1 Jessie

A/N: Coming at you live with another daily writing project. In a similar vein as Maidenless No Longer, I have written out a full story outline ahead of time for this fic, and fully intend to post one chapter a day until we are done.

Elevator pitch: You ever hate how when we were kids, Pokemon Red and Blue teased us with the offer to join Team Rocket at the end of Nugget Bridge, before ripping the rug out from under us and laughing at us for ever daring to dream such a thing could be possible? Well, this is the Team Rocket fic to finally scratch that itch. Based off of the Fire Red Rocket Edition ROM Hack, we'll be exploring a different sort of Pokemon... one crime at a time.

-x-X-x-

It's been nearly twenty years since the Great War, and things are finally starting to look up for the Kanto Region. The Pokemon Champion Lance has finally managed to restore Kanto's damaged economy and paved the way for a new age of economic and technological prosperity.

However, not everyone is quite so happy with the post-war government. It started with the protests, and then the riots and the mobs. But when those were quelled, it turned into street gangs and other forms of petty organized crime, all arising in the wake of the War. Each vowed to restore the region to its former glory, though which actually meant it, and which were all talk was certainly up in the air.

None, however, could claim to be as powerful or respected as the notorious Team Rocket. The infamous organization had grown quickly, and in more recent times scoured the region's city streets in search of likeminded, impoverished young adults looking to prove their worth among its ranks.

Tasking them with organized acts of theft, assault, and corruption, Team Rocket made no secret of its true goal. Toppling Lance and his new government and bringing a return to the Kanto of old once and for all.

-x-X-x-

"Quiet down, you lot! Welcome to Team Rocket! You all are some of the lucky few to be allowed entry into our ranks, but don't let it get to your heads! You're still Grunts for now. For your own sakes, I hope you all prove yourselves worthy of this opportunity!"

It was finally happening. Making sure to straighten out her tight-fitting black uniform a bit more, Jessie looks down at herself, smiling as she admires the big red R that dominates a portion of her admittedly substantial chest. She was a Rocket now, at long last. And sure, she'd always known that she would get in. There was no world in which Team Rocket would reject her. A girl of her talents? She was a shoo-in!

And yeah, she was just a lowly Grunt right now, and would likely be for quite some time. But everyone said Team Rocket was a place with great upward mobility. She would prove herself worthy of promotion after promotion in no time at all and-

"Hey, Jessie! Look over there!"

Blinking, Jessie is taken straight out of her daydreaming by her best friend and all but sister in blood, Jamie. Her lavender-haired bosom buddy is nudging her while tossing her head over in the direction of the other end of their makeshift line of recruits.

Down at the end of the line, there's another Grunt with Jessie's hair color, a pink magenta that has her narrowing her eyes at the guy, wondering if he's copying her or something.

"You know that guy, Jess?"

"Of course not, Jamie. Just because he's got my hair color doesn't mean anything…"

Even as they're talking about him, the Rocket Admin who had been speaking until this point, explaining to them their new roles in the organization, saunters up to the guy in question.

"You! How about you tell me a little about yourself, huh? Got a name, Grunt?"

For a long moment, the recruit in question is silent. As Jessie cranes her head past Jamie to get a good look at him, she narrows his eyes. Honestly, the guy barely looks old enough to be doing this. Not quite a kid, but not an adult either. Though, that may just be the dazed and confused look it feels like he's got going on. Did this dude even know where he was?

Petrel, the Rocket Admin, seems to feel a similar way as Jessie. After a moment of silence, he snorts derisively and then sneers as he leans in close to the guy.

"You slow or something, Grunt? When a superior asks you a question, you better be ready to answer it and fast! This is Team Rocket! We aren't running a charity organization here! Now, what's your name?!"

"… Cam."

The Grunt's voice has surprising strength to it, even as he finally answers the Admin's question. Petrel pauses as if cataloging the name for a second before nodding and taking a step back. Jessie wrinkles her nose at the interaction, but before she can speak her mind, Jamie pipes up from beside her.

"Wow. He's pretty cool, isn't he?"

"… Huh?"

But it's too late. Jamie is already fucking swooning, and Jessie has to resist the urge to palm her face with her hand.

"It's just… he's so dark and mysterious! Don't you think?"

No… no, Jessie did not think so. But Petrel was talking again, so better to discuss this with her friend later.

"From this moment on, you are all officially Team Rocket Grunts! But don't go patting yourselves on the back just yet, you hear me? Until each of you has proven yourselves out in the field, you're nothing but a bunch of pipsqueaks!"

Right. He's right, of course. Jessie stands tall, back straight and chest puffed out. She'll do it. She'll prove herself in no time flat. This Grunt Uniform she's wearing, the female version of which is a bit too skimpy and too tight for her tastes, is only temporary! Soon enough, she'll be Petrel's contemporary… or better yet, his superior!

