After about a minute more of running, James, Serena, and Meowth happened upon Meowstic, and she was seemingly...alone? Her back was facing them, so they were unable to view her face. Lord William was nowhere in sight...
"Strange..." James commented. Serena nodded in agreement.
"Let's approach carefully," Serena said.
Meowth, unfortunately, didn't get the memo. He charged towards the female cat, arms wide for a hug. As soon as he was within hugging range, he wrapped his arms around the lady and squeezed tight. James and Serena sighed, their element of surprise ruined.
"You all right dere, babycakes? Don't worry, Meowth's here ta save ya!" Meowth said. In response, Meowstic simply lifted him up with Psychic, and then flung him, far away, just like the last time he tried physical contact with her. "WAAAAH! Meowth's blasting off again?!" Meowth cried as he disappeared with a twinkle.
"M-Meowth!" James said, watching his teammate get thrown away. "Meowstic, what'd you do that for?" It was then that James noticed the odd look in the feline's eyes. He'd seen those eyes before... "Hypnosis," James said.
"How rude!" a snooty voice said from the bushes. "Interrupting our lesson like that. I was just teaching Meowstic how to be a proper slave. Now, Meowstic, show them what a good slave you are and bow to me!"
"Yes, my lord..." Meowstic said monotonously, bowing deeply.
"Slave? What happened to making her a noble?" James asked. "Not that there's much difference..." he muttered to himself.
"She'll be whatever I want her to be now!" Lord William laughed. "Slave, Pokémon, aristocrat... And she won't have any say in the matter."
"You're a horrible person!" Serena yelled angrily.
"Oh, hush, peasant. You know nothing of the workings of high society. Meowstic, Psybeam on those ruffians!" Lord William ordered. Lady Meowstic unwillingly complied, uncovering the symbols on her ears and loosing a colorful beam of psychic energy at her rescuers. James and Serena quickly jumped out of the way, just barely in time to avoid a direct hit but still getting knocked back a bit from the explosions.
"You all right, twerpette?" James asked, coughing from the dust.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Serena replied. "And I have a name, you know!"
"Yeah, yeah. Anyways, it looks like it's our turn to battle," James said, reaching for a Poké Ball. Serena nodded and did the same.
"Come on out, Braixen!"
"Go, Inkay!"
The two Pokémon materialized and took a battle stance, ready to face the hypnotized feline. James was about to order an attack, but a fourth human made her presence known.
"Now now, kids," a monotonous voice said. "Didn't your parents tell you not to point your Pokémon at a police officer?" It was Officer Jenny.
"Officer Jenny!" Serena exclaimed. "This man is abusing his Meowstic!"
"I see nothing wrong with the way he is treating his Pokémon. You, on the other hand, are under arrest for the attempted robbery of Lord William's beloved property," Officer Jenny responded.
"W-What?! You're siding with him?" Serena said, incredulous. James, however, saw through their ruse.
"She's being hypnotized," James explained, noticing the officer's dilated pupils. He turned to Lord William. "You realize how illegal it is to hypnotize an officer, don't you? Trust me, I know a thing or two about breaking laws."
"Ah, but the difference between you and me is that I don't plan on getting caught," Lord William said. "Now, officer, book those ruffians!"
"Yes, master. Growlithe, use Flamethrower," the hypnotized police officer ordered. Her Pokémon, also hypnotized, complied without question, loosing a stream of fire at James and Serena.
"Braixen, counter with your own Flamethrower!" Serena ordered. Braixen swiftly drew her wand and let loose her own stream of flames to meet the opposing one head on, with both attacks getting cancelled out in the process. "I'll take Officer Jenny; you save Meowstic!"
James nodded. He let the two fire types duke it out and turned to face down his own opponent. He gulped, realizing it was two on one - his Meowstic and Malamar against just his Inkay. "H-Hey, two on one hardly seems fair!"
