Chapter 12

"In between a Tyranitar and a hot place"

Ash and May walked quickly through the grassy plains heading toward the forest that they originally came to the lab from. They walked along the sea of grass as the shrubs and trees started getting more abundant. The two stepped over some bushes on the outskirts of the forest and walked along the cleared road set for travelers. The sun was shining down on the forest as the day was still young, and a gentle breeze swept through the air as Ash and May's hair blew gently.

Ash and May were mostly silent since they left the lab. He didn't say a word to her as they were walking through the forest, likewise she didn't utter a sound either. Neither one was comfortable enough to talk with each other now that they were alone, as they were still uncertain about how the other felt about the infant incident. He could feel some uneasiness as he watched her searching the forest alongside him.

During their search for Team Rocket, the two would nervously look at each other after searching through some shrubs and trees. This was followed by an uneasy stare by the two, which only met with awkward silence afterward as they turned away again.

May sighed as she pushed aside some bushes in some hope that she might spot Team Rocket. She didn't like the awkwardness she felt around Ash now. He used to be the person that she felt the most comfortable with on her journey, she would never hesitate to express how she felt on certain things with him, and would always make it blatantly clear on stuff she liked and what she didn't like. She never had any trouble talking with Ash before, but now she felt shyness around him. She would glance up at him as he searched the woods on the other end of the road, try to formulate words and call out to him…only to turn away again without uttering a sound.

May snapped a branch off the bush she was pushing aside in frustration. Why do I feel so timid that I can't even talk to him? May thought to herself, Ash and I always used to say whatever was on our minds without hesitation, why can't I just say something, anything, without hesitating and holding my tongue. I hate this!

May took the branch she was holding and forcefully threw it against a tree. The girl was incredibly frustrated with herself that she couldn't even say a word to her friend. She knew that most of the uneasiness was due to the fact that a few hours ago she was mothering him as an infant, and now a few hours later he was a teenage boy who was older than her by four years. But that couldn't be the only reason, could it? She got up from the shrubs and walked back into the clearing on the main road. She watched Ash as he was walking by some trees looking along the ground for any clue as to where Team Rocket was. The girl grinded her teeth as she was trying to get a grip on herself and act naturally around him like she always did, but the awkward silence still filled the air.

Ash kicked aside some fallen branches with his foot as he looked along the woods. While he was really searching for Team Rocket, Ash's heart wasn't in his search. His mind was still on May, as he was still trying to absorb the uneasiness between them. He knew that part of the reason that they were avoiding each other in the forest was because they didn't quite know how to interact with one another. The conversation they shared in the lab was mostly a show, a farce so that Brock and the Professor wouldn't notice anything strange between them before they left. May played along, as both she and Ash knew that they had to make it appear that everything was fine between them. But Ash knew that there was something awkward, and he knew that May felt it too.

He rested his palm on the tree as he naively looked back at her in the clearing as she was walking slowly with her head down. She had an upset expression on her face as she roamed the dusty dirt road as the occasional leaves fell off the trees around her. He noticed that May wasn't even bothering to look for Team Rocket anymore, she was just roaming the road aimlessly as she randomly turned to some bushes to make it look like she was still searching.

He sighed as she leaned her back against a tree and crossed her arms. One leg was bent so that her foot was resting flat against the tree while she was standing on the other. The girl stared at the ground trying to figure out what exactly was wrong.

"She…looks lonely, standing there all by herself," Ash muttered to himself, "Something's troubling her."

Ash knew that they weren't going to be able to find Team Rocket in the state they were in, he knew something had to be done. The boy took a deep breath as he removed his palm from the tree. He had to talk with her and break the awkward silence, only then would she be able to open up again and act like she used to. Ash slowly walked out of the woods and toward the clearing.

May looked up as she saw him walking toward her. She raised her eyebrows as she stood away from the tree. "This silence has got to end," she said to herself as she walked toward him.

The two walked toward each other until they were standing next to each other in the middle of the dirt road. Ash and May looked at each other cautiously, each wondering who would speak first. May's sapphire eyes lit up as the girl noticed that Ash was about to speak.

