The Army of Ash! Destroy Team Rocket!

Chapter 2: Gathering Intel

Meowth stared at Ash in utter shock. The last time he had seen Ash this serious was when he had made him promise not to do anymore bad stuff in Unova, back when he had pretended to have been fired from Team Rocket. Meowth had easily lied to Ash's face and agreed to it, and Ash quickly went back to his cheerful, naive self. Even after Meowth had revealed his true colors during the Ghost Train heist, Ash still gave him a smile and expressed how much fun it had been to travel together.

Seeing Ash back in that serious mode was unnerving enough, but the fact that Meowth was tied to a chair with a light shining on him interrogation style was a whole other level of wrong.

Meowth glared at Ash and said, "What d'ya think you're doing!? Who do you twerps think you are!? Kidnapping me like dis! Dis is the kinda stuff Team Rocket does! We're the bad guys, not you! You're just the goody-two-shoes we take advantage of!"

Pikachu snarled and Thunderbolted Meowth, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Pikachu, stop! Go easy in him!" Ash called out in concern.

Pikachu begrudging stopped his attack, but continued to give Meowth a death glare.

Meowth panted a bit, then smirked and said, "Ha! That was nothing. I've been zapped so many times by Pikachu I've become resistant to it!"

Goh took out Cinderace's Pokeball and said viciously, "Oh yeah? Well how about a couple of Pyro Balls to the face!?"

Ash shook his head at Goh and said, "No, don't do that! Cut Meowth some slack!"

Goh frowned and said, "But I thought I was the bad cop?"

Ash fell down hard Anime style and groaned, "Gohhhhhh!"

Meowth's smirk got wider and he said, "Oh, so dat's what dis is."

Ash got up and said, "Alright, forget it. Listen Meowth, after all the times you've come after me and Pikachu, and all the bad stuff you've done, I think you owe us just one little thing."

Meowth glared defiantly at Ash and said, "Oh yeah? And what's dat, twerp!"

"Where is Team Rocket's headquarters?"

Meowth's eyes widened, and he blinked a few times, then he threw his head back and laughed almost maniacally.

"Pika. . ." Pikachu said with loathing, his cheeks sparking dangerously.

Meowth finally stopped laughing, and he said, "You gotta be kiddin' me! You gotta! You really think that you can just tie me up and shine a light in my eyes, and that'll make me betray da boss? You twerps really are a bunch of dopes, aren't ya!"

Ash glared at Meowth for a moment, then a small smile came through and he said, "Meowth. . . I know you're not all bad. Jessie and James too. Sure, you guys have done bad things, but when things get really bad, like when you were weighing down Lugia, or when Team Plasma and Team Flare got out of control, you all did the right thing."

"Team Rocket can't take over the world if someone else takes it over. . .or destroys it!" Meowth argued with a pout.

Ash shook his head and said, "There's more to you guys than that. I'm sure of it. There really is good inside of all of you. You guys don't have to be a part of Team Rocket anymore. Giovanni and the rest of them are no good, horrible people. You don't belong with them."

Meowth sneered contemptuously at Ash and said, "You don't know anything about me, or about Jessie and James! So why don't you quit wasting my time and let me go, 'cause I know neither of you twerps have the guts to actually torture me!"

Pikachu let out another fierce cry, and would have Thunderbolted Meowth again if Ash hadn't moved in the way. After the small explosion sent Ash onto his knees, he turned around to look at his confused starter and said, "Pikachu. . .I got this. . .please."

Pikachu frowned, but nodded as a sad look replaced his enraged one.

Ash took a deep breath as he got closer to Meowth, kneeling on one knee so that he was eye level with him. "Meowth. . .do you know why I'm doing this?"

Meowth rolled his eyes and said, "How should I know?"

Ash sighed and said, "Giovanni. . . sent someone after my mom." Ash shut his eyes tight and said, "Team Rocket attacked her. They poisoned her. It was. . . so bad. . . she's in the hospital now. She's in a coma. They said she'll get better, but. . . what if. . ."

Ash regained control over his breathing and opened his eyes. Meowth had a blank look on his face. It was as if his mind had hit a wall and was refusing to function.

