When The World Ends
Chapter Thirteen – Winding Roads
"Are you sure we're going the right direction?"
"Of course we are. You doubt me?"
"See the thing is, it's a bit hard to tell landmarks apart. You know, since we're under the freaking ground!"
"We're going the right direction!"
"Cause you say so?"
"It's better than you saying so!"
Pikachu didn't like being underground. It was no surprise, since his powers were weak against ground-types. The element surrounding him didn't put him at ease by any means. So he clung to Ash's shoulder, his ears twitching as he fought against the urge to shock Gary and Leaf. He could control the voltage, hitting with an attack that looked like it should have killed someone but it was fairly harmless. There was still the chance that he could cause a cave-in and that was the last thing he wanted.
Nidoking had led the way for a while, but Garchomp and Ditto-turned-Garchomp were once again tunneling through the ground. Their combined power got the group much farther than Nidoking (though he did an amazing job too), and caused a lot more noise. Despite the sound of the two Pokémon ripping apart the earth in front of them, Gary and Leaf somehow managed to be even louder.
Pikachu sighed and pressed his paws over his ears, balancing precariously on his trainer's shoulder. Ash didn't take much notice of this though, keeping his eyes locked on the two Pokémon that were leading the way. The tiny Aura Sphere still illuminated the tunnel, eerily hanging midair in front of him the entire time.
The electric-type looked towards his trainer with exasperation, unable to block out the sound. His expression turned curious when he realized that Ash was mumbling to himself.
"...No that's not right. How do I say that? This is harder than I thought it would be..."
"Pikapi?" Pikachu tilted his head. " Pi pikachu pi pika?"
A bit startled, Ash looked towards his friend and then laughed a bit. "I'm fine. I'm writing an apology letter to Brock in my head. Tracey too."
"Pi?"
Ash pointed his thumb over his shoulder. "If Misty and I were as bad as those two, I really, really owe them one."
"Pikachupi pika cha pikachu."
"Shut up we were not worse."
"Pi pikachu pika pika chu cha pi."
"How do you even know what sexual tension means?" He stared at his Pokémon oddly and then shook his head. "Never mind. I don't want to know." He looked back at Gary and Leaf. Despite Pikachu's claims, there was no way that he and Misty were this bad when they were younger. No possible way.
Garchomp and Ditto stopped, Ash pausing not far behind them. Leaf and Gary didn't even notice and almost walked into him.
"Sorry," Leaf muttered as she regained her footing. The tunnel had gotten steep over the past little while, and the last thing they wanted was to roll back down. They caved in the tunnel behind them every once in a while but it would still be a nasty slide down to the last wall.
"Maybe you should pay more attention," Gary snarked and Leaf whipped around to glare at him.
"I'm going to push both of you back down if you don't stop!" Ash snapped, completely fed up with them. Yes, he really owed Brock and Tracey apologies. He also came to the realization that they had the patience of gods to deal with this type of thing all the time.
His two friends stared at him with wide eyes, not expecting him to snap.
Garchomp looked at him and growled. "Gar garchomp chomp cho."
Ash looked up with interest, and Pikachu hopped off of his shoulder. The teenager climbed up onto his dragon-type's back, reaching up and touching the spot just above his head.
"What are you doing?" Leaf asked him, putting a hand on her hip.
Ash opened his eyes again. "We're right beneath the surface. They should be able to break out in a minute."
"Where are we?"
He stared at them. "I'm not a GPS. I know there's no people up there but I have no idea where we are." He slid off of Garchomp's back and picked Pikachu up again. "Alright, go for it."
Garchomp and Ditto both reared back before attacking the tunnel's ceiling together.
Leaf took a few steps back to avoid any falling rocks, but realized that they were harmlessly bouncing off of something. Coming to the conclusion that Ash must have put up a barrier to stop them from getting crushed by anything, she walked up to his side and watched. "It'll be nice to breathe fresh air again."
"You act like it's been a hundred years or something," Gary toned in, walking up to Ash's other side.
"Really?" Leaf shot him an annoyed look. "Do you need to comment on everything that I say?
"Don't," Ash groaned, trying to resist the urge to bash his head on the wall of the tunnel. "Please don't. I've been writing apology letters to Brock in my head for all the times Misty and I fought. Tracey too. It's been that bad. Stop." They both just stared at him as his demand turned into a plea.
