Catnapped!

by LuckyLadybug

Classic Era, season 1. The instructor from The Ultimate Test is determined to have his talking Meowth, no matter how he goes about it ... or what heartache he leaves in his wake.

Pokemon

Catnapped!

By Lucky_Ladybug

Notes: The characters are not mine and the story is! So ever since I rewatched The Ultimate Test I wanted to do something more with the instructor because I didn't like him for a number of reasons. The things that bothered me most were that he wanted Meowth despite knowing he was with Jessie and James and he didn't seem worried about his own Meowth after knowing he blasted off. I also thought the test was unfair in parts. It bothered me that he either wasn't called out on any of those things or that when he was, the person calling him out was treated like a poor sport. I'd expect better behavior from good guys, especially one in authority who was apparently being held up as a good role model! So this idea came to me and I wanted to try it out. It takes place probably in season 1, not long after The Ultimate Test.

It had been a long, tiring day for Team Rocket, filled with another fruitless chase for Pikachu and being blasted off to who knew where. Bruised and hurt from the crash, they were too weary to even try to get up and look for another place to rest. So they just laid down in the grass of the park and slipped off to sleep.

A shadowy figure crept up on them before long, a small and injured cat in his arms. "Now I'll finally have you," he said low. Setting the other Meowth down, he took out a hypodermic loaded with tranquilizer and gently eased it into Team Rocket's Meowth's shoulder. "I don't want you suddenly waking up and calling out," he whispered. "It's not a crime to steal from thieves, but I don't want to deal with your humans right now. I just want the only talking Meowth in existence."

With that, he slipped into the woods with his prize, leaving the wounded Meowth behind.

xxxx

James was the first to awaken in the morning. "Oh, I'm getting so sick of blasting off," he muttered as he slowly sat up. "It's wreaking havoc on my back."

He frowned as he looked to where Meowth was still sleeping. "Meowth?" He didn't remember all those bruises last night. Or the blood. . . .

Worried now, he scrambled over and lifted the cat into his arms. "Meowth!"

"Meow?" The Meowth's eyes slowly opened.

"Meow?!" James stared. "What kind of a thing is that for you to say?!"

"Meow." The Meowth painfully turned over in James' arms and struggled to get free. Unprepared for that, James couldn't hold on. The Meowth slipped to the grass and gave a yowl.

"Can't you two keep it down?!" Jessie suddenly screamed.

Right now, James was too worried to feel guilty for waking her up. "Jessie, something's wrong with Meowth!" he exclaimed instead.

"What?!" Jessie scowled. "Something's always wrong with Meowth. But . . ." She came closer, frowning. "Hey, he's hurt!"

"I know!" James cried. "And what's worse, he acts like he's afraid of me! And he won't talk!"

"Meowth, not talk?" Jessie came over to look at the Pokemon more closely. "Meowth, what's wrong with you?!"

"Meow!" the Meowth wailed. "Meow!"

"Jessie . . ." James went stiff. "What if . . . what if Meowth's hurt so badly that he can't talk?! What if he's forgotten how?!"

"Well . . ." Jessie frowned. She reached out to touch the cat and he curled in a ball, shaking. "He acts like he's forgotten us, too. But these injuries aren't from blasting off. He was in a fight!"

"It must have been while we were asleep!" James cried. "Jessie, what are we going to do?!"

"We're going to take him to the nearest Pokemon Center," Jessie insisted. She scooped the Meowth into her arms. "They'll figure out what's wrong with him."

"But will Nurse Joy even believe that he talks?!" James exclaimed.

Jessie hesitated. ". . . I'm pretty sure the Pokemon Center in this town is one we tried to rob before," she said slowly. "Nurse Joy will remember."

"Maybe she'll call the police on us!" James suddenly worried.

"Her first job is to take care of injured Pokemon," Jessie retorted. "She'll be more worried about that than about calling the police. Once Meowth is better, we'll just hurry and get out of there." She started walking.

