"Meowth! What are you doing?!"
Every time Team Rocket makes an appearance, they repeat these dialogues. Some details might change, but the overall structure remains the same.
Meowth's "That's right!" serves as a symbolic finale—whether it's windy or rainy, it's never been skipped.
But today, it fell apart.
James no longer held the rose in his mouth and lowered his head to check on Meowth.
Meowth was already standing in the designated position, but his legs looked weak, and his eyes were replaced with heart symbols—he was clearly lovestruck.
"Meow... I think I'm in love again... She's even more beautiful than Meowzie..."
"You still haven't gotten over that Meowth? And there aren't any other Meowths here, are there?"
Meowzie was also a Meowth—Team Rocket Meowth's first love.
Upright-walking Meowths are actually very rare. The reason Team Rocket's Meowth walks like a human and can even speak human language is all because of Meowzie.
Meowzie liked wealthy humans who walked on two legs, so Meowth wanted to become one too.
But Meowth never got his love, even when he met Meowzie again later and defeated his evolved form, Persian—Meowzie still didn't give him a second glance.
At first, she thought the stray Meowth was weak and pitiful, and even when he became more human-like, Meowzie only found him disgusting.
Yet, on their daily journey to capture Pikachu, Meowth encountered another upright-walking "cat Pokémon"—one with even longer legs.
"Get a grip! Did you forget what we came here to do..."
Swish!
The rose in James's hand was snatched away. Because Meowth spent so much effort learning to speak human language, he couldn't use most of Meowth's moves.
But now, it was as if he had learned teleportation—he suddenly appeared right in front of Nekomi.
"I'm Meowth. Beautiful lady, may I get to know you?"
"Meow? (You can speak human language? How did you do that?)"
Nekomi was very intrigued by the fact that Meowth could speak human language. Though she could communicate with Rowan normally, she always felt like something was missing.
So for the moment, she withheld her hostility toward the approaching Meowth. Of course, the main reason was that this was a male cat.
If it had been a different gender, the suddenly approaching Meowth might have already been sent flying high into the sky.
And that simple question pierced his heart like an arrow—yes, one shot by Cupid.
She was also a "cat," yet this unfamiliar long-legged lovely lady from Meowth's perspective didn't say he was disgusting. In fact, she was curious.
"It just takes a little talent and a bit of hard work. Back in Hollywood, I studied this move in their language classes..."
Whoosh!
A mechanical claw suddenly clamped onto Meowth's waist, then yanked him back.
"Meow? Let me go, meow!"
"Enough, Meowth! We're here to catch that brat's Pikachu, not to let you fall in love again! Did you forget what happened last time with Meowzie?!"
A robot, made from who-knows-what kind of material, emerged from the smoke. Inside the control room, Jessie impatiently shoved Meowth into a pilot seat.
"She's different! Let me out, now!"
"Catch the brat's Pikachu first!"
The robot suddenly started dancing in place—it looked like there was some kind of scuffle happening in the cockpit, which finally settled down after a moment.
Inside the cockpit, Jessie now had a few claw marks on her face, and Meowth had two fresh lumps on his head.
Judging from the robot's current movements, Meowth had clearly been forcefully subdued by Jessie.
"Team Rocket... Why won't these guys just disappear? We even changed our destination last minute, and they still caught up with us?"
"Who knows, Mr. Rowan. Be careful, these people are villains who specialize in stealing other people's Pokémon..."
Misty warned Rowan to be careful, but noticed Rowan calmly making a phone call.
"Yes, we're at the Pokémon Center. It's Team Rocket, a foreign organization—they've already destroyed one of the walls.
Evidence? They said themselves that they're Team Rocket! Yes, yes, on the south side. Please hurry."
"Um... Mr. Rowan, what are you doing?"
"Calling the police. Don't you guys have Officer Jenny over on your side too?"
"..."
Although Ash and his friends had worked with Officer Jenny quite a few times before, it was extremely rare for anyone to actively call her to deal with Team Rocket.
After all, they were usually wandering through remote wilderness, and waiting for Officer Jenny to show up in time was never an option.
Over time, they'd developed a kind of reflex to handle things themselves.
However, Rowan wasn't very pleased after hanging up the phone. Judging by the response from the police dispatcher, he wasn't the only one making the call.
Team Rocket's entrance had made too much of a scene—the thick smoke alone had already caused several people to report it. Rowan's call merely offered a bit more detailed information.
This made Rowan suspect he might not get the full reward.
"Ahem! Don't be scared! We're big shots close to the boss! Being with us will be way better than your current situation!"
"Once we hand over Pikachu, we'll be even more valued by the boss!"
Jessie's mother was a founding member of Team Rocket, James was heir to a major conglomerate, and Meowth was a rare Pokémon capable of speaking human language.
In a sense, they were kind of big shots—but most of what Meowth was saying was just exaggerated bragging.
Hearing all this, Rowan suddenly remembered something and redialed the phone to add more intel.
"It's still about the Pokémon Center incident. I have additional information to report—these people are the trusted inner circle of the organization's boss."
"How do I know that? They said so themselves!"
Meanwhile, Nekomi's expression had shifted from mild interest to intense disgust.
Someone was trying to separate her from her Trainer?
The last person who said something like that ended up as raw material for equipment!
The more Nekomi thought, the angrier she got. Seeing the robot slowly closing in and Rowan still on the phone, Nekomi made her decision.
Brock and Misty had just released their Pokémon and hadn't even given commands yet when they noticed a blue glow lighting up their faces.
The source of the light was in Nekomi's hands—but the thing itself left them stunned.
"What is that?"
"That's… probably an Aura Sphere?"
"Aura Sphere... is it usually that big?"
They weren't surprised that Nekomi could use Fighting-type moves—but a normal Aura Sphere was about the size of a volleyball. Nekomi's, on the other hand, was the size of a hot air balloon.
With both hands raised high above her head, channeling energy into the Aura Sphere, she looked more like she was charging a Spirit Bomb. [TN: Dragon Ball]
And the most crucial part? She could actually fire it.
"Meow… ha!"
The massive Spirit Bomb—uh, no, the huge Aura Sphere—was released from her hands and drew a graceful arc through the sky, landing squarely on its target.
BOOM!
The freshly finished robot exploded on the spot under the sheer power of the Aura Sphere. Only Team Rocket's battle-hardened bodies could survive something like that.
From within the damaged Pokémon Center, two voices rang out one after the other:
"What a disgusting feeling!"
"My five hundred thousand!"