The Silph Co Siege!

"Hello Kanto, DJ Mary here with a special broadcast of the Kanto Star News! Today I'm meeting with the founder and CEO of Silph Co, Giovanni Sakaki as he has a special announcement for us! Giovanni will you take it from here?"

"But of course," Giovanni reached into his pocket and pulled out the Master Ball before showing it off to the viewers. "The Master Ball technology has been perfected and works flawlessly, it'll be awhile before they hit the shelves and are available for the general public. I estimate a good year or so as we intend on this being a world wide launch rather than favoring a singular region as most of the involved companies have previously done."

"And these Pokeballs will be affordable, correct?"

"But of course! While normal Pokeballs may cost a hundred Pokedollars each, these new and improved Pokeballs will cost f-" Giovanni halted mid sentence as screams could be heard offscreen. "Cliff, mind checking that out?"

"Yes master," Cliff could be heard storming off to investigate and after a few seconds, a minor explosion could be heard followed by Cliff's unconscious form blasting across the screen as DJ Mary let out an ear shattering scream followed by the sound of glass shattering as something just broke through the window!

"T-They killed him!" DJ Mary went pale as her body violently shook. She gazed fearfully towards Cliff's assailant as she feared they were next!

"Cliff!" Giovanni shouted, his eyes widened from shock before angrily looking towards the source of the attack and whoever dared do that!

A male's shout could be heard as the camera suddenly fell to it's side, the cameraman could be seen running off in peril as another individual picked up the camera.

"I'll get him!" Attila rushed into view before another voice spoke out.

"Leave him, he's of no concern." The camera was picked up and readjusted before the Masked Man came into view. "Good morning citizens of Kanto and Johto, today marks a special occasion as it is the end of both Team Rocket and Silph Co! Giovanni will meet his end and Neo Team Rocket will rise up and return to the old ways, something the current leader has cowardly shed away from! But first that Master Ball will be mine!" The Masked Man lunged forward, forcefully wrapping his arm around DJ Mary's neck as he took her hostage!

"Oh Arceus..." Chloe gazed fearfully up at the television screen as she and the others watched from the Pokemon Center lobby, they were on their way to challenge the Saffron City Gym Leader when the broadcast started and caught their attention.

"Giovanni!" A man's voice fearfully shouted out, the sound of metal and liquid could be heard crashing against the ground as they turned to see Archer standing behind them. The floor covered in coffee from the Pokemon Center's own Staryubucks coffee shop! "I knew I should have made Cliff get the coffee, I knew it! I just knew it!" He pulled at his hair as his breathing grew vast and heavy, his eyes filled with anxiety as he no longer resembled his usual calm demeanor!

"I-I must go rescue him!"

"What's he talking about? How will Team Rocket die? All they're doing is attacking Silph Co..." Ash muttered. Giovanni was a well respected businessman and philanthropist while Masked Man appeared to be a raving lunatic, of course nobody would piece together that he was practically announcing to the world that Giovanni was the leader of Team Rocket!

"Who cares about that, people are in trouble!" Janine shouted as she frantically pointed at the screen. "We've got to save them, it's your job to-It's the right thing to do!" Janine quickly corrected herself.

"She's right, all those workers inside that building don't have Pokemon of their own. They're just people with regular jobs!" Brock exclaimed. "They're trapped in there with who knows how many Team Rocket grunts!"

"That's definitely Team Rocket," Chloe noted as several Team Rocket grunts surrounded Giovanni with murderous intent in their eyes. "I-I'll admit I don't quite get what that masked man is saying but if they kill Giovanni... well let's just say the public will lose a lot of hope! They likely intend on demoralizing us by doing so, it'd be like killing an Elite Four member! The Master Ball's just an added bonus, an all powerful Pokeball is just painting a massive target on your back!"

"It won't come to that, nobody's dying if I can help it! I say we get in there and help out!" Thankfully Ash already had his strongest Pokemon on hand as he was planning on taking on the Gym Leader. Charizard, Nidoking, Kabutops, Sceptile and Gengar should make quick work of the regular grunts, the only trouble they'd likely have is if they ran across any Team Rocket executives or admins!

