Ash Ketchum: Formula One Driver

Disclaimers:

I don't own Formula One, the teams or the drivers. Nor do I own Pokémon also. Now, that I got that out of the way...

Writer's Notes:

Okay. In the last chapter, Ash, Pikachu and Meowth returned to Kanto and almost immediately, Gary Oak and Ash's ex-friend Misty Waterflower, were hot on his tail. It didn't help matters when Pikachu shocked Misty, because a giant mob went after Ash. Ash and Pikachu were trapped, but a quick eye, a gun, an explosive barrel and some good marksmanship got Ash out of a jam. Before escaping, he took out his retractable baton and nailed Gary and then he nailed Brock before making his getaway. Officer Jenny placed a spike strip to stop Ash. When he ran over them, the car crashed. Jenny went to see if Ash was all right, but found two loaded guns right in her face. A standoff took place with a lot of people watching it. To make matters worse, when Gary arrived and distracted Jenny, Ash tried to get out, but his leg was caught up in the seatbelts. Gary's distraction gave Ash the chance to shoot out the seatbelts, freeing himself and tossing Charizard's Poké Ball into the air. The Fire Pokémon started a firestorm and Ash and Pikachu got on the giant Pokémon. After seeing Ash's mother Delia Ketchum, Ash ordered Charizard to fly low so Ash could get her also. Once back in Pallet, Delia wanted an answer for why Ash didn't contact her in over 3 years. She was about to hear one of Ash's darkest secrets about being in F1.

Ash Ketchum: Formula One Driver
Chapter 5: How Ash Ended Michael Schumacher’s Career…

Back in Pallet Town, Delia Ketchum was surprised to hear that her own son, Ash Ketchum was the one who ended Michael Schumacher's career. But now, Ash was in tears at the thought.

"I didn't mean it. My brakes locked up. I couldn't get out of the way. I didn't mean to hit him!! I didn't mean to end his career!!!" Ash cried out as he fell to the ground and started punching the floor,

"Ash. If it makes you feel any better, why don't you tell me what happened." Delia said as she comforted her son and Ash prepared to tell his mother the whole story.

[Flashback]

"Ash Ketchum is 1 second behind you and gaining." A Ferrari crewmember said,

"I see him." Michael Schumacher radioed back to his Ferrari crew. It was lap 43 of the Grand Prix of Austria and Ash Ketchum in his Renault was closing in.

"I might pass him!! I might pass him!!!!" Ash said to himself over and over as he closed in on the famous blood red Ferrari. All the teams in Formula One were amazed with young Ash Ketchum's skill behind the wheel of the Renault, even though he is only 16 years old. Hell, Ash already won a race at Malaysia in just his 7th start. Ash ran the final 5 races of 2003.

This kid is good. He's closing in on me for the past 5 laps. The 6-time World Champion thought as Ketchum was closing in ever so slightly. He could clearly see the yellow and light blue Renault of Ash in his mirrors. By the time they reached the back part of the circuit, Ash made an attempt to pass Michael, with the help of an Arrows but it failed and Ash lost ground on him.

"He just tried to pass me!!" Michael called out to the crew,

"Don't let it get to you. He is losing some ground to you." The crew said back, but as Michael was heading to the final turn to the start/finish straight, he misjudged his speed and went off into the grass for a split second. That allowed Ash to close up on his rear wing with a run to the first turn.

"I got him now!!" Ash said to himself as he started to pass Michael on the right side of his car,

"Where did he come from? Oh, well. You want to pass me, I'll make it extremely hard for you!!" Michael said. The two drivers raced side by side down the straight. The crowd cheered as Michael and Ash dueled to the first turn. Both drivers slammed on the brakes to get through the turn, but Ash's brakes locked up and he couldn't turn.

"I locked up! Look out!!!" Ash yelled out as his car made contact with the Ferrari. Both cars went off into gravel, but Schumacher floored it and got away from Ash's car, but he slammed hard into a wall. The safety car came out and picked up the field. Ash was knocked out for a minute, but regained consciousness and climbed out of the car. He saw Michael's car just sitting there and he isn't out of the wrecked Ferrari. He put the steering wheel back in the car and walked across the track back to the paddock. Little did he know that Michael Schumacher was in much worse trouble than he originally thought.

