"Disclaimer: I don't own pokemon. Don't shoot.
Ash made his way to the front of the ferry with Pikachu on his left shoulder. He gazed at the magnificent sunset. It was too beautiful to describe. The breathtaking view left Ash speechless, almost making him forget about the headache he recently developed. This trip had been planned for months now, in which he, Brock, Misty May, Dawn, Max would go to Camp Diamondlake, an abandoned location, so they could give the camp a fresh start. It was Brock's idea, and everyone agreed.
"Isn't this great?" shouted Dawn, startling Ash and Pikachu.
"I…I guess so," replied Ash. "I hear the place doesn't have any pokémon in it."
"Where did you hear that?"
"From Brock. He seems to know about the place pretty well."
It wasn't long until the boat reached campgrounds and everyone got off the ferry. Ash's headache caused him to grip his forehead.
"Wow!" May exclaimed. "It looks better than I thought it would!"
"Right next to the water - perfect!" remarked Misty.
"Look! There are some cabins!" Brock pointed out.
"Where's all the pokémon?" asked Max.
YOU CAN'T WIN THIS TIME.
Ash looked around for the source of the voice. "Brock, was that you?"
"Was what me?"
"That voice! Didn't you hear it?"
"What voice, Ash?" Brock asked.
Ash didn't like the sound of that. He waited for the voice to return.
HAVE YOU FORGOTTEN ABOUT ME, BOY?
This time, Ash realized he was hearing the voice from within his own head, and decided to answer in the same manner.
Who are you?
YOU REMEMBER ME, ASH, DON'T YOU?
No, who are you?
YOU'LL FIND OUT SOON ENOUGH.
"Ash, are you coming?" asked an impatient Brock.
"Yeah!" responded Ash, who noticed that everyone left him behind. When he caught up, he found Brock to be telling everyone where to sleep.
"...and the boys will sleep in this cabin. It's getting dark. I suggest we get settled in before nightfall." The sun was, in fact, setting. Ash followed Brock and Max to the boys' cabin as Misty, May, and Dawn went to the girls' cabin. Ash was too scared to tell Brock or Max about the voice in his head, so the walk was quiet. He was only ten, after all. In a few minutes' time, they entered the cabin, which had a working lightbulb.
"Well, here it is!" examined Brock, now putting his backpack onto one of the three beds. Ash did the same as Max took his shirt off. Soon enough, the three of them were ready for bed, although none of them were about to go to sleep.
"You know my sister once kissed a guy?" said Max, in hopes of breaking the ice. Then, displaying Max's success, Brock responded with, "I once had to feed my six-year-old brother."
"I used to think pokemon came from outer space," admitted Ash.
"Are you saying they didn't?" asked Max. Ash and Brock sweatdropped.
Probably not," replied Brock.
I DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THIS! YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS SHALL PAY FOR IMPRISONING ME!
But who are you?
FOOLISH CHILD! YOU SHALL SOON FIND OUT!
Then the headache came back stronger than ever. This made Ash sit up in his bed.
"What's the matter, Ash?" asked Brock. Ash was too busy fighting off the headache to answer his question. He was now off the bed, putting both hands over his forehead.
"ASH!" Brock shouted.
THIS SHALL SUIT ME WELL.
"Get out of my head!" yelled Ash, now on his knees.
Then he started to laugh. Not in his normal voice, but a man's voice. A purple aura engulfed him as he got t ohis feet. Indeed, the Evil King of Pokelantis, or as Ash and his friends know him as, Evil King, has taken complete control of Ash's body. "You shall pay dearly for imprisoning me!" He pulled a knife out of his backpack and grabbed Max, who was closest. "Try anything smart and your little friend gets it!" he threatened. By now, both Brock and Max knew it was Evil King.
Max was crying. "Ash, y-you can sn-snap out of this, right?"
It was Evil King that answered. "Ash won't be using this body anytime soon, you little brat!" He pressed the knife against Max's neck, and the boy yelped.
"Ash! I know you can hear me, so snap out of it!" yelled Brock.
