Midmorning the next day, Team Rocket’s refurbished Meowth balloon floated high above Route 14, blending in with the sky’s abundant white clouds. Jessie, James, and Meowth all peered down through three sets of binoculars, the latter standing atop Wobbuffet’s head to peer over the basket. Jessie’s blue Pokemon took it with the same stoicism with which it handled almost everything else.
“Aaaand…” Jessie said, adjusting her set. “There we are. A pair of tackily-dressed losers at twelve o’clock.”
Far below, a man and a woman in nearly identical red suits and sunglasses were wandering down one of Route 14’s many pathways through the muck. They each had identical, presumably dyed, red hair in the same style. The only difference lay in the fact that the woman had one puff of hair stylized into a flame shape on both sides of her head, whereas her companion had a puff on only one side.
“An’ it looks like they got a metal briefcase between the two of ‘em.” Meowth zoomed in. “With some pretty fancy-lookin’ locks on it.”
“Why that simply must be something important!” Jessie clenched her fist.
“Shall we pop in and relieve them of their burden?” James asked with a smirk.
“Naturally!” Jessie smiled. “It just wouldn’t be neighborly if we didn’t help them out!”
“Wobbuffet!”
All three laughed at the same moment. Around a second later, a Poke Ball around James’ waist burst open, and Celestia appeared in a blaze of white of white light.
“Finally!” she said, stretching her wings. “It’s comfortable in there, but not very roomy. It took me a while to figure out how to open it from the inside, and-”
“Watch where you’re sticking those things!” snapped Jessie, shoving a wing out of her face.
“Yeah! Dis balloon ain’t big enough for da five of us!”
“I could fly outside of your balloon, if you wish,” she offered. “I feel much better now.”
“What’s she saying, Meowth?” James asked.
“She’s sayin’ she could fly instead,” Meowth crossed his arms. “I say just put her back in her Poke Ball an’ be done with it.”
“I don’t care what it does, just get your Pokemon out of my face!” Jessie ordered.
“Alright, Celestia,” James said. “We’re about to launch our first strike on Team Flare, and we need you out of our balloon. Do you want to watch?”
“Absolutely,” Celestia nodded. “Perhaps observing your Pokemon in action will give me some insight as to how to harness my own abilities.”
“And you think you’re up to flying now?”
She nodded again.
“Then go on.”
“As you wish.”
Celestia spread her brilliant white wings as far as they would go, bent her legs to push off, then took off with a single, powerful flap. The wind she whipped up was powerful enough to topple Meowth from Wobbuffet’s head as she went. Unlike everything else in this world so far, her wings continued to work perfectly, easily bearing her weight through the air in a series of long, slow beats. She smiled as she felt the high winds rush through her mane and fur, doing a few laps around Team Rocket’s balloon. Jessie, James, and Wobbuffet waved as she passed, steering their balloon in a southwards direction.
For once since coming to this world, Celestia felt absolutely certain that everything would be perfectly fine.
“Team Flare, prepare for trouble!”
“And while you’re at it, make it double!”
“Huh?” the two oddly-dressed Team Flare grunts looked up through the trees to spy a massive hot air balloon in the shape of Meowth’s head descending towards them.
“To protect the world from devastation!” said a magenta-haired woman.
“To unite all peoples within our nation!” added a blue-haired man.
“To denounce the evils of truth and love!”
“To extend our reach to the stars above!”
“Jessie!”
“James!”
“Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!”
“So surrender now or prepare for a fight!”
“Meowth, that’s right!”
“Wobbuffet!”
The quartet held their pose for a few seconds, their balloon descending until it was all but touching the dirt of the forest trail. The woman in the Team Flare uniform lowered her sunglasses slightly, peering over them to scrutinize the newcomers blocking their path.
“Who exactly are you poorly-dressed freaks?” she asked.
“Poorly dressed?!’ Jessie snarled, grinding her teeth. “Why you little…”
“Weren’t you paying any attention?!” James’ right hand was balled into a fist as he shouted. “We’re members of none other than the famous Team Rocket!”
The woman put a hand on her hip. “Never heard of you.”
“WHAT?!” Jessie shouted. “How could you never have heard of the legendary and invincible Team Rocket?!”
