The Last Rocket
The sun was shining bright in the skies of the beautiful Unova region as Ash, Iris, and Cilan were all traveling together on the long road to Nimbasa City so Ash could win his next gym badge. Ash never walks alone, he always has his partner and best friend, Pikachu the yellow mouse Pokémon. Pikachu is a very friendly Pokémon who always likes to meet new people and Pokémon and become great friends. Pikachu will even consider the Pokémon that he travels with family and will do anything to help them even if that means hurting himself.
However there is one Pokémon that he does not get along with when it tries to kidnap him. That's right, the walking and talking Meowth from Team Rocket. The little menace that works with Jessie and James who like to steal Pokémon and give it to the boss, Giovanni who has desires to take over the world. Pikachu dislikes Meowth the most out of all of them. Meowth has even pulled tricks on him by pretending that he left Team Rocket but was actually using them to help him do his dirty work. Because of this, Pikachu no longer trusts him for anything; to Pikachu, he is pure evil.
Ash and the gang were walking along with Pikachu staring at the sky in concern. "What is it buddy? I don't see anything." Ash questions. Pikachu was actually on the lookout for none other than Team Rocket as they are expected to come around that time during the mid afternoon. Ash and Pikachu have dealt with them for so long that it has become a routine for them. Ash nods and understands Pikachu's concern and is well aware of Team Rocket's intentions of stealing Pikachu.
An hour or two went by and the gang eventually stopped for a quick bite to eat. Cilan had set up his food stand and started to whip up some sandwiches for the group. Ash set up bowls of Pokémon food and called everyone out to have a bite. All the Pokémon came out of their balls in excitement and with a hungry appetite. "Eat up gang, we still have a long journey ahead of us and I want all of you to be ready for this gym" announced Ash. All of his Pokémon nodded and sat down next to each other and chowed down on their food.
Pikachu was, of course, sitting by Ash on the table with Iris and Cilan. "Wow Cilan, you once again out did yourself in these amazing sandwiches!" shouted Iris.
"Thanks Iris, I experimented with new ingredients and it looks like they turned out well!" replied Cilan.
"Yeah no kidding. Hey Pikachu, how do you like this amazing food?" Ash called out, but got no response.
Ash called his name once and saw Pikachu not eating and stared longingly at the sky in all directions. Ash could tell that Pikachu was once again waiting for Team Rocket to show up and try to take him.
"Pikachu, don't worry about it, let's just enjoy our lunch. They won't take you as long as I'm here" Ash reassured Pikachu.
Pikachu looked up at Ash and gave a smile of reassurance. He then looked at his food and chowed down just as Ash was. Iris and Cilan noticed that Ash and Pikachu were very much alike when they ate and made them chuckle.
After their meal, everyone was stuffed and felt a bit drowsy. The gang decided to take a little nap by a field they found with a giant tree that covered them from the sunlight. "Have a good nap Pikachu" whispered Ash as he cradled Pikachu who was giving him a cute smile. He then closed his eyes and drifted off to a deep sleep.
Pikachu was in a peaceful sleep for some time when it was suddenly interrupted by a metallic claw attaching to his body and being taken out of Ash's arms. Pikachu yelled for Ash who was still asleep. The moment Ash hears his best friend's voice in distress, his heart starts beating faster and faster at the fear of losing Pikachu.
Ash nearly shoots up out of his sleeping position and sees Pikachu being taken away by the infamous Meowth balloon that floated right above him. Ash then suddenly hears the words of trouble.
Prepare for trouble!
And make it double!
As Ash heard these lines, it seemed to have come just from the talking Meowth. There was no voice of Jessie nor James who usually would start the chant. Ash then realized that his Pikachu was captured and ignored the rest. "Team Rocket, give my Pikachu back right now!" yelled Ash who was now furious. "How rude of youz twerp to interrupt our.. I mean my chant!" responded the talking Pokémon.
Ash wondered why it was just Meowth this time, but it didn't matter to him. In fact, it would be much easier to deal with just one Team Rocket member rather than all three. "Listen Meowth, if you don't give me back my Pikachu then you'll be sorry you ever came here!" scolded Ash in a vicious tone that made even Meowth get nervous.
