Chapter 9:
Sports day - Baseball

Once Ash’s routine was done with Rita and Runt the trio was called into the auditorium by Mr. Plotz orders. The three of them walked and no sooner than they did that the other girls came over to him. “How did you sleep, Ash?” Minerva questioned in concern while eyeing the cat since all of them knew she always slept on his chest.

“I’m fine Minerva, thanks for asking.” He said back to her with a smile before politely walking past them, and sitting down. The girls did the same, but to make it not so blaringly obvious that they wanted the kid. ‘Still, what is the problem? I have been able to keep the Warner’s in check.’ He thought and then added with sorrow, ‘Sort of reminds me how excited I was about chasing Pokemon.’ The hero decided to focus since his big time friend had approached the microphone.

“Attention, attention.” He said to get their interest, but he was failing. ’I guess I’ll have to raise my voice and my blood pressure.’ He thought and was about to do so until his new friend stood up and spoke to the rowdy lot.

“Guys, lets worry about our personal problems later. Right now we should pay attention to Mr. Thaddeus Plotz.” He said to them causing them all to simmer down, and look at the stage before them.

‘I’m gonna miss this easy way to avoid yelling when he leaves.’ The CEO thought before bringing himself back to the business at hand. “As you know our latest temp has been getting interested into sports, and after some time I finally convinced our rival to have a few games with us.” He said to them, and just as he was expecting the trio stepped in front of him with ideas over what he meant by games.

“Gin?” Wakko suggested after pulling a small table from his bottomless bag of tricks.

“Nah, It’s got to be - Texas Hold’em?” Yakko questioned before spinning and stopping to where he wore a Texan hat, and spurs. The head of it all groaned at their guesses, but he was surprised at what Dot had to say:

“A bachelor auction?” She questioned before grabbing and dragging the hero from another world to the stage below. Once there she spun him once and as soon as he was done spinning the trainer saw that only a brown loincloth was the only thing keeping him censored.

“What are you thinking Dot!” The mink shouted while holding her nose due to the blood ready to shoot from that appendage. The other girls were in the same boat, but hid it nicely. The trainer looked down and wondered how the brown cloth would look like in yellow and black.

“Whoops. Too far!” She shouted in surprise before spinning again, and once he stopped the hero stood there in his groom suit with slicked back hair and sunglasses on his face.

‘Now that’s much better. That other outfit made him look like Dinner. It was at that moment Cobra Queen shook her head due to the…evil thought that appeared in her head.

“Certainly not the last one, Warner.” Thaddeus said to her while trying not to shout in anger at her. She gave him a scoff, spun the trainer back to his original outfit, and headed back to her seat with her brothers.

‘That was really subtle, Ms. Warner.’ The well dressed skeleton thought as he watched the three pass him on the way to their chairs. The silent man, as well as the others listened to what their boss had to say.

“Today is the last day of our sports marathon and he has chosen - Baseball.” The older man exclaimed with joy. Most of the others groaned because just like their other sports days: Football, Basketball, Soccer, Swimming, Track & field, Tennis, and Bowling they relied on Ketchum, and unlike them he did not know how to combine comedy with sports like the others have.

“I mean no offense, Mr. Plotz, but why do we have to continue to do this marathon?” The psychiatrist said aloud, voicing the opinions that the others were thinking. “I mean won‘t they get tired of losing?” He continued to talk even though he knew that he was digging his own grave.

“Maybe, but I really want to rub it in their faces.” The blue suited man said with a smile while patting the chosen man on the back. That statement confused the hero since he did not know what he was getting at. Before the hero of Pallet Town could say anything a voice shouted out in the crowd.

“What are ya talking about Plotz?” An elderly wolf shouted out in disgust since the hero had gotten on his nerves since the first day.

“Dah! Yeah! Aint he um…uh…hmm…still a…training monster.” Billy the brain dead bison said with a slobbery stutter. That action caused the squid beside him to wipe the water substance off of his face.

“Monster trainer, you numbskull.” The multi-armed man pointed out after all the spit was off of his face. The others knew that what the trio said was true: they all knew that much was true.

