After several minutes of running through the forest towards Tiloshi City, Lenny was finally able to see that place from a considerable distance.
"Now, all I have to do is find that Pokémon to continue with the plan!" he said to himself.
Upon arriving in the city, he saw several fallen trees, some close to walls and walls of houses partially destroyed by these. Seeing this, Lenny soon got into an alert position as he entered Tiloshi, heading towards its center.
After walking around the area for some time, he soon managed to hear some very low voices coming from somewhere nearby. Lenny walked towards them.
"I beg you, don't do this!" said a woman, clearly in a tone of fear, just as Lenny got closer to the source of the voices.
"Do not do that?!" Said someone else, presumably Binastry. "Human beings like you have locked me in a box for too long. How do you expect me not to take revenge for this?"
At that moment, Lenny was already close enough to see them from behind a building: Binastry was already making the person levitate in the air with its psychic attack. Also, there was an object that looked like an artifact floating near the Pokémon. Lenny's Pokémon Alakazam was already out of its Poké Ball, ready to attack at the command of its trainer.
"Alakazam, use your confusion attack the moment I give the signal." Said Lenny.
The yellowed Pokémon hasn't changed its position of being ready for combat much.
Meanwhile, Lenny watched Binastry preparing to toss the person into the air.
"No, please!" Said the desperate person.
"Now!" He commanded Lenny to his Alakazam, taking something from his pants pocket.
"What-" Binastry said, in a surprised tone, at the same moment that Alakazam attacked Binastry with his confusion blow, not having the expected effect. At the same moment, the black and white Pokémon attacked Alakazam with its psychic attack, which made it levitate.
As much as the yellowed Pokémon tried to break free, Binastry's psychic attack was too strong.
"Is this Pokemon yours?" Questioned Binastry to the frightened person, in a menacing tone.
"No, of course-" The person started to say, but his speech was cut off by a strange noise. Moments later, a black aura appeared around Binastry, who soon ceased its psychic attack on Alakazam and the frightened person. The strange object also fell to the ground.
"Who…? What….?" Said Binastry, as if he was sensing something trying to control him. Even though the Pokémon resisted, the thing was attacking it incessantly.
At that moment, he saw someone holding some kind of weapon.
"You!" Said Binastry, in an angry tone. "The man who caused me so much suffering in the past!"
"Yes" said Lenny. "…This device will control you sooner or later, so resisting is futile. Surrender as soon as possible!"
Although Binastry had tried to say something, probably a 'Never!', the thing that was trying to control him was getting stronger and stronger and the Pokemon weaker and weaker. Until, finally, it gave way.
Moments later, its eyes soon went from white to black.
At that moment, a group of approximately 30 people who were hiding in the region came towards Lenny.
"Finally someone came to save us!" Several of them screamed as they celebrated.
"Yea. It is true that I saved you." Lenny said, in a voice that was both ironic and malicious. "Now, you will obey me forever and ever! Binastry, control these people and subordinate them to my command!"
His last line left the crowd confused and desperate. Before they could do anything, Binastry soon released a strange black ray that, upon hitting people, made them give up the control they had for themselves, handing it over to Lenny.
"We are all subordinate to your orders, sir." said the people, in a tone of voice devoid of any emotion.
Lenny had already picked up the strange object, storing it in the box he was carrying.
"Perfect! Now, subordinates, follow me into the forest. Let's conquer new subordinates to become even more powerful!" shouted Lenny, entering the forest.
"Yes sir!" The crowd yelled back, their voices still devoid of emotion.
Still controlled by Lenny, Binastry followed as well.
••••••••••
Ash and his friends had already roamed a good part of the forest looking for Lenny. At that moment, they were near the city of Tiloshi, hidden in the forest; what they were seeing in the city was disturbing to say the least.
A crowd of approximately 30 people was marching towards the forest. Above them, Binastry floated. It was noticeable that his eyes had changed from white to black.
"What's going on there?" Ash questioned, pointing to the crowd.
