To the Reviewers:
Ri2-What about them? You're right about the reviews probably. I don't mind if they don't review all the time I just would have liked to have known they were around. Maybe they're those people that wait until a story's done to review it. W/E though. If you don't like Mew that's because you're not supposed to. If you did like her character right now I'd have been surprised, especially since I don't like her much. The Mew blood would explain why Pikachu is stronger and so that's my explanation for it. Even if Crawdaunt was part Mew I don't even know if she's THAT desperate. Although she probably would be. No the scene with Mune wasn't necessary and I fixed the one error you told me about, thanks. I only added the scene so some random smart ass couldn't go: "Where's Mune? He just disappeared during the chapter." Maybe I'm overcompensating but oh well. Glad you liked the dreams the herbs really helped with those. And if you wanted worse… You're welcome for being evil and I have to wonder what you're going to do to those Wynaut…(cringes)
Kgmck-117-Mew's a whore? LOL many share your sentiment.
The Heir of Seth-If you feel sorry for Pikachu now just wait until I really start to torture the poor guy .
Cdfe88-Celebi was already mentioned and should be making an appearance or two sometime between now and the end. No one likes Mew, lol. You'll have to wait for your other questions to be answered as I continue writing this.
Now on to Chapter 28…
Interruptions by…Rockets?
Misty awoke the next morning unsure of how to approach Ash. She knew she needed to tell him and that it had to be today. She knew he felt the same way about her as she did him so now she felt even worse about the hurt she was going to bring to him. She didn't know if he would accept her explanation why she had deceived him or not. She had to amend this thought quickly. She didn't have an explanation for deceiving him, she barely had an excuse. She could explain why she was hiding from Team Rocket, but not why she hid from him. She took a deep breath and headed out of her room to find him. Whatever happened she was determined to make him understand, somehow.
…
Ash sat in the lobby of the Pokemon Center resting his head on the back of the couch. He'd resolved that the dream must have been real because the mark on his head kept tingling. What he hadn't resolved was what he should do about Misty. Should he just come out and confront her straight on. Or should he try to trap her in one of her elaborate lies. Ash painfully realized that he wasn't the best with words and Misty had always managed to outsmart him in many an argument, so this meant that both of those first plans were out. The best thing for him to do was wait for her to come to him. After thinking about what Rayquaza said he found himself seeing a lot of positives despite the deceit. Misty was alive, she wasn't in Team Rocket, if she escaped maybe Brock did too and she had a legendary pokemon that was very powerful. Once this whole "Identity Crisis" was over with he was going to have to ask her about what happened at the Gym.
He heard her footsteps before he saw her appear around the corner. He sat up and eyed her as she approached. She looked a bit nervous and a tad bit apprehensive. She made her way to the seat across from him and sat down to look him in the eyes. Violet met Brown and they just stared at each other for a minute.
"Ash we need to talk." She said
"Oh, what about?" He said
"There's something you need to know about me." She started
"Well you already answered all my questions, so what else could there be?" He asked
"I wasn't totally honest about what I told you." She said "Ash I should have told you up front and I want you to know I'm really sorry about that. I don't know why I didn't just tell you and to be honest I probably never will. But you need to know that I'm not who I told you I was." She paused
Wow I thought she'd drag this on a little longer Thought Ash Guess she wants me to say something…umm. "Spit it out Mist, you can tell me any…" He stopped, what had he just said! He watched as her eyes grew wide.
"You knew?" She asked quietly
"Yesterday." He said "Me and Pikachu followed you to that store and I heard you talking to Dawn about your hair. I figured it out from that point."
"Ash I don't know what to say." She said
"Why?" He asked "I thought we could trust each other. After everything I told you about how much I missed my friends and how worried I was about all of you. You still didn't tell me." His voice was steadily growing louder. "I thought we were friends, no best friends. After over six years of us knowing each other and spending four of those six together everyday you kept something this huge from me!"
"Ash I-," He cut her off
"You already said you don't have a reason." Said Ash "You do all this and you can't even tell me why. What kind of friend are you!" He knew he was being harsh but the original anger at her was coming back in full swing. He couldn't close the cap on his emotions that he'd been holding down since yesterday.
