C. Cowboy: here we go! Ash's first round is about to begin! What has Fate done to Ash's Mom? What else will he do to the young trainer? What's wrong with Pikachu? Can Ash lose with good ol' Charizard? Find out in this one!
Ash and Pikachu walked out to the red trainer's box, ready to begin his match with his old friend AJ. The announcer came on the loud speaker, "LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WELCOME TO THE SECOND TO LAST FIRST ROUND MATCH UP! THIS WILL BE A THREE ON THREE POKEMON BATTLE! IN THE BLUE CORNER, MAKING HIS FIRST APPEARANCE AT THE INDIGO STADIUM, AJ TUFFENUFF," The crowd began to cheer. When the crowd died down the announcer continued, "AND IN THE RED CORNER, MAKING HIS SECOND APPEARANCE IN THIS TOURNAMENT, THE ORANGE LEAGUE AND JOHTO LEAGUE CHAMPION, ASH KETCHUM!!!" the crowd erupted, Misty was surprised when she looked over from her seat to see the all the Orange and Johto League Gym Leaders standing and chanting "KETCH, UM, KETCH, UM, KETCH, UM KETCH, UM…" She even saw Rudy chanting while Rudy's little sister held a sign that said, 'ASH, DO IT FOR MISTY!' Misty then looked down at the field and saw Ash staring at the sign. He then smiled and nodded in its direction and turned his attention to AJ. "Ah hope you gotten to be a better trainer now Ash! Cause Ah hate to hurt yer Pokemon!" AJ said with the same old smart attitude. "Why don't you just shut up and let's battle." Ash said as he sent out his first Pokemon, Chikarita. AJ complied by sending out a bayleef.
Chikarita and Bayleef ran toward each other and made a tackle attack knocking each other back. Chikarita then sent out several razor leaves at the bayleef. Bayleef then dodged the leaves and sent out vine whips. They wrapped around Chikarita's body and slung her into the air. Chikarita hit the ground hard and was knocked out. "Chikarita return." Ash said disappointedly then pulled out another Pokeball. "What Pokemon ya gonna let me beat next, Ash?" AJ said overconfidently. Ash just smiled and said with a lot of pride, "CHARIZARD, I CHOOSE YOU!" in a flash, the mighty behemoth appeared before his master, growling at his much smaller opponent. Before AJ could recall Bayleef Charizard made the little Pokemon a crispy critter. Charizard roared in triumph as AJ looked on with fear. "That one to one." Ash said a little to cocky. AJ then sent out a Blastoise. The two massive Pokemon glared at each other. "Charizard! Fire Blast!!" "Blastoise! Hydro Pump!" the two trainers called out the two attacks went at each other hitting each other with massive impact. They both fell over unconscious. They both recalled their Pokemon. "Alright Pikachu, your up!" Ash said as Pikachu immediately jumped to the center of the ring. "Alright, you're my last hope, SANDSLASH GO!" AJ said as he threw a Pokeball out into the ring and in a flash, Sandslash appeared and glared at Pikachu. Sandslash came in slashing at Pikachu but Pikachu's agility was too fast for Sandslash's attacks. Pikachu then did a back flip and started to power up for the ultra shock. Pikachu absorbed the bubble and as before, felt more pain then he had ever felt before. He quickly released the blast at Sandslash, knocking him out.
The announcer came on again, "AND THE WINNER IS ASH KETCHUM!!!" The crowd erupted but this time Ash noticed Pikachu's weakened state, "Pikachu you alright?" Ash asked as he picked up his best friend. [Yeah, Ash, I great! Just a little tired, that's all.] Ash looked at him unconvinced, until he felt two arms wrap around his waist. He turned expecting Misty, but found Crystal, "CRYSTAL!! LET GO!!!" Ash yelled as he tried to pry Crystal off. Then two hands grabbed Crystal's hair, "HANDS OFF!!!" Misty yelled as she pulled Crystal off of Ash by the hair of the head. "Why you little…" Crystal uttered as she grabbed Misty's ponytail Misty then came down with her mallet and plowed Crystal right between the eyes, sending her to dreamland. Then, once she was satisfied that Crystal was out for the count, she gave Ash a congratulations hug. They pulled back and started to kiss when Prof. Ivy walked up to them with a sad look on her face. "Ash, something's happened to your mother."
They all went to the hospital where Mrs. Ketchum was. The doctor was waiting for them as Ash and Misty walked in. Misty and Ash both were obviously shaken up. The Doctor walked up to Ash, "Can I talk to you, Mr. Ketchum, privately?" the Doctor said cutting his eyes at Misty. Ash took Misty's hand, "Listen, she's my girlfriend; what ever you can say to me, you can say to her." The doctor smiled, "Of course, come with me." The doctor led them to a window overlooking a woman so badly beaten up that she was completely unrecognizable. "Mr. Ketchum, your Mother was assaulted with what appears to be some kind of metal rod. But that was not the worse of her injuries…" Ash didn't let him finish, as he put two and two together; the battered woman in the room WAS his Mom. "MOM! WHAT HAPPENED? WHO DID THIS TO YOU!!!!!" Ash yelled pressing against the door, too emotional to figure out how to open it. Misty brought him into a tight hug as the tears flowed from both their eyes. "I'm afraid I have only told you the good news." The doctor said as Misty finally calmed Ash down while trying to keep control of herself. "I'm afraid, your mother has taken repeated blows to the spine. So many that it was torn in half." Ash looked up at him with a sorrowful look, "W-What do-does that, that mean?" the doctor dropped his head "I am sorry, Mr. Ketchum, but Your mother will never walk again." Ash dropped to his knees, "W-Who did this to her." The doctor then handed Ash a note, "We found this on lying on her chest."
Ash
Drop out of the tournament, or else someone else you love will suffer.
Hand
Of Fate
C. Cowboy: Fate has made his first real move, and he has hit pretty close to home. Can Ash recover to continue the tournament, or will he obey Fate's orders? Who is next on Fate's hit list? Has Fate succeeded or has he made a big mistake hurting Ash's mom? Find out next time!