Goh opened his eyes to the sunlight bleeding through the curtain drawn over the window. The previous night felt far too brief, visions of the festival dancing in his head until he felt like he was dreaming about them. And like a clock's ticking pendulum, he kept thinking about the pouch Chloe wore around her neck before his view would drift upwards towards her lips and eyes.
Thankfully the arrival of dawn prevented his thoughts from drifting too far, and he quickly prepared for the day. As he dressed, he glanced at the still-snoring form of Ash, sleeping blissfully.
Ash was a good friend, but there were times his blitheness was something Goh could barely tolerate. Ash apparently lost no sleep over the enigma that was the girl that at least had decent odds that she was romantically interested in him, and so the most Goh could do is at least pretend he wasn't tired.
Chloe and Serena met them for breakfast, and though Ash was dragging just as much as Goh was, the girls both seemed wide awake and ready to seize the day, the complete opposite of the boys.
"What's with you?" Chloe asked coolly, waving a wedge of pancake on the end of her fork at him. "I know Ash usually looks like death warmed over in the morning but you're usually on top of things from the get go."
Not wanting to admit that he was thinking about her before he fell asleep, Goh merely nodded and waved his fork back at her. "Well, even I'm off my game sometimes…"
Like some sort of dew-dappled angel, Serena smiled cheerfully. "Oh, I used to be the same way, but while I was on my journey with Ash and the others, I got used to waking up early."
Ash put down his glass, now emptied of juice. "Yeah, I guess you an' Clemont were the ones who usually got up first."
"And then Bonnie, and you were usually last," Serena said, giggling.
Goh raised an eyebrow. "Clemont and Bonnie are the other friends you guys traveled with?" he asked, putting the pieces together from their conversations the day before.
Ash nodded. "Yeah. Clemont's the Gym Leader of Lumiose City, an' Bonnie's his little sister."
"Clemont's also a really incredible inventor," Serena said, singing her friend's praises, "and Bonnie just loved Pokémon to bits, even if she couldn't have one of her own quite yet! In any case, I usually helped Clemont with breakfast or setting the table, so I was usually one of the first ones awake in the morning! Maybe you just need a better routine."
Chloe shrugged dismissively. "Goh has his breakfast made for him just about every day by Ash's Mr. Mime he keeps in the lab, so he doesn't have to worry about taking responsibility for things."
Goh sighed. It was going to be a long day at this rate.
"Cheer up, Goh!" Serena said, beaming her smile at him. "I'm sure if you work at it, you'll be fine!"
A Rotom Phone began ringing out an alarm. "Time to go! Time to go! Time to go!"
Serena pulled the offending phone from her pocket and turned off the alarm. "Well, it's like my phone just said… It's time for me to go get ready for the performance." She smiled at her friends, new and old before stepping back. "I'll see you guys later when we head to the Sea Spirit's Den!"
Ash gave her a friendly wave. "Later, Serena!"
Goh and Chloe waved her off as well, though neither of them said anything.
The three Kantonians finished up their breakfast and collected their Pokémon (keeping Grookey, Eevee, and Pikachu out as they did), before heading towards the square. Even this early, it seemed that people were already standing and waiting for the show to begin, though Goh and the others were able to secure a spot relatively close to the main stage.
Set up today were large monitors on the sides of the stage and in the corners of the square. Displayed on them was an aerial view of what Goh could only assume was the Azure Bay itself. Many people were at the beach, cheering and waving soundlessly, though Goh could clearly see in the water what they were cheering for.
It wasn't that large yet, but there was a small swirling in the sea that looked to be the start of a massive whirlpool that would expand outward as the day went on. The large crowds on location at the beach rather than at the festival did much to inform Goh of how important this festival was to the people of Lunargent Town.
Quietly, he wondered to himself if there were any festivals back home that had that much significance to him.
With an announcement from an unseen MC, Serena once more ascended the stage in the middle of town, dressed in the silver-and-blue furisode kimono she wore the day before. She stepped into the middle of the stage with her Sylveon in tow before bowing to the crowd. There was a hush of calm as she turned on the microphone she wore.
