A White Today, and a White Tomorrow: A Bird in the Hand.... 
Team Rocket's Search for Articuno
Part 2 -- A Bird in the Hand....
by Cori Falls
@->->- 
In our previous installment, Jessie, James, and Meowth embarked on a journey to 
find the legendary pokemon, Articuno. They were sidetracked when the twerps 
found a frozen Sunkern...and promptly blasted off when they decided to take 
advantage of another opportunity to capture Pikachu, but a kindly old couple 
soon came to their rescue. Sofia and Marcello explained that they were grateful 
for the role our heroes played in bringing the Sunflora back to their special 
place in time for their golden anniversary. They showed their gratitude by 
giving Team Rocket a night of food and shelter at the Sunflora Lodge...and a 
Sunflora of their very own! Our heroes repaid Sofia and Marcello's hospitality 
by swapping stories with them until the wee hours of the morning, and the next 
day, they resumed their quest, refreshed in both body and spirit. 
Once Jessie, James, and Meowth arrived at Snowtop Mountain and found Articuno, 
however, things didn't go quite as well as they'd hoped.... 
@->->- 
"Whose bright idea was it to climb to the summit of Snowtop Mountain, anyway?" 
Jessie grumbled as she plunged another climbing iron into the icy wall of the 
cliff and pulled herself up. 
Once she'd stepped off the crampon she'd been standing on, I tested it to make 
sure it was still secure. Satisfied that it was, I pulled myself up after her. 
"Meowth's," I replied. 
"Well, excuse me for wantin' ta get ahead a dose twerps!" Meowth said 
defensively. "Youse guys know damn well dat if dey find us up here, dey're gonna 
give us a hard time about catchin' Articuno! Never mind dat it's wild -- if Team 
Rocket is tryin' ta catch pokemon, it's automatically evil!" 
"Yeah, and if Ash did the exact same thing, this world would never hear the end 
of what a hero he is and how he's the greatest trainer of all time," I sighed. 
"No double standard there...." 
"And that's all the more reason we have to get to it before he does!" said 
Jessie. "Besides, the sooner we get off of this damn mountain, the better...." 
Before she could continue, however, a flock of Spearow showed up and snatched 
the crampons from her hands. Then, they started dive-bombing and pecking us! As 
Jessie flailed her arms about to keep the birds at bay, she lost her footing and 
fell, pulling me and Meowth along with her since we were all roped together. As 
I was jerked away from the side of the mountain, I looked and saw Articuno 
hovering above us, laughing as Jessie, Meowth, and I plummeted to our icy grave, 
thousands of feet below.... 
@->->- 
Awakening in a cold sweat, I gasped for air and clutched my head in my hands to 
get rid of the sensation that I was falling. Once my vision came into focus and 
the vertigo wore off, I looked around and saw that I was no longer on the cliffs 
of Snowtop Mountain. Rather, I was in a dark cave, where the dying embers of a 
campfire several feet away provided the only illumination. And even though I 
couldn't see them, I could feel Jessie and Meowth on either side of me. 
"Unnnhhh? Where are we?" I muttered. 
But I received no reply from my friends -- they were still asleep. 
Getting to my feet, I staggered over to the campfire and stoked the embers. 
Then, I added some kindling from a nearby woodpile. Once the fire was going 
strong, I looked around the cave again. It was a grotto where one of the 
mountain's hot springs had its source, and thankfully, the pool of hot water at 
the back of the cave was keeping everything toasty-warm. But how we got here was 
still a mystery to me. 
I returned to Jessie's side and gave her a gentle nudge, hoping that she'd wake 
up. When she rolled over, however, I noticed something strange -- she had a 
Groucho mustache and a pair of glasses drawn on her face in black magic marker! 
Looking at Meowth, I saw that his face was covered with scribbles, too. 
Somehow, I doubted that my face had avoided a similar fate. 
Reaching into Jessie's backpack, I rooted around until I found her compact. And 
sure enough, when I opened it and looked into the mirror, I saw a handlebar 
mustache, a goatee, and a monacle drawn on my face. 
"Jigglypuff strikes again," I groaned. 
At the mention of Jigglypuff's name, memories of the previous day came flooding 
back to me...memories which weren't all that different from the nightmare I'd 
just had! 
@->->- 
After leaving the Sunflora Lodge three days ago, Jessie, Meowth, and I finally 
arrived at Snowtop Mountain yesterday morning. Meowth suggested that we climb to 
the summit in order to get ahead of the twerps, and while we were climbing, a 
flock of Spearow attacked us. The attack caused us to lose our already tenuous 
footing and fall from the cliff, and we landed on a narrow shelf of ice hundreds 
of feet below. With no climbing equipment, no way to get up or down, and no way 
to call for help, we were afraid that we'd be stuck there forever. But just as 
we were about to abandon all hope, we saw a blurry figure in the sky, and 
everything went black. 
When we awoke, we found ourselves in a drift of snow at the base of the 
mountain, and Officer Jenny, Nurse Joy, and the twerps were standing over us. 
Nurse Joy took us to the pokemon center so that we could thaw out and recover 
from the ordeal we'd just faced, and the twerps followed and subjected us to a 
round of verbal abuse. (Never mind that we weren't even bothering them or doing 
anything "wrong." They just couldn't resist the urge to kick us while we were 
down. Little bastards.) Once they were done berating us, the brats spoke with 
Officer Jenny, and when Jessie, Meowth, and I listened to their conversation, we 
learned that it was an Articuno that had rescued us from the ledge and brought 
us to safety. Feeling foolish for having the legendary pokemon within our grasp 
and letting it get away, the three of us decided to return to the mountain and 
try to find Articuno again. Once everybody's back was turned, we snuck out of 
the pokemon center, borrowed Officer Jenny's snowmobile, and headed back up the 
slopes. 
We did, indeed, find the legendary bird again when we went back up the mountain. 
However, our detour at the pokemon center had cost us -- by the time we came 
face-to-face with Articuno, the twerps had already beaten us to it. And to make 
matters worse, we had to hear one of their stupid lectures about how rotten we 
are for trying to capture a pokemon that had rescued us! (This from a bunch of 
kids who get most of their pokemon by capturing them after being helped by them 
somehow! It never ceases to amaze me what hypocrites those brats are!) Tuning 
them out, Jessie and I tried to battle the Articuno so that we could catch it, 
but Arbok and Weezing were no match for its powers. Wobbuffet deflected its 
attacks and gave us a degree of protection for awhile, but when Ash ganged up on 
us too, we got blasted away. 
We'd ended up in an ice cave, trying desperately to stay awake as night 
approached. If we fell asleep, we'd all get hypothermia and die...and of course, 
that was the moment Jigglypuff decided to show up and put us all to sleep with 
her song. Just our luck. 
@->->- 
But now, we were in a hot spring grotto, and we were all still alive! What was 
going on? 
Hoping to clear my mind, I soaked one of my washcloths in the spring water and 
scrubbed all of the magic marker from my face. Then, I returned to Jessie and 
Meowth's side and washed the scribbles from their faces, too. Once they were 
clean, I tucked Meowth under Jessie's arm and covered the two of them with my 
blanket. 
"Sweet dreams," I whispered. 
Meowth cuddled closer to Jessie and kneaded her with his claws as he began to 
purr in his sleep. Jessie sighed contentedly. 
As I sat there, watching over my two friends and assessing our situation, I 
heard the sound of something approaching. When I looked, I saw Arbok, Weezing, 
Victreebel, Wobbuffet, and Sunflora at the entrance of the cave. That was when 
it all came together.... 
"You brought us here, didn't you?" I asked. 
Wobbuffet nodded. I came out of my poke ball last night and found the three of 
you asleep, he explained. I tried waking you up, but you were out cold! I knew 
that I had to do something, or you'd all freeze to death, so I called the others 
out, and we put our heads together. Weezing noticed that the further back he 
went in the cave, the warmer it got, so Arbok and Victreebel tunneled into the 
rock. That's when we found this grotto. Then, we dragged you back here so that 
you could stay warm while you slept. Once we were sure that you'd be okay, we 
went back outside and gathered some firewood. And after we built a little fire, 
we piled snow in front of the cave's entrance to keep the wind out. We just now 
finished. 
I patted Wobbuffet on the head and smiled at the others. "You saved our lives. 
Thank you." 
You would've done the same, Wobbuffet said as Arbok, Weezing, and Victreebel 
nuzzled against me, and Sunflora jumped into my lap. You and Jess are always 
going above and beyond for us. So, how could we do any less for you? 
My smile grew even wider as I looked at the five pokemon. "I've said it before, 
but I'll say it again -- you guys are the best pokemon in the world! And I think 
you all deserve a reward!" With that, I freed myself from their embraces and 
went to my backpack to get the pokemon food. 
While I was feeding them, however, I noticed how pale Sunflora looked. Grass 
pokemon get most of their energy from the sun, but Sunflora are completely 
dependent on it -- they even close up at night because they can't function 
without sunlight! Yet Wobbuffet said that this little one had spent all night 
helping the other pokemon get us to safety, gather firewood, and block the 
entrance of the cave! It must have been quite an ordeal for her to do so much 
work without any sunlight to get energy from (not to mention the fact that she's 
at a lower level than the others and not yet used to the kind of things that we 
endure), and now it was taking its toll on her. 
"You're a real trooper, Sunflora," I said as I gave her an extra helping of 
plant food and chlorophyll supplements. 
Sunflora looked up at me and smiled. "Flora!" 
Once the pokemon had finished eating their breakfast, I gave them all some extra 
treats and returned Arbok, Weezing, Victreebel, and Sunflora to their poke 
balls. "Get some rest, guys! You've more than earned it!" I told them. When I 
tried to return Wobbuffet to his ball, however, he objected. 
I'm not that tired, James. Really, he insisted. Besides, I'd rather stay out 
here and keep you company...and wait for Jess and Meowth to wake up. 
"Well, if that's what you want, then I certainly won't stop you," I replied. 
"I'd appreciate the company, anyway." 
As Wobbuffet seated himself next to me, my stomach began to growl. I'd wanted to 
wait until Jessie and Meowth woke up before making breakfast, but they were 
still sound asleep. I couldn't wait any longer. While I was trying to decide 
what to make for breakfast, however, Jessie started to moan in her sleep. 
"Jess?" 
When I called her name, Jessie began to toss and turn. "No! NO!!!" she cried. 
Returning to her side, I placed my hands on her shoulders and gave her a gentle 
shake. "Jessie, wake up! You're having a bad dream!" I told her. 
But my touch and the sound of my voice didn't do anything to help. As I laid my 
hands on Jessie, she opened her eyes and looked up at me, but she didn't seem to 
recognize me -- she recoiled in fear and started screaming! And when I reached 
for her again, she shoved me away and screamed even louder. 
The sound of Jessie's screams jolted Meowth from his slumber. "GAH! What's goin' 
on?!" he shouted as he jumped away from Jessie and puffed out his fur. 
"She's having a nightmare...a really bad one!" I explained. 
Meowth sweatdropped. 
Once her screams abated, Jessie buried her face in her hands and began to 
tremble. 
"Jessie? Jess, it's okay," I whispered as I inched closer and reached out to her 
again. 
"No! Leave me alone!" she whimpered. 
I took her hands in my own and gently pulled them away from her face. "Jess...." 

"NO!!!" she screamed. 
As she began to struggle again, I grabbed her by the shoulders and held her as 
firmly as I could without hurting her. "Jessica, calm down! It's me! James!" 
When I said this, Jessie looked up at me again, and her expression became lucid. 
"J-James?" 
I smiled at her and nodded. "It's alright, Jess. It was just a bad dream." 
"N-no, it wasn't," she muttered as her sapphire eyes filled with tears. 
"What are you talking about, Jessie? What happened?" I asked. 
"I...I had a dream about the day I found out my momma was dead," she muttered. 
"It was just like what really happened -- those two Dan'in showed up at my door, 
told me that momma had been killed in an avalanche, and took me away. But 
then...then it changed...." 
"Changed? How?" I prompted. 
Jessie closed her eyes and shuddered. "It's like...I was seeing things from my 
momma's perspective. I was up on a mountain, looking for something. Then, the 
snows came crashing down on me, and I got pushed over the side of a cliff. When 
I came to, a woman was standing over me. She was dressed in a Team Rocket 
uniform, and she was holding some kind of black flower. I can't really remember 
what she looked like -- all I know was that she had the face of a demon. 
She...she laughed at me and told me that I wouldn't live to see the ones I loved 
again...and she threw me off of the mountain...." 
I put my arms around her and rested my chin atop her head. "Jess, that sounds 
awful!" 
"It was...and it seemed so real!" she cried. "James, when I woke up, I couldn't 
even tell where I was! And for a moment, I even thought you were...her. I just 
saw your jacket, and...I'm sorry, James...." 
"It's okay," I told her. "Sometimes it's hard to tell what's real and what's not 
when you first wake up from a dream like that. Remember the time I got sick and 
had a nightmare about Jessiebelle, and when I first woke up, I thought you were 
her?" 
"Yeah, but you were sick...and I really do look like her," Jessie sighed as she 
returned my embrace. "But this woman...I don't know what she was. I don't know 
what this dream means, either." 
"Well, I think I do," I said. 
She looked at me again. "You do?" 
"Think about it, Jess. Everything that happened to us yesterday -- falling off 
the cliff, thinking we'd be trapped on that ledge forever, being stuck in a cave 
and being afraid that we'd freeze to death -- it was probably triggering all 
those painful memories about your mom's death," I explained. "I'd be more 
worried about you if something like that didn't give you nightmares!" 
"I guess you're right," she admitted. "But what about that demon-faced woman?" 
"Arianna? A personification of nature or death?" I ventured. "It was probably 
symbolic." 
"Probably," Jessie agreed. "But it doesn't really make me feel any better. I 
miss my momma, James. I miss her so much...." 
I held Jessie closer as the tears in her eyes began to spill down her cheeks. 
"I'm sorry, Jessie," I whispered. "We shouldn't have come here. I should've 
known better than to put you in a situation like this." 
"It's not your fault, James...it's mine. Every time I think I'm over it...every 
time I think I'm going to be okay, something happens that makes it start hurting 
again!" she sobbed. "All three of us wanted to go on this mission, and I thought 
I was going to be okay...but I'm not. It's my fault for being so pathetic...." 
I cupped Jessie's chin in my hand and brushed her tears away with my thumb. 
"Still missing your mother...still being sad about her death doesn't make you 
pathetic. I've got news for you, Jessie -- the pain of losing somebody you love 
never really goes away. No matter how much time may pass or no matter how happy 
you may be, something's going to happen to remind you of it and make you sad 
every now and then." I paused for a moment and brushed away the tears that were 
filling my own eyes. "I still get sad when I think about my grandparents 
sometimes, but I don't see it as a weakness, Jess. And missing your mom isn't a 
weakness either -- it just means that you haven't forgotten her...that she's 
still a part of you. That's not something to be ashamed of -- it's something to 
be proud of." 
Jessie said nothing, just buried her face in my shoulder and sniffled. 
I ran my fingers through Jessie's sea of crimson hair and gently rocked her back 
and forth as she continued to cry. After a moment, Meowth and Wobbuffet stepped 
closer and put their arms around her, too. 
"It's alright, sweetheart," I assured her. "I don't blame you for being upset. 
Just remember that no matter how bad things may get, I'll always be here for 
you. I love you, Jess." 
"Yeah! And Me-owth loves ya, too!" said Meowth. 
And so do I! Wobbuffet chimed in. 
"Thanks, guys," she whispered. 
"Jessie, do you remember last winter when I had a cold, and you had a nightmare 
that I died?" I asked her. 
She nodded. 
"And do you remember once you were feeling better and knew that I was going to 
be okay, we talked about your mom for awhile?" I continued. "Remember how you 
told me you like to think that when your mom died, she became an angel and that 
she's always with you?" 
Jessie looked up at me and nodded again. "Yes, I do." 
I placed a hand on her cheek. "Well, think about that now. Every time you start 
missing her...every time things seem hopeless, remember that she's always 
watching over you." 
She closed her hand over mine and exhaled in a ragged breath. "Momma...." 
"We're going to be okay, Jess," I promised. "We're going to survive, and we're 
going to find a way off of this mountain. We won't share your mother's fate -- 
she'll see to that, and so will I!" 
"Y-you think so?" she asked. 
"I know so," I replied. "Just look around! We wouldn't be here otherwise!" 
Jessie raised an eyebrow and surveyed the cave for a moment. "W-wait a minute. 
Didn't Jigglypuff put us to sleep in an ice-hollow?" 
"Yes." 
"Then...where are we now? How did we get here?" she queried. 
"Wobbuffet came out of his poke ball after we went to sleep. Then, he called out 
the other pokemon, and they tunneled into this grotto and brought us here," I 
explained. "They wouldn't have done that if they didn't care about us. Just goes 
to show that as long as we all stick together, we'll be fine!" 
Jessie smiled and gave Wobbuffet a hug. "Thank you, Wobbuffet!" 
Wobbuffet's blue face turned pink as he saluted her. 
Meowth nodded. "Yeah! Thanks, Wobbu! We owe ya one, buddy!" 
"And look, Jessie!" I continued, gesturing to the pool at the back of the cave. 
"They found a hot spring for us, just like the ones we were searching for the 
other day!" 
Her smile grew even wider than it already was. "You're right, James!" 
"Why don't we take the day off?" I suggested. "I'll make some French toast for 
breakfast, and we'll just spend the day relaxing and enjoying this hot spring. 
Then, first thing tomorrow morning, we'll set out again and find a way off the 
mountain. Sound good?" 
Jessie leaned closer and planted a kiss on my cheek. "Sounds great!" 
"Yeah! We need some time ta unwind after what we just been through!" Meowth 
agreed. 
"Then, that's exactly what we'll do!" I said. 
As I got to work making breakfast, Jessie seated herself behind me and put her 
arms around my waist. 
