Chapter 26:
Back at Pokémon League Headquarters, Ash and friends made their way up the steps towards the next floor, hoping to reach the Badge Amplifier and destroy it, hopefully stopping Team Rocket's plans in the process. As they made their way up the stairs, they encountered two Grunts, each of who were taken down with contemptuous ease by a Thunderbolt from Pikachu. Making their way past the fallen Rockets, Ash and company followed the map of the base on their Poké Gear, PokéNav, and Pokétch.
When they came to the third floor, Ash stopped at the door, holding up his hand to signal the others to stop, and peered through the glass window to see if there were any sentries. Seeing none, he shoved the door open and stood aside to allow May, Dawn, and their Pokémon to pass. Once they were through, he and his own Pokémon followed them through.
True to the initial scan, the corridor was completely barren, the only sign of trouble being the blinking red light bar indicating an intruder inside the base. The light soon stopped flashing, indicating that Cynthia and Lance had disabled the security systems. However, Ash had a feeling that Giovanni knew that something was up and that there would be trouble.
Sure enough, inside his office, Giovanni was sitting at his desk, reading the reports that were streaming to his computer from the few remaining Rockets inside the headquarters. He did not have the same number of forces that he had back at Team Rocket Headquarters with many of the Rockets having been killed in the base's invasion and subsequent destruction. Added to the fact that more Rockets had either died or been captured at the Celadon City Game Corner, his forces were thin at the base. He still had some elite Grunts and Agents, but many of them were in the security center, which reports were indicating had just been breached. He soon heard a voice chime in over the comm.
"Giovanni, sir, we're under attack!" the voice of a Rocket Grunt cried. Lance, Cynthia, Ash, and some others have entered the headquarters. We've already lost the security center."
Giovanni seethed. He had expected security to alert him sooner than this. He soon heard the voice of Delia, who was handcuffed to a bench in a corner of the room, laugh and taunt, "It looks like your plans are falling apart."
Giovanni turned to her and smirked. "It doesn't really matter what happens here," he told her. "All that matters is that the assault force in Goldenrod City manages to transmit a code to every computer in Japan."
"And what if this Badge Amplifier that you've mentioned is destroyed?" Delia challenged.
"It won't be," the Rocket Boss answered. "I've got my best Executives and defenders protecting it. If your son goes for that, it will be the last mistake he ever makes."
"I doubt that," Delia answered confidently.
"You shouldn't be so cocky Delia," Giovanni said, grinning. "You have no idea the defenses that I have in place in this building. Even with the losses we sustained in the invasion and subsequent issues, Team Rocket is still going strong, and is on the verge of having everything we need to take over the world."
"You're one to talk about being cocky," Delia retorted.
Giovanni merely grinned. "I'm the one who has a powerful surprise ally at my side," he answered. "You'll do well to sit back and relax, as well as resign yourself to the fact that you'll be with me for quite a long time."
"That is where you are wrong," Delia answered as she watched, knowing that Giovanni's arrogance would prove to be his downfall.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the base, Ash, May, Dawn, and their Pokémon surged through the corridor, following their maps to the Badge Amplifier. Just as was indicated by Ash's initial scan, there were no Rockets or Pokémon in the corridor, something that baffled Ash. He had expected Team Rocket to pull out all the stops in dealing with them, not pull back. Even if there was an assault going on elsewhere, there should have still been plenty of soldiers here. And if not Rockets, then Pokémon League soldiers and officials. That was unless Team Rocket had killed all of the Pokémon League officials in the building, something the boy would not have put past Team Rocket.
Following the map, as well as the corridor through a couple bends the group eventually came to the room that housed the Badge Amplifier. Here, there were several Rocket Grunts standing guard outside, their Koffings and Weezings already having been deployed. Mewtwo dealt with the Poison-type Pokémon with contemptuous ease with a single Psychic attack, blue fields of energy surrounding the Pokémon and squeezing them until they lost consciousness. While Mewtwo was dealing with the Pokémon, Pikachu fired a volley of Thunderbolts while Dawn's Pachirisu unleashed a blast of Discharge at the Rockets. The electrical attacks were more than sufficient to render the Rockets unconscious.
With the Rockets having been dealt with, Mewtwo took the lead and approached the door that lead to the Badge Amplifier. Extending his psychic senses into the room, he detected the presence of the four Rocket Executives. Looking back at the others, he made his report.
"There are four Rocket Executives inside that room. They're protecting the Badge Amplifier and they know that we're coming and are ready for us. If things go badly, they'll summon reinforcements."
"Then let's take 'em down before they can summon any reinforcements," Ash replied.
"Right," May and Dawn said in unison. The group's Pokémon also gave cries of encouragement and affirmation.
With that, the group burst through the door to face the Rocket Executives. The moment the door flew open, the four Executives calmly turned and faced Ash and his friends. When Ash saw them, he recognized the four of them as being the same Executives from his memory from when he had been kidnapped.
"So the one that got away comes back," Ash heard the leader, Archer, state plainly as he stepped forward, holding out two Poké Balls.
"You were there when Giovanni kidnapped Mia," Ash blurted, pointing his finger accusingly. Pikachu, recognizing that Ash knew the Rocket, or at least knew of him, stepped forward in front of Ash to support him, electricity amplified by the Light Ball crackling around his cheeks. He was eager for a battle.
