Author notes:
You know how Team Rocket always have their mechas magically appearing out of no where. That is what I will be doing with the medallion, I don't know how it hides it, it always happened it the show so that is what is happening here it just appears when it wants to.
Nine pointed star is a symbol from the Bahá'í Faith.
The Bouffalant terrority is based of the Col d'Izoard, it is a mountain pass in the Alps
Chapter 12: Prepare for Flare!
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Meowth found its way back in Lavselle Valley, the location where the Pokéathlon was held. The field was empty with only the racetrack and the floating dock on the river. Meowth walked behind the low stands for the track to hide from any passersby so it could read the note it found with its new trinket in peace. The note was folded multiple times to form a small square taped to the back of the compass rose, unfolding it to reveal a slightly larger notecard with a lot written on it.
Follow the flow and stay close. But beware; the flow of energy can be blocked causing it to scatter. The mountains will be high and the path will take you low, keep the sacred mountains close to your family as you listen to the voices of the stars reveal to you the secret of time. This star will...
The paper glowed bright white as it disintegrated into ashes, taking away what knowledge it had left. "No! It was on fire dust parchment? If only I got to it sooner."
Meowth looked at the dust that was sprinkled over its paws, "Normally I could tell it was fire dust parchment...that must have been a really high quality to have lasted this long."
Meowth stood up ready to take action, "Follow the flow, it must have meant the river."
Meowth walked to the river while repeating the note to itself so it won't forget. There were some humans scattered about the meadow having picnics with their significant other, but it wasn't as crowded like it was the last time he was here. The only path it saw was the one they took and that one ends up going up the hill away from the river, hence why they didn't see it till they entered this valley.
"There has to be another way." Meowth thought as it looked around the river's edge.
"YOOOO-HOOO!"
Meowth froze as it heard a mysterious flirtatious voice. "My, my a lost kitten."
Meowth slowly turned its head to see it was a very tall man in a long red coat that was closed with the help of bright gold buttons and a belt buckle of an ominous insignia. The man walked leisurely towards Meowth with a wide cheeky grin as his long white locks with a red streak in his long bangs blew in the wind. As he got closer his eyes were gold in color, matching the buttons to his coat and the emblem on his belt buckle sent shivers down Meowth's spine. The man then placed a pink peony to his lips.
"What's a little kitten from Kanto doing all the way out here." He asked whimsically. Meowth recognized the Team Flare symbol on the man's belt buckle and knew it was in big trouble if this man found out the truth.
"Nya, Nya?" Meowth sat normally; as it meowed tilting its head just slightly pretending it was just a normal Meowth who didn't understand. The man stared at him questionably than laughed loudly.
"HA, HA, HA, Don't be shy. Where are those two Rockets? Shouldn't you be traveling with them?" He looked at it skeptically with his pompous filled golden eyes.
"Nya, nya, nya, Nya." Meowth tried again hoping his nerves weren't getting the best of him as he tried to play it cute as he beckoned the man. The man bent down and got closer as he grabbed Meowth by its chin to lift its gaze so their eyes were locked onto each other.
"Don't play games with me little Rocketeer," he hissed, "I can tell it's you just by looking into your eyes. Now let's try again, where are your friends?"
"They...are in town." It mumbled timidly.
"OOOOOO...I tricked ya!" He exclaimed with glee as he stood back up. "I didn't know it was you! Ha, Ha!" He laughed as Meowth froze with horror.
"He...tricked me!?"
"I went on a hunch and it looks like I guessed right. So why are you out here all by yourself?" He asked pretentiously.
"Uh...we had a fight."
"A fight you say? Oh...you poor little kitten, what was it about?"
"Uh...it was stupid, not really important," Meowth said sheepishly.
"Oh...but please do tell me, I Takashi would love to listen to such a lovely blue-eyed creature such as yourself." He said vainly as he brushed his pink flower across his cheeks.
"No, I really don't want to talk about it right now. Their idiocy just makes me so mad sometimes."
"Oh, well that's just too bad. You are such a sweet-looking Pokémon," He complemented pompously as he grabbed Meowth by the chin once again to lock eyes.
"Those eyes of yours are certainly gorgeous, I can see myself in them just perfectly." He kissed his pink flower then he brushed it against Meowth's fur from its ear to its lips.
"Don't be stranger to us Flares, Rocketeer." He waved goodbye flamboyantly as he headed for the town.
Meowth exhaled deeply as it was practically holding its breath during that whole nerve-wracking confrontation.
"Glad that's over." Meowth sighed deeply again as it placed a paw over its fast-beating heart.
Looking up from where he left off he was trying to look for an accessible path to follow the river since the one he took with the twerps was nowhere near it because of the way of the terrain made it so. Meowth saw the floating dock where catching the discus event was held, remembering it caught a gold one that flew from behind it. On the other side was a bunch of bushes and trees but if a disc came from there then there must be a place for the humans to access that area. Looking around for a way to cross, Meowth walked up closer to the path that they took before entering in. Seeing that he was further away from the few humans that were having picnics with each other and with the water being low in this area, Meowth hopped across the rocks above the water's surface and found the hidden path among the bushes. It was a semi-dense forest along this path, Meowth saw where the path they took before started to go higher and distancing itself from the river he was following. It was so green and peaceful, hearing the natural sounds that only nature can provide. The wind blew softly against the tall trees as Meowth heard the leaves rustle combining with the sounds of the murmuring river. It was nice not having to deal with humans for a change. Looking at the compass rose, it was a limestone medallion and it was clearly very old compared to the statue it was on. It was not that big since Meowth was able to hold it with one paw.
"Follow the flow...?" Meowth stopped in his tracks, "I'm so tired." He sighed, it was getting late and he did get a good head start. He was very far away from where he ran into that Flare and he was in a forest so it would be safe to sleep. Meowth found himself a bush to curl up underneath for good coverage, as he fell fast asleep.
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**Tic-tock, tic-tock, tic-tock, tic-tock**
Meowth was running through the forest as it was on fire. Running fast, not watching its step as it tumbled down the hill. After getting back onto its feet, it looked around to see where it was. Meowth saw the snow-covered mountaintops in the far east. They seemed really far away.
"Keep the scared mountains close to your family." It heard a strange voice echoed. An orb of light came forth from the mysterious mountains, hovering close to Meowth.
"Follow me."
"Did you just talk?" He asked surprisingly.
"Follow me." It repeated as it led the way.
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(Wake up!)
Meowth woke up quickly as he heard a shrieking voice. "Who said that?"
(Keep moving!) He heard it again, it was dark but Meowth had good enough vision to see, but he couldn't find where the mysterious voice was coming from.
(Get up and keep moving!) It spoke softly but with a sense of urgency, Meowth felt it was best that if a strange voice was telling him to move then he better move.
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"OPEN THE DOORS! I NEED TO GET OFF NOW!" Ash demanded as he tried to pry open the doors.
"Kid! Sit down!" One of the train's personnel ordered.
"BUT I NEED TO GET OFF!" He countered.
"Ash calm down!" Serena pleaded.
