Well, this time it's only been about six months since my last update. That's progress, right? I took a week off from work to recharge my mental batteries, which now they are thanks to the time I've spent with my wonderful fiancee HollyLu. I truly don't know what I'd do without her.

But not only was I able to have my spirits raised, I was able to finally get back into a writing rhythm! And as a result, I have a brand new chapter to share with you all! But as always, before we get into it, I'll address the anon reviews!

Blade Warrior: Believe me my friend, I never left. I've always been here and now I'm ready to continue this retelling of the tale everyone knows and loves!

abrilxo: I'm glad I could scratch that nostalgic itch for fanfiction! I must admit I'm pleasantly surprised you managed to read through this whole story, particularly since I still want to go back and streamline all the paragraphs from the previous chapters. They need much work, IMO. But hopefully you see this and enjoy!

And that's all there was! So without further ado, it's time to continue this story! I own nothing except the story and certain OCs that make appearances here and there.

All his hard work, all of his efforts, thwarted by a Pokémon who got a little too curious about his scent! He knew he shouldn't have been using his lavender body wash while on this mission! Now, he was running for his life, sprinting across the complex as he desperately dodged a barrage of Air Cutter attacks from a swarm of Golbat flying overhead.

Swerving and weaving, he was managing to stay ahead so far, only barely keeping his balance as the Golbat were relentless in their assault. But then he stumbled, only for a split second, and that was all it took for the Golbat to hit their mark, as he was thrown into the air and his wig along with it, as he landed with a painful thud on the concrete ground.

He struggled to get back up, and as he raised his head, he heard a stomp in front of him, and saw an angry purple Pokémon with a stripe down its back looking at him with a menacing glare. And standing next to it, was a tall woman with purple hair tied into both a bun and a ponytail, a satisfied smirk on her face.

"I'd say we finally caught up to you." The woman loomed over her prey. "Now, Looker, show your face!"

"Well…" The man tore off the rubber mask on his face, smirking right back up at the woman. "The jig is up." Getting back to his feet, the rest of his disguise was cast aside, revealing the true identity of the man to be none other than Looker of the International Police. "Well, Jupiter, it honestly took you Team Galactic grunts longer than I expected to catch on to my being undercover."

"As much as I'd like to take the credit, that honor goes to my beloved Skuntank." Jupiter scratched the head of her Pokémon for a moment before directing her attention back to Looker. "That coat is so out of style."

"Really?" Looker scoffed. "I think you should know, for a lady, you're quite rude."

"I've been told that from time to time." Jupiter laughed. "I'll say this; your codename 'Looker' is well-deserved." She licked her lips, a certain hunger in her eyes as she looked him up and down. "You're my type."

"Well, that's very flattering." Looker smirked and shrugged. "But unfortunately, sorry to say, you're not my type. I tend to find being evil a major turnoff in women."

"I suppose that depends on your definition of evil." Jupiter shrugged right back. "Oh well, such a shame. However, there are many things I'm dying to ask you about, so perhaps we'll get the chance to know each other better…let's see…we'll start with exactly how much do you know about us?"

Looker looked down to see Jupiter's Skuntank extending its claws for a vicious Fury Swipes attack. But he just smiled and looked Jupiter right in the eyes. "Do your worst."

Jupiter giggled in anticipation, a crazed look in her eyes. "I was hoping you'd say that…you and I are going to have so much fun together."

While on their way to Ash's final gym battle in Sunyshore City, after all the excitement they'd recently been through, the group opted for a brief detour to Floaroma Town, where they would take a much needed respite from their journey.

"So this is Floaroma Town." Misty took in a deep breath to savor the fresh scent of growing flowers everywhere she went. "Wow, I can only imagine how Erika would react if she ever came across this place, it's beautiful."

"Good point." Brock chuckled. "With all the flowers here, her perfume business would go through the roof!"

"I still don't get the appeal of perfume." Ash shrugged. "Like yeah, okay, it makes you smell nice. But after a while it can get overwhelming for your nose!"

"Well at least that's a valid criticism." Misty rolled her eyes. "Unlike your nonsense back when you first met her."

"Hey, I was ten, cut me some slack." Ash led his friends into the Floaroma Town Pokémon Center, where a TV was showing a broadcast of Marian, who seemed to be making a Pokémon Contest announcement.

"Guys!" Dawn exclaimed as she ran to the TV. "It's news on the next Pokémon Contest!"

"For this year's Pokémon Contests, there's a brand new schedule on tap! To the east of Mt. Coronet, it's the exciting Daybreak Contest in Daybreak City! And for this particular contest, we'll be highlighting the challenging but spectacular double performance format! The Grand Festival is fast approaching, so for all you aspiring coordinators looking for your last ribbon, hurry to Daybreak City and sign up! We'll be waiting!"

As the broadcast focused on more local news, Dawn's eyes were shining in excitement. "Double performance, wow! I've gotta enter that contest, it's my shot at getting that last ribbon I need to enter the Grand Festival! Brock, can we make it?!"

"Lemme check, this Pokégear Lyra and Khoury gave me is sure coming in handy!" As Brock tapped the screen of his Pokégear, a virtual map appeared, highlighting their points of interest. "Well whaddya know? Looks like Daybreak City's right on the way to Sunyshore City!"

"Well that's convenient." Misty smirked. "So I guess we'll be stopping there first after we catch our breaths here."

"We sure are!" Dawn nodded. "I gotta redeem myself after the last time; I've been dying to give double performances another try since the last time I didn't win. But this time I'll be more prepared than ever!"

"Sounds like a plan! And you know we'll do whatever we can to help you with that!" Ash pumped a fist. "In fact, I can hear Lucario's voice from inside his Pokéball, he wants in on the action!"

"Great! I'll take all the help I can get!" Dawn then yelped as Lucario popped out of his Pokéball to stand next to her. "Boy, you're sure eager!"

"You better believe it!" Lucario's excitement was palpable. "If you need a tough opponent to spar with, I'm your Pokémon!"

"I'm sure you'll get your chance, Lucario." Misty placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "But for now let's just enjoy the sights and smells of the town and take it easy. Besides, you're probably still a little sore from before."

"Not really, no." Lucario shook his head. "Thanks to my aura, I'm at full strength and ready to rumble!" The Pokémon looked around and saw that no one else was sharing his intense enthusiasm, so he toned it down a bit and sweat-dropped. "Of course, that doesn't mean a vacation isn't a good idea."

"That's the spirit." Ash said. "C'mon, buddy. Let's take it easy for a bit, everyone needs to recharge their batteries eventually."

"Exactly…speaking of which…" Brock suddenly had hearts in his eyes. "I wonder if we'll get the chance to run into Forsythia while we're here?!"

"Uh oh." Dawn rolled her eyes.

"Here too?" Misty asked in disbelief. "Brock, seriously, you need to get a grip!"

Brock would've gone on another love-fueled tangent, but he suddenly felt the threatening presence of Croagunk, whose hand was glowing with purple energy, ready with a Poison Jab if necessary. "Croagunk seems to agree with you." Brock laughed nervously.

It didn't take long for the group to start walking down Route 205, connecting Floaroma Town with Eterna City. The flowers were never-ending, culminating in a combination of colors that captivated the senses. "This place really is beautiful." Misty hummed happily as she leaned on Ash's shoulder while they walked. "Wish I'd gotten the chance to see it the first time you guys were here."

