The Pokémon transfer system was still not repaired, although the Cinnabar technicians told Ash that they would do their best and fix it in half a day at most. If they used a Pidgey with the Pokéball sent from Pallet, it would take several hours to reach Cinnabar. They accepted the latter offer, although they decided to take a chance and go looking for the Missigno immediately, since they had no time to waste and even less with Team Rocket also on the hunt for such beings.
The Missigno could be anywhere along the Cinnabar coast, and they had to be on the lookout for any sign of the Rockets. It wasn't long before Ash and Misty arrived at the old sea rocks where Blaine and Akibahara had trapped the Missigno days before. Blaine had some Pokémon that he had left at his gym, since the ones he was carrying had been lost inside his Pokéballs in the escape from the Rocket base, and he had already gathered the trainers of his gym to wait for any threat, so he could defend himself without the need for Ash and Misty to be with him. One of Blaine's trainers would receive Porygon's Pokéball to give Ash and Misty time to do the search for the lost Missigno.
-Wow. I didn't think it was going to be so boring..." grunted the jet-haired boy as Pikachu scratched himself absentmindedly. The Pokémon treats lying on the rock islet had tempted him. Minutes passed, long and tedious as Misty nodded over Ash's shoulder.
-No, Pikachu, don't be gluttonous," the yellow mouse had made a pleading squeak to Misty in an attempt to get them to give it one of those sweets, 'I'll give you any you want as soon as...' She didn't finish the sentence. Two Missigno were already floating towards the candy on the rocks.
-Alert, Pikachu. Approach slowly and throw an impact thunderbolt as soon as you get close to them," Ash whispered to his pet, who immediately changed his expression and perked up his ears. Misty had also raised her head and was already discreetly calling out to Starmie.
-Same thing, Starmie. Use confusion as soon as they get close," the girl immediately pulled out a Pokéball from her bag and Ash already had his in his hand.
The teenagers' Pokémon made their attacks in the blink of an eye, confusing the Missigno. They were unable to react as the Pokéballs trapped them. Ash and Misty immediately reached out to grab the spheres containing the mysterious beings.
-We must take them immediately to the storage system, where they will have no power to...Ah!" shrieked Misty as an unfamiliar Pokémon landed in front of her. It was a Fearow. The Rocket soldiers, Skylar and Merrow had already arrived and were taking the Pokéballs with the Missignos.
-The Cerulean gym leader is still around here playing Pokémon catch with that snotty loser," Merrow scoffed.
-Leave Misty alone, you punk!" shouted Ash, climbing on top of Lapras at once, "You're not taking the Missignos!
-Miss...what?" grumbled Skylar, "I don't know if those strange Pokémon have a name, but what I do know is that they'll all be property of Team Rocket. We're going to decide who gets to keep them with a battle, so get ready," Starmie immediately jumped in front of his mistress, ready to fight.
-Let's not waste any more time, Pikachu, use thundershock! Fearrow was hit by the blow, which caused him to faint immediately.
-You can't win, Rockets," said Misty, standing up on the islet. - You'd better tell us where Professor Akibahara and the rest of the Missigno are! You don't know how dangerous they are...
-We know, little girl. That useless Fearrow was nothing more than a distraction," Skylar cut her off, "We've already studied them a bit in the lab, and we discovered a way to enhance their abilities, being Pokémon derived from a virtual being like Porygon. So now we're going to test their power!- And pulling out a new Pokéball. The brightly colored sphere sparkled in front of Ash and Misty who shuddered in fear. The girl looked imploringly at her boyfriend and swallowed saliva.
-We're going to give it our all, no matter what we're up against," Ash's voice trembled slightly, 'Come on, Pikachu!' The mouse immediately launched its attack at Missigno, who seemed to be affected by it, but its resistance seemed much greater than that of the Missignos they had previously encountered. The being responded by launching an aerial attack that took Pikachu by surprise.
-No, that's not possible," Ash grumbled as he watched his brave friend struggle to its feet. - I only have Pikachu and Lapras to fight, do you have any extra Pokémon, Misty?
