"There you go, all fixed up!" James said, putting his Potions and bandages away. The Pangoro he was treating gave him a crushing hug in thanks. "GAH! T-Too tight..." James squeaked from within its grasp. The Pangoro quickly let go, blushing a bit.
"Guess all those summers with your nanny and pop-pop paid off, huh?" Ash said.
"Nanny and pop-pop?" Serena asked, stifling a giggle and earning a flustered look from the blue-haired man.
"Yeah, I met them at one of his mansions in Kanto," Ash explained. "They were really good at healing Pokémon."
"One of his mansions?" Bonnie asked, surprised. Ash nodded. "So does that mean you're rich?"
James sighed. "Technically, it's my parents that are rich. I'm just set to inherit all of their wealth."
"Wait... if you're so rich, what are you doing in Team Rocket?" Bonnie asked.
"I ran away from home for the same reasons as Meowstic - I was tired of all the rules of high society," James explained. "Plus, I was forcefully engaged to a psychopath..." he added quietly.
"Why Team Rocket in particular, though?" Serena asked. "You seem like you'd make a great Pokémon breeder or doctor. You're really good at taking care of Pokémon...when you're not stealing them, that is."
James shook his head sadly. "I tried to do honest work at first," he started. "Accounting, finance, construction work... a bunch of different things. But because those were all on the books, my parents were always able to track me down a few weeks after getting a job. Team Rocket, on the other hand, is completely off the grid," he explained.
"Aww, that's so sad!" Bonnie said, tearing up a little.
"If ya tink dat's sad, wait'll ya hear how I ended up in Team Rocket!" Meowth said. "It's a tale full o' romance, intrigue, and-"
"Oh, can it, Meowth," Jessie said. "We don't have three hours to spare for your sob story."
"I'll shorten it dis time! I'll cut out da fluff, promise!" Meowth begged.
"Last time you said that, you made it longer! And besides," James said as he finished treating the third and last Pangoro. "We're all healed up and ready to go now."
"Then let's," Meowstic said. She didn't feel like listening to a three hour tale, especially not one from Meowth. She still remembered how he tried to convince her he was a superhero.
"Fine, but you're really missing out," Meowth said. With that, the group carried onwards.
Meowstic lagged behind a bit, pondering what she would do when - or if - she got her freedom. She was about 75% sure she wanted to let the blue-haired man capture her, and even came close to telling him that, but she kept getting interrupted. The 25% chance that this would be a decision she'd end up regretting still bothered her, though. He was a member of a criminal organization, after all. What if the nice guy shtick was just a facade for luring unsuspecting Pokémon in? Meowstic was really torn over what to do...
"Meowstic? Are you all right?" James asked, noticing that the Pokémon was drifting pretty far behind the group.
"Y-Yes, I'm well. I'm just a little tired, is all," Meowstic replied.
"I can carry you if you like."
"No th-" Meowstic was about to decline, but changed her mind upon feeling how absolutely tired she was from all of the physical activity that day - from the getting kidnapped, to the walking, and even engaging the Pangoro - twice! She wasn't used to all this excitement and exercise. "Actually, yes, I would like that, if it's not too much trouble," she said sheepishly.
"Not at all," James said, scooping the cat up in his arms.
Almost instantly, all of Meowstic's worries melted away in his warm embrace. She had never been carried with such...tenderness before. When her servants or owners would carry her, they'd make her sit uncomfortably and unnaturally prim and proper: back straight, legs crossed, hands folded in front of her. She felt like she was their dress-up doll. But when James carried her, she felt...loved. Cared for.
"Are you sure you're all right?" James asked. "You've had that serious look on your face ever since we decided to help those Pangoro."
"Meowstic always look serious," she replied.
"I know... I meant more than usual."
"I'm... I'm fine."
James gave her a thoughtful look. "I think I know what you're stressing about," he said, smiling. "You're worried about what'll happen once you're free, right?"
Meowstic slowly nodded. That was half of what she was worried about, but she didn't feel like disclosing that the other half was whether or not she wanted to travel with him.
