Walking on Water
A Pokemon fanfiction by Kasumi Todoh
Chapter 1
That same day, on the outskirts of the village of Cedarville, the sun was shining brightly, and a warm breeze was rustling the leaves of the trees in a nearby forest, and bending the grass in the field just beyond that. It was like something out of a nature painting, and was so beautiful it seemed that nothing could ruin the peaceful mood this scene portrayed.
Well, almost nothing.
"Are you sure we're not lost?" Misty shouted to the black-haired boy in the blue coat and jeans that was walking a few steps ahead of her.
"Of course I'm sure," Ash Ketchum snapped as he glanced back at his redheaded sometimes-friend. "I know exactly where we're going."
Misty shifted Togepi, her baby egg Pokemon, to a more comfortable position in her arms. "I've heard that before."
"Now, now." Ash and Misty's other friend, Brock, quickly stepped between the two and pulled a map out of his backpack. "According to this map, just past those trees is Cedarville. We should be able to stop there and stock up on supplies."
"Does this place have a Pokemon gym?" Ash inquired. "Pikachu and I are always ready to get in a little extra training." At that moment, Pikachu, a small yellow mouse Pokemon of the electric type, jumped up on its master's shoulder and nodded with an agreeing, "Pika."
Misty snorted in disgust. "You know, there is more to life than just Pokemon training, Ash."
"Speak for yourself, Misty," Ash taunted. "I haven't seen you doing much training lately, except maybe in your bra size."
"Why, you little...!" Misty rushed towards him, swinging one fist in the air.
"Unfortunately," Brock quickly jumped in again, "Cedarville's just a small little village, so it doesn't have a gym, or anything really special. However, it does have a Pokemon Centre, so at least we can get a place to stay for the night."
"That's good," Misty replied. "I'm not too keen about spending another night outside." Although all three trainers carried sleeping bags for just such a situation, since Misty's main outfit was a yellow tube top, blue denim shorts and red suspenders, she tended to get a little colder than her male counterparts, who both wore t-shirts and long pants. On top of that, Misty had also noticed some dark clouds were gathering ominously on the horizon. "The sooner we get there, the better."
"Well, what are we waiting for, then?" Ash called out suddenly. "The last one to Cedarville is a rotten egg!" With that, he started running toward the forest, with Pikachu alongside him.
"Hey, Ash, wait for us!" Brock and Misty quickly ran to catch up with their friend.
Then there was a started shout, and all of a sudden, Ash was no longer there. Brock and Misty rushed over to discover Ash and Pikachu laying the bottom of a deep hole, battered and bruised, but none the worse for wear.
"This seems awfully familiar," Misty mused as Brock helped to pull them out of the hole.
As if on cue, laughter suddenly rang across the field, followed by a girl's voice shouting, "Prepare for trouble!"
A second voice, this time a boy, added, "And make it double!"
Then two figures dropped from out of nowhere and landed in front of them. Both were similarly dressed, wearing dark-grey gloves and boots, black undershirts and white shirts with a red letter R over top of that. Yet there were also equally plain differences to the outfits. The girl's gloves and boots were higher than the boy's, reaching her elbows and knees. Her shirt also came up past her bellybutton, and she wore a matching white miniskirt. She had green circle earrings, blue eyes, and long red hair that tipped up at the end in a permanent, gravity-defying curl.
The boy's shirt was more of a traditional length, and he was wearing white pants instead of a skirt. He also had short blue hair and green eyes. Both the boy and the girl appeared to be in their late teens.
"To protect the world from devastation," the girl announced, striking a pose.
"To unite all peoples within our nation," the boy added, also striking a pose.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now or prepare to fight!"
At that moment, a cat Pokemon jumped down on two feet and added, "Meowth, that's right!"
Then there was a loud popping sound, and a large blue blob Pokemon with four legs, two arms and tail with a face on it materialized in front of them. It promptly saluted them, and said, "Waaa-buffet."
Jessie was furious. "I didn't call you, Wabuffet! Get back in your Poke-ball this instant!" With that, she pulled her Poke-ball and pressed the button on the front. A red beam of light shot out, and Wabuffet disappeared back inside the Poke-ball.
The three trainers and Pikachu were not impressed. "Okay, this is getting really old," Ash muttered.
"So this is just another typical day for you guys, huh?" Misty asked.
"Well, today we're feeling especially lucky," Meowth stated with a sly grin. "So you'd better kiss your Pikachu goodbye!"
"I guess we'd better send 'em packing again, Pikachu," Ash sighed. Pikachu nodded, then jumped down on all fours in front of Team Rocket, and prepared to fire a Thunder Shock attack at them.
Then, all of a sudden, it stopped. Its long pointed ears twitched several times, and with a questioning, "Pi?" its gaze went to the sky and stayed there.
"I think Pikachu hears something," Ash said.