"What do you want me to say?" Said Misty now matching his volume "I was hiding under this mask for almost two months now! When I saw you I did what I thought was best, I figured you might slip or something and Team Rocket would find out, I figured if you knew you might try extra hard to protect me, I don't really know what I figured but that's just what happened!"
Nurse Joy came from the back room to see what all the commotion was. In the meantime several trainers who had also been in the center turned to look at the spectacle. And a trio of people who were hiding in the bushes outside also peeked through the window when they heard the yelling.
"Hey homes isn't that that kid who we fought in Mahogany Town?" Asked Carlos
"Let's see…" Said Reece "Dark long hair?...Check. Stupid Pokemon League hat?...Check. Annoying electric rat?..." Just then Pikachu came running into the lobby also attracted by the two people arguing. "…There it is! Yeah that's the little punk."
"Wasn't there a memo that said he was on our A-List?" Asked Carlos
"Yes." Said Mitch "He's supposed to be the trainer of a legendary pokemon."
"Which one?" Asked Carlos
"I believe it was Entei." Said Mitch "If we could take it and any of his other pokemon we'd be in the running for promotions in no time."
"What's the plan then?" Asked Carlos
"Well I heard about this nifty plan that these Elite Rockets used to use most of the time…"
Meanwhile on the inside of the center the argument raged on.
"If I'd known you were going to be such an ass about it I probably should have never told you." Said Misty fuming.
"If I'm an ass then you're a selfish bitch with no regard for anyone else's feelings!" Retorted Ash
"What did you say!" Roared Misty
Ash didn't get to give an explanation because there was a loud crash and a wall of the pokemon center crumbled away and smoked started to fill the room. Maniacal laughter was heard and a triplet of black silhouettes could be seen each in a ridiculous pose. One in a kind of 'X' pose, one standing on his head and another who had one foot in the air.
"To scour the night and do what's wrong." Said a male voice with a Hispanic accent.
"To make the grip of evil firm and strong." Said one of the Rockets standing beside the Hispanic one.
"To make you suffer and cause you pain" Said the one in the middle
"To take from you and ensure our gain!" They said in unison.
"Carlos" Said the Hispanic one, launching himself into a series of cartwheels and landing in a squatting position.
"Reece" Said the other man. He suddenly jumped into the air pushing off the foot that had been off the ground and did a series of flips and landed opposite Carlos mimicking the other mans position.
"Mitch" Said the last man. He opted to do a series of back flips and landed with one leg on each of his squatting team mates' shoulders.
"Team Rocket circling the Earth day and night." They said together "Surrender now or you won't live through the night!" A pokeball on Mitch's belt twitched and out popped a delibird.
"Bird Bird" ("That's Right") He chirped.
"Huh?" Said a confused Ash.
"So you've got more Rockets following you now." Said Misty dryly.
They were the only trainers who hadn't been intimidated by the Rockets' entrance. The other trainers were mostly very young or had very weak pokemon at the time because they all ran out screaming as soon as the wall caved in. Nurse Joy was still in shock about the situation having heard about her sister's cousin-in-law's step mother's second cousin twice removed experience in Lavender town the other day. Pikachu was sparking dangerously in the direction of the Rockets.
"Remember us Punk?" Asked Carlos
"No." Said Ash figuring they must have been talking to him.
"Don't play dumb hand over that legendary pokemon NOW!" Yelled Reece
"What legendary pokemon?" Asked Ash. No one knew he had Silver excluding his pokemon, two nurse Joys and Wallace. He hadn't even told Misty. "If you've met me before, which I'm almost sure you haven't, you know I won't just give you my pokemon."
"What's up with him man?" Asked Carlos "You said that entrance was designed to intimidate and frighten your victims into giving up their pokemon."
"Maybe we should have done that other motto." Said Mitch "It didn't sound that intimidating though, so maybe we'll try it next time."
"Hey we've got pokemon to steal!" Said Reece "Team meetings can wait for later!"
"Right." Said the other two snapping back to attention.
("I finally get to fry some Rockets!") Said Pikachu gleefully sending a vicious look toward Dellibird. The ice-bird waddled backwards a few steps nervously.
