Within the lower labs of the Aether Foundation, Marcus, Elizabeth, Jessie, James, Meowth, and Acerola were currently hiding from Petrel. Even though the Rainbow Rocket Executive's plan to trap them fell short, he had a surprising plan B in store: using his six Weezing to fill the area with Poison Gas. It was a pain to deal with and dangerous as well for the Trainers, forcing them to hide away in one of the nearby rooms to find a way to deal with it.

Petrel came prepared and had a gas mask on, sauntering down the corridor grinning at the situation he put his foes in. "Come out come out wherever you are! You know you can't hide forever!"

"As much as I hate to admit it, he's right…" Marcus sighed. "We're toast if we can't even step out of this room."

"We? Don't rope us into the same group as you twerps!" James said accusingly. "We would be just fine out there!"

"Okay. Then go out there." Elizabeth pointed to the door.

"…Why are you twerps even here to begin with!?" Jessie changed the subject quickly. She knew the reason, but needed a topic shift.

"Honestly, we were going to ask you the same thing." Elizabeth placed her hand on her hips. "What's going on with Team Rocket and Rainbow Rocket, huh?"

"Is now really the time for this?" Acerola bounced around. Petrel was going to find them eventually.

"Long story short, our Giovanni doesn't like the idea of another one runnin' around! So we're here to put 'im in his place!" Meowth clarified.

"So we're oddly on the same side again…" Marcus rubbed the back of his head. This Team Rocket trio was the strangest group he'd ever seen. One day they were enemies and the next they were allies. "Regardless, their goal is Moon. We can't let them succeed! Oh and there's another Mewtwo involved."

"WAY TO BURY THE LEAD!" Jessie and James exclaimed…but then they had an idea. A Mewtwo? If they could capture that for their Giovanni…

"Congratulations!" James said to Acerola, Marcus, and Elizabeth. "For this operation alone, the three of you are going to be made temporary members of Team Rocket!"

"I don't think we asked for that…" Marcus sighed.

"Luckily for you…" James rummaged around the room for a bit before pulling out several hazmat suits for them to wear. "As former undercover employees of Aether Foundation, we know exactly where to look!"

"We're not letting dat Rainbow Rocket chump run the show!" Meowth grinned.

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Ash and Gladion were in a double battle against Arianna and a nameless RR Grunt. Incineroar and Umbreon were facing off against Arbok and Barbaracle. The two were holding them off so Mono and Lillie could go and save Lusamine, giving them time to catch up later, but this battle was tougher than Ash and Gladion were expecting. "Incineroar, Fire Blast!" Ash commanded. The belt on Incineroar's waist lit up in a fierce blaze before releasing a gigantic blast of fire.

"Barbaracle, Scald!" The RR Grunt shouted. Barbaracle lunged forward, shooting out a potent burst of hot water from one of its many limbs. The opposing elements of water and fire clashing and creating an explosion that resulted in steam. "Gah!"

Gladion used this opposing to his advantage. Umbreon had good eyesight, allowing it to see in the depths of night, so a smoke cloud was nothing. The dark type set its sights on Arbok and lunged into the smoke. "Quick Attack!" Umbreom barreled through the smoke, using its impressive physical strength to slam right into Arbok.

Arbok let out a cry and slithered back from the recoil. Arianna was not pleased by this and demanded immediate retaliation. "Poison Tail!" Arbok's tail lit up in a violet hue, snaking forward to slam its now poisonous tail onto Umbreon.

"Dark Pulse!" Umbreon opened its mouth, firing off numerous bullets of darkness from its mouth. Dark Pulse was swatted away by Poison Tail, which then hit Umbreon directly, knocking it away. "Umbreon…!"

"Incineroar, Flame Charge!" As Ash shouted this, Incineroar cloaked its body in a veil of flames, now sprinting towards Arbok to knock it down.

