Note: Sometimes I use other people’s ideas in my story. I usually acknowledge anyone I take an idea from. If you or someone you know has published the idea for a fanfic similar to this one, please tell me. I’ll put you or whomever published their story first in my disclaimer, ‘kay? Oh yeah, this is one of my many lame attempts at a decent piece of fanfiction. I need reviews!! I won’t post any more of this fic until I get five or more reviews (good or bad).

Manhunt

Part Two: Charge!

By Umbreon (Master of Darkness)

(*666* So, are those questions I asked last time still plaguing you? *Audience* What questions? *666 sweatdrops* I guess not… Aw, well, here’s part two whether you like it or not!)

Tai cocked the 9 mm handgun and put his left hand on the door handle. Richie reached into his jacket and pulled out a minimized PokéBall.

" What’s in there?" Misty asked.

Richie maximized the PokéBall and released its contents.

" Meleon… char…" the growled the dinosaur-like fire element Pokémon.

" Is that Zippo?" Ash asked, slowly recovering Pikachu’s Thunder Wave attack.

" Yup," Richie grinned. He then turned to his Pokémon and whispered, " When Renegade opens the door, use a Smokescreen."

Zippo nodded and walked up beside Tai.

" Ready?" Tai began, looking back at his friends (and Ash).

" Let’s do it!" Richie cried.

" Enthusiastic lil’ bugger, ain’t he?" Shadow muttered to Chuchino.

" Chuuu…" Chuchino agreed, sweatdropping.

Tai pulled open the door.

" Now!" Richie yelled.

Before the Charmeleon could release the toxic fumes, Tai had stepped out of the doorway and had his gun pointed directly in the center of a very familiar-looking woman’s chest. She had bright blue eyes and cherry-red hair that was held out behind her by some unknown force.

" Don’t shoot! Don’t shoot!!" Jessie screeched, holding her hands above her head.

Tai sweatdropped and let his gun hand drop to his side.

" Char char!" Zippo coughed, holding back his Smokescreen technique.

" I was wondering when they’d show up…" Richie muttered.

" We come in peace! Really!" James squealed, jumping from behind his partner.

" Move it you morons or we’ll be pushin’ up poises!" Meowth yelled, attempting to shove past his teammates.

" Woba woba!" Wobbuffet agreed, appearing suddenly from its PokéBall.

Tai grabbed James by the collar of his TR uniform and pulled him inside. Jessie, Meowth and Wobbuffet followed.

" What do you think you’re doing?! You’re gonna get us KILLED!!" Richie screamed at his partner. (*666* I know, I know, OCC once again. I don’t care! ;-P)

" They’re my friends," Tai stated simply.

Ash, Misty, Brock, Richie, Nurse Joy, Pikachu, Chuchino, and Zippo all face-faulted.

" You’ve gotta be kidding me…" Misty muttered in a monotone voice.

Before Tai could answer, a shower of artillery began raining down upon the group.

" Awwwwww nuts!" Richie moaned.

" Screw this, let’s do it!" Tai yelled.

" Ohhh, I hate when he says that…" Shadow whimpered, sweatdropping and putting a paw over his eyes.

" Okay, let’s try this again. Zippo, Smokescreen!" Richie ordered.

The Charmeleon nodded and obeyed, letting a cloud of thick, dark, highly toxic smoke billow from his open jaws.

Tai pushed past Jessie, cocked the 9 mm once again and ran out of the room into the oncoming hoard of Team Rocket agents. He was followed by Richie, Chuchino, Shadow, and Zippo.

Misty covered her eyes, afraid to think of what might happen if Tai was hit by any of the fast-moving projectiles.

" Let’s get outta here!!" Ash yelled.

After exchanging nervous glances, Brock, Pikachu, Misty, and Nurse Joy all nodded.

" What about us?" Jessie demanded.

" Let’s just do what the twerp says," James said in a soft voice.

" WHAT?! I’m not taking orders from some thirteen year old and that’s that," Jessie snarled, crossing her arms.

" Suit yourself," Ash shrugged. He then turned and dashed out of the room along with his friends.

" WAIT FOR US!!!" Jessie, James, and Meowth screeched in unison, They then abandoned the room and followed the others.

