Author's Note: Well...it's been over two months since I posted my last episode, and honestly, I don't know how it took that long. I had an extremely busy summer, and for one reason or another, writing episodes kept on getting put off. Don't worry though, I am not dead, nor am I letting Cosmic Quest die. Now that summer is over, I should have much more time to write again, and should soon return to a normal schedule. Sorry it took so long for this episode.


Episode 65: Fight and Flight

Brenda squeals with joy. She's on the videophone in a Pokémon Center with her mom. She exclaims with joy, "I can't believe I forgot about that! I can't miss it! I've gone to every single one for seven years!"

Her mom replies, "If that's how you feel, then you'd better head on back, and fast. You don't have much longer until it starts."

Brenda nods. "I'll be there. You can count on it." They hang up and Brenda walks over to Ash and Brock who are sitting at a table and talking.

Having just prevailed at the Versal City Gym, it is time for our heroes to contemplate their next move. Who knows where their journey might take them next?

Ash asks, "So where should we head next, Brock?"

Brock thinks for a moment and then consults his Pokéssistant. "I'm not sure. We're not currently near any other gyms that you haven't been to yet. We've kind of worked our way into a corner of the region."

Brenda approaches them and suggests, "Hey…I've got a suggestion."

Ash looks up to her. "Oh yeah, what is it?"

She pauses reluctantly and then says, "Well…you see…there's this thing I want to do. It's kind of a tradition of mine and I'd like to continue it."

Brock asks, "Alright, what is it?"

"Well, every year Professor Pine hosts a special space camp. It's like a summer camp, but with a space theme. You get to do a lot of fun activities with Pokémon. It's the reason I wanted to go on a Pokémon journey. This year's is coming up, so I was hoping to attend this year."

Ash smiles. "That sounds awesome! I'd be up for that!"

Pikachu agrees, "Pika!"

Brock asks, "Where is it?"

"Yeah…that's the problem. It's at Launch Town."

Ash exclaims with disbelief, "What!? Launch Town!? That's all the way back where we started! We can't go back that far!"

Brenda sighs. "I was afraid you would say that…"

Brock looks down at his Pokéssistant. "Wait a second, that may not be that bad of an option, Ash. According to my news feed, the debris from the rockslide in the Crater Gate has finally been fully cleared away, and path to Crater Town has been reopened. Since Crater Gate is right near Launch Town, we could go to the Crater Town Gym after Brenda's space camp."

Ash thinks for a moment. "Huh…we couldn't get to that gym before, but now we can. If that's the case, we need to go back there anyways. Alright Brenda, let's do it."

Brenda looks up excitedly. "Really!?"

"You bet!"

Brock nods. "Alright then, that just leaves the question of how we're going to get all the way back to Launch Town. I suppose that Versal City is a port city, so maybe we could catch a boat. All we would need is passage back to Tenno Minor, and then we could walk the rest of the way."

Ash asks, "Then what are we waiting for? Let's go find a boat!" He and Brock both get up to leave.


Ash, Brock, and Brenda are walking along the ocean's edge. They notice a sailor ahead of them. Brock calls out, "Excuse me, we're looking for a boat to take us to Tenno Minor, do you know if there are any here that can take us?"

The sailor looks over to them. "I'm sorry, but the only boat for Tenno Minor just left yesterday. Another one won't be leaving for another month. There's just no demand for boats there." The sailor then walks away.

Brenda asks, "But if there are no boats, how are we supposed to get back in time?"

Brock stops and thinks. "I don't know. There would be boats for sure for us to take back in Kanaveral City, but there's no way we could walk all the way there in time. We need some alternate form of transportation back to Tenno Minor."

Then a voice chimes in, "So you need transport to Tenno Minor. I might just have a solution for you."

The three turn around to see an older man standing behind them. He's dressed in a brown leather aviator's coat and cap. Brenda asks, "Do you really?"

He nods. "Yes, it just so happens that I'm just about to fly all the way to Tenno Minor, and I don't think I'd have any problem with taking on three passengers."

Brock says, "Wow, that would be great. Flying would be even better than taking a boat."

