No Silver Lining - Part 1: The Foundling
The walk back to the Pokémon Center was largely silent between the three. As they approached, the building became silhouetted with the sunset. Ash couldn't believe the day had passed so quickly.
When they entered the PokéHospital, Nurse Joy looked up with a customary greeting on her lips that faded when she saw Meowth. "You found him !" she exclaimed, sounding relieved. She bustled over and gave him an on-the-spot check-up, which he endured in silence. Most of his injuries had healed themselves already and because of persistent grooming, would probably only be spotted if one knew they were there in the first place.
"Well, you look fine." Joy said finally, stepping back. Meowth stepped back out of her reach and didn't quite glower at Nurse Joy, who didn't notice. Instead, the woman was talking to Ash, who also wasn't paying much attention. Ash noticed that Meowth was walking on all four legs, and realized that the scratch-cat had been doing that the whole way here. He wondered what that was about.
"… Ash ?" Nurse Joy repeated. "Did you hear me ?"
Ash blinked. "No, sorry, Nurse Joy." He said, turning to face her. "What did you say ?"
"I said, do you want me to put him back in the Recovery Room until his owners come for him ?"
There was no need for Ash to look at Meowth to know that the suggestion had not gone over well. If he had looked, he would have seen the cat trying to hide a cringe at the mention of the subject. Ash was also privately surprised; Nurse Joy had no idea Meowth could walk or talk. If Ash didn't know it already, he would never have guessed it either. The cat looked and acted, for all appearances, like a normal Pokémon.
And that assumption, Ash thought slightly sourly, would be most people's mistake.
"No, he can stay with Pikachu and me tonight." Ash said. "We don't mind."
"Well… alright." Nurse Joy conceded after a moment. "Oh, I forgot to tell you. Nurse Joy said to say hi, and to tell you that all of the power in Mauvetown was restored. She wanted me to thank you for your help, too."
Ash grinned. "No problem." He said.
The clock on the wall chimed seven o'clock and Joy looked flustered. "Oh dear, I still haven't gotten those reports finished. I'm sorry, Ash, but I really must go work on them now."
Ash nodded and the woman went back over to her computer to finish her work. With Pikachu still on his shoulder and Meowth trailing behind, Ash climbed the steps that led to the upper levels of the PokéCenter, the part where overnight rooms reserved for trainers were located. It was a nice service, he thought, since very few people his age could afford hotel rooms or the like on a regular basis.
He found the room number he had been assigned -- 6B -- and pushed open the door. Inside was a single bed, a pair of chairs, a couch and table upon which was a videophone, screen dark. "Oh, man !" he exclaimed, annoyed with himself for forgetting, "I told Mom I'd call her !" Taking off his backpack and setting it down, he picked up the receiver part and dialed the number.
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"Ring-ring-ring ! Ring-ring-ring ! Phone call ! Phone call ! Ring-ring-ring ! Ring-ring-ring ! Phone call ! Phone call !"
Delia Ketchum hurried inside at the sound of the phone, wiping the dirt from the garden on her apron and touching the receive button on the videophone. "Hello ?"
Ash's smiling image appeared on the screen, and Delia beamed at her son. "Hi, honey !"
"Hi, Mom !" Ash said across the line. "Told you I'd call back after I won the badge !"
He held it up for her to see. Delia peered closely at the screen -- the connection was slightly fuzzy, but it was definitely a Gym Badge. "That's wonderful, Ash." She smiled, "What's it called ?"
"Illusia Badge. Sicora, the Gym Leader here, is really nice. And guess what ! She registered me for the North Isles League ! It starts in two months, and I'm gonna bring you home another trophy !"
His excitement was contagious and Delia laughed at her son's enthusiasm. Mr. Mime came in just then, complete with digging tools and straw hat. Mr. Mime was such a wonderful help around the house, Delia thought.
"You should call Professor Oak and give him the good news, honey." She said, and Ash gave another big smile.
"Yeah, I will, Mom !" He promised. "Everything ok there ?"
"Everything's fine." She answered, "The garden's doing great for so early in the year. How are your Pokémon ?"
As if in response to her question, Pikachu butted his way under Ash's arm and chirped a cheerful, "Pikachu !" into the screen.
"They're all fine." Ash said. "We're leaving Cobalt tomorrow morning."
"Then you'd better get some sleep, honey." Delia encouraged, earning a look of playful exasperation from her son. He was, after all, a teenager.
"We'll get a good night's sleep and be up early." He evaded her instructions neatly, which she didn't miss. She let it slide, though.
