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@->->-
I'll be the first to admit it -- I can be pretty insufferable sometimes...okay, most of the time! I've got a short temper and a long mean streak.
Which is why I'm so lucky to have a friend like James.
He's the most patient, kind-hearted, forgiving person that I know. And I guess that's good, considering all of the terrible things that I do to him. I can't count the number of times I've beaten him up, belittled him, clobbered him with my mallet....Hell! I've even done worse than that! And as mean as I am to him, he's never mean to me...even when I deserve it! No matter what I do to him, he always forgives me.
Like the time Meowth and I tried to get him to marry his fiance, Jessiebelle, so that we could get our hands on some fast cash. We forced the poor guy into a really bad situation and almost abandoned him, but he still came back to us. When Meowth and I were leaving his estate, and I first saw him above us in the Meowth balloon, I thought he was going to be mad at me. But, he wasn't. Instead, he pulled me into the basket with him, and as we flew away, he gave me this look -- a tender smile and such gentle, adoring eyes -- I thought my heart would melt! (I guess I've always loved him, but that was the moment I was finally able to admit it to myself -- I couldn't believe that he'd come back to me after what I did to him, and his forgiveness made me love him all the more!) If anything, the whole incident brought us closer than ever.
Like I said, no matter what I do, he always seems to forgive me.
But something happened a few weeks ago that almost changed all of that....
It started out as such a great day -- one of our pit traps actually worked! We caught some Samurai-looking guy and his Marowak, who were on their way to the Pokemon League. When they fell into our cleverly hidden trap, the trainer dropped the box that had all of his badges in it, so James, Meowth and I took them for ourselves.
After a clean getaway, James thought we should have a picnic in order to celebrate our victory. So, while he was busy preparing the food, Meowth and I decided to hide the badges in a safe place, just in case that trainer or Team Twerp showed up and tried to take them back.
"At last! We possess the Holy Grail of pokemon trainers -- the eight badges that will allow us to compete in the Pokemon League!" I cried triumphantly.
"I can't believe it! Things are finally startin' to go right for Team Rocket!" Meowth agreed.
It was then that something strange came over me...it's like I went mad with power.
You see, being a pokemon master has always been a dream of mine. As a child, I would watch the Pokemon League Games on TV every spring and fantasize about being there myself one day. I would be a superstar -- the most beautiful, talented trainer who ever lived! Everybody would want my autograph, little children would want to grow up to be just like me, and I'd get more offers for product endorsements and starring roles in TV and movies than I'd know what to do with! It would be my chance to finally make something of myself...to show the world that even though I came from the bottom, I could rise to the top!
Every day of my life, I have toiled and struggled to achieve this goal, but for some reason or another, all of my hard work has a way of just blowing up in my face. But at that moment, as I looked down at those shining badges, I became consumed by greed and desire, and I got a fiendish idea -- I would take the badges for myself!
@->->-
After our picnic lunch, James and Meowth were stuffed and wanted to take a nap. Before James dozed off, I told him that I had some shopping to do in town, and I slipped away.
(But I think we all know that was a lie!)
I quickly made my way back to where Meowth and I had buried the badges, and I dug them up. Then, shoving them into my backpack, I started heading up Victory Road towards the Indigo Plateau...and my destiny!
"Ha, ha, ha!" I laughed as I strutted along. "Finally! My chance to be a star! I can hear the fans cheering for me already! And I don't have to share it with those two stooges anymore! I'm going solo!"
Like I said, I was mad with power.
After awhile, I began to get paranoid. My shopping excuse would only last for so long before James and Meowth realized what I had done and come searching for me. So, I decided to put on a disguise.
Swathing myself in shimmering veils and affixing a jeweled bindi to my forehead, I made myself look like an Indian princess. (Rather fitting for the trainer of a giant cobra, don't you think?) "Even James and Meowth will never recognize me in this disguise!" I said smugly as I continued on my way.
But at the mention of their names, I realized something -- superstardom would be a pretty empty experience if I didn't have my friends there with me. Suddenly, I was consumed with a feeling of loneliness (and quite a bit of guilt, too!) Oh, how could I leave you behind, James?! What was I thinking?! I said to myself.
Just then, I saw another pokemon trainer sitting by the side of the road, admiring his badges. As I watched him, I got another fiendish idea -- I'd steal those badges, too! Then, I could surprise James by giving him his very own set. That way, we could still go to Pokemon League. Together. As it should be.
@->->-
I walked up to the trainer and engaged him in a conversation. He started bragging about his badges, and I started bragging about mine. Then, I diverted his attention with the classic "What-in-the-world-could-that-be???!!!" technique.
The idiot fell for it and turned around shouting, "What?! Where?!"
