Hello everybody! I can't believe I got this out on time! This was by far the hardest and longest chapter I've ever written. The actual story itself took up over fifteen pages, which is much longer than any of the previous chapters. However, don't plan on all of them being this long, at least not for right now. This chapter is a little special because of all the different settings that take place in it (you'll see what I mean in a minute). Anyway, the reason I'm so impressed with my getting it out on time, although a little later than usual, is because I continued my college hunt this week (which was a painful ordeal alone), and I had no internet on my laptop for four days. I lucked out fin getting it today, so I think you should all be grateful! (ha,ha) Well, I don't want to give away anything, but I will say that the chapter was also very hard to write because so much is happening, and I had to write and describe a lot of emotions for this segment (which realy isn't my strong suit as an author). I also have several action sequences, my first sequences taking place as official Pokemon battles as a matter of fact, so I spent hours trying to get them to sound write. I hope you like it, although I admit despite all the time I spent working on it, I feel as if my first serious attempt at narrating the battles could have gone a little better. So if anyone has some critiques, I would be glad to hear them, and if someone likes the chapter, I would really like to hear them too. We're at forty-nine reviews now, so let's see if we can bring it up to fifty! REVIEW PLEASE!
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, or any of its affiliated companies including, but not limited to, 4Kids, The Pokemon Company, Game Freaks, or Cartoon Network. The characters written within this fic are soley based upon the fictional characters created by these companies, and the story is not meant to, nor will it, receive any monetary funding.
Characters' Ages:
Ash: 16
Brock: 21
Misty: 17
Dawn: 13
Delia: 40
Oak: 55
Gary: 16
Ritchie: 18
'Are you ready for this Ash?' asked Ritchie.
'Of course!' yelled Ash from across the large Pokémon battlefield. Surrounding the field was a large stadium jam-packed with what Ash estimated to be at least a hundred thousand fans. A light evening breeze blew across Ash's face, and as he looked up he saw his face illuminated by the large lights beaming down upon him on the overhead Jumbo-Tron (a large screen used to display the battle and its stats up-close so the audience could grasp what was happening throughout the battle). As he looked down across the field at his long-time friend and rival, although he wasn't sure why, he had a strong feeling that this was much more than a Pokémon battle.
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"Oh my gosh!" whispered Misty under her breath as she saw Ash's body through the thicket of bushes and trees separating her from her best friend. He was lying on top of Charizard, thankfully, but she could not see his chest moving at all from her vantage point, his face and clothes were completely covered in dirt, and she could see blood trickling heavily down his arms and face.
As Misty and Brock rushed over to get a better look of their friend, Ritchie (who had found the young trainer) began elaborating on the little he knew of Ash's condition to the two. "I've checked his pulse, and while it's faint, it is there. Also, he's breathing, shallowly, but regularly. I've been talking to him the past couple of minutes trying to wake 'im up, but he's not responding at all."
"Is that Ash?" asked May, almost inaudibly, as she approached the gaggle of trainers from the shadows.
"Yeah," affirmed Ritchie. "He's still alive, but he's gonna need some serious medical attention soon. I'm gonna go call the paramedics and bring them out here to get Ash."
"No," said May. "I'll go grab Mrs. Ketchum and get the paramedics over here. I know the area better, and I have my Blaziken to keep me safe if there're any problems."
"Alright, be careful May," cautioned Brock as the young woman turned around and began running in the direction from whence she had just come.
Please be alright, Misty begged Ash as she bent down to examine him more carefully. As she watched his unmoving body, she felt herself growing angry. Why did this happen? Why tonight, of all nights? Just as I was giving him my good news! We were finally gonna have time to hang out and have things be like old times! What if we never get that chance now? What if…?
She felt her face get hot and a new stream of tears begin to fall down her face as she stopped herself from thinking the unthinkable. She looked up from Ash's body feeling an indescribable rage, and as she lifted her head she took out her fury on the first person she saw; Ritchie.
"Why, exactly, is Ash still on Charizard?" she hissed at the slightly older trainer as she narrowed her eyes.
"I was just afraid of moving him right now. That leg looks pretty sensitive, and I've been afraid of messing something up by trying to move him." Ritchie explained. Upon closer examination, Brock realized Ritchie was right about Ash's leg. His jeans were completely torn, and Brock could almost swear that he saw the bone of Ash's kneecap sticking out of the bloody gash on his leg.
