So quick update I'm going on vacation today so I won't be able to post a chapter until next Sunday, but if I have time I'll try to put a chapter up during vacation.
Chapter 12: The Flowers of Cerulean City
Setting: Cerulean City Streets 9:30 a.m.
Ash was taking an early stroll through the city after having goodnight sleep in the Pokémon Center. Last night after Misty had found them in the forest; she led them back into town and when they got to the center Nurse Joy healed Brock's sprained ankle. Ash wouldn't normally wake up early, but Ash and Pikachu where headed to a small café where they will be meeting Misty. When Ash turned the corner he could see Misty sitting by herself with a drink in her hand and a small book in the other. Misty glanced up from her book and saw Ash sitting in front of her. Misty smiled then placed her book back in her bag "Late like always. I didn't think you were going to show up Mr. Coconut head." "Of course I was going to show up and what do you mean late? You said 9:30." Ash replied.
Setting: The Cascade Café
Misty rolled her eyes since she did say 9:30, but she just wanted to pull Ash's leg to see how he would react. Pikachu hopped off Ash's shoulder and went to Misty's lap to tell her hi "Hey there Pikachu. How have you been?" Misty began to pet Pikachu. "So Ash what have you been up to lately?" "I'm headed to Sinnoh for a Pokémon tournament." Ash replied. Misty perked up "The Pokémon tournament in Sinnoh?" Misty searched through her bag "You mean this?" She said holding a card. Ash quickly snatched the card from her hand and began to read it "The members of the Pokémon League would like you Misty Waterflower to take part in our Pokémon Master Tournament in Sinnoh. The tournament will not begin for quite some time due to preparations. We hope to see you there." Ash was speechless. "Did you not know that all gym leaders got an invite?" Misty asked. Ash shook his head no "Well I wasn't sure whether or not to go." Misty snatched the invitation from Ash "But since you're going I was wondering if we could." Misty was cut short when a waiter walked by and was asking if they were ready to order.
Ash glanced at the menu for a bit while Misty who ordered a hamburger with orange juice "I don't know if I want a pizza or something more dessert like?" Ash mumbled. The waiter was starting to lose his patience "I'll have the cheese pizza with fries on the side, a Cola soda, and a chocolate shake." "Great choice sir." The waiter replied. As the waiter was walking away Ash shouted for him "Actually I change my mind. Instead of having the shake can I have a slice of your dark chocolate cake or instead maybe this monster cookie?" Ash said changing his order every five seconds. Misty became as frustrated as the waiter "Ash do you even have that much money?" Ash glanced at the prices "Eight dollars for a slice of cake!" Ash closed the menu folder. "On second thought I'll have what she's having." The waiter took the menus and walked off grumbling to himself. "Gosh Misty these prices are crazy!" Ash said looking around "So Misty you were saying something?" Misty was going to say something when she saw Red who was leaning on the wall on the other side of the room smiling at her. Misty rubbed her eyes and then she noticed he disappeared "Was that my imagination?" Ash gave a confused look. "Are you ok Misty? You seem like you've seen a ghost?" Pikachu looked at Misty weird.
Misty felt a hand on her shoulder and when she looked back she saw Red again "Hey Misty it's been a while." Misty quickly blinked before taking off. The waiter was confused, wondering if he frightened the young girl "Sir you're going to have to pay for the bill." "Pikachu?" Ash whispered, but Pikachu was gone. Ash put his head down in defeat while pulling out his wallet.
Setting: Cerulean City Police Station
"Officer Jenny any news on Red and the other trainers that were at the lake?" Misty said "The four trainers were last seen at Pewter City wreaking havoc for no reason. Reports say it was to break one of their members out of jail and it worked. Since then there has been no further report to their whereabouts and as for Red." Officer Jenny went silent. "What? What is wrong Jenny?" "Misty, Red has been dead for over a month." Misty felt like she was just slapped across the face with this shocking news. "What?" She whispered "It says he was killed when he was trapped in a building while it was collapsing." Misty's eyes widen "Misty. I'm." Officer Jenny was caught off when Misty rushed out of the building. 'I know your alive Red. I know it was you at the lake, but why? Why are you with them?' Misty said to herself while running down the streets tearing up a bit.
