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Part Twenty Five

Upon returning to the Cerulean City Gym, Misty was swept up by duty just the following day. It so happened that there is a protocol for emergency situations involving a large number of stolen or abandoned domestic Pokemon. There is a collaboration between the Kanto Federal Police and the Pokemon League Association that, in such events, the Pokemon would be sorted, catalogued, and sent to the Kanto Pokemon Gym that best matches its type.

The Kanto Federal Police gained a couple of new, dedicated agents after the 'Team Rocket Headquarters heist' as it has begun to be referred. The agency was pleased to welcome the ex-Team Rocket agents who helped in its demise; especially a talking Meowth who had become invaluable in interviewing and cataloguing the stolen Pokemon. Every Pokemon was interviewed to find out where it was stolen from and if it had a trainer. Some who were wild Pokemon were brought to their home region and released to find their families. The Pokemon who had trainers were catalogued and assigned to a gym to await their trainer to pick it up.

When Misty awoke the day after interviewing with Agent Watts, a truck carrying over thirty water type Pokemon had already arrived. Employees from the Pokemon League Association, as well as Federal Kanto Police agents, were leading Pokemon, large and small, into the gym's entrance. Misty gaped at the sight of so many water Pokemon being escorted through the doors. There were Squirtles, Poliwags, Golducks, and many more Pokemon; some that she recognized from Kanto and Johto and others that she concluded must be from distant regions. She would have a lot to learn about how to care for all of these new Pokemon.

She had little time to process the two days prior, and she and her sisters went straight to work helping get the Pokemon situated in their new home. For many of them, it would be a temporary stop as trainers from all over the world would come to Kanto looking for their stolen Pokemon. However, she realized that some may never find their trainers again, and would make permanent homes at the gyms.

During the day, Misty occupied her mind with learning new information. She took the new Pokemon's presence as an opportunity to learn more about Pokemon that she didn't own; especially the ones from different regions. She studied the habits, body structure, eating patterns, and habitats of the new Pokemon present at the gym. Every day she made sure every Pokemon under her care was well nourished, exercised, and shown love. It had been fairly easy to gain the love and respect of her guests who fit in with her Pokemon family perfectly.

In the evenings, however, her mind would wander. Without the constant buzz of new information, she spent her nights sunken in a gloomy state. Only her closest Pokemon and her sisters knew just how torn apart Misty was since her brief encounter with Ash. After an action packed week, she was thrown backwards into a world in which she wondered once again if Ash was still alive. The bitter sting of Ash's original disappearance emerged; the feeling of heartbreak and helplessness spurred her tears night after night. It was as if nothing had changed and as if everything had changed.

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After being interviewed by Agent Watts for over a week and detained for two months, Max, Michael, and Wes were released on a type of parole set up by the Kanto Federal Police. They were warned not to cause anymore ruckus, and they were forced to wear ankle monitors to prove they were no longer devising plans against international criminal organizations. Wes had been the one who scoffed at the terms, but he had eventually accepted in order to gain his freedom.

Their first destination, upon release, was the Pokemon HQ Lab in Orre. Although he would never admit it, Wes was eager to reunite with Rui. He was able to call her through the agency's phone and let her know what had happened and that he was safe. Of course, she was overjoyed that he was now able to come home to Orre. The new information about Ash, however, made her sad.