Disclaimers:

I don't own Pokémon. If I did, I would have Suicune, Charizard and all of the other Pokémon that were left out of Ruby and Sapphire, in those games! Plus, I don't Formula One. I'm just snagging them for a bit. I do own, Keith Terrell, Riley and Celia Jenius, Francois Deletraz and Ronin Vertigo.

Mario's Notes:

The teams have returned to their shops and are now getting to work for the FIA joint test. Over in London, Bernie Ecclestone is about to meet with a team from the United States, who wants to start a new team in Formula One. Plus, is a F1 team actually thinking about firing one of their drivers for the now sacked Eddie Irvine?

This chapter will start the 4-chapter grand finale, which will truly shake up everything in the F1 World forever!! This will change the lives of Ash, the drivers and all of the teams for as long as they will live!!!

Ash Ketchum: Formula One Driver
Chapter 31: Developments, Developments

The heated rivalry between Joest Audi and Panoz Motorsports has been well documented since the Audi debuted their car in the American Le Mans Series in 2000. During that time up to the present, Joest with its near perfect Audi R8 Prototypes have made Panoz and their LMP900 Roadster the laughing stock of the ALMS. After Audi won the 2004 24 Hours of Le Mans, Dr. Don Panoz, the founder of the ALMS and the boss of the Panoz team, decided to start development of a Formula One Chassis, with hopes that the Georgia based team would one day become the first American F1 team to compete in over 25 years. Panoz ran only one LMP900 car for the rest of the season, while giving out disinformation to the press to cover up their F1 plans, saying that the team was building a 675 chassis for 2005. The team was well into their F1 chassis and engine program combo when Dr. Panoz put an end to their 900 program after Road Atlanta's Petit Le Mans event in '04. During a press conference the next day, Panoz revealed their F1 program plans to Speed Channel. Audi got wind of this shortly after and started developing their own chassis for Formula One after this year's Sebring 12 hour race. But, Joest was still running 2 cars in the ALMS while developing the F1 car and V10 engine. The program has hit many roadblocks and cost overruns, while the Panoz team has made a lot of progress with their cars. It looks like Panoz has finally one-upped its rival for the race to F1.

An article from a popular American Le Mans Series racing magazine, dated August 2005

All the F1 teams arrived back at their home bases on the Tuesday after the Italian GP and were back to work getting the cars loaded off the transporters for repairs. At the FIA branch HQ in London, people were gossiping about the news of a new F1 team that wants to come in and make a name for itself. And this was the talk of the day for many FIA workers.

"I heard this team was getting its ass kicked by Audi in the American Le Mans Series on a daily basis for years."

"That's true. This team disbanded their LMP900 program at the end of the 2004 season, just to focus their attention on their new Formula one team program."

"So, what's Audi been doing?"

"They have been winning everything in the ALMS!! They started their F1 program after they won Sebring."

"But this team has a giant head start and have shown lots of progress, and the Audi guys have been hurt greatly with cost overruns to boot."

"I guess the team was tired of being beat by Audi."

Lots of people kept on talking about this new team, but up in Bernie Ecclestone's office, the Formula One Supremo was talking with Dr. Don Panoz, the man behind the ALMS and Panoz Motorsports. He is the same man who wants to bring Panoz into F1. He, along with his main test drivers, Olivier Beretta and Gunner Jeanette, were talking about the influence of having an American team in Formula One. Bernie was very intrigued about finally having a team from the other side of the Atlantic compete in Formula One, but Dr. Panoz was having his doubts.

"As of Monaco 2004, the number of American viewers has skyrocketed since Mr. Keith Terrell signed up with Ferrari. Ross Brawn saw him race in a Formula 3000 event and was impressed with his driving. Because of him joining Ferrari, he has all of the United States of America behind him, Ferrari and Formula One. Now, what would happen if an American race team, who used to get beat by a team whose name I won't say, decided to make the jump into Formula One? Do you know how much more American people will tune into watch and how many more American companies will dish out the bucks to support this team?" Bernie Ecclestone asked, giving time for Dr. Don Panoz to ponder that question.

