Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon, the game of chess, Snickers, Blockbusters, or Publix.

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Ash looked at the battlefield carefully, considering all his options. This next move could mean either victory, or defeat. It had been a long battle, and hard fought on both sides. It had been costly, but worth it. Ash had the high ground, and was pressing the attack. He could almost taste victory. Then, suddenly, he knew what he had to do. He had his opponent right where he wanted her. The pieces of the puzzle clicked, and now he couldn't lose.

Picking up his bishop, he moved the piece diagonally along the white places before setting it down. "Check!" he cried out triumphantly.

Dawn looked up from her magazine to gaze upon the board. Turning back to her magazine, she picked up her knight and took Ash's bishop. "Checkmate," she said, almost bored.

"What?! How is that checkmate? I can move my king here!"

Dawn didn't even look at the board. "No you can't. My rook's there," she said, pointing a finger at the edge.

"What about here?"

"Queen"

"Here?"

"Knight again."

"Here?"

"Pawn."

Ash growled in frustration. This was the fifth game in a row he had lost to Dawn. He hated losing. "I want another rematch," he said in a low voice.

"Pikapi," said Pikachu, tugging at Ash's pant leg. Ash looked down, and saw Pikachu shaking his head, as if saying "Don't even try."

"Oh yeah? Well I'd like to see you do better. She's like a master at this game."

"Pika," Pikachu said, shrugging his shoulders. He jumped up onto Ash's lap and started pulling the pieces back into place. Once the board was arranged, Pikachu turned the board so that he was black. "Pikachu!" he said.

Dawn set down her magazine and moved her first piece. Ash watched as the pieces of the board advanced on each other, both vying for the middle ground, the high ground. It was a long, intricate dance of strategy and coordination, executing plans of attack as well as mounting defenses. Chess, the ultimate game of strategy and psychology. Finally, after a half hour of battling, the last piece was placed.

"Checkmate," Dawn called, placing her bishop to stop the last line of escape. She reached out across the table. "Good game, Pikachu."

"Pika!" he cried, shaking Dawn's hand.

"See?" Ash said. "You lost too."

"Yeah, but just barely," Dawn said in Pikachu's defense. "If I hadn't sacrificed my queen over on the far side of the board to draw away that rook, I would have lost."

"A loss is still a loss, no matter by how much."

"Pikachu's a whole lot better than you at this game, Ash. I bet you would lose to him too."

Ash rolled his eyes. "Yeah right."

Dawn stood up. "Fine, suit yourself." She moved away from the chair and gestured towards it. "He's all yours, Pikachu."

"Pika!" Pikachu hopped down, scurried over to the now vacant chair, and jumped up. "Pikapi, pi ka pika chu."

"Fine, you're on!" Ash said in reply to the challenge. The board was set and the battle was on.

Dawn wandered over to where Brock was looking at a map, plotting their course through the lands of Sinnoh. "How far are we to the closest Pokecenter Brock? I could use a real shower."

Brock didn't look up from the map. "Should be there in a half hour, if we can get Ash away from that game. How did you hook him on chess, anyways? He doesn't have the patience to sit down for any more than fifteen minutes unless it involves Pokémon."

Dawn shrugged. "I convinced him that it would help him with battling strategy."

Brock chuckled. "Clever." He looked over at Ash playing with Pikachu and smiled at their antics. Dawn turned to look at them too. However, her eyes went to the little fishing lure he had set on the table for good luck.

"Brock, I have a question for you."

"Sure, what's up?"

"Why doesn't he let anyone touch that fishing lure?"

He thought for a moment, looking at the lure. "That's a little complicated. Why are you asking me, and not him?"

"I have. Whenever I ask about it, he gets all broody and glum. You know he keeps it in his shirt pocket, right over his heart?" Brock nodded knowingly. "He brings it with him everywhere," she continued. "Sometimes, before a battle, I see him take it out and look at it. Then he says something like 'Help me, Misty,' and puts it back in his pocket."

Brock cocked an eyebrow at her. "You've seen all this, and you can't figure it out?"

"Well….It's just that, you know…. It's been so long. Hasn't he gotten over her? I mean, I understand keeping a keepsake from old flames, but isn't it time that he took that thing and chucked it in a river or something?"

Brock looked at her. "And why do you care so much about Ash's personal life?" he asked in an odd tone.

