Operation GEAR: The Angel of Reckoning

by The Great Butler

A girl and her friends set out on a search for truth in a land torn apart by political and religious strife. However, they are unaware of what they are stepping into: the grasp of a terrifying, inescapable enemy that aims to bring down mankind's greatest achievement, the Pokemon League. Soon, the truth becomes clouded, and a desperate struggle for survival begins.

24. Team Rocket VS Team Plasma (Part 2)

CHAPTER 24: Team Rocket VS. Team Plasma - Best Wishes from the Past (Part 2)

-:-

The air around the table in Sushi High Roller hung thick enough to be cut with a knife. Trevor had stopped telling his story for a minute to catch his breath, and while he sated his thirst with a flask he'd carried in his suit, he left everyone else to look around at each other. None of them knew what to say, even though they all knew that the most important part of his story was still to come.

Mitsumi was the one who finally broke the tense silence, but it wasn't with her words. Her chair scraped loudly against the floor as she suddenly stood up, bringing the attention of the table onto herself.

"Mitsumi?" Silva asked his partner.

She gave no reply, instead merely turning away from the table and walking off.

"What happened? What did I do?"

"Don't worry about it, I think she just needs a break," Silva assured Trevor, even as he rose to follow his fellow agent. "Keep an eye on Zinzolin."

Silva swiftly descended the stairs from the secluded table and surveyed the restaurant, catching a brief glimpse of Mitsumi as she went through an exit in the back of the building. He followed, taking care not to trip over any chairs in his haste.

He reached the exit door and burst through it, beginning to call out, "Mitsu-"

"I'm right here, stop yelling…"

Mitsumi hadn't gone far. She was leaning against the wall only a few feet from the door, trying to light a cigarette but struggling because of how her hands were shaking. The flame of her lighter flickered in her eyes every time it fluttered to life. Silva looked away from her and coughed.

"Sorry about that," he apologized. "Are you alright?"

"Sitting there listening to all of this is getting to me. I can't focus…" Mitsumi finally managed to light the cigarette, and she brought it to her lips and took a drag from it. "I need a break."

"I thought so," Silva said. "Take your time. What do you want me to tell them back in there?"

"Tell them exactly what I just told you. I'll come back in a little while and I guess we'll continue the interview then."

"Alright."

-:-

"What do you think about all of this?"

With both members of the International Police away from the table, Matt had become completely lost in thought and didn't hear Anabel talking to him at first. It wasn't until she repeated her question in a slightly louder voice that he shook free from his haze.

"W-what was that?" he said, stumbling over his words. "What do I think? Well…"

"You clearly have something on your mind," Trevor observed.

"Yeah, it's just…" Matt sighed. "I've known Nekou for long enough now that it's hard to absorb her part in all this."

Matt knew Anabel and Zinzolin had no way of knowing of them, and didn't believe Trevor knew either, but he chose not to tell them about what he was specifically thinking about - his exchanges with Nekou as they traveled from Ecruteak to Olivine. Those conversations had been closely between just them, and the intimacy of their dialogue led to his troubled state as he looked back on it.

"I'll be honest, when you told me about how she manipulated Colress, it made me worry about if she's just using all of us." He wasn't being dishonest, but he certainly was not going anywhere near the full truth of what worried him either. "What I saw… that was genuine. I can't just turn my back on that…"

"I have to second that," Anabel said in agreement. "She's been around my daughter for so long now, if she's a risk I have to know."

"If it makes you feel any better, I can absolutely tell you that Nekou cares about you guys," Trevor replied. "It's true that she's been giving reports on your activity, but she hasn't been manipulating you into doing anything. All we wanted was to make sure you wouldn't become our enemies."

Anabel crossed her arms. "She lied all this time, though. If she didn't see Olivia and her friends as marks, why didn't she just come clean?"

"You have to understand the position she was in," Trevor insisted. "When she met you guys, even though you didn't know her you accepted her with all her… quirks, let's say. Maybe I shouldn't be saying this for her, but she really needs that kind of a bond with people. What I do know is that she was overwhelmed with guilt for lying to you, but couldn't make herself bring you up to speed on her part in our fight against Polaris because she feared you would turn your backs on her."

"I think…" Anabel bit one of her fingertips. "I think I can understand how that feels…"

For his part, Matt remained silent at first. "That's what I thought. No matter how good she is at pretending to be something else, that loneliness is something nobody can fake. When she opened up to me… she really needed it. That was genuine…"

Sensing Matt's continuing unease, Trevor directed his attention to him. "I can tell you still don't know what to think. Ask yourself this, then… when you look back at everything that's happened to this point, would you have done anything any different if she wasn't there?"

That question gave Matt clarity in his mind as soon as he heard it. The incident with Zinzolin at Earl's school. Fighting with Cassy in Ilex Forest. Just about everything he could think of would have played out the same without her, save for two.

"I would have done something to stop Polaris in Goldenrod City no matter how I found out about what they were doing…" he admitted to himself, "...and the only thing that would have been different in Ecruteak is that I never would have survived Ghetsis if she wasn't with me… In fact, I'd say that having her with us was a plus. She didn't force us to do anything, but she did everything she could to keep us safe..." Still unwilling to reveal what he and Nekou had discussed privately, Matt decided to answer and change the subject. "I guess you've got a point about that. But what about you, Trevor? You had a whole career in front of you after your performance in Full Metal Cop."

"There isn't a day that goes by where I don't miss it," the former actor admitted. "I had to put other people first, like I said. It was all worth it in the end… I saved Pierce and his sister from Ghetsis. There is no price I wouldn't have paid to protect them. I do sometimes think about what staying in the game would have been like, though… if you liked me in Full Metal Cop you would have loved the role I had to sacrifice. I would have been the robot cop that time. It would have been amazing."

"I know what you're talking about, and it would have been great." Matt looked down at the table. "The first time I saw Full Metal Cop it was kind of funny, though. Your part was so different from the first movie I saw you in."

Trevor's face turned red, and he slumped in his chair. "You're talking about Solar Blades, aren't you? I'm so sorry for subjecting you to that."

"Don't say that. I was a kid, and the idea of roller skating in the Kalosian desert blew my mind back then." Matt chuckled to himself, then added, "Besides, you were the best actor in it."

"You're not the only one who liked it when they were younger," Anabel piped up. "I did too."

"Did I just discover the fans of the worst movie I ever starred in?"

Trevor's question, as rhetorical as it was, prompted a round of hearty laughs around the table. Even Zinzolin, who had been quietly listening to the conversation the whole time, couldn't help himself. Silva arrived in the middle of it, and regarded the scene with a look of confusion.

"Are you all having a good time?" Mitsumi's assistant questioned them.

"What happened to your partner?"

Silva sighed. He didn't like having his questions answered with more questions, especially when it was by someone like Zinzolin. "She needed a break, that's all. She'll be back in a little bit."

-:-

While the tension around the table at Sushi High Roller abated for a time, the opposite was occurring in the room where Rosalie was treating Olivia. Rosalie's Vileplume and Bellossom stood between their trainer and Amanda, unafraid of the embers flicking from the mouth of her Arcanine as he towered over them.

This scene had gone on for quite some time. Rosalie mostly ignored it, even while Amanda sat by and kept tapping her cane against the floor. Instead, the scientist busied herself with tending to a collection of bonsai trees she kept on a nearby shelf.

It was Amanda who finally said something. "You know I'm not just going to sit here and never make you tell me what's going on."

"That's fair," Rosalie replied. She returned the tree she had in her lap to the shelf, turned her wheelchair in Amanda's direction, and waved to her Pokémon. "Vileplume, Bellossom, you can step back. There's nothing you need to worry about."

The two Grass Pokémon backed off, just as their trainer asked them to. Rosalie wheeled past them and took out her pipe. "Olivia hasn't woken up yet, but I think you can tell that much. She is stable, so right now she's just resting."

"You better keep being honest with me," Amanda bluntly said. "I think you can tell that much."

"Yes, I do… your Arcanine is plainly very strong." Rosalie turned herself around so her back was to Amanda. "I have to admit, I kind of admire you."

Amanda blinked. "Admire… me? Why would someone like you…?"

"It's because of how you've come out on top after all the adversity you've faced. The girl who could neither see nor walk growing up to be a Frontier Brain, and probably the strongest of them… when I was your age, I wish I had someone to look up to like that."

Amanda lowered her head and blushed slightly. Her words came in a hushed tone. "Thanks, I guess… the truth is, I realized a long time ago that I couldn't let myself really miss things I'm blocked off from now. If I did, I would have never been able to live even half of the life I've lived. The way I look at it, not being able to do certain things has just given me a shell that what I can do will grow inside." Her blushing grew more intense before she added, "Please don't tell my brother about me being the strongest Frontier Brain. I don't think he knows yet and he might worry about my safety if I'm in such a position."

"Don't worry about it," Rosalie answered. "That's the least I can do for someone I admire."

-:-

Olivia rubbed her eyes, and when she cracked them open, she immediately blinked and rubbed them again. What she saw in front of her was so unbelievable, so impossible, that there was no way she could ever believe it was there.

Somehow, she had ended up in an apparel shop, one with a decidedly old-fashioned air created by its finely carved wood furniture and stained walls. As strange as her surroundings were, . it was the person she could see standing in front of her, clear as day that rattled her to her core.

It was Anabel, but she looked nothing like she did the last time Olivia saw her. There was a sparkle in her eyes that hadn't been there in a long time, her entire face looked younger, less taxed by the years of stress she'd faced. It took Olivia a moment to notice the swelling at Anabel's midsection. That, and the fact that Anabel was plainly examining clothes far too small for any adult or Olivia herself, left the younger girl staring in disbelief.

"Do you like this one?" Anabel asked someone Olivia couldn't see, holding up a red-and-white outfit with small ribbons on it. After a beat, she giggled to herself. "I'm sure one of you'd like it, but which one? Amelia? Ophelia? Maybe your dad would like to chime in, once I tell him…"

"Amelia? Ophelia…?" Olivia tried to speak but her words came out as thoughts instead. "They must be… my sisters, the ones I never knew…"

Right as Olivia reached up to her face to wipe away the tears forming in her eyes, reality shifted around her. The apparel shop twisted and warped as it vanished from her sight, but before she could make any sense of this bizarre event, it was replaced by an entirely different scene.

Olivia next found herself standing in a dimly-lit hallway, one built out of gray marble. It wasn't like any place she'd ever been before, and it wasn't until she looked down at her feet that she understood where exactly she was.

Placed perfectly in the center of the hall was a path leading all the way up to a doorway at the end. That all along on either end of the path were large Polaris sigils, spaced perfectly with two feet between each one.

"Polaris? This must be… their base? Where else would it b-"

She froze when she heard footsteps rounding the corner at the other end of the path. A frantic search about her surroundings revealed that there was no place to hide. All she could do was press herself against the wall and pray she wouldn't be seen. Olivia's breaths came shallow and quick, watching as the person turned the corner and entered her line of sight, her eyes widening and her head growing faint as the figure came into view.

Though the long, dark coat he was wearing was uncharacteristic of him, there was no mistaking the person who rounded the corner was Rich Mistbloom, her father. He stepped dramatically around the corner, causing the end of his coat to flap behind him, and walked calmly and deliberately past his dumbstruck daughter. However, just as he reached the door, he stopped and turned around, locking his eyes with Olivia's as if he knew she was there.

