Chapter 13: Building A Bridge
The next morning, the sun rose on Viridian City much like it always had. Slowly, life came back to the sleeping town. There was not a cloud in the sky this spring morning. The local forecast predicted it would be a warm day today.
At the town's Pokémon center, everybody ate an early breakfast. Everyone, that is, except for Ash and May, who were still fast asleep, their dreams troubled by earlier events throughout the night. Nobody blamed them. Something seemed wrong, especially to Brock and Dawn.
Brock had only been half-asleep when Ash came in. He had seen the note lying on the bed, but knew it would be disrespectful to look at Ash's personal property without his permission. His suspicions were confirmed, however, when Ash came in the door, and explained to Pikachu softly what had happened. Brock wanted to give Ash his deepest sympathies, but that was not the moment (Ash believed he was fully asleep), and Ash was not at breakfast, which was unusual for him. He never missed breakfast, or any other meal, if he could help it. Of course, somebody else was missing from the table.
May was the first to the room she was sharing with Dawn, and she was tearful as she put on her night clothes and slipped into her bed. She cried herself to sleep. She did not hear Dawn come in. Dawn, however, didn't sleep too well last night, and she still seemed upset as she ate her cereal.
Max was the only person at the table who knew of any of the break ups. He thought he heard Drew sigh a lot as he got ready for bed last night. Max didn't ask until this morning, when he and Drew were fully awake and ready for the day ahead. Drew was hesitant to answer at first, then reluctantly shared his story. At first, Max was happy May had a flirt, but was sad for her and Drew when Drew's story of his break up with May. Out of respect for his older sibling, Max didn't tell anyone else, for which Drew was inwardly grateful.
As Brock, Dawn, Drew, and Max finished their breakfasts, Ash and May both awoke in their rooms, and slowly showered, dressed, and grabbed the last few scraps of bacon and toast before the cafeteria closed for the breakfast hours. They ate slowly, never saying a word to each other (well, not other than the bare necessities of politeness).
Yesterday's calls for help were successful, but this brought with it a pro and a con. On one hand, Misty, Tracey, and even Paul (whom Dawn managed to contact after trying several Pokémon centers without luck) had given consent to help them, and would leave as soon as they could find a break in the town's guard's cycles. This led to the problem; it would be a couple days before they got here, and although Viridian seemed tranquil, there were undoubtedly enemy eyes everywhere. Nonetheless, this was seemingly the only place they could be outside without worry of being kidnapped.
Seeing as they were tied down to Viridian for a while, the group decided it would be in their best interests to make the best of things now. After all, being confined to one location on the map is no fun if you can't stay active.
Dawn and May decided to spend the day window shopping (and more, obviously). May was thankful for this opportunity, as she was in desperate need of something to take her mind off Drew. The whole shopping experience, in fact, would also be of benefit to Dawn, who, in addition to wanting to get Ash out of her head, wished to get to know May better. The perfect opportunity to do so, as neither knew more of the other than name, age, place of residence, and the fact they were both coordinators.
Ash thought about going to Pallet Town to see his mom and Professor Oak, but decided not to risk any unwanted hassles. Besides, Tracey was aware of the situation, and would no doubt serve as a link between here and Pallet. Instead, Ash decided he'd spend the day touring town and taking a trip down memory lane. He was joined by Max, who had not been to Kanto since the Battle Frontier adventures, as well as Brock and Drew, neither of whom had anything else to do.
It became readily apparent that May was enjoying herself as she and her new friend Dawn cruised the local shopping mall. Currently, the two girls were in a clothing boutique store, checking out all the dresses, accessories, swimwear…just about everything could not escape the two young women's gazes. In fact, it was midday by the time the two emerged from that boutique, armed with shopping bags full of goodies, and wide grins on both their faces.
They got themselves a table at the food court and ordered their lunches. Dawn had attacked the salad bar, stacking a garden salad, some jello, a yogurt cup, and a bottle of water onto her tray. May joined her, her own tray loaded with chili in a bread bowl, a few slices of pizza, a cup of hot ramen noodles, some French fries… and a 20-ounce bottle of diet soda. Dawn almost gawked at the load on May's tray – clearly, this girl's appetite was of the same caliber as Ash's!
As they munched on their food, the conversation somehow shifted from contest regulations and fashion trends to personal lives and interests. May was hesitant to speak at first, but she trusted Dawn enough, so she spilled the beans about her and Drew. Dawn was in shock.
"So, have you decided whether or not you still want to be friends?" Dawn asked as she shoved a forkful of salad into her mouth.
"Yes…I mean, I think so. It's just…we were battling and all, kinda like in a contest and everything, and all of a sudden, he just up and tells me it's over between us." May's voice was beginning to quiver.
Dawn put on a sympathetic face. "Aw, don't worry, May, it's gonna be just fine! Believe me, I know. I've been there before."
"You…you have?" May asked.
"Mm-hm. Yeppers. You see, it was week ago, I think, that Ash came up to me to tell me…how do I put this…that he had…feelings for me…powerful feelings, May. He said that he was in love with me, and I felt the same way towards him."
