Hello everybody! I have to say that this was one of the hardest chapters for me to write. Not only did I have to research different Pokemon moves and attacks, but I also had to describe a looooooong battle sequence, and had to try and portray the human emotion that accompanied said battle. On top of this, I flew out to Texas Wednesday, and had to fight jet-lag and had to look at colleges this week, so let me say right now that it was a very difficult task getting this story out to y'all this week. However, despite all the problems I encountered, I have to say that it was worth it. This chapter is definitely one of my better works, and I hope that y'all see it as such too. I would also like to point out that my last chapter received a record number of reviews, both good and bad, and I hope to break another record with this chapter. Whether you hated it or loved it, I would like to hear from everybody with an opinion about this chapter. Please continue to review my work, because it definitely makes writing the story feel a lot more like an accomplishment, rather than just some boring hobby that takes up hours that I already don't have.

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokemon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this fic are soley based upon the fictional characters created by these companies, and the story is not meant to, nor will it, receive any monetary funding.

Characters' Ages:

Ash: 16

Brock: 21

Misty: 17

Dawn: 13

Delia: 40

Oak: 55

Gary: 16

Charizard raced towards Fearow with a speed and ferocity that Ash had never seen before. I definitely made the right choice leaving him in the Charicific Valley, Ash thought as his eyes welled up with tears from the extraordinary speed and height that he was flying at. Within the first two seconds of flight, he had felt his hat fly off his head, and as he zoomed toward the mysterious thief, he silently prayed that someone had found it. He thought it seemed silly that he was worried about a hat at a time like this, but he really liked it, and they weren't cheap.

Refocusing his attention to the problem at hand, he looked ahead to find that in his valiant effort to catch up with the Fearow and its master, Charizard had actually begun to pass them. "Slow down Charizard, we're not in a race!" Ash yelled, panicking as he realized they were about a hundred feet above the mysterious bandit, and were now passing ahead of them in distance at a growing rate. Heeding its masters remarks, Charizard quickly turned around, nearly throwing Ash off its back in the process. As they headed towards the Fearow in a steady dive, Ash screamed "FLAMETHROWER!" at the top of his lungs. Unlocking his jaw, Charizard opened his mouth and released a great stream of fire.

Uh, oh, Ash thought. He was hoping that he accidentally hadn't done more than stopped the Fearow's escape. He had forgotten how powerful Charizard had become over the years, and that Flamethrower attack seemed a lot more lethal than it had been a few years ago. He certainly didn't want to kill anybody; he just wanted his Pokémon back. However, his fears of having killed the Fearow and its pilot were quickly replaced by the fear of what the flying Pokémon was going to do when he saw it using its Whirlwind attack to blow away the oncoming flames in all different directions.

This is going to be difficult, Ash thought as he got a better grip around Charizard's long neck and prepared to order the Pokémon to unleash another powerful attack.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

On the ground, the crowd from the party watched on in horror and amazement at the magnificent battle taking place before them. Although the Pokémon and their trainers were at least a half mile away, if not further, the large harvest moon behind the two dueling creatures provided a great view for the battle from below. As they saw the large flames emit from Charizard's mouth, they simultaneously gasped in wonderment, and were soon stunned once again when they saw that the large bird Pokémon had somehow survived the attack and seemed to be charging towards Ash and his battling partner with an assault of its own.

"This is bad Mist," Brock stated as plainly as he could. He knew from experience how dangerous flying on Charizard could be when one was simply having fun, but he estimated the danger of flying on the great orange dragon was probably a hundred times greater when one was flying and battling at the same time.

Feeling her heart rate going at about a thousand beats per second, Misty nervously replied, "Y-Y-Yeah, but he's done this before. Remember Entei?" She was indeed right. About five years earlier, when Ash was battling Entei (or at least the Unown-created replica), he was saved from an eminent death by his loyal Charizard, and proceeded to do battle with the legendary beast while riding on top of the creature. However, this fact did little to calm either of their nerves, as they watched on wondering if Ash was ready for this. It had been a long time since Entei, and although Ash had always come through in the end, they never stopped worrying about their best friend.

