Chapter 2

Clinging on to Hope

"Dragonite is unable to battle! The winner of this match is Pikachu! Ladies and gentlemen, we have a new Pokemon Master!"

An orange-haired girl sat on her bed inside the Cerulean Gym, as she watched and listened to her TV with undivided attention. As she heard the match referee announce the victory of her best friend and love of her life, she suddenly dropped the remote from her hand, as the world around her seemed to fall silent and still.

"He…he's done it…" she murmured, amazed at how far Ash had come as a trainer, now winning the official title of Pokemon Master.

"Marill!" cried the little blue Pokemon next to her, overjoyed with Ash's victory.

"He did it! He won, Marill!" laughed Misty, as she hugged Marill who was sitting on her lap. Both trainer and Pokemon cheered in jubilation, after seeing their yellow friend emerge victorious.

He had actually done it…he has finally become the official Pokemon Master! Misty felt so proud of Ash, and as the screen showed his beaming face, she was shocked at just how much he had changed over the years. It had only been a couple of years since she saw his face again, yet he seemed so…different.

His eyes were so much gentler than she remembered them, while they were traveling together. Back then, she had loved to look at his eyes while he was beside her and didn't notice her gaze, as she cherished every moment of seeing the determination and fiery passion that they held. But now, Ash no longer looked like the naïve and super-confident trainer that he once was.

For starters, his stance was now much more refined, that was for sure. His battling style also contained more caution and pre-emptive thinking, as he showed far less recklessness while conducting his attacks, and constantly varied his tactics to match that of his opponent's. His reactions were considerably sharper, having undertaken countless battles over the years, as quickly responding to his opponents' moves became an absolute necessity in achieving victory in the most important of matches. Ash was now virtually a totally new trainer from when she knew him, as his sense of maturity and personal conduct in battle seemed to have increased dramatically.

'Too bad I probably won't be able to say the same about his eating habits, though,' she thought, quietly chuckling to herself. Although the way Ash acted during and after his battle showed signs of numerous positive changes in his behavior over the years, Misty knew that some things would never truly change, no matter how hard a person tried. Ash's obsession with food was one of those things.

But her joyful mood was soon soured, as her heart sank in unison with that of the young trainer whom she loved, when she saw Pikachu collapsing in pain onto the ground.

"Pikachu!" she cried.

"Marr!" Marill sobbed at the sight of her friend falling limply onto his stomach.

Misty ran forward to the screen in panic and clutched the sides of the TV, hoping desperately that Pikachu was alright. After seeing Ash run to the centre of the field to take Pikachu up in his arms, her eyes started flooding with tears. Right now, the only thought going through her head was to simply run by herself to the Indigo Plateau immediately to see if Pikachu was alright. But she knew that getting there was practically impossible – the rain was pouring outside the window, making a trip which would already take a full day to complete all the more longer and treacherous.

She clutched her face with her hands in sorrow. She ran to her room upstairs and buried her face in her pillow and quilt. What could she do? There was no way that she could call Ash on the phone to check up on what was going on, given Pikachu's state of emergency. All she could do right now was to wait around – for God knows how long – before Ash would be available to speak to her. Every minute, every second felt like torture to her, as she continued to fear for Pikachu's life.

"Marill…" a voice whimpered in sadness on the foot of her bed. Misty peered down to her close friend, who was looking sadly towards her. She took Marill up in her arms and hugged the little blue Pokémon as it tried to comfort her.

"Ash…Pikachu…" Misty cried, tears flowing freely from her deep cerulean eyes. "Please be alright…"

Two hours had passed since Pikachu was taken into the emergency room. Ash sat alone on a bench in the corridor outside, his anxiety growing more torturous by the minute as he continued to wait for the outcome on Pikachu's condition. He clenched onto his trademark hat nervously. A Nurse Joy peered through the window from the emergency room to look at him. She let out a small sigh in sadness after seeing Ash in such a state of discomfort. She moved towards the surgeon who was standing over Pikachu's body, busily writing medical notes on several sheets of paper attached to a clipboard.

"Well, I guess we better break the news to him." she said, and the surgeon nodded to her with approval.

As the ticking of the clock echoed throughout the corridor, Ash reflected on the battle, ruing the decisions he had made which lead to this situation.

"How could I have been so stupid? Why did I have to push Pikachu so far just so that I could win? This damn title means nothing to me if it cost Pikachu his life...if I never see him alive again…"

Teardrops fell onto his feet, as Ash started to lose all hope for Pikachu's survival, bowing his head into his hands. But his crying soon ceased momentarily once he saw Nurse Joy exit from the doors of the emergency room. Her eyes drew wider with shock, seeing just how distraught and distressed Ash was, covering her mouth with her left hand. Ash took a brief glance at her face, which looked anything but joyful at present, as she looked down towards the floor with sadness in her eyes.

