Author's Note: Well, I will admit, Paul's a bit OOC but this is my first Pokémon fic, so be nice!
"Hahaha! Like we're just going to hand them over? You must have lost your mind!" Cassidy laughed. "Go, Granbull! Use Fire Fang!"
"Granbull!" the pokémon cried as it obeyed, its teeth bursting into flames
"Piplup, BubbleBeam!" Dawn commanded, and the BubbleBeam hit Granbull square in the face, stopping its attack and knocking it away.
"Oh, how dare you!"
"Shuckle, Sludge Bomb!" Butch commanded.
"Croagunk, Poison Jab!" Brock called. The Poison Jab was stopped by Sludge Bomb hitting its mark.
Meanwhile, during the battle, Ash had snuck into their mecha to free the captured pokémon. He got all the way to the cages and was about to open them, when he felt it lurch. His head knocked hard against one of the cages and he blacked out.
"We hate to cut this battle short, but we have somewhere to be," Cassidy said, recalling Granbull.
"That's right, can't keep the boss waiting!" Butch said, recalling Shuckle.
"Goodbye!" Cassidy cackled as she and Butch hopped into their seats and the mecha flew away.
"Oooooh, I hate those two!" Dawn shouted as Brock looked around.
"Uh, Dawn?"
"What?"
"Ash was still on their machine."
The two paused for a second before it clicked.
"Oh, no, we have to save him!" Dawn shouted.
"But we have no idea where their machine is now!" Brock said.
"He doesn't even have his pokémon," Dawn said, looking over at the pokéballs on the grass.
Meanwhile, Butch and Cassidy set their mecha down under cover of trees. They went to check on their catch. When they got down to the cages, they found Ash unconscious on the floor.
"What should we do with him?" Butch asked.
"I say we tie him up," Cassidy said.
When Ash came to, he found himself unable to move his arms or legs. He looked around and saw Butch across the room, checking the locks on the cages to verify they hadn't been undone.
"Hey, what happened?" Ash asked, his voice hostile.
"We found you out cold right here. You were trying to open the cages, weren't you?" Butch asked.
"Let those pokémon go or I'll…" Ash said.
"You'll what, thrash around? In case you haven't noticed, you're a little tied up at the moment." Butch laughed and left for the control room.
"How do we rescue Ash?" Dawn asked.
"I have an idea!" Brock said.
"And what's that?"
"Ash left his pokémon! That means we have Staraptor!"
"Right! We send Staraptor out to look for their machine!" Dawn said, jumping up and grabbing Staraptor's pokéball.
"Go, Staraptor!" Dawn called as she threw the pokéball. Staraptor came out and looked around for its trainer.
"I know, Ash isn't here. That's why we need you, Team Rocket kidnapped him and we need you to go find their machine! Can you do it?" Dawn asked. Staraptor nodded and flew off in search.
Meanwhile, Paul was walking through the forest when he overheard Dawn talking and stopped in his tracks. He paused to think for a second before dashing off in the direction he thought he heard her talking from. He found them as they were just packing up to go look for Ash.
"Where's Ash?" Paul asked. Dawn and Brock turned in shock at Paul's appearance.
"Team Rocket's got him, we've got to go look for him," Brock explained.
"I'll help you look," Paul said. "What good's a rival if he gets himself kidnapped?"
"You're more than welcome to help any way you can," Brock said. He slung both his and Ash's backpacks over his shoulder and looked skyward. He saw Staraptor flying in, gesturing for them to follow it.
"It found their machine! Let's go!" Dawn said, and the three started running after Staraptor.
"If only I had Staraptor, I'd send it out to find Dawn and Brock," Ash muttered. He heard a very loud, "PIKA-CHUUUUUUUUU!" in the other room.
"Pikachu!" Ash cried out, struggling against his bonds. "I've got to get out of here!"
But the ropes were too strong and Ash couldn't even get them to budge. He looked up and saw a window in the roof of the mecha. He could see a bird pokémon flying overhead… wait, that's his Staraptor! Dawn and Brock must be on their way by now!
"Starrrrrrr!" Staraptor cried out as it approached the mecha with Dawn, Brock, and Paul hot on its tail.
"You should know better, Pikachu, that trap's electricity proof!" Butch laughed as Pikachu kept using Thunderbolt on the trap in an attempt for escape.