"...Ah!"

Olivia abruptly snapped out of her deep sleep and sat up with a start. She again did not recognize her surroundings, but something physically felt different enough to let her know it was real. Her breathing was rapid at first but quickly slowed to a calmer pace.

"Olivia?!" Amanda exclaimed, jumping to her feet when she heard Olivia awaken. "Are you alright?"

"Amanda…?" Olivia shook her head and frowned. "I'm… fine, I think. Where am I? What happened?"

"I would be pleased to answer your questions, Olivia." Rosalie guided her wheelchair up closely alongside the bed and extended her hand for Olivia to shake. "My name is Rosalie. I'm a friend of Nekou's, and a doctor. You had a seizure at Olivine Gym and Nekou had you brought to me." While Olivia took in this information, Rosalie tapped several of the keys on her armrest keyboard, causing a chart to project in front of herself. "From the look of things, right before you woke up, there was quite a bit of sudden brain activity."

"Unusual brain activity…" Olivia repeated to herself. "Right before I woke up, I had a nightmare. Well, that's not quite right… I'm not sure what to call it. I dreamed that I saw my mom shopping for clothes for the sisters I never had… and then I saw my dad in Polaris's base. Both times, they felt like I was standing right there."

"Usually, when we have nightmares, they're combinations of our memories and our fears." Rosalie took a puff from her pipe. "I don't specialize in that field, though, so take it for what you will. It would make sense that you're dreaming about things you remember or are afraid of."

"You're right, it does make sens-" Olivia abruptly cut herself off when she remembered something from the dream. "Wait, no, there was something I shouldn't know…"

"What do you mean?" Rosalie asked.

"When I saw my mom shopping for clothes for my sisters, I heard her talking to herself and she called them by two names, Amelia and Ophelia. Why would I think of those two names out of everything? My mom never told me what my sisters' names would have been..."

"That's impossible…" Amanda gasped from a few feet away. "How could you have of exactly those names if Anabel never told you? She's barely told a soul about Amelia and Ophelia."

Olivia's face went as white as a sheet. "You're kidding me… now that I think about it, this isn't the first time I've seen something I shouldn't know." She tightened her fists on the bed in front of herself. "I had a seizure in Ecruteak City while that big battle was going on, and during it I saw Ho-oh flying overhead in exactly the way it did right after I woke up."

"The activity the scan showed just now would be consistent with dreaming," Rosalie reasoned, "so I don't think it would be unreasonable to think that if you're having all that activity piled on top of being awake, it might result in your brain becoming overwhelmed and thus having a seizure. That's the best guess I have right now, but like I said, this isn't my specialization."

"Still, thank you…" Olivia's gratitude for Rosalie's work was genuine, but her attention was focused elsewhere. "I want to talk to Nekou and my mom," she finally requested.

"Nekou's busy right now," Rosalie told her, "and your mom is out, but she told me to contact her if your condition changed. Here, go ahead and call her."

Rosalie handed Olivia her Pokégear back, and the girl wasted no time in getting it open so she could call Anabel. While she did so, Rosalie simply sat in her wheelchair and watched, lost in thought.

"Dreaming while awake… it's a plausible explanation for the seizures, at least." The scientist took a long drag from her pipe. "The visions, though? That might be something a little out of my grasp..."

-:-

Movies continued to be the topic of conversation around Matt and Anabel's table in Sushi High Roller after Silva rejoined them. The discussion trended away from Trevor's career fairly quickly, moving more in the direction of what sort of movies each person at the table preferred. Even with Zinzolin there, things had taken a more lighthearted turn, to the point where laughter could even be heard from their corner of the dining room.

"To think the mighty commissioner of the Battle Frontier is into romance films!" Zinzolin teased Anabel.

"I could say the same thing about you and comedies!" Anabel half-jokingly shot back, coaxing a weary chuckle from the former member of Team Plasma. "And even you have to admit that Amor a Primera Vista 3 was a real tearjerker."

"Like it or not, I do have to say you've got a point there," Zinzolin conceded.

The exchange was interrupted by the sound of Anabel's phone ringing. Realizing that there was only one likely reason someone would be calling her at that time, she grabbed the device and brought it to her ear with such speed that it nearly flew out of her hand and onto the table.

"Olivia?" Anabel frantically asked.

"Hey, Mom, it's me!" Olivia's chipper mood had a calming effect on Anabel's nerves, and she relaxed in her chair even as she remained guarded. "I'm awake now!"

"Of course you're awake, you're talking to me…" As obvious as Olivia's current state was, those three words - 'I'm awake now' - lifted a burden from Anabel's shoulders. She hadn't even noticed that her breath was caught in her throat, and only realized it when she finally exhaled. "Are you feeling okay?"

"Yeah, I…" Olivia hesitated, and Anabel tightened her hand around her phone. "I saw some… things… while I was asleep. I know it sounds a bit silly, but… I wanted to talk about them with you."

"I'll be right there." Anabel pushed her chair back and rose to her feet. "Sorry, I have to go," she told the others.

"When we're about to wrap this up?" Mitsumi suddenly asked.

Neither Anabel nor anyone else at the table had noticed Mitsumi return. She was standing in front of the stairs with her hands on her hips, blocking Anabel from leaving.

"I'm not even really needed here," Anabel countered. "I have something more important I need to do."

"I'm okay, Mom," Olivia interjected over the phone. "If you're busy, I can wait."

"Are you sure?"

"Amanda's here with me, Mom. I'm fine."

"I'll trust your judgment, then… please, Olivia, be safe. I'll see you again soon."

Though she still had some doubts, Anabel decided to trust Olivia and her faith in Amanda, and ended the call before sitting back down at the table. Mitsumi followed closely behind her, returning to her seat at Silva's side.

"I don't know what you were talking about while I was gone," the agent said to the subjects of her interview, "but it's over now. You're going to… I mean, I want…"

Sensing that Mitsumi was struggling, Silva quickly interrupted and said, "She just wants you to start telling the story again. Is that right?" Mitsumi nodded, so Silva continued, "Yeah, I thought so. Finish telling us the story."

"Alright, got it." Trevor turned his attention to Zinzolin. "I'm going to need your help to tell the rest of this tale clearly. After all, you're the one who saw it from Team Plasma's perspective. Gonna cooperate?"

"Like I said," Zinzolin replied, "I'm not jeopardizing my protection arrangement. When do we get started?"

"Right now." With Zinzolin on board with his request, Trevor once again addressed the entire table. "So, Zager's crew found the Meteonite in the Desert Resort. They had Nekou, Ada, Rosalie and I stay behind in Driftveil to monitor things while they waited for Giovanni to show up in person."

~:~

After Dr. Zager located the Meteonite, every Team Rocket member in Unova that lacked an ongoing mission was summoned to the Desert Resort. Their purpose was to excavate the Meteonite's resting place - the Relic Castle, an ancient palace buried beneath the sands. They worked furiously throughout the day and night following the discovery, and stood proudly at attention next to the newly-created chasm as their leader's personal jet finally landed nearby.

When Giovanni emerged from the craft, the assembled army of his henchmen straightened up even further. Each deliberate, measured step he took toward them left the shape of his black leather shoes in the sand behind him.

As he stopped in front of Zager, Pierce, Jessie, James and Meowth, Giovanni crossed his arms behind his back and asked them, "Have you finished the preparations?"

"Yes," all of them responded in unison.

"Very well," Giovanni said, sternly gazing at his most loyal followers. "The final phase of our mission will now begin."

Unbeknownst to Team Rocket, a tiny drone was flying overhead blended in with the surrounding sky, watching them through the bobbing and moving lens of a built-in camera.

-:-

Elsewhere in the Desert Resort, three men disguised in gray cloaks were waiting, each of them busy with their own individual task.

"Those crooks from Kanto are heading into the castle," one of them, who was holding a tablet, said to the others. On its screen was the feed from the camera spying on Team Rocket, showing Giovanni, the trio, Zager and Pierce boarding an elevator built to take them down into the Relic Castle. "Our job's gonna kick off pretty soon."

"Patience," another of the men urged his companion. He lowered himself to hand some food to the Liepard standing next to him. "Ghetsis and Lord N warned us not to rush into things, remember? Team Plasma will always win out in the end. We have the cause of justice on our side."

"We might also have a little interference," the third Team Plasma member, who was staring into the sky with a pair of binoculars, said.

There was a helicopter cutting through the sky toward their position. All three of them glared up at it, but only the agent in the middle - the one with the Liepard - stepped forward to do something about it.

"I'll take care of that," he told his two partners before turning to his Pokémon. "Liepard, Hyper Beam!"

The Dark-type feline snarled as she fired a beam of light from her mouth into the sky. It caught the tail of the helicopter just as it flew past the three men, triggering an explosion that disabled the chopper's rear rotor. With that loss the helicopter wobbled in the air, then lost its stability and gradually descended, eventually crashing into the desert's dunes not far from where Team Plasma attacked it. A cursory glimpse amid the swirling cloud of sand kicked up revealed the helicopter's structure to be largely intact, evidently saved by the sand cushioning its landing.

"We best go check that out," the Team Plasma member with the tablet told his allies as they watched the gritty cloud kicked up by the crash fade.

The three Team Plasma Grunts made their way toward the wreckage, where the chopper's passengers were stumbling out of it. Those passengers turned out to be the three young people Nekou had monitored in Nacrene City, but unlike then, they weren't alone. Professor Juniper and a tan-suited Officer Jenny followed behind them, the latter slipping and being held up by the former.

"You five!" the lead grunt called out to them, interrupting their panicked murmuring. "Go no further. Leave this place and you'll be spared."

"Oh yeah?" countered the trainer in the Poké Ball-patterned baseball cap. "Who are you?"

"We are but simple servants of the Hero of Ideals," the grunt answered. "If you stand in the way of us saving Pokémon, you will be eliminated."

"The Hero of Ideals?" Juniper said in surprise. "You're going to the Relic Castle, then?"

"As I said, go no further and we will spare you." The grunt threw his cloak open with his arm, dramatically revealing the Team Plasma symbol on his chest. "The hero's rightful power will not be handed over to anyone!"

-:-

Still unaware of Team Plasma's surveillance, Giovanni led his most loyal underlings into the deepest parts of the Relic Castle. Pierce and Dr. Zager were right behind their boss, the scientist's tablet illuminating the corridor for Jessie, James and Meowth as they brought up the rear. Jessie carried a laser cannon containing the small Meteonite from Nacrene Museum within slung over her shoulder, a tool Zager had said would be of great importance. That she was trusted with such a responsibility appealed to Jessie's ego, leading to her marching down the hallway in a haughty manner that exasperated her two teammates.

"According to the writings of the ancients," Zager told Giovanni and the others, "the Relic Castle was the seat of power for a great civilization led by the Hero of Ideals 2,500 years ago."

"And now that power will belong to us," Jessie smugly added.

"Of course it will," Zager replied, "because for Team Rocket, nothing is impossible."

Confidence swelled amongst the agents as they made their way into a vast atrium at the center of the castle. The chamber was illuminated only by a slim beam of sunlight filtering in through a hole in the ceiling, but it was enough to make the size of the circular area apparent. The group of Team Rocket members had emerged onto a balcony that overlooked a long-abandoned amphitheater, one whose history the team could sense in the air.

