After breakfast, Indeedee went to the barn to take care of the animals as usual. Leah had nothing to do, so she followed along.
In the barn, Shane was currently busy cleaning, replacing the animals' bedding with fresh material, and sending the fully grown cows to Kalos via the warp totem.
"Good morning," Leah greeted him.
When Shane saw it was Leah, he pointed to a corner not far away and said: "That's the hay just sent over from Kalos. Ron told me beforehand. Take it if you need it."
"Ah—" Leah was stunned for a moment, only reacting after a while.
Thinking that Ron had sent hay for Deerling from Kalos at the first opportunity, Leah felt her heart soften.
This feeling of being cared for was something she hadn't experienced in a very, very long time. It took her quite a while to respond: "Let's talk about it later. Is there anything I can help with?"
Shane paused, glanced at Leah, shook his head, and continued working in silence.
Meanwhile, in Kalos, time skipped to the afternoon.
From Santalune City to Lumiose City, one would pass through several small towns.
Of course, although they were small towns, they were much larger than Pelican Town.
Haley observed everything around her with great interest.
Kalos itself was synonymous with fashion, so whether it was the architecture, the residents coming and going, or even the Pokémon, everything had a stylish appearance.
"Of course, Pelican Town isn't bad either—but this is amazing!" Haley spun around happily, then turned to look at Ron.
"Are we staying here tonight? Or planning to camp?"
"Tonight?" Ron glanced at his Pokédex, then at the time. "Let's stay here temporarily for now. There seems to be an inn over there."
Ron looked around, his gaze settling on a small inn not far away.
The town wasn't large. That inn probably served trainers heading to nearby cities, so it wasn't very big—just an ordinary two-story building. An old grandmother stood at the door, tending to the flowers beside it.
"Grandma, hello. Can we stay here?" Haley stepped forward and asked.
The old grandmother turned to look at Haley. Haley's appearance would be considered quite outstanding even in Kalos, so the grandmother stared blankly for quite a while before smiling and saying: "Mm, yes, we can. How many people?"
"Two, him and me," Haley said, pointing to Ron beside her.
"Alright, we have rooms available. Wait a moment." Saying this, she walked slowly toward the house: "You must be a Pokémon Coordinator, right?"
The grandmother asked as she walked.
Seeing Haley nod, she couldn't help but smile: "I knew it. Preparing to participate in the Laverre City Contest?"
"Yes!"
"I see. What Pokémon did you bring?"
Haley honestly answered the old woman's questions. Ron's gaze fell on the old woman's hands at this moment.
This person looked very old, but surprisingly her hands were quite nimble. While talking to Haley, she seemed to be recording something at the counter.
"I see, this is your first time participating." The grandmother said, taking out two cards from under the counter: "These are your room keys. Go upstairs, turn right, room on the left."
Before she finished speaking, a bipedal Meowth ran out from the nearby room.
"Jessie! I told you! Don't buy so many clothes!" it complained, placing that bundle of things on a chair: "You must have spent all of Meowth's earnings from last month—"
Before it finished speaking, Meowth noticed Ron and Haley.
This Meowth immediately changed expression: "Th-there are guests, meow?"
It then looked up and noticed Jessie constantly winking at it.
Meowth fell silent for a moment, then suddenly dropped to all fours, acting like an ordinary Meowth, and meowed its way back.
"Is that also a Pokémon?" Haley pointed her Pokédex at Meowth and scanned it: "Why can it talk?"
[Meowth, the Scratch Cat Pokémon. It seems to become more active at night. It likes round and shiny things, and if it finds them, it can't stop from picking them up.]
"Ah, really."
A talking Meowth?
Ron frowned. He then turned his head to look at the old woman again. Almost simultaneously, he immediately realized who the person before him was.
"Why are Team Rocket here too?" Ron muttered in disbelief.
As the perennial villains of Pokémon, the Team Rocket trio enjoyed almost the same level of fame as the main characters.
Before Ron could react, this sentence seemed to trigger some keyword. In the next instant, the old woman before him transformed—no longer hunched and decrepit, but becoming a woman with long pink hair: Jessie.
"Since you asked so sincerely!"
Before she finished speaking, another man burst out from the room and stood beside the woman.
"Then I'll tell you out of the kindness of my heart—"
"To prevent—"
Seeing the people before him suddenly rip off their wigs and begin their inexplicable introduction catchphrase, Ron unhesitatingly pointed at them and gave Froakie an order: "Froakie! Use Water Pulse!"
The next second, a column of water surged toward the two of them.
"How rude!" Jessie wiped her face. The wrinkles that had been stacked on her face instantly disappeared, revealing a beautiful face: "Can't you wait for people to finish speaking!"
"That's right, meow! Even the twerp would listen to others finish speaking, meow." Meowth huffed, somehow pulling out a button from somewhere and pressing it fiercely in front of the two: "Since that's the case, then we have nothing more to say to you! Hand over your Pokémon!"
As soon as the words fell, a huge cage dropped from mid-air.
Ron pulled Haley aside to dodge.
"Meow?"
Meowth stared blankly at the trap that missed, saying in disbelief: "Could it be we haven't done this in too long? Those twerps used to be caught every time!"
"I told you, wait until they get to their room. Who told you to be so impatient," James couldn't help but complain.
"It's all Meowth's fault! If it hadn't suddenly spoken, we wouldn't have been exposed!" Jessie immediately shifted the blame to Meowth beside her.
Ron silently pulled Haley, who still didn't understand the situation, and left the inn directly.
"What was that? Who were those people?" Haley looked back confusedly, asking repeatedly.
"Nothing. Be careful in the future too," Ron thought for a moment and said: "On the streets, if you see people with a Meowth, poor disguises, groups of two people plus one Pokémon, plus a Wobbuffet, stay far away from them."
"Oh, oh."
Inside the inn, by the time the two reacted, Ron had already walked who knows how far.
"It's all your fault for arguing! Now what, follow them?" James asked.
"Of course! Didn't you hear that woman is from Pelican Town? Any Pokémon from Pelican Town—Meowth wants to catch them all!" Meowth said, walking into the room and releasing the original innkeeper.
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