Finally. Chapter 4 is up.
Sorry about the late update - schoolwork takes a lot out of me. Having a research paper due the period directly preceding a huge test is not fun.
Anyway, thanks again for the reviews - and patience.
Author's note: I do not own Pokémon.
"text" is spoken language
'text' is thoughts
"text" is translated Pokéspeech
A New Era, Chapter 4
The next morning, at the Pokémon center, Misty was the first to wake up. She yawned as she sat up in her bed. To her surprise, she could not find Ash. She began to frantically look around for the boy.
"Ash?" Misty said. "Ash! ASH! Where are you?"
May, Dawn and Max woke up from Misty's yelling. "What's going on, Misty?" Max said.
"Ash isn't here!" Misty said.
"What? Where did he go?" May said.
Misty then noticed that the window was open. "The window's open! Someone must have kidnapped him again…" She approached the window. "And I don't see any footprints around..."
Everyone sighed. Dawn spoke up: "This is getting really annoying, not just to us, but also to Ash."
May then noticed the day's paper on the ground. She picked it up and began to read it. "No wonder everyone wants Ash so much. Look." She showed the paper to the others. The front page was exclusively about Ash and his transformation. Two pictures – one of Ash in human form, and one of Ash as a Pikachu – took up more than half of the page. There was also a notice telling readers to report sightings of Ash, with a considerable cash reward if he was indeed found.
"This is bad." Misty said.
"So what do we do now?" Max said.
"Shouldn't we call the police or something?" Dawn said. "I'm sure they'll help us."
"I don't think so, Dawn." May said, as she held up the paper again. "Everyone wants to look for him - people like Thomas may call the police and claim Ash as their own. The police may think that we are among those people."
The four of them sighed. Dejectedly, they checked out of the Pokémon Center and began to walk towards Pallet. The trip was uneventful at first, as the four of them could not bring themselves to talk to each other. In addition, they didn't encounter much wild Pokémon, only a few Pidgey and Rattata. The four of them approached a river.
"I remember this place..." Misty said. "This was the spot where I first met Ash."
"Here?" Dawn said.
"Yes...I was fishing around that spot over there, when all of a sudden, I fished Ash and his unconscious Pikachu out of the water."
"I don't believe you." May said.
"I'm telling the truth! Ask Ash when we get him back! Anyway, I began to wonder what he was doing in the water, when I noticed a flock of Spearows quickly approaching him. He then jumped on my bike and pedaled off. I ran after him, trying desperately to get my bike back. Then, after seeing a huge flash of light, I noticed a fried bike lying down on the side of the road."
"Really? Pikachu made my bike extra-crispy as well." Dawn said.
"No way! Pikachu barbecued your bikes too?" May said.
Misty looked a little stunned. "Well, it's one more thing to bug him about."
They continued their trek toward Pallet Town. All of a sudden, they noticed a Honchkrow coming towards them.
"What's a Honchkrow doing here?" Dawn said.
Upon seeing the 4 travellers, the bird swooped down towards their location, but stopped just before it reached them. It cawed a few times, and then went back from whence it came.
"That was strange..." Max said. "I've never seen a Honchkrow act like that."
"Yeah...you're right." May said.
"Wait a minute..." Misty said. She seemed deep in thought.
"What is it, Misty?" Max said.
"Something about that Honchkrow seems a bit familiar..."
"What are you talking about?"
"Remember when I told you guys about Lily? Well, she had a Murkrow with her. And by the way that it looked at me, I think it recognized me...so I believe that Lily's nearby."
The Honchkrow returned to the four travellers and hovered about a few feet away from them.
"I think it wants us to follow." Dawn said.
The Honchkrow led the group towards Pallet. As the town came into view, the bird began to pick up speed. The group had to run in order to catch up with it. As they approached Professor Oak's laboratory, they saw a woman dressed like a witch, with the Honchkrow by her side.
"That's her."
The Honchkrow lifted a wing and pointed it at Misty. The woman looked up, noticed the group, and mentioned for them to come over.
"Hey Lily. Long time no see." Misty said.
"Ah, Misty, it's nice to see you again." Lily said. "Who are your new friends?"
"I'm May."
"I'm May's younger brother, Max."
"And I'm Dawn."
"Nice to meet you." The three of them said at the same time.
"Nice to meet you too." Lily said. Her face then became serious. "I already know of Ash's predicament, and what happened with him and his Pikachu. I don't see Ash with you..."
"We had him..." May said, "up until last night. Someone must have kidnapped him, for we wasn't with us this morning."
"What brings you to Pallet, Lily?" Misty said.
