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Part 5 : The Generation Gap

Ash was on top the world, he had his girl by his side, a legendary pokemon on his belt and fresh air filled his lungs. He thought life could not have gotten any better then this. It was a beautiful day, the sun was high overhead as the air was warm and moist. The trio stared out into the open plains as they watched the Tauros and Miltank roam around the grassy knolls. Ash and misty held hands as they happily strolled down the gravel walkway. Brock was listening to his walk-man and singing off-key as he went. "Oooops !!, I diD iT AgAinnn……I made YOU BeeelievEE, WherE MoRe then Just FrieNDs!!" To Ash, nails on a chalkboard were more esthetically pleasing than Brocks singing. They tried to block out the sounds of Brocks wailing to focus more on each other. Misty leaned against ash as they walked, momentarily reaching up to kiss. Pikachu giggled happily to see his master and his best friend together. Pikachu knew that one day it would come to pass. Ash peered ahead of him, he could barely make out the shape of the city gates in front of him. "sweet, we're almost there." Brock continued to dance about thrusting his hips and waving his hands in the air. "I've SeEn sO ManY PlaCEs, I'Ve seen So MAny FacEs , BUt notin CompAres to ThesE BlUe and YelLOW Purple HillS!!!" Ash reached into his pockets and pulled out an unused Kleenex. He tore of a few strips, rolled them into a wad and stuck them in his ears. "aahhhh, that's better."

Misty took the Kleenex from him. "does it work?" Ash raised his eyebrow. "WHAT!!" Misty shrugged and then playfully whapped him in the face. Brock began frolicking all over the pastures and jumping of rocks. "IT DOESN"T MATTER…BOUT THE CLOTHES I WEAR OR THE ICE AROUND MY NECK!! IT DOESN"T MATTER!! BOUT THE CAR I DRIVE OR ……….SOMETHING…. something….Um ……DO YOU EVER WONDER WHY THIS MUSIC GETS YOU HIGH!!" It was at that moment that Togepi started crying. A huge percussion blast swept through the immediate area. It distorted Brocks Walkman as high frequency feedback pounded his eardrums. "EEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWW!!!" He ripped the headphones off and massaged his ears. Misty calmed down Togepi and turned to glare at him. "Look what you did!" Brock returned his Walkman to his backpack. "Sorry, I didn't know I was that loud." Misty huffed and continued to walk with Ash. "So what are we going to do when we reach the town?" Ash looked at her confused. "WHAT?!" Misty slammed him in the head with her mallet. "Take the Kleenex out of your ears!" Pikachu rolled on the ground with fits of laughter. "Oh……sorry." Misty shoved the boys back onto the path. "Can we get a move on I'm starving!"

Brock raised an eyebrow. "Hmmmm, it's usually Ash that says that. Hey Misty I think Ash is rubbing off on you." Ash leaned against Misty. "You got that right!" Misty giggled and reached down for Ash's hand. She traced up his arm to the bandage adorning his arm. It had been the morning after their adventure with Articuno. Even though Azalea town was only a mere 5 km away, Ash was to injured and was physically as well as mentally exhausted. That night Brock whipped out his First Aid kit and tended to his arm. After cleaning it, it turned out to be okay except for a few scrapes and a gash that need stitching, or else permanent scarring would occur. They agreed to set up camp and make the finally lag of the journey to Azalea town early in the morning. And in all this time they had yet to eat something.

Ash rubbed the slightly reddened bandage on his arm and entered Azalea town, wanting to get to a hospital. But Misty was persistent, when they had made their way to downtown she made the boys find a restaurant and eat claming that Ash's arm wouldn't go anywhere for 10 minutes. Although Ash had the intention of getting his arm looked at, his stomach got the best of him and they all settled down in a nearby café. After they finished ordering breakfast the waitress gathered their menus and disappeared into the kitchen. Misty nursed her orange juice as Ash nursed his arm. Carefully propping it on top of his bundled up jacket. A few minutes passed until their meals came, they quickly began to devour the eggs, bacon and sausages leaving the fruits and vegetables sitting in a puddle of syrup.

Pikachu had dumped the entire contents of a ketchup bottle onto a plate and was happily lapping it up.

Misty fed Togepi part of her breakfast. Which it readily enjoyed, waving its hands back on forth and jumping up and down. Brock stopped eating a moment so he could undo his belt. He let out a small moan as his paunch spilled out of his shirt. After eating they all pushed their plates to the center of the table and for the first time since they started, began to breathe once again. Brock patted his bulging belly and picked at his teeth, trying to get the last few morels of food out. They all heaved a great satisfied sigh and leaned back in their booth.

