Author Notes - And here we go! The final member of the trio has finally arrived! You didn't really think I'd leave him out, did you? I love Meowth, he's the only member of the team with more than one braincell, and he is so much fun to write thanks to his sassy dialogue.

CHAPTER FOUR - DAT'S RIGHT!

Jessie set the bag of canine food down inside the dog house, right beside the door. Growlie ran over to the bag and sniffed it excitedly, but snarled when he caught a whiff of the feline.

'Calm down, Fido,' Jessie remarked. 'He won't be here for very long. Come on, James! Bring him in.'

But James wasn't 'bringing him in'. He was standing at the base of the stairs, not moving an inch. The Meowth hadn't left his arms once, and if anything his grip was only getting tighter.

'James!' Jessie said, leaning over the top of the stairs so she could really look down on him. 'We're not gonna be able to treat the Meowth if you don't come in here.'

'We… we can't leave it here,' He murmured, just loudly enough for her to hear.

'What do you mean, we can't leave him here?! Where do you want us to leave him?'

'No, I mean… I won't be able to watch over it if it stays in Growlie's dog house. It has to stay in my room.'

Jessie's scowl relaxed. That did make sense, especially given how protective James had been since finding the little guy. And he was right - the Meowth would be a lot easier to keep watch over, and its health could take a turn at any moment.

'But my parents won't approve of me bringing a wild Pokémon into the mansion,' James said. 'Especially not one that looks like this.'

'And there's no way in hell they'd approve of me,' Jessie said, crossing her arms. After a short pause, she continued, 'There's a way I can get both that Meowth and myself into your room. But you're gonna have to show me the window.'

'... The window?'

'And you'll have to give me the Meowth.'

James stared up at her, and then looked down at the Meowth. Letting her borrow his wallet was already a risk, and now she was asking for another. But, if he could trust her with his money, then surely he could trust her with this Pokémon. With a sigh, he nodded.

'Alright,' He said. 'But please, be careful.'

'I'll be as careful as I can possibly be,' Jessie said. 'Now, hand him over.'

He handed her the Meowth like he was handling a vase made of fine china, and was quite shocked when she held it up with just one arm.

'Now,' She said. 'Show me where your room is and go back to it. I'll be there in five minutes.'

'... Uh, okay?'

James paced around his bedroom. No Meowth. He couldn't begin to guess what that woman was thinking about doing. For all he knew, she was preparing to bust the front door down and take out his parents with her Arbok and have her Yanmega finish off the butlers and maids.

He was just about ready to give up and go looking for her, hopefully to stop her from enacting whatever insane plan she had brewing in her head, only for a knock to interrupt. But not a knock on the door. No, that would make sense. It was a knock on the window. One of the massive windows of his room. When he instinctively turned his head to the sound-

'J-Jessie?!'

There was Jessie. By the window. Had his house been a one storey building, that wouldn't have been strange at all. But, of course, James lived in a gigantic mansion. His room was a few tall storeys off the ground. He ran over to the window as soon as he got over his shock, and saw exactly what she was doing to pull this off. She was being held up by her torso in Yanmega's legs, who had no issue holding her up. The Meowth was resting firmly in one arm. The same arm she was using to carry the feline food. The other arm was being used to knock on the window, and rather impatiently.

Fortunately, the windows had one part where James could open them up without much trouble. And as soon as he did…

'Jessie?!' He yelled. 'What are you doing?!'

'Scream louder, why don't you?' Jessie said, giving him a look. 'Let everyone know that I'm here.'

He was too stunned to invite her in, so she invited herself. Yanmega carried her through the gap in the window, which was fortunately just wide enough for her to fit her wings through, and settled Jessie down on the floor.

'Alright, I got the Meowth,' Jessie said, handing said Pokémon to James. 'Now we can-'

It was then she noticed what kind of room she had just ended up in. A bedroom whose size matched the rest of the mansion. It alone was the size of most people's houses! The bed was huge and beautifully decorated, and the entire room had all sorts of gorgeous furniture and décor. Parts of the room even sparkled like diamonds. Perhaps because those were diamonds. Everything from the wallpaper to the carpet was the most beautiful (and clean) Jessie had ever seen.

'Oh my goodness!' She cried. 'This… this bedroom is incredible! You really sleep here, every night?!'

'Jessie…'

Jessie didn't pay James any mind, and instead waltzed around the room to awe at every expensive thing she could see. He let out a sigh. It wasn't that he blamed her for acting like this, but there were more important things to worry about. As far as he was aware, at least. He reached under his big bed and pulled out one of Growlie's beds. It was made of the softest Wurmple silk that you can imagine. If not softer.

Being as careful as he could possibly be, he placed the Meowth in the middle of the soft pet bed. It curled up a little, but hadn't stirred at all. Even when he brushed his hand against its cheek.