"That is intriguing, Mr. Ecclestone. But, I hardly think the team would survive the first year, as did many other teams before us have done. It's hard to break into F1 in the early '90s and in the new millennium." Dr. Panoz said. He hasn't been so sure about this whole deal lately. It was very risky and they passed the point of no return around 4 months ago when young Gunner Jeanette did a shakedown run of the newly built Panoz Roadster F1 car at Road Atlanta in April.

"That fact is true, but the FIA has made a lot of changes to reduce costs, which helps smaller teams like Arrows, Jordan and European Minardi stay alive and competing in F1. What would happen if your team could actually be a podium contender race after race in a few years? Our ratings that are at an all time high right now, would be even higher than we could ever dream of!! American companies would jump at the chance to support a team like yours in F1 and bring some fresh talent into the sport." Bernie said, hoping that Dr. Panoz wasn't getting cold feet.

"At least we won't have to deal with Joest Audi anymore. Those two win everything. Honestly, Mr. Ecclestone... I haven't been 100% sure that this team will be competitive if the FIA will grant us the last 2 spots on the grid. It was a giant gamble when we thought of making the jump into Formula One. We spent a lot of cash and lots of man hours trying to develop a chassis, gearbox, engine and everything else from scratch." Dr. Panoz said. There was a small pause before he spoke again. "Plus, my main drivers are too old by F1 standards to compete against the likes of Keith Terrell, Juan Montoya, that Ketchum kid and all the other young kids racing in F1 today." The Panoz owner added,

"I'm not that old. I have experience up the ying-yang. I bet I could give those punks a good beating." Olivier Beretta said,

"Why not have some of the drivers from the Red Bull Driver Search race for you? Red Bull will gladly support those young drivers and your team. Some Americans from that program are already in F3000 as we speak." Bernie suggested,

"I still think Red Bull is kicking themselves for not signing Keith Terrell to their program. He was in F3000 when Sullivan and Red Bull got the program underway. They didn't even know they he won 2 F3000 Championships and now look at him!! Sullivan is an idiot!!" Gunner Jeanette said and the two Panoz drivers shared a small laugh. Bernie didn't think that was funny, but it did ease up the tension in the room.

"I looked over your progress reports of the new car you guys have been building yesterday. And from the pictures of your car, I am very impressed with your hard work. I sent the info to Mr. Max Mosley, the FIA president in Paris last night to let him have a look see at your progress. I think he will be very impressed as well." Bernie said,

"I just hope we can convince them to grand us a place on the GP grid when the 2006 season kicks off at Australia. We already have the financial means to run a team in F1 for a few years, granted we get some more American sponsors." Dr. Panoz added,

"Um, pardon me sir. What about you know who, who is waiting outside? The person you absolutely hate?" Olivier Beretta asked,

"That bastard will destroy this project. You 3 have worked hard, trying to get this project to where it is. Endless days and nights of testing at Road Atlanta, sacrificing your time with your families to make this a reality!! I'm not letting that... demon, ruin what we all worked for!!!" Dr. Panoz shot back angrily,

"What demon?" Bernie asked, always interested in bringing in more young people to Formula One, especially if they are Americans.

"Oh, just this 21-year-old driver from North Carolina, Mr. Ecclestone. She's a factory Porsche driver and competed in some big races. She's kind of hyper and gun crazy, but is real nice." Jeanette said,

"Nice?!! That girl can drive faster than those Rally guys!! Hell, she could even give that French pizza eating Arrows guy a run for his money!!! She's crazy!!! No wonder the Porsche guys ditched her! She's an absolute troublemaker!! Keith Terrell doesn't cause as much trouble as she does!" Beretta argued. The part where Olivier said "she" actually interested Bernie.

A female driver? This I got to see. If this team has a female driver in F1, she could make history by being the first woman to race in F1. I must meet this driver. Bernie Ecclestone thought as the 2 Panoz drivers were now arguing so harshly that some of them were ready to fight.

"Gentlemen, please calm down. You know, I would like to see this "demon" as you call her." Bernie said, already eager to meet this driver the Panoz team fears,

"WHAT?!!! Are you insane?!!!" All 2 drivers yelled out, but seeing that Bernie was interested about meeting the terror, they gave in and Jeanette went outside.

