" Since we're here, I decided to sign you, Misty, Brock, and Ash in a team POkemon battle." Oak said coolly one night at dinner at the Pokemon Center.

Ash spit his water out, and Gary choked on his drink. " WHAT?!" They yelled. " NO WAY!"

" Yes way." Oak said firmly. " I already signed you all up!"

Tracy clapped, clearly not seeing the problem. " This is great! New Pokemon trainers, new experiences. It's gonna be amazing!"

Ash pushed himself from the table. " Excuse me."

He went to the bathroom, locked the door, and let out a scream. 

" 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Everyone covered their ears. " Easy, Ash. Easy." Oak muttered.

" For a boy, he sure screams loud." Brock added.

" Of course he does! That's my boy!" Misty exclaimed, happily.

Ash came out of the bathroom. " I am NOT battling alongside HIM."

" Hard agree."

Tracy sighed. He needed to bring this into his own hands.

" Uh, I'll be in the bathroom if you need me."

With that, he ran to the bathroom and slammed the door shut.

Ash turned to Gary. " I'm not fighting HIM. you know what he said to me the other day? I'm pathetic. That's just downright rude!*

Misty nervously chuckled and grabbed Ash's hand. " Ash, please not now...."

Gary smirked. " Listen to your girlfriend, Ashy. She knows what's best for you. Pity you need a girl to tell you what to do."

" MISTU DOES NOT TELL ME WHAT TO DO!* Ash snapped. " FOR THE RECORD SHE'S ONE OF THE SWEETEST PEOPLE EVER! AND I WILL NOT HEAR ABOUT WORD BAD ABOUT HER, OR BROCK, OR ANY OF MY POKEMON. IS THAT UNDERSTOOD?*

Gary smirked. " Sure, sure."

Ash growled, but before he could, Togapi suddenly let out a cute, " Togapiii!"

Misty ran to it. " What ha..... Oh great."

" What?" Ash ran to the window and looked out. " Oh...."

There was a helicopter.

A very, very, very shiny helicopter.

Gary took one look at it and screeched. " That's grandpas! Who would be dumb enough to go in it and operate it?!"

" Tracy." Brock Ash and Misty said at the same time.

Oak did not look pleased. " Driving my car off a ramp is one thing, but a helicopter?! He doesn't even know how to control it!"

" Oh, I don't know, professor." Ash said in awe as he looked at his friend. " Tracy has a way of fooling us all."

Misty nodded in agreement. " So true. I mean, he did learn how to drive a car in the air in less than a day!*

Brock took binoculars out of his bag. " It's not the driving I'm worried about. It's how his tools are scattered!*

" Huh?* Ash grabbed a pair of binoculars nearly and sling them over his neck, peering through them.

Tracy's feet were on the controls, his supplies were scattered everywhere, and he was drawing.

" Should we not try to help him?* Misty asked.

" Fear not! I shall!" Gary said bravely.

Ash smirked. " I will. I'm his friend, after all."
." But you can't even catch a Pokemon the right way!"

* Says you!"

" Uh huh! Says the guy who won his way into catching Pokemon by making them feel bad!"

" Says the stuck up rich guy who's the grandson of Professor Oak!"

" Oh, i-"
." Will you two please stop arguing?!" Misty cried. " Work together!"

" Nuh uh! No way!" Ash said as he crossed his arms.

" Not gonna happen." Gary agreed.

Misty sighed, but before she could knock any sense into them, the helicopter rose quickly, and soon disappeared.

" This is all your fault!" Gary yelled.

" My fault? I'm his friend! It's your fault!*

" Guys;" Brock yelled. " It's no one's fault! Why don't you just shake hands and get over your argument for what, ten minutes? Just until we rescue Tracy!"

Ash and Gary both glared at each other, unwilling to budge.

"Fine," Ash said after a moment, "but only because Tracy's in trouble."

Gary crossed his arms. "Same here. This doesn’t mean we’re friends."

Misty sighed in relief. "Thank you. Now, can we please focus on getting Tracy down safely?"

Brock nodded. "We need a plan. We don't know how long Tracy can keep that thing in the air."

Ash clenched his fists. "Alright. Let’s go. We’ll deal with this together—just this once."

Gary smirked. "Try to keep up, Ashy-boy."

Ash growled but let it slide. For now, saving Tracy came first.

As the group rushed outside, Oak followed closely behind, shaking his head. "I hope Tracy knows what he's doing..."

Misty, holding Togepi tightly, glanced up at the sky. "He better, or this could end badly."

As the group ran outside, Tracy’s calm voice suddenly crackled through Ash's Pokégear. Misty, surprised, stopped in her tracks and grabbed the device from Ash's hand.

