Ecruteak City, Theatre
Lyanne sighed as she sat on the edge of the stage, exhausted. Thanks to the efforts of herself, Morty and the Kimono Sisters, they managed to calm down the Pokémon in the city, turning off all the radios and quelling any raging Pokémon that needed to be put down by force. Fortunately, Lyanne switched to her Latias form, and being immune to the radio waves thanks to the earplugs, she took them down.
"That was far too close..." Naoko sighed.
"We can't thank you enough for what you've done, Lyanne." Morty thanked the disguised Pokémon, "I wasn't sure how to deal with that mess, but you came along and helped solve it."
Lyanne pulled out her pen and pad of paper, which she had been using to communicate with them, and wrote out, "I was just doing what I could. Jackson's dealing with the bigger problem."
"Right. Jackson's at Goldenrod, right?" Miki asked.
"I pray that he is taking care of the problem." Zuki hoped.
Just then, they heard a commotion starting to stir up outside, and they looked to the entrance. "Don't tell me someone turned on the radio again?!" Naoko asked.
They rushed outside, and saw people staring at the sky to the south. They looked towards that direction, and saw why they were in shock. Two familiar Legendary Pokémon were flying their way.
"It can't be...!" Zuki gasped.
"No doubt. That's Ho-Oh and Lugia!" Morty answered, "Did they come due to the Pokémon going out of control?"
Lyanne looked closer, and was able to see an aircraft bringing up the rear of the two Pokémon. Based on the sonar devices hanging out of the aircraft, and the familiar 'R' logo, there was no doubt that this didn't look good.
"Team Rocket is behind them!" she wrote to her allies, "I have a really bad feeling about this!"
Morty and the sisters looked to this message, before looking up at the Tower Duo. Based on their expressions, they could see they were not in their right mind. In fact, it was the opposite. They called out their Pokémon to the field, Morty bringing out his Gengar, as they prepared to defend themselves. When they did, they saw the two birds dive down, Ho-Oh using Flamethrower, while Lugia used Sky Attack. Everyone panicked as they scattered, while the remaining prepared to fight.
Just passing through the National Park, Cypher was standing there with one of his Pokémon, a Golbat, looking up at the two Pokémon flying down at the city.
"Team Rocket has control of those Legendary Pokémon?" He told himself, "No. They just have them going berserk wherever they choose to. They haven't truly 'claimed' them." He curled his fists as he growled, "Do they really think this is power? It's nothing but chaos and making noise. I'll put a stop to them, and show them what it TRULY means to be the strongest." He turned to his Pokémon, saying, "Take me there, now."
Golbat looked disgruntled, but grabbed Cypher with his feet, and flew him towards Ecruteak City.
(Insert 'STAND UP' by Twill (full version))
Music Intro
(Traveling through shining golden tunnel of energy, leading out into space with many world, all of which different colors, with the central world being the Pokémon world. The logo 'Jackson in Johto' appears on screen, before the camera passes through the arch of the 'n' from 'in, going into the world, through the clouds, where the glowing shadow of Ho-Oh can be seen, to the sea, where the shadow of Lugia is flying beneath the waters, before reaching the shoreline, getting blinded by the sun.)
Yeah, stand up boys!
Come on, face forward
(Jackson stands up, with Quilava at his side, followed by Dewott, Weavile, and Scizor, all of which expressing their unique personalities to Jackson.)
The call enveloping you is your guide
Step towards tomorrow
(Dewott gets angry at Weavile for trying to act so cool, while Jackson rolls his eyes before he, Quilava and Scizor took off ahead, with Weavile following behind, ignoring Dewott, who panicked and ran to not be left behind.)
Yeah, stand up girls!
At the end of what's more than real
(Leafeon rises up with Lyanne as Jackson and the boys pass by. The two look to one another, before giggling at the sight of the boys, before looking to the sky.)
We'll grab a light that's been covered by thick clouds
(Camera goes up to see Gardevoir appear in a sparkling light, landing right next to the two girls, smiling pleasantly at the two before they raced after the boys.)
How we spend our days before isn't good enough
(Camera passes by still images of all the companions and gym leaders that he has met or will meet in the future, including Cypher at the end of the pictures, while Jackson, Lyanne, Leafeon, and the rest of his current team walked along the bottom of the screen.)
