Disclaimers:
I don't own Pokémon in any way!! I don't own Formula One!! I've never met them at all. It's all lies, lies I tell you!! Damnable lies! 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, I think I've gotten some momentum here. And that's good. Last time out, Ash needed some new wheels to get from point a to point b. So, he goes off and buys himself a Nissan Skyline R32 V-Spec II, which came with a boatload of parts to put smiles on Import tuner's faces. After staying over at Brock's house for the night, Ash and Ralph Firman decide to find that cell phone jammer that Silph Co. built to prevent Ash calling the others in France or Silverstone, while Meowth and Pikachu stay at Brock's place to keep him and Suzie safe from anybody else. Duplica actually convinced Ash to let her come with him.
After a long day of searching, Ash and Duplica decide to return back to Pewter when Ash sees something strange and goes to check it out. Turns out, the strange thing was Misty Waterflower!! After the two had a heated fight and Ash tells the events that led up to him meeting up with Michael Schumacher, Misty decides to get a measure of revenge on Ash by bashing him over his head. Before Misty could, Duplica used her imitating skills to imitate Officer Jenny's voice, causing the Water Trainer to see who it is, only to get nailed by a Stone Cold Stunner. Ash and Duplica run back to the Skyline and get the hell out of Cerulean!!! And we also get to find out what the other drivers back in Europe have been up to.
Also, after you read the little scene where Ash and Duplica confess, do you readers think I could have done it better? I'm not very good at mushy, love scenes and I would appreciate some critism from you reviewers to help me improve my skill in writing these mushy confessing love scenes. Thanks in advance. Now, enjoy!!
Ash Ketchum: Formula One Driver
Chapter 35: Ash and Duplica: Together
I was recently asked what would shock me the most by an Italian TV show last week. The choices were Minardi winning a Grand Prix, Rubens and Juan splitting the World Title, Giancarlo Fisichella driving for Ferrari, the Tyrrell name returning to Formula One by buying back BAR, Sir Jackie Stewart racing competitively for the first time in over 30 years and racing against me or me winning the United States Grand Prix with an American Formula One team. Those were good and I think having Sir Jackie Stewart race against me would be an honor and a shock. He could teach me a few things to improve my driving.
Out of all of those choices, I said the #1 thing that would shock me the most is Toyota driver Ash Ketchum getting a girlfriend!! He's crazy a lot of times, but having a cute girlfriend with him by his car will literally shock the whole F1 world!!!
The odd thing is... the TV panel agreed with me. Ash Ketchum with a girlfriend. That would be wild. But, what about me with a girlfriend?!!! That would be even more of a shock to everybody!!!
Keith Terrell's latest online diary entry, made 1 day before coming to Magny-Cours for the FIA Test.
After speeding the hell away from Cerulean City, Ash and Duplica stopped at Route 2 near Pewter City. Finally realizing that everything was now okay and they were safe, Ash cut the engine and he and Duplica got out of the car.
"Duplica... thanks for helping me out back there. I bet I wouldn't have lived through being hit with that mallet of Misty's." Ash said,
"That's okay. I had to pay you back for the time you, Brock and Keith saved me from those robbers when you were here in Kanto a while back." Duplica said as she stood next to the front left fender of the sports car,
"We're even now." Ash said. Duplica quietly nodded as Ash leaned back on the hood of the Skyline, watching the sky now turn to sunset. She turned to see Ash heavily deep in his thoughts.
"Ash, what are you thinking about?" Duplica asked, breaking Ash's deep concentration. He sat back up while still looking at the sky.
"The team back in France. Actually, I was wondering if they completed the testing by now. It was early on day two that I hopped on a jet here to Japan. By the time I got here and with the time difference between Pallet and France, it was morning here and day two over at Magny-Cours would be ending and everybody would be going to sleep. When I went to find Brock in Pewter, was caught up in that that giant ambush happened, escaping with our lives and I bought the Skyline last night, I bet the others were already starting Day Three over there. And I bet at this time, I bet the guys were busting their asses off working on Day Four." Ash answered. He just continued to watch the sunset and continued to wonder about the team and the others in France and Silverstone. Duplica on the other hand, didn't even listen to what Ash was talking about. She was having a daydream. About her and Ash.
