Author Notes - Fuchsia City in this story will be depicted how it was depicted in Episode AG157 'Time Warp Heals All Wounds', a favourite of mine despite how frankly bizarre the plot is. I didn't realise that even WAS Fuchsia City the first time round, because why the hell would a KANTO city take until the HOENN arc to finally appear?! Especially since, may I remind you, THERE IS A GYM THERE! Still, I really like that episode.

Fun fact: I chose Fuchsia City because I tried to guess roughly where James's mansion was based on when Ash and Co came across it. Fuchsia City seemed like the closest option. Hence why I was so shocked when it turned out that Fuchsia City never appeared in the Kanto arc!

(On an unrelated note, I recently rewatched Disney's Tangled for the first time in years, and loved it. I bring it up because 'Flynn' and Rapunzel reminded me a lot of a genderswapped Jessie and James. So I guess I accidentally took inspiration from TWO Disney movies for this story.)

CHAPTER THREE - A TRIP TO TOWN

James held a plate of pancakes in his hands, covering them with a plastic lid to keep them warm as he carried them through the yard. He had claimed it was a little treat for Growlie, but he had someone else in mind to give it to: Jessie, of course. The homeless woman in the dog house.

Truthfully, James was all but certain that he'd arrive to an empty couch with nothing but a Growlithe in sight. That woman had probably left already, to avoid any payment that he wouldn't have asked for anyway. She sounded quite determined to keep on the move. Just because that was the way she liked it.

So imagine his shock when he opened the door and saw a messily-dressed redhead woman sprawled inelegantly over the couch. Her limbs were all over the place, and she may or may not have been drooling. Judging by the looks (and the smell) of things, she had found the shower.

He simply put the plate on the coffee table, intending to leave her to sleep. At some point, she'd wake up on her own and would leave without saying goodbye. That was the plan, anyway. Except he didn't notice Growlie sleeping on the floor and tripped over him.

'WAHHH!'

*THUD*

'Hey!'

Unsurprisingly, his shriek followed up by him hitting the floor woke Jessie right up.

'Alright! Who was that?!' She demanded, trying to get the morning fog out of her brain.

'I-I'm sorry!' James cried. 'I-I was gonna let you sleep, but…'

As soon as Jessie saw who woke her up, her anger petered out and she just sighed. It was hard to get mad at the man who was on the floor and looking up at her like a kicked Rockruff.

'Oh,' She said, rubbing her eyes. 'It's just you.'

'I… I thought you would've been gone by now,' He said.

'So did I. Guess I needed a good night's sleep more than I realised.'

James would've gotten to his feet right then, but Growlie was in a particularly licky mood. Jessie took the time to stretch out her muscles and wake herself up a little more. That was when she caught a whiff of the delicious aroma that was wafting out from underneath the lid. She inhaled the scent a little more deeply. It only made her stomach snarl at her more.

'Mmm!' She said. 'Is that a scrumptious breakfast I smell?'

'It's for you,' James said. 'Just in case you hadn't already left.'

Jessie narrowed her eyes at him. 'Okay, you have been way too nice. What do you want from me?'

'What do I-? Nothing! Other than asking you not to steal anything. Why do you think I want something from you?'

'Cos it's what I would do!'

She proceeded to scoff down those pancakes so fast that you'd think she would choke. When was the last time she had pancakes? She couldn't even remember. And she definitely couldn't remember pancakes this good. They were gone before she knew it, and she wished she hadn't eaten them so quickly.

'Oh well, it doesn't matter,' She said, leaning back in her seat. 'I'll be out of your hair soon enough. Nice estate and all, but I don't like being in the one place too long. Maybe I'll drop by the town and grab some supplies before heading off.'

James perked up at this, though Jessie couldn't imagine why. It was a rather random bit of info to grab his attention.

'What a coincidence,' He said. 'I was thinking about going to town to buy some food for Growlie.'

Jessie cocked an eyebrow. 'What, your servants don't give him enough?'

'They do, but it's always really expensive stuff, and he prefers the cheaper food.'

'Of course…'

James gave Growlie a little pat on the head, and the little doggy took this as an excuse to get even more licky. No doubt that James was going to be soaking wet by the end of it.

'Stop it, Growlie!' He cried, laughing. 'That tickles!'

Despite how silly it all was, Jessie couldn't help smiling. The good moment was ruined when a certain Pokémon decided to pop out of his Pokéball.

'WOOOBBA-'

'Hey!' Jessie yelled. 'Warn me before you yell into my ear!'

Wobbuffet did not listen to her and instead ran over to James and Growlie. If you can imagine something with legs like that (and a speed stat of 33) running. He ran so fast that he gave James quite the fright, and Growlie immediately stopped licking him and stood between them. But Wobbuffet did not attack, and not just because he couldn't really do that in the first place.

