Author’s Note- At this point the story is going to become very screwed up…. Just one warning: Most of what I write, I can’t even explain. I just think my ideas are cool, that’s all. Yes, Yui and Morty will be main characters in the story... I love Morty too much to exclude him. And YES, James IS falling in love with Sakura… but don’t worry! Nothing will happen!! I promise you this, because my friend who likes her would kill me!! My other friends who like James would kill me! And I would feel dirty since Sakura is ten and he is like what, seventeen? Trust me… I have messed up ideas!! Bear with me!! On to the story:

Pokemon Cards

Chapter 1- Card Captor James

“So, this is your girlfriend?” Misty asked for the millionth time.
“Yes!” Morty exclaimed, throwing his arm around the brown haired girl. She laughed, sweat dropped and smiled at the group of teenagers.
“Morty talked a lot about you, Ash,” she said. “He said your Noctowl was really strong!”
“I guess so,” Ash said shyly. “I did beat that Gengar…”
“Yeah well, so did Yui,” Morty said, pointing to the Fog Badge on the left side of the girl’s yellow sleeveless top. “Her Umbreon kicked my ass.”
“You know what? Shut up. You threw the battle,” Yui said with mock anger.
“Did not!!” he said, pushing her lightly. All five of them laughed, and the small Pikachu sitting at Ash’s side snickered.
“Hey Morty, I was wondering if you wanted to have another battle?” Ash asked. “It would help both of us train.”
“I’d love to,” Morty said. “Come on, I’ll take you to the battlefield.”
“Now let’s watch Morty get beat again…. Are you sure your Gengar’s up for the challenge?” Yui joked.
Morty glared at her. “You are in so much trouble,” he said, poking her side. She jumped back, giggling, and reached forward to snap his headband. “Good luck!” she chirped, following Morty to his side of the battlefield. Ash stood at his end, defended by Misty, Pikachu and their other friend Brock.
“Ready to lose again?” he asked.
“Sorry Ash, but this battle’s mine!!” Morty informed. Ash just smiled. “We’ll see…”

James, Meowth and Sakura had been sitting and talking for hours… they had been trying to explain to each other about their separate worlds. Sakura was still in the dark about the strange animals called “Pokemon.”
“So let me get this straight,” she said, looking over the Pokeball that James had given her. “You catch them in these, and fight other people’s Pokemon with them?”
“Dat’s da idea,” Meowth said. Sakura smiled. “I.. probably shouldn’t get used to this. Once I get my cards back, I have to go straight back home. Everyone’s probably worried…”
“Oh… how did you come here in the first place?” James asked curiously.
“I have two very close friends back home… named Yue and Kero Beros,” Sakura said. “They are my guardians… they used their powers to send me here after the cards. We don’t even know how they got here…” Sakura then stopped, burying her head in her hands. James placed his hand softly on her shoulder.
“You miss them, don’t you?” he asked. Sakura nodded, and James hung his head. He knew exactly how she felt.
Sakura looked up, showing a tearless face. “I promised I wouldn’t cry,” she announced. “I will find the cards, and I will go back to see them.”
“Yes… You will, Sakura,” James said confidently. Sakura looked up at him, and threw her arms around his shoulders with a great deal of affection and gratefulness. “Thank you, James,” she said, letting one tear fall. “You’re the best.”
James smiled… he looked into her deep green eyes. They were the same color as his. ‘She’s cute…’ James thought. “I wish she was just a few years younger…’
Suddenly, Meowth broke James out of his daydreamy mode. “Hey… why don’t we show Sakura how we make our living?” he suggested. “Dose twerpy kids are probably at Ecruteak by now…”
James froze. He looked at Sakura, and thought to himself, ‘I can’t tell her I’m a Pokemon thief!!’
“Who are you talking about?” Sakura asked. Meowth looked up at her proudly, and said, “I’m talkin’ ‘bout some little kids who have a Pikachu. We’ve been trying for years to swipe it, but…”
“Swipe it?” Sakura questioned? “Why would you want to steal something from someone else?”
“Sakura…” James said slowly, “would you be mad if I told you that… Meowth and I aren’t exactly… good guys?”
Sakura stopped in her tracks. “James…” He frowned… he could hear the fear in her voice. “I won’t do anything to hurt you, Sakura, if that’s what you’re thinking,” he explained. “I am a Team Rocket member… I don’t exactly capture Pokemon. I steal them from others.”
Sakura looked very hurt. “Why didn’t you tell me?” she cried. “All this time I thought you were so nice and… I saved you!!”
“Sakura, please…” James began.
“I think I’ll leave now,” she said, standing up. James stood up to try and stop her… but he soon discovered that it wouldn’t take much effort. She took two steps toward the door, and stopped, frozen in thought. “I sense…” she began, but her sentence never got a chance to finish. She bolted, slamming the door of the log cabin behind her.
“Sakura!” James called out. He reopened the door and ran after her, pursued by Meowth; to their surprise she was running straight for Ecruteak City…