"I'm just glad you're here now." Ash leaned his own head against hers. "And I'm glad you're enjoying yourself. Y'know, with you here, this place just seems so much-"

"Guys, look!"

Ash's thought was cut off by Lucario's sudden outburst, as the Pokémon pointed in the distance, his aura glowing intensely. "You'll never guess who's over there!"

When Lucario broke into a sprint, the teens and the other Pokémon all followed suit until he came to a stop, kneeling in the flower bed by the side of the road. "What's going on, Lucario?!" Dawn answered her own question, as her eyes caught a familiar shade of beige among the pinks, oranges and yellows of the flowers. "No way, it's a Meowth!"

"Not just any Meowth!" Ash exclaimed. "That's Meowth from Team Rocket!"

"And he looks to be in pretty bad shape!" Brock knelt down by the unconscious Pokémon, trying to diagnose any injuries. "What do you suppose happened?"

"I dunno," Ash reached out with his aura. "I don't sense Jessie or James anywhere around here…in fact; I don't think they're even in Floaroma Town. Lucario?"

"Same." Lucario nodded to confirm. "The only aura I recognize around here are us and Meowth. The rest of Team Rocket are nowhere to be found."

"Then Meowth is alone? Lying face first in the dirt?" Misty sighed. "This can't be good."

It was at that moment that Meowth started coming to, as he groaned and got back on his feet, rubbing his head as he slowly forced his eyes open…and he felt his heart jolt as he was surrounded by twerps. "Yipes! It's twoips!" The Scratch Cat Pokémon looked around the area looking for his teammates. "Where are Jessie and James?! I gotta…I-I…gotta…"

"Meowth, you okay?" Brock gasped when Meowth collapsed back to the ground, and he scooped up the injured Pokémon and held him in his arms. "Meowth needs medical attention; we gotta get him back to the Pokémon Center, fast!"

"Here, let us help!" Lucario and Ash gathered around, and after a deep breath from them both, their eyes lit up with aura energy, which flowed into Meowth, miraculously causing some of his external injuries to start fading. "There…that should hold him over." Lucario said. "Let's get moving."

"Ash…" Misty gasped in quiet shock. "You…you and Lucario can heal injuries now?"

Ash sighed with fatigue, kneeling down from the exertion. "I figured out how shortly after Dawn's last contest. But it takes a lot out of us, and there is a limit to what we can do."

"Well…hopefully we never have to test that limit."

"For sure." Ash finally stood back up. "Come on; let's get Meowth to the Pokémon Center."

"N-No!" Meowth was awake again, but clearly seemed unable to move. "No Pokémon Center…gotta find…Jessie and James!"

"Meowth, you need help!" Dawn exclaimed. "Just let us!"

But Meowth refused, summoning whatever strength he had left to extend his claws in a clearly empty threat. "I…won't let you take me dere!"

"Okay, okay." Brock looked around for a few moments before glancing up at Misty. "Misty, can you call out Vaporeon? She can help us find a fresh source of water so I can treat Meowth's injuries."

"Alright, Brock." Misty pulled out a Pokéball and summoned Vaporeon, who was already keenly aware of the circumstances as she sniffed the air and quickly took off running. "Follow Vaporeon!"

Within minutes, the group reached a small stream, where Brock was able to clean off Meowth's wounds, and then promptly apply a Super Potion to give Meowth back his energy. "Man…dat spritz kinda stings!"

"That means it's working." Brock replied. "Now I just need to put a wrapping on it."

As Brock worked on wrapping up Meowth's arm, Ash took the opportunity to ask the question on everyone's minds. "What happened to you anyway?"

Meowth scowled in disgust. "It was dose fashion freaks!"

"Fashion freaks?" Misty raised an eyebrow.

"You know da type! Dose Team Galactic goons!"

"Team Galactic?!" The group all shouted.

"See, we were tailin' you twoips, doing dat ting we do so well…"

"Man, if I don't get somethin' ta eat soon, I tink I'm gonna pass out!"

"Pass out on your own time." Jessie groaned. "If I have to fight through the hunger pains, then so do you." But just then, Jessie and the other Team Rocket members heard the sound of whirring overhead, and they looked up and gasped as they saw a very distinctly marked helicopter fly over them. "That mark!"

"Freaks of fashion!"

"Yeah! It's dose Team Galactic bozos!"

"So let's go!" With energy renewed, Jessie led the boys through the forest at full sprint, eyes never leaving the helicopter as they ran. In spite of running into a few trees and tripping over a few rocks, their chase remained steadfast, until they saw the helicopter descend into a large collection of buildings in the distance. "It seems we've reached the end of the road."

"I'll say!" Meowth whispered. "Heads up, folks! I tink we've just stumbled upon Team Galactic's base!"

"Some base." James scoffed. "It just looks as awful as their sense of fashion."

"It's probably just like those old tropes you see in cartoons back in the day." Jessie rolled her eyes. "An abandoned warehouse of some kind."

"Actually," James pulled out a guidebook. "Apparently this place is called the Fuego Ironworks…it's been abandoned for quite some time."

"So I was right! Score one for Jessie!"

"Let's not sweat da details!" Meowth exclaimed. "We've got a real opportunity here ta blow Team Galactic's plans wide open! Waste not, want not!"

"On the dot!"

Peeking out from their bushy hiding spot, the Team Rocket trio stealthily made their way to the edge of the facility, finding an old ladder and using it to climb up over the fence and onto the roof. But just as soon as they started crawling their way inside, they looked down one floor below, seeing Looker being interrogated by none other than Commander Jupiter.

"We know dat guy!" Meowth whispered urgently. "Jessie, James, we gotta save da lunchbox guy, dig?!"

"A member of the International Police?" James asked in disbelief.

"By law, Team Rocket doesn't save the law!"

"But doin' da right thing for a change might help us put Team Galactic on da fashion garbage heap where those freaks belong!"

That got the two humans to perk up considerably. "We'd be putting the International Police to work for us!" James said.

"Using the good guys to accomplish our evil deeds surely works for me!"

"Exactly!" Meowth grinned. "Foist Team Galactic goes down, den Team Rocket goes ta town!"

"Then let's make sure those fashion freaks take a dive!" Jessie grabbed a Pokéball.

"No jive!"

"But I guess since you're here and your buddies aren't, it didn't quite go the way you planned, huh?" Lucario scoffed.

"You ain't kiddin' giant freak." Meowth grumbled, much to Lucario's annoyance as the jackal growled at Meowth. "Team Galactic may be weird but dey sure pack a wallop. We all fought da good fight, but wit an army of Golbat and dat stinky Skuntank of hers, dat purple-haired fashion freak captured Jessie and James, and de explosion sent me into a solo blastoff…and I didn't come to until you twoips showed up and rescued me."

"You've had quite a rough time."

The Scratch Cat Pokémon ignored Brock's comment, instead giving a slight groan as he got up from the rock he was sitting on once Brock finished tending to his wounds. He then bowed slightly, his eyes closed solemnly. "Tanks for da save, twoip." Then he turned to start walking up towards the road, his eyes narrowed with determination.

"Meowth, hold on!" Ash exclaimed. "Where are you going?"

