"Chapter 7: Unprepared for Trouble"
"Hang in there, Pikachu," Ash said. "Don't let me down."
Pikachu breathed heavily, staring down its opponent, a Ludicolo. The Water and Grass-type Pokémon was gasping for air as well. Both Pokémon very pushing themselves to the limit, giving their all for their trainers. Ash focussed in on his opponent, as well. She was a trainer by the name of Serena, from Johto. Ash could see the determination in her eyes, trying to match that of his. He knew he couldn't give in now. Both trainers were down to their last Pokémon in this Round 4 match, and Ash had faith that Pikachu could do this.
"Ludicolo, Water Gun!" Serena commanded. Ludicolo launched its water-based attack at the anticipatory Pikachu. The electric type jumped into the air to avoid the attack, its cheeks beginning to spark as it rose above the battlefield.
"Finish it off with Thunder!" Ash yelled. Pikachu called forth all the electrical power it could muster, summoning a huge bolt of lightning down from the sky that was already darkened by an incoming storm. The electrical blast surged towards the ground, striking Serena's Pokémon with precision accuracy.
"No!" Serena shouted, by her cries could do no good. Her Pokémon's body coursed with electrical energy until it could no longer stay on its feet. Ludicolo fainted, falling over backwards. The match was Ash's.
"Pikchu has defeated Ludicolo," the referee said. "Ash Ketchum is the winner!"
Ash and Serena walked to the center of the arena as rain began to trickle down from the clouds above. They shook hands for a tough and exciting Masters Tournament match.
"Great job, Ash," Serena said. "There's no shame in losing to a better opponent."
"I know," Ash said, shaking her hand. He said nothing more and turned to walk back to where his friends were. Brock and Misty watched as he walked past them without saying so much as a word. There was no excitement on his face, no shouts of joy, nothing. It was so unlike Ash in a Pokémon tournament, and both Brock and Misty knew that very well.
"Ash, wait up," Misty said. "We need to talk."
"Yeah, man," Brock added. "If something's wrong, you know you can always tell us."
"Look, I told you last night, I'm fine," Ash said.
"No, something's different," Brock continued. "Your battle style is verging on ruthless. You've never acted like this before. Charizard won't even listen to you. I think you're taking this whole thing too seriously."
"It is serious, Brock!" Ash snapped back. "I've trained my whole life for this tournament."
"Well you're pushing your Pokémon too hard," Misty said.
"I have to, and they know it," said Ash. "If I don't, I won't get their best. They want this as much as I do. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. End of discussion."
Misty and Brock looked into each other's eyes. They both knew there was something else going on here. Something had to be causing this. They just didn't know what.
"Let's just leave it alone for now," Brock said.
"You're right," Misty said. "This is something he's going to have to figure out for himself."
*****
"Is this the one?" a voice asked.
"Room 150, this is it," another voice said.
"Let's do dis," a third voice chimed in.
The three shadowy figures huddled around the hotel room door in the darkness of the night. The rain was pouring down upon their heads but they ignored it. They had a job to do. Slowly one of them picked the door's lock with a hairpin and quietly opened the door. They tiptoed into the room, careful not to awake its inhabitant. Searching the room, they found what they were looking for: a belt amidst a pile of clothes; a belt that housed five PokéBalls on it. They skirted over towards the bed, where they noticed there was a familiar Pikachu sleeping on top of the covers.
"Should we chance it?" one voiced asked.
"Only if you like getting 10,000 volts sent through your system," another voice replied. "The rest of his Pokémon are more than enough. Let's get out of here."
The three figures quietly headed back towards the door and slipped out unnoticed, forgetting to close the door behind them.
*****
Misty awoke to a loud banging sound against her hotel room door. She rubbed her eyes as they tried to adjust to the early morning sunlight shining in through the window. She checked the alarm clock, which read 7:02 AM.
"Wake up, Misty!" a voice at the door shouted. She recognized that voice, and got out of bed, slowly making her way to the door.
"What is it, Ash?" she asked as she opened the door. "Don't you know what time it is?"
"Misty, somebody stole my Pokémon!" Ash shouted.
"What?!" Misty exclaimed.
"I-I woke up this morning," Ash said, still in a bit of a panic, "the door was open. They were all gone! Except Pikachu. But somebody broke in and stole all my PokeBalls! And my match is in five hours!"
