Chapter no.3

"It's morning," James said wistfully.

"I guess we should get some sleep," Jessie said with a yawn, returning Yanmega and Wobbuffet to their pokéballs.

"We can call da boss fer help in da mornin," Meowth said through a yawn, plopping down next to them and settling down on the stone. They had slept in worse places and part of being a Team Rocket field agent was learning how to catch a few winks in any sort of terrain. Within minutes they were out cold and snoring up a storm, ignorant to the sun's slow but majestic arc across the sky.

It was midday when they awoke. The cloudy skies above spared them the worst of the sun's harsh rays. But old habits die hard; the first thoughts to enter their minds were of the schemes they would pull on the twerps, until they realized they would no longer be pursuing Pikachu. The realization was like a weight lifted, followed by concern with the uncertainty of their future.

"Rest well?" James asked.

"Well enough, but I'm starvin'," Meowth chimed in.

"We left most of our food back where we caught the twerp and his Gligar," Jessie said with a sigh. As if for emphasis, three growling stomachs echoed through the rocky plain.

"I could try russlin' up some food from da berries in da forest." Meowth pointed his paw to the woods below.

"Take Yanmega and Wobbuffet with you, we'll contact the boss and see if we can get a ride."

Meowth nodded, awaiting the twin flashes of his companions before making his way down the mountainside. James fished into one of his back pockets and pulled out a comlink that connected them to command. Usually they phoned a special line to requisition costumes, equipment, Meowth balloons, and mechas for when they entered the next town. Traveling by balloon would be too slow for them to complete their cross-region journey in a timely manner. They had been ordering various materials for years — long enough that Giovanni generally cleared their requests without a second thought. As long as it wasn't too expensive.

Team Rocket R&D loved making and sending them the mechas they used for their daily schemes. They saw it as an opportunity to push their equipment to the breaking point and beyond. As a result, they expected detailed reports with regards to the mechas' performance and failure mechanism. Other methods of transport generally required Giovanni's clearance.

James and Jessie listened and waited while the device rang. Though they didn't voice it, they were grateful that this comlink was voice only; one could tolerate the disapproving and irritated glare that Giovanni transmitted through a vidlink for so long. The device crackled to life, asking them for their password which took the form of their motto. Once their voices had been recognized by the system and verified as being theirs, they were put through to Giovanni's office.

Strangely, what greeted them wasn't Giovanni's deep, electronically distorted voice. Instead, it was a woman.

"This is Sinnoh Team Rocket field agents James and Jessie; I believe we asked to be in contact with the boss," Jessie said into the device's mic.

"I'm his secretary, Matori," the voice replied, her tone cool and clinical. "Giovanni is currently busy with other matters that require his attention at the moment. However, I may be able to assist you in his stead. What is your request?"

"We're requesting transportation to Canalave City"

"What happened to the Gliscor prototype that was sent to you?"

"We found that it couldn't stand up to the real thing."

"I see," Matori replied, dragging out the last word as she perused through their profiles on her tablet. Slow and agonizing seconds of silence ensued, making them wonder whether the call had dropped or the other side had simply hung up.

"Is there any particular reason you do not wish to simply use another Meowth balloon?" she asked.

"We thought it better to get to the other side of the region as quickly as possible. We haven't been having too much luck in this part of the region," James replied.

"Does this have anything to do with a certain electric pokémon?" Matori asked as she scrolled through rows and rows of reports, each attributing their failure to one particular rodent.

"Technically it does," Jessie jumped in, "But we've decided that it would be better for the future of Team Rocket if we pursued something else. We're hoping the other side of the region hasn't heard of us yet and we'll be able to exploit that."

"Please hold while I review your case."