"Now, you'll be receiving your first mission in a little bit. But first things first. In the crates behind me, you'll all find your first Pokemon. Rattata, one and all. As I mentioned before, if you want something better, you'll fucking steal it."

He pauses for a moment, as if to let the gravity of his next words really impact properly.

"After which, you'll head up to the top floor of the Hideout via the staircase on my right. There, you'll find one of our eggheads, who will give you the HM for Fly. Whenever you lot have worked up the courage to steal yourself a proper Flying Pokemon, you will Fly your sorry asses to Mt. Moon as soon as conceivably possible and await further instructions!"

As they all file forward in an orderly fashion, Jessie promises herself that she'll get something better than a Rattata and quick. And not just a flying pokemon, though obviously that's the first order of business. No, she's going to get something properly threatening. Like an Ekans!

Regardless, she and Jamie soon have their Rattata and are heading upstairs. Making their way over to the Rocket Scientist with the HM Fly, they get their copies of that too. That's when they run into that guy from before again. The Grunt named Cam. And of course, Jamie can't help making a fool of herself.

"Hey, buddy! Wait up!"

Jessie valiantly resists the urge to facepalm yet again, as her friend drags her into a conversation with the so-called 'dark and mysterious' Grunt.

"Saw you at the initiation ceremony! It was really cool, how you took your time answering Admin Petrel like that!"

Cam blinks languidly, looking at Jamie with somewhat vacant eyes. It's only then that Jessie starts getting just the teensiest bit interested in him. Not in the way Jamie is. Jamie has a way of seeing things were there aren't any. She probably thinks this guy is cool, just because he's the quiet type. Jessie knows better. Sometimes, a lack of talking is really just… well, a lack of intelligence.

And yet, that doesn't make Cam useless, now does it? After all, she and Jamie might be Grunts now, but Jessie knows she's going to be getting all sorts of promotions soon enough. And when she's an Admin and Jamie is her right-hand woman, they're going to need a powerbase, aren't they? Cam seems like the perfect kind of guy to get in close with early on. Whether he's reliable or not remains to be seen, but it can't hurt to cultivate a relationship with him now, right?

Before Jamie can continue rambling on, Jessie places a hand on her lavender-haired friend's shoulder and steps forward, gracing Cam with a wide smile.

"Hey there, Cam. I'm Jessie. This is Jamie, seeing as she didn't introduce herself before. Tell me… have you ever stolen a Pokemon from someone before?"

For a long moment, Cam is silent and Jessie wonders if this is a mistake. But then, he answers.

"… No."

"Neither-mmph!"

Before Jamie can finish that sentence, Jessie cuts her off with a hand over her mouth.

"Well then, stick with us and we'll show you how it's done! Come on… let's get out of here, and get ourselves some Flying Pokemon, yeah? Gotta show Petrel that we're worthy of his respect and what not."

When she lets go, Jamie finally seems to understand that Jessie is trying to impress Cam for… reasons. The other female Grunt nods her head enthusiastically.

"R-Right! Come on Cam, we've got this!"

-x-X-x-

As they walk out of Game Corner, Jessie is all business. Jamie, unfortunately, is not. Instead, she's parroting that dumb book she'd been reading back to Cam.

"Okay! Pokemon Robbery for Dummies: Chapter One! The first step to any successful Pokemon Heist is to pick a suitable target! Now, seeing as we're only Grunts, we can only steal from kids and old people. So, we have to keep an eye out for one of those! Give me a shout if you see any!"

Jessie just rolls her eyes. Not only did their new 'friend' Cam seem altogether incapable of raising his voice or shouting for anything, but she was also the one who was already keeping an eye out while Jamie was reciting that stupid book. Honestly, it was-

"There!"

Cutting herself off this time, Jessie reaches back and grabs Jamie and Cam by the arm, yanking them up to stand on either side of her. Commanding their attention, she directs them both to what she's already looking at… an innocent schoolgirl, running circles around the fountain in the center of Celadon City.

"Prime jailbait, six o'clock!"

Her hissed words provoke an odd noise from Jamie, forcing Jessie to look over at her friend.

"What?"

Jamie just wrinkles her nose.

"Do you have to say it like that, Jess?"

Wrinkling her nose right back in confusion, Jessie crosses her arms over her chest.

"What? She's the perfect target for a crime like Pokemon Theft, which could land us in jail! Ergo, jailbait!"

"Uh-huh…"

Whatever Jamie is getting weird about is flying right over Jessie's head, and quite frankly, Jessie hates when that happens. Mostly because it usually doesn't happen to her. Jamie is supposed to be the dumb but lovable one, thank you very much.

"… Just shut up already. Cam! Go in there and fight that kid with your Rattata. Show us what you've got, alright?"

This was it. Time to see if Cam could follow basic instructions, and whether or not he was worth keeping around in the long term. After a beat, the pink-haired Grunt nods and walks forward. Jessie and Jamie watch from a few feet away as he tosses out his newly gained Rattata and squares off with the kid.

