Jessie and James were in a battle with Rico, while Meowth was working hard to unlock the cage.
"Darn it! Fearow, use Drill Peck on Meowth!"
"No way! Arbok, Iron Tail!"
Thump! Fearow was knocked down.
Click! "I did it, Meowth!" Meowth had successfully rescued the Ekans and Koffing.
"This is great! The plan is a huge success!" Jessie yelled happily.
"Darn it! You guys have really angered me this time! Go, Pupitar!"
As Pupitar appeared, a blue and white light surrounded it, and it evolved into the pseudo-legendary Pokémon Tyranitar! A sandstorm began to rage!
"What?! No way!"
"I knew it was close to evolving. Tyranitar, Hyper Beam!"
"Ah!" The Team Rocket trio was knocked down.
Just then, another Hyper Beam came their way. "Wobbuffet, use Counter!" But before Wobbuffet could successfully use its move, it was knocked down as well.
In the end, they made their most important decision. "Arbok, Weezing, hurry! Take them and run! We'll hold him off!"
"That's right! Look at me, Fury Swipes, Meowth!"
"I'll use Fury Swipes too!"
"Check out our Team Rocket bond, Fury Swipes!" The trio charged forward.
Arbok and Weezing tearfully left the scene.
"Darn it! My haul! You guys have a death wish! Die! Tyranitar, use Hyper Beam!"
At this crucial moment, "Pidgeot, Protect!"
"Pi~" A giant bird appeared and protected the Team Rocket trio.
"Are you guys okay?!" Ash and the others ran over, concerned.
"I didn't think you'd be so brave!" May said, moved, to the trio.
Brock and Max also nodded in agreement.
"Thank you for your help. I will reward you generously," Officer Jenny said to them, then turned to Rico. "Pokémon poacher Rico, don't resist. Surrender now!"
"Surrender? Never! Tyranitar, Hyper Beam."
[Tyranitar]
[Gender: Male]
[Type: Rock, Dark]
[Ability: Sand Stream (When it enters the battle, it creates a sandstorm)]
[Strength: Early Quasi-Champion-Level]
[Moves: Hyper Beam, Crunch, Stone Edge, Earthquake, Shadow Ball, Dark Pulse]
[Terastal Type: Ghost]
Wow! It's perfect! This Tyranitar is absolutely perfect! And Rico has trained it well. It has already reached the Quasi-Champion-Level after evolving into Tyranitar!
"Go, Pikachu, use Iron Tail!" "Pidgeot, use Steel Wing!"
"Hmph! Tyranitar, a sweeping Hyper Beam!" Tyranitar's Hyper Beam made it difficult for Pikachu and Pidgeot to get close.
"Do you only know Hyper Beam? Pikachu, use Thunderbolt to cover me! Let's go, Pidgeot!" Ash took out a Steel-Type Z-Crystal, and activated the Z-Ring!
"Wow! It's a Z-Move!" (?) Max said in surprise.
"Pidgeot, Savage Spin-Out!" "Pi~" Pidgeot flew straight through Tyranitar, and Tyranitar lost its ability to battle!
"Darn it! You guys will pay for this!" Rico ran off without even recalling his Tyranitar!
"Trying to run? Pikachu, use Thunder Shock!" "Pikaaa~"
"Ah~" Rico was shocked and fell. Officer Jenny walked over and put handcuffs on him.
"Thank you for helping!" Officer Jenny said gratefully.
"We couldn't just stand by and watch. By the way, Officer Jenny, can I catch this Tyranitar?" Ash waved his hand first, then asked Officer Jenny.
"Hmm~ As Rico's Pokémon, it should be handed over to the League. But since you were the one who stopped him, if you can gain its trust, I can let this slide."
Officer Jenny hesitated for a moment, then made up her mind. She felt Ash had a lot of potential, and no one else knew about Rico's Tyranitar anyway.
"Really? Thank you, Officer Jenny!" Ash said excitedly. He then turned to the newly conscious Tyranitar. "What do you say, Tyranitar? Will you become my partner and we'll become the strongest together?" "Pika~"
"Teeer~" Tyranitar had never been on good terms with Rico, who had poached it in the first place. Unlike other Pokémon that were sold, it had been used as a battle machine. It doesn't matter where I get my meals from anyway, it thought. In the end, Tyranitar agreed to join Ash.
"This is great! Go, Friend Ball!" After destroying Tyranitar's old Poké Ball, Ash took out a Friend Ball to increase their bond.
"I caught a Tyranitar!" "Pikaaachuu"
"How could this be? We're Team Rocket! We can't go to the police station to claim a reward!" A voice came from nearby.
"Are you sure you don't want it? It's a reward of 100,000 Pokedollars," Officer Jenny said.
"What, 100,000 Pokedollars? Haha, where did you get that idea, Officer Jenny? We're on our way to the police station! This feels awesome!" And just like that, Team Rocket got into the police car and headed to the station. As for Ash, since he had caught a Tyranitar, he didn't ask for the reward anymore.
After saying goodbye to Officer Jenny, Ash and his friends returned to the Pokémon Center to rest.
At dusk, after being released from the police station, the Team Rocket trio walked into a forest.
They were carrying the food they had just bought and reminiscing about Arbok and Weezing.
"I wonder if they're doing okay," Jessie said, taking a bite of a luxury bread.
"They should be strong enough to protect their friends!" James added.
"Don't worry, Meowth! After battling the twerp so many times, they've become strong enough. They'll be fine, Meowth. Mmm~" Meowth said, chewing his food.
"Wobbuffet~"
"You're right!" Jessie and James nodded in agreement.
Just then, a sound came from the bushes. "Huh?" The trio looked back and saw a Pokémon that resembled a cactus.
"That is..."
"It's a Cacnea, Meowth."
"Are you hungry? Here, this is delicious," James said, offering some food to Cacnea.
"Cacnea Cacnea" (?>?<) Cacnea took a bite and started to eat happily.
"Cacnea, what do you say? Do you want to come with me?" James asked Cacnea.
"Cacnea Cacnea" Cacnea nodded happily and jumped into James' arms.
"Ah! That hurts! I caught a Cacnea!" James said happily. "Cacnea~"
Just like that, Cacnea filled the void left in Team Rocket's roster.
In a certain forest
"Ah! This is all your fault, big sister! Look, we're lost!" Max complained.
"How is it my fault?" May retorted, unconvinced.
"I said we should go right, but you said we should go left, and that's why this happened!"
"But that way looked more interesting at the time, and there were so many cute flowers on the side of the road!" May explained. She then turned and blamed Max. "Besides, you were the one holding the Pokémon Navigator! You weren't a very good guide!"
"That's because we're outside of the signal area! This is all your fault!"
"What did you say?"
"Alright, alright! Trips are always full of surprises. If we only followed the Navigator, how would we ever find any rare Pokémon?" Seeing that the two were about to start a fight, Ash quickly intervened.
"That's right!" Brock nodded. Getting lost was a regular occurrence for them in Kanto.
Just then, a group of figures flashed past in the trees.
To be continued...