The main story continues. With the help of Misty, Staryu creates a temporary foothold on the sea surface using Ice Wind. Then, Goldeen and Starmie help to carry the survivors one by one.
But most of the survivors look ashen-faced.
They survived, but what about their Pokémon? Their partners?
Indeed, in this episode, Su Yihuan revealed the dark side of the Pokémon world to the audience.
But the vast majority of people still cherish their Pokémon as family.
What does losing a Pokémon mean to a Trainer?
You don't need to watch from the first episode, but anyone who has seen any of the previous episodes knows what this means.
【Team Rocket】—
【I can feel the pain of these Trainers through the screen, their ashen faces】
【Sorry everyone, I'm out of this group. Team Rocket are truly beasts】
【Just letting you know, the 'Team Rocket Trio' has been formed, fans of Musashi, Kojiro, and Meowth can move over】
【Damn you guys, you’re drama fans, you’re turning our sports forum into a mess. Now you’re just going to leave like this?】
【I’m curious what Team Rocket is doing with so many Pokémon. With their intelligence, they won’t be able to get Pokémon to accept a new owner】
【I have a guess, imagine what the purpose of poachers stealing wild animals is?】
【Damn, you’re not kidding?】
…
Misty and Brock worked together to carry the nearby passengers to the icy rocks. When they confirmed there were no other survivors nearby, they found that a familiar figure was missing.
Misty and Brock looked at each other and simultaneously shouted:
“Where's Ash!?”
…
The camera shifts to a beach.
Ash, constantly being washed by the waves, moved his eyelids slightly, his expression slightly painful.
Finally, he woke up with the calls of “Pika Pika～” and “Jeni Jeni～”.
“Pi, Pikachu! Squirtle!?”
Ash’s vision became clearer, and he completely woke up when he saw the two Pokémon calling out to him.
“I remember at that time…”
Ash covered his forehead, recalling what happened just now.
“Right, those guys from Team Rocket!”
Ash was filled with indignation, but now that Team Rocket was gone, getting angry was pointless.
“You saved me, right, Squirtle.”
Ash gave Squirtle a forced smile.
“Jeni Jeni～”
Ash stroked Squirtle's shiny dome, then put him back in his Poké Ball.
He prepared to head to the Pokémon Center with Pikachu.
The most urgent thing was to get in touch with Misty and Brock.
…
The camera follows Ash, entering a town with a quiet, even slightly eerie atmosphere.
“Excuse me, do you know where the Pokémon Center is?”
Ash turned his head left and right, just about to ask a passerby.
But the other party ignored him completely and walked away with his head down.
Ash couldn't believe it, and he went up to other townspeople to politely ask, but the result was still only cold eyes and silence.
“Why are the people in this town so cold?”
Ash grumbled indignantly.
“It’s because strange things have been happening in the town recently.”
The sudden voice from behind scared Ash, almost causing him to faceplant.
He turned around and saw an elderly man with a kind demeanor.
The old man introduced himself as "Fuji" and invited Ash to his home when he saw Ash was wet.
The two went together to a detached house called "Pokémon Home".
Through Fuji's introduction, Ash learned that the people living here are all Pokémon who were abandoned by humans and...victims of Team Rocket!
“Team Rocket!”
Hearing this, remembering Team Rocket’s actions on the St. Anne, Ash could hardly suppress his anger, clenching his fists.
And at this moment, Ash’s gaze was drawn to a Kakuna in the corner, staring at him with a wary look.
“It's also...”
Ash went up to comfort the Kakuna, but it seemed to react, its head hit Ash’s chest, almost knocking him over.
“Sorry, sorry. This little guy’s mother was right in front of it…”
Fuji quickly stepped forward to comfort Kakuna, and told the story of the little guy’s past.
The screen then switches to Fuji’s memories —
The Grass Region.
Numerous Team Rocket members capture a large number of wild Pokémon by force.
When Kakuna was about to be covered by the electric net, a Gallade swung its bone club to knock away the net.
“Gawr!”
Gallade Mom protected Kakuna from behind.
“Gallade?”
Just then, a man entered the line of sight of Gallade and the audience in the memories.
It was Lance, who had just taken away a large number of domestic Pokémon from the St. Anne in the previous episode.
“The skulls of their species sell for a lot of money on the black market.”
Lance grinned maliciously, revealing his Poké Ball.
There is no actual combat scene.
The camera immediately switches to a Kakuna covered in dirt, stumbling into this town of Cerulean, where it is met and taken in by Fuji.
At the end of the memory, the camera shows Lance holding a skull.
At this moment, in front of the television.
Even after watching the first half of the episode, and already understanding the "real Team Rocket".
But when the memory scene freezes on Lance holding the Gallade skull.
Millions of children, tens of millions of viewers.
At this moment, they were blown away!