Chapter 35
"The secret of the Premium Ball"
"TEAM ROCKET?!"
May was kneeled down next to Ash, her hand behind his back for support. Her bandana was tied tightly around the cuts on his arm, to sustain the wound. Max was sitting on his legs nearby, with Pikachu next to him. Cowering over them was the sinister Team Rocket, none other then the same trio of villains who Ash had vanquished time and time again. Jessie and James had their backs pressed up against one another, with their arms crossed in a confident and mocking manner. Meowth stood in front of them next to the Premium Ball, which was awaiting orders from its masters. A few feet away, Professor Latrommi struggled to get out of the chair he was tied to, but it was of no use, and his voice was muffled by the white handkerchief covering his mouth.
"Team Rocket? Can't I ever get rid of you three?" Ash snapped.
"Not on your life, kiddo!" James replied.
"What are you three doing here anyway? After being blasted off by the Professor's Tyranitar two weeks ago, I thought you guys would be smart enough to think twice about ever messing with him again!" May yelled.
"Getting sassy are we?" Jessie sneered, "It's time team, I think they forgot who we are."
"Right!" James and Meowth shouted.
Jessie and James stood next to one another, while Meowth jumped on their shoulders. The group watched with confused expressions. Jessie recited her lines first, followed by James, and occasionally Meowth.
"Prepare for trouble from the skies."
"From beyond the stars a nasty surprise."
"An evil as old as our galaxy."
"Sent here to fulfill our destiny."
"Plus dere's me!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie!"
"And James!"
"And Meowth are da' names!"
"Anywhere there's peace in the universe."
"Team Rocket..."
"...Will be dere..."
"To make everything worse!"
Team Rocket cheered in their own amusement as they pointed at the stunned children sitting on the ground.
"Ah, it felt good to say the whole thing again. I believe we forgot to do that last time we spotted them," Jessie said.
"I concur, I thought I was getting a bit rusty with some of my lines though," James said.
"Enough blabbering already, let's grab Pikachu while they're still sitting here!" Meowth shouted.
"That's what you think!" Ash snarled, "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
Pikachu jumped in the air toward Team Rocket and readied an electric attack in its cheeks.
"That's what you think," Jessie said.
From behind her back, she took out an oversized and cartoon-looking gun with a giant red hand on the front. She clicked the trigger as the red hand shot toward Pikachu, and before it had anytime to react, the hand grabbed the electric Pokemon easily and retracted it back to Jessie.
"Pika, pikachu!" it yelled, as it fired its Thunderbolt attack.
Unfortunately for Pikachu, the red hand absorbed the electricity and the attack was rendered useless.
"Pikachu's attack didn't work!" Max exclaimed.
"Well duh, if you had any brains you'd realize we come prepared by now," Jessie snickered.
James held a clear case with a light bulb on top of it, which had worked like a charm in the past for containing Pikachu. As James opened the case, Jessie extended the red hand from the gun and dropped Pikachu inside, with James quickly securing it afterward. Pikachu charged up another electric attack inside the clear case, but the only thing it achieved was lighting up the light bulb on the top.
"HAHAHAAHAHAHAHHA!" Team Rocket laughed.
Jessie took the oversized gun and threw it behind her shoulder, with Pikachu secure she was in no further need of it.
"Now that we have Pikachu, there's only one more thing we want from you twerps," James said happily.
"Like what?" May snarled.
"'Da money!" Meowth shouted, jumping toward Ash and grabbing the envelope out of his pants pocket. Neither Ash or May had time to react before Meowth had the envelope with $300 in his grasp.
"Excellent handy work, Meowth, you were always good in a pinch," Jessie complimented.
"Nah, it's all in the wrist," Meowth laughed, handing the envelope to Jessie.
May got up angrily, no way was she letting the money get stolen twice. She reached into her fanny pack and called out her most trusted Pokemon.
"COMBUSKEN!" she shouted, throwing the Pokeball in front of her.
The red and orange chicken formed in front of her ready to battle. It had bulky legs which strengthened its kicking attacks as well as its speed, and had long feathered arms with sharp claws on the end. It had three orange feathers on the top of its head which blew in the air. The fire and determination in its eyes could only mean one thing; it was ready to tear Team Rocket a new one.
"Great, she sent out the big ugly chicken again," Meowth frowned.
"If you guys won't give back Pikachu and the money, I'll just have to take them back," May shouted, "Combusken, Fire Spin!"
"Com-busken!" it yelled, forming circular orange flames in its mouth.
"Now for out next secret weapon!" Jessie said with glee, "Premium Ball, wrap your legs around its mouth!"
The Premium Ball nodded, as it leaped from the ground with its four legs extended toward Combuskens mouth. May gasped in fear as the ball snapped itself against Combusken's beak and secured its hold by wrapping its legs around its head. Combusken tried crying out in discomfort but its wails were only faintly heard, as the Premium Ball completely covered its beak, which also prevented it from firing its attack. It desperately tried to pull the ball off its face with its arms, but the thing held on just too tight.
"Alright, we got what we came for now let's blow this joint," Jessie said.
"What about the Premium Ball?" Meowth asked.
"Forget it, it's no big deal. Pikachu alone will make us rich when we hand it to the boss!" Jessie smiled.
"Right!" James and Meowth replied.
The trio began to run away as Pikachu called out for help inside the glass case. With the money in tow and May too concerned about Combusken, Ash knew he had to act fast.
"You're not going anywhere, Team Rocket…Donphan I choose you!" Ash shouted.
He staggered as he stood on his feet, his left arm was very sore from the slash marks. The Pokeball flashed in front of him which turned into his Donphan, a fierce Pokemon with a long thick trunk and white tusks. It was gray and dark in color, snorting heavily and waiting to attack.
"Roll out, let's go!" Ash commanded.
Donphan jumped into a ball, as it rolled itself up into a striking position. Its body allowed it to zoom across surfaces with ease, as it raced toward the villainous Team Rocket.
"It's right behind us, Jess!" James shouted.
"Why didn't you have Seviper use Haze attack so we could escape easily?" Meowth asked.
