Summary: Team Rocket gets a new assignment to capture Pikachu -- make Ash fall in love, and he'll forget all about pokemon training. Perfect, right? … Right?! Then again, things never come easy for our favorite villains… Romance & Humor, Ash & Misty, Jesse & James.

A/N: Woah, it's been a long time since I've had enough free time to write something new! Actually, I didn't even have enough time to read anything… but now that school's on a break, maybe I'll actually get something done. :-P

I'm putting "Masked Intentions" on hold for a while -- the idea for the story kinda excited me when I first thought of it, but now I'm not in the mood to write it! I feel more comfortable writing romantic comedies, not serious mystery things! I'll pick the story back up when I feel more comfortable with it… so for now, here's another idea that's been swirling around in my head! It's a romantic comedy, a kind of WAFFY (warm and fuzzy) fic, meaning fluff! :-P

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine. :-)

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Operation: MATCHMAKER
By: xSPiNx
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Chapter One: Debriefing
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"Pikachu, you know what to do…" Ash yawned lazily, swatting at the air.

Pikachu, who had donned sunglasses and was lounging in a miniature sized lawn chair sipping a small beverage, complete with a tiny umbrella, looked up. He sighed. "Pikachu…" he muttered halfheartedly, letting out a small crackle of static electricity. The yellow bolt of energy quickly zigzagged through the air and found it's target -- two trainers and their Meowth -- and the unlucky trio were promptly blown into the air.

"Look's like Team Rocket's blasting off agaaiiin…"

Brock watched as the would-be criminals faded off into a twinkling star in the distance, shaking his head. "It gets easier every time." He brightened up. "Anyone up for lunch?"

Yes, throughout Ash's weird, somewhat funny, somewhat annoying relationship with Team Rocket, it had gotten easier every time. It had started dubiously enough -- an almost successful attempt at a Pokemon Center robbery -- but their plans had slowly evolved into botched campaigns involving rubber gloves and 10 foot deep holes. They had gone through countless numbers of Meowth Balloons, Gyarados Ships, and everything else in between.

And then there was the motto.

"Maybe," Ash mused, "If they didn't say that stupid motto every time they tried to do something, their plans would actually work." He stretched his legs, and watched as Pikachu lazily continued tanning. He smiled, the smell of Brock's cooking slowly wafting towards his nose. And then he frowned, his eyes catching a beautiful -- yet deadly -- sight.

Misty.

If Ash's relationship with Team Rocket had been hard, then his relationship with Misty had been as hard as a metapod on steroids.

For one, the girl always thought she was right. Two, she loved starting arguments. And three, well, she always thought she was right! Not a good combination.

Ash didn't know what he saw in her, anyway.

He caught himself mid-thought, shaking his head. "Wait a minute! I don't see anything in her! She's a…" -- he made a disgusted face -- "a GIRL!!!" He forced his eyes to stop looking at her, tearing his gaze away. Not that it mattered, though -- in a few seconds, his vision had returned to the young lady, who was now playfully joking with Pikachu.

Ash couldn't help himself but smile. Pikachu was usually a good judge of character, and the electric rodent had taken an instant liking to Misty.

Maybe she wasn't that bad.

"ASH KETCHM!!!" Her screech was as bad as nails on a chalkboard, the squeal of a microphone being held to close to a speaker, the squeak of Styrofoam being rubbed together, or, the worst of all - Butch's voice. Ash felt himself involuntarily shudder.

Or then again, maybe she was.

"What?" Ash asked, the annoyance evidence in his tone. "What did I do this time?"

He hated fighting, and especially fighting with her. But sometimes, it was like yelling was the only thing she responded to.

"I've been chatting with Pikachu here," she smiled sweetly, trying to conceal her irritation. Ash didn't buy it.

"…And?"

"And," she turned on Ash, her voice still dangerously sweet, "He might of accidentally let slip that you have something planned." She took three long strides forward, closing in on Ash. She jabbed a finger in his chest. "Where are we headed?"

Ash shot Pikachu a deadly look. Pikachu, who had been trying unsuccessfully to make himself look smaller and hide behind a rock, glanced up at Ash innocently and waved at him.

"Well…?"

"I told you already!" Ash snapped back defensively. "We're just headed back to Pallet so I can… drop something off for my mom." He chuckled nervously and scratched the back of his head.

