This time when I awoke, it was of my own decision. I lifted my head, spat out some leaves then looked around me. I was completely alone and it was beginning to grow dark. Where were the others? "Brock! Misty! Ash! Pikachu!" I yelled, trying to get someone's attention but still, there was nothing.

It was eerily quiet, not even a whistle of a bird or the rustle of wind through the trees. I grunted as I stood, wincing slightly as I felt my body ache. Seems I'd landed pretty badly. "Okay, no need to panic. I'm not completely alone." I looked to my belt and smiled, glad to find I still had two Pokéballs. "Pidgeotto! I need you!"

She burst out of her Pokéball and I looked up at her as she flapped her wings then hovered in front of me. "We're lost, I need you to scout out this place and try and find Ash and the others." I said to her. "I'll stay here until you get back."

"Pidgeo!" She called then flew up into the air, scanning the grounds. I sat down and winced as something dug into my foot from inside my sneakers. I pulled them off and tipped them out to find a few stones which had somehow got inside. I took off my wet socks, shirt and shorts and took a wash in a nearby pool with a small waterfall, where I washed my hair and then dried myself off, feeling much better after I had changed into clean clothes then washed the ones I had been wearing.

"Hey Charmeleon, want to give me hand?" I called him out then smiled, holding up my wet but now thankfully clean shirt. "Could you dry these clothes off for me? Please?" He looked at me sceptically then rolled his eyes.

"Charmeleon." He blew hot air at my clothes and in a flash, they were dry as a bone. "Thanks buddy!" I smiled but he'd already ley himself back into his Pokéball. "Oh…well okay, you sleep well." I told him then put my clothes away. Just then I heard wingbeats and I looked up. "Pidgeotto!"

"Pidgeo! Pidgeotto, Pidgeo!"

"Have you found someone?" I asked at her excited calls and she nodded before flying low to the ground, leading the way. I ran after her, racing through the trees as she angled her body to glide through them, gracefully skimming the ground as I ran behind.

We ran and flew for a solid ten minutes when I heard a voice calling out. "Pika! Pika Pi!"

"Pikachu!" I called out with an exhale of relief. "Pikachu I'm here!" Suddenly a yellow mouse like Pokémon leaped out of the bushes with a delighted look on its face, arms stretched outwards as it leaped for me.

"Chuuuu!" I laughed and caught him, hugging him close.

"I'm so glad I found you! Where's Ash?"

"Pikachu! Pika Pika, Pika Pi!" So Ash was still missing? This isn't good. Suddenly I heard other Pokémon come racing after Pikachu.

"Squirtle!"

"Bulba!"

"Charmander!"

"Argh!" I yelled as they all landed on me and we tumbled to the ground, me being completely flattened again but this time, I didn't mind. Several tongue began to slather me and I giggled, squirming underneath them as I pulled them all closer. "You guys! You're all alright!"

"Squirtle Squirt!" Squirtle touched my face then hugged my head, his hard shell pressing into my cheek so that my lips were forced to pucker but I giggled all the same.

"I'm glad to see you too, but can I sit up now?" They all stepped back and I sat up, shaking out my hair then looked up to Pidgeotto. "Nice work girl, it's too dark now for you to see so have a rest and we'll carry on looking tomorrow." I told her then returned her to the Pokéball. I looked to the others and smiled. "So I bet you're all hungry, right? How about we go looking for berries and something to eat?"

"Pikachu!"

"Bulbasaur!" I guess that's a very happy yes. I stood up, smiling down at them all then made to step forwards when a voice called out to us.

"Alright Pokémon surrender!" Huh? Meowth? "Team Rocket blast off at the speed of light, surrender now or prepare to fight!" The talking Pokémon leaped down, claws raised and I rolled my eyes as everyone else relaxed too.

"It's okay guys, it's just Meowth." I sighed then glared at him as he fell over backwards with a groan.

"I guess the Team Rocket motto is starting to lose its impact." He said sadly then shook his head to clear his thoughts. "Never mind! Okay guys, go get 'em!" Huh? Who is he talking to? When no one moved, I arched an eyebrow.

"Did you swallow some sea water Meowth? Who are you talking too?" Charmander stepped forwards and shone his tail towards Meowth to reveal…Ekans and Koffing. "ARGH! Not Ekans! Get it away!"

"Ekans!" It hissed in annoyance, rattling its tail and I sprung up a tree, climbing it quicker than a rocket then clung on for dear life.

"I hate Ekans! Get it away!" The gang down below looked at me in bewilderment as I clung onto the tree. Meowth turned around and waved his arms at the two Pokémon, trying to wake them up.

"Hey! I said go get 'em!" But still they did not attack. What are they doing? Why aren't they attacking? Meowth then began to talk with them, complaining about how he was much smarter than both Jessie and James but it seemed that they were being loyal to them and not Meowth.

"Aw come on! We're all bad guys here!" Meowth tried but still they refused to move.

"Looks like you're on your own Meowth. How about you do your own battles and stop trying to use other Pokémon to do your dirty work?" I called down from my tree. "Or are you too much of a scaredy cat?" He yelled at me from below.