"Cause I didn't think of it at the time you dimwit!" Jessie yelled.
"Dyaaaooooo!" Donphan roared.
Team Rocket screamed as Donphan rammed into them, sending them into the air flying. The trio somehow managed to crash through the roof of the laboratory, as they were launched nearly 50 feet into the air. Unfortunately for Ash and the gang, Pikachu and the money were blasted off with them. Small piles of debris fell to the ground from the destroyed ceiling, and when the dust cleared there was no trace of the villains around.
"Corphish, smack the ball off with Crabhammer!" Ash commanded.
"Corphish!" Cor-phish screamed.
Combusken stood still to allow Corphish to hit its target easily. Its pincers glowed white and smacked the ball fiercely which nearly split it in two. The legs were no longer strong enough to hold onto Combusken's face, as the entire ball went flying and was slammed into a wall. The ball fell to the ground in pieces, several bits of wiring and circuitry falling beside it. Slight sparks emerged from the damaged ball, but without a shadow of a doubt, the ball was totaled.
"Combusken?" May gasped, clenching her hands to her chest.
Combusken panted as it rested on its knees. Luckily for the Pokemon, the Premium Ball's legs did not dig deeply into its skin like it did to Ash, so there were no serious injuries to its face. The Pokemon got up slowly and thanked Corphish for helping it.
"'Busken," Combusken nodded toward its trainer.
"Thank goodness you're ok, you had me worried there for a second," May said, relieved.
She wrapped her arms around her Pokemon and hugged it tightly. Combusken held May around as well, the bond between this trainer and Pokemon was very, very strong.
"Thank you, Ash, Corphish," May said sincerely, smiling at the two as she let go of her Pokemon.
"Dyaaaooooo!" Donphan said, walking slowly back toward the trio.
"Maybe using Donphan wasn't such a good idea, Ash," Max said, "It blasted off Team Rocket but they still have Pikachu and the money with them!"
The Professor rocked noisily in his chair in order to catch the attention of the group so he could be untied, but the gang seemed to have completely forgot about him.
"Return, you two," Ash said, retracting Corphish and Donphan into their balls.
"You too," May said, returning Combusken to its Pokeball.
"Great, now we're going to have to go looking for them," Ash grunted.
May looked at Ash and her brother, they both looked exhausted. Ash was still holding onto his left arm, rubbing her bandana cloth over the wound. They didn't look to be in a fit position to start chasing after Team Rocket, yet she knew that the further they waited, the further away Team Rocket would get.
"I'm going to go run after them," May said, "I let your money get lost once, Max, but now that I let it get lost twice, I'm pretty annoyed. Not at myself, but at Team Rocket."
"I'll come with you," Ash said, "They have Pikachu too."
The Professor rocked angrily in his chair again, but nobody was even paying attention.
May nodded, she knew there was nothing that would stop Ash from searching for Pikachu. "OK, but I'm getting a head start."
She darted down the hall toward the exit of the lab.
"May, wait for us!" Max shouted, "You don't even know where to start searching!"
"That's ok, we'll meet up somewhere outside, see ya!" May shouted, waving her arm as she exited the lab.
"She's really impatient," Max said.
"No kidding," Ash agreed.
He looked toward the wall at the destroyed Premium Ball. It was cleaved in two, the circuitry really impressed Max however, as the boy was always interested in learning how things worked. He squatted next to the ball and moved his finger around the insides, tinkering with it to see how it was put together.
"This thing is busted good," Max said, "No way is it going to move around again."
"I owe you another present then, Max, how about next time I actually go to the store and buy you a real Premium Ball?" Ash smiled.
"Just make sure the new one doesn't have any legs or anything," Max chortled.
"Not a problem," Ash replied.
The Professor rocked angrily in his chair, he could no longer take being ignored. He rocked so suddenly that he yelped in shock as he accidentally tipped over the chair and smacked his face onto the floor. He tried to hold back his manly tears as the pain echoed through his chin, and whimpered weakly behind his handkerchief. The loud noise brought Ash and Max's attention to the Professor, in which they quickly ran over to him and sat him back right side up. Ash tore off the handkerchief and asked him what happened.
The Professor snapped, "This is the second time I've been tied up by those nutcases! And this is also the second time I've been ignored while I was waiting to be untied!"
"With how hectic it was here we nearly forgot about you!" Ash said.
"Like heck you did, now get to it already, untie the ropes, they're giving me an awful rash," Latrommi retorted.
~*~*~*
"So how did this happen, Professor? How'd you get tied up and everything?" Ash asked.
Professor Latrommi stretched his arms as he walked across the room.
"Those three scoundrels busted into my lab the same way they did the first time, and subjected me to the cruelest torture man has ever known," Latrommi said.
"Torture? I didn't know Team Rocket were capable of that," Max said.
"Yes, it was horrible," Latrommi sighed, "They tied me to that chair and asked me to give them my greatest invention so they could use it to capture Pikachu from you kids. They recalled how great the ray gun was that de-aged people but wanted something more sinister. When I refused, the torture was almost unbearable."
"Wha…what exactly did they do?" Ash asked, flabbergasted.
The Professor sniveled, as he covered his eyes with his arm and wailed against the wall. "While I was tied to the chair, they took off my shoes and socks and used a feather to tickle my feet!" he cried, "It was horrible, the most intense tickling torture that you could ever imagine. I tried, and tried to beg them to stop, but they just wouldn't listen!"
"Tickle torture?" Max asked, looking at Ash.
Ash shrugged. "I guess having your feet tickled over and over again by a feather would be unbearable after a while," he said.
"I COULDN'T STOP LAUGHING!" Latrommi shouted, "You don't know what it's like to have your feet tickled and to constantly laugh for hours and hours on end. Those creeps would take turns too, when one of them was too tired to keep tickling my feet, the next one would then walk over and carry on where the last one left off! It just went on and on, I couldn't stand it! I just couldn't stand it! "
"Team Rocket sure is persistent. I'm proud of you, Professor, even after all that intense tickling, you never gave into them, did you?" Ash complimented, grinning.
