The Secret of MissingNo

By Mandy Nader

Jeremy's group reached the Pallet Town Expressway Bridge just as the sun peeked over the horizon, bathing the area in a bright golden light.

"Can we take a break already?" asked Butch, breathing heavily.

"For the last time, no," said Eric firmly. "It's too dangerous for us to stop here."

"We're gonna collapse if we keep runnin' like this on empty stomachs."

"Oh, fine then," Eric relented, scowling. Butch collapsed to the ground.

"Is someone outta shape from always being toted around by the Boss?" Rose commented, giving Butch a condescending smile. "Forgot what's it like to do actual field work?"

"Oh shut up," muttered Butch.

"Is there anything to eat?" asked Jeremy as his stomach growled loudly. "I've hardly eaten anything since yesterday."

"Well, it's not much, but..." Rose pulled several granola bars from her backpack and distributed them. "It's all I've got that's not Pokemon food."

As Jeremy devoured his granola bar, he scanned his surroundings. The morning was slightly chilly, and very quiet. Just then, he heard the sound of distant voices and the occasional unmistakable beep of a Pokedex. Some trainer's up early, he thought. Wish I wasn't.

There were two young teenagers walking along the water's edge, engaged in animated conversation. The boy had black hair, and was wearing a dark red sweatshirt and yellow shorts. The girl, slightly shorter than her companion, had bright turquoise hair pulled back into ponytails. She was wearing the same colors of clothing as the boy. As they approached Jeremy's party, the teenagers stopped talking and turned to face them, friendly smiles on their faces.

"Hi, I'm Kevin Gold," said the boy, extending his right hand to Jeremy. "You guys are Pokemon trainers, aren't you?" he asked, noticing Rose's Meowth and Eric's Kadabra. "Got any Kanto Gym Badges yet?"

"I'm Jeremy Stone from Viridan City," he replied, shaking Kevin's hand. "I was getting ready for the Indigo League but I got sidetracked."

Kevin laughed. "Been there. Kris and I are from New Bark Town in Johto, have you ever been there?"

"Johto? Nah, not yet. I wanted to battle the Elite Four before I started in Johto." Jeremy pulled a small box from his backpack and proudly showed the other trainer his eight shiny badges.

"Cool! Hey, what's your line-up like?" asked Kevin, sitting on the ground and pulling out a Pokedex. Jeremy followed suit. "See, here's what I used when..."

The girl turned to Rose, shaking her head. "He'll go on like that all day if he gets the chance."

Rose glanced back, watching the two boys excitedly compare their Pokedexes. She smiled. "So I've noticed. That kid's really into Pokemon."

"My name's Kris," said the girl in a bubbly voice. "I'm a Pokemon trainer too, but I'm not half as obsessive over it as Kev is. I don't think anyone is! Your Meowth is sooo cute! I only train extra-cute Pokemon: Chikorita, Wooper, Vulpix, Jigglypuff, Pichu... you know, the real cuties! But they're tougher than they look."

"I'm R...Rachel," Rose began. "I'm a trainer too, but I'm not totally absorbed in Pokemon like Jeremy is. Training's just a hobby for me. This is my friend Eric, and, uh, Bob."

"Nice to meet you, Rachel, Eric, Bob," said Kris cheerfully. "I started Pokemon training about a year ago, a couple months after Kevin. But that doesn't mean I can't hold my own in battles! Hey, you wanna get a battle going?" Her eyes shone hopefully.

"Oh, uh, it's been ages since I battled anyone," Rose said quickly. "I don't even have my full line-up with me."

Kris's face fell. "Oh, I understand. it's just. there's not many girls who seriously battle anymore."

"Tell ya what," the Rocket member began in a bargaining tone. "Why don't you go challenge Jeremy? Then maybe, if there's time, we can get a small battle going, like a two on two or something."

"Oh great!" the young girl said, the happy smile returning to her face. "Hey, Jeremy!" she called, walking over to the boys.

"What was that all about, Rose?" whispered Eric, arching an eyebrow. "Or should I say, 'Rachel'?"

"I'm an escaped Rocket, remember? You really think it's a good idea for me to give away my identity to some unknown kid when we're running from the law? For all we know, they've already got our names and photos on wanted posters. Besides, we don't have time to waste on long, drawn-out battles. I need to get Sapphire back from that Pokemon Center."

"And I need to find those Glitches immediately. But you know how Jeremy is about Pokemon... we can't possibly leave without someone having a battle."