"Let our friend and all those pokémon go!" Brock shouted as they approached.
"How about this? NO!" Cassidy said. "Go, Granbull, Fire Fang!" Granbull appeared from the pokéball. Its teeth burst into flames.
"Go, Happiny, use Pound!" Brock called, throwing the pokéball. Happiny appeared and landed her attack, sending Granbull flying.
"Shuckle, let's go! Use Sludge Bomb!" Butch called, Shuckle appearing in front of him.
"Go, Buneary, use Ice Beam!" Dawn called. Buneary appeared and attacked, freezing Shuckle.
Meanwhile, Paul snuck into their machine to find Ash. He looked around and saw nothing.
"Ash! Where are you?!" Paul called out.
"In here!" a voice called, and Paul ran towards it, through a door, to see Ash panting from exhaustion from trying to escape his bonds.
"Paul? What are you doing here?" Ash asked as Paul began to undo the ropes.
"Saving you, what do you think?" Paul said harshly.
"Either way, thanks," Ash said as he could feel the ropes loosening little by little.
"Ugh, what are these things made of, steel?" Paul said, struggling to untie them. He stopped and pulled out a knife, cutting the ropes off instead.
Ash sighed in relief, stretching his arms and legs. "Ah, that feels so much better. Thanks," he said as Paul put his knife away.
"Don't mention it. We need to get out now," Paul said, grabbing Ash's wrist and pulling him towards the exit.
"Wait!" Ash said, digging in his heels, "we need to release these pokémon!"
"I suppose you're right," Paul sighed and let go of Ash. The two started unlocking cages until they were all open.
"Go, get out of here, you're free," Ash called as the pokémon left the mecha.
"Now it's our turn," Paul said, grabbing Ash's wrist and pulling him towards the exit. They ran onto the grass and looked up at the mecha to see Pikachu still in a trap, trying to shock its way out.
"Go, Weavile, use Metal Claw!" Paul said as he released Weavile, who clawed at Pikachu's trap, breaking it apart and releasing it. Pikachu ran and jumped into Ash's arms, happy to be free.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!" Ash called. Pikachu then used Thunderbolt on Butch, Cassidy, and their pokémon, causing them to blast off like the usual group does.
"So Paul, who knew you cared?" Dawn said.
"Ash, can I speak to you in private?" Paul asked.
"Sure," Ash said, and they walked a few yards away from the others.
"You're not hurt, are you?" Paul asked.
"No, I'm fine, thanks to you."
"Good," Paul said, cracking a little smile.
"Why did you save me, why not Dawn or Brock?" Ash asked.
"We had a plan. Your friends were to distract those two idiots while I snuck in and rescued you. It worked didn't it?"
"Yeah, but when did you show up?"
"Let's not worry about that. I guess I… Care for you in a way," Paul muttered the last bit, but it was loud enough for Ash to hear.
"You care for me?" Ash said, a huge smile on his face.
"Y-yes, I guess I do," Paul said, a light pink blush tinting his face. Paul turned away to hide this.
"Paul cares~" Ash teased. "It's almost like he likes me or something~"
"Sh-shut up!" Paul said, his blush deepening.
"Well, if it makes you feel better, I like you too."
This made Paul freeze.
"Uh… Uh, you're just delusional from earlier, yeah, that's it," he said in an evasive tone.
"Come here," Ash said.
"O-okay," Paul said, inching a little closer. Ash rolled his eyes and closed most of the gap.
"Come on, look at me!" Ash said, hooking his finger under Paul's chin, kind of forcing them to lock eyes.
"It's okay, really. I do actually like you," Ash said.
"Well… I-"
Ash had completely closed the gap with a little kiss on the lips.
"Ash, come on, it's time to go!" Dawn called.
"Gotta go, I'll see you later," Ash said.
"Y-yeah, see you," Paul said, frozen in shock at what just happened as Ash and co. left. Once they were a little ways away, Paul shook himself and regained his composure. Well, all but the bright red blush that colored his face.
"So, what did Paul want to talk about?" Dawn asked. A faint blush appeared on Ash's face.
"Oh, nothing important really," Ash said with a faint laugh.
"Yeah, sure, okay," Brock said with a knowing look on his face. It's totally not like he saw and heard everything that happened between Ash and Paul.