Sorry this one is late in coming. I've been busy making a Youtube series and completely forgot to update this.
Mr. Fuji himself came with the extraction team which consisted of a cargo and medical helicopter. After he was physically and emotionally stable enough to leave, Akuma entered the medical helicopter with the injured girl and Susie while Kurishimi and Fuji heard the details about what had happened. The two were brought to the medical room for emergency treatment right away while Kurishimi began to seriously consider having a medic travel with the group to cut down on hospital visits every time they came back in town from somewhere.
The girl, whose name was Brianna, was suffering from malnutrition and dehydration after her encounter with Team Rocket. Akuma on the other hand was not so lucky. The doctors found that he had not only broken bones, burns, and scars, but most of his wounds hadn't properly sealed leaving horrific gashes in the skin which had been worsened when he tried to force his body to move on his own in search of Ariados. A large number of muscles had been torn as well, making it a miracle that he was able to move on his own in the first place, much less pull himself up a ladder without help. Akuma was constantly in and out of surgery over the next few days while the doctors continued to find things they had missed, new wounds from the body giving out in certain areas, or previous treatments that hadn't held up or needed multiple fixes before they could fully mend.
When she was healthy enough to tell a story, the group heard from Brianna what had taken place at the power plant. She had been kidnapped by Team Rocket and held captive for a short time until an ambush was successfully prepared for Akuma. Using a contact card Akuma had given her earlier they had Brianna make the call with a specific request for Akuma and no one else. They fed her infrequently during the time forcing her to become weaker until they had prepared so she couldn't help when the ambush was sprung. After she had been rescued a small army lying in wait kept him from leaving the building while one extremely powerful trainer battled with Akuma. Even though she was convinced he couldn't lose, the single trainer overpowered him with Pokémon so dangerous that nearly all of the Team Rocket members left the building in fear before the battle had ended. Despite the extreme training he was known to practice, Akuma's Pokémon were torn apart with little to no effort from his opponent while he was severely beaten during the exchange as well. Based on how they interacted from before to after the battle, Brianna believed the two might have known each other from before, and based on what she could pick out it sounded like Akuma's opponent was the leader of the criminals, come to fight their greatest enemy one on one. After the battle the enemy was courteous to return five of Akuma's Pokémon to their poké balls though they could not find the sixth. Akuma's vest and straps were stored in the generator as a 'reward in case he managed to escape' while ensuring no scavenger could steal them as random loot. The two were then were then placed in the storage room with a final warning that Akuma should never bother them again if he lived long enough to get another chance before the two were left for dead.
"This is a dangerous turn of events," Mr. Fuji said after learning the whole story. "Akuma has always pursued and apprehended all members of Team Rocket whenever he encounters them, but nobody could have expected the trump card to be played this early. I was sure that Akuma could have finished the feud the two of them have had very soon, but obviously he was not the only one in training."
"I know it may not be the right question to ask seeing how nothing we do can change the answer, but how strong would someone have to be for Akuma to lose so completely?" Kurishimi asked. "Granted this is a powerful enemy and being his personal final challenge of sorts anyone would think he's a strong opponent, but isn't Akuma the best hunter here? We've all seen his skills and we've all probably been on the receiving end of them in some way as well, but he still lost spectacularly and that will be a permanent memory for him too. I know he isn't going to stay on his back like he was told to do, but how much stronger can he get? How can he begin to compete with someone infinitely more powerful than him?"
"Akuma isn't a quitter," Mr. Fuji assured her, "especially not regarding this particular enemy. He'll lose over and over if he knows there will be one important victory to end it all in the future. Still, after Metagross evolved he may not have been training his less experienced Pokémon as well as he could have since he has to look after the two of you along the way. Even then there is only so far he can come on his own too. After he has fully recovered, and after the… funeral and second recovery regarding Ariados, we'll see how he is mentally. I want him to take time to relax for a while and get away from everything. Akuma is stretched far too thin to be as effective as he could be. His sense of duty and personal convictions are hurting him if he won't take time to relax. Shortly after we honor Ariados, I want the two of you to leave Lavender Town on your own in secret."
"What?!" Chad and Kurishimi yelled in surprise.
"I haven't finished my training yet," Kurishimi said frantically. "I've been with Akuma for a long time now!"
"And he just barely agreed to train me too," Chad cut in. "I've barely had a month's time to learn anything."
