Attention: Since English is not my mothertongue you might find some spelling mistakes or syntax errors. I apologize in advance. My mothertongue is Swiss-German so I normally imagine a sentence in German and try to translate it as well as possible into English, sometimes there is a lack of vocabulary or I don't find a match or the appropriate idiom but I want to improve my English and become a better writer. Another thing I want to make clear is that I use „..." to introduce direct speech! „ are not commas but the German quotation marks, just to avoid confusion. Maria's Butler Chapter 1: Ash and his friends, Misty and Brock, were taking a time out at a peaceful location close to a pristine lake. Brock was busy cooking lunch. He decided to prepare goulash soup as well as brownies and orange crème on berry for dessert. Misty whiled away her time with Togepi, cuddling and embracing her baby-Pokémon, throwing it in the air and picking it up and Ash concentrated on his daily training. The young boy wanted to challenge his friend to fight and Misty agreed, knowing that he wouldn't have a chance against her. She chose Staryu, for the battle would take place on a tiny floating island on the lake. Ash took out his Pokéball and called Charmander who was rudely awakened. They braced themselves up for the fight when suddenly a metallic hand shot out of nowhere, grasping at the fire-Pokémon and pulling it up. A balloon in the form of a giant Meowth appeared in the sky. Ash spotted three figures leaning out of the basket, grinning malevolently. He recognized the villains right away, it was Team Rocket, once again up for mischief. The magenta-haired woman cleared her throat and began to recite their well-known motto. „Prepare for trouble", she yelled. James, her partner, joined her and laid a hand on his friend's shoulder. „And make it double", he called. Ash lost his temper and ordered Pikachu to incapacitate those intriguers. His yellow mouse got ready to attack the rogues, but was interrupted. „Cut! Cut! Cut! I need more feelings! Show me the anger, the desperation, the will to survive!", a voice with an Italian accent said. There was a chubby little podge walking out of the nearby forest. He was holding a megaphone in his hands. He approached Ash, his friends and Team Rocket and introduced himself. „Hello, my name is Mr. Bergspiel. I'm a distinguished director and I'm looking for new actors and actresses for my upcoming movie", he said. Jessie's eyes sparkled. She jumped out of the balloon and reached out her hand. „My name is Jessie, I'm your first choice. I'm talented, graceful and well-bred. I was born to be on stage. As a little kid I starred in countless plays, always impersonating the leading role", she let Mr. Bergspiel kiss her hand, a high pitched squeal escaped her mouth. James and Meowth were hanging their heads. Jessie was already conceited enough they would't be able to deal with a possible prima donna behaviour. They both hoped that this was just a joke, but Mr. Bergspiel was deadly serious. He was taken with this beautiful lady. The director was sure that he had found his Maria. Now, he needed to win her team mates and opponents in order to increase his film crew. „Miss Jessie, I believe you're valuable support for my filmstrip. You're a sight for sore eyes. Your outfit, your shape, everything from head to toe is perfect. I would like you and your partner", he was pointing at James, „to take over the main roles. What about you, kids? I promise you an avenue to fame, glory and reputation. It won't take long to shoot the movie, only a few days. It's a short, but it involves music and dancing and it is going to be my masterpiece", the director explained, heaping great praise on his movie. Misty hiked her shoulders. It was a welcome distraction and to be honest, she wasn't ready to follow Ash to his next arena competition yet. „Do you think we could maybe turn our back on your journey and dedicate ourselves to this filmlet?", she hoped that Ash would agree, but the boy shook his head. „I can't just upset the apple cart, I want to be a Pokémon-Master and you know that", he said in a childish manner. The director tried to make the movie palatable to Ash. „There are going to be Pokémon-battles during the shooting. You could star as Frankie, the boy who turns everything in the old manor upside down by training his Pokémon inside the house. Frankie destroys vases and windows, but he's a cunning trainer and was recruited to entertain the lady", Mr. Bergspiel stated. „You wouldn't miss out on your training and we could get our dazzling scenes", the director proposed. Ash briefly considered this offer, finally nodding in agreement. „Let's do this!", he yelled full of vim and vigor. Jessie turned to her friends. „Listen to me, I do have a plan", she whispered so that only James and Meowth were able to hear her. „First of all, this movie could become a springboard for my career on screen, so don't screw it up! Secondly, there are going to be lots of rare Pokémon at the set. We have to be careful and wait for a fine opportunity to catch them and bring them to our boss, what do you think? Let's play along, become famous, follow the director's instructions and at precisely the right time, we're going to buccaneer", she suggested. James and the cat-Pokémon rejoiced, it was a brilliant idea, the only thing they dreaded were Jessie's airs and graces. „Let me introduce you to my staff", Mr. Bergspiel waved at a thin and huge-grown man with hazelnut hair. His name was MacCauley, he was the cinematographer and he smiled at Jessie once he learned that she was going to star as Maria, the noblewoman. Jessie blushed a little. James lifted an eyebrow. Was this man going to mess with the trio? „Miss, I promise you to go great pains to give you an unforgettable time at the set of Mr. Bergspiel's new master stroke", he stuttered and bowed down in front of Jessie. She took advantage of this situation and aksed MacCauley to bring her fresh cranberry juice every morning. She also commanded her personal assistant to make sure that her hair and make-up looked flawlessly in front of the camera. He anticipated her every wish. „Does that mean you're in for my movie?", Mr. Bergspiel was impatient to hear their answers. Ash, Misty and Brock as well as Team Rocket nodded their heads. The director jumped in the air, cheering with arms flailing. He had eventually found his actors and was eager to shoot his musical film. „Let's meet and discuss the movie and your roles in about two hours. I expect my ambitious young artists to show up at the old Schlüter-Manor."
