Chapter 17: Break on Through...
After Ash's group found the horrifying evidence of Pikachu's possible fate, it didn't take long for everyone to scour the land even more thoroughly than before. Ash himself immediately led the charge, running around and searching every possible location for Pikachu with the speed of Pachirisu after the world's most impressive sugar rush.
A few hours passed with everyone tirelessly searching as best they could. Staravia took to the sky while Piplup and Buizel checked every inch of every body of water in the nearby vicinity including the lake again. Pachirisu – being the fastest on his feet – searched every flat surface including the nearby road. Turtwig, Croagunk and Aipom primarily checked the forest, Aipom being particularly useful by navigating the trees. Sudowoodo mainly watched over Happiny although the two helped by searching in the small and tight spaces...or when a large boulder needed to be tossed aside.
All throughout, Ash never faltered in his determination, leaving Dawn and Brock in the dust. Although Ash's spirit was willing, his body was beginning to lag. Finally, after hours of nonstop running, searching and worrying, Ash was in the middle of sprinting across the forest when he suddenly collapsed. He was lucky that Dawn and Brock had witnessed it and dragged him over on a stump to rest. On top of that, a light rain began to sporadically start and stop although the dark clouds remained.
"Let me go! I have to get back out there!" Ash yelled, trying to free himself from his friends' grip on him.
"Ash just calm down; you need to give yourself some time to rest!" Dawn shouted back, trying to get Ash to stay still on the stump.
"No way! Pikachu's still out there! I can't just sit here and do nothing!" Ash cried back.
"Well working yourself to death isn't going to help anyone!" Dawn yelled.
"Ash, just listen okay? Just for a moment. Please?" Brock calmly pleaded.
Surprisingly, hearing his friends' words did momentarily cause the young trainer to cease rebelling against them, plus the fatigue was beginning to settle in. After a moment, Ash finally paused, then he eased up.
"Thanks." Dawn said, somewhat relieved as she began to release her grip.
Brock did likewise and smiled. He got a little closer to Ash and put his hand on his friend's shoulder.
"Hey, it's gonna be okay. If anything, what we found so far is a good sign." He said reassuringly.
"H-How could you possibly think that?" Ash asked in a calm, yet shaky voice.
"Well think about it, we didn't find Pikachu back at the lake. That means he's got to be out here somewhere!" The older boy said with much confidence in his voice.
"But...but the shore..." Ash muttered, his eyes wandering towards the ground as he remembered the awful things that he saw. The paw print, the red streaks, the small pools of blood.
"I know, I know, but Piplup and Buizel checked every part of that lake and Pikachu wasn't there. That means that he's out there somewhere. He's got to be alive!" Brock said, his smile not faltering.
"B-But…" Ash started but was interrupted when Brock suddenly put both of his hands on his shoulders and looked him straight in the eyes.
"Look, Pikachu is one of the strongest trained Pokémon I've ever seen, and I've practically watched you two since you started your journey. He's injured yes, but as Ho-Oh as my witness, he's still alive out there somewhere!" Brock declared, a strange fire in his eyes.
Ash could only blink in surprise at his friend. He had to admit that his words resonated within him. He did have a point after all: if Pikachu was dead, he would've been back at the lake. Yeah...he was alive...and he was out there somewhere! It simply had be true!
Feeling a confident smile creeping along on his face, Ash nodded his head, earning looks of reassurance from both of his friends. Heh, he needed to remind himself to thank them when this was all over. Even if he was going through absolute hell right now...he was still glad to have such supportive friends. Suddenly, he felt rain drops pelting his hat.
Brock took his hands off Ash's shoulders and stepped back and looked towards the sky. Oh man, those clouds were looking darker with every passing hour and they certainly weren't going anywhere. Dawn lifted up her wrist that held her Pokétch and scrolled through it. She checked the weather app and grimaced at what she saw.
"Looks like a storm's gonna really pick up within the hour and continue throughout the night." She said solemnly, earning looks of concern from her two friends.
"So that would mean...any clues might be washed away." Brock muttered.
"So we can't waste any more time!" Ash declared, jumping off the stump.