"Are you kidding?" Latrommi snapped, "Of course I gave into them! After hours of having your feet tickled, you would give in too! I had no choice, I had to give them one of my inventions for them to use against you kids with. It takes one hell of a man, like me for instance, to go THAT many hours before breaking."
"Wait a minute, if you gave Team Rocket control of one of your inventions, that must have been the Premium Ball, right?" Max asked.
"We're dealing with a real mind here," Latrommi said sarcastically, "Let me know when you get your Ph.D in common sense, kiddo."
Professor Latrommi walked over to the damaged Premium Ball on the floor, and gathered its pieces up together. Ash and Max perhaps expected Latrommi to do something with the broken ball, but instead the Professor simply walked to the nearest trash basket and dumped it all inside.
"Well, so much for the worlds first walking Pokeball," Latrommi said, rubbing his hands, "Funnily enough, I originally had planned to use the Premium Ball to spy on you kids on the beach."
"Huh?" Ash asked.
"Hoho, Ash my boy, you didn't think I just gave you a Premium Ball just for the hell of it did you?" Latrommi laughed.
"You said it was for your gratitude to us for helping to subdue your Tyranitar and for bringing back your stolen ray gun!" Ash exclaimed.
"Perhaps, but you took what I said too seriously. You should never do that, take what I say too seriously. You know, cause I'm almost never serious," Latrommi said, coughing into his arm, "Anyway, when you kids first gave me the news that you were all running down to the beach for some silly surfing competition, I knew that I had better keep an eye on you to make sure you weren't goofing off instead. After all, you were supposed to win that contest and bring me back the prize money, but that didn't happen did it?"
"Erm, no," Ash said disappointingly.
"Since that delightful young girl was so wrapped up in winning swimsuits and surfing on the waves at the beach, I knew immediately that you kids might perhaps forget the real reason I allowed you to go there in the first place. It was to bring me back money, not spend time making kissy faces and flirting with one another."
"Kissy faces?" Max said, bewildered.
"Oh brother, you mean the only reason you gave me that Premium Ball in the first place was to spy on us on the beach?" Ash asked.
"Everything must be spoon-fed to you it seems," Latrommi rolled his eyes. "Yes, I was in control of the Premium Ball for most of the time you were at the beach, aside from the last few days when those lunatics took control of it. I used it mainly to spy on you to make sure you were getting your job done, but all I saw were raging teenage hormones," he said.
"Oh, you must be talking about Brock, right?" Max chortled.
Latrommi raised an eye brow, and looked at Ash. Ash's face turned a deep red when he realized that the Professor might have watched nearly everything he did with May on the beach, perhaps even that first kiss too.
"They must really leave you in the dark, kid," Latrommi said to Max.
Ash waved his arms nervously to try and change the conversation. "Forget that!" he shouted, "How did you spy on us with the Premium Ball? You mean it was walking around outside of my bag tons of times and we never even saw it?"
"That's right, I was very discreet and careful to make sure you kids never found out about the Premium ball. I knew when the coast was clear and to begin spying, and I knew when to bring the ball back to its proper location so you wouldn't suspect anything. I did it the entire week on the beach, and you never suspected a thing. Of course after that cruel torture from those vile hooligans, I had no choice but to hand over control of the Premium Ball to them. Being the bumbling idiots that they were, they weren't nearly as careful with keeping the ball out of sight as I was," Latrommi said.
"So they were the ones who wanted to steal the money," Max said.
"True, the Premium Ball not only acted as a camera but it stored up all information while you children talked as well. I was able to watch and record every bit of it from my computers here in the lab while operating the ball, and once Team Rocket rewound the tape and discovered that there was money involved, they didn't hesitate to want to steal that too. It's a shame too, if Team Rocket haven't interfered, you children might have never known that you were being spied on by the Premium Ball," Latrommi said.
"Spying on us the entire time, you really must be paranoid or something," Ash said, crossing his arms.
"Ahem," Latrommi coughed. He lowered his voice and spoke softly into his arm, "The Premium Ball also came in handy while the girl was changing into her swimsuits. That was quite a pretty sight, she's well developed for her age…oh...what am I saying…I'm such a pedophile." He turned around and began whimpering to himself.
Ash and Max cringed while looking at one another.
"Ugh, I've wasted enough time here, I really need to go find Pikachu," Ash said.
"Yeah, I'm sure my sister needs your help," Max said.
"I'll be right back!" Ash shouted as he ran toward the door, "Max, call our hotel room on the beach and let Brock know that we're alright and that we were transported to the lab!"
As Ash exited the lab, Max nodded and was ready to make the phone call to Brock. He was still curious about the Premium Ball however, and asked the Professor another question.
"You never explained how that teleportation feature worked, I'm really curious about that," Max said eagerly.
"Hm, that? It's really not important, just something my genius whipped up so I could easily transport the prize money that your friends were supposed to win back to the lab in one-shot. When Ash called on the phone to tell the outcome of the race, I lied and pretended that I didn't know they lost. In fact I was furious for all that lost time wasted, but I eventually calmed myself down after popping some pills. Aside from that, I wanted to also make sure that you kids wouldn't then go spend the prize money on whatever you wanted instead of keeping your promise and returning it to me, as I can never be too careful with you kids," the Professor replied.
"Gee, Ash was right, you really are paranoid," Max scoffed, "We really would have given all the prize money to you right away if Ash and my sister won the race. I think it's really creepy that you were secretly spying on us all that time."
"I'm a troubled soul, you don't need to tell me that," Latrommi smiled.
~*~*~*~
May ran through the field of grass searching intently for Team Rocket. She had already been searching for ten minutes, but she wasn't able to find a sign of Team Rocket or Pikachu anywhere. She knew that Donphan couldn't have possibly blasted them off that far away, so they had to still be in the vicinity somewhere. The grass was very high around the back of Latrommi's lab, apparently the guy hasn't cut it since who knows how long.
She brushed some of the weeds away from her waist as she followed the path to the dirt road ahead.
