"Gold coins!"
"Meow!"
"Speak!"
"What kind of performance do you want to see?"
"With more of these gold coins, I can satisfy any request, meow!"
That was right!
In that instant, under the assault of the gold coins, the talking Meowth betrayed them on the spot. It completely forgot the important reason it and its two companions had come here, and only wanted to get its paws on as many gold coins as possible.
"?!"
"Meow~?"
But before Meowth could say or do anything else, still rubbing itself against the coins, the two people behind it grabbed it and clamped a hand over its mouth.
"Hey!"
"Calm down, Meowth!"
"Snap out of it!"
"We came here to catch her bear!"
"Exactly!"
"How can you go stupid just because you saw a few gold coins?"
"You've really let us down!"
They leaned close to Meowth's ear and muttered all that reproachfully. When they saw the money-loving Meowth start, then slowly regain its composure, the two of them finally breathed a sigh of relief and let it go.
"Meow~!"
"I almost fell for it!"
Once it had calmed down, Meowth of course hid the coins at once. Then it stood before its two accomplices again, all righteous indignation, pointed at Annie, and shouted:
"Hey!"
"Little girl!"
"In consideration of those gold coins of yours, I, Meowth, won't bully you!"
"Now!"
"Hurry up and hand over that bear!"
Then, after the two strange men and women behind it—who called themselves "Jessie" and "James"—stood up straight and struck some bizarre pose, the talking Meowth finally puffed itself up with their support and revealed what it and the two sneaky types who had been following Annie for ages had really come for.
"??"
"Teacher, what do they mean by 'that bear'?"
(°ー°〃)
Annie blinked in