The crowd and their Pokémon were already close enough to attack Ash, his friends and Team Rocket, all forming the same group at that moment.
"Now, Pikachu, Thunderbolt attack!" Ash yelled.
Electric sparks were already shooting out of Pikachu's red cheeks.
"Chuu!" He yelled as he released the electricity built up in him.
Most of the crowd and their Pokémon were immobilized by the attack, although some managed to dodge in time, preparing to attack the group of heroes.
"Wobbuffet, get out of your Poké Ball and counterattack!" Said Jessie, as she threw the Poké Ball that contained the blue Pokémon.
"Woobbuffet!" Said the Pokémon, immediately executing the defensive move.
Several Pokémon from the crowd that hadn't been hit by the thunder shock attacked Wobbuffet who, using his counterattack, repelled the moves, sending them back to the crowd and their Pokémon, throwing them towards the crowd that was being shocked.
"Now, Victreebel, use sleep powder on them!" James said, pointing to the crowd.
After a grunt, the plant Pokémon headed towards the crowd and applied the sleep powder move that, upon hitting the crowd, soon put all of them to sleep, along with their Pokémon.
At that moment, Pikachu's thunder shock had already ceased.
"Good job to all of you!" Praised Ash, addressing the Pokémon.
"Pikaa!" Said Pikachu.
"Woobbuffet!" Wobbuffet said, striking a salute pose.
Victreebel let out a snarl. Afterwards, the Pokémon again tried to jump towards James, who immediately dodged.
"Easy, Victreebel!" James said. "We'll have time to do that later. Promise!"
"I would like to understand why you came back to us-" Brock was saying, addressing the members of Team Rocket, when Misty shouted:
"Now is not the time for this, Brock! We need to stop Lenny from carrying out his evil plan!"
At that moment, the group turned towards Lenny, who shouted to them:
"I'm afraid it's already too late, little girl!"
Lenny had already managed to capture Celebi with Binastry's strange attack. The attack was enveloping the green Pokemon in a black aura.
"Stop it all, Lenny!" Ash yelled nervously.
"Or what?!" snapped Lenny. "Don't tell me you really think you can beat me!"
"Not only did we find it, we will too!" Misty snapped nervously.
"And we will help too!" James said.
"Pika-pikaa!" roared Pikachu, sparks of electricity being generated from its cheeks.
"OK then; I want to see you try!" Retorted Lenny as he held up his Pokémon control gear, pointing it at Binastry. "Now, Binastry, have the Celebi attack them!" Lenny pointed towards Ash's group.
Immediately, the black aura on the black and white Pokémon intensified. Moments later, Celebi, controlled by Binastry, sprouted giant vines from the ground, surrounding the group.
"What are we going to do?" questioned James, in a desperate tone.
"Come on, Meowth, cut these wretched vines with your claws!" Commanded Jessie.
At that moment, the group realized that the cat Pokémon was not among them.
Suddenly, the giant vines charged towards the group, entangling each one in seconds.
"That coward cat must have run away the first chance it got." Lenny said. "You should have done the same while you could!"
Tangled in the vines, all but James struggled in an attempt to escape.
"Grrrrr!" Said Ash in onomatopoeia.
"Let us go!" Misty yelled in a nervous tone.
"Meowth would never abandon us in times of crisis!" James retorted about what Lenny had said.
"So why else would that slacker sneak out during trouble?" retorted Jessie.
"The discussion between you is interesting, but I must interrupt to talk about what interests me." Lenny said, drawing the group's attention to himself. The man was still holding his Pokemon control gear. "Now that I have two rare Pokémon in my possession, my plan to…" As he spoke, the group noticed a small figure approaching Lenny from behind. "…dominate the world will be much easier. I just need to use them to control other people, starting with-"
At that moment, the figure, which was already practically on Lenny's side, jumped towards the equipment that the man was holding.
Although Lenny noticed this action, he didn't react quickly enough; his Pokémon control equipment slipped out of his hand, falling to the ground. Upon reaching the ground, the equipment bent, imploding after a few seconds.
Furthermore, the mysterious box he was carrying with him fell to the ground as a result of the impact.
"Stay away from my friends!" Said the figure, which was soon recognized as Meowth.
"No! You insolent!" shouted Lenny, turning to flee towards go to the forest.
The black aura surrounding Binastry soon ceased. The black and white Pokémon soon fell to the ground. Furthermore, the artifact that floated because of his psychic attack also fell to the ground next to the box.
Moments later, Celebi returned to normal, freeing Ash, his friends, and Team Rocket from the giant vines.
Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu were soon on each other's side.
While the group was talking to each other, Meowth soon ran towards Jessie and James, who also ran towards him.
"You saved us, Meowth! Thank you very much!" James said the moment they were all gathered together in a light embrace.
"I thank you for that too, Meowth." Said Jessie. "However, you could have told us of your plan so we wouldn't think you abandoned us."
