►HOME

►PREVIOUS CHAPTER

    The gym leader gave himself a little breather before deciding to take on my challenge. His brows furrowed. "I'll be back." he said sternly.

    Pffph, I could see Shafter was struggling to pick his next choice on this one! Aww, and would you look at that? He grabbed an item! Two? Pshh! He revived Klinswarda and fed it battle pills or whatever the heck they were called again.

    That Pokémon was terrified the moment it came onto the battlefield again! Looked like its trainer was starting to lose confidence already, huh? I kept laughing like a Mightyena, this was too perfect! "Hey, Shafter, make your first move already!"

    I heard a gulp under that mask. "Klinswarda, don't hold back on these two! Avoid the blade at all costs!" he commanded. "Aim straight for the back if you can!"

    "Toshinmac! Grab that hammer!" I shouted once Klinswarda was hopping off a wall already, fully locked and loaded. Sure, the moment Toshinmac dodged it and grabbed one of the legs instead, quickly getting the hammer, it was so electrifying…But that didn't matter, he had the only source of real power Klinswarda had left. "Shoot it up!"

    Toshinmac launched the weapon upwards as we both knew that Klinswarda could launch itself far, but in reality, I was trying to get it stuck to the scythe. My Pokémon zipped up with his scythe as well, staying there until Shafter made his decision. "You think Klinswarda is nothing without its hammer, ey? Oh, please, that was just to plummet that monster with…"

    It jumped to the wall and midway through, tried sending out as much electricity as possible, shocking Toshinmac into paralysis! I felt my heart beat faster as he quickly got back up again. "You don't know anything about my Pokémon either, ey?" I smiled as I flipped my cap around.

    Hammer or not, he was no match against me! Zipping and zipping through, the scythe was the better weapon! Shafter was scrambling as to why Toshinmac came back up from such a heavy paralysis like it was nothing! And I, I…I was feeling worse than before…

    "Boy, don't you want to forfeit?" he panicked.

    Tch. Like hell I'd do that. That Klinswarda wasn't looking too good either! "Finish it!" I struggled to point.

    In the brawl of weaponry, Toshinmac came out on top and I–I struggled to keep myself a float as Shafter quickly returned his Pokémon and the others came rushing to me. "Ash!" Jake yelled before I collapsed onto the ground. He held me against his shoulder and shuddered as I let out a cough. "What were you thinking!" he demanded.

    "Take the badge and go." Shafter ordered. He took his mask off…and he only had a single scar under his chin? "And you two, take that boy to the Center instead–anything…I worry for him…"

    "Got it, Shafter! Come on, Ash…"

    My mind was in a daze, everything swrived and I could only spot distant shadows. Any attempt of trying to pick up on something was futile; it was like hearing wild pokémon cries. I believed somebody kept smiling at me though, but with mockery as I couldn't spot their face anywhere. I felt like soup, just drifting along in a sea of nonsense…

    Thankfully, whatever I felt was temporary as my senses slowly started returning. I was laid across a hotel bed–apparently Shinji said that it was better for the Pokémon Center to not get involved, and that I should just rest at my own pace. Jake put the thermometer across my forehead as he shuddered again. "Below 90! Shinji, I don't think–"

    "He'll be alright again. It's better to not interfere with the natural healing process. He has, what we refer to as, denomvok fever."

    "What's denomvok fever?" Jake asked, shakingly.

    "Dangerous illness from a stranger," he explained. "Denomvok is what they started calling us once the card game grew obsolete, and as you can see…if you don't listen to warnings and really battle your heart out, this will happen. Unless you forfeit, you will lose yourself in battle." He raised a brow as he stared back at me, fully disappointed from our match.

    "...Shinji…please…shut up…" I uttered in a low, raspy voice (as if it couldn't get any raspier…). And it felt like I was covered, deep in snow…again…Like I just came back from Mt. Silver…

    "Ash, I told you," Shinji kept reprimanding. "You knew the risks and that this could happen–"

    "Yeah, but…I wasn't thinking straight." I coughed.

    "Oh, no, I could tell you weren't yourself, but you were feeding into the desire to battle, correct?"

    "... I mean–" He shook his head and started making his way towards the door handle.

    "So, case in point: Ash lost himself, ey?" Jake asked.

    "Correct." Shinji answered. I groaned at it all as another cough went by. "I think it's best to leave him alone, for now. The illness usually wears off after half a day's rest."

    "So, what do we do?..." Jake asked as they followed suite and exited the door, probably to check up on Miley's (and my own) Pokémon.

    I couldn't believe it. What did they mean by losing myself? How come all this happens and I wasn't able to control it? I tried thinking back to other battles, why now did it get this bad? Was it because I really didn't want to forfeit this time around? Why did I continue the battle! My head hurt and I didn't want to think about anything so I turned on the television to numb it a little.