Ash nodded and said, "C'mon, Meowth. I know you guys wouldn't want to hurt anyone. . .like that. Do you really wanna be connected to people and Pokemon who would do stuff like that?"

Meowth didn't answer right away. Instead, he just hung his head down and closed his eyes. He seemed to shudder a bit, as if a cold shiver was running down his spine. Then, after an extended period of silence, he said sourly, "Do you got a map of Kanto?"

Ash nodded and turned to Goh, who handed Ash the aforementioned map. As Ash unrolled the map and laid it out on the floor, Goh aimed the gooseneck lamp so that it shined on it.

Meowth opened his eyes and lifted his head slightly. He looked down at the map, studying it closely.

"Where is it, Meowth?" Ash asked gently.

Meowth's eyes scanned the map over and over, his lips trembling as he did so. "It's. . . it's. . . it's. . . AAAAH, I CAN'T DO IT! I CAN'T BETRAY DA BOSS!"

Ash, Goh, and Pikachu jumped at Meowth's sudden outburst. As the cat sat tide up in the chair with tears in his eyes, Ash slowly reached out to him and said, "C'mon, Meowth. You don't owe Giovanni anything."

"YES I DO! WE ALL DO!" Meowth snarled, "AND DON'T YOU DARE JUST CASUALLY SAY HIS NAME LIKE DAT!"

Goh threw up his hands and said, "Oh, come on! Why do you respect that guy so much! He's just some evil criminal jerk bad guy! What'd he ever do for you?"

Meowth glared at Goh and said, "You wanna know?" Meowth then turned to Ash and said, "Well, since I've known to OG twerp for so long, I'll just tell him and you can listen!"

Meowth took a deep breath, and he said, "We was all in really dark places before joining Team Rocket. James' folks didn't love him. They still don't. He was always just a puppet to them. Sure, they were filthy rich, but what did it matter if he was so miserable all the time. Throwing out his bottle cap collection, keeping his Growlithe from him, forcing him to marry Jessebelle. In spite of all his cash, the guy was poor. Jess was poor too, just in a more literal way. After her mom disappeared, she got thrown into a dumpy foster home with nothing to eat but snow. She tried to become a coordinator, a nurse, and even just an ordinary trainer; but she failed every time. And me? Well, all I wanted was love and respect, and I never got either until I joined Team Rocket."

Meowth then looked defiantly at Ash and said, "So, ya see? When we was at our lowest points, da boss brought us together, and now look at us! We've got each other's backs, we got something ta shoot for, and more often than not, we're happy! I know what happened to your mom wasn't right. If we knew about it, we absolutely would've tried to stop it. Like, stage a fake attack right before real attack so Officer Jenny could show up and catch that punk whoever he was. Maybe Team Rocket does this alot, or maybe this was just a fluke. I'm sorry, twerp, but I'd rather just not think about it, because I owe da boss too much to stab him in the back like dis."

Ash opened his mouth to say something, but was knocked over by Goh who shouted in Meowth's face, "No you don't!"

Meowth recoiled in shock, and Goh backed up a bit and said, "Sure, maybe joining Team Rocket was what brought you guys together, but you don't owe your friendship to a creep like Giovanni. You guys became friends because you took the time to get to know each other and share secrets with each others. Secrets that kinda hurt and were hard to talk about. And as you traveled throughout the regions, you got closer because of all the challenges you faced. That's how friendship works. Believe me. . ." Goh then turned to Ash and smiled, ". . .I know."

Ash sat up and smiled back at Goh.

Goh turned back to Meowth and said, "The fact that you all were in Team Rocket was just how it happened to start. You don't owe Giovanni anything. You don't have to be a part of something so evil just because something good came out of it. You don't need him or Team Rocket anymore. You can do the right thing. You can show Jessie and James the light. Ash believes in you, and he's known you for a lot longer than I have, so I'm gonna trust him and believe in you too. You can do it, Meowth. You can make the right choice."

Meowth looked utterly conflicted as he listened to Goh's words. He shut his eyes and shook his head as he said, "I'm sorry! I really am, but. . .but I just. . .can't. . . I can't. . ."

Meowth hung his head in a mixture of frustration and shame for a long moment of silence. Then he heard Ash say, "Alright."

