Chapter 13

~13 is an unlucky number~

"He's different than the other two," the Professor noticed.

"He's so quiet, he barely ever says anything," Brock replied.

"What would you rather have, a chatterbox?"

"I don't mind either way, really. It's just funny how different he is from his sister and even Ash."

The Professor and Brock were sitting on opposite couches while Max sucked his thumb contently on the floor. The Professor kicked up his heels and rested his legs along the entire couch. He rubbed his belly with his hand while he clucked his tongue.

"Hey, Max, are you hungry?" Brock asked softly.

Max looked up at him and shook his head.

Pikachu suddenly ran across the floor and hopped over the Professor's couch. He bounced off the Professor's stomach which made him jerk his body.

"OOF!" The Professor sat up quickly and spat some saliva out of his mouth, "Oh am I going to get up and give that Pikachu a good kick in the behind."

"Pika…kapi?" Pikachu sweat dropped nervously.

"You know that hurt, didn't you?" A disgruntled Professor said, "How would you like it if I bounced off your stomach?

"Uh…aren't you taking this a little too seriously? It was an accident," Brock said.

"PIKA," Pikachu shouted as it ran toward Max.

The young infant started playfully pulling on Pikachu's tail. Pikachu smiled at Max as he yanked on his tail.

The Professor stopped in his tracks and slowly got a hold of himself. He wiped his brow and sat back down on the couch.

"Sorry," The Professor grunted, "As I told you before, I don't get company much."

"We've noticed," Brock said, folding his hands.

"I really hope those two find my ray gun quickly, there's still a lot of work you guys need to do for me," The Professor said.

"Do all your machines do all your work for you?" Brock asked quickly to change the conversation, "You told us you worked for Devon Corp., but what exactly is it that you're trying to help them accomplish? Why do you work for the company?"

"I work for them because I have to make a living. Usually it's just me and my machines here…it gets kind of lonely most of the time," The Professor yawned, "As you know guests are a rarity here. So I program the machines you saw downstairs to help me with my work."

Max and Pikachu held hands as the two started walking around the room. It seems like Pikachu was the "person" that Max was opening up to the most. Max grinned as Pikachu took it on a little tour around the small room.

"I am also an inventor and over the erm… years, I've been trying to solve something that no human being on this planet has been able to," The Professor said.

"Would that have anything to do with that ray gun you created to de-age people?" Brock asked.

The Professor noticed that Brock was starting to get very nosy with his work. He fixed his hair a bit suspiciously.

"Maaaaaybe. That's one piece of the puzzle," The Professor said.

Pikachu and Max looked up on the shelves on the room, another device similar to the ray gun rested on the top shelf. May had seen this device before when she accidentally turned herself and Ash into infants, but she ignored it in favor of the other ray gun instead.

The Professor eyed Max and Pikachu as they were looking up at the top shelf. Brock cleverly followed the Professor's gaze trying not to make him notice. Brock saw another mechanic gun with a dish-like antenna at the end resting on a shelf. He wondered if it was a device that did the same thing as the one that Team Rocket stole.

Max accidentally stepped on Pikachu's foot as the little yellow rodent cried out in pain. The electric Pokemon let out an electric attack as a defense mechanism which happened almost instantaneously. The electric attack fired above it toward the top shelf in the room, which ending up breaking it off its hinges. The metallic gun that rested on the top shelf came falling down to the floor.

"OH CRAP," The Professor yelled as he darted for the device.

Brock quickly leaped off the couch as he also darted for the device. "I got it!" he yelled.

The Professor and Brock both missed it as they ended up crashing into one another. The metallic gun fell on the floor as the shelf fell down on top of Brock and the Professor's head.

"GAH!" The Professor shouted angrily as the wooden shelf fell on top of him.

"Ugh, now that hurt," Brock grunted as he pulled the shelf off them. The two of them got up as they rubbed their heads.