"Right. Well, I'm gonna call Officer Jenny," Brock said, slowly backing up, but all the while watching the battle in the sky. "I'm sure they've got some kind of protocol for these kinds of situations." He then turned and ran into the house as fast as he could, all the while bumping into party guests and lawn furniture which were blocking his path. Once he got in the house, he rushed over to the telephone in the house and dialed the police station.

"Hello, Pallet Town Police Force. What is your emergency?" Asked a very familiar voice.

"Officer Jenny, we really need your help!" Exclaimed Brock. "Someone stole our friends Pokémon and tried flying off with them, and now they're both battling in the air! I'm afraid someone's gonna get hurt soon if we can't stop 'em."

"WHAT???" Asked the police officer. She had never heard of a situation quite like this one before. "Are they on Pokémon?"

"Yeah. They're on a Fearow and a Charizard."

"Okay, we'll be right there with our Pidgeot force. Where are you located?"

"Uh, the house is on 805 Bacon Court, but I don't think it's that important since they're battling about a half mile from here."

"Right! We'll be right there. Until then try and remain calm. Are you alone in that house?"

"No, no. We've been having a party."

"Okay, then please try to get everyone in the house to calm down some. We don't need an entire crowd of hysterical people when we arrive."

Nodding understandingly, Brock replied with a quick "alright" before hanging up and heading outside to gather the party guests. It was going to be hard to tear them away from this spectacle, but he knew that if the police were going to be able to help Ash, they would need space and a little quiet.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

About ten minutes into the battle, Ash was sweating a great deal as the heat emanating from Charizard increased as he unleashed wave after wave of flaming fury. He was also beginning to feel a little dizzy from the altitude. Fortunately, up until now he had been able to keep the Fearow and its master, whom he'd still not gotten a decent glimpse of, on the defensive. Anytime that it seemed they were positioning themselves for an offensive move, he quickly ordered Charizard to attack with Flamethrower to quickly diffuse their plans. However, he could see that the major flaw in his strategy was that Charizard, although very powerful, could not keep doing this much longer. His ability to spurt flames from his mouth was a feat of strength, and he was quickly weakening from all the dodging and attacking with the heavy trainer on his back.

"Charizard, watch out!" Ash hollered as he was suddenly caught off guard by a stream of fire blazing towards them from the right. How the crap did they do that? He wondered in panic.

"Fearow, Mirror Move again!" Ash heard a young woman cry in the distance. He realized that she must be the owner of the Fearow, and more importantly, he realized how her bird Pokémon was managing to emit fire from its beak.

"Charizard, dive!" Ash ordered, as he saw another stream of flame head towards him and his Pokémon. "Why haven't they been doing that the entire time?" he asked to no one in particular. However, he soon realized the reason when he heard his tired Pokémon wheezing slightly as he descended in altitude.

She's been tiring us out, Ash thought. She knew that a Fearow couldn't win against my Charizard in a head-on battle of strength, so she's been playing Charizard's greatest advantage against him. Smirking, he realized he now knew how to beat this apparently very skilled trainer.

"Charizard, hover right here!" Ash demanded. As the next Flamethrower attack sped towards them, he lightly kicked Charizard on the right-hand side of his chest, causing Charizard to instinctively move a little to the right. The flames then rushed by the two of them, leaving them both unharmed. Now I've got you.

"Charizard, Tackle!" He ordered.

At his command, the fire Pokémon began to fly towards its opponent and when he tried to perform the attack, the Fearow simply backed away slightly, and Ash heard the woman cry out, "Now we've got 'em. Fearow, Mirror Move!"

However, instead of being engulfed in flames, as Ash suspected the other trainer expected to happen, the Fearow simply started flying towards him and Charizard slowly, to which Charizard responded by waiting a second before he got too close, and then simply flying a few feet above the Fearow. Ash had remembered reading that bird Pokémon who used Mirror Move were not smart enough to remember the move they were imitating after witnessing a different one. Therefore, ordering Charizard to use Tackle took away Fearow's firepower.

"Looks like Flamethrower's not an option anymore, huh?" Ash teased as he looked below at the mysterious burglar.

"Shut up! I have other ways of dealing with morons like you." She replied haughtily. Despite this setback, Ash noticed, she didn't seem too discouraged.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Meanwhile, Officer Jenny and the Pallet police force were in the backyard where minutes ago the party guests had been. They were organizing how they were going to handle this situation.

