Pokémon - The Fall of Team Rocket

by Enterprise F

Revised and expanded. After the battle for the World Pokémon League Championship, Ash and Leaf are attacked by Team Rocket, which leads up to a climatic showdown between Ash, his friends and family, Leaf, and Team Rocket where a shocking betrayal changes everything for everyone and the world's freedom hangs in the balance. Delves deeper into the history of Ash and Leaf.

10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

Ash rode Charizard through the small town, trying to find Team Rocket Headquarters as quickly as possible. The town was small and only had a few buildings that mostly consisted of small houses and huts. That made the large building in the center of town stand out that much more. All throughout the town were long, straight dirt roads. Ash scanned the small town and saw a road that led directly to the tall building off in the distance. Looking up, he saw a helicopter race towards the building. It looked like an old Earth attack helicopter. As it neared the building, he noticed that it was beginning to slow down. As it slowed down, he managed to get a better look at it. It was gray with a red "R" on its side. It was clear that it was affiliated with Team Rocket. Seeing no other landing areas, he figured that the helicopter had to be preparing to land on a pad on one side of the building. Wasting no time, he rushed after the helicopter as it slowed down even more as it got closer to the building off in the distance, wanting to reach Team Rocket's Headquarters as quickly as possible.

The group continued to follow the helicopter, being careful to not follow too closely, so as to not draw too much attention to them. They followed the road that would lead them straight to the building. Ash quickly scanned his surroundings as they moved, wanting to make sure that he and his Pokémon did not fall into an ambush.

As they approached the building, they quickly saw that it was much larger than it had initially appeared. It was not so much a building as it was a small base. It had four main wings, one pointing in each cardinal direction. On one of the wings was a helicopter pad and the group saw the helicopter that they were chasing circling the pad. Eventually, the helicopter stopped and hovered over a single spot for a few seconds before descending to the surface. Ash knew that he did not have a lot of time. He knew that he had to get to his sister as quickly as possible to support her in taking down Team Rocket.

Spurring Charizard on, the group surged towards the building, flying low so that they would be more difficult for standard radar to detect. It did not take them long to arrive at the building. As they made their way towards the building, they glanced around their surroundings to make sure that there were no Rockets outside the building that may have been lying in wait. So far, the path was clear. Facing no sign of resistance, they continued to make their way towards the building.

Back outside of town, May, Dawn, Delia, Tracey and their Pokémon stared down the Rocket Brothers. They deployed their Pokémon with Ash's Krookodile jumping into the air, prompting the other Pokémon and humans on the team to prepare to jump. Just as Krookodile landed, they jumped. Rings of energy erupted from the ground beneath bipedal crocodile-like Pokémon and spread out. As the rings spread out, the ground cracked and split, rocks shooting up out of the ground in some areas, and the ground collapsing in others. The ground shook from the impact of Krookodile's landing, knocking the Rockets and their Pokémon off balance. While they were reeling, May and Dawn's Pokémon went on the offensive, with Ash's Pokémon that had stayed behind with Delia staying back to cover them should they need help. A grounded Steelix was the first Pokémon of Team Rocket's to fall in this renewed attack. An Arbok, a purple cobra-like Pokémon with markings on its hood and underbelly, and a Machamp also suffered significant damage, but were still able to fight. Arbok quickly stood erect and fired a barrage of Poison Sting at Krookodile. Silver pins emerged from the cobra's mouth and lashed out at Krookodile. The crocodile-like Pokémon deftly dodged the attack as Machamp rushed towards him, only to be felled by a Bubblebeam from Piplup, and a Fire Blast from Blaziken. Arbok was promptly frozen solid by an Ice Beam fired from May's Glaceon. Glalie soon faced down a Rhydon and froze it solid with a single Ice Beam. Dawn's Mamoswine also joined in the fighting, taking down a Shuckle, a Pokémon with a thick red shell and four yellow legs and a long yellow neck, freezing it with a Blizzard attack.

Looking on at the battle, the Rocket Brothers quickly saw that things were quickly getting out of hand. Despite initially outnumbering the Pokémon of the new arrivals, the losses sustained at the hands of Ash, Mia, and their Pokémon had weakened their ranks enough so that they would be targets for these new arrivals. Not only that, but even after Mia's capture and Ash's return to the battlefield, while they had been able to revive their fainted Pokémon, the Pokémon were still feeling the fatigue from having to battle against Ash and Mia's Pokémon. Added to the fact that their numbers were now down to the point where they were now outnumbered by the Pokémon of Ash's friends and family, things were looking bad for them. In desperation, the Rocket Brothers drew a bead on May, Dawn, Delia, and their Pokémon and opened fire.

