The world of light quickly faded away as Dr. Sam Beckett found himself once again in a less than comfortable position. Actually, it was quite painful. A girl was pulling him by the ear off to who knows where.
"Seriously, Brock," she said as she threw him into a chair, "when are you ever going to grow up?"
Sam puzzled at what she said. He turned his head and saw his reflection in a glass window. A deeply tanned boy with spiky brown hair stared back at him.
"Oh boy," he sighed.
Of Leaps and Pokémon
June 24, 2003
Sam stared at his reflection. This was not the first time he had ever leaped into a teenager's body, but at least most of them had eyes.
"Are you okay?" the girl asked.
"Huh?" he replied.
"Hey, Misty," another voiced called. The turned her head away from Sam to another boy. "Nurse Joy said our pokémon will be ready by tonight."
"Thanks, Ash," the girl nodded. "So, what are we going to do until then?"
"How about a movie?" the boy suggested.
"Great," the girl cheered. "There is one I really wanted to see."
"Let me guess, a chick-flick," the boy sighed.
"Well, if we let you decide," the girl shouted, "we all be watching some stupid film."
"Guys," Sam said as he stepped between the two bickering teens, "how about we decide on one together."
"STAY OUT OF THIS!" they both shouted.
Sam shook his head as he walked away from the pair.
"Where are you, Al?" he sighed.
~|*|~
Sam quietly ate his hamburger while the others laughed about the movie. He noticed that both seemed to switch from worst enemies to best friends from time to time. Misty was also busy feeding the egg thing.
"So how did you like the movie, Brock?" Ash asked.
"Hm?" Sam replied as he looked up at the boy. "It was okay, I guess."
"Are you sure you're all right?" Misty asked with a concerned look on her face. "You haven't been quite yourself today."
"I'm just tired," Sam replied with a yawn.
"Well, being on the road for the past two weeks can do that," Ash laughed. "Maybe we should rest here for a little while."
"That would be nice," Misty agreed. "We can even try to get some rooms at a hotel for once."
Ash smiled. "Sure, why not," he replied. "We do have enough money, right, Brock?"
"I think," Sam shrugged.
"Then let's go look for one," Misty cheered. "Let's get one with a pool."
"Yeah," Ash said as he paid for the bill.
Sam just nodded, and something caught his attention out of the corner of his eye.
"How about you go on," he told them as he sat up from the table. "I'll catch up with you later."
"Okay," Ash replied. "Just meet us at the pokémon center by seven."
"Seven, pokémon center," Sam repeated as he walked away from the table.
Ash and Misty watched him walk off towards the rest rooms.
"I think you may have hit a little too hard, Misty," Ash told her.
"Maybe he just finally blew a fuse on Nurse Joy," Misty grimaced.
"I still think it's the brain damage," Ash smirked.
"And how would you like some of your own?" Misty shouted.
~|*|~
"Al," Sam whispered as he walked into the rest room.
"Here, Sa…" the hologram called as he began to fade. "Hey, Goosh…punch up…power."
"Al, what's going on?" Sam asked very concerned.
"Some…weird," Sam said as his body began to flicker. "Ziggy doesn't'…under…"
Suddenly, Al's image became more stable. He adjusted his blazer with a smug smirk.
"Much better," he commented. "Okay Sam, we got some really weird stuff going on here."
"Weird," Sam replied. "Aside from walking eggs."
"Yeah," Al shook his before he realized what Sam said. "Walking eggs?"
"Never mind," Sam sighed. "Just tell me what in the world is going on here."
"Well, for starters," Al said as he punched a few buttons on his remote, "you're not in our world."
"Come again?" Sam asked.
"Something happened during the last leap," Al explained. "We're not sure what, but you were thrown into a new dimension."
Sam blinked a few times to soak in this bit of information.
"But don't' worry," Al reassured Sam. "Ziggy says there is a 79.89% chance that you'll leap back into our dimension once this leap is over."
"So what do I have to do?" Sam sighed.
"Uh, we don't know," Al replied. He saw the annoyed look on Sam's face. "Look, we don't know anything about what's going on here. Ziggy is thinking up a way to access some of the computers here in this world, but that'll take time."
"All right," Sam sighed again. "But what do I do till then?"
"Just hang tight," Al said as the doorway opened. "I'll go talk with the guy in the waiting room to find out."
