AN: Thanks for reading! The next chapter is alread done, just needs some polishing before I upload it.


Ash awoke to the rather loud and unpleasant cries emitting from a flock of Spearow. He lazily blinked his eyes open, groaning quietly. The noise was really persistent… he yawned and started stretching, then rubbed his neck. It was a bit tensed up due to his bad sleeping position. Judging from the stand of the sun, couldn't have slept for any longer than a couple minutes. He was about to fall back into the grass to continue his dream about defeating the pokémon league, when a dark cloud on the horizon caught his attention. He gently put the pikachu off his lap where it had snuggled close to him and shielded his eyes against the invasive rays of the sun. The cries had gotten much louder. It was as if they- his eyes widened in shock. A horde of angry Spearow were flying straight towards them! He grabbed the sleepy pokémon, ignoring the growls it let out due to being so rudely and abruptly awakened and dove into the high grass.

"There is a huge flock of angry Spearow behind us," he whispered and gestured to the dark cloud. Pikachu finally blinked his little black eyes open and cocked its head. "I'm not sure if they are after us, but it's not safe to stay out in the open!" He sighed when his pikachu simply yawned again and then snuggled tighter into his arms. At any given time this would have been the most adorable thing in the entire universe, and he would have probably melted into a puddle from all that cuteness, but right now he really could not appreciate his pokémon finally trusting him.

He laid down flat on his stomach between the rows of grass just as they arrived. He held his breath, turning his head around to try and catch a peek of the pokémon's position. The first couple flew over them, not noticing the boy hiding in the grass. Everything pointed towards them making it out of there unscathed. What Ash hadn't noticed, was the fact that right now he had his poor Pikachu pressed tightly to the ground, the little yellow mouse having barely any room to breathe while it was being sandwiched between its trainer and the earthy ground.

Anger and fear overtook the pokémon due to this unfavorable position. Ash realized too late just what error he had made. "Pika, pikaaa, piiiii!" The high-pitched yells alone were loud enough to alert a couple of Spearow, but to make matters worse, it also decided to electrocute its trainer with a flash of yellow lightning and screams. A baffled and slightly scorched Ash blinked a couple times. Then, the first Spearow dove in for the hit. "Pii..." "No time to feel guilty now!" He picked up the remorseful pokémon and dashed through the field. This had caught the attention of the rest of the crowd, as now more and more cries could be heard from behind them.

The grass hit his face and exposed arms. His vision was limited to a blurry green, surrounding him on all sides. Despite this, he did not falter, and even fastened his pace. One of the Spearow tried attacking him but he managed to avoid its attack in the last second. Finally the grass parted in front of him, revealing a glimpse of light. He kept on running, not realizing that he was in fact not back at the proper path.

It all happened too fast. His foot got caught in a protruding root, causing him to lose balance. He yelled when he fell forward, him and Pikachu tumbling down a slope together. To their shared horror, it ended in an unruly river. He had just about enough time to take one last deep breath of air, before they were submerged into the ice cold water.

The tides took hold of the pair and dragged them with it, into a direction unknown. He fought hard to reach the surface, but the water kept dragging him down. He gasped, bubbles of air escaping him and floating to the surface. Black spots started to cloud his vision, his need for air becoming stronger and stronger. Suddenly, he felt a tug on his shirt. Something drug him and Pikachu through the water. Barely a second later, they were forcefully lifted and thrown out of the river. The air got knocked out of him when he fell on a hard stone, but he didn't care. He inhaled fresh air greedily, one trembling hand still locked around Pikachu. This certainly wasn't how he had enveloped his first journey going…

"What in… who are you?" A girl suddenly stood in front of him and scrutinized the strange pair in front of her. "What were you doing with my fishing rod? Look, the hook is all deformed now because some idiot decided that it would be fun to play fish!" He stared at the brash young girl in front of him dumbfounded. "Are you mute?" She tapped her feet impatiently. "I wasn't playing, I was drowning! And it was your hook that got caught my shirt, I didn't hang on to it on purpose!" To emphasize his words he gestured towards the tear on his favorite shirt. The girl lifted an eyebrow. Then her expression morphed into one of genuine shock. "What did you do with that pokémon? It looks terrible!" Pikachu hissed and Ash rolled his eyes. "I-" He was interrupted before he could defend himself, and explain the situation to the weird girl. A dark cloud had appeared on the horizon. A very familiar dark cloud.

He jumped up and snatched his pikachu. His eyes fell on a bike that was parked on the side of the road. He jumped on it before giving himself time to reconsider his decision. "I'm gonna borrow this! I promise I will give it back to you later!" "Wait, you can't just take my bi-" "Sorry!" He yelled back. "Oh, and uh- you should probably take cover! Those Spearow are pretty nasty and angry!" "What?!" He cycled away before the girl could give him another earful. He hoped she would be alright though. One look behind him confirmed his suspicions that the Spearow were focused solely on him. The road was littered with rocks of various sizes, causing his bike to sway from side to side wildly. He grit his teeth, forcing himself to keep going.

A drop of rain hit his cheek. Then another. In a matter of seconds, heaven's gates were fully unleashed, soaking through his clothing and turning the road muddy. One particularly large bump led to his bike crashing to the ground. Pikachu fell out of his arms and the Spearow wasted no time in attacking the poor pokémon. "Get away from him!" He yelled and dove past the angry crowd. The agitated birds switched their target, picking at Ash's exposed skin with their sharp beaks. He whimpered in pain, but it didn't stop him from protecting his pokémon. He was about to pick Pikachu up to shield him from any further harm, when the pokémon jumped on his arm.

