Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or any of the characters; they are property of Official Nintendo. As I wrote in the summary, this is all `event's` timed in the red and blue version of the game.
Chapter I.
The sun was grinning above their heads and the birds were singing happily in the trees. Red, yellow, orange and green colored the forest in a haze of autumn tones.
However, Ash Ketchum, was not busy studying the beautiful haze, he was busy completing his ultimate goal, to become the ultimate pokémon master, to cath`em all. Together with Misty, Brock and Pikachu, his best friends, he had traveled across the country and witnessed extraordinary things. He had also met many new friends and had learned more about pokémon, then others that set out on their pokémon journey the same year he did, almost two years ago.
Right now, he felt he was closer to achieving his goal then ever before, they were on the road to Fuchsia city, he had defeated a young pokémon trainer, had captured another pokémon to his collection, a Lickitung, and had decided to head home and beginning the preparation for the League.
However, Misty insisted they visit Fuchsia City she had some old friends she had not seen in ages and wanted to introduce them to her friends. But, before they could fulfill that goal, they had another, bigger problem to solve:
Finding their way back to Route 15.
"I am pretty sure that this was the way" Ash mused and studied the map. Brock and Misty knew not to say anything, Ash was to darn stubborn to listen to their advice, and it was not as if it was the first time they got lost.
Ash turned the map around, wondering if he could have been so stupid and held the map upside down (again). No matter how many times he twisted and turned the map, he did not grow any wiser and he wondered if he was going to admit defeat and ask his friends for help.
He decided not to.
"This way" he said, a little more confident then he felt. Brock, who had been resting on a rock, rose slowly and scratched the bridge of his nose. Misty also rose and furrowed her eyebrows before she snatched the map out of Ash's hands.
"Are you sure…?" she asked a little suspiciously and Ash nodded.
"Positive, come on Pikachu!" he called brightly, grabbed his backpack and started to walk.
They started to dash thought the forest jumping over small logs, and avoiding the bug pokémons, that now and then crossed their paths. Ash was no longer interested in catching them, as young trainer they had proved quiet the challenge, now they were nothing of interest.
They had not walked far before they saw a young boy, standing in the middle of some bushes. He was dressed in dark green jeans, a bright green anorak and even greener hat, dragged down over his ears. It seemed like he had not notice their arrival, because he stood totally still with his eyes closed.
Misty, Brock and Ash stopped in their tracks and stared at each other, waiting for somebody to say something. Pikachu crept out from behind Ash's feet, stared at the stranger and tilted his head to the left.
Suddenly, the boy's eyes flew open and when he saw them, he jumped in surprise and stumbled backwards.
"Do you always sneak up on people like that?" he accused and retrained his balance. Brock shook his head, and answered calmly.
"No, sorry if we scared you…. but what are you doing?"
The boy looked around, as he was expecting more people to appear from nowhere.
"I was listening to the sounds of a Rhyhorn," he said proudly.
"A Rhyhorn?" Ash asked and the boy nodded.
"Yes, some of the Rhyhorns have escaped from the Safari Zone and I want to catch one!"
"How have they managed to escape?" Misty asked and the boy shrugged.
"I dunno…. they say somebody damaged the fences, or maybe they broke free anyway…" the boy paused and stared at the people in front of them, considering them as possible rivals, after a few minutes he shrugged it off.
"…Anyway I have been looking some of them all the morning, but I can't find any"
"Do you know who did it, destroyed the fences" Ash asked and the boy shook his head.
"Nope, at first officer Jenny suspected perhaps Team Rocket, but it is not their style, they think it is the thief who has been stealing from all the shops lately"
"Thief?" Misty asked, and this time Brock cut in.
"I remembered seeing it in the paper a couple of days ago, a thief has been stealing from the Marts"
"Yeah…I remember as well…." Ash said, not wanting to admit that he did not pay attention to any headlines.
"Yes, she has been quit the trouble for the merchants and for us pokémon trainers as well" the boy added.
"She?" Misty asked puzzled.
"Yeah, it is a girl, and she uses her pokémon to aid in the stealing it gives us all a bad reputation" the boy's voice rose and he sounded angry.
"How does she use her pokémon?" Ash asked, feeling his shoulder tense slightly. If it was, one thing he hated it was people using pokémon to aid in their mischief.
"The police wont say, it is really hush, hush, they don't want to admit that a girl can escape the long arm of the law" the boy chuckled and Misty smiled.
Ash turned to Brock, and Misty and his eyes were sparkling in an all to familiar way, but before he could open his mouth Misty said quickly.
"No Ash, we are not going to look for her, my friend is expecting us," she said in a voice that reminded him too much of his own mother scolding him. His shoulders sank down and he sighed, knowing she was right.
"Well, then good luck" Ash said to the boy and he nodded slowly.
"By the way…" Brock said quickly. "Could you point us to Rout 15?"
The boy pointed to a spot among the trees and nodded again.
"Sure just walk in that direction, it is no more then ten minutes"
"Thanks for you help…" Brock trailed off.
"Greg" Greg said and smiled.
"Thanks for you help Greg, and good luck."
Greg was right; after just ten minutes, they broke through some bushes and were standing on what had to be Route 15. Ash looked back; jealously at Greg's direction, there was nothing more he wanted then to join him in the search for the missing Rhynhorns or the hunt for the thief.
"I get really mad when people abuse pokémon like that!" Misty growled and Pikachu nodded in agree, sparks running across his yellow body.
"Me to, I do not understand how they can do it" Brock added.
"They are jerks, that is all" Misty stated and then turned to look at Ash, his eyes were still sparkling dreamingly.
"Forget it Ash, this mystery we are not going to solve, we are heading to Fuchsia, to visit my friend and then it is home to Pallet," she warned and Ash sighed, but did not protest.
They started to walk again, the sun was starting to reach the highpoint of noon on the sky and the birds were still accompanying them with their choir, although not as brightly as before.
Ash was deep in though while they walked, he could not escape the feeling that there was something more to the theft then what he knew. Deep down he knew that this was a mystery he could not escape, that this time it would brig him on a new and adventures path.
And a dangerous one.