This is the sixty-first chapter in the Pokemon Heroes story. Gary will finally reappear in this one, since I noticed that he and Ash haven't been seeing each other since the first chapter on the second season. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or any of the songs.

(Opening song)

Ash and his friends entered Pewter City about twenty minutes after they had crossed the mountainous area before. They walked across the city, seeing that every part of it were mostly rock related. They went towards the Pokemon Center and ordered their rooms. When they entered, Brendan checked his backpack for something.

"We're running low on supplies," said Brendan, and he looked towards Ash, who was lying down on his bed, "Ash, you're coming with me to the Poke Mart." Ash turned towards Brendan, without making Pikachu fall from his stomach.

"Why?" asked Ash.

"Because I said so," said Brendan as he took Ash off his bed to his feet, "Now let's get a move on."

"Fine," said Ash as he cracked his neck and took the sleeping Pikachu, who was beginning to wake up, and gave it to May.

"I'll be back," said Ash as Brendan and he left the room. May held Pikachu to her chest and look towards Dawn.

"Let's go see that gym in the city," said May.

"Okay," said Dawn as May and she left the room as well, leaving it empty.

Gary's Mission

Ash and Brendan walked through the aisles of the Poke Mart, not really saying a word to each other as Ash wished for the day to end. As Brendan took some bandages from a shelf, he looked towards the sleepy Ash.

"Tired already?" asked Brendan.

"Yes," said Ash.

"How the hell do you get tired so easily?" asked Brendan.

"After kicking ass about every day, you get real tired."

"Or maybe it's because you're lazy," said Brendan. Ash clenched his fist.

"Oh, I'll show you who's lazy," thought Ash, but before he could do something, he spotted a familiar figure down the aisle. He at first thought it was May, but then he realized that it wasn't May. It was Misty. She looked like she was looking for something. Brendan looked to where Ash was staring and noticed Misty as well.

"Hey Misty," said Brendan, and Misty looked towards the two boys and smiled. She then ran towards them.

"Hey boys," said Misty, "It hasn't been that long since I last saw you guys. The girls aren't with you?"

"Naw," said Brendan, "I took Ash out so that we could have some bro time. And it's going great so far, right Ash?"

"Kill yourself," Ash responded. Brendan was about to say something to Ash, but was interrupted by Misty.

"Hey, I'm just wondering, but have you seen—" said Misty before she was interrupted by Ash who just ran right past her. The reason was because while Misty was talking, Ash spotted Gary down the aisle. He immediately ran towards him and raised a fist to punch him. Gary looked to Ash and sighed, seeing the raven-haired child coming. He extended out his palm, making Ash hit his face onto it, and then kicked Ash back, making him crash against a stand holding Pokemon medicine. Brendan just sighed as Misty turned towards Gary.

"There you are," said Misty, "And the first thing I see you doing is beating up Ash." Gary looked at her in disbelief, not believing that she didn't notice that Ash came towards him, and he was just defending himself. Brendan helped Ash up to his feet, and Gary looked into Ash's eyes and saw that they were gray. He shook off that fact and started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" asked Misty, "Aren't we supposed to be in this together?"

"You can take care of yourself," said Gary. Misty sighed and looked back at Ash and Brendan, who just got up.

"Sorry," said Misty, "I'll see you guys later. Tell May and Dawn I said hi." Misty then ran off after Gary. Brendan began to chuckle.

"Misty's traveling with Gary?" said Brendan, "I sense something. Don't you?" Ash just glared at Brendan and stood up, as they both proceeded to shop.

Lnoki opened his eyes, and he found himself on a hospital bed. He sat up and placed his hand on his head, trying to remember something, but his mind was blurry. He looked around and also looked at himself. He had bandages across his chest and forehead. He had a cast on his arm.

"What the hell happened?" thought Lnoki. As soon as he said that, the door beside him opened, and out came a doctor looking at his clipboard. He looked up at Lnoki who was sitting up.

"You're awake," said the doctor.

"Why am I here?' asked Lnoki.

"Yesterday, you were found on the island off the coast in a bloody mess by some tourists," said the doctor, "You were brought here to get healed up. Are you feeling all right?'

"An island?" asked a confused Lnoki, and then it all hit him. He remembered seeing Drew and Roman on that island, trying to take the Enigma Stone so that they could transform Pokemon into Shadow Pokemon to take over the world. He immediately stood up on the bed, startling the doctor.

"I have to go," said Lnoki.

"What?" said the doctor, "No sir, you must—" Lnoki then ripped off his cast and moved his arm, which hurt, but not too much. He then jumped down and ran out of the room.

"Sir!" yelled the doctor as he chased after Lnoki.

