Unlikely Events

Chapter 1 – Bad choices.

Not all ideas end up being the right ones and sometimes, no amount of positive thinking and drive to succeed will assure you achieve that goal. 18-year-old Ash Ketchum was being reminded of that fact once again, as he foolishly tries to brave a monster of a storm.

Hurricane winds and heavy rain were beating the islands of Jhoto and Kanto, traveling east in the direction of Sinnoh. Ash and his electric friend Pikachu, were currently trying to walk home to Pallet town during one of the worst storms the regions have seen for years. Soaking wet, cold, shivering and tired, Ash had Pikachu zipped inside his hoody. He was walking hunched forward against the winds with his head down, eyes only shielded by his baseball cap from the aggressive, relentless weather.

Moving towards a tree to stop, if just for a moment, to regain his breath and any fraction of energy he could find, Ash tripped over something on the ground. Trying to protect his Pikachu, he turned on the way down landing awkwardly on his left side skidding across the ground. The pain racked through his shoulder and arm, causing Ash to scrunch his eyes closed, groan loudly in pain, and clench his teeth.

''Pikaaa?'' The small electric type Pokemon cried to his trainer in concern, poking his head out from the hoody as Ash forced himself to sit up. Pikachu was just as soaked as he was, but a least his electric type was safer inside his hoody from the winds, that were too difficult for Pikachu to move in.

''I'm okay buddy! I'm sorry I got us into this shit. Wasn't my best idea.'' Ash admitted tiredly and breathless, shivering and feeling extremely foolish.

''Pi, pikachu.'' Pikachu tried to reassure him, nuzzling his head under Ash's chin.

The rain wasn't letting up and on the contrary, seemed to be getting worse along with the winds. Knowing he had to find shelter or keep going, he bit his lip through the pain in his shoulder as he stood up. Putting his right hand under his elbow to support his left arm, with both arms still around his Pikachu, he forced onwards.

''Come on bud, we have to keep going!'' Ash told himself more than his electric type, as he forced himself to push on wards.

After a while, Ash was losing feeling in his limbs, he didn't know if it was the cold, or the fact he was walking on pure survival power, but the aching muscles just felt absent from his body, yet he was still walking somehow. His energy and strength were almost depleted to nothing, so he guessed it must be survival or adrenaline keeping him going. If not for himself, he had to make sure Pikachu was safe. Of course, Pikachu refused point-blank to return to his poke ball even though he had tried. Man, had he tried!

He was shivering furiously, his ears stung and he couldn't feel his fingers or toes. His face felt like it had been slapped multiple times and the only good thing about the cold was his shoulder felt numb.

There was no shelter that he could see, but then it was nearly impossible to see anything past the end of his cap. How that cap was still on his head he would never know, he assumed it might have been because it was soaked and stuck to his hair somehow. Even then the winds and rain were making it difficult to keep his eyes open. He was exhausted and was just contemplating giving up, laying down on the ground and sleeping, even in this weather, when he heard an almighty crack from directly above.

Looking up he caught a section of a tree plummet down to where he stood. He tried to dive out of the way but he wasn't fast enough. The branch collided with his head and trapped him to the ground on his front. His vision wavered and a ringing noise cursed through his ears. He had screamed in agony as pain crippled his right leg that was crushed by a heavier branch on the downed tree section. If his shoulder was still hurting he couldn't tell, he also couldn't hear the cries of his Pikachu calling out to him, or feel him wriggle out from his hoody and weave between the smaller branches laying over Ash's chest. Everything was stuck in a soundless time freeze, before it all faded to black.

-OOO-

In a small cave, in front of a small fire, an 18year old purple hair boy named Paul, sighed and looked up at the cave roof. He was sitting with his knees to his chest, and arms wrapped around them. The cave entrance was sealed with a boulder for the most part and logs, still a wind blew in now and then threatening the fire but it also drew out the smoke.

Deciding to collect more wood for kindle, he took off his jacket and top leaving his chest exposed, and made his way to the boulder with one Poke-ball in his hand. Moving the logs carefully he felt the full force of the wind gusts and rain hitting him hard.

''Fuck you Reggie'' He growled to himself. Pushing forward to the nearest set of trees not far away, he called out his Pokemon. ''Torterra! Brace your self!'' He shouted, as his ground grass type emerged.

''Terra!'' Torterra exclaimed in shock at the weather and in concern.

