End Game – Introduction

It is said that at one time in every person's life they will have to make an important decision, one that could alter the paths of not only themselves but the people around them. It is all about opportunity cost, the cost of deciding one thing over another. Such decisions can be made on the spot or take an eternity to reach a conclusion. But once a path is chosen it is impossible to go back. The bridges that a person crosses, collapses the second they step off, there is only one direction to go, forward.

It was such a choice that Ash made that he now faces a bold and almost unreachable future. His body has changed at such an alarming rate, so fast that his mind can not keep up with the changes. Ash was supposed to be training his pokemon, battling gym leaders in challenging matches, in essence, he wanted to be a normal kid again. But his new responsibilities keep pulling him back to reality and he finds that his past life will never return to him. He has been giving an amazing task, powers that dwarf normal human perception and a love that is forever eternal. But he could feel something was wrong deep down within the fabric of his being.

Every pokemon battle he has been in his pokemon would always fight, such as the way of things. But now, in his last to battles especially with Suicune he has fought the battle himself. He has become no less a human but more a pokemon. During the heated battle with the Legendary Dog, he had watched himself become….primal.

And what surprised him most was the massive explosion that had occurred at the source of impact. There was no way his hands hitting the ground could great such a force. For the longest time, Ash had believed that he must have busted open underground gasoline. That would explain the explosion but not the bright blue light that emitted from his hands.

Again Ash found himself asking a multitude of questions but again found no answers in return. He wanted so much to scream into the night to try and rid himself of such frustrations. But no matter of screaming could feel the pain in his heart from being separated from Misty for so long. Ash would wake up in a sweat from the thought of her being taken away from him. A nightmare occurred where she has swept away from his arms and he later found her dead floating in some river. But the one thing he would always remember from that dream, even though the rest of the nightmare was immediately forgotten, he would never forget her face. There was no face. It was ahead with red hair and nothing else. It looked like a cloth doll as it lay there in the black water. He would lay awake all night trying to think of what this nightmare was trying to tell him. Ash believed that dreams are the gateway to the future, they tell you of things that have happened or things that have yet come to pass. He believed in the paranormal, he had to….look what was happening to him.

Ash's restless mind wandered well into the night and did not sleep although when the sun crept over the horizon he found his eyes were too heavy to keep open and slept well into the day. His body was beaten, battered and bruised. And this was only the beginning.

Ash dreamed about his journey, about his adventures and plights, and above all…he dreamed of Misty. The nightmare's had left him and only sweet pleasant images of the red-haired water goddess filled his tortured mind.

With that had been going on around him, within the raging storm of fear, confusion, and anger Misty was his beacon hope. It was a single touch from her lightly tanned skin that comforted him and filled him with peace. And now that they were apart…. the floodgates were open. Ash had to find Misty, for his and her sake, they had to be together. Chosen One and Prophet tasks are thrown aside…their love would come first and always.

The calm breeze of a July evening blew past the many plants and flowers that lined the streets of Olivine City. It was quite late in the night, or as some would say, very early in the morning. It was a time where night owls roamed and children slept. And it was Misty who was peacefully slumbering amidst this untouched serenity. But it was soon broken as the faint sound of heavy feet shuffled along the floors outside her door. She was still sleeping as they pried open the hinges. She was just waking when the five masked men rushed into her room. Her screams were muffled as a gag was forced into her mouth, her hands bounded, her legs restricted.

Brock could do nothing as he was lying on the floor, chloroformed, barely breathing. The attackers stuffed the writhing Misty into a large bag and dragged her out of the room. As the last of the assailants left, the last one to leave placed an envelope on her bed. In the corner of the letter was a large red 'R'.

They loaded up the frightened young girl in the back of an unmarked van and drove off in an unknown direction. Not a soul knew what had just transpired, but it would be soon known to the one person so that this 'mission' was to achieve its major goal. Ash Ketchum, the Chosen One. With Misty in Team Rockets clutches, it would be like a moth to the flame. And he would get burned…Giovanni would see to that.

To be continued….and so it begins…..the road to End Game