"This place feels extremely important," James observed. "Sacred, even."

"That's right. It's where the Meteonite's light saved the people of Unova in ancient times. But…" Tucking his computer under his arm, Zager stepped forward to stand before a short stone pillar. "...the age of the ancients is still alive."

With Giovanni and their subordinates watching attentively, Zager pushed down on the pillar. He barely had to put any effort into it before the pillar retracted into the ground, largely under its own volition. It soon was replaced by an obelisk that emerged from the floor right behind where the pillar had stood.

Seeing that the obelisk had some sort of ancient writing on it, Pierce reached into his coat and retrieved a remote control. The spotlights around the room, set up earlier by the excavation team, flickered to life when he pressed its button.

"The data, if you please," requested Zager, standing just behind James and crossing his arms behind his back.

"Right."

James lifted his arms and held out his open hands, as if he were touching an invisible wall in front of himself. A pair of rings he wore, one on each of his middle fingers, flashed with red light and projected multiple holographic windows containing various pieces of the data stolen from the Antimony Research Lab. Giovanni calmly walked to the edge of the balcony while Zager returned his attention to the obelisk and the runes on it.

"I've got a match on that ancient writing," James said, pulling one holographic window over to sit atop the others. It contained an image of one of the books Nekou had read in Nacrene Museum's library, whose pages had the same runes written on them. "Running the translation program now."

The writing on the obelisk appeared in a second window next to the image of the book. A third window appeared over the two, with a combination of the runes and recognizable letters cycling through it. Characters dropped into place in the third window one by one, words flickering in and out as a coherent translation of the ancient message quickly formed. Once it was done, James passed it over to Zager's tablet by swiping to the left.

"The light of the stone from the sky frees us," read the scientist from his screen. "The sun has not filled the sky for a great time. It is the second sun that gives us life. In return, we protect it. When comes a day where the second sun's light is needed again, the small stone we have kept will bring it forth."

Listening to this story, Giovanni gazed up at the ceiling and smirked. When it was done he lowered his eyes and clenched his fist in front of himself. "And now, at long last, Team Rocket shall fulfill its greatest purpose."

"That's right," Meowth added after jumping up to sit on the obelisk. "The Unova region and all the world's gonna fall to their knees!"

"Jessie, do it," Pierce commanded, glancing to his left.

The red-headed Rocket stepped forward, proudly holding up the cannon strapped around her shoulder. Her teammates watched in eager anticipation as she reared back, the small Meteonite inside the device casting a glint in her eye, and pointed it squarely at the center of the amphitheater below.

"Begin the irradiation!" she shouted before pulling the cannon's trigger.

Within seconds, the atrium was filled by bright purple light. One source of it was the small Meteonite, whose glow only intensified as it was used to create the second source, the powerful ray of energy being fired from the cannon. Yet, the light given off by both combined was still easily dwarfed by what flooded from the third point of origin.

As soon as the small Meteonite's energy struck the center of the amphitheater, the purple light violently burst from the ground. The spotlights installed by Team Rocket snapped like twigs in a storm, and had Giovanni's squadron not been above it and protected by the balcony they would have been blown back against the walls. So powerful was the light's force, in fact, that it cracked through the earth for a significant distance all around the Relic Castle.

After what seemed like forever thanks to the sheer might of the response to Team Rocket undoing the invisible lock, the force abated, affording them some time to recover. Their respite was short-lived, however. A second phenomenon - one less violent but no less mysterious than the first - started to unfold.

A circle made of blue light took shape around the very center of the amphitheater. Thinner bands of the same light soon formed four more circles of increasing size surrounding it, broken up by straight lines that spread to connect the center circle to the outermost one. Once this shape was fully formed, the entire floor of the amphitheater began rising. Team Rocket could do nothing but watch as the space between the circles rose up, each one growing to a greater height than the ones before as they approached the center.

With each level of the structure in place, a series of stone steps unfolded, providing access to the peak of it. It was there that one last circular passage opened, allowing a sapphire pedestal to rise up and finally display the prize Team Rocket had hunted for: the full-sized Meteonite. The small one in Jessie's cannon flickered as if recognizing its sibling, and the one atop the spiral platform unleashed its light.

The assembled members of Team Rocket stared, both excited and stunned by what they were seeing. Giovanni gasped, and James uttered in awe, "It really is like the sun…"

"That's right," Giovanni replied. A wicked smile spread across his face as he raised his arms into the air and declared, "What we've obtained truly is the power of the sun!"

"I'll need some time to examine the Meteonite," said Zager. "An object of such power must be maintained in a stable state before we can move it."

"Very well, Zager," Giovanni assented.

-:-

It ended up taking a few hours before Zager was confident in the stability of the Meteonite. By the time he gave his approval for it to be moved, the sun had started to go down and the sky had turned a brilliant shade of orange. Giovanni had returned to his quarters aboard his private plane while the scientist did his work, and now watched via the screen in front of his chair as his subordinates transferred the Meteonite to Zager's helicopter in a transparent container lined with panels with buttons and lights.

Satisfied with the progress he was seeing, Giovanni tapped a button on the armrest of his chair, linking his monitor to Zager's tablet. "How much longer before we're ready to go?"

"It won't be much longer, sir," Zager replied, looking down at his tablet's camera so he could directly address Giovanni. "Once the Meteonite's on board, we'll just anchor it down and then we're on our way."

"Very good." Giovanni shifted in his seat. "Listen, Zager. After we leave the Desert Resort, we're heading to the Join Avenue Corporation headquarters in Castelia City. There's a gathering of Unova's rich and powerful there tonight and that will be where we make our appearance."

-:-

Elsewhere in the desert, the three Team Plasma agents had spent the day using their secret camera to observe Team Rocket coming and going from the Relic Castle. Once they had seen the Meteonite get loaded onto Zager's helicopter, they called the drone back in preparation for their own mission.

"Over there!" the lookout grunt called to his teammates, watching the dusk sky with his binoculars. "Here they come!"

The other two Team Plasma members turned their gazes upward and saw both Giovanni's airplane and Zager's chopper flying side-by-side toward Castelia City.

"As expected," said the squad leader. "Those Kantonian criminals really can't resist making a spectacle. If they're really going to the Join Avenue Corporation as that intel Lord Ghetsis got from Polaris said, a spectacle is what we'll give them."

"Now is the time we should get going," the Liepard trainer noted after recalling his Pokémon. "That's where we have to be, too."

"Hey, you guys?" the lookout interrupted. "Should we be worried about that?"

Off in the distance, he could make out a buggy speeding through the desert in pursuit of the two aircraft. When he adjusted his binoculars, he saw Professor Juniper and Officer Jenny riding in it alongside Looker, who was driving.

"Who's in there?" asked the lead grunt.

"The cop from earlier and the professor," replied the lookout. "The International Police agent who busted up Team Galactic's with them."

"No matter," the leader said with a dismissive shrug. "Lord Ghetsis already accounted for him in our plan. Even he won't be able to stop what Team Plasma's started."

-:-

"We should be there, we really should…" Ada fretted, pacing back and forth in her squad's Driftveil suite while biting her fingernail. "Something's gonna happen. I know it. I just know it…"

In an attempt to calm her friend, Nekou threw her arm around Ada's shoulder. "We did our part, and they got the Meteonite. If that secret organization tries to fuck with us now, they'll find out real fast it's a mistake. Besides, stuffy high society parties? Who wants to waste time at a borefest like that? "

"Are you sure?" Ada slouched in Nekou's grip when she saw the reassuring grin that met her worry.

"Giovanni has some of his top men with him," Rosalie commented before putting her pipe in her mouth. "They'll be able to do the job, I'm sure."

"I hope you're right," Trevor quietly said. Though he was both staring at the screen that allowed them to observe the mission and listening to the conversation, his mind was elsewhere. Specifically, on everything that he'd seen Ghetsis do in the past. Without saying another word, he folded his hands in front of his mouth. "Ghetsis shouldn't be trifled with. If he's pulling the strings, then it's a safe bet he's got some curveball to throw at us…"

-:-

Even among the numerous skyscrapers that formed the metropolis of Castelia City, the Join Avenue Corporation building stood out. The tower, situated on the northernmost street of the city, welcomed visitors into its immense public lobby through glass doors emblazoned with their company's logo of a tent with a spotlight shining on it. Further up, where civilians were not permitted to go, were floors for management offices, accounting and the business's other main functions, but it was the conference hall on one of the highest floors that was most important that night.

Many men and women had gathered there for a masquerade party, all of them dressed formally and wearing masks over their eyes. They were members of Unova's upper class, whose influence and wealth gave them the ability to drive the region's trends and culture. The corporation's president had assembled them at the party in order to hear a new development proposal he had, which he was delivering in a speech from a podium at the head of the hall.

"This shall be the future, where what's in vogue in Unova will be born," he explained to his audience. Multiple images of different facilities, including beauty salons, antique shops and cafés, appeared on the giant screen behind him. "With your help, we shall step onto the cutting edge of Unova's trends with the creation of a brand new shopping mall on Route 4, connected to Nimbasa City. As you can see, this proposal will create a single location where all markets will be united under a single roof. We have also enlisted Elesa, the Gym Leader of Nimbasa Gym, to appear as a spokeswoman for this project. It is our aim for this new development to create a locale that rivals Black City in attracting visitors with money to spend, but to get to that point, we are - no, I am requesting that you all join us in this endeavor. Your funds shall help us see this project through to completion, and I can promise you that it will be money well invested. Partner with us at the Join Avenue Corporation and you, as investors, shall see a share of the profits we predict. But for tonight, enjoy the party we've arranged for you. At the Join Avenue Corporation, we are about helping people connect with each other. That is the philosophy behind our proposal, and it is the philosophy behind this night. Please enjoy yourselves."

The conclusion of the company president's speech left his guests to their own devices. While most of the crowd simply turned to conversing about the proposal or their personal lives, three particular men were there for an entirely different purpose. Having traded their cloaks and uniforms for dark suits and masks modeled on their organization's insignia, the three Team Plasma grunts made their way through the crowd, covertly assessing their surroundings.

"Look at that," one of them, the one who had used Liepard in the Desert Resort, said to his allies. He tilted his head to the side, prompting them toward what he had found: Looker, Juniper and the green-haired, tuxedo-wearing young man were at the party too.

"As expected," the squad leader dismissively said. "Even if those kids joined up with them, they won't be able to stop us."

Suddenly, the lights in the room darkened, leading to a hush settling in over the party. When nothing else happened immediately, the majority of the guests assumed it was simply a temporary power outage, but the sound of three people madly laughing quickly dispelled that notion.

"Here we go," the Team Plasma unit leader told his subordinates, smirking.

When the lights came back on a moment later, the Team Rocket logo materialized on the giant screen. Jessie, James and Meowth had used the darkness to get up on the stage, and dramatically threw off their trench coats and sunglasses to announce their presence.

"Bringing the blinding white light of evil into the future!" Jessie smugly recited to their stunned audience.

"Thrusting the hammer of justice onto the black darkness of the universe!"

Meowth followed James' line by adding, "Carvin' our names into the rock of eternity!"

Jessie and James each took out a rose and struck a dramatic pose with it, while Meowth backflipped to land between them and extended his claws.

"The fiery destroyer, Jessie!"

"And with thunderous emotion, I am James!"

"Wisest of the wise, Meowth!"