"that was great." Misty stated.

Ash arched his back and reached down to his pokébelt. They all heard a 'click' as he brought up the pokeball containing Articuno. He placed it on the table and stared at it.

There was an odd silence between the three. Misty started to chew on her straw as she gazed upon the ball. "soooo……..how did you catch Articuno again?" Ash threw his hand over her mouth. "Shhhuuuusssshh!! I don't want all these people to find out I have Articuno. I don't want allota attention." Ash whispered

Misty scoffed. "Since when do not want attention?"

"yeah….but I don't need that kind of attention."
Brock leaned in. "what kind of attention would that be exactly?"

Ash waved his finger to get them all to lean in.

"it's the kind of attention that gives you no private life, the kind of attention that the press will hound you all the time. Remember when I came up flying with Articuno, all those rescue people saw me flying. And to make matters worse, there was a News crew there, I pray to god they didn't get any incriminating video. So lets keep it quite if we can for now."

They all nodded and leaned back into their seats. Just then the waitress walked over and gave them the bill. "would you like a take out box?" Ash jumped up and threw his arms in the air. "I DIDN"T CATCH A LEGENDARY POKEMON ALRIGHT!!!" The waitress toppled over as the entire diner turned to look at Ash. Misty fell over in stupidity as Brock messaged his forehead. "oh yeah…….keep it real quite." Ash sweat dropped as he casually sat back down and fiddled with his spoon. "no thank you, we just pay the check and go." Ash hastily slapped down some bills, grabbed Misty's hand and ran out of the diner. Brock grabbed his backpack and tried one last time to get the waitress's number, unsuccessfully though. They ran down the busy street and stopped outside a newspaper stand.

"Smooth Ash………. so now what?" Brock asked.

Misty rubbed her skin. "I could use a shower, how about finding a pokemon Center."

Brock nodded his head. "I agree, my breath hasn't been all that great lately." He exclaimed his point by breathing into his hand and waffling it up to his nose. He began hacking and cringed as a few tears fell from the corner of his squinted eyes. "*COUGH!* ergh……see what I mean." Both Misty and Brock were about leave when Ash poked Misty in the ribs. "Excuse me!" Misty put her hands on her hips. "what is it now?" Ash trusted his bandaged arm in front of them. "Can we please go to a Hospital?!" Misty's face reddened. "oh yeah…….come on lets go."

They left in search of a hospital, leaving the newspaper stand behind. Little did they know that the day's newspaper had an interesting story. An old man walked up to the stand and picked one up, he look at the picture and read the title.

"hmmm…………'Boy catches Bird'……this is highly interesting."

He handed a dollar to the stand owner and continued on his way, carrying a box as he went.

************

Giovanni leaned back in his executive chair as he stared down team Rocket and the pokemon that was slumped over on his desk. "what…….. is that?" He said pointing. Meowth patted the pokemon's back and cleared its throat. "I would like to introduce to you one of the rarest pokemon in da world! Preeeesenting……………Smeargle!"

Trumpets blared as Team Rocket hit they're pose as a big 'R' rose in the background. Giovanni stared at Smeargle as he sat back in his chair, with a very unsatisfied expression on his face. Smeargle sat there, with a big dopey grin and a tail smothered in green paint. Its eyes had dark circles as well as a blank vacant gaze to them. Its limbs were spindly, and a single tuff of hair adorned its head. Giovanni poked it with a pen. At first it did nothing but it slowly raised to its feet. It grabbed onto its tail and started painting Giovanni's desk with the paint on its tail. Giovanni slammed his fist on the desk.

"Get it off!"

Jessie quickly snatched it up, stopping it from furthering damaging his desk.

"What does it do!"

James was about to speak but no words came out, mainly because he didn't knew.

"WHAT DOES IT DO!"
Jessie became defensive. "but it's a pokemon isn't it? And it's rare, that's what you always wanted right………..who cares what it does."

Giovanni became irate. "YOU FOOLS!"
James and Jessie clasped onto each in fear.

