Notes: Inspired by episode 70. (? The numbering is kinda of messed up after episode 38 due to the winter episodes being skipped and returned to later out of continuity as 'specials', but I'll just go with what Bulbapedia has as of the time of writing this.) Anyway, based on/inspired by Meowth's backstory episode, though I'm about to take its 'romance' in a very different direction, among other changes.
24: Meowth vs. Persian
This city truly had one too many meowth. It was no wonder, to this particular meowth, that humans were growing annoyed with its presence, shooing it away, not offering any kind of affection or treats the way they might with other smaller, cute pokemon. Perhaps a vulpix, pikachu, clefairy, or even one of those smaller bug types like caterpie would get a warm reception, but those types were rarely seen in the big city, and almost always with trainers if they were. Meowth were starting to appear everywhere. They were completely unwanted by any trainers, or anyone else.
This particular meowth was even starting to hate others of its own species. They were competition for scraps of food or handouts from the rare kind humans. They also took up space. Most of the time meowth minded their own business, but when one got territorial it could be quite a fight, and this particular meowth wasn't exactly great when it came to fighting skills, even when compared to other trainerless strays.
So it tried to get good at running as it searched for a place of its own. The richer area of town with the big mansions seemed like it might be a good place to start. Not that the rich people would welcome a stray meowth, but they at least had more space. That gave more places to hide and possibly not be noticed. Hopping over one wall, Meowth sighed in relief as it noted a large, luxurious garden. It hopped from the wall to the tree, then climbing down, taking a spot that from the point of the view of the back patio was behind a large, flowery bush.
Meowth took a moment to look around for some food, and finding none, just decided to rest for a bit. It had been running around all day, so the respite was welcome. It relaxed, possibly even dozed off a while, before the sound of the sliding door brought it to alert.
Any humans couldn't be seen from its hiding spot and vice-versa, but they might have a pet or pokemon that was more observant. Meowth tensed up, ready for the possibility of a fight.
No one came toward it. Meowth eventually began to smell a particular familiar scent of a luxury, top brand pokemon food. It had seen others being fed this food, but never so much have gotten a lick. Maybe now was an opportunity to eat some. Meowth's mouth watered thinking of the possible meal. Perhaps without considering the reasons why it maybe shouldn't, it moved its paw to step out of the hiding spot.
But of course this pokemon food wasn't being offered to a stray. Such a gesture was beyond what could be expected of humans, and of course, even if the human were so benevolent, they wouldn't have even seen the hiding pokemon. Meowth stopped itself from acting like it belonged there, and stayed in hiding, maybe feeling a bit sorry for itself.
"Eat up, Meowsie!" a woman's voice spoke.
"Meowth!" a pokemon called back.
Meowsie? The nickname was pretty cute. Maybe the other pokemon was - well, there was no point speculating or trying to confirm its theory, especially since doing so might start a fight. Meowth stayed in hiding until it heard the door slide shut, and even afterward. Eventually, it grew antsy, and just had to move.
Looking at the patio was wise. Making sure that one pokemon wasn't going to chase or fight it before it made its way out was necessary. Meowth glared toward the area, ready to climb the tree after confirming it before it stopped itself at the sight.
The pokemon the woman had spoken to was indeed another meowth, laying curled up next to the porcelain food dish. But anyone could tell that this meowth was different from others. Its overall energy was refined and calm, its fur sleek. Though it wasn't typical for pokemon to wear a collar, this sleeping meowth had a gemstone adorned one that suited it well. Hanging down in front was a tag engraved with something, certainly 'Meowsie', additional gemstones sparkling and emphasizing the beautiful pokemon's cute nickname.
Meowsie picked its head up as Meowth approached. Being noticed by another meowth in its territory was normally a stressful experience, but Meowth could tell this pokemon was different. The elegant meowth just sat up and stared, observing the visitor. "Meowth!" Meowth greeted.
"Meow, meow." Meowsie wondered why it was there. The resident meowth's message wasn't really aggressive, just curious. It looked at the food dish. "Meow, meowth." Meowsie supposed its visitor likely wanted the remainder of its dinner, and didn't have a problem with sharing.
Of course Meowsie would be this kind. "Meowth!" Meowth called out its thanks before eating. The food had dried somewhat in the time between Meowsie having its fill and Meowth coming out of hiding, but was still one of the best meals in a long time.
Meowsie had curled back up and relaxed while Meowth was eating. Meowth observed the other pokemon closely. Maybe it was expected to leave, but now was its time to get closer to this sweetie. "Meow, meow." Was it a lady meowth?
Meowsie picked its head back up to communicate with its visitor. "Meow, meowth." Its owner was happy enough to think of it as such, though such a concern seemed unique to humans.
"Meow, meow. Meowth! Meowth, meowth!" Meowth kept calling out to the other pokemon. It thought Meowsie was beautiful, lovely, one of the best pokemon in existence. The compliments kept flowing until Meowth finally stopped itself, seeing Meowsie's frown. "Meowth?"
"Meowth," Meowsie called out briefly, turning its head. This visitor had to be one of the noisiest meowth there were.
"Meow!" Meowth lamented. "Meow, meowth!" It truly felt something for Meowsie, a connection that couldn't be replicated. "Meowth?" Would Meowsie come with it?
"Meowth? Meow." Why had Meowth asked such a ridiculous question? It should be clear Meowsie was fine where it was.
"Meowth! Meowth! Me-owth!" Meowth kept calling out to Meowsie, trying to emanate its feelings and everything it would do for the other pokemon.
"Meow, meowth." Meowsie already had everything it needed as a pokemon. Food and shelter weren't a problem, unlike for the visiting Meowth. "Meowth, meowth." And of course, it had a trainer to care for in return, even if the woman treated it like a pet.
"Meowth," Meowth called out its declaration that Meowsie was certainly more than a pet to it. The refined pokemon would be better off with a pokemon that truly appreciated it, rather than a human that looked down on it.
Meowsie blinked purposefully, then shrugged. "Meowth." Pokemon couldn't live without humans.
Meowth was silent at the simple declaration. Was that really true? It didn't have the option to live with humans. Likely none would ever bother to pick it up. Did that just mean it couldn't live?
Before it could discuss things further, the sliding door opened. Meowsie's trainer loudly shooed the invading meowth away.
