No, the chapter title is not a typo.

"Whoa," said Clay. "Check that out."

Cyrus and Ash both stopped to look at where Clay was pointing. Following his finger, they spotted a large group of Butterfree flying across the ocean, their wings reflecting the sunlight to create a dazzling display.

"One of nature's many inspiring sights," Cyrus murmured.

"Wow," said Ash. "That's really cool!"

Cyrus gestured over to a nearby balloon rental shop. "We could follow the swarm, if you so desired. Butterfree mating rituals are truly a sight to behold."

"Indeed," said Clay, sprouting a sudden devious smirk. "And Bug Catcher Ash can add a new insect to his collection."

Ash, who had been about to agree with Cyrus, abruptly changed his mind. "No, thanks. The next Gym's close by, right? Let's just head there - I'm sure there will be another opportunity to watch a Butterfree mating ritual."

Cyrus shot a glare at the chuckling Clay. "Very well," the Dark-type Gym Leader said. "Let us abscond to Saffron City."

And so the trio turned and resumed their walk, only casting a few further glances over their shoulders at the sizable Butterfree swarm.

"I can't believe we've been reassigned ta Johto," Aron griped. "Johto sucks! Da only Team Rocket operations over dere are a lake full of Magikarp and dat whole Lugia operation, and neither of those are beyond da testing phase yet!"

"We'll be stuck doing Grunt duty," Drake grumbled. "I hate grunt duty."

"Will you two quit bellyaching?" Liza asked irritably. "I'm trying to fly a helicopter here, and it's going to be a lot harder to do that if you two spend the whole time complaining."

The trio fell silent. Drake glared at Liza. Liza glared at Drake. Aron glared out the window at a passing Spearow.

It was then that the helicopter's proximity alarm went off, reminding Liza that she should really be focusing on what was ahead of her rather than glaring at Drake.

The trio let out mingled screams as Liza jerked the steering wheel hard to the right, barely evading the flock of Butterfree that had somehow ended up in their path.

"Whew," said Aron. "That could've been nasty."

Liza glanced back at the swarm of Butterfree. "Wait a minute."

"What?" Drake asked.

"We're looking at a large, unguarded swarm of Butterfree," said Liza, "with no Trainers for miles. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

Drake grinned. "I think I am."

"So this is Saffron City?" Ash asked. "Cool! Where's the Gym?"

"I see we still possess a rather one-track mind," Cyrus noted.

"Ah, this time around I think it's merited," said Clay. "He's got way too many Bug-types for this Gym to be a major roadblock. The Gym's right over there."

Ash grinned and immediately broke into a full sprint, heading straight for the door to the Saffron City Gym.

A man with indigo-colored long hair and wearing an entirely burgundy-colored suit was standing with his back to Ash, seemingly reading a book. Ash cleared his throat. "I'm here for a Gym Battle! Are you the Gym Leader?"

The man turned, snapping his book shut. He was wearing a pair of glasses with translucent indigo lenses, which he now pushed up to the bridge of his nose. "Indeed I am. My name is Lucian, the Psychic-type Gym Leader of Saffron City."

"I'm Ash Ketchum!" yelled Ash Ketchum.

"So you are." Lucian's eyes shifted to Clay and Cyrus as they stepped through the Gym doors after Ash. "Ah, I see you have garnered the attention of a pair of my colleagues. Though," he added, glancing at Cyrus, "I must say that I hope your choice of companion does not inform the whole of your strategy to defeat me. Merely bringing Dark-types to this battle will not grant you an automatic victory."

"I know that!" said Ash. "In fact, I haven't brought any Dark-types to this battle!"

Lucian raised an eyebrow. "Fascinating. Well, Ash Ketchum, I suppose I shall grant you your battle. If, that is, you are certain you are ready."

Ash grinned. "I'm sure of it!"

"Then," said Lucian, "let us begin." He lifted a Pokeball from his belt and threw it out. "Bronzor, it is time to battle!"

"Bronzor, huh?" Ash asked, pondering his response. He was fairly certain Bronzor's Steel typing would neutralize Psychic's weakness to Bug - the very same weakness he'd been planning to take advantage of. Fortunately, he had brought one non-Bug Pokemon. "All right, then! Go, Hisuian Growlithe!"

Lucian smiled faintly, saying nothing.