Giovanni got up from his desk and motioned for the two to follow him. A motorized door opened from out of a wall. They looked in as lights struggled to turn on down a long corridor. As they walked in they noticed that that the walls were covered with cages of multiple sizes and makes. Inside those cages where a plethora of pokemon, all of which seemed to be very sad and cramped in there small prisons. Team Rocket followed Giovanni to the end of the hallway where there was a red curtain blocking the view of the read wall. Giovanni pushed a few buttons on a nearby keypad. The plush red curtain raised into the ceiling, revealing four stone slabs underneath. Giovanni moved to the center and gazed upon the ancient stone tablets.
"It's time I let you in on why Team Rocket steals Pokemon. Maybe you will have a better understanding and try harder in the future."
Large spotlights shone from the ceiling and landed on the ancient writings. Giovanni dramatically raised his hands to them. "these hold the answers, the destiny of the pokemon……….these stone tablets hold the future………and it is grim."

Jessie, James and Meowth took out bowls of popcorn as they sat and listen to their boss.

"I now I will read from the scribe" Giovanni was raised up on a extending platform as he moved towards the stone. A computer screen to the left of them blew up the size the ancient writings as it analyzed the stones. "So shall it be known throughout the world………when the planets are aligned …………may the time come for the chosen one to rise against the darkness of the world…………A battle shall be fought between the wicked and the honorable…………the world will stand still as the titans fight against the evil…………the evil which has no name…..no identity……..no mercy………..so it begins……." Giovanni lowered himself back down to the ground.

"this is all we have of the ancient writings. It is believed there is another segment that has yet to be discovered. But it doesn't take a scholar to see that a war is brewing. And I Giovanni will not be defeated by this 'evil'. So this is why we steal pokemon…….it is not for personal financial gain…….but the forming of an army…….an army, which will defend me and the name of Team Rocket for eons to come! It has never been clearer to me, or clearer to anyone else……..it is obvious…….I am the chosen one."

James, Jessie Meowth stared up at their boss. "you?"

Giovanni slammed his fist into the control panel. "OF COURSE ME!! I am the most powerful man in pokemon history……no one can stop me and it is blatantly obvious that I am the one mentioned in the scribes! It is intended that this evil be directed towards me, but I will be ready! For when the day comes I shall rise above all others and claim my throne!!"

James raised his hand. "what does this have to do with the Smeargle we caught….I MEAN STOLE!!"

Giovanni walked up to them and stared down the Smeargle. "this…this thing cannot help me defeat the evil that threatens me!! it does nothing, it is useless, I need powerful pokemon! Rare or not!! DO YOU UNDERSTAND!!!!!"

Team Rocket sadly nodded their heads. Giovanni wiped his brow and straightened his suit. "now my offer still stands……catch a pokemon that I can use in one week or YOUR FIRED!!"

Team Rocket cringed at Giovanni's outburst and they slowly sunk back out of his range. Jessie looked down at the Smeargle they caught. "what about this thing?"
Giovanni walked back to his desk. "you may have it, just get it out of my sight!"

Team Rocket sadly left the office leaving Giovanni seething in his chair. "why did I ever hire those three." He sighed and it was at that time he saw the paint blotches all over his two thousand dollar araucaria mahogany desk. He sighed and leaned over to his intercom.

"Lorie, could come in here……and bring some varsol with you" he leaned back in his chair and massaged his temples. He raised his eyebrows and leaned back to the intercom.

"oh and Lorie, can you get rid of the coffee stain as well?"

************

Ash and co were exiting the Hospital, where Ash was treated. He inspected his arm, it the bandage was smaller and cleaner and it wasn't as painful before. Happy that that was out of the way he could now focus on the task at hand, getting another badge. But Misty again ruined that idea as she again stressed that none of them had bathed in a week. With that notion they all headed for the pokemon center. Ash also realized that his pokemon needed rejuvenation. Azalea town was bustling as the tried to make their way down the busy streets.

Ash was almost pushed over as a man in a suit blew past him talking on his cell phone.

"hey watch it!"

The trio were squished together as they as well as 100 other people around them waited for the light to turn green.

Brock struggled to get his arms free "ergh….hey watch where you're putting your hand pal!"

The light turned green and the three were almost carried away in the sea of bodies. They all managed to get inside a alleyway for a breather.

"this is insane, why is it so busy?!" Misty asked.

Brock leaned up against the brick wall "is something going on that we missed?"

The three just wanted to get to the pokemon center but it took them 20 minutes to walk 3 blocks and the Center was still 14 blocks away. Ash sighed. "we'll never get there." He looked at his watch. "its already getting late…..it'll close in an hour." Brock gazed into the horizon. "we were in the hospital for 3 hours……geez….where does the day go?" He breathed into his hand and whiffed it up to his nose again. The hair on the back of his neck stood up as he passed out into a collection of garbage cans. "*COUGH* whoaaaa…….How am I going to talk to girls with breath like this!" Ash thought for a moment, he looked at the busy streets, then down at Pikachu. Then a light bulb went off inside Ash's head. "AHA! Lightning….just struck my brain!"