Not really understanding what was happening, and apparently unaware of precisely what the big red R on the front of Cam's chest meant for her, the innocent schoolgirl gushes about Pokemon Battles this and that, before sending out a Pidgey of all things.

Jessie is… mildly impressed when Cam and his Rattata handle the Pidgey fairly easily. She's even more impressed when they subsequently handle the Spearow that the girl had in her back pocket as well, without Jessie nor Jamie having to step in with their own Rattata. Ultimately, the little girl never stood a chance… but still.

"You did it, Cam! Oh man, now it's time for the final step! Having successfully defeated your chosen target, you may now force him or her to hand over ne of their Pokemon, as far as your rank within your organization allows!"

Jessie just rolls her eyes and steps forward. While Jamie is reciting that dumb handbook, Jessie snatches the Pokeballs straight out of the schoolgirl's hands, ignoring her tears and cries of 'No!'. Like, honestly? This little bitch had TWO Pokemon, probably given to her by some rich daddy or something, and she was upset because she'd failed to realize just who she was dealing with?

Tossing the Spearow over to Cam, Jessie attaches the Pidgey's Pokeball to her own belt, while giving the other Grunt a grin and a nod.

"Good stuff, Cam. Well done."

Cam looks at her, and then at his ill-gotten goods, before nodding slowly and attaching the Pokeball to his belt as well. The little girl continues to sob in the background, but Jessie also continues to easily ignore her. Jamie on the other hand, is a little harder to ignore.

"Whoa, wait! What about me, Jess? I don't have a Flying Pokemon yet!"

Turning to her friend, Jessie flashes Jamie her signature smile.

"It's fine, Jamie. Cam here did the work, so of course he gets one of the Pokemon. But there were only two. Don't worry, you and I will go and find some other sucker to 'gift' us one of their Pokemon, and then we'll head over to Mt. Moon together. Sound good?"

It's obvious what Jamie is afraid of. She's worried Jessie is going to abandon her or something now that they're finally living the dream. Maybe she's even worried that Jessie is planning to replace her with Cam or something. But that's not going to happen. Cam is… he might be useful in the future, but right now he's just now what Jessie is looking for in a partner.

Jamie on the other hand, is everything that the magenta-haired woman is looking for. Reliable, dependable, loyal… and a little dimwitted and more than happy to go along with Jessie's schemes.

Upon hearing from Jessie's own mouth that her position is secure, Jamie immediately relaxes, smiling sheepishly and nodding as she lets out an embarrassed laugh.

"H-Haha! Yeah… yeah, sounds good!"

It's obvious Jamie needs a bit more positive reinforcement, and their friendship needs a bit more shoring up, so Jessie turns to Cam to make it clear he's not invited.

"We'll see you at Mt. Moon, alright Cam? Don't dally now, wouldn't want to piss off Petrel by being late or anything!"

Placing a hand on Jamie's shoulder, Jessie begins to stir her away, prompting the other woman to wave enthusiastically at Cam as they leave him behind.

"Bye Cam! See you later!"

And with that, the two Grunts head off to find another Pokemon Trainer either young or old enough for them to steal from. With any luck, it won't take them long to find another Flying Pokemon to snatch. After all, they're very popular around these parts! And then she and Jamie can head over to Mt. Moon for their first mission as full-fledged, official members of Team Rocket!

Jessie can hardly wait. Sure, life's been shit for a long time now, and though she puts a brave face on it, she very much needs a win… or a dozen. But now that she's been accepted into Team Rocket, Jessie fully believes she'll get that win.

It's all going to be uphill from here. Nothing but victory after victory from now on! With Jamie by her side, Jessie is going to prove that she's the cream of the crop, and that nobody else in Team Rocket has any chance of outperforming her! She's got the skills to pay the bills, all that's left is to show them off!

-x-X-x-

A/N: Jessie thinks she's the main character of this story. She is not.

So yeah, as I mentioned above, this story will be based on the plot of Fire Red Rocket Edition, a fanmade ROM hack for the original Pokemon Fire Red where you play as a Team Rocket Grunt and slowly rise through the ranks. Technically, it's billed as a darker, deeper story that takes place right alongside the canonical plot of Fire Red, but in actuality, the Hack Creator takes significant liberties with the main story, so its more a fanfiction take on Fire Red and Pokemon, that I am now in turn writing fanfiction of.

For those who have played the Rocket Edition Hack before, the most important things to note are that I have replaced Ronnie (an annoying Team Rocket Grunt in the game who acts as a pain in the ass for everyone) with Jessie and a genderbent version of James named Jamie.

There are other changes I'm making as we go along, but they will eventually come up in the fic.

In the interest of not making this closing Author's Note too long, I'll stop rambling here. Hope everyone enjoyed!

As always, feedback and comments are greatly appreciated!

Also, the next two chapters of this fic are already up on my P atreon.