As they walked up from the subway, Meowth fell down on its face purposefully. It looked up, seeing the tall buildings, and familiar symbols of the city on signs, then put its head back down, moaning. "Are you alright?" James asked, stopping rather than step over his friend.
"It sucks being in this city," Meowth said. "It's way too big, heartless."
"Saffron is certainly the largest in Kanto, but I don't see what makes it so bad," James said, glancing around at the clean, though busy sidewalks, and flashy shops all around them.
"Try growing up here as a wee little meowth," Meowth said.
"Oh, so you're from Saffron, Meowth?" James asked.
"Yeah," Meowth confirmed, resting its head into its arms as it tried not to dwell on the specifics of that.
"Stop complaining. You don't even need to think about the past," Jessie said, poking the pokemon's head with her boot. "We've got a job to do."
"It still sucks." Meowth stood up, walking next to its teammates and looking around, cringing as any passerby gave it a second look. Though maybe only because of seeing, from their point of view, the sight of a pokemon out of its pokeball with its trainer, the attention brought back bad memories. Years ago, any attention given to Meowth was followed by attempts to chase it away. Even a big city like this hadn't ever seemed to have any space for one lone little pokemon.
"I'm glad we're here." James grinned as Meowth looked up at him. "It beats what the boss was having us do before... Laundry, cleaning... I prefer this." Recounting the experience, James groaned.
"I'd rather be doing that," Meowth said.
"You both are sinking your standards way too low!" Jessie chided as she increased her pace, walking ahead of them. "Playing messengers is better than being the maids, but we're in Team Rocket for better things! Let's just hurry up and not mess up. If we do, the boss might not ever forgive us for our failure."
"Of course," James said, increasing his own pace to keep up with her.
Meowth ran forward itself. "Yeah, maybe we can nab some pokemon here," it said as it tried to keep up with the humans. "Then the boss will forget all about that stupid ship sinking! And, and, we can-"
Jessie and James eventually stopped as Meowth seemed out of breath, turning back to face the pokemon in unison. But Meowth didn't seem that tired, only staring up at a sign attached to the building. The two humans stood behind it, reading the message as well. "What is it?" Jessie eventually asked. "There's nothing here, right? That's just a school for tiny brats."
"Is it a pokemon school?" James considered why Meowth might have paid it mind. "Do you think it'll be a good target for a heist?"
"No, it's just a regular comp-ed school for under tens," Jessie pointed to the front door. "See? It even has the notice that pets and pokemon aren't allowed."
James shrugged, looking back down at Meowth, who still seemed hesitant to move from the spot. "Was there something else?" he asked.
"We're wasting time," Jessie pointed out.
Meowth thought about going to the other side, seeing if that small opening to the attic area was still present. But of course, Jessie was right, there was nothing there worth paying any attention to. "Sorry for being a waste," it said instead. "Let's go!"
As they went to their true destination, Meowth didn't even look back, staring straight ahead. The past had passed. Why look anywhere other than ahead?
The hiding spot had been a lucky find. Meowth had spotted the hole while hiding in the alley, laying at an angle most passerbys wouldn't be able to see. Squeezing itself through had led to an area free of the wind, Meowth was hidden from anything that might pick on it. Even still being cold, Meowth fell asleep, sleeping much sounder than it had in a long time.
The loud, jovial voice awoke it. Meowth sat up, realizing it was still alone, though the dusty area had lit up, sunlight peeking in from the damage used as an entrance, while other light seemed to seep up from the floor. Meowth peeked down through a crack, seeing children laughing and talking together in a room full of desks. So, it was a school, and they all still had no idea it was there. Meowth sighed in relief that its hiding spot was safe for then.
And the spot was too good to give up right away. Meowth tried to doze off, then found itself woken up again by an adult human's voice. He sounded pleasant enough, so Meowth stayed. Humans weren't that bad when they didn't know it was around, apparently. Meowth peeked through the floor, listening to the teacher, watching the marks he made on the board, feeling like a part of the group of children, though it certainly wasn't. Even so, it was able to learn the lesson along with them.
The symbols the teacher talked about - of course, Meowth had already known they had meaning. The fact just hadn't seemed that important. Maybe it still wasn't, but Meowth escaped from thinking about its various other problems as it swiped its claw in the dust, following the directions for how to make the various characters.
The diversion lasted until the kids started to set up their various lunches, a reminder of Meowth's own hunger. It hadn't eaten in over a day. The kids had a variety of lunch boxes, each looking more delicious than the rest. Meowth's mouth watered just seeing them take the food out. It was downright painful to watch them eat.
Staying and just watching was impossible. Meowth climbed down the building. Getting out of the alley, it was yelled at right away by someone with a uniform for the school. Meowth dashed off, running so fast hopefully no one would see it long enough to get angry with it.
Eventually, Meowth had to rest, leaning against a wall on a block with no one else nearby. This was the rich part of town again. Meowth continued at a leisurely pace toward the mansion where the lovely Meowsie lived.
As it hopped over the wall, they spotted each other at the same time, Meowsie strolling around the flowers in the garden. "Meowth!" Meowth greeted the other pokemon as it hopped down next to it. "Meowth, meowth." It was happy to see Meowsie again, of course. "Meow, meowth." She was always a pleasure to be around.
Meowsie glanced toward the patio. "Meowth?" Did Meowth want food again?
Of course, that hadn't been its first thought. Meowsie shouldn't have to consider that Meowth was only coming around for food. But it really was hungry. "Meowth?" It tried to be casual as it inquired about if there was any.
"Meowth," Meowsie confirmed. "Meowth." Meowsie's owner was out, so Meowth wouldn't get chased off again.
"Meowth!" Meowth exclaimed happily. "Meow, meowth. Me-owth." It kept emanating its praise of what a kind pokemon Meowsie was.
Meowsie frowned, briefly rolling its eyes. "Meowth... Meowth." Perhaps Meowth ought to eat before anyone returned home instead of chatting so much.
Meowth meandered over to the food slowly, trying to seem casual. Once in front, it couldn't help but start chowing down, eating quicker and quicker before all the food was good. "Me-ow..." It lamented as it finished.
"Meow..." Laughter came through in Meowsie's call. What a silly pokemon Meowth was. "Meowth," Meowsie called, sitting up straight in front of the rose bush. Meowth might want to eat slower next time.
