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Hello, BMGF!
Having been here a reasonable time, now, I thought it was time to upload a fic. I'd thought of the general idea a long time ago, but only now actually bothered writing it out.
Summary
While taking his vacation, TR's Meowth finds himself witnessing a beautiful Skitty's kidnapping at the claws of a Salamence. What's a romantci to do but mount a rescue attempt, like in the fairy tales? Of course, said stories usually gloss over the less succesful rescuees.
***
Ah, vacation time.
That special time of the year was finally here, and a certain...shall we say "non-legally employed" Meowth intended to enjoy it this time.
Some of his older vacations had...not gone well. But this year, he vowed, would be perfect. He'd found a lovely vacation spot. The sun was bright, yet a gentle wind kept the heat manageable, especially with the many trees darting around the area, and an open beach just beyond the woods. It was a lovely, gigantic park reserve, closed off from the outside with high, metal fences on all sides, which had an unfortunate tendency to ruin the effect when in sight. Some questioned why this and other pokemon vacation reserves existed, since none seemed to charge. But Arceus works in mysterious ways, and some involve very generous and anonymous donations.
"It's been a rough last few months, but now I can finally relax!" he exclaimed. He looked pretty good, he thought. Sure, his right eye twitched a little and his fur was a burnt, ruffled up mess, but he's been worse. "Nothing can go wrong, right?" he asked, perhaps half hopefully. Most of the others gave one another questioning glances.
"Wobbufett," his companion replied.
"You always say dat," Meowth replied with annoyance. It was hard to stay optimistic when he was fairly sure he'd repeated the exact sentence "Nothing can go wrong, right?" at least four hundred times during the last few years. Maybe five hundred.
Very possibly six hundred. They attacked the twerp a lot, he realized.
But he was managing it. After all, he had three whole days away from the parade of failure that was his career in Team Rocket, and he fully intended to enjoy it. He wondered, sometimes, what his partners did during these times when they released all of their Pokemon, told them to go off with Meowth, and told them not to return until vacation time was over.
"Why don't you set things up at a nice spot by da beach while I go get a drink?" he asked Wobbufett. The blue Pokemon saluted (maybe...it did that particular hand gesture quite often, really, and Meowth was guessing at what it meant) and scurried off, the others following. Meowth, as a rule, didn't like water, true, but only when he was fully submerged in it-as long as he had his trusty Lapras life preserver (which Jessie had implied made him look ridiculous), he could enjoy the drifting. He didn't mind the warm, relaxing sun, either.
Arceus, it has been said, works in mysterious ways. This time, He decided to work by placing a convenient sushi bar nearby in the park. The bar had only three small "chairs" in the form of slightly smooth rocks set up in front of the hastily and shoddily constructed wooden stand--a rather large cabinet lay behind it, as well as a cabinet full of glasses.
It was mostly empty this early, with only a lonely Golem, (who was crying into its drink and muttering about how Rhydon was stronger already, and the newly discovered Rhyperior species was just being cruel) and a somewhat ominously Poison-typed bartender in the form of a Drapion. It smiled and nodded politely as Meowth walked up and sat down, ensuring there was a empty seat between Golem and him.
"(What's your poison?)" the scorpion asked politely.
Meowth's head began a rapid rush downward at this pun, crashing with a loud bang.
"(Sorry, I keep forgetting I'm a poison type, and...well...)" Drapion trailed off awkwardly as Meowth picked himself up from where his head had impacted with the ground. It was worth noting one of the mysterious ways Arceus works is providing translated subtitles on only some occasions.
"You have any Iapapa juice?" the cat asked. The scorpion held up a pincer in a poor but admirably attempted imitation of a "one" and began rooting through the cabinet. A moment later it emerged with a small handful of Iapapa berries and a blender.
"(Ready in a minute, sweetie,)" it said in a friendly manner, winking. And that's when Meowth realized it was a lady Drapion. As he looked up at its gigantic, terrifying and decidedly masculine frame, he felt a chill run up his spine. He knew they had to exist, but never really wanted to think about it.
He received the glass, now with some sort of yellow-brown mixture in it, a second later, and took a sip.
Arceus works in mysterious ways. One of these ways is that Pokemon have no concept of money yet some still have businesses. Meowth was special in this way in that he not only understood money, but was greedy for it. For now he could enjoy the fact that he wasn't going to have to pay a cent. He recalled a Slowpoke-run sushi bar from so many years back, when it was theoretically still possible for Pikachu to be have been worth the time and effort put into catching him. Ah, the good old days, he thought, twitching just a little.
Leaning back, he stared off into the sky. He made a silent vow that he was going to enjoy this vacation, no matter what happened. He'd had a decent record; several recent ones had not failed painfully, even with the twerp team present.
Everything was planned perfectly--he had thought of everything--every day he had planned carefully, if repetitively. He had already decided to hit the beach first for a few hours, followed by a nice picnic on a small hill in the nice, soft breeze, and then maybe...
("Uhm, excuse me? You've been staring off into space for three minutes without touching your drink,") Drapion commented uncomfortably, yet in a very polite manner.
Meowth paused, finished his drink in a long sip, and left, giving the Drapion a polite smile and nod. It winked back, and he shuddered as soon as he was confident he was out of eyesight.
"Choke, ma, machoke,"
"Wobbufett!"
Wobbufett, meanwhile, had arrived at the thoroughly packed beach and set up an umbrella for himself, and was now engaging in a deep and philosophical debate with a Machoke. The others were lying down, paying no heed to the conversation. Were Meowth present, he would be highly enlightened about the nature of the world; with this new understanding he would convince both Jessie and James to leave their lives of crime behind and join him for a higher purpose, but by the time he arrived and was in earshot, the talk had wound down to a less cerebral discussion.
("No, I still think Lum berries are better. They have such a smooth flavor,") Wobbufett argued. Machoke huffed.
("If you are a soft little weak Pokemon, that is good. But big, strong ones use Miracle berries. They're tough, and you are what you eat!") he retorted. Meowth rolled his eyes. Was he the only Pokemon in Team Rocket that wasn't brain dead? He also noted a disappointing lack of things being set up. Didn't he tell the big blue Pokemon to get things ready before he arrived? "Hey, Wobbufett, tell me, is it just me or do I always get stuck wit da work around here?"
"Wobbufett!"
"Just set up tha' volleyball net!" Meowth snapped, lying down and putting on some black sunglasses. Machoke, realizing there was no more intelligent discussion, left to flirt with a pretty Milotic curled up nearby.
Meowth observed his team mates; Carnvine and Cacnea were asleep, the grass-types appreciating the sun, and Mime Jr was pestering Seviper to tell it all about it's trainer's journey through Hoenn, while Seviper was doing his best to ignore it. The serpent was trying to enjoy a nice, slow tan, as opposed to a swift, Thunderbolt related one. Dustox had taken to flying about with no readily apparent purpose. Maybe it was exercising.
With a pleasant sigh, Meowth leaned back and looked out over at the ocean.
And immediately bolted up, eyes widened. Over, lying idly by the water, was the most beautiful Skitty he'd ever laid eyes upon, including the other two he'd crushed on. He stared with metaphorical hearts in his eyes, his heart beating rapidly. He didn't even notice Mime Jr mimicking him.
"Ah, what a beauty," he purred.
"Wobbufett!"
Meowth pondered this. Obviously, an exquisite beauty like this couldn't simply be approached. He silently cursed himself for not bringing his guitar.
"Hrmm, maybe some berries?" he thought, rising and pacing around, scratching his chin and following closely behind by Mime Jr.