Mr. Fuji whacked his cane loudly on the floor. "Calm down, the both of you!" he said in a voice of authority. "The two of you are being childish!" Chad barely held his tongue in saying that he still was a child technically, but Fuji didn't give him the chance to do so. "When the two of you became Pokémon trainers you were alone. A vast number of people train their Pokémon in solitude, opting to travel and train without the influence of others. Akuma did the same thing his whole life until the two of you showed up. When he came by the two of you began to follow him because you were unsatisfied with your skills. He trained and tempered you into a strong pair of individuals, but it was your own hard work that got you there.
"Kurishimi, I know what you were like before you started out and I know how long you stayed that way too. You had the attitude of a coward who only played with her Pokémon as pets and yet you wanted to travel the world and earn gym badges by defeating powerful gym leaders in battle. When were you going to start following this dream of yours? You were too frightened to even leave your city until you had someone with you! You would likely still be there today if Akuma hadn't come by to take you away. Even now you can't go anywhere unless someone holds your hand and brings you with them. You're better than that now. You've got plenty of talent, but it needed to be pulled out of you because you couldn't manage it on your own. Akuma put you through an intense training test meant for some of the most skilled hunters to face and you conquered the simulation flawlessly. You have the talent, you have the ability, and you have the Pokémon that you lacked years ago, so why are you still using someone as a crutch? The best thing you can do for yourself is to walk out of this sad town on your own and never look behind you. You might have learned from the best, but you can't improve anymore until you start making an effort to do so!
"Chad, you know that I know about your first battle and how badly you lost. I doubt anyone could have failed at that battle as horribly as you did. Despite your embarrassment you learned enough in less than a month to calm and capture a Gyarados that was not only wild, but beginning a rampage that would have destroyed a major city. Not only that, but you have such a strong natural bond with your Pokémon that four of them, four of them, evolved at once due to a sense of unity, friendship, and trust that was shared between your group. Young man, this occurrence is so rare in the world that I've never heard of it happening before. I have heard of an evolving group of three and seen a pair do so at once, but having something like this happen is practically unheard of. Boy, you've got something between you and your Pokémon that Akuma never managed to achieve. I've tried for years to teach him the one trait he lacks and he isn't learning a thing. You have the potential. You have the skills. You have the choice to make the same decisions he did and either fail or succeed. You can make other choices too. Are you going to train Pokémon all your life? Are you going to give up eventually and find something else to do with yourself? You wouldn't be the first, I can tell you that right now.
"The truth is, neither of you should be in this cozy group right now, but Akuma will never tell this to you. You know why that is? He needs your company! When Akuma was growing up in the streets as an orphan he was almost entirely alone, when he left this town by himself he was alone, when he came back he was alone, when we offered to train him for years he wasn't part of the hunters so he was still alone, when he left to travel and train in new regions he stayed alone, when we sent him to awaken and battle Rayquaza we didn't give him any support leaving him alone once again, when he came back here feeling on top of the world his closest friend and source of strength had become the enemy leaving him alone once more, when he joined the hunters he chose to be alone because that was the only thing he knew, and now that he's traveling with you two he isn't alone anymore. He has friends! That half dead man in surgery has been alone for his entire lifetime. He has been nothing but a crippled shell ever since his best support left him and now with the two of you in his life he is not alone any more. Akuma has changed for the better. He's opened himself up to you two more than anyone has ever been allowed. I'm proud of him for this and even happier, but now he needs vacation time for himself. He needs to be alone for a while and relax. His mind is too stressed right now and with the sudden death of his Pokémon and forced encounter at the power plant he won't be able to function properly. I will be sending him on vacation for a while until he is ready to come back. In the meantime the best thing you can do for him is to take yourself to the next level of training and start traveling on your own for a while as he did. When he is ready to meet with the two of you again you will be stronger from the solitude and that will make him proud. Do you understand this?"
Kurishimi and Chad sat dumbstruck on the couch in Brianna's room. Mr. Fuji's words cut severely into them and they knew he was right. Having traveling companions made the journey much more enjoyable, but they relied on each other too much. The three of them could help each other not to slack off in their training, but they traded progress for accountability in doing so. Akuma was holding back his power and progress when he engaged in training sessions with the two of them and in turn they were unable to come up with their own style of battling, having come to mirror Akuma's approach instead. By that logic it made sense for them to go their separate ways, but….
