Ages:
Matt Rocket: 10
Jake Rocket: 13
Ash/Misty/Gary: 14
Tracey: 15
Brock/Rob Rocket: 16
Jessie/James/Shane Rocket: 21
Pokémon: Masters
Chapter Thirteen – Reversing the Sands
Ash pulled his jacket tighter around his neck hoping to keep the rain off him, but he had other matters to deal with besides the rain.
"Who are you?" he shouted into the night.
"The finale," a voice replied.
In the rain, Ash managed to make out a figure standing about ten feet in front of him. It seemed only a shadow but possessed two glowing red eyes. Before Ash could do another thing, the shadow fired a ball of black energy at him.
"NO!" Ash shouted as he jumped out of bed.
He sat there panting as the rain beat against his window.
"Ash, are you okay?" Brock asked, startled at being woken in the middle of the night.
"Just a nightmare," Ash replied while he tried to calm himself. "Go back to sleep."
"You sure you're all right?"
"Yeah," Ash replied as he laid back down. "Good night, Brock."
"Night, Ash," Brock said he drifted back to sleep.
"Morning, honey," Mrs. Ketchum greeted her son the next morning. "Did you sleep well?"
Ash just groaned as he sat down at the table. Brock was already eating his breakfast, and Misty was in the shower.
"Mr. Mime," Mimie said as he handed Ash a stack of pancakes.
"Thanks," Ash replied as he started eating.
"So, Ash," Brock said as Misty joined them, "what are you planning to do today?"
"I'm not sure," he replied.
"I have an idea. Why don't we have a picnic this afternoon?" Misty suggested.
"That sounds great," Brock replied.
"Actually, Brock," Misty said as Mimie gave her some pancakes, "I was hoping it would be just Ash and me."
"Oh," Brock sighed, "and you are going to ask me to babysit Togepi and Pikachu, right?"
"How did you know?"
"Lucky guess," Brock replied. I need to find me a woman.
He looked over at Ash, who had considerably perked up since Misty came down. They were now making some plans for their picnic.
That's it, Brock thought as he helped Mimie with the dishes. I really need one.
"Ring, Ring, Ring, Phone Call, Phone Call," the videophone chimed.
"I'll get it," Mrs. Ketchum said when she noticed Ash was too involved with Misty to notice the phone. "Hello?"
"Ah, Mrs. Ketchum," Prof. Oak greeted. "Is Ash home?"
"Yes, Professor," she cheerfully replied. "Ash, it's for you."
When Ash finally dragged himself away from Misty, he asked Prof. Oak what he wanted.
"Bill is going on a little pokémon hunt," he explained, "and he wanted to know if you would like to join him."
"Sure, Professor," Ash happily replied. "I would love to go."
"So much for our picnic," Misty sighed.
"Don't worry, Misty," Brock told her. "There always be other days for one."
"So what type of pokémon are we looking for?" Ash asked Bill when they left Prof. Oak's lab.
"The rarest type there is," he replied. "It's even more rare than Mew. I also think it's more powerful too, but no one has ever seen it."
"Then how do you know it's real?" Misty asked.
"There are many legends about it," he replied. "After all you and Ash have been through with legendary pokémon, I thought you would have more faith than that."
"I guess you're right," Misty blushed. "Can you tell us anything about it?"
"All the legends seem to suggest that it's a plant type," Bill replied. "Though one seemed very peculiar."
"What was it?" Brock asked.
"It said that it also 'reversed the sands,'" he answered. "I think that means it's also a ground-type, but I'm not sure. The text was a little hard to translate."
"What did they call it?" Ash asked.
"Depending on time period, Serebeii or Serebi," he replied.
"And where are we going?" Misty asked.
"A forest near Saffron is where the legends say it appears once every few centuries," Bill explained. "If I translated right, it should appear in the next few days."
"That's a big 'if'," Brock commented.
"It's worth a shot," Bill replied.
Misty looked over at Ash. He had silent after Bill mentioned the name of the pokémon and its location.
"Something wrong?" she asked.
"I just have a bad feeling about this," he replied. "Something isn't right."
This worried Misty. Normally, Ash would recklessly rush into danger without a second thought, sometimes without a first one either, and if he was concerned about something, it was usually very big.
"Should we turn back?"
"No," he replied. "I feel something wants us to go."
Now she was really worried. Maybe it was another Destiny-thing. She looked at the amulet Ash had been wearing since his twelfth birthday and saw it was slightly glowing.
"Night, guys," Bill said as he went to sleep.
"Night," Brock replied.
Ash and Misty decided to stay up a little bit longer to look at the stars. Without a cloud, the night sky was filled with them.
"Beautiful, aren't they," Misty sighed.
