"Sir! There was a surprise attack!" Wobbuffet interrupted Pikachu, who was debriefing Brock and Steelix on each city's status.

"Where?" Her ears flared, and her cheeks sparked.

Wobbuffet held his arms at his sides, his back stiff as if a string was pulling him upwards. "Here. Right outside. They found our day operations team."

Ash was out there. "Let's go. Steelix, Brock. Get Misty and Venusaur. Crobat—anybody. Get the Ditto, too."

Brock held out a hand as Pikachu ran out. "Wait—I missed some of that…"

"We're under attack. Get anyone who can fight outside," Steelix unfurled, preparing to exit the cramped communications nook.

"Got it. Go ahead, they need you more than me right now. I'll get the others." Brock craned his neck to meet Steelix in the eye, then hugged her jagged side. "Be careful, okay?"

Steelix slithered out behind Wobbuffet and roared back into the cave.

Venusaur knew what that roar meant. He herded the Ditto with his vines, then yelled so that the cave quaked: "Crobat! New guys! Yeah, you too, Machoke. We're under attack – let's go!"

"Misty, we need you!"

"On it!" She bolted towards the entrance.

Jessie poked her head out from under a precipice. "What about us?"

Misty slowed her pace, twisting her neck to call back. "You guys need to stay here with Psyduck and guard Rock Tunnel."

Jessie was left behind in the dust. She brushed some off of her clothes. "I guess we're stuck here, James."

Her partner in crime picked at the bandage on his arm. "Seems that way, doesn't it."

They walked towards Psyduck and sat on the ground next to him. Jessie picked up a pebble and rolled it in her hand. The battle was not visible from their position, but the sounds of hyper beams and thunder reached the cave.

James rested his chin on his hand. "Looks like we're a couple of lame ducks." Psyduck quacked in agreement.

/

Meowth tried to get some sleep. He leaned against the fake potted plant that decorated the locked and windowless office. Swishing his tail against the metal of the container, Meowth tried to focus on anything to distract his mind from his current situation. He counted the ceiling tiles. Twice. He broke down the possibility unscrewing the air vents and climbing through those and decided it wasn't worth the risk. Now, he was counting imaginary Mareep jumping over a fence to see if the old trick really did help people fall asleep.

He heard the click of the lock opening and stood up, claws extended. The door opened.

"Put your claws away, or you go back in the Pokeball."

"Oh, it's dis guy." Meowth looked Professor Oak up and down. "What do you want?"

Professor Oak set down a bowl with water and a small amount of Pokefeed. "Believe it or not, to keep you alive."

"Why would I tell youse anything if I'm useless after I talk?"

"You raise a good point, and I expected it. You're very intelligent for a Pokemon."

Meowth rolled his eyes. "I'm smarter dan your average Teddiursa, sure, but I'm not dat smart."

"Meowth, listen to reason. If you tell Giovanni everything you know now, nothing will happen to you. You'll be able to rejoin Team Rocket, no questions asked."

"Heh. I'd want dat in writing." Meowth sat back down and crossed his arms behind his head. "But even if dat's real, I'm not gonna budge. I don't wanna be responsible for…all dis." He gestured with his paws towards the hallway.

Oak crouched down. "Look. Infinity energy is not as bad as it seems, Meowth."

"How can you even say dat?"

"Without it, our whole society would collapse."

"Human society. Human society would collapse."

"…Yes. Our last nuclear facility was too old and hard to maintain. It had to be shut down before something terrible happened. We had been using infinity energy to supplement it, but as a renewable resource—"

"'Renewable resource'! Really?"

"—Pokemon are renewable. And the process is painless—"

"How do you know!?"

"—It saves lives. Think about the intensive care units of hospitals. The lives of Pokemon, too. PokeCenters and their healing machines."

"Den it doesn't make any sense! Why would you kill some to save od'ers? A Pokemon wit a trainer isn't more better dan one witout one."

"That is an interesting ethical discussion and—"

"You're killin' Pokemon!"

"You're not going to understand." Oak then said to himself, "I tried. I really did." He turned his back and reached for the doorknob.

"Oak! Wait!" The professor was ignoring him. "Oak!"

The professor groaned. "What! What is it? I know you didn't change your mind."

"Dis is off da topic, but, uh, where's da bathroom? If you're supposed to keep me alive an' all, I should know."

Professor Oak nodded towards the corner furthest from the door. "Use that."

A litterbox. Persian's old litterbox. "Well, dis is insulting."

The door slammed behind Oak.

/

Pikachu hadn't stopped running until she found Ash. He was okay. He was okay—he was holding an injured Geodude, and he was shouting attacks to the new Lickitung and the rest of the day operations team. She embraced him and buried her face in his jeans.

She stepped back and took a deep breath. "Tell me what's happening."

Ash looked down at the Geodude he was holding. "Team Rocket, the Jennies, and soldiers are fighting together. There are tanks firing on us, and one of the Rocket executives has an overpowered Dragonite…" He trailed off as an explosion shook the ground.

"I'll disable the tanks…Do we have any ice-types who can take on the Dragonite?"

"No—"

"I know ice punch." Machoke, who had appeared in a small crowd with Wobbuffet, Venusaur, Steelix Crobat, and the Ditto, flexed his arms.

"Okay. Ash, direct Machoke. Steelix, go with them too—cover them."

Ash laid the Geodude down against a tree trunk. "You'll be okay, buddy. We'll be back." Ash stood still for a moment, looking at the distant line of Arcanine, Electrode, and Magneton. "Venusaur, I want you to use giga drain on any Pokemon battling us from the end of your range. Don't get in the line of the Arcanine's fire." Venusaur nodded.

Pikachu nodded at Wobbuffet. "Wobbuffet, you're with me. Use counter and mirror coat so I can get up close to the tanks." She looked at the rest of the Pokemon who had gathered to help. "Do your best."

