Warning: This story contains a female Pikachu (yeah, bite me), and KrazyShipping. I do not follow the ways of the Diamond&Pearl series. Dawn's Buneary is a lesbian. If this stuff is just too much for you, I suggest you go ahead and make use of the little back arrow at the upper-left-hand corner of your screen, OR, adjust. Thank you, and have a nice, flame-free day. (;

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And now, I present....

"Just A Little Emotion"

Wrong. It was the only thing that'd been swirling around in his mind for a while now. He'd been all wrong. So wrong it was nearly blasting off his mind along with himself, and his two crazy Rocket teammates. Or…maybe he was really the crazy one. It'd just been a one time thing. One time things didn't really mean much, did they? But this one time thing seemed to be dominating all of the little Meowth's thoughts now, day in and day out. Often times, he found himself wondering silly things, and even silently asking himself even sillier questions. What would it have been like? What would happen if a change of course were to come around? They got sillier every time around. But it was all he could do.

After such an incident, how could he bring himself to let it all go and think about other things? It wasn't simply a piece of learned information; it'd been an epiphany. All the thoughts he'd ever had, all the plans he'd been concocting over the years… they were gone now. Everything was different. Everything would be different from now on.

At first, he'd thought it'd be easy. Just forget it. Move on. Lots of weird shit happened in weird situations. It didn't mean anything. It was life. And life was just weird. Right? Well, unless you're one of those unlucky ones who come to find that everything you've believed is a lie. Forget it. Move on. It isn't that simple anymore.

Sometimes he would have flashbacks of the short span of time they'd shared together. The giant Pidgeot, the trees, the Rhydon, the apple… He could sit outside at night and remember the exact moment his newfound realization had occurred. All those time she'd hurt him, but not out of hatred, no. It was from the loyalty she had to that twerpy kid, the so-called trainer Ash Ketchum. And it was that loyalty that kept the Meowth quiet, kept all his thoughts and questions buried alive inside of him. He knew that. But what he didn't know was why.

He no longer enjoyed going on those silly little missions with his team to capture her. It didn't feel right, especially after the second meeting he'd had with the electric mouse. The second meeting had happened only a few weeks after the giant Pidgeot incident; it'd been an accident, just like the first. A random encounter. The two had crossed paths, but instead of the usual tension between them, there'd been none. Meowth had expected it to be back to normal. Why wouldn't it be, he'd thought. But the mouse no longer had the urge to send bolts of electricity in his direction. Things had changed. They both knew they fought on opposite sides, but it was all business now. If Ash didn't give the command, she didn't shock. And this new stance was just one of those things riddled with confusion for the poor Meowth. It was the way things were now, though. They were enemies in battle, neutral elsewhere. It was strange. He didn't know whether he liked it or not.

Of course his own newfound stance was quite obvious to his team. Jessie and James knew him; they knew when he was scared, agitated, lonely. Those were just a few of the things they could usually tell. Once you get to know and love someone as much as they did him, different moods and emotions are hard to miss. Never before had they seen their little friend act this way towards chasing after Ash's team, though. He'd lost interest, motive, he was completely apathetic. The two Rockets could remember a time when Meowth was always the first one awake, dragging them out of dreams and into the next mission. He was determined, energetic, alive. Plans and attacks always gave him just the boost he needed to reach happiness. He didn't really seem sad now, though. Just…different.

"Honestly, that stupid cat makes me worry more every day," the red-haired woman began. "Imagine! Someone like me, worried about a cat."

James glanced back to her. "Well, he is part of our team; we're supposed to worry. Besides, if we don't, who will?"

He was right, Jessie knew. She sighed silently as she shifted her gaze back to the door of the room Meowth was in. The team had been lucky to find this little cabin so close to where Ash and the others were staying. Whether someone lived in the cabin or not, they didn't know. Not that it really mattered to them. The house was empty, the door was unlocked, it'd practically been a welcome mat specifically for Team Rocket.

"James…," Jessie spoke up again. The man gave her his attention. "We've never seen him act like this before. We've seen him upset, but not…well, you know."

James shifted a bit more, facing her as he crossed his arms. "What are you getting at?"

