"I have a plan," Drake announced.

"You have a plan?" Liza crossed her arms. "Since when did you make the plans?"

"Since I got a Ditto," Drake pointed out. "Ditto's got plenty of unique applications. For example, say we grab one of the kid's Pokemon while his back is turned and then replace it with Ditto? We'll have plenty of options from there."

"Dat ain't a bad plan," Aron agreed. "Only problem is da kid watches his Pokemon pretty close. We're gonna need a real good opportunity before we try dat kinda thing."

Liza nodded. "So which Pokemon are we aiming for? The Tympole? The Scizor? The Legendary? The…other Legendary? I seriously can't believe the kid's got two Legendaries…"

"Well, Scizor an' Genesect ain't too easy to transport," Aron pointed out. "So dat rules dem out, I think."

"Yeah, and there's one important one we haven't considered," Drake added. "The Growlithe."

"It is his Starter," Liza admitted. "And it's different from other Growlithe. It'll sell, I'm sure."

"Then it's settled," said Drake. "We find an opportunity to switch that Growlithe for Ditto. Then we've got the Growlithe, we've got Ditto as a mole on their team, and we'll be free to try a number of other plans once we're in that situation."

"Agreed." Aron smirked. "Let's do dis."

"Aegislash?"

The Steel/Ghost-type, freshly sent out, glanced over towards Ash. "What is it now?" he asked arrogantly. "Hast thou reconsidered thine opposition to an honorable duel?"

Genesect swiftly translated. Ash grinned. "Yes, actually!" He glanced over at Clay and Cyrus. "Though I was thinking we could perform our duel in a different way!"

"Different?" Aegislash blinked. "How so?"

"We could play a game!"

"A game?" Aegislash let out a scoff. "I am not a child's plaything, to be traded for with rolls of the dice or correct guesses. I am Sir Leopold VI-"

"OF - THE - HOUSE - OF - OL-I-VINE," Genesect finished for him. "WE - KNOW."

"Silence, abomination," Aegislash growled.

"I - AM - NOT - AN - A-BOM-I-NA-TION!" Genesect began to power up his cannon.

Ash quickly stepped between them. "Genesect, Aegislash is your teammate, stop trying to murder him! Aegislash, stop calling Genesect an abomination!"

"Until thou hast proven thyself worthy of being my Trainer," said Aegislash dismissively, "thou hast no right to give me orders." He pointedly turned away.

Ash glanced helplessly at Clay and Cyrus as he recalled Aegislash. "I don't understand. It feels like the only way Aegislash is ever going to accept me is if I beat him in a proper swordfight, and…I can't do that."

Clay sighed. "Ash," he said, "I don't like to say this, but sometimes a Pokemon and a Trainer just don't match. And in that situation, the best option is just to release it and move on. It didn't work out, but hey, you tried."

"I don't want to just quit!" Ash protested. "A good Trainer doesn't quit!"

"On the contrary," said Cyrus, "a good Trainer is one who knows when to quit. I agree with Clay on this one - it doesn't look like Aegislash is a good fit for your team."

Ash hung his head. "Okay," he murmured. "I'll check in with Nurse Joy and see about releasing Aegislash. I don't want to just throw him back into the wild."

"That I agree with," said Clay. "And from the looks of that sign over there, Gringey City ain't far. I reckon we can afford a small detour."

It was just his luck, Ash reflected, that just as he entered the Gringey City Pokemon Center, the power went out.

"Hey, what's going on?" a man - one of the dozen other people in the Pokemon Center - asked.

Standing at the front desk, Nurse Tabitha pounded a few buttons. "Looks like all systems are down. Sorry, everyone, this center's closed for the moment."

Ash sighed as the surrounding crowd erupted in outrage. "There's no way I can arrange Aegislash's release now…"

Officer Goh dashed in, his Poliwag running beside him. "Power's out all over Gringey City. Seems the Power Plant's been taken out - the entire place is dark."

"Can I help?" Ash offered.

"Ash," said Cyrus, "do you have any idea how to work the machinery of a power plant?"

"No," said Ash, "but I've got Genesect! He can interface with electronics - I'm sure he can do something!"

"I'm sure the power plant workers have things under control," Cyrus pointed out.

"Actually, no, they've all run off," said Officer Goh.

"Run off?" Clay asked angrily. "What kind of power plant workers just run off when there's a problem in the power plant?"

Officer Goh shrugged. "The kind who are probably going to be fired before the day's out. Anyway…you say you've got a Pokemon that can interface with electronics?"

Ash nodded.