She looked back as she advanced forward with Wobbuffet by her side. Bolts from the Electrode and Magnemite littered the ground, and the air hummed with every hyper beam fired. Bullets whizzed across the field—the humans were using bullets! The heat from the Jennies' Arcanine prickled against her skin. Wobbuffet, arms outstretched, shielded her from an explosion attack, redirecting it back towards a regiment of soldiers.

A Pidgeot lay face down. Was it hurt—was it dead? Pikachu slowed down for a moment, heart breaking, then focused on the task ahead. The tanks. She could chart the course of the electricity in their engines now. She just needed to get closer.

Wobbuffet extended a dome to rebuff flames and bullets as Pikachu leapt onto a tank.

"It's the Pikachu!" A soldier shouted. "Fire!"

The Dragonite that Ash, Machoke, and Steelix were battling turned his attention towards Pikachu. A screech ripped through the air as a white beam of light flashed towards her. Before the ray reached her vision, she saw Ash for a split second. He was on the ground. She herded the ions around her—the charges in the air—and created a crackling dome to deflect the hyper beam. An electro ball. The white beam of light shot bounced against the electro ball and landed in the sky. The tank beneath her groaned and she felt it in her feet.

/

Meowth jumped when he heard the lock click open again. Hours must have passed. Giovanni, with Persian, walked in. Meowth did not acknowledge them. Arms wrapped around his knees, he turned his head away.

"Hello, Meowth." Giovanni waited for a response, but there wasn't any. "I see you've had enough time to think this over." He sat in a chair and stroked Persian under the chin. "So what would you like to tell me?"

Meowth still looked away. Giovanni drummed his fingers against the table.

"Let's start with this: What is Pikachu's plan?" Giovanni's voice rose, still controlled. "Answer me."

"I don't know." Meowth blinked and slowly faced his old boss.

"Oh, I'm sure you do. You seem to have been quite an essential asset for them."

"You know what she wants to do. To stop you."

"I need details, Meowth."

"I. Don't. Know."

"Let's change the topic." Giovanni smiled, tight-lipped, as Persian stretched. "So why do I keep getting turned around at Rock Tunnel, Meowth? It's as if there is a force field keeping me from going inside."

"Dat's exactly what it is. A force field," Meowth lied in a flat voice.

"You don't have the technology! Tell me the truth!"

Meowth examined two paw pads and had them meet at the tips. "Maybe it's a natural phenomenon, and you don't wanna mess wit dose."

"I know you're headquartered there! Tell me how to get inside!"

"No."

"And I didn't even take your Pokeball into this room to show my good faith." Giovanni's eyes narrowed. "That faith was displaced." He rose, straightening his suit. He opened the door and tilted his head towards Meowth. "Take care of him."

As Giovanni and Persian left, a familiar-looking lab assistant entered.

"Gary freakin' Oak?"

The lab assistant—Gary—opened a briefcase, revealing Meowth's Pokeball. "Don't struggle. It'll make it worse."

"Don't do dis, Gary. Please!" Meowth pleaded as his eyes began to tear. "Don't do dis!"

Gary sighed and clicked open the Pokeball.

Before Meowth was withdrawn, four words sputtered out: "You're a real asshole."

Gary held the Pokeball and turned it over in his hand before placing it back in the briefcase. "I know."

/

Pikachu had hoped the tank shorted-out from her attack, but it kept moving forward. The cannons aimed toward her, and she could feel the heat rising from the metal. The field, green a few moments ago, was scorched. Ash was on the ground.

The tank became even hotter. A buzz grew, and Pikachu jumped down, avoiding the cannon fire. She looked up to find Wobbuffet reaching over her, hands shaking, his forcefield growing wavy.

"We're going to retreat, Wobbuffet." Pikachu dashed towards Ash and her heart melted in relief: he was fine, he was moving, he was getting up.

He huffed, "We should keep going…"

"No. We'll all get killed." She nudged him up further. "Get everyone to retreat." She ran forward, screeching as loud as she could manage. "Retreat! Fall back!"

The Lickitung from yesterday had taken a beating but was still standing—she cradled a Spearow in one arm and dragged the Beedrill from the day operations team with the other. "We're retreating?"

"Yes. Tell everyone you can."

Pikachu stopped before she reached the woods. She crouched, watching Pokemon run back, some limping, some, like Lickitung, helping others make it across the field. No one was being left behind. The tanks grew larger—they were following the retreating Pokemon, firing. The last stragglers made it to Pikachu's point. She turned around to watch them enter the woods, Wobbuffet at her back and Ash at her side.

The Pokemon wove through the woods, obscuring themselves in the brush. The image was familiar; an old memory surfaced. A summer night, so dark that the trees faded into the sky. Passing clouds obscured patches of stars, and further away, she could make out the faint glow of sparks. There were Pikachu, the Pikachu she belonged with, and they were fighting. She was young, and she could barely understand the currents passing cheek-to-cheek. The crackling lights stopped. The Pikachu disappeared into the woods, running past each other. She was not with them. She was on a tree stump. They left her. Someone green and light hovered over her, then flew upwards. There were footsteps. A human—Professor Oak. There were footsteps now, Ash's footsteps. Pikachu fell back into the present, and it felt like cold water.

Ash knelt beside Wobbuffet, pointing at the approaching tanks and regiments of Jennies. "Send out two confusion attacks. One at the level of the tank drivers, the other at the level of the Jennies' heads."

"Yes, sir!"

The two rays sprouted from Wobbuffet's head in quick succession.

"Use a flash attack, Pikachu. Blind them."

She did, and the tanks stopped. The Jennies broke formation. The three fled back to Rock Tunnel, each one praying for their base's protection.