Let's go Pikachu ✨ Part Fouuuuur✨

PML and saving a Charmander

Final battle of the PML.

Sygna Suit Red, Blue and Leaf.

Against me, Misty and Brock.

Rosa and Lillie were cheering behind us.

" You can do it!" They said happily as we sent out Pokemon out.

I raised a brow. " That's a bit too much, girls. Tone it down a bit."

Rosa pouted. " But if we do, we'll sound like you!"

" What's wrong with being me?"

" You're soooo negative!"

I stared at her. " ... Really?"

Lillie shrugged nervously. " Uh... Yeah...?"

I stared at her

Then I sighed.

"Really?"

I turned and rolled my eyes. " Welp. We'd better just get this PML thing out of the way. Let's go, Pik-"

Then I looked up

At the sky.

And my eyes widened.

Team Rocket balloon.

With a grunt.

And holding something by its neck -

" It's a Charmander!" I yelled, pointing.

The grunt noticed me and grinned. " Oh good. You're here."

I narrowed my eyes. " Drop the Charmander. THEN we talk."

" Of course."

And then-

He ACTUALLY dropped the Charmander.

From the sky.

I screeched. " CHARMANDER!"

Everyone watched in horror as the poor Pokemon, flailing and all, was traveling at an alarming speed.

" I GOTCHA, CHARMANDER!" I yelled, running and leaping off a pillar, catching the Charmander in midair before throwing a Pokeball. " Aerodactyl! We need you!"

My prehistoric Pokemon came out at once. " Aerooooo!"

" Catch us!"

Aerodactyl obeyed, flapping his wings and taking off back to the ground.

It swooped beneath us just in time. The wind howled past my ears as we dipped, then leveled out with a jolt that made my teeth clack. I clutched Charmander tighter to my chest, shielding its tiny, trembling body from the wind.

"Aerodactyl, circle back! Land over by the stadium!"

"Aerooo!" it cried in reply, wings beating hard as it veered toward the field.

Below, the battle was forgotten. Misty, Brock, Red, Blue, Leaf—everyone stood frozen, staring up in stunned silence.

I slid off Aerodactyl's back once we landed, knees buckling a bit from the adrenaline, but I held on tight to the Charmander. It whimpered, a burn mark on its tail where the flame had nearly sputtered out.

"Hey, hey, you're okay," I murmured, kneeling and inspecting it. "You're okay now, I've got you."

The crowd was murmuring, confused. Misty had rushed over with a potion, Brock already rummaging through his bag for gauze.

And up above—
The Team Rocket grunt was still up there, watching with a smug grin.

"You shouldn't have done that," I said coldly, glaring up at him.

The grunt just laughed. "Oh, I think I should've. Giovanni says hello. And he says he wants you back."

Back?

Everyone turned toward me, confusion flashing on their faces.

Red narrowed his eyes. "What's he talking about?"

But I was already sprinting back toward Aerodactyl, tossing Charmander gently into Misty's arms. "Heal him. I'll be back."

"You're going up there?" Leaf gasped. "Are you crazy?!"

"Do you even have to ask?" I called, leaping onto Aerodactyl's back. "Let's go, buddy!"

Aerodactyl roared and launched skyward.

Behind me, Rosa shouted, "WAIT! That was AWESOME! Can I come next time?!"

Lillie, meanwhile, looked horrified. "I don't think that's what we're supposed to be doing right now!"

"Yeah, well," I muttered as the wind rushed around us, "plans change."

The Rocket balloon was slow-moving, and I could see the grunt pulling something from inside—a second Pokéball.

"You want a fight?" I yelled. "Then come down here and face me like a real trainer!"

But he didn't throw the ball.

He threw... a remote.

With a blinking red light.

My blood ran cold.
"...Oh no."

From the stadium below, a mechanical rumble began—loud, unnatural.

Misty shouted something I couldn't hear, and Red had already released Charizard to take off and join me. Blue and Leaf followed suit.

Then the ground near the PML stage exploded, concrete cracking apart as a giant, robotic machine rose out of the earth—a Titan-sized Mecha-Meltan, pulsing with stolen energy.

The grunt's voice echoed through a megaphone.

"Congratulations, trainers of Pasio! You've made it to the final round! Now let's see how you handle... this."

I turned to Aerodactyl and grimaced. "Great. It's one of those days."

The Charmander rescue?

That was just the opening act.