Part 14 – The Great Divide

Ash paced back and forth with a dazed look on his face. What had just transpired moments before was less then shocking. He started rambling, trying to come to grips with what he just saw. As he walked the sword of power was held loosely in his hand as it dragged along the dusty floor. Truth be told that he had seen some strange things in his day, well take all the legendary birds for one thing. But the thing is that those creatures just scared the crapped out of him, coming out of the statues and all. He quickly began to calm down and looked at Pikachu who had yet to move from his spot. It seems that Pikachu had gone into some kind of catatonic state.

"Pikachu! Snap out of it!" Ash yelled. The tiny electric pokemon finally snapped out of it and looked around to gather its surroundings. He wiped off a pile of dust on top of Pikachu's head.

"That was incredible! What were they!?" Ash returned the sword to the sheathing and walked to where the statues once stood. There was so much debris around the room that he could hardly tell where the floor began and the dust ended. He stopped a moment as he heard a weird buzzing in his head. It grew into a whisper and then like if someone were in the room with him he heard a voice.

"Ash?"

"Um…..Hello?"

"Ash? Can you hear me?"

He spun his head around the room. "Whose there?!"

"Ash, it's Lugia, I'm talking to you telepathically."

"But, that only worked when you're out of your pokeball…."

1 "Your telepathy abilities have greatly increased"

"Alright, so what now? I can read minds? How the hell did you manage to fit that in between my healing abilities and my friggin enhanced strength!"

"Calm down Ash, I can tell you are a little upset from what has just happened."

"oh sure, I'm just a bit on edge!" Ash sat down on a heap of stone fragments and patted Pikachu's head.

"Ash, you should be very happy. You have just released the three legendary dogs upon this earth once again."

"What? Those were pokemon?….. those were legendary pokemon! Are those the ones I'm after?!"

"Yes Ash, when the Chosen one had fallen all those many years ago the legendary Pokemon had no master to call their own. After three years had past the team of Legendary pokemon who had always stayed together had began to leave and go their separate ways. The dogs, not wanting to wait thousands of years for their master to return encased themselves in stone and were placed in the Ecruteak tower. They would only awake with the touch of the Chosen one. I had begged them not to do it but they said even if the Chosen one did not return they would rather spend a lifetime frozen in stone then to be without their master. The Legendary dogs were without doubt the most loyal out of all of us. So with Ho-oh sealed away and the Dogs turned to statues, the birds had nothing left so we to disbanded. I returned to the sea while the others claimed three small islands for their own. From that day on it was known as The Great Divide, or as others called it 'The Legendary Schism'."

Ash was in awe as he listened to Lugia tell the story. Lugia could always tell amazing stories and its voice made everything so soothing.

"For years the legendary Pokemon had never crossed each others paths, we have never seen the face of humans and some hadn't seen the light of day. But as the legend arose of the Chosen one's return action had to be taken. Articuno was the first to leave its home in search of you. Articuno is very compassionate and loving. Moltres is very prideful and has much honor while Zapdos is very cunning and brave. All of these three pokemon had let you capture them. Even I felt it necessary to be captured with ease. But now there has been another test placed on you. And you must complete it."

"Another test?!" Ash yelled, getting quite uneasy about the situation.

"Although you have awakened the dogs they will not simply bow down and be captured like the birds. The legendary dogs are loyal to its true master and must know for certain that you are the Chosen one. You must track them down and capture them like a pokemon in the wild. That's the only way you can prove yourself to them."

Ash paced around the room, a track of dust had been building were his feet and shuffled along the floor. "What do I have to do?"

"You must catch them first."

"I know I have to capture them."

"No Ash, I mean 'catch' them. The legendary dogs, Entei, Raikou and Suicune all have amazing speed and can outrun any human and pokemon alike. They exist out in the world as a blur. By this time thousands of people have seen them and don't know it. They simply dismiss it and believe they saw it in their heads."

"soooo……if they're so fast how the hell am I going to find them!!"

"…..look above you."

"waaa?" Ash looked up to see a large beam break from the ceiling and come plummeting down on him. "AAAHH!!" It was just inches from his face when he felt that odd sensation again. In an instant he felt himself moving and looked back to see the beam hanging in mid air. He crashed along the wall and saw the large chunk of wood speed back up and slam into the floor. It ripped a hole in the wooden planks as the beam lay sticking out into the open roof.

Ash stood there trying to catch his breath. "The same thing happened at the restaurant, everything just kinda slowed down and I could see everything as a moved around. Only everyone else saw me move really fast." Suddenly Ash clued in. He had moved from one side of the room to the other in under a second. It seemed that Ash has discovered a new ability.