Mamoswine quickly used Ice Shard, and a shard of ice formed in front of its tusks. The shard was then launched directly at the Rocket Brothers at high speed, causing them to scatter and fire wildly, missing their marks. The green energy pulses even failed to score a hit on the incoming icicle. The shard of ice struck the ground and remained imbedded. Unfortunately for Team Rocket, it was not large enough for them to take cover behind. The Rocket Brothers, themselves, also took some potshots at the heroes, but they, too, missed their mark as they had to deal with a return onslaught in the form of both May and Dawn's Pokémon. Pink flowers, leaves, ice shards from Blizzard, Ice Beams, and other elemental attacks all streamed their way, forcing them to take cover or be burned and/or frozen alive. They managed to dive out of the way of the oncoming attacks, but their Primeape, a round, white-furred, Pokémon with strong arms and legs that loosely resembled a primate, took the full brunt of the attacks and was lucky to merely be rendered unconscious.

Looking on, they saw two more Pokémon of theirs fall and they quickly realized that things were going from bad to worse. They would not hold out for long. Still, they had to do their best, for while they did not want to risk getting beaten by a bunch of kids, they did not want to go back to Giovanni and report a complete and utter failure, either, especially since Ash had already managed to get through the line. To that end, they continued to fight, hoping that Giovanni would send some reinforcements to deal with these kids before they were completely overrun.

Meanwhile, inside Team Rocket's headquarters, Giovanni sat in his office, waiting for the inevitable to occur. He studied the various reports coming in from the sentries that he had placed and scout parties that he had sent out into the abandoned town, all of them reporting that no one was coming save for Ash, but that he was far away. There was a sighting of Ash's mother and three friends from the hotel but they were currently engaging the Rocket Brothers. Reports were looking bleak for that group, but he did not care. They were doing their job. They were keeping them from being able to come to the aid of either Ash or Leaf. He was not too worried about Ash. Despite stopping some of Team Rocket's plans in the past, he was not all that experienced in really dealing with the more competent Rockets. Leaf, however, had nearly taken down the organization twice without any outside assistance. She was trouble. He soon went over to his desk and pushed a button. The image of Gideon appeared on the screen.

"Giovanni, sir," the lead Scientist almost stammered when he noticed his boss. "What may I do for you?"

"How is Genesect's revival coming?"

"It's coming along nicely, sir. It'll only be about ten minutes or so more before we're ready."

"And the Unova Pokémon transference code?"

Gideon then stepped aside and the image of Doctor Zager appeared. "We're studying it now and we're making progress. However, we still haven't cracked the code so we can't begin using the program to transfer all of Kanto's captured Pokémon to Team Rocket yet. Chances are that it will be quite some time before we can accomplish that, especially if we want to expand its protocols and transfer every captured Pokémon in the world to our computer. And even if we do, we'll still have to control them in some fashion."

"That's what the Badge Amplifier is for. We can control all of our captured Pokémon with that, even the Legendaries."

"Yes, sir," Dr. Zager replied. "I'll inform you when Genesect is ready."

With that, Giovanni closed the channel and screen went blank. The Rocket Boss was then left alone once more with only his Persian to keep him company. He opened his a drawer and pulled out an old Earth slugthrower gun. After checking the magazine to make sure it was loaded, he cocked the gun to chamber a round and then released the magazine. He caught the magazine and loaded a single bullet in to replace the already chambered round. He then put the magazine back in the gun and waited. He knew that while Leaf was a child, she had a great deal of experience infiltrating enemy bases before, particularly his own. Still, she had not faced him when he decided to use conventional means against her before. His slugthrower should be sufficient to stop the girl if it came down to a fight. The bigger problem would be her Pokémon. Each and every one of them was battle trained and battle hardened. There was no way that the sentries would be able to stop her on their own. The fact that nothing had been reported only went to show him that either the defenses had been breached or she was being cautious in her approach. He knew that the girl's mother, brother, and friends were coming and would soon overrun the Rocket Brothers. When they arrived, if he could capture some or all of them, he would have some leverage over her. Still, he knew that it would be difficult and hoped against hope that it would not come down to that, even though he dreaded that it would. While he dreaded facing down Leaf, she was not unbeatable. Ash had managed to defeat her in battle. If he could do that, then there was still a chance that he could beat Leaf, too. After all, in his one battle against Ash before, he had beaten that Pikachu Jessie, James, and Meowth were so obsessed in capturing.

