Here's the next chapter. Am I getting a fan following? Heh, if I'm entertaining at least one person, then my writing has done its job, right? The battle reaches its conclusion today.
I came back and redid parts of this chapter, and tried to make it better. I've had this redone chapter done for a while, but church and work slowed down my work on Chapter 5, where I bring up the changes. The plot remained the same, but I tryed to make it more detailed.
A gust of wind blew through the field and scattered the dust. In the middle of the field there were two Pokémon.
Masquerain and Aipom.
Both were lying knocked out in the middle of the scene.
"No way!" Drew said, "How did Pikachu evade the attack?"
In the bushes across from Brock, three sets of eyes watched the battle.
"No way!" cried a cat-like Pokémon, "Ders no way dat da twerp's Pikachu coulda escaped dat!" He wagged his tail furiously and dug his sharp claws into the bush he was looking over.
"Shhh…" his grey-clad partners warned him.
The blue-haired man looked over at the field. One of his Pokémon, small and pink with wavy black hair sat on his shoulder. She mimicked his crouched posture and his hopeful gaze. "My, those are some powerful Pokémon. Think if we could get them to the Boss!" he squealed. His Pokémon happily mimicked him.
"James, that what we try every time!" The pessimistic red haired woman told him, "The reason we can't get them is because their so powerful!" She continued to brush her long, beautiful red hair.
"I suppose you're right, Jessie," James sighed. His Mime Jr. sitting on his shoulder mimed his sighing expression.
"Well," the cat Pokémon chimed in, the charm in the middle of his forehead taking a slight shine, "we could always go with the good ol' 'wait-till-dey-tire-demselves-out-then-swoop-in-an-grab-em' plan."
"That's a great idea, Meowth!" James' eyes sparkled.
"Mime, Mime!" Mime Jr. mimicked him.
"Then why hasn't it worked before?" Jessie sighed, continuing to brush her hair.
"Oh, yeah…" James was depressed again. Mime Jr. followed suit.
"Well, if at foist you don't succeed, try, try again," Meowth said, trying to rally the troops.
"Alright, I'm in!" James was happy again. Mime Jr. mimed his cheer.
"Oh, I guess I am, too," Jessie sighed, getting tired of brushing, "even if we lose again."
"Wooobuffet!" Jessie's blobby blue Pokémon chimed in, after escaping his Pokéball.
James, Mime Jr., and Meowth all sighed.
While that exchange was taking place, Ash and Drew looked for Pikachu, who had disappeared when the Solarbeam attack connected. "Where is Pikachu, anyway? Ash asked, concerned about his buddy's location. His eyes wandered to the tree where Aipom had been standing and saw Pikachu sitting there, looking as confused as the rest of them were.
"Aipom must have used her Baton Pass." Brock said, surveying the scene.
"Baton Pass?" Ash asked him.
"It's an attack that cause a Pokémon to switch places with another of its trainer's Pokémon. If the user has made itself faster or stronger, like with Agility, then that increase would be passed on to the other Pokémon. Aipom used it to switch places with Pikachu to protect it."
"That's what the popping sound was…" Ash recalled the loud popping sound that he had heard before the explosion.
Brock raised both of his hands into the air, "Masquerain and Aipom are unable to battle. This match will continue as a single battle with Pikachu battling Roselia. Continue the match!"
Both trainers recalled their fainted Pokémon. Drew thanked Masquerain for putting up such a great fight, while Ash thanked Aipom for taking the beam for Pikachu.
"We can't waste this opportunity, Pikachu! Thunderbolt him!" Ash rallied his partner.
Pikachu approached Roselia and launched a Thunderbolt. The attack struck the small Grass-Type, but it shook it off.
"Roselia, Petal Dance!" Drew commanded.
Roselia spun itself around and sharp flower petals rained across the field. Pikachu tried its best to get out of the way of some of them, but it ended up getting caught in it. The force knocked Pikachu away from Roselia. He landed on the ground with a resounding thud.
"Get up, Pikachu! I know you can do it, buddy," Ash cheered his partner on.
"Pi…ka" Pikachu pulled itself up on all fours. Roselia had a dazed expression on its face.
That's right, Ash thought, Petal Dance tires out the user, making it hard to focus its attacks!
"Pikachu, this is our shot! Take'em out with Volt Tackle!" Ash shouted, forcefully pointing at Roselia.
Pikachu started running toward Roselia, all the while chanting, "Pikapikapikapikapikapika…"
"Roselia, finish him with Solar Beam!" Drew commanded, trying to get a counteroffensive underway. Roselia, dazed, raised its roses into the air to collect sunlight.
"…pikapikapikapikapikapika…"
A golden aura began to surround Pikachu, and then completely enveloped it. He charged even faster toward Roselia.
"Roselia, now!" Drew commanded.
