Lyonnais town-based of the city called Lyon/Lyons. The word Lyonnais is what the citizens are called. This city is also located on the Rhine...or Rhone since this is the French side.
Chapter 3: School Days
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"How much longer till we get to Snowbelle City?" Bonnie whined.
"We have to continue following this river which will take us through Montes Jura. After that, we should be near Snowbelle City." Clemont explained.
"I can't wait!" Ash exclaimed "My last gym battle, and then we're off to the championship, right Pikachu." "Pikachu!"
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The vision of Lyonnais Town in the distance was a lucky site to behold for the gang. Sleeping in a real bed after a few days camping outside was something they all needed. As they began their search for an affordable Inn that allowed Pokémon, the group noticed preschool-aged children walking in pairs.
"Must be a school field trip," Serena suggested blushing as she remembered hers with Ash when they were little kids.
The small children were gathering near the grassy bank of the low tide river. Bonnie begins to walk closer to the group of children. Whether it was a field trip or not, they seemed like they were having fun. The children were running around as if they were chasing each other in a game of tag. One little boy suddenly bumps into her.
"Oh, sorry about that." Bonnie quickly responded as Dedenne crawled up her arm to the top of her head. "De, Dedenne." It mimicked her.
The black-haired boy who was wearing a red shirt and cap shook off the sudden impact. His brown eyes lifted upward then widen. He quickly started to back away from Bonnie as he muttered in a shaken up voice.
"No...I..., I'm...sorry." He dashed off.
"That was weird, right?" She eyed her friend. "Dede, De."
"Excuse me, are you Pokémon trainers?" A young woman with light brown hair and blue eyes came walking up to them.
"Yes, ma'am, we are." Ash answers.
"That's great! My name is Ms. Holly; I am the teacher of this class. We are out here to make comparisons of how Pokémon act in the wild compared to trained Pokémon. Do you think my students could see your Pokémon?"
"What do you think everyone?" Ash asked.
"We'd love to teach young students about Pokémon!" Clemont stated with excitement.
"You do that's great, so do I! That's the whole reason why I became a teacher."
"Is it now? My brother is single. Marry him! With my brother's nerdy quirks and your irresistible charm, you can teach children all around the world about Pokémon together."
"Bonnie, Stop!" Clemont shouted as he pulled her away.
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They gathered all of the kids near the river's edge just outside of town to show off all their Pokémon. The kids excitedly gathered around Pikachu, Braixen, Bunnelby, and Noivern just to name a few. They were petting them and asking the trainers all sorts of questions about their Pokémon. Meowth grumbled to itself as it watched everything unfold. Frustrated with the new obstacle that has presented itself and tired from all the recent events. As the giant Pokémon were gaining all the attention, Meowth quietly slides away. He heads for the town to get away from it all. Walking towards the bridge that crosses into town, two little hands latch onto the cat's tail.
"No one touches the tail." It wasn't a hard tug, but still, Meowth quickly turned around coming face to face with a little boy with blonde hair and blue eyes.
"LET GO of me!" Meowth demanded as he swatted the boy's hands away without scratching him. The kid stared at him in shock, as did the other kids.
"Cool! A talking Meowth!" the boy exclaims. Nervously realizing what was happening, Meowth was suddenly surrounded by all the kids leaving all the other Pokémon kidless.
"You're sooo cute!"
"Say my name! Say my name!"
"No, say my name!"
"No, mine!"
"No, mine!"
"What's a Pokémon's favorite color!"
"Do you like being in a poke ball?"
"Oooouuu can I give you a belly rub, my mom's Purugly just loves belly rubs!"
"What can..."
"How did you..."
"Can you..."
"These kids are worse than the twerps!"
"Would you brats SHUT UP!" Silence filled the air.
"MEOWTH!" Ash yelled.
"How could any Pokémon enjoy something like this? You're all giving me a headache...go annoy someone else!"
"MEOWTH!" Ash yells again. "Apologize!" "PIKACHU!"
"You get headaches, Meowth?" Clemont questioned enthusiastically, pulling out one of his strange devices with a screen on it. Clemont starts jumping around Meowth, pointing the contraption in its direction.
"You must have really strong brainwaves. Getting headaches plus your ability to talk...do you have a headache right now? You could probably u..."
"UUUUGGGHHH....QUIT IT!"
**Ka-boom**
Clemont's machine suddenly malfunctions.
"I am sick in tired of you twerps always wasting my time...I...AM...Out of Here!"
Furious with Meowth's behavior, Ash hollers "HEY! You're not going anywhere!"
"OH...Yes, I am! I don't belong to you! I am not one of you're brainless pets that you can boss around." If the glares from the Pokémon didn't scare Meowth before...they should now.
"I am a proud member of Team Rocket the greatest organization there ever was and if you don't like it...BITE ME!" Out of anger, Meowth pushed off the ground to take a giant leap over the bridge, making a perfect landing on the other side. While the distance was not too big, it still left everyone impressed for about two seconds.
