The first thing I remembered was that Koffing and I had been separated  from Jessie and James, who had been our trainers for a whole year. I  missed her already, especially when she would pet me and call me her  good little girl. Tears came to my eyes as I thought about it.
  "Oh, Koffing," I said. "What are we going to do? We've been separated  from our masters!"
  "Don't worry, Ekans," said Koffing. "We'll find them! James would  never abandon me, just like Jessie would never abandon you!"
  "I hope so," I said. "I miss Jessie terribly!"
  Meowth then approached us. He too had been separated from Jessie and  James, even though they weren't his trainers.
  "It's about time I found you," he said. "Anyone hurt?"
  "I'm okay," said Koffing. "But, poor Ekans looks like she lost her  best friend!"
  "She'll be fine," said Meowth. "We've gotta find a way off this  island!"
  "Do what you want," said Koffing. "Poor Ekans is practically  heartbroken! Can't you see she misses her master, just like I miss  mine?"
  I appreciated Koffing coming to my defense like that. I was lucky to  have a friend like him. So, I decided to take charge, just like Jessie.  Like master, like Pokemon, I guess.
  "We have to find Jessie and James," I said firmly. "They're probably  worried sick about us!"
  "She's right," said Koffing. "The sooner we find them, the sooner we  get out of here!"
  Meowth, realizing that he couldn't argue with me (never underestimate  the power of a lady, especially when that lady was a snake), decided to  look for them with us.
  Just then, we heard arguing. From our hiding place in the bushes, we  saw Pikachu, Charmander, Squirtle, and Bulbasaur. They were castaways on  the island, just like we were.
  "Look," I said. "It's our masters' enemy's Pokemon! But, how'd they  get here?"
  "Probably got separated from their master," said Koffing. "Just like  we were!"
  Meowth pushed his way through. "So, Pikachu and his friends survived?  That means I can finally get my revenge!"
  "Meowth, stop it," I said. "This is neither the time nor the place!"
  "Who died and made you queen?" said Meowth. "I'm gonna get revenge on  that little rat, and you're not gonna stop me!"
  I was about to wrap my coils around him and strangle him when he got  away from me and confronted Pikachu, Charmander, Squirtle, and  Bulbasaur. They obviously didn't take his arrival seriously. Koffing and  I appeared behind him.
  "Be serious, Meowth," I said. "They obviously don't think your  entrance was good enough! Face it, you're nothing!"
  Meowth agreed with me, but only for a second. "Never mind! Okay, guys,  go get 'em!"
  "Is he kidding?" said Koffing. "Does he think he can take over like  this, Ekans?"
  "Just follow my lead and don't obey him," I said. "Remember, Koffing,  you're loyal to James, and I'm loyal to Jessie!"
  Koffing did as he was told and didn't move. I didn't move either.
  Meowth got aggravated at us.
  "Hey! I said go get 'em!"
  "Forget it, Meowth," I said. "You not Master!" When he didn't  understand, I added more firmly, "I only obey Master!"
  "She's right," said Koffing. "Only Master can give me orders!"
  "Masters?" said Meowth. "I'm twice as smart as two-watt lightbulbs  you're callin' masters!"
  I got a little offended by this remark. "Master is Master!"
  "Yes, yes," said Koffing. "My master is not a two-watt lightbulb! He's  as smart as anything!"
  "Come on," said Meowth. "We'll bad guys here! We don't need masters to  tell us to go out and do bad stuff!"
  "Pokemon not bad guys," I said. "It's true, and you know it!"
  Meowth was shocked by my reply. He thought that because we worked for  Team Rocket, we had "evil" written all over us.
  "There's no such thing as a bad Pokemon?"
  "'Fraid not," I said. "Pokemon do bad things...because Master bad!"
  This I knew to be true. Even though we weren't inherently evil, the  only way Pokemon could become bad is if their trainer had a mean streak.
  Koffing and I continued to ignore Meowth, even after he called his  so-called "fight" a draw.
  Since we saw no reason to battle them, we decided to call it truce,  but only a temporary truce, just like Jessie and James did while they  were still on the sunken St. Anne. We set up camp and had some food.
  Pikachu was the first to speak.
  "What were you guys doing?"
  "Same thing you are," I replied. "We're looking for our masters!"
  "Yeah," said Koffing. "I'm afraid that we've lost track of them!  They're gone!"
  "What a shame," said Charmander. "That's really awful!"
  "He's right," said Squirtle. "Ours are gone too!"
