Musashi, Kojirou, and Nyaasu were flying through the air, after being defeated once again by Satoshi-tachi, this time by Kabigon's Mega Punch. They eventually landed with a loud thud, creating a crater in the earth. This time was a little different, however, because as soon as they climbed out of the hole, they were staring at the boots of their rivals, Yamato and Kosaburou.

    "What are you two doing here?!" Musashi yelled, clearly upset about seeing her rival. "This is our operation, now get lost!"

    "Yes," Kojirou added, go away and leave us alone!"

    "Actually, we were looking for you," Kosaburou answered, with a slight touch of boredom in his voice.

    "Why, so you can steal our Pokemon again?" Musashi yelled. "You won't beat us again! Arbok, go!" Musashi was about to release her Pokemon when Yamato interrupted her.

    "We're not here to steal your pathetic Pokemon," she said, quite calmly, "The Boss sent us to find out how badly you were failing."

    This genuinely surprised the three Rockets in the hole, but the astonishment quickly turned to worry.

    "He can't know how much we failed, our paychecks would be cut again!" Kojirou said, obviously thinking about their already limited food budget.

    "Plus, he may never forgive our debt!" Nyaasu added, wondering if he would ever be back in the boss' favor.

    "Just what have you been wasting your time on?" Kosaburou asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

    "We've been trying to steal this brat's Pikachu, but we can never win." Musashi was turning her anger away from Yamato and on to Satoshi, thinking about how the brat was responsible for all their losses.

    "A Pikachu," Yamato said, somewhat bewildered. "You have been wasting Rocket-Dan's money on a lousy rat?"

    "Not just any Pikachu," Kojirou replied, this Pikachu is super powerful! The Boss is sure to love it!"

    "He may even forgive our debt!" Nyaasu added.

    Yamato and Kosaburou looked at each other, wondering just how pathetic their fellow Rocket members were, to be beaten all this time by some measly Pikachu. They were also wondering what they did wrong to deserve such a pathetic assignment.

    Finally, Kosaburou looked at the other Rockets, and said, "Since it seems impossible to us that you have failed to capture a lowly Pikachu, let’s make a bet."

    "A bet?" All three of them asked, looking both confused and surprised.

    "Yes," Yamato continued. "Us two will go and try to capture this Pikachu. If we succeed, we will go back to headquarters and tell the Boss about your, lack of skill, shall we say. If we fail, we will report that you have been trying very hard to capture Pokemon, but are the victims of very bad luck. Surely the Boss can't be too upset about that. Agreed?"

    Musashi, Kojirou, and Nyaasu all looked at each other. They were doomed if the Boss found out about their failure, yet if Yamato and Kosaburou put in a good word for them, they might get a second chance.

    "Agreed," They all said at once.

    With that, Yamato and Kosaburou left the three Rockets in the crater, and went off to find the Pikachu that was giving their teammates so much trouble.

    "Do you think they will capture Pikachu?" Kojirou asked.

    "No, I don't," Musashi replied, happy about the idea of having her rival being defeated by the Pokemon that was always defeating them.

    It did not take long for Yamato and Kosaburou to find Satoshi. The boy trainer was having a picnic lunch with Kasumi and Takeshi, and of course, Pikachu.

    "This should be easy," Yamato replied, about ready to jump into action.

    Kosaburou held her back, however, and said, "Wait, I have a better idea then just a frontal attack." He then leaned over and whispered his plan to his partner.

    Satoshi, Kasumi, and Takeshi were having a pleasant lunch, courtesy of Takeshi's incredible cooking skills.

    "This is great, Takeshi!" Kasumi exclaimed, biting into another rice ball.

    "Yeah, Pikachu loves it, don't you, Pikachu?" Satoshi said, giving his Pokemon part of his own rice ball.

    Takeshi was about to answer, when smoke filled the area. The foursome couldn't see anything, but soon heard a eerily familiar female voice.

    "Hand over that Pikachu, or else the boy gets it."

    The smoke faded away as quickly as it appeared to reveal Yamato and Kosaburou, with Yamato pointing her gun directly at Satoshi's head.