But as I reached for his badges, something dropped from the sky and rolled between my feet. I looked down and saw a black flash-bomb with a red "R" painted on it.
This could mean only one thing -- James and Meowth had found me!
Before I could get out of the way, the bomb detonated, and the trainer and I were blinded by a white cloud of smoke. Then, I heard an all-too-familiar voice say, "Prepare for trouble!"
"P-p-prepare...for...trouble?" I stammered. I couldn't believe they had found me! (My disguise was fool-proof!) And what's more, I couldn't believe that James was saying MY line!
"Yes! And make it double!" he continued, emerging from the smoke.
That was it.
I had to say it. (You see, the motto is something very important to me and James. It's not just a way for us to make a grand entrance...it's a symbol of our friendship and devotion to each other.) Once the motto had been started, I was compelled to continue.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!" James said, coming to my side.
"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!" I cried as I threw off my veils and revealed myself in all of my Team Rocket glory.
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
"Meowth! That's right!" our furry friend said as he struck a pose with us.
The trainer sweatdropped. Then, he raced away at full-tilt-boogie, screaming, "YAAAAAHHHHH!!! HELP!!! IT'S TEAM ROCKET!!!"
"Awwww! He got away," I groaned.
"You can steal from unsuspecting fools like him, but you CAN'T steal from us!" Meowth growled suddenly.
I looked over at him and James. They looked mad.
I wanted to tell James about my plan to steal the other badges for him as if it were what I was going to do from the start, but I can never lie to him. His emerald-green eyes can pierce right into my soul -- he knew the truth.
"You have disgraced the disgraceful Team Rocket!!!" he shouted, pointing an accusing finger at me.
The words hit me like a slap across the face. James was angry with me!
I was devastated! The guilt and shame I was feeling finally overpowered me, and I fell to my knees and began to cry.
"Come on," Meowth said, patting me on the shoulder. "We can always steal more badges, but we can be more rotten as a team than we can as individuals."
I looked up at them. They still wanted me on the team? Even after what I had done?
"Fine. Just as long as I get to be the most rotten!" I said, getting to my feet. (Hey! I had to save face!)
James and Meowth both fell over, anime style.
@->->-
At that moment, the Ketchum kid and his pesky companions showed up, and that Marowak trainer was with them. They had come for the badges, but I wasn't about to let those twerps have them. I had to redeem myself in the eyes of my teammates...my friends, so I challenged the Samurai to a winner-take-all battle. He accepted.
"Go, Arbok!" I shouted, throwing my poke ball.
"Then I shall use Doduo!" the challenger said, releasing a two-headed bird.
This was going to be too easy!
Arbok charged in and slammed the Doduo with her tail a few times. Before long, the bird became confused, and its two heads started fighting with each other.
I laughed maniacally. This battle was as good as won! "Arbok! Bind it now!" I commanded.
Arbok wound herself around the helpless bird and began to squeeze. It was all over for Doduo. (Arbok really is a great pokemon. I'm sure she'd do well in Pokemon League. I know that a lot of people think she and Weezing are losers, but they're not -- it's not their fault the brat's Pikachu is so freakishly powerful!)
"Doduo! No!" the Samurai cried.
I laughed again and took out an empty poke ball. "Might as well capture this one, too!" I said.
But as the poke ball arced through the air towards Doduo, it was intercepted by a Bonemerang attack -- that guy's Marowak had returned!
Fine. Arbok and I would just have to take that one out as well.
"Arbok! Double-Edge attack!" I shouted.
But before Arbok could strike, the Marowak hit her with his bone club and knocked her out.
Then James stepped in front of me and threw his poke ball. "I'll handle this! Weezing! Smog attack!" he said.
Weezing emitted a black cloud of poisonous vapor that blinded everybody.
"Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" I heard the brat shout.
Oh, no. Not again.
I then heard the cry of, "Piiiiii-kaaaaaa-chuuuuuuu!" as poor Arbok and Weezing were hit with the inevitable 10,000 volts and defeated.
But Weezing's Smog had distracted the little pests long enough for us to make a run for it. When they were finally able to see again, we were all in the Meowth balloon, taking to the sky.
Then we got the bone. Literally.
The stupid Samurai got his Marowak to use another Bonemerang. The bone club soared into the air and blew a hole in our balloon, causing us to drop the badges and go blasting off again.
"No! My chance at stardom...stolen from me!" I cried.
"Please don't mention 'stealing' again!" James growled.
Then, Meowth made some sort of snide comment (as usual), but I wasn't listening to him -- James's words were all I could hear echoing in my mind.
He had never spoken to me in such a harsh tone before. He really was angry!
