DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon in any way and I'm really starting to get sick of this. Damn it! Next time I'm drafting a character to do this.

Raid on Pallet

"And dinner is served!" Brock announced to the group at large as he placed the pot roast which he and Mrs. Ketchum had worked on all afternoon, onto the table. The Pokemon that were surrounding the table had their eyes light up in anticipation whilst everyone else felt their mouths water at the succulent meat on the table.

"It looks great Brock!" Misty exclaimed loudly as Brock unhooked his apron and sat down at the table.

"Well thank you very much, Misty. Now, everybody, dig in!" All at once there was a flurry of movement at the table as everybody began to grab for dinner. Mrs. Ketchum came into the room soon after and sat on a chair detached from the table, staring fondly at all of them with a smile. She didn't say anything as all of them devoured the food placed in front of them. When the meal had started to dwindle and all of her guests' stomachs were beginning to get full she stood up and cleared her throat loudly. Each and every eye at the table turned to look at her.

"As you all know we have yet to throw Ash a proper coming home party. Therefore, Samuel and I have gotten together all of the residents of Pallet in order to throw the biggest party we've ever seen right at the professor's lab. As all of you know, you guys are going to help us set it up."

"Yeah, we get that, Mrs. Ketchum but what were you and Professor Oak talking about tomorrow night for?" Max asked and Mrs. Ketchum chuckled, nearly sending a chuckle down all of their backs except for Brock's.

"Tomorrow night is the rehearsal dinner." she replied and Dawn raised an eyebrow at her.

"You make it sound like it's going to be a wedding…" Everyone nodded in assent with Dawn's observation.

"Oh, no, it's nothing like that. It's simply that I want this party to go very smoothly since Ash has had it very rough since he's come back. By running the party tomorrow night it means that not only we can figure out what will work best when Ash gets back but we will also have practice setting up…and everyone gets more food."

"I'm in!" May announced loudly and everyone laughed at May's affinity for food, even Drew (who was, after all, usually silent with the group).

"All right then, it is time for me to remind you of all your roles. Brock will be here with me in the kitchen. May, you'll be setting up the tables with Drew. Max has offered to help Professor Oak with all of Ash's Pokemon. And Dawn and Misty will be working together with all of the other residents. I feel that if we do our jobs right this can most certainly be the best party ever."

"Right!" Everyone agreed emphatically. Mrs. Ketchum smiled as they all returned to consuming their dinner. She was happy to have all of them here, but most of all, she was happy that Ash was alive and would be coming home from Veilstone soon. A small tear of joy trickled down her face. She sniffled a little bit and wiped her eyes, soon standing up and leaving the group to go wash the dishes.

-CT-

Gary Oak sighed loudly as he scrolled through the list of research documents on the computer. After a few minutes of intense scrolling he let out another sigh and rubbed his eyes. They had had another argument this morning. Gary knew his grandfather wanted him to take over the lab; but Gary, like Ash, was someone who didn't want to be confined to one space for too long. He wasn't sure he could manage the lab, especially once Tracey had moved to Cerulean City. It was too much for him to think about. Gary was utterly thankful when the doorbell rang, jerking him from his thoughts. With a grunt, Gary rolled the chair away from the desk and stood up, walking over to the door.

"Hey Gary." Max and May said together as soon as the young Pokemon researcher opened the door. He cracked a lazy smile at the two of them, and Drew, before letting them in.

"Gramps is in the backyard, feeding the Pokemon with Tracey." Gary said, a slight but mostly unnoticeable scowl crossing his face. Suddenly he found himself staring straight into May's eyes. "Okay, that wasn't creepy…" Gary said whilst taking a step back.

"And what are you doing to help out for the party?" May asked inquisitively.

"Nothing. I have to run the lab while gramps helps the rest of you. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get back to work." Gary turned away from the three of them sharply, leaving May standing there, slightly dumbstruck. She didn't even notice when Max had left her side and headed for the backyard.

"Uhh, May, you gonna come with me?" May turned to Drew and looked at him questioningly. "Okay, fine, go to another planet, that's totally fine."