"Now gather," all three of them finished in unison, "under the name of Team Rocket!"

"Team Rocket?!" one attendee shouted at them from the crowd.

"I guess you need us to do it again, since money doesn't buy you a brain," Jessie said with a sigh. "What a question, a foolish one indeed!"

"We'll answer you when we feel the ne-"

"Stop, we heard you the first time!" the president of Join Avenue interrupted as he approached the stage, cutting James off. "What are a bunch of Kantonian crooks like you doing here? There's nothing here for you to steal."

"Oh, we know that," James answered, crossing his arms and looking down on the executive. "We won't be stealing anything tonight. You're all going to be giving us what we want willingly."

James' confidence gave the president pause, and he backed away, unable to say anything. With the party already effectively held hostage, Meowth jumped up on the podium and pulled the microphone out of its stand.

"All you fat cats, listen up!" the Pokémon told the crowd. "We're here tonight because we're tellin' you your world is changin'! Team Rocket's calling the shots now! But don't take it from me. You gotta listen to the man who you obey now. He's the one and only boss of the illustrious Team Rocket, Giovanni!"

Next to the stage, the double doors into the hall opened and Giovanni calmly entered, his arms crossed behind his back. Zager and Pierce followed, bringing the Meteonite with them in its container. The glowing rock enraptured the crowd so much that even the Team Plasma members and Looker's group paid no attention to Giovanni taking the podium from his henchmen.

"You of Unova's elites," the boss of Team Rocket addressed the attendees, pulling their attention from the Meteonite, "you came here tonight to discuss an investment opportunity you hoped would expand your fortunes. That is the same reason why we are here. Team Rocket has come directly to you tonight to present a business proposal that will change Unova and the world."

Zager, standing next to the Meteonite's container, tapped the screen of his tablet several times. After his last press, the screen behind Giovanni suddenly lit up with numbers and letters, as the data from the Antimony Research Lab began to trickle out in in front of Team Rocket's captive audience.

"This," Giovanni announced, "is the Meteonite. Long ago, it was used by the people of Unova as an artificial sun following the eruption of Reversal Mountain. The idea of such power may seem to you like a fairy tale, but I assure you, it is very much real. You can ask your very own Antimony Research Lab if you don't trust my words, but if you still need further proof, look at the events in your own city just yesterday. The light emitted from the Meteonite is even enough to influence the minds of Pokémon. The swarm of Venipede that descended upon Castelia City yesterday was acting under this force."

Murmuring broke out among the crowd. Castelia City had indeed been brought to a standstill because of a sudden Venipede outbreak, and more than a few of the guests had heard from the mayor's office that Professor Juniper had gone to the Desert Resort to find the cause. Absent confirmation from Juniper on the matter, the other party guests had no choice but to acknowledge Giovanni's explanation as the first valid-sounding one they'd heard.

"Now you understand the power Team Rocket possesses," he continued, spreading his arms in a grandiose gesture, "but this Meteonite has more uses than being a tool of suggestion. The strength of this artificial sun is such that, if we so desired, we could alter the climate to bend the weather to our whims, and that is the reality I have come to give to you today. Imagine your future in a region wracked by intense weather phenomena. Hurricanes leaving Castelia City and Virbank City underwater from storm surges. Nimbasa rendered uninhabitable by endless heat waves. Tornadoes grounding all air traffic in Mistralton and flattening its farms. Your Pokémon League frozen by an unending winter. All of those and more are now within Team Rocket's capabilities. My friends, you have a choice. Cede control of Unova to Team Rocket and pay us for the hard work of maintaining your region's current state, or we will use the Meteonite to use Unova as a great meteorological canvas until you find value in our proposed arrangement."

Giovanni halted his speech to allow the threat to sink into the minds of his captive audience. Where there had been nervous whispering amongst the guests, there was now silence. A terrible, absolute silence. The horrific imagery Giovanni had filled the crowds' imaginations with vividly illustrated the weight of his threat.

"Consider this an investment opportunity," Giovanni continued, sneering down at the crowd. "That's why you came here tonight, after all. Your investment will ensure Unova has the right leadership and remains in a state both it and all of you can still prosper in." Extending his hand toward the guests, he started to say, "We of Team Rocket will-"

Suddenly, the electricity in the room went off again, plunging the hijacked party back into darkness. Giovanni's smile flipped into a confused scowl, and his speech was abruptly cut off.

"Dr. Zager, what happened?" Pierce asked.

"Let me check the security system's last recorded data…" answered the scientist, fretting over his tablet. A few moments later, he said, "This must be it. The kids with the Pikachu and Axew were down in the basement playing with the power!"

"The twerps?!" Meowth exclaimed in dismay.

"They followed us this far…" James bitterly said to himself. "Typical twerpish actions."

"No matter." Giovanni's disorientation had faded, allowing his overwhelming confidence to return. "Zager," he directed, glancing down to his followers, "activate the Dream Energy system."

"Sir!" Zager promptly responded. He pressed a button on the side of the Meteonite's container, then stepped back.

A faint whirring sound could be heard from the container as the machinery started up, but only by those standing close to it. The vast majority of those in the room had no idea what was happening until the tiny generators that emerged around the Meteonite projected rays of the Dream Energy onto it. Almost immediately, the Meteonite responded by releasing its bright, vivid light onto the crowd.

"As I was saying, the Meteonite is an artificial sun whose light can be used to control the weather," Giovanni reiterated to the partygoers, who were split between shielding their eyes from the Meteonite's glow and staring dumbfounded at the Team Rocket boss. "We hold all the leverage in these negotiations. Your choice is clear: cede control of Unova to Team Rocket and pay us to continue maintaining your ordinary lives, or face the full might of the Meteonite."

The crowd assembled before Giovanni broke out in a flurry of surprised gasps and glared en masse in his direction. Initially, he believed it was his threat that had earned such a reaction, and a smirk of satisfaction started to creep onto his face. It was stopped cold, however, when he saw Zager and Pierce staring up at him in much the same manner. Their horrified expressions prompted Giovanni to realize that something was very wrong, and he turned around just in time to see the symbol of Team Plasma emerge from the static filling the screen behind him.

Before any of the Team Rocket members in the hall could react to the sudden appearance of their enemy, the logo vanished from the screen and was replaced by Ghetsis. The mastermind of Team Plasma, sitting on a golden throne and propping up his head on his left arm, looked scornfully down at those standing before his image.

"You're…" Giovanni gasped, taking a step back and nearly colliding with the podium.

"Ghetsis of Team Plasma, that's correct. And you're Giovanni, the boss of Team Rocket." What Ghetsis could see of the crowd, both from those involved in Team Rocket and the civilians present, pleased him. He couldn't stop himself from breaking out into one of his signature wicked smirks. "I do love to see the moment when a person's loses all hope, especially when it a person like you, Giovanni. That's right, even we in Unova know of you and your gang of thugs. To think you could come into the land of our king and steal what is rightfully his… you are truly a fool of the highest order."

"The only fool here is you," Giovanni countered, regaining some of his composure. "We've known about your secret organization from the start. Did you really think we would come unprepared?"

"You really are a fool," said Ghetsis, ignoring Giovanni's question. "I am but a simple servant of our king, the Hero of Ideals. I am here to claim the power that is rightfully his… that Meteonite that you stole from the hero's palace."

"I'd like to see you try." Believing he had the upper hand, Giovanni closed his eyes and put his hand in his pocket. "That power already belongs to me for the glory of Team Rocket, am I supposed to fear that an old man in a cape will snatch it away from me? Do you really think you can do anything to stop me now?"

"Only a true fool sees the one he's losing to as the fool," Ghetsis disdainfully uttered, shaking his head in a mocking manner. "He is one who does not realize he has already lost."

Perfectly on Ghetsis' cue, a helicopter bearing Team Plasma's insignia descended to hover outside the hall. Its pilot activated a spotlight attached to the bottom of the craft, flooding the darkened room with so much light that those inside had to shield their eyes moments after looking at it. Chaos set in over the crowd, with their nervous murmurs giving way to panicked screams as many of the guests fled for the exits. With so much going on at once, Team Rocket couldn't stop them.

The Team Plasma grunt sitting at the open door to the helicopter's cabin had a Liepard of his own with him, and once the chopper lined up with the windows of the hall, he ordered her to use Hyper Beam. Rising to her full height, she opened her mouth and launched her attack directly into the hall, shattering all of the windows as the helicopter strafed the tower. Those still in the room were left scattered, some being knocked down by the explosive force of Team Plasma's attack while others dropped to the floor to escape it.

"You three!" Pierce shouted to Jessie, James and Meowth while shielding Zager with his body. "Protect Giovanni!"

"Oh no you don't!" a voice unfamiliar to Team Rocket called out from nearby. It belonged to one of the only people in the hall who remained cool and collected through the ordeal, the three disguised Team Plasma members. They knew exactly what was going to happen and when to make their move. One of them, the one who had shot down Professor Juniper's helicopter earlier, threw a Poké Ball toward the stage and released his Liepard. She immediately pounced and knocked Giovanni down before Jessie, James and Meowth could get to him.

"Hey, you keep your dirty paws off our boss!" Meowth complained, earning a snarl of contempt from the Dark-type feline. Liepard's arrogance and refusal to move from Giovanni's back made Meowth's anger peak, and he leapt towards her with his claws out.

"You go and set that one straight!" James shouted to encourage his partner.

Liepard made seemingly no effort to escape from Meowth's advance. She just stood still on Giovanni's back, listening to him groaning while watching Meowth draw closer.

"Liepard, time to go!" her trainer suddenly called to her.

The attack on Giovanni had been nothing but a distraction. While the attention of the trio, Zager and Pierce was diverted to their boss, the three Team Plasma agents had made their way to the Meteonite and removed its cover. Liepard jumped off Giovanni and rejoined her trainer at his call, leaving Meowth behind.

"Stop it!" Zager scolded them. "You don't know what you're doing!"

"You're telling us that and you're the ones who wanted to use it to control the weather?" the lead grunt disdainfully said, looking down on him. "We know what we're doing. We are liberating Pokémon in the name of our king, traitor."

With that, the three grunts seized the cart and shoved it toward the broken windows. Zager, Pierce and the trio watched in horror as it rolled up to and then out of the window, seemingly plummeting toward the street. This, too, was part of Team Plasma's plan. Their helicopter dropped a claw on a crane down after it and caught the stone, reeling it back up. All of the rough, violent motion the Meteonite was subjected to made it begin glowing brightly once again. Once the collection of the rock was done, the three grunts and Liepard jumped from the building into the helicopter, and Team Plasma made their escape. Left behind were a ravaged, dark party hall and the disheveled ruins of what was supposed to be Team Rocket's moment of victory.

Jessie and James made their way to Giovanni's side and helped him up, not noticing Looker's group rushing out of the hall. "Boss, are you alright?" Jessie asked him.

"I'm fine," he snarled, his anger at the situation filling his words with venom, "but Team Plasma must not be allowed to have the Meteonite. You three, go after them!"

"But where to, Boss?" Meowth wondered.

"Where it all began," Zager interjected, stepping forward with his tablet in his hand. "I'm tracking the Meteonite's energy signature… they're taking it back to the Desert Resort."

"Then that's where we'll go." James started to turn away, but was given pause by a sudden realization that entered his mind. His eyes widened slightly, and he turned back to Giovanni. "What about you, Boss?"