    "This just in!" Oh, it was the general news. "Vandalism has struck Yujoh's Central Park again! In the same manner too, posters covered the gym sets and playgrounds, having a red spade stamped on the back, with words in Blawsth stating the following:

Those who seek must reek. 

    Some have speculated this to be an insult targeted towards Blawsth's police department, others think it's a local gang threat! Officer Jensen is still investigating it and has advised the public to let the local police unit handle it. However, if you see any similar posters or vandalism, please call the Police Department right away! Anyways, let's get the local gym leader, Larwence's take on it!"

    The camera turned to a pretty young trainer, wearing a coat and scarf. He had long curly ginger hair of the shade of a Growlithe and a spray can in his hand. He also wore a mask of some sort of Pokémon I'd never seen before… "Oh, hi!" he presented himself, astounded.

    "If the vandals are targeting Yujoh specifically, what do you intend on doing about it?"

    "Hm…Guess we'll freeze ‘em while they're out. But that's only if they start to do things to our city, which I won't allow under my watch!"

    "We've gotten reports that the locals are getting worried about potential gang activity, any comments?"

    "Nope! I got to finish this sculpt anyways, nice chattin' with you, buh-bye!" He put the mask back on and entered a tunnel under some kind of bridge with a team of Pokémon behind him.

    "This has been your host, Jane W., who's ready to warm up soon! Let's check on Cosmog for the weather today!..."

    Blah. More and more spades…But that was a future Gym Leader I had to face, huh? Hm…but more snow too…Anyways, it was cold and lonely in the room, and I wasn't sure when the others would be back. I didn't want to risk something in case I had to go outside or whatever, considering the fact that I was still coughing…

    That hotel fan was better than anything else on TV, which was just filled with boring news stuff, dumb soap operas spoken entirely in Blawsth–no good matches were happening either, except the champion winning another one live! Lucille did it once again, as Jake would put it, "Finishing it off with dark class and style, like a true star in the night sky!" I couldn't find the cartoons anywhere on the tube though, so I just tried laying there, and took a nap.

    I didn't have any weird dreams, except some last minute sequence that bothered me while waking up. It was back to when I was late to my first official day as a trainer and ended up being the last person at Oak's lab. That younger version of me, he passed by me now in confusion, but just kept on running. Those days, despite how rough they were, seemed so much better than this.

    The door to our hotel room opened and Pikachu ran inside, alongside Doragin! "Pika-pi!" he shouted, sounding so worried…

    And of course, Doragin was ready to peck me, but Shinji quickly made sure that didn't happen! "Now, now, now, what did I say about the trainer?" he scolded.

    "Dory…" it bemoaned.

    "Kid, how's it looking?"

    "A little better…" I answered.

    He pulled out the thermometer and scanned. "Yeah, slightly. However, considering how you bounce back from things, I'd say this should be gone sometime in the evening!"

    "... Really?" I coughed.

    "Yes, yes, but please, lay still. You have the Dex in case you need anything."

    "Okay."

    "Hey, I'm planning on making something later…" Miley announced. "Do you have anything in mind?"

    "...Soup?" I asked as she, Shinji, and Jake were about to leave.

    "Alright, we'll be back soon! Take care, Ash!" Jake said as he closed the door.

    Pikachu climbed onto my bed and put a paw against my cheek. "Pi?"

    "Yeah, I know. Cold…What took you guys so long, anyways? I had a whole nap while you were gone…"

    "Pika-pi, pika pi-pi , pikachu, pi… " He was waving his arm around, and Doragin, leaning over a nightstand, gave him a peck. "Chu. Pika-pi…" He shrugged.

    "Hm, guess I won't get an exclusive look at the pokéverse with Shinji away…" I coughed again. "...Man, this is the worst…"

    Pikachu tried turning the TV on, and luckily, he found the music channel! Neurotic Savantics music videos were on right after another gothic rock act, and apparently they had an hour-long retro rap block coming up next! Despite me growing fond of Blawsth speak, I enjoyed the fact that I was able to understand almost every lyric from the songs I've heard from the Nuvantics so far! Those words Jake's dad wrote, they stuck by me while we traveled.

Oh, you were my!

Oh, you were my!

Best loving friend!

And ever since you flew by

My days were left with your dread…

And I walk along in your shadows

Hearing your voice, it still follows

And despite all this I,

I feel like the Omanyte

Wasted, forgotten,

And mostly dead,

Under this blue sky

Just give me a hand…

At least you're still a part of me!

You've dug deep in my memory!

Oh, you were my!

Oh, you were my!

Best loving friend!

And ever since you flew by

My days were left with your dread…

    Those riffs too…they actually made me want to pick up my own guitar! I thought that Jake must've been real proud to have a guy like that as his dad. I wondered where he went after the band though? Jake told me they broke up since he was ten, but he never told me why though?

    As the music video ended, a commercial break hit, announcing an upcoming music award show where the members of a girl group called Tri Dia were going to perform a never before seen contest styled act, promising to show off their flying pokémon! And another gym leader called Lele was going to make a special appearance with them too? I was learning so much!

