Thursday, June 10th, the moment of truth; the day before the grand opening of the Alola Pokemon League...… As the clock ticked down to the main event, the entirety of Alola was abuzz with excitement and evergrowing anticipation with hordes of regional citizens and international tourists flocking to the newly dedicated Manalo Stadium where the Pokemon League would take place. The region's top trainers and more are also on their way to the stadium as they want to get a headstart on the grand opening and the first matches of the competition with some people happily participating in the open league tournament for fun and to show everybody their own battling talents with their Pokemon.
It was to be the biggest event in Alola's modern history and unsurprisingly, despite following their own ploy as usual, one particular group was excited to return to Manalo Stadium for the competition.
At a familiar treehouse somewhere in the Melemele Forest, Bewear and Stufful came home, the former having a handful of berries cradled in her arms for their and their group's breakfast. Stufful faced his mother happily and Bewear gave her son some Oran Berries which he expertly caught on his face, both unaware of the kind of day they and the members of their extended family were going to have.
In their hideout, Team Rocket was suiting up as they were preparing to hit the road again and return to Manalo Stadium to continue their Masalada shop gig.
"Alright, everyone ready?"
"Yeah!"
"Let's rock the joint!" James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet cheered before their supercomputer gave off an alarming sound as a video call was coming up on their screen when they and Jessie saw their syndicate's insignia on it.
"What?"
"Uh, I think it's, eh..."
"It's Headquarters on the horn!" the quartet panicked as they scrambled to get themselves together before Jessie's rival and Giovanni's right hand, Matori, called them in.
"What is all the commotion about? How unsightly," she sighed, irking Jessie.
"Talk about the black pot calling kettle black!" she snapped at her superior, leaving Matori to glance away indifferently.
"Now, now, Jessie. Happy place, go to your happy place," James soothed beggingly.
"Now, if you're all done stumbling over your fat laces, I have a message for you from Giovanni."
"From the boss?!"
"You mean the big cheese himself!?" Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet gawked in amazement.
"He's rather impressed with the Bewear in your possession since you caught it after arriving in Alola so he said it's time for you to send it over to Headquarters," she explained, causing Team Rocket to panic as that was the last thing they want to hear (given that they've become fond of her in the back of their minds). "Please, you know why this has to be. Your reaction is not desirable in the least."
Quickly, Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet huddled as they worked out what to do to keep Bewear out of Giovanni and their syndicate's hands, "But, it's appropriate, though."
"We haven't really caught it yet."
"But, we told them we caught it, you lug-heads," they bantered, recalling the white lie they told Matori and Giovanni about Bewear and how they "captured" her before they panicked again over what to do.
Matori just sighed in annoyance as she deadpanned and told them, "I told you before, your reactions are most unsightly."
"You know we have a duty to perform, Scratchy. So, have the Pokemon ready for transport to HQ on the double or the boss won't be happy," her Alolan Meowth demanded as he appeared on screen, irking Meowth this time.
"What do you mean?! You think you can pull it off better, pallie? It's only a matter of time before we watch your stuck-up self suffer! We'll knock it out of the park and knock the stuffing out of you once you're off that prima-donna pedestal, too!" Meowth spat back at his rival, only getting a smug smirk from Matori's partner.
"Happy place, Meowth! You got one, too!" James soothed again but to no avail.
"You know that's, easier said...than done," Jessie admitted, remembering the times when Bewear proved how strong she was.
"Oh, and one more thing, Giovanni also gave a little warning regarding this request," Matori continued darkly. "If you refuse to carry out his instructions by then, the task of capturing Bewear for HQ will fall to no one else but me."
"Huh?" Team Rocket blinked in surprise and bewilderment.
"See you in Alola when I get there," she finished before she signed off, leaving Jessie, Meowth, Wobbuffet, and James in a pickle, knowing Bewear doesn't take too kindly to troublemakers and would easily clobber anything Matori may throw at her and her matrix to keep them and her son out of trouble.
"See you in Alola?"
"If we don't cooperate?"
"If she wants the Big Bad Bewear that bad, then she doesn't know the first thing about Bewear."
"You said it."
Well, now, how will Team Rocket deal with this mess?
[New Theme Song - Drunken Lives (Young Hero Fong Sai Yuk - ft. Johnny Ip) {Roughly Translated Ver.} (Updated Ver.))]
(The opening begins when we see legions of Pokemon trainers and their Pokemon training in a giant stadium and amongst them, Sarah, Ash, and the Pokemon School gang are training with their own Pokemon now with the addition of (Asha, Race, Proud, Ziracon, Robbie, and Bella), preparing for the most important chapter of their lives before the trainers and their Pokemon stood at attention and the gang got into a group fighting pose as the song begins. They will eventually take part in the finalized Alola League to determine who is the top Pokemon Trainer in the entire Alola region)
When life is rough and too dark to see, my regrets wash over all of me~
Pain is immense but don't you cry or pout, you'll very soon find your way out~
(In small recap snippets and previews of what's to come or will be happening now, we see Pokemon Trainers and their Pokemon registered for the Pokemon League running to the stadium including Sarah, her friends, Asha, and Race before we see a brief recap of Sarah, Silvally, Dia, and his Zeraora blasting Guzzlord with Shiny Tapu Koko's help and sending him through an Ultra Wormhole after beating him. Sarah and the gang continue training for the Alola League with the boys prepping at Kiawe's training camp and the girls with Tsukumaro at Lillie's mansion before we see Lillie and Nihilego Lillie standing together as the latter was accepted as part of her family in gratitude for saving her father, Mohn)
Live a life worth living, make it beautiful, and work hard to be strong and happy~
In the mortal world, your life is so meaningful, so go and prove your own mettle~
(Lillie, Sarah, and their families search the Crown Tundra before finally locating Mohn and helping him overcome his amnesia before the scene changes to the two of them and their friends and Race and Asha learning some Pokemon Baseball as part of a school assignment with help from a world-class baseball player and coach)
So, who would you connect with to meet up with me as friendly voices cut through the peaceful sunny crest~
Your heart is now mine forevermore, your sincerity shines at its best~
(Sarah and her friends, Race, and Asha make their entrance at the Alola League as either she or Ash prepare to battle against Guzma, Sarah and Poipole (now evolved into a Naganadel) briefly reunite in the midst of fireworks and the closing ceremonies after Guzzlord somehow enters the former's world and they and their Alola family and friends defeat him, and they and everybody in Alola send off lantern boats with their prayers and happy thoughts for the future. Delilah and Doug dance happily together, Tsukumaro and Sarah continue training together in swordsmanship while her family watches on, and she and the gang try to help a golf player and her Toucannon out of a slump they're in)
So, who would you connect with to meet up with me as friendly voices cut through the peaceful sunny crest~
Your heart is now mine forevermore, your sincerity shows me your love I can't detest~
(Sarah and the gang wrap up a few final Ultra Beast/Ultra Pillar encounters before Guzzlord eventually comes into the picture, take part in the Alola Pancake Race against Nina's Alolan Raichu with her and Pikachu sparking a short-lived rivalry between them, and Sarah spending some time alone with Link, Zelda, Chien-Pao, and Muffin so as to get to know them and their old home region further before coming face to face with a weakened Koraidon and Miraidon before the princess fed them some sandwiches and they powered up)
(In a short instrumental, the heroes' Pokemon are then shown getting themselves into crazy situations such as Meltan, Mallow's Shaymin and her brother, Seth, Sandy, Sho, Breezeon, and Donka exploring Malie City unsupervised as they tried to get Mallow's hair ornament back before meeting Team Rocket and Pikachu (with his team) and Blitz (joined by some of his brothers and sisters and his mate, Curly) go on an adventure to find Ash, Silvally, Sarah, and Torracat who have traveled back in time and met Kid Kukui as he prepares to go on his Pokemon journey that'll lead him to become a Pokemon Professor specializing in Pokemon moves)
So, who would you connect with to meet up with me as friendly voices cut through the peaceful sunny crest~
Your heart is now mine forevermore, your sincerity shines at its best~
(Some of the heroes' Pokemon (in a new Pikachu Short) traveling with Klefki, Meloetta, and Hoopa across time and dimensions to 1997 at Walt Disney World to see the Happy Easter and Remember The Magic parades as Turtonator tried to enter one of the shops with the others but couldn't because of his size as he got stuck in an opening as they had fun with Kommo-o eventually crossing paths with Minnie Mouse (in a royal gown) in the midst of the excitement as they were then seen together with the former holding a parasol above him to shield him from the sun's rays)
So, who would you connect with to meet up with me as friendly voices cut through the peaceful sunny crest~
Your heart is now mine forevermore, your sincerity shows me your love I can't detest~
(The Power Rangers Ultra Rescue face off against Evox and his forces in both their and the Power Rangers Beast Morphers' final missions against him, Guzma faces off against either Ash or Sarah as one of them tries to pry into what Kukui knows about him, and one of them facing off against Kukui and Tapu Koko in a full Pokemon battle. The opening ends with Sarah, in human form, unsheathing her family's Sun Sword and holding it high above her before she is joined by Link, Zelda, Blitz, Curly, and Silvally along with Cresselia, Xerneas, Zygarde (10% Forme), Zacian, Zamazenta, Rayquaza, and Giratina on a mountain cliff and the main titles appeared below them)
Pokemon Sun & Moon - The Warrior Princess
Meanwhile, the gang, the little princess, her boyfriend, and her sister were back in school as Sarah (who was staring out into the schoolyard), Asha, and Race were in their seats with Ash and their friends while the smaller Pokemon played with each other happily just before Professor Kukui entered the classroom after returning from Manalo Stadium.
