As the morning sun shone its light on Ash and May, the latter slowly opens her eyes. She gave a small smile when she saw her best friend cuddled up beside her as he continued to sleep. She sat up from her sleeping bag and gently ran her hand along the fur on his back. He purred softly and slowly opened his eyes, knowing her gentle touch anywhere.

"ChuPika..." he smiled softly.

"Good morning..." she replied. May moved her hand and began to stroke his head, causing him to coo happily and lean into her hand. May smiled softly at his antics as she stood up and stretched. She began packing up her supplies and cleaning herself up. But as she did, Ash's promise to himself crept back into his mind.

"Pi-..." he whispered, looking at the ground. No more delays or distractions. He knew that Brock and Misty would find them again eventually. And this time she needed to know the truth beforehand. He walked over to where he threw his hat and put it back on, determined to come clean. "...Pikapi..."

"Huh?" she asked, turning back to him after hearing his call.

"...ChuPika?" he asked her.

"What's wrong?" she questioned him, kneeling down to his level. With one final deep breath to prepare himself, Ash began writing in the dirt again with his tail.

"I really do know them" he wrote. May hesitated before looking away from him, fixating her gaze on the ground.

"They were trying to take you from me..." she reminded him. Ash held her finger in his paw, knowing how badly the experience with his friends had shaken her.

"ChuPika..."

"You saw what they did..."

"...Pi..." he nodded. He couldn't deny it was a bad first meeting, but it didn't have to be the only one.

"Why would you want to go with people like that…?" she asked. Ash shook his head, and looked down at the ground like he still wanted to say something.

"Pika…" he sighed as he looked back up at her. How best to explain…?

"I don't know what you want Pikachu..." she whispered.

"Pi ChuPika! Pi Pi Pi! Pikachu! Pi Pika! Pikachu! PikachuPi, ChuPika, PikaPi, Pi Pi Pi!" he tried to explain.

"What...?"

"Pikachu…" Ash sighed. He hugged her gently, wrapping his arms around her torso. She reciprocated and wrapped her arms around his small body.

"Pikachu...I don't understand you...one minute it seems like you want to stay...and then the next it seems like you want to leave..." she said.

"I just want us all to be friends..." he spoke up.

"What the...?" May's eyes widened as she looked back down at him.

"Pi?" he asked, tilting his head.

"You spoke again..." she informed him.

"Pi..." he acknowledged, giving her a small smile. It seemed to be working. Slowly but surely, their language barrier was shrinking. He just had to keep telling her the truth.

"...I can't be friends with people who just attacked me..." she explained, remembering his note about communication from the night before. She decided to roll with it for now and talk with him as best she could.

"...I understand...but I also know why-Pi Pika..." he replied, his voice shifting between her language and his. "...Pi Pi Pi Pikachu...Pika Pika Pi Pika..." his ears drooped when he saw the confused look on her face return.

"I don't understand..." she answered.

"What do I do..?"

"I just want things back the way they were...just us traveling..." she finally admitted.

"...I'm sorry May...it can't..." he sighed.

"Everything's just gone wrong..." she whimpered. She shifted from her knees to sitting and hid her head in her knees. Ash watched her struggle with the situation as his ears fell even further down.

"...I...I have to tell her...But...I-I can't just..." May's soft sniffle sealed the deal. It was now or never. She needed to know. He softly nudged her leg, prompting her to lift her head from her knees and glance over at him. With a nervous gulp, he began drawing in the dirt with his tail one last time to make sure there was no room for miscommunication. May watched him with some curiosity, wondering just what he had to say this time. After a moment, he quietly stepped away to reveal the message in the dirt. "I am human"

"...This isn't the time for jokes..." she finally said after a long silence.

"...ChuPika..." he tried, shaking his head and holding out his hat once again.

"Pikachu stop it..." she quietly demanded. Ash climbed up her shoulder and looked into her eyes, letting her see the seriousness in them. "Stop it...this joke isn't funny..."

"ChuPika..." he answered with the same serious tone. He watched her eyes, but he began to worry as he saw fear and panic rising in them. Suddenly, May squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head desperately.

"Stop!"