[Duplica's daydream]
"Ketchum has done THE impossible!!! Ash Ketchum has beaten both Rubens Barrichello and Juan Pablo Montoya to win the 2005 FIA Formula One World Driver's Championship!! Ash Ketchum is the youngest F1 World Champion ever, and that is a record nobody will ever break!!!" The announcer said as Ash drove his Toyota TF105 across the start finish line for the final time this season and winning the race. Sure enough, the whole Toyota team was going ballistic. Not only did Ash bring the team its first ever Driver's Championship and win the last 3 races, Ash's teammate Allan McNish managed to finish 2nd to Ash in the final races to beat Ferrari for the Constructor's Championship to boot!! Ash pulled his World Championship winning car into Parc Ferme and the celebration began as the Toyota team literally ripped Ash out of his car and hoisted their World Champion up on the air. As for the fans in the stands, they just witnessed history made that day, seeing the youngest ever World Champion crowned.
The Ferrari team however, were beside themselves. THEY JUST GOT BEAT BY A 17 YEAR OLD!!! How Humiliating for them, Keith and Rubens!! When the FIA steward came by to get Ash for the podium celebrations, the team reluctantly let their star driver back on the ground, but they knew that the BIG party was going to start later on. As Ash made his way to the podium, he could have sworn that he heard his mentor, Michael Schumacher, scream out in fear as he ran out of the Ferrari garage, with just about the entire team after him. They were really pissed at Michael for bringing Ash into Formula One. Hell, even Ross Brawn and Jean Todt were out for his blood!!
"This is all your fault, Michael!!! He took MY Constructor's Title!!!" Ferrari technical director Ross Brawn yelled out at the fleeing German as he and the whole team gave chase,
"I'll never forgive you for bring that brat here to deny MY destiny!!" An equally pissed off Rubens Barrichello yelled out as he tossed his helmet at Michael, just missing the German.
"I didn't mean it!! I'm sorry!!!" Michael yelled out, but his plea fell on deaf ears as the whole Ferrari team wanted to kill him for bringing Ash Ketchum to F1. In reality, not all of the team were trying to kill Michael. Ferrari team manager Jean Todt and the team's #2 driver Keith Terrell, were actually talking about the American's long-term future with Ferrari.
"Hey, Jean. Since Michael is now gone from Ferrari because of this, does this that mean when Rubens retires of goes to another team, I'll be the #1 at Ferrari?" Keith asked hopefully,
"Well, I don't see why not. It's about time Ferrari looked to the future without Michael. And you Mr. Terrell, are Ferrari's future." Jean Todt answered, already knowing that Keith is going to win about 4 Driver's Titles with the Scuderia. And Keith couldn't have been happier with the outcome.
"I'm going to be the #1 driver!! I'm going to be the #1 driver!" Terrell cheered for himself as he danced down the pit lane, causing everybody to stare at the American and wonder what he put in his cereal this morning. With his future at Ferrari secure, he can look forward to winning a lot of races and bringing the World Championship back to the United States!
+ + + + + + + + + +
After being hounded by the press and mauled by just about every big wig in Formula One, congratulating Ash on his amazing World Championship. But, Ash was a bit uneasy. He knew something was going to happen to him shortly. Since the team was busy getting ready to go to Tokyo to show the Toyota big wigs there the Constructor's Championship, Ash had a few hours to contemplate what the fuck just happened!!! Then, it hit him hard.
"I'm... the Formula One World Driver's Champion? I beat both Rubens Barrichello and Juan Pablo Montoya to win the World Championship?" Ash asked himself. He then reached for the now official final F1 point standings. There was Ash, in a tie with Rubens Barrichello for the lead of the Championship, both drivers with 82 points. In case of a tie, Bernie Ecclestone and a few FIA stewards will look at the points finishes that Ash and Rubens have during the season. In the rulebook, the driver that has a certain finishing position that the other driver doesn't have, he will be the World Champion! Meaning, if Rubens has a 5th place finish, but Ash doesn't, Rubens is the Champion. In this circumstance, both Rubens and Ash have won races and scored 2nd place finishes. But, Ash has scored a 3rd place finish and Rubens doesn't have won! That's why Ash is the World Champion. After looking over the rule one more time, it hit him.
