Lumiose University - A Degree In Pokemon

Chapter 62: Ninja-lola

Author's Note:

A milestone chapter...sort of. Ah, it's nice to hit chapter 20. We're approaching the good stuff now. Just a wee bit more set up here, though. Hope you enjoy.

Chapter 62: Ninja-lola

Meowth was growing more and more frustrated each day that he and his companions remained in the cave just outside the Wetlands. They'd decided to wait and heal up after the fall from the hunter base, with Meowth's head still aching when he moved too much, and with both Wobbuffet and Skiddo still banged up as well. They might've risked finding another place, but Meowth was a little nervous about attracting attention from the Wetlands Pokemon given what he'd done with Jessie and James to their water supply. Skiddo had also noticed hunters still near the area as well, searching a forest north of the cliff, and they definitely didn't want to be caught by them.

Meowth wasn't sure quite yet if he found it comforting that the hunters hadn't targeted the Wetlands Pokemon, or ominous. He supposed it was still risky if they planned to attack trainers at the IPL Playoffs, as it would attract a significant amount of attention. With it being near their base, too, it would be more difficult to keep out of the way of any investigations. He also supposed the Wetlands Pokemon would be a bit more capable of fighting back as well, which could make future plans more difficult if they needed to recover.

The thought of the hunters' plan to attack the IPL Playoffs made Meowth think of Jessie and James as he lay on his nest of leaves that Skiddo had gathered for him. If none of this had happened, they probably would've been planning on some kind of attack of their own. They would've been targeting Pikachu most of all of course, but they would've been excited by the likely strong Pokemon that other trainers would've brought. And surely plenty of the teachers had strong Pokemon to nab as well.

Meowth sighed as he imagined what they might've done. For some reason, he couldn't imagine it being anything like what he assumed the hunters would do. Really, he couldn't imagine them succeeding in the end. Was that because they weren't as prepared as the hunters would be, though? Was it because the hunters had more people and Pokemon to use?

"Maybe we just ain't that evil," Meowth murmured to himself, clapping a paw to his mouth as the words escaped his lips. He looked to Wobbuffet in horror, hoping his old Team Rocket companion hadn't heard him. Fortunately, Wobbuffet seemed to be sleeping, lying on his side and facing the opposite wall of the cave.

A small smirk came to Meowth's face as he watched Wobbuffet a moment. Part of him couldn't help but think it was a bit of a break for Wobbuffet to not have to deal with Jessie getting angry at him for his noise, or popping out of his pokeball randomly. Of course, he knew that wasn't true. He'd seen Wobbuffet looking longingly outside the cave every night, and he knew Jessie, deep down, cared for him as well.

He looked to the entrance to the cave as Skiddo arrived, the Mount Pokemon done his morning patrol. He'd been the healthiest of the three, and seemed to be the most capable of scouting out the area around the cliff, so he'd taken it upon himself to keep an eye out. Meowth had been nervous at first, but Skiddo had done well, and since it seemed to be increasing his confidence to help so much, it seemed a good thing to continue if he was careful.

"Anything new out there, pal?" Meowth asked Skiddo, sitting up and smiling as he noticed the berries the Mount Pokemon had brought. He noticed Wobbuffet stirring as well as he shuffled over to sit with them.

"Doo-oo-oo," Skiddo bleated out in answer, lying down in front of Meowth and Wobbuffet and sliding each of them their share of the berries. "Doo-oo-oo!" He sounded fairly upset.

Meowth fiddled with his charm as he thought on what Skiddo had said for a moment. "So you got a glimpse of some more hunters, huh?" Skiddo nodded as Meowth looked nervously outside the cave, where it seemed peaceful despite the situation. "And dey were in trucks?"