Jaycee hated how Jessie was talking about her as if she weren’t there, "I can make money." She said.

James frowned at Jessie, "Lay off Jessie, you’re the one who said she could stay with us for a while. Come on, she got washed up from a ship wreck, and she’s got acute amnesia."

Jessie stabbed at her rice with chopsticks, "Yeah, but we hardly have enough money for ourselves."

Jaycee remained confident, "Don’t worry, I’ll make some money. I’ll go into town tomorrow, okay?"

"What are you gonna do?" Meowth asked incredulously.

Jaycee smiled, "You’ll see."

So the next day while Jessie, James and Meowth went off into the wilderness to dig pit traps and such, Jaycee made her way to Vermilion City. She clutched James’s sketch pad, which he and Jessie used to use for their more complicated plans, like how to turn a van into a Growlithe van, and a couple of pencils. She sat down in front of Lt. Surges Gym, and waited. Meanwhile, Jessie and James were up to their necks in mud. Literally.

"James, dig us out of here!" Jessie commanded.

The walls for the pit had collapsed. James thought he had stumbled on buried treasure, and had begun to dig into the side of the pit, only to discover that the chest was actually a water pipe. And hacking at it with a pick had not helped, even though Jessie had said it made her feel better. As the water turned the dirt beneath their feet to mud, Jessie continued yelling directions.

"Hey, what are you two doing?" Meowth asked, peering into the pit trap. His colleagues were slowly sinking down into the mud. Actually, James was sinking faster, because Jessie was pushing him under.

"why don’t ya just blast off?" Meowth suggested.

Jessie glared at him, "We’re not up to it!"

Meowth sighed, and rummaged in his Cat Pack™ for a length of rope, "You owe me." He said

That night as Jessie brushed the caked mud out of her hair, cursing all the while, and James picked mud out of his boots, Jaycee sat drawing in the sketch pad. She had made about twenty dollars that day, drawing people pictures of Pokémon for a dollar each. She had lots of orders from people too, asking her to draw their favorite Pokémon. James and Jessie had both been mildly impressed at the money, and Jessie seemed to lay off after a while. James was still dead concerned about Jaycee’s acute amnesia, and was pestering her to see a doctor. Jaycee sighed, I hate lying to him. she thought, but he wouldn’t believe me if I told him the truth. She glanced at the handsome teenager, I don’t even believe it myself. I can’t even believe I’m here. It all feels like a dream. She sat up after Jessie, Meowth and James climbed into their sleeping bags, drawing by the light of the fire. But she wasn’t drawing Pokémon now, she was drawing James. someone had once told her that his perfection called out to be drawn, or something like that. it had been so long ago. She watched James’s sleeping form. He was snoring lightly. She’d always imagined he’d sleep like that, on his side with his arms clutched to his chest. Like she slept, Jaycee reflected. She glanced over at Jessie’s sleeping form. Jessie slept on her back with her arms stretched out above her head. She actually looked quite innocent like that. Jaycee turned back to her drawing. She could remember drawing James so many times before. at school, late at night, early in the morning. Whenever there was a blank sheet of paper and a pencil, there would be James. she yawned, realizing how late it was getting. She put down the sketch pad, flipping forward a few pages to hide her drawing of James, and was soon curled up in her sleeping bag. She had moved it closer to James, as usual. He didn’t seem to mind anyway, and she felt better being closer to him. she remembered the nights dreaming of sleeping next to James. well, this was close to it, she decided. That was her last thought before she drifted off to sleep.

The young man with reddish hair and brown eyes smiled politely to Jaycee, who sat where she had the day before, near the Pokémon Center. She had chosen this location, as Pokémon Trainers were frequently there.

"I heard you draw Pokémon?" he said.

Jaycee nodded, "You heard right." She said. She handed him a couple of her best sketches, "Here’s a Growlithe and a Vulpix."

The man scanned the pictures, "Do you think you could draw me a Gyaradose? They’re a dollar a drawing right?"

Jaycee nodded, "that’s right." She took out a notebook, "Here, write your name here and ‘Gyaradose’. I’ll probably be done in about half an hour or so. I’ve got a lot of others to draw."

The man wrote his name, David, and Gyaradose. He gave the book back to Jaycee, and gave her a dollar.

"Thanks." Jaycee said.

She saw the mans name. It made her sad straight away, as she remembered the person she’d once known by that name. She had even thought he might have been her James. maybe he had been, but it was too late now. he was part of the reason she was here.

(flash back)

Jaycee was practically hyperventilating. She had Butterfree in her stomach, and was visibly shaking. She clutched a red rose in her hand. School was over for another year, and the students were all rushing towards the various escape routes. Jaycee kept David in sight. She had to know, today. After she’d seen him give that other girl his phone number…well, she would ask him once and for all now. she was still shaking as she caught up with the dead cute blonde teenager. He had brown eyes which seemed to mirror her own. Jaycee tried to hide her nervousness. After a few failed attempts, she managed, "H-h-hi."

David turned to face her, "Hello." He said, in the cute way that made Jaycee go all…well, you know. Jaycee tried to speak again, but succeeded only in breathing heavier.

David noticed the rose she clung to, "Hey, you’ve got a rose, just like James has." He said.