The man exclaims, "In that case, follow me!"


The man leads them to a hanger. He introduces himself, "By the way, the name's Charles, master of the skies."

Ash responds, "I'm Ash Ketchum, this is my partner Pikachu, and this is Brock and Brenda."

Brenda chimes in, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Brock adds, "And thanks so much for offering us a ride."

Charles smiles. "It's no problem at all. Besides, I could use a crew anyways. My baby flies best with a crew of more than one."

Brenda asks, "You call it a baby?"

"Indeed I do. My craft is one of the finest to ever touch the skies. She and I have gone through much together over the course of our lives." He approaches the entrance to the hanger. "And here she is now." He slides a large hanger door open, revealing the inside of the hanger.

Ash, Brock, and Brenda all look in with fascination, trying to catch a glimpse of their ride. What is seen in the hanger is not an airplane, but a large basket and deflated balloon. Perched on the balloon and sleeping is a dove-like bird Pokémon with shimmering white feathers and a shiny gold beak. One of its talons is clenching onto a small branch with leaves. Ash and the others are confused. They strain their eyes, looking for something that's not there. Ash finally speaks up, "I don't get it. Where's your airplane?"

Charles is surprised. "Airplane? What are you talking about? Why would I keep an airplane in the same hanger as my beautiful balloon?"

Brock explains, "It's just that we assumed you were talking about flying an airplane, not a hot air balloon."

Charles begins to laugh heartily. "Me, fly one of those mechanical monstrosities!? Never!" He continues to laugh. Ash, Brock, and Brenda all just look to each other with uncertainty. Charles stops laughing and calls out, "Come on Calumba, we've got passengers to fly!"

The Pokémon wakes up and shakes its head to help it do so. It flies up into the air, still carrying its branch and coos, "Lumba."

Ash pulls out his Pokédex. "Calumba, the Peaceful Pokémon and a Light and Flying Combo-Type. The branch carried by Calumba is said to exude a scent that can soothe even the most savage of beasts. Therefore, wherever Calumba travels, peace and harmony follows it. Evolves into Dovine with use of a Shiny Stone."

Charles beckons everyone forward and says, "Come on now, help me get the balloon out of the hanger."

Ash, Brock, and Brenda all take one last look at each other and then shrug. They walk forward to help out.


Who's That Pokémon!?

Protected by a hard shell, this Pokémon spins its body like a wheel and crashes furiously into its enemies.


A little later, the balloon has been inflated. It is designed to look like a Pokéball. Charles declares, "There we go, all inflated and ready to go. What do you say, Calumba? Ready to take off?"

The dove Pokémon nods and coos, "Caluuum."

"Alright then, everyone into the basket!" Charles holds open the door into the basket and everyone climbs in. Once everyone's in, Charles points to three sandbags tied around the rim of the basket. "Alright, I want you three to untie the ballast all at the same time, got it?"

Ash, Brock, and Brenda all nod and turn to their sandbag. They untie the bags and let them drop to the ground. Ash says, "Alright, that's done."

Charles smiles. "Then off we go." The balloon begins to lift off the ground and into the air.

Brenda excitedly exclaims, "We're in the air! We're flying!"

Calumba circles around the balloon and happily coos, "Luuuumba!"

Charles agrees, "Yes, it has been quite some time since we last flew, hasn't it? Nothing quite beats that feeling of fulfilment when you first take off."

They continue to climb into the air. After just a little while of flying, the cramp conditions of the basket begin to make themselves apparent. A gust of wind causes the balloon to wobble slightly. This causes Ash to lose his balance and bump Brenda with his elbow. With some annoyance, Brenda snaps, "Hey, be more careful."

Ash doesn't appreciate her tone and snaps back, "It wasn't my fault, the basket shook."

"Well, I didn't go bumping into you, so that's no excuse."

Ash begins to retort, but is stopped by Brock saying, "Come on you two. Calm down."

Both Ash and Brenda look to Brock and snap, "Stay out of this!" The three then quickly break down into a shouting match.

