p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Pikachu and Ash were on the roof of the Ketchum house, staring at the Poké-corral behind professor Oak's Lab in the distance. He knew Gary would arrive soon, and although his old friend had given up training long ago as an occupation, he still practiced it as a hobby, so his Pokémon were probably still skilled in battle. He was getting pumped for this round; what Pokémon would he use..?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Apparently, once the flight was over, stewardesses didn't have the obligation to stay polite to costumers; maybe they weren't paid extra minutes. Gary made the former deduction after a stewardess had put an ice on his forehead to wake him up and made an angry face when he grabbed her wrist as a defense reflex when he woke up all startled./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Finally! I thought you were dead. -the lady with the tight bun didn't seem concerned at all about a possible dead person on the plane- Listen, sir, I can't go call my boyfriend unless ALL passengers leave this plane, and you, sir, pretend to be asleep just to make the line at baggage claim grow shorter while seated; like I haven't seen that trick before!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-My god! That boyfriend must be deaf to be able to stand all this kind of nonsense every day... -Gary stood up, facing the exit- or maybe he just puts his Snorlax on the phone and you can't tell them apart. -he was still half asleep and couldn't come up with a less childish answer; this sounded genius to him at the time and had trouble containing a laugh/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-I'm gonna get the cops on your ass for saying that! -the woman said, turning red-/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Whatever, I'd love to hear how you report me, but I don't like to waste my time over petty drama. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"He made the peace sign at the cranky stewardess, exiting the plane without looking back, and unplugging the phone signal cable when she wasn't looking. He couldn't resist. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"What had just happened, though? It wasn't usual for anyone to hate him, but he used to be pretty popular with women when he'd just started training Pokémon. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"He laughed at himself. He knew it had all been because of his many sponsors and because he liked to spend on them to show them how awesome he was back then. Embarrassing, but at least he hadn't dated them or anything; he called them "my fan club" and "friends of mine" for a reason. He found that hilarious nowadays; funny how memories could change in meaning depending on how you keep on living and making new ones. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Ash's face came to his mind and their bickering came next while he waited for his baggage. The image made him smile for the first time in the otherwise hellish day. He wondered how he would see his time at the Sinnoh Lab in a few years? At least he wanted to be proud of who he had become and how he'd found what he really wanted to do with his time on Earth. Had Ashy changed a lot during these two years? He'd know soon.../span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Gary Oak was about to ring the bell to his grandfather's Lab-house and former residence when suddenly, an enthusiastic and unmistakeably male squeal was heard not too far from the spot./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-GAAAAAAARYYYYYYYYYY! /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Who..? -a sprinting Ash with open arms was coming up the street- ASHY! How have you b...? -before Gary could finish the sentence, Ash sprang up and hugged him tight, almost knocking him to the floor. He was surprised but so happy to see him he played along; he hugged back and laughed at the scene despite himself./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Soon, professor Oak opened the door and invited them both a cup of tea to catch up. It felt like it hadn't been two years but ten that they all hadn't seen each other face-to-face. Pikachu and Umbreon hadn't seen each other in a while and kept playing tag around the table. Ash noticed after some hours of talking to the Oaks and got an idea./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Gary, have you ever shown Umbreon around Pallet Town? Pikachu and I had a lot of fun touring around here./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-It hadn't really occurred to me... what do you think, Umbreon, should I give you the tour?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Umum!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Pika Pika! -Umbreon and Pikachu smiled their Poké-smile and nodded in enthusiasm/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-They seem to like the idea, Gary! The more your Pokémon knows you, the better they'll respond to you in a situation -professor Oak interjected- although I'd say you should do it just for fun. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"The professor sipped on his green tea and Gary smiled sideways,/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Sounds good, then! Be prepared, Umbreon; tomorrow is excursion day like old times! -Umbreon approved and head-butted his trainer's leg gently/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-I'll go with you! Pikachu loved it so much, though I probably skipped some areas... besides, it will be fun remembering old times!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Gary got a small chill on the pit of his stomach when Ash said that for a reason he couldn't put his finger on, but although he'd planned to go with Umbreon alone, he thought it was a good idea that his human best friend came, too./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-All right, Ashy, but don't oversleep or I'll make my Blastoise hydro pump you like a fountain ball all around town!