Koga had expected that they would run into trouble at Team Rocket's base, and he'd tried to account for that. He could only predict so much though, and he'd never thought that the most trouble they would run into would have nothing to do with the mission at hand. They had come here so that Blaine could find the information that he needed about Mewtwo. They'd barely gotten here though when Ash had run off to go do something completely unrelated.

At first Koga had been concerned about letting Ash go off on his own in such a dangerous environment, but Sabrina had mentally conveyed to him that he wouldn't be alone for long. Lt. Surge was going to be joining him, and Koga knew that the man was more than capable of keeping the boy safe.

Koga didn't completely follow what Blaine was here to get, but he didn't have to know. It was Koga's job to make sure that things went smoothly. Sabrina, who knew much more about technology than Koga did, was the one who was helping Blaine get into the computer systems. All Koga had to do was stand outside the room they were in and make sure that no one interrupted them.

Things were going well at first, almost too well. Koga always tried to anticipate how things may take a turn for the worse, but when he saw Lt. Surge's Jolteon dashing down the hallway, running straight towards him, Koga knew that things were worse than he had tried to plan for.

Koga knelt down on the ground to meet with the Jolteon, who looked upset. Jolteon's fur was bristling more than it usually was, and it seemed to be sparking quite a bit. Jolteon bit Koga's shirt and tugged on it. Jolteon seemed desperate to lead him somewhere, and Koga thought he knew what was going on, because this kind of thing had happened before.

That didn't make it any easier to deal with though.

Koga stood up and turned towards the closed door in front of him. The electric doors in this headquarters were very efficient at keeping people out of the rooms unless they were specifically meant to be there. Even people who were ranked as higher ups, like Koga, Sabrina, and Lt. Surge were, weren't supposed to be able to get into the rooms unless they had Giovanni's direct permission.

But Blaine was a scientist, a genius. He knew how to hack into the security systems to turn off the power of the door and get into the room. It would attract attention, but hopefully they'd be able to get out before someone came by.

Koga opened the door and poked his head inside. "Sabrina, we have a problem."

"What is it?" Sabrina turned. She didn't sound all that concerned, until she saw Jolteon still tugging insistently at Koga's shirt. She knew what Jolteon's presence meant just as much as Koga did. "Really? Here? Now?"

"I guess so," Koga said. "We have to go,"

"That's fine," Blaine said as he pushed just a few final buttons on the computer he was working on. The information on the screens he was looking at began to be downloaded onto a flashdrive he'd brought with him. A few moments later Blaine pulled out the flashdrive. "That's the last of it. We're good to go," Blaine pocketed his flash drive and followed Sabrina and Koga out of the room.

Once Jolteon was happy that they'd started moving and would be following it, it started to run back down the hallway it had come from. The three of them ran quickly behind him.

Sabrina was frowning and looked incredibly guilty and confused. "I don't understand. I should be able to feel it,"

"Feel what?" Blaine asked as he reached for some of his pokéballs. He didn't know what danger they might be going into, and he wanted his pokémon at his side just in case.

"That Lt. Surge is...upset," Sabrina said. "I don't feel anything." Koga turned to glance back at Sabrina, and his gaze was drawn to the Abra in her arms. She had been using Abra to help keep her calm and more focused while they were here, but maybe it had gone too far.

"Your abra," Koga commented. Sabrina frowned and looked at her pokémon, which was currently asleep.

"I-I'm sorry," Sabrina said somewhat weakly as she tightened her hold on Abra.

"We don't have time for you to blame yourself," Blaine said. "We just need to help your friend, find Ash, and get out of here."

That sounded like a really good plan to Koga. Though he would probably leave finding Ash to Blaine. Koga was certainly worried about the boy, but he was sure that when he saw Lt. Surge he would be too concerned with helping the man to think about Ash.