"I'm pulling back for now. We need to regroup and plan our next move." Giovanni pointed at Zager and Pierce, making them stand at attention. "You two are coming with me. Jessie, James, Meowth, retrieve the Meteonite! We can't allow Team Plasma to have it!"

"Sir!" replied the trio. All three knew immediately that they had just heard the most important words Giovanni had ever spoken to them.

-:-

"Breaking news out of Castelia City," announced the reporter on the television in the suite shared by Nekou's team. An image of the external damage to the Join Avenue Corporation building appeared next to him. "An attack on the head offices of the Join Avenue Corporation has thrown one of Unova's biggest cities into chaos. Castelia citizens have-"

Ada leapt to her feet, no longer able to contain her nerves. Her laptop crashed to the floor, but she ignored it and grabbed the remote from the glass table instead. Once she turned the television off, she fumed to the others, "I told you we should have been there! Giovanni would have been safe if we were!"

"This is all fucked up," Nekou muttered, biting her left thumb. "How did Team Plasma know what we were up to? Were we fucking compromised?!"

"No, I doubt that," Trevor sullenly said as he sat and hung his head. He shut his eyes, and in an instant, the hotel suite disappeared from his mind. In its place he visualized the day he watched from the alley next to the Virbank tavern as Ghetsis abducted Concordia and Anthea. Everything he sensed that day, from the smell of the garbage to the dampness of the alley's soil, remained fresh to him as if no time had passed. "Ghetsis just… discovered us. It wouldn't be the first time that something like this has happened. It's terrifying. He knows everything, somehow…"

Rosalie turned her wheelchair away from her teammates and guided it across the room. She had nothing she could put into words, so as she always did at such times, she took a puff from her pipe and pondered the situation. "I'm not worried about Giovanni," she thought to herself. "He has Pierce and those other agents with him. No, what concerns me is what Team Plasma might do with the Meteoni-"

The sudden sound of beeping interrupted Rosalie's contemplation. One of the buttons on the left arm of her wheelchair was blinking, and when she pressed it, a hologram popped up. Team Rocket's logo initially filled the entirety of the projection, but the symbol quickly gave way to an image of Giovanni.

"Giovanni, sir?" Rosalie exclaimed in surprise. When the name of their boss reached Nekou, Ada and Trevor, all three practically fell over themselves to crowd behind Rosalie's wheelchair so they could see him. "Giovanni, what has happened?" the scientist questioned.

"You already know, Rosalie," Giovanni growled, still consumed by his irritation over the collapse of their operation.

"Yes, yes, that is true," Rosalie replied after taking another puff from her pipe. "What I should be asking is, what is happening now?"

Giovanni sat back in his seat and gripped its armrests. Rosalie and the others couldn't see him do the latter, but they all heard its leather fabric being squeezed. "I have sent Jessie, James and Meowth back to the Desert Resort after Team Plasma, so they can retake the Meteonite. Pierce, Zager and I are going to return to Kanto, but we are coming to you in Driftveil first. Destroy everything that could be evidence and be ready to leave at once."

With that, Giovanni abruptly terminated the communication, leaving an uneasy silence to settle in over the four teammates. None of them could figure out what to say until Nekou picked up a beer can from the table and, after shaking it to confirm it was empty, threw it at the wall. The way it smashed against the surface and clattered to the plush carpet on the floor made Ada jump.

"Well, this fucking sucks," Nekou declared to nods of agreement from the rest of her squadron.

-:-

While Nekou's group awaited the arrival of their boss, the commander in charge of Team Plasma's operation was doing the same for his subordinates. He stood alone in the Desert Resort, watching the sky with a pair of binoculars. When he spotted his team's helicopter approaching with the Meteonite, his eyes widened behind the lenses.

The Meteonite was far bigger than he anticipated. It had easily doubled in size, if not more, since they stole it from Team Rocket. Their helicopter's crane still had a firm grasp on the brightly gleaming stone, but the Meteonite's growth had strained the claw to its limits.

Stashing the binoculars in his white Team Plasma uniform, he touched the communicator in his right ear and said, "Castelia Strike Force Epsilon, come in."

"Hearing you loud and clear, Commander," one of the agents who infiltrated the party promptly responded. "Currently coming in over the Desert Resort. What are your orders?"

"Hold at the previously determined coordinates and await further instruction." The commander furrowed his thick eyebrows. "You are aware the Meteonite has gotten significantly larger?"

"Indeed." The captain could hear multiple clicking noises in his ear as his subordinate called up information on the chopper's computer. "The Meteonite's been absorbing energy since we took it from Team Rocket. According to the data we've recorded, that's caused it to grow larger as it converts the energy into physical matter. Its growth should stabilize and stop soon, based on these readings."

"Lord Ghetsis's researchers at Facility P2 will be eager to get their hands on it," the agent's superior mused upon hearing his report. "For now, when you reach the planned coordinates-"

"Pardon my interruption, but we've already arrived."

The commander turned his chiseled, dour face skyward once more. Indeed, just as his underling had said, their helicopter was hovering almost exactly overhead, at most a mere dozen feet away from his exact position. Below it, the Meteonite's glow kept on intensifying, forcing the commander to avert his eyes as soon as he looked at it.

"Your orders, sir?"

"Release the Meteonite at your current position and then join me on the ground. Its current power should be enough to keep it suspended."

"Roger."

A few moments later, the helicopter's claw released the Meteonite. True to the commander's prediction, it did not fall to the ground but instead floated in the air where it had been placed. Its light flooded the area, bringing the desert around it into a state of faux daytime.

Meanwhile, the helicopter circled around and descended toward the earth, kicking up gritty clouds that grew harsher as it drew closer to landing. When it finally settled in the desert sand, three Team Plasma soldiers clad in identical hooded uniforms emerged and dashed over to their superior, while a fourth stood guard near the chopper.

"Commander Hu-" the grunt in the middle of the trio, a blue-eyed man whose chestnut-brown hair peeked out from beneath his hood, greeted their leader as all three saluted him. He froze mid-sentence, however, as their superior officer shot him an intimidating glare.

"I believe I have told you many times that you will only refer to me as your commander?"

"Yes, yes, of course…" his subordinate fumbled. "C-Commander… the work is done."

"Well done. Lord Ghetsis will richly reward us in the name of our hero." Crossing his arms behind his back, the head soldier turned away from his men and gazed at the stars to the north. Surely each of his henchmen had their own wishes for what Ghetsis would bestow upon them, he reasoned, but he could only reflect upon what he wanted for himself. He had served Ghetsis and Team Plasma for years, yet he had never been able to rise out of the white-suited rank and file. The two who got to wear the black tactical uniforms, Aldith and Barret, were both newer members yet they somehow outranked him. More than once he had spent time trying to figure out what earned them such favor from Ghetsis, only to come up dry. As he gazed up at the sky that night, though, he found himself certain that he had found the answer to getting such honor for his own. "It is magnificent, is it not?" he mused to the others.

All three soldiers followed their commander's lead in looking up at the clear, star-filled sky.

"Castelia to the south, and Nimbasa to the north…" another of the grunts, whose countenance bore the look of youthful innocence and optimism, replied. He further elaborated, "With two of Unova's largest population centers surrounding us, it is only a matter of time before our hero's dream becomes a reality. As the Meteonite's influence continues to grow and spread, all the Pokémon in those cities will abandon their trainers to go to it. Then all we must do is bring them to the castle so they may be liberated."

As the boyish soldier spoke, his two allies caught notice of wild Pokémon already starting to gather at the site. Multiple Darumaka, Darmanitan, Sandile, Krokorok, Yamask, Sigilyph and Maractus were present, all enraptured by the Meteonite's light. Such was its sway over them that had Team Plasma simply carried them away, they would have put up little if any resistance as long as the Meteonite was present.

"The people of Unova will see this mass exodus of Pokémon as the concept of Pokémon liberation being validated," the squad's captain speculated. "That is certainly how Lord Ghetsis views the matter. Once N partners with Zekrom, our achievement will stand as inspiration for the people to follow his ideals." Clenching his right fist, he finished, "All we do is in the name of the Hero of Ide-"

Just as it seemed Team Plasma had achieved victory, a painfully familiar flurry of laughing from above snatched it away from them. Jessie, James and Meowth swooped down with their jetpacks, James carrying the Meteonite-powered laser cannon they used at the Relic Castle earlier. As they descended, the two groups locked eyes with each other. Icy, venomous fury seethed across the visages of all four Team Plasma members, but Giovanni's henchmen didn't reciprocate the emotion. They were serious and focused on their mission, but still with the smug arrogance they so often carried.

"Have you not had enough already?" the captain demanded of his nemeses as he glared at them. "Or do you want us to do to you what we did to your boss, you cut-rate criminals?"

"What a question, idiotic indeed," Jessie replied nearly instantly. The Team Plasma commander sighed and rolled his eyes when he heard her words, realizing at once what they were launching into.

"We'll answer it when we feel the need," James sarcastically added.

"And we feel the need right now!" Meowth interjected. Team Plasma had expected to hear the entire motto, so his abrupt departure from it caught them off-guard. Jabbing his right paw toward them, Meowth taunted the four, "You listen here! You call us cut-rate crooks but what are you? A buncha cosplayers runnin' around dressed like knights! We ain't never gonna let jokers like you keep that Meteonite!"

"You've got that right, Meowth." Leveling the cannon in the Team Plasma members' direction, James coldly threatened their leader, "It looks like we've got all the cards here, so give back what you stole from us."

"Never!" the brown-haired grunt yelled, tearing a Poké Ball from his uniform and flinging it towards Jessie, James and Meowth. "It's all for our hero!"

The ball erupted in a burst of light, releasing another Liepard into the service of Team Plasma. As soon as she materialized, she snarled and fired a Hyper Beam straight at the trio, only for them to leap aside before it struck. It hit the ground instead, throwing sand high into the air.

"That Liepard's strong," Jessie observed, producing a Poké Ball of her own, "but we're stronger! Come on out, Woobat!"

Jessie's Woobat responded to her trainer's call with a shrill chirp the moment she took form, but Liepard remained unfazed.

"You Kanto crooks really are out of your depth here in Unova," the captain mocked them with a dismissive shake of his head. Turning to his subordinate, he ordered, "Show them."

"Of course, sir!" Liepard's master replied, snapping to attention. "Liepard, Night Slash!"

Liepard lowered herself to the ground and tensed her muscles, but before she pounced, a red aura began emanating from her body. It was subtle, but visible enough for James to take notice of it. He cocked his head in curiosity, but Jessie acted before he could point it out to her.

"As if! Woobat, give that thing a taste of your Air Slash!"

Woobat spread her wings more broadly than she had ever before, and the aura surrounded her too. That was when Jessie finally took notice of it. She barely had a chance to form a question, only getting out, "Woobat, wha-" before the two Pokémon attacked each other.

Woobat was the first to act, closing her wings over her face before flinging them open to launch a broad blade of air at Liepard. Mere seconds later, the Dark-type feline sprang upward at incredible speed, leaving the Air Slash to tear harmlessly into the earth. She swiped at Woobat, but her black-tinged claws did little besides rip at Woobat's fur and send some of it flying.

Jessie and her allies all regarded her Pokémon's resolute display with confused wonder. "What's with Woobat?" James asked her. "That should have scored quite the blow."