"Meowth." Meowth tried to insist it was fine, which only seemed to amuse Meowsie more. It sat down on the patio frowning, its pride hurt by how it assumed Meowsie saw it. It tried to forget about that, enjoying the momentary serenity of the garden.
Meowsie eventually broke the silence. "Meowth?" it called from among the flowers.
Meowth's ears perked up. The call had sounded so sweet as usual, but the message it contained didn't seem fitting of the sender. "Meowth?" it called back. Did Meowsie really want to battle?
"Meowth." Meowsie now stared with determination at its visitor. It tensed up, its back arching slightly.
"Meow." Meowth looked away. Though not wanting to disappoint the object of its affection, it couldn't imagine battling such a sweet soul. Meowsie probably didn't mean it, anyway. "Meowth!" Meowth happily assured that a battle wasn't necessary.
Meowsie only scowled in response. It ran toward Meowth, throwing its body forward in a tackle.
Meowth cried out in surprise, but was able to dodge the sloppy attack easily enough. "Meowth!" it scolded. Anyone ready to fight should at least do it right. Tackle was a pretty useless move for them.
"Meowth!" Meowsie replied harshly. That was the whole point. It wanted to practice to get better.
"Meow. Meow, meowth." Meowth kept chattering on, not stopping as it seemed Meowsie was interested in its message for once. It explained that Meowth had a few moves that were both relatively powerful while being relatively easy for them to learn. The more concentrated scratch, the fast-paced fury swipes, bite for when the opponent got too close, and of course, their signature move, pay day.
"Meowth." Meowsie called once Meowth finished its explanations. It wanted to see Meowth use those moves.
Meowth was happy to oblige, performing scratch in the air. However, the student followed the example by using scratch on Meowth personally. "Meowth?" Meowsie called happily as Meowth fell to the ground. How had it done?
"Meowth." Meowth dusted off its face and stood up. Meowsie was even more inexperienced in battle than Meowth itself. It didn't mind taking a few hits. They repeated with fury swipes and bite, which Meowsie learned with ease. Then Meowsie asked to see pay day.
Meowth didn't know that one, of course. "Meowth!" Meowsie chided. What kind of meowth was it, to not even learn their signature move? Meowth looked down in shame. "Meowth..." Meowsie added as it saw its helper's reaction. "Meowth!" Meowth had helped to even show this much.
Receiving the message of praise had it feeling much better. "Meowth?" it decided to ask anyway, trying not to have any judgment in its message. Why hadn't Meowsie known such basic techniques?
Meowsie didn't appear offended at all. "Meowth." Its trainer didn't really act like a trainer, and treated Meowsie more like a pet. "Meowth!" But of course, it wanted to know a little about battling, so it could protect her when necessary.
Meowth's eyes widened. What a burden was being placed on this poor, sweet pokemon! "Meow, meow, meowth! Me-owth!" Meowth kept chattering on and on. It thought the best of Meowsie, loved the other pokemon. Meowth would be willing to take Meowsie away, far from its awful trainer, and give it the protection it deserved. It would never have to worry about protecting anyone, because Meowth would be the one to protect it from any possible threat. As Meowth called out, Meowsie just hopped on the deck, twitching its tail and turning its back to Meowth as the chatty pokemon kept going on and on. Meowth eventually took the clue and stopped. "Meowth?" So, would Meowsie escape with it?
"Meowth," Meowsie shot back curtly. Pokemon protected humans, and Meowsie was no different.
"Meow... Meowth!" Meowth tried to rationalize, a smile on its face. As Meowsie ought to know best, its trainer wasn't worthy of such sentiment. "Meowth!" They could find a place to live in peace together. "Meowth?" Would Meowsie marry it?
The other pokemon turned around, a look of shock in its face before it smiled. Meowth's heart soared, assuming the other meowth's answer until Meowsie finally did offer an answer.
"Meowth."
Of course not. An absolute rejection was contained in Meowsie's message. "Meow? Meow, meowth," Meowsie kept calling in that sweet voice even as Meowth's heart broke. How silly was Meowth, Meowsie wondered. Marriage was a human concept. Pokemon didn't get married. Did Meowth think they were humans, or just that it could live without humans itself? Pokemon couldn't live without humans, after all.
"Meowth!" Meowth finally cut in to reject that last message. It didn't need to wait for a human trainer to do what it wanted at all. "Meowth, meowth!" Meowth continued. It would absolutely live without relying on humans. It didn't need a trainer. It had learned all those moves without one, after all. "Meow, meowth." Meowth continued more harshly now, pointing out how weak Meowsie was, likely because of its trainer.
Meowsie's mouth opened in surprise, before it closed it and frowned, looking down. Would the domesticated pokemon even cry? "Meowth," Meowth offered an apology. That message had gone way too far.
Meowsie seemed to force a smile. "Meowth." No, perhaps Meowth was right. "Meowth..." Even so, Meowsie loved its trainer, knew it couldn't be without her. "Meowth!" it called, tilting its head with a genuine smile. Besides, as Meowth ought to know, humans were the ones that provided pokemon with what they needed, in exchange for the protection provided. The world was built for them, after all. Pokemon were more like invited guests, if they happened to get a trainer.
Meowsie really wouldn't stop believing it couldn't live without its human trainer. "Meowth," Meowth called as it hopped on the wall. It turned back to Meowsie before it really left. "Meowth!" It was going to prove it could be way better than that human, give Meowsie much more than even she did.
Meowth then hopped down. It had tried to sound cool, but doubt entered its mind as it ran through the streets again. Meowsie was right, this world was built for humans. As a trainerless pokemon, Meowth was considered a nuisance. Even so, there had to be something it could do to prove itself and win Meowsie over.
Meowth stood on the floor next to Jessie and James as they waited in the laboratory for the scientist they were supposed to meet. "Quite the entourage," the man in the lab coat commented once he saw them. "Well, better to send sensitive information like this with a trusted party." He opened the envelope as Jessie handed it to him.
Trusted? Was that why the boss had chosen them for this little mission? Meowth tried to cheer itself up with that thought.
The scientist eventually looked up. "Looks like a response isn't necessary for now. Thank you, you can go."
They walked through the fluorescent lit halls before going back into daylight. Jessie groaned when they were a bit away from the building. "Even that guy could tell this was a useless mission," she said, breaking Meowth's happy thought.