And she began to sing.
It was the same haunting, eerie tune she had been singing over the crowd the day before as she danced with her deliberate, wave-like motions. As Goh watched her dance, his mind drifted back to the dance of the Kimono Sisters in the bottom of the Burned Tower just over a week ago. The steps and motions were very similar to the ones Chloe had been performing, which, after pondering it, made sense. Serena herself said she had practiced with the Kimono Sisters. This dancing must have been something they had taught her.
They danced to stories of Lugia as well as Ho-Oh, it seemed.
As Serena continued her flowing movements, the song she sang is what caught Goh's attention next. While it had no words, it was a song that sounded otherworldly, and yet, filled with a profound love and sadness. It reminded Goh of the times he had sat listening to Pokémon cries, trying to hear just a hint of Mew's voice.
The song was almost mournful, like a mother singing about her lost child. He wondered if she had picked up the song from the sisters, or if it was from elsewhere on her travels? Perhaps even the people of the town had taught it to her.
The people of the town didn't seem to mind the soulful music as she and Sylveon danced together, though most of the movement was performed by Serena herself. Sylveon used her ribbons to simulate the motion of water around her as she danced.
Having met Serena's Pokémon the day before, he knew she didn't own a Water-type, and he found himself wondering if the performance would have gone better with one.
As the song and dance drew to a close, the crowd began to clap and holler their cheers out for the Pokémon Performer, to which Serena modestly bowed.
Goh glanced to the side and saw Ash not clapping nor hollering, but just watching her with a small smile on his lips, looking satisfied as though he had just finished a great meal or a great battle. This would be a great moment to press Ash about how he felt, And Goh turned to do just that, but as he opened his mouth, something he couldn't have predicted occurred.
There was an explosion in the air above the town. The sound wave burst out and washed over the crowd, though the explosion was far enough away from the ground that it didn't seem to injure anyone.
At first he was confused, thinking it was fireworks, but a few more caused the people in the town to begin to panic and flee, all save for a few. Serena dove to shield Sylveon with her body while Ash stood with a furious resolve in his eyes. Goh felt Chloe grab onto his arm as the people began to rush all around them, seeming to fear getting washed away with everything.
He and Ash made their way to the stage, with Chloe holding onto his arm the whole way. Serena looked up to see the three of them approaching, and Goh looked up towards the monitors to hopefully get a better idea of what was happening.
All he saw were the cameras turning from the panicking crowds at the coast towards the sky. Flying through the air were two black helicopters and a large airship that seemed to keep itself aloft with large, rotating blades.
Goh felt his face curl into a snarl. He recognized them. And he was sure Ash and Chloe would as well.
These were the modus operandi of Team Rocket.
Goh had seen the helicopters before, during his race up the Raizen Mountains as he worked with Ash and Chloe to bless the mysterious feather that had been reduced to ash by Ho-Oh last week. As for the airship, he recalled its appearance in the night skies above the Sinnoh Region as it deposited members of the villainous organization onto the secluded beach he and his friends were on.
The airship drew closer to the town's square before hovering just above the stage Serena was still standing on.
The bottom of the airship opened up and five people began descending to the stage, holding onto cables attached to the ship. It only took Goh a few moments to recognize them as they descended. Four of them were the same men and women Goh had battled multiple times in the Raizen Mountains, but the one they were landing around wasn't the brutish man with the eyepatch they had followed before, but a woman who didn't stand much taller than Ash or Goh themselves. The four underlings seemed to let go of their cables while the woman held onto her's, making Goh wonder for a moment if she would be retreating before long.
The cold look in her red eyes, however, eliminated any doubts about what she planned to do. Her glasses reflected the morning's light, and her purple hair was cut into a bob. She wore a black Rocket uniform with gray boots and gloves, and a military beret on her head with a golden pin that showed two 'M' nestled on top of one another.
This woman was a member of Team Rocket Goh and Ash had only barely outdone twice before, both times in the Sinnoh Region, and she seemed to evade capture by the police both times.