"I-I must go save my boss..." Archer anxiously shouted, the man attempted to race off before Chloe grabbed hold of his arm.

"Hold up, if you just rush in there in your current state you'll likely just get yourself killed alongside him! Why don't you come with us and we'll all work together to save everyone?"

Archer's eyes darted between Chloe and the Pokemon Center's exit before eventually lowering his head as a sigh escaped him. "You're right... I suppose we'll do better working together."

"And I'll see if the Gym Leader will assist us!" Janine rushed out the door while giving them all a quick wave. "We'll see you at the top!"

"How will we get through the front doors? Doesn't that place have heavy security?" Ash questioned.

"It does but if Team Rocket is at the top floor then they've likely cleared it all out, so all we have to worry about are the Team Rocket members standing between us and the top!" Chloe explained.

"Enough talk, my maste-Giovanni needs me!" Archer anxiously exclaimed, he attempted to rush off only for Brock to grab his arm.

"Oh no you don't, you're sticking with us!" As the group exited the Pokemon Center they could see a group of paramedics gathered around somebody just outside the Silph Co grounds, Chloe flinched and hastily looked away as she spotted some red liquid.

"C-Cliff..." Archer clenched his fists before turning his gaze upwards with a determined expression. "I won't let Giovanni meet the same end!"

"You don't have to worry, we'll get there in time." Ash reassured Archer. Besides he wasn't comfortable with the idea of sitting this out and just letting it play out, a true Pokemon Master didn't stand by while innocent people and Pokemon got hurt! The group rushed inside the building which strangely lacked any police officials standing guard to prevent people rushing inside. "That's odd.."

"We'll worry about it later, come on!" Archer anxiously waved his arm as he rushed towards the elevator before frantically pushing at the button, however much to his dismay nothing was happening! "W-What?! No, those blasted fools must have cut the power to the elevator!"

"Then we have no choice but to take the stairs." Ash inwardly groaned at the idea. Sure Charizard could just fly them all up from outside but that left them exposed to who knows how many Team Rocket members! He turned to face Archer before asking. "Which way is the staircase?"

"It's just over there however it only gets you to the third floor as if you wish to get any higher you must use the teleporter panels!"

"T-The teleporter what?" Chloe glanced at Archer with a quizzical expression.

"Luckily for you kids you've got me, otherwise you just might find yourselves getting lost. The teleporters don't exactly come with instructions as every worker is trained on the usage day one! W-We should get to the top rather easily..."

"See? It's a good thing we stopped you from blindly rushing in then!" Chloe smirked lightly before gesturing towards the stairs. "Shall we?"

The four made their way to the stairway before finding themselves under attack immediately upon reaching the second floor as they were surrounded by Team Rocket grunts! However Charizard made rather quick work of them as he blasted the Pokemon away with Flamethrower!

"Outta the way!"

"I'm out of here!" The Rocket grunts pushed past as they made their escape. Similar situations occurred on the following floors but Pikachu, Eevee, Croagunk, Charizard and Sceptile dispatched the grunts with little issue however it was only a matter of time before they came across somebody of note!

"Well well if it isn't the children from Lavender Town!" Attila mocked the group, a smirk present across his lip. A look of surprise briefly appeared as he noticed Archer's presence. However he didn't appear concerned much by it.

"Attila!" Ash exclaimed. "But you died, we saw it!"

"We got better." Hun remarked as he stepped out from behind his partner. "I'm afraid your journey ends here, kids. We've been itching to get revenge!"

'The traitors!' Archer gritted his teeth but kept his mouth shut. "I'll handle them!"

"No, leave it to us!" Chloe glanced towards Ash. "Ash will need your help reaching the top floor, we'll stay here and fight these two!"

"You sure about that? They're pretty powerful and we didn't exactly win last time," Ash didn't feel right leaving his friends behind.

"Have some faith, Ash." Brock placed his hand upon Ash's shoulder. "We've gotten stronger since then but the battle will only slow us down, you need to reach the top!"