"Errm….May? Is something bothering you?" Ash asked, cautiously.

She was a bit surprised at his first question, as this was the first thing he said to her since they left the lab.

"Uh…no! Not really…" May scratched her arm nervously, "Well yeah…I'm kinda…well frustrated."

He knew immediately how she felt.

"Frustrated that we're both seemingly avoiding each other and not saying a word to one other?" he said slyly.

May chuckled quietly, "Yea that's it. I don't like it, I don't like this at all."

"I know what you mean. It's really quiet while we're searching the woods. I just kinda couldn't bring myself to say anything to you, May."

"But why is that? I…" May looked at Ash in the eyes, "I never had trouble talking with you before. For some reason I feel kind of…you know…shy."

"Maybe seeing me older again was too much a shock after you took care of me as a baby?"

"Probably. I think it's because…I don't know what you thought about it, Ash."

Ash grinned, "That's what I'm going to tell you right now. I want to say thanks, you really did a great job making me feel comfortable yesterday when I was a baby."

"Heh, well somebody had to take care of you," May said, beginning to feel more comfortable talking with him, "Even if you were a rotten brat most of the time."

"Heh, well from what I remember you weren't exactly an angel yourself as an infant. I think I can still remember that bump on the head you gave me from knocking me off the Professor's table when he was about to turn me back to normal the first time," Ash said, cracking a smile.

"That didn't hurt that badly did it?" May held her hands behind her back as she walked closer to Ash, "You have a thick head, I'm sure it didn't hurt that much."

May stood up on her tippy toes and gently knocked on Ash's head with her fist. "Yep, it's as hard as a rock!" she said playfully.

Ash smiled as May backed up a few steps. They both noticed that they were finally interacting with each other the way they used to, as most of the awkwardness was fading away. Perhaps talking was the best way to explain their emotions to each other, even if it meant taking time out of the search for Team Rocket.

"Heh, I remember how happy I felt when you were holding me too. You never hesitated to pick me up when I needed you," Ash said.

"Well you were so adorable you know, I couldn't resist," May said, rubbing her shoe nervously in the dirt, "Just like my brother is now…I was probably cute as a baby too!"

Ash motioned with his hand to continue walking along the dirt road. May walked next to him as the two continued to walk deeper into the forest. Her face beamed as she continued holding her hands behind her back. Both of them were quite pleased that they were able to have a conversation so easily, especially when they both felt awkward around each other.

"So Ash," May said happily, "What happened back at the lab…you remember it all right?"

"You mean as a baby?" Ash asked as he turned to her, "Of course, didn't you say you remembered everything you did too?"

May stepped over some fallen branches as the two walked over the shrubs and into the deeper part of the forest. There were scattered leaves all over the ground which crunched as the two stepped over them.

May blushed as she was about to ask Ash something he experienced as an infant, "How…did you feel about sleeping with me?"

"Huh?" Ash uttered.

"You know…when we slept in bed together," May's blush grew as she felt herself getting more embarrassed. She struggled to say her words as her voice cracked. "I…held you in my arms as we slept, you didn't want to sleep alone, remember?"

"Yea…I know," Ash coughed.

"Aside from sleeping next to my mother and father when I was a little girl, I think you're the only other person I've ever slept in the same bed with Ash," May said, fixing her hair.

"Well I was an infant, it would be a different experience from sleeping in the same bed with you now," Ash said, laughing.

"Tee hee!" May giggled, "Yeah, imagine if we slept in the same bed together like we are now? That would be really embarrassing."

"I…don't think we'd even fit on the same bed together," Ash mused.

"I know, I'd probably kick you off the bed accidentally while we were sleeping. I remember my Mom and Dad saying that only adults should sleep in the same bed together," May said, thinking about her parents.

Both of them were completely unaware of the sexual connotation they alluded themselves to. After all they are still kids, and neither Ash nor May had a good grasp on adult situations and themes.

"So you didn't mind then?" she asked, as she quickly stood herself in front of Ash so she could see his reaction, "I was kinda wondering what you'd think about that."

Ash looked to the side quickly as he didn't quite know what to say. "D-on't worry, May. I think it was the best night of sleep I ever had in a good while to be honest."