When Al had returned to his own time, Sam walked over to the sink and splashed some water on his face. He looked up at the reflection in the mirror over the faucets.
"What have you gotten me into?"
~|*|~
Sam wondered the streets of the town until he arrived back at the pokémon center. It was still only a quarter past six, but he thought that he might not find his way back here. He sat down in the lobby and opened the backpack he had been lugging around all day. Inside, he found several cooking supplies and enough canned foods to last a few weeks. In a pocket inside of the bag, he found an envelope with several bills of the local currency. It looked similar to the American bills, but instead of Presidents, it had very unusual creatures on the faces.
"I wonder what these things are," he murmured as he continued to rummage through Brock's stuff. Towards the bottom, he found two framed pictures. One was of the nurse behind the counter, while the other was of a woman in a blue uniform. Sam set them aside as he pulled out a rather heavy book.
"The World of Pokémon," he read. He quickly browsed through the first few chapters. He was amazed at the creatures that were on this world. He was reading about some of the inorganic pokémon when Ash and Misty walked inside the center.
"Hey, Brock," Ash called.
"Yeah, Ash?" Sam replied as he put the book back into the backpack.
"We found this great hotel," Misty informed him. "It's just a little ways from here."
"That's great," Sam said.
"Just let me pick up my pokémon," Ash said as he ran to the nurse's station. He quickly returned with Pikachu following him. "Okay, let's go."
He and Misty walked out the door as Sam followed behind them. He was so busy trying to understand what was going on that he did not notice Al walking beside him.
"I just talked with this Brock guy," he informed Sam.
"And?" Sam asked.
"He sure liked some of the nurses looking after him," Al laughed. "Reminds me of me when I was that age."
"Enough with the stroll down memory lane," Sam chided. "Do you know what I have to do?"
"No," Al replied. "But Ziggy is working on it."
Al suddenly began to fade a bit.
"Oh great," Al sighed. "Hey Gooshi, mind turning up the power. What do you mean it's maxed out?"
Al turned back to Sam. "Listen, we have to use a lot of power to contact you here, so I'll be back when we got something."
"Fine," Sam sighed.
Up ahead, Ash and Misty looked at their friend talking to himself.
"I think he may have lost it," Ash commented.
"You assume he ever had it," Misty replied.
~|*|~
Sam relaxed in the bathtub. It had been a rough leap, and he really needed the chance to wind down. Ash had told him that they thought he really would probably want his own room, so they managed to get three singles. It may have been a lot of extra money, but Ash and Misty said that he looked a bit on edge lately.
"Sam, Ziggy thinks she has something," Al said as he popped into the bathroom.
"Do you mind knocking first," Sam growled.
"Look, this important," Al told him. "Ziggy managed to get into a database about twenty years later than now."
"And?"
"Seems there's a 87% chance you have to stop a…" Al paused as he read the output of the remote, "Team Rocket from taking Ash's Pikachu."
"I know Ash is very fond of thing," Sam replied, "but that is hardly worth leaping over."
"But that's not all," Al continued. "It seems that without Pikachu, Ash lost faith in his own abilities and pretty much disappeared. This in turn devastated several of his friends. Brock ended up working as a clerk in some corporation instead of becoming a…"
"What?" Sam asked.
"A pokémon breeder," Al said very confused. "Seems he may have been on the verge of developing a vitamin to improve the attacks of electric pokémon."
"So, all I have to do is make sure nothing happens to Pikachu?" Sam asked as he sat up in the bathtub.
"That's what it seems like," Al replied. "Ziggy isn't sure when Team Rocket is going to show up. Probably in the next day or two."
"Well, I guess I'll have to think of something," Sam said as he leaned back into the tub.
~|*|~
Sam yawned as he picked up the ringing phone.
"Yes?" he said sleepily.
"Brock, this is Misty," the voice on the other end replied. "I thought that maybe we could all go out for breakfast this morning."
"No thanks," Sam moaned. "I think I'll just sleep in a bit more."
"Okay," Misty replied.
Sam laid the phone back on the down and fell down on his pillow.
"You better get up and join them," Al snapped at them. "You never know when Team Rocket is going to show up."
Sam groaned as he picked himself up. "Can't I just get a little more sleep?"
"Go!" Al shouted.
"Fine," Sam said as he splashed some water on his face and got dressed. He walked out his door and saw Ash standing in front of Misty's room with Pikachu.