"Alola!" he greeted his class.
"Alola!" Ash, the gang, Race, and Asha greeted as they showed off their Z-Rings/Z-Power Rings together while Sarah continued to look out at the schoolyard.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! Excellent, your Z-Rings are all glistening just like a Searing Sunraze Smash!" Kukui congratulated with a grin.
"You bet they are! In fact, I've been doing a lot of research on how to initiate Z-Moves!" Sophocles stated proudly.
"That sounds amazing!" Lillie praised him happily.
"Why, thank you!"
"Snow and I are also working hard so we can use Subzero Slammer again for the competition, right, Snowy?" Lillie smiled as she looked at her partner.
"Yes!" Snowy grinned.
Kukui nodded but Mallow was a little disappointed in herself as she admitted to him, "I just can't believe it...… I mean, being able to finally have a Z-Ring but unable to use Z-Moves right now? I can't imagine that, at all. Especially given the Pokemon League will be opening soon."
"I'm sure you'll be able to do it," Lana reassured.
"So, Mallow, if that's the case, why don't you work on practicing your Z-Move poses today? What about you, Sophocles? Lillie? Will that be alright for you two?" Kukui suggested to Mallow along with Sophocles and Lillie.
"Great!" the students nodded thankfully.
"What about us? What'll we do then?!" Ash asked eagerly, referring to himself, Kiawe, Lana, Asha, Race, and Sarah.
"Whoa, there! Ash! Settle down," Kukui chuckled despite understanding Ash's enthusiasm.
"But, the Alola Pokemon League is coming! And, I wanna get a whole lot stronger before it does!"
"Me, too!" Kiawe and Lana concurred, determinedly.
"Let's see... It might be a good idea for you all to practice how you want to use your Z-Moves in your battle strategies."
"I LOVE IT!"
"Practicing Z-Moves!"
"For strategy!" Kiawe, Lana, and Ash cried excitedly, immediately liking the idea.
Kukui nodded as he continued, "Using a powerful tool like a Z-Move; that tactic might just be the factor that determines whether you end up victorious or not! And, you will need to determine which Z-Move to use in your battles with which Pokemon. Also, if any of you own multiple Z-Crystals, you have to decide which Z-Move will be the most effective, among other things... As a trainer, you have countless details so you can make the right decision."
"That's it?" the three trainers gasped.
"That's it! Sounds exciting, right?"
"Way exciting!"
"Now, as for you two, what do you plan on doing? You both have a lot to show Asha from what I heard," Kukui asked as he turned to Sarah and Race, only to get no response from the princess (her mind still firmly on Chien-Pao and his brothers).
"Sarah?" he called, getting everybody's attention as they stared at her now.
"Uh, Sarah?"
"Hello, anybody in there?"
"Sarah?" Mallow, Sophocles, and Lillie replied, getting no answer from the little princess as she still thought about Ting Lu, Chi-Yu, and Wo-Chien.
"HEY, SARAH!" screamed Ash at the top of his voice, startling her out of her thoughts as she quickly turned to everybody in the classroom.
"O-Oh! Uh, oh... S-Sorry, um... Uh... What are we talking about?"
"Hmm... You've been thinking, thinking, thinking about something other than school again, Sarah."
"What's gotten into you?" Kiawe and Lana asked worriedly as Sarah remained silent.
Immediately realizing what was on her mind as of late, Race could help but ponder (while Asha remained respectfully silent, also getting the same idea), "Still got Chien's brothers on the brain?"
Sarah just nodded as she gazed out of the window, seeing Ting Lu, Wo-Chien, and Chi-Yu separated from the rest of her family and Chien-Pao not among them (the Sword of Ruin remaining with his Alola family to give them some space).
Her concerns were well-founded because the day before the eve of the Pokemon League, Sarah took his brothers to the training arena inside the Pokemon Dragon Heart Dome where she had set up several targets and training dummies for them to unleash their 800-500 years' worth of pent-up frustration and hatred for humanity against the humans that made them into the monsters they are now. This worked a little too well for her liking because in no time at all, in releasing all of their hatred, they've obliterated all of the dummies and targets as well as the obstacle course and they were panting heavily as their mental exhaustion took over.
She was glad she was able to calm Tsukumaro down when he came to see what was going on and the mess Chien-Pao's brothers left in their wake, using Reparo soon after to repair everything while she took in what she had seen out of their frightening battle styles.
To be fair, it did present her with a benefit involving their anger-releasing training spree: she was able to see the moves they were all capable of using. With Ting Lu, he knew High Horsepower, Ruination, Earthquake, Stomping Tantrum, Stomp, and Bulldoze; Chi-Yu demonstrated Flame Wheel, Ruination, Flame Charge, Lava Plume, Sunny Day, and Heat Wave; and Wo-Chien is capable of using Giga Drain, Ruination, Power Whip, Vine Whip, Leaf Storm, and Giga Impact. Interestingly, keeping with their distinction as the Treasures of Ruin, all three of them and Chien-Pao share one move: Ruination.
Chien-Pao (who was with her along with the Poms and the Buddies) did his best to keep his distance from his brothers given their already-strained bond as he stayed with Sarah but the Poms and Buddies attempted to help them, coming over to the trio to help their owner rehabilitate them. They wanted to get them to follow orders that were meant to help them and be safe from danger given their battle prowess and the danger they could present to everyone and themselves in their not careful.
The only responses they got from all three of them were deadpanned and annoyed looks with Wo-Chien going so far as to gently push them out of the way with Vine Whip, not wanting them to get in the way of their training spree and anger.
