(XXI) A Rough Night...

Meowth jumped down from atop the awning, landed on the stone table quietly and loudly said, "Hey there buddy!"

Isaac turned around and saw the Pokémon close to him and stumbled backward, falling as he screamed in shock, "Wha-? Who said that?" He asked looking around and not seeing anyone else.

Meowth jumped down in front of him and slowly approached him as he said, "I did buddy, what's the matter? Cat got your tongue?"

Isaac scrambled away on his back as he stared at the talking Meowth, "A talking Meowth? Wait are you the Meowth?" Isaac regained his composure and stood up dusting himself off as he stared down at the small cat Pokémon.

"Ohoh! You know of me, do ya?" Meowth puffed his chest as he was filled with pride as he rubbed his nose.

"Of course I do! I can't believe those people at Camp Pokéhearst would string up a poor hungry Meowth for trying to eat a baseball! The monsters!" Isaac explained, "Then to be a member of the Meowth Gang and be rejected by Meowzie? It was as tragic as Romeo & Juliet! I cried tears!"

"That was a lifetime ago chump! Besides..." Meowth waved his paw brushing off the emotions from his past before stopping mid-sentence and glaring at Isaac fiercely, "Hey! Wait a second! How do you know about that, huh? I ain't told a soul none of that!"

"Uh..." Isaac muttered as Meowth extended one of his claws and pointed it at him causing him to place his palms out in front of him, "No! No! No! I'm not a bad guy! I swear!"

"Of course, you're not with the bad guys! I'd know if you were!" Meowth said with a sly voice, raising his claw higher as he pointed it at Isaac's face.

"You must be working for Giovanni right now yeah? How established is Team Rocket right now?" Isaac asked, dismissing Meowth's threat. If it would have been anyone else he might have been afraid but through the Anime, he was more afraid of a wild Pokémon than Meowth, unfortunately, Isaac immediately regretted this line of thinking.

Meowth's eyes squinted as he bared his fangs and pounced on Isaac, knocking him back onto the ground as he gripped his collar and pressed his extended claw against the young man's neck, "You had better watch what you next say pal, it just might be your last words."

Isaac's eyes went wide as he gulped, "I-I-I'm sorry!" He screamed as he started panting heavily.

"No one knows who the boss is! How do you?" Meowth growled, inching his face closer to the terrified young man.

'Shit!' Isaac exclaimed internally, 'How am I supposed to talk my way out of this..?' He thought as his eyes darted left and right as he stumbled with his words, "Um... Uh... You see..."

"Quit stalling chump! Don't you know I'll slice you into sushi?" Meowth growled angrily.

When it finally donned on him, he sighed and smiled, "Can you keep a secret?" Isaac asked, "This is top secret, beyond even the Elite Trio or the Three Beasts!"

Meowth squinted his eyes and glared at Isaac, "Keep talking and don't think you can lie and weasel your way outta this!" He ordered.

Isaac shook his head, "I'm sorry, I've sworn to Giovanni that I would not disclose my mission unless they swore to never tell a soul!" Isaac feigned shock as he covered his mouth with his hands as Meowth loosened his grip on his collar and continued to glare at him.

"You mustn't tell a soul! Only Giovanni knows!" Isaac continued his charade as he plead with Meowth.

"Fine, fine, I promise. Quit your crying!" He replied as he jumped off Isaac and stood idle. The young man stood up once more and sighed in relief as he dusted himself off.

"You must be in trouble if he sent me to bring you in!" Meowth goaded him while smirking.

"He sent you to kidnap me..?" Isaac was dumbfounded, 'What does Giovanni want with me? I'm nobody special!'

"Sheesh, kidnap? Nah! Since you work for the boss obviously I'm here to take you to the boss!" Meowth laughed patting the air with his paw.

Isaac rolled his eyes, 'This... is not good...' He thought looking around at the empty park grounds surrounding the PokéCenter, "Alright, where's the secret entrance?"

