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Chapter Text

The last ferry to Melemele island had just left when Meowth ran as fast as he could to the harbour. Panting hard, he groaned in frustration. How was he supposed to get back to their secret base now?!

Jessie and James had left back to Melemele earlier as they wanted to get more malasada sales done. The trio had been scouting for new areas to sell malasadas on Ula’ula island that day. They had decided that Meowth should continue inspecting and finding more possible spots to sell their tasty treats. Ula’ula island didn’t have that many tourists though and there was less population than on Melemele and Akala islands. Meowth had found few good spots and forgotten that ferries had different timetables on this island than on Melemele.

Scratching his head, he pondered what he should do. Usually he had a plan for everything, it was his thing after all. But now nothing seemed to come to his tired mind. He didn’t really have another choice than find some place to stay in for the night and leave on the next ferry in the morning. He sighed in defeat.

His stomach started to crumble. He cursed not having a malasada snack with him. And to top his misery, it suddenly started to rain. Meowth’s ears twitched. He started to run, in hopes of finding a dry spot to rest.

His feet were already tired from all the walking that day so running felt agonizing and he slipped few times on wet grass. If only that Bewear would suddenly appear and offer him berries and take him home, he mused as his vivid fantasies filled his mind.

But no Bewear was in sight as he ran towards (unknowst to him) Po Town’s outskirts. The clouds were looking darker and darker and the rain got only heavier. A loud thunder came from the sky, startling Meowth.

Not daring to go under a tree, he hid under a big leaf, trying to get shelter from the rain. His fur was completely soaked and he was too tired to move further. Not having Jessie or James with him made him feel more nervous and vulnerable than usually. The storm was huge. Meowth didn’t ever like to admit he was scared of something but now he truly felt terrified of being all alone out in the storm. Meowth trembled in fear and cold, when the loud booms were piercing his sensitive ears. He closed his eyes in fear when a lightning hit one nearby tree.

”I wish Jessie and James were here”, he cried, few tears coming from his eyes when he curled into a tighter ball.

The night had started to fall when a sullen man in a dark grey raincoat walked in a dragging manner on a meadow.

”Those damn pokemons better appreciate this food I went to buy”, the man grumbled out loud.

Officer Nanu had run out of pokemon food earlier that day and had left to get some more in the shop. A storm had surprised him on his way back to the station.

Suddenly, his left foot got tangled in something and he fell.

”Darn roots”, he groaned in annoyance.

He rose from the ground and looked behind him to see what had made him trip. He gasped when he realized that what he had thought was a root was in fact a pokémon tail, and one very familiar shaped one to him too.
Carefully he moved the big leaves blocking his view. Behind those was a no other than a Meowth, laying on ground. Its eyes were closed and it looked very disheveled and wet from the rain. A miserable sight indeed.

Nanu frowned in worry. Was the pokémon hurt, why it wasn’t in its nest hiding from this weather?
Very gently he picked up the Meowth into his arms. The cat pokemon didn’t react to being lifted up.

”Hey little guy”, Nanu said with a soft voice, not wanting to startle the pokémon. ”Are you lost? Where is your trainer?”

Meowth didn’t respond, just leaned more on Nanu’s chest in his sleep, hiding his face.

Nanu looked at the pokémon more closely. Despite it was covered in mud, Nanu could see it was differently colored than the Meowths in Alola. What was a Meowth from Kanto region doing on Ula’ula island?

”Let’s get you inside where it’s nice and warm”, Nanu said to the hopefully sleeping and not unconscious Meowth.

When Nanu arrived at his station, hungry Meowths hurried to welcome him. Ignoring them, he walked briskly to the bathroom and put warm water on a vat.
He rubbed the dirty and wet Meowth with a towel he had dipped on the hot water and cleaned his fur from the dirt.
Meowth made a little noise when Nanu dried him with another towel. It opened its eyes and looked at Nanu.

”Hi there little buddy”, Nanu said with a friendly voice he only used for his pokémons.

Meowth blinked in confusion seeing the kahuna holding him in his lap and drying him off.

”Huh?” he said, slightly bewildered. ”Where am I?”

Now it was Nanu’s turn to blink in surprise.

”You are at my station”, he then stated blankly.

”I am? Did I do something wrong?” the scratch cat pokémon said, sounding lost.

Nanu frowned. Meowth seemed very disoriented. He hoped the pokémon hadn’t hit his head while being in the storm.

”No”, he said reassuringly. ”You were caught in the storm and I happened to pass by and see you.”

”You saved me-owth?!” Meowth asked incredulously.

Nanu’s frown deepened.

”Of course. It’s my duty to help a pokemon in need”, he said evenly. ”Even if I wasn’t a kahuna or a police.”

”Oh.” was all could Meowth say.

”I thought you only wanted to arrest me and put me in jail”, he then added and laughed nervously.

Nanu chuckled for his words. Then he sobered up when he saw the pokémon shaking.

”You must be starving”, he said. ”Let’s get you some food and then you can rest wrapped in a warm blanket.”

Shivering Meowth seemed grateful though Nanu noticed the talking pokémon looked quite tired and made no move towards the door. He then decided to scoop him up and carried him to kitchen. Meowth didn’t protest despite feeling surprised.

Nanu put Meowth down on the kitchen table and gave him a bowl of kibbles. Meowth looked at them warily but the sounds coming from his empty stomach made him take some food and put it in his mouth.
His face lit up after munching down the kibbles.