"Hm, that road leads back into that scorched forest again," May sighed, "I'm really getting tired of these familiar surroundings, too many crazy things have happened since we first came here. I'll miss the beach, as well as wearing the bikini that Ash bought me, but I think it's time we started traveling again. Team Rocket…where in the world are you?"
She walked along the dirt road for a few more minutes until she spotted something interesting. There was something glistening in the sunlight on the middle of the road, it was shiny and circular in shape. She bent down and picked it up, it was a bottlecap. Blue in color with several vintage markings on it, it seemed to be old at any rate.
"Hmmm…maybe," she pondered.
"SEVIPER!"
"Wha?" May screamed.
She turned around frantically to see the seven foot long snake launching toward her out of nowhere. Seviper brought back its tail and flung it at the girl, it made contact as she was knocked to the ground by the impact.
"Viiiper," Seviper hissed, disappearing into the woods surrounding her.
May was lying on her side on the dirt road, coughing and brushing away the dirt on her clothes. She grunted as she sat herself up and looked into the woods, which was thick in foliage and all looked identical.
"Seviper? Team Rocket's?" she asked herself, as the pain subsided.
She started walking again, only to hear that same hissing sound from the woods emerging once again. She jumped around quickly ready to expect it this time, but when she faced the direction she heard it from…there was no response. Her eyes wandered carefully, she knew it had to be in the woods somewhere.
"Viiiiiiper!"
"No!" she cried, as Seviper again launched its Poison Tail attack to slam May into the ground.
She skidded along the dirt surface on her side, it was a much harder hit from the snake this time. The whole left side of her clothes was brown from dirt and dust, as she painstakingly tried to sit herself up again.
"Team Rocket!" she screamed, "Why don't you face me in a real battle instead of hiding in the woods like cowards?"
She waited for her response, but heard nothing. She was pissed off now, and readily had her hands on her Pokeballs inside her fannypack, ready to launch a counter attack.
"You guys think you can return Ash's Pikachu and the money now?" May yelled, "Its getting late and I'm pretty tired, we can do this another day. Alright?"
A few seconds passed, there was still no response. The wind blew through the trees, which was the only sound that could be heard around her. She pushed back her locks of hair in the breeze, without her bandana to hold it down, her hair was being blown all over the place.
"Hey, I know," May smiled. She reached into her fanny pack and pulled out the blue bottle cap that she found on the road earlier. "Lookie what I have! It's a blue bottle cap! I bet one of you must have dropped this!"
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH! MY BLUE VINTAGE BOTTLECAP!" James shrieked from behind the bushes.
May looked surprised as James ran right up to her at an abnormal speed and snatched the bottle cap out of her hands.
"Ah yes, this is mine! It must have fell out of my pocket while we were flying through the air!" James cried happily, with his bottle cap back in his possession.
"Hey, wait a second!" May countered, snatching the bottle cap back from his grasp.
"What are you doing, twerp? The bottle cap is mine!" James demanded.
"No way, I'm not giving this back to you just for free," May said, turning her body coldly to him and holding the bottle cap behind her back, "How about we make a trade?"
"A trade?"
"You give me the money and let Pikachu go, and I'll give you back your bottle cap," May said happily.
"Hm, that does seem like a fair trade," James pondered.
"ARE YOU NUTS!" Jessie yelled, running up beside James with Seviper.
"Yeah, did you fall on your head a little too hard this time, Jimmy? We're not trading Pikachu and 300 smackers for some dinky bottle cap!" Meowth added.
"DINKY? Don't spread your ignorance around, Meowth! That bottle cap has been in my family for three generations, it is like a family heirloom to me!" James retaliated.
"Oh shut it, James. All your silly bottle caps look exactly alike, why don't you find a new hobby, like collecting stamps or learning how to cook for instance," Jessie scoffed.
"You two are just ignorant!" James pouted.
"Look whose talking," Meowth said.
"You two wouldn't know a vintage bottle cap if it slapped you in the face You're just ignorant! Ignorant! Ignorant! Ignorant!" James continued to shout, covering his ears deliriously as Jessie and Meowth spoke.
"We've really lost him this time," Jessie said, rolling her eyes.
"They say ignorance is bliss, and all that jazz," Meowth added.
Throughout all their bickering and commotion, a certain someone managed to sneak her way by without them noticing.
"GAH! Where's Ms. Twerpette?!" Meowth cried.
"Hmmm?" Jessie uttered.
The trio looked around in front of them and May was nowhere to be seen! They frantically looked around in their confusion and bewilderment.
"James, you moron! In all your screaming you let the twerp slip out from right under our noses!" Jessie yelled.
"AAAAAH! And she still has my vintage bottle cap! We have to find her!" James cried.
May quietly walked into the woods close to where Team Rocket appeared from, hoping to find Pikachu or the envelope nearby. She walked a little deeper into the bushes until she saw a blue blob hovering over a glass case.
"Wobbufett…" Wobbufett uttered.
May looked over Wobbufett's shoulder and saw Pikachu in the glass tube. Pikachu cheered when it saw May, and yelled from behind the glass.
"Pikachu pi!" it shouted.
"Pikachu!" May cheered, "Nice to see you're alright!"
She ran toward the glass container until Wobbufett slid in front of her and held out its arms preventing her to pass.
"Woooobufett, Wobba Wobba!" Wobbufett said, shaking his head.
"So you're not going to let me pass, are you?" May asked.
"Wobba, wobba, Wobbufett, Wobba!" it replied, shaking its head erratically.
"That's ok," she said innocently, "I guess I could just have my Combusken appear and beat the snot out of you, but that would be kind of mean of me, wouldn't it?"
"WOBBUFETT?!" it shrieked in fear.
"Yeah, my Combusken sure does pack a mean punch nowadays," May said innocently, rubbing her shoe in the dirt, "I'm sure we could skip pass all that senseless violence though and just let me pass to set Pikachu free!"
"Woooob," Wobbufett sniveled, looking back at Pikachu in the case behind it. It looked back at May, its emotions were conflicting with one another.