Rose nodded, continuing in a low voice. "Agreed. But this has gotta be quick. I don't want these kids becoming our best friends and tagging along with us. It's bad enough we can't seem to lose Butch."

"I heard that," Butch said sullenly. He snorted. "'Bob', that's rich. Ya know, we'd been better off if we just..."

Rose turned around, annoyed. Butch's constant complaining was wearing her patience very thin. "Look, you wanna go back to jail?" she hissed. "I'm used to playing the 'I'm a typical Pokemon trainer' routine. You're the one who always runs into trouble with kids like these. Let me handle this, ok?"

Butch muttered something under his breath, but said nothing else aloud.

Just as Jeremy was about to throw his first Pokeball for a two-on-two battle with Kevin and Kris, a dense cloud of mist appeared, as if from nowhere. The mist was accompanied by ominous-sounding music and several spotlight effects.

"Prepare for trouble!" shouted a female voice.

"Make it double!" answered a male voice.

"Meowth Meowth Meowth-owth!" cried Rose's kitten, leaping from her arms into the thick white smoke.

"What the-" began the male voice. "What's this thing?"

"How dare something interrupt our motto!" said the female voice angrily.

"Would youse guys cool it?" said a third voice, speaking with a thick Brooklyn accent. "It's jus' Meowth Junior!"

The two familiar Rocket members materialized through the clearing smoke. At their feet was a larger Meowth, standing on his hind legs, hugging Rose's kitten.

Jessie crossed her arms. "That's all well and good," she said, somewhat annoyed, "but it still ruined our dramatic entrance."

"Oh, Jess," said James, putting an arm around his female teammate and smiling. "Don't be so upset. Junior's the closest thing to family we have."

"All right, Junior," said Meowth encouragingly, raising both paws to his face. "Say it like dis: 'Meowth, dat's right!'"

"Meowth, Meowth Meow!" said the tiny kitten cheerfully, imitating his father's pose.

Meowth sighed, patting his little son's head. "Aw well, keep woikin' on it."

Butch rolled his eyes for the tenth time that day. "Someone actually bred that talkin' freak cat?"

"Well, if it isn't Botch," sneered James, as the teal-haired Rocket flinched. "Didn't Cassidy say you were arrested again?"

Butch growled at the mention of his partner's name. "Shows what she knows."

"Isn't his name 'Bob'?" whispered Kris to Kevin, who simply shrugged. He had missed the group introductions while excitedly discussing Pokemon with Jeremy.

"It looks like someone else might get kicked out of Team Rocket, from what I've heard," added Jessie, a smug smile on her face.

"TEAM ROCKET?!?" cried Kevin and Kris in unison.

"Youse gotta problem with dat?" Meowth asked, noticing the Johto trainers for the first time.

"Just great. Another set of twerps getting in our way," muttered Jessie.

"We can't even catch a break on our day off," whined James.

"You no-good, dirty, rotten bad guys!" yelled Kris angrily. "I hate Team Rocket!"

"Losers like you shouldn't even be allowed Pokemon!" added Kevin. "You're a disgrace to Pokemon training!"

Rose and Butch flinched. Even though both were used to derisive comments about their employers, something about these kids insulting them was just too much.

"How dare you insult Team Rocket!" yelled Rose, much to the surprise of the two Johto trainers.

"You little brats don't know who yer messin with!" added Butch.

"Prepare for trouble!" screamed Rose at the top of her lungs.

"Make it double!" rasped Butch.

Jessie and James exchanged a sly smile as the foursome launched into a variant of the familiar motto.

"To protect the world from devastation!" began Jessie.

"To unite all peoples within our nation!" continued James.

"To show all Pokemon the Rocket Team's love!" Rose chimed in.

"And extend our wrath to the stars above!" grunted Butch.

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Rose!"

"Buuuutch!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!" cheered the Rocket girls.

"Surrender now or prepare to fight!" finished James. Butch simultaneously yelled, "Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!"

The two Meowths added their comments to the ending as the four Rocket members struck a dramatic pose, accompanied by more spotlight effects. Eric just shook his head wearily. And things had been going so well with their escape.

Jessie smiled at Rose. "Your own twist on the motto, huh? If you're putting that kind of effort into your Rocket career, I don't see why the Boss shouldn't assign you a partner soon."

"You really think so? I'd love to finally get a partner and start carrying out my own missions!"

"Sure. I'll even put in a good word for you with the Boss."

