"Hi guys." Meowth passed Psyduck and Wobbuffet and wondered how they managed to not get bored. Or fall asleep.

"Hello!" The psychic-types responded together, cheerful.

The cool night air hit him—summer was almost over. The bug-types were out chirping, but he couldn't see them. What Meowth could see was the moon.

It was bright tonight, almost full. Meowth allowed himself to sink into thought: the moon was only bright because it was reflecting the sun. Was that what Meowth was, a reflection? Is that why he liked the moon so much? Because he wasn't making anything new but instead only reflected what other people said? That was the reason Pikachu called him, right? To transmit her words, like how the moon transmits the light. She saw him as more than that now, right? Right? But to be the moon isn't so bad, anyway.

As he was scrunching grass between his toes, he realized how far he had wandered from Rock Tunnel. Even though he wanted to stay out here, to be alone, he pivoted to head back.

"Fancy running into you here."

Giovanni? Red light enveloped Meowth, and he felt a sensation of plummeting before falling asleep.

/

Psyduck realized that something was off. Meowth hadn't come back, had he? He was supposed to keep a detailed log of all those who entered and left the cave. Hmm, no. Usually, Meowth would step outside, frown, look at the moon, and come back in in a few minutes. This seemed like hours. The cat had probably fallen asleep out there.

"Eh, I'm going to get someone to check where Meowth went. Stay here." Psyduck quacked as he got up.

Wobbuffet saluted. Again. "Yes, sir!"

Psyduck prodded Pikachu's back. She stirred, then curled around herself tighter. He prodded again and received a small shock in return. "Pikachu."

Ash, to her left, groaned. "What's going on, Psyduck?"

"We're missing somebody."

"Who?" Pikachu sat up and blinked a few times.

"Meowth went outside, and he didn't come back."

"Ughhh…I'll get him." She dragged herself up. Meowth sure liked to fall asleep in inconvenient places at inconvenient times. Maybe that was why he was so dependent on the humans' coffee. "Which way did he go?"

Psyduck scratched his head as he approached Wobbuffet. "I don't remember."

"He went that way!" Wobbuffet pointed to a small clearing in the woods.

Pikachu scrambled up a grassy knoll and hissed: "Meowth! Get back here!" Her eyes darted around the surrounding tree stumps—no cat napper present. This was going to take longer than she thought. She ran back to Rock Tunnel.

"Couldn't find him?"

Out of breath, Pikachu didn't answer Psyduck. She went back to Ash, who had nodded off, and shook his shoulder. "Ash! I can't find Meowth. Use your Aura-thing."

He rubbed his eyes and warned, "It doesn't always work, Pikachu." Ash tiptoed around Misty's sleeping bag, slipping outside in a matter of seconds. He followed Pikachu to the clearing. "And Wobbuffet's sure he went this way?" Stretching his hands out, spreading his fingers, he closed his eyes and exhaled.

There were Pokemon out here, but less than there should be. That did not surprise Ash. But as he extended his reach, he felt everyone except Meowth. He saw his friends in the cave, the Metapod in tree branches, the sleeping Pidgey and Pidgeot, a Rattata digging. At least his "Aura-thing" was working, but it showed him everyone except the one person he wanted to find.

"So?"

"He's not here. I don't know where he is."

Pikachu didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Of course he would vanish when Saffron City was falling apart, when they needed communication lines open for a possible raid by Pokemon Tower. And of course he would vanish when Pikachu was only beginning to realize who he actually was. When she realized she would miss him if he wasn't there. Of course. "But where—"

"Do you think he ran away? He does have a history of doing that."

No. And, she reminded herself, it wasn't because she asked a personal question. He wouldn't run away, not when the stakes were so high. Not when it was 'personal.' Pikachu looked at Ash and realized that they had walked back to Rock Tunnel while she was lost in her own thoughts. She shifted her weight between her feet, balancing the few options before her. "Okay. We'll handle this." Her face contorted in uncertainty for a moment, then straightened, determined. "Brock and Steelix…they're pretty close, just like us, right? They can understand each other almost like we can."

"I'm not following you…"

"We put them both on communications. Steelix handles Pokemon, Brock handles humans, and together they put the big picture together."

Ash gave a quick nod. "That makes sense. You, uh, might need to expand the little nook Meowth's made. For Steelix."

"She can do that. And Meowth—" She felt an icy trickle down her chest. "Meowth…we don't have enough resources to look for him…" The man in the suit. Psyduck saw a man in a suit. "We need to narrow down the possibilities of where he is, then make a plan. We can't waste time, so it's better to plan first, right? That's what Meowth would do." Even if his harebrained schemes never worked. "Chances are, he got caught during a Team Rocket night raid. We'll start there."

"This isn't the time to say this, but I'm really impressed, Pikachu."

"…About what?"

"I always knew you would be a great leader."

Pikachu didn't know about that. She focused on her ground beneath her, using all her strength to keep from collapsing, from sobbing. It was as if she was stuck again at the foot of Victory Road with no way forward.

/

"Welcome back."

Meowth's stomach churned as he materialized in red light—this is why he hated Pokeballs. His eyes focused on Giovanni, then flitted towards Persian for a moment. "What gives?"

The Mafioso reclined in his upholstered chair. "You knew this would happen. I need information."

Meowth did know that Giovanni would be back for him, that it was only a matter of time before he was recalled. But after years of hoping Giovanni would remember him, now Meowth wished that he had been forgotten completely. "And you dink I would give it to you?"

"In case you've been living under a rock—and now I know you have been—I'm the Prime Minister now. You're going to stand up to me? My government? My army?"

"We've been doin' okay so far," Meowth muttered.

"I'm the Earth Leader. And even if I wasn't, you're still my Pokemon. You obey me."

Meowth stood up and slammed his paws on the table, scratching its finish. "I did! I did! And where did it get me, Giovanni? Eighty-sixed!"

"Subdue him."

Persian leapt up onto the table and scratched Meowth across the face. He fell backwards and shrank away from his evolved form. He hissed, "Persian! You're a Pokemon, too. One day it'll be you." He turned his head away, avoiding eye contact with his old rival. "Help me."

"No." Persian swiped again.

Meowth crawled backwards. "You're a Pokemon! You know what he's doin' to us!"

"I scratch his back; he scratches mine." He landed a slash attack on Meowth's chest, knocking the wind out of him. "Being a Pokemon has nothing to do with it."

Giovanni's voice "Enough, Persian." The larger cat returned to his side.

Meowth's words were broken by gasps. "What are you, some kinda kapo?"

"I'll be back, and then we'll have a talk." Giovanni paused before opening the door. "Make it a productive one."