Hands in his pockets, Gary returned to his desk. He fumbled while putting on the jacket that had been hanging over his chair. He opened his locked drawer to collect all the letters from Ash he had saved over the years, and then he picked up the pile of letters he had written to Ash but never sent. He traced the edge of his desk with his fingers, tapping his feet with anticipation. Something was missing—the briefcase. His hands, sweating, stuffed the letters into a bag, crumpling them, and his legs raced down the hallway.

Gary's grandfather, as expected, manned the infinity energy machine—the extractor—turning the dials, keying in codes at regular intervals. The room was loud from many small noises: air being pumped into the room through vents, the high-pitched whine emitted from the machine, and the clacks of Professor Oak's fingers on a touch-screen. Gary reached over Professor Oak's arm to punch in the force shut-down button, a small, red knob protruding from the control panel. There was a beep, and the machine's whine faded.

"What the hell?" Professor Oak glowered at his grandson. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Gramps." Gary grabbed the Pokeball and hissed through his teeth as it burnt his hand. "I can't help you." The lights flickered, and, for a second, the room became quiet without the hum of electricity.

Professor Oak pointed to Giovanni's assistant, who had retreated meekly into a corner. "You! Get out of here! You saw nothing!"

"But what will I tell—"

"You'll tell him nothing! You saw nothing!"

The assistant backed out of the room.

Gary put the Pokeball into his bag with the letters. "I'm going."

Oak crossed his arms. "You know very well what you're getting yourself into."

"I know."

"And you know this is how we're going to solve the energy crisis. How important this is. Your name, your career—"

"I don't—"

"Just go." The professor turned to face the wall. "Now. Before anyone else sees you. I don't want Giovanni to put a hit on my own grandson."

"Gramps—"

"Leave."

His mouth opened to say something, anything, but Gary held back. He walked out of Team Rocket headquarters in long, smooth strides that belied the trembling that had overtaken his stomach.

Holding his breath, he passed his coworkers and the occasional Team Rocket grunt. He kept the Pokeball hidden inside his jacket, swiping his ID card at the requisite checkpoints and attracting little attention. He kept walking on Route 23, his posture too-perfect, too-straight until the large tower was no longer visible.

Slowing his pace and slumping his back in relaxation, Gary noticed how cold it had gotten—the air felt good against his still-stinging hand. Fall had set in, and every time he crunched on a leaf, he jumped at the noise. He sat on a rock and held the Pokeball out in front of him, weighing it. It felt as though it had the same weight as before the extraction process. Maybe he did make it in time. Probably not. He should still let Ash know.

Gary let out a deep breath and watched it condense into fog. He minimized the Pokeball and placed it in a pocket. How would he even find Ash? There were rumors, sure, of some impenetrable fortress near Lavender Town, but if he showed up, a persona non grata, he'd get blasted into the sky by Pikachu and friends. And the rumors could be wrong anyway, and even if Gary did show up to the right place without being attacked, there was the very likely chance that he'd be delivering nothing but an empty Pokeball. Ash would be heartbroken by that. And if Ash were heartbroken—

Something rustled behind him. Gary jumped up, both feet on the ground, hands balled up into fists. A Mankey, whose eyes extended in fear at the sight of the human, ran back into the brush with her arms dragging on the ground.

"Wait!" The Pokemon didn't stop. "I need to find Pikachu. I'm a friend." At this, the Mankey turned around. "You know the Pikachu who's leading the fight? I need to find her."

The Mankey shrugged and grunted.

"If you—If you could find a way to tell her—tell her Gary Oak found an important Pokeball and wants to give it to her. I'll meet anywhere she wants to. This isn't a trick. I promise. She can bring as much backup as she likes to be safe. Will you get this information to her?"

The Mankey nodded.

/

Pikachu was going over a map of Kanto when Steelix's tail hit against a wall of the cave, shaking everything and breaking her concentration.

"Any updates?"

Steelix cleared her throat. "Okay. So. A Mankey told a Pidgey told a Weedle, who told—"

"What is it?"

"—I—I think they found Meowth."