“Look, is there a point to this?” the Team Flare man butted in. “What do you people even want?”
“We want dat briefcase you’re carryin’!” Meowth pointed from the balloon basket’s edge. “So hand it over all nice and quiet like and dere won’t be any trouble, k?”
The two Team Flare members glanced at one another sideways. Simultaneously, they reached into their pockets and pulled out Poke Balls.
“It seems that these unfashionable idiots want to pry too closely for their own good,” the man said, enlarging his ball.
“But we’ll take care of that!” the woman finished, tossing hers into the air. “Go, Fletchinder!”
“Pikachu, you’re on!”
The two Poke Balls burst open to unleash bright white energy, which quickly formed itself into two separate figures. From her position high above the teams, Celestia saw a sleek red, black, and grey bird, along with…
Her teeth ground together as she recognized the same species of despicable yellow rat that had attacked and beaten her without provocation the other day. She could tell that this one wasn’t the same individual, though. For an obvious start, their masters were different. And this one had a slight indenture in the middle of its tail’s end, resulting in a vaguely heart-like shape. The other one had had a flat end to its tail.
“Pumpkaboo!” Jessie called, tossing her own Poke Ball.
“Inkay!” James entered the fray.
The two Poke Balls burst into Team Rocket’s now-familiar Pokemon, and the battle began.
“Fletchinder, use Ember on Pumpkaboo!”
“Dodge, and use Shadow Ball!”
“Inkay, help Pumpkaboo out with Psybeam!”
“Not so fast! Pikachu, Quick Attack!”
The Pikachu broke out into a furious run, more quickly than Celestia would have believed possible with its short legs. It seemed to be in multiple places at once, trailing a silver line as it ran. Before Inkay could do much of anything, the yellow Pokemon leaped and slammed directly into it, sending it crashing along the ground.
Meanwhile, Fletchinder opened its beak and breathed out a rapid stream of tiny balls of fire at Pumpkaboo. Jessie’s flew up and to the side, faster than Fletchinder’s aim could track. It opened its mouth and formed a blackish-purple orb directly in front of its face, which it launched at the bird. The attack connected with a satisfying explosion.
“That’s the way!” Jessie cheered. “Shadow Ball, once more!”
Pumpkaboo began gathering energy to form another orb.
The Team Flare woman gritted her teeth. “Fletchinder, use Quick Attack on Inkay!”
“Pikachu, you do the same!”
Both of Team Flare’s Pokemon rushed for Inkay, trailing silver lines behind themselves.
“Inkay, counter with Foul Play!” James commanded.
Fletchinder got there first, soaring directly at Inkay with its sharp beak pointed directly at the small cephalopod’s face. James’ Pokemon waited until the very last second, when the bird was almost upon it. Then it leaned back and enveloped Fletchinder’s head in its tiny tentacles. Rather than fighting the momentum, it allowed itself to be pushed back briefly before, in a surprising show of strength, twirling in the air and hurling Fletchinder right back into the oncoming Pikachu. Both smacked into the ground hard, and were almost instantly hit with Pumpkaboo’s second Shadow Ball.
“Finish this with Psybeam!” James shouted, fist clenched.
“Counter with Thundershock!”
The yellow spots on Inkay’s cranium lit up, and a moment later it unleashed a white, vaguely rainbow-hued beam of energy towards the downed Pokemon. Pikachu hopped back to its feet, red checks sparkling. It squeezed its eyes shut and launched a stream of electricity upwards at Inkay. The two attacks met in the middle for the briefest of moments, then both exploded, filling the area with smoke.
“Fletchinder, use Double Team! And then Peck!”
“Pumpkaboo, Dark Pulse!”
When the smoke cleared seconds later, instead of one bird Pokemon there were many. All of their beaks began glowing silver, and as one they launched themselves at Pumkaboo. Jessie’s Pokemon looked this way and that, confused, before opening its mouth again and firing a beam of purple circles out towards one of the Fletchinder. The attack was a direct hit… and it passed right through, dispelling the intangible image. Panicked, Pumpkaboo fired the attack at another one, only to get the same result. It didn’t have time for a third shot.