The cat Pokémon realized that Ash had his other Pokémon at his disposal, vulnerable to being captured. "Not a chance twerp! The only one sorry around here is your Pikachu for being left out in the open!" Meowth confidently responded. He then fired up the hot air which made the balloon begin to fly away.
Ash now saw his buddy helpless in a glass cage. Pikachu attempted to use Thunderbolt but just like always, the cage was electric proof. Meowth then did an evil cackling laugh as he sped away on his single balloon. This made Ash get fired up inside and his mind full of rage.
Ash then called out his Pokémon, Tranquill, and Snivy. "You leave me no choice Meowth…. Now Tranquill, use Air Slash on the balloon!" Ash commanded. The flying Pokémon did as he was told and launched himself in the air after Meowth. Meowth saw this and quickly scrambled to find his rocket net launcher.
Meowth gave another cackling laugh as he fired his rocket that transformed into a net. Ash was worried as the net approached but to Tranquill, this was nothing more than a thin layer of rope. Tranquil then charged right at the net and sliced it in half, still on route to rescue Pikachu.
Meowth was shocked that his latest weapon had failed to stop Tranquill and tried to speed up his balloon, but it was hopeless. Tranquill was now dead on his tail and swooped upwards to rip a hole in the balloon. All of it happened so fast as in the blink of an eye, the balloon came violently down and crashed onto the flat ground.
Meowth was hurt but he found the strength to get up. "Aw man, that hurt, well at least I still have the prized Pikachu with m--" Meowth was interrupted at the sight of the glass cage Pikachu was in was now shattered in pieces. He then saw Pikachu run over to Ash who was waiting and they hugged with Ash cradling his buddy. Meowth saw this and stared at how much love Pikachu was receiving. How could a human give a Pokémon this much attention and affection?
Meowth then briefly thought about the time when he and Pikachu got lost together and were tied up. At first Pikachu was stubborn and ordered Meowth around and occasionally shocked him if he did not listen. Then that night, they were both hungry and saw a single apple up on a tree. Pikachu jumped up and got the apple before he could and just before he thought that he would go hungry, Pikachu used Iron Tail to slice the apple in half and share it with him. Meowth was touched and could hardly believe that he would even help his enemy. Meowth still stared and admired Pikachu's kindness.
That same feeling came to him when he looked at Pikachu being cradled and loved by his trainer. "Man, that Pikachu is something else'' Meowth thought to himself. Suddenly, Meowth felt a sense of empathy towards Pikachu. It was strong, and it made him feel nervous and a bit frightened as this feeling came out of nowhere. The thought of having someone as kind as him around would feel great, which he didn't get much of. That empathy suddenly became fondness which gave Meowth a fright and quickly smacked himself to shake it off.
Meowth reassured himself that Pikachu was the enemy and that he was destined to serve under the name of Team Rocket. Suddenly the once happy smiles of Ash and Pikachu had become angry, especially Pikachu. He then noticed that they were approaching him with a look of rage.
Ash along with Pikachu, Tranquil, and Snivy stood in front of Meowth filled with anger. "I warned you Meowth, me and my Pikachu are a team, and we will never get separated by the likes of you!" Ash yelled. "That's what you think twerp, but I will never give up, I am proud to be a part of Team Rocket and one day, it will rule the world!" replied Meowth as he fired his jetpack on and blasted away. "Oh no you don't! Snivy, use Vine Whip on Meowth" Ash commanded and was done instantly.
Meowth felt two vines grab on to him and forced him to let go of his jetpack which he saw fly away. He was frightened as he was lowered down back to Ash and his Pokémon, being tied down with the strong grip of Snivy. He then squirmed and struggled, trying to break free but to no avail.
Ash stared at him and gave a tone of rage, "You're not going anywhere after what you did!" Ash yelled louder than usual. Pikachu also yelled out loud to Meowth which he could fully understand. "(You made a big mistake capturing me! Now you will pay!)" Pikachu scolded. Meowth had no idea what to do, he usually escaped these sort of situations by either being blasted off, or with his jetpack which was no longer equipped.
Meowth continued to struggle, but only made Snivy's grip tighter. "I'm warning youz twerps, let me go! If you don't then I'll, I'll…" Meowth stumbled as he tried to convince them to let him go. The look on Ash's face suddenly began to change from enraged, to a smirk. Ash's Pokémon, including Pikachu also began to smirk and in another moment, they all gave out a big laugh at Meowth who looked thin as twigs with Snivy having a very tight grip on his skinny body. "Haha, do what?" Ash said as continued to chuckle at Meowth's state.