At full speed
We can blast through
Even the highest wall
(Team Rocket suddenly appears, with the four admins of Team Rocket standing together, with the images of their ace Pokémon at their side, and the satellite system right above them.)
Stand up for your dream!
(Jackson draws his sword, while Lyanne turns into her Latias form, and the rest of his team ready to fight together.)
Be enthusiastic at what you do, no matter what it is
(Jackson rushes forward as he slashes his blade against Team Rocket grunts, followed by a spin kick, sending them flying, while Leafeon leaps up and unleashes a forward somersault Leaf Blade, taking out their Pokémon.)
Push your way through to make an opening
(Weavile unleashes an Ice Punch as Dewott throws a Water Pulse at a different direction, followed by the pair unleashing simultaneous Night Slashes. Quilava leaps through their attack, going into a Flame Charge.)
No matter how far
The answer you're seeking is
Stand up for your dream!
(Scizor flies in, striking with a couple Bullet Punches before firing a Hyper Beam. Latias flies above him, unleashing a Mist Ball, sending it ahead. Gardevoir flew forward, using Psychic to catch the Mist Ball, spinning it around her before shooting it forward, adding a Moonblast alongside the attack, creating an explosion.)
Even if my feeling show weakness
Your voice that I hear close by
(In the burning Ecruteak City, a serious Jackson raced along the path with Leafeon and Quilava at his side, towards the two towers, where a deranged Ho-Oh and Lugia were at, unleashing Aeroblast and Sacred Fire onto the city.)
Gives me courage and strength
I can go the distance
(Jackson leaps high, landing on Latias's back as they flew off, with the rest of the team leaping with him before encased in a stream of their signature colors, before the screen turn white, with a crystal blue Pokéball with a gold and silver sword crossing behind it the only thing remaining.)
Goldenrod City, Radio Tower
Jackson had his tablet connected to the main system of the radio tower, working his technological magic. Ethan and Kris were watching him from behind. "There. The radio tower has been temporarily shut down, and the radio wave has been purged from the system." Jackson informed them.
"Thank goodness." Kris sighed.
"Sure, that's one problem solved..." Ethan started, before looking towards the direction their enemy and their prey went, "But what about Team Rocket, Lugia, and Ho-Oh? They're heading to Ecruteak City, yeah?!"
"Unless you guys know how to shut down the radio tower, this has to be a priority." Jackson told them, putting his tablet back in his bag, "Even so, your Pokemon are are too injured to continue."
"So are yours!" Ethan argued, as Jackson called out Dewott and Quilava from their balls, the latter still exhausted from his fight with Typlosion, while the former was too injured to keep fighting after Archer's last attack. Even Leafeon was also worn from everything. He gave each of them berries to eat and restore their strength, while Jackson used a hyper potion on Dewott, taking care of his wounds.
"You guys all good, now?" Jackson asked.
"For the most part." Leafeon answered.
"Thanks a bunch, Jackson." Quilava thanked him.
"I swear, that guy is gonna pay for what he did!" Dewott growled.
"Dewott, our priority right now is to save the people of Ecruteak City." Jackson told him, "Take your frustrations out during our next training regiment." He called back Dewott and Quilava to their balls, pocketing them.
"Okay, you took care of them, but what are we gonna do, now?" Kris asked.
"I'm fast enough to get to the city." Jackson told the two, "You focus on taking care of the people in the tower and alert the police force of what is going on. Make sure there are no Team Rocket stragglers in here."
"Sure. We can do that." Kris answered.
"We'll try to catch up once we're done here." Ethan told Jackson, "But how are you gonna-." Before he could finish, Jackson raced to the hole made by Archer and Ariana, Leafeon leaping onto his shoulder.
The trainer and Pokémon looked to the two, who feared what he was gonna do, as he said, "I'm counting on you guys! Wish me luck." He waved to them as he tilted his body backwards, and fell out of the window, much to the shock and fear of the pair of trainers. They raced to the hole, and looked down as Jackson turned to the side of the building, using his Air Shoes' trajectory to shoot himself to the side of the building, where he started to race down it, before jumping off, grabbing one of the light posts, spinning down the stem of it, reaching the ground floor, and with the built-up momentum, shot himself and Leafeon along the city road.
