----

Part 3 - A Nightmare Battle

(****** - Means scene change)

It was a tranquil night in Goldenrod city, the sky was clear, the stars were out and the city was peaceful. 2 days prior, Ash and the gang left the Pokehotel, much to Misty's dismay. She had tried to get the boys to use the coupons they got to stay longer, but was voted out 2 to1. Brock claimed that they should be used in emergencies only. So the trio left the luxurious Hotel and went to stay in the dingy Pokemon Center. Misty complained how small the beds where and how cramped there room felt. Once she had a taste of high life, she didn't want to go. But to Ash the Pokemon Center was like home in a ways to him.

That afternoon Ash, Misty and Brock traveled to the mall for 4 hours to spend some of the money they received from Mrs. Ketchum, actually, Misty spent most of it, why else would it have taken 4 hours. Every man knows that women, money and malls do not mix. Even though Brock and Ash finished their shopping in 20 minutes, Misty took the better half of the day trying out clothes and looking at girly stuff. This surprised Ash, since when was Misty into girly things? He had never seen her in a dress, the thought of it usually made him laugh. He loved Misty for who she was. A girl in pants, well, more then that. She was his, and always would be. That night they crawled onto their hard stiff beds, complete with lumpy pillows and rested their aching feet. That afternoon Brock realized why they have benches in front of women clothing stores, and only women clothing stores. It only took minutes before they were all resting comfortably. Brock began to dream of Nurse Joy, Ash dreamed of becoming a Pokemon master, as always. Misty although, seemed to be twitching in her sleep.

***********

Ash and Misty are standing at the altar. Misty is wearing a beautiful white wedding gown. Opposite of Misty, Ash is dressed smartly in a tuxedo. The church is packed and flowers are strewn everywhere. They held hands and turned to face the Priest.

"Do you, Misty, take Ash Ketchum to be your lawful wedded husband.....to have and to hold...for richer or poorer....in
sickness and in health.....till death do you part?"

Misty gazed into Ash's eyes. "I do......"

The Priest turned to Ash. "Do you, Ash.... take Misty Waterflower to be your lawful wedded wife, to have and to hold....for richer or poorer...in sickness and in health....till death do you part?"

Ash turned to Misty, he breathed in and smiled. "I......I...(sweatdrop)..I.....I CAN'T!!!!!"

Misty gasped in shock. The entire Church roared at Ash's answer. "HUH???? Ash, what's wrong? Don't you love me?" Ash released Misty's hands and shoved her off the alter. "NO!!! BECAUSE I LOVE....." In the gathered audience, Misty's three older sisters stood up. "VIOLET!!!!!" Misty stared in disbelief. Violet ran into Ash's arms, they then began to kiss passionately, right in front of Misty and the entire Church. Misty began to cry. "Ash……no………why?*sniff*"

Ash broke off the kiss and turned to Misty. "Forget you....you're just a scrawny little tomboy! Who in their right mind would love YOU?!??!?! OF ALL
PEOPLE!!!!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

Misty held her arms out to Ash, but he coldly smacked them away. Misty turned and saw Pikachu in front of her. "Pikaaaaaa!" Pikachu let loose a devastating thunder attack on Misty, which destroyed her gown. Misty crumpled over in a heap. Out of nowhere, Mrs. Ketchum ran up and bopped her on the head. "Misty! Nobody loves you....nobody ever did!!!!!!!" She bopped her again "You're just an abusive little wretch!!!" whacks her in the face "You nasty little tomboy, you! STAY AWAY FROM MY SON!!!!!"

Tears streamed out of her eyes. "WHAT'S GOING ON HERE?!?!??!?!?!"

Everybody turns to the new couple at the altar....Ash and Violet....

Ash looked Violet in the eyes "I do."

The priest smiled. "Then by the power vested in me by the town of Pallet, I now pronounce you husband and wife...." He turns and narrows his eyes at Misty. "You may kiss the REAL bride!" Ash and Violet turn to each other.

Misty gets up and charges towards the altar....

