–I can never escape?"

He squinted in the bright sunlight streaming in through the window.

Pikachu jumped up suddenly. "Pikapi!"

"What happened?" asked Brock, in a daze as he removed his headpiece. Misty stood up and eyed Professor Vattha's now empty chair.

"Pikachu!" Ash shared a long-overdue embrace with his yellow companion, who smiled once again. "Pika!" He sat himself up and rubbed his eyes.

"I'm– I'm so sorry," he said softly. "How could I have kept you waiting so long?"

"It's okay, Ash," Misty reassured him. "You didn't know."

"No, I did know," he replied hesitantly. "It's just… maybe… I didn't know that I knew?"

"Well, we're just glad to have you back, Ash," said Brock, patting him on the back.

Nurse Joy walked in, hearing the commotion. "Is everything all right in– oh, you're awake!"

"That's right," said Ash. "And I owe it all to my friends here!"

"That's a relief. I thought you might not make it. Oh, and by the way, I saw that old man you came in here with."

"Really?" asked Misty. "Where'd he go?"

"He left just a few minutes ago. Grabbed a pen off my desk, and ran off."

"Hmmm…" Brock rubbed his chin.

"Who are you talking about?" asked Ash.

"He's the one that brought these devices," Brock replied. "He's an expert on Glitch Pokémon."

"Glitch Pokémon?" said Ash. "You mean, like the one that I saw? The Missing Number?"

"I think it must have been," he answered.

Ash threw aside the covers and leapt to his feet excitedly. "Well, what happened to it?"

Misty objected, "Ash, I hope you're not thinking what–"

"What, that I have to capture it? Of course that's what I'm going to do!"

"Well, it disappeared when we unplugged the Machine," said Brock. "And Team Rocket took it anyway. What makes you think you can even find it now?"

"You know," Joy interjected, "they say that an uncaught Glitch never goes away, it just… reappears elsewhere."

"All the more reason to make sure I catch it, once and for all!" Ash made a fist. "Come on, let's go!"

"Ash, please, just for once, think about this for a second!" said Misty, quivering in body and voice. "I've gone along with a lot of your crazy ideas in the past. And you've gotten lucky so far. But this one nearly got you killed! I thank my lucky Starmie we were even able to save you at all! But enough is enough. I'm not going along with you this time! I can't just sit by and let you throw your life away like this!"

"I'm… sorry, Misty." Ash was taken aback. "But do you have any idea what it's like, to have a dream? I remember when I first saw wild Pokémon with my own eyes. I was playing in the sandbox behind my house, and then I wandered out into the tall grass. All those different kinds of Pokémon, each hurrying every which way, each with their own story! And I thought, there's so much more to this world than just the little sandbox. It was then that I decided: I don't care what it takes, or how long. But I, Ash Ketchum from the town of Pallet, am going to Catch 'Em All! And now, when that dream is just one step away from becoming reality, am I going to turn back on it, because I'm afraid? Yes, it's dangerous. But when the challenge is no longer as easy as it once was, who remembers the ones who just went home?"

Misty looked down at the floor. "I'll remember." But she could see there was no use in arguing this any further. "Be careful, Ash."

– – –

They walked again along the beach, where not too long ago that ill-fated battle had thrown Ash to the brink of oblivion. "Are you sure about this, Ash?" asked Brock. "It's still not too late to turn around."

"You can go back with Misty if you want. But I'm staying here."

"I'm not going to leave you alone, Ash."

"I can always count on you, Brock," said Ash. "Hello, Missing Number?" he called out.

"We've been up and down this beach three times already. Maybe it really is gone."

"It's got to be here somewhere! We haven't seen any other wild Pokémon yet either. We just need to look a little longer."

"Maybe– Ash, behind you!" Brock shouted.

He turned around, and fell backward into the sand, startled by the large rectangular figure towering above him. "Ack! Pikachu, hit it with your Thunderbolt! …Pikachu?"

"Oh no, he's frozen!" yelled Brock, looking down at Pikachu. "Don't let it get close to you! Do something, fast!"

Ash scooted away from the floating block. "Ungh, looks like I have no choice. Pokéball, go!"

The ball passed thought the haze of pixels, which imploded into a concentrated cloud of red energy. The ball dropped to the ground, trembling.

"Come on, come on…" Ash groaned.

The ball gave a final, weak shake, and then stopped. The light dimmed. "Wait, that worked?"

"Pika?"

"It must have been at Level 0 anyway," Brock replied.

Ash made a gesture to punch at the sky. "Yes! I did it!" Pikachu looked sadly downward.

"Ash!" Misty ran out from behind a dune.

"Misty!" said Brock. "You followed us?"

"I– I tried not to," she answered. "But I… was too worried."

"Well, worry no longer Misty, I caught it!"

"Congratulations, Ash." She placed an arm on his shoulder. "Now. Let's go home."

[Author's Note: See you next Friday!]