"That's ridiculous!" roared an angered Misty. She no longer sounded weak and upset to Ritchie, as she had only a minute ago, but she now appeared rather infuriated. "You're just leaving him lying there on full display like he's some sort of animal! You should be ashamed!"
Embarrassedly, Ritchie quickly murmured an apology and moved out of the way as she quickly walked past him. She came up behind Ash and picked him up under his arms, being careful not to step on Charizard's flame (which was feeble enough without her crushing it) and began dragging him towards a nearby Oak Tree with the help of a few people, including one of the police officers, who had now arrived on the scene.
Sitting down on her knees, she leaned in towards him and quietly whispered, "C'mon Ash. You're gonna be all right!"
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'C'mon Ash! You're gonna be all right!' cried Misty from one of the stadium seats. Despite the cheers and roars from the crowd, he distinctly heard her voice calling from the audience.
Of course I'll be alright, he thought. I'm gonna win! With that thought, he quickly pulled out a pokeball from his side and expanded it from the size of a golf ball to the size of an orange with the push of its center button.
"Let's do this!" he cried as he flung the red and white ball out into the center of the battlefield.
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"It's a good thing you called us when you did," explained one of the paramedics as the other two strapped Ash into a stretcher. They were going to have to carry him back to the ambulance because he was too far in the forest to have the ambulance driven out to him. "If you had been a few more minutes, we may have missed our window of opportunity to save him, but I think we'll be able to help now."
Taking a deep breath, Delia felt her muscles loosen slightly from hearing the news. She had literally sprinted with May into the forest, in her slippers, when she received the news of her son's discovery. She had really wanted to go out and look for him herself, but everyone had agreed it was best she stay in her house and wait. The last thing anyone wanted was her getting lost in the expansive forest and not being able to contact her immediately when they found her son. However, she hated the idea of waiting in her nice, quiet house, while she knew at the exact same time that her son was probably lying in the forest floor somewhere, fighting for his life. Because of this, she was more than eager to go out and see her poor baby when she received the big news from Ash's old traveling partner.
However, as she felt the tenseness of waiting to hear of her son's condition begin to diminish, she reflected on what the paramedic had just told her. "What do you mean you think?" She asked, starting to feel a bit suspicious of their wording. Was there still some kind of chance Ash could be seriously hurt even though they thought he was okay?
"Well," began the medical professional, "while we believe that the actual physical damage was limited to a few lacerations on the face and arms, and a badly injured right leg, he seems to be developing a bump on his forehead, which may or may not indicate a concussion."
"A concussion?" wheezed out Mrs. Ketchum as she suddenly felt the wind get knocked out of her. Fighting off the urge to break down crying again, she asked "My poor baby may have a concussion?"
"Only possibly," replied the paramedic tentatively. "However, we won't know what's wrong with him, if anything, until we get to the hospital to get him checked. We have to go now."
"Alright then," said Delia, pulling herself together as best she could. She didn't feel like she had any tears left to cry anyway. "I'll go with you in the ambulance."
Having watched the scene unfold before her, Misty felt like crying again too, but hearing that they were going to the hospital replaced her need to cry with a need to be with her friend.
"I'll go too!" cried Misty, startling the paramedic and Delia as they were turning to leave the forest. Feeling a little childish for just barging in and yelling what she wanted rather than pulling Delia aside for a moment to maturely discuss her desire to be with Ash in the hospital, she began to blush. "I, uh, I mean, I'd like to go with you if that's okay Mrs. Ketchum?"
Feeling she understood the anxiety Misty felt about Ash at the moment (mainly because she was experiencing it herself), Delia quickly nodded her approval and began jogging along with the paramedics to the ambulance.
Before she took off with them, Misty turned around to see Brock, who was helping Ritchie explain to everyone who had just arrived at the crash site what was happening with Ash. "Brock, you wanna come?" she inquired.
"Nah! I better stay here and help the guests understand what's going on, and help 'em find their way back to the house. A lot of them are staying for the night, and someone has to get the cots and blankets set up. Besides, Charizard looks like he needs some serious medical attention himself."
With his response, Misty quickly turned back around and sprinted in the direction of the paramedics and Ash's mom.