"Okay, calm down Ash," Misty said, trying to be reassuring. "Go see Officer Jenny. I'll wake everyone else up and let them know what's happened."
"Right, Officer Jenny!" Ash said, already starting to run off, with Pikachu chasing close behind.
*****
Officer Jenny was preparing to open up the island's Main Police Station. She fumbled with the keys as she sipped her morning coffee, trying to wake up. She finally managed to get the door open when she heard the shouts of someone behind her.
"Officer Jenny!" Ash shouted as he dashed up to the officer. "You've got the help me!"
"Whoa, calm down," Jenny said. "It's a little too early for all the shouting."
"I'm sorry but it's an emergency!" Ash explained. "Somebody stole my Pokémon!"
"Are you sure?" Jenny asked.
"Yes! I woke up this morning and they were all gone, and the door was open, so somebody must have broken into my room last night while I was asleep!"
"Leave it to me. I'll put all the other Jennys on alert, and--"
Officer Jenny wasn't even able to finish her sentence as Ash had already taken off, leaving a trail of dust in his speedy exit.
"We're going to have to help look too, Pikachu," Ash said as he ran alongside his remaining Pokémon. "We don't have much time!"
*****
"I can't believe we finally did it!" James said, running his hands through the PokéBalls. "We finally stole that twerp's Pokémon!"
"Yes, but no Pikachu," Jessie said. "I don't know, maybe we should have swiped it too."
"Who cares about dat Pikachu," Meowth said. "He ain't going to have enough Pokémon to battle wit in his match today, and dat's all dat matters."
"You're right," Jessie conceded. "After all, this was about revenge."
"Yes, I know, revenge for all that kid did to us over the years," James added. "But are you sure this was the right thing to do?"
"Don't be so soft, Jimmy," Meowth said. "Of course it wasn't da right ting to do. Dat's why we did it."
"I guess," James said, continuing to have second thoughts.
"Hey!" a voice shouted. The former-Team Rocket trio turned around to see a young man standing at the entrance to alleyway where they were trying to stay hidden. He was about 6-foot tall, with a blue baseball cap covering his fairly long brown hair. He stood firm, he arms crossed over his chest with a serious look on his face. "What are you doing with those PokéBalls? Who are you?"
"Do you think it's time to bring the motto out of retirement?" Jessie asked.
"Sounds good to me," James replied.
"Get lost kid, or prepare for trouble!"
"Back out now or we'll make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within out nation."
"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!"
"Meowth, dat's right!"
"Hey, I know you three," he realized.
"And don't we know you?" James asked.
"Now I remember! You three were from Team Rocket! You stole my Pokémon at an Indigo League competition nine years ago!"
"That's right, you're the twerp's friend!" Jessie said.
"My name is Richie," he said. "Now that we've been introduced again, I suggest you hand over those PokéBalls. The whole island is on alert for a group of criminals who stole a trainer's Pokémon, and I think you are those thieves!"
"Sorry kiddo," Meowth said, "but you got da wrong criminals. Besides, we always like ta do tings the easy way!""
The cat-type Pokémon jumped up into Richie's face and unleashed his claws upon him, scratching up the young Pokémon trainer. Jessie and James ran past him as well as he held onto his face I pain. Richie tried to shake off it off and realized the three were escaping out of the alleyway and into the street.
"Hey, get back here!" he shouted at them.
*****
"Ash, there you are!" Misty shouted after finally locating her boyfriend, who was frantically searching through some bushes along the side of the main street. Brock and Gary followed closely behind her. They had been running around for hours trying to find him.
"We've been looking all over the island for you," Brock said.
"No time to talk!" Ash said, checking his watch. "I've only got a few minutes to find my Pokémon before the match starts!"
"Why don't you see if you can get the match delayed?" Gary asked. "I'm sure they'll understand."
Before Ash could answer, their attentions were shifted to the sound of someone shouting from the south of where the group was standing. They looked to see Jessie, James, and Meowth running up the hill towards them, fast. Richie was chasing close behind.
"Team Rocket?" Ash wondered. "What are they doing here?"
"Gang way!" the three shouted as the reached the top of the hill and proceeded to run right into Ash, sending them all to the ground. Several PokéBalls came loose from James' possession and which became scattered on the ground around them.
"Quick, don't let them get away!" Richie shouted.
