(A/N: Just on a small note, I'd like to wish everyone a belated New Years. Let's just hope 2010, and the new decade, is better.)

Chapter 4: The New Challenge

Darkness, complete darkness in the sky. Ash looked around, seeing that he was in the same forest, but it looked terribly warped. He then noticed that he was all by himself. "Pikachu!?" he then called out. "Dawn!? Piplup!?" But there was no answer from anyone.

Then, behind him, he heard his name being called out, and turned around to see Pikachu staring at him. Ash quickly ran to him, but the second he got to where Pikachu was, a hole suddenly appeared right under Pikachu, causing him to fall right into the ground. Horrified, Ash cried out, "Pikachu!" and jumped straight into the hole, after his friend. Then, while falling, he saw Pikachu stare back at him and suddenly hit him with a Thunderbolt attack.

Ash suddenly woke up, finding himself lying in a bed, a hospital bed to be precise. "Ash!" He looked over to see both Pikachu and Piplup staring at him. "It's good to see you're finally awake," Pikachu said. He then laughed hesitantly. "I kind of had to electrocute you to wake you up, since it seemed the only way possible."

"We had been out about four hours," Piplup said.

"How did we end up here?" Ash said, looking around. They had to be at a Pokemon Center.

"We brought you here." They looked over to see a man, slightly older than Ash, perhaps eighteen or nineteen, standing at the doorway with a Vulpix right next to him. "It's good to see you've finally managed to wake up," he said. He then went up to Ash. "My name is Brock, and this is my partner Vulpix," he said. "What's yours?"

"Ash," Ash replied as the two of them shook hands. "Where are we exactly?"

"The Pokemon Center in Pewter City," Brock answered. "Vulpix and I happened to be going through the forest and happened to see all three of you completely passed out. Then, we brought you all back here."

"You were all unconscious, but for some reason you wouldn't wake up," Vulpix then said, continuing. "Not only that, but you were talking in your sleep as well about something."

"I have to ask though," Brock said. "Normally trainers have one Pokemon, but you happen to have two."

Ash then remembered what had happened before he fell unconscious. "Dawn…" he then said, looking to Piplup. Piplup was probably feeling terrible right now for what had happened to her. He then looked back to Brock. "Pikachu is mine, but Piplup isn't," he then said. He then got out of bed. "A friend of mine and I were heading into the forest before we encountered some wild Pokemon."

"And then what happened?" Brock asked.

"Some person came out of nowhere and pretty much attacked us," Pikachu said. "He was about to do something to Piplup but Dawn, Piplup's trainer, protected him and well… she disappeared."

"Disappeared?" Brock asked.

"She was hit by the attack and disappeared in a flash," Piplup said.

"Tell me," Vulpix then said. "Did this man happen to go by the name of Sirius?"

The three of them looked at her in surprise. "Yes," Ash said. "How did you know?"

"Vulpix?" Brock said, looking at her with surprise.

Vulpix just smiled while closing her eyes. "I've heard the Pokemon in the forest speak, or rather have read their minds, about this human, if he really is one."

"What do you mean?" Pikachu asked.

"Sirius, or to many of the Pokemon known as the Pokemon Emperor, has powers, Pokemon powers to be exact," Vulpix said. "Why or how, I do not know, but what I do know is that many Pokemon are loyal to him and act as spies. No wild Pokemon can really be trusted nowadays."

"Pokemon Emperor?" Ash asked.

"Indeed," Vulpix said. "His intentions are to free Pokemon from "the bonds of cruelty that humans display against them." It's simple; he wants the Pokemon to rebel against the humans. How he will do it, I do not know."

"This doesn't sound good at all," Brock said. "What can we do then?"

"I have to find Dawn," Ash said. "I don't know where to look, but I'll do whatever I can to find her."

"Then I'll help as well," Brock said. "I don't know if it'll help, but I know a Pokemon that I think can help us."

"Celebi," Vulpix said.

"Celebi?" Ash asked.

"A Pokemon that lives in Johto," Brock explained. "Celebi has the ability to teleport, as well as time travel. I can't guarantee that Celebi will be able to help, but it's a start."

"Alright, Johto it is," Ash said. "But, how will we get there?"

"We'll just have to take a bus I guess," Brock said.

Then, Nurse Joy came into the room. "Ash Ketchum?" she then said.

"Yes?" Ash said.

"Seeing that you're finally awake, you're cleared to leave since you sustained no injuries," Nurse Joy said.

All of a sudden, Brock came up to her, holding her hands. "Nurse Joy," he said, his demeanor different now. "The beauty you possess would make the sickliest of people feel better. I, Brock would be honored to take you out on a date and- AUGH!" Brock was cut off because Vulpix all of a sudden used Iron Tail on Brock, taking out both his knees and putting him in pain. "But maybe that'll be another time," he then said as Vulpix drug him away."

"Oh Brock," Vulpix sighed. Ash, Pikachu, and Piplup had instantly sweatdropped.

"Thanks a lot, Nurse Joy," Ash then said. "Alright guys, we better go find ourselves the bus station."