May nodded. It was a relief for her to hear that Ash didn't think of her too differently after they slept together, which was one of her concerns.

Ash marched forward as he looked back at May who was standing a few feet behind him, "I wonder what Brock and Max thought about us sleeping together, you know. I mean, they saw us when they went to bed didn't they?"

May rubbed her chin, "I guess so. I don't think my brother would think that was too strange. I couldn't just let you sleep by yourself, could I? And I'm sure Brock understood that as well."

Ash remembered how content and comforted he felt when she held onto him as they slept. He remembered how the warmth from her body helped him fall asleep faster, and how she rested her chest against him. Ash shook his head and chuckled over his conflicting emotions from his infant personality and his current one.

May continued looking around the forest trying to figure out if what they were doing was a waste of time. "Ash, shouldn't you send your Swellow out so we can search by air as well?" she called out to her friend.

"You're right," Ash said, "We spent so much time thinking about each other that we're not really focusing on the search...eheh."

"Heh, I have to admit. I'm not really searching as hard as I should be," May admitted while kicking a fallen tree branch.

"Yeah, we have to stop getting ourselves distracted with each other," Ash smiled.

"Well maybe if you stop thinking what I'm thinking, and I stop thinking what you're thinking, we can you know…" May trailed off.

"…find the Professor's ray gun and Tyranitar? Yeah, that would be a good idea," Ash snickered as he threw out a Pokeball.

"Yeah…the sooner we find Team Rocket the better," May said as she crunched the tree branch she was standing on.

The flash of light formed into the bird Pokemon, Swellow. The flying type had dark blue feathers with a white underbelly and a colored beak. Swellow soared in the sky above the young travelers. It looked down at Ash knowingly.

"That's right, Swellow, Team Rocket again. You know the drill," Ash nodded with his hand on the brim of his hat.

"Swellow!" the flying Pokemon yelled across the skies as it started flapping its wings over the forest.

Ash and May watched as the bird Pokemon flew overhead and out of sight.

"Is it kind of sad or what, that Swellow knows that Team Rocket stole something of ours almost immediately when you send it out?" May asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Sad on Team Rockets' part I'd say," Ash jeered, "Swellow knows by now how to find them, I think the quickest rate in which Swellow found Team Rocket was in like two minutes flat."

"Ha! Swellow makes a great sentry. I really should capture myself a flying Pokemon someday now that I left Beautifly with my Mom," May said.

"Yeah, I've had three of them so far. Flying Pokemon not only do great searches, but their flight is absolutely crucial in battle. Pokemon constantly soaring in the air can confuse their opponents," Ash told her.

May continued raising a finger as if she were teaching, "And flying Pokemon move so fast in the air that they can give a series of swift physical attacks to their opponents during battles and knock them out before they even know what hit them."

"That's a great strategy, May, who told you that one?" Ash asked curiously.

"You did," May winked.

"Oh…well I guess I did mention that one day or another," Ash laughed.

"I have a good memory, I'll never forget some of your battle strategies Ash," May said as she walked ahead of Ash.

"Ehheh," Ash grunted nervously as he quickly trailed behind her.

~*~*~*~*

On the other side of the forest, deep within the heavy trees and foliage blocking the view from outsiders lie Jessie, James and Meowth on the ground. The three of them were resting on their backs with crumbs of food all over their faces on top of a folded out white tablecloth. They were gazing absent-mindedly at the branches of the trees in the sky. Sitting next to them were several bags of food, with a bunch of half-eaten food sitting on various plates.

"Ah, that felt good," Jessie burped.

"You mean the backrub Wobbufett gave you?" James asked.

"No you moron, I'm talking about the food," Jessie picked up her head angrily.

"Yeah, it's always great to treat yourself to a victory feast after a job well done," Meowth smiled as he sat up.

"Heh, I really must say we did a good job this time. I told you all that practice battling would make our Pokemon stronger," Jessie said, resting on her knees.

"All that training really did pay off," James bellowed, "I never knew practice battling could be so fun either!"

"What was da' score last time any'way?" Meowth asked.