James scrambled to catch up. "But . . . what if . . ." He trailed off.

"What if what?" Jessie growled in annoyance.

"What if he doesn't get better?" James said softly.

Jessie didn't answer.

xxxx

Meowth groaned as consciousness slowly returned. "Oh wow, that was some blast-off," he mumbled. "I feel all woozy. . . ."

"Wonderful!" boomed a voice above him. "Keep talking!"

"Huh?!" Meowth looked up with a start. "You're not James! Or Jessie! And . . ." He gasped at the realization that he was seeing through silver rods. "Why am I behind bars?!"

"Just a precaution," the voice replied. Now it sounded vaguely familiar. "I didn't want you immediately running off if you woke up while I was out."

Meowth leaped to his feet. "Hey, what is this?!" he demanded. He grabbed the bars, shaking them in his front paws. "If I ain't under arrest, I wanna get out of here! Jessie and James must be worried!"

"Nevermind Jessie and James." The voice stepped into the light. "You're going to be mine."

Meowth stared. "I remember you," he gasped. "The instructor from that Pokemon League test thing! You were really fascinated by me from the start!" He rocked back. "You catnapped me?!"

"It was the best possible chance to get you," the instructor replied. "It doesn't matter if I steal from crooks."

"But I don't belong to them anyway!" Meowth protested. "I'm their partner, not their Pokemon! I'm free; I don't wanna be caught by anybody!"

"Well, you're going to be caught by me," the instructor insisted. "It will all be fair and square. I'll turn you loose on the ground owned by the school and battle you in order to catch you!"

"What's fair about that?!" Meowth howled. "I don't wanna belong to you! And coming to think about it, after what Jessie and James said about the questions on that test you made everybody take, I don't think you even know the meaning of fair!"

"You don't either, do you?" the instructor countered. "You're a criminal, just like your human 'partners.' But that's all going to change once you're with me. I'll whip you into shape."

Panic was starting to rise in Meowth's heart. It thumped wildly in his furry chest and he backed up against the back of the cage.

"Jessie and James'll come looking for me!" he insisted. "They won't abandon me!"

"No, I don't think they will," the instructor said. "But they're going to have their hands full with the other Meowth."

"Other Meowth?" Meowth swallowed hard. "You mean the one you already caught?"

"That's just an ordinary Meowth," the instructor said smoothly. "A dime a dozen Meowth. You're the only really unique Meowth."

"So you just unloaded the one you didn't care about?!" Meowth leaped forward, eyes flashing, the fur on his back rising in his anger. "Every Pokemon is unique and special! Especially if it's your Pokemon! That Meowth was loyal to you! I wanted to get him out of that battle and he just wanted to obey you, even over another Meowth!" He growled. "But yeah, I remember that when we got blasted off and mixed up, you weren't even worried about your Meowth. All you cared about was having a chance at me! Well, I'll never give you the satisfaction of catching me! I'll die first!"

"I hope not," the instructor said. "I'd hate to have to declaw you to keep you from slitting your throat."

Now Meowth trembled. "D-declaw?!" He threw his paws over his face. "You're a monster! What am I without my Fury Swipes?!" Then something else occurred to him. "And Jessie and James will know that other Meowth ain't me! What kind of harebrained scheme is that?!"

"Oh, I don't think they will know, at least not for a while," the instructor said. "My Meowth was in a rough battle. They probably think you were so badly hurt that you don't remember how to talk. That's what I'm counting on, anyway. And after I've caught you, it won't matter if they figure out the truth."

Meowth took his paws away from his face. "You really are a monster," he gaped. "You didn't even get your Meowth treated and you let him lie out there all night long just so's he could fool Jessie and James?! I'll call the press! I'll tell the whole world about this!"

"But I'm a highly paid Pokemon League instructor while you and your friends are nothing but lowdown crooks," the instructor smirked. "Who do you think people will believe? I'll testify that Team Rocket stole my Meowth and I mistakenly put you in a Pokeball thinking you were mine. Then you were caught and that was that."