Ash frowned - what was he planning? Nonetheless, he called out, "Hisuian Growlithe, start off with Flamethrower!"

Lucian still said nothing. Hisuian Growlithe inhaled and unleashed a massive cone of flame. The Flamethrower swallowed Bronzor whole, the Steel/Psychic-type vanishing in the fire.

Ash watched as the flames died out. To his shock and dismay, Bronzor was still floating where it had been, its expression as serene as ever. "Wait, what?"

"Bronzor has the Ability Heatproof," Lucian informed him. "I do believe you can guess its function from the name. Now, Bronzor, attack with Confusion."

Bronzor whirred as it launched a wave of Psychic power at Hisuian Growlithe. The Fire/Rock-type countered with another Flamethrower, dissipating the Confusion; the remnants of the fiery blast washed over Bronzor, but again the Steel/Psychic-type tanked through it. "Get in close and use Bite!" Ash cried.

"Counter with Gyro Ball," Lucian ordered.

Bronzor whirred again and launched itself at the charging Hisuian Growlithe, spinning as it did so. The two battles came together with a loud clang, bouncing off one another, and immediately lunged for each other again.

"Looks like Growlithe's got the upper hand," Murkrow remarked from the balcony where Clay, Cyrus, and their teams were now standing and watching the battle. "His typing resists that Gyro Ball at least somewhat, whereas Bronzor's typing doesn't resist Bite at all."

"I thought Steel resisted Dark," Drilbur murmured.

"Yeah, so did a lot of people," said Houndour. "The scientists who first claimed that? Turns out their primary test subject was a Mawile…before the Fairy-type was confirmed to be an actual thing."

"Oh," said Drilbur. "So Mawile resisted Dark because of its Fairy typing, but since that wasn't a thing yet, they just assumed Steel resisted Dark?"

"Exactly," Houndour affirmed. "And there was quite a controversy once the whole thing came out - I heard several of those researchers lost their jobs."

From above, Zubat was half-listening to the conversation. It was an interesting subject, to be sure, but Ash's battle was just as interesting. Zubat watched as Lucian called for a Confuse Ray, a bit more urgency in his voice than there had been previously; Hisuian Growlithe was quick to counter, dissipating the spurt of ghostly power with an Ember before leaping in again with Bite.

As Zubat watched, though, her ears began to pick up another conversation. It was faint, barely noticeable - indeed, it seemed he was the only one who had picked up on it - but the words Zubat could hear immediately caused his fur to stand up on end.

"…ready…"

"…think we…can take…"

"…course! We have…giant robot! We'll…steal…easily!"

Zubat fluttered downwards. "Psst! Murkrow!"

"What?" the Dark/Flying-type muttered crossly.

"I think someone's out there planning to steal something with a giant robot!"

Murkrow blinked. "Okay, do you actually think I'm going to believe that?"

"Just come with me and listen, okay?" Zubat pleaded

Murkrow sighed. "All right." Slowly, the Dark/Flying-type rose up to where Zubat had been. He remained there for a good several seconds before looking down at Zubat. "Okay, yeah, I think I'm hearing what you heard. They're saying…" Murkrow froze.

"What?" Zubat asked.

"Team Rocket," Murkrow growled, dropping down to the floor.

"Team Rocket?" Sandile asked.

"That's what I heard," said Murkrow.

"And they've got a giant robot," Zubat added.

"Sounds weird," Sneasel admitted. "But if both of you are saying it, I'm gonna choose to believe you. If this is one of your pranks, Murkrow-"

"Trust me, it isn't," said Zubat.

"In that case," Drilbur remarked, "should we warn the others? Ash can bring out Genesect and blow them away easily."

"Unless it's Drake and Liza," Houndour warned. "Remember the S.S. Anne? We can't have that kind of thing happen again."

"So what do you propose?" Murkrow asked.

"I say we just go and check this out," said Houndour. "If it's Falkner and Korrina, we can probably take them. You saw how easily Ash beat them last time. And if it's Drake and Liza, then we go back and get help."

"Sounds good," said Zubat. "Let's go quickly - I'm not sure how much time we've got."

"Clay?"

"Yes, Cyrus?"

"Is it just me, or are all our Pokemon leaving the balcony?"

Clay looked. "Huh. That's weird. Wonder what they're up to?"