May moved her fanny pack to the side of her hip and tapped her fingers on her Pokeballs sticking out on the very top. She grinned devilishly and moved her fingers in slow motion in order to scare Wobbufett out of its wits. The poor Pokemon was sweating heavily as it didn't want to be beaten to a bloody pulp by Combusken, but it knew that Jessie would do more or less the same thing if she found out it disobeyed her anyway!
"WOBBAWOBBA WOBBUFETT!" it cried, shaking its body in nervousness.
"Make your choice…!" May said encouragingly..
"BUFFET!" Wobbufett cried, it could no longer take the intense pressure. It dropped to the ground beside her and let her pass.
"Thanks, Wobbufett. See? We can settle things without violence sometimes too," May giggled.
She walked over to Pikachu and released the locks holding down the glass container. The cover was loose as she tossed it aside, and Pikachu jumped right into her arms.
"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu said happily, snuggling with her body.
"I'm happy to see you too, Pikachu, but…do you happen to know where the money is?" May asked.
"Pikachu pi!" Pikachu pointed, apparently Team Rocket was in possession of the envelope.
"Figures," May said, "Maybe Combusken will get some workout after all."
Pikachu jumped on top of May's head, clinging to her hair the same way it does to Ash. May smiled, so that's what it felt like to have Pikachu clinging to your head all day. She walked passed a terrified Wobbufett, who was still cowering on the ground beside her.
"See ya!" May waved, as she ran down the path.
"Wobbufett, wo-bba!" Wobbufett cried, hiding its head in the dirt.
She walked out of the woods and back onto the dirt road, only to see the trio continuing to squabble with one another. James was lying flat on the ground as Jessie was stomping on his back in a rage, while Meowth had his claws ready for an angry release. Poor James always had to take the brunt of their assault, as Jessie and Meowth were working him over real well.
"Pika?" Pikachu asked, while falling to her shoulder.
"I dunno, they seem kind of distressed," May said.
"SHE'S BACK!" James squealed.
Jessie and Meowth stopped their assault and turned around to see May and Pikachu standing together. Jolts of electricity were coming out of Pikachu's red cheeks, as it stood on her shoulder in a confident manner. May had her hand on her hip with a confident smile, she wasn't afraid of facing Team Rocket by herself, that's for sure.
"Soooo," Jessie said, crossing her arms, "You managed to free Pikachu, have you? What happened to that worthless blob I told to watch over Pikachu?"
"WOBBA!" Wobbufett yelled distressed, running out from the woods.
It ran passed May and Pikachu only to trip on a rock on the road, and ending up falling into Jessie's arms. The two bounced backward on the floor, with Wobbufett begging for forgiveness in Jessie's arms.
"Wobbufett is real sorry, Jess, that twerp must have confused it!" Meowth said.
"Get off of me already," Jessie yelled, pushing Wobbufett off her body.
"Hey, James!" May called out, "Just hand me the envelope with the money inside, and I'll toss you over your bottle cap."
James reached into his pocket and pulled out the envelope with the $300 cash. He looked at it while pondering and then looked back up at May.
"Don't do it!" Jessie snarled, "If you give her back the money for a stinking bottle cap, your life will be a living hell!"
"My life is already a living hell," James replied.
"Bottlecap!" May teased, flashing the blue bottle cap in the sunlight.
James was having a nervous breakdown, and after some ranting and screaming, he quickly came to his senses.
"You know, you're right, Jessie," James said, pushing the envelope back into his pocket. "With that $300 I can probably buy myself a boat load of vintage bottle caps! Not to mention we're likely to beat this girl in a battle, and get back my bottle cap anyway."
"Huh?" May gasped.
"Glad to see you come to your senses, you're lucky I didn't have to beat them through you," Jessie snarled, "Seviper, get ready to battle!"
Seviper hissed as it walked in front of Team Rocket, ready to do battle and defend its comrades.
"I know I'm probably going to regret this," James said to himself, "Cacnea go!"
He threw his Pokeball ahead as it formed into a small cactus Pokemon with green spikes over its arms. It had a yellow crown on the top of its head with tiny black eyes in the center.
Little does Jessie know that I'm going to work toward getting back my bottle cap at all costs, James thought.
May knew there was no way out of this, it was time to battle. She was ready to reach into her pocket to pull out a Pokeball when Pikachu suddenly jumped off her shoulder and into the battlefield.
"Pikachu, huh?" May asked.
"Pikachu, pika pika!" Pikachu said encouragingly, waving its arms.
May smiled, "You're going to let me battle with you, huh?" She pushed her Pokeballs back into her fanny pack, and raised her fists in order to command Pikachu, "Ok then, Pikachu lets clear out this mess!" she shouted determinedly.
"Battling with the twerps Pikachu? It's not a good idea to command a Pokemon that isn't your own," Jessie warned.
"That doesn't matter, I think I've watched Ash battle enough with Pikachu by now to know his attacks. Besides, Pikachu trusts me almost as much as Ash, right?" May squealed.
"Pikachu," Pikachu nodded.
"Alright then, Pikachu use Quick Attack!" she commanded.
Pikachu quickly gained a boost of speed as it raced toward its opponents. Seviper and Cacnea jumped into the air to avoid the attack, but they were ready to launch a counter strike.
"Cacnea, Pin Missile!" James commanded.
"Use Poison Sting, Seviper!" Jessie added.
Cacnea's arms began to glow as the needles were fired toward the electric Pokemon. Seviper launched several poison darts from its mouth as well, which was also launched toward the Pokemon.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt to deflect the attacks!" May commanded.
"PIKA!"
Pikachu charged up its body and released a Thunderbolt attack which disintegrated the projectiles that were fired toward it. As Seviper and Cacnea watched flabbergasted, May knew now was a time to make a move.
"Use, Quick Attack again!" she commanded.
Pikachu leaped off the ground and body slammed itself into Cacnea, launching the small cactus Pokemon straight into Seviper's face. The two Pokemon collided with one another painfully as they fell to the ground. Pikachu stood triumphantly in front of them.
"Wow, using Pikachu in battle is really fun! No wonder why Ash loves to blast Team Rocket off this way," May squealed.
