Episode 24: Blown Away!
Episode 24 in my Fan Fiction series about the Pokémon journey of Ash and Angie. Involves some MorpheusShipping (Ash and Angie liking each other) so if you don't like that idea, stop reading here. The rest, I hope you enjoy this fan-fiction.
Today the weather had changed a lot since the heat of the previous days. It was still quite warm, but the sky was all clouded over.
"I don't like the looks of that, guys..." Tracey remarked, as they were busy breaking up their tents.
"Pika..." Ash's Pokémon uttered as it stared at the sky.
"What's wrong Pikachu?" Ash asked.
"I think it senses that the weather is going to change," Angie explained, "Pokémon often feel that, sometimes even long before we notice it."
After swimming in the lake yesterday, they had discovered a path nearby, with a sign that read "V ri n C y" in very weathered and vague writing. Although the sign was clearly very old, it was very likely it indicated the direction to Viridian City, so they decided to follow the path. As they were going, the weather started to get worse. Some raindrops could be felt, and soon it started to rain much harder.
"We have to find a shelter somewhere," Tracey suggested, "or we'll get soaked in no time."
"Right!" Ash and Angie both agreed.
The forest was however not that dense in this area, and sometimes they could see lightning in the sky, so hiding underneath a tree wasn't the smartest thing to do. Then Angie noticed a small shed, just a few hundred meters away from the path. They ran towards it, and opened the door...
"It looks deserted..." Ash remarked, "but I can hardly see anything with those shutters closed."
"Let me handle that," Angie replied, as she sent out her Shinx, and asked it to do Flash.
That did really help, now they could see much better. It was clearly an old barn, probably used for storage once. The wind outside was clearly getting stronger, causing the barn to make some cracking noises as the wind was beating against the sides. There was a lot of dust everywhere, and Ash had to sneeze because of it.
"Gesundheit!" they suddenly heard from a corner of the room.
"Ssssshhht!" They heard another voice say.
"Is someone there...?" Ash asked, a bit scared, "Angie, can you ask Shinx to shine in that corner?"
"Right, Ash," and Angie did as Ash requested.
Shinx illuminated the corner from which the voices had been coming. Suddenly our friends saw who these belonged to.
"Team Rocket!" Ash and his companions shouted.
"Twerps!" Jessie, James and Meowth yelled.
"We found this shelter first, you go find your own!" Jessie sneered.
"Yes, take a hike!" Meowth added.
"But... it is really bad weather outside guys..." James objected, "can't we send them away when the storm is over?"
"Shut up, James!" Jessie shouted, not amused at his objections.
"Yes, can't we have a truce for as long as the storm is raging?" Ash proposed.
"We don't make deals with twerps!" Jessie shouted again, and she sent out her Seviper.
"Okay, if you want a battle you can have it!" Ash reacted, "Pikachu, do Thunderbolt!"
But before Ash's Pokémon could perform it's attack, they heard more cracking noise, and suddenly the roof was lifted up by the storm. Everyone had to hold on to something, in order not to get sucked into the vortex of the whirlwind that was now right above the barn. Jessie's Seviper had it's tail wound around a bar, that was fastened to the wall, and Jessie held on to it. James was holding Jessie by one of her legs, and Meowth was hanging on to one of James's boots. Ash, Tracey and Angie were also trying hard no to get sucked up by the whirlwind. There were a few supports in the middle of the room, and these were connected to the frame on which the roof had rested, before it was blown away. Tracey held on to one of them, and Ash and Angie were clinging to the other one. Angie managed to get her Shinx into it's Poké Ball, but Ash's Pikachu was holding on to his backpack, with all it's force. It's paws started losing grip, so it had to use it's teeth as well, to desperately hold on to Ash. Then the boot Meowth was holding on to, slipped of James's foot, and Meowth was blown upwards, into the storm. The boot was also sucked in, but before that happened, it hit Pikachu, forcing it to let go, and Pikachu was also sucked up by the storm!
"No! Pikachu!!" Ash yelled, as he let go off the support he was holding.
"Ash, no!" Angie shouted, and she grabbed him with her right hand, "there is nothing you can do! You won't help Pikachu by putting yourself in danger!"
"Let me go!" Ash replied, but he realized Angie was right, and with her help, managed to pull himself back to the pillar.
"Pikachu!! Pikachuuu!!!" Ash cried in despair, as a tear formed in the corner of his eye.
"Meowth! You come back here right now!" Jessie yelled, as if Meowth even had a chance of simply walking back.
Then, as sudden as the whirlwind had struck the barn, it disappeared, and only the rain falling through the opening where the roof once was, reminded them of the dangerous events of less than a minute ago. Ash pulled his cap over his eyes, and fell down on his knees. Angie sat down beside him, and put her arm around him, to provide some comfort.
"We'll get Pikachu back, Ash," she whispered to him, as she held Ash tight.
"Where is Meowth!?" Jessie yelled at James.
