Brock never realized that he had fallen asleep. For him, one second, it was dark, the next, it was light. When he finally recognized that he hadn't been awake the whole time, waiting for the possible return of his friends, he sat bolt upright on his sleeping bag. His hand brushed the side of the still-on PokéNav, and he glanced down at it. The clock read 7:24 AM. Quickly, Brock looked around. Everyone else was still asleep, but Ash's and Misty's sleeping bags were empty, save for their Pokémon. He was disappointed, but deep inside, he had known that Ash and Misty weren't going to be there anyway. It would have been too good to be true.
With a sigh, Brock shut the PokéNav off, so as to not run the batteries down any more than he had already accidentally had. Brock didn't bother to wake up comfortably slow, but let his mind immediately begin to organize and plan. All right. I wasn't able to do anything last night, but now I can. Now that Brock was able to do something, he didn't feel so stressed. We can form search parties. That'll be the best thing to do. I'm guessing they're probably outside the area we were supposed to stay in, because May and I probably covered most of it before we found the others, and all of us probably covered the rest before we got back to camp. All right, he glanced around at everyone who was sleeping, a quick breakfast, pack up, and we go.
He figured his best bet on who to wake up first would be Max. Brock tiptoed over to Max's sleeping bag, where Max was hugging Poochyena to him in his sleep. It reminded Brock exactly of the way Ash and Pikachu, and Misty and Togepi, always slept. He wondered if the two had missed their Pokémon companions in the night, and hadn't had anyone to sleep cuddled up with. Brock shook Max's shoulder gently and whispered, "Hey. Max. Wake up."
Max twitched, opened his eyes, and then sat up quickly. He reached blindly out to beside his sleeping bag, grabbed his glasses, and put them on. "Are they here?" he asked quickly, glancing around frantically for Ash and Misty. Poochyena very drowsily crawled out of the sleeping bag and sluggishly began to scratch an ear with a back paw.
Brock shook his head. "Nope."
"Search parties, then?"
"Yes, oh Great Max, the Psychic Mindreader." Max grinned a bit. "Wake everyone else up. I want to have a group discussion on what we should do, because we need to eat and pack quickly to start searching as soon as possible."
"Okay." Max clamored out of his bed and went over to wake his sister and the other Pokémon up. When Max had his back turned, Poochyena laid down on the ground and tried to go back to sleep. Max quickly got the pup up on his paws again. Brock grabbed his clothes from his bag and went out of the bushes surrounding the camp to change. Slipping his clothes on, Brock began to make a list in his mind of what possibly could have happened to his friends. The list was actually pretty long. As he pulled on his shoes, Brock remembered how rude he had been to May the night before when he was overstressed over Ash and Misty. I need to apologize. I bet I sounded awful mad when I wasn't. He walked back into camp. Max and May were gone, off putting on their own clothes.
Brock sat down on a log by the burnt out campfire and stared at the empty pot on it, imagining the pot beginning to fix food by itself. Across from him, also staring at the empty pot, were Pikachu, Togepi, and Poochyena, all in a row, with the exact same forlorn look on each of their faces. They all looked up at Brock, hungry and expectant. He shrugged. "We'll have to see what May and Max think we should do before I get a breakfast going, if that's what we're gonna do."
Pikachu and Poochyena sighed. Togepi chirped, and looked around for her mother. Pikachu looked around pointlessly for Ash. "Pika Pi chu Pikachupi pika pikachu?" he asked Brock, wanting to know if they were going to go looking for the missing two. Brock nodded. Pikachu nodded, but his ears drooped. Togepi trilled.
May and Max walked into camp, fully dressed. May yawned and stretched, then sat down beside Max, who had sat down on the log across from Brock, behind the Pokémon. "Good morning, everyone. Now right to business. All right, we have two things to decide. Should I fix breakfast?" Brock asked, "Or should we just have some leftover rice balls from lunch yesterday?"
"The rice balls," Max nodded, "We need to get started looking, and we can eat them as we walk." Brock nodded in agreement. May was staring into space rather dreamily. Pikachu gagged slightly. Even though Brock made delicious rice balls, Pikachu had grown sick of eating them as leftovers during the journeys through Kanto and Johto. Ash, Misty, and Brock would sometimes have to eat them for a week at a time until they found a grocery store or PokéMart to get supplies at. May and Max hadn't grown sick of repetitiveness yet.
"Also, should we split up, or go as one search party? Two could cover more ground."
"I think maybe one," Max reasoned, "because we don't have two maps, only one PokéNav, so we could get lost ourselves, like Ash and Misty probably are. What do you think, May?" She simply kept staring at nothing. "May?" She was obviously lost in a daydream, and a good one from the look on her face. "MAY! WAKE UP!" She jumped, startled, and looked at her raging younger brother. "THIS IS NO TIME TO BE DREAMING, MAY! THIS IS SERIOUS BUSINESS!"
May blinked, and looked at Brock. "Did Ash and Misty come back last night?" With a groan, Max fell down in incredulity. Pikachu wailed sadly. May blinked again.
"No. We're going to go search for them now." Brock explained patiently. "We need to go pack our stuff up now, right Max?" Max stood up and nodded, but glared at his sister irritably. May was slightly bemused.
Everyone split up to pack his or her belongings. After Brock had everything of his own set, he glanced over and saw Pikachu trying to roll Ash's sleeping bag up all by himself, which wasn't going too well. It kept unrolling back on top of him, and crushing him to the ground. Brock walked over quickly and helped Pikachu secure it in a bundle, then slip it into Ash's backpack. Pikachu zipped the bag shut, then went over to Misty's to do the same. When he saw he couldn't roll that sleeping bag up either, Pikachu called Brock back to help. Together, they got the missing two's things together.
All supplies were packed, all five bags were in a pile, and the campfire was completely extinguished, when Brock checked the PokéNav clock. 7:54 AM. May and Max were patiently awaiting command from the eldest trainer. The three Pokémon were restless. "Okay, everyone," Brock began, making up his instructions as he went, "Go ahead and get your own things first, and we'll see what's left." Brock heaved his backpack onto his back. Max put his own backpack on, and patted the side of his leg in a signal for Poochyena to sit next to him, which the wolf Pokémon happily did. May snapped her side pouch on and crossed her arms, waiting.
Brock stared back down at the two remaining bags. "Now who is going to carry these?" he mused.