"We came prepared this time punk!" Yelled Mitch "Your Charizard caught us by surprise last time but not now!" He pulled out a remote with a large red button on it. There was a loud rumbling and suddenly a large robot that looked like an Omastar planted on tank wheels rolled up behind the rockets.
"With the Omatron 9000 fire will be no problem!" Cheered Reece
At this point Joy fainted. Her brain couldn't grasp around the concept of spandex-wearing men calling out giant robots to do their bidding, it was as if some cheap TV anime were taking place.
"You have Charizard?" Asked Misty
"Nope," Said Ash "He's still in the valley."
A panel in the robots shell opened up and the Rockets vaulted through it and took control of there mech.
"We should have though of this a long time ago!" Said Carlos "Whoever uses this strategy must be the boss's best agents by now."
"Yeah the tapes I saw were a few years old but I'm sure that team must be even better by now." Said Mitch. "We'd be just like them if we had one of those talking Meowths like I saw on the tapes."
"Hey he's taking out a pokeball!" Called Reece who had actually been watching their opponents. His teammates turned just in time to see Ash release his Sceptile.
"I don't remember him having one of those." Said Carlos
"We didn't know he had Entei either so keep your guard up."
"Sceptile Bullet Seed" Ordered Ash
The jungle pokemon opened his mouth wide and fired a barrage of high-impact-seeds straight at the robot.
"Hurry up and hit the harden button." Cried Mitch
There was a slight flash from the robot right before the seeds hit. Upon impact the seeds were reflected right of the robot not even chipping its paint job.
"Fire the flame cannon!" Called Reece. He hit a button and a large cannon like that of a Blastoise came out from a slot in the front of the shell. The cannon shot a huge jet of flame right at Sceptile. The gecko was burnt to a crisp and Ash recalled it. He realized that these Rockets were a little smarter than the ones which usually bothered him. Jessie and James hardly ever thought of type-advantage tactics besides blocking electricity.
"Pikachu Thunder Bolt." Called Ash.
"Quick withdraw!" Yelled Mitch. Carlos hit a button on his control panel and the machine suddenly withdrew itself into the sizable shell. The tank treads seemed to go into the ground so that only the shell could be seen. When the electric attack hit the energy coursed through the machine but didn't do any damage.
"Now it's our turn!" Yelled Mitch. He pulled a lever and hit a couple of buttons. A large cannon came from the top of the Omastar shell and pointed straight at Ash.
"Aren't you going to help me?" Asked Ash turning to Misty
"I'm a bitch remember." She said curtly
"Oh come on this is not the time to argue!" Yelled Ash
("Guys…") Said Pikachu nervously.
"We wouldn't have an argument if you didn't say such stupid things all the time." Retorted Misty
("GUYS!") Yelled Pikachu. The cannons was charging slowly but surely and it was aimed right at Ash and Misty. Again however, he was ignored.
"We weren't arguing about how stupid I was. We were arguing about why you decided to deceive me the past three days!" Yelled Ash
("Okay that's it.") Said Pikachu. He jumped up and grabbed a pokeball from Ash's belt. ("Silver help me out.") He called as he threw the ball into the air. Silver came out of the ball and looked at the scene before him. The Rockets stopped in their tracks once they saw the legendary bird flying before them. Joy who had just started to regain consciousness opened her eyes, saw Silver and immediately fainted again.
"How many times do we have to go over this!" Yelled Misty "I'm sorry Ash, now get over it!"
"That's not the point now either." Said Ash "I wanted to know why you won't help me out with them." He pointed over to the Rockets.
("Silver use Psychic on that Omastar thing.") Said Pikachu
"Aren't you going to stop them from arguing?" Asked the Lugia while moving into position.
("I learned a long time ago that not even shocking them will stop their arguments.") Said Pikachu
Silver shrugged and started concentrating on his attack.
"Hey when did he get a Lugia?" Asked Carlos
"Yeah that wasn't in the memo." Said Reece
"Who cares?" Said Mitch "The question now is if this thing is psychic proof." They found out the hard way that it was not psychic proof. The Psychic blast ripped a hole through the power generator and it exploded. In a blinding flash and lots of smoke the Omatron 9000 exploded and sent its passengers sailing into the horizon.