May and Dawn walked through Pewter City, while passing under a hospital. May held Pikachu by her chest as Dawn and she talked.

"What do you think the boys are doing right now?" asked Dawn.

"I bet their fighting with each other," said May, "Like they always do." Before May could ask Dawn where they would go next, they heard a window crash open and immediately, Lnoki came down and landed on the ground, shocking both girls. Dawn looked up, seeing doctors and nurses looking surprised at what Lnoki just did. After May got out of her shock, she smiled.

"Old guy!" yelled May as she threw Pikachu into the air accidently and went to hug Lnoki, who was surprised by the sudden hug. Pikachu landed on Dawn's head.

"Hello Princess," said Lnoki, "It's nice to see you too."

"What the hell was that for!" yelled the doctor by the broken window, "You have to get up here now and be checked up." Lnoki looked up at him and sighed. He then took May's hand.

"Come with me," said Lnoki, "You too, Dawn." Dawn had finally broken out of her state of shock, and the three ran away as the doctor yelled for them.

After running far enough, Lnoki and the girls have been able to get away from the hospital without getting caught. After catching his breath, Lnoki slid down to sit by a wall. May looked towards him.

"Why are you doing here?" asked May, and then she noticed the bandages on Lnoki, "And why are you hurt?" Lnoki then noticed that since the Princess was here, Ash had to be here as well.

"Where's Ash?" asked Lnoki.

"He went out with Brendan," said Dawn, "Maybe at the supermarket, or something."

"Supermarket," said Lnoki in a low whisper, and then he stood, "Will you take me to him?"

"Yeah, sure, why?" asked May. Lnoki's eyes showed that he didn't really want to talk about it with the girls. Dawn noticed it and nodded.

"Okay," said Dawn, "They should be done by now, so we should head towards the Pokemon Center first." Lnoki nodded and walked behind the two girls.

Ash and Brendan walked through the rocky streets of Pewter City, not really finishing their shopping after being kicked out because the store manager witnessed that they had destroyed their property. Brendan and Ash decided to just give up, since they couldn't find what they needed, and headed back towards the Pokemon Center. When they went in, they saw May, Dawn, and surprisingly Lnoki, sitting on the couch. Brendan stopped to look at him as Ash kept going. Lnoki looked towards Ash.

"Not even a hello, or how are you doing?" asked Lnoki. Ash stopped and looked back at him.

"Hey," said Ash with no enthusiasm to it. He then turned and continued to walk away, but not until May came towards him.

"Ash, he says he's got something to tell you," said May.

"If it's about training, then I don't wanna hear it," said Ash.

"It's about The Dark Signers," said Lnoki. Ash stopped, and Lnoki knew that he now had Ash's full attention. Ash turned around to look at him and was about to sit down, but then the doors of the Pokemon Center slid open, revealing Misty and Gary. Ash then got up from the couch and ran towards Gary to deliver a punch, but he just moved back and watched Ash slam his face against the wall.

"I told you it wasn't a good idea to come here," said Gary.

"Ash!" said Misty, "Can you just let Gary have one day without you wanting to punch his face?" Ash was about to get up, but after hearing Misty's voice, he just sat down by the wall. Misty smiled and patted Gary's back to get him moving.

"Hey Misty," said May as she ran towards her, "What are you doing in Pewter?"

"And what are you doing with Gary?" asked Brendan.

"Nothing important," said Misty, "We were just sent here by my uncle to retrieve something for him."

"What are you looking for?' asked Brendan.

"Something on the island by Pewter City," said Misty, "We need to get it before someone else does." Lnoki was listening. He felt something strange about the idea.

"We were sent here to retrieve the Enigma Stone for my mentor," said Gary, shocking Misty, who lightly punched Gary on his back.

"We were supposed to keep that a secret dumb head," said Misty. Lnoki looked back at Gary.

"I don't know who your master is, but what does he want with it?" asked Lnoki.

"That's none of your business," said Gary. Misty lightly smiled.

"We just came here to drop off our things," said Misty, "We will be leaving now."

"The Enigma Stone is no longer there," said Lnoki, stopping both Gary and Misty. They looked back at Lnoki, plus Ash's friends.

"What do you mean?" asked Misty. Lnoki looked towards Ash.

"That's what I was going to tell Ash," said Lnoki, "Yesterday, I was on the island, after finding that a strange fog had engulfed it. When I did go there, I met two Dark Signers. One was obviously the leader. They wanted to take the Enigma Stone, and I tried to stop them, but I failed."

"Those guys again?" asked Brendan, rather annoyed that they were showing their faces once again.

"So that's why you had injuries when we met you," said Dawn.

"What did they want with that stone?" asked May.