"No idea," she replied, shrugging. As the two Pokémon separated from each other, she pointed at Liepard and added, "Whatever it is, that Liepard's got it as well."

"They ain't the only ones…" Meowth suddenly interrupted. Jessie and James turned their eyes downward, discovering he too was giving off the mysterious crimson waves as he breathed deeply.

"What's wrong with you, old chum?" James hurriedly questioned, a bead of sweat forming on his face.

"It ain't wrong, exactly, but ever since we got here I've been feelin' like I got tons of energy I haven't got the foggiest idea of what to do with."

Jessie's gaze wandered away from Woobat and across the sky to the Meteonite, its light still growing brighter by the second. "It must be the Meteonite," she realized, her words bringing the others' attention to the artificial sun. "That energy drove the Venipede crazy, but now it's making the Pokémon stronger."

"We can use that to our advantage," James pointed out, but when he saw Liepard advancing on Woobat again, he panicked and added, "but so can they!"

"They can try!" Jessie swept her arm toward the sky and called out, "Air Slash!"

Liepard had the speed advantage in their second clash, setting upon Woobat before she could unfurl her wings. Team Plasma's Pokémon pinned Team Rocket's to the sand and reared back, a Shadow Ball forming near her mouth. The dark sphere steadily grew larger as the Meteonite's energy flowed through its creator.

Turning to James, Jessie demanded, "Give me more power! You've got that cannon Dr. Zager made, use it!"

"You got it!" After aiming the cannon at the Meteonite, James glared at Team Plasma's battalion, making sure they saw what he was about to do. "Fire!"

The small Meteonite inside the cannon sparked to life when James pulled the trigger. Its power could never hope to equal that of its larger counterpart, but for what Team Rocket needed, it was more than enough. The cannon fired with enough force to push James back slightly, but his aim remained true, and its blast collided squarely with the Meteonite. Sparks flew from the stone as it absorbed the power generated from its shard.

At that moment, the battle between Team Rocket and Team Plasma escalated to a level neither organization imagined. The Meteonite erupted with a volcanic burst of energy, discharging a red-and-green wave over the desert. Liepard had been distracted by preparing to finish off Woobat, so when new strength surged into her body, it left her unsteady. She faltered, and Woobat seized on her weakness to slam her own wings together, knocking the growling Dark-type back. Jessie, James, Meowth and the members of Team Plasma, meanwhile, were all thrown to the ground by the explosion.

"What power!" James marvelled as he and his allies pulled themselves back to their feet. "Just seeing it in action proves everything we believed about the Meteonite is true!"

"That is why you must not be given control of it!" the Team Plasma battalion's leader threatened. He, like his followers, had to brush the dirt from his uniform. "You, you lot only intend to use it to enrich yourselves by dominating the masses! Our hero will use it to fulfill his noble ideal of freedom for all Pokémon!"

"You can blabber on about Pokémon liberation all you want," Jessie retorted with a dismissive shake of her head, "but it's not changing anything. All you are is a bunch of cosplayers with a bad case of motormouth! I'll bet your so-called hero is probably some kid running around in a cape and a crown. Tell me, how far off is that?"

"How dare you!" the third soldier, characterized by his narrow eyes and the single pointed shock of dark hair poking from the edge of his hood, fumed. His reaction prompted a wide smirk onto Jessie's face. "You'll pay for that!"

"So I'm one hundred percent right. Good to know."

-:-

Neither Team Rocket nor Team Plasma were aware of the scale of the fallout from their battle at the time. While they continued to squabble in the Desert Resort, the blast wave from the Meteonite reached the northern district of Castelia City, shattering windows and sending glass raining down on the streets below. The people out and about on that typically busy night were sent running for cover beneath whatever they could find, and their screams were inadvertently broadcast throughout Unova by the news crews already present for the Join Avenue attack even as they fled to safety as well.

-:-

"Liepard, Night Slash!"

"As if!" Jessie countered the Team Plasma Grunt's order. "Woobat, use Gust!"

Having gotten used to the newfound strength the Meteonite sent flooding into her body, Liepard surged into the air again with her claws enveloped by a black glow. Woobat was ready for her this time, however, and fluttered back to avoid her initial swipe. The Psychic-and-Flying-type Pokémon then spread her wings as a display of intimidation before vigorously flapping them, whipping up a biting cyclone that engulfed Liepard and hurled her to lay prone at her trainer's feet.

"Stand up, Liepard!" the soldier admonished her. "Dark Pul-"

He never got a chance to finish issuing his demand, as Woobat sent a wave of Air Slashes raining down upon Team Plasma. All four men had to shield themselves with their arms to prevent their faces from being cut. Once the barrage ended, the youngest grunt peered down at his uniform and noticed that his sleeves, like those of his compatriots, were completely shredded. His eyes widened at the sight, and before he knew it, his hands started shaking. How easily the attack could have slashed up his face was not lost on him.

"Sir, do something to end this stalemate!" he implored his superior.

For his part, the captain was no less panicked over the situation, but his fear was placed elsewhere. "I hadn't come here expecting Team Rocket to pose an actual threat…" he considered, surveying the battlefield. Jessie and James stood tall opposite him, their arms crossed as they glared at his unit. When he saw them, he felt a chill run down his spine. They radiated such confidence that for the first time, the idea that Team Plasma could lose crept into his mind.

Entertaining that thought was like crossing a mental line for him, allowing vivid images to invade after it. His breathing grew shallow as he pictured himself forced to kneel before N and Ghetsis in the castle's throne room.

"Lord N, this is the servant who allowed the Meteonite to be taken by people who harm Pokémon," he heard Ghetsis telling N, who was seated on the throne at Ghetsis's side. "Hubert, commander of Strike Force Epsilon."

"Such a misstep cannot be tolerated!" Even in Hubert's mind, N's passionate, pained declaration made him flinch. It didn't help that he was already rattled thanks to Ghetsis using his name, an act the sage knew cut him right to the bone. "Because of your failure, Team Rocket will be able to harm countless Pokémon using the Meteonite's power. That power, which should have been used to free Pokémon from oppression, will instead be put to use enslaving them! My friends are crying out for me to save them, and I do not wish to use force to achieve my ideals, but your failure has made further conflict with Team Rocket inevitable. That I cannot abide."

"I concur, my king," he pictured Ghetsis saying. "Your punishment must be swift and decisive. This may be the moment when you lose all hope… Hubert... but you have brought this upon yourself."

Hubert imagined Aldith and Barret seemingly materializing out of thin air and seizing him from behind in response to a gesture from Ghetsis. As soon as their black-gloved hands grabbed him, he snapped out of his daydream just in time to hear his youngest subordinate pleading with him.

"Sir, you must do something!" the youthful grunt begged. "Team Rocket can't win this!"

"Y-you're right," he stammered in response, fumbling to retrieve a Poké Ball from his uniform. The icy glare he'd envisioned Ghetsis giving him filled his heart with terror at the thought of what it could portend. He felt as if a Snorlax were sitting on his chest. "It's all… all for the Hero of Ideals!"

Having composed himself enough to act, Hubert tossed the sphere in his hand. Yet another Liepard burst from it, but unlike all the others, this one's fur was a dark red that bordered on black and a sparkle glimmered around him as he stretched out. He calmly regarded Woobat and the normally-colored Liepard, who had begun clashing once again before him.

Seeing the restrained demeanor his Pokémon displayed helped Hubert to quiet his own nerves. "It's almost a shame that even we will have to release our Pokémon when all is said and done," he thought, "but it is for the greater good." Pointing toward Woobat and his subordinate's Liepard as they exchanged attacks, he ordered, "Liepard, Knock Off!"

Fittingly for the partner of a higher-ranked soldier, the shiny Liepard was better trained than his counterparts. His muscles, which were typically well developed for his species, had been further honed through the rigorous exercises he had been put through. That allowed him to nimbly dash over the sand with not a sound, and he was on top of Woobat before anyone realized it. His ordinarily-colored partner pushed Woobat down, and he followed up by raising his right leg upward, intending to hit Woobat squarely atop the head with it.

Before he could strike, however, an unseen assailant took him from the side, driving a foot into his left flank. He snarled in pain as he stumbled away from Woobat, but when he managed to regain his balance, he looked over to see who had ambushed him.

The sight was so unbelievable that even the shiny Liepard had to stare, dumbfounded.

"You ain't pullin' tricks like that on us!" Meowth warned both the Team Plasma members and their Pokémon, baring his claws to demonstrate his threat. After kicking the shiny Liepard, he placed himself in front of Woobat to shield her from the opposing group's assault. "You wanna try that again, you gotta go through me first!"

"Who knew he had it in him?" Jessie wryly noted.

"Indeed," James agreed. He then called out to Meowth, "Go get them! Show 'em what kind of heart we have in Kanto!"

"That's right!" Meowth exclaimed, pouncing at the shiny Liepard with his claws at the ready. "Let's see how you like a taste of these Fury Swipes!"

Meowth's display of bravado left both Hubert and his Liepard stunned, but as he advanced on them, both swiftly realized they had to act. "Giga Impact!" the hooded soldier barked.

The shiny Liepard reacted immediately to his master's order, showing no fear in the face of Meowth drawing near to him. Orange energy sparked to life around him, followed soon after by a sphere of purple light that completely enveloped his body. He charged straight into Meowth, forcing the latter to abandon his attempt at Fury Swipes in favor of just trying to hold Liepard back.

"Agh!"

Meowth growled in pain as the Dark-type Pokémon forced him backward, causing sand to pile up around his legs. It took all his strength to avoid being overwhelmed by Liepard's onslaught. "You guys gotta give me more juice!" he called over his shoulder to Jessie and James. "I ain't got enough to do this!"

"I got you, pal!" James lifted the laser cannon so quickly that he briefly lost his balance. He rushed to aim at the Meteonite in the sky, and without another word, pulled the trigger.

The resulting shot never reached its target. Right as James fired the cannon, a small figure darted past him, climbed onto a nearby stone and vaulted directly into the shot's path. All the energy James intended for the Meteonite was instead absorbed by the figure, who flopped to the ground after taking in the entirety of its power.

It was at that point that Jessie, James, Meowth and the Team Plasma battalion all finally got a look at who had interrupted their fighting - a Pikachu, who began radiating a brilliant golden glow as he struggled back to his feet.

"Pi-ka!" the Electric-type mouse shrieked. His ire was directed at both sides, but carried a particular venom for Team Rocket. That fact wasn't lost on either team.

"What's with that Pikachu?" the youngest Team Plasma Grunt wondered.

"I'll tell you what it is," Jessie bitterly answered through clenched teeth, having instantly recognized the intruder. "That Pikachu is nothing but trouble."

"And if Pikachu is here," James added, "there's no doubt more trouble is coming, on the double."

Speak of the devil and he shall appear, as the saying goes.

Mere moments after Pikachu's arrival, Looker's buggy came tearing up to the scene of the two teams' conflict. The International Police agent was at the wheel, and he wasn't alone. Professor Juniper was at his side, and in the back of the vehicle were the three young trainers who had been with her in the helicopter Team Plasma shot down earlier.

"Team Rocket, Team Plasma, you will be ceasing this at once!" Looker charged, flashing his International Police badge as he and his passengers lept out of the buggy.