“PIKACHU!!! THUNDERBOLT, QUICK!!” Ash called out. But the command came way too late… the Shadow Ball released by Gengar hit the yellow mouse right between the eyes. He swaggered over to Ash, and collapsed at his trainer’s feet. Ash picked him up, and held him while saying, “Good try, Pikachu.”
Ash then turned to Morty. “All right, I concede. You’ve gotten better!” he said.
“Ooh! Nice battle, Morty, you beat him!” Yui said, tackling him by his shoulders. They both fell to the gym floor, and Yui kissed his cheek before she got up. Morty stood up, blushing.
“Return, Gengar,” he said, calling his Ghost-type Pokemon back to its ball. “You deserve a good rest,” he said to the ball. (Which has always confused me, how can the Pokemon hear when they’re inside the ball? But anyway…)
“Ash, shouldn’t we get going?” Brock said, breaking the silence from their side of the arena. “You want to get to Mahogany Town, don’t you?”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Ash returned, placing the fainted Pikachu on his broad shoulder. He was pretty buff for a twelve-year-old, obviously the result of his rigorous training with his Pokemon. “Okay, let’s go. See ya Morty, Yui.”
The two boys turned to walk away, but Misty stayed put, staring blankly into the corner of the room. “Misty, come on!” Ash called. Misty did not move or respond… she seemed to be caught in some kind of trance. “Misty,” Ash started, walking toward her. But he gasped in surprise when he saw what she was staring at. Flower petals, falling from the ceiling of the gym.
“What the…?” Morty exclaimed, running toward the corner. He caught one of the pink petals in his hand, looking intently at it. “Where are they coming from?” he questioned to himself, staring at the ceiling. There wasn’t an opening… they just seemed to be appearing there.
“Wow! It’s kinda pretty,” Yui said, stepping up behind him. “How romantic, they’re rose petals!!”
“But it doesn’t make sense!” Brock said. “They’re just appearing... it’s not physically possible!”
“Maybe… A Pokemon?” said the clueless Ash. But of course they were all clueless… no one knew… except the girl who burst into the gym at that moment, holding the staff with the golden star.
“Finally!” she exclaimed, running underneath the shower of petals. “I found one…”
“Excuse me, but who are you?” Morty asked, staring in confusion at the girl in the pink dress. She started to respond, but another person ran into the room, panting furiously. “Sakura…” he breathed.
“James! What are you doing here?” Misty screeched. “Where’s Jessie?”
“Jessie… isn’t here,” James said slowly, wanting to get off of that topic quickly. He turned back to Sakura.
“Why did you follow me?” she asked angrily.
“I followed you because you have to understand, Sakura,” he said. “I saw you and being evil totally slipped my mind… if you were older you could change that for an eternity…” James stopped himself. He knew he sounded like an idiot.
Sakura was frozen again. She stared at James, unknowing what emotion should cross her face. The impressions she had of him when she found out his secret were not all that impressive... but his words now sounded sincere.
“Oh… I can’t worry about you right now!” she shouted. She turned back to the shower of rose petals. “Flower,” she whispered gently. “I know it’s you. Please come out of hiding.”
Everyone stared. The girl sounded crazy, talking to a bunch of petals. But the bright flash of pink light that flashed throughout the room proved that she wasn’t crazy… there was actually someone there to talk to.
A girl stood in the middle of the mess of flowers on the ground… she had light green hair that was done up in two very exaggerated curls. Her dress was pink and extremely low cut, and the skirt had two layers. Her bright emerald green eyes lit up her face.
Sakura looked at the girl (well, card) and extended her arms. “I missed you!” she chirped, running to hug her friend. But Flower ignored her… she rushed straight ahead to the blue haired boy that stood behind her.
“Eep!” James squeaked as Flower took him by the arms. She looked him in the eyes, smiling brightly, and began to spin him in a broad circle. She laughed, releasing more flower petals from the pink light that surrounded them. The petals grew, and eventually all kinds of flowers were flying through Ecruteak Gym.
“Cool,” Morty said, catching a rose to give to Yui. “Hey Ash, maybe you should take one for Misty…”
“Okay, Misty is not my girlfriend!” Ash claimed, but it was obvious that he was blushing (sorry, couldn’t resist ^_^).
Sakura, however, was not quite enjoying herself. She stared at Flower, dancing with James. Usually, Flower would only go to the people she trusted; after all, she had chosen Sakura to be her master. But James? Sakura was very confused.
“What do I do?” James said in a nervous voice.
“Just… let her dance with you, I guess,” Sakura replied. She watched for another minute or so before she decided it was time to seal it…
Sakura raised the staff. She didn’t want to break the bond between James and Flower; Flower looked so happy; but she knew she had to. “Flower Card,” she chanted as the star began to spin. “Return to your power confined! Star Card!”
It was like a movie; a bright light flashed from the tip of the staff, and transparent pink ribbons wrapped around Flower, ripping her away from her dance partner. She smiled at him one last time, and blinked flirtatiously as she became a card again. The card started to fly toward Sakura… but at the last minute it changed direction, floating carelessly into James’s hands.
“What?” Sakura exclaimed. “How…”
Before she could finish, the card started glowing… this time a rainbowy-blue color. The light shot over James in a matter of about half a second. He trembled, dropping the card to his feet. “I’m really scared now…” he mumbled, looking down at his feet, but trying not to look at the Flower card.
“James, I’d like you to try something,” Sakura said, picking up the card. She handed it back to him, and said, “Give it a command.”
“Command?” James questioned confusedly.
“Tell it to make a flower for you… that’s all it can do,” she told him.
James felt very nervous… but he lifted the card, looked at it and said, “Please make me a red rose.”
At first, nothing happened. James stood there, staring at the picture of the beautiful girl. There was a long pause… and a red rose fell from the sky. It landed softly in the palm of James’s free hand, and Sakura smiled brightly.
“Flower is really good at recognizing people’s personalities,” she said. “She has chosen you, James. So now I know that you can be trusted. I forgive you.”
James looked at Sakura. After another long pause, he spoke. “Thank you,” he said. He and Sakura embraced in a sudden friendship hug, and when they parted they stared at each other for a while.
“I was wrong about you,” Sakura said. “I’m glad Flower was around to show me my mistake.”
“So am I,” James replied. “Believe me, so am I.”
“Okay, this is all very nice, but could we clean up these flowers? My gym is a mess!” Morty said, breaking the tension. Everyone just looked at him and laughed… but the laughter stopped when they looked at the vast amount of flowers on the battlefield.
“Let’s get started,” Yui said. “It’s gonna be a long afternoon.”

