What Could Have Been! Meowth Rises From the Underground!

(Alternate Universe for BW047 - BW048)

The following fanfic makes use of an AU interpretation of the two unaired and retconned Pokemon Black and White Episodes: BW023 and BW024- Team Rocket vs Team Plasma.

Meowth, Pikachu, and Axew were all fast asleep after their heavenly massages when one of the Audinos brought in the tense and apparently wounded Yamask. The Pokemon's wounds were not as serious as they had once appeared when it was found lying apparently abandoned outside the luxurious Nimbasa City Pokemon Center. The wounds had already been treated, and now the Yamask was in line for a complimentary massage. It was all by the book procedure for the Audino, and before long the Yamask was thoroughly relaxed and dosing.

However, the moment the Audino left the room, Yamask opened his eyes and snickered deviously.

"(Carving my name in the Rock of Eternity)," the Yamask said.

"We need to get that Meteonite out of here before it looses stability!"

"Those Team Plasma chumps are gonna pay for this!"

"Meowth, dat's right! Don't worry guys! I got dis!"

"Meowth! No! It's already too unstable!"

"I said I got dis! Just stay back and let me-!"

"Meowth, NO!"

"Gah! Just gotta fix dese controls!"

"DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING!"

"Don't yell at me, Jess!"

"STOP!"

"NO! No, I can do it! I can wipe Team Plasma out right now!"

"Forget it! Abort the mission! ABORT MISSION!"

"ABORT NOTHIN'! We can't give up now! I'm gonna-!"

Meowth was suddenly jerked awake as he was sent rolling through an air vent while inside a spherical cage. He sputtered and shouted in fear as he floated through the dark passage. Thankfully, the ride didn't last too long, and he landed unceremoniously in a dark room filled with crates containing a whole lot of Pokeballs.

Pikachu and Axew cried out as they fell down in cages of their own.

"Huh!? What the-!?" Meowth sputtered as he looked at Pikachu and Axew's shocked faces. Realization suddenly dawned on him, and he shouted in terror, "Eyyaaaah! Of course! Dat huge Pokeball Vault! All dose powerful Pokemon ripe for the picking! Dere's no way dose two could resist! Dat Ghost Train is a classic Team Rocket scheme!"

"(Team Rocket!?)" Axew exclaimed fearfully.

Suddenly, the room suddenly lurched forward and started moving at a quick pace.

"We must be in the Ghost Train right now!" Meowth exclaimed. He gripped the bars and shook them wildly. Pikachu and Axew watched him almost go mad as he tried to break out of the bars. Of course, it was all in vain, and Meowth slumped forward and sobbed loudly. "Why me!?" he shouted.

Pikachu looked at Meowth with pity, and then looked determinedly towards the door. He then threw himself at the door with an Iron Tail. This only sent Pikachu flying backwards into one of the crates.

Meowth sighed and shook his head sadly, "It's no use, Pikachu. They got us good. We ain't getting outta here."

Pikachu looked up at Meowth and said, "(Oh come on. I always find some way out of your- I mean, Team Rocket's traps. And hey, shouldn't you know the ins and outs of anything they could cook up by now?)"

Meowth scowled at Pikachu and said, "I'm pretty sure dat if you can always figure a way out of our traps, den we obviously never see the outs, or else we would've fixed 'em! I don't know how to get out of here! If anyone does, you do!"

Pikachu blinked thoughtfully, and then turned to Axew, who was on the verge of tears.

Pikachu then looked around at all the Pokeballs around him, and a smile suddenly spread across his face. "(Yeah. . . I do! What we need is help!)"

Pikachu fired an Electro Ball at one of the Pokeballs, and it opened up, releasing Snivy.

"Oh yeah!" Meowth said, visibly cheering up.

"(Snivy! Can you open Excadrill's Pokeball! His Metal Claw can break us out!)" Pikachu said urgently.

Snivy nodded and smiled, "(Right. I got it!)"

Snivy used Vine Whip to grab Excadrill's Pokeball and open it. In a few moments, the three trapped Pokemon were freed.

"Oh yeah! Yer a genius, Pikachu! No wonder we could never catch ya!" Meowth cheered.

Pikachu smiled bashfully and said, "(Well. . . thanks. Now let's get out of here!)"

Everyone began attacking the door. Snivy even let out Pansage for some extra help. Even Meowth unleashed his Fury Swipes at the door. Unfortunately, none of the attacks seemed do anything other than put small dents and scratches on the surface.

Meowth collapsed on his bottom as he breathed in and out heavily. "Well. . . *pant* . . . *pant* . . . dat aint' gonna work." Meowth turned to Pikachu and said, "Well, fearless leader, what do we do now?"

Pikachu folded his arms and closed his eyes in thought.

"(Oshawott's Razor Shell?)" Pikachu suggested.

"Nah, dat Scalchop can't cut through dat door," Meowth said.

"(Scraggy's High Jump Kick?)"