"Pidgeot, I choose you!" yelled Officer Jenny as she threw a blue and white pokeball from her grasp. A second later, in a brilliant flash of light, the great brown and white bird Pokémon stood before her. Stretching its wings, it screeched a loud "PIDGEOT", and bowed down before its master. Officer Jenny quickly jumped on, and ordered the other officers to do the same. Soon, the entire police force had mounted their large bird Pokémon and was waiting for the Officer's orders.

"Remember everybody," Jenny called out to the police unit. "I've been informed that one combatant is riding a Charizard, which is typically used by members of Team Magma for flight operations, but I was also told that the other was riding a Fearow, which we know is used by Team Rocket for their operations. So we'll need to take both of them in for questioning. We seem to be dealing with an experienced agent, from either organization, so if worst comes to worst I want you to put into effect Operation HB."

"Yes ma'am!" cried out the rest of the force in unison. With that, they all took to the sky to apprehend the suspects.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Charizard move a little to the right!" Ash ordered, as the Fearow came whizzing by again, spinning rapidly while using its Drill Peck attack. How is she holding on to that thing? He wondered in astonishment as he watched the bird and its owner go flying by them for about the twelfth time in the last two minutes. His strategy now was simply to do what the young woman had been doing earlier; tire her Pokémon out. Fearow didn't know any powerful moves that weren't physical, so it had to approach Charizard to attack them. Therefore, even though Ash could no longer use powerful moves (out of fear that Fearow would manage to imitate them), he was able to easily maneuver Charizard out of danger's way, and thus weaken the bird Pokémon. The only thing he hadn't figured out by this point was why the trainer hadn't just tried to escape. She seemed intent on finishing him off, despite the risk to her own life and the fact that she already had four of his six championship-winning Pokémon in her possession. Maybe she's just not that bright, he thought as he saw the Fearow preparing to mount another attack.

"Cease and desist immediately!"

That command instantly shook both Ash and the mystery battler out of their fight and turned their attention to Ash's left, where they saw a flock of Pidgeot approaching them. As they got closer, Ash realized that the Pidgeot were actually carrying the police force on their backs.

"You are both under arrest!" Cried another commanding voice. Ash recognized it immediately as belonging to Officer Jenny.

"Looks like it's over, whoever you are," Ash said to the young woman who was no more than ten feet in front of him.

"As if," she replied non-chalantly. "C'mon Fearow, let's get out of here. Use Agility!" In an instant Ash saw the two of them fly off at a tremendous speed, leaving behind nothing, but a few feathers.

Why didn't she use that to escape in the first place? He wondered as he began to order Charizard to follow. Did she want me to catch up with her before?

He then ordered Charizard to fly after them, which the obedient Pokémon did, although at a noticeably slower rate than he had before. The poor guy must be tired, Ash thought as Charizard continued in the same path that the Fearow had taken.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"Brock, why does it look like the police are trying to catch up with Ash?" Misty inquired as she and the other party guests returned to the backyard to witness how the police would handle the situation.

"I'm not sure Mist," replied Brock honestly. "They probably just want him to go back down and let them take care of Mallory."

"No, no. I don't think that's it," stated a now even more concerned Misty. "Look at them up there. They've surrounded him and Charizard. You did tell them who was riding which Pokémon, right?"

Jerking his head up, Brock instantly realized his mistake. "N-N-NO!" He cried in fear. He had completely forgotten to tell Jenny who the culprit was.

"YOU FORGOT TO TELL JENNY WHO THE THIEF WAS???!!!" Screamed Misty at the top of her lungs. This statement automatically shook the crowd out of their trance from watching the sky, and brought their attention back down to Earth, specifically at Brock and Misty.

"WHAT???!!!" Brock heard Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak cry at the same time. Rushing towards Brock, Delia quickly took a deep breath and asked Brock if she had heard Misty correctly, which she prayed she had not.

"I-I-I-I am soooo sorry Mrs. Ketchum. I didn't even-"

He was quickly interrupted by Mrs. Ketchum, who began to sob. "Oh my gosh! My poor baby! What if they think he's the criminal?"

"It's alright, Delia," stated Oak as calmly as he could, although he himself was very worried about where the situation was heading. "I'm sure Ash will quickly be able to explain what's really going on, and nothing will happen. The police won't do anything rash until they're sure they've got the right man."