"We've just been stuck underground too long," Gary said after a moment of silence. His viridian eyes looking at where the Pokémon were digging. "When are they going to—?" He cut himself off as Garchomp finally broke through to the surface and the sweet scent of fresh air washed over them.
Pikachu darted up Garchomp's back first, visually scouting out the area around them. "Pi pikapi!" At his confirmation that the coast was clear, Ash climbed up next, with Gary and Leaf following. Garchomp grumbled at them unhappily. Ash flopped back onto the ground, taking in the feel of the grass against his arms and the cool air in his lungs. The Aura Sphere that he had been carrying around vanished. Though it was night, the sky was clear and the moonlight illuminated everything around them. As much as he wanted to see the sun again, it was best that it was nighttime. Coming out to the harsh sunlight might have messed with their eyes a little too much.
Leaf flopped down not far from him, pulling a Pokéball out of the inside of her vest. "Thank you, Ditto. You did good."
"You too," Ash pressed the button on his to call back Garchomp. He looked over at Gary as his friend laid between him and Leaf. "Why are you guys arguing so much?" It wasn't any of his business but it was genuinely bothering him. He wondered why Brock never sat down and had a conversation with him and Misty, but that might have been because they were just kids. "Is it drive Ash crazy day or something?"
"No, of course not, we just..." Leaf trailed off and looked around at Gary. He opened his mouth to speak, but his brow furrowed as he snapped it shut again.
Gary sat up and looked up to the sky with a sigh. "Do you guys remember when we were little, my father took us camping? The time we ended up catching three matching boots and we got really confused?"
Leaf and Ash both exchanged looks behind his back before sitting up. Leaf nodded her head. "Yeah. I mean, it was only just outside of Pallet, but it was pretty exciting. Why?"
"That's one of the last good memories I have of him. One of the last ones I have of the three of us being friends." He shook his head, brown locks falling into his eyes. "He was always so busy with one thing or another, so it was nice. I mean, I loved my mom and my Aunt Daisy too, but I saw them all the time. I just...I don't have many memories of him at all. I know I used to have a lot of good ones with you guys, but after they all died I just...I can't remember anymore. I remember all the bad things though."
On either side of him, Ash and Leaf exchanged glances once again. Ash smiled a bit as he looked towards the sky. "We used to do this all the time. We'd stay up late and watch the stars, trying to look for legendary Pokémon in the sky."
"We promised that we'd all leave home together," Leaf added, her lips tilting up into a sad smile. "We did..."
"It wasn't what we meant though," Gary finished her thought and tilted his head to look at Ash. "Maybe that's why we fight so much. There are just so many bad memories."
Ash leaned forward to look at his two childhood friends. "But...that doesn't make sense. You were worse to me than Leaf and we don't fight that much anymore. Not like you guys."
Leaf laughed at that. "Not everyone is like you, Ash." She looked up towards the sky. "You know, I'll try. Try to fight less. There are worse things than getting annoyed and petty arguments, right?" She directed the question at Gary.
His viridian eyes studied her for a moment before nodding his head. "Yeah. You're right." He looked around at Ash. "Don't worry about it, okay? We'll try not to drive you crazy."
Ash looked from one to the other, not quite understanding what was going on, but he shrugged it off, looking up towards the sky instead. Pikachu hopped up onto his lap, and he held the Pokémon close.
...
"We're close to Violet City," Clemont noted, looking at the electronic map. He finally got it working without anymore explosions or disruptions. "Only 15, maybe 20 minutes away from here by foot."
"We need to go get more bandages and disinfectant," Misty noted as she brought her bag in front of her and started looking through it. "Some food and water too. We're only halfway to the Ilex Forest." She couldn't hide her exhaustion
Serena frowned from where she was sitting on Luxray's back. She could walk but not as fast as the other two, and they insisted that she stay off of it. It made her feel a little useless, like an extra piece of luggage that they were dragging along with them.
"That's true but..." Clemont trailed off, his blue eyes flickering towards her for a moment. "What if we cheated a bit?"
Misty put a hand on her hip and stared at him. "I'm listening." Ria glanced over at him with silent interest.