"That's the second time today you hurt me, you electric rodent!" The Professor fumed.

"Pikachu pika!" Pikachu shook his head nervously.

Max laughed and put his right thumb back in his mouth. While the Professor bellowed, Brock bent down on the floor and picked up the metallic gun. The Professor nervously looked back at Brock once he saw him pick up the gun.

"Hey, give me that!" The Professor said as he snatched the gun out of Brock's hands, "This better not be broken."

"That gun, it looks almost exactly the same as the one that turned my friends into infants," Brock said sternly.

The Professor lowered the gun once he saw that it was fine. "No. This doesn't do the same thing as the other one."

"Well what does that one do? If it can turn Max back to normal…" Brock said.

"It CAN'T!" The Professor shouted. His tone of voice suddenly shifted to a high pitched tone, "This device uh….cures hair loss!"

"What?" Brock was astonished.

The Professor rubbed his hand along his bald scalp and then fixed the ends of his hair over his ears. "Hair loss is no joke my friend. I've uh…been trying to find a way to re-grow my hair for years!"

"Really?" Brock asked.

"Of course really. What do you think this does? Why would I lie to you?" The Professor said as he quickly stashed the device away in his desk drawer.

"No reason," Brock replied, "Just a little curious, that's all."

The Professor noticed that Brock was still a little untrusting. He didn't completely believe what the Professor had just told him.

"How old are you?" Brock asked impulsively.

"What? Why are you asking me such a question? Don't you know it's not polite to ask an elderly ones age?" The Professor stuttered.

"There's something more to you than meets the eye, isn't there?" Brock asked with a straight face.

The Professor slapped his forehead and rubbed it down the rest of his face. He walked away from Brock slowly and looked up at the room thinking. He knew that Brock was started to get a little suspicious. After all, he was the only one of the four that didn't get turned into an infant, and thus had more time to assess the oddities of the Professor and the lab. The Professor turned around and walked back to him.

"Want me to let you in on a little secret?" The Professor asked slyly.

"Such as?" Brock asked.

"Heh. Ever wonder what it's like to live throughout the ages? Ever wonder how the world will be like 200 or so years in the future? Well…let me tell you boy," The Professor approached Brock's ear.

The Professor whispered in a low voice, "Living forever isn't as impossible a concept as some believe."

Brock was a bit startled as he backed up a bit, "You're…not joking are you?"

"'Fraid not my friend," The Professor said, cracking a smile, "Having all the women you want and having infinite time to explore and invent new things is just a click away."

Brock raised an eyebrow, "All the women you could want? That sounds interesting," Brock said trustingly.

"You like the ladies?" The Professor asked.

"Well…yeah. Why wouldn't I? It's just that I've never really been that….successful," Brock admitted, rubbing his arm.

"Hmmmm, maybe as a good gesture I'll help you with that after your seven day work period is done. You and your friends DO have a debt to repay me, remember?"

"Uh sure…but how…?"

"Don't try to absorb all of this at once," The Professor turned the doorknob and started walking out of his room, "After all, my 269 year old bones need time to rest too."

The Professor shut the door as he walked out of the room.

Brock stood there completely dumbfounded as Pikachu and Max looked up at him.

"I don't believe it…" Brock was astounded, "I was right!"

"Pika?" Pikachu asked.

"The Professor wasn't kidding, I think he HAS discovered something that no other person on this planet has," Brock said, elated.

Brock looked down at infant Max as he realized exactly how the Professor did it.

"He keeps on extending his life!" Brock slapped his forehead, "He's…he's made himself practically immortal," a flabbergasted Brock said as he fell back on the couch.

~*~*~*~~*

Meanwhile, two weary trainers were about to find themselves in a life threatening situation. Ash and May continued running through the forest, pushing shrubs, branches and foliage out of their way. Heavy smoke started to fill the air, but the two were completely unaware at how serious the situation was.