"Want a cooking lesson?" I asked, giving her a sly smile. 
She smiled back. "Not today. I don't want to take a chance on ruining French 
toast. I think I'll just watch this time." 
"Oh, I get it. You're just looking for an excuse to get cozy!" I said. 
Jessie smirked. "You know me too well." 
"Indeed I do," I replied as I pulled her into my lap and gave her nose a gentle 
tweak. "And that's why I love you." 
"I love you, too," she echoed, pressing her lips to mine. 
Once our kiss ended, Jessie cuddled closer and watched as I prepared the slices 
of bread. When I placed them in the skillet and waited for them to cook, she 
covered my face and neck with more kisses. 
"I'm glad you're feeling better now, Jess," I told her. 
Jessie's sapphire eyes sparkled as she looked up at me. "You always make me feel 
good, James. I love how you always make the best of it when bad things happen." 
"And how I always make French toast for you when you're feeling blue?" I 
ventured. 
"Yeah, that too!" she chuckled. 
Once the toast was ready, I took it out of the skillet and put it on a plate. 
Then, I brought a bottle of maple syrup out of my backpack. "And we have plenty 
of maple syrup this time!" I added. 
Jessie took the bottle from me and poured a bit of syrup onto the tip of her 
finger. "So we do." 
My heart fluttered as she brushed her finger across my lips and then her own. 
When we leaned closer and began licking the syrup from each other's lips, 
however, Meowth and Wobbuffet shoved their way past us. 
"Come on, Wobbu. We'd better help ourselves before dese two start gettin' 
kinky," Meowth said, taking some toast for himself and grabbing the bottle of 
syrup from Jessie. 
Yeah. Looks like they're more interested in French kissing than French toast, 
Wobbuffet agreed. 
Jessie's face turned as red as her hair. "I guess we should eat breakfast before 
Meowth and Wobbuffet take it all," she grumbled. 
"Guess so. Besides...we can always pick up where we left off later, right?" I 
asked hopefully. 
She shoved a piece of toast into my mouth and grinned. "Count on it!" 
@->->- 
Once we'd finished our breakfast and washed the dishes, Jessie and I decided to 
take a dip in the hot spring. Making Meowth and Wobbuffet turn around and give 
us some privacy, Jessie changed into a little red bikini, and I put on my blue 
speedo. Then, we joined hands and jumped into the water together. 
As I resurfaced, I shook the water from my hair and sighed contentedly. I'd hurt 
my back the other day when we were digging for hot springs, and my muscles were 
still stiff and sore from yesterday's failed attempt at climbing the mountain, 
but the hot water was relaxing, and I could feel it washing my tension away. 
"Ah! This feels lovely!" Jessie exclaimed. 
"Very!" I agreed. 
Jessie swam to my side and put her arms around me. "Even better than last time," 
she muttered. 
The feeling of her warm breath tickling my ear and her long, delicate fingers 
caressing the back of my neck made me tremble with desire. As I pulled her 
closer and savored the feeling of her smooth skin brushing against my own, I 
closed my eyes and smiled. 
The last time we'd been in a hot spring had been a couple of months ago, when we 
were on the road to Ecruteak City. We'd been taking a detour through a steamy 
jungle because Jessie had heard that there was a hot spring in the area, and 
she'd wanted to find it. It had been awhile since we'd had a day off (and I can 
never pass up the chance to see Jess in a bathing suit), so I'd been eager to 
find it as well. After getting lost in the jungle, being attacked by a ravenous 
Snorlax, getting trapped in a cave and separated from Meowth, being pelted with 
fruit by a bunch of Aipom, and getting washed down a river and over a waterfall, 
we'd finally ended up in the hot spring that we'd spent all day searching for. 
And once we were there, we'd made the most of it.... 
"You do remember what we did last time...don't you, James?" Jessie whispered 
into my ear. 
I raised an eyebrow and smiled at her. "How can I forget?" 
"Want to do it again?" she asked. 
I reached down and pulled off my speedo. "What do you think?" I asked, holding 
up the swimsuit and tossing it aside. 
"Oh, James!" she giggled as I took her in my arms again and removed her bikini 
top. 
"Oh, boy. De ja vu all over again," Meowth muttered. "Dey're gettin' ready for 
another day a super-hot hot spring sex." 
Which means that we'll have to go somewhere else, said Wobbuffet. Something 
tells me they don't want an audience. 
Jessie blushed again as she wrapped her arms around her breasts and submerged 
herself to the shoulders. "What are you still doing here?!" she demanded. 
"And what are you complaining about, Meowth?!" I asked. "It's not like you're 
missing out on anything -- you hate getting wet!" 
"Yeah, but dis is the warm part a the cave!" he argued. "What're me and Wobbu 
supposed ta do? Freeze our asses off outside while we wait for youse guys ta get 
done havin' sex?" 
I ran a hand through my hair and sighed. "You can borrow our coats," I told 
them. 
"Or you can stay here and watch me and James!" said Jessie. "Whichever you 
prefer...." 
Meowth smirked. "I think we'll go with dat one!" he replied, seating himself at 
the edge of the water. 
Jessie and I exchanged looks. 
"He's not being serious, you know," I whispered. 
"Yeah, I know," Jessie whispered back. "But I still think we should teach him a 
lesson." 
I smiled at her and nodded. Then, I turned my attention back to the cat. "Okay, 
Meowth. You can stay and watch. In fact, you can have a front row seat!" With 
that, I stood up and grabbed him. 
"Hey, HEY!!! I was just kiddin'!!!" Meowth screamed as he struggled to escape 
from me. 
After a couple minutes of holding Meowth above the water and making like I was 
going to drop him in, I set him back on the ground. "I was just kidding, too!" I 
told him. 
"Dat wasn't funny," he grumbled, smoothing his fur. 
"Then, I suggest you go with the other option," I retorted. 
Jessie pulled off her bikini bottom and fired it at Meowth like a slingshot. 
"Yeah! Leave us alone!" 
Meowth ducked and avoided getting struck in the face with the wet swimsuit. 
Wobbuffet covered his mouth with his hands to stifle a fit of laughter. 
Once he got back to his feet, Meowth grabbed my winter coat and wrapped it 
around himself. Then, he took the portable CD player from Jessie's backpack and 
tossed her coat to Wobbuffet. 
"Alright, we get the point," he said. "We're outta here." 
Wobbuffet saluted us. Have fun! 
"Looks like Team Rocket's gettin' it on again!" the two pokemon laughed, giving 
us a wicked grin as they took their leave. 
Jessie facefaulted. "They've always got to be a couple of wise-asses, don't 
they?" 
"Afraid so," I replied. "I just hope they didn't kill the mood." 
She smiled again and returned to my side. "Of course not! I wouldn't have taken 
off the rest of my bathing suit otherwise...." 
I wrapped an arm around her waist. "I love it when you're naughty!" I told her. 
"Well, you started it!" she giggled, splashing a bit of water into my face. 
"And it looks like you're trying to start something else," I said, splashing 
back at her. 
Jessie smirked and splashed at me again. "Now you asked for it! Prepare for 
trouble!" 
I blocked her assault and retaliated with a couple more splashes of my own. "And 
you just made your trouble double!" 
Jessie lunged at me and wrapped her arms and legs around my body. "To protect 
our sex-life from stagnation!" 
"To unite our bodies in jubilation!" I replied, returning her embrace. 
"To celebrate the goodness of our love!" she said as she pressed herself closer 
and began to kiss me. 
My heart fluttered, and I felt myself becoming aroused. "To lift our spirits to 
the stars above!" 
"Jessie!" 
"James!" 
Jessie blushed as I began kissing back and closed one of my hands over her butt. 
"Team Rocket...." her voice trailed off, and she began to giggle. "Shit! I can't 
think of another line -- I just choked!" 
"Then surrender now, and prepare to get poked!" I said, bringing our impromptu 
motto to a close. 
Jessie's eyes widened. "James!" 
Now I was blushing, too. "Sorry, honey. Couldn't resist," I chuckled. 
Jessie placed a finger to my lips and smiled. "Don't apologize -- I liked it!" 
she whispered. 
"You did?" I asked. 
She nodded. "Yes. Now, are you going to make love to me, or not?" 
I smiled back and accepted her invitation. "Of course! I was just waiting for 
you to ask!" 
@->->- 
When our lovemaking ended an hour later, the two of us remained in our embrace, 
kissing, cuddling, and enjoying the warmth of the pure spring water. 
"James?" Jessie muttered. 
"Hmmm?" 
"Thanks." 
"For what?" I asked. 
Jessie rested her head on my shoulder and gazed up at me. "For making me feel 
better, of course!" came her reply. "This mission's really been stressing me 
out, and that nightmare I had last night...." Her voice trailed off for a 
moment, and she shuddered. "When I woke up this morning, I was scared out of my 
mind and convinced that we'd never survive. Thanks for reminding me that we'll 
be okay as long as we have each other." 
I smoothed back her crimson hair and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Any time, 
sweetheart." 
Jessie turned to face me again and touched her lips to mine. "I love you so 
much, James," she whispered. 
"I love you too, Jess," I whispered back. "I just want you to be happy." 
"And you make me happy," she said. "I guess that's why I still get scared every 
now and then -- it's like you're too good to be true. Sometimes I still think 
that I don't deserve you...." 
"Jessie, you know you shouldn't worry about that," I assured her. "You deserve 
the best of everything. I'm just glad that I'm good enough for you." 
She smiled again. "You ARE the best, James!" As she began to caress my back, 
however, her smile faded and gave way to an expression of concern. 
"What's wrong?" I asked. 
"Your back...it feels like it has a few knots in it," she replied. "I remember 
you said that it was hurting the other day. Are you okay?" 
"It is a little sore," I admitted. 
Now Jessie was frowning. "James, why didn't you tell me?" 
I shrugged. "It wasn't that serious. Besides, I didn't want to bother you with 
my whining." 
"You're not a whiner, James," she told me. "And goodness knows, you have every 
right to complain on the occasions that you do. I'm sorry if I'm always yelling 
at you or losing my temper when you complain -- I only do it because I'm in a 
bad mood, too...." 
I cupped Jessie's chin in my hand. "I know that, honey. I love you, short temper 
and all." 
The smile returned to her lips. "Alright, James. You made me feel better, so now 
it's my turn to make you feel better!" she said as she gave the wisp of hair 
hanging in my face a playful tug. "Get out of the water, and go lie down -- 
you're about to be massaged like you've never been massaged before!" 
My heart started racing again. When it comes to massages, Jessie has magic 
hands! No matter how bad I may be feeling, if she touches me, it's like an 
instant cure! "Okay, Jess. If you insist," I replied as I climbed out of the 
water. 
Jessie reached up and spanked my behind. "As a matter of fact, I do!" 
I felt myself blushing again as I wrapped a towel around my waist and unrolled 
our sleeping bag. Jessie smiled slyly as she watched me. I smiled back at her 
and winked. 
"Hey, James?" she asked. 
"Yeah?" 
"Can you hand me my bathing suit, please?" 
I picked up her bikini and twirled the bottom part on my finger. "Come and get 
it!" I told her, my smile becoming a grin. 
Now she was the one who was blushing. "James, I'm serious! Give it back!" 
"Why?" I asked. "You're not going to need it!" 
Jessie's eyes widened, and her face became redder than it already was. "Okay, 
you asked for it, James!" she said. 
I began to laugh as Jessie jumped out of the water and marched stark naked acoss 
the cave towards me. Once she was close enough, I took off my towel, wrapped it 
around her shoulders, and pulled her into me. 
Jessie put her arms around my waist and smirked. "You wanted me to do that, 
didn't you?" 
I raised my eyebrows and grinned again. 
"You jerk!" she giggled as she kissed the tip of my nose. 
I tightened my hold on her and kissed her lips. As Jessie returned my kiss, she 
began sinking towards the floor and pulling me with her. Once the two of us were 
kneeling together on the sleeping bag, she took off the towel and wrapped it 
around my waist again. Then, she made me lie down on my stomach. 
"Hang on just a second," she whispered into my ear. 
I propped myself up on my elbow and smiled as I watched Jessie smooth back her 
mane of crimson hair and wrap another towel around her body. God, she's 
beautiful! I said to myself. 
As if she could hear my thoughts, Jessie looked over her shoulder and smiled 
back at me. Then, she grabbed a bottle of rose milk from her backpack and 
returned to my side. "Just relax, James," she said as she began to knead my 
shoulders. 
I closed my eyes and sighed contentedly as Jessie worked her magic. Her hands 
felt so warm and soft, and every touch sent a wild chill of excitement up my 
spine. 
Jessie pressed her palms into my back and made gentle circular motions. "You 
still have a lot of tension," she remarked. "How did you hurt your back, 
anyway?" 
"I strained my muscles when we were digging for hot springs the day before 
yesterday," I replied. "And getting blasted off by those Swinub sure didn't 
help." 
"I'm glad I listened to you when you said your back was hurting and didn't force 
you to carry that Graveller," Jessie sighed. "Still...I wish I'd taken the hint 
and done something to make you feel better then. I guess I was just too busy 
thinking about what I wanted...." 
"Don't be so hard on yourself, Jess -- it's not your fault," I told her. "I just 
didn't make a big deal about it, that's all." 
Once Jessie had finished kneading all of the muscles in my back and shoulders, 
she started doing little karate chops on me. "I know. But the point is, I should 
be better at knowing when you're upset or hurt and doing something to help 
without being told." 
I looked up at her and smiled again. "Well, what do you think you're doing now?" 
I asked. "Jess, I didn't say a word about my back, but you knew it was sore 
anyway, and you even volunteered to give me this massage! I'd say you're pretty 
damned good at making me feel better when something is wrong." 
Jessie's expression brightened when I said this. 
"And even when I'm already feeling good, you always go a step further and make 
me feel great!" I continued. 
Now Jessie was grinning. "You just earned yourself some brownie points with that 
one, James!" she said, sliding her hand under my towel and pinching me on the 
butt. 
The feeling of Jessie's hand on my behind made me even more excited than I 
already was. "Heeeeeee!!!!!" I squealed. 
Jessie giggled. "Are you feeling better now?" 
"I already felt good," I told her. "Now I feel great!" 
Jessie smirked and gave me another playful spanking. "Well, too bad! I'm not 
done with you yet!" 
"I've got no complaints about that!" I laughed as she straddled me and resumed 
massaging my back and shoulders. 
Once she'd worked all of the tension and knots from my muscles, Jessie's 
kneading became a caress. Her fingertips felt like fire on my skin, and I felt 
myself trembling with desire every time she touched me. 
"Mmmmmm...this feels so wonderful, Jess!" I sighed. "Please don't stop!" 
Jessie brushed my hair aside and planted a kiss on the back of my neck. "I 
didn't plan on it." 
"Good." 
After kissing me a couple more times, Jessie picked up the bottle of rose milk 
and poured some of it into her hands. Then, she started caressing me again and 
working the fragrant lotion into my skin. "You have such a beautiful complexion, 
James," she told me. 
I blushed again. "Thanks, Jess." 
"I just love everything about you," she continued, tousling my hair. "Your 
hair...." Then, she placed a hand on my cheek and turned me to face her. 
"....Your eyes, your face...." She slid her hands beneath me and ran her fingers 
down my chest and stomach. "....Your body...." 
My heart started to race once more, and my breathing became shallow and rapid 
when her hands reached my crotch and lingered there. My, god! This just keeps 
getting better and better! I said to myself. But aloud, a moan of pleasure was 
the only sound I was able to make. 
Jessie smiled and kissed me again. After a couple minutes, she removed her hands 
from my crotch and started massaging my arms. "But do you know what I love most 
about you?" she asked. 
"Hmmm?" 
She closed her hands over mine and brought them to her lips. "I love you for who 
you are, James," came her reply. "Beneath that handsome exterior you're smart, 
sweet, romantic -- you're everything I've always dreamed of...and so much 
more...." 
Tears welled up in my eyes when she said this. "And that's why I love you so 
much, Jessie...because you can accept me the way I am," I whispered. Then, 
brushing my tears away and smiling up at her again, "And because you're the 
sexiest woman who ever lived, of course!" 
Jessie laughed. "Ah, one more item to add to the list of things I love about you 
-- you're a smooth talker!" 
"Let's face it, honey -- we're a perfect couple!" I said. 
Jessie spooned herself against me and rested her chin on my shoulder. "You won't 
hear any arguments from me," she muttered into my ear as she gave it a playful 
nip. 
I turned my head and planted a kiss on her lips. "I love you, Jessie." 
"I love you too, James," she replied, wrapping her arms around me and resting 
her hands on my chest again. "And even though I don't always act like it, not a 
day goes by that I don't think about how lucky I am to have you...." 
As her voice trailed off, Jessie gave me another kiss and rested her forehead 
against mine. And as her sapphire eyes slowly slid shut, I could feel her body 
relaxing, as if she were melting into me. I closed my eyes too and savored the 
wonderful feeling. The warmth of her body, the smoothness of her skin, the 
silkiness of her hair, the sweetness of her breath on my lips, the steady rhythm 
of her heartbeat -- everything about her was soothing. So soothing, in fact, 
that as I concentrated on her, my body seemed to melt as well, and I found 
myself drifting off to sleep. 
@->->- 
I don't know how long Jessie and I slept, but I was awakened by the pungent 
aroma of garlic, tomatoes, and peppers. When I opened my eyes, I saw that Jessie 
was no longer lying next to me -- she was kneeling by the campfire and stirring 
something in one of my pots. Meowth and Wobbuffet were sitting on either side of 
her. 
This is either going to be really good or really bad! Wobbuffet remarked. 
"Heh. Given Jessie's record of culinary disasters, I'm puttin' my money on 
really bad!" Meowth snickered. 
Jessie pulled the spoon out of the pot and bopped him over the head with it. 