Just outside of Giovanni's office, Aizen stood and waited along with Jessie, James, and Meowth. Knowing everything that was going on, he knew that his goals could be complicated if Ash managed to breach Team Rocket's security too easily, especially if he also got reinforcements, to aid him as well. He did not like Giovanni abandoning the front lines due to the fact that one of his enemies had managed to breach them. He shook his head. Giovanni should have expected this and have taken further precautions. The failed attack on the hotel was really coming back to bite him. He should have either emptied out the base entirely or not at all and merely dared them to come to him. Even worse than the fact that Mia had survived the botched assassination attempt and was coming here, there was still the issue that she had her family to help her try and take down Team Rocket once and for all. With all of those strong Pokémon at their disposal, even the Legendaries that Team Rocket had captured might not have been sufficient to stop them. As it was, there was little that he could do on his own to stop any of them without giving himself away. With the return of some notably powerful psychics to Earth, he wanted to remain hidden. While he wanted his revenge more than anything, if he could catch his enemy off guard and kill him that way, it would be the best-case scenario of all. And if he could kill some of the psychics that had come back to Earth, all the better.

Countless scenarios went through his mind as he played out all possible outcomes of the upcoming battles. He knew that the Rocket grunts that would intercept any intruders on the tenth floor would be casually cast aside like bothersome twigs. He, of course, could defeat any of the humans and their Pokémon with ease, assuming that Pikachu did not have a Light Ball or Leaf and Ash did not decide to Mega Evolve any of their Pokémon, but he knew that doing so would reveal things about himself that he did not want Giovanni, or the rest of Team Rocket, to know about just yet, not to mention that it could reveal his true nature to his enemies and they would know that he was here. Still, Leaf was a Pokémon Trainer, and if Giovanni could manage to get her into a Pokémon battle without any backup coming for her, then he might be able to defeat her, or at least slow her down so that more leverage could be gained on her, possibly by capturing her family. It was a risk, since Leaf happened to be one of the Chosen Heroes, but if things worked out, he could lure his true target out into the open, kill him, and also deal with a few more Chosen Heroes in the process. One thing, though, was that if the lobby were abandoned, then there would be no one to stop Ash, Leaf, and their friends and family from coming in force and making an already difficult situation even worse. He knew that he could defeat Mewtwo, but only if he could execute his plan. For that to happen, he needed to have this battle be a close one, one that Ash, Leaf and friends either could, or would, lose without Mewtwo's interference. To that end, he feigned as if he was receiving a message over his headset.

"Okay," he said, causing Jessie and James to look over at him. They stared as he nodded a few times, as if acknowledging an order to himself and he finished with, "Understood, sir. We're on it."

Looking up and seeing Jessie, James, and now Meowth, looking at him, he heard them ask, "What was that about?"

"New orders from Giovanni," he replied casually. "Leaf has just broken through the Rocket Brothers' line and is on her way here. Ash is also not very far behind. You three are to remain here and intercept the intruder should she appear. Giovanni thinks that Leaf may have backup and that said backup may be a ways behind. After all, the Rocket Brothers had fought Ash and even Leaf before Leaf broke through and you three retreated. I'm to go down to the lobby and intercept him until my own backup can arrive. You three just focus on protecting Giovanni. Hopefully you three won't be needed."

"Understood," the trio replied in unison, saluting him. Aizen then made his way to the elevator that would take him down to the first floor and then to the lobby so that he could intercept Ash or whoever else was coming to aid Leaf.

Inside his office, Giovanni was already considering his options. He did not relish the prospect of facing down Mia, who had managed to beat him on several occasions with him never once having managed to even take down a single one of her Pokémon. He soon opened a channel to the Rocket Brothers and called, "Giovanni to the Rocket Brothers, what's your status?"

The sounds of battle came through the radio as one of the Brothers, the oldest, replied, "We're getting our rears handed to us, sir. There's no way we'll hold out against these kids and their Pokémon."

At the battle, the oldest Rocket Brother watched as Glaceon and Mamoswine froze his Salamence solid with an Ice Beam and Blizzard combination attack. A green bipedal plant-like Pokémon with flowers for hands, Roserade, sustained a direct hit from two Flamethrowers launched by Dawn's Typhlosion and May's Blaziken, knocking it out of the fight. Ash's Venusaur under Delia's command also dealt with a sea horse-like Pokémon, Seadra, that one of the Rocket Brothers had commanded to use Ice Beam on Delia. The Solar Beam unleashed by Venusaur took down the Seadra with a single hit.

