Ash was all ready to dive in to rescue Misty, but he was stopped by a call from Brock:
"Hey, look at Gyarados!"
Desperately, Ash looked down and saw that Gyarados was ramming its head frantically against the bars again and again with tremendous effort, apparently trying to get to the sinking Misty.
"Uh, what's it doing?" asked Jessie nervously, as the Gyarados continued to bash against the cage bars.
"It's just showing off," suggested James unconvincingly.
But then, with a roar, Gyarados summoned all its strength as it bashed against the bars, and smashed the entire cage apart! As the bars collapsed onto the bottom, they caused a cloud of bubbles and dust to form, obscuring the whole scene.
"Uh-oh!" exclaimed Meowth in disbelief. "It's loose!"
Ash frantically tried to see what was happening through the bubbles, looking this way and that to see if Misty was all right.
"Brock, can you see Misty?" he asked fearfully.
Brock pointed urgently with his finger. "There she is!"
Before anyone could say anymore, Gyarados suddenly shot out of the water and high into the air! As Ash and his friends watched in amazement, they were relieved to see that Gyarados was carrying a dazed Misty right on the crest of its huge head.
"Gyarados... I can't believe it... You just saved me!" Misty managed to say with a stunned expression.
As Gyarados landed back into the pool, it sent a cascade of water flying right into Team Rocket, soaking them completely.
"Um, perhaps now would be a good time for a tactical retreat," suggested Jessie weakly, as she finally began to question the merits of this battle.
"No way!" snapped Meowth. "So what if Gyarados is out of it's cage? We can still take it down!"
'You said it, Meowth!" agreed James. "Weezing, tackle that Gyarados now!"
Weezing flew towards Gyarados, but was swiftly sent flying right back into Team Rocket's balloon by a powerful whack from Gyarados' tail!
"Arbok! Use your poison stings again!" Jessie cried out desperately.
But before Arbok could proceed with its attack, Misty, still clinging to Gyarados' crest, shouted out a battle command of her own:
"Gyarados, Hyper Beam!"
With a roar, Gyarados fired a powerful beam of energy from its mouth and right into Arbok! The cobra-like Pokémon gave a loud cry of pain, as it went flying right into the air and through the hole in the ceiling, before then crashing right back down to earth, landing on top of Team Rocket's balloon, which was inadvertently torn open by one of Arbok's sharp teeth. As the balloon lost air, it crashed right into the water, along with its panicking passengers!
"Way to go, Misty!" called Ash as he and the others watched all this in elation.
"Thanks, Ash," grinned Misty, before turning her attention back to Team Rocket. "Okay, Gyarados! Hydro Pump, now!"
Gyarados obeyed instantly and fired a powerful jet of water right into Team Rocket, sending them shooting right back through the hole and out of the gym!
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" wailed Team Rocket in unison, as they flew through the air and vanished into the distance.
Back in the gym, Ash, Brock and the Pokémon clapped and cheered as Gyarados safely deposited Misty on top of the diving board. The young water Pokémon trainer was tired and her left arm felt sore from Arbok's attack, but she was nonetheless feeling happy as she turned to Gyarados.
"Gyarados, you're the best!" she said gratefully, as the large Pokémon rubbed its head affectionately against her.
From where they were standing below, Ash and Brock were surprised and glad to see that Misty no longer seemed unnerved at being so close to the Pokémon she had been scared of for so many years.
"Um, Gyarados, would you mind going back into the Poké Ball for me?" Misty asked at last, as her friends climbed up the ladder to join her.
Gyarados nodded and Misty got out a Poké Ball, which sent out the familiar red beam of light that engulfed Gyarados, who then vanished from sight as it went inside the ball.
"You were great, Misty," congratulated Ash.
"You sure were," added Brock. "You took down Team Rocket and finally conquered your fear of Gyarados! You should feel proud."
"Thanks guys," smiled Misty warmly, as she rubbed her sprained arm, thinking how lucky she was to have such good friends by her side.
When Misty's sisters returned to the gym, they were surprised to find that the situation with Gyarados had been sorted all out in their absence. Ash and Brock quickly filled them in on the details, having first called in a doctor, who checked Misty's injured arm and put it in a sling.
"It's a nasty sprain, but your arm should feel better in a week or so," he said reassuringly.
The next day, the gym's roof had been repaired, and Ash and the others were all ready to set off. Feeling recovered after a good night's sleep, Misty had taken the opportunity to change into a new outfit, consisting of a yellow sleeveless vest with a blue collar and a button on the front, with a pair of shorts of a matching colour, both worn over a dark-red leotard. Misty had also decided to leave some of her Pokémon (Psyduck, Goldeen and Politoed) with her sisters at the gym and take Gyarados with her, feeling it was her responsibility to train it now.
"Do you have to leave so soon, Misty?" asked Lily. "You'd make a great gym leader here while we're busy, you know."
"Thanks, but I'm happy to keep on travelling with my friends," smiled Misty, as she hugged a cheerful Togepi with her uninjured arm.
"Oh, that reminds me," remembered Daisy as she wheeled something out from behind the reception desk. "Isn't this yours, little sister?"
Misty's eyes widened in surprise. "My bike!"
"Oh, yeah," said Ash sheepishly, as Daisy brought the bike over, which looked as good as new after being fried by Pikachu all those years ago.
"Yeah, apparently it was badly damaged, but the Nurse Joy from Viridian City had it repaired and sent here," grinned Violet.
"Wow, Nurse Joy did a great job fixing it," remarked Ash.
"Typical," said a slightly amused Misty as she looked down at the sling holding her sore left arm. "I finally get my bike repaired and now I can't use it! Guess I'll have to leave that here too."
"Well, I guess it's time for us to set off," said Ash, glad to have the bike issue finally settled.
"HOLD EVERYTHING!" Brock suddenly exclaimed, causing everyone to look at him in surprise.
"What's gotten into you, Brock?" asked Ash.
"Actually, I have to head back home right away," said Brock, prompting a shocked look from Ash and Misty. "I got an email saying I've got to go back and take care of some errands and stuff, and I almost forgot."
"How could you forget something like that?" asked Ash.
Brock gave an embarrassed look. "Ah, I'm not sure exactly."
"Maybe cause you didn't want to leave?" prompted Misty.
"Probably," admitted Brock.
"We understand, Brock," said Misty with a warm smile.
"Yeah, you take care of yourself," added Ash, who had always found goodbyes hard.
"You too, guys," said Brock.
Once all the farewells were finished, Misty's sisters waved goodbye as Brock began to take the road back to Pewter City, while Ash, Misty and their Pokémon resumed the long journey back to Pallet Town.
"Man, saying goodbye to Brock was hard once," said Ash sadly, recalling Brock's brief stay on Valencia Island. "Having to do it a second time feels tougher still."
"Hey, at least you still have Pikachu and me around," said Misty with a comforting smile.
"Yeah, I sure do," said Ash with a hopeful look.
"Pikachu!" agreed Pikachu, as the friends continued to walk down the path into the sunset.
