ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
791: Team Rocket's Shocking Recruit!	798: Emonga, Rokketo-dan ni Hairu!	Terrible Twerp Trainers			Emolga joins Team Rocket!	New members... kinda.... not really	Con-jobs are the best revenge!

Today finds the twerps off their ship at the latest Decolore Island, where an abashed Alexa admits she is having some equipment faults and needs to spend time replacing and repairing. Why she is so embarrassed by this I have no idea, unless she has some "Special" gear that she keeps for those lonely nights. In any case she'll be off on her own for the day and promises to meet them when the next ship arrives in this incredibly wasteful shipping system. That leaves the twerps to figure out how THEY will spend their day, and Iris steps in first to suggest they spend the day relaxing. Cilan would have probably wanted to delve in deep to another obscure fascination and Ash would have wanted to train or battle or battle-train or something, but they accept her idea. They head out into the countryside, where everybody settles down for a meal. Oshawott gobbles down his food quickly as always, then slams his mouth around Pignite's di....sh! Pignite, a surprisingly delicate eater, discovers Oshawott has knocked back all of Pignite's food in one gulp, and isn't pleased about it. Oshawott is knocked into Emolga who drops her own food, and she doesn't take kindly to that. She blasts the greedy otter and gets scolded by Iris, pouting grumpily about it. She moves on to eat her food in private as the other Pokémon play, and a fascinated Scraggy clambers up onto her rock and gets in her face, causing her to drop her food again. Another discharge (ewww) follows, and again Iris scolds Emolga for attacking a friend, leading to more pouting.

Emolga cheers up though and soon she and Axew are happily chasing each other around a rock that the dignified Snivy is sitting on. Iris calls out to a happy Emolga to please keep an eye on Axew and make sure he doesn't hurt himself, and Emolga seems proud to have been given the assignment. Unfortunately, Axew runs happily up to a tree and calls out to Emolga, who notices a Galvantula menacing from up in the branches. She warns Axew who freaks out, and the Galvantula blasts Axew and sends him reeling. Emolga tries to get between them and the wind catches her "wings", knocking her back into Axew who goes tumbling down the hill and into a rock where he gets a pretty severe bump on the head. The twerps rush over to see what is the matter, and Iris spots the static electricity still zapping off of Axew and jumps to entirely the wrong conclusion. Angrily, she reminds Emolga that she warned her twice already, and even went so far as to ask her to look after Axew. Emolga, infuriated at being falsely accused, has injury added to insult when Snivy gives her a little slap with Vine Leaf. Outraged, Emolga takes to the sky and glides away in a huff, while the equally outraged Iris grumpily tells Ash not to worry about Emolga, she'll come back soon enough.... for now they have to worry about fixing the bump on Axew's head. Little does she know, that she may have just created....



Emolga glides on huffily through the air, but finds herself unexpectedly buffeted by the wind and sent tumbling out of control. On the forest floor beneath her, Team Rocket are arguing over whether to use Operation X, Y or Z when they are shocked to find a small fluffy squirrel come crashing directly into their midst.... normally Jesse doesn't find anything like that unless she hasn't been able to get her hands on a razor for a few days!

They immediately spot it is the "twerpette's" Emolga, and don't seem overly impressed to have her just appear out of nowhere even after all these years of trying to steal the twerps' Pokémon. Emolga leaps away and kicks a small stone at them, translated by Meowth as a challenge to "bring it". Jesse is offended, shaking her first angrily at the small rodent and taking things VERY personally, and decides to take her up on the challenge. Out comes Woobat, followed by James' Yamask, and both make attacks on Emolga which she easily dodges. To counter, she kisses an Attract their way, and it seems that both are male - apparently Yamask's gender stuck around after he died and came back as a ghost haunting his own death mask!

Fun fact, Attract makes the death mask smile too!