"Richie, is that you?" Brock asked, realizing just who it was who was chasing Team Rocket. "Why are you here?"
"Hi guys," Richie said, coming to a stop where the collision had occurred. "No time to explain that. Those three were the ones who stole the Pokémon!"
"You mean it was them?" Ash asked, coming to his feet again after the crash.
"I thought you three went straight," Misty said, a little confused by the sudden news.
"Well, uh, you see," James stuttered. "We did try and become honest Pokémon trainers after Team Rocket disbanded."
"He's right," Jessie added. "Except we really sucked at that, and we realized something was missing from our lives."
"Yeah, evil!" Meowth said gleefully. "We're forever destined to be da bad guys."
"Well it's about time you learn crime doesn't pay," Ash said. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Oh no, not again!" the trio said.
"Pika...CHUUUU!" Pikachu shouted, sending a massive shock their nemesises. The shock sent them running away down the street, crying in pain.
"You haven't seen the last of us!" they shouted. "But for now, it looks like Team Rocket's running away again!"
"And don't come back!" Misty shouted, sticking her tongue out at them as they ran into the distance.
"Thanks, Richie," Ash said, shaking his friend's hand. "Boy, I haven't seen you in awhile. Why are you here, anyway?"
"Ash, I'm competing in the Masters Tournament too," he said.
"You are?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Well, yeah," said Richie. "I just won my Round 5 match earlier this morning before I happened to stumble upon Team Rocket. In fact, I'll be facing you in the next round if you manage to win today."
"That's right, the match!" Ash said, realizing he was now late for it. He bent down to pick up his now recovered PokéBalls when he noticed there was a problem.
"There's only four!" he exclaimed, instinctively realizing which one was missing. "Where's Charizard's PokéBall?!"
"Forget about it," Gary said. "If you don't get to the stadium right now, you're going to be disqualified."
Ash didn't exactly like the idea of abandoning Charizard. It was already upset at him, and this wouldn't exactly help that. Still, he had no choice. He knew this match only required three Pokémon, so he would have to win it without Charizard's help.
"Come on, let's go," he said, the sound of great displeasure in his voice. They all followed Ash in running to the stadium. Time was of the essence now.
"Hang in there, Pikachu," Ash said. "Don't let me down."
Pikachu breathed heavily, staring down its opponent, a Ludicolo. The Water and Grass-type Pokémon was gasping for air as well. Both Pokémon very pushing themselves to the limit, giving their all for their trainers. Ash focussed in on his opponent, as well. She was a trainer by the name of Serena, from Johto. Ash could see the determination in her eyes, trying to match that of his. He knew he couldn't give in now. Both trainers were down to their last Pokémon in this Round 4 match, and Ash had faith that Pikachu could do this.
"Ludicolo, Water Gun!" Serena commanded. Ludicolo launched its water-based attack at the anticipatory Pikachu. The electric type jumped into the air to avoid the attack, its cheeks beginning to spark as it rose above the battlefield.
"Finish it off with Thunder!" Ash yelled. Pikachu called forth all the electrical power it could muster, summoning a huge bolt of lightning down from the sky that was already darkened by an incoming storm. The electrical blast surged towards the ground, striking Serena's Pokémon with precision accuracy.
"No!" Serena shouted, by her cries could do no good. Her Pokémon's body coursed with electrical energy until it could no longer stay on its feet. Ludicolo fainted, falling over backwards. The match was Ash's.
"Pikchu has defeated Ludicolo," the referee said. "Ash Ketchum is the winner!"
Ash and Serena walked to the center of the arena as rain began to trickle down from the clouds above. They shook hands for a tough and exciting Masters Tournament match.
"Great job, Ash," Serena said. "There's no shame in losing to a better opponent."
"I know," Ash said, shaking her hand. He said nothing more and turned to walk back to where his friends were. Brock and Misty watched as he walked past them without saying so much as a word. There was no excitement on his face, no shouts of joy, nothing. It was so unlike Ash in a Pokémon tournament, and both Brock and Misty knew that very well.
"Ash, wait up," Misty said. "We need to talk."
"Yeah, man," Brock added. "If something's wrong, you know you can always tell us."
"Look, I told you last night, I'm fine," Ash said.
"No, something's different," Brock continued. "Your battle style is verging on ruthless. You've never acted like this before. Charizard won't even listen to you. I think you're taking this whole thing too seriously."