Meowth lifted his head and opened his eyes as Ash put a hand on Goh's shoulder and nodded. Goh nodded back and got up so Ash could position himself right in front of the tied up Meowth.

"I understand, Meowth," Ash said, sympathizing with the Pokemon.

Meowth blinked and said, "What d'ya mean, ya-?"

Meowth stopped talking when Ash took something out of his pocket. The Trainer held it out from him, aiming it directly at Meowth. It was round and purple and pink on top, and white on the bottom, and the letter M was printed on it's top half.

"Where'd ya get that!?" Meowth exclaimed.

"I got it when I won the Alolan League," Ash explained with an almost sad smile, "Since Master Balls are so rare, they presented it to me in secret with no cameras, and I had to swear not to let anyone outside my family know that I had it. I was honestly kinda against the idea of it. A Pokemon Master should be able to earn the trust of their Pokemon, not just force it to be caught. I was gonna just keep it as a trophy and never use it. But then. . . well. . . I knew there was a chance you wouldn't tell me where the headquarters was. . ."

Meowth forced a smile as he began to sweat bullets. "Heh-heh, oh, come on, twerp. You wouldn't really use that on me? Takin' my freedom away. . ."

Ash frowned and said, "Team Rocket almost took my mom away from me. And they also took Mimey on top of that. This is the only was I can think of to break your loyalty to Team Rocket, by forcing you to be caught."

Meowth's eyes widened and he said, "You're serious, aren't ya?"

Ash nodded and said, "Team Rocket has hurt so many people and Pokemon. Most of them I'll probably never even know about. If I can stop them, I should. Even if it means catching you for a while and then letting you go when it's all over."

Meowth blinked. "You'd let me go?"

Ash nodded again and said, "Sure I would. It wouldn't be right to keep you if you don't want to stay."

Meowth stared into Ash's eyes. All he could see was pure, honest, sincerity in the boy's eyes. Meowth's memories went through all of Ash' heroic and honorable moments. Most prominent were the moments where Ash had been there for the poor little Chimchar that been abused by Paul. Tears welled up in Meowth's eyes, and he took a shaky breath and said, "Okay. . . the place is-."

"Wait," Ash said quickly.

Meowth gazed at Ash questionly, and noticed that Ash looked ashamed of himself.

"Meowth, I. . ." Ash began, then he shook his head and said, "I can't lie to you, Meowth. I was always gonna catch you in the Master Ball no matter what. After how you lied to me back in Unova, I can't trust you not try to contact Jessie and James or someone else from Team Rocket to warn them about what I'm gonna do. But I swear that I will let you out after it's over. Whether or not it's a success or if Giovanni gets away or whatever. I will let you go. I promise, and I always keep mine."

". . .Okay."

Ash looked at Meowth in surprise, "Really? Uh, I mean, well-."

"You ain't like me," Meowth remarked bitterly, "You can be trusted." Meowth then gestured to the map and said, "Team Rocket HQ is in those mountains over there. In that gorge. Yeah, yeah, right there. You got it. Da boss has tons of special tech on the roof that prevents satellites and radar from seeing it. It's literally a fortress. Some of the offices and Pokemon holding cells are even built into the mountains. There's guards round the clock too. Anything that comes within 4 miles of the place gets detected. You'd need an army to get into the place."

As Goh circled the spot on the map, Ash smiled and nodded, "Exactly."

Meowth was surprised by this response, but then sighed and said, "Whatever. Just catch me already. I suppose if I'm gonna be caught by anyone, it might as well be my arch-nemesis."

"Pika-pikachu?"

"Fine, my arch-nemesis' Trainer! Just do it, already!"

Ash nodded solemnly and said, "Thanks, Meowth. This means a lot to me."

And with a click, Meowth was sucked into the inescapable confines of the Master Ball. It shook once, and the button flashed green to indicate a successful capture.

Ash let out a long, drawn out sigh and rubbed his face. "That was really hard," he muttered.

"Pikapi. . ." Pikachu said soothingly as he placed his forepaws onto Ash's leg.

Goh rolled up the map and said, "So, what's next?"

Ash managed a small smile and said, "Now, I give Professor Kukui a call."