Ash noticed the bruises developing on his arms. "So this is what it feels like to get 'blasted off.'"

"Welcome to our world." Jessie ran her fingers through her hair to remove debris.

"Venusaur, Charizard: I'm so proud of you." Tears welled up in Ash's eyes. He gestured to a preening Togekiss. "You too. You all saved us back there." Pikachu hopped up onto his shoulder.

Misty stood up. "They did, but they couldn't have done it without you, Ash." She stroked Togekiss. "I get why you quit—I wish I could—but you underestimate yourself."

Brock laid out a map. "We can talk about Ash's talents later. Right now, we need cover. Rock Tunnel is just east of us, and it's pretty close to Lavender Town."

"But we still haven't done anything." Pikachu rested her chin on Ash's baseball cap.

"We can't do anything if we're caught." Wartortle looked behind them. "We have to make another plan."

The group walked silently to the entrance of Rock Tunnel. Charizard used his tail to illuminate their surroundings.

"I hate Zubats." James preemptively shielded his head.

Jessie rolled her eyes as she patted him on the back. "I'm sure they feel the same way about you." She stretched. "Why can't you quit being a gym leader, Misty? We quit Team Rocket."

"It's not like that." She ducked as she entered the cave. "Once a gym rat, always a gym rat."

"A gym is a governmental organization, and when someone agrees to operate them, their families must continue to do so. It's passed down every generation," Brock explained. "That's why I couldn't travel and start breeding Pokemon until my dad came back to take over our gym."

"But what if you just leave anyway? We left, and we're on da run, but it ain't too bad." Meowth quickened his pace to keep up with the long-legged humans.

"Team Rocket members generally have nothing to lose…that's why they end up in Team Rocket." Misty stopped in her tracks. "If a family member breaches the contract, there's an enormous fine, and it's impossible to pay, so everything you own is seized. Then, it's added to your record so you can't find alternative work. Your whole family ends up in complete poverty. My sisters put in their time while I traveled, and since I'm the youngest, I'm stuck with the gym from now on."

Jessie frowned. "That sucks."

A Zubat swooped down low. Brock dodged. "That's not even the half of it. There's the bribes!"

Misty swatted away another Zubat. "Oh, the bribes!"

Meowth was briefly grateful for his short height as he watched the humans get swarmed by Zubats and the occasional Golbat. "Bribes? Dat's my kinda business."

Brock laughed. "Not exactly. We often have to bribe trainers to let us win. If our ratios get too low, we lose our status as a 'gym leader,' and we have to pay that same impossible fine anyway."

"It's just necessary to keep your head over water. Every gym leader does it." Misty smiled at the cat, then called out to Ash and his former Pokemon, who were quite a bit ahead of the group. "Ash! Wait up! We can't see without Charizard close to us."

"These things keep biting me!"

"You were in Victory Road for three years, Ash. Deal with it." Misty shook her head.

They quickly caught up to Ash, who had stopped in a large, cathedral-like space. Wobbuffet emerged in a red flash from Jessie's belt.

"Thanks for showing up to the party. Return." Jessie smirked. "At least he didn't come out while we were riding Charizard."

James spoke up. "I think we should stay here." He pointed to three tunnels that continued from the space. "There's multiple exits. And it's rare for trainers to set foot in here. It'll just be us and the flying, blood-sucking vampires."

"Crobat's one of my best friends, you know," Brock replied.

James put his hands up. "I meant no offense!"

"Steelix! Come on out!" The metallic snake curled around them all. "It's time for some interior decorating! Can you flatten the ground, and make some furniture out of the rocks? I'm looking for tables, chairs, and makeshift beds!"

With a single whack of her tail, Steelix smoothed the floor till it shone like marble. And with another whack, clean, modern-looking formations rose, easily identifiable as a group of tables, chairs, and rock-solid beds.

Ash's jaw dropped. "Impressive."