"No. . . ." Meowth slumped back, shaking. "Come on, Jessie . . . Jim. . . . You've gotta realize that other Meowth ain't me. You've just gotta." He closed his eyes tightly. "Please. . . ."

The instructor stepped back. "We'll have our battle after the day's tests are over." He smiled. "You won't stand a chance against me."

"You just wait," Meowth hissed. "I won't take this lyin' down! I'll get out of here somehow and I'll tell Jessie and James the truth. And I'm not lettin' that other Meowth come back to you, either. You don't deserve him! We may be crooks, but we'd never do somethin' like that to a Pokemon!"

The instructor just laughed as he left the room.

xxxx

Nurse Joy was both stunned and surprised when the doors to the Pokemon Center burst open and Jessie and James ran in with a badly hurt Meowth. "What happened to your Meowth?!" she gasped.

"We don't know!" James wailed.

"You remember us, don't you?" Jessie exclaimed. "Our Meowth talks? Well, now he isn't talking and he doesn't even seem to know us!" She held him out. "He got into some horrible battle last night while we were sleeping!"

Joy gently took the Meowth from her. "I do remember you," she frowned. "This Meowth is badly hurt. His wounds haven't been treated for hours!"

"We brought him as soon as we woke up!" James protested.

"We'd never let him lay around hurt like this," Jessie added.

Joy looked at them. "I believe you," she said. "I'll do what I can for him." She came out from around the reception desk.

"Do you know why he isn't talking?" James pleaded.

"Or why he acts like we're strangers?" Jessie echoed.

Joy sighed sadly. "It could be the shock of his injuries," she said as a Chansey hurried over with a stretcher. "If that's the case, he'll probably come back to normal when he's treated. But if he has a bad head injury, well . . . he might never be the same again."

Jessie and James stared at each other in horror and dismay.

"I was afraid of that," Jessie said softly. "I studied about that in nursing school. . . ."

"Don't give up," Joy encouraged. "You love Meowth very much, and he loves you. Sometimes that can work miracles." She smiled at them and then hurried into the emergency room with the stretcher.

James stared after it. "Well, Jessie . . . what do you think?" he finally asked.

"I think . . ." Jessie shook her head. "I wish we'd been awake last night so we'd know what happened. How could we have slept through a battle?!"

"Meowth must have woken up and wandered off somewhere else to have the battle, then staggered back to us when it was over." James blinked back tears. "And we didn't even know!"

"Oh James, don't fall apart!" Jessie snapped. "Meowth will probably be just fine in a few hours!"

"What if he isn't?"

James sounded and looked so lost that Jessie was left unsure how to respond. She didn't even want to respond. She didn't want to think about Meowth never being like his old self again.

". . . Then he'd still be Meowth," she barked at last. "And we wouldn't abandon him no matter what!"

"Of course not," James frowned. "But . . ."

"No!" Jessie interrupted. "I don't want to think about it anymore. Meowth is going to get better and that's final!"

An uneasy silence hung over the waiting room for the next two hours. Neither Jessie nor James felt much like talking, for different reasons. Jessie didn't want to deal with it and James didn't want to be snapped at again, so they stayed mutually quiet. When Nurse Joy came out of the emergency room and looked sad, somehow they both knew what she was going to say. Their hearts dropped.

"I'm sorry," she told them. "Meowth is going to recover physically, but he shows no indication that he even knows how to talk. He's still completely quiet. And when I've tried to ask him about the two of you, he gives me a blank look."

"Oh no," James moaned. "No. . . ."

"What can we do about it?" Jessie demanded.

"Be patient and kind with him," Joy said. "Maybe try to interest him in some of your normal activities . . . without breaking the law," she added with a reproving frown.

James perked up a bit. "We can do that!"

"Of course we can!" Jessie agreed. "We'll have him back to normal again!" She paused, looking at Joy. "Did you find any indication of a head injury?"