"I'M THE WORLD CHAMPION!!!!!! WHOO-HOO!!!!!! I won!!!" Ash yelled out in happiness, finally realizing that he's the greatest driver in the World!! And to do it as his age is astonishing!!! He's only 17 and is now a World Champion. It was time for him to party like its 1999 or something like that. Well, only the people carrying a giant water jug full of Red Bull will decide to let him off without a celebratory dunk.
"One... two... THREE!!!!!" A group of 14 of Ash's F1 rivals appeared and dunked Ash with the big container full of F1's official energy drink!! Ash was drenched and noticed that there is only two people that has the balls to do that to him. Olivier Panis and... Eddie Irvine?!!
"Got him!!" Panis said, tossing the now empty container to the side.
"Yeah. Now that Ashy boy here is the World Champion, we get to do all of the fun stuff that we did to Coulthard." Irvine said with a mischievous look on his face,
"What?! Does this mean..." Ash realized what he was going to get into now that he's the World Champion. Every driver is going to play shitloads of practical jokes on him, just like the stuff then played on David Coulthard, who won the Championship before Ash did. And the first joke? A wedgie from the King of all wedgie givers, Mark Webber!! The European Minardi Chevrolet driver entered the lounge with other drivers and snuck up behind Ash and gave him one hell of a wedgie!!
"Hey!! Stop!!!!!" Ash yelled out as he felt the full effects of having somebody grab your underwear and just yank it right up. When Webber let Ash go and started readjusting his you-know-whats, the drivers were laughing.
"And there's more of that in 2006, Ketchum!!" Webber said as he laughed loudly. Suddenly, he stopped and groaned in pain as the Australian fell to the ground, holding his package. The drivers then spotted this green haired girl appear out of nowhere. Apparently, she didn't want to see Webber pick on Ash anymore.
"Nobody does that to Ashy and gets away with it!!" The girl said. Ash thought she was one of his fangirls, but upon closer examination, he discovered who it was.
"Huh?! Duplica?! What are you doing here?!!" Ash asked surprised, seeing the Ditto trainer inside the driver's lounge. Normally, nobody could get access inside here except the team owners, a few V.I.P.s and Bernie Ecclestone. How did Duplica get in here?
"Hey, Ashy boy. I got special permission from that Bernie guy. I told him I was going to surprise you with something special for winning the World Championship!!!" Duplica answered cheerfully,
"I just wished I didn't win it after all. I'm going to get picked on all next year." Ash said as he wiped away some Red Bull off of his forehead,
"So, what is this surprise, lady? Are you going to let Ketchum "conquest" you?" Kimi Raikkonen said and laughed, and then he was hit beside his head by Irvine.
"Let the girl speak!!" Irvine said annoyed. Duplica then turned her attention to Ash himself.
"Well, Ashy boy. Since you became the World Champion... I want to tell you this secret to you." Duplica said nervously,
"Tell me what, Duplica?" Ash asked,
"Ash... I love you." Duplica said, finally confessing her deepest secret and her true feelings to Ash. Ash looked at Duplica totally dumbfounded. The drivers had the same dumbfounded look on their faces also.
"You... WHAT?!!!" Ash exclaimed in surprise. Then, he started to snicker and before he knew it, Ash just bursted out laughing. And amazingly, the drivers around him started laughing like madmen!! And this shocked the hell out of poor Duplica.
"She loves me!! HA HA HA HA HA HA!!! What a joke!!! That has got to be the funniest joke in the world!! HA HA HA HA!!!!" Ash and the other drivers continued laughing their heads off. Duplica was heartbroken. Ash thought her feelings towards him were nothing but a joke to him and the drivers. He didn't care about her at all!!
[Back To Reality]
Duplica was snapped out of her daydream, which became a living nightmare. Would Ash laugh at her like that if she did tell Ash her deepest feelings towards him? She was thinking about telling him, but there is always that nagging doubt in the back of her mind.