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"

But it's too late Ash and Violet kiss passionately. Misty suddenly doubles over, as a sharp pain racks her chest. Nurse Joy appears with Brock. "What's with her?"

Misty writhed on the church floor grasping her chest in pain. Nurse Joy leaned in to inspect her. "Hmmm......it looks like her heart is breaking......she's not gonna make it....."

Misty starts to cough up blood and her arms flail wildly.

Ash and his new wife walked up to Misty. "Who cares about HER????? NOBODY, THAT'S WHO!!! WAAAA!" Ash then does his little pose. Everybody in the church points at her and laughs mockingly. Some shouting, "wretch!" and "Nasty tomboy!"

Misty falls to the floor, and she can't even breathe...the pain in her chest gets too great, and the last thing she sees before she dies is Ash and Violet walking out of the church followed by the procession......the last thing she hears Ash say is......

"It's such a shame this didn't happen earlier........."

As the new couple walks out the church Misty reached her hand out to Ash. "Ash.....I.......loved....you......"

Her body goes numb as blackness takes over................Misty has died, all alone, in that torn white dress......her eyes tearful...her heart broken…...and nobody cared.......

***********
Misty lay in bed; tears trickled down the corner of her eyes, her mouth quivered as she whimpered in her sleep. A moment of silence passed before she let out a blood-curdling scream.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Ash, who was sleeping in the bed next to her, snaps awake immediately. "MISTY! What's wrong!"

Misty bursts into tears and started crying hysterically. Ash threw of his covers and ran over to her side. He instinctively threw his arms around her, terrified. "Misty! Misty what is it! CALM DOWN!" She buried her face in Ash's chest as she cried hysterically. Brock tumbled out of his bed and landed on his face. He raced over to the wailing Misty. "WHAT HAPPENED!?" Ash gave Brock a worried look. "IF I KNEW I WOULD OF TOLD YOU BY NOW!" Misty's muffled cries grew louder, as Ash could feel a large wetness grow on his shirt. Brock scratched his head. "Something must of scared her…..something bad." Ash sat on the bed and scooped Misty in his lap. Misty still buried her face on his shoulder as she continued to cry. Ash could feel her body shake as she took in large breaths, and occasionally hiccupped. He reached down and grabbed the blanket from the bed and wrapped her in it. From his perspective she looked like a little baby. Ash pulled her closer to him as a means to try and calm her down. He gently rocked back and forth, as he rubbed her back. "sshhhh…..it's okay baby

It's okay.....ssshhhh……….let it all out, baby.....let it all out."

Misty started to calm down but was still crying. Ash looked up at Brock. "Can you get Misty a glass of water please?" Brock nodded and quickly left the two alone. Misty finally stopped crying, she continued to bury her head into Ash. He reached down and kissed Misty's tear stained cheeks. "There, there…..are you going to be okay?"

Misty looked up to him. "I don't know…..I….I……wahhhhhhhahahahah!!" She began to cry AGAIN. Ash continued to rock her back and forth until she settled down again. "Misty, what's wrong? You never screamed like that......you have me worried now. Did you have a bad dream or something?"

"More like a horrible nightmare....I was so afraid.......I was.." Her mouth quivered as she suppressed the urge to cry. Ash kissed her forehead "do you want to talk about it?"

Misty rubbed her eyes. "I can't….it's to horrible!"

