A White Tomorrow [A Team Rocket Fanfiction]

Chapter 3

The trio was still running long after the group of grunts had lost track of them. The chase began to feel longer than it actually was, despite the fact they hadn't even gotten to the next route yet. Their lungs and legs were already screaming for a break.

The sound of countless feet behind them were long gone, but that didn't mean Team Rocket wasn't still out there. Taking a short break would only give the mob the chance to catch up.

"My legs burn! I don't think I can run anymore!" James whined as he gradually began to slow down.

Jessie shoved him forward to encourage him to keep running. "Well if that's so, then have fun getting taken back to headquarters! I'm sure it'll be a blast!" She took Meowth from James, who had previously picked him up when the cat started slowing down due to his shorter legs.

As James picked up his pace again Meowth looked behind them into the shady forest. "Can we pleeease take a break? I doubt they're even after us anymore, and youse two are so unbalanced it's makin' me nauseous!"

"Quiet, Meowth!" Jessie started before her attention shifted back over to James when he suddenly stopped running again. Jessie rolled her eyes before giving him another shove.

"Wait, wAIT, JESSIE WAIT-" James screamed as her force pushed them forward and over into the darkness. With a yelp of surprise Jessie quickly realized why he stopped as they tumbled, for the second time that day, down a sloped side of a hill.

Misty yawned as she disinterestedly listened to Ash ramble. As much as she enjoyed watching the boy's endless enthusiasm, she wished he told another story that wasn't of him and Pikachu surviving a thousand spearow.

Ash jumped onto the log he had been sitting on and exaggerated his hand motions as he continued on with his story. Temporarily tuning him out, Misty turned to Brock to see if he was paying any attention, but... it was hard to tell when his eyes naturally looked like he was sleeping.

"I thought we weren't going to make it, and then suddenly Pikachu decided that our new friendship couldn't end there!" Pikachu copied the motions Ash was doing, somehow keeping up with everything his trainer was saying.

"Pikachu jumped off my shoulder and launched into the sky, sending out a power thunder-"

Something caught Misty's eye far behind Ash, immediately waking her up. Brock apparently saw it too because he stood up and leaned forward a little to try to make it out.

Ash stopped his story and followed their gaze, but before anyone could do anything a flash of white knocked them all to the ground.

Ash cried out and quickly leaped back check out what just happened, and gasped when he saw who ran into them. "Team Rocket!"

Jessie clutched her head and looked up at them, a slightly anxious look on her face. "Oh, it's the twerps... hey."

"Huh? We haven't seen you guys in weeks!" Misty said, crossing her arms once she got back up beside Ash.

"Yeah, we thought you guys were finally gone for good." Brock added as he, Misty, and Ash all took a step back. Team Rocket always had something up their sleeve, and no matter how rough they looked nothing would stop them from trying to take Pikachu.

Jessie glanced at the top of the hill they had fallen off of. "Yeah, and we'll be gone for good if we don't get out of here."

The trainers all shared a look. Neither of the trio looked like they were interested in Pikachu at all, which was a surprising first.

"You're leaving? Already?" Ash asked, not meaning to sound as shocked as he did.

Meowth narrowed his eyes at the boy. "Yeah! News flash, we're runnin' away from Team Rocket! Ya don't have ta worry 'bout us anymore!"