After the race, a very angry Ralf Schumacher ran up to Ash and grabbed him with a chokehold.

"You little bastard!!! You killed my brother!! You killed him!!!" The younger Schumacher yelled as Ash tried to get him to release the hold. The other drivers just watched in pure horror at the sight. They didn't know whether to help Ralf kill Ash or save Ash. They didn't do nothing until Ferrari driver Rubens Barrichello, punched Ralf in the face and the German let go of Ash, who was gasping for air. Rubens grabbed hold of Ralf.

"Stop it, Ralf!!! Michael is alive!! He's alive goddammit!!!" Rubens yelled in Ralf's face,

"I want him dead!!!" Ralf said angrily,

"When hell freezes over!!" Rubens yelled and he dragged Ralf to the hospital. The other drivers saw Ash cringing in fear. But when Ralph Firman went to see if Ash was all right, Charizard appeared and knocked the British driver to the ground.

"Hey, what's up Charizard?" Firman asked and was kicked away by the giant Pokémon. Charizard saw what Ralf Schumacher did to his trainer and didn't want anybody else getting him, or the Fire Pokémon would do some major hurting. Charizard gave the drivers an evil look and then, growled angrily at the other drivers, fire spewing from its mouth and it's eyes glowing red.

"Run for your lives!!!!!" Jarno Trulli yelled out. All of the drivers and teams hid inside the garages as Charizard picked up a battered Ash from the ground and took to the sky.

"Hey, Firman. Are you all right?" David Coulthard asked,

"Yeah. Ralf almost killed the kid, and his giant pet almost killed me also." Ralph Firman answered,

"What should we do?" Eddie Irvine asked,

"Just let him be for a while. This is the first ever accident Ash has ever been in." Kimi Raikkonen suggested and the other drivers agreed.

[End Flashback]

"I missed Monaco, Canada and the Nurburgring races. I had to get away from everyone and be by myself with my Pokémon. I had to get away from Ralf Schumacher. He vowed to kill me after what happened at the A-1 Ring. After the Grand Prix of Canada, I found out that Renault fired me. I was about ready to quit, but I heard that Kimi Raikkonen was injured at Canada and Ron Dennis of the McLaren team wanted me in the McLaren before France." Ash said as he finally stopped crying and dried off his tears,

"So, what did you do?" Delia asked,

"They wanted me in that car. And they were willing to pay me $60 Million Dollars for me to drive their car for the rest of the year. So, with 3 days before the team left for France, I showed up to race." Ash said,

"What about the team that fired you? Was there any trouble?" Delia asked,

"No. I just kept out of the spotlight throughout the whole weekend. I heard that Michael wanted to talk to me, but I told David to just leave me alone. I just wanted the season to end. I wanted it to end right after I finished 4th in the car." Ash said,

"So, what happened next?" Delia asked as she held Ash close to her,

"Well, I got a fax from Ferrari saying that I was never at fault for the crash that took out Michael. It also said that he's fine resting at his home with his family. I also learned that Ralf is not to harm me in any way. If he did, I can use Pikachu or my other Pokémon to fry him." Ash said,

"What about the other drivers? Did they try anything to harm you?" Delia asked,

"No. When I came to Silverstone, the only thing they were afraid was Charizard burning them. Otherwise, they were happy to see me back. Later that week, I won the Grand Prix of Great Britain and finished the year on a positive note. Even though Ralf had said that he was going to get his own Pokémon and fight me." Ash said,

"I'm just so happy to see you, still alive and well. I thought I would never see you again." Delia said as she hugged her son,

"I thought so too." Ash said as the two shared a long awaited hug. All Delia cared about was having her son back home for the first time in a few years.

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After checking out the scene of Ash and Officer Jenny's standoff, Meowth returned to Pallet and found Ash's home.

"Finally, I found it. It took me long enough to find this place." Mewoth said as the Cat Pokémon walked down the path to Ash's house. Somebody was heading there also. That somebody was Brock Slate. After getting taped up from the baton hits Ash gave him, he heard how Ash escaped from a standoff with Officer Jenny and he was determined to see him. What he didn't expect to see was Meowth heading there was well.

