Misty left the pokémon centre early in the morning, before the sun had even begun to rise over the horizon. She sucked in a breath of cold air and breathed out slowly. The red puffy jacket she wore was enough to shield her from the brunt of the morning's low temperature, though she had left her hiking pants in the dryer before leaving, just to make sure she had that extra layer of warmth.

She walked from the pokémon centre to the riverfront. It was only a ten minute walk, through a path that had been worn into the grassy banks through years of use. Hoothoot in the trees were hooting at each other. She heard the caw of a murkrow that made something in the grass race away in fear.

Reaching the river, Misty let out her entire team. Quill, almost predictably, looked about ready to race into the river and start terrorising the pokémon living within. It was only the quick reactions of Acacia that stopped him. The sight of a totodile squirming wildly whilst held under the psychic grasp of a starmie would be a shock for anyone unfamiliar with her team's dynamic.

Meanwhile Willow plopped herself down on the ground and was content to spit bubbles at Jasmine. The vaporeon batted the larger bubbles out of the sky and made an obvious demand for the poliwag to continue making more to play with. Ren took his place in Misty's shadow, as usual. The crawdaunt took his role as her protector seriously, far more seriously than Misty personally thought he had to.

Knight, meanwhile, looked rather lost and confused. Misty supposed it was her fault - she had effectively segregated the team against him due to her own initial reluctance to train him. It was still difficult - the sight of his many legs gave her the shivers, and the chittering noises he made occasionally made her want to scream and run away. It took considerable effort just to reign her own emotions in.

"Alright guys," she said, clapping her hands. "We're going to be working on your teamwork this morning. I've got a new plan."

She outlined her ideas, and found herself relying on Acacia to play translator to Knight where needed. Her pokémon fell into their roles easily, and Misty let herself sit on the grassy bank for a moment and just watch them.

Acacia was positioned in the water, downstream from Ren. The starmie's job was to create a series of psychic platforms in the air for Jasmine to use to race from Acacia's side to Ren's. Meanwhile, the crawdaunt had to try and disrupt the psychic platforms before Jasmine reached him. Once she reached his side, she would dive underwater and then Ren would have to use his powers to shield Jasmine from the psychic waves Acacia would throw forwards to stop her from reaching the starmie's side.

Meanwhile Knight was playing a butchered version of tag. He would race up and down the riverfront in laps, avoiding the ranged attacks Willow was firing at him from the other side of the river. Quill had the job of alternating between defending him from Willow's ranged assaults, and focusing on his own speed to try and catch the venipede, at which point Willow would have to focus on stopping him from catching Knight.

Usually Misty herself would be in the water, swimming laps. Instead this morning she pulled out her phone and started a video call.

It took a lot longer than normal to answer, and when the video appeared on her phone, she was surprised by the sister that answered.

"Violet!" she exclaimed, not unhappy to see her. "What're you doing on Daisy's phone?"

Violet made a gesture that could have meant anything as she rolled over in the fluffy-looking bed. Misty saw the hotel window behind her and the briefest glimpse of the Hoenn night sky before it was obscured by hotel lighting.

"Daisy's off being an all-important powerful trainer with Wallace, so she left her phone here on charge" Daisy said with a roll of her eyes. There was a towel wrapped around her hair, and she had little golden pads resting beneath her eyes. She reached up and poked the screen, flipping around the video feed. Misty saw a giant television at the end of the bed, which was paused on some sort of reality dating show. A box of chocolates lay open next to Violet's legs, and Misty knew that anything that contained dark chocolate or fruit would be left to rot in the trash. "So I'm catching up on some much needed social studies." She flipped the screen back and grinned. "You wouldn't believe the guys these girls are saying they're in love with. Like, they're trash. Rotten, best left to be forgotten in a landfill trash." She shrugged and popped a chocolate in her mouth. "But like, it's funny to watch Susie claim she loves Darren, but she just had an abortion last week because she Jason got her pregnant."