"Hmmm, good question, Meowth," Jessie pondered, "I think I beat his Cacnea…3 – 0!"

"That's not true, you liar! It was my Cacnea who beat your Seviper 3-0! You got it the wrong way!" James yelled.

"Oh well…I can't be bothered to remember all the details…AHA!" Jessie laughed, covering her face.

Meowth and James frowned.

"Gee, I wonder if she says things like this on purpose or if she really is delirious," James asked Meowth.

"I t'ink we found out that answer years ago," Meowth sighed.

"You two DO realize I'm sitting right in front of you?" Jessie asked angrily.

"Yeah well, we don't even bother insulting you in secret anymore," James put his hands behind his head lazily, "Now it just comes naturally."

"You're testing my patience, James," Jessie said, grinding her teeth.

"Meh. Don't worry, Jimmy, we only need to put up with her until we get back to da bosses mansion," Meowth said, "Then we'll be so filthy rich that she won't have any reason to yell at us anymore. We'll all be stinkin' rich in the moola!"

"Yes…one can dream of a day with no torment or cruelty from a certain red haired woman," James replied.

"How about I just strangle you two right on the spot? That way I'll be able to keep all the bonuses and cash for myself," Jessie threatened as her forehead pulsated.

"She does have a point, Meowth. I like my neck muscles the way they are," James said, sitting upright.

"Pah! At least I have nine lives as backup," Meowth sat up a bit worried, "Oh wait…or is that only seven lives I have now? I remember nearly being done in three times…or wait was it four times?"

Suddenly Meowth received a punch straight to his face which knocked him flat on his back.

"If you have any fractured bones I guess you only have six lives now, huh?" Jessie sneered after she gave Meowth a fist to the face.

"That looked painful, are you alright, Meowth?" James asked.

Meowth pressed his paws against his face in pain and spoke nasally, "You know I really gotta learn to keep my big Meowth shut sometimes."

"Idiots," Jessie said, wiping the crumbs off her face.

She then crawled on her knees over to the bags of food. The Professor's ray gun and the Pokeball containing his Tyranitar were sitting next to each other. Jessie picked up Tyranitar's Pokeball.

"Hmmm, do you two think we'd be able to bring this Tyranitar under our control?" Jessie asked.

"But how? It belongs to that old fogey. Surely it will notice its master isn't here and turn on us, especially since it blasted us away once before when we tried to steal it," James said.

"You worry too much, James. After all, this Tyranitar is our property now, is it not? It has no choice but to obey," Jessie sneered as she stood up.

Meowth and James stood up nervously as it looked like Jessie was about to throw the ball.

"And what if it starts attacking us! Our perfect plan could be ruined!" Meowth shouted, raising his arms.

"Then I'll quickly recall it back into it's ball. I may be a genius but I'm not stupid," Jessie laughed, "If I can't control it than I'll just force it back into its ball and leave it to rot until we see the boss."

"I don't know about this, what do you think, Meowth?" James asked.

"It's not like we have a choice in the matter. This is Jessie we're talking about," Meowth said, sadly.

"The depressing truth comes out," James sulked.

"Aha! You two just need a little more faith in me. Come out Tyranitar!" Jessie commanded as she threw the Pokeball in the air.

A flash of white light formed from the Pokeball which slowly started to take shape into the seven foot beast. Jessie, James and Meowth stood next to each other as they watched the light form into the Professor's Tyranitar.

"Raaar," Tyranitar grunted as it looked around. It noticed that it was no longer in the lab, and that the Professor wasn't anywhere in sight.

"Wow…that thing looks…kinda scary…up close," Jessie said, a bit fearful.

"No kidding!" James said as he and Meowth squeezed each other tightly.

Tyranitar's eyes bulged as it realized that Team Rocket were the same crooks that broke into the lab once before. It roared loudly as its screech could be heard throughout the forest.

"Gah! It doesn't look too happy!" Meowth said as it squeezed James around.

"Swell?" Swellow said from the sky as it heard a loud sound roaring from the other end of the forest. The bird Pokemon quickly changed directions as it swooped over to the source of the sound.

