"Pikachu!" cried Misty as she quickly put Togepi safely down on the ground and grabbed hold of Pikachu, only to find herself getting hoisted off the ground as well!
Togepi and and other Pokémon below could only look on in shock as Pikachu became stuck to the magnet with Misty holding on for dear life as she dangled high in the air!
"Hey look, we caught the annoying redhead as well," remarked Jessie with an evil smile.
"Hope you two like heavy metal!" Meowth said mockingly to Misty and Pikachu, who were struggling frantically beneath the balloon.
"When it comes to sheer, unstoppable grabbing power, this amazing electromagnetic mechanised marvel is simply unmatched!" added James confidently.
"Wobbuffet!" chimed in Wobbuffet.
But before Team Rocket could make their escape, Officer Jenny's Pidgeot appeared, flying right towards the balloon and slicing it open with its sharp beak.
"Not now!" wailed Team Rocket, as the balloon promptly crashed onto the ground. As the electromagnet momentarily lost power, Pikachu and Misty broke free from the magnet and fell onto an old mattress that the wild Pokémon had quickly pulled out for them.
"Phew! That was a close one!" said Misty as she picked up Pikachu, who was still trapped in the metal clamp, and Officer Jenny's motorbike pulled up by the wild Pokémon.
"Pikachu! Misty!" called Ash as he jumped out of the sidecar and began running to his friends.
"Ash! Boy, are we glad to see you!" called Misty elatedly as Ash came over, and pulled her and Pikachu into a big hug.
"Are you guys okay? I was really worried about you," said Ash, relieved to see that his friends were seemingly all right.
"Pikachu, Pikapi!" replied Pikachu happily, while behind them Team Rocket managed to scramble out of the balloon basket, which had landed on its side with the electromagnet pointing towards Ash and the others.
"Hey twerp, why did you go and do that?" complained Jessie.
"Everything was going just swimmingly until you came along!" added James grouchily.
"Wobbu!" said Wobbuffet.
"Yeah, and just when we thought we were taking off, we came crashing down," said Meowth miserably.
"It's against the law to steal someone else's Pokémon," Officer Jenny rebuked Team Rocket, "and I won't stand for it!"
"Do you know how much I care for what you stand for?" snorted Jessie. "Less than zilch, officer!"
"And that Pikachu goes with us!" said Meowth crossly.
"Enough!" proclaimed James as he picked up his control box. "Our electromagnetic machine will do the talking!"
He pulled a lever on the box and the giant magnet sprung back into life and began pulling Pikachu back towards it! Ash and Misty, who were still holding Pikachu, tried frantically to pull the yellow-furred Pokémon back, but they only found themselves getting dragged along towards the magnet as well.
"Now I'm beginning to enjoy this," said Jessie smugly as their enemies fought fruitlessly against the magnet's pull.
"I think it's time to really give it the gas!" suggested Meowth.
"Roger!" complied James as he increased the power of the magnet, making it harder for Ash and Misty to keep hold of Pikachu.
"Ash, I can't hold on much longer!" Misty cried in alarm as she tried hard not to lose her grip.
"I'm not going to let go!" said Ash with sheer determination as he struggled painfully to pull Pikachu away from the magnet.
Behind them, some of the crates and barrels began to get pulled towards the magnet as well, in the process revealing some of the Haunter that had been hiding behind them. The Haunter looked on in wide-eyed amazement, whilst one of the barrels headed straight for Ash and Misty!
"Ash, oh no! Look out!" Officer Jenny tried to warn them.
Ash turned his head to see what was wrong, only for the barrel to crash into him, knocking him into Misty, and causing them both to lose their grip on Pikachu, who flew straight onto the electromagnet!
"Pika!" Pikachu cried out in pain as it felt the magnet began to drain electricity from it.
"Pikachu!" hollered Ash as he and Misty tried to get back to their feet.
"A bullseye!" said Meowth triumphantly.
"Yes! They shoot and they score!" cheered Jessie and James in unison, with a supporting cry from Wobbuffet.
But Team Rocket's triumph was to be short-lived. At seeing Pikachu trapped and in agony, a change came over the expressions of the Haunter, changing from one of shock to one of anger. Pikachu's bravery earlier had earned it their respect, and seeing what Team Rocket were doing made them feel enraged. The wild Pokémon were equally furious and one of the Rattata launched itself forward with a Hyper Fang attack, slamming right into the metal clamp holding Pikachu. The clamp broke apart like matchwood, and Pikachu tumbled to the ground, freed from the magnet!
"No way!" shrilled Jessie.
"No fair!" whined Meowth.
"That clamp cost a fortune!" howled James.
"Wobbu!" cried Wobbuffet.
Jessie glowered at the Rattata. "I see! So, you want to play a little hardball, do ya? Fine!"
