DICALAIMER: *sigh* How many times must I tell you? I don't own Pokemon, but I love it! :)

A/N: Woo-hoo, chapter four is here! I promise chapter five will be up soon, I've written the whole story, it's just gonna take me a while to put it all up! And thanks to BellaWaterFlower for suggesting I paragraph it...it really does make a difference!

Ash slumped back on the sofa. How boring this was. An hour before his match, the match that would decide whether he would make it to the semi-finals, and he was bored.

"Pika Pi, Pikachu" Pikachu walked in, telling Ash that they should get ready.

"Pikachu, I don't think we could be more ready" Ash shrugged.
Pikachu got angry. Ash had done nothing but mope since Misty left. What a pack of lies he had bestowed upon his best friend -- saying that he didn't love Misty. If this wasn't love, the little mouse Pokemon thought that real love would boggle one's mind.

"Pika Pi! Pika, Pikachu!" Pikachu yelled, words coming out like spewing lava from an agitated volcano.

Ash picked up the vibe with no trouble. "I don't love her. I'm just bored. There's nothing to do, you know that." But the thing was, Pikachu didn't know it. It certainly wasn't bored, just frustrated at Ash's attitude.

"Pika Pika" Pikachu said sourly, disagreeing but leaving the matter at rest. There was no point arguing, it certainly wasn't going to get them anywhere.

They ate a hearty lunch, treated Ash's pokemon, then walked to the stadium. While other trainers were finding battling was more like a chore, Ash couldn't get enough of it. It was such a thrill, standing there, before thousands of people...

They were stopped by the usual guard, asked for their ID, then walked backstage. A couple of other trainers were there, either celebrating or mourning. Yet something in Ash's stomach was indicating nervousness.
He shrugged it off and smiled at the roof.
That was when it started raining, and Ash's smile disappeared as quickly as the rain had started.

"Great, it's raining" he muttered sarcastically. Pikachu sighed. It wasn't a good omen in any aspect. "We don't have time to worry about omens now, we gotta focus on winning" Ash declared. Pikachu nodded and got ready to once again stride out.

I wonder how Misty's mom is doing, Ash thought suddenly, and his pace slowed.

"Pika Pi?" Pikachu asked, sensing his distraction.

Ash shook his head. "Sorry buddy. Let's go win" he grinned, and Pikachu relfected the smile.

"Today's fifth battle, Ash Ketchum versus Mika Viner" the loudspeakers announced.

Ash had already studied Mika's style. Sneak attacks were his main strategy, not element matching.

"Okay, let's get started!" Ash yelled as soon as he stepped into his trainers box. "Pikachu, you're on!"

"Pika!" Pikachu jumped down from the box, ready to win.

Mika laughed. "Alakazam, go!" The pokeball was thrown, a flash of light, and a super-strong Alakazam appeared.

Ash froze. Alakazam were nothing to mess with, especially with an IQ of 3,600. No wonder he used sneak attacks.

"Pikachu, thunderbolt!" Ash commanded. Pikachu got its power sacks fired up, when...

"Alakazam, reflect!" Mika ordered. The pyschic pokemon obeyed and the thunderbolt was bounded off an invisible barrier and headed for Pikachu.

"Chaa!" Pikachu cried in surprise.

Bullets of nerves hit Ash. "Pikachu, uh, agility!"
Pikachu ran as fast as it could, but the re-directed thunderbolt still hit and had a devestating effect.
"Pikachu! Are you okay?" Ash asked worridly. Pikachu slowly stood back up. It was a fighter, and anyone who knew Pikachu knew that. "Alright! Try your quick attack!"

Pikachu ran in the direction of Alakazam, gaining highest speeds, and then...

"Alakazam, teleport!" Mika yelled. Alakazam shimmered, then disappeared. Pikachu stopped running and looked around hoplessly.

"Pika?" it asked in confusion. Little did it know that Alakazam was a few metres behind him.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried desperatly at the unsuspecting pokemon. "Behind you!" You can't lose this.You CAN'T, his mind screamed in frustration. But it was no use.

"Alakazam, pyswave!" Mika ordered, knowing who had won. Alakazam obeyed, the wave hit Pikachu and it collapsed for a final time to the ground.

"This match is over! The winner is Mika!" the umpire declared.

Ash stared, then his shaking knees gave way beneath him. As his shins hit the concrete of the trainers box, he ignored the pain, and thought of his dream.

Pokemon Master? The only thing you master is losing! he thought bitterly, almost repeating one of Misty's cracks.

Tears of frustration and anguish fell down his already embarassed face. A thought shot through his mind.
Pikachu.

That one word said it all, and he stood up. The height was dizzying, and the fall could be fatal if you didn't land properly. Who cares? he thought suddenly, and jumped. The streaked tears dried in the wind rushing past his face, and the famous hat that was never removed from spiky black hair was blown free.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu cried. The crowd gasped. It was like an impromptu circus act...only there was no safety net.

Ash fell feet first, hit his knees against his chin, and the only damage he did was cut his lip. "Yow" he muttered. "Pikachu! Are you okay?" His thoughts were now majorly on Pikachu, and the crowd breathed a sigh on relief. They had come for a Pokemon battle, not a funeral.

"Pika..." Pikachu had almost died too. It couldn't bear the thought of living without Ash.

"It's okay, we'll just take ya to the pokemon center and fix ya up" Ash said cheerily, blood trickling down his quivering chin, blotched cheeks creeping up into a smile, and black eyes partly scanning for his lost hat.
"Found it" he mumbled, leaned over and managed to pick it up without moving a foot. He then picked up Pikachu and slowly walked out of the stadium.

"It'll be okay. We'll go back to Pallet and train harder" he whispered, wanting to believe his own words, but knowing that he couldn't.

A/N: Okay, I know that chapter had absolutly nothing to do with Misty, but we had to give Ash a say in. Chapter five is exciting, I promise, so stay tuned! By the way, I won't post anymore chapters until tomorrow, because today I'm sitting my driver's licence test, and that takes a while, so I'll post two tomorrow! :)