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This causes him to reminisce about the proprietor informing him that the café was going to be closed down, which had prompted Ren to look after Francois, since it could no longer eat from its favorite chandelier. As they emerge from their hiding place, Ren notices that they've wound up in front of the café where they first met. Ren eventually manages to lose the Magnemite pursuing him by having Francois use Supersonic, confusing them long enough for him and Francois to hide in a dumpster. While Ren tries to lose his pursuers, Ash and Goh find the Magnemite they were trying to keep at bay suddenly leaving. Ren hides Francois in a bag, but they are exposed when trying to sneak past a group of Magnemite eating electricity from a car, its bonnet suddenly popping open causing Francois to jump out of the bag. While Goh is cornered and forced to call out Cinderace to defend him from the Magnemite, Ren and Francois arrive back in downtown Vermilion City. Meanwhile, Professor Cerise and Chrysa try to figure out the source of the strange transmission, which Chrysa manages to trace into space, much to her surprise. The trick works, and the Magnemite start pursuing Goh as he runs off, giving Ren and Francois a chance to escape. To fool the pursuing Magnemite, Goh borrows Ren's lab coat and hides Grookey under it to trick the Magnemite into thinking he's hiding Francois. Figuring that they'll stand out too much in the sky, Goh has Flygon take them to the ground. Goh figures that the Magnemite must be trying to force Francois into join them, so Ash turns around and has Dragonite use Hurricane on them to hold them back while Goh and Ren escape. This proves to be only a momentary solution, however, as the Magnemite quickly eat the Electroweb away. Ren desperately grabs Francois and Ash has Pikachu use Electroweb on the Magnemite. Ash and Goh try to lose them by speeding up, but the Magnemite continue their pursuit and try to magnetically pull Francois to them. Ren's story is interrupted when a group of Magnemite starts following them. Francois had also become a regular visitor to the café, loving to eat electricity from its chandelier. Ren starts reminiscing of how he used to visit a café, whose proprietor loved collecting antiques and using them as decorations. To distract Ren from his fear, Goh asks him to tell how he had met Francois. Outside the laboratory, Ash and Goh call out Dragonite and Flygon to fly them out of the city, although Ren, having a fear of heights, finds himself uncomfortable flying on Flygon's back. Ren explains that it's gotten so picky that it wants all things that have a retro feel, so he decides to cover the tinfoil with a doorknob cover, pleasing Francois. Francois, however, shows signs of annoyance. Since the disturbance seems to be affecting only downtown Vermilion City, Professor Cerise suggests Francois being evacuated to the outskirts for the time being. When Francois starts behaving strangely as well and refuses to be recalled, Ren wraps the screw on its head in tinfoil, blocking the transmission. Professor Cerise analyzes Francois and discovers that it's receiving a strange transmission, which is likely the cause of the Magnemite's unusual behavior. Ren receives a phone call from Chrysa, who asks him if Francois is okay and sends him a video that shows Magnemite around Vermilion City behaving oddly. Soon after, Professor Cerise explains that the brief blackout was caused by a magnetic storm, a phenomenon created by explosions on the surface of the sun, which can damage power grids and ruin delicate equipment. However, before he can tell how he first met Francois, the lights suddenly turn off, before turning back on several seconds later. Ren confirms this and adds that it used to be a lot worse. Ash and Goh note that Francois seems to only like eating electricity from retro appliances. Pikachu tries to offer it some of his own electricity as well, but Francois refuses. He plugs it in and calls out his Magnemite, Francois, to eat electricity from the lamp for its own breakfast. The package contains a retro lamp, which has returned to Ren from being repaired. Meanwhile, in Vermilion City, an incident has occurred in which all the Magnemite suddenly begin acting erratic! Which means Francoise is in danger! Can Ash and Goh protect Francoise along with Ren?Īs morning dawns at the Cerise Laboratory, Ren opens a package while Ash and Goh eat breakfast next to him. Looking at that, Ren remembers the first he met Francois. Ren, an assistant at the Cerise Laboratory has a Magnemite named Francois who is very particular about food and only uses electricity from retro products.
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