"You think a Pikachu is going to frighten us?" Archer asked in disbelief.
"He isn't fighting alone," both May and Dawn declared as they stepped forward, Blaziken and Piplup stepping forward to join Ash.
Ash glanced past the Rocket Executives and saw the Badge Amplifier behind them. It was shaped like a refrigerator and had a number of flashing lights on it. Still, something seemed off about this machine, and he was not the only one to notice it.
"Something's wrong," Mewtwo said, focusing his gaze on the Badge Amplifier. "I'm sensing virtually no energy emanating from that machine. That thing looks like nothing more than a decoy."
He then proceeded to power an Aura Sphere and fire it at the machine. The sphere of energy streaked past the Rockets and struck the machine, plowing through its skin and exploding inside, blowing it apart. Shrapnel exploded forth and the Rockets dove for cover behind a series of benches and chairs. As the machine exploded, though, Mewtwo felt virtually no difference in the energy inside the room. Not only that, but for a split second, he felt a source of energy emanating from one level up.
"It's above us!" the Psychic-type Pokémon cried telepathically to Ash and the others.
The moment he made that cry, though, the sensation vanished from his mind, almost as if an armored blast door closed over the sensation. He had been detected, and he knew that there was only one being present who could block him.
"So he is here," the cat-like Pokémon muttered.
"Ganondorf?" Ash asked.
Mewtwo nodded. "And something is blocking my ability to teleport to the Badge Amplifier safely," the Pokémon added.
Ash looked sternly at Archer and the others as they rose from their cover and took out their Poké Balls. Their balls then opened and revealed their Pokémon. For Archer, out came a Houndoom, Octillery, a red octopus-like Pokémon, a Wobbuffet, Hypno, Parasect, and a Tyranitar. The presence of the Rocket's Tyranitar got Mia's Tyranitar's blood boiling and the Rock/Dark-type Pokémon was very eager to face down his counterpart.
As for Ariana, she deployed a Vileplume, Arbok, Magcargo; a flaming red snail-like Pokémon with a lava-like body with a dark gray snail shell, a Kabutops, a Pokémon with a brown half-moon, disc-shaped head with scythes for hands, and long, thin brown legs. It also had a gray chest plate with a brown shell that resembled a backbone. Ash recognized the Kabutops and knew that Pikachu, Sceptile, and Venusaur would have an edge against it. Ariana's final two Pokémon consisted of a Victreebel, a Pokémon with a bell-shaped body with a gaping mouth on top of it with two green leaves on its sides; and a Crobat.
As for Petrel and Proton, they did not have such formidable teams. Petrel merely deployed five Koffings and a single Weezing while Proton only deployed a Crobat and a Weezing. Petrel merely shrugged as he deployed his Pokémon while Proton still looked confident despite the fact that their teams were facing off against a World Champion, two Grand Festival Champions as well as recently crowned Champions in their respective regions, and a Super Legendary Pokémon. Archer still had a grin as he gazed at Ash and the others as they deployed their teams.
"You have formidable teams, more than sufficient to defeat us if we were alone," he stated.
Ash and the others did not know what Archer meant at first, but Mewtwo took the initiative to scan the area and he soon discovered that a large number of Trainers were coming to meet them. Ash could already hear a number of claps, followed by the sound of footfalls coming from behind. Turning around, he saw no less than a dozen Trainers standing before him. They looked like they were Ace Trainers that were affiliated with the Pokémon League.
"Stay where you are and surrender now," the lead Ace Trainer, a man in his early twenties with short green hair, wearing a white shirt, red short-sleeved jacket and shorts, commanded. The female Ace Trainers standing alongside the males had hair of different colors and lengths, but their uniform was all the same. It consisted of a red and yellow short-sleeved jacket over a white shirt and a black miniskirt.
The Ace Trainers all looked at Ash and the others and quickly deployed their Pokémon. They deployed a wide variety of Pokémon but almost all of them consisted of at least the regional starters of the Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh Regions; Meganium, Feraligatr, Typhlosion, Blaziken, Sceptile, Swampert, Empoleon, Torterra, and Infernape. They also deployed Legendary Pokémon such as Shaymin, Heatran, and even the Eon Duo, Latios and Latias. Some even had members of the Legendary Beasts, Entei, Raikou, and Suicune. May and Dawn's eyes went wide at the sight.
"Why?" they gasped. "You're Pokémon Trainers. Why are you fighting for Team Rocket?"
"We are Team Rocket now," the lead Ace Trainer answered. "Team Rocket will be the key to training Pokémon from here on out. Giovanni's in charge of the Pokémon League and we're obligated to serve the League."
"Then you and your Pokémon allies will die as fools, betraying the very thing you claim to stand for," Mewtwo declared, his eyes beginning to glow.
"No, you will die, freak," the Ace Trainer retorted. He then released his Pokémon, consisting of a Latios, Latias, Tyranitar, Dragonite, Salamence, and a Metagross, a turquoise robot-looking Pokémon with a disc-shaped body with four legs joined to the main body by ball-and-socket joints. "I don't know what sort of Pokémon you are, but I'm betting you can't beat six Pokémon all on your own."
