Ninth fiction uploaded. This fiction is the firt of a series of books I'm going to upload. It may take a long... arse... time... but I'll soldier on, being the plucky Brit that I am.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

It was a torrentially stormy night. Rain pelted the dirt like lead pellets, puddling the water-saturated ground in seconds. The 18 year old Pokémon Master was running through the forest between Pewter City and Cerulean City. Not from the rain. But from the shots. He was running for his life. Butch and Cassidy from Team Rocket had decided that they were going to aim for capturing Ash's Pikachu, and not mess around about it, like Jessie, James and Meowth. He called Brock and Misty on his X-transceiver for backup, but backup looked pretty much impossible. Brock and Misty were in Vermillion City at the time, and may not be able to reach the forest in time to help him. Even with the pounding of his heart feeling like it was cracking each bone in his ribcage, one by one, he kept on running, determined to save Pikachu. Suddenly, however, he came to a cliff edge. Down in the canyon below, the river was raging like a Gyarados with a hernia. Ash daren't look down too long. In seconds, Butch and Cassidy were in front of him. Butch clutched a pretty brutal-looking Kimber Custom pistol in his hand. This looked like the end of the youthful master.

"ASH!" He spun round to see Brock and Misty on the other side of the canyon, looking horrified at the sight that greeted them. They were here on time. But, it was in time to watch his demise. Ash didn't care that his life was coming to a close, but he had to prevent any other possible deaths. He unclipped his belt, on which were his other 5 pokéballs.

"BROCK! CATCH!" He yelled over the storm, and threw his belt towards Brock, who caught it, with expert timing.

"Hand over the rat, twerp!" Cassidy screeched over the exploding raindrop impact noises. "Do that, and we'll let you live." Ash shot them a glare that said 'Over my dead body!' and prepared to catapult Pikachu over the canyon to safety.

"Bad call, twerp!" Butch snarled, venomously, and fired a single shot.

As soon as the shot was fired, Misty – instinctively – shut her eyes as tight as she could. Brock could only stare in horror and terror as he watched the .45 ACP cartridge drive into the left side of Ash's back, and tear out of him on the right of his body. Being a Pokémon doctor by now, Brock knew that this will have ripped his solar plexus to Hell. He saw Ash's body convulse violently as the unforgiving shell tore him inside out. He saw the blood stutter from his jaws, and even more blood streaming from his stomach, staining his clothes within seconds. And that look in his eye. Arceus, he'd never forget the sight of the young boy's life fading out of those, once-bright, chocolate shaded eyes. Then, the master and his faithful Pikachu plummeted to the torrent below. By now, Misty's eyes were glued open. She saw the life drain from her secret love's body, and watched his drop to death.

"ASH!" They screamed, as Cassidy and Butch cackled in victory, not caring that they hadn't retrieved Pikachu. Having destroyed Team Rocket's ultimate enemy was prize enough for them. Brock and Misty raced to the river, down a sloping piece of land that reached down there. They searched, frantically, for Ash, hoping he was clinging on to life. All they could find, however, was his favourite jacket. He had gone back to wearing his original designs of clothes, although he had to have the jacket remade, as he outgrew the last one. The once-blue body warmer was now stained deep puce with Ash's blood. He was lost forever.

Far away in the mountain ranges of Mt. Silver:

"Are you sure?" Asked the sceptical man, who was sitting in a very imposing chair, stroking the neck of his loyal Persian.

"Yes, boss." Came Cassidy's reply over the phone. "One times Ash Ketchum deceased."

"Yeah." Butch piped up. "And he's dead, too." The sound of a heavy thud was heard, as Cassidy punched Butch around the head. "Owwww…" He moaned.

An evil grin spread over the boss' face.

"Excellent." He crowed. "Well done, you two. Now that the number one enemy of Team Rocket is dead… there's nothing to stop our plans advancing anymore. Starting tomorrow… Rockets will rise!"

To be continued in: 'When He Falls, Rockets Will Rise: Book 1- Kanto Colours Fade'.