There was a moment where time appeared to stand still as Ash tried to process the reality of the situation. He remained frozen in this state for several seconds before Pickachu's persistent tugging on his jeans brought Ash back to his senses. A moment after this, Ash grabbed Pickachu in his right arm, then grabbed his bag in his left, which he hastily strapped around his back, before sprinting out of the room, as if he'd been shot out of a cannon. From there he only gathered more momentum as he quickly found the stairs, where he launched himself and Pickachu down the bannister, with them both sliding to the bottom in no time at all.
Once down on the ground floor, Ash searched the lobby frantically looking for Serena and the others. "Serena!" He screamed repeatedly, interspersed with an occasional "Brock", "Misty", or "Dawn", along with a singular mention of May's name. After five minutes of this, in which time a number of other panicked patrons had escaped the building, he finally saw three familiar faces but not the ones he was hoping for: of course it was Team Rocket.
"Ash!" Cried James, who was still standing half way up the stairwell, "do you need our help?" Ash hesitated for a moment before deciding he didn't have anything to lose.
"Yeah, all my friends are still up there."
"Don't worry", James responded calmly, attempting to reassure Ash, "I'll go and get them."
James began sprinting up the stairs at a brisk pace. Ash soon began to follow him but before he reached the upper steps, a tremor began rocking the building, throwing Ash off balance, before the staircase began to shatter, breaking apart half way up, forcing Ash to again retreat to the bottom, where Jessie and Meowth were standing, off to the side.
After a short period of waiting, James re-emerged, with all of Ash's companions, as Serena suddenly made her way to the front, frantically brushing James aside I an attempt to reach Ash.
"Serena!" He cried. "Wait for me to get in position", he demanded, as he staggered
to the top rung of what was now the bottom piece of the formerly whole staircase, while Serena made her way to the bottom of the top half. They stared at one another from across the small yet sizeable chasm which divided them. Serena had terror written all over her face, as her whole body trembled, while even more panicked patrons from the upper levels made their way out onto the staircase, madly trying to push past Ash's friends, which made Serena even more panicked.
"I can't jump that far Ash!" She moaned. "I've never been a good jumper. I c-can't make it, I just can't", she continued as Tears welled in her eyes. "You're going to have to think of another way."
"Ok Serena." Ash announced decisively. "Here's what's going to happen. I'm going to stand here with my arms stretched right out. I'll catch you but even if you don't make it, I promise I'll catch you. It's not a big drop", he reassured her.
"Maybe not for you", she answered sarcastically. "But we can't all jump 500 metres off a standing start. I'm just an ordinary girl."
"Serena: you're anything but ordinary." Ash responded tenderly. "C'mon, look at all our friends and everyone else behind you. We're all in this battle together. It's not just our battle, it's the great battle, the battle for the survival of all people and Pokémon and we've all got a part to play. Come on Serena, please trust me."
Serena blushed and smiled warmly at Ash. She then shook her head as she smirked.
"Ok, ok. Anything to make you stop with your corny speech. Man, could you be any more cliche?" She laughed, as Ash began blushing with embarrassment.
Just a moment later Serena backed back two steps, before running down them once more and launching herself off the precipice. It looked as if she would fall just short of her target before Ash stretched himself out as far as he could go, until his own legs were dangling over the edge of the platform. He reached Serena by the barest of margins, catching her by the fingertips of her left hand, before claiming a firmer grip, as he clasped both of her hands and began pulling her back towards him, with some help from Jessie and Meowth who were simultaneously holding onto his calves, as they pulled him back towards them.
Once he and Serena were safely back on the bottom half of the stairwell, they - along with Jessie, Meowth and Wobberfett - who'd just come out of its Pokeball,- helped bring the remaining individuals to the bottom, one by one.
Moments later, the group turned on the jets and made a frantic collective dash for the exit, which took them down the main hallway and through the lobby.
All of them made it out safely, but things were no less chaotic once they were out on the Main Street. Scores of people were screaming and running for their lives, in all directions. To Ash's horror, he noticed there was no longer just one of the tripods roaming the city, but at least three that he could see, with each of them occupying a different area of the town, making a safe escape incredibly difficult.