"P-Pika…?" Ash gulped, jumping off her shoulder and looking up in surprise a bit. She stood up quickly and continued to shake her head, covering her ears as she tried to block out his story.

"It's not true...it's not..."

"...What have I done..?" he wondered as his ears reached as low as they could go. He had expected the news to be a big blow to her, but he never expected the absolute panic she seemed to be slipping into. It looked like from her perspective, her whole world was falling apart.

"I...I need some air..." she whispered before she suddenly took off running into the forest. Ash's eyes widened at her abrupt exit, caught completely off guard.

"ChuPika!" he yelled, reaching out to her. May ran as fast as she could away from him, blocking out his calls as she tried to make sense of everything. Once it was abundantly clear that she wasn't answering his calls, he ran after her, determined to make this right. But with her head start and not using Quick Attack right away, she soon disappeared into the thick forest.

"I lost her..."

May ran as fast as she could without really looking where she was going. She just needed to get away from everything and fast. How could it be possible? How could her best friend not be a Pikachu…but a human being? How could he be friends with the people who just threatened her? How could this all be happening to her? Before she could ask herself anything more, she accidentally slammed face-first into some large object that was covered with a camouflage tarp. The force of the sudden stop knocked her back onto her butt and she immediately held her nose, sure to get a bruise after such an impact.

"OW OW OW OW!" she yelled, gripping her nose tightly until the immediate pain passed. "Ooowww...! That's going to leave a mark..." she groaned. Once the pain had mostly faded, she looked up and finally noticed the large object in her path that she ran into. "What in the world...?" she wondered. But before she could even finish her thought, the sound of a truck moving down the road towards her could be faintly heard in the distance.

"Good haul for today." A voice from the same direction commented.

"Huh...?" she whispered. Something about the whole situation scared her and she decided to quickly moved behind the tarped object in an attempt to hide. As soon as she did, a truck with an attached trailer emerged from the trees. Another tarped object sat on the trailer, however, the new one seemed to have noises faintly sounding from it. A large man with green hair and piercing black eyes stepped out of the truck as he stroked the feathers of the large bird-like Pokemon riding shotgun.

"Off to a good start so far eh Fearow? It'll take longer than I thought, but these Ekans should do for today."

"Row." His partner agreed.

"I'll look for the Koffing tomorrow." He decided.

"Ekans and Koffing...? Why would a trainer be catching Pokemon like this...? Wait...unless..." May gasped. The large man moved to attach the second object to his truck when he suddenly spotted May's arm behind it.

"WHAT THE!?" he yelled angrily. His yell snapped May out of her thoughts and she began to attempt to carefully back away from him. She tried not to make any noise during her escape, but it was too late. The man rushed around the object and cornered her against the rockface. "HEY!"

"Gah!" May yelped, falling backward in surprise. He snarled and grabbed her by the wrists with an iron grip.

"Snooping around were you?!" he growled.

"I-I wasn't-" she tried, but the man suddenly pulled a gun out and aimed it right in between her eyes, both of which widened in terror.

"I can't allow you to walk away from this kiddo. So struggle and you're dead. GOT IT?" he threatened her. The gun and his threat caused May's voice to leave her, only managing to give him a small nod in response. With her words frozen in her throat, the poacher bound her wrists behind her back within a minute. May could only gulp and try to keep her limbs from trembling.

"That'll take too long." He growled under his breath. He put his gun away and then pulled out a tranquilizer, shooting her in the arm with one of the darts. May's eyes widened in shock as she managed to give a soft yelp in pain before her mind started to cloud.

Ash ran through the forest in every direction he could, trying to find any sign of his beloved friend. He knew her scent well but hadn't thought to get to get a good trail when she ran off. That made it near impossible to pick up her specific scent on the fly in the forest full of the scents of hundreds of other plants and Pokemon. There was no way he was going to give up until he found her, but every moment that passed without sight of her, his panic and worry grew.

"MAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY?! Where aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaare you?" he called out, letting his voice carry across the forest as much as he could. Most of the other Pokemon ignored him while others stared for a moment before proceeding on their way. Luckily for Ash, two other people were nearby who heard his call and recognized his voice.