Meowth looked over his shoulder. "Jessie and James are waitin' for me back dere!"

"You're going back to Team Galactic's base?!" Dawn gasped. "You could really get hurt this time! If all three of you didn't stand a chance, how are you going to fight them off all alone?!"

"I'm always da big idea guy…" Meowth turned to start walking again. "I'll come up wit a plan."

"No way, you'll get yourself killed!" Ash clenched a determined fist. "We're going to the Fuego Ironworks with you!"

Meowth froze in his tracks.

"Let's make sure we're all packed up before we're ready to go!" Brock said.

Meowth suddenly snarled, his claws extended as he glared at Pikachu and Piplup, who were the closest ones to him once they started following. The action got everyone to stop moving. "I appreciate you lugs patchin' me up…" The cat growled. "But you lugs an' me are enemies, dig it?!"

"Oh like that's ever stopped you from taking our help before!" Lucario gestured incredulously. "You have a death wish or something?!"

"Our past team ups have always been because we shared a common goal!" Meowth glared up at Lucario. "But dis ain't one of dose times! Saving Jessie and James is my job; I can't take straight up charity from you!"

"What makes you think we're interested in helping you save Jessie and James?" Misty smirked.

"Wha?!"

"Exactly, Misty." Dawn nodded with a smirk of her own. "We're going with you because we wanna save Looker. If we find Jessie and James along the way, then that's just a coincidence."

"Yeah, Looker really helped us out." Brock smiled as he followed the rest of his friends up the hill, leaving Meowth behind. "And now it's our turn to help him out."

"So come on," Ash looked over his shoulder and winked. "Hurry it up and lead us to their base, 'kay?"

The Scratch Cat Pokémon just stood in place, stunned by what he'd just seen and heard. Finally, his eyes started watering as he tried and failed to stop a smile from spreading across his face. "Man, dose twoips…ain't an evil bone in dere bodies."

"Excuse me! Anybody home?!" Jessie screamed at the top of her lungs as she looked around as far as she could through the bars of her prison cell door. Already she, James and Looker had been locked up for several hours and the magenta-haired woman was starting to go stir crazy. "I demand you fashion freaks let us out of here!"

"Jess, please, we're hardly in a position to make demands!" James sighed.

Jessie wheeled on James, causing the man to put his hands up defensively. "If we don't make like squeaky wheels, we'll never get the grease we need to slip out of here!" Jessie then turned back to the door, opening her mouth to shout once again…but then her eyes caught a flash of cream and purple, and she looked down to see Jupiter's Skuntank…in a very suggestive and smug pose. "That is one gross Pokémon."

"Agreed, and the smell is worse." James groaned.

"Enough with the attitude!" Jessie snarled through her teeth as the Skuntank laughed at her. "I'm going to pluck the fur off of your annoying self strand by stupid strand!"

"Wait!" Looker suddenly shouted as he spotted Jessie reaching for the door. "Don't touch!"

But it was too late, as Jessie gripped the bars of the door as tight as she could, giving her an electrical shock that was so strong it rivaled one of Pikachu's Thunderbolts, and left her a twitching mess on the ground. "Hi Mommy, I'm home…"

Looker sighed as he sat back down. "There are booby traps everywhere…and since electrical devices won't work, we can't use our Pokéballs to call for backup. We have to be careful."

James reached for one of his Pokéballs and attempted to open it, and just as Looker said, the ball didn't enlarge when the button was pressed. "I'll be dipped!"

"Just great!" Jessie got on her knees and screeched at the man. "Now you tell us!"

Looker just shook his head. "I shouldn't have involved you, I'm sorry."

"We involved ourselves, don't you see?" James shrugged. "Our disdain for Team Galactic brought us here!"

"We'll pound those fashion freaks into a fashion pulp!"

"And since we did manage to barge into their base, all that remains is to defeat their boss!"

Looker shook his head again. "Their boss is not here."

"But…" James sat a little straighter. "If this isn't headquarters, what is it?"

"From what little intel I was able to gather while I was undercover, this place appears to be their secret factory."

"A factory for secrets?" Jessie grinned.

"No, let me explain." Looker lowered his voice as he leaned in closer to the two villains. "At one point in time, this factory was the largest and most successful manufacturer in the entire Sinnoh Region…but it was closed down due to excessive pollution. But now Team Galactic has been using it as their secret factory if you will. Secret in the sense that they're using it to make…something."

"And I take it you were here to discover what that something was?"

"Yes." Looker nodded before glaring at the door. "And I was close to finding out when that Skuntank recognized my scent and blew my cover. Now our main focus should be to try and find a way out of here…before Team Galactic has a chance to enact whatever plans they have in store for us."

In a dimly lit room deep with the Fuego Ironworks, Commander Jupiter was staring intently at a rotating object. It was almost like a ring of sorts, consisting of multiple tiny red objects linking them together. Jupiter was enraptured by the sight, her mind whirling with possibilities for its use. "Ah, to look upon the exquisite beauty of the Red Chain. It's quite remarkable we could recreate it from the Veilstone City meteorite."

"Not recreate it, Jupiter. Resurrect it."

Jupiter winced and glared over her shoulder as none other than Charon, along with his Rotom, walked in with a smug grin on his face. "Whatever you want to call it, Charon, what's important is that we've accomplished our goal."

"Yes indeed," Charon's grin grew. "And don't forget that the brilliant genius who should be credited with bringing it back into our world is yours truly, known to you as the humble Charon!"

Jupiter gritted her teeth and growled under her breath as the scientist cackled with glee. "I hate that laugh." Jupiter took a breath to regain her composure, then turned to face her colleague. "What are your plans for the International Policeman?"

"Well, my plans aren't nearly as…salacious as yours are." Charon ignored how Jupiter bristled at that remark. "But regardless, what I would do in this situation is irrelevant. Cyrus has already informed me that he has his own special plans for him."

"Really?" Jupiter sneered and raised an eyebrow. "Master Cyrus didn't say anything to me about this."

"Perhaps there's simply something to be said about having an individual with comparable intellect around to discuss things with." Charon just shrugged and turned to leave the room. "However, I do have one small tidbit of information that you'll be able to grasp." Charon grinned over his shoulder. "Saturn and his Toxicroak have finally uncovered the gateway to Spear Pillar."

Jupiter gasped, her frustration with the older man instantly gone. "Wonderful! That means now the real journey begins." She leaned down, towering over the stump of a man with her superior height. "And if I have my way, we'll leave you and your pest of a Rotom behind on that journey."

"Idle threats, Jupiter?" Charon just chortled, unfazed by Jupiter's attempt at intimidation. "Whether you like it or not, none of this would have been possible without my genius spearheading the entire operation. Why do you think Cyrus came to me in the first place? And as for Rotom, its assistance in these endeavors has been invaluable. Without Rotom to clear up this slew of technical foul ups over these past several weeks, we would be even further behind than we already are."

Jupiter snarled, her eyes shooting daggers at the floating orange Pokémon behind Charon. "It's that infuriating Pokémon's fault that we're behind at all!" Jupiter glared as she walked past Charon, making sure to harshly brush past him as she went. "I will find a way to prove that your precious Rotom is actively sabotaging our plans, and when I do, I look forward to watching Master Cyrus punish both you and it at the same time."