"Perhaps," said Cyrus, "they are under some form of mind control, or a similar Psychic compulsion."

Clay peered closer. "Nah, no weird eye stuff. Usually, if a Pokemon's compelled or hypnotized, their eyes look weird."

"Then what do you think is happening?" Cyrus asked.

"I think," said Clay, "it's Pokemon business, and we should probably stay out of it."

"Fair enough," Cyrus murmured. "Ah. Ash has claimed his first victory."

Clay looked in time to see Hisuian Growlithe drop Bronzor from his jaws like a just-used frisbee. Lucian recalled Bronzor, smiling faintly. "Your power is clear," he said, "but type advantage alone won't win you this battle. Kadabra, it is your turn."

"Ooh, Kadabra," Clay murmured as Lucian's second Pokemon was deployed onto the battlefield. "I know 'em - they're real tough."

"And this isn't even Lucian's final Pokemon," Cyrus added. "I wonder what his last will be."

Below them, Hisuian Growlithe launched a Flamethrower, which Kadabra countered with a Psybeam; the two streams of energy came together in a dazzling display of light and color, and Clay and Cyrus were sufficiently distracted from any further musings about what their Pokemon might be doing.

"Shh!" Zubat hissed, fluttering slowly over to the cracked-open door to the Gym. The rest of Cyrus and Clay's Pokemon stopped short, watching Zubat carefully as he peered through the crack.

"What do you see?" Drilbur asked.

"It's Falkner and Korrina," Zubat murmured. "And…yep, they've got a giant robot."

"Where did they even get a giant robot?" Houndour asked. "That seems like a ludicrous expenditure of funds."

"And how has no one else noticed the giant robot yet?" Sneasel wondered. "Isn't it rather obvious amidst the skyline?"

"And how does it even work?" Houndour queried. "The technology for a giant robot can't just come out of nowhere. I've never heard of giant robots actually existing before - where did this come from?"

"None of those questions are important as of now," said Murkrow. "The important question is: how do we stop them from using it?"

"Call the police?" Sandile suggested. "I'll bet Officer Goh is nearby."

"It's a giant robot," Sneasel pointed out. "How do you think Officer Goh is going to handle a giant robot?"

"How do you think we are going to handle a giant robot?" Sandile rebutted.

"We're small." All eyes turned once more to Zubat. "We can get in places other Pokemon couldn't. If we can sneak into the robot's wiring, we might be able to shut it down altogether. Then we can get Officer Goh, and Falkner and Korrina won't be able to defend themselves because their giant robot doesn't work!"

"That could work," Drilbur murmured. "But how are we going to get there? Falkner and Korrina are watching it pretty closely - we'll never be able to approach on land, and Falkner's Pidgeotto will spot anyone coming from the sky."

"Then we go in from underground," Sandile suggested. "Drilbur and I both know Dig. If the rest of us can pull off a distraction, then we can tunnel under, come up behind the robot, and clamber inside before anyone knows we're there."

"Hmm…" Sneasel cocked his head. "Distracting them is all well and good, but I don't think any of us can take that Lucario in a fight. I'd rather not end up stolen by Team Rocket, thank you very much."

"So we need to distract them without being seen," Murkrow mused. "Or at least without being seen as Pokemon."

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Houndour asked.

"Pokeman?" Sneasel asked.

"No," Murkrow growled with an air of dawning realization. "We are not doing Pokeman. Never."

"Who's that guy?" Korrina asked.

Falkner glanced over to where Korrina was pointing. He frowned as he beheld a surprisingly tall, rather wobbly-looking man wearing a trenchcoat, a wide-brimmed hat, and long baggy pants that came all the way to the ground approaching. "Hey!" he called.

The man did not seem to react, merely continuing to silently approach.

"Hey!" Falkner called again, taking a step forwards. "Get out of here!"

"Yeah!" Korrina cried. "Get out unless you want a knuckle sandwich from my Lucario!"

"And a peck from my Pidgeotto!" Falkner added.

Korrina glared at Falkner. "That was a perfectly menacing threat until you chimed in, Falkner."

"Well, excuse me for trying to back you up!" Falkner retorted.

"I don't need your backup!" Korrina growled. "I had the situation handled!"

"Then why is that guy still approaching?" Falkner asked.

Korrina turned to look at the still-approaching wobbly man, whom she could now see had a face that reminded her, strangely, of a Sneasel. "Hey!" she cried. "We said stop, so you stop!"