However, nearby, the sounds of the happy, partying Pokemon were carried some distance away to a slightly crumbling, fortified tower. Inside, a great and powerful Pokemon slept. Or rather, he was trying to, but the neighbours were being so incredibly thoughtless, again, and sometimes it made him so very angry and he just wanted to destroy and crush.
Salamence arose slowly, snorted out a jet of Flamethrower, and took off.
There are many things that can go wrong at a beach party, Meowth observed.
A sudden tidal wave could come in. Sharpedo could show up, preventing any swimming.
It could rain and storm. You could forget to bring any food.
But seriously, how could anyone predict an angry Salamence showing up and breathing flamethrowers all over the place? Even in the chaotic junction of misfortune that was his life, who?
"(Run for your lives!)" an unfortunate Furret shouted before being toasted. One brave but foolish Octillery had tried using Ice Beam, but Salamence dodged mid-air with a barrel roll and swept in, knocking it several meters and unconscious with a fly-by Dragon Claw.
Meowth, seeing such pointless destruction and carnage, said what came next naturally.
"I bet da boss would love somethin' like dat!" he said. "Aah, imagine if you would, da boss..."
"Nii!"
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your specific viewpoint) Meowth's thought was interrupted as Salamence bared down on the Skitty and swept her up into his claws.
"Aaah! Skitty!" Meowth shouted, and was promptly hit by a flamethrower, which caused him to collapse. The dragon fired several more Flamethrowers for good measure, before laughing and flying off, carrying Skitty away as he vanished over the horizon.
Wobbufett shuffled over to the downed scratch cat, who was pulling himself up. Arceus works in mysterious ways, and Meowth realized that these third degree burns also had opportunity.
"Let's go rescue her!" he declared. After all, nothin's a better first impression than a rescue! he thought.
The other assembled Rocket Pokemon hesitated. Meowth glared at them. "C'mon, are ya all a bunch of cowards?!" he demanded.
"Wobbufett!"
Meowth's head made a sudden impact with the ground. With an annoyed mutter, he stood again. "Listen, I know we ain't usually about doin' good stuff for no reason, and we ain't startin now! Do you guys have any idea? If we rescue dat beautiful Skitty, we'll be famous! Think! Book deals, merchandise, we'll be loaded before long! Maybe even our own cartoon or video game!"
"Wobbufett!"
"Mime, Mime!"
Meowth smirked, arms crossed. "Well, if you twose are da only ones wit da guts to come, I guess we'll have to only split da fame and fortune three ways," he said, marching off triumphantly. Once he was sure he was both out of eyesight, and that Seviper and the others weren't following, he sighed in defeat. He wasn't sure if Mime Jr and Wobbufett were the only brave ones, or simply the stupid ones.
"I have a bad feelin' about dis," he muttered.
***
Noon had arrived, and Meowth's expedition, which had started unenthusiastic at best, was losing morale even more rapidly as the sun beat down on them. He had a destination, at least. Meowth had the sense to ask around.
Salamence was well--known in the area as an all around vagabond, troublemaker, destructive maniac and pretty lousy party guest. He lived in an old abandoned human-built tower from the days centuries ago when things like stone and mason walls were remotely effective at keeping out invaders.
Still, this information did little to relieve his tiredness. With a groan, Meowth fell to the ground.
"Ya know, I really coulda planned dis better," he admitted.
"Wobbufett!
"Mime,"
The three all simultaneously released a sigh. However, before long they heard a soft, familiar voice singing cheerfully.
"Oh, no..." Meowth groaned. But it was exactly what he feared: just off in the distance, he spotted the Pokemon of the twerps, or at least several of them. As far as Meowth could tell, only a few were there. They were in an open field, and there was no way to avoid a meeting.
Past experience told Meowth that, unless he did something stupid--err, I mean aggressive--a battle wasn't about to break out. On the other hand, he didn't want Pikachu knowing about Skitty--he'd probably rush off and rescue her itself, and steal her from him. The nerve of that mouse, sometimes!
As the small group got closer, Pikachu seemed to have finally noticed him. Buneary, Piplup and Croagunk were with him. All three were carrying berries, and Meowth figured they had went off to get some food for the rest of the group. Buneary suddenly released a soft "Buni!" and took some steps back--she didn't seem scared, but saw a good opportunity to feign it and "cower" behind Pikachu. Meowth, completely unironically, noted that some people would do the craziest things for a girl or boy. Piplup scowled and Croagunk...Croagunk just stared. That thing scared him some...well, all of the time.
Finally, after a second of hesitance, Pikachu spoke up.
"Pika, pikachu, pipi, pika?" it asked. Its tone wasn't hostile, but not quite friendly. Meowth decided to answer carefully, but Wobbufett had other plans.
"Wobbufett, wo..." fortunately, Meowth hastily clamped his paw over the Pokemon's mouth with Mime Jr's smiling assistance. The cat smiled overzealously and laughed nervously, sweating. "Hah, what Wobbufett was tryin' ta say is dat we're just out for a nice walk. It's our time off, y'know," he added. Pikachu nodded slowly. It had run into him "off work" before, and the two groups had even gotten along as well as people who fight more or less every day can.
After a few more seconds, Pikachu began to walk off, the others slowly following. "Pika, chupikachu," it said. Meowth had to hold back an audible sigh of relief. He gestured to the others and they set off in the opposite direction towards the tower.
"(So...why did we just walk by? Aren't they the bad guys?)" the penguin asked as the two groups were separated sufficiently to be out of hearing range, but not eyesight.
"(I've known Meowth a very long time...at this point, I feel more sorry for him than anything)," Pikachu replied casually, giving a small shrug. "(And, more importantly...)" its eyes narrowed as it turned back. "(He's hiding something. I'm going to double back and follow, but I don't want HIM knowing that,)" the electric type finished. Piplup cast a glance back, an excited look in its eyes. ("I'm coming too! I want to see what's happening!")
("Fine. Buneary?") the mouse asked, already guessing the answer. The female Pokemon smiled and shifted closer. ("Wherever you go, Pikachu,") she said. Pikachu restrained an exasperated sigh. ("Croagunk?") it asked finally.
"Croa...croa...croa..."
It was not saying anything, actually. More like deep breathing.
("I'll take that as a yes. Come on, everyone!")
Meanwhile...
"Ni, nii nii!" Skitty said angrily. Salamence stared down at her lazily, reclining on a large pile of coins. "Sal," he replied. Skitty glared, a tension mark growing on her head.
"Nii nii ni! Ni nii! Nii NI!" she shouted, generating sufficient air pressure to make Salamence's head sway slightly in the resulting force. "Mence! Sal-salamence!" he roared back. "Ni! Ni Ni!" Skitty replied. After a short stare down, Salamence curled up and faced away, considering this a draw.
The tower was located atop a small hill near the center of the park. The area itself was hilly, with a pleasant lake right behind the ominous stne strucutre. Meowth and the others were lying just under the top of one of the hills, allowing them to see the tower without being spotted should Salamence look out the balcony window. Meowth himself was wearing a well-stocked backpack, and even I am not entirely sure where it came from.
"Dere definitely both there," Meowth said, watching with a pair of binoculars. Standing, he clenching his paw. "All right guys, it's time for operation rescue!" he declared energetically. Not ta mention Operation: Meowth gets a date, he added to himself. Shifting through the backpack, he pulled out a rolled up paper and spread it on the floor. It read:
Operation Rescue
Step One: Gain Entrance To Tower
Step Two: (Unknown--to be decided later)
Step Three: Celebrate Over Defeated Salamence
Step Four: Enjoy lavishing attention from Skitty.
