Days later, a secretary knocked on the door of Giovanni's office and when he gave permission, poked her head in, "Three agents are here to see you, sir. They say it's very important."

"I'll be the judge of that," he replied, not looking up from the paperwork spread across his desk, "Send them in."

With a bow the secretary backed out and Jessie, James and Meowth slipped inside, holding a large square object draped with a cloth from which furious snarls and rattling came.

"Oh. It's you lot," Giovanni sighed, rubbing his temples, already anticipating a headache, "What is it? So help me, you had better not be wasting my time."

"Sir, once you see what we have, I think you'll be quite thrilled," said Jessie, "James, show him!"

James yanked off the cloth with a flourish, revealing a clearly livid Pikachu in a thick plastic cube with cables and a bulb attached to the top, his fur bristled, growling and sparking his cheeks.

Giovanni's face fell, "You bother me, interrupt my very busy day," standing his slammed a fist on his desk, causing his dozing Persian to startle awake and leap away and roared, "to bring me a damned Pikachu!?"

They cringed as he continued to rage, "This may escape your tiny brains but I have an organization to run here! There are much more significant things that command my time and energy than entertaining your pathetic attempts to bring me something useful! You have exactly ten seconds to get out of my sight before I shoot you myself!"

Shaking, James raised a finger, "S-sir?! If we may, this is no ordinary Pikachu!"

"Yeah!' added Meowth, "Dis is de one we been tellin' ya about!"

"It's power is incredible! Would you allow us to give a demonstration?" Jessie asked with a nervous laugh.

Looking at her, Giovanni cocked an eyebrow and wondered aloud, "You look a little green, Jessie..."

Straightening herself, she replied, "Something I ate, I believe. I'll be fine, sir."

Sitting again, the large man waved a hand, "I didn't ask if you were okay. And the more I think about it, I suppose if you've gone to all this trouble wasting my money, I might as well see what you've dredged up. Get on with it then."

The trio nodded at each other and James held up the cube, "Alright you little rodent! We finally stole you and you'll never see your trainer again! What do you have to say about that?!"

Pikachu hissed and flattened his ears, electricity crackling inside his cage and Giovanni rolled his eyes, "Is that it?"

Trying to rile him up even more, Jessie laughed at him, "You're now property of Team Rocket and we can do whatever we want with you! How's the rest of your life as a lab rat sound? Your trainer will be looking for you all over and he'll never, ever find-"

With an angry yowl, Pikachu let loose with a full-force Thunder attack, lighting up the bulb on top of his prison. A millisecond later, it exploded from the sheer force of the blast, shooting broken shards in all directions. Giovanni cried out in surprise and raised an arm to shield himself while James yelped and dropped Pikachu as the trio flung themselves behind a large potted palm. Arcs of electricity leapt around the room, shattering the light bulbs in the ceiling, carving cracks in the walls and loosening floor tiles. The noise was terrific and everyone's hair stuck out from the static-filled air. Persian yowled and danced around, trying to avoid getting shocked.

'It worked perfectly!' James thought excitedly.

-Clemont pointed to a small piece hidden within the light-bulb portion of his schematic drawing and proudly grinned, "And lastly, this will magnify Pikachu's attack by several times when it comes into contact with the electricity!"

Nodding, James said, "That's brilliant! I wouldn't have thought of that. You know, you're really quite remarkable for such a young kid," he half-smiled, "This explains how you guys always beat us so easily..."

Blinking at the lavender-haired man, Clemont found himself unsure of how to respond without coming off as insulting, and considering the fragile truce they had here, he took the best option available and cleared his throat before pointing to another part of the drawing, "I was going to put the inner release button here...how's that look?"

Grateful for the change of subject so his mind couldn't wallow in depressing thoughts any further, James nodded, "Looks good to me," standing from where they had been using a large rock as a table, he said, "Let's get started!"

Adjusting his glasses, Clemont chuckled, "Indeed!"