"Oh, shut up, Meowth! You're an even worse cook than I am!" she growled. 
"Besides, I don't even know how I can screw this up -- I'm following the recipie 
to the letter!" 
Meowth wiped the tomato sauce from his golden charm and took a taste. "Well, 
I'll be damned! Dis ain't half-bad!" he exclaimed. 
"Told you so!" Jessie said smugly. "Now, what's the next ingredient?" 
Meowth went over to my laptop and studied the screen for a moment. "Uh...one 
tub-spuh of olive oil." 
Jessie gave him a quizzical look. "A tub-spuh?! What the hell is a tub-spuh?!" 
she demanded. 
Meowth shrugged. "I dunno -- it just sez TBSP." 
Jessie scowled, and that little vein popped out on her forehead. "Yeah, well 
what IS that?!" 
"How the hell should I know?! I ain't the cook around here!" he shot back. "And 
it calls for tisps of all dese other ingredients like basil, oregano, and 
parsley. Whoever wrote dis recipie needs ta buy a freakin' vowel...." 
I couldn't help but laugh as I watched the two of them. "Teaspoons and 
tablespoons," I interjected before a fight could ensue. "Tub-spuh is tablespoon, 
and tisp is teaspoon." 
Jessie and Meowth stopped arguing and smiled at me. 
"Well, whaddaya know! Sleepin' Beauty finally decided ta wake up!" said Meowth. 
I yawned as I stretched myself out and got to my feet. Much to my delight, all 
of the pain in my back and shoulders was gone, and I felt more limber. Thank 
goodness for Jessie and those magic hands! I said to myself. I don't know what 
I'd do without her.... 
"Have a nice nap?" Jessie asked. 
"I sure did," I replied. "And I feel a lot better now. Thanks, Jess." 
She winked at me. "It was my pleasure!" 
"Heh. When Wobbu and I finally got too cold in the other part of the cave, we 
decided ta come back in here since we didn't hear youse guys foolin' around. And 
sure enough, we found ya sawin' logs," Meowth explained. "Ya musta slept all 
afternoon." 
I smiled sheepishly as I put on a pair of boxer shorts and my bathrobe. 
"I woke up about half an hour ago," said Jessie. "I didn't want to disturb you 
because you looked so peaceful, but I was getting hungry, so I decided to try my 
hand at making dinner. I looked on the computer and found that puttanesca 
recipie you downloaded from Sofia and Marcello's site, and it seemed easy enough 
to make...plus, I thought it'd be a nice surprise for you!" 
"Oh, I'm definitely surprised," I replied, coming to her side. 
"In a good way?" she asked hopefully. 
I took the spoon from her and tasted the sauce. "In a very good way!" 
Jessie blushed and gave me a kiss on the cheek. Then, she took the teaspoon and 
tablespoon from Meowth and added the exact amounts of herbs, spices, and olive 
oil that the recipie called for. After stirring it for a couple more minutes, 
she took the pot off of the fire. "It's ready!" she exclaimed. 
My stomach began to growl as I inhaled the aroma of the sauce. "It smells 
delicious, Jess!" 
"Yeah! For once, I'm lookin' forward ta eatin' somethin' ya made!" Meowth agreed 
as he grabbed a plate and scooped himself some pasta. When he took a bite, 
however, he spit it out and frowned. "Gah! Dese noodles are hard as rocks!" 
A look of bewilderment crossed Jessie's face. "I don't get it. The recipie said 
to add the pasta to the sauce, so that's what I did...." 
"Jessie, didn't you cook the rigatoni first?" I asked. 
She raised an eyebrow. "I was supposed to cook it before I added it to the 
sauce? Why didn't it say so in the recipie?!" 
"You're always supposed to boil noodles in water before you add them to dishes 
like this," I told her. "Kind of like how you make instant ramen noodles by 
adding water to them. It wasn't in the recipie instructions because it's one of 
those things that's so basic it goes without saying." 
Jessie's face began to turn red again, but this time it was from frustration. 
"Well...well, how was I supposed to know that?! I've never made anything like 
this before!" she cried. Then, turning away from us and hanging her head, "Jeez, 
I thought I couldn't go wrong if I just did what the recipie said. Looks like I 
screwed it up anyway...." 
"Don't feel bad, honey," I said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You haven't 
worked with food and recipies as much as I have, so you can't be expected to 
know everything. And I think you've improved immensely as a cook -- a few months 
ago, you wouldn't have been able to do anything like this!" 
Jessie shrugged my hand away. "Don't patronize me, James," she sniffled. 
"I'm not," I replied. "I think this is really good for your first try at making 
a whole meal from scratch. The sauce certainly turned out perfectly, and I'm 
sure the pasta isn't as bad as Meowth said." 
She looked back at me. "You think so?" 
I nodded and put my arms around her. "I like my pasta al dente anyway," I 
continued. "And this will just be very...very al dente." 
"James, are you just saying this to make me feel better?" she queried, giving me 
a suspicious look. 
I smiled at her. "Nope! I'm going to put my money where my mouth is...and a big 
plate of penne puttanesca, too!" With that, I grabbed a plate and filled it with 
pasta. 
"Well?" Jessie asked as she watched me take a bite. 
"It's good," I told her. "The noodles are a little crunchy, but the sauce is 
pefect. Very delicious, Jess." 
And it was! The sauce was just the right blend of sweet and tart, and the tomato 
flavor intermingled perfectly with the olive oil, basil, oregano, and parsley. 
She'd also added chopped garlic, green and red peppers, mushrooms, and 
pepperocinis, which enhanced the hearty, robust flavor. Except for the uncooked 
rigatoni, it tasted exactly like the dinner we'd had at Sofia and Marcello's! 
"Maybe I should've made the instant ramen noodles instead," she sighed. "At 
least I can't mess those up...." 
"Don't say that, sweetheart. You just made an honest mistake that any novice 
cook could make. Next time, you'll know better," I said. Then, reaching over and 
giving her nose a gentle tweak, "And believe me, there will be a next time. Now 
that I know you really can cook, I'm going to be expecting more help in the 
kitchen!" 
"So, it's really not that bad?" she ventured. 
"It's not bad at all!" 
Jessie blushed and buried her face in her hands. "Thanks, James," she muttered. 
Unable to resist how cute she was, I leaned closer and gave her a kiss. 
"Ah, I guess it ain't as bad as I made it out ta be," Meowth conceded as he 
picked up his plate again. "Sorry, Jess." 
Hey! You'd better save some for me! Wobbuffet said, grabbing a plate and getting 
Jessie to give him a heaping helping, too. 
The smile finally returned to Jessie's lips as she watched the three of us eat. 
Satisfied that we weren't just patronizing her, she scooped a bit of pasta onto 
her own plate. "I suppose it's not so horrible, after all," she chuckled. "I've 
made worse!" 
I winked at her. "I guess my cooking lessons are paying off!" 
She winked back. "That means you're going to have to keep giving them to me!" 
"It'll be my pleasure," I replied, taking her hand in my own and kissing it. 
@->->- 
Once we'd finished off the puttanesca (crunchy noodles and all) and washed the 
dishes, Meowth got out his sleeping bag and started setting up camp. 
"Well, I hate ta be a party-pooper, but I really need ta get some sleep. I'm 
whipped," he yawned. 
I nodded. "I think Jess and I are going to turn in, too. Even if we did sleep 
all afternoon, it won't hurt to get more rest. If we want to get off of this 
mountain by nightfall tomorrow, we're going to need to get up really early...and 
we're going to need all the energy we can muster." 
"You're right," Jessie replied as she returned Wobbuffet to his poke ball. "The 
sooner we get out of here, the better." 
"Well, it can't be soon enough for Me-owth!" the cat remarked. "I hate bein' 
cold almost as much as I hate bein' wet!" 
"We all do," I told him as I set our alarm clock for five AM. "We're in for a 
rough day tomorrow, but we'll be just fine. I promise." 
Meowth smiled at us and curled into his sleeping bag. "Yeah. I know we'll pull 
through. We always do. Good night, guys." 
"Good night, Meowth," Jessie and I said in unison. 
Once Meowth had fallen asleep, Jessie rested her head on my shoulder. "Hey, 
James?" 
"Yeah?" 
"Do you remember the other day, when we were telling Sofia and Marcello the 
story of how you kept me warm all night?" she asked. 
I blushed. "How can I forget?" 
"And do you remember how we said that if something like that had happened after 
we became lovers, it'd make for a very romantic story?" she continued. 
"Why, Jessie, whatever are you hinting at?" I chuckled. 
Jessie untied my robe and ran her fingers along my bare chest. "Don't play coy, 
James. You know what I want." 
My heart started racing again as she slid my robe completely off. "Yeah, I know, 
Jess," I whispered. "I want it, too!" 
She loosened her own robe a little and let it slide off her shoulders, giving me 
a peek at her breasts. "Then what are you waiting for?" 
I took Jessie in my arms and finished undressing her. "I'm not," I told her. 
"But we're going to have to keep the noise down." 
"Yeah. Don't want to disturb Meowth...or have him disturbing us!" she agreed as 
we laid down together in our sleeping bag. 
After a few minutes of caressing Jessie's beautiful body (and enjoying the 
feeling of her doing the same to me), we made our joining. I covered Jessie's 
mouth with my own in order to muffle the cries of ecstasy we both made. 
"Now this is what I call staying warm!" Jessie giggled when our lips finally 
parted. 
I exhaled in a fluttery breath as she ran her fingers through my hair and 
caressed the back of my neck. Her touch was pure bliss. 
"You know, James, I actually kind of wanted this the first time you kept me warm 
with your body," she continued. 
I felt my cheeks getting hot again. "So did I," I admitted. "But I didn't want 
to take advantage of the situation -- you weren't in any kind of position to 
give your consent and be absolutely sure of it. Besides, keeping you alive was 
more important." 
Jessie brushed the tip of her nose against mine and smiled. "I'm glad you 
decided to wait until I was ready," she said. "I just wish I'd been ready for 
you a lot sooner." 
I smiled back and covered her face with soft kisses. "It's okay," I replied. 
"You needed to be sure that I was the one you were saving yourself for. I'm glad 
you did choose me, though." 
"So am I, sweetie," she whispered. "So am I...." 
@->->- 
We'd been perfectly rested when we'd begun, but by the time it was over, all 
Jessie and I had the energy to do was lie quietly in each other's arms. Gazing 
into Jessie's beautiful blue eyes and returning her sleepy smile was the last 
thing I saw before I drifted off to sleep. 
The next thing I knew, I was standing on the summit of Snowtop Mountain. A 
narrow, icy road that twisted down the sheer cliffs seemed to be the only way 
off the mountain, but I was confident that Jessie, Meowth, and I could negotiate 
it. Suddenly, however, I heard the sound of screaming...Jessie's screaming! 
"Jessie! Jess, where are you?!" I cried. 
"James! Please help me!" she screamed again. 
Following the sound of her voice, I found Jessie hanging from the side of the 
cliff...and she was slipping! Quickly, I reached out and grabbed her by the hand 
just moments before her hold on the icy ledge gave way. 
"Hang on, Jess! I've got you now, and I'm not going to let go!" I assured her. 
Jessie nodded and grabbed onto me with her other hand. 
As I began pulling her up, however, a shadow blocked my vision, and I heard the 
sound of laughter. Looking over my shoulder, I saw a woman standing behind me. 
The sun was in my eyes, making the woman appear as nothing more than a 
silhouette, but through the glare I could perceive two bouncy sausage-curls on 
either side of her head...and a pair of demonic azure eyes. 
"You!" I said through clenched teeth. 
The woman laughed again. I wasn't going to let go of Jessie in order to fight 
her -- we were both at her mercy, and she knew it. But there was no mercy in 
this woman's soul, and when she finally stopped laughing, she uttered a single 
word.... 
"Die." 
Before I could do anything to defend myself or pull Jessie to safety, the woman 
delivered a swift kick to my rear, and I toppled over the side of the cliff. As 
Jessie and I began to fall, I looked and saw Articuno watching us from one of 
the ledges. But once again, it did nothing to save us -- it just sat there and 
laughed as it watched us plummet to our doom.... 
@->->- 
When I awoke, I had that dizzy sensation again, and it was several minutes 
before the world around me stopped spinning. Once I was sure that I wasn't 
falling, I looked to my side and saw Jessie sitting up in bed. A grim expression 
was on her face as she stared blankly at the ground. 
"You had that dream again, didn't you?" I asked. 
Jessie gave a startled yelp as she snapped out of her trance and looked down at 
me. "J-James?" 
"It was that dream again, wasn't it?" I asked once more. 
After a moment, Jessie nodded. "Y-yes. How did you know, James?" 
"Because I had it, too...or something a lot like it," I told her. 
Jessie's eyes widened. 
"I was standing on the summit of the mountain, and I heard you screaming for 
help," I explained. "But when I tried to save you, a woman showed up and...." 
"....Kicked you off the edge, too," Jessie said, finishing my sentence for me. 
"It was her again, James...that demon-faced woman from my other dream." 
"I thought as much -- I saw who she was." 
"Who?" Jessie asked nervously, as if she were afraid to know the answer. 
"I didn't get a good look at her, but she had her hair in two big curls, and she 
was staring at me with pale blue eyes full of hatred," I muttered. 
Jessie frowned. "Jessiebelle. A demon. Same difference," she grumbled. 
"What could it mean, Jessie?" I queried. 
"Nothing good. That's for sure," came her reply. "I-I'm scared, James. I just 
can't shake the feeling that something terrible is going to happen when we leave 
this cave." 
As I recalled the events of my two nightmares, I shuddered. "I have that same 
feeling," I told her. "But we can't let the fear of what might happen control 
us. If we stay in here forever, we're going to run out of food and supplies 
eventually, and we really are going to die." 
"You're right," she sighed. "But still...." 
"Don't worry, sweetheart," I whispered. "As long as we try not to think about 
those bad dreams too much, we should be fine. If they're some kind of warning, 
we'll just be extra careful out there...and we'll be ready if anything does 
happen." 
Jessie brushed her tears away and looked up at me. "Good point. If there really 
is danger lurking out there, I'd rather go out and confront it than cower in 
here and wait for it to find us. I'd rather die in action than waste away in 
hiding." 
"Exactly," I said. "And we're not going to die, Jess. We've survived worse, and 
we'll get through this, too." I paused for a moment and chuckled. "And someday 
in the distant future, when the two of us are old and gray and sitting in 
rocking chairs on our front porch, we're going to look back on this whole 
misadventure and laugh about how crazy we were when we were young." 
Now Jessie was chuckling, too. "Yeah. This'll just be another story to tell our 
children and grandchildren...with some of the racier parts conveniently left 
out, of course!" 
I nodded and extended my hand. 
Jessie took me by the hand and smiled. 
As the two of us clasped hands and gazed into each other's eyes, the horror of 
the nightmares faded away, and I felt my spirit rekindled. And I could tell from 
the light shining in Jessie's eyes that she felt the same way. No matter what 
kind of danger was out there, we were going to be just fine. There wasn't a 
doubt in my mind about that. 
"Well, as long as we're awake, we might as well start getting ready," Jessie 
said after a moment. 
I picked up my alarm clock and looked at the time. "Yeah. It's half-past four. 
We were due to get up soon anyway." 
"Good," Jessie muttered as she rolled up our sleeping bag. "I didn't want to go 
back to sleep." 
"Me either," I replied. "I don't care to have any more nightmares, and I have a 
feeling that the only way to make them stop is to get the hell out of here." 
"I think so, too," she agreed. 
By the time Jessie and I had finished packing all of our belongings, getting 
dressed, and laying out the gear we were going to need, Meowth was beginning to 
stir from his slumber. 
"Nnnnhhh? Is it five o'clock already?" he mumbled as he rubbed the sleep from 
his eyes. 
I looked at the clock once more before switching the alarm off and putting it in 
my backpack. "It's ten til. You're a little early," I told him. 
Meowth nodded and closed his eyes again. Before he could go back to sleep, 
however, Jessie grabbed him by the ear and hauled him out of his sleeping bag. 
"Gah! What's the big idea?!" he demanded. 
"James and I are almost ready to go, and we don't want you sleeping all day and 
holding us up, that's what!" she snapped. 
"We couldn't sleep because we were having nightmares, and we decided it'd be 
best if we leave as soon as possible," I explained. 
Meowth's sour expression faded when he heard this, and he started breaking camp, 
too. "I guess yer right," he conceded. 
When he was done packing all of his things, the three of us sat down to a hasty 
breakfast of strawberry-flavored oatmeal and instant coffee. After that, we put 
on our snowsuits and prepared to set out. 
@->->- 
It was still dark when we broke down the snow barrier at the entrance of the 
cave and stepped outside, but the first light of dawn was beginning to glow on 
the eastern horizon. If the weather remained clear, we wouldn't be in the dark 
for long. 
"So, what do you think the best way to get out of here would be?" Jessie queried 
as she turned on her flashlight and surveyed the area. 
I took out my map of Snowtop Mountain and studied it for a moment. "It would 
help if we knew where we were," I sighed. "Maybe we should've scouted around and 
got our bearings yesterday instead of goofing off." 
Meowth shook his head. "Don't worry about it, Jimmy -- ya couldn't a gone 
outside yesterday, even if ya wanted to. I guess you and Jess didn't hear it 
since you was deeper in the cave, but me and Wobbu did. The whole time we were 
in dat outer-room, we could hear the wind whippin' and screamin' and poundin' on 
dat snow barrier. Sounded like one helluva blizzard -- nobody in dere right mind 
would wanna go out in weather like dat!" 
I breathed a sigh of relief, thankful that taking the day off yesterday hadn't 
been time ill-spent, after all. Still, being reminded that a ferocious storm 
could whip up at any second...and that we'd be defenseless against it wasn't 
comforting. 
"Let's just hope the weather holds until we're out of here," Jessie said, as if 
she could read my thoughts. 