"Well, we might get caught by the league but with everything that's happened, I doubt they're actively searching for us. So we could probably get away with using the train system to get to a closer city, if it's still running. What would be the best place to go? "
"Well, Ash said that we have to go to Celebi's Shrine," the redhead said. "That's closer to Azalea Town and there would be less security and cameras there. On the flip side though, there are more people to blend in with in Goldenrod." She looked back at Serena. "What do you think?"
"Me? I don't know anything about Johto."
"No," she conceded, "but we're all involved in this and we gotta choose together, right?"
The blonde girl nodded her head and thought for a moment before she swung her leg over Luxray's back, sliding off of him. She landed on her uninjured leg and then lowered the other one so she wouldn't jolt it. Swinging her pink bag off of her back, she started to dig through it until she found a case. It contained the same technology as her bag that allowed inanimate objects to shrink down. She had a ton of different props, makeup and other things in it. She held up glasses and a wig. "We could make quick disguises so no one recognizes us right away."
Misty looked at the kit and nodded her head. "It would be enough to throw anyone looking for us off at first glance." She glanced at Clemont. "You're right, they have more important things to worry about than us. Plus we have Ria with us. She can tell if we're in trouble." The Pokémon in question nodded her head in agreement. "Alright, let's do it then."
They all threw on wigs and different sweaters to obscure their clothing. Serena packed everything and stood up straight. She gritted her teeth a little bit but shook her head at Luxray. "I'm okay to walk."
"You sure?" Clemont asked her, blue eyes flashing with worry. "It's no problem, right?" His Pokémon nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry about it, it's not far. Less people will notice us if I don't ride in on the back of a Pokémon anyway," Serena argued, staring at him. "Besides, Ria healed the cut for me quite a bit."
The Pokémon looked down with embarrassment. Healing had never been her greatest strength and she often struggled with the simplest of injuries, but she tried her best.
"She's right, and I can help her walk," Misty added with a nod of her head, her bright green wig bouncing with the motion. "Won't be strange to see injured people anyway, so let's go."
He gave up under the pressure of the two teenage girls. It took them less time than Clemont estimated to get to Violet Town, but none of them were complaining.
Serena wasn't quite sure what she expected. Maybe to see a completely desolate city, but there were quite a few people out and about. The only time people looked at them was when they glanced at Ria. She stood out due to her small stature for her species, and the fact that she was wearing a sparkly bow around her ear. It couldn't be helped though, since they didn't have her Pokéball.
"This way," Misty whispered, taking the lead and marching to the train station. She stopped at one of the automatic ticket vendors and pressed her finger to the touch screen. Watching it light up, her eyes scanned the list. "Looks like everything going west is up and running."
"Alright, so get—what are you doing?" Clemont cried out in alarm as Misty started clicking every button three times, the total at the bottom growing and growing.
"Leaf had all the actual money on her," Misty explained. "We need to use a bank account. They'll be able to track us here, but damn if they find out where we're going." The sum at the end was high, but she put through a card that she took out of her bag without flinching.
"That's...really smart," Serena complimented.
"Yeah. The train for Azalea Town leaves in about ten minutes. We have amazing timing," Misty said, nodding towards the interior of the station. "So come on, let's get going. Or does Clemont need to carry you?"
"No! I'm good!" The blonde girl felt her cheeks heat up, she glanced over at the boy in question, whose face was just as red as hers felt. She tugged a bit at the long wig that she wore, glad that she had it as a substitute for her long-gone locks of hair.
The four of them, including Ria, expected to get stopped or questioned as they walked through the station. They were lucky and didn't run into anyone, and soon found themselves pulling out of Violet City.
...
One step after another, Gary, Leaf, Ash and Pikachu traversed through the forests. Gary was certain that they were drawing closer to their first destination. The plan was for Leaf to sneak into the city, since she was the least recognizable out of the three of them. They had plenty of medication, bandages and things like that, but were getting dangerously low on food.
Gary couldn't help but notice just how tense everything was. Sometimes they'd try to start a conversation, but it just fell flat.
He was surprised that he hadn't picked up on this back when they were underground, but the atmosphere had been the same. Any conversations usually turned into him arguing with Leaf for reasons that he couldn't even explain. Ash would walk ahead of them in silence, something odd for the excitable trainer. They were trying not to fight, but it just happened.
Gary glanced over his shoulder at his two friends, who walked along in silence. Ash was handing Pikachu a couple berries that he had picked earlier, the Pokémon happily eating the treats one by one. Leaf was watching the exchange with a rather amused expression. She looked at him and raised an eyebrow, but he turned back to look ahead.
