Stranded - Part One, a pokémon fanfic

Disclaimer

Disclaimer - I do not own and am not responsible for the characters of Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, etc. I wish I was, then I would "be rich and rule the world!!" Mwahahaha! No, seriously, the people at Nintendo, 4Kids Productions, etc. etc., deserve a pat on the back for these fantastic characters ::pat pat:: Sadly, in all truth, I'm just a mere fan of Pokémon, and now a fanfic author. Therefore, the PLOT of this story is mine...don't steal it! I hope you enjoy my stories. Let me know what you think...constructive criticism welcomed in moderation...good comments are nice also ^_^

Rated: PG Type: Romance Ages: Ash-13 Misty-14 Brock-16 Jessie-18 James-18

Ignore the fact that Ash was much younger when they visited Cinnabar Island...I just picked a location for the sake of comparison, and their ages for the sake of my own ability to do so, alright? Imagine that they (Ash, Misty and Brock) are still traveling...clueless, as usual. ^_^ And that Team Rocket is still making those useless Pikachu-nabbing attempts...

[A.N. - Gol, it's been a loooooong time since I posted a fic, I know. I forgot how to write! Ahhh! Haha, just kidding. Thanks to Tiny Pikababy, who's return to FanFiction.Net inspired my own...long awaited return (yeah right ^_^). It's a little short,, but it's a multi-parter, rest assured. I did this all today, I find that the best way...to sit down and do it all at once. Poké/Rocket-shippy...if ya don't like that, exit now! Tee hee. Soo, without further ado, onto the fic!...]

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

..:Stranded - Part 1:..

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Brock stood aloof, scratching his head. He squinted at a section of the map [A.N.- Like that's anything new...he's always squinting ^_^]

"This doesn't make any sense...we've followed the map for the last few miles and it all works out...," said Brock.

"Well, we've been walking on a straight path for the last few miles...it's not like you need a map for THAT," commented Misty with a smile.

"True..." responded Brock. He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. Suddenly, as if enlightened, he snapped his fingers and rotated the map, grinning shyly. Misty sighed and sweatdropped.

"You're hopeless."

The three turned around and began walking back down the path. Ash hunched over and sighed, "We'll never make it to Cinnabar Island this way." Brock studied the map intently. "According to my calculations, we should follow the narrow path ahead," said Brock, pointing into the distance.

"Yeah, like YOUR calculations are reliable," replied Misty sarcastically. Brock furrowed his brow at her comment, but continued looking at the map. After walking a little while, Brock pointed to a path entrance. "Here it is," he stated.

"Hopefully we make it this time," said Ash.

"Pi-ika pika." agreed Pikachu.

The path was straight and narrow, with nothing but rocks along it. After about a mile, they came to an field. The grass, an unwelcoming brown, was dead and withered. The trees surrounding it were absent of leaves. The wind whistled lightly through the open branches.

"This doesn't look very..."

"Come on...it's almost sundown, and we've got to make it to the nearest Pokémon Center," interrupted Misty, pointing to the setting sun. Ash slumped his shoulders and nodded his head. "I'm getting really hungry," said Brock. "When we get to the Center, maybe we can make dinner." he added, rubbing his stomach. They came to a big canopied clearing in the woods. The path veered off in three directions. Brock pointed to a wide, muddy one and said, "That's the one that leads to the Pokémon Center."

"Agh! I'm not walking in THAT!" said Misty, sticking out her tongue.

"Maybe we'll find some BU-UGS!" replied Ash in a sing-song voice.

"Bugs?!! Where?!!" demanded Misty, already in a panic.

"There, on your shoe!" yelled Brock, wagging a finger at her feet. Misty let a ear-deafening scream.

"AHHHHHHHH!!!" she exclaimed, jumping on Ash's shoulders. Brock could no longer contain himself and let out a bubbly laugh. "Man, Misty, you fall for that every time! I can't believe..."

*THUD*

Misty lowered her mallet as Brock fell to the ground in a thud. He gave out a breathy moan. "You are so juvenile! Both of you!" she said, turning her angered gaze to Ash. He avoided her eyes as he shuffled his feet and began to whistle. She muttered under her breath and walked to the far corner of the clearing. Ash watched her walk away frustrated and suddenly felt guilty. He looked down at his older friend, struggling to get up. Ash smiled when he said "Girls", and fell back to the ground.

Once Misty had calmed down and Brock had tended to his injury, they continued on their way. After a grueling twenty minutes of silence, Ash looked at the sky in bewilderment. A silky white flake fluttered daintily and landed on his arm, disappearing as quickly as it had came.

"Guys...I think it's starting to snow..." said Ash, puzzled. Misty and Brock looked up. Misty faced the sky like Ash had, eyes wide with confusion. A few flakes landed on her nose.