Despite how wild and rowdy Ting Lu, Chi-Yu, and Wo-Chien were being as they were controlled by their hatred for humanity (and were still feeling sour at Chien-Pao for his "betrayal"), Sarah was still determined to rehabilitate them for the Sword of Ruin's sake and their own. However, she was unaware that once again, she was going to end up in yet another rut that would put her and her family in harm's way.
Back at Team Rocket's base, Bewear came back with another load of berries for Stufful who cheered happily for his meal, both unaware of Team Rocket peeking from behind the cave entrance as they prepared to make the most difficult choice of their lives in Alola.
"Well, bombs away."
"Boo-boo..."
"Think it'll go in?" Jessie, James, and Meowth wondered, getting butterflies in their stomachs as Jessie prepared an empty Pokeball, hoping to make the catch.
"Well, we've been living together for quite a while now. Maybe being caught by us will feel as natural as...….jumping off a cliff...…."
"...Alright."
"Don't blow the throw."
"I wouldn't bet on it."
With James, Wobbuffet, and Meowth's consent, Jessie prepared to throw the ball at Bewear despite her right arm shaking in hesitation, "Alright, arm, don't fail me now..."
Already, one has to feel bad for Team Rocket. Despite Matori's orders to have Bewear captured and sent to their syndicate's headquarters for Giovanni upon his orders, they couldn't find it in themselves to go through with it. They've owed their lives in Alola to Bewear, and despite her thwarting their plans to capture the heroes' Pokemon and get finally a victory over them, they knew she loved them as much as he loved her son after she found him at Aether Paradise and he also became attached to them as a result.
This was proven as Bewear caught sight of the ball as Jessie threw it. With frightening ease and sharp reflexes, she caught her Pokeball in her paws and crushed it into dust as Team Rocket screamed over their failed task. Bewear heard Team Rocket scream but ignored their panic as she went off to find more berries for her and Stufful to eat. Jessie, Meowth, James, and Wobbuffet feel worse about what they did and they don't know what to do as they are stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Oh, what's the use? Even if we did catch Bewear, we couldn't just ship her off to Headquarters."
"Point taken."
"And, it's not just Bewear. Mimikyu, too,"
"Or, Mareanie," James and Jessie confessed as they brought out Mimikyu and Mareanie, the Toxic Spike Pokemon happily jumping onto his face and sinking her spikes onto her human crush.
"Stufful stays put, too," added Meowth as Stufful walked past.
"There you are!" shouted a voice, startling Team Rocket as they quickly turned and saw Matori and her Alolan Meowth before them, the pair having arrived in Alola to carry out Giovanni's mission themselves. "Now, you three tell me where that Bewear is immediately!"
"That was quick!"
"And, at no time, at all!"
"Being mean makes ya fast!"
"Too fast for me!" Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet shrieked.
Matori just remained silent as she looked around the base for Bewear, examining the Pokemon she and her superior's lackeys had caught during their time in Alola. From Stufful as he curiously stared at her to Mimikyu crawling nearby and Mareanie as she flicked James' face while she rested on his right shoulder, she wasn't looking impressed until Bewear let out a cry from the forest. The Strong Arm Pokemon's cries caught the attention of everyone in the area but Matori and her partner just smirked as they had a lead as to where she could be.
Following her cry, the six Team Rocket operatives found Bewear near a fallen tree. With an incredible display of power, she threw the large tree up into the air before she jumped up and grabbed it, forcing it into the ground as a large dust cloud billowed from the crash, Matori, her Alolan Meowth, and Team Rocket being forced to cover their eyes to keep the dust away from them. Soon, the dust settled and they saw Bewear patting the ground around the replanted tree, leaving her satisfied with her gardening.
"Bewear," she chirped with a satisfied nod.
Needless to say, Matori and her partner were impressed, "Quite impressive! Astonishing physical strength, don't you agree?"
"Quite. She'll make a suitable member of our syndicate with that power, I'll tell you that." Matori nodded before she whirled back to Team Rocket and demanded, "Alright, Bewear's been approved. Now, hand it over! Right now!"
"We can't!" Jessie and her teammates flinched.
"Did we stutter, you midgets? Now, hand it over!" her partner snapped.
"And, why not?" Matori asks suspiciously, raising an annoyed and expectant eyebrow.
"Uh, it's because... Uh, well...we're actually, in the middle of catching a load of primo Pokemon from the Sun Princess!" Jessie lied, causing Meowth to nearly choke as he immediately recalled Umbreon's daughters and Sylveon.
James couldn't help but agree with her to get Matori and her partner off their backs, "She has an incredible array of Pokemon that anybody with a hulk of wealth and taste would indulge in, Legendary and Mythical Pokemon included! Look at them all when we find them; the Boss will be greatly in our debt if they're sent in Bewear's place! She has a ton of powerful Pokemon and has real-live dragons that can bring the heat in battle!"
"They're worth his time!" agreed a frantic Wobbuffet.
Matori was intrigued as she held her chin and hummed thoughtfully but Meowth was not happy with his teammates as he excused themselves for a minute before he dragged them away and hissed, "No way! Why'd you do that?! I'm not gonna let my Eeveelution babes fall in the boss' clutches at HQ!"
But, Jessie immediately explained what they were doing at this point, "We've seen what the princess and her army can do and you know we can't stand that smarty-pants brainiac, right? So, instead of having to fight her ourselves, why not let her take Matori and her Scratch Cat brat down a notch for us? Her folks did school her and her matrix last time, right?"
"Yes, but what happens if the Boss gets impatient over this? He'll flip his lid and show up himself if the mission isn't done!" Meowth replied, understanding the plan but also concerned about Giovanni involving himself in the matter.
James nodded but he reassured him, "We all agreed we can't let her take Bewear with her. What harm can the princess and her posse beating the Matori Matrix do this time? Her folks pounded her and took Gozu's Aggronite Mega Stone so it'll be a cake-walk. We kill two birds with one stone, you chum."
Unfortunately, their plan unexpectedly backfired as Matori thought about what she was told. Then, she and her partner nodded in agreement, and she rang up Giovanni to inform him of the information she was given.
"Boss?" she answered through her phone.
"Matori, what is it? Have you managed to capture Bewear?" Giovanni asked.
"No, I've found something better; you can thank your lowlives for that: the Sun Princess and her army. The loafers I'm with have confirmed her acquiring an array of Legendary and Mythical Pokemon such as the Dragon of Truth and the Darkest Day."
"Is that so, Reshiram and Eternatus are amongst them? Very promising, Matori; I knew I could count on you. Thanks to them, I believe it's time for me to finally meet the Alolan Royal Family myself. I'll see you in Alola when I get there."
Matori nodded as she ended the call and put away her phone before addressing Team Rocket, "Good news, you three. Thanks to you, the boss is coming here. And so, I won't have to take Bewear, after all. With his new targets in sight, you've done us a world of good, for once...…"
All Team Rocket could do was quietly look at each other before they slunk away while Matori and her Alolan Meowth went deeper into the forest to wait for Giovanni to arrive with a platoon of guards with him. At that moment, Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet realize that they made a terrible mistake and they've gotten themselves, Sarah, and her entire family in a great deal of trouble with their syndicate.
Meanwhile, at the Pokemon School, Sarah, Asha, Race, and their friends came out into the schoolyard to practice their Z-Moves with Ash, Kiawe, Lillie, Mallow, Sophocles, and Lana in their respective groups to refine their Z-Move poses or use Z-Moves with strategy. Race, on the other hand, joined up with Asha to help her and her Pokemon learn to use the Z-Moves that came with the Z-Crystals she got from Hala following her Grand Trial with him.