Back at the base, Giovanni listened as the Rocket Brothers reported, "We've just lost Salamence, Roserade, and Seadra. Butch and Cassidy have lost all of their Pokémon, too. We're overmatched!"

"Who are you fighting?"

"Grand Festival winners May and Dawn, along with Ash Ketchum's mother, Delia, and a Pokémon Watcher and research assistant named Tracey Sketchit. Delia has some of Ash's Pokémon with her and they're wreaking havoc on our forces. We'll never hold them back!"

"Then don't bother. Get out of there now," Giovanni commanded. "Once you're safely away, stand by and await further orders."

"Understood, sir, and thank you," came the response from the Rocket Brothers. Giovanni then cut the channel and prepared to make his own plans for escape if things went even worse.

Back at the battle, though, Butch and Cassidy looked over at the oldest Rocket Brother as they finished returning their fallen Pokémon to their Poké Balls and asked, "So, what did the boss say?"

"He wants us to get out of here and await further orders," the Rocket Brother replied.

"Thank goodness!" one of the Brothers heaved.

"Yeah," the second agreed.

The oldest Rocket Brother then called out to the others and yelled, "Everyone get back to base. Retreat!"

"Halleluiah," the fourth Rocket Brother cheered as he immediately slipped on his jetpack.

Once the order to retreat was given, the Brother, wasted no time rocketing into the air and speeding out of sight over towards the small town in the distance, Butch and Cassidy quickly following them.

Seeing the Rocket Brothers, Butch, and Cassidy retreat, Delia and the others knew that they could only be heading back to the base. "They're headed back to their base," May called out.

"We have to follow them!" Dawn declared as they rushed after the fleeing Rockets. Delia quickly followed after, grabbing the back of Venusaur so that he could quickly get her to her children.

"Wait!" Delia called, noticing that they were flying in the opposite direction that she saw Ash go. "They're not going back to their base. They're going somewhere else. We can't worry about them," she declared forcefully. "We have to get to my children!" She then told the others, "Ash headed east towards a small town. Follow me!" She then led the way to the town not too far away, with the rest of the group following her lead.

Just outside the base, Mia had finally managed to make it to Team Rocket's Headquarters. She had encountered no further resistance since making it past the Rocket sentries in the town, which surprised her greatly and caused her to be on edge. Once she arrived, she quickly dismounted Garchomp and said, "Thanks for the help, Garchomp. Take some time to rest and conserve your strength. I'll call you again when I need your help." She then pulled out Garchomp's Poké Ball and returned the land shark to it. Once that was finished, she looked took a deep breath and said, "This is it. One way or the other, it ends today."

Mia then released Venusaur and Jolteon from their Poké Balls. Mia focused on the two of them and said, "Okay you two, you're going to be the front line in this assault. If we encounter any Team Rocket Grunts, Officers, or Scientists, we'll have to take them down before they can release their Pokémon. Otherwise, we'll get worn down by superior numbers. Venusaur, I'll need you to use Sleep Powder on them and make it a strong concoction so that they'll be out for a long time." Looking over to Jolteon, she said, "Jolteon, I'll need you to paralyze anyone who makes it through with Thunder Wave. I'll want you to conserve your electricity so that you'll be able to battle if we face off against some stronger members of Team Rocket. You'll also be useful for dealing with any cameras that may be situated in the lobby and halls."

"Jolt," Jolteon replied strongly as electricity crackled in his fur, setting it on edge, indicating that he was ready to go. Once everyone was ready, the group headed towards the building. They quickly arrived and, not stopping to see if there were any sentries, they surged into the building.

The group entered the building to find most of the lobby deserted, save for two members of Team Rocket lounging around, along with couple of Magnetons and a Magnezone. Upon spotting Mia, one of the Scientists, blurted, "Oh great, she's here!"

"Who cares," the other Rocket quipped confidently. "Let's rock her world." Turning to his Magnezone, who was already rising and awaiting orders, he commanded, "Magnezone, use Thunder on that kid. Kill her!"