That was the last statement that the Ace Trainer ever made, for Mewtwo instantly proved just how wrong he was when he unleashed a Psystrike on the Ace Trainer, annihilating him along with rendering his Dragonite, Salamence, and Metagross unconscious. He could feel the energy from the Badge Amplifier controlling the Pokémon so he did not use deadly force against them. The Ace Trainer's Tyranitar immediately attempted to charge Mewtwo, only to eat an Aura Sphere, the Fighting-type attack taking down the Rock/Dark-type Pokémon in a single hit. Mewtwo then unleashed a Blizzard attack on Latios and Latias, freezing the duo solid. As more of the Ace Trainers tried to close ranks, May and Dawn stepped forward, their Pokémon ready to fight, Mia's Tyranitar eagerly joining them.
"Ash, you and Mewtwo go and get to Giovanni now!" Dawn said.
Before Ash could give a response, the Ace Trainers attempted to attack the group, only to be sent flying in all directions by Mewtwo. The Trainers gave cries of surprise as they were sent flying into walls, chairs, and even each other. After they fell to the ground, some of them rose, albeit slowly. Still, they were dazed by the attack. Meanwhile, the Rocket Executives' Pokémon launched attacks of their own on Ash and his friends, only to be intercepted by the group's Pokémon, Charizard, Pikachu, and Blaziken taking the lead by unleashing two Fire Blasts and a Thunderbolt respectively. The Fire Blasts targeted the Executives' Vileplume and Victreebel, the two Fire-type attacks taking down the part Grass-type Pokémon in single hits. Pikachu's Thunderbolt was more than sufficient to take down Kabutops and Octillery, leaving a noticeable hole in the Executives' teams.
"Ash, go now! We'll hold them off," May cried, seeing an opening for Ash and his Pokémon to punch through so they could get to Giovanni and the Badge Amplifier.
"But there are so many of them," Ash began. "You'll never hold out against all of them."
"Just go and let us worry about that!" May roared. "Get to Giovanni and that Badge Amplifier. We'll buy you the time."
"But…"
"No buts," Mewtwo interjected, grabbing the boy and his Pokémon. "They're giving us a chance to get out of here intact."
"But you could take the others down."
"Maybe," Mewtwo stated plainly. "But there's no telling what other tricks or traps Giovanni will have waiting for us on the next floor. If Ganondorf is here, then he's probably working with Giovanni." Mewtwo then paused and looked down at the ground for a moment before continuing, "Perhaps I should leave and hopefully draw Ganondorf away. It's me he wants. He won't go after you if I leave."
"And what if Giovanni has the Lake Guardians or other Legendaries with him?" Ash retorted. "You were a godsend when you arrived in Indigo Village. Let's get Giovanni now. Then we can deal with this Ganondorf together."
"Right," Mewtwo answered, nodding.
The duo then surged forward through the ranks of fallen League Trainers and their Pokémon. Charizard, Blastoise, Venusaur, and Pikachu cleared the path, unleashing Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, Energy Ball, and Thunderbolt respectively against the numerous Pokémon that were arraying themselves against them. A Blaziken and Infernape took direct hits from Blastoise's Hydro Pump and were sent flying backwards, drenched. They crashed into the wall and slid down it, falling to the ground and struggling to rise. Venusaur and Pikachu's Energy Ball and Thunderbolt converged on an Empoleon and managed to render it unconscious. All the while, Charizard took on a Sceptile and Torterra, using Air Slash to push back the agile Sceptile, the blades of wind colliding with the Grass-type Pokémon as it had powered a Leaf Blade and was charging towards Charizard. The blades knocked Sceptile off its feet and sent it flying. Charizard then swerved as he narrowly avoided a Solar Beam from Torterra, the beam continuing until it blasted through the metal wall and out the side of the building. Charizard retaliated with a Fire Blast, the blast of fire taking down Torterra with a single hit.
Once the path was clear, Mewtwo instantly teleported Ash through the hole, the group vanishing from the room and reappearing in the corridor. The group then disappeared again and reappeared a ways down the corridor, too far for the other League Trainers to go after while having to deal with May, Dawn, and their own Pokémon. Once Ash, his Pokémon, and Mewtwo were out of sight, May, Dawn, and even Mia's Tyranitar formed up with their Pokémon and stared down the four Team Rocket Executives along with the League Trainers that were still standing, and those that were beginning to rise once more. The two girls looked out at the odds that they faced and they almost chuckled.
"Well, here goes," Dawn quipped as she then stood tall and cried, "Everyone, pick your targets, remember your training, and go!"
"Everyone go!" May cried, echoing Dawn's order. "Blaziken and Venusaur, lead the way!"
With those declarations, May and Dawn's Pokémon teams surged forward, Venusaur starting off with a cloud of Sleep Powder, hoping to catch the enemy Pokémon off guard. The forward lines of Pokémon were, indeed, caught off guard and put to sleep by the cloud of Sleep Powder. That left the back ranks open to Flamethrower attacks from Blaziken and Typhlosion while Pachirisu unleashed a Discharge to add to the Flamethrower attacks from the other Pokémon. The attacks took down several more Pokémon, most of them were common Pokémon like Raticate or Pidgeot, but one of the Pokémon that fell was an enemy Snorlax. Still, May and Dawn knew that this was going to be an uphill battle. And that was being made evidently clear as the Team Rocket Executives joined in on the attack.