'Wobba-wobba-wobbaaa…'

A powerful sentiment if ever you heard one. Pokémon weren't exactly known for their large range of syllables. But that didn't mean that Jessie couldn't, at least somewhat, understand him.

'Your Wobbuffet sounds a little… sad,' James said. 'What's wrong?'

Sweet Arceus, this man. Jessie was beginning to believe the whole 'there is no catch' stuff.

'If I had to guess,' She said. 'I think he'd like to say goodbye to you before we leave.'

'Say goodbye?' James asked. 'But why?'

Jessie shrugged. 'Because you were nice to me.' You're one of the only people I've ever met that let me stay the night was a little too much. 'My Pokémon have always been the sentimental types.'

James got to his feet and - to both Wobbuffet's and Jessie's surprise - gave the blue blob a little pat on the head. Though Wobbuffet was taken by surprise, he certainly wasn't complaining about it. In fact, he was acting like an affectionate little Skitty under James's hand.

Then, much to her own shock, Jessie got an idea. A simple little idea that she never really had before. An idea she didn't ever have the chance to have before.

'Hey,' She said. 'Since my Pokémon want a proper goodbye, how about I accompany you to town? We're both going there, after all. Maybe go shopping for a bit, then we say our goodbyes and go our separate ways.'

She wasn't sure why she had this idea, or why she liked it so much. Especially when she could've just had her Pokémon say goodbye right there. Then again, she might've been able to trick the guy into buying a few extra goodies for her. With how nice he seemed to be so far, it didn't sound hard at all.

'We can do that!' James said. 'It'd be a shame if you left without a goodbye. And besides, I have some allowance money I can spare. I could buy you some things for the road if you want.'

Jessie grinned like an idiot immediately. She didn't even have to say anything!

'That would be lovely!' She said, perhaps a little too enthusiastically.

Growlie was to stay put at home. All of Jessie's Pokémon, including that excitable Wobbuffet, were in their Pokéballs. So, it was just Jessie and James together as they walked to the nearby town. It wasn't too far. A ten minute walk, tops. But it was still longer than Jessie typically spent with a stranger. It felt so weird to have another human walking with her. Not bad. Just strange.

She glanced over at him. He was wearing another set of clothes, no less expensive-looking than the last. 'Casual clothes' didn't mean much to this insanely rich family. She resisted the urge to laugh as she imagined how the family would react if he dirtied it. Would they get mad, or just be like 'we can replace it anyway'?

'How long have you been wandering around for?' James asked, out of nowhere.

The question took Jessie by surprise. For the past couple of minutes, he had been almost silent, aside from the occasional 'awww'ing at some cute wild Pokémon.

'Forgive me for answering a question with a question,' Jessie replied. 'But why do you need to know?'

This took James by surprise, and Jessie couldn't help grinning from his dumbstruck expression. Apparently, even he didn't quite know the answer to this one.

'Well, it's so quiet out here,' He said, scratching the back of his neck. 'I had to fill the silence with something. And it's not every day you meet someone who keeps roaming around like you do.'

'If you must know,' Jessie said, finding herself more willing to answer than usual. 'It's been about… ten years now. Maybe fifteen.'

James let out a sound that Jessie could not possibly repeat even if her life depended on it. The shocked expression on his face was priceless. He was quite the expressive man.

'Fifteen years?!' He cried. 'But you're… um… twenty-five?'

He sounded like he was risking his life by guessing her age. And if he guessed anything higher than thirty, he would've been.

'Give or take a few months.'

James went silent again. Jessie presumed it was just out of shock, which was a common response when people found out she had spent at least half her life 'on the run'. What she didn't quite realise was that she was only mostly correct.

'Jessie…' He said, after much silence. 'What's it like? Just… wandering around on your own and never staying in one place too long?'

Jessie chuckled. 'The best life I could possibly imagine. Total freedom. No one tells me what to do. I see all sorts of new sights every day-'

'But no money.'

'Hmph.' Jessie crossed her arms. 'I get by just fine. It's not a glamorous life like yours, but it works.'

'Glamorous… yeah.'

If Jessie actually did like the sound of a luxurious bed with all the food she could ever want being served right to her, that went unspoken. Fortunately for her, they arrived at the town - Fuchsia City, though Jessie didn't think it could really be called a 'city'. It was a relatively simple place, with no tall structures and basic houses and shops throughout the area. Its 'main attraction' was the shopping area in the middle, where the various shops were gathered around a clearing with a massive tree. A tree that a couple Volbeat and Illumise were flying around.

It wasn't a bustling town by any means, but the streets were far from deserted. People, families, and Pokémon were all roaming around. Chatting to each other. Playing with their Pokémon. Going from shop to shop. Jessie huffed; crowds weren't exactly her thing, unless they were either admiring her beauty or running from her in terror. Especially since a large crowd made getting away with 'crimes' a tad difficult. But when she turned her head to look at the guy, she noticed James was smiling. Just a little.

