"You little brat, stop right there—!"
Team Rocket's jeep tore down the road behind Ash, engines howling.
Though Pichu's Thunder Wave and Frogadier's Water Shuriken had bought Ash a few minutes, it wasn't enough. As Ash pedaled with everything he had, he just barely made it to the entrance of Viridian Forest when the jeep caught up again.
In the rearview mirror of his mind, he could see Jessie already halfway out the front window, looking like a lunatic Tyrantrum with a baseball bat in hand.
Beads of sweat dotted Ash's forehead.
"Big sis, you don't have to be so violent... If you could just be a little gentler, I might stop and apologize for earlier," he said with a sheepish grin.
He was still acting.
Ash had no intention of revealing he'd already uncovered their identities. If Team Rocket knew they'd been exposed, they might get desperate. Better to keep playing the innocent, bratty kid. That way, even if they caught him, they might lower their guard long enough for him to find another way out.
Jessie blinked. Then, with a fake smile, she responded sweetly, "Aww, alright. Big sis won't be mean. Why don't you stop right now, okay?"
But her tone didn't match the foot pressed all the way down on the gas pedal. The jeep showed no sign of slowing.
Ash, of course, never expected it to.
After distracting them with his words, he quietly gave another order to Frogadier riding behind him.
"Frogadier, use Frubbles! Aim for their front windshield!"
"Froa!"
Whoosh whoosh whoosh whoosh!
Frogadier quickly spun around in his seat, pulling sticky foam clumps—his Frubbles—from his white scarf-like frill and hurling them backward toward the pursuing jeep.
Though Frubbles weren't an actual move and Ash hadn't specifically trained Frogadier in using them, Frogadier wielded them with natural ease—as if born to throw them.
SCREECH!
"James, what are you doing?! You nearly flung me out the window!" Jessie snapped.
"Quit whining! That brat's too clever—we need to catch him first, then argue!"
Even though James was frantically swerving to dodge, Frogadier's foam was relentless. The road was narrow, and foam blobs kept raining down.
Splap! Splap! Splap!
Three big globs of foam smacked right onto the jeep's windshield.
"Aim for the windshield, Frogadier! Cover it completely!" Ash shouted over his shoulder, pedaling with all his might while activating the Aura Map to guide Frogadier's aim.
"Froaa!"
Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh!
The sticky white clumps kept flying. Frogadier was now locked in like a turret, bombarding the jeep with pinpoint accuracy.
…
"You little brat!" Jessie growled. "When I catch you, I'm gonna use this bat to turn your butt into a flower garden!"
"Not good! The foam is too sticky! The wipers can't get it off!"
Ash's counterattack was working.
The jeep, once speeding like a Tauros, now slowed dramatically. James couldn't see a thing. With the windshield completely coated in foam, the vehicle's front end was effectively blinded.
BANG!
The jeep slammed into a roadside barrier.
"James! What the heck was that?!"
"Don't blame me! I couldn't see! The entire windshield is covered in Frubbles! How was I supposed to know there was a turn?!"
"Enough! Both of you shut up and clear the windshield! That brat's getting away on his bike again!"
"If we don't catch him today and he makes it back to Pallet Town, we'll never get another chance. Once he's under Professor Oak's protection, it's over—nyah!!"
"These foams are too sticky! We can't clean them off!" James yelled.
"Jessie, bring out Arbok! Have it use Acid to melt the foam!"
"Melt it?! We don't have that kind of time!" Jessie snapped. "You two move—now!"
"Wait, what are you doing?! Don't be rash—nyah!"
"What do you think I'm doing? I'm gonna smash the damn windshield!"
…
CRACK!
Jessie's patience finally exploded.
Her eyes full of rage, veins bulging on her arms, she raised her bat and smashed the windshield—right where James sat.
Worried the brat would pull the same trick again, she didn't go too far. She only shattered a hole about the size of a washbasin—just big enough for James to peek through.
"James, is the car damaged?"
"It's just the front bumper—we're fine."
"Then what are you waiting for?! Step on it!!"
"Roger that!"
…
No matter how fast Ash pedaled, a bike was still just a bike. Despite the delay, the jeep caught up again in less than three minutes.
Ash glanced back and shivered.
Jessie's eyes were practically on fire, and she was brandishing that bat like a madwoman.
For the first time in this life, Ash felt something heavy press on his heart—a sense of powerlessness.
In the anime, he just zaps them with a Thunderbolt and it's over…
Now I'm here, panting on a bike, fleeing like a hunted Pidgey. Was the original Ash just that powerful… or was Team Rocket just that weak back then?
Ash gritted his teeth.
No matter what… if I make it out of this… I'm going to train harder than ever. One day, I'll get my revenge.
Not just on these three… but on all of Team Rocket. They're scum—parasites on the world of Pokémon. They don't deserve to exist.
But for now… I have to survive.
"Frogadier! More Frubbles! This time—aim for the hole in their windshield!"
"Froa~!"
Fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh fwoosh!
Frogadier sprang into action again, scooping up more sticky Frubbles and launching them with rapid precision.
The target this time? Not the whole windshield—just that tiny hole Jessie had smashed open.
Like aiming for the bullseye.
But for Frogadier?
Not a problem at all.
SCREECH—
THWACK!
Bingo.
A Frubble shot clean through the hole—and smacked James square in the face.
His vision went white.
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T/N:
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