The rest of the day and the night passed quickly. Misty was sure the police knew they were missing by now. Finally, they arrived at an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere.
Misty was shoved out of the van and down the halls. Ash was carried the whole way, seeing that he was unconscious. They were taken into a large room where a man stood with his back to them.
"Boss, we brought the boy, along with a girl who was in the room with him." One of their captors announced.
The man didn't turn around. "Lock them up separately. I don't want them to put their heads together and figure out a way to escape."
"Yes sir." All of their captors said in unison.
"No!" Misty's scream was muffled by the cloth covering her mouth. She tried to grab her friend, but couldn't because of the ropes around her arms. She was dragged in the complete opposite direction of where they took Ash. She was helpless.
Meanwhile…
"It's confirmed. Misty and Ash are nowhere near Pallet Town." Officer Jenny told Professor Oak. "We tracked Misty's pokegear signal like you suggested. They've been taken somewhere far away from here. I contacted the Officer Jenny closest to them and she'll take care of this. All we can really do is wait."
"There must be something else we can do! We can't just stand here and do nothing while they're in trouble!" Professor Oak responded.
"You should remember that Ash and Misty aren't the only ones that need you right now." Officer Jenny replied. "Your assistant needs you as well."
Professor Oak looked over at Tracey, who still hadn't woken up, guiltily. "You're right. I guess I should let the police handle it for now."
"We want to help rescue them." Iris stated. "Ash is our friend, and we'll do anything we can for him."
"For now, leave it to us." Officer Jenny told her and Cilan. "Understood?"
"Yes ma'am." They understood, but they weren't happy about it.
That night…
Misty heard a sound outside her cell.
"Who's there?" She whispered, hoping it wasn't another bug-type pokemon. There were plenty of them in her cell.
The door opened. A light, probably belonging to a flashlight, swept over Misty.
"Come on out. You're free." A very familiar voice hissed.
"Officer Jenny? Help me find my friend Ash." Misty whispered.
"Okay, but come out before someone pushes us all in." Officer Jenny answered.
Misty cautiously exited the cell. "Ash is wounded and in a coma. We have to find him fast."
"You heard her, team. Look for a locked up kid that's wounded and in a coma." Officer Jenny ordered. "Split up into pairs and head out. Misty, you come with me."
Misty and Officer Jenny started searching, being as quiet as possible.
"Pikachu!" A small voice called.
"Azurill!" Another small voice put in.
"It's Pikachu and Azurill! Let's go free them!" Misty suggested, keeping her voice low.
She and Officer Jenny hurried into the room where Pikachu and Azurill were being kept to find themselves confronted by armed guards. One of the guards hit the alarm which blared throughout the building.
"Pika!" Pikachu cried.
"Azu!" Azurill added, trying to get to Misty. The cage edged towards the edge of the table and then fell off it. After a moment, it smashed into pieces on the floor.
"Azurill!" Suddenly, Misty didn't care about the armed guards or the situation she was in. All she cared about was making sure Azurill was okay.
A guard reached toward Misty. Azurill blasted him with Water Gun, proving it was fine.
While Misty and Azurill fought off the guards, Officer Jenny freed all the other pokemon in the room.
"Pikachu! Lead us to Ash!" Misty yelled over the alarm, which was still ringing out over all of that racket.
"Pika!" Pikachu agreed and took off. He led them through several halls and out of the building. A couple of other police officers had found Ash first and taken him outside.
"Ash!" Misty cried, running to her friend. "Please be okay."
"We're going to take him to the hospital in Cerulean City. That one is the closest." One of the officers reported. "It won't take long to get him there."
"I'll come with you." Misty said. "I'm not going to leave him."
The officer nodded. "Okay."
Two hours later…
"So you're in Cerulean City?" Professor Oak asked Misty over the phone.
"Yes." Misty answered. "I'm glad the police found us so quickly. I have no clue what those people had in store for us. My sisters came over in a hurry. They were worried about me. I don't want to leave Ash's side, but I've got three challengers at my gym. Daisy promised to watch over him until I get back."
