Hallo! How y'all doing? Thanks again to Sailor Bryan...sorry, Evanescence. In this chapter of the fanfic, the gang get to Ecruteak to discover a massive festival - talking of festivals, does anyone know if Kid's/Children's Day and Girl's/Princess Day really exist - so here is the second of the party-themed chappies, named after a childish outburst from Toad...

Let's Party!

WARNING: THIS CHAPTER CONTAINS REFERENCES TO TERRORISM AND SHOULD NOT BE READ BY ANYONE OF A SENSITIVE DISPOSITION ABOUT THE AFOREMENTIONED SUBJECT.

Disclaimer:IdonotownPokémonorAsh&thegangbutIdoownmemyselfandAdblahblahwhogiv esaninchblahblahblahyapyapyapONWITHTHEFIC!

"Thank God for that then!"
Misty leaned back on the bench.
"No more bugs! I think we deserve a rest."
"Misty is right; we need to get to the nearest Pokémon Centre," said Brock. "We'll never be able to win a Gym Battle with our Pokémon weakened."
"Alright, but we mustn't get caught up like we did," Ash glared at Misty, "in Goldenrod."
And so the gang walked through the gates of Ecruteak, which are strangely empty.

There was a loud bang, and an explosion flew into the air. Pikachu bolted behind Ash, as he peered into the distance. Another one immediately blew up behind them.
Misty span around. "I think Team Rocket are here!" she cried, with a note of panic in her voice. Another rocket flew up, and the gang just turned around in time to see the rocket explode. But to their surprise, the rocket blew into sparks, which formed the words 'WELCOME TO THE ECRUTEAK CITY FESTIVAL'.
Brock immediately opened the guidebook.
"It says here that the Ecruteak Festival celebrates special Pokémon like Ghost- and Dark-types." He looked up. "The rockets must be for the festival."
Ash sighed. "That's a relief."
Pikachu crawled out from behind Ash, and fell over, exhausted from fear and relief.
A wave of people suddenly rushed by, sweeping away the gang. The crowd was cheering and roaring. Once they had turned a corner, the gang picked themselves up, dusted themselves off and started all over again. Brock looked tearful.
"What's wrong, Brock?" asked Ash, worried.
Brock almost broke into tears as he said, "I was being carried along by four really pretty girls! And now they've gone!" Everyone except Brock anime-fell.

Lined up outside the (normal) Gym, the gang was very nervous - especially Ad, who had something serious on his mind. Ash gulped, and decided to break the silence.
"Shall we go in?"
Ad stared upwards, as everyone turned to look at him. "Oh, um, yes, let's go..."
The heavy doors of the gym swung open.
The room was familiar to Ash; this gym and its invisible path had helped him to defeat Ad. At the other end stood a man with a sweatband in his hair. He turned around.
"Ash, Misty, Brock, how nice it is to see you all again."
Ash scratched behind his neck humbly, to reveal a shaking Ad.
Morty's eyes narrowed. "But not you."
Ash turned to see Ad looking like a reflection of Morty in his eyes. "What's going on?"
Without moving his stare, Ad calmly stated, "He cheated me. Do you ever wonder why I have a Misdreavus, and why it has to work so hard in the 'nursery'? Well, I'll tell you. Once, I had a Gengar. It was strong, Level 50, max stats. I was on my way to the top. As a trainer, I was in the Elite Four league. I auditioned for it. But, a day before the final tryouts, this beast," Ad's stare became harder, "suggested a trade. His Misdreavus for my Gengar. I was an enthusiastic boy back then. I agreed. But as soon as the deal was done, I found the Misdreavus had been Rare Candied (despicable things) up to level 50. I was furious: it was a weakling. I had to drop out of the tryouts. Of course, using Reverse Rare Candies (the best things, let you drop a level to increase stats) I managed to fix him. But to this day, I never forget that you could have met me as a member of the Elite Four. But because of him, you can't." Ad finished, and turned away.
"You-" screamed Morty. "It was you that cheated me! That Gengar didn't obey me at all! It did its own thing, it hated me." Morty calmed down. "But a couple a' Rare Candies..."
"Despicable things! How could you mistreat Gengar so?"
"Shut up, you little..." Morty leaped forward in anger, and immediately fell off the side of the invisible path. He grumbled, annoyed, as he climbed the stairs back to his platform. Ash looked round, nervously.
"I think things are going to get a bit confusing around here. Let's go."

Outside, the festival was not letting down. The gang waded through the crowds. In fact, the noise was so great it was easy to miss an unscheduled rocket, of which there were many, most let off by rouge kids. But some were let off by particularly rouge adults...

"Oh. My. God." Ash looked over the huge area. Misty sidled up to him.
"What is it?"
"I'd forgotten one of the most important things at a festival, and here it is!"
"Here what is?" said Misty, puzzled, as she was facing the other way.
"Food!" cheered Ash. Misty anime-fell as Ash and Brock ran up to a table and started piling things onto their plates. Sighing, Misty followed. As she passed the table Ash was on, she noticed a plate of fortune cookies. She stopped, and picked one up. She ran it through her fingers, and snapped it in half. Stuffing the biscuit in her mouth, she unrolled the fortune and read it. Her eyes widened as she finished reading. She looked behind her and saw Ash. With a sigh of relief, she tossed the fortune on the ground. Pikachu toddled up to it, stood on one end and unrolled the other. He was confused, as the fortune was written in very bad handwriting, so he could not read the message: 'The boy behind you will play a part in your life later on'.