“I mean that with Ash we can handle all the sports so far, and Baseball won‘t be any different.” The leader of the business said at first and then cheered out of excitement.

‘I guess that is good.’ The chicken thought even though he did not like the idea of continuing to use their new friend as a weapon. In fact, none of them liked an idea like that.

“As I‘ve told you the past seven times I don‘t view Ash as a weapon. I just thought you guys would like to win instead of lose to those chumps.” He shouted back to them. The group was about to correct him that they did it for fun, but knew that he was right.

‘It would be nice to actually play instead of being used as a distraction.’ The medical one thought since she did not like the boasting her enemies have done once they won all of their other matches. After getting the idea some thought they all looked at the hero that they were talking about to see what his answer was.

“I will continue to fight on the Warner Brothers team. Besides these games are pretty fun.” The raven haired youth told them with a confident smile since he had a feeling that they might still need his help despite their impressive group of characters.

“Great, the Baseball game against them is tomorrow morning, so I want you all to relax and get psyched.” Plotz said to them which caused them to give him purely shocked faces since that was hardly enough time to get the least bit prepared..

“Hey, this is no sweat with Ash around we can’t lose.” The newest of Goodfeathers said to all of them. The others started to verbally agree with that comment, but despite that this was good praise the out of towner decided to set the record straight with them.

“Guys, fellas, I appreciate the praise, but remember it would not be wise to make a plan around one specific man.” He said to them and they knew that he was probably speaking out of experience since he most likely didn’t use just one Pokemon his entire career.

“We already know that Ash. We’ll take our spots out there and you hit it out of the park.” Dot shouted with hearts coming out of her head; a trick that still left the hero confused over how she can do such a thing.

“Just reminding you is all.” He said before adding, “I guess we’re done for now.” The hero turned and received a nod from the CEO, and no sooner that he did that the whole group left.

“I suppose we should just go to our homes and prepare for tomorrow.” The brain creature - The Lobe, said as they were walking out of the auditorium. In truth even the girls didn’t have any better ideas.

“Sounds good, Lobe.” Their newest member said before finishing with, “We can go and get some rest for the match in the morning.” They knew that the two men were right despite their tendency just to goof off. “I’ll come up with a roster and hand it over to Plotz since he has been in charge of us the last few times.” He informed before heading to bed.

“I guess we should be doing the same.” Guitierrez said while standing in his civilian form before heading to his home. The others followed his lead, and Rita along with Runt went into the same building as Ash.

‘He must be one heck of a trainer with all of the strange combinations he’s used all those other times.’ Minerva thought on her way back home while trying to shake off the feeling of depression from her person since she didn’t want to think of that day in time.

“Now, how should it go down.” Ash questioned while having a drawing of a baseball diamond before him as he sat on his bed. The trainer knew that a team can only have a certain amount of players on the field at certain times, so that was a problem.

“Everything okay, Ash?” The gray furred one said after she and her partner got into the apartment. She saw that he was hard at work on their game plan.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Just making some last minute ideas.” He said to them and then added, “I’ll fix some lunch in a while.” They believed him and then let him get to work. A couple of hours passed by and the boy looked at his idea with a pleased smile.

“Did ya come up with a good plan, Ash? Huh, huh? Did ya?” Runt questioned while enjoying his meal. The hero from another world looked at them with a smile, and knew that they wanted to know if they were on it, but he wanted that to be a surprise.

“Sorry, my canine friend, but no hints. You’re going to have to wait until morning to find out where I have planned to put you.” He said back to his friend before going back to eating. They both knew that they could trust his strange judgment since it worked for them before.

“Alright Ash, I guess we can wait that long.” Rita said back while purring due to how good the food was. After a few hours the three of them went to bed in the usual spots, and stayed that way until morn. There was another part of the studio who’s occupants were thinking of the game.

‘What would my tiny friend have planned for me and my darling Maria.’ The blue hippo known as Favio questioned in his head even though he was right to point him and her as goalies at the Soccer game. Another was also thinking of the same thing:

‘Yah. I know that Ash had faith in me when I scored that perfect game during our bowling match, but I don’t want to let him down in Baseball.’ Dr. Scratchnsniff thought as he lied awake in bed just staring at the ceiling.