"I've made sure Ash isn't getting me out until I get my revenge!" He took some rope out of Ash's backpack and tied Max and a reluctant Brock up. Then he left. Meanwhile, Ash was unaware of what was happening. He was being tortured by the King with the sensation of being repeatedly stabbed in the stomach with a knife. King made his way to the girls' cabin. He tossed a rock at a window in hopes that one of the girls would come out. Sure enough, May came out. "Good enough," King told himself. He ran over to her and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, May," he said in Ash's voice, a talent he had perfected.
"Ash? What are you doing out here?"
"I wanna show you something, but first you have to do me a favor."
"Sure, Ash. What's the favor?"
"You'll see. Just promise you won't tell anyone, okay?"
"Okay."
"Good. It's this way." He lead her to a secluded spot.
"Ash, what's the big deal?" asked May when they got there. Then he started to glow purple.
"Ash?"
"I'm not Ash, you little brat! I am the King of Pokelantis!" he responded. Then he tackled her to the ground.
"Evil King? I thought you were gone!"
"How dare you underestimate my power! I never left! It takes more than a few adolescences to take me down so easily!"
"But Pikachu zapped you out!"
"I have no time for your little games, missy!" Then he took out some more rope from Ash's backpack and tied her to a tree. "Let's play a game, shall we? I will leave, and if i hear you scream, I'll come back and cut you!"
"You wouldn't!"
"I would," the King replied. Then he took his knife back out and slid it across May's palm.
"Ouch!" she interjected, blood now oozing out.
"There's more where that came from, little girl!" remarked King, and he left. After a bit of walking, he felt Ash regaining his willpower. King had to go back to the cabin before it was too late. He had to fight to stay in control. But Ash was gaining power way too fast for the King to keep up. However, he found strength and pushed on to the boy's cabin. Once he entered, he let Ash get back in control so he could muster for strength. As Ash Ketchum returned, he found his friends tied up.
"Guys!" He interjected, momentarily forgetting about the suffering he just went through in his mind, and untied his friends.
"Ash! What did the King do?" asked Brock.
"I couldn't tell," replied Ash. "He tortured me while I was trapped in my head. He stabbed me, drowned me, even set me on fire!" Then he added, "If this doesn't cause me to develop MPD, I don't know what will..."
"We gotta warn the others!" said Max, now heading for the door. The other two followed him, and they soon made it to the girls' cabin. They entered to see Misty and and Dawn, but no May.
"Where's May?" Ash asked the girls.
"We don't know," replied Dawn. "We were getting ready for bed when we heard something hit the window. May decided to check, so she went outside, and that's all we heard from her since."
"Sounds like the Evil King's done something!" inquired Brock.
"The Evil King?" repeated Misty. "I thought he was gone!"
"Well, he somehow came back!" explained Ash.
YOU BETTER BELIEVE IT, BOY.
Ash was off guard at the time. "And he likes messing with my head!"
"And he almost slit Max's throat!" Brock nervously recalled.
"I did?" said Ash. "I mean he did?"
"Where's my sister?" Max wondered aloud.
YOU WILL NEVER BECOME A POKEMON MASTER, ASH. I HAVE SEEN YOUR FUTURE!
Shut up!
ALL OF YOUR FRIENDS HATE YOU. YOU'RE GIVING THEM A PROBLEM WHEN THEY WANT TO GO TO BED.
You're the problem! Get out of my head!
SOON THEY WILL ALL LEAVE YOU JUST LIKE BEFORE, AND EVEN BROCK WILL LEAVE. HE'LL THINK OF YOU AS A DRAG TO HIS PERFECT LIFE. THEN YOU'LL BE STUCK WITH ME-
"Shut up!" he yelled aloud. He didn't care who heard him. Then everyone stared at him. This was too overwhelming for him. He ran outside, tears running down his face. He didn't want anyone to see him like this. Brock exited the cabin and ran after him. "Ash, wait up!" he called out. He caught up wit hthe kid and put a hand on his shoulder. "Ash..."