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'Torterra, I choose you!' yelled Ash, as the pokeball lit up and the large ground/grass type Pokémon emerged from within.
'C'mon out Zippo!'Responded Ritchie as he released his Charmeleon onto the battlefield.
Ha, sucker, thought Ash. Torterra might be weak against fire, but Charmeleon's weak against ground-type moves. This will be a cinch.
As the referee lowered the red and green flags he held in both hands, Ash ordered Torterra to use his Earthquake attack.
'Zippo, use your tail to jump in the air and avoid the earthquake!' shouted Ritchie from behind his Pokémon. As the ground began to crack up around the red-hot Pokémon, he quickly sprang into the air using his tail as a spring, causing the Earthquake attack to be completely ineffective. 'Now, use Dig attack!'
Charmeleon then, while in mid-air, pointed his body at the earth below and began to rapidly spin, with his large claws in front of his body. As he hit the ground, dirt went flying everywhere, and within seconds he was completely out of sight.
He knows Dig? thought a confused Ash. Oh well. Only a minor setback.
Once again Ash ordered Torterra to use Earthquake attack. He expected that the battlefield's violent movements would cause Charmeleon to be damaged, even if he was underground. However, after the field stopped shaking, Ash was perplexed as to why he didn't see the starter fire type jumping out of the ground, badly hurt.
'Zippo, come up and use Fire Blast!' commanded Ritchie to the unseen Pokémon. Ash didn't even have time to react to what Ritchie had said before he saw the ground beneath Torterra begin to glow a dark red, and then explode beneath him. Suddenly a large flame, in the shape of the Japanese symbol for 'fire', blazed from inside the hole. The huge fireball was so powerful that it lifted Torterra (who was very heavy) off his feet, and leveled him on his back several feet away.
'Torterra, get up!' cried out Ash. However, it was no use as Torterra was too large and could not flip himself over.
'Zip, use Flamethrower!' ordered Ritchie as the fire Pokémon sprang out of the hole and began to engulf Torterra in flames.
'TOOOOOORRRR!' Ash's Pokémon yelled as Ritchie's Charmeleon knocked it out of consciousness.
'Torterra!' yelled Ash as he watched his comrade disappear in the conflagration. When the flames finally ceased, his friend lied there, completely burnt and unmoving.
'Torterra is unable to battle, Charmeleon is the winner!' announced the referee as he tilted his green flag towards Ritchie's Pokémon.
I guess I underestimated him, thought Ash as he watched the picture of his Torterra fade from the Jumbo-Tron screen. I'm gonna have to try harder. He then withdrew his grass Pokémon back to its pokeball and reached for Totodile.
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"Excuse me," said Delia to a passing nurse. "Do you know how my child is?"
"What room are they in?" asked the nurse quickly; obviously in a hurry.
"He's in Hallway J, in room 214," replied Delia hopefully.
"I'll see what I can find out," said the nurse, once again hurriedly, but with a tone of sympathy in her voice this time. She could see that these two women had been waiting a while, and the last thing they needed was an unsympathetic nurse.
In fact, Delia and Misty had been sitting in the hospital's waiting room for about three hours, and it was now about four-thirty in the morning. However, to both of the women, it was beginning to feel like they had been there for days. In her exhaustion and frustration at the situation, Delia had begun to ask anyone, be they doctor or patient, if they knew of her son's condition.
Happy with the nurse's promise (she was one of the few people who had bothered to actually acknowledge her question at all) Delia thanked the nurse and returned to the uncomfortable hospital chair next to Misty.
"Man, this is so hard," Misty stated bluntly as she shifted her weight for the hundredth time within the hour. She could not stay still from a combination of the stiff chairs and, more importantly, her worry over Ash's well-being.
Why are hospitals so inhospitable? She thought. It was ironic that the very name of a location could so blatantly contradict what it actually was. She was sitting there, in a cerulean-blue metal chair, waiting to see if her best friend was alive, and throughout the entire ordeal had large, bright white lights beaming down upon her.
"I agree," replied a tired Delia. "Why won't they just let us sit in there while they check on Ash? I mean, it's not like they're operating on him or anything."
"I know," said Misty. She felt so bad for Ash's mom; even more so than she did for Ash, because she couldn't imagine what it must be like to be a mother in this kind of situation. "I'm so sorry Mrs. Ketchum," she whispered.