"It is serious, Brock!" Ash snapped back. "I've trained my whole life for this tournament."
"Well you're pushing your Pokémon too hard," Misty said.
"I have to, and they know it," said Ash. "If I don't, I won't get their best. They want this as much as I do. Trust me, I know what I'm doing. End of discussion."
Misty and Brock looked into each other's eyes. They both knew there was something else going on here. Something had to be causing this. They just didn't know what.
"Let's just leave it alone for now," Brock said.
"You're right," Misty said. "This is something he's going to have to figure out for himself."
*****
"Is this the one?" a voice asked.
"Room 150, this is it," another voice said.
"Let's do dis," a third voice chimed in.
The three shadowy figures huddled around the hotel room door in the darkness of the night. The rain was pouring down upon their heads but they ignored it. They had a job to do. Slowly one of them picked the door's lock with a hairpin and quietly opened the door. They tiptoed into the room, careful not to awake its inhabitant. Searching the room, they found what they were looking for: a belt amidst a pile of clothes; a belt that housed five PokéBalls on it. They skirted over towards the bed, where they noticed there was a familiar Pikachu sleeping on top of the covers.
"Should we chance it?" one voiced asked.
"Only if you like getting 10,000 volts sent through your system," another voice replied. "The rest of his Pokémon are more than enough. Let's get out of here."
The three figures quietly headed back towards the door and slipped out unnoticed, forgetting to close the door behind them.
*****
Misty awoke to a loud banging sound against her hotel room door. She rubbed her eyes as they tried to adjust to the early morning sunlight shining in through the window. She checked the alarm clock, which read 7:02 AM.
"Wake up, Misty!" a voice at the door shouted. She recognized that voice, and got out of bed, slowly making her way to the door.
"What is it, Ash?" she asked as she opened the door. "Don't you know what time it is?"
"Misty, somebody stole my Pokémon!" Ash shouted.
"What?!" Misty exclaimed.
"I-I woke up this morning," Ash said, still in a bit of a panic, "the door was open. They were all gone! Except Pikachu. But somebody broke in and stole all my PokeBalls! And my match is in five hours!"
"Okay, calm down Ash," Misty said, trying to be reassuring. "Go see Officer Jenny. I'll wake everyone else up and let them know what's happened."
"Right, Officer Jenny!" Ash said, already starting to run off, with Pikachu chasing close behind.
*****
Officer Jenny was preparing to open up the island's Main Police Station. She fumbled with the keys as she sipped her morning coffee, trying to wake up. She finally managed to get the door open when she heard the shouts of someone behind her.
"Officer Jenny!" Ash shouted as he dashed up to the officer. "You've got the help me!"
"Whoa, calm down," Jenny said. "It's a little too early for all the shouting."
"I'm sorry but it's an emergency!" Ash explained. "Somebody stole my Pokémon!"
"Are you sure?" Jenny asked.
"Yes! I woke up this morning and they were all gone, and the door was open, so somebody must have broken into my room last night while I was asleep!"
"Leave it to me. I'll put all the other Jennys on alert, and--"
Officer Jenny wasn't even able to finish her sentence as Ash had already taken off, leaving a trail of dust in his speedy exit.
"We're going to have to help look too, Pikachu," Ash said as he ran alongside his remaining Pokémon. "We don't have much time!"
*****
"I can't believe we finally did it!" James said, running his hands through the PokéBalls. "We finally stole that twerp's Pokémon!"
"Yes, but no Pikachu," Jessie said. "I don't know, maybe we should have swiped it too."
"Who cares about dat Pikachu," Meowth said. "He ain't going to have enough Pokémon to battle wit in his match today, and dat's all dat matters."
"You're right," Jessie conceded. "After all, this was about revenge."
"Yes, I know, revenge for all that kid did to us over the years," James added. "But are you sure this was the right thing to do?"
"Don't be so soft, Jimmy," Meowth said. "Of course it wasn't da right ting to do. Dat's why we did it."
"I guess," James said, continuing to have second thoughts.
"Hey!" a voice shouted. The former-Team Rocket trio turned around to see a young man standing at the entrance to alleyway where they were trying to stay hidden. He was about 6-foot tall, with a blue baseball cap covering his fairly long brown hair. He stood firm, he arms crossed over his chest with a serious look on his face. "What are you doing with those PokéBalls? Who are you?"