"Well, that's better than anyone else has got," said Officer Goh, "so I guess you can help." He quickly provided Ash with a set of directions.

"Thanks, officer!" Ash cried, already stepping towards the door with Clay and Cyrus following behind him.

"Now we can't do much without power," Nurse Tabitha remarked as Ash departed, "so you'd better deal with this quick." He punched one hand into the other for emphasis.

"Huh," said a nearby woman, "that guy's surprisingly intimidating for a nurse."

"Guess what?" Aron whispered. "Da kid an' his friends are headin' into da Gringey City Power Plant! Navigating all dose windin' corridors an' tight spaces in da dark…dat's gonna be tough, dat's for sure!"

"More than that," said Liza, "it's an opportunity. We can easily perform the swap and sneak away in the dark."

"Ditto, you ready?" Drake asked.

Ditto grinned. "Ditto!"

Liza frowned. "This seems too easy. Why do I get the feeling that we're missing something?"

"You worry too much, Liza," Drake told her. "Come on, we'd better not take too long to get to the Power Plant, otherwise they might finish fixing it before we get our opportunity."

As Drake, Liza, and Aron began to move stealthily after Ash, Clay, and Cyrus, Liza glanced over at her Lunatone. "We aren't missing anything, are we?"

"Perhaps, Mistress," Lunatone replied over the telepathic link. "I admit I have that same feeling. But I cannot for the life of me think of what it is. Perhaps I will remember later."

"Perhaps," Liza murmured, rushing to keep up with Drake and Aron.

The Gringey City Power Plant was dark, dingy, and filled with an incredibly musty smell. In short, it was little wonder no one else had volunteered to investigate the place.

"Litleo," Ash murmured, "could you maybe use Ember and light the way a little?"

This turned out to be a bad idea.

"Tympole," Ash murmured, "could you maybe extinguish that bank of computers?"

This turned out to be a not-much-better idea.

"Genesect," Ash murmured, "could you maybe interface with the computers to stop them from shorting out?"

Genesect did so, grumbling all the while. "I - AM - SUR-ROUN-DED - BY - I-DI-OTS."

"So," said Ash as Genesect forcibly initiated a hard reset on the computers, "do either of you know how a power plant works? Because I don't."

"This is a hydroelectric power plant," said Cyrus. "Which means, if something has gone wrong, it is probably related to the water flow. We're going to want to check that first."

"Unfortunately," Clay muttered, "Officer Goh's directions didn't include where to go inside the Power Plant."

"Who?"

"Officer Goh," said Clay. "Remember him?"

"Of course I remember him," said Ash. "I didn't say that."

"Then who did?" Cyrus asked.

"Who?"

"I do not know who," said Cyrus. "That is why I am asking."

"I didn't say that, either," Ash remarked, puzzled. "Genesect? Any idea who that is?"

"Who?"

"Genesect," Ash repeated.

"I - DID - NOT - SAY - THAT."

"This is getting ridiculous," Clay muttered.

"SCAN-NING." Genesect looked up; his cannon began to glow. "HOS-TI-LE - LIFE-FORM - DE-TEC-TED. LOCK-ING - ON."

Ash held up his hands, panic rising in his voice. "Whoa, whoa, wait a minute-"

"EX-TER-MI-NATE!"

"Who!" A flutter of wings sounded as Genesect opened fire, blasting the room's ceiling with a Techno Blast. The attack was perfectly on target; a small thump sounded as the winged creature fell to the floor.

"Genesect, don't fire Techno Blasts in here!" Ash chided. "You remember what happened on the S.S. Anne, right? You could damage some important machinery, or bring half the place down on our heads!"

Genesect blinked. "OH."

"Over here!" Clay called; he'd already sprinted to where the winged creature had fallen. "It's a…Hoothoot?"

Ash quickly scurried over; indeed, a small Hoothoot was sprawled out on the metal floor, very much unconscious.

Cyrus asked the question that was on all their lips. "What is a Hoothoot doing in a power plant?"

"I found 'em," Aron reported. "Da kid's found a Hoothoot, an' dey're headin' dis way!"

"Good work, Aron," Liza whispered. "Quick, into the side passage!"

The Team Rocket group quickly moved into the side passage in question. "Now," said Liza, "let's go over the plan one more time. On my signal, Lunatone, you grab the Growlithe with your Confusion attack."

"Yes, Mistress Liza."

"Ditto, you leap out and change into an exact copy of the Growlithe."

"Ditto!"

"And I'll put the Growlithe in this bag," said Liza, holding up a thick black fireproof bag. "At which point we sneak away, and with any luck, we'll be out of the power plant before they figure out anything's wrong. Ditto, of course, if you're discovered, just get away."