"Ash, how much longer do you think you can go on for? We had to drag you over here five minutes ago." Dawn asked, genuinely concerned.
"I don't care! I'll drag myself across all of Sinnoh if that's what it takes!"
Both Dawn and Brock worriedly looked at each other. Dawn stepped forward and looked him in the face.
"Ash...we can't keep this up much longer." She bluntly said.
Ash merely looked at her. What? What did she mean? Wasn't she as determined to find Pikachu as he was?!
"What do you mean?" He asked with obvious incredulity.
"I mean that we've been at this for hours, everyone is getting exhausted and now with the storm coming in, it'll practically make things impossible until it lets up." She said with a hint of sadness in her voice.
Feeling a strange anger stirring inside of him, Ash didn't hold back his feelings.
"Fine! You want to quit and go back, be my guest! I'm staying no matter what!" He yelled with conviction.
"Ash, you're only going to make yourself sick or kill yourself if you keep at it." Brock replied somewhat sternly.
"I'm not leaving him! Not while he's alone, injured and in the pouring rain!" Ash screamed.
"We're not leaving him. We need to think about the others. They can't keep this up much longer and if we stay out here in the cold rain, we'll all get sick and that won't do Pikachu any favors." Dawn concernedly said.
"Sick? Sick?! You're worried about getting sick?! My buddy is out there somewhere bleeding and you want to quit because you don't want to get the sniffles?! Or is it because you don't want to get your hair wet?!" Ash screeched, leaning forward and no longer holding anything back.
"Ash, that's not fair...I care about Pikachu too!" Dawn yelled while leaning forward herself.
"Yeah right! You couldn't care less! If this was one of your Pokémon, you'd be searching until the ends of the earth!" Ash cried out, taking a step forward.
"Ash you know that's not true! Need I remind you that the first time I met Pikachu, I saved him from Team Rocket?!" Dawn shouted back, slightly hurt, taking another step forward to look him in the eyes.
Ash paused for a moment. She had a point; he and Pikachu probably wouldn't have reunited if it weren't for her. What was he doing? He just said to himself how great of friends they were to him and yet here he was screaming at them at the top of his lungs. Feeling the anger draining out of him, Ash took a step back, his look of fury quickly being replaced with one of intense depression. His gaze went from Dawn to the ground. Dawn – a little startled by his sudden change of expression – eased up herself. All at once, everyone went very quiet for what felt like an eternity.
"...I can't just leave him. He's my best friend and I'd never forgive myself." He finally said, still not making eye contact.
Dawn and Brock gave their friend sympathetic looks. Brock stepped forward and as he did, the wind began to pick up, causing the small droplets of rain to somehow feel even colder.
"Ash, we know how much Pikachu means to you. But he would never want you to run yourself into the ground trying to look for him. Remember what happened at the Oreburgh Gym? We can pick this up tomorrow after everyone's rested." Brock said, causing Ash to tightly close his eyes, trying not to let his feelings flood out again. Seeing this, Brock smiled and pointed a thumb at himself. "And don't worry, I'll be there with you all the way until we find him!" He declared.
"Yeah! Me too! You can count on all of us!" Dawn shouted affirmingly.
As grateful as he was for his wonderful friends, it was all simply too much now. Ash could feel the tears escape his eyes as he tried to stifle his sobs. Despite losing control, he still managed to nod his head in approval. He suddenly felt the warm embrace of his two friends as they hugged him in the light rain.
Thirty minutes passed and the weather was only getting worse. The wind was picking up and the rain was only coming down harder. By now, Buizel and Piplup finished searching any nearby bodies of water and found no clues of Pikachu. As a result, they decided to help search in the forest although the increasingly bad weather did little to slow down Buizel. In the middle of searching the woods, Staravia landed nearby them.
"(Oh yeah, the storm's picking up alright.)" Staravia said before quickly shaking the rainwater off himself much to the dismay of his friends.
"(Well, the only thing we can do is keep at it until the storm gets to be too much.)" Piplup said somewhat solemnly before he heard a huff coming from Buizel. He turned to see his friend giving a disapproving look while crossing his arms.