"Huh...I really shoulda filled out step two before I got ta dis point..." Meowth commented.
"Wobbufett!"
"Do ya only agree when I insult myself on purpose or somethin?" Meowth yelled angrily.
"Wobbufett,"
Meowth opened his mouth--possibly to scream, maybe to cry. But it didn't come. He simply thwacked Wobbufett over the head. "Just help me get da grappling hook ready. We'll just climb up dere and grab her,"
Skitty sighed sadly. She was starting to suspect nobody was coming. Suddenly, she heard the sound of metal clanking on the rope. Turning, she saw an iron hook wrapped around the stones on the balcony. She walked over, and looked down in awe; three Pokemon--a Meowth, a Mime Jr and a Wobbufett--were climbing the tower. Was she about to be saved? Taking some steps back, the first of them, the Meowth had reached the top and begun pulling himself up.
"Hey dere," he whispered. "We're here ta take you to safety, so just hold on real tight and you'll be outta here in no time,"
"Wobbufett!" came an unfortunately non-whispered cry.
Salamence's eyes opened. He was not pleased to see non-Skitty visitors.
"You idiot!" Meowth shouted, Mime Jr emphatically yelling alongside him. Skitty jumped out of the way as a powerful Hyper Beam collided with them, the explosion sending them hurtling off into the sky. With an evil chuckle, Salamence returned to resting on his bed of coins. He was quite sure he'd seen the last of them, but then he doesn't know Meowth very well.
"Okay, okay! So dat didn't work! Is that a reason ta just give up?" Meowth demanded.
"Wobbufett!"
Meowth sighed; the effect had been slightly diminished when Mime Jr had chosen that opportunity to mimic him, with the end result that he and the small psychic type had both been lecturing Wobbufett.
"There's no reason ta make this more complicated den it already is. I'll go up alone this time an' there'll be no mess-ups," Meowth declared, confident he wouldn't mess things up without them around.
Once again, Skitty heard the familiar sound of metal on stone. She was pleased that the would-be heroes were persistent. Meowth emerged over the railing a second later. Smiling, he waved to the smaller cat. Salamence was still sound asleep. Arceus must have been granting him a present, he decided. But sometimes, Arceus giveth with one hand, but then taketh with the other nine hundred ninety-nine. Metaphorical though those hands are, it leads to situations like this one, where the balcony completely gave out at this point.
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..." **CRASH**
Climbing out from under the pile of rubble, the cat shot his compatriots a glare. "Not a word," he hissed. "Not one word,"
Well, without a balcony to hook onto, his grappling hook would be useless, even if the fall hadn't snapped the head off.
("They're...trying to get into the tower?") Piplup asked in a confused tone. The four Pokemon were lying stealthily in tall grass nearby, watching everything from over the top of a hill. Meowth had made an attempt to ram down the front door, and then another to climb the tower with his bare hands. Neither met much success. ("Pikachu, you've known him a really long time, right? Any thoughts?")
Pikachu paused to consider this. ("Well...they're usually only that determined about stealing me, but there's been exceptions. No idea what Meowth could want with an abandoned tower. We'll wait a bit longer and see if he's up to anything,")
Buneary cast Pikachu an admiring glance. ("And if he is, you'll go in and stop them?") she asked. Pikachu nodded.
("Usually, I'd go get Ash, but with just the three of them, it wouldn't take long...if they're doing anything wrong, atleast,") it added. For some reason, Pikachu wasn't quite certain--something seemed unusual. Mostly, the Rockets worked together for their evil schemes. Meowth acted on his own not too long ago, but he'd brought more power than just Mime Jr and Wobbufett, even though the reflecting Pokemon could be quite dangerous.
Wait...what is he doing now...
("Sweet mother of Zapdos,") Pikachu gasped in awe.
***
"Wobbu..."
"Quit complainin'! This'll work fine!" Meowth snapped. He admitted he was mostly deluding himself, though. Using a hastily assembled catapult to launch himself into the window was far from likely to "work fine". Meowth was worried that Salamence may still be awake, and so he had a tiny rapier tied to a belt around his waist--he didn't know if it would help much against a Salamence, but didn't it look dashing?
The cat loaded himself into the end, put on a helmet, and took a deep breath.
"Okay, you two cut da rope when I say "now"," he instructed. Wobbufett and Mime Jr saluted and pulled out a double-edged saw, one on each side holding it over the rope. Meowth took another look at the distance, and began wondering if this was a good idea or not, when...
"Pika-pikaCHU!"
Meowth yelled out in surprise. Pikachu dashed up, flanked by his companions.
"Pikachu, what're you doin' here?" the cat asked, laughing nervously and smiling to cover his nervousness. The generally forced nature of the smile and the fact a single nervous sweatdrop had formed did little to aid this endeavour.
"Chu, pikapikachu, pika," Pikachu replied, staring directly at him. It was glowering, which was never a good sign. "Pi, pikachu," it added.
"Aside from trying to get myself killed? Errr, what're you talkin' about? I'm just sittin' here in a catapult, minding my own..." he cut himself off as he realized just how bad it sounded. "Pika pikachu?" Pikachu growled, and Meowth could have sworn he saw the barest trace of electricity gathering around its cheek.
"OF COURSE DIS ISN'T A ROBBERY!" Meowth shouted. "Does it look like dere's anythin' here ta steal?! It's, uh..." he struggled for something--anything--but nothing came that would both hide his intention and avoid a thunderbolt and, forced to choose between them, decided the latter was slightly more important. "A rescue mission,"
Pikachu exchanged looks with the others; its ears twitched slightly, but Meowth was glad to see its expression softened. "Pika, pikachu. Chu, pipika, pika,"
Meowth sighed in defeat. "Fine...do whatever you want," it wasn't a complete disaster. As long as he was the first in, and rescued Skitty himself, he could still succeed.
"Pi, pikachu?" the electric type commented, head tilted.
"Yes, dis is my plan," Meowth muttered with some annoyance.
"Pika?"
"Yes, I'm sure it'll work fine, as long as I adjust da trajectory right. Now, if you'll excuse...NO!"
The other Pokemon's eyes followed as Meowth flew upwards through the air. All pairs of eyes (sans Croagunk) squeezed briefly shut when he crashed into the wall located just under the window.
***
Salamence stirred. He could have swore he head a loud impact outside the window. It rolled over and snuggled up against his coin bed. Probably just a Spearow with bad eyesight.
***
"Well, at least I had my helmet on, or I could've been seriously hurt," Meowth groaned before peeling off the wall and fluttering to the ground like a sheet of paper.
"Wobbu?" Wobbufett asked, having come over along with most of the others to see if the normal type was alright.
"Of course, I'm perfectly fine," Meowth growled sarcastically before popping back into shape. Turning, he snarled and turned, a death-glare directed at Wobbufett and Mime Jr, who backed off nervously as they noticed a distinct drop in temperature and could have sworn the lighting around the cat had drained away.
"WHAT DA HECK DO YOU IDIOTS THINK YOU'RE DOING?! ARE YA TRYIN' TA GET ME-OWTH KILLED!" he shouted. Wobbufett fell to its knees (or as close as it could get), hands clasped together.
"Wobbu, Wobbufett!" it pleaded, Mime Jr joining in immediately after.
"OF COURSE I DIDN'T WANT YA TO FIRE!" the cat yelled full force. "I DIDN'T AIM IT YET!"
