Meowth peered out of the tent. That night it was bitterly cold, and he wished he could snuggle into
Jesse’s big hair to warm him. But he had no idea where she was. Or James. He looked back at
Meow?, sadly. He knelt down and nuzzled her. ‘See ya,’ he whispered. He scribbled a quick note
to say where he was, crept away from Justina’s tent, and tiptoed down the path leading to Pewter
City, looking back only to watch the sunrise.
*
‘They’re all really expensive,’ Jesse gasped.
‘Well we need them,’ James reminded her. ‘We can always play the slots.’
‘You always lose,’ she moaned. ‘What are we doing in Celadon, anyway. What was wrong with
Pallet?’
‘We need more Pokémon. They practically give them away here!’
Jesse crossed her arms defiantly. ‘We could just as easily capture Pokémon. I think you have some
ulterior motive, John.’ The man at the counter was growing impatient as he drummed his fingers.
James bought some coins and headed towards the machines. ‘What do we need Pokémon for?
We don’t battle anymore.’ Jesse was, for once, whining too much and James lost his temper. ‘In
case, Jewel, you-know-who shows up to you-know-what with his powerful thingamabobs that we
can’t possibly beat without our own powerful whatchimacallits!’ Jesse glared angrily and raised her
hand to hit him. But, she stood motionless, staring past James. He swivelled round. It was a
Meowth outside the café across the path. Their Meowth! They rushed outside to see him.
‘Meowth?’ asked James.
‘Sshhhh! Ya wanna blow our cava!’ James shook his head. Jesse whispered to Meowth to follow
them. After looking round carefully, he nodded and the three walked away from Rocket Corner in
silence.
*
‘Youse guys was bein’ real brave ta stand in tha Rocket Corner Casino.’
‘We were desperate for Pokémon. We tried to earn money through battles, but we keep losing,’
said Jesse. James handed the chopsticks round the table.
‘Tanks!’
‘Since when are you polite?’ Jesse laughed.
‘Looks like Justina was a good influence on you. Or… was it Meow??’
Meowth blushed. ‘Yeah, well. Youse two seem ta be getting’ along alright too.’ Jesse grinned
smugly as she twirled the plain gold ring round her finger. It was only cheap, but it was hers and she
couldn’t ask for anything more. At the moment. She gazed disdainfully around the dark house. It
wasn’t really a house, just one wooden room with a couple of windows. But it would all change
once her plan had been put into action…
‘So youse guys ‘ad ta change ya image, did ya?’ The two of them groaned sorrowfully.
‘My beautiful long red hair!’ she whimpered, tugging at her new short, blonde locks. James ruffled
his shorn, brown hair. ‘I look like that Brock-guy.’
‘The wimp wouldn’t wear coloured contact lenses!’ Jesse laughed at James.
‘Neither would you!’ They began to argue, something that had become more and more common
without Meowth around. They definitely needed him. And Meowth was pleased to be with them
again.
*
It was almost midnight. They had fallen asleep long ago. An eye peered through the window…
BANG! The door flew open. ‘Meowth!’ The trio sat up in fright.
‘Justina?’ exclaimed Meowth. He was right. It was her, with a large bazooka!
‘Prepare for trouble, I’ll burst your bubble.
To protect Meow? from devastation,
To unite all Meowths within our nation.
To denounce the evils of running away,
For your crime you shall pay.
Justina! (Hi James!)
Team Rocket blasts you with all it’s might,
Surrender now or get a fright!’
‘Huh?’ said Meowth.
‘In other words…how could you leave poor Meow? alone at a time like this? In her condition?’
‘Condition?’ asked a bewildered James.
‘Kittens, James, she means Meow? is PREGNANT!’
‘What!!!!!!!!!!!’ Meowth fainted.
Justina giggled, ‘I guess he didn’t know after all!’
‘Well, duh (!), Justina.’ Jesse didn’t like her bubbly attitude, not one little bit.
*
When Meowth finally came to, he was still in disbelief. He just sat in the corner, murmuring in
Pokéish (my name for the Pokémon language – pronounced poke-ish). ‘I don’t understand how
this happened?’ James said.
‘Well,’ Jesse began, ‘when a Meowth and Meowth fall in love…’
‘No! That’s not what I meant!’ James waved his hands in horror for Jesse to stop.
‘Actually, it’s rather ironic,’ muttered Jesse.
‘What is?’
‘Justina came here to yell at Meowth for leaving Meow? in her time of need. But to come here
she’s left Meow? alone anyway. If Justina had stayed, at least she’d have had human company.’
James pondered this for a moment. ‘You’re right!’ While they were discussing this, she had been
trying to comfort Meowth. But she had overheard them. ‘ She’s fine,’ she piped up. ‘She’s here in
her PokéBall.’
James was outraged, ‘ You put a pregnant animal in a PokéBall! Jesse was surprised at his anger.
It was one of the things she loved about him. He cared about Meowth, and sometimes considered
Meow? and other Pokémon he knew, to be more than pets. That’s what made James such a good
friend. ‘It’s perfectly safe. I know more about Pokémon than you do. I passed Pokémon Tech
with the highest marks for ten years. I have 300 Pokémon, all around level 100 or above. And I
raised them all myself. Even the twerp has more Pokémon than you two put together!’ James and
Justina began a staring match.
‘Oh boy,’ sighed Jesse, ‘ In all my years of unspoken attraction for James like she has, I’ve never
fought with him.’ (!)