"Tables! Party! Drew, come on!" And like that, May grabbed Drew's hand and pulled him out towards the cleared garden where a pile of tables were lying in wait for them. Gary watched them go with mild interest before turning back to his work. He had barely been at his task five minutes when the back door opened and his grandfather came in. Gary didn't even look back at him. At the moment, he wasn't in the mood for any kind of small talk with his grandfather. And as it turned out, his grandfather wasn't either.

-CT-

"What exactly does Mrs. Ketchum want us to do?" Dawn asked as she walked down the Pallet Town street with Misty. "I mean, first thing we did was announce for the entire town to gather at Professor Oak's. Not that hard considering how small the town is."

"She probably just wanted us out of the way." Misty said with a ghost of a smile on her face. Dawn quirked an eyebrow at her.

"Then why didn't she say 'I want you out of the way'? Doesn't seem a particularly nice way to go about it." Dawn openly complained and Misty chuckled.

"No, I think it's just that we don't have any particular kind of skill set. I mean, for one thing, I work best with water Pokemon, so working with all of Ash's other types would be difficult for me, but not for Max. And I think Mrs. Ketchum is trying to push Drew and May closer together. And-"

"And Brock makes a mean cook." Dawn said with a sigh and Misty nodded in agreement. "Too bad we don't have any skill set."

"We could always battle one another." Misty said with a nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. Dawn gave a light chuckle at that.

"No thank you, Misty! I really don't want poor Piplup to be pounded flat into the ground. You're just too good." Piplup nodded his head emphatically.

"Oh, please Dawn, you're much more skilled than you think you are." Misty said with a dry laugh. "Trust me on that…although, if we're not going to battle, what are we going to do?" There was silence following the question as both coordinator and gym leader stopped to think about the answer to that question. Piplup looked between the two trainers in slight confusion.

"Umm…well, I guess we could ask all the townsfolk about Ash and have them create a little something for him." Dawn suggested and Misty looked impressed with the idea.

"Great idea, Dawn, see, those coordinator skills are coming through.' Misty said with a smile and the two began walking forward again.

"Hey, Misty, you said that Mrs. Ketchum is trying to push May and Drew closer together?" Dawn asked and Misty nodded with a knowing look in her eye.

"Oh, it's so painfully obvious about the two them. Not to mention, Mrs. Ketchum can be awfully perceptive when it comes to these things so she just wants to give them both a friendly push. I would bet they'll be together by the end of the week if they're not eating each other's faces right now." Dawn giggled at that remark.

"I'll take that bet." Dawn said with an extremely bright smile and Misty just gave her a wink as the two walked on, now pondering their own relationships with a certain black haired trainer.

-CT-

Brock sighed as he dusted his hands off, stepping into the lamp lit area of professor Oak's garden. It had been a long day for him, and he knew he was going to have to do it all over again when Ash came back. But still, he had a slight feeling of contentedness as he saw all of his friends and the Pallet Townsfolk gathered around and enjoying the happy atmosphere. Brock's eyes caught movement some distance away and saw Dawn waving him over, a freshly baked cookie teetering on her fingertips. Brock decided to join her as she put the cookie into her mouth and took a hearty bite.

"Enjoying that there, Dawn?" Brock asked with a snicker.

"Mmm…it's delicious." Dawn said, swallowing quickly so that she could respond. On the table next to her, Piplup could be seen rummaging through the massive amount of food in search of something. "You really outdid yourself this time Brock."

"Thanks. It took a whole day of cooking to make this spread. I wouldn't have been able to do it without Mrs. Ketchum and Mimey's help though." Brock said. "What did you and Misty end up doing together?"

"See all the banners?" Dawn said, gesturing with her left hand while her right hand grabbed another cookie. "Me and Misty talked with all the townsfolk and had them make these banners to celebrate Ash and all."

"They look great." Brock said with a nod. Dawn smiled at him before she began waving again. Brock turned around to see Gary Oak walking towards them, rubbing his eyes fiercely. "Long day?" Gary sneered at it and Dawn gave a slight giggle.

"You look tired. Gary, have you even slept the past few days?" Dawn asked and Gary shot her a nasty look.

"I just spent the whole day in front of a computer doing research for my grandfather, thank you very much!" Gary said. "The lab can't run itself Princess Dee-dee."

"Where did you hear that?" Dawn screeched out and both Brock and Gary snickered at her reaction. It was pretty obvious what the answer was: Ash. "Oh, I am so going to get him when he comes back!"

