Chapter 5- Radical High Speed Pursuit!

 

(Location- Teal Vile Pokémon Center)

 

“All of your pokémon will be ready in two hours” Nurse Joy said

 

“Two hours? That is kinda long…” said Ash, but Brock pushed him to the side

 

“Don’t be so rude! Two hours are fine!” Brock said, then looked at Nurse Joy, “And speaking of time, when’s your next break Nurse Joy?”

 

“Huh?” Nurse Joy blinked

 

“I was just thinking that we could go out to… OW!” Brock yelped as Misty dragged him away by his ear

 

“She’s a busy woman and doesn’t have that kind of time to waste!” Misty dragged him, to prevent him from embarrassing the group any further, “No one has that kind of time to waste, especially on you!” She let go of Brock’s ear, dropping him to the ground. She looked left and right, where was Ash?

 

Misty looked back. There was a group of comfy chairs and couches near a TV set. This was where trainers would wait to have their pokémon healed. Ash was sitting on the couch watching something.

 

“What are you watching?” Misty walked over and asked him

 

“That” Ash pointed at the TV

 

“…The Dark Forest Region is now safe to pass through once again because Team Rocket elite agent 001 has finally been apprehended! According to reports, 001 had crashed through the skylight of the Teal Ville police station and…” The news reporter said. Misty sat down on the couch and watched the TV with Ash “Although he attempted to fight using his pokémon, it was simply too injured and tired to go on, and was easily subdued, forcing 001 to surrender. When being restrained, 001 was swearing revenge on a certain group of people and that he will get them no matter what, but it is not very likely to happen. Whoever the people he was swearing revenge on, they must be ones who have defeated him. 001 will be attending his trial in a month’s. And now for the weather… What?! Ladies and gentlemen! This is an urgent report! There has been three attacks! One was the Teal Police training academy! According to our sources, the entire Growlithe K-9 squad had been defeated and Missingno gang trainers have ransacked the building and all HM’s and TM’s in the armoury were stolen. A single man, most likely a Super Fiend, has defeated the chief trainers. The second one was on the Teal Ville Museum. All the valuable ancient artefacts and pokémon fossils have been taken. The last was the Teal Ville pokémon lab, where a group of trainers invaded Swat Team style and penetrated the high security defences. The new experimental HM our city’s scientists have been working on was stolen as well…”

 

“Did you hear that Ash?” Asked Misty

 

“No” Ash replied plainly

“Stupid! Why weren’t you listening?!” She yelled out loud, and sweatdropped when she looked and saw everyone in the center was staring at her. She gritted her teeth and spoke, make that whispered to Ash.

 

“What?” Ash leaned closer, “I couldn’t make out what you were saying”

 

She pinched Ash’s ear and pulled him in “I was talking about the Missingno gang!” She let go and Ash rubbed his ear.

 

“What about it?” Ash spoke, rather loudly

 

“Not so loud!” Misty said

 

“(Fine then)” Ash leaned closer and whispered

 

“(You heard what he said, there’re Missingno people here!)” She sighed, “(We’re still not out of trouble!)”

 

“(You think so? They can’t be THAT strong…)” Ash replied

 

“(Maybe not, but listen up. Back in Scarlet, I talked to a guy named Ebi…)” Misty said

 

“(Oh! So you’ve met him too?)” Ash interrupted her

 

“(Shut up! I’m only whispering because this it what he told me to do! He told me to tell you where to find him, seeing how he lives here! He’s not very popular with that gang, you know, and he doesn’t want tons of people hearing about where to find him!)” She spoke, “(Listen, Ebi said that after we exit the forest, head to the pokémon center to heal if we fought anything. He told me to look for him)”

 

“(What? Where does he want to meet us?)” Ash asked

 

“(I don’t know! He left in the middle of the conversation to talk to you, and didn’t come back because someone sucker punched him!)”

 

“(Hey! He used that ultra high voltage taser on me, and it’s a wonder I’m still alive!)”

 

“(Well he was just showing you that he wasn’t totally defenceless without a pokémon, unlike you!)”