''Razor leaf them branches, let's go!'' He shivered rubbing his arms and hands to keep warm. The wind blew the razor leaf attack off target and missed. Growling in frustrating. ''Focus! Or you stay out here tonight!'' He shouted at Torterra, losing his patience rapidly and wanting to get back pronto. He wished he had worn his top but the truth was Paul wasn't one to be bothered by the cold usually, and he didn't want all his clothes soaked.

Finally, the Razor leaf worked and Torterra helped him take the branches back to the cave. It wasn't much, but it would have to do for now. The weather was worse then he had expected and getting back would be preferable to freezing to death out here.

On the way back, he saw a powerful thunderbolt reach up into the sky. He was shocked at first but decided he didn't care, he was far too cold and pissed off to give a shit. A few steps later and it happened again, another thunderbolt. By the time he reached the cave, he had seen 6 thunderbolts. He was curios, but shaking his head he returned Torterra to his poke-ball and went back inside.

After getting dry with a hand towel from his bag, changing his trousers, and putting his top and jacket back on, he was about to re-light the fire when curiosity got the better off him. Looking out from the cave after moving one of the logs he waited, watching. Nothing! He sighed, he had wasted his thoughts over nothing! He was about to leave when a weaker thunderbolt ripped up into the sky.

He thought about it for a moment, then walked to his bag and retrieved a poke-ball.

''Froslass, assist!'' He called releasing his ice ghost Pokemon. ''Get out there, see what that Thunderbolt is all about!'' He ordered the Pokemon.

Froslass left, passing through the logs as a ghost, and Paul started the small fire again with the lighter he carried. The fire had blown out when he left the cave but it still had some dried wood left in it that could burn. Turning to the branches, he started to strip them of wet leaves, and break them down as best as he could with his hands and pocket knife. Setting the prepared wood to dry out near to the fire ready to be used later as kindle, he sipped from a bottle of water.

''Froslass, Frossssss!'' An urgent voice screeched from outside.

''You're a ghost type! Pathetic!'' He mumbled ignoring the cry, but it didn't stop.

Huffing in anger, he walked to the logs and moved one hoping the fire didn't go out again. Paul was about to scold his Froslass for its stupidity in forgetting it could pass through solid matter, when he saw a weak and passed out Pikachu it its arms.

15 minutes must have passed before the Pikachu woke up. It was by the fire and was still weak, but that didn't stop it frantically panicking and shouting, pointing to the entrance of the cave waving its arms frantically.

''Calm yourself!'' Paul told the Pikachu sternly. He looked at the electric Pokemon and thought the chances that he was going to be right were very unlikely, but he asked anyway. ''Is Ash your trainer?'' He asked. He had spent the last 15mins being reminded of the Raven-haired boy because of this Pikachu.

''Pika! PIKA PI!'' He agreed before getting desperate and pointing to the entrance again, this time trying to get out.

''Wait!'' He told the Pikachu, giving it an analyzing look, trying to piece together the issue. An issue that he never asked for, nor wanted. He certainly didn't want to go back outside the safety and warmth of the cave now that the fire way going again. ''Is Ash in trouble?'' He asked the Pikachu, who frantically and obviously was telling him yes, and wanted him to move his arse into gear and help him. As much as he would rather avoid the weather, he didn't know the situation, and he wasn't heartless. Cold hearted, yes! But not completely void of one. Paul couldn't believe he was about to do this but he wouldn't be able to rest with his conscious if he didn't ''Pikachu stay here! Froslass found you, she can lead me!''

It was quite a battle getting the Electric type to stay at the cave but somehow, Paul managed to convince to stubborn thing. Just like his trainer, annoying and stubborn! Paul thought. He had put his wet trousers back on to save his dry ones, and decided to wear his top and hoody this time. He would get soaked, that was a given, but the weather was far to furious to be devoid of clothes for that long. This time he took his Pokemon belt as well, knowing he had 5 Pokemon on hand and wouldn't know what he would find. He just hoped Ash really was in trouble and he wasn't running into the storm, and the unknown for nothing, or something pathetic.

Paul had followed Froslass for a while and was thinking he may as well just have just jumped into ice cold water with how cold and wet he now was. He continued to move as fast as he could after his ice and ghost type who was easily floating around, wondering how far he had to go away from the cave and its warmth. He usually had more endurance to the cold then this, but the wind was brutal.

Eventually Froslass stopped and pointed to the ground where a good chunk of a tree had broken and landed. A huge branch had clearly snapped in the wind and fallen. Was that what all this was about, a fucking tree! Was Pikachu an environmentalist? He thought to himself getting frustrated, as he walked around and looked anyway.

