Of Flame and Ash
Chapter 5: Beach Blast
After stopping Team Rocket's fossil excavation at Mt. Moon, Ash and Blaine, along with their Pokemon, entered Cerulean City. They marveled at the beautiful gardens and buildings, but almost immediately a shrill whistle rang through the peaceful air.
"Hold it right there!" A female police officer was running towards them, a Growlithe with her. They ran up to the duo and said, "I'm going to need to ask you two a couple of questions."
Blaine smiled and said, "Hi Officer Jenny! How'd you get here?"
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Have we met before? Your face doesn't seem familiar."
"Of course we've met before!" he said exasperatedly. "I'm Blaine, from Pewter City!"
"Oh, Blaine!" Jenny said knowingly. "My cousin in Pewter has told me so much about you!" She narrowed her eyes. "She also told me to keep an eye on you if you ever came through here."
Blaine sweatdropped and said, "Uh, right. We'll be going now." He and Ash started walking away.
A blast of fire passed in front of them, courtesy of Jenny's Growlithe. "I still need to ask you some questions."
"Okay," Ash said, having a good idea what those questions were about.
"First of all, did you hear about the explosion at Mt. Moon?"
"Well, you could say that," Blaine said slowly.
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And do you know what caused the explosion?"
"Um, I suppose," Ash said quietly.
Jenny threw her hands up in the air. "Well, what was it?!"
Blaine and Ash looked at each other before muttering, "Us."
Other cops immediately surrounded the two. "We'll take that as a confession," one said.
-|*~*|-
The next morning, after everything was straightened out, Ash and Blaine left the police station.
Blaine sighed. "Well, at least that's over."
Ash stretched out his arms. "Yeah. Besides, police station beds aren't that comfortable." He glanced at their Pokemon. "I don't think our Pokemon are ready to take on the Gym Leader." Blaine nodded in agreement. "Speaking of him, do you know who he is?"
Blaine shook his head. "The only thing I know is that the Leader is a woman. Other than that, I'm as clueless as you are normally." He chuckled at Ash's scowl. Ash then pulled out a large mallet identical to Blaine's. The other boy said, puzzled, "Wait a minute..." He reached into his vest and pulled out nothing. He looked at Ash. "That's my mallet!"
A few minutes and several smacks later, Ash and Blaine decided to head to the cape to relax. Ash's reasoning was that it would give their Pokemon a chance to relax. Blaine didn't see a reason to argue with that.
"Can I have my hammer back now?" Blaine pleaded.
Ash shook his head. "Not until I find a bigger one."
Blaine sighed and took out his torch. "Then I'm not sorry about this." He opened a small hatch on the side and pressed a button. The dancing flame flared and shot out of the torch at Ash. It wrapped around Ash, turning him into a black crisp.
"Here you go," he said as he threw the hammer at Blaine's feet. He shook the soot that always appears when someone gets burned off himself and asked, "How did you do that?"
Blaine shrugged as he put his mallet away. "I don't know. I found it last night at the station." He glanced at Ash. "Do you like it?"
"Pikachu, remind me to get some Burn Heal the next time we get supplies," he said, shuddering. Blaine and Growlithe snickered from in front of him. Ash looked over Blaine's shoulder and said, "Hey, there's the water."
Blaine's reaction was instantaneous. He let out a small yelp and bolted behind Ash. "Please, don't let it hurt me."
Ash and Pikachu facefaulted.
-|*~*|-
"Those children ruined my plans. They must not go unpunished."
"Yes sir. We won't fail you."
"And I don't want to see your faces here until you're finished, understand?"
"Sure 'ting, boss."
"Ugh. And do something about that revolting Meowth. It disgusts me."
"Gladly, sir."
-|*~*|-
After being convinced that the water wasn't going to hurt him, Blaine settled down on the sand. Him and Ash watched as Growlithe ran off to play with the other Pokemon.
Ponyta was chasing Pikachu around, and then decided to chase Growlithe too. Diglett was randomly digging holes underneath the Pokemons' feet, causing them to fall into a hole. They would emerge a few seconds later, laughing. At one point, Growlithe ran a bit too close to the water, so he whimpered slightly and backed away slowly.