"I knew the twerps would be coming, but not you, Boxed-Lunch Guy," James greeted the inspector, who he, Jessie and Meowth had encountered in the past. Waving his finger at Looker and the others, he warned, "Stay out of this. That goes double for you, head twerp! We aren't after your dear old Pikachu today, so get out of here!"

"You're lying!" the boy in the Poké Ball baseball cap angrily countered, jabbing his own finger toward his persistent nemeses. "Whatever you're doing with that Meteonite made Pikachu come here!"

"Don't hit us with your twerpy accusations," Jessie dismissively said. "We're only here to take what belongs to the Boss. If you wanna know what's up with your Pikachu, go ask those cosplayers over there."

"I will tell you exactly what is taking place," Hubert interjected, offering an answer to the boy's question before he even asked it. Taking a step forward, the Team Plasma commander spread his arms and joyously proclaimed to the heavens, "This Pikachu was drawn to the Desert Resort by the Meteonite's power, abandoning the trainer who kept it under oppression! You should rejoice, Trainer. When we of Team Plasma rewrite the history of Unova in the name of our hero, you shall be held up as the very first to have their Pokémon liberated! How truly wonderful!"

"Pokémon liberation?" wondered the green-haired, tuxedo-clad young man in Looker's group. "Pikachu wouldn't abandon Ash. What a foul taste to even suggest that!"

"That's right!" Ash insisted, turning his accusatory finger toward Hubert and Team Plasma. "I don't know what you're talking about, but Pikachu's my buddy!"

"Pika!" Pikachu vocalized his agreement.

Faced with such resistance to N's ideals, Hubert felt his eyebrow twitch. "You cannot fight the future," he gravely intoned. "Our hero will take his place as the king of Unova, and all Pokémon will be liberated from their oppression. It is that simple. You will need to choose whether to be on the right side of history, or be swept up in the all-consuming thunder of our hero's ideals. Regardless of your choice, the Meteonite is going to stay here with us, drawing more Pokémon toward its light of freedom."

"You can't keep using it like this!" Professor Juniper pleaded with both teams, tightening her arms around her gray tablet computer. "The Meteonite isn't just having the effects you think. It's releasing pulses of energy that could destroy Castelia and Nimbasa if they get any stronger! Whatever you're doing that's drawing out its energy, stop before it goes critical! You won't be able to reverse it!"

Unnerved slightly by the professor's plaintive tone and dire warning, James crossed his arms and coldly said to Hubert, "You best hand it over to us, then. What kind of hero would want his followers to destroy cities, hm?"

"You're not only corrupt but also misguided," Hubert shot back, "You would use the Meteonite to extort control of Unova using the very threats you're telling us not to use. For us, our ideals are so important that if sacrifices must be made, we are prepared to make them. Our hero may be disappointed in some of our tactics, but if Pokémon are to be liberated, hard decisions must be made."

"Listen to you go," Jessie mocked him. "Like I said, you're nothing but a fake knight with a motormouth. You talk so much and never notice how hypocritical you and your so-called Team Plasma are. At least we accept what we are… and we didn't jump right to destroying cities either."

Resigning himself to what would happen, Hubert crossed his arms. "I already told you we are willing to make sacrifices in the name of our ideals, so I don't know what you think you're threatening me with." He tilted his head toward the two Liepard and barked, "Both of you, attack!"

Both Dark-type Pokémon obeyed the command without hesitation, despite one not actually belonging to Hubert. They pounced at Team Rocket, the normally-colored Liepard baring claws wrapped in shadow while the shiny one had his leg pulled up in preparation for Knock Off.

"We ain't losin' to you!" Meowth screeched. "C'mon, Woobat, let's go!"

Woobat squeaked and fluttered next to Meowth. Though his bravado usually faded when confronted with opponents tougher than himself, a combination of the Meteonite's influence, the encouragement of his trainer and his own anger at the situation spurred him to Meowth's side in a shared charge toward the oncoming Liepard duo.

"Don't do it!" Juniper cried out, her words falling on deaf ears. Neither Team Rocket nor Team Plasma were anywhere near willing to stop, not until their respective enemies were vanquished.

Right as the two sides drew near each other, another voice cut through the chaos. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"

An electrical blast intensified by the Meteonite's power sliced through the midst of the two teams' battle like a hot knife, driving the four Pokémon apart before they could clash. The humans and Pokémon in both groups pivoted from each other to face the intruders, Ash and his Pikachu.

"Neither one of you should have the Meteonite!" At the boy's feet, Pikachu cried out and released a cloud of sparks to emphasize his point. "Team Rocket, all you ever do is steal Pokémon and use them for bad stuff!"

"See?" Hubert said with a smug smirk. "Even the child knows what you do is wrong."

"What you're doing isn't any better!" Ash's furious reproach of their nemesis made Jessie, James and Meowth laugh. "I don't understand what you're talking about, all this about liberating Pokémon… all I know is that people and Pokémon belong together! There are things I can't do without my buddy, and things he can't do without me. That's why you shouldn't have the Meteonite either, Team Plasma!"

"This boy believes what he says with all his heart…" Hubert realized, a thought that brought his mind to a standstill. "For him, keeping Pokémon and humans together is not even a question… could he be the Hero of Truth that would stand against Lord N? No! Preposterous!" Refusing to let on what he had been pondering, Hubert clenched his fists and reverted to the threatening words he had often heard Ghetsis use. "I'm warning you, boy, if you stand in opposition to Team Plasma, you will know what it feels like to lose all hope!"

"As long as I'm together with Pokémon, I'll never lose hope!" Ash argued back, leaving Hubert further stunned. The boy paid him no mind, however, instead turning his attention to his best friend. "Pikachu, if Team Rocket and Team Plasma won't stop fighting over the Meteonite, then we have to destroy it."

"Pika!" Pikachu exclaimed in agreement.

"That's right, buddy. Let's do it!" Thrusting his fist forward, Ash called out, "Quick Attack!"

Pikachu was never a slow Pokémon, but with the Meteonite pouring energy into his body, his Quick Attack only grew even faster. In the blink of an eye he was sprinting over the sands, not at Meowth, Woobat or the two Liepard but in the direction of the Meteonite.

"No!" Jessie, James, Meowth and Hubert all cried out in horror, though for differing reasons. For the three Team Rocket members, their potential defeat was largely a matter of personal pride. Giovanni would be disappointed in them, sure, but there would always be a tomorrow for them, another chance to earn his praise. They were three of his elite underlings, after all, having earned the position by working to defeat Team Galactic in Sinnoh. If they were to experience a setback in their struggle to conquer Unova due to Team Plasma, well, they'd just have to get back up and even the score next time. Besides, they still had the smaller Meteonite, and even a partial victory still was a victory.

On Hubert's part, things were different. N's belief in Team Plasma's crusade made him an uncompromising king, and with Ghetsis whispering in his ear he only became harsher. Should Hubert and the rest of Strike Force Epsilon fall short, he knew there was a significant chance their physical safety could be at stake. Even if N had mercy on them, he feared Ghetsis might force them to work like slaves on one of his personal projects instead, whether it was the experimental Project G at the P2 Laboratory or the construction of Project F in eastern Unova. There was no way he could afford to let the Meteonite be destroyed, especially by someone who could potentially be the Hero of Truth, the only person who could oppose N.

The youngest of Hubert's grunts instinctively understood what his leader feared, and reacted by tossing a Poké Ball with a flick of his wrist. "Liepard, stop Pikachu with Hyper Beam!"

Still another Liepard burst from the ball, spinning around as a Hyper Beam started forming near her mouth. When she stopped twirling, she launched it directly at Pikachu, only for him to leap over it and use the force of its detonation to gain even more speed.

"Woobat, do something!" Jessie shrieked.

Woobat acted quickly on her trainer's order, rising to a greater altitude before flinging multiple Air Slashes toward the ground. Pikachu managed to dash under the first and leap over the second, but the next three converged upon him too tightly to be evaded. He took a direct hit, only to end up unfazed by it. All he needed to do was know what he wanted to accomplish, and the power overflowing inside him gave him the energy he needed to make it happen. The three Air Slashes exploded when they hit him, but Pikachu managed to turn even that to his advantage, leveraging the blast to leap into the air.

"Giga Impact!" Hubert roared. This was it - he was the last line of defense for the Meteonite. If its destruction was to be avoided, he would have to do it himself.

Understanding this, Hubert's Liepard bolted skyward, wrapped in the churning auras Giga Impact brought on. He got directly between Pikachu and the Meteonite, putting himself on a collision course with the Electric-type Pokémon.

"Pikachu, Iron Tail!" Ash yelled as he watched Pikachu and the shiny Liepard draw near each other.

The one downside about Liepard's great momentum was that he couldn't stop it. Normally, that wouldn't be an issue. In fact, it was beneficial, since it only made his Giga Impact stronger. When he saw Pikachu flipping over right in front of him, however, he knew what was coming and had no way to escape. Pikachu hit Liepard squarely in the head his shining, temporarily-metallic tail, not only swatting the Dark-type Pokémon to the ground but launching himself right toward the Meteonite.

"Alright, buddy, go for it!"

As Jessie, James, Meowth, Hubert, the Team Plasma Grunts and all their Pokémon watched in terror, Pikachu collided with the Meteonite. Every bit of Pikachu's pent-up energy discharged upon the impact, causing a smoky explosion that was soon followed by a massive eruption of white light and a tremendous shockwave that radiated from the detonation. All present, no matter whether they were human or Pokémon, were both blinded and strewn around the area like rag dolls. The force of the explosion even managed to sweep up Looker's buggy, flipping it and throwing the vehicle against a rock.

"No! NO!" Hubert futilely protested, knowing but initially unwilling to accept that what had happened could not be reversed. He still couldn't see anything going on in the maelstrom of light, which only heightened his fear further.

"Commander, come in!" a voice sounded in his ear. It belonged to one of his henchmen who was still on the helicopter, he realized. "What's happening out there? Why did the Meteonite's energy suddenly vanish?!"

As much as he dreaded what it would bring, Hubert saw he had no choice but to resign himself to his fate. "The Meteonite was destroyed!"

"What are you talking about?!" the grunt on the helicopter gasped. "How is that possible?"

"It doesn't matter!" Hubert said, his mind addled with both anger and crippling apprehension. "The mission's a bust!" At that point, the light started to fade, finally allowing Hubert to see that the three grunts with him were scattered on the ground nearby. "Get up!" he ordered them, as he recalled his own Liepard. "We have to retreat!"

Elsewhere in the chaos, Jessie sprinted over to James, who happened to have been flung near where Meowth and Woobat were. "Are you alright?" she asked them, lowering herself to one knee for a better look at her teammates.

"I'm good," Meowth assured her. Woobat promptly followed his response with a chirp of agreement.

"The only thing bruised is my pride, really," James added with a huff. "That blasted Team Plasma, and the twerps too… that they'd stand in our way…"

"Wait." Looking down at his paws, Meowth stretched and contracted them several times, and a confused grimace crept onto his face. "Something's weird. I feel like myself again…"

"Are you saying the twerp and Pikachu actually…"

Jessie's inquiry got cut off when she heard Zager's voice from her own communicator. "Jessie, report! The Meteonite's energy signature just vanished from radar!"

"It's because the twerp and Pikachu terminated the Meteonite," she answered with a bitter scoff.

