into specific species with how you've been rubbing shoulders with all the bigwigs of the pokemon world. You're lucky to have family that adores you so much and makes sure you can do things like that."
He became mute and deadpan again, stopping the conversation short. Jonathan sat down, wrapping his arms around his legs as he observed Grotle, who had seemed to wear itself out, at this point curling in a ball and napping next to him. Jessie's charge didn't seem to be there at all, staring out at the nearby lake, eyes only briefly resting on the interesting group of water types that passed by with their trainer, one with a funny nose bouncing up and clapping with a cute call as it did.
How annoying was that. He was interested in pokemon, the same as most people, wasn't he? But he acted like all he was being offered was nothing. The brat had quite an attitude, as he'd been showing that day. "Don't you think you're lucky? You don't have to rough it alone, you have a path to all kinds of privileges!" Jessie pointed out.
"I am alone."
If not for the serious finality of the young kid's tone, Jessie would have continued to argue with him right then and there. When had she ever seen him alone? Cassidy was always doting over him, or making sure someone else was. Jonathan now lived in a comfortable apartment with her, and before that with James, who had put his all into parenthood and currently went out of his way to give attention at any opportunity.
The keyword being currently. The dull thud of anger and loneliness in Jonathan's voice not only held an aching familiarity, but had plenty of real events that had fueled it. Even if wanting to erase it, not just for him but for herself, it was a known fact to both that there had definitely been times when this brat had been on his own, hadn't there? "You were left alone for a while, weren't you," Jessie admitted.
"When Dad died, no one came to see me. I thought he just hated me and left me alone like everyone else. Then I found out he just died and no one told me."
The honest anguish in his voice deepened as he spoke words that seemed completely false. James was alive and well of course. In fact at the end of this day Jessie expected to find him on their bed sleeping off jet lag without any worries at all. The statement also hit a nerve, having been through something very similar to what was outlined. Was this brat making fun of her somehow? No, of course not. It didn't take too long to process the sentence and realize who and what he was referring to. "So you called that one guy 'Dad'?" she said.
Jonathan frowned, eyes turning away as if he'd been called out. Had he said it unintentionally? He didn't clarify, freezing up again. "Grotle?" his pokemon called, lifting up its head. For that effort, its trainer gave it a pat.
"Whatever, if that's what he was to you," Jessie said, otherwise breaking the tension with a dismissive sigh. "It's not like you had anyone else actively supporting you at the time. How shitty of Cassidy to not go and talk to you right away when that happened, but she had plenty of things going on. That was awful, but you still have two living parents, so be happy about that."
Jonathan opened his mouth. He again patted Grotle's head, then pursed his lips shut, his other hand clenching into a fist.
The silent shtick was getting annoying. "If you've got something to say, then spit it out!" Jessie demanded.
"Mom and Dad hate me." Jonathan recoiled after he spoke, eyes tearing up. He hugged Grotle as it came closer, staring out onto the lake. Ugh, so he was thinking something like this. No wonder he'd hesitated to say it. He seemed to really believe it too.
Jessie couldn't respond at first. In the silence afterward, Wurmple turned its big eyes to her, perhaps also concerned for the kid in front of them. He often seemed so mild mannered, but that obviously wasn't the case. Though she'd heard of this side of him before from both parents, this was the first she was seeing of it herself. "You don't see the path they've laid in front of you? Or do you just not want it, since you're so scared of pokemon?" Though James said his son wasn't afraid of pokemon anymore, Cassidy had shared stories of their son's aversion from his early childhood. Something like that seemed hard to get over.
"You're not afraid of pokemon?" Jonathan asked all while still embracing his grotle.
Jessie glanced at her adoring wurmple on her shoulder to Jonathan's friendly grotle still giving its trainer a concerned stare, to the venusaur in the distance stomping around and happily showing off the various plants on its back like a show, and shrugged. "Not really," she said plainly. "You don't look that frightened of your dopey little friend here, either."