"I must warn you, Mr. Ecclestone. She's a bit "colorful" and won't be taken by any insults." As soon as Dr. Panoz finished his warning, the door busted wide open and a very energetic young woman, who looked to be 21, just leapt into the room. She was probably around 5'5" tall, had a very supermodel like body which was totally covered by her big black t-shirt with the words "Kill A Rocket!! Buy A Gun!!" on it and wore a pair of old blue jeans that had tears at the knees. She was also carrying two guns with her and plenty of ammo, just in case Team Rocket decides to do something funny.

"FINALLY!!! I have arrived in Formula One!!!!" The girl yelled out cheerfully as the Panoz crew didn't even want to look at her.

"No, you haven't!!! You just broke down Bernie Ecclestone's door!!!" Beretta said,

"Yes, I have!!! All I have to do is kick his ass, cry out sexual harassment and he'll have to let me in!!!!" She said,

"It's not that easy!!! Why do we still keep you on the team?" Dr. Panoz said as he placed his head in his hands, knowing that she is about to ruin the team's chances of getting into F1.

"Cause you like me!!" The girl said with a giant smile on her face,

"God. Mr. Ecclestone. I want you to meet Claire Winston, our resident energy expender, loves America, fan of the a world class gun lover, member of the NRA with ties to extreme right wing militia groups, hates Team Rocket, terrorists, those guys who declared a jihad against the United States, Bin Laden, Saddam, a certain French prime minister and communists with a twisted passion. Besides having a really mean streak, a big troublemaker and spits in the face of authority, she's a pretty good driver and learns real fast. She started racing in the ALMS with Kevin Buckler's Racer's Group Porsches at 19. She already has 3 wins in the GT class and finished 2nd in GT class at this year's Le Mans." Gunner Jeanette said as he introduced the young driver to Bernie,

"Yeah!! I almost won it too if it wasn't for that goddamn Lucas Luhr and that damn Alex Job Porsche!! Damn them to hell!!! Dirty Germans!!" Claire said as she punched her right fist into her left palm,

"And she's backed by the National Rifle Association. Those guys want her in the car and will pay the team 8 million a year for every year she's in F1." Beretta added,

"Well, at least she has a company backing her. May I see her racing file?" Bernie asked. Claire handed him her racing career portfolio and he quickly took a look inside it. He nodded slightly as he skimmed through her record. Despite being young, she has raced many miles in endurance races, Porsche cup events, SSCA events, Speed World Challenge, ALMS events and Grand American events in her few short years of racing. She could be risky if she were let loose at an F1 event, but she was a gun nut and hates Team Rocket. So, he was brewing up a plan.

"I see potential in her, Dr. Panoz. But, I fear that the F1 community'll not accept her, because she is a woman racing in a male dominated sport. On the other hand, she'll get along just fine with the younger drivers, who are crazy like her, and she'll probably fit right in because she hates Team Rocket." Bernie Ecclestone said as he leaned back in his chair,

"So... can I race in F1?!!! Please?" Claire asked, all cutesy like, hoping to entice Bernie into letting her in F1. But, he wasn't buying it.

"Hold on, now. I have to submit this to the FIA board so they can start the process of going you a Super License. A few teams might protest, but you'll get one because those gun guys backing you. I have an idea. The FIA is holding a joint test during the week and I would like it if you would go to this test, meet with the team owners, the drivers and all the teams. Just to get you acquainted to how F1 works races." Bernie said as he got up from his chair and looked at the Panoz group,

"Go to this giant test to meet the teams and drivers?!! COOL!! You got a deal, Ecclestone!!" Claire said as she ran out of the room, hooting and hollering like crazy,

"Well, Dr. Panoz. I will send your portfolio to the FIA to have them look it over. From what I can see, your team will be granted a spot on the grid with ease. I have some other business to take care of, so it has been a pleasure to meet with all of you." Bernie said and the group thanked Bernie for meeting with them. Looks like Panoz will be a Formula One team soon.