"Get away from me!" sobbed Ash. "Can't you see I'm a monster?"
"Ash," repeated Brock.
"You might as well leave me here until i get possessed again; we both know he's coming back!" Ash sobbingly continued
"Ash! Look at me." When Ash wouldn't listen, Brock yelled, "I said look at me!" He forced Ash's chin into his direction. "Don't let the King get to your head. If you do, you're just being his puppet!
YES. YOU ARE THE PUPPET AND I AM THE PUPPET MASTER.
Ash's headache suddenly came back full force, causing him to scream in pain.
"Ash!" yelled Brock, letting his grip go.
"Brock, he's coming back!" Ash warned, now snapped out of his angst. "Run off while you still can!"
With that, Brock ran off.
ALRIGHT, BRAT. I'LL CUT YOU A DEAL. IF YOU DON'T STRUGGLE, I'LL LET YOU HAVE A PAINLESS EXPERIENCE.
Deal!
Ash let his headache "win". His body dropped to the ground as he lost control of his muscles. When he entered his mind, it was as painless as he could hope for it to be. Instead of being in some subspace dimension, he was in a room. Although the door was locked and the windows were barred, he could get used to this. The view from the window changed each time he looked out of it, going from grasslands to desert. The only piece of furniture that was a bed. With nothing else to do, he got into the bed and closed his eyes.
When he woke, he was in a foresty area. A grey light atmosphered the area.
"It must be morning," Ash told himself, hoping he wasn't still stuck inside his own head. But where was he?
Alright, King, where am I?
Silence remained.
Suddenly, some rustling in a nearby bush caught Ash's attention. He looked in it. There, he found a crouched May.
"You're not fooling me, Evil King!"
"But I'm not the Evil King!" Ash frantically insisted.
"Prove it!" she retorted.
"Okay!" he said confidently. "Uh...if I was Evil King, how would I know you kissed a guy?"
"Max told you?" she asked, cocking an eyebrow.
"Er...yeah," he responded sheepishly. "So, what happened?"
"The Evil King - you, so to speak, - knocked on the window or something, I went out to investigate, found him, and he, who I thought was you, lead me to some secret area. That's where he revealed himself, tied me up, and threatened to cut me if he heard me scream! I took it as a bluff, so he slit my hand."
"How did you escape?" asked Ash.
"That was the hard part. You see, he tied my hands together behind my back. I was able to barely squeeze my hands out, one at a time. Then I untied my feet and looked for him so I could stay out of his view."
"Wow, May," Ash commented.
"I took a three hour nap - trust me, three hours is all I need to tackle the day - when I saw him fall unconscious. So I went to sleep myself. I woke up about a half-hour ago. Nice to see you're back, Ash!"
"May, how long did you follow Evil King?" Ash asked her.
"Well, from the moment you ran out of the cabin and got possessed to when he collapsed, which would be about six hours. He didn't do much, just spied on everyone else. "
"Well, we better catch up with the others," replied Ash.
"Yeah. Last I checked, they were all sleeping in the girls' cabin. It doesn't seem like they want to be separated, now that Evil King is keeping them on their toes."
I can imagine," replied Ash. They went the girls' cabin and arrived shortly.
"Wait, everyone's sleeping," warned May, who was about to open the door to the cabin.
"Oh, yeah," scoffed Ash.
"What should we do to kill the time?"
"I don't know. You wanna just...talk?"
For the first time since she got kidnapped, she saw Ash as himself, not just as the Evil King's toy. "Uh...okay," she replied. A few seconds were spent by the two thinking of ways to break the ice. Finally-
"May, where did you get those shoes?"
May looked down at her feet. "My shoes?"
"Yeah, you must have found them on the street or something!" The boy retorted.
May cocked an eyebrow. "Well, what about that hat?"
"Huh?" Ash looked up at it. "What about my hat?"
"You probably stole it! I'm sure some homeless guy is wondering where his hat went!"
Ash was taken aback by this. "May, I was only trying to break the ice."
"And you treat your pokemon like crap! Where's Pikachu, by the way? You probably lost him!" she continued.
