Hi guys! Sorry for the long wait! Since there is a pause in my schedule right now, I was able to finally put together this chapter! Again, soo sorry for making you wait! I'm trying the best I can!
I'll try to update more often as the holidays draw nearer! I also have a cute Christmas story i'll add on Cherry Red Cheeks! Something to look forward to!(:
I really hope you enjoy this chapter! :)
By the way... The lyrics below are from the song, Hymn for The Missing by Red. And this song is like, the THEME song of this entire story. Go listen to it!
...
Where are you now?
Are you lost?
Will I find you again?
Are you alone?
Are you afraid?
Are you searching for me? ~Hymn for The Missing (Red)
...
Misty's P.O.V.
Misty sighed glumly, her cheek propped against her fist as she swirled the spoon around in her warm soup. She wasn't very hungry, much like they all were. Today was a major disappointment.
Earlier that day they had been at the site of the train explosion, supposedly where Pikachu was being held. After a mishap with the criminals that almost caused Misty to drive her fists into their faces, they soon discovered that Pikachu had fallen into the river nearby and was washed downstream. Brock immediately set Mudkip on the case, and they seemed to be making progress as they chased the water type pokemon down the river bend. Unfortunately for them...It started to pour down rain. Mudkip became confused as the scent washed away, and they lost any chance of tracking down Pikachu from then on. Thunder boomed and lightning began to crash all around, the rain splattered even harder down on the team. Still, Ash remained determined.
"Ash, there's nothing we can do now! The scent is gone!" Brock chided the pacing boy, peering through the shafting ran.
"Nothing we can do?" Ash laughed bitterly, "No, there is something we can do! We keep moving down the river until we find something!"
"Brock is right, Ash! The storm is getting worse, we need to find shelter!" May exclaimed, arms folding over her head as Max shuffled closer to her, whimpering.
"I don't care about that right now! I-I just!...I-I need to..." he fumbled over his words, looking around at them all with pleading eyes.
"Ash!" Misty barked, "Were all freezing, and weather is getting dangerous, we have to find shelter right now!"
Ash stood there for a moment, shaking with building fury as he stared around at his shivering friends.
He was angry. Angry about the whole situation. Angry at himself. Angry about the weather. Angry about being so close...
Hands balling into fists, he snatched the hat off his head slammed it down on the ground, "AAGGGHH!" he screamed, voice cracking with emotion.
Misty closed her eyes, her heart breaking at the memory. She hated seeing her friend like this...in so much pain. It was almost 3 weeks now, nearly a month, since Pikachu had been taken from him. She couldn't even think of how she would feel if she lost any of her own pokemon... but even she wasn't as close to them as Ash was to Pikachu.
The pain he must be feeling is unthinkable. Agonizing.
Jumping with a start at a flash of lightning, she glanced out the window of the dining room watching the rain splatter against the windowpane. A woman in town had graciously offered to let them stay in her home for a while, until they got any more clues on where Pikachu was. Her eyes shifted to the far right outside the window, seeing a portion of the front porch jutting out. There Ash sat, hunched over with a blanket around his body and head, watching the rain.
She couldn't just leave him out there, sitting there moodily and mulling over his depressing thoughts.
Brock approached her from inside the kitchen, holding two steaming mugs, "I made you some hot chocolate." he announced, trying to keep his voice joyful. There was an undertone of sorrow in his voice, obviously he was upset too.
"Thanks." Misty smiled at her long time friend, taking the warm mug from his hands and blowing on it.
"This one is for Ash." Brock beckoned to the second cup in his hands, "I'm not sure if he'll want it though." he looked down.
Misty had an idea of what was bothering him, placing her hand on his arm comfortingly, "Brock...It's not you or Mudkip's fault that we lost Pikachu's trail. The rain clouds came and there's nothing we could've done." she looked towards the front door, "Ash probably doesn't blame you either. Sure, he's upset, but not at you."
"He has a good reason to be." Brock sighed, running his fingers through his spiky brown hair.
Misty looked down, blue eyes glimmering. Silence passed between the two for a moment as she took in the meaning of his words.
"I'll take it to him." she offered, looking up suddenly, "I was going to go out and talk to him anyway."
Brock nodded in agreement, understanding immediately. He handed her the mug, "Good luck." he smiled, "Go pull that goofball out of his shell again!"
She beamed a smile at him in return, turning and heading out the front door.
...
Misty slipped silently out through the front door, the sound of the rain pattering becoming live along with the soft grumbles of thunder in the distance. She made her way to the steps, sitting down slowly next to Ash. Said boy retreated further into his blanket he was bundled in, not saying a word.