It was strange, they had known each other pretty much all their lives, yet there didn't seem to be anything to talk about. As he pondered that, it occurred to Gary that this was the first time since they were young that the three of them had been alone together. Normally Misty, Tracey, or someone else was there with them.
They were all such different people from when they were younger. He guessed that was why they didn't know how to handle one another anymore.
Ash came to a stop, Pikachu's ears twitching up as he stopped munching on a berry. The raven-haired boy looked around, brow furrowing as he said, "There's two people over there. Not far."
"Think they're trouble?" Leaf asked him without actually looking.
"I..." He shrugged his shoulders. "Hard to tell. I can't read minds and they're just kind of hanging there. Maybe asleep. I dunno."
"Shouldn't you know that type of thing?"
Ash shot him an annoyed look, "I'm not om—omni—omni...uh..."
"Omnipotent," Leaf supplied.
"You mean omniscient," Gary cut in.
"I meant what I said. I meant all-powerful, not all-knowing."
"One of those words," he agreed, waving off the argument before it could really start.
"Whatever. Let's check it out, just in case," Gary muttered. He nodded for Ash to lead since he was the only one who actually knew where these two people were. They moved silently, not rustling any leaves or breaking any twigs.
It was still early in the morning, so the fact that the two men that they found were sleeping wasn't a surprise. What was a surprise was the fact that they wore distinctive uniforms and had two jeeps with them.
"Pokémon Rangers," Leaf muttered. "I wonder what they're doing here."
"Pi pikachu," the Pokémon shrugged his shoulders, sniffing the air a bit.
Gary didn't care about the fact that there were two Pokémon Rangers there. What he did care about was the fact that there were two jeeps there. His viridian eyes slid towards the two slumbering men, and he said, "We should take one of their jeeps."
"What?" Leaf almost ended up yelling, but managed to stifle her voice. "Are you insane? Why?"
"Look, whatever's going on in the world, it's not getting better. We could spend days, weeks trying to get to the Ilex Forest unless we take some more shortcuts. I'm sure Misty, Serena and Clemont thought of that too. There are two cars there."
"How do you plan on doing that?"
"First we look for keys, if not, I hot-wire it."
"No," Leaf spoke sternly. "We're trying to avoid getting caught and grand theft auto is a horrible way to do that."
The two of them stared at one another for a moment before Gary said, "I'm gonna do it."
"No you won't," she hissed, grabbing his arm as he tried to move forward.
"Yeah." He pulled his arm out of her grip. "I think I am."
"Ash," she whipped around to the third member of their party, startling him a bit, "tell him he's crazy."
"Gary, you're crazy," Ash repeated, an honesty to his voice that he didn't even try to hide.
"Okay but look," Gary motioned towards the jeeps. "If I hot-wire that car we can get down to at least Violet City faster. We might even be able to get to the Ilex Forest before we're fifty. And if you don't shut up you're going to wake up the Rangers."
"I'm surprised they're still asleep," Ash muttered under his breath, eyeing the two men.
"We are not stealing that truck."
"They have more than one, we're not stranding anyone."
"We are not stealing that truck."
"I vote yes." Gary pointed at himself. "You vote no." He pointed at her and then turned to Ash. "What about you, Ashy-boy?"
"Obviously he says no." Leaf sounded so confident in her answer that both boys could practically see her crumble at Ash's answer
"Let's do it."
"Arceus-damn it Ash!" She punched his arm and sighed.
"What was that?"
The tree of them, as well as Pikachu, all looked up as both of the Pokémon Rangers jerked awake. Leaf growled a little bit, just knowing that the two boys were going to do whatever they had to do whether she helped out not. Deciding to make herself useful, she tossed a Pokéball up into the air and released her Venusaur, startling the men.
"What the—?"
Leaf put her hands together by her cheek and closed her eyes, mimicking sleep. Her Pokémon understood, unleashing Sleep Powder on the two startled Rangers. Both men collapsed back to the ground in a snoring pile.
"Thank you, sweetie," the only girl of the group cooed to her Pokémon as she recalled it. Her sweet demeanour turned into a serious one as she turned to face the boys. "Well, let's get going, this was your idea."
