Chapter 10
Stop The Insanity!!!


“Is that what I think it is?”
“How is that possible?!”
“No way!”
“Ho-oh?!”
The large, multicolored, bird Pokemon stretched it’s wings open, filling the entire width
of the lab. After a few seconds of getting used to it’s surroundings Ho-oh began to scan
the room for it’s master. Ho-oh soon spotted a familiar Pikachu sitting by it’s feet.
Pikachu greeted Ho-oh with a friendly “Pika!”
At this point Ho-oh began to squawk loudly, questioning Pikachu about the whereabouts
of Ash.
Pikachu’s only reply was a downhearted expression as it’s ears fell flat against it’s head
in worry.
“This can’t be a Ho-oh. A Ho-oh hasn’t been seen in three centuries!” Duplica stated in
shock.
“Yeah, people even said that Ho-oh was probably a legend that never really existed,”
Giselle informed the group while agreeing (for once) with Duplica.
“Well it sure as hell exists now!” Brock voiced loudly.
“How did-when did-why?...CAN SOMEONE TELL ME HOW ASH OWNS A
FREAKING HO-OH?!!!!!!!!!!!” Gary screamed in exasperation.
“Ho-oh,...you really are amazing.” Misty muttered to herself in a smitten tone.
“Oh dear!”
“What is it, Delia?” Prof. Oak questioned the worried-looking Mrs. Ketchum.
“Umm, it’s nothing, it’s just....I thought he had made it up.”
“Made what up, Mrs. Ketchum?” Misty asked, breaking out of her trance.
“Well, it was a long time ago, I’d say....maybe 15 years ago. I took Ash for a picnic in the
Viridian forest and while I was searching in my basket for some mayonnaise Ash
wandered off. He was chasing a Caterpie or some other bug Pokemon, I forget exactly
what it was. I was so worried, remember Sam? I ran over to your house after searching
for him for an hour without any luck. You got the whole town looking for that
mischievous little boy of mine” Delia chuckled in remembrance as the rest of the group
listened on impatiently.
“Um, Mrs. Ketchum I don’t mean to be rude-“
“Ha, that’s a first!” Duplica quipped at Gary.
“but could you please get to the point,” Gary finished angrily as he glared at Duplica.
“Oh right! Sorry, I tend to ramble on. Anyway, when we finally found Ash he had this
strange story about how he met a rainbow bird and he protected it from a Rattata. I
assumed it was another one of his imaginative stories. He really had a great imagination,
I mean, when he was little I always encouraged him to....” Delia stopped suddenly when
she noticed the group staring at her in annoyance.
“Was I doing it again?”
“Mrs. Ketchum, are you trying to tell us that Ash saw a Ho-oh at the age of three?” Brock
asked Delia skeptically.
“I understand you being doubtful, but...Ash had described the Ho-oh in great detail. What
he described looked exactly like this.” Delia pointed to Ho-oh, who seemed to be
smirking.
“What would Ho-oh be doing hanging around the Viridian forest? Actually, I have a
better question. Why does Ash always meet all the cool Pokemon?!” Gary whined to
himself as everyone ignored him.
“Well, when I first met Ash, and it was just us traveling together, he told me he saw this
Pokemon flying over the rainbow on his first day as a Pokemon trainer. I, of course,
called him a crazy idiot when he described it to me.” Misty giggled at her former
brattiness. “I should have realized later on that, going by his track record, it probably was
the legendary Ho-oh that he saw. I mean, if there’s a legendary Pokemon out there, then
Ash is probably going to be the one to see it.”
“The real question isn’t if he had seen it before or not, it’s how he caught it that’s
puzzling me,” Prof. Oak wondered out loud as Ho-oh and Pikachu smiled slyly at each
other.
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“I can’t believe this is happening.”
“I know, but we should be happy.....Shouldn’t we?” James asked Jessie as they followed
slowly behind the helicopter containing Butch, Cassidy, and a probably, extremely pissed
off, man in black.
“We should, but for some strange reason I’m not.” Jessie truthfully stated.
“It’s called guilt, he trusted us and we screwed him over big time.”
“I can’t believe I got so attached........What do you think they’ll do to him?”
“Torture him for a little while, I guess, and then they’ll probably..... At least it’s not us.”
James offered as Jessie leaned into him and began to cry.
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“Roger, we’re almost there. Of course we got him, we’re not the loser trio you know.”
Cassidy spoke into the walkie talkie while laughing snottily.
Butch was seated at the other side of the helicopter mumbling to himself about being
pressed up against the window and not being aloud to pilot the helicopter.