Pikachu buried its face in its hands. It really wished Staravia, or Swellow or any of his other Flying type friends was here.
***
"All right, den, now dat I actually have dis thing aimed..." Meowth glared at Mime Jr and Wobbufett again, "...We should be ready for takeoff,"
Piplup leapt up alongside him, seeing adventure in this plan. ("I'm coming!") he exclaimed, hand on his chest proudly. ("I'm not afraid of a Salamence!")
"Dat's da spirit!" Meowth said. Piplup paused a second, and added ("This is safe...right?")
"Of course it's safe. Now, fire!"
Despite feeling this couldn't possibly end well, Pikachu obliged to snap the cord with Iron Tail. The catapult fired, and the two sent hurtling high up. Too high, in fact--they cleared the tower completely and landed in the lake behind it.
"Well, that coulda gone worse, at least," Meowth said.
That was when the blue fin emerged from the water. The two's eyes widened in terror for just an instant.
"SHARPEDO!" Meowth screamed as he wrapped his arms tightly around Piplup's chest as it swam rapidly to land. "FASTER, FASTER!" he cried. The cat was never more relieved to reach dry land (which was saying something) than he was when they reached the short. Piplup was panting from exhaustion brought on from swimming at high speed while carrying someone roughly his own height and weight, and shot the cat a nasty look, causing Meowth to hold his paws out and smile nervously, a single drop of sweat forming as he began stepping back.
"Come on, now, no need ta get angry, we all makes mistakes...no--no, there's no reason ta use Peck or anything like dat....aggggh! Hey! Cut it out ya little...aaagh!"
"Well, dat's it. I don't have any oda' tricks left," Meowth said sadly, wearing a number of bandages on his face. "Dat poor, beautiful Skitty, stuck up dere forever, it almost makes ya wanna..." and at that he broke into a waterfall of tears. Pikachu patted him on the back awkwardly.
"Chu, pika?" it suggested. Meowth calmed down slightly and shook his head. "Hah, good luck. I couldn't even BUDGE dat door," he said dismissively. With a brief pause, Pikachu walked, leapt into the air, slammed the door with Iron Tail, and watched with satisfaction as it exploded inward. With a pleased grin, it bowed and gestured inward. Meowth's eyes narrowed.
"Show off," he muttered, making his way in. He reminded himself he wanted to do the rescuing personally, and added, "You guys stay out here, because..." he paused. "'Cause just one of us is less likely to wake Salamence," he offered. Pikachu nodded in agreement, and the cat drew his tiny blade and began climbing the spiralling stairs. He suddenly realized his heart was beating heavily. He hoped Salamences didn't have excellent hearing. As it turns out, they did not.
Opening the trapdoor, Meowth emerged. A quick glance showed Salamence asleep behind him. He turned and smiled. Skitty's eyes widened (somehow...) in surprise, and then delight. "Nii!" she said happily.
But what Meowth did not know was that Salamences DO have an excellent sense of smell, and landing in lake water earlier meant the smell of wet fur immediately invaded Salamence's dreams. His eyes opened and he began to rise.
"Nii! NII!" Skitty shouted warningly. Meowth was slightly confused. "Something wrong, Skitty? Is...it..." He had a theory as he saw the dark shadow ominously envelope him.
"If I don't see it, it won't see me," he said softly, already aware how bad that logic was. With a yelp, he narrowly jumped over a flamethrower. Turning, he remembered his rapier, drew it in one smooth motion...and hurled it; it was about as dangerous as a thrown toothpick...but this held it's own effectiveness; the sheer patheticness of this "attack" puzzled Salamence long enough for Meowth to pick Skitty up and dash to the shattered remains of the former balcony.
"So, do you happen ta' agree with me that possible death by falling is better den certain death by Salamence?" he asked.
"Nii," Skitty replied weakly. With a deep breath, Meowth leapt off the tower with her just as Salamence recovered.
In a way, Meowth was lucky. Wobbufett broke his fall.
In a way, Skitty was also lucky; they both broke HER fall.
In another, more accurate, way, nobody was lucky as Salamence emerged, roaring with anger. Everybody scattered at this as he unleashed a powerful flamethrower that scorched the grass. It was time, he had decided, to teach those punk teenagers to stay off his lawn and stop egging his house.
"Wobbufett, do somethin'!" Meowth screamed. "Ya can use Counter, so do it!"
"Wobbufett!" Wobbufett agreed, standing between the cat and the dragon. Salamence opened its mouth and unleashed an incredibly powerful Hyper Beam. The powerful normal-type attack was sent back directly into Salamence, who was sent flying by the impact back into the side of the tower. With a roar, he dug itself out and swooped down. Wobbufett used Counter again, but it wasn't using Dragon Claw; instead he snatched Wobbufett up, lifted high into the air and dropped. The blue Pokemon flailed helplessly before crashing, knocked out instantly. With a quick glance, Salamence saw Meowth, still carrying Skitty, fleeing rapidly. He caught up instantly and landed directly in front of them. Meowth, swallowing hard, set Skitty down and stood between the two. "All right, ya overgrown lizard, I'll take ya on," he said, baring his claws and speaking more bravely then he felt. Salamence didn't bother replying; he opened his mouth, Hyper Beam forming.
It would have went better for the dragon if, just as it was about to breath forth the attack, Pikachu had not slammed into the bottom of its jaw with Quick Attack, causing his mouth to slam shut and the attack to explode inside his own head.
"Eeehh...and I thought dentists were bad," Meowth said, wincing as the dragon collapsed, eyes widened and smoke emerging from his nose and mouth. Recovering, he stood up and stared down at the mouse, and laughed, revealing several missing teeth.
("You're joking, right? You think a teeny little Pikachu can beat me?") he asked riotously. Pikachu stared directly at him, eyes narrowed and cheeks sparking.
("Maybe, maybe not. I do know one thing, though,") it replied. Salamence smirked. ("Which is?")
A moment later, the Dragon type was frozen solid in a block of ice as a light blue beam struck it.
("I know that I can get you to hold still long enough for Buneary's ice beam,") Pikachu replied, standing upright and smirking. A quick glance showed they were atop a small hill that seemed to have a flat slope directly to the lake. Smirking evilly, Meowth set his foot on the block of ice. Salamence began to sweat and shake its head nervously from inside, but Meowth gave it a good kick and sent it skidding down rapidly until it splashed into the water. A horde of Sharpedo descended upon where it vanished until, a second later, Salamence emerged, flapping his wings rapidly, and took off into the horizon.
It was a hollow victory, Meowth decided. Skitty was thanking Pikachu and praising its bravery already. The cat set off downhill dejectedly. It wasn't fair.
He put so much effort into rescuing her, and Pikachu gets the credit. Sometimes Arceus can be cruel.
***
"(Excuse me)?"
Meowth's mind snapped out of his thoughts and he spun about. Skitty was standing, smiling at him. "(That was really brave and sweet of you, trying to rescue me)," she said.
Meowth, caught off guard, blushed and scratched his head awkwardly. "Heh, thanks, it was nothing. I was just..." his stammering was cut off as Skitty licked him playfully on the cheek. "(Why don't you and I get to know one another?)" she asked.
Sometimes, Arceus can be kind.
***
Later that day, Ash and his friends were preparing to continue their journey. Brock was not entirely sure where Croagunk had found the large bag full of coins, but it would certainly pay for atleast one or two meals. He was fairly sure it couldn't be stolen.
Fairly sure.
**
Reviews, advice and construction criticism's are, of course, all very welcome.
