This feels like a well timed story update, considering this morning's episode of Sun and Moon was very Team Rocket centric. This one focuses on just one member of the team, however, and I think you're all able to guess from the title which member it is!
Elizabeth: 3 years old
Kitty Caper
Aw man, how'd I get stuck chasin- after da twoips?
Meowth trudged through the streets of Cerulean City, his head hanging low. Jessie and James had instructed him to go off on his own and find the twerps. What were they doing, you might ask?
Eating lunch.
"I woulda liked to eat too," Meowth grumbled, furrowing his brow more deeply.
He'd been wandering through the city for almost an hour searching for the twerpish family, and so far he'd seen neither hide nor hair of them. Meowth didn't understand why he couldn't have lunch with the rest of the team and then all go out together to search for the twerps.
"By da time I get back, all dat food'll be gone," Meowth continued complaining.
As he continued dragging himself through the streets, he soon found himself at the top of a hill. When he looked over, he gasped as soon as a familiar, large domed building came into view: the Cerulean City gym. Just like that, his mood was uplifted instantly. After all, if there was any place to look for the twerps, that was it!
With newfound invigoration, Meowth charged down the hill, laughing excitedly as the gym got closer and closer. As soon as he reached the door, however, his face fell once again, and a familiar sense of dread washed over him.
"CLOSED?!" Meowth shrieked, reading the sign on the door. He turned away from the gym, scowling as he did so. "Great. Where am I supposed to find da twoips now?"
Meowth's question seemed to be answered when the sound of nearby giggles could be heard. Once he turned his head, he realized there was a house not far down the road. As he moved closer that way, the giggles became louder. Growing suspicious, Meowth broke out into a sprint, following the sound of giggling. This brought him to the side of the house, and when he peered around, he found a little redheaded girl playing in the backyard.
The littlest twerp.
I don't believe dis! What luck! Meowth thought to himself, excitedly pumping his fist. I stumbled right across da baby twoipette! Now I can nab her and bring her back to the gang! Jessie and James will totally-
"Meow!"
Meowth blinked and turned around, yelping out of surprise when he realized the little girl had ambled over to him and was now standing with her face just inches away from his.
"Heh…" Meowth laughed nervously. He couldn't say anything in response. If he did, it would blow his cover! "Me-owth!"
Elizabeth giggled and grabbed the normal type by his arm, pulling him deeper into the yard. Meowth whined and looked frantically over his shoulder, which only made the situation worse.
Oh right. Jessie and James aren't here cause dey ditched me for lunch!
The young girl managed to drag Meowth all the way to the middle of the yard. Eventually, she came to a stop and spun around to smile at the bewildered cat Pokémon.
"You'we cute," Elizabeth giggled, tilting her head to the side.
"Th-uuuh…meow!" Meowth purred.
"Pway dwess up!" Elizabeth commanded, still beaming at the normal type.
"HUH?!" Meowth cried.
Elizabeth giggled again, not realizing that Meowth's speech had just slipped. The little girl reached into a small box that was sitting in the grass and pulled out a pink bow. Meowth's eyes widened and shifted to the girl's other side, where he found a collection of dolls; their hair adorned by similar accessories.
"Stay!" Elizabeth commanded, holding a palm out in front of the cat. Meowth complied (mostly because he was unsure of what else to do) and before he knew it, the pink bow was clipped right in front of his left ear.
"Thewe!" Elizabeth squealed before tilting her head to the side. "You look so pwetty!"
"Me…owth…" Meowth sighed, sagging his shoulders.
"Let's show Mommy!" Elizabeth cried, grabbing Meowth's paw and once again dragging him along.
Needless to say, Meowth was now panicking even more. "Mommy" meant the twerpette. And if the twerpette saw that her little daughter was associating with him, he probably wouldn't make it out of her clutches alive.
Officially terrified, Meowth unleashed a loud, distressed "re-ow!" and yanked his paw out of Elizabeth's hand, causing the little girl to whip around. Her eyes were set wide, and a look of concern was visible on her face. For a short moment, Meowth felt guilty. Still, he couldn't risk a run-in with the twerpette. With renewed resolve, he started to run, going as fast as his short legs would take him.