'This must be the most extravagant bedroom in the world!' Jessie said, still prancing around the place. 'Your life is… is amazing!'

James ignored her and focused strictly on the Meowth. It was still breathing, but it wasn't moving. He had no idea if it was simply exhausted, or dying right in front of him. As much as he tried to keep himself together, he could feel the tears coming to his eyes. What if it didn't make it?

Jessie's prancing around was stopped dead in its tracks when she heard a sound: a little sniffle, coming from James.

'James, are you… crying?' She asked.

He didn't answer. Yanmega, who Jessie had forgotten she hadn't recalled yet, hovered over to the man and perched on the bed. That way, she could overlook the poor Meowth. Jessie sat down next to James and got a good look at his face. She had never seen someone look so desperate before.

'James…' She said, quietly. 'He'll be fine. He's just tired.'

'H-How do I know you're not just saying that to spare my feelings?' James asked.

Jessie let out a half-chuckle. 'I am not one for sparing feelings. If I thought this Meowth was gonna die, I would've just said so. Do you think I would've bothered going through all of this if I thought he would die anyway?'

'... How can you be so sure?'

Jessie didn't answer. Not even with a 'none of your business'. There was no way she could spill those kinds of details to this stranger. She wasn't even meant to be here. For a moment, she cursed this damn Meowth for derailing her entire plans.

'I'm pretty sure he's just exhausted,' She said, standing up. 'But, if you're really worried, I'll try something.'

James didn't move from his spot. 'Try what?'

Jessie picked up the bag of cat food and shook it about. If this Meowth was abandoned like James suspected and not just a wild Pokémon, then it would perk up right away. And perk up it did. Its ears twitched and its eyes opened slowly. And it - he, rather - was smiling. James gasped.

'I-It's up,' He said.

'Of course it's up,' Jessie said with a grin. 'There's nothing feline Pokémon like more than food. You got a food bowl in here, right?'

'R-Right!'

He got up to fetch one of Growlie's food bowls and placed it in front of the Meowth, which Jessie generously filled to the top with the generic feline food. Even though it was pretty cheap food, the Meowth stared at it like it was a bowlful of precious jewels and began downing it immediately.

'There, you see?' Jessie said. 'He's gonna be fine. Just a little bit of rest and a lot of food, and this Meowth will be right as rain in no time.'

James sat down next to the Meowth again, staying silent for a bit. 'You keep saying 'he'. You think it's male?'

'I know it's male.'

'How?'

'How do you think, James? I checked the bits.'

The Meowth stopped eating for a moment to shoot her an offended look. But only for a moment. because the food was simply too tantalising.

'Granted,' Jessie continued. 'The bits don't always mean gender, on humans or Pokémon, but it typically does. So unless this Meowth can tell us otherwise, he's a guy.'

'Oh,' James said.

It looked like he was going to leave it at that, but then he smiled at the Meowth.

'You're a cute little guy,' He said. 'Aren't you?'

Jessie felt a zap. Right through her heart. Not unlike the zap she got from a particularly irritated Pikachu once. But unlike that zap, which was just agonising pain for a few seconds, this zap felt… nice. The most unbelievable thought ran through her mind.

This guy is kinda cute.

It was the kind of zap she had only experienced once or twice before. Why now? All this man did was let her stay for a night! Or maybe that was all she needed? Luckily, her internal descent into madness came to a close when James spoke up again.

'I'm sorry,' He said. 'About all of this.'

Jessie blinked at him. 'Sorry? For what?'

'I know you just wanted to be on your way, but now you're stuck here even longer. I should've just dealt with this Meowth on my own.'

'I'm not exactly complaining about the accommodation. Besides, if it wasn't for me, you'd be thinking that this perfectly fine Meowth was on the brink of death.'

'So, you're fine with staying an extra day?'

'Like I said, I can't complain about the accommodation. I don't mind staying here a little longer.'

James gave her a little smile before drawing his attention back to the Pokémon. A smile that left Jessie staring. Did he really just smile at her? Did he like her? No matter what definition of 'like' that was, it left her stunned. Even the barest, least intimate version of 'like' seemed like a lot. And that smile was so cute.

Oh sweet Arceus…

'James,' She said. 'Is there a bathroom around here I can use?'

James pointed to a door in his room. 'My bathroom is through that door. Just don't get anything messy!'

'Alright, I won't.'

She left James and the Meowth (and her Yanmega) alone and walked into the bathroom. The massive bathroom. Somehow, seeing how extravagant the rooms were in this mansion still surprised and amazed her. Every tile was perfectly polished, and the bathtub appeared to have a 'hot tub' setting. She closed the door behind her, buried her face in a clean towel on the towel rack, and screamed.

'What am I doing…?' She murmured.

