" .... And when I turned, it was gone! Along with the other stuff I donated!" Oak was in the verge of pulling his hair out. " I spent years on that project, and with one villain, it's... Gone!"

Ash sighed. " Hey, Gary, take over."

Gary moved into the seat as Ash went out the window and onto the van's roof. " What're you gonna do?"

Before Ash could reply, the airplane began to take off.

" No!" He exclaimed, jumping and grabbing the wheel.

Gary screeched the car to a stop. " Did he.... Did he just...."

" Jump on a moving plane?!" Tracy finished. " Yes!"

"  What was he thinking?!"

Gary and Tracy stared in shock as Ash clung to the wheel of the airplane, desperately trying to pull himself up. The vehicle started to accelerate up into the air, the engines roaring louder with each passing second. They jumped out as they watched.

Gary shook his head in disbelief. "Did he seriously just jump onto a moving plane?!"

Tracy was wide-eyed. "Yes... yes, he did! What is he thinking?!" He turned to Professor Oak, who was pacing back and forth, his hand on his forehead.

Oak let out a deep sigh, clearly on the verge of losing it. "He's going to risk his life... to save a discovery of mine?! I mean, it's not worth it! It's just some research! He could get hurt!"

Gary ran his hand through his hair, watching Ash climb higher on the plane. "I knew Ash was brave, but this is crazy—even for him!"

Tracy nodded in agreement. "And he's unarmed! What's he going to do once he gets in there? Throw a Pokéball at them?!"

Oak, still pacing, shook his head vigorously. "I never should've let him get involved... This isn't some Pokémon battle—this is dangerous! He's risking his life for something that doesn't matter compared to his safety!"

Gary glanced at the professor, his voice quiet. "But it does matter to him. That's just Ash. He won't stand by and watch someone steal or hurt anyone, no matter how crazy the situation."

Oak paused for a moment, watching as Ash finally reached the cockpit window, trying to force it open. He rubbed his temples in frustration. "This boy... I swear, one day he's going to give me a heart attack."

"And what if the plane goes behind the clouds?" Tracy asked, biting his nails nervously. "What then?"

Gary gulped, watching the plane pick up more speed as Ash frantically worked. "Then I guess... we hope Ash pulls off another miracle."

Behind the clouds, Ash kicked the window open and crawled in.

" This. Ends. Now." He said firmly as he held out a Poke ball.

Team Rocket smirked. " Oh, look. It's the little twerp." Jessie said.

" Too late. We've already taken off!" Meowth added.

Ash growled. " Give me the professor's Poke ball!"

" No way!" James piped up. " It's very, very, very rare!"

" Then you leave me no choice." He threw the Poke ball.

Ash’s Poké Ball soared through the air, bursting open with a flash of light. Pikachu emerged, sparks flying off his cheeks, eyes narrowed in determination. ( They needed a way of sneaking him on board, and ash promised him a lot of Ketchup.)

"Alright, Pikachu! Thunderbolt, now!" Ash commanded, his voice full of intensity.

Pikachu immediately unleashed a powerful surge of electricity, the entire cockpit lighting up in flashes of bright yellow. The blast caught Team Rocket off guard, sending them reeling back in their seats.

"Ow! Ow! Ow!" Jessie shrieked as the electricity shocked them.

"Stop it, twerp!" Meowth yelled, leaping forward. "Fury Swipes!"

Meowth charged toward Pikachu, claws out. Pikachu barely dodged the attack, sparks still crackling around him as he bounded onto a nearby control panel.

"Not so fast, Pikachu!" James shouted. "Weezing, Smog attack!"

Weezing appeared, filling the cockpit with a thick, noxious cloud of smoke. Ash coughed, trying to wave the fumes away as the visibility quickly diminished.

"Pikachu, hang in there!" Ash shouted through the fog.

Pikachu's ears twitched as he tried to sense the oncoming threats. Just then, a shadow lunged through the smog.

“Arbok, Poison Sting!” Jessie cried.

Arbok’s sharp needles flew through the air, but Pikachu was quick, bouncing from panel to panel to avoid them. Pikachu’s agility was unmatched, darting through the cockpit as sparks flew off his fur.

"Electro Ball!" Ash ordered, raising his fist.

Pikachu leapt into the air, forming a glowing orb of electricity in front of him before launching it straight at Arbok. The Electro Ball hit with a massive explosion, sending Arbok crashing into Jessie and James.

"Ugh! This is a nightmare!" James grumbled, scrambling back to his feet.

Team Rocket wasn’t giving up. They activated the emergency doors, causing powerful gusts of wind to whip through the plane. Ash grabbed onto the nearest control lever as the force threatened to pull him out.

"Pikachu, be careful!" Ash yelled over the howling wind.

Jessie laughed maniacally, "It's over for you, twerp!"

Ash gritted his teeth. "Pikachu, Iron Tail!"

Pikachu's tail glowed bright as steel, and with a powerful swing, he shattered the control panel Team Rocket had been using, causing sparks to fly everywhere. The plane lurched violently to the side, sending Team Rocket tumbling into the walls of the cockpit.