Jonathan turned and met eyes with grotle, who called out happily. Even someone under a mist of gloom like him had to smile, and Grotle started to again run around in circles in the joy of just that brief acknowledgement of its trainer. Jonathan started to laugh, and Jessie smirked in her own amusement, even Wurmple buzzing at the pokemon that got so over-enthusiastic about that small moment. But Jonathan just as soon frowned. "Pokemon are going to destroy the world. I'll be sure to have my own pokemon allies for protection."
"Hm?" Jessie blinked. The idea seemed so out there, yet again, it only took a few moments of considering his point of view to realize it wasn't. Team Rocket itself had been the entity to discover the key to using pokemon in a more destructive way. And then Team Rocket had also been the ones to witness just how much worse off it could get from what even they had done. Jessie had been there. So had this kid. How could she fault him for thinking that way?
And even so, she did. Rolling up the catalogue acquired from the nail salon, she bopped him on the head. Jonathan touched his head afterward, eyes wide, not hurt or offended, but confused. Jessie adjusted wurmple on her shoulder, then took out her other two pokeball. "Go! Arbok! Lickitung!"
"Charbok!"
"Licki!"
Both pokemon called out happily as they appeared from their pokeballs on the grass. They caught sight of Grotle, who called back, inviting them to play. Wurmple hopped on Arbok's head as they took off in chase. Jessie nodded with satisfaction. "Do you think this group will get close to destroying much of anything?"
"No." Jonathan shook his head. "I didn't mean your pokemon, Jessie. I love Arbok and Lickitung!" Jonathan knew both pokemon very well, both from battling and socializing around them. "I just mean... Pokemon in general, you know..."
She did know. And yet what he was saying was still completely dismissible. "What about humans in general. Do you know about all we've done?" Jessie put a hand to her chest, staring steadfast at Jonathan. "We might have to use different methods, but we're certainly capable of destroying the world all on our own, the same as pokemon."
"But..." Jonathan trailed off, observing the playful pokemon. Arbok had encircled Grotle, but the energetic pokemon seemed to find that fun, hopping over it and unfortunately landing on Lickitung's tongue on the other side. "Hey!" Jonathan was the first to protest that, running over to the pokemon. "Grotle, you've gotta be careful! Lickitung, are you okay?"
Grotle called out a quick apology. "Licki," Lickitung's call in response may have seemed slightly different from the surprise of having its tongue stomped on, but it still seemed fine.
Jonathan patted its head and leaned closer to inspect it anyway. "I'm sorry, Lickitung."
Jessie chuckled. "You think that lug in front of you has any sort of real destruction potential in it?"
"No," Jonathan said, giving Lickitung a quick hug. The pokemon called out again, its tone rising in what seemed true happiness at the gesture. Lickitung was used to dealing with brats from its life in Pokemon Tech, wasn't it? Jonathan let go, but Lickitung stayed right by him, though the other pokemon went off to keep playing. "Lickitung's a nice pokemon. All of our pokemon are."
"Right, and there's a lot of nice pokemon, or maybe just pokemon that want to enjoy the world instead of plotting its destruction. I'd say that's almost all, if not all of them. I don't know about you, but I'm not training them thinking about some depressing future. I'm just thinking I'm lucky enough to build partnerships with these awesome creatures."
Jonathan peered from Lickitung's vacant face to Jessie and back again, then nodded. "Yeah. I've got it. Pokemon are just trying to live here too."
That hadn't been a thought exactly, but seemed a perfectly reasonable conclusion. Despite all that had happened, and maybe still would happen, they were all just trying to live. "Hmph. Right," Jessie continued. "You might even help them. Cassidy is always talking about how much you get interested in this or that, how quickly you pick things up, and even help the staff. You're going to be a scientist or some other kind of researcher and pioneer, aren't you?"
"I dunno," Jonathan said, lip going up again.
Jessie scoffed. Despite everything he had in front of him, he was sulking again. "Well if you don't want to, then do nothing," she said. "That's an option too."