Gary and Ash exchanged nervous glances and scurried into the clearing in search of the keys to one of the jeeps. Neither of them wanted to get on her bad side.
Digging through the pockets of the two sleeping Pokémon Rangers, Gary found the keys and dangled them in the air. He then hurried to the jeeps to check which one he had the keys for while Ash, Leaf and Pikachu waited. He whooped as it started and looked back at his friends, "Let's go!"
"Don't they usually have GPS on them?" Leaf asked with a frown as she walked towards it.
"Yeah but it's pretty easy to turn off." Gary started poking at a touch screen on the dashboard for a moment. "I think it's already off. Whatever these two were doing, they weren't supposed to be doing it. So let's go."
"Fine." She sighed and paused for a moment. "Shotgun!" She dashed around to the front of the jeep.
"What?" Ash stared at her retreating form blankly, looking up at Pikachu, who shrugged.
"It means...never mind. I'm sitting in the front."
"Oh okay," Ash shrugged and opened the door to the back, climbing in without any hesitation, laying down instead of sitting up. He hadn't really slept for the couple hours that they stopped earlier, not wanting anything to sneak up on them. Before that, he spent the entire night awake, using his Aura to hold up a wall of rocks so that they wouldn't be crushed. At least in a car, they weren't going to get pounced on by angry Pokémon if he didn't sense them in time.
Pikachu patted his head as Gary started driving, and then jumped up onto Leaf's headrest. "Pi pikachu Chuchu?"
Leaf couldn't understand him, but she did know that Chuchu was his name for her. Guessing, she held out her arms and he jumped into them, looking out the windows with interest. She glanced into the back seat, watching Ash shift his hat so it blocked the sun from his eyes more. "You okay?"
"Just tired."
"Well, with this we'll be able to get there today," Gary said. "Rather than walking the whole way."
"I just didn't want to steal anything," she glowered at him. She would have crossed her arms if it wasn't for Pikachu sitting in her lap. Instead, she scratched his head, earning a 'chaa' of approval. "If someone finds out about this the first thing they're going to ask is if it was my idea."
Ash pushed the peak of his cap up a bit to glance at her. "It wasn't though. It was Gary's."
"Yeah but that's not what the rumours will say. Golden boy here will be the victim of my genetically criminal ways and your natural stupidity," Leaf said bluntly.
Ash's shoulders slumped a little, because he knew that she wasn't calling him stupid, but it was what the people back home would say. Pallet Town might have been an amazing place to grow up side-by-side with Pokémon, but it was so small. There were vast fields and forests, and it wasn't that far to travel to a beautiful beach. It was part of the reason that Professor Oak set decided to stay there and set up his lab. The downside to small towns though was that rumours spread fast, and mistakes were rarely ever forgotten.
Gary bit his lip as the same realization came to him. Maybe all the hurt from the past wasn't gone yet.
"If anyone finds out after this, I'll tell them it was me," he spoke up after a moment. He kept his eyes focused on where he was driving since there wasn't actually any roads. "You're not your mother. And Ash, you're not as stupid as some people think." The boy in the back nodded his head in acknowledgement before shifting onto his side so that he was facing away from them.
"Yeah, well apparently I don't know my mom that well," her voice was so bitter that it was impossible to ignore. "I always knew she was a part of Master Red and your father's adventure. She got shunned for the credit, or maybe she was the one who did the things that neither of them would. Who knows. But she was quick to jump into action mode. Did you see her back home? She looked so alive again. Like her reason for living came back." Pikachu nuzzled his face into her stomach, and she hugged the Pokémon close, enjoying the warmth he provided.
In the rear-view mirror, Gary saw Ash shift, looking around at Leaf for a moment. He didn't say anything and turned back soon enough. The brunet didn't know if his friend picked up on what Leaf wasn't saying, but it made his hands clench the wheel a little tighter.
Green's reason for living was the adventure, not Leaf.
...
Step by step, Misty led the way through the Ilex Forest. Not a soul stopped them in Azalea Town, and they were in familiar territory now so she knew exactly where they were going. Ria had fallen back, walking by Serena, who refused another human crutch. The Lucario just wanted to make sure that she didn't fall, but had to admit that she admired her willingness to keep pushing forward.