Ash and May stopped in their tracks as the echo of Tyranitar's screech had reached them. Unfortunately for them, they were nowhere near the spot where Team Rocket was.

"What the heck was that?" Ash asked.

"I don't know but whatever it was it sounded angry," May stuttered.

"C'mon…" Ash motioned as he turned around, "Let's start walking in this direction."

May followed him as the two started walking toward the source of the roar. Ash was too caught up in the roar that he wasn't looking where he was going and tripped over a rock.

"Argh!" Ash grunted as he fell face first into the dirt.

"Uh….Ash?" May asked as she walked in front of his face.

"Little help?" Ash said as he lifted his hand up toward May.

"Heh, even though you're not a baby anymore, Ash, I'll still help you," May said as she extended her hand down toward him.

He grabbed her hand as she helped him stand up from the ground. Ash stood next to her as he brushed the dirt off his shoulders.

"You're ok, right? You don't need me to wipe away your tears now do you?" May asked mockingly.

"Nah," Ash replied.

May turned around as the two started walking deeper into the forest again. Ash walked slowly behind her as he felt some guilt eating away in the back of his mind. There was still one thing bothering him that he wanted to tell her.

"Damn," Ash sighed, "May!"

May turned around a bit confused, "Huh? What is it?"

Ash hesitated a bit as May stood in front of him. She stared at him innocently as she walked a bit closer to him. He took a quick glance at May's figure which only further solidified his guilt.

"May…I want to apologize to you," Ash said quietly.

"Apologize? What for?" May asked curiously.

She noticed that he quickly looked down at her chest. She raised an eyebrow as she realized what this was about.

"I want to say I'm sorry," Ash held his right arm quietly, "I'm sorry for walking in on you when you were taking a shower."

A startled May had red blots of embarrassment appear on her cheeks.

"I'm sure you know already, it's something that I felt guilty over once I knew what I did. I just wanted to tell you. I…didn't want to see you like that without your consent," Ash confessed.

May eyes began to water as she didn't quite know how to respond, "But, um…" She cleared her throat as she crossed her arms in front of her chest. "I'll…"

Ash walked next to her and turned his head to her, May continued to stare toward the ground.

"If you don't want to talk about it, it's ok. I don't expect you to either. I just wanted to apologize, I…didn't want to embarrass you like that. And I had no right to see you naked either," Ash said guilty, as he turned aside.

May clenched her teeth. She turned to Ash quickly and grabbed his arm, a surprised Ash looked back at her as she held his right arm from a distance.

"Thanks for being honest, Ash," May said as she let go of his arm.

He put on a half smile. She looked at him passionately as her eyes wobbled in typical emotional patterns.

"I believe you, Ash," May smiled, "I won't hold it against you. Even as an infant I know you just wanted me to play with you."

"Thanks," Ash replied.

As Ash started walking again May impulsively ran ahead of him to stop him in his tracks. She still had something on her mind.

"You…still clearly remember what I looked like when I stepped out of the shower?" May asked impulsively.

"It was only for like three seconds before you pulled the curtains over yourself anyway…but I erm…still have the image in my mind," Ash gasped.

"Oh." May stammered. "I'm kinda feeling embarrassed around you again."

"Hey, you got a peek at me too remember?" Ash said to cheer her up.

May giggled, "Ash…but that was different. You were an infant, so even though I changed you it wasn't well…quite the same."

Ash pulled the brim of his hat over his eyes more, "I guess."

"So, do you think we can put this embarrassing moment behind us?" May asked, clasping her hands.

"I'm willing to forget it if you are," Ash winked.

"Heehee, you're winking at me on purpose aren't you?" May asked, referring to how she winked at him as an infant. "It's just that my Mom told me to never let a boy see me naked…I don't want her to find out about this."

"Don't worry, it'll be fine," Ash said as he started walking again.

"Can I ask you one more thing about this?" May asked as she leaped in front of him once more.

"What now?" Ash asked, getting slightly impatient.

"I didn't…look bad did I?" May asked a bit crestfallen.

"Erm, you….looked…" Ash struggled with his embarrassment, "You looked uh…nice."