"No I didn't!" responded Ash. "He's in his poke ball!" He took a pokèball off of his belt and threw it a stone's throw away. Pikachu came out and glared at Ash.
It was May's turn to be taken aback. She gestured at Pikachu. "But- but how did you get him to go in his pokèball?"
"It's a long story. Trust me," he added with a shudder. The sun was now shining.
May looked around. "You know what's weird?" she said to Ash. "I don't think Team Rocket's stalking us."
Ash also looked around. "Huh," was all that he could muster. He couldn't possibly fathom why Team Rocket wasn't around. It couldn't be because they got fired, they would still do it nevertheless. There's no way they could get caught by the police, their disguises somehow always appear uncanny. But what was it?
He suddenly gasped.
"What is it, Ash?"
"How long did Brock say we would stay here before the ferry would pick us up?"
"About three weeks, why?"
"Because," he responded, "the ferry's not coming back. It was being driven by Team Rocket!"
May gasped. "Ash, I think you're right!"
Pikachu jumped onto Ash's shoulder. "Pika!" he said.
"You agree, Pikachu?" asked Ash. Pikachu nodded.
"How can Pikachu understand you?" smart-mouthed May. "And the other way around? It's not like you speak Pokènese or something."
"You really want to start again, May?" inquired Ash, and she shut up. Then Ash eyed the cabin behind his his shoulder. "I wanna spy on them," he said, failing to keep his thoughts inside his head.
"But they're still asleep!" whined May.
"IF you don't wanna come, don't come," retorted Ash. Then he made for the door to the cabin.
"Wait, Ash!" said a frantic May. Ash opened the door with Pikachu on his shoulder and May closely following behind him. When they entered, they were shocked to see a naked Brock looking out the window. Fortunately for Ash and May, this meant that they could only see his backside.
"Brock!" yelled Ash and May. This was loud enough to wake Misty, Dawn, and Max up.
"What's the big deal...Brock!" yelled Misty in unison with Dawn and Max after seeing Brock's nude butt. Brock was looking
"Guys! Get out," he demanded, and everybody got out. Soon, May was greeted back, and she and Ash explained their theory about how they might have to find a way home without a ferry.
"Without a ferry?" echoed Misty. "We don't know how to get back without one!"
"I guess we'll just have cross that bridge bridge when we get to it," remarked Ash.
Soon, Brock came out, fully clothed this time. "I overheard everything," he said as soon as he shut the door behind him. Misty, Dawn, and Max went back to the cabin, apparently too tired to stay up. Ash looked at Brock. "What do you mean, everything?" he asked.
"I mean that theory about Team Rocket," replied Brock. "You know, unless you have hard physical evidence, Ash, we'll just have to wait and see." He looked at May. "Oh, hey, May. How've you been?"
"Surviving!" she responded.
"I'm starving," commented Ash.
"Then I guess I better cook something up," replied Brock. "Good thing there's a barbecue grill out here to use as a stove."
"Pika!" said Pikachu. Ash gave him some pikachu food. Pikachu gladly accepted it and jumped off Ash's shoulder, relieving some pressure from it. He rubbed the shoulder a bit.
"I didn't realize how heavy Pikachu was. What is he, six or seven pounds, right?" Ash asked. However, nobody was around to answer his question. Brock was too busy putting firewood in the grill in the distance. But where was May? He didn't see her leave. "Brock!" he called out. Brock turned in his direction.
"What, Ash?" he responded.
"Did you see where May went?"
No, Ash," replied Brock, now lighting the barbecue. This left Ash to find her on his own. It took a few minutes, but he finally found her facing a tree.
"What're you doing, May?" he asked, but when he heard her zip up her pants, he realized what was going on. "Augh! Sorry, I didn't know you were peeing!"
"It's alright, Ash," replied May, not feeling like her privacy was invaded. "When I have to go, I have to go. Simple as that."
Ash took a step back. "Well, Brock is making us breakfast, so..."