"I don't even know what to say to that," Misty said, chuckling. "What about Lily, is she watching that crap with you?"

"Crap?" Violet blew a raspberry at her. "I'll have you know this is like, highly scientific research. Heteros are like, so weird. Like damn, if you're doing monogamy, keep it in your pants. I mean, the more I watch it, the more I want to give up with guys and just go full-time girls, but damn these girls are like, the crazy that gives us all a bad name." She sighed as she shook her head. "But anyway, Lily's out with her new boytoy. Some big up-and-coming gym trainer that's into fighting types and surfing. She said something about him taking gym leader exams, but we all know what Lily's like. She likes guys with big muscles and big-" Her eyes widened. "-shoes."

"I never stood a chance of a normal childhood with your three as my sisters," Misty said, sighing.

"Puh-lease. Like being normal is anything worth shouting about. Be an inspiration for future generations or just be part of the background. So baby sis, what's up? Anything I can help you with?"

Misty spent a moment just watching her pokémon training. Jasmine's footing went out from under her as Ren distorted a psychic platform, but Acacia quickly made another one beneath them. Quill was busy chasing Knight, who leaped into the air and slapped one of Willow's water guns at him. It exploded against the totodile's chest, knocking the wind out of him, much to Willow's obvious amusement.

"I'm good, I think," Misty said.

"Oh please," Violet said. "You call me when you want someone to talk to you like an adult. You talk to Lily when you wanna reminisce about old times, and you call Daisy when something's really bothering you." She smiled as she sat up and leant against the oak headboard. "Don't take it personal, we all give Daisy our shit when we want our lives figuring out. She's the big sis, she has to do it." She unwrapped the towel on her head and let her recently-dyed blue hair spill down around her shoulders. Misty saw the tell-tale peroxide stains on the once-white towel and smirked. "So try me. We've all been through shit, Mist. Our job as big sisters is to make sure you learn from our mistakes, and probably help you make a few."

"Alright," Misty said, and recounted her conversation with Surge to her. By the time she was finished, the sun was half-way up the sky and warming up the morning. Misty had shed her coat to use it instead as a makeshift blanket. "So what do you think? Be honest with me Violet. If you were in his position, would you have said the same?"

Violet was biting her bottom lip. Misty knew already it was going to be an answer she would hate. "Don't take this the wrong way," Violet said, confirming Misty's fears, "but I can kinda see where he's coming from."

Misty sucked in a breath as quietly as she could. It felt like there was a stabbing pain in her heart, but she forced herself to keep calm. She knew her sisters, and knew that they meant well. They would tell her what she needed to hear, even if it was something she may not have wanted to hear.

"Oh Mist," Violet whispered. "I wish I was there with you. You look like you need a hug right now." She moved the phone to her shoulder. "I'm giving you a virtual hug right now, okay? And when I see you again I'm going to squeeze you so hard that like, you're going to break a rib or three."

Misty laughed. "If you could hug me without the need for a trip to the emergency room, that'd be great." She glanced away from the phone to check on her pokémon before focusing back on the screen. "So be honest with me, Vi. What're you thinking?"

Violet sighed as she leaned forwards and grabbed the box of chocolates. Misty watched her unwrap one, put it into her mouth and quickly spit it out when she discovered raisins. "Who would ruin chocolate with fruit?" she hissed. "Anyway, you know I love you so like, this comes from a place of love, okay?"

Misty laughed nervously. "That bad huh?"

"A little," Violet said. "Everything you told me… well, like… it's kinda selfish."

"Selfish?" Misty growled. She heard the tone of her voice and cleared her throat quickly. "Sorry, Vi, I didn't-"

"It's cool, don't worry," Violet said. "But just listen, okay? Everything you said, it was all about you. How you want to do this. How you want to do that. Misty, take like, a minute and think about the people we already have as Leaders and Elites. They're people that the public are meant to look up to, to like, rely on for safety. People in positions of power like that aren't meant to work for themselves. They're like, meant to be there for the people who don't have the power to defend themselves.