She locked her cold, red eyes on Serena. "You," said the bob-cut glasses woman. "Hand me your microphone."
Sylveon crawled out from under her trainer and growled, extending her ribbons.
Ash began scrambling onto the stage, and Goh turned to Chloe, who was crouching with her hands cupped to give him a boost. He stepped into her hands and hopped up, climbing onto the stage before turning and giving her his hand to pull her up.
Serena kept her gaze forward. "You're Team Rocket…"
The woman smirked. "I suppose those failures were good for something, informing even the distant Kalosian populace of who we are," she said. "Then I suppose you don't need an introduction to how nasty we can be. Your microphone. Now, unless you'd prefer people to start getting hurt instead."
Serena pulled the microphone off and tossed it to the woman threatening them. The woman held it up to her mouth and began her proclamation.
"Listen up, citizens of Lunargent Town! I am Matori of Team Rocket. We have come here to your festival for a special operation, but you have my word that none of you will come to harm as long as you do not interfere. We aren't here to steal your pathetic Pokémon. We have much higher aims. If you don't stay out of our way, you'll lose more than your worthless festival."
As if to emphasize her point, she dropped the mic onto the ground and stomped it under her heel, crushing it.
While Matori spoke, Goh and his friends approached Serena, with Ash giving her a hand to help her stand up. "You guys again!" Ash shouted, clenching his fists.
"I should have known you children would have found a way to continue to intrude on things where you don't belong," she said. "I guess ruining things twice in Sinnoh wasn't enough for you."
"You guys know her…?" Serena asked as Sylveon continued to growl at them.
"We ran into her twice in the Sinnoh Region," Goh explained. "She nearly succeeded with stealing a lot of Pokémon and even catching Cresselia and Darkrai, but with help, we managed to beat them each time. Although…" He stepped forward. "Were you the one who sent those guys to the Raizen Mountains a few months back? Over a feather?"
Matori's wicked glare flashed at Goh from behind her glasses. "Oh, so you brats were behind that, too? Though I doubt Suicune will be here to save you this time."
Goh could hear Chloe flinch behind him, though if it was because she recalled the danger that Team Rocket put her father in or if she was remembering the blast that sent Goh to his almost-certain doom, he couldn't say.
Matori pulled on the cable she held. "Alright, I've got bigger things on my plate than playing substitute teacher. You four, deal with these brats."
"Yes, Lady Matori!"
The cable began pulling Matori back up towards her airship. Ash gestured forward. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Leaping from his partner's shoulder, Pikachu slapped his cheeks and discharged a blast of electricity in Matori's direction, only for the blast to be drawn back to earth as the grunts began to send out their Pokémon. Rhyperior stood over his allies - Purugly, Skuntank, and Toxicroak - drawing Pikachu's electric attack to himself as it coursed painlessly through his body, and Matori rose into the sky, disappearing into the airship as it turned its attention towards the sea.
Goh could see the whirlpool growing larger through the large monitors, still broadcasting.
"Let's go, everyone!" Ash shouted as Pikachu landed, holding his tail up threateningly.
"Right! You, too Sylveon!" Serena said, gesturing forward as her fey Pokémon stood ready to fight.
"You, too, Eevee!" Chloe scarcely finished the words before Eevee slipped from her arms and leapt to stand next to Serena's Pokémon. Eevee was already bristling her fur out in an attempt to look intimidating to the forces of Team Rocket.
Goh reached into his pocket and pulled out a ball. "Go, Argent!"
In a flash of light, Goh's silver Pokémon appeared, stoic and defiant, next to Chloe's Eevee. He kept his gaze forward, his serious expression never fading. "Bui!" he shouted.
One of the grunts, the young woman, snorted. "What are a bunch of powderpuffs going to do?"
A confident grin grew on Goh's lips. "Oh, I'll show you what. Argent, use Hyper Voice!"
Ash gestured forward. "Pikachu, use Iron Tail!"
Argent leaned his head back before letting out an explosive "BUI!" The soundwave pushed back Team Rocket's Pokémon as Pikachu leapt forward with a hardened tail that gleamed like solid steel. With a whip-like crack, he smashed his tail against Rhyperior's face, knocking the Ground- and Rock-type onto his back with the strike.