"Hey, Misty? You'll be happy to know I collected some of Saturn’s ring rocks!" Tracy said in a calm, almost casual tone, as if he were discussing the weather.

Misty blinked in confusion. "Oh tha—wait, WHAT?!"

Her voice rose several octaves, catching everyone’s attention. Ash, Gary, Brock, and Professor Oak stopped dead in their tracks and turned toward Misty, their expressions a mix of shock and disbelief.

"Saturn? Did he just say Saturn?!" Ash groaned, rubbing his temples.

Gary scoffed. "Saturn’s rings? How in the world did he—"

Misty, completely flabbergasted, interrupted Gary. "Tracy! How did you even get anywhere near Saturn, let alone collect rocks from its rings?!"

"Oh, it wasn’t that difficult," Tracy replied calmly, seemingly oblivious to the chaos he was causing. "Once I got the hang of flying this helicopter, I just made a quick trip to space, did a little sketching, and, well, I figured I'd grab a few souvenirs while I was there."

"WHAT?!" Misty’s voice reached new heights. "You flew to space in a helicopter?!"

Brock took a step forward, rubbing the back of his neck. "That's... uh, scientifically impossible, Tracy."

"Yeah, not to mention completely insane!" Gary added, clearly baffled. "There's no way a helicopter could even reach the atmosphere, let alone space."

Misty continued, her voice thick with incredulity. "And what do you mean by souvenirs?"

Tracy’s voice remained calm as ever. "Oh, just a couple of rocks from Saturn’s rings. You know, they’re quite beautiful when you see them up close. It’s all for my new sketches, of course. The texture of the rocks was something I couldn't resist capturing."

Misty slapped her forehead. "This cannot be happening."

Meanwhile, Ash groaned loudly. "Forget space! He should be landing that thing safely on the ground before he crashes it!"

"Of course you’d be worried about that," Gary muttered with a smirk. "Still scared of flying, huh, Ashy-boy?"

Ash turned on Gary, fists clenched. "Scared of flying? I’ve flown on Pokémon that would leave you in the dust, Gary!"

"Yeah? And how many times did you almost fall off?" Gary taunted, crossing his arms smugly.

"More than you’ve ever flown anywhere, you stuck-up—"

Misty, tired of their arguing, cut in sharply. "Will you two stop bickering for one minute?! Tracy is in a helicopter and thinks he just went to space! Can we focus on that for a second?"

Brock chimed in, trying to mediate. "Misty’s right. We need to get Tracy down before he ends up somewhere worse than Saturn."

Gary rolled his eyes but conceded. "Fine, but this is still ridiculous."

Ash huffed, clearly frustrated but determined. "We’re wasting time! Let’s get him down before he takes that thing to the moon or something!"

Misty turned her attention back to Tracy on the Pokégear. "Tracy, listen to me carefully. You need to land that helicopter right now! Where are you, exactly?"

There was a brief pause on the other end before Tracy replied, "Hmm… I’m not entirely sure, but I just passed by Jupiter a little while ago. Don’t worry, I’m making my way back toward Earth now."

"Back toward Earth?!" Misty echoed, nearly pulling her hair out in disbelief. "How did you even get past Jupiter in the first place?!"

Tracy, as nonchalant as ever, replied, "Oh, you know, just took a left turn after Mars. I was trying to get some perspective for a sketch of the solar system. Turns out, it’s even more breathtaking when you’re actually in space."

Misty was about to lose it, while Ash and Gary had resorted to muttering under their breath.

"I can’t believe this is happening," Ash groaned.

"Your friend, your problem," Gary said smugly.

"Like you'd do any better!" Ash snapped back.

Brock sighed, turning to Professor Oak. "Professor, any idea how to get Tracy back down without him thinking he’s on some intergalactic field trip?"

Oak, who had been standing quietly with his arms crossed, spoke up thoughtfully. "Well, Tracy’s always been imaginative, but if he truly believes he’s in space, we might need to talk him down very carefully. Misty, try to get him to focus on landing. Ask him how much fuel he has left in the helicopter—that might get him to realize he's still on Earth."

Misty nodded, taking a deep breath. "Okay, Tracy. Can you check how much fuel the helicopter has left? You need to make sure you have enough to land safely."

"Oh, fuel? Sure, let me check." There was a pause, and then Tracy's voice came back. "Oh, that’s odd. I didn’t use much. I guess space travel is more fuel-efficient than I thought!"

Misty facepalmed. "Tracy, you didn’t go to space.You’re still on Earth!"