‘Are you kidding me! I have scars from all those times you’ve hit me!’
Jesse shouted, ‘Hit you! I barely touched you. Maybe the occasional tap on the head with a paper
fan – ’
‘You liar!’
‘Keep out of this Justina!’
‘I will not!’
‘SHUT UP!’ They turned to see Meowth, tapping his foot angrily at them. Holding a PokéBall
writhing about in his hand.
*
Once again, Ash had lost a battle and had taken Pikachu to a Pokémon Centre. That idiot had
reckoned that Pikachu was stronger than a Level 100 Onix. He was wrong as usual and because
of his crap training, his little fat-ass mouse was dying. (Sorry, Pikachu fans, but I hate the little
fuzzball. I wish for it to die a long, painful death. Er…back to the story) Anyway, the twerp was
crying his eyes out, when the doors of the centre flew open. Before he had time to utter ‘Team
Rocket?’, they had already dashed past him to the maternity ward. ‘Well, that was weird!’ he said.
What Jesse, James, Meowth, Justina and Meow? didn’t know, was that Team Rocket owned that
particular centre. As if they didn't have enough on their plate! Butch and Cassidy immediately
recognised them on the security cameras. They rang Giovanni. ‘Leave them be, for now. But with
two talking Meowths, I could profit well. Especially if they have kittens.’
‘Shall we make they don’t escape?’ asked Cassidy.
‘I wouldn’t worry. They won’t go far without their Meowths. And the female won’t want to move
for at least a week!’ he laughed. ‘No, just…observe them for the moment.’
*
Meow? was lucky; the birth didn’t last long. It last long enough for James and Meowth to faint
seven times between them though! They were named Millie and Martin. Meowth felt the same
parental surge he had felt for Togepi, and took to parenting easily. Jesse thought it was cute when
he licked Millie’s head clean. Even Butch and Cassidy thought that what they planned to do would
be cruel to such a cute family. ‘Let’s get to work,’ she whispered in Butch’s ear.
Nurse Joy was nice enough to allow them all to stay at the centre for the first night, but she didn’t
have enough room for them to stay another. So they booked into a hotel. Justina noticed Jesse and
James book a single room, and was a bit peeved at this. But she supported James on his decision
and offered for Meowth to stay in her room. James and Meowth went to their rooms first – they
were tired after all the fainting they did at 3am. Jesse and Justina stayed in the T.V room.
‘Justina?’
‘Yeah.’
‘Thank you…for not causing a fuss,’ Jesse smiled. Justina found that it was the first time Jesse had
ever smiled, regarding her.
‘You’re important to him. And I kind of consider you to be my friend,’Justina said.
Jesse swallowed; she wasn’t used to being nice. She’d always said that it didn’t suit her. ‘You
too.’
When Jesse went to her room, James was already asleep. So she climbed into bed, careful not to
disturb him. James wasn’t really asleep. When she’d drifted off, he got up and looked outside at
the Pokémon Centre. He began to wonder what his kids would look like. Green eyes, red hair or
blue hair, blue eyes? Maybe green hair? No, he couldn’t, wouldn’t do that. Although Justina
wished he would! He though of Jessebell and his parents. Would they give him the money? His
fiancée may not be her, but at least they looked similar. They might disown him, he realised. Jesse
came from a poor family. That didn’t matter, he decided. But he’d like to be rich again. As he
gazed wistfully at the centre, something behind caught his eye. A boy, girl and…Raticate! ‘JESSE!’
he squealed, ‘Team Rocket!’
‘To protect the world…’ she murmured sleepily.
‘No, Butch and Cassidy!’
She sat up with a start. ‘What! You idiot, don’t just stand there! Grab your balls.’
‘This isn’t the time for-’
‘I meant Pokéballs, you twerp.’
‘Don’t shout at me,’ he whined.
She threw his PokéBelt at him. ‘I’ll wake Meowth and Justina. You go and stop Butch and
Cassidy.’
‘Me? But you know them better.’ It was an excuse not to fight, but Jesse had no time to argue.
*
Meow? had just fallen asleep after a midnight feeding when Cassidy crept into the ward. She gave
the signal for Butch and Raticate to follow. Butch dragged a large suitcase behind him. He reached
in and brought out an injection kit. Cassidy lifted the needle into the air to check it, tapping it
carefully. She gently grabbed Meow? by the scruff of her neck without waking her, and inserted it
quickly.
Jesse threw the doors open and skidded down the hall towards Meow?’s sleeping quarters. But
she was lying there, quite peacefully dozing. She muttered, ‘They’re up to something.’ When
Justina arrived she checked Meow? for any clues, not spying the tiny dot of blood on the cat’s
neck. She checked the kittens too. They were stumped. ‘Maybe day woint lookin’ for us. Maybe
day is da Rockets dat run dis centa.’
‘Meowth’s right, stop worrying!’ Meow? assured them. The three ‘J’s weren’t sure of this and
they didn’t sleep at all that night.
Once Meow? was well enough to travel, they decided to part again. It would be safer for them if
they kept apart, they decided. But Meowth wanted to stay with James and Jesse. He was
eventually persuaded; after all, he wanted to look after his kittens, and Jesse and James obviously
needed to be alone. They constantly hinted by holding hands, letting go only when they felt the
others’ eyes on them. So they parted once again, wishing that they could all stay together. They
were unaware of the four brown eyes that were watching them walk towards Saffron or
Vermilion…
THE END?