Meanwhile, in Ilex Forest in Johto, Celebi was running for her life. A pack of Mightyena was on her tail, and they weren't willing to stop anytime soon. "You can't run forever!" one of them said, most likely the leader.

"Damn it they're persistent," she thought. In a normal case, she could teleport to safety, but now, it wouldn't make a difference. Sirius was after her, as well as the other legendaries, and he had spies in all regions. Why he was so interested in her, she did not know, but at this rate, she was either going to end up captured, or killed.

She needed to rest and seeing a large hole in one of the trees, she teleported to that spot. Lucky for her, the hole was vacant. She could then hear the pack near her. "She teleported again!" the leader said. "Search the area, every square inch of it!"

"Suicune, where the hell are you?" Celebi whispered. She knew her legendary friend was in the same situation she was, but he could at least try to help her. Besides, she knew he was somewhere in the area, somewhere in the forest. She then sighed, knowing it was now time to start running again. "And here we go again," she said as she zoomed out of the tree and began running once again.

Soon, Ash and Brock were able to get tickets to Azalea Town, which was one of the towns in Johto. As soon as the bus arrived, they got on, going to the back of the bus. It was going to take about an hour to reach the town, since the bus was making multiple stops beforehand. By that point, it would get dark meaning they would stop at the closest hotel in town.

Soon after the bus started heading towards its destination, Ash then glanced over to Piplup, who was staring out the window. "Hey Piplup, you alright?" he asked.

"Yeah," Piplup said, who was still staring in the same direction.

Ash let out a sigh. It was worse than he thought. Piplup really was kicking himself mentally for what had happened, even though it wasn't his fault. "Piplup, I know you're worried about Dawn, but I can assure you that we will find her," Ash said.

"She's still alive," Pikachu added. "It won't be easy finding her, but I'm sure if we find Sirius, we'll find her."

"I…" Piplup said. He then sighed, and looked to them. "Thank you, for trying to make me feel better. I'm just worried about her, because she could be anywhere, and I am the one who's supposed to protect her, like I've always done. And yet, she was the one who saved me."

"That just shows the bond of friendship you two have," Ash said. "I can definitely say I would've done the same for Pikachu."

"Ash…" Pikachu said, smiling slightly.

"But all I'm saying is that don't beat yourself for what happened," Ash said. "We'll find her, and things will go back the way they were."

"Thank you, both of you," Piplup said, smiling slightly. He then turned back to look outside the window. "Don't worry Dawn, I'll find you and make sure no one even tries to hurt you."

Meanwhile, in the Orange Islands, Sirius suddenly appeared through a large black portal. He looked around the island he was on, and then looked ahead to the three islands ahead: Fire, Thunder, and Ice. "Moltres, Zapdos, and Articuno could be helpful in my mission," he thought. "But right now, there is only one that I am interested in."

He then walked towards the edge of the island, taking out a leaf whistle he had managed to find. Using it, he then played a familiar tune. Afterwards, he then waited. But, he didn't have to wait long before a low, booming voice. "Turn back," it said. "I can sense the evilness in you. Away with your tyrannical ambitions!"

"Not until I claim what's mine… Lugia," Sirius said, a smile on his face.

(A/N: Okay, this is practically an exclusive song, since it's a song from HeartGold/SoulSilver. Well, maybe not for the Japanese, but anyway, the name of the song is "Lugia Battle Theme" and I have to say, it's pretty sweet, especially for a Pokemon song.)

"You dare challenge me, the beast of the sea?" the voice said. *"Very well, you then leave me no choice." There was then an eruption of water as Lugia ascended into the sky. "You will pay for daring to threaten a legendary such as I. AncientPower!" He then shot a large clear orb of energy straight at Sirius, blasting the entire area to pieces. However, once the smoke cleared, Sirius was still standing, not even a scratch on him. "What!?" Lugia said.

"Now it's my turn to show you real power," Sirius said as he suddenly shot purple beams out of his fingers, the move known as Dark Pulse. The attack hit Lugia, causing him to grunt in pain. However, the shock was apparent in his eyes.

"How can a human know and have such power?" Lugia then said. "There's only one thing left to do now." He then began charging up energy, aiming straight at Sirius. "This is the end for you! AeroBlast!" He shot the beam straight at Sirius, knowing that it was his signature move he couldn't possibly survive it. However, something happened that he did not expect. Sirius then happened to use Counter, directing the beam straight back at him!

Being hit by the beam, Lugia felt the strength leave him as he fell towards the island, crashing into the ground. Lugia then opened his eyes and looked towards the man coming towards him. "What… are you?" he then said.

"There's more to me than meets the eye," Sirius said. "Now Lugia, it is time for you to follow in with my plans."

"What are you going to do to me?" Lugia asked, his vision starting to blur.

"Oh, don't you worry about that," Sirius said with a smile. "I won't kill you, but put you to good use. To use you as a subject of mine."

Lugia then closed his eyes as a tear ran down his cheek. "I know what this person plans to do," he thought. "Forgive me Arceus… I have failed the entire world."


(A/N: And that will end chapter four. You just saw a sample of what Sirius has been up to. But I won't give anymore info out. Anyway, hope you enjoyed the chapter and more will be on the way soon!)

FoxMcCloud7921