Chapter 2

Searching

May raced toward the Stadium. She couldn't believe she was late! And to Ash's most important match ever! How could she have let him down like that?

"Hold up!" Drew cried breathlessly. "You're already late, what's a few more minutes gonna matter?"

"You don't have to follow me, you know." May replied, not slowing down a bit. Finally they were there. May bid farewell to Drew and rushed through the door, spotting Brock right away.

"I'm so sorry I'm late! I had some trouble with Team Rocket, and . . . hey, what's going on?"

May had expected to find the lobby empty, but there were several groups of people milling about. And why were Brock and Max still there?

"Ash forfeited his match." Max replied stoically.

"What! What are you talking about! Why!"

"There's been an emergency. You remember Misty?"

"Of course. What happened? I hope she's ok."

"We're not sure. She's gone missing."

"And Ash went looking for her?"

"I tried to stop him, but he wouldn't stay."

May was not surprised. She knew that Ash could not sit still when someone he loved was in danger. She only wished that there were some way she could help.

"Wait a minute!" A thought suddenly came to May. "Team Rocket tried to kidnap me earlier! They're the ones that have been taking all those girls! Do you think they could be behind this?"

"It's definitely possible!" Brock said. "I've already told Mrs. Ketchum, Professor Oak, and Tracey what's going on. They're going to Cerulean to help Misty's sisters. Come on, we should get going if we wanna catch up to Ash."

Ash watched the shadows outside the windows fly by as the magnet train sped toward Goldenrod City. It felt too early to be night, but it was already nine P.M. Just seven hours ago, he had found out that Misty was missing. He kept trying to tell himself that it was nothing. She had gotten held up somewhere. Something like that. But he knew that it was not true. He knew that Misty would have found some way to get there if she could have. In fact, she would probably yell at him for missing his match over this. That was Misty for you. Sometimes she had strange ways of showing that she cared. But Ash had gotten used to it, and he had even grown to like that about her. He knew that she did care, no matter how hard she tried to hide it. Ash could remember the very moment he understood that. It was at Pokemon Tower, in Lavender Town. He had been trying to catch a Haunter, but Haunter ended up being the one that caught him when it separated his soul from his body. He had found Misty and Brock outside, and was surprised to find out that Misty was actually worried about him.

"So, Misty, you finally decided to care about me." He had said.

The remark was sarcastic, but when he watched her cry over his lifeless body, Ash knew that he would never feel the same about Misty again. He had always known that she was his friend, but he thought that he was an annoyance to her. At least, that was what she wanted him to think. But after that moment, she could not fool him anymore. From then on, Ash knew that Misty cared about him, and she proved it over and over again. That was why he had to find her.

"Don't you worry, Misty," Ash whispered as the train pulled up to the station, "I promise I'll find you."

Ash wandered lost around for an hour before he found the Goldenrod police station. It was an easy thing to do in the sprawling metropolis. Rows of skyscrapers pointed up, each one identical to the one before it. The police station was also a nondescript building, gray with a blue tiled roof and glass doors. Tired as he was, Ash ran through the doors, relieved to find a possible solution to this mess.

The Officer Jenny at the counter looked up when she heard the boy run in.

"Not another one!" She thought with a sigh.

She had been standing at the same counter all day, making calls, filing reports, and doing background checks. Things were very busy with all the kidnappings that had been occurring.

But Officer Jenny did her best to disguise her fatigue, straitening her blue cap that matched her hair and police uniform.

"May I help you?" She said nicely.

"I'm looking for my friend, I think she's been kidnapped!" The boy exclaimed.

"All right, have a seat in the waiting room, and we'll get to you as soon as possible."

"I can't wait, I have to find her as fast as I can!"

Officer Jenny was starting to get annoyed with this bratty little kid.

"Well, I'm sorry, but you'll just have to! I've got a ton of people who got here before you, so you'll just have to get in line!" She snapped.

Ash suddenly noticed that there were a lot of people sitting in the waiting room. Parents, siblings, friends– all looking very distracted and worried.

"Are all these people here because of the kidnappings?" Ash asked.

"Yes," Officer Jenny said, calming down a little, "we've been flooded with missing person reports lately, and it doesn't show any sign of letting up any time soon. I'm sorry to have yelled at you like that, but you will have to wait your turn."

Ash nodded sat among the others in the waiting room, dazed at the sheer number of people who were there. He had known before that there were a lot of girls missing, but it was just a number. Now that he could see it with his own eyes, it seemed a lot more real. He tried not to worry, but it seemed that the police were not getting anywhere. Would they really be able to help him find Misty? Ash pushed the thought out of his head by picking up a waiting room copy of Pokemon Friend and flipping aimlessly through the pages while Pikachu slept on his lap.

This is where Brock, May, and Max found them an hour later.

"Hey Ash, what's going on? Did you find anything yet?" May said, announcing their presence.

Ash did not answer but instead asked "What are you guys doing here?"