Meowth now felt deeply humiliated and regretted what he had said. Pikachu walked up closer to him. "It's about time you feel what it's like being tied up, after all the trouble you have caused!" Pikachu scolded. Meowth was now worried as there was no way out.
Suddenly out of nowhere, Ash said something that was the last thing Meowth wanted to hear. "Gee, I wonder where Jessie and James could be? Hah! They probably failed another mission like they always do!" Ash joked. All of his Pokémon heard this and laughed at this, all but Meowth who now was devastated at what he heard. "I bet they said 'we're blasting off again!'" taunted Ash with the Pokémon chanting along. Meowth couldn't take it anymore. He was not only being humiliated in front of his enemies, but also hearing Jessie and James being made fun of when this was the last thing he wanted to hear.
Meowth was deep in despair and was on the brink of breakdown. "Stop it" he spoke softly with Ash nor anyone else hearing him. "Stop it!" he spoke again louder but didn't seem to translate to Ash nor Pikachu. Finally, Meowth's fury and sadness could no longer be ignored and let out of the top of his lungs, "STOP IT!".
Ash and Pikachu finally noticed the state of Meowth as tears were gushing down his face and his breathing rate was abnormally high. In another moment, Meowth used his Fury Swipe attack on Snivy's vines that had so much power, forcing Snivy to let go of him. "I have had enough of this!" Meowth again screamed out with a blurry vision of all his tears. "How dare you make fun of Jessie and James! They were great at what they did and the best part about it was they were with me! They were all I had…" Meowth barely spoke in all of his balling.
Ash and Pikachu had no idea what to make of this, they had never seen Meowth in so much pain and sadness that he would have the strength to break out of Snivy's grasp. Why did he have such a strong reaction to when Ash mentioned Jessie and James? "What do you mean? All you guys have ever done is try to steal innocent people's Pokémon!" Ash shouted back, still confused on where this was going.
Meowth completely ignored this response and only got angrier at Ash not realizing what had been going on. "You just don't get it do you? Do you think that we had a choice in stealing Pokémon so we could barely satisfy our boss and to live another day! They were... they didn't want to…. they tried ….. but they couldn't.." Meowth said in a harsh tone. Ash, still in confusion, decided that he had enough of this nonsense and called Snivy to use Vine Whip again. However, this second attempt was not so successful as Meowth saw it coming and dodged it completely while using more of his Fury Swipes which hurt Snivy's vines.
"Why, WHY are you doing this to me? Why are you always merciless when I can't go on, when I have had enough? I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU TWERPS EVER AGAIN!" Meowth said finally wailing in pain and darted off in tears into the thick woods. Everyone at this point was mind blown at what they had just seen. Meowth might have argued a lot but never like this. Why was he crying? What did he mean when he said "they didn't want to" nor have a choice? Whatever was going on, the emotions that came out of Meowth made Ash feel a bit of remorse on how he made fun of him, Jessie, and James. Ash then realized that something was very wrong and he had to find out what was troubling Meowth.
Ash then looked at his Pokémon who were just as shocked as he was. "Everyone, return!" Ash commanded as his Pokéballs flashed a glowing red that entered the bodies of his Pokémon, safely transporting them back to Ash's pocket. Pikachu and Ash were now alone while Iris and Cilan were still asleep back at the tree. Pikachu looked up at Ash, giving him a look of confusion at what just happened. "Something is wrong with Meowth, and I think we should go and help him." Ash suggested to his partner. Pikachu however, did not approve of this and crossed his arms, giving Ash a reluctant look. "Look buddy, I know you don't like Meowth and all of the trouble he has caused, but there is something really wrong with him and I can tell he is in alot of pain. The least we can do is find out what is going on and maybe help him feel better. Even if he is a part of Team Rocket, I am willing to help all Pokémon!" Ash said confidently. Pikachu however was still not convinced, but realized that Ash was very concerned about Meowth and admired his caring nature towards Pokémon including him. Pikachu then hopped on Ash's shoulder and said "Pika" (Let's go!) with Ash fully understanding what he meant and ran off into the dark woods after the runaway Meowth.