As for Sarah, she was on her own with her family as she solemnly watched Ting-Lu, Chi-Yu, and Wo Chien on their own as they still didn't want to have anything to do with her, her family, and Chien-Pao (especially Chien-Pao as his "betrayal" still hit them hard, occasionally eying him with contempt as they sometimes see him with his human friend). Eternatus (despite his gruff nature), Silvally, Mizuara, Tsuchowl, Houratta, Spherialla, Angietus, and Pathangle couldn't help but worry as they watched on; they realized she wanted to have them trust her so badly or be more tolerable around everyone.
So, deciding to take matters into their own hands, the nine Pokemon approached the three Treasures of Ruin which got their attention as they turned to their unexpected "guests" in their private space.
"What do you want?" Wo-Chien scoffed at them. "Nothing, we just wanted to talk with you three stooges gruff," Silvally replied simply.
"Well, you still think being with my pipsqueak is the stupidest thing to ever happen to you?" Eternatus added, deadpanning at the three of them.
"Why should you care? All humans are the same; selfish, greedy, fueled by power, black hearts, all just to prove their own superiority compared to each other. They just wanted to make the weak suffer and die for their own gain," Ting-Lu snorted without a care.
"None of you know what we've damn gone through. I bet you've had it easy given you're living the so-called 'High Life' as humans put it, especially when it involves royalty," Chi-Yu spat disdainfully.
Silvally raised an eyebrow as he retorted, "Do we? Well, how do you know my brothers and I fared as well as you old men gruffs did?"
"What was that?!" the three Treasures of Ruin barked indignantly before Silvally cut them off.
"Shut your mouths and let me finish! As I was saying, after we were created, my brothers and I killed 25 people after we went berserk and rejected our RKS system. My mother didn't bother throwing me away when she found out; I owed my life to her after I was saved and brought to her by Tapu Koko. She was more determined to help me and my brothers owed their lives to their new masters as well."
This shocked the Ruinous Pokemon as Chi-Yu spluttered, "You... You and your brothers, killed, 25 people?"
Silvally just nodded as he continued, "We were given control masks that acted as limiters for our powers after that debacle just before we ran away. I didn't want to do anything with Mother either at first and I pushed her away as much as I could so she could stop barking orders at me and leave me alone. But, she was too stubborn to let me go and she tolerated me as best she could...…"
Eternatus sighed as he came up to them and added, "Getting my pipsqueak to dump you is a lost cause. Take my word for it; I've been on the receiving end of her sappy nature for as long as I can remember after I was given to her. I had it worse compared to you; I was sealed away for 3,000 years, 3 millennia IN TOTAL, because of humanity who only saw me as a monster at first glance. I was denied a home as a result and I slept in contempt until I was finally awakened nearly two years ago."
"3000 years?!"
"That long?"
"You can't be!" Ting-Lu, Chi-Yu, and Wo Chien bellowed, completely floored by Eterantus' words. "Yeah, yeah, spare me your shockers. You may have been stuck in those rocks you were once from for 800-500 years but you three had it way better than I ever could. After I was awakened, I tried to destroy the Galar Region as revenge but my pipsqueak and her friends wouldn't have it. I would've been sealed away if it weren't for her and despite my hatred for her, she was just as tolerant with me given her patience so you'll be living the same way with her, too."
"And, it's thanks to her that we no longer have to stick it to her crazy-brained uncle trying to kill her whenever he can before she destroyed him," Tou-Tou concurred as he joined in while Race and the rest of his own family were busy.
The mention of Lothor (not by name) drew Ting-Lu, Wo Chien, and Chi-Yu's attention as they turned to the Shiny Synthetic Pokemon, "Uncle?"
"Who's he?"
"What's his beef with her?"
"It's best if you three don't know because her uncle is a madman and the reason he's gotten her and her family and this region in so much trouble years ago," Spherialla informed.
"But, if you want to know, one thing about him is that my brother and I were corrupted by him 500 years ago by his hatred for the royal family and forced our mother and our brothers to seal us away as a result. And, when we were finally free, we were distraught at everything we'd done in our final moments until the girl opened her heart to us and she and her family accepted us back into their kingdom along with our own," sympathized Angietus.
Wo Chien, Chi-Yu, and Ting-Lu were speechless; none of them had any idea other creatures let alone Pokemon had gone through similar or worse tragedies than they did and they took their hatred for humanity and aggression on those who didn't know about their plight and didn't deserve it. But, now, they found kindred spirits in Eternatus, Silvally, and Spherialla and her family who completely understood what they went through, Pathangle and Angietus more so as their tragic story was a complete parallel to their own.
"….We, don't understand," Ting-Lu replied slowly, he and his brothers at a loss for words.
"You're not alone in your struggles back then and there's still a chance for you to turn the tide of life around in your favor now that you're with us and the princess. She has her family's heart and looked after your brother like he was her own since Spring Break when she told us about him," Pathangle reassured.
"You can't judge all humans based on the actions of those corrupted souls and Paldea's former king you clashed with because if you see things from the princess' eyes, you'll understand that the world can still be a beautiful place. And, there are people and Pokemon that care about you now including your brother; as we speak, Chien-Pao is working to come to terms with his tragic past and with what he unintentionally did to you," Mizuara informed.
"As the humans once say, 'An eye for an eye and the world goes blind'. You may think revenge against mankind will justify your pain but is it worth it if you involve any innocents that have nothing to do with the sins of mankind placed against you by those fools back then?" Tsuchowl asked expectantly.
"Is vengeance what you really wanted after all this time? Will it be worth it if you three take it out on those two-legged pipsqueaks that didn't lay a finger on you as they go about their own feeble yet sane lives? Is it worth it being monsters all the time and suffering a worse fate compared to being with my pipsqueak and mingling with your brother again?" Eternatus finished bluntly, giving an expectant glare at the three Ruinous Pokemon.
With nothing else to say, Eternatus, Silvally, Mizuara, Tsuchowl, Houratta, Spherialla, Angietus, and Pathangle went off to regroup with the others. Ting-Lu, Wo Chien, and Chi-Yu said nothing as they watched them leave their personal space, still speechless over what they had heard; they had a lot to think about.
"Twerps! Royal Twerpette!" Meowth screamed, catching everybody's attention as he, Jessie, James, and Wobbuffet scrambled towards them in a panic.
"Team Rocket!"
"What are you doing here?!"
"What do you want?" Ash, Mallow, and Lana cried in shock and disbelief.
"Cool the hoop, Twerps, no funny business this time," Meowth replied dismissively before he grew worried. "We only came to warn you this time 'cause...….."
"We just made a tiny...miscalculation," James added.
"What about?" Sarah asked suspiciously.
With no other choice, Team Rocket decided to come clean, bracing themselves as they told the group about their white lie to Matori and their unintentionally placing a target on her and her family's backs again to save Bewear from being captured by Matori.
"You, did, WHAAAAAAAAAT/WHAAAAAAAAAT?!" Ash, Mallow, Lana, Lillie, Sophocles, Kiawe, and their Pokemon all shrieked in horrified anger, startling the quartet as they held each other.
"Let me get this straight; you just got a call from Matori from your own syndicate and she and her Alolan Meowth are here on official business wanting to capture your Bewear pallie for this Giovanni character in Kanto?" Race recalled, greatly annoyed as he held his face in exasperation and the gang and their Pokemon gave them death glares.
"Don't forget also doing so since we refused to comply with the boss' order," Jessie chuckled sheepishly.