"That's a Mewoth. You don't see one here in Pallet normally." Brock said to himself. He headed for the Meowth, but it wasn't a normal Meowth. It was Ash's Meowth, the one who defected from Team Rocket in 2001.

"The twerp better be there. I'm starving." Meowth said, not knowing that Brock was behind him.

"Meowth!! What are you doing here?!" Brock yelled out and readied a Poké Ball,

"What?! Hey, I'm with the twerp!!! I quit Team Rocket!!" Meowth panicked,

"I'm not falling for that, you two faced feline!! Go, Crobat!!!" Brock said and he tossed the Poké Ball up in the air. Crobat came out of the Poké Ball and was ready for a fight. What Brock and Meowth didn't know is that Ash, Pikachu and Delia heard what was going on.

"It's Brock. I hit him with my baton while trying to flee Pewter City." Ash said,

"Pikachu! Pika pika!!!" Pikachu added,

"Isn't that Team Rocket's talking Meowth?" Delia asked,

"Yes. But Meowth is on my team now. He defected when I met Michael Schumacher." Ash said,

"Crobat, use Wing Attack!!" Brock ordered. Crobat came at Meowth with Wing Attack, but the even faster Meowth dodged it,

"My turn, Pay Day!!" Meowth yelled out as he threw out coins at Crobat. Each one hitting the Bat Pokémon hard,

"No way!! How did you learn that?" Brock asked,

"I told you. The twerp is training me." Meowth said and he charged Crobat and used Bite on the weakened Pokémon, which knocked out Crobat. Brock recalled the Pokémon and looked at the stronger Meowth.

How can Meowth be so stronger? Team Rocket never had strong Pokémon, but a great Pokémon trainer is training Meowth. But, who is Meowth's trainer? Brock thought. Then, he saw Ash Ketchum and Pikachu walk up.

"That's enough Meowth. You're too tired to take on another Pokémon." Ash said,

"Man, I was ready to take on another Pokémon." Meowth said as the Cat Pokémon walked to the sidelines,

"Not today, Meowth." Ash said,

"What? Ash? Is that you?" Brock asked as he saw the 17-year-old F1 driver standing right in front of him with Pikachu on his head as usual,

"Yeah. It's me. Ash Ketchum: Formula One Driver." Ash said. Brock came up to him and started looking at him from all angles.

"Damn, man!! What happened to you? You still got that spiky hair, the Official Pokémon League cap, but you're more muscular than before. And I bet you're around 5'8". You don't have that babyface anymore. Man, you've grown up some. I'm impressed. You must get a lot of girls in the F1 circuit." Brock said,

"Actually, I don't. They go after Ronin Vertigo and Riley Jenius and Keith Terrell all the time." Ash said,

"It's good to see you, again. And why is Meowth with you?" Brock asked,

"Well, Meowth quit Team Rocket and joined up with me when Mewtwo saved my bacon. He's been with me ever since." Ash said,

"Wow. So, do you know everything that Team Rocket knows?" Brock asked,

"Yeah. It's sort of like a bonus plan for having me on the team." Meowth said,

"You want to hang out, Brock? I won't have to return to Toyota until the Belgium race in 4 weeks." Ash said,

"Sure. Just like old times." Brock said and the group went inside Ash's house.

For the past 2 weeks, Ash told his mother and Brock all of his stories about racing in the pinnacle of road racing, Formula One. Ash told stories of how Charizard became Eddie Irvine's best friend, Ash's heated rivalry with Ralf Schumacher, Michael Schumacher being Ash's mentor, all of the fans he met, his 3 wins with McLaren, Renault and the latest Grand Prix victory at Germany with the Toyota team. Ash also told Delia and Brock about the new FIA age limit and why he's here right now. During the time, Ash trained his Pokémon, went to places with Brock, thought about what he was going to do after the FIA age limit goes into effect and just talking about the good times. The F1 teams and drivers went to Hungary and ran their race. It was boring as hell without Ash and Pikachu having fun.