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Michael Schumacher had a few days off from Ferrari and was back in his big home in Switzerland. He went to see his doctor earlier in the day and told him that the injuries from 2004 were completely healed up. So, that was good news for the German. He already made an appointment with F1's resident doc, Prof. Sid Watkins to give him a physical exam to see if he can be cleared to race in 2006. So, Michael was beaming about being back in his Ferrari after a long break. Right now, he was sitting in his favorite chair, watching some American TV shows off of his satellite. He wanted to relax before he had to take off with the Ferrari team for the FIA joint test at Jerez.

"It's almost time for Speed News. I almost forgot." Michael said as he took a quick look at the clock. He reached for the remote and changed the channel to Speed Channel, where Speed News was starting.

"Hello everybody and welcome to Speed News Weeknight. We start with a big shock from Formula One. Jaguar team boss Sir Jackie Stewart was ordered by Ford to fire long time Jaguar driver Eddie Irvine, the oldest and most experienced driver on the circuit. Despite winning the Australian Grand Prix earlier this year and having good finishes in the points, Jaguar officials say he was too old to represent the Jaguar image. The situation got worse for Sir Jackie as Irvine assaulted him after his release. As of 12 Noon EST, nobody has seen Eddie Irvine since the incident." The Speed Channel guy said as he started the NASCAR news. Michael muted the TV and remembered why Irvine was emotional after the race at Italy.

Irvine was sacked? He did so much for that team and they just dump him like yesterday's garbage? I wish I could help him, but he still hates me. Michael thought as he changed the channel to a British TV channel were another sports show was talking about Irvine's sacking. And where is Eddie Irvine? Simple. He was in the United States of America, at his Miami Beach home to be exact. He held a beer in his hand while watching the people get in some late summer fun in September before a lot of them to go to school and suffer. Since he has a ton of money from racing in F1, he doesn't have to work until he dies. At least he's not alone. Those 6 Pokémon eggs he got from Ash's Charizard have already hatched. One of the eggs hatched as soon as he returned from Keith's night on the town. In the last two days, the rest of the eggs hatched. Eddie was surprised to see which Pokémon he got. It was a mix of old, new and some of the newly discovered Pokémon from the Hoenn region of Japan. He now had 2 Charmanders, a Torchic, a Bagon, a Chikorita and a Wynaut. One of his Charmanders was a different color, so Irvine took a picture of it and sent an e-mail to Ash in hopes the young man knew what was up with his fire Pokémon. Right now, his Pokémon were playing tag on the beach as Irvine watched over then on his porch.

"That's it. Maybe I am washed up. Finished. Kaput. Done for. Now that I have these Pokémon... maybe, I'll become a Pokémon Master. I would piss off Ketchum so much if I did." Eddie said as he cracked his first smile since he was fired. He finished off his beer and decided to look up on how to take care of Pokémon on the Internet.

"HEY, IRVINE!! IRVINE!!!" A voice yelled out from near Eddie's home. On the sea was Sauber driver Jenson Button, riding a jet ski with some Sauber logos on it. And he was headed right for Irvine's place. As soon as the Jet Ski hit the beach, Button flew off it and landed hard in the sand.

"Where did you get the jet ski, Button? Did Peter buy that for you?" Irvine yelled out as he made his way to Button, who got up and was trying to get his new toy on the beach.

"No. I bought it and I slapped some Sauber logos on it." Button answered as he tried to get Eddie's Pokémon off of him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Irvine asked,

"I'm here to offer you a proposal from Peter Sauber and the Sauber team." Jenson answered, getting straight to the point.

"Sauber? What do they want with me?" Irvine asked,

"Your experience. Since Jaguar sacked you, you're F1's free agent. So, Peter sent me here to coax you to join Sauber for the rest of the year. " Jenson answered. Irvine looked at Button for a second. He was Formula One's first ever free agent and if Sauber wants him now, that means they want to finally get rid of Felipe Massa.

"F1's free agent, huh? Well... if this is about getting rid of Massa from F1 and me getting revenge on Stewart, I'm listening." Eddie said as he listened to what the Sauber boys had to offer him. Looks like Eddie Irvine will be back sooner than later.