He did not get the chance to attack, though, for Venusaur and Jolteon quickly attacked Magnezone using Energy Ball and Thunderbolt. The bolt of lightning struck Magnezone and electricity arced across its body just as Venusaur's Energy Ball collided with it. The Pokémon gave a cry as it took the attacks from the two Pokémon. As such, it fell to the floor and was quickly finished off by a second green Energy Ball to the face. The ball exploded and obscured the Pokémon for a few moments before the dust cloud dissipated, revealing the fainted Pokémon. Jolteon then made sure that the other Rocket and his Pokémon would not join the fight by firing a Thunderbolt that branched off into four bolts of lightning. Two of the lightning bolts struck the Rockets and not only knocked them unconscious, but also paralyzed them as well. The other two struck the Magnetons that were beginning to rise and inflicted significant damage to them, but their Sturdy ability prevented them from being knocked out by the lightning bolts. Venusaur then quickly entered the fray and fired a barrage of Razor Leaf at them, knocking them unconscious with the stream of razor-sharp leaves. The two Electric/Steel-type Pokémon fell to the floor and ceased moving. Finally, Jolteon glanced around the lobby and soon spotted a couple of cameras. He then unleashed a Thunderbolt on them and disabled them, the cameras sparking electricity as they were disabled.

Meanwhile, in the headquarters' command center, the base's Chief of Security, Joe Marsden, a man brown hair and brown eyes and wore the standard Team Rocket uniform albeit without a hat. He was quick to notice that the cameras in the central lobby had gone silent, a fact that two technicians were quick to point out. "Chief Marsden, Cameras One and Two have gone silent."

"I can see that," Marsden retorted angrily. "Initiate a base-wide Security Alert. Send some security officers down to the lobby to investigate and report back on the situation."

"But sir, that would take away security forces from the labs and from Giovanni's office and our scientists aren't Pokémon Trainers."

"I don't care," Marsden roared. "Just do it! I'll tell the boss of the situation and tell him to be ready."

"Understood, sir," the technician replied as he carried out Marsden's orders. As soon as the exchange was completed, the technician pushed a button and the lights dimmed and there was now a red hue about the room. Red lines on the wall lit up and flashed intermittently.

Looking to another technician, Marsden bellowed, "Get me Giovanni now!"

"Yes sir," the technician replied as he typed in a series of commands on his console.

On Marsden's console screen, the face of Giovanni appeared. "What is it?" Giovanni demanded. "Why has Security Alert been initiated?"

"Sir, Cameras One and Two have gone silent." Marsden answered. "I have sent security forces to investigate the situation, but chances are that…"

"No," Giovanni interrupted. "Send them to the stairwell that leads to the lobby. She'll likely take the stairwell to avoid detection."

"You think it's Leaf?"

"I know it is," came Giovanni's answer. "Leaf's the most dangerous opponent we've ever faced. We must send everything we've got to face her now before it's too late!"

"But what about any future intruders? What if her brother and family follow her? We can't leave the lobby unprotected."

"Let the others handle the situation if that happens."

"Understood," Marsden replied. He then cut the line and went about alerting security to go to the lobby so they could intercept Mia.

Back in the lobby, Mia was scanning the area hoping to find a stairwell that would take her to Giovanni's office, for she knew that there would be cameras in every elevator and she did not want Giovanni to have advance knowledge of her arrival. As she began her search, though, several elevator doors opened and disgorged numerous Rocket Grunts. The moment the Grunts emerged from the elevators, they stopped and cursed. "Oh crap, it's Leaf!" one of them swore as he drew out a grayish science fiction looking Ray Gun. Before the Rocket got a chance to fire at her, though, Jolteon's Poké Ball opened and the dog-like Pokémon emerged and unleashed a massive Thunderbolt on him. The bolt of lightning instantly struck the Rocket and took him down, leaving the Rocket either unconscious or dead. Needless to say, his threat was neutralized.

The other Rockets quickly formed up and let out their own Pokémon, hoping to send out a force that would outnumber Mia's Pokémon, as well as provide Pokémon shields for them. They sent out several Koffings, two Weezings, a few Machops, and a Machoke. The Rockets grinned, knowing that one of Mia's strongest Pokémon happened to be the Rock/Dark-type Tyranitar, who had a quadruple weakness to Fighting-type attacks. Unfortunately for the Rockets, Mia was not deterred and the rest of her team quickly emerged from their own Poké Balls. Mia could only grin, and the Rockets cringe, as Starmie emerged from one of the Poké Balls. Starmie, of course, was part Psychic-type and also knew Psychic, which it used against the Poison and Fighting-type Pokémon that were arrayed against Mia and her friends. A blue field of energy surrounded the Rockets, human and Pokémon alike, and lifted them into the air. The Rockets tried to draw their side arms but found their movements restricted by Starmie's psychic abilities. After a moment of remaining immobilized in the air, Starmie hurled the Rockets against the wall, where they crashed, denting the wall and leaving cracks in it, and slid down said wall, unconscious or worse. With the Rockets and their Pokémon having been dealt with, Mia continued to make her way down the corridor and scan for the stairwell that would take her to Giovanni's location.