After the gym was spotless, Ash, Misty and Brock left for Mahogany Town. Not much else to say there (they’re not really important. They never were.) Yui and Morty of course stayed at Ecruteak Gym… Morty said he was trying to pass her off as a gym assistant so that no-one found out he was no longer single! ( ^ .~ ) This just left Sakura and James.
“What do you think we should do?” James asked her. They were sitting outside the gym, watching the sun set and stretching out their arms (which were incredibly stiff from cleaning up after Flower).
“I want to travel,” Sakura said. “I think, since this world is so big, if we moved around a bit it might be easier to find the other cards.”
“Yeah… I kind of have to help now, don’t I?” James said.
“If you want,” Sakura said. “I mean, I don’t really need Flower all that much…”
“I’ll help you,” James said. “It’s the least I can do for you.”
It seemed like such a perfect moment… the sun setting over two best friends who had been rivals hours before. But then the moment was shattered… a very angry Meowth stomped up to them.
“You left me at da cabin, James!” he exclaimed, pointing at him with an accusing claw. “Chasin’ after some girl… Crazy!”
“Shut up, Meowth,” James laughed. “You up for a little footwork?”
“If you don’t apologize, my foot’s gonna be connecting wit’ your…”
“Okay, sorry,” James said. “I’m going traveling with Sakura… to help her find the cards she is looking for.”
“Would you like to join us too?” Sakura offered.
Meowth froze, as if he was thinking. “Maybe I’ll stay here,” Meowth said. “I can hang around Ecruteak and try to find Jess… oh, never mind. Sorry, James,” he said quickly.
James looked down at his feet. “It’s okay, I guess,” he said. “Well, we can stay at that stupid cabin tonight, Sakura… you up for it?”
“Why not,” she returned. “I guess I’ll see you later, Meowth?”
“I hope so!” Meowth chirped. James could have sworn he saw the scratch cat blush… but then again, he thought, who wouldn’t?
“Let’s go, Sakura,” he said, starting back down the road to Olivine. There were no more words… Sakura followed him, and together they began their journey, walking away from the setting sun.

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^_^ OOH!! I really like!! Do you like? Please send me comments: burakii_chan@hotmail.com Wow! This story’s gonna be kind of long but it’s gonna be really really really good!! *meows* See ya!!