A little perplexed and surprised by Misty's apology (they hadn't talked to each other almost their entire time in the hospital), Delia gave Misty a weak smile and a hug. "Why are you sorry? You weren't those moron police officers who did this. If anything, they should be the ones having to sit here and apologizing."
"You're right," admitted Misty, "but I still feel sorry for you. I can't imagine how hard this must be right now."
"Well, having someone who cares for Ash almost as much as I do with me does make it a lot easier, believe it or not," kindly replied Mrs. Ketchum. She realized that Misty was a very special girl, both to her and her son.
Blushing a little, Misty thanked Mrs. Ketchum. "Hey, do you want something to eat? I saw a vending machine when we first walked in here."
Sticking her tongue out a little, Delia told Misty, "I better not. My stomach is in knots right now, and I don't think the best treatments are M&M's."
Chuckling slightly, Misty nodded her head understandingly.
"However," continued Delia, "I do think you should grab something to eat. You look skinnier than a pole, and I don't need two kids I care about a great deal in the hospital tonight, or I might have to check myself in."
Flattered by her compliment, and slightly mesmerized by her ability to have even the slightest sense of humor at a time like this, Misty decided to go get a bag of chips. "I'll be right back."
"Alright. Hopefully I won't be here when you get back," replied Delia as Misty walked in the direction of the machine.
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'Oh! And another one of Ritchie's Pokémon goes down!' yelled the announcer on the PA system. The battle was beginning to heat up as Ash's Totodile had managed to take down Ritchie's Charmeleon and his Swellow. However, Ash could see that the blue crocodile-like Pokémon was not going to last much longer. Swellow had really hit him hard with a Sky Attack, and he was limping badly.
Liking his odds against the water-type, Ritchie confidently called Butterfree to the field.
'C'mon out Happy!' he cried as the purple butterfly-like Pokémon was released from its pokeball.
Lowering the flags once again, the referee signaled the start of the next match.
'Totodile, use Bite!' commanded Ash. He figured his odds of winning with Totodile would improve if he kept Butterfree on the defensive.
'Butterfree, fly up and use Stun Spore!' yelled Ritchie as he saw Totodile nearing his bug Pokémon. Doing as his master commanded, Butterfree flew just out of Totodiles' jaw's grasp and released a large amount of Stun Spore powder from his wings.
'Totodile, jump out of the way!' Ash called out, but he knew it was too late for that. As soon as Totodile inhaled the powder, he stopped moving completely. This is bad, Ash thought as he watched his Pokémon and friend struggle to break free from his temporary paralysis.
'Now Happy, use Psybeam!'
Once again following his trainer's wishes, Butterfree formed a multi-colored ball of light between his antennae and shot it at Ash's Pokémon. The powerful beam blew Totodile clear across the battlefield and slammed him into the partisan wall separating the on-looking crowd from the fierce fighting.
'Totodile is unable to battle. Butterfree is the winner!' announced the referee, once again tilting the green flag at Ritchie's Pokémon.
Withdrawing his Totodile back into its pokeball, he whispered, 'You did a great job buddy. Thanks.'
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"Mrs. Ketchum?" asked a young nurse in pink scrubs.
"That's me," replied Delia, slowly standing up. "What's going on?"
"Well, the doctor wants to talk to you. I'm here to lead you down to your son's room," replied the nurse kindly.
"Thank goodness!" exclaimed Delia when she heard the news. It was now six o'clock in the morning and she and Misty had not heard any news about her son in three hours. She had no idea concerning what happened to that nurse that seemed so nice and understanding earlier, but it was apparent to her that she obviously didn't take peoples' feelings into account when she made false promises to update them on the status of their ill children.
If I see her, Delia thought, I'm going to do more than give her a piece of my mind.
However, she couldn't help but feel a little relieved that she was finally going to see her child, despite the anger that she felt towards the nurse they saw earlier. Getting up, she and Misty began following the nurse down the winding hallways.
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'Ooooooooooh! Ash's Donphan couldn't take Butterfree's Mega Drain! He's out of this battle ladies and gentlemen,' the announcer informed the cheering crowd. The battle was in full blaze right now, and Ash couldn't believe that his strategy to take Butterfree out with Donphan's Hyper Beam failed.
This will take care of that bug, Ash thought as he reached for his next battling partner.