"Pikachu pika?" Pikachu yelled out toward May.
"Hmmm? I should launch another Thunderbolt while they're disoriented?" May asked.
"Chu, pika pika!" Pikachu nodded.
"Ok then, use your Thunderbolt now!"
Moments after the attack was unleashed, Seviper and Cacnea were barbecued to a crisp. They were on the ground sizzled and defeated in front of Jessie and James, unable to get up.
"Drat, looks like I'll have to call for backup, Dustox, I choose you!" Jessie shouted.
She threw her Pokeball ahead as the light formed into a moth Pokemon with purple and green patterns on its wings, her Dustox. The Pokemon shouted its name in the sunlight after being cooped up in its ball for so long.
James tapped his foot impatiently, the girl still had his bottle cap in her possession. If they were blasted off again, he knew he might never get his family heirloom back again. He watched the battle unfold as he recalled his Cacnea into its ball. Jessie was making the move, but James waited for the right time to strike.
"PSYBEAM!"
"Duuuuuustox!" Dustox cried.
It fired a multi-colored rainbow beam which struck Pikachu right in the chest. Pikachu wailed in pain as it was launched backward on the ground. Jessie cheered triumphantly, recalling her defeated Seviper as well as Wobbufett into their balls while she praised her Dustox.
"Dustox dear, nice job," Jessie snarled.
"Dustox!" it cheered.
"Pikachu! Pikachu, get up!" May cried.
Pikachu struggled to get to its feet, the impact of the attack was still coursing through its body, but it knew it had to continue to fight. May struggled with herself about what attack she should have Pikachu use next. She knew that since Dustox could fly in the air, it could avoid the electric attacks much easier than Seviper and Cacnea did. She also knew that physical attacks might be a bit of a problem, since Pikachu was hit severely with the last Psybeam.
"Darn it, what would Ash do in a time like this?" May thought, nibbling on her thumb insecurely.
"Hey, Jess," James asked, "Since we're winning now, why don't you grab her fanny pack off her waist? Not only can you steal her Pokemon, but I'll get my bottle cap back too!" James said.
"Sounds good to me, and if we tire Pikachu out, we can grab it too!" Meowth added.
"Fine, but I'd like to work this girl over a tad first. It's a bad idea to go into battle while using Pokemon you don't know how to command. I'll have to teach her a lesson about this," Jessie grinned, "Dustox, another Psybeam please!"
May gasped as she saw the moth forming the multicolored beam in its mouth again. She struggled to come up with a strategy to deflect it, she knew she couldn't risk another direct hit. Her eyes wandered to the trees surrounding them, and she quickly thought of her plan.
"Pikachu, climb your way up the trees overlooking the road, get as high up as you can!" May called out.
"Pikachu!" it yelled, darting to the nearest tree and running up the trunk.
"Oh no you don't, fire the beam, Dustox!" Jessie commanded.
The light burst out of Dustox's mouth and hit the trunk of the tree. Pieces of wood were blasted apart, as the trainers had to cover their eyes from the flying bark, but Pikachu managed to get up the tree unscathed. It quickly inched its way across the tree branch that was overlooking the road, but Dustox flung itself up right next to the branch! Pikachu and May gasped in shock as Dustox had it cornered right on the branch, one wrong move and it was all over.
"Thunderbolt!" May shrieked.
"Dodge it," Jessie retaliated.
Pikachu fired not one, but a numerous blasts of its Thunderbolt attack, all of which missed Dustox as it hovered in the air. Dustox then fired a Poison sting attack at its target, and the small needles connected with Pikachu's skin which knocked it back against the wood of the tree.
"Pikachu!" May cried, "That's it, I've got to use my own Pokemon!"
She reached into her fanny pack to pull out her Pokeballs, until she found someone tugging on the back of her bag. She turned around and gasped as Meowth loosened the straps around her waist, and ran off with her fanny pack in his hand.
"Give that back, Meowth!" May yelled.
"Sorry, I've always wanted to try my hand at being a cat burgler," Meowth sniveled, "Here ya go, James!"
"Excellent work, Meowth," James said, holding her bag in her hand. He searched through her zippers until he found his vintage blue bottle cap, in which he squealed in delight. He dropped her bag to the ground, all that he really wanted was his bottle cap.
"Way to drop her Pokeballs, James," Meowth said sarcastically.
He picked up her fannypack and strapped it around his own waist. The yellow fanny pack clashed with his white fur, but Meowth didn't mind, he considered it sort of trendy. It matched the charm on his head, and that was pretty satisfying. Things were looking awfully grim, as Team Rocket had her Pokeballs and the money, as well as Pikachu on the verge of defeat. Pikachu wadded on the tree branch, coughing from the attacks. Dustox moved in closer, forming another Psybeam in its mouth, as if it were moving in for the kill.
May snapped, "Pikachu, cut the branch with your Iron Tail!"
"Chuuuu," Pikachu grunted.
It used its remaining strength to jump in the air and somersault into a striking position with its tail. It glowed a striking white while it snapped the tree branch in two, causing it to fall down with the branch while the Psybeam attack made contact with the top of the tree instead.
"Now's my chance, Thunderbolt it!" May shouted.
Pikachu released another Thunderbolt attack on an unsuspecting Dustox. Before the moth had a chance to see what was going on, it felt an electric sensation coursing through its body. The Pokemon was then catapulted back onto Team Rocket, which resulted in them sharing the same electric attack. While they were disoriented from the electric shocking, May instructed Pikachu to run over quickly and retrieve her fanny pack as well as the envelope with the money.
"GAAAAH! I hate it when this happens!" Meowth cried during the shock.
Pikachu removed the fanny pack from Meowth's waist, and held it over its shoulder. It then quickly jumped up to reach into James' pocket, where he picked out the envelope with the money inside. With both items retrieved, Pikachu ran back toward May and handed her the possessions.
"You're the greatest, Pikachu," May said happily.
She strapped her fanny pack back around her waist and took the envelope out of Pikachu's mouth. She checked inside the envelope to see all the bills safely inside, and cheered successfully.