"How many times will I have to remind myself he isn't a normal person?!" Ethan demanded.
"As many times as I had to tell myself the very same thing." Kris answered, sweat-dropping at the trick Jackson performed, before looking to Ethan, "But in any case, we have to follow his instructions. Let's take care of the tower, and see how everyone is."
"O-Okay." Ethan answered, regaining himself. He then gained his confidence as he and Kris raced back the way they came.
Jackson could see the devastation the Tower Duo did to the city before they left with Team Rocket. "This is horrible..." Leafeon muttered.
"I agree. But it wasn't their fault." Jackson assured his partner as they raced through the streets, "Team Rocket is to blame for what happened. We gotta stop them."
"But shouldn't we help the people out here?!" The Grass-type asked, finding it rather disrespectful to leave without doing anything.
Jackson mentally agreed this was tough to pass. "The people must do what they can." he answered, "If there is something they cannot do, then we can do something about it. And we're able to stop Team Rocket, and save Lugia, Ho-Oh, Lyanne, and the rest of Ecruteak City. The people of this world aren't completely helpless, right? They have Pokémon with them."
"I guess...you're right." Leafeon agreed, holding herself steady on Jackson's shoulders as they flew.
As Jackson raced, he felt the nostalgia of his past coming back to him. The times when he was a hero. When he teamed up with Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and the rest of the gang as they fought Eggman or some other villain. It was never a one-man or even a one-hedgehog battle. They had to deal with all sorts of battles as a team. Now, Jackson had Ethan, Kris, and all of his Pokémon to rely on. Not just his own, but the Pokémon of the world, especially those owned by trainers. He had to rely on them and their faith in one another.
They sped out of Goldenrod City, shooting along the route, heading back the way he came at tremendous speeds. He thought about Lyanne, Morty, and the Kimono sisters, praying they were okay.
As he flew through the forest, making his way through to the route towards their destination, Jackson witnessed smoke starting to form into the sky thanks to the damage done by the Tower Duo and Team Rocket. "This is not good." Leafeon muttered.
"Time to blade things up a notch, Leafeon!" Jackson told her, shooting out of the trees onto the route, "We're gonna cut through the problem, and stop all of this!"
In a couple minutes, Jackson and Leafeon reached the entrance to Ecruteak City, where they saw the devastation done to the town. Several fires started around the city, while so much of the buildings were destroyed. People were panicking and trying to do everything they can to save what they had. In the sky, Ho-Oh and Lugia were screeching as they continued their attack all over the place. However, there was something fighting back, as a Shadow Ball and a Dark Pulse struck Lugia, which barely phased it. On the other side, Ho-Oh got hit by a Thunderbolt and a Hydro Pump, which affected equally as much.
"This is terrible!" Leafeon gasped.
"Let's see who's doing the fighting!" Jackson called out, before racing towards the nearest one, Lugia, as he raced over to the scene. When he reached it, he saw Zuki and Morty together, with Gengar and Umbreon in front of them.
"Zuki! Morty!" Jackson called out to them.
The eldest sister and the gym leader looked to who called to them, the latter calling out, "Jackson! You made it!"
"Better late than ever." Zuki stated, as he looked to see Lugia scream angrily.
"I made it, at the very least." Jackson replied, "Where's Lyanne and everyone else?!"
"Sayo and Kuni are stopping Ho-Oh, but neither one of us are making much effort." Zuki explained, as far off, the two said sister with Vaporeon and Jolteon were trying to fend off against Ho-Oh.
"Lyanne is with Naoko and Miki." Morty finished, "They were doing what they could, but Team Rocket pursued them, and they are trying to hold out at the theatre."
"I'm on them." Jackson understood, "Let me protect them. You guys hold off Lugia and Ho-Oh as best as you can! Once they are safe, I'll join in! In the meantime..." He tossed out a ball, and Weavile appeared. "Weavile, support them!" he ordered.
"Understood." he answered, ready to fight Lugia alongside Gengar and Umbreon. With that, Jackson and Leafeon raced to the theatre.
During the moment from when Jackson...
"Espeon, Psychic!"
"Flareon, Quick Attack!"
Both Eeveelutions unleashed their attacks as Espeon grabbed ahold of Ariana's Arbok, and made it crash into the side of the wall hard. Meanwhile, Flareon made a mad dash to Archer's Houndoom.