"(Yeah, I can't keep it up much longer before running the risk of getting struck by lightning.)" Staravia quipped as he briefly preened his feathers.
Buizel let out another huff as he turned away, causing Piplup to raise an eyebrow in confusion. Suddenly all three heard some rustling nearby. They turned to see both Aipom and Turtwig emerging from the foliage, Aipom herself standing on a tree branch.
"(Any luck?) Turtwig asked somewhat tiredly.
"(Nope, sorry.)" Piplup said sadly.
"(We're keeping at it.)" Buizel remarked, still turned away.
"(We must've searched every inch of this area by now and that storm's not doing us any favors.)" Turtwig said somewhat frustratedly before looking up at the dark sky.
"(Yeah, I swear I must have checked every tree in this forest and I couldn't find heads nor tails of anything.)" Aipom tiredly muttered, sitting down on the branch.
"(Obviously you haven't, otherwise you'd still be at it.)" Buizel quickly remarked, his somewhat blunt response causing everyone to look at him.
"(What's with you?)" Piplup asked, getting annoyed with his friend's attitude.
"(Nothing. I'm as determined as ever...)" Buizel said before giving him a side glance. "(Are you?)"
"(What do you mean?)" Piplup asked, his annoyance quickly turning into mild anger.
Seeing the blue penguin's reaction, Buizel turned to face his friends. "(Well I dunno, you seem awfully ready to call it quits.)" He said before eyeing each of them. "(All of you do.)"
Understanding what he was implying, Piplup angrily took a step forward. "(You better not be saying what I think you're saying!)" He yelled, trying his best to maintain his posture and not do his flailing dance instead. Suddenly Turtwig stepped between them and pushed them away from each other.
"(Alright break it up already! Arguing isn't helping anybody and it certainly isn't helping Pikachu!)" Turtwig shouted.
Buizel closed his eyes and turned away. "(Tsk, I'm not saying anything. You do whatever you want, but me? I'm staying 'till I find him.)"
"(Buizel, I'm sure Ash would appreciate you're willingness but even he wouldn't want you to run yourself into the ground. What? You're gonna just stay out here in the dark pouring rain?) Turtwig softly asked.
"(The rain would only help! My ability is Swift Swim! With the rain, I can run faster than anybody else!)" Buizel confidently replied as he looked back at them.
"(Huh? You do? Does Dawn know?)" Aipom asked.
Buizel huffed and turned away again. "(I don't think so...it's more useful in battles so I don't think it would come in handy for contests.)"
"(Well I'm sure it can...)" Aipom muttered and looked away.
"(Still, in the dark? Alone? C'mon man, aren't we all worried enough about Pikachu? Ash doesn't need to worry about something happening to you too.)" Staravia said as he walked up and placed a wing on his friend's shoulder. The sudden contact caused Buizel to quickly slap it away.
"(Don't touch me! L-Look if you guys wanna just quit and leave him out here to die, be my guest! I'm staying because I actually give a rattata's ass!)" He snarled as he backed away, glaring at everyone.
All eyes on him widened in shock at the display. Nobody knew what to say. Well...except for Piplup who could no longer hold back his fury.
"(That's not fair Buizel, he's our friend too!)" Piplup shouted.
"(Then why am I the only who seems like he actually cares?!)" Buizel exploded.
"(How on earth could you say that?! I've known the guy longer than you or anybody here!)" Piplup screamed. In response, Buizel once again turned away. Suddenly, Aipom cleared her throat.
"(Umm, correction...I've known him longer than anybody here. And trust me when I say that I'm just as worried as you Buizel. But the simple fact is that we can't keep this up much longer. Not in the middle of a thunderstorm when it's gonna get too dark to see even in the day.)" Aipom said, jumping down from the tree branch.
Buizel merely scoffed, trying his best to not let any of their words get through to him.
Turtwig, still attempting to get over his initial shock, chimed in. "(There's...nothing wrong saying that we need to take a rest. We can go back to camp, rest a little and we can come back late-)" He started before he was cut off by Buizel quickly whipping around with an enraged glare. In that moment everybody could feel the rain picking up.