"Perhaps he'll be done punishing us now?" James suggested. "I hope he hasn't written us off completely. We had some successes, but now with these major failures-"
"That's enough of that!" Jessie shouted, thankfully interrupting the painful picture James had been painting. She folded her arms, scowling. "He doesn't micromanage. He told us what to do a while ago. Now we just need to do it. We'll send back more pokemon, and lots of them."
"That's right!" Meowth declared, starting to perk up. "The boss didn't tell us to come right back, so that means we just continue with that mission! And since we're far from headquarters, we'll have less competition from our teammates. There's some of ours here, but there's plenty more going on than nearby. More opportunities for us to nab pokemon that haven't been nabbed yet!"
"That does make sense. What should we do now?" James asked, looking from Jessie to Meowth.
"We can figure it out tomorrow," Jessie said. "Let's relax and get some food. You're from here, right Meowth? Where's a good place we can go with our pokemon? You know one, right?"
"There's one place I remember that's nearby. It's a wild place that allows all kinds of pokemon," Meowth said.
"Sounds good. Let's go," Jessie said.
The humans expected it to lead the way, so Meowth eventually did so, having to pay more attention to its surroundings as it did. This city really was nostalgic, not that Meowth had many memories worth reflecting on from here. Even so, its eyes rested briefly on various signs, comparing how fast it could read them now compared to when it had first started to learn.
Meowth returned to the school's dusty, unappealing attic, but this time with a mission. It wasn't just settling for the dirty area as a shelter. It was going to stay there and watch the lessons. This school was to get mini humans ready for human society, so maybe even a meowth could learn how to survive in a world built for humans there as well.
In order to do so, various lessons were observed. Meowth started with the writing lessons seen the previous day, then moved to above another classroom with older children. They studied more complicated symbols, combinations of symbols, so Meowth decided to go back to the previous class to learn everything there first. At night, it snuck down and borrowed any lesson books left in the room. then tried to practice making the symbols itself, holding chalk in its two paws.
Thinking it might have mastered the basics, Meowth listened to various classrooms. Even not being caught up, it started to pick up more and more. They didn't just teach reading and writing, but also various other details about the world. Numbers, histories of wars, scientific facts and discoveries, even classical literature and poems. Meowth loved listening to it all.
But of course, it didn't stay in the school all the time. A meowth had to eat. Meowth went to visit Meowsie at times, who shared leftovers in exchange for a battle. Meowth let Meowsie win at first, but found the other meowth became annoyed. Apparently Meowth wasn't as good an actor as it thought, and Meowsie could easily figure out a feigned defeat. So Meowth eventually gave the battles its best, though the frustrated Meowsie only seemed in a slightly better mood afterward in comparison.
They didn't need to battle. But of course, Meowth hadn't proven itself as anything other than a pokemon that Meowsie could count on to lick up after its dinner or practice battling with. It needed to work harder to show it was capable of replacing Meowsie's human trainer.
But there was more to being human than reading or writing or even knowing about all the things Meowth had been learning. There was one thing that humans very noticeably did that no pokemon of any specific species had been seen doing. As Meowsie sat sulking one day after a defeat, Meowth decided to show it was capable of such a thing.
"Meowie!" it called. Meowsie turned to face it, mouth agape. Meowth became embarrassed. Sure, its vocalization had been slightly different from a typical meowth call, but still not what it had been trying to do. That hissy sound, it could do it so. It curled the sides of its tongue and pushed it up while trying to say the other pokemon's nickname. "Meowshie!" it called.
The other pokemon smiled. "Meow, meowth," it called, almost laughing at the attempt. The call really was reminiscent of the nickname its trainer had given it. Though still embarrassed about the unpracticed attempt, Meowth took solace in the fact it had cheered Meowsie up.
Harder work was needed in order to really become worthy of Meowsie's attention. As time went on, Meowth put the hours of studying in, practicing imitating the sounds of the humans at night when it couldn't be heard. Though embarrassed to speak in front of others, Meowth learned to read quickly. Eventually, it could read all the signs in the school. It grew beyond what the brats at the school were learning, and sought out other books. After being chased out of libraries, it found a cozy spot in a used book store with an owner who seemed to have poor eyesight.
"What you doing just reading? You gonna buy something?" the man asked from across the store.
"No money!" Meowth replied, surprising itself with its clarity.
"Yeah, fine, I've been a kid too. Keep reading, just be gentle with my books."
That was the first time it had communicated a message to a human, using their own sort of speech. How exciting. The reward was reading the rest of the afternoon on a comfortable cushion unbothered. "Thanks, pal!" Meowth spat out as it left. It tried its best to walk on two legs as to not give itself away.
"You're a pretty casual kid," the shop owner said, still smiling, hardly looking up from his own book.
Then Meowth wanted to eat. It found an empty ally which should have at least a few yummy scraps in the trash. Of course, once it looked inside the tumbled over garbage can, it saw another meowth, which growled and called out for Meowth to leave.
Though normally running would be the first inclination, Meowth felt empowered by its previous communication. Maybe its sounds hadn't all been totally correct, but it had still communicated a clear message twice. Why not try again? "No," it said.
The other stray meowth stopped rummaging and looked at Meowth, tilting its head.
"You get out!" Meowth shouted. The other pokemon looked around twice, then tore out of the trash can, escaping as quickly as possible. Was this the power of human language? "Ha ha!" Meowth even tried to laugh more like a human before going and picking out its own dinner from the rubbish.
Meowth tried to talk, mostly with other pokemon. Before long, it was making long sentences, providing detailed responses to the shop owner about what it was reading, able to ask him more detailed questions about what was more difficult to understand. Even with these longer responses, Meowth still seemed to have tricked the man into thinking it was human, if only a young one.
Did that mean it was ready to show Meowsie how much it could do? Even having made so many improvements, Meowth felt nervous about showing off. The pokemon it loved could still be unimpressed, after all. So Meowth put off going to visit, all while looking for new places to practice.
The Pokemon Battle Café seemed like a great place for Meowth to hang out in the meantime. Only the largest pokemon weren't allowed, and that certainly didn't include Meowth. The area was very busy, with trainers and pokemon walking in and out all the time. Humans, trainers or not, could sit and enjoy the battles in front of them while getting some food, for both themselves as their pokemon. Anyone could come in from the street and battle, leading to some interesting matchups. And of course, with all the pokemon around, no one was going to notice one stray meowth, as long as it behaved.