"Are you ultimately sure this'll work?"
"Trust me. Have I ever come up with a bad idea?"
"Well actually..."
Meowth Fury Swiped Jessie before she could finish the sentence.
"Okay, okay."
"Well." Meowth closed his eyes. "Do you understand the plan? What am I saying? Of course you don't. Right then. We let off this Super-Pyro- Rockets, which look just like the festival rockets, and in the chaos and confusion created by them, we nab the Pokémon that are left out!"
"Sounds brilliant!" said a voice from a bush. "I know someone in particular you could target."

"Testing, four two seven, testing four two seven."
Ash looked up from the table, spaghetti hanging from his mouth and fork.
"The final part of the festival, the fireworks, will commence at 18 hundred hours next to the Burned Tower. Partygoers should make their way there immediately for a good view, but the field will be open to enter until the fireworks start. They will last one hour, and the three biggest fireworks will be let off halfway through. Thank you."
Ash stood up. He turned to his friends. "Come on, we want a good view." And so they started shoving and pushing through the surge of people (sometimes literally when it came to Ghost Pokémon).
"Wow! That one looks just like a Ho-oh. And that one, Chikorita!" The crowd was very excited. Including Ash.
"Wow; look at that, Pikachu: it looks just like you."
"Pika!" cried the mouse-like Pokémon.
"And now, the time you've all been waiting for...THE BIGGEST FIREWORKS IN THE WORLD!"
Accompanied by lots of cheering, four bright dots shot into the air. The first three shot straight into the air, but the last one keeled towards the crowd. Brock mused for a moment.
"I swear there were only three..."

There was chaos and panic. The firework was heading straight for the crowd. And behind a bush three people and a 'cat' were the only people not part of the pandemonium.
"No, steer it at him! That's what that man said to do!"
"Yeah, but I'm trying to get the rest of the twerps!" Meowth sighed. It was no wonder that they had never caught any Pokémon. That odd bloke was going to be so mad they hadn't caught the flying adder thingy. Only he could save them.
Meowth leaped onto Jessie's head, knocked away the remote, and started operating it. In the field, the firework ground to a halt, then, just before it hit the ground, fired off after Ad and Misdreavus.
"Help!" screamed Ad as the missile screeched after him. Ash saw him pass.
"I bet this is Team Rocket's doing. We've got to help Ad. Charmander, go!" The lizard-like Pokémon burst out of its PokéBall. As the firework screeched past it, it fired a jet of flame at it. It exploded. Ash started to cheer; until he saw the exploded bits zoom off together to pursue Ad some more.
"Bummer." Ash thought for a second. "Okay, Bulbasaur, go!"
Bulbasaur burst out of its 'Ball, and used Razor Leaf. Ash watched in dismay as the burning leaves set after Ad as well.
"Okay, final try. Squirtle, go." Squirtle burst out. A leaf passed behind it. Immediately, Squirtle span around and shot a bullet of water at it. It dropped, spluttered, and attempted to hop along the ground looking suitably devilish (and, needless to say, failing).
"Alright!"
Squirtle continued, until it had only to face the main body. It fired a Hydro Pump, but the rocket moved through it. Squirtle tried again, but failed. But Ad cottoned on to what was going on, and ran around Squirtle. The turtle slowly revolved, firing Hydro Pumps at the firework circling it. After a while, it slowed, and fell to the ground. Ash walked up to it as Ad fainted in the background.
"Just as I suspected," said Ash as he read the words on the firework:
'Super-Pyro-Rocket™. If undelivered, please send to: Giovanni's Gym, Viridian City, Kanto, TR56 3DQ'.
"We just need to know one thing: who sent this after Ad?"

"It was YOU!" said Ad threateningly to the man.
"Yes. How did you guess?" said the man calmly.
"Because, Morty, you have a grudge against me and I, against you."
Morty started to slowly cross the invisible bridge.
"I guess it was very predictable. I hope you understand," he said reassuringly, "that I did not want to hurt you. I just wanted you to know I did not like you. If you had been injured, I would have been right by your side."
Ad smiled. "Thank you. I hope this may," with an accent on 'may', "just shorten the gap between us."
Morty snickered. "Don't worry. It hasn't."
And so we leave our heroes walking down to the Burned Tower to their next adventure, leaving a slightly less stern Morty behind them.

Just A Minute! (Da da daaaaaaaaa...)

In Viridian City Gym, a parcel had just arrived. It had the word 'UNDELIVERED' scrawled across it. Curious, James opened it. Inside was a message.
'I noticed that this missile was undelivered. So, I sent it back. Love, Twerp 1 (Ash)'
Jessie, James and Meowth sweatdropped as they looked at each other. The package glowed a bright yellow.
"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

And so we end this adventure. We've had fun, a rivalry that was obviously shoehorned in to stop Ad being a Gary Stu, and several minutes wondering whether Super-Pyro-Rockets™ look like Bullet Bills, where you can buy them, and whether it constitutes a terrorist alert if you sent one through the post. And so, in the immortal words of Frankie & Johnnie:

This story has no moral,
This story has no end,
This story only goes to show,
That there ain't no good in men.
Please, don't have nightmares.

GOODNIGHT!

A/N: Sorry if that thing about Super-Pyro-Rockets reminds anyone of 3/11. It isn't intended to.