Jaycee nodded eagerly, "Yeah, that’s right…I, um…"

She couldn’t get out what she wanted to say, and simply handed the rose to David, who took it and began to imitate James "Surrender now or prepare to fight!"

Jaycee tried to slow her breathing down, "yeah, it’s um, like James, huh?"

David nodded, and handed it back to Jaycee. Jaycee shook her head and gave it back, "It’s um, for…you." She said, fearing rejection.

David looked a little wary, "Why?" he asked.

Jaycee’s nervousness eased a little, "Because you’re James!" she blurted out.

She wasn’t sure if David understood or not, "oh, okay." He said.

Jaycee could feel her breath catching in her throat again, "I gotta go." she said quickly, "Um, bye."

David watched her turn to leave, "Bye." He said, puzzled.

Jaycee felt desperation taking hold of her, "Ah, what the hell." She muttered. She turned back around, and threw her arms round David. For a few moments nothing else mattered.

She was brought back to reality by his voice, "You’re choking me!"

She held on a bit longer, then let go, her breath still coming in gasps, "I really gotta go now." she said, and rushed off before he could respond.

(end flashback)

did he even hug me back? Jaycee wondered, it’s too late now anyway, I guess. He’s nothing like James. I’ve got the real James now. Jaycee shook her head to clear the memories, and went back to drawing the Dragonite she was working on.

Ninetails had been feeling uneasy for days now. the myths of Ninetails putting curses on people who pulled their tails were somewhat true. She could feel the vengeful instinct welling up inside her. she felt angry towards the humans who had done this to her. Hunting was impossible, as her body gave off a faint blue light now. she was hungry and tired. The strange sensation in Ninetails body grew more intense. It wasn’t pain, but it was an uncomfortable feeling. Like something was running through her body, making her shiver and choke. She howled angrily. All morning she had been feeling like this. All at once, the feeling stopped, and Ninetails almost collapsed in relief. She composed herself. There was something different about her now. she felt powerful, more powerful than any Ninetails. She raised her paw. A strange blue light emitted from it, and soon her whole body was glowing. She wasn’t sure if this was part of her curse giving power. It scared her at first, then she grew angry. Humans must have done this to her. She had been a normal Ninetails until those men had shown her that weird stone. She howled loudly, the discordant note ringing out through the trees. Wild Pokémon from miles away heard it, and began to run desperately towards the sound, as if under Ninetails’s spell. Flocks of Pidgey and Spearows took to the skies, flying frantically towards Ninetails. Ratatta, Sandshrew, Nidoran, Vulpix, Caterpie, Weedle and their evolved forms all scampered and loped towards the sound. An Articuno high in the icy Verdant mountains joined the cavalcade of Pokémon. Water Pokémon like Seel and Poliwrath came out of their ponds and lakes to get to the sound. Scores of Seaking and Magikarp tried desperately to leave their watery homes, but were unable to venture from the water. The threw themselves at the land, flopping helplessly in the mud and sand. Rhyhorn and Rhydon charged across fields towards the sound. Even plant Pokémon, like Victreebell and Vileplume, which were usually immobile for the most part ambled towards where Ninetails sat. Ninetails watched the Pokémon come to her, as they stood at attention in front of her. She had a faint idea that she had called them here. She hadn’t intended to, but it was like an instinct. The Pokémon surrounding her watched her intensely. She barked a command, and turned to lead them away. The Pokémon replied as one, and they followed Ninetails. She bounded towards the town, her long flowing tails flying out behind her like banners.

Meowth burst into Jessie and James’s camp, where the two were lounging around. James lay on his back, trying to catch M&Ms in his mouth. Jessie was lying on her stomach, flipping through a fashion magazine, and drawing moustaches on all the female models, who in her opinion would never compare to her. Meowth startled both of them, "Meowth? What happened to you?" Jessie asked, standing up and approaching the feline Pokémon.

"I saw…I heard, I, I…" Meowth babbled, "She…she was…blue! And…and…and…"

Jessie slapped him a few times, "Meowth! snap out of it!"

Meowth swallowed loudly, as James stood next to Jessie, "I heard this weird noise. It was a Ninetails. But she’s not…" began Meowth

Jessie interrupted, "Oh, a she Ninetails." She teased, "Honestly Meowth, how do you tell the difference?"

Meowth ignored her, "The Ninetails is no ordinary Ninetails. She’s got some sort of psychic powers or something. These wild Pokémon, they all came to her. It was like they were in a trance!"

James looked puzzled, "So did you go into the trance? Is that how you found her?"

Meowth blushed, "Well, I, actually, she’s really pretty and all, and I was sort of watching her from a tree."

Jessie rolled her eyes, "Meowth: Part time stalker."

James wondered if it had anything to do with the poison in the pancakes, but said nothing.

Meowth continued, "But you don’t understand! The Ninetails, she ordered all the Pokémon to follow her! She said they were gonna get revenge on humans. She said humans made her the way she is, so they had to pay. It’s just like that legend about that curse Ninetails put on people, but it’s worse! This Ninetails is putting the curse on everyone!"

"Well, what are they gonna do?" James asked, still munching his M&Ms loudly, "Talk it out?"

Jessie hit him by force of habit, knocking an M&M from his mouth

"James, she’s commanding a Pokémon army!" Meowth cried, "What do you think?"

James dropped his M&M packet, the brightly colored candies scattering, "I’d say we’re in trouble!" he wailed.