I sure hope you're right, Misty thought silently as she nodded in agreement with the Professor's last statement. However, in the pit of their stomachs, both she and Brock felt that the situation probably wouldn't turn out as they were praying it would.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Up in the air, things were turning out the exact way everyone on the ground feared. Ash had been completely stunned by the fact that the police didn't recognize him immediately as the young trainer from Pallet who was the new Sinnoh Champion. He knew it was fairly dark, but he had hoped that the moon would have given enough light to prove his identity. As the police force swarmed around him, he tried again to explain for a third time what was really happening, although he was beginning to grow annoyed with the fact that they weren't listening. "Listen! You have the wrong guy. The girl who took off with my Pokémon is headed in that direction right now! You're gonna let her get away if you don't stop being idiots and begin chasing after her!"

Uh, oh, he thought to himself. It might not have been the smartest move to call them idiots.

"Really? We're the dumb ones?" Inquired Officer Jenny. Out of the fourteen Pidgeot-riding police officers surrounding Ash, she was the one sitting directly in front of him. "Obviously you're the idiot if you think we're gonna run off and let you escape." As she said this, she pointed an accusative finger at Ash, angering him further.

"Fine! Then leave someone here to watch me, but go after that freakin' Fearow! I swear y'all are acting like the biggest bunch of morons I've ever seen! I've already told y'all that I'm the one whose Pokémon were stolen."

"Officer O'Sullivan, do you have a reading of any Fearow on the GPS?" Inquired Officer Jenny, still glaring angrily at Ash for the flurry of insults she had received in the last two minutes of talking to this kid, and completely ignoring his last comment. The angrier he got, the more certain she felt she was correct in her assumption that he was indeed the bandit.

"No ma'am," replied one of the officers, although Ash couldn't tell which one. "Only this kid and his Charizard."

"I'm not a kid, officer," stated Ash angrily. "I'm an adult and I expect to be treated as one, and the reason that stupid Fearow is off your GPS is because you've waited so long. She used Agility right before you arrived, so go after her!"

"I'm so sorry sir, but since we have one suspect in front of us right now, we're gonna have to take you in. If you're really who you say you are, then we'll find this 'criminal' and you'll be free to go." As Jenny said criminal, she used finger quotes, which finally sent Ash reeling in fury. He couldn't believe that they were letting his Pokémon get away, and at the same time accusing him of being the perpetrator.

"Y'know what?" Ash asked, with a glimmer of mixed emotion in his eyes. "No."

With that statement, he ordered Charizard "up" and began flying in the direction that the Fearow went. He knew that the bird Pokémon could not have kept up its Agility this long (it had been about four minutes now), and with that little break Charizard had received as Ash spoke with the police, he was soaring once again at an incredible speed.

"Sir, we command you to stop!" Screamed one of the officers behind him. "If you don't desist immediately, we will shoot!"

They'd really shoot me? Ash thought. When he heard the threat, he realized how crazy this was. Not even an hour ago, he was reminiscing with Misty about good times in his backyard, and now he was being pursued by the police on his Charizard. "How did things get this messed up?" He asked himself aloud.

As what he thought of as a cosmically ironic answer to his rhetoric inquiry, a gunshot cracked behind him. Oh crap, he thought. However, he was unwilling to stop his pursuit of the Fearow and more importantly its master, because he knew if he could just find them, then everything could be resolved. Therefore he ordered his Charizard to, "Go high!"

Immediately after he gave his order, he heard several other gunshots go off behind him. However, he realized that they were never going to be able to hit him or his Pokémon. The distance between them and the police was growing by the second, and despite the little knowledge he had of firearms, he did know that a small revolver like the Pallet Town Police Force used was not going to be very accurate, or go very far at this altitude.

I think I can hold them off until we reach that Fearow, he thought.

"Listen!" He yelled. "Just wait until we reach the Fearow! Then I can explain-"

He was interrupted by the sound of Officer Jenny's voice booming with the assistance of a blow horn. "Pidgeot, initiate Operation HB!"

Suddenly, all the Pidgeot used Agility and were surrounding Ash and his Charizard once again, only this time they were hovering over the two, and were circling them rapidly using Double Team. Then, all at once, the Pidgeot opened their beaks and balls of light began forming from within them.