"Tut! Tut! Tut!" Meowth closed his eyes and wagged one of his 'fingers' back and forth, "Now, you should know better than to ask that!" He produced a blindfold from behind him and held it out, "Here. Put this on!"

"You've lost your mind Meowth, I am not putting a blindfold on! Just tell me where to go and I'll do it when I have a moment. We both know he would never interfere with an ongoing mission unless there was a risk of it failing." Isaac's demeanor had completely changed. He knew who was before him. 'Once a coward, always a coward.' Isaac thought before he continued.

"He obviously has something to give me otherwise he wouldn't have sent you. Now, give me the damned location and get out of here before you blow my cover!"

Meowth recoiled back as an expression of surprise spread across his face, "Sheesh! You sure do have the boss' lack of humor! Just messin' around with ya! Here's the address!" He said as he handed Isaac a folded piece of paper.

"Thank you!" Isaac huffed as he snatched the paper from Meowth's paw, "Now scram!"

"Now list-" Meowth started to scold the young man, who immediately brought out Ava and Artorious.

"I tried to play nice with you in the beginning, if you want to keep pushing the boundaries, I think my Eevee and Nidoran would happy to oblige and show you how hospitable I can be..." Isaac threatened as Ava's fur stood on edge and Artorious took a step forward menacingly.

"Vee! Vee vee!!" Ava hissed.

"Nii!! Ni ni ni niiii!" Artorious bleated angrily.

"Alright! Alright, you made your point!" Meowth held both paws up, shaking his head, "I won't bug you anymore!" He said before turning around and jumping up to the arbor and leaping out of sight into the leaves of the nearby trees.

Isaac stood still as he stared into the distance. After standing alert for a moment, he finally sighed and closed his eyes as his head sunk into his chest.

He turned around and started walking toward the PokéCenter as Ava and Artorious ran after him. When he got closer he returned both to their pokéballs and entered, approaching Nurse Joy.

"Good evening, how may I assist you?" She greeted him with a short bow.

"Is there any place I can get a room for the night?" Isaac asked, fatigue had settled in as the adrenaline had left his body drained.

"There are a few hotels that we are partnered with who provide reduced rates for trainers passing through. In addition, if you have a Trainer Card ranked higher than normal, we do offer a single night for free here in all PokéCenters on your first visit." She explained as she spread out half a dozen of pamphlets of local businesses.

Isaac sighed in relief, "That's the best news I've heard all night!" He exclaimed as he reached into his bag, producing his Badge Case, and opening it to reveal his Cobalt Trainer Card.

"Excellent!" Nurse Joy clasped her hands together as she scanned the tiny barcode on the bottom of his Trainer Card and began typing away on her keyboard.

After a moment, she reached under the desk and produced a keycard, handing it to Isaac, "Here you go! The elevators are on the second floor at the back of the lobby. Your room is on the third floor. This keycard opens both the elevators and your room. Thank you and enjoy your stay Mr. Firenze!"

Isaac smiled and nodded, "Thank you, have a great night Nurse Joy!" He said as he went around the desk and climbed the stairs to the second floor where curved leather couches surrounded tables.

He ignored the various empty counters of the kiosks as he approached the elevator and called it with his keycard. Riding it to the third floor, he located his room and went inside.

After locking the door, he looked around the small room with a single bed and a private PC in the corner. There was an adjacent room where Isaac found a tiny bathroom and closed the door. The final door led to a tiny closet with a washing machine and dryer combo under a clothes rack.

Isaac took his bag and trainer belt off, kicking his shoes off before falling onto the bed. He was barely able to remove his PokéSpecs from his head before he was knocked out.

———

Daily Chapter! Once again, sorry for the late chapter!

52 Power Stones the other day! You guys are CRUSHING it!!! I'll be posting another two Bonus Chapters today! I am blown away by all of your support! Thank you so much!!

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