"You can waste your time all you like, but I think your efforts would be better spent on actually working towards our shared goal, rather than seeking to find evidence of a crime that hasn't been committed."

"Commander Jupiter, Commander Charon!"

The two commanders turned to face the grunt that came running through the pneumatic doors. "What is it?" Jupiter grumbled in frustration.

"I apologize for the intrusion, but a flying object has been detected inside the perimeter!"

Jupiter raised an eyebrow. "Flying object?" The woman went over to the nearest monitor to turn it on, switching the feed to the security cameras outside the ironworks, and it didn't take long for her to notice exactly what the flying object actually was. "Them again…assemble the Golbat, this time we're going to take care of them for good."

High above the sky, an all too familiar hot air balloon was making its way towards the Fuego Ironworks, with a very determined group of trainers and Pokémon sitting in the basket. "Dig it, guys." Meowth said to the trainers as the ironworks came into view. "Up ahead." But then Meowth spotted something else. "Eh?"

"It's a swarm of Golbat!" Brock exclaimed.

"Oy vey, dey know we're comin'!"

"Then let's get to work!" Ash glanced down at his partner by his side. "Pikachu, help us out!"

"Pachirisu, Buneary, we need you too!"

"Surskit, you know what to do!"

Pachirisu, Buneary and Surskit popped out of Dawn and Misty's Pokéballs, with Pachirisu and Buneary landing in Dawn's arms and waiting to take their positions, while Surskit latched itself onto Misty's arm and readied its Ice Beam attack.

"Alright, let's do this! Staraptor, Gliscor, Charizard, I choose you!" Ash threw the Pokéballs into the air, catching them as they came back down after releasing his mini-army of flying-types. "You guys know what to do, let's take out those Golbat!"

The flying Pokémon nodded as they each took a Pokémon as their rider, with Buneary and Pachirisu landing on Staraptor and Gliscor, while Pikachu took his perch on Charizard's back.

"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt! Charizard, Heat Wave!"

"Pachirisu, use Discharge, and Buneary, use Ice Beam!"

"Ice Beam, Surskit! Give it all you got!"

All the attacks went off simultaneously, instantly bringing down the army of Golbat and giving the Meowth balloon a clear path to the Ironworks. "That took care of them! Let's land over there!"

"With care!" Meowth steered the balloon down towards the open clearing, but before the balloon could touch down, a human and a Pokémon appeared from behind the door which would have granted them entry into the Ironworks. "Who's dat?!"

"Skuntank, use Flamethrower!"

A powerful blast of fire came from the Pokémon below, shocking the trainers and Meowth as they gasped. Then Misty reacted, rushing to the front of the balloon's basket as she aimed Surskit right at the incoming flames. "Surskit, Bubblebeam!"

"You too, Piplup!"

Both water-types got their attacks off, and when they collided with the Flamethrower, a huge cloud of steam formed, completely clouding the battlefield and giving the Meowth balloon enough cover to land safely. "C'mon!" Ash leaped out of the basket first, followed closely by his friends. "We've gotta get in there while we can!"

They ran towards the shape of the building, only to be blocked off once the steam cleared, as none other than Commander Jupiter and her Skuntank stood in their way. "Well well well, what do we have here?"

"Get out of our way!" Ash shouted.

"Oh, that's not going to happen." Jupiter crossed her arms with a smug smirk. "You all seem so good at popping up out of nowhere. Maybe you're here to join Team Galactic?" Her eyes wandered over to Brock, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "How about you? A strong, handsome man like you would be a perfect fit for our organization."

"Hey guys?" Brock shuddered. "I think this might be the first time I've ever felt actually repulsed by a woman!"

"I can't blame you!" Dawn gagged. "Joining Team Galactic? Ugh, that would be so…ew!"

"What've ya done wit Jessie and James?!" Meowth ran up with his claws extended.

"And what about Looker?!" Ash took a step forward. "We've got you outnumbered, so either move out of the way or we'll move you ourselves!"

Jupiter just chuckled softly, unfazed by the teens' threats. Then her confident smile dropped, as she turned to stare intensely at Dawn, her voice soft. "Oh, Mesprit."

"Huh?" Dawn's entire stance loosened, as a memory suddenly flashed in her mind, of a transparent figure she'd seen on the day she and Piplup first met. "How…how do you-"

"Azelf."

Ash and Misty were the next ones to be caught off guard, as they were hit with their own flashback of the night they stood over the Lake Valor railing during the Wallace Cup. "Ash, she knows?" Misty whispered urgently. "How does she know?!"

"I-I don't know…"

Jupiter then turned back to Brock, the lustful gaze now replaced by one of hatred. "Uxie…why did it have to be you?"

"What are you even talking about?" Dawn asked.

Jupiter's eyes narrowed, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "I'm talking about the Lake Trio of course…why is it that they chose you?!"

"What do you mean they chose us?" Ash replied. "All we did was see a shadow come out of the lakes!"

"Exactly!" Jupiter's voice became shrill. "You saw them! The legendary Pokémon spirits that they say reside in those lakes!"

"Alright, how did you know about that?" Brock stepped forward. "Have you been spying on us?"

All this time, Meowth had been looking back and forth between the teens and Jupiter. "One-a you twoips wanna clue me in? I'm kinda flyin' blind here!"

Jupiter paid no mind to the Scratch Cat Pokémon as she grit her teeth in barely contained rage. "We know everything about all of it." She snarled. "The fact of the matter is, we were the ones who were supposed to have synchronized with the Lake Trio…but instead, they chose you!"

"Alright, dat's it!" Meowth shouted. "I'm done listenin' to all dis gobbledygook! Give back Jessie and James if ya wanna keep dat pretty face of yours!"

The purple-haired young woman jerked her head towards Meowth, the crazed look in her eyes causing him to flinch briefly. "You all must consider yourselves so special…but in the grand scheme of things…you're less than nothing." Jupiter started giggling. "And now, I'll take care of you myself, and everything can go right back to the way things are supposed to be."

At that moment, another swarm of Golbat flew in, already launching Air Cutter attacks at the trainers before they could even react. Fortunately, that's when Pikachu and all the other Pokémon swooped back into the battle, launching their attacks and countering the Golbat barrage.

"Great timing, Pikachu!" Ash pumped a fist. "Now hit 'em with another Thunderbolt!"

"Skuntank, Flamethrower!"

The attacks collided again, causing a huge smoke cloud to form as a result, the force of the blast knocking the teens to their feet while Jupiter was only barely able to keep her balance as she was pushed back several feet. Then everything settled, and the odds shifted dramatically in favor of the younger trainers.

"Like I said, you're outnumbered!" Ash grinned as Gliscor landed on the roof of the passageway leading into the building, while Pachirisu hopped off his back with its cheeks sparking with electricity.

Jupiter growled and turned to make a retreat, but then Buneary and Staraptor landed and flanked her on her right, while Charizard and Pikachu blocked her from the left side. "Surrounding us, eh?"

"Unless that Skuntank of yours knows how to fly, you're stuck!" Dawn grinned. "Now let us through!"

"This is far from over." Jupiter gave a vicious sneer as she looked down at her partner Pokémon and placed a cloth over her nose and mouth. "Skuntank, use Toxic now!" With that order given, Skuntank spewed deadly purple ooze all over the battlefield, its stench strong enough to be smelled even before it left the Pokémon's mouth.