"Well, goodnight, Ash. I love you. Be careful and have fun." She said fondly.
"I will, Mom. Both. Goodnight !"
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Ash touched the button to end the call and the screen went dark. Pikachu leapt nimbly from Ash's lap and onto the table, where Ash had set down his backpack. Nosing into it, he found the little book Ash used to write down people's phone numbers.
"Pika !" he exclaimed, and Ash twisted around in the chair to see, then flushed.
"Yeah, well, not my fault if I get his number mixed up all the time. Remember that one time I ended up calling that old lady in Moyota Town ?" he laughed, and Pikachu gave the Pokémon equivalent of rolled eyes and handed Ash the book. Ash took it and looked briefly past Pikachu. Meowth had gotten up on one of the spare chairs and was watching them silently. When the trainer tried to meet his eye, the cat looked away. Ash gave up and turned back to the videophone. He consulted the book briefly, then dialed.
When the computer on the other end picked up, Ash could see there was something wrong. There were feathers everywhere. Professor Oak himself could not be seen.
"Professor Oak ?" Ash said, wishing the camera could move around. Some of the better models could. He was answered by a loud squawk, and then a Pidgey -- at least, it looked like a Pidgey -- flew past the screen. It was closely followed by another flurry of feathers, and then Professor Oak appeared on screen.
"Hello ?" he asked, brushing away some stray feathers. Then his face lit up with a smile. "Oh, Ash ! Hello ! How are you, m'boy ?"
"Fine, Professor." Ash answered, "What's going on there ?"
Samuel Oak ducked as a Spearow went screaming overhead. When the coast was clear he sat back up. "I said I'd watch a friend's training flock for a few days. He didn't tell me that they wouldn't be in their PokéBalls. So now they're practicing their formation flying inside the lab !"
A Pidgeotto landed on Oak's shoulder and tapped at the screen. Deciding that it was not something worth it's while, the winged Pokémon stole the Professor's reading glasses right out of his pocket. "Hey !" The man exclaimed, making a grab for them. He missed, and the Pidgeotto took flight again, still carrying the glasses. Oak sweatdropped with a sigh.
Ash tried not to giggle and failed. It turned into a laugh that brought tears of mirth to his eyes. And all the while, the bird Pokémon continued to swoop around the lab in the background.
"Well, I'm glad someone finds this funny." Oak grumbled. "Say… where are you, anyway, Ash ?"
"Cobalt City." Ash answered proudly. "Did you know there's a Gym League around here ? Called the North Isles League. I'm going to enter it. I've already won the entrance badge."
"Isn't that the 'Elemental' League ?" Oak questioned, and when Ash affirmed, he smiled and nodded. "Well, good for you ! Have you caught any new Pokémon lately ?"
"No." Ash answered, resisting the urge to look over his shoulder.
"Oh. Well, that's all right. You've still got quite the collection here." Oak reminded him.
"I may need some of them for this League." Ash mused. He'd have to find out about the Gym Leaders first, though, before he traded any of his current Pokémon for any of his stored ones.
"All you have to do is call." Oak said. "Oh, speaking of call, did you call your mother ?"
"Yeah." Ash answered. Another Pidgey careened past Oak's head. More feathers floated down, including one that sat on top of the man's head -- he didn't notice.
"Look, I'm sorry to cut this conversation short Ash, but I really need to do something about these Pokémon." Oak apologized. "Call me if you need anything."
"Bye, Professor Oak." Ash said, and the connection dropped immediately afterward.
"Pika-pi-pikachu-pi-pikachu !" Look at the mess he's in now ! Pikachu chortled.
"His troubles ain't exactly light as a feather." Meowth remarked from his spot. Ash sweatdropped at the pun, but the effect was ruined because he was still chuckling himself. His stomach growled at him, interrupting his merriment. Sheepishly, he realized that he was hungry. How come he never realized that until his stomach reminded him ?
"I'll go get something for us to eat from downstairs." He said, and he took off his jacket, draping it over the back of the couch. "You two stay here." He said, and pulled the door shut behind him.
Abruptly alone, the two Pokémon looked at each other in silence.
Pikachu was the first to move; he took the address book that Ash had used and put it back inside the backpack. He only took his eyes off Meowth for a moment, but when he looked back, the other Pokémon was no longer sitting on the chair. "Pi !" he said in surprise.
Meowth had moved to the couch and was reaching a paw inside Ash's jacket pocket. "Pikachu ! Pi-pika !" The electric Pokémon exclaimed. Hey ! Leave that alone !