"I hate heights!" Cried Reece
"Seems like we've done this before." Commented Carlos "I remember we did this last time we saw that kid."
"Can both of you shut up." Muttered Mitch. There was a slight ping and a little sparkle of light as they sailed into the distance.
"You're the one that doesn't listen, because if you had been you'd know why I did it in the first place!" Screamed Misty
"You know what?" Asked Ash "I don't even care anymore. All I want to do is get rid of Team Rocket and then…" He looked around and saw the whole in the wall and another in the ceiling where the Rockets had crashed through on their "exit". He also saw Silver hovering in front of the remains of the Omatron 9000. "Huh?"
("So you finally decided to stop arguing.") Pikachu said sarcastically ("I had to call Silver out just so he could take care of those goons because you were too busy being stupid.")
"I wasn't being stupid." Said Ash "I deserve some answers."
"I gave you answers already!" Yelled Misty very annoyed by Ash's lack of attentiveness.
("Yes she did Ash.") Said Pikachu ("I heard her and I was trying to tune her out.")
"Stay out of this Pikachu!" Both Ash and Misty yelled.
Pikachu shrugged and he and silver went off to look for Dawn and Mune. They'd been in the room all morning and Pikachu was wondering why they hadn't come out when all the noise started.
"Okay Mist." Said Ash trying to calm himself down finally. "Why don't you explain this to me one more time. Just why you were disguising yourself and what made you so afraid to tell me."
"Well its easier to start at the beginning." Said Misty as she and Ash walked back toward their room. The massive whole in the wall and unconscious nurse didn't seem to concern them. "Butch and Cassidy attacked the Gym. They had an army of Rockets with them all armed with some kind of gun. We were taken out of the Gym and out pokemon were confiscated. They made us watch as they put explosives around the Gym and blew it up. After that we were hit with some Sleep Powder. The next thing I remember is waking up feeling really sore and really tired. Some Rockets came in and showed me pictures of my pokemon being held captive. They had them all set to massacred and told me that if I didn't cooperate they'd torture me, my pokemon and/or my sisters. They said if that didn't get to me they'd settle for just killing me. They made me and the other Gym Leaders fight against the legendary birds. One day I had to fight Zapdos…" She trailed looking extremely sad.
"What happened?" Asked Ash. He knew Zapdos was one of the strongest electric-pokemon on the planet, and desperately wanted to know how she got out of that in one piece with only water-types.
"…Starmie" She suppressed sobs again as she recalled the horrific death of her starter pokemon. "That bitch!" She hissed "She wouldn't stop, she just kept shocking it."
"Mist stop." Said Ash "You don't have to tell me."
"No." She said defiantly "I need to say this. She killed Starmie." Tears now streamed down her face. "It was horrible Ash. She just had Zapdos shock it to death. That jewel in its chest shattered!" Ash gasped. He couldn't imagine seeing one of his pokemon die, let alone in such a horrible way as described by Misty. "I was so angry I released Gyarados and told him to use Rage."
"Uh-oh." Said Ash "What happened then?"
"He froze Zapdos with and Ice Beam at point blank range." She said "Then the twisters he'd released tore a hole in the wall and water started rushing in. I guess the prison must have been underwater because a lot of it was coming in fast. Domino recalled Zapdos and ran for it. They locked me in there and left me for dead. Luckily Gyarados was still sane enough to pull me out of there. After that I blacked out and when I woke up I was in a small hospital on Cianwood Island. It took about a week for me to recover from all the injuries and exhaustion, but afterwards I didn't know what to do. Then I heard about Pallet and your mom, so I figured I head there to see it for myself."
"Why would you want to see it?" Asked Ash "I saw the pictures on the news and its not something I'm in a hurry to see in person."
"I needed to be 100 certain." Said Misty "I couldn't just take the word that there were no survivors, especially when I knew that Team Rocket had done it."
"So you don't believe it was Gay like the news said." Stated Ash "I was afraid some people might actually believe he'd done it."
"Most do." Said
Misty "From what I've heard people are shocked that the grandson
of Prof. Oak would burn down his hometown over a loss at the Silver
Conference.