"Charizard, Staraptor, Gliscor, get the others away! Everyone else, behind me!" Ash's eyes glowed blue as he put up a shield to protect them from the liquid, but then the ooze began to evaporate. "Oh no!"

"Don't breathe it in!" Brock shouted. "It's toxic!"

That's when the flying-types stepped in, not needing an order from Ash to know what to do as they all flapped their wings as hard as they could, blowing the poisonous cloud away. "Thanks guys!" Ash smiled as he lowered the shield, but that's when he noticed Jupiter was making her retreat thanks to the diversion. "Jupiter's gettin' away! Charizard, let's go after her!"

"Ash, wait!" Misty grabbed Ash's shoulder to hold him back, and that's when the sound of a helicopter taking off started rumbling in their ears. Seconds later, the helicopter emerged from behind the building, the blades dangerously close to the building's edge, and within seconds, they were firmly out of reach. "I'm sorry." Misty sighed. "As much as I don't want them to get away, I also don't want my boyfriend and his Pokémon to get sliced and diced by a helicopter."

"You made the right call, Misty." Brock nodded.

"What da tall twoip said." Meowth retracted his claws. "Besides, we're here ta find Jessie and James."

"And Looker." Dawn pointed out.

"Yeah, da lunchbox guy too." Meowth hummed in thought before looking up at Ash. "Hey, twoip. You gots dose crazy aura powers. Can ya put 'em ta good use and track down where my team is in dere?"

"Good idea." Ash took a moment and returned his flying-types to their Pokéballs, then he got down on one knee and placed his hand on the ground, his eyes closed as he focused on channeling his aura to search within the building's interior. His eyes squeezed tighter as he exerted more energy, searching deeper and deeper…until finally, his eyes snapped open and he grinned, the excess blue aura fading from his eyes as he stopped. "I know where they are. Follow me guys!"

Aboard the Team Galactic chopper, Jupiter was silently fuming as she leaned on her elbow and glared down towards the ground below. "I don't get it." She finally whispered to herself. "Why did the Lake Trio choose them in the first place?" Her whole body tensed as anger began welling up inside her. "A bunch of random sniveling teenagers, I should have been the one to synchronize with Uxie!"

"Jealous of those children are we?" Charon cackled, amused by the short-lived surprised expression on Jupiter's face. "Or are you still grouchy because you still haven't found a…proper outlet for your more primal urges?"

Jupiter slammed her fist against the reinforced window, her eyes wide with rage. "If you make one more inappropriate comment towards me, I will gladly strangle you with my bare hands! Master Cyrus doesn't need you as much as you think he does!"

But Charon just cackled again, reveling in how easy it was to rile her up. "You really should work on controlling your temper. After all, human emotions tend to irritate Cyrus more than anything else in this world."

The purple-haired woman inhaled sharply through her nose, her fists clenched so tightly that her fingernails were close to drawing blood from her palms. Then she closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, only barely forcing down her hatred as she looked the portly man in his eyes. "Is the Red Chain safe or not?"

"Don't worry; it's safe and secure right below your feet." Charon glanced down at the hatch door Jupiter's boots were resting on, again amused by her surprise as she gasped softly at the revelation. "You know, that's probably why Uxie didn't choose you. As the bringer of knowledge, Uxie was bound to choose someone more level headed. You would've had better luck if Cyrus sent you to capture Mesprit instead."

Jupiter lurched forward in her seat, a primal growl escaping her throat as she reached for Charon's neck, only to be shocked back by a Shock Wave attack from Rotom, who was glaring at Jupiter for attempting to murder Charon in cold blood. Jupiter leaned back and rubbed her hands as she recovered from the electric shock, her eyes glaring holes through Charon's head. "How dare you imply Master Cyrus could've made an error?"

"He's not omniscient you know." Charon chuckled. "Frankly, your deification of him is a little disturbing. He's a man like any other, and he's far from infallible."

"You know nothing." Jupiter scowled. "Master Cyrus is the answer to all our problems, the savior everyone needs to fix the world as we know it! And you would know that if you were truly dedicated to the cause. But you're not."

"I've never claimed to have any interest in this new world Cyrus is trying to create. As I told Saturn, I'm here to offer my scientific expertise in exchange for having my reputation as one of the world's greatest minds restored! Cyrus already knows this, and you yourself have implied it's borderline blasphemous to question him."

"I would never dare question Master Cyrus's wishes. But that doesn't mean I have to like you, you arrogant pig." Jupiter went back to looking out the window. "You're worse than that other mercenary that was brought on recently."

"Oh, him." Charon snorted. "For once, Jupiter, we're on the same page. To put it in very simplistic terms, he gives me the creeps."

"Will wonders never cease?" Jupiter cracked a smile. "No matter. Once we deliver the Red Chain to Master Cyrus, we'll all be getting what we want…and the connection the Lake Trio has with those children will be severed."

As Ash led everyone through the Fuego Ironworks, the lack of lights and eerie silence was starting to wear on everyone's nerves. "We're getting closer guys."

"The place looks abandoned." Misty swiveled her head to look around the room. "Did all of Team Galactic bail out once we showed up?"

"Seems that way." Ash nodded. "I didn't pick up any other auras other than Jessie, James and Looker. I wonder what they were using this place for."

"Well this place definitely gives off evil lair vibes." Dawn replied. "Maybe it was just their home away from home?"

"Pip piplup." (Could be.)

They kept walking in silence for a few minutes more, until finally they came to a dimly lit hallway. "Hey, we're in the right place! Come on!" Ash broke into a sprint, his companions following along, and in just a few moments, they were in front of a metal door with a small barred window. "It's Looker! Guys, we found him!"

"Ash, everyone? What are you doing here?"

"You!" Meowth stepped up before anyone else could respond. "Do you know where my peeps are?!"

"Yes, they're both right here with me!" Looker shifted out of the way to make room for his cellmates. "Come say hello, you two."

"Meowth! Dear!" Both Jessie and James reached for the bars out of instinct, forgetting what happened the last time when Jessie grabbed them, resulting in them both convulsing on the floor after the intense electric shock. "We should have used a sticky note…"

Looker just sighed as he facepalmed briefly. "Listen, the only way you're going to get us out of here is if you short-circuit the door. So have Pikachu and Piplup launch an attack together!"

"You got it! Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"

"And Piplup, use Bubblebeam!"

Both attacks hit their mark, as the door started sparking violently in reaction to the extra electricity combined with the water. Smoke started pouring out from the edges of the door as its internal wiring thoroughly fried, leaving the door safe to the touch. "Perfect! Now, all we have to do is break this door down!"

"I've got you covered there too!" Ash reached for a Pokéball. "Lucario, I choose you!"

In a flash of light, Lucario appeared with an eager grin on his face. "Don't even need to tell me what you're thinking." The Aura Pokémon reeled back his palm, aura emanating from it as he slammed his hand into the door, causing it to fly off its hinges and into the back wall of the cell. "Man that felt good!"

"Wow, Ash." Looker walked out of the cell, his eyes wide after witnessing what just happened. "Things have certainly changed since the last time I saw you all. Is this the little Riolu you had with you back on Mt. Coronet?"

"Yeah, although he's not so little anymore."