 

“(I was never defenceless, and even without a pokémon I’m still strong! After all, I am a regular Super Smash Bros participant, and I happen to be a very good one!)”

 

Misty’s expression changed, “(Super Smash Bros? You mean to tell me you actually participated in those tournaments?)”

 

“(Well, I entered Pikachu at least, and directed him through every battle! They’re a lot of fun you know, and it’s interesting to fight a different kind of battle!)”

 

“(Wait-wait-wait… tell me, when did you ever get the chance to go there? I’ve never seen you leave the group long enough to take part in any tournament, or you being mentioned in any TV, radio or paper, those tournament is even bigger and way more popular than the pokémon league!)”

 

Ash shrugged “(I guess I’m just that good. Pikachu did pretty well in that tournament (thanks to my coaching). Not to mention, my ultimate goal is to rise with Pikachu as the ultimate Smash Bros. Champ!)”

 

“…” Misty blinked, “(I thought your goal was to be a pokémon master)”

 

Ash shrugged “(And what to do after becoming the best trainer? I gotta have more than one thing to live for. Plus, entering Pikachu in those tournaments are good for experience, it helps me for pokémon battles, and I learn a lot. We came out pretty well!” Ash started to gloat, showing off was something he could do well, “You should’ve seen Pikachu in those matches… must have won over a hundred… with MY guidance of course. Not to mention we lasted through the 15 minute melee in my first try and eliminated eleven of the wire frames in ‘Cruel Melee’ scenario”

 

There was a flash of light and a snap. Ash and Misty both yelped and sat up, and saw Pikachu holding a Polaroid camera.

 

“Having a nice conversation?” Brock asked

 

“What was that all about?” Ash asked, and looked at Pikachu, “Pikachu! You’re all better!”

 

“Nurse Joy treated him first, so he came out first” Brock explained, “What were you two talking about here?”

 

“Well… I was just telling Misty about my accomplishments in the Smash Bros. Tournaments…”

 

“Okay, I get the point Ash” Said Misty. Ash got up and walked to the counter to see how the rest of his pokémon were doing.

 

Brock leaned on the sofa, “Do you REALLY believe that he lasted that long in the cruel melee? I heard that those wire frame guys don’t let people make it through easily, those things could easily pin a Machamp with one hand tied behind their back and bench press a Snorlax…”

 

“Well I believe him, he’s not the type of person to lie about tournament, especially ones that big. I’m just surprised that he hadn’t bragged about the final hit that defeated the cruel wire frame through a loudspeaker.” Misty said

 

“But he did tell you” Brock gave Misty a thumb’s up “Now he’s started showing off to you, huh? I’ve noticed that you two have been getting really close lately…”

 

“Well, he was sitting only a few inches away…” Misty said, but realized something “Hey! You’re not going on about this couples junk again?”

 

Brock shrugged “Hey, I’m only trying to help you out with your relationship, seeing how slow it’s going…”

 

Misty whacked Brock over the head with a mallet, “Shaddup!” and walked off. Pikachu jumped onto the couch, holding the Polaroid picture that just developed. Brock looked at the picture, and laughed. “The thing that embarrasses them most is being called a couple” The picture of Ash and Misty when they were talking looked more like something else, seeing how they were both sitting on a couch, leaning close to each other and their faces were only an inch apart, and both of them blinked during the flash so it looked like their eyes were closed, “For every bash on the head I’ve received this week alone, I’m sending a dozen copies to every city we’ve been to, including Orange Islands, and a hundred copies of this picture will go to Pallet town and Cerulean city! Will they be in full colour?” Pikachu nodded, “Good, I want the full effect. That’ll teach em’ to mess with me, ‘cause you can never smell what the Brock is cooking! GYAHAHAHHAA!” Brock laughed maniacally, ignoring all the faces of the people staring at him.

 

(Location- Teal Ville Town Square)

 

“Man! This city is so cool!” said Ash, staring at the fountain

 

“You’re right about that” Misty leaned on a railing and looking at the water pokémon swimming in the waterways, “There’s so much to see!”

 

“Yeah, heh-heh…” Brock spoke in a goofy tone, apparently he was staring at some girls passing by.