"…pikapikapika-PIK-KA!" he called, tackling into Roselia. The charge surrounding Pikachu was transferred into Roselia. The energy coursed into the flower Pokémon's body. He released his focus and launched the Solar Beam harmlessly away from Pikachu. The force of Pikachu's impact caused a small explosion. Pikachu flipped out of the smoke and landed on all fours, panting heavily. Roselia fell out of the smoke and lay there, struggling to stand. Pikachu and Roselia glared at each other, and then Roselia fell backwards, unconscious.
Brock raised his hand, "Roselia is no longer able to battle! Ash and Pikachu are the winners."
"Alright!" Ash ran over to Pikachu and picked him up. He snuggled Pikachu as he laughed. Drew, looking defeated, walked to his beaten Pokémon and picked him up.
Ash looked up at the clear blue sky. The sun was shining above his head in the bright, sapphire colored sky. Wait, sapphire colored... May! Ash remembered. He ran up to Drew with Pikachu on his shoulder and an angry look on his face, "Alright, I won. Now where's May?" he demanded.
Drew looked confused. "Me?" he asked, "I thought you kidnapped her?"
Ash, surprised, took the note out of his pocket. "But I got your note…" he said, showing it to him.
Drew glanced over the note. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the note he received. "You mean this one?" He showed his copy to Ash. Sure enough, it was exactly the same as Ash's – minus the note about his Pokéballs being in the attached bag."
"Something funny's going on here…" Ash noted.
Brock swallowed the lump in his throat. In the bushes behind Brock, two sets of eyes watched with growing interest.
"May," Max poked his sister, "what are they talking about? You haven't been kidnapped."
"It's part of the battle, Max," May brushed him off, trying to hear Ash and Drew talking. She had really expected more dramatic speeches from the boys who professed to love her. Something like she had read in the book she had brought with her into Kanto. Drew is probably too stuck on himself to do that, May thought, And Pokémon are always number one with Ash. If he had to choose between any girl and Pikachu, there would be some broken hearts, I'm sure.
"Well, why are they battling?" Max pestered her further. "You still haven't told me!"
Brock backed up to the bushes. "May, I think the jig is up. They're getting suspicious," he whispered discreetly.
"I guess I better come clean, then, huh?" May gulped. May stood up and brushed the dirt off of her skirt and legs. She straightened her bandana and consciously tried to put the cutest look on her face she could muster. "Um, hey guys…" May said loud enough for both of them to hear, blushing and smiling as she stepped out of the bushes.
"May!" Ash and Drew turned their heads and exclaimed simultaneously.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu chimed in, climbing onto Ash's shoulders.
Ash and Drew excitedly ran over to May, both relieved that no apparent harm had come to her.
"I was so worried about you," Ash said, smiling.
"I thought you were in danger!" Drew said, also smiling.
"This is my fault. I'm sorry I pitted you against each other," May sighed.
"So you planted the notes?" Drew asked her.
May blushed and put her hand behind her head in a nervous way. "It was the only the only thing Brock and I could come up with!"
Ash and Drew turned toward Brock. "You were in on this?" they both exclaimed.
Brock sweatdropped, "May was distressed about what to do after you both told her you loved her in the same night!"
Ash and Drew turned to face each other. "You're in love with May, too?" the shouted at each other.
"You two were fighting over my sister!" Max was shocked. Ash and Drew blushed.
"It's a long story…" May began.
A long metal arm with a red glove reached down and snatched Pikachu off of Ash's shoulder. A second came down and grabbed Roselia out of Drew's arms.
"Pikachu!" Ash called to him.
"Roselia!" Drew reached for his partner before he was pulled back to a familiar Meowth shaped hot air balloon hovering in the sky. Both Pikachu and Roselia were placed into tough, clear, plastic spheres. Pikachu tried an electric attack, but it had no effect on his confinement. Holding those spheres and sneering were Meowth and James of Team Rocket, with Jessie standing on the opposite side of Meowth.
"Not you guys again!" Ash shouted.
"Prepare for trouble while your back is turned!" Jessie began.
"Make it double from the lesson you should have learned!" James followed up.
"An evil as old as the galaxy!" Jessie lifted her gloved hand into the air.
"Sent here to fulfill our destiny!" James lifted his. Mime Jr. mimicked this.
"And there's me!" Meowth leaped up.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Jessie closed her eyes and threw her arms back. She started to fall backwards
"To extend our reach to the stars above!" James caught her from behind with a rose in his mouth.
"Jessie!" She shouted her name toward the onlookers.
"James!" He turned his head to face the trainers.
"And Meowth are da names!" Meowth shouted when he leapt onto James' head.
Jessie and James stood up with Meowth standing on their shoulders.
"Anywhere there's peace in the universe…" Jessie announced with her hand held high.
"…Team Rocket…" James added, with his hand held up.
"…will be dere…" Meowth broke in with his paw in the air.
"…to make everything worse!" All three of them announced together, pointing at the twerps.
"Wobbuffet!" Jessie's Pokémon shouted, raising his hand to his head.