She blasts them both and smashes them into a tree and to the ground, knocking them out. Jesse and James are horrified, and Meowth throws his paws up and declares them unable to battle, causing Jesse to ask him if he's been going to Referee Night School. Jesse isn't done fighting, bringing out Frillish next, and James brings out Amoonguss. Again, both attack, but Emolga dodges and hits them both with the same combo... and knocks out them too! James has tears of horror in his eyes, Jesse looks like she is about to have a rage embolism, and Meowth continues to be "referee", Jesse snapping at him to get in there and fight as well. Emolga taunts Jesse which enrages her further... till she suddenly stops and giggles, getting a delightful idea. She whispers it to James and Meowth - who is clinging tightly to James' midsection :3 - and they quickly agree to go along with it. Changing tack entirely, they begin to happily compliment Emolga, who is happy to hear it all at first till they drop the bomb - they want her to join Team Rocket! She is startled, but they really sell the idea, she can get three gourmet meals a day, take naps whenever she wants, and they'll put her on the Rocket Retirement Plan! James breaks character here to worriedly ask Meowth if they really have those, and he sadly explains the Organisation does... it just seems that the three of them aren't beneficiaries of it!

Emolga thinks about it, imagining Team Rocket as crude children's drawings of themselves, doing their motto only to be joined by a charming and debonair Emolga putting the emphasis on things. Next she thinks about how the twerps would react with horror, particularly a crying Iris. The idea of her trainer in tears, utterly devastated, appeals greatly to the child-like mind of Emolga who wants to punish her for unfairly accusing her of hurting Axew, so she eagerly agrees to Team Rocket's plan - long term consequences or the idea that this might be a permanent state of affairs don't even cross her mind, she just wants revenge!

Speaking of the twerps, Cilan is busy putting the final touches on fixing the bump on Axew's head, which involves spraying it with some of that crazy magical healing potion that just automatically makes everything better. But now that Axew is better, he determinedly hops down and starts heading down the forest path, and a confused Iris wonders if it is something to do with Emolga. Belatedly, she realises that Emolga hasn't returned yet (you are a bad trainer, Iris!) and the others do too, and decide that relaxation time is over. Ash recalls his Pokémon (Charizard is chilling in place, completely satisfied that he is the baddest motherfucker around) but Snivy leaps out of the way, wanting to follow Axew. She points in Emolga's direction with her Vine Whip as Iris and Cilan recall their Pokémon, and they all set off down the road following Axew, Snivy and Pikachu. In the heat of the moment Iris had ignored the fact that a Pokémon taking off into the forest alone IS A BAD THING, but now that Emolga has been gone so long she is beginning to worry. Cilan says he is concerned she might be in trouble, but perhaps they should also consider the very real possibility that she didn't fail to return because she was hurt, but because she DIDN'T want to come back.

They're reunited far sooner than they thought though, as Team Rocket appear on the scene in their Happy Buddha Face Meowth Balloon. They're excited, of course, moreso than usual because this time they feel they have an ace up their sleeve, so they perform the old motto with the new Emolga twist.

"The sound of trouble, you'd best prepare!"
"With additional back-up, you'd better beware!"
"EMOOOOLLLLL!" shouts Emolga, waving happily, perhaps not quite grasping the significance of what is happening here.
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation!"
"EMOLGA!" says Emolga, blowing a love heart.
"To denounce the evils of Emolga and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"It's Jesse!"
"And James!"
"EMOLGA!" shouts Emolga again, gliding gleefully through the air, still treating this more as a chance to show-off to Iris.
"Team Rocket plus one blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Prepare for what I can only call a feisty fusion fight!"
"Meowth, dat's right!"
"EMOLLL!"

The twerps are horrified, Iris crying out to Emolga, asking what she is doing there. Emolga blanks her trainer, turning her head away in a huff, and Team Rocket taunt her with the information that Emolga has joined them, tired of wasting her time with the likes of them. They don't believe it, Ash in particular, and Axew and Snivy call out in alarm as well.

Yamask uses Haze and Emolga glides in to take Axew by the paw and lead him out of the Haze, presumably to join Team Rocket too since Emolga doesn't really understand the ramifications of what she is doing. Snivy does though, and when she spots what is happening she slaps them apart with Vine Whip and pulls Emolga back. Iris demands to know why Emolga is doing this and she throws an accusing paw at the haughty Snivy, and the two being bitching at each other. Jesse and James are confused, what is this all about? Meowth sighs and hangs his head as he listens to the two ladies bicker, telling them that they really don't want to know.