Charles looks over to Calumba and nods at it. Calumba nods back. It then flies down in front of the quarreling trio and waves its branch around. The three all suddenly stop mid-shout and take a good sniff of the air. Then they all become completely calm.

Brenda asks with some confusion, "Wait, were we really just fighting about that?"

Ash shrugs. "I guess we were. I'm sorry my elbow hit you, Brenda."

Brenda responds, "And I'm sorry I snapped at you, Ash."

Brock comments, "Wow, that must be the soothing effect of Calumba. It really works wonders, doesn't it?"

Charles chuckles. "Indeed it does. Calumba has been a helpful friend to have, indeed. It is very easy for my passengers and crewmates to get on each other's nerves when trapped in such small confines for such long periods of time. Calumba is a miracle worker when it comes to keeping everyone happy."

Brock asks, "Calumba isn't the easiest Pokémon to come across, how'd you meet this one?"

Charles smiles at the reminiscence. "Ah yes, what a story it is. It was many years ago. Back then, I had a weekly route that I took. On my way back home from a particularly draining trip, I had the misfortune to cross paths with a flock of angry Fearow. To this day, I don't know what got them riled up, but they were upset and willing to take that out on anything they saw move. They immediately flew at me and began to swarm around my balloon. With beaks and a temperament as sharp as they had, it was only a matter of time until they burst a hole in my balloon. I thought that my days as a balloonist were over for good, but then this Calumba just happen to be flying by as I cried out for help. Calumba, being such a peace-loving Pokémon, immediately flew towards my desperate cries. Upon seeing my predicament, it flew in and spread its soothing aroma. The Fearow, just as you did moments ago, breathed in the aroma and were instantly calmed. They left me alone after that, no longer filled with rage. In thanks to the Calumba for saving me, I gave it the sandwich that I was saving for my lunch. It flew with me the rest of the trip and the two us bonded the entire way. We've been the best of friends and partners ever since."

Brenda comments, "Wow, what a story. A Calumba sure must be a great friend to have."

Charles nods. "Indeed it is."

Ash then turns around and looks out towards the sky and then the view below. He and Pikachu marvel at the view. He comments, "You know, at first I was dubious about taking a hot air balloon instead of an airplane, but now that we're here, it's actually pretty awesome."

Brock agrees, "Yeah, this is pretty cool."

Brenda admits, "To tell the truth, whenever I see Team Rocket flying their balloon, I can't help but be envious of them getting to fly that thing."


It's Whirlipede!


Flying in their balloon, Team Rocket all slouch down, looking incredibly bored and tired. Jessie complains, "There is no one in the world right now that would envy our position. I hate this balloon."

Meowth nods in agreement and says, "Its only redeeming quality is that handsome mug up there."

James disagrees, "Even that's debatable."

Wobbuffet appears to agree in an unenthusiastic, "Wobbuffet…"

Jessie suggests, "Maybe we should just trade it in. I heard that helicopters are quite a nice way to travel."

Meowth questions, "Could we get a Meowth face plastered on the side of it?"

James suggests, "Maybe if we talk with the Boss, he'd give us back those jetpacks we used back in the Unova Region. I liked those things."

Jessie dismisses, "Nah, he'd probably make us wear those icky black uniforms again, and black is not my color."

Meowth adds, "Not to mention you can't make a jetpack look like a Meowth."

While Team Rocket is busy complaining, Wobbuffet gets up and takes a look out the basket. It spots something in the distance and suddenly becomes alert. It declares, "Wobba wobba!" and points outwards.

Jessie asks with annoyance, "What is it, you blue blob?" She gets up with aggravation and looks out to where Wobbuffet is pointing. She spots something floating in the sky off in the distance. She squints for a better look. She demands, "Binoculars, now." Meowth hands her a pair.

James asks with little interest, "What is it, Jess?"

Jessie responds, "One second." She looks through the binoculars at the object. With a sudden burst of vigor and anger, she declares, "Those little copycats!"

This piques James and Meowth's interest. Meowth asks, "What? What is it?"

James asks, "Is it Team Planetary? Have those copycats dared to show their faces again?"

Jessie shakes her head. "No, this is worse. Look."