"Do you think it's time to bring the motto out of retirement?" Jessie asked.
"Sounds good to me," James replied.
"Get lost kid, or prepare for trouble!"
"Back out now or we'll make it double!"
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within out nation."
"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!"
"Meowth, dat's right!"
"Hey, I know you three," he realized.
"And don't we know you?" James asked.
"Now I remember! You three were from Team Rocket! You stole my Pokémon at an Indigo League competition nine years ago!"
"That's right, you're the twerp's friend!" Jessie said.
"My name is Richie," he said. "Now that we've been introduced again, I suggest you hand over those PokéBalls. The whole island is on alert for a group of criminals who stole a trainer's Pokémon, and I think you are those thieves!"
"Sorry kiddo," Meowth said, "but you got da wrong criminals. Besides, we always like ta do tings the easy way!""
The cat-type Pokémon jumped up into Richie's face and unleashed his claws upon him, scratching up the young Pokémon trainer. Jessie and James ran past him as well as he held onto his face I pain. Richie tried to shake off it off and realized the three were escaping out of the alleyway and into the street.
"Hey, get back here!" he shouted at them.
*****
"Ash, there you are!" Misty shouted after finally locating her boyfriend, who was frantically searching through some bushes along the side of the main street. Brock and Gary followed closely behind her. They had been running around for hours trying to find him.
"We've been looking all over the island for you," Brock said.
"No time to talk!" Ash said, checking his watch. "I've only got a few minutes to find my Pokémon before the match starts!"
"Why don't you see if you can get the match delayed?" Gary asked. "I'm sure they'll understand."
Before Ash could answer, their attentions were shifted to the sound of someone shouting from the south of where the group was standing. They looked to see Jessie, James, and Meowth running up the hill towards them, fast. Richie was chasing close behind.
"Team Rocket?" Ash wondered. "What are they doing here?"
"Gang way!" the three shouted as the reached the top of the hill and proceeded to run right into Ash, sending them all to the ground. Several PokéBalls came loose from James' possession and which became scattered on the ground around them.
"Quick, don't let them get away!" Richie shouted.
"Richie, is that you?" Brock asked, realizing just who it was who was chasing Team Rocket. "Why are you here?"
"Hi guys," Richie said, coming to a stop where the collision had occurred. "No time to explain that. Those three were the ones who stole the Pokémon!"
"You mean it was them?" Ash asked, coming to his feet again after the crash.
"I thought you three went straight," Misty said, a little confused by the sudden news.
"Well, uh, you see," James stuttered. "We did try and become honest Pokémon trainers after Team Rocket disbanded."
"He's right," Jessie added. "Except we really sucked at that, and we realized something was missing from our lives."
"Yeah, evil!" Meowth said gleefully. "We're forever destined to be da bad guys."
"Well it's about time you learn crime doesn't pay," Ash said. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Oh no, not again!" the trio said.
"Pika...CHUUUU!" Pikachu shouted, sending a massive shock their nemesises. The shock sent them running away down the street, crying in pain.
"You haven't seen the last of us!" they shouted. "But for now, it looks like Team Rocket's running away again!"
"And don't come back!" Misty shouted, sticking her tongue out at them as they ran into the distance.
"Thanks, Richie," Ash said, shaking his friend's hand. "Boy, I haven't seen you in awhile. Why are you here, anyway?"
"Ash, I'm competing in the Masters Tournament too," he said.
"You are?!" Ash exclaimed.
"Well, yeah," said Richie. "I just won my Round 5 match earlier this morning before I happened to stumble upon Team Rocket. In fact, I'll be facing you in the next round if you manage to win today."
"That's right, the match!" Ash said, realizing he was now late for it. He bent down to pick up his now recovered PokéBalls when he noticed there was a problem.
"There's only four!" he exclaimed, instinctively realizing which one was missing. "Where's Charizard's PokéBall?!"
"Forget about it," Gary said. "If you don't get to the stadium right now, you're going to be disqualified."
Ash didn't exactly like the idea of abandoning Charizard. It was already upset at him, and this wouldn't exactly help that. Still, he had no choice. He knew this match only required three Pokémon, so he would have to win it without Charizard's help.
"Come on, let's go," he said, the sound of great displeasure in his voice. They all followed Ash in running to the stadium. Time was of the essence now.