'Alright, let's get this over with,' Jessie said. 'I stock up on a few things while I'm here, you get your Growlithe food, we say our goodbyes, and never see each other again.'

James was smiling up until those final words. Then, he looked rather uncomfortable. Never? Jessie may not have realised, but he didn't like that thought.

'Is there anything in particular that you need?' He asked, trying to ignore that.

Jessie put her bag on the ground and rummaged through it. Truth be told, she was lacking quite a few things.

'Let's see… I need some extra food,' She said. 'The kind of stuff that doesn't need to be refrigerated, obviously. Maybe a refill of my water bottle. And-' She muttered an expletive under her breath. 'I'm out of pads.'

'Pads?' James asked.

She narrowed her eyes at him. 'What do you think I need pads for, James? Or did your parents never give you the talk? Do I need to talk about my cycle in public?'

James held his hands up. 'It's alright! There's nothing wrong with that. I just… I'm not quite sure how you'd deal with that, considering your lifestyle.'

'You don't need those details.'

She got back to her feet and slipped the backpack back on. That was something she expected to buy on her own, thanks to the attitude a lot of other men had regarding the matter.

'I can buy those for you now, if you like!' James said with a smile. 'It sounds like it would be… unfortunate if you were out on the road and had your period but didn't have any pads for it.'

Jessie hated the way her cheeks went just a little red. And really hated the way he was right. As she knew from (painful) experiences, getting caught in that situation was icky at best. But was she going to complain that he was going to buy them for her? Of course not!

In fact, she couldn't complain about any of James's purchases. He got her the kind of non-perishable food she needed on her journeys, and a decent set of clothes. Perhaps she would've liked something a little prettier, but experience had taught her never to look a gift Mudsdale in the mouth. And it was only when her shopping was done that they finally moved onto his.

'One last stop!' Jessie said, approaching the entrance to the place. 'The pet shop! And then I'm back on the road. And you can go back to your life of… James?'

It was only then that she realised that he hadn't followed her. Somewhere between the pet shop and the clothes shop, she had lost him. A loud groan escaped her mouth as she went to go looking for him.

'Come on, James!' She said. 'I'll have to head off soon! If you don't show up in one minute, then I'll just grab my things and-'

It didn't take her very long to find him. He was kneeling in a small gap between the clothes shop and the one next to it. Looking at something hiding in the corner. For some reason.

'What are you doing, James?!' Jessie demanded. 'Get out of that corner and-'

'SHHH!' He shushed, hard. 'Be quiet, or you might scare it off.'

Jessie's expression softened. '... Scare what off?'

'This little guy.'

Any anger that Jessie had towards James for stalling out her goodbye vanished. Her curiosity was piqued. She took her steps into the alley carefully, making sure not to bump into anything or step on any of the trash. When she reached James, she knelt down right beside him. The sight made her gasp.

It was a Meowth, tucked up in the corner. And it certainly wasn't an owned Meowth. Its fur was raggedy and dirty, and its charm lacked a shine. Scratches covered its body and face. It looked up at the humans with a territorial look in its eyes. The look lost its impact when one realised that it could barely stand up on its four legs. And, as Jessie bitterly noticed, it was painfully skinny. Jessie could easily see its ribs.

'This isn't right…' James said, talking in a whisper.

Jessie sighed. 'It's just a wild Meowth. I know it's sad, but-'

'But it can't be wild. Meowth can't be found anywhere near Fuchsia City. I… I think it's been abandoned.'

Jessie looked away from the Meowth to look at James. Her heart sank. Sadness was etched so deeply into his face that Jessie could see tears beginning to gather in his eyes. If she needed any more evidence that his nice guy 'act' was no act, this was it.

That was genuine heartbreak in those big eyes of his.

'What are you going to do about it?' Jessie asked. 'Don't get me wrong, I feel sorry for it. I really do. But I'm not sure what you plan on doing with it.'

James shook the sadness from his face and tried his best to look determined. 'I'm taking it home with me.'

'James!'

By the time she realised what he was planning to do, he was already moving. He approached the Meowth slowly with his arms stretched out, beckoning for the little guy to come closer.

'James…' Jessie said, as aggressively as one could whisper. 'What on earth are you doing?'

James paid her no mind, taking his steps towards the Meowth carefully. The Meowth backed further into the shadows and stared up at him, but didn't swipe or bite him once. It simply stared.

'It's alright, little Meowth,' James said in the gentlest voice Jessie had ever heard. 'I'm not going to hurt you.'

The Meowth took a single step forward, not blinking once. James didn't move, not wanting to scare it off. Then, the Meowth blinked. It took another step.

'That's right,' James said. 'Come closer.'