Putting their heads together, it didn't take long for them to have a working unit assembled. James held the thick plastic cube as he and Clemont explained to the rest of their group how it worked.

"Once Pikachu is inside," said Clemont, "It will appear as if he's stuck, but in actuality there's a button on the inside that he can tap to open the cage and escape!"

Holding it out, James said, "Hop in and give it a try Pikachu!"

The electric Pokemon only glared at him and darted behind Ash. James looked at him with bewilderment and Jessie started to laugh, saying that she didn't blame him one bit.

Kneeling down, Ash scratched Pikachu behind the ears, "Hey buddy...I know you don't trust them. But I'm right here, and so are the rest of our friends. If they dare to try anything, we'll be able to stop them quick! So go ahead, give it a shot!"

Pikachu looked at his trainer as if he'd lost his marbles, then at Serena, Bonnie, and Clemont, who all nodded in agreement, Bonnie giving him a thumbs-up. So, he turned and carefully walked toward James, stopping a couple feet away. With a sympathetic smile and a nod, James set it down on the ground and backed away. Pikachu approached the cube, hesitating and then finally stepping inside. It snapped shut and he started, scratching at the walls.

"Whoa! It's okay!" cried Clemont, going to him, "Look! Do you see that bolt in the corner that's a little smaller? Push it!"

Pikachu tapped it and one side swung back open. He squeaked happily and ran back over to Ash, who scooped him up and chuckled.

Looking up at Team Rocket, Ash said, "Okay, what's next?"

Giovanni stared in disbelief at the small Pokemon before him as bits of plaster and tile fell around them like snow, "I should be furious at the damage to my office but-how in the world can one Pikachu be that powerful?!"

Stepping back into view, Jessie explained, "This is exactly why we've been trying to get him for you, sir!"

Breaking into a devious grin, Giovanni clapped his hands together, "And now, seeing it's power with my own eyes, I'm so glad you did!" he looked up at them, "I've hardly ever been this pleased with my agents, and certainly never with you three. Excellent job!"

"Thank you, sir!" they said in unison.

Hitting a button on his desk, Giovanni said crisply, "Doctor Falden? I'm having three agents bring a unique specimen to you and your team. You know what to do."

Clearing his throat, Giovanni stepped out from behind his desk and approached them as James was picking up the cage with a still-indignant Pikachu, "I suppose I should reward you for this little yellow gem."

"Wha-whatever you tink is best! Yer da boss!" said Meowth cheerfully with a salute.

"Alright then," sneered Giovanni, "Your new assignment is this: head back to Kalos, help us secure base locations throughout the region. Continue to locate and capture any rare, powerful or otherwise valuable Pokemon to further our goals. I'll be checking in periodically. For now, take this Pikachu to Doctor Falden in Lab Twenty-Three. In addition, I'll have Matori give you a substantial bit of money on your way there to carry out your mission, in addition to a bit extra as a personal thanks from me."

As he reached out toward Pikachu, the small Pokemon snapped his teeth and growled at him.

With a hearty laugh Giovanni said, "Ah, he's a feisty one! Well, we'll break him of that. Dismissed!"

Bowing, the trio backed out and began to make their way down the the research labs on the lower levels. They were mainly silent; as much as they had rehearsed and gone over the plan, they couldn't help the nervousness they all felt. Nonetheless, they managed to maintain an air of cool confidence, nodding and saying quiet, polite hello's to the agents they passed on their journey. At one point, Jessie paused to lean against a wall and held her abdomen, taking deep breaths and calming another wave of nausea as she snapped at a group of young agents who had paused to look at them to mind their own business.

James started to lay a hand on her shoulder, but she shrugged him off with a curt, "Oh stop that! I'm okay!" and shot him a quick nervous glance.

He nodded, understanding, and waited for her to shrug it off after which they continued on their way. Pikachu flattened his ears and whined, nervous in the stark halls and surrounded by enemies, to which James whispered soothingly that it'd be okay. Pikachu glanced at Meowth, feeling a slightly stronger kinship and trust in a fellow Pokemon. The feline grinned and gave him a wink.