"Ditto!"

"What's my part in this plan?" Haunter asked. "Not that I don't love a little sneakiness, but I've got some talent in misdirection!"

"You and Dragonite," said Liza, "will be our fallback plan. If anything goes wrong, it's up to you two - hopefully, if you sow enough chaos, they'll lose us in these winding passageways."

Haunter grinned. "I can do chaos."

"Shh!" Drake hissed. "I hear them coming!"

Indeed, the voices and footsteps of Ash and company could now be heard coming towards the Team Rocket group. "…do we do with this Hoothoot?" Ash was saying. "Should I put it in a Pokeball?"

"Technically, you could if you wanted to," Cyrus answered. "You did battle and defeat it, after all."

"Oh, hold on!" Ash cried. "Looks like it's waking up?"

There was a faint groggy murmur that Aron could instantly tell was coming from the mouth of the Hoothoot in question. "Ow…did anyone get the number of that truck?"

"Hello, Hoothoot!" That was the Growlithe. "Are you all right?"

"Um…" Another sound emanated from down the corridor, this one sounding like feathers shifting. "My…everything…kinda hurts, to be honest. Aren't you all Trainers? Why am I not in a Pokeball?"

"Do you want to be in a Pokeball?" the Growlithe asked.

"No!" the Hoothoot cried. "I want to get back to my flock!"

Genesect's voice sounded then, translating the Hoothoot's words to the Trainers. The Hoothoot clearly recognized the voice. "Wait, isn't that the creature that blasted me?"

"Yeah, that's Genesect," said the Growlithe. "Sorry…Genesect's pretty rough, but once you get to know him, he's really nice!"

Ash's voice broke into the conversation. "Sorry, Hoothoot. Genesect just got startled. You said you wanted to go back to your flock?"

Another shuffling noise came; that must have been the Hoothoot nodding, for Ash quickly spoke again. "All right, then. Go on!"

A few seconds of silence, and then the sound of flapping wings. "Thank you!" Aron heard the Hoothoot cry as it flapped past the corridor the Team Rocket group were hiding in.

"Ash," said Clay, "I have a feeling that Hoothoot flock might know something about what's up with the power plant."

"Oh," Ash muttered. "Sorry, I should've asked it…"

"At the very least," Cyrus pointed out, "we know it likely flew in the direction of its flock, so we are probably on the right track."

"Good point," said Clay. "Let's keep going."

Aron held his breath, glancing from side to side; Lunatone and Ditto stood (or in Lunatone's case, floated) ready. Ash and company were coming closer…closer…they were moving right past the side corridor…

"Now!" Liza hissed.

Immediately, Lunatone lashed out with Confusion, seizing Hisuian Growlithe in a Psychic grip and dragging him into the shadows, the hold additionally preventing the Fire/Rock-type from calling out for help. At the same time, Ditto leaped out, morphing into an exact copy of Hisuian Growlithe.

A lilac-colored, ooze-dripping exact copy of Hisuian Growlithe.

Liza, Drake, and Aron all stared as the entirety of Ash's team glanced suspiciously at Ditto. "Okay," Drake muttered, "this plan might have a bit of a hole in it."

Scizor stepped over to Ditto. "Hisuian Growlithe? Um…what's going on?"

The duplicate of Hisuian Growlithe looked up at Scizor. "Ditto!"

Liza's shoulders slumped.

"All right," Drake admitted, "maybe more than one hole."

"Wait a minute…" Scizor narrowed his eyes. "You're not Hisuian Growlithe, you're a Ditto. And Team Rocket has a Ditto, which means…crap! Everyone, Team Rocket's here, and they've got Hisuian Growlithe!"

Aron looked up at Liza. "Uh…run?"

"Run." Liza threw a bag over Hisuian Growlithe, turned, and booked it as fast as she could down the tunnel, with Aron, Lunatone, and Drake following close behind.

"Time to sow some chaos!" Haunter cried, opening fire with what must have been a Hypnosis, because Genesect instantly toppled to the ground and started letting off loud robotic snores. Dragonite followed up with a Hyper Beam that forced the entire enemy group to scatter, and then the two twisted and dove after their compatriots, Haunter cackling all the way. "Not bad," Dragonite admitted.

"Thanks!" Haunter replied as the duo swooped down the corridor.

In the confusion, Scizor wasted no time in grabbing Ditto around the midsection. "All right, you," he growled. "You'd better tell us where they're headed, or else!"

Ditto looked up at Scizor and grinned. "Ditto!"