It didn't take them too long to find Lt. Surge. Koga didn't know whether to be relieved or worried that Lt. Surge was sitting on the ground, his Electabuzz restraining him, and using shock wave to paralyze him and keep him from moving. On the one hand, at least Lt. Surge was unable to do anything that might hurt himself or someone else. On the other hand, it definitely wasn't a good thing that things had gotten so far that it was necessary for Electabuzz to hold him back.

"Matis," Koga knelt next to his friend and put a hand on his shoulder. Normally when Lt. Surge was in a bad place he was a little oblivious to his surroundings, and if he was caught off guard he might strike out. Lt. Surge didn't hit him, but Koga might prefer it if he did. Lt. Surge didn't react at all, like even when Koga was touching him he still didn't know that he was there. Lt. Surge just stared intently at the door across from him, like he was scared to take his eyes off of it. And he wasn't the only one.

"Rai, Raichu!" Lt. Surge's Raichu pawed anxiously at the door. It was clear he wanted to get in. And Lt. Surge was anxious about something in that room. Koga didn't know what was in there, but he thought it would be best if they could get it.

"See if you can get in there," Koga said to Blaine. The man had been able to hack into the systems to get into the other room, so he might be able to figure out how to get into this one. Koga turned back to Lt. Surge and Electabuzz. "I'll keep an eye on your trainer," Koga said to the pokémon. "I need you to give me room," Electabuzz looked extremely reluctant, but it stepped back anyways.

Lt. Surge tensed slightly and twitched. "T-the kid…"

"Ash is fine," Koga said, though he wasn't sure if Lt. Surge had even heard him. It didn't seem like the man was aware of his presence at all, so it was unlikely that he could hear him. Lt. Surge was stuck in a world of his own. But if there was even a chance that Koga's words could calm him, he had to try.

"We don't have time for this," Blaine said impatiently. Koga scowled and turned to tell the scientist off, but stopped when he saw that Blaine's full attention was on the door. Blaine held out one of his pokéballs and let out Magmar. "Get us in that room."

Koga didn't know what Blaine was planning on letting his Magmar do, but he apparently underestimated just how much fire power the pokémon had. Blaine picked up Lt. Surge's Raichu and pulled it away from the door. Magmar built its power up and released it straight at the door. Koga watched in awe as Magmar's fire hit the door with such power that it began to melt right through the door.

Koga had suspected that Magmar hadn't been using its full power when it had hit Ash with its powers earlier, but he hadn't expected just how much it had been holding back. If Magmar's power was strong enough to melt through a reinforced door like this one, just a quarter of its power could have done permanent, irreparable damage.

A minute later Magmar had successfully burned a hole through the middle of the door, but it had to be way too hot to go through. Koga looked toward Ash's backpack, which was on the ground for some reason. He was about to suggest that they check to see if Wartorte's pokéball was in there when the hole in the door was hit by a blast of water that came from inside the room.

Koga's eyes widened and he instinctively grabbed Lt. Surge and pulled him to the side. That water attack was powerful, and Koga didn't want Lt. Surge to be hit by it. In his rush to pull Lt. Surge back, Koga didn't take care to do it carefully. He ended up justling his ribs too harshly, making them flare up painfully, but at least Lt. Surge was out potential danger from the water.

Koga clenched his teeth and drew in a harsh breath. He closed his eyes and tried to block it all out. The pain was already starting to calm down, but it was still not a pleasant experience.

"W-what is that?" Sabrina's voice shook, and she actually sounded a little concerned, or even scared. Koga forced his eyes open and looked towards the door. The barrage of water had stopped, and the metal wasn't burning as brightly red, but it was steaming so much that Koga couldn't see anything in the room. But Sabrina was closer, she could see things better, and she seemed incredibly confused about what she'd seen.

"Sabrina?" All of them paused when they heard Ash's voice from in the room. "That you out there?"

Lt. Surge's eyes widened when he heard Ash's voice. "Kid!" Lt. Surge pushed past the paralysis that Electabuzz had put him under and practically scrambled to the door. Lt. Surge's limbs gave out on him when he got to the door, and the only reason he didn't fall to the floor was because Blaine caught him.