  "You poor fools," said Bulbasaur. "Can't you see what's happened?  They've abandoned us!"
  I was shocked to hear this. "Abandoned?"  I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What if Bulbasaur was right?  What if Jessie and James really did abandon us?  Looking at Koffing, I added, "He said they were abandoned! Maybe us,  too!"
  "Abandoned?" said Koffing. "Oh, merciful God, no! How will survive  without them?"
  "Don't listen to Bulbasaur," said Pikachu. "He's been a pessimistic  sourpuss since we started out! Besides, it's not true!"
  "Yeah," said Charmander. "They're probably looking for you right now!  Don't worry about a thing! You'll be back with your masters before you  know it!"
  I breathed a sigh of relief, but before I could say anything, Meowth  spoke up.
  "Hey, guys," he said. "Ain't you ever gonna stop stuffin' your faces  and give Meowth somethin' to eat?"
  "That depends," said Squirtle. "Are you sorry for all that you've done  to us?"
  Meowth snorted in disgust. "I don't apologize!"
  "If you won't say you're sorry," said Squirtle. "Then, no food for  Meowth!"
  "Stop makin' fun of me," said Meowth. "Untie me and give me somethin'  to eat!"
  Suddenly, we heard something coming toward us. It was a giant Rhydon.
  "Let's beat it," I said. "I don't want to be on that thing's menu!"
  "Neither do I," said Koffing. "I'd say we run for it!"
  "Don't forget, Koffing," I said. "Ladies first!"
  This was true, I was the only female amongst a group of males.
  "Etiquette, schmetiquette, Ekans," said Koffing. "It's every Pokemon  for himself!"
  I hated to admit it, but Koffing wasn't kidding. The situation that we were in was beyond calling for etiquette. We ran until we ran into a  Slowpoke. He took pity on us and gave us some food. Pikachu and Meowth  soon caught up with us.
  "This island isn't safe for either of us," I said. "I want to find my  master!"
  "Calm down, Ekans," said Pikachu. "Tomorrow, we'll all search for our  missing masters!"
  "Call me crazy," said Meowth. "But, I miss Jessie and James! I hope  they're all right!"
  "Us too," said Koffing. "Believe me, Meowth, you're not the only one  who's worried about them!"
  I sighed. "I'd give anything to have Jessie scoop me into her arms  right now!"
  As I thought about it, tears came to my eyes for the second time in a whole day. Pikachu felt sorry for me and comforted me as best he could.
  After we had eaten, we found a place to crash for the night. I was so  heartbroken that I cried myself to sleep. I hoped that somehow, we would  all be reunited with our masters.
  The next day, we resumed our search, only this time, we had friends  (temporary ones, anyway) helping us.
  "Are you okay, Ekans?" said Koffing, seeing that I was still upset.  "Is there anything I can get you?"
  "I'm fine, Koffing!"
  "You don't look fine," said Koffing. "Tell me! I'll understand!"
  "Let her be, Koffing," said Meowth. "She's not very talkative today,  so it's probably best if you don't say anything to her!"
  As concerned as he was, Koffing did as he was told and didn't say a  word to me. Instead, Meowth tried to talk to me.
  "Ekans," he said. "You can talk to us! We're your friends!"
  "I appreciate it, Meowth," I said. "But, please, just leave me alone!"
  "I know you're upset," said Meowth. "But, what would Jessie think of  you if she saw you cryin' like this? She'd want you to be tough, just  like she is! Whatever happened to the vicious Ekans who tried to  strangle me with her coils last night?"
  "She's upset," I said. "That's what happened to her! And she's trying  to find her master!"
  Along the way, we ran into some rather unusual Pokemon: a Blastoise  and a Venusaur. Squirtle had tried talking to Blastoise, but to no  avail. Bulbasaur then refused to talk to Venusaur by saying to call him  an orphan and that he had no family.
  "So much for that," said Charmander. "Now what do we do?"
  "I don't know," said Pikachu. "And we're getting nowhere fast!"
  "Admit it, Pikachu," said Bulbasaur. "Ash abandon us! There's no  possible way around it!"
  "I'm sick of your attitude," I said, speaking on Pikachu's behalf.  "And I won't stand for any pessimistic remarks from you! I'm warning  you, you little weed, either you cooperate, or I swear to God I'll rip  that bulb right off your back and swallow you like a Spearow egg!"
  Bulbasaur, seeing the viciousness in that threat of bodily harm,  gulped nervously and realized that he was better off cooperating than  being so pessimistic.
  He was about to say something when Koffing interrupted.