And unfortunately for him, that attempt was quickly thwarted by a small rock jutting out of the ground.
Meowth landed flat on his face, moaning in pain as Elizabeth hovered over him with a frown on her face.
"Oh no, Meow!" Elizabeth cried. She knelt down and grabbed onto the cat's sides, pulling him back upright with all of her strength. Amazingly, even after face planting, the pink bow had remained firmly clipped in Meowth's fur.
"Owth…" Meowth groaned, glancing at Elizabeth. The little girl's smile had returned once she realized Meowth was alright, and when he saw that, he softened considerably.
"Come!" Elizabeth urged, once again grabbing Meowth's paw. "Come wif me!"
This time, Meowth didn't struggle. He allowed Elizabeth to pull him back to his feet and towards the house, staring at the back of her head as she pulled him along. She reached the back door and used all of her might to slide it open, just wide enough for her to squeeze in. She yanked Meowth through the tight space, earning another pained shriek from the Pokémon.
"Mommy!" Elizabeth cried.
Misty, who was sitting at the kitchen table, looked towards the floor and smiled at her daughter. "You sound so excited, Lizzie! Did you find something outside?"
"Uh huh!" Elizabeth chirped. She stepped aside to reveal the bow clad Meowth, who was shaking from the tips of his ears all the way down to his back paws. "Meow!"
Meowth continued to tremble as Misty raised an eyebrow. She was starting to look a little suspicious, and that only made the normal type more nervous.
"Elizabeth, where did you find that Meowth?" Misty questioned.
"In the yawd!" Elizabeth replied. "Look, Mommy! I giveded Meow a bow!"
"I see that…" Misty murmured. "That Meowth doesn't talk, does it…?"
Meowth was shaking like a leaf at that point, but he stilled when Elizabeth started to giggle. "No! Meow's don't talk, Mommy."
Misty rested her head in her hand, still staring at Meowth with narrowed eyes. "Right…"
"I wanna get a toy fow Meow," Elizabeth continued. "Mommy, watch Meow?"
Before Misty could respond, Elizabeth took off, causing her mother to sigh and shake her head. "Sure. Why not."
Getting up from her chair, Misty skirted over to Meowth, squatting in front of the normal type. The Pokémon grinned nervously and took a shaky step backwards, but Misty was not deterred.
"Alright, I'm not stupid," Misty stated. "I know you're Meowth from Team Rocket."
Meowth gasped. "How'd ya figure dat out?!"
"Because a normal Meowth doesn't walk on its hind legs," Misty deadpanned.
"Well ya kid didn't seem tah care," Meowth grumbled.
"My kid is 3," Misty scoffed.
"So?" Meowth pressed. "Ya twoip husband probably wouldn'ta noticed eit-er!"
"We're not talking about Ash right now," Misty dismissed. "What's your deal? What are you trying to do with my daughter?"
"What, I can't just stop by and play wit- da kid?" Meowth questioned.
"Members of Team Rocket generally don't come around to play with my children," Misty bit. "They come around to try and lure them away from me."
Meowth froze up again. "Uh…not me!"
"You're a liar," Misty growled.
Meowth pouted at the accusation. "Hey, dat hurts."
"Not as bad as this will," Misty hissed, grabbing Meowth by the scruff of his neck and holding his face up to hers as he squirmed. "Now you listen, and you listen good. My daughter thinks you're an innocent little Meowth, and I refuse for her to know you're actually a criminal. So whatever it is you really came here to do, you're going to drop it and play with her until I can get her down for a nap. Then you're out of here. Got it?"
"Uh…g-got it," Meowth stammered.
"Good." And with that, Misty released Meowth and sent him back to the floor.
"Hewe, Meow!"
Elizabeth came barreling back into the kitchen, a stuffed Glameow in her hands.
"Oh, what is that?" Misty asked.
"Fwiend for Meow!" Elizabeth chirped.
"That's so sweet of you, Lizzie!" Misty giggled.
Elizabeth took another step closer to Meowth, holding the stuffed Glameow out towards him. Meowth looked up from the toy to Elizabeth's face, and saw her big smile and sparkling green eyes. She seemed genuinely happy to offer him the toy…like sharing something of hers with him was the best thing she could possibly do.
