James returned to where he had left Jessie to find her and Meowth up and about.
“James, where were you?” Jessie asked suspiciously.
“Oh, I was out walking. I guess I needed a little time to myself. That’s all.” He replied.
“I thought you had left me for someone else!” Jessie said happily. James smiled weakly and looked down at the ground.
“Wait a minute yous two. Wats goin on wit you? Jess, ya always yell at James first ting in da mornin. Now yer all mushy and nice.” Meowth teased. Without thinking, Jessie pulled out a mallet and hit both Meowth and James over the head.
“Oww, what was that for Jess!” James grunted in confusion.
“I don’t want Meowth to know about us, at least not yet. I don’t think his simple mind can quite handle it.” Jessie whispered into James’ ear.
“Fine Jessie, whatever you say.” James said rather sarcastically.
“We betta go find da twerps if we want dat pikachu before dey leave.” Meowth said impatiently.
“I think I know where their camp is.” James said proudly as he pointed up the path that he had visited that night.
“Alright, but how would you know?” Jessie asked suspiciously.
“Umm…er…just a gut feeling.” James replied as he felt drops of sweat forming on his brow. He knew that Brock had come from that direction during the night and assumed that his camp was near by.
The three proceeded up the path for a while until they stopped at the edge of the forest where they heard the voices of Ash, Brock, Misty, and Alcoa.
“Alright, we’re going to head south right into Saffron City then east to Lavender town. It won’t take more than three days according to my calculations.” Brock said with his nose in a map.
“Fine, let’s just go. The sooner we get there, the sooner we can leave.” Misty said rudely.
“Okay everyone let’s go!” Ash said as he started down the path. He could just see the tips of buildings in Saffron City over the hills ahead of them.
The trees were thin and scarce as they walked on southwards. Soon, the path opened up to a road surrounded by vast fields and gently rolling terrain. Close behind loomed Jessie James and Meowth. They stayed far enough behind that they remained unseen.
“Are we going to follow them all the way to Lavender town?” James whined. “That’s a long walk even if I do get to see Broc…er…Brookes. Yeah I just love to see that running water.” James stammered. Jessie gave him a weird look but he smiled back.
“Of course we are gonna follow dem. We’ll get you Pikachu!” Meowth said rubbing his paws together.
“Oh, don’t forget the Team Rocket privileges…that we haven’t earned yet.” Jessie said as she pulled out a map from her pocket.
“What are you talking about Jess?” James asked looking over her shoulder.
“The tunnels that link all over the place! They’re reserved for Team Rocket members with high rank to make travel from each town more convenient. We can get into one of those tunnels that goes right from here to Lavender Town without going through Saffron City! Let’s remember that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line!” Jessie said happily.
“Hey, we can beat da twerps to Lavender Town witout a problem!” Meowth said happily.
“There’s an entrance to the tunnels right up here!” Jessie said as she pointed at a nearby hill. As they approached, she began searching for a way to get inside. But as she walked up to the top of the hill, she tripped over a rock. In her frustration she picked it up and tried to throw it, but there was a string attached to it. As the string tightened, an entrance appeared in the grass.
“Bingo, I knew I could find it!” Jessie squealed happily as the three stepped inside.
“Yeah, real genius Jessie.” Meowth said sarcastically.
The tunnel was damp and stuffy and lit with florescent lights over head, but as they walked for a while, people began to appear, then stores, restaurants, and even hotels all under ground!
“It’s amazin dis place don’t collapse onto top of us!” Meowth said sarcastically.
“It’s like a Team Rocket city all under ground!” Jessie said happily as she looked into the windows of stores. The air was fresh and filled with the smells of the restaurants and food.
“Jess, can’t we stop for some food?” James whined.
“Oh all right, just pick a restaurant already.” Jessie said. She knew that James and Meowth couldn’t resist food of any kind. James and Meowth dragged Jessie into the first restaurant they saw. It seemed fancy and was filled with other Rocket members all in different ranks. James and Meowth ordered everything on the menu and ate like they had been starved their whole lives. When finally the check came, Jessie was surprised to find out that everything available in the tunnel was free with proof of Team Rocket member ship. Her I.D. had become her charge card. As the day moved on, Jessie, James, and Meowth treated themselves to many new gifts.
By nightfall, they found themselves directly under Lavender Town. The only thing left to do was wait.