May panted, "I think we should turn back…there's way too much smoke around here, Ash!"

"I will…I just gotta see what happened on the other side of these trees," Ash gasped as he coughed into his arm.

Ash knocked aside a tree branch as he saw flames quickly spreading from tree to tree. May caught up to Ash and stood next to him, as they were both completely dumbfounded as to how this happened. Many of the plants and shrubs on the ground were burning, and the trees which towered nearly 11 feet in the air were also catching on fire. The wind was something to be concerned about as well, as it carried the fire from the leaves of the trees to the rest of the forest.

Ash and May started to cough as the area they were standing in was filling with smoke. Ash looked horrified as he witnessed the entire forest burning up before his very eyes.

"This whole place is burning up! How could something like this…happen?" Ash grunted.

May quickly hopped aside as a tree fell down in her direction. The burning tree crashed to the ground and made a loud thump on the ground. She was mortified as she was only a few inches apart from being crushed by the large tree.

Ash pulled on May's arm to bring her over to his side, "You're ok, right?" he asked nervously.

"That tree almost hit me!" May gasped as she watched the flames on the leaves spread across the grassy ground. She quickly turned to Ash and panicked. "Ash, we HAVE to get out of here now! We could get ourselves killed!"

Ash nodded as the boy looked around the forest with fear. The burning tree that fell had blocked the way they came from, and the flames on the leaves and branches were too big a risk to jump over. Without thinking, Ash grabbed May's hand as he pulled her with him to the right of the burning inferno.

"We can't go forward…that's where the whole place caught on fire…" Ash gasped as he ran gripping onto her hand, "And we can't go back either, so we'll just have to make a turn here!"

"This should lead us back to the dirt path for travelers, right?" May asked as she ran alongside him, "If we get there we could at least be out of the burning forest."

Ash and May coughed and panted as they continued running across the grassy forest, hoping to get back to the dirt road. Suddenly, more burning branches that had collapsed from the trees above fell in front of them. Ash and May stopped in their tracks as yet another one of their paths had been blocked. Ash was desperate to get himself and May out of danger, and quickly pulled her with him northeast hoping to find a way to escape. The two continued to desperately zigzag around the burning ground as more and more trees and branches started to collapse due to being on fire.

"Ugh, I can barely see where I'm going since all these trees are so thick. Not to mention all the smoke!" Ash coughed as he gripped May's hand tightly.

May frantically stopped in her tracks as she pulled Ash back toward her. "ASH!" she cried, "How do you even know we're going in the right direction?! The whole forest looks exactly the same, we could be heading deeper into the forest instead of toward the open road!"

"There's no time to worry about that!" Ash retorted, "We gotta keep moving! As long as we keep running we won't get caught up by the fire. If we stop, we're as good as dead!"

May let go of Ash's hand in fear. She gasped as she looked around seeing the fire quickly spread around them. "The fire is starting to surround us, Ash!!!" she yelled nervously.

"Ugh…!" Ash panted as he started coughing heavily.

May started stepping backwards as the thick smoke started to hinder her view. She then caught something out of the corner of her eye.

"That…that can't be…!" a distressed May yelled as she saw a familiar Pokemon that lay under a fallen tree.

"May…where are you?" Ash yelled out, waving out his hand.

Ash had one eye closed as he staggered around the forest while he tried reaching out for his friend. She quickly spotted him and pulled on his arm so she could bring him over to her side.

"ASH!" May yelled as she brought him next to her, "I think that's your Swellow over there!"

"What?!" Ash said alarmed.

May pointed toward a knocked over tree which lay on top of a badly injured Pokemon, Ash's Swellow.

Ash grunted nervously as he darted for his Pokemon under the fallen tree. He rested one palm on the bark while he kneeled down and looked fearfully at his Swellow. The poor flying type was unconscious, it looked badly injured as a small puddle of blood lay around it.