 

Ash snatched the Johto guide book from Brock’s pockets “This town’s got so many places to see! First there’s the Teal Ville Pokémon museum… and is closed because of that last raid. Then there’s also the Pokémon lab… which is also closed. I really wanted to see that lab! I heard they’re always discovering new pokémon techniques and TM’s! Well, then there’s not much we can do, seeing how we’re gonna be waiting for Tracey. The maximum I can do is start training.”

 

“You know, a the best way to build up exp is to battle.” Said Brock

 

“And Jessie & James are stronger now, so every time you beat them, you’ll get more exp. Speaking of which, where are they? We’ve been in this town for eight hours, and they would have usually attacked us by now.” Said Misty

 

“Oh… shoot!” Ash snapped his fingers angrily. “Right when I needed the exp!”

 

(Meanwhile… back at the Dark Forest Outpost)

 

“GRRR! Why-do-Team-Rocket-elites-have-to-always-CARRY THOSE STUPID METAL RINGS!” Jessie struggled to free herself from one of the three metal rings, “JAMES! Help me out of here!”

 

“Hey! I’ve got troubles of my own right now!” James tried to break free of his own, without much success. “Meowth! You don’t have a ring! Help us!”

 

“The reason I don’t have a ring is because I don’t need one! I’d help you, but I can’t move!” Meowth was still paralyzed and hurt and lying on the ground.

 

Jessie, James and Meowth all groaned. Getting out of here is gonna take a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG while.

 

(Location –Teal Ville Town Square)

 

“I’m bored… bored-bored-bored BOOOOOOORED…” Ash mumbled, sitting on a bench

 

Misty slapped him on the back of the head, “enough! I heard you the first fifty times!”

 

“Well I’ve got nothing to do! Sure I could be training, but how? The only experience I get is when battling, and there’s no one to battle!”

 

“Can you at least find something to do?”

 

“Well, maybe…” Ash pulled out the metal ring and started examining it, “Team Rocket Elites use these things all the time, but I just don’t know how! The only way I could get them on was because Jessie and James were unconscious and I managed to lock them on after a ton of tries! I kept this one because it JUST might come in handy sooner or later…”

 

As Ash was tinkering with the object, Misty got up and started looked around. “Brock! Hey! Where are you?” She called. A short while ago, Brock left to go following some girls. Misty was out of the town center right now. She scorned “I’d better go find him before he gets arrested for stalking…” She continued to look for that troublesome Brock…

 

(Meanwhile)

 

“Darn it! Where are those girls?!” Brock asked himself out loud. “Oh, shoot! I lost them! And that blonde back there was so cute…” He muttered angrily, and then sighed, “Oh well… better get back to the others…”

 

He walked back to the town center, where Ash was sitting on a bench, looking unusually focused. Ash was just trying to figure out how to work those metal rings.

 

“Hey Ash!” Brock walked over to him, “You actually kept those?”

 

“Yeah…” Ash replied, twisting, turning, trying to get it to open. “They work for the Rocket Elites, and if I can figure these things out, they’ll work just as well for me too…”

 

SCRRREEEECH!!!

 

“WA!” Ash and Brock jumped at the sound of tires screeching.

 

“AAAAAAAAH!” A guy screamed. Ash and Brock both turned their heads and saw a van speeding and a guy sprinting as fast as he could to get away. He turned quickly to the right and dove into an alley out of the way. The van didn’t try to follow him, but just kept speeding. Ash and Brock quickly ran to the guy to see if he was okay.

 

“Ungh… my head” He was kneeling and moaned. He picked up a pair of glasses that fell off when he jumped. He turned around and saw the two, “Ash! And… no eyes!”