"If you tell me, you'll feel better" After a moment Misty took a deep breath and quickly told the events of her nightmare. Pausing at moments as she recalled the true horror of the dream. "And then you pointedatVioletandsaidyou loved…..her…INSTEAD OF ME!!!" Ash went wide-eyed. "Whaaaa! Violet, no way!" Misty continued to tell Ash of her nightmare, in one breath. " And Brock and Nurse Joy were there and they said that my heart was breaking then you and violet laughed at me and as you left you said it was…a shame a didn't die earlier!" The really surprised Ash. Misty held back a few choking tears. "And then I died …and….and… nobody cared! *Cough*" Ash rolled his eyes and turned Misty head to face his. "That's ridiculous, for one thing I love you and not violet, a lot of people care about you and…." Ash paused as he gazed into her eyes. He grasped her face and kissed her passionately. "I would never leave you." Misty finally stopped crying and gave Ash a weak smile. Brock gently rapped on the door and peeked his head in. Ash waved him in. "it's okay Brock, situation under control." Brock walked in and handed Misty a glass of water. She shakily took the glass and drank its contents. "Thanks..*Sniff*" Brock nodded and returned to his bed, he fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow. Ash and Misty stared at Brock and then back at each other. Ash looked at the clock. "Whoa…it's 1 in the morning." He looked back at Brock who was snoring loudly, suddenly remembering how tired he was. "That looks like a good idea." He turned his attention back to Misty, who was fast asleep in his arms. He gently brushed away a strand of hair. He held her close and leaned on the headboard. "I'll never leave you…. never." He closed his eyes and slept. (Never leave you……) Pikachu continued to sleep on the end of Ash's bed, oblivious to what just aspired.

**********

Misty awoke in the arms of Ash. He head was a little sore and her eyes were blood shot. She quietly lifted his arms of her and snuck into the bathroom. She turned on the light and looked into the mirror, she suppressed the urge to scream again. "What a night….." her hair was messy, she had bags under her eyes and she had raging cottonmouth. After a few minutes of brushing, washing and gurgling, she was back to her old self. "That's better, wouldn't want Ash to see me like that." She slightly shuddered at the recollection of the dream. "That was so weird, but it was just a dream, dreams aren't real right….right?" She got dressed and snuck out the room to get breakfast. She was heartily enjoying her bagel when two hands wrapped around her waist. She looked back to see Ash, with a worried expression on his face. "You startled me" He sat down next to her. "Sorry, how are you feeling?" Misty continued to nibble on her bagel. "I feel fine, it was just a dream." Ash smiled. "That's good, I'm glad you're alright." He reached for a bowl and the cereal. "Could you pass the milk please Misty?" Misty obliged. "Here you go, oh and Ash?" He looked up from his food. "Yeah?" She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. "Thank you." Ash blushed. "You welcome." They continued to eat breakfast. Pikachu soon walked up to their table carrying a ketchup bottle. "Morning buddy!" ash exclaimed. Pikachu groggily acknowledged Ash and began licking up the ketchup. Misty giggled "not a morning pokemon are we?" Pikachu ignored her and lapped up his breakfast. Brock stumbled over to the table and fell into his seat. Misty and Ash both had sweatdrops. "Morning Brock…..sleep well?" He mumbled something incoherent and leaned over to grab the cereal box. He quickly fell asleep and slammed his head on the table. Ash poked him with a straw. "uhh….Brock..waky waky." Brock slowly rose from the table, a napkin stuck to his forehead. The all laughed and finished eating. Brock advised that it was time they left Goldenrod. Ash and Misty reluctantly agreed. They had some good times in the city; truthfully they didn't want to leave such a magical place. But Ash was ready and willing to get to the Johto league. So that afternoon, they packed up and left. They headed out to route 34; not knowing where their next adventure would start. While walking the trio crossed paths with many interesting pokemon. Ash reached into his coat pocket and pulled out Dexter. He pointed it at a furry round pokemon scurrying around the ground. "I wonder what those are?" Ash said. The pokedex beep and a picture appeared on the red device. "Sentret….the guardian Pokemon….when sensing danger it lifts itself on its tail and emits a high pitch scream to warn other pokemon."

Ash withdrew his pokedex. "Wow a sentret, we don't have those back home, Johto really is different." Brock nodded. "That's Johto for you, new places, new pokemon, new gyms.." Ash stopped dead in his tracks. Misty ran into him. "Hey don't stop of all of sudden, what's wrong?" Ash turned to Misty, weird tear things running down his cheeks.

"I……I…..forgot to go to the GYM!!!" Brock and Misty fell over in stupidity. "what! How could you forget!" Misty screamed. Ash didn't answer, he just ran back to Goldenrod City as fast as his legs could carry him. Pikachu sighed. "pika pi…"

"well I guess we got a little sidetracked." Brock said. Misty sighed as well. "we better chase after him."