Ash was absolutely petrified as he looked at his Swellow. His eyes wobbled as he felt a mix of anxiety, fear, and rage racing through his mind. The boy didn't know if Swellow was still alive, and was scared stiff just thinking about it. Ash quickly rubbed his arm over his tears as he tried lifting the bark of the tree.

"No…" May muttered as she ran over to him. Her heart leaped into her neck upon seeing Ash's Swellow battered and bleeding under the tree. Swellow looked like it was near-death. She clasped her hands nervously as the fire continued to spread around them.

"UGGGGGHHHHHH!" Ash grunted as he tried lifting the bark with his hands, "MAY, GET OVER HERE AND HELP!"

May snapped out of her gaze quickly and placed her hands on the bottom of the bark. The situation at hand was far too dire to hesitate upon, as an impulse drew her to try and summon her strength to lift the tree.

"Swellow…" Ash cried, looking down at the unconscious Pokemon, "I'll get this off yooooouuu….May, try lifting it as hard as you can!"

Ash and May used all their force to try and lift up the fallen tree. The two struggled as tears formed in their eyes from the smoke. They continued to pant and cough as it was getting harder and harder to breathe. Unfortunately, the lumber weighed far too much for two young teens to lift, as they were unsuccessful in lifting it even an inch.

"It's too damn heavy!" May gasped as she let go of the tree.

She coughed and spit saliva out of her mouth as her eyes burned from the smoke. She nervously glanced around her as she noticed that the fire completely surrounded them! The entire forest appeared to be engulfed in flames, and it was only getting worse. If it weren't the fire that got them, the heavy smoke would.

Ash collapsed on the ground as he got on his knees next to his bird Pokemon. Swellow's head was cocked upright on the ground as blood lay beneath it. It's eyes were closed as it looked like it was in intense pain. More tears fell down Ash's face as he couldn't bear seeing one of his Pokemon this way.

May coughed heavily as she dropped down next to Ash. "The fire…it's all around us...we gotta get out of here!" she warned.

Ash wiped the tears out of his eyes nervously, "No…no….I'm not going anywhere without my Swellow!"

Ash patted Swellow's head gently. He was mortified as his body was trembling upon the sight of seeing his Pokemon near-death. May looked at Swellow desperately as she too felt petrified. Her body shook as this was the first time she had seen a Pokemon like this. She felt as if someone took a knife and stabbed it forcefully into her stomach, the pain of seeing Ash's Pokemon like this was too great a shock.

A heavy gust of wind blew through the air which tore some burning branches down and threw them violently at the travelers. May gasped in fear as she saw a huge branch suddenly being thrown right into their direction! Ash had his back turned to the danger approaching as he was kneeling down, panting over his Swellow.

"Get down, Ash!" May cried as tried to pull Ash down to the dirt with her.

May grabbed Ash's shoulder and tried to pull him to the ground but she wasn't quick enough. The heavy branch flung toward Ash and smacked against the back of his head. The branch ending up breaking in two upon impact as Ash fell backward on the floor.

May cried frantically as she clenched her teeth. She quickly sat up and looked to see if her friend was ok.

"ASH!!!" she yelled as turned Ash's body over, "Damn!"

Ash was completely unconscious from the impact of the branch, which forcefully snapped against his head. The young trainer lie on the ground with his eyes closed, having been knocked out after the blow to the head.

"I…don't believe this…!" she exclaimed. May nervously tried shaking Ash to wake him up. She desperately flung his body back and forth but it was to no avail, he was knocked out cold.

The girl stood up and coughed heavily into her arm. The burning fire was approaching them as she felt the heat on her skin. She shook her head frantically as she knew that Ash and Swellow's life rested in her hands.

May pulled on her hair as she looked at Ash's Swellow trapped under the tree. She then quickly glanced at Ash unconscious on the ground. Suddenly, something urged May to quickly take control of the situation as she felt her fear suddenly subsiding. She knew everything was up to her.