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The Ferrari team returned to their home base in Milan and started removing the Grand Prix of Hungary cars from the transporters. Some of the team were hard at work in getting the two Ferraris for current F1 Championship points leader, Rubens Barrichello and his teammate from the United States, the Patriot Keith Terrell, ready for Belgium. Keith was an unknown in the world of racing, but when Michael Schumacher had that crash at Austria, Keith got the call from Ross Braun, who had been secretly scouting the young 24-year-old American at Formula 3000 races in Italy and France. Ever since Michael's crash, Rubens has been promoted to the #1 driver of the team and it only took him 2 races to start winning and becoming a championship contender and Ferrari's #1 man. Keith on the other hand, had taken a long time to get adjusted to driving a Formula One car, especially the Ferrari after getting the ride at Monaco. He crashed at lap 10 and finished 20th. The whole team wants to get rid of him and put in another driver, but Ross Brawn, Jean Todt and Ferrari boss, Luca di Montzemolo have all of the United States supporting Keith and Ferrari, which is good for business in the U.S.A. and they don't want to get rid of it. In 2004, Keith won at Spa Francorchamps in Belgium and Monza at Italy as his only two wins. In the 2005 season, he has 2 2nd place finishes and 3 3rd place finishes and is still looking for his 3rd GP win.

At Hungary, Rubens' Ferrari engine let go at lap 54, while Keith was in 2nd to put him in the lead, but lost it to Rubens' championship rival, Juan Pablo Montoya and his Williams BMW with 2 laps to go. Keith failed to win the race and failed to protect Rubens' point lead. He was pretty depressed when he got back to the Ferrari shop.

"Rubens is going to kill me. He's going to kill me. He's going to kill me." Keith said over and over again as he hid in the house that he and Rubens live in during testing and between races. The house is next to the Ferrari test track. Keith feared one thing: Getting fired and returning to the United States a loser. There was a knock at the door, which scared Keith and made him barricade the door.

"Terrell!!! I got a message for you from the boss." A Ferrari member said,

"Um... Keith Terrell is not here. He's, um... in the shower!! Yeah, he's in there!!" Keith yelled out as he tried to throw the guy off,

"Not Mr. Montzemolo, the "other" boss!!" The guy said. Keith became white as a ghost and he got up from his hiding spot and opened the door. The guy handed him the note and before he left, said "Nice knowing ya, buddy." And he started laughing as he left Keith still white as a ghost.

"Well, I better start packing." Keith said as he started the long walk to the Ferrari offices. Keith knew which "other" boss wanted to see him. That "other" boss is Michael Schumacher. Keith knew in his mind that he might get the ax and be sent back to the United States.

"Keith. Come in and have a seat." Michael said as Keith nervously sat down. "And try to calm down, okay. You look like a guy who's going to get his head chopped off. It's not about your performance at Hungary." Michael said as Keith was still acting nervous, but all of a sudden, he stopped.

"It's not?!!!" Keith asked in total surprise,

"No. I actually have a favor to ask of you." Michael said,

"A favor? Me?" Keith asked,

"Yeah. You know that I'm good friends with Ash Ketchum." Michael said,

"And Ralf has been trying to kill him ever since the crash at Austria last year. I ssw that on Speed Channel." Keith said,

"Well, I'm kind of worried about him going to his hometown for the first time in nearly 4 years. So, I want you to go to Kanto, find him and get him out of any jams he is in." Michael said,

"You mean be a bodyguard to Ash?" Keith asked,

"Yes. Since you and your buddy, Riley Jenius of BAR are the toughest guys in all of Formula One. And your family is known for being bodyguards. And since the people of Kanto and Johto have never heard of Formula One at all." Michael answered,

"That's fine. And I also think my friends can use some fresh air." Keith said as he took out 5 Poké Balls from his racing suit pocket.

"You have Pokémon?!! Since when did you catch them?!! And why wasn't I told?!!" Michael asked surprisingly,

"Last year when I first stayed here at Ferrari HQ. I saw a cool looking Pokémon wandering around, so I caught it. And I broke a few ribs in the process." Keith answered,

"At least you didn't kill yourself. Now, I have a private jet waiting for you at the airport, with your Ferrari 550 Maranello onboard. Go keep an eye on my friend. And hurt anybody that gets in his way." Michael said,

"Understood." Keith said as he left the office and went back to his house to pack a few things. Once done, Keith was on his way to Ferrari's private airport and got into the private jet, bound for Kanto.