"No, I didn't," Joy admitted, "so it must have been a different kind of trauma that made him forget-the trauma of the battle in general, or the shock of his injuries . . . maybe even something he saw."

"It must have been horrible to do this to him," James said softly. "Can we see him?"

"Yes," Joy nodded. "You should." She pointed down the hall. "The recovery room is right down there."

"Thank you!" James ran down there in the next instant.

"James, wait up!" Jessie yelled from behind him.

But James didn't stop until he came to the doorway. Then he just stopped and stared sadly at their furry friend. Meowth was laying in the bed, gazing listlessly across the room. It was heartbreaking.

James came closer. "Meowth?"

The curled tail twitched and Meowth looked over warily.

"Meowth, surely you know me," James pleaded.

"Meow." Meowth looked away again.

"What about Jessie?" James tried again. He gestured to his friend as she appeared in the doorway next to him. "You can't have forgotten Jessie."

"Meow." Another tail twitch.

"Team Rocket?" James was growing more desperate. "Meowsie! You would never forget Meowsie!"

"Meow." Flat, matter-of-fact, and without recognition.

"James, it's hopeless," Jessie frowned.

"Wait! I know what you'd like." James pulled a ball of yarn out of his pocket.

"Oh James, really?" Jessie sighed.

"Well, he does like it," James defended. He set the yarn on the bed.

For the first time, Meowth looked interested. He reached up with a paw, tapping the yarn, and then grabbed it in both of his front paws.

"There!" James said. "Finally, we're communicating."

"That's hardly communicating," Jessie objected.

"It's better than all these meows that clearly mean 'No,'" James countered. "At least he hasn't lost interest in everything!"

"Hmph. It figures he'd remember the yarn." Jessie looked away.

James blinked in surprise. "Jessie . . . you're hurt, aren't you?"

"No," Jessie immediately retorted. "We knew it would be like this. It's just . . . knowing it and seeing it are . . . two different things." Her voice cracked. "He's Meowth, and yet . . . he isn't. I thought there'd be some friendliness, even if he didn't remember. But he doesn't even want us here!" She covered her eyes with her hands.

James reached for her, then hesitated, not sure she wanted that right now. "He just needs to get to know us again," he said.

"He doesn't even want to try," Jessie retorted. "This is so ironic. . . . You were falling apart out there, but now you're being strong and I'm the one who can't deal with it!"

"It's like you said, Jessica-knowing and seeing are two different things," James said quietly.

Meowth made a half-growl, half-meow as he snuggled the yarn.

Jessie looked over at him. "Meowth . . . even if you don't remember us, do you like us?"

Meowth looked back at her. "Meow," he said with what could only be termed a shrug.

". . . Well, he doesn't dislike us," James said hopefully.

Jessie sighed.

Something caught her eye out the window and she turned to look. "The twerps are on their way over here," she noticed. "Maybe if Meowth sees them and we recite the motto to them, his memories will start to come back!"

James raised an eyebrow. "Well, I guess it couldn't hurt to try," he said slowly. "But can we get them to come?"

"Of course we can!" Jessie retorted. "Now come on!" She headed out the door, dragging James with her.

"We'll be right back!" he called to the Meowth.

Ash, Misty, and Brock were just coming through the front doors when Jessie and James arrived back in the lobby. The older teens hid around the corner and waited.

"Hey, Nurse Joy," Ash greeted. "Are my Pokemon ready?"

"All healed and happy," Joy smiled, passing him a box of Pokeballs.

"Great!" Ash beamed. "Thanks!" He took them and turned to go.

"You're not free for dinner by any chance, are you?" Brock said hopefully to Joy.

Misty heaved a sigh. "Let's go, Romeo." She grabbed for Brock to pull him along.

Jessie and James looked at each other and nodded. Suddenly they burst into the lobby. "Wait!" Jessie called.

Everyone jumped a mile.

"Oh, not again," Misty groaned.

"It's not what you think," James protested. "Meowth is hurt!"