May nodded. The two shared friendly smiles and gestures as they continued walking through the woods. He was relieved that he finally got his guilt off his chest.

~*~*~*~~*

On the other end of the forest, Tyranitar marched one foot forward toward Team Rocket. Jessie now shared James' and Meowths' fear as the three of them held each other around trembling.

"M-a-ybe th-is wasn'-t such a goo-d i-dea," Jessie said, shaking.

"Y-ou th-ink?!" Meowth yelled.

Tyranitar pulled back its arms as it looked like it was ready to send Team Rocket flying through the air. The angry Pokemon suddenly noticed food out of the corner of it's eye. It looked over to where Team Rocket's picnic was, and saw a bunch of meat, fruit, and snacks lining the tablecloth on the ground.

Team Rocket caught wind that Tyranitar was looking at their food, and quickly devised up a plan.

"Ty-ranitar?" James asked rubbing his hands together.

"Rrrrrrraw?" Tyranitar turned to James.

"The…uh…Professor has agreed to uh…let us take you out for a walk…" James said nervously, trying to think of something to say.

"Unh yeah!" Jessie continued anxiously, "He decided to make up with us…and uh…in order to be on good terms with your lovely master again he told us to treat you to a nice buffet!"

"…?" Tyranitar grunted as it looked back at the food.

"Just t'ink about it!" Meowth waved his arms, "We have all kinds of good food. Sandwiches and cake and chips and soda and…"

"Yes he's right!" James interrupted as he pranced in front of the Pokemon, "Now wouldn't eating all of our food…I mean your food be much better than sending us flying through the air?"

Tyranitar roared again as it wasn't buying Team Rocket's scheme.

"AHHHH!" James screamed as he quickly jumped away from Tyranitar.

Tyranitar grinned devilishly as he stomped the ground with his right foot. The ground trembled around it as Team Rocket struggled to stand.

"GAHHH! It's like a mini-earthquake!" Jessie shouted as she held James in fear.

Tyranitar stomped the ground one more time as the shock forced the trio to fall on the ground. It then grinned as it walked toward the food sitting on the ground.

"I don't like where dis is going!" Meowth said as he stood up.

Team Rocket watched as Tyranitar opened the bags of food and started throwing it in his mouth. The Pokemon took one snack after another and scarfed it down quickly. Jessie, James and Meowth's jaws dropped to the floor as Tyranitar was eating all their food.

"Uh…that's right Tyranitar. All that grub is for you!" Jessie said nervously as she rubbed her hands, "That's right….help yourself to your hearts content!"

James covered his mouth so that Tyranitar wouldn't hear him, "Jessie! This giant lizard is going to eat up all our food! Why don't you just recall it back into it's Pokeball while it's back is turned?"

"No," Jessie whispered back, "Don't you see? If we pretend that we're acting nice to Tyranitar then maybe it'll believe us. Besides, what good is a big strong and powerful Pokemon to us if we can't even use it? It'll be a waste to just keep in it's ball."

"I dunno about this," Meowth whispered, "How da ya know it won't just turn on us after it eats up all our grub?"

"Good point," Jessie whispered.

Tyranitar held the bag in the air as the last morsel of food dropped in its mouth. The Pokemon chewed the cracker and after it swallowed it tossed the bag aside. The giant Pokemon didn't catch notice of the ray gun however, which was sitting next to some shrubs at the edge of the tablecloth resting on the ground. The Pokemon turned brashly toward Team Rocket.

"It looks like we're gonna be murderized!" Meowth whispered frantically.

"What are we going to do? Just put the thing back in it's Pokeball quickly!" James warned.

"You two are so pathetic and useless. Can't you think of anything?" Jessie sneered, "Well I know, how's about this?"

Tyranitar watched as Team Rocket got into a group huddle discussing their plans. Tyranitar couldn't hear what they were saying but wasn't going to wait around much longer.

"Excellent!" James said, hitting his hand with his fist.

Team Rocket let go of each other as they faced the towering seven foot Pokemon. The three put on fake nervous smiles as Jessie and Meowth walked around to his back. Tyranitar looked hastily as to where they were going.