"Am I, though?" Tracy mused. "I mean, what is space, really? It could just be an extension of—"

"TRACY!" Misty shouted, losing her patience. "Just get the helicopter down before you crash into something, please!"

There was a long silence before Tracy responded, "Alright, alright. I’ll head back to Earth and land. I can always sketch Saturn’s rings later."

Ash and Gary exchanged looks, both of them suppressing their groans. "Finally," Ash muttered.

Gary smirked again. "You know, Ashy, it’s a good thing I’m here to handle this. If it were up to you, we’d be stuck chasing that helicopter halfway to Neptune."

"Like you’re doing anything to help!" Ash shot back.

As the helicopter finally began descending, Misty sighed in relief, still shaking her head in disbelief. "I can’t believe this day."

Brock chuckled. "At least we won’t have to plan a rescue mission to space."

Oak smiled, though clearly exhausted by the ordeal. "Tracy’s curiosity always leads him to... interesting situations. Let’s just hope he keeps his feet—and that helicopter—on the ground from now on."

Just as it was about to land, it suddenly shot up

Like high up.

Everyone stood frozen as the helicopter shot high up into the sky, breaking through the clouds and rocketing into the atmosphere. The once-relieved group was now left staring, jaws dropping at the unbelievable sight.

"Grandpa... where is he?" Gary whispered, his voice laced with both awe and disbelief.

Professor Oak, still in shock, took out a small device used to track Tracy's location. His eyes widened as he read the data. "He’s… he’s out of Earth’s gravitational pull."

"YOU MEAN HE’S IN SPACE FOR REAL?!" Misty screeched, throwing her arms in the air in frustration. "I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS!"

Ash, trying to keep his cool, sighed heavily and pulled out his phone. He smashed Tracy's number, letting it ring a few times before finally, Tracy's voice came on, casual and calm as ever.

"Heya, Ash, how ya doin'?"

Ash blinked, utterly exasperated. "Are you serious?! What do you mean, 'How ya doin'?! Tracy, you're in space!"

"Oh, Ash. Chill," Tracy responded nonchalantly. "It's actually really nice up here. I might stay for a bit."

"WHAT?!" Ash yelled, ready to pull his hair out. "No! You’re not staying up there!"

Gary, losing his patience, snatched the phone from Ash. "Tracy, listen to me—come down to Earth right now!"

There was a brief pause on the other end. "I will."

Gary shot Ash a victorious smirk. "See, Ashy-boy, I  to—"

Tracy’s voice cut back in. "Just as soon as I collect some gas from Jupiter and ice from Neptune."

Gary’s smirk vanished instantly, and Ash groaned, burying his face in his hands. Misty threw her hands in the air again, exclaiming, "I give up!"

Brock, trying to remain calm, scratched his head. "Tracy, I don't think that’s... safe. Or possible."

"Relax, guys! I’ve got this under control," Tracy replied, sounding completely confident.

Ash shook his head, pacing in frustration. "He's really gonna do it. He’s actually gonna try."

Gary, now equally stressed, handed the phone back to Ash, muttering, "This is your problem."

"MY problem?!" Ash shot back. "You're the one who—"

Misty, ignoring the bickering, grabbed the phone from Ash. "Tracy, if you don’t land that helicopter right now, so help me, when you get back, I’ll—"

But before she could finish, Tracy cut in cheerfully, "Sorry, Misty, but I’m already halfway to Jupiter. I’ll be back before you know it. Oh! The stars are really pretty up here, by the way. I’ll take some notes."

Misty, Ash, Gary, and Brock were left speechless, watching helplessly as Tracy’s helicopter disappeared further and further into the sky.

"Well," Brock said after a long pause, "at least he's getting some great research material?"

Misty glared at him. "Not helping, Brock."

"Yeah, not helping," Ash muttered, already trying to figure out how to deal with the next phase of this bizarre adventure.

Professor Oak just shook his head, sighing deeply. "Let’s hope Tracy remembers how to come back… and that he doesn’t decide to visit Mars on the way."

" What a great idea!" Tracy chirped."

Ash sighed as his hat fell off his head, his jacket sprawled on the grass. " It's been an hour," he complained. " When's he gonna come back?"

Misty turned to Oak. " Why did you bring the helicopter?"

Oak looked surprised. ' why would I bring a helicopter?!"

Ash opened an eye. " Did Gary bring it?"

Gary shot .ash a look.

" Sorry. It was just a question."

Brock sighed as he looked at the device. " It's been a while since he's been up there."

Gary looked at Ash reluctantly. " Hate to admit it, Ash, but if we don't work together, your friend will stay up there for a while."