"Razor Shell!" Barbaracle crafted a blade of water with one hand, now lunging to intercept Incineroar. The two clashed in a stalemate, but Barbaracle was ultimately thrown back. Its intervention did allow Arbok to dodge, now giving Arianna plenty of room to work with.

"Gunk Shot!" Arbok opened its mouth, releasing a potent glob of sludge at Incineroar as it barreled forward. Naturally its first instinct was to dodge, but it was moving so fast, and the corridor was so narrow, it wasn't going to have enough time to make a sharp turn.

"Shadow Ball!" Umbreon recovered from getting hit by Poison Tail, now leaping to Incineroar's aid by firing off an orb of ghastly energy at Gunk Shot. It wasn't enough to overpower the attack, but it did result in an explosion that sent all sides skidding backwards slightly. This battle was looking tough for both sides, but as far as Arianna was concerned, that was in their favor. "We're not going to get past them fast enough at this rate…" Gladion told Ash.

"Yeah, they're tough…" Ash glanced at his Z-ring. "So we're just going to have to force our way through!"

"That's tough talk." Arianna said with a condescending stare. "I'm not going to allow Giovanni's plans to be dashed by children."

"Don't you realize that his plans are messed up?" Gladion narrowed his eyes at Arianna. "Going from world to world…stealing Pokémon from people, putting people in harm's way…doesn't any of this sound wrong to you!?"

Arianna crossed her arms, keeping that stare. "I don't know…and I don't care."

"Huh!?" Ash and Gladion responded in unison.

"Does not make sense! Does not make sense!" Rotom was flying around; unable to comprehend why someone would make such a statement.

"I don't know or care if what I'm doing is right or wrong. All I know is that I will follow Giovanni to the ends of the earth. That is all." Arianna responded with such conviction it threw Ash and Gladion off. It was impossible to convince Arianna otherwise when her beliefs and loyalty to RR Giovanni were set in stone.

"I don't think we can talk her out of this…" Ash said, though he always thought that'd be the case.

"Men!" The RR Grunt present exclaimed. On that command, several more Rainbow Rocket Grunts appeared from both sides of the corridor, keeping Ash and Gladion outmatched.

"Gh…" Gladion sucked his teeth.

"Numbers increased by 500%!" Rotom flailed about. In other words they were outnumbered.

"We'll be crushing you and taking your Pokémon while we're at it." Arianna said with a slight smirk. "What was it you said before, child? Something about everyone being equal in a Pokémon battle? You couldn't be anymore wrong. Rainbow Rocket stands above the rest! Our reach will expand worlds beyond!"

"Melmetal!" Ash called out the iron behemoth once again.

"Silvally!" And Gladion brought out his silver ally. It was all they could do to even the odds while they were surrounded in such a tight space. They didn't expect a pincer maneuver, leaving them back to back while Arianna gave them a vindictive smile.

"Iron Tail." Without warning, a steel tail crashed down on the flooring, completely uprooting it. The power behind this attack was so strong it threw everyone off their feet.

"What was that?!" Arianna glared behind her, where the shockwave came from.

Venus and Ferma walked forward. Venus took the lead with her Steelix right beside her, shaking her head at Arianna's words. "I cannot stand such ugly women like yourself…"

"What!? Who are you!?" Arianna snarled.

"Venus!?" Ash and Gladion exclaimed in surprise.

"I'm here too…geez…" Ferma sighed.

"Expanding your reach to worlds beyond? That's all well and good, but you're going to have this leave our world alone!" Venus pointed her hand forward. "Cipher already has grand plans for this world! So you're going excuse your ugly selves from this place at once, and I'm not asking. I will not share the stage with some Herdier."

"What did you call me?!" Arianna was now glaring at Venus.

Venus flipped her hair, letting out a haughty giggle at Arianna's reaction. "Ugly and stupid? Oh, not a good combination…see? This world is so much better without stains such as yourself on it. Flash Cannon." Snapping her fingers, Steelix released a potent blast of steel energy that was aimed towards everyone present, causing them all to move out of the way.