"Morning, Ash," Sam greeted.
"Good morning, Brock," Ash smiled. "I thought you were going to sleep in?"
"I decided I was hungry after all," Sam replied.
"Well, once Misty is ready," Ash told him as he knocked on her door, "we'll just go to the restaurant downstairs."
Sam nodded as he leaned against the wall opposite of the door. After about five minutes, the door opened. Misty walked out and was surprised to see Sam with Ash.
"Decided to join us other all?"
"Well, I guess I have to eat as much as sleep," Sam replied.
"I guess you're not the only one who thinks with his stomach," Misty smirked at Ash. Ash grumbled something under his breath, but Sam could not make it out. He followed after the pair as they continued to argue down the hall to the elevator.
~|*|~
Sam stared as Pikachu read over the menu. He figured it was simply mimicking Ash until it told Ash what it wanted, or at least, that was how Ash acted. Sam shook his head and looked at his own menu. After giving their order to waiter, Ash and Misty started discussing what they were going to do today.
"How about he go looking for pokémon," Ash suggested. "We could search just outside of town. I heard they may have some Venonats around here."
"Bugs?" Misty shouted. "You want to spend the whole day looking for bugs?"
"Well, do you have a better idea?" Ash snapped.
"Let's go shopping," she replied. "I could use some new clothes."
Ash sighed. He knew they needed to restock on supplies, but going shopping with Misty was like going through a battle zone.
"Brock, do you have any suggestions?" Ash asked, hoping his friend would be able to save them.
"Either is fine with me," Sam replied.
Misty smiled and cheered, "Shopping!"
Ash groaned as the waiter returned with their meals.
"Way to go, Brocko," he sighed.
~|*|~
Sam walked behind Ash as Misty jumped back and forth between displays. All ready, Ash was burden down with various shopping bags, and Sam managed to only have his own purchases.
"A little help would be nice," Ash told him.
"Why? She's your girlfriend," Sam unconsciously replied.
"She's not my girlfriend," he snapped.
Sam was surprised at that remark. He did not know why he had just said that, but Ash's response also puzzled him.
"Hey, guys," Misty called. "They have an electric pokémon recharge station over here."
"Good," Ash said as he walked up to her. "Pikachu could use a good charge. "
"Ka," Pikachu agreed.
They walked up to the stand where a man with a thick mustache and a woman with a red hair were handing a girl back a magnemite. "Next, the woman called."
"Here you go, Pikachu," Misty said as she place Pikachu on a circle in the center of stand. The man smiled as he placed a glass dome over top of the pokémon.
"We must be going now," the woman told them as the man picked up the caged pokémon. "Thanks for the gift, twerps."
"Hey, you're Te…" Ash shouted as he dropped all of Misty's bags.
"That's right, prepare for trouble," the woman shouted.
"And make it double," the man replied.
"To protect the world from devastation,"
"To unite all peoples within our nation,"
"To denounce the goodness of truth and love,"
"To extend our reach to the stairs above,"
The pair threw off their costumes to reveal white uniforms with a red R on their chests.
"Jessie,"
"James,"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light,"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight."
A cat popped up from the hole in the stand where the recharge ring had been. "Meowth, that's right!" it shouted.
Sam was very confused by all this but noticed Ash and Misty gritting their teeth.
"Give me back my Pikachu!" Ash shouted.
"Finders keepers," Jessie sang. "Meowth get us out of here."
"You got it," the cat replied as arms as a missile launcher popped out of the stand. It blasted a big hole in the roof of the mall. A giant Meowth's head balloon then popped out of the stand and Team Rocket jumped into the stand that was now a basket.
"See ya later, twerps," James waved as they lifted into the sky.
"That's what you think," Ash replied. "Go, Heracross!"
Ash threw a ball into the air and suddenly a giant beetle appeared. Sam had been reading more about these pokémon, but some of the things they did were simply unbelievable. He watched as the bug flew up to the escaping balloon.
"I'll bet he'll get a charge out of this," Meowth smirked as he pulled a lever in the basket. Suddenly, a bolt of lighting shot down the bug.
"Ah, return," Ash cried as the pointed the ball at the falling pokémon. It disappeared in a flash of light, and Ash pulled out another ball.
"Go, Chikorita," Ash cried as he tossed up the ball. "Use razor leaf!"