"You don't know how to reach the top," Violet continued. "That's like, totally normal. There's no one path to being a Champion. Some people are so powerful they can like, overthrow everyone else in their way. That's how Professor Oak got to be Champion all that time ago. Others get it through years and years of hard work. What's important is that they've always been altruistic and selfless. Sure they, like, might have had other reasons for wanting that power, but they're people that have like, proven that they can handle the power responsibly.

"And that's the crux of it," Violet said. She sighed as she laid back down on the bed. "We realised this ourselves you know, whilst we were travelling over here. I don't think the three of us were in the right mindset to be gym leaders, because we were too focused on what happened to Mom and Dad. We were so blind to that we didn't even recognise our gym was like, being taken from underneath us until it was too late, and you like, were the one to suffer that.

"But my advice?" She smiled. "Be that brat we knew when we were little kids. The one who never gave up until she had proved everyone wrong. You wanted to be a master of water pokémon - you like, go out there and you show them that you are the best fucking water master there ever was. Don't think you're not good enough - show them why you're better than what they want. Actions speak louder than words, baby sis."

They were silent for a long minute. Misty had to blink away the tears she could feel building. "Thanks, Vi. That helped. I needed to hear that."

"Hey, that's what big sisters are for." She pressed something on the screen and suddenly cackled. "Oh, speaking of big sisters, do I have some blackmail material now. Our big sister Daisy, the one who's so up on responsibility and being honest, is apparently some married dude's mistress." She was practically bouncing with glee. "Oh, and there's a picture!" Her eyes widened. "Oh wow, it's pierced. I wouldn't have thought-"

"Violet!" Misty shrieked. "Just… I don't want to know!"

Violet cackled once more. "Oh Misty, give it time. You'll soon be just like the rest of us. Oh I am so sharing this with Lily."

"I'm going to go and pretend this conversation never happened," Misty said. "Take care, Vi. Love you."

"Love you too, little sis."

Misty ended the call with a shake of her head. As nice as it was to talk to her sisters, it was also nice to be reminded of the reasons why she was glad she was in an entirely different country to them. Their love for drama and scandal would drive her to pull her own hair out.

-O-O-O-

Ash felt his heartbeat pounding in his ears. He knew that there was no way they were ever going to win their battle.

Yet nothing ever seemed to spur him on more than an unwinnable fight.

The lunatone he faced remained motionless in the air, watching them both with unmoving, unblinking red eyes. Rocks were orbiting the pokémon, moving faster than Ash's eyes could track. He knew there were at least twenty of them, as sharp as knives, blocking any attempt of getting in close.

He gritted his teeth. Butterfree was flagging, sagged in the air as if his only strength left was keeping himself airborne.

"Come on Ash!" Brock cried. He stood behind his lunatone, smug. His arms were folded and honestly Ash was beginning to wonder just how he could stand in one spot for so long. "Yomi's getting bored. I've tried telling you before a butterfree's strengths aren't usually in physical attacks. You need to learn to attack from a distance. Anytime you try attacking us directly, those rocks are just going to make Butterfree's day worse."

"Oh, I'll show you making a day worse," Ash swore. "Butterfree, let's show Brock just what he's asking for! Blind them with the force of a thousand suns!"

He pulled his cap down before finishing the command. Even with his eyes hidden and shut, he could still see the way his pokémon was glowing. It was slow to start, needing a few seconds to gather force. The moment it did, however, there was a blinding flash of light that left Ash's skin tingling, as if singed. He laughed as he opened his eyes, finding Brock rubbing his.

As expected, the lunatone's concentration dipped. "Now Butterfree!" Ash cried. "Let them have it!"

Butterfree soared in with speed that belied his frame. Screeching a battle cry, his pokémon threw itself at the defenceless lunatone. There was a resounding impact like that of a mountain crumbling. The lunatone collapsed to the ground, moaning weakly. Butterfree bounced back off the pokémon and hit the ground, hard, murmuring quiet, weakened sounds.

