Disclaimers:
I don't own Pokémon in any way!! I don't own Formula One!! What do I own? Take a wild guess. It consists of one American, a Canadian father and daughter, a Frenchman, a drunk Russian and a new gun loving American chick.
Mario Alvarado's Notes:
Okay. Today, Ash gets a very urgent phone call, which makes him forget the test in France and heads back home to Pallet. As for the others, they stay in France Silverstone and take part in an historic test! And when Ash gets home, he's in for a big shock. And it's not good.
Ash Ketchum: Formula One Driver
Chapter 32: Things Just Keep Getting Odd
I have a bad feeling in my gut about going to Japan again. A feeling that Team Rocket is going to attack us with everything they have. Ever since we lost Frentzen, Salo and Bernoldi to Team Rocket, I haven't been the same man I used to be. I was worried about being killed and the fear of not seeing my little girl grow up. That's why I took 2004 off, to be with my family. I was lucky that David Coulthard offered me a ride at McLaren in '05. I don't want to die. I don't want to be killed by some faction that wants to take over the U.S. Sometimes, I wished that Michael Schumacher didn't save Ash Ketchum. I wished that Team Rocket wasn't around. But, seems like our fates are sealed. I don't want to die. I'm afraid... very afraid about dying in Japan. Some guys in the paddock and some on my own team have started calling me a coward by not joining them against Team Rocket. I don't care. I am a coward. When this is all over, I'll still be alive, living in Italy and watching my little girl grow up. I maybe beat up after this, but I'll be alive. Who do I blame for all of this... you, Ash Ketchum. I despise you.
A journal entry made by McLaren driver Giancarlo Fisichella, revealing he secretly hates Ash Ketchum.
After breakfast on day two in France, Michael Schumacher was busy jotting down notes on Rubens' performance with the F2005 and Keith's reaction to his new F2006/07. Seems like Keith and the new chassis are getting along nicely than Michael originally thought. Keith set the fastest time of the test and was clearly faster than Rubens in his F2005. He just jotted down a lot of things in German in the notepad when Keith pulled the new car into the garage.
"How's the car this time, Terrell?" Jean Todt asked as Keith removed his American flag helmet and fire mask and handed both to one of his crew guys,
"Man, I love this new car!!! It has a lot more grip and acceleration than the F2005!! I almost think you guys are sorry for me." Keith said as he climbed out of the car and reattached the steering wheel. The Bridgestone guys quickly took a look at the tires for any signs of defection of problems. The Ferrari guys then went to work checking over the new car and started replacing parts and such.
"Not really. We just want to get a jumpstart with this new car for '06. The team will download the info onto the computer and make changes." Jean said as he was given Keith's lap time sheet. He nodded and cracked a slight smile when he saw that Keith's lap times were very consistent in the 1:15 range.
"When you do, tell them to place my lucky shifter from my old F2005 into the new car. I don't like to use that new shifter you put in for the car." Keith said as unzipped his Ferrari racing suit, got his arms out and he tied the arms of the suit around his waist, showing off the FIA standard issue Ferrari fireproof t-shirt.
"Sure thing. Get something to eat and come back in an hour. We'll have that thing in when you get back." Jean said as he went to work creating new setups for the new Ferrari.
"Thanks, Jean." Keith said as he got out of the cockpit of the car and was about to exit the garage when somebody called for him.
"Hey, um... Terrell. Can I talk to you for a few minutes?" Michael asked as he looked up from his notes,
"What did I do now, Michael?" Keith asked. Michael was about to ask him a question about the car when Ash ran past the garage with his cell phone in hand. He looked like he heard some bad news.
"Oh, god. Oh, god. I got to go now!!" Ash yelled out as he made a beeline for the Toyota transporter. Minutes later, Ash busted out of his room in his normal street clothes and carrying his usual backpack. Pikachu and Meowth were chasing Ash, wondering what was going on.