"It seems to me that Binastry is controlling those people using some sort of attack." Brock replied. "I cannot understand how or why."
"Guys, look!" exclaimed Misty, pointing to someone in the crowd who was soon recognized as Lenny. "It's that villainous guy who-" Her speech was interrupted by a shout from Lenny:
"Dear subordinates, let's proceed in this forest and conquer new places!"
"That means he wasn't controlled by Binastry." Brock observed. "Also, it is presumable that Lenny was able to control him."
"We need to stop him as soon as possible!" Ash said, starting to run towards the crowd.
"Ash, wait!" yelled Misty, running towards Ash. Brock and Pikachu followed close behind, while Celebi remained hidden in the forest.
Within seconds, the group was in front of the crowd, at a distance of approximately 20 meters from it.
"Stop right now, Lenny!" Ash shouted.
Lenny looked surprised to see them a few meters in front of him.
"Well, well, if it's not the little boys and their pets that said they'd try to stop me." he retorted.
"And we will, count on it!" shouted Misty.
"Pikachu!" Bradou Pikachu.
"How audacious you are for daring to defy me and my subordinates!" Said Lenny, immediately taking out his Pokémon control device. "Now, Binastry, hold them all down with your psychic attack!"
Soon, both the youngsters and Pikachu began to levitate, all surrounded by a bluish aura.
"No!" shouted Ash, in an angry and desperate tone.
"Did you really think you could stop us?! How pathetic you are!" exclaimed Lenny. "And that Celebi who was with you... His rarity is exceptional, so I will-" His speech was cut off by three simultaneous screams from the forest:
"Now!"
All but Binastry and the crowd he was controlling paid attention to the source of the screams. Moments later, several leaves and sharp purple particles emerged from there, heading towards Binastry who, inattentively, was hit. Then the Pokémon fell towards the ground, freeing Ash's group from its psychic attack.
"Who dares to challenge us?" asked Lenny, surprised.
"To answer your question, I suggest you prepare for trouble!" Said a female voice from the forest.
"And as a cunning measure, you should make it double!" Said a male voice also coming from the forest.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all peoples within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"Jessie!" she said, coming out of the forest with a pose.
"James!" He said, also coming out of the forest with the same pose as Jessie, in the opposite direction.
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"
"Meowth, that's right!" Said Meowth, jumping towards the hands of his companions, who maintained their poses.
"Charbok!" Arbok shouted out of the forest.
Victreebel also exited the forest with a grunt, heading towards his trainer's head, who immediately dodged it while Meowth fell to the floor.
"It's not the time for this now, Victreebel!" Said James.
At that moment, Binastry was already afloat again, still keeping the crowd under his control. Also, Ash and his friends were running towards the TRio.
"I see you believe you can stop me. Of course, it won't be as easy as it looks." Said Lenny, initially in a calm tone, immediately shifting to a commanding tone. "Let's see if you can defeat my subordinates. Attack them now! Finish them off!"
Right after his speech, the black aura around Binastry intensified. The crowd soon called out to all the Pokémon that were in their Poké Balls. As they emerged from them, the Pokémon also appeared to have been controlled by Binastry's strange attack.
Both the crowd and their Pokémon ran towards the group consisting of Ash, his friends, and Team Rocket.
As the crowd rushed towards the group, Binastry was already preparing to attack again with his psychic move.
"Careful!" said Ash and James, in unison.
Suddenly, a cry was heard:
"Beeee!" Celebi shouted, exiting the forest at the same time as he used his confusion attack, aiming at Binastry.
Upon being hit, the black and white Pokémon was pushed back a few inches, although it was unaffected by the attack.
Celebi's appearance soon left Lenny with a sly look.
"There you are!" he exclaimed. "An extra prize for my victory!"
"What will we do?" Questioned Meowth in desperation.
The crowd was already at a distance of approximately five meters from the group. Also, Binastry and Lenny's Alakazam prepared to attack Celebi.