"Obviously," the wealthy man said. "Which is why I'm only going to be using Meowstic and not Malamar. I am a gentleman after all. I fight honorably, even against criminals."
James gritted his teeth. He hated being talked down to like that - being made to feel as though he were some uncivilized barbarian by a wealthy person. It reminded him too much of his father. Still, he was glad that it would be one-on-one. That increased his chances of winning. He just had to land a few good hits on Meowstic, and she'd snap out of it and fight against her former master with him. At least, that's how he thought hypnosis worked.
"Inkay, use Tackle!" James ordered. Inkay complied, tilting sideways and launching itself full speed at its target.
"Meowstic, dodge it!" Lord William responded. Unfortunately, Lady Meowstic didn't have much combat experience - she spent most of her time learning about utensils or how to walk. She tried to jump out of the way, but still got grazed by Inkay's attack. "Now use Scratch!"
"Foul Play!" James countered. Meowstic unsheathed its claws and swung them at Inkay, but the squid dodged under it, then grabbed hold of the feline and flung her into a tree. Meowstic looked pretty damaged from the attacks, but remained hypnotized. "Darn..." James cursed. He looked at Lord William and saw him...smirking? As though he had tricked James.
"Now, Meowstic, use Psybeam!" Lord William ordered, preventing James from carrying on with his thinking.
"Inkay, match it with your own Psybeam!" James ordered. The two beams collided in midair, but this time, instead of canceling each other out... Meowstic's beam overtook Inkay's and rammed into him at full force. "Oh no, Inkay!" James cried. Inkay quickly shook off the pain and floated back up, then nodded at its master. James made a mental note to watch out for Meowstic's attacks; while she wasn't great at dodging, she could hit like a truck!
"Energy Ball!" Lord William ordered. Several green balls of energy formed around Meowstic. After a short delay, she started launching them one by one at Inkay.
"Dodge!" Inkay darted around, avoiding the destructive balls of energy as much as possible.
"Keep firing!" Lord William yelled. Meowstic complied, and continued firing Energy Ball after Energy Ball at the squid. Inkay continued to dodge, but occasionally got grazed by one of the attacks. James saw that if he kept this up, Meowstic would tire herself out and he'd win, but Lord William seemed oddly calm about this. More than calm, actually - he was grinning. Just like before, when Meowstic got attacked...
Suddenly, everything clicked in James's head. He wanted Meowstic to get tired out. He also wanted Inkay, Braixen, and Officer Jenny's Growlithe to use up all of their strength. After that, he'd be in total control with just his Malamar. If James wanted to save Meowstic, he'd have to find a way to break the Malamar's grips on their minds, and fast. But how?
Which is why I'm only going to be using Meowstic and not Malamar. I am a gentleman after all. I fight honorably, even against criminals.
Lord William's words replayed in James's mind. He wasn't being a gentleman - he was protecting Malamar! James remembered how they were freed from the evil Malamar's Hypnosis, back when it used Madame X as a cover. They were freed when the evil Malamar took a direct hit, which caused it to lose focus and release its grip on its victims.
With this in mind, James ordered another attack. "Inkay, Psybeam... on Malamar!" Inkay quickly complied, turning upside down and letting loose a colorful beam of psychic energy at its target.
"Meowstic, block it!" Lord William ordered. Without hesitation, Meowstic threw her body in front of Inkay's attack. The beam exploded on her, launching the feline back a fair distance in a cloud of smoke. She struggled to her feet, her normally snow-white fur covered in dust.
James gritted his teeth. "How chivalrous, forcing a Lady to take hits for you," he said mockingly.
"You shut your mouth, you cur!" Lord William snapped, his true colors surfacing. "I'm a nobleman, one of the most important in Kalos's society. You're just some thief; a piece of trash! A delinquent! You'll never amount to anything. You're worthless, you understand? Worthless!" Lord William's face beet-red from his anger. "If you up and croaked tomorrow, no one would notice or care!"