The real Fletchinder slammed into Pumpkaboo from behind, beak first. Jessie’s Pokemon cried out as it flew forward, impacting roughly on the forest floor and rolling a considerable distance through the muck. It stopped there, face down in a mud puddle.
“Pumpkaboo, no!” Jessie called out, concern writ large on her face.
“Flyin’ type attacks like Peck are super effective on Grass types like Pumpkaboo!” Meowth remarked nervously.
“Inkay, Psybeam now!”
Inkay’s spots began glowing once again, and it spat another energy beam out of its mouth. This one caught Fletchinder right between the eyes, producing yet another explosion. The bird Pokemon hit the dirt on it backside. It lay still, moaning softly.
“Grrr…” the woman growled, before sticking her Poke Ball out. “Fletchinder, return!”
A red beam shot out and enveloped the downed Pokemon, quickly recalling it into the ball. At that same moment, there was a great cry from the forest. A small explosion of muck gave a dramatic backdrop to Pumpkaboo as it rose again.
“You’re alright!” Jessie smiled.
Pumpkaboo quickly flew back towards the battleground. Together with Inkay, it stared down Team Flare’s Pikachu. For its part, the little yellow Pokemon was on all fours and growling, cheeks sparking as it waited for orders.
“This isn’t going well,” the woman said through gritted teeth. “The boss won’t be pleased if we screw this up.”
“Right,” the man clenched his fist. “Pikachu, use Thunderbolt on Team Rocket’s balloon!”
The little yellow rodent crackled with electricity as it built up charge over a few seconds, then squeezed its eyes shut as it shot an enormous, crackling arc of electricity through the air.
“Not so fast!” Jessie countered with a smile on her face. “Wobbuffet, Mirror Coat!”
Wobbuffet jumped out of the balloon basket, standing directly in the path of Pikachu’s attack. A coating of semitransparent energy enveloped it. As the Thunderbolt descended, the front paused directly above Wobbuffet, more energy flowing in all the time.
Meowth had both eyes closed, one hand on his hip, and was wagging one finger of the other. “Ya see, Mirror Coat takes any Special attack ya care to use…” he opened his eyes and smiled. “And sends it right back at ya at twice da power!”
Abruptly, the electricity hurdled back the way it had come in an even more massive arc than before. It descended directly atop Team Flare, catching humans and Pokemon alike in its embrace. All of them screamed as they were thoroughly electrified.
James folded his arms across his chest. “It’s nice to see someone else getting zapped by a Pikachu for a change.”
“Isn’t it just delightful?” said Jessie.
“You said it!” added Meowth.
All three of them laughed as one.
A handful of moments later, the arc of electricity at last came to a merciful end. When it dissipated, it revealed a trio of quivering, charred figures. As one, they collapsed onto the thoroughly-charred ground like puppets with their strings cut. Team Rocket waited a moment to see if their opponents would get up, but they were quite beyond that.
James hopped over the balloon basket’s edge and onto the trail. He walked over to the Team Flare grunts, giving them a brief glance each. His eyes quickly settled on the metal (and apparently well insulated) briefcase that the man was carrying. James reached down and pried its handle from the Team Flare grunt’s twitching, sparking fingers.
“I’ll be taking that,” he said with a smirk, before walking back over to the balloon and climbing back in.
“Team Rocket thanks you for your generous contribution!” Jessie taunted.
“Bye bye!” all three of the trio said simultaneously, waving.
“Wobbuffet!” the eponymous Pokemon added cheerfully.
Recalling Pumpkaboo and Inkay, Team Rocket set their balloon to rising. It picked up altitude quickly with nothing to impede it, leaving the ground far behind in short order. Celestia watched it burst through the lowest layer of clouds, and then moved to follow it. For her part, she felt that the battle had been instructive.
When the princess rose through the cloud cover herself, she quickly spotted the Meowth balloon drifting east at a relatively steady altitude. Inside, the trio and Wobbuffet were crouched low and huddled around their acquisition. Flying closer, Celestia observed that Meowth was using one of his claws to pick the locks on it, one by one. The process took a number of minutes, to the point that Celestia sat herself down atop the Meowth balloon itself to wait. Sadly, the clouds here weren’t as accommodating as the ones back home.