"LATER TWERPS!" Meowth screams out from the other side, then hightails it into town.
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"Okay class," Ms. Holly begins to retain the children's attention.
"There is nothing more to see here. Time to step away from the river's edge, the water level is getting too high." The kids happily followed Ms. Holly's instructions as she glances up at the clear blue sky.
"Hm...I don't think the forecast said anything about storms for today."
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The sound of a teapot was going off somewhere...
"WHY THAT LITTLE..." Ash growled as if volcanoes erupted behind him. "IF THAT'S HOW IT'S GOING TO BE THEN FINE! Talonflame, Hawlucha, Noivern: Go find it!" Ash then mumbled to himself quietly. "We're going to have a little target practice."
"Ash your sort of scaring me," Serena spoke nervously. "Maybe you should calm..."
"I AM CALM!" Ash snapped. "Meowth just needs a little lesson, that's all." He said deviously before turning his attention onto the students. With a smile and an uplifting voice, he asked, "Would you kids like to see how a great trainer like me catches a Pokémon?"
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Fuming as it stomped along the sidewalk, Meowth was alone wondering through Lyonnais Town. "I just want to be back with Team Rocket! Why is that so hard to understand?"
Meowth stops walking, taking in the headcount of there being no twerps. "Wait, what am I doing? I don't need to wait for them. That settles it, I'm leaving..."
Meowth picked up his pace with the new goal in mind. Meowth's lack of attention caused him to bump into someone.
"EH!" Meowth heard a high pitched sound and saw that he bumped into one of the boys from the field trip.
"Ehhhh....Sorry!" The boy said nervously, averting his eyes.
"It's the same kid that bumped into the mini twerp." Observing the fidgeting black haired boy, "tch...great...a smaller version of the stupid twerp. He looks just like him." Meowth thought as he took in the boy's features. The boy's black hair was covered with a solid red cap and had dark brown eyes with a similar skin tone to the twerp.
"Listen, Kid, I don't want to play with you right now, so beat it," Meowth said calmly in a not so friendly tone. Meowth turned away to resume his plan.
"Uhm...I uh..." Meowth looks over his shoulder, detecting the boy's nervousness.
"OH...I see..." Meowth returns to the kid's side to zoom in for a better look, making the boy cower. "You're afraid of Pokémon. I've heard that there were a few humans out there like that, but I never met one before." Fascinated by this discovery, Meowth's recent anger and plan to take off vanished.
"Uhm...do you think...I could walk...with you?" The boy asked nervously. Meowth seemed to have a twinkle in its eye due to this request.
"Hmm...are you sure you can handle it. I can be reeeeaaally scary." Meowth said while trying to contain a giggle.
"BOO!" Meowth shouted unexpectedly as he pushed the boy down, causing the boy to fall backward.
"AH!" The boy cries out as Meowth laughs at the boy's expense.
Getting back on his feet, "Yes...I'm sure. I figured since you can talk, maybe I could overcome my fears."
Meowth stops laughing, seeing that the boy was determined it considered the request. "Well, I guess you could show me around town."
The boy's eyes light up with glee, "Sooo...can I call you, Meowth?" With a small smile, Meowth nods.
"My name is Rider, but everyone calls me Red since red is my favorite color."
"Hello Red," Meowth chirped.
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Ash was stomping his feet as he paced back and forth on the bank of the river as he waited for his Pokémon to return.
"Ash, have you completely lost it!" Serena asked with unease.
"We made a deal." Clemont chimed in.
"I Know That!"
Clemont continues, "It's been a long day for all of us. I'm sure after a good night's rest, we can all move forward tomorrow on a more positive note."
"Okay, kids gather round." Ms. Holly speaks up.
"Is everyone here and accounted for? We are heading back to the school now." Ms. Holly looks around the huddled children sitting on the grass.
"Has anyone seen Red?" The kids answer by shaking their heads no.
"I think I saw him heading into town." A little girl answered.
Ms. Holly runs to the gang in a panic, "Can you guys help me? One of the students is missing. Could two of you come with me and help me search while the others stay and watch the kids?"
"Of course we will," Ash said reassuringly.
"One of my Pokémon will make the search a lot quicker. I will get...OH Yeah." Ash paused as he shamefully facepalmed himself.
"Talon, Tall," The group looks up to see Ash's Talonflame. It wasn't long after that the rest of his Pokémon came back with the whereabouts of Meowth.
"You guys! Ms. Holly needs our help to find one of her students."
"He's a little boy with black hair wearing a red shirt and hat." The Pokémon look at Ms. Holly and then to each other nodding in agreement.
"I think they have seen him too," Clemont suggests. Ash calls them all back except Talonflame to lead them to the missing boy while Serena and Bonnie stayed with the other kids.
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"Do you have a map?" Meowth asked.
"A map? What do you need a map for?"