"I'll carry Misty's," May spoke up quickly. Brock nodded, and May grabbed the red satchel and swung it on her back. I know that saying,' to have a friend, you have to be a friend', is true. So Misty, wherever you are out there, I'm trying to be your friend by helping you. I just want you to be my friend, because having to walk every day and camp every night with an enemy is no fun.
"I'll carry Ash's pack, Brock," Max said, as Brock had leaned down to get the bag himself. "You carry too much already." Brock gave the green pack to Max.
"Take his Pokéball belt out, Max," Brock instructed, "before you put the bag on. You never know when we might need Ash's Pokémon, and need them ready, fast." Max got the belt out, and held it, unsure of what to do. "Well, put it on!"
Max's caramel eyes grew wide. "What?"
Brock grinned. "You have to wear it. You're in charge of his bag, so you're in charge of his Pokémon."
Max gasped happily. "REALLY?" Brock nodded. Max slowly and reverently snapped the belt around his waist. May was watching her brother contentedly. Max closed his eyes, and let his hand feel the Pokéballs secured loyally to his side. This was like a dream Max had had before. Embarrassed slightly at his actions, Max quickly picked Ash's bag up, and fastened the pack straps around his shoulders, so the pack hung down on top of his own.
Pikachu leaped up onto Max's left shoulder. "Pika!" Pikachu patted Max gently on the face.
"Are you gonna ride on my shoulder, Pikachu?" Max asked excitedly, his voice squeaky. Pikachu nodded. Max smiled, his eyes flashing behind his black-rimmed glasses. Oh, boy! Now I feel like a real Pokémon trainer! Oh, I can't wait until I get my own trainers license, and I can use Poochyena in battle instead of just having him as a pet! Oh, Ash, and Misty, and Brock, and May are SO lucky! This feels awesome!
"Brrii?" Togepi stood by herself in the middle of the circle, looking up at the three people. Now that Pikachu had left her alone, and she didn't see her mother, Togepi began to get upset. She frowned, and tears began to form in her little black eyes.
"Aw, Togepi," May squatted down beside the confused egg Pokémon, "You want me to carry you?"
"Togi?" Togepi wasn't sure. She backed up a few paces from May's outstretched hand. She didn't know May too well, and knew that her mother wasn't too fond of this girl. Togepi looked up at Pikachu on Max's shoulder for help. Pikachu nodded approvingly towards May. Pikachu's word was good enough for the little one who didn't do much thinking, so she slowly walked towards May and held her paws up. May carefully scooped Togepi into her arms, afraid of holding her too tight or too loose. May remembered how Misty held her little baby to her chest, and tried to do the same. Togepi didn't find May's hold as comfortable as her mother's, but it would have to do for now. She trilled, and May smiled, relaxing.
Brock smiled. Misty would have been pleased to see how vigilantly May took care of her baby Pokémon. He hoped Misty would learn to be May's friend, because he could see that May wanted to at least get along.
"All right, we're ready now," Brock announced, taking one last quick look around the campsite. Brock took the PokéNav out of his pocket. 8:00 AM. Brock turned the map on. There was one red dot, them, right in the middle of a sprawling forest that went off all four edges of the screen. The dot was rather small. Brock knew that Ash and Misty were an invisible dot somewhere on that map, or maybe even a dot off the perimeter of the map. Just a Weedle in a haystack. Ash, Misty, don't be too hard to find… please. "Let's be off then." May and Max nodded. Pikachu sighed and nodded. Brock turned resolutely to the forest, borrowed PokéNav in hand, and led the way, Max in the middle with Pikachu and Poochyena, and May in the back with Togepi.
The seconds ticked by. The minutes ticked by. The giant forest enclosed the search party. After a few minutes, Brock passed some leftover rice balls out and everyone ate them quietly. Pikachu could only eat half of his before getting sick to his stomach, and gave the rest to Poochyena. Pikachu spotted some clusters of heart-shaped, apricot-colored Pecha berries in a tree a few minutes later and quickly climbed the tree to pick them. After eating a few of the small, sweet berries, Pikachu brought them down to the group, who ate the tender berries and thanked Pikachu heartily. Pikachu returned to sit on Max, who was silently pretending, in his mind, to be a certain Orange League Champion, ready to take on Team Rocket, Team Magma, and Team Aqua all at one time with his electric sidekick. They walked on quietly, only making a noise when shouting Ash's and Misty's names, calling them, hoping they would answer. They didn't.
Awhile later, Brock glanced up from the map and, turning his head, saw May staring into space again, clutching a yawning Togepi absentmindedly to her chest. She had a vague, dreamy grin on her face. Brock wondered what she was thinking about, but he thought he knew, perhaps. He called into the trees to Ash and Misty again, and there was no answer. Brock slowed his pace a bit, and let Max, who was looking for the friends, and at the same time, checking their surroundings for imaginary Magma spies to punish, take the lead. Brock, slipping the PokéNav in his pocket, fell into step beside a May that was unaware of anything but her daydream, as she had been earlier that morning and the night before at dinner.
"Pssst!" Brock whispered, "May!" She didn't respond. Togepi looked up at Brock and trilled, waving her arms. Brock kept looking around and searching as he poked May in the arm gently. May jumped and looked at him, wide-eyed. Brock grinned. "What are you thinking about that makes you so happy?" Brock whispered slyly.
May immediately blushed. She looked away from Brock, into the trees. "ASH! MISTY!" May shouted. All was quiet, except for the occasional Pidgey call. Max and Pikachu took over the yelling. Poochyena howled. Brock raised an eyebrow critically. May's blush intensified a little. "Oh… nothing much…"
"Maybe…" Brock began slowly, "you were thinking about that guy you love, that you told me about a week or two ago? What was his name again? Br-… Ba-…"
"Brendan Birch!" May quickly retorted in a quiet hiss. She blushed again, seeing that Brock had caught her in a somewhat romantic daydream, and knew that he had. She looked away. "Yeah, I… I… was thinking about him again."
"Interesting." Brock grinned. This kind of 'relationship issue' had always fascinated Brock, of course, as he had an 'issue' himself with all of the Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys and any pretty girls they met (that was older than himself). "Yes, it's hard not to think about the people that we love. We worry about them, wonder about them, think they look beautiful, and always try to know what they are thinking or what is worrying them."
"Yeah…" May muttered, starting to drift off into a dream again, "How do you know so much about what it is like to love someone, Brock?"