The safest bet was staying close enough to a group that it might be assumed to be a part of it, but not close enough that the group might think it was invading their space. In-between two larger groups was ideal. This particular night, Meowth parked itself between what looked like a double date and a group of people all dressed in the same uniform. One of the women in the former group got angry, standing up and yelling at her date before storming off. The accosted man stayed, before the other woman whispered to her own date, who made an excuse for them both to leave. "Tough luck, bud," Meowth commented.
The now lone man looked down at Meowth, confused, before he shook his head at himself. He then scowled at one of the uniformed men, leaving the table himself.
Being there was taking a bit of a chance. Being able to speak freely wasn't something Meowth had the privilege of doing, at least not without backlash. For humans, the response was confusion most of the time, followed by fear, anger, or even disgust. Then they just chased it off or attacked like normal. Pokemon weren't much better. But this was a crowded place, and no one paid any attention to one little meowth. So maybe it could speak up just a little.
"You fighting, boss?" one of the uniformed men asked a man in the suit sitting among them.
"I have other matters to attend to here," the seemingly revered man informed. "Those of you with pokemon may want to hone your skills." The man sat back, staring at the stage where a female nidoran battled against a rattata.
Meowth smiled to itself, stifling its giggles as it got an idea. This might be a good time to pull a fun little prank. "Oh ho, looks like our boss is scared," it said loudly.
The man in the suit spun around, suddenly paying close attention to those in his midst. The uniformed men also tensed up. "Who was that?!" one demanded. Meowth sat back, attempting to look as unassuming as possible as it tried not to crack up. That important looking guy seemed like he was respected all the time. How would he react to someone obviously mocking him for once? Meowth tried to subtly spy a look.
As it did, it found the man staring its way unflinchingly. Meowth itself flinched at that, then tried to look away casually again.
Too late. The important man looked around to his followers. "I don't think any of you had a meowth, or did one of you acquire one?" he asked. His men shook their heads in turn, a few speaking out they didn't have any pokemon yet. Now the whole group was looking Meowth's way.
Their boss went and picked it up by the scruff. "Here I thought I wouldn't be battling," he said. "But I'm sure one of my pokemon has enough energy to teach this one some respect. Are you ready to battle?"
"No, uh-" Meowth stopped itself, sweating as it realized its obvious mistake. "I mean, I didn't say anything!" it insisted. Despite its protests, Meowth was thrown in the ring without comment as the previous two trainers returned their pokemon and cleared out.
The boss man then threw out a pokeball in front of it. "Go, Nidorino!"
Meowth backed up at the sight of the larger pokemon with the spiky points. "Hey pal, you don't really wanna fight a little guy like me, do you?" it said.
"Nido!" Nidorino called back in an expression of its determination to battle, though Meowth could sense something was off.
"Did that thing talk?" one of the uniformed men asked, looking around to see if anyone else noticed it.
His boss didn't appear to think the question was worth responding to. "Nidorino, horn attack! Finish it quickly."
Nidorino charged forward, its horn ready to stab Meowth. Meowth hopped up on two feet, yelling as it danced out of the way. Nidorino cringed as it stopped itself. "Nido," it called, complaining about the pain in its foot.
"Hm?" Meowth smirked. Something was really bothering its opponent. Meowth didn't stand much of a chance to win in normal circumstances, but maybe it could take advantage of this.
"Nidorino, fury attack," the trainer continued with the orders, unaware of his pokemon's plight.
Nidorino braced itself, ready to do its best to follow any orders. It approached Meowth, ready to poke with its horns, then paused, subtlety wincing as it stepped on its front left paw. "Nido!" it cried out a complaint about its condition.
That gave Meowth its chance. The feline pokemon ran forward, laughing at it unleashed its own fury swipes attack, hitting the partially disabled Nidorino each time. Meowth giggled more as it swiped again and again.
"Nido!" Nidorino called. It tried to complete the ordered attack, but only grazed Meowth.
"Nidorino, get hold of yourself! Horn attack!" The other pokemon's VIP trainer was starting to get impatient.
Nidorino attempted the attack yet again. Meowth waited for the right timing. Once its opponent stepped on its hurt paw, slowing down slightly, Meowth ran forward, biting it. "Nido!" the larger pokemon called out in frustration.
"What is it, Nidorino? You can't handle this little ant? You've been slacking. Maybe I'll have to dispose of you," Nidorino's trainer chided instead of offering another order.
"You give up?" Meowth assumed, standing tall as it addressed its opponent's trainer.
"Look at how it moves," one of the man's underlings commented, mouth still agape as they all observed Meowth.
"Standing up like that? Talking? That's not a normal meowth. Is it even a pokemon?" another commented.
The boss lifted up his pokeball. "Nidorino, return." He removed his pokemon from the battlefield without further comment.
Even without the confirmation, this was basically a resignation. Meowth hopped out of the ring. The presence of the intimidating group, all eyes on the talking pokemon, was enough to stifle any temptation it had to mock the important man further, but it still addressed him anyway. "Your pokemon's a real tough one. Lucky for me it had that problem today. Maybe get that front left paw checked out, huh?"
Meowth then dashed away without salutation. With that knowledge, they might realize it wasn't so tough after all and try and beat it with another pokemon, so getting out of dodge was the best option. Meowth still couldn't resist helping the other pokemon out, especially since it had provided such an exhilarating win. Despite having been gawked at before and after, Meowth felt more confident than ever.
Maybe this was the time to finally approach Meowsie.
Meowth gathered some flowers before it ran toward the familiar backyard. The time of day was about right for Meowsie to be out having a meal. Its trainer may or may not be home, but hopefully they'd be on their way before she noticed. Meowth ran without any doubts, that was, until it reached the wall with the object of its affection on the other side.
Though it had just gotten out of a possibly dangerous still predicament, Meowth felt more nervous than ever. It still forced itself to climb up, flowers in its mouth, then jumped on the tree before landing on the ground, taking the flowers in its front paws. Meowsie was outside already, looking up in surprise as Meowth approached.
"Meowth," Meowsie called, recognizing the other meowth right away. Meowth hadn't been around in a while. "Meowth?" Would it like to eat, then battle?