"Be that as it may, you've helped me out of a tough spot. Thank you very much."

"Jessie! James!" Meowth got everyone's attention with his outburst, as he ran into the arms of his human companions. "It's so good ta see you mugs!"

"I had faith in you, Meowth!" Jessie hugged her side of the Scratch Cat Pokémon as tightly as she could. "I knew you wouldn't leave us to those fashion freaks!"

"Meowth for the clinch!" James let go and sat up straight. "But speaking of the fashion freaks, why is this place suddenly deserted?"

"Team Galactic took a powda ta parts unknown!"

"Not for long!" Jessie clenched her fists as they all stood up and glanced at their rescuers.

"Hasta la vista!" James gave a wave. "Ta, twerps!"

"I owe ya one!" Meowth waved as well. "Big time!"

"IT'S BEEN SUBLIME!" And with that, all three Team Rockets ran down the dark hallway until they were completely out of sight, leaving the others by themselves.

"You know," Misty scoffed. "It never ceases to amaze me how good Team Rocket is at running away."

"Perhaps, but in a way I owe them one as well." Looker sighed. "If it weren't for their interference, I don't even want to imagine what Commander Jupiter had in store for me."

"We ran into her on our way in." Ash replied. "We had her surrounded but she escaped when her Skuntank used Toxic and kept us from following her."

"So Team Galactic escaped again." Looker pulled a pair of dark glasses out of a slot in his belt and placed it over his eyes. "Then that means my work here is almost finished." As he started walking down the dark hallway himself, he noted that the other trainers were following along. "I'd sure like to know what they were working on here."

"So this wasn't just a secret base?" Dawn asked.

"Definitely not." Looker looked around the room, his glasses providing him readings indicating where there might be residual electricity flowing. "Like I told Team Rocket, Team Galactic was using this place as a factory to make something. But I don't know what that something is." Looker then caught a glance of a console which seemed to still be active, as he pulled the main lever and opened a small chain gate leading to an elevator shaft. "Maybe now we'll get some clues as to what they were doing here."

"We're with you, Looker."

"I appreciate that, Ash, thank you." As they all entered the elevator, they soon found themselves going deeper and deeper into the facility, barely any lights were on at all at this point, causing Brock to pull out a flashlight just so they could see where they were going. "Thank you, Brock."

"Never hurts to be prepared."

"My sentiments exactly." Once they reached the bottom floor, a large metal door unsealed itself and opened for them, revealing a large room with two connected metal circles in the middle of it.

"What's all this?"

"I'm not sure, Dawn." Looker looked around the room. "But I can tell you this much, this definitely wasn't originally part of the Fuego Ironworks. This all must be Team Galactic's equipment."

It was then that the appendages on Lucario's head rose up, as he started growling. "There's something else here…it's hard to explain…it's giving off aura, but not any kind that I've ever sensed before!"

"Really?" Ash closed his eyes and reached out with his own aura, and that's when through his aura vision, he spotted a small item sitting inside one of the circles. "Hey, Lucario's right…it's…" Ash slowly made his way towards the edge of the circle, leaning inside and opening his eyes to try and see it himself. "Brock, shine that light over here!"

The breeder walked over and pointed his flashlight into the circle, causing the small object to glimmer when the light hit it. "Whoa…what is that?"

"Good question." Looker pressed a button hidden on the side of his glasses as he picked up the object. "I can't seem to get a scan of it…it looks like a jewel of some kind, but it's not made from any gemstone that I recognize."

"Well I can tell you one thing." Ash's brow furrowed in anger. "Whatever it is, I'm getting a seriously bad vibe off it."

"What do you mean?"

"I dunno, Mist…it's almost like…have you ever gone into a room, and you can just tell who's been there lately because you recognize their scent? Even if they aren't there anymore?"

"All the time. My sisters wear so much perfume that it's impossible for them not to leave a trail wherever they go." Misty's nose crinkled in disgust just at the memory. "So what you're sensing is like that?"

"That's the best way I can explain it."

"Interesting." Looker glared down at the red gem in his hand. "Team Galactic was extremely thorough not to leave anything of value behind for me to find…and now out of nowhere we happen to find this just sitting here in the open?"

"What are you saying?" Brock asked.

"I'm saying I think Team Galactic wanted me to find this. But for what, I'm not sure." Looker turned to leave. "I need stronger equipment. I'll take this to the Floaroma Town police station and see if I can turn something up there."

"We'll go with you."

Looker smiled. "I'd appreciate the company, Ash. Thank you, and that goes for all of you."

"Of course." Dawn nodded. "Like it or not, we're involved now."

As soon as they were back above ground, they made their way to the same place they faced off against Jupiter, where Looker took it upon himself to call for a helicopter from his Interpol colleagues. Within moments, he and the other trainers were ushered into the chopper and flown back to Floaroma Town, where they landed on top of the police station and were greeted by Officer Jenny.

"Apologies for the commotion, Officer Jenny. I go by my codename, Looker, I'm-"

"It's alright." Jenny cut Looker off before he could flash his badge. "I received a call from the International Police to expect you. Whatever you need from us, if we can help, we're at your disposal."

Looker smiled. "All the same, thank you for your help."

"It's an honor to be of assistance, especially if it means finally putting an end to Team Galactic. They've been causing chaos all over Sinnoh and frankly the rest of my family across the region are getting sick and tired of chasing them down, to say nothing of myself."

"With any luck, this could be a huge clue into stopping their plans." Looker presented the red gem to the officer. "I would advise extreme caution when analyzing this. I'm not exactly sure how, call it a gut feeling if you will, but I suspect Team Galactic left this at the Fuego Ironworks on purpose for me to find it. But if we're careful, there might be invaluable information here."

Jenny nodded and took the gem from Looker's hand. "It'll take us some time to make preparations. In the meantime, I suggest you get some rest, you all look like you've had a very long day."

"Yeah." Ash nodded. "Thank you, Officer Jenny."

"Let's head to the Pokémon Center until then." Brock turned to Looker. "Will you give us a call as soon as you're ready?"

"As you said, you're involved now." Looker nodded. "Once we're ready to extract the data from that gem, I'll pass along the message to Nurse Joy and make sure she lets you know to come back here. Thank you all again for your help."

With that said, the four teens exited the police station and started walking down the steps to head to the Pokémon Center. That's when Dawn froze in her tracks, Piplup held firmly in her arms. "Hey, guys?"

"Yeah, Dawn?" Misty asked.

"About the lake Pokémon…what does it all mean?"

"Not sure." Ash shook his head. "I mean…all we did was see them, it's not like they spoke to us or anything, no wild prophecies that specifically mention us."

"Or you, at least." Misty added. "I don't know if you being the Chosen One still applies here, no talking Slowking telling us that the world will turn to Ash."

"Still," Brock crossed his arms. "I can't stop wondering how Team Galactic knew all about it. And it wasn't just Ash and Misty that they knew about. They knew about my encounter too."

"And me!" Dawn squeezed Piplup a little tighter, causing the tiny penguin to squirm uncomfortably. "Guys…I-I ran into Mesprit, or its shadow or whatever…that was the first day of my Pokémon journey! That was months ago!"

"Hey, hey," Misty rushed back up the stairs to wrap Dawn up into a hug. "Listen…whatever it is we're dealing with here, we'll get through it. Just like everything else. Remember what you always say."

