The first thing Ash and Hilda notice when they get in is that it's pitch black.
"Ah, we'll need some help with that. Don't worry though, I have what we need" the Officer said, and he called in an Eelektross.
"Eelektross, use Flash" the Officer called, and Eelektross flashed a blast of light that lit up the cave.
"Alright, now let's get going," the Officer said, and him, Ash and Hilda headed inside.
Meanwhile, with Team Rocket.
On the third floor of Mistralton Cave, Jessie and James are awaiting Giovanni's signal. James gets an idea.
"How about we take control of the Wild Pokémon to slow down anyone trying to stop us?" he asked, to which Jessie replied "That's a good idea. Plus we could use some of our Pokémon to slow them down too"
"Yeah, that's a great idea" Meowth responded. Jessie and James nodded, and after Swoobat very affectionately hugged James, it used its call to take control of the Woobat in the area. And although the vast majority of the Pokémon were controlled, one little Axew was able to resist and ran off towards the first floor.
Back to Ash, Hilda and the Officer
They quickly find their path blocked by a Strength boulder.
"Well, as I'm prepared, Eelektross, use Strength to push the boulder into the hole" the Officer commanded, and Eelektross used its Strength to push the boulder across the ground into a nearby hole.
"Let's go," Ash said, and they proceeded in.
They didn't get far, however, before a Hiker seemed to block their pathway.
"Sorry Mr Hiker, but we're not battling you. We're here to rescue some captured Deerling" the Officer said, and he showed his badge, to which the Hiker nodded, and responded "The guys in black you may be looking for are on the third floor. But the wild Pokémon are going nuts too"
"Alright, noted," Ash said, and both he and Hilda called all of their Pokémon in, ready to battle, also noticing the Wild Pokémon on the other side, waiting for them. And sure enough, as Eelektross pushed the second boulder into the hole, the Wild Pokémon rush them.
Battle: Ash, Pignite, Pikachu, Rufflet and Frillish VS Woobat, Lairon, Boldore and Axew
Woobat unleashes sharp winds of light blue energy at Ash and his Pokémon, and the damage ranged from Minor for Pignite to Slight for Frillish, Pikachu and Ash.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt" Ash commanded, and Pikachu unleashed a blast of electricity at Woobat, KO'ing it in one hit. He then saw Lairon charging at them while covered in white energy, a Take Down, and called "Pignite, stop it with Substitute, then Pignite, Frillish, strike with Brick Break and Water Pulse"
Pignite used a quarter of its health to hide behind a Substitute doll, which tanked the Take Down, while Lairon took no recoil thanks to its Rock Head Ability, then both Pignite and Frillish launched an orange-glowed hand, and a ball of water, respectively, at Lairon, inflicting Massive damage, then Water Pulse KO'ed.
An Axew then charged at them, it's hands glowing with draconic energy, a Dragon Claw attack, but another Axew launched in and, with hands glowing in draconic energy, a Dual Chop, KO'ed the other Axew. Suddenly, Ash saw the roof shake, then started falling. A Rock Slide.
"Whoa, quick, Pignite, Protect us with Substitute," Ash said, and Pignite generated another Substitute and stopped any of them getting hurt by the falling Rocks, though the Substitute was destroyed, and Ash commanded "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt, Frillish, Water Pulse" and Pikachu's blast of electricity knocked Boldore to Sturdy, then Boldore was KO'ed by the ball of water from Frillish.
Conclusion: Ash and his team won.
"Who's this?" Ash asked as the Axew turned around and waved to him and Pikachu, which both returned.
"Axew, the Tusk Pokémon. Axew marks its territory by making scratch marks on trees with its tusks, which regrow if they fall out." Ash's Pokédex said. Ash smiled, then asked "Hey Axew, would you like to help me with this battle?", to which Ash replied by nodding, smiling, and said "Awesome. Then let's go" and he grabbed a Poké Ball, and threw it at Axew, the ball opened, captured Axew, then shook a few times, and clicked.
"Alright, I got an Axew," Ash said, and he picked it up, then said "Axew, I choose you" and Axew materialised.
Meanwhile, Hilda's also got her Wild Pokémon to take on.
Battle: Hilda, Dewott, Simisear and Stoutland VS Woobat, Boldore, Lairon and Axew.
