Chapter
15
"A
new hope"
"GET
OUT!"
"You said there was no charge!"
"I NEVER said that! Get the hell out of my shop!"
The middle aged shopkeeper slammed shut the door. Jessie, James and Meowth stood in front of the small store which stood along the edge of the beach where the pavement met the sand.
"There goes that idea," James said disappointingly.
"I'm going crazy! I can't stand this!" Jessie yelled, grabbing her head angrily.
Meowth looked back at the beach as people continued to surf the waves along small boogie surfboards. Water Pokemon were attached to the small surfboards by a tether, in which the trainers held onto the handle it was tied to. The water Pokemon would swim across the waves at great speeds allowing their trainers to enjoy a unique type of surfing.
"It looked like those people were just rentin' those surfboards," Meowth sighed, "I didn't think they cost anything."
"So what are we to do, then? I'm not going to stand here and watch everyone else have fun. This is disappointing me," Jessie sneered.
"We have no water Pokemon anyway, what would we use to pull the tether on those surfboards?" James asked.
"You're right," Jessie snapped her fingers, "That's why we'd tie you to the tether, James, and have you swim pulling the tether by your teeth while we stand on the surfboards. Aha!"
"Wow, leave it to you to think of a new form of human cruelty," James shuddered.
"Bah, let's get out of here until it's dark out. I don't want to witness other people having fun while I'm not apart of it," Jessie said, walking across the pavement up the grassy area.
"Where ya' going? There's nothing up that way besides the Pokemon Center," Meowth called out.
"So? At least there I can stare at the four walls in all my misery. What do you want me to do otherwise? Stare at you two?" Jessie said sarcastically.
James looked down at the ray gun he was carrying. "You know Meowth, sometimes I wonder if this thing would make Jessie a little less overbearing."
"Are you kidding, Jimmy? We'd have a crybaby Jessie 24/7! Instead of a grown woman whining on and bossing us around, we'd have a little baby whining on and bossing us around!" Meowth said.
"Good point, although I really wouldn't know which is worse," James sighed as he walked with Meowth quickly up the hill to catch up to Jessie.
~*~~~**~
Inside the Pokemon Center, Joy contently walked down the halls checking on the patients in room to room. She looked down at her clipboard to check the current patients' conditions.
"Hmmm, let's see now….Swellow," Joy checked the box next to its name, "I see. Looks like I should tell Ash and May its current condition."
Joy lowered the clipboard as she walked up to the room Ash was resting in. She knocked on the door gently so as not to intrude on them.
"Hey, it's Nurse Joy! It's about your Swellow!" she called out to the closed door.
Joy waited a few seconds but there was no response. Joy knocked again briefly, before gently turning the doorknob to see how her patient was. The door cracked open as she entered the room.
"Oh," Joy stammered as she put her hand over her mouth.
She was a bit taken back at what she saw. Ash was sleeping in his bed with his face turned to the side and his arms stretched out. May was also sleeping right next to the bed with her head folded down on top of her arms on the mattress. She was sitting on a chair that she had brought up to the edge of the bed, as her body was leaned over while her head was resting on the mattress next to Ash. Her bandana was laying on the table where Ash's clothes were as she rested her head a few inches away from Ash's.
"Aw, they're both sleeping next to one another," Joy said to herself, "I admire that girl. Not only did she save the boy's life but she's also staying next to him the entire time as he rests and recuperates. He's lucky to have such a good friend."
Joy smiled as she said out loud, "It would be a shame to wake you two. Guess I'll let you know about your Swellow another time Ash."
Suddenly, Ash grunted loudly in his sleep, "SWELLOW?!"
"Huh?" Joy turned around.
Ash suddenly sat up in his bed and looked around nervously. "Wha? Swellow?! Where?"
May started to wake up from Ash's loud comments. "Ugh…Ash?" May muttered, wiping her eyes as she lifted her head from the mattress.
"Wow," Joy said, "I didn't think I said that too loudly."
"Joy?!" a shocked Ash looked over to her, "Why…why are you in here?"
May turned around in her seat as she yawned, scratching the top of her head, "That was a short nap."
Joy chuckled as she walked toward Ash, "Looks like you heard me say something about your Swellow in your sleep. I knocked on the door to give you the news, but when I saw you were sleeping I didn't want to disturb you."