I nodded and consulted the map again. "Maybe we can find out where we are if we 
retrace our steps," I suggested. 
Jessie looked over my shoulder and pointed to a green dot on the southern edge 
of the map. "Yeah. There's the pokemon center where Articuno dropped us. Then, 
we followed this trail north," she said, tracing her finger along one of the 
roads and stopping when it reached a crevasse. "And our battle with Articuno and 
the twerps took place...here!" 
"Dat's all well and good, but knowin' where we were den ain't gonna help us 
now!" Meowth argued. "Not unless we can remember what direction we got blasted 
off in!" 
I closed my eyes and thought for a few minutes, trying to recall the trajectory 
of our blast-off. "Let's see...we must've been blasted off at an angle, 
otherwise we would've just been sent back the way we came," I surmised. "And we 
didn't fall very far when we landed...not compared to how high we got blasted, 
anyway...so that must mean we're higher up the mountain." I opened my eyes again 
and looked at the eastern sky, which was getting brighter now. "And judging from 
the angle of the sun and how easy it is to see from here, I'd say we're 
somewhere on the southeastern side." Looking again at the map, I saw a flattish 
area on the southeastern slope of the mountain that was a little higher up than 
the ridge where we'd seen Articuno. "Here! We must be here!" 
Jessie and Meowth looked at the spot I was indicating, and the three of us 
surveyed the area again. The landmarks that we could see in the dim pink glow of 
morning matched those on the map, and if I'd recalled the details of our 
blast-off correctly, then the location matched as well. 
"Well, I'll be damned!" Meowth exclaimed. 
Jessie smiled at me. "Way to go, James! You're the best!" 
I smiled back at her and blushed. "Thank you. I agree." 
"Alright, alright! Save the flirtin' for later!" Meowth interjected. "Now dat we 
know where we are, what's the best way ta get outta here?" 
"Hmmm...there's no road that leads down to the place where we battled Articuno 
-- it looks like we got blasted over some uncrossable terrain," I replied after 
consulting the map again. "So, going back the way we came is pretty much out of 
the question...." 
"It figures," Meowth grumbled. 
"What are you complaining about, Meowth? We don't want to go back the way we 
came, anyway -- that'd take us back to the pokemon center!" Jessie told him. "If 
we went back there, Officer Jenny would probably arrest us for stealing her 
snowmobile!" 
Meowth frowned. "Ugh. Yer right. I forgot all about Officer Jenny." 
"Fortunately for us, it looks like there's another way down from here," I 
continued, pointing to another marking on the map. "This path winds around the 
eastern side of the mountain and ends up at the base on the northern side. It's 
a pretty long trek, but I think we can make it." 
Jessie looked back at the map and smiled again. "You're right, James! It's all 
downhill from here!" 
"Let's just hope it's as easy ta follow as it looks on the map," said Meowth. 
"Don't worry, Meowth. Compared to what we've already been through, this should 
be a piece of cake!" I assured him. 
"Amen to that!" Jessie agreed. 
"Den whadda we waitin' for? Let's hit the road!" Meowth cheered. 
My smile grew even wider as the three of us set out and found the trail that 
would lead us off of Snowtop Mountain. Things were finally starting to go our 
way. 
@->->- 
The first few hours of our hike were made without incident, but the deep, 
powdery snow and the weight of our gear was slowing us down. By the end of the 
morning, we'd only covered a few miles of ground. 
"Jeez, ya think the time we're makin' could be any worse?" Meowth complained. 
"Well, at least we know where we are and where we're going!" Jessie reproached 
him. "That's better than being lost and making good time!" 
I frowned as I looked over my shoulder and watched Meowth struggling to make it 
through a particularly deep drift of snow. He was trying his best to step where 
Jessie and I had stepped and packed the snow down, but his legs were a lot 
shorter than ours, and he was having trouble jumping from footprint to 
footprint. More often than not, he'd miss and end up getting stuck in an 
unpacked patch of snow. Quite frankly, I was surprised at how little he was 
complaining. 
"Jessie is right," I said as I lifted the cat out of the snow and placed him on 
my shoulders. "I'll take slow going over being lost any day. And even this isn't 
so bad -- it's still summer, so the weather probably isn't as severe as it could 
be. And it's not like the mountain itself is out to get us, like when the 
Fellowship of the Ring was trying to make it over Carahdras." 
Meowth gave me a quizzical look. The Lord of the Rings reference was obviously 
lost on him. 
Jessie, however, knew exactly what I was talking about. "You know, James, the 
way you're carrying Meowth reminds me of Aragorn carrying little Frodo on his 
shoulders," she said, giving me a playful nudge. 
I blushed and wrapped one of my arms around her waist. "I'm more fortunate than 
Aragorn, though -- Arwen stayed behind in Rivendell when he set out on his 
quest, but my beautiful evening star is right here by my side!" I told her. 
Jessie returned my embrace and rested her forehead against mine. "James, you 
flatterer!" she sighed dreamily. 
Just as our lips were about to meet, however, Meowth stuck his face between ours 
and broke us apart. "Look, I hate ta interrupt yer literary love-fest here, but 
we ain't got time for dis! In case ya haven't noticed, the day is almost 
half-over, and we still ain't nowhere near gettin' offa dis mountain!" 
Jessie facefaulted. "He has a point," she grumbled. 
My heart sank as she pulled herself from my embrace. I knew that Meowth was 
right, too, but I was disappointed that I hadn't gotten a kiss. 
Suddenly, however, Jessie leaned in again and planted a quick kiss on my lips. 
Then, she took my hand in her own and gave me a sly smile as we continued on our 
way. 
"You read my mind," I whispered. 
She winked at me. "Of course!" 
I winked back and gave her hand a gentle squeeze. 
@->->- 
The next hour of our trek was a relatively easy one. Now that Meowth was riding 
on my shoulders, Jessie and I didn't have to worry about him lagging behind, and 
we were making better time. And now that Jessie was by my side instead of behind 
me and the two of us were holding hands, my heart felt so warm that not even the 
iciest winds or the deepest snow could chill me. 
Unfortunately, our run of luck wasn't to last. 
Shortly after the sun reached its zenith, it became obscured by gray clouds 
gathering in the sky. And before long, the gray clouds started thickening and 
turning black. 
"Shit! Looks like another storm is comin'!" Meowth cursed. 
"That means we're going to have to dig in or find shelter until it blows over!" 
Jessie remarked. 
"Yeah," I agreed. "This is going to delay us for awhile, but I'd rather be 
delayed than take my chances in a blizzard." 
Meowth wrapped his arms around himself and began to shiver as the wind picked 
up. "No kiddin'." 
Jessie studied the face of the cliff for a moment. "I'm going to get Arbok to 
dig another cave for us," she said. 
"Good idea," I told her. 
"Hang on a minute, Jess. I don't think you'll hafta," Meowth said as she reached 
for her poke ball. 
"Why?" she asked. 
"Cuz I think I just found somethin' even better!" he replied, pointing down the 
trail. "Look!" 
Jessie and I shielded our eyes from the wind and looked to where Meowth was 
pointing. Sure enough, there was a cabin just a short distance ahead. It was a 
little off the trail, and we'd need to climb up a small ridge to get to it, but 
the cabin looked like it was in a secure location on the leeward side of the 
cliff. It would be the ideal place to ride out the storm, and getting back to 
the trail would be a simple matter once the weather was clear again. 
"You're right, Meowth!" Jessie exclaimed. "Who needs a dank, chilly cave when we 
can stay in a cozy cabin?!" 
"Good work, Meowth!" I said. 
With that, the three of us raced down the trail and up the ridge as quickly as 
we could. By the time we made it to the cabin, the wind was blowing harder than 
ever, and it was beginning to snow. 
"Whew! Looks like we made it just in time!" Jessie gasped as we stepped inside 
and shut the door behind us. 
Meowth jumped down from my shoulders and grinned at us. "And didja notice what 
kinda cabin dis is?" he asked. 
I looked around the room for a moment. The cabin was completely furnished with 
standard-issue Team Rocket equipment. "I think I can take a wild guess." 
Now Jessie was smiling, too. "A Team Rocket safe-house! This is even better!" 
"Yeah! And it looks like it's pretty well-maintained, too. We can probably stock 
up on provisions and radio for help while we're here," I remarked. 
"Good thinkin', Jimbo!" said Meowth. "Why risk our asses out dere when we can 
just hang out here and call Mondo ta come pick us up?" 
"Precisely," I replied. 
Jessie shrugged the backpack from her shoulders and peeled off her snowsuit. 
"That's a good idea. But first, I think we should take a break." 
"That's an even better idea!" I told her as I took off my own backpack and 
snowsuit. 
"How's your back feeling, James?" she asked, giving my shoulder a gentle 
squeeze. 
I smiled and closed my hand over hers. "Never better." 
She smiled back and planted a kiss on my cheek. "Glad to hear it. Now, why don't 
we have some lunch?" she suggested. 
Meowth nodded approvingly and flopped down on the couch. "Sounds like a plan ta 
Me-owth!" 
After giving me another kiss, Jessie pulled free from our embrace and headed for 
the bedroom. "Excuse me," she said. "I need to get freshened up." 
"And I'll get lunch started," I told her. 
As I went to the kitchen and began slicing bread for sandwiches, however, I 
suddenly heard Jessie calling for me. 
"James?! James, come here!! Quick!!!" she cried. 
I felt a twinge of panic when I heard her. There was no missing the sound of 
fear in her voice. Shit! What's going on?! I wondered as I dropped what I was 
doing and raced into the bedroom. Meowth, unsettled by Jessie's outburst as 
well, followed me. 
When the two of us reached the bedroom, we found Jessie staring at something in 
the corner. Following her gaze, we saw a large cage with an Articuno locked 
inside of it! 
The bird's legs were tied together with a leather strap, and its beak was being 
held shut in a similar fashion. Its wings were trussed to its body, making any 
kind of movement or attack impossible. 
"What...the...hell....?" Meowth stammered. 
"Somebody's already been here," Jessie remarked. 
"No shit," Meowth replied. "Somehow, I doubt Articuno locked itself in a cage 
and tied itself up like a Thanksgivin' turkey by choice. Not unless it's 
practicin' ta be the next Houdini, or somethin'...." 
"Oh, spare me your sarcasm!" she grumbled. "I'm just wondering why the people 
who did this aren't here now. Why did they leave Articuno behind?" 
"Yeah! It doesn't make any sense that they'd leave the cabin in weather like 
this, and it makes even less sense that they'd capture the bird and abandon it," 
I agreed. "What's going on here? And who'd do such a terrible thing, anyway? I 
know we wanted to capture Articuno, too, but not like this...." 
"Good questions," said Meowth. "Maybe Articuno can give us some answers." With 
that, he reached through the bars of the cage and cut the strap around 
Articuno's beak with his razor-sharp claws. 
As the strap fell away, Articuno began to screech and thrash about. 
Jessie cringed. "Oh, that poor thing!" 
A feeling of revulsion came over me as I listened to the bird's agonized 
screams. Whoever had captured it had been torturing it. The desperation of a 
caged animal that fears for its life is a feeling that I know all too well. I 
felt that way all the time around Jessiebelle...and I could see that same 
desperation and fear in Articuno's eyes. 
"Wh-what are we going to do, James?" Jessie queried. 
"We have to help it," I replied as I locked stares with the bird. "Capturing 
pokemon is one thing, but abusing them is something else entirely. I, for one, 
won't stand for this." 
Jessie nodded and took my hand in her own. She knew why this was such an 
important matter to me. 
As Jessie and I twined our fingers, we slowly approached the cage, and I held up 
my free hand to show that we meant no harm. "Please calm down, Articuno," I said 
softly. 
Articuno screeched again and started thrashing harder than ever. 
"Hey! Chill out, bird-brain!" Meowth snapped. "We're tryin' ta help ya!" 
When Meowth said this, Articuno stopped thrashing and glared at us. Then, it 
began to hiss. 
Meowth scowled and folded his arms across his chest. "Fine! Suit yerself!" he 
huffed. 
Jessie and I exchanged looks. "What's it saying, Meowth?" we asked in unison. 
"Articuno sez it don't believe us," came his reply. "It sez we attacked it and 
tried ta capture it after it saved our lives, so it ain't got no reason ta trust 
us." 
"Look, I know you probably hate us for what we did, and I can't say that I blame 
you," I told the bird. "But can't you forget about that for just a few minutes? 
Is staying here, locked in this cage and being tormented by whoever captured you 
really preferable to accepting our help?" 
Articuno hissed again. 
"Believe whatever ya want! Ain't no skin off our ass!" Meowth shot back. Then, 
turning to me and Jessie, "Come on, guys. It's obvious dat tryin' ta reason with 
dis big, blue blizzard-buzzard is an excersise in futility." 
"Why? What did it say?" I asked. 
"It said, Nice try, but ya can't fool me. I know youse guys are workin' tagedda 
with the woman who captured me -- ya got the same logo on yer uniforms! Well, I 
didn't tell her where it is, and I sure as hell ain't gonna tell you, so you can 
drop the nice-guy act! Do whatever ya want with me -- I know I'm gonna die, 
anyway!" he replied. 
Jessie's eyes widened. "A woman...from Team Rocket," she muttered. "Just like my 
nightmares...." 
"Articuno was in my nightmares, too," I told her. "There really is something to 
them, after all!" 
She nodded. "That means the agent who captured Articuno is bad news...for us and 
it." 
"And I have a pretty good idea who she is," I said. Then, to Articuno, "The 
woman who brought you here...what did she look like?" 
Articuno fixed me with an icy stare and hissed once more. 
"It sez, I know yer still tryin' ta play dumb, but I'll humor ya anyway. She was 
wearin' a black uniform with a big cap, and she had curly blonde hair and pale 
blue eyes. She was carryin' some kinda black flower, too. Sound familiar?" 
Meowth translated. 
Oh, that description sounded familiar, all right! If I had a hunch before, I was 
sure of it now! 
Jessie, Meowth, and I looked at each other. "Domino," we whispered. 
Now it all made sense -- the demon-faced Team Rocket agent with the black flower 
from Jessie's nightmare, the woman with the sausage-curls and evil eyes from 
mine. Domino was here...and we were in big trouble if she found us! 
But Articuno was in even more trouble. It wouldn't surprise me if Domino really 
did want to kill it...and something told me that if she found whatever it was 
that Articuno was hiding from her, that's exactly what she was going to do. 
Now more than ever, I was determined to do everything I could to rescue 
Articuno. I couldn't stand idly by and leave an innocent pokemon to torment and 
death. Jessie, Meowth, and I would be damned if we let Domino...or anybody else 
get away with an atrocity like that! 
Jessie looked back at the bird and frowned. "So, how are we going to do this?" 
she asked, getting back to the subject. "We can't help Articuno if it won't let 
us." 
"Well, first, we have to make Articuno realize that we're NOT working with 
Domino and that we don't have anything to do with whatever she's up to," I told 
her. 
"Or at the very least, make it realize dat we're the lesser of the two evils," 
Meowth added. 
Jessie nodded. "You're right. Why don't you try talking to it again, James?" she 
suggested. 
"Yeah. Yer more tactful den Jess," said Meowth. 
Jessie reached over and pulled one of the cat's whiskers. "Quiet, you!" 
I held up my hand and silenced the two of them before an argument could ensue. 
Then, I knealt at Articuno's side. The bird fixed me with a suspicious glare. 
"Articuno, please. Please listen to me," I implored. "You're not going to die. I 
promise you that. We're not going to let Domino hurt you anymore...." 
Articuno screeched. 
"Look, we already know ya still think we're fulla crap -- ya don't hafta repeat 
yerself!" Meowth retorted. "Just hear us out, will ya?!" 
Articuno gave him a nasty look and turned its attention back to me. 
"My friends and I may work for Team Rocket, but we don't believe in hurting 
pokemon...and we certainly don't believe in killing them," I continued. "That's 
what makes us different from the one who captured you...." 
Articuno shook its head and screeched again. 
"It sez, Ya just don't get it, do ya?!" Meowth translated. "You was tryin' ta 
capture me, too! No matter what yer intentions may have been, you'd of been just 
as responsible for hurtin' and killin' innocent pokemon as she's gonna be!" 
I covered my mouth with my hand as the realization struck me. At my side, I 
could hear Jessie and Meowth gasping. They understood, too. 
"Articuno...the thing you didn't want to tell us about...the thing you're trying 
to keep from Domino...it's a nest, isn't it?" I concluded. "You have eggs...or 
babies somewhere on this mountain. And that's why she captured you and left you 
here -- she's after your nest, and she doesn't want you getting in her way." 
After a moment of hesitation, Articuno nodded. 
"A-Articuno is a mom?!" Jessie stammered. "No wonder she's so angry at us for 
wanting to capture her -- she's just trying to protect her babies!" 
Meowth hung his head. "If...if we'd captured her, the nest woulda been 
abandoned, and all dose baby birdies woulda...." His voice trailed off for a 
moment, and he sniffled. "No! It's too horrible ta even think about!" 
Another wave of revulsion washed over me. Articuno is right -- if we'd captured 
her and taken her to the boss, we would've been taking her away from her nest! 
Even if we hadn't meant any harm, we still would've been responsible for killing 
her babies! "We...we're so sorry, Articuno. We didn't know," I muttered. 
Jessie closed her eyes and sighed. "I feel awful about this...." 
"Yeah. We woulda left ya alone if we knew you was a mommy-bird," said Meowth. 
Articuno looked up at us again, and her angry expression faded. "Cuuu?" 
Jessie and I turned to Meowth. 
"She's sayin' Ya really didn't know about my eggs, did ya? Ya really are tellin' 
the truth?" 
"Yes," I told her. "Jessie, Meowth, and I almost made a terrible mistake the 
other day, but if you give us a chance, we'd like to make up for it." 
"Articuno. I know how you must feel," Jessie said, her eyes filling with tears. 