James and Meowth both pull out binoculars and look out as well. What they see is Ash, Brock, Brenda, and Charles riding in Charles' balloon. As if they have committed the worst offense possible, James shouts, "The twerps are riding in a hot air balloon!"

Meowth demands, "How could they!?"

Wobbuffet agrees angrily, "Wobba!"

Jessie demands, "Who do they think they are!?"

"Wobba!"

Meowth declares, "The hot air balloon is our shtick, and they know it!"

"Wobba!"

James rants, "The art of hot air ballooning is sacred to us, and now these amateurish twerps think they can just hop on some random hot air balloon! I bet they think they're as cool as us now!"

"Wobba!"

Jessie agrees, "This must be the only way twerps can feel cool, by copying Team Rocket, the king of cool!"

"Wobba!"

Meowth decrees, "I say we fly over there and show those twerps who the true masters of the sky are!"

Jessie and James enthusiastically shout, "Agreed!"


Charles announces, "The wind is on our backs now, that will greatly decrease the time of our voyage."

Brock says, "That's great news!"

Brenda declares excitedly, "I can't wait for space camp!"

Ash points to a nearby cloud. "Hey, look! Something's coming out of that cloud!" Everyone looks over.

Just as Ash said, something can be seen rising out of the cloud. Charles exclaims, "Well I'll be a Mankey's uncle! It's a giant, flying Meowth!"

Ash declares, "That's no Meowth, that's a balloon! Team Rocket's balloon!"

On that cue, the basket of the balloon exits the cloud cover, revealing Team Rocket. Jessie declares, "Prepare for trouble, who else would be up here!?"

James adds, "Make it double, in the air we strike fear!"

"To protect the skies from invading twerps!"

"To fly above where even the bird chirps!"

"To show a display of air superiority!"

"To make clear that we are the true sky authority!"

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket flies off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now or quickly lose your ability of flight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"Wobbuffet!"

"Mime mime!"

Brenda accuses, "Team Rocket! It's bad enough that we have to deal with you on the ground! Can't you just leave us alone?"

Jessie laughs. "Of course we can't. You chose to fly a hot air balloon, knowing fully well that that's our gimmick. You brought this upon yourselves!"

Meowth adds, "We'll prove to you who the true aeronauts here are!" In an aside, Meowth explains, "That's balloon speak for the pilot of a balloon."

Ash says, "Charles, we have to do something or they'll attack your balloon." Charles doesn't answer. Ash looks back to him to see that he is gazing intently at the Meowth balloon.

Suddenly he exclaims giddily, "That is one of the most amazing specimens of balloon I have ever seen! It's wonderful!"

James smiles, "I see that someone appreciates us." Suddenly growing stern again, he shouts, "But flattery will get you nowhere!"

Ash shouts at Charles, "Those guys are bad guys! Stop complimenting them!"

Charles asks, "But how could the owners of such a beautiful balloon be bad guys?"

Ash isn't sure how to respond to that question. Finally, he asserts, "They just are, alright!? We have to do something to stop them."

Charles reluctantly says, "Alright…fine." He looks to Calumba. "Use your Sweet Scent on them, alright Calumba?"

Calumba nods. "Calum." It then flies up to Team Rocket's balloon.

James shouts angrily, "Get out of the way you stupid bird! We're trying to," Calumba releases the scent of its branch. James sniffs it in and then finishes his sentence happily, "…let you and your friends move right along."

Meowth and Jessie are taken aback. Jessie demands, "What are you talking about, James!? Why would we," she breathes in the scent as well, "…ever think of doing anything but helping out those fellow balloonists?"

Meowth shouts, "Have you both lost your minds!? Remember, we were about to," he also inhales the scent, "…let them go on their merry way, of course!"

Calumba flies back to Charles, who smiles and nods at it. He says, "Alright, they shouldn't be a problem anymore."

Brenda is amazed. She asks, "So we can just go on our way, they'll let us do that without a fight?"

James answers, "Of course we will! Why ever wouldn't we?"

Brenda isn't sure how to respond to that. She decides to says, "Let's just go then," as she shakes her head in disbelief.