    "Oh no!" Kasumi yelled, "Satoshi, behind you, it's Rocket-Dan!"

    "Shut up or I will shoot you both," Kosaburou said with dead seriousness, aiming his own gun at the other two humans.

    All three of the kids, as well as Pikachu. gulped. These two were serious, but they wondered if they would actually shot them.

    "You wouldn't shoot me!" Satoshi said with a touch of defiance in his throat.

    "Oh really," Yamato said, her voice icy cold. She pointed her gun slightly to the left, and pulled the trigger.

    Satoshi heard the gunshot, then felt an unbearable pain in his left ear. He reached up to where the pain was, only to find that his left earlobe had been shot off.

    Kasumi and Takeshi gasped in horror, but Kosaburou kept them in check. He then pointed his gun at Pikachu.

    "Here's the deal, rat," he began, "If you cause any trouble whatsoever, my partner will finish off your master. Understand?"

    Pikachu nodded, terrified of the people holding the guns. The Pokemon let itself be picked up, and gave no resistance as the pair from Rocket-Dan threw down another smoke bomb, and disappeared.

    Musashi, Kojirou, and Nyaasu were still in the crater, waiting for their team mates to make one of their own.

    Instead, they once again found themselves staring at the boots of their rivals.

    "Is this the Pikachu you were having so much trouble with?" Kosaburou asked, holding the terrified Pokemon above their heads.

    "Musashi, they were able to capture Pikachu!" Kojirou said, astonished by their accomplishment.

    Musashi looked up, and saw what her partner was talking about. She quickly grew angry, not only because they lost the bet, but also because her rival had beaten her once more.

    "Damn you, Yamato!" She yelled, trying to let out some of her frustration.

    Yamato let out a sly smile. "You know, Musashi, if you wanted this Pikachu so badly, why didn't you just say so?" She then took the Pokemon from her partners hands, and dropped it in the hole. Pikachu, no longer afraid since it was out of the hands of his captors, let loose a thunderbolt, shocking the less threatening Rocket-Dan members. After rendering them helpless, the Pokemon jumped out of the hole and ran as fast as it could to its master.

    "You let Pikachu escape," Musashi said, more as a statement then a question.

    Yamato still had that sly look on her face. "Since we showed you it could be done, capturing Pikachu should be easy. And once you do capture it, I think the Boss will give you a very nice bonus."

    With that, Yamato and Kosaburou walked away, off to tell the Boss about the constant failures of their teammates.

    "Weren’t you a little harsh on them, Yamato?" Kosaburou asked, once they were out of hearing range of their fellow members.

    Yamato paused for a moment before answering her partner. "No, I don't. They truly are an embarrassment to Rocket-Dan, and I hope they get kicked out. They are as vain and egotistical as they have always been, and they will never change. Since they will never change, it is useless to think that they will ever win."

    Kosaburou thought about this for a moment, before finally coming to agreement with his partner. The only thing for him to do now was to make Yamato admit she felt a little guilt over shooting a kid's ear off.

    "And, yes, I feel a little guilty about shooting a defenseless kid's ear off," Yamato abruptly said, knowing what was going through her partner's mind.

    Kosaburou let out a little smile, and the two continued towards Rocket-Dan Headquarters.

    Meanwhile, Musashi, Kojirou, and Nyaasu had managed to climb out of the crater. Musashi was still fuming, and Kojirou was trying his hardest to calm her down.

    "Just think," Kojirou said, trying to sound cheerful, "Now that they know just how bad Rocket-Dan can be, they'll respect us as criminals!"

    Musashi merely let out a snort, her mind fully preoccupied on ways of getting back at Yamato.

    "I know!" She finally exclaimed, "We'll get that Pikachu to show her that we're just as good as she is!"

    Nyaasu and Kojirou both thought this was a great idea, so the three of them set out once again to capture Pikachu.

    Not more than ten minutes later, they found themselves being blasted out of the sky, yelling their familiar failure phrase, "Yana Kanji!"