"He's right," Chloe placed her hand on his other shoulder while flashing him a reassuring smile. "Besides Janine and the Saffron Gym Leader will be here shortly to help out!"

Ash's gaze flickered between his two closest friends before he eventually nodded in understanding. "Alright but as soon as I'm done, I'm coming back for you two!"

"Don't worry about us Ash, we'll be fine!"

"Oh he should be worried, we aren't letting you leave here alive!" Attila roared as Ash and Archer disappeared up the next stairwell.

"Yeah we can't afford failing again." Hun nervously rubbed his arm. They could just try and escape but their boss would likely just track them down, especially as the two had no intention of splitting up!

"Abomasnow let's crush these kids!"

"Slowbro let's end this!"

"Abomasnow!"

"Slowbro!" A pink light engulfed the two Pokemon as Attila and Hun activated their Mega Rings, transforming Abomasnow and Slowbro into their Mega forms!

Brock and Chloe gritted their teeth as Mega Pokemon were still something not to be taken lightly, they'd definitely benefit from having a Mega Evolution of their own but unfortunately Mega Stones weren't as common in Kanto and Johto as they were in Hoenn and Kalos!

"Croagunk use Poison Jab on Abomasnow!"

"Eevee use Sappy Seed!"

"Isn't that the attack with the nukes disguised as seeds?" Attila questioned.

"Yes you brute, use Blizzard to kill the vine!" Hun shouted.

"Oh right, Abomasnow use Blizzard!" Mega Abomasnow stretched out his arms as he prepared to unleash the attack however Croagunk knocked him off balance and punching him upside the head with Poison Jab!

"Croagunk!" The poison frog quickly leaped away as Eevee unleashed her fury upon her opponents! The attack burst through the ceiling and pierced several floors, thankfully nobody appeared to have gotten hurt as there weren't cries for help or any bodies hitting the ground. Large seeds burst from above and began crashing down upon Abomasnow and Slowbro just as Abomasnow got back to his feet! Slowbro attempted to halt the large seeds with Psychic however he lost his concentration as a seed crashed against his head before exploding, knocking the now unconscious Pokemon clean across the room and through several office walls before he laid in an unconscious heap atop a poor worker's desk.

"Ah!" The worker had been cowardly hiding beneath said desk before racing on out of there!

Abomasnow slowly rose to his feet after getting knocked back and forth by the rapid series of explosions. He growled out and prepared to attack once more before halting as the floor beneath him started to crack. Abomasnow slowly looked down and shot a look towards his trainer shortly before the floor gave way sending him falling through floor after floor before crashing hard against the floor of the lobby.

"A-Abomasnow..." Chloe let out a sigh of relief as they could hear his groan, indicating that Abomasnow was still alive. Attila didn't seem to care though nor did Hun bother checking on Slowbro as the two simply reached for another set of Pokeballs.

"Aerodactyl, let's go!" Hun shouted.

"Steelix, let's crush these kids!" Attila roared.

Aerodactyl and Steelix burst out from their Pokeballs and a sick feeling started to flow through Chloe as Attila and Hun reached for their Mega Rings, which would only hurt the Pokemon as the Mega Rings didn't have enough time to fully recharge! There was a reason you could only use Mega Evolutions once per battle, you could still do so but at great cost as it hurt the Pokemon! The two Rocket members heartlessly smirked as Steelix and Aerodactyl cried out in pain.

Brock and Chloe clenched their fists and gritted their teeth as they looked on with disgust.

"Steel!"

"Aero!" The two Mega Pokemon painfully cried out.

"How could you do that?! Those Pokemon trusted you!" Chloe shouted with disgust.

"Eevoi!" Eevee angrily flicked her tail.

"Hate to break it to ya kid but we're not like those clowns you frequently engage with, we're proper villains we don't care about anyone other than ourselves!" Attila sinisterly smirked.

"And each other." Hun simply stated before ordering Aerodactyl to attack! "Aerodactyl use Giga Impact!"

"Steelix use Earthquake!"