Clemont came up at the back of the group so he could keep an eye on Serena, and because he was exhausted. The train ride turned their trip into a fraction of what it could have been, but the Ilex Forest was thick and dense. Even more so than the ones closer to Blackthorn. He tripped and stumbled every few feet and didn't want anyone else to notice. Well, anyone aside from Ria, who kept looking back at him.
Misty came to an abrupt stop, taking a deep breath. "We're here."
Serena ran forward, ignoring the twinge in her leg and coming to a stop beside Misty, Ria jumping to the blonde's side in case she fell. Clemont hurried to the redhead's other side, and stared.
Rising from the ground was a stone shrine. It was simple, raised up on a stone platform, but at the same time, under the moss, he could still make out small but worn intricate details.
"What are we looking for here?" Serena asked. "What does Arceus want?"
"Something only Ash can get, so we'll have to wait for them." Misty walked forward, cautiously moving around the object. She hesitantly climbed up and opened the small doors that were in it, but there was nothing inside. "I don't...understand though. There's nothing here."
"There is," Ria spoke up, pointing at the shrine. "It's there, just where you were looking, but it's protected."
"Protected so not even Arceus himself can get it," Clemont muttered and shook his head. "Well, I guess we can sit down, get some food while we're here."
"In the tree line," Misty ordered, hopping down from the stone platform. "We're not Ash, we're not sure how things are going to go even when he is here." She crossed her arms in front of her and looked over her shoulder warily. "I don't like being too close to Celebi's shrine. Or any legendary pokémon for that matter."
The two Kalanese natives looked at one another before Clemont nodded his head in agreement. "Good point. We don't know how long we'll be here, so we should stay out of sight." They shuffled out of sight, because there was nothing they could do but wait.
...
Hours later, Misty and Serena were both sleeping on the soft grass of the forest while Clemont kept watch. It was still daytime, but they had nothing else to do and catching up on sleep was a great idea for everyone involved. He himself had dozed off earlier too, but ended up waking up with a jerk when Ria moved around the camp.
"You must be tired," he said to the Pokémon as he took his glasses off. He breathed on them and rubbed them against his yellow and white striped shirt. "Maybe you should get some sleep?"
"I'll rest when I can go back into my Pokéball." It was still eerie to Clemont that she could talk. Ash rotated his Pokémon around a lot, Pikachu being the only constant. Ria was there pretty frequently too, and it was strange to think that the entire time she could use telepathy to speak to them.
"I guess, I just—." Clemont cut himself off as the sound of an engine reached his ears. Ria tensed up, and he shot to his feet, going to Serena and shaking her shoulder first.
"Clemont? What?" He ignored her, moving to Misty next. She groaned and rolled over, taking a half-hearted swing at him that he was actually able to dodge.
"Get up," he said, the urgency in his voice causing both teenage girls to wake up more. "There's something coming."
Ria stood tensely at the edge of the tree line, eyes narrowed as a jeep drove over some bushes, swerving into view. The second that it appeared, she perked up, dropping her defensive stance even as it spun to a stop, ripping up the grass in the process.
The Lucario jumped forward just as the passenger door flew open. The three Pokémon trainers could only watch with pure confusion as Leaf flung out of it onto the grass, gripping it tightly. "Oh god, I'm alive!"
"You were the one who said hurry up!" Gary yelled as he got out of the other side. "So I hurried up!"
She just groaned and Pikachu hopped out after her, patting the top of her head before his ears twitched. A big smile appeared on his face as he caught sight of Ria and waved. "Pikapika!" Ria bounced over quite happily, and Pikachu jumped up onto her shoulder, humming in happiness.
"Ria?" The back door opened and Ash stumbled out, stretching his legs. He laughed as the Pokémon practically tackled him in a hug. "Woah, watch the spikes! Wait, is everyone else here?"
Breaking out of their stunned stupors, Misty, Serena and Clemont came into the clearing. Ash looked towards them, a wide smile stretching across his face as he laughed in relief. He was expecting to have to wait for them for who knows how long but somehow they got there first. He reached his friends from Kalos first, pulling them into a group hug that made both of them laugh.
Leaf looked up as red boots appeared in front of her, and stared helplessly at Misty, who held out a hand with amusement. She took it and the redhead pulled her up. "Where'd you get a jeep?"
"Gary stole it," she answered. "How'd you get here so fast?"
"Put on disguises and hopped a train." Misty didn't even question the fact that Gary stole a car.