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"The usual bickering started and pofessor Oak proceeded to prepare more tea and mentally meditate./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Ash and Pikachu left soon after dusk. The trainer was in a very good mood; maybe he would cook his mom dinner, unless she'd already made it, of course./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-It was fun, right, Pikachu?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Pikaaaa -Pikachu smiled up at his trainer, but as they reached the crossroad to the row of blocks to Ash's house, he stopped and froze on the spot, suddenly serious./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-What's the matter, Pikachu? Are we being followed?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Pikachu's hair stood up and his ears bent down onto his head. Since Pikachu is an electric (huge) mouse, static couldn't be the reason for his hair suddenly standing, and it was summer, so it wasn't cold either. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Ash didn't see anything that could have frightened the Pokémon either; however, he knew his yellow fluffy pal had a better intuition than he did./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Is a natural disaster approaching us, Pikachu? -Ash couldn't see any other Pokémon going beserk like the time some weird collector had captured the legendary weather birds, but he thought he'd ask just to be sure/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Pi...-the Pokémon shook his head and frowned sadly/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Come on, then... we gotta go home! It's pretty near by! -Pikachu pulled Ash's leg toward Gary's house/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Are you saying we shouldn't go this way? But it's all right! If you don't wanna walk through it, just get inside my vest and I'll pretend I'm a fat guy, what do you say? -Ash joked but opened his vest for his friend/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Kaaaa...-Pikachu hesitated, but then climbed into Ash's vest and his trainer covered him up. Pikachu wasn't acting normal, but maybe the street had looked scary to him; some individuals didn't like small towns because they seem creepy to them at night, and legend says the hold secrets more poisonous than those of cities./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Ash was walking past the last block of houses before his own when he saw a police line and town police motorcycles surrounding the first house on the block before his isolated house's. Officer Jenny was interviewing a crying woman in her forties and another woman who looked like she was her sister was telling onlookers to leave. As usual, the Pokémon trainer and champion of several battle tournaments wanted to help./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-What happened here, officer? -Pikachu rolled around inside his vest, scratching Ash and making him look suspicious. Hopefully the officer hadn't noticed./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Mrs. Kendall's daughter was found dead under the backyard bush just ten minutes ago... that makes three murdered kids between Pallet and Viridian this month... wait, what? Ash, get out of here, this could be dangerous./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-But I wanna help!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-I must insist, get out of here and don't go out at night alone; there's some serial psycho killer loose, and although you don't fit within its apparent targets, you shouldn't take your chances, young man!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-A killer?! Why would anyone kill children but not rob the place and kill the parents? Are you sure she was murdered? -Pikachu sent a warning jolt to his trainer- AAAUGH... Ok, I'll go... if you need a Pokémon trainer's help, I live on the only house next block- another, stronger jolt- AAAAAAH... uh... I better go!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"This time he really ran for it. He hoped the policewoman didn't suspect him for acting so weird; then again, he was probably famous with the police; why hadn't they let him intervene as usual? Oh well./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Pikachu finally decided to leave Ash's vest when he was already inside the house; he ran to greet Delia Ketchum and spend some quality time letting her pet him./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Mom, I'm here! -Ash hung the vest- Hey, I wanted to show you a very practical dish Brock invented when we were travelling...-he stopped on his tracks when he realized he had lost his appetite, but he really wanted to cook for his mom after so long. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Ash, this is delicious! You surely inherited my seasoning abilities! - she giggled- Even Mimey loved it, and you know how strict he's strict with you./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Ash smiled, flattered by the nod of approval by Mr. Mime and Pikachu./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"He didn't want to ruin the moment by talking about some apparently gruesome kid murders, so he continued talking about his day at the Oaks's and listening to his mom's new projects, but deep down, he kept thinking about the murder. It was downright creepy, but it was probably gonna get solved soon, so it shouldn't take a big place in the back of his mind, right?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Although he'd slept some time on the plane, Gary wanted to go to sleep somewhat early to be fully energized for next day. Much like Pikachu slept on Delia Ketchum's bed rather than on Ash's, Umbreon seemed to favor professor Oak's bed. What's with Pokémon and their trainer's "trainers" anyway? Oh well./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Nothing was more comforting than one's own bed and bedspread! Gary sank into the mattress, huddled into the covers and closed his eyes in bliss. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Until some foul smell started coming from beneath the bed. This had to be a joke. He opened one eye with a scowl and checked. The underside of the bed was perfectly normal, except for what looked like a skull. Gary opened the other eye and turned on the light, but it was nothing but some old notebooks from primary school and crayons. He rolled his eyes and was about to turn off the light again when someone knocked on the window./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"It wasn't that late for visits, but who could it be? Maybe Ash had some secret plan? He went up to the window and opened the curtains to look down at the garden below, but it was empty. As he was about to shut them again, he was interrupted by someone knocking on the door./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Yeah? -Gary was getting irritated./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Then, another knock on the window while Gary was facing the door. It sounded more like twigs slapping the glass than a normal pole or even gravel being thrown at a window. But it wasn't. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"What Gary saw when he turned around was a pair of human skeleton hands trying to break into the house. He gasped and froze on the spot, and they disappeared as fast as they had shown themselves. Had he imagined them? The glass didn't look scratched, and since his room was on a second floor, it was impossible that anyone without a ladder climbed all the way up there, and the roof was also a few meters too high for anyone to hang so low... maybe he was just tired. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"But as he turned to the bedroom again, a black balloon was hovering right above his pillow. Before he could muster any kind of action, the balloon exploded and left the pillow covered in blood while a child's cry was heard. Gary felt his own blood drain away from his face and the nausea of panic kicking in, and he grabbed a small chair from his old desk to defend himself,/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-I know you're here, but you're not real! You can't do anything to me!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" A single knock from behind. The bone hands weren't there anymore, but a message was written in glow-in-the-dark crayon on the window:/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"GET OUT OF TOWN OR YOU'LL BE NEXT/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"That night, Gary slept in one of the barns of the Poké-Corral with his Arcanine, Blastoise and other Pokémon he'd captured during his journey. Arcanine was a huge fire-dog one did not simply defy, and said canine was so loyal he'd wake him up if he sensed anything; and any Pokémon seemed to be sensitive to the clown's presence anyway, like a Poliwag had once proven. Even if he'd forgotten that smell of something fouler than shit, trash and anything related, Pokémon wouldn't have to remember; they just knew. Gary would just say nostalgia hit him if he was ever asked by gramps why he'd decided to sleep curled up with the fire dog and water tortoise./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Ash arrived at Gary's house at 8am like they'd agreed, but the older youth wasn't found anywhere inside the house./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-That prick... he's probably trying a trick on us, Pikachu! That'd be so typical of him... GARY! WHERE ARE YOU?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Gary heard a shout and his eyes flew open: he was late! Even if it was just Ash, it was embarrassing. Of course he'd forgotten the alarm clock in the bedroom! Damn.../span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"He tumbled inside his sleeping bag, tumbled on a protesting Arcanine and managed to slip out of the bag when he reached the entrance. He hadn't noticed when he'd been asleep, but Arcanine had managed to make it "extra comfortable" with a lot of fur filling; he kept running covered in hairballs from head to toe, trying to shake off the hay and hair concoction with no success. Ash was there! Oh no, his reputation was ruined!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Hey, Ashy-boy! -he tried to sound smug- I was testing your... search abilities!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-You mean you hid under a furry Pokémon, then rolled yourself into a haystack and therefore you look funny today? -Ash laughed at his friend's feeble attempt to hide his embarrassment. Of course Ash saw his cheeks turning a shade of pink- Hey, I've been covered in worse stuff than that, remember my Muk? -Gary opened his mouth to say something ironic, but Ash interrupted- But you still look hilarious!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-You've looked "hilarious" more times than I have, Ashy! -Pikachu picked off some furballs on his pants's hem, empathizing with him on his peculiar predicamment./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-No, no! I'll do it myself, Pikachu! I don't need you to... -Gary shook his arms in a cross form, but it only made him look like a fluffy oversized chicken/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Oh, man, I can't stop laughing... -Ash had tears in his eyes- I wish I'd brought a camera! Where's Umbreon?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Umbreon came running toward the door and rubbed her head on Gary's leg as greeting, getting herself some Arcanine hair on her head as well. She seemed happy to see Pikachu as well./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Umbreon prefers sleeping with gramps than with me for some reason... just like your Pikachu prefers your mom. Someday I'll conduct an investigation on Pokémon trainers's parents or guardians and Pokémon relationships, I'm really intrigued! /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Me too! -they both shot a look at their Pokémon, and they ignored the owners./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-All right, next stop, Pallet's small stream!