Meanwhile, Ash was rushing down the corridor to reach the next stairwell before any of the League Trainers that may have been behind him could catch up. He found the door to the stairwell not too far away being guarded by two Rocket Grunts. Pikachu dealt with the Grunts using Thunderbolt, rendering them unconscious before they could either go for their weapons or let out their Pokémon.
Once the group reached the stairwell, Ash was about to rush through the door when Mewtwo telekinetically drew him back, yelling, "Wait!"
Ash did not know why Mewtwo was holding him back until Mewtwo stepped forward and extended his own psychic senses. Sure enough, the stairwell was laced with traps. "There are traps up ahead," Mewtwo told the boy.
"What do we do?"
Mewtwo extended his psychic senses and while he could easily identify the traps, he could not get a clear reading on the floor above, indicating that he was still being blocked. "There are still blocks in place so I can't safely teleport us up to the next floor. We'll have to take the long way up."
Ash nodded and let Mewtwo step forward and follow through with his plan. Despite the fact that the Psychic-type Pokémon was concerned that some of the traps may have been designed for him, he decided to spring the traps anyway, knowing that there would be no way Ash or his Pokémon friends could survive a trap meant for him. As such, he pushed the door open, only for it to explode in his face. His psychic shields, however, protected him from suffering any damage, the shrapnel bouncing off his shield and being redirected back into the stairwell, embedding themselves into the walls.
Mewtwo stepped into the stairwell and checked to see the structural integrity of the stairs. Sure enough, upon stepping on them, they gave way and collapsed. The cat-like Pokémon's telekinesis, however, allowed him to levitate a few feet above the collapsing stairwell. He then floated upwards, examining the wall. Sure enough, a trap that was designed to ensnare him soon activated as two machines on the wall fired beams of electricity at him. The beams made contact with his shields and arced over them, soon forming a force field over him. He had experienced this trap before on Mount Quena. This time, he was ready for it and he used his own Psychic abilities to push back against the machines' power. He quickly overpowered the machines and burst forth from the force field and shattered the machines.
Once he was certain that all of the traps had been sprung, and dealt with, he looked down at Ash and called, "All clear."
He then levitated Ash and his Pokémon team up the stairwell. Blue fields of energy surrounded Ash and the rest of his ground bound team as they were lifted up the stairwell. Charizard, meanwhile, flew up the stairwell, quickly making his way past Ash and the others, the Pokémon grinning as he did so, prompting Ash to mock scowl.
Once they safely landed on the landing above the collapsed steps, Mewtwo shoved the door open and stepped on through. Ash followed the bipedal cat-like Pokémon closely, followed by Charizard and Pikachu, with Venusaur, Blastoise, Snorlax, and Donphan bringing up the rear. Once they were in the next corridor, they stared down the corridor and saw the one thing that they both did not want to see and were actually thankful that they had seen: the Team Rocket Trio Jessie, James, and Meowth.
"Well, well, if it isn't the twerp and his Pikachu," Jessie commented.
"This time, it's different," James stated plainly, gripping two Poké Balls.
"Yeah, dis time, we're not after Pikachu," Meowth proclaimed.
"Our only job is to stop you!" all three cried in unison.
Ash and Mewtwo then chuckled. "I'd like to see you try," Ash challenged. And then, the two sides engaged in battle.
Meanwhile, in the Johto Region of Japan, the Team Rocket assault force made their way through the Goldenrod Radio Tower. The interior of the Radio Tower was lined with sleeping personnel, some of them workers, others broadcasters, and yet others being security officers. As the Rockets made their way past the personnel, some of them checked on the personnel to make sure that they were still unconscious. Some Rockets, however, pointed their rifles at the sleeping personnel and prepared to shoot them, only to be rebuked by the commander of the assault force.
"No killing right now," he ordered sternly, glaring at any Rocket that looked as if they were preparing to take a shot.
"Aw, how come?" one of the Rocket Grunts whined.
"Because the noise from the gunfire could awaken the security personnel that are sleeping," the Commander answered.
"Yeah, but we outgun them by a lot," came the voice of a younger male Rocket, this one sounding as if he were barely eighteen. "What's to stop us from killing them all now?"
"It doesn't matter how much we outgun them by if a firefight ends up damaging the transmitter or if anyone manages to alert the police and SWAT teams arrive before we can upload the virus," the Commander retorted. "You can kill as much as you want when the mission's over. Until that is done, try to restrain your bloodlust."
"Fine," the younger Rocket droned.
With the argument having ended, the assault force made their way towards the elevator that would take them to the top of the tower, Gideon bringing up the rear with his bodyguards. The first group fit into one of the elevators and took it up, forcing the rest of the force to wait for more elevators to arrive. Gideon looked around nervously at the unconscious security personnel, workers, and other people who had possibly just been taking a tour, sleeping on the ground. He carefully examined them and wondered just how long the Spore cloud would keep them asleep. He had heard stories of how Sleep Powder could put someone to sleep, but they could still awaken to a loud noise or something.