To help calm her nerves a little, she walked up to the sink and - after admiring her gorgeous face in the mirror for a bit - splashed her face with some cool water. Merely having running water from a tap instead of a river felt like a luxury beyond imagination, even if getting fresh water from a river was one of her favourite parts of her lifestyle.

'You don't actually love him…' She told her reflection. 'You just go goo-goo over any person your age who shows you even the slightest bit of care. You know this.'

She let out a heavy sigh and turned around. Her attention caught the toilet. Now that was something she always used whenever she could. Digging a hole or finding a river was fun, sure, but nothing beat being able to use an actual toilet.

'Just appreciate these luxuries while you can,' She told herself. 'Just like you did in Hoenn. Then, everything's back to normal and you'll never see this man or that Meowth ever again.'

The Meowth had finished off his meal while Jessie was gone. James couldn't be sure, but he seemed a lot happier and healthier already. Maybe Jessie was right. All the little guy needed was some food and some rest.

'Hope you enjoyed your meal!' James said with a smile.

The little guy opened his mouth. James was expected to hear a grateful little 'Me-meowth!', with a cheerful tone that matched that cheerful face. But the sound that came out of that Meowth's big mouth was perhaps the last thing he ever would've expected.

'T'anks fer the food!' The Meowth said, with a heavy accent. 'Youse really helped me out dere. I t'ought I was gonna be a goner!'

'You're welcome!' James said. 'You-'

He stopped smiling. It had taken a moment, but his brain registered exactly what kind of sound that Meowth just made. He talked. The Pokémon, honest-to-Arceus, talked. Like a human! The Meowth realised what he'd done when he saw the terrified look on the man's face.

'Oops,' He said. 'I was so happy wit' the meal, dat I forgot that it ain't normal fer a Pokémon ta talk.'

There was only one thing James could do when met with such wild circumstances.

Jessie was just about done with washing her hands when she heard James let out a shriek. The exact same shriek he let out when he saw Arbok the day before. She dried her hands off as quickly as she could and rushed back into the main room. Perhaps Arbok just spooked him again, but she wasn't taking any chances with an exhausted Meowth on the line.

'What's wrong, James?' She demanded.

James didn't respond. He was too busy stammering at the Meowth. Jessie couldn't see any problem with the Pokémon - he seemed perfectly fine. Especially now that his meal was finished. But James looked like he had seen a Gengar.

'James,' She said. 'If you keep shrieking for no good reason, I-'

'THE MEOWTH TALKED!' James shouted.

Jessie's mouth hung open. She blinked at him several times, waiting for the 'just kidding'. But, apparently, James was being completely serious.

'James, are you feeling okay?' She asked.

'I'm not joking!' James cried. 'And I'm not just losing my mind. That Meowth just talked to me, like a human!'

Jessie cocked an eyebrow and looked down at the Meowth. He looked like an ordinary Meowth to her. Talking Pokémon were not totally unheard of, but typically they were Psychic-types who were either using telepathy or were so ungodly intelligent that being able to talk wasn't much of a surprise. None of them were a mundane Normal-type like a regular ol' Meowth.

'You can prove I'm not crazy!' James yelled. 'Say something to her!'

'Mega-mega!' Yanmega said, apparently on his side.

The Meowth looked up at Jessie, took a deep breath, and spoke.

'Meow-meow-meowth!' He said, like a regular ol' Meowth.

Jessie aimed one heck of an incredulous expression at James, one that had 'you crazy idiot' written all over it. James flinched when he saw that look coming his way, and glared down at the Meowth.

'You're doing that on purpose!' He said. 'You just want me to look crazy!'

'James,' Jessie said. 'I think that you should…'

But then, the Meowth started laughing. Loudly. Far more loudly than he should've been able to, considering his exhausted state. Eventually, he was able to recompose himself.

'I'm sorry, Jimmy!' He said, wiping the tears from his eyes. 'I couldn't help myself. The joke was right dere!'

It was Jessie's turn to stare in total shock. Her jaw fell so far and so fast that you'd think it was dislocated.

'YOU CAN TALK?!' She shouted.

'SEE?!' James cried. 'I was right!'

'Well, you can't blame me for not believing you. How was I supposed to know that the Meowth actually could talk?!'

'Correct me if I'm wrong,' Meowth said. 'But aren't youse supposed ta be hidin' the fact that dis lady is even here? I don't t'ink screamin' about it's gonna help wit' dat.'

Jessie glared at him. 'No one asked you, you little-!'

'Jessie,' James said. 'I think he's right. It's a big mansion, but if a maid or a butler walks by my door they could hear you shouting! Or worse, my parents could hear.'

Jessie wanted to shout some more, as she's wont to do, but gritted her teeth and tried to calm herself down. They were right, after all, and the last thing she needed was to be found out.

'Fine,' She muttered. 'What I wanna know is, why didn't you talk before?'