"I brought you some hot cocoa." she offered with a smile, holding the warm cup towards him.
He hesitated, before taking the mug from her, cradling it in his hands, "Thanks." he grunted back softly.
A long pause of silence passed between them, Misty unsure of what to say next.
"Pikachu always loved the rain..." Ash murmured softly, Misty turning to see him staring down at the pattering pavement, "He loved to run around in it with me and splash in the puddles. And at night... he would always fall asleep quicker listening to the rain fall."
Misty cast a dark glance at Ash, "Pikachu isn't dead, you know. So don't talk about it like that, it'll only make you feel worse."
"I know he isn't dead!" Ash snapped back quickly, peering at her from inside his blanket and taking a sip of his hot chocolate.
She let out an exasperated sigh, Ash turning his back to her in the process.
She immediately felt bad for being so sharp with him. He was already upset as it is.
"Ash..." she murmured, placing her hand on his shoulder. He stiffened under her touch, refusing to look her way. "I'm sorry. I know this is all extremely hard... But were all worried about you. It's not healthy to be this down all the time, and-"
"Well what else should I feel?" he retorted sharply, wheeling around to face her, "What else should I feel when every day I think of Pikachu, and how he's not safe. How alone he must be. How close-" he choked on his words.
"How close what?"
"How close he was to death!" Ash let out a strangled whisper, "Officer Jenny told me what Stephen and Jase were going to do to him." his breathing quickened, trying to force back tears gathering in his eyes, "Right before we left this morning to go to the crime scene. She didn't want to tell me, but I insisted! She told me all about what the police force had heard. They were gonna take him to Team Rocket a-and were going to hook him up to a machine! A MACHINE!"
Misty gasped in shock, her mouth flying open. She fumbled for her mug, nearly spilling hot chocolate all over herself.
He leapt suddenly to his feet, beginning to pace, "They were gonna suck the life right out of him! I can't even...I don't want to think about...If whatever had happened there at the train scene didn't happen, Pikachu would've been dead! And it would've been all my fault! He's my pokemon, my responsibility, and my best friend! If anything ever happened to him I-...I don't know what I'd do. It would tear me up inside!" he said with a quick sob.
"I'm confused, and angry, and I can't stop crying!" he scrubbed at his eyes furiously, slumping back down next to her, "Crying is weak... I shouldn't be crying but-but!-"
"Ash!" Misty interrupted scolding, "Crying is not a weakness. So get that out of your head right now!"
Ash answered her with a quick sob, burying his face further into his blanket to muffle his whimpers.
Misty began to rub his back slowly, "Crying is emotion. There's nothing wrong with feeling. You're hurt, upset, and afraid. Everyone feels that way from time to time, so there's no reason to hold back your tears. We all cry."
Ash's body began to tremble with sobs, and Misty wrapped her arms around him comfortingly. Ash leaned his head on her shoulder, letting all of his held back tears pour from his eyes like the falling rain.
The two sat in silence for a long time, Misty comforting her long time friend while he cried and cried, rubbing his back reassuringly from time to time. Ash clutching the blanket around himself, buried his face in his friends shoulder, sobbing silently.
"Misty..." he croaked after a few minutes, "I'm so afraid... I was so sure at the beginning I'd find him..b-but-" he sobbed, "It's been so long...I miss him so much..." his voice quickly cut off with a choking sob, his hands balling into painful fists as twin trails of tears quickly made their way down his face, merging under his chin.
Misty hummed, looking out at the rain before moving Ash off her shoulder so she could look at him, "You know..." she answered softly, a smile starting to grow on her face,
"This rainstorm reminds me of the first day I met you and Pikachu."
"It was just some ordinary day, trying to catch a water pokemon. I never thought I'd end up pulling some frazzled spiky haired kid and his injured Pikachu out of the water.
Then watch him steal my bike." she winked at him.
Ash smiled, a watery laugh breaking past his sobs.
"Then I remember trekking through that terrible rainstorm trying to find my bike...and suddenly, the rain stopped... and a beautiful rainbow stretched across the sky."
Ash smiled widely, tears sliding down his cheeks as he remembered waking up after the Spearow attack next to Pikachu, the two smiling and nodding at each other. Then seeing the beautiful rainbow, and the mysterious pokemon flying over it.
That was the moment that sealed his and Pikachu's friendship.
Misty looked back at Ash, smiling warmly, "There's always going to be rainstorms in life, challenges that we have to overcome. Some storms may be so terrible, and so severe that you feel you'll never get out of it." Ash looked down, his eyes glimmering, "But you have to remember...There is always an end to a storm, and with that comes a rainbow."