"And, while you're trying to save her from a fate worse than death itself, YOU THREE lied to Matori and placed a target on my sister and our family when you spilled the beans about all of us?" Asha snarled, restraining herself from giving the bumbling yet lovable villains a beating.
"Jessie, James, Meowth, Wobbuffet, how could you do this to Mommy?! To us?!" cried a devastated Curly as Blitz comforted her.
"You really are a bunch of weasels!" Star added in disgust.
"Well, what are we supposed to do?! We owe our lives to Bewear! And, with Ms. Prissy Possy having her eyes on her after seeing her strength earlier, we now cared a great deal for her! Wouldn't any of you do the same thing if you were forced to give up a Pokemon who had been nothing but kind to you?!" Jessie defended.
"You do have a point but even so, that's no excuse for putting another target on Sarah and her family! We already had enough trouble with the likes of Manu, Evox, and Lothor already," Mallow snorted.
"Indeed!"
"Yeah!" Tsareena and Shaymin agreed.
"And, you lied to protect your friend from being taken in by your fellow bad guys," Lana remarked angrily.
"A well-intentioned lie," James peeped feebly.
"Can you really blame us?" Wobbuffet nodded with a nervous gulp.
"And, is telling the truth about why you didn't want to catch Bewear that bad compared to lying to Matori's face? It could've saved you a lot of trouble and gotten the rest of your syndicate off our backs!" grumbled Sophocles.
"For all the time you've spent in Alola, despite making things difficult for us ever since you showed up, you should've devoted more time to learning about Alola's customs and the meanings of everything we do here instead of looking to steal Pokemon all the time," Kiawe lectured.
"That's low!"
"Too low for our tastes!"
"You've done it this time, Team Rocket," huffed Togedemaru, Vikavolt, and Turtonator furiously as Pyroar just gave a disapproving shake of his head as well as a death glare to Team Rocket.
"And, thanks to you dumbbells, we're now on the run again from your boss who's flying his big bump over to this paradise and he's going to pick us out! We'll be reaching a dead end, ALL BECAUSE OF YOU!" Eternatus seethed at Team Rocket.
"You've made a grave misjudgment, Team Rocket. Do you have anything to say for yourselves?!" Zelda growled darkly.
"You think that sucks? I can already hear Matori right here, right now, if we did that and I know what she'll say, 'So you didn't catch Beawar. You must also want me to say you've complete failures to Giovanni, right?' She's so predictable! The only thing she does so well is gum up the works!" Jessie barked back while mimicking her superior with a hand puppet of her likeness which only got more heated glares thrown her and her team's way.
"So, we figured you could take care of both problems for us; you help us end Matori and her lowlife Meowth and we'll never hand Bewear over. Problem solved," James replied as Meowth looked guiltily at Umbreon's daughters.
"Well, what about the loose end with Giovanni showing up? You know since you devoted much of your time to him as well, you'd have to choose between him and Bewear. I doubt he'd respect you in return despite your loyalty to him," Race questioned, already having doubts about Giovanni.
"Let's get Officer Jenny, my family, and the Kahunas in on this matter before we do anything else," Sarah reminded with a sigh, wondering how her entire blood family as well as Nikki and James were going to react.
In the island's forest, Matori and her Meowth waited for the arrival of Giovanni until they heard the sound of several helicopters arriving and coming down for a landing in the clearing they were in where they (and her matrix who had joined her after being called over to Alola again) had set up a base camp. Then, from out of the helicopters, came Giovanni and a large platoon of Team Rocket grunts as they prepared to carry out their mission.
"Preparations all set?" Giovanni asked a grunt.
"All set and completed!"
"We're all finished, Boss. Everything's ready for Operation: Royal Royce," two grunts confirmed.
Nodding, Giovanni then made his way inside the pitched-up tent and found Matori and her Alolan Meowth along with her matrix gathered around a table before he joined them at the table's head.
"Well done, Matori. My grunts have everything ready on their end and now, we can finally get down to business. As you all know, my mission is to take total control of the world and create a new one out of it with order. However, the most recent and greatest threat to our operations is this region's Sun Princess and her entire family so they must be dealt with at once. I know Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet have tried their hardest with the mission and everything they did but they've got diddly to show for it. Therefore, I want you all to meet them and kill them on sight and then, capture all the Pokemon they have. No exceptions!" he said to the matrix, giving his orders.
"Sir!" the Matori Matrix agreed as they and the grunts made their way out to begin their operation.
"Sir, about those three loafers that clued us in on the princess and her family...… What do you reckon we should do with them?" Matori questioned as she and her Alolan Meowth stayed behind for a minute to confirm Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet's ultimate fate.
"I've something special planned for them, Matori. I know Jessie, James, and Meowth tried their best to succeed. However, they squandered when they refused to hand over that Bewear; in fact, they failed me for the last time. So, I think it's time you took over for those buffoons. If you and your matrix succeed, I promise you all will be highly rewarded for your efforts."
"My team and I will do our best, Boss. Thank you," grinned Matori with dark satisfaction as she and her Alolan Meowth left to join their team and the other grunts.
In the Command Center, when the Kahunas, Kukui, Burnet, Lusamine, Wicke, Faba, Doug, Delilah, David, Donna (former queen), Nikki, and James were gathered with the heroes, Team Rocket told the adults everything that went down on their end. They were not happy over what they heard as they scowled at the now-remorseful Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet, all of whom were still guilty over their actions despite their loyalty to their syndicate.
"There isn't a punishment worthy of enough for what you've just done to Sarah and her family!" Lusamine scowled.
"Of all the things you've pulled off behind our backs, this has to be the lowest you've ever gone just to please Giovanni!" added an equally furious Burnet.
"Baby girl, are you sure we can trust these hooligans? They're criminals," Doug questioned his daughter as he and Delilah glared at the trio before them.
"I know, Dad, but Sisu once told me and Raya to take the first step even if it seems impossible; it's how we and our friends saved Kumandra," Sarah replied.
"That'll be the day," Kiawe rebuked doubtfully to her.
"Oh, sure, lap them up with a little chat and a class on trust while we're suffocating from being trapped in this cage and these stupid bunny bodies," Wolf snorted as he, Mousey, and Hakins were brought into the Command Center via their cage.
Donna (former queen) growled as she pulled a whisker off of Wolf's left bunny cheek (making him yelp in pain), "You are in no position to complain after everything you've done!"
"You, the rest of Team Eclipse, and Lothor tried to kill our baby, Wolf. And, as far as we're concerned, we don't take too kindly to that atrocious behavior," David agreed.
"You know what they say, 'You do the crime, you do the time'. Besides, maybe being in those bodies will help you think about what you've done after you tried to kill me," Sarah retorted before she turned her attention to Team Rocket. "Now, when you guys were with Matori, you only mentioned my Pokémon and dragons to her, correct?"
"Right," Meowth confirmed guiltily.
"Then, you don't know what else they could do apart from what you saw during your previous run-ins with us?"
"Yeah. No harm, no foul. Just the fact they could bring the heat of battle, nothing specific," James confirmed.
"...Okay, then. At least we still have the element of surprise on our side; if Matori and those grunts with her and her matrix do attack, they won't know what hit them."
"Not to mention, you guys did a good job at not mentioning her powers," Sophocles noted with an approving nod despite his suspicions.
"What are we going to do?" Ash asked.
"We need to put an end to the entire syndicate before they end up like their other-worldly counterparts from Alternate Sinnoh; we all know how ruthless they were when we heard how they were able to turn our counterparts' world into a hellhole," Race replied, knowing what they should do.