Ash and May smiled as they looked upon one another. "I didn't think we'd fall asleep so fast," May chuckled.
"May, if you needed a place to sleep we would have been happy to provide you with a cot," Joy said.
"It's alright, Joy, I just kinda fell asleep while watching my friend sleeping. It has been a hectic day for us," May said.
"Indeed, you should be tired after you got your friend out of that burning forest. It just looked like you were a bit too cramped sleeping with your head next to your friend," Joy bemused.
"I don't think May cared too much at all," Ash said, "After all this isn't the first time we've slept together."
Joy's was shocked. "What?"
May and Ash nervously looked at each other as what he said could have been taken the wrong way.
"Ash!" May gasped in embarrassment, "Joy, what he meant to say was that we sleep next to each other in our sleeping bags all the time!"
Joy breathed a sign of relief, "Oh, for a second there I thought…"
"What I meant to say is I only slept with her while I was a baby!" Ash suddenly blurted out.
"Excuse me? You mean you two have known each other since you were babies?" Joy asked, bewildered.
"Nonono!" May waved her arms, "I cared for Ash like a baby…! I mean…I cared for Ash when he was a baby! And uh…Ash slept in my arms…but only as a baby! Not err…as he is now. Eheh."
"Uh…" Joy said, nervously clicking her pen.
Ash and May blushed heavily as Joy stood before them. May nervously started to comb her hair as she didn't know what to do during the silence.
"Oh geez, forget I ever said anything to begin with. It's a long story," Ash said, shaking his head.
"He can say that again," she said. She hid her face in her hands.
"Welll…" Joy coughed into her clipboard, "That was...interesting…but I hope you kids know what you're doing at your age."
Ash didn't quite understand what Joy meant as he scratched his forehead. May groaned as she picked her face out of her hands.
"Anyway, first I have to ask you, Ash. How are you feeling?" Joy asked.
"A bit better," he replied, "Especially after err…sleeping. My head still aches a bit and I feel groggy but it's not as bad as it was before."
"That's good, at this rate you'll probably be able to leave the Pokemon Center after another day of rest. Now…" Joy said.
"Swellow," Ash said in a serious tone, "Joy, you said you came to tell me about it."
"That's right," Joy said, looking at the two trainers.
"It's OK, right?" May asked quickly, "It's...aliv-"
"Yes," Joy answered, "Swellow is alive but - "
"It is?" Ash shouted with joy, "YEEEES!"
Ash threw his arms out in the air squealing while sitting upright in his bed. May smiled and laughed emotionally as she too was elated by the news.
"I told you Swellow would make it," May said jovially to her friend.
"Ha! Right!" Ash cracked a smile, laughing.
Joy interrupted their laughter as she continued where she left off, "But I'm afraid that it's going to have to stay with us for another few weeks."
"What?" Ash and May said nervously in unison.
"I told you about this before, May," Joy said, "Swellow is in critical condition. From what the doctors could tell, most of its bones are fractured. That tree really did fall down quite hard on top of it. It lost quite a lot of blood, but we were able to stop the bleeding."
"But…will it heal?" Ash asked.
Joy could see the pain in Ash's eyes as he asked the question. She sighed as she was ready to tell the boy everything.
"There is a possibility that your Swellow will undergo some surgery. Its wings were also greatly damaged in the impact. There is a chance that your Swellow may never be able to fly again," she said solemnly.
Ash looked aghast at Joy. He could feel his throat growing dry as he didn't know how to respond. His face broadened as it looked like he couldn't handle the truth of the scenario. There was no bright, cheery reassuring response. Instead, Ash's worst fears had come true, his Swellow may never be the same again.
The boy looked down at his body as he tried to absorb the information. May was shaken as she couldn't bring her eyes up to look at Joy again.
Joy backed up slowly, "I know this may be hard for you to hear, but there is a silver lining."
Ash jerked his body as he looked back up at Joy.
"Its wings can no longer support its weight in the air. However, if you give us permission to do surgery on your Swellow, we may be able to synthetically fuse it's bones together using techniques first discovered while experimenting on Psychic Pokemon. It's a new medical technique only practiced for the past year, but we may be able to help reinforce its bones in its back and wings with the help of a strong willed Psychic Pokemon."
"How…how does it work?" Ash asked quietly.