James was silent. This all reminded him of his parents' words. How he'd never amount to anything; that he was a disappointment; that his only worth was to provide grandchildren, yet he failed at that, making him worthless. He'd also heard similar words from other people all his life - from law enforcement, from the people he'd fail to rob, and even from his boss. Despair started to wash over the Rocket...
"You're wrong..." a strained voice said. James looked up towards the source of the voice and saw... Meowstic? Lord William looked at her in shock, as well. "You're wrong," she repeated.
"Malamar, take away her self-control, now!" Lord William ordered. Malamar tightened its grip on her mind, flashing its lights and radiating vibrant, golden energy. Despite all this, Meowstic continued.
"James is a much better man than you," Meowstic said, struggling against the Malamar's control. "He's kind, caring, understanding..."
"Malamar, what's going on? Silence her!" Malamar panicked, desperately trying to regain control of Meowstic. He's seen what happens to Pokémon that fail his master.
"He loves his Pokémon...he'd never abuse them the way you do..."
"Malamar...!" Lord William started getting furious with his Pokémon. Malamar backed away a bit in fear, intimidated by its owner's anger. This fear distracted it slightly, causing it to ease its grip on Meowstic's mind. The feline took full advantage of this and readied an attack of her own free will.
"...And I won't let you hurt him!" Meowstic yelled, turning to face her former owner and launching a fierce barrage of Energy Balls at him.
"Malamar, shield me!" Lord William ordered, bringing his hands up to his face. Malamar quickly got between his master and the Energy Balls, taking several direct hits and losing control over the rest of his Hypnosis victims.
Officer Jenny and her Growlithe's eyes returned to normal. Both looked around in a daze before remembering what happened before they were hypnotized. The officer quickly changed targets, directing her Growlithe towards the nobleman.
"Lord William, you are under arrest for abusing Pokémon and assaulting an officer!" Officer Jenny ordered.
"G-Growl..." her Pokémon let out a weak growl, tired from its battle. Its former opponent, Braixen, wasn't in much better shape. James glanced at Inkay and Meowstic - both, too, were exhausted from their battles.
"Hah! Just as I planned!" Lord William said triumphantly. "You were all so busy fighting amongst yourselves that you're too weak to challenge me and Malamar!"
Meowstic smirked. "I don't think so," she said, pointing at the crumpled form of his Malamar. Her barrage of Energy Balls sure did a number on him. "That's what happens when you hide behind your Pokémon; you're alone now."
"What the-!" the nobleman said. "Grr... Erin, Wayne, to my side, now!" The two servants in question suddenly landed next to him with a thud, hair mussed up and uniforms in tatters.
"Umm, r-reporting for duty, milord!" Erin said nervously, her Florges unconscious next to her. Wayne's Dragalge wasn't doing so well, either. Jessie and Ash appeared next to Serena and James shortly after, looking triumphant.
"Ugh, worthless...! Where are the rest of my servants, then?!" Lord William started looking pretty panicked. In response to his question, the group of servants he was talking about appeared on the horizon, sprinting towards him. "There you idiots are. Dispose of these peasants for me!"
Unfortunately, the retreating servants paid him no heed, opting instead to bowl right through him and his two servants.
"RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!" a servant yelled.
"THOSE PANGORO ARE CRAZY!" another added. The group continued running away to the safety of the mansion, leaving their master behind in the dust in a daze as Clemont, Bonnie, and the trio of Pangoro arrived on the scene. Lord William looked really panicked now, seeing all of his enemies gathered before him.
"Er..." he mumbled. Deciding to let his actions speak for themselves, he turned tail and ran...right into the claws of a furious Meowth.
"Taste my Fury Swipes of Love!" Meowth yelled, flailing his claws right at the nobleman's face. When he finished, Lord William fell backwards, knocked out from the attack. "Let dat be a lesson - don't you ever mess wit my girlfriend!" he said, blowing into his claws.
Meowstic smiled. She didn't quite like how he called her his 'girlfriend', but it was still a sweet gesture, so she let it slide...this time.