Sarah just nodded as she stated, "Okay, here's the plan; Tsukumaro and the pups will first go to their main base in Kanto and confiscate all of the captured Pokémon there."
Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet were shocked as Meowth stated on their behalf, "Eh?! Whoa, hold on there! You've been watching way too many spy movies, Royal Twerpette, but the boss probably got the place under lock and key before he left."
"Headquarters won't open up for just anybody, not even for a cake delivery!" Jessie stated.
"Yeah! And, those guys over there ain't no pushovers should they catch your guy and pups out!" James concurred.
"I had a feeling you'd say that but Aurora's the best at electronics; if they end up finding the control room, she can easily bypass it and create a device of some kind to put everybody inside the main base to sleep. It'll only be until they find and confiscate all of the captured Pokémon there and free them with the Reviving Spell so this will be a hit-and-run operation they'll be doing."
"Delivery, for Team Rocket~!" squawked a voice as the owner was revealed to be a Delibird waddling into the Command Center through the doors to the Zord Bay, taking everybody by surprise.
"What is that?" balked Lopunny.
"Delibird? What are you doing in Alola?" Meowth puzzled in bewilderment as the Delivery Pokémon pulled out eleven Pokeballs belonging to Jessie and James from its tail sack.
The Pokeballs for Jessie and James soon opened and they, Meowth, and Wobbuffet were all greeted by the sight of the majority of their old friends as the pair cheered with delight and awe, "Mime Jr! Carnivine, Yamask! Inkay! Amoongus!"
"Frillish, Seviper! Yanmega, Gorgeist, Woobat! Dearies!"
Their Pokémon cheered happily as they reunited with their old trainers/caretakers/parent figures with Carnivine even going as far as to affectionally munch on James' head just as Dracovish had done with Sarah's adoptive father.
"Wow! Nothing like a Pokémon reunion party to rock the house!"
"We've missed you!" Meowth and Wobbuffet gawked as they smiled brightly at their old friends while tears of joy streamed down their cheeks.
"But, what are you all doing here?"
"Why would the boss send you all back to us, anyway?" Jessie and James questioned.
In response, Delibird pulled a golden statue of Giovanni out of his tail sack and gave it to them. It was a custom-made recorder as it had a brief but blunt message for them and Meowth, the statue's eyes glowing red before it spoke up, "Jessie, James, Meowth..."
The Team Rocket trio and Wobbuffet stood at attention as they carefully listened to the message left for them by their former superior. Little did they know that instead of being given a second chance to complete their mission, they were in for a rude awakening.
"As you know, I'm pleased with the years of loyal service you've given; I commend you for doing your best for Team Rocket and your efforts to catch the rare Pikachu that can't evolve will be well-remembered. However, I recall ordering you to capture that Bewear you mentioned and send it to Headquarters, and not only did you fail to follow through on that order, but you've also allowed yourselves to be humiliated by the Sun Princess time and time again. It's a good thing you've only mentioned her and her Pokemon and dragons because I've come to take matters into my own hands and assign Matori to finish the job for you. As such, you have been officially terminated from Team Rocket for your incompetence; I have no qualms about my decision. So, unless you can prove me wrong, Team Rocket will have nothing to do with you anymore. If you do come back to Headquarters without proving yourselves to me, I promise that being removed from your duties will be the last thing on your feeble minds. That is all."
Everybody was shocked by the callousness in Giovanni's tone throughout his message to Jessie, James, and Meowth as he dismissed them from their former syndicate as the statue exploded and left the trio in a state of horrified outrage.
"Okay, that's a low blow for Mr. G," Jakanee remarked, abashed as Sarah cleared away the smoke.
"So, you three have been terminated?"
"Does that mean you're fired?" gasped a stunned Mallow and Lana.
"I can't believe a man such as that monster would throw you three bumbling idiots away so heartlessly like that," Tsukumaro breathed, disgusted by Giovanni's lack of heart and compassion for the former Team Rocket trio.
"Grr! Bob-Cut-Glasses-Goon-Gal, replace me!?" Jessie screeched in frustration and anguish.
"Terminated, out of Team Rocket?!"
"Not cool, not cool!" Meowth, and Wobbuffet fretted, devastated while feeling just as frustrated as Jessie.
"I think this ties us back to Race cluing you all in on Big G's lack of satisfaction for those who don't meet his crazy demands as he pleases. That power-hungry nut head rested his case given what he spat at you through that talking piece of garbage," Liberty snarked with narrowed eyes.
"Well, that's just great! What are we supposed to do now? We obviously can't go back to Headquarters and we cared about Bewear too much to capture her and send her there for the boss even if we do outwit Matori," James (Team Rocket) moaned, realizing that he, Jessie, Meowth, Wobbuffet, and the rest of their old Pokemon with them are now traitors due to the trio's blunder with Bewear.
"It's not all bad; at least you have your Pokemon back with you."
"Which means you can start all over again with Stufful and Bewear!"
"And, live out your new lives with them now that you're no longer criminals!" Tot, Nano, and Mini reassured cheerfully despite everybody giving them leveled and unamused glares with no rebuttal to their remarks, leaving them to innocently ask, "What?"
Sarah cleared her throat to get everybody back on track as she stated, "...….Uh, me again. I guess you three now know why Giovanni doesn't give a damn about never-ending failures and would do anything to get what he wants in the end. Since he's about to attack us along with Matori this time, I think we should give them a warm Alola welcome when they do."
And, so, it was arranged; after calling the Dragonstone Patrol to Alola, the little princess told them everything and how they all planned to disband Team Rocket for good. Agreeing to the plan she had in mind, they and Tsukumaro apparated to Team Rocket's main headquarters located within a rocky terrain in the Kanto Region; the old complex had been destroyed by Mewtwo many years ago after Giovanni revealed to the Genetic Pokémon his plot for using his power to control the world and he flat-out refused to comply to his demands.
"There it is; Team Rocket's base of operations according to our unexpected accomplices," Tsukumaro said as they all looked at the building.
"It's incredible."
"Yeah; if what Jessie, James, and Meowth said is true, they probably did a good job relocating their base after Mewtwo destroyed their old building."
"Right in the heart of this canyon where nobody can find them," Brooke, Arcia, and Cam admitted, impressed.
The other pups agreed as Aurora activated her Pup Pack and brought out her drone to help them infiltrate the building. As they and Tsukumaro braced themselves for what was going to happen, they took the precaution of breaking into the base as Mighty Pups and having his wand at the ready, having a feeling that they would need to fight their way back to Alola if they're ever found out.
"Those cameras from inside and outside the building will detect any wave of motion. If even one of them spots us, we're finished," Cam informed as he noticed two security cameras overlooking the canyon.
"Don't worry, Cam, I got it all worked out. Arf! Invisibility, on," Aurora reassured as she activated her drone's cloaking device, piloted it to one of the cameras' blind spots, and landed it from behind the left-hand camera itself. "Connecting USB cable, now."
The drone brought out a USB cable from inside from the push of a button on her remote control and quickly inserted it into the camera before Aurora began to hack the base's computer system.
"Hurry up, Aurora! It's only a matter of time before somebody from Team Rocket jumps us," Blue whispered hastily.
"Shh! I'm concentrating," Aurora hushed as she focused on her hacking before a green light blinked from her remote control, prompting her to look at the data she collected from the base's computer system. "Done! I got the blueprints for the entire base!"