Dawn looked into Misty's eyes for several moments before taking a raspy breath and nodding hastily. "No need to worry. Right. We'll figure this out."

Once the teens made it back to the Pokémon Center, Misty took a moment to make sure Dawn was alright, entrusting her to Brock's care. Then she pulled Ash aside, taking him over to the videophones. "Ash, refresh my memory. Prof. Oak, when you spoke to him while I was under the influence of Darkrai's nightmares, didn't you tell me afterwards that he knew Prof. Rowan?"

"I did." Ash raised an eyebrow. "Why? What's wrong, Mist?"

"Just a hunch. I spoke to Daisy earlier today; she said that Prof. Oak and Tracey have been running themselves ragged over some research notes from one of Prof. Oak's friends. Maybe that friend is Prof. Rowan."

"You think?"

"It's as good a guess as any. Let's call Prof. Oak and ask him, the worst that can happen is Tracey answers the phone and we'll get the information out of him instead."

"Good point." Ash gestured for Misty to go ahead of him, and soon they found themselves in front of the videophones making the call to Prof. Oak's lab. After several moments of ringing, the couple looked at each other with concern. "Maybe he's not home?" But at that moment, the call was finally answered, as a very haggard looking Prof. Oak picked up. "Prof. Oak…are you alright?"

"Ash my boy, forgive me for looking so disheveled. There's…been a lot going on as of late." The man clearly had not shaved in days based on his face, and the dark circles under his eyes indicated that he hadn't slept either. "Is there something I can do for you?"

"There just might." Misty spoke up, her face drooping with concern for the older man. "I was talking to Daisy earlier today, and she told me that both you and Tracey have been working yourselves to the bone on some research notes that Prof. Rowan sent you to look at."

Prof. Oak's eyes widened a bit. "How did you know it was Prof. Rowan who I was in contact with?"

Misty smiled apologetically. "Because you just told me." The redhead sighed and leaned closer to the screen while the professor's jaw just dropped in disbelief. "I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to trick you, but I'm worried about my sister and I'm worried about Tracey…and now that we're here talking, I'm more than a little worried about you too."

The professor actually smiled as he shook his head. "I suppose I've been making it pretty obvious that things are not exactly going well." Prof. Oak leaned back in his chair, scratching the scruff all over his neck. "I'm very concerned with what I've been reading from Prof. Rowan regarding the situation over there with Team Galactic."

"Yeah, we are too." Ash replied. "Apparently Team Galactic wants the three Pokémon called the Lake Trio, and they also know that we all apparently saw them first. They aren't happy about that."

"The Lake Trio? Ah, you mean Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie."

"That's right." Misty slouched. "Professor, what's going on? Is there anything we can do to help?"

"If what you say is true and you saw the three lake Pokémon, I suspect you will have a role to play." Prof. Oak shook his head, a frown further marring his already exhausted face. "Prof. Rowan and I believe that Team Galactic intends to try and capture Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie for some nefarious purpose. As to what that purpose is, I'm not sure."

"Wait." Ash's eyes widened. "Misty, do you remember that creepy scientist guy that Rotom went with? I remember him saying something back when we faced Team Galactic back on Mt. Coronet…he said something about a new world, whatever that means."

"You're right…he and that guy named Saturn kept saying that! 'New world,' 'their world,' as if they were talking about a world entirely different from our own!"

"Do you think they might be trying to get into the Reverse World, like Zero?"

"Maybe, but then wouldn't they be trying to go after Giratina? All they seem to talk about is the Lake Trio and Dialga and Palkia."

"Ash, Misty!" The professor's outburst cut off both teenagers. "I believe you may have stumbled upon something very important!"

"What's that?" Ash asked.

"From what I've read from Prof. Rowan's notes, there are legends that indicate Dialga and Palkia worked together to create the entire universe as we know it! Perhaps they intend to go to another world altogether separate from our own!"

The teens gasped. "If that's true, then why?" Misty turned her head back and forth between Ash and Prof. Oak. "I can't even begin to figure why someone would want to do that."

"Maybe…it's too hard to rule this world, so they'll rule another one instead?"

"Regardless of the reason why, we obviously cannot allow them to succeed." Prof. Oak now seemed wide awake as he stood up straight. "I've been struggling for days now trying to make heads or tails of these notes, and you may have provided a very crucial piece of the puzzle, thank you both!"

"Well, you're welcome, Professor!" Misty smiled sympathetically. "Now maybe you should try and get some sleep…after you tell Tracey of course."

"I wish I could, but Tracey isn't here."

Misty raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Did he go visit my sister at the gym then? Maybe get some relaxation time in?"

"I truly wish that were the case." Prof. Oak slouched. "But given the seriousness of everything that's happening, I sent Tracey to the Sinnoh Region to try and assist Prof. Rowan's team as my representative. He should be on a plane right now heading to Jubilife City, and from there he'll make his way to Sandgem Town to meet up with Prof. Rowan himself."

"Oh gosh…and Daisy has no idea what's going on." Misty frowned. "I've gotta tell her what's going on!"

"No need, Misty." Prof. Oak smiled solemnly. "Tracey isn't going alone, you see."

Misty's eyes widened. "Daisy went with him?!"

"Indeed…I haven't seen devotion that strong since I've seen the two of you together. In a way, it's very heartwarming."

But before Misty could ask anymore questions, Brock and Dawn came rushing in. "Ash, Misty," Dawn exclaimed. "We just got word from Nurse Joy, they're ready for us!"

"Right, we'll be right there." Ash turned back to the videophone, a determined expression on his face. "Let us know if there's anything else we can do to help, Prof. Oak."

"My boy, you'll be the first one I call, that I promise you."

With that, Ash hung up the call, and he and Misty rushed out the doors to catch up with Dawn and Brock. It didn't take them long to get back to the police station, and once they did, Looker met them there and ushered them into the back offices where lots of very complicated equipment was set up to try and scan the small red gemstone.

"Everyone, this is Doctor Anton, one of the Sinnoh Region's foremost scientists and analysts when it comes to situations like this." Looker introduced the brown-haired, bespectacled man to the teens. "Dr. Anton, I just want to say again thanks for all your hard work."

"It's my pleasure." Dr. Anton looked down at the gem which was now contained under a large glass dome which had a lens of some sort at the top of it. "We did not take your warning lightly, and we did find several malicious programs hidden inside the gem's molecular structure. I'll say this, whoever left this behind was a genius. If we were to scan the gem without any precautions, it would have spiked our systems and instantly wiped out our entire database."

"Wow." Misty exhaled before glancing over at her boyfriend. "Score one for Ash and Lucario's aura."

"But I believe I've isolated all the viruses and malware and we can now commence the scan. Soon, we'll know everything about what this is and hopefully be one step closer to stopping Team Galactic once and for all." Dr. Anton pressed a button on the console, and the huge machine whirred to life as a green light began passing over the gem again and again. "So far, so good. The data is feeding into the system now."

"Hey…something's happening."

The other teens' heads whipped over to look at Ash. "Ash, what do you feel?!" Dawn asked nervously.

"Something…something's wrong!" It was at that moment that the red gem started to shine an angrily bright shade of red, and a high-pitched whine began to emanate from it as the gem vibrated violently. "That thing's gonna blow!"