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

"I'm afraid so," Nurse Joy said. "He was injured in a battle and now he doesn't even remember how to talk."

"He doesn't remember us either," James sobbed.

"Meowth has amnesia?" Brock frowned.

"It's true!" Jessie said. "But we thought that maybe if he saw the three of you and we recited the motto, he'd start remembering something!"

Ash folded his arms. "I don't know. . . . That's a pretty weird plan."

"Pika-Pika," Pikachu agreed.

"But you twerps and the motto are such big parts of Meowth's life!" James pleaded.

"Well, we can't deny that," Misty conceded. "But you two are bigger parts of Meowth's life, and he doesn't remember you."

"Sometimes the strangest things can help restore someone's memory," Brock said.

Ash looked to him. "So . . . you think we should do it, Brock?"

Togepi chirped and waved his tiny hands. He saw nothing wrong in it.

"Maybe," Brock said. "They're our enemies, but we know they care about each other. This must be very painful for them."

"As long as they don't try to take Pikachu, there shouldn't be any harm in it," Nurse Joy said. "It might even help."

James gave a hopeful nod. "You know how you'd feel if Pikachu suddenly didn't remember you anymore," he pleaded.

Pikachu's ears drooped. "Pika-Pi . . ."

Ash looked at him. "Yeah. . . ." He turned back to Team Rocket. "Okay, we'll do it. But only if Nurse Joy is there too."

"And she'll call Officer Jenny if you start acting out," Misty added.

Jessie and James stiffened. "We won't!" James insisted.

"Honestly, right now all we care about is Meowth," Jessie said. "And that's the truth."

"Okay," Brock said. "Then let's go."

They all headed down the hall to the recovery room. When James threw the door open, Meowth was still on the bed, rolling the yarn around and seeming completely absorbed with it.

"Oh, Meowth!" James called. "Look who's here! It's the twerps!" He pushed the younger kids into the room. "I think we should give them a traditional Team Rocket greeting. Don't you?"

A tail twitch.

"Meowth really isn't himself," Misty said softly.

"He's not even looking at us," Ash blinked.

Undaunted and desperate, Jessie and James leaped in and launched into the motto.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation!"

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"

They gestured at Meowth, waiting for him to give his line. Instead, he batted the yarn into the air and caught it. Jessie and James visibly wilted.

"It's not working," James said in hopeless sorrow.

"This is . . . actually kind of sad," Misty said.

"Pikachu," said Pikachu.

Togepi looked saddened as well.

Brock frowned, studying the cat with an observant eye. "He doesn't act the same at all."

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "He acts . . . more like a regular Meowth." A lightbulb went off in his head and he looked at Jessie and James with a start. "Is there any chance he is?"

They blinked, first at him, then at each other. "Hmm?"

"A regular Meowth?" James echoed.

"Do you think it's possible?" Jessie wondered.

"Meowths are pretty common," Ash said. "Another one could have wandered over for help after getting hurt in a battle."

"Well, then what happened to our Meowth?!" James yelped.

"He was with us when we crashed!" Jessie exclaimed. "And isn't it too much of a coincidence that Meowth would disappear and be replaced by another Meowth?!"

". . . Yeah," Ash conceded. "I guess it is. Sorry, I just thought . . ."

"Hey!" Brock interrupted. "What if it's not a coincidence? Suppose somebody wanted Meowth because he talks. Maybe they took him and left another Meowth behind to keep you from chasing them right away!"

Everyone turned to stare at Brock.

"That is outlandish," Jessie snapped.

"Maybe not," James exclaimed. "Why shouldn't some people be interested in a talking Meowth?! We ran into at least one-that Pokemon League test instructor!"

"Ugh!" Jessie made a face. "Don't even mention him!"

"But that's true!" Ash cried. "He was really interested in Meowth! He knew Meowth was with you guys. For all he knew, one of you was his Trainer! But that didn't stop him from wanting Meowth for himself!"

"Todd even said that he wasn't worried about his own Meowth when both of them blasted off," Misty remembered.