She quickly disconnected her drone from the camera and piloted it back to her and the rest of her party before she began to go over the blueprints highlighting the entirety of Team Rocket's base of operations, "These blueprints should give us an idea of the layout of Team Rocket's base; according to these plans, it's a giant business-like complex that has two wings supplemented by two towers at each end. The central building is seven stories tall, mounted with communication arrays such as two satellite dishes and a single antenna."
"Which means Team Rocket has smaller branches scattered across the world," nodded Barley gravely.
"Doesn't that mean...?" Jazz questioned.
"...…Their operations are connected to here in the main complex no matter where the other operatives are," Harmony deducted with a knowing nod.
"And, since much of Team Rocket's soldiers are in charge of global operations from this point...…"
"...….If we take control of the base under their noses, what happens to them and everyone else in the syndicate will be up to us," Heart and Tail added.
"Exactly. And, if we reach the control room on the top floor, right here, I'll hack its computers for more blueprints, schematics, and files we need to implicate Team Rocket for their crimes," Aurora confirmed as she examined the blueprints before her. "After that, we'll send word out to Officer Jenny and her associates in this region and arrest them on the spot."
"Then, we must take advantage of what we have to slip past those ghastly fiends, destroy them, and reach the Pokémon in their grasp," Tsukumaro replied, knowing what was next.
"Hayden, do you mind?" Aurora asked the Spy Pup.
Hayden smirked knowingly with a nod before he activated his Shadow Camouflage and extended his power to the rest of the group, "Way ahead of you, Aurora! One stealthy ninja break-in coming up!"
While maintaining his Shadow Camouflage ability, Hayden managed to sneak everybody inside the building as they carefully made their way to the control room on the top floor. Naturally, the base was crawling with Team Rocket grunts doing their own thing or on guard duty with their partner Pokémon but using her Pup-Fu skills, Brooke managed to knock them out as quietly as she could along the way.
Before long, the Dragonstone Mighty Pups and Tsukumaro arrived at the doors to the control room, allowing Hayden to cancel his Shadow Camouflage once the coast was clear.
"We made it, we're at the control room," Harmony notified before she turned to Aurora. "Aurora, you know what to do."
"Wilco," the Tech Pup nodded as she brought out her drone again and pushed a red button on her controller, allowing it to send out an EMP signal that disabled the security camera and the automatic backup security doors.
Soon, the main door and the backup security doors opened and the entire group went inside, seeing the supercomputers and the control table holding all of the additional blueprints, schematics, and crime files they were looking for. It was the moment of truth they had been waiting for as Aurora made her way tot he control table and connected her drone to it and the base's main system through a USB cable to download what they needed.
"Got it!" Aurora called once she had finished downloading everything they needed, pulling out additional blueprints for the interior of the base to look for the location of the stolen Pokemon. "According to the blueprints of the interior, the stolen Pokemon should be kept in the storage room on the sixth floor, third door to the left."
"Guess we now know where to go next," remarked Axe, grinning.
"Aurora, this looks like the air intake for Team Rocket's ventilation system," Tsukumaro informed, pointing Aurora to what looked like an air duct that he found in the lower left corner of the room.
"Very good, Tsukumaro. Here, everybody, put these gas masks on; we'll put the whole base to sleep at one time," Aurora nodded as she produced some gas masks for her team and the old advisor (with one of the masks being the right size and shape for a human face).
"What about the Pokémon with them or in the storage room we're looking for?" questioned Meadow as they finished putting on the masks.
"The gas is harmless, just makes them sleep for hours," the Tech Pup reassured as she brought her drone to the ventilation system air duct Tsukumaro found after she disconnected it from the supercomputer. "Activate, Sleeping Gas! Ruff!"
Pressing a blue button on her controller, the drone then brought out a small hose that emitted a clear sleeping gas across the facility which easily put all of the grunts and their Pokémon in the building to sleep.
"Nice work, Aurora. Now, let's head for the storage room where the Pokemon are kept. But, be careful and look in each room for any grunts awake and alive; they might've found out about the sleeping gas and would be waiting for us there," Trooper praised before warning everybody about what could go wrong.
The group exchanged nods before they hurried off to a nearby elevator which took them to the sixth floor before they went over to the third door on the left with Aurora leading them given her knowledge of the facility thanks to the blueprints she downloaded. Along the way, they've looked inside each room they passed, seeing the sleeping gas having done its work with supposedly all of the grunts and their Pokémon fast asleep.
Soon, they arrived at the door where, according to Jessie, James, and Meowth, Giovanni and the rest of Team Rocket kept all of the Pokémon they've captured and poached over the years.
"There!" Aurora pointed.
However, before they could enter, Tsukumaro immediately halted them as he gestured that there might be someone inside the room waiting for them to enter. Realizing that a trap could've been set for anybody hoping to enter the storage room without warning, everybody agreed that the pups should look inside first and the old advisor would bring up the rear to take their assailant by surprise.
With their plan set, Brooke broke through the door with her Invulnerability and the Dragonstone Patrol entered to find thousands upon thousands of Pokeballs, lined up on shelves that contained all of the Pokeballs in Team Rocket's grasp.
"Whoa!"
"Yikes!"
"Look at all those Pokeballs!"
"They have that much?!"
"This is terrible!"
"How cruel could they be?"
"Not cool."
"This is disgusting," Jazz, Mei, Cam, Arcia, Zoey, Meadow, Barley, Brooke, and Trooper remarked.
"Well, now that we know how many Pokémon they have, let's see if we can get them all out of here," Harmony informed before they were taken by surprise by a lone grunt that appeared from behind one of the shelves with a Ninja Sword Gold in Blaster Mode primed at them.
"Not so fast, you canine snoopers!" the grunt sneered.
"Hey! You're not affected by my sleeping gas?!" Aurora balked as the other gasped.
"Of course, I had a feeling we would have intruders in our base. So, when I found out that you had sleeping gas on you, I supplied myself with a gas mask and waited for you here. Especially since you'll be wanting our Pokémon, correct? Now, I kindly ask that you take off your gas masks and join your fellow dreamers, and no tricks, my finger's feeling trigger-happy! Hurry up!"
But, the grunt was caught off guard as Tsukumaro appeared and brought out his sword before he held it by the left side of his neck, "Alright, you hooligan! Release your weapon, now!"
The grunt dropped his Ninja Sword Gold before the old advisor continued, "Now, remove your mask and don't dawdle. A few hours of sleep will do you good."
With no other choice, the grunt reluctantly removed his gas mask and after several seconds of letting the gas get to him, he soon fell asleep with no further trouble.
"Boy, that human's good. He's the only one who found out what we were doing and about our break-in", Trooper remarked as he confiscated the grunt's Ninja Sword Gold while Hayden tied him up.
"But, how did he get his hands on a Ninja Sword let alone a Ninja Sword Gold? I thought only the Wind Rangers from the Power Rangers Ninja Storm has them as a supercharge mode from Cyber Cam," pondered Mei.
"Guess Team Rocket's been taking notes from the Power Rangers while nobody was none the wiser to their antics," Harmony suggested.
"We'll deal with this matter later. Right now, we meet to free all of those Pokémon which means it's time to test out the princess' Revitalization Spell on them," Tsukumaro reminded as he sheathed his sword and brought out his wand, casting the Revitalization Spell on all of the Pokeballs in the room which shattered and released the Pokémon inside them before they were turned into eggs.
Seeing this, Brooke and Cam nodded before they activated their Pup Tags and called, "Okay, MK-1, you and MK-2 are up!"
"The eggs are all ready for delivery!"
Barking twice in agreement, MK-1 and MK-2 drove the cloaked Storming Patroller and the Claw Patroller to the from of Team Rocket's base before they activated their cloaking systems (which prevented the vehicles from being detected until Aurora disabled the security system).