”Hey, this stuff is pretty good!” he exclaimed happily.

”Hehe, well it’s made specially for Meowths”, Nanu said and smiled, thinking how it was the same food he had gone to buy while encountering this particular Meowth. It was nice his efforts weren’t made in vain. The hungry Meowth was gobbling down the food quickly.

”It is? Wow!” the pokemon seemed excited as if it had never eaten pokemon food. Maybe it hadn’t, Nanu mused.

Meowth finished his meal and let out a happy ”aaaah” with a blissful expression on his face.

”Thank you, that was great!”

”Good that you liked it”, Nanu said. ”That’s a first time a Meowth thanks me for the food.”

He then turned around and went through his cupboard.

”I still should have some left here somewhere”, he murmured to himself. Meowth craned his neck curiously, trying to see what the man was doing.

”Oh there they are”, the kahuna said and turned back to Meowth.

”A little treat for dessert!”

Meowth tilted his head and looked at the heart shaped goodie suspiciously.

”What’s dis?”

Nanu looked surprised.

”You don’t know what a pokébean is, do you?”

”Nope”, Meowth said and shook his head.

”Then it’s about time you tried some”, Nanu said and offered the bean to him.

Meowth took it from his hand and put it in his mouth.

”Mmm! So sweet!” he then said happily.

”Heh, thought you might like it”, the man said, looking pleased.

Meowth felt suddenly safer with the friendly man. Usually people were ruder to him or perplexed. Come to think of it…

”How come you don’t seem surprised to see a talking Meowth?” he asked the grey haired man.

”I’m not”, Nanu answered with a deadpan face.

”Oh…”

”Meowths are very smart after all”, the man added and smiled uncharacterically warmly.

Meowth’s cheeks blushed for the sudden compliment. Well that was unexpected!

”And what does Team Rocket want from Ula’ula island if I may ask?” Nanu then changed his tone while raising an eyebrow.

”Huh?! How did you know I’m part of Team Rocket?!” Meowth shouted, flustered. Panic started to dwell in his mind.

”We have met before, remember? Plus, I’m not that dumb”, Nanu said.

”Uh… well, you see…” Meowth said, scratching his head awkwardly.

”We are selling malasadas, you know… people in Alola love them! So we were thinking we could sell them some time here too and today we went to look for good spots to sell them”, Meowth babbled. ”But then Jessie and James had to go back to Melemele so we wouldn’t fall behind with our sales and left me here to look for more places but I lost track of time and missed the last ferry and…”

”Wait, your trainers just left you here?” Nanu said, looking concerned. And since when had members of Team Rocket had to do a part-time job besides their criminal job? Giovanni clearly wasn’t paying his grunts well. Tsck.

”Yes my traine- ugh my friends said I should do some more scouting. So what?” Meowth now looked at the officer with harder eyes, crossing his arms.

”On your own?” Nanu asked with a slightly confused tone, ignoring the cat’s sassiness. It wasn’t uncommon the trainers gave instructions for their pokemons they had to do independently, like he often made his Honchcrow deliver messages when he felt too lazy to go to meet the person himself but just leaving their pokemon on a different island felt a tad strange to him.

”Yeah? What is this, a interrogation?!” Meowth said with a hint of annoyance. ”Besides, I’m the brain of the team!”

Nanu couldn’t help but laugh heartily for the pokémon’s remark. He certainly was a Meowth and he imagined his station’s Meowths would sound pretty much the same if they could talk too.

”Okay, I get it…” Nanu chuckled. ”So it was true when people had complained that there was a malasada stand without a permission on Melemele!”

Meowth froze.

”Uh… you need a permit to sell malasadas?” he was sweating now.

Nanu nodded, looking at him with stern eyes.

Meowth sighed. That's it, so much for the nice treatment, he thought in defeat.

”So I guess you are gonna arrest me now?” he asked meekly, avoiding the officer’s piercing red eyes.

Nanu looked at the pokemon whose posture now slumped, and had his whiskers and ears drooping.

”Nah, too much hassle”, he said and waved his hand dismissedly. ”You can stay in for the night though.”

Meowth’s eyes sparked in joy and his frown turned into grin. He glomped on Nanu’s arm and hugged it happily.

”Wow thank you! For a cop you are pretty okay!”

Nanu was surprised by the sudden display of affection.

”It’s nothing really”, he grunted and smiled slightly.

Meowth suddenly stopped his excited gratitude as if he had just thought of something.

”How come you have Meowth food?”

Nanu smiled his signature crooked smile, feeling amused.

”I happen to have lots of Meowths here. And they are hungry fellows.”

As if on cue, a little army of meows and scratching was heard behind the kitchen’s door.

”I guess it’s their dinner time”, Nanu said and opened the door. A grey swirl came from the door and Meowths started to tug Nanu’s trousers impatiently.

Nanu rolled his eyes and poured a good dose of pokemon food in the bowls and Meowths started to eat hungrily their meal.

Meowth looked at the Meowths in wonder.

”Wow, you must really like Meowth!”

Nanu smiled gently and patted the cat pokémon’s head.

”Heh, Meowth is my favorite pokémon.”

”Really?” Meowth gaped, his eyes shining and wide as he looked up to Nanu.

”Mmhm”, Nanu made a solemn noise of confirmation and then looked fondly at all the grey Meowths on floor.

”So you prefer Meowth over… Persian?” Meowth asked hesitantly as he tentatively leaned closer to Nanu.