Joy sighed, "I guess I'll use your Swellow's condition as an example. Most of its bones that were crushed under the tree are fractured. Since its wings were also in the impact, it can no longer fly either. Scientists have been using Psychic Pokemon in medical situations for the past year, and they've been quite successful I might add. After the doctors make an incision in Swellow, a Psychic Pokemon can use it's powers to supernaturally align its bones back into it's proper joints. A Pokemon as intelligent as Alakazam or Gardevoir for example, can summon their abilities from their mind to help heal other broken bones, non-fatal wounds, and fuse new synthetic bones aligned with the fractured joints."
"Aren't…they using one of their attacks or something?" May asked.
"Yes, in order to explain simply, some well-trained Psychic Pokemon have the ability to use the attack "Recover" on other injured people or Pokemon, rather than just on themselves. They use their minds to focus the attack on another being, thus help healing people and Pokemon that could have been paralyzed for life," Joy said.
"That…sounds familiar," Ash said going into deep thought. He quickly remembered the time back in the Johto region when the legendary Pokemon Celebi, used its healing powers on Misty's leg to make it heal instantaneously. Perhaps now doctors have unlocked the potential for this secret to help save lives in the medical field.
"That sounds pretty reassuring," May said emotionally, "There are Psychic Pokemon like that in this Pokemon Center, right?"
"Well no, not at the moment. But we can simply call another medical center to send one over via the Pokeball transport machine," Joy smiled, "As I said, this is a relatively new advance in the medical field. We've known about Pokemon being able to use healing attacks in battles for hundreds of years, but just now are we able to use their techniques to help heal others in far worse situations as well. But, the Psychic Pokemon has to be extremely well trained in the medical field. Only a few that have gone over years and years of training and honing its mind are able to use such powers to help others. More and more Psychic Pokemon are being trained in the medical field for this reason, but only a handful successfully master this technique. It is a bit disappointing that we don't have more, just think of the countless millions of lives that could be saved if almost all Psychic Pokemon could do this."
"Wow, who was the guy that first came up with the idea to train Psychic Pokemon to use their healing powers on others? He must be a hero," May asked.
"From what I know the guy seems to keep to himself. He's been experimenting with these type of situations for years, he's spent his whole life toiling away trying to perfect this technique. He knew that Pokemon have moves like Recover which can bring them back to full strength in battle, but then he started thinking…what if these Pokemon can use Recover on other people or Pokemon? He spent decades trying to figure this out and training Psychic Pokemon to perfect his theory with. Finally, about a decade ago he succeeded in getting a Psychic Pokemon to concentrate its powers to heal an injury on another person. Since then, he's explained his technique in the medical field to other doctors and we've just now for the past year been attempting this in various Pokemon Centers around the world," Joy continued.
"What's his name?" May asked.
"His name is Professor Latrommi, he's actually been nominated to win the Nobel Piece Prize for his accomplishments. The guy seems to be obsessed with the idea of escaping death, he wants to believe that humans can break free of our fate and live forever. He's been obsessed with the idea of immortality for a long, long time. It's probably what led him to believe that Pokemon healing powers can prolong a human lifespan," Joy said as she shrugged her shoulders, "Who knows? Maybe one day the guy will discover the key to immortality."
"Wow, that's really something. I hope I get a chance to meet him someday," May said.
Ash got impatient and wanted Joy to get back on topic about his Swellow.
"Can the trained Psychic Pokemon heal just about any injury?" Ash asked impulsively.
"No, not quite," Joy sighed, "It again depends on the skill level of the said Psychic Pokemon. Some of the best are able to heal fractured bones such as the ones in your Swellow, others can help heal small ruptures in the body and even redirect blood flow in the veins of a patient. Diseases such as heart attack, blood clots, and tumors can be prevented with these Psychic Pokemon. We're trying to use their potential to heal just about anything in the medical field, but unfortunately most aren't skilled enough to handle more than a simple stab wound."
"Thank you, Joy. If it's possible…could my Swellow be healed?" Ash asked nervously.
"Would it need any surgery if a Psychic Pokemon used Recover on it?" May added.
"I'm afraid there are drawbacks to this that I haven't said yet," Joy continued, "One is that the patients mind has to be telepathically linked to the Psychic Pokemon. The Psychic type will try to focus on the patients mind, and once their minds meet, the Psychic type can then concentrate on the situation. If the Psychic Pokemon is unable to meet telepathically with the patient, then nothing can be done."