Koga cursed under his breath and swiftly but carefully, so as to not hurt himself, went to Ash's backpack. Lt. Surge was going to end up hurting himself if he continued on like this. Even being paralysed wasn't enough to stop him, so Koga knew they had to take things a step further.

As Koga went through Ash's pokéballs, looking for a specific one, Lt. Surge was trying to force his limbs to move in a way that they really didn't want to right now. Lt. Surge was struggling desperately against Blaine's hold, but suddenly he froze and stared at the door in horror.

"That...it's…" Lt. Surge trailed off. He was frozen, and Koga didn't think it had anything to do with the paralysis. Koga had never heard Lt. Surge like this before. He sounded concerned, scared, even, which was concerning in and of itself. With one of Ash's pokéballs in his hands, Koga stood up. He wanted to see what was in there for himself. He saw Ash sitting on the floor on the far side of the room. The boy looked in slight pain, but not so much that Koga was all that concerned about it.

Koga barely noticed the Raichu sitting on Ash's lap. Once he was sure that Ash wasn't too hurt, Koga's attention moved to a strange pokémon sitting right behind the kid. The pokémon didn't look all that threatening, but Koga knew to not take it lightly. The hydro pump that had cooled the fire hot door had to have come from this pokémon. Anything that had so much force behind it was something to be taken seriously.

Not to mention the fact that Koga thought that it was because of this pokémon that Lt. Surge was freaking out.

It wasn't like Lt. Surge to freeze up in the face of danger. It wouldn't be long before Lt. Surge overcame his shock and likely attacked the pokémon. When Lt. Surge was in this kind of mindset he was always just as much of a danger to himself as he was to those around him. And that was to say nothing of what the strange pokémon could do to him if it was provoked.

Koga adjusted his grip on Ash's pokéball and let out Butterfree. "Use sleep powder, but try to not hit anyone else but Lt. Surge." Ash's Butterfree didn't question him, it just obeyed. Butterfree flapped its wings and released a small amount of potent powder right at Lt. Surge. It didn't even hit Blaine, who was still holding on to the other man.

Lt. Surge winced when he got a face full of sleep powder. Koga could see a brief moment of clarity in Lt. Surge's eyes, like he actually knew what was going on around him for a moment before his eyes began to droop and he fell asleep right where he was. Once again, Blaine was the only thing keeping Lt. Surge from falling over.

Blaine adjusted his grip on Lt. Surge so he could keep him up. "We need to go, before we attract unwanted attention."

Koga completely agreed. "Ash, can you get out through the hole in the door?" It was large enough for the boy to get through, but Koga didn't know just how hurt Ash was. If he couldn't stand, he wouldn't be able to get himself through on his own.

"I think so," Ash grimaced and dragged himself to his feet. Ash seemed to be shaking so much that he could barely keep himself on his feet, but the strange pokémon came up behind him and supported him. Koga didn't understand why a pokémon that Lt. Surge was so genuinely terrified of could be so sincerely helpful to Ash, but that could be tackled later.

Ash could barely stand on his own two feet, he definitely wouldn't be able to make it to the door. The pokémon also seemed to realize it, as it slipped its neck under Ash's arms. The Raichu at Ash's side helped him to get on top of the strange pokémon. Once Ash was secure, the pokémon flapped its wings and leapt into the air. The pokémon flew right through the hole in the door, with Raichu jumping out right after him.

The pokémon landed on the ground and bent down to let Ash slide off. Charizard, who had been waiting anxiously nearby this whole time, moved in to support Ash. Koga was almost ready to show some proper concern to Ash, but then he noticed that the strange pokémon was inching towards Lt. Surge curiously.

Koga put himself between the pokémon and Lt. Surge, at the same time as Blaine seemed to pull the larger man behind him in an almost protective way. "Don't you touch him."

"He won't hurt him," Ash said quickly. "He's not dangerous."

Koga didn't look away from the pokémon. "Matis wouldn't be afraid of it for no reason."

Ash frowned and looked in concern at Lt. Surge. "Is...is he okay?"