Scizor's eyes widened as Ditto's body began to liquefy. "Don't you dare."

Ditto did dare. Scizor couldn't adjust his grip in time; Ditto plopped out of his grasp and promptly flowed down a nearby grate in the floor, disappearing from sight in an instant.

Scizor bit back a furious curse and looked around to see the rest of the group recovering from Dragonite's Hyper Beam. "After them!" Ash cried. "Genesect, you all right?"

Genesect's only answer was another metallic snore.

"Dang it!" Ash recalled the sleeping Genesect and broke into a sprint, streaking after Team Rocket with Clay, Cyrus, and their collective teams following close behind.

With Hisuian Growlithe captured, Genesect snoring, and Aegislash not really bothering to do anything, that left just Scizor, Litleo, and Tympole to join Clay and Cyrus's teams in pursuit. Scizor knew that, as the only fully evolved Pokemon in the group, he was the strongest remaining, something that did not sit all that well with him. I was able to beat that Lunatone when we tangled in Mount Moon, and the Aron's not much of a battler, but I don't think any of us can handle that Dragonite…and that's not even taking into account the Ditto and Haunter.

This'll be tough, no doubt about it. But I'm not going to give up and let Hisuian Growlithe be kidnapped by these idiots!

The Team Rocket gang rounded a corner, then another. Scizor led the team in pursuit, though he had to duck away from another of Dragonite's Hyper Beams in the process. "Drake, where are you going?" Scizor heard Liza asking.

"Didn't we go left, then right before?" Drake asked.

"Yes," said Liza, "but you're supposed to go in reverse to get out! So right, then left!"

"Oh…" Drake gulped. "Whoops."

"Well, it's not like we can turn back!" Liza called. "Quick, this way - let's try and lose them!"

"Not a chance!" Ash yelled. "Give us back Hisuian Growlithe!"

"No!" Drake yelled back.

Ash let out a low growl. "Darn it, I was really hoping that would work."

The Team Rocket group rounded several more corners, with Dragonite and Haunter launching attacks backwards at every turn. At one point a lucky Night Shade struck Drilbur, and at another Houndour was unfortunate enough to be on the wrong end of an absurdly powerful Water Gun. Both were recalled immediately, thinning the number of pursuers further. Scizor was starting to wonder if, even if they caught up to Team Rocket, the group could actually win the inevitable battle.

Eventually, they did catch up, though not quite in the way they had expected. The endless winding corridors suddenly gave way to a massive room, shrouded in darkness and smelling incredibly damp. The floor felt very wet, the entire space was unlit, and it did not seem like there were any other entrances or exits, which would explain why the Team Rocket group had stopped running.

As Ash, Clay, Cyrus, and their Pokemon burst into the room, Drake, Liza, and their Pokemon turned to face them. The two sides readied themselves, the humans stiffening while the Pokemon readied energy blasts or simply clenched their fists/claws.

"You got one chance," Clay growled. "Give us back Hisuian Growlithe."

"You want him back so bad?" Liza smirked. "Then you'll just have to…to…"

The reason why she'd trailed off quickly became clear as Scizor, along with everyone else in the group, beheld the large assortment of Hoothoot emerging from the shadows around them.

Scizor was pretty sure there were dozens of Hoothoot surrounding the two groups of Trainers and Pokemon now. Grimacing, he glanced around; he was strong enough to take care of a good few wild Pokemon, and he knew his teammates (as well as Clay and Cyrus's) were capable fighters as well, but this amount of Hoothoot was dangerous even for all of them. And worse, Scizor could see the large form of a Noctowl emerging from the darkness, looming up behind the Hoothoot horde. Which meant this wasn't just a random assortment of wild Pokemon, but an organized group.

This is going to be nasty.

"Hey, those are the nice Trainers I told you about!"

Scizor recognized the voice immediately; sure enough, the Hoothoot that Genesect had blasted - and that Ash had released - was standing amongst the horde. "And that means those other Trainers must be bad Trainers! Let's get 'em!"

"Wait, what?" Liza practically squawked, a second before Team Rocket was divebombed by several dozen angry Hoothoot.

Scizor barely noticed the very nonplussed-looking Noctowl staring at the mob of Hoothoot assailing the Team Rocket group; he was too busy charging forwards, fully intent on taking advantage of the sudden turn of events. Liza was too distracted trying to swat away three Hoothoot pecking at her face to keep a proper grip on the bag in her hand; Scizor lunged forwards, aided by Quick Attack, and snatched it right out of her hand.

As soon as he was clear of the Hoothoot swarm, Scizor dumped the bag out, releasing Hisuian Growlithe onto the ground. "Ugh!" the Fire/Rock-type shouted. "Thanks, Scizor - that bag smelled horrible!"