"What do you think?" Houndour asked from below. "Should we stop?"

"I don't see why we need to," Sneasel whispered from above. "We're distracting them just fine as is."

"Yeah, you don't care because you're on top!" Houndour cried. "Whereas I'm stuck carrying you three on my back!"

"Why did you get to be on top, anyway?" Murkrow asked.

"We've been over this," said Sneasel. "I've got the most humanlike face. Do you really think someone wouldn't freak if they looked under this hat and saw a pair of jaws, a beak, or vampiric teeth?"

"What do you mean, you've been over this?" Zubat asked from where he was standing on top of Murkrow and beneath Sneasel. "Have you done this before or something?"

"…yes," Murkrow admitted.

"And has it worked before?"

This time the silence was even longer. "Sort of," Houndour answered at last.

"To be fair," said Murkrow, "last time we did this-"

"We don't talk about the last time we did this," Sneasel interrupted.

"Right," said Murkrow. "Sorry."

Zubat sighed. "How the hell did I let myself get convinced to join this team?"

"You wanna know why you should stop?" Korrina called. "I'll tell you! We're members of Team Rocket! We're going to use this giant robot to break into the Gym and steal all the Pokemon inside! If you want to get in our way, then we'll steal your Pokemon too!"

Her Lucario and Falkner's Pidgeotto moved to their trainers' sides, glaring at the odd man.

It was at this moment that Lucario narrowed his eyes. Korrina glanced over at the Fighting/Steel-type; she knew that Lucario's Aura abilities oftentimes allowed him to sense things that others couldn't. "What is it, Lucario?" she asked.

Lucario stiffened, then turned and ran in the direction of the robot.

"Lucario!" Korrina called out.

"What is he doing?" Falkner asked.

"No idea," said Korrina, turning back towards the still-advancing trenchcoat-wearing man. "Hey, get out of here! We're busy! Scram!"

Scizor sagged, dropping to one knee as Lucian's monster of a Kadabra was finally recalled. That thing was vicious - not only had it knocked out Hisuian Growlithe with terrifying ease thanks to its powerful Psybeams, but it also knew Recover, Teleport, and Submission of all things, which despite Scizor's type advantage had combined to give him an incredibly difficult time.

Scizor could safely say he was not looking forward to Lucian's Ace.

"Your Scizor is certainly strong," Lucian remarked. "Do you not feel, however, as if you are overreliant on type advantage?"

"Um…not really," said Ash. "I did catch a lot of Bug-types, though…I didn't choose to, it just happened."

"Very well," said Lucian. "I suppose, then, that we shall see if your Bug-types can break through my last Pokemon. It is time to battle, Girafarig!"

Scizor blinked as the Normal/Psychic-type appeared on the battlefield. That had not been what he was expecting. Slowly, the Steel/Bug-type began to grin. What had he been thinking? There was no way a Girafarig, regardless of what moves it had, could overcome both him and either Kricketune or Genesect after.

"Agility," Lucian called. "Then attack with Stomp."

Scizor clenched his steely claws. This wasn't going to be a piece of cake, but after the hell that was Kadabra, he'd definitely take this.

"Almost…almost…there!" Sandile ripped out a cluster of important-looking wires with his teeth. "Let's see them try and use this giant robot now!"

"Good work, Sandile," Drilbur said, closing the small maintenance hatch that the two Ground-types had hauled open to access the robot's innards. "All we have to do now is head out the way we came in and signal to the others that the job's done. Should be a piece of cake."

Drilbur and Sandile both turned, and promptly froze at the sight of Korrina's Lucario glaring at them with crossed arms.

Sandile sighed. "…you just had to say it, didn't you."

"I had a feeling the trenchcoated man was a distraction," Lucario stated. "Especially after my Aura sensed four different minds inhabiting his body. It seems we have a couple of saboteurs."

"Um…nope!" Sandile tried. "Not us! We were just…wandering around, and-"

"You still have the torn-off wires in your mouth."

"Oh." Sandile spat them out.

"Congratulations," said Lucario, smirking. "You've just earned yourselves a one-way ticket to a new career as part of Team Rocket. Now, I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't surrender, because right now I've got a few frustrations I'd like to take out on someone."