-Just Starmie and Psyduck," hissed the girl as Starmie attempted a confusion attack against the powerful Missigno. The aquatic Pokémon's offensive had barely taken effect on the Rocket's Missigno. An impact thunderbolt immediately knocked Starmie down.
-Come on Psyduck! Please Psyduck, resist," the girl shrieked, "Pikachu again launched another attack against Missigno, but it was ineffective. The little mouse began to pant from exhaustion as it tried a quick attack and Psyduck threw jets of water that missed Missigno.
A few minutes passed of attacks exchanged from one side to the other. Missigno seemed much more whole than the young pair's Pokémon. Psyduck and Pikachu looked exhausted.
-You can't win, youngsters," laughed Merrow, "Spare us the humiliation. Now let's go, we have work to do. Wait..." An electronic device had suddenly beeped in the stillness of the blue sea.
-Yes," the black-haired woman pulled a walkie talkie out of her jacket, "Excellent, then we'll be on our way! You won't believe what happened," she laughed.
God, he's got him, he's got the last one," Skylar jumped up and down, Merrow nodded her head as she continued to enjoy herself in a sinister manner.
Come on Kadabra, take us back to base," Skylar's Kadabra came out, and with the blue glow in his eyes, he made the Rockets disappear in front of Ash and his girlfriend.
-Ash, what are we going to do now..." Misty had begun to cry with rage. -Those bastards don't know what they're doing, and they could cause real chaos!
The girl kept shedding tears of frustration while her boyfriend caressed her head, both on Lapras' back. They finally arrived at the Pokémon center, where they cured their Pokémon and sat down mechanically to wait, while Ash put his head in Misty's lap and caressed her jet hair absentmindedly. At last, after a long while where nothing they did could take away the humiliation and helplessness of having been useless against the Rockets, the Pidgey arrived with the Pokéball. Porygon was released immediately, Pikachu looked at it curiously as the being examined its surroundings making Missigno-like buzzing sounds.
-Maybe if we connect it to the Internet, Porygon can find the Missigno's trail to the Rocket base in Cinnabar. Nurse Joy immediately gave Ash passage to the Pokémon center's computers so the boy could maneuver with Porygon. Another torturous few minutes passed as Porygon made strange noises while the wires were connected to its back.
-We don't have a portal that allows us to teleport into cyberspace like we did years ago, the last time we saw a Porygon, but we can look up the IP address of Team Rocket's secret base in Seafoam... -Ah, right.
-Ah, right. Seems to have detected unusual activity on the south island. That must be where they are. Thanks Porygon- Ash removed its internet connectivity cables and had it return to the Pokeball. Let's inform Blaine about this.
-Take these cures and antidotes with you," the elderly trainer thrust a pile of Pokémon medicines into the hands of the boys, who struggled to fit them into their backpacks. They were right at the gate of the Cinnabar gymnasium. -Be very careful, kiddos. What you are facing appears to be quite dangerous.-
In a few minutes they were already embarking on Lapras. The weather seemed to be getting worse, covered with gray clouds that announced a storm. Misty was clinging tightly to Ash's back as the sea began to get rough.
-Ash, are you're going to love me forever?" Misty murmured as Lapras advanced gently across the dark blue ocean.
-I will prove it to you as many times as necessary," said the boy, squeezing his girlfriend's hand, who let out a sad chuckle. He could still see some sadness in those green eyes. He knew that what had happened days ago was not easy for her to forget. But both of them had overcome many obstacles throughout their journeys and this was not going to be the exception.
At last they reached the island, after several hours of travel during which Lapras rocked on the waves of an increasingly restless sea. There didn't seem to be too many Rocket watchers among the rocks and rugged terrain of those inhospitable islands. They were carrying a few extra Pokémon they had borrowed from Cinnabar trainers to fight in case they were needed. Porygon towered over Ash and Misty's heads in a rock formation. It pointed its beak in the direction of a ravine. The Rocket base shouldn't be far away. With great care, they began to descend the volcanic rock slope.