"Use Crunch." Archer ordered, and his partner opened his jowls wide, summoning energy fangs, before biting down on Flareon, causing her to fly back in pain. The result was both Flareon and Arbok being too injured to continue on.
"I thought your Arbok was your strongest partner?" Archer told Ariana as she recalled her Pokémon.
"Shut up! For your information, that brat before did some damage to it before we left!" Ariana spat, turning to see Miki bring back her Flareon, while standing next to Latias, now in her Pokémon form, ready to fight, "But I must redeem what I couldn't do before! With that boy, Jackson, no longer here, we should be able to capture Latias, this time around! Vileplume, out in front!" She brought out her Grass/Poison-type, ready to fight.
"I will not allow you to get close to Latias!" Naoko called out, as Espeon readied to fight.
"I may not have any more Pokémon, but..." Miki started, but Latias flew in front of her, causing her to gasp in shock, "Latias!"
"I can't just stand by and let them fight for me." Latias muttered, even though no one could understand her, "I have to fight for my sake, as well!"
"Seems like Latias is planning to fight this time." Ariana noticed, "Not that I gave her much choice last time."
"Lets see how powerful she really is." Archer told himself, "Houndoom, Dark Pulse!" Houndoom unleashed a stream of black rings towards Latias, who countered with Dragon Breath, unleashing the blast of draconic flames to meet the attack, causing them to clash for a moment, before detonating, consuming the area in smoke.
Archer and Houndoom watched through the smoke, before it was cleared as a tidal wave was formed by Latias's Surf attack, crashing down onto the hellhound, and even taking Vileplume with him. The latter was stopped from using Stun Spore on Espeon, allowing the Psychic-type to find an opening as Naoko called out, "Use Psychic!" Her partner grabbed ahold of Vileplume, and slammed her into Houndoom as he was trying to get up, knocking him over again.
"I didn't even think we needed to protect you, Latias." Miki stated, "You were incredible!"
"Thanks." she answered, turning back to her enemies, "But I don't know if it is over yet."
Ariana and Archer looked frustrated as their Pokémon got back up, with the former saying, "I underestimated her power. I thought she was weak due to my first encounter."
"She is a Legendary Pokémon, after all." Archer stated, as Vileplume and Houndoom looked ready to continue, "We must take this opportunity to capture her, no matter what! Houndoom, Flamethrower!"
"Vileplume, Energy Ball!" Ariana ordered. The two Pokemon were preparing to fire off their long-ranged attacks at Latias and the girls.
"Drill Peck!" an attack from behind as something large flew in, spinning right past Houndoom and Vileplume, knocking them aside. The Team Rocket Executives were dumbfounded as they noticed the Pokemon was a familiar Empoleon, coming to a standstill between them and their prey. Everyone looked to the entrance, and saw none other than Cypher there.
"Cypher!" Ariana barked.
"Giovanni's son." Archer recognized.
Cypher had a harsh glare across his face, looking at the two Executives with disgust, before looking behind his Empoleon, and saw Latias floating there, amazed at his timing. "I see... so you guys think you can take Latias, too? Weakling, like you lot?"
"You have some nerve!" Ariana snapped, irritated by the attitude he was giving.
"You believe we are weak, you say?" Archer asked.
"You never caught Ho-Oh and Lugia. You rely on those pitiful machines to control them." Cypher told them, "You are not strong yourselves because you rely on cheap tricks and hoping against hope my old man appears to lead you again. You guys make me sick! Empoleon, Metal Claw!" His partner crossed his flippers in front of him as they glowed metallic, and swung them at Houndoom and Vileplume, defeating them.
"Just that easily?!" Archer gasped.
"He has gotten stronger!" Ariana noticed, stepping back as Cypher passed them.
"Archer, sir!" a Team Rocket grunt called through the microphone on Archer's cufflink.
"Speak, now." Archer asked, "How much damage are Ho-Oh and Lugia doing?"
"They're being fended off by some trainers in town, but we have a bigger problem!" the grunt called out, "The control devices; they've been destroyed!"
"Say what?!" Archer looked shocked, "But who-?!" He then came to a realization, and looked to Cypher, growling, "You...what have you done?!"