"I'm really fast." He finally said, stunned.

He heard Lugia chuckle in his head. "hehehe. Yes you have become quite fast. You must use this new power to catch the dogs. But don't get to cocky, you power is still not fully developed and you may only able to keep up you speed for a manner of minutes or even seconds. But then again, it will seem longer to you. You see Ash, in essence, your not moving really fast, but everything around you is moving slower. Now, you should greet the man behind you."

"what did you say Lugia?" And before he knew it Ash heard footsteps come running up behind him. A young man with blonde hair came racing around the corner.

"What the hell happened here!?" The exasperated man said.

Ash looked around and saw the hole in the floor and the dust covering everything from wall to wall and the beam sticking out into the open ceiling. "um…..nothing happened."

The man walked into the destroyed room of the already partially destroyed tower. "Did you do all of this!"

"Well, not exactly"

"I'm calling Officer Jenny!" The man turned around and got out his cell phone and dialed the number to the police station. As he waited for someone to pick up he turned around and saw that Ash had suddenly vanished. The man ran around the room and looked for him. He then spotted a set of tracks heading for the stairs. But he was facing the stairs and he didn't see him at all. The man got a little dizzy and partially fainted as he tried to think of what happened. It seems his brain couldn't comprehend Ash's amazing escape.

***

Outside of the tower the townspeople luckily didn't see Ash as he suddenly appeared behind a mailbox. He breathed very heavily as he used the telephone pole beside him for support. Pikachu clambered out of his jacket and stumbled around. Ash had gone from the top of the tower to the city streets in about two seconds. Although to him it was just like walking down the stairs in normal time. This 'ability' he has discovered was really amazing but it completely drained him of his abundance of energy. The sweat just started pouring out from under his hat. And it took poor Pikachu quite awhile to get back to normal.

"….that…was…fun…..wanna….do that…again?" Ash said while sucking in deep breaths.

"…chuuuuu." Pikachu climbed back onto Ash and steadied itself on his shoulder.

Ash felt like a ton of bricks. He regretted using his ability for so long, he was paying for it now. His legs felt like limp noodles as he tried to walk back to the pokemon center.

"I need to rest…." Ash found a nearby park bench and fell into it with a large satisfying groan. He sat there on that bench for what seemed like hours. Ash watched the hundreds of townspeople walk by him. There were men in suits, men in jeans, big kids, little kids, tall women, short women. He stared at these people for the longest time. And not once did he see one that was like another person. Each one of them were completely different then the next. It was like trying to find two snowflakes that are the exact same shape and design. Like Ash, each of these people has dreams, they have people they love and they had distinct personalities. As he watched them carry on their daily lives he felt proud to be the chosen one. Here in this city, and in other cities and all over the world, there was only one of him. Much like there was only one of each of these townspeople. It was up to him to protect all these people, to protect the short people, the tall people, the big kids and the little kids. It was right there on that park bench that he had an epiphany. These people believe that everything is right with the world. The only way these people can go on with their lives is if they feel safe. This is what Ash would have to do.

He felt a renewed sense of being as he left the park bench and continued on his way.

"We have work to do Pikachu…." Ash started running at a normal pace back to the pokemon center, anxious to tell Misty and Brock of what had just happened.

*****

A large women was reaching into a fruit display when a sudden gust of wind whipped by her. It was so fierce it blew her sunhat of her head. When she reach down to got it the women felt another large gust of wind. As he got back up and placed her hat back onto her head she saw that the fruit stand was completely empty. Even the man behind the counter was in awe as he groped the display stand looking for any remnants of his stock.

"What the hell was that?" The women asked? "Must have saw it in my head." She left the stunned merchant and tried to find another fruit stand.

Meanwhile the merchant gasped as he found large bite marks on one side of the stand. Something had attacked him, but he never even saw it.

"What is going…on here?"

*****

Ash burst through the door and found Misty and Brock waiting in the lobby with their bags ready to leave. Instantly he began telling them what happened, only it was more like he was talking really fast and what sounding like a interesting story became a string of nonsensical ramblings.

Misty narrowed her eyes. "Slow down, now in English tell us what happened…did you get your badge?"

Ash paused as the stark realization that he had forgotten about it hit him. "Aw crap…." But being more articulate he once again told them the story of the legendary dogs. He could see their eyes getting wider as he went on describing each of them in full detail.

After he was finished Brock hit him with a pretty important question. "so…..what are you going to do?"

