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"Mew!" Ash cried out, directing the dragon down towards the balloon. Jessie cried out and clutched at her Arboks pokéball. Dragonite roared, and Misty cheered, until Charizard followed the other Dragons decent, despite as she tried to pull him up. Charizard was very competitive… always had been.
"Drag! Drag drag onite!"
Mew squealed slightly as the balloon lurched in a strong wing… or something else? Something seemed to be pulling the balloon away at an alarming rate. "Dragonite, get that balloon!" Ash said above the rushing wind, and Dragonite tipped on its side, Ash clutching onto the scaled neck trying to hold on. Agility sprung in, and they slowly began to catch up to the balloon.
Dragonites claw hooked up in the fabric, tearing it slightly, and the balloon came to a sudden, jerking halt, Dragonite began to fly backwards, dragging the balloon with it.
"Let us go twerp! Meowth, get that Dragonite!" "Meooww!" Meowth clambered up over the basket rail, and jumped off onto Dragonites tail as it swung past. Within seconds Meowth had reached Ash on top of the Dragonite, and was letting his claws slide out
"Remember, don't hurt the kid!" James called up, and Meowth grumbled in annoyance, jumping down past Ash, to Dragonites paw, ready to begin slashing.
"Wait!" Ash said "What do you want?" There seemed to be a proper purpose in Team Rockets actions today.
James looked up from the basket to the boy on a dragon, before answering "Boss wants this Mew!" Ash groaned. Well, duh. Why not hurt me then? Mew answered him almost instantly 'Well, if they hurt you, they hurt me… and I fear they are not just after me, but the both of us. Go Ash, get out of here!'
Ash shook his head slowly "No! Dragonite, down!" With a rush of air, Dragonite folded her great wings to her sides, and they plummeted down, Ash felt his organs leave, but still gripped Dragonites neck.
"Waaahhhh!!" Meowth moaned, loosing his footing on the balloons fabric and remaining suspended in the air for a moment as the rest of them fell.
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"Did you see where they went Brock?" Misty asked, Charizard scanning the trees below, and Pidgeot too, scanning with strong eyes.
"Nope. I saw Dragonite attack the balloon, I blinked, and they where gone" He replied, peering down. The ground was awfully far away. He liked rock and earth much better than the air.
"We'll have to keep looking then…" Misty said, more to herself. She raised a finger to her lips for a moment, then back to her sides as Charizard began to move slowly again.
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"Let Mew go!" Ash said, facing off against Team Rocket on the ground, while he sat on Dragonites back still. There was a wail from above and they all looked up. Meowth was flailing in the air, claws swiping back and fourth. Ash tried not to laugh, and almost choked. Predicting the speed of the fall, Dragonites neck snapped out, and she grabbed the Meowth in her teeth, straight out of the air.
"Letmego letmego!" Dragonite, heeding the cat for once, opened her maw, and Meowth fell with a thump to the ground and scrambled over to Jessie and James.
"Just come with us twerp, if you know what's good for you" Jessie said, lifting up the jar with Mew in it, and giving the glass bottle a little shake. Ash clutched at his head, feeling dizzy. Dragonite roared threateningly, opening and closing her jaws, teeth clanging.
"Draaaaaaaaggg!" A clawed foot was stamped onto the ground, Jessie tripped over, and the jar flew from her grasp.
"Mew, now!" Ash yelled, watching the glass shatter from the attack force of Mew's psychic, and Mew flew up to him, landing on Dragonites head. Jessie groaned as James offered her a hand up, glaring at Ash angrily. "C'mon, let's go Jessie" Jessie agreed, and Meowth leading the way, they raced off into the forest before Ash could do anything. Pikachu's cheeks sparked, but he sighed depressed he hadn't been able to shock the Team again.
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"Ash?" Misty and Brock were still looking for him, when Charizard caught a glance of movement in the trees and sped off towards it, Misty screamed a little, but it was lost in the wind. Bending down close to Charizards neck she struggled to keep her eyes open.
Brock looked up "Misty? Misty?! Oh great, they've both gone" He sighed and leaned back on Pidgeots back.
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Dragonite beat her wings, and they slowly rose off the forest floor into the blinding glare of the sun above the canopy. Looking around, Ash could see Brock and Pidgeot… but where was Misty? And Charizard? Mew fidgeted nervously, and so did Pikachu.
"Brock! Where's Misty?" Ash directed Dragonite over towards the cream and tan bird. Brock glanced up, and grinned in welcome to Ash.
"Misty? Oh, I dunno. She just disappeared, like you. But now you're back… I still don't know where she is though."
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James and Jessie looked up as a shadow passed over them as they ran. Recognizing the form of a Charizard, they glanced at each other grinning. That looked a lot like the twerps Charizard. Running faster still, Jessie called out Arbok and Lickitongue, James sent out Weezing and Victreebell. Once, Victreebell would have turned on James, but now it was a lot better trained.
"Arbok, go underground and wait 'til I call you. Lickitongue, go over there and wait too" Jessie ordered her two pokémon about while James did the same. "Weezing, go up there, just above the canopy. Come down when that Charizard makes to follow. Victreebell, wait 'til it comes down, and hit it with a Sleep Powder" All the pokémon nodded and hurried off.
Jessie, James and Meowth raised their voices.
"Meowth, Make the Twerp stop struggling!" Jessie said loudly.
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Charizard stopped, hearing the familiar voices from under the trees. Glancing down, Misty could see Weezing floating around, trying to cover the area in Smoke Screen. Misty smirked.
"I'll shut 'im up, hang on" Meowth could be heard, giving a loud yowl. Misty grimaced, and even without her word, Charizard dived down. Weezing wheezed, and went below the canopy, obviously to warn Jessie, James and Meowth.
"Char!" Charizard bellowed his entrance, smashing through the leaves and branches, landing on the ground with a thud.
"Huh? Where's Ash?" Misty said, frowning in confusion. Too late she realized the trap as Victreebell jumped from a nearby bush, and too late she watched the powder float into the air. Charizards eyes drooped, and he sunk to the ground. Misty jumped off his back, giving the large muzzle an affectionate pat.
Arbok burst from the ground, catching her in a wrap, and she felt the sleep powder tickle her nose, before drifting into sleep, her struggles lessened.
Jessie and James looked at each other.
"Meowth, It worked!" Meowth said, as he hopped up onto Arboks head. Jessie looked at the Charizard, ready to capture it, but sighed as she found she had no extra pokéballs… the boss had taken them all before.
"Meow, imagine the promotion we'll get for bringing him this girl! The twerp'll come runnin' as soon as he knows we've got 'er!" Meowth purred, images of sitting under the bosses petting hand, smirking at that stuck up Persian…