"Hey, Ketchum! Where do you thin you're going?!! We need you to do more laps with the new wing package!" One of the Toyota guys yelled out as he chased after Ash, but he wasn't stopping.
"My Mom!! Brock called me and said she was in the hospital. I don't know what happened, but he was panicking. So, it has to be bad. I got to get to Pallet now!!" Ash shot back as he ran into the Toyota garage to pick up his lucky Pokémon League cap. By this time, Michael was wondering why Ash needed to leave and completely forget about the test. When Ash ran by the Ferrari garage like a chicken with its head cut off, Michael grabbed Ash by the arm was about to deliver another lecture about driver responsibility in Formula One.
"Ash, what about the U.S. GP? You can't just up and leave." Michael asked as Ash forced him to let go of his arm,
"It's postponed. Tony George called Bernie and said that the place was damaged in an attack, but the FBI doesn't know who caused the damage. So, our next race is at Japan. I thought you already knew that." Keith informed him, but Michael just shook that comment off.
"But... you can't leave. You have your duty with the Toyota team." Michael said. And with that comment, sent Ash off and he was about to do something that only Keith has the balls to do.
"MY MOTHER'S WELL-BEING WILL ALWAYS OVERRIDE YOU, TOYOTA AND FORMULA ONE, MICHAEL!! EVEN IF I HAVE TO MISS THE JAPAN GP TO BE AT HER SIDE, I'LL DO IT!!! Not unlike what you and Ralf did when your Mother died!!" Ash yelled out as he pushed Michael away and headed for the exit of the track. Everything went back to normal moments later as the teams went back to work.
"Let him go, Michael. You don't own him. If my deadbeat bitch Mom showed me the kind of affection Ash's Mom shows him all the time, I would do the same thing." Keith said as that brought up a look of pure hatred from Michael.
"Never bring that subject up near me again, Terrell!!! What do you know?!!" Michael yelled out. One thing that was really touchy to the world's greatest driver is the subject about his mother, who died after a freak accident at home, during the 2003 San Marino GP. And any time anybody speaks about Michael and Ralf's mother in a negative way, hell hath no fury like an Schumacher scorned.
"At least your Mother didn't say to your face that you shouldn't have been born when you were just 5 years old!!! I'll always hate her for that!!" Keith said angrily and walked out of the Ferrari garage, leaving Michael inside, just glaring evilly at him.
He doesn't know how much my Mom's death affected me and Ralf. They don't understand us at all!! Dumb American!! Michael thought as he slammed the clipboard on the ground and hastily exited the garage.
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It was a calm and quiet night near the legendary Silverstone track, the home of the Grand Prix of Great Britain. It was fully dark at 8 P.M. local time. The 6 British based teams already had ran laps with their cars, giving the FIA tons of data on how equal the cars are. It was time for the drivers and the team crewmembers to rest for the start of day three tomorrow. But, the loud roar of a V10 Formula One engine shattered the quiet and serene peace of the night. All of a sudden, the paddock and garage area came to life by lighting up the darkness and the garage doors opened, revealing the teams actually working on their cars. Seconds later, giant portable lights placed in certain spots far from the actual racetrack were lit up, lighting up some parts of the track. The lights were focused on the corners of Silverstone. For the first time ever, Silverstone was illuminated!!! But... what for? And why?
As this was going on in Great Britain, the same event was taking place at Magny-Cours, the home of the French Grand Prix. The paddock and garage was fully lighted up and giant portable lights were placed at certain spots to light up some parts of the track, mostly on the corners. A few V10 engines roared to life as a few people exited the garage. All of them were wearing jackets because it was a bit cold in France tonight.
"Damn, it's friggin' cold. I want to go back to my room and hop into my nice toasty warm bed." Allan McNish said as he looked at some people move the lights around near the start finish/line. Tomas Scheckter, Alex Yoong, Jarno Trulli and Jenson Button were with McNish, watching the track light up. Since Ash had a family emergency, Bernie excused him for the rest of the test and ordered Ash to watch his back and show up at Suzuka for the Japan GP. And he ordered if anything bad happens, call any of the drivers at once for backup.