Meowth smiled happily, walking forward on its back paws. Meowsie appeared confused before it focused on the flowers held out. "I've done it," Meowth said. "I've learned to do things like humans do, so I don't need them. We can make a new place in this world, just for us. I really love you, so... will you... come with me, for a new life?"
Meowth had trouble looking at Meowsie as it stammered out its feelings and proposal. It forced itself to meet the other pokemon's eyes as it finished the question, excitement in its heart and a smile on its face.
Meowsie met its eyes with a stoic expression. "Meowth," it called out harshly before running through the meowth-sized door Meowth had never noticed before.
Meowth stood in the yard for a moment, stunned. Absolutely, this was a rejection, and a fairly harsh one. It dropped the flowers in its paws, unmoving. The sound of the human-sized door sliding open was the only thing that pushed it to move, running up the tree and out of the yard before it even saw the human walk out.
Once it had run far enough away, it found a place to hide behind a trash can in an alley. Laying against the wall and catching its breath, the pain caught up with it. What kind of message had Meowsie emanated?
Pokemon communication wasn't like human communication. Human languages, spoken, written, or otherwise, were symbolic at the core. They threw out these symbols, on paper, speaking as Meowth had learned to, and even with sign languages. But despite the method, the true meaning of the communicator ultimately could be misconstrued or just plain misunderstood, even among those who were proficient at the language. Language was helpful, but not infallible when it came to sharing thoughts and feelings with each other.
But pokemon's communication wasn't like any human language. They could send clear, complete messages with nuance to each other energetically with their calls. Humans did so as well without realizing it as they tried to communicate with others, which made it easy for pokemon to understand their message even without knowing the language as well as Meowth now did. But pokemon to pokemon communication was always easiest - a quick message transferred directly to all other pokemon who might hear it through a telepathic sort of means.
So Meowsie's message had been crystal clear, no reason for doubt. Even so, Meowth had started to think more like a human, and tried to understand its love interest's last call by relating it to human language. What word would best symbolize what Meowsie had meant? Perhaps 'outsider'? Of course, as a weak, trainerless pokemon, Meowth had been an outsider long before that day. Maybe 'unwanted', though the same could apply there.
'Freak' was probably the best translation.
The Pokemon Battle Café had always been Meowth's favorite place to hang out, but things were different on that day. With Jessie and James by its side, it didn't even need to sneak in. They had money, so Meowth could eat right there, no need to look for scraps in the dumpster in back afterward. It was really moving up in the world.
"Wouldn't your pokemon prefer a pokemon meal?" the server asked when they finished their order.
"Na, I know the stuff made for humans is way better," Meowth said.
Since the humans next to it acted like Meowth speaking out was normal, their server did as well, writing down the order before leaving without comment. It was far from a freak these days, Meowth thought, feeling a pang of pain from the past at just the thought of the sentiment.
"Maybe we should get some practice in too," Jessie mused as they watched the active battle.
"Poor Koffing and Weepinbell haven't gotten out enough lately," James added.
"Let's eat first," Jessie said as Meowth sighed loudly. "What is it? You've really been mopey today," she said.
"Hey Jimmy," Meowth began. "Have you ever had a broken heart?"
"M-Me?" James initially appeared bewildered at the question. He then smiled and shook his head. "No. I've never even been in love," he admitted. "I thought I was once, but it was just inexperience."
"Really? Who was it? Someone I know?" Jessie asked.
"No," James replied. "It was some years before we met."
"Oh, then you're talking about real puppy love," Jessie said, losing interest. She and James had been older than the minimum age of ten when they'd first met at Pokemon Tech, but not by that much.
"Um... What about you, Jess?" Meowth asked, tentatively tapping the table and looking away. "Someone ever break your heart?"
"No," Jessie said firmly. "I'd never allow that to happen. People who get broken hearts, that's just because they were relying on someone too much. They let their own heart break."
"I never thought of it that way," James said casually, losing interest as the server came with their food.
"Yeah," Meowth muttered. It couldn't think like Jessie. The rejection still hurt, even having happened years ago. Meowth tried to distract itself, chowing down with the other two as the ordered food was placed in front of them.
"So what's up with that kind of question, Meowth?" Jessie asked between bites.
So much for distraction. Meowth put down the food it had been about to bite, looking away and laughing awkwardly. "Oh, you know, I was just thinking... About when this meowth's heart might have been... you know, put through some trials."
"So you had your heart broken, Meowth?" James inquired, despite Jessie having described someone who would let that happen as basically a silly sap.
"Hey! It was just, um, you know, my very first love. A beautiful lady meowth. Meowsie. I thought that it was mutual, and we could live together forever, but she didn't think I was as good as a human trainer."
"That's tough," Jessie said. "How long ago was it?"
"A while... Maybe," Meowth said. Maybe Jessie would say after that many years, Meowth should be long over anything that happened. "I was still a stray street meowth then, before I joined Team Rocket."
"So you have more status now," James said, looking up from his meal.
"Um... Yeah, of course." Meowth had gone from a worthless stray to an elite agent of Team Rocket. Of course, anything was better than its status as a nothing prior. Would that make a difference?
"If you're really still thinking about it, maybe you should go find that other meowth right now," Jessie suggested. "Don't leave any loose ends. Maybe you could rub in its face how good you have it now. Leave that 'Meowsie' with your regrets and move on."
Seeing Meowsie again? Meowth suddenly wanted to. Even with how harsh that rejection had been, it still held affection for the domesticated pokemon. However, it couldn't help thinking about the possible reunion playing out differently than Jessie had described. Maybe Meowsie would want to see Meowth again, the way it used to. Maybe Meowsie had its own regrets, and thought about Meowth often as well. Maybe they could finally have the happy ending Meowth had strove for years ago, here in the present day. Better late than never.
"Yeah, um, if you two don't mind... I would like to go try and find Meowsie," it said.
Jessie shrugged, and James nodded. "We're right here in your home city, aren't we? It shouldn't take long," he said.
"Yeah," Meowth said, trying to inject confidence into its voice. It tried to enjoy the rest of its meal, though it had some trouble with all the butterflies in its stomach.
Watching battles after they were done only brought more anticipation. Jessie and James took two turns battling each, one with each pokemon. James won both. Jessie looked like she might win her second as well before Lickitung hopped off the stage to get a taste of a patron's meal. "I'll feed you later! Later!" Jessie shouted in dismay. The battle was a stalemate as she returned the pokemon. Then seemed like the best time to leave.
