[pic]

The Rewrite: Chapter 4

The girl slowly sat up.

"Where am I? What happened?" she asked, looking disturbed and confused.

"You're lying on the ice because the blimp you were riding here in crashed," Tracey told her. "Who are you?"

"I'm Lisa," she introduced herself. "I'm a Pokémon trainer." The Aipom grinned and sat down contentedly. "Who are you?"

"I'm Tracey, Professor Oak's assistant," he said proudly. "Lisa, because of what happened, we have to get you to a hospital quickly - or at least a Pokémon Center."

"Okay," she agreed, still unsure about what had happened. She stood up quickly, but sat down abruptly. "I can't stand up."

"I see." Tracey tried not to bother her about how embarrassed she looked. "Don't worry, I can still get you there. Marill, Squirtle, Charmander, go!" The three creatures looked first at Tracey, then at Lisa. "Marill, I'm going to ride on you. Squirtle, you're going to carry Lisa on your shell. Charmander, you're going to sit near the front again, but try to keep her warm," he hinted toward Lisa. He turned to Professor Hale and the other people in the crowd; "I'll take Lisa. You should find a way to get back to Johto. I feel that it's my job to set things right - I've seen it done before, and I'm sure it can be done again." Hale and the others nodded in approval.

"Good luck to both of you," echoed several times in several variations from the group of Johto researchers.

The oddly assorted team continued on the same way as before, with Charmander melting the ice and the two water types surfing through the ocean. They continued for several more hours, and Lisa was continuously asking questions.

"When did the blimp crash? What happened to me? Why did it happen the way it did?" were among the things that she wanted to know. Tracey patiently answered all of her questions.

It began to grow dark. Tracey wondered if they had gotten very far at all because land was not yet visible. He debated whether to continue surfing or to stop and spend the night on the ice. Either choice was extremely dangerous for different reasons. If he continued going, it might have negative effects on Lisa's health as well as his own, and the Pokémon might get too tired to continue. If this happened and there was not a Pokémon Center around, then their journey might end right there and then - but if he stayed, then the ice could break through and they could drown during the night in the sub-zero water. Then he decided to get Lisa's opinion.

"How are you faring so far?" he asked. "Should we stop for the day?"

"I'm doing all right," she lied. She was really feeling weak, tired, and chilled to the bone. "We should keep going." She hugged her Aipom for warmth.

Tracey believed her completely and told the Pokémon to continue surfing.