"Oh," May gasped.
"Two, is that if the Pokemon DO meet telepathically, it leaves both the patient and the psychic Pokemon physically drained. The Psychic type may be able to make synthetic realignments in the bone structure, but the surgeons will have to finish the job. The Psychic Pokemon can only use its healing powers for so long, and it only tries to help the patient in ways that the doctors can't. After that, the surgeons then need to finish the operation manually. The patient will then by physically drained, and thus will be bed-ridden for weeks."
"That doesn't sound too bad. Is there anything else?" Ash asked, cautiously.
Joy took a deep breath, "The third and final drawback is that if the Psychic Pokemon makes a mistake, then it could unintentionally kill the patient."
"What?" a startled Ash asked.
"This is why most people are too scared to use these Psychic Pokemon to heal their loved ones. Some feel they can do more harm than good. Dealing with psychic and telepathic powers is no joke, and there is a good chance that something could go wrong as the Psychic type is trying to heal something like a blood vessel, only to make a mistake in its concentration in which the blood vessel would explode instead."
"That's horrible," May said, standing up from her chair.
"It is a big risk. Which is why it's up to you and your friend to decide," Joy said as she looked at Ash.
Ash's eyebrows lowered as he was in deep thought. May knew she couldn't make the decision for him, and had to rely on Ash to make the decision for his Swellow.
"If you decide not to use a Psychic Pokemon to heal it, your Swellow may never be able to soar the skies again, something flying types hold dearly in themselves. This is a big decision I know, which is why I'll give you two a few days to think about it. Remember, there is no guarantee that a Psychic Pokemon will be able to help it, but the possibility exists," Joy said.
Nurse Joy started walking out of the room as she looked back at Ash resting in the bed. He was still in a deep train of thought. May looked over at Joy and smiled contently as if to say, "Thanks." Joy nodded as she walked out of the room and closed the door behind her.
"Swellow," Ash murmured.
"I'll…I'll leave you be, Ash," May said, not wanting to bother him during this important decision.
She walked over to the table standing beside the bed and picked up her bandana. She quietly tied her bandana over her head and then strapped her fanny pack around her waist. She looked down at Ash once more only to see him not move from his transfixed state. She knew how important the decision was, and decided to maturely give Ash the time he needed to make his choice. She took one last glance at him before she started walking for the door.
Ash quickly looked up at her just as she was about to open the door, "Are you going to stay in the Pokemon Center? Or are you going back to the lab?"
May turned around a bit bewildered that he actually said something to her. She didn't expect him to say anything at the moment.
"No no, I'll be in the lobby," she said as she folded her hands in front of her body, "I told you, Ash, I'm not going to leave you all alone here. I'll be waiting with you here in the Pokemon Center until you're well enough to leave."
May's words filled him with confidence. "Thanks," he said.
"No problem," May gave him a thumbs up and grinned as she turned around and opened the door.
As she stood in the hallway she turned around and gently closed the door beside her. She breathed a sigh of relief as she started walking back toward the lobby. "Ash, this must be so hard for you," she said to herself as she continued walking down the hall.
May entered the lobby looking toward the couches and was astonished at what she saw. "I don't believe it!" she gasped.
May was stunned as she saw Jessie, James and Meowth resting on the couches in the lobby. Jessie was laying on her back while she had her arm over her face. James was slouched over eating a bag of chips. Meowth sat upright on the couch as he held the ray gun in his lap.
"What the heck are they doing here?" May asked herself in amazement, "What luck! They could have been anywhere on the beach or port but they're here in the Pokemon Center."
She noticed that James started to look in her direction. May gasped as she quickly darted behind a pillar that held up the ceiling. She pressed her back against the pillar as she peeked over the side to see if he saw her. To her relief, James was still sitting there lazily, eating from the bag of chips.
She nervously put her fingers in front of her mouth, "Maybe I should tell Ash about this. If I just walk up right in front of them then they're just going to dart out of the Pokemon Center," she said to herself, "The ray gun, I gotta get it back to help Max. Ugh, but should I even bother Ash about this when he's thinking about his Swellow?"