Meanwhile, down in the lobby, Ash had just entered the building and was making his way towards the nearest elevator when the door opened just as he and Pikachu approached. Standing inside the elevator was a single Rocket officer in a black uniform with short brown hair and red eyes staring back at him. "Ash Ketchum," he almost laughed in an ominous tone. "One of the Chosen Heroes." Looking at Pikachu, who was sitting on Ash's shoulder, he continued, "And his Pikachu, another Chosen Hero." He then gave a grin. Ash did not know what this talk of Chosen Heroes was about, but he was not about to let a single Rocket agent stop him from reaching his sister.

Ash was puzzled by his talk about Chosen Heroes, but he did not let it distract him from his mission. "I'm not gonna let you stop me," he declared, grabbing two Poké Balls. "I have to help Mia, and stop Team Rocket once and for all."

"That's a pity because I can't let you get to Giovanni just yet." Aizen then released his own set of Pokémon: an Alakazam, a Magmortar, a humanoid Fire-type Pokémon that had flame launchers for hands and was the evolved form of Magmar; a Leafeon, a green Grass-type Pokémon that was of the Eevee evolution line, a Kingdra, a blue seahorse-like Pokémon that was the evolved form of Seadra, and a little larger and regal looking; a Mismagius, and a Dugtrio, a Pokémon that looked like three brown heads jutting out of the ground, each with a pink nose, and black eyes.

Ash eyed Aizen's Pokémon and grimaced. This would not be as easy as he thought, but he would not let Aizen or his team stop him. He tossed his two Poké Balls into the air and cried, "Everyone, come on out!"

Immediately, both Poké Balls opened and out came Charizard and Blastoise. Ash then grabbed his remaining Poké Balls and opened them up, revealing Sceptile, Donphan, and Snorlax. Aizen merely grinned. "Finally, a battle against a champ. I can't wait." With that grin, he cried, "Everyone, go!"

Ash echoed his cry and the two teams launched their attacks against each other, with the close range combatants charging towards the enemy team. The battle had begun.

Meanwhile, over at the hotel, the police had finally arrived to take the Rocket survivors into custody. Lance and Cynthia watched as the police pulled up in their white hovercars, their lights flashing. When they pulled up, they saw the two Champions and came to a quick halt. The door to one of the cars then opened and out stepped a female police officer with turquoise hair, amber eyes, and wearing a police uniform. Lance and Cynthia instantly recognized the officer as being Officer Jenny, a police officer in a family of police officers where all of the females looked almost identical to one another. Neither Lance nor Cynthia could tell the difference between the numerous Officer Jennys and they even wondered if all of the Jennys were clones. They had also wondered the same about the various Nurse Joys that were seen in all Pokémon Centers all around the Pokémon World.

Upon emerging from the car, Officer Jenny immediately surveyed the scene as the other officers exited their cars, too. She quickly spotted Lance and Cynthia and went over to them, asking, "Lance, Cynthia, what happened here?"

"Thank you for coming," Lance began. "Anyway, Team Rocket launched an attack on the hotel where a party for the Champion was being held."

"Team Rocket was here?" the officer gasped, shocked that Team Rocket would launch such a brazen attack on a hotel where there would be so many witnesses.

Cynthia and Lance both nodded. "They attacked the Champion and his family," Lance answered.

"Were there any casualties?" Jenny asked.

Cynthia shook her head. "No, none of the Champion's party were injured or killed. The attack was repulsed and save for a few escapees, these are the only Rocket survivors from the battle."

"How many Rocket casualties were there?"

"I don't know," Cynthia answered. "There were at least two confirmed dead from another source that was not present at the fight."

"Do you want us to search for the source?"

Cynthia and Lance considered Jenny's question. They had heard from Delia and the others that the Rocket Agent known as Domino had been killed by an energy blast, as had another Rocket. However, they did not want Ash and his family's guardian angel to be arrested and stopped from helping on the chance that Officer Jenny confused him for an enemy. As such, she answered, "No, focus on taking these Rockets into custody. We'll need to question them as soon as we can. There's no way that they would attack the Champion without reason."

Officer Jenny nodded. "Agreed. Well, we'll take the Rockets into custody and find out what they know."

"Thank you," Lance and Cynthia answered.