"Take the cold like a man, McNish. It's always freezing up at Sauber, so I'm used to it." Jenson Button said as he downed some hot cocoa,
"You should be used to the cold, McNish. You're Scottish and wear that kilt of yours in the cold." Jarno Trulli said, which got himself a death stare from the Scotsman.
"Why are we up at 8 P.M. anyway? I should be asleep right about now." Alex Yoong said as he yawned and drank his 4th coffee of the night,
"From what I was told, Bernie Ecclestone and some members of American Le Mans teams have been discussing about how to make headlights for Formula One cars. He has been thinking about running some F1 races in the night." Tomas Scheckter answered,
"WHAT?!! Is he insane?!!! I've never raced at night in my life!!!" Yoong yelled out,
"We sit so damn low in those cars that we can't even see very far. How the hell are we supposed to race at night if we can't see good?!!" Button asked, asking the same question that actually came up during one of Bernie's meetings with some FIA guys.
"Well, that's why we're having this test. The teams that are based in Britain are at Silverstone, while the rest of us are here in Magny-Cours." Tomas said. As the group looked at the workers setting up some more lights, they heard a familiar Irish voice that everybody thought they would never hear again.
"God, it's bloody cold. And I thought the Sauber shop was colder up there." The group turned around and there was Eddie Irvine, in a Sauber racing suit carrying a cup of hot chicken soup.
"Irvine?!!" All of them asked in surprise,
"Yep, that's me!" Eddie said as he joined the group,
"We thought you were long gone after Stewart fired you." Yoong said,
"He was... for a time. I found Eddie at his Miami pad a couple days ago to see if he would be interested in ride with Sauber. Peter really wants to get rid of Massa for a better driver who can score points. So I kidnapped Eddie, brought him to Sauber, he signed up as we shipped Massa to Jaguar." Jenson said,
"The downside is that I have to race for them for free until 2006, which is no big deal. I got plenty of cash to last me for the rest of my life and then some." Eddie added,
"Glad to see that you're still with us, Irvine." Tomas added,
"Have any of you guys spotted Ketchum? I wanted to show him this Pokémon of an odd color." Eddie said as he reached into his suit pocket and retrieved one of his new Poké Balls. He opened the ball and out popped his new Charmander, the one with the different color. As the drivers looked at Eddie's new Pokémon in wonder, Keith Terrell and Mark Webber were having a chit-chat in another part of the Magny-Cours paddock. The Australian and the American have been good friends ever since their F3000 days when they were fierce rivals, along with Justin Wilson. When Webber went to Minardi in 2002, the two kept in touch for 2 years until Webber left F1 because Tom Walkinshaw wanted him and headed to the Shell V8 Supercars. The first time they saw each other was when Webber saved Keith's ass in Viridian. Before that, Webber talked to Keith via video e-mail before Keith arrived in Kanto and he only saw Webber briefly at Hungary.
"Hey, Mark. How the hell did you get away from Tom Walkinshaw when he tried to take you from Minardi after '03?" Keith asked,
"Simple. After Schumi barely clinched the 2003 Driver's Title at Indy, he and the whole Ferrari team got drunk and passed out right in the garage. For some odd reason, I couldn't sleep that night, so I went to take a walk. As I came to the Ferrari garage, Michael and Rubens were singing off-key, kicked down the door and I knew they were smashed to a new level. I then saw some car keys in Michael's hand. Being the tallest and strongest F1 driver, I snatched the keys from Michael and both guys complained, moaned and cried. After the Ferrari Boss heard what I did for Michael and the others, he told me if I needed help, just call him. Basically, they owed me one. Well, I took him up on his offer when Walkinshaw came to town. I didn't want to get in an Arrows, so I called Ferrari, got me out of his clutches and we were now even. I went back to Australia and joined the Australia V8 Supercars Series in 2004 and most of this year." Webber answered,
"Oh. So that's how... AUSTRALIA V8 SUPERCARS?!!! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?!!! I WANTED TO RACE BATHURST!!! I can take all those guys on!! I want to beat the Holden Racing Team!! I could kick Mark Skaife's ass!!" Keith exclaimed. Mark was about to comeback with a snappy retort when Irvine ran past the two, rapidly hitting his suit, which was on fire. This was followed by Allan McNish trying to get his Dratini to stop choking him. Seems like McNish tried to have his Pokémon make friends with Eddie's Charmander and all hell broke loose.