"Stand back so they can open the doors!" The train's personnel said as he just finished his conversation on the walkie-talkie. Ash stopped acting like a crazy person and did as he was told. The very second the doors were wide enough Ash leaped out running in the same direction that darn Meowth went.
"We're very sorry for our friend!" His friends said embarrassingly to the people on the train before running after him.
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"STOP ASH! WAIT FOR US!" Clemont shouted. Ash stopped at the entrance of the train station to let his friends catch up.
"Ash, maybe we should think this through." He suggested as he tried to catch his breath.
"Think about what?!" Ash snapped unintentionally.
"Maybe Meowth went back to Nomia Inn. It got along with Clio surprisingly well. Wouldn't that be a good thing?" Ash paused and thought about the idea.
"That would be great, but I highly doubt that."
"But Meowth clearly doesn't want our help. Why are you so keen on having it come with us?" Serena asked.
"What do you mean?" Ash looked at her surprised by that question. They heard what Saul said about Meowth, how someone used hypnosis on it. It's lost and probably confused. He had to mentally slap himself in the head for thinking poorly about his friends. Of course, they all want to help, but why? Because it's in their conscience to do so? Was it really out of pity? Would he have helped Meowth if he didn't know about it being hypnotized? His strong moral compass screamed 'yes' he would help it no matter what. It was a Pokémon in need, he wouldn't turn it down just because of their past. He helped it out before with no problem, so why was it so difficult now? He thought back to Unova when they found it, it was injured and claimed it was fired. It was friendly and willing to help out, a complete opposite to what it is now. It's always cranky with a bad attitude, unwilling to do anything. It knows that he would help, it even asked for their help during the Malamar incident. So why must this situation be any different?
"I guess it was because Jessie and James were always around, even in Unova, it never really was on its own like it is now. For me, it was because I was waiting for Team Rocket to make a grand entrance with some absurd scheme and that the whole 'I don't remember anything' was a part of the gimmick, but they never showed up."
"Maybe I do pity it." He answered softly as he was ashamed for admitting it.
"That's not true, Ash!" Serena exclaimed, surprising everyone as she walked up closer to place a comforting hand on his free shoulder, causing him to look at her.
"That's not like you, you don't do things out of pity. The boy at summer camp didn't help me because he pitied me; he did it because he wanted to. You want to help Meowth for the same reasons that you helped me that day. Admit it, you wanted to search for Meowth all day yesterday even before I came back and what Saul said." Ash's chocolate-colored eyes widened with realization as he stared back at her.
"Yeah...your right, I did," he said quietly.
"Let's head back to Nomia Inn." She suggested, "Maybe it did go back, if not we will decide from there." She removed her hand as he continued to stare at her and smiled fondly.
"Thank you, Serena." She nodded with a smile as a light rosy blush tinted her cheeks.
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Retracing their steps back to Nomia Inn on the cobblestone path, they spotted a familiar pigtailed girl in her dark red sundress. She seemed to be in a hurry since she was running really fast.
"Clio, wait up!" Bonnie shouted as they followed her. It wasn't long till they saw the reason why she was running when a Murkrow and an Axew appeared to be chasing her, followed by their trainers. They recognized them too; they were the two boys that they saw running down the hill.
"Axew use tackle!" One ordered. The small tusk Pokémon did as it was told as it charged up and tackled the poor girl in the back causing her to lose her balance. Lying helpless on the ground as the two older boys surrounded her, they were ready to attack again.
"Luxray! Protect Clio and use swift on their Pokémon!"
"Pikachu, thunderbolt them!" Recalling the event of Hawlucha chasing this two down the hill, things were starting to make a little more sense. Pikachu leaped off of Ash's shoulder and thunder bolted the bullies and their Pokémon.
"AHHHH!" They both screamed. The gang caught up and got in front of Clio to protect her as Serena and Bonnie helped her to her feet.
"How dare you attack a little girl like that! What kind of Pokémon trainers are you?" Clemont shouted, as a big brother himself it angered him to see another girl close to his sister's age to be attacked so violently.
"Back off!" The shorter boy demanded, "This girl's brother has caused nothing but trouble for us back home."
"Then put it up with her brother! She shouldn't have to feel your wrath because of him." Clemont responded.
"Where's that talking Meowth?!" The fat one ordered as he ignored Clemont's logic.
"Talking Meowth?" The gang questioned.
"People were talking about a Meowth hanging around the clock tower, but now it's nowhere to be found. I know it has to be the same one we saw with you yesterday. Where is it? You must be hiding it! It was wild so it doesn't belong to you, so where is it?! I want that Meowth, I have a right to capture it so tell me!"
"You have no right to capture Meowth!" Ash shouted as if something ignited deep within him.
"Did someone say 'talking Meowth'?" A mysterious masculine voice asked. The man seemed to have appeared out of nowhere as he walked up closer to the group in the middle of the alleyway. His eyes were covered by black shades and he was wearing a red blazer with a belt buckle that had a recognizable emblem on it. He walked passed them all, unafraid by all the glares he was receiving as he walked up to Clio.
"Did the Pokémon in question have its protector nearby?" Clio stayed silent, she knew whom this man worked for and the two boys who have constantly terrorized her were nothing compared to what this guy could do.
"I see, was it alone with you the whole time?"
"Hey, you red-headed freak!" The fat boy shouted. "I saw that Pokémon first and I was asking her where it is." The man turned around to face the pathetic fool as he pushed his shades up closer to his face.
"What a fool you are," he said coldly, "...that Meowth is far too valuable for a simpleton like you. You will never be able to catch it."
"What? How dare you insult my brother like that! Murkrow teach this freak a lesson!" Still unmoved, the man called out his Mightyena.
"Use double team then shadow ball." The Pokémon did as it was told by surrounding the boys and their Pokémon as each copy formed a shadow ball hitting its targets multiple times. Murkrow and Axew were knockout as their injured trainers looked on in fear. The man then moved in closer and grabbed them both by the collar.
"Consider this your lesson not to mess with Team Flare." He said viciously. The two seemed startled by that fact, they looked at each other and quickly called back their fainted Pokémon before high tailing it out of there.
"Did you just say Team Flare?" Ash questioned defensively. The man ignored him as he started to walk back towards Clio, but was stopped by Ash and Clemont who blocked his way.
"Would you like to meet the same fate as those two buffoons?" He asked menacingly.
"Tatsuooo!" A flamboyant voice sang loudly, interrupting the intense scene. The man was very tall, with a red streak in his long white hair and was dressed in a long red coat that was closed with the help of bright gold buttons with a belt buckle that had the same Team Flare symbol.
"You wouldn't believe who I just ran into when I was in Lavselle Valley. It was that little Meowth you kept telling me about!" He exclaimed, Ash was about to make a reaction to that fact but was stopped when he felt Clio tugging at his jacket, giving him an expression of caution. Luckily, both agents had their full attention on each other and missed the interaction.
"Were the agents nearby?" He asked sternly.
"Not a single one, poor little thing told me they got into a fight and that they are here somewhere in town."
"A fight? What kind of agents are they, allowing a Pokémon to walk all over them like that? Sounds like Team Rocket is becoming soft."
"Oooo...A Pikachu!" The tall man exclaimed as he noticed the kids staring at them cautiously. He pranced over to get a closer look; unaware of the dirty looks he was receiving.