Some weird people even blame you, saying that you
cheated to win your match and drove Gary off the deep end."
"That's crazy." Said Ash
"I know, but you know how those trainer fanatics are." She said smiling. "As I was saying once I woke up I wanted to leave. Diane, that's the nurse that helped me out after I recovered, told me to go the police. I told her it was a bad idea because that's the first place Team Rocket would put a contact. She didn't argue, but told me that if I was going to travel around I needed to disguise myself. I cut my hair and she gave me the dye and these contacts." She carefully removed the contacts from her eyes and Ash now saw the aquamarine eyes he'd been wanting to see for over a year. They were now at their room and stopped outside the door. "She also gave me that bike that SOMEONE destroyed."
"I said it once and I'll say it again." Said Ash "It was Pikachu!"
"Whatever." Said Misty "After I left Cianwood I was heading for Goldenrod to catch the Magnet train. I stopped at a beach so I could do some swimming and got caught in a rip current. Suicune saved me and after he explained that he'd been looking for me, decided that he wanted me to be his trainer and go into Starmie's pokeball. After getting lost and finding a lake I eventually ran into you. I didn't know it was you at first and when I found out I was just nervous and afraid."
"Afraid of what?" Asked Ash "You can trust me."
"I know, but I was just being stupid." She said regretfully "Pikachu figured it out as soon as he saw me, so did Suicune come to think of it, and I just freaked out. I really am Sorry Ash."
"I know." He said "I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have been such an ass and I'm sorry for calling you a bitch."
"Your forgiven." Said Misty "This time, but if it happens again…" She left the treat unspoken so his mind could fill in possible consequences.
Ash simply nodded. "I meant what I said yesterday." He told her
"What?" She asked confused
"I know you were watching me yesterday before you left." He said "You heard what I said that's why you had that weird look on your face."
"Ash I-," She started
"Look I don't care if you don't feel that way about me." He said "I just want you to know I meant it." He was about to open the door and head in when she grabbed him and planted a very deep and passionate kiss directly on his lips. At first Ash was shocked, then he returned the Kiss with equal vigor. They both had been waiting for this moment for years and it was obvious by the intimacy in the kiss.
…
On the other side of the room Pikachu stood atop Mune holding Dawn so that she could see out of the peep hole.
("What are they doing?") Asked Pikachu
("They're holding each other really tight and they have their faces pressed into one another.")
("Yes!") Said Pikachu
("Why are you so happy?") Asked Mune
("Meowth owes me $200 now.") Said Pikachu happily
("You bet on their relationship with Meowth?") Asked Dawn
("Yeah it was a couple years ago though right before me and Ash got to Hoenn. Me and Meowth ended up wandering around this one city while Ash, Jessie and James were looking for us. We got to talking and eventually made a bet as to weather or not Misty and Ash would ever get together. Meowth bet that they'd probably never get together since she 'dumped' Ash and went back to Cerulean. I bet against him and that's why he now owes me money.")
("I see…") Said Dawn
("Guys you're getting heavy…") Said Mune. He collapsed under their weight and they formed an neat heap right in front of the door.
…
Ash and Misty both heard a crash from inside the room and broke their second…or was it third? Kiss. Ash opened the door and saw three pokemon piled on the floor looking dazed. When Pikachu saw Ash he quickly pulled himself together.
("So I guess this means you're not mad anymore?") Asked Pikachu
"What do you mean?" Asked Ash
("Well we saw that last part of your conversation.") Said Pikachu
"And…?" Said Ash
("We saw you making out with her.") Said Mune bluntly
"Oh…" Said Ash sheepishly
"You guys should mind your own business." Said Misty embarrassed.
They all had a good laugh about the whole situation and no more was mentioned about the past between Ash and Misty. They were more concerned about the present and making up for lost time.