Instantly the screens showing the incoming data went dark, quickly replaced by a crude graphic of Charon sticking his tongue out at everyone. "No! Turn it off!" Looker shouted over the noise.

But it was already too late, as the gem began to glow so bright it was blinding, and then it exploded with everyone in the room helpless to stop it.

Fortunately, Ash thought quickly, as he placed shields around everyone in the room before the explosion, protecting them from the blast. The entire room was now smoking as all the electronics were destroyed from the inside out, and only moments after that, the shields winked out as Ash fainted from the exertion.

"Ash, are you alright?!"

Brock got down on his knees to check on him. "He's okay, Misty." He said reassuringly as Ash slowly came to. "But man, that was really close."

"Dr. Anton," Officer Jenny, who had quietly been observing with them the entire time finally spoke up. "What happened?"

"Spiked!" Dr. Anton slammed his fist into the now dead computer console with a furious growl. "I thought I found them all…but whoever that Team Galactic scientist is, he's even more brilliant than I ever imagined. He somehow integrated that last virus into the very essence of the gem, hidden within the data we needed itself. There was no way to detect it until we started scanning."

"And then it's too late." Looker grunted.

Then an old-fashioned phone started ringing, the police department's emergency phone line that was separate from all the digital equipment. "This is the Floaroma police." Officer Jenny answered the call. "What?!"

"That doesn't sound good." Dawn gulped.

"I understand. Please let us know if anything changes." Jenny hung up the phone and growled before turning to the others in the room with her. "That was Interpol. The data we transferred to their headquarters has wiped out their entire database."

Everyone gasped. "What about Team Galactic's data?!" Looker exclaimed.

Officer Jenny shook her head. "I'm afraid that was destroyed as well. They're scrambling now to try and purge their servers of the corrupted code in hopes of retrieving the backup data, but right now they're not sure if they'll be able to pull it off."

"Their trap succeeded." Looker clenched his fists. "Even knowing they were planning to sabotage us, we couldn't prevent it. That was a warning…a warning to stop all further investigation…or else!"

"There was…one other thing." Jenny's face dropped even more.

"What is it?"

Jenny hesitated to answer Looker. "The man I was speaking to told me to inform you…you've been taken off the case."

"What?!"

"Whoa…Looker." Ash put a hand on the man's shoulder. "I'm sorry."

But Looker just shrugged off Ash's touch, walking over to the opposite end of the room to lean against the wall with his teeth clenched. "Team Galactic's made a fool out of me for the last time." He turned around, eyes burning with anger. "I'll never give up…even if it gets me thrown into prison, the next time Team Galactic is up to something, I'll be there to stop them!"

"Looker, wait!" But Ash's call went ignored, as Looker bolted out of the police station at full sprint. Ash and the others tried to follow, but by the time they got outside, Looker was long gone. "Oh man, poor Looker."

"He's been trying so hard to bring down Team Galactic all this time. Why would they take him off the case?"

Officer Jenny looked down at Dawn with a sorrowful expression. "The cost of failure in this business, kiddo. What makes it even sadder is that now I have to report this to Interpol and let them know Looker's gone rogue."

"Officer Jenny, please!" Brock stepped closer to her. "Surely someone such as you knows what it's like to be in his position…no one has to know about this, the security cameras were down, the only ones who know Looker is going to keep trying to stop Team Galactic is us…he's a good cop, Officer Jenny. Don't report him as a fugitive."

Jenny looked away with a cross expression, saying nothing for nearly a full minute. Then she turned to face the teens with a stern frown. "He gets 24 hours. After that, I'll have no choice but to report him as missing in action. He won't be viewed as a criminal if I report him that way, but I do still have to report it, and the International Police will be looking for him."

"I understand." Brock bowed in thanks. "Thank you, Officer Jenny." He and the others watched as the officer went back inside the station, the door closing behind her, leaving the teens to their own devices. "This is getting really serious, guys."

"For real." Misty sighed heavily. "Ash and I have something to tell you guys, and it might have something to do with why Team Galactic is doing all this."

"What is it?" Dawn asked with worry.

Ash glanced at Misty briefly, who just nodded at him. "We spoke to Prof. Oak…and we think we know what Team Galactic might be up to."

Somewhere deep inside the mountain range surrounding Mt. Coronet itself, Cyrus was standing stoically along with his commanders inside their hidden base. "The creation of a new world begins…" He said almost to himself as his eyes wandered over all the legendary items they'd acquired over the past several months. "The key to Spear Pillar…the Adamant Orb and the Lustrous Orb…now the Red Chain…all that's left is to capture the three lake guardians…Azelf, Mesprit and Uxie."

"All preparations for the Galactic Bomb are complete."

"Excellent." Cyrus nodded at Saturn, and then turned his attention to a blank monitor. Moments later, a face appeared on that monitor. "Sorry to keep you waiting. Please proceed with the lake Pokémon capture as planned."

"Believe me, it will be my pleasure."

"I'm sure it will. After all, we're paying you a fortune for this endeavor. However, I'm confident the investment will be well worth it. After all, your reputation precedes you, Pokémon Hunter J."

J chortled as she sat back down in her captain's chair. "You will have the three Pokémon in your possession by tomorrow as promised." J cut off the transmission, then glanced over to her helmsman. "Set a course! We have legendary Pokémon to hunt!"

"Yes sir!"

The infamous Pokémon bounty hunter's ship rose into the sky and took off to the east, cloaking itself to avoid detection from anyone down below. "Oh how wrong you were my darling David." J snickered quietly to herself. "Crime pays, and it pays big."

Back inside Team Galactic's base, Jupiter walked up to Cyrus with a curious expression. "Forgive me, Master Cyrus, but do you think it's wise to trust an outsider with such an important task?"

Cyrus turned to glare silently at Jupiter, the woman shrinking back at the cold gaze. "Pokémon Hunter J has a reputation for never missing her target. And I need the three of you to synchronize with the Lake Trio once those children are removed from the equation. There's no need to put you at unnecessary risk."

"Of course, Master." Jupiter bowed lower as she stepped back.

"Now then, as for the matter of those meddling children. I don't know why the Lake Trio chose preemptively to synchronize with them, but the only way to sever that tie is to eliminate them altogether. That's where you come in. When will you be prepared, Lieutenant Saban?"

A tall man who appeared to be around 40 years old walked up, his black hair was slicked back and his eyes were filled with an almost murderous glee. "I'll be ready in the morning. Then, I'll personally see to it those punks are turned to stone…or to put it another way…" The man pulled out a futuristic looking pistol and fired it into the side of the nearby wall, vaporizing the Team Galactic banner hanging over it. "They ain't gonna have a head to put their hands over even if they tried."

"Very good." Cyrus turned back towards the treasure trove of mystical items he'd collected. "Soon all my plans will come to fruition, and there's absolutely no one who will be able to stand in my way."

A/N: Things are getting very real now, and an old foe looks to be gunning for our heroes once again. Quite literally. So as all of Sinnoh prepares to be rocked to its core, how will Ash and co. respond to the threat? Or rather...how will things be changed from how it happened in canon? The answer lies ahead, so stay tuned, and feel free to leave a review and let me know what's on your mind! I'd love to hear from you all again!