` CHAPTER 2

Ash was not having a good day. He woke up to the complaints of the caretaker of the motel stating that he's Pokémon made a ruckus throughout the night but Ash wasn't really surprised, when they weren't sleeping they caused noise everywhere on his journey. When he went to the back yard to collect them they all jumped him with hysterically speeches. Ash didn't understand Pokémon language but being with them for so long had given him something of a sixth sense and immediately he knew something was wrong. He looked among them for that all too familiar yellow but could not locate Pikachu and that was sending red flags to Ash's psyche.

"Guys calm down! Where's Pikachu?" he asked.

They paused when he told them to calm down but as soon as Pikachu left his mouth they started up again.

"This is getting nowhere" As thought. He had to go with the notion that Pikachu had somehow gone missing. Was he kidnapped? Ash mentally kicked himself for being so careless. What kind of a friend was he to be so arrogant and leave his Pokémon in the open so readily? If Team Rocket had somehow captured Pikachu then they already had a good head start. Ash at this moment felt guilty.

"Ash what's taking you so long?" Iris asked coming into the back yard. She and Cilan had been waiting at the front of the motel for him but he never showed so she went looking for him.

"Pikachu's missing." was all he said not looking at her.

"How?" she asked surprised yet worried.

"I don't know but we need to start looking for him quickly" he said with determination.

Ash returned all his Pokémon and set off with Iris to the front lobby where Cilan was waiting for them. Cilan noticed them and then gave them a wave.

"What took you guys so long?" Cilan asked curiously.

"Pikachu's gone missing and we need to go find him." Ash said.

"Oh I see. Should we split up?" Cilan asked.

"That's a great idea then we can meet up back here" Iris put in.

"Alright you guys search that side and I'll look this way." Ash said indicating the directions with his hand.

"You sure you want to go alone?" Iris asked with worry evident in her eyes and something else but Ash could decipher it.

"It's alright guys I'll be fine!" he said as he flashed them a grin.

"Well Ok then." Iris said and from what Ash could tell she was a bit disappointed but he didn't know why.

They set off in their respective directions to search for Pikachu. Ash couldn't help but worry. What if Pikachu's was being tortured or worse? He couldn't help but blame himself for this, if he had just forced Pikachu into the motel then all this trouble could have been avoided. The Uneva League was fast approaching and Ash needed to train his Pokémon but that was the last thing on his mind at the moment. He decided to distract himself for a while and decided to focus on Iris. She had been acting very weirdly these last few days. She would always ask his opinion on her clothing, try to be as close to him as possible to the point where he'd feel claustrophobic, she would even get upset when Ash talked to one of his female fans and yes he had some although they were very few. Ash wasn't as naïve as people made him out to be. Iris was a close friend so it would be pretty easy to see her little hints. Did she like him in a way that conveyed more than friendship? Ash never thought too much about relationships either then friendship because that just wasn't his thing. When he was with Misty, May and even Dawn he never thought too much about the prospect of seeking their affections. All his female companions were beautiful but Ash was more focused on achieving his dream of Pokémon mastery. He liked Iris a lot but not enough to change his views on his relationships with the opposite sex.

"Okay enough distractions. " Ash thought and set to looking for his best friend.

He walked through town searching high and low but he was coming up with nothing. He asked as many people as he could but they didn't have any information to where his Pokémon could possibly be. He was getting frustrated now. How could an entire town not have seen a bright yellow Pokémon around this place? He was running out of options and hope. This was getting ridiculous to say the least. The only place he hadn't looked through was the forest near the motel but he doubted Pikachu could be in there. He stopped suddenly and hit his head. He was such an idiot! Why didn't he search there before? If Team Rocket had Pikachu then that was the best place for them to hide from anyone. Ash broke into a sprint heading back in the direction of the motel where the forest would be. He needed to move quickly. He just hoped his hunch was right and he wasn't too late.

Ash arrived at the forest exhausted but determined to find his buddy. He made his way through the forest looking everywhere he could to at least get a glimpse of a clue. He kept on walking deeper and deeper into the forest with a bad feeling. Something was definitely wrong here and the further Ash went the worse the feeling got. Then he smelled something. Was that burnt grass? Was there a fire? Ash looked around but saw no smoke. He carried on more stealthily. He neared a clearing and then heard voices. Ash kept himself hidden when he was at the clearing and saw where and who the voices were coming from. It was a little girl in the lap of a bigger girl who seemed to be cradling and speaking soothingly to the little one. The sight was very touching and Ash didn't have the heart to interrupt so he settled for getting a good look at the two. The little girl had beautiful light blonde hair, an adorable face and she was wearing a pink dress. Ash figured she must be at least three to four years old. Ash was sure the older girl looked about his age. She had bright long yellow blonde hair, beautiful brown eyes and she was wearing a bright yellow dress that matched her hair color. Ash could admit it to himself that the older girl was probably the most beautiful girl he had ever laid his eyes on. She seemed so careful and gentle with the little child that Ash thought that they were most probably sisters.

"Don't forget Pikachu." His mind reminded and Ash had to reluctantly disturb the peaceful moment.

"Excuse me Miss, I don't mean to bother you but I'm searching for a friend of mind and I could really use your help." Ash said in one go while coming out of his hiding place.

The older girl looked at Ash wearily at first but then gasped and her look of weary turned to that of surprise and relief? She put the little child down on the grass gently so as not to disturb her semi-conscious state and then stood up from her sitting position. She then looked at Ash with relief and before he could call her out on it he was promptly tackled by the girl while she screamed his name. Ash didn't know what to make of all this but one thing was for sure. His day had suddenly got very interesting.