**
Having been here a reasonable time, now, I thought it was time to upload a fic. I'd thought of the general idea a long time ago, but only now actually bothered writing it out.
Summary
While taking his vacation, TR's Meowth finds himself witnessing a beautiful Skitty's kidnapping at the claws of a Salamence. What's a romantci to do but mount a rescue attempt, like in the fairy tales? Of course, said stories usually gloss over the less succesful rescuees.
***
Ah, vacation time.
That special time of the year was finally here, and a certain...shall we say "non-legally employed" Meowth intended to enjoy it this time.
Some of his older vacations had...not gone well. But this year, he vowed, would be perfect. He'd found a lovely vacation spot. The sun was bright, yet a gentle wind kept the heat manageable, especially with the many trees darting around the area, and an open beach just beyond the woods. It was a lovely, gigantic park reserve, closed off from the outside with high, metal fences on all sides, which had an unfortunate tendency to ruin the effect when in sight. Some questioned why this and other pokemon vacation reserves existed, since none seemed to charge. But Arceus works in mysterious ways, and some involve very generous and anonymous donations.
"It's been a rough last few months, but now I can finally relax!" he exclaimed. He looked pretty good, he thought. Sure, his right eye twitched a little and his fur was a burnt, ruffled up mess, but he's been worse. "Nothing can go wrong, right?" he asked, perhaps half hopefully. Most of the others gave one another questioning glances.
"Wobbufett," his companion replied.
"You always say dat," Meowth replied with annoyance. It was hard to stay optimistic when he was fairly sure he'd repeated the exact sentence "Nothing can go wrong, right?" at least four hundred times during the last few years. Maybe five hundred.
Very possibly six hundred. They attacked the twerp a lot, he realized.
But he was managing it. After all, he had three whole days away from the parade of failure that was his career in Team Rocket, and he fully intended to enjoy it. He wondered, sometimes, what his partners did during these times when they released all of their Pokemon, told them to go off with Meowth, and told them not to return until vacation time was over.
"Why don't you set things up at a nice spot by da beach while I go get a drink?" he asked Wobbufett. The blue Pokemon saluted (maybe...it did that particular hand gesture quite often, really, and Meowth was guessing at what it meant) and scurried off, the others following. Meowth, as a rule, didn't like water, true, but only when he was fully submerged in it-as long as he had his trusty Lapras life preserver (which Jessie had implied made him look ridiculous), he could enjoy the drifting. He didn't mind the warm, relaxing sun, either.
Arceus, it has been said, works in mysterious ways. This time, He decided to work by placing a convenient sushi bar nearby in the park. The bar had only three small "chairs" in the form of slightly smooth rocks set up in front of the hastily and shoddily constructed wooden stand--a rather large cabinet lay behind it, as well as a cabinet full of glasses.
It was mostly empty this early, with only a lonely Golem, (who was crying into its drink and muttering about how Rhydon was stronger already, and the newly discovered Rhyperior species was just being cruel) and a somewhat ominously Poison-typed bartender in the form of a Drapion. It smiled and nodded politely as Meowth walked up and sat down, ensuring there was a empty seat between Golem and him.
"(What's your poison?)" the scorpion asked politely.
Meowth's head began a rapid rush downward at this pun, crashing with a loud bang.
"(Sorry, I keep forgetting I'm a poison type, and...well...)" Drapion trailed off awkwardly as Meowth picked himself up from where his head had impacted with the ground. It was worth noting one of the mysterious ways Arceus works is providing translated subtitles on only some occasions.
"You have any Iapapa juice?" the cat asked. The scorpion held up a pincer in a poor but admirably attempted imitation of a "one" and began rooting through the cabinet. A moment later it emerged with a small handful of Iapapa berries and a blender.
"(Ready in a minute, sweetie,)" it said in a friendly manner, winking. And that's when Meowth realized it was a lady Drapion. As he looked up at its gigantic, terrifying and decidedly masculine frame, he felt a chill run up his spine. He knew they had to exist, but never really wanted to think about it.
He received the glass, now with some sort of yellow-brown mixture in it, a second later, and took a sip.
Arceus works in mysterious ways. One of these ways is that Pokemon have no concept of money yet some still have businesses. Meowth was special in this way in that he not only understood money, but was greedy for it. For now he could enjoy the fact that he wasn't going to have to pay a cent. He recalled a Slowpoke-run sushi bar from so many years back, when it was theoretically still possible for Pikachu to be have been worth the time and effort put into catching him. Ah, the good old days, he thought, twitching just a little.
Leaning back, he stared off into the sky. He made a silent vow that he was going to enjoy this vacation, no matter what happened. He'd had a decent record; several recent ones had not failed painfully, even with the twerp team present.
Everything was planned perfectly--he had thought of everything--every day he had planned carefully, if repetitively. He had already decided to hit the beach first for a few hours, followed by a nice picnic on a small hill in the nice, soft breeze, and then maybe...
("Uhm, excuse me? You've been staring off into space for three minutes without touching your drink,") Drapion commented uncomfortably, yet in a very polite manner.
Meowth paused, finished his drink in a long sip, and left, giving the Drapion a polite smile and nod. It winked back, and he shuddered as soon as he was confident he was out of eyesight.
"Choke, ma, machoke,"
"Wobbufett!"
Wobbufett, meanwhile, had arrived at the thoroughly packed beach and set up an umbrella for himself, and was now engaging in a deep and philosophical debate with a Machoke. The others were lying down, paying no heed to the conversation. Were Meowth present, he would be highly enlightened about the nature of the world; with this new understanding he would convince both Jessie and James to leave their lives of crime behind and join him for a higher purpose, but by the time he arrived and was in earshot, the talk had wound down to a less cerebral discussion.
("No, I still think Lum berries are better. They have such a smooth flavor,") Wobbufett argued. Machoke huffed.
("If you are a soft little weak Pokemon, that is good. But big, strong ones use Miracle berries. They're tough, and you are what you eat!") he retorted. Meowth rolled his eyes. Was he the only Pokemon in Team Rocket that wasn't brain dead? He also noted a disappointing lack of things being set up. Didn't he tell the big blue Pokemon to get things ready before he arrived? "Hey, Wobbufett, tell me, is it just me or do I always get stuck wit da work around here?"
"Wobbufett!"
"Just set up tha' volleyball net!" Meowth snapped, lying down and putting on some black sunglasses. Machoke, realizing there was no more intelligent discussion, left to flirt with a pretty Milotic curled up nearby.
Meowth observed his team mates; Carnvine and Cacnea were asleep, the grass-types appreciating the sun, and Mime Jr was pestering Seviper to tell it all about it's trainer's journey through Hoenn, while Seviper was doing his best to ignore it. The serpent was trying to enjoy a nice, slow tan, as opposed to a swift, Thunderbolt related one. Dustox had taken to flying about with no readily apparent purpose. Maybe it was exercising.
With a pleasant sigh, Meowth leaned back and looked out over at the ocean.
And immediately bolted up, eyes widened. Over, lying idly by the water, was the most beautiful Skitty he'd ever laid eyes upon, including the other two he'd crushed on. He stared with metaphorical hearts in his eyes, his heart beating rapidly. He didn't even notice Mime Jr mimicking him.
"Ah, what a beauty," he purred.
"Wobbufett!"
Meowth pondered this. Obviously, an exquisite beauty like this couldn't simply be approached. He silently cursed himself for not bringing his guitar.
"Hrmm, maybe some berries?" he thought, rising and pacing around, scratching his chin and following closely behind by Mime Jr.