Nanu looked back at the pokemon, feeling puzzled. It seemed the question was important to Meowth for some reason.

”Well yes, I suppose”, he then said after a pause. ”I do have a Persian that I love though.”

Meowth’s face fell. ”I see.”

”Usually people prefer Persian. Sometimes I wonder would they like me better if I was one”, Meowth spoke with an unusually quiet tone and had now his back turned on Nanu who looked at the little pokémon in confusion.

”Well, if you ask me, evolution alone isn’t the answer to everything”, the officer said softly. ”People often think the evolved forms are stronger because they are bigger. But it’s not so simple. Meowths have many abilities that Persians don’t possess and people should respect and appreciate them the way they are. All the Meowths here are unique and have unique abilities and personalities.”

Meowth turned to face Nanu again, feeling touched for his words. Nanu had phrased all his feelings into words.

”You really think so?” he said, feeling warmth creeping over him.

”Of course”, Nanu smiled and petted Meowth’s head again. His fur felt slightly different than Alolan Meowth’s. ”And whoever they are, they should appreciate you the way you are.”

Nanu really meant it. It was weird if the talkative Meowth was underappreciated, pokemon with a gift of speech was a rarity after all. Even rarer than a legendary pokemon, he realized. He would be more than happy to have a Meowth who could talk back to him.

Meowth nudged his head affectionately against Nanu’s arm. He then turned his attention to the Meowths finishing their meal on the floor.

Nanu noticed this and Meowth’s now serious look on his face and asked him curiously:
”So, what do you think of Meowths here in Alola?”

”They seem very fancy”, Meowth said uncertainly after some thinking. ”The one Team Rocket hired is very crafty, he would betray even his own mother.”

”Alolan Meowth in the service of Team Rocket?!” Nanu laughed disbelievingly. ”Well these numbskulls wouldn’t fool even a Slowpoke.”

Nanu then noticed the way this Kantonian Meowth was looking at the other Meowths. As if his gaze was wistful.

”Would you like to meet them?” Nanu asked.

Meowth backed away on the table.

”Uh… I don’t think it is a good idea. Usually other Meowths just resent me.”

Nanu looked at Meowth in surprise, wondering what had happened to him but didn’t want to pry further so he said instead: ”Don’t worry, these guys are all very nice. Alolan friendliness applies to Meowths too, you know?”

Meowth still didn’t look convinced and he yelped when Nanu grabbed him and put him down on the floor.

”Hey, you have some company! Meet your new friend Meowth”, Nanu exclaimed loudly to get the Meowths’ attention who were lazily brooming their whiskers. ”He was caught up in a storm and got soaked wet and is now staying here over night, so be very friendly to him, okay?”

Meowth, looking scared, tried to hunch and back off but Nanu pushed gently him towards the others.

Curious Meowths started to gather around him. They meowed him a greeting.

They all stared intently each other. The new Meowth looked stressed. Nanu started to have second thoughts about his idea. What if this all ended up in a scratch fight?

”Uh, hi”, Meowth greeted them awkwardly.

As if a spell was broken, the Meowths moved forward and started to nudge him and meow happily. Many Meowths wanted to shake his paw and touch his tail with their own.

Meowth felt overwhelmed, he had never gotten so much attention (well, at least the positive kind) from other pokemons, yet alone from fellow Meowths. Unbelievable amount of happiness rushed through him.

Nanu looked in relief when the Meowths had accepted the newcomer in their pack. Once again he was amazed how cute Meowths could be. Few Meowths started to groom Meowth’s fur and whiskers, making the cream colored Meowth blush.

Nanu smiled at their antics and it warmed his heart how Meowths wanted to hug and comfort the new Meowth.

”Yeah, the rain was so heavy, I got my fur totally wet!” Meowth said, waving his hands in air agitatedly. A Meowth close to him meowed empathetically, knowing how nasty it felt to get wet.

Nanu followed the discussions curiously. It felt like peeking to the secret world of the pokémon when Meowth was there talking. Suddenly Meowth seemed to yawn a lot, alerting Nanu.

”Okay, time for bed!” he commanded. ”Meowth is very tired and needs to rest now.”

Resentful growls filled the kitchen but Nanu didn’t budge. He exited the room and gestured Meowth to follow him.

They arrived to living room where lots of pokémon beds were scattered around in the corners of the room. Nanu pointed at one and said:

”You can sleep in that one if you like.”

Meowth, realizing how tired he was when he saw the bed, walked in it readily and laid down.

”Good night”, he said and was out like a light.

Nanu, worried Meowth would get cold after being outside probably for a long time during a storm, went to look for a soft blanket.

When he returned, he found Meowth’s bed now filled with his Meowths in tight curls. Some of them snored lightly.

”Heh, I guess you wanted to keep him warm too, eh?” he laughed and smiled warmly at the sight.

He put the blanket near the bed in case Meowth needed it later and went to his bedroom. After changing into his pajamas he laid on his bed and let out a heavy sigh and wondered what he should do with the Meowth tomorrow. The thought of putting him on a ferry by himself didn’t feel right to him, he could get on a wrong island and get lost or get caught by a hungry Fearow or worse yet, some Pokémon poacher who would get good money from a talking pokémon. Not coming to any conclusion he quickly fell asleep after an eventful day.