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Back at the FIA branch in London, the Formula One Supremo got a phone call from the President of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and the Indy Racing League, Tony George. And he had some bad news. Seems like during the Grand Prix of Italy, the paddock area of the Indy pits was vandalized big time. If the damage can't be fixed in less than two weeks before the United States Grand Prix, the race will be postponed and Bernie will have to work triple time to call the event organizers in Japan to have the Japanese Grand Prix on the date of the U.S. race. As the two had their conversation, the reality of the U.S. GP being delayed was more likely.

"Well... that does put a damper on our plans for the United States Grand Prix. You know, Tony. I was considering making the US GP the final race of the year. So, my team and myself will work our behinds off trying to get everything ready for the Japanese Grand Prix in less than two weeks. We have to reschedule everything and fast." Bernie said,

"How's Keith taking the news?" The I.M.S. boss asked,

"I sent every driver and team a letter via e-mail first thing this morning. He and the rest of the teams and drivers should have read it by now." Bernie answered. Moments later, the intercom on his desk went off.

"Mr. Ecclestone. Sorry to bother you and Mr. George but... Mr. Keith Terrell is on line #3 and... he's ready to kill somebody." His secretary said via intercom,

"Put him through in 10 seconds. I want to get out my earplugs." Bernie said to his secretary as he reached into one of the desk drawers to take out some earplugs, which were in a case simply called, "In case of Terrell rampage." As soon as he got the plugs into his ears, the angry and pissed off voice of one Keith Terrell bellowed from the speakerphone.

"ECCLESTONE!!! WHO BOMBED INDY?!!! IT'S TEAM ROCKET!! THEY BOMBED INDY!!!! I KNEW IT!! I'LL KILL THEM!! I'LL... KILL THEM!! THEY'VE PISSED OFF AMERICA AND THE PATRIOT!!! I'LL DROP NUKES ON THEM!!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!" Keith's angry voice bellowed from the other line as he slammed the phone after his tirade. Seconds later, Bernie took out the earplugs and resumed his talk with the I.M.S. boss.

"Well, Tony. Seems like Mr. Terrell took it very well, in his own way. Now I have to get this ringing out of my ears." The Supremo said,

"At least he took it well. I'm on my way to the track now to check the damage. From the reports the police and the FBI gave me before I called you, it looks like the place will have to be checked for more damage and that could take a week. Rebuilding might take another week or more." Tony George said,

"I understand. Once you see about the damage and who long it will take to repair, please call me as soon as possible. Mt team will start calling the event organizers in Japan to see if they could hold the Japanese Grand Prix on the date of the U.S. GP." Bernie added,

"I'll take care of telling everybody about the postponement of the Grand Prix over here." Mr. George said,

"Very well then, Mr. George. I'll talk to you soon. Have a good day and hopefully a better one tomorrow." Bernie said and he hung up the phone. Moments later, he was on the phone again, this time talking with the Japanese race promoters about the sudden change.

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Just a mere 3 days after the Grand Prix of Italy, the FIA sent e-mails to the 11 F1 teams, (Ferrari, Williams, BAR, McLaren, Renault, Jaguar, Minardi, Sauber, Jordan, Arrows and Toyota) telling them that they are doing something a bit different for the final FIA joint testing session of 2005. This is not one of the three free test sessions the teams are allowed to use during the season. This is one big test that the teams can use for free and it also gives the FIA a look see on which cars need to be restricted to have a level playing field.

The FIA wanted the 6 F1 teams that make their home in Great Britain, (Williams, Jordan, Jaguar, Arrows, McLaren and BAR) to head to the legendary Silverstone circuit for the FIA test. Then, the FIA wanted the teams that are based in other countries, (Ferrari, Minardi, Renault, Sauber and Toyota) to make their way to the home of the French Grand Prix, Magny-Cours. The FIA didn't state the reason why. Usually, the Jerez track in Spain is the home of the FIA's second joint test. The Paul Ricard circuit in France is where the first test is held. At Magny-Cours, Ash and Pikachu were there at the test, along with Allan McNish and Toyota's test driver Fernando Alonso. In fact, the 5 teams not based in Britain brought their drivers and test drivers and plenty of cars to take advantage of this final test of the year. Ferrari surprised everyone by actually bringing all four of their drivers, meaning Rubens Barrichello, Keith Terrell, Luca Badoer and Luciano Burti were driving 4 Ferraris at the test. It was early in the first session of day one and it was wet due to an early morning rainstorm. Ash was the only driver on track with wet Michelin tires, gathering data for future rain races. Ash almost lost control on the 180 and Adelaide turns and the team decided to pull him in before he crashed the car. It was starting to come down real hard and Ash's head mechanic, Sylvie McCallister wanted him to come in.