"(And what if he's out there and needs help right now?! You saw all that blood; he's seriously hurt out here! Who knows how long he can hang on for!?)" He screamed, startling the grass-tortoise.
"(I'm not saying for a long time, just until we catch our breath and the storm lets up!)" Turtwig replied, trying to regain his composure. "(Even Ash would want us all to take a break!)"
"(Forget Ash! Forget everyone else! You're just saying that because you're weak! Because you're all cowards! And...)" Buizel screamed before suddenly stopping to stare at the ground, his expression softening. "(...and so am I.)"
All eyes on Buizel once again widened in surprise. Well...that wasn't exactly expected.
"(What do you mean?)" Piplup asked somewhat hesitatingly, the anger draining out of him.
Buizel continued to stare at the ground. Suddenly he grit his teeth and clenched his fists. Was he...crying?
"(J-Just forget it okay?! Just get out of here already!)" He shouted, clearly trying to stifle sobs as he swatted the air in front of him.
"(No way man, what did you mean by calling yourself a coward?)" Staravia asked, taking another step forward.
"(Look I don't know what you want from me. I don't even know what to say anymore...)" Buizel said before quickly turning away to lean on a tree. Although they couldn't see his face, they could definitely hear him sniffling and making quick gasps for air.
"(Buizel...)" Aipom concernedly muttered.
A few moments passed, allowing Buizel to regain his composure. Soon his quiet sobs ceased but he continued to lean on the tree, facing away from them.
"(...I just...left him. He needed backup and I left him to fight alone.)" He finally said, all the anger and fight leaving him. "(Dammit...I'm such a coward! I owe it to him to not give up!)" He continued as he put his paw up to his face in shame as his other paw suddenly smacked the tree. "(I couldn't even get to you guys sooner. On the way back I got lost and took the wrong path in the river.)"
Everyone else looked at each other in concern before turning back to him. Piplup – standing nearest to Buizel – looked back at the group and nodded. He returned his sight on the distraught weasel.
"(Buizel, you said it yourself, there wasn't any other way. You needed to get Happiny out of there. Not to mention that it was Pikachu's suggestion.)" Piplup softly said before Buizel quickly turned back to them.
"(Yeah so...when is he exactly the boss? And you know what? I'm a Water-type, Aerodactyl was a Rock-type. Maybe if I stayed behind longer and tried to land a hit, we wouldn't be in this situation.)" Buizel said before pausing. "(...He wouldn't be in this situation.)"
"(Yeah and maybe if you did that, it wouldn't have changed anything and Happiny would've gotten eaten.)" Turtwig remarked.
"(I think...you shouldn't focus on the 'what-ifs', you'll only worry yourself sick.)" Aipom said.
"(Still...it doesn't change the fact that he was alone...and that I got lost on the way back to finding you guys.)" Buizel said, shaking his head.
"(So is that what you're gonna do then? Just stay out here in the dark, freezing rain, running around blaming yourself?)" Staravia asked.
"(Yeah well, maybe I will. I'm allowed to blame myself...he...probably can't.)" Buizel remarked, taking a moment to look back at them before turning away again.
"(Buizel...nobody's blaming you. We don't blame you. Ash doesn't blame you. And Pikachu, wherever he is right now, I know doesn't blame you. Trust me.)" Aipom said, putting her tail on Buizel's shoulder. This time however, he didn't swat it away, her words clearly having an effect as he was struggling to hold back more tears.
"(Yeah and besides, you know how Pikachu is. No matter how bad things get for him, he would never, ever let a kid get hurt!)" Piplup confidently remarked.
"(Exactly. He didn't do what he did out of pride. And...you didn't do what you did out of cowardice.)" Aipom said reassuringly.
Closing his eyes, Buizel took a deep, shaky breath and turned back to them. After a few more moments he slowly nodded his head. For a little while, everything was peacefully silent.
"(Good, now that we're all friends again...)" Staravia remarked before pointing a wing at the increasingly-dark sky "(can we please get back to it until our trainers come by and tell us to stop?)"
Wiping away some tears, Buizel gave a small smile and nodded his head in agreement. And with that, everyone continued to search the woods together.