Misty sank to the ground. "that must hurt."

Ash reached behind him and plucked a pokeball from his belt. "we can just fly!" Misty and Brock stared dazed at Ash. Misty forced the pokeball down out of everyone's sight. "What! Are you crazy! Letting out Articuno in the middle of the city, what are you thinking!"

Ash whipped his hat around. "I have an idea."
"Hmmmm?"

Out in the busy streets of Azalea the townspeople where trying to get home and close the business of the day. Then suddenly the air around all of them got foggy. Over several seconds it got increasingly thicker and thicker. So dense in fact, people couldn't see 4 inches in front of them. Cries of confusion and bewilderment could be heard all around them. Seconds later the fog vanished as soon as it had come. The townspeople, although confused continued on their day, thinking it was just the unpredictable fall weather.

Unbeknownst to them, high above the wondering eyes of the city, Ash, Misty, Pikachu and Brock were riding on the back of Articuno. Ash was amazed at the unbelievable view before him. "See…. using Articuno's Mist attack concealed out exit and the night sky will keep us obscured from view!" Misty held onto Ash as Togepi was kept snuggled in her backpack. "I have to hand it to you, it was a great idea………you okay back there Brock?!"

"just fine!"
Brock had again been chosen to ride at the very back. He had nothing to hold onto as Articuno flew through the air with the purest grace. Ash spotted the pokemon center ahead of them. "hang on Brock I see it!"

Ash leaned forward to speak easier to Articuno. "land right over there!"

Articuno let out shrill cry as it tucked in its wings and dive-bombed towards the back of the pokemon Center. Again within inches of hitting the ground Articuno opened its wings and caught the air, sending them into a spine shattering halt. All three panted as they oxygen returned to there lungs. Misty shakily got off of Articuno. "I think my heart is in my spleen ….."

Ash quickly got off, followed by Brock, he brought out his pokeball and walked up to Articuno. He ruffled its chest feathers. "Thanks Articuno, I'll have nurse joy take a look at you in a minute." With that Ash recalled Articuno into the pokeball and rejoined it to his belt. The three snuck their way around to the front of the building hoping that no one saw their dramatic entry. Pikachu ran to the sliding glass door leading to the pokemon center's lobby.

Ash exhaled. "Good, nobody saw us"

Upon entering they were once again greeted by a Nurse Joy. Brock was about to run up to her but Misty made mention of his foul breath and suggested he wait. As hard as it was for Brock he maintained control as he returned her greeting.

Ash plopped Pikachu on the counter along with his other pokeballs. "scuse me Nurse Joy?"
"Hmmm?"

"are you related to the nurse joy in Goldenrod city?"
Joy gave Ash her award-winning smile. "I'm the second cousins best friend uncle's sisters father's cousins roommate to the Nurse Joy in Goldenrod City"

They all sweat dropped as they wondered how that made her related.

Joy covered her mouth as she began to laugh. "sorry, just kidding……I'm her 3rd cousin."

They all had a giggle and soon got back to the task at hand.

"Nurse Joy, could you revitalize my pokemon for me?"

Nurse joy smiled and gathered his pokeballs. "of course, would you two like me to check your pokemon as well?"

Misty and Brock both nodded as they threw in their pokeballs with Ash's. Nurse joy walked threw the door leading to the lab, Pikachu sat on top of the pile. Leaving Ash, Misty and Brock all alone in the quite lobby. Their backpacks dropped to the ground as they all slumped into a row of chairs, instantly falling asleep. Misty leaned against Ash, she then started to slip down of his shoulder and flopped over onto Ash's lap. He stirred but remained asleep.

Joy had just finish with Brock's pokemon and was about to begin with Ash's pokemon. One by one she put the pokeball on the revitalizer. She wheeled her chair over to a computer, with a few strokes of the keys the machine turned on and hummed loudly.

The computer monitor flickered as she read the bio's of the Ash's pokemon.

"hmmmmmmm……………let's see………Charizard………….level 54…..impressive." She stared at intently at the monitor as the data poured onto the screen.

"okay………Squirtle…level 34…….Bulbasaur…….level 29…"
She looked over her shoulder to see Pikachu sitting on the examination table, picking at its toes.