The Meowth took a third step. And couldn't take another. Its body twitched and shook, and it collapsed to the floor. James's heart raced and he snatched up the cat scratch Pokémon without thinking about it.

'Meowth!' He cried.

Jessie could barely believe what she was seeing. Some rich kid, caring this much about a ragged Pokémon that wasn't his? She never imagined it possible. James held the skinny Meowth in his arms, almost like he was holding a baby. Jessie could not bring herself to yell at him for it.

'That can't be good…' James muttered. 'It… I-It shouldn't collapse like that…'

Jessie opened her mouth to tell him just to leave it, but she couldn't. The words just wouldn't come out. Especially when she caught a proper glance of James's face. The man looked like he was about to cry. With a sigh, she reached out to the Meowth. But James leaned away.

'What are you doing?' He demanded. 'I know you don't care about it, but I won't let you hurt it!'

Jessie gritted her teeth. 'I'm not going to hurt it. Let me take a closer look.'

It took a little while, but James - if hesitantly - allowed her to get closer. Very close. The Meowth was breathing, though its breath sounded a little heavy. She placed her hand on its chest. The ribs were easy to feel through the skin, but she tried to ignore them so she could focus on the heart beat.

Like most feline Pokémon, its heart rate was fast. Without a stopwatch of any kind, counting the beats per minute wouldn't be entirely accurate. She knew that. But she still attempted to count how often it beat in approximately fifteen seconds. A little more than thirty, it seemed. She brought her hand back, and noticed a rather important detail at the base of its tail. It was male.

'I think its heart is beating just a little slower than average,' She said. 'But only a little. It isn't on the verge of death or anything. But it needs food. A lot of food.'

'How… how can you tell?' James asked.

Jessie would never admit it to herself, but his despaired voice broke her heart.

'That's not important right now,' She said. 'What's important is that this Meowth gets the proper care it needs to recover.' She paused. 'James, give me your wallet. Tell me Growlie's favourite brand.'

To her total lack of surprise, James looked at her with absolute horror.

'W-What are you talking about?!' He cried.

'You'll need to stay with that Meowth,' Jessie said. 'It… he probably won't trust me nearly as much as he seems to trust you. And I need money to buy the food. So tell me what Growlie likes best, and give me your wallet.'

'Uh… r-right…'

Reaching for his wallet was tough with an exhausted Meowth in his arms, and even telling her Growlie's favourite brand and flavour was tough when his panicked mouth couldn't put the words together. She snatched the wallet out of his hand as soon as she saw it.

'Stay right there,' She said, hands on her hips. 'And don't move until I get back.'

It was only after she left his sight that James realised that he had just given his wallet to a complete stranger. Someone he believed may have been a thief. The odds of her coming back at all, let alone with the promised goods, were next to none. Even if that wallet contained only a tiny fraction of his worth.

With a sigh, he got to his feet and looked down at the Meowth in his arms. He wanted desperately to believe that Jessie was right about it simply needing food, and that she wasn't just lying to spare his feelings. But how would a random woman, who had spent at least a decade of her life roaming around aimlessly, know anything about Pokémon health?

He took a single step forward before Jessie rounded the corner again. He let out a small gasp when he saw the food bags she was carrying over her shoulder - a big bag of Growlie's favourite, and a smaller cat of generic feline food. And she was giving him quite the incredulous look.

'James…' She said. 'Where are you going?'

All James could manage in his awkward position was an equally awkward, 'Uh…'

'Wait, let me guess. You didn't trust me to come back?'

'... Um…'

Jessie simply shrugged. 'I don't blame you. Lucky for you, I don't like leaving a Pokémon to die.'

The very mention of that final word, though Jessie didn't totally mean it, was enough to make James stiffen. His grip on the Meowth tightened.

'He'll be fine,' Jessie said. 'Now let's get him and the food back before he's really in trouble.'

'But…' James said. 'Your goodbye-'

'Looks like it'll have to wait. This Meowth better be thankful for all we're doing for him, because he's set me back.'

And they rushed back to James's estate with the exhausted and hungry Meowth in hand.

Author Notes - Oh wowwWWwww. They found a Meowth. Gee, I wonder if it's THE Meowth? Yeah, I don't think anyone believes he isn't. I told you it wouldn't take long until he appeared! I suppose I COULD pull the rug out from under you, but having it be a rando Meowth instead of the real deal would be kind of lame. Which begs the question - why didn't he talk? Don't worry. Answers will come in the next chapter.

The same way I'm going with more realistic diets in terms of the Pokémon (like Arbok only needing to eat once a month), we're also going down the realistic path when it comes to determining the sex of the Pokémon. For obvious reasons, we're never going to officially find out how Pokémon produce eggs, but the consensus seems to be that animalistic 'Mons do it like real animals do. So, you know, there's a scene of Jessie accidentally getting a look at Meowth's 'bits'.