"You must be from the Kanto region, am I right?" He asked as he looked at Ash.
"Uh...yes, I am." Taken back by the sudden question. His golden eyes gleamed at the answer with an unreadable grin on his face.
"That's just great! Then you must know all about those brutes in Team Rocket. You know partner," he started as he side glanced Tatsuo, "I did see that Meowth head towards Montes Jura as it crossed the river further down." He observed the kids carefully as did his partner.
"Oooo...is that a Dedenne, how cute!" He exclaimed as he saw the little Pokémon sitting on Bonnie's shoulder.
"If you are looking for Team Rocket, they are here." Clio broke her silence, "They are over by the art museum."
"How do you know this?" Tatsuo asked suspiciously.
"Because they paid me twenty bucks to be used as their messenger yesterday, it seemed that they were in a really big fight." She clarified, Tatsuo continued to eye her doubtfully before turning around to walk away.
"Takashi let's go!" He demanded as his partner waved goodbye whimsically to the gang as he followed Tatsuo gleefully.
They were finally out of sight and Clio was able to breathe normally again as she sighed.
"I need to go tell Grandpa." She thought worryingly as she darted off towards the inn.
"Wait!" Ash yelled as they all followed her.
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"Grandpa!" She yelled as they all ran inside Nomia Inn. Saul was outside in the garden that was attached to the tearoom enjoying the fresh air and sunlight as he drank his tea at the edge of the patio.
"Grandpa!" He heard as he turned to face his granddaughter who ran inside the tearoom followed by Ash and the gang.
"Clio, ah...everyone, what are you all still doing here?"
"Meowth ran away," Bonnie sadly answered.
"I see." A slight grin appeared but it vanished quickly before anyone noticed as he got up to go inside the tearoom to join them while shutting the glass door behind him.
"Grandpa, Team Flare agents are here and they are looking for Meowth!"
"What?" His calm expression suddenly changed into concern.
"Uh-huh, and one of them ran into it at Lavselle Valley, I think they know it's alone," Clio explained.
"I see, it seems that the situation has taken an unexpected turn."
"What's going on here?" Ash asked as he felt his anger beginning to rise. Did they give Meowth the incentive to run off? Are they hiding something?
"You don't seem surprised at all about Meowth running off so tell me what's going on here!"
"Calm down Ash, of course, I'm not surprised, it's wild." Saul spoke calmly, "You kids should hurry back to the train station, you don't want to miss your train again."
"I'm not going anywhere! I want to help, but I can't do that if I don't know anything, please just tell me what's going on."
"We all want to help," Serena spoke up with Clemont and Bonnie nodding in agreement.
"Do you know where it could be?" Clemont asked.
Saul walked over to one of the cabinets in the room to pull out a pen and a piece of paper to write on. He finished his message and motioned for Clio to come over.
"Please fax this message over for me and when you are done, please make us all some tea." He instructed softly, once she was out of the room he motioned for the gang to sit down at the chabudai.
"I noticed my granddaughter acquired new scratches, do you know what happened to her?" He asked as he sat down.
"Yes, the boys from yesterday attacked her with their Pokémon," Clemont answered.
"I would like to thank you all for protecting her, she's young but her past has gifted her with a harsh look on life. She wishes to become stronger due to the bullies she has encountered. As a grandparent, I am trying to teach her that gaining strength out of vengeance is a dark path with very little light." They all gathered around the table as the man continued.
"So Team Flare has finally made their presence known. Why did you jump out of the train? Was it because of my granddaughter?"
"No, Meowth ran off. We didn't see Clio until later and that's when Team Flare showed up." Serena explained.
"I see, why did you follow it? Meowth doesn't belong to any of you and after observing your interactions with each other; you are far from being on friendly terms. What is the real reason you want to help?" Clio returned with the tray of tea as she sat down by her Grandfather.
"Meowth looked confused." Bonnie broke their silence, "When I was trying to get it to join us, it looked lost like it's running off was a last-minute decision."
"I noticed that too," Serena said.
"Yeah, as if it was trying to piece something together," Clemont added. Ash looked down at his tea, looking back at the incident. He didn't notice anything; he was too preoccupied with getting to Snowbelle City. At that point, he had enough of Meowth's attitude and wasn't willing to put up with it anymore. What he did notice was Meowth taking forever to join them and when it was inside the train by the entrance, he was preparing to get up to drag it into the seat next to him.
"You can see more clearly when you let go of your anger." Ash gazed up at Saul; it was as if he was reading his mind. He was ashamed of what he thought, but how can he change it? Meowth will go back to Team Rocket, it always does.
"Ash was the first one to jump out," Serena spoke up.
"I see, why?"
"I know I still have my own resentments towards it but I truly want to help. I can't just ignore it."
"Recognizing that you have those feelings is not a bad thing Ash." Saul stated, "You know they are there, now what do you want to do about it?"
"I don't want to feel that way anymore, but how can I fix it when I know a positive outcome will most likely never happen? Every time I try to get close it shuts me out and always says something that makes me really mad."
"I think Meowth does that on purpose." Bonnie thought out loud, causing everyone to look at her. "Well think about it, Meowth knows exactly which buttons to push to get you mad."
"Ha, Ha," Saul chuckled, "You know you really do remind me of myself when I was your age. Don't worry Ash, it will all make sense to you one day."
He took a sip of his tea before he continued, "You have a very warm heart, all of you do and I'm positive that Meowth sees that too. However, like you it is also confused, it has questions of its own that it's desperate to find the answers to. Meowth is familiar with the culture that organizations like Team Rocket provide their Pokémon. Now, it is lost and it doesn't know where its shield of protection that it has grown accustomed to is located, or how long it can survive without them. That's where the trouble of Team Flare showing up comes into play. Meowth is a wild Pokémon that's willing to work for Team Rocket without the use of any means of force and now it has been separated. It's just a wild Pokémon that is free for the taking by any trainer who finds it. Which is an opportunity that an organization like Team Flare wouldn't want to pass up."
"Now that you mention it, one of them did say that Meowth was too valuable for just anyone," Clemont stated.
"Did he now?" Saul took another sip of his tea, "What do you intend to do once you find it again?"
Ash sunk back into his mind, he has been asking himself the same thing. Meowth's desire is to go back to Team Rocket an evil organization that steals Pokémon. It's going to go back and try to steal Pikachu and everything that they've been through will be for nothing. Saul just deemed Meowth catchable, it was always catchable but just hearing it being said from someone else awakened a new fire within him. His desire to catch and train Pokémon so he could become the world's greatest Pokémon Master was reawakened at the very thought. But would that be the right thing to do?
"I said it before," Serena started as she observed Ash closely.
"I think we have been approaching Meowth the wrong way, myself included. I did send Pancham out with a hidden agenda of making it feel apart of the team. While my intentions may have been good, to Meowth it was an insult. I think I'm starting to understand what it meant about how the breadcrumb isn't free. It doesn't have to be food, it could be anything. We all had high expectations of getting it to quit Team Rocket and to either join us or someone else with better intentions. Team Rocket is awful, there's no doubting that, but when we do find Meowth, what are we going to do?" She spoke softly as she squeezed her teacup with tears forming in her eyes.