    I heard some beeping on the table! "Pikachu, hand me the Dex!"

    "Pika!" He flicked it with his tail as I grabbed it perfectly with my hands. I may have lost myself but not my grip!

    I pressed the button."Hey, Sammy!" I croaked.

    "Ash! You aren't sounding so good…is everything alright?"

    "Well…I just got done battling with Shafter."

    "Oh dear…did you use Toshinmac?"

    "...Yes."

    "Will you know when you'll be alright?"

    "Yes." I coughed. "Shinji said…in about noon."

    "Well…Since you're in this state, I'm obligated to ask the symptoms."

    "My temperature's all the way low, my sweat's all cold, and I have this awful voice…It sucks." Ugh...why was he calling me anyways? Didn't he have school work or whatever they did in that building?

    I heard knocking from the other line. "Hey, Sammy!" said a girl whose voice was a bit muffled by the radio. "Come on! I want to watch you fight Tati–please, please?"

    "In a minute!" he shouted. "Just catching up with a friend, I'll be back with you shortly!"

    "Okay! Come on, Skitty–let's go!" She hummed some sort of tune as she skipped along in the background. Who was she? She sounded very young.

    "Sorry about that–looks like I'm caught under some baby-sitting…" he chuckled.

    "Hey, you never told us whatever happened between you and Tati?" I asked.

    "Never?" He laughed a little. "I told Jake just the other week, is he gatekeeping it from you?"

    "Hm, I guess so!"

    "Oh well, since you're interested in these affairs, for once, I'll like to properly inform you that she had the upper hand over me…"

    "Huh? What do you mean?"

    "That night…she adored the gift but wondered if I truly was the one…so we had a little pokémon battle on the rooftop, and low and behold. That Dragonite of hers may have a friendly face…but it's certainly a monster on the battlefield!"

    "Well, just train some more, I'm sure you'll get her…eventually." I tried cheering him on.

    "Yeah…no thanks, ammani. I've moved on from it and besides…we're just better as friends…" He was a little silent after that…

    The door knocked again. "Sammy! Come on, I want to see Noctowl do that gush-fwoo thing! And then maybe, I can fly! Right, Skitty?"

    "Skitty!" the Pokémon chirped.

    "Kat, just give me another–" Sam tried stating to buy us some more time.

    "Ah, come on, Sammy! You focus too much on school…let's have fun!" This girl was persistent!

    "Oh, well. Ash, looks like I'll have to talk to you later. Anyways, I'll just quickly say that other thing I was going to ask you: When was the last time you've checked up on Gary? He told me that he sent you at least two text messages over the weekend and you didn't respond?" He sounded so disappointed…

    "Oh, shoot! You're right, Sam! I guess I got too busy trying to run away from this Onyx we found to respond back…"

    "Yeah, you got chased down by that thing on Tuesday, almost forgot…"

    "And then, I had to deal with that stupid trainer that wanted to see Toshinmac the next day, and I guess I got too exhausted to pick the Dex up and answer him back." I scratched my cheek…and I forgot that one other message he sent the other week…and I was too busy dining to check…and then, Jake kept dragging us around town to find that one replacement skin cream bottle…and then, I had to look for the ingredients instead because he was that needy…and then, I got food poisoning…Huh. Just how many messages did Gary send me?

    I checked the mailbox and oh, no–it was about to explode! "Pika-pi…" Pikachu scolded somewhat.

    "So, his messages have been collecting dust as you've been dealing with the scenario of the day?" Sam inferred brilliantly.

    "Woah, just like a Noctowl, good eye!" This was way more embarrassing than any of the other events that unfolded the moment I arrived in this region… "You know what, I'll just give him a quick radio chat instead! Then, we can talk about whatever he wants."

    "Better not scare him with that voice, though…he's been scaring me with his big Quarar theories. Best of luck, Ash."

    "Yeah, you too!" I tried cheering again.

    "Will do. Buh-bye!"

    "See ya'!" The call ended as I marked the next number…There was no waiting time, he picked up instantly as I gulped. "Hey, Gary…"

    "Ashy? Is that you?" he asked, concerned.

    "Yeah. I'm not feeling all that good…"

"Yeesh, I can tell! This better have nothing to do with that Toshinmac business…That Shinji guy is not looking so bright under these lenses…"

    "Brea?" his Umbreon poked through the mic.

    "Oh, it's just Ashy here, nothing to worry about!" he tried reassuring it.

    "Pika-pika!" Pikachu tried saying hi back.

    "Jeez, it's been a while! How's it going, Pikachu?"

    "Pika-chu! Pika-pi…" The mouse turned back at me.

    "Yeah…sorry for not answering your texts." I answered bashfully. "I got way too sidetracked here, hehe. What's been going on with you, anyways? I remember that the Professor said something about you working on a Mt. Silver report or something, did anything happen with that?"