"He didn't like the guy at all after that," Brock nodded. "He commented on how the instructor preached about trust and loyalty to one's Pokemon, but he showed he didn't have that loyalty even though his Pokemon did."

Jessie fell silent, really absorbing this idea and a smidgen of hope. In spite of herself, she desperately wanted to believe. "So then . . . this might be that instructor's Meowth?" she said slowly.

"Maybe so!" Nurse Joy suddenly stepped forward, her eyes flashing.

"But that Meowth was cheerful," James remembered.

"And very talkative," Jessie said. "Just not in English."

"I think he has a pretty good reason not to be cheerful now," Brock said, his expression grim.

Nurse Joy nodded. "He sure does, if his Trainer just abandoned him in this condition!" She went over to the bed and looked at the Meowth. "Is that true? Do you belong to an instructor for the Pokemon League tests?"

The Meowth stopped playing with the yarn and looked over at her. "Meow," he said with what looked like a nod.

"And he knew you were hurt and he just left you?" Joy persisted.

"Meow. . . ." The Meowth's eyes filled with tears.

"Oh, the poor thing," Misty said in horror.

"That's barbaric!" James cried in outrage.

Jessie stared. "So then . . . our Meowth probably really does remember us?!" It seemed so wonderful that she was afraid to believe it too strongly. But . . . just looking at how things were unfolding . . . it seemed very plausible.

"I'm sure he does, Jess!" James smiled. He looked to the Meowth on the bed. "Do you know what happened to our Meowth?"

"Meow." The Meowth shook his head.

Ash ran over to the bed now, his eyes flashing. "You don't wanna go back to that guy, do you?!"

". . . Meow." The Meowth looked at him, then away.

"He doesn't want to, but he doesn't know what choice he has," Brock frowned.

"Well, you can bet he has a choice!" Nurse Joy fumed. "No Trainer who neglects his Pokemon deserves to have them! I'm going to report him! And I'll see that he loses his license to give those tests!" Angrily she added, "A lot of Trainers haven't found his tests fair, but he's always been careful to phrase the questions so that he can't be thrown out for using them. But he won't get away with letting his own Meowth get hurt and not seeing that he received the proper treatment after the kind of battle he was in!"

"And we have to get down to the Pokemon League Admissions Exam building right away!" James exclaimed. "By now he's surely already caught Meowth in a Pokeball!"

"He'd never be able to stand it in there!" Jessie cried.

They ran for the door.

They weren't expecting Ash to run after them. "Hey! Team Rocket!"

They looked back.

"Thanks for your help, Twerp, but we can take it from here," Jessie said.

"I want to help," Ash insisted. "I can't believe a guy like that would treat his own Pokemon like he treated this Meowth! I want to help bring him down."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu exclaimed with a nod.

"Then fine! Let's go!" James ran into the hall. "We don't have any time to lose!"

Everyone ran after him.

xxxx

The more the hours ticked by, the more fearful Meowth became. He had tried more than once to pick the lock of the cage, but he had only succeeded in breaking nails. Now the day was coming to a close and he was growing desperate to get out. He couldn't be caught by this guy. He couldn't! He didn't want to belong to anyone, but he would rather be Jessie's or James' Pokemon than this guy's. They cared about him, not just his ability to speak!

The door opening and the heavy footsteps clomping across the floor filled him with a new sense of terror. When the shadow fell across his cage and the door opened, he was out like a flash, scratching the instructor's hand with all his might.

"You won't take me alive!" he wailed.

The instructor hissed and stumbled back, but quickly recovered and gave chase. "We'll see about that!" he growled.

Meowth flew down the halls and towards the lobby, where several people were just packing up to leave after their tests concluded. "Help!" he begged. "I was catnapped and this crazy instructor is tryin' to catch me!"

The people jumped.

"You can talk!" one boy gasped.

"And lie," the instructor smoothly said as he dashed into the lobby. "You can't believe a word he says."