"I do want to!" Jonathan insisted, looking up at her and biting his lip as he passionately defended himself. But he just as quickly lowered his gaze again. "But people really do hate me," he continued. "I bet they'll just try and rip me down like before if I try and do anything."
"They will," Jessie asserted. Jonathan seemed surprised at her response. Jessie tutted. Had he expected some kind of assurance that of course that wouldn't happen? She knew far too much about these things went and wasn't going to just go and lie and leave him vulnerable. "You're kind of a miserable brat, you know? There's some people that like to see that. They'll want you to stay that way so they feel better in return. They won't want you to pick yourself up. They'll act sympathetic while digging in to any minor fault. If you have an idea of something that excites you, they'll say it won't work. If you ignore them and find a way to shine, they'll try and douse you out all along the way. They'll celebrate any trip or downfall, then take anything they can from you for their own and stomp out what they can't claim. There's people like that everywhere, especially if you're in a world with no allies."
Jonathan only blinked in response, mostly unaffected. Though the thoughts may actually be crushing to many, he likely had already known, the same as her. "But you know, Jonathan, it's actually your world," Jessie continued. Jonathan's eyes widened curiously at the statement. Jessie grinned and leaned down to face him. "It's mine and yours as much as anyone else's. You don't have to acknowledge them. Go ahead and build something up without waiting for anyone or anything. You don't get legitimacy from their approval, or any diplomas or licenses or certificates. That's just what people who want to own the ticket to legitimacy say. But no one does. You make that for yourself, and you can just ignore any other requirements people push your way. That's what I did in Team Rocket - I made my own legitimacy."
"But people say Team Rocket is bad," Jonathan said.
Jessie scoffed, flicking a hand over her shoulder to dismiss that. "Ha. You already know we're not the ones that almost destroyed the world like some believe. Who cares about what they say and how much they scapegoat. The truth is the truth and we're what we want to be. We're building it all back up again, aren't we? You can be part of that too, but only if you want to."
"I do," Jonathan asserted.
"Then do it," Jessie said. She stood up, and the kid seemed more relaxed, though also rising to his feet. "Also, know you actually do have allies, even beyond your pokemon," Jessie continued. "You think James and Cassidy hate you?" Jessie made a long noise of dismissal. "James wouldn't turn away from Team Rocket even for me. But when he wanted things to be better for you, he did that without thinking about it twice. And Cassidy..." Jessie groaned now, putting a hand to her forehead. "She won't shut up about you! And don't think it's anything bad! Constantly going on and on and on about her beloved little sweet boy! Worrying about you! Wanting everything to go your way! Guess what, you have a mom that puts you above anything else, really!"
Jessie pointed an accusing finger at the sulky kid. He stared back at her, seemingly contemplating her words, and certainly not arguing against them. Satisfied with that, Jessie folded her arms and huffed. "Well, let's not waste the rest of our time sulking around here," she said. "We've got plenty of other things to do on this lovely day with a limitless budget, hm? Do you have anything in mind?"
"Do you want to battle?" Jonathan asked. "I can use the rare, powerful pokemon I caught in Johto."
"What?! You have another new pokemon?" Jessie asked, leaning forward. "Ah - Yes, you'd better show me, now! And I'll win against it in a battle."
Jessie and Jonathan both made the appropriate distance from each other on the field, directing their pokemon to the side. "Go, Lickitung!" Jessie ordered, pointing to indicate where she wanted the pokemon already outside of its pokeball to go.
"Licki!" Lickitung hopped into place.
Jonathan took out his own pokeball, this one a Team Rocket-branded one. "Go, Wobbuffet!" he said as he threw it out.
"Wobbuffet!" After the flash of light, a pokemon so nondescript yet completely unlike any seen before appeared doing a salute and calling out. It looked like a puffed up pile of blue with makeshift arms and a drawn on face. There were some blobby appendages on the bottom that acted as legs. At second glance, there was even a dark tail of sorts hiding behind the balloon-like pokemon, but for some reason attention was more attracted by that scrunched up expression.