Meowth led the two humans through the streets. "Looks like we're getting into a fancy area," Jessie observed, looking around warily. As wanted criminals, in their Team Rocket uniforms no less, they may be even less welcomed there.
"We're getting close," Meowth said, before it saw the familiar wall. It swallowed nervously, thinking of what may happen on the other side.
"How close?" Jessie asked as Meowth froze.
"It's here," Meowth said. Before she could ask any other questions, it climbed the wall and hopped in the tree.
The view was a lot different from before. Despite being summer, the flowers were all dead, seeming to have been so for a while, the rose bushes showing a few dried out samples, though they had greatly overgrown. The patio was full of dirt, one of the windows cracked.
"Looks like no one's been here for a while," James commented as he and Jessie hoisted themselves up to the top of the wall.
"Oh well," Jessie said. "You'll have to tie things up a different day."
Seemingly responding to the voices of the humans, the door built for a meowth rattled. Out came one meowth, then another, followed by a persian before several more meowth filed out and joined them. The group surrounded the tree where Meowth sat in the branches. The persian called its abrasive yowling call, threatening Meowth to leave.
"Hey, hold on here, you back off! We have pokemon!" Jessie threatened the pokemon herself, waving one of her pokeballs in the air.
"I've got no interest in a run down place like this!" Meowth informed. "I'm doing much better in life. Who needs your dusty abandoned building?" Meowth replied to the persian. "You think you're better than a meowth like me just because you evolved! Well you're not!"
"Meow?" one of the meowth called curiously.
Meowth recognized Meowsie while being recognized itself. The pokemon had lost her adornments, but still had that refined air around her when compared to the rest of the meowth. "Meowsie!" Meowth shouted down at her, unable to not be happy at the reunion, though there was still plenty to mar that. "I'm here to see you!"
"Meowth," Meowsie called back. It had wanted to see Meowth for some time as well.
The message was clear as day, but unlike if a human had spoken, Meowth couldn't mistake the feeling behind that message, and there was no sentiment of love or longing as would be preferred.
"Persian?" the persian inquired.
Meowsie called out several times, explaining what Meowth was to it in several chunks.
This stranger meowth was the silly meowth that had been battled against when its less than battle inclined trainer was still around. Meowsie won only when Meowth would pretend to lose in an absurd, overdramatic fashion. But when Meowth tried, Meowsie could never win. It kept being distracted, as even during a battle, Meowth would call out about anything on its mind. Though Meowsie admitted that was just an excuse and it should have been able to beat the weak meowth anyway.
Meowth hopped down from the tree as Meowsie finished the story. It hadn't know that was how this pristine meowth had thought of their interactions, or that Meowsie was annoyed by how chatty it was. "Meowsie," it began. "I still hold a candle in my heart for you after all these years. You were the shining light of my-"
"Meowth," Meowsie interrupted. Did they see what it had meant?
"I'm serious!" Meowth insisted, trying not to sound so upset.
Meowsie turned back to Meowth. "Meowth," it called out an apology.
"It's, uh-" Meowth paused, feeling awkward about accepting it.
"Meowth," Meowsie continued. It didn't hate Meowth, just thought a pokemon speaking like a human was weird and had overreacted. "Meowth," Meowsie called again, eyes brightening as it offered thanks. "Meowth!" Though Meowth was weird, silly, and annoying, it had taught Meowsie one of the most important lessons.
"You mean I taught you about the joys of love?" Meowth suggested hopefully.
"Meowth," Meowsie called calmly. That was wrong.
"Then, uh, I taught you the first battle techniques you could use?" Meowth stated its actual first guess.
"Meowth," Meowsie called again. That was also wrong. Meowsie smiled widely. "Meowth!"
Meowth was shocked at that answer. Something it had expressed to Meowsie multiple times, but never thought the other pokemon would accept.
That they could live without humans.
"Meowth?" Meowsie questioned, glancing at the two humans who sat on the wall observing the pokemon.
"Neither of them is my trainer," Meowth explained. "They're my humans like pokemon in pokeballs are human's pokemon. I have no trainer."
"Meowth." Meowsie shrugged. It hadn't thought they had to live without humans, just that humans weren't necessary. "Meowth, meowth!" Meowsie repeated its thanks. Meowth had been an inspiration as the funny meowth that had lived boldly after being rejected by humans, learning much without waiting around for one to catch it and teach it things. "Meowth!" Meowsie declared it would live as well, with or without a trainer.
"So then... Meowsie... Would you come live with me?"
Even as Meowth asked the question, it knew on some level what the answer would be. Sure enough, Meowsie shook its head. "Meowth!" It was perfectly happy there, living with other meowth, and Persian. They'd all come around after Meowsie's owner had abandoned this place, and now supported each other.
Meowth glared at the evolved pokemon. "Hey bud, wanna fight?!" it said, revealing its claws before it glanced at Meowsie. "If I beat this guy, will you come with me then?" it asked.
"Meowth," Meowsie called with a frown. Meowth was being annoying. "Meowth!" Especially since Meowsie had been waiting for another rematch all this time.
"Y-You want to battle again?" Meowth said in surprise. "Then... If I beat you, will you come with me?" it asked.
"Meowth." Meowsie tossed its head. Maybe it would, at least for a little while.
That wishy-washy answer was more than enough motivation. "Let's fight then!" Meowth dared.
The other pokemon stepped back as Meowth and Meowsie got ready to fight. Jessie and James also watched, still from their spot on top of the wall. "Come on, Meowth! Denounce the evils of love!" Jessie cheered.
"You can win this. Soar through the galaxy into victory!" James encouraged.
As the battle began, Meowth ran forward, hitting Meowsie with a scratch. Before it could retreat, Meowsie struck forward repeatedly with fury swipes, missing only the fourth attempt. "Not bad," Meowth said.
"Meowth!" Meowsie called. Meowth ought to concentrate on the battle rather than chatting.
"I said not bad, but I'll do you one better!" Meowth jumped forward, using fury swipes, hitting Meowsie all four times. "Ha ha!" it laughed as its opponent cringed. "It's my best attack," it bragged.
"Meowth..." Meowsie called in a low voice. This always got to it, Meowth's constant noise during battle. "Meowth!" Meowsie called, tensing up. It wasn't going to let such a thing stop it this time. Meowsie's charm started to glow as it stood still.
