They all quickly clambered into the jeep, and Birch sent the vehicle speeding back down the road as fast as he could away from the port and towards the southwest corner of town where his lab was placed. As the SUV speeded along, Pikachu's feverish electric sparks became larger than before, alarming Ash and Misty.
"I see," said the Professor as he noticed this. "Symptoms of electrical discharge!"
"What's that mean? What symptoms?" asked Ash.
"Do you know what's wrong with Pikachu, Professor?" chimed in Misty.
Birch nodded grimly. "Pikachu is unable to release its electricity regularly, so it randomly sparks like that. It's a serious problem that sometimes occurs among electric types. Tell me, has Pikachu been exposed to any magnetic fields?"
"He has! Pikachu got stuck to an electromagnet just yesterday!" Misty exclaimed, as she immediately remembered the terrible device that Team Rocket had used to grab Pikachu.
Abruptly, Pikachu began struggling wildly in Ash's arms, as though it were trying to escape.
"What is it, Pikachu? What's the matter?" asked Ash as he desperately tried to get Pikachu to relax.
"The high fever is confusing it," answered Birch, just as Pikachu gave off another powerful spark. "This is bad. We've got to get it to the lab immediately! You two kids better hold on tight!"
Immediately, Birch swerved the speeding jeep off the road and into the trees of a nearby forest, making Ash, Misty and Togepi cry out in fright.
"Could you give us a bit more warning next time!" Misty yelled, feeling a little queasy from all the twisting and turning, as Birch sent the SUV shooting through the forest and down a steep hill.
"Sorry, we don't have a moment to lose!" said the Professor seriously as he put his foot to the pedal.
Within a matter of minutes, Birch's laboratory came into sight, and the Professor quickly brought the jeep to a screeching halt by the main entrance, where Joshua was waiting for them.
"This way, Professor. Everything is in place and ready for you," reported Joshua as he quickly led the way inside towards one of the examination rooms.
Once inside, Pikachu was gently put down on one of the examination tables and the pads of a headphone-like device were swifty attached to its red cheeks. The device was in turn connected via a telescopic arm to a large machine, the controls of which which Joshua was standing ready by.
"What is that?" asked Ash, as he and Misty looked at the strange device.
"A device that will rid Pikachu of all its trapped electricity," explained Birch, before he turned to Joshua. "Power on, Joshua."
Joshua pulled down a lever and the machine began to hum with life as it began to suck the excess electricity out of Pikachu.
"Pikachu, just hold on," said Ash, his expression full of anguish.
"Please Pikachu, you've got to make it," added Misty apprehensively.
But Pikachu began sparking more violently than before, and the power gauge on the machine began to shoot up, until the alarm light began flashing red, indicating danger of overload!
"Professor!" Joshua cried in alarm at seeing the readings. "It's too much! It won't hold!"
"Keep going!" insisted Birch, but it was no use.
A second later, the device attached to Pikachu split apart, and everyone barely had enough time to duck, before the whole machine exploded, blasting a huge hole in the wall separating them from the forest outside! As the smoke cleared, a delirious Pikachu ran off the table, leapt through the hole in the wall and disappeared into the woods.
"Pikachu!" yelled Ash as he leapt out and ran after after his ill Pokémon.
"Ash, wait for me!" cried Misty as she followed close behind.
"Do you have Pokémon that are strong against electric type?" Professor Birch called after them.
"I've got some of my water Pokémon with me," called back Misty. "But I'd hate to have to use them against Pikachu!"
"Then I better take mine as well," said the Professor as he quickly picked up three Poké Balls from a nearby bench and stuffed them into a satchel.
"But wait!" protested Joshua as the Professor leapt out and followed Ash and Misty. "We set those Poké Balls aside for May, remember?"
"There's no choice!" snapped the Professor, carrying the satchel with him. "When she gets here, just tell her to wait!"
As Ash, Misty and the Professor disappeared into the woods, they were unaware that Team Rocket were hiding in some nearby bushes, watching the whole dramatic scene with some bewilderment. Or at least, James and Meowth were, while a still depressed Jessie did not seem that interested at all.