May had sort of expected to hear this, based on hints Dawn was dropping right before. Nonetheless, she felt jealous. Ever since Ash rescued her from the dungeons the previous day, she felt her forgotten crush returning to her. She wanted to at least see if he still felt the same way towards her. However, she kept her composure and allowed Dawn to continue without interruption.
"Well, he seemed like the greatest guy ever, but something about him just wasn't clicking with me. I realized this only yesterday when the guards were taking him to see someone. It's just…Ash's a really great guy. I think any girl would be lucky to call him her boyfriend. Really, I do. But he seems like he just flat out loses control of himself sometimes. So I thought it would be best if we parted ways. I don't think he'd be able to put up with my carefree ways in every situation."
"You underscore yourself, Dawn. But how does this relate to what I'm going through, exactly?"
"If I were to guess, I think we both kinda rushed into a relationship without giving any second thoughts to the matter. But hey, that stuff happens, especially when it's your first love."
"True. You bring up a great point."
After finishing lunch, the girls decided to head back to the Pokémon center and just hang out, whether or not the boys were back. They didn't care right now. For them, they'd bonded and helped to heal each other's wounds.
Ash and Pikachu got a real charge out of revisiting much of the city. Ash remembered when he came here to fight for his last Kanto League badge, the Earth Badge. Back then, it'd been him, Brock, and Misty. On top of that, he'd been on the road for a year. The end of his first year as an aspiring Pokémon trainer. Where's the time gone? Me and Pikachu have been to so many places, done so many things, and met so many people since then.
As they visited such places as the Viridian gym, Ash and Brock recounted the adventures they'd had here to the Hoenn visitors. Max was awestruck at all the sights. Drew, on the other hand, didn't seem to care much, but he was just with them cause otherwise he'd be alone and bored. It was sorta entertaining, he had to admit.
Suddenly, Ash's stomach gave a low rumble. He looked at his abdomen before looking up and chuckling out of embarrassment.
Max snickered. "I haven't forgotten that sound, Ash! It's time to eat!"
"Well, I'm sure there's a restaurant somewhere around here that we can eat at. Any preferences?" Brock questioned.
"I don't know. Anything's fine with me." Drew stated.
"I wanna go somewhere that hits the spot! Right, Pikachu?"
"Pi Pikachu!" Pikachu flashed the peace symbol with his index and middle fingers. Brock sweatdropped. Ash and Pikachu were clearly hungry, and clearly a little too enthusiastic about getting lunch.
"I'm with Ash on that, anything would be good right now." Max chimed in.
"All right, then. Guess we'll just go to the first place we find." Brock sighed. Not that he had any ideas. He just wanted to grab something to eat.
A short walk and few minutes brought them to a restaurant that specialized in grilled fares. That sounded perfect to everybody, so they entered. Ash checked to see on the window if Pokémon were allowed inside – he typically avoided places that refused to serve Pikachu. To his relief, the sign read "Pokémon welcome! (Some restrictions apply)". Within moments, all four guys were seated at a round table. The place was not posh, but it wasn't out of shape either. It looked just like a grill-type restaurant should. The fan above the table blew a refreshing breeze onto the table.
A short while later, the waiter came. He was a fairly tall old man, with graying hair and a moustache. He wore a white apron, underneath which he wore a red and white striped long-sleeve shirt and blue jeans. He spoke with a slight western accent.
"Well, howdy, my good pardners and esteemed Pikachu! Welcome to the Fryin'-Pan Grille! I am your waiter, Jam – er, excuse me, Jamieson! How may I take care of you today?"
Ash ordered a double cheeseburger (with two orders of fries, one for him and one for Pikachu), Max had a jumbo dog ("onions on the side, please"), Brock ordered pork chops, and Drew had a grilled salmon. Jamieson jotted down each order on his notepad.
"Most excellent! Our chef today is one of Viridian City's top-rates! You will not be disappointed! Now sit back and wait while we get your food ready!" With that, he dashed off through the swinging kitchen door.
Ash looked around the dining area and found they were the only ones here. Maybe they just opened for lunch…
His thoughts were interrupted by Brock.
"Hey, Ash, how come you weren't at breakfast with us this morning? May wasn't there either, and she loves food just as much as you!"
"Oh, uh…I just decided to sleep in!" Ash explained quickly.
"Uh-huh." Brock didn't sound convinced.
"What's up, Ash? Trouble in paradise?" Drew ventured.
Ash gritted his teeth. Max, however, found the phrase amusing.
"Trouble in paradise! That's a good one!" Max laughed. He immediately stopped, however, when he saw the stern expression on Ash's face. A feeling of guilt and shame washed over him.
"Yeah. Actually, you hit the nail on the head, Drew."
"I thought so." Drew said. Max and Brock noted his face was also somewhat grim.
"Ash? Is everything okay?" Brock asked, his voice concerned.
Ash let out a long, slow sigh. "Last night…Dawn broke up with me. She wrote me a short note to say that, maybe we rushed into a relationship too quickly. It was so sudden…"
"Pika pi, Pikachu…" the small mouse cooed sadly to his trainer.
"Hey, Ash, I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe it was for the best?" Max smiled weakly.