"My momma gave her life for my sake. I know how painful it is...and that's 
exactly why I don't want the same thing to happen to you. Please. From a 
motherless child to a mother in danger of becoming childless...let me return the 
favor." 
When Jessie said this, I suddenly found myself thinking about the time we 
thought we were going to have a baby. I remember, when we found out that there 
was no baby, it hurt just as much as if we really had lost our child. It was one 
of the worst feelings in the world...a feeling that I'd never wish on anybody! 
"I know how you must feel, too," I whispered. "If Jessie and I had children, we 
wouldn't want anything bad to happen to them. Let us help you protect your 
children, the way we'd protect our own." 
Meowth nodded. "Dey mean it. And so does Me-owth. We're on yer side." 
As I looked into Articuno's eyes, I could sense that she believed us now. 
Tentatively, I extended my hand and placed it on her head. When she offered no 
protests, I began stroking her feathers. "Does this mean that you'll trust us?" 
I ventured. 
She nodded again. 
"Meowth, bring me the lock-picks from my backpack, please," I said. "And make it 
quick!" 
"Sure thing, Jimmy," he replied. 
"And I should get the first-aid kit from mine," Jessie remarked as she followed 
Meowth. "Articuno's going to need some patching-up." 
"Good idea," I told her. 
While I was waiting for the two of them, I continued stroking Articuno's head. 
Her feathers looked like shards of ice, and they were cold to the touch, but 
they were surprisingly soft, too. Even in her weakened condition, I was amazed 
at how beautiful and majestic she was. "Take it easy. You're going to be 
okay...and so are your eggs," I assured her. 
After a couple minutes, Meowth returned and handed me my lock-picks, and Jessie 
came back with her first-aid kit. 
"Thanks, Meowth," I said as I got to work. 
Even though Domino had put a heavy-duty lock on the cage, I was able to finnesse 
it in a matter of seconds. As the springs gave way and the lock clattered to the 
floor, the three of us pulled Articuno out of the cage and started untying her. 
"Hey. I'm sorry for callin' ya a big, blue blizzard-buzzard, Arti," Meowth told 
the bird as he cut the straps that bound her legs. "Wasn't nothin' personal." 
"Yeah. Meowth rips on everybody," Jessie chimed in as she helped me undo the 
cords around Articuno's wings and body. 
Once she was free, Articuno struggled to get back on her feet...and promptly 
crashed to the floor again. 
"Too stiff to move. How long have you been here, Articuno?" Jessie asked as she 
knealt by the bird's side and opened her first-aid kit. 
Articuno made a whimpering noise. 
"She sez it happened the day before yesterday, after dose twerps took her 
picture and left," said Meowth. "Arti was headin' back ta her nest when Domino 
showed up and aimed a black flower at her. Den, she passed out, and the next 
thing she knew, she was here." 
"Tranquilizers. No wonder Domino captured you so easily," Jessie sighed. 
"But why did she attack you before you got to your nest?" I queried. "If she's 
after your eggs, it would've made more sense to let you lead her to them, rather 
than just capturing you and trying to find them herself." 
Articuno gave me a sly look. "Cuuuuu." 
"Oh, sorry. We didn't mean ta interrupt," Meowth apologized. "Arti sez she could 
sense dat someone was followin' her, so she flew to a ledge far from her nest 
and perched dere ta fake the pursuer out. She planned on goin' back to the real 
nest once she'd fought off the enemy or once dey gave up and went away, but she 
wasn't countin' on Domino shootin' her with tranquilizers and knockin' her out. 
"When Articuno woke up, Domino was really pissed about bein' misled, and she 
demanded ta know where the real nest was. Arti wouldn't tell her though...even 
after bein' tortured, and dat just pissed her off even more...." 
Jessie frowned as she examined Articuno's wounds. "Damn. That woman gives Team 
Rocket agents a bad name!" 
An angry light sparked in the bird's red eyes, and she started hissing again. 
"What the?! Oh, my god! Whatta bitch!" Meowth gasped. 
Jessie raised an eyebrow. "What's she saying now?" 
"Articuno sez dat bein' locked up and beaten senseless wasn't the real torture 
-- what Domino threatened ta do once she finds the nest hurt worse den any 
physical punishment ever could!" he explained. 
I shuddered. "I'm almost afraid to know." 
"She sez Domino told her dat she'd find the nest sooner or later, and dat it 
don't matter ta her whether the eggs are dead or alive cuz dey'll be profitable 
either way," he told us. 
A nauseous feeling began to form in the pit of my stomach as I listened to 
Meowth translating Articuno's words. "That woman is sick...and I think I'm going 
to be, too!" I groaned. 
Jessie's face blanched. She looked like she wanted to throw up as well, but she 
quickly shook it off and returned to cleaning Articuno's wounds. "Jeezus. I knew 
Domino was depraved, but this is ridiculous! I wonder how the boss would react 
if he found out what she's up to...." 
"He wouldn't be too thrilled, that's for sure!" I replied. "Even he'd draw the 
line at this." 
Meowth nodded. "Yeah. Ol' Gio may be a hard-ass, but he ain't no murderer...and 
he ain't one ta condone shit like dat either." 
A sly smile made its way across Jessie's lips. "That means we won't get in 
trouble for stopping her...and the boss may even thank us for it!" 
"Yes, but we'd save Articuno and her babies anyway, even if it did put our jobs 
in jeopardy. We're not doing this for personal gain or career advancement -- 
we're doing it because it's the right thing to do," I reminded her. 
"I know that," she said. "I was just pointing out that the boss's approval is an 
added bonus." 
"The icin' on the cake!" Meowth chimed in. 
I smiled at the two of them and shook my head. "Team Rocket's opportunistic 
streak strikes again, huh?" I chuckled. 
Meowth grinned at me. "Dat's right!" 
As Jessie brought a bottle of healing potion from her first-aid kit, she placed 
a hand on Articuno's head. "Hold still. This is going to sting for a moment, but 
it'll make you feel better," she said softly. With that, she began spraying the 
potion onto Articuno's scrapes and cuts. 
The bird's body tensed, and she whimpered again as the potion came in contact 
with her open wounds. After a couple minutes, however, the wounds healed over, 
and she relaxed. When Jessie finished spraying her, Articuno slowly got back to 
her feet and stretched herself out. 
"Feeling better?" I asked. 
Articuno began to flap her wings. The gust she made nearly knocked the three of 
us off our feet. 
"I take it that's a yes!" I laughed. 
Jessie laughed too, but quickly became serious again. "In that case, we'd better 
get to the nest -- if Domino's already found it, then we'll need to track her 
down, and if she hasn't found it yet, then we'll need to be ready to protect it 
from her when she does show up!" 
"You're right, Jess -- we don't have a second to lose!" I agreed. 
Articuno nodded and left the bedroom. Jessie and I followed her and grabbed our 
poke balls. While the two of us were putting our snowsuits back on, Meowth 
cleared a runway and opened the door. Once we were ready, we climbed onto the 
bird's back. 
Articuno screeched as she spread her wings and prepared for takeoff. 
"She sez hang on tight, guys!" Meowth translated. "Cuz we're goin' for a ride!" 
@->->- 
After leaving the cabin, Articuno took to the sky and began making her way 
towards the summit of Snowtop Mountain. The icy wind was cutting through my 
snowsuit like a knife, and my face was getting blasted by snow, but the cold 
wasn't what was bothering me -- I was too busy worrying about Articuno's 
babies...and wondering just how prophetic our nightmares about Domino killing us 
would turn out to be. 
Suddenly, Articuno screeched again and derailed my train of thought. 
"What's she saying, Meowth?" Jessie asked. 
"Arti wants us ta tell her what we know about Domino," he replied. 
"Ah, the old know thy enemy strategy. Good thinking," Jessie remarked. "It sure 
would've helped us the first time we ran into her." 
"No doubt," I said. "The only reason she captured us is because we didn't know 
what a back-stabbing bitch she is!" 
"We first encountered Domino a few weeks ago at Purity Canyon," Jessie told her. 
"When we discovered that she was a fellow Rocket, we offered to help her, but 
she betrayed us." 
"She'd prolly slit her own momma's throat for a nickel," Meowth snorted. 
Articuno hissed. 
"Yeah. She's real charmin'," Meowth agreed. 
"I guess she thought we were a disgrace for not being as ruthless as she is, or 
she didn't want any other agents horning in on her assignment," Jessie 
continued. "Whatever it was, she tried to eliminate us by busting a hole in our 
balloon and dropping us in the canyon. And when she found me and James again, 
she took us prisoner...." 
"Jessie, I just thought of something!" I interjected. 
Jessie looked over her shoulder at me and raised an eyebrow. "What is it, 
James?" 
"Well, Domino's probably not even going to know who we are," I explained. 
"Mewtwo erased her memories after he sent her away from Purity Canyon, 
remember?" 
Meowth grinned. "Yer right, Jimmy! If she don't remember nothin' about dat 
mission, she ain't gonna remember nothin' about us, either! Dat gives us the 
advantage dis time!" 
"But it also complicates things," said Jessie. "If we say or do anything to jog 
her memory about what happened at Purity Canyon, Mewtwo and the clones will be 
in danger again!" 
A feeling of uneasiness came over me when she said this. Jessie has a point. 
What if seeing us again makes Domino remember? Is betraying Mewtwo the price 
we're going to pay for saving Articuno? Shit! Why do things like this always 
have to be so complicated? 
"So, whadda we do now?" Meowth asked. 
"We're still going to help Articuno. That's a given," I replied. "But we need to 
be careful about what we say and do in front of Domino. That means we can't let 
on that we already know who she is -- it'd be too suspicious." 
"Yeah. And we can't let on that we're from Team Rocket, either. If this becomes 
an internal affair, it's bound to arouse suspicion...not just with her, but the 
boss, too. I guess that means we can't let him know about what she's doing, 
after all," Jessie added. 
Meowth smirked. "And don't forget the most important part of all -- ixnay on the 
ottomay! If anythin's gonna jog her memory, it'll be youse two spoutin' off yer 
motto!" 
"Urgh! He's right," Jessie grumbled. "But it won't be any fun if we can't say 
our motto!" 
"Then let's say it now," I suggested. 
Jessie smiled again and nodded. "She should prepare for trouble -- what she's 
doing isn't nice!" 
"And her trouble will be double when we put her on ice!" I chimed in. 
"To protect the world from devastation!" 
"To unite all peoples within our nation!" 
"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!" 
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" 
"Me-owth! Dat's right!" 
Once our motto had been recited, the three of us huddled together to protect 
ourselves from the cold and prepare for the coming battle. It wasn't going to be 
easy, and the visions from our nightmares were still gnawing away at the back of 
my mind, but in my heart, I was confident that everything was going to be okay. 
@->->- 
When Articuno reached the summit of the mountain, she made a sharp turn and 
plunged into a deep ravine. After a couple minutes of steady descent, her flight 
levelled off again. She hissed softly and slowed her pace as she made her way 
along the side of the cliff. 
"Arti sez we're gettin' really close," Meowth whispered. "So, she don't want us 
makin' no loud noises or sudden movements." 
"Good thinking," I whispered back. "If Domino is spying, then we don't want to 
get her attention and lead her to the nest...and if she's already there, then 
taking her by surprise is our best bet." 
"Speaking of which, we should be on the lookout for her," Jessie remarked, 
bringing out her binoculars. 
I nodded and brought out my own binoculars. As I scanned the area, however, all 
I could see was bare rock, faintly visible through the raging snows. 
Suddenly, Jessie nudged me with her elbow. "There!" she whispered. 
I trained my binoculars on the place where she was pointing, and I was able to 
perceive a rope trailing down the wall of the ravine. At the bottom of the rope 
was a wide ledge, where a concave area of the cliff housed a large nest. A woman 
in a black Team Rocket uniform was hunched over the nest, removing the eggs and 
shoving them into a large sack. 
"Dammit! We're too late!" Meowth hissed. 
Jessie smirked and waggled her finger at him. "Domino may have beaten us here, 
but she hasn't escaped yet, Meowth...and she's not going to!" 
"Yeah, but Articuno can't attack her while she's holdin' the eggs -- dey'll get 
scrambled!" Meowth protested. 
"And that's precisely why we're here," I reminded him. "Articuno may not be able 
to fight Domino without endangering the eggs...but we can!" 
"Articuno, can you fly closer to the side of the cliff?" Jessie asked. "We need 
to cut that rope and get rid of her escape route." 
Articuno nodded and veered to the left. Once she was close enough, she grabbed 
the rope in her talons and severed it. Now that Domino had nowhere to run, the 
odds were more in our favor...but at the same time, we'd just destroyed the 
element of surprise. 
As the rope went slack and fell, Domino looked up and saw us. Her face contorted 
in anger, and even though we weren't yet close enough to make out what she was 
saying, it sounded like she was shouting obscenities at us. 
"Heh. Looks like we just pissed her off," said Meowth. 
"Gee, you think?" Jessie asked sarcastically. 
I looked down at Domino again and saw that she was pulling a black tulip from 
the folds of her skirt. "She's going to shoot!" I cried. 
Articuno veered away from the cliff and screeched. 
"She sez hang on tight!" Meowth translated. 
Jessie and I nodded, and the three of us braced ourselves for evasive maneuvers. 

As Domino took aim, everything around us became a blur, and we were knocked 
backwards by a gust of wind. If we hadn't been prepared for Articuno's Agility, 
the force probably would've torn us right off her back! 
Once we were out of range, Articuno turned herself around and began heading back 
towards the eyrie. 
"You're going to have to fly lower so that we can jump down to the ledge!" 
Jessie told her. Then, to me and Meowth, "You guys get those eggs away from 
Domino and find a safe place for them!" 
"And whadda you gonna do, Jessie?" Meowth queried. 
Jessie smirked and fingered her poke balls. "I'll keep her busy." 
"Good idea, Jess!" I said. "If we can take the eggs out of the equation and 
distract Domino long enough, then Articuno will be able to remove her from the 
nest!" 
"Precisely!" 
After bracing ourselves again, Articuno used her Agility a second time and 
swooped down towards the nest. As she passed over the ledge, she slowed her pace 
for a moment, giving us enough time to jump from her back. Once we landed, she 
darted back out of range, missing another barrage of darts from Domino's tulip. 
Articuno was safe for now...but for me, Jessie, and Meowth, the battle was just 
beginning. 
Domino screamed in frustration as she watched Articuno flying away. Then, she 
cast an angry look at the three of us. "Like, who the hell are YOU?!" she 
demanded. 
"We could ask you the very same thing," I replied, thankful that our Team Rocket 
uniforms were covered by the snowsuits we were wearing. 
Domino aimed her tulip at us. "You idiots have no idea who you're dealing with, 
do you?" she sneered. 
"No, I'm afraid we don't," Jessie said innocently. "I suppose you're going to 
enlighten us?" 
She grinned. "You don't need to know my real name. All you need to know is that 
you're going to have the honor of being destroyed by the Black Tulip -- the 
leader of Team Rocket's Special Forces!" 
"Well, hello Miss Fancy-Pants!" Jessie snickered. 
Domino stuck her tulip in Jessie's face. "You're awfully smug for somebody who's 
about to get their ass kicked!" she growled. 
Seeing the way my Jessie was being treated made my blood boil, but I forced 
myself to remain calm. I have to keep my temper in check and not draw attention, 
I reminded myself. Jessie said she'd deal with Domino herself. But still.... 
Fortunately, I didn't have to do anything to defend Jessie -- she just rolled 
her eyes and slapped the tulip from Domino's hand. "Get that thing out of my 
face," she said cooly. 
"Oh, bogus!" Domino cried as the tulip skidded away and fell from the ledge. 
Luckily for us, Domino's shock at losing her weapon gave us us a few seconds' 
purchase...and we took advantage of it. While she was busy watching her tulip 
plummet to the bottom of the ravine, I grabbed the sack of eggs and took my 
place behind Jessie again. Then, Jessie took one of the poke balls from her belt 
and handed it to me. 
"Get Arbok to tunnel into the cliff. The eggs should be safe from the battle 
that way," she whispered. 
"Good thinking," I whispered back, handing her one of my own poke balls. "And 
you can use Weezing to battle her." 
Jessie nodded and gave me a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thanks!" 
Once Jessie and I had swapped poke balls, Domino turned to face us again. "Who 
ARE you people?!" she shouted. 
"You don't need to know our names. All you need to know is that poached eggs 
aren't on the menu today," came Jessie's reply. 
When Domino noticed that we'd taken back the eggs while she wasn't looking, she 
became even angrier than she already was. "You are so going to pay for this!" 
she hissed. "Nobody messes with Team Rocket's Special Forces and 
lives...especially not a bunch of lame-os like you! I'm taking those eggs back, 
and then you three are taking a fall!" 
Jessie chuckled and brought out a poke ball. "You want these eggs? You'll have 
to get through me first." 
"A pokemon battle?" Domino asked, bringing out one of her own poke balls. "Why 
not? I'll enjoy, like, totally humiliating you before you die!" 
"Bring it on," Jessie snorted. 
Domino scowled and threw her poke ball. "Fine. You asked for it. Like, go, 
Murkrow!" 
"Oh, boy. The snow isn't the only thing around here that's flaky," I muttered to 
Meowth as the two of us backed away from the battle. 
"Ya took the words right outta my mouth, Jimmy," Meowth muttered back. 
As Domino's Murkrow emerged, Jessie prepared to throw Weezing's poke ball. 
Before she could release him, however, the poke ball on her belt began to glow, 
and Wobbuffet popped out. 
"What do you think you're doing?!" Jessie demanded. "I didn't choose you!" 
Wobbuffet said nothing, just smiled at Jessie and saluted her. 
Domino laughed. "Is that the best you can do?! A pitiful little Wobbuffet that 
does whatever it wants?! This is almost too easy!" 