Setting: The Hallways
Red was walking through the halls headed to Cheyrll's room to see if she was doing anything today. When he got to the door to her room he knocked on it slightly and waited; he stood there until the door opened and Cheyrll gave a small yawn. "Good morning sleepy head." Red said with a smile "It's pretty early what are you doing here Red?" Cheyrll asked. "I was wondering since it's our day off and we are still pretty close to the city if you would want to go with me to Cerulean City?" Red asked nervously. Cheyrll's eyes widen "Like a date?" Now Red's eyes had widen "Um...No of course not. You know just to friends hanging out and stuff..." "Yeah right that's what I was thinking." Cheyrll replied. "So do you want to?" Red whispered. Cheyrll let out a small smile "I'd love to go, but is it ok with J?" "Of course it is trust me. I'll go ask her you can go get ready." Red smiled back. "Ok come back at let's say an hour?" Red nodded then Cheyrll waved by before quietly shutting the door. When Red turned to leave he could hear a small shriek from Cheyrll's room which sounded like a shriek of joy. He gave a strange look then continued walking away with a smile on his face.
Setting: West Streets of Cerulean
Rosa and Riolu were exploring around the cities going in and out of stores while Brock went to the other side of town for supplies, and Ash who left too early to tell anyone where he was going. "It's sure been a while since we last went shopping." Riolu smiled and nodded in reply. "Where do you want to go next Riolu?" They continued to look around until they suddenly ran into someone. "Hey like why don't you watch where you're going next time?" A girl with pink hair and blue eyes shouted. "You bumped into me!" Rosa replied back while Riolu was shouting at her as well. The girl's eyes widen when she saw Riolu; she then quickly grabbed Riolu and gave it a big squeeze "I love the way your Rilou looks. It's like totally fab." Riolu was struggling to break free of the girls grip. "Ok thanks, but I'll be taking my Riolu back now." Rosa then took Riolu from the girl. "By the way my name is Lily." "Rosa? This is Riolu. Have we met before you seem very familiar Lily?" Rosa asked. "Not that I know of, but hey why don't you do some shopping with me." Riolu shook her head no "We'd love too." The girls then walked down the street together.
Setting: Pokémart east side of the city
Brock was checking off things on his supplies list making sure they have the enough for their journey. "Now where are the healing herbs?" Brock looked around until he spotted a revival herb at the back of the store. A smile grew across Brock's face "There it is." When Brock reached out to grab it a smaller hand reached out and snatched it before Brock could. "Um miss I need that." The girl that had taken herbs continued walking "Miss please." The girl stopped and turned towards Brock "We you know what maybe I need this to." The girl replied. Brock recognized the indigo haired, brown eyed teen "Violet? Is that you?" The girl blinked twice "Oh what's up Brock. Man I didn't know it was you at first I thought you were some jerk." Brock gave an embarrass look "Anyway. Why don't you come with me to the Cerulean city gym?" "Ok. Besides Ash and I was planning on visiting you guys anyway." Brock replied. "Well that's great." Violet smiled as the two walked of the store with bags in hand. "Stop! You still have to pay for that!" Brock and Violet gave an embarrassed look "Sorry Sir." "Yeah." They replied heading back to the store.
Setting: Mall
Ash was in a jewelry store at the mall looking around "How may I help you Sir?" Ash looked up from the case. "Oh um how much does this necklace with the pendant cost?" The employee was trying to calculate the price in his head "About 2,000." "What!" Ash said surprised. "There is a discount today of fifty percent off." "That would be all my money." Ash replied glancing at the necklace "Ok kid. Just because you seem nice and all I'll sell it to you for 850. How does that sound" Ash smiled and gave a nod "Thank you." The employee pulled the necklace out of the case "If you want we can change the pendant color for you. It's free." The employee said. "Can you make it aqua blue?" "No problem." The man took the necklace to the back of the store and when he came back the pendant was known aqua blue. Ash handed the money and the employee gave Ash the necklace in a long silver box. "Is this for a special lady?" The employee smiled "Yeah. It is for someone special." Ash replied before walking out. "Stop thieves!" Ash's path was blocked when two people ran by being followed by Officer Jenny and some other police officers. Ash then placed the silver box in his pocket and ran after them to see if he could help Officer Jenny.
Setting: The mall food court thirty minutes earlier
"So what do you want to do first Cheyrll?" Red asked "Well after we finish eating let's look around a bit." She replied. When they were both finished with their food Cheyrll asked Red a question "Does J know we left?" "Yes. No? Maybe. I'm not sure, but I will take the blame if she gets mad." Red then tossed his food in the trash and Cheyrll did the same "Well I just don't want you to get in trouble with her is all." She said softly. "I'll be fine don't you worry. So what store do you want to go to first?" Cheyrll looked around "Let's go to that clothing store over there." Cheryll said. "Okay then." Red grabbed Cheyrll's hand and led the way "Red." Cheyrll whispered "Yes Cheyrll?" "It's nothing." She watched their hands as they were locked together. Cheyrll was blushing slightly when she glanced at Red 'is this a date? Does he have feelings for me or am I still just his friend and he only wanted to hangout nothing more.' Cheyrll quickly threw away the thought and was going to enjoy her time with Red no matter what.