"Mime, Mime!" Mime Jr. mimicked Wobbuffet.
"Team Rocket!" Ash, May, Max and Brock shouted at their long-time nemeses.
"What are you guys doing here?" Drew asked them.
"The same thing we do every time!" James mocked him back. "We're here for Pikachu, and this time we've got it!"
"Not for long," Ash muttered, reaching for a Pokéball.
"Wait," May told him, "it's my fault that Pikachu and Roselia battled anyway, so I'll handle it."
"Wait," James interrupted. "Do you mean that twerpette got the boy twerps to fight each other?"
"Oh…" Jessie's eyes began to sparkle, "That's so romantic! It must be love!" Ash, May and Drew looked at each other, blushing. "It is! The boy twerps must be in love with the girl! This is just like the book I've been reading!"Wait, you've been reading the same book?" May asked her.
"If you mean, 'Gem-crossed lovers'? Of course!" Jessie announced, pulling her copy of the novel out of her pocket.
"I'm reading that, too!" May pulled her copy out of her fanny pack. The cover had a man in a red tunic with his sword clashing against another, held by a man with a green robe. In the background between the swords stood a princess draped in blue, and hovering over her was the image of an old man wearing a golden crown. The title of the book was embossed in reflective letters on at the top of the cover.
"I love this novel. It's so romantic!" May squealed.
"I know!" Jessie squealed back. "It's just so wonderfully sweet. I want to be in princess Sapphire's place and have two men fighting over me!"
Ash and Drew cringed over the similarity of their plight to what happened in the book May and Jessie were reading.
"Ruby and Emerald, the two bravest knights in the realm, had fallen in love with the beautiful princess Sapphire." Jessie started.
"But just as Ruby and Emerald began to fight over Sapphire's heart, the evil Count Topaz kidnapped her, and Ruby and Emerald had to put their differences aside to rescue her." May finished Jessie's quote of the back cover.
"That means…" Jessie giggled, "that the two twerp boys really are in love with you, right?" Ash and Drew felt their faces change from flesh colored to red.
"Yeah, but I couldn't choose between them…" May looked down, "so I had them fight each other. I was hoping I'd see something in the battle…"
Meowth whispered to James, "I thought that the twerp woulda ended up with the red-headed Gym Leader girl..."
"What?" James looked at him, surprised, "I thought she was with that kid from the Orange Islands now?" he whispered back.
Meowth sighed, "I guess we wouldn't know love if it constantly beat an' belittled us, huh?"
"I guess not," James sadly agreed. Mime Jr. copied this.
"Well, you know what comes next in the story…" Jessie smiled at the twerps while reaching for something inside the balloon, not paying James or Meowth any attention.
"What? I just got to that part a few days ago, and I haven't had a chance to read it recently," May asked her, puzzled.
Before May could react, the arm that Jessie was holding reached out and grabbed her around her narrow midsection. Ash reached for her hand as she was being pulled away. "May!" he shouted futilely. Her hand was within reach for only a moment, but then it was pulled away quickly.
"Ash!" May cried out to him, tears forming in her eyes.
Jessie held May above her head with her restrained in the arm's grasp. "Well, if you 'knights' want to save her, you're going to have to chase her." Jessie was giddy with glee as the balloon began to drift away.
"James, I think she's cracked…" Meowth whispered into James' ear.
"One bad egg spoils the whole carton, I'm afraid," James sighed. Mime Jr. sighed as well.
"Fat chance if you think you're getting away!" Ash tossed a Pokéball into the air, "Swellow, take that balloon down!"
In a flash, a navy blue bird Pokémon with a red crest and a white underside appeared in the air. His sharp eyes quickly eyed the balloon. "Swell!" He responded to his trainer's call.
"Take down the balloon with Aerial Ace!" Ash commanded, more anger in his voice than normal. Swellow began darting through the air, glowing streaks flying around him. He plunged through the balloon. Quickly deflating, the balloon fell into the distance. "Now we gotta- huh?" Ash began before a rumbling came over the forest. Before he could say more, a large purple ship came flying out of the forest near where the Balloon had gone down. It had a large skull and crossbones pattern on the underside. It boasted a face familiar to Ash and propellers where attached to the top, giving it flight capabilities. He gasped as he recalled the shape of the Team Rocket Pokémon he had battled until early in the Hoenn Region.
"You're birdie is useless against out Weezing Air-Mecha!" James taunted over the loud speaker. "Now we're going to take Pikachu, Roselia, and all of you little friend's Pokémon and there's nothing you can do!"
I would have ended the chapter sooner, but I couldn't find a good place. But May has been kidnapped by Team Rocket! And Pikachu and Roselia, too! And with Swellow's attacks null against the hull of the Weezing Air-Mecha, how will Ash and Drew save the Pokémon they treasure and the girl they love?
Umm... yeah. I think I make a crappy narrator. But what about this plot twist? Or the obivious one about the notes? The same review/comment/question policy is in place. Why change a good thing, ne?