"If that's the case, pull out immediately, the scientist ordered, his already gruff voice descending even further into a growl. "Retreat to your base of operations and await further instructions from Headquarters."

"Roger."

"What's the word?" Meowth questioned.

"We're falling back." As she spoke, Jessie sent Woobat back to her Poké Ball. "Dr. Zager wants us to wait for new orders."

"Well, we've still got this," James said, lifting the cannon with the small Meteonite inside it. "Not a total bust."

"Giovanni won't be happy, but at least we got something," Jessie agreed. "Let's get out of here."

Once they were all in agreement, Jessie, James and Meowth lifted off with their jetpacks. At the same time, Team Plasma's helicopter was also taking off, so they got an unobstructed view of their new enemy's aircraft.

"That's right, you run!" Meowth yelled after the helicopter as it turned to fly away. "We'll be back, and all of Unova's gonna belong to Team Rocket!"

-:-

Meanwhile, inside the helicopter, whatever threats Team Rocket issued were the furthest thing from the minds of Hubert and his men. The three spies who had infiltrated the Join Avenue Corporation's party were flying the craft, leaving Hubert and the rest of Strike Force Epsilon in the back. There, they were all bowing before a hologram of Ghetsis that towered over them.

"I am deeply, deeply disappointed in you all," Ghetsis admonished them. "Needless to say, Lord N will hear of this."

Hubert was already plenty terrified of what would happen, but Ghetsis's utterly calm demeanor as he shamed them caused the commander to break out in a cold sweat. He'd seen such things from Ghetsis plenty of times before. Such displays of unexpected restraint usually ended up portending absolutely terrifying acts.

Yet, that wasn't the only reason Hubert couldn't help but shiver. "If that boy is the Hero of Ideals…" he thought, "he will face Lord N in the future, and I failed to stop him… if I'm not given the maximum punishment now, then when that day comes, I will…"

Ghetsis swept his arm in front of himself and issued the order, "Return to the castle. I will not be sending Strike Force Epsilon on any further operations for the time being."

As soon as he heard those words, Hubert's fear grew so great that he nearly fainted on the spot.

~:~

"And that is that," Trevor finished, picking up from Zinzolin, "the story of when Team Rocket and Team Plasma, and thus Polaris, first locked horns."

For what felt like the thousandth time that evening, an uneasy silence settled in over the table. The din of the other patrons filling Sushi High Roller seemed far away, almost like they were in another building altogether.

"That's… that's all a lot to take in," Anabel finally said to break the ice. Lowering her gaze to the table, she added, "I thought I would have a quiet life after what happened back then… of course, I'm back in the middle of it all once more, aren't I? I'm not sure how I feel about that."

"I don't blame you," Trevor assured her. "If it means anything, like I've said before, we don't want any harm to come to you, your family or your friends. Nekou especially."

"You can say it as many times as you want," Anabel muttered, crossing her arms, "but it's still hard to accept from a member of Team Rocket. I'm not going to lie to you about that. If you want me to trust you, you're going to have to prove it. That goes double for Nekou."

"Understandable," the former actor conceded. "I'll see if I can arrange time for you and Nekou to have a talk when we get back. For now, I just want you to understand that even if we might have been enemies in the past, these times are different than anything else. We're fighting to keep the world just the way it is now."

"That's right," Zinzolin spoke up, locking his weary, narrow eyes on Olivia's mother. "I may not know every detail of Polaris's inner workings, but I have seen enough to know that anyone with things they love in this world should not want them to win this war. I truly want to atone for my sins, so that is why you can place your faith in me when I say that."

"Both of you are wrong," Mitsumi interjected. She had been writing furiously in her notes the entire time Trevor and Zinzolin were telling their story, and she didn't stop even as she talked. "Polaris's plans for this world are absolutely unacceptable," she contended, the information she'd received from Looker about Dark Matter, Saeko and the Tenganists still fresh in her mind, "but Team Rocket would like nothing more than to continue the corruption already present in society. Neither of you are right. The truth is that society must be reformed so that your teams no longer exist, but not in the ways that Polaris wants to do it."

"I cannot argue with you there," Trevor admitted with a shake of his head. "Maybe the future will change us, too, but that has to wait until Polaris is gone. Everything hinges on that right now."

Meanwhile, as the people around him talked, Matt remained disconnected from their conversation. His mind was elsewhere, so he was hearing their words but not a single one registered.

"Nekou became a completely different person to get what she wanted back then, both out of Lenora and out of Colress…" He tightened his hands in his lap, outside of the others' view. "And it led to all of that happening. How do I know she isn't doing the same thing now? Still, I have to think that when she opened up to me, that was real. I have to believe in the Nekou I know…"

"Anyway," Mitsumi huffed, snapping Matt out of his thoughts by snapping her notebook shut. "Trevor, you can count your blessings for now. I…" She briefly lost her words and stumbled over herself. "I've decided not to carry out any further arrests at this time, but that comes with a condition. Set up a meeting between me and that Dr. Zager. His connections to both Team Rocket and Polaris demand further investigation."

Mitsumi's demand caught Trevor completely by surprise. He couldn't help himself from putting his hands down on the table a little too hard, producing a sound that made Anabel flinch. "Y-you want to talk to Zager?" he stuttered. When she nodded, he continued, "That… that might be a little difficult to do. Given his background, he is in hiding from Polaris. I can try to arrange something, but… it won't be easy."

Silva glanced over at his partner and saw that virtually every muscle in her body had grown tense. Realizing that she was growing distressed again, he quickly interrupted, "That ought to be just fine! You can get in contact with us and let us know when it comes together. That's good, right, Mitsumi?"

"Uh…" It took Mitsumi a moment, but she soon realized Silva's effort at helping her. "Yes, yes, that ought to be fine. We will also need to make arrangements with the Aether Foundation to interview Faba and Wicke, due to Colress's role in this affair."

"Perfect." Returning to the others at the table, Silva cheerfully suggested, "Now how about we finally order some food?"

-:-

Meanwhile, far from Olivine City and Sushi High Roller, another meeting was taking place in a similar environment. Its subject matter, however, could not have been more different.

Getriebe and Athleta were sharing a table in the bar within Polaris's temple. The latter had a mixed drink with pieces of fruit stuck in the glass, while the former was instead sipping from a can of lemonade anyone could buy from a vending machine. Excan towered over their table, but he wasn't in the bar with them; instead, his presence was via hologram from his company's headquarters in Kalos. Even though he wasn't at the temple, he had summoned his two colleagues to hear a proposal he'd developed.

"So what did you call us here for?" Getriebe asked in his usual irritated tone.

Excan's hologram flickered as he started to explain himself. "To put it simply, I have conceived of a way to better disseminate Polaris's beliefs among the public. Think of it as… a gentle push in the right direction. If we can sway peoples' minds to support our noble cause, we may be able to turn them away from the path of greed. And should they exhibit the capacity for change, well..." He paused, flashing a slight smirk at his audience."...then they could be among the chosen who will inherit the new world."

"If it can aid us in saving more people," Athleta said, resting his chin on his hand, "it's worthy of being discussed."

"Your wisdom shows your worthiness for your position." After offering this compliment, Excan turned halfway from Athleta and Getriebe, took a step forward and crossed his arms. The hologram flickered once again as he did so. "All three of us are public figures in our day-to-day lives, chosen ones that the people look to for guidance. Since that is the case, I propose we do just that. We ought to come forward and endorse Polaris's ideals to the general public. Those who are willing to be led will emulate us and step beneath Polaris's umbrella, and it is then that their eyes can be opened to the truth."

Getriebe threw back his head and gulped down the entire remaining contents of his lemonade can all at once, exhaled, and ran his arm across his mouth to dry it. "That's actually a good idea. As the Factory Head, I should be able to at least influence the residents of Goldenrod City, so I'll come out right aw-"

"No," Athleta interrupted, leaving Getriebe to sigh bitterly. "I should be first. From my position leading the Elite Four of these two regions, I will be able to sway the hearts and minds of the entire continent."

"I concur," Excan agreed, giving Athleta a quick nod. "Starting with the biggest name involved in our strategy will garner the most media coverage, which we can then leverage with subsequent endorsements for maximum effect. This satisfies me for now. I must be off to consult with Finansielle on the best way to structure the media rollout for our endorsements, so I bid you adieu."

The hologram flicked out completely, but this time, it did not come back. Athleta rose from his seat and headed to the bar, leaving Getriebe alone to sulk.

"I'm of equal rank to them both," he fumed in his thoughts. "It's getting so irritating keeping on taking orders."

-:-

Tap.

Tap.

Tap.

Each of the figure's deliberate steps echoed in the empty hallway deep within Polaris's temple. The individual's long, flowing black coat fluttered behind them as they rounded the corner from one corridor to the next, and a light on the nearby wall illuminated the features that made his identity clear. A handsome face with the glow of a man in his prime, piercing sky-blue eyes and wild hair of a matching color - all led to the same conclusion.

It was Rich Mistbloom, Olivia's supposedly-dead father, walking down the very hall she had envisioned him in. His coattails continued to flutter behind him with every step, giving his steady pace an air of dramatic finality. He'd long been known as a theatrical person, even if he wasn't usually fond of such dark clothing.

He made his way to the doors at the end of the hall before pausing and pivoting to stare at the wall behind him, zeroing in on the exact spot where Olivia had envisioned herself standing. Several long seconds passed while Rich stood perfectly still, his icy eyes remaining fixated on that spot.

Finally, he turned back around and took another step toward the door, prompting it to slide open and allow him entrance into Father's cavernous office. Polaris's leader, who was sitting at his desk writing something, let out a tired sigh as soon as he saw Rich walk in.

"Have I not told you time and again not to make yourself look like that?" Father grumbled. "I don't want to look at you when you have that face."

Father's protest only made Rich laugh jovially. "Oh, come on. Can't you let me have a little fun?"

"Not negotiable," Father firmly said. "Go back to normal."

"Fine, fine, you win."

Rich tilted his head and cracked his neck. A purple light flared up around his feet and promptly wrapped around his body, leaving only a faint silhouette still visible. He soon started twitching, and within the glow, the shape of his silhouette began to change. His arms and legs grew shorter, taking nearly a full foot off his height, and his wild hair composed itself into a neatly-cut bob.

By the time the purple light dissipated, the individual emerging from it was not Rich Mistbloom. It was Gabriella who stepped out, her transformation even extending to the clothing she wore, which had reverted to her Finansielle costume minus the mask. She slithered toward Father's desk, eventually raising a finger to point at him when she got close.

"There was a reason I took on that form, you know," she teased him. "Don't you wanna know?"

"I'll find out whether I want to or not, I suspect." Father sank back in his chair, plainly resigning himself to whatever Gabriella decided to do.

"You know that I have to do whatever the Oracle tells me has to happen," Gabriella revealed. Now within reach of the desk, she brought both of her hands down on it. "The Oracle knows everything that will happen, but in order for those visions to come true, everything has to happen. Polaris will win, the Oracle has assured me… every single action she says will happen on our way there must be taken, whether we like it or not. And do you remember what I told you will happen when we give Dark Matter this world?"

Father hesitated to answer, but eventually whispered, "W-we'll get back… everything we lost."

"We'll get back everything we lost," Gabriella repeated for emphasis, though she refrained from putting her next thought into words. "I'll get back everything that was taken from me, so long ago…"

END of CHAPTER 24