The two of them spent their time walking in and out of stores with four bags per store "Hey Cheyrll do you think we can take a break?" Red asked lying on a bench near the previous store they had entered. "Okay. Just one more store." "You said one more three stores ago." Red complained "I promise. This one will be the last." Red rolled his eyes "Fine." Red stood himself up and carried the twelve bags that Cheyrll bought. When Red finally caught up with Cheyrll she was having a talk with a store "What do you mean my card is denied." "I don't know how to explain it any further miss your card has been canceled." The employee replied. "What's going on" Red asked "I want these earrings, but for some reason my card is being rejected." "Is it the same card J gave you?" Cheyrll nodded. "She probably saw how much money you were spending so she canceled it." Cheryll glanced at her card with sadness. "How bad do you want the earrings?" "Really bad." "Ok. I'll just use the account J told me about." Cheyrll gave a confused look "Which account is that?" The next thing Cheyrll knew was that she was now running away from the police with Red by her side. "So stealing is J's account?" Red nodded "Seems like her." Red laughed at Cheyrll's true comment "Stop thieves!" Jenny shouted.
As Red was running he glanced at a trainer who seemed similar to him "Did that guy look familiar to you?" Red asked "I'm sorry Red, but I'm too busy running from the police to look." She replied looking back. "If we can just get to the motorcycle outside we can try to lose them." "All we did was steal some earrings. Why are they making such a big deal about it?" Cheryll questioned "Slow day?" Red suggested. Red reached an escalator and slid down the side of it to reach the bottom quicker "Slow down Red. I can't do everything you can do." She said trying to rush down the stairs. When Cheyrll and Red reached the exit they headed straight for the motorcycle they used to get to the mall "Here put this on." Cheyrll and Red both placed their helmets on. Before they could ride off Ash had blocked their path "Stop. You don't think I'm going to let you thieves get away do you?" Ash yelled while Pikachu growled. "Why don't you just get out of our way and no one gets hurt." "Not going to happen." The three of them were then surrounded by multiple police cars. "Ash we've got this." Jenny replied "I'd like to stay and chat, but I have to take this little lady back home." Red then pushed down the gas pedal "Pikachu Electro Ball." "Espeon Shadow Ball." Cheyrll said tossing the pokeball in the air. Pikachu leaped off Ash's shoulder and readied an Electro Ball then Espeon appeared and shot a Shadow ball in Pikachu's direction. The two moves collided at the center creating a large smoke cloud "Ash get out of there!" Jenny yelled. Ash looked up at the smoke cloud when the two thieves had appeared on the bike riding over him. Ash and Pikachu ducked down as the two riders rode past them and the police "After them!" Jenny shouted "Jenny I'm sorry I let them get away." Jenny smiled at Ash "It's alright Ash." She replied before getting in her car and chasing after them.
"Hey Ash." Ash looked back as a tall blonde hair women were standing behind "Daisy." "Nice to know you didn't forget about me. I think you dropped this when you were running down the mall." Daisy said holding a long white silver case. Ash searched through his pockets not finding the case anywhere "Oops my bad." Pikachu gave a sigh "Thanks for picking it up for me." Daisy handed Ash the box "So who's the necklace for?" Ash gave her a look. "I'm sorry I just had to look." "It's for someone." "Oh really. It wouldn't happen to be for a girl would it?" Ash was blushing trying to? Hide his face from her "No it's for my mom." He replied. Daisy leaned in examining Ash's face "Ok. Well why don't you come to the gym with me? Brock's there and a young girl named Rosa is there too." She smiled. "Really okay yeah let's go. Are you ready Pikachu?" Pikachu gave smile and nod then they followed Daisy to the gym.
Setting: Cerulean City Gym
"I'm back." Daisy yelled when she entered the gym with Ash and Pikachu "Hey there Ash." Violet said along with Lily, Rosa, and Brock. "Hey guys. When did you get here?" Ash asked his friends "We all got here about the same time." Rosa replied "Yeah and I was able to get all the supplies we need to last us a few weeks." Brock stated. "I guess we should start packing up." Rosa suggested getting her bag together. "Hey Daisy." "Yeah Ash?" "Have you seen Misty at all today?" Daisy thought about it for a while "No except for this morning. She left in a hurry to get to the cafe in town, but other than that I haven't." Ash gave a depressed look. "Are you ready Ash?" Brock asked standing by Rosa ready to go. Ash gave a slight smile "Yeah." The three of them waved good-bye to the Daisy, Lily, and Violet as they headed out of the gym.