    "Well…You know how that blizzard kept going? It finally stopped and we've gotten it under control; the pokémon seem to be behaving as they usually do. It's the source that's been bothering me, though. Ash, sorry for asking this, but remember how you tried looking for that trainer a long while back? Just before the accident?"

    "Oh yeah…how could I forget?" I rolled my eyes.

    "We've concluded that guy must've been responsible for keeping things in check since most of the sporadic activity came from the very peak. The only problem is actually trying to find this guy…he doesn't have records anywhere. Not in Kanto, not in Johto, nada. He wasn't any older than us from what the reports said, hey even you can confirm it, right?"

    "Yeah, he was thirteen, twelve I think." Couldn't really tell, though. That guy looked so tired by the time he spotted me.

    Gary kept thinking. "The locals said that they never saw him before and thought it was the ghost of some boy who went too far, but no–he was a real person. He might have had amnesia, but barely anyone knows anything about him, except that he's a little on the quiet side and probably only fought other trainers because that's the only thing he remembered doing…poor guy." He stayed a little silent. "I really hope nothing happened to him. He seemed to have a real talent for training pokémon–he kept them in top shape at all times from what I've heard."

    Gee, now I wished I finished that climb, all the way… "So, what were those meetings the Professor had anyways? It seemed urgent."

    "That's the thing…it's under lock and key. I don't know anything about it...other than Gramp's done with his flights and he's back home with us! Oh, hey, and that reminds me–with him being back and Tracey willing to run the lab again once I leave, I'll be off to Blawsth under the nice, warm sun, and fresh, cool breeze of the average regional late spring day!"

    "Wait, so you're coming?"

    "Yuh-huh! That region's weather is at its best during the summer and I'm not missing out on it! Besides, the Institute has offered me free courses and premium services because Mr. Colt is finally satisfied with my linguistics exam results. That and I got the little Ratzavok I caught a while back that they'd like to examine. Cue the fanfare!"

    "Gary…you'd be lucky if you got any of those cheerleaders in that school to cheer for you." I tried tormenting him.

    "Hah, that's what you think. It's actually pretty easy to get a date over there if you know what you're doing. Shame that Sammy-Boy fumbled it over by only cutting the pie for girls to about six-percent while schoolwork outweighs by eighty! And with my dashing good looks, superior charm and brilliant mind, Gary Oak's back on the menu! Just you wait, Ketchum–you'll be begging for a girlfriend once I get mine!"

    "Hah! You wish I needed a girl." I crossed my arms behind my neck as the radio call continued.

    "I mean, they're like having a real nice companion, you just need to find one with a good personality, otherwise you'll be dealing with trouble. Y'know, putting that out there, in case you change your mind…"

    "Yeah…I think I'll stick to catching pokémon instead." Man, screw all that dating crap–even Brock was all at it once and kept asking me, "Ash, you gotta get out there and really explore the world! Think of all the girls you're missing out on–" no thanks. I ended up coughing again and, man, that was a hard one!

    "Ooh…that sounded pretty nasty." Gary remarked. "Oh, darn it, I almost forgot…most of those messages were sent ‘cause of some reports you made. Ash, this may bother you when I say this, but I'm gonna say it outright…all signs show that Toshinmac is indeed, a very dangerous fellow who's just sucking your life away like a dang Ratzavok."

    "But you just told me that you caught one a while ago! How bad is it?"

    "Well, Ashy, let me give you a little history and biology lesson…I'm sure you already know this, but Ratzavok are fueled by blood. Back then, if you didn't raise it right, it would start by sipping from the finger, and then slowly as it kept evolving into a Ratzcul, it ends up draining you dry before mating with another Pokémon and laying eggs right after. Thankfully, all that stuff has been cleared up with some better trainers and blood packets! I never even knew that they sold that stuff in Blawsth, because Zubat love it!" Oh yeah, I did see a Nurse Joy offering a Ratzavok trainer a little packet once…

    "Your point is?"

    "If our conclusions are correct, then Shinji is actively sucking your life energy just to stay here, even when you're unaware of it! What the heck, he even told us that from the beginning, and now we're starting to see some of the major effects from this. Of course, we will need people from the Institute to run a full exam on you and to see if it's any different from your last physical exam, but, Ash…I mean it when I say this: Don't trust him completely. Until we find more people who have played the card game or if any of your buddies manage to activate the Pokémon assigned to them…I don't even want to think what Toshinmac can do at full power." He paused for a brief moment, until going back to me. "And I'm talking about your end too. Ash, what happened in that battle?"

    "I went against Shafter, and I guess I got a little too cocky and really pushed it to the limit…Shinji kept telling me not to overdo it, and I did it anyway… "

    "Geez…" Gary was jotting notes in the background. "And how did all that make you feel?"

    "I swear they need to invent a Pokémon that says 'Therapy!' so I don't have to tell you all the time."