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7 hours later in Kanto, Pokémon Master Gary Oak finally recovered from the beating Ash gave him. He made a plan to go to Pallet and face Ash Ketchum. He gathered his Pokémon and left for the small town. Right at that moment, Keith Terrell was now entering Kanto and the plane is heading to Saffron City International Airport. The American woke up and took out his laptop computer. He turned it on and saw he had a video e-mail.

"A video e-mail? From... MINARDI?!!! Who the hell from the slowest team with powerful Chevrolet engines send me an e-mail?" Keith asked himself. He opened the e-mail and on his screen was the Australian driver, Mark Webber. One of his rivals from Formula 3000.

"Hey, Terrell!! Long time no see." Mark Webber said,

"WEBBER!! What the hell are you doing back at Minardi?!!! I thought you were racing in Australia!" Keith said,

"I thought you heard about Pedro de la Rosa." Mark answered,

"What happened?" Keith asked,

"His wife had a baby just before the Hungary race. He took off and headed for Spain, leaving the team high and dry. Paul Stoddart actually found me talking with the Toyota team for any vacancies after that Ketchum kid is gone. He begged me to get in the car. So, I did and I finished 9th in the race." Mark answered,

"I was hiding from Ferrari after the race!!! Dammit!!!" Keith said,

"Hey, don't kill yourself. When you come back and stop being Michael Schumacher's gofer, I'll buy you a beer at Belgium." Mark said,

"What happened to Pedro after he booked?" Keith asked,

"His wife gave birth to twins. All the drivers congratulated him. Hell, even Paul and the rest of Minardi congratulated him also. But, then he told them that he won't return to F1 ever to take care of the new arrivals. Paul agreed and I was picked up for the last 4 races." Mark answered,

"Well, lucky you. And lucky him." Keith said,

"Hey, Terrell. What happened to your woman? Yoong said she only was with you for the France race." Mark asked,

"Simple. I dumped the bitch after I discovered that she was cheated on me with my older brother and my family covered it up. I don't care, really. My grandparents were the ones who raised me. I knew the slut just wanted me for my money." Keith answered,

"Sorry." Mark said. Keith just smiled for a second and then, the place's intercom came on.

"Attention. We will be landing at Saffron City in just a few minutes." The pilot said over the intercom,

"Oh. Got to go, Mark. I'm landing." Keith said,

"Well, don't crash!! And I'll see you at Belgium." Webber said and cut off contact. The plane began to land at the airport. Once parked, Keith got out and the crew unloaded the Ferrari 550 Maranello from the cargo bay. The car was checked by security and was given the O.K.

"Mr. Terrell. Mr. Schumacher wants you to know that the latest you can stay is Tuesday of next week. It's Tuesday right now, so that gives you one week to keep an eye on Ash Ketchum." The pilot said,

"I understand. I'll keep in touch. And make sure nothing happens to that plane." Keith said. The pilot and the crew nodded and the American took off, heading for Pallet Town.

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Ash and Brock were training their Pokémon as usual. Ash noticed that Brock was distracted all the time, so he wanted to know what was up with his friend.

"Hey, Brock. Are you all right? You look like you're depressed." Ash said,

"Yeah. You could say that." Brock said as he recalled his Pokémon,

"Want to talk about it?" Ash asked. Brock thought about that for a minute.

"Sure. Why not. It's been eating away at me for a while." Brock said as he was ready to tell his story. All of a sudden, the sound of a Ferrari V12 engine was roaring loudly and a Ferrari 550 Maranello came to a stop right in front of Ash and Brock. For some reason, Brock was relieved that he didn't have to tell Ash his problem.

"Wow. You don't see a Ferrari every day in Pallet." Ash said,

"A FERRARI 550 MARANELLO!!! I never thought I would live to see this car!!!" Brock said excitedly. Ash took a look at the car. It wasn't no ordinary Ferrari. This is a special Ferrari that is given to Ferrari F1 drivers. The door opened and out stepped Keith Terrell with a duffel bag.