The idea of just accepting a Pokémon going back to criminals was disturbing to her, but what else can they do? Meowth constantly expresses its feelings of wanting to go back, should they ignore it and catch it anyway? Wouldn't that make them just as bad as Team Rocket? The group of friends all stared at each other. They were all thinking the same thing, what are they going to do?
"Why can't one of you just catch it?" Bonnie broke their silence as she watched her brother and the other two mentally battle with themselves over the situation. It didn't make any sense to her, they just had to catch it then it would be over.
"Meowth may hate it at first, but it will be thankful in the end." Ash held Pikachu tightly who was sitting in his lap; it looked up to see that Ash was heavily contemplating on the very idea.
"Pika Pi," it spoke softly but Ash didn't hear it. He could catch it, so why not?
"Everyone," Saul snapped them out of their daze, "You can't just solve all your problems just by sitting here. If you really want to help, rest here for the night and leave tomorrow." Just then Ash remembered the cookies from Clio that were still in his backpack. It was next to him as he grabbed it and pulled them out.
"I still have these. I think it really likes sweets." He started to smile.
"Really?" Serena asked cheerfully as she started to snap out of her sorrowful daze along with everyone else.
"But why do you have them?" Clio asked slightly shocked. This Xenos still had her cookies and he was smiling about it. Looking back, Ash realized that his friends Clemont and Bonnie were correct. It was good at deceiving people and it knew exactly what to say to set him off.
"We got into a fight that shouldn't have escalated the way it did."
"I'm going to make some cookies!" Serena bounces up from the table, "Saul, do you think I could borrow your kitchen?"
"Of course you can, use whatever you like. Everything is on the house consider it my payment for today." He said as he patted his granddaughter on the head with a wink. Serena smiled with delight and headed off to the kitchen.
"I want to help." Bonnie beamed, "Clio you can help too if you want."
"Uh...ok." She said shyly to the offer as she too followed Serena to the kitchen.
As the girls disappeared Ash continued to stare at the bag of cookies as he remembered what Meowth said earlier that night when he thought that was his chance to make a real connection before they ended up fighting.
"Everything happens for a reason, it's been something that I could never understand...I want to understand it...I want to believe that it's true!" Meowth's voice echoed inside his head as he stared at the bag of cookies. "Was that the real you?"
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They didn't waste any time, as they got up at daybreak to find the missing feline. Saul and Clio packed them some breakfast items to eat on the way.
"Thank you for yesterday," Clio mumbled with a slight blush as she handed them their packed food items. They all accepted her gratitude as Bonnie walked up to her to shake her hand.
"We're your friends, we'll always help you." She said with a smile. Clio studied her for a moment before reaching out for her hand to shake.
"Yeah!" She agreed with enthusiasm.
"According to what you heard, I suggest following the path that is on the other side of the river in Lavselle Valley. The mountains are very dangerous if you don't know your way, so stick together and you will pull through. With that said if you do find Meowth, try to listen and it will do the same for you. With an open mind, you will find your answer." Saul pulled out a little packet and handed it to Ash.
"This is for Meowth."
"What is it?" He asked.
"It contains herbs to help with its lost appetite."
"Really? Thank you!" Ash exclaimed.
"Now hurry and good luck."
"Bye, everyone!" Clio yelled as they ran off to find Meowth.
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Walking through the night and into daybreak, Meowth continued to follow the river as the vegetation became less dense as it walked into a clearing. The dirt path turned into pebbles as the river bank lowered to the water's level. The river, if one wants to call it that was a very low tide creek. The water kept on flowing as the scenery slowly changed from dense forest to rocky terrain. The river rocks bordered the river as the flora started to distance itself. It was the perfect spot to take a break for a drink of water.
Resuming its journey, an adjacent river appeared connecting to the one Meowth was following.
"Follow the flow? Well, the river I'm following is leading me away from Cularo Town. Do I keep following that one?" Observing the water closely Meowth noticed that this connecting river was flowing into the river it was following, taking that as an indication not to go that way. It came across another connecting river further up, but this one was going in the same direction as the river it was following.
"Now what?" This new river was heading northwest and it seemed to go deep into the woods, this part of the woods wasn't dense at all. The trees were thin, tall pines and the dirt seemed to be rough and rocky with a few unique looking flowers and dry shrubs. The river created a narrow ravine as it was bordered by small hills so he would have to hike it through if he wanted to stay near the river's side. The river's flow seemed to move a little faster than the one he was following and it had more life in that direction compared to the one he was currently following. Meowth looked at the river it was currently following and this one was leading out towards a more mountainous terrain verses the forest of the large Lavselle Valley. Meowth thought that maybe following the river it started out with was the best option.
"I took this medallion from the statue that represented the North Star, so maybe going north all the way is what I should do."
Its surroundings soon changed from trees to rock walls as it entered into an unknown canyon. This canyon was much like Alemaca Valley, it had a few caves but the vegetation was much less as the area was rockier with only a few pine trees scattered about.
"This area certainly makes me feel smaller." He whispered. "And being out in the open like this is kind of unsettling." Meowth stopped in its tracks, "I'm...so tired!" It whined falling face-first to the ground, turning around to lay on its back. Looking up at the sky repeating the message in its head.
"Follow the flow, where am I going anyway? Will it take me to Anbero City?" Meowth started to listen to the calming sound of the river as some of the water splashed gently against some of the boulders that were above water level.
"What am I doing?" Meowth got up quickly. "I can't sleep out in the open like this!"
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It wasn't long for Meowth to start feeling like he was going the wrong way as he was walking through the bare gorge with no signs of life and the river he was following was becoming drier the further he went.
"Maybe I should head back." Suddenly the ground started to shake as he looked up to see two stampeding Bouffalant coming from behind him.
"GAH!" Meowth quickly got out of the way.
"Uh...Excuse me Bouffalant." Meowth started to ask nervously. They both stopped and looked at him with intimidating glares.
"Does the water start to pick up if I continue that way?" He pointed in the direction that they were heading for. They looked to the river and then back at him.
"Bouffalant, Bou, Bouf?" (No, why do you ask?) One questioned.
"Well, I was following a clue that I found on the back of this." He showed them the compass rose. One leaned in to sniff it.
"Bouffalant, Bouf, Bouffalant?" (Are you a Pokéteer?)
Meowth hesitated as he looked to his side. "Uh...yeah...sure. How did you know?" Meowth asked.
"Bouf, Bouffal, Bouffalant, Ant, Bouffalant." (We are Oyateers, we work for Team Oyama and we protect these mountains along with other Oyateers.) It answered.
"Oh, I see. I'm a Rocketeer, I work for Team Rocket and I got separated from my Rusui."
"Bouffalant, Bouf, Bou, Bouffalant, Bouffalant." (We're sorry to hear that if you like you can join us for a safe place to rest.)
"That sounds like a great idea, thank you," Meowth replied, as it was an answer to his prayers. "Finally, I can sleep!"