"Was that...?" Misty gasped.

"It was! That was Ash's voice!" Brock confirmed. That was all the two trainers needed and they began running towards his voice as fast as they could.

"Piiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!?" Ash cried out again, his head moving around frantically as he looked around for his friend worriedly.

"Ash!" Misty called. Ash turned around in surprise as his old friends ran out of the brush and over to him. Ash's ears perked up at first, but he then stepped back from them a little. "What's wrong...?"

"You're what's wrong." He mouthed to them, knowing talking to them right now would be pointless.

"Look...I know I messed up...but I also know you wouldn't be yelling like that if something wasn't wrong...so what happened and how can we help...?" Misty explained. Ash looked down and sighed. He couldn't stay mad at them. Especially not when May was missing and he needed help.

"...ChuPika..." he relented. Misty and Brock looked at each other as they tried to guess what would have Ash so upset.

"...It looks like his friend is missing..." Brock suddenly realized. Ash nodded quietly to confirm.

"Right...alright. We'll spread out." Misty agreed. Ash gave a tiny smile. That was the Misty and Brock he remembered. With that, he climbed up a tree to get a better view while Misty and Brock spread out in different directions to look for clues.

"CHUUUUUUUUPIIIIIKAAAA!?" Ash called out. Brock looked around the main road while Misty explored a nearby cliff face. She knelt down to the ground, spotting some fresh marks in the dirt.

"These look like...tire marks?" she stood up and called back to the boys. "Hey, Ash! Brock! Over here!" Brock and Ash responded to her call and ran over.

"Find something?" Brock asked.

"Maybe. These marks in the dirt look like tire marks. And I don't think trucks are allowed off the road here." She explained.

"That's odd...I'm not sure a vehicle would be able to be seen from the road in this part of the forest any-What the..?" He stopped short when he spotted something on the ground. He picked up what looked to be the remnants of some kind of net.

"That looks like one of those capture nets we found when Ash was first taken..." Misty commented. Ash's ears perked up at the remark and he looked at them in concern.

"PikachuPi?" he asked, clear concern in his voice. Brock kneeled down to his level and held out the hunter net so he could see.

"We found the same thing when you were taken..." Misty gravely informed him. Ash's eyes widened in a growing panic. It couldn't be, could it…? Were May and Torchic about to suffer the same fate that he did at the hands of a poacher?

"But what purpose would a Poacher have to kidnap a human? If he wanted her to keep quiet he could've just...you know..." Brock asked. That tore it. Ash ran off down the path as fast as he could.

"Ash!" Misty yelled, running after him with Brock right on her heels. Ash ran along the tire trail, with complete tunnel vision. He had to know if she was in trouble. And if she was, he needed to help her. Misty and Brock meanwhile followed him down the trail, determined to keep him in their sights this time. "Even at his top speed, I don't think he can catch up..."

"Doesn't look like that's going to stop him." Brock answered.

"No...I suppose it won't..."

"Please be okay May..." Ash begged.

Hours had passed before the cloud over May's head finally began to clear and her eyes slowly began to open, though she was still very groggy. She groaned as her senses slowly returned to her, noticing everything around her was tinted with the light of a sunset again. She slowly discovered that she was bound with rope in multiple places across her body making her movement nearly nonexistent. There was a white cloth around her mouth keeping her gagged, and she was laying on the cold metal floor of the empty cage. A few feet away from the cage, she could see the poacher making himself dinner, and a few other cages full of Poison Type Pokemon. May made a weak whimper for help, clearly still fighting off the lingering effects of the tranquilizer, which attracted the attention of the poacher.

"Oh. You're awake." He observed.

"Mmph…?" May whimpered, trying to ask why he was doing this to her.

"You stumbled across the site of my poaching ground. I couldn't let you walk away with that information. Of course, if you'd rather leave than stay in your cage..." he began, pulling the loaded pistol back out. "That can be arranged."

"Mmm…!" May gulped as her eyes widened in fear. The poacher smirked at the fear on her face and put the gun away for now.

