Angel of the Shadows

9. Murkrow's Treasure

Angel followed the trio in silence for several minutes, unsure what to say to a group who had been her idols for the longest time. She'd tried to explain her reverence to people before. Only her father understood, though. Neither approved that the trio repeatedly lied to, cheated, and stole from Trainers. But what made her admire them the most was their perseverance and dedication. No matter what happened. Regardless of their failures. They never gave up. Their willpower, creativity, and the fact they did not let their losses set them back was something she thought everyone should respect them for. Sadly, it seemed more people focused on the negative than the positive.

She glanced hesitantly towards them, trying to get the courage to speak and figure out what to say. James caught the first look and paid no mind. After the fourth time, he paused. "Is there something I can help you with?"

"Oh. Uhm." Angel blushed slightly and almost looked at her feet like a child being scolded. "Sorry. It's just...I've been with Team Rocket for a long time. So long, I'd lost hope that I'd ever have the honor of meeting you, let alone traveling with you. I know I'm a nobody, too, so..."

"And? We're nobodies as well and look at us. The whole world knows our names. It just goes to show that, even if you're a failure, you're still a somebody. You can still make something of yourself. So long as you're doing what you love, nobody else's opinions matter."

"Enough with the feelgoody stuff," Meowth interjected, "We gots a long ways to go and can't be pausin' all the time for small talk."

"Meowth's right, you know." Jessie walked off. "C'mon. We can get to know each other better when we stop for lunch."

"Could always just find "the twerps" and hope they blasted us off in the right direction," Angel muttered softly, but not quietly enough, for James burst out in laughter. He gave her a friendly slap on the back before he, too, continued down the path.

Silence fell yet again. After a while, Jessie and James began to point out spots and tell her about a memory of that place. Most of it was of battles with Ash or other Trainers—which she had already heard many of secondhand from those involved—but it was something else entirely to hear it from the point of view of the "villains".

Finally, they chose a spot slightly off the road and went about the necessary tasks to camp for the night. Angel almost questioned why they weren't eating luxury in town, but then she remembered. Team Rocket. If anyone in town recognized them, they would be chased out. What a lonely, scary life this had to be for them.

After she shook those thoughts off, she placed her knapsack beside a tree and wandered about to make herself useful and collect things like twigs and water. For a little bit of that time, she looked around for things to eat that weren't poisonous or otherwise bad. But, ultimately, she chose not to get anything she saw because she wasn't certain enough. Angel made a mental note to pick up a book on wild flora and fauna the next time she was in town.

Ten minutes later. They sat around a nice little fire while they waited for the potatoes and wild mushrooms to roast to perfection. Nobody spoke, and she could feel goosebumps on her arms. It was as if the mood had completely gone south. Halfway through, she could no longer take it. "Did I do something wrong?"

Jessie sighed, fork midway to her mouth. She set it down and grabbed her Rocket Radar. A few clicks of buttons later, she passed it to Angel.

A picture of her with Sylvie covered the top half of the screen. Not just any picture, either. It was the one her mother had taken of them and the Trainer who won the 10,000 PD and the Symbiosis Badge, but with everyone else cut out. How in the world did they get this picture? It was only on their Hall of Fame wall in the Flamestryke PokéTel.