"Don't worry, Gideon," one of his bodyguards assured him. "They'll remain asleep for quite a while. Spore is more effective than Sleep Powder."
"But what about the noise we make? Won't that wake them up?"
"It shouldn't, but we're traveling quietly just to make certain that no one wakes up. There's a reason why the commander doesn't want any of the troops killing sleeping personnel."
Gideon nodded as the group waited for the final elevator to arrive so that they could go up to the transmitter, which was located on the tower's observation deck on the top floor. Eventually, an elevator arrived for the trio and the doors opened before them. Wasting no time, the trio quickly boarded the elevator and allowed it to take them to the observation deck.
Meanwhile, on the observation deck, there was a ding as the doors to the first elevator opened, revealing the first team of the Team Rocket assault force. When the doors opened, the Rockets flooded onto the observation deck, making certain to clear it, hoping that the Spore cloud had managed to put the people on the deck to sleep, too. Fortunately, it had and everyone on the deck was unconscious, save for the Rockets. Standing in front of them was a large high-definition screen that was connected to a large computer. This was their goal. The Rocket commander grinned at the sight.
The Rocket Commander then turned to his underlings and told them, "Everyone, let out your Abras and Kadabras at once."
The Rockets did as they were instructed and out came almost a dozen Abras and Kadabras. "Now, order the Abras and Kadabras to remove everyone on this deck from the building. Have them put inside the basement level and lock it. Also have them do the same for everyone else in the building, too."
"But sir, won't that risk waking them up?" one of the Rockets asked.
"I don't know how long they'll remain asleep for anyway," the Commander retorted. "If Gideon doesn't get his butt up here quickly, we could risk facing down a security threat, something we went to great pains to avoid. Now tell the Pokémon to do as I say."
"Understood, sir," came the response from the Grunt.
The Grunts then turned to their Abras and Kadabras and relayed their commander's orders to the Psychic-type Pokémon. The Pokémon looked at them questioningly, but the Grunts retorted, "Don't ask questions, just do it. We're on a time crunch here and we want them as far away from the transmitter as possible."
The Pokémon then nodded and went about their task of transporting all of the sleeping workers, broadcasters, and security personnel off of the observation deck and into the basement level. As soon as they had vanished, the second set of elevator doors opened and the second team surged onto the observation deck.
"Clear," bellowed one of the Grunts, doing his best to imitate a policeman or a military soldier. Some of the Rockets gave small chuckles while the commander gazed at him sternly, not liking the fact that one of his Grunts had yelled and risked awakening someone, even though all of the sleeping personnel had been teleported off of the deck.
Eventually, the third set of elevator doors opened and out came Gideon, along with his two bodyguards.
"Finally," one of the Rocket Grunts heaved, drawing a stern glance from the Rocket Commander.
"We've cleared the area," the Rocket Commander informed the scientist. "It's your show now."
Gideon made his way over to the large high definition screen and looked it over. The scientist nodded and he quickly took off his backpack and placed it on the ground. He opened it and took out a small tablet and a series of cables.
The Rocket Commander looked down at him and asked, "How long will this take?"
"That depends on the cyber defenses of the Radio Tower," Gideon answered. "If its firewall is weak, the upload will only take a couple of minutes. If the firewall is strong, it could take significantly longer, maybe a half hour or so, depending on how strong the firewall is, even with the codes from the Pokémon League officials."
"And you're just telling us this now?" one of the Grunts asked, drawing a rebuke from the Commander, who raised his hand to cut him off.
"Teams One and Two are to take up positions throughout the Radio Tower," the Commander directed. "You're to make certain that the occupants remain asleep and that no unauthorized personnel enter the building. If anyone suspicious comes, inform us immediately. Team Three will remain here to cover Doctor Gideon while he uploads the code to the Radio Tower and transmits it to the computers all around Japan."
"Yes, sir," the Rockets answered.
The Commander then formed up in front of Team One and went over to the elevator, calling it so they could take up positions all throughout the building. Once Teams One and Two had departed, along with the Rocket Commander, Gideon went to work uploading the virus and making certain that the firewalls and other cyber defenses of the tower did not damage or erase the code.
Meanwhile, outside the Goldenrod Radio Tower, the pilot and copilot of the assault force's helicopter sat patiently in the cockpit, awaiting any word on the status of the operation. They had glanced at their scanners nervously as they waited for any word from the assault force. Eventually, the radio crackled and they heard their commander's voice.
"Agent Koji, report."
"Ah, yes sir," the pilot, Koji, stammered in reply.
He then checked his instruments and saw nothing. His copilot then reported, "I'm not seeing anything on scopes, either."
"We're all clear here," Koji reported.
"Good," the Rocket Commander stated gruffly. "If anything pops up report it immediately."
"Understood sir," Koji answered. He then paused and asked, "Is everything okay sir? Do you need us to do anything?"
"No," came the reply. "It's just that the upload may take a bit longer than initially expected. Stand by for further updates. Just be ready for our extraction."
"Understood sir," Koji answered. He then closed the channel and sat back in his seat, heaving a sigh.
"So, it looks like we're gonna be stuck here for a while," came the voice of his copilot.
"Yeah," Koji sighed. "It's gonna be boring beyond belief. I mean, nothing's gonna happen here."
