Ash’s falling body quickly punched through the clouds and reached terminal velocity – 120 miles per hour. While he no longer had that “sinking feeling” that comes with falling, it was more than apparent to him that a very thin spatula would be needed to scrape his body off the ground if he didn’t do something – and fast.

The air around him furiously whipped past his body, deafening him as he reached for his belt of pokémon. As he drew out his pokéball, he managed to put his panic aside. With a touch of the button, Pidgeot was free. However, Ash fell away from it very quickly.

”Pidgeot!! Save me!” Ash screamed to his winged friend.

The large colorful bird saw its master falling and immediately dove after him. Ash watched the bird pokémon fly after him, even after it exercised a speed/swoop attack that allowed it to fly even faster. He could just make out the level of determination in its narrowed eyes as it sped toward him, racing against the clock to stop its master’s deadly descent.

But it wasn’t enough.

Panic nestled itself deep into Ash’s mind and flared with a vengeance for being previously denied. Ash screamed in terror and flailed wildly as he saw the ground rapidly approaching, marking his imminent demise.

Misty sat solemnly in her seat, staring blankly at the floor. She hadn’t noticed the helicopter landing or that Cassidy had removed her bonds. Over and over, all she could see was Ash’s terror-filled eyes. The last time she would ever see them. There was so much emptiness now.

”Okay lovergirl,” Butch’s harsh voice called to her. “Let’s go. We’ve got a nice holding cell for VIP’s like yourself.”

Without bothering to look up, Misty stood and got out of the helicopter to join Butch and Cassidy. The trio headed toward a makeshift structure that connected to a very large rocky hill. The Team Rocket partners walked on both sides and slightly behind Misty, while Cassidy carried the tied rubber bag containing the still feisty Pikachu.

All about the tarmac, numerous Team Rocket members could be seen going about their business; building other structures, transporting caged pokémon, putting other pokémon onto ships, and so forth. Misty didn’t see any of this. She only looked at the ground as they walked. She wasn’t really hearing Butch’s jeers.

”Missing your boyfriend?”

Yes, she distantly thought to herself. Ash’s terrified face flashed into her mind again. And you killed him.

”Well,” Butch continued, giving Cassidy a sly look, “he obviously wasn’t very good boyfriend material. He wasn’t man enough to take me down.”

Misty stopped and pivoted on her heel. Butch almost bumped into her and a surprised look crossed his face. Misty expression was stoic, but her eyes, puffy and red from crying, told of the pain she felt. Her voice matched her expressionless face.

”Ash was good, warm, and kind to both pokémon and people alike. He always had a selflessness about him that only the saints above could match.” She leaned forward a bit. Her intense stare burned a hole through Butch’s skull. “And you killed him. Ash was more of a man than you could ever hope to be, no matter how long your miserable existence lasts.”

Misty turned and walked away. Her step was slow and deliberate. Butch blinked, then his face scowled as he looked to Cassidy.

”I’m gonna kill her! She has no bloody right to insult me like that!”

Butch turned to carry out his directive. Just then, Cassidy held him by his shoulder with a single hand.

”There’s been enough death today. Her spirit is broken. Just let her go.”

Butch looked back at her, his eyes filled with rage and bewilderment. She had never stopped him before. He was about to protest when she gave him a stern look and gripped his shoulder a bit more firmly. That stopped him, but not his frustration. He turned and stormed off after Misty before she got too far.

Cassidy let out a relieved sigh. She wondered how long Butch would remain alive. Not so much that he’d killed someone, but he’d killed Ash Ketchum. Everyone in Team Rocket knew that he had been considered one of Giovanni’s “untouchables.” She didn’t know why, nor did she care. She went to catch up with the others, putting any lingering concerns behind her, but wondered briefly if putting in a new partner request might be better for future endeavors.

”Okay Gyrados! Get ready to do another slam attack!”

The tall sixteen year-old boy with thick brown hair had his right hand raised. His towering, gaping mouthed serpent dutifully watched him. Just before he was about to lower his arm, a lovely and bubbly dark-haired girl approached him from behind.

”Gary?”

”Yeah, babe,” he replied, his voice a little terse from being interrupted. “Whaddya want?”

”I was going to get a soda,” she replied, the bubbliness overflowing in her voice. “Did you want one too?”

”Look, I’m in the middle of training. Why don’t you just sit over there with the other girls and look pretty, okay?”

”Okay!” And with that, she turned and walked back to other girls. Her expression and demeanor changed dramatically. The bubbliness was gone and her IQ seemed to jump up thirty points as she sat down with the other “cheerleaders.” Some of whom were watching Gary, others were reading or doing homework.

”You know,” she started, “if I didn’t have to pay for college, I would so beat his bony, arrogant ass.”

There was a general murmur of agreement coupled with some giggles.

”Okay, slam attack! Now!” Gary dropped his arm in conjunction with his verbal command. As the Gyrados started to lurch forward, an audible scream from above could be heard, but before anyone could see what it was, a falling body landed on Gyrados’ neck. But with the gyrados performing its slam attack, the body started to tumble and roll down its back, like a ball bouncing and sliding down a ramp. Just as the gyrados’ long body was almost parallel with the water to complete its attack, the plummeting body had reached the water level. There was a raised scale on the creature that wasn’t flush with the rest of its skin. The body struck that and with that little air it caught, it started to skip on the water’s surface, much like a flat stone when it is thrown. After several skips, a large wave of water came up and the body crashed into it, sending up a spray of water and a roar of pain. The body pinwheeled like tossed rag doll before finally landing in the water with a monumental splash some sixty yards from where it had first made contact the water.