With that, Lucario leaped forwards, drawing a fist back, and Sandile and Drilbur were forced to leap out of the way as Lucario slammed his palm into the ground hard enough to leave a crater.

The sound of a thwoom emanating from behind the giant robot drew everyone's attention immediately.

"What was that?" Korrina asked.

"No idea," said Falkner. "Pidgeotto, check it out."

Inside the trenchcoat, Zubat looked down at the suddenly nervous-looking Dark-types above and below him. "I don't think this is part of the plan."

"You're right," said Murkrow. "It's not. We're going to need to keep them away from whatever's going on back there. Disintegration?"

"Disintegration," Houndour and Sneasel chorused.

Zubat looked at all three of them with wide eyes. "You have codewords for operations within this thing? How many times have you done-"

Before Zubat could say any more, though, Houndour bolted one way, Murkrow lunged another, and Sneasel leaped forwards deftly. Pokeman disintegrated, each of the three Dark-types tearing away the pants, the trenchcoat, or the hat. The fluidity of the movement was so impressive that Zubat, without the clear amount of practice the other three had clearly had, was left fluttering ungainly where Pokeman had stood, staring down the two Team Rocket members and the Pidgeotto that had paused midflight to stare back at the chaos.

Korrina's eyes widened. "It was a trick! Falkner, tell Pidgeotto to catch those Pokemon!"

Falkner glanced back. "But shouldn't we-"

"Lucario can handle whatever's back there!" Korrina cried. "Look at those Dark-types - any one of them would be worth a fortune to the boss!"

"I guess you're right," said Falkner. "Pidgeotto, charge that Zubat! Use Wing Attack!"

"For Team Rocket!" Pidgeotto shrieked, lunging for Zubat. Zubat promptly spat out a Confuse Ray in its face, then dove out of the way as Pidgeotto blundered through the spot where he'd been floating.

"Not the Zubat, you dolt!" Korrina cried. "The Dark-types! The actually valuable Pokemon!"

"Right!" Falkner threw out another Pokeball. "Pidgey, go after the Dark-types!"

"For Team Rocket!" the significantly shriller voice of Falkner's Pidgey cried as it streaked towards Sneasel.

Who promptly used Quick Attack, punching Pidgey in the face and sending it tumbling to the ground.

Korrina put a hand to her face. "Why must I work with such a total imbecile?"

"I'm standing right here!"

"Hrah!" Lucario swung a fist at the backpedaling Drilbur, who barely managed to evade it. Sandile leaped forwards, hurling a Sand-Attack in Lucario's direction, but Lucario raised his other arm to deflect it, then kicked out, knocking Sandile away.

Before Lucario could press, Drilbur was on him again, lashing out with a barrage of Metal Claws that Lucario was forced to give ground against. But the Fighting/Steel-type parried each blow with ease, his own fists glinting with steely energy as he fought back with his own, stronger Metal Claws. "An unevolved Pokemon has no chance of overcoming me," he snarled.

It was then that the ground erupted from underneath Lucario, courtesy of Sandile's Dig. The Ground/Dark-type landed on all four feet as Lucario toppled onto his back. "How about two unevolved Pokemon?" he asked ferociously.

Lucario rolled to his feet, spreading his hands out wide. "Still no chance," he retorted; each palm sprouted a roiling sphere of blue energy - twin Aura Spheres - and in the next moment Lucario flung them forwards.

Drilbur dove into Sandile's freshly-created tunnel, evading the sphere flung at him, but Sandile wasn't fast enough. The sphere slammed into him, sending him flying back into the leg of the giant robot with a metallic clang. He fell to the ground, momentarily dazed.

Lucario smirked, readying another Aura Sphere. "Time to finish you off."

"Not yet!"

Lucario spun just in time to deflect a flying Metal Claw from Drilbur. The Ground-type gritted his teeth and strained, trying to force his way through Lucario's guard by sheer brute strength, but the Fighting/Steel-type held firm. "And how," Lucario asked, "do you expect to beat me in a contest of physical might?"

"I don't," Drilbur said. "I just needed to make you think I was."

Before Lucario could react, Drilbur swept up with his other arm and fired a Mud-Slap into Lucario's face. The Fighting/Steel-type recoiled, and Drilbur was quick to take advantage of the stumble. Two Metal Claws drilled into Lucario's stomach, doubling him over, and then a third to the cheek snapped his head sideways. But as Drilbur went in for a fourth hit, Lucario's foot lashed out in another wild kick, catching Drilbur and sending him staggering backwards long enough for Lucario to recover.