The moment he uttered those words, a beeping echoed throughout the cockpit, prompting both him and the copilot to shoot up and look over their consoles to see the source of the beeping. Pouring over their consoles, the copilot eventually noticed a flashing dot on the radar screen.
"Hey, look at that," he said, indicating the dot. "Something's popped up on radar."
Koji looked at the dot and saw that it was approaching fast. "I see it."
"What is it?"
"I can't tell," Koji answered, studying the object.
He pushed a few buttons and noticed that the shape seemed to resemble a Flying-type Pokémon. "It looks like a Flying-type Pokémon."
"We'd better report it," Koji said, immediately turning on the radio.
The moment he did so, though, a stream of flame lashed out from nowhere at the helicopter. The flame instantly burned its way through the metal hull and set the air inside on fire. Koji and the copilot did not even have a chance to scream before the flames ruptured the fuel tanks and ignited the fuel, causing the helicopter to explode. Fragments of superheated metal pelted the Radio Tower and everyone inside that was conscious knew that something bad had just happened.
Inside the Goldenrod Radio Tower, the Rockets assault force that had taken up their defensive positions all throughout the tower heard the explosion and felt the shaking of the tower. Immediately fearing the worst, one of the Rockets took out a hand radio and activated it, switching the channel to the helicopter's channel.
"Team One to Alpha Chopper, come in," he bellowed. He waited the helicopter to answer. After hearing nothing for over a minute, he bellowed once more, "Team One to Alpha Chopper, do you copy?"
When he heard no response, he switched the channel back to the normal channel and spoke into the radio once more. "This is Bando of Team One to Rocket Commander, we heard an explosion outside and felt the tower shake. None of the alarms are goin' off but we tried raisin' the chopper with no success."
"Remain at your positions," the Rocket Commander directed. "Gideon's almost through the firewall. After that, we'll be finished here."
"Understood sir," the Bando answered. He then went back to watching the corridor, knowing that his team was the first line of defense against anyone who attempted to interrupt Gideon at the top of the tower.
Meanwhile, outside of the Radio Tower, a Charizard hovered above the flaming wreckage of the helicopter. Sitting on top of the Charizard was John Ketchum, dressed in a black suit with a black helmet with an orange faceplate, a uniform that was similar to that of a Galactic Federation Stealth Marine. Sitting next to the man was an Espeon, whose eyes were still glowing.
"Are you sure that the helicopter crew did not manage to alert the others of our arrival?" John asked the cat-like Psychic-type Pokémon.
Espeon turned to John and nodded once.
"Good," came the man's response. Turning to face Charizard, he directed the Fire/Flying-type dragon-like Pokémon, "Take us down to the ground floor. We're going to have to clear out the entire tower if we're to ensure that the people don't suffer any casualties. If we teleport straight into the transmitter, we risk allowing Team Rocket to flank us from behind and damage the transmitter in the ensuing battle. We must do this carefully." He then turned back to Espeon and told it, "Espeon, you must block Team Rocket from suspecting anything. The Rockets with the scientist on the observation deck should be too heavily focused on keeping that scientist safe to worry about what's happening on the lower levels, but still, keep your senses open and alert me if the situation changes."
"Espeon," the Pokémon answered, nodding.
He then turned to Charizard and directed, "Take us down."
Charizard nodded and descended past the helicopter's wreckage. The Pokémon landed a dozen meters from the still burning wreckage of the helicopter. John then dismounted Charizard and returned him to his Poké Ball. Since his Poké Balls' seals were broken, even if Team Rocket succeeded, it would not affect his Pokémon at all. However, his mission was to prevent Team Rocket's goals from fully succeeding. He had his own plans for the Radio Tower.
After returning Charizard to his Poké Ball, he took out two Poké Balls and opened them, revealing Umbreon and Raichu. Looking down at each of them, he gave his instructions. "Umbreon, you're going to help cover me as we make our way through the tower. At times, you may need to help out Espeon, especially if the Rocket Psychic-type Pokémon try to scan for us." Turning to Raichu, he directed, "Raichu, you're the main offense here. We're fighting in enclosed spaces so be careful. Charizard, Golem, and Gyarados aren't going to be much use here since we're trying to limit the damage and the fighting will be tight. That means that you're the go to mon. You and I will be doing most of the fighting here."
"Rai," Raichu answered, clenching his fingers into fists.
John smiled at his Pokémon. "Okay then, everyone, let's go!" he proclaimed. With that proclamation, John and his Pokémon charged into the Goldenrod Radio Tower.
Meanwhile, back at Pokémon League Headquarters, now the new headquarters for Team Rocket, Ash and his Pokémon were quick to engage the Team Rocket Trio. Jessie and James quickly let out all of their Pokémon consisting of Seviper, Yanmega, Swoobat, a female Jellicent, Wobbuffet, and Gourgeist for Jessie. James let out a Malamar, Carnivine, Mr. Mime, Cofagrigus, Amoonguss, a large mushroom-like Pokémon with a Poké Ball colored cap with warts, a gray stem-like body with two gray arms with two Poké Ball like shields on the ends of the arms; and a Growlithe named Growlie, a dog-like Pokémon with the fur pattern resembling that of a tiger's.