Dawn couldn't help but blush a little. "Well, I…you know, he's my friend. I care about him. I don't want him to stay hurt." Piplup came waddling up to Dawn. She bent down and picked her up, holding the little blue Pokémon to her chest. She looked back at the little lure on the table. "I want to help him, is all." She wouldn't admit to Brock that she liked Ash. Really liked him. Sure, he was a little immature at times, and all he really thought about was Pokémon battling, but there was an innocent quality to him that she found endearing, and his tenacity to see through with everything made him dependable.

Brock stared at her for a while before going back to the map. "If we stay on this road, we'll come to a pokecenter pretty soon."

Dawn buried her face in Piplup's downy feathers. "That's good."

Over at the table, Pikachu let out a triumphant "Kachu!"

Ash stared at the little yellow mouse for a long while before finally hanging his head in defeat. "I give up. Let's call it a day with this game." He turned the board upside down and started putting the pieces into the opening on the bottom, then folded it closed. He walked over to Dawn and slid it in her bag. "Are you guys ready?"

"We've been waiting on you, Ash," Dawn replied, letting a little exasperation into her voice."

"Fine, fine, let's get going." He walked back over to the table and grabbed the lure, stuffing it into his pocket before breaking down the table to be carried. Brock and Dawn started out, knowing Ash would catch up in a few seconds.

"You know," Brock said to Dawn in a low voice, "Ash may be denser than a neutron star, but I'm not."

Dawn blushed, but hid it in Piplup. "Pip!" the little penguin called out in surprise. "I don't know what you're talking about, Brock. You must be imagining things."

"Maybe if you met Misty, you'd understand."

I certainly hope I don't meet her, Dawn thought to herself.

It wasn't long after this that Ash caught up with them, Pikachu sitting on his shoulder. He was still grumbling about his loss to the yellow mouse. Dawn rolled her eyes. "Come on Ash, you can't be a sore loser. You just need to practice more and try again."

He still pouted. "I guess," he agreed reluctantly. He shook his head to clear his thoughts of the last game. "How long is it to that Pokecenter?"

"Not long," Brock replied as they started up a small hill. "Should be there in a half hour or so." They cleared the top of the hill, and there was the Pokecenter. Ash and Dawn turned to look at him. He let out a nervous laugh. "Hey, what do you know, that last half hour flew by, didn't it?"

Dawn walked over and snatched the map out of his bag. "I can't believe that we haven't gotten lost more with this bozo leading the way."

"Oh, so I'm not allowed to make one mistake every now and then?"

"No. You need to be perfect with maps. Like me."

"You? Perfect? Don't make me laugh."

Ash left the two to argue. They didn't even seem to notice that he had left them. "You know," he said to Pikachu. "I think Dawn has a thing for Brock. What do you think?"

Pikachu brought his paw up to his forehead and shook his head, saying "Pikapi," in a long-suffering tone.

He walked into the Pokecenter to find Nurse Joy behind the counter. "Welcome," she said with a smile. "How can I help you?"

"Good afternoon Nurse Joy," Ash said cheerfully as he walked up to the counter. He pulled over one of the trays for Pokeballs and set his in the slots. "Could you give my Pokémon a once over for me? We've had a long trek through the woods." He slid his Pokedex into the little slot in front of the counter, to bring up his trainer registry for the Nurse.

She smiled. "Sure thing Mister Ketchum." A small envelope in the bottom right corner of her screen blinked on and off. "Oh, and you have a message." She turned the screen to him and clicked the button to open the message.

It's probably Mom wanting me to call her, Ash thought. He read the message. Then re-read it. Then read it again, hoping the words would change. They didn't.

From: Officer Jenny, 12th precinct, Cerulean City

To: Ash Ketchum

Subject: Report to Cerulean City ASAP

Message:

There has been an accident, and your presence is requested in Cerulean City as soon as possible. Please go to the Gym upon your arrival so that you can be updated on the situation.

End.

He stood, stunned. It was as if his mind had frozen, stuck in shock, the color drained from his face. He didn't hear when Brock and Dawn came into the Pokecenter. Didn't hear when they asked what he was looking at, or when they asked what was wrong. They in turn read the message. Then, his brain started moving again. Gears clicked, turning at a high speed, thinking, allowing variables to be accounted for. He needed to get to Cerulean fast. They were nowhere near an airport, but flying was the fastest way. The closest airport in Sinnoh was in Hearthome City. It would take days to get there, and then another day to fly to Celadon, and at least two days from there to Cerulean. There had to be a faster way. Then it clicked. There was a faster way.

Ignoring Brock and Dawn, he ran to the video phone in the Pokecenter. He quickly dialed Professor Oak. He waited impatiently while the phone rang. Tracy picked it up. "Hey Ash, what's up?"