Ash's confidence turned to horror as the lunatone floated back up into the air and began to spin the rocks around itself again.

Brock, having cleared the obvious spots from his eyes, took a look at Butterfree struggling to pull itself back into the air and sighed. "I appreciate your tenacity, Ash, but you need to play to your pokémon's strengths."

"But I am!" Ash demanded. He could see the way that Butterfree was struggling back into the air. His pokémon wanted to prove that he was strong, that he was capable of physical feats that people said his species weren't able to perform. What sort of trainer would he be if he denied his pokémon that? "Butterfree's still wanting to battle!"

His pokémon, unable to muster the energy to get back into the air, was instead on the ground, wobbling on weak back legs. It made a sound that on a larger pokémon would have been terrifying. From him, however, it sounded more adorable than fierce.

It was still enough to elicit a frightened squeak out of Misty, who was sat with Holly, watching from the sidelines.

"Ash," Brock said, his voice gentle. He held out a poké ball and recalled his lunatone. "I'm not going to continue this if you're not willing to listen. You're just going to end up hurting your pokémon."

"Well what would you know?" Ash fired back, crossing his arms. "I bet you've never even owned a butterfree!"

"No, I've never owned a butterfree," Brock said, his voice level. "But I was the gym leader near Viridian for almost five years. I've battled many butterfree in that time, wild and trained. Those who tried to be physical attackers never lasted long."

"I…" Ash searched for anything to argue back with. Misty and Holly were both wearing expressions that seemed to say that they were going to agree with Brock. The final straw was when Pikachu, sitting by Ash's feet, reached over and pulled on the bottom of his jeans, shaking his head when Ash looked down at him.

"Fine," Ash relented, recalling Butterfree reluctantly. "You were amazing, no matter what they said," he whispered to the ball before replacing it. Looking up as Brock approached him to rest a comforting hand on his shoulder, Ash sighed and looked at the ground. "I thought being a good trainer meant listening to your pokémon and what they want."

"It is," Brock said. "But being a very good trainer means knowing when to trust their pokémon's instincts and how best to teach them to think in new ways. If it wasn't for human intervention there's loads of pokémon that would be extinct by now."

"But," Ash tried to argue, though he knew that he was fighting a losing battle. "That doesn't mean we can't."

"No, you're right," Brock said. "Some people can reach the pinnacle of strength and subvert everything we know at the same time. People aren't sure how trainers manage to bring out newfound strength and skills in pokémon, but it's agreed universally that in almost all cases, human-trained pokémon are stronger than their wild counterparts." Reaching into a pocket, Brock smiled as he withdrew a small piece of homemade pokémon food and handed it to Pikachu. Ash watched as his pokémon squealed in delight and jumped up to snatch the food from Brock's hand.

"If you put your mind to it, you could probably do something like that," Brock continued, though he was staring at Pikachu instead of Ash. "But that road will be tough. The only advice I can give to you is to find yourself as a trainer first, before trying to change the world."

"I don't get it," Ash admitted.

"You will, in time," Brock said, smiling as he patted him on the shoulder. "It's not something that comes overnight, and it's not something that someone can tell you."

Ash sighed, smiling only slightly when Pikachu climbed up his back to sit on his shoulder. The building that they had come all this way to investigate seemed like it was falling apart. He was certain that if he looked through the broken windows, he could see the forests behind it. It was hard to believe that once upon a time, this building had created enough power to fuel all of Kanto.

"Jeez," Misty breathed, moving up beside Ash as silently as a spectre. She hugged her bare arms and shuddered, though it was a warm morning. "That place is creepy."

"I heard it's haunted," Holly whispered from Ash's other side.

"Girls please," Brock said, though he too was frozen, staring up at the large metal doors that had begun to rust away at the edges. "There's no such thing as ghosts. Ghost pokémon, sure, but not real dead people that remain haunting buildings."