She opened her mouth as she saw Jessie sit upright on the couch and snatch the bag of chips away from James. She then happily plopped a handful of chips in her mouth as James cried as he wanted to finish the bag. Meowth looked up at the two and shrugged as he continued resting on the couch. May then quickly made up her mind to run back to Ash's room and tell him that Team Rocket was in the Pokemon Center.
"Damn, I don't know what to do, Swellow," Ash said to himself, "This Psychic Pokemon operating on you could kill you if it makes a mistake…I don't know if I'd be able to live with myself if that happened."
Suddenly, May quickly opened the door as a stunned Ash looked up at her. He saw May nervously close the door behind her as she ran right up to him. He was confused as to why she ran back into the room so soon.
"ASH!" May exclaimed, "You're never going to believe this."
"What, what is it?!" Ash was rattled.
"It's Team Rocket. They're in the Pokemon Center!"
Ash was dumbstruck, "Are you serious?"
"Yes!" May shook her head quickly, "I didn't want to bother you but this could be our only chance to get the Professor's ray gun and Tyranitar back! We've lucked out!"
"Team Rocket," Ash said quietly, "Now's as good a time as any. Alright, I'm going to go out and get them back."
Ash started to get out of bed as May nervously ran over and pressed her hands against his chest to push him back down.
"Ash, what do you think you're doing? You're supposed to be resting remember?! I don't think you're supposed to be walking around," May said, holding down his chest.
"I know, but I'm not about to let them get away again," Ash said as he pulled May's hands off of him. He sat on the side of his bed while he felt the back of his head where the bandage covered. His head was still pounding, but he was determined to battle Team Rocket and get back what they stole.
"Does it still hurt?" May asked.
"There's a big bump on the back of my head under the bandage. I'm still feeling a bit lightheaded and I can still feel a pounding feeling. Even though Joy said I shouldn't be walking, I'm going to go and stop them," Ash said as he reached for his hat on the table.
Ash placed his hat gently over his head. He made sure not to push down on the bandage which was tied below his hairline and went over his ears along the back of his hair. He groaned a bit as he reached for his Pokeballs and slid them into his pants pockets.
Ash tried to stand up from his bed again as May purposely stood her body in front of him. He looked up as he could see the worried expression on her face.
"I…I don't want you to get yourself hurt again. But…I know you're right. Now's our best chance to get the ray gun back, I actually came to tell you because I knew I needed your help…even if you're not supposed to be out of bed," May sighed.
Ash looked up at her and smiled, "Thanks, May, but aren't we wasting a lot of time right now? What were they doing?"
"Nah, they were lounging around on the couches in the lobby. I don't think we have to worry about them getting away again," May lowered her hand toward Ash and held out her palm, "Need a lift?"
"Sure," Ash snickered as he gripped onto her hand.
May smiled as she held his hand and carefully helped pull him up from the bed. They stood before each other and were taken back as they gazed upon each other face to face. They could feel each other's breath blowing on their faces as they were both standing about an inch apart. May felt herself getting a little red as she looked into Ash's eyes.
"Ready?" she asked softly.
Ash pulled down on the brim of his hat and felt the Pokeballs in his pockets. For some reason he didn't feel like stepping away from her and going to confront Team Rocket. She was still holding onto his hand as her body was right before his, and Ash found himself unwilling to walk away from her.
"I'm…ready. I'm not going to put on my sweatshirt. We do have to come back here, you know," Ash said as he felt himself getting a bit flustered.
"You don't have trouble walking do you? We may have to do a little running," she said.
She closed her hand around his tighter. Ash didn't quite know what to say, but he blurted out a line to hide his uneasiness.
"Nah, I think I'll be fine."
"K, looks like we have to send Team Rocket blasting off again," May giggled as she let go of his hand and started walking in front of him.
Ash felt a bit disappointed that May broke their contact, as for some reason he wanted her to stand in front of him holding his hand a bit longer. He quickly shook his head to try and shake the silly feeling as he knew he had something more important to do.
May opened the door of the room and looked back at her friend, "What should we say if Joy finds out you're not in the room?"
"I'll just tell her that you talked me into roaming around the Pokemon Center," Ash winked at her as he stepped out of the room, "That way you'll be the one Joy yells at.
"Aw, that's no fair," May sneered sarcastically, closing the door.