Chapter Text

It was small hours when Nanu felt something warm touching his legs. Sometimes his Meowths roamed in the house and changed their sleeping places so it wasn’t unsual that some of them ended up in his bed. When his Persian used to be still a Meowth, she liked to sleep in Nanu’s foot of the bed. It had been a difficult process to get the overgrown feline to give up on her precious sleeping spot.

Nanu opened his eyes and when his gaze wasn’t too unfocused after slumber he noticed for his surprise that the Meowth in question was the newcomer. He was curled up in a ball and slept soundly with a happy face while getting warmth from Nanu’s legs. Nanu smiled and drifted back to sleep.

”Hey, who are you, little guy?”

It was already light and sunny, or well as sunny as it ever could be in near Po Town, which meant cloudy without rain when Nanu woke up. Confused, he turned his head to locate the source of the voice that had worked as his alarm clock.
He noticed Meowth looking curious, staring at a little Alolan Meowth who was clinging in his tail.

Nanu chuckled for the sight.

”Oh so you have met Hex?” he grinned.

”Is that what this little tyke is called?” adult Meowth asked him incredulously.

”Yep, because I swear she can do witchcraft”, Nanu retorted. ”I found her in the nearby meadow, her mother must have abandoned her so I took her in.”

”Oh no, that is so sad!” Meowth said, his eyes widening in shock. ”Who could do such a thing to a cute little Meowth?!”

He patted little Meowth’s head and the baby pokémon purred in response.

”I was an orphan too, ya know?” he talked to her.

”Oh, were you abandoned as a baby too?” Nanu asked, his eyebrows raising. It made him angry how people could just leave their pokémon behind. Some Meowths living in his station were saved from the streets where their trainers had abandoned them. And it saddened him that some pokémon parents could desert their babies too.

Meowth nodded.

”But let’s not go there, it’s a sad, long story with a lot of heartbreak and unrequited love”, the cat pokémon sighed dramatically.

Nanu cocked his eyebrow in question but decided to change the subject.

”It’s rare that Hex approaches other pokémons. She usually avoids my Meowths and stays hidden in my bedroom. I have to feed her separately because she is so shy.”

”Oh?” Meowth’s face lit up. ”Wow, I wonder why she seems to like me so much then?”

The little Meowth in question meowed and nudged Team Rocket’s Meowth affectionately.

”Aww, you are such a sweetie”, Meowth said, fascinated by the cute little baby pokémon and brushed gently her fur.

Nanu couldn’t help but smile for the duo and thought how nice way to wake up this was.

”Hey, how about some breakfast?” he suggested.
Loud growls coming from the pokémons' stomachs was the only answer he needed.

After feeding a herd of always hungry feline Pokémons, including the newcomer who had seemed slightly puzzled to eat regular pokémon food and on floor, Nanu slapped his head in realisation.

”Oh my, I completely forgot to brush you after your bath last night!” he exclaimed and grabbed confused Meowth to his arms, rushed to couch and took a brush from the table.

Meowth was so taken aback that he couldn’t even say anything when the old police started to brush his fur with calm strokes. He felt so confused being held like this by a human and being groomed. Jessie and James never did this to him, not even when Jessie had participated into contests with him. The sensation was strange but oddly soothing. It felt nice that someone was giving him this much attention. Was this how pokémon that belonged to someone felt?

Nanu smiled softly when the surprised Meowth seemed to calm down and even nod off by his brushing. When he was done, the feline pokémon was still snoozing in his lap. Nanu tried to stir the pokémon, but he didn’t respond.

Nanu frowned. Something wasn’t right. Usually Meowths made an annoyed meows when he tried to get them off their human bed. Nanu tried to nudge Meowth’s head, only to find out it was alarmingly hot. Had the pokémon caught a cold after all?

Suddenly Meowth opened his eyes, looking alarmed and as if he had just remembered something important.

”I gotta go back to Jessie and James now!” he said agitatedly and tried to scamper away from Nanu’s lap.

”Oh no you don’t”, Nanu said firmly and held Meowth tightly, preventing his escape attempts.

”What?! Are you going to put me in jail after all?” Meowth shouted in betrayal, trying to squirm away even more. ”I need to go back to the home base now!”

”You can’t, you have a high fever, caused by yesterday’s ordeal I’m sure”, Nanu said, trying to calm the upset pokémon down.

”I don’t have a fever, I’m just fine”, Meowth insisted but the sudden sniff and cough wasn’t very convincing.

Nanu sighed. I guess today he would be babysitting a sick Meowth.

”Look, you can call your trainers- um, friends and let them know you are here so they won’t worry”, Nanu offered. ”I really cannot let a sick pokémon wander on their own all the way to Melemele island! I’ll take you there once you are healed enough, okay?”

This seemed to console Meowth enough and he nodded in agreement.

Nanu let Meowth make his call and waited cordially out of hearing range. He had chuckled when the pokémon had made him swear not to locate their base with the phone call. He looked at Meowth who was standing on his two feet, holding the phone to his right ear. Nanu could simply marvel at intelligence of Meowths. He could only fathom what kind of havoc the pokémon could really cause if Giovanni would realize his true potential. Using a Meowth for sinister plans was an unsettling thought and Nanu wondered why was this one so keen to be in Team Rocket? Giovanni wasn't exactly a person who would win "employeer of the year" award.

Meowth hung up the phone, looking disappointed.
”It went to the answering machine”, he frowned in worry. ”I left them a message.”

Nanu patted the pokémon on his head.
”Hey now, don’t worry, I’m sure they will hear it soon enough”, he said reassuringly. ”Now let’s get you some medicine and then you can rest in the bed.”