“Aaaannnn…” Celestia’s ears perked up at the sound of Meowth’s voice. “Dere! Gotcha!”
The princess got back on her hooves and gently flew down towards the basket even as the briefcase clicked open. She found a good viewpoint and looked inside, eager to see for herself what was going on. It took a little effort to peer around Jessie, James, and Meowth, but she did, and saw that inside were…
Clothes.
The briefcase was full of clothes.
More specifically, it contained two complete sets of what Celestia concluded must be the Team Flare uniform: red jackets with matching pants, white shirts, black ties, black gloves and shoes. Additionally there were brushes, rollers, polish, and other assorted products for the care and maintenance of these clothes. Finally, there was red hair dye and styling gel, along with combs.
That was… less than ideal.
Team Rocket had the same reaction.
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” James threw his hands up.
Jessie simply grabbed the case from Meowth’s hands and dumped its entire contents onto the basket’s floor. “Come on!” she snapped. “Look! There’s got to be something important in there!”
“Right!” James and Meowth saluted.
Jessie, James, and Meowth went systemically through the spilled clothing and care products. Every pocket was turned out, no can was left unopened. They were, Celestia had to credit, very determined in their search. They took several minutes going over everything that they had while the princess considered what she knew.
“Don’t tell me dat after all of dat all we got was their travelin’ suitcase!” Meowth hung his head after patting down one of the Team Flare jackets for the fifth time.
“This can’t be it!” Jessie growled, shaking the empty briefcase repeatedly.
“It isn’t,” Celestia declared confidently. No one seemed to listen.
“Those Team Flare guys must be really protective of their outfits,” James moped.
“All of that effort for a pair of tacky suits!” Jessie snarled, then punched the metal exterior. “OW!”
“No! There’s more to it!” Celestia tried to tell them. “Meowth, listen to me! If they were so concerned purely about their uniforms, why would they be wearing them during a trip through a filthy, slimy swamp? There must be more inside to justify their reaction!”
The cat Pokemon ignored her. “Well dis was a huge waste of time,” he pouted.
Jessie snatched up the empty briefcase and got to her feet. She marched to the edge of the balloon’s basket and held it over her head.
“Stupid worthless piece of junk!” she screamed in frustration.
“NO!” Celestia flew directly in front of her, waving her legs to try and call the human off. “Don’t throw it! Meowth, say something! Stop her!”
“Get out of my way!” Jessie waved a hand in Celestia’s face. The other she raised high, as if to chuck Team Flare’s case as far as she could.
Seeing nothing else for it, Celestia outright wrapped Jessie’s throwing arm in her forelegs. “The lining!” she pleaded. “You must check the case’s lining! It’s the only place left! There must be something there!”
“Get off of me!” Jessie struggled against Celestia’s grip. “What’s gotten into you?! James! Control your Pokemon!”
“Celestia, please!” he waved his hands. “Let go of Jessie and-”
“WAIT!” Meowth’s voice cut in.
Everyone turned to look at the cat Pokemon. Even Jessie and Celestia momentarily paused in their impromptu wrestling match.
“I got it!” Meowth declared. “Da linin’. We hadn’t checked the briefcase’s linin’!”
“That’s a good point, Meowth,” Jessie said, slowly lowering her arm. With a sigh of relief, Celestia let it go.
“Hand it over,” Meowth extended his hands and received the case. With a single claw her cut the interior lining off of the top portion along the edge. It fell out neatly… revealing a thin stack of documents taped to the briefcase’s metal interior. James promptly snatched them up.
“Meowth,” he declared, looking at one of the papers. “You’re a genius!”
“Dat I am,” Meowth rubbed his hand across his chest and admired his claws, smiling confidently. “Good of ya ta finally notice.”
“These look like blueprints for the Poke Ball Factory north of Laverre City,” James said, leafing through them. “It’s the largest of its kind in the entire Kalos region.”
“Let me see those!” Jessie snatched the papers from him. She studied them for a moment. “And look!” she said. “They’ve drawn routs into and out of the building. And there’s a date on here,” she pointed to number.
“Dat’s almost two weeks from today,” Meowth pointed out.
“They must be planning to hit the factory on that day,” James reasoned.