Snivy slaps Emolga back through the air with Vine Whip again, and dodges first one attack by Emolga and then slaps the other away... into a cave where it crashes into a sleeping Exploud and wakes it up.

Emolga uses Discharge, but it does very little damage, and the battle reduces down to angry squabbling understood only by Meowth, who is horrified at the cattiness of what he is hearing... and he's a cat!



Snivy blasts Emolga in the face with a slap of her tail and Ash rushes up to calm her the fuck down, reminding her that Emolga is their friend. Snivy doesn't agree, but then things get further complicated when Exploud bursts out of the bushes with a furious snort and blows fire everywhere.

Ash, being Ash, decides that this emotional and stressful time isn't going to stop him using his Pokédex to learn more about the Pokémon. What he learns is that Exploud is, no shit, a very loud Pokémon! It turns and blasts flames at Ash who ducks just in time, pulling his hat down after him because he dropped so fast it stayed behind! They cheese it out of there, Exploud chasing, and Axew is left behind with Emolga. Team Rocket tell them now is the time to get out of there, Iris realising too late that she still hasn't recovered Axew, let alone Emolga! She tries to run back but the Exploud is blasting in every direction and they can't get close, and Team Rocket take to the air and make an actual successful escape, Emolga and Axew with them!

Eventually they shake the infuriated Pokémon and stop to catch their breath, Ash marvelling over how loud the Exploud was. Cilan is curious why the Exploud was so angry, but Iris at least has her priorities straight... kind of. She seems less panicked about Axew than she is furious at Emolga, stamping her foot and demanding to know what Emolga was thinking. Snivy shares in her rage but Cilan tries to be a cooler head and asks her to think about what would have caused Emolga to do something like this. Iris snaps back that all she did was ask Emolga to apologise, and Ash says it could have something to do with that. Pikachu has an idea though and rushes down to Iris, making a face at her that seems to be his attempt at an Axew face. Iris considers and recalls that the moment Axew's bump was fixed, he tried to lead them to find Emolga only for Team Rocket to show up... but what does that mean? Cilan proves his Detective skills (or basic common sense) by suggesting maybe they accused Emolga unfairly, but the only way to establish if this is true or not is by finding Axew and Emolga, because only Axew and Emolga know.

THIS is why they want to find their Pokémon? Not because they've been kidnapped by Team fucking Rocket!?!

Ash and Iris bring out Charizard and Dragonite and ask them to find Team Rocket for them, as that is where Emolga and Axew will be. The two dragons take to the air, being sensibly used to scout from the air instead of something foolish like, I don't know, being called out earlier to prevent Team Rocket's escape or to fight off the Exploud that was getting between them and their Pokémon being poached!?!

The Team Rocket trio are celebrating their success, while in the background Emolga is happily explaining the situation to a dismayed Axew. Because Team Rocket are kind of crazy, they're still discussing things in terms of legally hiring on Emolga as an employee, including contracts and promotions and soforth. They stop to watch as Emolga and Axew chat, and Meowth translates the rather surprising message of exactly what Emolga's plan is. The crude cartoon drawings return, with everybody speaking in Emolga-speak, as Axew is used as bait to capture Pikachu. But once Team Rocket have Pikachu and Axew, Emolga plans to rescue them by attacking Team Rocket and returning them to the twerps, who will gleefully celebrate the heroic actions of the brave Emolga!

Meowth is, to put it lightly, not impressed.

He explains what is going on to Jesse and James, and Jesse and Meowth are furious about being used and manipulated like this. As they seethe in a fury, though, the less prone to anger (though when he loses it, it is something to see) James has spotted something interesting and tries to get their attention. They growl at him, scaring the poor timid young man, but he insists on showing them what he has found - the Exploud's cave! They peer in at the now sleeping Exploud, and knowing that it is a crank when woken, Jesse gets an idea on how to turn it from a threat into an asset.

Meanwhile, Dragonite and Charizard spot Axew, who has apparently decided to go along with Emolga's plan. He waves happily at the two dragons who turn around to go and let the twerps know what is going on - they've found Axew with no sign of Team Rocket nearby!