He really hadn't though about it. Ash had spent to much time staring at those people to figure out what was the next move. After few seconds of serious thinking he turned to them and said. "I'm going to have to catch them……." He paused again as he looked at Brock, he was the best friend Ash could have hoped for. And then his gazed turned to Misty, his true love. He would do anything for her. And yet, like the people on the street, they to are in danger. Ash wasn't going to be responsible for the injuries or death of his friends.

"……and I'm going to have to go alone this time….."

That hit Brock and Misty like a ton of bricks. There was a very long pause as both of them ran those words in their heads over and over. Misty was to the first to speak up, more like yell.

"What do you mean you wanna go alone!!" Misty screamed.

Ash quickly looked around to see if anybody was looking and shushed Misty. "Misty, calm down…"

His girlfriend just stomped her feet and began to rant. "What?! You don't like us anymore! You don't love me anymore! You want us to go! Go where!! You JERK!"

Before Ash could try and calm her down Brock stood up and grabbed her by the ear. Misty was about to sock him in the head but held back and settled for his gut instead. Brock rubbed his stomach. "Misty if you would just calm down a bit maybe Ash can explain."

Ash took a sigh of relief as he watched Misty return to her seat. "Alright, here's what's going to happen. I want you guys to travel up to Olivine City, it's got a beach and fancy hotels. I want you guys to stay there for a week and recharge your batteries. I've watched you guys the past few days and you look very tired. While you are up there I need to go find the three legendary dogs. I'll use the oracle; it will cut down on some time. The thing is with these pokemon. Speed is of the essence. You would only slow me down. And with all that's happened, I just need some time to myself.

You see guys, I don't want to put in you any danger. Your only human."

Misty, who had been glaring at the floor lifted her head to Ash. "…..so are you…"

Ash sighed and lovingly gazed into her eyes. "I'm not so sure I am anymore….."

They all sat in silence, only the sound of an occasional blissful chirp from Togepi. Finally Misty gathered up her stuff and stood up. She walked over to Ash and fell into his arms, giving him a passionate kiss. The need to breathe broke their little moment. Brock put on his backpack patted Ash on the back.

Without saying a word, but using their eyes to speak, they gave their goodbyes. And as Misty took one last look at Ash, she opened the door and disappeared behind the frosted glass.

A small tear tickled down Ash's cheek. He had no idea why he was so upset, he knew he would see them again. But this would be the first time that they were really separated. He looked down to Pikachu who had its ears drooping and a concern look on its face. Ash smiled and picked up his electric pokemon, carefully letting it jump on his shoulder.

He bent down and picked up his backpack. "This is going to be more then a pokemon hunt, it's a training mission….are you ready Pikachu?"

The little yellow pokemon gave him a reassuring 'pika-chu!' and clomped on his head

"Alright let's go."

Reaching into his shirt he pulled out the oracle. Moving it around him, he tried to get a fix on the legendary dogs. Nothing was happening. He then got a terrific idea and squinted his eyes. He clenched his fist and strained as he tired to open a telepathic link to Lugia. It was quite difficult being his first time. But soon after he heard that same buzzing noise. Suddenly a loud voice echoed in his mind. It was a much different voice from Lugia, much rougher and coarse.

"Ash, is it you?"

"Yes it is, whose this?"

"Ash, this is Ho-oh!"

"WOW! Cool! How are you feeling?"

"I'm back to full strength, I'm so glad to finally be rid of that seal. Only now I find myself to be in some other prison…"

"Ho-oh, that's just the pokeball, Its so I can carry you with me, I can let you out at any moment."

"Do you think it could be soon? I so wish to see the sky again…."

"Of course, you can help me find the three legendary dogs, do you know where they are?"

"They are everywhere….their never in the same place twice, but you can fell them can't you?"

While Ash tried to keep up the telepathic link, standing in the lobby, he began to draw a crowd from his grunts and weird facial expressions. It was obvious this entire telepathic abilities was entirely knew to him and would take time to perfect.

"How can a feel them?"

"Don't rely on the oracle to find them, use your heart…can you feel them?"

Ash could no longer keep up the telepathic link and found himself being stared at by dozens of people as he realized where he was. He quickly left the pokemon center and the nosey crowd and went around the building. Ash rubbed his temples from the strain of doing such a task. He took one look at the oracle and placed it back under his shirt.

"….feel them…..alright, can't be that hard."