Girl... that will never happen. Not in a million years. There is no way that Ash Ketchum, the hottest Formula One driver ever would say he loves me. I'm not even in his league. Duplica thought to herself. Ash didn't even notice her, since he was still thinking about the welfare of the Toyota team back in France. Or was he? Duplica knew that he and Misty were very close back in the day, but after all this happened, she was wondering if they are still friends or does he even still consider her a friend.
"What about Misty?" Duplica asked,
"Misty is not a friend anymore. I don't know why, but she's not a friend, nor do I have any feelings for her. They slowly died away as I was training to be an F1 driver and were finally extinguished when I won my first ever F1 race at Malaysia." Ash said as sat back up off the hood. Duplica sat on the hood of Ash's car also and just replayed all of the events that led her to where she was right now. She did care about Ash a whole lot, but she was unsure that he liked her too. But, Duplica had to ask him.
"Ash..." Duplica began,
"Yeah?" Ash asked,
"Why don't you have a girlfriend yet?" She asked,
"I thought I told you. I want to concentrate on racing in Formula One first before anything else. If I had a girlfriend, I might now concentrate as hard as I usually do during race weekends." Ash answered. In reality, that was a lie. David Coulthard, Michael Schumacher and half of the Formula One paddock think that Ash should get a girlfriend, a girl that will keep him in line and prevent him from doing something wild and crazy during the weekend. Apparently, Keith told Michael and David about Duplica when he returned from his stay in Japan. Immediately, the World Champions think that Duplica would be perfect for Ash, but they have yet to tell Ash this. Ash looked over at Duplica, it was her turn to gaze off at the sunset. Apparently, Duplica couldn't keep her feelings about Ash to herself any longer. She loved Ash even more, now that he's a Formula One driver and was afraid that if she didn't tell him now, some other girl will get him.
"Ash, I love you." Duplica said hastily. Ash's eyes nearly popped out of his head after hearing Duplica confess her love for him.
"WHAT?!!!" Ash yelled out. He wasn't expecting this!! A now despondent Duplica jumped off of Ash's car and looked away from Ash.
"I can't help it anymore, Ash. I've been having these feelings for a long time. Actually, it started just after I met you when we first met 7 years ago on your Pokémon Journey. You're not that Pokémon trainer who would always act first, think later and a bit hard headed, you're a very famous Formula One driver now and I'm afraid that I wouldn't get this chance to tell you." Duplica said, wiping away some tears from her eyes. She was praying that Ash wouldn't laugh at her. Actually, Ash was still a bit shocked. He didn't expect her to confess her feelings to him like that. He was caught off guard. Duplica had a few tears in her eyes as Ash jumped off the hood of the Skyline, took her in his arms and hugged her. Duplica wrapped her arms around Ash and held him close to her.
"I love you too, Duplica..." Ash said in a comforting voice. "Actually, ever since I returned to the circuit before the Belgium GP, I missed you a lot. I was hoping to see you again and tell you this. It was eating away at me since we last met." Ash added. Duplica was finished with her crying and let Ash hold her close to him. She dreamed about this moment for a long time. And now, she didn't want it to end. She has gotten her Formula One driver, like she always dreamed off.
"Ash. I want to show you how much I love you." Duplica said, looking into his brown eyes and for the first time, seeing the affection he has for her. Ash leaned in and kissed her passionately like they were married. But the need for air made them break away, but Ash held her close to him as he looked into her eyes.
"You don't need to. Just confessing our deepest feelings is more than enough for now. I just want you with me, so I won't feel totally alone during the races. Not that I appreciate Meowth and Pikachu with me. I just wished to have you with me." Ash said, giving her another gentle kiss. Then Duplica got an idea. Since Ash was a Formula One driver, she could give him a nice surprise for doing well. Maybe a long, passionate kiss for scoring points or a very long make out session for finishing on the podium. But, what will happen if he won a Grand Prix?
"You know, Ashy. Maybe if you win another race or do great in one... I'll treat you to something you'll really enjoy." Duplica said flirtingly as she gave Ash another kiss. Ash laughed a bit at what she said. He was going to enjoy having her as his girlfriend, but all the drivers are going to get on his case about him and Duplica. Mostly getting hassled from Ronin Vertigo, Eddie Irvine, Mark Webber, Riley Jenius, Tomas Scheckter and especially getting hassled by Keith, Michael and David.