"I'm no scaredy cat! You're the one clinging to a tree!" I realised he was right. "Why're you so afraid of Ekans anyway? What's he ever done to you?" I stuck out my tongue at Meowth.

"I don't like Ekans, they're just mean Pokémon! I was bitten by one when I was just a little girl and it almost took my hand away with it!" I shuddered at the memory. That was another time Pidgey had come to save me. Why was it I always seemed to end up in trouble? Meowth snorted.

"Well, seems you're too chicken to even come down and face it. Ekans won't bite, not unless I tell him to." In answer Ekans whipped out his tail and smacked Meowth between the eyes. I giggled slightly then looked down at the gang as they began to talk to me.

"Pikachu! Pikachu, Pika Pika Pi!"

"You want me to come down Pikachu?" I asked and he nodded his head.

"Pika!"

"Bulba! Bulba Bulbasaur." I smiled at Bulbasaur who had a pretty determined expression on his face.

"Are you saying you'll protect me if you need to?" He nodded his head proudly so I sighed. "Okay then, watch out, I'm coming down." I slowly descended the tree, taking my time but I cast wary glanced to the Ekans as I went. The moment I was down Pikachu ran up my leg and settled on my shoulder, nuzzling my face then began to lecture me.

"Pikachu, Pika Pika, Pikachu Pi! Chuu!" I tilted my head to the side, listening to him but then glanced over to Meowth as he began to translate.

"He says if you want to open up a sanctuary for Pokémon then you need to love all Pokémon, even the ones that scare you." He answered then snorted. "What a dumb thing to say. I say you should just forget your dreams and go home."

"Well no one asked you you sly little cat! You're just lucky I haven't pulled out your whiskers yet!" Wow, I guess Misty is really starting to rub off on me. Pikachu patted my cheek then jumped down, going over to Ekans then introduced us.

"Pika, Pika Pi! Pika Pi, Pika!" Swallowing nervously I stepped forwards then knelt down, watching the Ekans carefully.

"Hey there, I'm Ruby." I started nervously, watching as the Ekans lifted its head. "I'm sorry if I've hurt your feelings, I'm just really scared of Pokémon like you. It really hurt when that Ekans bit me as a kid and I've never forgotten it." I explained and the Ekans nodded its head. "But you seem nice, even though you attack my friends from time to time, I know you're only doing it because you're loyal and that you're a good Pokémon really."

In answer Ekans slithered forwards and I balked, giving a sound of fear but he stopped then looked up at me. "Ekans…Ekans Ekans…" It hissed then waited. It stared at me intensely and I slowly relaxed as best I could, watching it.

Then I began to reach out a hand, turning my head away and clenched my eyes shut so that I didn't have to watch myself touch the slimy skin. Ekans pressed his head into my hand and I blinked. Hey, it's not slimy, its actually really smooth. Looking around I slowly began to rub my fingers into him, making him hiss happily at the attention. "Hey you're…you're actually quite nice to touch." I said to it then smiled nervously.

I scooted a little closer and sat down, reaching out and began to stroke his body. Ekans lifted his tail and rattled it under my chin, tickling me until I giggled and smiled. "Hey! That tickles!" Suddenly Pikachu and Bulbasaur were on my shoulders, smiling proudly and rubbing into me as Squirtle and Charmander hugged me at the waist.

Looking up I saw Koffing looking pretty sad and lonely so I smiled up at him. "Come join in the hug Koffing!" I called and instantly it beamed.

"Koffing!" It sailed over then landed in my lap with a puff of gas which made me choke slightly and my eyes watered but I forced myself to smile and cuddled him regardless, making him beam with joy.

"Okay guys, let's all go find some food." I decided, standing up and Bulbasaur jumped down.

"Bulba!" His Vine Whip shot out and wrapped Meowth up, trapping him effectively.

"Hey what's the big idea?!" He yelped, feet waggling as Bulbasaur carried him over his head.

"We're taking measures to make sure you don't try to run off with Pikachu." I told him with my hands on my hips, Ekans slithering up my arm then coiled neatly around my neck, making me giggle slightly as it tickled. "I'm not an idiot like Jessie and James, we don't trust you. Come on guys, I see some bushes over there that look promising."

Rubbing Ekans head I smiled proudly to myself. I was over my fear of Ekans! Don't get me wrong, if I came across a wild one I would probably still scream and run away, but this was a huge step for me! We spent some time gathering berries and I put them all on large leaves as mundane plates then Charmander lit us a fire, Pikachu having gathered some sticks with me and we all ate our fill.

I had collected more which I put away to save for later, but I made sure there was plenty for the others and the Pokémon. I looked to Ekans and Koffing as they ate. "So did you guys get lost too?" I asked and they nodded to me.

"Ekans, Ekans Ekans."

"Don't worry, I'm sure Jessie and James are looking for you both." I assured them. "They're very proud people and I can tell they care about you a lot, they're not going to let you two go so easily." Ekans and Koffing looked at one another then nodded to me.

"Bulbasaur, Bulba Bulba." Bulbasaur said and I looked at him as Pikachu dropped his berry then glared at him, cheeks sparking.