"What the hell is that thing? Looks like one big ass, blue snake." Webber said,
"My crotch is on fire! I'm going to burn my nuts off!!!! McNish, you dickhead!!" Irvine yelled out as he grabbed a bucket of water and dumped it on himself to stop the fire. McNish didn't comment because he was gasping for air after he finally got Dratini back into its Poké Ball.
"Eddie has a Pokémon?! Since when did this happen?" Mark asked,
"During Monza. Now all he needs to do is train the little bastards to make McNish shut up. Or, have Ash's breeder friend come by and make him a better trainer. It took me nearly 4 months to get to know Suicune. The dog used to hose me down every day." Keith said.
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While that was going on, Ash and his Pokémon were still en route to Japan. They were delayed because the team was drilling him with questions about leaving the test in France. After nearly beating up half of the Toyota team and yelling at them that his Mom was ill, the team finally let Ash go and he had to wait a long time to get tickets to Kanto. By the time Ash would make it to Pallet, day two of testing would have been over hours ago and morning would take place. Right now, Ash just wanted to get to Pallet fast.
Back at Silverstone, BAR driver Olivier Panis was inside the BAR garage, connecting a clear visor on his helmet in order to see well while driving his F1 car at night. Everybody thought Bernie Ecclestone was nuts, thinking about running a Formula One Grand Prix at night. But, Bernie did have a point about having a 2 day weekend, where Practice would be on Friday, Qualifying would take place on Saturday sometime after lunch and the race itself would be run at night. That means that the teams and drivers can relax on Sunday!!! Olivier thought that he would never see the day where F1 cars would race a Grand Prix at night. At least it would make a good light show with the cars toting headlights, brake rotors glowing from the heat and sparks shooting out from under the cars.
"Olivier, where's Riley? The night test is about to start." BAR boss David Richards said as Panis finished adding the clear visor on his helmet,
"I think he's trying to get his kid to go to sleep. I'll go help him." Olivier said as he got up and walked to the BAR motorcoach. He entered Riley's coach and found him in Celia's room, as he placed his sleeping daughter and her new Pokémon into bed and tucked both of them in. He let out a sigh of relief and turned to see Olivier standing at the doorway.
"Finally. I got her and Vaporeon to go to sleep. I don't know how parents do it. Since she got Vaporeon two weeks ago, she hasn't caused that much trouble." Riley said as he and Panis exited the room and he closed the door quietly behind him. Olivier saw Riley all suited up and ready to go.
"At least you're doing a good job of it, being a single parent and all." Olivier said,
"Thanks to you guys, giving me all kinds of advice about being a parent." Riley said,
"You're all ready?" Olivier asked,
"Yeah. I got my suit on before I finally got those two troublemakers to go to sleep. Let's get it on." Riley answered as he grabbed his helmet and the two drivers exited the coach. The Williams, Arrows, Jaguar, Jordan and McLaren teams, along with BAR were all ready for the night test. The big difference was the absence of Eddie Irvine. He was fired by the Ford guys and punched out Sir Jackie Stewart before leaving Monza. At the start of the first day of testing, former Sauber driver Felipe Massa was tossed off the back of a FedEx truck, saying that the team fired him for Eddie, mumbling about driving for free. As for the other drivers, they were inside the Arrows garage eating pizza that was supplied by Arrows' new sponsor, Domino's Pizza. Everybody was making fun of Francois as he tried to finish off 2 pizzas before he got in the car.