That buttered Meowth up like nothing else.
"Me…ow," Meowth murmured, gently taking the toy from Elizabeth.
"She's soft!" Elizabeth giggled, gently stroking the toy. "See?"
Meowth rubbed the stuffed Glameow against his cheek, purring contently when their fur touched. Elizabeth laughed joyfully at the sound, while Misty arched an eyebrow. She had never heard that out of Team Rocket's Meowth before. It almost made him seem like a real, good Pokémon.
"You'we soft too," Elizabeth continued, petting Meowth between the ears. The normal type perked up, his ears twitching at the contact. "Fwuffy Meow!"
Meowth started to purr again, this time lowering himself to all fours and inching closer to Elizabeth so he could rub against her. The toddler giggled and continued petting him, happy with the attention from the scratch cat Pokémon.
"Elizabeth, what do you say we go take a nap now?" Misty prodded, hoping her daughter was tired enough to give in.
"No, Mommy!" Elizabeth whined. "I'm not sweepy! And I wanna pway wif Meow!"
Misty sighed and hung her head. "Alright, you can play. Just for a little bit though, okay? Then you have to take a nap."
"Kay," Elizabeth chirped before beaming at Meowth. "Let's pway!"
She once again grabbed Meowth's paw and pulled him into the living room. Misty groaned and got up from her seat, reluctantly following after the pair. She would've loved some more time to herself, but there was no way she was going to leave Meowth alone with her daughter. Misty didn't trust that cat as far as she could throw him.
Which sounded pretty good at the moment.
In the middle of the living room floor, Elizabeth was handing Meowth a plastic teacup. Meowth carefully studied the trinket, while Misty was just displeased.
"Elizabeth," Misty breathed, "what is your tea set doing down here? That's supposed to stay in your bedroom, remember?"
"Yeah, but I was pwaying wif it!" Elizabeth chirped.
"You couldn't play with it upstairs?" Misty questioned.
Elizabeth shook her head before continuing to lay out her toy tea set. Misty slumped down onto the couch, folding her arms and crossing her legs.
"Will you bring it back upstairs when you're finished playing?" Misty requested. This time, Elizabeth smiled and nodded her head. "Thank you, sprinkle!"
Meowth looked up from the teacup and towards Misty. She was watching the little girl with a smile on her face and didn't seem the least bit bothered about something being out of place. Basically, she was not the twerpette Meowth had known for years.
"Tea pawty time!" Elizabeth announced, regaining Meowth's attention. She sat down across from the Pokémon and beamed at him, holding up her toy teapot. "Thiwsty?"
Meowth smiled and nodded his head. Elizabeth tilted the teapot over Meowth's cup, but nothing came out of it. Meowth's eyes widened, and he glanced up at the little girl with a look of betrayal. Elizabeth, however, didn't notice it, and was otherwise completely unaffected.
"Thewe!" She chirped, pulling the teapot back towards her. "Caweful, is hot!"
Meowth grimaced and glanced over his shoulder at Misty. She didn't take any pity on the Pokémon, however, and simply scowled at him in response. With a sigh, Meowth picked up his teacup and blew into it before pretending to drink out of the cup.
"Do you wike it?" Elizabeth squeaked. Meowth lowered the cup and nodded his head. "Yay! Awe you hungwy too?"
The scratch cat's eyes glimmered with hope. Elizabeth giggled in response and held out a small plastic plate with a slice of cake on top…also made of plastic.
Frowning, Meowth began to pout, and Elizabeth's own smile quickly disappeared. Before she could ask him what was wrong, however, his stomach growled loudly, causing the normal type to blush furiously.
"Oh!" Elizabeth chirped. "You'we weally hungwy!"
"Meow…" Meowth sighed, slowly nodding his head.
Elizabeth looked over at her mother. "Mommy, can we feed Meow?"
Misty glared at Meowth, who kept the pout on his face. His stomach suddenly growled again, which only further embarrassed the Pokémon.
"Alright," Misty decided, getting to her feet. "I'll go get him something."
Elizabeth smiled until her mother's words hit her, at which point she jumped up. "Him?! Meow's a giwl!"