And recover he did; as Drilbur regained his footing, the now angry-looking Lucario lunged for him, an open-palm strike glinting with Aura at the ready. Drilbur narrowly evaded the Force Palm, but his attempted retaliatory Metal Claw was blocked by one of Lucario's own Metal Claws, and before he could dodge away or try another Mud-Slap, Lucario's other fist came around, glowing with the energy of another Metal Claw, and slammed into his chin. As Drilbur reeled, Lucario hauled back and delivered another Force Palm to Drilbur's face, hurling him bodily away.

But the exchange had given Sandile enough time to recover. Lucario suddenly stumbled as Sandile clamped a Bite down on his leg. The Fighting/Steel-type twisted and writhed, kicking out with his leg. Sandile's Bite wasn't strong enough to keep hold; Lucario managed to yank his foot free, knocking Sandile backwards with another kick.

Sandile landed on the ground; before he could rise again, Lucario slammed his foot down on top of him, pinning him in place. "You," he growled, "have proven to be quite the annoyance, I'll give you that."

"Yeah," Sandile choked out despite Lucario's foot squeezing him against the stones beneath him. "And I'm about to get a whole lot more annoying." A wave of sand burst out of Sandile on all sides, rising up around him and Lucario in a suddenly-appearing Sandstorm.

Lucario snorted. "Did you forget I'm a Steel-type? That doesn't inconvenience me any more than it does you! The only way that would be useful is…"

Lucario's eyes widened and he twisted in time to see Drilbur barreling at him at a much more rapid pace than he had before. "Crap, Sand Rush!" he barked, lashing out with a rapid Force Palm at the oncoming Drilbur.

It didn't help. Drilbur slipped out of the way, charged forwards, and delivered a Metal Claw to Lucario's wounded leg before he could even draw his open palm back.

Lucario staggered, crying out in pain; Sandile was quick to roll away and back to his feet, watching as Drilbur pounded Lucario. The Fighting/Steel-type was swinging Metal Claws and Force Palms, trying to fend the Ground-type off, but Drilbur was simply too fast in the Sandstorm, ducking and dodging each move and countering with Metal Claws and Mud-Slaps of his own. Sandile charged forwards, teeth glinting with a Bite. He knew it would be resisted, but if he could get his jaws around that injured leg again, it just might be enough to cripple Lucario.

"No!" Lucario raged as Drilbur swung another pair of Metal Claws into him, then ducked away from a retaliatory Force Palm. "I will not allow a pair of unevolved Pokemon to beat me!"

In the next moment, Lucario blurred forwards, slamming bodily into the weaving Drilbur and knocking him off his feet through sheer brute strength. Sandile's eyes widened - he was holding Quick Attack in reserve this whole time? - as Lucario lunged forwards, grasped the staggering Drilbur around the midsection, hauled back, and slammed the Ground-type into the earth hard enough to make a crater.

Sandile lunged, but Lucario saw him coming and swiftly backhanded him away with a Metal Claw. Sandile landed on his side, skidding across the stones; his vision cleared in time to see Lucario blasting the pinned, struggling Drilbur with an Aura Sphere. Drilbur's shriek of pain was abruptly cut off; as Sandile forced himself to stand, he saw Lucario rise as well, leaving Drilbur lying unmoving on the ground.

"One down, one to go," Lucario growled, beginning to stride towards Sandile. "Looks like you lose."

"No," Sandile gasped, dropping into a fighting stance despite the pain that pervaded throughout his body. "I am Sandile. I am a Pokemon of Gym Leader Clay. And I…"

Sandile's body began to glow.

"…will…"

The glow intensified as he felt his body begin to swell in size.

"…not…"

Sandile rose up onto his hind legs, the movement feeling surprisingly steady as his body grew larger and larger still.

"…LOSE!"

And Krokorok leaped straight for Lucario and clamped a set of black-glistening jaws down upon the Fighting/Steel-type's arm.