"Bouffalant, Bouf, Bou, Bou, lant." (Very well, my brother will guide you as I run back to our post.) The Bouffalant nodded to each other and the one ran off ahead as the other stood by to walk at Meowth's pace.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Walking together they spotted a young man that seemed to be in his mid-20s. He was sitting on a giant boulder by the weak water supply moping as he looked at his map.
"Bouffalant, Bouf, Bou." (We should keep moving.) Bouffalant nudged Meowth forward trying to get him to move.
"But he has a map," Meowth whispered and to Bouffalant's disapproval, he walked towards the human.
"Maybe I can get a closer look at it." Meowth got closer trying to take a peek over the human's shoulders without being spotted.
"My dreams are ruined!" He cried as he started to pull out his shaggy brown hair, startling Meowth. The man turned around revealing his emerald eyes that were covered by rectangular glasses, he saw Meowth and started to cry as he used a big white handkerchief.
"What am I going to do now? Do you have any ideas, little guy?"
"Nya, Nya." Meowth pretended to be a normal Pokémon as it tilted its head acting as if it didn't understand.
"Geez, what an idiot! He's almost worse than James." Meowth thought as it started to walk around him to get to the discarded map. Meowth was just about to pick it up but the man got to it first. The man looked it over again then he upsettingly crumbled it up and ripped it apart.
"NOOO! You idiot, how could you do that!?" Meowth screamed.
"Oh, I have others. I have to be able to let out my frustration constructively." He said professionally. He then did a double-take towards Meowth.
"YOU TALKED?!" He exclaimed. Meowth froze realizing its mistake.
"No, I didn't," Meowth answered nervously, repeating the same mistake. Bouffalant started to walk up threateningly as it growled at the man.
"That is amazing! Oh, you don't know how long I've been out here. I've been all alone trying to search for the real Statue of Rina. I've found a small replica of it on one of my earlier expeditions, proving my theory that there is a larger one somewhere here in the mountains. I was following a lead but the Bouffalant chased me out. Do you think you could help and tell them that I mean no harm."
"All alone? Wait don't you have any Pokémon with you?" He shook his head 'no.'
"What kind of idiot travels through the mountains without any Pokémon?" The man cried like a blubbering idiot as he wiped his tears with his big white handkerchief.
"Now you just sound like my boss!"
"Ugh...Alright, I'll help you so stop your crying. You're giving me a headache."
"Really! Hooray! That's great, let's go before the sun starts to set!" He said in a chipper voice as he picked up his giant backpack and skipped along the path.
"He's a lot like James!"
"Bouffalant, Bouffalant, Lant." (We don't allow Xenos to pass at certain points.) It said defiantly.
"Even if the guy is an idiot without any Pokémon of his own?" Meowth whispered as the guy was ahead skipping along. The Bouffalant observed the prancing human.
"Bouffalant, Ant, Bouf." (You will have to ask my brother.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The sun was starting to set and Meowth was growing even more tired as they walked. "I was so excited that you agreed I forgot to introduce myself. My name is Dr. Pan, I'm an archeologist which means I'm..."
"I know what that means!" Meowth snapped.
"Oh, what's your name? Do Pokémon have names like humans?"
"No, names are a human concept, just call me Meowth." He answered casually. It wasn't long till he heard the other Bouffalant come charging towards Dr. Pan who started to cower in fear.
"Wait, calm down!" Meowth shouted. It saw its partner and Meowth and slowed down its pace.
"He just wants to follow a hunch. Are there any statues out there?" The Bouffalant, walked up menacingly as it glared at the human.
"Bouffalant, Bouffalant, Bou?" (What are you doing with a Xenos?) It demanded.
"He just wants to see some statue," Meowth stated.
"Bouffalant, Bouffalant, Lant, Bou."
"It says that there are no statues here." Meowth turned his attention to Dr. Pan who was shaking like a leaf behind the other Bouffalant who was clearly annoyed.
"Is there any drawings or markings of any kind?" He asked.
"Bouffalant, Bouff, Bou, Bouffalant, Ant."
"He said there may be something like that but he won't let you pass."
"Please tell them I really mean them no harm, pleeeease, it's my life's dream." He begged on his knees. Meowth rolled its eyes at such a notion.
"Look this guy is an idiot," Meowth explained.
"Hey!" Pan whined.
"He doesn't even have any Pokémon if he does do something wrong I will take full responsibility." Meowth placed its right paw over its heart reaching out with its left. The two Bouffalant looked at each other and nodded, both did the same by lifting their front right hooves to their heart and tilting their heads forward to touch Meowth's paw. Meowth turns to Dr. Pan and signals to him that he may enter.
It was getting too dark to see anything so the Bouffalant agreed to allow Dr. Pan to stay there for the night as well. He prepared himself some dinner and offered some to Meowth.
"I'm not hungry." It said calmly. Dr. Pan than offered some to the Bouffalant and both refused. Meowth found a big boulder to curl up on as it was beyond exhausted. The Bouffalant that guided Meowth assigned itself to stand near it as it dosed off into a deep sleep.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meowth was running through the forest as it was on fire. Running fast, not watching its step as it tumbled down the hill. After getting back onto his feet, he found a new path and it was going up the side of the mountains and it seemed like it was going in the right direction. Walking up the rough narrow path as the ground became further away, the path got wider as it got higher. It soon came across a bridge that looked sort of safe. Below it was nothing but sharp rocks and Meowth saw nothing but the surrounding walls of multiple mountain peaks. The path on the other side seemed to head down. Something else caught its attention; it smelled smoke.
"The fire!?" Meowth thought as it decided to walk across. The rickety sound of the swaying bridge was troubling as Meowth held tightly to the rope that held it together as he walked across the planks of wood, some of which were rotted. The smoke got thicker as an orange hue started to glow. It was coming from behind him, Meowth turned around to see it was the fire from before and it was headed for the bridge as if it had a mind of its own. It started to take an odd shape as dark auras glowed around it forming into something indescribable. Meowth ran for the other side, but slipped through one of the planks that broke, causing him to almost fall off. Meowth quickly got up and continued to run but the fire's new shape threw what looked like to be razor leaves to cut through the ropes causing the bridge to swing fast to the other side and slammed Meowth hard into the wall.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meowth gasped as he woke up violently. "It was all a dream? It felt so real." He rubbed his shoulder as his body continued to shake.
"Bouffalant?"
"I'm okay," Meowth answered the Bouffalant that stood near him. Meowth jumped off of the boulder to get away from the Pokémon and the sleeping human so it could have a moment to itself.
"Why do I keep having these dreams?" It thought to itself, "I don't know how much more I can take. I want to be able to sleep! Hypnosis? Is it the reason too?" Meowth felt the tears strolling down its cheeks.
"I don't have a normal appetite and I can't sleep at all. What is wrong with me? Are these dreams even my own?" Meowth stopped walking as its tears fell. Meowth pulled out the compass rose and held it close. Meowth collapsed to his knees as he held the star close crying for the rest of the night.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Ah...nothing like a good rest!" Pan spoke gleefully.
"Huh, where's that little Meowth?" He noticed Meowth was not on the boulder it fell asleep on last night.
"I'm right here," Meowth said in a melancholy tone. "And don't call me little!" He snapped tiredly.