"Yeah, let's go," she replied. They headed back to the cabin. The sooner they got there, it seemed, the better. They soon found Brock setting down a plate of eggs on a picnic table near the grill. When Ash saw the eggs, it reminded him how hungry he was.
"Oh, boy!" he yelled out, running towards the plate. When Brock saw Ash trying to eat the eggs with his bare hands, he pushed him back.
"Ash, where are your manners?" he inquired, and handed him a fork. Ash muttered something about Mama Brock. When May caught up, she grabbed a fork from the table, grabbed a plate, and began stabbing eggs onto the plate. The eggs had burn marks on them, but they still tasted good.
Brock was putting some strips of bacon onto the grill when Ash blurted out, "These are the best eggs I ever tasted!"
Brock sighed. "Ash, don't talk with your mouth full."
Ash looked at him, swallowing. "But Brock-"
"Don't talk back to me!" Brock interrupted. Ash muttered something else about Mama Brock.
In the distance, Misty walked out of the cabin, dressed as usual, with her tank top and short-shorts being out-shown by her suspenders. Her hair was tied to the side. Her hair was very orange, and it outshone everybody else's hair. But everybody knows that. She ran for the picnic table, where May and Ash sat, quietly eating their eggs. "What's new, guys?" she asked, now transporting some eggs with a fork to a plate.
"Not my favorite chef!" replied Ash, winking at Brock.
"You mean besides the fact that I got kidnapped? Nothing, really," May summed up.
"Who's ready for some bacon?" offered Brock, putting a plate of bacon on the table. Everyone around the table grabbed some, leaving only a few strips in their places.
Brock sighed. "I guess I'm making more," he said, and put some more uncooked bacon strips on the grill. Misty looked up at Ash and May. "Well, Max is getting up soon, but Dawn isn't even close."
"If I knew Max..." May's voice trailed off.
Pikachu jumped on top of the table. Ash laughed. "Still hungry, huh?" He gave him a piece of bacon and smiled as Pikachu gobbled up the piece of bacon.
Suddenly, the smiling stopped. Ash felt...cold. But it wasn't his body temperature that dropped. This cold feeling seemed to dwell in his soul.
GETTING TOO CLOSE FOR COMFORT, ASHY BOY?
He felt the sharp words engrave into his heart. Hadn't the author been Evil King, Ash wouldn't be able to understand who was. Then, a jolt of pain entered his body, causing him to go unconscious.
As soon as he regained consciousness, he instinctively punched and hit something. He heard a girl crying, so he opened his eyes to see who. He saw Brock, Misty and May surrounding him.
"Ash!" cried May, running out of his eyesight. He sat up to see her running towards Dawn, who was on the ground with a bloody nose.
"What happened?" asked Ash, facing Brock.
"You fell unconscious," the older boy answered.
"But - what about Evil King?"
"Nothing from him."
Dawn walked past them, eyes reddened from crying, holding a blood-stained napkin up to her nose.
"Sorry, Dawn," said Ash. She didn't respond.
Brock turned to face him. "We have a plan, and you're not going to like it."
Misty giggled. "You see, Ash," she began," I'm going to handcuff myself to you to limit your traveling as Evil Ash."
"That's what you're calling it?" asked Ash as his hand clicked into the handcuff.
"The idea," she continued, ignoring Ash's comment, "is that when you get possessed, I would be the first one to know, and if Evil King tried to kidnap or hurt me, I would yell for help, and Brock would make sure to keep him from harming me."
Ash saw a gaping hole in the plan, but stayed silent.
"That's where I come in," said Brock. "If Evil King overpowers Misty, I'll uncuff him and keep him on the ground."
Not only did Ash still see a gaping hole, he now saw a better resolution altogether. But he let the two continue.
Brock looked at the both of them. "For the sake of safety, I'll keep you two locked inside of the boys' cabin. Any questions, Ash?"
Ash looked up at them. "Yeah. First of all, what if he keeps Misty hostage and threatens to hurt her if she screams like with May?"
Brock looked at him for 10 full seconds before saying, "Good point, Ash. We may be taking a risk here."
