Midnight Talk

It was nighttime, dark outside. Ash, May, and Max were camping in a forest, with two sleeping peacefully in the tent. The third, however, had something on his mind. He sat up and ran his fingers through his jet-black hair with a sigh. Ash carefully got up and crawled out of the tent, not waking the others. He stood up and stretched, moving his hands around his belt. Ash gasped as his hand stopped on an empty spot. One of his six pokeballs were gone. He peered in the tent, but didn't see anything. He looked around the ground for the red-white sphere, then saw it underneath the tent's opening flap. It was open.

"How did you get out here…?" he thought to himself, then heard a rustling nearby. He looked into the bushes and saw a large figure walking away. He wondered, then quietly followed behind it. After a few minutes of following a safe distance behind without identification, Ash saw the figure stop. It sat on a large nearby rock, looking into the sky. Ash slowly put his foot down…

Snap.

"Scep?" Ash heard the figure say. He smiled as he recognized the voice, then stepped out of the bushes into the small clearing with the figure.

"Hey, Sceptile." Ash greeted his faithful lizard. Sceptile sighed and waved, then looked back at the sky. Ash stepped beside him, then sat on the edge of the rock. "Couldn't sleep?" he asked. Sceptile nodded. "Me neither." Ash replied with a chuckle.

"Sceptile cep?" Sceptile asked in its native tongue. Ash sighed, leaning back.

"Just something, Sceptile. What's on your mind?" he asked back.

"Sceptile scep, sceptile tile." Sceptile replied with a sigh.

"Really?" Ash asked. Sceptile looked at him and nodded. "….I know what you're feeling. I've got the same thing." Ash replied.

"Scep?" the lizard looked at him with confusion.

"Yes, me. Who else?" Ash asked the lizard.

"Dumb humans…can't understand ma feewins…"

Ash and Sceptile looked around for the source of that voice. Sceptile lowered his head, then pointed into the bushes ahead of them. Ash and Sceptile stood up and quietly snuck into the brush, looking for the voice. Ash heard mumbling ahead, then another small clearing came into sight. Ash and Sceptile stepped into it, searching. It was empty except for a large rock in the centre.

"…Do you think we imagined it?" Ash asked the lizard. Sceptile shook its head, peering around cautiously.

"Who's there?" the voice called again. Ash looked around, the voice sounded so close. "Whoever's there, get weddy fo' a woild of hoit." it called out again.

"…Who are you? Where are you? We won't hurt you." Ash called, looking around.

"Twoip?" it asked out. Ash gasped at that word, knowing three people who says that. But only one with that accent.

"Meowth?" Ash asked. There was no movement for a few seconds, then a small white feline figure stepped out from behind the rock.

"It is you!" Meowth said.

"What are you doing out here?" Ash asked, stepping closer.

"Scep!" Sceptile said defensively, the leaf on its right arm glowing green.

"Sceptile, stop." Ash held an arm in front of him. Sceptile glanced at Ash. "I don't think he's planning anything." Ash said, looking at the mouse. Sceptile nodded, then lowered its arm.

"What're you doin' here, twoip?" Meowth asked him.

"Me and Sceptile had something on our minds. We couldn't sleep." Ash replied, stepping closer.

"It's a fair concept, aint it? Couldn't sleep?" Meowth asked, hopping on the rock and sitting. Ash and Sceptile glanced at each other as they stopped beside Meowth.

"Yeah. What's on your mind, Meowth? Jessie and James giving you trouble?" Ash asked as he leaned against the rock, crossing his arms.

"No, not that." Meowth replied, leaning back.

"Then what? And how are you talking normally now?" Ash asked.

"I've been learnin' to talk normally in human speech, but there are some tings I'm still havin' problems with." Meowth replied. Sceptile leaned forward against the rock behind them, arms crossed on the rock rating on his elbows.

"That's good. I've always known you have potential, Meowth. I think Team Rocket's holdin' you back." Ash said, looking at the sky.

"Really?" Meowth looked at him. Ash nodded with a smile. "…You know, that weminds me of the blue-headed twoip in Sinnoh. She said I could become a movie star." Meowth said with a chuckle.

"Well, you can. A talking pokemon would be famous anywhere." Ash said.

"What's on yo' mind?" Meowth asked him.

"…Hey, I asked you first. You answer first." Ash said.

"…Fine. I've been thinkin'…about my past recently." Meowth said quietly. Ash wondered what he meant.