"Come on"! Brock shouted suddenly, "that way", he bellowed, pointing towards the road which formed to the right of the Main Street, "this road takes us to the mount Silver, it's our best chance."
The rest of the group agreed and promptly followed Brock as he led them down 'Garchomp road' which stood in the shadow of Mount Silver, which was still a few miles in the distance. The sky had begun to billow with ash as a result of all the smoke and scattered debris from the many buildings already damaged or destroyed by the giant machines.
There were fewer people on this road than on Main Street, but still enough to make a crowd. Some were individuals, others couples, while a small number of families were also present. Among them were a number of children, some of whom were crying and screaming which distressed Ash and his companions. There were also still a number of people heading in the wrong direction until Ash and Brock shouted out and pointed them the right way.
The road extended for a little over one mile before reaching the foot of the mountain, where a gravel trail path began. By the time the party arrived, there were quite a few other people present but not enough to create a large log jam. There were various markers placed along the trail, which was divided into several different 'stations.' Thankfully, the trail was not very muddy due to it being summer, allowing the group to move uphill at a fairly brisk pace, despite their large number.
It took more than an hour of climbing for the group to reach the second station, with there still being no sign of any tripods at this point. The heavily forested trail was currently obscuring any view of the city below, although the faint, albeit very disturbing, sound of screams could still be heard from their present position.
At this stage, Ash was still feeling in fairly good physical shape; however, fatigue was beginning to settle in for a number of his companions, including Serena, while Bonnie was the hardest hit, due to small height and petite build. By this stage, she was being carried intermittently by Clement. At one point Drew had also had to carry May briefly. A number of the group were pleading with Brock to stop somewhere beside the trail for a rest break, but he was insistent that they reach the 'fifth station' as there would be sufficient shelter and supplies at this point.
"How much further is that Brock"? Misty whined.
"Probably about another two hours", he responded matter of factly".
"Ughhh", the majority of the party answered with a collective groan.
"I'm sorry everyone but we can't take any chances. We've been in this place before, we know we need to keep moving if we want to reach safety. Movement is life." Ash decided this was a good time to support his friend: "Brock's right. We haven't got any choice. We've all been through this before and we can do it again. C'mon! If we dig deep, we'll be there in time for lunch."
"I admire that optimism Ash", Misty noted, with a gentle smile.
They did dig deep, with the group covering a significant amount of ground over the next half hour. They were now within sight of the third rest station, which lay atop a fairly rocky, yet manageable slope.
They began the ascent in pairs, with Ash walking alongside Serena, just behind Brock and Sara, who were leading the pack, while their remaining companions were with their usual partners, which required Misty and Dawn to be a pair. Ash noticed this duo, who'd had little time together in the past clicked well with one another and had quite a lot in common, with each appearing to find the other's company pleasant. Unfortunately, they did not end up having a huge amount of
time to speak to each other, as Brock stoped suddenly: "shhhh", he hissed, as he turned back to the remainder of the group, "I think we might have company up ahead."
"Oh no", May responded, as her body began to shake.
Sara cast a worried glance in her boyfriend's direction: "what do you think Brock?" She asked nervously. After a brief pause to deliberate, he answered: "I think we need to get off the path and into the forest", he answered decisively.
"But it's only a short walk to the third station, we'll have more shelter there", she argued.
"I don't think there's enough time. We all need to get into the trees, right now!"
Ash's heart suddenly raced upon Brock's announcement, as he and his companions climbed up and over the grassy, moss strewn slope marking the boundary between the path and the tree lined forest. After making his way in he turned and held Serena's arm as she made her way over the top of the small hill.
"Will we be ok now?" Bonnie asked her brother frightfully.
"I think so", he tried to assure her, "we just have to wait it out until the danger passes."
Then, on Brock's command, they were all still. This remained the case for the next few minutes until suddenly, a sound was heard: "owoooo."
"W-why did we just hear a wolf sound?" Serena asked, as she began to shake.
"Yeah Brock?" Dawn inquired, "I didn't think there were any wolves up here."
"I don't know", he answered morosely. "But we may not be hearing the sound of a wolf."
"Then what are we hearing?" Drew agitated.
"I'm afraid this might be a new type of alien Pokémon we haven't encountered yet. The best thing we can do is stay here and remain silent for as long as possible."
