PokéShipping Week 2017
Day #4 - Lost Together
Squinting, Misty roves her eyes over the map in her hands. Upon her third survey of it, she releases a breath, her frustration clear.
Throwing her hands up - with the map still in them - she feels inclined to tear it to shreds. Or give it to one of her Pokémon to do with it as they please.
"This map is of no help." Misty grumbles. Rolling the map up, she shoves it back into her backpack just as she hears a rustling sound from behind her.
Turning around, Misty watches as Ash emerges through some bushes. Pikachu trails behind him, looking just as dispirited as his friend.
"No luck, huh?"
Ash sighs. With closed eyes, he runs a hand through his hair. "No matter which direction I went, all I saw were trees, bushes, and a few Pokémon."
"I see." Misty says, silently hoping that none of them were of the Bug-Type persuasion.
"So, now what?" Ash asks as he leans against a tree, Pikachu soon joining him.
"I don't know." Misty admits. "But as far as I can tell, it's official."
"What is?"
"We're lost."
"Lost, huh." Ash muses. "How did that happen?"
"Pika Pikachu Pikapi." The small Electric-Type Rodent groans into his paws.
"I don't know Ash." Misty says, an unnerving and terrifying mix of sweetness and hardness to her voice. "Maybe if someone had handed the map over when I asked, we wouldn't be lost!"
"You're blaming me?!" Ash exclaims, incredulous. He steps away from the tree, a hard set to his features. "From what I heard, it sounds like the map we have is useless!"
"And who's the one that brought the map?" Misty asks, crossing her arms over her chest.
The question gives Ash pause.
"That's what I thought." Misty says, the smirk she's wearing infuriating Ash greatly.
"I may have brought the map." Ash concedes before a smirk of his own appears on his face. "But it was your idea to come out here in the first place."
This time, it is Misty who pauses in her speech.
It isn't long before she formulates a retort.
"And what a mistake that was!" She says. "It would've been better if I had just come here on my own!"
"Really now?"
"Really." Misty says before scoffing. "Even when you're not leading us, we still get lost! It's like just being around you is asking to lose our way!"
Ash falls silent at the caustic words. For the moment, he settles on glaring at his friend.
"Weren't you the one who invited me to come along?"
"And now I'm starting to regret it."
Pikachu looks between the two humans with concern. He considers using a Thunderbolt attack to shock some sense into them, but the Mouse Pokêmon figures that would do more harm than good in this particular situation.
He wishes they would stop, but the acrimonious back-and-forth only seems to worsen.
"You're so dense and directionally-challenged, if you were walking down a straight hallway, you'd still manage to get hopelessly lost!"
"You helped read the map too! Why are you only blaming me?!"
"At least the map can tell me where north, south, east, and west are! Knowing you, you probably don't even know which way they are!"
"And you do?"
"Better than you, at least."
As the two humans glare angrily at each other, their tempers flaring, their attention is wholly consumed by the other.
As it stands, Pikachu thinks that he's the only one at the moment that hears a sort of shifting, groaning sound.
As if the ground is moving beneath their feet or something of the like.
Before Ash and Misty can say anything more - whether it be angry or hateful - shock soon overtakes their faces as the ground beneath their feet shudders and groan before falling apart.
As if at the seams, the ground deteriorates. The suddenness of it taking both of them by surprise, Ash and Misty can do nothing but release surprised gasps as they fall down into the darkened underground.
Pikachu, worried about his friends and not particularly caring for the idea of staying behind, is left with one choice. It being his only recourse, Pikachu jumps into the pit.
When the three land, it would seem that misfortune sought only to visit itself upon Ash.
Misty and Pikachu had landed safely. This only happened due to how both of them had landed on Ash.
"Today just isn't my day." he mutters with a sigh.
"I can't say you didn't deserve it." Misty says, but doesn't hesitate to get off of Ash. After Pikachu scampers off of him, Misty offers to help Ash up.
The young man merely grunts in appreciation.
The fight momentarily abated from her system, Misty looks around their surroundings.
The first thing she notices is how it's nearly pitch-black. Their only illumination appears to be some sort of strange reddish glow. The glow comes from a few feet away from them. As for what's giving off the glow, Misty doesn't know.
"I guess this day is just going from bad to worse." Ash remarks. Placing his hands on the small of his back, he stretches. He then raises his arms above his head before letting them fall to his sides.