We finally landed in a tangle of shrubs several miles away. As I wriggled my aching body and tried to get to my feet, Meowth walked over and Fury Swiped me across the face.
"OUCH!!! What the hell was that for?!" I wailed. (Like I didn't know.)
"For turnin' on your own teammates!" came his reply.
"But...but...." I began, trying to explain myself.
"No!" he interjected. "You betrayed us, Jessie. We trusted you, and you betrayed us. You've done a lotta bad stuff to us before, but THIS is too much! What you've done today...is unforgivable!"
"Excuse me, but YOU'RE the one who said that we're better off as a team! So, either you were lying to me then, or you're just talking trash now! Which is it?!" I demanded.
"I was lyin' earlier," he said matter-of-factly. "I just said all of that teamwork crap because we wanted the badges. If you think that you're better off without us, then go ahead and leave! Don't let us 'stooges' hold you back!"
"Meowth...."
"Go on! Get lost, Miss Superstar!" he snapped, cutting me off again. "You can go to hell for all we care!"
I looked over at James, who was busy gathering his belongings. His back was turned to us.
"James, is this true?" I asked.
"Come on, Meowth. Let's get going," he said coldly, not even looking at me. "It's almost dark, and we've got a long walk ahead of us."
With that, he shouldered his backpack and began heading up the road. Meowth snorted at me and followed him.
For several minutes, I watched them as they walked away, leaving me behind. I was overwhelmed by a feeling of emptiness. Was this how they had felt when I ran away earlier? No wonder they were so upset! Now I felt worse than ever, and I knew that I had to apologize for what I had done.
I quickly gathered the scattered contents of my backpack and sprinted after them. When I finally caught up to James, he still wasn't looking at me.
"James, I...."
But as soon as I opened my mouth, he began to walk faster, leaving me behind again.
After several unsuccessful attempts to apologize to James (and a few more Fury Swipes from Meowth), I grudgingly accepted the fact that they weren't talking to me.
Fine. I guess I deserved it.
@->->-
When we made camp a couple of hours later, I decided to try again. James was busy digging some cans of food out of his backpack, so I knew that he wasn't going anywhere. It was a golden opportunity.
"James...."
"If you're still here, then why don't you make yourself useful, and get us some firewood?" he sneered, still not looking at me.
The harshness of his words shocked me. All I could do was stand there, dumbfounded.
"You want to eat, don't you? Then go and get some firewood!" he snapped.
It was then that he finally looked at me. There was a cold, angry light in his eyes, but there was something else, too. Sorrow.
I really HAD hurt him!
"Okay," I said softly, taking my leave and trying to choke back the tears I felt coming.
@->->-
"He's furious...I've never seen him like this before," I said to myself once I was alone. "But he's hurt, too. He's hurt because of me!" Finally, I couldn't hold myself back anymore, and I broke down and cried. "I love him so much...so why am I always mean to him?! What the hell is wrong with me?!"
@->->-
Once I was able to stop crying, I returned with the firewood, and we ate our dinner in silence. All the while, I tried to find the right moment to apologize to James, but it never came. There was just something about the look on his face -- no matter what I said to him, I just had the feeling that it would be wrong.
"It's been a long day. I'm going to bed," James announced once we were done eating.
"I think I will, too," Meowth said as he unrolled his yellow sleeping-bag next to James's blue one.
Seeing no point in staying awake if everyone else was asleep, I decided to go to bed, too. But as I unrolled my red sleeping-bag on the other side of James, he and Meowth quickly got up and stomped away.
I watched sadly as they relocated themselves all the way on the other side of camp. "Good night," I said to them.
"Hmmmmmph!" they grumbled, turning away from me again.
Their response hurt me more than they could imagine. I knew I had done a terrible thing to them, but they wouldn't give me a chance to apologize...to explain myself. They didn't even want to have anything to do with me!
"James...I just wanted to say I'm sorry...." I muttered as I cried myself to sleep.
I had hoped that a good night's sleep would make me feel better, but I didn't sleep well at all -- my guilty conscience saw to that. When I woke up the next morning, I still felt terrible, but I was determined to apologize to James and Meowth. I had to make it up to them. No matter what.
As I crawled out of my sleeping-bag and started to get dressed, I suddenly smelled the heavenly aroma of bread, milk, eggs, and sugar combining into one wonderful gestalt object -- French toast! Following the scent, I found James kneeling before the campfire. And sure enough, he was holding a frying-pan loaded with my favorite breakfast food.
"Good morning, Jess," he said when he saw me. "I made you some French toast, but we're out of maple syrup, so...."
As he went on about being out of maple syrup, I looked at him in disbelief. He seemed so happy -- it was like nothing had ever happened yesterday! James had forgiven me once again!