"What matters is that the plan worked and you were saved." Said Meowth.
"Woobbuffet!" Wobbuffet said, striking a salute pose.
At that moment, Victreebel headed towards James' head, and this time, he didn't deviate.
"You are a great friend, Victreebel!" James said, rocking his body from side to side quickly.
Jessie and Meowth stared at the scene, not knowing whether to be happy or worried.
At that moment, the crowd began to wake up from its sleep.
"What happened?" someone shouted.
Soon, the crowd started shaking their heads from side to side in confusion.
"Lenny controlled all of you, using you to further his plan for world domination." Brock replied.
The crowd continued to shake their heads from side to side.
"Where did he go?" Several people screamed. "We want our revenge!"
At that instant, Binastry began to float again, taking with his psychic attack the artifact and the mysterious box that were lying on the ground.
The crowd soon began to flee towards the forest.
"That man will pay for everything he has done!" Binatry shouted seconds later, the tone of hatred in his voice very intense.
While looking around looking for Lenny, the black and white Pokémon first saw Ash's group, then saw TRio. Lastly, he also noticed a nearby forest, the same one he was in before heading to the nearest town.
"That bastard must have fled through the woods." Binastry said. "That will be the last thing he does to date! But first, I will deal with you!"
His white eyes soon turned blue.
An earthquake was soon felt in the region.
"What's going on…-" Meowth was saying.
Seconds later, the ground where the youngsters and TRio were standing began to move.
"Careful, everyone!" Ash yelled.
Everyone was trying to balance on the moving ground.
As the earthquake proceeded, a rift was rapidly forming over the position of the youths.
Before they noticed the crack, Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu slipped into it.
"Aaahhhhh!" The youths screamed, falling for less than half a second until they caught hold of the moving ground.
"Arrgh! And now?" Ash said, worried.
As they tried to hold on so as not to fall into the bottom of the hole that seemed to be approximately 25 meters high, the earthquake suddenly stopped, which caused the four to stop holding on to the ground.
Before they started to fall, three figures grabbed their hands.
"We won't let you fall into that crevasse!" Jessie stated.
At that moment, Jessie was holding Misty's hand, Meowth was holding Pikachu's paw, and James was holding Ash and Brock's hands.
"Victreebel, I need your help now!" James yelled, almost slipping and falling into the crevice.
Victreebel soon grabbed James with its vine whips, pulling him back with some effort.
At that moment, both Jessie and Meowth managed, also with some effort, to lift Misty and Pikachu.
When TRio let go of the young people's hands, everyone started to pant.
"Thank you for saving us." Ash said.
"Well, it was nothing..." James stated at the same time that Victreebel returned to its PokéBall.
Everyone soon recovered from their previous experience, stopping their panting.
"But why did you come to save us even after everything that happened today?" Misty asked Trio with an accusing look.
Jessie, James and Meowth's expressions soon went from relieved to dismayed.
"It's none of your business!" Answered Jessie at the moment when the three prepared to run towards the forest.
"Wait! Don't go away again!" Ash shouted, starting to run after them. "We need your help to stop Binastry from destroying the world!"
But the three kept running.
"We will not help you do this!" they shouted in unison.
However, at that moment, the three of them slipped and fell to the ground. They soon released some tears.
"I know you don't want to save the world, but-" Ash was saying. However, his talk was soon cut off.
"Go away!" Jessie yelled, turning to face the young boy.
"Jess…" said James, holding her hand in an attempt to calm her down.
Although she was visibly feeling compelled to retort, Jessie soon calmed down partially.
At that moment, Ash's friends were on his side.
"That Pokémon is determined to use its powers to attack anyone who crosses its path." Ash stated. "You cannot overlook the danger this threat poses to everyone!"
"Why not?" Questioned Meowth.
"Because even in your motto, you say you protect the world from devastation!" Misty stated.
Hearing her speak, Jessie, James and Meowth hesitantly turned to run away. However, they saw Ash and Pikachu barring their way.
"I know you can do this!" Ash said. "Please give it a chance…"
Jessie soon closed her eyes, moaning.
"They're right; we must do this." Whispered James to his companions.
"Are you sure, Jim?" Whispered Meowth.
"Yea." James replied, again in a whisper. "Besides, doing something honest once won't hurt anyone."
"Well, if you are going to do it, I'll also do it with you!" Jessie declared, still in a whisper.
"Don't leave me out of this one!" whispered Meowth.
"Count on us!" James declared, extending his hand to Ash.
"That's how you say it!" Ash exclaimed, grabbing James' hand.
Everyone, including Pikachu and Meowth, soon headed towards Ash and James. Within seconds, everyone was holding out their hands, forming a column of hands.
"One for all and all for one!" Everyone said, with the exception of Pikachu, who said "Pika-Pikachu!"
"Woo-buffet!" Said Wobbuffet, joining everyone on the hand holding moment.