  "You guys," he said. "You're not gonna believe this, but I think I may  have found them!"
  "Found who, Koffing?" I said. "Tell us!"
  "Our masters!"
  "As good as that sounds," said Pikachu. "I think a Charizard is after  us! Run!"
  He was right, a Charizard was after us. We ran away as fast as we  could. I was both scared and anxious, anxious to get back.
  As we fled for our lives, I looked and saw five humans in what  appeared to be a railroad car. Among them was a seventeen-year-old girl  with long, red hair. I knew right away who it was.
  "I'm coming, Jessie, " I said. "Your little Ekans is coming back to  you!"
  I kept envisioning myself in Jessie's arms and feeling her fingers  massaging my skin, which I knew could go for a nice massage.
  I heard a boy's voice telling us to jump. Even though he wasn't our  master, I did as I was told, as did Koffing. I landed safely in Jessie's  arms, and Koffing received a happy embrace from James.
  Jessie was happy to see me. "Oh, Ekans, my poor baby, I was worried  sick about you! Mommy's glad to have her little girl back!"
  "Ekans really missed you, Jess," said James. "I'll bet she was just as  worried about you as you were about her!"
  "I was more than worried," said Jessie. "I was afraid that I'd never  see her again! Besides, who else am I going to use as a practice for  when I have a baby of my own?"
  James blushed. He obviously knew what Jessie was talking about,  especially since he was madly in love with her.
  Meowth, who we thought was gone, reunited with us and everyone was  together again.
  After our adventure was over, Jessie massaged my skin while James and  Koffing played tag and Meowth caught up on his nap time. I felt better  knowing that I was back with my master and that I was receiving a  therapeutic massage.
  "I thought you were gone for good, Ekans," said Jessie. "I'm never  going to lose you again, I promise! You're my good little girl, yes you  are!"
  I enjoyed hearing her talk like that. It actually resembled the kind  of gibberish that human mothers say to their babies.
  The massage was so good that I fell asleep on her lap. Jessie smiled  and kissed my little head. James approached her.
  "Jessie, can I talk to you alone for a few minutes?"
  "Sure, James," said Jessie. "Ekans is taking her nap anyway, so I  guess I could have a private talk!"
  She gently took me off her lap, laid me on a small rock, and followed  James to a secluded part of the beach.
  "Okay, James," she said. "What is you want to want to talk to me  about?"
  "Jessie," said James, taking her hands in his. "I'm not an idiot! I  know how the world works! You've probably got ten bucks in your pocket,  seeing as how you grew up! And you have nothing to offer me, and..."
  "James, calm down," said Jessie. "What's gotten into you all of a  sudden?"
  "I keep thinking about how we nearly died on the St. Anne," said  James, his rich, emerald green eyes welling up with tears. "And I  thought that it was my fault that it happened!"
  "That's not true," said Jessie. "James, it's not your fault!"
  "Yes, it is," said James, the sobs increasing by the second. "If I  hadn't squandered our paychecks on that Magikarp, we wouldn't have ended  up trying to avoid getting ourselves killed!"
  "You poor sweetheart," said Jessie, pulling him into a hug and running  her fingers through his shoulder-length blue hair. "Don't cry! None of  this was your fault! Besides, you saved my life, just like I saved  yours!"
  "I love you, Jessie," said James. "I love you with all my heart and  soul! I've loved you since the day I laid my eyes on you, but I was  afraid to say anything!"
  "I love you too, James," said Jessie. "You're the one that I've waited  for all my life!"
  They got closer and locked their lips in a tender kiss. I awoke to see  them walking back hand in hand and looking lovingly into each other's  eyes. Koffing floated over to me.
  "What happened?"
 "I think our masters found more than just us, Koffing," I said. "If I  didn't know any better, I'd say they've found love!"
  "That's so nice," said Koffing. "Especially since they've got  potential as a couple!"
  "Yeah," I said with a sigh. "They sure do!"
  I couldn't help but sigh. I was a romantic (not a hopeless romantic,  mind you, but a romantic), and it struck me as a beautiful thing that  Jessie and James had feelings for each other, deep feelings. Meowth  awoke from his nap.
  "Did I miss anything?"
  "Only a very tender moment," I said. "It would appear that Jessie and  James are in love!"
  "Those crazy kids," said Meowth. "They always have a way with  expressin' their feelings!"
  "Yeah," said Koffing. "They sure do!"
  I said nothing more as I watched Jessie and James kiss. I would always  remember this forever, even after I evolve.