"Great! You're still here! Time to discover our history!" He cheered. After Pan ate some breakfast, they walked around the rocky terrain as mountain peaks surrounded them. One of the Bouffalant led them to a pillar. The pillar was made out of limestone with writings on it.
"Ah...its a memorial!" He said excitedly as he took out a notepad to write down all his notes. He got closer to touch it and dusted off some samples to study later.
"These symbols, they look like stars."
"What?" Meowth questioned curiously as he got closer to look at it as well. All of them were nine-pointed stars, but all were uniquely different. Meowth looked around the pillar and saw the star that was meant to represent the North Star and it was depicted as the compass rose. Meowth took out its medallion to compare the two.
"This is amazing it's a memorial to the stars...hey, what's that?" Pan noticed the medallion.
"It's nothing." Meowth tried to hide it.
"Oh pleeease let me see it." He begged playfully.
"There's nothing to see."
"Oh, pretty please let me see it."
"Are you almost done here I would like to get going," Meowth spoke nonchalantly as it tried to change the subject.
"Oh, yeah I guess so. Is there anything else like this around?" He asked.
"Bou."
"No." Meowth translated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Bouffalant led them both to the exit of their territory. One even asked if Meowth needed a guide.
"That's ok, I just have to keep going straight, right?" The Bouffalant nodded.
"Bouffalant, Bouf, Lant, Ant, Bouff?" (Do you know what it means to be Pokéteer?) The one that guided him asked.
"Huh?"
"Bouffalant, Bouf, Lant, Ant, Bouff?" (What does it mean to you?)
"Uh..." Meowth wasn't sure how to answer.
"Bouffalant, Bouf, Lant, Ant, Bouff, Ant, Lant, Bouff, Bouf, Bo, Bo, Bouffalant." (You're still young but think about it while you are on your journey. It will be long and it will be difficult, just remember what you are. Be firm like a mountain in the wind and look to the sun, it will shine its light onto you as the stars will guide you.)
The Bouffalant nodded to each other and headed back to their posts as Meowth and Dr. Pan watched them disappear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
They reached the point where the other river connected. Meowth stopped walking beside Dr. Pan and started to head in that direction.
"Hey, where are you going?" Pan asked.
"I have to follow this river. Our journey together ends here." It said calmly.
"Oh, but there are other areas here in the mountains, I was hoping we could do it together." He stated sadly.
"I honestly don't care. Just continue following that river all the way down to reach Cularo Town. There are trainers there, I'm sure someone there will help you." Meowth said in a monotone voice.
"You've been so helpful. I know, I could go with you. It would be more fun."
"No thank you, I want to do it on my own."
"But why?"
"Because," Meowth looked up at him with sad eyes but were soon filled with determination.
"...It's something that I have to do." Dr. Pan was taken back by the sudden change in the small Pokémon's behavior. Sadden by the thought that they had to go their separate ways, but couldn't hide his love for the unknown that glimmered within his emerald eyes.
"Alright, thank you so much for your help. I really appreciated it." He said kindly and with that, he started to walk off in the direction that Meowth recommended as he waved goodbye. Meowth watched him leave for a moment before taking off on its own journey once again. The hills weren't high to climb, but the ravine created a good distance that made the fall unfavorable. Meowth marched forward the uphill path while keeping the river in its sights. This area of the woods was very open and not as dense. There were tall trees and bushes at the edge of the cliff as the ground it was walking on was covered by fallen leaves, small rocks, and dirt, making it hard to walk through while trying to go unnoticed by the wild Pokémon who lived there. But stealth was in Meowth's nature it was easy for it to walk through without making a sound.
It was the late afternoon, judging by the position of the sun and Meowth was exhausted as it hiked through the wooded hills. "I'm so tired, maybe I should just give up. I don't even know where I'm going. I feel like I'm just lost in the woods with nowhere to go."
"What does it mean to you?" Meowth remembered what the Bouffalant said, "I don't get it."
The rustling of leaves was heard not far from it as it heard the sound of someone coming towards it, and fast.
"Nnnneighhh!" A Rapidash came flying as it leaped over Meowth and started to run in a circle around it before stopping. This Rapidash wasn't alone, it had a rider who was not someone Meowth wanted to see right now.
"Hiiii!" Takashi smiled as he waved.
"Oh no, Team Flare!" Meowth thought in shock.
"Where are your friends?" He asked cheerfully.
"They're uh..." Meowth tried to come up with an answer nervously.
"Oh my, you look lost. No worries your prince has arrived!" He said pompously.
"Oh no, I'm...not lost."
"Are you sure, the forest is a dreadful place for a beautiful Pokémon like yourself to be all alone in." He spoke flamboyantly.
"No, it's okay, we got into a really big fight so I just want to be on my own right now," Meowth said trying hard to sound reassuring. Takashi jumped off of his fire horse and walked up to Meowth with an unreadable smirk as his warm golden eyes gave Meowth the chills.
He bent down to Meowth's level, "I insist come with me and I will take you back to your friends in Cularo Town."
"And I insist that I want to stay here." Meowth felt its temper rising, despite the fact the danger it was in.
"TAKASHI!" Someone shouted. To Meowth's horror, it was another Team Flare member. The man was slender with a very serious aura, compared to Takashi's flashy nature. He wore the usual Team Flare red blazer outfit with solid red hair and shades covering his eyes.
"Stop fooling around." He walked up to the pair and glared at Meowth through his shades.
"Rocket! Where are your teammates?" He demanded in a harsh tone, that frightened Meowth.
"They are in Cularo Town." It answered sheepishly.
"Where in Cularo Town? We were there all day yesterday and saw no sign of them."
"They are probably near the museum."
"Probably? You mean you don't know. Why are you out here alone?"
"I had a fight with them so I wanted to get away for a bit to cool off."
"A fight? That's ridiculous! No matter the reason a Pokéteer should never leave their Rusui sides when in foreign territory. You are coming with us and you are going to lead us to them. That's an order!" He said harshly.
"Tatsuo!" Takashi sneered.
"That's no way to treat our guest!" Tatsuo ignored his partner as he stepped even closer to Meowth who was motionless trying to hide how frightened it actually was.
"Is there a problem? Could you be lying to me?" He questioned menacingly. "Because if you are," He chuckled sinisterly, "...you know what comes next, right?" He grinned.
"Uh...yeah." It whispered so softly it was barely audible.
"I have to get out of here! But how?" Meowth's heart was beating fast as it was trying hard to stay calm.
"You know partner," Takashi started in a dark tone as he grabbed Meowth by the chin to look into its eyes.
"I think it's lying." He pulled out his pink peony to kiss it as he stared deeply into Meowth's eyes. "I would love to add you to my collection of lovely Pokémon." He said flirtatiously.
"That won't happen, you know it would go to the boss." Tatsuo corrected. Meowth was still; keeping a blank stare as it shivered at the ideas they were throwing about like it wasn't even there. Meowth acted fast as it scratched Takashi hard in the face.
"Owww! My face! My beautiful face!" He screamed. Meowth than combined its flash with a double team to encircle the two and the Rapidash and blinded them in all different directions. The light faded and the two saw that Meowth was gone.