"You do not deserve to control those Pokémon!" Cypher spat at Archer, taking a sideways glance at Ariana, before saying, "If your organization is hopeless without my old man, then you don't deserve it. Not even Latias. You don't deserve to earn such power!"
"You little...?!" Archer growled, about to pull out a Pokéball to fight, but got stopped by a Psychic hold by Naoko's Espeon.
"That's enough out of you." Naoko growled, "You've lost your only means of controlling the Legendary Pokémon."
"Yeah, you lost!" Miki cried out, with Latias nodding in agreement.
"Cypher, how could you do this?!" Ariana asked, "Giovanni thought greatly about you and your ambitious nature!"
The red-head tossed out a ball as she spoke, summoning out Pinsir to the battlefield. Suddenly, Ariana found her neck was in between two of the stag-beetle's horns, causing her to shut up. "You, my old man...both of you mean nothing to me." he told them, "If you want me to show you what true power looks like..." He waved a hand to Latias, saying, "Drill Peck!" Empoleon's eye glinted as he turned and spun like a drill as he struck Latias unexpectedly, causing her to get knocked to the ground from the attack, shocking everyone in the room.
"Why did you-?!" Miki started, but got caught off-guard by Empoleon raising a flipper to her, stopping her from interfering.
Latias tried to get back up, but got stopped as Cypher called out his Golbat, ordering him, "Use Bite." Golbat snapped his jaws down on Latias, causing her super-effective damage on her, and causing her to cry out in pain.
"Stop it!" Naoko cried out, running over to Latias, only for Golbat to drop his attack and fly in front of her, stopping her from interfering, as well. With Espeon holding down Archer, there was no way she could help without him getting in the way.
Latias looked to Cypher, the Bite putting her in a flinched position, as he pulled out an Ultra Ball. "You are the perfect Pokémon to add to my team." He told her, "A Legendary like you should allow me to reach the level of power I deserve." He raised the ball, about to throw it. Latias looked scared at getting caught by him.
Suddenly, a familiar crescent beam flew right at the Pokéball in Cypher's hand, missing his fingers, and slicing off a portion of the ball, rendering it unusable. He looked startled by the sudden destruction of his ball, until he turned and he sneered at the sight of Jackson, with Leafeon at his side.
"What the hell are you doing to Latias?!" Jackson demanded.
"Why are you getting in my way AGAIN?!" Cypher demanded back.
"Latias is my friend." Jackson growled, "And in the midst of the chaos in this city, you choose to go and capture her instead of dealing with the issues around here?!"
"I dealt with the machine controlling the birds, your welcome." Cypher answered, "And I see an opportunity to gain more strength for my team. I deserve this!"
"You don't deserve Latias!" Jackson barked, as Leafeon readied herself to fight, while he pulled out a couple of balls, and brought out Gardevoir and Quilava to his side.
"Why? Because I don't 'love' and 'trust' my Pokémon?!" the red-headed rival demanded, his Empoleon, Pinsir, and Golbat turning to him and his team, "Bet you think you can take her, instead, don't you? YOU want her power, don't you?!"
"That's not it, either!" Jackson barked back, "She is a free Pokémon! SHE doesn't belong to anyone!"
"Absolutely ridiculous!" Cypher growled, "You'd just let an opportunity walk away like this? I won't let that happen!" He waved his hand forward, shouting, "Pinsir, Guillotine! Empoleon, Aqua Jet! Golbat, Poison Fang!" All three of his Pokémon launched at Jackson's team, with Pinsir's glowing horns aiming at Gardevoir, Empoleon shooting towards Quilava, and Golbat's poisonous jaws aiming at Leafeon.
"Guys, you know what to do." Jackson told his team, "Gardevoir, Psychic on Golbat!" Gardevoir didn't bother looking to Pinsir as she grabbed ahold of the bat Pokémon, stopping him from moving. Simultaneously, Quilava ignited his body as he used Flame Charge to stop Pinsir and knock him back. Leafeon used her Leaf Blade attack to parry off Empoleon's attack.
With Pinsir out of her way, Ariana planned to make her move once more. However, this was stopped as out of nowhere, Dewott appeared, sweeping her feet with one of his scalchops, and making her fall face-forward. "Better think again, lady!" he snapped, turning his other scalchop to the Psychic-held Archer, "And I am SO not done with you!"