Ash sat up, brushing off some grass and adjusting Pikachu as the little yellow Pokémon perched on his shoulder. "Yeah. I guess you're right, Gary." He hated to admit it, but Tracy wasn't going to come down anytime soon if they didn’t come up with a plan—and fast.

Gary crossed his arms, looking off into the sky. "First things first, we need to figure out exactly how to get him back. We can't just wait for him to run out of gas."

"Or oxygen," Brock added grimly, still staring at the tracking device. "His altitude is beyond anything we've ever dealt with."

Misty turned to Professor Oak, her voice tinged with concern. "Professor, can't we contact some sort of space agency? Maybe they can help?"

Oak rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Well, we could try contacting them, but considering the unusual nature of how Tracy got up there, it might take a while for them to respond. Plus, who knows if they’ll take us seriously."

Ash groaned and flopped back onto the grass. "Great. So we’re on our own. What else is new?"

Gary looked at Ash, his face serious. "Listen, I know you don’t like working with me, but we need to put our heads together. Tracy’s your friend, and we don’t have time for arguing."

Ash blinked up at him and then sat up again, determination settling in his eyes. "You’re right, Gary. Let’s put our differences aside. We’ve got to get him down."

Misty crossed her arms, nodding. "Finally, you two agree on something. But what’s the plan?"

Brock stood up, pacing slightly. "We need a way to communicate with him better. If we can figure out what he’s seeing and experiencing, we might be able to guide him down."

Gary brightened up. "I've got an idea! If we use the tracking device, I could potentially rig it to send a more powerful signal. Maybe even enough to control the helicopter remotely."

Ash looked over at Gary with interest. "You can do that?"

Gary smirked. "You’re not the only one who knows how to think on your feet, Ash."

"Well, it’s better than doing nothing," Misty said, leaning over Brock’s shoulder to look at the tracking device. "Let’s give it a try."

Oak nodded approvingly. "Sounds like a solid plan. Gary, go ahead and make the modifications. Brock, help him out."

As they got to work, Ash, Pikachu, and Misty sat by, watching the skies anxiously. Pikachu tilted its head toward Ash, offering a small, encouraging "Pika."

Ash smiled faintly, patting Pikachu on the head. "Don’t worry, buddy. We’ll get him back." Then he looked to Misty. "I hope Gary’s plan works."

"It has to," Misty replied, folding her arms and narrowing her eyes. "Because if it doesn't, I swear, Tracy’s not the only one floating off into space."

After a tense few minutes, Gary and Brock had managed to rework the tracking device. Gary wiped some sweat from his brow, proud of their efforts. "Alright, this should do it. We’ll use this signal to guide the helicopter back into Earth's atmosphere. It's going to take some precision though."

Ash nodded, full of renewed determination. "Let’s do it."

With that, Gary initiated the remote control. They watched as the small blip on the tracking device slowly began to change direction, descending from the distant reaches of space.

Ash, Misty, and Brock held their breath, watching the sky and waiting for any sign of the helicopter. Minutes felt like hours as the tension mounted.

Then, finally, a distant roar echoed through the air. Ash leaped to his feet. "Is that—?"

Before anyone could answer, Tracy’s helicopter appeared, descending from the clouds, wobbling slightly as it approached the ground. Tracy’s voice crackled through the phone once more.

"Hey, guys! Looks like I’m heading back! I was just about to grab some ice from Neptune too. Close call!"

Ash groaned, half-relieved, half-annoyed. "Tracy!"

The helicopter touched down roughly on the grass. As the engine sputtered and shut off, Tracy leaned out, grinning from ear to ear. "That was an awesome adventure, huh?"

Misty marched over, looking like she was about to explode. "TRACY, YOU—"

But before she could start, Ash placed a hand on her shoulder and shook his head. "It’s fine, Misty. He’s back."

Tracy blinked, looking at them with confusion. "What? Did I miss something?"

Pikachu sighed in sync with Ash. "Pika..."

Then Tracy grinned. " Then I think my plan worked."

" Your plan?!" Everyone yelled.

Tracy nodded, proud. " Yep ! I flew the helicopter here and hid it somewhere so you wouldn't see it. Later, when you and Gary were bickering, I decided I needed to help you two work together."

" So you went to outer space?!" Ash practically yelled.

Tracy nodded. " I don't see the problem."

Ash threw his hands up in frustration. "You don't see the problem?! Tracy, you could've been stuck up there forever! We were worried sick down here!"

Misty, her face red with anger, marched forward, poking Tracy in the chest. "You decided to go to outer space to get us to work together? How does that even make sense?!"

Tracy, annoyingly calm as usual, simply shrugged. "It seemed like the only way. You guys were bickering too much, and I figured if you had a common problem to solve—like getting me back—it would bring you closer together."