“And when they arrive,” Jessie clenched her fist and smiled. “Team Rocket will be there to stop them dead in their tracks!”
“Yeah!” James and Meowth cheered.
As one, the trio raised their voices and pumped their fists. “Team Rocket’s rockin’!”
“Wobbuffet!” echoed Jessie’s Pokemon as it burst from its ball.
“Seriously, Meowth,” Jessie said, as they began to follow a new course. “I don’t know what we would have done without you! You were brilliant!”
“Shrivel up and die,” Meowth answered, putting his hands behind his head and smirking. “After all, somebody’s gotta do all da thinkin’ around here!” He gave the princess the briefest of glances and winked, still smirking.
Celestia glared.
Oooh. So that's what Wobbuffet was saying all along. I knew it had to be interesting.
Meowth you ass
Urge to banish kitty to the moon; rising.
I read that much too quickly, I guess its cause i`m really into this story! I`d love this to end with the rockets visiting equestria and seeing Tia raise the sun, lol, how ya feel about steeling ideas now Meowth!
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That to honest, that's perfectly in chracter for him.
And I swear, these rapid updates. Love ya, man. Love ya.
Curiosity killed the cat? No, no. The Infuriated pony princess killed the cat.
Bloody hell Meowth
At this rate Meowth will cause Celestia to learn Dragon Rage.
I smell a rivalry...
6098984 don't forget, alicorn are part pegusi, and pegusi can manipulate the weather. meaning maves like thunder ar not outside the relm of possiblilty.
also, you missed Defog, Morning sun, and possibly Calm mind.
well Meowt once she learns her attacks your screwed
really like the story so far
I know Celestia wouldn't kill meowth, but how long until she sets him on fire?
nice and i din't thought it until now but their motto is pretty heroic so celestia wont suspect that team rocket is evil for a time
Poor James has had nothing but trouble from the smart women around him.
Meowth is already batting about his smartass limit as it is.
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Why does everyone want to hurt Meowth? He's just a lovable cunt
6099458 don't you mean Outrage?
6099665 Bah. Not hurt. Just... you know... place him somewhere where he can't annoy people... far, far away... on the Moon.
And on that day, Celestia threw a cat out of a baloon.
6099679 Did it land on its feet?
6099719 Not when there is a river below it.
6099668 I go by the anime, so I do in fact mean Dragon Rage which is according to Misty inescapable.
6099657 oh dur, I forgot Flash Cannon. now, if you read that moves description, it says the user gather its light energy and releases it all at once. and considering she the solar Princess...
and shes canonically used dark magic, so I think Dark Pulse is do able
I hope Meowth likes bananas.
I think Celestia ought to do a little friendly sparring with Meowth, to begin her training. It would do them both some good in the long run after all... Celly might learn some new moves, and everyone would find out just how far Meowth can fall and still land on his feet. Great chapter!
I really want to see Celestia punt Meowth over into the next county right about now. She still has super-strength.
i feel as if Meowth is gonna get a special gift from Celestia Soon... Also great chapter Snake keep up the great work ^-^
Well Meowth seems extra mean today. Great work so far.
Sweet Celestia!
Another Awesome chapter! Celestia's being a useful asset to Team Rocket... but I can't wait till she figures out what they usually do for a living.
And for the love of MEW! Somepony please test the theory of cats having nine lives in the Pokemon universe! Please!
I don't know how much of a prankster this version of Celestia is, but I don't think I could count the number of ways she could find to pay Meowth back for his little trick. I wonder if he realizes that saying "After all, somebody’s gotta do all da thinkin’ around here!" after stealing Celestia's idea sounds like he's saying he's too stupid to do it himself?
The way the conversation with Giovanni worked out was a good way to get around Celestia's reaction to having Teamed up with criminals, although I do wonder what will happen when she eventually finds out what they are or when they commit an actual crime. Or questions the "Team" part when she learns that every organization starting with the word is apparently made of wrong-doers.
What would happen if a Psychic Pokemon tried to read her mind deeper than just the surface thoughts? 1000+ years of memories is sort of a lot for a probably much younger Pokemon to handle (I mean, even the Doctor hasn't reached 2,000. While I doubt that she's been to the beginning and end of the universe I'd say she has more memory and experience than smaller, mortal minds could ever hold). Would they break?