Ash got to his feet. "Second, instead of risking Misty's life just so you can keep him under control, why don't you just handcuff my hands behind my back and lock me in the boys' cabin that way?"
"Wow, Ash," replied Misty, "you're right."
Brock uncuffed them and put the handcuffs away for later. "We better make sure that Dawn's okay," he suggested.
"Let's go," replied Ash.
Hours later, Brock decided to make lunch.
"What's for lunch?" asked Ash.
"Your favorite chef is making some sandwiches," replied Brock.
"Alright!" responded Ash. He knew that when it came to Brock's cooking, he would never be disappointed, nor would he not be surprised.
"Pika!" called Pikachu, and Brock turned towards him.
"What's that?" he gasped. "Timmy's stuck in a well?"
Ash looked at Brock. "Who's Timmy?" he asked.
Brock turned back away. "Just a joke..." he muttered.
Soon, Misty walked out of a distant thicket. "Hey, guys!" she called out to the trio (including Pikachu) as she drew nearer to the site. Brock then put the pile of sandwiches he was making on top the table. "Enjoy!" he said as Misty made her way towards the food. She and Ash walked up to it and stuffed their faces while Dawn, May and Max all hurried over to also get fed.
"So, uh, what were you doing, Misty?" Ash reluctantly asked sometime late in the afternoon once they were alone.
"None of your business," she replied.
Unfortunately, Ash, more often than not, fails to take the occasional hint. "Well, if it's none of my business, then it's gotta be important!" he retorted.
"It's not," she growled in a low voice.
"Then tell me what it is!" Ash was getting impatient.
Misty then took a hammer out of hammerspace and whacked Ash on the head with it.
"Ow!" he exclaimed. The pain was briefly followed by a headache. "Misty, watch where you hit that thing!" But that wasn't what was on his mind. The headache felt familiar. Then he remembered. He opened his mouth to warn Misty, but it was too late.
"Hey, Misty," Evil King said in Ash's voice, "you wanna have a talk?"
Misty had not expected this to come out of the boy's mouth. "What?"
"You know, just a talk."
Misty was hesitant. "Uh...okay," she finally responded. "So what do you want to talk about?"
"I want to talk about how beautiful your face is."
"Huh?" Misty had no idea what to say. For a kid who didn't have a romantic bone in his body, he was sure trying to get it on. The conversation soon continued.
"What I'm trying to say is, I really, really like you. The question is, do you return the feelings?"
Misty gave a rather puzzling look before saying, "Ash Ketchum, are you saying that you-"
Just then, the King gave her a kiss right on the lips. When he drew back, she replied, "Is that it? C'mon, if you're gonna do it, do it right." And she swung her arms around his neck and returned the favor. Just as they stopped making out, however, Evil King let Ash take control once again, and the suffrage over hilarity was determined, because Misty just so happened to comment, "Wow, Ash! You sure are a good kisser!"
Ash was dumbfounded. "Ji-ga-ba-whaa? I kissed you?"
"Of course you kissed me! We just made out right now!"
Then, as Ash linked one thing to another, his thunderstruck expression turned into a fearful one. "Misty," he said, mortified, "I didn't kiss you. King did!"
"Well, that would make sense. I mean, if -WAIT, WHAT?!" Her expression became as dumbfounded as Ash;s was. But...but that means...I was just-"
"Fraternizing with the enemy?" suggested Ash.
Misty glared at him.
"What?"
Misty sighed. This wasn't the first time Ash joked about something so serious.
"It's not my fault if you can't take a joke!" Ash retorted.
After a brief moment of silence, Misty said, " Let's pretend like this never happened."
"Way ahead of you," replied Ash.
"Right behind you," Max added in. Misty and Ash turned to face him.
Ash was first to respond. "Max?! Aren't you...aren't you supposed to be-"
"Don't worry, I won't tell," interrupted Max.
Misty butted in. "Well, good! It's none of your business anyway!"
This only made the situation more awkward.
Max egged on, "If you're so insecure with your feelings as to kiss Ash, Mist, maybe you should talk to someone about it."