'I was exhausted!' Meowth replied. 'I could barely even move, let alone talk. If I could've talked, I would have. Ta ask fer somet'ing ta eat.' He laughed. 'But I got dat anyways!'

'Here's an even better question,' James said. 'How can you talk?'

Meowth stopped smiling. 'Dere's a lot I wanna talk about, but dat ain't it. All youse got ta know is dat I taught myself.'

'Really?' James's smile came back at double the size. 'That's… that's incredible!'

'Finally! Somebody recognises my hard work.'

'It must've taken forever!'

'Youse don't even know half of it.'

Jessie couldn't believe it. Over a decade of wandering from place to place, region to region, and never had she found something as impressive as a talking Pokémon. It was almost as shocking as this rich guy being so nice to her. It seemed as though the world was telling her to stay there. Who could pass up a life of luxury and a literal talking Pokémon? The outside world called her name, but it seemed like this life had a grip on her.

She tried her best to ignore all those thoughts. The world had tricked her before. The outside was where she belonged.

'Jessie…'

It was as if only James's voice could get her to break out of her reverie.

'Yeah?' She said.

'There's still time left in the day,' James said. 'If you want to leave and be on your way, now would be a great time to do it. I don't think this Meowth is going to need any of your help now.'

Meowth laughed. 'Are youse serious? You wanna leave dis place? Dis is the lap of luxury! It don't get no better than dis.'

'Yeah…' James murmured. 'It never gets better…'

If James was trying to hide a forlorn tone, he failed completely. Jessie saw right through it. What she couldn't understand was why. He had the most luxurious life she could imagine, just scored a new pet, and would be rid of her soon. That final thought rubbed her the wrong way. She wasn't sure why, and just assumed it was because she didn't want to say goodbye to this rich life. At least, that's what she told herself.

'I think you're right,' She said. 'If I want to make any progress before nightfall, I better go now.'

'Oh…' James said. 'If you need anything else, I can-'

'I'll be fine. I've spent almost fifteen years out in the wild. I don't think a night spent in your doghouse is going to take away my instincts. Come on, Yanmega.'

For reasons she couldn't explain, Jessie wanted to rush through this goodbye as quickly as possible. Every second spent made it hurt more. The last time a goodbye wringed this feeling out of her way… Astin. The more she thought about him and James, the quicker she made her way over to the window.

Yanmega tilted her head in confusion. 'Yan?'

'I said come on, Yanmega!' Jessie yelled. 'We've got an hour or two of daylight left, tops, and I don't like wandering when I can't see the roots I'm tripping over. So unless you want me to risk going through the front door, you gotta help me out of this window!'

Yanmega took a quick moment to bump her head against James's chest before following her master.

'Bye, James,' Jessie said, giving him a quick wave. 'I've gotta go.'

Meowth laughed. 'You don't know what ya missin'!'

'Jessie,' James said. 'Will you ever come back here?'

I hope I do, Jessie answered in her mind. She kept that answer inside. It'd sound desperate. And the last thing Jessie wanted was to sound desperate.

'Maybe someday,' Jessie said with a shrug. 'Your house isn't exactly hard to miss.'

She snapped her fingers, and Yanmega picked her up. James gasped as he realised that she was leaving right that second. As she was being carried out the window, he jumped to his feet and ran after her.

'Goodbye!' He said, watching her touch the ground. 'Hope you have a good life!'

Jessie almost turned around to reply 'you too'. Almost. She didn't let herself look back once, walking away and vaulting over the wall before recalling Yanmega back to her Pokéball. James watched her leave, not moving from the window until he couldn't see her bright magenta hair anymore. He closed the window and returned to the Meowth's side.

'Who was dat goil anyway?' The Pokémon asked. 'Don't seem like the type of goil ta be hangin' out wit' a guy like you.'

'Just a stranger who stayed the night,' James replied. 'She wanders the world like a Pokémon trainer, except… she doesn't have a home.'

'Oi, tell me about it. I know all about dat.'

It was only after the sun began to set that Jessie realised she had made a big mistake. Her Pokémon - especially her boys - didn't have the chance to say goodbye.

Author Notes - Something that bothers me in a lot of Rocketshipping fics is when Meowth barely gets to do a thing, if he even gets to appear at all. Now, I get it. When the focus is Jessie/James, Meowth is a third wheel. And I don't blame anyone for just wanting to focus on the romance, when Meowth sorta interrupts it just by existing.

But we call them the 'Team Rocket TRIO' for a reason, and not just because the acronym 'TRio' looks nice. In every Team Rocket thing I write, I want to include Meowth cos it just isn't the same without him. Even if he's just there to make snarky remarks. That was part of the reason why I wrote 'Oblivious' way back when. Meowth is just as important to the team as Jessie and James are, and don't you forget it!

And yeah, we all know that Jessie and James aren't staying separated for much longer. Fate has brought them together, and fate sure as hell will KEEP them together.