"Damn, Deletraz. Don't you ever get sick of eating pizza all the damn time? Ronin said you eat that stuff for breakfast, lunch and dinner!!" Kimi Raikkonen said,
"When your family has been running a pizzeria in Paris for all your life, you think of pizza as one of the food groups. I mean, this stuff has all the 4 food groups in it!! Meat, dairy, grains and vegetables!!" Francois Deletraz said as he yet again stuffed another slice of chicken and bacon pizza in his mouth,
"Keep on eating that crap, you won't even fit in your car." Nick Heidfeld said as he finished off his 4th and final piece before heading off to the Jaguar garage to get to work.
"How do you do it, Ronin? How do you live with Mr. pizza man here?" Juan Pablo Montoya asked the Russian Arrows driver,
"I just drink my family's vodka until I pass out. But, I have one hell of a hangover the next day." Ronin Vertigo answered,
"Oh, so that's how you do it." Montoya said,
"Yup. Nigel gets really pissed off at me if I show up at the shop reeking of booze." Ronin said,
"Speaking about Mansell, why in the 10th level of hell would you put Mr. Bottomless Pit, whose only racing experience is imitating Marcus Grimholm, while delivering pizzas in Paris, in a Formula One car?!!" David Coulthard asked the 1992 World Champion. Mansell nervously rubbed the back of his head before answering.
"I knew somebody was going to ask me this. Well, to make a long story short... I was in Paris before the season started, just enjoying some time to myself. As I walked down a little street, I hear this engine roaring from down the street. Seconds later, this little Peugeot 206 catches air and flies by me at well over 80 MPH. The car actually looked like one of those Peugeot WRC cars. I caught a glimpse of the driver and saw this ad for a pizza place on the side of the door. As soon as he came, he was long gone. So, I walk around Paris and I find this place and lo and behold, there is that Peugeot 206 speed by and ducking into a building. So, I go in and I introduce myself. This causes the cops to come by and one government official wanted to chat with me for a few minutes. Next thing I know, I'm heading back to the Britain plus one young Frenchman with no racing experience." Nigel answered. Olivier Panis was getting a quick bite to eat when he heard Mansell tell how Francois joined up with the Arrows team.
"So, why did you take him in with Arrows? You said he doesn't have any racing experience." Panis asked,
"The French Government wanted him out of the country and made a deal with Max Mosley to grant him a Super License and he forced me to take him. Turns out, our Pizza eating friend has over 100 speeding tickets and they wanted him out of the country because he's a menace to society! So, I knew he was a risk on the track, but he hasn't made anybody crash out." Mansell answered,
"So, my people made a deal with Mosley to get Deletraz out of the country? Because he's a menace? My god." Olivier Panis said as he heard this twisted tale and went back to the BAR garage,
"I wanted that podium." Ronin muttered under his breath as he headed to the Arrows garage and jumped into his crappy Arrows, still pissed off about having Francois get the podium instead of him. The night session now begun and Ronin was the first driver to take off and become the first ever F1 driver to run at night.
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The first ever Formula One night test at Magny-Cours became an unmitigated disaster. The drivers had a hard time even making a flying lap because whenever they bounce off the curbs, the connections to the headlights would disconnect from the electrical system in the car. Another case was the headlights on the Sauber would drain out the car's electrical power, causing Eddie to end his session early due to lack of electrical power. Keith kept on missing his braking points because he couldn't see them. All of the drivers were having that same problem. They just couldn't see the braking points like they could during the day. Mark Webber had the fastest lap of the night at a 1:19:712, while Rubens was second fastest with a 1:20:163. The session was cut short because of a big crash involving Jarno Trulli's Renault and Allan McNish's Toyota.