"If Dragon Rage couldn't knock it down, what makes you think that would work?!" Meowth shouted incredulously.

"(Tepig's Tackle?)"

"GET SERIOUS!" Meowth shouted, causing Pikachu to open his eyes and jump backward, "We ain't gonna be breaking dat door down any time soon, ya see? We need something that can cut or burn through it, and fast!"

Pikachu's eyes suddenly lit up, and he smiled broadly. "(I got it! Dwebble!)"

Before long, Dwebble had used his corrosive spray to burn a large circle in the door. The round section of the door fell away, revealing the door to the locomotive of the Ghost Train as they continued to zoom through the tunnel. Everyone cheered in success, and Pikachu ran forward to get a better look at the exit.

"Hey, I gave ya the idea, so that makes me second in command!" Meowth shouted as he ran up besides Pikachu.

Just as they got to the opening, the door in front of them opened, revealing none other than Jessie.

"What!?" she shouted the moment she saw Meowth, "What are you doing here!?"

Meowth sneered at her and said sarcastically, "Yeah, I missed you too, Jess."

Jessie's face contorted with anger and she shouted in an accusatory manner, "You're with the Twerps, aren't you? You traitor!"

"Traitor nothin'! I got fired from Team Rocket! Remember?" Meowth argued back.

Jessie was seething with rage as she gnashed her teeth together hard. "So what!? Those Twerps are still our enemies! How dare you join them!" Jessie said harshly.

"How dare you not stick up for me when I got fired!" Meowth shouted back.

"You deserved it!" Jessie screeched, and anger in her voice actually frightening Meowth into silence, "You nearly caused Castelia City to be wiped off the face of the Earth! And it would have been if Pikachu hadn't destroyed the Meteonite in time! Do you even realize what you did? You caused an earthquake and a tsunami! That was all you!" Jessie bent over slight and pointed at Meowth as she verbally tore into him, "All because you just had to be the one to beat Team Plasma! You had to hog all the glory for yourself! You had to mess around with those controls! And you nearly killed millions of people and destroyed an entire city!"

Meowth shuddered as he looked down shamefully. "Bu-bu-but I-I-I-."

Jessie straightened up and continued, clenching her fists as she spoke, "The only reason you weren't fired the next day was the same reason why you and me and James got chosen to spearhead all of Team Rocket's Unova plans: You've been with Team Rocket for so long and had seniority, plus the boss liked you. There was a huge investigation to figure out whose fault the whole disaster was, but of course even a Psyduck could figure out you were to blame. Just because we changed our motto doesn't mean the old ones don't apply anymore! It's To protect the world from devastation. To unite all peoples within our nation! How could we let you stay in Team Rocket when you try and destroy both the world and the people on it!?"

"(THAT WAS NOT HIS FAULT!)"

Meowth turned fast and looked at Pikachu at utter shock. Pikachu had stepped right between him and Jessie and was glaring up at her with cheeks sparking.

"(It was you and the rest of Team Rocket, always wanting to steal power and use it to take over the world! What do you expect to happen when you're so evil and power hungry! Bad things are gonna happen! So don't blame Meowth! And Meowht's changed too. He's not all bad. It's you two that are bad!)" Pikachu shouted up at Jessie.

"I don't know what you're saying, but I don't care!" Jessie shot back.

Suddenly, the Ghost Train came out of the tunnel and into the light of day.

Jessie smirked and said, "Soon, we'll meet Dr. Zager at the rendezvous point, and all of you will become the property of Team Rocket. Including you Meowth. Oh, and I wouldn't try jumping off the train if I were you. We're moving too fast. Looks like you broke out of here for nothing. Too bad."

"(Thunderbolt!)" Pikachu shouted as he fired the attack.

Jessie quickly closed the door, blocking the attack.

As Pikachu stood huffing and puffing with frustration, Meowth could only stare in fascination and disbelief.

"Did Pikachu just stand up for me?" he thought to himself.

The rest of the adventure went almost too fast for Meowth. The Pokemon managed to destroy the train care coupling, they got onto the roof, they switched the track, Ash and his friends showed up with help from the Subway Bosses, Tepig learned Flamethrower, Dr. Zager's helicopter got damaged, the locomotive got trashed. . .

Meowth soon found himself with Ash, Pikachu, and the rest of the group. Across from them were Jessie and James, equipped with their jet packs and ready to make their escape.

"It's over, Team Rocket! You've lost!" Ash declared triumphantly.

"We haven't lost until we've given up! And we'll never give up!" Jessie shouted back.

"We'll get our revenge eventually!" James shouted, "You'll pay for this, Twerp!"

At this, the strange stirring of emotion within Meowth's chest that started when Pikachu had jumped to his defense suddenly welled up and burst, moving through him with a jolt. Unable to contain it, Meowth suddenly shouted out loud, "His name is ASH!"

James pointed at Meowth and said, "You've just drawn a line in the sand, Meowth! And you crossed it!"