"Jessie!" James shouted, "This people are giving us odd looks at they walk by!"
Jessie crumbled the empty bag of chips and tossed it aside on the couch. She rubbed her mouth as various people walking by in the Pokemon Center glanced over at the three.
Jessie burped, "I guess those people must know beauty when they see it. Maybe they're admiring me!"
"Yeah right," Meowth said as he examined the ray gun, "I think they're wondering what this thing is I'm holding."
"Well why in the world are you holding that gun right on your lap?! Why don't you try hiding it behind you or something?" James bellowed.
"Or you could sit on top of it," Jessie added.
"Whaddya nuts? How do we know if this t'ing won't break easily? This is our one ticket to become the top guns in Team Rocket again. The Boss will never look down upon us the same way again!" Meowth scolded.
"Well it's making us look suspicious you numbskull," James said as he grabbed the ray gun out of Meowths' hands, "What would you think if you saw people sitting in a room, holding a futuristic looking ray gun?"
Ash and May peeked over the corridor as she pointed where Team Rocket was sitting. Ash was standing against the wall looking over the side as May was behind him pointing over his shoulder.
"They're sitting on the couches right around this corner," May said as she tapped his shoulder so he would turn around to her, "What should we do? If we just run right in front of them, they'll see us and just run outside!"
"You're right, maybe we can sneak up on them?" Ash pondered, thinking carefully.
"I know, why don't you crawl behind the couch, Ash?" May suggested, "Then you could just reach over the side and pull the ray gun out of their hands!"
"Then what? Wouldn't they notice?" Ash asked.
"Well yeah…then uh…I know!" May clasped her hands, "Then I'll jump out in front of them and distract them with my Squirtle!"
"Heh maybe that could work, then I'll just crawl away behind the couches while they're too busy with you," Ash said, "Wait a second, you're forgetting about the Professor's Tyranitar."
"Oh crap," May said, lowering her head disappointingly.,"I forgot about that. Since it's in a Pokeball it could be in one of their pockets."
"Looks like someone will have to reach into James' pants pockets and pull out the Pokeball. You up for it, May?" Ash snickered.
"You're nuts Ash, I'm not sticking my hands in James' pants," May shook her head.
"I'm joking, you didn't really think I would tell you to do that, would you?" Ash laughed.
May crossed her arms gloating, "I don't know, sometimes you have crazy ideas, Ash. I don't stick my hands into other guys' pants pockets, thank you very much."
James turned to Jessie as he gave the ray gun to her, "I'm going to go to the bathroom, hold the ray gun. Alright?"
Jessie nodded as James got up from the couch and started walking down the hall. He asked one of the wandering trainers where the bathroom was, and the trainer pointed down the hall where Ash and May were standing. James thanked him as he started gleefully walking down the hall.
Ash chortled as May gazed at him with amusement. She knew he was teasing her in a playful manner, he was bantering with her a lot more than he used to.
"Well come to think of it, I did stick my hand in your pants pocket," May said, putting her finger to her cheek.
"When did you stick your hand in my pants pocket?" Ash asked curiously.
"When you were knocked out in the forest, Ash. I reached into your pocket to find Swellow's Pokeball and recall it, and also reached in there to find Sceptile and Corphish," she said.
"Oh, I see. Good thing I had my Pokeballs there."
May smiled in amusement, "Don't you think we should stop talking about reaching into pockets and just concentrate on Team Rocket?"
"Right, I…." Ash stammered as he turned around to see James right in front of him!
Ash, May and James were stunned as they looked upon each other.
"Ah! It's you two!" James gasped.
"It's James!" Ash and May shouted in unison.
"So much for a bathroom break! I can hold it in a little while longer….Jessie!" James shouted, holding his crotch as he ran back toward the couches.
"Oh great, so much for the plan," Ash slapped his forehead.
"The twerps are here!" James shouted, waving his arms at Jessie and Meowth.
"Huh?" Jessie was bewildered.
Ash and May quickly slid down the hall as they stood in battle ready positions behind James. Meowth and Jessie were shocked when they saw the two in the Pokemon Center.
"Well isn't this turning out to be a rotten day?" Jessie said sarcastically, "Let's get out of here!"
"No, stop!" Ash yelled.
Various trainers in the lobby were confused as they saw the two opposing sides shouting at one another.