"Simisear, use Rock Slide" Hilda called, and Simisear scraped the top of the cave, and dropped rocks onto all opponents, dealing from Significant damage to Woobat to Slight damage to Lairon.
"Now Dewott, use Water Pulse on Boldore" Hilda commanded, and Dewott shot a ball of water at Boldore's KO'ing it since it had already taken damage from Rock Slide. Woobat retaliated by unleashing an Air Cutter attack on everyone, including Hilda, which did from Minor damage to Dewott and Hilda to slight for Stoutland and Simisear.
Axew's claw then glowed with draconic energy and went to strike Hilda, a Dragon Claw, but Dewott blocked it with its Scalchops, its scalop glowing white with a Retaliate attack.
"Quick, Stoutland, use Retaliate" Hilda commanded, and Stoutland cloaked itself in white energy, struck, dealing Significant damage, with Axew being finished off by Dewott's Retaliate attack.
"Now that just leaves Lairon and Woobat. Dewott, use Aqua Jet" Hilda commanded, and as Woobat prepared to strike with another Air Cutter, Dewott cloaked itself in water and shot like an arrow at Woobat, KO'ing it. Lairon threw up a Shield to Protect itself from attacks.
"As soon as that Protect wears off, Simisear, Brick Break. Stoutland, Thunder Fang, and Dewott, Water Pulse" Hilda commanded, and as soon as the shield dropped, Simisear struck with a glowing orange fist, Stoutland's glowing electric fangs and Dewott's ball of water, all KO'ing the Lairon.
Conclusion: Hilda, Dewott, Simisear and Stoutland wins.
Another big surprise was in store for Ash, however, when suddenly, his Pignite started glowing.
"Whoa! Pignite's evolving! Guys, Pignite's evolving" Ash called as Pignite grew, and expanded, and when the light vanished, the new Pokémon roared "EMBOAR!"
"Whoa! Pignite evolved into Emboar!" Ash called, and he got out his Pokédex, as did Hilda.
"Emboar, the Mega Fire Pig Pokémon. A flaring beard of fire is proof that it is fired up. It is adept at using many different moves" both dexes said.
"We'd better push on, who knows what Team Rocket's up to. And, of course, watch out for Cobalion" Ash said, to which Hilda and the Officer head towards the stairs, Ash's newly caught Axew leading the way.
Meanwhile with Team Rocket
"Jessie, James, what is the progression of the Deerling capture?" a figure in a Rocket outfit asked, to which Jessie replied "We've taken control of the Wild Pokémon, but we're still waiting. We're on the 3rd floor of Mistralton Cave"
"Alright, noted. It'll be about twenty minutes before we can arrive so we can beam you all up" the Rocket said. James then turned to Jessie, and said "You had better get your Krokorok to block the entrance to the third floor with Rock Slide"
"Alright" Jessie replied and, after nodding to Krokorok and Swoobat, they head for the entranceway between Floors two and three, and Jessie said "Krokorok, use Rock Slide", while James called "Swoobat, assist with Psychic" and Krokorok used part of the floor, wall and roof to drop rocks into the stairway, while Swoobat used Psychic to adjust the position of the rocks, to properly block the entrance.
"What's the Wild Pokémon situation?" Jessie asked, to which James replied "We need this, they're about to reach the second floor"
"Right. Then get over here and wait, we need to be ready to fight our way out" Jessie said, to which James replied "Alright" and James rejoined Jessie, both Palpitoad and Swoobat standing next to Krokorok and Gurdurr.
Back to Ash, Hilda and Officer
As soon as they arrive on the second floor, an Ace Trainer approaches, intending to challenge them, but the Officer shows off his badge and said "We can't battle right now. Something more important has come up"
"That mysterious guy and girl in black?" the Ace Trainer asked, to which Ash replied "They're called Team Rocket, and yes, we're hunting them"
"Alright. They went to the third floor, they're hiding there. I've informed the other Ace Trainer, and we're working on suppressing the Wild Pokémon" the Ace Trainer said, to which the Officer replied "Good work". He then continued inward, with Ash and Hilda following.
Their progress into the cave is briefly interrupted by a Strength boulder, but that's easily pushed aside by the Officer's Eelektross' Strength attack. As soon as they do, however, they're ambushed by over twenty Woobat.