"No stop you foo-aaah!" As Steelix slammed his tail against the ground the rest of the floor around them gave way, sending Attila and Hun falling towards the ground below. Steelix's tail grasped around Aerodactyl as he attempted to grab onto support, dragging Aerodactyl down with them! A loud thud could be heard and Chloe tensed up before looking fearfully away as she didn't want to look. Brock peeked over before shaking his head.

"They're fine, just unconscious. The police will take care of them, let's go after Ash!"

"Right!"

"Please don't hurt her, just let her go!" Giovanni tried reasoning with the Masked Man. He couldn't give into his rage for the blatant betrayal, apart from keeping up the charade of a legitimate businessman he also genuinely wished no harm to come to DJ Mary!

"Hmp, I thought you'd be easier to break than this." The Masked Man shook his head with disappointment. "You truly are nothing like her, you're an abomination! A stain on your family name! You don't deserve to call yourself-"

Giovanni clenched his fists as he tried holding back his anger. "Don't you dare talk about my mother, if anyone was a disgrace it was her! Who are you anyways? Only a coward hides behind a mask, why don't you show yourself so we can discuss this like men!"

"Hand over that Master Ball and I'll tell you. I want my face to be the last thing you see before you perish but I can't risk harm coming to that Master Ball, I can't exactly afford a trip to the Hoenn region as I must oversee my operations here!" The Masked Man flicked off the camera and smirked beneath his mask. "I assure you, my identity will be quite a shock!"

"P-Please save me!" DJ Mary screamed.

Giovanni clenched his fist once more before holding out the Master Ball. "Very well, here you go-" He was about to attempt some trickery now that the Masked Man foolishly turned off the camera to conceal his own identity however it didn't need to come to that as a thunderbolt blasted through the room, striking the Masked Man and DJ Mary! It wasn't full power but it was just enough to make the Masked Man drop his hold on DJ Mary!

DJ Mary's hair was a complete mess as electricity sparked through it, she looked up with disgust before looking fearfully towards the Masked Man. "Forget this, I'm going back to my old job! Nothing like this ever happened there!" She bolted right past Ash and Pikachu as they walked into the room, not even bothering to thank them.

"Mast-Giovanni!" Archer raced up to Giovanni before breaking into a series of rapid bows. "I'm so sorry, I should have been here-"

"At ease Archer, it's not your fault. Let's beat this masked lunatic," Giovanni lightly grunted though surprise did cross his face as his eyes took in Ash. 'Huh, I'd never have expected him to come to my rescue!'

The Masked Man flicked his gaze between the three men as Giovanni repocketed the Master Ball. "Such a shame that it's come to this, I guess we'll have to end this in a massacre and pry that ball off what's left of you! Garchomp let's annihilate them all!"

"Garrrr!" The floor shook as the massive land shark Pokemon burst out from a ball!

"A Garchomp!" That was a Pokemon Ash actually knew as he'd seen Cynthia utilize it against Lance in a broadcasted Pokemon battle! He always wanted one of those. "Charizard I choose you!"

"Char!" Charizard roared and shot a Flamethrower directly at Garchomp upon release rather than aim it upwards like he usually did, sensing the danger they were in!

"Sir we're in danger, that Garchomp's power level is over 9,000!" Archer anxiously exclaimed as he held out a silver colored Rotom Phone.

"Huh?" Giovanni looked over his shoulder. "That's level 90." Giovanni knew his faithful second in command was likely just suffering from stress. His eyes looked Garchomp over, taking in the Pokemon's muscular physique.

"Though based on the physique I'd say it wasn't a result of hard work and training. It looks artificial as if you gave it-"

"Steroids?!" Ash exclaimed with visible disgust.

"You catch on quick and to think Attila called you an idiot!" The Masked Man laughed causing Ash to growl out. "But idiot or not, I guarantee you three aren't leaving this room alive!" He raised his arm to activate a concealed Mega Ring, Archer let an alarmed shout as Garchomp was concealed in the pink glow!

"W-We're doomed!" Archer's eye twitched as he began shaking in a violent manner. Giovanni glanced towards his friend before looking at Ash. Clearly Archer wasn't all there, most likely a result of Cliff perishing. He glanced towards Ash's arm and tilted his head upon seeing a lack of a Mega Ring. That just wouldn't do, Giovanni had one of his own but they'd only get through this if they worked together as they weren't strong enough to take on Garchomp by themselves!