Brock smiled. "Hey, Misty's our friend too. Did you really think we would let you search for her by yourself?"

"Thanks guys." Ash said.

"So, what's going on?" May asked again. "Are you getting anywhere?"

Ash frowned. "No, I haven't even gotten to file a report or whatever it is that you have to do. There were a lot of people here before me, so I've just been waiting."

"Hey, May, tell Ash what happened!" Max piped up.

"Oh yeah, Team Rocket tried to kidnap me!"

"What!" Ash exclaimed. "Are you sure they weren't just after your Pokemon?"

"Uh-uh. It was definitely me they wanted. I found out that their boss has been kidnapping girls, and we think they're behind all this!"

"Come on," Ash said, "we have to tell Officer Jenny!"

But Officer Jenny did not want to hear it.

"I thought I told you to wait your turn!" She yelled at Ash.

"I know, but this is important!" Ash responded.

"Oh, down the hall and to your left."

"Huh? No, not that, we think we know who's been kidnapping all these people!"

"Do you?" Officer Jenny asked sarcastically. She had already heard a thousand different theories on the identity of the perpetrator, and she did not believe that some kid would get it before all the police and detectives working on the case.

But Ash did not catch her sarcasm. "It's Team Rocket!" He exclaimed proudly.

"Look kid, that's a fascinating lead, but you still have to wait just like everybody else!"

"Oh, Officer Jenny!" Brock cut in, "I would wait forever for a beautiful girl like you!"

Everyone face-faulted except Officer Jenny. She had had it.

"That's it, out, all of you!" She exploded.

"But–" Ash started.

"I'm a very busy woman, and I don't have time for your little games! Get out now, and don't come back until you can control yourselves!"

"Good going, Brock." Ash said once they were outside.

"I'm sorry! I just can't control myself when there's a pretty lady around!" Brock lamented.

"We believe you!" Everyone else agreed.

"So," Max said, "what do we do now?"

But everyone knew that if Max did not have any ideas, it was sure that no one else would have any either.

Misty sighed. She was bored out of her mind. There was nothing to do in this place– no TV, no books, not even any board games. Even the decor was boring– starch white walls, wood flooring, and a set of bunk beds with white sheets and blankets.

Misty could not believe she had let herself get caught by Team Rocket, Batch and Cassidy no less! But she could not keep away from a sale, so when she saw the small shop, she had gone in immediately. How could she have known that the dressing room was really a cage? And she had not even gotten to try on the outfit she had picked out! Misty was still in her yellow traveling outfit with the maroon shirt underneath. How boring! But something did not make sense. They had already taken her Pokemon, so why were they keeping her here? Misty had tried as hard as she could, but she could not get the door to the little room open. The lock must have been pretty heavy duty. But why would they want to keep her here so badly?

Suddenly, the door opened. Misty was a little apprehensive as to what was behind it, but at least something was happening. Someone clothed in black pushed a little girl with pretty auburn hair inside. She was wearing a yellow shirt with a purple bow on it, and she was crying.

"Hey, what's your name?" Misty asked the girl after the Team Rocket member had left.

"Vivi." She sniffed.

"That's a pretty name. My name's Misty. Why are you crying?"

"I want my mommy!" Vivi yelled, breaking into tears again.

"Aw, don't worry, I'm sure you'll see her soon." Misty tried to console, though she was not at all sure that it was true.

But Vivi was not listening. "I'm scared!" She wailed. "These bad people brought me here, and I wanna go home!"

"Oh, don't worry about Team Rocket. They're just a nuisance. They used to bother my friends and me all the time, but we always beat them."

"But they kidnapped you too, didn't they?" Vivi pointed out.

Misty face-faulted. "I guess . . . you're right." She said in embarrassment. "But we'll be out of here soon."

"I hope so." Vivi said, quieting down a little.

Ash and the others sat on a bench outside the police station thinking quietly. They had been there for several minutes already, but no one had any idea what they should do next.

"How could you lose the Twoips?" Said a nearby voice.

"Yeah, James, the boss is gonna kill us when he finds out!" Said another voice.

"Well they must be around here somewhere! I know I heard the older twerp say that they were coming to Goldenrod City!" Another voice said.

"I can't think with all this noise!" Ash complained, covering his ears. Then it suddenly dawned on him. "Wait a minute, that's Team Rocket!"

"Huh?" The others asked, breaking out of their own trances.

"Listen!"

"So why do you think the boss wants to see us?" The male voice asked.

"He's probably gonna fire us for losing the twerps!" Said the female voice sadly.

"How would he know about that!" Said male voice again.

"How did he even know we's was here?" A third voice said in a thick Brooklyn accent.

Ash and the others sneaked away from their seats and peaked around the corner of the building. Sure enough, there were Jessie, James, and Meowth, bent over and depressed looking.

"What do we do?" May whispered.

"They said they're going to see their boss," Max answered, "maybe that's where they're keeping the kidnapping victims. I think we should follow them."