'Kingler, I choose you!' yelled Ash as he thrust the ball into the field. As the giant crab-like Pokémon emerged from its captivity, the referee prepared to lower the flags.
'Let the battle begin!'
'Happy, use Sleep Powder!' ordered Ritchie simultaneously with the referee's command. His Pokémon flew swiftly towards Ash's Kingler.
Knowing that Ritchie was going to try to immobilize his Kingler before he would attempt an offensive assault, Ash waited until the butterfly Pokémon was within Kingler's claws' long grasp, and then ordered him to "use Guillotine!"
In the blink of an eye, if not faster, Kingler reached out towards the oncoming Butterfree, and crushed it within his massive claws.
'Uh, oh!' the announcer said. 'It looks like Ritchie's Butterfree's in trouble! Can it handle Kingler's bone-crushing power?'
'FREE-FREE!' screeched Ritchie's Pokémon as it struggled to escape Kingler's ever-tightening grip. It was obvious that Butterfree had no chance of escaping the water Pokémon's tight grip.
'I forfeit this match!' announced Ritchie to the referee, who was intently watching the struggle for a possible winner.
Turning his attention to Ritchie momentarily, he lowered the red flag towards Ash. 'The Green Trainer has forfeited. Kingler is the winner!'
'YEAH!' yelled Ash, while pumping his fist in the air in victory. He was glad to see that his strategy had worked.
'You just got lucky!' teased Ritchie from the other side of the battlefield. 'This is far from over!'
'Bring it on!' Ash teased back, while motioning Ritchie to approach him with his hands.
'You asked for it!' he yelled as he threw out his next Pokémon. With the opening of the pokeball, a large Tentacruel entered the battle arena.
'CRUUUUUUUUEL!' it roared as it saw its newest opponent.
With a bit of apprehension apparent in its tone, Kingler tried its best to sound formidable by loudly shouting 'KINGLER!' and snapping its claws together.
Lowering his flags once again, the referee repeated his four-word phrase, and the two water Pokémon began their battle.
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"Knock-knock," said Ritchie timidly as he opened the door slowly. Ash had been in the hospital for almost two days now, and he hoped that it was safe for him to see his friend again. He had wanted to come the minute Ash had been checked in, but he remembered how angry Misty had been with him after their last "run-in" and he wanted to avoid any awkward situations if he could. However, the curiosity of his friend's health had finally gotten the better of him, so he dressed himself in his nicest khaki slacks, black dress shoes, and polo shirt and went to David Hill Hospital in downtown Pallet.
"Hey Ritchie," said Ash's mother as she saw the newest guest enter her son's hopefully-not-permanent hospital room. She had gotten very little sleep over the past two days and it showed through the dark bags under her eyes. Despite this however, every time she began to drift off she saw Ash and Charizard falling to the ground again, which instantly startled her back into reality.
"Hey Ritchie," repeated Misty a little embarrassedly. Despite all her concern about Ash, she had thought about how she had blown up at him a couple of nights ago, and was now regretting it.
Ritchie nodded at both of them as he approached Ash's bedside. Although he was no longer bleeding, Ritchie could still see many of the scrapes on Ash's arms and head, and he instinctively drew his eyes down to Ash's knee, which he remembered vividly, to find that it had been heavily bandaged. The only good thing he saw on the bed was Pikachu, who was lying on top of his master dozing away peacefully.
What a loyal little guy, Ritchie thought as he watched the two sleeping.
Misty hated herself as she watched Ash's counterpart looking at him so sadly. She knew that it was because of her that he was afraid to come visit Ash, and despite her hatred for admitting she ever did anything wrong, she felt that it was only appropriate that she apologize for her behavior.
Standing up from the little metal chair she had been sitting in across from Ash's bed, she nervously walked up to him. "Uh, Ritchie?"
"Yeah?" he asked, taking his gaze off of Ash momentarily.
"Well, I was just wanting to say that I'm sorry. Y'know, about before?" She said this so quickly that she feared he didn't understand and she was going to have to repeat herself, but fortunately she saw a small smile appear on his face after she apologized.
"Hey, it's no problem. Tensions were high, and you and I were both just really worried about Ash. It's nobody's fault." As he said this, he waved his hands as if nothing at all had happened.