Entering the heavy door marked 'Lab 23', Jessie asked, "Doctor Falden?"

The room they stepped into was largely empty space. A strange, acrid odor permeated the area, and Jessie had to breathe as little as possible to avoid being sick again. There were several pieces of strange-looking equipment scattered about, the uses of which they weren't sure they wanted to know, along with one wall of computers and other recording machines. A small group of people in lab coats gave them curious glances but swiftly went back to whatever work they were engaged in.

A tall, slender, vaguely twitchy man shuffled forward, tapping his fingers together, "Ah! So this is what Master Giovanni was talking about! Oooh! How intriguing! A mere Pikachu and yet-my my my! How curious! Curious indeed! Well, if out dear leader finds this little bastard to be worth our time it must be! Please agents, leave it right here," he gestured to a nearby table, "We'll take good care of it! Well, sort of-never mind!"

Without hesitation, James placed Pikachu where indicated and they left, heading back to the upper floors.

Falden leaned down to peer at Pikachu, "Ooh, what surprises do you hold for me?! Well, I'll find out, one way or antoehr..."

Out in the hall, Meowth discreetly tapped the small microphone hidden by his fur near his mouth and said quietly, "Pikachu, come in...can you hear me?"

-Slapping the stick he was using as a pointer into his paw to emphasize the importance of the situation and his authority in it before jabbing said stick at the map spread upon the ground, Meowth said, "Allllright! Listen up troops! Dis is gonna be tricky so pay attention!"

Everyone was gathered around the map as they continued to work out their plan. Meowth, having intimate knowledge of the inner workings of Team Rocket headquarters, as well as a swiped copy of the entire base's layout including halls, rooms, security, electric, water and air systems, had declared himself the leader in this portion of their scheme.

He looked at Pikachu, "De first part is de trickiest. Once ya get yourself outta dat cage, ya gotta head straight for de nearest air vent. Every lab room, which is more 'n likely where de boss is gonna have us take ya, has two of 'em by de floor on opposite sides," he pointed, "It doesn't matter which one ya get to; once you're in I can guide ya from there. Okay so far?"

Pikachu nodded firmly, so digging into a bag Meowth continued, "We got dese lil' communicators dat are so small ya can barely see 'em," he held out two half-inch long black, oblong objects, "I'll have one, you have one, den we can talk ta euchudda and I can guide ya!"

Leaning forward, Clemont asked excitedly, "Oh, can I see one of those?!"

Meowth handed him one, and the boy turned it over in his hands, studying it closely, "This is amazing! It's so tiny!"

Jessie grinned proudly, "They're a lovely little bit of Team Rocket technology aren't they? We 'borrowed' them last time we were at headquarters."

"The clip on them easily attaches to our jacket collars," added James, "We've used them many times and they've always worked perfectly."

Serena asked, "Well, if Pikachu and Meowth are going to wear them, is there any way to make them even harder to spot, like say coloring them to match their fur?"

Meowth clicked his fingers, "I like da way ya tink, kid! Good idea. Now, back to dis map..."

In his cage, Pikachu kept a wary eye on Doctor Falden as he walked away, muttering things to several assistants along the way, one of whom gave the electric mouse a glance and picked up a pair of rubber gloves from a nearby table.

Meowth's voice again buzzed in Pikachu's ear, "Do ya see de air vents?"

Pikachu looked around, after a moment spotting one about half-way across the room, "Pi!"

"Good! Okay lil' buddy, you remember what ta do!"

The man who had taken the gloves tugged them on as he approached Pikachu, "Alright...let's get started, then," he looked down at the scowling Pokemon and shook his head, "This is not what I signed up for. Oh well."

Reaching for the outside latch on the cage, the lab tech sighed as Pikachu backed into a corner and growled at him, "Look, if you just cooperate, things will be easier for you, okay? Well, not really, I guess. Come on..."