Ash, for the most part, remained quiet during the journey. He found that if he ignored his
captors taunts they would eventually get bored and shut up. Of course, staying quiet is
one of the most difficult things Ash Ketchum ever had to do.
‘I can’t believe I trusted them. I can’t believe I was such a fool. Prof. Oak was right, the
only one I can rely on is myself and my Pokemon. Why didn’t I listen to him when he
told me that dealing with Team Rocket would only get me into trouble....Because your
too trusting, that’s why. You’ve always been like that......Ho-oh? Is that you?....No. It’s
Butch and I can hear everything you’re thinking.’
Ash felt his heart jump up into his throat as he turned suddenly around and began to look
at Butch in a very disturbing way.
Butch was still mumbling to himself when he felt someone staring at him, he turned
around and found that someone was indeed looking at him, and in a very odd way.
Ash tested to see if Butch was indeed listening in on his thoughts.
‘Butch’s voice sounds like he swallowed a frog or at least looks like he was one in a
previous life.’ Ash continued to stare at Butch for a response while Butch began to get a
little bewildered.
‘What is with the look? Maybe he’s attracted to me? Nah, he doesn’t swing that way,
unless that Misty thing is a cover up.’
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“Is it just me, or does Ho-oh look annoyed?” Tracey questioned the breeder as they
observed the legendary bird that was sitting in the corner of the lab, looking very peeved
indeed.
“How can you tell?”
“It’s fairly obvious to the trained eye...though you probably wouldn’t know about that.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?!”
There rest of the humans sat in thought, trying to figure out how to use this huge bird,
who didn’t seem to be very responsive, to save Ash.
Meanwhile, Misty, like Tracey, also took notice to the birds sudden change of mood.
“Pikachu? What is Ho-oh doing?” Misty asked the little electric mouse by her feet.
Pikachu then replied in excited, Pikachu chatter.
“Pi kachu chu pi, kachu pika chu chu ka chu pika pikachu!”
“Uh huh, I see, yup yup, yeah, wow.” Misty turned to the rest of the group as they all
gave her confused stares. Misty was not pleased with this response so....
“Tracey!!!”
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‘Ash you idiot! Of course it’s me! Sometimes I wonder about you, you know that?’
After hearing this reaction Ash quickly turned away from Butch, who was now smiling
back at him. Not a evil smile either, the kind of smile that you wouldn’t want to get from
a cell mate in prison.
‘Ho-oh thank God it’s you. Listen, you got to get me out of here....Calm down, where are
you?....We’re just approaching Team Rocket HQ, I guess. Look, just get down here and
get me out.....Excuse me? Are you forgetting who you’re speaking to? You know that’s
not what I’m here for. My job is to help you out, but not in that way. I’m here to guide
you on your journey. Here that? Guide, not kick Team Rocket ass, guide.....I know that,  
but you owe me a favor, I protected you, you protect me.....Ash, it was a Rattata, who do
you think would have won? I know it’s a tough one for you, but figure it out......I don’t
need insults right now, I’m in bad enough shape as it is. I mean, my captors are...’
Ash studies Cassidy, who has a evil look on her face as she puts on her lipstick, admires
her manicured nails, pulls at her diamond necklace, and pilots the helicopter.
‘Cruella De Vil and....’
Ash then turns to Butch who is eyeing him seductively.
‘Dr. Frank N. Furter, help!!!!.....No can do Ash. Look, just think of this as another test
where you have to prove your skill.....But......Sorry I got to go, your Pik-pet is chattering
at me. I’ll be in touch, bye....What!’
“No wait! Please!” As this was said out loud, Ash was rewarded with strange stares from
both Cassidy and Butch.
“Uh....I forgot my toothbrush, heh heh.”
Cassidy gave him a “are you serious?” look and then said “kid, that should be the least of
your worries.” She also finished off with an evil chuckle.
Ash sighed hopelessly and leaned back into the seat. Unfortunately, he leaned way too
close to Butch, who gave him another winning smile. At this, Ash quickly shot forward
and moved as close as possible to Cassidy without actually being close to her, which was
hard to do in a helicopter built for two.
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“Pika chu pichu chu”
“Wow, really?!!”
“What did Pikachu say, Tracey?” Misty questioned the young watcher.
“Well it seems Ash’s Ho-oh has telekinetic powers.”
“”Like Mewtwo?” Duplica wondered.
“I guess, but how is that possible? I’ve never heard of a Ho-oh that has such a power.
Then again, I’ve never actually seen a Ho-oh before.”
“Yes, but then again this Pokemon is Ash’s, and lets face it, his Pokemon are not exactly
normal for their type.”
“Pika...” Pikachu eyed the Prof. dangerously.