"What I'm more concerned about right now," he continued, "is how my buddy is. I've been hearing rumors, but no one has been able to tell me what's really going on with 'im."
Relieved that they were cool again, Misty began to explain the good and bad news about Ash. "Well, it's been a mixed bag of news, really," she began. "To start with, his pulse is normal, and so is his heart rate, so he's very much alive. Also, amazingly, he didn't actually break any bones. Apparently Charizard protected him somewhat when they hit the ground."
Ritchie nodded his head as he awaited the bad news to come forth from Misty's lips.
"However," she said, "he's in a comatose state right now, and frankly the doctors are worried. They say that if he doesn't wake up soon, that there may very well be permanent damage to his brain. He might not be able to walk, or talk, or do anything again really."
Shocked at this news, although not overly-so, Ritchie asked her another question. "But no matter what, he'll wake up, right?"
Feeling her eyes begin to well up with tears for about the hundredth time over the past forty-eight hours, Misty shook her head.
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'Wow! What a match!' declared the battle commentator. The Tentacruel-Kingler battle had been long and strenuous, but unfortunately for Ash, Kingler had been outmatched by Tentacruel.
'It's okay,' Ash said to the pokeball containing the crab Pokémon. 'You weakened him and now you deserve a rest.' Putting Kingler's ball back in its rightful place by his side, Ash reached for his last pokeball.
'Sceptile, you're up!' he yelled as he threw it onto the battlefield.
The green lizard-like Pokémon appeared on the field opposite the large Tentacruel, but unlike Kingler, he was undaunted by the water/poison Pokémon's size and apparent strength. He appeared confident in his ability to take it down.
After the referee started the match, Ash quickly took control of the battle by using Leaf Blade attack. The Tentacruel, although strong, found itself unable to move quickly enough on land to avoid Ash's Pokémon's attack. Sceptile's leaves on its forearms grew a green glow and as it charged at the massive water Pokémon, it left a streak of light behind it. It then flipped in the air and struck the Tentacruel on the zenith of its skull, resulting in major damage.
However, to Ash's amzazement, the squid Pokémon was still standing after taking the damage, and Ritchie ordered his attack. 'Azul, use Poison Sting!' Instantly, hundreds of shiny needles were shot at Sceptile, but the agile Pokémon (although hit by a few) was able to easily avoid most of them by using his Agility attack.
After the storm of Poison Sting needles ceased, Ash ordered Sceptile to 'use Pound!' Jumping high into the air, Sceptile raced down towards the Tentacruel and hit it directly between the two large red orbs that were on top of its head, which Ash knew was its weak point.
'CRUUUUUUUUEL!' it shrieked as it wavered back and forth, dizzy from the attack.
'It's okay!' yelled Ritchie from the sidelines. 'Use Hydro Pump!'
Trying to reorient itself, the Tentacruel took aim at the Sceptile as best it could, and then shot a large stream of water. However, Ash was ready for this. 'Sceptile, jump in the air and gather energy!'
Jumping out of harm's way a split-second before the onslaught of water came rushing at him, Sceptile's leaves covering his arms and tail began to glow brightly. As Tentacruel ended his attack, Sceptile began his. 'Use Solarbeam, Sceptile!' Ash ordered.
The grass Pokémon opened his mouth and released a huge amount of solar energy, all the while remaining in the air by using the large leaves surrounding his arms as wings of some sort. The Tentacruel was unable to move quickly enough, and all it and Ritchie could do was watch as he was suddenly surrounded by the bright light.
As Sceptile returned to the ground, Tentacruel fell over on its side, and the referee declared Ash the winner of the match.
'Good job Azul!' cried Ritchie as he withdrew the exhausted squid Pokémon. Ash could see that he was a little nervous by the look on his face, but at the same time Ash felt the same way. He couldn't rid himself of this feeling that this battle was going to decide much more than who was a better trainer.
'Cruise, come out!' yelled Ritchie as he sent out his Tyranitar. The large, green, dinosaur-type Pokémon let out a mighty roar as it approached the center of the battlefield, and although Ash knew he had the type advantage over this ground-type Pokémon, the apparent sheer strength it possessed made him feel a little doubtful of his Sceptile's chances.
'Let the battle begin!' the referee announced, beginning yet another match.