"Is this pokemon really rare?" Jessie asked. Well, she hadn't seen it before, but she hadn't been keeping up with the latest discoveries in nearby Johto. "And... powerful?" She raised an eyebrow, but then shook her head, getting her thoughts back to what kind of situation she was in. The battle had begun. This kid wasn't going to get the jump on her. "Lickitung, let's go! Tackle!" she ordered, pointing forward.
"Wobbuffet, counter!" Jonathan gave his order right after hers.
Jessie laughed, since of course she'd gotten the jump on him. Lickitung bounced forward rapidly. "Licki!" it called. Jonathan's pokemon started to glow, but whatever measure it was trying to take was too late as Lickitung tackled perfectly. Before Jessie could laugh again, Lickitung called out in a stunned surprise, forced backward from whatever attack hit right after.
"Ah... That's right, counter is responsive," Jessie realized, tensing up her fists. "We'll just hit faster and harder! Lickitung, slam!"
"Wobbuffet, you can counter!" Jonathan said.
Lickitung hopped forward, slow but still easily out-speeding Jonathan's own slug-like pokemon. Lickitung reached with its tongue, wrapping it around the blue blob. "Wobbu... ffet?" the new pokemon called tentatively. "Wobba!" it called again, limbs flailing as it was slammed into the ground, certainly taking a lot of damage. But before Jessie could assume they had gotten the advantage, Wobbuffet somehow inflated itself to an upright position again, then scrunched up its face to its default expression while glowing. A wave of energy was sent right toward Lickitung, and it cried out in an even stranger way before it spun around in a circle, laying flat on the ground.
Jonathan ran on the field as their match was over. "Are you okay, Lickitung?" he asked.
Jessie was already spraying it with a potion, but of course this pokemon was already known to bounce back pretty easily without such a thing, if only in appearance. With its vacant expression, it often needed extra consideration, since its appearance when it was tired and worn out could be nearly identical to when it was full of energy and in top shape. In either case, Lickitung was already on its feet, despite having just been so easily defeated by a newbie pokemon with a greener trainer. "How did some level one newborn pokemon defeat my lickitung so easily?" she said.
"Wobbuffet might be older than you think," Jonathan said. "I caught it in a cave in Johto. The pokemon there might have been there for a long time, hiding. Brand new pokemon are appearing everywhere, but this one was close to Kanto, and the pokemon there might not have been that new, just newly discovered, waiting there a long time. They called it the patient pokemon because of that and also because it won't attack first."
"Hm. And now you've got some kid leading you," Jessie said, smirking toward Wobbuffet. "Are you happy to be out of your cave?"
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet confirmed.
"And if you've been there for so long, I guess you had opportunity to get powerful practicing with all the other slugs hiding away. But it's your world too, just as much as ours, so welcome," Jessie said.
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet called, saluting again as its weird little face looked back at her.
Jessie had to laugh. She really liked this weird, new, or at least newly discovered creature, and with how it had defeated her, it really did seem pretty powerful. "Hey kid, why don't you trade me this rare pokemon for my lickitung." Jessie laughed. "It's somewhat rare itself, and can pack a punch, err, sometimes..." Jessie trailed off, deciding to drop it. Cassidy would never let her hear the end of it if she scammed her kid.
"Okay," Jonathan said, surprisingly enough easily accepting. He beamed Jessie's way. "Lickitung's a great pokemon. Wobbuffet is too, but... Maybe I'm done with being patient. Maybe Wobbuffet would go with you better."
"Hey! Are you saying I need more patience or something?" Jessie balked.
Jonathan shook his head. "I know you're already patient, Jessie. Like with me, when I keep being sad and bratty and doing stuff like yelling at Mom."
Unexpectedly, he'd taken Jessie's critical words to heart, recognizing his own faults and perhaps even trying to change. Interestingly enough he didn't notice, or at least mention that Jessie herself often did those things. Jessie patted his shoulder, then held out Lickitung's well-worn pokeball. Jonathan held out Wobbuffet's Team Rocket-branded one, and they swapped. Since Jessie wasn't considered a 'legitimate' trainer being without a licence, this was how the trade was done, and it was all legitimate enough to both of them.