After a very long silence Kurishimi stood up. She had sat in silence long enough to ponder Mr. Fuji's words and had apparently reached a conclusion. Chad looked up at her, afraid that she would agree with what the old man was saying and begin preparing to leave.
"Mr. Fuji, your words are not without merit," she said in an almost mechanical voice. "It is true that we may be preventing Akuma from reaching his full potential. It is true that by traveling in numbers we are trading personal progress for safety. It is also true that I need to break away from him in order to become stronger and better myself. For these reasons it would be best for us to disband our group and go our separate ways."
Chad was hurt and afraid. He could barely keep his body from shaking while Mr. Fuji displayed a victorious, and possibly wicked, grin. However, Kurishimi was not done and now her voice grew apprehensive as she pointed a finger at the old man.
"However, you are wrong in saying that the best thing we can do for Akuma is to leave him in an act of kindness because you obviously have no clue just who we are. Akuma is our friend, as we are his. Did you even look at him when you arrived at the power plant? Did you really take a good look at what was obvious to everybody else? Akuma should not be conscious, much less be able to move around in the way he did. He pushed himself beyond his physical limitations to find and rescue his Pokémon and when he did there wasn't a friend waiting for him anymore. Did you pay attention to what I just said now? He didn't lose a soldier for his personal war, he lost a friend! All his Pokémon are his friends. Have you seen any emotion from him lately beyond anger? I doubt that you have. Want to know what I've seen? I have seen that man smile. I've seen him laugh. I've watched him fight to protect us both in desperation. He's been hurt when he missed his chance to protect us and I don't mean disturbed, I mean complete guilt and regret when he's missed the chance. And you know what else I've seen? I have seen him cry. What about you? Did you just see a half dead creature when you picked us up or did you notice that he had been sobbing and pouring out his emotions for a Pokémon that he considered to be a true friend?
"That wasn't the only time it's happened either, I've seen more human from him than I've ever witnessed from anybody here that I didn't feel was genuine. I heard you laugh a few times, but they were all empty sounds without any feeling behind them. I know you respect Akuma enough to not share some details about him, but I think that type of respect is really fear talking or perhaps it's just because you know it's the right thing to say. Just like you said, you've known him his whole life, right? Well then why don't you tell me why he's been alone his entire life?! You don't treat him as one of your adopted children of the town like you claimed to, you treat him like the head of a company would treat their future inheritor, or a prospective business partner, or even a weapon and that's all he is to you. All you care about is his performance. The best thing for him may be a vacation, but that is not what he needs right now. Right now he needs us, his friends, and not mercenaries who only care about results, to stand next to him. When he wakes up again he will be traumatized and grieving. That is not something a day at a resort will fix. I've known him for years while you never knew him at all! I know that what he needs are friends to be there next to him. He'll never admit it or show it, but at least I can tell he appreciates it without needing that kind of confirmation!
"Maybe we can all become stronger if we go our separate ways, but you had better believe me when I tell you that I will fight every corrupt person in this building that gets between me and him before I let you tear us apart. I don't care if I have to fight with my Pokémon or my bare hands, you will not break up the best thing that has ever happened to him. Do you understand me, Mr. Fuji?!"
The old man was at first irritated by the young girl's spirit, but when it became apparent that her passion was sincere and did not come merely from her ego he suddenly began to feel very small. Unlike what he had said, she did not take the time to plan her words before she spoke them. Kurishimi Akashi was firm in her newly spoken affirmation of friendship. There was nothing Mr. Fuji could say, nothing anyone could say, to counter the words that had come from her mouth. He risked a glance in Chad's direction as well, but even then all he found was a fiery glare from the otherwise innocent ten year old boy. Hoping to find some support in the girl his team had rescued he looked toward Brianna… and immediately wished he hadn't. Despite being weak and sickly and hardly knowing anyone in the room, or even being closely acquainted with Akuma for that matter, the young girl was practically dripping with hatred. Suddenly Mr. Fuji felt very alone. Slowly at first, then quickly he escaped the room and closed the door. When the door clicked shut he started breathing again, not knowing when he had stopped. He turned to walk down the hall when he realized Jason was waiting by the door and seemed to have heard the entire exchange.
"Do you have anything to add?" Mr. Fuji baited him, unable to tell what the other was thinking.
"I don't think I could top that," Jason replied coolly. "I'd say you got what you deserved."
Still reeling from Kurishimi's assault, Mr. Fuji was too tired to reply. In a huff he quickly walked away.