“I-I-I ma-meant it in a good way.” The Prof. stated nervously.
“But, if Ho-oh was using telekinesis, who was he-“
“Pikapi”
“Ash, it was talking to Ash?! Where is he? Is he okay? What’s happening to him?” Misty
frantically questioned Pikachu.
“Pi?” Pikachu turned to Ho-oh for a response.
The legendary bird squawked out a few “words”, and then returned to his silent
demeanor.
“Pika, pipipi chupika kachu”
“Translate, Tracey,” the Prof. ordered.
“He said something about Team Rocket HQ and that Ash can handle it himself.”
“No he can’t!!! Ho-oh, you have to go done there and rescue him!!!!”
At this point Misty launched herself at a very startled Ho-oh, and began to cling unto it’s
feathers as she pleaded to the large bird for help.
“Misty, calm down,” Brock advised the desperate girl.
“Yeah, Ash is the man in black, after all,” Duplica reassured her.
“I don’t care! This is way too much for him to handle on his own. Why do you think he
told me to use Ho-oh? So Ho-oh can go rescue him. Isn’t that right Ho-oh?”
Ho-oh gave Misty a sarcastic smile. ‘My, these humans are jittery, aren’t they? Are they
always like this?’
“Pika.”
“Did you say something, Pikachu?”
“Pikachu,” Pikachu said as he shook his head and smiled innocently.
“Misty, dear, look, I know you love, and care about Ash. So do I. He’s my son and every
day I worry about him, every time he goes on another journey I’m afraid for him. Even
when he had first started his Pokemon journey all those years ago, I worried. But, you
know what? He always came home safe. Dirty, overly excited, and hungry...but safe. So
take it from his mother, he’ll be fine.” Delia smiled at Misty lovingly.
“Yeah, when we were kids he always managed to get us out of impossible situations,”
Tracey stated reminiscently.
“Yup, but he was the one who usually got us into them in the first place,” Brock added.
“Listen, Ash is the last person we should be worrying about right now.”
“What do you mean by that, Gary?” Giselle asked.
Ho-oh seemed to be a little more interested in what this snooty human had to say as it
listened carefully.
“Well, correct me if I’m wrong, which I hardly ever am, but don’t we still have  that
super Pokemon Team Rocket is ready to unleash on the world, to worry about? That’s
probably why Ashy-boy wanted you guys to use Ho-oh, to protect me, uh-I mean us, not
him.”
Ho-oh’s mood immediately changed to one of shock and outrage, while it’s thoughts
were sent to everyone in the room. ‘A SUPER POKEMON?!!!!!’
Everyone attempted to cover their ears, but it did no good since the voice was coming
from inside their head.
Ho-oh turned angrily toward Pikachu.
“Pika chu...” Pikachu began to cower.
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The helicopter eased in slowly, landing on the marked area (a big R, what else?) in the
back of  Team Rocket HQ in Viridian City.
Ash knew the place well, with it being the first city he visited on his Pokemon journey,
and the place where he won an Earth Badge. Ash was disgusted at being so close to
where all the problems in the world today originated, but it disgusted him even more that
he wasn’t able to stop them.
As soon as the helicopter landed Cassidy stepped out of the left  side, and Butch stepped
out of the right side, dragging the bonded Ash with him.
A Team Rocket thug came to meet them.
“Hey, is the boss here, we have a present for him,” Cassidy said while she looked at Ash,
who was ignoring her.
“Nah, he’s at a special “meeting” in the Orange Islands, but he should be back in two
days the most.”
“Pity, I guess we get to play with him first then.” Ash definitely didn’t like the way
Butch said that.
“So this is him huh? He doesn’t look so tough to me.” The thug stated obnoxiously while
studying Ash.
Ash gave him a skeptical.
“BOO!” The thug jumped back immediately as Ash began to laugh at the cowardly
Rocket.
“Come on, let’s go.”
Butch, Cassidy, and Ash headed towards the entrance of Team Rocket HQ while Ash
thought to himself about the Rocket he just met.
‘Wow, maybe I’ll be able to get out of here by myself after all. Yeah, I don’t need Ho-oh,
I’m the man in black, I kick butt. Oh yeah, getting out of here will be no problem, piece
of cake...ooooh cake, I could be home right now eating the rest of mom’s cheesecake.
No. I have to get out of here first.’
The captors, and prisoner entered the HQ.
‘I bet by this time tomorrow I’ll be at home with Misty and Mom and Pikachu, eating
cheesecake and laughing at the Rockets.’ Ash smiled at the thought, that is, he was
smiling until he looked around and realized that he was surrounded by hundreds of angry,
mean, tough, and unpleasant looking Rockets.
‘Oh crap’