Chapter 9: The Fever
A few hours later,
"I'm afraid it's THE fever." Edward said leaving Ash's room. "I've tried every test I could think of to prove that it isn't. They've all failed."
"Now what?" May asked.
"We wait." Edward said.
"JUST like last time." Dan added.
He got up.
"Where are you going?" Max asked.
"To call Ash's mother. She needs to know that we are dealing with the same fever."
0000
An hour later in Pallet,
"Thanks for your help Professor." Delia said as Mimey opened the door.
"No…problem…Delia." Samuel Oak grunted under the weight of the grocery.
"Mime!" (Messages)
The Mime Pokemon pushed the PLAY button.
"You have two messages. Message One. Saturday. 3 o'clock p.m."
"Del? It's Dan. Ash has a fever. We're not sure if it's the one. We're at my parents' home just outside of Fuchsia. Talk to you later. Bye."
"It's probably just a normal fever." The optimistic Delia stated heading for the kitchen.
"Message Two. Saturday. 6 o'clock p.m."
"Delia. It's me again. Ed finished his tests. It's that fever again. Nobody thinks Ash should be moved right now, so we're staying put. I'll see you later. Bye."
CRASH
Delia had dropped the groceries and ran out the door.
0000
A few hours later,
"He's getting weaker." Brock said when he came out of Ash's room.
"So, what's going on?" May asked.
"Ten years ago." Sarah told her. "Ash got REALLY sick. Some people had given up hope that he'd survive. He was sick for a little over a month. Suddenly, his fever broke one day."
"However, his brain had been affected." Daniel added. "He was never the same again."
"THAT'S why." Misty said. "Just after I started traveling with him, he had captured a Caterpie and had Pikachu. Suddenly, he saw a Pidgeotto and used CATERPIE against it."
"He put a Caterpie against a Pidgeotto?" Edward asked.
"That's nothing." Brock stated. "When I first met him, I was the Pewter City Gym leader. During our first battle, against my Geodude and Onix, he used Pidgeotto and Pikachu."
KNOCK KNOCK
The door opened before anyone could answer it.
"Where is he?" Delia asked as she walked in.
"Del?" Dan asked getting up from the couch and going to his wife.
"Is he okay?" she asked
"His temperature is climbing, slowly, but still climbing." Edward told her.
"What was the highest last time?" Max asked.
"106." Dan told him.
The kids' mouths dropped.
"Told you it affected his brain." John told them.
"And that's also why a lot of people lost hope." Dan said.
"And also why a lot of people were so shocked he survived." Edward added.
Pikachu hopped off the back of the couch and went up to Ash's bedroom.
0000
"Pikapi?" (Ash?)
Just the sound of Ash's labored breath.
Pikachu hopped onto the bed to see his trainer too pale for his liking.
"Pikachu?" (Are you okay?)
"Pika…chu?" Ash asked half opening his eyes.
"Pika." (Yes?)
Ash carefully raised his hand and stroked the pokemon's head.
"Cha" (Don't leave us)
"I'll…try not to."
Ash went back to sleep. Pikachu nuzzled close to his trainer determined to protect him.
TBC