"Ahhh!" Jessie screamed as she tried to regain her balance.

"Quick, use Thunderbolt again!" Ash shouted.

Pikachu unleashed another blast of electricity, sending shockwaves through the entire plane. The cockpit shook violently as the electricity fried the controls. Team Rocket’s Pokémon were paralyzed, and Jessie, James, and Meowth screamed as they were thrown into each other from the impact.

"That's it!" Ash yelled, seeing his chance. "Pikachu, let's finish this!"

Pikachu leapt forward, cheeks glowing with a final surge of electricity. "Pika...CHUUUUU!" he cried, unleashing a devastating Thunder attack.

The entire cockpit exploded with light as the attack hit Team Rocket head-on. With a final scream of defeat, they were blown out of the plane through the emergency exit they had foolishly opened, spiraling into the clouds.

"Looks like Team Rocket’s blasting off agaaaaain!" they yelled as they disappeared from sight.

Ash collapsed back onto the floor of the cockpit, panting heavily. Pikachu jumped into his arms, looking just as exhausted but triumphant.

"We did it, buddy," Ash whispered, holding Pikachu close. The wind finally settled as Ash caught his breath, staring out the broken window into the vast expanse of clouds, knowing they had saved the day once again.

Then he turned to the back. " Charizard, I choose you!"

The dragon emerged.

" Charizard, bring Pikachu down."

He handed the dragon his Pokemon, the Charizard nodded, jumping out and flying.

Ash sighed. " Good. They're safe."

He quickly ran to the back, threw the door open, and poke balls came rolling out.

" Which one is the professors...." He muttered as he went through Each one.

Finally, he came upon a golden one with the Initials S. O. Engraved on it.

" This is it." He said as he grabbed it and stuffed it in his pocket.

Then he saw a painting.

" Is this where the professor's painting went?!" He muttered as he grabbed it and checked the back.

It had his name on it.

Samuel Oak

Ash nodded and ran to the emergency exit, kicking the door open.

He peered down. Clouds.

Ash gulped. All his flying pokemon were down on the ground with Tracy and Gary and the Professor.

So ash took a deep breath, walked back, and ran to the exit and jumped out.

" AAAAAAAAAAAH!" he screamed as he hugged the painting to his chest.

Gary and Tracy were driving through the runway, searching for ash. " Where is he?" Gary muttered as he eased on the gas.

" There!" Tracy yelled.

Gary looked up, and saw a figure falling.

" Ash!" He exclaimed.

Tracy looked at his impact zone. " He's gonna crash!"

" Not if I have anything to say about it!" Gary stepped on the gas, and they went lurching forward.

" Almost.... Almost.... Got him!" Gary smirked as Ash hit the van's roof.

Gary screeched the van to a halt as Ash landed hard on the roof, making a loud thud. Both Gary and Tracy stared up in disbelief as Ash lay sprawled across the top, panting heavily but still clutching the painting.

After a moment, Ash grinned, hopping off the roof and handing the painting and the golden Poké Ball to Professor Oak. "Here you go, Professor," he said, a bit out of breath but with his usual enthusiasm. "Your discovery is safe."

Professor Oak blinked in shock, holding the precious items in his hands. "Ash... You risked your life for this? I mean... It's incredible, but... it wasn't worth—"

"Yeah, yeah, I’m fine, Professor," Ash cut him off, starting to walk away quickly, brushing it off as though it was nothing. "No big deal, really."

Gary leaned out of the driver's seat, shaking his head. "Ash, are you okay? You just fell out of the sky!"

"Yeah, I'm good!" Ash said, waving dismissively, trying to escape the attention as he quickened his pace. But just as he was about to get away, Gary stood up on the van roof, hands on his hips, staring down at him.

"Ash," Gary called out in a firm voice.

Ash froze, feeling the weight of Gary’s eyes on him. Slowly, he turned around, looking up to see Gary's unamused expression. "What?" Ash muttered.

Gary raised an eyebrow, still standing on the van with his arms crossed. "Ash... I’m not blind. You’re clearly not fine."

Ash sighed heavily, rubbing the back of his neck. "Okay, maybe I’m a little... banged up. But nothing too serious. I’ve been through worse."

Gary jumped down from the van, walking up to Ash. "You can’t just jump out of planes and act like it’s normal, Ash. You were lucky this time."

Tracy nodded in agreement, walking up beside them. "Seriously, Ash, that was nuts! You’ve got to be more careful."

Ash shrugged with a sheepish grin. "I had to save the professor's stuff. It’s what I do."

Gary put a hand on Ash’s shoulder. "Just… don’t make it a habit, alright? You’ve got people who care about you, y'know?"

Ash paused, glancing at Gary, then at Tracy and Professor Oak. He sighed, nodding slightly. "Yeah… I get it. I’ll try not to worry you guys so much."

Gary smirked, giving him a light punch on the arm. "Good. Now, let’s head back before you decide to jump off another flying object."

Ash laughed, rubbing his arm. "Alright, alright, I’m done jumping off things for today."