********

"urgh…..I'm sick of losing to those twerps!" Jessie yelled.

Team Rocket was sitting in their makeshift cabin huddling over a camp-oven, where a single turnip was being roasted. "I'm sick of having nothing to eat." James whined. Meowth sighed. "looks like it's turnip surprise again…..*sigh*"

"what's the surprise?" Jessie asked

Meowth poked at the turnip. "it's just a turnip" They all sighed and ate their dinner.

"when will we ever catch a break." James said.

"let's just hope the boss doesn't call." Just then the phone rang. "speak of the devil."

Jessie hesitantly walked over to the phone a placed the receiver to her ear, which was immediately blasted off the side of her head from the screams of their boss…..Giovanni.

~"Why haven't you delivered any pokemon!"~

"well, we've had some problems"

~"I am not pleased, Jessie."~

"It's not just me!"

~"I'm holding you all responsible for your incompetence!"~

James and Meowth watch Jessie as she kept the phone inches off her ear, they were 4 feet away from her and they could still hear what their boss was saying. After a few more minutes of being berated by Giovanni he slammed down the phone leaving Jessie with a red ear. She sulked back to the group and sat down. "We have 2 weeks to deliver a pokemon…or we're fired." James and Meowth gasped. "Fired! After all our loyal service!" James screamed. Meowth jumped up and scratched his face. "We're not fired yet! ya nincompoop! We have two weeks! I say let's go out there and show that Team Rocket still has what it takes!" Jessie jumped up. "yeah! Let's do it! Come on James!"

James reached down and rubbed his stomach. "but I'm hungry….."

Jessie rubbed her forehead. "shut up James."
"okay"

*********

Back at Goldenrod City Ash as finally located the Pokemon Gym. "gasp…..huh..huh…I….made…it.." It doubled over and collapsed on the pavement.

Brock ran up to Ash and began shaking him wildly. "Ash? Come on Ash, don't you want to battle?!" That woke him up. "yeah! I'm going to win a badge!" Brock walked toward the gym. "right after I rest here a moment." Brock fell over in stupidity. Misty grabbed his shirt collar. "come on Ash, get it together, if you win…..I'll give you a kiss." Ash jumped up and ran into the gym. "well that worked, come on Brock, let's get this over with." With that they entered the Goldenrod Gym. "wonder who the gym leader is"

********

Ash emerged into the gym stadium floor. It had the similar qualities as all the other gyms, the outline of the battlefield, the statues of pokemon and the many female trainers with small cute pokemon roaming about. ("wait a minute.") Ash looked into the gym and could see dozens of female trainers with pokemon such as Clefairy and Jigglypuff. "whoa, look at em all." Pikachu jumped on his shoulder. "pika?" Ash smiled. "lets do it buddy."

One of the trainers ran up to a girl attending a Jigglypuff. "excuse me but it seems we have a visitor." The girl looked up to see Ash and Pikachu. "I see, Robin, have the other clear the field, it seems I have a challenger." The trainer bowed and motioned for the other to leave.

"Welcome to Goldenrod Gym! I am Whitney, the Gym leader."

Ash nodded. "I am Ash from Pallet town, I wish to challenge you for a badge." At this moment Misty and Brock arrived in the gym. "very well Ash, we will have a 3 on 3, how's that sound?" Before Ash could answer, Brock ran in between the two. He grasped Whitney's hands and gazed lovingly into her eyes. "Hi there pretty lady my names Brock. How would you like to spend and eternity together? And I know I OWOWOWOW!!" Misty cut off Brock and dragged him away by his ear. Ash sweat dropped and scratched his head. "yeah…sounds find to me, lets get started!"

Whitney and Ash made their way to their respective spots in the battlefield. "okay here we go, a 3 on 3 battle, no time limit, begin!" Ash whipped his hat around and through his first pokeball. "Charizard Go!" The bright light subsided and the immense shape of Charizard appeared before them. Whitney frowned. "a Charizard huh, okay then. GO Miltank!"

"Miltank? What's that?"

