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Space, the Final Frontier (or Not)
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On the day of the launch, before liftoff is going to begin…
Brock opened his bag to look into his booklet of photos, and looked at his family of siblings and his parents with him, he said, "I miss you guys already."
"Captain on the bridge!" said a voice from somewhere!
Brock stood up straight at attention like a soldier, a flash of light caught his eye! He looked at its source to Gary Oak (handsome for a 23-year-old) in a white bodysuit of some sort. Gary began to paraphrase a commercial in front of Brock, "Digital camera, $264; memory stick, $59; the look on your former rival's hard-ass free-of-pay traveling housemaid's face when he found out he's your junior officer and you're his C.O.… priceless."
Brock kept his temper back, because he knew better, and zipped Gary's suit even tighter before. Gary didn't mind it. Brock said, "I believe I can handle being in space. I can even handle Mr. Brunette Ambition." While picking up a white bodysuit from a box sent to him, "But I don't know if I should go into space or straight to Swan Lake in these things. Who came up with them anyway?"
A familiar redhead came in and answered, "Pr. Oak did; the synthetics act as a second skin, adapting to our bodies' individual needs and some protection." Gary mischievously said to Ash (as soon as he showed up), "That means, in your words, that it keeps the hot stuff hot and the cool stuff cool." Ash took his suit, not bothering to even look at the redhead, "I think I've got that already."
Then a familiar brown-haired woman with long bangs in front showed up in a white synthetic suit saying, "This is going to be so great!" Ash looked at her and said, "I don't think they allow it up in space, May." May stuck her tongue out at him, "You're worse than high school." Max puts on his suit, "Ash, just put on that suit. Even though the material's made from self-regulating unstable molecules, it's safe to wear." Ash groaned, "I think I've got it already." Gary and May chimed a joke, "Suit yourself."
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As soon as they got off the spaceship that took them to the Maple Space Station, Ash felt great, "Wow… a few days here sounds excellent. It's least likely for Team Rocket being the worst thing that could happen."
The dynamic trio was a few people behind him. Meowth woke up, from the space jet lag he received since take off 2 days ago, "Hey… did I fall a sleep at an all-you-can-eat catnip smorgasbord?" Jessie felt herself beginning to float, "I guess we're in space now." James looked sick, "Where's the ground? Who took the ground away? I need my ground. I really need it!" a Pokémon trainer looks at James and he says to him, "Relax, dude; once you're on the space station and off the ship, you'll have gravity; it may be artificial, but it will be similar to that back on the planet."
It was proven to Team Rocket when they got onto the ground. Jessie kissed the metal floor, "Sweet ground!" another male Pokémon trainer looked at her, "I found you attractive, now I found you both that and weird." Ash said, "Hey, these three aren't used to this. It could be their very first time like us, so cut them some slack."
The trio was surprised; Ash left them alone and defended them from the future insults. But what they don't know is that Ash knows it was the Rocket goons that chased after him for years, but he is very much not into picking a fight with them at the moment.
James asks, "I'm not into stealing any Pokémon or anything else, can I find real legal work now?" Jessie, feeling frustrated, said, "You may go."
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On the next day in space… while starting to have lunch, Max said to Ash, "Please don't tell me you've thrown away your friendship with May." Ash sighs, "Of course not, you know me; I'm not that type of guy to hurt a friend's feelings like that. But I'm strictly focused on this whole mission right now." Max laughs, "Well, this is a vacation to help build up our personal budgets not strictly business."
Ash said to Max, "Hey, I'm not that good with women like you or Gary. I don't even have the guts to stand up to one and date, like Brock does, much less propose to." Max was surprised, "Wow, Dr. Jones, that's heavy." Then he hands Ash a snack, "Let's think about this— We've got Gary; more money than Moses and stud of the year. You've got Brock; perfect future father with a lack of good looks. And you've got you, Ash Ketchum; Pokémon master trainer, crime organization destroyer, good looks to spare, other women everywhere on Earth dying to be with you, and yet worth less than an average guy. I wonder what the resulting number of the dice roll's going to be." Ash calmly said as he placed meal into the microwave oven close to them, "Don't trouble your tiny little mind, egghead." Max pats him on the back, "Don't pig out, dude."
Pr. Oak shows up, with Tracey, Brock, and Gary following him, "Are you two ready for the storm when it arrives?" Ash sighs, "As long as it's only in a few more weeks, we should be fine." Max happily says, "We've got shields and pods, so of course we're going to be okay." Tracey shrugs, "Well the shields should protect us." Brock got a little worried, "Should?" Maple beams brightly, "No need to be shaky, cutie!" Brock irked, "Okay then."
Pr. Oak asks, "So, when are we going to load those samples and test subjects?" Maple became worried, "Oh no! We're missing just 6 canisters of berry plant samples!" everyone looked at Brock, who gulped with worry! Tracey asks, "What are the possibilities of anything going wrong with Brock out there?" Maple beeped in the calculations under Brock's profile, "A maximum of 1.002. Just stay calm out there, Mr. Brock."
