Team Rocket...
His dislike of villainous organizations suddenly gave Baimu an idea.
To him, even if Alolan Meowth joining Team Rocket had no effect on the main plot of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, depriving Team Rocket of one clever Pokémon would still be a good thing.
Childhood nostalgia?
That only applied to Jessie, James, and Meowth. It had nothing to do with the notorious Team Rocket.
If Liu Ge hadn't mentioned that the International Police Headquarters had other plans, Baimu might have taken Hoopa to find Mewtwo in some corner of the world, then gone to have some fun with Giovanni.
On second thought, though...
Alolan Meowth had probably already contacted Giovanni in far-off Kanto through Jessie and the others.
Perhaps its original goal had been to fool those two idiots so it could live it up here for a while.
By now, that goal had probably changed to replacing Persian and becoming the top cat, enjoying the luxurious life Giovanni could provide.
This was tricky!
Even if he found it a good home now, there was a strong chance it would steal the family's money and run off to Team Rocket Headquarters in Kanto to offer its services.
The reason was simple.
The smarter a creature was, the stronger its sense of self tended to be.
When Baimu had first caught Dragapult, it spent all day invisible and only showed itself briefly at mealtimes. Even after it started listening to him, it had once been so crushed by a tournament loss that it ran away from home.
In short, it could be single-minded.
Alolan Meowth genuinely believed its wits could help it replace the Persian on Giovanni's lap and win that man's favor.
That was why it couldn't wait to present itself.
Drawing up a rosy future