"Hey, Ash. Come on in and take a break for a while. We don't want to crash a car while we're here." Sylvie radioed to Ash,

"Understood. I'm on my way in. Just going into Chateau... OH SHIT!!!!" Ash said as his car lost grip and hydroplaned off the track at the Chateau D'eau curve, heading for a gravel trap and the wall. Lucky for him, he floored it and the car did a 180 and stopped just before the trap.

God, I hate rain. I hate it. Ash thought to himself as he got the car back under control and into the pits. Ash doesn't hate the rain that much. After all, he did win the rain soaked Belgium GP a month ago. A Toyota team member plugged in a laptop computer in the car's onboard computer socket to download and analyze the readings as some Michelin tire guys immediately checked the tires to check for wear and any defects. Ash climbed out and was greeted by Pikachu jumping into his arms as usual.

[Good thing you missed the kitty litter, unlike last time.] Pikachu said as Ash got on his Toyota cap instead of his now famous Pokémon League cap,

"Shut up. It wasn't my fault. Alex Wurz cut in front of me." Ash said in defense. Ash had a run in with McLaren test driver Alexander Wurz in a test session at Silverstone before the German Grand Prix. Wurz sped by Ash as he was warming his tires. Ash beached his car in the gravel to miss him. Meowth was sitting inside Toyota's pit box on pit wall, checking out the wet weather and the teams not hurrying to do anything.

"Hmm... looks like those stupid ass weather guys don't know anything. It's not going to rain today my tail." Meowth said as he continued to watch the rain drop onto the circuit. A over the moon happy Keith Terrell entered the Ferrari garage all smiles. Probably, he was still on cloud nine after his so-called date with Lorelei on his birthday. It really wasn't a date, but Webber and Coulthard kept making fun of him about that. As soon as he arrived at his car, he was in for a shock.

"Hey, Keith. Take a look at the new Ferrari for '06!" One of the Ferrari guys said to Keith. Wondering why the team didn't bring his F2005, Keith took a look at the new car and was shocked. His car was the new Ferrari F2006/07. It has some minor aerodynamic changes, which makes it handle better than the F2005, but the front nose is much higher than the older version. The high nose design was something Ferrari had on their cars until the 2001 season, where they switched to the drooped nose. Keith was a bit worried about how his new car will perform. In his mind, the car wasn't a Ferrari. It was an Arrows trying to pose as a Ferrari!!! The team decided to let Keith run the F2006/07 in the final races to get valuable race data, while Rubens stayed with his F2005 and fend off Montoya for the title. It's also the new chassis that Ferrari will be using when the new chassis rule goes into full effect in '06. Bernie Ecclestone proposed this rule as a way to cut costs in F1. In short, the teams have to build a chassis that will last them a minimum of 2 seasons and make tons of modifications to the wings and anything else, while not changing the entire chassis itself. Toyota, McLaren, Minardi, Arrows, Renault and Jaguar have already using their 2 season chassis this season and will use them in 2006 with modifications. Ferrari, Jordan, Sauber, McLaren and BAR will debut their new 2 season chassis in 2006 and use them until the end of 2007. Keith kneeled down to the ground and took a good look at his car and Rubens' F2005.

"It's... wrong. It's so wrong. The nose isn't supposed to be THIS high. You killed it." Keith said as he kept looking at Rubens' car's nose and his,

"Keith. This is the new F2006/07, the car that you've been assigned to. Luca and Luciano have been developing this car since the Nurburgring race and we'll start using this full time in 2006 to comply with Bernie's new 2 year chassis rule." Jean Todt said,

"Is this some conspiracy created by Michael and the rest of you to lower my chances of winning the United States Grand Prix soon? The race I was destined to win?!!!" Keith asked as he got to his feet and eyed the whole team suspiciously. Since Keith lost the 2004 US GP last year, he has grown suspicious of the team, thinking that they might try to snag the win away from him again.