The cat didn't answer and kept rummaging. Angrily, Pikachu jumped off the table. "Pika ! Pikachu !" Stop that ! Now ! When Meowth didn't comply, he released a bolt of electrical energy. It wasn't, be any means, a powerful jolt, but it did have the desired effect.
With a hiss, Meowth pulled his paws from the jacket pocket. The PokéDex clattered to the floor, and the cover flipped open. 'Thinking' it had been activated, Dexter picked up the nearest Pokémon and announced,
"Meowth. The cat Pokémon. Meowth can be found in all types of environment. Possessing sharp claws and teeth, they are sometimes nocturnal and may prefer to hunt for food at night. They are attracted to objects that are shiny or round."
Meowth, feeling somewhat singed, had retreated to underneath the chair again and glared daggers at Pikachu. "Is 'dat your answer for everything ?" he hissed. Angrily, Pikachu was about to retort, but Ash chose that moment to return, opening the door with one hand while the other balanced a tray full of sandwiches and fruit. As soon as he entered, he could tell something was wrong. The tension in the room was almost electric, (no pun intended) and either Pokémon looked very happy. His PokéDex lay open on the floor.
"Hey…" He said, "What happened ?"
"Pika." Nothing. Pikachu responded, sullenly.
Ash didn't believe that for a second. He turned to Meowth, "What happened in here ?"
"Nothing." Meowth echoed, still glaring. Ash walked over to the table and set the tray of food down. He leaned over and retrieved the PokéDex from the floor and closed it, pushing it back into his jacket pocket. He obviously wasn't going to get any answers from either of them right now, so they might as well eat.
"I got some of everything, since I didn't know what you wanted." He said, speaking to them both. When either one moved towards him, he sighed expansively. "Come on, you two. Can't you get along long enough to eat ?" Somewhere in his mind, he thought, Who knew I'd end up saying something like that ?
Apparently deciding that Meowth was not worth earning Ash's unhappiness or an empty stomach for, Pikachu went to his trainer. "That's better." Ash said, scratching Pikachu behind the ears. Meowth hadn't moved and didn't look like he was about to anytime soon. Ash shrugged -- if he wanted to sit under the chair and be hungry, then that was his decision.
Meowth watched the pair eating. Yes, he was hungry, but there was no way in heaven or hell he was going to crawl out like a docile little pet and get his food that way. He'd just as soon starve first. One thing this whole ordeal had not stolen was his pride, and he wasn't about to throw that away -- to the twerp, no less -- so he could get a snack.
He actually didn't hate either of them. Resented them, yes, disliked, yes, but Meowth didn't hate either Ash or Pikachu. In the past, when the situation had called for it, he and Pikachu had actually worked together on some things. The memory of running from the giant Rhydon sprang to mind, after they'd been locked together with a cable. Or the time when they'd worked together to get out of that cave. Or…
He shook his head. Why was he getting so reflective all of a sudden ?
After they had apparently finished, he watched them get ready for bed. Ash took off his belt, and, mindful of the PokéBalls on it, set it down on the table, and then pulled off his hat and fingered gloves, and then his shoes. His outfit hadn't changed much from the first time that Meowth had saw him. Everything had just been replaced for larger sizes. The platter of food was left uncovered on the table.
After turning on the lamp beside the bed and turning off the room's overhead light, Ash pulled back the covers on the bed and sat. Pulling his jacket towards him, he gave the Illusia Badge another admiring glance. Another step in becoming a Pokémon Master, he thought proudly, his mood improved from earlier already. "Come on, Pikachu." He said, putting the jacket back. The Pokémon bounded over to the bed, and hopped easily onto it and settled down. Ash rubbed him behind the ears, which made Pikachu sigh happily as he dozed off.
"Goodnight, Pikachu." Ash said affectionately, and then glanced over at Meowth. "Goodnight, Meowth."
Still unmoved from his position underneath the chair, the cat made no reply. Was he planning to stay like that all night ? Ash sighed and lay down. Stubborn Pokémon. He began to wonder if this whole idea was even a good one -- letting Meowth come with them tomorrow.
Pikachu had curled up against him and was already sleeping, or at least dozing, lulled by the rubbing Ash had done. Touch had a very soothing effect on most Pokémon.
Reaching over and pulling the lamp string, he clicked it off, draping the room in darkness. A bit of moonlight came through the window, making everything barely visible in the silvery-blue light. It had been too good a day to let little troubles bother him tonight, he thought, and with that in mind, he drifted off to sleep as well.