(Continued)
ÒNo!Ó Misty screamed as she and Tracy threw themselves over Ash to protect him from the rampaging dragon pokemon.
Pikachu leapt between Charizard and the children. ÒPika! Kachu pi pika!Ó(Stop! YouÕre gonna hurt someone!) Charizard didnÕt back off. In fact, its eyes seemed to light up when it spotted Pikachu and it roared a challenge. Pikachu didnÕt know what was going on, one moment it was sleeping, the next it was under attack by a deranged Charizard. It tried to power up for an attack, but Charizard took advantage of the electric mouseÕs confusion and let loose a powerful fire spin attack.
ÒPikachu!Ó Tracy cried in fear, for this wasnÕt CharizardÕs usual attack. This wasnÕt the short, basically painless burst the dragon used on Ash now and again to act out. Nor was it the strong but carefully controlled flame used in actual battle. Charizard had thrown everything it had at Pikachu and didnÕt seem to care if it was hurt or not.
When the flames receded, Pikachu swayed for a moment and then fell over. Charizard bellowed a victory cry and swooped in to claim its prize. It landed next to the unconscious pokemon and then it looked over at Jessie and James who had, until this moment, been watching with open mouthed horror. ÒCharizard?Ó It asked.
Meowth gasped, shocked. Though he supposed that he shouldnÕt be....what Charizard had just done...it only made sense.
ÒWhat did it say?Ó Jessie whispered fearfully.
ÒUm....it...it wants to know what weÕre waitin for.Ó
ÒWhat...?Ó Jessie replied, confused. Then, it hit her. Charizard was waiting for her, James and Meowth to grab Pikachu.
Misty came to the same realization as Jessie did. ÒI KNEW it!Ó she yelled, sitting up. ÒI knew you were just waiting for your chance to try to take Pikachu!Ó
Jessie just stood there staring at Misty. She opened her mouth to answer, but nothing would come out. She was shocked by the recent events, angry at the accusations, dismayed by how ruthlessly Pikachu had been dispatched and overwhelmed by a rushing tide of so many other emotions that she was rendered speechless.
ÒChar?Ó(Well?) Charizard demanded more forcefully, eyes narrowing suspiciously at the Team Rocket members.
It was James who made the first move. ÒWheezing! Smog attack!Ó he cried, throwing the pokeball into the air. Misty flinched and instinctively leaned over Ash to cover him, expecting the attack to be directed at them. She was amazed when the cloud of poisonous gas engulfed Charizard. ÒMeowth! Quick, get Pikachu away from Charizard!Ó James continued.
Misty turned and looked at Tracy in bewilderment. What was happening, she wondered. Could James be trying to save Pikachu? From Charizard? The whole situation was just too unreal.
Charizard flapped its wings forcefully, driving the smog away. Meowth, vulnerable now that his cover was gone abandoned his rescue attempt for an attack. He leapt up to fury swipe the dragon. Charizard whirled around and caught Meowth with its tail, sending him flying.
The sound of the cat pokemon hitting the ground snapped Jessie out of her shock induced trance. ÒArbok!Ó she called, tossing her pokeball toward the dragon, ÒGo underground!Ó
ÒWheezing! Sludge attack! Go for the eyes!Ó James directed. ÒMeowth....are you ok? Good! Try again to get Pikachu.Ó He said, seeing the cat pokemon raise to his feet and give him the thumbs up.
Misty was amazed, in a million years she never would have thought that Team Rocket would be helping to protect Pikachu. Of course, I never thought Charizard would ever attack Pikachu either, she added. Then, she lunged toward the packs and grabbed her pokeballs and TracyÕs. Tossing Tracy his, she released Staryu. ÒStaryu, help them! Watergun attack against Charizard!Ó She cried.
Tracy caught the pokeballs and called out Merril and Scyther. ÒMerril, use your watergun attack too! Scyther, help Meowth get Pikachu out of there!Ó
Charizard dodged the watergun attacks and sludge attack but before it could retaliate, Arbok burst out of the ground, knocking it aside. The dragon pokemon raised itself back up and prepared to attack the cobra, but then it noticed Scyther and Meowth approaching Pikachu. It roared angrily and dove toward them, ignoring the water blasts that Merril and Staryu tried to dissuade it with.Charizard snatched Pikachu up and rose into the air with it. It turned toward Team Rocket and snarled, then it flew away.
Misty got up and chased a short distance after the dragon. ÒCome back here! Charizard! Come back here with Pikachu!Ó She screamed, but Charizard didnÕt even look back...it grew smaller and smaller in the distance and finally disappeared out of sight. The others joined her, staring where Charizard had gone...but only three of them knew where it was that Charizard had to have gone. Jessie, James and Meowth looked at each other with a great deal of fear in their eyes. Charizard had taken Pikachu to the Boss.
ÒHey.....whats going on?Ó A soft, weak voice behind them asked. They whirled around, surprised.
ÒAsh!Ó Misty and Tracy both cried at the same time as they rushed over to his side. ÒHowÕre you feeling?Ó Tracy asked. He knelt on one side of Ash and Misty knelt on the other. Tracy thought he was going to cry, he felt so relieved. Ash was awake. He looked over at Misty and saw that she was crying. He could see that she was just as relieved as he was.
ÒLike I was squished by a Rhyhorn.Ó Ash replied. Then he started coughing, and the relief that Tracy and Misty felt faded. The cough was bad....deep and thick sounding and when Ash moved his hand away, there were flecks of blood on it. He lay for a moment...trying to catch his breath. ÒWhat happened?Ó he asked, his voice even softer than before.
ÒYou were squished by a Rhyhorn.Ó Misty said, trying to not to let him hear her fear. She lay her hand on AshÕs sweaty forehead and felt her heart drop even further. Ash was warm...too warm.
ÒYouÕre crying!Ó Ash said, amazed....then after a moment, ÒHow bad is it?Ó
ÒNot as bad as it wasÓ Tracy interjected, noticing that Misty was at a loss. ÒYouÕve got some broken ribs, youÕve lost a lot of blood and youÕve got a nasty bump on your head...but you are really stubborn.Ó He grinned slightly.
Ash relaxed a bit. He hurt all over, especially his leg. His chest felt heavy, like when Pikachu fell asleep on it and breathing deeply seemed to make him cough. Tracy said he was doing better though, so maybe it wasnÕt as bad as it felt. Something was missing though, and he tried foggily to think of what it was.ÒWhereÕs Pikachu?Ó he asked, turning his head slowly to look for his friend. Thats when he noticed Team Rocket standing together a short distance away.
ÒWhatÕre they doing here? WhereÕs Pikachu!Ó Ash demanded, struggling to sit up. His exertions caused him to begin coughing again. Misty and Tracy tried to calm him down, but even as he was wracked with painful coughs, he frantically tried to sit up.
ÒNo Ash!Ó Misty pleaded, ÒThey helped us! They helped you! You wouldnÕt be alive now if it werenÕt for them! They even tried to help Pikachu!Ó She gasped slightly, realizing that sheÕd said too much.
Ash stopped trying to sit up and fought to halt the coughing. After a short while, he succeeded. Laying still, gasping shallowly for air he stared at Misty who busied herself wiping the blood from around his mouth. As soon as he could, he asked again ÒWhere is Pikachu?Ó
To Be Continued....