Over at Silverstone, the track guys did take the time to get the braking points lit up and have plenty of light at some of the important corners in the track so the drivers could see them. The British based teams took extra time to secure their headlight connections properly on their cars to avoid being jolted loose when the hit the curbs. Because of the time the teams and track personnel took to get ready, all of the teams and drivers did plenty of flying laps, practice laps and even had a mini race in the 2 hour session. Giancarlo Fisichella won the 20 lap mini race with Riley Jenius and new Jaguar driver Felipe Massa finishing 2nd and 3rd. In the end, Juan Pablo Montoya's Williams was the fastest of the night at 1:20:232, while Ronin Vertigo shocked everybody at Silverstone with a lap of 1:20:241 and was on pace with the Williams and McLaren teams, even though he was driving with a crappy Ford Cosworth engine in the back, which he dubbed "Cosworth-less", becuase it didn't have enough power. After getting out of his crappy Arrows, Vertigo said that he wished all of the races were run at night. If that were to happen, maybe Ronin could get some luck after all. He doesn't want to be the next Jos Verstappen, the King of Bad Racing Luck.
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As soon as Ash's plane landed at Goldenrod International Airport, Ash made a beeline straight for Pallet Town. Brock didn't say which hospital his Mother was at, so he's speeding to his home in hope that Mimey might know which hospital she was at. The Toyota team got wind of this and sent Ash a car for him to use, telling him not to wreck it like he did with the Supra. As soon as Ash reached his home, he exited his car, leaving the engine running and leaving Pikachu and Meowth inside it.
"I've never seen the twerp so concerned for his mom in my life." Meowth said as he and Pikachu watched Ash race for the front door to his house,
[If you've been racing in Formula One where you could die and you haven't seen your mom in years, wouldn't you be worried?] Pikachu answered,
"I guess you're right. You've known him for years." Meowth agreed. Ash bolted through the front door of his house and skidded to a stop. The house wasn't quiet. In fact, the TV was on and it was showing one of his Mom's favorite shows that she watches in the early morning hours sometimes. Ash smelled some floor cleaner in the kitchen and went into to investigate.
The hell? Why would I smell floor cleaner in 7 in the morning? Mom and Mr. Mime usually don't do house cleaning this early. Ash thought to himself. His question would be answered when Mr. Mime appeared from downstairs, carrying some more cleaning supplies. Moments later, Delia Ketchum came from downstairs and nearly did a double take when she saw her 17-year-old, Formula One racing son in her house when she thought he was testing with his team in France.
"Ash? What a wonderful surprise!! I thought you were doing some testing with your team." Delia said as she walked up to her son and was about to give him a hug when Ash grabbed a hold of her shoulders, stopping her.
"Why are you home instead of being in the Hospital? Did Brock lie to me?" Ash asked. In his mind, this was getting too weird for him. His Mom was perfectly fine and actually doing some summer cleaning in the early morning. Ash wanted answers, but didn't know where to go finding them.
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Ralf Schumacher should be asleep in the Williams motorhome as were the rest of the drivers, but instead he was up, dressed in normal street clothes and heading for a remote location near the Silverstone track. It was around 2 A.M. when he arrived at somewhere that nobody would go in the dead of night. Ralf spotted a man wearing a black trench coat with a red "R" on the back. The man was a member of Team Rocket.
"You wanted to talk to me?" Ralf asked the shady character,
"Yeah, sure did. I couldn't believe that Giovanni ordered me to meet with a Formula One driver. Strange world, huh?" The man asked, making small talk with Team Rocket's archenemy.
"True. I was shocked to get a call from him, telling me that one of us gave Team Rocket secret information about everything F1. I wonder who it was?" Ralf wondered. He didn't have long to wait and he was in for a shock.
"It was me, Ralf." A man with an Italian accent answered from behind. Moments later, Giancarlo Fisichella appeared from the shadows and he meant business. "Did your boss get the info I got from the FIA?" Fisichella asked,
"Yeah. Giovanni wants me to ask you why you did?" The Rocket asked with a shocked look on his face. Ralf had the same look on his face also.
