Author's Note:

I'm only two days late! Ha! I had alot of work this weekend (AP english is NOT your friend, heh.) But, here's the new chapter!


The next morning, Ash stood just outside of his hotel room, running his hand through his hair, still damp from his early shower. Misty and the twins were still asleep, and Ash decided to let them stay that way. He needed to start his training for the competition anyway.

"Pikapi," Pikachu commented from the floor. Giggling, Ash bent down to pick up the electric mouse Pokémon.

"Are you hungry little buddy?" Ash asked. Pikachu nodded eagerly. "Alright. I guess it would be a good idea to get something to eat before we go and train."

Ash walked down to the lobby, heading over to the buffet area. As he did, he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Letting out a little yelp, Ash spun around, Pikachu's cheeks sparking in case he needed to attack.

"Ash, relax!" Scott scolded, "You're so rash!"

"Scott?" Ash mumbled sleepily. Pikachu stopped his electric flow and tilted his head.

"Yes boy, it's me," Scott rolled his eyes, "now, how'd you enjoy my little surprise to you and Misty?"

"It's not exactly what I was expecting," Ash scoffed, "or Misty for that matter. What was the big idea?"

"I just wanted to entertain you was all!" Scott laughed.

Taking a deep breath, Ash questioned, "Scott, what was up with those paintings?"

"Hm? What paintings?"

"The ones of Entei and the volcanoes! It was pretty weird."

"Oh, that's just a foolish local legend," Scott shook it off.

"Just a legend?" Ash's tone was skeptical, "it was freaky. Not to mention the word etched into the wall…it really kind of creeped me out."

"Ash," Scott rubbed his temples, clearly aggravated by the man's seemingly nonsensical rambling, "it is just a myth. It was all for fun! I know you were very…inquisitive as a young man, but I thought you'd have grown out of that trait by now."

"Of course not," Ash's eyes twinkled mischievously, "I don't think I'll ever really grow up. Don't want to. But you really make me wonder, Scott. If you think I'm so troublesome, why do you stick around with me?"

"Because," Scott began, chuckling a little, "I know real talent when I see it. I've known since I first met you that you're an extraordinary trainer. Honestly, I've never met anyone who can match your skill level. You may be terribly dense sometimes…"

"Hey!" Ash interrupted.

"Sorry kid, but it's true," Scott winked, "but as I was saying, even though you do have your moments, you're one of a kind. Why do you think I gave up ownership of the Battle Frontier to my brother? I couldn't just let you walk off on your own after you became a master, or worse, let someone else become your agent. You're simply incredible, Ash."

"Thanks," Ash smirked, "but…this conversation is starting to creep me out. Maybe even a little more than what Misty and I found in that cave last night. Pikachu and I are just gonna get some breakfast before I start training."

"Good, very good," Scott nodded as he began to walk away, "I'll alert the media."

"Wait!" Ash called after his manager. Scott turned around and gave Ash a curious glance. "You can tell them I'm training, but do not tell them where. I don't need any interruptions, especially from them."

"Alright, fine," Scott sighed. Ash gave a delighted grin and headed off to get some food. Scott returned to rubbing his temples as he mumbled, "you really are something, Ash Ketchum."

XXX

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt on Buizel!"

"Pi…ka…chu!" Pikachu's body began to glow a bright yellow, with electricity being sent barreling towards Buizel.

"Now Buizel," Ash ordered, "try and dodge it!"

"Bui!" Buizel jumped out of the way of the thunder.

"Looking good Buizel!" Ash cheered, "Now use aqua jet!"

"Bui bui!" Buizel's body became engulfed by water. The weasel Pokémon leapt up and began rocketing through the air, water still surrounding him and streaming behind.

"Pikachu, let's test out quick attack!"

"Pika!" Pikachu ran around furiously, dodging each of Buizel's attempts to hit him with aqua jet. At the last moment, Pikachu stopped too quickly, and Buizel collided with the electric mouse Pokémon.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried worriedly.

Buizel landed back on his feet and stood up proudly with his arms crossed. Pikachu laid weakly in front of him, slow to get up.

"Pi…pika…" Pikachu squeaked as he rose, ears and tail twitching with fatigue.

"Are you okay buddy?" Ash hurried over to his partner Pokémon and patted his head. Pikachu nodded gently. "Good. Buizel, your aqua jet is looking really powerful!"

"Bui bui!" Buizel grinned cockily, causing Ash to chuckle.

"I think we should take a little break," Ash suggested, "you guys have been working really hard."

Just as Pikachu and Buizel began to cheer, the ground started to shake slightly. The two Pokémon looked up at their master in confusion, but Ash had a similar look on his face.

"What's going on?" Ash wondered aloud. As he finished his question, the tremors became stronger and stronger. Buizel, Pikachu, and Ash got thrown in three different directions, each one crying out in their perspective languages. Ash finally skidded to a halt, and pushed himself up with his hands. Looking around frantically for his Pokémon, he caught sight of Buizel several hundred feet away twitching in pain, the weasel Pokémon having been thrown against a large boulder.

"Buizel!" Ash cried, running towards the injured creature. The ground was shaking even more violently now, and Ash fell again. Groaning, he withdrew Buizel's poke ball and successfully recalled the water type into its red and white sphere. Ash pulled himself up on all fours, knowing that if he stood up he'd jus t fall over again. He looked all around him, worriedly searching for Pikachu.

"Pikapi!" The squeaky cry pierced the air, nearly being drowned out by the loud, trembling noises of the earth.

Ash's head snapped forward readily, and he caught sight of his little buddy hanging desperately onto the edge of a tall rock structure.