"Why couldn't you have left the balloon someplace nearby?" Jesse asked. "I'm tired of walking."

"I couldn't just land it in the city, Jesse. There're too many buildings." Said James. "Besides, I'm not in any hurry to get to Viridian."

The others sighed.

"What now? We can't follow them if they're in their balloon." Brock said.

"This is even better." Max replied. "They said they're going to Viridian, so we can just go there and find them from there."

"Good plan, Max." Ash said.

They made their way to the magnet train station and departed on the next train.

"Miss Misty, I'm bored!" Vivi whined. Now that she had been there for a couple of hours, her fear was starting to wear off.

"Well, what do you want to do?" Misty asked.

"What is there to do?"

"Let's see, there's . . . not much."

Vivi sighed.

"Hey, I know, why don't I tell you a story?" Misty said.

"Yeah, that's a good idea!" Vivi exclaimed.

"All right, how about Snow White?"

"I've already heard that one." Vivi said.

"What about Sleeping Beauty then?"

"I've heard that one too."

"Cinderella?"

"Heard it."

"Are there any you haven't heard?"

"How would I know if I haven't heard them? Can you make up a story, Miss Misty?" Vivi asked, her hands clasped together.

"I can try." Misty laughed.

"What should I tell?" She thought to herself. "I was never much good at making up stories. Hey, I know!"

So Misty began to tell the only thing she could think of to tell.

"Once upon a time, there was a princess who lived in her castle with her three older sisters. Her sisters liked to make fun of her and call her a runt, even though she was prettier and smarter than them."

"Hey, this sounds like Cinderella!" Vivi interrupted.

"Wait a minute, it's not the same!" Vivi was not convinced, but she listened anyway.

"So anyway, the princess finally got tired of listening to her sisters all the time, so one day she decided to run away and prove to her sisters that she was just as capable as they were. So she took her Pokemon and set out on her bi– I mean Ponyta, and left the castle. She had not gone far when she got tired, so she took a break near a river. The princess loved water Pokemon, so she decided to do a little fishing while she rested."

"What kind of princess fishes?" Vivi wanted to know.

"This kind!" Misty yelled.

"Ok, whatever you say!" Said Vivi, shrinking back.

Now, where were we? The princess took out her fishing rod and cast it into the water and waited a long, long time. Finally, she felt a bite. It was a big bite too, and the princess was sure that she had caught a big Pokemon. But it wasn't a Pokemon at all! It was a boy with a Pikachu."

"Hey, I saw a Pikachu once! It was yellow, and small, and really cute!" Vivi squealed.

"That's neat!" Misty said as patiently as she could. "I'm friends with a really cute Pikachu. I haven't seen it in a long time though. But anyway, back to the story. The Pikachu was injured, and the boy took the princess' Ponyta and galloped away without even asking, which was very rude, because she would have loaned him the bike if he had just asked, and–"

"What bike?"

"Huh?"

"You said 'she would have loaned him the bike if he had just asked.'"

"I did? I meant Ponyta. Sorry. So anyway, the boy stole the princess' Ponyta so he could take his Pikachu to the . . . good fairy's house to get it healed, but there was a flock of Spearow chasing them! Finally, the Spearow caught up with them, and the boy and the Pikachu fell off the Ponyta. But just when it looked like all was lost, the Pikachu let out a blinding flash and thundershocked all the Spearow, saving the boy and itself. And it also scared the princess' Ponyta away, so the boy had to carry Pikachu to the fairy's."

"Was the Pikachu all right?"

"The Pikachu was just fine after the fairy healed it up. The princess wanted her Ponyta back, so she followed the boy and found him at the fairy's. But some evil witches had also followed him. They knew that the Pikachu was special, and they wanted to steal it. Luckily, the princess arrived just in time, and saved the day by distracting the witches with her Pokemon. Then the Pikachu was able to thundershock the witches, and they ran away, swearing that they would still catch Pikachu someday. But now that they were gone, the princess demanded that the boy give her Ponyta back. She was very angry when she found out that he had lost it and told him that he had to pay her back for it. But the boy didn't have any gold. So the princess decided to follow him until he got enough gold to pay her back. She followed him all the way into the dark woods where there were lots of icky, creepy, bug Pokemon, even though it was a little scary. But then the princess found out that there was something very special about the boy– he could talk to Pokemon!"

"That's impossible!"

"No, it's not, now be quiet and listen! The princess was still angry at the boy for losing her Ponyta, but now that she saw how kind he was to his Pokemon, she started to kinda like him."

"Miss Misty, I'm sleepy." Vivi said finally.

Misty had not noticed before, but she was sleepy herself. There were no windows in the room, so it was impossible to tell what time of day it was, but she guessed that it must be getting late.

"That's enough for right now. I think it's time for bed." Said Misty.

She tucked Vivi in the bottom bunk before she crawled into the top one. She fell asleep quickly, and dreamt of the boy who could talk to Pokemon.