    "What can I say? Sam said they had psychology courses in that school and hey, better practice for it! Anyways, back to the question, did you feel like you were under some influence during that battle?"

    "Yes and no. He said that I–" I coughed. "Lost myself…And honestly, looking back, I wouldn't disagree with him either." This was so stupid, why me?

    "Alright, so, let's go a little further than that–back to that train! Sam told me that after you guys played that Spade Game, he heard some shouting from the bathroom, but he couldn't make it out and assumed you were probably overwhelmed with coming here. You seemed a little jittery, anyways. That, and from what I've heard, Jakey can be a bloke that knows how to push buttons."

    "You say it like you know it!"

    He laughed. "Well, Sam complains about it sometimes. Anyways, back to the question…Ash, did you feel anything on that train to get you acting like that?"

    "Well…I did feel something watching over me all the time…"

    "Did that something ask or make you do something you wouldn't?"

    "It didn't ask anything, but I felt like telling the truth to Jake, just right there…"

    "The truth? How much did you say?"

    "The plane tickets, the broken leg, that I was bored, everything…" And that last thing, just what on earth was wrong with me when I said that! We stayed silent…

    "Alright, so there's a trigger then. And once you pull it, the Bullet Seed of truth comes out with some more Leech Seeds…Have you gotten any of the others to act weird or paranoid even?" He kept clicking his pen…

    "Hm…nope."

    "Cool. I'm still in a rut with Sam. Y'know, I thought Tatiana rejecting him would get me somewhere. I tried tormenting him on his battle skills once, but nada. He's a real tough case to open, I can't really find any possible flaws besides him needing to switch up his schedule every now and then. He keeps it so cool…but I bet if I give him enough time, he'll fess up." Oh great, can't wait for Jake and Miley to do the same…

    He stopped jotting down notes for a second. Hm…that trigger…I wondered, back at the train, how Jake pulled it so easily…Cut me right open, and I had to do the same to him someday…

    "Hey, Ashy?" Gary spoke up. "Let's talk about something else for once, now that I got you through this radio!"

    Wait, I actually had a chance to talk about normal things for once? No Toshinmac, no cards, just dumb talk nonsense? Finally! "Like, what?" I asked, a little ecstatic.

    "How's Blawsth been so far? I've only ever seen glimpses of it from the mountain ridge, it sure is small but gorgeous!"

    "You can say that again! The leaves here change color, almost like fall!"

    "Mm-hm! And it's red and violet all the way west, then it morphes into blue when you go east! It's kinda how every town in Kanto's named after a color; it's wonderful."

    "Hey, that reminds me–there was a big lake on the way here that contained all sorts of water Pokémon inside. They had a bunch of bait I never knew existed!"

    "Hm, Starmarniez Lake I reckon? Shame you missed it when it was the most beautiful." he sighed.

    "What do you mean?"

    "People said that there was a Pokémon below the depths of the Lake, but even from the docks you could see a large bright light from it! Someone must have caught it at that tournament though, freaking sham."

    It couldn't be from that trainer, the Pikachu motorbike guy…he caught it? "Well…A new friend of mine got a bracelet from there though! It was so cool, it got tiny pictures of pokémon painted on it, and it was really pretty!"

    "Was it that Cinanna girl? She keeps sending Sam pictures all the time–she's got some interesting pokémon with her!"

    "Yeah. In fact, Shinji bought her that bracelet because she was being so nice with her pokémon! She's so awesome, I really enjoyed meeting her!"

    "Wait, where did Shinji get the pocket money from anyways? Those beads are expensive, anything marked with traditional always are."

    "He bought it with the money some trainer gave to me for some reason."

    "Ah! Stealing your life, and your money!" he said, with full confidence.

    "Speaking of…You still owe me, Gary."

    "Well, seeing your route, once you pass by Mahtverin City, I'll finally be attending the Institute, so I guess I'll have to pay ya' back then!"

    "That's not all…" I smiled a little. "I've never seen Pikachu so happy around somebody else. I know Shinji can speak to Pokémon–heck, he is one! But…stuff like that gift makes him seem like a nice guy, if you get what I'm saying."

    "Hmm, yeah. A bunch of the reports say that the Pokémon tend to be more comfortable with him and he likes to hang around with them more. But whenever he's with you guys, he doesn't seem to have that much trouble fitting in…" He paused for a moment. "Ash, there's something I told Sam already, but he told me I was probably being paranoid again," he explained in a depressed tone.

    "What's the matter?" I asked.

    "There was another thing I found through those reports the moment you went missing…but I thought that was way too huge of a leap to make. Do you know about the fashion model, Alice Belmout?"

    "Alice? Yeah, I've heard about some girl named Belmout from Cici. Why?"

    "She was a brilliant model. Her parents personally paid to have that school built since it's what she would have wanted…Ash?" he asked. "I'm afraid to admit that Alice has been dead for almost thirty years."