"Something tells me she's not here to fight with us…" Gladion said while in a crouched position.

"Absolutely not! Never would I ever dream of teaming up with dirty little kids like you!" Venus's harsh words were accompanied by her trademark sweet smile. "If I can get rid of you and these interlopers in one fell swoop, Cipher will see just how valuable I truly am~!"

.

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A majority of the Ultra Guardians were stuck just outside of the facility, dealing with Matori and her army of Rocket grunts. The numbers were in Team Rocket's favor for sure, the secretary of Giovanni idly watching while the battle progressed. "It is only a matter of time until your Pokémon grow exhausted. It is easier for all parties involved if you conceded."

"Are we sure she's not a robot!?" Takeba questioned while pointing forward. "Blastoise, Rapid Spin and Hydro Pump!" Blastoise tucked its body into its shell, spinning around while powerful jets of water erupted from each open hole. With the way Blastoise spun, the Hydro Pumps were covering a large radius, knocking away opposing Pokémon or keeping them at bay.

"I wouldn't be surprised! Sophocles, go tinker with her or something!" Grace exclaimed.

"Huh!?" Sophocles' eyes widened.

"I am a person, thank you very much!" Matori's eye twitched in annoyance.

Scott leapt to the side while commanding his Darmanitans to attack, using their overwhelming physical strength to barrel through any and all foes on the ground. "We're going to be caught up in this battle at this rate. We cannot afford to take too long."

"Can't we just talk this out?" Mallow pleaded. "We don't have to fight each other; we can be on the same side!"

"I don't think four eyes over there is going to agree to that." Kasumi sharply replied.

"I don't think the comments on her appearance will make her more willing to help…" Lana remarked.

"It doesn't matter. Team Rocket has no intention of working with you." Matori adjusted her glasses to make her stance clear. "Giovanni's demands were to defeat Rainbow Rocket and any who stand in our way. This includes you and I do not intend on making any compromises."

"See?" Kasumi rolled her eyes. "Draco Meteor!" Dragonite pointed its head up, releasing an orange orb into the sky. This orb exploded once reaching the apex height of its ascent, now turning into numerous meteors that fell upon Team Rocket's position, keeping them on the defensive from the sheer power of it all. "My question to you is, how self-aware are you? I'm a thug for crying out loud, but even I know the trouble I cause is minor compared to what you're doing!"

"I'm not doing anything wrong." Matori responded as her Grunts fired back against the Ultra Guardians. She was more or less a commanding spectator in this battle. "Or rather…my sense of right and wrong differs from yours greatly. I am following Giovanni's orders, which is the right thing for me to do. Anything less is a betrayal of his trust."

"Team Rocket seems to be crazy about this Giovanni guy…" Kiawe said.

"If Rainbow Rocket Giovanni is just like the one here…then it is no surprise that they are willing to follow him beyond worlds. Because that is simply what they chose to do. I would do the same." Matori said with a stern nod. "There is no hope trying to reason with us, because we only want one thing."

"I was afraid she'd say that." Taekba's expression fell.

"Now, I believe we've wasted enough time on this pointless debate." Matori pointed her hand forward. "Team Rocket, enough playing around. Crush them!" And then a Pokémon landed in the middle of the current battlefield, the gust of wind causing everyone to shield their eyes. "Hm? Who is this…?"

It was an Altaria. Lovrina and Rui hopped off, both letting out sighs of relief since they were able to make it on top. "Looks like we made it! Sorry for not being present." Rui said while calling out Umbreon and Espeon. "But we're here now!"

"Backup has arrived? Awesome!" Sophocles said with a wide grin.

"Eh…? What are the cops doing here?" Kasumi raised a brow.

"We got a tip from people who called themselves…the Ultra Recon Squad?" Lovrina explained. "We were busy purifying the Pokémon we retrieved from Cipher's hideout. We never knew about what was going on until they contacted us! So…what the heck is happening here?"