"So I can get out of this stinking town. I don't want to stay here forever."
"Oh," Red replied softly. "I don't have a map, but I can tell you that if you follow the river, it will lead you out of town." Red paused for a moment, "Do you want to leave now?" Red stopped walking as he spoke softly and stared at the ground. Meowth sided glance the boy then stopped walking itself. Feeling its muscles growing heavy, Meowth sighed softly. He closed his eyes briefly then opened them despite the short-lived relaxation.
"What do you do for fun around here, twerp?" Meowth asked.
"Twerp?"
"Fun! Is there anything fun around here?"
"There is a park in the middle of town. We could go there."
"Fine by me." Meowth then picks up a delightful aroma. Feeling the rush of a small amount of energy, Meowth perks up as the sweet smell leads him to a bakery. Meowth peered through the window to see what's inside. "Cookies, Chocolate, and is that...CAKE!"
"Can Pokémon eat sweet things?"
Snapping out of his daze, Meowth looks over to Red. "Of course we can. Human food is much better than that garbage Pokéchow you humans always force feed us."
"I could get you something if you like. They make great brownies."
"Brownies..."
"That sounds really tempting, but I haven't been feeling hungry lately. Jessie would always say that it's a bad habit just to eat food like it's a luxury. 'Food is a source of energy, not a luxury.' Her mom used to tell her that."
"Oh...that sounds like good advice."
"Besides, we Rockets don't buy things; we steal them. Let's go!" Meowth walked ahead, leaving behind a puzzled Red.
"Steal?"
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The walk to the park felt long as each step felt worse than the last. Once they finally reached the park, Meowth saw that the park had a fountain with a small ledge. Meowth walked up to the fountain. Without warning, Meowth's knees locked themselves, causing Meowth to collapse but Meowth acted as if it just lost its balance.
"Are you okay?"
Meowth looks at Red then quickly readjusts itself. The ledge was small enough for Meowth to lean over. With its arms folded on the ledge resting its head on them like a human. "I'm fine." It mumbled.
Meowth started to listen to the soothing sound of the fountain trickling. Taking a seat on the ground beside Meowth, Red took a moment to reflect on the long walk he had today.
"You know...you're the first Pokémon I spent a whole day with by myself. I don't think I'm scared anymore." Red didn't receive any comments and continued, "Do you think I could um...pet you?" Again no answer. Red looked over to see that Meowth was sound asleep. Slowly Red reached out his hand without fear to pet Meowth gently on the head.
"Wow..." Red whispers, "...Your fur is so soft. I wonder if there are other Pokémon that feel as soft as you."
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Ash with Clemont and Ms. Holly continued to follow Talonflame through town to the town's park.
"Red!" Ms. Holly shouted as they were closing in on the fountain. Ms. Holly stopped dead in her tracks to bear witness to a rare site. Flabbergasted, Ms. Holly tried to find the words "Red, do you realize how close you are?"
"Ms. Holly!" Red exclaimed as he ran up to her. "I'm not scared anymore! I was with Meowth the whole time!"
Ash slowly walked on ahead to get a closer look at the sleeping scratch cat before him.
"I'm not surprised. Separated from its friends and far away from home, I would be exhausted too." Clemont spoke softly as he stood beside Ash, who was staring intently while absorbing what has been said. Ash begins to bend down to his knees leaning forward to get an even closer look.
"A proud member of Team Rocket, huh? It's sort of unbelievable right now. If I didn't know anything about Team Rocket, I would have just thought that you were a sleeping Po...Pokémon...Right, you are a Pokémon. I don't think I ever thought of you like that before." Ash slowly begins to reach his hand out to pet it. Gently brushing the tip of its ear caused the ear to twitch which caused Meowth to jolt its head up coming face to face with an up-close Ash who backed off quickly. With widened eyes, Meowth stared up at Ash with confusion.
Ash's gaze was still calm as his voice apologetically muttered, "I...didn't mean to wake you...."
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After a long and eventful day at school, Red returned home. Upon his arrival, he heard the phone ring. Having a good guess on who it was, he ran to answer it. On the screen popped an older boy who shared the same black hair but had vibrant green eyes.
"Hey, kiddo!" he said.
"Hey, big brother! Did you make it to Snowbelle City?
"Yes, I just made it this evening. Where are Mom and Dad?"
"They're out. Hey, guess what, I'm no longer afraid of Pokémon. So when I'm older, I'm going to start collecting them all too, just like you!"
"Really! What changed?"
"We were on a field trip today, and some trainers came by to show us their Pokémon. One of the Pokémon they had was a talking Meowth."
"Talking Meowth?"
"Uh-huh, I walked all over town with it, and because of that, I'm no longer afraid!"
"I'm so glad to hear that little brother. Do you happen to know where those trainers and that talking Meowth are headed?"
"Uh...I think they're heading for Snowbelle City."
"That's good to know...Really good to know."