He took some deep breaths and closed his eyes. He could hear his heart beating and the air going through his nasal cavity. He shut out all the outside distractions and tried to concentrate on his breathing. It wasn't long until he felt it. It was this really weird pressure on his skin, as if someone was trying to gently push him over. It wasn't soon before he could feel three different sensations around his body. He knew the Ho-oh must have been helping him. He reached for the pokeball containing the fifth legendary bird and chucked it to the ground. In a brilliant flash Ho- oh was brought back into the world, out of confinement and into the light.

The massive bird spread its wings which adorned many multicolored feathers. On its body was every color of the rainbow, with a beautiful gold crest on its head. All those years ago when Ash saw the image of Ho-oh he would never have imagined that he would one day be staring in the eyes of the same pokemon that ignited his journey.

"How are you feeling?"

Ho-oh ruffled its feathers. "How lovely it is to feel the sun against my body…..to breath in warm pure air and to see the colors and textures of the world around me……I feel fantastic…."

Ash blissfully smiled and stood up. "Great, cause I'm going to need your help finding the legendary dogs, do you have any ideas."

Ho-oh cocked its head. "Why of course Master, we shall take to the sky, it is the only way. They may be fast on land but I am faster in the air!"

Ash nodded his head and ran a hand through Ho-oh's multicolored feathers. As the massive bird dipped to let him on Ash turned around expecting to see Misty and Brock by his side. "Okay guys get……on……oh yeah…..they're not here…" He was so used to having them with him that he forgot that they left just moments ago. It was just a force of habit.

Shrugging, he clambered onto Ho-oh and zipped up Pikachu in his jacket, it's head just poking out of the top. Ash leaned in and wrapped his arms around Ho-oh's neck and held on for dear life as it began to beat its massive wings. Luckily, no one could see them but he was sure they could hear them. The wind flowing through Ho-oh's feathers created such a racket that nearby pokemon were gathering to watch the legendary bird take off. In an instant they were airborne and fly high of the city. At this height nobody could tell that a legendary bird was flying above them, they would most likely dismiss it and say it was a low flying Pidgy.

The City looked absolutely stunning from this high up and to Ash's surprise they kept going higher and higher. So high in fact that the city now looked like a splatter of gray buildings upon a green canvas of trees. Ash could see well in all directions and felt a bit queasy as the lumbering pokemon continued to climb into the stratosphere.

Finally it stopped just shy of three thousand feet in the air. Ash clutched onto Ho-oh and tried not to look down. They just hovered there for what seemed as minutes as Ho-oh closed its eyes and began to concentrate. What ho-oh was really trying to do Ash could not figure out. But soon Ho-oh began to move again, turning slightly he flew south not changing the present altitude.

"Hey Ho-oh! What's going on?!"

"I'm trying to locate Raikou…we're very close…Raikou's slowing down…..It must be tired. Most likely it will try and find a source of fresh water. There!"

Without warning, and much to Ash's chagrin, Ho-oh tucked in its wings and dive-bombed towards an area of the forest far below them. Ash had almost no time to react as he was swept across Ho-oh's back. He tried desperately to grab a handful of feathers as the wind tossed him about. Ash gasped as his hat flew off his head and whipped around in the torrent air behind Ho- oh. "My Hat! Ho-oh we have to stop and get my hat!"

"Impossible…..its just a hat"

"Then stop before you lose me!!"

Making sure that Ho-oh wouldn't miss the opportunity to locate Raikou it continued to fall from the sky and an amazing speed. Pikachu grasped onto Ash's cheats as it shut its eyes, to paralyzed from fear to open them. Ash was now clinging onto Ho-oh's Tail feathers and yet the legendary pokemon did not stop. The ground below was catching up fast as they were just less than three hundred feet in the air. And then, much to Ash's relief, Ho-oh finally spread its wings, caught the air and began to glide along the tops of the trees. Just barely getting itself impaled on an elm tree.

Ash breathed a heavy sigh and climbed back onto Ho-oh's neck. He checked and saw that Pikachu was a little dizzy from the fall but not seriously harmed. Suddenly up ahead he could hear a loud cracking noise. Ash was in awe as he saw many trees begin to fall down. And they seemed to be in a straight line as if some giant lumbering beast was knocking them all down.

He look to the left of him and saw a very large river running down the edge of the forest. Ash then looked back to the right and saw the path of destruction was moving toward the water.

"That has to be Raikou!" He yelled at Ho-oh, who continued to look at the trees.

Whatever it was, it was getting very close. Almost in fact that it was seconds from being right under them.

"Ash are you ready?"