Then, believing that his worst fear had finally come true, Ash fell forward from the bench onto his knees, overcome with grief. Sadness and grief pierced through his mind, causing him to finally lose all hope. He was dead. His first and most trusted Pokemon. His best friend. Pikachu was now gone from this world, and nothing would ever bring him back…

"Ash…" whispered Nurse Joy, as she walked over to him, crouching down to see his face.

"He's dead, isn't he?" Ash growled, his anger and frustration so great that he felt hatred burn within his heart, as he resented himself for his actions. "It's all my fault. I forced him too hard during that battle. Damn me and my pride. I'd rather have him alive beside me right now than to have won that stupid title."

"It's alright, Ash," Joy spoke gently as she drew Ash into a warm hug. She stroked his back and his weary head so as to comfort him, kissing the top of his head, while Ash cried endlessly into her chest. Moments later, sensing that Ash had become calm enough for her to tell him the outcome of the operation, she held him in front of her, placing her hands on his shoulders, as she looked him in the eye, and spoke to him.

"Pikachu is alive."

"…"

Ash couldn't believe it. He looked into Nurse Joy's eyes, the distraught hopelessness in his face turning to optimism, as she smiled at him with reassurance. His heart and mind began to calm, Joy squeezed his icy cold hands with her own, warming them.

"He pulled through. He's being kept in the intensive care unit."

"Is he…is he gonna be alright?" he whimpered.

Nurse Joy smiled at him and nodded. "He was in a critical condition right after the battle, but we managed to stop all the blood loss, and his pulse is steady now. He's got to stay in treatment for now, but he should be able to leave in a day or two."

Ash let out a sigh of relief at the news he had just heard. Then, in a complete turn of emotions, he hugged Nurse Joy again, this time tighter than before. Although initially dazed by Ash's sudden action, the beautiful nurse's surprised expression soon grew into a friendly smile, as she hugged him back.

"Thankyou, Nurse Joy. For saving Pikachu." He said into her ear.

Nurse Joy said nothing in reply, but simply responded by patting him lightly on the back. Then, they broke away from each other, as Ash turned back to the bench to grab his bag.

"Can I see him now?" he asked.

"They'll be transferring him into a rehab room soon. I'll come and take you there once he's been moved. For now, you can go and wait in the main foyer."

"Alright. Thanks again."

Ash looked again at the pair of glistening bright blue eyes which made his heart feel warm again after hours of anxiety, as she gave him an angelic smile. She waved goodbye to him with her fingers, and he gave her a nod in acknowledgement. She moved back into the emergency room where the other physicians were monitoring Pikachu's progress.

"If ever there was such a thing as an angel or a saint," Ash said, smiling, "it's her."

He looked at the clock in the hallway. It read 5:15pm. He decided it was time to move back to the foyer like Nurse Joy said, and so picked up his bag of belongings and started to make his way down the corridor.

"Thank God," he sighed, "I don't know what I would've ever done if I had lost him…"

(30 minutes later)

Ash sat alone in the foyer, resting as he closed his eyes. Although his battle against Lance lasted only for about twenty minutes, he was completely exhausted from the mental tension he had experienced during that time, especially while Pikachu was up against his Dragonite.

But it didn't matter now. Pikachu was going to be fine, which was all that was important to him.

"Ash!"

Ash turned his head immediately, as Nurse Joy's voice came from the direction of the hallway. She was waiting for him by the door. "You can come in to see Pikachu now. Follow me."

Ash chuckled with joy, as he got up and followed Nurse Joy, who lead the way to Pikachu's rehabilitation room. As Ash entered the room, he could hear the heartbeat monitor, resonating a continuous flow of steady beeps. Pikachu was fast asleep, looking very peaceful in the bed.

The young trainer then looked at Nurse Joy in the eye, as she motioned him to go inside. He walked in and knelt beside Pikachu's bed, stroking his head very gently so as not to wake him. Unluckily though for Ash, Pikachu's senses were as sharp as a razor knife, even in his current state. Roused by Ash's touch, he slowly opened his eyes to look at his trainer.

"Cha~~" he smiled, his voice barely audible due to his fatigue level.

"It's alright now, buddy. Nurse Joy said that you would be fully recovered in a day or two. Just get some rest for now, okay?" Ash said, holding Pikachu's tiny paw with his right hand.

"Pi…" replied Pikachu, as he closed his eyes again to rest.

As Ash approached the door, he stopped to look back at Pikachu's sleeping figure on the bed. Then, he turned back and proceeded to walk out of the room accompanied by Nurse Joy, smiling as he left.

"Thanks old buddy," he whispered, as he returned to the foyer, "…for everything…"

(End of Chapter 2)

A/N: I'm currently re-editing and making some grammar corrections to the original documents, as well as switching some words around. I'll do it for the rest of this Book, and also for Book II.