Jackson launched forward as Gardevoir threw Golbat onto the ground, with Cypher seeing Jackson coming at him. "Golbat, get up, and use Air Slash!" Golbat struggled to get up, suffering a bit from the damage he took. "Get up, now!" Cypher barked, "Or are you just as weak as-?!"
"SHUT UP!" Jackson shouted, and utilized his Chinese Kenpo to strike him to the side and then to the chin, knocking him away from Latias. Miki and Naoko were amazed at Jackson's martial arts, and especially shocked at the fact he used it on a fellow trainer.
Jackson didn't bother looking to him, as his focus was on Latias, who had regained herself. "Latias, use Recover." he told her.
"I was just about to..." she answered, glowing with healing energy, her injuries vanishing from the attacks she took.
"Now, transform back to Lyanne." he told her.
As Cypher started to get back, injured by Jackson's attack, he saw Latias' body glow, before she transformed into her human form. He was stunned, recognizing her as Jackson helped her to her feet. Ariana wasn't phased by this, having seen her able to transform before, while Archer was still unable to move.
"You're going down! Flamethrower!" Quilava shouted, blasting flames at Pinsir, sending him hurdling backwards in pain, until he crashed to the ground unable to continue.
"Apologies. Moonblast!" Gardevoir told Golbat, gathering up lunar energy into a sphere between her hands, and firing it at Golbat, knocking him out, as well.
"You little-!" Empoleon snapped, using his Drill Peck at Leafeon.
She bounded around the attack, barely avoiding the head-on drilling from Empoleon, before shouting, "Sunny Day!" she created sunlight in the theatre, making it shine down on everyone. "And now Solarbeam!" she roared, unleashing her long-ranged attack, blasting Empoleon as he was knocked towards the wall, breaking through it and crashing into the street outside.
Cypher looked enraged as he shouted, "Meganium, out!" He tossed a ball, and brought out the dinosaur-like Pokémon with petals around her neck. The evolved form of the Bayleef Jackson recalled.
Jackson waved a hand in front of Latias, while Miki stood right by. "Scizor, protect us!" Jackson called out, tossing out a ball, and his Pincer Pokémon appeared, ready to fight.
Cypher could see that Scizor was a horrible matchup for his Meganium, and his Nidoking was too injured to fight since he hadn't had him recovered. His eyes were hidden in shadows as he asked, "Why...why is it you? You were a weakling when I first saw you! Meanwhile, I had the drive, the ambition. I gathered up strong Pokémon in order to be the best, like no one ever was, especially my dad. I did everything I could to get to this level, and all on my own. I never ran away, and pushed my Pokémon to reach this level!"
He took a moment to breath, then continued, "And now, you just continue to get stronger every time I meet you. You get to meet Legendary Pokémon. You constantly fight against Team Rocket. You have so much strength now, and I don't understand why? WHY YOU?!" His eyes were enraged when he revealed them, but they also showed signs of desperation. He wanted to know where he got his strength, for a very specific reason.
3 Years ago...
It was nighttime. On a city street, a man was passing by. His appearance was shown underneath a street light, showing his glaring eyes, wearing a black trench coat and a hat, hiding himself from any prying eyes. However, that didn't stop one person from pursuing him. A younger version of Cypher, wearing a white vest underneath a black shirt, purple pants, and black shoes.
"Father!" Cypher shouted to him, getting him to stop and turned to him, seeing the shock and heart-breaking expression on his face, "You're leaving?! You're running away because you lost to a couple of trainers?! What changed?! You said you were the strongest in the whole wide world!"
The man, Giovanni, looked at his son for a moment, before answering, "You can't move forward if you are unable to accept defeat. In order to create a greater organization, I need to be alone for now."
"So what if you're strong?!" Cypher demanded, "You can gather as many people as you want, but you can still lose to a little kid!"
"Gathering a large group together will create a great source of strength. That's the power of an organization." Giovanni answered, looking to his hand, "However, I failed to use my men to their fullest potential. One day, I promise, I will revive Team Rocket!"
"I don't get it!" Cypher argued, "I don't get what you are saying at all!"
"One day, you'll understand." He answered.