Brock snorted. "Who do you think you're talking to, huh?" A womanizer, May thought casually. "I am Brock: Matchmaker Extraordinaire!"
"…Except for yourself," May added. Brock abruptly became downcast. His shoulders slumped. May felt a bit sorry for mentioning Brock's lack of finding his 'other half'. She tried to cheer him up. "Oh, but don't worry, Brock, I'm sure some day some Nurse Joy or Officer Jenny will love you back!" May giggled nervously. Togepi looked up at Brock, who seemed to have recovered a bit. She glanced back down at the hands that were holding her, and wondered vaguely in her little mind why May had crossed two of her gloved fingers. Brock didn't notice.
"I hope so," Brock muttered, and sighed. "So you really love this Brendan a lot, huh?" May blushed and nodded. "Why didn't you tell him before he moved to, where was it, Mossdeep City?"
May nodded, but looked shocked. "Well, I couldn't tell him, Brock! How could I? What if he didn't love me back? That'd be the end of everything, wouldn't it? You know, I'd much rather have him for a friend than to not have him at all! Good grief, Brock! Don't be so silly!" She mumbled mockingly under her breath, "Why didn't you tell him, May? Oh, because it's friendship suicide!"
"So you keep your feelings for him bottled up?"
May blinked. "Well… yeah."
"How will he ever be able to love you back if he doesn't know you love him in the first place?"
May thought for a moment, then shrugged. "That's my problem, see? I keep thinking about him lately because I'm wondering what to do about it. If I find him again and tell him, he might love me back, but he could also say no. It's such a risk!"
"Well, that's a risk you'll have to take if you ever want him to love you."
May nodded. "…I know. I just… that kind of a risk is so very… risky!"
Brock couldn't help grinning. "That's why it's called a 'risk'." Brock thought for a moment about the whole conversation he and May had just had. Then he realized something. Oh my gosh! …That's Misty's problem. I've known forever that she loves Ash, but I've always kind of wondered why she'd never tell him. That's it then. She'd rather just be the friend that Ash thinks she is than lose him all together! She's almost stuck between what to do, because if she thinks that May loves Ash, too, then she could lose Ash by both telling him and keeping quiet, which are her only choices. Man, Misty, I wish I could tell you about May and Brendan, but then I'd have to say something about you and Ash, and you wouldn't like me to assume, even though I'm right. In fact, I need to tell you anyway, so you can get this stuff with Ash resolved and everyone can be happy. Well, I can't tell you now because you're not here …It's so strange how May loving Brendan is almost exactly like Misty loving Ash… they're too afraid to say so in case the boys don't love them back. How very strange.
"You know…" May mumbled indecisively, half to herself and half to Brock, "I… I'm going to do it. Next… next time I see Brendan… I'll… I'll tell him… how I feel… about him. I… I'll do that. Maybe… I'll find his phone number… in Mossdeep… and I'll call him. Yes. I'm… I'm going to tell him that I love him, Brock. I'm going to do that."
Brock only heard about the last half of May's subtle rant, as he was still thinking, but he tried to respond. "Good. That's what you need to do. No communication, that's everyone's problem these days." Brock thought he was only thinking his next words, but May heard him quietly say aloud, " 'Need to have a talk with Misty, now. 'Tell her she's not the only one. Other people have her exact same problem, too. Love issues." Brock shook his head in disdain a little bit. When she heard her mother's name, Togepi chirped in May's arms.
May had been watching her younger brother and his Pokémon charges calling for the two missing people from the group, when she suddenly realized what Brock had just muttered. She turned to him quickly and exclaimed in a fast whisper, "You mean that Misty is in love with someone, too, like me, and won't tell him!?" Brock jumped when he heard what May had said, but she went on before he could stop her. "Misty's afraid to tell him, too, because she thinks he doesn't love her back!? Oh, Brock, who is it!? Tell me, please! I wanna know! Who does she love, Brock!? Tell me! I won't tell anyone!"
"I… uh…" Oh great, now what should I do? How could I have let this slip out of my mouth!? Should I tell her what I think about Ash and Misty?
"Oh, come on, Brock, I won't tell anyone!"
"Uh… well…" May, you don't exactly have the best track record on keeping secrets. Everyone knows that, even Misty, who hasn't known you so long.
"Please tell me who she's in love with, Brock! Please! I totally, totally, forever promise not to tell! I mean, who am I going to tell anyway? Max?" She snorted in derision. "Come on, I told you MY deepest, darkest secret, so you can at least tell me Misty's!"
"Well…" See, May? You can't even keep your own secrets, but you do have a point. …I suppose I could tell you, because you'll probably figure it out anyway, now.
"How about I guess, then? Is it someone I know?" Brock nodded. Suddenly, May remembered something she had thought about the night before. "That Misty's sure been hanging around Ash an awful lot. Ash has been hanging around her a lot, too. Gosh, they must have been really close when it was just them and Brock traveling together, even though they do seem to fight a lot." …I bet… I bet it's ASH that Misty loves! Ooo, that makes perfect sense, too, from the way they act and everything! Oh my gosh, how awesome is that? "It's Ash, isn't it Brock? Misty is in love with Ash!"
How could she guess on the first guess? "Well, yes, as far as I know. Unlike you, she hasn't told me, but with all of the things I've seen and been through with those two, I am about one hundred percent certain." Brock was curious as to how May was going to take this information. She reacted in the best way Brock could hope, for Misty's sake.
May was exuberant. "Oh, that is so sweet! I like that! Ash and Misty… their names sound perfect together! That's so great, but kind of strange because of the way they argue, but you know," May smiled, "Brendan and I used to argue a bunch, too!" Brock smiled back, but May suddenly looked troubled. "I just…"
"What's wrong?"
"…Why… why does Misty not like me so much? From the way you said it, me and her seem to have a lot in common. I mean, we're both the only girls in the group, and we both are in love with someone, so why do you think we can't seem to get along? Why do you think she doesn't like me?"
Brock was hesitant to explain the rest of his knowledge on the whole 'love' situation that was happening in the traveling group. He finally decided that it would be best to tell her. "Well, you see, May, I think that… I think that Misty KNOWS you're in love with someone, just… I think that she thinks that… you're both in love with… uh, with the same person."