Meowth slept soundly in Nanu’s bed for hours. He was surrounded by other Meowths who had wanted to take an advantage of the situation, Nanu’s bed was a place they all desired to sleep but it was usually off limits, otherwise the kahuna would drown in the cat pokémons or melt because of their warmth. But now at least ten Meowths were snuggled up near Kantonian Meowth. They all had sneaked in when Nanu had gone to make some coffee for himself.

”Really guys?” he scoffed when he came back.

The Meowths just gazed at him innocently, as if not understanding what was wrong.

”You know the rules”, Nanu said with his usual bored tone and waved his hand. ”Now scram, let the poor guy breathe, he needs some space.”

Meowths made annoyed sounds and looked at the kahuna challengingly. But Nanu was a well seasoned police officer, he was used to all kind of death glares from punks, this was not much different. Though he swore that at least few of them knew Mean Look, as their stare was so piercing.
Meowths gazes wavered under Nanu’s stone-faced expression. Nanu’s police level authority could make even the most disobedient pokémon comply though the kahuna had to admit, these Meowths were always a handful and loved to ignore his commands. Perhaps the sick Meowth made them obey.

Meowth stirred awake, wondering where the wonderful warmth had gone and found himself being surrounded by Meowths and Nanu. Nanu’s eyes resembled a lot of Alolan Meowth’s, he mused still not quite awake.

”How are you?” Nanu asked. ”I hope you slept well despite these little furballs.”

”I feel a lot better now”, Meowth said. ”Um, have you had any calls?”

”None”, Nanu said apologetically, guessing the pokémon wished to hear something from his friends.

Meowth’s shoulders slumped.

”Oh.”

”Hey don’t worry about it!” Nanu tried to comfort the worried pokémon and trying to think up a way to distract him. Was this Meowth into cat pokémon toys like his Meowths? Even his Persian loved to play with a cat dancer toy.
Before he could think up anything, a sudden tug at his leg caught his attention.

One of his Meowths were poking at him.

”Oh what is it, Nugget?” he asked.

The round Meowth gave him something.

”You found a heart scale! Why thank you”, Nanu said and smiled, amused.

”Huh?” Meowth in bed looked at them curiously. ”You are a treasure hunter Meowth?”

Nanu snickered.

”It’s his ability”, he said. ”Some of the Meowths have a pickup ability. This one always seems to find something when he goes out.”

”Ability?” Meowth mused.

”You don’t have that ability? Are you a Technician then?” Nanu asked, then realizing how absurd it was to talk with a pokémon about these matters.

”I don’t think I have any special ability”, Meowth said, confused. ”I vaguely remember finding some items when I was a little but I can’t remember that time well anymore…”

Nanu noticed that the pokémon seemed a bit distressed and not wanting to cause extra stress for the little patient he quickly said: ”Well you’re a special Meowth so you have a special ability as well! Talking in human language!”

Meowth laughed, slightly embarrassed: ”Guess so…”

Little Hex tried to climb on the bed where Meowth was, not quite succeeding and then meowed in frustration. That caused other Meowths to meow as well.

”You guys hungry again?” Nanu asked, perplexed. ”Oh well, might as well have dinner now.”

Meowths cheered and started to run towards the kitchen.

”Is it that late already?” Meowth asked when he hopped on floor.

”It’s 6 pm”, Nanu said and touched Meowth’s head with his hand.

”The fever is down. Good”, he said in relief.

”I’m quick to recover”, Meowth announced proudly.

”I see”, Nanu smiled. ”Fiery spirit, eh?”

”Meowth, that’s right!” Meowth confirmed and puffed his chest. ”I can handle Pikachu’s Thunderbolts any day! And my Fury Swipes wreck terror even in the strongest pokémons!”

”Oh so you know Fury Swipes?” Nanu focused now on Meowth more and stopped opening the pokémon food can, much to Meowths’ displeasure. He was curious about how Kanto’s Meowths differed from Alola’s. He couldn’t help but be a bit nerdy when it came to Meowths so meeting a Meowth from their original region was a real treat to him. ”What other moves do you know?”

Meowth looked at him, looking a bit uncomfortable.

”Let’s see, um”, he said hesitantly. ”I guess I can bite… and I learned Night Slash when I was in Sinnoh but… I think I have forgotten it.”

Meowth looked confused again.

”I see! So you have learned some new move after that!” Nanu exclaimed uncharacteristically excited. He found it interesting that a normal type Meowth could learn Night Slash just like his Meowths.

Now Meowth became gloomy by his words and his head lowered.

”I don’t think I have learned a new move”, he said with a dramatically melancholic voice.

Nanu started to sweat. He had made Meowth to sulk again!

”Oh no, I didn’t mean you had to learn new moves! You probably are more about planning things and not a battler!” he said, trying to make him happy again.

”I guess so”, Meowth said sceptically.

”It’s okay”, Nanu assured him. ”Most of my Meowths here don’t battle either.”

Meowth looked around him, eyeing other Meowths who now looked extremely impatient to get their dinner. Feeling a bit cheerier, he retorted: ”Well, I gotta say Fury Swipes is a good way to wake up some people.”

”Oh yeah?” Nanu sweated, feeling bad for Meowth’s human companions. Then his thoughts were shaken off when the infernal meowing started.

”Yeah yeah, I’m giving your meals now”, he said. ”Tsck! It’s as if you were starving to death.”