"Not as much as you," Ash replied.
Misty blushed at the comment and gave Ash a kiss on the cheek as a reward.
"Look a shooting star," Misty said as a light streaked across the sky. "Let's make a wish."
She closed her eyes and thought about what she wanted most in the world. When she opened her eyes a minute later, she saw Ash still had his closed.
"What did you wish for?" Ash asked with his eyes still closed.
"If I tell you," Misty replied, "it won't come true."
"Oh," Ash said as he put his arm around her. "You think we should get some sleep soon?"
"In a few minutes," she cooed as she enjoyed his arm around her. "Let's just stay like this for now."
"I'm warning, Giovanni," the guard snapped at the inmate. "Settle down, or it's the hole."
"You dare to threaten me," Giovanni huffed. "I can have you in a hole, six feet deep!"
"That's it," the guard snapped back as he grabbed the former kingpin by the arm. "It's solitary for you."
You'll regret this, he thought as the guard dragged him to another cellblock. You and Ketchum.
"Good morning," Ash said as he woke Misty up.
"Five more minutes," she groaned.
"And you say I'm stubborn about getting out of bed," Ash remarked.
"Just because you're my boyfriend," Misty replied as she rolled over, "doesn't mean I want knock you senseless."
"You don't have to use your mallet," Brock laughed. "I think a kiss can do the same thing."
Both Misty and Ash blushed at the comment, but it worked at getting Misty out of her sleeping bag. She then chased Brock around the campsite with her mallet.
"Hold still," she shouted. "I promise this won't hurt… too much."
"Yeah right," Brock replied as he dived into bushes. He did not notice that Misty did not follow him in.
"Brock," she said as she put her mallet away, "I hope you realize that you are in poison ivy."
"What?!" he screamed as he jumped out.
"Here," Bill said as he tried to keep from laughing, "this potion will stop the itching."
"Thanks," Brock replied as he took the bottle.
While Brock sprayed himself with potion, Misty joined Ash by the campfire where he was eating breakfast.
"How much further is it?" Misty asked.
"About half a day's hike," Bill replied.
"Well," Ash said as he put out the fire. "Let's get going."
"Mind if I eat first?" Misty asked.
"Sure," Ash laughed nervously. "Right after you eat."
"Hello, Father," Shane said to the man on the other end of the videophone.
"Don't 'Hello, Father' me," he snapped at his oldest son. "I want you to do me a favor."
"I've told you before," Shane replied. "I will not endanger my own enterprises for one of your schemes."
"I built most of that myself, you ungrateful brat!" Giovanni snapped at him. "The least you can do is arrange an early parole."
"And have you ruin everything I built," Shane emotionless responded. "I think not."
"Then at least let me have the satisfaction that Ketchum is dead," he replied.
"I have already told you that I plan to deal with Ketchum my own way," Shane told his father. "His death will prove more harm than usefulness."
"Revenge is worth it!" Giovanni snapped back.
"I see you still have much to deal with, Father," Shane replied. "You must learn that the best revenge is profit."
"No, the best revenge is the last laugh," Giovanni corrected.
"Then it would appear that I have both," Shane said as he cut the transmission.
"I've got to get out of here," Giovanni snarled as the guard came to return him to cell.
"Let's split up," Bill said once they arrived in the forest.
"Sure," Ash replied. "Brock can go with you, and Misty can go with me."
"I think we should do it the other way around," Bill told him.
"Why?"
"I don't you and Misty will be doing much searching together," Bill replied.
"Sorry," Ash told as he grabbed Misty's hand, "but I prefer it this way."
"That's what I'm afraid of," Bill sighed as the couple ran off.
"Ash, it's getting late," Misty said, as the sun was about to set. "I think we should find Bill and Brock."
"We're close," Ash replied. "I can feel it."
"Pikapi?" Pikachu questioned.
Misty looked at Ash and saw that the amulet was now acting like a flashlight.
"Ash, the pendant," she commented.
"I know," he replied without looking down at it. "We really close now."
*What's going on?* Togepi asked as she woke up from her nap.
*Ash is just getting carried away,* Pikachu replied.
Misty looked around and saw that several flowers were beginning bloom.
"Ash," she whispered, "the flowers."
"He's here," he replied.
"Who's here?" she asked.
Suddenly, a bright flash of light blinded the two trainers. When his eyesight returned, Ash said, "Misty, you okay?"
No one answered.
"Misty?" he asked again.
Still no one replied. He looked around and found that Pikachu and Togepi were missing too.
"Misty!" he called hoping to find her.
"Yeah, mister," a voice finally replied.
He looked down and saw a six year old orange-headed girl with a Pichu and a pokémon egg.
"Oh boy," Ash said when he realized who she was.