Jessie turned her head and saw Evelyn holding a plate of cookies.
Their eyes met, and Jessie was caught off guard by Evelyn's gentle gaze. She paused, then waved her hands somewhat awkwardly.
"Try some. I just baked them today." Evelyn pushed the plate toward Jessie again, and Jessie took one.
It was just an ordinary cookie—wheat flour mixed with milk, nothing special added. But surprisingly, Jessie found the taste incredibly familiar.
If she had to describe it, it was probably the taste of home.
"Thank you." Jessie smiled at Evelyn. "It's delicious. You're... Evelyn, right?"
"Mm. If you don't mind, you can call me Granny."
Jessie called out to her somewhat shyly.
Hearing this, Evelyn broke into a kind smile. She continued: "If you want more later, you can come find Granny anytime. I live right over there."
Though Jessie said nothing about her past, about her experiences.
Evelyn could tell at a glance that this was a child who had suffered much.
Following the direction Evelyn pointed, Jessie glanced over that way.
"If you're free later, you can come to Granny's house too," Evelyn added. "Granny will make you some stuffing."
She had gathered plenty of hazelnuts in autumn and saved some dried cranberries—perfect for using now.
There wasn't much farm work in winter, and with three new people suddenly at the farm, they should have time free, Evelyn thought, gently patting the back of Jessie's hand.
"Pelican Town welcomes you, child," Evelyn continued. "You're going to love it here."
Over there, James, who had been chatting happily with Gus, turned his head and happened to see Jessie sitting beside Evelyn, speaking softly with her.
James's gaze lingered on Jessie for a moment before turning back to the room.
He couldn't say for sure whether coming here was good or bad, but he had to admit—this seemed to be a place you couldn't help but fall in love with.
Meanwhile, Meowth was sitting with the Rattatas.
"Rattata, rattata." Sailor generously handed the snacks beside him to Meowth's paw: "Rattata!"
"This is for Meowth, meow?" Meowth accepted them.
This time Gus had made pastries and snacks using excess Moomoo Milk from the farm, along with those high-quality eggs, plus Berries and fruits.
Meowth just sniffed them and stuffed them into his mouth.
"So good, meow! This is so good!" Meowth devoured them eagerly, and tears suddenly streamed down his face.
This startled Sailor, who looked anxiously toward Indeedee.
"Indeed..."
Indeedee paused, then reached out and petted Meowth's head.
Forget the past—things will only get better from here.
Indeedee said softly.
With that, Indeedee brought over more pastries from nearby. "Indeedee, indeed."
"There's more at the farm if I finish these?" Meowth held a full bag of pastries, feeling like he was in heaven right now.
Although following Jessie and James, they didn't usually go hungry, things were mostly tight. On one hand, the organization's funding was pitifully low—even working part-time couldn't fully cover all their operational expenses.
On the other hand, those Pokémon-catching machines took up most of their budget, plus Jessie would always impulsively buy piles of clothes they never used, so in the end they could only cut back on food and necessities.
"Indeedee?"
Indeedee couldn't help but frown.
"Ah, not catching Pokémon, not—meow." Meowth waved his paws frantically, feeling cold sweat break out on his back.
Ever since learning that Indeedee could read minds, he had been trying his hardest not to think about Team Rocket-related matters.
But the brain was such that the more you tried not to think about something, the more it kept flipping through your mind.
"Indee?"
"No, meow, no—" Meowth waved his paws repeatedly. "You're all so nice, Meowth and the others would never catch you!"
"Indeedee?"
Indeedee found the Meowth before him increasingly suspicious.
But then again, although Meowth had come with intentions of doing evil deeds, upon carefully observing the memories Meowth revealed, most were foolish methods that were almost funny—basically never successful, and most of the time, they were being blasted off by another group of people he didn't recognize.
Probably because Meowth was so nervous right now, he looked dazed on the outside, but his mind was already flashing through his entire life.
Including how Meowth had inexplicably joined Team Rocket, and what kind of life he had spent with Jessie and James—all of it was laid bare before Indeedee.
"Indeed." Indeedee reached out and patted Meowth's head, then ran over to Nurse Joy to get him a glass of Moomoo Milk.
"Indeedee."
"This is for Meowth—you don't think Meowth is a bad guy, meow?"
Meowth stared blankly as he accepted the glass of Moomoo Milk from Indeedee.
Indeedee shook its head.
If anything, Indeedee just felt it was a bit of fate playing tricks—a Pokémon who had worked so hard to learn a complex human language just to be liked, turned into what he was now through countless tragic twists of fate.
But honestly.
His heart wasn't that bad.
Indeedee thought, sitting down in a chair.
"Indee."
"Life will get better and better from now on, meow?" Meowth held the glass of Moomoo Milk, carefully taking a sip with his tongue. In the next instant, tears rolled down from his eyes again.
"Actually, Meowth—doesn't think the past was that pitiful, meow." Meowth said, taking another lick: "There's Jessie, and James—Meowth's life is very happy, meow."
Although they had never really achieved anything, and stealing Pokémon had never been successful.
Even thinking about it carefully, it was all a bit funny—three people determined to become Team Rocket executives, inexplicably chasing a Pikachu all over the world.
Spending their entire savings to develop some machines, so broke at times that the three of them had to share a single cookie.
But because they were always together, always working toward one goal, always having something to strive for, always having hope.
"Indeedee." Indeedee patted Meowth's head.
"You're asking Meowth why they catch that Pikachu?"
"Indee."
"It's to present it to Boss Giovanni, to get promoted and rich—" Meowth reflexively recited their slogan, then paused, taking another sip of milk.
"Indeedee?"
"Yeah—why was it, meow." Meowth drank the milk, couldn't help but ask softly.
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