The Rocket grunts scrambled back to their feet after the Hyper Voice. The lone woman among them stood back up and gestured towards the four teens. "Purugly, use Fury Swipes!"
The tiger cat leapt back to her feet as well, rushing towards Argent and Pikachu with her claws out, swiping at both the Pokémon. Pikachu managed to jump back, but Argent was struck, sliding backwards with clenched teeth as the claw marks became visible on his face.
Sylveon leapt forward between Argent and Purugly, and Serena gestured forward. "Sylveon, use Fairy Wind!"
"Sylveeeee!" she shouted as her ribbons whipped around, causing a sparkling pink wind to blow all around, aimed directly at the tiger cat. The glittering winds blew past, lifting Purugly off the ground, and knocking her off her feet.
Leaping into the wind itself was Toxicroak, who endured the blowing winds and smiled wickedly at Sylveon. His trainer stood back pointing at Serena's Pokémon. "Toxicroak, take that Sylveon out with Venoshock!"
From his mouth, Toxicroak spat precise globs of poison towards Sylveon that cut through the Fairy-type move, smacking into the Pokémon's face. The strike was super-effective, with Sylveon flinching from the pain, but still standing.
Next up was Skuntank, who sauntered in their direction. At his trainer's command, the end of his tail opened up, and he began spraying acid all over the stage, eating through the floor Serena had been dancing on just moments ago.
Chloe's Eevee stepped up, and became surrounded with a pink, glittering glow. Chloe nodded and stepped forward, confident and composed. "Eevee, use Fairy Wind!"
Focusing the pink glow into her tail, Eevee leapt up and swung her tail towards the acid sprayed at their Pokémon. The glittering gust of wind that blew from around Eevee, doing little to harm Skuntank, but the blowing winds did blow the acid back, protecting Serena's Pokémon from another effective strike.
Goh couldn't help but smile at her out of the corner of his eye. Even with just Eevee, Chloe was a capable trainer in her own right. His heart swelled with pride, but he turned to keep his gaze focused on what was needed.
"Pikachu, use Quick Attack!"
Ash's call brought his attention back to the battle. Pikachu darted forward like a guided missile, crashing into Toxicroak who swiped at him fruitlessly with poison-tipped claws. "Argent, Shadow Ball!"
Argent stood still and gathered his power, forming the necrotic sphere in his mouth before lobbing it out at Rhyperior, who was still regaining his footing from Pikachu's strike. The mountain of a Ground- and Rock-type took the blow face-first, but still continued to stand after shaking the attack off.
"Purugly, use Body Slam!"
Just like that, the tiger cat leapt upon Argent, crushing him under her bodyweight. Splayed on the ground with Purugly on his back, Argent struggled to stand, but was unable to move.
Before Goh could even make his next move, though, Chloe ordered a Tackle attack, and Eevee rushed forward, crashing into Purugly and knocking her off of Goh's silver Normal-type. Argent groaned as he returned to his feet, but he seemingly paid Eevee no mind.
"Skuntank, Flamethrower!"
The skunk turned towards the two Eevee and instead of the caustic acid, fired a burst of intense flames towards them that threatened to burn them, if Serena's Sylveon didn't leap in at the last moment.
"Protect!"
Sylveon's ribbons went up, as though to block the flames themselves, but a translucent energy field formed around Sylveon, blocking and diverting the flames from touching them, though even Goh felt the heat from how close the fire came.
On the other side of the stage, Rhyperior rose to his feet and put his arms together. His trainer motioned forward. "Rock Wrecker!"
From Rhyperior's claws grew a tiny pebble that quickly grew and expanded until it was the size of a huge boulder. He lifted the boulder over his head with ease before chucking it towards Sylveon. The Fairy-type turned and attempted Protect again, but the barrier failed to form as the stone flew closer.
"IRON TAIL!"