However, nearby, the sounds of the happy, partying Pokemon were carried some distance away to a slightly crumbling, fortified tower. Inside, a great and powerful Pokemon slept. Or rather, he was trying to, but the neighbours were being so incredibly thoughtless, again, and sometimes it made him so very angry and he just wanted to destroy and crush.
Salamence arose slowly, snorted out a jet of Flamethrower, and took off.
There are many things that can go wrong at a beach party, Meowth observed.
A sudden tidal wave could come in. Sharpedo could show up, preventing any swimming.
It could rain and storm. You could forget to bring any food.
But seriously, how could anyone predict an angry Salamence showing up and breathing flamethrowers all over the place? Even in the chaotic junction of misfortune that was his life, who?
"(Run for your lives!)" an unfortunate Furret shouted before being toasted. One brave but foolish Octillery had tried using Ice Beam, but Salamence dodged mid-air with a barrel roll and swept in, knocking it several meters and unconscious with a fly-by Dragon Claw.
Meowth, seeing such pointless destruction and carnage, said what came next naturally.
"I bet da boss would love somethin' like dat!" he said. "Aah, imagine if you would, da boss..."
"Nii!"
Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your specific viewpoint) Meowth's thought was interrupted as Salamence bared down on the Skitty and swept her up into his claws.
"Aaah! Skitty!" Meowth shouted, and was promptly hit by a flamethrower, which caused him to collapse. The dragon fired several more Flamethrowers for good measure, before laughing and flying off, carrying Skitty away as he vanished over the horizon.
Wobbufett shuffled over to the downed scratch cat, who was pulling himself up. Arceus works in mysterious ways, and Meowth realized that these third degree burns also had opportunity.
"Let's go rescue her!" he declared. After all, nothin's a better first impression than a rescue! he thought.
The other assembled Rocket Pokemon hesitated. Meowth glared at them. "C'mon, are ya all a bunch of cowards?!" he demanded.
"Wobbufett!"
Meowth's head made a sudden impact with the ground. With an annoyed mutter, he stood again. "Listen, I know we ain't usually about doin' good stuff for no reason, and we ain't startin now! Do you guys have any idea? If we rescue dat beautiful Skitty, we'll be famous! Think! Book deals, merchandise, we'll be loaded before long! Maybe even our own cartoon or video game!"
"Wobbufett!"
"Mime, Mime!"
Meowth smirked, arms crossed. "Well, if you twose are da only ones wit da guts to come, I guess we'll have to only split da fame and fortune three ways," he said, marching off triumphantly. Once he was sure he was both out of eyesight, and that Seviper and the others weren't following, he sighed in defeat. He wasn't sure if Mime Jr and Wobbufett were the only brave ones, or simply the stupid ones.
"I have a bad feelin' about dis," he muttered.
***
Noon had arrived, and Meowth's expedition, which had started unenthusiastic at best, was losing morale even more rapidly as the sun beat down on them. He had a destination, at least. Meowth had the sense to ask around.
Salamence was well--known in the area as an all around vagabond, troublemaker, destructive maniac and pretty lousy party guest. He lived in an old abandoned human-built tower from the days centuries ago when things like stone and mason walls were remotely effective at keeping out invaders.
Still, this information did little to relieve his tiredness. With a groan, Meowth fell to the ground.
"Ya know, I really coulda planned dis better," he admitted.
"Wobbufett!
"Mime,"
The three all simultaneously released a sigh. However, before long they heard a soft, familiar voice singing cheerfully.
"Oh, no..." Meowth groaned. But it was exactly what he feared: just off in the distance, he spotted the Pokemon of the twerps, or at least several of them. As far as Meowth could tell, only a few were there. They were in an open field, and there was no way to avoid a meeting.
Past experience told Meowth that, unless he did something stupid--err, I mean aggressive--a battle wasn't about to break out. On the other hand, he didn't want Pikachu knowing about Skitty--he'd probably rush off and rescue her itself, and steal her from him. The nerve of that mouse, sometimes!
As the small group got closer, Pikachu seemed to have finally noticed him. Buneary, Piplup and Croagunk were with him. All three were carrying berries, and Meowth figured they had went off to get some food for the rest of the group. Buneary suddenly released a soft "Buni!" and took some steps back--she didn't seem scared, but saw a good opportunity to feign it and "cower" behind Pikachu. Meowth, completely unironically, noted that some people would do the craziest things for a girl or boy. Piplup scowled and Croagunk...Croagunk just stared. That thing scared him some...well, all of the time.
Finally, after a second of hesitance, Pikachu spoke up.
"Pika, pikachu, pipi, pika?" it asked. Its tone wasn't hostile, but not quite friendly. Meowth decided to answer carefully, but Wobbufett had other plans.
"Wobbufett, wo..." fortunately, Meowth hastily clamped his paw over the Pokemon's mouth with Mime Jr's smiling assistance. The cat smiled overzealously and laughed nervously, sweating. "Hah, what Wobbufett was tryin' ta say is dat we're just out for a nice walk. It's our time off, y'know," he added. Pikachu nodded slowly. It had run into him "off work" before, and the two groups had even gotten along as well as people who fight more or less every day can.
After a few more seconds, Pikachu began to walk off, the others slowly following. "Pika, chupikachu," it said. Meowth had to hold back an audible sigh of relief. He gestured to the others and they set off in the opposite direction towards the tower.
"(So...why did we just walk by? Aren't they the bad guys?)" the penguin asked as the two groups were separated sufficiently to be out of hearing range, but not eyesight.
"(I've known Meowth a very long time...at this point, I feel more sorry for him than anything)," Pikachu replied casually, giving a small shrug. "(And, more importantly...)" its eyes narrowed as it turned back. "(He's hiding something. I'm going to double back and follow, but I don't want HIM knowing that,)" the electric type finished. Piplup cast a glance back, an excited look in its eyes. ("I'm coming too! I want to see what's happening!")
("Fine. Buneary?") the mouse asked, already guessing the answer. The female Pokemon smiled and shifted closer. ("Wherever you go, Pikachu,") she said. Pikachu restrained an exasperated sigh. ("Croagunk?") it asked finally.
"Croa...croa...croa..."
It was not saying anything, actually. More like deep breathing.
("I'll take that as a yes. Come on, everyone!")
Meanwhile...
"Ni, nii nii!" Skitty said angrily. Salamence stared down at her lazily, reclining on a large pile of coins. "Sal," he replied. Skitty glared, a tension mark growing on her head.
"Nii nii ni! Ni nii! Nii NI!" she shouted, generating sufficient air pressure to make Salamence's head sway slightly in the resulting force. "Mence! Sal-salamence!" he roared back. "Ni! Ni Ni!" Skitty replied. After a short stare down, Salamence curled up and faced away, considering this a draw.
The tower was located atop a small hill near the center of the park. The area itself was hilly, with a pleasant lake right behind the ominous stne strucutre. Meowth and the others were lying just under the top of one of the hills, allowing them to see the tower without being spotted should Salamence look out the balcony window. Meowth himself was wearing a well-stocked backpack, and even I am not entirely sure where it came from.
"Dere definitely both there," Meowth said, watching with a pair of binoculars. Standing, he clenching his paw. "All right guys, it's time for operation rescue!" he declared energetically. Not ta mention Operation: Meowth gets a date, he added to himself. Shifting through the backpack, he pulled out a rolled up paper and spread it on the floor. It read:
Operation Rescue
Step One: Gain Entrance To Tower
Step Two: (Unknown--to be decided later)
Step Three: Celebrate Over Defeated Salamence
Step Four: Enjoy lavishing attention from Skitty.