"Wait…what do you-"

"Back when I lived in Hollywood. I guess I never told you, twoip." Meowth said.

"Told me what?" he asked the feline.

"…Back in that town…I was a stray. I lived like all the other meowths. Raiding restaurants for food, living in alleyways…..I was the homeless cat back then. But one day….I fell in love." the cat sighed.

"Love…" Ash said quietly to himself.

"From the moment I saw her in that window, I knew that female meowth was the one for me. I tried to impress her, but nothing woiked. She said I was a worhtless cat and I would never have her…" Meowth said slowly, then took a breath in. "…then her owner put her back in her pokeball. She was a fat old hag, rich beyond belief…then she whacked me with an umbwella. She said to stay away from her pokemon, hitting me again. I felt angry that day, then decided to take a step forward in my life. I wanted to become like a human." Meowth said, closing his eyes.

"…So you took speech and walking lessons?" Ash asked the cat.

"Yes. I listened to a school classroom in the roof vents, hoping to learn to speak. I also hid in the old rooftiles in a dance studio, learning to stand on two feet." Meowth told them.

"Wow/Scep…" Ash and the lizard said quietly.

"After a few weeks, I had gotten very good at it. I found the same meowth on the same window, then showed her my abilities. She stared at me, then said…showing off was a waste of time. I felt my heart rip in two. After all the time I took, all that time of learning human abilities…. she tells me it's a waste. That day, I formed a vengeance. I robbed the same restaurant I did every day, but I grabbed more than usual. I was angry. The chef, who luckily had a good throwing arm, managed to knock me down with a pot from the entrance. As I looked up from the pavement, I saw a group in the alley beside me. I got closer and saw a group of meowths and one persian. They took me for a home, helping me with my homelessness." Meowth said quietly. Ash watched a tear roll down Meowth's cheek. Ash put his hand on Meowth's shoulder and patted his small shoulder. Meowth looked at him, giving a weak smile.

"You don't have to continue, Meowth. I can tell you want to forget this past, Meowth." Ash said comfortingly. Meowth nodded, looking back at the sky.

"…Those times were the worst of my life. I wish they could just leave my mind forever…but it always comes back, no matter what…." Meowth said quietly, letting a single sniffle.

"Life has its ups and downs, Meowth. Everyone has that point in life…where they just want to forget. I, too, have my pasts I want to let go…." Ash said, closing his eyes.

"You, twoip?" Meowth looked at him. Ash nodded slowly, then felt a hand on his shoulder. Ash looked back to see Sceptile.

"Sceptile scep. Tile sceptile." it said comfortingly with a nod.

"…Sceptile…it's okay." Ash told it, smiling.

"Sceptile…sceptile scep, sceptile tile." Sceptile said, frowning.

"Sceptile….?" Ash's eyes widened.

"It seems Sceptile's got a past, too." Meowth said, looking at the lizard. "You say you fell in love…and want to forget?" Meowth asked. Sceptile nodded.

"Sceptile…was it when you evolved? Was it that Meganium?" Ash asked. Sceptile nodded.

"Sceptile fell in love with the meganium as a grovyle, and battled a tropius for territory. After being defeated and meeting meganium, sceptile wanted to return to the tropius and win for respect from meganium." Meowth said, recounting the events that day.

"But when he won….meganium was worried about tropius. She healed him…then they played together as if they were a couple." Ash added sadly.

"Then me, Jessie and James jumped at the opportunity for the two grass-types, snatching them with our mecha. From the anger of loss in love, and the one he loved being stolen….it evolved into Sceptile. At that moment, Sceptile lost its abilities to attack, and was defeated again by us." Meowth said with sincere sadness in his tone of speaking.

"After blasting you off, Sceptile took one last look at meganium before I returned him to his pokeball. From that moment….Sceptile wanted to forget everything that day. Meganium. Love. Anything that crushed his heart." Ash said, patting Sceptile's shoulder.

"Sceptile scep, sceptile tile scep." Sceptile said sadly.

"So you vowed to learn your attacks again….for the meganium that broke your heart, you wanted to become stronger than any grass-type pokemon?" Meowth asked the lizard. It nodded slowly, closing its eyes. "It seems we're on the same boat, then. We've loved…but only been crushed in return." Meowth said.

"…Not only you two." Meowth and Sceptile looked at Ash.

"Twoip?" Meowth asked.

"I've felt love, too. In fact…I still feel it."

END