 

“Ebi! When did you get here?!” Ash gasped

 

“No eyes?!” Brock exclaimed

 

“Listen Ash! No time to talk! Those guys are the Missingno gang members who attacked and stole the experimental HM from the pokémon lab! Hurry, you can’t let them get away! That HM teaches a new and VERY destructive attack, and the machine can be used unlimited times!” Ebi yelled

 

“Ebi, um… they’re in a speeding getaway van…” Ash replied

 

“I know, here! Take this thing! I just finished it and I’m not sure how well it works, but there’s no time to test it out!” Ebi opened his bag and pulled out what looked like a white metal skateboard. There were two clips for the feet, but it had no wheels. Instead, on the sides near the back were what looked like two small jet boosters and where the wheels should have been, there were two shorter, but wider jets, with a small orange-yellow glow inside each booster. Ebi held it a foot over the ground and let go, but it didn’t fall, it simply hung in midair “I just finished making this last night! Hurry! Use this and stop them!”

 

“Then let’s go!” Without stopping to think of the possible dangers, Ash jumped on. The clips locked on Ash’s feet and Pikachu quickly climbed up to Ash’s shoulders…

 

“Hey-Ash! WAIT!” Brock tried to stop Ash, but too late. The jet boosters on the board flashed and Ash zoomed down the road at a very high speed, with Pikachu hanging on for his dear life.

 

“I just hope that jet-board will hold…” said Ebi

 

(Location- Teal Ville main streets)

 

“WAAAAAAAA!” Ash was screaming, flapping his arms wildly in a desperate attempt to stay balanced, while Pikachu had his eyes closed and was holding his breath. He leaned forwards, but the board started to tilt downwards. “WAWAWAWA…!” He leaned back, but it faced up and started flying higher…

 

THUNK!

 

“OW!!!” Ash exclaimed when his head hit a traffic light. “GRR…!” he growled, clutching his forehead with a tear in his eye. In front of him he saw another one coming… Pikachu covered his eyes and Ash screamed. He leaned to the left in a desperate attempt no to hit it. He missed, but went spinning in a barrel roll. “WAAAAAAAA!” Ash could not remember screaming so much in his life. Even being carried in the claws of an Aerodactyle was less scary than this. Ash straightened himself and the board started flying right side up. He clenched his fists and leaned forwards a little. “I’VE…GOT TO… KEEP… BALANCED!” Further ahead, he could see a white van speeding, cutting through traffic. Ash tried his best to stay upright, and this was no easy task. Ash clenched his fists and his arms stretched out backwards.

 

“PIKAAAA!” Pikachu pointed ahead and yelled. Ash looked…

 

“WA!” He tilted a bit to the right and tried to turn the jet board the same way he would do with a skateboard. When he did this, it turned to the right, barely missing a truck right in front of him. Pikachu yelled and pointed again. Ash did the same thing, but to the left and missed a jeep. Ash clenched his fists and leaned forwards a little, his arms stretched out backwards. PIKAAAA! CAR! Ash leaned back quickly and the board flew upwards, safely over it.

 

“Heh-Heh! I think I’m getting the hang of this!”

 

“Pikachu!”

 

Although a few things were different, riding the board was just like riding a skateboard. The stance was the same, the left and right turning was the same. Ash managed to keep the perfect balance and the board started flying straight at a 0o angle, not to mention it flew a whole lot faster.

 

“THIS IS AWSOME!” Ash dodged left and right, missing any obstacle that got in his way. He then stopped with the playing around and leaned back a little, flying higher and above the cars. He looked forwards, the van he was chasing was just up ahead.

 

“(BZZT!) ASH! (CRRRR…) CAN YOU… HEAR ME!?”

 

Ash looked left and right, “WHO SAID THAT?!”

 

“(CRRRR…) THIS IS EBI! (CRRR…) I’m speaking to you by the jet board’s radio! ARE YOU ALL RIGHT?!”

 

“YEAH!” Ash yelled down, it was hard to speak, seeing how fast he was going, not to mention it was noisy. “THIS THING IS AWSOME! I’M GETTING THE HANG OF IT!!!”

 

“(CRRR…) GOOD! Listen Ash! The tracker indicated that the van is… (CRRRR…) WAY AHEAD OF YOU! You have to SPEED UP!”

 

Ash leaned forwards, the board flew down a bit, missing a bridge connecting two buildings, and then leaned backwards, flying up, “HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO DO THAT, EBI?!”