Nanu put down a bunch of bowls full of pokémon food and the Meowths happily dug in. Meowth got one bowl too and hastily started to eat the food, sensing that these Meowths would quickly try to scavenge the other’s meal if they had finished their own. Meowth’s attention drew into the sounds of pokéballs opening.

Nanu had let out his team to eat dinner as well and the balls revealed Krookodile, Honchcrow, Sableye and Persian. The other three started to eat their food immediately (Sableye quite sloppily) but Persian seemed to sniff at air as she seemed to sense something.

Meowth’s fur bristled. That was Alolan Persian! He hadn’t seen one before! Were they as ferocious as the ones in Kanto? He stiffened when Persian noticed him.

Persian approached Meowth slowly. When she was in front of him, Meowth turned his gaze down, feeling tensed. Here it comes, he thought and prepared for a blow.

Instead of a scratch, he felt a chubby furry cheek against his own cheek and heard a strong purring sound. Confused, he looked up and saw Persian showing affection towards him.

Nanu chuckled. He had followed the interaction of the two and known the outcome. His Persian loved every Meowth after all. She seemed to have taken a special liking to this Meowth. Perhaps the unusual color made her more curious.

”I’m sorry, my Persian is rather affectionate one”, he said and smirked.

”I can see that”, Meowth said, slightly abashed from the unexpected reaction.

”You are such a silly girl, aren’t you? Yes you are”, Nanu spoke gibberishly and squeezed Persian’s cheeks tenderly.

Meowth was now even more taken a back, Nanu was the last person he had expected to speak unintelligently to a pokémon. This made him wonder did his boss Giovanni ever talk nonsense to his Persian? The thought struck odd to him. Still he felt a pang of jealousy for that mental image.

Nanu, suddenly realizing what had he been doing in front of the talking pokémon, blushed slightly in self-consciousness.

”Hehe, I can never resist that fluffy head”, he said while scratching his head awkwardly.

Persian meowed happily and went to her bowl. Few Meowths were pilfering on her food but after she growled angrily, they scrammed.

The dinner went without further interruptions and most of the Meowths started napping on carpet while younger ones started to play with each other. They tried to get Team Rocket’s Meowth to play as well but he just waved them off, feeling too full. It was nice to see how his fellow Meowths behaved and feel like a part of the group. But he was already part of a group, he reminded himself. Hopefully his team was doing all right and not gotten into any trouble while he was away.

”You seem better already”, Nanu stated after waking from an accident nap (what else can you do when several warm Meowths decide to use you as a bed and pin you down on a couch?) and yawned. ”I’ll take you back to Melemele island tomorrow.”
Meowth’s face brightened up.

”Really?! Oh thank you! But isn’t that too much trouble for a kahuna?” Meowth asked in worry. ”Can’t you just let someone else take me to the island?”

”Not at all. This is an important mission. You need a kahuna for it”, Nanu stated firmly with a smile on his face, while his eyes were still closed.

”I see”, Meowth said in excitement. He felt important, a real kahuna was taking him back to Melemele! Warm and fuzzy feeling spread through him caused by the hospitality of this man and his pokémons. Alolan Meowths were something else!

”But let’s keep a low profile, shall we?” Nanu said mysteriously.

”Huh? You are going there as under cover to do some cop stuff?” Meowth wondered. ”Trying to bust some smugglers or something? Secret agent business?”

”Haha no!” Nanu snorted at Meowth’s wild imagination. ”That would mean I’d have to do some work!”

”I just don’t want to bump into old Hala, that’s all”, Ula’ula’s kahuna added with a wink.

”You are so sneaky, just like your dark type pokémons”, Meowth exclaimed. ”I didn’t know humans have types too but you are certainly a dark type.”

Nanu couldn’t help but burst into laughter. This Meowth was so sassy!

The Meowth in question looked relieved the cop hadn’t gotten mad at him for his funny remark. He knew he often got in trouble because of his big mouth. But this man only seemed to enjoy his talking. Jessie certainly would have smacked him for that. Meowth curiously looked at the kahuna who was still lazily lying down on a couch. Two Meowths remained on him while others had moved to other spots to sleep. Meowth mustered up some courage and hopped on Nanu’s stomach.

”Hey Nanu”, he asked tentatively. ”Have you ever used Meowths for your kahuna battles?”

”Few times”, he hummed. Were all Meowths like this if they could talk? ”But they got mad at me for getting their charms dirty.”

”Haha!”

They stayed there like that, talking, Nanu listening and humming when Meowth told some stories that had happened to him or answering his curious questions. Nanu kept petting Meowth’s fur and enjoyed every moment. How much joy these little Meowths could bring, he mused happily. Truly they were the best pokémon.
When the morning light came, Nanu woke up, realizing he had fallen asleep on the couch. Meowth and few of his Alolan Meowths were still sleeping on him. No wonder a blanket hadn’t been needed last night.

He rose from the couch very carefully, managing not to wake up the pokémons up who just snuggled up closer to each other after he had tiptoed away to do his morning routines.

After some time the pokémon residents of the house woke up as well and they all had breakfast together. Nanu looked solemn when they were finished.

”So I guess we should get going now if we want to catch a ferry”, he spoke to Meowth. ”I called a ride for us, it should be here any minute now.”

Meowth looked puzzled. A ride? Did that mean a…

Before his thoughts could even be finished a mighty roar came from outside.

”Oh he’s here!” Nanu said and went to the front door.