    "Oh…that's sad to hear…" She sounded like such a fantastic person…wait. "Huh? Gary, you said thirty years?"

    "Ash, people say that her death came out of nowhere. Some guy's car started to malfunction, and even his own Dyakord couldn't fix it in time. And somehow, it ended up hitting her. They said that she was seeing someone at the time…and he so happens to match Shinji's description, as a human…"

    My jaw dropped. "No way!"

    "I'm not saying that he's responsible for it, but the resemblance is uncanny. Some have even said that she had a deal with Toshinmac to rise to stardom in such a short amount of time, which is a complete insult to her abilities as an intelligent young woman! And they couldn't be any farther from the truth…" He took a pause. "At the same time…they missed the mark by only a little."

    "Gary, don't make my heart run, I just barely recovered!" I started coughing again–damn it!

    "Oh, sorry. My bad…Let's move on from that! How's Stahlotoh? Heard they got a nice museum over there with some stones called Eluso? Elado?"

    "Elego ore! They say it's got a bunch of electricity inside. I always see people come back from mining it, but never I've seen it up close. Guess I gotta check that museum out then." Hm, that reminded me. "Hey, do you know if Shafter and Surge know each other?"

    Gary giggled. "Oh, yeah, they met because Shafter was hired as an emergency technician that one time. Good pals from what I've heard, but Shafter's on a higher ranking though, why?"

"Shafter said something about a few Kanto friends telling him about me…That he set up his team to get rid of Pikachu."

    "Oh yeah, didn't you do a bunch of rematches against the Gym Leaders back home before the accident? Heard that they had to bring their whole team out for that mouse of your's!" he teased as Pikachu tilted his ears bashfully.

    "How much do you think he knows about me?" I continued.

    "Ash, between you, me, Gramps, your mom, Mimey, those three freaks that keep getting caught no matter how much they try to escape prison, and some Pallet Town residents, nobody knows about the fact that you ran away. They all assumed that you went off in some other league in Blawsth and that your mom really missed you because you haven't left home in a long time. That, and well, I guess I do have some influence!" He cracked his knuckles. "I got them thinking that you wanted to keep that low profile for good!"

    "So, Shafter just knows that I'm a really good trainer?" I asked, hopeful.

    "Yeah, and–oh! I just got pictures from that match you just had. Let's see what Miley shot…" He gasped. "Ash, you look horrible in some of these. Crazy even."

    "Huh? How horrible?"

    "Like you've spent the past six nights chasing Pikachu crazy. And I thought I had a bad sleep schedule…"

    "Well…" Gosh, this was awkward…

    "Gary!" some research assistant shouted in the background. "I got a load off from the K and low and I was wondern' if you could help me with some of these papers. We got one about X-UBAL6 and L-ETIY7, even some about ZET–" I heard another gasp from the man as he got closer to the radio. "That boy looks like an entire Gastly–"

    "Look, don't worry about it!" Gary tried reassuring. "I'll help you with some of those parcels and oh, Ash, how about you rest a little, okay? Bye!"

    "Bye." I pressed the button and threw the Dex back to Pikachu. I curled in my bed, with my knees against my chest. What went wrong with me!

    "Pika-pi?"

    I wasn't going to cry, but I sure felt like it. The rest of the gang could be back at any moment, so I tried shutting my eyes again for a good nap. I felt a peck from behind; Doragin was on the bed. "What do you want?" I said in a tone I shouldn't have used. It kept pecking me again and again until I got off the bed. "Just what the heck do you want? Pikachu, are you just gonna let it mess with me?"

    "Pika…" he shrugged, probably in on it.

    I went on the other bed and Doragin followed me there. "Doragin, what? I bet you think it's pathetic to see your trainer like this, huh?" It pecked again. "You know, if you don't want me to act like this… you're not helping…"

    Doragin jumped off from the bed and rested grumpily on a wooden chair set by the entertainment center. Pikachu jumped onto the other night stand next to the bed. As the next rap song came into play on the television, the others finally came back!

    "Alright, we're gonna be making some soup for today!" Miley announced as she closed the door behind the rest of them. "Ash, are you feeling better?" she asked as her Gothita jumped across beds. "Gothita sure is, look at it go!"

    I looked back at it as it sat on a pillowcase, and it kept looking at me. Those huge doe-eyes… "What is it, Gothita?" I tried asking politely.

    It took notice of me and hopped out of the bed and onto Miley's shoulder as she set the ingredients in her grocery bag onto the counter. Shinji took notice of the Pokémon as well. "Hey, Gothita, did you see anything funny?" he asked. It shook its head. "Well, I guess there's nothing to worry about…for now…"

    Jake laid across the other bed. "Gosh, I'm exhausted…" He stared back at the TV. "Hey, Ash, was there anything on the news?"

    "Just these guys vandalizing Yujoh City."

    He sat up and turned to me. "Again? This is starting to get Freaky McDeaky…I don't like this…"

    "Wait, what happened in Yujoh?" Shinji asked as he helped cut the onions.