"The International Police? This bodes…troublesome." Matori admitted.

"Did you purify the Pokémon I asked for?" Scott asked while making his way towards Lovrina.

The pink haired girl gave a grin. "Oh, I so did! And I brought it to the place you mentioned too, which is what took us so long. What's your plan?" She asked while handing Scott the Pokeball.

"It's a surprise. But I won't let you down. Make sure to hold it down until I get back." Scott said while throwing the Pokeball forward, calling out Abra. "Abra, we have an errand to run. Use Teleport!" The Abra nodded and whisked Scott off, but he left his Darmanitan behind so they could aid in the fight.

"So…he just left us?" Kasumi blinked.

"It's Scott, he's always got a plan." Grace gave a thumbs up. "Anyway, Lovrina! Rui! We need your help! We have to get inside to help Moon!"

"Say no more!" Lovrina smirked while calling out her Gardevoir. "Leave it to the super fabulous Lovrina and her sidekick Rui!"

Lovrina's words just made Rui sweat. "…When did I become your sidekick…?"

.

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"Did you find anything yet?" Dakim asked Ein in an annoyed tone. They were sneaking around for who know show long, and with that weirdo Petrel lingering about with his Weezing, it only made their stealthy approach even harder.

Ein was currently looking through some files, important files about Ultra Space and how to open an Ultra Wormhole. "I see…this is all so fascinating! I should have infiltrated this place earlier!" He looked around before noticing some spare parts…he was getting a very evil idea with the technology on hand. "If they come close, make sure to ward them off. You have my permission to do that."

"As if I need your permission to act." Dakim scoffed. "But if that guy starts using Poison Gas again, I'm gonna crush him."

Speaking of Petrel, he was wandering about, unable to find his initial targets. "I see they wish to play this game. Very well…Weezing, Poison Gas! We'll flush them all out of hiding!" He pointed to one Weezing, who flew up into the air a bit.

"Shadow Ball~!" A Gengar emerged from a nearby wall, firing off a Shadow Ball that struck the airborne Weezing, knocking it out of the sky and to the ground.

"What?!" Petrel looked on in shock as one of his Weezing was shot down. When he looked at where it came from, he noticed the group wearing suits to protect them from Poison Gas. "Ah…so you all were hiding from me?"

"Just until we could even things out." Marcus said, keeping Zangoose out.

"And now that we can hit you, you're in trouble." Elizabeth said while switching her Luxray out for Crobat. This battle was against an army of Poison types, so being prepared to face them in their own toxic field was key.

"Now you're alllll out numbered!" Acerola spun around while her Gengar landed beside her.

Jessie, James, and Meowth stood in position grinning under their masks at Petrel. "Completely surrounded by Team Rocket! This is where we assert our dominance and show you that we're the better team! So prepare for trouble, and make it double!"

"Meowth that's right!"

Petrel's worried expression just turned into a grin. They did all this running around just to fight him properly? Now he was just exciting to get this battle finally started. "You would've had a better chance if you didn't waste my time. But since you are all so eager to face off against my Weezing, I think it's about time I show you what they can really do…"

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"We made it…" Moon and Lillie were just outside of the building where Giovanni was holding Lusamine. They weren't even sure if the element of surprise was on their side or not…but they had to save Lusamine no matter what. "Are you ready, Lillie? I…can't promise that this will be easy." Knowing there was a Mewtwo waiting for them made that difficult to promise.

"I'll save my Mother, no matter what." Lillie said with a firm nod. "And I won't let either of our Alolas suffer, I promise." Lillie made sure to promise that.

"Okay…" Moon gave a firm nod. It was scary, but they had to do this. So without wasting anymore time, the two girls rushed towards Lusamine's office, preparing to confront Rainbow Rocket Giovanni and Mewtwo….

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Next Time: Confrontation.