"Well, there comes a time in every man's life when he parts ways with his woman. Then he deals with it however he chooses before he moves on. Don't be upset, Ash. This is normal (I should know, given all my foiled attempts at love!), and you'll find someone else soon." Brock encouraged.
Ash tried to smile. "Thanks, you guys. That makes me feel better." He turned to Drew.
"How did you know?"
"Because May and I had a falling out last night ourselves. Some things are just not meant to be, even if they seem like they are."
"Whoa. That's deep…" Ash blankly said. Drew nodded at the pathetic attempt at sympathy. But at least it was sympathy, however weak and pathetic.
Max made amends for his earlier outburst of mirth by changing the subject to what they should do in the afternoon hours, since they had toured all the city they cared to visit. This conversation hardly got underway, however, when Jamieson came back and set all four meals before them.
"Now you enjoy, little pardners! If anything goes wrong, just give a holler!" He dashed back to the kitchen area.
The food looked delicious, and it was almost a rival to Brock's cooking as they dug in. Of course, Pikachu doused his fries in ketchup (to everyone's amusement), and licked some more at his beloved ketchup bottle after those were gone.
"Still licking away at the ketchup bottle, Pikachu…"
This made everyone laugh. Even Pikachu thought it was funny.
Suddenly, a long robotic arm soared through the air and closed its grasp on Pikachu. It carried the screaming Pokémon across the room and placed him in a cage that looked to have been made of reinforced titanium metal. Pikachu, acting on what was now second-nature to him, let off an electrical discharge, to no avail.
"What's going on?" Ash asked. No sooner did he speak then a smoke bomb detonated by the kitchen door. From within the smoke cloud, two familiar voices were heard.
"Prepare for trouble while you eat your lunch!"
"Make it double, our recipes pack a punch!"
"To protect the world from devastation."
"To unite all peoples within our nation."
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To exchange our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie!" A woman wearing a chef's outfit tore off her disguise to reveal herself as Jessie in her Team Rocket outfit.
"James!" Jamieson hopped out of the fading smokescreen and shredded off his costume, leaving his blue hair, youthful face, and Team Rocket uniform intact.
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"
"Meowth, dat's right!"
"Woo-buffett!"
"Mime! Mime!"
"It's Team Rocket!" Ash, Brock, Max, and Drew exclaimed in unison.
James chuckled loudly. "That's right, twerps, and now we'll be taking Pikachu to present it to the boss and get our just –"
Suddenly, a silenced bang blew the restaurant's main doors open as another smokescreen entered. Yet more voices were heard.
"Prepare for trouble…" a female voice called.
"…And make it double!" a male voice replied.
"To infect the world –"
Meowth jumped in front of the dissolving cloud of smoke.
"We already gave the twoips da rundown and taken dere Pikachu!"
Cassidy stepped in.
"Humph. No need to be rude, cat."
"Watch your language wit me!" Meowth said, frowning, as he extended his claws.
"Well, can't say I'm surprised to see you got done here already, Jimbo…"
"James…the name is James…" the blue-haired Rocket vented under his breath.
Ash, Max, Brock, and Drew all sweatdropped. They didn't know if the Rockets had forgotten them already. Ash spoke up.
"Um, hello?! Are we gonna get shaken down or what?"
Cassidy laughed. "Impatient little twerp, aren't you? Very well, then. Houndour, use smokescreen!
Butch joined in. "Mightyena, hit them with your swift attack!"
"Seviper, use poison tail!" Jessie cried.
"Carnivine, get in there and show them your –"
Unfortuantely for James, his peers' Pokémon appeared on the floor and began their attacks. Carnivine, however, proceeded to latch her mouth closed on James's head.
"No, not me! The twerps! Get the twerps!" James's muffled wails called.
The battle was a four-on-four match, with each "twerp" facing off against the Rocket he was facing. Ash was to engage Cassidy, Brock would tackle Butch, Drew was pitted against Jessie, and Max was to fight James.
Before the enemy Pokémon could unleash their attacks, Buizel dashed at Houndour, spraying a jet of water at the enemy. Croagunk ran his take down straight towards Mightyena. Roselia dodged Seviper's poison tail, then used sunny day to considerably brighten the room. Last, but not least, Mudkip shot a bubblebeam from his mouth towards the enemy Carnivine.
Pikachu, who could see the showdown in progress, saw neither side gain nor lose ground during the initial volley of attacks. He sighed. He was stuck in a cage, and as usual, the only thing he could do was sit and wait for Ash to win the fight and free him from the Rockets' latest ingenuity.
Oh, happy day! I finally was smart enough to give a cliff hanger! ;) So…yeah. But not to worry! I have the day off from classes tomorrow, so I'll resolve these events in the next chapter. What will happen now? Stay tuned!
Update: For those of you who read the chapter after I originally submitted it. I would like to thank Secret Identity for pointing out a MAJOR plot hole. Originally, I had Ash battling with Pikachu, but that would be impossible, as he's in a cage and cannot battle. So I changed Ash's combatant to Buizel to remedy the situation. Other than that, everything else looks good.