Once they got back to the hotel, Jessie and James exchanged their stories
with Meowth (both
leaving out a couple incriminating details), then Jessie insisted Meowth- he
preferred being
called that rather than Persian- tell them exactly why he wasn't lying in a
coffin. "As you both know, when dey made me join de army I was more like a
mascot den anything.
Obviously, Pokémon don't fight in wars, so I was mostly safe from dat sorta
thing. Unfortunately,
ol' Giovanni, who was considered my 'master,' died in a fight a little after
youse guys left. Since I
didn't have no one to call my human, dey went ahead and released me. I roamed
around Viridian Forest for a while, where I joined up wit' dis pack of cats and
eventually evolved." He licked a
front paw; Jessie and James had noticed that since his evolution he behaved a
lot more like a
cat than he used to. "So anyway, I eventually ditched 'em an' found my way
into this cozy little
village. Da folks here thought it was really somethin' to meet a talkin'
Pokémon-" he ran his head
along the window ledge, purring happily at the memory, "an' sorta adopted me
as the town pet.
So basically I just roam between houses, sleep wherever I want an' get free
meals at all hours of
da day. Not a bad life, if ya know what I mean." He curled up in between the
two, yawning
happily. "So, what brings da livin' dead to a middle-of-nowhere place like dis?"
Jessie was about to answer, when a knock came on their door. James
answered, to see Misty
and Brock standing there, Misty looking impatient and a little bit worried.
"Have you two seen Ash around? It's nearly ten and he hasn't come back
yet," Misty explained.
"Normally, it wouldn't matter so much, but I'm dead tired and I can't get
into my room until hecomes back."
"You're hangin' around wit' dem?!" Meowth questioned, eyeing the "twerps"
warily. Jessie nodded in answer to the cat's question, then turned to her
travelling companions. "Sorry,but we haven't seen him anywhere."
Misty rubbed her temples. "I figured. Knowing him, he's probably down at
one of the bars.
James, do you think you could come with us? If Ash got into a fight..." she
trailed off.
The bounty hunter agreed to come along. Jessie tossed him the key, saying
she was in for the
night, and the trio exited, closing the door quietly behind them.
"Please explain dat to me," Meowth said, eyes wide and confused.
Jessie told the story as well and briefly as she could. "We're going to
start climbing Mount Silver tomorrow."
Meowth looked out the window at the looming mountain. It seemed more
foreboding in the
winter, with the dead trees, gnarled by wind, sticking out on its top peaks.
"Dat ting in da middle
of winter?" He shrugged- something that a Persian couldn't do without looking
awkward. "It's your
funeral, I guess. You couldn't pay me to hike up dat, no matter what season
it was." He remembered something he had meant to ask Jessie once they'd met. "So,
James as a bounty
hunter, huh? An' so serious, too. Mind tellin' me what happened to da teen I
used ta know?"
Jessie sighed, gazing at the dark peak of Silver. "Meowth, if I knew,
believe me, I'd tell you."