"We make quite a team, right, Pikachu?" May asked.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu agreed.
"This is not over yet!" Jessie growled as the zapping faded.
A very barbecued Team Rocket stood in a daze, but they apparently had no intentions of retreating yet. Jessie reached back into her pockets for her Pokeballs, and was even thinking about battling with already worn out Pokemon.
"That money is going to pay for our lunches for a week!" Jessie yelled, "I will have it back!"
A figure quickly ran up beside May with a Pokeball in his hand.
"No, I wouldn't count on that," Ash said courageously.
"Ash!" May shrieked, "Took you that long to find me?"
"Nah, I knew you could take care of them by yourself, I'm just here to finish them off!" Ash said, "You're ok, Pikachu?"
"Pikachu, pi!" Pikachu said, happily.
"I've been battling Team Rocket with Pikachu, seems to me like Pikachu is pretty comfortable with me commanding it," May said.
"Is that so? Well, looks like we'll finish this one together then," Ash smiled, putting his Pokeball back on his belt.
Team Rocket glared angrily at the two twerps.
"Jessie, don't you think its time to call it a day?" James begged.
"Forget him, I want that fanny pack back! It looks good around my waist, better than on that twerps anyway!" Meowth shouted.
"I'll beat those two if it's the last thing I do!" Jessie shouted.
Ash and May looked at one another confidently, and then back at Team Rocket.
"Wanna do a Thunderbolt together?" Ash asked.
"Sure thing," May replied.
Ash and May pointed their fingers toward Team Rocket and commanded Pikachu at the same time.
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt attack!" Ash and May shouted in unison.
"Pikachu!" Pikachu yelled.
It fired one of its strongest Thunderbolt attacks yet at an overwhelmed Team Rocket. A large explosion erupted in the battlefield as soon as the attack struck, sending the trio in the air. They were history.
"Darn it, we almost had them cornered, Dustox! We almost won this time!" Jessie complained, clutching Dustox in her arms while flying in the air.
"Meh, I just want to find a department store that sells a fanny pack just like that twerpy girl has," Meowth said.
"Oh who cares, at least I got my bottle cap back!" James squealed.
"WE CARE!" Meowth and Jessie shouted.
"I get no respect," James pouted.
"Looks like Team Rocket is blasting off again!" the trio cried as they flew off in the distance.
Pikachu landed back on the ground and ran over to an optimistic Ash and May. Ash held out his arms as Pikachu dove straight into them, the trainer hugged his Pokemon tightly. Pikachu cheered and clung to his usual position on Ash's shoulder. May showed the envelope to him eagerly, all the money was safe and accounted for.
"Thanks a bunch for getting the money back, Max is going to be super-psyched," Ash said, folding the envelope in his hands.
"Hey, I said I would be the one to make up for losing it in the first place," May joked.
Ash and May walked together back to Latrommi's lab, content knowing the fact that everything was under control again.
"You had fun battling with May, Pikachu?" Ash asked his buddy.
"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.
"Better watch out, Ash, I think Pikachu is starting to like me better," May teased.
"No way, not in a million years," Ash chortled, "Pikachu and I are best friends forever, he'll always like me the best."
"Chuuu," Pikachu said.
"I dunno about that, Pikachu and I were really in sync!" May said, "Pikachu, you like me don't ya?"
She held out her hand toward Pikachu, encouraging it to jump on her shoulder.
"May is just being silly, don't mind her," Ash boasted, "Pikachu and I cannot be separated."
"Pika pika," Pikachu uttered.
Pikachu leaped off Ash's shoulder and into May's arms.
"Hey, what?!" Ash said, astonished.
May hugged Pikachu compassionately, the Pokemon hugged her around as far as its little paws could reach. She then arched up her shoulder in which Pikachu hopped aboard, and it clung to her right shoulder in the same manner it did with Ash.
"Heehee, what do you think now, Ash?" May asked.
Ash was faced with the smiling faces of Pikachu and May, the two he was closer with than anyone else in the world. They awaited a response but Ash could only laugh, it was incredibly amusing. May and Pikachu shared in with the laughter, as the friends walked back to the lab in harmony.
~*~*~*~*
"And then Tana started acting all irrational and locked herself in her room!" Brock said, frustrated.
"Didn't you tell her that we were only transported by the ball into the lab?" Ash asked.
"I did, but I guess they were spooked out more by the Premium Ball than they originally let on. It wasn't so much that the ball could walk, it was the fact that it transported you guys away right in front of them that did it," Brock said, "Or perhaps it's because Jamie was so indifferent that Tana had to go and reason with her about it."
Ash, May, Max and Brock stretched their legs as they relaxed in the guest room in Latrommi's lab. It was a long time since they were here, but they all felt pretty comfortable, just as much as they were back in the hotel room. Latrommi was sipping a cup of coffee nearby, he was listening to the conversation while leaning against a wall.
"I don't blame them, really," May said, "A Pokeball that can teleport people IS pretty freaky. I think I'd be totally freaked out by that if the ball didn't already scare me half to death last night."
"Yeah, that's something you'd only expect in science fiction, I can't believe it was real," Ash said, slouching on the couch.
Latrommi walked next to Ash and took another sip of his coffee.
"So you can comprehend a ray gun that turns people into infants, yet a walking Pokeball that can teleport people is too hard to swallow?" Latrommi asked.
"Heh, good point," Ash grinned.
"Pikachu, chu pika," Pikachu nodded, relaxing between Ash and May.
"One thing I still don't get, Professor, if you don't mind me asking, is why did the Premium Ball transport us into Tana and Jamie's room in the first place?" May asked.
The Professor nearly choked on his coffee after hearing the question, he started to turn a deep shade of red.
"Well…uh…you see…" Latrommi stammered.
"The Professor was spying on us the whole time on the beach, May, the button in the center of the Premium Ball was really a camera, he could watch everything we do and record it all," Ash said, "He must have watched some of our interactions with Tana and Jamie, so he knew we were friends with them. He also said that Team Rocket was in control of the ball at that point, so they probably sent us there because it transported the envelope to the same place a day before."