Tsukumaro activated his Wrist Com for the robotic pups before he called, "Prepare to receive the Pokemon eggs we freed, boys!"
Then, he used his magic to teleport them to the interior of both vehicles before the old advisor and the PAW Patrol raced out of the base and met up with Johnathan and Diane along with Romeo, Juliet, and Michiko (who were told about the plan and offered to help them and their adoptive granddaughter and family disband Team Rocket forever).
"Is this all of them?" Johnathan asked as he and Diane looked over the eggs.
"Every last one from the storage room and I got ourselves some incriminating files of all of their crimes such as the murder of an orphaned Cubone's mother years ago for Officer Jenny," Aurora nodded, gesturing to the drone she had with her.
"Good work, dears! I'll contact Officer Jenny immediately and tell her everything!" Diane nodded, heading inside the Claw Patroller to phone the cop in question immediately.
Soon, Officer Jenny and her fellow cops arrived at the Team Rocket base with a platoon of large police trucks to arrest and transport the sleeping grunts and Team Rocket faculty to prison. In addition, they've even managed to confiscate all of the Pokémon they had on them, being added to the Pokémon eggs now in the heroes' custody.
"Thanks so much, your help was invaluable. Team Rocket has been causing nothing but trouble for years and their standard was very high so we couldn't put them down until you came along. We'll take it from here and we'll make sure the other branches are shut down," Officer Jenny thanked.
"We appreciate you and your crew doing this, Officer," Johnathan replied.
"I'll send you the files I've found regarding Team Rocket's crimes later, Ms. Jenny," Aurora reassured.
"But, what happened to the Cubone that lost its mother?" asked Heart worriedly.
"Don't worry, the little guy's doing just fine. Last I heard, after finding its mother's ghost with the help of a kind-hearted trainer when Team Rocket caused trouble at the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town, it decided to go with him as a way of saying 'thank you' and is now a Marowak. Her spirit found peace after she saw her son again and she'll be glad to know that Team Rocket is done for."
"And, the Pokémon?" Tail puzzled curiously.
"We'll find good homes for them now that they're confiscated and your friend wiped their memories clean and we'll send the eggs you've rescued to any nearby Pokémon Nurseries."
"I just hope that the new trainers they would be given to would love them just as much as their old trainers did," Tsukumaro thought, concerned for the rescued Pokémon.
"They'll be fine, Tsukumaro. As long as there are people and animals like you, Johnathan, Diane, and the Dragonstone Patrol, these Pokémon will have new and happier lives to look forward to no matter what happens to them. Good luck!"
And, with that, Officer Jenny and her squadron left to put the grunts behind bars while they searched for new homes for the Pokémon eggs now in their custody. Thanks to Tsukumaro, the Dragonstone Patrol, Johnathan, and Diane, the base is now theirs, meaning they would be returning soon to rejoin the platoon that stayed behind to help shut down Team Rocket's global operations.
"You think the Pokémon will be okay now?" asked Meadow.
"They will be, hopefully. Especially with Officer Jenny and her team looking after them until they find them good homes," Trooper nodded, smiling happily over the good turn they did for the revitalized Pokémon.
"Well, what'll we do now?" Barley questioned, wondering about the heroes' next step in the plan to dismantle Team Rocket forever.
"It's time for us to return to Alola and report everything to the princess and the rest of our party. Sir Johnathan, Lady Diane, would you and your Pokémon mind coming with us?" Tsukumaro informed before he turned to Asha's grandparents.
"No problem at all, Tsukumaro, dear."
"We'll do whatever we can to help," the pair replied kindly as they and the rest of the heroes entered the Claw Patroller through its right-hand side door.
"Ok, boys, let's go home," Harmony announced to MK-1 and MK-2, the robot dog pair barking in affirmation with the former activating a portal function that opens a portal leading them to Alola.
Driving the Claw Patroller and the Stormwing Patroller through the portal, the group arrived inside the Command Center's Zord Bay where the others and Sarah were waiting for them.
Upon arriving, everybody from the Team Rocket base infiltration mission told everybody about their successful operation and the current state of the Pokémon that were confiscated by Officer Jenny and her squadron and the Pokémon eggs they were given despite the little hiccup with the smart grunt that nearly foiled their plans.
"Grandma, Grandpa!" Asha called, rushing over to her grandparents as she shared a relieved hug with them.
"You okay, Tsukumaro, guys?" Sarah called as the group in question exited the Claw Patroller.
"Yes, Princess. The monstrous syndicate is finished; the majority of Giovanni's forces in Kanto are safely captured," Tsukumaro nodded reassuringly.
"With Officer Jenny and her squadron now in control, the captured Pokémon freed, and the grunts are all in their custody, we now have full control of the base," confirmed Trooper with Harmony nodding in agreement as everybody cheered for their success.
Even Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet were amazed by their former enemies achieving the impossible as the Scratch Cat Pokemon remarked, "Wow, dat right there's a wild 'n wooly but also an amazing top-notch group of puppies..."
"I can't deny that."
"Me neither, none of us and our Pokémon can compare to the royal twerpette's pet force," agreed Jessie and James, amazed.
"So cool," breathed an awestruck Wobbuffet.
"You'll find all of the files on Team Rocket's crimes in Aurora's drone thanks to her ingenious hacking on their supercomputer. They'll be sent to Officer Jenny as soon this madness is over and she and her team will take over," Johnathan added.
Diane nodded as she put in, "Hopefully, with what we have now, the other branches in the Kanto Region and worldwide will be shut down once word gets out about their wrongdoings."
"Way to help the pups and the old man wrangle in the most infamous Pokémon syndicate ever, Pop."
"Thank you, Mother," James (Asha's father) and Nikki thanked their parents, feeling grateful for their help.
"And, since Giovanni and Matori are on their own with only the grunts they brought with them and her matrix, there's no chance they'll ever call for backup if they need it," Sophocles said, knowing that the heroes have the upper hand now.
"But, still, Giovanni, Matori, her matrix, and the grunts with them are no joke since they're all top-ranked Pokémon trainers in Team Rocket's forces. Gozu proved himself a worthy adversary with his Aggron, especially when it Mega-Evolved before the king and queen managed to defeat it and confiscate its Aggronite," Faba reminded.
Kukui nodded in agreement as he gravely replied, "That Aggron of his took out Alakazam, Braviary, and Hypno with one powerful attack before Doug and Delilah rushed in with Agility and saved us."
"So, if he shows up again with the rest of the Matori Matrix, he'll have already found a replacement Aggronite for his Aggron or will be taking back the one we confiscated from him," Delilah replied wearily.
"Not to mention those fools will have already been training to deal with all of us if Giovanni's now involved," Doug sighed, knowing what was coming for everyone.
"Even so, he's the last one standing in addition to his remaining grunts and the Matori Matrix."
They may be bigger and stronger, but as long as we stick together, there's no way they'll ever beat us and have their way with you guys and Sarah," Mallow and Ash vowed firmly.
"Leave it to us, Your Majesties."
"We'll make sure Giovanni and his remaining forces know who they're messing with," Lana and Kiawe nodded determinedly.
"You two have done so much for us since you've returned, and your family has been invaluable to all of Alola since we met Sarah. Now, it's our turn to return the favor," Lillie finished.
"Thank you, all of you," Doug nodded gratefully before he turned to his and Delilah's daughter. "Baby girl...?"
Sarah looked at everybody gathered before she took a deep breath and then said, "Let's finish this..."
To Be Continued...
Sarah's Family Journal