"Mightyena!" Tatsuo called out his Pokémon. "Find that Meowth, NOW!"
"Liepard!" Takashi called out in tears. "You help find that little kitten for your daddy too!" The big Pokémon were on the hunt with their trainers following right behind as they rode Rapidash together.
Meowth bit his arm to combat the dizziness as he was running as fast as he could not knowing where he was heading, just that he knew he had to keep following the river. He heard the howls of the two larger Pokémon and the galloping of the other as they all were on his tail.
"I need to get out of here! JESSIE! JAMES! If you are out there, help me! Please! Help Me!" Meowth didn't see where he was going as he tripped over a large root from a tree, causing him to tumble down the hill. Rolling away fast down the hill not able to stop, he collided with something hard on the ground. Leaves and debris fell off the small cliff covering Meowth completely as he blacked out.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All-day yesterday they had no luck. It has almost been an entire day and again Ash and the gang still saw no sign of Meowth even with the help of his Pokémon.
"How much longer?" Bonnie whined.
"I don't know," Clemont answered tiredly. A familiar shaggy brown-haired man was walking towards them with a map blocking his view.
"Dr. Pan?" Clemont questioned. The man in question looked up and beamed.
"My heroes!" He exclaimed, "You are the heroes who saved my statue in Strasboro City! What are you kids doing out here?"
"We are looking for a Meowth," Ash stated.
"A Meowth? Can it talk?"
"Uh...yes, it ran off, have you seen it?"
"Yes, I have!" He shouted gleefully, "So that amazing Pokémon belongs to you, but how did you get separated? Oh no, it must have been looking for you but it's now going the wrong way!"
"What?"
"It said it was following the river and it was going northwest deep into the forest. There's nothing out there, so it made me curious." He said as he showed them his map. "It's just a bunch of small hills and a dense forest that's on the outskirts of the mountain range in that direction."
"Following the river? Noivern, Hawlucha, Talonflame, I choose you!" Ash shouted. "We got a new lead, Meowth is following the river! Ash ordered.
"Why would Meowth follow the river, we were told it splits all the time," Serena questioned.
"Dr. Pan, is there another way, is there a way where we can stop Meowth from going further?" Ash spoke with urgency.
Pan looked at his map, "There might be a path down that way," he pointed behind them, "It would go west and deep into the forest then we can go north. It will get hilly but if we hurry we might catch up to it in time."
"Everyone lets go!" Ash ordered.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(Stay down!)
Meowth was still covered in the leaves that protected him as he was coming to.
(Stay down!)
It heard the voice say. It was dark. The Flares and their Pokémon didn't find him, he couldn't see, hear or smell them as the leaves covered him.
(Stay still! And don't make a sound!)
The soft voice spoke again. Meowth did as it was told as its heart started to beat faster as its nerves got the best of it.
(Be calm! They are not here anymore! You will move once the first ray of the sun appears, get some sleep.)
"Easier said than done." Meowth was tired after using more energy than needed earlier. Meowth calmed down, as it trusted the mysterious voice. Succumbing to the comfort of sleep as it hid in the leaves.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was in a valley that was in the lowest part of the mountains and was bear of any form of plant life as the limestone rocks and dirt made the ground. The surrounding mountain peaks were jagged, blocked its view of anything that could be near with the exception of a small opening between the rock walls revealing the snow-covered mountain tops in the far east.
**Tic-tock, tic-tock, tic-tock, tic-tock**
Multiple compass stars started to surround it, all around the barren valley. "Voices of the stars..."
"Follow me." The light said as it led it to a cave. Meowth became hesitant to follow, knowing full well that the shadow figure may show up any minute. Feeling a warm light behind it, it turned around to be blinded by the sun that was high in the sky.
"The sun gives its light from the heart so we can shine on." Saul's voice echoed.
**Tic-tock, tic-tock, tic-tock, tic-tock**
"Follow me." The light said from deep within the cave.
"...The secret of time?" Meowth questioned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meowth slowly opened his eyes. He got up out of the leaves and saw the first ray of sunlight making its appearance.
"Follow the river?" Meowth listened closely for the sound of the river and started to walk towards it.
**Thud**
A large sound hit the ground, Meowth was scared to see who it was as it turned to face a large Noivern staring at it. It took a few seconds for him to catch the scent of human and recognize that it was the twerp's Noivern.
"Oh, no what are you doing here?" Meowth whined. Noivern got closer and sniffed his face, Noivern expanded its wings out and it looked like it was ready to send out a boom burst as a signal to the others.
"STOP!" Meowth shouted, stopping Noivern, "Please pretend you didn't see me. You don't want me around anyway." It begged plea fully.
Noivern observed Meowth before returning to what it originally wanted to do. It flew up and grabbed a peach that was in a tree nearby. It came back down and handed it over.
"Noivern, No, Vern, Noi, No, No, Noivern?" (I found you last night; Ash was still asleep so I stayed.)
Meowth was surprised by the gesture as he looked at the peach before him; Meowth was deep in thought as the sun was rising further up into the sky. Noivern leaned in closer, snapping Meowth out of his daze.
"Noivern, No, Vern." (You can eat it; it's a good piece of fruit.) Noivern started to listen for the sounds of Ash and his friends waking up who were very far away.
"Noivern, Noivern, No, No, Vern." (They are far away but we should start heading back to Ash.)
"I'm not going back!" Meowth declared softly.
"Talonflame!"
"Hawlucha!" The two bird Pokémon flew in fast surrounding Meowth.
"Hawlucha, Haw, Haw, Lucha, Ha, Hawlucha!" (I had enough of your childish behavior! We had to postpone going to the gym again because of you!) Hawlucha shouted with anger as it grabbed Meowth by his arm with a clawed hand.
"Talonflame, Flame, Talon." (I'm going to go get Ash and the others.) It said as it prepared to take off.
"No, wait! Please don't!" Meowth whined, "Please...just let me go." Meowth mumbled, "Please...you don't even want me around, you don't have to follow through with what the twerp tells you. Just pretend you didn't find me. Please...I have to go." Meowth wasn't willing to look at them as tears threatened to fall.
"Talon?" (Have too?)
Hawlucha tightened its grip, not willing to let go. "Please...I won't be there to get in the way of your gym battle if you let me go. Please...let's go our separate ways so we can return to what we used to be."
Hawlucha tightened his grip to those last words even harder as he stared at the trembling feline. Meowth had its back towards him but he knew why as he smelled its tears. "I have to follow the river. I have to...please...let me go!"
"Haw?" ("Have too?") It thought to itself, but why? Hawlucha loosened its grip slowly letting go of the sad Pokémon, surprising everyone.
"Ha!" (Go!) It demanded. Meowth didn't hesitate as he took off.
"Talon, Flame, Talon?" (Why did you do that?) Talonflame asked. Hawlucha didn't answer as it refused to watch the scratch cat disappear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The kids and Dr. Pan were starting to wake up, ready to start again as the sun began to rise. The Pokémon came back with no signs of the missing scratch cat Pokémon the night before. The three Pokeémon seemed to have disappeared when they were packing their tents away. They pulled out what they had left from Saul and Clio for breakfast, hoping that today will be the day.
"Here you go, Ash." Serena handed him a croissant.