"Hey there, big fella!" James yelled to catch it's attention, "Are you feeling depressed lately? Big ol' scales getting you down?"

The Pokemon looked at James like he was crazed. Jessie and Meowth leaped onto Tyranitar's back as they climbed up to his shoulders. Tyranitar turned his head wondering what the heck they were doing.

"Now there there ,Tyranitar. How's about a nice backrub to sooth your tensions?" James asked happily.

Jessie started massaging Tyranitar's left shoulder while Meowth started rubbing his paws against his right one. Tyranitar growled angrily.

"Aw…now who is a big bad fella in need of some pleasure?" Jessie said, rubbing its left shoulder.

"Yeah, Tyranny! You should just relaaaaaaax. We'll make you feel as good as new….gah!" Meowth screamed in pain as he rubbed his paws too quickly over one of Tyranitar's scales.

The Pokemon towered over James not looking anymore content. James waved his hands nervously to calm it down.

"Hey hey! Let's not be too hasty! We let you have our food and now you're enjoying a nice backrub! Isn't that enough?" James asked frantically.

"Tyrrrrraaaannnnnitar!" The Pokemon roared as it shook Jessie and Meowth off his shoulders.

Jessie and Meowth fell to the ground as they crawled quickly behind James.

"It didn't buy it!" James yelled.

"Well how was I to know that it wouldn't like a massage! Just about everyone does!" Jessie panicked.

Tyranitar formed an orange ball of light in it's mouth as it looked menacingly at Team Rocket.

"It's going to fire a Hyper Beam at us!" Meowth warned.

"Zaaaaar!" Tyranitar roared as it shot the beam of light from it's mouth.

"Hit the dirt!" Jessie yelled.

The three of them ducked to the ground with their hands over their heads. The Hyper Beam just missed them as it made contact and destroyed some trees behind them. Jessie, James and Meowth looked up as Tyranitar started forming another Hyper beam in it's mouth.

"Run for it!" Jessie yelled.

"GAH!" James and Meowth panicked as they all ran in different directions.

Hyper Beams started shooting out in every direction, all of which missed Team Rocket but ended up blowing up and destroying the trees in the forest. Trees burst into flames as the ground exploded upon receiving impact by this colossal energy attack.

Swellow swooped over the forest until it spotted beams of light being shot from the ground. It dove down to get a closer look in which it then spotted Tyranitar firing bursts in every direction. Several trees were catching fire due to the attack, as well as ground being overturned in the explosions. It stopped mid-flight next to a tree as it also spotted Team Rocket running frantically in circles trying to escape it's blasts.

"Swell!" Swellow nodded as it found Team Rocket.

"Run for your life!" Meowth screamed.

Jessie hopped over a blast that nearly hit her legs, "I'm not made for these kind of gymnastics!"

"AHH!" James cried as he felt the beam of light just narrowly missing his hair. The light had fired right above his head and narrowly missed him, "Just recall that thing in it's Pokeball Jessie!"

"You're right!" Jessie held the Pokeball in front of her as she aimed it at Tyranitar.

Tyranitar saw what Jessie was trying to do as it fired another Hyper Beam in her direction. Jessie panicked as she hit the dirt and dropped the Pokeball which started rolling away from her.

"The ball!" Jessie panicked.

"Swellow? Swell!" Swellow exclaimed as the Hyper Beam hit the tree right next to it!

The bird Pokemon looked frantically as the force of the blast managed to knock the tree off its roots. The rather large tree had a very thick trunk, and it ended up snapping in half as the top came crashing down.

"SWELLOW!" Swellow cried in fear as the giant tree started falling in its direction.

Swellow frantically tried to fly away but the heavy trunk of the tree slammed down on its back. The mighty bird Pokemon was slammed into the ground as the top half of the tree came crashing down on top of it. The Pokemon lay in pain on the ground as the tree trunk was on top of its entire body, only leaving its head free from the impact.

"S-w-ellow?" Swellow cried as the fallen tree had crushed its body.

The pain was too intense for the flying type as it collapsed under the pressure of the tree trunk which had just slammed down on its back. The Pokemon was about to faint due to the intense pain.