Battle: Simisear and Wailmer VS Twenty Woobat
"Holy shit, that is a lot of Woobat," Ash said, to which the Officer replied "Get you, and all of your Pokémon behind me. Gothitelle, use Protect. Then Wailmer, wash them down with Surf" and his Gothitelle stepped in front of the Officer, and everyone else, and Wailmer sent a wave of water at all of the Woobat and dealt Significant damage to all of them. However, the Woobat all retaliate with Air Cutter, eventually KO'ing Wailmer.
"Those Air Cutter attacks would have messed us all up if we were all hit," the Officer said, to which Hilda replied "Let me finish the Woobat off"
"How?" the Officer asked, to which Hilda replied "My Simisear knows Rock Slide"
"Alright, do it quickly," the Officer said, and Hilda responded "Alright then Simisear, use Rock Slide" and Simisear caused a big Rock Slide to KO all of the Woobat's.
Conclusion: Simisear wins.
"Good move Hilda," the Officer said, to which Hilda replied "Thanks. I figured out why you'd had Wailmer used Surf, and I knew that Simisear knew a move of a similar category to Surf"
"Good thinking Hilda" Ash replied, smiling at her, which she returned.
"Now, we'd better get going. We don't know how much time we have to stop Team Rocket" the officer said, to which Ash and Hida nodded, and they continued inward.
Interestingly, the other Ace Trainer who was on this floor was too busy battling the Wild Pokémon to attempt to interrupt their progress.
"Thanks, Ace Trainer" Officer called as they went past, to which she nodded, then returned to holding the Wild Pokémon off.
It is here that they discover that the entrance has been caved in.
"Oh dear," the Officer said, to which Ash replied "I'm sure Team Rocket caused this"
"Why?" Hilda asked, to which Ash replied "This is something Team Rocket would do. Cause a cave-in to stop people interfering"
"Aright. Well, I guess Gothitelle will use Psychic to clear the way" the Officer said, to which Gothitelle nodded, and started using Psychic to slowly move the rocks.
"Oh, by the way, I just checked Pignite's moveset. He knows Protect. How about I use that as soon as the rocks are clear? I'm almost certain Jessie and James are going to launch every attack they have at us as soon as we appear" Ash said, to which Hilda nodded, and the Officer added "Good idea"
Meanwhile with Team Rocket
Swoobat sensed the defeat of the twenty Woobat and called Jessie and James.
"We're running out of time. We need a new plan" Jessie said, to which James replied "The others are almost there, and I've just got DNA samples from both the Deerling. So even if we lose them, we at least have their DNA, so we can do something with it"
"Good idea. Any other ideas?" Jessie asked, to which James replied "Launch attacks all at once as soon as the twerps show up if they manage to move the rocks"
"Alright, sounds like a plan" Jessie replied. Meowth then chimed in "How do I assist? I only know Physical attacks"
"You're our signaller Meowth, for when the other Rockets show up" James responded, to which Meowth nodded, and kept an eye out.
As soon as the rocks started moving, Krokorok, Swoobat, Palpitoad and Gurdurr took position on a nearby ledge. both Krokorok and Gurdurr prepare Rock Slide, Palpitoad prepares a Mud Shot and Swoobat prepares an Air Slash, ready to strike.
Back to Ash, Hilda and the Officer
Slowly, the rocks were moved away, and the path between the second and third floors was slowly opened. Once the path was cleared, at the same time, Hilda and Jessie both said "Strike!" and Ash commanded "Emboar, use Protect" while Jessie and Hames both called "Krokorok, Gurdurr, use Rock Slide. Swoobat, use Air Slash and Palpitoad use Mud Shot" and like Ash, Hilda and the Officer shot up the stairs, the barrier appeared around them, causing all of the moves Team Rocket's Pokémon had shot at them. As soon as the barrier fell, Hilda called "Dewott, use Hidden Power" and Dewott generated balls of ice and shot it at Swoobat, but Palpitoad tanks it instead, taking Minor damage. Ash knew better than to command Pikachu to use Thunderbolt since Krokorok would just absorb the attack and took no damage. Swoobat then shot a ball of natural energy at Dewott in retaliation, but Ash commanded "Emboar, use Fire Punch" and Emboar's fist is cloaked in flames, and punched the Energy Ball, destroying it.