 

“(CRRR…) I know it’s dangerous, but you can turn on and off the super speed like a light! You have to (CRRRRR…) align your feet in a certain position and the clips will turn and you’ll speed up! To do this, you have to… CRRRRRRR”

 

“Ebi? EBI! WHAT DO I DO?!” Ash yelled, but got no response. Now the CRRR sound was gone. The radio was completely out. “I think he said to align my feet in a certain position… what is it?” he kept twisting his legs around, the clips didn’t budge. He looked ahead, he wasn’t getting any closer to the van. “OH COME ON!” He turned his feet into a certain position, and all of the sudden, he felt the clips turn, and the boosters on the back flashed and the world on the side went all blurry and all the noise seemed to fade away. “WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!” Ash screamed. Pikachu’s teeth were clenched on Ash’s jacket, hanging on for his dear life. He shot ahead REALLY, REALLY fast, zooming past all the cars. “HOW… DA HECK DO I SLOW THIS THING DOWN!??!” He moved his feet back to the original position, and it slowed down. “Whew…” Ash sighed, relieved. Now he wasn’t flying at the speed of sound, he was only travelling at breakneck speed. After that last burst, this one seemed pretty slow, but anyways…

 

“Pikachu! There’s the van!” Ash pointed to the left, he was flying alongside the van. He zeroed in closer to the van. “Okay… how exactly do we stop it?!”

 

“Pika! Pikachu!”

 

“No, Pikachu, we need to think of a smarter approach! And any electric attack would hurt me, and if I go down, we’re both dead! We’ll have to hit with physical attacks! Got a good long range one?!”

 

“PIKA! Pika, Pikachu Pika!”

 

“Okay! But if you want to do that, I’ll have to get in front of them!”

 

CHU Pikachu!”

 

“Fine then! I’ll distract them!” Ash zoomed alongside the van. “HEY!” He slammed his fist against on the window, leaving a crack on the glass.

 

“Eh?!” One of the guys in the van yelled, “How the hell is that kid…?”

 

“Does that really matter!?” The driver yelled and turned to the right, in an attempt to ram the two.

 

“WA!” Ash moved to the right, barely missing it, “Pikachu! Are you ready yet?!”

 

“PIKA!”

 

“ALL RIGHT!” He yelled and zoomed to the front of the van. Pikachu climbed down and stood on the board, turned around and faced the van. “Pikachu! Swift attack!”

 

“PIKACHUUUU!” Pikachu fired hundreds of tiny little stars. They each hit the windshield, and it started cracking. More stars flew, the windshield hadn’t been penetrated, but that wasn’t the plan.

 

“GRRRR! I can barely see!” The driver complained. The window was white and full of cracks.

 

“Then let me take care of things!” A second guy yelled. He picked up a fire extinguisher and swung it, hitting the windshield hard and shattering it. Although it was difficult to drive without a windshield, it’s better than driving blind.

 

“Perfect!” Ash yelled, “Pikachu! Use flash!” Ash turned his head and faced forwards, looking away from Pikachu.

 

“Pi-ka-CHU!” Pikachu sparked and flashed a REALLY bright light, blinding anyone who looked at it.

 

“GYAAA! MY EYES!” The driver yelled. In the madness, he didn’t know what he was doing, his hands were turning the steering wheel left and right.

 

“All RIGHT!” Ash cheered, “It worked perfectly!”

 

“Pikachu!”

 

The van spun out of control. The tires screeched as it tried to stop. It started to turn, and then flipped and fell onto the side.

 

Ash leaned over slightly and the board started to slow down do a complete stop in midair. The power in the downward booster reduced, allowing Ash to neatly land straight on the ground.

 

“Well… at least the stopping part was easy to figure out!” Ash wiped some sweat off his forehead. “THAT WAS THE MOST AWSOME THING I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY WHOLE, ENTIRE, LIFE!!!!!” Suddenly, Ash heard the sound of police sirens in the background. “Ah… cavalry has arrived” Ash crossed his arms

 

(Five minutes later)

 

“You have the right to remain silent! Anything you say can and will…” Officer Jenny spoke as she placed handcuffs on the last of the five who were in the van.