"Oh yeah?" Misty shot back. "Well I don't see you being the first one to go in there!"

"Well I don't know what's waiting for us in there! I heard there were voltorb and electrodes last spotted here - we don't want to open the door on one of those and have it explode on us!"

"Surge wouldn't have sent us here if he didn't think we could handle it," Holly said. Frowning, she reached into a pocket and withdrew a poké ball that she had decorated with a small, pink flower sticker. "Maybe we should keep a pokémon out with us anyway, just in case."

Ash had to admit that despite having settled on choosing a squirtle - had things have worked out that way - bulbasaur were also pretty damn cool. Holly's pokémon appeared in a flash of light, grunting at the new change in surroundings. The large bulb on its back was darker and bigger than Ash would have expected. The small, stout pokémon looked up at them with curious crimson eyes. Ash could feel the pokémon's intrigue washing off it, and something about the pokémon left him certain it had some form of a stubborn streak.

As Misty called out her vaporeon and Brock his geodude, Ash took a breath and strode towards the doors. "Well come on guys," he said, faking bravado, "it's not like we'll be able to figure out what's going on in here from the outside!"

He threw open the doors, half expecting something horrific to leap out of the shadows and attack them. Instead there was… nothing. The chessboard floor tiles were cracked, worn from time and pokémon attacks. As Ash walked into the doorway, his footsteps echoing all around him, he saw the walls were lined with machinery that was far taller than he felt was necessary, displaying dials and symbols that could mean anything. Pikachu grumbled from atop his shoulder, wary of something. Ash's own stomach bubbled in uncertainty.

"I don't like this," Misty whispered.

A screeching sound ripped through the air. All of them jumped out of their skin. The electrical screaming continued, echoing over speakers that were coming back to life for the first time in a long while.

Ash's heartbeat echoed in his ears. Pikachu was gripping onto his collar, chittering furiously.

Then over the speakers came music, like something from a dramatic opera.

"Is this for real?" Brock asked, glancing at the ceiling. His geodude was levitating beside him, sparks discharging from her large, magnetic eyebrows. "Is Surge punking us?"

"This is far too complex for Surge to pull off," Misty hissed.

"Harsh," Holly said. Her hand had found Misty's - both of them were bone-white, red around the areas where they were being squeezed to within an inch of their lives. "Maybe it's just leftover programming from when this place was used last?"

It was then that the cackling began. It was a woman's voice, shrill, somehow vain.

"Come closer my darlings, and prepare for trouble!"

"Okay, that's setting off alarm bells from here to Sinnoh," Misty growled. Her vaporeon hissed an agreement. "We're not seriously going to go through with this, are we?"

Ash found himself frozen to the spot. He could remember that voice - it was like Viridian had happened yesterday. Just hearing her speak again made him picture himself being back there in the pokémon centre, stopping her and her companions from robbing the place.

"Team Rocket," he growled. Enraptured by memories as he was, he failed to see the way Misty and Brock both snapped to attention and stared at him. "What're you doing here?"

"Enter the maze and make it double!"

Brock started to say something, but Ash had started moving without thinking. He raced up the metal, creaking stairs and down the corridors of the power plant. The walls seemed to blur into one. The old, disused machinery sparked at random intervals. Ash noticed none of it. He barely even felt Pikachu's grip on his shoulders.

His only thoughts were that he had to find Team Rocket and stop them from whatever they were planning in the power plant.

"To protect the world from devastation," the speakers crackled, tauntingly.

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

A voltorb rolled out from beneath a large cupboard. Ash gasped, seeing it too late to do anything about it. He charged towards it, scaring the pokémon enough to make it begin to spark. At the last possible moment, he leaped over it, feeling all the hairs on his body stand on end as he passed too close to its electrical static.

"To denounce the evils of truth and love," the speakers continued, blaring out their obnoxious music in time with the their attempts of… poetry?

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

They're real, Ash thought to himself as he raced towards the source of the sound. He knew that he had actually met them - that despite what everyone else had told him, they were more than a byproduct of his imagination.