Ash saw this and laughed. "I can't believe you're so afraid of the water. There's nothing to be afraid of."
"I'm training to become a master of flame. It's natural that I wouldn't like water." He looked at Ash. "I'm sure you're afraid of something too."
"Wha-what?" the black-haired boy stuttered. "I'm not afraid of anything." Quickly changing the subject, he asked, "What are you going to do about your future gym on Cinnabar? It is an island, so it's surrounded by water."
Blaine sighed. "Well, hopefully I'll have gotten over my fear of water by then."
They went back to watching the Pokemon play until Ash asked another question. "What are you going to do after you become the Gym Leader?"
Blaine thought about it for a minute. "Well, I suppose that I'll go to other lands and collect the badges there, too."
"Well, you could take the Elite Four Challenge with me."
"Heh, that would be funny. A Gym Leader who put the Elite Four to shame."
"I'm serious. Trainers who train one type of Pokemon are usually more powerful than ones that train different types."
Blaine considered it a minute. "Ash, do you know who the First Elite is?" Ash shook his head. "Then I'll tell you. Her name is Lorelei, and she trains ice-types."
"So? Fire is strong against ice, right?"
"Yes, but most ice-types are also water-types. And a master of water-types is too much for me."
Ash frowned. "Isn't there a Gym Leader that trains water-types?"
"I've never heard of one."
Ash shrugged. "I could have sworn that- Hey, what's that?" He pointed out into the water and Blaine saw a small orange lizard on a floating piece of wood.
Blaine's eyes widened. "That's a Charmander! How did it get out there?" Without another word, he ran to the water and jumped in without hesitation. The water was freezing, biting at his body as he swam, but he didn't feel any of it. The only thing on his mind was getting to that Charmander.
He reached the wood and looked at the Charmander on it. Its eyes were closed. He screamed loudly and kicked all the way back to shore with the driftwood in his hands. He made it back faster than he went out. He dragged the Pokemon up onto the beach and started inspecting it. After a few seconds he said, "It's too late."
Ash came over and looked at the lizard. "Uh, Blaine?"
"I was too late, I should have gotten there quicker."
"Blaine?"
"This is all my fault."
"BLAINE!"
The blond boy looked up at his friend. "What is it?"
"That Charmander isn't dead. It's sleeping."
"Oh."
Upon hearing its name, the Pokemon opened its eyes and looked at the humans near it. "Char?" is said with a yawn.
"Hi Charmander!" Ash said with a cheery voice. "You don't need to worry. We won't hurt you. Blaine even swam out into the ocean to get you," he said, pointing to the soaked trainer.
Blaine blinked. "I what?" He looked down at himself and found his clothes were drenched. "AAAAAHHHHHH!!! I'M WET!" He started running in a circle until Growlithe let out a blast of fire at Blaine. When he finished, Blaine was standing there burned, but dry. He sighed and said, "Thanks Growlithe."
Ash took out his Pokedex and aimed it at Charmander. "Charmander. The lizard Pokemon. It obviously prefers hot places. When it rains, steam is said to sprout from the tip of its tail."
Everyone looked at Charmander's tail. They were surprised to see that it was on fire. "Well, that would explain the steam," Blaine commented.
Ash pulled out a Poke Ball and said eagerly, "I'm going to catch it!"
Blaine stopped him. "No Ash. You can't catch this Charmander."
Ash pouted. "Why not?"
Blaine whistled and Ponyta came to him. "Because I'm going to catch it!" Everyone facefaulted. Blaine turned around and looked at everyone. "Why do you always do that when I say something?" He shook his head.
Ponyta, who had been rubbing her head on Blaine's side, ducked as a flame shot over her head. She looked at Charmander, who was ready to fire another shot, and neighed. Blaine looked at her and said, "All right Ponyta, let's get a new Pokemon. Stomp attack!"
Ponyta ran forward and reared up, preparing to smash her hooves onto Charmander, but the lizard had other plans. He blasted a Flamethrower at point-blank range into Ponyta's underbelly. The horse backed off quicker than she had gone forward.
"Hmmm, that's a strong Charmander if it knows Flamethrower," Blaine mused silently. He then nodded. "Ponyta, return." His Pokemon turned around and walked back towards him without hesitation. "I'll have to fight fire with fire. Growlithe, go!" The dog leapt forward and tried to bite Charmander without order. Charmander pulled back his hands and whipped them back out, scratching Growlithe across his nose.
Blaine growled as he saw his first Pokemon bleed. "Okay Growlithe. It's time to try your special move." He flung his hand at Charmander. "Flamethrower attack now!" Growlithe let loose a large blast of fire without even charging up. Charmander didn't feel like getting hit, so he threw out a Flamethrower of his own. Their attacks met in midair and pushed against each other. The two Pokemon circled each other, each trying to get the upper edge. Charmander stepped in a puddle of water and slipped, losing his aim.
The flame attack blasted right past Blaine's head, but the young trainer didn't flinch. He merely said, "Toast him." Growlithe re-aimed his flame, this time hitting Charmander in the head. Charmander fell over, his eyes spinning. Blaine looked at him and said, "Oops. I guess I went overboard. I think I have some Burn Heal in here," he mumbled as he rummaged through his backpack. He pulled it out and walked over to the burned lizard. After spraying some on him, he said, "This looks like it could turn into trouble."
"That's our cue James."
Blaine whirled around to find Jessie, James, and Meowth standing on the beach behind Ash.
"To protect the beach from devastation."
"To collect all seashells in every nation."
"To explore the wonders of sand and water."
"To extend our reach to Davy Jones' Locker."
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket, capturing you with our net."
"Be careful, or else you'll get wet."
"Meowth, all set!"
Jessie threw a net at everyone, but Blaine's Pokemon easily burned it up. "What was the point of that?" Blaine asked.
Jessie shrugged. "It was the only thing we could think of for our motto."
Pikachu let out a shock, but Jessie held out a stick with a large rubber ball stuck on the end. All the electricity was absorbed into the rubber, leaving Team Rocket unharmed.
"We're not stupid enough to forget about your Pikachu, kid."
Blaine smiled. "Oh? But you forgot about me, didn't you?"
James smiled back. "We remembered you too." He pulled a large squirt gun out from behind his back. He then saw what was behind Blaine. "Oooo, look Jessie, a Charmander!"
"That Charmander would fetch an excellent price." Jessie said.
"And he's already save us da' trouble of weakenin' it." Meowth added.
Blaine growled, "You're not getting this Charmander. A Pokemon isn't for selling."
Ash nodded. "That's right. If you catch a Pokemon, you should treat it with respect, not like it's an item."
Jessie raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And I suppose you are going to stop us?"
"You bet we are!" Blaine yelled. "Ponyta, go!"
"Diglett, I choose you!"
"Go, Ekans! Bite attack!"
"Koffing, go! Use Smokescreen!"
Koffing let out a gas cloud as Ekans jumped through it and latched onto Diglett. Ash panicked. "Ahhh! Diglett, go underground!"
Blaine shouted, "No Ash, not underground." But it was too late. He turned back to James and said, "Ponyta, Ember!" Before anyone could even blink, small flames hurtled at the poison gas ball.
James reacted quickly. "Koffing, Sludge those flames!" Koffing shot a small sludge ball at each flame, coating them and making them dissolve. The sludge kept going and hit Ponyta in the face.
"Ponyta!" Blaine ran over to his Pokemon. "Are you okay? Don't worry, you did great." He pulled her back into her Poke Ball and turned to his other Pokemon. "It's up to you Growlithe."
Somewhere during that time, Diglett popped back up with Ekans still clinging to him. Ekans was slightly dazed, but Diglett was down for the count. "Diglett, return. Go, Pikachu!"
Pikachu and Growlithe jumped forward, but never got the chance to battle. Jessie took out a strange looking gun and shot it at Pikachu. When the smoke cleared, Pikachu was inside a rubber ball.
Growlithe also had problems. The moment he stepped forward, James sprayed him with the squirt gun. After a few squirts, Growlithe fell down, soaked.
"No!" Blaine and Ash ran to their Pokemon and picked them up, cradling them.
"Game over," Jessie said. She pulled a Poke Ball from her belt and threw it at the unprotected Charmander. Blaine saw it and jumped to intercept it. He succeeded. Sort of. The Poke Ball hit his chest and opened. Blaine disappeared in a flash of red light and the ball closed. It shook briefly before the light went out.
Growlithe let out a howl and ran to the Poke Ball containing his trainer. He nudged it with his nose and it opened. There was another flash of red light and Blaine reappeared. He did not look very pleased.
Eyes narrowed, Blaine said quietly, but menacingly, "You just put me in a Poke Ball, correct?"
The Rocket trio nodded slowly.
Blaine nodded. "That's what I thought." He pulled out his lantern and pressed the button. The flame shot out and toasted the three to a crisp. After he was satisfied with the crispiness, he put the torch away and pulled out his hammer. He ran towards the three people and stopped. "Time for some golf," he said. He pulled back the hammer and smacked Meowth, James, and finally Jessie with it.
As they flew through the air, James said, "Well, we know not to get him angry."
Veins throbbing, Jessie yelled, "A lot of good that does us now!"
"Well, next time we'll be able to do it da' right way." Meowth added. "But for now..."
"It looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"
-|*~*|-
Back on the beach, Blaine was calmed down. "How dare they put me in a Poke Ball! They are going to wish they never crossed paths with me!" Well, more so than what he was.
"Blaine, aren't you forgetting about Charmander?" Ash asked.
Blaine stopped his fit of rage. "Oh yeah." He turned to the orange Pokemon. "I guess we won't get to finish our battle."
Charmander shook his head and tapped one of Blaine's Poke Balls. "Char!" he said happily.
Blaine blinked. "You mean you'll come with me anyway? Thanks!" He pulled out the ball Charmander had tapped and put him in it. He turned to Ash and said, "I caught a Charmander! Now I say we go back to the city and heal our Pokemon. We've got a hard match ahead of us."
~~~~~
AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I wasn't planning on having Gary in this, but if enough people want him, I could stick him in. Okay, that's all I wanted to say.
Chapter 5: Beach Blast
After stopping Team Rocket's fossil excavation at Mt. Moon, Ash and Blaine, along with their Pokemon, entered Cerulean City. They marveled at the beautiful gardens and buildings, but almost immediately a shrill whistle rang through the peaceful air.
"Hold it right there!" A female police officer was running towards them, a Growlithe with her. They ran up to the duo and said, "I'm going to need to ask you two a couple of questions."
Blaine smiled and said, "Hi Officer Jenny! How'd you get here?"
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Have we met before? Your face doesn't seem familiar."
"Of course we've met before!" he said exasperatedly. "I'm Blaine, from Pewter City!"
"Oh, Blaine!" Jenny said knowingly. "My cousin in Pewter has told me so much about you!" She narrowed her eyes. "She also told me to keep an eye on you if you ever came through here."
Blaine sweatdropped and said, "Uh, right. We'll be going now." He and Ash started walking away.
A blast of fire passed in front of them, courtesy of Jenny's Growlithe. "I still need to ask you some questions."
"Okay," Ash said, having a good idea what those questions were about.
"First of all, did you hear about the explosion at Mt. Moon?"
"Well, you could say that," Blaine said slowly.
Jenny raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And do you know what caused the explosion?"
"Um, I suppose," Ash said quietly.
Jenny threw her hands up in the air. "Well, what was it?!"
Blaine and Ash looked at each other before muttering, "Us."
Other cops immediately surrounded the two. "We'll take that as a confession," one said.
-|*~*|-
The next morning, after everything was straightened out, Ash and Blaine left the police station.
Blaine sighed. "Well, at least that's over."
Ash stretched out his arms. "Yeah. Besides, police station beds aren't that comfortable." He glanced at their Pokemon. "I don't think our Pokemon are ready to take on the Gym Leader." Blaine nodded in agreement. "Speaking of him, do you know who he is?"
Blaine shook his head. "The only thing I know is that the Leader is a woman. Other than that, I'm as clueless as you are normally." He chuckled at Ash's scowl. Ash then pulled out a large mallet identical to Blaine's. The other boy said, puzzled, "Wait a minute..." He reached into his vest and pulled out nothing. He looked at Ash. "That's my mallet!"
A few minutes and several smacks later, Ash and Blaine decided to head to the cape to relax. Ash's reasoning was that it would give their Pokemon a chance to relax. Blaine didn't see a reason to argue with that.
"Can I have my hammer back now?" Blaine pleaded.
Ash shook his head. "Not until I find a bigger one."
Blaine sighed and took out his torch. "Then I'm not sorry about this." He opened a small hatch on the side and pressed a button. The dancing flame flared and shot out of the torch at Ash. It wrapped around Ash, turning him into a black crisp.
"Here you go," he said as he threw the hammer at Blaine's feet. He shook the soot that always appears when someone gets burned off himself and asked, "How did you do that?"
Blaine shrugged as he put his mallet away. "I don't know. I found it last night at the station." He glanced at Ash. "Do you like it?"
"Pikachu, remind me to get some Burn Heal the next time we get supplies," he said, shuddering. Blaine and Growlithe snickered from in front of him. Ash looked over Blaine's shoulder and said, "Hey, there's the water."
Blaine's reaction was instantaneous. He let out a small yelp and bolted behind Ash. "Please, don't let it hurt me."
Ash and Pikachu facefaulted.
-|*~*|-
"Those children ruined my plans. They must not go unpunished."
"Yes sir. We won't fail you."
"And I don't want to see your faces here until you're finished, understand?"
"Sure 'ting, boss."
"Ugh. And do something about that revolting Meowth. It disgusts me."
"Gladly, sir."
-|*~*|-
After being convinced that the water wasn't going to hurt him, Blaine settled down on the sand. Him and Ash watched as Growlithe ran off to play with the other Pokemon.
Ponyta was chasing Pikachu around, and then decided to chase Growlithe too. Diglett was randomly digging holes underneath the Pokemons' feet, causing them to fall into a hole. They would emerge a few seconds later, laughing. At one point, Growlithe ran a bit too close to the water, so he whimpered slightly and backed away slowly.
Ash saw this and laughed. "I can't believe you're so afraid of the water. There's nothing to be afraid of."
"I'm training to become a master of flame. It's natural that I wouldn't like water." He looked at Ash. "I'm sure you're afraid of something too."
"Wha-what?" the black-haired boy stuttered. "I'm not afraid of anything." Quickly changing the subject, he asked, "What are you going to do about your future gym on Cinnabar? It is an island, so it's surrounded by water."
Blaine sighed. "Well, hopefully I'll have gotten over my fear of water by then."
They went back to watching the Pokemon play until Ash asked another question. "What are you going to do after you become the Gym Leader?"
Blaine thought about it for a minute. "Well, I suppose that I'll go to other lands and collect the badges there, too."
"Well, you could take the Elite Four Challenge with me."
"Heh, that would be funny. A Gym Leader who put the Elite Four to shame."
"I'm serious. Trainers who train one type of Pokemon are usually more powerful than ones that train different types."
Blaine considered it a minute. "Ash, do you know who the First Elite is?" Ash shook his head. "Then I'll tell you. Her name is Lorelei, and she trains ice-types."
"So? Fire is strong against ice, right?"
"Yes, but most ice-types are also water-types. And a master of water-types is too much for me."
Ash frowned. "Isn't there a Gym Leader that trains water-types?"
"I've never heard of one."
Ash shrugged. "I could have sworn that- Hey, what's that?" He pointed out into the water and Blaine saw a small orange lizard on a floating piece of wood.
Blaine's eyes widened. "That's a Charmander! How did it get out there?" Without another word, he ran to the water and jumped in without hesitation. The water was freezing, biting at his body as he swam, but he didn't feel any of it. The only thing on his mind was getting to that Charmander.
He reached the wood and looked at the Charmander on it. Its eyes were closed. He screamed loudly and kicked all the way back to shore with the driftwood in his hands. He made it back faster than he went out. He dragged the Pokemon up onto the beach and started inspecting it. After a few seconds he said, "It's too late."
Ash came over and looked at the lizard. "Uh, Blaine?"
"I was too late, I should have gotten there quicker."
"Blaine?"
"This is all my fault."
"BLAINE!"
The blond boy looked up at his friend. "What is it?"
"That Charmander isn't dead. It's sleeping."
"Oh."
Upon hearing its name, the Pokemon opened its eyes and looked at the humans near it. "Char?" is said with a yawn.
"Hi Charmander!" Ash said with a cheery voice. "You don't need to worry. We won't hurt you. Blaine even swam out into the ocean to get you," he said, pointing to the soaked trainer.
Blaine blinked. "I what?" He looked down at himself and found his clothes were drenched. "AAAAAHHHHHH!!! I'M WET!" He started running in a circle until Growlithe let out a blast of fire at Blaine. When he finished, Blaine was standing there burned, but dry. He sighed and said, "Thanks Growlithe."
Ash took out his Pokedex and aimed it at Charmander. "Charmander. The lizard Pokemon. It obviously prefers hot places. When it rains, steam is said to sprout from the tip of its tail."
Everyone looked at Charmander's tail. They were surprised to see that it was on fire. "Well, that would explain the steam," Blaine commented.
Ash pulled out a Poke Ball and said eagerly, "I'm going to catch it!"
Blaine stopped him. "No Ash. You can't catch this Charmander."
Ash pouted. "Why not?"
Blaine whistled and Ponyta came to him. "Because I'm going to catch it!" Everyone facefaulted. Blaine turned around and looked at everyone. "Why do you always do that when I say something?" He shook his head.
Ponyta, who had been rubbing her head on Blaine's side, ducked as a flame shot over her head. She looked at Charmander, who was ready to fire another shot, and neighed. Blaine looked at her and said, "All right Ponyta, let's get a new Pokemon. Stomp attack!"
Ponyta ran forward and reared up, preparing to smash her hooves onto Charmander, but the lizard had other plans. He blasted a Flamethrower at point-blank range into Ponyta's underbelly. The horse backed off quicker than she had gone forward.
"Hmmm, that's a strong Charmander if it knows Flamethrower," Blaine mused silently. He then nodded. "Ponyta, return." His Pokemon turned around and walked back towards him without hesitation. "I'll have to fight fire with fire. Growlithe, go!" The dog leapt forward and tried to bite Charmander without order. Charmander pulled back his hands and whipped them back out, scratching Growlithe across his nose.
Blaine growled as he saw his first Pokemon bleed. "Okay Growlithe. It's time to try your special move." He flung his hand at Charmander. "Flamethrower attack now!" Growlithe let loose a large blast of fire without even charging up. Charmander didn't feel like getting hit, so he threw out a Flamethrower of his own. Their attacks met in midair and pushed against each other. The two Pokemon circled each other, each trying to get the upper edge. Charmander stepped in a puddle of water and slipped, losing his aim.
The flame attack blasted right past Blaine's head, but the young trainer didn't flinch. He merely said, "Toast him." Growlithe re-aimed his flame, this time hitting Charmander in the head. Charmander fell over, his eyes spinning. Blaine looked at him and said, "Oops. I guess I went overboard. I think I have some Burn Heal in here," he mumbled as he rummaged through his backpack. He pulled it out and walked over to the burned lizard. After spraying some on him, he said, "This looks like it could turn into trouble."
"That's our cue James."
Blaine whirled around to find Jessie, James, and Meowth standing on the beach behind Ash.
"To protect the beach from devastation."
"To collect all seashells in every nation."
"To explore the wonders of sand and water."
"To extend our reach to Davy Jones' Locker."
"Jessie!"
"James!"
"Team Rocket, capturing you with our net."
"Be careful, or else you'll get wet."
"Meowth, all set!"
Jessie threw a net at everyone, but Blaine's Pokemon easily burned it up. "What was the point of that?" Blaine asked.
Jessie shrugged. "It was the only thing we could think of for our motto."
Pikachu let out a shock, but Jessie held out a stick with a large rubber ball stuck on the end. All the electricity was absorbed into the rubber, leaving Team Rocket unharmed.
"We're not stupid enough to forget about your Pikachu, kid."
