“The relationship between Pokémon and trainers should not blindly emphasize a master-and-pet dynamic.
More often than not, trainers and Pokémon are partners who fight together for the same goal.
Pokémon can unleash even greater combat power for their trainers…”
At the Pokémon Research School, Lorelei stood confidently on the podium wearing a light purple outfit, delivering her speech to hundreds of students below.
Aaron sat to the side listening.
Watching her confident expression, the corner of his mouth curled slightly.
Although she wasn’t yet one of the Four Heavenly Kings, from the way she carried herself now, she already had the aura of the future Ice Queen.
Confident, decisive.
Even though this speech had been written by him.
“That was a great speech, Master.
So you should find a shared goal for us to work toward instead of just exploiting me,” Meowth said from the side.
Although Aaron had already captured it, he still didn’t force it into a Poké Ball.
A Pokémon with intelligence and emotional capability no different from a human being locked inside a ball—Aaron himself felt that was basically abuse, so he usually let it stay outside.
As for why Meowth hadn’t run away yet, the answer was simple: it couldn’t resist tomorrow’s fried chicken.
And then “tomorrow” kept repeating itself for nearly half a month while it stayed by Aaron’s side.
Of course, Meowth didn’t realize that even if it tried to run, it wouldn’t get far.
Because Aaron didn’t fully trust this cat’s character, he had already secretly installed an all-league tracking system on it.
As long as he wanted to, Meowth could be found no matter where it went.
“My dream?
Isn’t it money?” Aaron chuckled.
“Once I have enough capital in a few years, I’ll help you do business.
I’ll even get you a pure gold coin.”
Meowth’s dream—or rather, the dream of Team Rocket—was always the same: get rich, and get very rich.
In fact, because they were part of Team Rocket, from the Hoenn region onward their dream had evolved into something like: “Climb the ranks, become division chiefs, and feel amazing!”
Even Aaron had never understood why those three were so obsessed with catching Pikachu.
From the few times they had shown up at League conferences trying to make a living, it was obvious they were actually quite capable at legitimate business.
If they had just gone straight, they would’ve become rich long ago.
They were completely wasting their talent chasing Pikachu.
“Pure gold coin!
For cats!” Meowth’s eyes lit up instantly.
Its escape plan was temporarily shelved—it would at least stay until it got the coin.
“Make way, give us a seat,” a gentle voice suddenly sounded.
Aaron looked down and saw a man and a woman in student uniforms squeezing their way over.
He found it a little amusing.
For a professional lecture, those who arrived halfway through were either top students or bottom-of-the-class failures.
Judging by their behavior, the latter seemed far more likely.
But something about them felt strangely familiar.
One had short light-blue hair, the other long purplish-red hair… and when he glanced at Meowth beside him, it almost felt like the three of them belonged together.
“Hey, James, why are you talking so much?
Just sit down already.
And you—are you a Pokémon Trainer?
Then keep your Pokémon in its Poké Ball.
Why is it even out here?” the purple-haired woman snapped irritably at the man beside her, then turned a commanding glare toward Aaron.
“Jessie, that’s not nice… this is someone else’s seat,” the blue-haired man said awkwardly.
Hearing this, Aaron confirmed his suspicion.
Right.
These two were Jessie and James—the future members of the trio known as Team Rocket, together with the Meowth beside him.
The so-called “ever-changing protagonist, ever-present Team Rocket.” From Kanto all the way to Alola, wherever Ash went, they were always there.
Even after Misty and Brock left, they still followed along.
No matter how many regions changed, those three comedic villains were always somewhere in the background.
Some even joked that the real female lead of Pokémon wasn’t Misty or May or Dawn—it was Jessie, because no other “heroine” had that much screen time.
But listening to Jessie’s commanding tone, Aaron felt uncomfortable.
In Team Rocket’s trio, the hardest one to get along with was definitely Jessie—bossy, arrogant, impulsive, and self-centered.
While the trio was generally likable with their “cute and charming villains” introduction, if you had to pick the least likable one, it would still be Jessie.
“You two idiots are late, and now you want Meowth to give up its seat?
Not happening, meow,” Meowth snapped before Aaron could even respond.
“Huh?
A Pokémon can talk?” James said in shock.
“Who cares?
A Pokémon dares to refuse humans?
I’ll kick you to death!” Jessie stood up instantly, baring a fierce expression.
Meowth was actually startled for a moment.
Even Aaron paused, thinking: Is Jessie secretly a humanoid Pokémon that learned the move Scary Face?
Jessie, who had just been fierce a second ago, immediately shrank back in fear.
She and James lowered their heads and followed the teacher outside.
The dean seemed unsatisfied and continued lecturing them.
From a distance, Aaron could hear something like, “Your credits are already maxed out in penalties.
If you don’t make them up, you’ll be expelled.”
Aaron shook his head.
So this was before they got into cycling, huh?
Before they were kicked out of the Pokémon Research School.
“Two idiots,” Meowth scoffed.
“Sneaking in to attend class and still acting all high and mighty.”
Aaron glanced at it.
You’re really in no position to say that.
Your future level of stupidity won’t be any lower than theirs.
You’re all on the same tier—no need to laugh at each other.
“What?
You’re not going to back out of giving me the gold coin, right?” Meowth asked suspiciously.
“Don’t worry, I’ll give you what I promised.
But I’m going to design a proper training plan for you.
You’re not allowed to run away,” Aaron said.
“Huh?
Master, I’ve already used all my effort learning human language.
My skill slots are full—I only know Scratch,” Meowth complained.
“One move—Scratch—is enough to get by,” Aaron said calmly.
In the original story, there was a so-called “glitch-like” moment.
In the Sinnoh region, Meowth once fell in love with a female Meowth and wanted to leave Team Rocket to settle down.
During the conflict, Meowth actually managed to beat Ash’s Infernape, the powerhouse of Sinnoh, marking one of Infernape’s greatest humiliations.
So theoretically speaking, if trained properly, Meowth could still be quite strong.
After all, this was his second Pokémon—he might as well train it properly.
No need to make it god-tier.
As long as it wasn’t completely useless, that was enough.