This chapter doesn't have a lot of action (mainly it's Ash walking and Pikachu sneezing), but I feel it's important to the story and it leads up to the next chapter (which does have a lot of action) So, enjoy!

Memories

Ash was wandering aimlessly up a dirt path when a sound of thunder startled him out of his thoughts. He looked around for the source; to the east clouds could be seen forming, but they were too far off to have been the source, it had sounded so close. He hadn't seen any flash of lighting either, and thunder always went after—lighting! He slapped his forehead. How could I have forgotten? He thought angrily to himself. When Ash had left after talking to his mother he had completely forgotten about Pikachu. It was probably still down there, or else wandering about God-knows-where.

Ash spun around, angry at himself and prepared for a long trek back down the hill, only to see the bright yellow Pokemon following him a few feet behind.

"Oh!" Ash said, surprised. He hadn't expected the Pikachu to follow him. But when the Pikachu saw he was looking at it, it quickly looked down and then bounded up ahead and past Ash like he wasn't there.

"H-hey, wait up!" Ash said, running after it. But the Pikachu did not slow down, instead it began to run even faster.

"Damn it, Pikachu! When I say stop, stop!" Ash said, "Halt! Wait! Cease running!" He cried, desperate. They were all very clear commands, so why wouldn't the Pikachu listen to him? What a screwed up Pokemon, it didn't just use moves without commands, it ignored them too. And of course Ash had been the one to get it. They had reached the top of the hill and the ground began to slope downward, the Pikachu still a few feet ahead. Ash was running out of stamina. Why is everything going wrong today? Ash thought to himself. He was sure the other trainers were doing fine with their Pokemon, and Gary was probably already in Viridian City.

As the ground leveled out the Pikachu finally leaped up into the branches of a small tree, just out of Ash's reach.

"Damn it, Pikachu!" He said again, banging his fist against the trunk. Though the Pikachu seemed to be breathing heavily, he wasn't nearly as tired as Ash was. Stupid Pokemon, so stupid it can't even follow a command. Ash thought, slumped against the trunk. The day's events had already put him in a foul mood, and this seemed to be the breaking point.

"Why! Why does the stupid Professor have to give me such a crappy Pokemon!?" Ash yelled to the sky, unable to contain his frustration. "Damn old man, trying to help his precious superstar grandson, who's perfect in every way!" Ash said the last words in a mock-sweet voice, but it was so tainted by anger that even Ash was slightly surprised to hear the sounds come out of his mouth. He was having what his mother would have called a 'temper tantrum.' The thought angered him. "Damn, good for nothing mom, she doesn't even know! She doesn't even care about her own son!" Ash knew the words he was saying weren't true, but it didn't matter. His anger was like an Arcanine now, clawing at his stomach and roaring through his mouth. "Damn them all, I hope they all die!" he yelled, loud enough to startle some nearby Pidgey.

His hands were sore from hitting the tree, and he was finding it surprisingly difficult to breath. He leaned his back against the trunk and sank down to its roots, his anger replaced by exhaustion. He looked up at the sky. It was nearly noon, and he had barely left the town.

"Stupid alarm clock…" he said, but he was too tired to feel angry. He just felt hollow inside, like his rage had been a fire that had burned itself out and now just left him empty. The Pikachu seemed to sense his defeated spirit, and hopped down from the branch it had perched itself on.

"Pikapi?" it said, not really concerned for Ash but startled by his sudden loudness and then silence. Ash just sneered and looked away. The Pikachu did likewise. After several minutes it found something in the ground to be extremely interesting and started to sniff and paw at the soil, clearly bored. For around a quarter hour Ash sulked until his back started to cramp up from staying idle for so long against the rough bark. Finally he got up and stretched, feeling slightly better despite his attempts to stay angry. Ash wasn't good at holding grudges, though he had tried several times.

Ash began to take note of his surroundings. There was a small stream a couple feet ahead of him, with a few willow trees at its bank breaking the monotony of oak and elm trees that made up most of the forest surrounding Palet. As he walked closer to the stream, he saw a large, flat stone in the middle of the water, big enough for three people if you squeezed together. He remembered he and Gary used to wade out to the rock and pretend that they were lost on an abandoned island. They would use "fishing rods", which were really just sticks, to hook moss flowing down the stream. They pretended the moss was a Magikarp, which they would "eat." One time they had actually braved a nibble, but after that they just threw it back into the stream. If a stick floated past they pretended it was a Gyarados, and had to be very still and quiet or else they would be "eaten." One day a Pokeball had somehow gotten tangled in the moss they fished up. Since Gary had saw it first but Ash had been the one to fish the moss up, there had been a huge argument about whose it was. During that fight they had broke in half, Ash getting the red side and Gary the white. They didn't talk to each other for a whole three days after that, which was a very long time for them then. Ash felt for the small, round lump inside one of the outer pockets of his backpack. He didn't know why, but he always carried the broken half of that Pokeball around with him, like it was a good luck charm.

With the rock serving as a landmark Ash knew exactly where he was, the road was just a few yards to his left. Shouldering his backpack he marched purposefully towards where the path was, hoping the Pikachu would follow him like it did last time. Sure enough, he could hear the sound of its paws padding quietly behind him. Had it not been for the dry leaves that lay strewn about the forest floor, Ash probably wouldn't have been able to hear the Pikachu's soft footsteps; Ash sounded like a Nidoking by comparison.

Finally he reached the dirt road that led to Viridian City. Now that they were back on the path he could no longer hear the Pikachu's quiet footsteps. He willed himself not to look behind him to check if the Pikachu was still following, the last thing he needed was another wild goose chase. He had been walking for what seemed like an hour when he suddenly remembered what the Professor had told him to do.

"I completely forgot!" He yelled, thinking out loud. Luckily he had only missed the small path by a quarter mile, so it wasn't a long backtrack. The path to the old farmhouse was almost completely overrun by weeds, but Ash knew the way well from all the times he and Gary had journeyed back here in secret. Soon he could see the dejected, brown building in a small clearing of trees. There were two buildings; a smaller one to the right where its long gone occupants probably used to sleep, the roof of which was now entirely caved in, and the larger barn. The barn had fared better than the smaller house; for though there were some holes in its roof much of it was still intact. Though the forest threatened to swallow the small settlement up, you could still see the remains of a path that led to the sagging doors of the forlorn barn house.

Ash followed this path inside the barn, his eyes adjusting to the dim lighting. The barn itself seemed much less scary than the time he and Gary had spent the night; the walls didn't seem to be closing in as much as sagging under the weight of time. The floor was carpeted with brittle, long-dead hay, some of which still stood dejected in bales in a corner. Pikachu sneezed, its nose irritated by the all the dust.

"Bless you." Ash said automatically, but the Pikachu didn't respond. What could the message be about? Ash wondered as he reached into his pocket and pulled out the red Pokedex, its screen flickering to life at the press of a button. For a moment, nothing happened except the Pokedex's menu screen popping up. Then two moments. Then three. Ash was beginning to wonder whether he had gone to the wrong place, or if this was all some kind of mean joke, when suddenly an image of the professor flared onto the screen.

"Hello, Gary."

Ohhhhh, what a cliff-hanger! Well, not really, but better than nothing! As always, please leave your reviews! Not as always, here is a good song for you to listen to! Don't ask why, just listen to it. It's not my favorite song or anything, but I decided I'm going to leave you good songs at the end of each chapter as a reward for you reading my random crap! If you don't like the songs it's fine, everyone has the right to a wrong opinion. Any way, here's the song itunes landed on today:

Little House by The Fray

Bye!