Pokemon Fan Fiction / Pokemon Fan Fiction ❯ Team Rocket's Secret ❯ Chapter 6

Ash, Brock and Misty sat still on the waiting bench, straining to hear the conversation in the next room. All they could make out at the beginning was a startled "oh my!" from Nurse Joy and then Jessie's voice flying along rapidly, but they hadn't been able to tell what she was saying. A few seconds afterward things had gotten quieter, but no one had come out for half an hour now.

"Do you think they're okay in there?" Brock asked nervously.

"I still can't believe Jessie did that," Misty replied. "Just walking in without telling Nurse Joy what was going on and saying she had a sick pokemon."

"She's got guts," Ash nodded. "I'm sure they're all right, Jessie's probably just explaining what's happened."

Suddenly the office door opened, and Nurse Joy stepped out. "Could you three come in, please? I need to ask you a few questions."

"Is James gonna be okay?" Ash asked as he got up.

Nurse Joy nodded with a smile. "Oh, he'll be fine, with a little rest and attention. He only needed the antidote to that tranquilizer."

"You can treat people in these centers?" Misty asked.

"Of course. We're all trained to be good doctors for both pokemon and people. After all, it's not just the pokemon that get hurt in battles sometimes."

They shuffled inside and found James sitting up in bed, an IV in his arm and a swath of bandages around his arm. Jessie was seated beside him, her own arm bandaged and another set on her right leg. Even Meowth had been tended to and lay fast asleep at the foot of the bed.

"Jessie said you helped them get away from Team Rocket," Nurse Joy started. "Is that true?"

They all nodded.

Nurse Joy became visibly excited, and she called over Chansey from its post behind the desk. "And then, can you two really talk to pokemon?" she grinned eagerly.

Jessie smiled despite her nervousness and nodded. "Mm-hmm. James can do it better than I can."

"Do you mind if I put you to the test?" Nurse Joy asked. "Or would it take too much effort right now?"

James shook his head, happily soaking up the kind attention. "No trouble, my head's pretty clear now, and my body doesn't hurt nearly as bad as it was before."

"Oh, wonderful!" Nurse Joy took a brochure from the small table beside her, opened it up to the middle, and pointed a couple words inside out to Chansey.

"Chansey ch-chanse chansey chanse!"

James smiled. "If you want to take a vacation in Viridian's east side, go ahead, but watch out for Brezzler plaza, it's a tourist trap with a bad rep."

Nurse Joy gasped in awe and looked back down at the brochure.

ENJOY A RELAXING VACATION IN VIRIDIAN CITY'S EASTERN DISTRICT!!!

"You really do understand them!" she smiled.

"James can, I can only talk to them," Jessie sighed.

"How long have you been able to do this?"

James shrugged. "I...I've never really kept track. I was talking to Growly when I was really small. I don't remember when I started to learn it."

"And you said he was teaching you?" she asked Jessie. "And that you're able to talk to them now?"

Jessie nodded. "Yes, it's much harder understanding them than talking to them."

"But it's possible to learn how to do it!" Nurse Joy all but screamed in...well, joy.

James pressed back against his pillow in worry. "Um...are you all right?"

Nurse Joy put her hand up to her mouth. "Oh, I'm sorry to startle you, it's just...one of the biggest obstacles to treating pokemon is that they can't tell us what's wrong with them. A lot of time is wasted trying to find out where they're hurt and how it happened, especially when the trainer is overly distraught. If we could speak with the pokemon, we could help a lot more a lot faster. With this, and the information you could give on Team Rocket, I'm sure Officer Jenny will drop the charges against you."

"Officer Jenny?" Ash cried.

Jessie sighed dismally again. "We had to agree to Nurse Joy calling her to get James taken care of."

"We're probably gonna get sent up the creek without a paddle," Meowth moaned.

Suddenly they heard the front door open and someone step in. "Nurse Joy! Joy, are you in here?"

"In the sick room, Jenny!" Nurse Joy called back.

James gasped as the steps came closer, and Jessie grabbed his hand out of fear. Both of them were trembling noticably.

"Joy?" Officer Jenny looked in, then entered, glancing around at the room's occupants. "Are these the three you told me about?"

"Ack, don't shoot us!" Meowth jumped under the blankets, trying to hide.

"What?" she wondered, amazed at the terrified trio in front of her. "Will you guys settle down and relax? I'm not going to shoot you."

Jessie had her eyes shut tight and shook her head. "The boss always said the cops would blow us away if they got the chance."

Officer Jenny tilted her head sympathetically. "Yeah, these guys are from Team Rocket, all right."

"You can tell?" Misty asked. "But they're not wearing their shirts."

She shrugged. "I don't need to see their shirts to know. All the Team Rocket members we pick up are always scared to death of us. Every time an Officer arrests one, they fall to pieces."

"Why?" Brock wondered. "They're usually so good at keeping focused."

"All Team Rocket members have it pounded into their heads that they'll die if they're caught, that way they very rarely surrender. That means it's almost impossible to get information on their boss. They'll do anything to escape, and if they are stopped, so many of them have nervous breakdowns that they can't talk. It's horrible what that organization does to its members." Her eyes narrowed as she stared at them. "Wait a second...you're wearing white...with a talking Meowth..." She snapped her fingers as she recognized them. "I know who you are, you're the Team Rocket Misfits!"

"Misfits?" James asked, daring to open one eye. "I haven't heard that one before."

Jessie, her curiosity overcoming her fear, peered up at her. "Usually we're called a lot of things, but never that."

Officer Jenny smiled. "It's what we call you down at the station. We've heard about you guys a lot lately. You think up the weirdest ways to steal pokemon, but you waste so much time on your team mantra that you're inevitably beaten by the same little kid with...a pikachu!" She grinned at Ash. "I guess that would be you."

"Aw, gee, it was nothing," he laughed, one hand fumbling with his cap in the unexpected interest.

"'Nothing'?" Meowth groaned. "All that hard work planning and it's nothing."

Officer Jenny turned back to them, and they all huddled back together again. "I think it's going to take some time to convince them that I'm not going to kill them. Would you three mind stepping out for awhile? But later I'll need you to come with us down to the station later on, when they're capable of traveling again."

Misty grinned. "No problem. We can go collect pokemon in the forest afterwards."

"Yeah, and we've gotta help keep them away from Team Rocket," Brock added.

Jessie suddenly jerked upright and stared at James in abject shock. "James! Meowth! The mantra! What are going to do about the mantra?"

James paled. "You're right, we'll have to change it! After all this time, it'll be like saying good-bye to an old friend." They both put their arms around each other, eyes gushing with tears.

The others in the room watched them in amusement. "They really are unusual, aren't they?" Officer Jenny asked.

"You haven't even seen them in their costumes yet," Misty sighed.