Adventure's Past

Chapter 20 - Family

Goh felt the familiar rumbling in his backpack and knew instantly what it was. "Hold up, Flygon," he said to Flygon, who was flying him to Snowbelle City. He pulled out his phone and noticed that it was Clemont trying to call him again, despite his obvious ignorance of the past fifteen calls.

He scoffed and decided to disable calls and messages on his phone for a while. No one was going to get in his way of solving where Ash went and why Team Rocket was back, even if they tried. They haven't called for a while anyway, so why start it now? He convinced himself as they approached the Snowbelle City village.

Goh landed on the outskirts and retrieved Flygon, thanking him for the flight. Recently, he felt that he was rarely using his other Pokemon and felt bad, but wanted to find Ash first, as he had such a strong suspicion he was still alive and well. And the clues start here, he said, walking towards the store he had run into the Team Rocket Trio years ago.

Walking in and causing a bell to ring, Goh looked around to discover that the store layout hadn't changed in the years after the Cell War. He even recalled how he sneakily used the aisles to watch Team Rocket as they shopped here. Goh walked over to the clerk and greeted him. "Hi, how are you?"

The clerk, who was a man in his early years of adulthood, was scrolling through his phone absentmindedly as he looked up at Goh. "Oh, hey. How can I help you?" He asked, disinterested. Goh had a feeling that the man was only doing this job just to get some form of income, so he knew he had to get the information out fast before he lost interest in the conversation.

"Have you seen these three around here?" Goh asked, pulling up a picture of the trio and showing it to the guy. He glanced at the phone and made no reaction whatsoever, continuing to mindlessly chew his gum. "Not really, no," The man replied. Goh raised an eyebrow. "Not really? What does that mean?"

"It means if you're not gonna buy something, then I'm not gonna answer your question," The man responded despondently. Goh scoffed and looked behind the clerk at a shelf that contained small packages of gum that were only 50 Pokedollars. "I'll just get a pack of gum then," he growled, pulling out his amount and placing it on the counter.

"What flavor?" The clerk asked, turning around in his chair. "I like the Minty Mamoswine, but I hear Fiery Fennekin is good, too." Goh rolled his eyes and said, "I'd like Peach Porygon, please." Grabbing the package and setting it on the counter, the man swiped Goh's currency and said, "Now, about those three."

"Have you seen them come by at all? Doesn't matter when, I just want to know if they've been here," Goh questioned the man further. He blew a bubble and stood up out of his chair. "Yeah, they've been around here. Nice couple." Goh raised an eyebrow, unsure of what he heard. "Couple?"

The man blew another bubble until it popped and nodded. "Yep, husband and wife if I'm not mistaken. They come by to get supplies now and then." Goh tilted his head. I guess Jessie and James ended up getting married? The entire concept, although odd, wasn't too unexpected given their chemistry.

"What about the Meowth? Have you seen him at all?" Goh asked, showing him a picture of the talking Meowth he knew all too well. "Yeah, he comes sometimes. But not always," the man answered, not even looking at the screen. "Bro, if you just came here to ask me if I knew some people, then you're wasting your time."

"Fine, then how about this?" Goh responded in a challenging manner. "Tell me where they live." The man looked up and his bubble popped. "I don't think I can tell you that," he replied bluntly. "Y'know, goes against code and stuff," Goh smirked and raised an eyebrow. "What if I bought another pack of gum, but for a higher price?"

The man looked up from his phone and looked at Goh. "What are you saying?" He asked cautiously. "Let me get a Minty Mamoswine," Goh requested, pulling out money from his bag. The clerk grabbed the package and slowly set it on the counter as Goh set down 200 Pokedollars. "Now, this gum is mine, and that money is yours," Goh explained, grabbing the pack of gum and looking at the clerk.