…
The next day a few miles east north east of Ecruteak Mew was floating over the path. She was about ready to try plan B and was mulling over how to approach Pikachu once she started her new plan. Using the information in she'd gotten out of Pikachu she transformed into a Pikachu with slightly golden fur blue tinged eyes and an inch or so shorter than Pikachu himself. This was Pikachu's idea of the perfect mate and would definitely get his attention. She could sense his party approaching and decided to wait on the path in plane sight. What she hadn't planned on was, the Houndoom charging from out of the forest and hitting her with a Faint Attack. Nor did she see the several Houndour accompanying their leader. The pack of pokemon shot out flamethrowers which tinged with dark energy. This meant that she was unable to use her psychic powers to help her. Since she was in Pikachu form she was limited in what she could do. The Houndour began to bite and scratch at her as she desperately tried to dodge them. A few of the attacks landed and soon she was beginning to grow weak from the attacks.
…
Ash and Misty, now with more dye and replaced contacts, walked hand in hand down the path trailing the pokemon in front of them. Ash had asked Misty all the questions he'd been thinking about before and was now very concerned about the wellbeing of all the Gym Leaders in Giovanni's "care". He had told Misty everything about his adventures since leaving Brock and May back in Lillycove and they were now both caught up on each other's lives. They walked in a comfortable silence each content to be near the other. Their peace was broken when Pikachu suddenly gasped and he and the others took off toward the side of the path. Ash could hear sounds of a battle nearby and followed his pokemon into the woods.
The group found a pack of Houndour and a Houndoom mauling a helpless Pikachu. This one was a gold-like color and had bluish eyes. Pikachu took immediate action and unleashed a furious Thunder attack which caused half of the Houndour to faint and the other half to be severely hurt. The Houndoom took the attack in stride and launched a flamethrower. Pikachu dodged this easily using Agility and slammed into the Houndoom with a Quick Attack. He then jumped into the air and slammed an Iron Tail right between the dog's horns. Houndoom was instantly knocked out by the attack and the remaining Houndour figured that it was better to leave their small snack alone ran for their lives. Pikachu went over to the injured mouse and nudged her a few times.
Mew opened her eyes and barely caught a glimpse of Pikachu before she blacked out again. Ash and Misty finally arrived and Ash ran over to the downed pokemon. He picked her up and went into his back to get a hyper potion. He opened the mouse pokemon's mouth and put a little bit of the potion onto her tongue. She swallowed the liquid and soon the wounds on her body started to recover. Ash carried the pokemon for a few h ours while they were walking. They'd decided to take the female Pikachu with them to Mahogany town since the Pokemon Center in Ecruteak had its medical wing temporarily closed due to damages. After making camp and getting a fire going the Pikachu finally opened her eyes and looked around. She didn't know where she was, how she got there or better yet, who any of these people were. The worst part was that she couldn't seem to remember who she was either.
"Hey you awake?" Asked Ash
The pokemon looked up at him confused. ("Where am I?") She asked
"With friends." Said Ash "We found you getting attacked by some Houndour and we're taking you to a pokemon center."
She vaguely knew that a Pokemon Center was for hurt pokemon and that Houndour were wolf-like pokemon with black fur and brownish-red muzzles and white bands around their feet. Not knowing what else to do she closed her eyes and went to sleep.
She awoke sometime during the night and saw Pikachu staring down at her. ("How are you feeling?") He asked
("My head hurts.") She said rubbing her head.
("You got hit a lot of times before I chased them off.") He told her
("You beat a pack of Houndour?") She asked amazed.
("Yeah I saw them attacking you and I couldn't just stand there.")
("Thank you.") She said genuinely grateful.
("Anytime.") Said Pikachu ("What's your name?") He asked
("I…") She started thinking about what her name was. It made her head hurt very bad whenever she tried to think about who she was. ("I don't remember.") She said sadly.
("You don't?") He asked surprised ("Those dogs must have hit you pretty hard if you've got amnesia.") He thought for a minute. "How 'bout Electra?" he asked
("Sounds pretty.") She said ("I guess I'll take it until I remember my real name.")
So it was decided that Electra would be her name, at least for the time being. Pikachu kept her company until they both were too tired to stay awake any longer. In the morning they both rode on Ash's shoulder and continued on their way to Mahogany Town.
…
A/N: That's that. Hope you liked this chapter and the next one will be arriving soon. Comments, Questions feel free to ask me. Review, E-mail and heck my AIM name is the same as my Penname so you can message me that way too, if I'm on.
Until Next Time…