The pokémon appeared and shot two leaves at the balloon, but they were blasted by another lightning attack.
"Nice try," Jessie smirked. "But we won this time."
Ash gritted his teeth as he ran out of the mall to follow them.
"Come on, Brock," Misty said as she pulled on his arm.
Sam followed after her and hoped that he did not just mess up this leap.
~|*|~
"I can't find them anywhere," Ash cried as tears covered his face. They had chased after Team Rocket all day and were now camping somewhere in the woods.
"Don't worry, Ash," Misty said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sure we'll catch up to them and get Pikachu back."
Meanwhile, Sam was arguing with Al.
"I can't believe I just stood there and let them take Pikachu," Sam chided himself.
"Don't beat yourself over it too much, Sam," Al told his friend. "Ash here is more experienced with these guys then you are, and he lost. What we need to do now is figure out where Team Rocket has taken Pikachu."
Al began to flicker again.
"Gooshi, I could really need more power here," Al shouted. "I don't care if you have to reroute it from the Pentagon, I really need to help Sam out here."
Al's image began to stabilize a bit, and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Let me see what I can do here," Al said as he punched a few buttons on his remote. "I think they may be in that direction."
"Thanks, Al," Sam replied.
"Just don't screw this up," Al warned him. "I don't know if I can back until tomorrow morning."
"I'll remember that," Sam replied with a smile as he walked closer to camp.
"I think I may know where Team Rocket is," Sam told Ash and Misty.
"Where?" Ash demanded.
"Somewhere in that direction," Sam replied pointing off into the woods.
"What makes you think that?" Misty asked.
"I thought I saw some lights over there," Sam lied.
"What are we waiting for," Ash shouted at them. "Let's go rescue Pikachu!"
~|*|~
Jessie, James, and Meowth were sleeping around the dying campfire while Pikachu moaned in his glass cage. He had used up most of his energy trying to shock it open, but it did not work. A snap of a twig caught his attention as he saw a figure coming out of the woods. Once it had stepped in the light, he recognized who it was.
"Pikapi!" he cried.
"Shhh…" Ash shushed. "You don't want to wake them up."
Pikachu nodded as Ash picked up the cage and ran back into the woods where Misty and Sam were waiting for them.
"Okay, let's go," Sam instructed the others. They nodded and followed him back to camp.
The next morning, James woke up before the others. He looked over at their prize and screamed. Where Pikachu should have been was a stuffed Pikachu doll and a note.
"What's the matter with you?" Jessie shouted at her partner. He pointed over to the doll. Jessie was surprised to find the doll instead of the Pikachu they had stolen the day before. She took the note and read, "I figured since you want my Pikachu so much, I let you have him. Just take good care of Pika for me."
Jessie fumed as she balled up the note in her fist.
"I wonder if the boss you take it?" James commented as he picked it up. Jessie replied by knocking James out with a large rock from nearby.
~|*|~
"How you feeling?" Ash asked Pikachu when they came out of the pokémon center.
"Pi pika," he replied.
Ash smiled as he found Misty and Sam in the shade of a tree.
"Misty, thanks," he smiled at her.
"What for Ash?" she replied.
"For cheering me up last night," he told her. "I would have given up if it wasn't for you."
Misty blushed while Sam thought it best to leave the two alone. He walked off and found Al smoking a cigar.
"Hey, Sam. Good job last night," Al congratulated him. "Brock now becomes a pokémon breeder and makes several new medicines for pokémon."
"Then why haven't I leaped yet?" Sam asked.
"I don't know," Al shrugged as he began punching some buttons on the remote. "This is interesting."
"What?"
"Seems that those two lovebirds over there get married in about six years," Al replied.
Sam watched as Ash leaned forward and gave Misty a peck on her lips. A second later, he tried again, but Misty moved forward so it lasted much longer.
"Well, I'll be," Sam said as he was once again lost to the world of light.
~|*|~
The world of light quickly faded away as Dr. Sam Beckett found himself walking down a flight of stairs. Still dazed from the leap, his foot slipped and he nearly fell down if it was not for a man in a black suit catching him.
"Are you okay, Mr. President?" he asked.
"I'm fine," Sam replied until he saw his reflection in the man's dark sunglasses. An elderly man he recognized stared back at him.
"Oh boy," he exclaimed.