"I don't WANT to understand!" Cypher barked back, his expression turning to that of anger towards his father, "I'm not going to be anything like you! Acting all high and mighty just because you gathered up a bunch of followers?! Even though you are weak on your own! I'm never going to be like that! I'm gonna be strong all on my own!" With that, he turned and ran away from Giovanni, his mind made up on what he wanted to be.
Cypher continued to glare at Jackson, recalling the last time he ever saw his father. He didn't rely on friends. He didn't rely on loving and trusting others. He wanted to get as strong as he could on his own, without all that unnecessary baggage. This was his way of getting back at his father, surpassing everything he said what strength was. And when Team Rocket tried to resurface to draw out his old man, he wanted to put them down, to silence them, proving to them that even with an organization gathered together, they were still pathetic and weak. He wanted that message to be brought about to Giovanni, as well, making sure he knew how the organization he was proud of was compared to the power of one boy.
Meanwhile, Ariana and Archer watched Cypher, hearing his words, frowning as they thought back to the last time they saw Giovanni.
On that very same night, after Cypher ran away, Giovanni continued on his path, planning where to go into hiding.
"Boss!" "Sir!" Giovanni stopped and saw two of his most loyal subordinates, Archer and Ariana, running across the street towards him.
"Why are you leaving us, boss?!" Archer asked, "You didn't mean to dissolve Team Rocket, did you?!"
"That boy you fought in the gym..." Ariana started, "Why did you have a change of heart when you saw him? I know he was strong enough to shut down our actions in Celadon City and the Sylph Corporation, but what did he do to convince you to shut down Team Rocket?!"
Giovanni didn't initially respond, but tilted his had to hide his eyes as he answered, "That boy... He was strong. Far stronger than even I could in my current state. I lost because he had something I didn't have; Faith in his Pokémon. His strong belief and trust was able to surpass limits, allowing him to beat me."
"That doesn't matter!" Archer argued, "You had all of us! Even if he had that faith in his Pokémon, we had faith in you! That's why we fought so hard for Team Rocket!"
"Unfortunately, that isn't enough." Giovanni answered, "I must go on my own. I will improve myself, until it is time to return and make the organization stronger."
"Boss, I promise, we will gather up more followers!" Archer told him, "We will continue to get stronger. And when we are ready, we will call for you, so please come back to us, then!"
Giovanni didn't say a word to this, but instead looked to the young lady, noting mentally how her hair was the same as his son's. After all, she was really...
"Please look after my son." he ordered her, "He has the drive and ambition I had when I was his age, but he needs to learn more of the world. Take him to a different region, like the Sinnoh region. Make him learn the world."
"I swear Giovanni, I will do just that." she answered, looking down, "But my priority helping rebuild Team Rocket straight afterwards. Once he is ready to go on his own, I will come back. So wait for us, Giovanni! Hear our words when they come out!"
Giovanni, again, didn't respond to these words, and walked away, with the two watching him disappear into the night.
The two Executives waited for a response from either Jackson or Cypher, wanting to know what either one of them had to say.
Finally, Jackson turned and started to walk back to the entrance, with Lyanne and his Pokémon walking beside him. "I was never on my own. And I never ignored what needed to be done. You and I may be alike on not wanting to be like our fathers, but I know personally what happens when my anger to my own father controls me. That's why I'm in this world, anyway; to regain what I lost from that rage."
"Why you're...in this world?" Cypher asked, "What are you saying?"
"I'm saying what you think I am saying." Jackson answered, looking back at him, "And just to let you know, you don't think love and trust are necessary, without that, I would be living one hell of a lonely life. That's why I am glad to have Pokémon beside me. They support me as I support them!" He turned and walked outside, with his Pokémon next to him, all giving determined looks that matched one another. Cypher, Naoko, Miki, and the Team Rocket Executives watched them leave.
"It seems like Giovanni is right." Archer muttered, "Faith in your Pokémon is really what makes you strong. That boy...reminds me of the one who ended our organization long ago."
Cypher couldn't help but think of his father's words before they parted.
"You can't move forward if you are unable to accept defeat."
"Gathering a large group together will create a great source of strength. That's the power of an organization."
"His Pokémon...are his source of strength." he understood, "And they, in return, respect him..." He looked to his defeated Pokémon, before looking to Meganium, who looked back at him, wondering if she did anything wrong. He had to accept the fact of something he failed to acknowledge; he had been defeated by Jackson from the very first time they encountered one another.