"You're right..." Misty shivered a little. It hadn't seem cold enough to snow. She rubbed her shoulders and her teeth began to chatter.

"We'd better find that Pokémon Center soon..." Brock said, disturbed, looking thoughtfully at the graying sky.

"Jessie...I'm hungry! Can't we eat?" whined James.

"No! Those twerps should be here soon." She turned to Meowth. "Planting that fake Pokémon Center symbol on their map was ingenious Meowth!"

"Hey...all in da line a duty. We're gonna get dat Pikachu!" Jessie and Meowth begin dancing around, chanting "We're gonna get Pikachu".

"I'm still hungry," repeated James, interrupting their dance. Jessie pulled a white fan out of nowhere and raised it high over James' head. "AHH! Don't hurt me," pleaded James, holding his hands over his head to protect himself from her wrath. She giggled and lowered the fan. Suddenly, movement outside the window caught her eye. She moved to the glass to get a closer look.

All she could see was a sheet of white. Crystal clear, crisp flakes came down against the ground, where a layer of untouched snow was already beginning to form.

"It's snowing! Oh...how wonderful...Snow rolls!" said Jessie, eyes gleaming with delight.

"Ahh! Not snow rolls! I'm not that hungry!" cried James, backing away from Jessie. Jessie snapped back to reality and looked back out the window.

"Oh James, Meowth! Here they come! James, into your Nurse Joy costume!"

The trio began to sprint as the snow fell down harder and faster. Misty batted her hair away form her eyes and huffed. The steam from her breath heated the air for a second. The bitter wind beat harshly against her cheeks, which were now numb.

She saw Ash's figure, a few strides ahead, point to a small brown building. "The Center...let's go," said the figure, who quickened the pace. Brock grabbed the straps of his backpack and lowered his head against the storm. Misty followed, eyes watering from the cold. Within thirty seconds they had reached the Center. The three burst in the door, huffing and gasping for breath. They were so exhausted that none of them noticed that Brock hadn't moved into his "Ooooo-a-Nurse-Joy" state. Oddly enough, he didn't even seem to notice the Nurse Joy.

Ash looked at the Joy behind the counter. She was dressed like all the other Joys, and looked as cheery and happy as the other Joys. He turned to Brock, who looked aimlessly out the window. He scratched his head in perplexity, but shrugged it off.

"Joy, can you check in my Pokémon please?" asked Ash.

"Of course!" said the odd-sounding Joy. Ash raised an eyebrow in question.

"Are you related to the Joy in Viridian City?"

"Um...yes...I'm her, uh, older...cousin." replied Joy. Ash nodded and handed over his Pokéballs. Pikachu hesitated, but then jumped off Ash's shoulder onto the Pokémon tray. Joy carried the Pokémon into the back. Ash joined Misty and Brock on the lobby couch. He situated himself on the cushion next to Misty.

His stomach did a weird flip-flop, although he wasn't sure why. He flashed a faked smile at her, then looked down intently at his shoes. Misty looked over at him. She had the strangest urge to just touch him. He was so cute...she'd never noticed it before. Just then, Ash looked up. Misty turned away quickly and felt her cheeks get hot.

"Nice weather, huh?" Ash stated knowingly.

"Ha ha...uh huh," replied a slightly embarrassed Misty. He thinks I'm nuts...staring at him like that. She shook her head. Misty coughed to break the silence, then got up and proceeded the desk.

"Nurse Joy? Can we get something to eat?" She heard familiar laughter from the back. Just then, Jessie, James, and Meowth appeared.

"Prepare for trouble"

"And make it double"

"To protect the world from devastation"

"You unite all peoples within..." The self-righteous Team Rocket members were interrupted by Brock's snoring. Ash looked at them with annoyance and Misty just stood there, tapping her foot.

"Doesn't this EVER get old?" questioned the irritated Misty.

"Never interrupt the Team Rocket motto!" demanded Jessie, lifting a finger into the air and poising herself proudly on the counter. Misty waved a hand in dismissal and huffed.

"You guys aren't going to get Pi-..." That's when Ash realized they had taken his Pikachu...and all his other Pokémon too!

"Too late, twoip. We got your Pikachu, and dar's nuttin' you can do 'bout it!" Jessie, James and Meowth grinned happily and proceeded to the door, waving over their shoulders. They opened the door and were met by a wall of snow. They were instantly buried.

The trio burst out into laughter.

The veins on Jessie's head began to show. "That was so embarrassing."

"Well, looks like you guys aren't going anywhere!" said Misty, hands on her hips.

"Well, neither are you twerp." retorted James. Misty frowned in realization and slunk back onto the couch.

"Looks like we're stranded." said Brock, stating the obvious.

So, what do you think? Comments, questions etc. accepted. Reviews are good too! Thanks for reading. Part two soon...hopefully ^_^

*~*Mighty Misty*~*