Meowth peeked behind Nanu into the yard.

”We are going to ride a Charizard?!” he shouted.

”Yes, otherwise it would take too much time to get to the ferry in Malie City”, kahuna said patiently. ”Now I suppose you have to say goodbye to Meowths.”

Meowth turned to look at the pokémons around him, a realisation hitting him.

”I’m going to miss you guys”, he said miserably. ”You were real pals towards me-owth!”

Meowths meowed sadly. Nanu was sure he had ever seen them looking so unhappy. Not even when they were all out of food. Persian licked Meowth’s cheek gently and let out a empathetic growl. Hex imitated her. Meowths all crammed near him and wanted to give hugs for a goodbye. Meowth couldn’t help but tear up a bit for all this love and affection.

”You guys are the best”, he said sniffling. ”I hope we see each other again!”

Meowths agreed in unison and nodded their heads.

”Okay, time to go”, Nanu interrupted the rather emotional farewell and patted Meowth’s head. ”Charizard is getting a little impatient."

The trip to Malie City went quickly thanks to their ride. Nanu had thought Meowth would have been more anxious to ride on Charizard but turned out the pokémon was used to flying as apparently their main transportation vehicle had been a hot-air balloon. What a curious organization!
Nanu tipped their ride generously with pokébeans when they arrived at the harbour.

When they reached the ferry terminal's counter, Nanu started to swear when he couldn’t find coins from his purse.

He groaned and let out a Meowth from a luxury ball. Good to have a spare wallet with him for emergencies.

”Milli, use Pay Day”, he ordered and coins coming from her charm scattered around in front of a slightly annoyed cashier.

”Two tickets to Melemele, please”, Nanu smirked. ”One return, one single.”

When they walked to the ferry and Nanu had put his Alolan Meowth back to her pokéball, Meowth grinned teasingly at the kahuna.

”Milli?”

”Short from Millionaire”, Nanu said with a pleased tone which earned an exasperated snort from Meowth.

When the ferry parted from the harbour, Nanu noticed a change in Meowth’s expression. He now looked serious, wistful even.

”I wish I knew how to use Pay Day”, he said after a pause.

”You wouldn’t have to work for Team Rocket then?” Nanu asked, half-joking.

Meowth shook his head furiously as if to snap out of it.

”No! I mean not to have to worry about money and I’d be more useful to my teammates…”

Pokémons didn’t have to worry about money, Nanu mused with a frown. This Meowth certainly was an odd one.

”You would have to use Pay Day quite a lot in order to get your monthly check”, Nanu pointed out jovially.

”Heh, yeah”, Meowth said, now with a little half-smile on his face. ”Hey! Since you have so many Meowths, couldn’t you be like the richest man on Ula’ula island by making them use Pay Day?!”

”Uh”, Nanu couldn’t think what to say for this sudden retort. How could a Meowth be this ambitious?! All that his Meowths did was sleep and eat basically. ”I don’t think they would co-operate. Tabu Bulu would surely put a stop on that too. Pokémons shouldn’t be used like that after all.”

Meowth seemed to get lost in deep thoughts for Nanu’s comment. Nanu studied his face.

”Why do you help him?” he then asked after some time.

”Huh?”

”Why do you work for him?” Nanu asked the question he had been pondering this whole time.

”Because Team Rocket is the best! Our boss…” Meowth started but Nanu cut him off curtly.

”-makes you steal other people’s pokémons.”

Meowth startled for Nanu’s sudden steely voice.

”Doesn’t that feel wrong to you?” Nanu pressed on.

”Well, he only wants the rarest of pokémons and wants to fully utilize them unlike most people!” Meowth defended his beloved boss.

”Your boss Giovanni is stupid”, Nanu scoffed contemptuously.

”Hey! Don’t talk about my boss and leader of Team Rocket that way!” Meowth yelled feistily. If angered enough, Meowth could match even Jessie’s level of wrath. Luckily they were the only ones on the deck that morning, only few startled Wingulls flew away for the noise.

”I mean, he has the most legendary pokémon on his side already”, Nanu expanded and crossed his arms.

”He has?!” Meowth said incrediously. Meowth’s mind raced. Was it Mewtwo? But Mewtwo had left Team Rocket. Has his boss caught some new legendary pokémon? ”What pokémon is that?!”

Nanu fixed his gaze on Meowth.

”You.”

Meowth was completely lost for words.

”M-me-owth?! he finally spat out, flustered.

”Yes you, silly”, Nanu smiled softly. ”You are possibly the only pokémon in the world who can talk in human language. Not even some psychic or legendary pokémons can do that, they can only use telepathy to communicate with people.”

Meowth’s face was completely red. He had never felt so astonished or flattered in all his life. Not even when the boss himself decided to hire him for Team Rocket.

”Imagine if you used your skills for diplomacy or for translation purposes! People and pokémon could learn to understand each other better!” Nanu envisioned, his eyes were half-lidded and he was looking at the sea. ”What an amazing power!”

Meowth was now feeling almost sheepish for things Nanu said. Could he really do all that? Sure he had helped to translate pokémons’ speech for humans a lot but use it on bigger scale was foreign to him.

Nanu watched the pokémon with a side-eyed glance. Meowth didn’t look offended anymore, rather flustered actually. He approached Nanu tentatively and they fell in comfortable silence, leaning on the railing and watched the sea. The sea breeze felt refreshing for both of them.