"Tracy, good. I need you to get to the Viridian Forest as soon as possible and find my Pidgeot. I'm sending you two Pokémon, and I need you to send Pidgeot here as soon as you get him."

"Okay Ash," he said obediently. He could tell that something was wrong, and didn't need an explanation. "I can send him to you by tonight."

Ash knew that Tracy would do what he said. "Thanks, Tracy. I'm sending over Gliscor and Grotyle as soon as I get them back from Nurse Joy."

"Got it," Tracy replied, and hung up.

Ash hung up the phone, then picked it up and dialed another number. "Hey Ash!" the voice said in delight, before a picture of Liza showed up on screen.

"Liza! Good, you're there. Listen, I need Charizard ASAP. Where is he?"

"He and Charla won't be back until tomorrow morning. Why, what's wrong?"

"I need to fly to Cerulean City."

"Ash, Charizard's a good flyer, but he'll die of exhaustion before you make it that far."

"I know, I'm flying to the airport in Hearthome, taking that to Celadon, then flying again to Cerulean. I'm hoping to be there inside four days. Look, I don't really have time to explain. Send him when he comes back?"

"Sure thing," she said before Ash hung up. Brock and Dawn were trying to talk to him, but he didn't listen. This was too important. Now he had Staraptor, Charizard, and Pidgeot to fly the three of them to Hearthome. They'd rest the day it took them to fly to Celadon, and then fly to Cerulean the next day. Unless there was a storm, they would be there soon. He had one more call to make though.

The phone rang once more. Ash's mom popped up on the screen. "Ash! Honey, what's wrong?" she asked, seeing the distraught look on her son's face.

"Mom, you know all the money I've been sending you to hold on to for me, in case I need it?"

"What do you need?" she asked, concern growing.

"I need to get to Cerulean City fast. Can you buy three plane tickets from Hearthome to Celadon on the first flight Thursday morning?" It's Tuesday today. It'll take all day tomorrow to get to Hearthome. Thursday should be fine.

"I will. Ash, what's going on?"

"I don't really have time to explain right now, Mom. I'll tell you when I have time."

"Okay. I'll buy the tickets and have Professor Oak transfer them onto your Pokedex. Good luck son."

"Thanks, Mom," he said before hanging up.

He hung his head for a moment, thinking about what was going on. Misty was in trouble, and he needed to get there to help her. He only hoped he was on time.

The present came back to Ash. Brock was looking worried, Dawn scared and upset. He didn't see the hint of jealousy on her face.

"Ash," Brock said. "What are you doing? Calm down and think for a second. I know you're worried about Misty, but maybe you're jumping the gun a bit. Didn't you think to call and check on her before you fly all the way over there?"

"Yeah, Ash," Dawn commented. "Maybe this is all a big misunderstanding."

"Piplup," Piplup said, agreeing with Dawn.

He didn't say anything for a while. Ash closed his eyes and turned back to the phone. He felt like such an idiot. He should have done that in the first place. He wasn't thinking straight, and Pikachu was with Nurse Joy, or he would have reminded Ash to call Misty first. With a trembling hand, he picked up the phone and dialed the number for the Cerulean Gym.

The phone rang once, twice, three times, four times. Then, someone picked up. Ash was confronted with a grieving Daisy, one of Misty's older sisters. "H-h-hello?" she asked through the tears. The blood drained from Ashe's face.

"Daisy, is Misty there?"

"N-n-n-no. Sh-sh-she's g-gone!" With the last word she burst into a fresh bout of tears.

"No, no no. She can't be gone! Tell her to hold on, that I'm coming. I'll be there soon. I'll be there in three days. Tell her to hold on until then!."

Daisy sniffled and nodded, and then hung up.

Ash turned to Brock in a rage. "See?! Something bad happened, and I need to be there."

Brock said nothing, and nodded in acquiescence. Dawn hugged Piplup to her chest. The little blue bird turned in her arms to give her a hug.

Ash calmed down a little. "Look, I have Staraptor with me. Pidgeot and Charizard are on their way. The three of us are going to fly to Hearthome city, where I have tickets waiting to take us to Celadon. Then we're going to fly to Cerulean. I really need you guys with me. Please, I…I need friends with me."

"We're here for you Ash," Dawn told him, tears in the corners of her eyes.

"Thanks guys." A gloom descended on the group of friends. A dear friend was in trouble, and they were going to be there to help her through it.