"So...you're the daughter of a gym leader huh?" he questioned her. May's eyes widened in surprise. How did he know about that?! The man crouched down by her cage and revealed her fanny pack in his hand and her trainer's license in the other. He had read all her personal information. May gulped in fear, but gave him a small nod, seeing no point in lying about it at this point.

"Mmhm…"

"That could prove quite the stroke of luck for me...I think you might sell for more than the Pokémon I was targeting...of course...you're far more expendable...so don't test me." He warned her. She gave him another nervous nod. "I must also say, thanks for providing me with a Torchic. She'll bring me a fortune too." He commented with a smirk before walking away from the cage.

"MMPH!" she gasped. The poacher covered her cage up with another tarp and simply went back to his meal without giving her another glance. May began to tear up as she tried desperately to work off the gag off her face enough to speak, but it was just secured too firmly to get any leverage without her hands. She could only whimper sadly, willing to do anything to save Torchic. That was when she suddenly remembered that Ash wasn't with her when she was kidnapped. She had run away from him when they were talking. Which meant he was still free, and that gave her at least some comfort as sleep began to overtake her. "At least Pikachu is safe…"

Early the next morning, May was suddenly woken up when she heard unfamiliar voices around her cage. The tarp was still over the cage, preventing her from seeing who was around her.

"Mm…?" she groggily asked.

"This had better be good Rico." One of the unfamiliar voices demanded.

"It will be I assure you. The biggest prize I have to sell is in here." The poacher's familiar voice replied. The tarp over the cage was suddenly yanked off, forcing May to shut her eyes from the sudden shining sun. Once her eyes adjusted, she looked up at Rico, who was standing over her outside the cage along with two other businessmen. His clients she could only assume. "See this girl?"

"You think your best catch is a kid trainer?" one of the businessmen groaned, rolling his eyes.

"I caught her snooping around the campsite and I obviously couldn't let her roam. Turns out, she's the daughter of the Petalburg Gym Leader. There are plenty of people who'd pay top dollar for her. Either for ransom or for more…personal endeavors. Interested?" Rico explained. The two businessmen looked to be deep in thought as May listened to them all nervously. This truly sounded like the end of her journey. All of a sudden, separate from the conversation of Rico and his associates, she faintly heard the sound of more footsteps coming towards them.

"Huh...?"

Just on the edge of the clearing where they were hidden from sight by the forest's natural brush, Ash and his friends hid and carefully peered out to check on what was going on. Ash surveyed the scene until his eyes landed on the brunette girl in a cage surrounded by the crooks.

"May…!" he gasped before growling angrily. His friends followed his gaze and quickly understood the situation as well.

"How do we do this...? The guy's obviously armed to the teeth..." Misty noticed.

"If only Officer Jenny was here...but by the time we find her they could all be gone…" Brock pointed out.

"Then what do we do...?" she wondered. Ash lowered his head in thought for only a moment before raising a paw. His action earned him a look of confusion from both of his friends.

"Pi..." he stopped himself and took a deep breath, steeling his determination before speaking again. With the pause and trust in his bond with the two of them, his next words came through crystal clear. "...I'll play decoy..."

"Ash you can't...that's how this all started..." Misty reminded him

"That's why it has to be me..."

"What do you mean?" Brock asked.

"She helped me when I was harmed by poachers...It's only right for me to be the one to put myself out at risk for her..." Ash explained.

"But if you got captured again..." Misty tried, her fears slowly returning. The panic and fear of watching the poacher's ship disappear with Ash all those months ago began to grab hold of her again. Even Brock looked hesitant to allow Ash to be anywhere near poachers again.

"Misty...Brock…I have to do this...She's the one that needs you..." he informed them. Misty and Brock shared a glance before looking back to Ash. Even as a Pikachu, the undeterrable determination in his eyes was unmistakable. He wasn't going to take no for an answer.

"...Please be careful..." Misty finally conceded. Ash gave them both a nod and began walking away. However, he stopped abruptly, just before going in.

"...Misty?" she looked back at him, their eyes meeting each other as he turned back to them. He smiled a truly caring and happy smile at them. "It's good to see you guys again..." he quickly darted off into the clearing, leaving a smiling Brock and a blushing Misty behind.

To be Continued...