Misty gave him one hell of a right hook. "I told you it's none of your business! And don't call me 'Mist'!"
Silence encumbered, with the exception of Misty's hard breathing.
Max then groaned and picked himself up. "I think Evil King is driving us all crazy!" he said, thus breaking the silence.
Then, Brock came out from around the corner to see what set Misty off. "What happened?" he asked.
"Misty kissed Ash!" Max's face beamed.
"Shut up, Max!" said Misty and Ash in unison, each putting a hand over his mouth.
"What?" Brock was shocked. "Meaning you just-"
"It's complicated!" retorted Misty.
Brock scoffed. "It always is."
Misty sighed, rolling her eyes. "Not THAT kind of complicated."
"Okay, then," Brock replied, "explain."
. . .
After a few minutes of explaining, Brock looked back, thinking. "So let me get this straight," he said, "King did this to make each of you feel socially awkward towards each other and hoped to turn that into an antisocial relationship?"
"Probably," corrected Ash.
"I see." Brock stretched and got up. He glanced at his watch and asked, "Who's ready for dinner?"
Sure enough, his watch read 5:02. With nobody disagreeing, he walked into the girl's cabin and opened the mini-fridge. It was filled to the brim with bacon and eggs. Brock sighed and took a packet of bacon and a carton of eggs out and headed for the grill.
. . .
Meanwhile, May absent-mindedly wandered through a nearby thicket. She had nothing better to do, anyway. Suddenly, she spotted a boy running towards her. At first, this startled her, and she considered bolting, but as he got closer, she saw the weary expression he was wearing. Consequentially, she decided to run over to him. When they met up, the boy was first to speak.
"Do you-" he coughed lightly -"have some water?"
May was taken aback by by this "Why.." She to think. Did she have water? "Yes."
The boy nodded. "That's cool," he replied. "I'm Red."
"I'm May."
She extended a hand to offer a handshake, but he simply replied, "I don't do handshakes."
She put her hand back down. "Okay, then," she said, soundly slightly disappointed.
"So," Red said, "you leading the way?"
"Yeah." And with that, they set for the cabins. As they walked, May explained to Red how Ash was possessed by the Evil King of Pokélantis and how he came back. She also mentioned the more recent events that have happened and why they were there in the first place. "...and that's when I strolled through the woods and found you," she concluded. "So, Red," she said, noting the red trainer's cap he sported, "what about you? Where're you from?"
Red put his hands at the back of his head. "Me? I'm from Pallet Town."
May raised her eyebrows. "Pallet Town? That's where Ash is from!"
"Is he?" At this point, May realized that he never smiled. "This Ash kid," Red asked, "is he rivals with Gary Oak?"
"Yeah, he is. Well, was. I don't think they even see each other anymore."
"Then it's the same Ash Gary talks about."
. . .
Soon, they arrived at the cabin. However, even before they got to the front door, they already heard yelling coming from inside. Quickly, they went inside to find Ash being held in a restraint by Brock on one side of the room and the rest of the party on the other side of the room.
"Let go of me!" yelled Ash, who was being possessed by Evil King at the time.
"Is that Ash?" asked Red.
"Yeah, that's him," replied May.
"Didn't you say you stopped him before?" he inquired.
"Yeah," replied Max, "when Pikachu electrocuted him out of Ash."
"Did you try that this time?"
Everyone looked at each other.
"Why didn't we think of that?" everyone in the cabin said in unison except for Red and Ash.
"Pikachu," shouted Dawn, "Use thunderbolt on Ash!"
"Pi!" was Pikachu's response. "Pi-kaCHU!"
And just like that, a ball of lightning zapped from Pikachu's cheeks and shocked Ash and Brock.
BZZZARRT!
"AARRGGG!" shouted the duo.
Burnt to a crisp, they fell to the ground. The others ran to them.
"Ash, are you okay?" asked Misty.
"Brock?" said May.
Slowly, the two got up. Ash coughed. "The headache's gone."
Then, everyone, realizing what just happened, began to laugh.
The End