"Dammit…!" she gasped as she reached into Ash's pant pocket. The girl coughed heavily in between words from the smoke, "Why…didn't we…think…of this…earlier?"

May grunted frantically as she pulled out a Pokeball from Ash's pocket. "This better be the one!" she exclaimed as she pointed the Pokeball at the Pokemon, "Swellow return!"

A beam of red light shot out from the Pokeball and made contact with Swellow's body. To May's delight, the beam quickly retracted Swellow back into it's Pokeball. She was ecstatic that she had picked the right Pokeball, but the girl was distressed that neither she nor Ash thought of that before. Now she was in an even worse predicament than before with an unconscious Ash laying beside her as the forest continued going up in smoke.

May quickly put the Pokeball back into Ash's pocket as she struggled to lift him up. Ash weighed quite a few more pounds than her, but May was able to lean the boys' body against her as she put his right arm over her head. She gripped onto Ash's right arm with her right hand and his sweatshirt by his stomach with her left in order to pull him along with her.

The girl desperately tried walking with him but his weight prevented her from getting anywhere fast. Another tree branch had fallen right in front of her, but she continued to press onward. The girl knew she couldn't give up, she had to get both herself and Ash into safety.

She continued to pull an unconscious Ash alongside her as an idea popped into her head. Perhaps it was an act of desperation, but May quickly reached into her fanny pack and threw out two Pokeballs.

The quick flashes of light formed into her Combusken and Squirtle. The two Pokemon looked around where they were and gasped in fear. May then reached into Ash's pants pocket and desperately tried to pull out more of his Pokeballs. She gripped two Pokeballs out of his pocket, and while she didn't know which Pokemon she took out, she let out the two Pokemon which it contained.

Out flashed Ash's Sceptile and his Corphish. Four Pokemon now stood before May and Ash, as all of them were completely unaware of what was going on. They nervously looked at May.

"Guys!" May yelled frantically, "Ash is unconscious and this whole forest is in flames! I need you to help us get out of here alive!"

May started panting as she gripped onto Ash even tighter, trying to move him along the ground, "Corphish…Squirtle…I need you guys to clear me a path with your water attacks!"

"Corphish…cor!" Corphish quickly walked over to May as Squirtle followed.

A burning flame flickered in front of them as the path was blocked by burning branches. Squirtle and Corphish knew immediately what they had to do. The two stood next to each other and shot out water attacks to douse the flames in front of them.

"Squirtle!"

"Corrrrrrrrppheeeeeeeeeesh!"

The two water types had shot out Water Gun and Bubblebeam respectively, which managed to douse the fire blocking their path. Unfortunately, this was the least of their problems, as the fire still engulfed them from opposing sides.

The wind blew May's hair as she closed one eye and looked back at Sceptile and Combusken, "Pay attention…ggh! I need you two to knock aside any trees in front of me! Clear us a path! We gotta keep moving or we're as good as dead!"

"Sceptile!" the grass lizard roared as it quickly leaped in front of May readying its Leaf Blade attack.

"Buuuuuuusken!" Combusken somersaulted in the air as it pulled back its arm, ready to use Sky Uppercut.

Sceptile and Combusken launched their attacks at a huge burning tree which blocked the path in front of them. Sceptile's arm formed into a neon glowing blade as he slashed the tree from the side. Combusken launched its fist into a series of uppercuts which pounded away at the core of the tree. The tree started wobbling as it's foundation was weak…but it was starting to tip over toward May and Ash!

"The tree is going to hit us! Gah!" May cried in fear struggling to hold Ash up.

The two Pokemon then desperately ricochet themselves off of opposing trees to body slam the falling tree and knock it to the side. Their force had successfully knocked the tree to the right as it slammed into the ground.

"Sceptile, Combusken I owe you two one!" May was elated.

Corphish and Squirtle started coughing heavily as they breathed in a lot of the heavy black smoke around them.