May blinked. Then she laughed. "…Who? …Ash?" May began to get tickled. She stopped walking and doubled over in laughter. Max stopped and turned around in irritation at being interrupted in looking for the lost two, whom he didn't know were being talked about. Brock stood there beside May with an uncertain look on his face.
"What's your problem?" Max sneered at his sister. Pikachu cocked his head. May, still giggling, waved him away with a free hand, and Max resumed his walking. Brock and May followed him, and Togepi gripped onto May's arm tightly, as she used her free hand to cover her laughing mouth. Her sapphire eyes flashed in amusement.
"You mean, Brock," May managed to gasp out in a whisper, for Max was now trying to hear what they were saying, "that Misty thinks I love Ash?" Brock nodded slowly. May dissolved into another fit of giggles. "That is so silly! Good grief! Ash is nice and all, but… me and him? How dumb is that!? Geesh, I already have, well, kinda have, Brendan. What do I need Ash for? He's my friend and all, but not like that! I've been kinda irritated lately because Ash always talks to her first thing, but now I see why, so I don't mind. …You know, Brendan's my age. I don't really like older guys that way." May grinned. "I like the younger kind."
"Like Misty?"
May chuckled. "Yep! So that's why she doesn't like me?" Brock shrugged in an affirmative sort of way. "Well, I'll just have to do something about that, huh?" May glanced down at Togepi, who was looking up at her, and whispered in a babyish voice, "I gotta tell your Momma that I don't like your Daddy that way, huh?" Togepi trilled. Brock fought a smile off of his face, to keep Max from getting more inquisitive than he already was.
"Hey, May," Brock muttered, remembering something he had decided to do, "I forgot to tell you that I was sorry that I was so mean to you last night. I was way too overstressed over worrying about Ash and Misty, but that was still no reason to be… snippy with you. Will you forgive me?"
"Oh, of course, Brock!" May shrugged the apology away nonchalantly, "I'd be irritable too, if I felt pressured like that. Don't worry about it."
"You guys," Max called to them, "Quit talking about whatever you're talking about and start looking for Ash and Misty. Geesh, what could be more important right now?" Brock realized he was right. He took the PokéNav out of his pocket and turned it on, bringing up the map. Brock wandered toward the front of the line to take the lead again.
"We were talking," May shot back, with a joking edge to her voice, "about your birthday present, Max!"
Max didn't buy the silly excuse for half a second. He snorted. "Yeah, right! My birthday's not, for like, a million months, May, you know that!"
"Well, then," she slyly replied, "it's gotta be a good birthday present if we're planning it this far in advance!" Brock began shouting for Ash and Misty again. Max rolled his eyes.
"Well, go advance some other time," he muttered illogically.
"What, you don't wanna advance? You have to! Be prepared! ARE YOU READY TO ADVANCE?!" May cried out, as if her phrase was from a television commercial.
"May, this is serious. We gotta find Ash and Misty! They've been gone too long. We gotta find 'em." May wiped the smirk off of her face and nodded gravely. We gotta find Ash and Misty so I can tell Misty how I DON'T feel about Ash. Then, we can finally be friends!
Brock led them onwards through the skinny trees. A Pidgey called overhead. Pikachu called out to his master and friend into the foliage. Max patted Pikachu on the head in reassurance. Togepi trilled. Poochyena howled.
May yelled out, "Where are you two? ASH! MISTY!"
"Where are those twerps again, James?"
James adjusted one of the straps on the backpack he was wearing. The pack was stuffed and heavy, as it held all of their supplies. Jesse had made him carry everything, but what was new there? "Meowth and I saw that they're way back that way," James pointed south, which was to their left, "and coming straight for us." James and Meowth were still catching their breath from running to see where the twerps were, then running back to report to Jesse.
"Good," Jesse said, crossing her arms and surveying the forest around them. "We need to set our trap up and be hidden way before they get here."
"Hey, Jimmy, tell her what's we didn't find!" Meowth piped up. He sat down and leaned against a tree trunk, fanning himself with a paw.
"Oh, yeah," James remembered, "Jesse, Pikachu was with them and everything, but guess who wasn't there?"
"The Main Twerp?" Jesse replied nonchalantly, leaning against a tree and flipping a strand of red hair out of her face.
James' eyes grew wide. "How did you know?"
Jesse stood straight up again and looked at him in surprise. "Really? The Twerp's not with them? I was only joking."
He shook his head. "The Main Twerp's not there, and neither is the Main Female Twerp." James emphasized his last three words and raised his eyebrows, as if to say something to Jesse without speaking. Meowth didn't notice; he was too busy still recovering from the running. Jesse thought for a moment. Oh, yeah. The bet. This is good then, if it's those two gone. I wonder if they're together somewhere.
Jesse smiled, and James knew he had gotten through to her. He always did. "Well, as long as Pikachu's headed this way, who cares how many Twerps are coming with him?"
"They're looking for them, though," James muttered, recalling the shouting that had led him and Meowth to find the group so quickly, "so those two twerps must be lost or missing or something. They're calling for them."
Jesse had a quizzical look on her face. "I wonder where they are then, or how they got lost." She got rid of her thoughtfulness and shrugged. "Oh, well, then."
"You'll be saying 'oh, well' when's we find outs that the Main Twerp was just telling the Main Female Twerp that's he hates her and loveses the Second Female Twerp insteads, then she rans off," Meowth suggested with a laugh.
Jesse aimed a kick at the chuckling feline, but Meowth leapt out of the way just in time. "Shut up, Meowth, and get serious! Pikachu's coming right towards us and we're going to catch him once and for all, TODAY!" She kicked out at him again, which caught him off guard and bowled Meowth over.
"HEY!" Meowth jumped up quickly and extended his claws.
James quickly stepped between. "Now's not the time for that!" He sputtered quickly. "We have to set our trap up!"
Jesse glared at Meowth for threatening her, then turned away and began walking north, away from the target group so she could find a place for their trap and still find time to set it up. James and Meowth hurried to catch up with her. "What plan are we going with, Jesse?" James asked.
"Plan H."
Meowth sighed irritably. "You mean, 'H' as in 'hole'?"
"Exactly."
"Oh, please, that's boring! We always dig a stupid hole! It never works!" Meowth complained.
"You mean WE," James gestured to himself and Jesse, as the three ran along, "dig the hole. It'll work this time, Meowth. It's a classic!"
"More like a rerun," muttered Meowth.