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Apparently, once the flight was over, stewardesses didn't have the obligation to stay polite to costumers; maybe they weren't paid extra minutes. Gary made the former deduction after a stewardess had put an ice on his forehead to wake him up and made an angry face when he grabbed her wrist as a defense reflex when he woke up all startled./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Finally! I thought you were dead. -the lady with the tight bun didn't seem concerned at all about a possible dead person on the plane- Listen, sir, I can't go call my boyfriend unless ALL passengers leave this plane, and you, sir, pretend to be asleep just to make the line at baggage claim grow shorter while seated; like I haven't seen that trick before!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-My god! That boyfriend must be deaf to be able to stand all this kind of nonsense every day... -Gary stood up, facing the exit- or maybe he just puts his Snorlax on the phone and you can't tell them apart. -he was still half asleep and couldn't come up with a less childish answer; this sounded genius to him at the time and had trouble containing a laugh/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-I'm gonna get the cops on your ass for saying that! -the woman said, turning red-/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Whatever, I'd love to hear how you report me, but I don't like to waste my time over petty drama. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"He made the peace sign at the cranky stewardess, exiting the plane without looking back, and unplugging the phone signal cable when she wasn't looking. He couldn't resist. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"What had just happened, though? It wasn't usual for anyone to hate him, but he used to be pretty popular with women when he'd just started training Pokémon. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"He laughed at himself. He knew it had all been because of his many sponsors and because he liked to spend on them to show them how awesome he was back then. Embarrassing, but at least he hadn't dated them or anything; he called them "my fan club" and "friends of mine" for a reason. He found that hilarious nowadays; funny how memories could change in meaning depending on how you keep on living and making new ones. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Ash's face came to his mind and their bickering came next while he waited for his baggage. The image made him smile for the first time in the otherwise hellish day. He wondered how he would see his time at the Sinnoh Lab in a few years? At least he wanted to be proud of who he had become and how he'd found what he really wanted to do with his time on Earth. Had Ashy changed a lot during these two years? He'd know soon.../span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Gary Oak was about to ring the bell to his grandfather's Lab-house and former residence when suddenly, an enthusiastic and unmistakeably male squeal was heard not too far from the spot./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-GAAAAAAARYYYYYYYYYY! /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Who..? -a sprinting Ash with open arms was coming up the street- ASHY! How have you b...? -before Gary could finish the sentence, Ash sprang up and hugged him tight, almost knocking him to the floor. He was surprised but so happy to see him he played along; he hugged back and laughed at the scene despite himself./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Soon, professor Oak opened the door and invited them both a cup of tea to catch up. It felt like it hadn't been two years but ten that they all hadn't seen each other face-to-face. Pikachu and Umbreon hadn't seen each other in a while and kept playing tag around the table. Ash noticed after some hours of talking to the Oaks and got an idea./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Gary, have you ever shown Umbreon around Pallet Town? Pikachu and I had a lot of fun touring around here./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-It hadn't really occurred to me... what do you think, Umbreon, should I give you the tour?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Umum!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Pika Pika! -Umbreon and Pikachu smiled their Poké-smile and nodded in enthusiasm/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-They seem to like the idea, Gary! The more your Pokémon knows you, the better they'll respond to you in a situation -professor Oak interjected- although I'd say you should do it just for fun. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"The professor sipped on his green tea and Gary smiled sideways,/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Sounds good, then! Be prepared, Umbreon; tomorrow is excursion day like old times! -Umbreon approved and head-butted his trainer's leg gently/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-I'll go with you! Pikachu loved it so much, though I probably skipped some areas... besides, it will be fun remembering old times!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Gary got a small chill on the pit of his stomach when Ash said that for a reason he couldn't put his finger on, but although he'd planned to go with Umbreon alone, he thought it was a good idea that his human best friend came, too./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-All right, Ashy, but don't oversleep or I'll make my Blastoise hydro pump you like a fountain ball all around town!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"The usual bickering started and pofessor Oak proceeded to prepare more tea and mentally meditate./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Ash and Pikachu left soon after dusk. The trainer was in a very good mood; maybe he would cook his mom dinner, unless she'd already made it, of course./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-It was fun, right, Pikachu?