The woman looked down at the floor, hoping her theory was wrong, but what other theories were there? The cat never fully enjoyed anything they did anymore. He would smile, speak, attempt to hide it, but anyone could see how far off his mind was all the time nowadays. It wasn't really like anything they'd seen before. And they couldn't figure it out, no matter how hard they tried. Whether the theory was as bad as it seemed… it was the only thing left. Jessie closed her eyes before looking up again, opening them to meet James' stare.

"I think he's depressed."

The words got a confused expression from the man listening.

"Depressed?" he repeated her, looking away in thoughts as he scratched his head. "But Jessie…he doesn't seem very sad."

The woman gave him a look, her overly dramatic nature already kicking in; she was obviously a bit annoyed now. She didn't like people doubting her theories, especially a fellow teammate.

"You don't have to be sad to be depressed!" she hissed matter-of-factly.

James jumped back a little. "But I thought you did!"

Quieting herself, Jessie shook her head. "No. Depression can be characterized by other things, too. It's not always sadness."

Given that, the cat might actually be depressed, James thought. But what did he have to be depressed about? It still didn't make much sense.

Jessie continued, answering the questions before even knowing them. "There could be something bothering him. Maybe he's been feeling left out. Or maybe he…doesn't like being with us anymore."

The last theory pulled a shock from the purple-haired man. "Doesn't like being with us!? Jessie, how could you think that!?"

The woman growled, tired of being the only one thinking. "Well, when you come up with a better idea, feel free to let me in on it!!"

She was right, James knew. There were only so many explanations they could think of. Maybe Meowth really was tired of them… Just the thought was crushing both of the Rocket members' hearts. Meowth had always been with them. What would ever make him not want to stay? But then again… there was always the chance he did want to stay, and there was something else bothering him altogether. James blinked, suddenly an idea coming to him.

He looked to Jessie again. "Maybe we should talk to him."

The woman's eyes widened a bit before she smiled cheerfully, almost as if he'd won a secret prize she'd had stashed away. "What a brilliant idea, James!" She gave him a push towards the room Meowth was in. "Now you go on in there and find out what's wrong with our little Meowth!"

"Me!!??" James tried to turn around again, but Jessie's pushing was just a little too overpowering. "But I meant both of us!!"

Stopping him at the door of the room, Jessie put her hands on her hips. "Well, I obviously can't talk to him! You're the man, James; you and Meowth would both do well with some man-talk."

"Man-talk?" he repeated, unsure if Jessie had an idea or not. She was persuasive, though. And with her short temper, who knew what might happen if she tried to talk to him. James looked down in thought. "Hm."

But when he looked up again, Jessie was gone. "Oh…fine."

As James looked at the handle of the door, he wondered to himself if this was what Jessie had been planning all along. For him to suggest talking, and in turn, be the one to do the talking as well. He couldn't put it past her. Hesitantly, the man took hold of the door handle. Even if she had planned it, it still didn't change the fact that Meowth was troubled. And a troubled Meowth needed teammate help! James took a breath…and opened the door.

---

The sound of the opening door shattered the thoughts like glass in the scratch cat's head. He jumped, giving a small yip before turning around to see the familiar face of his teammate peeking in the room. Meowth hadn't been expecting that so soon. Not yet, anyway. They usually went to sleep much later than this. Or…was it late already? The cat hadn't a clue. It'd only been a moment and he'd already been thinking too much again.

"Meowth?" James inquired after a short pause.

Meowth answered, "Yeah, what is it?"

After another brief pause, the human welcomed himself in the room, quietly shutting the door behind him as he entered. He wasn't going to bother asking if he could; Meowth could always say no if he asked. He didn't think the cat would say no. But just in case.

Meowth didn't say anything as James entered and sat down next to him. The two sat in silence for a moment or two, either looking away from each other, or out the window. James didn't know how to begin. So Meowth, are you depressed about something? It just wasn't a very good thing to ask. Most anyone would deny a question like that. He needed something better. But as he was pondering questions, Meowth decided to start the conversation instead.

"I ain't deaf, ya know."

James looked to him in surprise, blinking once. "…What?"

Sighing, the cat glanced over. "I ain't depressed, either."

It was then that James finally realized what Meowth meant in the beginning. The surprised look stayed, though, as neither him, nor Jessie had suspected the cat would be able to hear them. Had they really been that loud?

"Y-You heard us!?" he asked, a bit frantically.

