"Meowth, what are you talking about? Don't say such silly things! We've always been a team! Without you, Jessie and I just aren't Team Rocket anymore!"
James froze for a moment, then thought Meowth was just throwing another tantrum.
"Enough already, nya! Everything's always my fault, but neither of you ever reflect on yourselves, nya! I've had enough! I've made up my mind—I'm going to learn how to make ramen, nya! I want to be a ramen chef!"
Meowth roared with all its might, pouring out years of bottled frustration in one defiant shout.
Then, without looking back, it darted past Jessie and James and ran off.
"Ah! Meowth, I'm sorry! I shouldn't have blamed you for everything. Let's just go back to the way things were—let's keep working together to catch Pikachu!"
James finally realized he'd gone too far.
He tried to chase after Meowth, but Jessie stopped him.
"Let it go. This... this is its decision."
Jessie walked to the side and opened her Contest Ribbon case.
She looked at the ribbons she had earned.
And in that moment, she made a decision of her own—to risk everything in pursuit of her dream to become a top-tier Pokémon Coordinator!
In the blink of an eye, Jessie left as well.
James begged them to stay, but it was all in vain.
"Jessie! Meowth! Damn it! Even without you two, I'll keep working hard! I'll give it everything I've got—for all three of us! One day, I will be promoted to executive, even director!"
Left alone by the sea, James let out a furious roar.
And so it began—Meowth really did go to a ramen shop and started learning how to make ramen… even hand-pulled knife-cut noodles.
Jessie donned the outfit of a Pokémon Coordinator and began training her Yanmega.
Meanwhile, James overheard a conversation about a uniquely colored Metagross living in the mountains near Gale Town.
He wasn't like most trainers—James had real Pokémon knowledge. He immediately realized what it meant: a shiny Metagross!
Without hesitation, he headed straight up the mountain.
"Jessie, Meowth... If I catch this shiny Metagross and bring it to the boss—telling him we caught it together—then we'll all get promoted for sure! Once we're executives, you two will come back, I know it!"
James felt a surge of determination and power rush through his body like never before.
Two passersby saw James heading up the mountain and quickly spread the word.
Jessie and Meowth heard about it and, worried for James's safety, rushed to help.
In the end, their care for James outweighed their personal decisions.
James did find the shiny Metagross—but it was extremely dangerous. Jessie and Meowth arrived just in time to save him.
But that meant one thing—the shiny Metagross had now marked all three of them as enemies.
This particular shiny Metagross was incredibly aggressive by nature.
And now, having been disturbed repeatedly, it was seething with rage.
With its psychic powers, Metagross pinned the trio in midair, holding them tight.
Just when all seemed lost, a blue aura shot through the air—Aura Sphere!
The psychic hold released, and the trio crashed to the ground. They looked up to see Ash, Dawn, and Anabel approaching.
Beside them stood Pikachu—and a Lucario!
The Aura Sphere had come from Lucario.
The shiny Metagross's attention shifted toward Lucario.
They had found it at last—the platinum-shaded shiny Metagross!
Ash smiled as he activated the Eye of Insight.
According to the scan, the Metagross had blue-tier potential and was already level 45—meaning it had laid a strong foundation in its training.
"Metagross!"
Metagross pulled its four metallic limbs tight to its body and began spinning rapidly.
Gyro Ball!
"Aura Sphere!"
Lucario launched another gleaming blue Aura Sphere.
This Metagross's battle instincts clearly needed work!
The Aura Sphere exploded directly on its body.
Metagross was hurt again—but this time, it seemed to have learned a lesson. It stopped using close-range moves and switched to Psybeam!
The cross-shaped mark on its face glowed as it unleashed a powerful psychic beam toward Lucario!
"Dash in and use Force Palm!"
"Lucario!"
Lucario roared and blurred forward, feet glowing blue.
Its movements were so fast it seemed to vanish and reappear like a phantom.
Before the Psybeam even faded, Lucario was already standing in front of Metagross!
At that moment, Lucario gently pressed a glowing blue palm onto Metagross's forehead.
Force Palm—triggered instantly!
Boom!
Metagross took another direct hit from the Fighting-type move.
Its massive body was sent crashing into a boulder.
"Metagross...!"
It glared at Lucario furiously.
This Metagross had a proud and combative personality.
It absolutely hated losing.
And it had a fiery temper to match.
But Ash didn't mind.
He had already thought of a way to tame this hot-headed Pokémon.
A shiny Metagross... Ash was eager to find out what unique traits the shiny form might have.
Ash watched the Metagross closely and threw a Poké Ball.
"Metagross!"
It caught the ball in midair with its psychic power—and crushed it!
It wasn't done fighting!
"Lucario!"
Ash nodded. Since it wanted more... so be it.
Besides, he hadn't yet tested the effects of his Universal Elixir. This was a good time to try.
The Elixir could heal any non-lethal injury instantly—though the process wasn't painless.
A little suffering might be just what this stubborn brute needed.
Want to act tough?
You'd better beat Pikachu or Charizard first!
"Lucario!"
Lucario struck again—this time unleashing Bone Rush!
With a flurry of rapid strikes, the bones hammered down!
Finally, Metagross collapsed—seriously injured and barely conscious.
"Go, Heal Ball!"
Ash swapped to a Heal Ball and captured the furious shiny Metagross!
Thunk!
There was no struggle—it must have been too badly injured.
No rush—Ash turned toward Team Rocket.
Jessie, James, and Meowth sprang into action.
"Meow... Haha! No need for you to worry about us today, nya!"
"That's right, we'll disappear on our own today!"
"We've found our purpose again!"
"Retreat, nya!"
In a puff of smoke, they vanished into the distance...
Ash finally picked up the Heal Ball and released the shiny Metagross.
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T/N:
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