A few more minutes passed before the sound could be heard again. Once again Brock gestured for them to remain still and silent. Then another ten passed without any signs of threat. "I think we're alone now", Dawn noted in a soft tone of voice. At this moment May abruptly began waving her arms and quietly singing a song to herself, which attracted some funny looks.
"Ok", Brock replied. "We'll quietly make our way back onto the path. You guys first", he declared, looking at Bonny and Clement who were huddled under the tree which lay nearest to the path they'd come from. Clement nodded in agreement as he took his sister by the hand and cautiously began to head towards the path.
Ash began to tenderly make his way out after Dawn and Serena, with Misty trailing behind him, while Brock and Sara brought up the rest. Just as Clement and Bonnie had almost reached the small ledge leading back onto the main path, closely followed by Drew and May, a loud thudding sound could suddenly be heard. It threw everyone off their feet.
"Ok, everyone get back!" Brock commanded.
As he followed his friend's call and began rushing back towards his previous place of shelter, Ash peered back over his shoulder and noticed a terrifying sight: multiple brightly glowing balls of Fire heading right towards them from multiple directions; both from further up the hill, located on their left, and also from the direction of the path they'd just been heading towards. Luckily, the latter flew right past the group from above. The one which was coming from up the hill, however, presented a much greater threat. Suddenly it became clear it was heading for Clement and Bonnie. Clement turned in the direction of the fireball hurtling towards him and momentarily froze before instinctively grabbing his sister and jumped backwards with Bonnie secured tight in his arms, right before the ball hit. Unfortunately Drew had started flying in to save Bonnie right before Clement had jumped into action. When he realised it was already too late to pull out, and his left side received the full force of the scorching fireball.
Everyone momentarily paused in shock at what they had just witnessed, before May frantically dove down to where Drew lay. "Help!" She screamed, turning back towards Brock. "Please!" Brock rushed over to help him as the girls held May back. The expression on Brock's face told the story. He shook his head: "it's not good", he eventually spoke, as May wailed more loudly. "We need to get him to a hospital", Brock declared.
"What's gonna happen to him?" May asked as she shook.
"Don't worry, he'll be ok", Sara assured her.
"I think he'll be ok", added Brock. "But it's important he gets medical treatment as soon as possible."
"Um…I'm not trying to be insensitive here", Serena began, "but there's kind of another fireball heading our way"…, "get down!", Brock hissed, as the others quickly took cover in the brush, their knees now scraped and their legs dirt covered. The fireball hurtled down the slope, gathering more momentum the further it travelled, eventually avoiding them by a matter of feet. Once the immediate danger had passed, Brock and Sara delicately carried Drew onto Ash's Talonflame. Brock then declare that he'd escort Drew to the nearest "safe" hospital, riding aboard Talonflame. Before that departure May went over to comfort her boyfriend, holding his hand and gently rubbing his stomach, in around the area where thick bandages were covering his most severe wounds. "I love you", she spoke softly.
"I love you too", he replied weakly. May didn't want the moment to end. Brock, however, was eager to leave, well aware of the seriousness of Drew's condition, so moments later, after May and Ash bid their final farewells to Drew and Talonflame respectively, and Sara had farewelled Brock with her best wishes, along with a final kiss, Brock commanded Ash's large bird Pokemon to take off. Moments later, him and Drew disappeared over the horizon. As they departed, Dawn and Serena both placed one hand on each of May's shoulders as she attempted to fight back tears.
Moments later, Sara spoke: "ok everyone, let's get a move on. We need to get up to the fifth station and onto the connecting path as soon as possible."
"Where are we even going?" Serena whined.
"Onto the path leading down the Eastern flank of the mountain", Sara responded patiently. "Then once we're off the mountain, the road joins with another path leading North. Once there, we'll take the North path which will lead us to a quieter area up near the Kanto/Johto border." She paused for a moment before continuing: "this will allow us a potentially safer means of moving back into Kanto."
"And then what?" Serena pressed. "Where will we go?" Back to Palet?"
"Where ever we need to to survive", she responded morosely, before adding… "but yes, ideally we'll make it back to Palet safely." However, the look in her eyes was not one of confidence.