She smiled at looked back to the screen. "okay next………….what……"

She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her eyes. She looked back up at the screen, 5 minutes later the initial shock sunk in and she screamed, quite loudly as it woke up the three sleeping trainers in the lobby. Ash snapped his neck upright as he jumped off his chair, and in doing so sent Misty crashing to the ground in a heap. Brock was still curled in a small ball on a chair, dreaming of Officer Jenny. "oh, Officer Jenny you can lock me up any day!" Ash stumbled around and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, reached over and shoved Brock off his chair. Misty was sprawled out on the floor, half asleep. He walked over and picked her up, sat her down and shook her awake. She soon came to and smacked her mouth, trying to get that layer of icky film of her tongue. "what…… is it Ash?" She placed her hand to her mouth and let out a yawn. Which triggered a chain reaction that made Ash and Brock yawn as well.

"did you hear a scream?"

Misty blinked as her eyes adjusted to the light. "no………why."

Brock walked up to the front desk and looked around for Nurse Joy. "what kind of a scream did you hear?" He asked. Ash thought a moment. "A loud one." Brock fell over …..in stupidity.

"I meant Male or Female!!"

Ash rubbed the back of his head. "it was fema…….where's nurse Joy?!" he yelled.

And as soon as he said it Nurse Joy appeared in the doorway of the examination room, steadying herself on the frame. She was paler than she normally was and eyes where wide open and they had a dazed look to them. She slowly walked over to the desk carrying Ash's pokeballs. She set them down and stared at Ash. He looked behind him, at Misty, then Brock then at Nurse joy, then looked behind him again. "…….what?"

"you…..you…….have………..A……Art…….uuuhhhhh." With that she passed out and crumpled over onto the desk. They all stared at her. Brock picked her up and heroically held her in his arms. "nurse JOY! NURSE JOY SPEAK TO ME!! parting is such sweet sorrow…..thus with a kiss I die…" Brock pursed his lips and leaned in to kiss Nurse Joy but instead smooched the sole of Misty's shoe as she kicked him square in the face. "oWW!!!"

Ash moved over to the pokeballs strewn on the front counter. "What happened……….oh wait…….maybe I should of told her about my little secret."

Misty returned from the examination room carrying Pikachu and the rest of their pokeballs. "that must have been a shocker, seeing the name Articuno on her screen"
Just then they all heard the spot padding of little feet moving across the floor. They turned to see a Chansey standing over them. She looked at Ash, then Misty, Then at Brock who was holding an unconscious Nurse Joy. Its face said it all as it reached out to Joy. "Chanseeeeeee!!"

Brock and Chansey began to play tug of war with Nurse joy, literally. Ash quickly pulled chansey away and kneeled down in front of it. "Chansey, it seems Nurse Joy worked to hard today, she just fell asleep, why don't you help us take her to her room to rest. Chansey's anger dispersed as she grudgingly nodded and motioned for them to follow.

After they laid the catatonic Nurse Joy to bed they all snuck out thinking it was best if they didn't stay over that night, with the trouble their presence has already caused. They all stepped into the night air and cringed at how cold it was, and how tired they were.

Togepi yawned and withdrew into its shell. Misty yawned "Can't stay awake…….must sleep….."

Ash propped her up as they walked down the now deserted streets of Azalea town. Brock however threw on his headphones and began dancing. Ash sweat dropped. "where does he get his energy from?"

He pranced about the empty streets and twirled around the lampposts.

"HE MET HER DOWN AT THE OLD MOULON ROUGE……STRUTTING HER STUFF ON THE STREET!!"
Ash sighed "it never ends does it."

He turned his attention back at Brock whom at the moment was making a complete fool of himself.

"It was a good thing no one sees him, oh, except for that old man over there…….the old man which BROCK IS WAY TO CLOSE TO……..HEY WATCH OUT!!"

Brock jumped a manhole cover and grabbed onto a low hanging tree branch.
"ALL MY SISTERS YEA…HUH?….WAAAAAA!!!!HEADS UP!!"
His fingers slipped off the branch and he was sent hurtling towards the unsuspecting old man. Ash cringed as he and Misty heard the sickening smack as the two collided. He slowly opened his eyes to see Brock sticking tail–end up in the hedge lining the street. The old man was lying on his back and the box he was carrying was on its side with its contents skewed all over the sidewalk. Ash and Misty ran to the aid of the old man leaving Brock to struggle his way out of the bushes.

Ash helped him sit up. "sir, are you alright?"

The old man seemed dazed but uninjured. He cracked his neck and fixed his glasses. "yeah I'm okay, this old body is still resilient." And old he was, if Ash had to guess he would say he was nearing 75 or 80 years old. The old man jumped to his feet and stretched his back. He looked down to the ground and saw his stuff spilled everywhere.