"Pikachu!" Ash jumped up and began to sprint. He would fall every few feet, but quickly got back up. Repeating the cycle endlessly was causing his legs to grow tired very quickly, but Ash knew he couldn't just leave Pikachu there. The mouse was in severe danger, and it was out of the question not to save him. Ash knew he could never live with himself if anything ever happened to Pikachu. After falling for what seemed like the hundredth time, Ash raised his eyes up towards the sky, searching for what could possibly be causing the violent shaking. He was fairly certain that earthquakes weren't native to this area, so something else had to be causing it. When he lowered his gaze just slightly, he gasped at what he saw.

XXX

At the very same time, Misty awoke sharply from her previously peaceful sleep. She found herself on the floor, next to the bed, and could feel the room shaking. Gasping, she leapt up to find Ash missing.

"Where is he?" She wondered aloud, leaning on the edge of the bed so as to not fall down again. As she clutched the mattress tightly, two distinct cries caught her attention, causing her to whip her head around.

Aiden and Michelle were both crying, each one hanging onto the sheets of their bed and nearly slipping off the sides. Misty's heart leapt, and she sprang forward, grabbing both children and putting them back to the middle of the bed. They were still sobbing, out of fear Misty assumed, so she sat in front of them, brushing through the toddlers' hair and whispering soothingly to them.

"It's okay," she hushed, "you're alright, you're safe with me."

The two calmed down fairly quickly, and Misty turned the TV onto a children's show to distract them. As the twins contently kept their eyes locked on the screen, Misty glided over to the large window of the hotel room and peaked behind the curtain. She raised her eyebrows when she caught sight of the sky: it was a deep red, with smoky gray clouds moving groggily across the horizon.

"This doesn't look right, not at all," Misty murmured to herself. Suddenly, her throat tightened. Where was Ash?

Picking up Aiden and Michelle, Misty hurried out the door, practically running down the hallway.

"Mama," Michelle blinked, "where we goin'?"

"We're going to find Scott dear," Misty answered almost absent mindedly, trying to fight the awful scenarios that were running in her mind.

Down in the lobby, she found Scott sitting on an armchair, lazily reading the newspaper as if nothing had just happened.

"Scott!" Misty hissed, stomping towards the man. He looked up curiously at the red head, placing the newspaper down on his lap.

"Ah, hello there Misty. Did you sleep well?"

"Did you feel all that shaking before?"

"Yes, but it passed fairly quickly."

Misty growled, not in the mood to deal with her husband's shallow minded manager. "Where's Ash?"

"Hm?" Scott was scanning the paper again. Misty placed the children on the ground and snatched the object out of Scott's hands, "Misty! What in the world?"

"I asked where Ash is!" Misty stormed, "you should know!"

"Oh, yes," Scott pushed his glasses back up, "he's outside, training."

"OUTSIDE?" Misty shrieked, "he was just OUTSIDE with all of that shaking going on?"

"Oh dear, I'm sure he's just fine," Scott waved his hand, "don't you worry."

"You're useless," Misty snapped, "I'm going out to look for him! Watch the twins."

"Misty," Scott sighed.

"I mean it!" Misty began to run, "watch them or you won't live to see noon!"

Scott could do nothing but shake his head. He looked down at the two toddlers, who stood in front of him with innocent gazes.

"Erm…hello you two," Scott grinned weakly, "how are you?"

Aiden walked just a little closer to the man and gave him a sharp kick in the knee, causing Scott to howl in pain, and Michelle to laugh gleefully.

XXX

As Misty had been waking up, Ash had looked up to see the source of the trembling: a volcano, and a very large one at that, erupting only several hundred feet away from him.

Pikachu, meanwhile, was about to slip off the rock cliff he hung onto. As he cried out in fear, Ash abandoned his concerns and dashed towards his periled friend. After falling a few more times, he finally reached the cliff, and began to climb up.

"It's okay Pikachu!" Ash looked up at the electric mouse, "I'm coming!"

"Pika!" Pikachu wailed, his little feet flailing helplessly. Ash continued to climb up, reaching the top after just a few minutes. He lifted up one hand and snatched Pikachu, holding his partner firmly in one arm.

"Gotcha!" Ash cheered with a smile. As Pikachu twitched his ears in happy response, the ground began to shake even more violently than it had before. Ash turned his attention back to the volcano, and felt his heart stop as he saw another, even larger spurt of lava bursting from the top.

Ash began his descent down, trying to move as quickly but carefully as possible. But as the ground continued to tremble with unbelievable force, his left hand slipped off the cliff, and he went flying backwards.

Both Ash and Pikachu yelled out fearfully as they free fell towards the ground. The cliff had been a decent height away from the earth, but not far enough where Ash would have time to withdraw one of his flying Pokémon to swoop in and save him. So instead, he tried to sit up as he fell, clutching Pikachu tight against his chest. Unfortunately, it was no use.

The young master struck his head hard against the dry, dusty ground, his back also receiving quite the hit. He let out one little moan, but was then quiet. Pikachu, who had remained safe and just a bit stunned, shook his fur out and turned around to look at his trainer.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu asked. No response. "Pikapi!" He took Ash's shirt into his little paws and tugged at it. Still nothing.

"Pika…pi…" Pikachu jumped off of Ash's chest and ran next to his head. Looking his best human friend in the face, Pikachu squeaked frightfully.

His eyes were closed.


Author's Note: Uh oh. Looks like Ash is in trouble, eh? What will happen to the Pokemon master? You'll all find out NEXT CHAPTER! I am so evil, right? No? Okay.

Remember to leave a review! They're very much appreciated and keep me motivated! So, until next time, keep on reading and reviewing!