They're gonna use Hyper Beam! He thought, terrified at the consequences such an act could produce. He realized that he had no other choice at that moment than to fight.

"Charizard, use Blast- AUGGGHHHH!" He was interrupted mid-command by the feeling of searing heat blistering the surface of his skin. He looked around, but all he could see was a bright light…then darkness.

He felt his body falling, and he felt his grip on Charizard's neck dwindle to being non-existent. Somewhere above him he heard screaming, and below he could swear that he heard his mom yelling for him, and then he heard and saw nothing.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

"ASH!!!" Shrieked his mother, as she watched her pride and joy, her only child, plummet towards the earth. She couldn't believe that it was happening, yet somehow despite her mind's refusal to take it as the truth, she saw it happening. The world around her melted away, and she simply fell to her knees and began to weep; a long, mournful, horrifying weep that only a mother can make out of fear for her baby.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

While Mrs. Ketchum sat on her knees in front of them, crying herself out, Brock and Misty simply stood with a glazed look in their eyes. Neither felt that they could react to what they had just seen. Was Ash alive? Was he hurt? Paralyzed? They didn't allow themselves to believe the worst had happened, because it couldn't have. This was Ash they were talking about, the one who had always come through. However, they couldn't escape the dreadful feeling once again growing in the pit of their stomachs that something had happened; something they didn't ever want to happen. Then, as if on queue, their eyes welled with tears simultaneously and they silently prayed once more for Ash's safety.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

About an hour later, everyone from the party and the police force were searching for Ash and his beloved Pokémon.

"Man, how hard is it to find someone who fell to the ground riding a Charizard?" Asked Brock to no one in particular.

"I don't know," replied Misty. She was holding the flashlight for the two of them and was lighting every square inch of the forest over which Ash had fallen. "I'm taking this as a good sign, though."

"Really? How so?" Asked a hopeful Brock. Neither of them, or hardly any of the guests (who were all really good friends with Ash) had really talked since they had begun searching for his, hopefully, live body in the clutter of trees. Brock was relieved to finally hear someone's voice, and even happier at the prospect of Ash being okay.

"Well, think about. If Ash or Charizard didn't land directly from the point which he fell at, then that must mean that Charizard was able to fly at least a few extra seconds before losing consciousness. And if that's the truth, then who's to say they weren't able to land safely?"

Not really believing it possible that they landed safely, but at the same time not wanting to refuse any hypothesis that supported Ash's well-being, Brock simply smiled and said, "Yeah!"

"Hey, over here!" They both suddenly heard someone call through the foliage. "We found 'em!"

With their hearts feeling as if they were going to burst from the suspense of knowing Ash's condition, both Brock and Misty raced over to their best friend, hoping for the best.

Author's note: Well, there you have it. What will happen to Ash? Will he ever play the piano again? Find out next week, same bat-time, same bat-channel. Whatever.

Anyway, like I said this was a very hard chapter to write, so forgive me if it seems a little dry in comparison to previous chapters, but I really believe I did the best I could with this chapter, and truth be told I personally like it a lot. However, whether you do or don't, REVIEW PLEASE!

Also, to keep in accordance with the promise I made y'all a couple of weeks ago, I have a couple of stories I'd like to recommend to anyone out there interested in Pokemon fics!

This week, I'd like to recommend:

"Twelve OneShot AAML Stories iPod Challenge" by licoricejellybean - this is one of three pokeshipping fics that she has, but I haven't had time to read the others yet. It's a very good story.

"No Way But Up" by Flaaffy - this story doesn't have any shipping, but it's a type of fic I've never seen before. It allows the readers to have a participatory role in the story, and even if you aren't interested in getting involved, it's still a very good story idea.

"The Refuge" by SecretAgent99 - this story is just an altogether great fic about a completely new character not mentioned in the show. I've only read the firt chapter, and already I'm hooked on it. I strongly suggest y'all read it and PLEASE REVIEW it! This poor kid's only gotten two reviews (one of them being mine) for this great story, and she won't continue working on it if we don't give her some encouragement (which is, ironically, the same reason you should review mine as well. ha,ha)

Anyway, please read these stories when y'all have the chance and look out for the next installment to my fic next Sunday. Until then, REVIEW!