"oh my, I've made quite a mess haven't I?"
He was about to clean up his stuff when Ash waved his hands widely in the air.
'No, no , no! We'll do it!"

He got his knees and collected the eschewed items. Each one he picked up was more interesting then the last. A brush, a rock hammer, several books on rock removal, some plaster, and a few dozen file's. He put them all in the box and handed them to the old man.

"You have some neat things there, what are they for?"

"why they're for digging fossils of course."

"Fossils?"
The old man reached in his pocket and pulled out a small rock and handed it to Ash.

"pokemon Fossils to be exact."

Ash moved the rock around in his hand. "what is it?"

"fossilized pokemon manure."
"WAAA!!" he quickly handed the fossil to Misty who in turn gave it back to the old man.

Ash wiped his hands on pants. "by the way, my names Ash." He stuck out his hand, the old man gave his and they shared a hearty handshake.

"My name is Grant, am a Poké-archeologist."
Misty finally got around to helping Brock out of the hedge. "Poké-archeologist?"

"yes miss, I study and try to solve the ultimate mystery….why are pokemon here?"
Ash laughed. "that's easy! To capture and train!"

Misty sighed but the old man laughed, quite heartily.

"Hahahaha! It's been ages since I last laughed, you know, you kids are okay…..say….why aren't you kids at home in bed?"
"Ash opened his Jacket to reveal his first Johto league badge. "we're on a Pokemon Journey, this is my friend Brock…..the human Mac truck." Brock embarrassingly hung his head as he reached out to shake hands.

"and this is my girlfriend, Misty." Misty blushed furiously. She had never heard Ash mention her to anyone of being his girlfriend, it sounded good to her.

("Ash's girlfriend…..I like that.")

They al took turns shaking hands and they helped Grant pick up his box.

Grant looked at his watch and noted the time. "11:30, oh my it is late, well since you are miles from home and have no place to stay, you can stay at my house tonight, I would quite like the company of three fine, bright children as yourselves."

They all happily accepted Grants offer as they followed the old timer down the still vacant streets of Azalea town.

*********

"welcome to my humble abode"

The trio step into a huge 2000 square foot house, nicely furnished, but with a heavy old person smell that almost knocked Ash off his feet. Ash looked at Misty who tried desperately not to breath threw her nose, they shared a glance, knowing what the other was thinking. "don't say anything" Grant led them to the shower and the spare room. He took out several blankets and pillows from a closet and handed them out. He brought in a small basket and placed a pillow in it to serve as a bed for Pikachu. He brought them all a snack and wished them a good night. He closed the door and left them to search around their surroundings. The color of choice was brown, more brown and then a hint of gray in all the objects in the room. It was so dusty you could swipe your finger in the air and end up with lint. Ash picked up a little statue. "this stuff is as old as he is."

Misty jumped up on a bed and instantly bounced off, crashing to the floor. "these beds are harder than the rock he digs." Brock sat down in an easy chair, seconds later a spring shot through the fabric and nailed him in the backside. "OWW!! The furniture is falling apart like he is to!" Ash put the statue down and glared at Misty and Brock. "you should be thankful he's letting us stay here!" Misty looked down at her Togepi who was still sleeping. She yawned as her eyelids suddenly became very heavy. She fell down in the bed sinking her face in the pillow. Soon after, loud muffled snores could be heard coming from her bed. Ash yawned as well and looked at the time. "man it's late, see ya in the morning….." He flopped on the bed next to Misty and snuggled up close. Brock dived under the covers and picked up his dream of officer Jenny where he had left off.

Pikachu watched as they all slept peacefully. He saw how close Ash and Misty were. He made a promise that he would protect them, the best it could. But all the events of the day made their impact on little Pikachu as he laid down in its makeshift bed to sleep.

*********

deep in the recesses of a cave the creature stirred in its entrapment.

"chosen one, do not forget me……….the answers are coming………………..help me……….we must defeat the evil…………………….we must assemble the others……….find me."

*********

The sunlight blasted through the shades and struck Ash in his face. The light was warm and soothing but when he opened his eyes, the intense light was like needles in his corneas "AAAAHHHHHHH! IM BLIND!!" As he rolled around in agony Misty threw the covers off her and got up to check on Togepi. To her surprise Togepi wasn't where she left it. In fact Brock and Pikachu were gone to. She groggily looked at her watch. It was one o'clock in the afternoon. She and Ash had slept for 11 hours. She stumbled across the room and opened the door into the hallway. She could hear people talking nearby. But she was to disoriented that she had no idea where to look first.