Jesse rolled her eyes at their mention of a television show. Somehow, Team Rocket always found a way to incorporate show business into their conversations, for the whole group was prone to love performing and applause. "It can't be a rerun, Meowth. Who'd ever make a television show, or a movie, or a book about holes?"
Meowth shrugged. "Well, the author of this book is." Jesse and James stopped.
"What are you talking about?" Jesse asked impatiently. James looked around, as if expecting to see a book or an author somewhere, just sitting out there in the woods around them.
Meowth sighed. "Never minds. Don't you all worry your puny brains about it." Jesse and James looked at each and shrugged.
The three continued on when suddenly, Jesse muttered, "Here's a good place for a hole." They were at the edge of a clearing in the middle of the woods. They slowed their pace as they walked out towards the middle of the meadow. "There's no tree roots out here to tangle up a hole we could dig."
"That sounds pretty good," Meowth added. "So where's we going to dig it?" The group of three stopped and looked around. James looked at the ground right in front of him and jumped.
"Jess, I don't think we need to dig a hole," James supposed.
Jesse turned on him quickly. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN, 'WE DON'T- huh?" She looked where James was pointing. Right at his feet was a hole, hidden slightly by thin blades of undergrowth, that James would have fallen in if he had taken one more step forward. Team Rocket gathered around the hole, which was about big enough for two people to fall into at the same time. They looked into it. It was pitch black. They could see no bottom. James gulped, thinking of the fate he had narrowly avoided.
"Only a hole in the middle of a meadow," said James.
"In the middle of the forest," Meowth added.
"In the middle of Route 119," James inserted.
"In the middle of Hoenn." Jesse finished the phrase. They stared at the hole some more.
"I feel like I heard that before," Meowth thought of their combined sentence, "or read it, or something."
"It's rather poetic," James agreed.
"You know," Jesse said, thinking, "We ought to use this pre-made hole as our trap, instead of digging our own. It'd be a shame to waste such a beautiful one. I mean, what twerp's going to get out of that thing?" Jesse smirked.
"Who could?" James shivered at the blackness of it.
"Let's cover it up then, if we're going to use it!" Meowth cried out.
"Right," James nodded. So did Jesse. Just as Meowth had muttered earlier, Team Rocket had dug many, many holes, but this was helpful experience now, for they all knew what to do to make the existing hole look like solid ground. The two humans and one talking Pokémon split up and did the task they needed to do to make the disguise work.
Jesse and James gathered long, medium sized sticks from the ground, where they had fallen from the tops of the forest trees. They brought the sticks back to the meadow, where together, the two of them wove the branches into a crisscross pattern. The pattern was strong enough to hold a little weight, but not for long. They set the fragile mat over the hole, where luckily, it just extended over the rim on all sides. Meowth had been gathering leaves and weeds around the meadow and made a pile beside the hole. Carefully, the three arranged the foliage on the mat so that all the holes were filled. Meowth then covered their work with dirt and dust. Jesse and James gasped in happiness. There wasn't the faintest clue that a hole had ever been there. They didn't know it, but it looked exactly as it had when two other people accidentally walked on it and fell down the day before.
"It's perfect."
"The best one ever!" James added to Jesse's proclamation.
"Well, what do we's do now that's we're done?" Meowth asked.
Jesse rolled her eyes. "What do you think, Meowth? We watch and wait for them to come and fall in! If we've done it so many times before, you should know that!" Meowth gave her an angry look, which Jesse returned. James didn't notice that the two looked ready to fight again. He was staring at where the hole used to be.
James brushed a strand of hair out of his eyes and nodded. "We wait."
The cavern didn't have to wait long for its human trespassers to wake up.
At the fleeting moment of awakening, Misty didn't remember anything. She forgot about sitting next to Ash to sleep; she forgot about the snowy cavern; she forgot about the Brace Hide-And-Seek game; she forgot about her mental problems about May; she practically forgot she was in Hoenn. She didn't open her eyes first thing, because she felt she was too warm to want to move even the smallest bit. …Warm…? Wait…shouldn't I… be cold? …The cavern! She remembered her whole situation in a quick jolt, which was enough information to get anyone to open their eyes. Her eyes met the snow, billowing across the ground, the sharp silver walls, the stalactites and stalagmites. She was still in the cavern. Nothing had changed. …Then why am I war- Misty, despite her heated status, froze. She didn't move after seeing the sight that met her eyes now.
She was leaning, very heavily, on Ash's shoulder.
Her body shook a little bit, from surprise and excitement and a little bit of fear, all rolled up in one. She felt his right arm slung securely around her shoulders and his head being supported by the top of her own. A warm sensation, in the pit of her stomach, flared up. She had felt this intense feeling before, and knew that it was a quick surge of the love that she had for Ash. Misty breathed in heavily. This had to be a dream, but then again, she had to be awake.
Ash was asleep, and Misty wondered, a little anxiously, what he would do or think about the way they were sitting. Suddenly, Misty realized that she herself hadn't done this, leaning against him the way she was. She was certain that she had fallen asleep staring out at the cavern. Then… Ash did this. …He put his arm around me and… he must have…I…wow. Misty was stunned, but rapidly excited. If Ash had situated himself and her like this, then obviously he had wanted to. He had wanted to be this close to her. Misty knew that this might still qualify as a 'friendship' kind of thing, but she couldn't help but believe and pray that he had done it for a more loving reason. There's no reason to be a little embarrassed or scared right now, then. He started this, not me, and besides, we're completely alone. This thought seemed to strike her harder than it had before. …We're completely alone. No May… I guess I shouldn't worry about her right now…Just him and me, Misty and Ash, the way… the way it should be. …Alone, but together.
Assured that she had nothing to worry about at the moment, Misty closed her eyes and slowly snuggled her nose into his neck a little bit more. In his deep slumber, Ash tightened his grip on her arm, drawing her closer. She shivered happily. Her hands had been in her lap, but gradually she slipped her left arm behind her and around Ash's waist. This was even more comfortable than it was a moment before. The warm sensation flared up in her stomach again. Misty felt so at peace right now, for she knew more than ever that Ash was the only one she could ever feel this way about. In her imagination, she could almost hear Ash tell her how much he loved her, and how he would always be there for her, and always protect her.
