o-----------------------o | | | Double Trouble | | for | | Ash and Pikachu | | | o-----------------------o by Chris ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- Chapter I: Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu are heading back to Pallet Town for a well deserved rest from their pokemon training. What dangers could possibly lie ahead for our friends on such a beautiful day? "Ooohh, I can't wait 'til we get home for one of Mom's home cooked meals!" Ash exclaimed. "C'mon, Pikachu! I'll race ya!" "Pika!" Pikachu responded, racing after him. "Hey Ash! Wait up!" Misty and Brock yelled in protest as they raced for home. Over at the edge of town, three sets of peering eyes watched from behind a bush as they came running down the road. "Here they come," Jessie noticed. "Is the trap ready?" "Yeah," James responded with a nod. "What, exactly, is the plan this time?" Meowth asked. "Watch and see," Jessie responded. As Ash and friends reached the edge of the town, they all fell through big a hole in the ground. "Not another hole!" Meowth yelled in disgust. "Hey, the hole has always gotten them before!" James retorted. "Come on, now's our chance!" As Ash, Misty, and Brock looked up, they noticed Team Rocket standing above them. "Prepare for trouble!" Jessie said. "And make it double!" James added. "To protect the world from devastation," Jessie continued. "To unite all peoples within our nation," James included. "To denounce the evils of truth and love," Jessie stated. "To extend our reach to the stars above," James declared. "Jessie!" Jessie said. "James!" James said. "Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" Jessie concluded. "Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" James ended. "Meowth, that's right!" Meowth finished off. "Isn't it kinda early for you guys?" Misty complained. "It's never too early for my close-up," James rebutted. "You should know the routine be now," Jessie said. "Hand us Pikachu or we won't let you out." "You can forget it then!" Ash replied. "Ash, the walls are to steep to climb out," Misty stated. "Then we'll fly out," Ash said as he grabbed one of his pokeballs. "Charizard, I choose you!" Ash threw the pokeball and Charizard appeared in a flash of light. "Charizard, fly us out of here!" Ash commanded as they climbed onto him. "Weezing, go!" James said, as he threw his pokeball. "Smog attack! Don't let them get away!" The smog attack overtook the area as Ash and his friends got off of Charizard. "Tackle Attack, Now!" James commanded. Weezing bounced into Charizard, making him stumble backwards. Quickly recovering, Charizard spun around and knocked Weezing with his tail. Weezing flew into James, knocking them both down. "Can't you do anything right!?" Jessie hissed. "Go, Arbok! Poison Sting!" "Charizard, watch out!" Ash warned. Charizard jumped back, avoiding the attack. "Gust Attack!" Ash yelled. Charizard flapped his wings and blew away the smoke, along with Arbok. "Arbok, don't just lay there! Use your Wrap attack!" Jessie yelled. Arbok jumped forward and was barely able to wrap around Charizard once, but clung to him like glue. "Charizard, you can do it! Seismic Toss!" Ash confidently said. Charizard grabbed a hold of Arbok and moved his tail closer to him, which burned the snake. Once the grip loosened, Charizard flew up into the air, spun around, and threw Arbok into Team Rocket, who flew back into the air. "Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again!!!" They yelled as they flew back out of sight. "Alright!" Ash yelled happily jumping up and down. "Pi pikachu!" Pikachu yelled happily at Charizard's victory. Over at the Ketchum residence, Ash and his group are just arriving home. "Mom, I'm home!" Ash called when he got into his house. "Hi honey," Ms. Ketchum responded from the kitchen. "We'll be here for dinner, okay?" he asked. "Okay," she said gleefully. Back outside, Ash was sitting down, leaning back on his fence, with Pikachu sleeping next to him, when he noticed someone walking up to him. It was Gary. "Well Ash, long time no see. You give up pokemon training yet?" he sarcastically remarked. Pikachu woke up upon hearing Gary's voice. "Of course not," Ash responded. "What are you doing here?" "Well I was in the area and heard that you were here too," he told him. "So, how 'bout we have a battle?" "That'd be nice," Professor Oak said, as he walked up from behind Gary. "Your pokemon could always use a little more training." "Alright then," Ash responded, standing up. "Let's make it 1-on-1, you're best fire pokemon against mine," Gary suggested. "Fine by me," Ash agreed. "Charizard, go!" "Arcanine, I choose you!" Gary said as he called out his Arcanine. "Go, Tackle Attack!" "Charizard, Fly!" Ash countered. Charizard flew up and Arcanine's tackle attack missed. "Arcanine, knock him down with your Fire Blast attack!" Gary yelled. "Charizard, beat his Fire Blast with yours!" Ash commanded. The two attacks collided in midair, but Arcanine's attack beat out Charizard's and he was knocked