Meowth's eyes snapped open, and he whipped around with a horrified stare.
XXX
It didn't take too much "tea party" time before Elizabeth was basically falling asleep on the living room floor.
Meowth, who was in a much better mood after Misty had brought him some snacks, watched in intrigue as the little girl yawned and rubbed at her eyes, nearly falling over as she reached for her toy teacup.
"Finally," Misty breathed, just audible enough for Meowth to hear. He watched as the woman walked over to Elizabeth, gathering the child in her arms. "I think someone is ready for their nap."
Elizabeth whined and shook her head, though she was soon rubbing her eyes again. Misty smirked and kissed the girl's forehead, which she then put down on her mother's shoulder. Misty gave her daughter one last smile before sending a judgmental gaze towards Meowth, who seemed flustered.
"I'm going to put her down for a nap," Misty informed the cat. "You don't move a muscle."
Meowth just sighed and arched an eyebrow, but he followed Misty's orders and stayed in his spot. She brought her daughter upstairs and, within a few minutes, was back downstairs alone. She stepped in front of Meowth, her arms folded with a look of annoyance on her face. Meowth rolled his eyes and looked away indignantly, preparing for the twerpette to exact some kind of revenge on him.
"Thank you."
Those two words made his ears twitch. He glanced up at Misty, his brow furrowed. "Huh?"
"Thank you," Misty repeated. "For playing along with Elizabeth. She's just a little kid, and she's very trusting and loving."
"Yeah yeah," Meowth grumbled. "But…I guess da baby twoipette ain't so bad."
Misty smirked. "You know, that's a compliment coming from you!"
"Don't get used tah it," Meowth warned, finally pulling the pink bow out of his fur.
"Trust me, I won't," Misty promised. "But that doesn't change the fact that I really am grateful to you for letting Elizabeth think you were just an ordinary Meowth."
Meowth was about to roll his eyes, but stopped when an idea popped into his head. He looked up at the gym leader with a wicked grin, bewildering the woman.
"So, since ya so happy -bout what I did, would ya be willin- to do sometin fah me?" Meowth questioned.
Misty thought about it for a moment before reluctantly replying, "Maybe…"
Clapping his paws together, Meowth continued, "It's real simple! All ya gotta do is gimme just one of ya Pokémon!"
Misty's eyes widened. "Excuse me?!"
"I don't tink dat's such a big deal," Meowth calmly replied, shrugging his shoulders. "What's one measly Pokémon really mean to ya anyways?"
"A lot," Misty fired back. "I've raised and trained all of my Pokémon myself! They're basically part of my family! You're insane if you think I'm just going to hand one over to you."
"But you were sooo grateful tah me fa playin- with da baby towipette!" Meowth drawled.
"Not that grateful," Misty growled. "And stop calling her a baby twerpette!"
Meowth sighed and shrugged his shoulders. "And here I thought yous twoips always stood by ya word! Makes me wonder who the real bad guys are –round here…"
Misty's face flashed red, and she pulled the front door open. "Get out of here before I throw you out!"
Meowth yelped and charged right out the door, running at full speed down the walkway. As he scurried off, he nearly ran into a newly arrived Ash, which only frightened the villainous Pokémon even more. He continued shrieking as he ran off, Ash looking over his shoulder to watch him go. Once Meowth was out of sight, Ash turned towards his wife, a look of bewilderment plastered on his face.
"Pika?" Pikachu squeaked from his trainer's shoulder.
"Misty," Ash began, "how come you're inviting random Pokémon into our house?"
Her eyes widened at the question. "Did you not see who that was?"
"Yeah, it was a Meowth," Ash replied. "It sure seemed freaked out."
Misty could barely find the words to respond. "You…you think that was just some regular old Meowth?"
"…yeah?" Ash breathed.
The gym leader slumped her shoulders and sighed. "Get inside."
"Alright," Ash muttered, continuing to make his way to the front steps. "Still kind of want to know what was up with that Meowth though."
Misty shook her head as Ash walked past her. "Trust me, you don't."
Sometimes it's better to be naïve about what's going on. Ash should be grateful he doesn't know, because if he did, he would not be too happy!