"Huh...I really shoulda filled out step two before I got ta dis point..." Meowth commented.
"Wobbufett!"
"Do ya only agree when I insult myself on purpose or somethin?" Meowth yelled angrily.
"Wobbufett,"
Meowth opened his mouth--possibly to scream, maybe to cry. But it didn't come. He simply thwacked Wobbufett over the head. "Just help me get da grappling hook ready. We'll just climb up dere and grab her,"
Skitty sighed sadly. She was starting to suspect nobody was coming. Suddenly, she heard the sound of metal clanking on the rope. Turning, she saw an iron hook wrapped around the stones on the balcony. She walked over, and looked down in awe; three Pokemon--a Meowth, a Mime Jr and a Wobbufett--were climbing the tower. Was she about to be saved? Taking some steps back, the first of them, the Meowth had reached the top and begun pulling himself up.
"Hey dere," he whispered. "We're here ta take you to safety, so just hold on real tight and you'll be outta here in no time,"
"Wobbufett!" came an unfortunately non-whispered cry.
Salamence's eyes opened. He was not pleased to see non-Skitty visitors.
"You idiot!" Meowth shouted, Mime Jr emphatically yelling alongside him. Skitty jumped out of the way as a powerful Hyper Beam collided with them, the explosion sending them hurtling off into the sky. With an evil chuckle, Salamence returned to resting on his bed of coins. He was quite sure he'd seen the last of them, but then he doesn't know Meowth very well.
"Okay, okay! So dat didn't work! Is that a reason ta just give up?" Meowth demanded.
"Wobbufett!"
Meowth sighed; the effect had been slightly diminished when Mime Jr had chosen that opportunity to mimic him, with the end result that he and the small psychic type had both been lecturing Wobbufett.
"There's no reason ta make this more complicated den it already is. I'll go up alone this time an' there'll be no mess-ups," Meowth declared, confident he wouldn't mess things up without them around.
Once again, Skitty heard the familiar sound of metal on stone. She was pleased that the would-be heroes were persistent. Meowth emerged over the railing a second later. Smiling, he waved to the smaller cat. Salamence was still sound asleep. Arceus must have been granting him a present, he decided. But sometimes, Arceus giveth with one hand, but then taketh with the other nine hundred ninety-nine. Metaphorical though those hands are, it leads to situations like this one, where the balcony completely gave out at this point.
"Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa..." **CRASH**
Climbing out from under the pile of rubble, the cat shot his compatriots a glare. "Not a word," he hissed. "Not one word,"
Well, without a balcony to hook onto, his grappling hook would be useless, even if the fall hadn't snapped the head off.
("They're...trying to get into the tower?") Piplup asked in a confused tone. The four Pokemon were lying stealthily in tall grass nearby, watching everything from over the top of a hill. Meowth had made an attempt to ram down the front door, and then another to climb the tower with his bare hands. Neither met much success. ("Pikachu, you've known him a really long time, right? Any thoughts?")
Pikachu paused to consider this. ("Well...they're usually only that determined about stealing me, but there's been exceptions. No idea what Meowth could want with an abandoned tower. We'll wait a bit longer and see if he's up to anything,")
Buneary cast Pikachu an admiring glance. ("And if he is, you'll go in and stop them?") she asked. Pikachu nodded.
("Usually, I'd go get Ash, but with just the three of them, it wouldn't take long...if they're doing anything wrong, atleast,") it added. For some reason, Pikachu wasn't quite certain--something seemed unusual. Mostly, the Rockets worked together for their evil schemes. Meowth acted on his own not too long ago, but he'd brought more power than just Mime Jr and Wobbufett, even though the reflecting Pokemon could be quite dangerous.
Wait...what is he doing now...
("Sweet mother of Zapdos,") Pikachu gasped in awe.
***
"Wobbu..."
"Quit complainin'! This'll work fine!" Meowth snapped. He admitted he was mostly deluding himself, though. Using a hastily assembled catapult to launch himself into the window was far from likely to "work fine". Meowth was worried that Salamence may still be awake, and so he had a tiny rapier tied to a belt around his waist--he didn't know if it would help much against a Salamence, but didn't it look dashing?
The cat loaded himself into the end, put on a helmet, and took a deep breath.
"Okay, you two cut da rope when I say "now"," he instructed. Wobbufett and Mime Jr saluted and pulled out a double-edged saw, one on each side holding it over the rope. Meowth took another look at the distance, and began wondering if this was a good idea or not, when...
"Pika-pikaCHU!"
Meowth yelled out in surprise. Pikachu dashed up, flanked by his companions.
"Pikachu, what're you doin' here?" the cat asked, laughing nervously and smiling to cover his nervousness. The generally forced nature of the smile and the fact a single nervous sweatdrop had formed did little to aid this endeavour.
"Chu, pikapikachu, pika," Pikachu replied, staring directly at him. It was glowering, which was never a good sign. "Pi, pikachu," it added.
"Aside from trying to get myself killed? Errr, what're you talkin' about? I'm just sittin' here in a catapult, minding my own..." he cut himself off as he realized just how bad it sounded. "Pika pikachu?" Pikachu growled, and Meowth could have sworn he saw the barest trace of electricity gathering around its cheek.
"OF COURSE DIS ISN'T A ROBBERY!" Meowth shouted. "Does it look like dere's anythin' here ta steal?! It's, uh..." he struggled for something--anything--but nothing came that would both hide his intention and avoid a thunderbolt and, forced to choose between them, decided the latter was slightly more important. "A rescue mission,"
Pikachu exchanged looks with the others; its ears twitched slightly, but Meowth was glad to see its expression softened. "Pika, pikachu. Chu, pipika, pika,"
Meowth sighed in defeat. "Fine...do whatever you want," it wasn't a complete disaster. As long as he was the first in, and rescued Skitty himself, he could still succeed.
"Pi, pikachu?" the electric type commented, head tilted.
"Yes, dis is my plan," Meowth muttered with some annoyance.
"Pika?"
"Yes, I'm sure it'll work fine, as long as I adjust da trajectory right. Now, if you'll excuse...NO!"
The other Pokemon's eyes followed as Meowth flew upwards through the air. All pairs of eyes (sans Croagunk) squeezed briefly shut when he crashed into the wall located just under the window.
***
Salamence stirred. He could have swore he head a loud impact outside the window. It rolled over and snuggled up against his coin bed. Probably just a Spearow with bad eyesight.
***
"Well, at least I had my helmet on, or I could've been seriously hurt," Meowth groaned before peeling off the wall and fluttering to the ground like a sheet of paper.
"Wobbu?" Wobbufett asked, having come over along with most of the others to see if the normal type was alright.
"Of course, I'm perfectly fine," Meowth growled sarcastically before popping back into shape. Turning, he snarled and turned, a death-glare directed at Wobbufett and Mime Jr, who backed off nervously as they noticed a distinct drop in temperature and could have sworn the lighting around the cat had drained away.
"WHAT DA HECK DO YOU IDIOTS THINK YOU'RE DOING?! ARE YA TRYIN' TA GET ME-OWTH KILLED!" he shouted. Wobbufett fell to its knees (or as close as it could get), hands clasped together.
"Wobbu, Wobbufett!" it pleaded, Mime Jr joining in immediately after.
"OF COURSE I DIDN'T WANT YA TO FIRE!" the cat yelled full force. "I DIDN'T AIM IT YET!"