"He's the liar!" Meowth insisted. "I wish my pals were here. . . ." He ran through the automatic doors and outside. The setting sun cast its final rays of the day over the concrete and the trees. For Meowth, it was also spreading its last rays on his freedom. He took it and ran with it, frantically disappearing into the nearby bushes.

A Scyther, busy at bringing down apples from a tree, turned and looked as Meowth ran into view. "Scyther?"

"You've gotta help me, Pal," Meowth pleaded. "There's a guy chasing me and I don't wanna get caught! I have my friends to get back to, and anyway, this guy is bad news! He let his own Meowth get hurt in a battle and then left it for my pals to find so they'd think it was me!"

"Scyther?!" The insect Pokemon looked indignant and angry at the thought of such cruelty.

"Yeah, that's right!" Meowth exclaimed. "He's one of the instructors at that there place. And he's right behind me!"

"Scyther!" The insect gestured at the tree he was working on.

"Oh, thanks!" Meowth beamed, scrambling up the trunk. He hid on an upper branch, praying the leaves concealed him.

The instructor thundered past within seconds. "You won't get away from me!"

Scyther continued taking down apples and putting them in a pile. The instructor ran by, at first not paying him any heed. Then he paused and looked back. "I'm looking for a runaway Meowth," he said. "I need to check through your apples."

"Scyther," Scyther growled. He spread the apples around on the grass.

The instructor frowned. "He must have come past you," he mused. "And if he did, he'd stop and tell you his troubles. And you'd probably align with him. So he might be hiding . . . up there!" He ran for the tree.

"Scyther!" The Scyther stepped in front of him, sharp front legs bared.

Undaunted, the instructor grabbed a Pokeball. "Go, Ivysaur!"

"Ivysaur," the large grass Pokemon grunted as he appeared. But instead of helping his Trainer, he just sat there.

"What's the matter with you?!" the instructor yelled. "Get Meowth out of the tree!"

"Saur!" was the angry retort. "Ivysaur!"

In the tree, Meowth's eyes gleamed with hope. "How about that?" he whispered. "The Ivysaur don't like what happened to the other Meowth and now he won't obey!"

The instructor was still unfazed. "Then I'll catch Meowth by myself," he insisted. "After a long day of fearing this moment, he probably can't resist the grab of the Pokeball even without a battle!" He tossed a Pokeball into the apple tree.

"Gah!" Meowth desperately batted it away, but the act caused him to fall out of the tree.

"There you are!" the instructor exclaimed. He ran forward to throw another Pokeball, but Scyther and Ivysaur got in his way.

"Scyther!"

"Ivysaur!"

Meowth scrambled up, taking the opportunity to flee through the trees. "Gotta get away . . . gotta get away . . ." he whispered over and over like a mantra.

Then a Pokeball was coming at him without warning, and without even having a chance to bat it away, he felt himself being pulled into it. Panic started welling in his heart.

"MEOWTH!"

Even in his terror he recognized Jessie and James calling out in alarm. He fought back against the Pokeball, desperate. He should be strong enough to break out. He was, wasn't he? But yesterday's blast-off really had been more painful than usual, and then the instructor had drugged him up with something that he was still a little woozy from all these hours later. . . .

The Pokeball popped open and he flew out, gasping and shaking. When his vision cleared, there were Jessie and James running to him. His eyes lit up. "Jessie! James!" He jumped off the ground and into their arms. "You came to find me! You knew that other Meowth wasn't me!"

"Well, not right away," Jessie admitted.

"But at least we did in time," James added.

They hugged Meowth close while the instructor glowered at them in frustration. "You don't own your Meowth," he accused. "That means he's fair game for everyone!"

"Except he doesn't want to go with you!" Jessie snapped.

"And you neglected your own Meowth in order to make us think ours was badly hurt!" James added. "That is completely unacceptable!"

"It's not often that I agree with Team Rocket, but I sure do here," Ash said, stepping forward.