He saw something that didn't look like it belonged. Looking closer his heart almost stopped, he gasped and froze for a moment before leaping to action. A boy he assumed was Ash, was laying face down in a pool of water that was gathering around his face due to the rain. He was unconscious and trapped by the heavy section of the branch over his right leg, and the smaller branches covered his body making him difficult to pull out.

Paul lifted up Ash's face as best as he could out of the water confirming it was indeed Ash Ketchum. He looked different but it could have been the fact he was frozen and soaked through. He quickly called out his Pokemon. ''Torterra, Electivire! Brace yourself!'' They came out and it was Electivire's turn to be shocked at the weather. Paul called out another Pokemon. ''Argon, be prepared!'' He shouted, Argon came out and felt the effects of the rain instantly being a rock type, he was also shocked but Paul gave him no time to think. ''Get this branch off NOW!'' He yelled.

His 3 Pokemon worked together to lift and throw the branch away. Paul them recalled all 4 of his Pokemon back to their poke-balls.

He had Ash laying on the ground and out of the water and was doing chest compressions. Ash wasn't breathing and Paul preyed he would cough, yell, cry, anything! Pounding on his chest wasn't working and so making a groaning noise, he realized he needed to try the full CPR. He had already wiped Ash's face with his top, so leaning forward he took a deep breath and went for it. He pinched Ash's noes and blew 2 breaths into his mouth.

It was almost instant and it scared the life out of him when Ash's body coughed up water into his face. Paul didn't really care to much, he was already drenched from the rain, but he wasn't out of the woods yet. Ash, was still unconscious, freezing, soaked and his leg looked bad. It had been bleeding but he didn't know how much because of all the rain.

Putting Ash's bag over his back, Paul carefully picked up the lifeless body of his old rival to carry him back, with immense difficulty, to the cave. Ash's was heavier then he looked but it was the weather that made it impossible.

Paul made it about one third of the way back when he physically couldn't keep going. Shivering immensely, he called out Electivire who agreed to carry Ash the rest of the way. He realized he should have had him carry Ash from the start but, he wanted to protect the raven-haired boy himself and didn't really think about it. It took nearly forever to reach the cave but sighing in relief and thanking Arceus, they made it. Paul called back his exhausted Electivire into his poke-ball after thanking him, before he carried Ash inside the small cave.

Paul had laid Ash carefully down by the unlit fire before he sealed the cave entrance. He had then rushed back to start the fire, hoping there was still enough wood in it from last time, to at least last until the new kindle and wood was dry. With the fire going again, he started to strip Ash down and remove his wet clothes.

Pikachu was refusing to rest and staring at Paul, watching his every move. He had moved to Ash's face and looked depressed with tears threatening to fall from its eyes.

Paul first took off Ash's zipped-up hoody and top first, and noticed his left shoulder was starting to show signs that it was going to have a very nasty bruise, and he had a nasty graze down his arm as well.

It was after the top was gone he noticed how fit his old rival actually was. The boy had changed since he last saw him after the Sinnoh league. He was older, that was obvious, but taller and more mature too. His jawline was smooth and more defined, his chest was showing visible abs, although he wasn't ripped, he was well portioned and the skin was tight against his lean shape. It made his body behave in a way that was against his rules and morals.

Swallowing hard, Paul shock his head to snap himself out of his trace. He got to work removing Ash's shoes, socks and trousers. Ash was so cold that Paul was worried he could develop hypothermia, the fact he was shaking and unconscious was worrying, and his skin was so pale. Once Ash was striped down to nothing but his underpants, Paul laid Ash carefully inside his own sleeping bag. Ash's sleeping bag was soaked through, as were most of his belongings.

Pikachu had finally curled up next to Ash and fallen to sleep. So, Paul was grateful for that because he wasn't used to being watched. Paul then took a good look at Ash's leg, the cut had stopped bleeding, most likely the cold stemming the blood flow, or so he hoped, the alternative was that he had lost a lot of blood. The cut itself wasn't too bad but it looked like a few stitches would have been ideal. The worrying part was the fact it was swollen, bruised and very red in places. Paul decided to improvise, so he took out a pair of his jogging pants and cut a long strip out of them using his pocket knife. He used a little of his bottled water to wet another section of the joggers, and wiped the wound clean before wrapping his leg with the clean strip he had cut out before, knowing that for now, it was the best he could do under the circumstances.

Paul quickly decided to take of his own wet clothes now. He was freezing, soaking wet still, and shivering despite the fire. Once he had finally drying himself down and had dry clothes on, he laid the other clothes out, including Ash's, hoping they might dry off. Paul then went back to check on Ash.