"Jessie!" the shrill voice announced.

"James!" said the other.

"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"

"So surrender now or prepare to fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

There was a sound like a poké ball opening and afterwards, a screeching noise that almost sounded like a drawn out, "Wahbufet!"

Ash found them just as they finished, in the centre of the power plant, surrounded by what appeared to be old recording equipment. There was a spotlight shining down from above, centering on the tall, lithe woman with magenta hair that flowed down her back. Her companion, his hair dyed blue, had, of all things, a rose in his mouth as he tinkered with the back of what looked like a large, old speaker.

A meowth, toolbelt around its waist, screwdriver in hand, was working on the spotlight, whilst a large blue blob of a pokémon stood next to the woman, one limp hand resting against its forehead, the other dangling uselessly by its side. Its tail, that ended in two large white eyes, was alert and moving like a coiled snake waiting to strike.

Ash took these sights in and taking a deep breath, he pointed and shouted, "Team Rocket!"

"Of course the twerp found us here," the woman said with a roll of her eyes. She glanced over Ash's shoulder and put a hand to her head as she sighed. "Oh and goodie, he brought friends. This day just gets better and better, don't you agree, James?"

Misty was the first to catch up, her breath laboured. Upon sighting Team Rocket, Ash could hear the way she forgot how to breathe. She whispered something, and though the words were inaudible to him, Ash could hear the shock and horror in her tone.

"This is Team Rocket?" Ash heard Brock ask from behind.

"Hey now, tall twerp, that's just offensive!" the red haired woman cried. "I'll have you know we're far more than meets the eye - and we're already rather flatting to look at, no?"

"Just what are you doing here?" Ash demanded of them. Pikachu jumped to the ground, cheeks sparking. The meowth gave it a wary glance, backing away a step, though the large blue pokémon seemed unfazed, as if Pikachu were beneath its notice.

"What's it to you, twerp?" Jessie hissed. "I don't recall you owning the building."

"You're Team Rocket?" Misty pushed past Ash, a scowl on her face. She glowered at the three of them and Ash could feel the fury radiating off of her. "You-"

There was a sound like a thunderclap that bounced off the walls. A shrieking, continuous sound that made all the hair on Ash's head stand on end.

"Okay," Holly said, her voice shaking. "I think we've found out what Surge sent us here for. We should get out before whatever's making that noise takes offence to us being here."

Jessie threw back her head and cackled. "Cowards never get far, didn't you know, temporary twerp? If you're afraid of every bump and groan in the unknown world, you'll never get far as a trainer."

"I doubt this is actually Team Rocket," Brock said. He was frowning, though his attention was clearly drawn to the meowth. "They wouldn't go around announcing themselves like this. Otherwise they'd be a lot more than just a modern day myth. That said, whoever these people are, if they're pretending to be Team Rocket then they're up to no good regardless."

"So quick to lay blame," said the meowth. Ash took a small measure of satisfaction in watching the way everyone else reacted to it talking. He knew what he had seen in Viridian was real. "Who says we ain't here doing something benevolent?"

"You attacked the pokémon centre in Viridian!" Ash shouted. "I beat you there and I'll stop you here!"

"Such conviction," taunted James. He tossed the rose between them, where it fell limply to the floor. "But do you really think you're strong enough for all of us? What if we're not the only ones here. What if-"

An explosion of thunder tore through the air. It left Ash's ears ringing. The force of it scattered all the dust, dirt and dead leaves on the ground. What was left of the surrounding walls crumbled and swirled over the ground.

Ash heard the beating of wings. The ozone smelt like it was burning. Storm clouds turned the sky above them pitch black. They cracked with thunder that echoed across the horizon.

Bright blue lightning arced through the clouds. Another crackle of thunder reverberated around them. Rain poured from the sky, bringing a deluge that seemed impossible to stop. There was a shrieking sound. It sent primeval shudders down Ash's spine. He felt paradoxically rooted to the spot and like he needed to run as fast as he could.