"Good luck with that." Brock chuckled out before turning to Gary with a concerned look on his face. "You don't sound too happy about doing work for the lab."

"No, I am, just, gramps is getting on my nerves and all lately. You know, I haven't really gone out into the field for three years now. I'm itching to just get out of here. But gramps wants me to stay."

"That must be pretty rough." Dawn said sympathetically. Gary shrugged at it.

"Can't be as bad as what Ash went through, huh? Being kept in Mount Silver for three years with little to no human contact must be pretty frustrating, especially for someone like him."

"I wonder what he's doing now…" Dawn mused out loud.

"Knowing Ash, having an argument with Paul, or in some kind of danger." Brock said with a chuckle. Dawn looked absolutely mortified at the idea and took a step back, knocking into Piplup.

"I hope he isn't! Hasn't he been through enough?" Piplup climbed up Dawn's back and onto her shoulders. "I mean, I don't mind the arguing with Paul, that's inevitable. But him in danger is just too much." Piplup put a hand to Dawn's face in comfort and she smiled at the small penguin pokemon.

"Relax, Dawn, I'm sure that Ash is absolutely fine okay?" Brock said with a comforting smile and a hand on her shoulder. Gary smiled at her too. Dawn finally relaxed and exhaled deeply. There was a loud noise and a bright light came from Brock's belt. When the light receded, Croagunk was standing there, staring out at the sky. All three of them looked inquisitively at the pokemon. "Coragunk, what's wrong?" Croagunk simply remained standing there.

"Hey, is it just me, or is it a little chilly here?" Dawn asked with a weak grin as she rubbed her exposed shoulders. Brock and Gary looked at her before they too realized the same thing: the temperature in the air was dropping.

"Croagunk!" the pokemon cried as it turned towards the sky. All at once a great spark of lightning spread across the sky. Everyone's heads turned towards the great streaking shapr overhead.

"Zapdos?" Gary yelled loudly. But Zapdos wasn't the only one, soon followed by the icy form of Articuno and then Moltres. At once the party was thrown into a panic and Croagunk ran after the retreating form of Zapdos.

"Croagunk, stop!" Brock yelled after him but the Toxic Mouth pokemon has already begun running to the edge of the garden and over the fence. Brock immediately set off after him. Dawn's eyes widened as she watched Brock run away and found herself begin to inexplicably run after him.

"Brock! Wait!" Dawn yelled before stopping slightly and turning to Gary. "Gary!"

"I'm on it! You go after Brock." Gary said and he watched as the bluenette ran after him. Gary tossed a pokeball into the air and from it emerged Electivire. No words were exchanged between the pokemon and its trainer as Gary ran forward through the massive pandemonium of the party under attack. Gary quickly pointed out a familiar face and dashed towards him. "Max!"

"Gary, where is everyone?" Max yelled, his Gardevoir at his side with a stern look.

"No idea. Brock's Croagunk went running off and Dawn and Brock went to go follow him. Where's your sister?" Gary asked frantically. Max shook his head.

"No idea, though she's probably with Drew." Max sneered and Gary's brow furrowed in thought. He quickly thought of something and put a hand on Max's shoulder.

"Max, go find my gramps and Mrs. Ketchum, they should be able to get this under control. Protect the citizens." Max gave him a quick thumbs up and went running off. A loud screech filled the air and Gary noticed that the temperature had dropped once again. When Gary looked around he saw that Articuno was near, and a Blaziken was battling it. Gary set off again towards the site of the battle and quickly caught up to the two trainers that were battling Articuno. May noticed him first.

"Gary, what's going on?" May asked before ordering a Blaze Kick from her Blaziken. Drew ordered a Magical leaf from his Roserade simultaneously.

"No idea." Gary responded with a shrug.

"Do you know why they're attacking?" she asked him and Gary threw her an incredulous look.

"If I knew why then I would know what was happening, wouldn't I?" Gary snapped and May gave him a sheepish look. A loud voice, belonging to Mrs. Ketchum, suddenly rang out.

"Everyone, please exit the lab through the back of the garden calmly and quickly." Mrs. Ketchum announced and Gary turned back to the other two trainers as Articuno broke off its attack and took to the skies.

