The shackles they used to restrain Ash and the others were specially made shackles. Don't be fooled by their headstrong appearance; they meticulously planned this operation to capture Pikachu.
Ash has endless strength, and the fact that he possesses special abilities is no longer a secret. So, they worked tirelessly during the Quartz Conference to finally craft a unique pair of shackles.
These shackles, once secured, would render the person bound powerless, no matter how strong a creature they are, eventually becoming limp and lifeless.
As for Misty and Brock, they didn't need to prepare such grand gifts for them. After all, their physical prowess was nothing impressive. As long as Ash could be dealt with, capturing Pikachu would be a breeze!
To create that object, they spent all their wages from a month's work, and Meowth even went to test it. If bound, being able to exert five percent of one's strength would be considered quite lucky.
With such a perfect plan, they thought they couldn't possibly lose!
Then they were sanctioned...
Ash's strength far exceeded their imagination. Even if a large portion of his powers were restrained, breaking free of those shackles was an effortless endeavor.
What they didn't realize was that Ash's strength was beyond their comprehension and they highly overestimated the shackles' restraint capability.
For an average person, perhaps that device could truly bind ninety-five percent of their strength, but for Ash... it was practically ineffective.
Did they really think the Divine Domain-level physique was a joke?
Humans wanting to use technology to counter Divine Domain-level Pokemon, the only way is to obtain a mediator from the opponent. Unfortunately, Ash has nothing on him that can drop as a mediator.
Meaning Ash within the Divine Domain level... has no weaknesses! In a sense, this makes him more formidable than a Legendary Beast.
As Ash broke free from the shackles and gradually approached Team Rocket's trio, they instantly huddled together in panic: "Wha... what are you doing! Don't come closer! If you approach, we'll scream!"
"I... it's Meowth! Don't come near, Meowth!"
Ash:...
The way you guys are acting makes it look like I'm the villain! Who exactly is the one setting the traps here?
"Who is piloting this flying ship right now? How did you manage to get all the staff and even ensure no one else boarded this flying ship?" This was a puzzling question on Ash's mind, wondering how these three managed to pull off such a phenomenon?
"Jus... just create a machine to adjust all nearby watches twenty minutes ahead; they will board the flying ship that is already waiting there, Meowth. This flying ship is bought by us, Meowth, so we were able to wait here in advance. The flying ship is autonomously piloting itself, Meowth."
Ash and the others were left speechless by Meowth's explanation. It sounded simple, but wasn't this even more inexplicable? How on earth did you three manage to accomplish something that even an evil organization finds difficult, with only the three of you?
Indeed, as Ash mentioned, if they acted righteously, they might help countless people. Regrettably, they used their brilliant minds for wrongdoing.
Ash expressionlessly retrieved Pikachu, and with his bare hands broke the mechanically gloved hand with insulated gloves, making the trio tremble more violently, indeed labeling Ash a monster!
Following this, Ash proceeded to Brock and Misty's side, easily breaking their shackles, and then turned to ask: "Why is the destination set to Orange Archipelago? Shouldn't you directly use the flying ship to take us to Team Rocket Headquarters?"
This was also why Ash hadn't exposed Team Rocket's trio earlier. He hoped to utilize their lead to reach Team Rocket's den straight away for a direct hit.
However, these three couldn't keep their cool and attacked directly, if it was only an attack, Ash might endure it and wait till reaching the destination before clamping down on the trio.
But his Aura Power sensed that, besides those three rogues, no one else was on the flying ship, meaning no one was piloting the ship!
This was why Ash directly chose not to act.
What he didn't expect was that current technology has advanced to a stage where it can autonomously fly to the target destination without a pilot. But why did these three set the destination to Orange Archipelago?
Shouldn't it have brought him to Team Rocket Headquarters to find Giovanni?
The three exchanged glances, revealing some confusion and a pained expression: "We haven't seen Boss Giovanni in a long time."
"Over in Orange Archipelago, we have a Team Rocket base, and Archer is stationed there. However, recently he seems to have been attacked by a powerful enemy. We initially wanted to capture Pikachu to cheer him up... Meowth."
Speaking of capturing Pikachu, both Ash and Pikachu glared angrily at Meowth, mainly because it spoke of robbing others' Pokemon so nonchalantly, and even offering the captured Pokemon for others' amusement, whether it's the narrative or Ash's temperament, it's absolutely unforgivable.