It happened so fast, Ash saw nothing more but a yellow flash. With a loud squeal, it jumped off his arm towards the horde of pokémon. A scream left Ash's lips while his eyes widened. He fell back when electricity formed around his pokémon, building up to a high tension. Some of the Spearow stopped their course and attempted to fly away, but it was too late. With a high-pitched yell, the electricity was released into the air, shocking all Spearow that had dared to venture too close. With cries of pain and anger, the Spearow were forced to retreat. Ash stared at his pokémon in shock, which smiled at him happily. Then, it started staggering, the smile slipping off its face. He stretched his hands out, catching the exhausted pokémon when it lost consciousness and toppled over. "Pikachu…" He hugged the pokémon tightly. "Thank you."

Sometime during his walk to Viridian city, the rain had stopped. For some reason, he felt the strange need to look up at the sky. Deciding to follow the feeling, he laid his head back, gazing at the darkening horizon. He gasped upon seeing a beautiful rainbow stretching across the sky. Something glittering caught his attention. There… he squinted his eyes. He thought he saw something shiny fly towards the rainbow. He rubbed his eyes, then checked again, but was only able to watch the rainbow slowly fade away.


Dawn broke in when Ash finally arrived at Viridian city. He was thankful that Pikachu had risked his own safety to protect him, but it didn't alleviate the guilt nagging at him. If he had used his powers, they might have gotten out of this ordeal unharmed, and Pikachu wouldn't have been in danger. But he was too afraid to use them. Not even a dire situation like earlier had been enough to bring forth his hidden ability. And being able to feel how angry and upset the pokémon were, didn't exactly help when they wanted to tear him and Pikachu from limb to limb. It only made matters worse, because the onslaught of heavy emotions had left him with a strong headache.

A police station was located on the outskirts of the small city. He didn't pay much attention to it when walking past the building, due to searching the area for a pokécenter. Ash just managed a couple steps into the city, when someone stopped him from advancing any further. A young police lady blocked his way, eying the beaten up boy suspiciously. "You look very… shady there, young boy. What is your business in this city?" she said, pushing her sunglasses up with her thumb. He balled his hands. "Please, I don't have time for this! I really have to get to a pokémon center quickly," Ash retorted exasperatedly. He lifted the jacket he had wrapped the tired pokémon in, but it barely reacted.

The woman's eyes went wide upon seeing the battered pokémon. "Oh, what a poor fella! I'm sorry for doubting you, but we have got a big problem with pokémon thieves lately, and you arriving here all battered and bruised raised some alarm bells, you know?" Ash decided not to question how him being injured made him a suspect. "I'm Jenny by the way," she said, while she reached into her pockets and flipped a switch on some form of remote control. "Uh, Ash." To his surprise, the garage next to the police station began opening up, revealing a motorcycle. She climbed on the bike and raised one eyebrow. "What are you waiting around for? Hop in, kid!" He nodded and climbed into the small container attached to it. "I wont ask how this pokémon got into this state, because we need to get it to a pokécenter fast. But the lady running it will have some words of choice with you about this."

"I'm sorry." His voice was quiet.

She started the engine and off they went. Her driving was much faster than Ash would have expected from a police officer. He was pretty sure that she was breaking every single speed limit in this city. He held on the container tight, swallowing heavily. A red building appeared in the distance. They were still going pretty fast. "Uh, maybe you should slow down a bit?" The woman apparently didn't hear him, as she continued driving towards the center with the same speed. "Could you slow down?" He said a little louder, but no reaction. The building was definitely much close than before. "Uh… Jenny?" Nothing. He screamed when they drove right towards the glass entrance of the building and closed his eyes tightly. The vehicle slowly skidded towards a stop in the entrance of the building. Gingerly he peeked out behind his fingers, then let his hands fall down completely. He appeared to be uninjured… and the building wasn't trashed either. "There we are! Viridian's renowned pokémon center!" The woman loudly exclaimed, a bright smile on her face. Ash climbed out of the vehicle with wobbly legs, swaying back and forth from the rough drive. "Joy? We got an emergency here!"

"Coming!" A light voice responded. Ash tightened his hold around Pikachu a little, nervously awaiting the arrival of the nurse. He hadn't forgotten the police lady's words earlier.

A young woman with light pink hair wearing a white nurse's uniform entered the foyer. Her eyes widened and one hand covered her mouth in shock when she saw Pikachu's state. "Oh dear…" She hurried over to the pokémon, gently taking it out of Ash's shaking hands.

Two Chansey's walked into the room, carrying a stretcher with wheels attached on it. She wasted no time in putting Pikachu on it. Then she turned around towards Ash, blue eyes glinting angrily. The boy shrank underneath her reproachful glare. "How could you let your pokémon reach this state? This is completely unacceptable for a trainer!" Ash avoided her glare, watching the white tiles on the ground instead. "I'm sorry." He looked up again, eyes pleading. "Please make sure that he will be alright." The nurse nodded, carrying the injured pokémon into the operation room. Ash flinched when a strong hand clasped around his shoulder. Jenny nodded encouragingly at him, a small smile playing around her lips. "Your pokémon will be fine. Joy has treated every pokémon that was brought here with success so far." Ash nodded, but it didn't stop him from feeling worried about Pikachu. "Well, I have to get back to my station. There isn't anyone on duty except me, so I need to be there, in case any bad guys show up."

"Thank you for helping us."

"It's alright. Just be careful in the future and make sure not to get him hurt like that again, alright?"

He felt a little better at her warm words. "Promise." The corners of his mouth even tugged upwards.

"Good! Joy is going to take care of everything, so if you have any questions just ask her!" With that she jumped on her bike, and was gone in the blink of an eye. Ash shook his head at Jenny's bouncy energy, but a full smile has made its way on his face. For the first time in hours he felt just a little better.