Setting: Cerulean City Gate
The group was about to walk out of the city and head south to Saffron City "Wait up!" Ash turned around to find Misty who was standing behind them trying to catch her breath. "You guys don't really expect to go on an adventure without me do you?" Ash smiled "We were looking for you. Where were you?" Ash questioned her. "Ash you sound like my sisters. If you must know I had to run a few errands before I could leave." Misty replied. "Well it's glad to have you back Misty." Brock said "Thanks Brock." Rosa and Riolu stayed quiet until Misty brought them into the conversation. "Oh where are my manners I'm Misty one of Ash's friends and you are?" "My name is Rosa and this is my partner Riolu. Misty is it? You're the fourth sister of the Waterflowers right?" Rosa asked. Misty nodded "Yup I'm the youngest of the four, but sometimes I feel like the only one who has matured." Rosa laughed.
"So where are we going?" "We're headed to Saffron City." Ash replied. "Okay then let's get going." Misty said leading the way. The group then headed to Saffron City now joined by Ash's good friend Misty.
Setting: Hallways
Red and Cheyrll were walking down the hall holding shopping bags in one hand and holding each other's hand in the other. "Well that was an adventure." Cheyrll replied "Yeah and those cops would not give up." Red replied. "I still cannot believe you jumped the rapids on that bike." "I didn't plan on making that jump." Cheyrll looked at him out of curiosity "What do you mean?" She asked. "I thought these bags were going to weigh us down." "So let me get this straight. You were going to risk both of our lives on a jump you weren't sure you were going to make" Red nodded. Cheyrll gave him a little shove "We still made it didn't we." He laughed. The two of them stopped in front of Cheyrll's door "Well this is my stop I guess." Cheyrll smiled.
"Yeah and my room is still another hall away." Red replied "I had a really great time Red. Going out, seeing the city, and not having to go on a mission." "It sure gives you a little breather from all the pressure J puts on us." Silence filled the air. "So Cheyrll I really." Cheyrll quickly pulled Red in close and kissed his lips preventing him from finishing his sentence. Red's eyes widen as Cheyrll's lips were being pressed against his, and then Cheyrll slowly broke apart their lips leaving Red's cheeks bright red. "Night Red." She smiled opening her door "Bye bye pretty lady." Red replied dumbfounded. Cheyrll gave a small laugh before heading into her room leaving Red in the hallway. There was one person there that wasn't having a smile on their face and she saw the whole thing go down.
Setting: Red's Room
Red was walking towards his room with a smile on his face until he came across his door which was left wide open. "That's odd? I don't remember leaving it open?" Red walked in shutting the door behind him. Red looked around the room "Everything looks about right?" Red placed his hat down on top of the desk and headed to the bathroom. Red went to the sink to wash his face for a bit, and when he glanced up at the mirror he saw a figure dash behind him. Red quickly turned around and walked out of the bathroom "Whose there!" Before Red could see what was in his room something had smacked him in the face sending him unconscious.
When Red opened his eyes he was surrounded in a dark room "What? Where am I?" Red was feeling his forehead while looking around the room seeing nothing, but total darkness. He stood himself up "Hello anybody there?" Red could hear footsteps close by. When he turned around to see what was closing in on him he was kicked to the ground. Red struggled to get up, but there was a black boot holding him down. Red glanced "What in the world! You're!" The teen with snow white hair and similar to Red's age looked down at him. "The name's Shadow. We never got to be fully introduced pal." Shadow gave a sinister smile. "But how you're just a disguise I put on?" Red replied trying to push the boot off of him. "I'm more than just a disguise. I'm a part of you only stronger, faster, smarter, and a whole lot better at being bad. I'm your evil personality." He explained.
"What!" Red yelled "Yup and since you're here why don't you stay for a while, and don't worry I'll keep Cheyrll and the rest of the girls company." Red gave a frightened look. "It can be really nice and comfortable inside your head if you think about it. Oh and I forgot to mention you'll be able to see and hear everything going on in the outer world so don't worry about it." "I won't let you hurt them." Red replied. "Just watch me Red." The last thing Red saw was Shadow's other boot appearing in front of him.
After Red finally got a chance to go on a date with Cheryll and get his first kiss from her a new evil has awoken within Red and that's his so called disguise "Shadow." Shadow was supposed to be Red's fake disguise or was it just some memory he forgot until know. What will Shadow do now that he is said to be in control and how will he act towards the others especially towards Cheyrll.