Brock beamed. "She's always had a good eye." He turned to look at his oldest Pokemon, then released the rest from his belt: Golem, Ninetails, and Crobat. "You guys know what's going on, don't you? I have to release you. If something happens to me, I don't want you in the wrong hands." He sniffed. "You're free from your Pokeballs. You're welcome to stay with us, and since nobody saw you come with us, you can come and go as you please." He stretched his arms out to hug them. "Spread the word, and be safe."

Misty fingered her belt of Pokeballs and sighed. "It is the right thing to do," she said to no one in particular. Jessie and James looked to their Pokeballs as well.

Pikachu gripped Ash's shoulder tighter as she watched the Pokemon being released. While she didn't like the dark confines of a Pokeball, most did. Professor Oak—his name came with an icy jab in her chest—told her it simulated the womb. She nuzzled Ash's neck for comfort while she surveyed the scene in front of her: Misty scruffing Psyduck's feathers, James being swallowed by Victreebel, and Jessie kissing Wobbuffet's forehead.

Meowth was missing from the scene. She directed a question towards Jessie and James, though they couldn't understand her. "What about Meowth?"

The scratch cat in question was perched on one of Steelix's new rock-chairs, making himself small. "What about me?"

"Aren't they going to release you too?"

"I'm not deir Pokemon."

"You've been wild this whole time? No wonder you're never in a Pokeball."

"No, I hate Pokeballs, just like you. I'm Giovanni's, technically." His voice shook, though he tried to cover it with a cough.

With the mention of Giovanni's name, James turned and faced his friend. "We'll find a way to release you. We just need to find your Pokeball."

Ash frowned. "I don't mean to be dense, but why do Pokeballs matter so much to you guys now? I released Pikachu, Wartortle, Charizard, and Venusaur for the principle of it. So they could be completely free." His voice lowered. "If they weren't free, I wasn't free. But if you're still trainers, if you're still battling, why would you worry about your Pokemon falling into the wrong hands?" He scratched the back of his head. "Couldn't they just run away? Fight for themselves?"

Misty gawked. "Did you sleep through Pokemon 101? Figures."

Jessie pressed her palms together. "Exposition time!" She prodded her partner forward. "Take it away, James!"

James cleared his throat and posed in front of the cavern wall. "When a Pokemon is caught by a Pokeball, matter transforms into energy. That is why even the largest Snorlax can fit inside a retractable Pokeball. Pokemon bioenergy is very powerful—this is where the infinity energy concept comes from." Blank stares met his face. "So, in order for a Pokemon to become a Pokebattery, they have to be in their energy state. This can only be accomplished when a Pokemon is inside a Pokeball. If a Pokemon is caught, all someone has to do is press the return button, and they're stuck inside the Pokeball against their will. But, if the Pokemon is wild, like ours are now, they can put up a fight when tries to catch them."

Ash gave a small golf clap. "Thanks."

"Now that's over with, we need a plan." Misty, arms akimbo, hovered over Ash.

Brock rummaged through his backpack. "We need supplies, but we can't buy them since our accounts are probably frozen."

"Are you saying we need to steal things?" James cocked his head.

"…Yes." Brock raised an eyebrow.

In unison, Jessie and James cried, "On it!"

"I'll join you guys to make sure you don't get carried away. And you need to change your clothes. Wear something…less attention-grabbing." Brock turned to Ash, Misty, and all the Pokemon. "But there's still the larger issue at hand."

Ash leaned on the table. "Me and Pikachu will free the Pokemon from the research facility—"

"—It's a Silph. Co Branch," James added.

"Okay. We'll go there and break them out without attracting attention."

"I'm coming too." Meowth stood up and looked Pikachu in the eyes. "Some of dem are in dere cause of me, and I gotta help get dem out. Plus, you're gonna need a lockpick." He extended one shining claw.

"We'll do it together, then." Pikachu nodded.

"What about us? What can we do?" Wartortle gestured to himself, Charizard, Venusaur, and the small mob around them.

Misty, lost in thought and not even hearing Wartortle's question, looked to the Pokemon. "We also need to get as many trainers as possible to release their Pokemon."

Venusaur gave an approximation of a "thumbs-up" with a vine. "And that's what we'll do."