Jessie clenched her fists, and that vein on her forehead popped out again, but 
she quickly regained her composure. "I wouldn't write us off just yet, if I were 
you -- my little Wobbuffet's not as wobbly as he looks," she retorted. 
Wobbuffet saluted Jessie again and assumed a fighting stance. Ya got that right! 
he said. 
As Domino continued to talk trash, and Jessie continued to make comebacks, 
Meowth and I exchanged looks. 
"She seems pretty distracted ta me," Meowth remarked. "Whadda you think?" 
I nodded. "Yeah. Now's our chance." With that, I called out Arbok. 
"Chaaa?" the snake hissed when she saw me. 
"Arbok, Meowth and I need you to dig a tunnel," I told her. "Nothing big or 
fancy -- just a little crawl-space where we can hide Articuno's eggs and keep 
Domino from reaching them. Can you do that for us, please?" 
Arbok nodded and started burrowing into the face of the cliff. 
While Arbok was digging, Meowth and I turned our attention back to the battle to 
see how Jessie was faring. It didn't look like Wobbuffet had taken any damage, 
but Domino's Murkrow looked like it had more than a few of its own attacks 
turned back on it by Wobbuffet's Counter...and that was making Domino even more 
frustrated than she already was. 
"What is your main malfunction?!" Domino screamed. "Are you, like, afraid to 
attack, or something?! Why don't you fight me, you wimp?!" 
I felt a drop of sweat forming on my temple. "Jeez, for an Elite agent, she sure 
doesn't know very much about pokemon," I commented. "How a ditz like her got 
that position is beyond me...." 
"Back-stabbin'? Bribery? Another b-word comes ta mind, too...." Meowth replied. 
"The scary thing is, you're probably right," I told him. 
Domino screwed up her face and stomped her foot. "Well, fine! If you won't 
attack me with that blue blob, then I'll make it so you can't retreat, either! 
Murkrow! Use your Mean Look!" 
"Krow! Mur-krow!" the bird squawked. Its eyes began to glow with an angry red 
light as it trained its sights on Wobbuffet. 
Jessie raised an eyebrow. "Wobbuffet, use your Mirror Coat," she said calmly. 
Wobbuffet saluted again, and his body began to shimmer with an iridescent light. 
As Murkrow executed its Mean Look, the effects bounced harmlessly off of 
Wobbuffet and got sent back the way they came. 
"What the?! What just happened?!" Domino cried as Murkrow began to reel about. 
"Now you're the one who can't retreat...and now it's time to finish this 
battle!" Jessie chuckled. With that, she called Wobbuffet back into his poke 
ball and released Weezing. 
Domino tossed one of her blonde curls and smirked. "It's about time! Murkrow, 
use your Peck attack!" 
"Weezing! Fight back with a Tackle!" Jessie commanded. 
"This should be interesting," I remarked. 
"Yeah!" Meowth agreed. "Yer Weezing is a tank! Dat little pecker don't stand a 
chance against him!" 
"Indeed," I snickered. 
Murkrow darted in and skewered Weezing with its beak, but my pokemon was 
unharmed. He just shook it off and retaliated by slamming into it. 
"Now hit it with your Sludge attack!" Jessie shouted. 
"Wee-zing, weez!" he replied. 
As I watched Murkrow get blasted by a river of toxic sludge, Arbok emerged from 
the hole she'd dug and returned to my side. 
"Good work, Arbok!" I said, giving the cobra a pat on the head. Then, to Meowth, 
"Come on! Let's hide those eggs!" 
Meowth studied the hole for a moment. "Dis is a pretty narrow passage -- I'll 
hafta be the one ta carry the eggs in dere." 
"That was the plan -- we didn't want the tunnel to be big enough for a human to 
fit into," I told him. "Now hurry up and get those eggs inside! Arbok and I will 
cover you!" 
Meowth nodded and picked up the sack. As he tried to carry it through the 
entrance, however, it got stuck. "Dammit! The tunnel ain't wide enough!" he 
hissed. 
I opened the sack and looked inside. The eggs were about the size of 
basketballs, and there were three of them. No wonder Meowth couldn't fit these 
things through the passage all at once -- they're huge! I said to myself. Then, 
taking one of the eggs and handing it to him, "You'll just have to carry them in 
one by one!" 
"Dis woulda been so much easier if Arbok had just made the damn hole a little 
wider," he grumbled as he took the egg from me and disappeared into the passage. 

Arbok stuck her head into the tunnel's entrance and hissed at him. 
"Don't listen to him, Arbok -- you did fine," I assured her. "He's just worried 
because it's more than our jobs at stake this time...." 
When Meowth returned a few minutes later, he gave me a thumbs-up. "Dey'll 
definitely be safe down dere," he informed us. "Ain't no way in hell Domino can 
reach 'em herself, and dat Murkrow a hers won't be able ta negotiate the tunnel, 
either." 
"Good," I said as I handed him a second egg. 
Once he'd disappeared into the tunnel again, I took the last egg from the sack 
and cradled it in my arms. The shell was a beautiful shade of ice blue, and it 
felt as smooth and delicate as china. "Don't worry, baby bird," I whispered. 
"You're going to be okay -- my friends and I will make sure that nothing bad 
happens to you or your mom." 
When I said this, I felt a small vibration on the other side of the egg's shell. 
Had the baby heard me?! Was the egg getting ready to hatch?! Whatever it was, 
there was a new life inside of that egg, and I knew that I had to do everything 
I could to protect it. 
As I held the egg in my arms and continued to whisper comforting words to it, I 
suddenly heard the sounds of battle again, and I was torn from my reverie. 
Jessie looked over her shoulder at me and winked. Then, she turned her attention 
back to Domino. "Okay, Weezing, let's finish it off! Use your Thunder attack!" 
I couldn't help but smile. Last summer, we'd crossed paths with a man who'd been 
good friends with Jessie's mother. After Miyamoto's fateful mission, Dr. 
Nakamura had been entrusted with those of her personal effects that the rescue 
party had managed to recover, and he, in turn, had given them to Jessie. Among 
those items were four TMs -- Thunder, Dragon Rage, Mega Drain, and Hyper Beam. 
Jessie had given the Thunder and Dragon Rage TMs to me, and I'd used them to 
teach the attacks to Weezing and Growly. I'd rarely had cause for Weezing to use 
his Thunder attack since teaching it to him (though I must admit that I've 
fantasized about getting him to electrocute the twerp on more than one 
occasion), but it was definitely going to come in handy now! 
As Murkrow dive-bombed and prepared for another Peck attack, Weezing's body 
began to crackle with electricity. Once the bird was close enough, he sent forth 
a bolt of lightning and fried it. 
"Murkrow, NO!!!" Domino screamed as her pokemon fell to the ground, unconscious. 

"This battle is over," Jessie announced. "You're not going to bother Articuno or 
her babies anymore...." 
"As if!" Domino shot back as she recalled her fallen Murkrow. Then, she took out 
another poke ball and tossed it to the ground. "Oh, Sneasel! It's lunchtime!" 
"A Sneasel, huh?" Jessie said as the black, weasel-like pokemon emerged from the 
ball. "Fine. We'll just have to beat that one, too." 
"That's what you think!" she laughed. "Sneasel, see that cave? There's eggs in 
there...and they're, like, all yours! Go get 'em!" 
I gasped as Sneasel began making a mad dash for the tunnel's entrance. "Stop 
that thing, Arbok!" I commanded. 
"You too, Weezing!" Jessie cried. 
Arbok positioned herself in front of the tunnel as Weezing chased after the 
Sneasel. 
Domino laughed again. "Sneasel! Like, use your Agility!" 
As Arbok and Weezing prepared to attack, Sneasel quickened its pace and became a 
black blur. It darted past Arbok and into the tunnel, and she and Weezing 
crashed headlong into each other. 
Shit! That thing is fast! I said to myself as I knealt at the cave's entrance 
and peered into the darkness below. I just hope Meowth can fight it off.... 
That was when I got an idea. 
"Look out, Meowth! Domino has a Sneasel, and it's coming for the eggs!" I 
shouted into the cave. Then, I returned to Arbok and Weezing's side and roused 
them. "Get in there, Arbok! If you and Meowth can catch that thing in a pincer 
attack, you can defeat it...and Meowth's going to need reinforcements anyway!" 
Arbok nodded and followed Sneasel. Once she'd vanished into the darkness, 
Weezing and I turned our attention back to Jessie and Domino. 
"What the hell do you think you're doing?!" Jessie demanded. "The eggs aren't 
any use to you if your Sneasel eats them! How stupid are you?!" 
"Ugh. Don't you get it? The eggs totally don't matter anymore!" Domino replied. 
"If I can't have them, then, like, neither can you!" 
Jessie's eyes widened. "You're insane!" 
"And you're a murderer," said Domino. "I would've been perfectly happy to take 
the eggs and sell them, but nooo! You goody-goodies had to show up and ruin 
everything! Now they're going to die...all because of you...." 
"Bullshit!" Jessie snapped. "Taking the eggs away from the nest would've killed 
them anyway, and you know it!" 
Domino shrugged. "You've obviously mistaken me for somebody who, like, cares." 
As I watched the confrontation, I knew that things were about to get even uglier 
than they already were. I couldn't just stand idly by and leave this to Jessie 
anymore -- she was going to need all the help she could get to deal with this 
madwoman! 
Before I could get back to my feet and come to Jessie's aid, however, I felt 
another vibration coming from the egg I was holding. When I looked, I saw that 
there was a crack in the shell...a crack that was growing steadily larger with 
every passing second! 
We have to hurry! I said to myself. If this one is hatching, then the others are 
going to be hatching soon, too...if that Sneasel hasn't gotten them, that is! 
After a few seconds, the crack started branching off, and the whole eggshell 
began to crumble. I brushed the broken pieces of eggshell away, revealing a tiny 
baby bird that was kicking his feet and flapping his wings to get free. He 
looked kind of strange with his eyes still closed and his feathers wet with 
amniotic fluid, but I could tell that he was going to be soft, downy, and 
adorable once he was dry. 
A strange feeling came over me as I stared down at that little bird. I'd just 
witnessed the birth of a pokemon, and now I was holding a new life in my hands! 
It was the most amazing feeling in the world -- a feeling of wonder and joy! I 
remembered feeling like this when I thought Jessie was pregnant...and I knew 
that I was going to feel this way again when we really did have children. 
As I lifted the baby bird from the remains of the eggshell, he slowly opened his 
eyes and looked up at me. "Hey there, little guy!" I whispered. "How are you 
doing?" 
The baby made a tiny cheeping noise and began flapping his wings again. Then, he 
reached up and grabbed a wisp of my hair in his beak. 
"No, that's not food," I chuckled, gently pulling him away from my hair. 
The baby cheeped again and held his beak open. 
"I know you're hungry, but you'll have to wait a minute -- you picked a really 
bad time to hatch, kid!" I told him. 
Seeming to understand the gravity of the situation, the baby fell silent and 
cuddled into me. 
Looking up at Jessie and Domino, I saw that they were still arguing with each 
other. Suddenly, however, Domino started throwing punches! Fortunately, Jessie 
was prepared for a physical confrontation, and she was able to block every 
punch. Then, she started punching back! 
I felt kind of useless, just sitting there and watching the two of them duke it 
out -- I wanted to be at Jessie's side, protecting her from this lunatic...or in 
the tunnel, helping Meowth and Arbok fight that Sneasel. But as I looked back at 
the baby bird in my arms, I was reminded that we each had a part to play in 
saving Articuno's nest...and right now, my part was to protect this baby. If I 
got involved in either of the fights, I'd only be putting him in danger. Still, 
I wished that there were something more I could do.... 
Suddenly, my train of thought was derailed by the sound of screaming. Looking 
back at the battle, I saw that Domino was holding Jessie by the hair and forcing 
her to lean over the edge of the cliff...and she was going to push her if I 
didn't do something! 
I had no choice but to get involved now. 
Placing the baby bird next to Weezing, I sprang to my feet and charged towards 
Domino as quickly as I could. 
But I was too late. 
I felt like I was in one of those nightmares where you can't run, no matter how 
hard you try...like I was going in slow motion while everything around me 
proceeded at a normal speed. As I reached out to grab Jessie and pull her to 
safety, Domino released her hair and delivered a swift kick to the small of her 
back. I took a flying leap and tried desperately to grab onto Jessie as she 
began to fall, and she reached out to me, but our fingers only brushed together 
for a fraction of a second before she slipped from my grasp. There was nothing I 
could do but watch helplessly as she plummeted to her doom, vanishing into the 
swirling miasma of ice and snow that whipped through the canyon. 
Her nightmares about being killed by Domino had come true, after all. 
It took a moment for everything to register with me, but once the shock wore 
off, I felt myself overwhelmed by the most intense pain imaginable. Jessie was 
dead. My best friend...my lover...my soul-mate -- she was gone forever. All our 
dreams of getting married, having children, and living happily ever after had 
just been destroyed. Our white tomorrow could never happen now -- my existence 
was meaningless without her. 
"No...no...." I whispered as I felt tears stinging my eyes. 
Behind me, I could hear Domino chuckling. "Well, there's one little nuisance 
taken care of. Now it's your turn, pretty-boy!" 
I turned and saw her standing over me with a wicked grin on her lips. I was 
already halfway over the edge of the cliff -- one more kick would be all she 
needed to do me in as well. 
But I wasn't going to let her get away with it. 
As I stared into Domino's demonic blue eyes, I felt a new emotion welling up 
inside of me -- rage. Pure, blind, visceral rage. Meowth had once told me that 
when he was battling the Scyther who'd chopped off Jessie's hair, he'd turned 
off his humanity for awhile. During that battle, he'd been driven by animal 
instincts alone -- kill or be killed had been the only rule. The Hunter, he'd 
called it...that compassionless, instinctive side that every living thing has, 
no matter how hard they try to subdue it. And at that moment, that was exactly 
how I felt. I didn't feel like a human anymore -- all sense of gentlemanliness 
and compassion had gone out the window. All I knew was that my Jessie had been 
killed and that I'd never forgive myself if I didn't make the one who'd killed 
her suffer. I was no longer James -- I was the Hunter, and I would have my 
revenge. 
Domino laughed again as she raised her foot and prepared to kick me over the 
edge. Quickly, I turned myself around and grabbed her other leg, yanking it out 
from under her. As she fell to the ground, I grabbed her by the throat and 
hauled her up again. Then, I balled my free hand into a fist and drove it into 
her face. 
(If I'd been myself at the time, I probably would've thought twice before doing 
something like that. Hitting women, no matter what the circumstances, went 
against everything that I believed...everything that I'd ever been taught. But 
as I look back and tell you this tale, I can honestly say that I have no regrets 
about it. This was no shrinking violet...no lady -- she was a monster...an evil, 
murderous monster, and I wanted to hurt her. Even if it was in violation of my 
code to strike her, she had it coming -- if there's one thing that life with 
Jessie and Meowth had taught me, it's that sometimes you have to break the 
rules.) 
A strange euphoria came over me as I drew my fist away and saw blood dripping 
from Domino's nose. I had, indeed, hurt her...and I wanted to do it again. And 
do it again I did -- the world around me went blurry from the tears that clouded 
my vision, and I seemed to put myself on auto-pilot as my fist connected with 
her face a second time...and then a third...and a fourth.... 
I was vaguely aware of her fingernails cutting through her gloves and three 
layers of my clothing and digging into the flesh of my forearms, and I could 
feel her kicking me in the legs and stomach with the force of a raging Tauros as 
well, but it wasn't fazing me. The most extreme physical torment was nothing 
compared to the pain and anguish I felt in my heart. 
As I tightened my stranglehold on Domino's throat and continued to punch her, I 
suddenly found myself thinking about Jessiebelle, and Butch and Cassidy, and 
even the twerps. I wasn't just fighting Domino now -- I was fighting them, too. 
I was fighting everybody that I hated...everybody that had ever caused me and 
Jessie pain. And it felt good. 
Then, as suddenly as my rage had come on, I felt it subsiding. I'd become aware 
of another presence...a presence that drove all of the anger and despair from my 
soul. Looking beyond Domino, I saw what it was -- Articuno was slowly rising 
from the depths of the ravine...and Jessie was sitting on her back! It took a 
moment for me to convince myself that I wasn't just hallucinating, but when I 
realized that Jessie really was okay, my tears of sorrow became tears of joy. 
Oh, Jess! Thank goodness! I said to myself. 
Jessie gave me a thumbs-up and winked. Then, she signalled for me to get out of 
the way. 
Knowing what she had planned, I released my hold on Domino and raced back to 
where Weezing and the baby bird were. I scooped the baby into my arms once more, 
and Weezing and I ducked for cover. 
As Domino reeled about and tried to get her bearings again, she turned and saw 
Articuno hovering behind her. 
And then, Jessie gave the command. 
"Articuno! Hit her with your Ice Beam!" she shouted. 
"Oh, shit!" I heard Domino scream. 
As she wheeled around and tried to run, Articuno opened her beak, and the inside 
of her mouth began to glow with a pale blue light. Then, the bird unleashed a 
ray of ice. When it connected with Domino, the world around us seemed to explode 
in a blinding flash of white light. 
Once the air had cleared and I ventured to look again, I saw Jessie patting 
Articuno's head and congratulating her. A few feet away stood our nemesis, 
encased in a pillar of ice. Now that it was safe, Articuno landed on the ledge 
once again, and Jessie jumped from her back. 
Shifting the baby bird to my right arm, I raced to Articuno's side and caught 
Jessie in an embrace with my left before she touched the ground. I pressed her 
to me and buried my face in her mane of crimson hair as I continued to cry. 
"James...oh, sweetie...." she whispered, returning my embrace. 
For several minutes, all I could do was cry. The sorrow and anguish of thinking 
that I'd lost Jessie forever, the anger and hatred I'd felt for the woman who'd 
almost been responsible for killing her, and the joy and relief of knowing that 
Jessie was now safe in my arms -- I was too overwhelmed by my feelings to even 
speak. 