"Ketchum. As much as Ralfie here hates the punk for the crash with Michael, he couldn't beat him on or off the track. My plan is to kill him when he least expects it." Giancarlo answered with an evil smile on his face. Ralf actually didn't know that Fisichella hates Ketchum also.
"What do you want with us?" The Rocket asked,
"I have a family that I want to go home to after I'm done with Formula One. See, Salo and the others would be alive if Michael didn't pick up Ketchum off the side of the road when your lackeys shot him. If Ash died that day, all of this shit wouldn't have happened and I could go home to my wife and daughter." Fisichella answered,
"Damn, Fisi. You hate him worse than I do." Ralf said,
"Damn right, Ralf. I never liked the little shit anyway." Fisichella added,
"Neither have I, gentlemen." Another voice said from the shadows. The three men turned around and surprisingly, there was Ron Dennis, the team principal of McLaren. It's no secret that Dennis was against Michael's plan to bring Ash to F1 at such a young age and has been one of Ferrari's rivals about it.
"Ron Dennis?!! The hell?" Ralf asked, wondering who is going to appear next who hates Ash.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Dennis. Giovanni is amazed that his power can even swing a F1 team owner to our side." The rocket said as Ron Dennis let loose an evil laugh,
"Boss. I don't get it, why are you agreeing with me and Ralf?" Fisichella asked,
"One thing, Mr. Fisichella. I want Paul Stoddart dead!!! I've hated that son of a bitch for hassling the big teams for cash. If I was running F1, I would have sent him and Minardi packing!! My plan is to have Giovanni's Rockets kill him, that Bruce Lee freak and the rest of that team. Then, I will buy Minardi and fold the team, finally killing that puny David and the Goliaths will rule with an iron fist!!!" Ron Dennis said, clenching his fist to show what he plans to do with European Minardi.
"What about Ketchum?" Giancarlo asked,
"Screw that kid. I wished Michael never picked him up also. Kill him also! And Kill Michael as well!! I know Ralf would like that." Ron Dennis said, causing Ralf to smile evilly as well.
"Got that right. I'm tired of living in Michael's shadow. And I'm sick of Ketchum. It's time for him to feel the wrath of you guys. And take out that stupid American, Terrell! I'm sick of him and that damn mutt of his." Ralf said sternly,
"We'll get them. And are you sure you want us to attack your team as well?" The Rocket asked Ralf,
"Do it! And I want Montoya eliminated!! I want them all dead. They should learn not to mess with Team Rocket." Ralf ordered,
"Damn straight, Mr. Schumacher." Ron Dennis agreed,
"I like your style, Dennis. Hell, I bet Giovanni would make you the next boss of Team Rocket, Fisichella would see his family grow with some financial help from us and Ralf will be THE Schumacher in F1." The Rocket said,
"Heh heh. I'll take your word for it, buddy. Now, let's head back to the McLaren motorhome, Giancarlo. And Ralf, this is a secret between me, you and Giancarlo." Ron Dennis said as he and Fisichella walked back to the track. Moments later, the Rocket disappeared into the night, leaving the younger Schumacher there, gathering up all that has happened. Giancarlo Fisichella hates Ash Ketchum as much as he does and Ron Dennis hates him just as much.
It's my time to shine now, big brother. Once you're out of the way, I will become the #1 Schumacher in Formula One. And I'll make sure Team Rocket finishes off that Ketchum kid as well. Ralf thought to himself as he decided to go back to the track and sneak back into the Williams motorhome before anybody got suspicious.
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Back at Pallet Town, Ash was still trying to figure out everything. Brock called him on his cell phone to tell him his Mom is ill. So, he arrives at Pallet to find Mimey to see if he knew which hospital Delia was in. Suddenly, she appears from the basement in perfect health. After a few minutes, Ash begins to tell Delia the reason he's here in Pallet. Then, Ash tries to call the Toyota guys from his cell phone, but he couldn't get his signal through. He then used his Mom's phone to call Brock, but he wasn't at his home. Something was very wrong.