    "A few weeks ago, they put up posters with spades on them, I think they were threatening the police! They keep saying that there's a gang brewing there…I really hope this has nothing to do with those Pokémon hunters that keep popping up…This could be bad for Blawsth…"

    "Yeah, usually something absolutely freaking terrible comes with regional gangs." Miley irked.

    "Guys, I've seen this before." Shinji tried assuring them. "I bet it's just a group of kids pulling your leg."

    "Oh yeah? When?"

    "Hm, about thirty years ago. These kids who heard one of Francis' songs, all about your's truly, and decided it'd be a funny idea to prank Mahtverin City by saying that Toshinmac was coming to doom them all! They tried handing out fake newspapers and everyone bought it, it was pretty funny looking back, haha!" He looked at Jake. "Your dad got in trouble with the police too! They said he and Deets were trying to start a gang. Then they finally found the kids before they got smeargle to vandalize the Institute and pin the blame on me! Can you believe some of these people?"

    "Actually, I could. They're still trying to say that about his band…" Jacob admitted. "He only got into more trouble after that…" He crossed his arms firmly.

    "Well, anyways, it's gotta be kids like that again, ey?" Miley asked. "I remember that they tried doing almost the exact same thing a few years back, but a different band got blamed that time!"

    "Wasn't just one band–it was a bunch of ‘em. Kids at school looked at me differently because of it…"

    "Hey, what did they do?" I asked.

    "These kids wanted to revolt against school so we could all start training young like all the other adults did when they were our age," Jake explained. "So they personally went up against the previous champ's team with some pokémon they took from their parents…They only raised the limit after that!"

    "But what did the bands do?"

    "Pssh, nada! It's the same case with the Nuvantics–they only took advantage of the situation and got more popular because of it. Smart guy, my Dad was!"

    "Yeah, you too, Toshinmac! People love dressing up as you during Slidenjoskin day!" Miley added. "Like some people wished they were Ash!" Well, she wasn't that far off… "If they knew how we played the card game–oh, they'd get crazy with it!"

    "Huh? But that's not the way you acted when I showed up." Shinji remarked as he started adding the sliced vegetables into the pot.

    "Ummmmm…that's because you weren't supposed to be real! You're still, like, this fairytale! It's just that people are willing to scream your name into the bathroom for gaggles now!"

    He sighed as he put his hands into his pocket. "This world…"

    Miley went over to the remote. "I'm getting a little sick of all this noise, I hope they got some contest news!" She switched the channel and whatever they spoke about got her excited. "Eee, there is contest news!" she squealed. "Oh, it's happening in Verdori City! Ash, the next gym is there! I bet you wanna get there as fast as possible, ey–" She turned around and saw me still slumped on the bed. "Well…as soon as you recover…"

    Gosh, and I thought I escaped the hospital already. That injury, I swore, it never left me. I put the blanket over my head as Miley and the others kept talking amongst themselves. I took a short nap too as I quickly found that the blanket was rolled towards the half of my upper body, and it wasn't until Jake decided to be the sneaky Ekans that he was and slid an ice cube under my foot when I fully woke up!

    I threw my blanket at him. "What's the matter!" I scolded in a less raspy voice.

    He giggled. "Soup time! Miley put lemon in it and everything, come on!"

    I got off the bed and sat on a stool near the counter. The soup smelled really good, and I dug my spoon into it already! I didn't even notice how much time passed since I ate breakfast! "Wow, thanks!"

    "Wait, we haven't checked the thermometer yet. Let me go get it…" Miley went after it and put it over my forehead. "Alright–normal body temperature! You're back on track, Ketchum!"

    I slammed my fist on the counter as Pikachu got on my shoulder. "Yes!"

    "Shinji, do you think now we can start packing up for Verdori? I know you wanna watch that show too!" she asked in enthusiasm.

    "But didn't Ash miss the stuff around here?" Shinji asked.

    "Stuff-bluff! It's just a bunch of factories and that boring museum! Over at Verdori, though? We can catch a bunch of acts! It's Blawsth's celebrity capitol! Eek! Maybe we can even catch one of the Dia members off guard! Can we go, please, please, please?" she begged.

    Shinji looked at me. "Kid?"

    I was devouring that soup, and it was already half-way through! "Already? Well…if you say so…"

    "Oh, don't worry about the museum, Ash," Jake chimed in. "Miley's just mad that she couldn't ride one of the tanks there!"

    "There's a tank? Oh, man, then I have to go!"

    "But, Jake!" Miley whined. "Mudenble might be there, and they're your favorite band!" she kept highlighting.

    "Say, let's leave later tonight. Got it, Miles? For now, though, I guess you can stick behind and watch the tube or whatever. Come on, Ash, it'll be awesome!"