Only then did Liza notice that her captive had been stolen from her. "Crap!" she cried. "Screw this - Drake, just have Dragonite blast a hole in the ceiling and get us out of here!"

Dragonite let out a fearsome roar; throwing the Hoothoot assaulting him off by main strength, he raised his head and fired a Hyper Beam up at the ceiling. Ash paled. "No, wait-"

The ceiling exploded, and a large amount of debris began to crumble down upon the Trainers and Pokemon within the room.

To be quite honest, Scizor wasn't entirely sure what happened in the minute or so after that. He was fairly certain this was because some of the rubble had fallen on his head; he dimly recalled a lot of crashing and shouting and a sizable amount of hooting. When he finally fully regained consciousness, Team Rocket had escaped (naturally) and Ash, Clay, Cyrus, their collective teams, and the Noctowl and its Hoothoot flock were grouped in the half of the room that had not been destroyed by rubble.

Also, they had apparently started negotiating without Scizor, which was entirely uncalled for.

"So," said Noctowl, "what you're saying is that this…power plant…of yours requires the flow of the water that our nests are blocking?"

Genesect, who by now had woken up from his impromptu nap (and had promptly sworn an oath of vengeance on that accursed Haunter) quickly translated. Ash nodded. "Yeah, so it would be really great if you could move and let the water start flowing again!"

Noctowl shifted. "Our apologies - we did not know the flow of this water was so important to you humans. But may I ask where we should go now? Everywhere else we have gone, we have been beset by Trainers seeking to capture us."

Ash looked around at the array of Hoothoot, frowning. "I…um…" His eyes suddenly began to shine. "Hang on…I actually think I do have an idea…"

"WHAT?" Professor Archie yelled. "Ye be expecting me to take care of an entire flock of Hoothoot?"

"Not take care, just give them a home!" Ash replied. "You don't let strangers come onto your ranch, right? So no one's going to show up and try to catch the Hoothoot! That's all they want!"

Professor Archie let out a long sigh. "Well," he said, "I guess they ain't Fire-types. So fine. Ye be havin' yerself a deal! How many are there?"

"About…" Ash did a quick headcount. "80 or so."

"80?!" Professor Archie shouted. "I be regretting this already…all right, that be far too many to transfer over with Pokeballs. Any major landmarks ye be heading to soon?"

"Actually," said Ash, "I'm heading to the Big P Pokemon Ranch to take part in a Pokemon race!"

Professor Archie looked aghast. "That Rapidash ranch? Filthy landlubbers, all of them! Ugh, fine, I be telling Gladion to go there. He can be escorting that flock o' Hoothoot back afterwards, and I be sure he be loving to watch ye race."

Ash grinned. "That would be awesome!" He knew full well the journey would be no problem; Gladion had taken him on many flights with his Crobat back before Ash's journey, and Ash knew the Poison/Flying-type could easily cover half the region in mere hours.

"Then it be settled." Professor Archie quickly shut off the call, no doubt already preparing to gripe about the filthy, landlubbing Rapidash.

Ash glanced over at Noctowl. "So, does that all sound good to you?"

"Owl," said Noctowl. Though Ash couldn't understand her, Noctowl's nod of acceptance told Ash everything he needed to know.

"So, I guess Drake and Liza are officially back," Clay muttered. "Can't say I missed 'em, that's for sure."

"At least we got a new traveling companion out of it!" Ash patted Noctowl, who promptly nipped his fingers. "Ow!"

"Noct," Noctowl muttered, which likely meant something along the lines of 'I do not want to be patted'. The eighty or so Hoothoot joined in with amused calls of "Hoot!"

Cyrus heaved a sigh. "Make that eighty traveling companions. This is going to be a long day, I can already tell."

"And this whole fiasco put us more behind schedule than any of us figured," Clay grumbled. "We're gonna have to hurry if we want to make it to the ranch."

Ash nodded. "All right, I guess I'll release Aegislash on the way back."

"Sounds like a plan," said Clay. "Onwards?"

Cyrus nodded. "Onwards."

So Muk got replaced by Noctowl! However, that was far from the only change made to this plot - in the original episode, Ash solved the problem by, essentially, just grabbing Muk in a Pokeball and running. I felt like this Ash, thanks to Clay and Cyrus teaching him patience, wouldn't be quite so trigger-happy - which rather drastically alters the nature of his relationship with Muk's replacement.

Not to mention the army of Hoothoot. Which I'm sure won't have any bearing on future events in the slightest.