Given the circumstances it could have been much, much worse. At least this time they were within walking distance of a Pokemon center when the pack of wild Ursarings attacked.

But it still didn't change the fact that Ash was stuck with one of his worst enemies, and he knew he couldn't turn his back for a minute or she would steal Pikachu and run away faster than he could blink. That thought always scared him, he thought as he glanced over at a sleeping Pikachu, that one day Team Rocket would actually do it right.

"This isn't fair," he grumbled. "Why does this stuff always have to happen to me?"

Jessie glared at him.

"You think you have it bad?! Why, you presumptuous little brat, try being cold and hungry and poor and oppressed all your life! Why, my family was so poor we had to eat snow!"

Ash raised an eyebrow.

"...I didn't ask for your life story, okay?" But she was too caught up in the throes of her dramatics to listen.

"Nothing but snow...and the other children were mercilessly cruel to me, every teacher I ever had said I was a disappointment..." She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead as she did a little twirl. "My mother disappeared on a mission when I was but a tot, I never knew my father..."

This caught Ash's attention.

"...you never knew your dad either?"

She blinked, thrown out of her theatrics as she plunked down on the bed unceremoniously.

"No..." She looked genuinely confused. "Don't tell me we have actually have something in common!"

"Yeah." Ash looked down. "My mom says he left to become a Pokemon master just after I was born, and she never saw him again." He closed his eyes. "What happened to your dad?"

Jessie moved a little closer to the kid. This is too weird.

"My mother said she didn't even remember him. They spent a night together, and the next day he went missing," she said. "I know he's dead, though, my mother said the cops eventually found his body on the sidewalk after he fell off a roof and cracked his head."

Ash shuddered.

"How old were you when she told you?"

"About five, maybe almost six."

That explains a lot, Ash thought.

"Mom doesn't even know whether my dad's still alive or not. She used to get letters, but one day they just stopped and she eventually gave up waiting for him to come home," he said.

"Jeez, that's tough." Jessie reluctantly put a hand on his shoulder. "Um...sorry to hear that. Must've been hard, growing up with one parent."

"Not really, my mom's great! And Professor Oak's always been like a second father to me anyway...but you, if what you said before about your life was true, I guess you really do have it worse," he said.

"Actually, I made everything up except for the parts about my parents, and eating snow," Jessie admitted. "But it was awesome how I totally had you fooled!" she cackled. Ash rolled his eyes.

"Somehow I had a feeling. Still, if you had to eat snow-"

"It wasn't that bad!" Jessie said. "If nothing else it was year-round free ice cream!" Ash couldn't help but chuckle at that.

"So. Guess you and me...we're not that different after all, huh?"

"Well, I'm still light years cooler and more fashionable than you'll ever be, but yes."

Silence.

"So...what's on TV?" Jessie asked. Ash grabbed the remote and began to flip around.

"Oh, hey, I remember this show! ...wow, how old are these news clips?" Ash laughed.

"Wow, Helena the weather lady was my age when this one came out!" Jessie commented. And so they sat there, watching old news clips and laughing the rest of the night.