Charizard beat his wings, streaking through the sky as the distance between him and the hot-air balloon shrank visibly.
Inside the balloon, Meowth sensed something and glanced back, instantly breaking into a cold sweat.
"It's Xia You!! He's coming after us on Charizard!!"
Hearing Meowth's startled cry, Jessie whipped her head around. The smile on her face instantly froze when she saw Charizard almost upon them!
"What happened? Didn't we just shake him off?" Her voice was urgent, without any of the smugness she had shown during their escape.
"Idiot! Anyone could have told you that was impossible..." James sighed. Though his voice was dejected, his expression said, "just as I expected." "He's Team Rocket's number one threat! He's not as easy to deal with as those twerps. Even the boss can't do anything about him, so how could a mere smoke bomb possibly hold him back!"
At that, Jessie panicked. "What do we do!? Our balloon can't shake him off!"
"What else can we do? We'll have to find another way!"
Collecting himself, James looked resolute. He quickly tugged on the rope, trying to raise the temperature and send the hot-air balloon to an altitude Charizard couldn't possibly reach, allowing them to escape Xia You's pursuit.
But how could the balloon's ascent possibly keep pace with Charizard!
An orange flash swept before their eyes, and Charizard had already streaked past them!
They were so close that the Team Rocket Trio could even make out Xia You's composed face clearly in the moonlight!
"Oh no! He's caught up!" Meowth shouted, utterly panicked.
James inwardly lamented his plight. Right now, he really wanted to ask: Who exactly are the villains here!?
*Why has the mighty Team Rocket been reduced to such a sorry state! An evil organization that strikes terror into