Misty stared at Ash quizzically. Something was definitely going on, and she was determined to get to the bottom of it. If only Ash wasn't the irresponsible, immature kid that he was, then everything would be so much easier. She chuckled to herself. Then, she noticed how much she had actually closed in on Ash. In fact, there was hardly any space between them at all… and from here, she noticed that even thought he still acted like a little kid, he didn't look like one anymore. He had grown taller, his features had matured, and his voice had grown deeper. But, Misty noted, he still had the same eyes. Those same determined, though somewhat confused, deep brown eyes. She smiled.

"What are you looking at? And what are you smiling for?" Ash's voice brought her back into reality. He moved around, trying to get out of her range of vision.

"Oh, nothing," she said, in her sugary voice.

"But weren't you staring at my head?"

"Exactly. Where your brain should be." With another overly sweet smile and a toss of her head, Misty left Ash to ponder.

"Huh?" Ash cocked his head, confused. Realization dawned upon him. "HEY! Whaddya mean by that?!" But it was too late. And as much as he hated to admit it, that had been a pretty good comeback. He mentally added another thing to his list. Four -- she always won her arguments, no matter what.

He hated that the most.

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A battered, bruised, and broken Team Rocket lay underneath an enormous tree, nursing their wounds. They were experts at it now, considering that they had done it so many times before.

Jesse grinned ruefully, in spite of herself. "If only they gave out awards for bandaging a wound, James and I would win the prize!" She winced as she rubbed some medicine on a small bump that the ground had graciously given her when it had broken her fall. The serious wounds were usually few and far between, but for some reason, it was the little scrapes and bruises that still hurt the most.

Kind of like life.

Take today, for example. Sure, they usually came out of their "battles" (if you could call them that) with Pikachu relatively unscathed, but it was the little things that bothered Jesse. Her perfect ensemble of the Team Rocket uniform usually came out with a little less fabric then it went in with, and -- she shuddered -- the part when "Team Rocket blasted off again" did horrors to her hair.

As she sat nursing her wounds, she heard something she never expected: a videophone.

Ring Ring Ring! Ring Ring Ring! Phone call! Phone call!

James shrieked, jumping into Jesse's arms. She gave him a curious look, and came to a quick conclusion.

BOOM

She dropped him.

If looks could kill, then Jesse would definitely be dead -- no doubt about it. But, rubbing his backside as he slowly lifted himself off of the ground, James knew better than to try anything. Instead, he decided to change the subject. "Where'd the videophone come from?"

Jesse shrugged, brushing off her hands. "Who knows? Strange things always pop out of nowhere on television and in fan fiction. It's convenient."

"Oh yeah."

That problem being resolved, the two trainers and their Meowth stared at the phone blankly.

Ring Ring Ring. Ring Ring Ring. Phone call! Phone call!

Meowth's ears twitched in anticipation. "Will one of ya's answer it already?!"

Indignantly, with a soft "hmph" and her nose turned slightly toward the sky, Jesse tentatively picked up the receiver. "…Hello?"

Like magic, as soon as the receiver was lifted off of it's pedestal, the screen started to buzz and glow, a picture slowly starting to focus. But Team Rocket knew who was calling even before the picture came up. The identity of the mysterious caller was evident as soon as he spoke -- which was quick, because he didn't wait for so much as a hello when Jesse answered the phone.

"Listen up," a gruff voice from the end of the receiver barked. "We've got a new plan."

The picture on the video screen started to focus, giving Team Rocket a good picture of who they were talking to. Wait, that was misleading. The screen focused, but because their boss was totally enshrouded in shadows, Jesse and James only saw the boss's hand, which was stroking what seemed to be two gleaming yellow eyes. A red flash of a gem quickly confirmed what the weird thing was -- Persian.

Meowth could feel himself growling subconsciously. And that was a bad thing -- only dogs growled. Meowth's lips curled upward.

"--But you have to be willing to do something very, very difficult." Jesse and James could feel the boss's shrewd eyes observing them, even from behind the safety of the videophone.

"Sure thing, boss!" Jesse nodded enthusiastically. "Anything!"

"Uh huh, yeah, anything!" James piped up from behind her, nodding his head like a jackhammer.

"After studying Ash Ketchum," the boss continued, ignoring them, "We have concluded one thing -- he is easily distracted. By everything and anything--"

"Uh huh, yeah, anything!"

"--And especially by people in need. Our research group has concluded that if Ash comes across anyone that needs help, he won't be able to resist but help them!" The boss turned in his chair, chuckling.

"Uh huh, yeah, any--OWW!" James reeled, nursing three fresh scratch marks swiped across his face courtesy of the cranky feline beside him. "Meowth, what was that for?!"