Gradually, Ash felt wakefulness pull on him, and he opened his eyes. Before he even fully woke up, his mind remembered the situation he and Misty were in. He stirred only a little bit, but Misty was too absorbed in amorous thoughts to notice the warning sign. He blinked quizzically, then glanced at Misty. She looked asleep the way her eyes were closed, but Ash wasn't exactly sure. If she was asleep, he didn't want to wake her up, but if she was awake… he really didn't want to move either. The chill of the snow they had trudged through the night before had vanished, replaced by the heat that their touching bodies produced, and Ash was in no hurry to be cold again. Besides that, this was too comfortable to actually want to move anyway.
He let his gaze settle on Misty, and suddenly he remembered looking deeply into her ocean-tinted eyes the night before. There had been a strange jolt in his stomach when he had done so, and now, just even looking at her orange undone hair, he felt a warm sensation, in the pit of his stomach, flare up. Ash was afraid, for again, this felt so familiar and good, but he just couldn't place his mind on what exactly it was. Misty…
Ash had a sudden urge to draw her closer to himself, though they couldn't very well get much closer, when he saw her eyes open out to the snowy cavern. So she really was awake. She yawned a small bit, and it looked to Ash as though she had probably been awake longer than he had. He wondered why she didn't wake him up. Maybe… for the same reason as me… He still didn't want to move, but he just had to make her realize that he was awake, too. "Misty?"
He felt her twitch as she heard his voice and looked at him. She seemed unsure of what to say back, or if even to say anything at all. Seeing her face caused the burning feeling in his stomach to return. What on Earth is wrong with me? Unsure of what to do himself, he smiled at her. Immediately, she smiled back at him. "…Hey, Ash." She seemed to think for a minute before quietly asking, "How are you?"
"Fine." Ash wasn't sure what was going on either. "You?" Misty bit her lip, smiled out at the snow, and nodded. The skin below her eyes was the smallest bit pink. They sat for a moment in the stillness and silence of the cavern, both contemplating different but similar things. The mood was somewhat shattered when Ash felt his stomach growl the slightest bit. No matter the situation, calm or dangerous, Ash couldn't help that his appetite wouldn't let him miss or skip a meal. Misty must have heard it, too, (for it would have been a miracle if she hadn't) because suddenly she smiled broadly and started to giggle. She glanced over at him again, and grinned. Ash bit his lip, but started to chuckle along with her. Soon they were both laughing, but still neither one had made a move to get away from the position they were in. Their laughter sounded rather strange in the plain hush of the grotto, so eventually it died out.
"You're awful," Misty muttered playfully. She was so comfortable right now that it was almost too comfortable to stand. She hated to, but finally took her head off of Ash's shoulder and sat up straight.
"It's not MY fault!" Ash retorted good-naturedly back. He hadn't realized that her arm had been around his waist the whole time until she carefully pulled it back into her lap. For the life of him, he couldn't remember that happening the night before. Realizing that his own arm was still around her shoulders, he quickly pulled his arm back into his own lap. "I can't help it that I'm hungry! I haven't eaten since… last night, if it's tomorrow now, or since dinner, or whatever."
Misty snorted. "Well, neither have I, and I'm not growling or anything!"
Ash blushed. "I didn't growl. My stomach did."
"Well, that's a part of you, isn't it? So you did growl!" Ash couldn't really dispute this. Misty grinned and poked him. "I gotcha on that one, huh?"
He poked her arm in return mischievously. "Maybe. Do you think maybe there's some food out there somewhere in this place?"
Misty rolled her eyes and smirked. "In a cave? No, Ash, I'm pretty sure there's not." She was starting to feel a little bit hungry herself, but luckily, her stomach made no noise.
"Well, if you're only 'pretty sure'," Ash reasoned, jumping up from where he was sitting on the rock, "the only way to find out it to look and see!" He bounded off the rock into the snow, and started to hop towards the opposite side of the cavern, which they had not even viewed yet.
"Have fun," Misty called after him. It was rather enjoyable for Misty, watching him frisk about in the flurries.
Ash stopped and turned to look at her, still sitting on the rock. He looked inquiring and upset. "Aren't you coming, Mist?" I love that nickname, she thought. Misty shrugged. He was already about thirty feet away. "Come on! Come with me, Misty! I wanna see if there's anything at all over there. What if there's another long tunnel and I don't come back for awhile?"
Misty smiled. He seemed so saddened that she didn't seem to want to come. She got up and leapt down from the rock, and ran towards him, snowflakes flying everywhere. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" He smiled and waited for her to catch up, then went leaping off to the other wall of the cavern. Misty hurried to keep up, pulling the vest that she still wore tighter to herself, looking around at the walls and stalactite-filled ceiling. In a minute or two, they reached the other side and stopped. Off to the left was a fairly wide passageway, just like the others, that had been hidden from view before. With a nod, Ash and Misty agreed to continue on down this way. They started to walk, now, side by side.
After a moment, Misty began to notice that her legs weren't snow-numbed anymore. She glanced down, and saw that now the snow was only just past her ankle. "Hey, Ash. Look. The snow seems to be tapering off now."
Ash looked down to see this truth himself. "Yeah. You could probably almost see the ground if you swooshed all the snow away. I wonder… hey, Misty, do you think this goes somewhere? I mean, maybe the less amount of snow means something?"
"Possibly," was all Misty could truthfully answer, when suddenly, they turned a slight bend in the tunnel. Misty gasped. The snow ran out, and suddenly, there was ice. Across the sixty-foot wide floor in front of them, and as far as they could see, the snowy ground had run out and was replaced by a smooth, flat, milky silver sheet of solid ice. Stalagmites jutted bravely up through the slick surface, and stalactites were dimly reflected in the natural mirror. "Wow! Look at that. Where do you think all of that ice came from?"
"I guess the Ice- type Pokémon around here can use Ice Beam or Sheer Cold or a freezing attack like that."
Misty walked to the edge of the snow and kneeled down, examining the ice. It appeared to be very thick. Misty touched it lightly, and when nothing happened, she hit it with her fist a few times. It didn't break or fissure or crack even the tiniest bit. "This is extremely thick ice," Misty muttered, "I'd guess probably two or three feet thick. Maybe even frozen all of the way through."
Ash walked up beside her as she stood up. "I guess we have to go back then. We can't go any further."
"Why not?" Misty was surprised. She thought of her experience with ice. "My sisters always freeze our gym pool in the winter, so that all of the people in Cerulean can go ice skating. This ice is thick enough to walk on."