Knowing why I was so upset, Jessie tightened her hold on me and ran her fingers 
through my hair. "For a moment there, I thought I was going to die. I remember 
going numb while I was falling and thinking that my nightmare had come true, 
after all. But lucky for me, Articuno had been watching everything from a safe 
distance, and when she saw me go over the edge, she used her Agility again and 
caught me," she explained. 
Once I'd regained a degree of composure, I gazed into her sapphire eyes and 
sniffled. "I thought you were dead, too," I told her. "I didn't know what I was 
going to do without you. And I...I...." 
"You were pissed!" Jessie chuckled. "I saw you using Domino for a punching bag!" 

I felt my face turning red. "I...guess I did go kind of ballistic," I admitted. 
Jessie blushed, too. "I'm flattered," she said. "I know how much you hate using 
violence...especially against women. It means a lot to me that you did something 
like that for my sake." 
I held Jessie closer and rested my forehead against hers. "Jessica, you're the 
most important thing in the world to me. I'd do anything for you. Just don't 
ever scare me like that again!" 
Jessie brushed my tears away and planted a kiss on my lips. "I won't...not if I 
can help it, anyway," she promised. 
The two of us gazed into each other's eyes for a moment, knowing that everything 
was going to be okay now. Then, our lips met again. 
After our kiss, Jessie rested her head on my shoulder. That's when she noticed 
the Articuno chick in my other arm. "And who's this?" 
I smiled and tousled the baby's fuzzy-soft feathers. "This little guy decided to 
hatch while I was holding him," I replied. "Cute, isn't he?" 
The baby cheeped happily and flapped his tiny wings again. My smile grew even 
wider as I looked up at Articuno. "You did a good job, mommy-bird," I told her. 
"Your babies are going to be beautiful." 
Articuno bowed her head, as if to agree. 
"Oh, no!" Jessie gasped. "That reminds me, what happened to the other eggs?!" 
Panic seized me again when she said this. "I...I warned Meowth about the Sneasel 
and sent Arbok in after it, but...." 
At that moment, a loud crashing noise echoed up from the tunnel, followed by an 
unconscious Sneasel flying out the entrance and landing next to its frozen 
master. Then, Arbok and Meowth emerged, each carrying one of Articuno's eggs. 
Jessie and I breathed a sigh of relief. 
"I guess that answers our question," Jessie remarked. 
Meowth grinned and made a vee-sign with his paw. "Problem solved!" he said. "And 
just in the nick a time, too -- dese things are vibratin' like ya wouldn't 
believe!" 
Once he and Arbok had placed the eggs back in the nest, Articuno walked over and 
seated herself on them. Then, I took the chick that had already hatched and 
placed him at his mother's side. 
"There you go. You're safe with mommy now," I told him. 
The baby cheeped again as Articuno nuzzled him and tucked him under her wing. 
After a couple minutes, more cheeping sounds could be heard. Then, two more baby 
birds wriggled out from under her. 
Meowth smiled up at Articuno. "Congratulations, mommy! Ya got two little boys 
and a little girl...and dey're all as cute as a button!" 
Jessie's eyes became starry. "Awwww! They sure are!" she agreed. "I'm so glad we 
got the chance to witness this -- I've never seen anything more amazing!" 
 
"See, Jess. Getting stranded up here turned out to be a good thing, after all!" 
I replied. "Somebody needed to rescue Articuno and help her save the babies from 
Domino...and I'm glad that somebody was us!" 
"Speakin' a which," Meowth said, looking back at our frozen adversary, "whadda 
we supposed ta do with the ice princess, here?" 
Jessie grinned. "I'd tell her to chill out...but it looks like she already has!" 
she chuckled. 
"Yeah! That Ice Beam was one cool attack!" I agreed. 
"Hey, you was right, Jimmy!" Meowth exclaimed. "We really did put the bitch on 
ice!" 
When the cat said this, Wobbuffet came out of his poke ball and grimaced. Ugh. 
Those puns really left me cold! he said. 
Meowth snickered. "Here's one you'll like, Wobbu!" 
And what's that? Wobbuffet queried. 
"Poached eggs may not be on the menu, but we do have a special on frosted 
flakes!" he replied. 
Jessie buried her face in her hands and shook her head. "Ugh! Horrid!" 
"Meowth, that was bad, even for you!" I groaned. 
Wobbuffet smiled. What are you guys talking about? I think it was GRRRRRRRREAT! 
"Oh, don't you start now!" Jessie snapped, calling him back into his poke ball. 
"Yeah. I think we've more than fulfilled our one-liner quota for the day," I 
agreed. 
As the three of us began to laugh, we were interrupted by the sound of Articuno 
chirping, and then, I suddenly felt something brushing against my leg. When I 
looked, I saw that the chick who'd hatched in my arms had gotten out of the nest 
and returned to my side. 
"What are you doing?" I asked. 
The baby nuzzled against me and cheeped. 
I picked him up again and put him back in the nest with the other babies. "No," 
I said firmly. "This is your mommy and your brother and sister. This is where 
you belong." 
As soon as I set him down, the baby jumped right back into my arms. His cheeping 
had a sad sound to it, almost as if he didn't want to leave me. 
"Dat kid's really attatched to ya, James," said Meowth. "He's callin' you 
mommy!" 
A drop of cold sweat formed on my temple as I realized what was going on. 
"Well, James was the first thing the baby saw when he hatched...." Jessie began. 

"....Which means that he imprinted on me!" I said, finishing the thought for 
her. 
"Well, what do we do now?" Jessie asked. 
"I don't know," I replied as I looked back at Articuno. "Normally, I'd just look 
at it as a chance to capture a new pokemon...but I don't feel right about taking 
a newborn baby away from its mother...." 
Articuno chirped again as she cast a sad look at her chick...and then at me. 
Meowth sniffled. "She sez ya shouldn't feel bad about takin' him away from his 
mommy...cuz ya are his mommy as far as he's concerned! If ya leave him here, he 
won't stay in the nest cuz he don't recognize Arti as his mom...which means dat 
he prolly won't survive for long!" 
"Does this mean you want him to stay with me?" I ventured. 
After a moment of hesitation, Articuno nodded and made a whimpering sound. 
"She...she sez it hurts ta give up one a her babies like dis, but she knows it's 
for the best," Meowth translated. "Since he sees ya as his parent, stayin' with 
you is his best chance a survival. She's gonna miss him, but she knows we'll 
take good care a him." 
I felt tears stinging my eyes. "I'm sorry, Articuno," I muttered. "We were only 
trying to save your family, but it looks like we messed it up anyway...." 
Articuno shook her head and chirped. 
"Arti sez, No! Don't blame yerself! If not for you, Domino woulda killed all 
three a my babies. Because of you, I still have two...and I can rest easy 
knowin' dat the third is with good people who love him. It's a small price ta 
pay, all things considered. You saved the most important things in my life, and 
for dat, I'll be eternally grateful," said Meowth. 
I placed a hand on Articuno's head and stroked her icy feathers. "And you saved 
the most important thing in mine," I told her. "I'll always be grateful that you 
didn't let Jessie fall. I don't know what I would've done if anything had 
happened to her." 
Jessie put her arms around my waist and rested her chin on my shoulder when I 
said this. 
"Cuuu," Articuno replied. 
Meowth nodded. "Yeah. I guess we are even now." 
"I'd like to think that we're more than just even," I said. "I'd like to think 
that we're friends." 
She nodded. 
"Well, I hate ta ruin the fun, guys, but dis ain't exactly over yet," Meowth 
said, changing the subject. "I mean, we still ain't got a plan for gettin' 
Domino outta here and makin' sure she never comes back, ya know...." 
Jessie and I frowned again as we looked back at Domino. 
"I really don't want to deal with Officer Jenny again, but I think going back to 
the pokemon center and handing Domino over to her is our best bet," Jessie 
replied. 
"I think you're right, Jess," I agreed. "And while we're at it, we should 
probably tell Nurse Joy that Articuno has a nest up here and get her to 
discourage people from coming up the mountain." 
Meowth cupped his chin in his paw and smirked. "Yer both right...and ya just 
gave me an idea! I know how we can -- if ol' Arti will excuse the expression -- 
kill two birds with one stone!" 
Jessie and I looked down at him. "Really? Do tell!" we said in unison. 
"Well, why don't we get Arti ta drop Domino off at the pokemon center, the way 
she did when she rescued us?" he suggested. "And we could just send a note with 
'em, explainin' what Domino was doin' and how the babies need ta be protected. 
Dat way, we could get Domino taken care of and ensure the safety of the 
nest...and as an added bonus, we won't hafta deal with Officer Jenny ourselves!" 

"That is a good plan, but it has one minor flaw," Jessie remarked. "How, 
exactly, are we supposed to write a note? We left all of our stuff at the cabin, 
remember?" 
Meowth frowned. "Oh. Yeah...." 
I closed my eyes and thought for a moment. We had a lot of loose ends to tie up, 
and we couldn't expect Articuno to leave her nest for a long period of 
time...not now that she had babies to look after. As I tried to think of a way 
we could do all of this, however, my concentration kept getting broken by the 
constant cheeping of the three hungry babies. 
And that's exactly what gave me an idea! 
"I know what we can do," I said. 
Jessie and Meowth gave me a quizzical look. 
"Articuno's going to have to leave the nest to get food for the babies," I 
explained. "When she goes to get food, one of us can go with her, and she can 
make a stop at the cabin so we can pick up our stuff. Meanwhile, the other two 
will stay here to keep an eye on the babies...and make sure that Domino and 
Sneasel don't try anything. Once Articuno gets back and feeds the babies, we can 
write that note. Then, we can take Domino to Officer Jenny and get Articuno to 
drop us off on the other side of the mountain!" 
This made the two of them smile. 
Meowth nodded. "Ya know, dat just might work!" 
"You're a genius, James!" Jessie exclaimed. 
I smiled back at her and felt my cheeks turning pink. 
"And judgin' from the sound a dose kids, dey wanna be fed now," Meowth 
continued. 
"Tell me about it!" I said as my baby bird started tugging at my hair again. 
Meowth turned his attention back to Articuno. "I'll go with ya, and Jess and Jim 
can stay here ta guard yer nest," he volunteered. "If ya just take me straight 
back to the cabin, ya won't hafta spend a buncha time huntin' -- we have pokemon 
food in our backpacks, and we'll be glad ta share some of it with youse guys." 
Articuno chirped at us as she got to her feet again. 
"You think it's a good idea, too? Den let's go now!" Meowth said, jumping onto 
her back. 
Jessie and I waved as the two of them took to the sky. 
"Don't worry, Articuno -- we'll take care of the babies while you're away!" 
Jessie called after them. 
"And we'll be back as soon as we can!" Meowth called back. 
@->->- 
Once Meowth and Articuno were gone, Jessie and I seated ourselves beside the 
nest and admired the baby birds. 
"I still can't get over what sweeties they are!" Jessie sighed as she stroked 
the downy feathers of the chick I was holding. "And having this one hatch right 
in your hands? Oh, James, that must've been so wonderful!" 
"It was," I replied. "There was something about that moment...something that 
made me feel like a father...." 
"Well, in a way, that's what you are now," she told me. 
I looked down at the baby. He was gazing up at me with adoring eyes and making 
happy cheeping noises. "Yeah...I guess I am. I just hope I can do a good job 
raising him." 
"I'm sure you will, James," Jessie assured me. "You're kind and patient, and you 
have a heart filled with nothing but love. You're going to be the best 
daddy-bird ever...and the best daddy when we have kids, too!" 
I inadvertently found myself glancing up at Domino's frozen form when she said 
this. Even through the thick layer of ice that encased her, the blood and 
bruises on her face were clearly visible. I shuddered at the sight of it. 
"What's the matter?" Jessie asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. 
The feeling of her soft, gentle touch calmed me. "Oh, nothing," I said. 
"Just...." 
"You feel guilty, don't you?" she ventured. 
"Not guilty, per se -- Jessie, I don't regret striking her...and if I had to do 
things over, I'd do it again." 
"Then, why....?" 
"I may not feel guilty about it, but I do feel strange," I explained. "Today, I 
did something that I never thought I'd be capable of doing -- I used violence 
against a woman. It's just...I've always been taught never to do that, no matter 
what. It was even a personal code for me...a code that became even more 
important to me after I found out about the way your ex used to hit you. I 
guess...finding out that I am capable of doing it makes me wonder about 
myself...." 
Jessie placed her other hand on my cheek and gently caressed my face. "James, 
you can't blame yourself or think you're a bad person just because you punched 
Domino a few times. No matter what you may have been taught or what you believe, 
what happened today was an extreme situation -- I'd be worried if something like 
that didn't enrage you or move you to violence!" 
"You have a point," I admitted. "While I was hitting her, I told myself that she 
deserved it and that this was one time when I had to make an exception and break 
my code. I guess I was just wondering if it was a valid excuse or if I was only 
trying to rationalize it." 
"James, you had every right to do what you did. Don't EVER doubt that!" Jessie 
said firmly. "What were you supposed to do? Just sit there and cry when you 
thought she'd killed me? Do nothing to defend yourself when she tried to kill 
you, too? Sit idly by and let her kill innocent baby pokemon? Just because she 
happens to be female? No, James. Man or woman, what she was doing was evil, and 
she had to be stopped." 
This made me smile again. "You're right, Jessie. I may feel kind of funny about 
hitting her, but I'd feel even worse if I hadn't done anything." 
"Precisely. Just because you're sweet and slow to anger doesn't mean you're a 
coward or a wimp. It doesn't mean you can't or won't fight when the situation 
calls for it...and if what happened today didn't call for a fight, then I don't 
know what would!" she replied. "Sooner or later, everybody is faced with a 
situation that puts their beliefs and principles to the test -- that's what life 
is all about! You were being tested today...and I'd say you passed. You've 
proven that protecting the ones you love and standing up for the greater good 
are more important to you than blindly following some rule. That says a lot to 
me, James." 
Tears filled my eyes as I took her hand in my own and brought it to my lips. 
"Thank you, Jessie," I whispered. 
"Besides," she continued, planting a kiss on my cheek, "even if you did hit 
Domino, that doesn't make you a violent person. You had the chance to kill her, 
and you could've messed her up a lot worse than you did. But in the end, your 
kindness prevailed over your anger, and you didn't go to the extremes that she 
would have. And this doesn't change anything between us or make me trust you any 
less, James -- you're still the sweetest, most gentle person I know. I trust you 
enough to know that you'd never get violent with me." 
"Jessie, I'd rather die than do anything to hurt you," I told her as the tears 
began to spill down my cheeks. "That's one promise I'll always keep...one rule 
I'll never break." 
"I know. And that's one of the reasons why I love you," she whispered as she 
brushed my tears away and kissed me again. 
"I love you, too," I echoed. 
As I returned her kiss, the baby birds began to cheep again. 
Jessie looked down at them and frowned. "Please don't cry," she said. "Meowth 
and your mommy will be back soon." 
"Yeah. You just have to be patient," I chimed in. 
But our pleas did nothing to calm them -- they just started cheeping more 
loudly...especially mine! 
Jessie giggled as the baby kept trying to grab the loose wisp of hair that hung 
in my face. "Can I hold him, please?" she asked. 
"Sure!" I replied. 
The baby struggled as Jessie took him in her arms, but after a moment, he 
relaxed. "That's right. I'm not going to hurt you," she told him. "I'm going to 
be your new mommy and help daddy-bird take care of you!" 
My smile grew even wider than it already was as I watched Jessie cradling the 
chick and speaking softly to him. "You're going to be such a good mother 
someday, Jess," I whispered. "Our children will be so lucky to have you." 
Jessie smiled at me and blushed. "They'll be lucky to have you, too." 
"You know, that's what I was thinking about when I was watching this little guy 
hatch," I told her. "If this is what it's going to feel like when our children 
are born, then I'm looking forward to it more than ever now!" 
"So am I, James...so am I," came her reply. 
And that's how Jessie and I spent the next hour -- playing with the baby birds 
and keeping them entertained, looking forward to the experience of raising an 
Articuno chick of our very own...and daydreaming about the day when we'll become 
parents ourselves. 
My family -- Jessie and Meowth and all of our pokemon -- was the most important 
thing in the world to me, and being with my family was the most wonderful thing 
imaginable. Now more than ever, I was confident that I'd done the right thing 
today. After all of the happiness they've brought me, protecting them by any 
means necessary wasn't just my right -- it was my duty. 
@->->- 
By the time Meowth and Articuno returned, the sun was low in the western sky, 
and the shadows of the mountain walls stretched out for miles, bathing the 
ravine in darkness. The red light of sunset was also giving the cliffs an eerie 
luminescence, making the ice and snow look as if it were stained with blood. I 
could see why Articuno had chosen this place for her eyrie -- the remote 
location and foreboding beauty ensured that few humans would ever dare venture 
close enough to discover her. 
As Articuno landed, Meowth jumped from her back and handed us our belongings. I 
wasted no time in getting a bag of pokemon food out of my backpack and offering 
some of it to Articuno. Meanwhile, Jessie got the first-aid kit from her 
backpack and proceeded to tend to Arbok, Weezing, Wobbuffet...and even Domino's 
Sneasel. (We could hardly condemn Sneasel for trying to eat the eggs -- it was 
only following its master's orders and its own natural instincts. We'd make sure 
it never did anything to hurt Articuno's babies ever again, but we weren't going 
to let it suffer because of its master's cruelty.) 
I smiled as I watched Articuno grab a beakful of food and offer it to her 
babies. Then, I took a handful from the bag so that I could feed my baby. As 
soon as he smelled the food, he began flapping his wings and cheeping more 
loudly than ever! 
"That's right -- it's finally dinner time," I told him. "I'm sorry for making 
you wait such a long time." 