”Gyrados! Get the body! Get the body out of the water!” Gary commanded, his voice filled with surprise and concern as he dashed down the beach to meet up with the body as did the cheerleaders. The gyrados did as Gary had commanded and gingerly placed the body on the beach at its master’s feet. Everyone looked on as the body coughed and sputtered sea water. One of the cheerleaders was already on a cell phone calling 911 as Gary received an even bigger shock.

”Ash?! Is that you?”

Ash managed to roll himself from his side onto his hands and knees, coughing more and groaning in pain. He was visibly shaking as the adrenaline continued to course through his tiny frame and his mind tried to wrestle with the fact that he was still alive. Gary couldn’t help but to laugh.

”I always knew that you’d come crawling to me on your hands and knees and bow to the real master!”

Ash, in spite of the extreme shock he was in, heard every word. He clenched his gloved hands tightly, the shaking became more evident as he choked out a response, “Shut up.”

”Whoo-hoo! The loser from Pallet Town finally knows his place in the world!” Gary jeered, laughing arrogantly at his foe’s distress.

”Shut up,” Ash grumbled through gritted teeth.

”What a sorry little loser you are, Ashy boy!”

”SHUT UP!” Ash yelled. He brought his left foot to the ground and in a smooth, swift motion, brought his right foot up squarely and strongly into Gary’s groin. Gary yelped in agonizing pain, bending over with his knees buckling as he clutched his groin. “SHUT UP!” Ash yelled again. His biker-gloved fist made a wild uppercut that connected with Gary’s chin. Gary’s jaw slammed shut hard on its own teeth and he fell onto his back. Ash moved quickly over to him and planted his feet on both sides of his opponent. He bent over and grabbed him by the collar with both hands, pulling him right to his own face.

”SHUT UP! JUST SHUT UP, YOU STUPID JERK!” Ash shouted into Gary’s face. His own face was crimson with rage while his gritted teeth stood out in stark contrast to the darkness that filled his hateful eyes. His body shook violently as he held Gary, who was pulling his face away from him, thinking he was going to get struck again or bite him or something else that would bruise his pretty face. Ash’s feral glare bore through Gary’s soul as he just held him there. Soon, Ash’s rapid breathing started to slow and the adrenaline began to wear off and, with it, his extra strength. Ash unceremoniously dropped him and staggered backwards a few steps, then fell onto his back. He covered his face and began to cry uncontrollably. He whimpered quietly for his mother and to God. It was all too much for him. Too much terror for a boy of eleven to take.

Several of the cheerleaders rushed over the crying boy, one of them cradled him in her arms when she got there. Ash immediately clutched the compassionate girl, crying even harder now with his face buried in her breast. Gary watched the scene from the ground with indignation crossing his face.

”Hey! What do you girls think you’re doing?”

The dark-haired girl, who had earlier cursed Gary, gave him a glaring look and pointed a finger at him. Her voice was stern when she spoke her two words.

”Don’t. Start.”

Gary blinked a couple times in shock, then nodded quickly that he wouldn’t try anything. She turned to see if she could do anything for Ash, just as the other girls were doing. At that moment, one of them looked up and pointed to the sky.

”Look! It’s a pidgeot!

The large bird landed nearby. Its head jerked sharply from Gary to the crowd of girls surrounding Ash. It walked forward, cocking its head back and forth to keep its balance, much like a chicken or a pigeon might walk. In its huge beak, a red and white cap.

The girl Ash had clung to whispered in his ear that his pidgeot had landed. He tentatively turned, sniffing and wiping away his tears with the back of his hand, to see his colorfully winged friend. It cawed quietly, as though calling its master by name. He gingerly got up, wincing a bit as a large ache flared across his back. He would later discover that night, a massive bruise covering half his back and shaped like a violent new continent had formed where he had crashed into the tall wave that stopped him. He walked over and took his cap back, then put his arms around the large bird’s neck. It cawed again. Ash let out a shuddering sigh. The last of the terror in his system had passed. As he turned to look back at the others, everyone noticed a marked difference in his eyes. There was a grim intensity that wasn’t there before in their previous encounters with him. This experience had scarred him for forever.

”Thank you,” he whispered. He looked at Gary and was about to speak, but Gary cut him off.

”Don’t say it,” he said, waving a hand as he stood up, then brushed off the sand from his pants. “I’d always been wondering when you’d show some guts, Ash. But what I want to know is what happened. Why were you falling out of the sky?”

”Oh,” he started slowly, taking a deep breath, “I got pushed out of a helicopter by Team Rocket. Misty and I –“

He stopped. Misty. “Oh my God. I gotta save Misty!” He looked around, then over the ocean. In the distance, he could see a small island. He turned to the girls.

”Did any of you see a helicopter pass overhead?” The grim intensity had now become a forceful determination.

The girls looked at each other and shook their heads. One of them, a redhead, nodded.

”I don’t know if it was your helicopter I saw, but I’ve seen a few of them heading that way, plus a number of ships.” She pointed toward the sea to the island Ash saw a moment ago.

”I bet that’s where Team Rocket took Misty,” Ash said, as he turned and recalled the pidgeot into its pokéball. He whispered a thank you and, in a well-practiced motion, called forth his lapras. A couple of foot splashes later, he was on the blue-green sea monster’s back and sailing toward the island at full speed.

A few moments later, the paramedics showed up. The redheaded girl explained what happened and the public servant could only shake his head.

”He must’ve hit his head on something because he sure isn’t thinking clearly.”

”Perhaps,” she replied, looking at the dimming image of Ash sailing away, “but the lack of reasoning is because he’s in love.”

TO BE CONTINED…Part III