With a swift, practiced movement, Ash showed why he was ranked as highly as he was in the World Coronation Series. Pikachu zipped between Sylveon and the Rock Wrecker and with a single clean vertical slice of his tail, cut the boulder in two, and it fell harmlessly to the sides of both the Pokémon and the teens. Ash stepped up, pulling on the bill of his cap. "Let's wrap this up, everyone!"
Goh readied himself. "Right behind you, Ash."
"I'll help, too," Serena added.
"Me, too!" Chloe said.
Pikachu stood up front, his tail raised in the air like a warrior raising his sword to signal his fellows. The orders came swiftly.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"Argent, Hyper Voice!
"Sylveon, Swift!"
"Eevee, you try Swift, too!"
Sylveon and Eevee both leapt into the air, and with a twist, each of them launched speedy, star-shaped rays from their tails that glittered and glided towards Team Rocket's side of the stage. Pikachu's cheeks and tail began sparking, and he launched a blast of electricity towards the stars, which jumped from star to star, forming a sparkling chain held together by Pikachu's electric attack.
Then Argent let out his powerful, booming shout which sent the sparkling chain colliding with Team Rocket's side of the field. The explosion was huge, the compression wave nearly knocking Goh off his feet. The blast sent Team Rocket flying into the distance, their Pokémon, even the hefty Rhyperior following them for this flight.
But appraising the situation, it looked to Goh like Team Rocket was getting what they wanted, anyway.
From the view on the monitors, it looked like the beaches to the north of town had been cleared out of any of the original onlookers. Instead, circling over the slowly growing whirlpool was the airship Matori had disappeared into, as well the two helicopters that flanked it on its original approach towards Lunargent Town.
The helicopters seemed to be waiting for something, and as the whirlpool continued to slowly expand, Goh began to see it.
Three small islets around the larger one - the Sea Spirit's Den - appeared to be rising out of the water, though Goh understood that this was just because the water level was receding from the Azure Bay. He recalled Serena's words from the day before, and the pieces began clicking into place in his mind.
"That's why they're here…" he whispered, feeling his blood run cold as he pieced together their scheme in his head.
"Goh?"
Ash had turned to him, and sharing a glance with his good friend, he saw the determined look in Ash's brown eyes.
Goh nodded, and began to explain.
"There's only one reason they want to keep everyone away from the bay," Goh explained. "It's gotta be the Legendary Pokémon."
Ash furrowed his brow. "The Legendary Pokémon?"
Now it was Serena's turn to look surprised. "Wait, are you talking about what I said yesterday…?"
He nodded. "They're supposed to come by and roost, right? During the length of the festival? Team Rocket's here to catch them as they arrive, I bet."
The others all gasped. Ash shook his head. "We can't let 'em do that! If they do, they could get Lugia t' come out, and then…!"
"The same weather disasters that started in the Orange Islands could happen here. Only it won't be a few islands and a stretch of ocean. It could potentially stretch across the Kalos Region towards Lumiose City in the south… and to the north is the Galar Region and Wyndon. There are tons more humans and Pokémon that could be affected."
"That's really bad…!"
Goh had no choice but to agree with Chloe's oversimplification. This was really bad.
Ash began marching towards the sea. "Then all we gotta do is go over there an' send 'em away, right?" Ash asked. "That's easy."
Serena grabbed him by the arm and pulled him back. "No, that's not easy! Did you forget about the whirlpool? You can't just climb in a boat and cross the water! You'll fall in and get pulled to the bottom of the ocean!"
"You might have a hard time breathing underwater…" Chloe quipped.
Ash looked at the girls, frowning. "Okay, but then what?" he asked. "We can't just let 'em get away with this!"
"How about we fly to them?" Goh asked. "I could use Flygon, and Ash has Dragonite. Chloe, you and Serena could share Aerodactyl!"
"Do you think Dragonite, Flygon, and Aerodactyl can fight while carrying us?" Chloe asked, raising an eyebrow.
He crossed his arms. "Good point."
"If only we had another way…" Serena said. "Like our own helicopter or something."
The four of them tried to think of another solution to their predicament. Of course, the suggestion to leave went unspoken - none of them would willingly suggest they let Team Rocket have their way. The only way forward was through saving Lugia and the Legendary bird Pokémon.