"Hey, Jimbo, are ya gonna pre-chew the food and regurgitate it for him?" Meowth 
asked. 
I placed a morsel of food into the baby's beak and frowned at the cat. "No way, 
Meowth! That's disgusting!" 
"But dat's what real birds do!" 
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not a real bird!" 
Meowth snickered. "Whatever ya say, Moltres-Man!" 
"You're never going to let me live that down, are you?" I grumbled. 
"Nope!" came his reply. "Dat's gonna be bedtime story number 138 when you and 
Jessie have kids!" 
"That's what I was afraid of," I groaned. 
"Oh, don't worry about it, James!" Jessie chuckled as she finished patching up 
the pokemon and returned to my side. "You made a cute Moltres...and a very 
handsome Articuno!" 
I felt myself blushing as I thought back on that day and remembered all the fun 
Jessie and I had in our costumes. 
When she saw my reaction, Jessie leaned closer and gave me a kiss on my burning 
cheek. "Can I help feed the baby?" she asked. 
I smiled again and handed a morsel of food to her. "Of course!" 
She smiled back. "Thanks, James." 
Once the baby had swallowed his first piece of food, he flapped his wings again 
and cheeped for more. 
"Here you go, cutie!" Jessie said softly, holding her hand out to him. She 
giggled as the baby took the food from her fingers and gave them a gentle nip. 
"He loves you already, Jess!" I told her. "You're going to be a great 
mommy-bird." 
Now she was blushing, too. 
As the two of us continued to feed the baby, Meowth got a pen and notepad from 
Jessie's backpack and handed them to her. "Alright, guys. Whadda we gonna say?" 
"Let's just keep the note simple -- tell Officer Jenny who Domino is and what 
she was doing...and ask that she and Nurse Joy protect Articuno and the babies 
from future poaching attempts," I replied. 
Jessie nodded and began to write. "Sounds good to me!" After a few minutes, she 
held up the note and examined it. "Okay, guys. How does this sound?" 
Dear Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy, 
The woman you see before you is The Black Tulip. She's the leader of Team 
Rocket's Special Forces, and she's been poaching pokemon on Snowtop Mountain. 
She imprisoned and tortured a mother Articuno, and she was found attempting to 
steal the eggs from Articuno's nest. Furthermore, when we freed Articuno and 
prevented this woman from raiding the nest, she tried to destroy the eggs and 
kill us. Punish her as you see fit. 
And be warned -- if one Team Rocket agent knows about the nest, then it's likely 
that others do as well. Please take any and all steps to ensure that the 
location of Articuno's nest remains a secret and that no further poaching 
attempts are made. 
Thank you. 
"Sounds great, Jessie," I told her. 
"Yeah, but aren't ya gonna sign our names?" Meowth asked. 
Jessie shook her head. "The point of this is to remain anonymous," she 
explained. "If Officer Jenny knows that we're involved, she might get suspicious 
and think we're just using Domino as our patsy so that we can raid the nest 
ourselves! And if she saw James with his baby Articuno, it'd make us look even 
more suspicious!" 
"Yeah! And if Officer Jenny knows that we're the ones who saved the nest, it'd 
make it easier for Domino to figure out that we're with Team Rocket, too...and 
that might jog her memory about the other mission," I added. 
"James is right -- it's too dicey," said Jessie. "Officer Jenny doesn't need to 
know who we are. All she needs to know is that the REAL criminal has been 
stopped." 
"I guess yer right," Meowth conceded. "We don't need ta be glory-hogs like dose 
twerps. Still, it'd be nice ta get rewarded for doin' the right thing...." 
"I'd say we already have been rewarded," I whispered as I stroked the downy 
feathers of my new baby bird, who'd tucked his head under his wing and fallen 
asleep as soon as he'd finished eating. "We ended up with something more 
precious than we ever could've imagined...." 
@->->- 
When the other two babies finished eating, they both fell asleep as well. After 
watching them for a few minutes and making sure that they'd be okay, Articuno 
returned to our side and chirped. 
"Arti sez she's ready ta go," Meowth translated. 
"We're ready too," Jessie replied. 
Articuno chirped again. 
"She also sez dere's a little town on the north side a the mountain," said 
Meowth. "Once we drop Domino off with Officer Jenny, she'll be glad ta take us 
dere." 
"Sounds great to us, Articuno," I told her. 
Once we'd gathered our belongings and called back our pokemon, I zipped my 
sleeping chick into my jacket, where he'd stay safe and warm during the flight. 
Then, Jessie, Meowth, and I climbed onto Articuno's back. As she took to the 
sky, she grabbed the ice-encased Domino in her talons, and we were on our way. 
@->->- 
The flight to the pokemon center was a quick and uneventful one. Even with 
Articuno taking time to scan the area for poachers and predators before letting 
the nest out of her sight, we made it out of the ravine and to the base of the 
mountain in under ten minutes. And as luck would have it, Officer Jenny was 
outside, patrolling the area. 
As we passed over the pokemon center, Articuno decreased her altitude and 
dropped Domino, Sneasel, and the note at the door. The thudding sound the block 
of ice made as it hit the ground attracted Officer Jenny's attention, and she 
came running. Even Nurse Joy had heard the noise and come outside to see what 
all the commotion was about. Articuno perched herself on the roof, where we 
could watch the fun without being seen. 
"Oh, dear! What's going on?!" Nurse Joy cried. 
"It looks like Articuno rescued another traveler," came Officer Jenny's reply. 
"We have to get her inside and thaw her out immediately!" said Nurse Joy. 
As Officer Jenny leaned down to lift the block of ice and carry Domino inside, 
however, she saw the note lying on the ground. "Hang on. What's this?" 
"What's what?" Nurse Joy asked as she lifted Sneasel from the snow and returned 
to Officer Jenny's side. 
Officer Jenny's eyes widened as she read the note. 
"What's wrong?" Nurse Joy queried. 
"As soon as this woman thaws out, she's under arrest...without bail!" Officer 
Jenny told her. "According to this note, she's a dangerous Team Rocket agent who 
was caught poaching pokemon!" 
Nurse Joy gasped. "That's terrible!" 
"That's not the worst of it!" Officer Jenny continued. "The pokemon she was 
trying to steal was Articuno...and the eggs from Articuno's nest!" 
Nurse Joy looked towards the summit of the mountain. "A nest...I had the feeling 
Articuno had one. We're going to have to make sure nobody disturbs it...." 
Officer Jenny nodded. "That's exactly what this note says we should do. If one 
Team Rocket agent tried to raid the nest, then others may follow...like those 
three who stole my snowmobile the other day...." 
I could feel Jessie tensing when Officer Jenny said this. "I knew she'd find a 
way to implicate us," she muttered through clenched teeth. 
I placed my hands on Jessie's shoulders and massaged them in an attempt to calm 
her. After a moment, she relaxed. 
"I wish whoever it was that helped save the nest and bring the poacher to 
justice had stayed," Nurse Joy sighed. "I wanted to thank them." 
"So did I," Officer Jenny agreed. "Risking their life to save Articuno's nest 
was a really heroic thing to do -- they at least deserved some kind of 
reward...." 
"Don't worry about it. You've already said everything we needed to hear," I 
whispered. 
After casting one last look up the mountain, Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy dragged 
Domino inside and took her into custody. Satisfied that justice had been served, 
Articuno, Jessie, Meowth, and I took our leave. 
@->->- 
We arrived on the outskirts of the town that Articuno had told us about shortly 
before dusk. As she alit on the road that led to town, she chirped at us. 
"She sez dis is as far as she can take us," said Meowth. "She don't wanna get 
too close ta the village, and she needs ta get back ta her nest before it gets 
too dark." 
"That's okay, Articuno -- we can walk from here," Jessie replied as we jumped 
from her back. 
"Thank you so much, Articuno," I said. "For everything." 
Articuno bowed her head. "Cuuu." 
"She sez, No. Thank you. If not for you, Domino woulda killed me and my babies," 
Meowth translated. "I hated you at first cuz I thought you was just like her, 
but I misjudged ya...badly...." 
"Don't blame yourself," I told her. "You had no reason to trust us and every 
right to be angry with us." 
Articuno chirped again. 
"She sez, I'm glad I did decide ta trust ya, though," Meowth continued. "I 
couldn't a been more wrong about ya. What ya did for me and my family was 
nothin' short of heroic...and I'm proud ta call ya my friends." 
"And we're proud to call you ours," said Jessie. 
Just as I was about to reply, I heard cheeping noises coming from my jacket, and 
the baby poked his head out. 
"Looks like Junior woke up from his nap," Meowth remarked. 
As I pulled the baby bird from my jacket and gave him a hug, I noticed that 
Articuno's eyes were filling with tears. "Cuuu," she said sadly. 
I didn't need a translation from Meowth to know what she was saying. "I know," I 
whispered. "I know you're going to miss your baby. But I'll take good care of 
him. I promise." 
Jessie nodded. "James always keeps his promises, Articuno. Always. And I'll be 
there to help him." 
"Jessie and I will take care of him like we would our own child," I told her. 
"We'll make sure he grows up big and strong." 
"Yeah! And so will uncle Meowth!" the cat chimed in. 
I felt my own eyes filling with tears as I held the baby up so that Articuno 
could say good-bye. "This is your mommy," I said to him. "She loves you very 
much." 
The baby cheeped again as Articuno nuzzled him. Once she'd said farewell to her 
son, she turned to us and chirped. 
Meowth nodded. "She sez, Farewell, Jessie, James, and Meowth, wherever ya fare. 
I'll never forget ya." He paused for a moment and sniffled. "We'll never forget 
you either, Arti...ya big, blue blizzard-buzzard." 
Jessie put an arm around my shoulders and waved. "Good-bye, Articuno. Take 
care." 
I waved too and rested my cheek against Jessie's. "We wish all the best for you 
and your babies...and never worry about this little one." 
She chirped again. 
"Yes. I know my baby is in good hands -- I couldn't ask for better people ta 
care for him," Meowth translated. "Good-bye, my friends. I hope we meet again 
someday!" 
"I hope we meet again, too...my friend," I whispered. 
Jessie tightened her hold on me, and I held her and the baby closer as we 
watched Articuno spread her wings. Her ice-blue feathers glistened in the silver 
moonlight, and her long, luxurious tail left a glittering trail of snowflakes as 
she took to the sky and began her flight back to Snowtop Mountain. She was one 
of the most amazing pokemon I'd ever seen -- Jessie, Meowth, and I were 
completely spellbound by her beauty and grace, and we felt ourselves compelled 
to remain where we were, watching until she'd vanished into the night and the 
wake of sparkling snow she left had faded away. 
@->->- 
Once Articuno was gone, the three of us made our way into town and found an inn 
where we could spend the night. After checking in, we changed out of our 
snowsuits and got freshened up. Then, we called room service and ordered dinner. 
When the food arrived, the baby started cheeping again and opened his little 
beak as wide as it would go. 
"I can't believe he's hungry again -- he just ate an hour ago!" Meowth remarked. 

"Well, he's a growing baby...and baby birds have voracious appetites!" I told 
him as I took a piece of my grilled salmon and fed it to the baby. 
Jessie laughed and gave a piece of her salmon to the baby as well. "Kind of like 
a certain cat we all know!" 
After he'd finished his first two pieces of fish, the baby walked over to Meowth 
and looked up at him. 
Meowth protectively wrapped his arms around his plate. "Oh, no ya don't! Dis is 
MY fish! Mine! Ya got dat? I ain't sharin' it with ya!" 
"Oh, don't be so stingy, Meowth!" Jessie scolded him. 
"Yeah! Giving him one bite won't kill you!" I chimed in. 
The baby cocked his head and made big, wobbly eyes at Meowth. 
The cat closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as a drop of sweat rolled down the 
side of his face. Then, he broke a piece of salmon from his fillet and tossed it 
to the baby. "Aw, dammit! He's too cute! I can't resist!" 
"Looks like our little Articuno has quite a Charm attack!" Jessie chuckled. 
I nodded and gave him a second piece of fish. "He sure cute-notized Meowth!" 
"He's cute-notized all of us!" she said. 
"Hey! I just thought a somethin'!" Meowth exclaimed. "Dis little guy is kinda 
like our version a Togepi!" He paused for a moment as his eyes became starry. 
"Ah! We finally got our very own cute baby pokemon ta love, and hug, and pamper, 
and spoil rotten...." 
"Yes, but there's a big difference -- Articuno isn't going to wander off and 
cause trouble like Togepi always does!" I replied as I scooped the chick into my 
arms and nuzzled him. "Daddy's going to take better care you than that! Yes he 
is! He's going to keep an eye on you and make sure you behave yourself!" 
Jessie blushed as she listened to me. "James, I haven't heard you talk baby-talk 
like that since Meowth pretended to be a baby for us! I forgot how adorable you 
sounded!" 
"Well, now ya got yerselves a real baby, so Me-owth don't ever hafta pretend 
again!" said Meowth. 
"That's right! We have a real little pookie now!" Jessie giggled as she reached 
over and stroked the baby's downy feathers. 
"He's our pookie-mon!" I quipped. 
"Alright, dat's enough!" Meowth groaned. "I'm goin' inta sugar-shock, over 
here!" 
"Sorry, Meowth," Jessie apologized. "You know how we get around babies...and 
cute pokemon...and cute baby pokemon!" 
"Yeah! We go ga-ga!" I chuckled. 
"Yeah, I know ya love babies," he sighed. "But do ya have a plan?" 
"What do you mean?" I asked. 
"I mean, whadda we gonna do with him?" he explained. "Right now, he's too young 
ta be trained or used in battle. Are ya gonna send him ta headquarters, like 
Vulpix, Growly, and Lickitung?" 
"Certainly not! He's staying here with me!" I replied. "If I sent him to be 
taken care of by Annie and Oakley, I might as well have just left him with his 
real mom -- the reason he came with us is because he imprinted on me. He needs 
to stay with me." 
"Yeah, but we don't exactly work in the most baby-friendly environment," he 
argued. "And what about dose twerps? If dey see ya with a baby Articuno, dey're 
gonna assume we stole him...and if dey do manage ta get it through dere thick 
skulls dat he's one of us, dey won't think nothin' a beatin' the livin' 
daylights outta him, just like dey do the rest of us!" 
"I hate to admit this, but Meowth has a point," Jessie sighed. "We can't let the 
twerps find out about him." 
"And we won't," I assured them. "That's why I'm going to keep him in a poke 
ball. I know he's a little young, but it won't hurt him...and it'll prevent him 
from wandering off, getting attacked, or being injured when the twerps attack 
us." 
Jessie nodded approvingly. "That's a good idea, James. I guess he'll be okay as 
long as we're careful." 
"Yeah, but it ain't gonna be easy," said Meowth. 
"I know that. I don't think raising a baby is ever easy," I told him. 
The baby bird looked up at me and cheeped happily when I said this. 
I smiled at him and stroked his feathers. "It'll be challenging...but it'll 
definitely be worthwhile." 
@->->- 
After Jessie, Meowth, and I each fed the baby two or three pieces of fish, he 
curled up in my lap again and went back to sleep. Once we finished our dinner, 
Jessie got some spare towels from the bathroom and made a little nest on one of 
the beds. I hummed the tune of a soft lullaby that my grandparents always sang 
for me when I was a boy as I cradled the baby bird in my arms and gently laid 
him in the nest. And as I hummed, Jessie began to sing along: 
Rocked by waves the evening sun dances. 
He smiled and said "See you tomorrow." 
Accompanied by the sea breeze finally he rests, 
For the courage to fight overflows. 
The stars all over the sky sing. 
They whisper "Do your best." 
In a crescent moon cradle I sleep dreaming, 
For I'm brimming with excitement for the trip. 
"I love that song," Jessie whispered when she finished singing. 
"So do I," I whispered back. "It just makes me feel good when I hear it." 
"Me, too," she agreed. "Momma always sang it for me when I was a little 
girl...and someday, I'll sing it for our children...." 
I took her by the hand and twined our fingers. "You were thinking about that 
too, huh?" 
She put her arms around me and nodded. 
As I returned her embrace, I closed my eyes and found myself thinking again of 
how wonderful raising our new baby Articuno was going to be. Feeding him, 
holding him, rocking him to sleep, watching him grow bigger and stronger every 
day, teaching him how to fly -- the only thing better I could imagine was Jessie 
and I having a family of our own someday! 
"I love you, Jessie," I told her as I opened my eyes again and caressed her 
smooth cheek. "I couldn't ask for a better friend than you...and someday, you'll 
be the best mother, too." 
Jessie smiled at me, and her sapphire eyes began to sparkle. "I love you too, 
James," she replied. "And I can't imagine anybody who'd make a better father 
than you!" 
I smiled back at Jessie, and our lips met in a tender kiss. 
"Ya know, dis turned out ta be a good day, after all!" Meowth remarked when our 
kiss ended a few minutes later. "We got off the mountain, just like James 
promised, we kicked the crap outta Domino, we made friends with a legendary 
pokemon, and we even got ourselves a cute little baby birdie!" 
"You're right, Meowth!" said Jessie. "This is going to be one hell of a story to 
tell Sofia and Marcello!" 
"And one hell of a story to tell our kids someday?" I ventured. 
Jessie nodded and kissed me again. 
Meowth grinned as he watched the two of us. "You bet! Dis is definitely 
somethin' yer kids are gonna be hearin' about!" 
"Yeah!" I laughed. "Bedtime story number 152, courtesy of mom, dad, and uncle 
Meowth!" 
The End
Special thanks to Christine for the beautiful illustrations of our heroes with 
Articuno and Jessie and James holding their new baby Articuno! Another special 
thanks to Jupiter for the sexy illustrations of Jessie and James in the hot 
spring and Jessie giving James a massage! And yet another special thanks to 
Pokemon All for the cute illustration of our heroes celebrating their victory! 
^_^ 
@->->- 
Back to the Library 
@->->-