Ash, was still unconscious but the rise and fall of his chest was comforting. He seemed a little warmer, but it was hard to tell. Using his towel, he dried Ash's hair first and body where it was still wet. Pikachu stirred in his sleep but stayed didn't wake up. The action of drying Ash down was making Paul feel uncomfortable, but it had to be done, even so he couldn't help run a hand over Ash's chest feeling the smooth skin and muscles there, his hand trailed down to the top of his boxers. Feeling a tingling sensation shudder down his spine and enter his nether region, he paid no mind to the feelings as flashes of his past with Ash ran though his thoughts.

The first full 6 on 6 battle with Ash at Lake Acuity. The smog hit Buizel then I switched him for Ursaring. I remember that counter shield Buizel used, I went on to using it in the Sinnoh league with my Gastrodon.

The Sinnoh league, that was great battle. That's when he surprised me the most. Ash's voice- ''Paul! There's nobody like you, that's why I'm gonna win this!'' He did win it! I was disappointed for him when Tobias won in his next battle in the semi-finals. I had respect for Ash by then, after being a jerk for months.

Paul's voice to Ash- ''Pathetic. - Stay out of my way! - It's all about you isn't it. - It's really none of your business see! - Another perfect example of how strong you aren't. - A pathetic trainer and his equally pathetic Pokemon.''

Cynthia used to quote from the Sinnoh time space legend about me and Ash ''When every life meets another, something will be born.''

Reggie's voice- ''...There's not another trainer who's influenced you the way he does.'' Reggie doesn't now how true that is. He also said we were ''Two sides of the same coin.''

I remember when we last parted ways after the Sinnoh league, Ash chased me down.

Ash's Voice- ''…Good luck Paul'' He smiled at me.

Pauls voice- ''Yeah, thanks. You too! So, I'll see ya.''

Ash's voice- ''One more thing Paul! Let's battle again really soon.''

Then I waved with my hand as I walked away smiling, our rivalry over.

We never did battle again.

Paul had snapped out of his memory cloud and decided to Zip Ash up in the sleeping bag. He turned towards the cave entrance and sighed before deciding he should try to save Ash's stuff and unpack his bag so the contents could dry.

It was strange going through Ash's bag, he felt like he was invading his privacy instead of doing the right thing. Ash's had 8 badges that he hadn't seen before. Paul assumed he had recently attended a Pokemon league somewhere but didn't recognize where.

So, he still traveled and competed in leagues, ha. I wouldn't expect anything less.

Paul set the badges aside to dry them later, then he removed all the clothes to set near the warmth of the fire. Ash had put his poke-ball belt in the bag and he assumed his Pokemon would be okay for now. There was other stuff that Paul removed so it could dry but the things that Paul noticed the most, was the pictures that were faded, a half a broken poke-ball that confused him, and two Soothe bells with a soggy tag attached to them. I could just make out the number 15 on one of them. The other bell just had 'aul' left. Which I assume was my name.

Paul's jaw dropped, it must have been about 3 years since the Hearthome city tag battle competition, and he still had the Soothe bells. Looking across to the sleeping Ash his mind went back to that day.

Paul's voice- ''Of course YOU had to be number 15.''

I only went there that day so my Pokemon could battle fire types. So, I could test their strengths. Yet I ended up losing my own fire type Pokemon that day instead, Chimchar.

Ash's voice- ''You see, the way you give it all you give it all ya got is awesome. I'd love working with a tough Pokemon like you!'' Ash was holding his hand out to Chimchar trying to get him to go along with them.

Paul's voice- ''You deserve each other. Your both pathetic!''

Ash- ''Just ignore him. Chimchar and I are gonna show Paul just how wrong he can be.''

We won that tag battle but I threw my own soothe bell at him in anger because he got in my way. That wasn't the only reason though.

Ash's voice- ''What was that for?''

Paul's voice- ''I have no need for that!''

Secretly I think I was starting to realise he was right. Then during the Sinnoh league, that same Chimchar had become an Infernape, and it was strong! It had guts and determination. I worked so hard and spent all that time to get Chimchar to use that Blaze move, but somehow Ash was the one to bring it out. Infernape had controlled it during the Sinnoh league, where he took out my last Pokemon, my Electivire during mine and Ash's battle.

Paul notice the food in Ash's bag that was useless now, and put aside the two bottles of water he found that Ash would need when he woke up. There was however some instant noodles and chocolate still sealed and savable. He laid out the rest of Ash's belongings to dry, and used a towel to do the best he could to dry off some of the items. There was nothing else to do until the storm passed. But the memories that were flooding Paul's brain were playing with his emotions.