Tai and Richie had already reached the front lines. Nukes of every shape, size, and color exploded around them.

" CHUUUUUUU!!!!" Chuchino cried, releasing her fantastic Thunder technique. Several Rockets, along with their Pokémon (mainly Poison-types) crashed to the ground, completely paralyzed.

Shadow was about to use his Shadow Ball technique when a blur of movement caught his attention.

" TAI!!" Shadow yelped as his trainer was blown backwards. The Umbreon ran to his friend’s side.

" What a day…" Tai moaned.

" Did it hit you?" Shadow whimpered.

" Naw. Now let’s get the Hell outta here before that changes," Tai insisted, picking himself up from his landing spot and running to help Richie.

Shadow was about to follow when something else caught his eye. He turned around to look at the place that his trainer had landed and nearly had a heart attack. A large pool of blood marked the place where Tai had fallen.

" That can’t be good…" Shadow whimpered. He then dashed off to help his master and friends.

Richie sweatdropped as he realized exactly how close and how heavily armed the unusually large Rocket agents were. That was mainly because one of them had him cornered with a gun pointed at his chest.

" Hey, butt-munch!" yelled a voice.

The Rocket turned around to see Tai standing behind him. In fact, that was the last thing he saw.

" Heh, ya looked," Tai grinned as he fired the 9 mm point blank, right in between the agents eyes.

Richie winced slightly as the shot rang out.

" Let’s go before the reinforcements show up!" Tai called.

Richie nodded and stepped gingerly around the limp former Rocket agent.

" SHADOW BALL!!" Shadow screamed, shooting an orb of dark energy toward the oncoming army.

(*666* Just to make sure that the rating on this doesn’t move to "R", I’m not gonna say any more on that, um, subject…)

" RETREAT!!" one of the Rockets screeched. With that, the army dispersed in all directions.

Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Nurse Joy, Jessie, James, Meowth, and Wobbuffet all stopped and sweatdropped as they watched the wall of Rockets retreat.

" That was… unexpected…" Jessie said in a monotone voice, speaking for the entire group.

" Chaaaaaa!" Pikachu agreed.

" Tai!" Misty called, running to find her friend and (hopefully) boyfriend.

Tai grinned as he watched the girl of whom he was so fond of come running over to him.

The pair embraced each other happily. Tai flinched slightly as a stinging sensation moved up his spine.

" Are you okay?" Misty whispered as she felt the boy jerk slightly.

" Yeah, I’m fine. Especially since we’re together…" Tai murmured, kissing the girl lightly on the cheek.

Misty slowly drew herself away from Tai. She looked at her left hand and gasped, a look of utter horror registering on her face.

" What’s the matter?" Tai asked in a sweet voice.

Misty opened her mouth to say something, but all that came out was a frighten squeak. She then showed her hand to the boy. It was covered in warm blood…

" That’s not good," Tai said, sweatdropping.

Ash and the rest of the gang ran up beside the pair.

" What’s going on?" Brock asked.

Misty turned around and mouthed wordlessly at the Pewter City Gym Leader as she showed him her hand.

" What the…!?" he gasped, looked from Misty to Tai.

" I thought you said that shell didn’t hit you!" Shadow yelped, coming up from behind Tai along with Richie, Chuchino, and Zippo.

" It didn’t…" Tai began.

" But what about— ," Shadow interjected.

" The shrapnel did," Tai finished.

Shadow sweatdropped and looked over at Richie and his Pokémon.

" Let me see that," Nurse Joy insisted, moving to take off the boy’s leather jacket.

" It’s probably just a scratch… Although, I am kinda dizzy…"

Joy’s eyes went wide as she saw the long slash marks that crossed the boy’s back.

" We have to stop the bleeding before it’s too late!" she cried out.

Richie, Brock, Ash, Jessie, Meowth, James, Pikachu, Shadow, Chuchino, and Zippo all stared at the Dark-type trainer.

Tears filled Misty’s eyes once again. " Oh God…"

(*666* Yikes, that’s quite the predicament, huh? Will Tai bleed to death? Will the other TR members come back for round two? Will Brock ever learn any Japanese words? Will I ever stop rambling on and on about absolutely nothing while my main character slowly wastes away?! Well, I guess we’ll have to wait and see now won’t we?)