"Why would Brock lie to me about you being sick? As soon as he called, I bolted for the next plane to Japan, leaving my team to wonder what was going on. And for some odd reason, my cell phone can't get through to the team in France. I'm starting to get worried." Ash said as he looked at his now useless cell phone. He needed to call the team in France to tell them what was going on. And he needed to call Bernie to get help in case of Team Rocket. He can't do both, but he needed to find Brock.
"I don't know either, honey. Brock is not the kind of person to lie about this." Delia said, trying to comfort her nervous son,
"Well, I'm going to find Brock. I'll be back soon." Ash said as he walked to the front door,
"Ash, please be careful out there. I got a bad feeling that this might be a set up." Delia said,
"I will, Mom. I'm just glad I have Pikachu and Meowth here also." Ash said as he exited the house, leaving his now worried Mother to hope for the best. Pikachu and Meowth saw Ash get back in the Celica and speed off to Pewter.
"What happened in there, twerp?" Meowth asked,
"My Mom is perfectly fine. I'm wondering why would Brock lie about this. So, we're going to Pewter." Ash answered,
[I think this is a trap. Have you called Bernie or the team?] Pikachu asked,
"My cell phone couldn't get through for some odd reason. If we're in a trap, we're up shit creek!" Ash answered. Both Pikachu and Meowth agreed with Ash on that bit. Within minutes, the trio entered Viridian City, drove through the Viridian Forest and have entered Pewter City. Ash noticed that when they entered the city, the streets were unusually empty. Early in the morning, there would have been people rushing to work, kids going to school and trainers getting ready to leave town for other parts of Kanto. Ash had a feeling that somebody was planning an ambush before they got to Brock's house. That was his F1 Intuition kicking in. It as right most of the time and when Ash drove his Toyota Celica World Rally Car into downtown Pewter, it happened. A whole bunch of cars appeared from out of nowhere and blocked Ash's road to Brock's. Ash hit the brakes and drove back into the center of the city, only to see more unmarked cars block all of the street exits!!
Oh, shit!!! A trap!!! And I have no help!!! Ash thought to himself as he got out of his car, just as the occupants of the other cars made their exit and Ash was in for a hell of a shock. There was Gary Oak, the Pokémon Master, along with Lance. They were followed by The Elite Four, which were walking toward Ash. To Ash's left were Team Rocket. In that group was Jessie, James, Butch and Cassidy. They were teaming up again to take out Ash. But, why did the Pokémon League strike a deal with their hated enemies? Behind Ash were all of the gym leaders from Kanto and Johto. Misty was in the group, but Ash was just too focused on Gary in front of him. Finally to Ash's right, well over 50 Officer Jennys from all over the land, each one of them armed with M-16 machine guns, all of them aimed at Ash. Ash looked at the building tops and spotted more Jennys perched up there, armed with the same weaponry. By the looks of the ambush, seems like they were just waiting for Ash and planned this from the beginning.
"Well, Ash. Nice to see you in town. Too bad this is going to be the last time. And I really wanted that American." Gary Oak said as he and his group walked towards Ash.
"Fuck me." Ash muttered to himself. Well over 100 of F1's enemies have surrounded him. Both the Pokémon League and Team Rocket have teamed up to take Ash out. Looks like the lucky Pokémon Trainer/Formula One driver has met his match.
To Be Continued...
Oh, crap!! This is going to be one hell of a pickle for Ash to get out of!! 50 Jennys toting machine guns, the Kanto and Johto gym leaders, Lance and the Elite Four, Jessie, James, Butch, Cassidy, 50 members to Team Rocket and Gary Oak have Ash's number. And since Ash can't even call for help from Bernie, could this be the end of Ash Ketchum?
Next, how will Ash, Pikachu and Meowth get out of this predicament?!!! And how will a former driver for Jordan help Ash? And where's Brock? Please read and review. Any questions? Send them to Hornet19us@Yahoo.com.
Mario Alvarado
8/29/2003
Michael Schumacher for President!! Schumi in '04!!!