"Pikachu! Pika Pika!" Charmander nodded his head in agreement.

"Charmander." Bulbasuar closed his eyes and gave us a proud look, not saying anything in return and it didn't take much intelligence to guess what they were saying, however Meowth only confirmed it.

"Well you can never trust humans. Not even that one with you now. I bet you when the going gets tough, she'll get going with the rest of them." I leaped up and shook my fist at him.

"You stupid alley cat! I'd never abandon my Pokémon or any of these guys! My dream is to create a place where all Pokémon could come to me for safety and protection if they ever get abandoned or mistreated, you think I'd go back on my own words and leave everyone else here just to save myself? Then you're wrong!" Spinning around I knelt before Bulbasuar with an expressive look in my eyes. "Bulbasaur, you can always count on Ash. If there's one thing he cares about most then it's you guys. He loves you, each and every one of you because you've put your trust in him, and if there's one thing Ash Ketchum hates it's letting people down, so he'll find us, or we'll find him. You'll see."

Bulbasaur looked at me for a moment or two before nodding his head. "Bulba." I smiled then tickled his chin, making him smile up at me before I sat back down again. I had just picked up a berry to eat when the ground began to shake and it fell out of my hand.

"Uh…Pikachu? Please tell me that was your stomach." I said but he shook his head.

"Pika." The ground shook again, getting louder and suddenly I had six Pokémon piling on top of me, quivering in fear.

"Oof! Guys, can't…breathe…" I gasped then something struck the ground, making it tremble again. Is it an earthquake? But then a shadow loomed above us and its sillouhette was outlined by the moon and stars, its red eyes glowing bright. A Rhydon! Only, a HUGE Rhydon! We all yelled in fear as it began to move towards us.

"Bulbasuar, Vine Whip on the ropes! Let Meowth go and let's get out of here!" I yelled then scooped up Squirtle, who was the slowest of us all then herded everyone together. Bulbasaur slashed the ropes and Meowth sprung free.

"That's one big Pokémon." I grabbed his paw.

"We'll go sightseeing later, just get moving!" I shouted as I dragged him along behind, lifting him off the ground as I began to run.

"Me…OWTH!" He complained, hitting several bushes as I kept everyone together. We raced through the foliage, hearts pumping as we tried to escape the Pokémon. I looked over my shoulder. How did they grow that big? I'm sure Brock would love to know, it'd be a massive breakthrough in his personal research.

"Everyone follow me!" I yelled then turned a sharp left, breaking off the straight path we'd been forging and made to get out of the Pokémon's direction of travel. Everyone banked and followed me, my bigger frame trampling down the bushes so they could follow more easily.

Breathing heavily I risked another glance over my shoulder. The Rhydon wasn't following, that's good. That's very good. "Okay…I think…we can…slow down now." I gasped, stopping and dropping to my knees with Squirtle still in my arms. "Is everyone okay? Are we all here?"

"Me-ouch. I'm not okay, I think I swallowed a few bugs back there." I looked down with surprise, forgetting I was still holding onto Meowth.

"Well you're welcome. We did just save you." I told him snappily. "We could have just left you behind." He shot me a look then humphed proudly, turning away. I counted Pokémon, making sure everyone was there.

"Squirtle, Meowth, Bulbasaur, Ekans, Charmander, Koffing…Pikachu?" I looked around, beginning to panic but then I heard him call out to us.

"Pikachu!" He was just a few feet away from us, pointing towards some bushes then jumped through them.

"Hey wait! Pikachu don't go too far ahead! I don't want to lose you or Ash'll kill me!" I got up and followed, everyone crowded around me as I pushed apart the bushes. What I saw made my mouth drop. There was a snack bar with a Slowbro manning the station, offering Pikachu drink and food which he happily began to munch into. "Thank my lucky stars…no matter how few they are…" I drooled and we all raced forwards. "Hey Slowbro, is it okay if we have some too?"

"Bro…Slow…" It nodded its head then served up dishes to us all and I ate my way through several helpings. "Thank you, it was all great." I told him then looked down the table to see everyone arguing. Squirtle was having a heated argument with Bulbasaur whilst Charmander was facing Koffing and Ekans. I looked at Pikachu who blinked at me simply. "Oh brother…" I sighed then stood up. "Alright that's enough all of you!" I clapped my hands sharply and glared, making everyone jump and look at me.

Taking a deep breath I cleared my throat. "Everyone take a deep breath and just calm down." I paused then glared. "Do it!" Everyone inhaled deeply then let out their breath, relaxing a little. "Good, now we're all tired, so I'm saying its bedtime now. Come on, let's find somewhere comfortable and sheltered to settle down. Make sure you all say thank you to this nice Slowbro here, okay?" Though I still couldn't think what a snack bar was doing out in the middle of nowhere.

Each of the Pokémon said their thanks and I led them over to a cluster of trees, testing the ground which was dry and springy. "Okay this should do." I decided as I curled up on the ground with a yawn. "Everyone find somewhere to rest…" Instantly I had all the Pokémon bunched around me, snuggling into me at all angles and laying over me. "Goodnight then." I murmured and they all chorused a reply until one by one, we all dropped off into sleep.