Both Gurdurr and Krokorok unleash their Rock Slide attacks, and everyone on their team except Rufflet took damage. The amount of damage inflicted varied from Simisear taking Moderate damage, to Emboar, Frillish, Dewott, Axew and Stoutland who all took minor damage, to Pikachu, Eelektross and Gothitelle, who barely felt a thing. Ash, Hilda and the Officer just avoid being buried by the rocks.
"We have to get to them as soon as possible" Ash called, to which Hilda replied "If we can get close enough, we can all strike with the Physical attacks of our Pokémon", but they were then picked up by Swoobat's Psychic.
"Uh oh," Ash said.
It was at that moment, that Meowth saw the portal open up, and called "This is it! They're here"
"Alright, let's get going," James said, and at that moment, Swoobat threw everyone back, a pulse of Psionic energy used at that point. The damage taken ranged from an almost KO for Emboar, triggering his Blaze Ability, to Significant for Axew, to Considerable for Rufflet, Dewott, Hilda and Simisear, to Moderate for Stoutland, to Minor for Pikachu, Frillish, Officer and Eelektross, to Slight for Gothitelle and Ash.
"Get back here" Ash called, and he quickly got back on his feet as everyone fled, and Hilda called "Dewott, use Hidden Power" and Dewott fired balls of Ice at Swoobat, forcing it to dodge and not catch them with Psychic again.
The Officer was close enough behind Ash for Eelektross to push the Strength boulder into the hole again.
"How the hell did Team Rocket get past these boulders?" the Officer asked, to which Ash replied "James has a Swoobat, probably used Psychic to move them back to impede us"
"Right" the Officer replied. Soon, they reached the escape point for Team Rocket. And there, in addition to a hole blasted in the top floor of Mistralton Cave, there's a Helicopter in Team Rocket colours hovering that Jessie, James and Meowth, along with the two captured Deerling and Scientists.
"Gothitelle, pull them all off" the Officer called, and Team Rocket Grunts attempted their counter, a sound machine. It worked long enough for Team Rocket to escape on their helicopter, but the two Deerling were rescued in the meantime.
"Well then. I will definitely be informing the Unova Defence Force about Team Rocket. Ash, since you have experience fighting Team Rocket, there will be a representative of the Unova Defence Force to talk to you about them" the Officer said, to which Ash replied "Sure, so long as it'll help you guys too since I can't take Team Rocket on by myself"
"Alright, noted. But any information you provide will come in handy" the Officer replied. Ash then turned, and found an out of breath, and quite banged up Hilda, walking up to then.
"Are you OK Hilda?" Ash asked, to which Hilda replied "I'll be OK. Team Rocket's vicious"
"That they are. We'd all better get back, so we can all rest and recover, both Pokémon and ourselves" Ash said, to which the Officer replied "Sure" and they start heading back the way they came.
After quite the journey back, Ash, Hilda and the Officer arrived back at the Pokémon Centre, where all three of them get their Pokémon healed. The Nurse Joy also helped patch up Hilda, marvelling at how little damage Ash appears to have taken.
"Considering I've been burned and shocked by my Pokémon before, I've grown a lot tougher. Even I'm surprised at how well I've held up. Also, can I please talk to Hilda alone for a bit?" Ash replied, and Nurse Joy nodded and departed with the Officer. Ash then took a seat opposite Hilda.
"It was hinted at how nasty Team Rocket are when they trapped me in the Sand Tomb. But this, was another level" Hilda said, breathing heavily still. Ash nodded, put a hand on Hilda's shoulder, then said "Jessie and James are more vicious than I ever remember them being. I've battled Rockets who were as vicious as they were, but not them. But we can work on toughening us both up, so that sort of thing doesn't affect us anywhere near as much"
"Alright. Just, once I've healed up" Hilda replied, to which Ash nodded, and said "That'll be fine, rest up, alright?" to which Hilda nodded. Ash smiled, then Hilda responded, "I will". Ash smiled, gently embraced Hilda, which she returned.
"Alright you two, Hilda's going to be in the medical area tonight, alright Ash?" Nurse Joy asked, to which Ash replied: "That's fine". And after exchanging smiles, Hilda follows Nurse Joy to the medical area, while Ash heads towards his room for the night.