Jessie, James and Meowth ran off the couch, clutching the ray gun as they pushed trainers aside and darted toward the entrance. Due to stupefied trainers blocking their way, Ash and May were unable to catch up to Team Rocket as they darted out the Pokemon Center.
"C'mon, Ash!" May said as she ran after them.
Ash followed her until he heard Nurse Joy shout his name.
"Ash! Where do you think you're going?" Nurse Joy yelled out.
Ash stuttered, "I need to take care of something, I'll be back!"
Ash turned around and ran with May toward the entrance. The electronic doors slid open as the two of them ran out of the Pokemon Center.
"But you need to rest!" Joy called out.
Team Rocket clumsily started to run up the hill behind the Pokemon Center.
"Keep running, maybe we can lose them in the forest ahead!" Jessie yelled.
"Isn't that the same forest we came out of? The one we set on flames?" James asked while running up the hill.
"Sure is! I'm sure the firefighters hosed down the place by now!" Meowth added.
Ash and May stopped next to one another as they glanced at Team Rocket running up the hill.
"Damn, that's where we came from. That hill leads back to the forest," May turned to him.
"Good. Then that's where we'll stop them," Ash raised a fist with confidence.
"This way!" Jessie said as she pointed to the right.
The three of them ran toward an open field right alongside the burned down forest. Ash and May quickly jogged up the hill in chase. May noticed that Ash started to stagger a bit as he was climbing the steep hill.
"You sure you're up for this?" she asked.
Ash nodded as they stood along the hilltop. They looked to the right and saw Team Rocket in the far distance ahead of them. They continued to run after them as they glanced at the forest to the left. The fire from earlier was completely put out, but what was left behind was a forest that was a shadow of it's former self. Trees and plants looked lifeless and dead, many trees were knocked off their roots and lay lopsided on the ground. Various branches littered the floor. The forest which was once a place teeming with life now looked dead and barren.
"The forest looks like it was totally burned down," May sighed.
Ash grunted, "I still can't believe we haven't found out what the cause of the fire was. A lot of wild Pokemon must have lost their homes."
"There they are!" May pointed ahead.
"Huh?" Ash looked ahead as Team Rocket ran themselves into a dead end.
Various fallen tree branches and logs blocked the path ahead of them. It appeared that their path was blocked by the trees that burned down from the forest.
"Now what?" James asked.
"What do you think? We'll just have to battle them!" Jessie said.
"Something tells me this won't be a good idea," Meowth sighed.
"Team Rocket!" Ash called out as he stopped a few feet in front of them, "You're giving us back the Professor's ray gun and Tyranitar, and you're doing it now!
"Bah!" Jessie gloated, holding the ray gun by her side, "Maybe I'll just send you two back to preschool again!"
Ash and May looked aghast as Jessie pointed the ray gun at them. She pressed the red button on the side of the ray gun as the lights started forming on the dish of the gun.
"I don't think I'm ready to wear diapers again just yet," Ash said to May.
Much to Jessie's dismay, the energy forming on the dish of the ray gun began to disappear and fade away.
"Jessie, what did you forget?!" Meowth yelled in disgust, "That old geezer said that the ray gun only has enough energy to work once a day!"
"Darn, I forgot about that," Jessie said as she lowered the gun.
"Now!" Ash said to himself as he threw out a Pokeball, "Sceptile, use Bullet Seed!"
The flash of white light formed into the sleek grass lizard Sceptile once more. Sceptile stood battle ready in front of Ash as he put a twig in his mouth. Sceptile quickly made sense of the situation and leaped toward Jessie firing tiny orange seeds in succession from its mouth.
"Gah!" Jessie gasped as the force of the attack pounded on her chest which caused her to fall backward.
The ray gun fell to the ground as Sceptile quickly picked it up and dashed back toward its trainer.
"Scep!" Sceptile said as he held up the ray gun toward Ash.
"Great job, Sceptile!" Ash said as he took the ray gun out of its hands.
Sceptile's eyes suddenly twitched as it looked upon its trainer. It then quickly hugged Ash around the waist.
"Eh…Sceptile?" Ash asked, confused.
"Sceptile! Sceptile!" Sceptile said happily as it let go of its trainer.
"Heh, looks like Sceptile is happy to see you're OK Ash! Remember, he helped me pull you out of the burning forest when you were knocked out, he didn't know that you got better!" May said.
