"To prevent the trainers from escaping." He murmured. It wasn't a lie. It wasn't what they had been told to do...but it wasn't what they hadn't been told to do either. That's how he was justifying it and, truthfully, he had intended to do it himself to avoid the actual act of stealing Pokemon.

He leaned down to whisper to her. "My name is Walter. If they ask who told you to do this. I normally work in the labs. If you don't want to fight, then go."

He didn't know what the punishment would be either. But he had endured a lot, even when he had obeyed the Order. He could handle Team Rocket's treatment of him...he thought.