A few more minutes passed and the storm was only picking up. Piplup as usual, took charge and stayed ahead of everyone. Buizel meanwhile was searching at the same pace as everybody else. Staravia had taken to the sky one more time before the storm got worse.
"(I know I agreed that we should eventually stop but still...my Swift Swim would be pretty useful if the storm kept picking up.)" Buizel said as he walked alongside Aipom and Turtwig.
"(Well I guess I can't argue with that. Still I think our trainers' call.)" Aipom said, practically shrugging.
"(Yeah and even then, Ash and Dawn probably wouldn't want you to be out here by yourself for very long.)" Turtwig remarked.
Piplup, overhearing their conversation, continued on ahead although he quickly turned around to walk backwards through the forest.
"(Heh, and even with your Swift Swim ability...)" He said, placing a flipper on his chest before turning back around to continue walking forwards. "(It would still take even someone like me a little while to probably search the whole fores-woah!)" He suddenly screamed as the next step he took gave way and he felt the absence of solid ground.
Piplup felt himself leaning forward and in his surprise, he realized what exactly he was looking at: in front of him was a fairly wide and rather deep ravine, the bottom of which only contained a shallow creek.
"(Woah! Woah! AAAHHH!)" Piplup screeched as he flailed his flippers in the vain hope of regaining his balance or by some miracle becoming a Flying-type. Why oh why was he not flight-gifted like Staravia?!
"(Hey!)" Buizel shouted as he suddenly sprinted forward using Swift Swim. Aipom and Turtwig looked on in surprise as Buizel quickly closed the distance to reach the blue penguin. That Swift Swim sure was impressive! He was moving at a speed that even Pachirisu would have trouble keeping up with!
Sprinting up to his friend, Buizel grabbed Piplup's shoulder and yanked him back onto solid ground. The two laid there for a moment as Piplup gasped for air, trying to catch his breath.
"(Than-Thanks Buizel.)" Piplup finally said, still trying to regain his composure.
"(No problem, just watch where you're going next time.)" Buizel coolly said.
"(Are you guys alright?!)" Staravia cried out as he landed next to them. "(I just saw that! Man that was close!)"
"(Yeah, we're okay.)" Buizel said with a slight smile, earning a sigh of relief from Staravia. After taking a moment, the bird-Pokémon walked over to the edge and peered over.
"(Well I know one thing, Pikachu sure wouldn't be able to cross this ravine. Not in his condition anyway.)" Staravia said as he glanced from side to side. "(No bridge, no fallen tree, nothing to cross over.)"
"(Guess that narrows searching a little.)" Buizel said as he began to get back up. He eyed the other side of the ravine. All he saw was more forest that looked to stretch on forever.
"Are you okay?!" A familiar-sounding voice rang out, causing all three Pokémon to turn their attention towards its direction.
They saw Ash running along the side of the ravine, accompanied by Turtwig and Aipom.
"That was close, man, thank goodness Buizel was close enough to grab you!" Ash said with obvious relief and a little smile, though it didn't look like he had actually witnessed the weasel use his ability.
"(Thanks!)" Buizel said, his pride swelling.
"(Don't remind me...)" Piplup ashamedly remarked as he got to his feet.
"Hey!" Another male voice called out as Brock and Dawn emerged from the foliage and ran towards the group before quickly joining them. "The rain is really starting to come down now. In a few minutes it'll be pouring around here." Brock said as he looked at Ash.
"Right, okay everybody as much as it pains me to admit this, we'll have to call it in for now, just until the storm eases up alright?" Ash said rather seriously.
"(Right.)" Aipom said.
"(Sure thing.)" Staravia replied.
"We'll get some rest and the first thing we'll do after the storm is come back here and look again!" Ash declared, earning nods of agreement from nearly everyone else.
Buizel and Piplup merely looked at each other. Piplup nodded his head in approval.
"(Hey if it's all the same...)" Buizel started, causing Ash to remain focused on him.
"Huh? What is it Buizel?" Ash confusedly asked.