"Heh, I'm fine Sceptile," Ash said, "Now let's stop Team Rocket like we always do."
"Sceptile!" Sceptile nodded confidently as it turned around, ready to face Team Rocket once more.
"You alright, Jess?" James asked as he lifted her up.
"That's it, that overgrown lizard is going to pay for that!" Jessie screamed in anger, "Go!"
Jessie threw a Pokeball without knowing which one it was before Sceptile. The flash of white light quickly formed into a familiar Pokemon, but much to Jessie's dismay it wasn't one of their own!
Jessie gasped in horror as she saw the Professor's Tyranitar appear in front of them. "OH my…"
"Jessie. you threw out the wrong Pokeball!" James yelled.
"That's the Professor's Tyranitar!" May exclaimed. "So Jessie was the one holding its Pokeball and not James. I guess I wouldn't mind reaching into another girl's skirt to get a Pokeball…rather than a guys' pants."
"Uh yeah," Ash shook his head.
Tyranitar roared as its screech echoed the area. Ash and May noticed that it was a familiar sounding roar that they heard somewhere before.
"Now now, nice, Tyranitar," Meowth said calmly, "Let's not have a repeat of last time."
Tyranitar turned around toward Team Rocket with an ominous expression on its face. Its eyes twitched as it towered over the trio.
"Tyranitar, you don't want to shoot Hyper Beams at us again like last time!" Jessie said nervously, "You know, you set the forest next to us in flames just a few hours ago! You burned down the entire place!"
"What?" Ash said angrily, "You mean you're the ones responsible for scorching the forest?"
May gasped, "I don't believe it, the Professor's Tyranitar is the one that burned down the forest and nearly got us killed…and badly injured your Swellow…"
Ash felt his eyes twitching in anger as he was grinding his teeth loudly. May was shocked as she never saw him as agitated as he looked right now. Ash looked like he was about to explode.
"You…you nearly killed my Swellow!" an enraged Ash called out.
"You mean you were the kids in the forest that the news was talking about?" James waved his hands, "It…it wasn't us! This Tyranitar got out of control and started destroying the forest on its own, it's not our fault!"
"But you were the ones who stole it! Tyranitar was just trying to get free!" May called out.
Tyranitar stepped one foot toward Team Rocket as its face beamed angrily.
"Uh…no hard feelings, right?" Jessie asked nervously.
Tyranitar roared loudly as it flung its tail around. Its burly tail smashed into Meowth's side as it knocked him and Jessie and James into the air with its tail. Jessie dropped Tyranitar's Pokeball as it fell to the ground beside it.
"GAH! That hurt!" Meowth cried in pain while flying through the air.
"Well I suppose it could have done worse, it could have chewed us alive!" James exclaimed in mid-air.
"And to make matters worse we don't have the ray gun either! I hate this!" Jessie sneered as she was flung in the sky.
"WE'RE BLASTING OFF YET AGAIN……!" Team Rocket shouted.
The three of them then began to fade away in the distance. Tyranitar angrily turned back toward Ash, May and Sceptile.
"Tyranitar," May called out to it, "We're here to bring you back to the Professor, your trainer."
"TYRANITAAAAAAAR!" the Pokemon shouted as it towered over the trainers.
"Sceptile!" Sceptile stood in a defensive position in front of Ash and May. Its leaf blade attack glowed a neon green as it covered it's face.
"Tyranitar looks like it's about to attack us!" Ash shouted.
"But why?" May gasped, "We're here to help it!"
"ZZZZZARRR!" Tyranitar beamed angrily as it started readying a Hyper Beam attack in its mouth.
"It's going to fire at us!" May shouted in fear, "Why is it doing this?!"
"If Tyranitar wants a fight then it'll get one!" Ash shouted angrily, "I don't care if you are the Professor's Pokemon or not. Nobody attacks me or my friends…
…and you're going to pay for what you did to my Swellow!"
"Ash!" May shouted fearfully as the beam of light started to grow in Tyranitar's mouth.
"Sceptile, TAKE IT DOWN!" Ash commanded as May grabbed his shoulder in fear.
Sceptile leaped into the air readying its Leaf Blade attack, as it closed in on the towering Dark type Pokemon, ready to protect Ash and May at all costs.