When Ash and his friends arrived at James' mansion, which resembled a castle, the first thing they saw upon entering the living room were two coffins, prompting Ash to pull at the corner of his mouth.
"These two... they really dare to go this far..."
The old butler understood from Ash's expression that he had likely discovered that Lord and Lady were pretending to be dead. However, the show must go on; after all, the security team had just informed them that young master James had returned. Now it was time to test their acting skills.
"Ever since young master James left, Lord and Lady have been in tears day and night, hoping to find him. But as you can see, young master James has been missing until now, and Lord and Lady have finally succumbed to excessive sorrow and..."
The old butler didn't finish his sentence, but the coffins on display in the hall said it all.
However, Ash, Meowth, Pikachu, and Happiny, who were aware of the situation, could only remain silent, fully understanding the gravity of it.
Just as Ash was about to say something, he noticed the butler giving him knowing winks while glancing at the ceiling. Ash quickly understood and stepped forward, saying, "Wow... I didn't expect it to be like this... I didn't think our last meeting would be our final farewell. Coming back here feels like heaven and earth apart…"
Saying this, Ash took a bouquet from Meowth and asked, "Excuse me, old man, do you mind if I lay down some flowers?"
"Of course not, Master Ash! You are a friend of Lord and Lady. They would be very happy to see you bring flowers, please go ahead."
Seeing Ash cooperate so well, the old butler quickly stepped aside, marveling at Ash's acting skills, while Ash approached the two coffins and offered the bouquet.
"Ah... may you rest in peace... since seeing young James has been your lifelong obsession, I will help you fulfill this wish."
"Master Ash, if possible, could you use all your power to find young master James within 24 hours? If young master James doesn't marry his fiancée within that time, all his assets will be donated! Lord and Lady have already found a foundation!"
"..."
Ash looked at the old butler, who had pulled out a megaphone to shout this, utterly speechless. Were you afraid that James wouldn't hear you?
Glancing at the restless ceiling caused by the commotion, Ash couldn't help but twitch his mouth in exasperation.
"Fine, I'll do my best..."
—— Divider Line ——
As Ash and his friends walked out of James' home, Misty couldn't contain her curiosity and asked about Ash's strange behavior: "Ash, what's going on? It feels like there's some kind of story behind all this."
"Um... Misty, I'm not sure how to explain it right now, but if you could just wait a moment, you'll understand…"
Just as Ash finished speaking, Team Rocket members fell from the sky.
Looking at the trio of Team Rocket, Ash sighed, "James, your parents..."
"No! I can't remember anything! My head hurts so much!"
Before Ash could finish his sentence, James covered his head with a pained expression. Observing this, Ash pressed his hands against James' head and said, "Amnesia? Actually, I have methods for this…"
Saying this, Ash pulled out a few thick needles and asked James, "Need acupuncture?"
Bang!
With a love tap from Lyn, Ash fell to the ground, motionless, while Eevee licked his face beside him.
"Seriously, now's not the time for jokes! We need to get James inside; that's the priority!"
Looking at Ash, who was lying on the ground with steam coming from his head while Lyn remained unscathed, Misty couldn't help but glance at Lyn's forehead.
Noticing Misty's gaze, Lyn smiled and explained, "Don't worry; Ash will be fine. As for me, I might just have a harder head?"
Misty and Suzy looked at Ash, who was still lying on the ground, unsure of what to say. He didn't seem fine at all!
Meanwhile, James was trying to use amnesia as a way to dodge questions from Jessie and Meowth, but they easily saw through his awkward act, and he ended up getting tied up...
"Regardless of whether you are young master James or not, you must go and marry that fiancée!"
As Jessie spoke, she and Meowth began to tie James up, and Meowth turned to Misty and Suzy, saying, "You guys, please keep your noses out of our Team Rocket's internal affairs!"
"..." *N
Watching James being coerced by Jessie and Meowth, although Misty and her friends felt sympathy, they didn't intervene; after all, forcing James to attend the funeral was still reasonable.
After James was dressed up as a ventriloquist act by Jessie and Meowth, Misty and her friends were utterly speechless.
Suzy looked at Jessie and Meowth, who were clad in black with veils as disguises, and couldn't help but ask, "Is this really... okay?"
"Don't worry! This is our specially made stealth outfit! No one will ever find out!"
"....." *N
Thus, just as Misty and her friends watched in disbelief as Meowth and Jessie guided James to knock on the door, the old butler appeared. Upon seeing the absurd sight of James, Jessie, and Meowth, he struggled to contain his laughter, blood pressure shooting up.
'Do they think I'm an intergalactic player? Forget it... for young master James, I'll endure!'
In the end, under the guise of pretending not to see, the Team Rocket trio entered James' house.