"He should be," Koga said, at least physically. Lt. Surge had been tormented with guilt and memories for years. He always had these issues, even if they weren't always attacking his mind the way they were right now. Koga didn't know how to help Lt. Surge, but he wasn't technically lying. The one advantage to Lt. Surge having these occasional attacks was that they eventually went away and things calmed down, at least for a bit.

Ash was just a child. Koga tried to treat children with respect, but he didn't want to burden them with more than they could handle. Koga could barely handle the knowledge of what Lt. Surge struggled with, he didn't want to give those burdens to Ash as well.

"Uh, I know that Lt. Surge is kinda scared of this pokémon, but can we take him with us anyways?" Ash asked cautiously. "He needs our help...he asked for my help, and I think he was asking for Lt. Surge's help too."

Koga frowned. He'd known that Ash had heard a cry for help, and he'd suspected that it had come from this pokémon, but he didn't know whether he believed that the same was true for Lt. Surge. Sabrina told him that Lt. Surge had been drawn by...something, and the strange pokémon certainly seemed to have an interest in Lt. Surge, but what Koga didn't understand was why.

"...If it causes any problems, it's gone," Koga said. He didn't trust this pokémon, but it seemed really important to Ash, and Blain was right, they didn't really have time to debate this. Koga had to agree, at least for now, until they were safe and not moments away from running into conflict with other members of Team Rocket.

Let's go," Blaine returned Magmar to its pokéball and let out another pokémon, Arcanine. It was a good thing the hallways were large, or else Arcanine wouldn't have fit. Blaine draped Lt. Surge over his pokémon's back and then got on for himself. In the process he accidentally knocked his hat off.

Sabrina bent down and picked up Blaine's hat. She held it for barely a moment longer than was necessary. Nobody else probably took any notice of the delay, but Koga did. He also noticed that Sabrina grabbed the colorful feather from the hat and put it into her pocket before she gave the hat back.

Sabrina met Koga's eyes. She knew that Koga had noticed what she'd done. She sent him a silent message to keep quiet. Koga didn't know what she was doing, but it clearly wasn't something that she wanted the others to know about it.

"Get out of here," Sabrina said. "I'll stick around and make sure no one is on your track," Koga knew what she meant, and by the way that Blaine's eyes hardened he knew it too. Sabrina wasn't just staying to make sure they got away, she was staying because this was Team Rocket, this was her job. She was letting them go, but she wasn't on their side. She was leaving.

"We'll see you later," Koga gave Ash backpack back. Ash winced as he put it on, as though his hands were hurting him. Koga was concerned, but he couldn't help him right now, not here. Instead he helped Ash get onto Charizard's back and then climbed on behind him.

Koga felt a little strange about leaving Sabrina, because they'd been friends for so long, and had worked together for even longer, but he couldn't linger on that right now. He had other responsibilities. Koga had to keep an eye on Lt. Surge and make sure that he was really okay, he had to keep Ash safe, and he had to make sure that the work that Blaine had grabbed wasn't compromised. He would have to save his remorse and regret for when he could afford to feel it.

"Let's go," Koga said to Charizard, who stretched his wings as much as he could. He wouldn't be able to fly until they were out of here, but he could still carry them. Koga turned towards Butterfree, Electabuzz, Jolteon, and both Lt. Surge's and Ash's Raichus. "You all need to keep up, or you'll get left behind." Koga wasn't kidding. If they fell behind, they couldn't afford to wait for them. Sabrina would probably make sure that nothing horrible would happen to any of their pokémon if they were seperated, but Koga would rather she not have to deal with that.

Charizard roared and tucked its wings in as much as it could. Arcanine had already begun dashing away, and Charizard was right after him. The mysterious pokémon was somehow able to fly along with them, right between Arcanine and Charizard...or possibly in the middle of Lt. Surge and Ash.