"She can't even put in a good word for US," muttered Meowth.

Jeremy turned to Kevin, who had a worried look on his face. "Dude, it's ok. No need to panic. Team Rocket really isn't that bad..." he began but Kevin angrily cut him off, shoving him backward.

"Get away from me, you Rocket member! I can't believe we almost battled you!" he shouted, clenching his fists.

"But I'm not..." began Jeremy, not sure why his new friend was so upset.

Behind him, Kris snapped a small cell phone shut and held it triumphantly over her head. "You bad Rockets are in for it now! I just called my mom, and she's an Officer Jenny, and she's on her way here right now to lock you Pokemon thieves up for good!"

"I don't think so, kid," announced a young male voice from behind the group. Everyone turned to see a brown-haired boy wearing a Team Rocket uniform, followed by a Ditto.

"Mondo!" called Jessie, James, and Meowth, waving to their friend.

A quick smile for his beloved superiors, and Mondo's face hardened once again. "You are going to call your mother back right now and tell her that the problem has been taken care of."

"Why should we listen to you, Rocket scum?" spat Kevin.

"Because if you don't, I'll make a phone call of my own to some extremely nasty Rocket grunts who are much closer than any police force. And they'll do a lot worse than recite poetry at you." The usually-cheerful boy's eyes narrowed. "How would you like all of your Pokemon to become Team Rocket property?"

Kevin and Kris nervously looked at one another. "All... of our Pokemon?" began Kris weakly.

"Quick, call your mom back," stammered Kevin. "Even if he's lying, we can't risk this."

"Right." The blue-haired girl flipped her phone back open and relayed the message.

"And now, I'd suggest that you two run along. We've got some important business to deal with now, and you are in our way. No hard feelings, right?"

Realizing they were completely outnumbered, Kevin and Kris gathered their trainer gear and turned to walk away. "You haven't seen the last of us, you Rocket scum!" Kevin called angrily over his shoulder. "We'll meet again!"

"Wait, Kevin!" called Jeremy helplessly. "It's not like you think." Kevin made an obscene gesture and the pair stalked off. "Great, now I've got enemies..." sighed Jeremy, his shoulders slumping.

"It's ok, Jeremy," said Rose, placing a comforting arm around him. "Enemies like that are usually just a minor annoyance. It's not like you did anything to warrant revenge."

Meanwhile, Mondo was completing his mission for Jessie and James. "Wow, it was so hard to act all tough and mean like that! I almost cracked a couple times! I don't know how you guys do it! Jessie, you're as beautiful as ever."

"Thank you, dear Mondo. And perfect timing, as usual."

"And James, Meowth, you guys look cool as ever. Anyway, I've brought you the supplies you requested from HQ." The Rocket boy reached into his satchel and pulled out three boxed lunches. He distributed these to his heroes, who immediately began wolfing them down. He then pulled out an entire hot air balloon, which began to inflate on its own.

"Hey, that's really cool! My name's Jeremy," he said, extending his right hand.

"Mondo, Class B Team Rocket Assistant," the boy replied, shaking his hand vigorously. "Nice to meet you! What rank are you? Have you been a Rocket long?"

"Oh, I'm not a Team Rocket member," Jeremy said sheepishly. "I'm just an ordinary trainer... I'm Rose's friend. I was headed for the Indigo League, but. somehow I got mixed up in all this."

Mondo laughed good-naturedly. "You know, I intended to be a legit trainer myself, but once I started learning about TR, I knew that was where I belonged. Some of the nicest people in the world work for Giovanni... ah, here we are!"

The Meowth-shaped balloon had completely inflated by this point, and Jessie, James, and Meowth were eagerly climbing inside the basket.

"Thanks again, Mondo!" called James as the balloon began lifting into the air.

"Be careful, guys!" the young boy shouted. "Try to stay away from those electric rodents!"

"Bye Mondo!" called Jessie. "And nice to see you again, Rose!"

"See ya!" Rose called as the balloon drifted away. "So, Mondo, any chance you have a few more of those boxed lunches in that magic bag of yours?" She smiled sweetly at the brown-haired boy. Behind her, Butch opened his mouth to make a rude comment, but Jeremy elbowed him hard, hungry for one of those tasty-looking meals.

Mondo blushed slightly. "Well, I probably shouldn't give anything out without the proper request forms, but... well, I just can't say no to a pretty girl!"

"You're such a sweetie, Mondo," Rose said, winking. "We'll need four."

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