"I'm trying to find Katherine." Lily said. "When I saw her leave the stadium with Ash's Pikachu, I tried to follow her. However, she disappeared soon after she reached the forest. That's when I met with Professor Oak. He and the other three people with him explained that they were after the Pikachu. I decided to help them search for Ash's Pikachu - since doing so would help me find Katherine."
"How are you going to figure out Katherine's location?" Dawn said. "I mean, she teleported. She could be anywhere."
"I used a spell to figure out where she teleported to. She is now somewhere near the Seafoam Islands."
"If you know where she teleported to, then why couldn't you teleport to her location?"
"The previous spell used up some of my reagents, and I ran out of a key ingredient needed for the teleportation spell. Oak told me that Pallet Town was en route to the islands, so we spent the night here. We were going to leave this morning via Oak's boat, but it didn't have any gas. So, we've been waiting here for Oak's son to return with the fuel." She paused for a few seconds. "I just hope that Katherine's all right..."
"Why do you want to get to Katherine so badly?" Misty said.
"Because..." Lily said. "She's my sister."
"Wake up!"
The Raichu went over to Ash's sleeping body and shoved him. Ash woke up, silently cursing at the Raichu for ruining one of the best nights that he had in a long time. As Ash looked around the new room that he found himself in, he noticed that he was in a bed that was suitable for royalty. Then, he saw that the Raichu was off to his left; a look of annoyance was on his face.
"It's about time you got up, Ash. Follow me." The Raichu said.
"Where are we?" Ash said, getting out of the bed.
The Raichu didn't answer. He walked up to a door, and as he approached it, it automatically opened.
"I wish to show you the answers, but you must come with me." The Raichu said.
Ash reluctantly agreed, and followed the Raichu out of the room. He was still quite tired, as he stumbled a few times. The two walked down a long and opulent hallway, filled with vast quantities of jewelry and paintings. 'Wow...this is a really nice place to live...I'd probably get lost here really quickly.' Ash thought to himself.
They continued to walk until they reached the end of the hallway. In front of them was another door, much larger than the other doors that he had seen. It opened when the Raichu approached it.
"Wait here." The Raichu said. He went through the door, and then it closed.
Ash started to feel a little bit nervous about what was going to happen next. He thought about what the Raichu doing in the room, and what the Raichu would do upon his return. All of a sudden, Ash thought he could hear voices coming from the room. He placed his head on the wall next to the door. Using his enhanced Pikachu hearing abilities, he could make out a conversation, albeit faint.
"Um…why are you a Raichu, Curtis?" said a woman's voice. Ash thought the voice sounded familiar, but he couldn't figure out whose voice it was.
"Because..." said a man's voice. Ash recognized it as the Raichu's, but it was now speaking in English. "Well, the Master gave me this form so that I could better coerce the One to come with me."
'Wait, what? That Raichu is a human-turned-Pokémon as well?' Ash thought.
"I see." The female said. "So, you have him? In that case, bring him in."
"Yes, dear."
Ash realized that the Raichu was coming over, so he quickly sat down and began to act bored. The door opened again.
"You can enter now."
Ash entered the room. It was even bigger than the first room he was in - it looked like a throne room. He noticed a woman sitting down in a golden chair in front of him, with Curtis the Raichu off to her side.
"Ash." The woman said.
"Katherine."
"Ash!"
"Pikachu?" As Ash said that, he found himself steamrolled by a yellow blur. Looking up, he saw his best friend looking at him, smiling happily and licking him. Ash smiled as well. "I'm glad that you're all right, Pikachu."
"Me too, Ash." Pikachu said. "Me too."
It took about 30 seconds, but Ash managed to push his companion off of him. When he did, he got up and looked back at Katherine with rage in his eyes. "Why did you do this to me? I had a wonderful life – I was a Pokémon master, I had wonderful friends, I had everything – UNTIL YOU RUINED IT!" Ash yelled. He could feel sparks surging from his cheeks.
"Calm down, Ash." Katherine said. "I was not the one who did this to you. It was the Master –"
"WHO IS THIS MASTER OF YOURS?" Ash screamed. "I WANT A WORD WITH HIM!"
"Ash! Stop it!" Pikachu said.
"I'll bring you to the Master shortly." Katherine said. "Now, we -"
"There's no need for that."
Ash and Pikachu looked around the room, wondering where this new voice was coming from.
"The Master's here…" Katherine said.
A pink blob materialized between the two groups. Ash growled, as he recognized it as the same blob that transformed him into a Pikachu. However, this time, the blob expanded and dissipated. Where the blob had been, there was now a small, pink, cat-like creature. Ash's eyes widened.
"M-Mew?"
It nodded and floated down in front of Ash.
"I apologize for not revealing myself to you earlier."