"Argh!" Lucario cried, stumbling backwards as he tried to shake Krokorok off. But the newly-evolved Ground/Dark-type held firm, digging his teeth into Lucario's wrist. Planting his feet into the ground, Krokorok let out a furious grunt of effort and twisted with all his newfound strength. Lucario, unprepared for fighting an evolved Pokemon, was yanked off his feet; Krokorok wrenched his head to the side, releasing Lucario from his grip, and the Fighting/Steel-type was sent flying headfirst into the giant robot.

"Heh," Krokorok murmured with an evil grin. "Looks like my evolution let me learn Crunch. How about that?"

A snarl alerted Krokorok to the fact that Lucario still wasn't down. The Fighting/Steel-type was rising to his feet, fists clenched. "I've still got the type advantage!" he snarled through the still-whirling Sandstorm. "And you're still on your last legs! A single Aura Sphere will be all it takes to strike you down, evolution or no!"

"Perhaps," said Krokorok. "But you'll never get the chance."

Krokorok raised one foot and stomped down on the ground, and the earth and stones caved in beneath him, dropping him downwards. Lucario's Aura Sphere soared through empty air. The Fighting/Steel-type let out a roar of fury. "Get back here, you coward!" he bellowed, striding forwards. "Get back here and fight me!"

"Oh, I'll fight you."

That was all the warning Lucario got before the earth exploded behind him, and Krokorok lunged upwards and slammed headfirst into his back, energy surging around him. Lucario was sent flying by the super-effective attack; he tumbled to the ground in a flurry of limply flailing limbs, his bellow of pain likely audible throughout all of Saffron.

Krokorok advanced on Lucario's fallen form, casting his eyes on Lucario's wounded leg, outstretched towards him, as inviting a target as he could have asked for. "But you'd best be careful what you wish for." Raising his foot, Krokorok stomped down on Lucario's leg; the resulting scream was definitely audible throughout all of Saffron.

Snarling, Krokorok leaned down, reaching out to pin Lucario by the neck with one arm. Lucario struggled against Krokorok's grip, but weakened as he was he couldn't break free. Mercilessly, Krokorok hauled back and slammed his other set of claws, closed into a fist, into Lucario's face, then did it again, and then again and again, letting out a terrifying snarl as he pummelled the prone Fighting/Steel-type.

"Krokorok…"

Krokorok paused and looked over towards Drilbur. The Ground-type, barely conscious, reached out towards Lucario. "He's…done…"

Krokorok looked back towards Lucario. The Fighting/Steel-type was very much unconscious; Krokorok only now realized that he had no idea how long he'd been beating the Team Rocket Pokemon. Shaking a little, he rose. "All right, Drilbur. Let's get you out of here."

With that, Krokorok turned his back on the fallen Lucario, kicking up a little bit of sand onto him with his tail in a last bit of ignominy.

"Stomp!" Lucian ordered.

"Counter with Fury Cutter!" Ash cried.

Girafarig, staggering from tiredness, lunged forwards with one leg upraised. Kricketune responded in kind, hurling himself forwards with his Fury Cutter primed. At the beginning of the battle, Girafarig's powerful Stomp might very well have overpowered him. But now Fury Cutter was boosted by multiple uses, and so as the two attacks connected, Kricketune's won out. An explosion of energy erupted as Girafarig was thrown bodily backwards. The Normal/Psychic-type landed on his back and collapsed to the ground, clearly unconscious.

Ash pumped his fists. "Yeah! Nice job, Kricketune!"

Kricketune smirked. He was still fairly fresh; Girafarig hadn't exactly been at the top of his game after taking multiple powerful attacks from Scizor in the process of defeating the Bug/Steel-type. He still had no idea how that thing knew Rock Smash, but regardless, he'd been well-positioned to handle Girafarig once Scizor had fallen, and handle him he had.

"That was a well-done battle," said Lucian. "Perhaps I should change Kadabra's fourth move to Fire Punch. Regardless, I shall give you the Marsh Badge."

"Marsh Badge?" Ash frowned. "How does that relate to Psychic-types?"

"Don't ask, I don't know either," Lucian admitted. "Now…" He paused as he picked up the sounds of loud cries and fighting from somewhere outside. "What on earth is that racket?"

As Ash, Clay, Cyrus, and Lucian rushed outside, they beheld a scene none of them had even come close to expecting. The first three recognized Falkner and Korrina immediately; the two Team Rocket agents were standing in front of a giant robot of all things, watching as Falkner's Pidgeotto battled Cyrus's entire team. The Pidgeotto was clearly losing, overwhelmed by sheer numbers; the unconscious form of a Pidgey lay on the ground nearby, having obviously fared little better.