Several hours later the ferry started to approach its destination. When they arrived at the port, Nanu let out a melancholic sigh.

”I can go from here to our hideout by myself”, Meowth said and turned to Nanu.

Nanu had a disappointed look on his face.

”No no, I think I better escort you to the outskirts of town. Haui City can be a bit restless after all, we don’t want anything to happen to you”, the old man said with a serious tone.

”Huh? How do you know our secret base is not in the city?” Meowth wondered.

”Well I don’t think that you could afford to live in this city just by selling malasadas and doing shady Team Rocket stuff”, Nanu grinned.

”Oh, haha”, Meowth laughed in relief. He was worried for a second that he had accidentally blown their cover when he had been in sick bed and Nanu now knew the location of their top secret hideout.

Some people looked at them long when they walked on the streets. Meowth felt a bit umcomfortable under people’s scrutiny. Would they suddenly shoo him away? Big city people were unpredictable when it came to loose pokémons sometimes.

Then he noticed that people were talking with hushed tones and looking at Nanu.

”Hey, isn’t that Ula’ula’s kahuna? What is he doing here?”

”Is he under cover? He is a cop too, isn’t he?”

Meowth glanced at Nanu in awe who mainly just looked irked.

”So much for keeping a low profile”, the man muttered.

”Hey, I could give you some pointers how to disguise you properly”, Meowth said and nudged Nanu’s leg. ”Me and my team are masters of disguise!”

Nanu’s annoyance faded a bit for the scheming little Meowth and he couldn’t help but chuckle.

”Oh yeah? What do you suggest for an island kahuna and a cop who wants to get unnoticed then?” he smirked and scooped Meowth up and put him on his shoulder.

Meowth yelped in surprise. He blushed when he realized Nanu wanted to have him on his shoulder, perhaps safe from getting trampled by people. This was how the twerp carried his Pikachu!

”Hmm, perhaps an Alolan flower shirt and sunglasses and shorts! You would blend in with all the tourists!” Meowth mused.

”Me in bright clothes? Impossible”, Nanu laughed.

”Well you can’t blame people for noticing you so easily, you are wearing a police uniform! Everyone always notice policemen!”

Nanu hadn’t thought of that. ”Hmm, you have a point there actually.”

”Of course I do! I am the smartest!” Meowth stated cheekily.

Again Nanu couldn’t help but burst into laughter. The visit of this Meowth certainly had brought him a lot of mirth. Too bad it was about to end as they had now reached the outskirts of the city.

”I guess this is it, buddy”, Nanu sighed and looked at Meowth with sad eyes.

Meowth’s ears drooped.

”We are here already?”

”It was pleasure having you at our station”, Nanu said. ”Here is a little something for you which I am sure you will like.”

Meowth looked at a little bag the kahuna offered to him.

”Smells like pokébeans!” Meowth exlaimed in joy. ”Thank you! Usually cops just give fines!”

Nanu couldn’t help but chuckle for the comment. Surely it was a high praise coming from him.

Nanu took Meowth from his shoulder and looked at him.

”Make sure you won’t get caught in a storm again, okay? I don’t want you to get sick like that again!” he said to Meowth as he put him on ground and petted his head.

Meowth felt so touched for how caring he was and jumped to hug the slouching man.

”I’m going to miss you so much”, he cried while hugging him.

Nanu could feel tears stinging his eyes too and he returned the embrace.

”And me and my Meowth gang you”, he said with a hoarse voice.

”Thank you for everything”, Meowth sniffed when they had stopped hugging. ”I hope we will see each other again.”

”I’m sure we will”, Nanu smiled. ”I guess I better get going before Hala senses I’m on his island.”

Meowth laughed and wiped off his tears.

”Hey… If you ever feel like quitting Team Rocket or want to have a trainer, you can always come live with me and my Meowths”, Nanu said with a sad smile but his eyes looked hopeful.

”I will keep that in mind”, Meowth promised and the proposal felt very tempting. But Jessie and James would be in trouble if he just left them. ”I’ll come visit you next time I’m on Ula’ula!”

Nanu smiled with a small nod and waved his hand. He looked at Meowth’s disappearing form and let out a deep sigh. Parting with his Meowths was always so sorrowful. Except this Meowth wasn’t his. He would miss that snarky and free-spirited Meowth. The smartest Meowth in Alola. Nanu always enjoyed coming up with descriptions for Meowths. He was looking forward to see him again and he was sure Meowth felt same since he had so determined look on his face when he had promised to come visit him. Maybe he would bribe Meowth with pokébeans and endless petting to leave Team Rocket for good next time. He hummed when he thought what Meowth would think about the surprise he had given him.

The Team Rocket hideout was in his eyesight when Meowth remembered the little bag Nanu had given him. He opened it and shook it to get some beans. Something else fell from the bag too.

”Wobbuffet!” a loud cry filled the air as well as the noise of several footsteps.

”Meowth! There you are!” James yelled while running towards their missing teammate. ”We were so worried about you! What happened?”

Meowth huffed in annoyance.

”I tried to call you but you wouldn’t answer! And apparently you guys don’t listen to voice mails either.”

”Well it’s usually just that infuriating Matori who leaves us voice mails requesting us something dumb”, Jessie muttered defensively. ”Anyway, what were you doing there for that long?”

”Let’s just say I got us an official permission to sell malasadas on both Melemele and Ula’ula islands”, Meowth announced proudly and showed them a license document that Nanu had secretly given to him in the pokébean bag.