Feeling decidedly infuriated, Team Rocket began to charge forward, but the various Haunter glided over and fired a combined Night Shade attack on the electromagnet, causing it to explode and send its remains, along with Team Rocket, shooting into the sky!
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!" shouted Team Rocket as they once again disappeared from sight.
"We did it!" grinned Ash, who was cradling Pikachu.
"Actually, they did it, Ash!" said Misty as she picked up Togepi and smiled gratefully at the Haunter and the wild Pokémon, who began joyfully dancing together in triumph.
"There, you see how much better things are if you all work together?" Misty said to one of the Rattata and the leading Haunter. "Now why don't you bury the hatchet and become friends?"
The Rattata and the Haunter considered for a second or two, then turned warmly to one another and shook each other by the hand, much to the approval of their fellows.
"Well at least something good has come out of all this," remarked Officer Jenny, noting how well the Haunter and Wild Pokémon were getting on with each other now.
"Pika," said Pikachu tiredly, before it slumped in Ash's arms, feeling decidedly exhausted from the whole ordeal.
The sun was now starting to set as the repaired ferry set off from port, and up on the main deck, the Captain and Machoke were feeling down in the dumps.
"Too bad," sighed the Captain sadly. "I guess Ash and Misty couldn't make it back in time."
"Machoke," said Machoke sorrowfully.
There came a sudden hoot from above their head, and as the Captain and Machoke looked up, they were amazed and delighted to see Officer Jenny's Pidgeot flying towards them, carrying Ash and Misty on its back!
"Hey, guys!" called Ash happily, clutching a tired Pikachu with one arm and waving at the Captain with the other.
"Sorry we're a little late, Captain!" smiled Misty, as she cradled a sleeping Togepi in her arms.
A short while later, after Pidgeot dropped off its passengers and flew back to Officer Jenny, Ash and Misty headed back to the passenger cabin and once again settled down to get some sleep.
"I hope Pikachu will be all right, Ash," said a concerned Misty as she looked down at the electric Pokémon sleeping beside Ash. "He must be exhausted after all the excitement that happened today."
"Togi Togi," said Togepi, feeling a little worried for its big brother figure.
"Don't worry, I'm sure Pikachu will be fine after a good rest," smiled Ash as he draped the end of the blanket over Pikachu and they all laid back in their sleeping bags and went off to sleep.
As the ferry sailed on through the night, no-one was aware that it still had some unwelcome passengers. Following the explosion back at the docks, the remains of the still-active electromagnet had managed to land against the hull at the back of the ship, and stick itself there, along with Team Rocket, who were now pinned between the magnet and the metal remains from their balloon.
"Is it my magnetic personality?" asked Jessie unhappily in regards to their uncomfortable position.
"It's not so bad," said James unconvincingly.
"I'm positive this is a negative," sighed Meowth, before they all said in miserable unison:
"We're floating off again!"
Morning soon arrived, and as Ash and Misty stepped onto the deck outside, they were delighted to see that they were finally approaching Littleroot Town.
"We're finally here," said Misty happily. "The Hoenn region!"
"Yeah," smiled Ash, all decked out in the new outfit his Mum had given him. "Lots of new Pokémon for us to see and lots of new rivals for me to battle against!"
As the ship got nearer to port, the two friends were thrilled as they spotted a whole variety of new Pokémon around them, ranging from flying Wingull and Pelipper high in the sky, to numerous water Pokémon like Sharpedo and Wailmer swimming happily in the ocean.
"Awesome!" said Misty with a sparkling look in her eyes, as she watched the Sharpedo and Wailmer swim by. "I just love the look of these different water Pokémon!"
"Yeah, we've never seen any of these Pokémon!" said a thrilled Ash, as he looked up at the Wingull and Pelipper above their heads. "I can't wait for Pikachu and Togepi to wake up and check out all of these new Pokémon with us too!"
Feeling a little giddy with excitement, the two young trainers rushed back to their cabin, where they expected to find Pikachu and Togepi both bright and awake. But when they entered the room, Pikachu still seemed to be asleep and Togepi was watching it with some concern.
"Hey Togepi, what's the matter?" asked Misty, as she noticed the worried look on Togepi's face.
Togepi gestured agitatedly towards Pikachu, who was twitching and sweating, its eyes clamped tightly shut.
"Hey, Pikachu, are you okay?" asked Ash as he knelt down to pick up Pikachu.
Suddenly Pikachu started giving off bright sparks of electricity, forcing Ash to pull his hands back.
"Pikachu, what's wrong?" asked Ash, his initial excitement of arriving in Hoenn immediately replaced by concern for his oldest and dearest friend.
Misty tried to touch Pikachu too, but the electric sparks caused her to yelp and pull back as well.
"Ash, Pikachu's burning up!" she said fretfully. "He must have a bad fever!"
Alarmed, a fearful Ash tried to get Pikachu to wake up. "Pikachu, can you hear me? Pikachu!"