"We'll overcome this Ash. Me, You, May and Max, all of us. If I know you and Pikachu, I know that no power on Earth can ever keep you apart. I knew that the day I saw you rush off with my bike to save your Pikachu. You will find each other, and you will get through this. We're all here to support you. And there's a promise in every rainbow."
Ash gave her a big watery smile, scrubbing away the last of his tears before suddenly throwing his arms around her in a tight hug, "Thank you Misty." he murmured.
She hugged him back tightly, "No problem Ash. Anytime."
As if on cue, the rain began to die down a bit, calming to a soft drizzle as the clouds began to break up.
Ash and Misty gave each other knowing smiles, letting out a small laugh. She stood up, helping Ash up and leading him back inside to be with the rest of their friends.
...
Pikachu's P.O.V.
Pikachu sighed, craning his neck to look up at the heavy clouds hanging over the forest canopy. For the past few hours he had been trailing behind the Jolteon whom he had struck a deal with. But now, he was kinda regretting it.
Jolteon was a mean pokemon, Pikachu decided. Anytime he had tried to be friendly with him or give some advice, Jolteon would snap back at him. He flattened his ears, sparks dancing on his cheeks in annoyance as he looked ahead at him.
Still, if Jolteon knew his way around these woods, Pikachu would be able to search for Ash easier. He couldn't back out now.
If he was going to have to deal with this stubborn spikey-haired furball, then he might as well try to get along with him.
"So Jolteon." Pikachu began cautiously, picking up the pace so he could catch up with him, "Where are you from?"
Jolteon glared down at him, only letting out a short, gruff growl.
Pikachu flattened his ears again, narrowing his eyes, "...Hello? Did you hear what I said?"
"From around here, in this region. These aren't my woods though." he replied snippily, trotting ahead further, "No more questions."
Cheeks sparking angrily, Pikachu opened his mouth to snap at him, when a fat raindrop plopped on his nose. He shook his head in surprise, looking up at the dark clouds billowing above.
"Hey Jolteon," Pikachu pipped, pausing to look ahead at the other pokemon, "I think it's about to rain, shouldn't we stop for a little bit?"
Jolteon stopped, not even turning to face him when he replied, "Didn't I say, no more questions?" he growled icily.
Gritting his teeth at the arrogant pokemon, Pikachu bounded after him, being sure to make his foot-falls noisy and heavy to annoy him. Sure enough, Jolteon started grumbling in irritation, much to Pikachu's satisfaction.
It was then that Pikachu noticed a fork in the road ahead of them. One way led right, with the path becoming muddied by the rain. The other way, left, looked a lot cleaner, but there was a very strange distinction to them. Scored along the trees were long, wide scratches made from huge claws. Whatever made them was marking its territory. Pikachu almost squeaked in alarm when he saw Jolteon turn towards the left.
"No no no no no!" Pikachu chattered, sprinting ahead and blocking Jolteons way, "Were going the other way!"
"No." Jolteon snipped, "Were going this way. It'll take us to the city faster."
"Are you blind? Do you not see the trees?!" Pikachu howled angrily, finally losing his temper, "We'll get killed out there!"
Electricity began to dance across Jolteon's spiky yellow fur, "Excuse me?" he spat, "Who's the one leading this trip? Who's the one who knows their way around these woods? Not you."
Pikachu snarled in response, electricity snaking from his cheeks.
"That's right, now you listen to me. I can take on anything that's out there. So if something comes charging at us, leave it to me. Let's go." without waiting for a reply, he took off, heading down the road.
Spitting with anger, Pikachu reluctantly followed, glancing this way and that uncertainly.
"You know..." he began icily as he caught up with Jolteon, "If you're so irritated with my presence, why did you save me back there? Why are you accompanying me through the forest? Huh?"
"Cause I won't turn down a pokemon in need." he responded briskly.
"Then...Then why are you so hostile with me?!" Pikachu snapped, "All I've ever been is nice to you since we met, and I'd much rather like to be friends than fight!"
Jolteon barked in laughter, "I don't make friends." he replied venomously.
The rain poured down harder and harder, making visibility limited.
"Why?" Pikachu retorted, "Because of your sour personality?"
Jolteon suddenly whipped around, fixing him with a fiery stare, "Listen you little-"
"GRRRRGHHH!"
Sound exploded in Pikachu's ears, making him flinch and cry out in surprise. He leapt backwards, his battle instincts kicking in. Barreling out of the shrubbery next to him was the biggest Ursaring he had ever seen, its eyes narrowed menacingly as it roared, raising its mighty paws into the air.