As they're flying away, Charles calls out to Team Rocket, "I love your balloon! Making it look like a Meowth was a great idea!"

Team Rocket all call back, "Thanks! We love your balloon too! Goodbye friends!"

Once they're gone, Meowth says with absolute contentedness, "What a nice group of people those twerps are."

Jessie agrees, "They're the best."

James comments, "We're so lucky to know them."

The three of them just stare at each other for a while, wearing goofy grins. Slowly but surely they begin to realize what happened as they snap out of their reverie. Meowth asks with horror, "Guys…?"

Knowing what he's going to ask, Jessie and James both respond with equal horror, "Yes…?"

"What did we just do…?"

They all stare at each other for a few more moments, this time in horror, not contentedness. Suddenly Jessie shouts with rage, "Those twerps did something to us! They tricked us somehow! How dare they!?"

Meowth realizes, "It must have been that Pokémon! What did it do to us!?"

James pulls out his deck of cards and sorts through it until he finds a Calumba card. "According to this, that Pokémon can calm even the most savage beast!" He shouts angrily, "It just turned the badest of bad into polite pushovers!"

Sounding offended, Jessie shouts, "They'll pay for that one!"

Meowth declares, "Let's go get them. Now that we know what to expect, there's absolutely no way they could get us again!"


Charles' balloon floats by Team Rocket's as Team Rocket happily waves goodbye to them. They all say at once, "Bye-bye! Safe flight! We hope to see you again!"

Brenda giggles and whispers to Ash, "If they acted like this all the time, I wouldn't mind seeing them again."

Ash smiles and nods in agreement. "Maybe I should find a Calumba to catch."

Brock comments, "It sure would come in handy, wouldn't it?"

Once they're gone, Team Rocket goes through a little while more of peace, until the spell breaks once more. They're all instantly outraged. Jessie shouts, "No! Not again! I hate being polite! Politeness doesn't look good on me!"

Meowth complains, "And those words we said! They've put a rottenly sweet taste in my mouth! Yuck!"

James agrees, "If I have to be nice one more time, I'm going to gag!"

Meowth states, "As much as I hate to admit it, even an evil as pure as of Team Rocket isn't immune to the effects of that Calumba, so we need a plan to take it out before we can do anything."

Jessie agrees, "Right."

James declares, "Then let's make a plan!"


Ash comments, "I never once even dreamed of seeing Team Rocket act so nice. Calumba is an absolute miracle worker."

Pikachu agrees, "Pika."

Brock, sounding philosophical asks, "I don't know…don't you think there might be some sort of moral dilemma at play here? You know, changing the way people act and all?"

Ash and Brenda both look to each other in a split moment of doubt, and then both respond, "Nah, no way."

Charles comments, "Didn't I tell you that Calumba is an excellent partner to have?"

Brenda responds, "You sure did, and boy were you right."

Charles turns away to survey the surrounding sky. He notices something approaching from a distance. He alerts the others, "Balloon ahead!"

Ash's cheerful mood diminishes. "Great, it must be Team Rocket…again."

Brenda complains, "You'd think they'd have learned their lesson by now."

Having approached close enough to hear her, James shouts, "You insolent twerpette! Team Rocket never learns its lesson! I thought you would have learned that lesson by now!"

Meowth declares, "That's right, Team Rocket is back, and the third time's the charm this time around!"

Ash sighs and asks, "Charles, do you mind?"

Charles grins. "Not a bit. Do your thing, Calumba." Calumba nods and flies over to Team Rocket's balloon.

Jessie grins fakely and says through her teeth, "That's right little birdy, fly right on over to us."

As soon as Calumba is close by, Meowth shouts, "Masks on now!" Just as Calumba is releasing its calming scent, Team Rocket pulls out gas masks and dons them. With these masks on, Calumba's scent does absolutely nothing. Team Rocket laughs while Calumba recoils in shock.

Charles demands in shock, "What is this!?"

Meowth explains, "With these here masks on, all the air we breathe in is completely filtered. Your scent has no effect on us now!"