"Kid catch!" Giovanni reached into his suit pocket and threw a silver colored Mega Ring towards Ash. The Masked Man calmly watched on as Ash grabbed hold of it, the boy briefly admired it as it slid down his wrist before shooting Giovanni a quick look.

"Thanks but I don't have-" Giovanni silently threw what appeared to be an orange marble with a small flame inside of it. Ash didn't like obtaining a Mega Ring and Mega Evolution stone so easily but now wasn't exactly the best time to refuse such a gift as it could be the difference on getting out of here alive or in pieces! Sure he was strong but Ash wasn't cocky enough to think he could beat such a powerful Pokemon on his own!

As Ash tossed the stone to Charizard, Archer quietly tossed a ball of his own forward to reveal a small purple Pokemon with what appeared to be gemstones for eyes!

"Sableye!"

Giovanni tossed forward his own Pokeball to reveal a Scizor!

"Scizor!"

"Alright kid follow in our example!" Giovanni lifted his own and activated the Keystone resulting in a bright pink glow enveloping Scizor's body. "And know that the stronger your bond is, the stronger that Charizard will become! Your bond fuels the energy flowing through Charizard!"

"Well talk about luck..." Ash muttered as Charizard wasn't just one of his strongest Pokemon but the bond the two of them shared almost rivaled that of Pikachu! "Alright Charizard, let's show them our bond with Mega Evolution!"

"Char!" Charizard stomped his feet against the ground as the pink light surrounded his body, his wings grew longer and more jagged while a long horn began to form at the back of his skull. His tail also grew longer, the scales growing more pointy as a bright sunlight began bearing down upon them all!

"Gah!" The Masked Man shielded his eyes as whatever material he used to shield his eyes didn't take kindly to the heavy sunlight, temporarily blinding him! "G-Giga Impact!"

"Gar!" An yellow-orange aura surrounded Mega Garchomp as he charged across the field, a loud heavy growl escaped his lips as he snarled out.

"S-Sableye!" Mega Sableye anxiously cried out as the landshark raced barreled towards him!

"S-Shadow Ball!" Archer cried out.

"Hyper Beam!"

"Charizard use Flamethrower! Pikachu use Splishy Splash!" With everyone using range attacks it was safe for Pikachu to utilize the attack!

Mega Sableye summoned up the ball of black-purple static energy and fired it off, the attack met Mega Scizor's Hyper Beam as the two attacks reached Mega Garchomp resulting in a large explosion that knocked the landshark Pokemon back!

"Gar!" Mega Garchomp then found himself doused with Mega Charizard Y's flame which was only enhanced by the Sunlight courtesy of the Mega Evolution's Drought ability! Mega Garchomp rubbed his eyes of some ash only to find a large wave of electrified water crashing down on top of him!

"G-Gar!" Garchomp gulped before disappearing beneath the wave! Ash, Giovanni and Archer anxiously looked on as the water covered Garchomp, a shared gasp of relief was shared amongst them as a pink glow appeared indicating Garchomp had been taken out!

"N-No! It can't end like this, this isn't going anywhere near how I planned it! Y-You were supposed to die-and I was going to-"

"Well it's over," Giovanni flashed the Masked Man a smirk. "Surround and we'll ensure that you're taken to the proper authorities."

"And rot away in a jail cell? No thanks, my destiny lies elsewhere! Dusknoir!" Dusknoir rose up from the floor and grabbed onto his trainer, the Masked Man promptly returned Garchomp before phasing through the floor. "Let's see how Attila and Hun fared shall we?"

"Dusknoir!"

"Well that's over," Giovanni pulled out the Master Ball with a look of regret. "Perhaps Lysandre's fears were justified, a ball like this will only bring more trouble than good." Giovanni flickered his gaze towards Ash before walking towards the camera as he turned it back on. "Good afternoon Kanto and Johto, I just wanted to inform you all that DJ Mary and I are perfectly safe, that masked lunatic has been taken care of thanks to the efforts of a young brave hero!"