Once they were outside, Charizard shot off into the air. With one word from Ash Charizard began to fly off due East, where the S.S. Anne was waiting for them just beyond the horizon. Because Charizard could fly, it could get to the ship extremely easily. Arcanine didn't have the advantage of wings, but it didn't let that stop it. Koga was surprised to see that Arcanine ran right into the water, without even a moment's hesitation, and began swimming in the ocean. Koga doubted it was pleasant for the fire pokémon, but it was obedient to its trainer. If Blaine needed Arcanine to swim, that was what was going to happen.

Butterfree and the mysterious pokémon could easily fly to the ship, same as Charizard. The electric pokémon weren't as fortunate, but they were extremely resourceful. Ash's Raichu lead Lt. Surge's pokémon to the lifeboat that they had used to get to this place. The four of them got in, and Electabuzz immediately picked up the ores and began to row them towards the S.S. Anne. It would take them longer to get there, but they would all get to the ship, and they wouldn't leave a trace that they'd been there at all...besides the new hole in the door and the fact that this mysterious pokémon had escaped, but those were problems that Koga couldn't worry about right now.

Getting out of there, that was all that mattered at the moment.

It was just a few minutes before Charizard landed on the deck of the S.S. Anne. Koga got off of Charizard and then helped Ash get down. Ash pet Charizard's neck. "Great job, buddy, can you go get Lt. Surge now? Make sure he gets here safely." Charizard grunted and went to do what his trainer said.

With nothing else to focus on but Ash, Koga could finally see the state of the kid's injuries. Koga took Ash's hands and looked at them. Now they both looked burned, not from fire, but from electricity. "What happened?"

"I, uh, got careless," Ash winced as Koga touched his burns. Ash chuckled weakly. "I seem to do that a lot,"

Koga glared at the burns. This never should have happened, and it should certainly never happen again. "That needs to change."

"I know," Ash nodded, but that wasn't good enough for Koga.

"I'm serious," Koga lifted his gaze and met Ash's eyes, showing the boy just how serious he was. "You can't do this kind of thing anymore."

Ash was quiet for a moment. "...Okay." It was a promise.

The strange pokémon landed on the deck next to them and nudged Ash gently. The boy smiled at the pokémon. "I'll be okay, I promise. And so will you." Ash's smile dimmed slightly and he looked back at Koga. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"We need to find a safe place to go where Team Rocket won't think to look for us," Koga said. They needed a break, some time for them to regroup and figure out just what they needed to do from here.

They heard Charizard roar. Koga looked back out towards the ocean to see that Charizard was already on its way back, and it was carrying Lt. Surge in its arms and had Blaine on its back. Lt. Surge must have been doing a lot of work with Charizard, because it was clearly a lot stronger than it was before. Charizard was struggling to carry to fully grown adults, and it was clearly not something that it could do for a prolonged period of time, but it was managing it for a small distance.

Charizard set Lt. Surge down, and growled at the strange pokémon when it began to show an increased interest in Lt. Surge again. Koga didn't know if Charizard's protectiveness came from a fondness for Lt. Surge, or because of Ash's order to keep him safe, but he was pleased either way. Charizard wasn't going to let anything happen to the man.

Koga looked to Blaine, who came over to take a look at Ash's hands for himself. "We were wondering where to go from here. Any ideas?"

"I have my research, but I need time to go through it." Blaine said. "Ideally, I would have access to tools and scientific resources, so I can get started on fixing up the Master Ball to help Mewtwo. However, I doubt that I'll find somewhere secure enough like that, so I'll have to figure something else out."

Ash frowned slightly thoughtfully. "You need a science lab in a small place?" Blaine had said that he would need a safe or secluded place, and yet Ash had understood it as small, which would certainly work, but Koga wanted to know why Ash had understood it that way.

"Do you have a place in mind?" Koga asked. It didn't seem very likely, but Ash had always been full of surprises.

"Actually, I think I do," Ash smiled sheepishly. "My neighbor back in Pallet Town is a pokémon professor. His lab has all kinds of science stuff all over it. Pallet Town has always been a really quiet place. I don't think Team Rocket will come looking for us there."