But I wasn't ready to be forgiven.
What I had done to him yesterday was inexcusable, and now he was cooking a nice breakfast for me and acting like everything was okay?! It should have made me feel better, but it only ended up making me feel even more guilty. And as I thought about it, my normally callous facade cracked, and I began to cry.
"Jessie, it's only maple syrup!" James said innocently when he saw my response. "French toast is still good without it!"
When I realized that James was witnessing my breakdown, I started to cry even harder. I couldn't face him like that -- I was too ashamed. In a panic, I turned and ran off into the woods.
@->->-
I ran until I was out of breath. Then, I fell to my knees and continued to sob uncontrollably.
"This isn't about maple syrup, is it?" James said when he caught up to me a few minutes later.
I was crying too hard to answer him, so I just shook my head.
"Jess, what's wrong?!" he asked in a concerned voice as he came to my side and put his arms around me.
"What do you mean, 'what's wrong?!'" I cried once I was able to find my voice. "James, I feel awful about what I did yesterday...."
He silenced me by gently placing a hand to my lips. "That was yesterday," he said softly. "It's over now. It's not an issue anymore."
"How can you say that?!" I asked. "I deserted you...forsaking everything we've done together...everything we've shared. Meowth was right -- what I did was unforgivable. I know you probably hate me for that...."
"Jessie," he said soothingly as he began to rock me back and forth. "Jessie, I don't hate you. I was mad at you, yes. But I could never hate you!"
Upon hearing this, I put my arms around him and buried my face in his shoulder. I couldn't reply because I was crying again. James held me closer, and I just sank deeper into his embrace as I cried. After all the estrangement of yesterday, I really needed to be close to him.
I wasn't wearing my jacket or my gloves, and there was a slight chill in the morning air, making me shiver. James could sense this, so he pressed his body against mine and began to rub his hands along my bare arms, warming me with his friction. It felt so wonderful. I didn't want him to stop!
"You're...you're just such a sweet person," I said at length. "You're a good, sweet, wonderful man, and nobody should ever hurt you. But that's all I ever seem to do! I'm so terrible to you...." But I had been crying for so long that the words became stuck in my throat, and my voice trailed off.
James put a hand under my chin and forced me to look up at him. Rivers of tears were rolling down my face, and he gently brushed them away. "You have your moments," he conceded. "But I still think you're the best thing that's ever happened to me."
I smiled at him, and he began to run his fingers through my long, red hair.
"About what Meowth said yesterday...I hope you don't take it to heart," he continued. "I know he told you we were only trying to take back the badges, but that's not true. Well, maybe he wanted the badges, but I didn't give a damn about them -- I just wanted you! Jessie, I was so miserable without you, and the thought that you didn't want to be my friend anymore...it broke my heart! I know I didn't act like it yesterday, but I really was happy when you came back."
Looking up at him, I noticed that he was now giving me that same look as when we were reunited after escaping from his parents and Jessiebelle -- that gentle, adoring smile that I love so much. His beautiful green eyes were staring into my own blue-violet ones. Now was the perfect time!
"James...."
"You don't have to say a word," he said, shushing me. "I know. You were miserable without me, too. That's why you were trying to steal those other badges. You really did want us to be together!"
I couldn't help but smile. "Can't hide anything from you, can I?"
"Nope!" came his reply. "How do you think I found you so easily? You're a part of me, Jess. No disguise you wear can hide that! You and I...we're like two halves of the same soul -- each needing the other to be complete."
"That's precisely why I have to say it, James," I told him. "I'm sorry...I'm so sorry. I'll always regret what I did to you yesterday."
"Hey, it's no big deal!" he said. "It's like...it's like making a batch of French toast and discovering that you've run out of maple syrup -- it seems like a disaster when it happens, but when you think about it and stop to take a look at the big picture, you realize that it's not so important after all. When things like that happen, you just have to get over them and move on."
That's my James! Of course he'd come up with a food metaphor, but he did make a good point.
"Jessie, what happened yesterday was like running out of maple syrup," he continued. "You weren't thinking clearly, and you made a bad decision. It's not the end of the world...just a part of being human, that's all. Everybody suffers from temporary insanity and does things that they regret at one time or another. Yesterday just so happened to be your time. Me? I've done it more times than I can count! Seems like I'm always doing stupid things that get us into trouble...but no matter how many mistakes I make, you always manage to forgive me. That's why you're such a good friend."
My smile grew even wider as I reflected on those words. He was right! We did need each other to be complete. We each found the other's weaknesses -- my temper and his naivete -- to be endearing, and this gave us the patience that we needed to get along so well. I sincerely doubt either one of us could find that with an