"As ready as I'll ever be…"

As soon as the target was underneath ho-oh it quickly reared back his head and sucked in air. It held it in for half a second before releasing a devastating fire blast towards the forest and what was thought to be Raikou.

Instantly the dried out trees ignited in flame and from within the unleashed hell came a startling cry of pain. The sound echoed throughout the forest and sent a chill up Ash's spin. They had definitely hit something.

With almost no time to react the first legendary dog emerged from the fire and leapt towards Ho-oh. This massive pokemon let loose a terrific electric attack that barley missed Ho-oh's right wing. They were at a horrible disadvantage, flying type are weak against electric. The again ho- oh was also flying type. But there was no way he could win this in the air. Ash had to get down. When he saw the Raikou had disappeared back into the trees he signaled Ho-oh to land nearby.

They landed right near the river where Raikou was heading. Once on the ground Ash carefully withdrew his sword and placed Pikachu on Ho-oh's head. Perhaps electric against electric would work. Suddenly it hit him.

"Of course! Zapdos. It can keep Raikou busy while Ho-oh uses its fire blast. This may work!"

Excitedly he released Zapdos, who exploded out its pokeball with a shower of sparks. Ash and the two legendary birds paused as they saw the trees in the distance begin to move again, slowly towards them. Ho-oh moved forward. "He has been injured, my fire blast will so him down temporarily, but we can not let him escape. But if the chance that he does break free it will be easy to track him down. The dogs cannot heal very quickly, they will carry that damage with them for quite awhile, making it easier for the capture."

Ash extended the sword and began to move toward the edge of the forest. "I think it would be best if we take of this know, I don't have time to chase them around Johto."

Then suddenly Raikou came charging out of the forest and shot off a huge thunderbolt directly at Ho-oh. This time it hit it directly on the right wing. Ho-oh fell over as the feathers began to smolder

"HO-OH! Ash scream. Instantly Zapdos leapt into action as it unleashed a volley of electric attacks to counteract Raikou's. Pikachu even fired a few attacks but it seemed to hardly faze Raikou as it circled around Zapdos. Ash ran over to Ho-oh who tried to get up from the viscous attack. "Are you alright!" After a third attempt to get up, Ho-oh collapsed. Ash cursed and recalled Ho-oh into it's pokeball. "Thank you, you gave it your best."

Suddenly he heard a loud scream as he look in time to see Raikou pounce on Zapdos, pinning its wings to the riverbank. Ash watched in horror as Raikou was about to release a pointblank attack on Zapdos. Even though Zapdos was at a higher level, the fact that it was a flying type gave Raikou the advantage, plus it was just way to fast for Zapdos.

Ash didn't know it but he was running full speed at Raikou. Everything seemed like a blur as he jumped straight in the air and snap kicked Raikou dead in the face.

There was a huge pause as Raikou peeled away from Ash's foot and back slowly in the river trying to shake off the impact of the kick. Zapdos quickly wiggled onto its back and took to the air. Raikou just kept walking backwards and rubbing its head against its leg.

When Ash himself got over the shock of what he just did he noticed that Raikou had just given him the upper hand. For Raikou was now up to his chest in the river, still a bit dazed from Ash's attack.

Thrusting his sword in the air he ordered Pikachu and Zapdos to unleash a huge combined attack on Raikou.

With a loud chirp from Zapdos and a squeak from Pikachu, the two electric pokemon moved into position. Ash could feel his hair stand on end as the area began to fill with electric current while the two pokemon charged up their attacks.

When Raikou had finally shaken all the cobwebs out of his head it was to late. Zapdos and Pikachu released an electric attack of biblical proportions. Lightning screamed towards the sky and even Ash was blown back several feet as the lightning hit the tip of his sword. And out of the swirling lights and pandemonium Ash was able to hear the most blood curdling scream he had ever heard. In the middle of the river Riakou gave a horrific cry as his own electric pulse was reversed and it overcharged his system.

Finally Zapdos and Pikachu let off on their attack on the lightning dispersed. It was so quite you could hear a Pidgy chirp from miles away. Ash slowly got up and looked at his slightly burnt palm from when the electricity was conducted by his sword and into his hand. He slowly looked up to see Raikou still standing in the river…..smoldering.

The legendary dog let loose a course little cry and sank into the water. Its body was covered in small burns and black marks as the smoke continued to billow from its skin.

Ash could hardly take his eyes off the damage. It never wanted that to happen, he never wanted to hurt Raikou. What had he done?