They quickly head that way, Pikachu taking the lead. When Axew spots Pikachu he seems to have second thoughts, trying to call out a warning, but Pikachu hits the ambush spot and finds himself caught up in a net. Team Rocket mock the twerps, while behind the rock Emolga slicks down her ears and gets ready for her star performance as the hero. She falls flat on her face when Meowth suddenly cuts the motto off mid-performance, while Pikachu tries to blast out of the net and finds it simply absorbs the electricity. Woobat and Yamask are called out and Jesse reminds them that they have Emolga on their side too, and she plays along for now.

Axew is becoming more upset about this whole thing, especially when he spots Iris in the distance. Upset herself, Iris reaches out towards Axew... and then a golden glow spreads from her and she actually finds herself looking into Axew's mind and reading his memories! It's part of that whole connecting with the heart of a Pokémon thing, and she sees that Galvantula was the one that attacked Axew, and Emolga was actually trying to protect him.

She approaches and bows, apologising to Emolga for the misunderstanding. Emolga is delighted and not a little smarmy about the whole thing, but openly tells Axew in front of Meowth that the charade is over and they're heading back over to Iris now. Team Rocket grin evilly and reveal they prepared for this little double-cross though, and Meowth hits a remote that lowers a metal box with a glass front over Axew and Emolga. That's not all though, it seems Team Rocket have gone hardcore for their revenge! A metal door in the box opens to reveal a woken and very cranky Exploud, which storms forward to beat the living shit out of the two little Pokémon it assumes are responsible for this nonsense.

Jesse laughs that she's going to teach them a lesson, and then talks about how afterwards they'll become Team Rocket recruits or something.... they'll be DEAD, Jesse! They'll be murdered!

Exploud attacks, Emolga pushing Axew aside to save the little toddler. It blasts flames at them, Emolga helping Axew dodge as best they can inside the confines of the box. Iris belatedly remembers she has a big fucking dragon at her command and tries to have him break into the box, but apparently Team Rocket invested EVERYTHING into making an impossibly powerful box... all in the space of maybe half-an-hour during which they also successfully captured Exploud!

Exploud almost blasts Axew, but Emolga jumps into the way and takes a direct blast of electricity. Charizard tries to break in as well but his wings can't make any impact, causing Team Rocket to cackle evilly that they shouldn't be underestimated. Meanwhile, inside of the box, Exploud.... LITERALLY EATS AXEW!

!
This is no hyperbole, no joking about. It fucking opens its mouth, drops Axew inside and slaps its jaws shut, ready to swallow Axew down and digest him inside its belly. Emolga blasts it in the face which makes no difference... but when Axew uses Dragon Rage from INSIDE Exploud's mouth it sure as hell feels that!

Axew leaps out, much to Emolga and Iris' relief. Ash asks Snivy to do what she can to help them out too, and Jesse sends in Woobat to intercept, followed by Yamask. Snivy dodges both attacks and Vine Whips the fuck out of both of them, then Leaf Storms them away and uses Vine Whip to cut Pikachu loose.

Jesse and James are furious but note they still have Exploud, but now the impacts of the two dragons are having their effect and the box has a hole shattered in it. Emolga and Axew leap out, followed by the still furious Exploud, but Dragonite and Charizard are waiting to blast the fuck out of the (entirely innocent) Exploud. It is sent crashing into the Team Rocket balloon, and they're all sent blasting off, the furious Exploud glowering at them as they attempt to make nice, Jesse warning it not to let its blood pressure get too high. It smashes them, and off they go, blasting off from their blasting off!

Iris thanks Emolga for looking after Axew and apologises again for getting the facts wrong, and Snivy apologises too. Emolga, delighted to have gotten everything her own way, takes off to play with Axew, and they run around happily together. Iris notes that she has a long way to go before she truly understands her Pokémon, but once they're back on the ship she tells Alexa about being able to read/understand Axew's thoughts/memories. Cilan suggests she might be one step closer to becoming a Dragon Master, and they all look happily out over the setting sun as they sail on through the ocean.

You know.... Emolga might have been wronged, but she still... uhhh.. she still deliberately set up a con involving their enemies, capturing Axew and setting up Pikachu just to get things her own way! She might not have joined Team Rocket for real... but I think she still just might be a villain!

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