"Is this-" Meowth began, staring transfixed at the charm. "Pay day?!" it guessed, then ran forward to try again with fury swipes.
Before Meowth could land any hits, Meowsie's form grew, morphed, and changed completely. Though it still had that regal air, Meowsie looked completely different then, having evolved to a persian. But not even that was all. Its red jewel glowed in place of the charm now, and a barrage of coins appeared, hitting Meowth over and over again.
Meowth cried out before falling flat on its back, no energy left to get up. After taking a few moments to collect itself, Meowth sat up, seeing the sight of Meowsie, now a persian, rubbing its head against the other persian as the various meowth called out cheers of celebration around them. Meowth stepped away, using the last of its energy to climb the tree. This was the time to leave the stage.
"We've got you," James said, giving Meowth a hand as it climbed closer.
"Feh. Evolving in the middle of the battle," Jessie muttered, also reaching out for her friend before she and James both assisted Meowth onto the top of the wall.
"Let's just go," Meowth said once it was there, looking to the empty sidewalk on the other side.
"Persian!" the pokemon that had just defeated it called out a good-bye. "Per, persian!" Meowth should remember that it didn't need humans, or even other pokemon to live as well.
"Farewell," Meowth said, then jumped down with its human friends.
They walked a while before Jessie finally broke the silence. "It didn't really seem like that persian-evolved meowth was into you at all," she said. "So just forget about it. It's better that way, you know?"
"Yeah!" Meowth said, trying its best to be cheerful. "Done and done. After all, it was just puppy love, like when James was a dumb, well, dumber little mini-human, right?" Meowth swallowed. Things would be better if it could believe this. "I'm gonna be just like Jessie. Can't get a broken heart if you're heartless, right? Right?"
Though it had thought they might be annoyed at how it described them, they both looked down at it with pity. In the confusion of their atypical reactions, Meowth realized tears were falling from its eyes. "I'm fine! Even if I can't stop crying," Meowth insisted, rubbing its face on its arm. "I'm just fine!"
James leaned down and patted it on the head. "It's alright, Meowth," he assured.
"Come on," Jessie said, picking up the pokemon and carrying it over her shoulder. "There has to be something else fun we can do in this city. Let's forget about everything else for now, got it?"
Meowth remained quiet, taking some solace from the presence of the humans, including the one that spoiled it by carrying it like this. It wanted to forget, but couldn't really. Meowth closed its eyes, thinking of the friends it still had, along with the only unmarred good memory of the city. Meowth had been recognized, if not by Meowsie.
The spot at the end of the counter was the best to sit unnoticed, as long as it was unoccupied by another small pokemon. Trainers visiting the Battle Café sat alone at the counters all the time, sometimes for a while. It could easily be assumed one of them was Meowth's trainer, so it went unbothered.
Or so it thought, until it saw that guy in the bright suit from the other day. Meowth flinched as the man looked at it, perhaps giving itself away. It tried to keep sitting unassuming in the spot, on its four paws like a normal meowth, not talking at all, just playing at waiting for its trainer.
But before it noticed, the man was in front of it, staring poignantly. Meowth decided to glare back. With all the meowth in Saffron City, there was no way this guy could know it was the talking meowth that had mocked him.
"Magnificent," the man eventually spoke.
Meowth looked around the room trying to see what he might be talking about. But the man still only stared at Meowth itself.
"Hmph." The man smirked and chuckled as Meowth looked back at him. "You even know how to pretend. What's a talent like you doing here? Where's your trainer?"
"As if I have a trainer," Meowth muttered, then put its paw over its mouth.
Giovanni laughed again. "All the better for me. A superb pokemon like yourself would fit well on my team, and now I don't have to bother taking you from another trainer."
"What are you talking about?" Meowth asked.
"You are a pokemon that speaks and understands other pokemon, aren't you?" Giovanni said. "I'm sure my nidorino would send its thanks. It must have told you about the object embedded in its paw... I knew something was off about it, but not the specifics. That's thanks to you, and how I know you speaking isn't a trick."
"No more a trick than you speaking to me," Meowth said.
"Of course," the man said. "I'm Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket. How about we battle again? Though this time I've forgiven your tomfoolery. I just want to catch you."
Battling that nidorino again, this time at full strength with no handicap? No thanks. "What if I don't wanna be caught? What if I'm a pokemon that wants to live without a dumb trainer telling me what to do all the time?" Meowth challenged.
"I see." Giovanni paused. "Yes, of course. You're certainly more intelligent than other pokemon, but also perhaps many humans. Maybe being caught would be demeaning to a pokemon like yourself. I'll respect that."
Just when Meowth thought he would finally leave, the rocket boss took a step closer. "Come with me as my agent, then," he said. "I'll treat you the same as my other agents," he said, gesturing to where a few men with the uniforms with the giant 'R' emblems sat. "I'll provide you the same as then in exchange for joining us. Come."
Meowth followed Giovanni to where his grunts sat. Though at first it had followed thinking it might get food, the reality slowly started to sink in. Giovanni's invitation to join had been completely genuine. He informed the uniformed men of Meowth's new status with total seriousness, saying more about how valuable Meowth would be in their team.
Meowth had never been valued before. As one meowth in a city overrun by them, the message it had gotten was at best, to stop existing.
But now its talents were being recognized. Meowth started to feel a sort of warmth it hadn't ever before, realizing the revered man meant all the compliments he had spoken. The other men also complimented Meowth, expressing how impressed they were with its abilities.
Meowth even relaxed while getting pet by the most important guy at the table. Maybe it really wasn't some worthless freak after all. Maybe it had something valuable to offer, and to a person so many others considered important, at that. Maybe this was the place it really belonged, and the person it really belonged with.
End notes: I've previously messed with Meowth's origins to set things up in "Full Moon", a Meowth-centric story I wrote some time ago. Then I focused more on Meowth and Giovanni while Meowsie only got mentioned, so I tried to do something different here. I know it made Meowsie pretty different from the original but the changes also fit with this story's world and themes. I enjoyed writing Meowth and Meowsie's friendship. It wasn't lasting, they didn't really understand each other at all, couldn't meet the other's needs, but had an overall positive impact on each other, didn't they?
Next chapter: Sabrina vs. Empathy