As they then stepped away as the police swept into the hotel to investigate the attack and take the Rockets into custody, Cynthia's cell phone suddenly rang, something that surprised her.

"That was fast," Lance quipped, figuring that someone was contacting them about the attack on Ash and his family.

Cynthia got out her phone and answered it, putting it up to her ear. "Hello, this is Cynthia," she spoke into the receiver.

She then listened to a voice at the other end, occasionally nodding. "What?" she suddenly blurted. "There have been others?"

After another pause, she continued to listen as a muffled voice spoke again. Lance watched, trying to hear what the voice on the other end was saying. He had a bad feeling that the attack on Ash and his family was nothing more than the tip of the iceberg. After a while, he heard Cynthia sigh and say, "Okay, we'll be there."

She then pushed a button, deactivating the phone and turned to Lance, a serious expression framing her face.

"What is it?" Lance asked. Despite asking the question, he already suspected that he knew what her answer would be.

"We've been ordered to head back to the World Pokémon League Headquarters on Indigo Plateau at once. An emergency meeting has been called."

"What did you mean when you asked 'there had been others'?"

"Team Rocket has been reported to have attacked all eight of the gyms in the Kanto Region," Cynthia answered.

Lance's eyes went wide with shock. "Any losses?" He dreaded the answer.

Fortunately, though, Cynthia shook her head. "No. Each of the attacks was repulsed, much like the attack on Ash, Mia, and the party was repulsed."

"I don't like this," Lance said ominously. "Something's not right here. Team Rocket has suffered numerous losses. They wouldn't make attacks that could fail as miserably as these have unless they have a different plan and these are nothing more than decoys."

Cynthia nodded in agreement. "I know. That's why Jean Mercier wants to talk with us as soon as possible."

"Then let's get going," Lance said.

Cynthia nodded and the two Champions stepped outside and called out their Pokémon: Garchomp and Dragonite. They then mounted the Pokémon and flew away from the scene, headed to the World Pokémon League Headquarters.

While Ash and Aizen were fighting in the lobby, Giovanni had felt the tremors produced by the initial exchange all the way up in his office. Knowing that Ash had arrived, and dreading that Mia was not far off, he knew that he had to be ready leave his office at a moment's notice. He was in no condition to face anyone at this point in time. One thing he could not afford to do was to let Mia get any backup. To that end, he pushed a button on his desk and he ordered, "All security forces, we have a security breach. We need to make sure that anyone who has entered the base is intercepted at once. Everyone else, stand by for further orders."

He listened at the chorus of affirmations as he tensely sat in his seat, fingering a button beneath his desk. He knew that if things went badly, he would have to make a quick escape. Looking over at Persian, his expression told the cat-like Pokémon everything it needed. There was a very real possibility that whatever happened in the next few minutes could decide the fate of Team Rocket as a whole.

Back on the ground level of the base, Ash and Aizen's Pokémon clashed as they launched their strongest attacks on each other. As the attacks collided with each other in midair, a series of explosions rang out and a cloud of smoke erupted from the epicenters of the explosions. Several of Ash's Pokémon were forced back as a blast of wind collided with him and his Pokémon. They staggered backwards a few steps but were quick to regain their composure. Only Pikachu seemed to have suffered any noticeable damage, as several dirt marks marred his fur. Ash went over to him to examine him but he seemed to be fine and a grin and several sparks of electricity emanating from his cheeks indicated that he was still more than able to battle.

On the other side of the lobby, several of Aizen's Pokémon were flung from the centers of the explosions as well. They had not fared as well as Ash's Pokémon, for Aizen's Alakazam and Leafeon collided with the wall and they slid down to the floor and remained still, electricity arcing across their bodies. The swirls in their eyes indicated that they had fainted and were unable to continue battling. All of the other Pokémon were breathing a little heavily as well, indicating that they had sustained some damage from the initial exchange of attacks. There were also some marks on them as well, indicating that the attacks had taken their toll. Still, Aizen could only grin as the cloud of smoke obscured his Pokémon, and Ash's from view. He could not help but admit that Ash's Pokémon were strong, particularly that Pikachu. Still, he had a few secrets that would allow him to win even if Ash's Pokémon were able to emerge victorious against him without any losses coming to his team. Looking over to Mismagius, he commanded, "Mismagius, use Psychic to find the location of Ash's Pokémon through the dust cloud. Transmit the information to the others and coordinate with them."