Ash was very wary. "I don't know, Misty. We don't have ice skates."
"Well, at least we don't have bare feet. Shoes are okay sometimes, if you can get the hang of it." Misty glanced out at the icy floor again. "You know, if we skate from stalagmite to stalagmite, we can get all of the way across," she sent Ash a sly look, and added "and see if there's any food over there."
"Oh, well, if there's food," Ash muttered sarcastically. Misty giggled.
"At least you're motivated someway," she joked, and Misty chose a stalagmite to aim for. Slowly, she put one foot on the ice and kicked off with the other, sending herself flying across the floor. Ash's heart jumped as she wobbled, but she managed to adjust to the ice and reach the stalagmite. She held onto it with one hand and searched for another to get to.
Ash gulped, but prepared himself to go for it. He didn't need food motivation, only the knowledge that he didn't want to get left behind without Misty. He glided across the floor and grabbed onto the stalagmite, just as Misty shot off from that one to another. She looked back and saw him, though he was standing up straight, hanging on for dear life onto the stalagmite.
"What, are we playing Tag now?" Misty called out to him.
He grinned. "Sure! Hide-And-Seek is so overrated!" Misty laughed.
"Well, you're 'it'!" Misty shouted back, and propelled herself towards the next stalagmite. Ash hurried to follow, though if he was holding on or gliding, he always felt ready to fall. Luckily, he didn't, and, both of them laughing hysterically at many near misses on falling, Ash chased her from side to side, across the icy cavern floor. Ash actually, for one of the first times in his life, forgot about food. He was having too much fun with Misty at the moment to pay attention to his stomach.
As all fun things do, they had to stop when they reached the other side. Ash slid over to the stalagmite Misty was clinging to and poked her. "You're it." Misty nodded, but pointed to the left where there was another tunnel like the first. It too was covered in ice, though they couldn't see the whole area from where they were standing.
"Want to check that out now, Ash?"
"Why not? Think about it. We've come this far. It'd be a shame to turn back now when there's more to see. I mean, who knows what's around the next bend?"
Misty smiled. "Wise words, Ash."
"I know a few, you know."
"I know."
Together, they slowly skated from one stalagmite to the other, Misty waiting for Ash at each one, and Ash waiting for Misty. They made their way into this new cavern. Ash was just past the heart of the cavern before he looked up and saw what made him gasp. He clung to his stalagmite tightly. Misty was right in the middle of skating to Ash when she saw it, too, and forgot about aiming for the stalagmite. Ash heard her coming, and grabbed her left hand as she started to slide past him. They steadied themselves, not even glancing at one another, for this was a sight neither could take their eyes off of.
From the top of the cave wall to their right, came what looked like a huge, fifteen-foot wide waterfall. It shot straight out a few feet before coming down in a graceful arc where it met the icy floor. There were a few things different about this waterfall, though, from a normal one. First of all, it was completely frozen. At least, that is what it appeared to be, though actually, it wasn't even water in the first place. Actually, it was a waterfall of crystals, all in the same precise form, with smooth sides and definite edges. They were arranged like shingles on a roof, half layered on top of each other, their sharp pointed ends sticking out downwards. The crystals were translucent and sparkled in the Flash light of the cavern.
Second of all, they were all a different color.
Each individual crystal was a solid color, utterly different from the ones around it. They were absolutely every color of the rainbow, and every color in between. Neither Ash nor Misty had every seen so many colors in one place in their whole life.
There were reds, bright and crisp like apples, and dull like chipping fence paint or brick, cinnabars, scarlets, vermilions, poppies, azaleas, crimson, cardinals, rubies, and Shuckle-shell reds. There were crystals of an orange tint, of the color of pumpkins, or fire, or leaves, or a Flareon. Yellow hued crystals sported goldenrod, saffron, canary, sulfur, straw, topaz, xanthic, and even a Pikachu-yellow coating. The crystals were green, viridian, celadon, ivy, jade, hunter, sage, lime, peridot, pine, emerald, Treecko-hued, and grassy. The blue hues were multiple, cerulean, cobalt, midnight, sapphire, ultramarine, azure, navy, and colors of the sky and ocean and Tentacool. Crystals of the purple persuasion could be found also, violet, fuchsia, lavender, amethyst, plum, mauve, porphyrous, puce, iris, periwinkle, grape, and Crobat-colored.
There were colors also that didn't very well match a rainbow color category either. Coral, apricot, mahogany, ecruteak, olivine, teal, pewter, turquoise, orchid, burnt sienna, nutmeg, magenta, argent, beige, cianwood, onyx, citrine, blackthorn, columbine, ivory, peach, iron, tan, griseous, hyacinthine, khaki, maroon, morel, russet, sable, burgundy, and colors no one could ever hope to describe. Deep black to light white, there were crystals of every color made before, now, and in the future, and some that no one besides Ash and Misty would ever see again.
Both were completely speechless. The cavern, the whole thing, had had a dream-like quality to it, but now, this crystal waterfall, with all of its colors, was a dream beyond imagination.
"I… I've never…" Ash stammered quietly, "There… there must be hundreds…"
"…Thousands…" Misty countered, not once taking her eyes away.
"…Millions…" Ash blinked, "…well, maybe almost a million…"
"This whole place had only two colors before, you know, silver and white. And now… where did it all come from?"
"I guess there really are a million," Ash muttered.
"Yes," Misty agreed, "This is a cavern of a million colors."
"You think… you want to get closer?" Misty gaped at him. "…I mean, to the crystal things?"
"Oh!" Misty's blush luckily faded and she nodded. "Sure." Ash, who was still holding her hand, gave her a little push towards the crystal waterfall, and pushed off from the stalagmite himself. They slowly slid over to the amazing multihued structure and carefully grabbed on to the crystals to stop. Misty gently ran her hand along some of the crystals in the front, almost trying to feel the colors they were and touch them. Ash pulled himself across the ice and around to the back, where there was space between the 'crystalfall' and the wall. Crystals adorned the whole thing, top to bottom and on all sides.
Ash gazed up, trying to take in the whole scene at the same time, but finding it impossible to do. His eyes panned down unhurriedly. When his sight reached eye level, one of the crystals suddenly caught his attention out of the far corner of his right eye. He felt almost drawn to it. Ash slowly slid across the ice over to it. It was a bluish green crystal, a brilliant color Ash had seen before. He liked the color, loved it in fact, and he tried to place where he had seen it. It was the purest water of the ocean.