"Pikachu Pika." Pikachu agrees, running up his friend to soon perch himself on Ash's shoulder.
"Can't really blame you for this." Misty says, giving Ash a sideways smile.
As Ash returns it, the three of them know that the fighting is at an end.
At least until they get out of the strange place they've landed themselves in, at any rate.
"Where do you-"
Ash isn't able to finish his question as Misty orders him to be quiet.
"Don't have to be so rude about it." Ash grumbles.
"Shh!" Misty reiterates. She looks around the room with narrowed eyes. "Do you hear that?"
As the trio fall silent, Ash and Pikachu soon hear what Misty is referring to.
The sound of rushing water.
Judging by the sound, the source of water is somewhere past the reddish glow.
Sharing a glance, the two humans and their Pokémon companion race off in that direction. As they run through the strange space, the reddish glow growing stronger, the three of them come to a sudden halt.
Their vocal cords falling them, the trio stares on, mystified and transfixed, at the open space before them.
A sort of underground cavern, they soon find the source of the red glow. Fitted in small, pocket-like openings in the walls are crimson gems. Varying in all sorts of shapes and sizes, the suddenness of their light causes the trio to momentarily shield their eyes.
Upon their eyes adjusting to the light, Ash is the first to speak. He points off to a corner of the cavern; a cavern that seems to lead to a dead end if the wall of obsidian stone is any indication.
"That must be where the water's coming from."
Looking off, Misty and Pikachu look over and up to see a large hole halfway up the wall. Through the wall, a cascading rush of clear blue water falls down into a small lake.
Misty has to restrain a shout of joy at the sight of the different Water-Types that find the lake as their home.
Magikarp, Goldeen, Lantern, and Poliwag all swim happily along or merely rest in the water. She sees that a few of them even have alternative colors than they usually have.
Judging by what Misty hears Ash say next, she may have restrained herself verbally, but it was a different story when it came to her expression.
"I bet you're glad we got lost now, huh?" Ash says, smirking.
"Careful Mr. Pokémon Master," Misty warns, though she too is smirking. "We're not out of here yet."
"Pika Pika." Pikachu says, his ears drooping slightly.
"Well, I don't think we have to worry about that." Ash says, pointing to the other end of the cavern.
Following his line of sight, Misty and Pikachu soon see a horde of Diglett and Dugtrio milling around. There is even a few Sandslash mingling amongst them.
"I wonder what they're all doing down here." Misty wonders.
"Who knows?" Ash says, shrugging.
A strange look overtakes Ash's expression; the young man looking deeply pensive.
"Be careful Ash, we wouldn't want you to hurt yourself." Misty teases, grinning in good humor.
Humor that is reciprocated if way Ash chuckles is any indication.
"What are you thinking about?"
"I'm thinking about how this place kind of reminds me of the space Mewtwo and his clones had."
At the bittersweet memory, Ash, Misty, and Pikachu fall silent. They smile with a sort of fond remembrance, each of them wondering what the aforementioned Pokémon are up to.
As the moment passes, Ash shrugs before grinning broadly.
"I don't know about you Misty," Ash says as he makes his way leisurely, yet cautiously, over the lake filled with Pokémon. "But I think we could use a break after today."
"It was getting pretty dark outside." Misty says as she follows after her friend, Pikachu at her heels.
"Exactly my point!" Ash says before sitting down at the water's edge. A Magikarp - whether driven by curiosity or something else entirely - swims over to Ash. The two stare at each other for the briefest of moments before the Fish Pokémon unleashes a stream of water into Ash's face.
"Okay, you definitely deserved that." Misty comments, grinning.
Ash sticks his tongue out at her as she takes a seat next to him, saying nothing.
As a comfortable silence descends upon the two humans and their Pokémon companion, Ash sighs, sounding appreciative.
"It's kind of nice that places like this exist." he muses.
"Yeah." Misty agrees curtly. Shifting over closer to Ash, she rests her head on his shoulder. "Really nice."
"I just hope those Diglett and Dugtrio can help us."
"Eh, that can wait."
"I guess."
"Mhm." Misty murmurs as she gets more comfortable on the cavern floor.
And with that, the two humans rest on the cavern floor, enjoying each other's presence and company as Pikachu conversates with the Water-Types milling about.
While it might not always be the most pleasant experience in the world, Misty does have to admit to something.
If she has to get lost anywhere with anyone, she's glad it happens with Ash.
Originally Added: November 4th, 2017