James declares, "Which allows me to do this!" He pulls out a butterfly net and uses it to catch the stunned Calumba. As soon as the Pokémon is in the net, a metal hatch shuts close over the opening, trapping Calumba inside.

Charles exclaims, "Calumba!"

Jessie proclaims, "And now Calumba is ours, and you can't pull that same trick on us again."

Meowth states, "Team Rocket may be a lot of things, but gullible is not one of them. We learn from our mistakes."

Completely seriously, Brock asks, "If that's so, then why haven't you learned that you always fail whenever you try to steal our Pokémon?"

James laughs. "Obviously your assertion is wrong twerp, as we're about succeed in stealing your Pokémon. Now hand over that Pikachu or we'll take it by force." He throws a Pokéball. "Go, Haking!"

Haking appears floating in the air in front of the balloon. "Hak haking hak!"

Jessie also throws a Pokéball. "You too, Buzzsaw!"

Buzzsaw appears flying in the air next to Haking. "Buzzzz zzzz zz zzz zzzz!

Charles pleas, "Please, get back Calumba. She's my best friend."

Ash grins confidently. "Don't worry Charles, your Calumba is as good as rescued." He pulls out a Pokéball and throws it. "Falcoknight, I choose you!"

"Fallllllcoknight!"

Brenda shouts, "We can help too, Glitterfly!"

"Glittererererfly!"

James declares, "We're in the sky now, and the sky is our element! There's no way we can lose in a fair fight! Haking, use Sludge Bomb!"

Jessie proclaims, "But that infers a fight with Team Rocket is fair, which it never is, so we have even more of an advantage than normal! Buzzsaw use Flash Cannon!"

Ash commands, "Blow the Sludge Bomb away with Gust!" Falcoknight creates a burst of wind with its wings which blows away the Sludge Bomb before it can cause any harm.

Brenda declares, "And Glitterfly, you use Solar Beam to counter the Flash Cannon!" The two beams of light collide and cancel each other.

Meowth shouts at Jessie and James, "Don't forget, this here is a balloon battle! We aren't just limited to two dimensions like we are in a ground battle!"

Jessie and James both nod. James orders, "Haking, use Smokescreen! Then drop and use Sludge Bomb!" Haking obscures the field with a haze of smoke.

Once the field is obscured, Jessie orders, "Buzzsaw, attack from above with X-Scissor!" Buzzsaw flies up into the smoke and is lost from sight.

Both Falcoknight and Glitterfly are left confused by the smokescreen. They look in all directions trying to find their opponents. Suddenly a Sludge Bomb hits Falcoknight from below and Buzzsaw flies in at Glitterfly and slashes it with an X-Scissor before retreating back upwards.

Trying to counterattack as fast as possible, Ash shouts, "Wing Attack!"

And Brenda shouts, "Sparkling Flare!" Both attacks are launched, but fail to hit even close to their intended targets.

Brenda asks with sudden panic, "How are we supposed to hit them? They can be in literally any direction!"

Charles snaps, "So what?"

Ash and Brenda turn to Charles. Ash asks, "What do you mean?"

Charles responds with fervor, "This is a balloon battle! A Pokémon battle between two teams of balloonists! Back in the day Calumba and I were masters of this art! Follow my coaching and we'll win this for sure!"

Brenda and Ash grin with excitement. Ash declares, "Yeah!"

Brenda shouts, "Alright!"

Charles asserts, "The most important thing to remember in a battle such as this is you are not limited to a two-dimensional plain. Have your Pokémon climb up and out of the smoke now!"

Ash and Brenda both shout to their Pokémon, "Do it!" The Pokémon begin to climb up.

Charles turns to Brock and states, "In a balloon battle, more than just the Pokémon must be mobile. In order to help Ash and Brenda work with their Pokémon, we must follow them."

Brock nods in understanding. "What do I need to do?"

"Pull that lever on the burner! It will increase the heat and lift us higher!"

Brock does as he is told. "Right!" He pulls the lever and fire flares up from the burner. The balloon begins to rise.

Meowth points, "Look, the twerps are starting to figure out how this balloon battle thing goes."

