Deh-deh-deh. Dehdeh-deh.

---

After that whole ordeal at the lake, I'm pretty hungry. Unfortunately, the closest shop is Gammy n' Gandaughter's. I refuse to eat Slowpoke tail, but maybe there were muffins or something on the menu that I missed earlier.

My muffins will have to wait, however, because Lance is there with a large yellow dragon to crash the party.

The karate man is left unconscious from the dragon's attack, and the man in shades (who I think is probably Gammy) cowers in fear. Lance trips a hidden switch in the floor, and the tiles slide to reveal a staircase. He goes on ahead without a word. Am I just supposed to follow him? He must know I'm fearless and can handle anything.

The basement is... way larger than it should be for a shop of that size.

Wait, Lance? Where are you? I don't see him anywhere. Perhaps he's hiding behind that weird cat statue...

As soon as I step in front of the statue, an alarm sounds and a Rocket grunt comes running to battle me. I defeat him quickly, of course. And with him gone, I can continue to-

You've got to be kidding me.

These statues are obviously surveillance devices. If I can find their control panel, I might be able to turn them off.

The switch is right in the middle of the room and guarded by a single scientist. Is Team Rocket serious with all this? Their best defense is a labcoat and sparsely-distributed camera statues? Pathetic.

And in no time, I reach the stairs to the next level. But... What is that curious floor tile? I'm sure stepping on it won't hurt.

...

Yeah so ANYWAY. The next floor is even more different and spacious than the one I was just on. I'm beginning to think the whole shop thing is just a clever ruse.

The generator behind this barrier is supposed to be what we're aiming to shut down here. It needs a password, though... I try the usual standbys "password", "kittens", and "boobies", but no sell.

I slaughter my way through several more TR henchmen, only to find out that the password to the generator is locked behind a door that requires TWO passwords. After several hours of torture, I manage to squeak it out of two of the grunts. "Slowpoke Tail" and "Raticate Tail".

Hello, Knabbs.

Good bye, Knabbs.

(I plucked a hair off his jacket when he turned around. Ehehehhhh...)

And, back to important matters. The grunts weren't lying, as the passwords they gave me open this door. I'm not sure where I'm supposed to find the generator password, but it shouldn't take long.

Maybe this important-looking fellow knows it. I battle and defeat him with ease, but he just screams random things that probably aren't the password. He actually falls to his knees in apparent fear.

Flitwick seems to take advantage of this man's groveling to evolve and become even scarier. I love you so much, you sadistic pink sparkling bat.

Unfortunately, the man flees before I can get more out of him. However, I notice an odd blue crow sort of bird that looks to be wearing a hat in the corner of the room. It's such a pretty bird, really. All shiny and whatnot. I approach it carefully, and it gives me a look somewhere between disdain and relief.

It speaks the password in a shrill, gravely voice and then flies off. It might have been lying to me, but it's all I've got to go on.

Ah. The bird wasn't lying. But I'm being apprehended.

These two Rocket grunts try to gang up on me, but Lance swoops in to ~save the day~. I could have taken care of them by myself. Not only that, but I'm stuck fighting the girl. I despise women.

What?! Ugh, traitorous crow! That's the last time you'll ever hear me compliment you. Telling me the password was all just a scheme to ambush me here, wasn't it? Sigh...

With those goons out of the way, we can FINALLY go about shutting this thing down. The only way is to destroy the electrodes on each side. Sounds easy enough.

I can't say this is what I was expecting. Why is it smiling at me? Why is it winking?

Why is it now shaking uncontrollably and producing sparks? Why-

I wake up to Lance treating my burns with salve. What he failed to tell me was that those things I just fought are prone to self-destructing. Thanks a lot, Lance.

And I get a measly disc out of the deal. 3rd degree burns, and I get a disc. Awesome.

NEXT TIME: A new team member finally! Baked beans in a blender!

Also, bonus pic: