Chapter 14: In Which People Are In the Wrong Place at the Wrong Time

Pikachu, Tracey, Ash, Brock, Brynna, and Misty were finally in their room at the Pokémon Center. That hadn't been easy to accomplish- they were still wearing their Team Rocket disguises and Nurse Joy, thinking that they were Team Rocket members, had refused to let them in. At last, they'd managed to convince her, but it had been pretty hard.

At the moment, Pikachu was doing acrobatics invisibly on Ash's bed just for the hell of it, and Brynna was watching him and formulating numerous scientific theories as to why Ash's mattress was bouncing up and down of its own accord (she still didn't believe in the whole invisible-Pikachu thing, even though it was a lot more logical than any of the explanations she'd managed to come up with).

Ash looked over at Pikachu. "Whoa, my bed's bouncing up and down all by itself! Maybe it's possessed by an evil spirit or something!"

Misty squinted at it, as if that'd help her see if there was an invisible Pokémon there, which it wouldn't. "Nah, I think it's just Pikachu," she said.

"Oh."

There was a pause.

"I wonder if it's dinnertime yet?" Ash said finally.

"Ash, you just had lunch. It's only one in the afternoon."

"Ah. It's not dinnertime then. I can't think how I could've been so stupid. Sorry."

Misty blinked. Ash was exhibiting signs of having an IQ that might actually be in the double digits.

"How could I think it was dinnertime when it's actually time for my early afternoon snack?"

... Well, maybe not.

Ash looked at the others strangely, wondering why they seemed to think he'd just said something stupid.

((Wait, wait, wait! You people aren't supposed to be in this chapter! This chapter is supposed to be all about Team Rocket and their evil plans!))

"Pika, pika pi chu ka ika pikachu. (Well, I want to be in this chapter.)"

((Bless you.))

"Achu? (Huh?)"

((Bless you again. Have you got a cold?))

"Pika pi pik pi ka pichu pi ka? (What in the world are you talking about?)"

((....Wait a minute, are you taking over the story again?))

"Pika, cha? (Yeah, so?)"

((You know what that means, don't you?))

"Pi? (What?)"

((You've got to go back to the mental hospital.))

"Pi! Pika pi chu! (No! Anything but that!)"

((Okay, okay, I won't send you to the mental hospital. Will you go to weekly group therapy, then?))

Pikachu had a sudden vision of himself sitting in a room full of other Pokémon while an overly cheery Nurse Joy said, "Pikachu? Would you like to talk to us about your problem?" He shuddered.

"Pi (No)," he said stubbornly.

((Okay, okay,fine. Just try not to cause too much trouble from now on, okay?))

"Kachu. (Okay.)"

((Gesundheit.))

"Pi? (What?)"

((...Never mind. I might as well finish the chapter now that I've- or you've- started it....))

"Where are those Pikachu noises coming from?" Brynna wondered aloud.

"From Pikachu, of course," Ash informed her.

"I know that, but where is Pikachu?"

"On my bed. He's invisible again."

"You know, I'm really getting sick of this joke."

"What joke?"

"The one about your Pikachu being invisible."

"Oh, that. That's not a joke."

"Suuuure it's not."

"Really! I mean it!"

"Oh, I give up. I'm getting nowhere with this."

"I think," Misty announced, "that I'm going to get a separate room from you guys. You're always arguing."

"Oh, and you're perfectly even-tempered," Brock said sarcastically. "I want my own room, too."

"We could share one," offered Misty.

"No thanks," Brock replied.

Misty looked slightly disappointed. "I'll have to pay the full cost of the room myself, even though there'll be more beds and stuff than I'm using."

"And here I thought you asked because you wanted the pleasure of my company," Brock joked.

"You thought I wanted your company? As if."

"Since when do you say 'as if'?"

"Since now. Why? Is there some problem with it?"

"It makes you sound ditzy."

"I'm not ditzy!"

"Is it just me or do we do nothing at all but bicker?"

"What, you and me?"

"No, all of us."

"Hey, I don't bicker," Tracey protested.

"Shut up," snapped Misty. "I hate you."

"What?" said Tracey confusedly. "Why?"

"You're too... too calm, that's why. And you're obsessed with sketching. I mean, every five minutes, you say 'Ooh, a Pikachu! I want to draw it! Ooh, a Ditto! I want to draw it! Ooh, a Caterpie! I want to draw it! Ooh, a rock! I want to draw it!' It's really weird."

"Yeah well.... well... well, you wear suspenders with shorts and a tank top! What's with that?"

"Oh yeah, well, only gay men notice fashion!"

"That's just a stereotype, and it's not true! And I don't have a girl's name!"

"Yes you do!"

"Well, maybe I do, but I can't help it! It's my mother's fault, and it isn't fair to tease me about it!"

"I wasn't! You were the one who brought it up!"

"I was not!"

"Oh yes you were!"

"Pika pi achu ka pik pika. (I think we ought to end this scene now, don't you?)" Pikachu suggested.

((...It'd probably be best, yes.))