The group returned to the mansion to assess the damage. Lord William, Lady Isabelle, and their two head servants, Erin and Wayne, were all under arrest for their parts in unlawfully annexing the natural habitat of the Pangoro. Lord William faced additional charges for his abuse of Meowstic, as well as hypnotizing and attacking an officer. The rest of the servants were released with a warning, under the pretense that they were 'just following orders'. Meowstic didn't mind; the servants weren't inherently cruel, they were just afraid of Lord William's punishment like she was.
A soft, kind, and warm hand suddenly started petting the back of her head, just the way she liked it. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the gesture, already knowing who it was.
"All's well that ends well, eh?" James said. Meowstic smiled and nodded. "So what're you going to do now that you're free?" he asked, much to Meowstic's chagrin. She stared at him, eyes wide and mouth agape, giving him another one of her 'are you really this dense' looks. James sweatdropped, not understanding what she was getting it. "Er... Officer Jenny, should we find Meowstic a nice daycare to stay in until a trainer adopts her?"
"S-Seriously?" Officer Jenny responded. It seemed the entire group, save for James himself, knew where Meowstic really wanted to go.
"Oh, right," the blue-haired man chuckled. "She wouldn't want to live cooped up in some daycare. She'd rather be released into the wild, right?"
"..." Meowstic was starting to have second thoughts...nah. She huffed and marched over to the Rocket agent, shoved her paw in his pocket, pulled out an empty Poké Ball... and promptly tapped the trigger, letting the device take her in and capture her. After the shaking stopped, she let herself out, blushing and avoiding eye contact with her new trainer.
James still looked confused, amazingly. Then an epiphany hit him. "Ah! Clever thinking!" he said. "If you're owned by me, then no one else can capture you when you're running free in the wild!"
Everyone fell over backwards at his inability to read the obvious signs.
"No, you dummy!" Meowstic shouted. "I want to travel with you..."
It took a few seconds for James to register what she said; when he did, his eyes widened. "A-Are you sure?" he asked. "You realize I tried to kidnap you, right?"
Meowstic rolled her eyes. "Obviously. That's not something you forget in a few hours," she said. "...and neither is the kindness you showed me afterwards. So are you going to take me or not?!"
"H-Hold on!" James said. "I'd be glad to take you along, but you do realize I steal Pokémon for a living, right? Would you be okay with that?"
Meowstic bit her lip. "...Yes. If it's with you, I'll do it. Though I'd prefer if you left me out of your plots as much as possible..."
"Also, you should know that we're not exactly rich... We won't be having fancy food that often, or at all, really," James said. "It'll mostly be junk food."
"Are you kidding me? I'm sick of fancy food; I'd happily dine on potato chips every day," Meowstic responded.
James scratched his head, thinking of anything else he might have to warn her about. When he couldn't think of anything, he shrugged. "Well, if you're all right with all of that..." He extended a hand out to the feline. "Welcome to Team Rocket!" he said, smiling.
Meowstic stared at his hand for a second. She reached out a paw to shake it...but quickly changed her mind opting to scurry up his arms and give him a big hug around his neck instead. James was taken aback by the gesture at first, but quickly recovered and returned the sentiment, hugging Meowstic back.
"Woohoo!" James cheered. "I caught a Meowstic!"
With that, the three groups went their separate ways, the twerps continuing on with their journey, Officer Jenny heading back to town with some new prisoners, and Team Rocket simply heading a fair distance away and discretely stalking the twerps again.
A/N: Woo! Well, that's done. Now onto Meowstic's journeys with Team Rocket! I'd expect a showcase with Jessie, a date with Meowth, a separation episode where she bonds with Inkay, Gourgeist, and Wobbuffet, to name a few (and probably not in that order). Haven't written any of them yet, so all of that is subject to change lol. Jessebelle and Allie might make an appearance, no guarantees, though.
Anyways, as always, any reviews/thoughts/criticisms would be much appreciated!