"And so do I!" Nurse Joy declared. "You're a disgrace!"

"Several people are going to press criminal charges on you now," Officer Jenny said as she appeared and stepped forward with a pair of handcuffs and a Growlithe by her side. "You're under arrest!"

The instructor took a step back. "If I'm under arrest, you should arrest them too!" he protested, pointing to Jessie and James.

"There aren't any warrants on them here," Officer Jenny said. "If they play by the rules, I have no reason to arrest them right now. Especially since they helped lead us to someone more dangerous than they are."

"You can't mean me," the instructor objected. "I didn't do anything illegal!"

"Neglecting your Pokemon is illegal," Officer Jenny replied. "You knew it was hurt and you just left it in the park hoping Jessie and James would think it was their Meowth!"

"And maybe now your unfair tests will stop," Nurse Joy said. "I'm sure your replacement won't create questions like yours."

"The only people who think my tests are unfair are the ones who didn't pass them," the instructor insisted as Jenny snapped on the handcuffs.

"Oh please," Jessie said in irritation. "Questions like a perfectly round ball being a Jigglypuff seen from above? No one would get that!"

"I've gotta agree there," Ash said.

The instructor just glowered at him as Jenny read him his rights and led him away.

"What's gonna happen to that other Meowth?" Meowth asked.

"Well, right now he has to stay at the Pokemon Center to get better," Nurse Joy told him. "But after that, he should have the choice whether to stay on at the Exam building or not. Either way, I'm sure he'll go to a much better Trainer. I hope all of that man's Pokemon will. He isn't fit to have them, and what happened last night and today should be more than enough to convince the authorities of that."

"Thank goodness," Misty declared.

"So what are you guys planning to do now?" Brock asked Team Rocket.

"Right now? Get something to eat," James said. "Don't worry; we don't have designs on Pikachu today."

"And I wanna talk to that other Meowth," Meowth said.

"He could sure use a friend right now," Joy smiled. "Come back to the Pokemon Center with me. You can talk to him and get some food from the cafeteria."

"That sounds like a plan," Jessie said, her eyes gleaming.

"Thank you again for your help," James said to Ash.

"I'm glad we could help," Ash said. "I still can't believe that guy!" His eyes flashed.

"I think we're all pretty appalled," Joy said.

They turned, walking back towards the ambulance they had taken from the Pokemon Center to get there quickly. The last stragglers from the day's tests were still near the entrance, stunned and confused.

"What was going on out there?!" one guy asked.

"You'll read all about it in the news tomorrow," Joy said as they climbed into the vehicle.

Meowth settled down between Jessie and James, closing his eyes in bliss and starting a purr.

"It's good to have you back, Meowth," James said.

"I never thought I'd miss hearing you talk," Jessie said. "But I did. Especially when it looked like you never would again."

"Really?" Meowth perked up.

"Don't take that as an invitation to start up non-stop," Jessie said gruffly. "But . . . I'm glad to hear you talk again." She smiled.

Meowth beamed. "And I know you guys would never try catching me when you know I don't want that, right?"

"Of course we wouldn't, Meowth," Jessie said. "Not unless there were very strange circumstances and we had to do it to save your life."

"But we'd immediately release you afterwards," James said. "You're a free spirit. You wouldn't be happy being owned by someone."

"But I am happy being with my best friends," Meowth said.

Jessie and James both petted him.

"And we'll always be together," Jessie said.

"We're a team," James said.

Ash and company couldn't help overhearing, even though they didn't intrude into the conversation.

"It's kind of nice knowing that they have some good points," Misty remarked.

"Yeah," Ash agreed. "Not even Team Rocket is completely inhuman."

"Of course, by tomorrow we'll probably be fighting again," Misty continued. "Our goals are always going to clash."

"Well," said Brock, "the truce is nice while it lasts."

"Pikachu," Pikachu said in agreement.

Togepi trilled.

Ash looked thoughtful as he leaned back against the seat. "Yeah," he mused. "It is."