May was confused, "Yeah, but…why did Team Rocket transport the money there? What was the point?"
"To get it out of our hands, maybe?" Brock pondered.
"Ahem, if you must know," Latrommi said, "I…uh…suggested that if they needed a good place to store the money away from you kids, that Tana and Jamie's room would be ideal, considering you children would never suspect that they would take the money. It was the least likely place to start searching."
"Why'd you help them?" Max asked.
"I told you, son! They were tickling my feet and I had no choice! I had to tell them a decent hiding place to store the money, or else they would have gone on for another couple of hours!" Latrommi yelled.
"Yeah, too bad that only screwed up my relationship with Tana and Jamie," Brock sighed, "I hope Tana calls me tomorrow, but I don't know now after the way Jamie wanted to keep the money for herself rather than returning it to us. I'm starting to think that having two girls is really overrated. One girl to love and devote your life to is plenty. Just making someone happy and settling down with them, that's all I really want. That's what couples should strive to be, to make each other happy."
Ash and May glanced at one another, blushed quietly, and listened to Brock. Pikachu chuckled until Ash and May quickly put their hands over its mouth in unison.
"Hmmmm," Max pondered, "You say you were watching from the Premium Ball back on your computers here, Professor, was the Premium Ball watching what happened when we were transported to Tana and Jamie's bedroom?"
The Professor chortled nervously again, he was acting pretty awkward about the question. Nevertheless, he tried to put his thoughts into words in the most non-provocative manner possible.
"I…was tied to a chair that entire time, and I was placed to sit in front of the computer monitors to watch what was happening. The Premium Ball hung from the ceiling, giving me a full view of what was going on in the room. Team Rocket was busy snoozing in my quarters, those low lives, but I…got an eyeful of what Tana and Jamie did together that night…" Latrommi said.
"That was when they found the money under their bed sheets…they were in their lingerie," May said, blushing.
Max began to drool, "Yeah, I still have the image in my mind too."
"Max, quiet!" May said, agitated.
"They…had a real celebration once they found $300 in their bedroom. The two girls really went wild that night," Latrommi said. He turned to Brock, and put his hand on his shoulder. Brock looked up at him, as Latrommi snickered. "I envy you, Brock, those girls sure can bring down the house when they get excited. I got an eyeful of it all, it was the best free show of girl on girl action I had ever seen."
"PLEASE, PROFESSOR!" Brock shouted, distressed, "We have children sitting right here!"
Ash, May and Max looked at them with puzzled expressions.
"Oh, quite," Latrommi smiled, moving away from Brock, "Good action though, I even have it recorded."
"Erm, could you give me a copy of the tape if its not too much trouble?" Brock asked, drooling uncontrollably.
"Sure thing," the Professor winked.
I wonder if they do it differently with each other while I'm not around. Brock thought, dirty images beginning to surface in his mind.
"You know, I'm starting to think we need a vacation to get away from this vacation," May said.
"Heh, you feel it too? I know you love to travel, May, and we have spent the last two weeks here on this mainland. If you want, we can actually pack our belongings from our hotel room tomorrow and start traveling again," Ash said.
"That would be swell, what do you think, Max?" May asked.
"Sure, why not? I've had as much of this beach as I can take, and you know how much I hate salt water," Max laughed.
"HOLD THE PHONE!" Latrommi stomped his feet angrily, "Do you kids deliberately pretend to have short term memory loss or something? You're supposed to pay me back for my debt, something you kids STILL haven't done, even after two weeks! You're not traveling anywhere until you either pay back every last penny or work for me for a week in harsh child labor!"
Ash, May and Max slouched in their seats with naïve expressions. They all really did forget. Pikachu sighed.
"Hm, we lost the race so we can't give you the prize money as you know," Brock pondered, "And the only money we have is the gift that Ash gave to Max, the $300 that they retrieved from Team Rocket. Since that's a no go as well, I guess we'll just have to work for you for a week?"
"If that's the case, so be it," the Professor grunted.
"He never gives us a break, does he?" Ash laughed.
"Eh, we only have to work for him for one week, how bad can it be? After that we can pack are bags and start heading off again!" May said.
"And in that weeks time, I gotta sort out things with Jamie and Tana," Brock said.
"Don't get too excited," Latrommi grunted, "I'm going to work you to the death for all this lost time. If you thought working for me before was hard, you haven't seen nothing yet."
The group spent some more time discussing their plans for the next week, until they came to the conclusion that they had no other choice but to finally work off their debt for the Professor. Even though he tried not to show it, Latrommi really did grow fond of the kids since their time together, and found himself conflicted over how hard he'd make them work the following week.
Ash and May went over to the sink to take her bandana off of his arm. Her bandana had bloodstains on it, but it was nothing that wouldn't come off in a wash. Ash would need to put a few bandages around his arm for the next few days, until the cuts closed up. At the very least, the two made fun of the situation by commenting how they were always getting so beat up during the time they spent on the mainland.
After Brock and Max left the room, Latrommi remained with Ash, Pikachu and May to deliver one closing comment.
"Ahem, I'm sure you two will take good care of one another from now on," Latrommi said, "You're lucky to have each other."
"Uh, thanks!" May said, nodding, "You know, you're a sweetheart deep down, Professor!"
Latrommi walked toward the door and stood in the doorframe, while turning toward them one more time.
"Yep, you're a lucky guy, Ash, girls like this don't come around too often. And from what I've seen through the camera of the Premium Ball while she was changing, she has quite the body as well, you'll enjoy that when you're older," Latrommi said, winking as he exited the room.
May was shocked, and started to stutter. "Don't tell me…he…he…was watching while I was changing into my swimsuit too? You mean he was gawking behind the computer screen all that time as I stood in the room naked?!" she screamed emotionally.
Ash started to whistle casually, and walked with Pikachu out of the room.
"I take it back, the Professor isn't a sweetheart, he's a creep! What kind of 100+ something year old man spies on a girl while she's changing into a swimsuit!?" May asked emotionally.
She shook her head in embarrassment and plopped herself down in her bed. Professor Latrommi was always full of surprises.