Ash grimaced as Team Rocket let out their Pokémon. Jessie and James glanced at Ash's team and grinned. "You're a little outnumbered here, twerp," Jessie quipped.
"You won't beat us this time," James said, almost in echo. "You're outnumbered two to one."
Mewtwo then stepped forward, his eyes glowing, causing Jessie, James, and Meowth to take a step back, for like Ash, they, too, remembered the events of Mount Quena. "Mewtwo," Jessie stammered.
"It's not too late for you three to change your minds," Mewtwo told them. "You don't have to go out like this. You can still change. You're not like the others."
"We're Team Rocket, and we're going to protect the boss no matter what it takes!" Jessie declared.
James nodded, too, also prompting Growlie to step forward to defend his master.
"This is unfortunate," was Mewtwo's only statement as he looked down at the ground. However, it would not be Mewtwo who engaged Team Rocket and their Pokémon.
Ash's Pokémon quickly stepped out in front of him and engaged Team Rocket and their Pokémon. Having learned from Mia's tactics, Ash's Venusaur stepped forward and began the battle by using Sleep Powder on Team Rocket and their Pokémon. Growlie attempted to incinerate the cloud of Sleep Powder but Mewtwo used his psychic powers to prevent Growlie from being able to use Flamethrower or any other ranged Fire-type attacks. As such, the Sleep Powder cloud fell upon Team Rocket and their Pokémon, putting all of them except for the part Grass-type Pokémon to sleep. Charizard quickly dealt with those Pokémon with a trio of Fire Blast attacks, taking down Gourgeist, Carnivine, and Amoonguss with single hits. The rest of Ash's Pokémon then dealt with the sleeping Team Rocket Pokémon, each one picking their targets by type and hitting them with super effective moves. Within seconds, all of Team Rocket's Pokémon was rendered unconscious, Pikachu using Thunderbolt on Jessie, James, and Meowth.
As soon as the battle was over, Ash took out some rope and used it to bind the hands and feet of the Team Rocket Trio. He then returned the unconscious Pokémon to their Poké Balls and tossed them far away from Team Rocket so that when they did wake up, they would not be able to reach their Poké Balls and heal their Pokémon. Once Team Rocket and their Pokémon were restrained, the group continued down the corridor.
Not too far down the corridor, Ash and the others spotted Giovanni standing before a door in the distance. Sitting next to him was his Persian. Upon seeing the man, Ash rushed forward, Pikachu hot on his heals. However, Mewtwo sensed that something was wrong and called after Ash, "Wait, something's wrong!"
Ash looked back at Mewtwo and just as he did so, Giovanni pulled out a Ray Gun and took aim at the boy. Just as he pulled the trigger, Mewtwo teleported in front of Ash and raised a shield over himself, causing the green pulse to bounce off of his shield and into the floor, burning a hole into the floor. Mewtwo then used Psychic to shatter the Ray Gun. Giovanni merely scowled as his firearm fell apart in his hands.
"So, you're here," the Rocket Boss grumbled. His lips then twisted into a grin. "It looks like I'll finally be able to test the full power of my Legendary Pokémon."
As soon as he had said those words, several flashes of light appeared around him and suddenly, hovering about him were the Lake Guardians: Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit, as well as the Legendary Beasts: Raikou, Entei, and Suicune. Giovanni grinned as the Pokémon stood in front of him.
Ash went to prepare for battle but Mewtwo held up his paw and said, "No. I will engage the Legendary Pokémon. You go and fight Giovanni."
"Yes, boy. Fight me," Giovanni mocked, taking out a Poké Ball from his jacket pocket and holding it in front of him. "But if you want me, come and get me."
The door behind him then slid open and Giovanni ducked inside, the door quickly sliding closed behind him. Ash when to charge after Giovanni when the Legendary Pokémon unleashed their attacks on him and his Pokémon friends, consisting of Fire Blast, Hydro Pump, Thunder, as well as three Shadow Balls from Azelf, Uxie, and Mesprit. However, Mewtwo disappeared from his spot and reappeared in front of Ash and his Pokémon, intercepting the attacks from the Legendary Pokémon, a shield flaring as he withstood all of the attacks. The attacks exploded against his shield, throwing up a massive cloud of dust that obscured the cat-like Psychic-type Super Legendary Pokémon, causing Ash to grow concerned that Mewtwo may have taken some damage from the attacks.
Soon, though, the dust cloud instantly dispersed and Mewtwo emerged from it unscathed, his eyes glowing and his shield surrounding him as he floated there. He looked over at Ash and told him, "Get him. I'll deal with these fools myself."
"But you're…"
"Going to crush them," Mewtwo told the boy confidently. "Don't worry about me. Just take down Giovanni. Don't even worry about leaving some of him for me. Get him and save your mother."
"Will do, Mewtwo," Ash replied as he and his Pokémon friends charged forward towards the door. When he arrived, the door slid open, allowing Ash entry to the room beyond.
Once the door slid closed once more, Mewtwo stood firm and focused on the six Legendary Pokémon arrayed against him. As they came against him, all he could do was grin. "Bring it on," he uttered confidently as they surged towards him, the bipedal cat-like Pokémon knowing that they were not strong enough to defeat him.