"I understand, Misty, but get back to him as soon as you can. Let me know immediately if something bad happens. Goodbye." Professor Oak hung up the phone and headed back to Tracey's hospital room. Iris and Cilan looked up expectantly when he arrived. "They're in Cerulean City. Misty has to deal with challengers and I have to stay with Tracey. Do you think you two could head to Cerulean City and stay with Ash?"
Iris and Cilan glanced at Tracey then at each other. They reached a silent agreement.
"I'll head to Cerulean City and Cilan will stay here with Tracey. It works out in everyone's favor." Iris proclaimed. Cilan nodded.
"Okay then. That's what we'll do." Professor Oak said.
Two months later…
Tracey wakes up.
Four months after that…
Ash moaned and stirred. He came to with a start.
"Mom! Dad!" He cried, sitting up and grabbing everyone's attention.
"He's awake!" Misty gasped happily.
"And now we have to tell him…" Iris whispered, snapping Misty back to reality.
Ash was trembling, knowing what was coming.
"Ash, your whole family… they're… gone…" Misty stammered.
"My… my whole family?" Ash hadn't realized it was that bad. Tears slid down his face. "It can't be…"
"We're really sorry, Ash. We know how much your family must've meant to you." Iris said.
Ash was full-out crying now. He cried for hours, Misty, Iris, and Pikachu trying repeatedly to comfort him. Doctors came in and out, checking up on him. He didn't even notice until one gave him a shot.
"What was that for?"He asked.
"It's to help you recover." The doctor replied and left.
Pikachu wiped Ash's tears away with his tail and cuddled up against him. Ash picked him up and hugged him.
"At… at least I… still have… you… Pikachu…" He sobbed.
"Look at the bright side, Ash." Iris urged him. "At least you're still alive."
Ash looked at her, and then nodded slowly. "I… I guess you're right… I… I got lucky…"
"Iris is right, Ash. You can still grow up and fulfill your dreams. You can still make them proud." Misty said.
"Does Brock know?" Ash questioned, surprising them both.
"Um… I don't recall mentioning it to him the last time we talked… and he didn't ask… so… I guess not…" Misty stammered. Ash looked disappointed. "But I think he's visiting his family this weekend! We can tell him then!" Misty added quickly. "We can bring him here to see you!"
"Okay." Ash looked like he felt a little better with that promise. "How soon is the weekend?"
"Tomorrow." Iris told him. "It's tomorrow."
"I hadn't realized it was so soon!" Misty almost laughed, but stopped herself in time. This wasn't the time and place to start laughing.
The next day…
"Ash! Are you okay?" Brock rushed into the room, looking out of breath.
"I'll be fine." Ash answered. "Still taking it in, but…"
Brock sat down in a chair by Ash's hospital bed. "I'm glad you're all right."
"I'm not all right." Ash started crying all over again. "I'm an orphan, for heaven's sake."
Brock held him close. "Shh. Don't think like that. You've still got friends and pokemon, and Professor Oak is going to take care of you. If you ever need anything, you know where to reach me."
"What'll I do now, Brock?" Ash sobbed. "I don't know what to do."
"Do what you've been doing since you were ten. Follow your dreams." Brock murmured in his ear. "That's the best path to take now. It would make your parents happy to know that, even after they died, you'd still become what you've always wanted to be."
Ash stopped crying for a second. "Do you really think so?"
"I really do." Brock smiled. "Dry your tears and let's play a game, okay?"
Ash nodded. "Okay."
Days passed and Ash moved in with Professor Oak. The only condition was that he helped Tracey with some of the chores.
One day, they were out in the corral when Tracey struck up a conversation.
"I heard a rumor the other day that the whole group of criminals that did you-know-what was caught." He began. "They've all been sentenced to life in jail or… um… you know. It's a rumor, but I hope it's true."
Ash made a face. "I agree. They'd better be in jail, those murderers."
"I heard another rumor, too, but I don't want to tell it to you. We'll see what happens." Tracey continued.
Bulbasaur tapped Ash on the shoulder with his vine whip, and then moved to stay behind him when he turned around. Tracey put a hand over his mouth to try to muffle his laughter as it happened several times before Bayleef picked up Bulbasaur so that Ash could see who the culprit was.