********

Team Rocket emerged from the alleyway dressed in long black cloaks. Jessie pointed to a building across the road. "that's the place, there should be lots of pokemon in there."

James and Meowth nodded. "What better place to steal pokemon then the Goldenrod Gym!" They snuck around to the back and peered into a nearby window, what they saw almost took their breath away. "The twerp! WHY IS HE EVERYWHERE WE GO! This isn't fare!" The continued to watch as Ash went up against Whitney. His Charizard defeated Miltank and Whitney just called out a Clefairy. "Jessie, do you see what I see?"

"it's a Clefairy, imagine us giving the Boss such a rare Pokemon?" Jessie said. Meowth popped up. "we'd be on the Boss's good side and I could be the top Meowth!" James got excited. "well let's go get it!" Jessie held him back. "wait James, why should we do all the work, let the twerp tire it out and when it faints we can go in and steal it!"

James rubbed his hands together. "that's sounds delicious!" James' stomach growled. "speaking of delicious." Before James could finish his sentence he was cut off by a paper fan to the head, care of Jessie. "don't even mention food!" "sorry" he said meekly.

***********

Back in the Gym Ash as just won the second round finishing off the Clefairy with a massive flamethrower attack. In the stands Misty and Brock were cheering him on. "Ash is doing pretty good isn't he Brock." But he didn't hear her, he couldn't stop staring at Whitney. "wha….what did you say Misty?" Misty shrugged "your hopeless".

On the battlefield Ash was doing extremely well for himself, Whitney knew this as well. With Clefairy gone, she had one last chance, one last pokemon. She drew out her pokeball and hurled into the battlefield. "go WigglyTuff!" Just then a large blast occurred from outside. The entire Gym shook as the north wall of the gym crumbled to the ground in a smoldering heap. Ash and Whitney as a blow back of smoke and dust blew past them. Misty tried to calm down Togepi as Brock slipped and tumbled down the stairs. "you okay Brock?" Misty asked. He painfully got up. "just fine, what was that!?" Ash looked up to see…. "TEAM ROCKET!"

"That's right Twerp, we're back!" Ash grabbed onto Pikachu defensively. "There's no way your getting Pikachu!"

"We don't want that little rodent, we're here for Clefairy!" Whitney ran over to Ash. "Are these friends of yours?" Ash shook his head. "They're more like enemies, what should we do?" Whitney winked at Ash. "Don't worry we'll take care of em." Ash looked confused. "We?" Team Rocket jumped through the hole where the wall used to be and faced off with Whitney. "Prepare yourself! We aren't leaving without your Clefairy!" Whitney brought her fingers to her mouth and whistled loudly. "let's get em girls!"

Meowth looked to see a dozen trainers run out into the battlefield. "oh-oh, dis looks bad!"

The trainers each threw out their pokeballs, revealing Jigglypuffs, Clefairys, and a weird pink dog looking pokemon. Ash took out his pokedex. "what's that?"

~"Snubble……..the pit bull pokemon………..It has an active playful nature. Many women love to frolic with it because of its affectionate ways."~ Misty bonked Ash in the head. "now's not the time to check Dexter!" Jessie withdrew her pokeball containing Arbok. "it will take more then that pathetic group of puffy pokemon to stop Team Rocket. Go Arbok!" Whitney laughed and recalled Wigglytuff. "they may be cute, but they pack a punch! Alright girls attack!"

"ha! That's what you think, do it Meowth!" Jessie screamed.

"cointinly! Take this!" Meowth reached behind him and took out a remote control. But before Meowth could push the button Pikachu hit him with a huge thunder attack. "Meowth! Can't you do anything right!" Jessie screamed "gimmie that thing!" Ash dove to stop her but it was to late, she pressed it. "haha! Prepare yourself!!" The ground began to shake with incredible intensity as a huge metallic object rose in front of them. The girls began to scream as their pokemon huddled together. Ash and Misty held onto each other for dear life as Brock held onto Whitney. Team Rocket continued to laugh maniacally. "it's all over!!" The huge metallic object swung open to reveal an immense gun. "Ash!" "Misty!"