Jolteon lept backwards, electricity crackling off his fur, "Run!" he barked to Pikachu.
"No!" Pikachu snapped back, "I'm gonna help you!"
Jolteon only hissed in response, quickly leaping out of the way as the Ursaring began to swipe violently at him.
"Ursaring!" Pikachu called out, "We're sorry for intruding on your territory, we weren't looking to claim it! We're just passing through!" he tried to reason.
But the huge pokemon, blinded by his anger, didn't even respond. Jolteon was dodging left and right, suddenly skidding to the side as his fur spiked up all the way.
"Jooolllttttt!" he hollered, firing a thunderbolt at the huge bear pokemon. Pikachu watched as the electricity arched overhead, but completely missed the Ursaring. In fact, Pikachu noticed that Jolteon's dodging was very sloppy as well. He was bluffing back there...Jolteon didn't know how to battle.
Sure enough the Ursaring took advantage of this weakness, his claws glowing faintly as he swung his arm forward, slashing Jolteon. Yelping in pain, Jolteon was thrown backwards hitting the ground with a thud.
"Jolteon!" Pikachu cried, running towards him.
Jolteon struggled to his paws, but ignored it completely. With a snarl, he bounded forward again. Pikachu skidded to a halt, his eyes widening as he saw Ursaring swinging his arm around.
"Look out!" Pikachu warned.
Too late. Jolteon charged straight for Ursaring, but was immediately sent soaring away again as Ursaring used hammer arm on him. He tumbled across the ground, hissing in pain. He couldn't get up.
Having seen enough, Pikachu sprang forward, ready to battle the angry pokemon. Thinking back to battling with Ash, Pikachu used quick attack to zip around the Ursaring. Swinging his arms wildly, the roaring Ursaring tried to keep sight of the quick pokemon. Pikachu dashed this way and that quickly targeting Ursaring's moves and dodging with ease.
Jolteon watched in awe as the confused Ursaring stumbled around, unable to swipe at Pikachu. How?...
Coming to a stop behind the Ursaring, Pikachu sprang into the air doing a somersault.
"Chuu..Pika!" Pikachu cried, his tail turning to iron and smashing down onto the Ursaring's skull.
"GRRGBRR!" Ursaring howled in anger and pain.
Keeping up in the air, Pikachu struck at him again and again with iron tail, "Pika! Pika! Pika!"
The Ursaring swayed this way and that, stars dancing in front of his eyes.
Pikachu landed on the ground on all fours, rain splattering on his fur. Great amounts of electricity snaked from his cheeks, crackling into the air around them.
"Piikaaaaa-CHUUUUUUU!" Pikachu screeched, releasing a massive thunder attack. It shot upwards, curving and hitting the Ursaring directly. It was the most powerful thunder attack Jolteon had seen, and was completely surprised to see it come from such a tiny Pikachu. The Ursaring spasamed, before hitting the ground unconscious.
Pikachu rounded about, sprinting towards Jolteon, "Come on!" he called, helping him to his paws, "There's not much time until he'll wake up!"
Stumbling to his paws, Jolteon followed after Pikachu, his eyes wide. He was completely stunned, and couldn't believe how powerful Pikachu was. And where did he learn to fight like that.
Becoming caked with mud as they ran, the trees they ran through became a blur. They ran for a long time, trying to put as much distance as they could between them and the Ursaring before finally finding a nice cave to take shelter in.
Panting, the two stumbled inside, collapsing in exhaustion. Thunder clapped outside, lightning illuminating the inside of the cave for a split second.
"Well..." Pikachu panted, a smile coming on his face, "We made it."
Jolteon only nodded in response, too exhausted to speak. He tried to rise to his paws, but yelped in pain and collapsed back down. It seemed the battle took much more out of him than he thought.
Pikachu sprang to his paws, "Are you hurt?" he quickly headed towards the cave entrance, "I'll go find an Oran berry for you, it'll help you regain your strength."
Jolteon's jaw dropped, unable to believe what he was hearing. After Pikachu saved his hide and ran all this way with him, he was still going out to get something to help him regain his strength.
Feeling ashamed for his earlier behavior, Jolteon suddenly barked, "Wait!"
Pikachu paused, turning to look at him quizzically.
"Uh...er..." Jolteon stumbled, trying to find the right words. He really wasn't good at being nice.
Looking up hesitantly, he finally spoke the words he had been meaning to say.
"Thanks."
Pikachu broke out into a beaming smile, before spinning around and hurrying back out into the rain.
...
Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Until next time! :)