"Don't worry, I felt the same way on the night that I ran away," James said. "I was worried about how I, a spoiled rich boy, would survive on the streets. It was hard, at first - transitioning from Mareep-wool jackets and filet mignon to dirty old rags and food scraps. But I also gained my freedom, and that's worth all the money in the world."
Meowstic smiled. He always knows just what to say to make me feel better, she thought. And I now know what I want to say...
"James?" she asked. No more stuttering, no more sheepishness this time. She was gonna come right out and say it. "After I'm free, I want to travel with y-AHHH!" Again, before she could finish, she was interrupted, this time by a vine pulling her away towards a woman in a maid uniform and a white-flowered Florges.
"Beautifully done, Florges," the woman said - Erin, one of Meowstic's main etiquette tutors. "And well done to you as well, kids, for arresting those criminals and taming those nasty Pangoro."
"Give Meowstic back! She doesn't want to go with you!" James yelled.
"And these Pangoro are only aggressive because you guys kicked them out of their home!" Serena added.
"Hm, so you really have sided with them, haven't you?" another person said, emerging out near the maid - Wayne, Meowstic's other main etiquette tutor. "We suspected something was wrong when we spied you walking so nonchalantly with both of our enemies. I suppose it's a good thing we didn't approach you and ask for you to hand Lady Meowstic over willingly, hm?"
"Gr... We'll get her back!" Ash said.
"Ohoho, make up your mind, boy," Wayne chuckled. "First you say you're going to rescue Meowstic from those criminals, and now you're working with them to steal her again?"
"That was before we knew how miserable she was at home..." Ash clenched his fist in determination. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" he ordered. Pikachu complied, charging up its signature attack and loosing it on the two servants.
"Oh, please. Florges, block it with Moonblast," Erin ordered. The flowery Pokémon opened its mouth, pink energy gathering in front of it, and launched its attack to meet the incoming Thunderbolt halfway. The two attacks collided in midair, producing a bright and powerful explosion.
"Pangoro pan!" one of the Pangoro said to the other two of its species. It gestured at the two servants, seemingly organizing an attack.
Wayne noticed this. "Hmph. While we'd love to stay and mingle with you brutes, we have more important matters to attend to. That being said..." he pulled out a Poké Ball. "Dragalge, cover our escape with Smokescreen."
As soon as his sea dragon Pokémon materialized, it emitted a thick stream of smoke from its mouth, covering the area and obscuring everyone's vision. Team Rocket, the kids, and Pangoro frantically ran out of the smoke, in the direction the servants were, but by the time they got out, Wayne and Erin were long gone.
"We can't let them get away with this!" James said frustratedly.
"They must have run back to the mansion. If we're quick, we can catch up!" Clemont said, pointing down the path that leads back to Lord William's estate. The group nodded and charged down that path. Barely a minute later, they spotted a group of lesser servants running their way.
"Look! There they are!" one of the servants yelled. "All right, you remember Erin's orders. Don't let any of them pass!"
"Right!" the other servants yelled, pulling out their Poké Balls.
"Pan! Pangoro!" one of the Pangoro said.
"He's sayin' he and his buddies will take dose guys on so we can go save Meowstic," Meowth translated.
"Pan!" another Pangoro nodded.
"I'll stay behind to help," Clemont said. "If those servants chased you out last time, they must be pretty tough. And plus..." he panted. "I don't know how much more running I can do..."
"Dedenne and I will help out, too!" Bonnie said. Dedenne poked its head out of its bag and chirped in agreement.
"We'll leave it to you, then," Ash said. With that, the three Pangoro charged ahead to create an opening for Ash and the others to run through.
Panicked screams spread throughout the group of servants. All of their attention was focused on the three hulking giants charging towards them.
"A-Are those the Pangoro?!"
"Wayne and Erin didn't say anything about them!"
"Shut up and send out your Pokémon! If we fail this, Lord William will have our heads!"
"Or worse, he'll fire us!"
The group of servants sent out a large assortment of Pokémon - a Gogoat, a Furfrou, a Fletchinder, a Vivillion, a Doublade, and a Pyroar. With the servants' focus on the three Pangoro and blonde gym leader attacking them, the rest of the group was able to breeze right on through.