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Pikaaaa -Pikachu smiled up at his trainer, but as they reached the crossroad to the row of blocks to Ash's house, he stopped and froze on the spot, suddenly serious./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-What's the matter, Pikachu? Are we being followed?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Pikachu's hair stood up and his ears bent down onto his head. Since Pikachu is an electric (huge) mouse, static couldn't be the reason for his hair suddenly standing, and it was summer, so it wasn't cold either. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Ash didn't see anything that could have frightened the Pokémon either; however, he knew his yellow fluffy pal had a better intuition than he did./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Is a natural disaster approaching us, Pikachu? -Ash couldn't see any other Pokémon going beserk like the time some weird collector had captured the legendary weather birds, but he thought he'd ask just to be sure/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Pi...-the Pokémon shook his head and frowned sadly/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Come on, then... we gotta go home! It's pretty near by! -Pikachu pulled Ash's leg toward Gary's house/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Are you saying we shouldn't go this way? But it's all right! If you don't wanna walk through it, just get inside my vest and I'll pretend I'm a fat guy, what do you say? -Ash joked but opened his vest for his friend/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Kaaaa...-Pikachu hesitated, but then climbed into Ash's vest and his trainer covered him up. Pikachu wasn't acting normal, but maybe the street had looked scary to him; some individuals didn't like small towns because they seem creepy to them at night, and legend says the hold secrets more poisonous than those of cities./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Ash was walking past the last block of houses before his own when he saw a police line and town police motorcycles surrounding the first house on the block before his isolated house's. Officer Jenny was interviewing a crying woman in her forties and another woman who looked like she was her sister was telling onlookers to leave. As usual, the Pokémon trainer and champion of several battle tournaments wanted to help./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-What happened here, officer? -Pikachu rolled around inside his vest, scratching Ash and making him look suspicious. Hopefully the officer hadn't noticed./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Mrs. Kendall's daughter was found dead under the backyard bush just ten minutes ago... that makes three murdered kids between Pallet and Viridian this month... wait, what? Ash, get out of here, this could be dangerous./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-But I wanna help!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-I must insist, get out of here and don't go out at night alone; there's some serial psycho killer loose, and although you don't fit within its apparent targets, you shouldn't take your chances, young man!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-A killer?! Why would anyone kill children but not rob the place and kill the parents? Are you sure she was murdered? -Pikachu sent a warning jolt to his trainer- AAAUGH... Ok, I'll go... if you need a Pokémon trainer's help, I live on the only house next block- another, stronger jolt- AAAAAAH... uh... I better go!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"This time he really ran for it. He hoped the policewoman didn't suspect him for acting so weird; then again, he was probably famous with the police; why hadn't they let him intervene as usual? Oh well./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Pikachu finally decided to leave Ash's vest when he was already inside the house; he ran to greet Delia Ketchum and spend some quality time letting her pet him./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Mom, I'm here! -Ash hung the vest- Hey, I wanted to show you a very practical dish Brock invented when we were travelling...-he stopped on his tracks when he realized he had lost his appetite, but he really wanted to cook for his mom after so long. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Ash, this is delicious! You surely inherited my seasoning abilities! - she giggled- Even Mimey loved it, and you know how strict he's strict with you./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Ash smiled, flattered by the nod of approval by Mr. Mime and Pikachu./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"He didn't want to ruin the moment by talking about some apparently gruesome kid murders, so he continued talking about his day at the Oaks's and listening to his mom's new projects, but deep down, he kept thinking about the murder. It was downright creepy, but it was probably gonna get solved soon, so it shouldn't take a big place in the back of his mind, right?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Although he'd slept some time on the plane, Gary wanted to go to sleep somewhat early to be fully energized for next day. Much like Pikachu slept on Delia Ketchum's bed rather than on Ash's, Umbreon seemed to favor professor Oak's bed. What's with Pokémon and their trainer's "trainers" anyway? Oh well./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Nothing was more comforting than one's own bed and bedspread! Gary sank into the mattress, huddled into the covers and closed his eyes in bliss. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Until some foul smell started coming from beneath the bed. This had to be a joke. He opened one eye with a scowl and checked. The underside of the bed was perfectly normal, except for what looked like a skull. Gary opened the other eye and turned on the light, but it was nothing but some old notebooks from primary school and crayons. He rolled his eyes and was about to turn off the light again when someone knocked on the window./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"It wasn't that late for visits, but who could it be? Maybe Ash had some secret plan? He went up to the window and opened the curtains to look down at the garden below, but it was empty. As he was about to shut them again, he was interrupted by someone knocking on the door./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Yeah? -Gary was getting irritated./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Then, another knock on the window while Gary was facing the door. It sounded more like twigs slapping the glass than a normal pole or even gravel being thrown at a window. But it wasn't. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"What Gary saw when he turned around was a pair of human skeleton hands trying to break into the house. He gasped and froze on the spot, and they disappeared as fast as they had shown themselves. Had he imagined them? The glass didn't look scratched, and since his room was on a second floor, it was impossible that anyone without a ladder climbed all the way up there, and the roof was also a few meters too high for anyone to hang so low... maybe he was just tired. /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"But as he turned to the bedroom again, a black balloon was hovering right above his pillow. Before he could muster any kind of action, the balloon exploded and left the pillow covered in blood while a child's cry was heard. Gary felt his own blood drain away from his face and the nausea of panic kicking in, and he grabbed a small chair from his old desk to defend himself,/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-I know you're here, but you're not real! You can't do anything to me!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;" A single knock from behind. The bone hands weren't there anymore, but a message was written in glow-in-the-dark crayon on the window:/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"GET OUT OF TOWN OR YOU'LL BE NEXT/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"That night, Gary slept in one of the barns of the Poké-Corral with his Arcanine, Blastoise and other Pokémon he'd captured during his journey. Arcanine was a huge fire-dog one did not simply defy, and said canine was so loyal he'd wake him up if he sensed anything; and any Pokémon seemed to be sensitive to the clown's presence anyway, like a Poliwag had once proven. Even if he'd forgotten that smell of something fouler than shit, trash and anything related, Pokémon wouldn't have to remember; they just knew. Gary would just say nostalgia hit him if he was ever asked by gramps why he'd decided to sleep curled up with the fire dog and water tortoise./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Ash arrived at Gary's house at 8am like they'd agreed, but the older youth wasn't found anywhere inside the house./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-That prick... he's probably trying a trick on us, Pikachu! That'd be so typical of him... GARY! WHERE ARE YOU?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial; min-height: 14px;" /p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Gary heard a shout and his eyes flew open: he was late! Even if it was just Ash, it was embarrassing. Of course he'd forgotten the alarm clock in the bedroom! Damn.../span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"He tumbled inside his sleeping bag, tumbled on a protesting Arcanine and managed to slip out of the bag when he reached the entrance. He hadn't noticed when he'd been asleep, but Arcanine had managed to make it "extra comfortable" with a lot of fur filling; he kept running covered in hairballs from head to toe, trying to shake off the hay and hair concoction with no success. Ash was there! Oh no, his reputation was ruined!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Hey, Ashy-boy! -he tried to sound smug- I was testing your... search abilities!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-You mean you hid under a furry Pokémon, then rolled yourself into a haystack and therefore you look funny today? -Ash laughed at his friend's feeble attempt to hide his embarrassment. Of course Ash saw his cheeks turning a shade of pink- Hey, I've been covered in worse stuff than that, remember my Muk? -Gary opened his mouth to say something ironic, but Ash interrupted- But you still look hilarious!/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-You've looked "hilarious" more times than I have, Ashy! -Pikachu picked off some furballs on his pants's hem, empathizing with him on his peculiar predicamment./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-No, no! I'll do it myself, Pikachu! I don't need you to... -Gary shook his arms in a cross form, but it only made him look like a fluffy oversized chicken/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Oh, man, I can't stop laughing... -Ash had tears in his eyes- I wish I'd brought a camera! Where's Umbreon?/span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"Umbreon came running toward the door and rubbed her head on Gary's leg as greeting, getting herself some Arcanine hair on her head as well. She seemed happy to see Pikachu as well./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Umbreon prefers sleeping with gramps than with me for some reason... just like your Pikachu prefers your mom. Someday I'll conduct an investigation on Pokémon trainers's parents or guardians and Pokémon relationships, I'm really intrigued! /span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-Me too! -they both shot a look at their Pokémon, and they ignored the owners./span/p
p style="margin: 0px 0px 12px; line-height: normal; font-family: Arial;"span style="letter-spacing: 0.0px;"-All right, next stop, Pallet's small stream!/span/p