"Cooooorr," Corphish panted as it quickly ran over to May and Ash. Corphish tugged its pincer on May's skirt to get her attention. The girl looked down at the lobster as she spit another round of saliva out of her mouth.

"Ughhhh, I need…you guys to bear with me…I know it's hard to breathe…!" May coughed as she carried Ash beside her. The boy was wobbling off her shoulders as she held him around tighter. "Corphish and Squirtle, I need you two to constantly fire water attacks in every direction….Sceptile and Combusken, I need you to clear a path for me! Knock down any trees ahead of us!"

The four Pokemon quickly sprang into action. Sceptile and Combusken brought up the lead as the two started knocking aside trees so May could continue walking in a straight path. May held Ash around the waist and chest tightly as she walked in the middle, desperately trying to get out of the forest alive. Corphish and Squirtle brought up the rear as the two stood closely behind May and fired Bubblebeam and Water gun in all directions, trying to douse some of the raging fire. This cycle constantly repeated itself for a good four minutes, as the group desperately continued to march forward…hoping by some chance that the forest would end and they'd get back on the open road.

"Scep!" Sceptile gasped as it slashed another round of fallen branches out of the way.

May tried to breathe but the air was just too thick with smoke, the girl was feeling absent-minded as she nearly tipped over with Ash in her arms. She struggled to open her eyes as she had no idea if she was any closer to safety than before.

Suddenly, Combusken stopped in its tracks. "Combusken! Busken!" the Pokemon shouted happily.

May and the other Pokemon looked toward Combusken to see what it was saying. The girl smiled happily as she saw the forest coming to an end! The dirt road stood a few feet before her, and while she wasn't completely out of danger, it was at least safer from struggling through a burning forest with thick foliage.

"Thank god…" May gasped as she pulled the unconscious boy alongside her.

Corphish and Squirtle gave May a little help, as the two of them started pushing Ash forward so she didn't have to struggle pulling his weight by herself. Sceptile and Combusken leaped toward May as they started pulling her by her arms to get her out of the grassy area. With the support of the four Pokemon, May was able to walk faster and didn't have to hold onto Ash all by herself. Sceptile held the right side of its trainer in order to limit the load on May's shoulders.

"We're…..we're almost there…" May grinned as she saw the dirt road in front of her, "I can't believe it."

May finally stepped out of the woods and onto a clog of dirt….she was finally out of the burning forest…but not completely safe.

May gasped as she fell to her knees on the dirt ground.

"Squirt!" Squirtle said worryingly as it pressed itself against her shoulders.

"Squirtle…" May muttered as she took another deep breath and spit yet another huge clot of saliva out of her mouth. She was desperately trying to clear her throat of the heavy smoke she just inhaled.

May's grip on Ash weakened as the boy fell out of her arms and down on the dirt road. The boy lay on his side with his eyes shut as May stared at him desperately.

"Sceptile!" Sceptile tried waking Ash up by rubbing his shoulders.

May sat on her knees as she continued to spit along the ground. Suddenly, a new fear washed over her. What if Ash received a concussion upon being hit forcefully by that tree branch? May shook her head nervously as she struggled to get a grip on herself, but there was too much to worry about. What if Ash was unconscious due to the lack of clean air? And what about his Swellow? Was it still alive inside its Pokeball?

"DAMN!" May shouted as she stood up again. She looked to the left of her as most of the forest was covered in an orange hue. It was still hard to breathe, but not as bad as it was inside the forest which was completely engulfed in flames.

She bent down and gripped onto Ash's arms once more. She pulled the boy by his arms toward her until she saw his face. An uneasy feeling washed over her as she stared into the unconscious boys' face. The fire flickered behind her as the young girl rested Ash against her arms.

"I…gotta make sure…." May panted as a tear fell down her right cheek, "I…..gotta make sure that we live through this…."