Meowth looked up at him now. "Course I did. I'm a cat, I can hear tons a' stuff you humans can't even pick up on. Ya gotta go further away than that to get past these ears!"

Finally calming down, James almost felt stupid for that not crossing his mind beforehand. Of course cats had better hearing than humans. That was just common knowledge. But now with the depression theory out of the way, what did he have to ask Meowth about? He had to ask about something. There was obviously a problem, they just didn't know what.

James began, "Well…if you're not depressed, then what's wrong? There must be something."

There was another short pause between the two. Meowth looked away again, wishing he had something to tell. But he didn't even know what the problem was. At least…not the real problem. The cat gave a silent sigh, trying to get a few words together. They were worried about him. Really worried. He couldn't keep quiet anymore.

"James…the thing is…," he answered. "I don't even know. It's kinda hard to talk about it… I'm sorry I got you two worryin' about me, though."

How could you not know what was bothering you, James thought. It didn't make much sense to him. You couldn't be bothered by something you didn't know about. Meowth had to know, or at least have an idea.

"What do you mean you don't know?" the man asked.

Meowth looked away. "I mean I dunno why it's botherin' me."

"So you do know what it is, then?"

"…I guess."

Now they were getting somewhere. Maybe talking to Meowth hadn't been such a bad idea after all. James waited another moment before he spoke again. He could tell Meowth was getting anxious, and he didn't want to break down everything he'd started before he even knew what the problem was with the little cat.

James continued, "So what is it?"

Meowth hesitated a second with the answer. "…It's that twerp's Pikachu. It's not the same anymore…and I'm not either."

Of all answers, this was definitely the one James would never have thought of even if he'd been given a month to come up with everything that could be bothering Meowth. How could Pikachu be the cause of all this? What had it done? James was completely stumped.

"Pikachu…did what?" he began, looking as if he'd just spoken to a schizophrenic goblin. Suddenly, his expression switched to one of anger. "Did it hurt you, Meowth!? We'll blast that rat off so far into space if it—,"

"No!!!" the cat cut his teammate off, getting a bit more agitated now. "Pikachu didn't do nothin' to me! That's the problem! We ain't fightin' at all!"

James blinked. "Not fighting? Sure you are; whenever we try to catch it, it thunderbolts us all the way back to headquarters."

"I know!" Meowth replied. "But we used to hate each other, James. And now, well…we don't."

Pausing again, James continued, "Are you saying…you and Pikachu are friends now?"

Friends. It wasn't a word that the cat used lightly. After going through the life he had, he knew the different types of "friends" very well. There were the gangs, who stuck together, preferring not to know one another as friends, but allies. There were the ones who would be a friend as long as they got everything they needed; but as soon as the friendship lost its benefits, they were gone. Fair-weather friends was what most people he knew called them. There were the fremenies, who acted like friends, but wouldn't even spare a red cent to save you. And then there were real friends. So far, the only real friends he had were Jessie and James. Meowth didn't know what to call Pikachu.

"In a way, I guess," Meowth finally answered him. "It's different, though. It feels weird."

"Weird…in a bad way?" the listener asked.

Meowth shook his head, not to disagree, just to clear his mind a bit. "It ittin' bad or good, really."

And it wasn't. Meowth couldn't describe it. It was just a weird, yet slightly familiar feeling he got whenever he was around Pikachu. Sometimes when she was around, the feeling bothered him so much, all he could do was leave. And then after he left…he missed it.

Meowth continued quietly, "…It almost kinda makes me remember Meowsie."

"You mean the Meowth you fought that Persian to save?" James asked, running the name through his mind again.

The little cat nodded once; he didn't like thinking about Meowsie. Even after everything he'd done for her, she'd never cared about him. Never even appreciated him. He was pretty much over her now, though, so why had his thoughts been returning to her so much lately?

The purple-haired human didn't quite know what to think about this one. Pikachu was making him think about Meowsie. It was sure odd. Meowth had been in love with Meowsie. But Pikachu hadn't had anything to do with all that. That was back before any of them knew Pikachu; it was even back before Meowth had joined Team Rocket. Soon, though, everything started adding up.

A moment passed before Meowth spoke again, so very quietly and in a way James had never heard up until now. He understood it now.

"I'm scared, James," he answered. "…I'm real scared."