"Thank you, Serena." He said kindly as she blushed in return.
"Dr. Pan," he started as he stared at his breakfast. "You were with Meowth the other night in the area with the Bouffalant and for the rest of that day up until yesterday afternoon. Did it eat anything when it was with you?"
"Now that you mention it, it didn't. It said it wasn't hungry." He said calmly as he happily accepted the food that was offered.
"Meowth didn't really eat anything at breakfast when we were all with Saul. How far can Meowth go if it continues on like this?" Clemont questioned worryingly.
"I don't know." Ash stated as he squeezed his croissant, "We can't stop here, we have to keep going. Dr. Pan, how far are we from reaching the point to start heading north."
"Talonflame!" "Noivern!" "Hawlucha!" Ash's Pokémon flew back and landed in front of them.
"Did you guys find Meowth?" They looked at each other and were silent. Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and ran up to talk to them. The Pokémon had their own conversation as they nodded, pointed and did other things, but none of it made any sense to the humans as they watched the Pokémon converse. Pikachu ran back up to Ash and started to talk to him by making impressions of Meowth.
"What are you saying Pikachu?" Ash confusingly asked.
"This is where Meowth would come in handy." Bonnie said.
"They found Meowth?" Pikachu nodded, Ash got excited as did everyone else.
"So where is it? Why didn't Hawlucha or any of you just bring it back here?" He asked, slightly disappointed and confused. Pikachu and the other Pokémon started to look sad.
"Does Meowth not want to be found?" Serena asked. The Pokémon nodded sadly.
"Doesn't want to be found? But I..." Noivern flapped its wings to get Ash's attention as it started to make the notion to hop on. Ash's spirits were lifted as he smiled while Hawlucha and Talonflame flew on ahead.
"Think you can handle all of us?" Ash asked.
"Noivern!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meowth reached the side of the river again; due to the tumble, it brought him closer to the water's edge so he wasn't as high up this part of the way. Remembering the Flares, Meowth decided to play it safe as he walked where the trees and bushes would serve as camouflage. The terrain started to feel that it was moving downwards as his surroundings were getting higher. He was still able to travel by the bank of the water as a new ravine started to take shape. It was dark with the sunlight reflecting off of the black water. The roots of the trees from above dangled as he walked within the shadows the ravine walls provided.
"Hooowwwlll!" Meowth heard a loud howl coming from a Mightyena causing Meowth to flinch. Where was it coming from? It was coming from directly above him, as it heard footsteps.
Meowth looked around and up ahead there was a small opening in the wall that was blocked by a big black boulder. Meowth didn't hesitate as he quickly dashed over and curled up inside hoping they will pass. It felt like a few hours have passed and Meowth was shaking with fear hoping they had left, but to his dismay, he heard something jump onto the ground walking towards him.
***Thump-thump***
His heart started to beat fast as he heard the sound of the gravel move.
(It's alright they're gone now.)
He heard a soft voice; Meowth slowly got up and walked away from the safety of the cave. To Meowth's surprise, it was a Baltoy. It floated closer with the use of its telekinesis.
(I was sent to help you; I am a Pokéteer like you.) It said softly in a childlike voice by using telepathy.
"Who sent you?" He asked.
(A friend, you two actually already met. I am here to help protect you from the Flares.)
"Oh, do you happen to know if the flow of the river will lead me to Anbero City?"
(That all depends on you, you must trust the path you are taking. I am only here to protect, not to be your guide.)
"Oh," Meowth said sadly as it looked at the compass rose it acquired a couple of days ago. Baltoy then presented it with a sitrus berry.
(Eat this it will give you the energy that you lack.) Meowth looked at it questionably, it was feeling the effects of not eating for a few days and it knew that this berry would help for the time being. Without arguing Meowth said thank you and ate the berry quickly.
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The two Pokémon walked together in silence, the river they followed became wider as the terrain started to go lower. The shelter of the ravine soon ended as the wall erosions disappeared, creating open space. The forest was denser here, but it didn't feel safe enough knowing the danger that was out there. The dark green trees swayed with the wind as the sun shined onto the dark water as they walked on the soft dirt path. On the other side of the river, the forest was just as thick with rock walls from the mountains starting to get higher as the hills on their side made the bank narrower to walk on. They came to a ledge due to a waterfall and it was a pretty big drop for a small Pokémon.
"Now what?" Meowth asked, suddenly Meowth started to float off the ground.
"Huh? Hey!" It was Baltoy using telekinesis taking both of them down to the ground. Once they reached the ground safely, Baltoy released its hold on Meowth.
"Thanks." The terrain stayed the same with the dark mossy green forest becoming thicker as the mountain's side on the other side of the river started to get lower indicating that there may be another gorge where the river might split off again. The denseness of the forest served as a great protector, only realizing this now as they entered a small grassy field that took them out into the open. The river once again splits off, the new river was wide as it headed through a very wide ravine, as the density of the forest seemed to continue down that path with rocky mountaintops that could be seen in the distance as they looked down the river. It was going to lead them deeper into the mountains, so obviously the protection of the forest was not going to last long going that way. The one they were following would continue by going west keeping them in this part of the forest and it seemed like the safer option.
"Another block?" Meowth whined, "Which way should I choose? The flow of the water is the same for both."
(That is all up to you. Just trust the path you are taking.)
"But I don't even know where it's going to take me." Meowth collapsed as its body gave out due to everything.
"Where am I going? Do you even know?" Meowth started to cry, "I can't take this anymore! Where are Jessie and James? Where is Team Rocket? I can't do this by myself?" Meowth whined hysterically as tears fell.
"I'm lost! I don't know where I am or why I'm even here!"
(Stop your crying and focus! You can do this, you are a Pokéteer. Everything in life happens for a reason, so stop fighting it and listen!)
"But I don't understand! Who am I supposed to listen too?" It continued to cry.
(The sun, the stars, the moon, and your heart. Listen to what they are telling you. They are guiding you; do you honestly think your dreams and what happens, in reality, are all coincidences? Open your eyes and see beyond what's in front of you. You are Pokéteer for Team Rocket so quit acting like someone's pet!) Baltoy monotonously scolded, causing Meowth to stop its whimpering.
(What does it mean to be a Pokéteer? What does it mean to you?) Meowth took out the medallion and held it tightly with both paws.
Follow the flow and stay close. But beware; the flow of energy can be blocked causing it to scatter. The mountains will be high and the path will take you low, keep the scared mountains close to your family as you listen to the voices of the stars reveal to you the secret of time.
Meowth mumbled as it recited the words, over and over again.
"MEOWTH!" Familiar voices shouted as it saw the shadows of two familiar flying Pokémon hovering around them.
(What are you Rocket? Can you truly call yourself a Pokéteer or are you someone's pet?) Meowth quickly wiped away any essence of its tears as the new arrivals closed in on them. Meowth hid the medallion once more as it kept its head down as the sounds of giant Pokémon landed on the ground followed by the footsteps of humans. Meowth tensed up, it didn't want to deal with them but here they were.
"Now what?"
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Author notes:
The Bouffalant terrority is based of the Col d'Izoard, it is a mountain pass in the Alps