Falkner and Korrina's eyes both widened as they saw the group of Trainers exiting the Gym. "Crap!" Korrina cried. "Falkner, we're out of time! Just get into the robot!"

"Right behind you!" Falkner called, pressing a button on some sort of remote.

A panel in the robot's front opened, disgorging a ramp that Falkner and Korrina ran up. Pidgeotto followed, unleashing a Whirlwind as it went that buffeted Trainers and Pokemon alike, forcing them to stop chasing in favor of bracing against the wind. As the Trainers' vision cleared, they beheld the robot rising, Falkner and Korrina visibly grinning inside its cockpit.

"End of the line!" Korrina cried. "You can't beat us! You'd better surrender your Pokemon if you know what's good for you, or-"

She was cut off by Falkner; his grin had faded as he'd clearly seen something in the cockpit, and was now nudging Korrina. "Not now, Falkner," Korrina muttered, before continuing with her speech. "-or else we'll crush you with this unstoppable-"

Falkner nudged her again, this time saying something that none of the watching Trainers or Pokemon could hear. For some reason, Cyrus's entire team was trying to hide smirks.

"Not now, Falkner!" Korrina cried. "Anyway, as I was saying, surrender or else! There's no way you can stop us now!"

It was then that the robot exploded, launching Falkner, Korrina, Falkner's Pidgeotto, and what looked like the unconscious form of Korrina's Lucario into the sky.

"Well," Lucian commented. "That just happened. I shall call Officer Goh and let him know to come pick up this…ah…giant robot."

At this point, the earth erupted beside Clay, disgorging a Krokorok carrying an injured Drilbur.

Krokorok's eyes turned towards the destroyed giant robot and he grinned the same way as Cyrus's team was. "Rok," he said, nodding exhaustedly.

The device crackled to life, and the voice of Team Rocket's boss came through. "Please tell me you have some sort of good news. Falkner and Korrina just wasted an entire giant robot. Sure, we have entire warehouses full of the things - still don't exactly know why we've got so many giant robots - but it's still quite a monetary loss."

"Well," said Drake, "we aren't exactly in Johto yet."

"But," said Liza, "we did manage something that I think will help reimburse the cost of Falkner and Korrina's little screw-up."

"We caught an entire swarm of Butterfree!" Aron boasted. "Nice healthy ones, too. An' dere was a pink one in dere!"

"A pink Butterfree?" the boss of Team Rocket asked. "Well done - those are quite rare."

"Thanks, boss!" said Drake.

"I don't suppose," the boss of Team Rocket added, "that this was done primarily as an attempt to bribe me into allowing you to stay in Kanto?"

Liza, Drake, and Aron shared nervous glances. "Uh…kinda?" Aron admitted.

The boss of Team Rocket noticeably sighed. "Well, congratulations. You've succeeded."

Liza, Drake, and Aron shared relieved grins.

"It has become clear to me," said the boss of Team Rocket, "that this boy is very much an anomaly. He travels with two Gym Leaders and commands a roster of Pokemon that even some veterans would salivate at. Henceforth, you are reinstated to Kanto - your new job is to watch this boy. You may try plans to defeat him occasionally, as long as the funds for such plans come out of your own pocket rather than Team Rocket's coffers. But the bulk of your mission will be information gathering. What Pokemon he has, how many badges he's obtained, who his traveling companions and their Pokemon are, and most importantly, who he is as a person. And let me make myself clear - I would vastly prefer it if you refrained from causing any more incidents like the destruction of the S.S. Anne. Is that understood?"

"Yes, boss!" the three members of Team Rocket chorused.

Firstly, an apology to the poor Pink Butterfree, who ended up as one of the first main victims of the altered timeline.

Secondly, I tried something new with this Gym Battle, simply because Ash had just gotten through a fairly major battle last chapter and I was worried it would feel samey. Side note - did you know that in the beginning of the anime, Ash goes through six Gyms in the first 32 episodes, and then doesn't even start the seventh - Blaine - until episode 58? Yeah, turns out the Kanto anime really frontloaded its Gyms.

Basically, what I'm saying is that once we reach that point, there's going to be a rather drastic increase in skipped episodes.