"You know, Duplica... having you by my side might not be a bad idea after all. I think I overheard David tell Keith that having a girlfriend could calm me down during the weekends. But let's head back home to Pallet. I want to tell Mom the good news and call Brock and Suzie about this too." Ash said and Duplica agreed. After sharing another kiss, the two hopped back into Ash's Skyline and sped off to Pallet to tell Delia the good news. Her baby boy has a new girlfriend.
+ + + + + + + + + +
+ + + + + + + + + +
Let's turn our attention to what Ash was talking about. Day four, the final day of the FIA joint test was upon the drivers and teams at Magny-Cours and Silverstone. Since it was the final day, the teams decided to just take it easy and relax after 3 long, hard days of working. Alex Yoong was only one driver out on the track, making some fast laps with the brand new version of Chevrolet's powerful Vortec V10 engine, which GM shipped to the Italian team a day after the Italian Grand Prix. All of the other F1 engine makers thought the suits at General Motors were crazy for giving the ever so slow European Minardi guys their engines for free back in '03. The Chevy boys spent all their time with the V10 engines that they forgot to improve the Chevrolet engines for the Indy Racing League teams! Now, the other teams fear the horsepower that the GM engine boys have developed into their engines for Paul Stoddart's team. It is heavily rumored that the Chevrolet V10 engine makes has more horsepower and torque than the all-powerful BMW engine. The engine, combined with the team's nimble chassis, has been scoring many points in a handful of races. With that, it's only a matter of time before the Minardis are up front challenging for podium finishes and race wins. And when that happens, McLaren boss Ron Dennis is going to blow his head off with a shotgun and Minardi boss Paul Stoddart will watch and laugh.
The new Ferrari F2006/07 was on the track also, but it wasn't Keith behind the wheel, which was a shock. The American has been doing a lot of laps in that car, getting used to his new ride and Keith ended up being the fastest driver in the Magny-Cours test with a lap of 1:12:421, beating out Rubens by one second. The drivers were taking it easy also and all of them were just lounging around on pit lane, just talking about the next race and whatnot. And it seems like today is "Trulli make fun of Jarno day." Instigated by Jarno's Renault teammate, Tomas Scheckter. Jarno's last name makes him the butt of many pun jokes in the Formula One paddock. And the Italian was very close to snapping and killing his South African teammate.
"Really? You're "Trulli" right!!" Allan McNish said, trying to keep a straight face while some of the Sauber guys were cracking up laughing.
"Trulli" you must be mistaken." One of the Renault test drivers added,
"It's "Trulli" scrumptious!!" Tomas said, adding his crack at Jarno's last name because he started this whole thing.
"I'm "Trulli" horrified!!!" Jenson Button cackled. That was it. Jarno, not showing any signs that he was pissed off, got up from the pile of Michelin tires he was sitting on, casually walked up to Tomas and without warning, slugged him right in the face. Tomas fell over his seat and crashed hard next to the team's toolbox.
"You know what, Scheckter? I'm "Trulli" pissed off right now. I'm not "Trulli" sure that I like you anymore. And see how you "Trulli" like it." Jarno said as he stood over Tomas and gave him a kick in the ribs once for good measure before walking back to his motorcoach room.
"Jarno... I was only kidding." Scheckter said as he picked himself off the ground after Trulli nearly knocked his block off with his punch.
"Fuck off, Tomas!! Next time, I'll slice you a new one." Jarno said around and corner and flipped Scheckter the bird before storming away.
"Come on, guys. Leave poor Jarno alone. He doesn't deserve any of your torture." Keith Terrell said, becoming the voice of reason within the group of laughing drivers. But, the thought of Jarno ripping Tomas "a new one" was still causing some drivers to laugh a lot.