It wasn't long before they ran into the two head servants - Erin and Wayne - again. They stood in the middle of the path, Pokémon at their sides...but Lady Meowstic was nowhere in sight. They wore smirks on their faces.
"Where's Meowstic?" James asked, getting straight to the point.
Wayne shrugged. "We handed her off to her rightful owner. He's probably on his way to the police to tell them about how a group of thugs is trying to steal his precious Meowstic away from him."
"As if! Meowstic will vouch for us!" Ash said.
"Oh, Meowstic speaking up won't be a problem at all," Erin said.
"...Why not?" James asked, worried that they might have hurt the poor Pokémon.
"That's for us to know, and for you to never find out," the maid taunted. "Florges, Energy Ball!"
"Gourgeist, Shadow Ball!" Jessie counter-ordered. Green energy collided with purple, mixing together and exploding into a cloud of smoke.
"Not bad - for a petty thief with a ridiculous hairdo, that is," Erin said.
"Ridiculous?!" Jessie said furiously. "I'll show you ridiculous! Gourgeist, teach her a lesson with Seed Bomb!" Her Pokémon complied, eager to get revenge for the insult her master received.
"Florges, dodge and use Vine Whip!" the maid ordered. The Florges quickly got out of the way of the stream of exploding seeds, then shot out two vines at the pumpkin Pokémon. To the maid's surprise, Jessie just smirked in response when the vines shot out at her Gourgeist.
"Now, Gourgeist, grab those vines and reel her in!" Jessie said, giving the twerp a signaling look. Ash got the message and grinned.
"Pikachu, Iron Tail, now!" Ash ordered. The super-sized Gourgeist was easily able to use its weight and power to sling Florges right into Pikachu's attack, causing massive damage.
"Nice shot, twerp!" Jessie said.
"Couldn't have done it without you," Ash responded. He then turned to James, Serena, and Meowth. "We'll take care of these two, you guys go on and save Meowstic!"
Serena nodded in acknowledgment. "You got it, Ash! C'mon guys, let's go!" she said, continuing down the path.
"Don't worry baby, Meowth's comin' ta save ya!" Meowth said. He enthusiastically darted ahead of the group.
"Oh no you don't! Dragalge, stop them with Sludge Bomb!" Wayne ordered. His Pokémon began charging the attack but...
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Gourgeist, use Seed Bomb!"
Pikachu and Gourgeist quickly launched their attacks to prevent Dragalge from launching its own. Wayne was not pleased.
"Why you little...!" he said indignantly, but Erin calmed him down.
"Let the rats scurry on," Erin said. "The master is more than capable of dealing with those three idiots."
Wayne smirked. "Right." He turned to face his two opponents. "I'm disappointed, Mister Ketchum. Did you know we were going to knight you? We had a celebration planned out and everything!" the butler said. "Oh well. We'll be sure to send you a slice of cake when you're behind bars!"
"We'll see about that... Pikachu, use Thunderbolt again!"
Woo! I meant to mention this a long time ago, but this story won't end after Meowstic goes free. I also had ideas for some of her adventures with James and the rest of Team Rocket. I wasn't really sure whether to post them as separate stories or to just add them on to this story. I eventually figured it'd be easier to just put them on this story, 'cause if I posted them as separate stories, I'd have to tell the reader to read this story first or else it might not make sense lol.
I'm thinking one or two more chapters will be enough for the gang to beat Lord William. Then there'll be her adventures with TR and stuff. Those will probably be a bit shorter than the main story - like 1-3 chapters? I'll also label the chapters after the main story is done, so you can tell where each one starts and ends.
As for them visiting one of James's summer cottages, I can't guarantee anything lol. Definitely not in the main story, but I think they'd probably stumble upon one later on in the "Meowstic's Adventures with Team Rocket" stories. I was hella disappointed that no James's mansion episodes happened in XY. Heck, there weren't any in BW either. The last one we had was around the middle of DP! I'm hoping there's at least one of those episodes before XYZ ends. There aren't that many episodes left though D:
Anyway, thanks for reading and as always, any reviews/comments/criticisms/corrections would be much appreciated!