It uttered one last cry for help, "Swellow swell!" which translated to "Ash….I failed," before the flying type fainted on the ground.

Unbeknownst to both Team Rocket and the Tyranitar, Ash's Swellow clung desperately to life as its body was crushed and trapped under the fallen tree.

"Dammit!" James gasped as he darted for the Pokeball on the ground.

"TYRANITAAAAAAAR!" The Pokemon shouted in triumph.

James frantically pointed toward the Tyranitar while having his stomach flat on the ground. "Return!" James shouted.

The beam of red light shot out from the Pokeball and made contact with Tyranitar. The Pokemon didn't quite have time to react as the light pulled the Pokemon back inside it's Pokeball.

An ominous silence filled the forest with only sounds of burning trees and flicking fire echoing throughout the woods. James stood up nervously as he held the Pokeball in his hands. Jessie and Meowth slowly walked toward him as they all brushed the dirt off themselves.

"You…got it back into it's ball," Jessie said.

"Yes I did," James gasped, "Finally."

"The ray gun!" Meowth suddenly remembered, "Make sure it wasn't damaged in the blasts!"

"Oh crap!" Jessie shouted as she quickly ran over to the tablecloth they were sitting on.

She quickly looked over the ground as she spotted the ray gun, safe and sound. Jessie bent down and picked the device up in her hands.

"It looks OK, I don't think it was hit by any of the blasts," Jessie said, examining it.

"Phew, dats a relief. At least it's not broken," Meowth wiped his forehead.

"I knew this was a bad idea, Jess!" James said angrily, lowering the Pokeball.

"You're right, we should have just kept it in its Pokeball and gave it to the Boss. He'd know how to handle a Pokemon like this. Whose idea was it to let Tyranitar out of it's Pokeball in the first place?" Jessie asked softly.

"IT WAS YOURS!" James and Meowth shouted in unison.

"Ugh, you two don't have to rub it in," Jessie sneered.

"A lot of these trees are burning up, the whole forest could catch on fire," James said fearfully.

"Well let's not stick around while it spreads," Jessie stated.

"C'mon youze two, let's get outta here! All this noise could have warned the twerps of our location!" Meowth said as he started marching out of the forest.

Jessie and James quickly followed him. "Oh don't worry, Meowth, I bet those twerps have no idea we were here," Jessie said.

The three of them quickly ran out of the forest holding the ray gun and Tyranitar's Pokeball. A few of the trees around them were burning up in flames, as the fire slowly started to spread to other trees in the immediate area. Little did they know that Ash's Swellow was still badly injured in the forest, as its bones were crushed by the weight of the heavy tree….

~*~*~*~*

"Ugh…what the heck was all that noise?" May asked, pushing some branches out of her face.

"It sounded like a Pokemon battle or something…" Ash said.

"Do you smell something?" May asked as she sniff the air.

"It smells like smoke!" Ash said angrily, "There must be something caught on fire ahead."

Suddenly, something hit Ash like lightning. For some reason, he knew that his Swellow was in trouble.

"Swellow?" Ash asked a bit confused.

"Ash?" May asked.

"My Swellow…for some reason…I think it's hurt or something," Ash said nervously looking around the vicinity.

"How do you know that? It's probably still searching overhead," May tried comforting him.

"I…I don't know. I just had this strange feeling wash over me…that's all," Ash started to shrug his shoulders.

May walked up to Ash's back and placed her hand on his right shoulder, "C'mon Ash, I'm sure it's fine. Let's at least keep heading to where all that noise came from. We may find something there."

Ash looked at May and smiled, "You're probably right."

"If there's a fire though we better get out of the woods. It could spread all over the trees and grass…maybe even surround us!" May said nervously.

"I'll make sure we don't get ourselves into danger, I'll promise you that, May," Ash said boldly.

The two continued walking forward as they stepped over the cracking leaves and dead branches. The faint smell of smoke filled the air, as the two were completely unaware that they were heading into a burning inferno due to the thick foliage blocking the view from all directions.

"Swellow," Ash muttered under his breath, "Please be ok..."