"I bet Jarno's gonna rip off Tomas' babaganoosh." Eddie Irvine said,
"What does babaganoosh mean?" Mark Webber asked,
"It's another word for your "third" leg, as I call it." Irvine answered,
"Oh, I get it. Makes sense to me." Jenson Button said as some of the Minardi guys started chortling about weird names for a man's unit. Even though every team member in the paddock is male, one person however, didn't want to hear about jokes about a man's unit. And that was none other than Ash's head mechanic/aunt, Sylvie McCallister. Being one of the only few female team members in the F1 paddock, anytime the drivers start telling jokes about a man's anatomy, it was her cue to get out of there. Sylvie was there to make sure Jarno didn't really kill Tomas for those jokes he made about him.
"Jesus. Have fun you guys. I'm out of here." Sylvie said as she exited the area where the guys were now making endless "wiener" jokes. She was now wondering about the well being of her nephew/star F1 driver, Ash. Since he had an emergency and had to go back home to Pallet, he hasn't called her or the team since then. And she was worried. And having anybody spook her right now, they would get kicked right in the babaganoosh very hard.
"Wakey, wakey eggs and bacy!!" Miyamoto said happily as she appeared right next to Sylvie, who nearly punched Miyamoto's lights out.
"Dammit, Miyamoto!!! You've been hanging around that... dude who used to be on the Speed Channel!!" Sylvie said annoyed, she hated it when anybody talks about those really old dudes who used to do the Speed Channel broadcast of the F1 races back in the day.
"I am not, Sylvie! I just like saying it." Miyamoto said. Sylvie let out a sign and walked back to the Toyota garage with Miyamoto chasing her,
"Hey, Sylvie, I'm sorry. I'll make it up to you!!" Miyamoto called out and continued to chase after her partner on the team. As Allan McNish made his way to the Toyota garage to talk about the Japan race after getting over his laughing fit, he saw Michael Schumacher exit the Ferrari garage hastily. To his surprise, Michael was wearing a racing suit!!! Michael hasn't worn one since his crash at Austria in '04. The Minardi boyz also caught a quick look of Michael also. They were all just chilling out in the garage with the rest of the teams and drivers, drinking some hot cocoa, waiting for the call to go home and get ready for Japan.
"Hey, Mark. Did we just see Schumi in a Ferrari racing suit?" Alex Yoong asked as he and Mark Webber were standing outside on the pit wall across from the Minardi garage enjoying some orange juice.
"Yeah. I think it was him. But... isn't he still suffering from that bum leg?" Mark asked,
"Don't know. He won't tell anybody. Not even his own brother. And Ralf is still trying to off Ash and Pikachu." Yoong answered,
"You think Ralf will ever kill Ketchum?" Webber asked,
"$100 says Team Rocket and Ralfie won't be able to kill Ash." Yoong said. The two Minardi drivers looked at each other for a second, then reached for the their cell phones to call up the F1 bookie to place their bets.
+ + + + + + + + + +
Michael didn't bother to stop and talk to Ross or Jean. Instead, he headed for his room in the Ferrari motorhome, locked it and got out of his uniform. After getting on his normal street clothes, he just sat on his bed, just looking at the suit he got out of. If anybody was invisible and was able to be in his room, you would have seen Michael being very uncomfortable and saddened about what he just did.
"Almost 1 and half years have passed... since it happened." Michael said to himself. He reached for a duffel bag from under the bed and opened it, revealing his old red helmet that he wore in past F1 races. Memories of past races flooded his mind, most of them were all his race wins and Driver Championships he won with Ferrari. Then, he remembered the wreck he was in with Ash on that day. It was a nice day. He was talking to Rubens in the Ferrari garage about them not dominating the season like they always do. He wanted to talk to Ash before the race started, but didn't get a chance. Then, the crash happened. After being in a hospital for a few weeks, he returned home where he got an earful from his wife and Ralf wanting to kill Ash. Even when Michael returned to the track as a Ferrari crewmember in Germany and for the rest of the year, Ash avoided him at all costs. And when Michael went to talk to Ash, David kept him away. Saying that he was the last person Ash wanted to see. Michael has no resentment for the young man from Pallet. He just made a mistake in braking and he was just there, along for the ride. It was just a racing accident.