Pikachu buried its face in its hands. It really wished Staravia, or Swellow or any of his other Flying type friends was here.
***
"All right, den, now dat I actually have dis thing aimed..." Meowth glared at Mime Jr and Wobbufett again, "...We should be ready for takeoff,"
Piplup leapt up alongside him, seeing adventure in this plan. ("I'm coming!") he exclaimed, hand on his chest proudly. ("I'm not afraid of a Salamence!")
"Dat's da spirit!" Meowth said. Piplup paused a second, and added ("This is safe...right?")
"Of course it's safe. Now, fire!"
Despite feeling this couldn't possibly end well, Pikachu obliged to snap the cord with Iron Tail. The catapult fired, and the two sent hurtling high up. Too high, in fact--they cleared the tower completely and landed in the lake behind it.
"Well, that coulda gone worse, at least," Meowth said.
That was when the blue fin emerged from the water. The two's eyes widened in terror for just an instant.
"SHARPEDO!" Meowth screamed as he wrapped his arms tightly around Piplup's chest as it swam rapidly to land. "FASTER, FASTER!" he cried. The cat was never more relieved to reach dry land (which was saying something) than he was when they reached the short. Piplup was panting from exhaustion brought on from swimming at high speed while carrying someone roughly his own height and weight, and shot the cat a nasty look, causing Meowth to hold his paws out and smile nervously, a single drop of sweat forming as he began stepping back.
"Come on, now, no need ta get angry, we all makes mistakes...no--no, there's no reason ta use Peck or anything like dat....aggggh! Hey! Cut it out ya little...aaagh!"
"Well, dat's it. I don't have any oda' tricks left," Meowth said sadly, wearing a number of bandages on his face. "Dat poor, beautiful Skitty, stuck up dere forever, it almost makes ya wanna..." and at that he broke into a waterfall of tears. Pikachu patted him on the back awkwardly.
"Chu, pika?" it suggested. Meowth calmed down slightly and shook his head. "Hah, good luck. I couldn't even BUDGE dat door," he said dismissively. With a brief pause, Pikachu walked, leapt into the air, slammed the door with Iron Tail, and watched with satisfaction as it exploded inward. With a pleased grin, it bowed and gestured inward. Meowth's eyes narrowed.
"Show off," he muttered, making his way in. He reminded himself he wanted to do the rescuing personally, and added, "You guys stay out here, because..." he paused. "'Cause just one of us is less likely to wake Salamence," he offered. Pikachu nodded in agreement, and the cat drew his tiny blade and began climbing the spiralling stairs. He suddenly realized his heart was beating heavily. He hoped Salamences didn't have excellent hearing. As it turns out, they did not.
Opening the trapdoor, Meowth emerged. A quick glance showed Salamence asleep behind him. He turned and smiled. Skitty's eyes widened (somehow...) in surprise, and then delight. "Nii!" she said happily.
But what Meowth did not know was that Salamences DO have an excellent sense of smell, and landing in lake water earlier meant the smell of wet fur immediately invaded Salamence's dreams. His eyes opened and he began to rise.
"Nii! NII!" Skitty shouted warningly. Meowth was slightly confused. "Something wrong, Skitty? Is...it..." He had a theory as he saw the dark shadow ominously envelope him.
"If I don't see it, it won't see me," he said softly, already aware how bad that logic was. With a yelp, he narrowly jumped over a flamethrower. Turning, he remembered his rapier, drew it in one smooth motion...and hurled it; it was about as dangerous as a thrown toothpick...but this held it's own effectiveness; the sheer patheticness of this "attack" puzzled Salamence long enough for Meowth to pick Skitty up and dash to the shattered remains of the former balcony.
"So, do you happen ta' agree with me that possible death by falling is better den certain death by Salamence?" he asked.
"Nii," Skitty replied weakly. With a deep breath, Meowth leapt off the tower with her just as Salamence recovered.
In a way, Meowth was lucky. Wobbufett broke his fall.
In a way, Skitty was also lucky; they both broke HER fall.
In another, more accurate, way, nobody was lucky as Salamence emerged, roaring with anger. Everybody scattered at this as he unleashed a powerful flamethrower that scorched the grass. It was time, he had decided, to teach those punk teenagers to stay off his lawn and stop egging his house.
"Wobbufett, do somethin'!" Meowth screamed. "Ya can use Counter, so do it!"
"Wobbufett!" Wobbufett agreed, standing between the cat and the dragon. Salamence opened its mouth and unleashed an incredibly powerful Hyper Beam. The powerful normal-type attack was sent back directly into Salamence, who was sent flying by the impact back into the side of the tower. With a roar, he dug itself out and swooped down. Wobbufett used Counter again, but it wasn't using Dragon Claw; instead he snatched Wobbufett up, lifted high into the air and dropped. The blue Pokemon flailed helplessly before crashing, knocked out instantly. With a quick glance, Salamence saw Meowth, still carrying Skitty, fleeing rapidly. He caught up instantly and landed directly in front of them. Meowth, swallowing hard, set Skitty down and stood between the two. "All right, ya overgrown lizard, I'll take ya on," he said, baring his claws and speaking more bravely then he felt. Salamence didn't bother replying; he opened his mouth, Hyper Beam forming.
It would have went better for the dragon if, just as it was about to breath forth the attack, Pikachu had not slammed into the bottom of its jaw with Quick Attack, causing his mouth to slam shut and the attack to explode inside his own head.
"Eeehh...and I thought dentists were bad," Meowth said, wincing as the dragon collapsed, eyes widened and smoke emerging from his nose and mouth. Recovering, he stood up and stared down at the mouse, and laughed, revealing several missing teeth.
("You're joking, right? You think a teeny little Pikachu can beat me?") he asked riotously. Pikachu stared directly at him, eyes narrowed and cheeks sparking.
("Maybe, maybe not. I do know one thing, though,") it replied. Salamence smirked. ("Which is?")
A moment later, the Dragon type was frozen solid in a block of ice as a light blue beam struck it.
("I know that I can get you to hold still long enough for Buneary's ice beam,") Pikachu replied, standing upright and smirking. A quick glance showed they were atop a small hill that seemed to have a flat slope directly to the lake. Smirking evilly, Meowth set his foot on the block of ice. Salamence began to sweat and shake its head nervously from inside, but Meowth gave it a good kick and sent it skidding down rapidly until it splashed into the water. A horde of Sharpedo descended upon where it vanished until, a second later, Salamence emerged, flapping his wings rapidly, and took off into the horizon.
It was a hollow victory, Meowth decided. Skitty was thanking Pikachu and praising its bravery already. The cat set off downhill dejectedly. It wasn't fair.
He put so much effort into rescuing her, and Pikachu gets the credit. Sometimes Arceus can be cruel.
***
"(Excuse me)?"
Meowth's mind snapped out of his thoughts and he spun about. Skitty was standing, smiling at him. "(That was really brave and sweet of you, trying to rescue me)," she said.
Meowth, caught off guard, blushed and scratched his head awkwardly. "Heh, thanks, it was nothing. I was just..." his stammering was cut off as Skitty licked him playfully on the cheek. "(Why don't you and I get to know one another?)" she asked.
Sometimes, Arceus can be kind.
***
Later that day, Ash and his friends were preparing to continue their journey. Brock was not entirely sure where Croagunk had found the large bag full of coins, but it would certainly pay for atleast one or two meals. He was fairly sure it couldn't be stolen.
Fairly sure.
**
Reviews, advice and construction criticism's are, of course, all very welcome.
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