Speaking of which, would she be able to work through mental effects by sheer virtue of having gone through worse? Can she even be subjected to the confused state (really, can anything match Discord in that regard?)?
I like Celestia's usefulness here. Even if she can't get the hang of Pokemon moves, she's still got her mind, and can fortunately still fly. But the clouds not being accommodating is... worrying. I'm assuming that means she can't land on clouds. Can she no longer affect the weather? Is she no longer an alicorn, the merging of three pony races, but simply a Fire/Fairy Type Pokemon that happens to have the ability to Fly?
Anyways, new idea for Celestia's Ability, if it isn't a pre-existing one. It would let her behave as though she were always under the effects of intense sunlight, strengthening her Fire attacks,, weakening Water, letting Morning Sun heal her even more, and letting her fire off Solar Beams like Twilight minigunning down Changelings. And as importantly, letting her ignore the effects of other weather conditions. Fits the sun theme and her pegasus abilities as an alicorn... if she still even has any.
I don't think that Luna and Twilight would sit quietly and ever-so-politely wait for Celestia to return home after she suddenly disappeared. Will their attempts to track down the dimension Celestia got hurled into ever affect the story?
Related to the above, I was thinking of ways that she could return home. I can only think of a few Pokemon that could be said to have dimension-related powers (pretty much entirely Legendaries--Arceus (god), Giratina (lives in another dimension), Palkia/Dialga (space/time is sorta related to dimensions...), Hoopa (moves regarding "Hyperspace"), Celebi (time travel is sorta related to dimensions...), Jirachi (wish herself home), Mew (Mew is weird)), but enough Fairy and/or Psychic types together could possibly hurl her back home.
6100701 double kick, rock smash maybe one or two others.
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Based purely on dates in the New Who, the Doctor was approximately 2100 when he went into his thirteenth body. However, he doesn't actually know how old he is. Moffat says he could be 8000 or a million.
6100769 in response to the evolution bit, why not something more like a Primal Reversion, becoming basically Celestia's equivalent of Nightmare Moon, except without the whole 'want to slowly destroy all life on the planet.'
like thispre13.deviantart.net/c98a/th/pre/f/2012/128/e/1/composure___concept_art___nightmare_sol_by_princesssaros-d4yxvna.png
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Focus Blast, Detect, Reversal, Sacred Sword, Superpower
6101110 Solar Flare?
derpicdn.net/img/2015/4/25/882293/thumb.png
derpicdn.net/img/2015/4/4/864832/thumb.gif
t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQhJmNx6l01qPVQ6VIGd20vduZFCWe7qyCi7F8SHOYOSurkgaV1b-joS0qE
6101304 Sure, I vote for that tird image.
And yet again, another brilliant chapter, and to agree with ademonsdream, yes Mewoth is an ass
6099812 *snrk*
This story has shown throughout that it's able to maintain a good pace while also using the characters thoughts to make the environment and characters themselves relatable. I really hope this story continues since it has all the sighns of a good story. Also in fan lying over all of the past lenon and mlp :)
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Yeah, she'd rather do it quickly to get it over with.
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The ability "drought" has that effect, but it extends to the whole team by actually forcing the weather to be sunny.
I wish to ask... what is the height of celestia? In this story i wish her to be large and about the size to jessies chest... I wish to know the height...
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I believe in a previous chapter, she drew herself up to full height, and she was eye to eye with James.
I believe you mean routes.
i.imgur.com/8btUX8j.gif
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Pokémon X/Y......cool. But seriously, not cool Meowth.
For me, the beauty of the original Team Rocket slogan has been the fun I've been able to have with it.
"To unite all people(s) within our nation!"
(after the Imite House incident back in Kanto) Are you sure it's not to ignite all people(s)?
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
(over James' line) Shouldn't you be blasting off now then?
"Meowth, that's right!"
I've had that kind of fun with Team Rocket's other slogans as well, but I've had the most fun with this one.
TFW meowth could be incinerated immediately by celestia but he still shittalks like a bronze league player
They’ve drawn routs into and out of the building
1. Routes, still here.
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Go bananas, on the M O O N.