"Will ya's be quiet so we can hear da boss?"

"Thank you, Meowth," the boss cut in, the annoyance evident in his voice.

Meowth swelled up with pride, a soft purr emitting from his chest. Visions of being the "Top Cat" danced in his head. "Sure thing, boss!" Meowth hummed happily, getting lost in his illusions of grandeur.

"As I was saying," the boss continued tersely, "If we distract that boy, we are sure to get that Pikachu!"

Unluckily for the boss, Jesse, James and Meowth were not paying attention to him. But luckily for Team Rocket, the boss wasn't paying attention to them either.

"There, there, James.." Jesse cooed, shooting the cat a dirty look. Meowth didn't notice, the illusions of being the boss's trademark pokemon still dancing in his thoughts. She patted James on the back. "If it makes you feel better, your hair doesn't look nearly as messed up as it does when we usually get thrown into the air!" She looked over him, scrunching her eyes up. "Yes, it looks very tidy today. Very clean cut."

"Your assignment is to distract Ash Ketchum."

"Really?" James perked up. "Because I tried a new hair gel this morning!" His spirits immediately crashed back down, a realization dawning upon him. "Oh…"

Jesse sighed. James' emotions were like a roller coaster! "What now?"

"I was going for the messy look…"

"It is codenamed…" the boss paused dramatically, but the dramatic flourish was lost on Team Rocket, who were busy discussing hair tips. "Operation: Make Another Trainer Call for Help to Make Ash Ketchum Effectively Respond."

Jesse could have hit James. But, knowing that hair was always a sensitive issue that should be treated carefully, she opted not to. "Well," she trailed off, putting a finger to her lips. She scrunched her eyes even more. "In fact, it does look messy!"

"Or for short -- Operation: MATCHMAKER."

James' face sprung back to hopeful as fast as Jesse could say 'prepare for trouble.' "Do you really think so?"

"Of course! You, err… must tell me how you do it." Jesse added the last part hesitantly -- her hair was great, and she knew it!

"Well," James began, one of his "scholarly" moments starting to take form. "First, I start with a little hair gel. Most people style when their hair is wet, but I like to towel dry. You put a big gloop of gel in your hands, like this." He demonstrated with exaggerated motions, like Jesse was stupid. "You take it and--"

"Jesse. James. Meowth." The boss's gruff voice cut through the air like a knife through a marshmallow. "Have you been paying attention?"

The two trainers and the pokemon snapped their heads up guiltily.

"…O-of c-c-ourse!"

"Dat's what top cats do, right boss?"

"Uh huh, yeah, anything!"

"Good. Starting as soon as possible, commence with Operation: MATCHMAKER. Do not fail." With a harsh click, the boss hung up.

Jesse blinked. "Operation… MATCHMAKER?!"

"You mean…" James sputtered, disbelievingly, "The boss wants us…"

"…tah play matchmaker…"

"…with the twerps?!" Jesse finished the thought. She put a finger to her lip thoughtfully. "That shouldn't be too hard."

The three sat in silence, eyeing each other. Then, as if on cue, they all burst into tears.

"This is gonna be haaaard!" James whined. "Ash and Misty get along worse than Meowth and Persian!"

"I know, James, I know!" Jesse blew her nose, feigning mock bravery for her comrades. "But we have to do it for the boss! Just think of everything we'll be able to buy with the promotion we'll get if we do this!"

James sniffed. "If you say so…"

The trio was quiet again. And then they all burst into tears again.

"But Jesse, I don't wanna! Don't make me!"

Jesse, who would rather shave her head then interfere with anything that had to do with Ash and Misty's relationship, nodded her head profusely. "OK, I changed my mind, we don't have to--"

"We gotta do it for da boss! Or else I won't be da Top Cat!"

"Buzz off, Meowth."

Then, within a mile radius, a clawing noise, followed by a yelp of two humans, then the harsh cry of a Meowth being hit with a mallet could be heard. And then it was silent. And a split second later, if you listened closely, a collective bawling could be heard as Team Rocket burst into tears again, remembering their mission.

To be continued…

A/N: Oh no! Team Rocket wasn't paying attention! I wonder what they're gonna do…? ;-)Haha, well if you can't tell, I really like Team Rocket. You gotta love 'em, they're cool! I hope everyone liked this chapter, because I had a lot of fun writing it. See you in the next one! For now, please review if you have the time!

Comments/suggestions/constructive criticisms are all welcome. :-P