"Wonder what's up with Pikachu?" mused Meowth in bafflement.
"Oh goodie, now we have to run too," sighed Jessie, as she wearily realised that they would soon be chasing after Pikachu too.
An exasperated Meowth turned to Jessie. "And now what's up with you?"
"It's what we do, Jess," added James, trying his best to encourage the redheaded villainess to get back into their standard routine. "Chase!"
Running deeper into the forest, Ash and the others soon found themselves in the middle of a large clearing. But unfortunately, there was no sign of Pikachu anywhere.
"Oh no! We've lost him!" moaned Ash.
"Pikachu can't have gotten far," remarked Misty. "I hope we can find him before he hurts himself."
"So do I," said Professor Birch grimly. "Pikachu's in much greater trouble than I thought. Its internal electricity is too high. A disturbance of any kind into Pikachu's electrical field could cause a massive explosion!"
"Ex-explosion?!" Misty stammered as she and Ash looked at one another in horror.
"Now what?" Ash asked Birch regarding which course of action they should take.
"I think we'll have better luck finding Pikachu if we split up and search for it," suggested the Professor.
The others nodded in agreement and they each went in a different direction, trying to comb the forest for any sign of Pikachu.
"Pikachu!" called the Professor as he went past some more trees and found himself at the top of a steep hill. "Where are you, Pikachu? Where are you hiding?"
As he glanced this way and that, Birch took a step forward. But his foot slipped on a muddy patch, and before he knew what was happening, he found himself sliding down the hill and off the edge of a small cliff, dropping his satchel along the way! With a startled cry, he landed on the ground with a thump, in the process scaring a small wolf-like Pokémon known as a Poochyena. As the Professor sat up with a groan, he found Poochyena growling fiercely at him.
"Oh, hi there. Sorry for just dropping in on you like that, Poochyena," said Birch apologetically.
But alas, Poochyena did not seem to be in a forgiving mood. Instead, it let out a loud howl, calling two more of its kind over, and within seconds, Birch found himself face-to-face with three snarling Poochyena glowering at him.
"Uh, that's not a friendly greeting, no," observed the Professor, trying his best to sound casual about the confrontation. "Doesn't sound sad either. So... that means one thing. You're angry!"
With a snarl, the Poochyena leapt at the Professor, who immediately found himself being chased around a tree by the three Pokémon.
"Arrh! I'm brilliant!" cried the Professor as he ran round and round in circles with the Poochyena hot on his tail. "Please, stop it! Can't we discuss this?"
Not too far away, Misty was looking through some bushes for any sign of Pikachu, when she heard the Professor's distant cries of alarm.
"Say, that sounded like Professor Birch," Misty said to Togepi. "Hey, maybe he's found Pikachu!"
"Togi Togi," replied Togepi.
At that moment, there came a rustling noise from one of the bushes, and Misty quickly realised that there was something alive in the shrubbery.
"Pikachu! Is that you?" asked Misty, letting her hopes get up.
But it was not Pikachu. What emerged from the bush instead was a small red-coloured Pokémon with yellow stingers that somewhat resembled a cross between a caterpillar and a worm. The name of this creature was a Wurmple, though Misty did not know this yet. But what she could tell was that this particular type of Pokémon was:
"A bug!" Misty shrieked in terror, as she turned on her heels and ran as fast as she could in the opposite direction. "Getaway, getaway, getaway!"
So alarmed was she at seeing the one type of Pokémon that scared her, that Misty did not watch where she was going. As a result, she ended up sliding down the same hill that Birch did, landing right on top of one of the Poochyena chasing the Professor!
"Oops! I'm so sorry!" said Misty, still clutching Togepi.
The Poochyena yapped angrily at her, and within seconds, Misty found herself being chased along with the Professor!
"Hello, Misty!" said Birch as they carried on running. "No luck finding Pikachu?"
"No, just a big slimy disgusting bug!" cried Misty, as the Poochyena kept chasing them around. "And what's the problem with these Pokémon?"
"They're called Poochyena," said Birch breathlessly. "And I"m afraid we've gotten on their bad side by disturbing their afternoon nap!"