"Where's Misty?" Gary asked with worry laced into his voice. Both of them gave him wide-eyed looks, indicating they had forgotten about the water pokemon trainer. They mystery didn't last for too long when a loud screech was heard, followed by a roar. In the distance it was clear that a Gyarados was doing battle with Moltres. "All right, you two, protect the citizens. Electivire, you help them out." Electivire nodded as Gary set off after Misty, tossing another pokeball into the air as he ran. "Blastoise, Hydro Pump!" His first pokemon obeyed and sent turrets of water out at Moltres who deftly avoided it.

"Thanks for that, Gary." Misty said as he ran up next to her. He gave her a thumbs up as the two faced Moltres who was now circling back. "Shall we do this together?"

"I think so. Hydro Pump!" Both yelled the same command at the same time just as Moltres sent a Fir Blast hurtling at them. The two attacks collided and smoke filled the air, causing the trainers to cough. Moltres quickly dove through the smoke and landed a drill peck onto Gyarados who went sailing backwards. "Blastoise, Skull Bash, now!" Blastoise, despite its large size, catapulted itself into the air, its head glowing before it struck Moltres in the chest head on. Moltres broke off its attack and recovered in mid air pelting the ground around them with fire. Soon, a ring of fire had spread around them in the garden.

"Gyarados, use a Hydro Pump and get rid of this ring!" Misty ordered but Gary shook his head.

"Not enough time, Misty. Blastoise, do a spinning Hydro Pump." Blastoise obeyed immediately and retreated inside its shell as it began to spray out water. Within seconds the fire was doused and Gary ordered a Rapid Spin to be aimed at Moltres. But Moltres dodged the attack and faced the trainers again. This was not going to be a fun battle.

-CT-

Brock kept up his pursuit of Croagunk into the rushes that lay beyond the lab when Croagunk suddenly stopped. Dawn was close behind him with Piplup hanging on for dear life. All was silent as they stood there. There were no flashes of lightning or anything else and the sky was dark, illuminated only by the stars. All they could hear was each other's breathing. Croagunk turned his head from side to side, attempting to listen in on where Zapdos might be.

"Why do you think they're here Brock?" Dawn whispered to him urgently. Brock shook his head.

"Probably because this is Ash's home but…I don't know…" Brock answered truthfully in the same low voice. The wind whistled through the rushes surrounding them and the two thought they heard a slight noise. They whipped around, expecting to find something there but couldn't find anything.

"Croagunk!" the pokemon cried as the area was suddenly surrounded by a bright and dazzling light as Zapdos ascended, letting off bolts of electricity. Brock immediately gave the order for a Poison Jab and Croagunk sprung into the air towards Zapdos, striking the pokemon on the chest before being hit by one of its lightning bolts. Dawn immediately responded with a command for Piplup to use its own Hydro Pump. Zapdos dodged the attack and took the sky sending a single, large bolt of lightning into the air. The effect that followed made it seem as if the heavens had opened up suddenly as Zapdos disappeared into the night. Brock and Dawn simply stood there for a moment before they both realized the same thing.

"The lab!" The both of them immediately took off towards the lab, their pokemon trailing along behind them. When they finally were near the lab and explosion ripped through the air. Fire spurt out of every window of the lab and the garden was set ablaze. Brock saw Gary and Misty stumbling out of one of the blazes, both their pokemon attempting to put out the fire. To the side of them, Mrs. Ketchum and Professor Oak were staring at the lab with sad eyes while all of Ash's pokemon did the same. As Brock looked around he let out a sigh of relief. The people and pokemon of pallet were safe, even if the lab wasn't. But in the end, he realized, it didn't matter. The truth was plain as day. This was war. And Ash was the target.

Author's Note: I must once again apologize for the long delay but with school, issues at home, massive writer's block and Kingdom hearts: Birth by Sleep to occupy my time I couldn't get this to you any sooner. But I'll work harder now since whenever I have a break at school I WILL work on this story. Well, as you can see it was pretty intense here (even if not one of my better chapters) and next chapter we'll probably return to Ash and the others. I hope my absence does not cause a lack of reviews so please, REVIEW, REVIEW, REVIEW! And don't forget, Dare to Be Silly.