Ash turned red from embarrassment as Giovanni aimed the camera towards him and Pikachu. "H-Hello everyone!"

"P-Pikachu..."

"Char..." The two Pokemon rubbed the back of their necks as they shared their trainer's embarrassment.

"And I've grown to realize that some of you activists out there were right, there is no good that will come of a product such as this." Giovanni hung his head as he pulled a hammer out of his pocket. "And thus I must destroy the object of that lunatic's affection and put an end to the Master Ball production to ensure that he won't be targeting anymore lives!" Giovanni smashed the hammer against the Master Ball before turning towards the screen once more. "And I urge my associates to destroy their Pokeballs too before they're attacked!"

Cyrus looked at the television and merely grunted before changing the channel. The Master Ball laid in protective glass behind him as he had no intentions of destroying it!

Lysandre opened up his safe and prepared to smash his Master Ball with a mallet however right as it was about to make contact, a slight hint of doubt struck the back of his mind. Lysandre looked thoughtful for a moment before closing the safe, leaving the Master Ball fully intact.

Ezekiel meanwhile sat on the couch in his Petalburgh penthouse, tossing the Master Ball up and down. He already contacted Tabitha and told him to put an end to production asap, thankfully nothing was produced yet so this was the only Master Ball within the entire region but he wasn't sure if he should destroy his invention. He thought highly of all his inventions, his favorite being the Rotom Phone!

"Bye dad, I'm off to May's!" Ezekiel glanced towards his son as he made his way towards the door. Although his son inherited his father's looks and looked like a younger version of him save for the mustache and goatee, he sure didn't dress like him or even act like him! Instead wearing a blue and black jacket stylized after a Riolu that his Sinnoh friend made for him, Dawn or Dusk... Ezekiel was never great with remembering names. Although they were forced to move due to Ezekiel's job changing, the two remained close friends and regularly contacted each other.

His dream was completely different than Ezekiel's was as well, as he dreamed of becoming a Pokemon Champion! While some businessmen would shame their kid, especially their only heir he simply encouraged it as he wanted his son to live his dream! The only thing Ezekiel valued than his own inventions was his son, he liked his mother too but it was best to keep up the charade of it being a one night stand as nobody not even his son would believe the truth about who his mother was if he said it! Even playing the situation inside his own head it sounded crazy!

"Zach, I need to ask for your opinion on a certain matter," Zach's eyes focused upon the Master Ball before glancing up to meet his father's gaze.

"Destroy it, there's no fun in catching Pokemon if you know it's always going to succeed! I'm sure I'm not the only one that feels this way and although it sounds a bit judgmental, I honestly think that most the people that disagree on the matter don't have the best intentions... no offense! I-I know you love your inventions!" He nervously sweated before glancing towards the door. "I-If you excuse me, I promised to take May to see Pokevengers: Endgame."

"None taken, and enjoy it my boy! I'll destroy this asap I promise ya!" Ezekiel waved his son of with a bright smile. However despite his best efforts he couldn't destroy the Master Ball, each time he tried a different method he chickened out as he just couldn't see his invention get destroyed! "Dang nab it, why can't I do it?!" Ezekiel hid the Master Ball overnight before taking it into work the next morning.

"Oh Francis!"

"I-It's Tabitha!" Tabitha whined. "I told you two days ago!"

"Destroy this for me will ya, Tommy?"

"It-Nevermind..." Tabitha sighed out. The money was too good to fight it. The scientist snatched the Master Ball as Ezekiel chucked it.

"Try the basement's incinerator, I tried so myself but almost burned my hand prying it out!" Ezekiel exclaimed.

"I-I see..." Tabitha sweated. He made his way downstairs and threw the lower offices as the elevator was out due to a power surge. As he made his way past an office booth, a foot suddenly stuck out causing him to trip!

"T-Tabitha!" A purple haired woman raced to her friend's aid while a blonde individual picked up the Master Ball as it rolled across the floor, the scientist adjusted his glasses and shot a quick glance towards the pair before dashing out!