That was the only future Goh wanted to hold in the palm of his hand.
"Perhaps I can help?"
The four teens were drawn from their respective thoughts by the appearance of a newcomer on the scene. Of course, despite not meeting this woman the night before, seeing her familiar face and smile told Goh this was Lunargent Town's Nurse Joy.
"You were all just wondering how you could get to them, right?" she asked, tilting her head.
Ash's eyes went wide. "Wait, Nurse Joy, do you have something we can use?"
Goh nodded, grinning. "I bet she has one of those amazing flying ambulances like your buddy Brock had!"
The nurse blinked. "Well…! I do have something I used to make more long-distance visits to places in this area…!"
The bead of sweat that appeared on her forehead did not inspire confidence in Goh, but there was little choice.
"Whatever you have, Nurse Joy! We'll take it!"
The nurse stepped back and shrugged. "Well… follow me. We better hurry if we're going to head towards them at all!"
It was not a flying rocket ambulance, but Goh hoped it would suffice.
Looking up at the large pink hot air balloon they were riding in, Chloe wondered aloud why it was modeled after Wigglytuff of all Pokémon, but Serena helpfully explained that the Joys who lived in Kalos used Wigglytuff as their partners. Goh, for his part, had at least encountered a Kalosian Joy before, so the different partner wasn't a surprise to him.
Though, he did still wonder why they used Wigglytuff, but there wasn't time for questions at the moment.
Thankfully for the four teens, the basket in this hot air balloon was much larger than the one they were used to seeing in the skies above them, giving the four of them ample room to stand as long as all the Pokémon but Pikachu and Grookey were recalled. Chloe could have kept Eevee out as well, Goh thought as Pikachu and Grookey came to their trainer's shoulders, but she put her Normal-type away for safety.
Tying two ropes to the basket, Ash and Goh sent out Dragonite and Flygon to quickly pull the Wigglytuff hot air balloon towards the Azure Bay, where the whirlpool was slowly expanding and the three islets were coming more and more into view. Serena pointed to them as they drew closer to the airship that floated in the middle. "That one is supposed to be Feu Islet. And that one should be Foudre Islet. Which makes the last one Glace Islet."
Only the tops were still exposed, and it didn't seem that the Legendary Pokémon were on the scene quite yet, but Goh could see the general shape of each islet - they appeared to be small, dormant volcanoes that each sat in a position around the Sea Spirit's Den, with Glace Islet being the furthest one out. He could easily see each Legendary Pokémon landing inside to rest while Lugia was nearby keeping it all dry, though such thoughts would have to be shelved for now as they approached the airship.
As they did, they saw the bottom of the airship open up once more, and a green basket fall out of the bottom before a familiar Meowth-themed hot air balloon quickly inflated, holding the basket aloft. The creepy gaze of the oversized balloon turned towards Goh and his friends before two rocket boosters shot out from the sides and ignited, bringing the balloon and the villains it surely contained closer to them.
"Get ready, everyone!" Ash said, focusing his gaze on the approaching balloon.
As the balloon drew closer, Goh focused on planning his strategy. Given that they were in the air, surely Flygon would be the best bet at dispatching them.
The first hint that something was amiss was the lack of villains in the hot air balloon in front of them.
"FOOLED YOU!"
With a quick snap, a glass globe snapped closed around Pikachu from behind the group, yanking him from Ash's shoulder before being retracted with the grabbing arm it was attached to.
"PIKACHU!"
"PIKAPI!"
Pokémon and Trainer called out to each other as Pikachu was taken back toward a second hot air balloon that had come up behind them without their notice. And in its basket were two of the three villains that Goh had expected to be in the first balloon.
"You guys!" he shouted at them.
"You're still at this?!" Serena exclaimed.
The man and woman who stood in the basket glanced at each other with a malicious grin.
"If you thought we'd quit, you should prepare for trouble!"
"Twerps so confused, they thought they were seeing double!"