    "Of course! Just let me grab my Dex…" With that device, I could take and carry pictures wherever! You could even send it into your personal PC to print out for later. A part of me wanted to run back home just to decorate my room with all the pics I took–I never thought that I'd take up scrapbooking!

    Shinji held the spade game box in his hand. "So, Miley, wanna play while they're gone? The traditional, normal way I mean. No summoning included."

    "Oh yeah, that sounds like fun! First person to grab a spade has to pack up though!"

    "Alright!" They both sat across the counter and played cards while I quickly finished that dish and put the Dex in my pocket. I also covered the pot back with the lid!

    "Coming back soon for seconds! Bye!" I said as we left.

    "Oh, right!" Yeesh, I hoped this wouldn't become a problem–did I really look that young? Before I could even pull it out, we heard some footsteps rushing our way! As Jake turned around, his eyes widened as we both endured a surprise glomp attack!

    "Cianna!" we shouted!

    She pulled back. "Oh-em-geez! Hey, guys! Guess who just got their first badge!" She got out her case, also adorned with rhinestones!

    "Wow! How angry was Shafter?" Jake asked.

    "Mm…Not that angry…He just beat another trainer before me, and that girl was so mad…I was kinda scared of sending Docwah against him…But he was actually super nice and got me free tickets to the museum!"

    "Boys, will one of you pay up?" asked the cashier.

    "Nuh-uh, they're good!" she said as she pulled out the tickets. She turned back at me as the cashier accepted it. "Hey, Ash, did you get a cold?"

    "Nope! He just swallowed a berry too hard and now his voice is stuck like that, ha, ha! That was a little silly of you to do, ey, Ashy?" Jake tried laughing off.

    "Huh?" I asked him. He lifted his brows as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed. "Oh, yeah. Guess I really overdid it!"

    "Aw Shuckles," Cianna condoled. "Hope ya' feel better! Anyways, let's go!"

    We went inside and oh my gosh, they had a bunch of tanks and fighter planes hanging from the ceiling! The museum was separated into two sections: one containing the ore exhibit and another one of the region's modern history! Of course, since Jake was more interested in the left side with all the war stuff, we decided to venture over there first. They had some pictures hung up right next to some uniform stands, and I spotted one of a younger Shafter, standing next to Surge! Now that I saw it…Surge looked like a big baby back then!

    I giggled a little, snapping a photo. "Oh, joyous! I see you're interested in our history. Though, do stick at least a foot away from the display case, mi breshon. Other than that, you can keep taking pictures!" said a curator who was petting Pikachu.

    "Oh, okay!" I took a step back, and I couldn't wait to show some of the pics to the folks back home…I was too excited to be depressed!

    "Wow. Kinda hard to imagine that they did all that, all those years ago…" Cianna wondered. "Hey, you think that'd ever happen to us?" she asked.

    "Huh? No way. That's such a weird question, coming from you, Cici. 'You a little nervous about it?" Jake replied back.

    "Oh, nope! I guess that battle with Shafter still has me a little shaken. He knows how to get through you! It took me two tries to beat him…but I managed, see!" She smiled.

    "You can say that again…Maybe he should have raised flying-type Pokémon with the way he kept poking holes all over us, haha!" We started laughing amongst ourselves.

    Then we heard a large mechanical sound coming from across the museum! We were going to run over to check it out, but then we realized that one of the tanks' wheels started turning! "If you can revive a fossil, you can revive a relic!" shouted a familiar gruff guy's voice from inside.

    "Looks over there to be some oddish that need some mowin', ey?" said a coarse woman's voice. The tank broke out of its strings and started moving towards us!

    "Take cover!" I shouted as we ran behind a display case. The tank ran through the wall ahead of us as it broke down upon collision.

    "Getzoot! It wasn't as durable as I thought to be! We even got the stone and everything!"

    "Stone?" I whispered. We could hear an uproar from the right side of the museum–they must've taken something!

    "Quick, those pesky kids are still out! The little boy has a Pikachu too–they're all trainers!" said the gruff voice. He popped the cap out and oh, could you believe it? It was the freakin' guy in the trench coat again!

    "Are you kidding me!" I shouted. Before I could send anyone into battle, that crony inside was turning the freaking cannon towards us!

    "Ehehe, I'm so glad that unlike most regions, Dex entries here don't lie." said the woman, as a Dyakord sprang out from the hood…

    "Shoot anything around here and you'll both get the full brunt of it!" the curator shouted. "I just sent Shafter a signal, and guess what? He was just chatting with Jensen a while ago!"

    Cianna popped out from behind me. "Yeah! Go Mr. Curator!" she cheered. "I'll help you ammani!" She ran straight into battle as the female hunter sent out her own Pokémon! It was a white bird whose feather's ends were coated in color, and pointy purple spikes! I'd never seen it before, and neither did Cici… "Wh–who is that pokémon!" She trembled.

    The woman cackled. "A real fiend that is!"

▶TO BE CONTINUED

►NEXT CHAPTER