Ash stared at him, wide-eyed. "Tracy, you could've died! This isn't some friendly competition—it's space!"

Brock, ever the mediator, tried to ease the tension. "I think what Ash is trying to say, Tracy, is that your plan was...extreme. There were probably safer ways to get us to work together."

Gary crossed his arms, shaking his head. "I hate to say it, but Ash is right. You could’ve seriously gotten hurt, and then what? We wouldn't have been able to do anything. And dragging me into this…"

Tracy blinked, still entirely unfazed. "But you two did work together, didn’t you?"

Misty clenched her fists. "That’s not the point, Tracy! You can’t just pull crazy stunts like that and expect us to be okay with it!" She looked like she was about to explode again.

Tracy just scratched the back of his head, still grinning. "Well, it worked, didn’t it? You guys are closer now, right?"

Ash groaned, rubbing his face with both hands. Pikachu mimicked his frustration with a soft "Pika..." Gary and Ash exchanged a glance, both equally annoyed but resigned.

"Okay, fine, Tracy," Ash sighed, clearly exasperated. "We worked together, but next time, maybe just ask us to work things out like normal people? You don’t need to go to space to make a point."

Tracy nodded, still completely unfazed by their frustration. "Sure, next time I’ll stick to something simpler. Maybe just a hike to the mountains instead."

Misty gave him a sharp look. "No more ‘plans,’ Tracy."

Tracy chuckled, finally starting to grasp their frustration, though he still didn’t seem to fully understand. "Alright, alright, no more space trips. Promise."

Brock shook his head, a small smirk forming. "Leave it to Tracy to take things to the next level… literally."

Gary sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "I don’t know how you deal with this guy, Ash."

Ash threw his hands up, smiling despite himself. "Honestly, I don’t know either." He gave Tracy a friendly punch on the arm. "Just... no more trips to space, okay?"

Tracy smiled brightly, still as annoyingly calm as ever. "Got it. I’ll leave the space travel to the professionals."

Suddenly, Tracy took two necklaces out and, with quick reflexes and speed, out a half on Gary and Ash's neck. They looked down.

It was a half heart, broken in the middle.

* Is that...." Ash stared.

" A necklace?!" Gary squeeked.

Ash and Gary stared at the matching necklaces hanging around their necks, each a half of a broken heart.

"Is this supposed to be some kind of... joke?" Ash asked, still staring at the necklace in disbelief. He gently held the half-heart in his hand, the edges jagged where it should connect with Gary’s half.

Gary, utterly baffled, looked at his own necklace with wide eyes. "Tracy, what is this? A friendship necklace? We’re not ten anymore!"

" Actually you both are.* Brock pointed out

The boys glared at him. " It's a figure of speech." Ash said.

Tracy grinned, still annoyingly calm. "It’s a bonding necklace! I got the idea while floating around up there." He pointed up at the sky, as if outer space had somehow been the source of his inspiration. "I thought, since you guys worked together and all, you should have something to remember this by."

Ash and Gary exchanged an awkward glance.

Misty groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. "Seriously, Tracy? Bonding necklaces?"

Brock couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity. "Well, if nothing else, it’ll be a good story to tell."

Gary quickly reached up to pull the necklace off. "Okay, no offense, but I don’t need some... tacky jewelry to remember this."

But as he tried to remove it, the necklace wouldn’t budge. Ash tugged at his as well, with the same result.

"Uh, Tracy," Ash said cautiously, "why won’t it come off?"

Tracy's grin widened. "Oh, I forgot to mention—those necklaces? They’re special. You can’t take them off until the bond is truly formed."

Ash's jaw dropped. "WHAT?!"

Gary threw his hands up in exasperation. "You’ve got to be kidding me! How long do we have to wear these things?"

Tracy just shrugged. "Until you two stop bickering and are real friends. Trust me, it'll be fun!"

"Fun?!" Gary screeched, glaring at Tracy. "How is this fun?!"

Ash sighed, looking defeated. "Tracy, we already worked together! Isn’t that enough?"

Pikachu, sitting on Ash’s shoulder, tilted its head and gave a soft "Pika pi..." as if sympathizing with Ash’s plight.

Tracy just smiled, still oblivious to the frustration around him. "Don’t worry. You’ll figure it out. You guys always do."

Misty, unable to hold back her laughter anymore, started giggling. "You two are stuck with matching necklaces! This is too good!"

Brock patted Ash on the back, still chuckling. "Well, at least you’ll have something to remember this adventure by, right?"

Ash groaned, feeling the weight of the necklace and the situation. "This is going to be a long day."