[Flashback]
"Dammit. It's a bit awkward not being in a car at all. I feel so useless." Michael said as he stood in the Ferrari pits. He, along with Ferrari and the other teams were at the German Grand Prix. Michael carried a cane with him because his right leg was still healing up after being broken in the wreck but his neck was completely healed. He watched Rubens inside his car that he used to drive, then looked at the replacement driver that was assigned to drive Rubens' car. The guy's name is Keith Terrell, the American driver who racked up 3 F3000 Championships and impressed Ross enough in some F3000 events to put him in the Ferrari at Monaco. And impressing Ross Brawn is near impossible, so he must be good.
That boy has a lot to learn about F1. And a lot to learn about Ferrari. Michael thought to himself as Keith drove out of the garage for some practice laps. Rubens was talking to Ross Brawn about a few concerns he has about the new compound of Bridgestone tires this weekend. The two Renault cars drove by seconds later and Michael didn't recognize the driver who was in Ash's car, which was now driven by Tomas Scheckter, a former IRL standout. In fact, he hasn't seen Kimi Raikkonen with the McLaren team also as he made his way slowly to Jean Todt.
"Um... Jean. What happened to Ash?" Michael asked,
"I thought you knew, Michael." Jean said and Michael shook his head. Rubens took to the track and Ross Brawn heard Michael mention Ash.
"Know what?" Michael asked, now a bit confused. Heck, he was away from Formula One for a few months and a lot can change.
"Ash was fired from Renault after the Austrian Grand Prix and was hiding from Ralf for 6 weeks. He missed the Monaco, Canada and European GP races. Flavio hired a banned IRL driver named Tomas Scheckter to drive Ash's Renault." Jean Todt answered,
"Also, Kimi Raikkonen got into a crash at Montreal and was busted up pretty bad. Sid said that he will miss the rest of the season. So, Ron found Ash and begged him to drive Kimi's McLaren for the rest of the year and he even wanted to pay Ash $6 Million for him just to get in the car. So, Ash did decide to get in the McLaren, albeit with a little instigating from Jos Verstappen. He hasn't really been at the outings that he usually goes to. That crash affected him as well." Ross Brawn added,
"So, Ash is here... but why is he hiding?" Michael asked,
"Your little brother wants to kill him. Plain and simple. But, Pikachu keeps on shocking people whenever anybody comes close. Pikachu even shocked Bernie Ecclestone last time when the boss wanted to talk to him. That Pokémon is like a mother bear protecting her cubs and will attack anybody that gets near Ash." Jean Todt answered,
"I wouldn't go near Ketchum if I were you. David threw Ralf through a window a few hours ago." Ross Brawn added,
"Well, Chisel Chin isn't going to stop me from seeing Ash. Now, excuse me, gentlemen!" Michael said as he left the Ferrari garage and walked the very short distance to the McLaren Mercedes garage.
Michael poked his head inside the McLaren garage and looked to see if Ash was there. Sure enough, the Pokémon trainer was there, sitting down in the back corner of the garage, holding onto Pikachu for dear life while one of the McLaren team members polished off his Official Pokémon League cap designed helmet. He was dressed in a McLaren racing outfit, which had Mobil 1, Mercedes Benz and some other minor sponsors on it. Ash was wearing his Pokémon League Cap as Ron Dennis sat down next to him to discuss some changes to the car. Pikachu relaxed a bit, since she knew Ron would never hurt Ash. Michael looked at David's car. McLaren's long time cigarette sponsor was off, replaced with "McLaren" on the wings and side pods. Since Ash was under age of buying tobacco anywhere, McLaren decided to drop West for the rest of the season, a move that was applauded by many in F1. Overall, Ash's McLaren Mercedes was the same as David's car. Ash wasn't the same. He was a scared young man with nobody to go to for help. Ron left to talk with Adrian Newey as David sat down next to Ash to have a chat. This time, Pikachu seemed more at ease with the Scotsman near Ash. Michael saw Ash shake his head no. Looks like David saw Michael look into the garage and he headed right for him. And David was serious.