"I now know what The Dark Signers are currently after," said Lnoki, "They are after legendary Pokemon. They plan to rule the world, but they know that they can't just make them do their bidding, so they're planning to turn them into Shadow Pokemon." Ash and Gary remembered the times when they met Shadow Pokemon, when a Shadow Gastly was taking control of Brock, and when Gary and Drew had to fend them off in a small village.

"Now that's just cruel," said Brendan.

"I wanted to inform Ash about this," said Lnoki, "And also mention something else to Ash." Lnoki looked towards Ash again, but this time with concerned eyes.

"It's about Drew," said Lnoki, making Ash immediately lower his head.

"Ash knows about that already," said Brendan, "We've met him before."

"Was he there as well?" asked May.

"He was," said Lnoki, "I fought him, and he was the one who was able to beat me." Silence was in the room now. Nobody spoke a word. Misty looked towards Gary, and could see that he was in shock, but he quickly brushed it away, making Misty believe that she was just imagining it. Gary put his back against the wall and crossed his arms.

"So what," said Gary, shocking everyone there, but Ash kept his head down, "That idiot always gets himself into trouble. I've already been informed of this plan by my mentor, and my mission now is to retrieve the items meant for the legendary Pokemon and give it to him, so that The Dark Signers aren't going to be able to use them. No matter what, I will destroy any Dark Signer in my way. If Drew wants to fight with me, then I swear I'll kill him without a second thought." Ash finally snapped. His eyes turned blue and he stood up and threw a punch towards Gary, but he saw it coming and blocked it with his arm. The two boys glared at each other.

"You basterd," Ash said angrily. He was about to throw another punch, but Gary had already kicked him away so hard that Ash broke through the Pokemon Center wall towards outside. Gary went outside, as Nurse Joy and the other trainers there watched in complete surprise.

"Ash!" yelled May as Pikachu and she ran out of the hole towards Ash, followed by Misty.

"What the hell, Gary," said Misty angrily, pissed off at what Gary just said about Drew. While outside, Gary walked by Ash, who was on the ground, trying to recover from Gary's kick.

"You really want to be beaten up even more by me?" asked Gary. Ash looked back up and growled. He then charged at Gary, pushing him against a tree. Ash grabbed his collar and looked him dead in the eyes.

"He was our freaking friend," Ash growled, "You would really do that?"

"You would really let a Dark Signer live after all they've done?" asked Gary, and Ash could hear anger in his voice, "That's what makes you weak."

"Shut up!" yelled Ash as he threw a punch, but Gary smashed his head against Ash's, sending him staggering back. Gary then threw multiple punches on Ash's stomach area, making him cough up blood. He then elbowed Ash on his stomach, sending the boy to the ground, but he quickly got up and held his stomach.

"I'm not letting you get one step near him basterd," said Ash.

"Like you're gonna stop me," said Gary. Ash extended out his hand, and created an aura sphere. He then threw it towards Gary, but Gary was able to side-step before he got hit by it. He watched it land on the ground behind him and saw it explode. Before he could turn back to Ash, Ash punched him across the face. This angered Gary as he kicked Ash on his stomach. Ash threw a left hook, but Gary caught his hand. Ash threw a right hook, but Gary once again caught the attack. Gary started to knee Ash over and over again. When he let go, Ash fell to the ground. Before Gary could beat up Ash more, May and Misty came. May bent down towards Ash and held him, who was on his knees trying to get up.

"Ash, stop it!' said May.

"You too Gary," said Misty, "We did not come here so that you could beat up Ash." Ash looked up at Gary, and just seeing his face got him pissed off. He pushed May aside, making her fall back on her butt.

"I'm going to kill you, basterd!" yelled Ash, and he materialized his Aura Blade, ready to strike down Gary. A surprised Gary took out his sword and was ready to block it, but then out of nowhere, Lnoki came into the middle of both boys, making them both stop their attacks. Lnoki looked into Ash's angry eyes.

"Ash Ketchum," said Lnoki, "Aura is used to help people, not to hurt them. Put the blade down now." Ash was about to refuse, but he just decided not to. He de-materialized his Aura Blade and started to walk off. Brendan and Dawn caught up with the others, stopping when they saw Ash walk away. He was grumbling angrily, and while he walked, he kicked a mailbox, breaking it in half. As he got further, Lnoki looked at May.

"Go and watch him," said Lnoki, "Make sure he doesn't do anything stupid." May nodded, and then she got up and ran after Ash. When May left, Gary put his blade back in its sheath and started to walk away. Misty looked back towards him.

"Where are you going?" asked Misty.

"I've already failed my first mission," said Gary, "We're leaving now for our second object." Misty hesitated to follow him as he walked further away. She then turned back to the others and bowed.