Leaf shook her head a bit and then glanced towards Serena as she and Clemont took a few steps away from Ash. "Oh wow, what did you do to your leg? And why didn't Ria heal it?" The Pokémon in question slumped down a bit.
"Fell when we got attacked by Ursaring," she shrugged her thin shoulders. "Ria did her best."
"Well, come over here, I've got some ointment that will help it more." Shrugging again, Serena walked over to Leaf. The other teenager started digging through her backpack.
"This was actually a pretty good idea," Clemont said as he approached Gary, glancing at the jeep. "Where'd you find it?"
"Some Pokémon Rangers who were slacking on the job had two. We put them to sleep and borrowed one." Gary nodded his head at his own words. "Misty said you guys got here by train?"
"Yeah. Serena hurt her leg and we needed to move faster, so I suggested it and she came up with the idea for disguises." Uncomfortable disguises, but they worked.
"Ah, 'cause Serena needed it, huh?" At first, the teasing tone in Gary's voice startled Clemont. His face turned red and he looked away, causing the other boy to chuckle.
"Jerk," Misty gently smacked Ash's shoulder. "Making me freak out and think you were dead."
"Sorry," he chuckled, his eyes sliding back down to Ria, who was slumping a bit against him. "You're really tired. When was the last time you slept?" She shook her head and blinked up at him. Misty was surprised to see how exhausted the Pokémon was, and realized that she must have been putting on a strong front for them.
"Thank you for helping us so much," Misty said, fixing her bow a bit. "We wouldn't be here without you."
Ria smiled and then looked at Ash with hopeful eyes. He laughed and Pikachu, who had silently been sitting on her shoulder. He jumped down onto the ground and smiled at her encouragingly. "Get some rest, you did awesome." She vanished back into her Pokéball, ready for a good, long nap.
Ash smiled at the Pokéball and shrunk it down before clipping it to his belt. "So how did you—?" Misty cut him off by pulling him forward, pressing her lips against his.
He was startled, but melted into the kiss, his hands going to her waist, tugging her closer as he closed his eyes.
They broke apart when a cry echoed through the air. Misty shifted closer to him as she turned to face the shrine, and he moved his hands from her waist to her shoulders. Without any sort of warning, the air in front of the shrine ripped open, a portal of bright light appearing. A moment later, a small, green creature flew out, the tear vanishing as it did. She spun around for a moment, stretching her small legs before looking at them and smiling broadly. "Bi bi!"
"Celebi," Ash breathed out.
They had finally found what they were looking for.
...
Note
And they made it there alive. 13 chapters and a prologue in and they're...one step towards figuring out Arceus' plan to beat Team Rocket? And a surprisingly large amount of people haven't realized Team Rocket's plan yet either! I dunno why some people thought that they were going to meet up with Lance? They're on two different fronts of this whole mess. None of Ash's group really gets the politics involved, nor do they care. Lance has no idea what they're doing either. There's a lot of disconnect there. Not to mention Team Rocket doesn't know everything either.
It drives me crazy when you have one character or one group that is consistently ahead of everyone else to the point where it almost becomes a footnote like 'btw this character already knows because they fucking know everything'. Sorry, I watch a show that does this a little too much for my tastes.
About the shipping hints, yes those were on purpose, but don't expect anything as obvious as the pokeshipping I write. Not right off the bat at least.
Thank you for all the wonderful reviews! You guys are honestly the reason I post so frequently. Otherwise I probably wouldn't have started posting this at all until it was almost finished. Every little review helps motivate me and brightens my day, so thank you so much...ultimateCCC, RightHandofPalpatine, JediMasterDraco, EchidnaPower, windwarrior234, StarTrail, Aaml mania, cidneha, MaxKnight1010101, amandaalb4, TheeFirstEvil, thedarkpokemaster, thor94, Kauris Azurai, Kasumi96, Great and VolcanicPanic.
If you guys have any questions you don't want to put in reviews (so you don't spoil other people) you can always send me a PM or you can get ahold of me on my TRYC tumblr (link's on my profile). Lots of fun and random things there, including hints of things to come.
Though I warn you, tomorrow night I'll probably have Avengers: Age of Ultron feels going on. Though that'll probably be on my skylightsparkle blog. All spoiler free, of course. I'm just so excited to finally see it!
Written by: Skylight Sparkle
Edited by: EchidnaPower