‘The kid was right. I was good at swimming.’ A familiar grey squirrel thought as she recalled how she was able to out swim pros from the other team with little effort. ‘But that’s still no reason for me to use that stuff.’ She thought while looking over at the end table and saw a container given to her by an old friend.

‘Leave it to Ash to have faith in a scrawny man like me could actually be good in Football.’ The mime thought as he recalled the time he imagined such a moment and got clobbered, but it was the trainer that told him that he could do it.

He actually made the right call using me when it came to that.’ Cobra queen thought as she recalled how effortlessly she dodged all the Basketball players when that day arrived. The snake charmer also recalled how many three pointers she made as well. “Thanks for that memory, Mr. Ketchum.” She muttered before going to sleep on her throne.

‘I know that I should be wanting to rip Ash apart for how Minerva is falling for him, but I can’t and I know why - she only dug me in my muscular form, but aside from that: she could care less.’ A book smart wolf thought as he stared at the new moon sky above him. ‘Aside from that I owe him for giving me the confidence of playing and winning at Tennis.’ He thought with a smile before going to bed.

‘Track and field for a chicken who’d a thought of such a thing.’ Boo thought as he slept. When it came to that the trainer didn’t put his faith in the speed based men, but rather others; ones that no one would ever think would win a match: Skippy, Mr. Skullhead, and himself Chicken Boo for the relay at least.

‘Really hope I know what I’m doing.’ Ash thought as he laid on his bed, still wondering if the people that he had chosen were the right call. Ketchum eventually let that idea go, and focused on resting for the final sporting event. The rest of the night went off without a hitch and one was ready the next morning.

“Are you ready for this morning’s game.” A voice questioned to the youth causing him to stir from his slumber. The person that the question was aimed at opened his eyes and was welcomed by the felines face. “You must have needed the snooze. Usually you’re the first one to wake up not us.” She informed with a sly smile. The hero placed her on the bed before sitting up and let out a yawn.

“Yeah. Guess I did.” He said to her before standing up, and added, “I’ll take a shower and then feed you two. After that we’ll probably need to be going.” He said to his…roommate before grabbing a new pair of boxers and headed for the shower. ‘I need to remind myself - I’m not from around here, and despite how fun making these teams are I need to find a way home.’ He thought while undressing and going into the one man shower.

“Here comes another great meal definitely, definitely another great meal.” Runt shouted after hearing the sound of the shower running and knew that was a sign that his meat mountain was coming. The big dog got up and sat in his usual spot ready for his food.

‘I guess this has become a routine for us.’ Rita thought as she heard her friend’s happy panting. She too sat at her spot - ready to eat just as badly as him. Again the feline tried not to think of bad thought as she waited for him. Eventually the trainer got out of the shower, and was about to put on his clothes until…

‘I’ve got to talk to Brain about sending me back.’ He thought with gloom but put on a happy mask and walked out to meet his two friends. “Hope you guys are ready because I’m gonna give you guys thirds over what I usually give you.” He said to them causing the dog to bark excitedly after hearing that, but the other saw something different.

‘Something’s not right.’ The cat of the house questioned in her mind after hearing his statement. ‘Is he still on the fence about leaving us?’ She thought again and realized that she, and possibly the others, were also on the fence when it came to him leaving as well.

After we eat let’s meet up with the others so we can get to our game together.” Their caretaker said to them while eating his own meal, and aside from Runt’s chomping Breakfast was eerily quiet. Once it was over the three of them left to meet the others at the front of the studio.

“So, is everyone ready to go?” Plotz questioned once everyone was at the bus. The group as a whole muttered something around a, ‘yeah, ready to go’. He had a feeling as to why they were not happy and couldn’t fault them for how they felt. “Then let’s get started.” He told them in a cheerful tone, and no sooner then the others went in the vessel left.

‘I wonder what he’s thinking about?’ All of them questioned as they saw their ace in the hole looking through his window as the landscape past them by. The others have noticed that from time to time that he doesn’t show off a happy smile rather a deep thought facial expression.