"I don't know..." James answered, looking a bit numb because of their Pokémon partner gone missing, "he couldn't hold on to my boot when the whirlwind hit us..."
"You mean... he blasted away without us?" Jessie said, with a slightly emotional tone in her voice.
Everyone stepped outside, but there wasn't a trace of Meowth or Pikachu. The rain had stopped now, and there were even some openings forming in the clouded sky.
"Pikachu!" Ash called, "Pikachu, where are you buddy!?"
Angie and Tracey also called Ash's Pokémon a few times, but there was no response. Jessie and James tried to call their Pokémon friend, but still to no avail. Then Jessie and James walked towards each other and started whispering. Ash and his friends noticed it, and also came close together, expecting some attack or other foul plan of their opponents. The two remaining Team Rocket members stopped whispering and faced Ash, Angie and Tracey.
"Uhm... I think we should...uh.... work together..." Jessie proposed, although it clearly cost her a lot of trouble to say those words.
"You what!?" Ash said, surprised and angry at the same time, "after all the trouble you caused us in the past?"
"It's simple. You want to find Pikachu, we want Meowth back," Jessie explained, "and since the storm could have blown them away almost anywhere and this is a large area, we can cover much more ground when we combine our searching efforts. My Yanmega can help searching from the sky for example."
"As much as I also dislike the idea of teaming up with them, she has a point," Angie said to Ash, and Tracey nodded to show he agreed with this.
"Okay, fine. But no dirty tricks or else..." Ash threatened.
"We? Dirty tricks? No way! We swear on Meowth's tail, okay?" Jessie answered.
"Deal! Now let's get on with the searching!" Ash said, eager to get his little friend back.
Jessie sent out her Yanmega, while Ash chose Staravia. Tracey used both his Scyther, to look from the sky, as well as Marill and Venonat, his tracking Pokémon, to search on the ground. Meanwhile, some distance from where Ash, his friends and his temporal allies were, a drop of water fell on the face of a familiar yellow Pokémon.
"Pika..." a weak voice said.
"Ah, you're awake again," Meowth replied.
But at the same time the feline Pokémon thought "this is my chance to grab that little Pokémon battery while it is still weak, hehehehehe." Meowth raised it's paws and walked with a vicious smile on his face towards Pikachu. But then Meowth heard a strange sound, that came from somewhere around them, making him shiver. "On second thought, it might come in handy to have Pikachu around when we meet some other, stronger Pokémon..." and Meowth decided to let go of his "let's steal Pikachu plans" for the moment.
"Are you feeling okay?" Meowth asked, "wait, I think I have a cookie somewhere. I wanted to save it, to share it with Jessie and James, but since they are not here..."
"Pika... pikachu?"Ash's Pokémon reacted, surprised at this sudden unusually friendly behavior of the catlike Pokémon.
"Go on, take it, it's not a trick, you know," Meowth tried to assure Pikachu, as he offered half a cookie to it.
"Pika...? Pika!" Pikachu answered as it accepted the food.
"Now I don't suppose you have any idea where we landed, right?" Meowth asked.
"Chu..." Pikachu replied as it bent down it's head.
"Well, then we'd better get moving and try to find the main road again," Meowth suggested, and they started walking.
Back to where our friends were, the search for Pikachu and Meowth still went on.
"What do you mean you didn't see anything!?" Jessie sneered at Yanmega, "keep on looking and don't come back until you find Meowth!"
"Jessie, it almost seems like you care for our feline friend," James said, surprised at this display of determination by Jessie to find Meowth.
"Huh?" Jessie reacted surprised, as James was staring at her. "No way, I just bet he has some hidden supply of food with him, and is eating it all by himself!" she ranted, but deep inside she was also worried about what happened to Meowth.
After a while, they had still not discovered any trace of the missing Pokémon, and Ash started to give up hope a little. Angie noticed this, and came to his side.
"You shouldn't give up Ash," she tried to encourage him, "remember that Pikachu is a strong Pokémon."
"Thanks..." Ash replied, as he looked into her eyes, "I needed that."
"Guys, I may have an idea how we can find Pikachu," Tracey said, "and Meowth," he quickly added as he noticed Jessie glaring at him.
"How?" Ash asked.
"Well, it seems the whirlwind damaged a lot of trees as it went by," Tracey explained, "if we follow the trail of trees that are damaged, we have a pretty good idea of the path the whirlwind took, and we may find traces of our missing Pokémon along that path."
"Excellent idea!" Angie said as she complimented Tracey with it.
"Hmmm, even I have to admit that is pretty smart for a twerp," Jessie admitted.
So they followed the trail of broken branches and trees that apparently had taken a beating from the whirlwind, when suddenly Tracey's Venonat stopped.
"Did you see something?" Tracey informed.
"Venonat...venonat!" the bug Pokémon enthusiastically uttered, as it raced forward towards a few bushes.