Blaine smiled. "Oh? But you forgot about me, didn't you?"
James smiled back. "We remembered you too." He pulled a large squirt gun out from behind his back. He then saw what was behind Blaine. "Oooo, look Jessie, a Charmander!"
"That Charmander would fetch an excellent price." Jessie said.
"And he's already save us da' trouble of weakenin' it." Meowth added.
Blaine growled, "You're not getting this Charmander. A Pokemon isn't for selling."
Ash nodded. "That's right. If you catch a Pokemon, you should treat it with respect, not like it's an item."
Jessie raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And I suppose you are going to stop us?"
"You bet we are!" Blaine yelled. "Ponyta, go!"
"Diglett, I choose you!"
"Go, Ekans! Bite attack!"
"Koffing, go! Use Smokescreen!"
Koffing let out a gas cloud as Ekans jumped through it and latched onto Diglett. Ash panicked. "Ahhh! Diglett, go underground!"
Blaine shouted, "No Ash, not underground." But it was too late. He turned back to James and said, "Ponyta, Ember!" Before anyone could even blink, small flames hurtled at the poison gas ball.
James reacted quickly. "Koffing, Sludge those flames!" Koffing shot a small sludge ball at each flame, coating them and making them dissolve. The sludge kept going and hit Ponyta in the face.
"Ponyta!" Blaine ran over to his Pokemon. "Are you okay? Don't worry, you did great." He pulled her back into her Poke Ball and turned to his other Pokemon. "It's up to you Growlithe."
Somewhere during that time, Diglett popped back up with Ekans still clinging to him. Ekans was slightly dazed, but Diglett was down for the count. "Diglett, return. Go, Pikachu!"
Pikachu and Growlithe jumped forward, but never got the chance to battle. Jessie took out a strange looking gun and shot it at Pikachu. When the smoke cleared, Pikachu was inside a rubber ball.
Growlithe also had problems. The moment he stepped forward, James sprayed him with the squirt gun. After a few squirts, Growlithe fell down, soaked.
"No!" Blaine and Ash ran to their Pokemon and picked them up, cradling them.
"Game over," Jessie said. She pulled a Poke Ball from her belt and threw it at the unprotected Charmander. Blaine saw it and jumped to intercept it. He succeeded. Sort of. The Poke Ball hit his chest and opened. Blaine disappeared in a flash of red light and the ball closed. It shook briefly before the light went out.
Growlithe let out a howl and ran to the Poke Ball containing his trainer. He nudged it with his nose and it opened. There was another flash of red light and Blaine reappeared. He did not look very pleased.
Eyes narrowed, Blaine said quietly, but menacingly, "You just put me in a Poke Ball, correct?"
The Rocket trio nodded slowly.
Blaine nodded. "That's what I thought." He pulled out his lantern and pressed the button. The flame shot out and toasted the three to a crisp. After he was satisfied with the crispiness, he put the torch away and pulled out his hammer. He ran towards the three people and stopped. "Time for some golf," he said. He pulled back the hammer and smacked Meowth, James, and finally Jessie with it.
As they flew through the air, James said, "Well, we know not to get him angry."
Veins throbbing, Jessie yelled, "A lot of good that does us now!"
"Well, next time we'll be able to do it da' right way." Meowth added. "But for now..."
"It looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"
-|*~*|-
Back on the beach, Blaine was calmed down. "How dare they put me in a Poke Ball! They are going to wish they never crossed paths with me!" Well, more so than what he was.
"Blaine, aren't you forgetting about Charmander?" Ash asked.
Blaine stopped his fit of rage. "Oh yeah." He turned to the orange Pokemon. "I guess we won't get to finish our battle."
Charmander shook his head and tapped one of Blaine's Poke Balls. "Char!" he said happily.
Blaine blinked. "You mean you'll come with me anyway? Thanks!" He pulled out the ball Charmander had tapped and put him in it. He turned to Ash and said, "I caught a Charmander! Now I say we go back to the city and heal our Pokemon. We've got a hard match ahead of us."
~~~~~
AN: Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I wasn't planning on having Gary in this, but if enough people want him, I could stick him in. Okay, that's all I wanted to say.