"So what's this other rumor?" Ash asked. "You can't keep it from me now that you've mentioned it."
"I told you. We'll see what happens." Tracey responded. "I'm not going to tell you what it is, just that you'll pray it's true."
"Tell me!" Ash begged.
"No!" Tracey replied sternly.
The next day…
Ash sat in his room, wondering what Tracey had meant when he had said there was a rumor Ash would pray was true.
"Ash!" Professor Oak called. "Come down here for a moment! I want to talk to you!"
Ash thudded down the stairs. "Yes?"
"I'm going to a conference meeting in Hoenn. You and Tracey are in charge of the pokemon and the lab while I'm gone. Since Tracey's older, he's in charge of you as well." Professor Oak told him.
"What? No fair!" Ash complained. "I'm perfectly capable of taking care of myself!"
"Sorry, Ash. Life's not fair." Professor Oak responded. "Well, I'm off."
"Bye, Professor Oak." Tracey said. Ash hadn't noticed him behind him.
"It's not fair." Ash fumed.
"Hey. At least you don't have to cook for the both of us. What do you want for dinner?" Tracey asked.
"Um… cheeseburger?" Ash replied.
"Okay. I'll call you when it's ready." Tracey said.
Ash went outside, no longer angry. Some of his pokemon came up to greet him. For some reason, they looked worried.
"What's wrong?" Ash asked "Is something wrong?"
Suddenly, someone grabbed him from behind, covering his mouth.
"Shh! It's just me! I saw someone outside with a gun! Come back in!" Tracey hissed in his ear.
A shot rang out and Tracey crumbled.
"Tracey!" Ash screamed. He ran inside and began to dial 911, but a bullet hit the phone and it blew up. "Help!"
He raced out of the house and down the hill. Suddenly, there was a giant explosion behind him. He turned around to see Professor Oak's lab go up in flame. Ash shook his head to clear it. The most important thing right now wasn't the lab, it was Tracey.
He ran and ran until he reached the hospital where he told them Tracey was hurt and he couldn't use the phone. He didn't say why he couldn't use the phone, just that he couldn't.
After that, he ran into town, hoping the killer wouldn't find him. It was a hopeless hope. They found him almost instantaneously and chased him into the woods.
Ash ran straight into a Pidgeot.
"End of the line, kid. You've got nowhere to run." The killer snickered.
Ash backed up, hitting the Pidgeot again.
A moment later, he found himself on the Pidgeot's back, dodging the killer's bullets. The killer climbed onto a Fearow's back and chased them through the sky.
It was then that Ash recognized the Pidgeot he was riding. It was the same Pidgeot he had released into the wild years before!
"Pidgeot, thank you." He whispered. "Thank you for saving me."
Pidgeot squawked in a way that said 'this isn't over yet' and dodged more bullets. Ash held on tight.
The chase went on for hours, until the bird-types were exhausted. Pidgeot held out longer and brought Ash away from the killer.
They were near Pewter City by then. Flint, Brock's father, saw them coming. He and Ash took Pidgeot to the pokemon center, where the worn out bird-type was cared for.
"Why did you push Pidgeot so hard?" Nurse Joy asked.
"Will it be okay?" Ash replied.
"It'll be fine, but you didn't answer my question." Nurse Joy responded. "You should take better care of your pokemon."
Ash hung his head, knowing he'd had no choice, but feeling bad for it anyways.
"We'll have Pidgeot stay here overnight and then you can come back for it in the morning. If you want, we can prepare a room for you upstairs." Nurse Joy offered.
"No need. I'd prefer it if he stayed at my place for the night." Flint said.
"Okay. How's that with you?" Nurse Joy turned to Ash.
Ash shrugged. "As long as I'm not stuck in the woods, I'm fine."
He followed Flint home. As soon as they got inside, Flint turned to him.
"So, Ash, what happened?" Flint questioned.
"Well, it's a long story." Ash said nervously, and explained what had happened.
"Sounds like you've had a long night. You can stay in one of our guest bedrooms for the night. Sleep as long as you'd like." Flint told him.
Ash nodded. "Okay."
To be continued…