Ash's eyes finally adjusted and he walked out after Misty. The house was huge and very confusing to navigate. They followed the sounds of laughter and talking. It was obvious to them that it was Brock and Grant, but where were they? As they walk the endless hallways they both noted the strange artifacts adorning the walls. All kinds of fossils, statues of pokemon, almost anything you'd see in a museum. They passed by a pair of large steel doors, with small writings on them. One of the doors was open a crack and light shone threw on the adjacent wall. As they walked closer they could Brock from inside. They pushed open the heavy door and sure enough he was there, carrying Togepi. They both stepped into a massive chamber, it was covered with bookshelves and artifacts. A single skylight illuminated this dark room. And in the center, was Grant, huddled over a desk with a flashlight on his head. He turned and saw them staring at everything. He beckoned for them to come closer. "Come in! Come in! Welcome to my study, my library, my lab and my life's work. Over to your right you'll find books on ancient pokemon, over on your left you'll find artifacts I've haven't studied yet…..but right in front of me is something very peculiar that I would like to show you. They gathered around Grant as he shown a light on the object in front of him. It was a cube, completely square on all sides, it was made out of stone. And it had numerous writings on it, it was the size of TV and it was dark black. Grant used a small brush to blow away a few bits of dust. "this was found at a dig site at the orange islands…..it's of pokemon nature, but I have been on able to get anything from it. As you see it has many writings on it, each side has a different language on it. The only one I can decipher is this one here." He pointed at one side of the object.

"this is the ancient language of the shimoutee."
Ash brushed his fingers over the raised stone letters. "wait, did you say Shimoutee?!"

Grant nodded. "that's where we found it, as you can see here on the front there are 2 different circles with a single line going threw the middle. By my judgment I would say it resembles the shape of a pokeball. Now I have calculated it's age and it dates back well over 2000 years ago."
Ash, Misty and Brock all gasped. "2000 years!!" They all shouted.

Brock took out a book from his backpack. "But it says here that the pokeball was invented 97 years ago! How could they have known what a pokeball looks like?"
Grant took of his hat and scratched his baldhead. "That is exactly what is confusing me right now, and stranger still as you can see there is a hand print in the stone right in middle of the pokeball. Whose hand is it? Why is it there? And most importantly what is the purpose of this stone cube?"

None of them had an answer, neither did Grant. Misty took Togepi away from Brock and looked back at the writings on the side. "Can you read those markings?"

Grant scoffed. "of course I can! Let's see…" he put on a pair of extremely thick glasses.

"ahem……….no who read this……..the judgment day will come seeking all those who don't believe in the power of the chosen one………his wrath will rain down on the evil which plagues this world…………..and the warring ones shall unite with the ten powers of the earth and join in the battle to save humanity and pokemon existence………so it is written……."

There was a moment of silence in the room as the words sunk in. "that's…..even more confusing.." Grant stated. Ash placed his hand on the artifact. "…..judgment day…….does it say when?" Grant took off his glasses and shook his head.

"all it says is that a battle is going to fought with something having to do with a chosen one……..of course this could all be absurd, usually it's only a tribal legend that never comes true……most of the time." Off in the distance the sound of a whistling teakettle could be heard. "oops! Almost forgot about my tea!" He got up from off his stool and ran out of the room, he stopped and came back to stand in the doorway. "Don't touch anything now" They all nodded. "we won't" Ash said. And so he left leaving the three curious youngsters alone with an ancient relic. There was an odd silence as they all stared at the cube. "what do suppose it does" Ash asked. Again there was silence, it seemed nobody had an answer. Misty leaned in to inspect the front of the cube. "This pokeball shape is really weird, and it has that shape of a hand in it." She reached out and put her palm against the imprint. Her hand was far to small as it hardly took up any space on the imprint. Brock moved over beside Misty. "let me try." He did they same as Misty but his hand was far to big with his fingers sticking way over the edge. Ash came up the middle and pushed them aside. "hey come on let me see if mine fits." Ash placed his hand in the carving. It was a perfect fit, like a glove. "hey! Cool……..what's that sound?" A strange buzzing noise filled the air. They all put their ears to the box as an even stranger whirring sound penetrated their eardrums. Misty looked back at Pikachu who had it's ears perked up and was listening intently. "Ash I think you broke it!" Ash threw his hands up in defense. "I didn't touch! I DIDN"T TOUCH!" Just then they all heard a thunderous slam that made them jump out of their clothes. "WHAT WAS THAT!" Brock yelled.