"Keith Terrell?!! What are you doing here?" Ash asked,

"Hey, Ash. Who is this guy?" Brock asked,

"This is Keith Terrell. He is the #2 driver at Ferrari." Ash answered,

"He is? He drives for Ferrari?" Brock asked,

"Yeah. He's an American. Better known as The Patriot becuase he's known for wearing his counrty on his sleeve." Ash answered,

"So, what are you doing here?" Brock asked,

"I was sent by Michael Schumacher to keep an eye on Ash here. And to protect him from anybody that might want to kick his ass." Keith said,

"Michael Schumacher? Ash knows THE GREAT Michael Schumacher personally?!!!" Brock asked surprisingly,

"Yes, I do." Ash said,

"No way!! My friend is friends with the greatest F1 driver ever?!!" Brock asked with more excitement in his voice. Ash and Keith nodded.

"Hey, let's go have something to eat. I bet you're starving, Keith." Ash said as the three walked to the house,

"Yes, I am. And it better be American!" Keith said. They all entered the house and Delia was about to start making lunch.

"Hey, Mom. We got a friend of mine from F1 visiting." Ash said,

"Oh, Ash. Who is this person with you?" Delia asked. Keith decided to let Ash introduce him.

"This is Keith Terrell. Driver for the legendary Ferrari team. And, he's the only American competing in Formula One." Ash said,

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Ketchum." Keith said,

"He's better known in F1 as the Patriot." Ash said,

"Meaning?" Delia asked,

"I'm an American. And I'm the United States best chance for an American F1 champion. And, I got these to prove it!" Keith said as he unzipped his racing suit, rolled out his sleeve on his right arm and there were two tattoos on there. One had the United States flag and the words, "United We Stand" and another had the national bird along with the words, "Let's Roll!"

"Let's roll?" Delia asked,

"Oh. Well, almost 4 years ago, my country was attacked by terrorists. They got on passenger planes and hijacked them. On one of the places, a guy rallied all of the other passengers to stop the hijackers. The last thing he said was "Let's roll." Those brave people prevented yet another disaster. That call has been immortalized in my home country. I got these just after the attacks." Keith said,

"Oh. I'm so sorry about what happened in your country." Delia said,

"Don't worry about that. We managed to rebuild our lives and there is so much patriotism right now. Hell, I have the entire United States on my side. It's a lot of pressure for me to bring back the F1 title to U.S. soil since 1978." Keith said,

"What happens if you don't win?" Brock asked,

"They'll still treat me like a hero. If I do win, I'll be immortalized in American sports History. I'll be a national hero." Keith said. He started laughing for a minute, but then somebody was yelling outside.

"All right, Ketchum!! I know you're in there!! Come on out and face me!!" It was Gary Oak. He must have recovered from the beating Ash gave him.

"Oh, no. It's Gary." Ash said,

"Gary? Why does he want to face you?" Delia asked,

"Ever since Ash left for F1, Gary became Pokémon Master and wanted to finally defeat Ash. Now that he's back, Gary wants to face him." Brock answered,

"I'll go face him." Ash said as he, Pikachu and Meowth started to walk to the door, but Keith grabbed his arm.

"No. I'll face him." Keith said,

"Keith? What for?" Ash asked,

"Pika?" Pikachu added,

"Michael wanted me to keep you out of trouble. So, I'll go beat him up." Keith said,

"Are you sure?" Ash asked,

"Just watch me. I'll make him bleed." Keith said almost in a demonic tone of voice. He opened the door and walked straight to Gary.

"Hey! I wanted Ash." Gary said,

"You want Ash Ketchum? You're gonna have to go through me to get him, little boy." Keith said as he punched his right hand into his left palm,

"Bring it on." Gary said.

To Be Continued...

I'm done with Chapter 5. Now that Keith is Ash's bodyguard, is he going to let Gary have a shot at Ash? And what is Brock's problem that he is having? And will Ash give any thought to his future? Some of these questions will be answered in Chapter 6 of Ash Ketchum: Formula One Driver!!

As always, please read and review. I will read anything!! I'll even read the flames!!! E-mail me at Hornet19us@Yahoo.com

Mario Alvarado
3/17/2002