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In the real world, Delia and Misty had now continued their routine of going to the Ketchum residence at about eleven each night, not getting any sleep, returning to the hospital at six in the morning, and explaining again and again Ash's condition to the hundreds of friends Ash had made over the years, for the past five days. Neither let their mind wander far from the apparently very much loved trainer.
Brock, for his part, was also very worried about Ash, but someone had to keep the house clean, and cook meals to bring to the girls at the hospital daily, so he decided to carry out this burden himself. Also, although he would never say it out loud, he felt that the girls still held him partially responsible for the accident, and he felt awkward being around them for too long.
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As they sat in the hospital room once again for the fifth day, Misty heard Delia sigh loudly as she sat on a chair next to Ash's bed.
"What is it Mrs. Ketchum?" inquired Misty, slightly from boredom.
"I was just thinking how ironic all of this is," Delia replied. "I mean, just seventeen years ago, I gave birth to a little miracle right here in this hospital, and now I'm sitting here next to him hoping he'll live."
Feeling that there really wasn't a way to respond to a dark and depressing statement like that, Misty simply nodded her head in agreement. She was doing the best she could to console Delia, but the truth was that both of them needed a shoulder to cry on at the moment, but neither was strong enough to bare that responsibility. Please wake up, Ash, she mentally begged once again.
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'Sceptile, use Bullet Seed!' commanded Ash to his tired Pokémon.
Opening his mouth, Sceptile shot out several seeds at the charging Tyranitar, but they did little, but temporarily slow him down.
Ritchie had ordered his Pokémon to use Thrash, and for the past few minutes it had been charging around the stadium in a frenzy of anger and hostility.
'Sceptile, jump out of the way!' Ash ordered as Tyranitar got within striking distance yet again. For such a large Pokémon, Ash observed, it sure is fast! The Tyranitar had already gotten away with many big blows to Ash's Sceptile, while at the same time the grass Pokémon had gotten in massive damage against the large Pokémon itself. Both were tired, and Ash estimated that the battle would be over soon, though he wasn't sure who was going to be the last one standing.
As the Tyranitar turned around for another assault after Sceptile had dodged its last charge, it began to slow down to a halt.
'What's this?' asked the commentator. 'It seems that Tyranitar has stopped its Thrash attack, but why?'
Ash already knew the reason. His past battles had taught him that Thrash, although very powerful, was also harmful to the Pokémon using it. When a Pokémon used the attack, they were unleashing a great deal of inner-anger and aggression, which led to them eventually becoming confused.
'Cruise!' called out Ritchie. 'Listen to me! Use Hyper Beam to finish of Sceptile!'
However, Ash saw the Tyranitar's pupils dilate as it lost its ability to comprehend its master, and instead of finishing off his Pokémon, it instead used Mega Punch on itself.
Perfect, Ash thought.
'Sceptile, use Pound to send Tyranitar flying!' Ash ordered. His Pokémon obediently turned around and used its tail to hit Tyranitar hard in the stomach, lifting him off the ground and throwing him several feet back.
'Now, use Solarbeam to finish him off!' Ash commanded.
As Sceptile charged his body (which was taking a little longer than before due to all the damage he had received during the battle), Ritchie began calling out to his Pokémon.
'Listen Cruise!' he cried out, desperately trying to snap his Pokémon out of its confusion. 'You gotta listen to me! Just close your eyes for a moment and focus your energy! I need you to close your eyes!'
Ash worriedly looked over at the dinosaur-like Pokémon, and to his amazement, and disappointment, he saw that Tyranitar was listening to its master.
'Sceptile,' yelled Ash, 'you gotta hurry up with that Solarbeam!'
However, despite his pleas, Sceptile was too weak to hurry up the process of gathering up his energy for one final grass type attack. He knew that if he didn't hurry, then his opponent was going to snap out of his confusion, but there was nothing he could do other than wait right now.
'Now Cruise, open your eyes!' demanded Ritchie.
Opening his eyes, Tyranitar seemed to have calmed down, and to Ash's fear, his pupils seemed to have returned to their normal size.
'Great job, man!' cried out Ritchie excitedly. 'Now use Hyper Beam!'
As the large Pokémon charged a large orb of light in its mouth, Ritchie looked over to see that, unfortunately, it appeared that Sceptile was done charging his attack.
'Now Sceptile, use Solarbeam!' hollered Ash as he saw Tyranitar preparing to attack.