Eyes. It was the color of Misty's eyes.
Out of all of the many shades and tints of the same color Ash had noticed on the crystalfall, this one was exactly the color of Misty's eyes. There was no mistaking it for Ash; he knew it was exactly the same. He could remember it from looking into her eyes before they both drifted off the night before. The crystal was it, exactly.
Ash had a feeling that he wanted that crystal, needed it, and as though Ash wasn't good enough for the crystal, he slowly, hesitantly, and delicately touched it. It was cool to the touch, like the others, yet somehow not. Ash put his whole hand around it and was about to give it a tug when it seemingly slipped right out of its hole into his hand. Ash knew the other crystals hadn't been that easy, for he had tugged on them to pull himself around to the back. He examined it.
The crystal was exactly the same in shape and texture as the others. The six sides were five inches long, and about an inch wide, so the middle was in a hexagon shape. At each end, it went down to a point, quite a lot like a pencil that had been sharpened on both ends. Ash could make out the shape of his hand on the other side of the crystal, through the film of aquatic color. It was beautiful and perfect.
Ash felt like he needed to do something with this crystal, not just keep it. I know… I'll give it to Misty, since it is her eyes. Ash hid the crystal behind his back and started to pull himself around to the front of the crystalfalls.
On the front side, one of the crystals had suddenly caught Misty's attention. She felt almost drawn to it. Misty slowly slid across the ice over to it. It was a light brown crystal, a brilliant color Misty had seen before. She liked the color, loved it in fact, and she tried to place where he had seen it. It was like the purest russet of the earth.
Eyes. It was the color of Ash's eyes.
Out of all of the many shades and tints of the same color Misty had noticed on the crystalfall, this one was exactly the color of Ash's eyes. There was no mistaking it for Misty; she knew it was exactly the same. She could remember it from looking into his eyes before they both drifted off the night before. The crystal was it, exactly.
Misty had a feeling that she wanted that crystal, needed it, and as though Misty wasn't good enough for the crystal, she slowly, hesitantly, and delicately touched it. It was cool to the touch, like the others, yet somehow not. Misty put her whole hand around it and was about to give it a tug when it seemingly slipped right out of its hole into her hand. Misty knew the other crystals hadn't been that easy, for she had tugged on them to pull herself across the front. Misty felt like she needed to do something with this crystal, not just keep it. I know… I'll give it to Ash, since it is his eyes. Misty hid the crystal behind her back and started to pull herself towards the back, when Ash appeared around the side.
"Hey, Ash," Misty said, just as Ash said, "Hey, Misty." They glided towards each other on the ice.
They both went on at the same time. "I got something for you." They both blinked, as their voices combined. "Here." They had done it again, saying the same thing at the same time. Usually, once they accidentally started this, they couldn't stop. This time was no exception. Ash held out the aquatic crystal, just as Misty held out the russet one. With their free hand, they exchanged the crystals, and now held the one that exactly matched their eyes. Both paused for a moment, before explaining, "It's like your eyes." Ash and Misty looked at each other, then at the crystals. She knows my eyes, too? Ash was slightly amazed. He thought about me? Misty was slightly excited. They both looked up at each other at the same time and said, "Thanks."
After a moment, Ash looked at his new crystal again and muttered with a smile, "No Pokémon choreographer could have directed that, huh?" Misty grinned and nodded. She started to laugh. Ash laughed, too. Soon, their giggling filled the cave around them, but no one was there to hear it, further than themselves. Almost.
Across the cave, opposite the colorful crystalfall, from behind a stalagmite in the corner, a violet paw appeared. It sunk its three sharp claws into the stalagmite, and pulled the owner of the paw up a bit farther on it. The Pokémon poked his head around the side, silver hexagon eyes watching two innocent humans putting a crystal each into their pocket. The Pokémon gritted his razor teeth helplessly.
I warned you, the Pokémon thought regretfully, I warned you, didn't I? Didn't you see my warning, humans? You had to have come in through the ground hole, so you had to have seen it! Why did you come this far? Didn't you bring your own Pokémon with you? He watched the boy point the opposite way of the exit, and the girl nod. No, no, no! Whatever you do, don't go that way! They started to glide across the ice. NO! Don't do that! It's dangerous! Come on… The Pokémon scratched a pointed ear sadly. I… I can't go out and stop them. I… what if they tried to capture me? I can't leave this cave! I have work here. But I… I can't let them just be… not like him… my… my human… no. Come back here! Why? WHY? Get out of here while you still can! Go, go, GO! NOT THAT WAY! The Pokémon almost cried out at them, watching them pass by. He stopped himself before he could. Maybe… maybe they'll go back… before… before they get there. Please go back. Please.
The Pokémon climbed off of the stalagmite onto the ice. His sharp claws kept him from slipping, so he could walk or climb at his leisure. This was no time for leisure, though. He climbed up onto the flat, slick, un-climbable wall and watched them disappear from view. He gritted his teeth tighter. Please… I don't want to see you go… the way my master did…That thing… HE shows no mercy to people or Pokémon, only ones of our element type. Go back, humans, please! There's nothing you could do to save yourself… nothing I could do either… he's too strong for me… the evil… The Pokémon almost cried, thinking of the boy that had raised him. I tried… I did, master, I did…
TO BE CONTINUED…
I have to say something: this was a really fun chapter to write, so hopefully this was enjoyable for you to read. By the way, my birthday is on August 7, so please be nice when you review! …What am I saying? You guys are always nice anyway, but make sure to really tell me what you think. Please review!
WHO'S THAT POKÉMON? With a cliffhanger ending like this one, now is a perfect time to play this famous episode-commercial game. Can you guess what Pokémon it is that I described in the last three paragraphs? Read it again to make sure. If you think you know, when you review, tell me what you think it is. The answer is in the next chapter, so this is your only shot at it. Good luck, and who's that Pokémon?
NOTE: How many names of Pokémon cities can you spot in both lists of crystal colors? Also, there is a Pokémon's name, spelled correctly for the color but incorrectly for the Pokémon, in the lists. Can you spot that, too?
NOTE II: Every chapter title is a line from a song, and all of the songs are songs from one of the many Pokémon CD's. If you have identified the song that Chapter 5's title is from, review and let me know, and I'll post your name with the correct title on my next chapter.