Ash's eyes went wide as a pie plate as he pointed to the desk. "I…….I…..think……..we……broke….it"

"uh?"

The artifact had fallen apart at the seams, literally. All the sides were lying on the table as revealing a hidden chamber inside. The smoke and dust cleared showing the three frighten kids what treasure it held. They slowly peered in to the chamber. Ash reached in his hand and withdrew…..

"a rock?" Misty took it from him. She searched for any writings or marking of significant value but found none, it was an ordinary rock. She placed it back on the table. "well that was unexpected." They realized that they needed to get this thing back together before Grant came back and have a thrombo. They got all the walls up when out of nowhere Pikachu jumped into the chamber. "Pikachu! What are you doing! Get out of there!" Ash yelled. A yellow blur shot out of the chamber and landed on a bookcase. "I hear foot steps! He's coming!" They quickly replaced the lid and ran over to a set of chairs and jumped into them.

Grant entered carrying a tray filled with delectable goodies. He placed down the try and turned to Ash, Misty and Brock…..who were nervously twiddling their thumbs and whistling. He looked at the artifact and then back to them. He shrugged and motioned them to join him for morning tea around his desk. "ya know…….I've been a poke-archeologist for 58 years, and in all my years of searching I've never found anything like this." He passed a plate of cookies around which they each took one. Brock salivated as he bit down on the biscuit. Ash could have sworn he heard the sound of shattering glass. Brock began to stare cross-eyed, he recovered from his shock and inspected the cookie. There wasn't even a dent in the thing. Brock quickly shoved the cookie in his pocket and mocked chewing noises as not to hurt Grants feelings.

Grant looked up to the relic and rubbed its rough surface.
"Its amazing isn't it, during the whole time pokemon have existed on this planet, so far we have only been able to learn as far back as 1500 years ago. This piece is the single oldest artifact at 2000 years, and it may hold the secrets of pokemon evolution. Just think 500 years that we no nothing about, so many generations, such a huge gap in history……it is the ultimate generation gap I have ever heard. We no absolutely nothing, what is missing? What is the last piece of the puzzle. If only I knew……then my life long search would be complete."

Again there was a long pause until Brock spoke up.

"the cookies are excellent……………"

************

"the oracle……………..the key to my freedom…………………"

************

The trio was standing outside Grant's house with their packs on their backs and smiles on their faces. They shook hands with the old man and waved goodbye.

"thanks for everything Grant! Good luck!…….wait a minute……Pikachu come on let's go!"

Pikachu ran out the door after them and jumped on Ash's shoulder. They had already made their way down the busy streets when Pikachu got restless and started poking Ash to get his attention.

"mhhpikmhha!"
"why do you sound so weird?"

He looked up to see that Pikachu was carrying something in his mouth.

"let me see that"

Pikachu dropped the object in his hand. It was a small round silver medallion on a gold chain. It had a small gem in the center and weird writings all around the rim. Misty's eyes went wide. "Where did you get that Pikachu?"

"PIKA!!"
Ash held it to the sun and was amazed at its beauty. "Wait a second………could this have been under that rock?"

Pikachu grabbed the chain in its teeth and jumped onto his head. With a flick of pikachu's neck it was able throw the chain around Ash's head. The medallion landed neatly onto Ash's chest. He picked it up and admired how well it looked on him.

"it seems Pikachu really wants me to have this…..I wonder why, Pikachu never stole anything before."

Misty got angry. "that is an ancient relic! You should give it back to Grant!"

Ash tucked it in his shirt. "he doesn't know it's gone! Anyway later on I'll give it to a museum or something." Misty lunged towards the chain but Pikachu jumped and latched itself onto her face. "Pika pika chu!" Ash ripped Pikachu off Misty. "see I told ya, it must be important……….right Pikachu?" Pikachu nodded. "pi!" Misty wiped her face off. "well okay, if Pikachu is so adamant about it….I guess we're not hurting anybody…..but you better give it to a museum!" Ash patted the medallion from under his shirt. "in do time……now lets go eat I'm starving!"

Brock took out his trusty map and poked ash on the shoulder.

"ya know there is a gym here, how about we go there?"

Ash raised his fists in the air. "why didn't you say so!!"

Once again they ran into the city in search of the next gym needed to advance in the Johto league. The medallion bounced around in Ash's shirt as he ran. Pikachu looked towards the sky and focused on a single spot. "pika………"

***********

"the oracle………..success………do not forget me chosen one……

***********

End part 5

To be continued

Part 6 - A Passion for Buggery

Proposed finishing date – July 10th