‘I don’t want to leave them, but I know I can’t stay here.’ Ash thought since he really didn’t know what to do. Since they did not want to pry they all tried talking to someone else even though Hello Nurse, Cobra Queen, Dot, Minerva, and Rita often glanced over at their friend. Other than that the trip was neutral and they arrived at the diamond with little to no problem.

“So, you ready to lose to Baseball, like last year.” The enemy’s manager said to them as they all entered the diamond. The CEO of Warner Brothers just looked at him with a cocky grin, and the others showed zero fear over what he said.

“Considering that we beat you all those other times I can tell you that we came here to win it.” The shorter manager shouted to the taller man. The opposing team for the past games scanned their team, and spotted something he had to gloat about.

“I wouldn’t be so proud if I were you.” He said back causing all of them to get confused, or pretend to, at what he said. “I don’t see your secret weapon around.” He explained to them with an overconfident grin. Unknown to him the trainer was issued to enter the dugout through their toon based back door.

‘I don’t get it. I’m as much of a player as anyone else, so why am I the only one to get in like this.’ The monster tamer thought as he was walked into a black circle and entered a shadowed spot of the dugout. ‘According to Joe Leahy it is to - increase dramatic tension, but I want to know why they treat their worlds greatest past time as a joke.’ The hero thought as he sat in the corner.

“Let’s play BALL!!!” The umpire shouted after they had a moment for the National Anthem which shocked the traveler that none of his friends interrupted that moment of the game. Ketchum gave to them a copy of the game plan and he followed it, but he could tell that they were not going to go as he planned.

“Mr. Pitcher, your not going to strike out this cute little face are you?” The mink questioned, but the rest of the team could hear it in her voice - she didn’t put any playfulness into it. The man pitching got flustered and walked her to the first base. “Thanks sucker.” She said while jogging to the first base.

‘Wonder why there was not play in her tone.’ The CEO thought while watching the team. At first they were doing okay until the middle where they had lost a good foothold in their game, but all of a sudden they lost it. ‘I think he’s waited long enough.’ Plotz thought before looking at the corner. “Ash, your on.” He said and with that the person in question got out from the dugout.

‘Crap. I thought he had the flu or something.’ The opposing CEO thought as the man in question with double zeros his jersey headed to the pitcher’s mound since it was their turn for it.

“Sorry, Mr. Skullhead, looks like I’m on.” He said to the ‘12’ player. Naturally without a word he gave Ketchum the ball, and headed back to their dugout. Now armed with the ball the hero threw it at the batter, and it landed in the catcher’s mitt without even a tap from the batter.

‘Now, we have a game.’ Plotz thought as he watched how Ketchum was carrying them back from the brink in this inning: at least for the first two people, but the third seemed to be a bit more relaxed than the others.

“Show me what you got.” The man said and readied himself.
‘This one might be a challenge.’ Ash thought before throwing as best as he could not knowing that he added aura to his toss. He looked at the sphere, but was surprised that he was able to hit it, and was even more surprised of where it was going.

HA! Did it!” The man shouted in praise as he decided to savor it a little before getting a move on. A bad call on his part since the pitcher was already making his way over to the ball in question. As he was chasing after it on the ground an image appeared in his mind along with a phrase:

“Cable Arm.” With that phrase came a right hand connected to a cable going right at the ball in question. With a quick shake of the head the Pallet Town protector was back in reality and still had a plan to use.

“Jack, glove me.” The out of towner said after tossing his pitcher’s mitt. The ghost like man did so, and then the kid added, “Longhorn, catapult mode.” The minotaur man bent down just as he wanted, and the second his sneaker hit the right horn he was launched straight up. “Gotcha.” He cheered as soon as his glove met with the baseball.

“You’re out!” The umpire shouted as the batter just made it to the second base. Everyone was surprised that their friend high flying tactic worked. That was when they saw a problem: gravity.

“I will catch him.” The maid to the hippos said as she was about to make good use of her giraffe neck until she saw three familiar birds fly up at him. Sasha grabbed the back of his collar while her friends Lana, and Kiki took to either of his sleeves.

