Lavender Town, 2 a.m. on first day. The reason was that the scream-like waves emitted by the massive shadow visible through the window, the 'Pokémon Tower,' were crushing Ash's heart.

  “Zzz...”

  Whether she knew Ash's feelings or not, Mina fell asleep snoring quite loudly. Her expression looked happier than Ash's, happier than anyone else's.

  “Bulbasaur... Mmm... We won... Zzz.”

  In her dream, Mina seemed to be still with Bulbasaur. However, to Ash, Mina's sleep-talking sounded jarring yet somewhat sad, preventing him from falling asleep. The fog in Lavender Town was getting thicker, as if a Grim Reaper would appear and do something terrible.

  “Pikachu.”

  At Ash's call, Pikachu, who had been sleeping at his feet, pricked up his ears and approached, burrowing into Ash's side. Ash stroked Pikachu's warm back and asked quietly.

  “If... you were no longer by my side, what would happen?”

  The ghost girl he met during the day, Nurse Joy passing through his body, and Lavender Town, the city of the dead. Even for Ash, seeing this place made him unable to stop thinking about the parting that would come someday.

  “Pika Pika...”

  Pikachu tilted his head as if he didn't understand and didn't answer Ash's question.

  That was when it happened.

  Through the purple fog, he saw a group dressed in black moving. They were heading towards the tower in formation like an army.

  Regardless of age or gender, the red 'R' engraved on their chests flashed in the moonlight. In their hands, they held shovels and pickaxes used for digging something, and all Team Rocket members held sights looking like telescopes with 'Silph' written on them.

  'Team Rocket...!'

  Ash intuitively knew. They weren't going there simply to pay respects, but to trample on the rest of the dead.

  Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Ash immediately shook Mina awake.

  "Mina! Wake up! Team Rocket appeared here!"

  Mina, snoring and sleeping, didn't open her eyes despite Ash's intense shaking. As if too annoyed, she pulled the blanket up over her head.

  "I know..."

  Ash looked at Mina with a puzzled expression.

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  "You know? Did you see them?"

  Just then, a jelly-like Ditto crawled out from under Mina's bed and was absorbed into her arm. It was a scout Mina had released in advance.

  "Stop caring and sleep, it'll be good for you."

  Ash looked at Mina as if he couldn't believe it.

  "What? It's Team Rocket! Do you even know what those bad guys are going to do...?"

  Mina threw off the blanket, kicked the bed, and stood in front of Ash.

  "I'll say it one more time, Ash Ketchum! Whatever those guys do is none of our business, and nothing good comes from getting involved with them...!"

  Although Mina spoke strongly without fear, the end of her voice trembled minutely. It wasn't simple annoyance about not wanting to follow Team Rocket. It was a primal fear rising from deep within her heart.

  A terrible memory flashed through Mina's mind. The cold operating table, the eyes of the Team Rocket scientists looking down on her, and the moments she was called a failure and discarded... She shivered slightly without realizing it.

  What if they recognize her? What if they find out that the discarded experiment 'MN-000' is alive and walking around? They will try to capture her again. No, they will permanently erase their mistake. Mina couldn't be dragged back to the hell called a third death.

  However, burning with some nonsensical sense of justice, Ash didn't back down.

  “I'm going! Let's go together...”

  While they were in considerable tension with each other, Chris answered Mina in her head.

  'Boss.'

  Mina momentarily entered her subconscious world. Chris appeared in front of her in the form of a Ditto and began to report calmly.

  'The unit that went out for reconnaissance overheard their conversation. The objective is the demolition of the Pokémon Tower.'

  '...Demolition?'

  'Yes. It's Giovanni's order. As part of the Lavender Town redevelopment plan, they say they will bulldoze the Pokémon Tower and build Kanto's largest Radio Tower in its place. Of course, the justification is the revival of the town.'

  Mina frowned.

  'And Boss...'

  Chris's voice dropped even lower.

  'The top floor of the tower, that is, the spot where the Boss's 'Bulbasaur' is buried. According to the blueprint, the main transmission pylon of the Radio Tower is scheduled to be driven right into that spot.'

  "......!!"

  Instantly, Mina's thoughts stopped. But... My child, are they saying they will drive an iron stake into the chest of my child who has just barely fallen asleep comfortably in the cold soil?

  'If we don't stop them now, Bulbasaur's grave will disappear without a trace.'

  Chris delivered the decisive blow brutally calmly, but one that left Mina with no choice but to move. Returning to reality, Mina's eyes were shaking. Unbearable anger and murderous intent began to heat up her heart.

  "Damn bastards...."

  At that time, Ash, having put on all his shoes, was about to leave and snapped at Mina.

  "If you're not going, I'll go alone. But..."

  Ash didn't know what Mina and Chris talked about, but he just stared coldly at Mina.

  "Team Rocket destroying the Pokémon Tower is insulting the souls of dead Pokémon, and yet you're going to run away?"

  Whether the word 'run away' touched Mina's reverse wrath, murderous intent rose from her as if she would kill him right away, but even with that murderous intent, Ash's eyes didn't waver.

  Just as the taut tension was about to continue, Mina sighed deeply, nodded, and said in a low voice.

  “…. I admit it, you're right.”

  Apart from Ash's words, Mina had a justification to stop them.

  The top floor of the tower where her dead Bulbasaur was buried thanks to someone's kindness. Combining Chris's words, between her own safety (fear of the past) and her partner's rest (anger of the present), it was ultimately the latter that moved Mina.

  'Bulbasaur....'

  Grabbing her instinctively trembling arm, Mina swept her hair back nervously and stood up. But her eyes shone coolly in the darkness. She decided to struggle to prevent Team Rocket from ruining her life any further, and this also became a sufficient motivation for her.

  No, the bastards touching the grave where her child rested... she couldn't forgive that even in death.

  Mina put on her outer coat and grabbed the doorknob.

  "Yeah, let's go. We have to show those bastards a lesson!"

  Will the tragedy the two witness at the Pokémon Tower to stop the Team Rocket members bring sadness or happiness? For now, no one could know.