Ash eases Brock a bit, "No pressure." Brock sighs, "I remember the days you do the walking more than you did the talking." Misty's voice was heard, "Yeah, that's him; in most adventures he walks the walk and he can talk the talk." Ash looked away from Misty, who has appeared next to the other men. She sadly says, "I guess he can't do the right talking at all." Pikachu sat on her shoulder and sadly agrees with her, "Pikachu."
Brock puffed up some confidence and air, "Okay, now that it's settled; I'll take a walk outside." Tracey was surprised, "Why can't Ash go along with you?" Pr. Oak said, "Don't worry; it's a one-man job." Ash just walked away.
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Gary asked Brock, as he was placing him into a spacesuit, "Is this going to be a rouse to get back together with Misty?" Brock said, "Of course not, Ash is never like that now." Gary scoffs, "Well, his heart says differently doesn't it. Besides, he's interested in girls like the way I am."
Brock settled things down with Gary, "Hey! Two hearts got busted last time. Maybe Misty's not over it either and she's not forgiving May for that problem ever again." Gary jokes while handing Brock the needed berry plant samples, "Wow, Dr. Phil; that's deep." Then he goes on, "Let's think about this over the changes over years of our salad days. You've got May; babe of the century with more money than a U.S. president. And you've got Misty; pretty yet cold water Pokémon trainer and gym leader worth less than a glass of water. That looks like a real tossup." Brock shot back, "Just don't trouble your egotistical shrunken mind." Gary says to Brock, "Don't wander off now, boy." Just soon after sealing the airlock, Brock went out in space.
Ash watched in depression as he witnessed his oldest male human friend spacewalking away through the viewing window.
A few minutes later, while still dwelling on the past that got ruined on some of his best friends, a computer was beeping close to Ash. "Huh?" His heart began to race rapidly as he carefully read the bold letters on the monitor, 'ETA to Impact, 9 minutes.' He paled, "Oh no!"
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In the main control room, Pr. Maple asks Pr. Oak, "I know it's been years, Sammy." Pr. Oak nods, "Yeah… I just can't get the thought of those five not getting along after a few incidents and accidents now; my grandson is a hothead now, Ash lost confidence with his female friends, and Misty has turned cold that she's trying to warm up to her old friends." Maple asks him, "Do you still miss your wife?" Pr. Oak nods, "And my son and daughter-in-law, my grandchildren are all I have left."
Maple said, "If only we were young again, Sammy…" Pr. Oak asks, "What do you mean?" She explains, "For the longest time since we were kids I've been in love with you." Pr. Oak realizes, "Well… why didn't you say anything?" Maple answered, "I was a shy little girl back then, then when you babbled on about how you went to the future, I thought it was silly so I decided to come along with you. Then you met Cheryl and got married. Even after that, I was still glad to do anything for you." Pr. Oak sighs, "I'm so sorry, Benjamina."
"The storm is picking up speed!"
The two professors looked in the direction of the person who said that and asked in unison, "What?" It was Ash, with panic on his face he said, "The storm is picking up speed! We've got minutes until it hits us, not days! We have got to evacuate at once!" Maple pressed a few buttons, afterwards that's when she paled, "Abandon ship."
Ash asks, "What about, Brock? He's still out there!" Misty came in, "What are you talking about?" Ash looked at Misty and shrilled out, "Brock's outside, right where the storm's going to be in a few minutes! We've got to abandon the station and evacuate!"
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Jessie, James, and Meowth heard the alarms going off, then they realized that meant their lives are in danger! James gulped, "Prepare for big trouble!" Jessie paled, "Make it double! And I was afraid of storms when I was little!" Meowth's hairs stood on end, "It's even worse than rain on Earth!" Those three dashed off for escape pods, "TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF FOR REAL!"
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Pr. Oak began evacuating, but not before shouting into an emergency microphone, "Brock, hurry! Get back inside!" Gary noticed the worry on his grandfather's face, "What's wrong?" Brock's voice replied from the speaker, "I'm not done arranging your plants and flowers yet, Professor." Ash shouted into the mike, "Turn around, Brock!"
Outside, Brock slowly did so, there he saw a red cloud before him, minutes away and picking up speed, the cosmic storm! Brock felt fear gripping onto him tightly at his heart, "I'm not gonna make it!" Gary hollered, "Brock, you've got to jump!" Brock took a big jump and flew towards the station… but even though he made it into the airlock…
May came in and asks, "What did I miss?" then she noticed the storm, "Oh no!"
As the space station was evacuated, all that was left was Ash, Misty, Gary, May, Brock, the samples, the Pokémon to be experimented with, the trio from Team Rocket, and one mysterious occupant.
Ash was about to head for the interior shield pods, but the exterior shields were closing, and that includes closing the blast doors for the main control room which meant for him being trapped outside with the poor victims of the storm! Ash felt helpless, soon he felt the hands of Misty and May throwing him toward the closing blast door; he made it into one of the pods, but May, Misty, and Gary are still in the unshielded area and Brock is still in a half-opened airlock!
The cosmic rays got in, regardless of the exterior shields!
Ash watched helplessly from his own interior backup shield to see his friends suffer the cosmic rays! From the bottom of his heart climbing to the top of his lungs, he cried and screamed, "Misty… May… Brock… Gary… my friends… NO!"
Then everything went black!