Koga and Blaine exchanged glances. It certainly sounded like a possibility, at least for awhile. "Yes, that may work," Blaine agreed, though he still sounded cautious.

"It would probably also be good for you to visit your home and family," Koga said. Ever since he'd met Ash, he'd never known the boy to call or contact anybody. With all the trouble he got himself into, it was somewhat concerning that Ash didn't talk to his family more. Koga didn't call his daughter as often as he probably should when he was away from home, but he still tried.

For some reason, their strange new traveling companion glared at Koga and seemed to growl at him. Koga didn't know why the pokémon was suddenly upset with him, but he wasn't amused, and neither was Ash.

"Hey, don't do that," Ash scolded with a frown. The pokémon stopped growling, but it's stern glare didn't soften. "We need to all try to get along with each other, okay?" Ash pleaded, which sounded incredibly familiar to Koga. He wondered how Ash would handle it if he was met with a situation where he couldn't convince his companions to get along with each other.

Once Ash seemed content that a fight wasn't going to break out on deck, he turned towards Blaine. "So...we're going to Pallet Town?"

"Yes, I guess we are," Blaine said. "But we're not going anywhere until your hands are treated." Koga was glad the man had his priorities straight. And since Koga could trust Blaine to take care of Ash, he could turn his focus to something else.

"I'll go get the engine started." Koga said. "Tell me when the others get here. Lt. Surge should be asleep for a few hours, so you don't have to worry about him for now, but keep that pokémon away from him." Koga was trusting Blaine here. He wouldn't be able to work with the man if he couldn't trust him.

Blaine nodded, and Ash did too, though he didn't look nearly as happy about it. Ash may trust the pokémon, but that didn't mean that they should be expected to, at least not yet.

Koga made his way to the control room. He didn't know just how safe Ash's hometown was, especially since it was likely that Giovanni knew where he was from, but at that moment they didn't have many other options. At least this was a place where Blaine could do the work he needed to do.

And they weren't really looking for a place to stay permanently. Right now, they just needed to buy themselves time to figure out where to go from here.

Koga was a strategist. He didn't like being caught off guard and going with the flow. That was much more Lt. Surge's style. But they'd all had a lot of uncertainties thrown at them at once. They needed to come up with a plan before jumping hastily into action, which was why Koga was going along with this whole 'going to Pallet Town' idea. He didn't know how long it would be safe, but at least Blaine had work he could do there, and making some progress on even just a single thing was better than making no progress at all.

Koga still didn't know what he could do to help Lt. Surge, or what he should do to help himself. Koga didn't know how much loyalty Sabrina had towards them as compared to Team Rocket. He trusted her, but he didn't know if he should right now. And he especially didn't know if he could trust this strange pokémon that Ash had already formed a connection with, and Lt. Surge was absolutely terrified of.

But Koga couldn't focus on those things. It was pointless to worry about problems that he knew he couldn't have a solution for yet. Instead, he just had to think about what he could do, which was to get them to Pallet Town. After that, they'd just have to figure it out as they went.

A/N: If you would believe it, this is the last chapter of this particular story in this trilogy. I'm looking forward to writing the third and final story. However, there is going to be a temporary hiatus before I get around to writing it. For one thing, I'm currently writing another multi-chapter pokémon story and am about to start yet another one, and I don't really want to be juggling three pokémon stories on top of everything else I'm currently writing, so at the very least I want to finish one of those stories before coming back to this series. It shouldn't take too long, but there will be a break.

Another reason for the hiatus is that I want to finish watching the Johto episodes of the anime and read the Heartgold/Soulsilver chapters of the Pokémon Adventures manga before really writing the third story, because I'm wanting to incorporate elements from those things. But, you know, I can't really use elements if I'm not all that familiar with something.

I'm not going to abandon this series. I'm having way too much fun writing it. But to keep up that motivation and put out things that I'm happy with, I think it's best that I take a bit of a break. I'll be back though, so keep an eye out. And, you know, maybe check out some of my other stories while you wait.