Zapdos swept down next to Ash who breathed heavily having used so much of its power. He also looked down to see Pikachu crawl back on all fours, also exhausted from using the attack for so long.

A tear welled in his eyes as he looked upon this devastating scene. There had been so much violence, so much pain. But they were all supposed to be on the same team. Why did they have to fight!

Ash ran to the limp body of Raikou and quickly gave it some burn medication and all the super potions he had. It worked, a lot of the burns began to heal quite quickly but Raikou was still unconscious. With a heavy sigh Ash withdrew a pokeball and taking one last look at Raikou's damaged body, captured it.

He held the ball firmly in his hand but didn't feel much like celebrating under the circumstances. In less then ten minutes he had to injured Legendary pokemon, one that was about to faint and an exhausted Pikachu. He didn't think this was what a Chosen one should have after making an attempt to capture one pokemon.

Ash felt very depressed as he fastened the pokeball to his belt and recalled Zapdos. He carefully lifted Pikachu and put his sword in its scabbard. Ash released Lugia and flew in silence all the way back to the pokemon center.

When landing at the center Lugia turned to Ash and said. "I know this may seem like a lot to handle, but you must realize that the dogs are very prideful and would fight to the death, just to make sure that you are the chosen one."

"I have to stop sending others to do my tasks….I don't want them to get hurt."

"Ash, we were meant to be here on this earth to protect you, Ho-oh does not feel angry but relieved that you are okay."

"Yes but they were not put on this earth to fight for the sake of fighting!!!…….why do they fight Lugia?"

"……because, some have something to prove…..others have something to believe in…..and some have someone they believe in. There has never been a battle that wasn't worth battling. Pokemon live to battle and protect their human counterparts. Battling makes them stronger…the stronger they are, the more they believe they can protect the human race.."

Ash was silent for a long time as he pondered Lugia's words. After a few minutes he gave Lugia a small smile and recalled it into his Pokeball.

"…..i don't see why they have to suffer….I shall be the one to end it…"

****

Misty and Brock were on route to Olivine City. Misty wasn't really paying attention to the road as she was spinning the promise ring on her finger. She really couldn't understand why Ash would want to separate. But if he needed space, she wasn't going to stand in his way. But she couldn't help that part of this situation was her fault. She dismissed it and continued to spin her ring around her delicate finger.

Brock was being quite silent as well; the two of them had hardly spoken a word since they left the pokemon center and Ash behind. There was an uneasy sense of foreboding that they would never see Ash again. Brock tried to think of such things and went back to making sure he didn't accidentally walk off the road and into a ditch.

It was at that moment that Brock's foot snagged on something. He glanced down and saw a piece of red fabric sticking out from under his foot. Brock gently bent down and removed it from the bottom of his shoe. He brushed off his foot print and almost fainted when he was staring right at Ash's hat.

He showed it to Misty who yanked it out of his hand. "But, this is Ash's hat! He never leaves it behind!"

The two of them were getting very nervous, finding his favorite hat that he has worn everyday since he won it. He even wore it in his sleep sometimes. And then to find it discarded in the dirt on the side of a road, something did not add up.

After they had both calmed down a bit they tried to reach to a conclusion of what could have happened. Brock claims that maybe it was just someone's else's hat that they dropped, it was possible but you don't see many of those hat's around.

Misty thought that Ash had been attacked or something or someone. Team Rocket leaped to mind. But they had not seen them for quite some time. Then again that just makes a lot of sense. They kidnapped Ash, roughed him up, he dropped his hat, they took him away took his pokemon. Misty was certain about this but then Brock pointed out that there was no sign of a struggle. There were no foot-prints, no broken branches, no blood.

"maybe he just dropped it….."

That was about all they could think of at the moment. But the thought of Ash in danger really troubled Misty as she continued her way down the path clutching the filthy hat to her chest.

"Ash……..please be careful…….."



to be continued

NEXT part 15 – Misty's Wish

Authors Notes: Alright! I am so happy to announce that Between a rock and a Hard Place has hit another milestone! Yesterday, Digi Bonds became the 200th reviewer! I was so thrilled that I began writing and had 8 pages of this part completed in 3 hours! I, like I have so many times before, would like to thank all my readers, and I LOVE getting your reviews, it let's me know how I should continue the story. You all have a part in this fic!

Also I have made a Between a Rock mailing list! You can now be updated on new parts, get secret behind the scenes info on upcoming parts and you can have a major role in the plot of the story! To join just either leave your e-mail in a review or e-mail ME at fanficuniverse@hotmail.com. Thanks! I will get working on part 15 right away!