Inside the chamber, Ash found himself standing in a large office with several bookcases as well as a desk. Next to the desk was fancy sofa with his mother sitting on it. As soon as he spotted his mother, he rushed over to her, exclaiming, "Mom!"
As he went to hug her and check on her, he noticed a flicker on his mother, almost as if she were nothing more than a holographic image. As he reached out to touch her arm, he felt nothing and the image promptly vanished, revealing the ruse. He gritted his teeth as he scanned the room, searching for any secret exit. He soon found Giovanni standing near the bookcase, his Persian beside him.
"If you want to save your mother and also destroy the Badge Amplifier, follow me," the Rocket Boss told him. Giovanni then retreated through the bookcase as he pulled a lever and the bookcase spun around, revealing a secret exit. The bookcase soon spun back to its normal position. Heedless of the danger, Ash rushed forward and pulled on the lever so that he could follow after Giovanni. The bookcase soon spun him through to another corridor, this one was narrow and would make him and his Pokémon prime targets, especially the larger ones like Charizard, Venusaur, or Blastoise. As such, when the other Pokémon followed him into the corridor, he took out his Poké Balls and told his larger Pokémon, "Charizard, Venusaur, Blastoise, Snorlax, return."
Red beams erupted from his Poké Balls and quickly returned the Pokémon to their Poké Balls. Once they were inside, Ash explained the situation to them. "I have a bad feeling about this corridor. I don't want you being easy targets for any defense systems." Even though each of his Pokémon was quite durable in battle, he did not want them to be weakened when they faced off against Giovanni, for he had a feeling that he may still have to fight against Legendary Pokémon.
He quickly made his way down the corridor, Pikachu and Donphan keeping a close watch on the walls for any signs of defenses that may have activated. More than once, a suspicious gleam on the walls caused Pikachu to ready an electrical attack, or Donphan to prepare to power a Stone Edge attack. As such, Donphan used Rapid Spin down the corridor to try to expose any traps on the ground and clear them. Surprisingly, there were none and his caution was unneeded.
Eventually, they came to the end of the corridor and they saw a doorway that seemed to open into a larger chamber. A light shown through the door and Ash quickly charged towards the light, Pikachu and Donphan following after him. Once he reached the doorway, he charged in, not caring about what was in the next room
When Ash emerged from the corridor and into the next room, he found that it consisted of a large battlefield. The battlefield was virtually identical to the one that he had battled on in the main stadium during his championship battle with Mia. Some of the lights were on but they were dim, just barely bright enough for him to find his way around. Looking around, he saw a large scoreboard and a set of stands. Looking up, he saw a cylindrical cage suspended above the battlefield. Upon closer inspection, he saw that someone was inside the cage. He soon heard a voice cry from the cage, "Ash?" He instantly recognized it as belonging to his mother.
"Mom!" he cried as he rushed towards the center of the battlefield so he could try to reach the cage, letting Charizard out of his Poké Ball.
The moment he arrived at the center of the battlefield, the lights immediately came on and Ash saw Giovanni standing only a few feet away, grinning. "Well, you've caught up to me."
"Let my mom go!" Ash demanded. His demand merely drew a laugh from the Rocket Boss.
"You really want to save your mother, don't you?"
Ash seethed. "Let her go, Giovanni. It's me you want."
"Actually, I want both of you, but for different reasons," the Rocket Boss corrected, holding up a finger. He then laughed once more. "Besides, if we're going to do this, shouldn't we do it the right way, the way it always has been done in our world, the way it always will be done?"
"What do you mean?" Ash demanded, seething and holding out two of his Poké Balls.
Giovanni then grinned. "I mean that we shall decide this through a Pokémon Battle. If you win, I'll release your mother and surrender myself to you. However, if you lose, you'll surrender yourself to me, allowing me to do whatever I want to you."
Ash could only grin. "Okay, I accept."
"This will be a six-on-six battle, no time limit," Giovanni declared. The moment he made the declaration, a holographic referee appeared. The referee resembled a human male of about thirty years of age. "No two Pokémon may hold the same hold item; potions and other non-hold healing and status enhancing items are forbidden until the end of the battle and each Pokémon are limited to using four moves in this battle. Do you agree to these terms?"
"I do," Ash answered. "And if either of us breaks any of these rules, it counts as an automatic forfeit," the boy declared, drawing a scowl from Giovanni. Still, that did nothing to dissuade the Rocket Boss from staring the battle as he gripped his first Pokémon.
"Very well, then Ash Ketchum. Since I made the challenge, I'll choose first!"
With that, the scoreboard came to life and images of Ash and Giovanni appeared, each one with six slots underneath them. The moment the scoreboard came to life, Giovanni cried, "Rhyperior, go!"
Giovanni's Poké Ball opened and out came Rhyperior, a Ground/Rock-type Pokémon. This made Ash's choice for the battle easy. "Blastoise, I choose you!"
Just then, Ash tossed his Poké Ball out onto the battlefield and it opened, revealing the large blue tortoise-like Pokémon. The two Pokémon then stared at each other, each one sizing the other up. Just then, the holographic referee declared, "Let the battle begin!" With that, both Pokémon prepared their attacks and engaged each other. The battle for the fate of Delia Ketchum, as well as Giovanni, had begun.