The woman climbed onto the side of the basket, taking a dynamic pose like a landing superhero, one knee down and perfectly balanced as her leg kept her on the basket without falling out. "To protect the world from devastation."
The man delivered a striking gaze as the woman's magenta hair whipped in his face from the winds. "To unite all people within our nation!"
The woman jumped back, turning her back to the lavender haired man. "To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
The man jumped, now back to back with the woman before twisting his back and extending his leg, giving the two of them a vaguely 'R' shaped silhouette. "To extend our reach to the skies above!"
She flashed a smoldering smile. "Jessie!"
He showed off his sparkling teeth. "And James!"
They turned to face each other, holding each other's hand high. "Team Rocket-" Jessie shouted as James twirled her and dipped her for the increasingly angry teens forced to watch "-blasts off at the speed of light!"
They both turned and he began spinning her like a top, saying "Surrender now or prepare for a high-flying fight!"
The seemingly empty hot air balloon now had Meowth hopping out of it to join with his teammates. "Meowth, dat's right!"
"Wobbuffet!" cried the blobby blue Pokémon, leaning out behind Jessie.
Pikachu scraped at the sphere he was trapped in, shouting "Pikapi!" as he did. James held up the grabbing arm as though to taunt Ash with their new catch.
"You guys give Pikachu back right now!" Ash shouted. "We don't have time to deal with you right now!"
Jessie wagged a gloved finger, tutting at him. "Now twerp, there's always time for righteous evil. We would be here stealing Pikachu even if that bob-cut glasses goon didn't order us to be here."
Goh snorted a laugh. "So she pulled rank on you guys."
"Well, if the Boss heard we turned down a job just because she was in charge of the operation, we'd be picking up our paychecks at the unemployment office," James said, nervous at the current arrangement as Dragonite and Flygon, dropping their ropes, turned to face them.
"An' Pokémon don't get unemployment!" Meowth shouted. "But this time, we do have yer Pikachu!"
"If you guys think you're gettin' away with Pikachu, you must have hit your heads the last time we blasted you off!" Ash shouted.
"I guess we better get down to brass tacks," James said.
Jessie nodded. "We've got the perfect thing for twerpish attacks!"
The two Rockets took each other's hands and raised them into the air. "COME ON DOWN!"
A haunting, echoing "Puh-puh-pe-PU-PEPU!" rang out as a shadow briefly blotted out the sun overhead. Falling at the perfect angle to land in Team Rocket's balloon basket was a machine Goh knew well from his various encounters with Team Rocket since the day he met Ash.
Serena raised an eyebrow. "What's that thing?"
Meowth leapt up, jamming his charm into the coin-slot of the machine. Jessie and James both kneeled before the machine and began twisting the crank. "It's our Secret-"
"-Rocket Prize-"
"-Master!"
As they turned the crank, two wicked-looking purple Poké Balls rolled out, with Jessie and James each taking one before tossing it out.
The two Rocket-themed Poké Balls opened up, each with a different Pokémon appearing.
"The Bird Pokémon, Pidgeotto!" Jessie called out.
"The Starling Pokémon, Staravia!" said James.
"Eh?" Meowth said, flipping off of the machine to stand near his comrades. "Ain't these two a bit puny t' be on twoip duty?"
Jessie shrugged, reading the small paper that came out of Pidgeotto's Poké Ball. "Pish-posh. Pidgeotto, pound these twerps into tar with a terrible Twister!"
As the villainous Pidgeotto began flapping his wings to whip up a vicious tornado, Ash shook his head. "Oh no you don't. Dragonite, use Dragon Claw!"
Flying through the beginnings of the twister like she didn't even feel it, Ash's Dragonite formed a vicious emerald claw around her large paw before swiping Pidgeotto out of the air, causing the bird to fall nearly to the slowly growing whirlpool before only barely catching himself and rising back up, clearly still hurting after the savage strike.
"Staravia, Wing Attack without delay!" Jame shouted, gesturing forward.
"You won't get close," Goh said. "Flygon, use Dragon Breath!"