She stood up once more as she pulled Ash's arm over the back of her neck. She held onto Ash's hand with her left hand for support, as she leaned the rest of his body against the right side of her own and gripped his side with her right hand. She looked ahead of her as she saw the dirt road leading to a small river ahead of them. It didn't look like the best of choices, but it was the only way she could go.

"Guys…follow me…" May said to the Pokemon as she started to walk while pulling Ash alongside her.

Sceptile and Combusken gave extra support to May, as they gripped onto Ash's side to help pull him along. Corphish pushed on May's behind with it's pincers in order to make her walk a quicker pace. Squirtle also pushed against Corphish to help boost their speed.

"Thanks…guys…" May grinned. She was relieved by all the help the Pokemon were giving her.

She approached a hill as she started to slowly walk down with Ash in her arms. Unfortunately, Corphish and Squirtle were pushing on her a little too hard when she was trying to walk steady which made her lose her balance!

"CRAP!" May screamed.

She started tumbling over the hill while clinging to Ash's body. The two of them were rolling against one another as they continued to roll down the hill. Shocked, Sceptile and Combusken quickly ran down the hill to catch up.

"Cor…phish!" Corphish slapped Squirtle on the head with its pincer as a way of saying, "You idiot! Why'd you push her so hard?!"

"…Squirtle…squirt?!" Squirtle shook his head nervously.

Corphish sighed and hopped down the hill. A disheartened Squirtle slid down the hill on its shell.

May and Ash tumbled off the hill and slammed onto the grass ahead of them. Ash fell on the grass a few feet before her as May lay face first in the dirt.

"GAH!" May got up quickly as she wiped the dirt off her face. She quickly crawled over to Ash and turned his body over. He was still unconscious. "Ash…"

The four Pokemon stood around May feeling disgruntled and hopeless. May pressed her hands along Ash's face as she gently stroke his cheek.

"I'm….trying Ash," May said impetuously, "I'm…doing the best I…can…"

Did it all seem hopeless? Was there anything she could do?

May sniffed as she let go of his face. Her tears fell gently onto Ash's face, as they slid down his cheek and onto his mouth.

Suddenly, she heard a voice calling from the other end of the field.

"Hey! What's going on over there!?" a female voice called out.

May frantically looked to her right, she was desperate for help from another person. Suddenly, a Nurse Joy ran from the other end of the field and came up to May.

"Nurse Joy…thank god it's you!" May cried.

"What happened to that boy? Is he unconscious?" she asked nervously.

Joy then quickly glanced up the hill as she noticed the trees engulfed in flames.

"Oh…my," Joy gasped.

May blurted out everything quickly, "We came from that forest…the fire spread along the whole thing!" she said, as she pulled Ash's body up as she rested his head in her lap, "My friend hit his head when a tree branch smacked right into him by the wind! I…I don't know how bad it is….and then there's his Swellow…its body was crushed…it!"

"Dear god. This is serious," Joy pulled out a cell phone from her pocket.

"What…what are you doing?" May asked desperately.

"Calling for help from the Pokemon center…and the fire department," Joy said as she brought the phone to her ear. She looked nervously at the burning forest just above the hill. "Don't worry, I'll be able to help you two soon enough."

"Busken!" Combusken tapped its hand on May's shoulder in order to comfort her.

May had succeeded in escaping the burning forest alive with an unconscious boy beside her. The girl was slightly relieved as she brushed Ash's hair aside and took off his hat. His head was laying on her lap as he had dirt patches all over his face.

"Ash…" May cradled his body in her arms, "Don't you dare die on me!"

Joy was busy talking away on the phone asking for help. Everything she said was a blur to May, as she was focused on making sure Ash was still breathing. She pressed her hands against his chest and felt his pulse...and to her delight he was breathing!

Tears of relief formed in her eyes as she held Ash in her lap contently. "Looks like we're going to make it through this one after all," she said gratefully.