'Hyper Beam now Cruise!' Ritchie responded as loudly as he could.
Both Pokémon shot out their attacks with a force Ash hardly ever saw. The resulting explosion was powerful enough to knock him off his feet, and for the next several seconds, he couldn't even see through the large mass of smoke that resulted from the two gigantic attacks.
'WOW!' screamed the announcer into the microphone. 'I have never seen such power. However, the question on both trainers' minds right now has to be whose Pokémon are still standing?'
As the smoke cleared, an audible gasp could be heard throughout the stadium, and from both trainers. Both Sceptile and Tyranitar were lying on the ground, unmoving.
Waiting a few seconds to see if either Pokémon would rise back up, the referee finally broke the deafening silence in the stadium by making his judgment. 'Both Sceptile and Tyranitar are unable to battle! The match is a draw!' With that declaration, the stadium erupted in a roar of hooting and hollering for both sides. After all this, both trainers had only one Pokémon left.
'Well Ash,' said Ritchie, 'it looks like this will decide the whole thing.'
'I guess so,' replied Ash. He still wasn't sure what this battle would decide, but he knew that he had to win it.
'Wait a minute,' Ash said to himself. 'Who's my last Pokémon?' As he asked this, he realized that he had no more pokeballs at his side.
'Pika, pika,' came a little voice from below in response to his question.
Looking down to find Pikachu waiting at his feet, Ash felt both concerned and relieved. Why hadn't I seen him there before?
Whatever the reason, Ash decided now was not the time to psycho-analyze his forgetfulness, and instead ordered Pikachu out onto the battlefield.
'Ash has chosen his starter Pokémon, Pikachu!' came the announcer's voice over the intercom. 'This may be the last battle he has, so I hope he made the right choice.'
'Huh?' said Ash, puzzled, as he heard the commentator. It was odd enough that the man knew Pikachu was his starter Pokémon without him telling, but even odder than that, he thought, was his last statement.
Why would this be my last battle? he once again asked himself mentally. The stress from this battle must be getting to me. I'm hearing things now.
'So Ash, you ready for the biggest battle of your life?' asked Ritchie from across the field. 'For your sake, I hope you are. Go Sparky!'
As he threw his pokeball into the field, his own Pikachu, who looked almost identical to Ash's except for the fact that its fur was slightly ruffled, jumped out of the pokeball.
'What are you talking about?' Ash asked, suddenly feeling uneasy as he heard Ritchie's last comment. He knew he wasn't just hearing things. He needed to know what this battle was for.
'Don't worry about it,' replied Ritchie in the same friendly tone he had used throughout the battle. 'Just don't lose and you'll be fine.'
This is weird.
'Let the battle begin!' the referee shouted as he lowered the flags for the final match.
Author's Notes: In case any of y'all are wondering; yeah, Ash is in a coma and the italicized parts are him dreaming a battle against Ritchie. The reason he's battling Ritchie is because Ritchie mentions that he tried talking to Ash when he found him in the forest, attempting to wake him up. Therefore, Ritchie's voice was the first one Ash heard after he became comatose, and that's why he's battling him in the dream. I tried to make it pretty self-explanatory in the chapter, but when I read this after I had finished it, I realized it was really quite confusing.
Anyway, like I say, if you liked it or hated it, or have some ways to improve it, let me know.
Also, I wanna give my recommendations for this week:
"The Refuge" by SecretAgent99 - I want to thank those of y'all who have read this story all ready, and I ask that everyone who gets a chance take a look at it (it is very well-written) and leave a comment or two to encourage SA99 to continue working on it. I like it a lot, and I'm sure if y'all give it a chance, you'll be hooked too.
"Friendship, Love and Rivalry" by PrincesSTiger - Once again want to recommend this one too. It's a pokeshipping fic that I've yet to finish reading, but I promise to do so in the near future, after my fingers heal from all the typing. Anyway, it's really good and I personally can't wait to see how it ends.
"Accidentally in Love" by licoricejellybean - This is another one-shot by this author (I recommended a different one of her stories last week), however, even though they say its a one-shot, I think it has possibilities for a sequel if they wanted to write one. It's also a pokeshipping fic, and it's well-written with good detail (just how I like my fics to be written). Please read and review it when you get a chance.
REVIEW PLEASE!