Jessie scoffs, "We're the champions of balloon battling. Remember the contest we won in Atmos City? We're not losing to a bunch of twerps."

James agrees, "You've got that right, Jess! Meowth, raise the balloon!"

"Aye aye!" Meowth leaps at the lever and tugs it down. Team Rocket's balloon follows Charles'.

Now all Pokémon and balloons have risen above the smoke. James quickly orders, "Use Tackle, Haking!"

Jessie adds, "And you use Night Slash, Buzzsaw!"

Ash and Brenda ready themselves to counter. Charles prompts, "Remember, you can attack from any angle."

Ash observes the sky in front of him and gets an idea. "Falcoknight! Dive back down into the smoke!"

Brenda quickly figures out Ash's strategy and follows suit. "You too, Glitterfly!" Both Pokémon hide themselves in the smoke while also dodging Team Rocket's attacks.

James shouts angrily, "They're using our strategy against us! No fair!"

Jessie protests, "This was supposed to be a fair fight!"

Ash takes advantage of their state of mind and orders, "Falcoknight, Sky Uppercut, let's do it!"

Brenda commands, "Solar Beam, go!"

Without warning, Falcoknight flies straight up and out of the smoke, directly below Haking, delivering a powerful uppercut with its wing tip. Also at the same time, a massive beam of light comes up from beneath Buzzsaw and engulfs the beetle Pokémon. Both of Team Rocket's Pokémon are knocked out by these attacks.

Jessie and James, in shock that they lost, quickly recall their Pokémon before they fall.

Ash looks to Pikachu and says, "Alright, let's get Calumba back."

Pikachu nods in agreement. "Pik!"

"Let's do this!" Pikachu leaps off of Ash's arm and into the sky in front of the balloon. Falcoknight flies up from beneath it and catches Pikachu on its back. The two then fly to Team Rocket's balloon.

Jessie questions, "What's this, is the Pikachu surrendering to our superior balloonsmanship?"

Pikachu leaps off of Falcoknight's back, onto Jessie's face, and then uses it as a springboard to propel itself towards the net holding Calumba hostage. With a quick Iron Tail, Pikachu breaks through the net, freeing Calumba. Calumba flies off. All three of Team Rocket leap at Pikachu at once in an attempt to catch it, but Pikachu jumps into the air, causing them to collide with each other. It lands on top of their heads, and then jumps off the balloon, landing once more on Falcoknight's back.

Ash shouts, "Alright Pikachu, let's get rid of them the old fashioned way! Use Thunderbolt!"

"Pikaaaaa chuuuuuuuuuu!" Pikachu unleashes its electrical attack and causes Team Rocket's balloon to explode, sending them flying away at a high speed.

As they're flying away, Jessie moans and complains, "This is why I hate that no-good balloon! Good riddance I say!"

James shouts, "I never want to see that hideous thing again!"

Meowth teases, "You know it will be back by the next episode, no doubt about it."

Jessie and James groan. Then they all shout, "We're blasting off again!"

Back at Charles' balloon, Calumba flies up to Charles and happily coos, "Caaalum!"

Charles smiles, "I'm so happy that you're safe Calumba. Hopefully those wretched Team Rocket won't bother us again."

Pikachu leaps off of Falcoknight's back and back onto Ash's shoulder. Ash reassures, "Don't worry, now that we've sent them blasting off, they won't bother us again for a while."

Brock points towards the ground and shouts, "Hey look, I can see Horizoport City from here!"

Ash and Brenda run over to take a look. The port city can be seen. From this high up, hoverboats can be seen sailing into the port. Brenda says with wonder, "Wow, we're back to Tenno Minor!"

Charles nods. "Indeed we are. It won't be long now until we touch down in Horizoport. I'm a man of my word, and I told you we'd get there."

Ash nods. "You sure did." Ash, Brock, and Brenda continue to stare off at the view ahead of them.

Our heroes may not have gotten the airplane ride they were expecting, but they did get a truly unique opportunity to experience the wonders of balloon flight, no matter how much Team Rocket may love – or hate – it. And now, even though they're returning to old territory, new adventures certainly lay before them, as the journey continues!

To Be Continued…