"Thanks, Jessie," Jonathan said, beaming at the pokeball. "I'm glad I'll still get to see Wobbuffet, too. I know you're a great trainer."
"I know you'll take care of my lickitung. You've become pretty capable yourself," Jessie said.
"Yeah." Jonathan clutched the pokeball with excitement. "Thank you," he said again in an outpouring of enthusiasm, then reached out his arms. That was also completely unexpected, so Jessie leaned back. In response, Jonathan's face turned to disappointment, or perhaps even shame, before turning blank. He put his pokeball back in his pocket, and seemed to turn himself off, even when he'd just been opening up.
Though the kid had just been a reminder of a bunch of other people, that reaction was completely relatable to Jessie herself. Memories surfaced of when she'd been younger and wanted to have a parental-like bond with various adults that only took care of her out of duty or obligation, but held her at a distance. Jessie had learned to shut herself down rather than ask for too much.
But that wasn't this brat's current reality at all. "Hey!" Jessie said loudly just to get his attention, then held out her arms. "Come here!" she said. Jonathan leaned right over and hugged her, and she embraced him freely in return. "Guess what, you're mine now, too. Don't go calling me 'Mom' or anything, but like it or not, I'm here to be incompetent parent number four." Jessie hugged him tighter as she continued, "And we're all idiots, get it? We have no idea what we're doing, so it's not worth crying about our stupidity when we mess up. Just know we all really care about you. You do have people that are here for you."
As they broke their hug, Jonathan stood, quiet as he often was, but the large smile on his face showed the message had been received. Tears were even in his eyes, lip trembling. Jessie chuckled, not expecting him to respond further. "Come on now. We're about to rack up the bills and overly spoil ourselves on Cassidy's dime."
The rest of the day was spent on Jessie and Jonathan's whims. Jessie grabbed herself a new dress from a brand she'd only been wanting to see in person. Jonathan had several trendy pokemon trainer locations he'd been wanting to visit, including a pokemon-centered private spa, and even an indoor pokemon theme park where trainers could enter free, many tourists and even locals coming there to see the creatures. Their pokemon from various regions were quite popular. And of course, they had several fancy meals, one right before they took the train back.
Coming back from Saffron late, they went right back to Jessie's own apartment. It was far from the first time the kid had been there, since this was a space shared with James and usually Meowth as well. As Jessie had predicted, James was back, but unlike how she'd imagined fast asleep, he was alert and right by the door. "Jessie! Jonathan!" he said, a whining lilt to his voice. "I know you went somewhere, but Cassidy couldn't say where. You're back!"
"Yeah, I told you we didn't need to start a search party or nothing," Meowth said as James began a tour of hugs. Jessie smirked at Jonathan as she got her own hug. Smirking back at her, he seemed just as amused, hopefully getting the message that this was also home to him. After calling Cassidy, they made a show of catching up. James had picked up many newly discovered pokemon species for Team Rocket, and even caught one called a 'dollliv' for himself. The same as the one Jonathan had acquired in Sinnoh, it had apparently evolved once yet could still evolve again. All of them were evolved but still had plenty of other potential. Introducing their pokemon to each other, human and pokemon alike, ended up being a lot of fun.
Even with the excitement, it was already late in the day, all of them having been busy. James's son fell asleep on the couch with the pokemon sprawled on the floor and furniture among Jessie and James's various collections, some of which were toppled over by those newer to the space, or just from them all being crowded in the smaller apartment together. Oh well, they could be repaired or rearranged later. After traveling across the world, both literally and metaphorically, they all deserved this spot of peace. James grabbed Jessie's hand, rousing her from her own almost sleep in the small chair. Standing up, she went to crawl into the comfy bed with him, resting before their world was sure to expand with their next adventure.