to the ground. "Charizard, you can do it! Fire Spin attack!" Ash said. Charizard got up and shot a flame at Arcanine engulfing him in fire. Arcanine was stunned by the attack. "Use your Mega Punch!" Ash ordered. Charizard hit Arcanine, knocking him back. "Now, give it a Skull Bash!" "Arcanine, tackle him!" Gary yelled out. Arcanine ran under Charizard's attack and hit him, almost knocking him of his feet. "Now, show him a real Fire Spin attack!" The fire attack shot forward and towered up when it hit Charizard. When the fire cleared, Charizard stood there for a second and then fell back to the ground. "No, Charizard!" Ash yelled as he ran over to him. "You're lucky Charizard wasn't completely rested." "Stop complaining," Gary responded. "You did accept the battle, didn't you?" "Very impressive, both of you," Professor Oak commented to them as they called back there respective pokemon. "Well, I guess even I must admit that your Charizard is rather impressive," Gary said. "You were, after all, able to put up a fight against me." Ash just glared at him in response. "Anyway, it's getting late. Smell ya later, Ash!" he said as they walked away. "Pi, pika-pi pikachu," Pikachu said to Ash as he jumped up on his shoulder. "It's okay, Pikachu," Ash answered. "It's not like I've never lost before." "Ash! Dinner!" he heard his mother yell from the house. "Oh boy! I'm coming!" he responded as he went back into the house. Over in the Veridian Forest, Jessie and James are caught up in a tree, with Meowth laying on the ground underneath them. "Meowth, get up here and help us down!" James whined. But Meowth didn't move. "This is no time for a catnap! Get us down!" Jessie added. Meowth still didn't move. "Meowth!!" They both yelled. Meowth finally woke up with a jolt. He looked up at Jessie and James and saw them stuck on a branch. "Meowth, get us down!" James pleaded again. "Hrmph, I'll get ya down!" Meowth growled in an unusually angry voice. He lept up and sliced the branch they were on with his claws causing them to come down with a *CRASH*! "You dumb feline! You almost killed us!" Jessie said angrily as they got up. Her expression lightened when she saw Meowth's horribly sad face. "Meowth, are you okay?" James asked walking over to him. Meowth shook his head no. "It was scary. I was laying on a table in a lab. Then I saw someone come in and it... it scared me so much," Meowth was barely able to say as tears started coming down his face. "A lab?" Jessie thought aloud. "The only lab I know of is the one in the old headquarters," James said. "But it was destroyed by one of the bosses experiments and has been abandoned ever since." "You think we should go?" Jessie asked James. "Sure," James answered. "How couldn't we help out our buddy?" "You'd do that for me?" Meowth asked. "Of course! Anything for our friend," Jessie responded. "You guys are the best friends a meowth can have," Meowth said tearfully as they started off. Back at Ash's house, Ash and his friends are just finishing up dinner. "Mmm. You make the best meals around, Ms. Ketchum," Brock commented. "Pika pi," Pikachu agreed. "Well, I try," Ms. Ketchum giggled. "Pi?" Pikachu said as he spotted something out the window. "What is it Pikachu?" Ash asked as Pikachu jumped up to the window. "Pika pika, pikachu!" Pikachu said while pointing out the window. As they looked out the window, they saw Team Rocket's balloon floating by. "What do you think they're up to this time?" Misty wondered. "I don't know, but it can't be good," Brock resolved. "Come on, let's follow them," Ash said as he ran out of the door. Brock and Misty grabbed their backpacks and ran after him. "Ash, you better stay out of trouble!" Ms. Ketchum yelled out to them from the door. "We'll make sure he does!" Misty yelled back as they ran off. "Bye!" Ms. Ketchum replied. "We won't be able to catch them on foot," Brock said as they chased after the balloon. "We've got to follow them," Ash responded. "Who knows what they're up to." Later that night, they lost sight of them. "Oh no, we lost them!" Ash exclaimed. "We might as well camp out here for the night. We can start looking again tomorrow," Brock said as he took off his backpack. "I guess so," Ash conceded. Over at the Team Rocket's old headquarters, Jessie, James, and Meowth were getting out of their balloon. "Are you sure this place is safe?" Jessie asked. "I don't know," James responded. "But we vowed to help Meowth, and that's what we're gonna do." As they were looking through the rubble, Meowth was again overwhelmed with fear, and sat down and buried his face in his hands. "Meowth?" Jessie asked as they walked over. "Are you alright?" James asked. "I will be," Meowth answered, taking his hands away from his face. Right after he said that, the floor started to creak and then it collapsed into the basement. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Well, how is it? If this chapter seemed slow, don't worry. It only gets better from here. Comments and (constructive)critiques welcome! crobin_99@yahoo.com