Buizel motioned towards the ground with his paw. Blinking a few times, Ash suddenly got an idea of what the Pokémon was saying.
"Oh, you're saying that you want to stay here a little longer?" He asked.
"(Right!)" Buizel remarked.
Dawn turned to Ash, a look of concern on her face. "Ash..." She said to him.
Ash crossed his arms and closed his eyes, clearly going over it all in his head. As he was doing this, Brock stepped forward.
"I have to admit that as a Water-type, Buizel wouldn't be hampered by the rain. He could search the area while the rest of us take a break." The older boy said.
"You're not suggesting leaving Buizel out here by himself are you?" Dawn asked incredulously.
"Hmmm..." Ash thought aloud.
"In the dark no less?" Dawn remarked.
After a few moments of thinking it over, Ash uncrossed his arms and looked at Buizel.
"I say he should stay!" Ash finally said.
"(Alright!)" Buizel nearly exclaimed.
"Ash!" Dawn practically yelled.
"C'mon Dawn, just for a little bit! He could cover some more ground until the storm passes over!" Ash exclaimed as he turned to her.
"W-Well..." Dawn muttered as she looked at Buizel who only gave her a confident nod.
She blinked twice before finally sighing and sagging her shoulders.
"Alright...but only for an hour okay?" Dawn said lifting a finger in front of herself. Buizel raised an eyebrow and paused to look at her. "It's gonna get dark soon and I don't want you getting lost or even worse. One hour, deal?"
Buizel himself crossed his arms to think about it before finally nodding.
"Okay and as for it getting dark..." Ash started before turning to Brock. "Brock, do you have anything to help Buizel?"
"Pretty sure I do, hang on." Brock replied as he took off his backpack and rummaged through its contents. Soon he took out a flashlight, a glowstick, a watch and even a flare gun and put everything in a small fanny pack before handing it to Buizel.
As Buizel put the pack on, Dawn crouched down to get down to eye-level with him.
"Okay Buizel, we're about to head back to camp. Be careful and I mean it when I say one hour. I don't care what the excuse is, if you're not back after one hour, I'll drag you back to camp myself alright?" Dawn said rather seriously.
"(You can count on me!)" Buizel said, clenching a fist. Dawn nodded in response and stood back up.
"Alright if everyone is good, I already have my Pokémon." Brock said.
"Right!" Dawn and Ash declared together as they took out their Pokéballs.
"Ready guys?" Ash asked to which everyone nodded their heads.
"Okay then, return!" Dawn declared as she began to return everyone back to their Pokéballs, followed closely by Ash.
Piplup turned to Buizel with a smile. "(Good luck man!)" He said as he was enveloped in a red light.
"(Thanks!)" Buizel confidently replied as Piplup disappeared.
The granted extra hour for searching had come and gone and Buizel had done an excellent job using Swift Swim to search the area at a blinding speed. And in the end what he found...
...Was nothing...nothing at all. Actually, thinking with the glass half full, not finding anything in itself may have been a clue. As morbid as it was to think, seeing all of that blood at the lake, they definitely would've found some more if Pikachu had headed in a certain direction. The lack of blood droplets only indicated that he hadn't headed to where they had searched. Still, just like everything regarding the elusive mouse, it just looked like he had simply disappeared into thin air.
Needless to say, the lack of any real clues was pretty disheartening for Buizel to accept. The weasel looked at the watch that Brock gave him and frowned seeing that his hour was almost up. He seriously contemplated staying longer even if it meant being chewed out by Dawn. He let out a large exhale. No...a deal's a deal and he didn't want to put his friends through more than they were already going through. Turning around, Buizel used Swift Swim to start heading back to camp.
Back at the camp, nearly everyone was resting under a canopy to protect them from the rain. Dawn sat around a fire as all of the group's Pokémon huddled around it for warmth while Brock was off under another canopy preparing food to restore their strength. As it turned out, everyone else was just as anxious to get back to searching as Buizel was because not even an hour had passed before one-by-one, they started releasing themselves out of their Pokéballs.
The only one not taking shelter from the rain was Ash who continued to stand out in the open, arms folded across his chest and staring out in the direction of the lake, a serious look never leaving his face. He told everyone that he would wait for Buizel to return to them and wasn't about to let himself get too comfortable yet.