"pika PI!!" "goodbye TWERPS!!!HAHAHAHAAHAH…..FIRE!!!"

Everyone braced for impact as a huge blast resonated throughout the gym. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!"

"……………"

They all looked up to see a small net shoot out of the cannon and fly towards them. They were all easily able to dodge it. Everyone fell over in stupidity while team Rocket just stood there, staring. Jessie slammed Meowth into the ceiling. "what the HELL was that!!"

James scratched his nose. "ya know, we really should stop using that plan, it doesn't seem to work." Ash and Misty released each other as Whitney shoved Brock off her. Ash took 3 pokeballs from his belt and threw them into the battlefield. "Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Charizard GO!" Jessie grabbed Meowth and jumped into their balloon. "we'll forget about Clefairy, but will settle for Pikachu!" James took out a pair of extendo arms. "now you see it!" The arms suddenly sprang forward and snagged Pikachu. "now you don't!"

Ash ran to try and stop James. "NO! Pikachu!" Jessie and James wrapped their arms around each other. "we finally got Pikachu!" Ash was about to get Charizard to fly up there but Whitney held him back. "I'll handle this. Go Clefairy!" Out popped Clefairy, it bounced out the gaping hole in the wall and stood below the Team Rocket balloon. "okay Clefairy……metronome!!"

"Clefairy!" It pointed its fingers skyward as it began to move them back and forth in a hypnotic way. Ash, Misty and Brock looked on in awe. Clefairy then began to glow an eerie blue. At that time the team Rocket balloon stopped moving. "what's going on? Where'd all this blue come from?" Meowth began to shake. "oh-oh, I think Team Rocket's…"

"CLEEEFAIRY!" They all looked up to see the Team Rocket balloon implode on itself and let lose a thunderous explosion.

James, Jessie and Meowth hurtled through the sky, charred and burnt and pokemonless. "IS BLASTING OFF AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Suddenly falling out of the cloud of smoke, Pikachu appeared, unscathed. Ash ran at top speed and dived for Pikachu. He caught him in mid air and landed on his face. Ash lifted his head and spit out a few blades of grass as he held his buddy in front of him. "you okay?" Pikachu did his little pose "pika!" As Brock and Misty helped him up all the pokemon were recalled and they reentered the gym. Ash shook hands with Whitney. "thanks, for your help, that attack was awesome, you're so lucky to have a Clefairy." Whitney nodded.

"I have to say Ash, I was quite impressed of how you put yourself in danger to save you Pokemon, you must really care about them. Hmmmm…tell you what, why don't we finish our battle were we left off?" Ash brushed the grass stains off his shirt and gave her a thumbs up. "I'm ready when you are!

*********

Team rocket sailed through the air and slammed into hillside located on the outskirts of Goldenrod City. The slowly lifted themselves out of the crater they produced and collapsed on the ground. Jessie rubbed her shoulder. "Well, that didn't work, why is the that twerp everywhere we go?!" James sat up holding his head. "Well, how long do we have now?" Meowth looked up to the both of them after licking his wounds. " A week and 6 days left…*sigh*" Jessie painfully stood up and cracked her back. "We can't give up now, we're Team Rocket!" James started poking at the ground sadly. "But we always lose…and I'm Hung..ERGH!." Out of nowhere Jessie's foot imprinted itself on James's face. "it is very important to your future that you do not finish that sentence." James fell over backward into the crater. Meowth sighed. "I'm sick of all these petty robberies that don't work I say If we want to impress the boss we hit something big, something no one has been able to get the Boss!" Jessie raised her fists. "yeah! Like…like…….um….what could we get him?" Meowth paused. "um……I don't know."

"well thank you for that rare moment of incompetence." Meowth Jumped up and smacked his paws together. "that's it! Something rare!" James intervened. "but we already tried stealing a Clefairy and that didn't work." An evil grin crept across Meowth's face. "I have the perfect pokemon we could poach!"

James suddenly realized something. "ya know, we never did do our motto! Maybe that's why we lost."