Even with his wings glowing and empowered, Staravia still wasn't as quick on the draw as Goh's Flygon, and the desert mystic let out a blast of emerald flames from her mouth. The Dragon Breath caught Staravia, knocking the starling back as sparks began to jump between his feathers, a sure sign of paralysis setting in from the attack's secondary effect.
With their two birds already floundering against the twerps, Team Rocket's expressions were all appropriately grim. "I knew dees were bad pulls…" Meowth sighed.
James nodded. "Then all we have to do-"
"-is abscond with Pikachu!"
Jessie's words were punctuated by the sides of their basket opening up. Just like on the fake-out balloon, rocket boosters came out of the sides of Team Rocket's transport, only this time they were pointed back and away from Goh and the others - back towards Lunargent Town.
Chloe gasped. "They're gonna get away!"
"No they won't!" Ash shouted. "Dragonite, Draco Meteor!"
"You, too, Flygon! Make it a double Draco Meteor!"
Both Dragonite and Flygon built up power in their bodies before launching their blasts skyward. Each sphere of draconic energy exploded into multiple falling objects, all of them aimed for Team Rocket or their immediate flight path.
The rocket boosters ignited and began zooming them away before a well placed meteor blasted a hole through their balloon, and their flying basket instead became a falling one.
Several more meteors fell on them, with one crashing into the basket itself, causing the whole thing to explode. The contents of Team Rocket's basket all went in different directions. The Prize Master, Pidgeotto, and Staravia all were blasted towards the Kalosian mainland, while Jessie, James, and Meowth all plummeted towards the whirlpool, shouting "We're blasting off again!" before they splashed down into the water.
The sphere Pikachu was in was shattered by the Draco Meteor, and Pikachu leapt from the remains of the basket, reaching towards Ash and the others.
Ash leaned over the basket, nearly falling out until Goh grabbed one of his legs, holding his hand towards Pikachu.
Time seemed to slow in the moment as Pikachu reached his paw out towards Ash's outstretched hand. Ash reached as far as he could to grab his partner's paw and pull him to safety.
But the distance was an inch too far.
Pikachu's eyes went wide as he began falling towards the whirlpool beneath the Wigglytuff balloon.
"Ash-"
"-don't!"
Goh and Serena's warnings were left on deaf ears. Ash wriggled out of Goh's grasp and jumped from the basket, his arms stretched towards Pikachu.
Goh thought as quickly as possible. "Flygon! Dragonite! Grab them!"
Looking up at the two Dragons, Goh saw what Ash must have already realized as the two of them were still winded from the Draco Meteor attack, unable to move quickly at first. But following Goh's words, both Flygon and Dragonite began zipping downwards as quickly as they could.
All Goh could hope for was that they would make it in time.
Ash's descent caught up with Pikachu's and he pulled his partner to his chest, holding the mouse tightly as they fell. Ash looked up at Dragonite and Flygon, and his hat fell off his head, catching the wind and blowing away.
Goh could swear that he saw a smile on Ash's face as his friend crashed into the raging waters of the whirlpool.
His mind was racing at a mile a minute. He reached his hand overboard as Chloe and Serena held him back from leaping himself.
There was something he could do. There had to be. His friend was down there.
"ASH!"
Flygon and Dragonite stopped short of diving into the raging whirlpool themselves. Dragonite caught the hat as it slowly fell with the wind. She looked at it before bellowing out a mournful cry that echoed over the Azure Bay.
Goh felt the sorrow welling up inside himself as well. A thousand possibilities began flashing before his eyes as to Ash's fate. Could he be drowning? End up somewhere underwater? Wash up in Galar? Anywhere in between?
He couldn't stop his mind from racing from one thought to the next. He felt like he was going to go blind.
"Goh?" Chloe's voice cut through the series of images and returned him to reality.
"We have to fall back…"
They were the first words that he was able to say.
"Without Ash we have to come up with a different plan," he said, his wits returning to him. He turned to Serena, whose blue eyes held many complex emotions. She nodded confidently at Goh, not betraying a hint of weakness.
Goh pulled the ropes up to hand them back to Flygon and Dragonite, and the group began flying back to Lunargent Town.