"Michael... I will ask you this only once. Stay away from him. And Ralf won't get off so easy next time after I chucked him through a window." David said sternly to Michael. The German was taken back by David's abrupt forwardness. He didn't want him or Ralf near Ash. But, Michael isn't going to back down.
"What makes you think you can keep him away from me, David? I taught him everything I knew about F1." Michael said,
"Yeah, you did. But you forgot to tell him about the horrors of being involved in a crash like yours. If Verstappen didn't find him, Ash wouldn't be in this ride right now." David shot back,
'You can't keep Ash away from me all the time, Coulthard. Remember that." Michael said harshly and left the McLaren garage. David just watched him leave before heading back inside the getting inside his car to do a few laps.
Bad move, Michael. Real bad move. Ralf traumatized him to the point that he's crying to go home. But after what we did in Kanto, he's better off here with the team and me. Coulthard thought to himself as he grabbed his helmet and head/neck restraint system and started getting those on.
[End Flashback]
It took Ash the rest of the 2004 season before he started talking to Michael Schumacher once again. Ash didn't entirely trust him as much as he did before the accident. He wouldn't even stay at Michael's house like he has done before. He preferred to stay with David at the house the two shared near the McLaren base and at David's condo in Monte Carlo. Just after the New Year, Ash went back to his eager self in time to score a ride with Toyota, which was still reeling from Mika Salo's death and had a terrible 2004 season. Ove Andersson, Allan McNish and the Toyota team welcomed Ash, Pikachu and Meowth with open arms and quickly moved Ash's stuff into his new house to make Ash and his Poke Posse feel at home and part of the team. Ash was back and better than ever and it showed at the first race down in Australian GP as he dominated Friday Practice and started the GP in 2nd place. Ash finished in 17th due to a transmission failure while leading the race 21 laps in.
Michael decided that moping about the past isn't going to help him, so he placed his helmet away and hid his racing suit for another time. Just as he was going to call his wife at their home, new Sauber driver Eddie Irvine busted into Michael's room, carrying a letter from Bernie Ecclestone.
"Irvine?!! What the hell you doing in here?!!" Michael asked surprised,
"Bernie just sent us these via the mail. Looks like the teams have to go back to their shops to get the cars and equipment for the Japanese GP." Eddie Irvine answered,
"Of course I know that, Irvine. Now, what else?!!" Michael asked harshly, wanting Irvine out of his room so he could call his wife.
"Bernie wants all the drivers, including the guys over at Silverstone, to jet over to New York City. There, we'll meet with him. I think this has something to do with why Bernie can't get to Ash in Japan or worse." Irvine answered,
"When does he want us to head to America?" Michael asked as he took his letter from Irvine,
"Soon. That is all he said. I'm leaving when Jenson gets ready to leave. I have a bad feeling about this." Irvine answered and he hastily made his exit from Michael's room. Schumi quickly scanned the letter and had a gut feeling that this will be bad. And he knew that something bad has happened to Ash Ketchum. He had to get to New York City with the others right now.
To Be Concluded...
This is it!!! The next to last chapter of Ash Ketchum: Formula One Driver is done!!! Now that Ash and Duplica are together, what will Team Rocket plan next for the Toyota star and his girlfriend? Or actually, what will Ash's friends and family think about this new development?!! And what will the Formula One drivers do when they reach New York City to meet with Bernie Ecclestone?
In the final chapter, Ash and Duplica are still searching for that device that prevents Ash from calling the others in Magny-Cours and at Silverstone. When suddenly, they get a surprise attack from Misty yet again! And she's not alone!! Plus, you'll also get to see why I called the final chapter, The Axis Of Evil! And you'll also learn more about McLaren Boss Ron Dennis, Giancarlo Fisichella and Ralf Schumacher's evil plot to rid Formula One of Ash Ketchum and his friends forever!!!
Please read and review. Send any comments, questions, flames and whatnot to hornet19us@yahoo.com
Look for the final chapter of Ash Ketchum: Formula One Driver, coming soon!!
Chapter 36: The Axis Of Evil
Mario Alvarado
12/19/2003
Have a Merry F1 Christmas and a Minardi New Year!! And may all of you fans have visions of Michael Schumacher and Kimi Raikkonen dancing in your heads. :)