Dawn looked on at her friend in agonizing sympathy. Words couldn't describe how awful she felt for him, to not only be separated from his starter and best friend but to face the very real possibility that Pikachu was hurt or even worse and there was little that they could do about it at the moment. She herself needed to remain strong, just as she encouraged him to be rational. Her gaze moved towards their Pokémon who all appeared to be rather disconsolate themselves, understandably so. She gave a small, sad smile, genuinely grateful that they had such wonderful companions to help them in such a terrible crisis.
Piplup and Buizel checking any bodies of water, Pachirisu zipping around any open spaces, Buneary looking around...
...Wait...
Dawn blinked upon realizing that she didn't see Buneary amongst their group. Briefly looking over several members of the crew, she noted Piplup, Pachirisu, Aipom and some others...but no Buneary.
"Huh?" She wondered aloud as she glanced from side to side to confirm that she wasn't mistaken. Still, she didn't see any sign of the rabbit.
Is she in her Pokéball? Quickly, Dawn took out Buneary's ball and opened it only for nothing to come out. Was she using the bathroom? When was the last time she'd seen the bunny anyway? Well she'd helped search the lake when she...no wait...come to think of it, Dawn couldn't remember seeing Buneary anywhere at the lake! W-Well, she definitely helped fight the Aerodactyl by using...no hold on a sec...she wasn't around then either!
Panic starting to well up inside of her, Dawn rapidly blinked as she realized that she hadn't seen Buneary since she left to go play hide-and-seek hours ago!
Dawn suddenly stood up. "Ahh! Where's Buneary?! Have you guys seen her recently?!" She blurted out, the sudden intense emotion startling the poor Pokémon.
They each looked at each other confused and then all at once, everyone came to the realization that they practically hadn't seen her all day.
Dawn screamed as she closed her eyes and put her hands up to her head, looking towards dreary sky.
"UGGGHHH NOOO! NOT BUNEARY TOO! I didn't even notice that she was missing this whole time! I'm the worst coordinator ever!" She cried out. All this time, she had been so distracted with rampaging Pokémon, their own other missing Pokémon, a possibly dead friend and one of her closest companions having an emotional breakdown, that she didn't even realize that one of her own, few Pokémon was missing!
Before she could tell everyone to also be on the lookout for Buneary, she noticed Buizel suddenly enter the camp's vicinity.
Ash waved the weasel over and moments later, the Water-type Pokémon stopped in front of him. Dawn looked on as Ash inquired if Buizel had found anything. Although she was too far to hear what words were being exchanged and she was looking at Ash's back, she could discern what the answers were. She saw Buizel shake his head only for to Ash to hang his head and sag his shoulders in obvious disappointment.
"Oh Ash..." Dawn muttered aloud, her heart practically breaking at the implied bad news.
Soon, both trainer and Pokémon walked further into camp and joined everyone else under the canopy, Ash taking a seat on the log next to Dawn. Even though she practically knew what the answer was, Dawn wanted to hear it out loud.
"Any luck from Buizel?" She asked, her heart beating faster in sheer anxiety.
Ash, completely soaked from the rain, merely shook his head. "No...nothing."
Dawn gave him a sympathetic look and placed a hand on his drenched shoulder. A moment passed when suddenly Piplup started shouting, causing Dawn to turn her attention towards their Pokémon. Snapping back to her current situation, she loudly gasped.
"Ahh! That's right! Ash I'm so sorry to hear about how things are going but I just realized that we have another HUGE problem!" She shrieked as she got to her feet and looked him in the face.
Ash blinked in confusion. "Huh? What's wrong?"
"It's Buneary! She's missing too! I just realized that I haven't seen her since before everything happened and she's not in her Pokéball!" She screamed as she put her hands up to her head again in sheer frustration.
"Are you sure the others haven't seen her either?" Brock asked from his canopy, having heard every word.
"Yes! Nobody's seen her all day!" She yelled, turning toward the older boy.