"Ghetsis I got it, I got a Master Ball! Probably the last one in existence from my calculations!" The scientist eagerly exclaimed. "...Yes sir, I'll take the first boat back to Castelia, I'm eager to see you and young master N once more!"

"Attila... Attila, wake up!" Hun repeatedly slapped his teammate and partner until he woke up.

"Ow! Oh hey Hun, I was just dreaming about you..."

"No time, we've got to make our escape quick! There's a helicopter atop the police station that we can hijack it should have enough gas to get us out of the region and to the Orange Islands! We should be safe there, he's still busy with our old boss..."

"Q-Quite the clever plan," Attila grunted as Hun helped him up. The unconscious Abomasnow, Aerodactyl and Steelix were left behind as the two hastily made their retreat. The two reached the roof of the police station via grappling hooks and proceeded to hijack the police chopper before taking off!

"We did it, oh Hun I could just kiss you!" Attila wrapped his arms around Hun.

"Attila don't, we're gonna crash!"

"No but it'll certainly look like an accident, nobody gets a second chance!" A Hyper Beam blasted off the police chopper's rear rotors sending the chopper circling towards the ground where it promptly exploded!

"Ash!" Brock and Chloe raced onto the top floor, Chloe rushing out and throwing her arms around Ash as she pulled him in for a hug! "Oh Ash, I was-we were so worried! We feared that you might be-" Chloe paused as her hand felt something on Ash's arm, she backed away to give it a look before turning her gaze towards his own. "Where did you...?"

"It's a reward for saving my life," Giovanni exclaimed as he gave Ash's back a light pat. It wasn't technically a lie as he fully well knew that his plan would have failed, the Masked Man not only approved of poaching but also the use of steroids! Just what else did that sick lunatic intend on bringing back into the organization?! "Thank you Ash, I owe you my life. If there's ever anything else you need, anything at all feel free to give me a call!"

"Thank you sir but I can't accept-" Giovanni grasped Ash's hand as the boy attempted to remove the Mega Ring.

"Keep it for both your sake and those of your friends, I'm not quite sure as to who that masked lunatic is but no doubt you're on his list now. You'll need whatever power you can muster to handle him on your own!"

"I-" Ash paused before looking towards Chloe and Brock with his gaze lingering on Chloe before looking towards Pikachu. He couldn't bear the thought of something happening to them! "I-I understand."

"And good luck with your journey, I'm sure it'll only be a matter of time before we have our rematch?" Giovanni smirked.

"You know it, next time Pikachu and I won't lose!"

"Pika!" Pikachu raised his fist.

"Heh, I look forward to it. Well you kids should get going, we've got a lot of work to do cleaning up."

"So how did the battle turn out?" Chloe questioned Ash after the group said their farewells to Giovanni and Archer.

"It was-It went okay." Chloe narrowed her eyes and gave Ash a suspicious look. She couldn't help but think he was hiding what really went down from her but perhaps it was better for her to not know for now.

In the Masked Man's lair, the man's face remained cloaked by shadow as he ate from a soup bowl with a shark fin protruding out of the stove's pot. "Failure won't be tolerated by anyone..." He slurped the soup as he watched the news. The Master Ball production was put to an end and according to Giovanni, every single one of the Master Balls had been destroyed! Of course Giovanni didn't know that Cyrus and Lysandre were lying, nor did Ezekiel know that Tabitha lied to save his own skin. "So there won't be any Master Ball... that's fine, I'll just do this some other way! Everything will still go according to plan and the world will have it's first Silver Hero!"

Archer glanced towards Giovanni, appearing to have calmed down upon the defeat of the 'Masked Lunatic'. "Do you think the kid knows the truth?"

"I doubt it." Giovanni shrugged. He easily passed off everything the man said as the words of a raving lunatic and the public bought every word! "And it's better this way, we may have lost Cliff but we gained a powerful ally today, one that will help us win the coming Team Rocket Civil War!"

'But where were the Rocket Trio?' I can see somebody asking so I'll go ahead and say, they've been working on the SS Anne heist since they last appeared. That's why they haven't come back yet!

Anyways I hope you all enjoyed this! :)