Mismagius nodded and its eyes began to glow. This was an unfortunate mistake on Mismagius's part since the glow of its eyes gave away its position to Ash's Pokémon. A barrage of Razor Leaf, Energy Ball, and Flamethrower erupted from the cloud and converged on the Ghost-type Pokémon, creating another large explosion. The dust quickly cleared and Mismagius was seen lying on the floor, unconscious. In addition, a Hyper Beam, Thunderbolt, a Stone Edge barrage, and a stream of water came his way and also towards his remaining Pokémon. The Hyper Beam scored a direct hit on Magmortar and sent it flying. The Fire-type Pokémon fell to the ground but managed to survive the attack and slowly stood back up, burns and bruises marring its body, but it was still able to battle. Dugtrio took a direct hit from the Hydro Pump and was taken down in one hit. Kingdra took the remaining hits from Pikachu and Donphan and was force back a few paces, but stood its ground and glared into the clearing dust cloud.

It was now that Aizen grimaced. Two thirds of his team had been beaten in the exchange and his two remaining Pokémon had suffered significant damage in the recent exchange, all the while, Ash's Pokémon were still relatively fresh. He quickly considered his options. He could deploy one of his secret weapon right now, but doing so would be risky at best. Still, he had few options, for to engage Ash using his true power would tip off Giovanni, and the rest of Team Rocket, to his true nature. Not only that, but his chances of detection by enemies that were actually a threat to him would greatly increase, too.

He grabbed his remaining Poké Ball and was about to open it and release the Pokémon inside when he sensed several Rocket Grunts and Scientists coming down the stairwell and from the elevator. A few moments later, the doors to the stairwell and the elevator opened and twenty Rocket Grunts and Scientists flooded from the openings. The Grunts were primarily armed with what looked to be assault rifles, but a few of them were holding gray bazooka-like guns called Super Scopes. The Scientists were merely holding b-grade science fiction looking Ray Guns like those used by some Rockets in the attack on the hotel. Trailing the Grunts were a variety of Fighting-type and Poison-type Pokémon consisting of the Machop, Koffing, and Grimer, small purple puddles of sludge with eyes, a mouth, and two arms, evolutionary lines. In addition, there were a few of the Magnemite line following them as well. Aizen looked back and grinned as the Rockets appeared on the battlefield. "Looks like reinforcements have arrived," he gloated as he returned his two remaining Poké Balls to his waist.

Several Rockets quickly made their way towards the exits in order to cut off any avenue of escape for Ash. Each of the Grunts took out a Poké Ball and let out another Pokémon, often either a Grimer, Muk, Koffing, Weezing, or a Machoke; but a few let out Pokémon like Magmar, Electabuzz, and even a Loch Ness Monster-like Pokémon called Lapras. The Rockets grinned and snickered sadistically as they closed in on Ash, pointing their weapons at him. Their Pokémon echoed their sadistic grins and laughs.

Unfortunately, while they were laughing, Ash nodded to Venusaur and a large cloud of Sleep Powder was released from the plant on his back. Ash and Pikachu quickly ducked next to Venusaur and huddled as close to the plant as possible so as to avoid having any of the pollen land on them. The other Rockets seemed to be oblivious to the cloud until it was too late and it was already upon them. One by one, the Rockets and their Pokémon fell asleep. Even Aizen, though he would normally not have been affected by the Sleep Powder, feigned falling asleep so as to keep his true nature secret. He could not let his true nature be revealed just yet. He soon curled up on the ground and feigned sleep.

Once the Rockets and their Pokémon were asleep, Ash quickly used his twin bond to try and locate his sister. He closed his eyes and concentrated for a moment. He then got the feeling that she was inside the base, but was on the move. The issue he had, though, was that he did not know where she was. He soon searched for a computer. Finding one, he went over and turned it on. Immediately, a layout of the base appeared on the screen. He scanned it and found that Giovanni's office was located on the eleventh floor of the base. As soon as he saw that, an image appeared in his mind of Mia heading to the office as well. "She's likely on the eleventh floor," he told his Pokémon. "Let's go!" He then proceeded to make his way over to the stairwell.

Pikachu and Venusaur were quick to follow the boy as he went over to the entrance to the stairwell, shoved the door open, and went on through. Meanwhile, back on the floor, Aizen gave a dark smile. So the boy doesn't have the stomach to kill us when we're down. Perhaps the situation can be salvaged for us after all. He could only laugh as Ash had fallen for his telepathic manipulation. As he lay on the floor, a plan formed in his mind. He would make Ash regret not having killed the sleeping Rockets. After all, he had access to a large number of Legendary Pokémon.