 

“So Ash! I see you’ve mastered my Jet-board!” said Ebi

 

“Yeah! It was totally AWSOME!” Ash answered

 

“Well, it is more suitable for someone like you, and I’ve tried to ride it, but I simply just can’t master it!” Ebi straightened his glasses, “Plus, if the Missingno got a hold of an HM that strong, it would have been the end of us. So as a reward, it’s yours!”

 

“What?! REALLY!??!” Ash yelled, excited

 

“I’ll let you keep it, but two things. It’s still incomplete, so I’ll have to take it in for a little while. And two, it needs a name. Could you think of one?”

 

Ash handed the board to Ebi, “Well… hmmm, let’s see…” He looked at it, the design, the shape, the colour, “I’ve got the perfect name! I’m calling it, the QuickSilver!”

 

“Good choice Ash!” Said Ebi, “Where’s ‘no eyes’ gone off to?”

 

“DON’T CALL ME THAT!” Brock yelled and punched Ebi on back of the head

 

“What were you doing back there?” Asked Ash

 

“I’ve noticed something was missing. Normally, after doing something idiotically dangerous like that, Misty’d be throwing a fit and hitting you for putting your life in danger, but I can’t seem to find her” Answered Brock

 

Ebi’s eyes widened upon hearing this, and he quickly turned to Ash “Ash? I know it was you guys who beat 001, but did you happen to see anything weird when in the dark Forest?”

 

“Definitely” He replied, “Some guy who looked, acted, dressed and sounded just like me was there. I fought him in a pokémon battle, and won. Then I fought him physically and beat him up. After he said he was gonna do all these bad things looking like me, I threw a rock in his face, tied him up, hung him upside down from a tree and took his money…”

 

“Ash!” Ebi snapped at him “What you just did wasn’t a very smart thing to do! Listen! I knew another one who fought him that way. He beat up a faker, then nailed him into a barrel and kicked him off a bridge.” Ash and Brock laughed, but Ebi did not see so amused. “That guy is a Super Fiend”

 

Ash stared at him, “That was a Super Fiend?” He shrugged, “Then either they’re pretty weak, or I’m just the one who’s TOO strong for them to beat…” he gloated

 

“Ash! There’s a reason they use the word ‘Fiend’ in the name! When these guys want revenge, they really want revenge!” Ebi spoke, “No one knows faker’s real name, but his code name is ‘Doppelganger’ because he can impersonate anyone. But that isn’t why he’s one of the fiends. He’s the perfect spy and could imitate anyone he wanted. He could also mimic certain pokémon attacks. He’s usually a very strong fighter, but that trainer who beat him, just like you definitely didn’t give him the chance to fight seriously. If you left out the part where you hung him upside down and taking the money, you wouldn’t be in such a big mess!” He sighed, “Let me explain. After doing all those things, that trainer soon found himself being caught in that faker’s trap. Currently, he is resting in a mental institution, because he wasn’t only attacked physically, he was attacked mentally”

 

“What are you saying?” Asked Ash

 

“I’m saying that he’s going to do something VERY bad. Most likely, he’ll use something or someone of great importance to you, against you.” Ebi said

 

“You mean, like Pikachu?” Asked Ash

 

“Pikachu is a very good candidate, but it’ll be hard seeing how strong he is and always next to you, it’ll be hard to get him” Ebi spoke, “However, with the trainer, the faker used his girlfriend against him…” His eyes widened with shock, “Ash! Do you know where that girl is? What’s her name, the one who’s always following you?”

 

“Misty?” Ash spoke, “No, we’re not a couple or anything… we’re JUST friends…” he continued, turning a light shade of red

 

“Whatever! Do you know where she is?!”

 

“Actually…” said Ash, “No”

 

“Ash, this is bad. Hurry Ash! GO! You have to go and find her, before Doppelganger does first!” Ebi yelled

 

Where HAS Misty gone? No one had seen her after she left to look for Brock. Is what Ebi said true? Has Doppelganger kidnapped her? Find out next time on PUA!

 

(TO BE CONTINUED)