"Keith, we all know you want to win that race. Mr. di Montezemolo wanted this car to have some track time before we launch it in January with the rest of the teams in Paris. He decided to let you race with it to get all the data we can." Jean said,

"He's in this ploy too!! You're all against me!! You're all anti-Americans!!" Keith said as he looked at the whole team in a suspicious way,

"Oh, not his "Anti-American" crap again. Please shoot me." Luca Badoer said, growing tired of Keith's paranoia.

"Okay." Keith said as he reached for his 9mm, but the Ferrari team tackled him to make sure no blood will be spilled today.

"Jesus, Terrell!!! He was just kidding for Christ's sake!! Calm down!!!" Jean Todt yelled out as the team managed to get a blood thirsty Keith away from a now fleeing Badoer. Meanwhile, Renault driver Tomas Scheckter was sitting in his car with a TV on it. The South African driver was engaging in one of his daily pastimes. Watching the "Jerry Springer Show." The raunchiness of the show makes Tomas kind of glad that he's not like those trailer park living transsexuals and whores.

"So, what are you here for?" Jerry asked,

"I'm here to tell my bitch wife that I'm gay!!!" The guy said and the audience was on his case big time. Tomas on the other hand, was laughing his ass off.

"HA HA HA HA HA!!!!! Oh, that's rich." Tomas said as he laughed so loudly that everybody in the paddock could hear him,

"SCHECKTER, SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!" Some guy yelled out from the Sauber garage, but Tomas just gave him the bird and continued hooting and hollering each time Steve had to break up a fight. The guys on the other teams just sighed, knowing that they have to put up with Tomas watching that god forsaken show all 4 days. It was going to be a long test.

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Over at Silverstone, it was sunny and warm, perfect conditions to get some testing done. Nick Heidfeld was once again brushing his hair in the Jaguar garage when Claire Winston appeared out of nowhere, snatched the comb from the young German and ruffed up his hair. Nick hated when anybody touches his most prized possession: His hair. And he hated it when a girl did that to him.

"My hair!!! Damn you!!! NOBODY TOUCHES MY HAIR AND LIVES!!!" Nick yelled out,

"Man, get a life. You're a guy and worrying about hair is my job." Claire said cheerfully. Bernie gave Claire an all access pass with the Jaguar team to check out how the Formula One World Championship does business. This was also a chance to get to know the drivers and team owners in hopes that she could score a ride in '06.

"Who are you?" Nick asked bluntly,

"Name's Claire Winston. I'm new around here." Claire said as she introduced herself to Heidfeld,

"And I already hate you." Heidfeld said frankly as he made a hasty exit from the Jaguar pits. He thought he her heard blow a raspberry behind him as he walked out to the pit lane. The 6 British teams were just about ready to start testing and the drivers were just chilling, talking to each other about random stuff.

"It's not the same without Irvine causing hell around here. These tests aren't fun anymore." Olivier Panis said as he sat on the pit wall next to Riley, who was bummed because Keith isn't here. Celia was bummed because her Daddy was bummed and her new Pokémon, Vaporeon looked on, wondering if it was a good idea to be paired up with a little girl. Since Celia was allowed to keep the Vaporeon Charizard found at Monza, she hasn't caused an ounce of trouble in the BAR team.

"Why is a test supposed to be fun? And why did Ecclestone sent all the non-British teams to France? I wanted another shot to kill Ketchum!!" Ralf Schumacher said as he threw away his drink bottle in frustration.

"You always want to kill Ketchum! Shut up, Ralf!!" An irritated Giancarlo Fisichella yelled out at Ralf, who flipped him the bird a few second after that. Minutes later, a FedEx truck appeared in the pit lane and parked next to the Jaguar pits. The driver exited the truck, as did the passenger. They walked around to the back of the truck and opened up the door. They got inside and suddenly, they appeared and tossed former Sauber driver Felipe Massa out of the back of the truck. The Brazilian flew in the air before landing hard on the Silverstone pavement. The driver entered the Jaguar garage and approached Sir Jackie Stewart with a receipt.