A moment later, Misty replied, "Wait. Now I hear something, too. It almost sounds like several helicopters, all coming at once."
"It's coming this way," Brock added, "and coming fast."
"It's getting closer," Ash muttered. "I wonder what it is."
"Hey! Nobody ignores Team Rocket!" James shouted, shaking a fist. When it became clear that was exactly what was happening, he reached for the Poke-ball containing his Weezing.
Until a large shadow descended over them.
What appeared to be a large castle suspended by propellers now hovered in the air directly above them, blocking out the sun. It was huge and awesome-looking, everyone on the ground could do little more than gawk at it. There was a large dome in the middle of the structure and in it stood a man, watching them. Although he was quite far away, Ash and Misty both recognized the spiky green hair and the purple-and-magenta-striped coat he was wearing.
"Lawrence!" they gasped together.
From the fortress control centre, Lawrence looked down at Team Rocket. "Those three are of no use to me. Dispose of them, then proceed to capture the target."
"Yes, sir," the computer answered.
The cannon atop one of the turrets turned and fired a direct shot at where Team Rocket stood. It blasted them high into the air, and one unified cry of, "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off already!" could be heard as they disappeared into the horizon.
Ash snapped out of his little daze just in time to notice that the cannon on the other turret had swung around and was now pointing straight at them.
"Hit the deck!" he shouted. Ash, Misty, Brock and Pikachu all dove in separate directions as the spot where they'd been standing exploded in a shower of dirt and grass. Pikachu was the first to recover, rolling onto all fours, bolts of electricity crackling first from the orange circles on its cheeks, then from its entire body, and aiming at cannons.
"Pi-ka-chuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!"
But the cannons were too high up and too far away. Even Pikachu's strongest Thunder Bolt couldn't reach them. The next shot blew the startled Pokemon straight into Ash's arms.
"That isn't going to work, Pikachu." He turned to Brock and Misty. "We'll have to make a run for it!"
"Head for the trees!" Brock shouted. "We can lose him in the forest!"
They starting running towards the forest, trying to dodge the explosions that were still being fired at them. Lawrence just smiled. "Don't think I'm going to let you get away that easily."
Just as they were almost to safety, Misty's red shoulder bag slipped off and landed on the ground as she ran. Quickly, she shoved Togepi into Brock's arms, then turned around and ran back.
"Misty, don't!" Brock cried. "It's too dangerous!"
"I have to!" she shouted back. "My Poke-balls are in there!"
At that moment, a small hatch in the bottom of the fortress opened up and three large metal rings dropped down. Misty didn't see them, but Ash and Pikachu did.
"Pikachupi!"
"Misty, look out!"
Their warnings came too late. The first ring grabbed Misty from behind, clamping around her arms and pinning them to her sides. The other two rings quickly followed, latching on to her legs above and below her knees, holding them together. Now completely immobilized, she fell to the ground. Then the rings began to slowly rise into the air again, taking Misty with them.
"Misty!" Ash ran forward and launched himself into the air in a desperate attempt to grab her. But Misty was already too high, and he missed, landing on his face and skidding several inches across the ground.
"Pikapi!" Pikachu quickly ran to its fallen trainer, with Brock right behind, still carrying Togepi.
"Ash, are you all right?"
Ash couldn't take his eyes of Misty, who struggling to get free and calling out for help as she was pulled into the open hatch and disappeared into the fortress. Then the hatch closed, and the airship lifted off into the clouds and was gone.
"MISTY!!!"
**************
From the top of a tall pine tree several miles away, Meowth watched the scene unfold with interest.
"Well, what's going on?" Jessie demanded impatiently as she and James sat perched on another branch below it.
"Looks like that flyin' air castle nabbed one of the twerps," the cat reported.
"Can you see which one got taken?" James asked.
Meowth shook its head. "Nuh-uh. It's too far away to tell."
"This could prove interesting," Jessie mused. "If we play our cards right, we could have Pikachu and those brats falling right into our laps."
"So, we're going to follow them, then?" James asked.
"Of course we are," Jessie snapped back. "Quick, to the balloon!"
At that moment, there was a loud cracking sound, and the branch which Jessie and James were sitting on suddenly became separated from the tree. With a sweatdrop on its forehead, Meowth watched as the two disappeared beneath the lower foliage, screaming all the way.
"Sooner than they think, apparently."
______________________________________________________________________________
Suspenseful, huh? Betcha couldn't tell who the "target" was really going to be, could you?
Man, I can't believe I finished this chapter in just two days. That's gotta be a new record for me. That's also two updates in one week. Another personal record. Dare I push it even further and try to put out another chapter this week? We shall see.
Also, for those of you may be wondering, there is no village named Cedarville in either the game or the anime. That's one of the only parts I made up.
Read and review, please.
Kasumi Todoh