James pressed a button, and the remains of the Ghost Train exploded. When the smoke cleared, Jessie and James had flown up into the helicopter, and were quickly making their escape.

Meowth unsheathed his claws and slashed madly at the thin air shouting at the helicopter. "YOU'LL NEVER BEAT US! TEAM ROCKET ALWAYS LOOSES! YOU'LL NEVER WIN! TEAM ROCKET WILL BURN TO THE GROUND! YOU'LL SEE! YOU'LL-!"

Meowth stopped his wild thrashing when he felt a hand on his shoulder. He turned to see Ash kneeling beside him with a kind smile on his face.

"Meowth. . . just let it go," he said.

Meowth blinked his wide eyes at Ash, and then sighed. "Okay. . . I guess I had better get used to dis. . ."

"Team Rocket sure came up with an ingenious plan this time," Cilan remarked.

Iris nodded and said, "Yeah. I can't help but wonder what they'll try next time."

A while later, the group were gathered in the Anville Town rail-yard, with Cilan overjoyed at being able to tour a Metro Connoisseur's Paradise, and Ingo and Emmet thanking the group for everything they've done and wishing Ash look in his Gym Battle against Elesa.

During all this, however, Meowth had been unusually quiet.

"Hey, Meowth?" Ash asked finally, "Is anything wrong. You've been really quiet."

Meowth didn't answer right away. He stood staring at the ground for a few seconds, then looked up and said, "Listen Ash. . . I." Meowth closed his eyes tightly and turned away, clenching his paws into fists."

"Meowth?" Ash asked nervously.

Meowth turned back to Ash and said quickly, "I want you to catch me!"

Everyone either gasped or let their jaws drop.

"Catch you?" Ash gasped in shock.

"(Catch you?)" Pikachu repeated.

"(Really?!)" Axew exclaimed.

Meowth nodded and opened his eyes. He looked at Ash determinedly and said, "Yeah. Dat's right. You heard me."

Iris frowned and said in frustration, "But when I tried to catch you, you said you wren't going to be anyone's Pokemon!"

Meowth folded his arms and said, "Well, a guy can change, can't he? Heh. I'm pretty much living proof of dat statement." Meowth looked back at Ash and said, "And, well, I've kinda known Ash for years. Sure, I only knew him as that twerp with the Pikachu, but I still knew him. And the time I spent traveling with you guys has been pretty swell. I liked helping that Scrafty and Mandibuzz. I liked taking down that Dream Thief. And I. . . well. . ."

Meowth rubbed his forearm nervously before continuing, ". . . I . . . I've kinda come to like you, Ash. Dat's why I ain't gonna call you 'Twerp' anymore. I've been bothering you fer years, and you still helped me out and took me in. And you really treat all yer Pokemon as friends. So. . ."

Meowth met Ash's surprised looking eyes and said, "So I wanna come with you and Pikachu. Dat way I'll have all the time in the world to make up for everything I did to you and your friends."

Meowth forced a smile and said in what sounded like an attempt to recapture his normal cocky attitude, "And hey! You gotta admit that a life as one of Ash's Pokemon is a pretty cushy set up!"

Ash stared at Meowth, still looking amazed from the revelation. He turned to where Pikachu sat perched on his shoulder. Pikachu just smiled and nodded. Ash smiled back, and took out a Pokeball.

"You ready, Meowth?" Ash said with a confident smile.

Meowt's forced smile became a genuine smile, and he stood up tall and said, "Meowth! Dat's right!"

Ash tossed the Pokeball, and it landed right on the top of Meowth's head. It bounced off and fired the red capture lazer at the Pokemon. Meowth was pulled inside of the ball, and it fell to the ground. It shook three times, the light blinking, and then it ceased. A burst of sparkles and that satisfying tone, and it was done.

"I caught Meowth. . ." Ash said in amazement. He nodded and said softly, "Well, how about that."

"(Yeah. . .)" Pikachu said.

Ash picked up the Pokeball, and tossed it, releasing Meowth.

"Just to be clear, I don't wanna be kept in there!" Meowth said quickly, "I just don't wanna anyone else to catch me! Let me stay out with Pikachu!"

"No problem, Meowth," Ash said.

Pikachu jumped off of Ash's shoulder and walked over to Meowth.

"(I never would have predicted this!)" Pikachu said with a laugh. He held out his paw to Meowth and said, "(Friends?)"

Meowth looked at Pikachu for a moment, then sighed and muttered, "Just know that I ain't ever gonna do this again."

Before Pikachu could ask what he meant, Meowth suddenly leaned forward and hugged Pikachu with all he was worth.

"I'm really sorry for everything," Meowth said.

After Meowth let go, and Pikachu was left wide eyed and wondering if what just happend was real, Meowth winked and said, "And about what you told Jessie back there. . . well. . . thanks."

And so, Meowth has now become a permanent fixture in Ash's Pokemon team. What new adventures await our heroes, which now include Meowth? We'll soon see, as the Journey Continues. . .

TO BE CONTINUED