"What is it?" Ash asked as they came closer.
"Hey, that's my missing boot!" James shouted, "I'm so glad I found you again! Ah.. that's much better!" he said, as he put it on again.
"Do you know what that means?" Jessie asked.
"Of course, now I can walk straight again," James answered, oblivious to what Jessie was hinting at.
"No, it means we are getting closer to Meowth, you fool!" she yelled at him.
"She's right Ash," Angie said, "maybe now is a good time to let Staravia fly up again and check if it can see something."
"Staravia, go up and see if you can find Pikachu!" Ash ordered.
"Yanmega, you do the same!" Jessie added.
"Pikachu!" Ash called, "Pikachuuu!!"
"Meowth! If you can hear us, say something!" James shouted.
Not too far away from there, Pikachu's ears twitched a little.
"Pika!" it cried, "Pipika...pikachu!"
"Huh?" Meowth responded, "you say you heard your twe... I mean trainer?"
"Pikachu!" the little yellow Pokémon answered, while nodding.
"Jessie! James! Over here!" Meowth yelled.
At the same time, Tracey's Marill seemed to have picked up some sounds, and started running off.
"Here we go again!" Ash shouted as he tried to keep up with the fast Pokémon.
"Pikachu!" Angie yelled, while running closely behind Ash.
"Pikaaa!" they all suddenly heard from the distance.
"Pikachu? Is that you buddy?" Ash yelled, with his eyes sparkling.
They came around a bend in the path, and there they saw Meowth and Pikachu.
"Are you alright?" Ash asked, and Pikachu raised it's right paw to indicate it was fine.
"Okay, now that we've found our missing friends, it's time for Plan B!" Jessie stated, with a devious smile. "James, I said it's time for Plan B, what's keeping you so long!?"
"Just a moment, dear," James answered as he was wrestling with the controls on a little box he was holding, "this is usually Meowth's job. Ah, there it is!"
Suddenly a net fell down from the sky, and covered Pikachu.
"Hey, what is the meaning of this?" Ash shouted.
"Hahahaha!" Jessie laughed, "since we now have what we were looking for, our deal is off."
"Is that your way of thanking us for our help!?" Angie yelled, angry because of this sudden betrayal.
"Uh James... now would be a good time to send our balloon down, so we can escape..." Jessie said, acting a bit nervous.
"Hmmmpfff, I can't find the right button," James explained.
"Give me that!" Meowth snapped at James, "before you break something, like your brains or so."
Meowth sent the balloon down, and the three villains hopped in.
"You're not getting away with this!" Ash shouted, "Pikachu, hang in there! I'll get you out!"
"Ash, I'll help you!" Angie added, "Bulbasaur, come out and do Razor Leaf on that net!"
"Hah, like that's gonna work," Jessie mocked, "we have a net that is resistant to any sharp object, so you might as well give up now."
Bulbasaur's sharp leaves hit the net, and... cut it into little pieces, releasing Pikachu.
"But... how is that possible?" Jessie wondered.
"Well, it seems James pressed the wrong button, and this was the net that can only absorb electric attacks," Meowth explained.
"I told you that it was Meowth's job to operate these things," James defended himself, covering his head with his arm at the same time, to shield it from the blow he was expecting Jessie to give him.
"Hey... Team Rocket!" Ash shouted, "I think Pikachu wants to thank you for your help!"
"Huh!?" all three members responded.
"Pikachuuuu!!!" was the next thing they heard, as a vicious Thunderbolt hit their balloon, and caused it to explode.
"Well, at least we are complete again..." Jessie sighed.
"And I have my boot back," James said, smiling.
"Will you stop talking about that stupid boot, or I'll make you feel mine!" Jessie sneered.
"Thanks for coming for me guys," Meowth said, "so now we can be together as..."
"...we're blasting off again!" all three yelled together, as they disappeared in the distance.
Pikachu jumped into Ash's arms and Ash gave it a big hug.
"Great to have you back, buddy!" Ash said, "Thanks for your help, Angie."
"Any time Ash, you know that," she answered, as she blushed slightly at this praise.
"And your Pokémon were also a great help, Tracey," Ash continued.
"No problem, Ash. I'm glad we could help get Pikachu back," Tracey answered, "but it seems like the weather is okay again, shall we go on?"
"Right!" Ash and Angie both said simultaneously.
And our heroes continued walking along the path that seemed to be leading to Viridian City, hoping to finally reach their next destination soon...
My 30th fan-fiction story. I apologize for any typing errors, or grammatically not 100% correct sentences. Remember, I am not a native English speaker or writer. I tried to make this story as close to the Pokémon series as possible, so that the characters will react roughly the same in this fictional story as they do in the series. Comments are always welcome, you can use the review function on this FanFiction site for that.
Disclaimer: I do not own or claim to own any trademarks of Pokémon. Any similarities to the works of others is purely accidental, and not meant as an infringement on anyone's achievements.