Chapter 30
"New"
I still didn't like the humans…I could understand a few of their words, and they always got excited when I proved it…but I still didn't like them……They tried to teach me, like the Pokémon had…but it just wasn't the same…The humans used too many different sounds…I couldn't keep track of all of them…I preferred to let the Pokémon do all the translating for me.
* * *
The human called Misty was talking to me. When she was done, I looked at Pikachu for the translation. It sighed and translated.
"Pikachu pikapikachu."
'She wants to know if you're ever going to talk to them.'
I thought about it and replied.
"Pikachu…Pikachu…Pika."
'I'll talk to them when I can understand them.'
"Drowzee drowzee…"
'But you can understand them. We're helping you…'
"Chu……Drow…zee……Persian."
'Right……But…I don't want to talk to them…their way.'
Taper looked at Misty and I knew it was talking to her mind…When they were done, she looked at me sadly and said something…I recognized my name in there, but that was all.
She says that she wishes you would think more about what you're saying…She thinks you could talk to them if you'd give them a chance.
…I guess Taper was getting tired of talking out loud.
"Drowzee…"
'I'll give them a chance when I want to…'
…I think they were all getting tired of my stubbornness…
"Pikachu…pika…"
'Ash, you should talk to them…They're your friends…'
"……Pikachu……Pika…chu…"
'……They may have been my friends before……but I don't know them anymore…so I don't know why I should trust them…'
"Pikachu!"
'I trust them!'
"Pikachu…"
'Well, I don't…'
Pikachu sighed and looked away. Right then, I heard a loud noise and I almost jumped out of my chair.
"Kachu?" I asked.
'What was that?'
Pikachu smiled lopsidedly.
"Pikapikachu…" it said.
'That was the doorbell, silly…'
"Chu…"
'Oh…'
Taper looked alarmed.
I wouldn't answer that…
"Pikachu?" I said.
'Why not?'
From the other room, I heard the door click open.
"Drowzee…" Taper sighed.
'I guess you'll just have to see…'
I heard Billie making lots of loud noises, then I heard some unfamiliar voices. After that, I heard Brock and Richie start making noises too. They were all yelling at each other…They did that a lot…
"P-errsian!!" Persian exclaimed, pushing the door open and shutting it behind it.
'It's Team Rocket!!'
I was confused. They hadn't told me about that before.
"Perrrsian?" I asked.
'What's Team Rocket?'
I know Persian heard me, but it decided not to answer me.
"Perrrsian…Per?"
'They probably want Ash back…What do we do?'
"Drowzee…" Taper said.
'I don't know…'
"Pikachu!" Pikachu declared, "Pikapi, pikachu!"
'Tell them to leave!…Ash isn't ready to go yet!'
"…Pika?" I asked.
'…Go where?'
Misty stood up and went into the other room, leaving us behind…Everyone was ignoring me…
"Drowzee…Drrow…"
'Pikachu's right…They can't take Ash. He's not ready.'
"Pikachu!" I demanded.
'Not ready for what!?'
"Perrrsiiiann…" Persian said.
'They're not gonna leave that easily, though…'
"Pika!?" I said.
'Who!?'
They all looked worried…I wished that they would tell me what was going on…
"Pikachu, pika…"
'Maybe we should let Ash talk to them…'
"Pii!?"
'What!?'
"Drowwzee?"
'What good will that do?'
"Pikachu…Pikapika…chu…"
'If they see him like he is now…maybe they'll leave us alone…Maybe…'
"…Drowwzee…"
'…It's not much, but it's the best we have right now…'
"Pikapi chu!!!?"
'What are you guys talking about!!!?'
Persian looked at me sadly.
"…Persian…Pe-errr…"
'It's probably not gonna work…but it's worth a try…'
Pikachu nodded.
"Pikapi…Kachu…"
'Okay, Ash…Follow us…'
"Kachu, pika?" I asked.
'What are we doing?'
"Pikapi, kachu…"
'You're gonna meet Team Rocket…'
Pikachu pulled the door open with a little help from me, and as soon as the humans saw me, they quieted down and stared. I stared back.
There were two new humans. They were somewhat the same colors, but one's hair was really big, and the other one's wasn't. They also had what must have been a Pokémon, with them. It was the same color as Persian, but it was a lot smaller, about the size of Pikachu.
The one with big hair stepped forward and smiled. It started talking to me, and I recognized my name.
"…Pikachu…" I whispered.
'…How do they know me?…'
"…Pikaa…" Pikachu said.
'…They've known you for a long time…'
The Pokémon said something in the human language, and they talked to each other for a short time. Then Misty started talking to them. She was angry.
When she was done, the new Pokémon stepped forward, cleared its throat and started speaking in Pokémon.
"Meeeowth…Meowth…Meow?"
'Hello there, Ash…This girl just told me you only talk to Pokémon…Is this true?'
I blinked at it, trying to figure out what that was supposed to mean.
"……Meowth?" I said experimentally.
'……You're Meowth?'
It looked surprised.
"Mee……Meowth…"
'Uhh……Yeah. Of course…'
I nodded.
"…Meowth…" I said.
'…Well, it's true…'
"Mee owth?
'What's true?'
"……Pikachu, pikachu…"
'……I only talk to Pokémon…'
It still looked surprised, but it turned around and talked to the humans in the human language. When it was done, it faced me again.
"Mee…owth……Meowth?"
'Say…Ash…We were wondering if you'd come back with us……Will you?'
"Pikachu, pikaa!" Pikachu said.
'Ash is never going back after what you did to him!'
"Pikachu?" I said.
'What'd they do to me?'
…Pikachu didn't look up at me…and it didn't answer me either…
"Meeowth!! Memeowth! Meeeowth…!"
'Ha! There you go! He doesn't even know if we really did anything or not! You can't make him stay here! He should probably just leave…!'
Persian stepped out from behind me and stood in front of Meowth.
"Perrrrrsiannn…Persiiaan…"
'As a Pokémon with authority over all of you, I order you to leave right this instant…Failure to do so will result in severe punishment.'
Meowth looked shocked once again. After a long moment, it finally muttered something in human, motioned to the new humans to leave, and then they did.
It was quiet for a moment afterwards, but Taper finally broke it.
"Drowzee…?"
'Was that really necessary…?'
Persian turned around and walked towards the bedrooms.
"Persiiann…Persian…"
'I don't know if that was smart or not…but we'll soon see…'
Without another word, it slipped through the door and disappeared inside.
"…Pikachu…" Pikachu said.
'I think we'd better leave it alone…'
"…Drowzee…" Taper agreed.
'…Probably…'
…At the time, I had no idea how important that meeting was, or even who were the new people who were involved…but something big was going to happen…and everything was going to change…