**********

"Congratulations Ash you have proven yourself in battle and for it I award you this." Whitney handed Ash a square golden badge. "It's the plain badge, wear it with pride." Ash took into his hand. "The plain badge….alright! My first Johto league badge!" Brock whapped him on the back. "Good going man!" "Thanks, hey Brock where's Misty?" Brock spun him around. "Right behind you bud." Misty was standing just inches away from Ash. "Well, you won, here's you consolation prize" She wrapped her arms around his neck. Ash was grinning like an idiot, but before he could receive his prize the sounds of screams ruined the mood. They looked over to see Brock running around like a lunatic asking the female trainers for their phone numbers. "PLEASE GIRLS JUST ONE NUMBER!….PLEASEEEEE!!!"

"Idiot" Misty exclaimed under her breath. Ash titled her face to meet his. "Now how about that kiss?" Everyone stopped to watch as Ash and Misty shared another passionate kiss. Whistles and whooping sounds could be heard from the gathering crowd around them. Ash and Misty broke the kiss and blushed furiously. Brock glided over to Whitney and pursed his lips. "I don't think so Brock." Brock sank to his knees and poked at the ground. "it isn't fair….."

An hour later they were back on the trail. "okay where to now Brock?" Ash asked.

Brock took out his trusty map and after a few minutes of skimming the pages, put it away. "I say we should head over to Azalea Town. There's another Gym there and it's only a few days away." Ash and Misty agreed. "We just have to pass through Ilex Forest." Misty sighed. "not another forest!" Ash laughed.

"hey you guys wanna listen to the radio while we walk?"

"yeah that would make the trip seem faster." explained Misty. After fiddling with the Pokegear Ash finally turned on the radio. "hmmm, nothing but static…oh wait here something." Ash turned the tuner to a news radio station. Some guy named Sturm Blitzen went on the air. ~"reports are coming in from all over the orange islands, and native settlers on the island of shimoutee have confirmed that the three legendary birds, Articuno, Moltres and Zapdos have left the islands of fire, ice and lighting."~ Ash, Misty and Brock all stopped and stared at the Pokedex. "What did he say?" Misty asked. The report continued. ~"some are speculating why the birds felt it necessary to leave. But there is no known reason why the birds left in three different directions. In the studio with us we have respected Pokemon researcher Prof. Oak from Pallet Town."~ Ash couldn't believe it. "it's the Professor!" Misty shushed him so they could hear the report.

~"Professor what are you thoughts?" ~

~ "Thank you Sturm, I feel that the only reason that the Legendary Birds would leave like this is that they're searching for something. How else would they be compelled to leave?" ~

~ "Prof. Oak, last time there was a situation with the Legendary birds when the world was almost destroyed, why hasn't there been a change in nature?" ~

~ "Simply because the birds are now harmonized, the energy force that flows between them has not been disturbed. When the incident occurred when they where captured the energy force was disrupted and so began the imbalance in power. Now that they are in peace with each other, there is no need to think that a situation like that will ever happen again."~

~ "Do you believe the legendary birds will return to the islands?" ~

~ "I am certain after they have found what they are searching for they will return, the question is when." ~

~ "I thank you Prof for being here." ~

~ "you welcome" ~

~*click!*~ Ash switched off the radio and stared dumbly at Misty and Brock. "can you believe that?" Brock turned to look in the sky. "I wonder where they are now." A cool breeze swept past them, making them shiver. "Let's get going, shall we?" Misty said. They turned back to the trail and resumed their journey. Ash looked back to see Pikachu was still back there. "hey Pikachu! Come on where going!" But Pikachu didn't move, his eyes were fixed on one spot in the sky. Ash stomped his feet on the ground. "EARTH TO PIKACHU!!" Pikachu finally snapped out of its trance. "Pi?" Pikachu ran to catch up with them, stopping momentarily to look back to the sky. "pika pi………"

From miles away, deep in the heart of a mountain range, a single entity is trapped beneath a power it can't defeat. "chosen one……………...................it begins"

To be continued

Stay tuned for part 4

Titan of ice - proposed finishing date –June 12

Authors note: please review, but please no flames. If you need to flame me I'd rather you e-mail me the flame.