The new base for the newly christened Junior Team Rocket division is still coming along rather nicely. The walls are finally up, so now the workers are busy in building the living quarters and the laboratories. So far there have been no more distractions from the Johto Region authorities and also Gary hasn't shown his face in a while either. Ash thinks for a moment in his living space as he demanded that it needs to be the first one finished. It even has power already via a generator that is charged by his Raichu every few hours. He is on a computer talking to some of his field agents now. It's Jimmy who Ash says to him, "So Jimmy how are those new recruits coming along? We're now only a mere ten people and we need to continue in building up the ranks." Jimmy tells Ash that he is still hard at work in trying to get more young trainers to join the organization. However he has also been hard at work in capturing more Pokémon for Team Rocket.
He congratulates Jimmy for a job well done and so he ends the transmission with his agent in the field. Ash then sits at his desk and talks to himself, "Who knew being the head of the new Junior Team Rocket division would be so boring? I've been stuck in this base for months. I'm a field agent, not an executive. I need to get back out there or I'm going to go crazy." Ash gets a transmission from his partner Ritchie which tells him of a mission that he is currently on. It seems that Team Rocket is undergoing a Pokémon evolution project and it looks like the local authorities are causing some trouble. He even talks about how there are reports of an alleged spy inside Team Rocket who is relaying information to the outside. Ritchie would like Ash to come and help in finding the dirty rat and then so they can finish their project.
Ash likes the sound of that and has to ask exactly where the project is being held and Ritchie tells him it's at Lake Rage. Ash will be there right away and he tells Ritchie that he'll put Jimmy in charge while Ash is gone. The transmission ends and Ash is indeed excited to see what this special Pokémon evolution project could be. He contacts Jimmy to tell him to takeover here at the base for a while, while he is gone. Jimmy humbly obliges and will be at the Johto base in a few short moments. So then Ash gets inside the Team Rocket jet and sets off to Lake Rage to see Ritchie and learn about this brand new Team Rocket project.
As Ritchie did mention, there is indeed a spy in the Team Rocket organization and his name is Lance. He is a member of the Kanto Region Elite Four and has been undercover in Team Rocket for only a few short weeks. He's been relaying all sorts of information to Officer Jenny and her police force. There have been a few arrests so far, but the operation is going too slow and Lance fears that Team Rocket might succeed in their plan. Which as of now he has not been able to deduce as the project plans are pretty hush, hush. It's big though and with Team Rocket behind it, then it is surely bad for Pokémon.
At the research facility, Ash has finally arrived and is greeted by the Team Rocket agent in charge of the facility. His name is Tyson and with him is Ritchie along with some Team Rocket grunts and the chief scientist in charge of the program. His name is Professor Sebastion and the group at the base feel honored to meet Ash. Even at such a young age, Ash has been described as one of Team Rocket's most rutheless and resourcefull agents. He then states, "You're going to make me blush, now what's the story here? Ritchie told me about your project, but couldn't give me the full details. Why is it so secret?" Professor Sebastion tells Ash that he has been working on something he calls his Evolution Inducement Wave. It's a new form of science that forces Pokémon to evolve artificially. It's still in the development stages, but there has been some progress that Sebastion is willing to show Ash.
Hiding in the bushes are those washouts Jessie, James, and Meowth, who see that Ash is here at the facility. They heard what Sebastion said about an evolution wave and what it's suppose to do. They figure that if they can use it on their Pokémon then they'd be strong enough to beat Ash and gain back favor with Giovanni. So then the three of them sneak into the facility in hopes of learning more about the project and finally getting rid of Ash.
In the facility now is Ash who is now being briefed on the project which is simply called Project R. Sebastion says how he invented a genius new way of making Pokémon evolve and soon shows Ash the fruits of his labor. At the bottom of the lake is a red Gyarados that so far is the only Pokémon that has evolved because of the wave. Although the evolution wave mutated the Magikarp that it evolved from and the Gyarados kept the Magikarp's red coloration. Sebastion wants it captured so they can fully study it and learn the secrets to making his invention a complete success. Ash has to comment on the brilliance of Sebastion's invention and can only imagine what Team Rocket could do with an all powerful fully evolved Pokémon army. Professor Sebastion is flattered by Ash's kind words, but as he said the experiment is still in the testing phase. If they can capture the red Gyarados then they can study it, which then will give them the data they need to make the evolution wave a complete success.
Jessie, James, and Meowth have now snuck into the base and walk through a hallway and they can see lots of statues of the Pokémon Persian. It's a large cat like Pokémon and it happens to be the evolved form of Meowth. As they walk around, Meowth tells his friends that he has a sneaking suspicion that they are being watched. James gets a look at one of the statues and its eyes begin to glow read. Soon then cage like doors trap them in the hallways and the three of them are trapped.
Sebastion and the others are told that there are intruders in the building and that their security system caught them. So then Tyson, Ash, and Ritchie go to see who it is and to Ash and Ritchie's surprise it's Jessie, James, and Meowth. Tyson asks about them and Ash tells them, "They're Jessie, James, and their talking Meowth. They're Team Rocket washouts who were kickied out for being incompatent. Just what are you three doing here then?" That insults them when Ash called them washouts, but they are here about that evolution experiment. The trio were sneaking around and heard about the experiment so they snuck into try and swipe it. Tyson intends to punish them, but Ash has a better idea. He tells Tyson and Ritchie that they can use Jessie, James, and Meowth to get the red Gyarados for them. They don't understand Ash's logic so Ash states, "Instead of risking our own men, we can just use these three fools. They can lure the red Gyarados to the surface and in the skirmish then maybe the Gyarados will get rid of them for us. The Gyarados will be ours and those three will be out of our hair. What do you say?"
That plan is a stroke of genius, so the three turn to Jessie, James, and Meowth to thell them something. Ash states, "Listen you guys maybe Giovanni was a bit harsh when he threw you out of Team Rocket. To show you that I'm not that bad of a guy, we'd like to assign you a special mission. This mission will put you back in the boss's favor and he'll be really appreciative." The rejected trio like the sound of that and realize that maybe Ash isn't such a twerp after all and want to know what the mission is. First Ash says how they must be hungry and will let the rejected trio eat first and then they'll talk. They begin eating their gourmet meals, but soon their mission is to begin. Tyson tells them that their mission is to go into Lake Rage and then lure up a red Gyarados. The three gasp at hearing that, but Jessie proudly decrees that if they are to get back in Giovanni's favor then they'll do it.
At the lake now, Jessie, James, and Meowth are wearing diving gear and prepare to leap into the lake. The trio make way into the lake where they hope to lure it out of the lake for Ash and his team. Jessie and Meowth fake a story to tell James so they don't have to get any closer, but he soon calls them cowards. As they talk even more the red Gyarados finally appears and chases them out of the lake. The red Gyarados reveals itself and Ash gives the command to capture it in their net. The net is launched and captures the Gyarados, but also emits an electrical shock so strong that it knocks out the Gyarados, but also humorously electrocutes Jessie, James, and Meowth. The red Gyarados is their's now and then they bring it back to base so it can be studied. Jessie, James, and Meowth continue now with their meals to celebrate a job well done.
Tyson then has to talk about the three Team Rocket rejects to Ash and he says, "Forget about them Tyson. We have what we want now and until those three outlive their usefullness, we can keep their stomachs full so they'll stay out of our hair. We know our mission for the red Gyarados and it has just begun."
TO BE CONTINUED...