"Mr. Stewart. I need you to sign this. You got a "package" from the Sauber team." The FedEx guy said and Sir Jackie looked at him for a second before signing the papers. The FedEx guy left and the two drove away as Felipe Massa brushed himself off and looked at the guys.

"Um... I just got sacked by Sauber for Eddie Irvine yesterday. Anybody got a home for a nice guy who'll do anything for an F1 ride?" Massa asked. Nobody said a thing before Riley started to crack up laughing. Moments later, all of the drivers started laughing their heads off. This was the first time ever that a driver was sent to another team like some package through FedEx. Jackie Stewart wanted to hide and lay low for a few days. His old driver just sent him the most unwanted driver in F1 history as revenge for sacking him in Italy.

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Over at Indigo Plateau, the home of the Pokémon League, Lance was busy reading the latest reports from his people who mingle with trainers around Johto and Kanto. Seems like Pokémon trainers would rather watch all the Formula One they can, instead of training their Pokémon. This made Lance a bit pissed off. Also, the reports of Team Rocket activity have increased dramatically. Seems like all of this crap started when Ash Ketchum returned to Pallet for a break in the racing and Team Rocket started their quest to kill Keith Terrell. In the past, the police couldn't do a thing to stop them. And they still couldn't stop them. Only the drivers of the Formula One World Championship could stop them, because they had the balls to go after them when they killed three of their drivers. Just thinking about Ash and the F1 drivers infuriated him. He couldn't stop Team Rocket, the Jennys couldn't stop Team Rocket, but Ketchum and the F1 guys can!! They didn't care if they died, they wanted to avenge the deaths of Mika Salo, Heinz-Harald Frentzen and Enrique Bernoldi. How could they be affective in stopping Team Rocket? It baffled him. He came to the conclusion that Ash Ketchum, the young man from Pallet who was a Pokémon trainer, who has now become a Formula One Driver, was to blame for all of this. If Ketchum didn't become an F1 driver, he would have been the greatest Pokémon Master ever. And those drivers wouldn't have been killed.

Ash Ketchum... none of this would have happened if you didn't go off with that German. And this wouldn't have happened if those stupid Jennys did their job. I can't even take out a faction of them without those idiot FIA guys taking the law into their hands. Lance thought to himself as he looked out the window inside his giant office, which looked over the Indigo Stadium. It was being prepared for the Indigo League Pokémon Tournament in two weeks. Elite Four member Will, entered Lance's office quietly with reports of the lack of trainers willing to compete in the Pokémon League. He saw Will enter and then, a plan entered his mind.

"Will... I think we should take a trip to Pewter City. I need to see one Brock Slate and talk to him about his best friend, Ash Ketchum." Lance said as he looked at the master of Psychic Pokémon,

"Why Brock, Lance? I thought your beef is with Ketchum." Will asked,

"I know that. But, I have a plan to draw Ash here to Kanto. I'll tell you on the way. Call the car team and tell them to get my personal car ready." Lance ordered,

"I'll do that for you personally, Lance." Will said and Lance just nodded. He got up from his chair and looked outside the window at the stadium. His plan involved Brock Slate, Ash Ketchum's cell phone number and his mother, Delia Ketchum. This doesn't sound very good.

To Be Continued...

Lance + a plan + Brock Slate + Ash's cell phone number + Ash's Mother = a recipe for a trap!! Could Lance be planning on using the people Ash cares deeply about to use them to take Ash out of commission for good? I don't know what Lance has planned for Brock, or Ash for that matter.

In the next chapter, Ash continues his testing with the Toyota team in France when he gets a call, which sends him back to Pallet, fast. Also, I plan on having Duplica meet up with Ash as well. And Lance's plan will be revealed!!

Please read and review, fellow readers. Have a question, a flame or a story idea? Send them to Hornet19us@Yahoo.com or leave me a review.

Mario Alvarado
7/28/2003
GET RID OF MISTY!! GET RID OF MISTY!! GET RID OF MISTY!!!!! Make the Pokémon world a better place!!