"I'm so sorry Dawn." Ash said before springing off the log to look her in the eyes. "I promise, we'll find her too!" He said with a clenched fist, determination dominating his face.
"I just can't bear the thought of her being in danger! W-What if she's lost out there in the middle of nowhere? O-Or even worse, what if the Aerodactyl got her?!" She practically shrieked as she constantly shook her head in sheer panic.
"The Aerodactyl didn't mention anything about Buneary." Brock rationalized.
"Because we didn't ask it! We'll probably never know now!" Dawn screamed before suddenly feeling hands on her shoulders.
"Dawn!" Ash shouted, again looking her in the eyes. "Now I can't promise you that I know what happened but you've gotta stay calm. You've been so strong and collected helping me look for Pikachu so I'll do the same for you now. You just need to remain hopeful."
Dawn could feel tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at the ground, unable to look Ash in the face.
"I-I'll try...I'm sorry Ash. I'm starting to get how you're feeling right now." She choked out.
"Hey..." Ash said, waiting until he saw her look back at him. "We'll find them. No matter how long it takes, we'll find them." He said before taking a step backwards and pointing a thumb at himself. "And I'll be there with you the whole way!"
"You bet!" Brock said as he approached them. "You won't be alone." He remarked before turning towards their Pokémon. "Right everyone?"
"(Absolutely!)" Piplup shouted.
"(No matter what!)" Aipom declared.
Buizel, arms folded, gave a determined nod.
"We'll start first thing when the rain lets up." Brock said.
Wiping away her tears, Dawn nodded her head. "Mhmm." She managed to say, her eyes tightly shut.
She suddenly felt her body being enveloped by a hug on all sides. Out of surprise, she opened her eyes to see everyone in the camp, Ash and Brock included, had wrapped their arms around some part of her body immediately providing much warmth in the middle of a slightly chilly rainstorm.
Surprised, Dawn let a moment pass before she gave a small, sad smile as she felt tears streaming down her face again.
"Thanks everyone. You're the best!" She said before hugging them back.
Even though it felt like the world was truly ending for Ash and herself, she had to admit that she was at least so thankful to have amazing friends in such trying times.
After a few moments passed, everyone eased up on the hug.
"Actually you know what..." Brock mused as he adopted a thinking pose.
"What is it Brock?" Ash asked.
"I've been thinking...remember right before the Aerodactyl attacked? How Officer Jenny said that we should get to the nearest Pokémon Center for shelter?" The older boy inquired.
"Yeah, so?" Ash asked, not at all sure where the conversation was going.
"So the Pokémon Centers are where everyone is gathered at, wouldn't it stand to reason that maybe Pikachu and Buneary are there too?" Brock concluded.
Both Ash and Dawn looked at each other before looking at their Pokémon who appeared equally confused.
Ash turned back to his friend. "You think so? Isn't a little far to the nearest Pokémon Center from here?" He asked.
"I remember that it wasn't too far on foot. Maybe everyone in the area is sheltering or regrouping there!" Brock said with increasing confidence.
"I dunno..." Ash muttered.
"Look, all we know for certain is that Pikachu isn't around the lake and we haven't seen any sign of Buneary either. Maybe a passerby picked them up and took them to the Pokémon Center or they managed to get there and they're waiting for us right now!" Brock declared.
Dawn thought about it for a bit. "I...guess there's nothing to lose by checking it out." She finally said.
Ash looked at her and then to Brock. He grimaced at the thought. "I...guess. I mean we're not making a whole lotta progress searching here anyway." He said, looking down at his feet.
"Yeah, and if anything, we can come back and keep searching if it doesn't pan out." Brock said.
Hearing that, Ash looked back up and nodded his head. "Okay, let's do it!"
"We'll go when the rain eases up." Dawn said, a small and hopeful smile on her face.
Brock nodded in approval.
Author's Notes:
Oh dear, more and more faces keep disappearing don't they?
As a side note, I'm pretty sure Dawn doesn't have a Pokétch weather app in the show but really with all of the other useless things that it can do, why not?
Anyway, wonder where things are gonna go? Only one way to find out but first, please be sure to leave a review!
Until then, Carson55 out!