"I'm sorry," said Misty, "I'm sure he didn't mean all that." Misty ran towards Gary. Brendan wanted to pound Gary's face in at that moment, but Dawn held him back. Lnoki sighed, and turned back to the Pokemon Center's hole, and he saw Nurse Joy with her arms crossed looking angrily at the three.

"How much is it?" asked Lnoki.

May walked along an area in Pewter City with trees as Pikachu stayed on her head. She had two ice cream cones in her hands, looking for Ash. After a while, see began to get worried that he did do something stupid.

"Pika," said Pikachu as it tapped May on her head and pointed in a direction. She saw Ash, with his back turned to her, sitting on top of two broken trees. She also noticed that they were beaten down, signifying that Ash must've knocked them down. She walked slowly towards him. When she looked in his eyes, they were no longer blue, so he was calmed down. She climbed the trees and sat next to Ash. Pikachu went on his lap. He didn't even look at the two.

"Ash?" asked May to get his attention, but he didn't answer, "I brought you ice cream." He still didn't respond. May lowered her head in disappointment. Ash slowly looked towards her, and then took a cone from her hand. May looked as Ash licked it, and she smiled. Ash was petting Pikachu's head.

"Are you okay?" asked May. Ash sighed.

"That basterd's right," said Ash, shocking May.

"Ash!" said May, "Don't say such a thing. You know he's wrong. We can still—"

"It's too late for Drew," said Ash, "I'm just pissed that basterd is braver than me." May stopped and frowned. She looked at her cone for a few seconds, and then leaned in to Ash to rest her head on his shoulder.

Gary stomped through the forest ground, not paying attention to Misty, who was yelling at him for what he did in Pewter City.

"You could've just sugar-coated what you said instead of saying it like that," said Misty, "He's your friend for Arceus sake." Gary didn't respond to her.

"Hey!" said Misty, "Are you even listening to me?" Gary didn't respond to her. Misty started to get furious and quickly walked in front of him. Before she could say something, something shocked her. Gary walked right past her, and Misty slowly turned back to him. Was she imagining stuff? This time, she could've sworn that she saw a Gary with a sad face. She decided to brush it off and walk behind him, finally dropping the subject.

"Is Gary worried about Drew?" thought a confused Misty.

Ash sat on top of the Pokemon Center, looking at the sun that was going down, and also the construction men who were fixing the hole Gary and he created. While he looked out, he didn't notice Lnoki jump to the roof and sit by Ash. When Ash noticed him, he groaned.

"Are you just here to scold me, or something?" asked Ash.

"Not in particular," said Lnoki. They sat there in total silence, until Lnoki finally started the conversation.

"I've got a mission for you, Ash," said Lnoki, finally getting Ash's attention, "Just like that kid, I would also like you to travel around to find the items. It would be the only way to prevent them from ruling the world, but you will need to get the strong ones."

"Why can't you do it?" asked Ash.

"I'm busy at the moment," said Lnoki, "I trust that you can be able to do this mission. I might be leaving Pewter City tomorrow morning anyway." Ash sighed.

"Fine," said Ash. Once again, silence started. Lnoki looked towards Ash with a smile.

"By the way, have you talked to your mother since Ecruteak City?" asked Lnoki.

"My who?" Ash asked purposely.

Ash was inside of the Pokemon Center. He went towards the video phone and dialed numbers. He watched as it rang until the person on the other line picked up. It was his mother, Delia Ketchum, but she seemed different. Her hair was messy, she was wearing her pink bathrobe, and she had bags under her eyes. Tissue boxes were behind her, and she seemed as if she had been crying.

"What the hell?" thought Ash.

"Ashy!" yelled Delia over the phone, "I'm so glad you're safe. When Lnoki told me what happened to you, I was so worried! I couldn't even sleep at night! Are you okay? Did they hurt you? This is your father's fault, always getting you into danger! When you didn't call for a while, I got extremely worried! Are you okay?"

"Yes mom, I'm okay," said Ash.

"Thank Arceus!" said a relieved Delia. Ash sweatdropped.

"I really should've called her earlier," thought Ash.

(Ending song)

Next Time on Pokemon Heroes: While the group is still in Pewter City, they meet up with Brock, an old friend of Ash, and also meet up with a legendary trainer named Palmer. Brendan wants to be able to beat him to vanquish his winning streak, and Ash wants to join in on the fun as well. Will they be able to beat Palmer, or are they not good enough for the legendary trainer? Next Time: The Legendary Trainer.

That was that chapter. I figured out that the one year anniversary in coming soon this year, since this story came out September 21, 2012. I'm trying to figure out what I want to do on that day, since I wanna celebrate the one year anniversary for this story. Also, Palmer is showing up next chapter, and also there will be two chapters updated next week. See you next week!

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