After crawling out of the mud and tall grass, back onto the main trail, it took the group over an hour to complete the climb up to the fifth station, where they encountered a small number of people who were also attempting to escape the danger. Unsurprisingly they had worried expressions written on their faces.
"Hey", Sara yelled out to them. "Do you know where you're headed?"
"No", a short, plump lady of fairly advanced years answered dejectedly, while shaking her head, "we don't know which path to take."
"We want to take the path leading in that direction", Sara answered, pointing in the direction of the correct road, which lay just ahead of them, slightly to the left, before sloping downhill and disappearing into the mountain further ahead. The woman hesitated momentarily before responding: "ok, we'll follow you", answering nervously.
Together, they all dashed madly for the pathway which disappeared behind the horizon, leading down the East side of the mountain.
They were tracking well before they heard a loud clap, a hundred times louder than the sound of thunder directly overhead, like several bombs going off simultaneously. It shook the ground all around them. Most of the group paused and looked around, confused about what was transpiring.
"The volcano's erupted!" Clement shouted in terror, "we need to turn, run, run…", he urged, as he scooped up Bonnie and began running twice as fast as Ash had ever seen him run before. Ash and the the remainder of the party - even the older lady - did the same, to the best of their respective abilities.
It was maybe five minutes before the volcanic plumes began to steadily blanket the air around them. Ash found the heat increasingly difficult to bear. Worrying about being burnt by the searing heat of the plumes, he pulled his jacket from his bag and pulled it on, rolling down the sleeves until his arms were fully covered. He urged the others to do the same, they obeyed promptly. Some of them also covered their faces in their hands, leaving just enough room to see where they were going, while others used heat flannels as makeshift cloths to cover their faces, which still allowed for partial visibility.
The heat rapidly grew worse as the group continued to frantically make their way down the mountain, even as the visibility grew gradually worse. On several occasions, various members of the group had near misses with objects on the sides of the path, as the visibility of the steep and often winding path down to the base of the mountain trail grew less and less visible. Things were made worse by the fact that the path was uneven and rocky in many spots; some of these rocky areas even contained fire pits layed out in the middle of the path.
By this stage, the road ahead of them had been transformed into a thick, grey mist, which meant they had to balance speed with caution as best as they could manage. Serena held onto Ash tightly, shaking with fear. At times even Ash did the same, while Dawn and Sara held onto one another, while Misty and May did likewise. Clement continued to carry Bonnie, while the short, plump lady was aided by her two younger male companions.
After several more minutes, and a few falls leading to minor cuts and bruises, the party reached the base of the mountain, where they were still blanketed by most of the volcanic plumes, although the thick, tall, surrounding broad-leaved trees offered some shelter. Clement led them further down the path and a few hundred metres further down the road, he suddenly turned right into the forest, following a narrower path, must of which was covered in thick brush. The path soon led them to a cave entrance. The concave opening was broad, allowing each of them to fit inside comfortably.
Once settled inside the cave, they comforted one another and began scanning each other's bodies for signs of serious burns. Thankfully, the only burns were minor. They all breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Thanks so much Clement!" Exclaimed Ash.
"It's ok Ash", Clement replied, still breathily heavily. "You were pretty handy yourself."
"How did you know about the cave?" Sara inquired.
"My navigation device", he answered proudly, while still breathing heavily. "I studied the 3D map of the area thoroughly before we left this morning."
"Well….I'm glad you were thorough", she responded, smiling gently.
"Which way do we go once the fog clears Clement?" Misty asked.
"We need to get back onto the road we just came from", he began. "Then we just follow it for another 8 miles until we come to a fork in the road. From there we take the left hand turnoff, which leads in a general North-Northeasterly direction. After a few hours we'll come to a small village. Hopefully we'll be able to take shelter there as well as pick up some more supplies."
"Thank you for helping keep us safe Clement", Misty answered warmly. The others expressed similar sentiments as Clement began to blush.
"You're all welcome", he answered kindly but with a hint of confidence in his voice which took Ash by surprise. "We'll rest for a short time and have lunch here", he continued. "Then we'll make our way back onto the path and onward to our next destination. I'll get us as far as I can…hopefully that'll be enough."