“This isn’t going to work.” He warned them as the ground was coming up fast even with them flapping their wings as hard as they could. It was then the monster tamer motioned for the giraffe to come over to them. The moment the yellow furred Baseball player was close enough he said to them, “Drop me.” The trio seemed scared at first but reluctantly did so.

‘We have to trust him.’ The three of them thought after they did the deed, and to their relief his plan sort of worked: he originally planned to slid on her back as he had seen on a program on Boomerang, but instead he fire poled her neck, and then landed in her arms.

“Well, this is embarrassing.” Ash said to the woman holding him while trying to hold down a blush. She too seemed a bit nervous about the situation the two of them were in, but the others on the other hand did not like it.

‘I must hurt her.’ Some of them thought as they watched the long necked beauty place the other on the ground - feet first. When reality hit them both headed back to the dugout and waited for their turn at bat.

“Better not have gotten any funny ideas.” The former shoplifter whispered to the returning savior since she wanted the maid to understand that what she may have felt was only a one time feeling before heading to home plate.

‘That seriously could have gone better.’ Ketchum thought as he once again sat in the corner despite the fact that the other team knew that he was there. He watched as his team was able do pretty well: Queen got a single as did Ralph and Favio; with them there the main foe of Freakazoid decided to bring them home:

“Thrill me?” He stated to his pitcher who threw the best curve ball he could muster, but it was still hit. As the game went on the scores kept flip flopping until it came to a tie.

“Go for it, Ash.” They all said since they knew he turned down the hero spot for them at the other events on purpose, and they wanted this to be his moment. The boy in question got up and headed for the main plate, and on his way over he saw the pitcher shaking in place.

“Hey, pal…” The current batter said to his pitcher before adding, “Not to pressure you, but I want you to throw that ball with everything you’ve got.” The request caused the person in question to be even more nervous. “Okay then…maybe you should try a pitching device if you don’t think your ready for me.” He stated when he saw his foe was scared witless.

‘This’ll be easy.’ The pitcher thought before speeding off and coming back with a pitching machine and aimed it right over the plate.

“Maybe that thing will give me a challenge.” Ketchum said as he really was getting excited over what he was seeing. The pitcher set it to the highest setting and then fired one shot. To their surprise his bat made contact and sent it flying.

“Whoa!” Several of his friends and spectators shouted in awe while others added, “Ouch! Momma! Good bye!, As the guys on the field scrambled to get the burning ball the batter ran to the bases as fast as he could.

‘He won’t get away the outfielder thought as he saw the enemy round over to third, and that’s where he threw it. Ash landed on the base in question and once there he decided to go for a leap.

‘Here goes everything.’ He thought while unknowingly added aura to his feet for a better full forward leap. Seeing this the third baseman threw the ball at their catcher by home plate, but just as tradition would go for the winning point a huge cloud of dust covered the area.

‘Did Ash show him up or will we have to do this stuff all over again.’ Plotz thought as he watched the dust cleat, but the others had another thought in mind:

‘Is Ash okay?’ The dust finally settled and saw that the ball, that was still in play seemed to be touching the young man’s head causing their boss to sulk until one of their players saw something changed.

“No, hat.” Mindy said while pointing outward. The others saw what she meant - there was no hat on his head, just wild black hair. It wasn’t until later that they saw he used his hat as an extension of his arm since the piece of clothing was touching the base while the ball was still off by a half an inch.

“Before you say anything ref, all I can say is that what he pulled can not be legal.” The opposing couch said since to ref since to him that move should not count. This caused an argument on both sides. With that an argument started between the two of them, but after a few hours they came up with an answer.

“He’ll accept it.” Plotz shouted in victory to the others causing celebration by all. Everyone gave a lot of credit to their main player this time - Ash Ketchum, and in truth he liked what he heard.

‘I guess I could tell Brain to get to getting me home in the morning.’ The hero thought as he was enjoying the praise by all of his new friends, and had a feeling that his earlier thought could wait a little longer…couldn’t it?

Copy Rights:
Ash Ketchum, and the others, are owned by Gamefreak/Nintendo and Cartoon Network.
Animaniacs, and the others, are owned by WB.