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Misty walked into the front door of the gym, only to be tackled by a wailing Daisy. "Daisy, what's wrong?" Misty asked as she sat up.

"D-d-d-derick. He, he, he, he broke up with me! In a text!" She cried all the more.

Misty stood up and pulled the crying Daisy to her feet and gave her a hug. "There there, it's okay. Come on, let's go get Lily and Violet, find ourselves a tub of chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream, and rent some movies. We'll have ourselves a girls night. How does that sound?"

Daisy sniffled. "C-could we get Snickers ice cream instead?"

Misty smiled. "Of course we can. Come on, go get the car keys. We need to head over to Blockbuster, and then Publix."

Daisy nodded and went off to get her coat and the keys. Misty went to the phone on the wall and called Lily. She was with Violet, so she could talk to them both. The picture on the wall came up. "Hey Misty," said Lily in surprise. "What's up little sis?"

"I just got back to the gym. Derick broke up with Daisy. Can you believe it?"

"No! I liked Derick. Violet, Derick broke up with Daisy."

"Finally. I hated the little jerk," Violet said in the background.

"Anyways," Misty continued, "I'm taking her to get ice cream and a movie. Can you guys come back? Our sister needs us."

"Yeah, we'll be back right away. Bye."

"Bye." Misty hung up. It was then that Daisy came back. "You ready to go?" she asked.

Daisy tossed the keys to Misty. "Can you drive? I'll probably wreck us."

"Sure thing." They both walked out and got into their blue car.

They were five minutes out when Daisy suddenly remembered something. "Oh, I just remembered. Ash called while you were gone."

The shock of Daisy's message made Misty swerve into oncoming traffic. A truck honked his horn at her as she swerved back into her lane. She quickly checked her mirrors for cops. There weren't any.

"Maybe I should have driven after all," Daisy mumbled.

"Ash?" she asked incredulously? "As in, Ash Ketchum? My Ash?" Daisy nodded. "When did he call? What did he say?" Misty leveled a glare at Daisy. "What did you tell him? Did you say anything about Adam? Because I swear, if you did…"

"Adam? Who's Adam?"

Misty turned her eyes back on the road. "He's that trainer who's always coming by. He has a little crush on me."

"Oh." Daisy looked out at the road.

Misty endured the silence for a couple seconds. "Well?" she finally asked. "What did he say?"

"Oh yeah," Daisy said. "He asked for you, and I said you weren't there. Then he said he'd be here in three days."

"Three days?!" Misty yelled. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?"

Daisy sniffed. "I was a little distracted at the time."

Misty shook her head as she pulled into the parking lot. "I swear, you'd forget your head if it wasn't attached."

They got out of the car and started for the Blockbuster. Movies first, ice cream second. That way the ice cream didn't have to melt in the car while you got a movie. They were almost at the door when someone called for them.

"Misty! Daisy!"

They turned around to find Derick. Daisy stiffened. She looked at the man coming at them, and she loosened back up, a deadly gleam in her eye. She walked to Derick. She held out her left hand to stop him. He came to a stop at the end of her fingers. Without any warning, she brought around her right hand in an open handed slap, putting the weight of her body, the weight of her anger and fury, and the weight of her sorrow behind it. Derick had no idea what was coming and took the full force of the slap. He fell to the ground, dazed. Daisy caught back up with Misty and then walked into Blockbuster. A few people went to Derick's aid and helped him up.

"Feel better?" Misty asked.

Daisy nodded. "Sure do."

Misty was happy for her sister, but had worries of her own. Ash was coming. In three days. She had a lot of shopping and cleaning to do…

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Patrick and Jane laughed at the sight. The poor boy Derick had no idea what had just happened.

"That was pretty funny," Jane said to Patrick. "What did that text say to make her so mad?"

"Oh, you know, that she was a cheating whore and he never wanted to come within smelling distance of her again." He chuckled in remembrance. They had received their orders from Giovanni yesterday. They had spent that whole day trying to find the best way to keep Ash from finding out that Misty wasn't hurt. Their plan had worked flawlessly.

Jane hit Patrick lightly on the arm. "You're horrible." She smiled. "I love it."

Patrick dropped Derick's phone into a sewer grate, and picked up his own ringing phone. "Hello? Yes. Understood." He hung up and turned to Jane. "Ash is on his way here with his friends."

Jane turned back to surveying the crowd. "Everything was according to plan." She smiled maliciously. Everything was according to plan…..

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Authors Note: Wow, that was a fun one to write. And so the plot thickens… Please review. And tell your friends about it too!