Three lightning bolts slammed into the ground in front of them. Ash had to blink away stars. He felt pebbles smack against his skin. The ground bore scorch marks from where the lightning struck.

When Ash opened his eyes, his mouth ran dry. His hair was standing on end. There was a pressure in the air that made it hard to breathe. He heard electricity crackling around him. Thunder personified stared back at them. Each beat of its wings created a draft that threatened to tear Ash's legs out from underneath him. The deluge that rained down on them fizzled out before touching the creature. It narrowed its eyes as it stared down its long, needle-like beak at them. Its feathers, yellow as the sun, each crackled with sparks that arced from feather to feather.

"Is that-?" Holly started, though her words were lost to her. Their pokémon trembled, almost cowering under the burden of the beast's pressure.

Zapdos.

Ash had one hand on his hat and his other keeping Pikachu in place. As much as he tried to look away, the pokémon before them drew all of his attention. He briefly saw Jessie on the other side of it, her hair whipping furiously in the wind. Each breath Ash took felt like his lungs were getting less and less air. There was a weight in the air that made it almost impossible to stand up straight.

It was impossible, brilliant, terrifying and beautiful, all in the same instant. The rain was pelting them hard. Each drop that exploded on Ash made his nerves flare in pain. The wind around them was howling. The speaker behind Team Rocket, which Ash had long since forgotten about, shrieked as it sparked and died.

The zapdos threw back its head and screamed. The skies above answered in kind. Lightning shattered down around them, piercing concrete and stone. The dirt and grass caught fire where the lightning struck. Bolts of electricity crackled around them.

Thunder boomed from above. The rain came at them full force, so heavy that each raindrop made Ash flinch. The rain fell sideways, thrown forwards by the beating of the monster's wings.

"Get back!" Jessie screamed, leaping between them. Her arms spread, she placed herself like a barrier between the four of them and the beast. Her hair whipped freely about her head as she turned to look at them over her shoulder.

James was by her side in an instant, a poké ball primed and ready in his hands. "Get out of here!" he shouted over the beating of wings.

The meowth sighed as it picked up a cannon that seemed over twice its size. It rested it on its shoulder and shook its head. "Brilliant," he said, his voice carrying over the wind. "If I'd have known this was happening, I wouldn't have skipped breakfast."

Jessie glanced over her shoulder at them. "Didn't we tell you to move?" She grabbed a knife from her belt, though honestly Ash had no clue what she thought she would be able to do with that. A poké ball appeared in her hand. She pressed the button. Nothing happened. She growled, pressed it again.

The zapdos almost seemed to look at her as the ball sparked in her hand and zapped her. She hissed, shaking her hand as she dropped the ball.

"Magnetically locking the poké balls. Explains why the grunt never fought back," James said. "Delphie, get ready!"

Ash swallowed nervously. "We're not leaving," he said. "You're not fighting this alone."

James laughed bitterly. "Kid, against something like this, you don't fight. You do your best to survive, and you pray."

The zapdos threw its head back to the sky and shrieked.

Thunder boomed.

Lightning hammered down towards them.

"Wobbuffet!" Jessie screamed.

The blue blob of a pokémon jumped in front of the meowth. The cannon fired. The wobbuffet screamed as it was launched into the sky, right in the lightning's path. Its skin lit up with a sparkling, mirrored glow. The world lit up as the lightning struck. The wobbuffet screamed as the lightning hurtled into it with no remorse.

Ash tried his best to open his eyes. He saw nothing more than a shower of white-hot lightning. He counted the agonising seconds as the light made it impossible to see.

The seconds ticked by. The wobbuffet continued screaming.

Everything went silent.

Then all at once, the energy escaped with a heart-stopping bang that left Ash's ears ringing. His skin burned with the agony of blistering heat. There was a screaming, high-pitched noise in his ears.

Something stole the breath out from his lungs. He felt the world turn upside down and then suddenly, everything went black.